Europe disappointed with Hamas

[Behind the Aegis]

The European Union has expressed disappointment with the new Hamas government, but has stopped short of calling for an end to cooperation with the new Palestinian Authority.

A tersely worded document drafted by ambassadors for a meeting of the 25 foreign ministers next Monday says the EU "noted with grave concern" that the new Palestinian cabinet has not committed itself to three key principles set out by the international community.

These are recognition of Israel’s right to exist, non-violence and acceptance of existing peace agreements.

However, the ambassadors did not go as far as calling for an end to all cooperation with the Hamas-led PA, even though the European Commission had recommended this course of action.

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[bemildred]

1. The "EU" is not "Europe".

Just want to point that out.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. This I know.

Have you noticed, as of recent, that MANY headlines, from the liberal and conservative side, have been woefully misleading? It is usually revolving around the I/P conflict, but I have seen this in other areas too. It is quite annoying, actually.

[bemildred]

3. It seems prevalent everywhere. It's very annoying.

<rant>

It's not just the I/P issue, it's almost anything political. It's not just that some sources are political and disingenuous, they all are. It's not just that you have to read different biased opinions, there is no place to get any balance, you have to do all the work yourself. The truth is complicated, and all you get is dishonest and simplistic babble, and you have to root around to find any facts. I don't get the feeling that most of these "news" writers know or care about what is fact and what was pulled out of someones ass imagination. Everybody has an axe to grind. One of the reasons I like non-western sources is that they have different biases, so at least you get some different points of view. The same for the blogosphere, they are often full of it, but at least some of them are trying to think.

Oh yeah, and you are right, it's particularly the headlines, when they are not illiterate, they are wildly misleading. They have to be sure to get the propaganda payload in no matter what.

</end rant>

[barb162]

5. It's also the mainstream, not just the right and left

What really has been getting on my nerves lately is the reporters not getting numbers straight.

[barb162]

4. BTA, I hope you're not upset, but I like the little side story more

This one:
"Jewish refugees from Arab lands campaigners meet with EU"

Look at this sentence, which a lot of people don't know:


"Although this was not a new issue to me, most EU Parliament members will be unaware that there were in fact more Jewish refugees than Palestinian refugees," Ries said. "This is a question of justice, and I welcome the representations that have been made to put this on the agenda."

[barb162]

6. Well, Solana can now wait for Hamas to change