Top 11 Items being Collected by Reporter’s Angels
Numerous organizations have been set up to help support our troops in Iraq, for example: Soldier’s Angels. Unfortunately, no one seems to care about another group that is forced to live under conditions every bit as difficult: the journalists tasked with undermining our mission in Iraq.
Saint Paul at Fraters Libertas points out some of the hardships claimed by Hannah Allam, the Knight-Ridder Baghdad bureau chief. This interview of Ms. Allam by Brooke Gladstone especially brought a tear to my eye:
BROOKE GLADSTONE: You had described this, this remarkable incident at the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention last week. What was that story?
HANNAH ALLAM: There was a salon in Baghdad where I used to go after stressful days to get a manicure or just to relax, and it was run by two really funny Iraqi women. And we've become friends in the past two years. And I was in there three weeks to a month ago, and my cell phone rang, and instinctively I just picked it up and said hello - in English. And there was just this silence that fell over the room. People stared at me, and I realized what I had done. And then my friend, the Iraqi owner of the salon, came over and said - you know, it breaks my heart, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you put yourself in danger. You've put us in danger. Now they know that you're a foreigner - the other customers, and it's not safe for you to come here any more. That was the, the last refuge for me, and now it's gone as well.
Fortunately, Ms. Allam’s heartbreak has had a positive effect. It has lead to the creation of a new charity for the true heroes of Iraq: Reporter’s Angels. Reporter’s Angels collects donated goods that will help make life a bit more tolerable for reporters in Iraq. For those who would like to make a donation, here are the top 11 items that are most needed:
11. Decent non-fat soy lattes
10. Gift certificates for a day of beauty at the Spalon Montage in the Baghdad Green Zone.
9. Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers (so the insurgents will know not to target reporter’s vehicles)
8. The e-mail addresses of anti-war members of the military in Iraq.
7. French flags (in case they have to surrender to insurgents)
6. Anything from Barneys
5. Tapes of the Al Franken Show
4. Karaoke machines
3. Dirt on Mark Yost
2. Bootleg copies of the “Dukes of Hazard” movie hidden inside “Fahrenheit 9/11” DVD cases.
1. Muffins
Saint Paul at Fraters Libertas points out some of the hardships claimed by Hannah Allam, the Knight-Ridder Baghdad bureau chief. This interview of Ms. Allam by Brooke Gladstone especially brought a tear to my eye:
BROOKE GLADSTONE: You had described this, this remarkable incident at the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention last week. What was that story?
HANNAH ALLAM: There was a salon in Baghdad where I used to go after stressful days to get a manicure or just to relax, and it was run by two really funny Iraqi women. And we've become friends in the past two years. And I was in there three weeks to a month ago, and my cell phone rang, and instinctively I just picked it up and said hello - in English. And there was just this silence that fell over the room. People stared at me, and I realized what I had done. And then my friend, the Iraqi owner of the salon, came over and said - you know, it breaks my heart, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you put yourself in danger. You've put us in danger. Now they know that you're a foreigner - the other customers, and it's not safe for you to come here any more. That was the, the last refuge for me, and now it's gone as well.
Fortunately, Ms. Allam’s heartbreak has had a positive effect. It has lead to the creation of a new charity for the true heroes of Iraq: Reporter’s Angels. Reporter’s Angels collects donated goods that will help make life a bit more tolerable for reporters in Iraq. For those who would like to make a donation, here are the top 11 items that are most needed:
11. Decent non-fat soy lattes
10. Gift certificates for a day of beauty at the Spalon Montage in the Baghdad Green Zone.
9. Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers (so the insurgents will know not to target reporter’s vehicles)
8. The e-mail addresses of anti-war members of the military in Iraq.
7. French flags (in case they have to surrender to insurgents)
6. Anything from Barneys
5. Tapes of the Al Franken Show
4. Karaoke machines
3. Dirt on Mark Yost
2. Bootleg copies of the “Dukes of Hazard” movie hidden inside “Fahrenheit 9/11” DVD cases.
1. Muffins
posted by Sisyphus at 7/29/2005 05:25:00 PM
3 Comments:
What? No KAR Thongs?
That goes without saying.
Dear Mr. Sisyphus,
While I admit that your article is humorous, it's also highly misrepresentative of the character of Hannah Allam.
Read this story:
http://www.freep.com/voices/
sunday/eban30e_20050130.htm
The family of Ms. Allam's translator, Ban Sarhan, was gunned down on the streets of Baghdad (including a four year old). When threats were made against Sarhan, Allam took steps to protect her, including bringing Sarhan to the U.S., often at personal cost and risk.
The only undermining currently taking place is being perpetrated by you and those like you who hide behind the anonymity of the internet. I do, however, praise your choice of virtual identity; you are a man accomplishing absolutely nothing.
Regards,
Theseus
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