Regular readers will know how much I detest the news services like CNN. Today, I stopped by their website looking for news of the huge asteroid that passed close by us last night - in fact - looking for news in general. And what do we find at CNN these days? A story on Italian nude models who have gone on strike and on Czech Prostitute trafficking. Now don't get me wrong, I mean this is important stuff but it is it really daily news? Is it in fact CNN's attempt to follow the old adage that 'sex sells'?

I'm sorry but CNN is a joke. They rarely report any real news of value - for example - news of a new US interest rate cut (boring I know but of high consequence) is buried midway down the list of items they are pushing today. Now, when they try to report real news we also find out that they don't check their facts too well. Recently, a map they used to portray the Czech Republic was .... of Switzerland. Another map of the Czech Republic was correct but Bratislava was placed on the German-Austrian border and not in Slovakia where it belongs. I could list a whole litany of such stupid mistakes by this 'prestigious' news organization but won't bore you with it. Suffice to say, CNN is a total joke and an embarrassment that simply proves Americans in general don't have a clue about world geography (or history, or culture, or anything?).

Now, I find it very strange that the country that invented Public Relations and marketing as we know it today can't market themselves effectively. A story on the BBC claims that parts of the US intelligence community are growing worried that Islamic terrorists are doing a better job of selling their case over the Internet than the Bush Administration. Oh really? What a surprise when the 'premier' news agency for that country hasn't a clue....