RE: Yes it's off topic but who cares right now.
RE: celebrations BACKGROUND ---------- According to the AP, the Palestinians have been threatening news organizations and their workers in an effort to stop the broadcast of video and the publishing of photographs showing large crowds of Palestinians in Nablus and Ramallah joyfully celebrating the deadly terrorist attacks against Americans. Photographers and stringers (mostly Palestinians themselves) were forced by Palestinian gunmen to stop filming the celebrations (see the Agence France Press report below), and they were threatened with death if their video were broadcast. The news organizations they work for were told that everyone from their news organization would lose their access to PA officials and be unable to cover events in PA territory if they broadcast any video or photos of the large celebrations. (See reports below for more details). An AP photographer was specifically threatened with death if his photos were published. Here is the real news: THE AP HAS PUBLISHED A REPORT OF THE THREAT BUT HAS CAVED IN TO THE PA'S REQUEST not to publish these photos. So far we have only seen videos and photos of small crowds celebrating in eastern Jerusalem and Lebanon. At this moment, it looks like the Palestinian intimidation tactics are working to keep the most damning scenes from Ramallah and Nablus off American (and worldwide) television screens and out of the newspapers. Please urge AP and other news organizations to broadcast any video and/or photos they have of celebrations by Palestinian crowds in Nablus and Ramallah. Only by exposing and standing up to intimidation can it be stopped. Thank AP for publishing the story about the death threat to their videographer, but urge them to publish the photos. By appeasing those who threaten them, they are only encouraging further censorship and violence against their staff. * PA NEWSPAPER PRAISES SUICIDE BOMBERS: On a similar note, it is odd indeed that when Arafat's words of condolence were so widely broadcast by many in the media, so few in the press made note that on the very day of the attacks, the PA-controlled daily newspaper published an article praising suicide bombers as "the engines of history... the most honorable among us." See below for articles from AP, Agence France Press, IMRA, the Jerusalem Post, and PMW.
I don't blame them for celebrating, their world is crap right now, and their perceived oppressors, the Israelis, are largely supported by the US. Those aren't peace signs, they are victory signs. I don't blame them for not wanting the media to take advantage of a small amount of people celebrating...these are people that never have anything to celebrate normally, forgive them if they go a little overboard. Video of crowds of people celebrating aren't exactly "proof" that all palestinians are bent on the US's destruction. Remember all those Anti-american rallys we see in Iran every once in a while? Did you know most of those people are promised food and board in exchange for being "anti-american" for the camera? Did you know that Iranians like americans for the most part? That most of them have relatives here? There is nothing intrinsically truthful about the situation that the camera shows...Don't be manipulated (more than you can help at least)... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Mirsky" <gmirsky@axiowave.com> To: <nanog@merit.edu> Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 1:40 PM Subject: RE: Yes it's off topic but who cares right now.
RE: celebrations
BACKGROUND ----------
According to the AP, the Palestinians have been threatening news organizations and their workers in an effort to stop the broadcast of video and the publishing of photographs showing large crowds of Palestinians in Nablus and Ramallah joyfully celebrating the deadly terrorist attacks against Americans.
Photographers and stringers (mostly Palestinians themselves) were forced by Palestinian gunmen to stop filming the celebrations (see the Agence France Press report below), and they were threatened with death if their video were broadcast.
The news organizations they work for were told that everyone from their news organization would lose their access to PA officials and be unable to cover events in PA territory if they broadcast any video or photos of the large celebrations. (See reports below for more details).
An AP photographer was specifically threatened with death if his photos were published.
Here is the real news: THE AP HAS PUBLISHED A REPORT OF THE THREAT BUT HAS CAVED IN TO THE PA'S REQUEST not to publish these photos.
So far we have only seen videos and photos of small crowds celebrating in eastern Jerusalem and Lebanon. At this moment, it looks like the Palestinian intimidation tactics are working to keep the most damning scenes from Ramallah and Nablus off American (and worldwide) television screens and out of the newspapers.
Please urge AP and other news organizations to broadcast any video and/or photos they have of celebrations by Palestinian crowds in Nablus and Ramallah. Only by exposing and standing up to intimidation can it be stopped.
Thank AP for publishing the story about the death threat to their videographer, but urge them to publish the photos. By appeasing those who threaten them, they are only encouraging further censorship and violence against their staff.
* PA NEWSPAPER PRAISES SUICIDE BOMBERS:
On a similar note, it is odd indeed that when Arafat's words of condolence were so widely broadcast by many in the media, so few in the press made note that on the very day of the attacks, the PA-controlled daily newspaper published an article praising suicide bombers as "the engines of history... the most honorable among us."
See below for articles from AP, Agence France Press, IMRA, the Jerusalem Post, and PMW.
participants (2)
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Andrew Metcalf -
Greg Mirsky