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| Yahoo Executives Spit on Returning POW |
| 2003-11-12 |
| From Yahoo Australia and NX EFL Jessica Lynch Book Fails to Excite on First Day a little 19 year old girl survives a horrific ordeal at the hands of terrorists and Yahoo finds it in their hearts to write this headline? Despite a media blitz, the biography of America’s best-known soldier from the Iraq war, Jessica Lynch, appeared unlikely on Tuesday to translate into big cash as the first day of sales fell short of expectations. Whose expectations? Compared to what? After days of magazine covers, TV movies, tabloid tales and television interviews, first-day sales of her authorized biography, "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," fell well short of other high-profile books like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s memoir, which had buyers lining up around the block. Are we are going to compare this widely discredited, already told, over-hyped, over-promoted story of a self-proclaimed non-hero — who admits that her only heroic feat was to survive — to similar celebrities, like Elizabeth Smart, or JonBenet Ramsey? Noooo...the measure will be Hillary Clinton, whose PR machine would have no doubt mobilized the party faithful to come forward and then prepositioned TV cameras to record the "excitement". Not a copy had been sold by midday on Tuesday, Veterans Day, at a Barnes & Noble store on Chicago’s North Side, said an employee who declined to be identified. The store would not disclose how many of the books sold The sample population...one store in the entire US. On online bookseller Amazon.com, the book ranked 21st in sales, well short of top-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" and the latest get-slim-quick fad, "The South Beach Diet." Ok...so how many copies of these books did this same B&N Store sell in their first four hours after their release? Public relations expert Lou Colasuonno, who handles celebrity crisis management, gave Lynch high marks for trying to dispel myths about her capture and rescue. Now there’s a public relations expert that I want to hire. Debunk the myth that success of the book is based on and expect sales to skyrocket. "She stood up and said she thought she had been used, that her story had been manipulated," Colasuonno said, referring to charges the Pentagon used the story of her rescue to bolster patriotic feelings during the war in Iraq. All hit pieces predictably repeat the obligatory lie (discredited by the WP reporter who broke the story) that it was the Pentagon responsible for spreading the Rambo hype. They just can’t stand the fact that the Jessica Lynch story provided a likeable war hero...even if her only heroic feat was to survive. They will do all they can to destroy it. If that means writing hit pieces against a 19 year old war POW, so be it. That Yahoo would highlight this shameful piece of |
| Posted by:B |
| #11 The media are the enemy, their real interests are served by terrorism at home and totalitarian rule overseas. For the truth about the Hollywood/Madison Avenue Cultural Axis and how it profits from inciting terror and crime, see Thomas M. Franks' The Conquest of Cool. Like the advertising industry they serve, the denizens of the media culture are a mass of pathologically greedy prostitutes, having nothing in common with the noble traditions of the free press, and everything in common with professional con-artists and common criminals. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2003-11-12 10:28:00 PM |
| #10 Granted, she's not the most well-spoken of girls, being only 19, but the yahoos like d. sawyer are putting ALL KINDS of words in this poor girl's mouth. I was bored enough to watch most of the interview, and the quotes are taken dramatically out of context [almost mado-like in their cherry picking and editing]. This poor girl was unfortunate enough to have a platoon leader who couldn't read a map in a storm, and lucky enough to survive her injuries. That's pretty much the whole story (and that maint unit commander needs ass kicking for that fuckup). For the a-holes in the press to be putting her up as refuting the entire 'Iraqi Adventure' and condemning America, Bush, and the Army is bullshit. Likewise, for Bush and the Army to be pushing her as some kind of heroic GI Jane is also bullshit. Hopefully she banked a hefty check and can go back to living quietly, or wildly, or however she chooses, without either party trying to use her anymore. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-12 9:03:56 PM |
| #9 Saw the book at B. Dalton on my lunch hour, and like Yank, I am wondering how on earth they managed to get so many pages out of a nineteen-year old clerk, along for the ride through a war zone, who barely survives--- doesn't seem to have taken an active role in defending the convoy, spent much of the time unconscious, and can't remember much else... and there is a whole book in this? The ghostwriter must be a genius at making bricks without straw. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2003-11-12 5:25:49 PM |
| #8 Lets see, she doesn't remember anything of consequence so the book would be interesting why? She's going around saying she's a survivor not a hero so the book would be intesting why? I'm not knocking her, but the publishing company that rushed this to press was foolish. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-11-12 1:34:09 PM |
| #7 B-A-R, I posted the other day my theory of the video camera. I believe they didn't know if she was alive or dead or where her fellow soldiers were (if still alive). Heck, she even admits they couldn't of know for sure if she was still alive. Also, if there were too many bodies for them to extract out they could at least get the footage and proof of life or death. They could also get footage of anything else they wanted in the hospital. I'd bet one of the Army intel guys probably already briefed her on this, if not, miscue on their part. OTOH - it bothers me that after a successful operation she questions her higher command's intent. If she's still in the Army she needs to shut up. None of her business what their reasons were - you got out baby Jessica - now just be thankful and shut your soup-cooler. As we say, you're a f*cking private, know your role. When she's a full civilian she can run her suck & second-guess them all she wants. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-12 12:01:56 PM |
| #6 It's amazing to me how the media is counterspinning by saying Lynch feels she was used. I only saw one or two excerpts from the interview. What caught my attention was that she said she didn't know why the rescue was recorded and that it was wrong to do so. If she wasn't aware why the operation was recorded, how can she know that it's "wrong"? For some reason, her puzzling reaction to that aspect of the rescue bothers me. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-12 11:11:24 AM |
| #5 If the book does great - good for Lynch. If not, oh well - I'm sure she'll do okay. I won't buy it as I caught the jist of it over the last 3 months. These Yahoo guys (perfect ironic name) are confused into thinking that if the book doesn't sell like hot-cakes it's some sort of indictment against the war or what Lynch went through....morons. I wish her the best and am glad she thanked the spec ops guys involved in her rescue. The topless photograph angle from Hustler is par for the course (sadly) w/today's celebrity obsessed culture. I find Flynt amusing but of no credible authority to say anything coherent about Iraq. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-12 10:40:37 AM |
| #4 It's amazing to me how the media is counterspinning by saying Lynch feels she was used. Yes, she said that. But if you watched the whole interview last night, you'd have heard her say things like she was proud of her fellow soldiers. She never said the war was wrong, and never slammed the U.S.A. Anyways, as of now the book is ranked number 13 on Amazon. |
| Posted by: growler 2003-11-12 10:10:27 AM |
| #3 when did flynt become my favorite anything? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-11-12 9:48:17 AM |
| #2 RC, he also accused Bush of using Lynch and her story too manipulate public opinion on the war. This was right after he announced the photo's and said he wasn't going to publish them. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-11-12 8:55:38 AM |
| #1 Not to mention that the Democrat's favorite pornographer, Flynt, has declared he has nude photos of Lynch. Of course, to "honor this hero", he's not going to publish them. Issue press releases and give interviews about them, yes, but not publish them. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-12 8:38:44 AM |