The NeoCon Love Boat

[Lemur]

Fun quotes aside after reading through the rest of the article it quickly became painfully apparent the author went on this cruise with the sole... no, secondary purpose of adding even more venom and dried bile to the massive ideological chip on his shoulder (the main point being the collection of as much dirt as his notepad would allow).

Painting that cruise in a positive light would be a herculean feat of spin. Frankly, if a bunch of self-important gits want to bunch together on a cruise to soap each others' beards and tell themselves how great they are, I say they're fair game.

And yes, I would apply this rule to any group of self-congratulatory extremists.

[Whacker]

Best of both worlds. You get the ultra liberal Dems on one boat, and the neocon Repubs on another, and ship em out into the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. Then, when right smack in the middle, you unveil the highlight of the cruise; long range artillery. Let them blow eachother out of the water for sport, with any luck both will sink with all hands.

Ahhh.. wishful thinking.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Alternet? Who are these guys?

Anyway, I've actually read National Review unlike probably everyone in this thread, and I'm not sure if "NeoCon" is the correct term for the magazine; it would certainly be a generalization. And the article only has quotes from less than a dozen actual writers...

The "highlights" don't do the bias of that article justice.

[Lemur]

Hey ATPG, I read National Review, and I still think it's fair to make fun of their cruise. Don't have a sacred cow, man.

Alternet? Who are these guys?

No idea, but obviously they've got permission to reprint an article from The Independent. Direct your scorn at British journalism, not the blogosphere.

[Lemur]

NM. Messed up an attempt to edit my own post. Ugh.

[Moros]

Hahahaha Them Neo cons are funny. Scary, but also funny.

[CountArach]

Hahahaha Them Neo cons are funny. Scary, but also funny.

Summed up my thoughts on the topic.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Best of both worlds. You get the ultra liberal Dems on one boat, and the neocon Repubs on another, and ship em out into the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. Then, when right smack in the middle, you unveil the highlight of the cruise; long range artillery. Let them blow eachother out of the water for sport, with any luck both will sink with all hands.

Ahhh.. wishful thinking.

Are you kidding? The fight wouldn't last five seconds.

Obviously you forget who the combatants are, and what they said on the cruise.

[Spino]

Best of both worlds. You get the ultra liberal Dems on one boat, and the neocon Repubs on another, and ship em out into the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. Then, when right smack in the middle, you unveil the highlight of the cruise; long range artillery. Let them blow eachother out of the water for sport, with any luck both will sink with all hands.

Ahhh.. wishful thinking.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

[AntiochusIII]

Do they have orgy gay sex and skulls and bones secret group-sex rituals on that boat?

[Kralizec]

I'd buy that for a dollar!

...Robocop?

[Spino]

...Robocop?

Bingo!

[Peasant Phill]

This isn't worth an article in the independent. This isn't good journalism.
I have no doubt that these quotes are genuine and that there may have been such an atmosphere amongst some of the guests. I, however, have also little doubt that this reporter sought out these individuals for a better more spectacular article and left other nuanced talks out of the article.

I'm not defending any political view right now, my personal take on certain world problems doesn't matter here. I'm just saying that journalism should provide information. This is just entertainment disguised as proper journalism or just horrible (unethical) journalism.

[Banquo's Ghost]

This isn't worth an article in the independent. This isn't good journalism.
I have no doubt that these quotes are genuine and that there may have been such an atmosphere amongst some of the guests. I, however, have also little doubt that this reporter sought out these individuals for a better more spectacular article and left other nuanced talks out of the article.

I'm not defending any political view right now, my personal take on certain world problems doesn't matter here. I'm just saying that journalism should provide information. This is just entertainment disguised as proper journalism or just horrible (unethical) journalism.

I must disagree with this analysis.

Journalists report the news, and should do so with some level of objectivity (subject to editorial constraints). But journalists also offer opinions and interpretation of news and events and always have done. As long as the piece is clearly seen to be commentary, one can agree or disagree as the reader's own viewpoint dictates. Johann Hari is well known as a columnist of left-wing persuasion. The Independent also publishes many pieces by columnists of the right.

There has never been a time when journalism was solely about reporting. The best papers are those where the reader is presented with news items, and commentary sections that include a range of opinions from left and right. It is certainly not unethical to present a commentary, and indeed there is nothing unethical about a newspaper having an editorial bias to left or right.