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Today's big story--and no doubt one of the biggest stories in a long, long time--is that Benazir Bhutto, opposition leader and former prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated this morning in a bombing that killed at least 20 other people. International leaders, including President Bush, are condemning the attack.
No one claimed responsibility for the killing. But suspicion was likely to fall on resurgent Islamic militants linked to al Qaida and the Taliban who hated Bhutto for her close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism. A local Taliban leader reportedly threatened to greet Bhutto's return to the country from exile in October with suicide bombings.
Bhutto had been campaigning for the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for January 8, but some are suggesting that those elections be postponed.
We're still trying to track down any local gatherings, vigils, rallies, etc, so if you know of any events, let us know, please.
[Trib, ABC, NY Times, CNN, other CNN.]
Photo: AP/B.K.Bangash
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I've been following this all morning. Damn :(
sad, but never thought it would take this long.
she knew it was coming
she knew it would end this way
is she a martyr for the cause? dunno.
possibly. but there would have to be an uprise of the people
Yea its crazy, the second attempt on her life,which says so much about the stability in a place that's suppose to be a linch pin for "democracy" in the "warrior on terror" But it would also be nice to get an objective opinion of her as I heard that she was also corrupt, but of course this did not get her killed
I would definitely read the foreign press on this one. Can't trust the U.S. press not to spin it the Bush Administration's way.
She did have a history of corruption, as did her family, Spook. I doubt it would be too hard to research this. Was she dirtier than the current leader? Hell if I know. Some also say she would have been more pro-American than the General/president, but who knows? It's all a stinking pile of shit in that country right now.
Still, it is alarming that this is how politics is being done in Pakistan right now, as this is likely to have significant consequences for us.
You'd think $4.7
billion in our tax money would buy a little security.....
Ferdy sez: "Can't trust the U.S. press not to spin it the Bush Administration's way."
Uh, OK.
Care to share any, you know, actual evidence?
And do you really think the foreign press lacks bias? That is what your statement implies.
I love you, Ferdy. You pretend to be smart and sophisticated so often that I think you are doing performance art sometimes.
Actually Matie,
I have a lot, as in a Muth* fuc%ing lot, more faith in the “foreign press” than here!
No two, three, four ways about it!
Heck, places like Germany, Netherlands, Italy,France, the U.K., Cuba ( yea I said Cuba!) don’t have B.S Red Eye type mainstream publications and certainly their papers are not written on fifth and eight grade levels.
Further more, The National Inquirer, People, and The Star like publicans don’t have circulations much greater than their major news papers and Magazines.
And their Public Radio stations don’t read the press releases from their leaders as “news” as every single one of our mainstream news sources does. Heck are you even listening to what’s going on with the F.C.C??? Like Chuck D said “suckas, liars, give me a shovel!
This is why I brought a short wave radio a couple of months ago, cause I’m tired of listening to American propaganda. Give me the B.B.C over BEZ any day, on the real!
Why do you think the US press would spin this in favor of Bush? How would they? Do you think all US reporters are gun-totin', red state, Bush-backer? How many do you know? And from what I have read, BBC News doesn't offer much more insight compared to CNN or NYT or the Post.
What are you implying Ferdy?
Spook, as an FYI, there have also had multiple assassination attempts on Musharif.
The region is very unstable. Even Bhutto's close friend has been quoted as saying that the extremism and fanatacism are to blame, not the government. Whether Musharif is behind this is uncertain, and we may never even find out.
I'm no great defender of the Red Eye, but when it came out, a German guy I worked with grabbed one and lamented that there was no topless women in the paper like in Bild (which having spent time in Germany, I've been subjected to). So if you think there are no trashy pseudo newspapers in Europe, think again.
If you want some trashy fun (and can read a bit of German), take a look.
http://www.bild.t-online.de/
Sparky - The MSM has been a shill for conservative interests for some time (for example, Fox calling Florida for Bush in 2000), gutting their news teams and investigative reporting at a time when government is out of control in its invasion of our privacy and flouting of congressional orders, etc. Bhutto returned to Pakistan at the behest of the Bush administration to oust Musharraf, a man who has been trying to balance the various factions in his country instead of crushing one over the other. The neocons want another Shah in this volatile region and Bhutto was it. I expect the U.S. press to hail her as a champion of democracy and begin the Al Quaida watch immediately. Americans ignorant of the facts will eat it up. Foreign press may have a more nuanced and complete view of this country and its politics.
Spook, I agree with you to a point. I think the issue was wheher this would be spun in favor of the Bush Administration.
I think that most US television media is crap, especially given that top news stories are about Christmas sales (relevant economically, but it always has the feel good human interest spin), the impeding snow storm and how folks are dealing with it (haven't we ALL dealt with snow?), and the feel-good human interest stories about how the kid got a new heart and it is a miracle from God or something (aw, shucks, makes me forget about the war in Afghanistan). The press does very little investigative journalism, and they don't have the balls to challenge or to question, in general. And then we have the Red Eye, and all the other shit papers out there.
Is the media biased toward the Bush Administration? In general, I do not think so. But the media lacks balls.
But I think there is hope. I occassionally pick up "Hoy", and I think the journalism is better in "Hoy" than in a lot of local Trib articles. At least "Hoy" has a little bit of activism--this is how this situation will affect the Hispanic community. This is what you need to do to change things (at least the local stories). I wish the English speaking media in this city would do the same thing, but they lack the guts. Or maybe the readers don't care.
I must ask, does the public settle with what the media dishes out, or does the media cater to what the public demands? How many people do you see reading the Red Eye every morning?
Okay, Ferdy, besides Fox, what do you got?
Why are newspapers gutting their i-teams? Because print is dying. DYING. Circulation is down. Have you read the papers? Is that biased toward the Bush Administration?
I am no fan of Bush, believe me. Can you cite one major foreign news source right now that are not saying the same thing as the American press? BBC is saying "The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a severe, and potentially crippling, blow to international hopes that Pakistan might emerge into a state of stability." I'm pretty sure most world leaders, as written in the "International Herald Tribune" have, wait, what did they say? "World leaders praised her bravery and commitment to democracy while expressing concern for the stability of the volatile region."
Really nuanced, huh?
What are you reading these days, Ferdy?
Don't discount Fox. It's a very profitable company with a large, conservative audience for its "news."
The NY Times was a shill for the war with Iraq, with Judith Miller leading the charge. All the networks produced pro-war shows with sexy jingoistic lead-ins.
England was part of the Alliance of the Willing. Tony Blair lost his position over his support of the war. In addition, as a former colonial power in India/Pakistan, we can hardly expect the BBC to be impartial.
Newspapers are dying because the conservative government has broken the walls against monopoly in the media. Moguls interested in profit over principles of good journalism have created throwaway tabloid journalism and jutted thriving foreign news bureaus as too expensive and not in their interests. To get around the lack of info newspapers provide, more people, like me are going to alternative sources on the Internet. I can read just about any newspaper I want, in any country, now. Newspapers under corporate control in America have to compete with papers that can actually gather real news and report it, from the global community in which we now live.
Sparky,
You will notice the difference in the next couple of days including the analysis. Also compare Trib writers with NY Times writers. I mean they
actually grab "journalist" right out of school!
Oh and if you wanna see the difference with the foreign press you can also check out Le Monde and the monthly, Le Monde diplomatique, they both also have radio
And print is only dying in the United States where the average citizen reads about 8 minutes a day.
Vit,
my point wasn't that there are no trashy papers
in Europe, but that they are not major "news sources" like they are here. And we can talk German pblicantions if you wanna, they also clearly out rank ours
Spook,
By now means was I comparing the Trib with NYT.
I will look into Le Monde, thanks. It will be interesting how this plays out in the press, that's for sure.
I'd keep an eye on Al-Jazeera and the Irish Times, too. They provide balance to what BBC and US news has to say. The truth, I feel, is somewhere in the middle.
Spook - well, we do agree on one thing. German news publications certainly outrank US new publications. I particularly enjoy reading Der Spiegel, it may lean a bit conservative (by German standards) but it is certainly well written.
Spook - well, we do agree on one thing, German news publications certainly outrank US news publications. I particularly enjoy reading Der Spiegel, it may lean a bit conservative (by German standards) but it is certainly well written.
Can't wait to watch HBO's new season of The Wire to learn more about how the media works. Anything beats the ramblings of Chicagoist commenters.
Myself included