The media's fault?

John Simpson We live in a world where the means of communication are so sophisticated and swift that they can stir up violent emotions almost instantly in some of the least advanced countries in the world. As a result policies are destroyed, buildings are torched, and people killed even before the initial report can be verified.

Iran TV slams foreign 'propaganda'

BBC: An Iranian television channel has accused foreign media organisations of interfering in the country's forthcoming presidential election, just three days after the official start of the campaign. In a special programme shown on Saturday, the 24-hour news channel Iranian News Network TV said foreign broadcasters, including Persian-language radio stations based abroad, were attempting to affect the outcome of the poll, scheduled for 17 June, by urging a low turnout.

Next Month in Teheran?

IS IRAN NEXT?WHO APPOINTED CPB's TOMLINSONPALAST GIVES NEWSWEEK A PRIZE A while back, the former UN weapons-inspector-turned-anti-war activist Scott Ritter predicted that war with Iran is coming this June. Then the subject was dropped, with the barest of follow-up until I came across this story with no independent way to evaluate it other than to say that sometimes stories like this are part of a psychological warfare strategy to rattle adversaries, get them paranoid, force them to make mistakes or create incidents, etc. The subject is too important to ignore, although personally I have doubts about it, given recent U.S. setbacks in Iraq and all the tumult and divisions in Israel. I hope the report is wrong, but here it is:

Newsweek admits it got Qur'an story wrong

Guardian: After week of riots, Newsweek admits it got Qur'an story wrong Newsweek magazine yesterday admitted it had got its facts wrong on a story alleging that American military interrogators had desecrated copies of the Qur'an, after a week of protests about the article left at least 17 people dead and more than 100 injured. The report last week, alleging that interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had flushed a copy of the Qur'an down a toilet, sparked protests across the Islamic world.