Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The Inquirer Switches Story

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This is odd. In todays dead tree version of the Inquirer, they have a story on the inside front cover with the headline 'Pope's apology fails to quiet a storm of protests; others say, 'enough'

The piece fails to highlight that certain influential Muslims called for the Pope to be executed and is written by Ian Fisher of the NY Times News Service. You can read the piece by clicking here but the link won't take you to the Inquirer, it will take you to the Deseret News.

On the Inquirer's website they have a story that's a bit different with this headline:

Pope's apology fails to quiet a storm of protests

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaeda in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI yesterday that its war against Christianity and the West would go on until Islam took over the world, and Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.

Protests broke out in South Asia and Indonesia, with angry Muslims saying Benedict's statement of regret a day earlier did not go far enough. In southern Iraq, demonstrators carrying black flags burned an effigy of the pope.

Now why would the Inquirer replace a story it had in it's printed page (one that was way softer on Islamic reaction) and use essentially the same headline without the portion indicating some moderates have spoken up?

Because they knew that the bloggers on the right who get the paper delivered would've been all over them for running the whitewash story. They decided to switch the story to one with a harder edge. Read the NY Times written piece and you'll see nothing but moderate or slightly inflamed Muslim leaders. Read the piece the Inqy has on its website and they have this:

"You infidels and despots, we will continue our jihad and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism, when God's rule is established governing all people and nations," said the statement by the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups in Iraq.

That is not what was in the paper dropped in my driveway this morning. Here's a scan. For sizing purposes, I've left it longways.

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