Both sides agree to a cease-fire and the AP is pissed. I cannot believe a supposed impartial news service is actually upset with a cease-fire, but it seems they are.
Zeina Karam, a writer for the Associated Press filed a story reporting that Sheik Hassan Nasrallah will accept the cease-fire passed by the UN Security Council last Friday. I have never read a more depressing account of a peace plan in my life.
I have accepted that the AP and Reuters have chosen a side in this conflict. The constant barrage of Lebanese possible deaths and fake photos while virtually ignoring the Israeli casualties has shown me that beyond a reasonable doubt. That did not mean I believed the press was actually rooting for more bloodshed. I thought any human being, regardless of any personal feelings would always choose a peaceful solution. These are reporters for G-d’s sake, not soldiers or politicians!
The fact that Israel and Hezbollah are actually talking about a cease-fire is great news for those of us who fear the possibility of this exploding into some US versus the UN type affair. The situation is such that it would not take much for it to tip the world from almost chaos to biblical chaos. So why is Zenia Karam so down on this step?
Do I believe it will take? Probably not; the two sides are too invested in a war and I think they enjoy it. That does not mean a reporter should be interjecting their pessimistic views in a news article. A column is fine, but this is an AP News Report, not Zenia Karam’s opinion.
I was going to let it go. That report was filed at Noon EST, but appears to be down now. I was going to just forget it until I saw this just now:
“Cease-fire gains momentum
Fighting continues as Lebanon approves deal and Israel reportedly plans to halt attacks.”
Lebanon approves deal? Israel REPORTEDLY plans to halt attacks? Israel accepted the deal before Hezbollah did for one thing and Zenia Karam is not even hiding bias or pretending to be a reporter in these reports.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - kanrei
I avoided speaking of gender because I am not sure, but I thinkn Zenia is a she.
"He makes it sound like Hezbollah is Lebanon. Hezbollah is actually Syria and Iran. "
Not positive though. Can't find a picture anywhere. Looking all day because their bias has been getting to me today.
2 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Kanrei,
I find it interesting that although you hold very different views on all this from mine, you see the bias in the press just as clearly. And you see the bias cutting exactly the same way - against the State of Israel specifically and (I'm guessing here) against Jews generally.
3 - kanrei
I feel it very strongly against Jews, specifically here in America right now. It is a scarey time to be Jewish.
4 - Baronius
Kanrei, I can't think of anything to say but "yes". ABC News in particular is as neutral as a Syrian government spokesman. I've heard that the coverage in Europe is even worse.
5 - Dave Nalle
But how can the media be anti Jewish? Hasn't our own Richard Brodie has told us time and again that the Jews control all the media?
Dave
6 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Dave, there are some interesting points there about "Jews" controlling the media. As you must be aware, we don't all stink the same or think the same. It's so unTexas like of you to bait Richard this way, though...
Can't you thhnk of a better way?
7 - Bliffle
I've noticed a very consistent anti-israel bias in the press, even in the BBC reports. It's all rather bald-faced, seems to me. My French relatives tell me the French press is dominated by Algerians, thus with heavy Arab/Muslim bias.
I think NPR has been pretty even-handed. The other day the commentors on KPFA, notoriously leftwing, were vociferously complaining that NPR was pro-israel by not repeating the widespread anti-israel propaganda.
8 - Dean
"My French relatives tell me the French press is dominated by Algerians, thus with heavy Arab/Muslim bias"
Have your American relatives told you who dominates the American press?
9 - Clavos
Oh, good.
I was beginning to think my own pro-Israel stance was coloring my take on the media.
Kudos to you, kanrei, for your own impartiality in this perceptive article.
10 - kanrei
Dean,
Who does dominate the American press?
ABC is owned by Disney.
NBC is owned by GE
CBS is owned by Viacom
FOx is owned by Murddock
CNN I believe is Ted Turner.
What are you getting at?
11 - Dave Nalle
Just to clarify my earlier comment about who dominates the US press, after Brodie originally claimed it was the Jews I went through company by company and pointed out that not one of the major media companies has more than 2 Jews on its board and that out of 10 different companies only 2 have Jews as CEOs, and they're far from the largest.
As Kanrei points out, FOX which is arguably the most pro-Israeli of our media outlets is owned by a gentile.
Dave
12 - Dean
The propaganda strategy
13 - Clavos
Actually, CNN is now owned by Time-Warner. Turner sold it several years ago.
14 - cat
To me , the direction news is slanted is less cause for alarm than the fact that such obvious personal biases are currently displayed in articles which are supposed to maintain neutrality. All reporters have a duty to report the facts without injection of their personal points of view. Sadly this loyalty to the truth is disappearing and a greater percentage of the papers resemble the op-ed section every day.
15 - FOX
Dont be shooting the messenger people! they know what its like down there on the front line.
Anyone who thinks otherwise why dont they take the family for a nice trip down to Tyre for a couple of days and go and see whats going on! maybe you'll think differently once your down there. Be sure to take your own coffins cuz i think there runnin short of wood and nails down there.
Or you could go to Haifa, but dont worry about that cuz there will be air raid sirens and an air conditioned bunker awaiting your arrival just incase those Terrorist missiles trouble you.
Q: Is being in Haifa and having your life disrupted the same as being in Tyre and having your whole families life ended ?
Dont worry though this is the begining of a new era, Isreal is now maturing, its making that transition from victim to victimiser all nations have gone through their time, the U.S. isnt proud of the way it treated the native indians or the blacks, Australia isnt proud of the way it treated its Natives and South Africa isnt proud of its checkered history.
In tens of years Isreal will look back on itself and say those dark first 50 years of our existance when we slaughtered thousands of innocent Arab natives year after year treaty after treaty are a black mark in our history.
16 - Aru
For all of you who stands for Israel in this board, why don't you just eat this one fact: ISRAEL LOST!!
First they talked about eradicating Hezbollah.
Next, they talked about dismantling Hezbollah'a arm.
Next, they talked about securing the border up across to the Litani river.
And after so many death Israeli soldiers-reservists and blown Merkavas, finally they talked about securing a tiny 1.2 miles strip of land.
Mr. Olmert is kept eating his own words, and forced to make the Israeli public expectation lower and lower.
And Israel's supposed to be the fourth mightiest armies in this world!
And all this because a bunch of a supposedly ragtag terrorist extremist militia!
Gone are the prides of Israel's military might.
Gone are the prides of Israel's security.
For the first time in history of Israel, an enemy can fire more 5000+ missiles-rockets-whatever into northern Israel, and come out largely intact, and unschated.
The fact that Olmert's scrambling for a resolution from the UN is the testimony about the trouble he's stumbling just a few miles across the border.
Military gain dictates the political gain, not the vice versa.
After all of this, Israel will be seen as nothing but a paper tiger. And I can't hide my joy for that.
So, just eat this fact: ISRAEL LOST!!
Have a nice day.
17 - Clavos
Aru, Shouldn't you learn English before you try to write it?
18 - steve
I dont like either side. whats the score now anywho?
19 - Dean
Israel wins hands down if you count dead women and children.
20 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Aru, for all of his problems with English grammar and spelling, is pretty much right. Our asses got whupped because a loser (Olmert) fought with the strategy of a loser.
All we can hope for is the more frequent use of the c-word (coup d'état) among those who can make a difference...
We need real leaders - not this pack of pigs and traitors.
21 - Aru
So, Clavos actually spared some of his time to comment on my atrocious English, yet haven't said anything about the issues that I brought.
Now I can see his priorities ...
22 - Bliffle
Aru has a point: Hezbolah has battled IDF to something like a standstill. It appears that someone in Hezbolah has read Giaps "Peoples Army, Peoples War". Would that our US military leaders read it. Oh, that's right, some of them did but were fired by the administration for being insufficiently enthusiastic about invading iraq.
23 - Martin Lav
Everyone sees through his own eyes.
This article would only be seen to be imbalanced to someone that feels persecuted. I can only find one instance of an indication of a slant and that is the use of the word "grab" in paragraph 14 when refering to Israel's punching accross terrain to grab more territory before the cease fire.
Problem here, even on this board, is that whether you are for Israel or the Arabs either one of you are burdened with an inferiority and persecution complex of sorts that causes you to read too much into everything. Being that I am an Eskimo and have no bias in this, I do not see much wrong with this article, but see much that points to the wider conflict in general.
That is, two groups separate paranoia creating a never ending battle for nothing.
24 - Dave Nalle
And all this because a bunch of a supposedly ragtag terrorist extremist militia!
Ragtag militia who have better military equipment than most countries, including - shot down last week - state of the art remote control reconaissance drones.
Dave
25 - FOX
Those drones were probably made in Russia or the parts made in Russia, sold to Iran, put together and sent to Lebonon.
Whats wrong with Iran supplying Hezballah, The U.S. does not feel the need to hide the fact that they were taking full advantage of the war and were flying over weapons on a daily basis.
Then the president has the nerve to say words to the effect that the Iranians are the ones that have the lebonese civillians blood on their hands!
How does that make sense.thats like saying:
The dude that sold the gun aint to blame(U.S.), the dude that pulls the trigger aint to blame(Isreal), lets blame the family of the victim(Iran) for having a child(Hezballah) who knew a little self defence!