Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Israel = War, Gaza = Suffering


CTV offers us the 3% solution. If you show only 1 picture of Israel's pain, and 29 of Palestine's pain, out of 30 photos, you CAN shape Canadian opinion. Oh, don't get me wrong, they show plenty of pictures of the Israel tanks, and helicopters and planes, lots of shooting by the Israelis, and they balance that with plenty of pictures of Palestinian children hurt, and suffering.

Watch the slide show, can you see it? I can see it!

This is a totally disgusting display of bias by CTV and their reporters. Israel = War, Gaza = Suffering. Not one picture of Hamas firing rockets into Israel. Every picture, except one, shows Israel using tanks, rockets and aircraft against helpless children.

CTV needs to get some balance, but they get away with it because people think they are less biased than CBC. I say, don't turn the channel (they are all just as bad) turn to the advertisers on these channels, write down who is advertising on those stations and let them know why you will not buy their products anymore.

We can't do that with CBC, because they use taxpayers money and do not rely on advertising, but CTV does, and when their pocketbooks get hit, they listen.

CTV is presenting a VERY unbalanced picture of this conflict, and they need to be called on it.

UPDATE: frmgrl has provided two excellent links that call out the media bias that is occurring.

Honest Reporting Canada has multiple incidences of MSM bias in reporting.

And....

Charles Adler has an excellent article on media bias in this crisis.

Thank you frmgrl!!

69 comments:

Mr. White said...

"Would you have them lie? What do you want them to show? Israelis walking their dogs and buying groceries and ignore what's going on in Gaza? Should they just be covering the mail box struck by a rocket in Israel? If they show 30 pictures of dead Palestinians, it's because they are dead, should they show the 3 or 4 pictures of dead Israeli soldiers over and over again?

hunter said...

How about showing pictures of Hamas launching rockets into kindergartens in Israel?

Alberta Girl said...

Mr. White - No, I just want them to tell the truth. Face it - Hamas has been launching rockets for months now. They have been warned to stop - they refused; they have been told to move civilians away, they refused.

Why is it that terrorism is OK with you??? I don't understand what kind of person can think that terrorism is OK??

frmgrl said...

On Rutherford this morning they were talking about the bias reporting of what is going on in the Middle East. He had on a guest that has a website that keeps track of all the bias. http://www.honestreporting.ca/

Check it out. It is quite interesting.

frmgrl said...

Charles Adler has a good post on his blog too. http://www.cjob.com/StationShared/BlogAdler.aspx

Bec said...

"If they show 30 pictures of dead Palestinians, it's because they are dead, should they show the 3 or 4 pictures of dead Israeli soldiers over and over again?"

Mr White, besides spelling errors, your statement implies fact but proves none.

The last thing this crisis needs is more sensationalists, spewing the tags of the propaganda machine.

Frankly, it's unbecoming to not look at this objectively. Everyone should be looking for solutions and not buying into their favorite BS channel.

Bec said...

frmgrl.

Those are excellent/ non propoganda sources.

This whole media thing boils down to bias/predjudice which is shocking in this crisis.

I have been to that part of the world and these issues did not happen,"last week" which makes it historically impossible to solve overnight.

We can only be open minded and assert our desire to hear truth.

That is a must!! Thanks Hunter!

Southern Quebec said...

Gaza deaths = 688
Israeli deaths = 10

Last time I watched CBC there were ads. Have they stopped selling ads?

"Honest Reporting Canada"...run by United Jewish Communities. :)

maryT said...

Lebanon is now firing rockets into Isreal. And, Hamas killed the driver of a truck carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Hamas has no desire to have peace. Why was there no outrage when Hamas and others killed their own children via suicide vests.
Why have Hamas used schools etc to store and fire rockers.
If Hamas has no love or regard for their own kids, why should we care if those savages allow their own kids to be killed.
The people of Gaza could have rebelled when rockets were put in schools, hospitals, mosques. They didn't, their hate for the Isreal trumps everything else.
Funny these bleeding hearts over the death of kids in Gaza have no qualms about protesting to allow canadian women the right to kill their own before birth.

Anonymous said...

re:"Funny these bleeding hearts over the death of kids in Gaza have no qualms about protesting to allow canadian women the right to kill their own before birth."

Let us count the unexamined assumptions and confused analogies in this little piece of tripe.Or not, because it is mind boggling. Unfortunately you are going to have to wear your own logic, Mary T - if you are so concerned about human life, how can you be so callous about the carnage in Gaza? Seriously, you need to look at more pictures

Anonymous said...

And while we're spelling Gaza, the proper name of a place, with a capital G - let's spell Canadian properly too.

Southern Quebec said...

OK, if we are into spelling...MaryT...it's ISRAEL

Anonymous said...

BTW - this might interest you, Mary T, for some perspective on who's killing who and how people are dying in the conflict. Scroll down to the last paragraph.

"Israel says it has killed at least 130 Hamas fighters. Ten Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including three civilians. Most of the seven dead Israeli soldiers were killed in so-called friendly fire."

Anonymous said...

First of all, what difference does it make if one side has more dead than the other - dead is dead. I could be cynical and say that it goes to prove that Israelis are smarter than Palestinians because their casualty numbers are lower. But, the would be rude and cynical. The numbers do not prove any point.

Anonymous said...

Re: "what difference does it make if one side has more dead than the other?"

Well it makes it a lot harder to paint the side having killed nearly seven hundred as virtuous, doesn't it?

It's not my position that any of the parties involved are beyond reproach in the ongoing crisis.

But two hundred or so dead children and half as many again dead women along with thousands injured (if you go by the NYT report) is not particularly defensible. Is it?

Southern Quebec said...

"First of all, what difference does it make if one side has more dead than the other - dead is dead. I could be cynical and say that it goes to prove that Israelis are smarter than Palestinians because their casualty numbers are lower. But, the would be rude and cynical. The numbers do not prove any point."

No, it's not rude or cynical. It's silly. The Israelis are using hi-tech equipment (sold or given to them by the US gov't) and the rag-tag group in Gaza is just launching rockets -- with no great accuracy. That Israel has killed so many people is inexcusable. The fact that they won't let the media into Gaza should be -- excuse the bad pun -- a dead give away.

jad said...

"Re: "what difference does it make if one side has more dead than the other?"

As someone pointed out on the news last week, in WWII far more Germans were killed than Brits, but that didn't make the Germans the good guys.

Slightly O/T, did anyone catch the Canadian/Palestinian on CTV this morning complaining that the Canadian Government would not help him to leave Gaza. Apparently the Government was insisting that all evacuees from Gaza had to go to Canada, and this guy just wanted to go to either the West Bank or to Jordan. He carries a Canadian passport, but he doesn't want to go to Canada - just like all those folk from Lebanon a couple of years ago.

Anonymous said...

Re:"As someone pointed out on the news last week, in WWII far more Germans were killed than Brits, but that didn't make the Germans the good guys."

Bad analogy - How many fronts were the Nazis conducting their little war on and how did that arrogance increase their casualties?

As for the other thing yes - you are off topic.

Alberta Girl said...

"The fact that they won't let the media into Gaza should be -- excuse the bad pun -- a dead give away."

Hey SQ - get your facts right - the media cannot be guaranteed safety in Gaza; therefore they will not go. It has NOTHING to do with Israel not allowing them in, for God's sake.

So....I want to know why there are so many who believe that terrorism is OK - that it is OK to launch rockets into another country for months with no retaliation? I would like to know why there are so many anti-jewish people in our Country. It smacks of Nazism and I never in my life thought I would see that come to the forefront again.

Anonymous said...

Re:"I would like to know why there are so many anti-j[sic]ewish people in our C[sic]ountry. It smacks of Nazism and I never in my life thought I would see that come to the forefront again."

Um - you might also be off topic . Being critical of Israeli attacks on Gaza is not the same as Nazism....There are Jews who are critical of Israel. Again you'd have to do some reading to make this discovery. Go ahead and knock yourself out.

Anonymous said...

"No, it's not rude or cynical. It's silly. The Israelis are using hi-tech equipment (sold or given to them by the US gov't) and the rag-tag group in Gaza is just launching rockets -- with no great accuracy."

Well, if that is the case, Hamas is downright stupid - if they can't shoot straight, if their equipment is low-tech, and they aren't a trained army, then they're downright idiotic to pick a fight with Israel. How stupid can you be to take on a better-equipped and better-trained force.

Alberta Girl said...

"There are Jews who are critical of Israel"

Please provide a link to prove that statement.

Anonymous said...

ok

Alberta Girl said...

Yeah - THOSE Jewish people

"Included in the group were Israeli peace activists, filmmakers, the president of Science for Peace and a variety of students. "

LOL!

How to prove your case, there!

liberal supporter said...

"There are Jews who are critical of Israel"

Please provide a link to prove that statement.

Doing your research for you again

I am sure you will find a way to claim these are somehow not "real" Jews.

After all, everyone who does not support the CPC is a traitor and supports terrorists, right? It's always either-or with you, no? Rigidity is good in some things like construction but not in thinking.

Anonymous said...

You think a Jew who objects to what Israel is doing on humanitarian grounds - is what, less Jewish?

liberal supporter said...

LOL!

How to prove your case, there!


Why the LOL? You found it inconceivable that Jews might oppose the Israeli government. Even though being a democracy, Israel itself contains a sizable proportion of people (mostly Jews) who disagree with their government.

He did in fact prove his case. Why the smirking sniggering this time, AG?

Alberta Girl said...

It's just pointing to activists, students and the president of a peace organization as somehow indicative of ordinary Jewish people protesting.

Of course I am not saying that some may not agree, however I don't consider those consider it their job to protest anything and everything as proving your case.

That would be like saying that the Conservative Caucus thinks Stephen Harper is doing a good job.

Anonymous said...

From the article:"Israel purports to represent all Jews worldwide and these atrocities are not being committed in our name," said spokesperson and filmmaker Cathy Gulkin.

What are you talking about Alberta Girl?

liberal supporter said...

Of course I am not saying that some may not agree, however I don't consider those consider it their job to protest anything and everything as proving your case.

Nice false equivalence. The CPC caucus members would soon be removed from caucus if they did not support their leader. And they ran as CPC candidates, so it is expected that they support the leader.

You are trying to marginalize the Jewish protesters because it doesn't fit your views. They are no less Jewish than anyone else, and are as Jewish as the millions in Israel itself who did not vote for the current government.

You demanded a link to prove there are Jews protesting the Israeli government's actions. It was provided, proving the case. You now try to discount those people as "not true Jews", and further you have characterized them as "those consider it their job to protest anything and everything"

Please provide a link proving that these people consider it their job to protest anything and everything. I think it will indeed be difficult to prove each of these people protest everything.

I await your proof.

Anonymous said...

I'm making popcorn!

Alberta Girl said...

Perhaps this link says it

all.http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/01/07/kelly-mcparland-liblogs.aspx

Alberta Girl said...

Um lets see - " activist"

"Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an often controversial argument.

The word "activism" is often used synonymously with protest or dissent, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism (such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing preferred businesses), rallies, blogging and street marches, strikes, both work stoppages and hunger strikes, or even guerrilla tactics. In the more confrontational cases, an activist may be called a freedom fighter by some, and a terrorist by others, depending on whether the commentator supports the activist's ends.

In some cases, activism has nothing to do with protest or confrontation: for instance, some religious, feminist or vegetarian/vegan activists try to persuade people to change their behavior directly, rather than persuade governments to change laws. The cooperative movement seeks to build new institutions which conform to cooperative principles, and generally does not lobby or protest politically. "

Anonymous said...

your link is disfunctional

Anonymous said...

What's the other thing from Wikipedia?

Anonymous said...

And anyway is that your argument?

Anonymous said...

Maybe give us the title of the Post article and we'll go google it up on our own.

Alberta Girl said...

Sorry - here is the link again.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/01/07/kelly-mcparland-liblogs.aspx

The "other" thing (while quite clear to me) is the definition of activism which is answering the question as to why the activists think it is their job to protest.

maryT said...

Never claimed to be a spelling expert. But, try as you all might, the fact is cdn women are killing their unborn children and they are also dead. Hamas mothers seen not to care about their children either, or they would not allow rockets and other wmd to be placed in schools, apartments, mosques and hospitals.
As for Jews against Israel, think Judy Rebick.
War means people die.
When mothers and others allow children to be suicide bombers I have no compassion or pity for the people or country that does this.
And keep track of all those cdns of convenience leaving gaza (doesn't deserve a capital G) and see how long before the go back.

Alberta Girl said...

This should give you pause.

Hamas Charter

http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

"After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."

Ami Isseroff


Yep those poor, poor Hamas.

Anonymous said...

Ok Mary T, you have just exposed yourself as a complete nutter and kingpin of crackpottery with those words.

ABG, I guess you misunderstood what LS had asked you - which was to prove your assertion the ladies arrested at the Israeli Consulate "...consider it their job to protest anything and everything" and to say how it makes them less Jewish.

liberal supporter said...

Was it the CPC itself, or just the BT Central Authority that has put the word out to continuously characterize anyone who does not support the CPC junta as being terrorist supporters?

Your insinuation that anyone who does not support everything you support must therefore be a terrorist, is foolish and insulting.

Why do you persist in using wars and deaths of people for your own petty political ends?

Anonymous said...

I too sense a deficit of empathy in your remarks ABG.

Anonymous said...

The article in the Post is relevant to our discussion how?

Anonymous said...

"disfunctional" - actually, it's dysfunctional.

Anonymous said...

Ok - well, I guess you've got a lot to work to doThis one goes out to ABG from Mystereeoso Toodles!

Anonymous said...

Thanks EoE!

Alberta Girl said...

The discussion has nothing to do with empathy - of course I am empathetic to those who have lost children. But the fact remains that they elected a terrorist organization whose ultimate goal is to destroy Israel. Why do you support the destruction of a democratic nation?

Alberta Girl said...

"Ok - well, I guess you've got a lot to work to do"

Huh?

John Lennon singing Imagine - yes, absolutely - imagine there was no terrorism in the world - imagine what a wonderful world this would be. Imagine.......

Now, why do you support terrorism.?

liberal supporter said...

But the fact remains that they elected a terrorist organization whose ultimate goal is to destroy Israel.
Canada is governed by a group that had support of 38% of voters on election day. Similarly, Hamas did not receive 100% of the vote, and why are you so trusting thath their election was fair? So excusing the death of any Palestinian based on the "election" of Hamas is bogus. Plus there are rules about collective punishment.

I certainly support destroying Hamas, but the Israelis need to be more surgical. For example, in hostage situations, we don't just kill everyone, we will do our best to prevent the hostages being killed, even at risk to those attempting to end the situation, and even if it means some of the bad guys get away.

That is the standard we hold ourselves to. I see no reason not to hold Israel, a great civilized and democratic nation, to the same standard.


Why do you support the destruction of a democratic nation?
Why do you continue to try and paint anyone you disagree with as a terrorist? I could ask why YOU support the destruction of a democratic nation too. That nation is Canada where we currently have a government that is believed not to have the confidence of the House.

Perhaps you should come up with coherent arguments, then you can skip the over the top rhetoric and endless ad hominems.

Anonymous said...

Oh geeze I've made some typos - my badness! Heck yeah, you have work to do!



Go back and read my words above :

"It's not my position that any of the parties involved are beyond reproach in the ongoing crisis."

To address your question - thinking critically, or discussing a contentious issue openly is not the support of terrorism.

And actually terrorism has a lot to do with a lack of empathy between fellow humans. Us and them thinking is a bad habit.It leads to a condition where everybody sees everybody else as just enough less than human that their pain or suffering doesn't matter.

I bet you just wish you could have been one of those cool Canadian Jewish ladies in that paddy wagon. 'Cause you wish you could have that much fun or hold that much principal.

Well, take it from me, there's only your own thinking stopping you.

Are you dancing yet?

Southern Quebec said...

From MaryT:
" And, Hamas killed the driver of a truck carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Not exactly. The driver of a UNRA truck was killed after two shells from ISRAELI tanks hit it. This was after the UNRA asked for "permission" from the Israelis to take in aid. The Israelis said to go ahead -- then bombed the truck. Does this sound like murder to anyone?

Anonymous said...

SQ, Mary T is a little unclear on things today.

Her money quote: "cdn women are killing their unborn children and they are also dead."

maryT said...

Is it true that the unelected interm leader of an opposition party has ordered his caucus and supporters to NOT take part in Anti Israeli rallies. Sounds like a dictator to me, or someone who has muzzled his people. No wonder Codere has not been seen.
I loved the remark PMSH made in his interview with MacLeans that there will be two parties in the next election, the conservative and the coalition. Get that idea out there for the public to think about. How will the 3 opposition leaders defend against that.
If these 3 leaders think they can be a coalition and still have 3 separate cacus meetings, wont work.
And remember that this coalition has already taken credit for the coming deficit.
And I thank certain posters for their comments that have helped me make my objective for the day.

Southern Quebec said...

Mysteee:
That was very close to a Bushism.

Anonymous said...

You are quite right about that SQ.

As you were Mary T. I should have guessed you had a quota of incoherent remarks and spelling mistakes to make today. How do I get your job?

Hey Hunter - I wanted to ask you about that Honest Reporting Website you linked to - nowhere on the site does it say who runs it. Do you happen to know?

hunter said...

So I go to work, come home and find out that a war has broken out on my blog!

Interesting discussion, much like the pictures from CTV, everyone supporting their side of this issue. From reading the comments it seems like all lefties support Hamas and all Conservatives support Israel.

We all know that it's not that black and white, just like the pictures are a misrepresentation of what is going on. BALANCE!

It is about balance, the balancing of news reports, the balancing of blog posts, and the balancing that needs to take place in the Middle East.

Many issues have no balance anymore, and common sense where has that gone? My post was about the need for balance from the MSM between Israel and Hamas, but maybe that should be extended to include other issues like abortion and smoking.

Anonymous said...

Do I take it you don't know who runs that website? Like if I have a problem with the reportage at CTV - I can call up an actual executive with a name. Who am I emailing at Honest Reporting?

liberal supporter said...

From reading the comments it seems like all lefties support Hamas and all Conservatives support Israel.
Bull.

Must every one of you slavishly follow the CPC/BT talking points?

Can you name a CPC supporting blog that is *not* routinely calling the "lefties" terrorist supporters? We seldom see you being called nazis, even though your predecessor parties was rife with them.

Anonymous said...

I don't think you could've read all the comments Hunter.No one here said they support Hamas.

Liberal Supporter said "I certainly support destroying Hamas, but the Israelis need to be more surgical."

I said, "It's not my position that any of the parties involved are beyond reproach in the ongoing crisis."

SQ said "Gaza deaths = 688
Israeli deaths = 10

No one, I repeat, NO ONE here said they support Hamas.

hunter said...

Talk about nitpicking my comment lefties.

I ALSO said, (if you had bothered to read) that this issue is not so black and white, maybe I should have said red and blue.

Balance, is not accomplished by everyone stamping their feet and not moving from their position.

But carry on if you want. MYStereo as you can see from the comments frmgrl gave me the link, and I updated it on my post. I have no idea who runs the blog, but I think it was worthy of the link.

liberal supporter said...

Talk about nitpicking my comment lefties.
Hunter wins the thread!

Hahahahahahaha!

I ALSO said, (if you had bothered to read)...
You must have been in my law class. When we had to write how we thought a case would go, we would write "in the alternative..." in case we were wrong. You know, if you don't agree with this opinion, I have another...

Anonymous said...

Well, I think Honest Reporting could use a dose of transparency in terms of whoever it is that authors it, don't you?Maybe frmgrl knows who runs it?

No offense but I think given the statement you made: "From reading the comments it seems like all(really?) lefties support Hamas and all (no way) Conservatives support Israel.", you probably should've expected just a little nitpicking. On BALANCE its probably a good thing since you're not going to get much in the way of critical thinking from your cronies on the right, if what we find here is any kind of example;). Good post, you had me all day.

Tigidydoo!

hunter said...

Well my lefty pests, let me repeat for you slow learners, my comment:

Interesting discussion, much like the pictures from CTV, everyone supporting their side of this issue. From reading the comments it seems like all lefties support Hamas and all Conservatives support Israel.

We all know that it's not that black and white, just like the pictures are a misrepresentation of what is going on. BALANCE!

It is about balance, the balancing of news reports, the balancing of blog posts, and the balancing that needs to take place in the Middle East.


Notice the word SEEMS, as in it appears? Then notice my statement that it is not that black and white? But after reading about how Cherniak has had to distance himself from his own list of bloggers, I can understand why the lefties here might be upset. They have no outlet on the Liberal sites anymore, so they pollute Conservative sites.

Go back to your basements/campus dorms and try thinking about your lack of support for Israel, not politically, but as human beings.

Southern Quebec said...

Mystee:
"Honest Reporting Canada"...run by United Jewish Communities. :)

If you go to Teh Google, the link appears on the first or second page. HRC is a Jewish run site.

Anonymous said...

Re: "But after reading about how Cherniak has had to distance himself from his own list of bloggers, I can understand why the lefties here might be upset. They have no outlet on the Liberal sites anymore, so they pollute Conservative sites."

Cherniak heads up a blog aggregator, not a group lizard brain. You must be thinking about something else:)

This one goes out to you Hunter

Anonymous said...

From The Washington Post

Alberta Girl said...

Um Myst......

You must have missed this in your link

"The Israeli government informally proposed that 15 percent of normal supplies might be possible if Hamas first stopped all rocket fire for 48 hours. This was unacceptable to Hamas, and hostilities erupted."

Anonymous said...

No, I read that.

"...15 percent (FIFTEEN out of ONE HUNDRED) of normal supplies MIGHT be possible IF..."

I believe that was the offer. Is that a bargain you'd strike if you were a gambling grrl? (spelling intentional)

Right.