That is, don’t answer, if you are a certified critic of Israeli policies and practices.Zionist Orwellian UK Banned Press TV: The siren lure of big time media is partly a romancing of the ego, partly a rare moment to intrude a moment or two of truthfulness into the endless spinning of the Israel’s narrative that stresses its extravagantly humane response to Hamas flurries of rockets and alleged human shield tactics.
Four times in the past week I have received invitations to be a guest on BBC programs dealing with Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Each time the female producer, with charming British intonation, expressed her strong interest in arranging my participation at such and such a time. And each time I agreed, although my presence in a Turkish village with limited Internet access made it logistically awkward to do so, yet far from impossible to make the necessary arrangements, usually with the kind cooperation of a neighbor with superior digital facilities.
Each time I was ready at the appointed hour, and each time I was given a last minute explanation for why my appearance was cancelled
—a couple of times I was told that I was a casualty of ‘breaking news,’ and the other two times, there was no embellishment, merely “we apologize, but we have to cancel today’s appearance.” And on each occasion, as if part of how producers are trained, I was told that those in charge of planning the program were eager to have me appear as soon as possible, and that I would hear in a day or so. On the basis of my past experience on the few occasions when such last minute news altered programming, I was shifted to later in the program or rescheduled for the next day. My BBC experience in this respect was ‘terminal’ as in disease.
Needless to say, the phone lines have been quiet since each of these ‘dumping’ incidents. I wonder why this pattern of invitation and cancellation. I am quite sure that these were quite separate programming for each of the invitations with no coordination among them. Was there some master censor at the BBC that reviewed the guest list just prior to the scheduled broadcast, somewhat in the manner that the way an ethical submarine commander might review the manifest of an enemy passenger ship in time of war? Perhaps, BBC was rightly concerned that there might be a faint and ugly stain of balance that would tarnish their unsullied reputation of pro-Israeli partisanship. I will probably be forever reliant on such conjectures.
I feel self-conscious relating this little saga at a time when so many in Gaza are dying and bleeding, and all are grieving. As I write I feel humble, not arrogant. It seems that somewhere buried in these trivial rejections there is occasion for concern that the media claim of objectivity in liberal societies is above all else a sham. That even powerful players such as BBC are secretly captive, and its reportage and commentary qualifies less as news than as Hasbara, at least when it comes to Israel-Palestine.
In any event, my advice to the media savvy, is that if you have caller ID, and you can tell that it is BBC calling, don’t bother answering. I hope I have the good sense to follow my own advice should the phone ever ring again!
Source
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Death Toll From Israeli Genocide In Gaza Rises To 961
The death toll from Israel’s brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip rose to 961 as more Palestinian bodies are pulled out of the rubble despite a 12-hour ceasefire.
At least 20 people were killed in a single Israeli tank shelling on the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip earlier on Saturday.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra says the victims are all members of the same family, including several children.
One Palestinian also died from his injuries in Beit Lahiya in Gaza.
Around 5,700 Palestinians have been injured in the 19-day onslaught.
The United Nations says over 80 percent of the fatalities have been civilians, including more than 200 children.
On Friday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel agreed to implement a 12-hour ceasefire brokered by the United Nations.
The temporary ceasefire has come into force to allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the area.
Hamas has already said that any lasting ceasefire with Tel Aviv must include the lifting of the Gaza siege along with the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
Israeli warplanes have been carrying out incessant airstrikes against the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 8. On July 17, thousands of Israeli soldiers launched a ground invasion into the densely-populated strip.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, have been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.
While Israel confirms 37 Israelis have been killed in the war, Hamas sources put the number at about 90.
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