Snapped Shot

I will attempt to show you, from a story at FoxNews.com, how biased and wholly inept the mainstream media really is.

Before I start, can you guess which wire service wrote this story?

From its first paragraph, you can already sense the anger and hatred towards Israel's willingness to continue to survive:

Israel rejected international pressure to suspend its air offensive against Palestinian militants whose rocket barrages are striking close to the Israeli heartland, sending warplanes Wednesday to demolish smuggling tunnels that are the lifeline of Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers.

Sending "warplanes" to "demolish" tunnels that are the "LIFELINE" of terrorists? How evil!

Sometimes it is seen written this way:

Israel has rejected mounting international pressure to suspend its air offensive against Palestinian militants...

Sometimes it was written this way:

Israel rejected mounting international pressure to suspend its devastating air offensive against Palestinian militants...

Note the ever increasing anger in the message towards Israel. Note how the media continues to call the Hamas terrorist organization "palestinian militants". As if they were just a small group of disheartened people with a grievance against their own government. Rather, these are government sponsored terrorists going against another country and its civilians.

Other times it is seen like this:

Israel rejected international pressure to suspend its air offensive against Palestinian fighters whose rocket barrages are striking

Now, we are treated to an even milder statement of who it is Israel is disagreeing with. These are just "fighters". Street Brawlers. People with a simple grievance. Yet, Israel wants to devastate them with aerial bombardments. I mean, its not like these are outright murderers or anything.

So, the first sentence has declared the cruel and obstenant Israel has defied all normalcy to end its mounting and devastating killing spree against arab freedom fighters. But, in the very next sentence the author states:

Hamas fired more than two dozens rockets and mortar shells by mid-day Wednesday, including five that hit in and around the major southern Israeli city of Beersheba, 22 miles from Gaza. One hit an empty school. Another landed in a small farming community about 20 miles southeast of Tel Aviv.

So, despite the continuing rocket and mortar attacks on what they clearly see as civilian targets, the media still blames Israel for everything. They just can't seem to understand the premise of self-defense and deterrence. They, and the world leaders want Israel to stop defending itself against those who want to kill them. In other words, they are demanding of Israel...

"Stop killing those who want to kill you"

Next:

The diplomatic action was set in motion by the scale of destruction in Gaza since Israel unleashed its campaign Saturday, and a casualty toll that Gaza officials now put at 390 dead and some 1,600 wounded.

First it is not a diplomatic action if the outside world is telling you to do something while not telling the other party the same thing. It is not diplomatic when you tell party A (Israel) to stop while party B (Hamas) continues to demand that Israel die and promises to keep fighting no matter what. By the way, "Gaza officials" are members of the Hamas terrorist organization recognized by even the UN and many nations of this world. The self-same entities that are demanding Israel open up its defenses.

Hamas says some 200 uniformed members of Hamas security forces have been killed, ...

They have uniforms? They are not even a country! And, have we ever seen Hamas uniform from the bagillions of PR photos put out by the AP and Reuters? Having an all black outfit is not a uniform.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,...

Meanwhile giving time to Hamas to rearm. Hey Abbas, why not tell your arab brothers to stop fighting first?

Overnight, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert discussed a 48-hour truce proposal floated by France with his foreign and defense ministers. The meeting ended with a decision to continue the punishing aerial campaign.

Give it to France to play the coward card. They can't stand it when Israel attacks its brothers.

White House officials said Bush talked with Olmert on Wednesday about finding ways to "end the violence" in the region and to voice concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.

Brian has already pointed out the sheer disproportionate numbers of civilians that have NOT been killed in this latest skirmish. And yet, Pres Bush continues to show his yellow spine and back those who want to destroy Israel.

Olmert told ministers Israel embarked upon the offensive to radically transform the security situation in Israel's south and would not leave the job half done.

Like he promised to do against Hezballah, right? More from the French:

"Giving Hamas a respite just to regroup, rearm is a mistake," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said. "The pressure on the Hamas military machine must continue."

France said it was still trying to persuade Israel to suspend its attacks. "I hope there are no ground operations," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

While I agree with Olmert here and it seems he has wisened up a bit to know that if he just stops, then Hamas will declare a victory, he still does not truly sound like he is mad as hell and not going to take the rocket attacks any more. Hey FRANCE!!!! Where were you when Hamas and Hezballah were attacking Israel with rockets and mortars killing ONLY civilians? Where are you now demanding the Hamas terrorist organization stop the rockets it continues to launch even now?

But what is even more infuriating, is the very next sentence:

Hamas, whose charter specifically calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, kept up its rocket barrages, which have killed four Israelis since the weekend, and sent many more running for bomb shelters.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and many other Western nations.

So, despite the knowledge that they continue to launch rockets, are a defined terrorist organization with everyone (meaning that anyone who takes out a terrorist is in complete legal territory), and proudly state in their founding document that they want to be the final solution to the Jewish problem, the mainstream media and the world's leaders continue to harp on Israel's defensive actions.

And here is the gotcha (clue to upyurnoz):

From 2000 to 2004, Hamas was responsible for killing nearly 400 Israelis and wounding more than 2,000 in 425 attacks, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 2001 through May 2008, Hamas launched more than 3,000 Qassam rockets and 2,500 mortar attacks against Israeli targets.

You can probably more than double those numbers of Israeli deaths for current 2008 numbers. Meaning, over 800 Israelis have died since 2000 from over 800 attacks. The first sentence states 425 attacks in 5 years and then states in next sentence states 5,500 attacks in the previous 8 years. The first sentence is from what they say is Israel (no link provided) and do not cite the source for the second sentence. Thus, I did not feel the need to cite my belief in the number of Israeli deaths at the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization.

So, Israel has been operating now for 5 days and supposedly killed almost 400 people, many of whom were terrorists, out of the last 9 years. I think that shows tremendous restraint against a known terrorist organization bent on Israel's destruction. But then we all know that most of the mainstream media wants Israel's destruction too.

Underlying the Israeli decision to keep fighting are the mightier weapons that Hamas has smuggled into Gaza through underground tunnels along the border with Egypt.

What? You mean that Hamas has even deadlier weapons at their disposal and yet Israel should still stop defending itself?

Now, they are firing industrial-grade weapons that have dramatically expanded their range and put more than one-tenth of Israel's population in their sights.

And yet Israel is still being harassed into agreeing to a cease-fire so that the Hamas terrorist organization can rearm itself with those exact same deadlier weapons? Yep, that sound fair.

Early on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft pounded smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border in another attempt to sever the lifeline that keeps Hamas in power by supplying weapons, food and fuel.

A huge explosion rocked a tunnel that housed a fuel pipeline and aircraft also smashed the house of a smuggling kingpin. In all, two tunnels were destroyed in the raid, Egyptian security officials in Rafah said.

An Egyptian official, ..., said Israel has destroyed 120 tunnels since the aerial campaign began. According to conservative estimates, there were at least 200 tunnels before Israeli warplanes began striking.

What, you mean Israel is attacking military-style targets and not civilian homes like the rest of the media suggests that they are? If Israel is attacking military-style targets and Hamas terrorist organizational buildings, then how come the media is reporting that so many hundreds of civilians are the ones dead? Could it be that these are the same UN-uniformed Hamas terrorists we have documented here at SnappedShot time and time again?

But, you know, the pro-Israel side of the story had to end there:

A Palestinian medic was killed and two others were wounded when an Israeli missile struck next to their ambulance east of Gaza City, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said it did not know of the incident.

But then we will always get the gracious supply of how brave and manly these arab terrorists are:

Diskin, the Israeli security services chief, said Hamas was trying to smuggle out some of its activists to Egypt through tunnels that were still passable. Other militants were hiding in Gaza hospitals, some disguised as doctors and nurses, and in mosques, where militants had set up command and control centers, Diskin said.

Oh, of course, "Diskin said". We can't believe an Isaeli. Notice that they talk of things happening in Gaza as if they know first hand and thus must be believed. But, if they talk bad about the Hamas terrorist organization, they have to say that those words only came out of an Israeli mouth. Notice the difference?

But, nonetheless, Israel should stop fighting for its survival because lil' ol' Hamas terrorist organization wants peace, right?

Although Hamas leaders have been driven underground, spokesman Taher Nunu said the Gaza government was functioning and had met over the past few days.

"What our people want is clear: an immediate stop to all kinds of aggression, the end of the siege by all means, the opening of all border crossings, and international guarantees that the occupation will not renew this terrorist war again," Nunu said in a statement.

Hmmmm. So, Hamas wants an end to all aggression but continues to attack Israel. The Hamas terrorist organization wants all border crossings open but yet prevent Israel from protecting itself from smuggled weapons and suicide bombers. Hamas wants Israel to end "its seige" of Gaza so that they can continue their "seige" of Israel. They want Israel to stop its actions, so that when it does, they can say they were right when they said it was a "terrorist war" and then use that justification to continue its attacks on Israel. Under the full support of the UN and world leaders, of course.

If the Hamas terrorist organization and the world leaders are so worried about the humanitarian crisis, why don't they ask Hamas where the billions in aid money went? Even the USA sent them aid money while they were continuing their attacks on Israel. We didn't even demand that they stop their "terrorist war" and "seige" upon Israeli citizens before receiving money.

The world is funding the attacks on Israel.

A Hamas spokesman said militants wouldn't halt their rocket and mortar fire until Israel ended its blockade. "If they halt the aggression and the blockade, then Hamas will study these suggestions," Mushir Masri said.

Where is the true journalist asking the question, "But weren't you attacking Israel even BEFORE Israel launched this latest skirmish?" Where are the questions of scope? Where are the questions of what did Israel do to get attacked on a nearly daily basis since its inception in 1948? Where are the comparisons to the living conditions of those arabs who live within Israel compared to those who want to get rid of Israel? Where are the questions about the Hamas' charter?

Why is the focus solely on Israel? Could it be that it is because Israel is known as the more civilized peoples and thus are more reasonable and more apt to spare human lives?

Israel, will you stop your attacks? "We will consider it and way the pros and cons and determine the best course of action to limit casualties and protect Israel at the same time."

Hamas terrorist, will you stop your attacks? "We will not stop until all Israel is wiped off the Earth and Islam is in every home of the world."

Now, tell me who is the more responsible, reasonable, and civilized culture?

[Update:] From that good ol' pro-western wire service that loves Brian to death (literally), comes word that the UN once again hates Israel and loves terrorists:

The U.N. Security Council met Wednesday night to consider an Arab request for a legally binding resolution that would condemn Israel and halt the attacks. But the United States called a draft resolution "unacceptable" because it made no mention of halting the Hamas rockets.

[Update 2:]

"Between 20 percent and 25 percent of the dead are either women or children, said Karen Abu Zayd, U.N. Relief and Works Agency commissioner."

What? Can't they tell the difference?

[Update 3:] From this link:

The numbers reported indicate that there was no clear intent to inflict disproportionate collateral civilian casualties. What is critical from the standpoint of international law is that if the attempt has been made "to minimize civilian damage, then even a strike that causes large amounts of damage - but is directed at a target with very large military value - would be lawful." Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, explained that international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court "permit belligerents to carry out proportionate attacks against military objectives, even when it is known that some civilian deaths or injuries will occur."

The attack becomes a war crime when it is directed against civilians (which is precisely what Hamas does). After 9/11, when the Western alliance united to collectively topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, no one compared Afghan casualties in 2001 to the actual numbers that died from al-Qaeda's attack. There clearly is no international expectation that military losses in war should be on a one-to-one basis. To expect Israel to hold back in its use of decisive force against legitimate military targets in Gaza is to condemn it to a long war of attrition with Hamas.