What is that?
It's a duck pond.
Why aren't there any ducks?
I don't know. There's never any ducks.
Then how do you know it's a duck pond?

Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man

Ranks number 22 20 16 8 5 4 at Amazon.

Still waiting on my copy of Noam Chomsky Sleeps Furiously...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Upcoming Events

As I mentioned before, there will be a rally held in Sydney tomorrow (June 30) to demand that Australia's troops be withdrawn from Iraq. Of course, as of yesterday our troops are there at the express request of the Iraqi government, so this demand is unlikely to gain much traction.

Thursday July 1 marks the first birthday of the Mu.Nu Forums, and your lovely hostess Renata is holding a party! All welcome as long as you behave... Unless your name begins in S, or you live in Texas or Michigan. (Registration necessary, otherwise you can't see the good bits.)

Sunday July 4 is Australia's Reserve Forces Day, with a parade through Sydney's streets featuring 90 horsies and a column of armoured vehicles! How cool is that? Also, our American friends will be celebrating their Nation Barbecue and Fireworks day.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Truth Is More Ironic Than Satire

There's a reason that this blog is called Ambient Irony. Take a look at this*

Reporters at three news organizations are resisting subpoenas issued in the trial of a lawyer charged with conspiring to support terrorists.

Prosecutors issued subpoenas to four reporters at Reuters, The New York Times and Newsday, saying they want the reporters to testify that lawyer Lynne Stewart said what they quoted her as saying in their articles.

So the question is, are the quotes accurate, or did the reporters edit them to suit?

Lawyers for the reporters have argued that making the reporters testify would compromise their neutrality by forcing them to side with prosecutors.

So, that means you made the quotes up? Or is it just that being legally required to tell the truth compromises your principles?

In a motion filed Monday, a lawyer for Newsday argued that its subpoenaed reporter, Patricia Hurtado, might have to stop covering the trial if she is required to testify.

Well, yes, I think that would follow.

My suggestion: Look for the little ... markers. They're a dead giveaway.**

* Of course, since it's linked from Instapundit, you probably already have.
** I wouldn't be at all surprised if the quotes were edited. A while back my brother was interviewed by The Australian (Australia's Least Worst Newspaper&trade for an article on PocketPCs. They had him speaking in marketese ("maximise the product synergies" sort of thing), and I asked him if he really said that. He replied "Well... Not exactly." And they didn't even use the ... markers!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:30 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Pixy Misa's Guide To Detecting Journalistic Bias

Step 1. Pick up a newspaper.

Note: This may not work with The Wall Street Journal or similar papers. It's not that they're not biased; it's just that their bias boils down to Money good. More money better. Unless you live in Berkeley, California, you are unlikely to score any points by protesting this.

Step 2. Pick any article from the first four pages.

Anything after page four is what is known in the business as "filler": material that is there just so there aren't embarassing blank areas between the ads.

Also, picking on the OpEd pages is a task reserved for our grade school classes. (Well, and Tim Blair. But that's only because we can't get him to stop.)

Step 3. Pick a paragraph at random.

Check to see if it is an unedited quote with attribution; this sometimes happens. (Look for the little ... markers; these indicate that the quote has been changed so as to reverse its original meaning. Sometimes these markers are left out, this is covered in our Advanced Course.) If so, pick the following paragraph instead.

Under no circumstances follow the story beyond the "jump" - the point where it says, Continued on page Q-37. Paragraphs after the jump are often written by underpaid assistants or "stringers" and rarely exhibit the quality and quantity of bias we are seeking.

Step 4. Publish the paragraph on your blog as an example of the treachery of the MSM (mainstream media).

You may want to disable comments at this point too.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Ah! My Brain!

[A] movie promo for "The Stepford Wives" ... depicted Condoleezza Rice as a topless hottie and Hillary Clinton as a bosomy housewife holding a baking sheet.

"Henry Kissinger was national security adviser 30 years ago, and if he had been used in this way at the time, I don't think it would have been tolerated."

I don't think it would have been tolerated either.

(Words of wisdom from the Washington Post)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Methinks They Doth Protest Too Much

Ice cream vendors had hoped to cash in selling cool scoops to hot demonstrators, but estimates are that only 50 of the 5,000 expected protesters materialized.

(FOXNews)

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