snapped shot

They sure aren't going to win many friends this way.

More pics here. As I've said before, this is a group of perhaps a dozen people, who always seem to find the time and money to travel to wherever the latest outbreak of blameIsraelism is, and if it weren't for the fact that their message aligns very closely with that of the press, they'd be completely ignored by the rest of the world.

It would seem that the student body at Hebron University is in the process of its annual election. Judging by the looks of things, the students seem to be in the process of choosing between:

Militant Group #1:

A Palestinian Hamas supporter holds up a Koran during a student council election rally at Hebron University in the West Bank city of Hebron May 6, 2008. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK)

Militant Group #2:

Standing against a poster of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Palestinian student supporters of Fatah gather during student council election campaign activities at Hebron University in the West Bank town of Hebron, Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

If you want to see the rest of the deeply-educational election, feel free to peruse the wire archives over yonder. I think it's worth pointing out here that the base word for Hebron is—drumroll, please:

From the Hebrew word "friend."

Ain't it grand to see Western progress unravel bit by bit with each passing year?

I'll be on the edge of my seat waiting to see which bunch of thugs wins this one.

Update: Soccer Dad points out via e-mail that this type of thing has been going on for quite a while. It's still quite a sight to behold, though.

It concerns me to see pictures like this in the aftermath of the death of Reuters videographer Fadel Shana. It's one thing to pay respects to a comrade, that's obviously understandable.

It's the presence of the ginormous propaganda posters in the background that is a bit unsettling, at least to me.

Was this man a journalist, holding every side of a given issue to equal critique, aiming to bring the truth to discussion of modern events?

Or was he an activist, interested in promoting and supporting a very specific side of the conflict? A propagandist, if you will, bringing one very biased point of view to his coverage of news events on the ground?

Because, when I see propaganda posters like those posted in the picture above, I immediately think of the latter. Without question.

But hey, what are knee-jerk reactionaries for if their knees don't jerk on occasion?

To be charitable, I'll throw this one into "Human Shields" for now.

(Oh yeah, one wonders how the copyright on the propaganda posters would work, considering the photo was published on the Reuters wire. Who is "borrowing" from whom here, anyway?)

Here's a nice example from Reuters, dutifully pointing out the obvious:

Palestinian children hold up a placard reading "Don't kill childhood in Palestine" during a protest against the Israeli army in Gaza April 7, 2008. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is who killed "childhood in palestine."

... plus a bonus Rageman sighting.

This video illustrates Israel's incredible patience with regularly-scheduled malcontents better than anything I could possibly hope to write:



Some observations, beyond the fold: Continue reading »

The caption says it all:

Gaza mural : Palestinian children paint a mural [Ed.:—Of gravestones, incidentally.] in Gaza City as part of a demonstration organised by the pro-Hamas National Commission for Child Protection from the Holocaust. (AFP/Mehdi Fedouach)

No word on where the National Commission for the Burger Protection from the Hamburgler is on their mural. As far as preventing Child Holocaust, I'd recommend that this pro-Hamas group actually condemn the endangerment of children once in a while.

Of course, being a terrorist-affiliated group, they won't. It takes a village, and all.

Side note—Since this is an AFP photo, this URL should stick around for a while.

And, as always, if you want to purchase this print for your own use (who doesn't want some sick terrorist propaganda hanging on their office wall?), I encourage you to use GettyImages.

This recommendation has nothing at all to do with the fact that AFP/Getty is one of the biggest competitors for those other guys.

Nope, not one iota.

For the record: When you hear me say "Palestinians use their children as human shields," this is what I am referring to. From the caption:

Palestinian Hamas militants take cover during an Israeli military operation in the east of al Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, 20 December 2007. EPA/ALI ALI

If the boy in this picture were to have been accidentally killed, either by the IDF or by the careless fire of the terrorists themselves, who do you think the international press would have blamed for it?

Probably not his parents.