Ohiocore

A quick survey of today's stories about Iran's resumed of nuclear development is an interesting case. The major facts are essentially understood by all sources, so the resulting variation in news coverage is a great example of observer expectancy result.

• Xinhua: "Iran optimistic about escaping UNSC referral"
• NY Times: "Iran Proposes New Talks With Europeans, Who Are Mostly Dismissive"
  
• The Australian: "Europe softens stance on Iran"
  
• Washington Post: Krauthammer can hardly manage to convert a third of his editorial comment into complete sentences. Proof the sentence fragment isn't dead. Because it isn't. "The Iran Charade, Part II". Actually, the title refers mainly to the EU Three nations' "head in the sand" approach. He opens quoting newly elected German Chancellor Merkel's claim of success on Iran, and proceeds to ridicule it.
• BBC News: Their own roundup up Arab newspapers is titled "West accused nuclear duplicity".
  • Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia):
  • Oman(Oman):
  • Al-Jumhuriyah (Egypt):
  • Al-Dustur (Jordan):
  • Al-Wafd (Egypt):
  • Iran Daily (Iran):
  • Resalat (Iran):

So which is it? Is Europe softening or stiffening? Is the West or Iran duplicitous? I think it is fair to say that all four assertions are true. Ah, complexity.

There are some stories that can give you insight into a national character. You might not expect the official state-controlled media to have any of them, particularly in the case of Russia, but, then again you might not have read RIA Novosti's story about Moscow's Homeless Subway Dog Monument:

A stray dog called Malchik ("Boy") lived underground inside the Mendeleyevskaya Station for about three years. He was of good character, and the Metro employees used to feed him...

One day, a fashion model, Yuliana R., was out with her Staffordshire terrier of impeccable breed. She noticed Malchik and started setting her dog against him. In effect, it was a parody of social conflict.

Malchik managed to defend himself and the pedigree terrier retreated. But the angry owner retrieved a knife from her elegant rucksack, and stabbed the stray dog before the eyes of stunned passers-by. They rushed to take her knife away, but the dog could not be saved.

This wild attack sent shockwaves through Moscow... The fashion model rushed off to Italy, but the incident was not hushed up. She was declared insane in a court hearing and is now in a mental hospital.

The moral of this story is that the little bitchy dog-as-accessory fad is indeed clinically insane. Don't do it.

For the record, the number of times that VOA has even used phrase "social struggle" is exactly once: in the obituary for Johnny Cash. If you didn't already love the man, that is almost enough right there.
But it was the emphasized lines that really got my attention. I don't think you'll ever catch Voice Of America (or Xinhua for that matter) making a similar statement, even though it is essential for understanding a story like this. A monument is being built... to a dog. Why? Why would people identify with a homeless dog? Because it was a good dog. Poor. It learned to ride the subway and survive on its own. And it was violently crushed by an insane parody of class struggle. Just like you.

RIA finishes with a moment of Zen: "There is a saying, if you beat a rabbit long enough, it will learn to strike matches. Unfortunately, Moscow has taught dogs to do the same."