The Hminneapolis Star-Tribune continues to amaze with jaw-drop "journalism [1]" that goes far beyond the basics of mere political correctness into new levels of confusing readers.
Consider the article "Officer straddles two worlds [2]" [February 6, 2005] and its laudatory beginning:
With a physique and charisma [3] attractive enough to launch him into Asian martial arts movies, St. Paul police patrolman Tou Mo Cha had a following in the city's Hmong community that made him a natural to travel last year with Mayor Randy Kelly's hand-picked delegation to Thailand.
You might think "Hmm, another warm and fuzzy [4] immigrant puff piece [5]. Bo-o-o-r-ring." But that supposition, dear reader, would be wrong, because this is a crime story—the subject is apparently a perp, not a "Hmong role-model." [6]
Tou Mo Cha is accused of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, terrorist threats and criminal property damage, in connection with some intramural Hmong violence [7] centered around Vang Pao [8], a CIA-affiliated [9] general from the Vietnam war. [10] The reader learns these incidentals after the emotional set-up of the "straddles two worlds" culture-clash [11] has been established.
Cha is going to trial Feb. 14, and we are hoping for clarity from the courts unlike the muddled picture presented by the Star-Trib.
Links:
[1] http://www.vdare.com/fulford/coloring.htm
[2] http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5224989.html
[3] http://www.startribune.com/stonline/images/news92/1toucha0206.l.jpg
[4] http://vdare.com/walker/style_guide.htm
[5] http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/the_loser.htm
[6] http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/spjlocal/276688512222815.shtml
[7] http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/05/11_williamsb_hmongshooting/
[8] http://www.hmongcenter.org/generalvangpao.html
[9] http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/saigon_fall.htm
[10] http://www.vdare.com/pb/bright_shining_lie.htm
[11] http://www.vdare.com/blog/112304_blog.htm#b1
