Two Red Cross workers killed at Lebanon camp

[Yala]

Will there be any rallies in European cities?

Two Red Cross workers killed at Lebanon siege camp
June 12, 2007 - 6:34AM

Two Red Cross workers and three soldiers were killed on Monday around a besieged camp in north Lebanon where the army has struggled to crush Islamist militiamen for the past three weeks.

Lebanese Red Cross spokesman Georges Kettane said the two relief workers were hit at the northern entrance to the refugee camp by a shell fired from inside the Nahr al-Bared camp.

The soldiers were killed by gunfire from inside the battered Palestinian refugee camp where Fatah al-Islam militiamen are entrenched, a military spokesman told AFP.

The Red Cross staff were the first relief workers killed in the conflict.

And with the battle heating up again, a Palestinian mediator, Sheikh Mohammed al-Hajj, was shot and wounded in the leg, medics said.

The local leader of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, Sultan Abul Aynain, said Hajj was shot by a Palestinian fighter after he refused to let the ambulance he was travelling in evacuate two wounded civilians.
...
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/two-red-cross-workers-killed-at-lebanon-siege-camp/2007/06/12/1181414247872.html
************************************************** ************************

I also want to mention that while 13 Palestinians have killed each other in Gaza today there is no mention of this on the totally not biased and fair BBC website. There are however several anti-Israel articles that have nothing to do with today's news:

So near but so far
Palestinian exiles in Jordan long for homes lost in 1967 war

How 1967 defined the Middle East

Press surveys 1967 war legacy

I wonder when their months-long coverage of the 1967 war will end?

CAMERA has an expose on the BBC's coverage called "BBC Pushes Arab Narrative of Six-Day War"

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=12&x_article=1329

Update 3 hours later:
17 Palestinians killed yet no word on the very balanced BBC. There were however some new stories having to do with, you guessed it, 1967:

Murky waters
Israeli attack on US vessel stirs fierce debate 40 years on

Why did Israel attack USS Liberty?

[DR NOAM]

Not surprising at all. Not only is the BBC left of center, but due to a huge Islamic population taking over England the BBC and Aljezeera are on pretty much the same page.

[Mira]

The army seems perfectly ready to crush terrorist elements within the Palestinian camps, but they don't want to touch Hezbollah even when they act outside the government and bring war to Lebanon. That's my take away.

[Illuminatus]

Will there be any rallies in European cities?

Two Red Cross workers killed at Lebanon siege camp



....no Israelis involved, though, so nothing to see here, move along, move along......next!

^_^

[Yala]

Not surprising at all. Not only is the BBC left of center, but due to a huge Islamic population taking over England the BBC and Aljezeera are on pretty much the same page.

I heard from many people who watch it that Al Jazeerah (only the English version) is A LOT more balanced than the BBC.

[sunshine]

lol crazy

[DR NOAM]

I heard from many people who watch it that Al Jazeerah (only the English version) is A LOT more balanced than the BBC.

I periodicaly read them both online, and find them equaly bent, "to the left to the left"

[Yala]

I periodicaly read them both online, and find them equaly bent, "to the left to the left"

I was referring to the television channel, but even if they are equally matched, it's still pathetic.

[DR NOAM]

I was referring to the television channel, but even if they are equally matched, it's still pathetic.

Agreed,
They say one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter (which explains AlJezeera), but the BBC is intentionaly ignoring whole issues, and distorting others.

[Justcurious]

Old stuff, as usual.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6741737.stm

[Yala]

Old stuff, as usual.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6741737.stm

Why did you post the link? I already posted the full article when I started the thread???

[Yala]

Agreed,
They say one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter (which explains AlJezeera), but the BBC is intentionaly ignoring whole issues, and distorting others.

Yes. With the way they are reporting the news they make it seem like the USS Liberty is the most hotly discussed story in the US, lol. The ONLY place I have heard about this besides the BBC is at Jewish hate sites like Jewwatch.com

[Djinn]

...I also want to mention that while 13 Palestinians have killed each other in Gaza today there is no mention of this on the totally not biased and fair BBC website. ...
I'm not trying to make a political statement here, but this is untrue - at least currently.

Tuesday, 12 June 2007, 18:14 GMT 19:14 UK
Hamas launches new Gaza attacks

Hundreds of Hamas fighters began moving on Fatah posts after giving their occupants two hours to leave. ...

... Some 18 people have been killed on the streets of Gaza in the past two days. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6744713.stm

Perhaps this wasn't covered yesterday, but the article is certainly there now. By the way, this was the "featured article" in the Middle East section - the article wasn't buried or hidden.

[Mil]

I would rather discuss the 1956 Suez crisis. That was fun times. Or may be Internment of Holocaust survivors on Crete.

Britts are going crazy....

[Yala]

I'm not trying to make a political statement here, but this is untrue - at least currently.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6744713.stm

Perhaps this wasn't covered yesterday, but the article is certainly there now. By the way, this was the "featured article" in the Middle East section - the article wasn't buried or hidden.


I posted this thread almost exactly a day ago and even updated it. It was not on their web page as of 5 pm pacific time yesterday, 3 am Israeli time after 17 people were killed that day! They are a day late and a dollar short. They ignored or buried the story for as long as they could. Even today they are reporting 18 killed yet AP is reporting that 20 Hamas members alone were killed, not to mention how many Fatah or civillians.

[Djinn]

I posted this thread almost exactly a day ago and even updated it. It was not on their web page as of 5 pm pacific time yesterday, 3 am Israeli time after 17 people were killed that day! They are a day late and a dollar short. They ignored or buried the story for as long as they could. Even today they are reporting 18 killed yet AP is reporting that 20 Hamas members alone were killed, not to mention how many Fatah or civillians.
So you're accusing the BBC reporting 18 versus 20 people? And for posting an otherwise reasonably-accurate article one day later than other news sources (and then displaying it prominently)? I'm not sure that the BBC deserves to be raked over the coals for this particular incident.

[Yala]

So you're accusing the BBC reporting 18 versus 20 people?

Umm no. First of all AP is reporting 20 Hamas members were killed today alone, not to mention scores of Fatah and civillains, some sources put the 2 day # at 40 +.

And for posting an otherwise reasonably-accurate article one day later than other news sources (and then displaying it prominently)? I'm not sure that the BBC deserves to be raked over the coals for this particular incident.

They deliberately ignored an important current news story for an entire day while posting numerous anti-Israel screeds which had nothing to do with yesterday's news! Yes, they do deserve to be raked over the coals and then some.

[Kenneth]

That article appeared in their RSS feed around 3.00pm GMT, just before my lunch actually, I think they changed the title and most of the content of a previous article. In fairness to the BBC they have recognised that the fighting between Fatah & Hamas has intensified.

But the IHT (http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/12/news/mideast.php) goes one further and says what everybody's thinking:

Palestinians in Gaza nearing civil war
By Steven Erlanger and Isabel Kershner (http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?query=By%20Steven%20Erlanger%20and%20Is abel%20Kershner&sort=publicationdate&submit=Search)
Published: June 12, 2007
JERUSALEM: Fighters from Hamas and Fatah, ignoring pleas from Egypt and from the Palestinian president, sharply escalated their battle for supremacy in Gaza on Tuesday, with Hamas taking over much of the northern Gaza Strip. Both sides accused the other of attempting a coup in what increasingly began to look like a civil war.

"Tonight we may find ourselves at the beginning of a civil war," said Talal Okal, a political scientist in Gaza. "It's not a civil war yet, but it is going in that direction. Maybe today or tomorrow. If Abbas decides to move his security forces onto the attack, and not to only defend, we'll find ourselves in a much wider cycle."

With the violence, the streets of Gazan cities were once again empty of pedestrians and cars. People ventured out to buy food, but only if the markets were in or next to their buildings, and parents fretted that their children might be missing key exams.

Five days of revenge attacks, which have included executions, knee-cappings and even tossing handcuffed prisoners off apartment towers, on Tuesday turned into something more serious and organized: attacks on symbols of power and the deployment of military units.

[Yala]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]That article appeared in their RSS feed around 3.00pm GMT, just before my lunch actually, I think they changed the title and most of the content of a previous article. In fairness to the BBC they have recognised that the fighting between Fatah & Hamas has intensified.

As of the times I posted it did not appear on their Middle East page. Maybe it was buried somewhere else or maybe they were rotating stories but it was not there. When Israel kills one Palestinian terrorist it is always diplayed prominently immediately and not buried or rotated off the page. I also notice they rotate the 1967 stories but they always leave at least 2-3 on their ME page at all times.

[Kenneth]

I am not 100% on this but I think they position articles according to popularity, at least in the RSS feed facility, I don't know about the organisation of the individual section pages as I never visit the site through them.

[frizzer1]

....no Israelis involved, though, so nothing to see here, move along, move along......next!

^_^

Well israel could make it UN and BBC worthy by lobbing one shell into an abandoned field in the area.

[Djinn]

I am not 100% on this but I think they position articles according to popularity, at least in the RSS feed facility, I don't know about the organisation of the individual section pages as I never visit the site through them.
Good point; I know that Google News does this. I've never heard that BBC news employs dynamic article sequencing based on popularity, but it's certainly possible. IMO, people are splitting hairs on this one. BBC may very well be guilty of bias in the general sense, but this particular example strikes me as dubious at best.

[Yala]

IMO, people are splitting hairs on this one. BBC may very well be guilty of bias in the general sense, but this particular example strikes me as dubious at best.

I was just pointing out a small part of their ongoing campaign to demonize Israel - ignoring current important stories in favor of their 1967 editorial diatribes which as I said, appear on their Middle East page at all times. Maybe you think harping on small incidences of a 40 year old war (the USS Liberty???) while there is a current civil war raging was merely a slight oversight, and not indicative of some sort of agenda, but I beg to differ. They are certainly guilty of much worse but we should take every opportunity to expose their bias, even if you think it's unimportant. Frankly, I don't post threads to get your approval. Feel free to ignore this thread if you think it's so trivial.

[Djinn]

... Frankly, I don't post threads to get your approval. Feel free to ignore this thread if you think it's so trivial.
My apologies; I misunderstood why you posted this thread onto a discussion board. I presumed that it was to solicit discussion, which natually would include perspectives contrary to your own.

[Mediocrates]

What is curious, or ironic or if you were me, funny, is that through none of this has there ever been one word of discussion in the American media for WHY they're doing it. Yesterday an NPR interview with Dennis Ross was the first one I've heard that even bothered to raise the issue of the complete failure of all social, civic and government institutions among the Palestinians and this more than anything else, is a benchmark of whether they will ever be successful or not. Other than that you get the vague sense of "well that's just what these people do - kill one another - nothing really you can do about it...."

[Yala]

I presumed that it was to solicit discussion, which natually would include perspectives contrary to your own.

Au contraire, their bias is not up for debate. I thought this was pretty obvious to all months ago when they spent tons of tax payers' money fighting not to release a report (that they commissioned) which detailed their anti-Israel bias.

[Djinn]

Au contraire, their bias is not up for debate. I thought this was pretty obvious to all months ago when they spent tons of tax payers' money fighting not to release a report (that they commissioned) which detailed their anti-Israel bias.
... Which is why, in post #22, I made a point of underlining the words "this specific example."

[Yala]

"They're simply negotiating the power-sharing arrangements"

You may have thought all those appalling accounts you're hearing from Gaza of Hamas and Fatah gunmen doing things like hurling each other off roofs, shooting up hospital patients with rocket-propelled grenades and murdering each other's families were evidence of some sort of low intensity civil war in progress.

But, thanks to Tuesday night's BBC Radio 4 "The World Tonight", we now know that what they are really doing is "negotiating the power-sharing arrangements" between Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian Authority.

Yes, those are the exact words used by Dr Khalil Shikaki, presented to us as a "pollster and academic" based in Ramallah. He added. "We are still pretty much in the signalling phase."

You can listen in for yourself online by clicking on the "World Tonight" link(http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/worldtonight/), and clicking the "Listen Again" link for Tuesday's edition. The coverage of the Gaza situation starts about 7 and a half minutes into the clip, and includes some good comprehensive coverage of the shennanigans going on on the streets and in the hospitals. The interview with Dr Shikaki starts about 19 minutes 15 seconds in to the clip. It should be available till at least 10:00pm London time on Monday 18th June.

Dr Shikaki explained how, no, Hamas wasn't quite happy with the security arrangements as they were and they wanted to send a signal to Fatah. In fact both groups were actually sending signals to each other.

http://adloyada.typepad.com/adloyada/

[Mediocrates]

I guess that's a bit odd. Maybe to the world of Arab politics it's situation normal and we should take that lesson to heart: negotiation = murdering your opponents.

[farmall]

' Other than that you get the vague sense of "well that's just what these people do - kill one another - nothing really you can do about it...."

Why would we want to? If they don't think much of each other, who are we to disagree? :D