We're getting close to a ceasefire now, they say. The French and the US have come to an agreement within the UN. This should be interesting.

How long before Israel leaves?

How long will it take for that "force" to occupy Lebanon?

All the questions I posed earlier about this mythical force stand. I'd like to be optimistic about their potential to control/disarm/engage Hezbollah, but see no precedent for a mighty group of neutrals making a difference in the region.  I'd like to be optimistic, but, uh... I'm really not.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

 "There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."--US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in her ruling against the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program

"My French is poor, but my heart is rich.  I love France- the art-making, art-loving, and art-supporting people of France." -David Lynch

Starring my dear friend's little girl, Kembra Pfahler, aka The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.  I taught her how to knit when she was a 10 year old gymnast living with mom and dad in Marin County.  She went to art school in New York read some William Burroughs and, uh, well, stuff changed. 

Just wanted you to know, deep as the sentiment is, it's not a Gavin quote.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

While I am saddened to have Ariel Sharon in a coma at a time like this, I appreciate Olmert's comments. I'm sure Sharon would agree. And I agree too. If nothing else, do we think we can agree that no one should be shocked if Israel reacts this strongly with the next provocation against it?

Susan

I was just reading how that bastion of vetted Main Stream Professional Media Reuters has been posting faked ( poorly)photoshopped pictures of Isreali bombings of Beirut and supposed Isreali jets firing multiple missiles at Lebanon. In this latter case the "missiles" are not missles at all, but harmless flares. And it is only one flare photoshopped to appears as several-- captioned and labelled by Reuters as "missles"-actually flares ! What fools. The former photo was made to look like all of Beirut is bombed and completely smoked. Actually the smoke is one plume repeated and enlarged to grossly multiply the effect and buildings were added by photoshop to the cityscape for a grander effect.

Also I think the same photographer as above (he takes pictures of the same ubiquitous "rescue worker" who is always on the scenes of bombings with his green helmet characteristicly holding up a dead child disgustingly by one leg ) was responsible for many of the still questionable casualty photos from Cana. ( Were some or even all those dead souls salted into the building to increase the effect ? ) Now any number of dead is regrettable, but now that the dust has begun to settle on the Cana story we find that the true number of casualties was 28 not 56 !!  But any Hezbollah reports and pictures are taken as the undisputed official record by the big media !! No questions, no skepticism or vetting --just phony Hezbollah propaganda trumpeted by the MSM ! Dupes of Hezbollahs cynical P R .

I wonder what other reports and photos are pure bullsh*t.

I remember being told on a previous thread that the pictures are what count. They tell the true story was the justification.

I followed the 'green helmet' story and Reutergate, and it was pretty amusing in a way, but the triumpf that followed (in the blogosphere) is over the top and misplaced imo.
Honest pressreleases are very important, but a fuck up doesnt take away the fact that people are killed out there, or that people are living in fear.

And Reutersgate continues, ok it keeps being funny .. now that Reuters seems to be what so many already thought.

May I add to that, that Michelle Malkin is one hot .. lady .. imHo (I have a thing for Asian looking..ok this is too off topic)

 They say the first casualty of war is the truth. All we really need to do is take a step back and look at the reality. Innocent people are dying in an almighty tug of a proxy war.

For me, the middle east question needs to be addressed with greater urgency than ever and this can only be achieved by all inclusive talks. Hamas and all .

Not really, but war hasn't exactly worked has it? Quite the opposite. Camp David nearly worked but we all know what happened there.

For anybody thats interested here 's a video of George Galloway being interviewed on Sky News UK : http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,31200-galloway_060806,00.html

Say what you want about the guy, but he is a very accomplished debater!!

Yes, he sure can speak when unchallenged, that George Galloway. What a mouthpiece. What a fool. And to him, I repeat my heartfelt wish that I offer to all such useful idiots -- May you (without dragging the rest of us along) inherit the leadership of those you so foolheartedly support and whose agendas you so guilelessly advance.

Now, Reuters and "white t-shirt" and his faithful companion, "green helmet." Yes, I too have found the debate incomplete and not completely convincing, Jazz. There is something wrong with the photos and the reportage. We don't know WHO those people are. Why some of the dead children were covered in concrete dust and others were clean from the same ruined building.  And why it's so hard to tell the difference between 29 and 56, 59 or 60.  

It seems clear that some journalists are -- A. being played like fiddles and/or B. willingly going along for the ride. All hope for objectivity is pretty much long gone with the rapid pace of destruction, the lack of accessibility and the information that both Hezbollah and Israel disseminate. The discerning among us must look at it all, weigh the pros and cons and then wait a heartbeat before attempting to draw a final conclusion. (not to be mistaken for that 21st century revival of the popular "Final SOLUTION" being proffered by Ahmadinejad or Nasrallah, to name two)

I begin with doubt when it comes to reporters of certain publications because I've kept track of a number of them over the years. One, Dahr Jamail, is a guy who most likely admires George Galloway. I read his blog. The other day I noticed he had not altered his original story about the number of dead at Qana. Here is our exchange:

In the interest of accuracy, don't you think your website should correct this statement...

Scenes from Shelter in Qana where on July 30, Israeli air strikes killed over 60 civilians, 37 of whom were children, as they slept in a shelter.

But the NYT said on August 3...

the bombing of a house in the village of Qana this week that killed 29 people

Tragic as it was, the mystery of the differential between actual dead and your report (which was widespread for a couple days before being corrected) is two-fold. Thought you might want to maintain your credibility by doing an errata.

---

 

NYT is wrong. Big surprise since they are so pro-Israel.

d

---

 

Oh. But dahrjamail is right since he is so....

S

This is the same guy who breathlessly hyped the lies of a certain Jesse Macbeth -- the guy who claimed to have been a war-crime committing former Special Ops American soldier outing his comrades for their horrific criminal actions. Dahr Jamail posted all Macbeth's confessions and tales of American barbarity. Only to discover the guy was a complete fraud with no military background whatsoever. Later, DJ distanced himself from the obvious fakery that he had been too agenda driven to discredit sooner.

Sure, truth is hard to come by especially in the midst of war. Especially when one side is a recognized terrorist group with a history of propandistic displaying of dead babies on their websites with no context other than the obligatory sort of blanket blame of the  "Zionist Entity."

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Reuters has pulled 920 photos from its databank. The ones by the photoshop propagandist. Great.  So now the evidence is gone. Of course, I'm sure that only those last 2 photos were corrupted . No chance any of the other 918 are bogus. Jeez. And is this busted photographer the only one who has done this ? 

Someone felt the blog coverage of this stuff was too much, over the top. OK, but unfortunately it takes a " blogswarm" to get the attention of Reuters and the other corrupted MSM. If not for the internet these phony news organizations would be unquestioned. Ah, the professional standards and impartiality of the media.

Well, Raymond, I guess if George Bush could fake all those Bin Laden interviews making it appear that he exists and took credit for 9/11 too, I guess the Reuters photog could likewise figure out Photo Shop.

Here's a Victor Davis Hanson article that brings it all back home. What's going on? One, two, three, what are we fightin' for?

A reminder:

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

From the David Lynch-promoted permanentpeace.org:

"Reduced warfare in Lebanon: During days of high attendance at a group of peace-creating experts in Jerusalem, war deaths in neighboring Lebanon decreased by 76%. Increases in attendance at the peace-creating group also correlated strongly with reduced crime, traffic accidents, and fires, and with improved economic indicators."

Ah the peace frogs again :-)

Now Gavin, you must have smiled briefly too when you read this peace thingy right ? 

Har de har har!  That was during 1983, I notice. 

Remember when the Maharishi claimed to have supressed violent crime in Washington DC?  The Summer of Peace?  But when I wrote the District of Columbia police, saying I was doing an article on the "peace effect," the head of the Archival Department at District Headquarters wrote me back saying there were no discernable differences in crime levels during that time period.  If you've listened, you'd have heard Lynch etal frequently proclaiming anywhere from 30-70% drop in violent crime. 

When I presented this evidence to a TM fan, I was told there were 6 volumes of SCIENTIFIC evidence that I most likely hadn't read.  And if I did read it, was I a quantum physicist?  How could I think I'd be able to comprehend... SCIENCE? 

Anyway, looking at the graphs and charts, I can see it is really really.... scientific.  And stuff.   

I have no idea why the Maharishi wouldn't put forth a heroic effort to get his vedic hoppers into the region.  They could work they way outward from, oh say, Sadr City.  Or better still, if they have the stomach for it, into Beirut.

Who needs the UN when the world has the Maharishi?  Come to think of it, they're pretty much birds of a feather.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

How could this NOT work!?!?  Doubting Thomases, the lot of you!

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

You know,  even until recently i tried to avoid "conservative" websites as sources here . But in this upside down situation we are in the MSM are the partisans and the opposition to and proof of their crimes and propaganda can only be found on blogs! The NYT and U S News will not expose themselves. Anyway check out these examples of staged events and outright cover page lies by the NYT and the US News .

(And Jazz will like the looks of the blog gal on this one .     There is a video of her in shorts bouncing on a trampoline somewhere. ) *             

 http://michellemalkin.com/      see " Fautography alert ".  A garbage dump no less-how fitting for the U S News.

I think the circus tent of MSM news "coverage" is collapsing around them. It started ( being widely exposed that is ) with Dan Rather almost two years ago and continues to unravel.  They say the truth is a casualty of war, but the press is not supposed to be the one who kills it. As if there aren't real pictures of suffering to be found. What is the motive of the press that does these distortions ?   

 *  Here she is on the trampoline http://hotair.com/archives/vent/2006/07/20/jump/

Jeez Louise, today add the AP and Reuters again on a make believe picture story. And Reuters again again on the shocking funeral " yarn" from yesterday-and I believed it. All the MSM do this. Not an isolated lapse of judgement-that defense is yet another lie. Anyway, all these outfits are worthless as news organizations.  

http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=109521

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3288406,00.html     BBC and a Washington Post journalist also questioned here.                         

Michelle on a trampoline was quite funny! Also caught her Cynthia McKinney "requiem for a defeated congresswoman" bit from today's blog which was hilarious!

Onward to the objectivity of the revered BBC. Phew, I'm glad Herofix isn't around to read this criticism. It is so clearly the Eez-{{{rah}}}-ay-leez aggression that disturbs the Beeb, that they can scarcely acknowledge the existence of this pesky little group known as Hezbollah, let alone any of the damage they may have inflicted. If you ask me, the BBC is just not an "honest broker" in the Middle Eastern situation.

WARNING: Subsequent images may cause distress.

If a photo never lies, as was suggested in LetsRoque's earlier "post a photo" thread, well, I'd suggest they do some seriously misleading at the best. BBC's summing up of the war to date in 'pitchers."

Description of the 10 BBC Photos w/BBC Captions:

You know, I think the BBC was right on one thing -- WARNING: Subsequent images may cause distress.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

An optimistic person would say these were just "mistakes" but a cynical person who has watched the biasness of the MSM for years now would say it's just one more example (gross example) of how biased the MSM really is. And for all those who could never see the (liberal) biasness of the MSM, maybe these things will shed some light on how biased (to the left) the MSM really is.

I'm sorry but the images are a gross example of biasness, and the thing you linked above, Raymond, is another pure example. How can a reporter "accidentally" get wronged if a funeral was bombed versus when a small village not near the funeral was bombed. Please....

If they are getting all this wrong, wonder how wrong they get other war stories that have a direct impact on polls???? 

Jordan .

OT   Susan please check this link out . Just a short ways into it Michelle does a Mother Sheehan reading of her diet plan.

Malkin's Sheehan voice impression is dead on-- really good !!

http://hotair.com/archives/vent/2006/07/14/gain-weight-on-the-moonbat-fast-plan/

Looks like I'm not the only one who noticed BBC's anti-Israel bias. Wish they could be an honest broker in this news delivery business.

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Yallah ya Nasrallah ... and sing along people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WxQcWNHmAo 

:-) 

So now the feckless UN has their ceasefire plan. Here's what the Grand Mufti of Terrorism has to say about that via the Zionist Entity Jerusalem Post:

Nasrallah: Hizbullah will abide by UN-backed cease-fire

---

JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

Aug. 12, 2006

---

Hizbullah Leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that if a UN-endorsed agreement were reached that would end the hostilities, then his organization would abide by it.

In a televised speech on Hizbullah-run al-Manar television, he said that he would allow for the deployment of the Lebanese army, augmented by UNIFIL forces, to deploy in southern Lebanon.

Still, he said he had some reservations against the resolution, but noted he would bring those up at the Lebanese cabinet meeting that would be convened on Saturday evening. His strongest reservation was against the arms embargo that the cease-fire agreement called for.

Cease-fire analysis: Not so bad in theory

He expressed the hope that the end of the war was near, but warned that the end would not arrive for another few days.

Nasrallah noted that the Israeli military activity continued, under American approval, in order to gain territorial accomplishments before the cease-fire would go into effect.

The Lebanese leader said that Hizbullah would not cease its actions against "the Zionist enemy." We will continue to "fulfill our national and jihadic obligations." He promised that his organization would continue to fight until the Israeli troops left Israel.

Still, he claimed that Hizbullah activities came in response to the Israeli offensive, and so, if the IDF ceased its military activity, then Hizbullah would also.

The Hizbullah leader commended the Lebanese people and fighters for their stamina, saying that without such endurance, Israel would be the one dictating the terms of the cease-fire and Lebanon would be in a much worse position than they were in before.

How bizarre that a terrorist leader, with his own television station, can broadcast that HE will ALLOW the Lebanese and UN (tee hee -- they were really effective the past 28 years) troops to deploy in southern Lebanon. It would be as if some militia group in northern Montana came on national TV in the US and announced they would "allow" US troops to deploy.

Okay, this whole fiasco within the UN seems to be perceived as way meaningless from most quarters. In fact, I'm having a hard time understanding the hidden meaning to it all. Ceasefire? Ich don't think so. 

I wish Sharon were alive and well. 

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin