Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Daily Mirror (UK) silently deletes article blaming Israel for child death
Friday links
How easy is it for a PalArab to lie on CNN?
Cruel IDF bombed a peaceful (dual-use) soccer stadium.
All hell breaking loose in Egypt
EoZ now ranked #1 world political blog at Technorati
Two more of the fake PCHR "civilians"

Daily Mirror (UK) silently deletes article blaming Israel for child death

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 11:30 AM PST

I have previously discussed the case of Mahmoud Sadallah, the 4-year old boy whose the world media blamed on Israel - when in fact he was killed by a Hamas rocket.

One of the examples I gave was the Daily Mirror (UK), which showed a photos the grieving Egyptian prime minister Kandil cradling the head of the child, and had written "Egypt's Prime Minister wept today as he kissed the forehead of a boy killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza."

CNN and others made the same accusation, but they sort of retracted (reluctantly) when confronted with the facts.

The Daily Mirror did not, as far as I know.

So I was surprised to find out today that the link to that article is now broken, and cannot be found using the search engine on the Mirror website.

Instead of admitting the mistake, the Daily Mirror consigned the article to the proverbial "bit-bucket." It simply erased the article and pretended that it never made the mistake to begin with.

Puts your faith back into journalism, doesn't it?

It always amazes me that major, reputable media act with such immaturity when faced with their mistakes. They don't realize simple psychology: properly issuing corrections does not detract from their reputation, it enhances it.

The original CNN video with the same mistake is still online. Some 1350 people "Liked" it on Facebook. There is no indication that the report is based on a lie on that same page. People can Google it a decade from now and the lies that Sara Sidler spouted will still be there. CNN's retraction/clarification, as it were, is not even placed on the same page as the original video, where people can see the full picture. Instead, it was buried in paragraph 16 of an unrelated article. The impression that one gets isn't that CNN doesn't care about accuracy, its reputation is the driving force behind its correction policy and instead of doing proper fact-checking they instead try to minimize and hide their mistakes.

People understand that the news media can make mistakes. But when the same media is seen trying to hide or bury those mistakes, they appear small and petty. The obfuscation is in some ways worse than the errors, because it shows that the outlets care more about their reputations than about the accuracy that they pretend is their primary goal.

I don't know which is worse - the Daily Mirror pretending that the mistake never happened, or CNN which buried its clarification but which still features the mistake in a video that people can watch in blissful ignorace on their site.

Either way, though, it explains why people increasingly do not trust the mainstream media and are relying more and more on alternative outlets, like blogs.

(h/t Emet)

Friday links

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST

From Ian:

LATMA: The BBC lies and Israel defends itself

A Ceasefire Has Not Been Enacted on Israel's Other Battlefield

"Anonymous bloggers like Elder of Ziyon, who from behind a computer screen, armed with nothing more than a sharp eye for falsehood and an abundance of common sense, forced retractions and corrections (albeit some half-heartedly) from such media giants as London's Telegraph newspaper and CNN. The outlets had falsely reported as fact, Hamas' claims that four year old Mahmoud Sadallah, who was famously pictured cradled in the hands of Egypt's Prime Minister, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. In truth, as Elder proved, he was killed by a Hamas rocket that fell short, landing in Gaza.
Others include Challah Hu Akbar, who meticulously surveys reports of civilian casualties in Gaza for discrepancies and falsehoods, BBC watch, who embarrassed the British network's Gaza correspondent, Jon Donnison, after he posted one of the false Syria images on Twitter. Other such troopers go by the names of Brian of London, Missing Peace, Emet, Carl in Jerusalem, Aussie Dave, Huff Watcher and Daled Amos. There are a number of increasingly tech savvy larger Jewish groups that are becoming more digitally active as well."

Media should use ceasefire to reflect on double standards By Richard Kemp

"Predictably enough, the media has been full of shrill accusations of indiscriminate Israeli air strikes and deliberate targeting of civilians. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Why Israel can't win this propaganda war

'Moral superiority', that's the key to understanding the left's support for Hamas
"Western Leftists don't have to live with the consequences of their support for aggression in the Middle East. But the sad truth is that the Palestinians are paying a heavy price for their failure to face up to realpolitik."

Russia Today Continues its Anti-Israel Propaganda, Going Even Further Than Arab TV

"A notable example is Abby Martin, a presenter on RT, who has a long history of making incendiary anti-Israel comments on her program "Breaking the Set". Her statements range from wild exaggerations to outright falsehoods. Some of these comments are so blatantly and almost embarrassingly false, with presenters making allegations that even Arab TV channels don't make."

BBC Watch Not enough Israelis killed by "home-made contraptions" for BBC's Mishal Husain

Huffington Post Deletes Hamas Comment Praising Tel Aviv Bus Bomb From AP Story

Agence France-Presse perpetuates a Hamas lie

"AFP alone did not respond to direct calls to correct or otherwise address the egregious misinformation. AFP Jerusalem bureau chief Philippe Agret and photo editor Marco Longari did not lift a finger to correct the record even when they were informed that the Telegraph reported that "experts from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights who visited the site on Saturday said they believed that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket."

Israeli Reservist Injured in Wednesday Attack Dies From his Wounds

The reservist who was injured Wednesday by rocket fire in the Eshkol Regional Council area has died.
28-year-old Lieutenant Boris Yarmolnik died Thursday from his wounds at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

Tel Aviv terror attack victims speak

For first time since 2002, Tel Aviv rocked by bus bombing which injured 28; driver: 'I was sure it was a rocket hit'
Blast, smoke and anxiety – 28 people were injured in a terror attack in Tel Aviv on Wednesday when a massive blast ripped through a bus near the Kirya army compound. As three of the injured went into surgery, others recounted the moments of horror as they witnessed the first explosion on a Tel Aviv bus since 2002.

Israel Vs. Hamas Is Civilization Vs. Savagery

"Hamas' al-Aqsa TV, run by a Palestinian parliament member, is already notorious, encouraging children to become terrorists, as when it depicted a 4-year-old girl holding an explosive, singing of killing Israeli soldiers as a suicide bomber. On Wednesday, the channel's news reader prayed "to Allah the exalted that we see body bags in a short while" and joyfully reported that "the morale of Gaza residents is in the sky right now."
As Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, wrote over 60 years ago, "The real opponents of Zionism can never be placated by any diplomatic formula: Their objection to the Jews is that the Jews exist, and in this particular case, that they exist in Palestine."

FM: Israel will eventually need to overthrow Hamas

Liberman tells Channel 2 that launching IDF ground operation to occupy Gaza and overthrow Hamas regime would take 4 months.

In CNN interview professing a desire for peace, Mashaal asks, 'How can I accept Israel? They have occupied my land'
After 8-day conflict that saw hundreds of rockets fired into Israel, Hamas leader claims his group does not target civilians

Hamas: We do not support Abbas's statehood bid By Khaled Abu Toameh
Denial comes shortly after Abbas's office says Haniyeh expressed support for effort to upgrade to non-member state.

Gaza leader Haniyeh thanks Iran for helping make Israel 'scream with pain'
Hamas PM tells delirious crowds 'the idea of attacking Gaza is gone,' a day after ceasefire is agreed

PMW: Hamas song - death to Israel
A day after Hamas-Israel ceasefire following Hamas-Israel conflict

For third time, Lebanese army disarms rocket aimed at Israel
Soldiers defuse missile a day after two were fired but failed to reach Israeli territory

Gaza ceasefire: Hamas's celebrations mask major defeat

"Hamas has lost key generals, international support, used up a huge quantity of its weapons, lost key infrastructure, and helped give Israel the international support it needs for a ground operation in Gaza if Hamas misbehaves.
In addition, Israel's Iron Dome has proven very successful, and the US has agreed to supply more, making Hamas's weapons of choice increasingly less effective as the days go by. Hamas has also probably not delighted its Iranian masters either, as this conflict has brought Israel and the US closer than it has been since Obama took office – good news for Israel, but bad news for Iran as the US-Israeli divide was primarily over Iran in the first place.
In fact, other than a possible improvement in support from Palestinians and some bragging rights in questionable circles, it is hard to see what, if anything, Hamas got out of the past week."

The (real) new Middle East By Danny Danon
Only by staying true to our principles and meeting the terrorist aggression with decisive action can we hope to assure true safety and security for the citizens of Israel.

Venezuela: Dozens attack synagogue over Gaza conflict
Demonstrators hurl fireworks into building, shout anti-Israel slogan

Argentine govt. slams violence at anti-Israel rally in Buenos Aires

Jewish pupils attacked outside school in Paris suburb
Faculty report two attacks and one break-in in space of 48 hours

Italians hold speech rally for Israel
Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein organizes a "speaking marathon" to support Israel in front of parliament in Rome.

'Where's my wife?' Electronic SMS tracker notifies Saudi husbands

"Denied the right to travel without consent from their male guardians and banned from driving, women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements.
Since last week, Saudi women's male guardians began receiving text messages on their phones informing them when women under their custody leave the country, even if they are travelling together."

The eye in the sky, invented by the Israel Police
700 people work for the department's Technology Administration, and they have developed some innovative tech — which is shared, for free, with departments around the world

How easy is it for a PalArab to lie on CNN?

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 09:06 AM PST

This morning, after the incident on the Gaza border, CNN interviewed Diana Buttu, former PLO spokesperson.

See how she avoids answering anything, and how she lies with impunity without the interviewer making even a half-hearted attempt to blow holes in her statements:

0:19 - "The young man who was killed today was actually a farmer, who was trying to go farm his fields. There is absolutely no evidence that this was a demonstration,..."

She says this while the video is showing a demonstration! And Ma'an adds:

A relative of the dead man, who was at the scene, told Reuters that Qudaih had been trying to place a Hamas flag on the fence. He added that an Israeli soldier had fired into the air three times before Qdeih was hit in the head by a bullet.

So he was not only demonstrating - he was right at the fence and ignoring warning shots while apparently climbing it!

When asked about the bus bombing in Tel Aviv, rather than condemn it, Buttu says:

0:51 - "Well, the incident regarding the bus occurred before the cease-fire took place - Look, I think we have to put this in its proper perspective..."

and then going on about how it is all about the "occupation." The implication is that a bus bombing is a legitimate act of war.

She then goes on to say that violence is inevitable for people under "oppression" - in other words, saying that Mahmoud Abbas' calls for "popular resistance" is simply not going to work, and Palestinian Arabs will always resort to violence. Again, the interviewer didn't press her on this matter, asking her if she felt this was their right, or what she thought about the bus bombing or the rocket fire on civilians.

She then completely ignored a decent question about whether an Islamist political takeover of the Palestinian Arabs was inevitable, answering with a terse "no" without explanation and then went back to her playbook of pretending that Israel was the only one to benefit from the Fatah-Hamas split and of course that they were using it to build new settlements - something that hasn't been done in, oh, about a decade - and somehow ethnically cleansing Arabs:

"getting rid of as many Palestinians as possible."

Again, no pushback from the host on this obvious lie.

And then Buttu goes on to say that negotiations are not ever going to work, and that the only path to peace is by having the world pressure Israel and support her murderous cousins who just terrorized a couple of million Israelis.

Gee, thanks, CNN, for allowing a propagandist liar to spew forth for three minutes without a single challenge. Great work.

Cruel IDF bombed a peaceful (dual-use) soccer stadium.

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 07:30 AM PST

Here is what Gaza's soccer stadium used to look like, with the Pepsi brand prominently displayed:

Here is what Gaza's soccer stadium looks like today:

How cruel!

Except for this:

And it wasn't only a launching pad for long-range rockets, but also a weapons cache.

All hell breaking loose in Egypt

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 05:58 AM PST

Egypt's President Morsi decided to become a little more dictatorial:

President Mohamed Morsy has often celebrated the fact that he has seldom used his legislative powers, using that fact as an index of his care not to abuse his expansive authorities.

But a new constitutional declaration issued on Thursday night actually harnesses more power for Morsy, which he says he is trying to avoid.

The seven-article declaration renders the president's decrees and laws immune from appeal or cancellation. It also protects both the Shura Council and the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly from dissolution by any judicial authority, and further protects the assembly by extending its mandate to draft the constitution to eight months instead of six, as stipulated in an earlier constitutional declaration. Two cases against the Shura Council and the Constituent Assembly are currently awaiting a court ruling, but those cases will now be voided by the declaration.

The new constitutional declaration also gives immunity to all decisions and decrees issued by Morsy since he took office on 30 June and until the ratification of a new constitution, thus protecting those decisions from judicial or any other type of revision.

Further, Morsy granted himself the exclusive right to take any measures he sees fit to protect the country's national unity, national security and the revolution.

Sounds pretty absolute, doesn't it? And it cannot be a coincidence that Morsi decided to announce this right after being praised by the US for his role in brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Secular Egyptians aren't being fooled so easily.

In Alexandria:

Quarrels between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsy escalated into violent clashes in Alexandria on Friday afternoon.

Eyewitnesses told Al-Masry Al-Youm that 15 were injured in the clashes as both sides hurled stones at each other, and at least five cars were smashed in the course of the violence. The confrontations led to a brief halt in traffic on the Alexandria Corniche.

Anti-Morsy protesters are gained control of the area in front of the Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, while Morsy's supporters have pulled back, the witnesses added.

Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr reported that anti-Morsy supporters had stormed the office of Freedom and Justice Party at the area and set it ablaze.

And in Cairo:

Thousands of protesters marching from various points in the city are converging on Tahrir Square Friday afternoon, chanting slogans such as "Down with the Supreme Guide," "Wake up Morsy, it's your last day," and the popular "The people demand the fall of the regime," eyewitnesses report.

A march of dozens coming came from Estiqama Mosque in Giza Square after Friday prayers. The march included April 6 Youth Movement, Popular Current and Constitution Party members. Each movement raised its flag while others raised the Egyptian flag. The protesters also held banners denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood and its intervention in the state policy, as well as banners rejecting yesterday's constitutional declaration.

Another march from Nour Mosque in Abbasseya that includes dozens of opponents to Morsy's decisions, including April 6 activists, is also headed to Tahrir.

The protesters held symbolic coffins wrapped in Egyptian flags and white flags that read "martyr."

They chanted "The people want to bring the president down" and "A second revolution anew."

The protesters arrival in Tahrir comes about an hour after Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsy came out in the tens to demonstrate against the Constitution Party's anti-Morsy protest march from the Fatah Mosque in Ramses Square.

The two groups engaged in verbal sparring matches, shouting slogans at each other after the Friday prayers ended. Constitution Party protesters immediately left.

The problem is that the pro-Islamist groups can easily summon far more people at any protest any time they want. The parliamentary elections made that clear - the masses in Egypt are not pro-secular, and an Islamist government that veers towards totalitarianism is not considered a problem as long as Islamic law is the driving force behind it.

Will the US respond to this naked anti-democratic power play by Morsi, or will the billions continue to flow to Egypt?

There is nothing to be optimistic about here.

See also Barry Rubin for his usual spot-on analysis that does not conform to the sunny thinking of the conventional wisdom.

EoZ now ranked #1 world political blog at Technorati

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 04:19 AM PST

Wow:

In your FACE, Foreign Policy and CNN!

Seriously, no one really understands the Technorati algorithms for ranking. Here is how they define it:

Technorati Authority measures a site's standing and influence in the blogosphere.

Authority is calculated based on a site's linking behavior, categorization and other associated data over a short, finite period of time. A site's authority may rapidly rise and fall depending on what the blogosphere is discussing at the moment, and how often a site produces content being referenced by other sites.

Topical Authority measures a blog's influence within its subject category. Blogs will appear ranked by topical authority within Technorati's blog directory. Factors include linking behavior from blogs and posts in the same category, how well a blog's overall content matches the category in question, and other associated data. It's possible for a blog to have authority in several different categories. The authority in each category may be different.

I've previously seen my rankings go as high as #4. For the past couple of years I have been in their top ten more often than not, but I've seen my ranking fall into the 40s as well.

Technorati ranks some 18,000 blogs in that category.

I won't let it get to my head, but for now I have bragging rights to all my pseudonymous friends. Either that, or I have to make a virtual kiddush; the protocol is not really clear.

(My ranking in general politics has also skyrocketed, to #6.)

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Two more of the fake PCHR "civilians"

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST

From PCHR:

At approximately 09:40, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a group of Palestinian civilians near Abdullah Bin Rawaha Mosque in Maan area in the east of Khan Yunis. 2 civilians were killed: Abdullah Harb Salem Abu Khater, 21; and Mahmoud Saeed Abu Khater, 34.

The PalDF Hamas forum refers to Mahmoud Saeed Abu Khater, whose day job was apparently as a teacher, as a "mujahid."

His brother, Abdullah, was a member of Hamas as well: