Saturday, January 06, 2024

Context and history matter

Julia Conley (COMMON DREAMS) reports: 


CNN has long been criticized by media analysts and journalists for its deference to the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces in its coverage of the occupied Palestinian territories, and the cable network admitted Thursday that it follows a protocol that could give Israeli censors influence over its stories.

A spokesperson for the network confirmed to The Intercept that its news coverage about Israel and Palestine is run through and reviewed by the CNN Jerusalem bureau—which is subject to the IDF's censor.

The censor restricts foreign news outlets from reporting on certain subjects of its choosing and outright censors articles or news segments if they don't meet its guidelines.

Other news organizations often avoid the censor by reporting certain stories about the region through their news desks outside of Israel, The Intercept reported.

"The policy of running stories about Israel or the Palestinians past the Jerusalem bureau has been in place for years," the spokesperson told the outlet. "It is simply down to the fact that there are many unique and complex local nuances that warrant extra scrutiny to make sure our reporting is as precise and accurate as possible." 



Good for Julia Conley and COMMON DREAMS and good for THE INTERCEPT -- you know a 'but' is coming, right? 


But. . .


. . . this isn't a surprise.  To be James Earl Jones about it, this is CNN.  The real CNN.  This is how it gets to be stationed around the world.  And we learned that from Eason Jordan and his NYT column "The News We Kept To Ourselves" about how CNN (the "we" in the title) regularly buried stories about Iraq because doing so allowed their reporters to be present in Iraq and pretend that they were reporting.  Year after year, they buried one story after another -- remember that if you're stupid enough to still Jane Arraf seriously since she was CNN's Iraq 'reporter' during this time period.


That column was published in April of 2003.  If you missed it, you probably also missed another Eason Jordan revelation.  From WIKIPEDIA:


On January 27, 2005, during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jordan was reported to have said that American troops were targeting journalists. Although there is no transcript of Jordan's statement (the event was videotaped, but the WEF refused to release it, or make a transcript of the event), Barney Frank claimed Jordan seemed to be suggesting "it was official military policy to take out journalists", and later added that some U.S. soldiers targeted reporters "maybe knowing they were killing journalists, out of anger"—claims that Jordan denied.[11] However, U.S. News & World Report editor-at-large David Gergen, who moderated the discussion,[12] and BBC executive Richard Sambrook defended Jordan and claimed his remarks, though controversial, were not as extreme as they were hyped and that he did not deserve to be removed from CNN.[11][12] But U.S. entrepreneur Rony Abovitz, former CNN reporter Rebecca MacKinnon, U.S. journalist Bret Stephens, Swiss journalist Bernard Rapazz, U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, and French historian Justin Vaïsse were also present, and confirmed the essentials of Frank's account.[13] Bloggers who covered the story (most newspapers and networks chose not to) noted that Jordan had been accusing Israeli and U.S. troops of deliberately targeting journalists as early as October 2002, and had made similar specific claims about Iraq in November 2004.[14] They also noted his admission, in a New York Times Op-Ed piece, that CNN had deliberately downplayed the brutality of the Saddam Hussein regime in order to maintain CNN's access to the country.[15] For this last piece, he was harshly criticized by the New Republic's Franklin Foer, in an article in The Wall Street Journal, who said CNN should have left Iraq rather than spread the regime's propaganda.[16]

On February 11, 2005, Jordan resigned to "prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy over conflicting accounts of my recent remarks regarding the alarming number of journalists killed in Iraq".[11] In a press release, Jordan also stated that "I have great admiration and respect for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, with whom I have worked closely and been embedded in Baghdad, Tikrit, and Mosul".[11]


Both THE COMMON DREAMS article and THE INTERCEPT one miss the above facts.  They are facts that would strengthen the case they are attempting to make.  I have no idea how you forget these events.  So that's why I say "but" to the above.  

In other news, Itay Stern (WASHINGTON POST) reports:


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and right-wing members of his government are coming under criticism, including from the military, after ministers from his party criticized the Israeli army’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, during a cabinet meeting.

During Thursday night’s meeting, three cabinet ministers criticized Halevi and the army, opposing the Israel Defense Forces plan to establish a committee to investigate perceived failures of the war. Netanyahu did not stop the attack, which was interpreted as his direct support for them.

The incident, which dominated Israeli news coverage Saturday, has led to criticism from other cabinet members and the military. Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s partner in the government since the beginning of the war, told journalists: “What happened in the cabinet is a politically motivated attack in the midst of a war.”

In a post on X, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also seemed to criticize the incident. He said he was appealing to “all members of the public to stop irresponsibly using the IDF and its commanders for political gain.”

Former IDF chief of staff Bogie Ya’alon posted support for Halevi on X, saying: “I don’t envy you for having to deal with such a messianic and irresponsible cabinet.”

Netanyahu is embroiled in a corruption trial and is facing calls for his resignation over the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, as well as his government’s handling of the hostage crisis. The militant group killed about 1,200 Israelis and took about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.


Meanwhile, Joe Biden's longterm nut holder Antony Blinken continues to disappoint.  Why is he still in the government?  I don't care that Joe trusts him.  He's never produced results throughout his long association with Joe -- an association that goes back to the US Senate. He failed with Iraq back then, he followed Biden to the White House when Barack was elected president and he failed there year after year as well.


Today?  


He is the worst Secretary of State the US has ever had and he's currently in the Middle East where he's not arguing for a cease-fire.  He's again schilling for the government of Israel.  This time he's meeting with various Middle East leaders begging for help to keep the slaughter of Gaza from spilling over to the rest of the region.


First off, nut job, it already has.  That's what going on in Iraq and elsewhere.


Second off, Recep's your answer?  Recep who was on US soil and his bodyguards attack Americans?  This is your answer?  And Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not Arab.  He's a Turk.


I get it, Joe Biden's been an idiot about the Middle East.  Only an idiot goes there in 2010 and tells them to accept Nouri al-Maliki in a second term as prime minister after Nouri lost the election and goes off on this long-winded speech about Ireland to justify their accepting Nouri.  Ireland?  The Iraqi leaders looked at him like he was nuts and, as soon Joe left the room, they were asking other Americans present to explain what that long-winded story about the IRA and Ireland had to do with Iraq.  British officials present didn't even make half-hearted effort to justify Joe's ridiculous and off topics remarks.

 

For those who are as ignorant of the Middle East as Joe, refer to this from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee:

Who is an Arab?
"Arab" is a cultural and linguistic term. It refers to those who speak Arabic as their first language. Arabs are united by culture and by history. Arabs are not a race. Some have blue eyes and red hair; others are dark skinned; many are somewhere in between. Most Arabs are Muslims but there are also millions of Christian Arabs and thousands of Jewish Arabs, just as there are Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Americans.
What is the Arab World?
The Arab World consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries and their primary languages are Farsi and Turkish respectively. Arab countries have a rich diversity of ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities. These include Kurds, Armenians, Berbers and others. There are over 300 million Arabs.


Did that explain to the Joe Bidens of the world?  "Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries."


Blinken has failed again and that's all he ever does. 


He's declaring that Recep is "committed" which means more money -- more US money -- just got handed to Recep who carries his own genocide in Turkey on the Kurds -- when he's not violating Iraq's sovereignty by launching attacks in Iraq.

What are we supposed to say to that?  "That's good diplomacy"?  It's not.  Blinken needs to resign and that's the feeling of the majority of people working in the US State Dept.


While Idiot Blinken does Biden's bidding, others are tired of objecting in private.  They're tired of the stress and they're tired of what's happening to the Palestinian people.  This goes beyond the State Dept and includes cabinet members.  If Joe can't find a way to demand a cease-fire, you're about to see an administration splitting apart.  

People are not going to make themselves sick supporting this genocide.  You've had staff protest outside the White House and two letters published.  That's nothing compared to what's going to happen next.  


There's talk right now of one prominent member of the administration not only thinking of coming forward with opposition but also declaring a run for the Democratic Party's nomination.


THE NATIONAL notes:


EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sounded the alarm on Saturday about Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict in a spillover from Israel's war with Hamas.

Mr Borrell, on a visit to Lebanon, said it was imperative to avoid a regional escalation in the Middle East, and warned Israel that "nobody will win from a regional conflict".

He was commenting at a conference with caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati following talks with top government officials on events in and around Gaza, including the war's impact and the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border.



Protests continue around the world.  Lincoln Tan (NEW ZEALAND HERALD) notes:


Tensions were high as protesters marched in Auckland calling for ceasefire in Palestine, with a strong police presence preventing a clash with pro-Israel counter-protesters.

Several hundred people gathered in Aotea Square in Auckland on Sunday morning calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict which had been going on for almost four months.

They marched from Aotea Square along Queen St to Quay St where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was, but were met along the way by counter-protesters.

Organised by Palestinian Youth Aotearoa, the group chanted to “free, free Palestine” and “we don’t want your bloody war” as they marched.

ALJAZEERA notes:


New Yorkers calling for a free Palestine have rallied in what is known as “Little Yemen” in The Bronx, despite wintry conditions.

The “Flood the Bronx for Gaza” protest was organised by Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a community organisation that has been organising regular pro-Palestinian events throughout New York City.

NBC's KING FIVE Seattle station reports:


Protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war shut down all northbound Interstate 5 lanes in downtown Seattle on Saturday afternoon. The freeway reopened after about five hours, according to Washington State Patrol.

As of 5 p.m., all of the protesters had left the freeway, though 12 vehicles were abandoned by drivers during the hours-long backup, according to Washington State Patrol. 



The following sites updated:


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