(Lebanon) It is morbidly amusing to watch what lengths the MSM...

[Poll_Blind]

...in America will apparently go through NOT to mention that Americans and Westerners, so far anyway, are being evacuated from and fearful of Israeli attacks in Lebanon. I've heard CNN, MSNBC, certainly FOX vis-a-vis Wolf Blitzer, et al. use lines like:

"Americans flee fighting in Lebanon"

"World evacuating citizens from dangers in Lebanon"

"Hundreds flee war-torn Lebanon"

  Bullsh*t. Right now everyone who's fleeing Lebanon is fleeing from Israeli attacks, bombs. You will not likely find articles reporting:

"Americans flee Israeli bombing of Lebanon" or

"World evacuating citizens from Israeli attacks in Lebanon" or

"Hundreds flee Lebanon, still under attack by Israel"

  Just something I noticed. Because of the indirect nature of their wording, it implies that more than one country is causing the civilian deaths and terror in Lebanon.

PB

[leftchick]

1. the people fleeing know it

I have seen several interviewed saying they wish Israel would cease fire.

[chimpymustgo]

14. This explains it all. "The Media's ME Rules of Engagement."

Thanks to leftchick who originally posted this link. It is a MUST READ.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-goff/the-pword_b_251 ...

- snip -

But we seldom hear of this theft, or of the massive theft of Palestinian water. The US press has been so thoroughly intimidated by Zionist publicist/attack dogs, who bait every critic of Israel as an anti-Semite, that they have developed journalistic norms with regard to Palestine-Israel that completely support the Zionist position.

Robin C. Miller's book "The Media's Middle East Rules of Engagement" is a good primer on how this works, listing ten "rules" that are scrupulously followed and giving examples of each.

Rule 1: See the Middle East through Israeli eyes.
Rule 2: Treat American and Israeli governmental statements as hard news.
Rule 3: Ignore the historical context.
Rule 4: Avoid the fundamental legal and moral issues posed by the Israeli occupation.
Rule 5: Suppress or minimize news unfavorable to the Israelis.
Rule 6: Muddy the waters when necessary.
Rule 7: Credit all Israeli claims, even if wholly unfounded.
Rule 8: Doubt all Palestinian assertions, no matter how self-evident.
Rule 9: Condemn only Palestinian violence.
Rule 10: Disparage the international consensus supporting Palestinian rights.

There is an eleventh rule that hovers over all the other rules. Equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. This shuts everyone up. That's why it is so critically important that this Eleventh Rule be challenged loudly and clearly and frequently. Anti-Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism. Zionism is not Judaism. Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jews. The point is that Zionism raises many questions about what constitutes Jewishness. Israeli Jews are largely secular, so it cannot be called a strictly religious category.

-snip-

[malaise]

2. It's actually quite funny

By their lies shall they all be known.

[ugarte]

3. It's only "escalation" when Israelis die

Read this:

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/cook.php?articleid=9320

[patcox2]

4. My newspaper buries all stories in the back.

And it never uses words like "war" and "invasion" to describe whats going on.

[Jim__]

5. Last night on CBS ...

... Bob Schiefer actually opened the news with something like "Hezbollah launches more rocket attacks against Israel, Israel responds with more raids on Lebanon."

I just shut it off.

[chimpymustgo]

6. They are "incursions". Just..."entering another territory". Sick sh*t.

Media continues to whore.

[High Plains]

15. CBS has been bad on this.

For the first two days of the war, Bob Schieffer opened the Evening News by referring to "the terrorists" and didn't even say the word Hezbollah.

[MindPilot]

7. "Israel smites Beirut" was a headline

on my local paper's website Friday. Not hits, attacks, or bombs but "smites" with all its righteous biblical connotations. :puke:

Then a caption mentioned how Beirut was being "punished".

[uppityperson]

8. and the articles are finally starting to focus on Israeli bombing

rather than just Lebanon bombing Israel. Interesting how I write things and delete them on this topic, you know?

[Junkdrawer]

9. 45 Headlines - No Israel in sight....

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200607190324.htm

[Poll_Blind]

10. Exactly....amazing. n/t

PB

[Junkdrawer]

12. Hey...Maybe they're listening to you..We now have:

Israel Coordinating with US On Evacuations

Those Israelis sure are helpful, huh?

[Just Me]

11. Further proof to me of some serious censorship or,....

,...seriously shallow world view or intentional infliction of psyops (mass information dissemination).

[Poll_Blind]

13. I'm hearing Wolf saying some of CNN family "caught in crossfire" in...

...Lebanon. I guess that makes sense, the Lebanese are likely getting attacked from at least two different directions at once by Israel.

PB

[cantstandbush]

16. Nice catch Poll_blind.

You definitely "get it." ;-)