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What happened to the pictures? Exhibit A, Exhibit B
Will they ever come back? Yes and no

A Question of Extremities

Brian C. Ledbetter · Wednesday, May 16. 2007 09:43
Just to keep track of the State of the Media, the following qualifies as being an extremist group:

Activists of the Jewish extremist right wing Temple Mount Faithful tear Palestinian flags next to a mock coffin symbolizing a Palestinian state during a demonstration in Jerusalem's Old City Wednesday May 16, 2007. Israel is marking the 40th anniversary of its capture of Arab east Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)


These guys, on the other hand, are still not "extremists:"

Palestinian Fatah gunmen take their positions at a street in Gaza May 16, 2007. Hamas gunmen stormed the home of President Mahmoud Abbas's top security chief in Gaza and at least 16 people were killed in fierce factional fighting on Wednesday that pushed Palestinians closer to all-out civil war. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA)


This concludes today's Public Service Announcement.

Update: Okay, I'm re-opening this Public Service Announcement, since our leftist photographer has pulled out yet another frightening scarecrow:

Israeli nationalist youths hold flags aloft during a Jerusalem Day parade in front of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Some thousands of Israelis marked the 40th anniversary of Israel's capture of Arab east Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)


In case you're wondering, "nationalist" is what Leftists call anyone they don't like.
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Here is what a handful of random people think about this article. But first, the fine print:
The opinions expressed here, even where approved for display, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website, the management, or any other entity or organization, with the exception of the Vast Zionist Conspiracy. Those opinions we represent in style, yo. Please keep the language in these comments clean, as this is intended to be a family-friendly, work-friendly website. Comments not compliant with this policy will be edited for content where necessary. Abusive or otherwise illegal comments will be reported to the proper authorities, up to and including the aforementioned Vast Zionist Conspiracy. The Management cannot and will not be held responsible for commenters making a spectacle of themselves, even if The Management are the said commenters in question. In other words, don't take yourself so seriously, folks. We're all here to discuss the news, and more importantly, to have fun. Now go get yourself into some OCD treatment program—you obviously need it if you actually read all of this mess.

annie on 2007-05-16 10:46 #1
*Brian, I've just discovered your site via LGF and I am so pleased I have. You put into words exactly what I feel and point out the execrable double standard in today's media. I shall be visiting your site regularly from now on. Thank you from Israel and keep up the good work.
Reply  
Brian on 2007-05-16 11:28 #2
*Annie,

Thank you very much for the kind words! I've been frustrated by the lack of fairness in the news coverage coming from the Middle East for years. Last year's war between Hezbullah and Israel is what finally pushed me over the edge, with this blog being the result.

I'm very glad to hear that you like it, and will do my best to keep living up to your every expectation! My prayers are with you and everyone else over in the Holy land!

Most Respectfully,
Brian
Reply  
Aviv on 2007-05-16 19:51 #3
*Brian,

Usually your analyses are spot-on. But I think I'm going to have to disagree.

"Extreme" is a relative term; Israelis who want to return to Temple Mount and don't agree with a two-state solution are few and far between. Hence those in the photograph don't reflect Israeli society as a whole, but a certain extreme.

Not sure about "nationalist". I guess you could call it a bad word as much as you can "communist" or "fascist". These are real ideologies.
Reply  
Brian C. Ledbetter on 2007-05-16 19:59 #4
*Aviv,

Thank you for your feedback - I hate being wrong, so let me try to defend my position just a touch before throwing in the towel:

I'm not contesting that the Temple Mount purists are marginal elements of Israeli society, there really isn't any disputing that point. What I am contesting is the negatively-loaded "extremist" label that the press is so quick to throw at them—the same press that can't be bothered to find "extreme" positions in Palestinian circles, as bloody as they may be.

It's a question of labelling, more than anything.

As far as "nationalist" goes, there isn't anything inherently wrong with celebrating one's own culture, religion, or society. That, in and of itself, does not cause a "nationalist" group to be inherently evil. So, since I haven't seen any evidence that the people in the picture are calling for the extermination of all non-Jews, I would dispute the use of "nationalist" to describe them...

I hope this helps explain my position—I'm sorry that I couldn't have said it so clearly the first time. And, of course, if I'm still wrong, be sure to let me know, so I can throw up the ol' Snidely Whiplash on myself!

Regards,
Brian
Reply  
forest on 2007-05-17 11:03 #5
*I don't know the specifics of this particular group, but the press routinely throws around the label "right wing" to try to paint people as fascists. They almost never use the term "left wing extremists".

Look at the French election. Sarkozy was routinely referred to as "right wing", while Royal wasn't called "left wing" nearly as often. And she is very far left wing. Her proposals call for a full blown socialist state. Sarkozy, on the other hand, would probably be a Democrat in the US. He is in favor of some law and order for a change, and is against the massive expansion of the already largely socialistic state. This makes him a right winger?

In stead of showing bias even in captions of photographs (I won't even get into the articles), it would be nice if the press just reported what was going on. Tell me what the people in the photo are doing and what group they belong to without the perjorative labels.

This Israeli group may very well be on the fringes of popular opinion, but the bias is still there, which bother me.

Over-using a term like "right wing extremeists" can destroy its meaning too. If the press calls Sarkozy right wing, what would they call a genuine right wing extremist? And how would readers know the difference?
Reply  
captainfish on 2007-05-18 13:38 #6
*I would like to know what the MSM and the US liberals would call the administration should the Lousiana Purchase occur this day? How about the idea behind the Western Expansion from the original 13 states? I betcha the media would call it extreme, rascist, and many other things.
Reply  
shitea bom bazway on 2008-03-25 20:52 #7
*ok...so first of all. we go to a frog pond and we see in red spray paint, RWX is not dead. then we talk and we hear a ginormous thump coming from a sewer right below the spray paint. we came back another time and we said the same thing and another thump, we got scared and ran off. Today we went to this sewage place again and we asked questions and it answered to some of them by knocking. The last one freaked us out becuz it was real closwe and 2 thumps sounded so real and close. any info about this mystery?
Reply  

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