Posted on 08/29/2006 1:09:33 PM PDT by Alouette
THE International Committee of the Red Cross has rebuked Foreign Minister Alexander Downer for relying on an unverified internet blog to claim an Israeli missile strike on one of its ambulances in southern Lebanon was a hoax. A spokeswoman for the ICRC in Geneva said yesterday there was no evidence to support Mr Downer's assertion that the international media had been duped in reporting that Israel had deliberately targeted the ambulance.
An image of the roof of the ambulance showed what was purportedly an entry hole allegedly made by an Israeli rocket which had pierced the centre of the red cross symbol.
The July 23 incident, in which two ambulances were fired on, injuring six people - including one man who lost his leg in the attack - provoked worldwide condemnation of Israel's apparent direct targeting of an ambulance in breach of the Geneva convention.
Israel apologised for the incident but made no admissions.
The blog site, Zombietime.com, claimed photographs of the interior of the ambulance showed there was not enough damage to have been hit by a missile through the roof, as claimed.
On Monday, in a speech to the National Newspaper Publishers Conference on the Gold Coast, Mr Downer criticised the Australian and international media for sloppy reporting and failing to check facts in their coverage of the Lebanon conflict.
He accused the media of being hoodwinked by Lebanese claims that "Israel had bombed deliberately a (Lebanese) Red Cross ambulance". And he accused "some of the world's most prestigious media outlets", including Time magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Australian of falling for a hoax.
"After closer study of the images of the damage to the ambulance, it is beyond serious dispute that this episode has all the makings of a hoax," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
That worthless Red Cross C**T needs to see a doctor. She is delusional.
Who the hell are they kidding? It takes more than a few minutes for metal to RUST.
True. If the Israelis had targeted the ambulance, the secondaries from the explosives it was carrying would have obliterated the ambulance.
"Fake But Accurate" is our motto!
Not a word about the initial Israeli explanation that the occupants of the vehicle were "acting suspiciously".
For those in Rio Linda, that means observed in activity associated with terrorism.
Fauxtography Scandal updates:
EU Referendum: The Corruption of the Media
About Those Israeli 'Chemical Weapons...'
All Your Fakes Are Belong To Us
Zombie: The Red Cross Ambulance Incident
BBC Admits Engaging in Staged Photos
Perlmutter: Photojournalism in Crisis
Green Helmet Admits Staging Photos
Still More Photo Staging Identified
Lebanese Autos Miraculously Survive Airstrikes
Photographer Alleges Unearthing of Bodies
LA Times: Take a Closer Look
CAIR's Fauxtography Scandal
AP Stands Behind Green Helmet Guy
LGF Exclusive: How Much Does It Cost to Buy Global TV News?
Multi-Use Buildings
Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut?
"Therefore, until irrefutable evidence indicates otherwise, you are all required to believe that Israel deliberately target the ambulance."
This is bluster. They got caught.
Perhaps the Red Cross should stop letting terrorists use their ambulances as troop and weapons transports. When they compromise their neutrality, they can no longer claim protection under the Geneva Convention.
Real investigative reporting. Thanks for the link.
My impression is that the idiots in the Internatinal Red Cross have done and are doing nothing more than asking the Lebanese to "say it is true", upon which the Lebanese say "it is true" and the Red Cross then says, "see, we told you it was true" - end of investigation, end of story.
Except it won't be the end of the story becuase we won't let it be the end.
Your man Downer certainly sounds like a winner to me!
Any way to promote him to Prime Minister?
Future Reference bump! :-)
High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. also
2006israelwar or WOT
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I am now reconsidering my practice of giving donations to the Red Cross in the wake of humanitarian disasters. (I realize that the American Red Cross enjoys a good deal of independence from the ICRC, but I don't want to give money to ANYthing affiliated with ICRC if they're not only going to blithely accept obvious staged imagery BUT also smear those who point out the stage-ing.)
Well, I agree with this, the international media were not duped, they were party to the fraud.
Incidentally, I had been assuming that the Red Cross was not party to the fraud, that this had just been done by some bad people in Lebanon. The ICRC has now made it clear that they are involved.
Last year, I donated $200 to the American Red Cross (matched by my employer) and have made other contributions in other years. Yesterday, I received a solicitation from them. It went straight into the trash.
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