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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (9967)	9/21/2005 11:03:21 AM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Israeli firm tossed out of UK fair Jerusalem Post ^ \| 9/21/5 \| ARIEH O'SULLIVAN In the shadow of threats against retired Israeli generals over war crimes, organizers of one of the world's largest international arms fairs in London tossed out an Israeli company for offering stun guns, leg irons and other "weapons of torture." The firm, TAR Ideal Concepts, was forced to leave Britain while customs officials considered what action to take against them. The company was in town for the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition, held last week. "It turned out that we are great criminals because in our catalogue we were offering leg cuffs and stun guns and batons," said company head Tomer Avnon. "And don't forget we were among booths offering everything from sniper rifles to silencers, cluster bombs and all sorts of nasty stuff. It's the height of hypocrisy," Avnon told The Jerusalem Post in a telephone interview. "It's beyond ridiculous, particularly since we had received permission from the organizers who approved all of our brochures." Held every two years in London's Docklands, the arms fair is Europe's biggest, offering everything from war ships to surveillance equipment. But the arms show also became a magnet for pressure groups who abhor the weapons trade and held daily protests there. Israeli defense firms were particularly targeted in Internet sites run by anti-arms protesters. Avnon said his company supplied non-lethal riot control gear as well as equipment for counterterrorism and homeland security, including protective vests helmets, infantry gear and canine services. He said that a reporter had passed himself off as a buyer and took a brochure. The next day, the London-based Guardian ran a story "exposing" TAR's violation of a ban on selling stun weapons and leg irons. According to the Guardian the British government last year extended its controls on the trade in stun weapons and leg irons by making it illegal for anyone to promote their sale in Britain. Avnon reported that fair officials approached his booth on Friday, the last day of the four-day exhibition, and shut him down. "They were flanked by huge bodyguards and told us in no uncertain terms that if we didn't leave they would tear down our booth and toss us out," said Avnon. "'Better get yourselves a lawyer because you are going to jail,'" Avnon quoted one of the organizers. Avnon said he was aware of the ban on the items considered to be – wrongly in his eyes – weapons of torture. "On page three of our catalogue were photos of these 'awful weapons of torture,' leg cuffs," Avnon said. He was convinced that the singling out of Israeli firms came from the same anti-Israeli motivations that led to the harassment of retired IDF officers. "It is as if we are harming human rights. I wouldn't be surprised if it all originated from the same source," Avnon said. The irony of the whole ordeal, Avnon said, was that there had been enormous interest in his non-lethal weapons. Officials from DSEI could not be reached for comment.

To: lorne who wrote (9967)	9/22/2005 9:57:53 AM
From: paret	Respond to of 32591

Website claims media 'staged' - BU professor critiques coverage of conflict, violence in Middle East The Daily Free Press (Boston University) ^ \| September 22, 2005 \| Molly Hunt dailyfreepress.com Associate history professor Richard Landes turned to the internet to critique the mainstream media's coverage of violence in the Middle East. His website seconddraft.org, launched Sept. 14, uses unedited violent footage to highlight potential inaccuracies in reporting. "In this age of globalization, the media has unprecedented influence on the way we see the world," the site's mission statement reads. "And yet, whether out of misplaced good intentions, unconscious agendas and predispositions, or unwarranted faith in false information, they can get the story dramatically wrong. Therefore, we want to revisit and critique journalism's 'first draft of history.'" Landes claimed many scenes of violence against Palestinians are staged and coined the term "Pallywood" to describe the industry that produces this footage.He said this 'staged' information is a way to further the Palestinian cause and to try the views of those who see it. Visitors to seconddraft.org can watch Pallywood, his 19-minute documentary, as well as several segments of unedited footage shot at Netzarim Junction, a disputed territory in the Middle East. One segment, "Molotov Kid," shows a Palestinian boy who does not act injured being frantically carried to an ambulance. Other segments show Palestinian photographers approaching the Israeli position at the junction without fear. According to Landes, they do so because they know that no actual gunfire is coming from the position. Landes said he became convinced that many violent scenes from the Middle East were staged after viewing 20 minutes of tape, shot by Palestinian photographer Talal abu Rachmeh, during a visit to the France2 studios in Jerusalem. "It was so obvious that it was fake stuff," he said. "It was a joke. This was an industry. This wasn't an accident." Landes said he plans to add footage to his site Sept. 30 of the shooting of Mohammed Adura, a Palestinian boy, by Israeli forces. He said this shooting, which caused international outrage in 2000, was staged, citing footage that shows the boy changing position after bystanders claim that he is already dead and gunfire angles that could not have come from the Israeli position. "This had an enormous impact on people's attitudes, especially in the Muslim world," he said of the Adura story. Landes said he created seconddraft.org after showing his footage to contacts in several mainstream news outlets. Although many journalists were interested in his findings, Landes said they did not want to bring them to light in the media. "It's there because the mainstream media will not cover this," he said. College of Communication Dean John Schulz says he has not heard of or visited seconddraft.org. He did comment generally, however, that the internet can help critique the media. "If any organization's website rises to a level of credibility to raise awareness on any topic, then it is doing journalism a favor, because the profession that most critiques itself and raises its own dirty linen is journalism," he said. "This doesn't mean we catch all the dirty linen, however." Landes said the internet is an ideal place to raise the issue of media bias. "The internet is status blind," he said. "It lets more people into the conversation." Landes said that within five days of the site's launch, it had been listed on over 60 weblogs, adding that the blogs in support of seconddraft.org were primarily politically conservative. Aside from the footage of the Adura shooting, Landes said he plans to include information about the consequences of biased and inaccurate reporting and why the media makes mistakes. "Israel and Palestine are not the only victims of this media foolishness," he said.