Fox News: Believed to have found Bio-weapons lab

[GrantDawg]

Rick Leventhal reporting that found at a construction site that was turned into a military site. A refrigerated vehicle pulled by a jeep may be a mobile Bio-lab. A fake wall in the area has a sophisticated pulley system that would allow handling Bio-agents. Rick has video of the outside of the video.

The US has expected to find something along this line, but not there.

[AgPete]

I just wish these news organizations would wait until more information is available or tests are completed. I'm starting to feel like I'm reading "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" everytime I see these reports now. I think the media wants to find WMD more than the Bush Administration does.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by AgPete
I just wish these news organizations would wait until more information is available or tests are completed. I'm starting to feel like I'm reading "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" everytime I see these reports now. I think the media wants to find WMD more than the Bush Administration does.

They just want a major story. This one is not going to turn out to be something else, though. This fake wall and system could only be used for something along these lines. Now, there may not be any actual chemicals, but there is no doubt what this was created for.

[Ksyrup]

I agree. I can just hear it now - "Sorry, it turns out that was an ice cream truck."

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
I agree. I can just hear it now - "Sorry, it turns out that was an ice cream truck."

Yes, all Ice cream trucks in Iraq are hidden behind SAM radar units and the Ice Cream is so cold that they need pulleys to pick it up.

Again, this is exactly what the US intellegence expected to find.

[The Afoci]

Still no reports from the Iraqi Information Minister---The Trusted leader in Middle Eastern News and Information!!!

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Yes, all Ice cream trucks in Iraq are hidden behind SAM radar units and the Ice Cream is so cold that they need pulleys to pick it up.

Again, this is exactly what the US intellegence expected to find.

Hey, I'm on your side here, I'm expecting us to find something, it's just that all of these reports are making the US look less credible through no fault of its own.

For instance, what happened to the report about vial-capped weapons that were found? I haven't heard crap about that in the last few days. Was that a completely erroneous report, or is there some legitimate reason for vials to be attached to warheads?

[Fritz]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Yes, all Ice cream trucks in Iraq are hidden behind SAM radar units and the Ice Cream is so cold that they need pulleys to pick it up.

You try to protect the good humor truck in country full of starving kids.

[JeeberD]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
For instance, what happened to the report about vial-capped weapons that were found? I haven't heard crap about that in the last few days. Was that a completely erroneous report, or is there some legitimate reason for vials to be attached to warheads?

They were sent back to the states for testing, right? It's gotta take a few days for them to get here and then get the proper tests run..

[Ksyrup]

But I haven't even heard THAT since the news was first broken. If it was that important, I'd expect the media to be all over it, wouldn't you? At least bringing up, every so often, that tests are being run, etc.

[The Afoci]

Originally posted by JeeberD
They were sent back to the states for testing, right? It's gotta take a few days for them to get here and then get the proper tests run..

Lets hope the didn't send them the same way CM4 was shipped, or else it could be years until we know what they are!

[scooper]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Yes, all Ice cream trucks in Iraq are hidden behind SAM radar units and the Ice Cream is so cold that they need pulleys to pick it up.

Again, this is exactly what the US intellegence expected to find.

Maybe the ice cream man has a peanut allergy and can't come in contact with the product for fear of death?

Geez, talk about a poor career decision.

[Bee]

If the Ice Cream truck has any of those red white and blue popsicles shaped like a rocket I think we may have found the smoking gun.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by Bee
If the Ice Cream truck has any of those red white and blue popsicles shaped like a rocket I think we may have found the smoking gun.

Bomb Pops of Mass Destruction?

[Easy Mac]

hmmm... red white and blue pops... they were given by the fucking french...

[AgPete]

I've heard that Eskimo Pies have an eerie resemblance to some biological agents.

[sachmo71]

I tire of Fox news. When did checking your story become optional? Are they even teaching that in journalism class?

This is what I picture

Marine to Imbedded Reporter: "Hey news guy! We found a building with a lock on the door. You might want to come see what happens!"

Imbedded Reporter: (grabbing cell phone) "OK!!"

They move on to the building....

Imbedded Reporter: "So what do you think it is?"

Marine: "Hmmm, I have no idea. It looks like a school."

Imbedded Reporter: (eyes light up) "Ohhhh! A terrorist school?"

Marine: "Nope. A school where they teach kids to read and stuff."

Imbedded Reporter: "Oh. Ok."

Marine: "Don't feel bad. It might be exciting. Once we found some guns in a school!"

Imbedded Reporter: "Really! That would be great!" Dials editor's phone number.

Marine: "The Colonel said we should look out for chemical weapons."

Imbedded Reporter: (with mouth open) "REALLY? Dial's editor's number quickly. "Hey Mac?? Have I got a scoop for you! Yup! THey found biological weapons in a school! With kids and all!"

Marine: "Hey, that's not what I said!"

Imbedded Reporter: "Shut up, Jarhead! You fight, I talk!"

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by sachmo71
I tire of Fox news. When did checking your story become optional? Are they even teaching that in journalism class?

This is what I picture

Marine to Imbedded Reporter: "Hey news guy! We found a building with a lock on the door. You might want to come see what happens!"

Imbedded Reporter: (grabbing cell phone) "OK!!"

They move on to the building....

Imbedded Reporter: "So what do you think it is?"

Marine: "Hmmm, I have no idea. It looks like a school."

Imbedded Reporter: (eyes light up) "Ohhhh! A terrorist school?"

Marine: "Nope. A school where they teach kids to read and stuff."

Imbedded Reporter: "Oh. Ok."

Marine: "Don't feel bad. It might be exciting. Once we found some guns in a school!"

Imbedded Reporter: "Really! That would be great!" Dials editor's phone number.

Marine: "The Colonel said we should look out for chemical weapons."

Imbedded Reporter: (with mouth open) "REALLY? Dial's editor's number quickly. "Hey Mac?? Have I got a scoop for you! Yup! THey found biological weapons in a school! With kids and all!"

Marine: "Hey, that's not what I said!"

Imbedded Reporter: "Shut up, Jarhead! You fight, I talk!"

Wonderful characterization of someone you do not know. Rick Leventhal has put his butt on the line to bring us the news as it happens, yet you just want to make him as an over-reacting nut. What do you want him to do?

Marine intellegence officer comes to Rick: "We have found a bio-weapons lab"

Rick: "Really? Well I guess I'll wait three days for the labs to come back to say anything."


As for "this is the first I've heard of it" statement about intellegence looking for these, I would say you haven't been paying attention. The US was discribing these things MONTHS ago. This was some of the "false" reports that Powell gave to the UN. Shoot, Fox had a computerized graphic made up and have been showing it for weeks.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by sachmo71
I tire of Fox news. When did checking your story become optional? Are they even teaching that in journalism class?

Two things: first of all, I'm getting tired of the "don't they teach this in journalism school" routine. It's a tough job at the best of times, and I can only imagine what it must be like to be doing it in a war zone. Yes, we all hate Fox News, I get it, but don't dump on the reporters who are literally risking their lives over there. If anything, your beef is with the lineup editors at Fox, not the guys in the field.

Second, and much more importantly, stop ripping off my "I can pitcure it now" routine. It's been trademarked. Don't make me invoke the DMCA on you.

[sachmo71]

If there were less reporters over there, I think we would all be better off. They put their lives on the line for their careers, pure and simple. You want me to respect them for that? Please.

[EagleFan]

ROFLMAO

Thanks, I needed a laugh like that. For a minute there I thought you were serious.

[sachmo71]

Originally posted by EagleFan
ROFLMAO

Thanks, I needed a laugh like that. For a minute there I thought you were serious.

So much for having a differing opinion...

[panerd]

Originally posted by sachmo71
If there were less reporters over there, I think we would all be better off. They put their lives on the line for their careers, pure and simple. You want me to respect them for that? Please.

Agree 100%. The military are heroes who are risking thier lives for freedom. The press are risking their lives to get a job with 60 minutes. I thought you were dead on in your school of mass destruction analogy.

[CamEdwards]

ahem.

As a member of the media, let me tell you that once again gross generalizations are being made while discussing the war.

I have no doubt that some of the reporters there are hoping to advance their careers by being embedded with the troops.

That said, what the hell does Ted Koppel have to gain by being embedded? What about Michael Kelly? Or David Bloom for that matter.

There are some damn fine reporters who volunteered to tell the stories, and I think Rick Levanthal is one of them.

It's funny... I've never read of anybody accusing Edward R. Murrow of trying to advance his career when he reported from London during the Blitz.

I firmly believe that despite whatever bias they might have, the vast majority of those embedded media believe they are there to perform a service to the public. Is it the same as the military? No, and I don't believe anyone ever said it was. But a free press is VITAL to this country. If it weren't, we'd be relying on Baghdad Bob for all our news inside Iraq.

[sachmo71]

Cam, since the face of media has changed so much since WWII and now, isn't it a bit unfair to compare the combat photographers to modern journalists. For the most part, every story the the combat journalists wrote during WWII was heavily censored before it ever reached the press offices back in the US. Today, a guy reporting live from the warzone can pretty much say whatever he wants, with the retribution coming later, if at all. (see Geraldo). Even in Korea and Vietnam the press ran into the same restrictions.

While I have a certain amount of respect for the integrity of a few journalists, this mad rush to scoop one another at times seems pretty irresponsible to me. I would PERSONALLY rather hear a story after it had been filtered down and checked for validity instead of being bombarded with snippets and "it is speculalted" stories.
I don't have time to surf twenty sites a day and find out "what is really going on". When I see stories about what is happening with the war posted here or on some other sites I frequent, I have to wonder why it is that many of the stories everyone is discussing don't appear on the CNN recap of the days news. I think it's because everyone is hearing so many speculative stories that they take them and run with them before the facts come out. When they do find out that the truth is less than spectacular, the story disappears. Now if the media had waited a few hours before releasing the story, then the story would be found to be unnewsworth and I wouldn't be so confused about whether chemical weapons had been found, or weapons grade plutonium, or anything else the media decides to speculate about.

I'm all for freedom of the press. With freedom comes responsiblity. I wish that some of the media outlets would hold certain stories and find out some basic facts before reporting them. The only reason that I can think of for them not doing this is because they want to be the first to report the story. In the end this pratice winds up hurting the public more than it helps their media ranking.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by sachmo71
I'm all for freedom of the press. With freedom comes responsiblity. I wish that some of the media outlets would hold certain stories and find out some basic facts before reporting them.

I certainly can't speak for every story filed by every news source, but for the most part they absolutely are reporting the basic facts. "Here is what happened, here is what it could mean, here is an alternate possibility." What exactly would you like to see the media do with breaking stories?

Part of journalism is reporting on breaking news where details may be sketchy. This happens at the best of times, let alone in the fog of war. The responsibility in these cases is to make sure you're very clear about what is known and what isn't, avoiding hyperbole. The responsibility is not to hold off, sit back and wait until you're 100% sure of every detail.

[Bee]

I agree with Cam that some are there to advance their careers and some are there to provide a public service. I disagree with his breakdown though. I think the majority are there to advance their careers, with a few their to actually provide a public service. JMO though.

When did we stop respecting people that may be interested in advancing their careers? Is this not a legitimate form of doing the right thing in regards to their profession? Are these reporters doing something wrong by taking this type of assignment once it was made an option for them?

[CamEdwards]

the implication is that those there to advance their careers are more apt to sensationalize the news, or report a story before all the facts are in.

Of course, journalists out to advance their careers risk ending their careers if they get the story wrong....

[Bee]

I don't have anything against the guys over there to advance their careers, but I don't think we should give them credit for doing something altruistic when their motives are self-serving.

[CamEdwards]

if that's the case, Bee, then I guess we had all better shut up about the free Iraqis.

After all, this isn't a war of liberation... it's a war to disarm Saddam Hussein and make the U.S. a safer country.

I don't think altruism has anything to do with it. I think we need to respect the reporters for putting themselves in harms way in order to tell us the story, regardless of what their motivation might be.

[Bee]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
if that's the case, Bee, then I guess we had all better shut up about the free Iraqis.

After all, this isn't a war of liberation... it's a war to disarm Saddam Hussein and make the U.S. a safer country.

I don't think altruism has anything to do with it. I think we need to respect the reporters for putting themselves in harms way in order to tell us the story, regardless of what their motivation might be.

Please don't confuse me with those who don't respect them.

My only real disagreement with what you had said was this statement:

I firmly believe that despite whatever bias they might have, the vast majority of those embedded media believe they are there to perform a service to the public.

My feeling is that the majority of them are not their because of a belief they are serving the public, but a belief being there will advance their careers. They should get credit for putting their life on the line to get the story out, but I think we should understand that the majority of them are not doing that for unselfish reasons.

[AgPete]

Agree with Bee. Hey, Geraldo was one of those "brave public service seeking" reporters on the frontlines. I think that's all we need to know.