Doc's Talk: Learn about anti-Israel Media 'Objectivity'

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Learn about anti-Israel Media 'Objectivity'

Steven Shamrak

How can readers discern the truth between the lines? Listed here are common methods employed by the media - intentionally or not - to influence public opinion. By being aware of these methods, we can avoid becoming a pawn in the media war against Israel.

Misleading definitions and terminology.

By using terminology and definitions in a way that implies accepted fact, the media injects bias under the guise of objectivity. Unbalanced reporting.

Media reports frequently skew the picture by presenting only one side of the story.

Opinions disguised as news.

An objective reporter should not use adjectives or adverbs, unless they are part of a quotation. In addition, the source for any facts and opinions should be clear from the report

Lack of context.

By failing to provide proper context and full background information, journalists can dramatically distort the true picture.

Selective omission.

By choosing to report certain events over others, the media controls access to information and manipulates public sentiment.

Using true facts to draw false conclusions.

Reporting news about Israel or the Middle-East conflict media reports frequently use facts to draw erroneous conclusions.

Distortion of facts.

In today's competitive media world, reporters frequently do not have the time, inclination or resources to verify information properly before submitting a story for publication. Quite often they take a shortcut or even unscrupulously generate 'newsworthy' reports like paying Arab youths of East Jerusalem to throw stones at Jews or IDF solders...

Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak

There is no doubt that most Americans, especially after 9/11, support Israel. Unfortunately, they usually elect presidents who do not care about their opinion and serve the interests of Saudi Arabian (the evil Wahhabi kingdom), oil companies and financial institutions that profit by speculation on the fluctuating oil prices. Ordinary people are paying for it at a the petrol pump.

With a Friend like Obama, who Needs Enemies? Shortly after the flare-up of a US-Israel row over new homes in East Jerusalem, US president Barack Obama ordered a consignment of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, already on its way to Israel, to be diverted to the US Air Force base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. This step in mid-March, is a pointer to a US arms embargo for preventing Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear sites.

The Saudis are Deeply Alarmed by the US Stance on Iran. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday, March 10, flying in unexpectedly from Kabul in Afghanistan, after the Saudis demanded urgent clarifications of the Obama administration's Iran policy. Reports revealed that not only is the Obama administration leaning hard on Israel to abstain from attacking Iran, but is even retreating from harsh sanctions.

Petraeus Sets the Record Straight. US General David Petraeus clarifies that he never implied Israeli actions were responsible for US military deaths. (Who did? - Was it another Obama administration and media-orchestrated anti-Israel smear?)

Quote of the Week: "It's interesting that on the same day of Biden's reprimand of Israel, General Petraeus was testifying before Congress that Iran was aiding Al Qaeda... Had Biden's trip to Israel gone quietly, perhaps that day's news would have focused on what Petraeus said about Iran ." - Laura L., a subscriber to my letter.

Another Fake Islamic PR Failed. The Egyptian government has announced it will not allow Jews to pray in Cairo's newly-restored Maimonides Synagogue. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said, "he would not allow any Jew to pray in the temple, and would not allow any Israeli to pray in the temple." However, he said, Egypt will continue to restore its ancient synagogues, with the next one to be in Alexandria, the Temple of the Prophet Daniel. (Who do they restore Jewish synagogues for? Why is no one outraged? The anti-Semitic press is silent again!)

House Majority Tried to Calm anti-Semitic Secretary. More than 75 percent of Congressmen (327 Representatives, out of 435) in the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing support for Israel and demanding an end to the highly publicized state of tensions with Israel.

PA Backtracking on Closing Christian TV. The Palestinian Authority government has rescinded its decision to shut down its only Christian television station in Judea and Samaria. The move comes in the face of worldwide criticism after the PA closed down Al-Maher "Nativity" TV. (Still no 'outrage'! Would it be so quiet if it was Israel?)

Quote of the Week: "The suppression of terror and the fight against terrorism will be continued& We will continue operations against terrorists without compromise and untill the end. These are animals. Irrespective of their motives, what they do is a crime by any law and any moral standards. I have no doubt that we will find and destroy them all." - Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, after visit to one of the sites of the tragedy, Lubyanka Metro station - No calls for restraint, due legal process, negotiations or good-will gestures from Russia. The usual anti-Semitic bigots and 'humanitarians' are silent about the blunt language of the Russian president! And no justifications for Chechen resistance against the Russian occupation of Chechnya! He also said: "We must keep wiping out terrorist scum in the North Caucasus" - That is what Israel must do to all terrorists, including the 'moderate' ones!

Traditional US Blackmail or Usual Smear by BBC? The BBC reports that a senior US official said that the US may abstain if the UNSC votes against building for Jews in eastern Jerusalem. A White House source said that no such vote was on the Security Council agenda - and that no decision had been made on the vote. (The US has been using its veto power of the UN's anti-Israel traditional multitude of resolutions as a tool of blackmail and to manipulate Israel' s policy. The bottom line: in order to please Arab oil producers, the Western powers are playing, using the UN as a game-board, with Jewish lives! And anti-Semitic bigots in the BBC are eager helpers.)

Where is Obama's Outrage? 1) PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has promoted a man who commanded terror unit Force 17 to the rank of major-general. Mahmoud Damra was responsible for the planning and logistic coordination of numerous terror attacks in which many people were killed, including US citizens. 2) Syria and Libya have urged the PA to withdraw from the peace strategy and resume armed resistance against Israel. 3) Palestinians have reiterated their refusal to hold even indirect talks with Israel.

Fight Terrorism without Compromise. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that his country will work without compromise in order to root out terrorism. Following the attacks in Moscow, Medvedev ordered the security forces to step up their activities across the country. (Any country, but not Israel?)

The 'Peaceloving' Neighbour. Syrian President Bashar Assad said that the only language Israel understands "is the language of power." As a result, he said Syria was continuing to build up its army and "we are ready for all scenarios."

The US is Kissing PA's Ass, but must Israel? The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas made US presidential envoy George Mitchell go and find him in Amman, only to lay down a fresh prohibitive condition for indirect peace talks to begin: Israel must first open its prison doors to free 2,000 Palestinian terrorists, twice the number demanded by Hamas for handing over kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalilt. (The endless strings of new conditions and demands made by the PA are designed to avoid even a fake peace process, but to blame Israel for failure.)

Democrats Abandoning Obama. Obama s most outspoken Democratic critic is former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who campaigned for Obama in Florida during the 2008 election. Koch said if Obama asked him to do it again he would not, because of the administration's harsh criticism of Israel. Exit polls showed Obama won about 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008. Jewish Democratic donors are believed to make up 25 to 50 percent of the party's major contributors - those who give more than $25,000.
The Heavenly Rewards of Shahids!

Can we offer anything better to them? How about helping them to receive their rewards faster? They would love it!

1. The Shahid's sins are forgiven

2. He sees his place in Paradise and lives a full life of joy with Allah

3. He is protected from "the Great Shock" on Judgment Day

4. He is crowned with a crown of honour

5. He marries 72 dark-eyed wives

6. He will be able to intervene on behalf of 70 of his family members on Judgment Day, thereby ensuring them the reward of Afterlife

They hate all Infidels (Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus...) Israel is just the first step toward creating the World Caliphate!

No comments:

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk