i'm trying not to blog today, cuz I've got a bunch of stuff to finish, BUT...

Throughout Davos, by the way, the name "Fox News" is a bogey word, like "neocon." To say "Fox News" is to say "Satan" or something. Everyone understands (and agrees).

AND

A reporter for a major left-leaning American news institution is explaining to a chief of a major Middle Eastern broadcasting network that if you really want to understand the "American mindset," you have to watch Fox News, because boobish Americans watch this all day long, are heavily propagandized, and are therefore ignorant.

Hmm - so I'm an ignorant boob?

AND

This is the bottom line: America under George W. Bush can be seen as embodying no good at all, and every non-American government or society Ñ so long as it's not allied with Washington Ñ can do no wrong. Therefore, a point about China is immediately answered with a point about Guantanamo.

Ok, I've got to shut this down, and stop posting, but this is surreal.

Ok, I know - just go read it for yourself - this as good as the web gets, a professional writer who will deliver some professional copy, but here you get to read his reporter's notebook, his reactions and impressions, and ALL the stuff that will be left out of his officially submitted article. Good stuff.

UPDATE: just... can't... help.... it:

And then [Jacques Chirac] trains his sights on the United States: "Every year, U.S. citizens give over $220 billion to charitable causes. Three percent of this goes to international causes." You don't actually hear the booing in the hall, but you can sense it.

Are these numbers accurate? We give $220 BILLION to charity EVERY YEAR? According to Jacques Chirac, not Fox News? I would say we are a very generous people. (This quote is from Day 2 of Nordlinger's Davos reports.)

UPDATE 2: I GIVE UP. I'm just going to add the quotes, finish the articles, then I'll be done with it. Too much good stuff:

At my table (I am a "facilitator") I discover something that can be discovered anywhere around town: The United States is a stunningly powerful country, even an all-powerful country. It is responsible for nearly everything bad Ñ war, pestilence, famine. It can do anything. Every problem in the world is its fault, and every solution is within its grasp, if only it weren't so malevolent.

AND

When Blair talks about global warming, I must say, he does so in a reasonable manner. He gives you the impression that if you disagree with him, he doesn't hate you Ñ doesn't count you as a foe of humanity. There is a temperance, a reasonableness, about him that is missing in our Democrats, I think.

AND

After his speech, he gives maybe the best answer to any question I have heard at Davos. Klaus Schwab asks him what the "business community" can do to help the world. Blair says, "First of all, the business community can make sure its businesses work well Ñ and make a profit." That receives a smattering of applause. Blair smiles, "That's the first time I've ever been applauded for making that point."

AND

In the john later, a guy Ñ an American, of course Ñ said, "If Blair wanted to waste his political capital by supporting Bush, why didn't he at least demand more from Bush in return?" They never, never understand that Blair has fought the war because he thinks it right Ñ and in Britain's interest Ñ and not in order to extract some deal from the United States.