Reporting on Real World News Often Stranger Than the Virtual One

Over the weekend, I wrote a short summary of the current crisis in Iraq:

Iraq, short version, by @slhamlet [via @patrickdijusto] pic.twitter.com/81xGrFjKaR

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 15, 2014

Thanks to Patrick Di Justo of the New Yorker and Steve Silberman at Wired, the update enjoyed a mini-burst of virality. Maybe I've been writing journalistically about virtual reality and gaming for far too long, because often when I try to follow the latest current events, the surreal, sci-fi, cyberpunk aspects are all I can notice. But it may be that that's the most accurate approach to covering the news right now, anyway.

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Comments

[noTnoShade]

Bloggers are considered legitimate 'journalists' in this day and age. Congrats, you've apparently made it.

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Actually, some of this was set in motion decades ago, you some of the blame should go to Woodrow Wilson...and Eisenhower.

[Nalates]

Wilson? Eisenhower? Bush? Geez, you left out Franklin... He sort of founded the Marines to fight Muslim pirates in the 1700's... that was America's first engagement with Muslims... was that a bad thing? Pay attention to history.

[Amanda Dallin]

The US Marines were founded to fight the British. They did fight the Barbary Pirates (slavers as well as pirates)in the early 19th century about 1801. Not sure what Franklin your talking about. Benjamin Franklin had nothing to do with it.

"All This" was set in motion over 1300 years ago when Islam split into Shi and Sunni factions over who was the rightful Caliph.

[Iggy]

Ah, blame Abraham for tossing Hagar out of his tent. Their kid, and my ancestor, Ishmael then got this bad-boy 'tude that has been with us Arabs ever since.

Sad that real-world deaths are permanent, unlike those in NWN's virtual worlds.

But don't you fret, America; you can go back to playing on your phones. Gas prices aren't that far up, yet, because of this mess.