Posts Tagged ‘Israel’

Credit where credit is due:

Posted: June 9, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, media, opinion/news
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A few days ago I noted that Andrew Sullivan was making Charles Johnson look like his old self, but now Johnson has managed to grab a little bit of his old mojo back:

The British-based Reuters news agency has been stung for the second time by charges that it edited politically sensitive photos in a way that casts Israel in a bad light. But this time Reuters claims it wasn’t at fault.

The news agency reacted to questions raised by an American blogger who showed that Reuters’ photo service edited out knives and blood traces from pictures taken aboard the activist ship Mavi Marmara during a clash with Israeli commandos last week. Nine people were killed and scores were injured in the clash.

I’m looking at the Memeorandum thread and noticed one common thing few if any mention Johnson.

This isn’t a surprise, I don’t care for Johnson, I don’t like the way he treated my friend Stacy, or Pam or Peg and he has run in my opinion run his site like a cheap dictator, but in the end his position on Israel and his willingness to expose Reuters shows he still has a trace of the old Johnson in him.

Christians in general and Catholics in particular are very much into redemption. I’ve still got a little Pollyanna in me so I’ll include him in my prayers this week. Who knows.

My last thought on Helen Thomas

Posted: June 8, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/news
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As I woke up this morning I was channel surfing and I stopped on CNN for a moment and they were discussing Helen Thomas and there was something that struck me, beyond the point that if she is function in a job at her age she needs to be held to the standards of the job.

The thought was they couldn’t believe that Helen Thomas really meant what she said about the Jews. They all knew her, she couldn’t actually mean it. She is old etc…etc…etc…

I leave you all this thought:

How many died in the last century because they wouldn’t let themselves believe people actually meant what they said? How many will die this century for the same reason?

If you want to know why people like Pam Geller gets so excited over radical Islam. It’s because she understands this basic truth.

Update: And apparently (via Glenn) some services don’t want any more last thoughts on the matter:

Ah Helen we hardly knew ye

Posted: June 7, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, media
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I go for a bite of lunch, wash some dishes, start slow cooking a few rib and do a little vacuuming and what happens. Helen Thomas runs:

“Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately,” read a statement from Hearst Newspapers on Monday. “Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet.”

The Drudge headline is the best:

Helen sent to Poland

But there is plenty of buzz on the net:

The Lonely conservative:

Helen Thomas announced today that she will retire after she made it perfectly clear that she’s a raging anti-Semite.

I disagree, this was already clear, it’s just that she removed plausible deniability from the equation for the left.
Dave Weigel:

I’ve posted the statement below the fold, but I think it’s important to note why some people saw this coming, and why Thomas had basically no defenders over the past 72 hours. She parlayed 60 years of journalism experience into a comfortable job as a columnist, one who had the right to a seat in the front row of the White House briefing room and lob questions at the president. In her later years, she used that privilege to indulge an opinion fairly rare in Washington’s press corps — that Israel was engaging in criminal acts against Palestinians.

I’m sure Dave knows the press corps better than me but I suspect that opinion is a lot more wide spread that he thinks.
Glenn Reynolds reminds his Army of Davids:

I told you those ubiquitous video cameras mattered

One doesn’t have the option of public bigotry in an age of instant film
No more Mr. Nice blog plays so’s your old man:

Even the White House piled on her. She apologized for her comments, which is more than El Rushbo or Glenn Beck ever did for their “controversial comments” but she’s out of a job now after five decades, unlike those two clowns.

And well, she’s gone now. Great work, the Village. You finally got rid of the old bat, right? You stopped the source of cooties after all these years. Good luck filling her chair, any of you in the WHPC. None of you are worthy, frankly.

This seems to be a theme on the left. Taylor Marsh for example:

Meanwhile, Glenn Beck who invokes Mein Kampf when talking about Barack Obama’s presidency, and other right-wing screed provocateurs who use hate speech to make a living remain gainfully employed.

Back on the right Protein Wisdom

She should look on the bright side: at least nobody decided to gas her, then stick her in a big-ass pizza oven.

Arbeit macht frei, Helen, baby!

Yid With Lid:

It is sad that the controversy surrounding Thomas will now end and the media will go back to ignoring Anti-Semitism within its ranks

My thoughts exactly. You can fight this type of thing only when it is in the open.

Morning Joe is playing the “89 year old” card…

Posted: June 7, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/news
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…when talking about Helen Thomas; Joe suggesting that they: “Get her a cake and retire her”. The tone of Savannah Guthrie et/al was old lady sad thing (choice 5 see link above) but Anthony Weiner was having none of it, pointing to her last press conference going after Israel. Everyone in the media at that table looks really uncomfortable.

And remember of the MSM, Morning Joe is the most balanced, on the other networks it’s going to be even worse.

This is one of the reasons why I like Helen Thomas keeping her job, every day she does is an uncomfortable day for the MSM and for those who oppose Israel.

The White House is VERY lucky that Rush is gone for two weeks. If HE called for her resignation on his show then it would be rock and hard place time.

Update: Jonah cuts to the chase:

For starters, this is a classic gaffe because Helen Thomas accidentally told the truth. She’s wrong on the substance, obviously. But of course she believes the Israelis should go away. I sincerely doubt there is anyone familiar with Thomas who really doubts for a moment that she was being less than honest when she made her “back to Poland” comments or that she is lying now when she says she didn’t mean it.

But beyond that, can we do away with all of the shock and dismay at Thomas’ statement? Spare me Lanny Davis’s wounded outrage. Everyone knows she is a nasty piece of work and has been a nasty piece of work for decades.

…and his examples are not just about Israel.

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