CableSpews And Their Discontinentia...

Peter Arnett and Geraldo Rivera have been cast out.

Woe is us.

Arnett, veteran of many a network and a few suspicious stories sank himself by foolishly appearing in an interview conducted by Iraqi state television, such as it is. Though US forces have been trying like hell to knock it off the air since it became clear it would not be the medium by which Saddam Hussein would declare surrender on Day Two, Iraqi TV has managaed to broadcast on a semi-regular basis during even the most furious bombing campaigns. Perhaps Arnett wasn't acclimatized to the constant subsonic booming and blinding flashes given off by the bombs, and so had not slept since the start of the war when Iraqi officials asked to speak with him on camera. Who knows? He went ahead and did so, and it was a stupid step for a man whose career was declared dead five years ago when he was fired by CNN, and so NBC/MSNBC CableSpews officials fired him yet again.

Fine.

But enough already. The continuing allegations remain that Arnett in his statements gave aid and comfort to the enemy. Arnett merely repeated statements that have been reported and spoken in newspapers and TV all across the US and the globe, by US officials current and former, by our friends and our enemies. He basically said that the initial war plan failed - it did - and that it was being modified - it was. This information was available all over mainstream media, including FoxSpews, which has made major hay of this story in a cynical bid for extending their ratings lead over MSNBC. Fox, excresence of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, has alleged that Arnett's comments will lead to further US casualties, a statement that even I find objectionable - the Iraqi's get satellite TV, read major papers, and the top brass still have access to the web.

Meanwhile, FoxSpews leading star "reporter," Geraldo Rivera, late of stupid afternoon "talk" shows and chair throwing incidents, issued a report from inside Iraq that included diagrams being drawn in the sand showing the forecast movement of the troops with wholm he was travelling, as well as the major and alternate supply lines. US CENTCOM told Fox Spews they considered this a breach of both the enbedding agreement (Rivera was not expressly part of that program, but had been travelling with a specific unit) and operational security. The latter, if officials chose, could lead to federal charges. Roger Ailes appealed the decision with all of his administration buddies, and things got quiet. Rivera stupidly took to the air and claimed he'd done nothing wrong, and that NBC was out to get him. How *that* is possible in this situation is beyond me, and indicative of his loose mental state.

After more than 24 hours, FoxSpews finally stated that Rivera was leaving Iraq, but the channel itself has done almost no reporting on its own reporter's incredible irresonsibility. No, they've been flacking the Arnett story and the implication that Arnett is getting people killed. Right wing media commentators have also been haranguing about Arnett and all the US servicemen and women who will die because of his retatement of widely reported issues in the press, while they give Geraldo a complete pass.