Monday, February 02, 2004

Arabic newspapers did not publish yesterday due to the Muslim AlAdha Holy Day. So the pro-Saudi newspaper, Al-Hayat, did not run any headline about the death of more than 251 Muslim pilgrims. Instead, the headline says: "Pushing and shoving at the Jamrat Bridge (the site of the stampede the other day) did NOT cause deaths." What a great way of putting a spin on a news item. This is like, reporting about a plane crash, the newspaper the next day carries this headline: A plane lands safely today. And the Minister of Pilgrimage basically insulted the victims by calling them "illegals" and "infiltrators." Such are the affairs in the Kindgom of Horrors.