Osama Bin Ladin's Letter to America/ Quote Without Comment!

Interesting- I found a link from MSNBC, but there is little other info about this from other American news services. I wonder why?



Link to MSNBC

Maybe our news outlets are worried that they might look like Osama's messengers?

Craven -you may be right. If the letter is genuine (or even it is not from him, but one of his compatriots) it looks like he is expecting the US to go to war, and he is attempting to energize his terrorist cells.

As far as the terrorists going to war, they have one advantage over the Western countries' armed forces. Our guys want to come out of any war alive, while the terrorists think that they are doing a good deed by dying!

And I thought I was too wordy, very scary indeed Phoenix.

Phoenix

I first read it on the Guardian's site, too. Was curious about so little media exposure in the US, there has been some coverage here on Oz.
pretty scary, dogmatic stuff!

msolga- I think that it is all a matter of politics. The liberal press is mostly against a war. I don't think that they want to stir up the people. If citizens become frightened, and align themselves with the President, it will not bode well for the Democratic party.

I don't think it was the war (but that could have played a part if you think the media is that manipulative and biased) but rather the fact that the diatribe mixes as much fact in with their dogma in an effort to justify the attack. Coverage might have both spread their signals as well as come across as being Osama apologists.

The fact that it recieved little play in conservative media as well makes me think that no manipulative intent existed.

Phoenix

Just about everyone here is against the war, too.
I can understand the liberal press might not want to encourage war, but isn't a form of censorship to withhold statements like this? I think people have the right to be informed, to make up their own minds.

Isn't the Guardian a great site for news & comment?

The Guardian also happens to be one of the most left leaning and liberal papers I read.

Craven- You may be right about the media not sending signals to the terrorists. Funny thing, I originally heard of the letter from a rather conservative radio show!

Hi Craven!

When I want facts, PLUS interesting & thought-provoking comment on anything that really interests me, I head straight to the Guardian. The best there is, in my opinion. (Love the Talk, too! Very lively discussions!)

They are in my top 50 newspapers. They are my first choice for football news but I only read that for the World Cup.

I read the Guardian every other day, I don't care for opinion in my news but I like the variety.

The Guardian is great when I want to leave no stone unturned on a particular issue.

( & as I unwrap the daily paper, I automatically I throw the sports section of my local paper in the bin.)

Sorry for the digression, Phoenix...

msolga- FYI, I throw the sports section in the garbage pail too!

I was always the cover to cover reader, but now I have no time for sports.

Phoenix

If I could master the smiley thing, I'd send you one right back! So many words wasted on so little in the sports pages!

Actually (being extraordinarily busy right now), there are often days on end I don't get around to removing the cursed plastic wrapper from the paper. 4 days of this & I MUST have a major fix! Onto the web for Guardian, NYTimes, the Jarkata Post, the Observer & the Australian & the Age for all the things I've missed out on. It's fascinating how the same issues are covered so differently by different cultures, in different papers. But who has the time to do this sort of thing often? Besides, you'd go crazy!

I do, I'm a speed reader and cover at least 20 newspapers online a day. It helps that I also download the news to my palm pilot so I can read it in the loo, on the subway etc.

Msolga- Very easy. Just put the cursor where you want the smiley, then click the one that you want!

Thanks for trying Phoenix, but this is what happens