Archives for 2003

This is priceless:

Veteran black activist Al Sharpton contended Wednesday that the news media are dismissive of his presidential campaign because newsrooms are overwhelmingly white.

“I think when you look at the lack of diversity in the newsrooms, when you look at the lack of diversity from the editors and those in power, then you see them as automatically dismissive of anything that is not like them, which is white males,” said Sharpton.

“I think we’ve seen some very blatant racial insensitivity in the coverage of this race so far,” said Sharpton, in an interview with The Associated Press.

Sharpton complained that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has been virtually anointed the hot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 – a case, he said, of a white-dominated media focusing on a middle-age white man.

Al, the reason people are paying very little attention to you is not because of your skin color, but because you are a flat-out moron. In fact, a case could be made that were it not for your race no one would be paying ANY attention to you- you would just be another white moron. The country is littered with them- for example, Dennis Kucinich.

Earth To Al SharptonPost + Comments (17)

Two amusing stories about Democrats provided in today’s BOTW, authored by evil, mean, hate-mongering conservative James Taranto. The first is about Dean:

The Washington Times relates this anecdote from the Howard Dean campaign:

Dean campaign manager Kate O’Connor was, perhaps, excited.

“We’re back in Vermont for the day,” she had messaged supporters. “We’re in the office reintroducing ourselves to the people we work with!! And it sure is exciting here in the HQ!! Someone put a Coke can in the trash–and boy, was that a mistake! The Gov. noticed and reminded us that everything must be recycled!”

Groan.

The second is about Nancy Pelosi:

The Hill reports that when Congress adjourned for August, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, sent her members home with a “recess packet” that “includes detailed instructions on how to throw a local party–a 38th birthday bash for Medicare.” Among the advice: “Order your cake! Order a sheet cake with ‘Happy Birthday Medicare’ written on it.” There’s more:

The orders go on: “Buy additional party supplies. Be creative. Buy a ‘Happy Birthday’ tablecloth for the center table. Purchase disposable plates and utensils if the facility will not provide them. You may also wish to purchase additional party favors — horns and whistles can be very useful to ‘boo’ the Republican agenda,” suggests the document.

Double Groan.

Amusing BOTW StoriesPost + Comments

I just got off the phone with a spokesman for the Iraq Foundation, Mr. Sammy Salih. Mr. Salih lived in Iraq until 1997, when he was 16 years old, at which time he came to the United States. At any rate, I am betting that Mr. Salih knows a touch more about Iraqi customs and gestures than Steve Gilliard (although I am also willing to bet Gilliard THINKS he knows more than Salih).

I interviewed Mr. Salih, and according to him, the thumb means things in other cultures, but for the most part, in Iraq, it meant nothing until it was picked up after the Gulf War. Now, he said, he believes it means ‘OK’ or ‘good.’

I know who I believe on the issue. How about you?

BTW- that is pretty much what the Defense Language Institute has stated about the “Thumbs Up” meaning:

THis gesture, expressing connotations of “I am winning,” historically is offensive to many Arabs. After the Gulf conflict, however, Middle Easterners of the Arabian Peninsula adopted this hand movement, along with the OK sign, as a symbol of cooperation towards freedom.

One word of caution- Mr. Salih did state that putting the INDEX finger and thumb together meant something akin to “F— your mother,” although he was too polite to use those terms himself.

Thumbs UpPost + Comments (2)

Steve Gilliard, resident loon at the Daily Kos, is kvetching over this statement in MoDo’s latest column:

Mr. Wolfowitz has been tacitly campaigning for the jobs. He told Charlie Rose about his vice-regal trip to Iraq, where he said at last grateful Iraqis were thronging. “As we would drive by, little kids would run up to the road and give us a thumbs up sign,” he said. (At least he thought it was the thumb.)

Gilliard comments:

No. It was the thumb:

Thumbs up:
With an outstretched fist, the thumb is extended straight up.

“Thumbs up” as a positive gesture quickly gained popularity in the U.S.A., especially as a visual signal in noisy environments. Pilots unable to shout “All’s well!” or “Ready!” over the noise of their engines used it frequently. With a slight backwards tilt, this gesture is used for hitchhiking. However, in most of the Middle East and parts of Africa (notably Nigeria), this symbol can be obscene. It Japan, the thumb is considered the fifth digit; a raised thumb will order five of something!

This is only a sign of what we clearly do not understand in Iraq. Wolfowitz thought he was being greeted warmly when, in fact, little kids were giving him the Iraqi flipoff.

In other words, not content to be absymally wrong the first time on the thumbs up issue (not to mention every other aspect of the war to date), Gilliard is resurrecting the BOGUS “Thumbs up is an insult in Iraq and Americans are too stupid to recognize it” meme that I thought I had helped to put to rest several months ago. I researched the genesis of the meme, followed its travel through the blogosphere, debunked it with numerous links, and then, just to be safe, contacted my sister:

My sister, who works for a prominent firm that deals with international communication, called the Iraq Foundation and spoke with a member about the meaning of the thumbs up. Here is what she learned:

just actually called the Iraq Foundation and spoke to a gentleman (from Iraq) who told me that in Iraq the thumbs up is good–just like in the states, Thumbs down is bad, and the middle finger still means ‘F— You.’ (So it is all the same.) If the pictures are from Iraq, the kids are happy to see us.

Thumbs up is a good thing in Iraq. Gilliard is a partisan moron who wants to use anything he can to attack this administration, theis war, and to popularize any nonsense he can that casts a negative light on the issue. In fact, he uses the bogus meme to advance this argument:

I fear that we have taken on a project we truly do not understand. The thumbs up thing is small, but indicates a sort of cultural and political blindness which may make things far worse in the long term, regardless of guerilla war or elections. I think talk of an extended stay in Iraq is wildly optimistic. We represent no party, no faction, much less a government. We cannot provide basic security for anyone, from contractors to Iraqi citizens.

Hey Steve- Here is a site you might like: GOOGLE.

Brendan Koerner in Slate has some background.

*** Update ***

And I apologize for the tone of this piece, but Gilliard is a one man disinformation campaign whose every word gets lapped up and linked to by every reader at the DKos. I am sick and tired of having to fight these nonsensical claims over and over and over again, so I was irritated when I wrote this.

*** Update #2 ***

I just got off the phone with the Iraq Foundation, reconfirming what I already knew.

Steve Gilliard, Partisan hackPost + Comments (10)