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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: haqihana who wrote (39059)	11/15/2003 10:56:20 PM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Dig a little deeper when examining bias Let's do some pathology today on a suspected case of "liberal bias." The test case is a charge leveled against this newspaper and others around the country for failure to report a "major" story last week about a memo written by a Democratic staff member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The memo outlined how Democrats might be able to use some of the committee's yet-to-be-released findings on prewar intelligence about Iraq to make President Bush look bad. The first news about the memo broke on Sean Hannity's syndicated radio program Nov. 4. As far as I can find, no major newspapers or wire services that night moved anything about the controversy -- perhaps because they could not independently verify the content of the memo. By the next day, Sen. John D. "Jay" Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) acknowledged the memo was a draft written by a Democratic staff member but never distributed. That brought the subject to a bitter Senate floor debate the same day and obviously pushed the story well beyond Hannity's radio listeners. Stories about the Senate flare-up varied in length, but all of them provided details about the memo and comments from Republicans claiming the Democrats were going to politicize the committee's report. Democrats claimed the memo was the result of the Republicans' refusal to examine how the Bush administration used the intelligence it was provided. Many large newspapers carried accounts of the Senate action, usually inside their national news or Washington pages on Nov. 6. All the stories I read provided background about how splintered the committee -- usually the most bipartisan panel in Congress -- has been over the Iraq report. Readers of those newspapers had enough information to judge for themselves how important the story was. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did not run a story about the memo or the Senate debate. Was that faulty news judgment? Yes. In hindsight, our national editors should have seen the wire accounts on the Senate debate and given them more consideration. But, if I'm sitting on the desk reading dozens of stories every night coming across the wire, I can see how it happened. Day after day, Washington reporters move stories about Republicans and Democrats trading partisan charges over the war, taxes, environmental regulations and other issues. The list is endless, especially as election years draw close. If we ran them all, we'd have little space in the paper for other national news. (The first mention of the memo showed up in our news columns this week when the committee announced it wouldn't meet again for the rest of this year.) Still, was the original decision not to run a story simply a bad call or an example of liberal bias? Here's where Hannity comes in. The story got its legs Nov. 4 and 5 on Hannity's radio and Fox News Channel programs. Hannity, whose stock in trade is commentary on the news, left no doubt where he stood on the story: the Democrat memo was "outrageous" and tantamount to treason in the time of war. It was a huge story, Hannity said, and the memo's existence was a clear indication that the Democrats cared more about winning next year's election than the security of the country. Many readers who contacted the paper about why the story was missing agreed with Hannity. The memo was a major story, they said, and it was being covered up by the AJC. The facts in this case show there was a story to report. By failing to do so, we opened ourselves up to a charge of bias. That's our lesson. For readers, it's good to remember that commentary about whether something is a major news story -- whether it comes from the editorial board of The New York Times or from Hannity and his cohorts at Fox News -- doesn't make it so. Accurate, timely and fair reporting will usually tell you what you need to know. ajc.com

To: haqihana who wrote (39059)	11/15/2003 11:03:11 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 59480

Palestinian Official Hopeful of Truce 32 minutes ago By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM - Palestinian militant groups are willing to halt suicide bombings and other attacks if Israel promises to stop carrying out military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites), a top Palestinian official said Saturday, holding out hope for a truce agreement. AP Photo AP Photo Slideshow: Mideast Conflict Ex-Israel Security Chiefs Push for Truce (AP Video) However, Israel has refused to say whether it would agree to such cease-fire terms, while a top Islamic militant leader has ruled out an immediate end to attacks on Israelis. Bringing about a truce between Israel and the Palestinians is seen as a key step in efforts to revitalize the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan that has stalled amid violence and Palestinian political crises. On Saturday, Israeli soldiers fired at a group of youths throwing stones in the West Bank, killing a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, according to Palestinian medical sources. An agreement could help strengthen new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia after an earlier cease-fire, secured by his predecessor, collapsed over the summer. Qureia and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) have been preparing for a possible summit in the coming days to discuss peace moves. In advance of such a meeting, Qureia has been working to persuade militant factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to again agree to end attacks, and an Egyptian mediator was to arrive in the region Monday to assist him. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said militant factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, were supportive of the idea of an open-ended cease-fire, but were looking for assurances Israel would also observe the truce. "There will be an effort in our meetings with the Israelis to obtain the commitments for reciprocity," Shaath said. Raanan Gissin, a Sharon adviser, declined to say explicitly if Israel would join a cease-fire. "If the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) will take the necessary steps to bring terror under control, we will respond positively to that and there will be no need for our military operations," Gissin said. Israel has previously demanded the Palestinians follow any cease-fire with a crackdown on militant groups, as called for under the road map. Qureia says he will not clamp down on those groups, but instead prefers to use persuasion to end the attacks. Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, a central figure in mediating previous truce efforts, will meet Monday with Qureia and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). It was unclear if he would also meet with Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders. "Without a doubt he will come with many ideas," Arafat said, calling on all Palestinian factions to discuss a halt to violence. Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Friday ruled out prospects for an immediate end to attacks on Israelis. "We have no objection to any dialogue with the (Palestinian) prime minister," he said. "We are willing to listen to any proposal. We will give him answers ... but in the current situation, we can't talk about any cease-fire." Meanwhile, sponsors of an unofficial draft peace agreement known as the "Geneva Accord" said Saturday that Israeli government radio had pulled their advertisements about the plan off the air. Supporters of the plan said the Israel Broadcasting Authority removed the ads Wednesday, just hours after they began airing, saying they violated regulations for political campaigns. The radio spots were alerting Israelis to check their mailboxes Sunday, when the full plan, including a map of the proposed borders of a Palestinian state, was to be delivered to every home in the country. On the Palestinian side, details of the agreement are to be published in newspapers, since the West Bank and Gaza Strip don't have a developed mail delivery system. The "Geneva Accord," which is to be officially launched Dec. 1 in Switzerland, calls for an Israeli withdrawal from nearly all the West Bank and Gaza to make way for a Palestinian state. Also Saturday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 14-year-old Ahmed Hassan when they fired on a group of youths throwing stones in the West Bank village of Beit Furik near Nablus, according to Palestinian medical sources. The military said it used live fire on protesters throwing rocks and firebombs after other attempts to break up the demonstration failed. story.news.yahoo.com

To: haqihana who wrote (39059)	11/16/2003 12:15:59 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 59480

I really don't know any more about her other than what I've read on these threads and through limited exchanges with her. She seems to know her business well enough. I just think she is misguided when it comes to the economy. I've seen where several posters have pointed out specific historical facts about the economy. They have backed up these facts with numbers and numbers don't lie, but she either can't or won't acknowledge these facts. I think she just hates conservatives and President Bush so much that all that matters is removing him from office. As if putting a dem in the office would improve her life or something. Classic example of the difference between a liberal as opposed to a conservative. I don't think it matters one iota who is in office........I'm in control of my own destiny, and that's just the way I like it. Conservatives don't shove government down my throat. Liberals want to regulate my every moment. Stifling me......I can't breath. M