#PBS Newshour

[relaxedstyles]

[unsolicited-opinions]

Some good examples of how Western media downplays attacks ON Israel:

In the opening minute of this NYT podcast, the NYT describes the ~180 bus-sized ballistic missiles launched at Israel by Iran as "...the largest missile attack on Israeli territory in the country's history."

Remove the bias, and it would instead acurrately be described as "the largest ballistic missile attack ever launched."

See the difference? Note how it changes the story?

PBS does the same thing:

Source

No, PBS. This was the largest missile attack ever launched, by any nation, against any nation.

I subscribe to the NYT. I'm a PBS member. This is profoundly disappointing, but no longer surprising.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ellie Quinland Houghtaling at TNR:

He may not be in office, but Donald Trump has been speaking with the powers that be about Israel’s war on Gaza—but it’s not in an effort to end the genocide. Instead, Trump has allegedly been talking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avert a cease-fire deal, fearing that doing so could help Vice President Kamala Harris win in November, according to PBS. “The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the Prime Minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign,” said PBS’s Judy Woodruff Monday night. “So, I don’t know where—who knows whether that will come about or not, but I have to think that the Harris campaign would like for President Biden to do what presidents do, and that’s to work on that one.” It wasn’t immediately clear if Woodruff was referring to a new report, or an Axios story last week that cited two U.S. sources as claiming that Trump and Netanyahu had spoken on the phone about cease-fire and Gaza hostage talks. Netanyahu’s office and Trump both separately denied the report. “I did encourage him to get this over with. You want to get it over with fast. Have victory, get your victory, and get it over with. It has to stop, the killing has to stop,” Trump said at a New Jersey press conference on Thursday, referring to their meeting at Mar-a-Lago last month. But he also criticized cease-fire demands.

Donald Trump’s scheme to deny Kamala Harris and Joe Biden a chance to negotiate a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza for political reasons is a brazen violation of the Logan Act, as Trump has advised Israel Apartheid State PM Benjamin Netanyahu to NOT negotiate a ceasefire deal.

[lakecountylibrary]

It's Banned Books Week! Indiana made it on to PBS News last month. Guess why!

The video at the link is captioned and has a full text transcript. No paywall. It discusses a censorship bill passed in Indiana last year (2023).

A few salient highlights:

Leah Johnson: (Indiana author, You Should See Me in a Crown) It's not about the removal of books from shelves. It's about the removal of queer people from public life. It's about making queer people ashamed and afraid and driving them back into the closet.

Max: (Indiana teen) The first book that I read wasn't the reason I realized I was trans. It was just nice to see once I realized that, and I see that represented a book. So now that it's not being represented, it might be harder for people to realize or even just feel safe in their own identity, and that's my concern.

Jim Tomes: (Republican Indiana State Senator, co-author of the bill in question) Well, maybe they should worry. [...] Maybe it should have the chilling effect [...] I will say this, if you're defending these libraries and these books, you're on the wrong side of things.

-- The bill being discussed in this video went into effect last year after a drawn-out fight in the Indiana legislature. We wrote about the fight here. (Scroll down for the reblog with the final update)

We expect next year's legislative session to go further, introducing harsher restrictions and targeting public libraries and librarians in addition to schools and teachers. Keep an ear to the ground if you're in Indiana - your library may need your help in 2025.

Incidentally, and totally unrelated, have you checked your voter registration lately? Local elections matter!

[vinnfeyntheinsane]

To the credit of PBS, they have not been bullshitting about Israel/Hamas. Here's a highlight:

REPORTER: We now turn to retired Israeli Colonel Pnina Sharvit Baruch. She was a legal adviser to the Israel Defense Forces and is now a senior research fellow at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies. So, Pnina, as you heard, Prime Minister Netanyahu  said the civilian deaths were a tragic mistake in this strike. It was also a mistake, you  will remember, when an aid convoy from World Central Kitchen was hit, killing seven. And one of the biggest questions people have is why one of the best-funded and best trained militaries  in the world keeps making these deadly mistakes. What would you say to that?

PNINA SHARVIT BARUCH: This is a terrible situation. We are trapped in this war threatening us in Israel, and we are being attacked from all sides. It feels to us an existential  threat. So we know we look strong. We are strong, but the threats are huge. The whole issue of Rafah, why is Rafah important, is because this is the land border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. And we know that they get from there their supply. There are tunnels going underneath, a lot of tunnels in Rafah.

REPORTER: But I should point out that it was the ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruling just last week...that ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah...how was this military strike in Rafah not in violation of that order?

PNINA BARUCH: The order didn't say that Israel must halt its operations in Gaza...it said that Israel must halt its military offensive...in Rafah which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life in Gaza that could bring about the physical destruction of people in Gaza. This is limited to what is covered by the genocide convention, Israel is not carrying out a genocide-

REPORTER: Uh- reading the same text you are, it says, the state of Israel shall immediately halt it's military offensive...that could bring about physical destruction in whole or in part. These 45 civilians were killed. That's physical destruction, in whole or in part, is it not?

ISRAELI COL. PNINA BARUCH: Yes, but genocide has the element of intent, and the idea here was that Israel has to do what it can to avoid destruction, and indeed what happened here is a tragedy, but what has to be checked is how did it happen. Israel...according to the initial explanation is that it as using accurate ammunition, and perhaps there was some fire that broke out [Imagine fire breaking out during the bombing of a flammable tent camp]. Civilians get killed, it is terrible, it is tragic, it doesn't mean there is an intention, it definitely doesn't mean there is a genocidal intention.

REPORTER: Pnina, as you've heard, some will argue that Hamas is inseperable from the Palestinian national movement that sprang from oppression, from a lack of freedom, these are conditions that still exist today, and killing every last fighter won't eliminate that. What do you say to that?

PNINA: We have to beat the Hamas...at least the military structure of the Hamas. If Hamas continues to control the Gaza strip...there will never be a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and both Israelis and Palestinians will pay the price.

(The conversation continues, the report ends, and a title card shows)

TITLE CARD: 285 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza or along the Israeli border since the beginning of the ground operation.

[glfc2112]

"Canvas" is the arts and culture series for PBS NewsHour.  The way they presented the story and the questions asked is among the best I've seen / heard.  The approach is magnificent.  Geddy is well spoken and gave thoughtful answers. A definite must watch.

[yesbothways]

Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of the City of Dearborn, home to one of the largest populations of Muslim Americans in the country, many with Middle Eastern or North African roots, interviewed on Harris-Walls and Gaza

Watch / read the full 7 minute interview on PBS Newshour Amna Nawaz: So, if there is to be a meeting of some kind, what do you specifically want to hear from Harris or Walz that would help to lock up your support and that of your community?

Abdullah Hammoud: Based on the conversations I have had with many constituents and many thought leaders in this space, be they Palestinian-Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans or broader anti-war pro justice Americans, the focal points are the following. We really want to anchor down on the idea of a permanent cease-fire being called for because we believe that's the only pathway to the release of all hostages and prisoners in the situation and the only way to get access to unfettered humanitarian aid into Gaza and beyond. Second, the upholding of international law. The ICC and the ICJ have now litigated this issue. We believe that this should be the shield for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz on this issue. And we think that an offensive arms embargo makes sense. We can follow the lead of the U.K. in this situation. And thirdly is a concrete timeline and table of how we get towards a just Palestinian state, because a return to the status quo was no longer not only acceptable, but also not feasible. The U.N. is saying that at the earliest it would take 15 to 20 years to clear any debris and rubble from the from the destruction that the IDF has done all over Gaza and, at minimum, two or three decades to begin the reconstruction of Gaza to give Palestinians a feeling of hope again.

[itsawritblr]

For every minimum wage slave out there with shitty healthy insurance.

[chaosartisan]

While Hurricane Milton is sweeping through Florida, I just want to remind you that part of project 2025 is crippling the National Weather Service's ability to forecast the weather.

[marklakshmanan]

Do you need the breaks during election season?

[jensencaraballo]

Millions of Americans are priced out of homes and apartments. For people with disabilities, finding an accessible place they can afford can be even more challenging. Judy Woodruff reports on the affordable housing shortage for our series, Disability Reframed.

I was featured in this segment. Please watch then share widely.

[therushingriver]

Major pet peeve of mine- people on social media saying why is nobody talking about this/ the mainstream news isnt talking about this. Because 90% of the time a quick google search will tell you that yeah they fucking are.

The most egregious is a post I just saw that said this and then linked an article from npr and pbs newshour- two of our best mainstream media news outlets! And both funded by our tax dollars so they tend not to be influenced by corporations or trends.

I beg of you before you reblog posts like this to do a little research first. Because my worry is that this is a trend where people distrust reliable, great reporters and news organizations that have lawyers and experts fact checking everything they put in writing or on air. And instead they get their news from social media where misinformation is rampant and often times on purpose.

Ive honestly gotten to the point that I trust nothing important on social media - stop getting your news here!! Go to pbs and npr and read their articles. Find reporters and experts you trust and learn information directly from them. And stop putting down organizations as a whole like msnbc and cnn. I know they aren't perfect (especially with the owner of cnn seeming to be influencing them more) but they employ thousands of people to make sure they are being as accurate as possible and talking about what is important. You cannot get that level of fact checking and legal liability from any social media source.

And when you see any news from any source (including these) truly use your critical thinking. Of course there are times where Ive disagreed or questioned news. As I said Cnn has in the past few years made a few choices that I think are the result of their owner. My local news ran a story with a slightly off opinion and when I looked it up, the network posibly had some influence there.

But dont throw the baby out with the bathwater!!! Yes they arent perfect but nothing is and Id far rather get my news from organizations, institutions, and people who are legally liable for what they say and have huge teams of people working together to present accurate news to people. If people stop trusting all mainstream media news sources regardless, I think we are doomed to be misinformed and manipulated by people and bots.

[panicinthestudio]

The writings and activism of Black, bisexual feminist Alice Dunbar Nelson, June 25, 2023

As we enter the final week of Pride Month, our "Hidden Histories" series takes a look at the works of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, a bisexual Black woman whose writings and activism advocated racial equality and women's suffrage at the turn of the 20th century. PBS NewsHour

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Ricki Hollander

PBS Newshour continues to present one-sided coverage of the Hamas-Israel war, interviewing pro-Hamas propagandists with no Israeli representatives to counter them. (See: “Hamas Propaganda by Doctors Without Borders, Courtesy of PBS NewsHour”) The latest example is its Dec. 26, 2023 episode featuring former PA spokeswoman Nour Odeh to discuss recent events.  (View clip here.)

After reciting the (unconfirmed) casualty statistics put out by Hamas –‘the death toll in Gaza is nearing 21,000, mostly women and children according to Palestinian officials” – interviewer Amna Nawaz questioned Odeh about “the proposed peace plan put forward yesterday by Egypt and Qatar” which “essentially calls for the phased release of hostages held by Hamas and also Palestinians held by Israel, and for a united technocratic Palestinian government# that would oversee Gaza and the West Bank.”

Odeh responded that she is “puzzled that the Egyptians would also include negotiations with Israel and the U.S. really on the internal Palestinian issue of who governs and how” and made clear her position that Hamas should continue to play a role in governing the Palestinians, that Israel should have no say in the matter and that the world should just accept it.

“…[Hamas] remains part of the political scene because that’s inevitable. There’s no way that Hamas is going to cease to exist…And everyone has to come to terms with that…What kind of role would Hamas have in the wider political context in the Palestinian political scene, these are things that Palestinians need to agree on and that, quite, frankly, the world has to come to terms with, because if this veto on who can — who is an acceptable Palestinian political player continues, then there is more of a chance that this war will continue…”

In answer to the interviewer’s question about Israel’s insistence that Hamas be eradicated and no longer play a role in Palestinian governance as a prerequisite to peace, Odeh responded that “it should not be up to the Israelis.”

Odeh promoted a Hamas role for the governance of Palestinians, insisting that Hamas plays a large role in the West Bank as well and “in exile” and that the Palestinians “need to be able to come up with a formula…that can be functional and inclusive and representative…in order for dialogue about ending the occupation and the root cause of all this misery…”

Neither the interviewer nor any Israeli representatives pointed out that such a peace plan would necessarily entail the eradication of the Jewish state,  which Hamas has repeatedly made clear is its mission and the reason it has widespread Palestinian support. 

Instead, Nawaz moved on to question Odeh about “the displacement of Palestinians,” pointing to an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post by an Israeli geologist about “Why moving to the Sinai peninsula is the solution for Gaza’s Palestinians”. This served as an invitation for another rant by Odeh demonizing Israel:

“I think that the Israelis are more comfortable talking about a potential atrocity crime, as experts of international law have warned.  In my opinion, this was the plan all along, starving a population, depriving them of food and water, destroying the infrastructure, breaking down the health system, making sure that the region occupied now is basically uninhabitable, and pushing the majority of the population into a small, tiny portion at the Egyptian border. It was all meant to kind of nudge the population, if not outright forcibly expel it, into the Sinai. And now they’re more comfortable saying that, probably because they haven’t really had any pushback about all the other violations of international law that have been committed for over 80 days now.”

There was no Israeli representative to counter Odeh.  Instead, Nawaz at this point asked:

“Israel, I must put to you, will say that this has all been about national security, that October 7th changed everything. The steps  that they’re taking now is to make sure that horrific day never happens again.  What would you say to that?”

PBS producers should have been familiar with Odeh’s refusal to condemn Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7th, the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. They could easily have known that Odeh’s response to  Hamas’ savagery and genocidal rhetoric is to deflect from Hamas to blame and demonize Israel. Her posts on X/Twitter on October 7th did just that, insisting that what had happened was “not about Hamas” but about “a moment in history that reflects just how deadly this untenable situation is, the cost of international failure & double standards & the cost of racist & irresponsible apathy to Palestinian rights & lives.”  PBS producers might have predicted that she would turn immediately to demonizing Israel, as she did on October 7th:

 “All the news that has been ignored about Israeli settler pogroms, settler raids of AlAqsa, the 🇮🇱 gov’s erasure of Palestine & the Palestinians, the choking inhumane siege of Gaza, the silencing & maligning of pro-justice & pro-Palestine voices worldwide – they are inescapable.” 

Odeh compared Hamas’ barbaric actions to those of Ukrainians defending themselves from Russia’s brutal aggression and continued to condemn Israel as the root cause.  For example, her posts on October 7th included:

[glfc2112]

From PBS NewsHour, Geddy answers eight rapid fire questions.  From baseball, robots, music, and other stuff.  Interesting to here answers in this format.