USA Today explains why it hasn't covered DSM

[quaoar]

This is the last paragraph of the story:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-07-bush-blair_x.htm

USA TODAY chose not to publish anything about the memo before today for several reasons, says Jim Cox, the newspaper's senior assignment editor for foreign news. "We could not obtain the memo or a copy of it from a reliable source," Cox says. "There was no explicit confirmation of its authenticity from (Blair's office). And it was disclosed four days before the British elections, raising concerns about the timing."

And then get this BS from the same article:

Robin Niblett of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, says it would be easy for Americans to misunderstand the reference to intelligence being "fixed around" Iraq policy. " 'Fixed around' in British English means 'bolted on' rather than altered to fit the policy," he says.

[Spectral]

1. This is BS. The Times of London published the DSM May 1, 2005

And I think that is a credible source.

:shrug:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. Unlike the Swift Boat Thugs and Liars

Yes, they were so well-verified and checked out. Yes, they were certainly coverable and certainly to be taken seriously.

More crap from the canary's cage liner.

[autorank]

3. I'm so glad I never spent a dime on this trash paper.

USA today, you are a disgrace.Contact the DNC and Give 'em Hell About NOT Acting on Election Fraud

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

[neuvocat]

4. They're the only ones with that excuse apparently.

That one's coming straight out of the White House. Geez, they're just not trying anymore.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. USAToday ... I only see it in hotels, where it gets shoved

under my door ... and thence kicked onto the bathroom floor.

McPaper ... kiss my McAss

[Montauk6]

6. Couldn't get a copy from a "reliable" source, eh?

Of course, because you simply can't trust those Internets.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. My BS detector is smelling a huge pile of it

[FrenchieCat]

8. That didn't seem to "bother" them

when the "Bin Laden" tape showed up right before OUR election....now did it? We are dealing with pure assholes.
We get the October surprise.....and now, everyone is skeptical?

It's ok to let terrorists call our election, but gee, must...think....twice...about.....an....internal....British....memo...to.....be....discussed....5 months.....after......our....election!

Gimme a goddamn break!
PLEASE! :eyes:
http://www.google.com/search?q=bin+laden+tape,+election&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N

CNN.com - Bin Laden: Al Qaeda motivated to strike US again - Oct ...
Bin Laden times message with US election. premium contentPLAY VIDEO ... The US
embassy in Qatar received a copy of the Osama bin Laden tape from the Qatari ...
www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/29/binladen.tape/ - 55k - Jun 7, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Bin Laden hints major assassination - The Washington Times: Nation ...
Regarding the new bin Laden message, the officials said there are intelligence
reports, ... agency was aware of unconfirmed reports of a new bin Laden tape. ...
washingtontimes.com/national/20040811-123531-3824r.htm - 72k - Cached - Similar pages

Aljazeera.Net - Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech
Bin Ladin muscles into US election race. Bush, Kerry vow to defeat bin Ladin ...
Following is the full English transcript of Usama bin Ladin's speech in a ...
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ 79C6AF22-98FB-4A1C-B21F-2BC36E87F61F.htm - 64k - Cached - Similar pages

FOXNews.com - Politics - Exclusive: Kerry Says UBL Tape Cost Him ...
In the tape, aired by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera, bin Laden spoke
... "I want to thank you personally for what you did in the election — you ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,139060,00.html - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

Voice on tape is bin Laden, say US investigators - Iraq's new ...
With the release of still another bin Laden tape, Bergen said, “The tapes are
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www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6759167/ - 37k - Cached - Similar pages

Al-Jazeera: Bin Laden tape obtained in Pakistan - Terrorism ...
In the tape, bin Laden — wearing traditional white robes, a turban and a tan
cloak — reads from papers at a lectern against a plain brown background. ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6363306/ - 44k - Cached - Similar pages

Bin Laden Warns US Voters (washingtonpost.com)
But the al Qaeda leader's appearance so close to Election Day prompted ...
In the tape, bin Laden stands at a lectern in white and gold robes before a brown ...
www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/articles/A9659-2004Oct29.html - Similar pages

Bin Laden tape calls for election boycott - World - www.smh.com.au
In an audiotape received by Al-Jazeera satellite television, a man purported to
be Osama bin Laden endorsed Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and ...
www.smh.com.au/news/World/ Bin-Laden-tape-calls-for-election-boycott/2004/12/28/1103996528089.html - Similar pages

The Jawa Report: New bin Laden Tape Released
Fatwa issued against The MUSC Tiger for New Bin Laden Tape? » Fatwa issued against
InTheBullpen.com for Bin Laden Releases Audio Tape ...
mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/059597.php - 30k - Cached - Similar pages

New Bin Laden Tape Praises al-Zarqawi; Urges Election Boycott. Osama Bin Laden
released a new audio tape which was aired by al-Jazeera television today ...
www.elitestv.com/pub/2004/Dec/EEN41d076337b7a5.html - 12k - Cached - Similar pages

The Command Post - 2004 US Presidential Election - bin Laden Tape ...
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View Full Version : Will the bin Laden tape impact the election? Pollster.
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Aljazeera.Net - Bin Ladin muscles into US election race
Usama bin Ladin has burst into the US election campaign, issuing his first ...
"It is especially shameful in the light of a new tape from America's enemy. ...
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ 973F1229-454F-4384-BF08-1D86A911DDF7.htm - 59k - Cached - Similar pages

[RUMPLEMINTZ]

9. I was researching the DSM and I

came across this. My question is, is this the same thing we are talking about? I'm not sure. It seems the same. Check out the date of the article.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,759158,00.html

[quaoar]

10. Here's some more from the USA Today article

Knight Ridder Newspapers distributed a story May 6 that said the memo "claims President Bush ... was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy." The Los Angeles Times wrote about the memo May 12, The Washington Post followed on May 15 and The New York Times revisited the news on May 20.

None of the stories appeared on the newspapers' front pages. Several other major media outlets, including the evening news programs on ABC, CBS and NBC, had not said a word about the document before Tuesday. Today marks USA TODAY's first mention.

Some activists who opposed Bush's decision to attack Iraq have been peppering editors with letters and e-mails to push the media into more aggressive coverage. Last week, a group known as Democrats.com offered $1,000 to anyone who can get Bush to answer "yes or no" to this question: Did he or his administration "fix the intelligence" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to terrorism?

"We want what the Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and Star Wars stories have gotten: endless repetition until people have heard about it," says David Swanson, one of Democrats.com's organizers.

[wiggs]

11. On Lehrer tonight (PBS) a reason was given that appeals

In answer to the question of why DSM hasn't gotten American coverage, a NYT editor offered that one reason could be because the story is bigger than currently thought, and that the lull is everyone getting their ducks in a row.

He says, hesitantly, that he didn't have evidence that this was the case, but he hoped it was.

A definite hint of a hint.

[quaoar]

12. That editor's full of shit

If that was the case, the NYT ombudsman would not have criticized the paper for ignoring the story.

[wiggs]

15. Both interpretations could be self-serving

In penning some NYT self-criticism, some sense of integrity is preserved. Admit to something tolerable, perhaps, to dim outside criticism.

On the other hand, hinting on PBS that there were nobler, more interesting, more significant reasons for delaying coverage is self-serving as well. So I see your point. And I AM stubbornly suspicious of efforts to keep the focus narrowly on DSM while ignoring reams of supporting writing, articles, interviews, etc. If NYT would even re-publish some of its own articles on cooked intelligence, official misgivings, and pressure on CIA, then they would appear to be doing a reasonable research job that would be expected in any journalism 101 class.

I may have been taken in, but I'll continue to enjoy it for a while longer. This thing is developing fast now and we'll see where it goes.

[pacalo]

13. If "fixed around" doesn't mean that the intelligence was fixed,

why did the idiot find it so offensive that this information was released to the British media during Blair's election?

Any British DUers here to tell us the meaning of "fixed around" as used in these transcribed meeting minutes?

[Kazak]

14. Boy, the roaches are really starting scurry about now, aren't they?

:D

[Selatius]

16. "Freedom of the press is limited to those who have one." - A.J. Liebling

In the US, there is no such thing as a major news network that is both owned and operated by ordinary citizens. No, that sounds too much like a socialist organization, and socialism is bad! Very bad!