Bits and pieces at 11:59

Wednesday, 19 March 2003, 17:37

Atrios has several interesting stories today:

The Homeland Security department plans to “detain Iraqi sympathizers.”
German and French offices at the EU have been bugged. Sound familiar?
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting states the obvious about the media coverage of the impending war.

TomPaine.com reminds us that Osama bin Laden wants the U.S. to invade Iraq. And since this would all be incredibly funny if it weren’t serious, check out the remixed propaganda posters.

The prize for the bluntest headline of the day goes to Der Spiegel. The quote isn’t attributed to anybody in particular. Too bad they took out the strategically-important “with” that is in the body of the piece:

To redress the balance of recent weeks, some bias in the opposite direction, (via Breaching the Web): the French embassy’s rose-tinted account of the history of Franco-American relations.

In Slate, the answer to one piece of trivia that has troubled me for years: why American troopers’ shoulder patches show the American flag backwards. The reason is just what I presumed. Bring on the pub quiz.