Article Commentary 1

Article

August 26, 2008

Obama assassination plot fears as armed men arrested

Tim Reid in Denver

US police are investigating whether they have foiled an assassination plot against Barack Obama after four people were arrested near the Democratic convention in Denver in the possession of high powered rifles.
One of the suspects told police they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle ... sighted at 750 yards," Denver television station CDS4 is reporting. Police have told the television station that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."
The suspects were arrested on Sunday when local police arrested a man, identified by the television station as Tharin Gartrell, 28, who was driving a rented pickup truck erratically. CDS4 is reprrting that in his truck police found two high powered rifles with telescopic sites, as well as camouflage clothing, walkie-talkies, a bulletproof vest, a high powered spotting scope, licences in the names of various people, and the drug methamphetamine. One of the rifles is listed as stolen from Kansas.
When police accompanied Mr Gartrell to his hotel in Denver a second man, who was wanted on a number of arrest warrants, jumped from a window and was injured in a six-story fall. He broke his ankle and was arrested shortly afterwards. Sources told the television station that he was wearing a ring with a swastika, and was thought to have ties to white supremacist organisations.
A third man, associated with Mr Gartrell, was also arrested and told police that Mr Gartrell and the second man arrested "planned to kill Barack Obama at his acceptance speech."
A woman has also been arrested.
Denver police refused to comment on reports that they might have foiled an assassination plot, but have scheduled a press conference for today.
Mr Obama, who will accept the Democratic presidential nomination in Denver on Thursday, has been under Secret Service protection for over a year after receiving credible death threats.

Article Commentary

The article entitled Obama assassination plot fears as armed men arrested follows the particular format of a newspaper article designed for an audience with relatively little time and which cares relatively little. The format of the article, its short length, the division into many smaller sections and the succession of declarative sentences assist the process of skimming for the reader. The headline is already alarming, serving to capture the reader's attention, and the introductory section at the very beginning then serves to answer the four most important questions who, what, where, and when. In this case, 32 words sufficed to answer the above questions. The "foiled assassination plot against Barak Obama" is the what. The four men, who were arrested answer the question of who and the indication that it took place at the Democratic Convention in Denver answers the where and the when, for the well-informed audience of The Times. As the piece progresses, there is more detail to be found. Essentially, however, only the introduction is really designed to be read. Like many other newspapers, The Times, seeks to save as much space as possible to save space for advertising, but it distances itself from most other publications by its thoughtfulness and consideration of the topics discussed. The Times finds that opinion is no commodity and therefore, opinion is scarce in the account above.

Newapaper Assignment 1

The House of White Lies

The legacy of the Bush administration went up in flames with the discovery of confidential documents, asserting that George W. Bush has been brain-dead for most of his presidency. White House housekeeping staff has found the scandalous documents, asserting the existence of a Disney Bush-automaton to replace the real Bush, in the trash last Friday.

Subsequent privately funded investigations have proven the validity of the documents and disproven the desperate claims of the contrary by the now reeling administration. Not surprisingly, the government has made repeated attempts to obstruct and discredit such efforts. Nevertheless, medical records confirm that the president had curiously entered a stage of brain death shortly after the invasion of Iraq. Considering its vulnerable situation on the world stage, the US government apparently thought it wisest to preserve the facade of the strong hegemonic America as a determined soldier in the war on terror.

Terrified administrators are known to have conceived the idea of ordering a Bush-automaton from the Disney Studios in early April of 2001. It was to be fully operable with rechargeable batteries and an expiration date of four years. A second automaton was purchased from Disney in anticipation of the elections in 2004, as even CIA Director Michael Hayden deemed the plan “completely fool-proof”, which does not necessarily speak for the qualities of the former president and nor, with the benefit of hindsight, for the U.S. intelligence services.

There seems to have existed the strong underlying consent among Republicans, that a literal puppet president, would be a much more lucrative investment for campaign sponsors than a candidate whose policies could potentially threaten U.S. business interests abroad. The American public, through domestic policy, and the world at large, through America’s dominant foreign policy, was thus exposed to the moods of a selected group of influential lobbies for the past eight years. It is now questionable, whether the agreements signed ant the policies enforced by the administration are legally enforceable under federal and international law respectively and it is further doubtful, whether future agreements with the United States will ever be concluded with trust again.

The White House is known to have had to receive statements of outrage and disbelief from around the globe. Iranian president Ahmadinejad is said to even have called the White House, complaining in person about the lack of accountability in the U.S. government. Other heads of state are also known to have remarked most unfavorably about the affair. French president Sarkozy made it clear during recent mediation talks concerning the Georgian affair, that France would oppose any American interference in the conflict, if it remained uncertain, from which authority American officials were receiving their orders.

The incompetence of the White House staff has thus exposed the greatest scandal in the history of the White House. The credibility of the United States government has vanished almost overnight and foreign relations turned dire. The only party to profit from the entire mess is Bush himself. At least, he is now no longer blamed for the less fathomable policies of his administration during recent years.