Kuwait Not Banning DSLR Cameras After All 63
Voulnet writes "The Kuwait Times, the newspaper that started the false rumor of Kuwait banning DSLR cameras, has posted an update saying that after investigation, it turned out they didn't verify their information. They have now issued a retraction. Quoting: 'The newspaper regrets failing to verify the information. The article wrongly stated that a ban on DSLR cameras was implemented by the Ministries of Information, Social Affairs and Finance. This information is false. In a follow up investigation, it was proved that no such ban has been issued. We regret this error and deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused.'"
All Lies (Score:3, Interesting)
And how much of the rest of the Kuwait Times' stories are also total bullshit that they just printed without spending a dime to see if it was true, or even plausible?
How much of the rest of the "news"? What an incredible racket to have a business that peddles lies every day, without consequences.
Journalists often are spies (Score:5, Interesting)
It was interesting that journalists were exempted from the now retracted "ban". Traditionally spooks have used journalism as a cover for their real job. Who else can go snooping around, asking politicians difficult questions? The infamous British spy, Kim Philby ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Philby [wikipedia.org] ) worked for The Economist while stationed in the Middle East. Oh, but he was actually working for the Soviet Union. There must be a "in Soviet Russia, The Economist reporter works for you!" joke in there somewhere.
Other good covers for "legal" spooks are in embassies. With some silly title like "Under Secretary for Cultural Exchange." A retired spook once commented, "If you want to find a spy, look for someone in the embassy who is much too clever for his job." The office for issuing visas is another good place. Before 9/11, a colleague of mine needed to travel on business to the US. Even though there were no restrictions for his nationality, he went to the US embassy, and applied for a visa anyway. He told me that he was surprised how tough the officer grilled him: "You do not need a visa any more, so why are you applying for one?"
I laughed my ass off, and then told him that the "embassy official" probably reported to Langley.
Re:All Lies (Score:3, Interesting)
How much of the rest of the "news"? What an incredible racket to have a business that peddles lies every day, without consequences.
Didn't some newspaper editor once say, "If a dog bites a man, that is not news. If a man bites a dog, that is news. If a man doesn't bite a dog . . . invent a story which says he did."
Re:There's no official ban (Score:1, Interesting)
I guess it was a case of 'vorauseilender Gehorsam"
'speeding ahead obediance' would be a litteral translation, meaning giving in to pressure, before the pressure even occurs.