Part of the Problem

Speaking Saturday, Tony Blair noted that we must struggle against the
"evil ideology" of al Qaeda for the hearts and minds of the people. Of course
we've been doing that from day one in Iraq, whether by building schools,
with visiting nurses programs, by passing out candy and toys -- We've been
doing it in ways too numerous to list.

Sure, the media can't get the word out on all the good things that are going
on in Iraq. I understand. Good works aren't NEWS. A US serviceman stepping out
of line is news but nobody wants to read about Marines building an outdoor
market.

But maybe it says something about the mind-set of the media when staffers
at Reuters are able to ask Zakaria Zubeidi, head of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade,
to make a guest appearance in a spoof video made for a departing employee.
No, the spoof video isn't sinister; being able to ask a favor of a man
who claims to have caused 300 acts of terror *is*. Can you possibly expect
Reuters to act as an unbiased conduit for news if they number this man
as a friend?


From Ynet News:

"The video's theme was what Israel would be like in 10 years," said an Israeli government official who attended the party and viewed the video.

"All of a sudden, at the end, there is Zakaria Zubeidi, playing the head of Reuters. Zubeidi was sitting in Reuters' Jenin office, saying he was Reuters’ chief,” the official said.

'They thought video was hilarious'

The party included guests from the BBC, ITN, the Independent newspaper, and French journalists.

"They all thought the video was hilarious," the official said. He added that only a few individuals did not seem amused during the screening.

"They were laughing; they thought it was very funny, he said.”

Reuters spokeswoman Susan Allsopp said in a statement to Ynetnews that the film “was a spoof video put together for a departing member of staff by a few of his colleagues in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It was shown at a private farewell party and was meant to be humorous.