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Bloggers had a bit of fun with the Associated Press, which yesterday reported that Iraqi militants claimed to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the U.S. released Iraqi prisoners. (AP wasn’t alone; Reuters and CNN also posted stories. Even some bloggers ran with the news.)
AP originally wrote that a Web posting by a militant group showed an American soldier, though “[t]he figure in the photo appeared stiff and expressionless, and the photo’s authenticity could not be confirmed.” Turns out, the photo was of a toy known as “Special Ops Cody.” “It pretty much looks exactly like the same person,” Liam Cusack, marketing coordinator for Dragon Models USA, told CNN.
Couldn’t someone at AP “trot down to Toys ‘R’ Us, or run a search under Dragon action figure Cody,” grouses Vanderleun at American Digest.
Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit asks what’s next: Islamic Hostage Barbie?
While Reynolds wonders “if the media will fall for it again,” others saw a plot. (Surprised?) Steve M., at No More Mister Nice Blog, wonders if this is a U.S.-sponsored disinformation campaign meant to make the terrorists — not the media — look silly. Tim Blair agrees. “We were warned that Bush would turn Iraq into a puppet regime,” writes Blair, “but none of us suspected that he’d use actual puppets.”
Iraq’s Sunnis receive a civics lesson from Steven Taylor at PoliBlog, after they claimed Sunday’s vote is illegitimate because many of them did not vote.
The inexorable logic of elections is that for every person who does not vote, the relative significance of those who do vote is augmented. As a result, any electoral boycott has the dual effect of damaging the boycotters (because you can’t win anything if you don’t participate) and enhances the power of the parties with which the boycotters are feuding.
Closer to home, Kos links to a story out of Wesleyan University, featuring a lecture by Ralph Nader. According to the article:
At the conclusion of his speech, Carl Mayer, Nader’s campaign advisor, addressed the audience and in an auction-like fashion … began asking for donations to their campaign. He started the bidding at $1,000, which went down to $500 and then $250 when no one from the crowd responded. … Following the bidding, a collection box was passed around.
“This is kind of sad, actually,” observes Kos.
–Susan Q. Stranahan
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