It's already late

but I said I'd give you something to think about

 

so anyway, yesterday I mentioned Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor's free-lancer working in Iraq, who was kidnapped by terrorists.  I have a theory.....

 

Compare and contrast the last two video tapes that have been released, 30 Jan 06 and 09 Feb 06.  (My apologies, I'm dealing with exceptionally bad dial-up tonight, you'll have to AltaVista your own linkage.)

 

On 30 January, she's seen sobbing, barely able to speak.  Frightened.  Scared to death.

 

In the 09 February video, she's composed, almost confident.  Sitting there like she's the host of Good Morning, Infidels.  And wearing the "traditional" head-dress.  There's no fear in her voice or her bearing.

 

After hearing the audio of the 09 February video tape on the radio, I had something nagging at the corner of my mind.  Later, after seeing the video, the very first thought that bobbed to the surface of my mind was: Patty Hearst. 

 

Sure, call me crazy.  You wouldn't be the first, or the last.

 

I'm old enough to vividly remember the Hearst kidnapping and her subsequent conversion to the ways of the SLA (give me a break, can you spell Symbianese off the top our your head?  I know I can't).  I haven't followed the Carroll story close enough to dig into the parallels (or lack thereof) with the Hearst story; just a "gut-feel" about the whole sorid mess.

 

An idealistic "journalist" from the Íàðîäû Republik AnnArbor (Peoples Republic of AnnArbor, aka Moscow on the Huron) free-lances for the left-leaning Christian Science Monitor, gets taken hostage by the terrorist whose only demands are to "release all the women held by the coalition forces ".

 

Am I the only one having a serious WTF? moment here?

 

Like I said, just a theory.

 

Elsewhere, Mark Steyn's piece in The Austrailian (it's already tomorrow there already) on demographics is spot on.

 

I repeat my long-standing offer to Mr.Steyn:  if you ever find yourself in SE Michigan, I'll buy you not one, but two 40 oz. quarts of your favorite beer and all the White Castles you can eat.

 

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