Update from Yon

Michael Yon has an update to his story of the Hamira Massacre.

As the investigation unfolds more pertinent details, I’ll continue to update the story. But the biggest question rippling across the internet–“Why hasn’t the mainstream media picked this up?” –is something only representatives of mainstream media can answer.

In fairness, several large outlets did publish it online: National Review Online and Fox News were both quick to place the story prominently on their websites. A few others also published excerpts. It was even briefly up on the Drudge Report. On the blog front, Instapundit, Hugh Hewitt, Blackfive, Andrew Sullivan, Captain’s Quarters and many others picked it up.

But for those publications who actually had people embedded in Baqubah when the story first broke and still failed to cover it, their malaise is inexplicable. I do not know why all failed to report the murders and booby-trapped village: apparently no reporters bothered to go out there, even though it’s only about 3.5 miles from this base. Any one of the reporters currently in Baqubah could still go to these coordinates and follow his or her nose and find the gravesites.

Hey, Old Media: You are now on notice, with no excuses. Michael has even offered to let you use his story and photos. So how about giving your phoney stringers a rest, and send your reporters to MC 679 381. Anybody from the U.S. Military in Iraq ought to be able to point that out to them on a map.

Update:

A member of said media contacted the Instapundit:

Yon’s story doesn’t get attention because it is humiliating.

It is humiliating because it is obvious that we media – and our allies in the state department, the legal trade, the NGOs, the Democratic Party, the UN, etc., – can’t do squat about such determined use of force.

Our words, images, arguments and skills can’t stop the killing. Only the rough soldiers and their guns can solve the problem, and we won’t admit that fact because the admission would weaken our influence and our claim to social status.

Read the whole sorry excuse.

Doctor, Doctor

Michael Ledeen notes the alarming number of doctors involved in the recent terror plots. Dr. Sanity says maybe it goes with the territory.

I remember as a first year resident working the 24-hour shifts in the Surgical Emergency Room. There was a 4th year resident who used to supervise all the CPR and resucitative efforts; capably directing all of us as we tried to save lives. When it became clear that a patient was not going to respond to the CPR and was dead, this resident would move quietly away from the action and open a nearby drawer that contained a baseball umpire’s hat; a protective mask and chest guard. He would don this outfit, then calmly wait until CPR was halted and the patient was pronounced dead; At that moment, in the best baseball tradition, he would yell, “He’s outta there!”, gesticulating just like an umpire making a close call. In an instant, the tension in the room would dissipate as we all broke into whoops of unrestrained laughter.

That kind of humor, which I know to be common among doctors, reminds me a lot of the gallows humor found among soldiers and pilots. I think it’s a healthy thing. (So does Dr. Sanity – be sure you read the whole thing.) It’s to be expected in any field where death has a presence.

But, clearly, it’s not just the doctors who volunteer to kill babies that we need to worry about now.

Note: Apologies for the truncated post that was up for a few minutes. Some glitch with WordPress, apparently.

Brown: Just Can’t Lose The War Fast Enough

I didn’t know much about Britain’s new PM. Now I know all I need to know: He’s a Dhimmi Moron Ostrich.

Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in ­connection with the terrorism crisis.

The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on terror” is to be dropped.

Get an iPhone, stay healthy

My coworkers who bought iPhones are reporting that they’re washing their hands frequently, not wishing to soil their pristine devices.

I predict a lower incidence of colds and flu among iPhone owners.

A Good Start

No, that’s not what this is. It’s the punch line to a joke you’ll be reminded of.

The Case for English-Only Ballots

Nothing could be more obvious, it seems to me, than the need for limiting ballots to the official language of the country. Even if English isn’t officially the official language here, it’s the official language. It’s the language you must understand in order to be an informed voter. If you can’t read enough English to understand the ballot, you shouldn’t be voting. Ipso facto.

Meanwhile, Sticky Rice and my favorite candidate, Soup Virtue, are rising in the polls.

Decapigate

Bob Owens writes about why it’s so hard to trust the MSM, al Reuters and Associated (with terrorists) Press in particular.

Throughout the Iraq War, and with seemingly increasing frequency over the past year, these media outlets have become increasingly reliant upon anonymous sources and questionable sources hiding behind pseudonyms to deliver “news” with no apparent basis in fact.

In some of these instances, these wire services have been forced to retract days later, as they have with the false Um al-Abeed beheading story. Sadly, the international and national news outlets that often carry the initial claims as “page one” material fail to do so with the refutations, leaving most media consumers with the impression that the original account was accurate.

Remarkably, these news organizations continue to employ the same reporters and editors that have published multiple erroneous or highly suspect claims, or who have consistently cited discredited or disreputable sources.