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A new study by Roosevelt University has found that the coverage of the Middle East conflict by international news wire service, Reuters is systematically tainted by propaganda and influences readers to side with the Palestinians and Arab states against the Israelis.

Reuters promotes itself as a paragon of accurate and impartial reporting and its stories are read by millions of people who are led to believe they are being provided objective facts.

Researcher Henry Silverman of Roosevelt University analyzed a sample of fifty news-oriented articles published on the Reuters.com websites for the use of classic propaganda techniques, logical fallacies and violations of the Reuters Handbook of Journalism, a manual of guiding ethical principles for the company’s journalists. Across the articles, over 1,100 occurrences of propaganda, fallacies and handbook violations in 41 categories were identified and classified.

In the second part of the study, a group of thirty-three university students were surveyed, before and after reading the articles, to assess their attitudes and motivation to support one or the other belligerent parties in the Middle East conflict, i.e., the Palestinians/Arabs or the Israelis. The study found that on average, subject sentiment shifted significantly following the readings in favor of the Arabs and that this shift was associated with particular propaganda techniques and logical fallacies appearing in the stories.

“Governments have long used propaganda to whip up public support during wartime and to demonize enemies”, says Silverman. “Reuters is adopting these same techniques to covertly shape audience perceptions and opinion in violation of its corporate governance charter.” 

 

A law school professor has filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, alleging that Catholic University of America, a private institution, discriminates against Muslim students.

John F. Banzhaf III claims the school "[denies Muslim students] equal access to the benefits CUA provides to other student groups.”

One can only imagine how far Catholic, or Jewish, or Buddhist students would go if they filed a lawsuit against a privately owned Muslim university requesting the same thing. 

This is, of course, assuming they would be admitted to the university in the first place.

Watch this clip from Sean Hannity on Fox News.

 

 

Emirates 24/7 ran an interesting story today - apparently nearly 1,500 Chinese-made toy guns issuing sounds that mock and insult Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Mohammed, were seized following a tip-off by Abu Dhabi-based social expert and activist, Mariam Al Ahmadi. 

Quoted by the Dubai-based 'Emarat Al Youm' Arabic language daily, Mariam said she had reported the guns to the police and called for immediate measures. “I call upon the police and other competent authorities to investigate how these anti-Islam guns found their way into the UAE market and to take action against all those who had brought them in,” she said.

Anti-Islam guns? Now that has to be the biggest oxymoron ever.

 

The fall of Tunisia’s secular regime may very well pave the way for the rise of radical Islamic influence in Tunisia, with extremists infiltrating from neighboring Algeria.

Reuters reports how the fall of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's police state may “leave Tunisia open to infiltration by extremists from neighboring Algeria”, where 200,000 people have been killed in war in the last two decades.

 

I saw the following CNN report

"In the latest situation report issued Tuesday, the Red Cross disclosed that in April its workers "reached over 100 Afghan security personnel, over 70 members of the armed opposition, taxi drivers involved in the transport of wounded people, first-aiders and its own staff"

 "The International Committee of the Red Cross is defending its practice of providing medical training and basic medical supplies to the Taliban in Afghanistan -- saying it is in line with the ICRC's mandate not to discriminate between different sides in a conflict"

I am without words, I've given money to the Red Cross and I know that they do great work but come on. Am I really paying for Taliban fighters to get first aid training and to be saved so that they can kill our troops in Afganistan? I know that this isn't representative of what the Red Cross does but give me a break.

Don't believe me? Read it for your self. Click Here

I am so happy to be joining the RI.org blogging team. I specialize in energy and alternative energy. I will be showing you innovative ways to reduce our dependence on oil. AO

Quick Take Action Update! Urgent Action Required! Send a message to the Millennium Hotel that it is absoulutely unacceptable for them to host President Ahmadinejad

The following video is a moving tribute in support of those fighting for freedom in Iran.

There are a number of GRAPHIC IMAGES so viewer discretion is strongly advised.

This letter will be printed and sent to Fort Hood representatives. Show them how much you care by signing below, writing a comment or sending a message by clicking here . Together we can show how much we care!

Dear Members of the Fort Hood Community, We the undersigned would like to offer you our deepest gratitude. Every day you put Americans first. You make great sacrifices in order to protect our freedoms, and for that we are grateful. On November 5h, we all felt the loss of those 13 brave individuals. We would like you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with their families and the entire Fort Hood community during this difficult time. Thank you for your devotion to our great country. It is only because of your decision to serve, that we are here today. Sincerely, The Undersigned

Our hearts go out to the family members of all those killed in a deadly shooting at the Ft. Hood Army Base on Thursday.  13 were left dead with others injured in a shooting spree. According to reports, many of the casualties were undergoing final medical screenings before being sent off to join American forces in Afghanistan. Details are being reported all across the media, as President Obama has called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/06/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html Governor Rick Perry of Texas ordered all Texas flags to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday. While most mainstream media are being careful not declare this an act of violence motivated by radical ideology, some outlets are already reporting that the assailant was a devout Muslim, and disgruntled with the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/army_muslim_major_kills_at_ft_hood_XGrZPwVI9UdcsxpV42AdnK You can be sure that we will be watching closely as details about this tragedy unfold.