Added observation: when Metatone asked me to do this diary, he said the Times piece is a prime example of Foreign Correspondent's Disease. But from the quote in the Salon, I thought this is more an example of ignorance from afar. Reading into the article, it's possibly both: local reporter with FCD, desk editor with absolute cluelessness.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}