Rusted Sky

I like this part:

We couldn’t call for an escort, because he wouldn’t let us switch on our cell phones. (Cell phone batteries need to be removed at most checkpoints.) If we wanted to use our cell phones, we would have to make the far walk beyond the barricades and razor wire. We would have to put ourselves in danger by standing out in the middle of downtown Baghdad where I could become a potential target. (As required, I was wearing my body armour, despite the heat.)

I can't believe anybody could be so clueless that he doesn't understand why cell phones have to be turned off at checkpoints.

I almost wish he'd been stupid enough to ignore the soldier's warning and turn on his cell phone anyway. I say 'almost' because I'm certain that if he had attempted to turn on his cell phone the young soldier from Atlanta would have gotten into a lot of trouble for shooting this asshole.

otpu

It makes you wonder just why his sponsoring news agency put someone so damn clueless in the middle of a war zone.

Hmmm. Maybe he REALLY pissed off someone in the home office, and they figured this would be a good way to either straighten him out or cure the problem. As it is, the negative publicity this has gotten will almost certainly insure his next job will not have him saying "Do you know who I am?", but more likely have him saying "Would you like fries with that?"

J.

Jerry:

AJacksonian has a wonderful comment on America's response to the Conflagration Quagmire in California at IMAO.

http://www.imao.us/archives/008989.html

I suggest reading the whole thing, including all the comments.

otpu

Another comment on the Conflagration Quagmire thread that just might be of some interest to a commenter here:

Anybody seen Michael Moore's new film - Fahrenheit 451?

No, wait...

#121 - Posted by: Eagle1 on October 26, 2007 06:30 PM

Hi F451!

otpu

_Nobody_ today holds a candle to Ernie Pyle. (Not even Michael Yon.)

Click and read 'The Death of Captain Waskow':

http://journalism.indiana.edu/news/erniepyle/waskow.html

I considered reading a version of that for a Memorial Day show at Stone Mountain Park, but figured I could't get all the way through without crying...

F451

Ernie Pyle was able to boil it down like few reporters ever have - Michael Yon may be that in a few years, but he's not laboring under the disadvantage of composing dispatched that were limited to one or two sheets of paper. The internet is great for many things, but imposing a need for brevity isn't one of them.

J.