Monday, January 09, 2006

Alito's non-agenda, snarky journalism & a war on Islam?

The Washington Post reports:
Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's nominee to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court, told his Senate confirmation hearing today that he has
no judicial agenda and pledged to administer justice without regard to the power
or wealth of those before him.
Ah… OK. He has no agenda. Really. He just always rules a certain way, but that can’t be called an agenda. Apologies. I’m falling victim to the Snarky Bug. See below.

Snarky Journalism is All the Rage

Jon Friedman writes:
NEW YORK -- Thanks largely to the advent of the Internet blogs, "snarky"
commentaries are sweeping the craft of journalism.
I fall into this just like everyone else, but I’m not at all certain it’s a good idea. Snark also turns easily into nastiness. Somehow, even though I do it myself, I don’t think being snide is the best way to always approach a topic. This kind of tone usually makes it harder for us to understand each other rather than easier, and may well be the worst thing the blogosphere has done to the world.

US troops seize award-winning Iraqi journalist

This is frightening.
American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.

Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later
Pilgrims pray, cleric slams West for 'war against' Islam
MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — More than 2 million Muslim pilgrims made the climactic ascent Monday to Mount Arafat, Islam's most sacred site, to pray
for salvation, and Saudi Arabia's top cleric urged Islamic unity in the face
of what he called the West's war on Islam.
I don’t think we are purposely engaging in a war against Islam, or at least I pray we aren’t, but I also don’t believe we give Moslems any reason to believe otherwise.

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