3 interesting pieces of underreported news.  Each interesting in and of itself but taken together, paint a great picture of the unexpected shape of cultural swamp draining.

First, the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq revels in a martyrdom total of over 4000 -

The new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq said in an audiotape posted on the Internet Thursday that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

“The blood has been spilled in Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners who came to fight,” said the man, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir - also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri - the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, though the voice could not be independently identified.

The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners who joined the insurgency in Iraq, not coalition troops. 

Not surprisingly, as the prime victim of these martyr operations, Iraqi polls reveal an intense hatred of Al Qaeda -

...poll results from a University of Maryland public policy institute found that 94 percent of Iraqis hate al-Qaeda.

And, of course, Arab global media plays the "Iraqi's as victims" stories to the other countries.   One result?  The top Arab "sweeps week" program now openly mocks fundamentalists & jihadi's -

"Tash Ma Tash," a wildly popular Saudi TV series that is deploying satire to poke fun at the fundamentalists...

[the MC of a mock TV Gameshow] introduces the first contestant and shows a video clip of him cleaning a gun in a roomful of weapons. "He is an expert with all kinds of weapons, and is really good at slitting infidels' throats," she enthuses. The audience claps politely.

The next contestant is a pro at disguise, she explains, as she shows a clip of a mustached man demurely smiling in an auburn wig and a woman's black robe. 

The third contestant, shown serving tea, is a master of logistics.

As the three men squirm in their seats, votes are tallied. Runner-ups rush to hug the winner.

Finally, a grizzled leader takes the stage to present the grand prize, an explosive-filled suicide belt, which he drapes over the shoulders of the winner. The victor, overcome with pride and emotion, yanks the cord and a blast fills the screen.

I smell shades of the memorable Stetson Kennedy story from Freakonomics.