Spanky's Place

1 - It was definitely covered here in Portland Oregon, but that's probably because Seattle is just 200 miles up the road...

2 - I saw coverage on the day it happened, but it was brief. There has been little, if any, follow-up.

3 - Thanks for posting this. Never heard the story here.

I suspect most of the media looked at it as an isolated looney tunes, and thus, let it go. Not to get into politics, but the Jerusalem Post writer who suggests that everyone of a certain religion should be scrutinized sounds like that guy who lead Germany in the 40s.

4 - It was covered up in Boston, home of heathens and liberals (you decide which is worse...:P). There has not been anything about it lately. The papers here are all agog over the Connecticut Senate primary and our own governor's race, so I've only been skimming - I guess I could have missed something. But I doubt it.

This story, absent the Muslim angle, would normally get 1-3 days worth of coverage and then disappear. It's not like a cute white woman got lost or kidnapped or killed somewhere - now THAT's weeks worth of quality news reporting...

5 - It got pretty lengthy coverage down here in South Florida through that weekend. But then, in general, stories of Jewish interest get decent coverage because of the heavy Jewish population here.

6 -

The JPost article was the first time I'd heard the story here, and I'm a bit of a news "junkie". What I find interesting is that the story was covered in south Florida and Boston, but not here.

@Ed -I agree with you, to a point. The writer most definitely has a few chips on his shoulder vis a vis Muslims. Which is, I think, why they categorized the piece under "opinions". I have to admit, some of the story did bother me a little. He presents his theory of "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" as though it were fact. (Go ahead, Google it -every hit is either penned by Daniel Pipes or references something he has written).

I think "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" is just about as likely to occur as "Sudden Redneck Syndrome" -wherein otherwise normal folks start driving rusty 4x4 pickup trucks, listening to the Georgia Satellites and Billy Ray Cyrus, drinking sweet tea, and saying "Y'all" a lot.

Or "Sudden Bling Syndrome", wherein people develop an affinity for Mos Def music, dress like Mr. T, and put spinners on everything they own.

Or how about "Sudden Rice Syndrome", where otherwise normal acting adolescents and young adults start preaching 2 Fast 2 Furious as the New Testament, apply "VTech" stickers to everything they own, and forget to pull up their pants.

(Better stop myself, I'm starting to rant).

However, any predispositions on the part of the writer don't change the fact that Naveed Afzal Haq forced his way into a peaceful establishment and shot 6 unarmed women because he wanted to kill some Jews. Does this make me angry at all Muslims? Absolutely not. But I think it would be foolish for my Jewish friends to not be wary; particularly in light of today's events.

-Devin

7 - Many of the national Jewish organizations have been taking concrete steps to beef up security since even before 9/11 and then redoubling after that. I know the parent organization of our synagogue has begun giving "personal and communal safety in a post-9/11 world" seminars - ok, so right now it's only in the NY area, but eventually these will be offered nationwide for all member synagogues. I am involved in the leadership of my synagogue and I know we have been trying to address these issues ourselves. But the ultimate problem is how in the world do you secure yourself against someone who is willing to kill themselves while killing you?

8 - Hey Devin,

Just FYI, the story is back on Google News' US section (3rd entry):

INDYchannel.com
Security runs smoothly at Stewart
Poughkeepsie Journal - 1 hour ago
By David Paulsen. NEW WINDSOR – Increased security measures were up and running smoothly today at Stewart International Airport as airline passengers stowed liquids and gels in their checked luggage, finished ...
AIR TERROR PLOT FOILED IN LONDON WIBW
Indy passengers feel impact of new restrictions WTHR
kgw.com (subscription) - KWTX - Tulsa World (subscription) - Fort Wayne News Sentinel - all 161 related »


News 14 Carolina
4 Iraqis Arrested In Abduction Of Reporter Jill Carroll
KETV.com - Aug 9, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The US military said four men have been arrested in Iraq in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Marines captured the four in Anbar province in western Iraq. ...
4 Iraqis Arrested in Carroll Kidnapping Forbes
Marines Arrest 4 In Carroll Kidnapping Troops Tracked Down ... CBS News
All Headline News - JURIST - Detroit Free Press - TIME - all 485 related »


Seattle Times
Lawyer says Seattle shooting suspect wants to plead guilty
WLNS - 1 hour ago
SEATTLE The suspect accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the offices of a Seattle Jewish group apparently wants to plead guilty. That's what his lawyer is telling the judge today, during the arraignment for Naveed Afzal Haq. ...
Media Ignores the Obvious Yahoo! News
Guilty pleas discussed in Jewish charity shooting Seattle Post Intelligencer
FOX News - Community Press - New York Sun - ABC News - all 186 related »

9 - VERY odd -- it received more than "blip" coverage here in Canada.

10 - So is the US media pro-Islamofascist or anti-Semitic?

11 - I'm not about to open up my thoughts on whether the US media is pro or anti anything. I just hate it when they (the media) ignore NEWS in favor of the latest "cute puppy" story.

There is so much drivel being passed off as news lately that legitimate news is lost. The signal to noise ratio is terrible. The left screams that it's an evil Bush conspiracy; the right screams about the "liberal media"; all the while our collective IQ is being eroded away by the mind-numbing sewage being fed to us as "infotainment".

I've screamed myself hoarse at the idiocy that is the modern press (how's that for intelligence -I actually yell at the TV and newspaper); to no avail.

Bah!

12 - What's worse is that the intentional infotainment, the self-described fake news of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, seem to be consistently hitting more important stories and in greater depth than the national networks down there. Sure, they poke fun at a lot of stuff, but there's some substance to it as well. While our mainstream coverage is trying desperately to become as superficial and vacant as yours, programs with depth keep popping up out of nowhere, and some are even hip (viz CBC'c "The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulis"). Even our tabloid newspapers have recently descended into depth. Something in the water, I guess.

13 - My favorite Daily Show segments are the video clips showing what the politicians said then vs. what they say now. Given that these often involve drastic shifts in position, you'd think that the "real journalists" would want to ask about the reasons for these changes.

Anyone who is paying attention knows this is usually due to partisan posturing (and it happens on both sides). I'd say it's a journalist's job to point it out. When it's ignored, those who pay less attention to the news get fooled.