Monday, March 07, 2005

 

Irrelevant in Anyone's Language

The mainstream media and blogosphere has been closely watching the story of freed Italian hostage in Iraq, Giuliana Sgrena with a raft of differing opinions on the matter.

More quality references at the House of Wheels and The Jawa Report if you are unfamiliar with the story.

I seldom visit non-English Indymedia sites as it's hard enough for me understanding the English ones! Nevertheless, I thought it would be very interesting to fire up the Babelfish and Google Translation plugins to see what Italian Indymedia were saying about it.

Non molto... (Not very much!)

The only thing I could find, amidst the usual Indy material (albeit in Italian except for certain articles spammed worldwide) was this: l 'arroganza amricana whose headline I hopefully don't need to translate for readers. This is the first time I've been pedantic about spelling in a foreign language and yes, even in Italy, many of the Indymedia contributors cannot spell.

The article itself is little more than a link to a rather poignant Cox and Forkum cartoon and the headline.

That's it. Quello รจ tutto, buona notte.

Such a news source!

Comments:
The cartoon is funny and convincing, if you know nothing else than the story outline. Accidental kills are so widespread in this war that it is worthwhile a few li'l ole roundups on its own. Like when an american tank fired at the journalists hang-out Hotel Palestine in Baghdad - on the same day as american planes bombed al-Jazira. Good riddance, you might say. And all's fair in love and war... But if it were the United States that was overrun by chinese tanks and troops, and suddenly important media centres were blasted in your country, it wouldn't be just some communists raising their voices. You are the guy who has somehow managed to wind up your entire life with the protection of honest reporting (with a not-so-light right twist). But when you see journalists either systematically, or unintentionally wiped out - granted they are critttical of the giant friendly war machine that is the United States of America - you support it and claim self defence mixed with confusion (via that telling cartoon - conspiracies? bah!).

This is crappy. Does anyone who doesn't make other fear of a pink planet-blogs ever read your stuff? I doubt it. I'm willing to bet I'm the only exception.

Besides, which is worse, american military intentionally killing radical journalists, or unintentionally? Those quite well trained youngins over there know what they have to do. Reply shall be automatic, that is the order. And that is how families, farmers and businessmen are shot to bits - automatically.

Congratulations to a great site, more and more looking like the nutty indy media you are watching.
 
Steven,

I'm not sure if English is your first language (are you also known as "Steven from Sweden" in an earlier post?). As such, I'm not 100% sure what you are saying.

For what it's worth, I didn't buy into any argument over what actually happened to the Italian journalist in Iraq. All I did was indicate that Rome Indymedia was a practically useless 'news source'. The link to the cartoon was theirs, not mine.

You have an opinion which you are welcome to. Others may disagree. My point, and it remains unchanged by your post, is that Rome Indymedia has made no worthwhile contribution to the whole affair, irrespective of what you believe happened.

Thanks for visiting.
 
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