Good luck on your interview!
CNN are tough, and can be biased towards Israel.
It won't be easy, especially now, when Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon.


Weekend report

Lisa,

First kol ha'kavod! Like 5 times kol ha'kavod. You rock girl.

And thank you so much for the link to the global voices post on Israeli women blogging the war in russian. I got to the one about the neighbors who generally quarrel and play the music too loud and right there in the middle of the post I started bawling my eyes out. This one, well, this one just seemed to capture Israeli society, Israeli relations. All of the excerpts though...thank you again.

Good GVO roundup, Lisa- I appreciate the inclusions of the calmer side of the Israeli blogosphere.

No makeup required. You walk in beauty. I will be watching and listening from CNN headquarters (city, not workplace;-) I find their coverage and that of Fox news -- two networks I follow now -- to be helpful. The talking heads are wide ranging in background, perspective, understanding, insight.

Am I glad I read this now! 1-1/2 hours before the show. Will be looking forward to it! Good Luck!

CNN is alot more fair than Fox news. don't worry about it! They stay neutral the way news is supposed to be and report what is going on, unlike fox.

CCN more neutral? Well, I believe the operative word is "more." "More" than others but certainly NOT neutral. I find them extremely biased toward the pro-American, pro-Israel side. It takes intense concentration to stay neutral in any confrontation at all. The problem is "taking sides" is what leads to war, divorce, road rage, basically any argument of any kind between any two human beings. All confrontations between two or more human beings are the same. We have gang wars here in America. That is absolutely no different than America fighting with Iraq. They are ALL disagreements ending in fatalities. A friend of mine told me of a phrase. "Tribal mentality." It's my tribe over your tribe, regardless of the issue. No matter what side we take, IF we take a side, we are part of the problem. Peace resides halfway between one side and another. Whether it's America vs. Iraq, IRA vs. England, Apache vs. Cherokee, Sudanese vs. Chad, Talil vs. Sri Lankan, and the ever popular White vs. Black, Muslim vs. Christian vs. Jews in all sorts of angles, North vs. South, Spain vs. France, Romans vs. everyone around them, it's all the same. The details change but the concept is the same. The details don't matter, yet it's the details in which everyone gets bogged down. I was brought up Jewish, I lost relatives in WWII and in Israel, just to give context. So I "should" be on a certain side on certain issues. But instead, when I listen, I find CNN favoring American policy. When they interview Hezbollah and Lebanese representatives they keep asking the same questions about their opinions on the actions of Hezbollah. When these people make comments that many UN resolutions aren't being followed, some asking Israel to move out of areas and when these reps want to discuss what they believe is the underlying cause, CNN brushes right on by. When these Hezbollah and Lebanese reps ask the CNN interviewer, "Why do you think Hezbollah does this" the CNN interviewer brushes right on by. No one goes there.

It is REALLY hard to stay neutral. I have found, all my life, that the only way to keep my head screwed on straight is to devote serious time to represent and debate the opposite side to myself, regardless of the subject. I try to talk myself into the side I "don't" naturally take. By the time I'm done, I'm neutral. I want to take a side and argue the details as much as the next person. It takes extreme effort not to do that. Peace is harder to maintain than war, but definitely worth it.

If CNN were really neutral, why wouldn't they be covering Darfur more? The carnage there is far worse than anything happening in the Middle East. I watch CNN most of the time and it's hardly mentioned ever. As I am writing this, I hear the woman on CNN (Catherine Callaway) saying there's an upcoming story about how some Lebanese see the people shooting rockets at Israel as "heroes" and her tone is one of incredulousness, as if the concept is unbelievable. Why do we think that people who do not agree with us as crazy or fanatical or ridiculous? I don't agree with Hezbollah's tactics but I don't think that makes them crazy or terrorists. The only difference between a terrorist and a soldier is a uniform. Everything else is an excuse.

Taking sides leads to war. Peace resides halfway between one side and the other. And it takes incredible mental effort to stay in the middle. As a Yankee it was hard to see the South's viewpoint and although I didn't agree with their decision to leave the Union, I understand why they wanted to. And the hardest one for me was the German WWII issue. Even though I disagree with what they did I understand how it can happen. It's hard to have compassion for our enemies but it's the only road to peace. There was a famous guy 2,000 years ago who did it and set the bar really high. Too high for most of us to reach. But always a target to shoot for. I'm trying to reach that bar, even though most times my emotions want to do otherwise. If we look around the world, we see how few of us rarely are able to hold onto peace. Usually, the only way is to feel peaceful from a distance. People who have no connections to an incident are able to say, "They should stop fighting" but rarely can give up their own fights. When I get reactions I don't like from people I have to force myself to focus on my own behavior and try to figure out what I am doing to bring on such a reaction, cause that makes me feel empowered. When I blame others, I leave myself victimized, powerless and with nothing left but to "strike" back. Multiply that by a few million people and you have war. War is just the argument between two people multiplied by more people, organized units with weapons and matching uniforms.

I feel the news people are stimulating this conflict. I definitely hear CNN, FOX and others taking the Bush/Israel view and the Arabic news people taking the opposite view. Everyone is so obtuse. And the rest of the world is watching this and most people spending their time deciding which "side” they are going to take. Just stimulating more wars. NO news people are neutral. NONE are taking the side of peace. They ALL are reiterating the details of who did what to whom, stimulating the arguments. This is absolutely no different than two boys fighting in the schoolyard at recess and the teacher listening to the details of the two boys saying whose fault it is instead of saying that both boys are

Don't you think Anderson Cooper, Soledad and all the rest know that the closer they are to the bombs, the more helmets they wear and sirens we hear in the background, the closer they get to a Pulitzer? And all at our expense. They are eating this action up. Darfur? No ratings, no Pulitzer opportunities, no high tech coverage, no symphonic background music available. So why bother? They really believe that what they do is so important. Yeah, to them.

And the final word on CNN impartiality. How come we get a report person by person, to the exact count of every Israeli citizen that is hurt or killed yet all the numbers of citizens hurt in Lebanon is always an "unsubstantiated estimate" and if exact, explained as the "military" target they were standing near at the time. You call that neutral? I don't.
Sorry for the length, but it's all backing up in my system.

Nancy, I agree the operative word it "more". I get real facts by reading blogs and news from all over the world than I do from the american press. I ABSOLUTELY cannot stand what our american government policies have been since Bush/Cheney came in. We have gone backwards instead of forward in this world thanks to their ignorance. One of the saddest day of my life was the day after the last presidential election, I still cannot believe Bush won fairly, I can count on one finger how many people voted for him from my friends and family!

The BBC is much less impressed with the American/Israeli point of view, so if you want to see unbiased reporting catch the BBC news. I know you can get it on the education channel in the States and maybe on BBC America too.

Very nice interview on CNN and I'm glad to be made aware of this site. Hopefully reason will prevail on this situation soon.

I heard Kurtz promoing an interview with a Tel Aviv blogger and thought it would be you or Allison (I'm the guy who hosts Allison's site). You did a great job, even if Howie only gave you two minutes. They should give you a regular gig.

Stay safe, we're reading you guys religiously here in the States.

Saw you on CNN this morning. It's nice to see traditional media recognize bloggers as "reliable sources." Thank you for sharing your perspective - for giving us a little bit of the "why."

Hi Lisa,

I watched you on CNN (from US) this morning. I thought you were a great interview, only too short! I will be checking out this site for a more in depth outlook on the conflict between Israel and Hezbolah/Lebannon as you stated during your interview. I totally agree with your comments that the media report when, where and how but not why. I am an American and I crave information concerning this conflict. Mostly watching TV and I've found CNN to be the most unbiased. I cannot fathom that fox would have had you on the show and given the time to speak that CNN did. Another good source for world news in the US is MSNBC. I believe that they are fair as well. Well, I'll be reading and keep up the good work.

Cassy

Seen the piece on Reliable Sources. You are so right that the "Why" cannot be answered in a 1.5 minute clip. Keep up the good work!

Oh and no worries about the makeup. You looked fine!

I just watched you on 'Reliable Sources.' I would assume your friends would be happy to see that you have done a very good job. I have a question, if I may. I saw some links on your blog that question media's integrity in reporting wartime situations. You yourself agreed that media does not have the time to do 'how/why' part of an event on a news show. In perspective of this war, don't you think the how and why of situations have been changed so much that keeping track of truth is becoming hard for journalists on both sides?

I saw you on CNN while I was at the gym!!! I was listening to my iPod and watching the TV when I saw your name and the name of your blog on the subtitles, so I quickly plugged into the TV audio. It was so exciting. You looked and sounded great!!!

Esther

Lisa you looked good but where did that british accent come from?
The host made your point about the television media not having enough time when he told you ther was no more time.......wasted huh?

Lisa, you did fine on CNN, spoke clearly and looked great.
I like to know how life is going on in Tel Aviv, are people leaving? How normal is life ?
Be safe, C-M

Lisa

I saw you on CNN this morning and thought you did a great job...a different view on what is going on in Lebanon and Israel. I hate the western media even though I am an American. I get my news off the internet from other countries, Arab and non-Arab media to get a better idea of news around the world and what is not being relayed to the U.S. Like most of my friends and relatives we hate our President and his rambo-style of leadership....A BODY WITH NO BRAINS. My heart goes out to the innocent victims of war....conflict... whatever the governments decide to call it...it's all the same...death and destruction.

Rose

Hi Lisa, I am Lebanese and saw you on CNN. I appreciate your speech.

The crazy thing with this war is that the majority of the people on both sides of the border didn't want it. In Lebanon, we feel dragged by a conflict that is not ours. This is not Israel's or Lebanon's war, it is a conflict between Tehran and Washington with our two countries being used as battlefield.

so like, you think being on cnn is gonna boost your readership;)
כל ה כבוד לך הצגת אותנו גם עם חוכמה וגם וגם עם סטייל!

עשית לי את היום. באמת.

Lisa, ya habibti, being a 'new refugee' in Tel Aviv's bubble is not that exciting, I'm lost here and I could not see U in CNN!! But I am still & always proud to be one of your first reader.
;-)
A friendly 'boussah' to you and salaam aleinu, for-all-the-greek-godness-sake!

Hi, Lisa,

Watched you earlier today on CNN from Jamaica. Thanks for for all you've been doing and you looked great whether you wore the make up or not! ;-)

Also, I found out about Global Voices thru your blog link... THANKS again. I've already linked to their site on my blog.

Keep safe and I'll be reading you regularly and hopefully linking with other bloggers to get the insider view of this conflict.

Angela.

Angela, just read your post and would like to email you directly. How do I reach you? Thanks, M

mylen101@aol.com

Merci, Lisa. Je découvre lentement votre site. La blogosphère aidera à comprendre le mot "dialogue" dans une région du monde qui n'a que trop souffert.

Lisa - I found your blog several weeks ago and I always look forward to reading your updates. Your blog has led me to other blogs from Israeli, Lebanese and other bloggers from the Middle East. Being in the US it is hard to imagine what life is like right now for Israelis and Lebanese alike. Thanks for the photos, comments, and updates on what is happening in your region. I caught the tail end of your clip on CNN and thought it was a good interview (at least the little bit of it I was able to see).

I wanted to especially thank you for posting your notes on the situation regarding the posting of the pictures of the Israeli children writing on the missiles. I was so disheartened and discouraged reading the comments of the readers on some of the Middle Eastern blogs regarding those photos (and I admit I was upset by those photos myself). It seems perspective is so hard to hold on to during these times, especially when it's difficult to know or hear both sides of a situation at one time.

...who missed you on Cnn, is there a web link so that the rest of us can see/hear?

Thanks,

Bill Gould

Just listened to you and David Levi on the Open Source Interview - Impressive and informative. Thank you for the link.

Bill Gould

I came across this site while trying to get info about the war. My parents are both from lebanon, but I was born in Canada. I have been to Lebanon twice - once right after the civil way and the second time just a year ago. I was shocked at how much had been done to rebuild the country and am now so sad to see how much destruction has occured.

It was good to find a site where people seemed to be interested in engaging in a dialogue about the situation.

I actually study aggression in youth - in the field of psychology - and am always interested in learning more about what makes people seek less aggressive solutions. This site made me think that it would be interesting to find out brings people to a site like this rather than some of the more aggressive ones. I know it may seem obvious to you, but it may be helpful to understand what makes some people seek out connection during crisis and others seek out a place to vent.....I would love to hear from you and any thoughts you might have.