Occupying the Moral High Ground

IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Only The Guardian could put it this way:

"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, told Americans yesterday his country had no nuclear weapons programme, but then called his own credibility into question by insisting it had no gay people either."

"But"? "But"?
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I dunno, seems alright to me, I think it's just quite deadpan. Or am I missing something?
 
vimothy

vimothy

yurp
IdleRich said:
I dunno, seems alright to me, I think it's just quite deadpan. Or am I missing something?
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"But"?

Surely claiming that Iran has no nuclear weapons programme lacks credibility. Bringing up Ahmadinejad's ridiculous statement about gays just underlines the Guardian's completely back-to-front moral code. Describing that as "deadpan" is too kind - it's self-parody.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Bringing up Ahmadinejad's ridiculous statement about gays just underlines the Guardian's completely back-to-front moral code."
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I remember reading the article a while back. They report what he says, then report something else he says that is obviously demonstrably untrue and leave the two things sitting there without needing to make any further comment. I just don't see anything to get worked up about there.
 
vimothy

vimothy

yurp
IdleRich said:
I remember reading the article a while back. They report what he says, then report something else he says that is obviously demonstrably untrue and leave the two things sitting there without needing to make any further comment. I just don't see anything to get worked up about there.
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Yes, but Kamm's point is that they're both demonstrably untrue: the first is obviously the key issue, and one that ought to be dealt with in a clear and lucid manner, and the second one is mind-fuckingly obviously untrue, and could easily pass without comment. The Guardian don't spin it like that, however. From that quote, one might think that in while claiming that there are no gays in Iran is a rather silly thing to say, claiming that there is no nuclear weapons programme is quite respectable. It's Guardian / yoghurt-weavers' thing - spot on, IMHO; I can hear the crunch of organic muesli when I read it - as Kamm rightly points out.

(*Mutters* And anyway, I'm not getting worked up, I just fuggin' well thought it was funny)
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I dunno, it sounds kind of sarcastic to me. But then again, maybe it's true about the gays, on account of them all having been killed or fled the country for fear of being killed...
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Yes, but Kamm's point is that they're both demonstrably untrue: the first is obviously the key issue, and one that ought to be dealt with in a clear and lucid manner, and the second one is mind-fuckingly obviously untrue"
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Well exactly, reporting that someone makes "mind-fuckingly obviously untrue" statements clearly undermines their other statements - that was how I read it. To me there was a kind of un(der)stated laughter in the article.

"(*Mutters* And anyway, I'm not getting worked up, I just fuggin' well thought it was funny)"
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Worked up, amused, whatever - I just didn't see that the piece was worth remarking.
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
The first part of the quote is a matter of contention at the moment. While you (and I) might consider it bleeding obvious that Iran has a nuclear weapons programme, stating it as fact in a news story would be editorialising, not journalism.

Kamm is just looking for something to get worked up about here, probably because they didn't lead the story with 'Jew-hating shortarse lies about nukes and gays to gullible students'.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Hahaha, oh dear. As one of the commenters said, it's *almost* enough to make you feel sorry for him.

Also, I'm disappointed I can't see tonynigel's comments - every single one has been deleted by a mod.

edit: pffft...
Hi, I'm Johnny Nash Jnrs uncles drinking buddy and I know Mark Chamberlain and though Mark I know Max.
I don't know too much about him except he had cluster of moles on his arse.
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Well weapon!
 
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C

crackerjack

Well-known member
Madame

Comment No. 940691
February 14 11:50
Well, given that Paul Gogarty is a travel writer for the Guardian, I guess that answers the question about who he's related to ...
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For fuck's sake. Does no one at the sodding paper care how bad this looks?
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
IdleRich said:
Apparently not but some of the readers had quite a violent reaction
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Rusbridger gave his daughter isabella a run out once. She has her own page on CiF, but no stories. Judging by the reaction to Max, the pieces were probably removed to preserve her self-esteem.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Now I want to see Peaches Geldof writing a column about third-world debt relief and international development.
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
Extraordinary that people on there can't see that the first MarkChamberlain comment is a pisstake.

some of the comments are reasonably funny but the majority are just tedious cliches about eating pesto and probably having friends called Rupert.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"some of the comments are reasonably funny but the majority are just tedious cliches about eating pesto and probably having friends called Rupert."
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They get samey very quickly (I can't understand the ones who go on and say the same thing as fifty others have said, just after they've said it) but I think there is something funny about the sheer number of people who have felt moved to vent their spleen here. Of course lots of them are just bullies following the herd but the level of vitriol is really quite amusing.
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
I think it's that there's not a great ratio of vitriol:wit that makes it rather wearing.

Kind of restores my faith in human nature that no one has bothered to post the lyrics to Holiday in Cambodia yet.
 
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