by Avalon » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:13 pm
<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Read the article more carefully, and ask yourself what standards of evidence we see here.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Where does this information come from?</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>We read it in the link to the "The Plank," the blog at The New Republic's site. They say it is from "CNN's Nic Robertson" (he's CNN's senior international correspondent), present it as a direct quote of Robertson by setting it off typographically. But they don't say where that is from.<br><br>CNN.com does not bring up any of this on their website, and a look at this on Google news and the general web show that only the Plank and ThinkProgress.org (and now RigInt) are running it. A Google of <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>"nic robertson" drilled bolted</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> brings no relevant articles. It doesn't come up in any transcripts of Robertson on CNN, and frankly would show a real lapse of judgement to be presenting this on a general news feed that kids could see.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Who is the primary source of information?</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>The New Republic heard it from Nic who heard it from an unnamed "international official" who heard it from unnamed staffers who very likely heard it from someone else.<br><br>That is <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>at best</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> fifth hand information.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Fifth hand information.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> No names, dates, places, photographs or any other verifiable facts about the alleged original incident. No names of the people in the chain who are bringing this story forward, so that their credibility can be examined.<br><br>Then there's this astute observation:<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>I’m AMAZED no one picked up the reference to ‘Mars Attacks!’, in which Sarah Jessica Parker has a DOG’S HEAD SEWN TO HER DECAPITATED BODY.<br><br>Now, I ask you, is that the kind of movie reference you would expect Shiite terrorists to make?<br><br>It’s quite a bit more likely that this is one of them new Skinhead Nazi U.S. Military new-hires, with a sense of humor honed in the backwoods and gullies of Alabama. --Paul in LA </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/10/the-horrors-of-iraq/">thinkprogress.org/2006/07...s-of-iraq/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>To confirm this, see mention of Industrial Light and Magic's work on the scene: "Lake's head was also removed from her body and was replaced with the head of her chihuahua. The melding of Lake's head on a CG dog was fantastic." <br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.vfxhq.com/1996/mars-ilm.html">www.vfxhq.com/1996/mars-ilm.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Given the lack of sourcing, lack of evidence, and a cultural reference that would be far more likely to appeal to an American monster than an Iraqi monster, until I hear otherwise I am inclined to think that this is bunkum. What's going on that we need a shiny object dangled in front of us to distract us?<br><br>Feel free to circulate my postings on this. I think this is going to go out of control really fast unless it gets countered, and that it is in someone's interest to spread this vile and disgusting assertion.<br><br>Avalon<br><br>The original claim:<br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>One international official told me of reports among his staff that a 15-year-old girl had been beheaded and a dog's head sewn on her body in its place; and of a young child who had had his hands drilled and bolted together before being killed.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=24150">www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=24150</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
