> > > Laurent & Mike wrote: > > > > > > >>Unrelated but interesting: > > > Just heard that Mr. Arafat has been recently secretly looking out to > > > purchase a 10 carat pink diamond (one of the most expensive diamonds) > from > > > jewelers in Paris via his law firm. Remember for many years IMF aid used > > to > > > be deposited into his own bank account and he would do the > redistributing. > > > I wonder how many families in Gaza he could feed with that money?<< > > > > > > He doesn't say where he heard this. Could it by chance have been on CNN, > > the > > > channel that has been trying to discredit the Palestinians by using > images > > of > > > Arab children celebrating the destruction of the twin towers? The only > > problem > > > is that the images were filmed in 1991. Perhaps Laurent should be > > complaining > > > about anti-Muslim propaganda. Is this manipulation acceptable, and if > not why is nobody complaining? Honourable exceptions to these remarks are John > > Pilger > > > in his book 'Distant Voices' (London, Vintage Books, 1992) and the > > Disposable > > > Heroes of Hiphoprisy's wonderful 'Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury'. As > > Joni > > > herself said, "Land of snap decisions, land of short attention span, > > nothing > > > is savoured long enough to really understand.". > > > > > > And by the way, is there anything evidence that Arafat's keeping money > in > > his > > > personal bank account was used for personal gain or is this just another > > > slur? > > > > ------------------------------ Let's summarize: A few weeks ago I for one complained that the French + British media (I watch BBC news) were echoing arab misinformation and making up storylines to suit the only images that were available, that is the ones filmed on the Israeli side (filming is heavily censored on the Palestinian side). In some cases I feel it's voluntary and in others it's due to journalists' incompetence and ignorance of the whole history behind this conflict. (small anecdote, but I also quoted the Joni line about the land of snap decisions) I find it ironic that now the same logic is used the other way. While I applaud the viewers' heightened sense of criticism regarding images reported by the media, I still deplore the fact that misinformation is everywhere. Regarding CNN, as several people have said this has been debunked. I saw the Palestinian rejoicing on BBC news + French TV, not on CNN. As other people have said, why would Arafat condemn the rejoicing + forbid its filming if it didn't happen? This case is hopefully closed. I just read the post asking whether there's any thruth to 4000 Israelis absent from the WTC on the day of the attack. This is sick and I feel like puking. I'll let you guys investigate, I don't have time right now for such crap. Yes MIKE I condemn anti Muslim propaganda. You know why? Just like the President of the Anti Arab Diffamation League said on CNN a couple of days ago, this is very similar to anti-Jewish propaganda from the beginning of the 20th century (+ other times too). Jews have always been at the forefront of civil rights fights because we know what it's like. Stories of attacks on Muslim families in the U.S. are very sad. It reminds me of Fritz Lang movie "Fury" starring Spencer Tracy. This crazy mob lynching Arabs today is the same that was in the not so distant past lynching blacks, Japanese, Chinese, Jews, gays, gypsies, Protestants, etc. (Obviously I'm not referring to the U.S. only here) Weren't the Irish and the Italian discriminated at in the U.S. at some point? So nobody is immune. It may not be you today but if you don't fight it it may be you tomorrow. It's also very sad that human nature hasn't learned anything. Regarding Arafat's diamond, I got the information first hand from someone at the law firm directly involved in the transaction. This information is an exclusivity for JMDL reader. Laurent
