Monday
(1)Although they have come late to this story, The Times has also noted Scott Burgess' TKO of the Guardian regarding their employment of an Islamic extremists and subsequent firing of him once the story came to light.
It is a pity The Times did not also pick up on the bad grace in which The Guardian took their lumps, what with their snarky no-by-line remarks about how "Scott Burgess, a blogger from New Orleans who recently moved to London, spends his time indoors posting repeated attacks on the Guardian", recalling the "guys in pyjamas" sneer made by someone at CBS following a similar humiliating mauling they received at the hands of the blogosphere. If ever you need a clear indication you have landed a painful blow against a MSM target, you have but to look for a petulant ad hominim response.
Moreover, it is fascinating how The Guardian inaccurately (follow first link to Media Guardian) attributes this incident breaking into the mainstream media down to "rightwing US bloggers" when the truth is that whilst Scott Burgess (an American living in London) sounded the charge, he was rapidly followed by Labour supporting British blog Harry's Place and ourselves (no great fans of the Tory party either), to name but two of many largely UK based blogs. The Guardian's take on this is therefore either shoddy reporting or a case of seeing what you choose to see.
Still, nice to see that the broadsheet newspapers do not feel any need to close ranks over this story.
The great thing is, many of their readers will Google and find out the truth. That the Guardianista's are lying to distract from the substantive issue.
Posted by paul d s at July 25, 2005 05:30 PM
I'm not sure - I think many Guardian readers read it precisely to have their prejudices confirmed, not to find out 'the truth'.
Granted, there may be a substantial portion of their readership that is willing to question, but I suspect a hard core will always believe that the Guardian got it right & everyone else is wrong. I'm sure Daily Mail & Sun readers are the same, reading a paper that confirms your own worldview.
That's why blogs are so refreshing - you can log on to a myriad personal views on curent affairs & it's free!
Posted by JuliaM at July 25, 2005 05:48 PM
It's a pity too that The Times repeats the erroneous Guardian claim that Scott Burgess applied himself for the post Aslam got. As Scott made clear from the outset, his 'application' was a spoof. The Guardian might or might not have known this; if they did, it was particularly nasty of them to make the claim, with its implication that Mr Burgess was motivated by sour grapes.
Posted by Tim at July 25, 2005 08:01 PM
The Guardian is venting at bloggers because they feel threatened as I bet the Times does too. Scott Burgess has showed them up and they really do not like it at all.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge at July 25, 2005 10:30 PM
It's funny how the phrase "US bloggers" seems to carry as much negative connotations for the Guardian as "Jewish settlers" would for the average Palestinian.
Posted by Rob at July 26, 2005 01:09 AM
For BBC kulturkritik and suicide bomber sympathiser Tom Paulin
if you combine American and Jewish Settler that is sufficient justification for you to be shot dead.
Posted by Chris Goodman at July 26, 2005 02:48 AM
Speaking of the Grauniad, did anybody pick up on that piece by Osama Saeed over the weekend, in which he hammered Blair for "insulting the idea of the Caliphate?" I didn't see anything on it here.
I know that letting an infidel pee near a Quran is abuse, as is infidels touching it, as is stacking two Qurans atop each other (even in shipping) as is thinking badly about certain people who read the Quran, as is failing to murder in cold blood anybody who makes like of Quran abuse... All of these things are Quran abuse, it seems.
But insulting the idea of a worldwide Caliphate as abuse of Muslims? Really? Well, color me a crusader, I guess, since I think death would be preferable to living under a viciously homophobic, misogynistic, violent, medieval death cult bent on destroying the tolerant and uplifting strains within its parent religion.
Posted by Al Maviva at July 26, 2005 04:22 AM
Throwing an off-topic curveball, here's an interesting webcomic...
Posted by Julian Morrison at July 26, 2005 05:24 AM
Al then you should get your crusader t-shirt then. Don't want to be unprepared to face up to the caliphate.
I love the fact that its anti-Muslim to wish to preserve your own culture. Basically to many of these dolts the only way not to insult Islam is to surrender.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge at July 26, 2005 10:44 AM
Completely off-topic Julian... but I forgive you because it is amazing!
Posted by Perry de Havilland at July 26, 2005 10:54 AM
Perry: How about adding a drop-box for commenters to post nifty stuff and breaking news?
Posted by Julian Morrison at July 26, 2005 12:38 PM
So off topic Julian that it's wonderful. Spiders is great... and let's pray that the women in Afghanistan can fight back like this against the Mullahs
Posted by steve at July 27, 2005 11:10 AM
