Updatefilter: Apparently a poppy was the cause of espionage accusations. As reported here on the blue, some US contractors were apparently freaked out by a novel Canadian coin which featured a red poppy. The coin was issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, an organization that makes Canadian cash as well as currencies for other countries. The Mint, which is definitely worth a tour if you're in Ottawa, won an award for the coin. The coin was issued to honour Canadian war dead; the poppy is the symbol of the Royal Canadian Legion.
posted by Zinger on May 7, 2007 - 46 comments

Prisoners of their Bureaus--the Besieged Press of Baghdad What it's like to be a journalist in Iraq now--and especially relevant given the current attacks on the media for not reporting all the good that's happening in Iraq-- ... an ever-widening gulf between official language and the reality of the actual situation in Baghdad. While official language is relentlessly upbeat, the already nightmarish reality has been getting worse with each passing day. ... the insurgent attacks on the US forces and Iraqi government and the sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shiites have become destructive beyond what most journalists have been able to convey ... (NY Review of Books)
posted by amberglow on Mar 25, 2006 - 35 comments

Nail. Head. Hit it. He did. "Despite almost universal condemnation of the attacks, many argue that a misguided US foreign policy in the Middle East is at least partly to blame. The BBC's Tehran Correspondent Jim Muir, who has spent decades covering conflicts in the region explains the forces at work."
posted by Jofus on Sep 20, 2001 - 81 comments

Blame Canada! -- No, Wait, I Mean Clinton! I thought they would at least wait until the weekend.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet on Sep 13, 2001 - 19 comments