Tuesday, February 6, 2007

CALAMITY JOURNALISM Guardian: "The government was last night investigating possible links between the discovery of H5N1 avian bird flu at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk and recent outbreaks of the disease in Hungary." It has always surprised me that in cases of catastrophe or serious trouble the media crews are often the first to arrive on the premises. In the case of birdflu it is really outrageous. Television crews are flocking to the area, tv helicopters are hovering above the site of the culling. And straight from there they will move their vehicles to places that are not infected, not yet. The media have no qualms in increasing the danger of spreading the virus. Do we really want to see pictures of the area and the culling? No, we don't! 10:45:08 AM

BRITISH JEWS REVOLT AGAINST ISRAEL Guardian: "A group of prominent British Jews will today declare independence from the country's Jewish establishment, arguing that it puts support for Israel above the human rights of Palestinians. Independent Jewish Voices will publish an open letter on the Guardian's Comment is Free website calling for a freer debate about the Middle East within the Jewish community. Among the more than 130 signatories are Stephen Fry, Harold Pinter, Mike Leigh, Jenny Diski and Nicole Farhi, as well as leading academics such as Eric Hobsbawm and Susie Orbach." Brian Klug: "As the situation in the Middle East deteriorates yearly, more and more Jews watch with dismay from afar. Dismay turns to anguish when innocent civilians - Palestinians and Israelis - suffer injury and death because of the continuing conflict. Anguish turns to outrage when the human rights of a population under occupation are repeatedly violated in the name of the Jewish people." 10:31:34 AM

© Copyright 2007 Hetty Litjens.