Because They Said So

The Chinese have blamed the commander of the unit that fired on those protesters. Well, good for them I guess, but I have yet to see one outlet wonder if this might not be the government scapegoating this guy because they've been embarrassed, particularly with international delegations arriving in Hong Kong, and this is a neat and tidy way to make the whole thing go away.

Comments

[Media Hound]

Cori, get a load of this travesty from Michael Kunzelman via The Associated Press:

Saudi Prince Donates $40M to Universities

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer

Dec 12, 2005

BOSTON - A Saudi prince believed to be the wealthiest businessman in the Muslim world has donated $40 million for Harvard and Georgetown to expand their Islamic studies programs, the schools announced Monday.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, who gave $20 million to each university, is a nephew of the late King Fahd and worth upward of $20 billion, according to Forbes magazine, which ranked him fifth on its 2005 list of the world's billionaires.

Harvard and Georgetown officials said they will use the gifts to add faculty and scholarships and expand their Islamic studies curricula.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051213/ap_on_re_us/harvard_islamic_studies

Now, is it an 'accident' that Kunzelman and the Associated Press left out this bit of information about Alsaud:

Giuliani rejects $10 million from Saudi prince

October 12, 2001

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Thursday the city would not accept a $10 million donation for disaster relief from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal after the prince suggested U.S. policies in the Middle East contributed to the September 11 attacks.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/10/11/rec.giuliani.prince/

This is either incompetence of the highest order, or an intentional omission of key facts (which becomes implicit collaboration).

[dauber]

Hey, the Times included it. But while I agree it's either incompetence or intentional, I think "collaboration" is a word that's both too strong and suggests things you just can't prove.