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05/22/2009

If it’s Friday, there must be violent anti-fence protests

Filed under: AP Media Bias, Israel — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:30 am

Okay, now I’m starting to wonder what’s going on with all these protesters getting hit by tear gas grenade canisters.

Anti-fence rallies in Ramallah area lead to violent clashes between Palestinians and security forces once again: A 20-year-old Palestinian was seriously injured Friday afternoon after being hit in the head by a tear gas grenade in the West Bank village of Naalin, according to protestors who took part in a demonstration against the separation fence being built in the area.

Of course, the reason they’re being injured is because they’re not “peaceful” protesters, as the wire services (and the Palestinian and ISM propagandists) would have you believe.

According to the army, some 400 Palestinians, left-wing activists and foreign nationals hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the security forces stationed in the area and set tires on fire.

And let’s hear the propaganda line:

According to the Palestinian version, police and Border Guard officers brutally attacked the protestor before they even began demonstrating. In addition, the Palestinians said, the police and soldiers continued to direct the tear gas canisters straight towards them, as they had done in previous incidents several weeks ago which led to the death of one protestor and to the critical injury of another.

But wait. There’s more.

The Palestinians added that five protestors were hurt by inhaling tear gas.

That’s right. Palestinians, knowing full well that there would be tear gas, as there is just about every Friday when the protests turn violent, are complaining that violent protesters were, gee, “injured” by inhaling tear gas. I have a suggestion for them: Stop protesting violently. And yes, that is exactly what they do:

At the same time, an IDF soldier was lightly injured in an anti-fence demonstration in the nearby village of Bilin. Some 80 Palestinians, left-wing activists and foreign nationals attended the rally. They hurled stones at the security forces, who used crowd dispersal means against them.

And by “stones,” they mean “rocks the size of bricks.” Make no mistake, they’re hurling those things to kill, if possible. Here’s a picture from some time ago, of a soldier who was hit by a “stone”:

IDF soldier hit by stone

Don’t believe the minimization of the stone throwing you read in the non-Israeli media. It’s Palestinian propaganda.

12/19/2008

Don’t get too chummy with that flaming dummy

Filed under: Media Bias — Tags: — Soccerdad @ 3:00 pm

Didn’t his parents teach him not to play with fire?

Bonus: Note the third word on the protest signs: “Foolish.”

Priceless isn’t it?

There something serious to this though. Whenever there’s a protest in the Arab world, there are no shortage of reporters who’ll trumpet it as the “Arab street” speaking and having something of value to communicate to us in the West.

It was especially true this week after Muntader al-Zaidi threw his shoes at President Bush. Major American newspapers ran front page stories about how al-Zaidi is now a hero of the Arab world.

The media’s behavior is disgraceful. The media promote themselves as champions of freedom and liberty and yet for every Arab protest against President Bush, or Danish cartoon or the atrocious conditions in Gaza that they promote – yes, promote, not report -there’s a question that’s not asked.

Where’s the protest against the treatment of Copts and political opponents in Egypt? Or where’s the protest against honor killings? Or where’s the protest against the persecution of Christians in the Arab world? Or where’s the protest against the rockets being launched against civilians in southern Israel? Or where’s the protest against the increasing rate of executions in Iran? Or where’s the protest against the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia? Or where’s the protest against the stifling of dissent in Syria?

And the answer to each of these questions is: there are none. The government wouldn’t allow it.

Mr. al-Zaidi is living proof of that. He threw a shoe at President Bush and is still breathing. Had he done so six years ago when Saddam Hussein was hosting a foreign dignitary, there wouldn’t have been enough left of him to bury.

The media must know this. And yet they report uncritically on Arab protests, without even a hint of irony, as if we are to take these protests as the voice of the people.

In many of these reports there’s a scarcely contained glee that the protesters validate their hatred of President Bush and share their contempt of Israel. The solidarity boosts the reporters’ progressive credentials. But the protesters only protest what their governments allow. So in the end, the reporters and the media they work for are simply giving voice to the despots and hurting the cause of freedom they claim to champion.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

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