Sadly, No!

Via Trying to Grok, we learn that everybody’s favorite lovers of all things French, Merde in France, are quoting as true this news item:

Paris airports authority remove all mention of collapsed 2E

Aeroports de Paris (ADP), the state authority in charge of Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport have removed all mention of the tragedy-struck Terminal 2E from their website within a day of the disaster. see www.adp.fr The authority’s website has no news of the disaster but what is extraordinary is their revision of maps of the airport to make it look as if there never was a 2E.

At left the upper of the two maps is the ADP map which for Terminal 2 shows halls A, B, C, D, and F. But no E! It is still shown clearly in the bottom righthand corner of the lower map which is from the World Airports Guide.

The Soviets redid the photographs of officials on the reviewers stand of past May Day parades whenever Stalin had one of his former close colleagues shot. But they were never as quick as this to rewrite history. [Emphasis added.]

Trying to Grok (TTG) then throws in for good measure:

Wow. Paris airports authority remove all mention of collapsed 2E.
I guess they threw it down the Memory Hole. Scary.

Wow indeed. If only it were true, it would make for a great story. This time however? Sadly, No! We would have expected better from the owner of TTG who makes regular references to her time spent in France (and knowledge of French.) As she was either too busy or lazy to look into this urban legend in the making, we figure we should take a look. Is there no mention of the accident on the web? Sadly, No! Has the map been redone as a result of the accident? Only if you look long and hard — and then only on one map. What a strange “rewriting” of history by those crazy French!

You can see press releases here, here and there. The last link is especially interesting since it offers before and after maps. You can also stop be here, and find information to download.

For even more entertainment, you could click on “terminal map” and end up at this page. Is it just us, or does it show Terminal 2E. Mais oui, it does! You can also see 2E on this parking map.

The map posted on the web site that shows no Terminal 2E is linked to from this page. Remembering that 2E is new, and that it is on every other map on the web site, it seems more just as likely that this is the result of incompetence (an old map not updated) than “Soviet-style” rewriting of history. The charges as outlined above (and now repeated) are, in any case, patently untrue. (For more attempts to hide this story, see also this memorial ceremony planned.)

So the White House is demurely staying out of the fight between John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge over the terror-threat extravaganza scarily telling us nothing has changed on the terror front … but to be on alert for previously-apprehended parties now on the loose.

Some allies of the Department of Homeland Security within the Bush administration and members of Congress criticized Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday for issuing terrorist threat warnings at a news conference on Wednesday […] Some administration officials also complained yesterday that Justice Department or FBI officials in private conversations with reporters may have suggested that the latest evidence of a terrorist attack is new, when it is about six weeks old, officials said. […]

Administration officials have been discussing for weeks whether to raise the threat alert level from yellow, or elevated risk, to orange, or high risk, but they have decided not to take the step at this point, informed sources said. (05/28/04 WP/Mintz, Schmidt)

Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse reiterated Thursday that his agency has not seen any change in the “steady stream of threat reporting.” “We do not have any new intelligence or specific information about al-Qaida planning an attack,” he said. (05/28/04 AP/Anderson)

But even before Crisco’s press conference (transcript), the White House promoted the announcement and underscored the “new” threat in tidy timeframe. From the White House Press Briefing, May 26, 2004:

MR. McCLELLAN: We have received credible intelligence reporting over the last couple of months indicating terrorists may attempt to attack us here at home, or our interests abroad over the next few months, during this summer or fall time period. […] And the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, and FBI Director Robert Mueller will be holding a news conference today at 2:00 p.m. at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to discuss the threat situation […]

MR. McCLELLAN: What we’re saying is there’s intelligence indicating that they would like to carry out their attacks over the summer or fall time period, and that you have to keep in mind that there are a number of high-profile events, they’re symbolic events, there are large gatherings of people at those events. (WH May 26, 2004)

The briefing and Crisco’s press conference loosely set the election as a natural cutoff for this non-alert alert, suggesting that the terror they’re dealing with is that felt by viewers of Bush’s speech Monday over the prospect of a certain blithering idiot being reinstalled for four more years of mayhem. The Department of Hooey’s tap dance (see the longer excerpt in the extension to this post) indicates closer coordination with Ashcroft to do an end run around Ridge, making today’s stance utterly ridiculous.

Oh, and be on the lookout for a raving Tennessean who’s tearing through everything this administration stands for.
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Well, it’s Friday… and I just wanna Flash, Flash, Flash.

We kick off the first Flash Friday here at Sadly, No! with this Cha-cha-cha-labi inspired oeuvre. (4MB file.)

Our thanks to Blair and Scott for their comments, and Scott for technical assistance. Thief of Baghdad picture from uggabugga used with permission. King Ahmad picture courtesy of Billmon. Everything else used without permission.

Hopefully this can keep you folks entertained for a few days, as we are out of here until Tuesday — enjoy the weekend. (We need your help for next week’s Flash Friday — see the extended entry for details.)
Read the rest of this entry »

From the department of uh?, we offer this American Spectator quote:

Chalabi’s stock goes up like a scud on the Iraqi market.

Explanations welcome in the comments.

For those keeping score at home, there are three hours and 20 minutes to go until Sadly, No!’s brand new Flash animation… We promise it’s going to be Chalabi-rrific.

Samizdata, October 2003:

At present the combat death rate is running an almost insignificant amount over the accident rate. […] It will be interesting to see if the end comes with a bang or a whimper. One could imagine a last desperate and suicidal offensive by the remaining Saddamites. Alternatively, if Saddam is calling the shots and is taken out of the picture the remnants might just quit and go elsewhere. The most likely scenario – in my opinion – is an exponential tail-off in as the remnant forces are killed or captured…

Knowing how things turned out subsequently, one would think war supporters might choose to be a bit more careful. Admittedly, they have. Except for our man up north Adam Yoshida that is:

The hysteria in some quarters over the present state of affairs in Iraq actually bears very little relation to facts on the ground. For example, talk of ?escalating violence? is patent nonsense. In truth, the violence in Iraq is in control, reconstruction is proceeding, and an orderly transition to democratic government is taking place. It is only a media-imposed blindness that prevents most of us from seeing this elementary fact.

During April, when US forces had to contend with both an uprising the ?Mahdi Army? of rogue mullah Moqtada al-Sadr and an upsurge of violence by residual Ba?athist forces and al-Qaeda terrorists in the so-called ?Sunni Triangle?, one hundred and thirty-nine American soldiers were killed. A high number, to be sure, but hardly one so high as to be considered astounding or, in military terms, unacceptable.

Adam then goes on comparing casualties in Iraq to those suffered during the Tet offensive, reminding us again that Iraq is, or isn’t it’s hard to tell anymore, Vietnam. Adam continues:

Does anyone else see a pattern here? Certainly, any pattern which does exist is not one of “escalating violence” despite the use of that phrase by the Associated Press on May 15th and the Washington Post on May 16th.

In Adam’s World? of course casualties only count if they are American soldiers. Yet even measuring progress by that arbitrary yardstick, May 2004 is the 4th most violent month (of 15) since the war began.

Pete from The Dark Window (Some windows should never be opened) gives us an update on “our” application to join that most holy of dating sites:

If you happened to read this blog yesterday, you know that the nefarious Dr. Seb No has been publicly questioning my manhood over at his “website.” In response to his practically unprovoked attacks, I submitted both of our names and information for acceptance to a conservative Christian dating site.

Read the rest here…

Added: Maybe we should ask for Jesus’ General’s help.

The WND’s Joseph Farrah follows in the Rabbi’s footsteps:

But if there is one characteristic of Kerry’s life that should disqualify him absolutely as a candidate for president, it is the fact that he has sought out millionaire wives to take care of him. Not to put too fine a point on it, he’s a serial gigolo. [Emphasis added]

“Cotton Eye” Joseph has more however:

Kerry has never had these simple life experiences. You may think he’s learned a lot by serving in Congress, serving as lieutenant governor of his state. But he’s never gotten his hands dirty. He’s always had a net underneath him throughout his political career ? in his case, a net woven of homespun 24K gold. [Emphasis added]

How low can a man sink? Tr?s low:

Teresa Heinz Kerry is not sure about her husband’s character. Are you?

Added: The likely origins of the gigolo line. Guess who?

No More Mister Nice Blog’s Steve opens up a stockpile of whoop ass on the latest conservative fantasy:

Actually, neither President Bush nor his aides ever said anything about “stockpiles” in describing the Iraqi weapons threat. The Times just made that part up.

–John Hinderaker of the Claremont Institute, at Power Line Blog (“The blog is excellent–I’ll make it regular reading!” –Rich Lowry, editor of National Review)

You don’t want to miss the rest.

Slam Brannan of Edge of Alleigh sends us a link to this picture of a LA Times headline that reads… well, why don’t you just go over there and see for yourselves?

(The LA Times article.)