The US Congress surprisingly sided with big business and weathy stockholders late yesterday when the House approved (by 2 votes) the Central America Free Trade Agreement, or NAMBLA.
Yes, CAFTA reminds us all of that great treaty NAFTA which has helped keep unemployment in the US at historic lows -- wait a minute, in Michigan we're actually looking at something like 9% unemployment and the rest of the country still is lagging in job creation. I guess there really is something to that offshoring deal, when big corporations fire American workers to hire cheaper labor overseas and then ship products back to the US.
Now that they can ship products from such pro-worker countries as Guatemala, I guess it's just a matter of time before even I lose my non-paying job writing this blo
Yes, CAFTA reminds us all of that great treaty NAFTA which has helped keep unemployment in the US at historic lows -- wait a minute, in Michigan we're actually looking at something like 9% unemployment and the rest of the country still is lagging in job creation. I guess there really is something to that offshoring deal, when big corporations fire American workers to hire cheaper labor overseas and then ship products back to the US.
Now that they can ship products from such pro-worker countries as Guatemala, I guess it's just a matter of time before even I lose my non-paying job writing this blo
OK, I'm not a geography snob or anal-retentive or anything, but this is ridiculous.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the BBC. Great folks over there at the Beeb. But listen to this, from a story about the recent heat wave scorching the US:
What? Since when is anything bordering Mexico considered part of the Midwest? Work on that, folks. Arizona is in The West. Or, if you prefer, the Southwest. This reminds me of when a student wrote in a paper about the "Midwestern city of Denver." Folks, not everything between the West Coast and the East Coast is the "Midwest." The Midwest starts in Michigan just west of Detroit (which is of course an East Coast city), down south to the wretched morass that is Ohio, and then over as far as Kansas and Nebraska (which are more properly "great plains" states) and as far north as the Dakotas. That's it. Got it?
UPDATE: 11:55am -- Looks like the good editors at the Beeb have been doing their duty and checking The Most Important Blog... Ever. They've corrected the problem and now refer to Arizona as a "south-western" state. I think that's one word and not hypenated, but let's-not quibble with-the Brits.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the BBC. Great folks over there at the Beeb. But listen to this, from a story about the recent heat wave scorching the US:
[The worst heat was] in the mid-western state of Arizona.
What? Since when is anything bordering Mexico considered part of the Midwest? Work on that, folks. Arizona is in The West. Or, if you prefer, the Southwest. This reminds me of when a student wrote in a paper about the "Midwestern city of Denver." Folks, not everything between the West Coast and the East Coast is the "Midwest." The Midwest starts in Michigan just west of Detroit (which is of course an East Coast city), down south to the wretched morass that is Ohio, and then over as far as Kansas and Nebraska (which are more properly "great plains" states) and as far north as the Dakotas. That's it. Got it?
UPDATE: 11:55am -- Looks like the good editors at the Beeb have been doing their duty and checking The Most Important Blog... Ever. They've corrected the problem and now refer to Arizona as a "south-western" state. I think that's one word and not hypenated, but let's-not quibble with-the Brits.
More tragic news from Israel and Palestine today as Isareli troops have shot dead an unarmed Palestinian child in the West Bank city of Jenin. The Israelis also wounded seven other Palestinians, who were apparently throwing rocks or firing guns at the soldiers as they arrested a suspected senior member of the Islamic Jihad organization. There has been no apology offered by the Israeli army, nor has there been word of an investigation into the death of this boy. In more bad news, shootings in Gaza and other violence in the West Bank continued today as the cease-fire agreed in February continues to seem irrelevant.
No US mainstream news website has a headline about today's tragic death on their front page. This marks the 17th time that we have noted the killing of a Palestinian by Israelis without a headline on the front page of US media websites. We have only once noted the killing of an Israeli by Palestinians that went similarly unnoticed in the US.
See the full project description and running tallies here.
No US mainstream news website has a headline about today's tragic death on their front page. This marks the 17th time that we have noted the killing of a Palestinian by Israelis without a headline on the front page of US media websites. We have only once noted the killing of an Israeli by Palestinians that went similarly unnoticed in the US.
See the full project description and running tallies here.
There's about twenty days left before the Israeli government begins its planned evacuation of all its llegal settlements in Gaza and a few in the West Bank. This is going to be huge.
What's the big deal? What are the settlements, anyway?
Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River (including East Jerusalem) in the 1967 War. These territories were put under an Israeli military occupation. Usually, military occupations are presumed to be temporary situations (like the US presence in Iraq). Under military occupation, the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank have severely limited lives. They are citizens of no state. They have no civil rights. They are subject to search and seizure at all times, and often are placed under 24-hour curfew. Simply traveling from home to work is often an adventure involving encounters with hostile Israeli soldiers. And this Israeli military occuaption has been anything but temporary -- it has continued without any sign of stopping since 1967 -- nearly 40 years. How could this be?
Some on the Israeli right wanted to ensure that Israel's control of the West Bank and Gaza became permenant. To make it more difficult for Israel to ever leave, they began setting up Jewish-Israeli only villiages all across the West Bank and Gaza landscape. The Israeli government has helped them, and as a result a large Israeli civilian population now lives in the occupied territories (all of this is explicitly against international law). These civilians have done everything they can to take land, and indeed nearly every hilltop in the West Bank now has an Israeli-only settlement on it. In addition, several settler-only highways have been built through the West Bank and Gaza to allow settlers to travel between their illegal homes and Israel proper without the need to cross any Palestinian cities or towns. The newest feature of the settlements has been the giant seperation wall slicing through the West Bank, seperating Palestinians from Palestinians and making life even more miserable for people in cities like Qalqiliya, which is now completely surrounded by a wall.
Most of the settlements are relatively luxurious, suburban-esque communities complete with fast food restaurants and houses with built-in garages. The settlers water their lawns and wash their cars while their Palestinian neighbors struggle to find water to drink or water their crops.
Israeli settlers routinely harass and indeed attack their Palestinian neighbors. In turn, Palestinians often launch attacks against the fortified and well-guarded settlements.
OK - long story short, the settlements are bad and cause lots of problems. The world is united in calling for their dismantling and a return of the land to the Palestinians, from whom it was taken in the first place.
That's why so much is being made of the planned withdrawal of all the settlements from Gaza -- scheduled to begin 20 days from now.
The plan has provoked massive and often violent protests from the Israeli right, but opinion polls show that a solid majority of Israelis support the plan. The plan has laid bare the stark divisions in Israeli society between hard-line rightists who want to annex all of historic Palestine, and the leftists who want to make peace with Israel's neighbors. The divisions in Palestinian society have also come to the fore recently, with violence erupting between rightists who want to do everything to reclaim all of historic Palestine (destroying Israel in the process) and leftists who want to make peace through negotiated compromise. The rightists on both sides have been driving the conflict for quite a while, and this disengagement is a challenge for all concerned.
Here's what to expect as the pullout begins.
IMPORTANT BLOG CONTROVERSY: My previous rant about Israeli settlers and their annoying orange bracelets has sparked quite a firestorm here on the blog. Check it out and feel free to weigh in.
What's the big deal? What are the settlements, anyway?
Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River (including East Jerusalem) in the 1967 War. These territories were put under an Israeli military occupation. Usually, military occupations are presumed to be temporary situations (like the US presence in Iraq). Under military occupation, the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank have severely limited lives. They are citizens of no state. They have no civil rights. They are subject to search and seizure at all times, and often are placed under 24-hour curfew. Simply traveling from home to work is often an adventure involving encounters with hostile Israeli soldiers. And this Israeli military occuaption has been anything but temporary -- it has continued without any sign of stopping since 1967 -- nearly 40 years. How could this be?
Some on the Israeli right wanted to ensure that Israel's control of the West Bank and Gaza became permenant. To make it more difficult for Israel to ever leave, they began setting up Jewish-Israeli only villiages all across the West Bank and Gaza landscape. The Israeli government has helped them, and as a result a large Israeli civilian population now lives in the occupied territories (all of this is explicitly against international law). These civilians have done everything they can to take land, and indeed nearly every hilltop in the West Bank now has an Israeli-only settlement on it. In addition, several settler-only highways have been built through the West Bank and Gaza to allow settlers to travel between their illegal homes and Israel proper without the need to cross any Palestinian cities or towns. The newest feature of the settlements has been the giant seperation wall slicing through the West Bank, seperating Palestinians from Palestinians and making life even more miserable for people in cities like Qalqiliya, which is now completely surrounded by a wall.
Most of the settlements are relatively luxurious, suburban-esque communities complete with fast food restaurants and houses with built-in garages. The settlers water their lawns and wash their cars while their Palestinian neighbors struggle to find water to drink or water their crops.
Israeli settlers routinely harass and indeed attack their Palestinian neighbors. In turn, Palestinians often launch attacks against the fortified and well-guarded settlements.
OK - long story short, the settlements are bad and cause lots of problems. The world is united in calling for their dismantling and a return of the land to the Palestinians, from whom it was taken in the first place.
That's why so much is being made of the planned withdrawal of all the settlements from Gaza -- scheduled to begin 20 days from now.
The plan has provoked massive and often violent protests from the Israeli right, but opinion polls show that a solid majority of Israelis support the plan. The plan has laid bare the stark divisions in Israeli society between hard-line rightists who want to annex all of historic Palestine, and the leftists who want to make peace with Israel's neighbors. The divisions in Palestinian society have also come to the fore recently, with violence erupting between rightists who want to do everything to reclaim all of historic Palestine (destroying Israel in the process) and leftists who want to make peace through negotiated compromise. The rightists on both sides have been driving the conflict for quite a while, and this disengagement is a challenge for all concerned.
Here's what to expect as the pullout begins.
- It'll probably start a few days early.
- The images of settlers, including infants, will be hard to watch and will be all over US TV
- There will probably be attacks from some Palestinian groups during the disengagement, and we'll hear a lot about how ungrateful they are.
- Expect Bush to make a statement about "painful compromise."
- Note that after the pullout, Israel will still control Gaza's borders, will not allow the reopening of the Gaza airport, and will keep soldiers stationed in Gaza maintaining what is essentially an open-air prison.
- Finally, after the pullout, expect a terrifying struggle between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over Gaza. It might start to look like civil war over there.
IMPORTANT BLOG CONTROVERSY: My previous rant about Israeli settlers and their annoying orange bracelets has sparked quite a firestorm here on the blog. Check it out and feel free to weigh in.
Lots of tragic news from the Middle East today. Two Israelis were shot and killed late on Saturday, apparently by Palestinian gunmen. Thankfully, the Israeli army stopped an apparent would-be suicide bomber today and arrested him.
CBSNews.com carries this headline: Israeli Couple Killed In Gaza
The only photo accompanying this article shows the Israeli and the Palestinian flags and doesn't count in our tallies. The headline, also doesn't attribute the slayings to either side, so it too doesn't count.
None of the other sites we monitor carries a headline specifically about this tragedy. Most of today's coverage about the Middle East focuses on the Egyptian bombings and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit with the Palestinian leadership.
For a full list of sites we monitor and all running tallies, see the project's main page.
CBSNews.com carries this headline: Israeli Couple Killed In Gaza
The only photo accompanying this article shows the Israeli and the Palestinian flags and doesn't count in our tallies. The headline, also doesn't attribute the slayings to either side, so it too doesn't count.
None of the other sites we monitor carries a headline specifically about this tragedy. Most of today's coverage about the Middle East focuses on the Egyptian bombings and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit with the Palestinian leadership.
For a full list of sites we monitor and all running tallies, see the project's main page.
First of all, don't forget that Karl Rove needs to be fired in order to restore honor and integrity to the White House. If the standard for firing a top presidential advisor has been lowered so that a jury has to convict someone before they get fired -- then I nominate Robert Blake for Secretary of Health and Human Services. And Ken Lay for Secretary of Labor. No jury has ever found them guilty of a crime, so they're perfect.
Secondly, in a bold attempt to shift attention away from Rove and his fledgling second term agenda, Bush will announce in a moment that he's nominated white guy extraordinare John Roberts to the Supreme Court.
Most analysts agree that Roberts is a strict constructionist, a "bedrock" conservative. Read: staunchly anti-civil rights, anti-women's rights, anti-working people, anti-consumer's rights, pro-big business, pro-offshoring.
Most correspondents also agree that he's not a woman. Laura Bush must be upset.
What you can do: http://www.savethecourt.org/
More information on Roberts:
From NOW
He took some amazingly disgusting stands against civil rights in the 80's and 90's -- e.g. fighting to ensure that a 12 year old girl didn't win a civil suit against DC transit police after they arrested her for eating a french fry on the train.
From Slate (scroll down)
from Independent Judiciary
Secondly, in a bold attempt to shift attention away from Rove and his fledgling second term agenda, Bush will announce in a moment that he's nominated white guy extraordinare John Roberts to the Supreme Court.
Most analysts agree that Roberts is a strict constructionist, a "bedrock" conservative. Read: staunchly anti-civil rights, anti-women's rights, anti-working people, anti-consumer's rights, pro-big business, pro-offshoring.
Most correspondents also agree that he's not a woman. Laura Bush must be upset.
What you can do: http://www.savethecourt.org/
More information on Roberts:
From NOW
He took some amazingly disgusting stands against civil rights in the 80's and 90's -- e.g. fighting to ensure that a 12 year old girl didn't win a civil suit against DC transit police after they arrested her for eating a french fry on the train.
From Slate (scroll down)
from Independent Judiciary
As you know, we here at The Most Important Blog... Ever always harp on US journalists for not asking tough questions, particularly of anyone in the Bush administration. But, ever since Sir Douchebag Karl Rove was caught in a huge lie, the White House press corps seems to have gotten a massive dose of rabies. Video of this newfound aggression prompted My Personal Hero, Sir Jon Stewart of Daily Show fame, to quip that he had "secretly replaced the White House press corps with actual reporters."
They're asking the tough questions, and the White House is stonewalling like a broken record, saying that it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation. But last year when they were insisting that no one in the White House was involved in any leak of any information, they were more than willing to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Now, just today, Bush lowered his standards for his top advisors. Previously, he promised to fire anyone involved in compromising national security and the safety of American lives by leaking the name of a CIA operative. Now, he says that in order to get fired, his advisors would need to be found to have committed a crime. Lying by itself isn't enough. Endangering American lives isn't enough. Admitting to having leaked classified information isn't enough. Bush won't fire anyone until they're convicted by a jury.
In other words, ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson could still be in the White House as an advisor on preschool education. And O.J. Simpson could be attorney general. Excellent.
The press corps are working hard to show how Bush has failed to live up to his word, and how he has failed to restore honor and integrity to the White House.
Thanks to the Ragin Asian for the link about the press corps.
They're asking the tough questions, and the White House is stonewalling like a broken record, saying that it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation. But last year when they were insisting that no one in the White House was involved in any leak of any information, they were more than willing to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Now, just today, Bush lowered his standards for his top advisors. Previously, he promised to fire anyone involved in compromising national security and the safety of American lives by leaking the name of a CIA operative. Now, he says that in order to get fired, his advisors would need to be found to have committed a crime. Lying by itself isn't enough. Endangering American lives isn't enough. Admitting to having leaked classified information isn't enough. Bush won't fire anyone until they're convicted by a jury.
In other words, ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson could still be in the White House as an advisor on preschool education. And O.J. Simpson could be attorney general. Excellent.
The press corps are working hard to show how Bush has failed to live up to his word, and how he has failed to restore honor and integrity to the White House.
Thanks to the Ragin Asian for the link about the press corps.
This calls into question my previously infalliable and explicitly sexist theory that beautiful women can always get out of trouble with police. I formed this theory after having conversations with at least two hot women, both of whom had never gotten a speeding ticket despite a combined 243 traffic stops.
More bad news today as violence continues as the 5-month old cease-fire seems to have collapsed.
Israeli soldiers shot dead a leading Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip today. An Israeli helicopter fired missles at a car in the Gaza Strip, injuring at least two civilian bystanders. The targets of that missle apparently were able to flee the car. Simultaneously, a major offensive operation was being prepared by the Israeli army, with Israeli troops massing near Gaza. And, Palestinian militant factions continued to drop multiple homemade missles at Israeli towns and settlements, causing sporadic reports of injuries but no casualities.
All of the US mainstream news websites that we monitor have a story about this escalating violence as one of their top stories, except for ABCNews which has no headline about this on their front page at all. Here we only record the headlines to stories that report violent deaths. This eliminates the MSNBC story, which does not mention the killing of a Palestinian man this morning.
CNN: Israel threatens Gaza incursion
FOXNews: Sharon Warns Militants
CBSNews:Israel Readies Gaza Offensive
NYTimes: Israel Responds to Attacks, Arresting 30 Militants
Note that none of the headlines report the killing of some 8 Palestinians in the past twenty-four hours, including the man shot dead by troops this morning.
Note also that none of the headlines attribute violent deaths directly to one side or the other, which means that none of them counts in our tallies.
The biggest change from previous reporting here shows how Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has promised to use what resources he has -- namely the limited Palestinian Authority police -- to stop the militants from carrying out their attacks. This has led militant leaders to call Abbas and his men traitors, and Palestinian infighting has erupted.
Here are the images from the stories that report the death of the Palestinian man:
The FOX story has only a map of the region and a file photo of Sharon.
From NYTimes:
Abed Al Hafiz Hashlamoun/European Pressphoto Agency - The Israeli border police questioned young Palestinians in Hebron Saturday as part of a crackdown in which 30 militants were arrested.
From CNN.com:
Israeli soldiers prepare tanks positioned on the outskirts of Gaza on Sunday. (AP Photo)
From CBSNews:
Israeli soldiers climb on a tank maneuvering near the Neve Dekalim settlement in the Gaza Strip (Photo: AP)
An Israeli security guard inspects a car after it was hit by a Palestinian homemade rocket in the Neve Dekalim settlement (Photo: AP)
Israeli soldiers and doctors rush a wounded Israeli to a hospital in the Gaza Strip settlement of Neve Dekalim (Photo: AP)
Image counts: Israelis with guns: 4. Israelis suffering: 2. Palestinians suffering: 0. Palestinians with guns: 0.
See all the updated tallies and a full project discription here.
Israeli soldiers shot dead a leading Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip today. An Israeli helicopter fired missles at a car in the Gaza Strip, injuring at least two civilian bystanders. The targets of that missle apparently were able to flee the car. Simultaneously, a major offensive operation was being prepared by the Israeli army, with Israeli troops massing near Gaza. And, Palestinian militant factions continued to drop multiple homemade missles at Israeli towns and settlements, causing sporadic reports of injuries but no casualities.
All of the US mainstream news websites that we monitor have a story about this escalating violence as one of their top stories, except for ABCNews which has no headline about this on their front page at all. Here we only record the headlines to stories that report violent deaths. This eliminates the MSNBC story, which does not mention the killing of a Palestinian man this morning.
CNN: Israel threatens Gaza incursion
FOXNews: Sharon Warns Militants
CBSNews:Israel Readies Gaza Offensive
NYTimes: Israel Responds to Attacks, Arresting 30 Militants
Note that none of the headlines report the killing of some 8 Palestinians in the past twenty-four hours, including the man shot dead by troops this morning.
Note also that none of the headlines attribute violent deaths directly to one side or the other, which means that none of them counts in our tallies.
The biggest change from previous reporting here shows how Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has promised to use what resources he has -- namely the limited Palestinian Authority police -- to stop the militants from carrying out their attacks. This has led militant leaders to call Abbas and his men traitors, and Palestinian infighting has erupted.
Here are the images from the stories that report the death of the Palestinian man:
The FOX story has only a map of the region and a file photo of Sharon.
From NYTimes:
Abed Al Hafiz Hashlamoun/European Pressphoto Agency - The Israeli border police questioned young Palestinians in Hebron Saturday as part of a crackdown in which 30 militants were arrested.
From CNN.com:
Israeli soldiers prepare tanks positioned on the outskirts of Gaza on Sunday. (AP Photo)
From CBSNews:
Israeli soldiers climb on a tank maneuvering near the Neve Dekalim settlement in the Gaza Strip (Photo: AP)
An Israeli security guard inspects a car after it was hit by a Palestinian homemade rocket in the Neve Dekalim settlement (Photo: AP)
Israeli soldiers and doctors rush a wounded Israeli to a hospital in the Gaza Strip settlement of Neve Dekalim (Photo: AP)
Image counts: Israelis with guns: 4. Israelis suffering: 2. Palestinians suffering: 0. Palestinians with guns: 0.
See all the updated tallies and a full project discription here.
Sadly, these posts about violence in Israel/Palestine are coming fast and furious these days as violence continues to escalate. Haaretz reports right now that the Israeli army is preparing a major offensive for Gaza to begin shortly, so the news will likely continue to be bad.
Today at least seven Palestinians were killed and at least five others wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Conflicting reports suggest that at least one of the killed was not a suspected militant, but instead he was a civilian bystander.
Palestinian infighting also contributed to the violence today, as Palestinian Authority police clashed with fighters from the Hamas organization in Gaza. The PA were attempting to impose the rule of the elected Palestinian government, which Hamas feels is illegitimate and simply doing the work of Israel and the US. This is yet another step toward civil war for Palestinians.
More bad news for Palestinians comes in the fact that Israel has resumed its controversial policy of firing missles at suspected Palestinian militant leaders. Israel had previously stated that it halted this policy. Many in the international community and in Israel itself argue that these targeted killings are executions without a trial and are thus deplorable and illegal.
Here are the headlines from the US websites we monitor that report this story. Special thanks to Siri in Norway for sending us the CNN link this morning:
CNN.com: Israel strikes target Hamas militants
MSNBC.com: Israel strikes at militants
CBSNews.com: Israel, Abbas Both Aim At Hamas
NYTimes.com: Israeli Airstrikes Kill 7 Militants in West Bank and Gaza
ABCNews.com: Mideast Violence Threatens Truce; 8 Dead
FOXNews.com: Witnesses: Israel Launching Airstrikes
Note that the FOX headline reduces the news of Israeli attacks to reports from witnesses only, as though the news were only hearsay and not yet confirmed.
Note also that only the NYTimes headline mentions the airstrikes as the cause of death. Only this headline counts in our tally of headlines that directly attribute deaths to one side or the other. See the updated tallies here.
Finally, I'll note that none of these headlines was the top story on any of the websites. FOX's headline was among the top stories on the website, but the rest appeared under the "world" or "international" section. Note that the suicide bombing in Israel on Tuesday, which killed two Israelis, generated headlines in the top stories section on all but one of the websites we monitor. Today's news was equally significant for Palestinians, but didn't receive the same amount of attention.
Lots of images that count in our tallies today:
From ABCNews:
Caption: A Palestinians civil defence worker inspects the damage following an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City, early Saturday July 16, 2005. Israeli aircraft launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza City and the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis early Saturday, witnesses said. Two people were lightly injured in the attacks, hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
From CNN:
Caption: Palestinians look at the wreckage of a van hit by a missile Friday in Gaza City.
Caption: A Palestinian armored carrier burns after a clash Friday between police and militants in Gaza City.
From NYTimes:
Caption: Ahmad Khateib/Getty Images Palestinian policemen fighting with Hamas militants today in Gaza City.
Caption: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters A day after Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks, Israel resumed targeted killings of Hamas militants in the West Bank and Gaza.
From CBSNews:
Caption: A Palestinian security force armored carrier burns. (AP)
Caption: The rubble of a building used by Hamas in the Jebaliya refugee camp. (AP)
From FOX:
Repeats previous image with this caption:
July 15: A man inspects damage done to a building by an Israeli missile strike in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. AP
July 15: A Palestinian security force vehicle burns in Gaza City during clashes with Hamas militants. AP
July 15: A Palestinian boy looks at the burned remnants of a security forces truck that was set ablaze in Gaza City. AP
July 15: A Palestinian security truck burns after being set ablaze in Gaza City. AP
From MSNBC:
Caption: Two Palestinian civil defense officers look through the rubble in a metal foundry after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Friday. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
OK. We have here 9 images of Palestinians suffering as a result of Israeli violence. That brings our total of such images to 10. We also have one image of a Palestinian with a gun, bringing out tally of those images to 7. See all the updated tallies here.
Let's hope against hope that this is the last post on this issue.
Today at least seven Palestinians were killed and at least five others wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Conflicting reports suggest that at least one of the killed was not a suspected militant, but instead he was a civilian bystander.
Palestinian infighting also contributed to the violence today, as Palestinian Authority police clashed with fighters from the Hamas organization in Gaza. The PA were attempting to impose the rule of the elected Palestinian government, which Hamas feels is illegitimate and simply doing the work of Israel and the US. This is yet another step toward civil war for Palestinians.
More bad news for Palestinians comes in the fact that Israel has resumed its controversial policy of firing missles at suspected Palestinian militant leaders. Israel had previously stated that it halted this policy. Many in the international community and in Israel itself argue that these targeted killings are executions without a trial and are thus deplorable and illegal.
Here are the headlines from the US websites we monitor that report this story. Special thanks to Siri in Norway for sending us the CNN link this morning:
CNN.com: Israel strikes target Hamas militants
MSNBC.com: Israel strikes at militants
CBSNews.com: Israel, Abbas Both Aim At Hamas
NYTimes.com: Israeli Airstrikes Kill 7 Militants in West Bank and Gaza
ABCNews.com: Mideast Violence Threatens Truce; 8 Dead
FOXNews.com: Witnesses: Israel Launching Airstrikes
Note that the FOX headline reduces the news of Israeli attacks to reports from witnesses only, as though the news were only hearsay and not yet confirmed.
Note also that only the NYTimes headline mentions the airstrikes as the cause of death. Only this headline counts in our tally of headlines that directly attribute deaths to one side or the other. See the updated tallies here.
Finally, I'll note that none of these headlines was the top story on any of the websites. FOX's headline was among the top stories on the website, but the rest appeared under the "world" or "international" section. Note that the suicide bombing in Israel on Tuesday, which killed two Israelis, generated headlines in the top stories section on all but one of the websites we monitor. Today's news was equally significant for Palestinians, but didn't receive the same amount of attention.
Lots of images that count in our tallies today:
From ABCNews:
Caption: A Palestinians civil defence worker inspects the damage following an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City, early Saturday July 16, 2005. Israeli aircraft launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza City and the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis early Saturday, witnesses said. Two people were lightly injured in the attacks, hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
From CNN:
Caption: Palestinians look at the wreckage of a van hit by a missile Friday in Gaza City.
Caption: A Palestinian armored carrier burns after a clash Friday between police and militants in Gaza City.
From NYTimes:
Caption: Ahmad Khateib/Getty Images Palestinian policemen fighting with Hamas militants today in Gaza City.
Caption: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters A day after Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks, Israel resumed targeted killings of Hamas militants in the West Bank and Gaza.
From CBSNews:
Caption: A Palestinian security force armored carrier burns. (AP)
Caption: The rubble of a building used by Hamas in the Jebaliya refugee camp. (AP)
From FOX:
Repeats previous image with this caption:
July 15: A man inspects damage done to a building by an Israeli missile strike in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. AP
July 15: A Palestinian security force vehicle burns in Gaza City during clashes with Hamas militants. AP
July 15: A Palestinian boy looks at the burned remnants of a security forces truck that was set ablaze in Gaza City. AP
July 15: A Palestinian security truck burns after being set ablaze in Gaza City. AP
From MSNBC:
Caption: Two Palestinian civil defense officers look through the rubble in a metal foundry after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Friday. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
OK. We have here 9 images of Palestinians suffering as a result of Israeli violence. That brings our total of such images to 10. We also have one image of a Palestinian with a gun, bringing out tally of those images to 7. See all the updated tallies here.
Let's hope against hope that this is the last post on this issue.
Yet another tragic day in Israel and Palestine as violence there continues to spiral.
Today, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man in a raid. The man apparently was a leader in the Islamic Jihad organization, the organization that claimed responsibility for Tuesday's terrible suicide attack in Israel.
This project monitors how the US mainstream media internet sites report deaths in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Today marks the 16th seperate incident involving a Palestinian killed by Israelis which has gone unreported on the front page of the major US news websites. (see a full list of sites we monitor here)
We have only once noted an incident when Israelis were killed by Palestinians that has gone unreported on the front pages of the major US news websites. We've been monitoring since January.
The coverage of Tuesday's deplorable and tragic suicide attack provides a stark contrast to today's coverage of the Israeli reprisal. Just the day before yesterday, one of the top headlines on every website we monitor (except ABCNews.com) and the main photo on NYTimes.com reported the tragic death of two Israelis and the bomber. The story, in short, got major coverage. Today's violence -- in which a Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops -- goes relatively unnoticed.
A casual observer of the conflict, it seems, could be forgiven for believing that only Israelis were victims of violence in this conflict and that only Palestinians did any killing. Unfortunately, both sides are killing one another -- and that's why we need to work immediately to end this conflict.
UPDATE: 10:50PM
Violence continues as Palestinian militiants fire rockets from Gaza into Israel, killing an Israeli woman. Hamas and Jihad issue statements saying that this rocket attack was in retaliation for the killing of the Palestinian earlier today (and reported above). Then, Israeli helicopters fired missles on at least three targets in the Gaza Strip.
This report on MSNBC is the only story that appears on any of the major US media websites about these terrible incidents. The headline, which appeared near the bottom of the page under "World News" reads: "Israeli-Palestinian Violence Threatens Truce." The photo with the story appears below and shows a Palestinian man surveying the damage to his home after an Israeli missle damaged it. This is a rare example (tally to be updated) of a photo showing Palestinian victims of violence.
Caption: A Palestinian man checks the damage after Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Gaza targets on Thursday. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
Today, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man in a raid. The man apparently was a leader in the Islamic Jihad organization, the organization that claimed responsibility for Tuesday's terrible suicide attack in Israel.
This project monitors how the US mainstream media internet sites report deaths in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Today marks the 16th seperate incident involving a Palestinian killed by Israelis which has gone unreported on the front page of the major US news websites. (see a full list of sites we monitor here)
We have only once noted an incident when Israelis were killed by Palestinians that has gone unreported on the front pages of the major US news websites. We've been monitoring since January.
The coverage of Tuesday's deplorable and tragic suicide attack provides a stark contrast to today's coverage of the Israeli reprisal. Just the day before yesterday, one of the top headlines on every website we monitor (except ABCNews.com) and the main photo on NYTimes.com reported the tragic death of two Israelis and the bomber. The story, in short, got major coverage. Today's violence -- in which a Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops -- goes relatively unnoticed.
A casual observer of the conflict, it seems, could be forgiven for believing that only Israelis were victims of violence in this conflict and that only Palestinians did any killing. Unfortunately, both sides are killing one another -- and that's why we need to work immediately to end this conflict.
UPDATE: 10:50PM
Violence continues as Palestinian militiants fire rockets from Gaza into Israel, killing an Israeli woman. Hamas and Jihad issue statements saying that this rocket attack was in retaliation for the killing of the Palestinian earlier today (and reported above). Then, Israeli helicopters fired missles on at least three targets in the Gaza Strip.
This report on MSNBC is the only story that appears on any of the major US media websites about these terrible incidents. The headline, which appeared near the bottom of the page under "World News" reads: "Israeli-Palestinian Violence Threatens Truce." The photo with the story appears below and shows a Palestinian man surveying the damage to his home after an Israeli missle damaged it. This is a rare example (tally to be updated) of a photo showing Palestinian victims of violence.
Caption: A Palestinian man checks the damage after Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Gaza targets on Thursday. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
This Eric guy is easily the coolest Eric to spell his name incorrectly. And his website is nearly as important as mine. Go check it out.
A tragic day in Israel today as an apparent 18 year old suicide bomber attacked in the coastal city of Netanya, killing at least two civilians along with himself. Allow me again to reiterate that all violence that targets civilians, like suicide bombings of this nature, are completely unjustifiable and deplorable. I join the world in condemning this inexcusable act of barbaric terrorism and extend my condolences to the families of the victims.
This story is, justifiably, getting major attention by the US mainstream media. Each of the websites we monitor except for ABCNews.com has a headline on its front page.
CNN: Suicide bomber kills 2 at Israeli mall |
FOXNews: Bomber Kills 2 at Israeli Mall
MSNBC: Suicide blast strikes mall in Israel
CBSNews: Blast At Israel Mall Kills 3
NYTimes.com: Suicide Bombing in Israel
There were several photos accompanying the stories, including this sobering image which appeared both on the front page of the NY Times and at the story on MSNBC:
from CBSNews.com
from CNN.com
from FOXNews.com
The photos here all show the human suffering after this dastardly act. It is extremely rare to see images of Palestinians going through similar suffering in the US media.
While this story deserves the attention it has gotten, stories of Palestinians being killed also deserve attention, but they often go unreported in the US.
Since January, we've noted fifteen seperate events when Palestinians have been killed violently by Israelis without a single story on the front page of a US mainstream media website. Only one time have we noticed the same when Israelis are tragically and violently killed.
Hopefully this will be the last post on this topic, because this is extremely sad stuff and these kinds of attacks do nothing to help anyone further their dreams of peace and freedom. This violence must be stopped.
This story is, justifiably, getting major attention by the US mainstream media. Each of the websites we monitor except for ABCNews.com has a headline on its front page.
CNN: Suicide bomber kills 2 at Israeli mall |
FOXNews: Bomber Kills 2 at Israeli Mall
MSNBC: Suicide blast strikes mall in Israel
CBSNews: Blast At Israel Mall Kills 3
NYTimes.com: Suicide Bombing in Israel
There were several photos accompanying the stories, including this sobering image which appeared both on the front page of the NY Times and at the story on MSNBC:
from CBSNews.com
from CNN.com
from FOXNews.com
The photos here all show the human suffering after this dastardly act. It is extremely rare to see images of Palestinians going through similar suffering in the US media.
While this story deserves the attention it has gotten, stories of Palestinians being killed also deserve attention, but they often go unreported in the US.
Since January, we've noted fifteen seperate events when Palestinians have been killed violently by Israelis without a single story on the front page of a US mainstream media website. Only one time have we noticed the same when Israelis are tragically and violently killed.
Hopefully this will be the last post on this topic, because this is extremely sad stuff and these kinds of attacks do nothing to help anyone further their dreams of peace and freedom. This violence must be stopped.
Finally, an ESPN analyist I can wholeheartedly support.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is an historic day for your Most Important Blog... Ever.
As you know, we have two occasional awards that we bestow upon amazing individuals -- real or corporate -- as the need arises. The first is the coveted Jon Stewart Personal Hero Award, and the second is the ignoble Wal-Mart Douchebag Award, given to my personal anti-hero. The true doucheyness signified by the latter, disgusting award can be seen in its former recipients: Wal-Mart, Sir Douchebag Armstrong Williams, Sir Douchebag Ken Blackwell, and Sir Douchebag John Cornyn. A special Nemesis Edition of the award was given to my personal nemesis, Sir Ian Douglass.
Tonight's douchey honoree is so fetidly douchey, there is a documentary film about nothing but his douchyness. He perfected the art of fixing elections. Most agree that he is an evil genius, using such tactics as spreading fliers around predominently African-American neighborhoods reminding voters to pay their bills before heading to the polls, while also advertising an incorrect voting date. And if that's not douchey enough for you, tonight's recipient also took the art of the push poll to new levels, destroying the John McCain campaign for President by calling voters in South Carolina, desiging questionaires asking "If you knew that McCain fathered 5 illigitimate children with 4 different women, would you be more or less likely to vote for George W. Bush?"
This douchebag's basic strategy is to attack -- in a viscious and personal way -- any critics that might damage the reputation of President Bush. This is the worst kind of politics. This guy believes that politics shouldn't be about issues and ideas, but only about winning elections by throwing shit at anyone who disagrees with him. In fact, this guy is so thoroughly douchey that he was fired by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 for leaking information to none other than huge douche Robert Novak. Sound familiar?
Recent developments show that this man was responsible for leaking information in 2003 to huge douche Robert Novak which outed an undercover CIA agent, all in the name of personally discrediting a critic of President George W. Bush during the run up to the disaster in Iraq. President Bush promised to "deal with" anyone in his administration leaking information like this -- and outing an undercover agent is a federal crime.
With this new information, we take no pleasure and hold our noses as we give th---
Wait.
Wait, this just in. Unbelievable. We've recieved a dramatic phone call from our source at the White House, and we have been given permission to change the name of the Wal-Mart Douchebag Award to:
Congratulations, Sir Douchebag Karl Rove -- you look nothing like me, and you are the newest recipient and will forever be enshrined in the name of the dubious Douchebag Award.
As you know, we have two occasional awards that we bestow upon amazing individuals -- real or corporate -- as the need arises. The first is the coveted Jon Stewart Personal Hero Award, and the second is the ignoble Wal-Mart Douchebag Award, given to my personal anti-hero. The true doucheyness signified by the latter, disgusting award can be seen in its former recipients: Wal-Mart, Sir Douchebag Armstrong Williams, Sir Douchebag Ken Blackwell, and Sir Douchebag John Cornyn. A special Nemesis Edition of the award was given to my personal nemesis, Sir Ian Douglass.
Tonight's douchey honoree is so fetidly douchey, there is a documentary film about nothing but his douchyness. He perfected the art of fixing elections. Most agree that he is an evil genius, using such tactics as spreading fliers around predominently African-American neighborhoods reminding voters to pay their bills before heading to the polls, while also advertising an incorrect voting date. And if that's not douchey enough for you, tonight's recipient also took the art of the push poll to new levels, destroying the John McCain campaign for President by calling voters in South Carolina, desiging questionaires asking "If you knew that McCain fathered 5 illigitimate children with 4 different women, would you be more or less likely to vote for George W. Bush?"
This douchebag's basic strategy is to attack -- in a viscious and personal way -- any critics that might damage the reputation of President Bush. This is the worst kind of politics. This guy believes that politics shouldn't be about issues and ideas, but only about winning elections by throwing shit at anyone who disagrees with him. In fact, this guy is so thoroughly douchey that he was fired by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 for leaking information to none other than huge douche Robert Novak. Sound familiar?
Recent developments show that this man was responsible for leaking information in 2003 to huge douche Robert Novak which outed an undercover CIA agent, all in the name of personally discrediting a critic of President George W. Bush during the run up to the disaster in Iraq. President Bush promised to "deal with" anyone in his administration leaking information like this -- and outing an undercover agent is a federal crime.
With this new information, we take no pleasure and hold our noses as we give th---
Wait.
Wait, this just in. Unbelievable. We've recieved a dramatic phone call from our source at the White House, and we have been given permission to change the name of the Wal-Mart Douchebag Award to:
The Karl Rove Douchebag Award, Sponsored By Wal-Mart.
Congratulations, Sir Douchebag Karl Rove -- you look nothing like me, and you are the newest recipient and will forever be enshrined in the name of the dubious Douchebag Award.
Earlier this year, I predicted that big ass cell phones would return and be high fashion. Turns out I was completely correct.
Bush has said on many occasions, including in prime time here, that the main reason we're fighting in Iraq (I think this is main reason #4) is to defeat the terrorists there rather then on the streets of our cities here at home. Tony Blair has been right there with him, telling the British people that the war in Iraq is worth the sacrifice because of the "flypaper theory."
Well, draw your own conclusions as to how well that theory is holding up, or read Arianna Huffington's fiery column today.
Good thing the people of London are truly amazing, and are going about their lives as usual today -- that's how we're going to defeat terrorism, by not allowing it to affect us.
Bush and his ilk have no idea of how to defeat terror. Killing people in Iraq is not helping. And maybe the amazing people in New York City knew best when they voted more than 80% against Bush.
Well, draw your own conclusions as to how well that theory is holding up, or read Arianna Huffington's fiery column today.
Good thing the people of London are truly amazing, and are going about their lives as usual today -- that's how we're going to defeat terrorism, by not allowing it to affect us.
Bush and his ilk have no idea of how to defeat terror. Killing people in Iraq is not helping. And maybe the amazing people in New York City knew best when they voted more than 80% against Bush.
Fox News is helping build the dehumanized image of Arabs once again, by jumping to the conclusion that Arabs were responsible for the carnage in London yesterday, and then saying that Arabs aren't regular people. Nice work, guys.
(via BoingBoing)
(via BoingBoing)
Yet more tragic news today, this time from Palestine and Israel as two Palestinians are killed in two seperate attacks, one in Gaza and one in the West Bank. The deaths (including one of a child) came as, apparently, the Palestinians involved were attempting an assault on Israeli army positions and a Jewish prayer in Palestinian territory. There is a cease-fire between the two sides which has largely held since it was announced, but the Israelis last week announced that they would continue their controversial policy of "targeted assassination," during which they fire from arial vehicles (helicopters, usually) at suspected militants, often causing injury and death to bystanders as well as the targeted suspect.
This project notes when major international media, such as the BBC based in London, note on their front internet homepage (www.bbcnews.com) that Palestinians have been killed by Israelis but the US mainstream media doesn't. This is the 14th time that we've noted this.
We have only once noted the opposite since January -- Israelis killed violently, and no mention in the US mainstream internet press.
One of our contentions in this project is that Israeli deaths are nearly always major news in the US, but Palestinian deaths are often ignored. The numbers so far support that assertion, but we'll continue to monitor the press throughout the year.
One might argue that the tragic events in London today excuse the US media from reporting on Palestinian deaths, but I would point out that the BBC carried this story on their front page, and the BBC is based in London. If they can carry the story, certainly so could the US media. And, I would argue, if Israelis had died in an attack by Palestinians today, the news would have been featured prominently on the US media internet pages.
For more details on the project, click here.
This project notes when major international media, such as the BBC based in London, note on their front internet homepage (www.bbcnews.com) that Palestinians have been killed by Israelis but the US mainstream media doesn't. This is the 14th time that we've noted this.
We have only once noted the opposite since January -- Israelis killed violently, and no mention in the US mainstream internet press.
One of our contentions in this project is that Israeli deaths are nearly always major news in the US, but Palestinian deaths are often ignored. The numbers so far support that assertion, but we'll continue to monitor the press throughout the year.
One might argue that the tragic events in London today excuse the US media from reporting on Palestinian deaths, but I would point out that the BBC carried this story on their front page, and the BBC is based in London. If they can carry the story, certainly so could the US media. And, I would argue, if Israelis had died in an attack by Palestinians today, the news would have been featured prominently on the US media internet pages.
For more details on the project, click here.
Tragic irony today, as Londoners heard just yesterday that they once again lived in the Olympic City, one of the greatest honors bestowed by humanity. Now, this dastardly act by the worst that humanity has to offer.
A friend of mine arrived in London for a month of study on Saturday. She lives in a building just opposite the spot where the city bus exploded this morning. Thankfully, she had left London on an excursion to the south about half an hour before the attack. As of now, she's still unable to get to her place because the area has been cordoned off. She's much more eloquent than I about this, so I'll leave the rest of this post to her. Here's what she sent to me about her day in England:
A friend of mine arrived in London for a month of study on Saturday. She lives in a building just opposite the spot where the city bus exploded this morning. Thankfully, she had left London on an excursion to the south about half an hour before the attack. As of now, she's still unable to get to her place because the area has been cordoned off. She's much more eloquent than I about this, so I'll leave the rest of this post to her. Here's what she sent to me about her day in England:
i'm okay!!! but just really scared. So we made it back into the city and i'm at a internet cafe a couple blocks from our dorm.... They won't let us into our dorm becasue the blast that hit the double decker bus (at tavisdock sq) was literally across the street form our dorm (probably about 30-40 ft). i could see it form out my window actually if i was there. So I think we our going to our prof's flat for now. The other blast hit russell square wqhich is the tube station we go to everyday. ( quite scary) but today how ever we happened to ahve a fild trip. We left on our bus outside our dorm at 9:15 and the the busblast took place at 9:45. So crazy and scary as well. If one of us would have overslept that day...we would have been there.....the tubes are all down so there are people all over the streets...and its raining.
Its really scary when it hits so close like this. If I was to be back in the states I would have read this report and sadly have gone on with my day. It does it hit you until your so close like this. The other blast at edggare rd was where I was yesterday evening...it was just so crazy that we happened to ahve a trip out of the city today. THANK GOD for that. We were in the english countryside when our prof got a call on his cell. Of course your stomach drops and you pray the call isn't for you...it was for jaquline one of the girls on our trip--her grandfather was ill. but her momwasn't calling about that she was calling about the bombings. There are 300 msu students in london right no and all have been accounted for which is good. I was walking in the street and saw my l;ab partner from the flight on the way here. She was one the tube when it happenend. she said the light flickerd and theyv said it was a fire...she got off and the next train that came was hit.
everything is pretty calm here though. I'll write you guys more if i can. I don't know if they will let us into the dorms tonight...I think they are making other accomadations though.
I miss you guys....
love you
Why is Santa Barbara so famous? Not only do we have MJ, but now we also have the world's ugliest dog. Awesome. If I wasn't in the best city in America right now, I'd miss the old stomping grounds in Santa Barbara.
Note that I'm the first to use that catchy little headline about a "Supreme Battle." We're probably going to see a lot of supreme things in the coming weeks. It'll be like CNN has become Taco Bell. BAM!
Anyway, David Sirota has a great article here at the Huffington Post about how this Supreme Court battle isn't about liberal vs. conservative, it's about big fat cat business vs. you and me ordinary Americans. John Engler (yes, the same, former asshat governor of Michigan) who heads up the National Association of Manufacturers (see him at www.nam.org) has already begun sniffing out justices that would be pro-business and anti-worker.
Supreme Battle 2005. Here we go. If you're a conservative who cherishes free market competition, you need to get on board with us liberals. Because this isn't just about abortion -- it's about the defending America against pro-merger, pro-monopoly, and pro-offshoring asshats like John Engler.
Anyway, David Sirota has a great article here at the Huffington Post about how this Supreme Court battle isn't about liberal vs. conservative, it's about big fat cat business vs. you and me ordinary Americans. John Engler (yes, the same, former asshat governor of Michigan) who heads up the National Association of Manufacturers (see him at www.nam.org) has already begun sniffing out justices that would be pro-business and anti-worker.
Supreme Battle 2005. Here we go. If you're a conservative who cherishes free market competition, you need to get on board with us liberals. Because this isn't just about abortion -- it's about the defending America against pro-merger, pro-monopoly, and pro-offshoring asshats like John Engler.
Uh-oh.
Get over to www.savethecourt.org right away.
Note that this is the first resignation since 1994, which means that Bush is going to get more chances to affect the court than the last two-term president, Clinton. Take a look at the likely replacements. They go from bad to worse. We've got to push back, folks. Hard. Get ready.
Get over to www.savethecourt.org right away.
Note that this is the first resignation since 1994, which means that Bush is going to get more chances to affect the court than the last two-term president, Clinton. Take a look at the likely replacements. They go from bad to worse. We've got to push back, folks. Hard. Get ready.
