Re: Yes it's off topic but who cares right now.

["Andrew Metcalf" <prelude () mindspring com>]

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.