News Coverage of Gaza

I've been following the Israeli/Hamas upscuddle and I gotta tell you, Big News still doesn't "get it".

The emphasis is all on the "civilian casualties" in Gaza, with hardly any mention of Hamas rockets, Hamas suicide and/or homicide bombers, Hamas shooting up cars full of Israeli civilians, and the list could go on.

Even the reviled Fox News is slanted toward the "civilian suffering" in Gaza, with very little on the Israeli side.

I'm just sayin' that it's pretty bloody obvious.

An Indictment of Big News

At 4AM my eyes pop open, and I'm wide awake.

Crap. This really and truly sucks rocks.

Being the news junkie that I am, I cruise Yahoo News, ABC, CNN, and Fox. And buried, deep in Fox News, I find this little gem.

The 22 Arab nations (the Palestinian authority would make 23), gathered in a basement conference room hammering out their proposal, which still does not mention Hamas’ role in the fighting. It is similar to the one Libya floated on New Year’s Eve, which condemned “all acts of violence and terror against civilians,” (one would presume that could include Israelis as well as Palestinians) “as well as expressing grave concern about the widespread death and destruction among the Palestinian civilian population.” The draft also said it “strongly condemns the Israeli military attacks.” It went nowhere, and an even weaker expression late Saturday night was not agreed on because of U.S. objection. American diplomats note the absence of holding Hamas responsible, and indeed the British ambassador said if there were to be a balanced resolution… that is, a resolution that includes criticism of and demands on Hamas as well as Israel, then such a declaration could pass muster.

This little snippet was buried deep within Fox news. I haven't seen anything like it at any other Big News organization.

The reluctance of Western diplomats and the press to publicly, and loudly, demand that Hamas cease and desist their attacks on civilians in Israel causes me a certain amount of heartburn.

Instead of tip-toeing around Hamas' delicate sensibilities whilst hammering Israel's "aggression", let's haul out the actions of both sides and look at them, dispassionately. Then, perhaps, a fair conclusion can be arrived at.

To be blunt about it, the major news organizations - AP, Reuters, ABC, CNN, CBS, NBC, et. al., have been falling all over themselves to NOT report fairly on both sides.

And that, my friends, is what really makes me angry.

In a later post, I will tell you exactly why I did not renew my subscription to the Florida Times-Union (Georgia edition), and what the T-U can do to regain my trust.

Beauchamp Admits to Lying

The "Baghdad Diarist", Pvt. Scott Beachamp, has now admitted in a sworn statement that the articles submitted to the New Republic were fabrications. From Fox News:

The Weekly Standard has learned from a military source close to the investigation that Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp -- author of the much-disputed "Shock Troops" article in the New Republic's July 23 issue as well as two previous "Baghdad Diarist" columns -- signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods -- fabrications containing only "a smidgen of truth," in the words of our source. Separately, we received this statement from Major Steven F. Lamb, the deputy Public Affairs Officer for Multi National Division-Baghdad: "An investigation has been completed and the allegations made by PVT Beauchamp were found to be false. His platoon and company were interviewed and no one could substantiate the claims." According to the military source, Beauchamp's recantation was volunteered on the first day of the military's investigation. So as Beauchamp was in Iraq signing an affidavit denying the truth of his stories, the New Republic was publishing a statement from him on its website on July 26, in which Beauchamp said, "I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name."

In other words, the SOB flat-out lied about his comrades.

In case this sounds a little familiar to those of you of a certain age, this link will take you to the "Jengis Khan" quote.

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.

John Kerry. Scott Beauchamp.

Lying SOS's, the both of them.

Contemptible little twerps, the both of them.

Bah.