Garbanzo Toons

Media Bias in Detroit?

I wasn't sure if this was worth mentioning, but it's been annoying me for the past couple of days, so I'd better write about it. The Detroit Free Press, our more liberal paper (not to be confused with the more conservative Detroit News that carries a regular column by Hezbollah-delegate-in-Dearborn Imam Ehahi) ran an article with the following headline:

Construction worker goes on a spree.

What construction worker? Where? What kind of spree? Gambling? Spending? Drinking? The subheading only added to the obfuscation:

3 killed, dozens wounded in Jerusalem.

These two lines seem to have nothing in common unless you had already read the story on the Internet. Or unless you wonder what the writer is talking about and you read the article following the headlines. And then you know - the "construction worker" was a Palestinian on a murder spree. My, how unusual. Who could have possibly guessed?

JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian construction worker commandeered a construction vehicle and rampaged through central Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing three people in what police later called the act of a lone attacker.
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Dozens were injured as the front loader flattened cars and flipped a crowded bus before its driver was shot dead by an Israeli soldier on leave who scrambled onto the vehicle.

The attack evoked memories of the politically motivated suicide bombings during the second Palestinian uprising, but police said the man appeared to have no ties to militant groups.

Three Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for Wednesday's rampage, but police officials dismissed them.

Police identified the driver as Hosam Dwayyat, a married, 30-year-old father of two who lived in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.

Near the end, we read,

Moshe Plesser, an 18-year-old Israeli soldier who just finished basic training, said the man yelled "God is great" in Arabic before trying to continue with his rampage. The officer then fired a final shot in the back of the driver's head.

"To our regret, the attackers do not cease coming up with new ways to strike at the heart of the Jewish people here in Jerusalem," Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski said.

So you really have to dig to get all of the facts. But sometimes, even if you read the whole article, all of the facts just aren't there. For example, The Free Press also ran a glowing piece called:

Palestinian Christian leader calls for American support

OK, he wants American support for what?

Archbishop Theodosius Attallah Hanna, of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, visited an Arab-American church in Livonia on Wednesday and an Islamic center in Dearborn, where he met and spoke with a range of religious and community leaders.

“As a religious man, I ask for justice for the Palestinians,” Hanna told the Free Press in an interview at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. “Defending human rights is a duty for Christians and religious people.”

The archbishop, who heads the Palestinian Orthodox church in Jerusalem, said through a translator that:

“My wish is that the American people understand what the Palestinians go through,” he said. “Their struggle is a just struggle”

Oh, now I understand. He wants American support to help with the dismantling of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people. Typical Muslim demand, but this is from an alleged Christian. Talking to a friend about it, he suggested that Hanna may be under pressure from Hamas. Since Israel abandoned Gaza and parts of the West Bank to Muslim control, the Christian minority has been getting forced out, and clergy have been murdered by gunmen. So that is a possibility. But according to Debbie Schlussel,

Hanna was fired by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate because of his open support for terrorism. But Hanna continues to claim he speaks on behalf of the Church, anyway.

He has repeatedly expressed his support for homicide bombers and "all forms and methods" of "resistance," not only against Israel, but also U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Hanna proudly paraded his views to HAMAS' news agency:

These martyrdom freedom fighters are the heroes of the people, and we are proud of them. We categorically reject suspicious attempts to cast suspicion on their deeds. They are not suicidal, as some are claiming. Nor are they terrorists, as others are claiming. They are resisting the occupation.

Hanna also said,

We support the martyrdom [suicide] operations without any reservations, regardless of what skeptics and opponents of this form of resistance are saying.

In a January 2003 sermon marking the Epiphany and the baptism of Jesus, Hanna said,

We do not believe in so-called "peace with Israel" because peace cannot be made with Satan. Israel is the greatest Satan. No concession and no truce must be made [with Israel]. Any type of peace with this entity is concession, submission, and retreat from pan-Arab and national principles . . . . We encourage our youth to participate in the resistance, to carry out martyrdom attacks.

Hanna has repeatedly traveled to Syria and Lebanon to meet with Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the terrorist group that murdered over 300 U.S. Marines and civilians in Beirut.

So there you have it, the Free Press, when it comes to Israel, is engaged in a campaign of omission of facts, hiding facts, and writing half truths. But as the saying goes, "A half truth is a whole lie." That's why I get more of my news from the Internet than I do from my daily newspaper. If it weren't for the comics, I would have no use for a newspaper at all.

Labels: Anglicans for Israel, archbishop hanna, Debbie Schlussel, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Imam Elahi, media bias

posted by Harry @ 9:01 AM