Friday, March 21, 2003

Take a deep breath - Steven den Beste recommends a philosophical approach to breaking news:

For any of the following reports, allow at least six hours before you even begin to take them seriously:
    Any report of a Scud
    The first three reports of mass casualties by anyone

For these, wait 12 hours:
    Any report of an attack against a city outside of Iraq
    Any report of use of chemical weapons
    The first two reports of mass surrenders
    The first two reports of use by the US of "wizard weapons"

For these, wait 24 hours if not even more:
    Any report that a "name" in Iraq has been killed, captured or has defected
    Any claim by the government of Iraq which looks good for them or bad for us
    Any report of atrocities
    Any report of Iraqi "scorched earth" destruction, especially oil well fires
    Any report of mass Iraqi civilian casualties

For all of these, the proper response is to go take a nap. I know it's tough, but that's the best thing you can do.

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