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Thursday 22 June 2006

Smacking The Blogosphere, Et Cetera

Is the blogosphere the vanguard for the new media? Not if the mainstream media fogeys have anything to say about it.

Andrew Sullivan reports on the drubbing of blogger Instapundit and (unscrupulous) online reporter Jason Leopold by the fogeys. The Davids vs Goliaths battle seems to be shaping up, but it won't be on the scale of a WWE Smackdown event. It's only a verbal battle, after all.

On a related note, Counterpuncher Alexander Cockburn is unhappy because bloggers in that big lefty-blogger event, the YearlyKos are beating on dead-horses Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, instead of the other equine-carcass, known as the Iraq War. Iraq, says Cockburn, is a much bigger spectre than Rove and Old "Sneering" Dick. And he's taking out his frustrations on the "blathersphere".

Disappointment. Not a burden everyone can carry with dignity.



15-year old student, Ava Lowery shot to fame after creating and publishing an animation critical of the Iraq War. Since then, she's produced lots more, all of which are available on her web site. There's even a blog and an online store.

I keep hearing about how grown-up American teenagers can be, but this is hard to swallow. I'm also questioning the US lefties' motives in putting her in the spotlight. Can she handle the pressure, the scrutiny and the snark, all meant for older and more experienced pundits? For all I know she could be in this spot because her hobby just so happens to coincide with the left agenda. Reading her story, I recall with horror the Gaede twins, who were only 13 years old when they recorded their racist album.

In the US, the law says teens are too young for sex and booze, but not showbiz, politics or xenophobia - apparently.

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