January 15 'Media Critique': "Media 'War Crimes'

HR gets back to some of it's old tricks in just plain old fabrication.

Human Rights Watch has condemned Israel for allegedly using white phosphorus weapons unlawfully in the conflict ......media including The Guardian, Times of London, Christian Science Monitor and CNN have repeated HRW's claims

What, the media has reported claims!! The nerve of them. Will HR demand that they also stop reported the claims of IDF spokesmen?

However, this charge has been disputed by the International Red Cross, which stated that it had no evidence to suggest that white phosphorus is being used improperly or illegally by Israel.

They then provide an excerpt from an AP story quoting an ICRC expert. But they leave out an important point he made,

However, Herby said evidence is still limited because of the difficulties of gaining access to Gaza........

And the BBC,

Yet again, journalistic professionalism is thrown out of the window in the BBC's desperate attempts to attack and sully Israel

How?

The article states that "BBC journalists in Gaza and Israel have compiled detailed accounts of the claims." Who are these BBC journalists in Gaza? On the basis that foreign press have not been allowed access to Gaza, one can only assume that these supposedly neutral observers are, in fact, Palestinians

OMG! The BBC actually takes the word of Palestinian journalists and reports the views of Palestinian eyewitnesses. Don't they know that all Arabs are liars?

Don't you just love the smell of bigotry in the air in the morning?

Which takes us back to the white phosphorous story. HR continued by noting a Ynet news story claiming that one Hamas mortar that landed in Israel contained white phosphorous. The story quoted a 'security chief' from a regional council. Though HR hasn't the slightest doubt about the word of "this supposedly neutral observer" who is, in fact, Israeli [cue: audible intake of breath].

January 13 'Media Critique': "Media Gives Platform to Radical Doctor "

HR are having a fit over Mads Gilbert, a doctor currently working in Gaza. He's given quite a few interviews, prompting HR to screech,

Why does the media continue to quote propagandist Mads Gilbert?

Probably because he's witnessing the scenes that Israel is blocking the media from seeing for themselves.

And "propagandist" - oh, HR mean that he says things that HR doesn't like.

Having no basis to criticise what he actually says, HR go for the personal attack from, can you believe it, Melanie Phillips,

He is a political activist and member of the Norwegian Maoist 'Red' party.

And HR, ever the unintentional practitioners of extreme irony, tell us about their online petition,

The petition stated, "I call on the media to provide balanced, objective coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict and not rely on information from Hamas - a terrorist organization - as a source of news. I demand that the use of images and headlines that misrepresent current events to the detriment of the State of Israel be stopped immediately."

It's hilarious to see a stridently partisan and dishonest mob like HR demanding "balanced" and "objective coverage" - the very last thing that they actually want, evidenced by the attack on Mads Gilbert.

As HR consistently demonstrate, any thing that is to "the detriment of the State of Israel " is, by definition, a misrepresentation. The logic of this statement suggests that HR would be quite OK with anything that might "misrepresent the current situation" to the benefit of Israel, ie Israeli propaganda. I'm sure they didn't mean to suggest this, but it is obviously true, as they show with every 'Media Critique'.

Naturally, while Hamas is not a valid source of information, HR will continue to take the word of IDF spokesmen as the word of God.

January 11 Media Critique: "Israel at War - Day 15 "

Unlike the rest of the international media, The Jerusalem Post reports that the IDF has denied firing on a UN aid truck on Thursday

That's right, the rest of the world got it wrong, only that paragon of fearless reporting, The JPost, got it right.

A pity that HR don't tell us where JPost got their truth from.. Let me - its hot tip came from an unnamed MDA source who said that an Israeli soldier told him.

OK.

Media outlets, while distinguishing between Israeli civilian and military casualties have failed to do the same on the Palestinian side

For which HR gives not a single exmaple. And that would be becuase there aren't any.

More of the usual rubbish from HR, yet again reminding us that they will complain about anything that is less than 100% in agreement with their strident pro-Israel position.

January 5 'Media Critique': "Coming Soon? Hamas' Media Massacre"

"When will Hamas and the media create a new libel?"

Another compelling media critique from HR.

As abysmal as this is, HR manage to make it worse with their comments on this rather sensible BBC piece.

But why does the BBC's Paul Reynolds consider the Israeli message to be
"propaganda?" And why does he treat IDF video sources with such skepticism

Why?? Ah, let me count the reasons, 1, 2,.....etc etc

It's a measure of HRs fierce commitment to fighting bias that it is shocked that the official pronouncements of the IDF could be described as "propaganda". Don't these stupid journalists realise that only the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth passes from the pure lips of IDF spokesmen?

January 1 'Media Critique': "Israel at War - Day 6"

HonestReporting make much of their professed goal to fight bias and keep the media honest.

And I'm all for impartiality and fairness.

But could you take advice regarding bias and impartiality from an organisation that, without the slightest hint of irony, sends out the following as part of its 'media critique'.

As rocket attacks escalate on Israel, so does the media war

There's a 'media war'?

Apparently so, and HR sees itself as one of protagonists marshaling its on-line troops.

HonestReporting and HR UK will be combining to bring you regular Special Alerts............and how to get involved in the online battle.

Then, eschewing even the faintest pretense of subtlety,

HELP US WIN