Why They Lie

The latest round of right-wing lies, the "death panels", shouldn't be a surprise. They know that this type of lies work. The "Willie Horton" ads worked. The "Swift Boat" ads worked. They were lies, but they managed to obscure the truth in enough minds to actually win. So this shouldn't come as any surprise, either:

Leaked memo shows energy industry execs sending employees to industry sponsored events to play average citizens outraged about cap-n-trade.

In short, expect the same type of lies, loudly shouted, as we move toward any attempt at energy reform. The screams of "euthanasia" and "socialism" have effectively scuttled any real health reform, and those who oppose energy reform will adopt the same tactics.
Because lying, loudly and repeatedly, works.

Iranian weapons?

The media really pisses me off sometimes. I realize that most of the public doesn't understand the subtlety of the middle east, but after four years the media should have a clue. My latest outrage is based on all the reports of Iran providing arms to insurgents. While this may be happening, there's a major problem with the evidence. Here's a picture of the "Iranian" weapons shown to the press by Major-General William Caldwell on 4/11:

Joe Raedle/Getty

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - APRIL 11: Weapons seized in Iraq are
shown during a news conference April 11, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq.

All the reporters dutifully filed the stories without question. But take a close look at the weapons...anyone have any questions?

Um, let's see...Iranians speak Farsi. I don't expect our media would be able to tell the difference between Farsi and Arabic (although they are very different languages), but the difference between Farsi and English should be obvious. Unless we have been selling arms to the Iranians.

This "evidence" is blatantly obvious propaganda. Will someone, anyone in the media call them on this?

Added: Should have put up source link:

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-04-12T074505Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-293937-1.xml&archived=False

Added again: The military explains:

Several mortar rounds on display at the news conference had markings that read
"2006," suggesting they had been manufactured -- and arrived in Iraq -- after
the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The markings on all the munitions were in English. Maj. Marty Weber, an explosives expert, said countries selling arms on the global market tend to use English lettering.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041102121_pf.html

I'm skeptical, to say the least.