Last's "Price They Pay"
A couple of weeks ago a friend sent me an email with the text purportaly from a column by Jonathan V. Last. (You can find the full text of what I was mailed here.)
It's the usual whining by an elistist who doesn't understand why the rest of humanity doesn't bow to his superiority. I wonder about one point in particular:
"The most frightening examples of this distaste for America came from two separate newscasts on two separate channels (BBC and Sky) on two separate days. Two reporters filing stories on terrorist attacks in Iraq ended their segments by noting that the bombing and murder of Iraq citizens was "a reminder of the price Iraqis pay for associating with America."
Pretty shocking, that. Both reporters used the exact same phrase, and the tone of the rest of the Iraq coverage echoed the sentiment. It is the British understanding that the ongoing terrorist campaign against Iraqi civilians is really their own fault. They're asking for it, you see. If they didn't want trouble, then why did they wear that red dress to the bar?"
Now, that should be easy to find. Right? After all you can search The Weekly Standard where Last writes his columns. And, the BBC lets you search quite a bit of its work. But, other than the blog I mentioned, I couldn't find Last's column anywhere. I wrote to Last asking if the column was his but I haven't received a response after two weeks. I'm guessing he'll never respond.
So, dear readers, if you can point me to the original publication of Last's column I would appreciate it. Also, if you're a subscriber to the BBC and remember any reporting making that statement...please let me know when and where.
This is a sand grit in my craw. I want to discover if all this is true.
