[FairOpinion]

Russians are noticing it too... CNN's, Reuter's, and other news sources' and agencies' insistence to avoid calling terrorists terrorists, and making a moral equivalence between the terrorists and their victims is becoming more and more unacceptable.

They think that "fairness" is treating Israel the same as Palestinian terrorists, treating us the same way as Bin Laden's terrorists, treating Russia the same way as the Chechen Islamic terrorists. How pathetic that they don't see that THERE IS right and wrong, good and evil, and they are NOT all the same, and their reporting legitimizedes terrorism.

[Paleo Conservative]

Did you ever think you would see the day when you would agree with Pravda?

[Texas_Jarhead]

"The most troublesome thing is that CNN is not alone in its sympathy for Caucasian bandits..."

what is the inference here? what does 'Caucasuan' have to do with it? Is this an insinuation of race favoritism in the media? I don't get it.

[Tom Jefferson]

This is a copy of a Letter to the Editor I wrote today to the Los Angeles Times:

Editor,

While I know that honest, unbiased and fair reporting seem to be concepts difficult for the Los Angeles Times to grasp, I am still curious as to why, in reporting about the Chechyn terrorists who captured 800 hostages at the theater in Moscow, they are referred to as "Militants" or "Rebels", but no mention is made that they are Moslem terrorists and that there were several Arabs among them from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Is the Times too concerned about not offending people that it has to color the truth? Whatever happened to objective and truthful reporting?

[VOR78]

Its pretty pathetic when Pravda is closer to the truth than our own news outlets.

[anymouse]

How do you say, "Let's roll" in Russian? "Pokatili" according to Russian FReeper, Ivan Ivanov.

D@mn reporters can't bear to admit that regular civilians are capable of defending themselves from evil preditors like these Chechen terrorists.
They have to paint them as "panicked" and "desperate."

I say these brave Russian citizens deserve medals. I suspect Russian President Putin and the members of the Duma will agree.

[nicmarlo]

In their web site, which I just came from, they are now calling the terrorists "separatists." From their web site, I quote:

Night of fun turned to horror
When the audience of around 700 took their seats for the second act of a popular musical at a Moscow theatre on October 23, they had no idea they were about to become part of a deadly drama. A group of about 40 Chechen separatists took over the building, demanding an end to war in Chechnya, and threatening to kill everyone inside.

I sent them a little e-mail about this, as follows:

"Rebels, separatists, and hostage-takers" are words used by CNN on the air and on its web site to describe the Chechen terrorists. I find CNN's choice of words especially "interesting" because, when I read an article in The Telegraph today by Christina Lamb and Ben Aris, for example, they wrote that "a senior Western diplomat said, ‘There were definitely Arab terrorists in the building with links to al-Qa'eda.' According, also, to The Telegraph, "the Russians will now want to know how much help the Chechens received from bin Laden's organisation." It would be incredulous to believe that CNN overlooked this "little" piece of information. My opinion: at least The Telegraph prints the truth, in all its ugliness.

CNN's credibility of "fair" or "neutral" reporting have long been repudiated. CNN's continued "tainting the truth" affirms this repudiation remains justified. CNN's anti-conservative, pro-Democrat, views are transparent to all but yourselves. I suggest CNN, its anchors, and staff read "The Emperor's New Suit" by Hans Christian Andersen; it might be an enlightening read.

[Prodigal Son]

You know things have gotten pretty messed up when a Russian paper- and Pravda no less- is lecturing a major American news source about truth in journalism and to be correct in doing so.

[Burkeman1]

We should all question this. When are rebels really rebels and when are they just bandits? Historically speaking- the Communists labeled every challenge to their rule- every armed insurgency in Russia as "bandits". It was a mantra of Pravda. Ukranians fighting guerilla war against Soviet collectivisation were "bandits". Cossacks doing the same in the Kuban region were likewise labeled "bandits". This despite the fact that both had anti Communist ideologies, leaders, clearly defined political platforms, and internal discipline. But do the Chechynans pass this test? I don't think so. Chechyans were historically the organized crime ethnic group of the Soviet Union and leaders in the black market and drug trade (with KGB approval and payoffs.) And they remain so today. They fight among themselves and they are only nominally "Muslem". Their chief grievance seems to be that they are not free to conduct their criminal activities without interference from Moscow. Thus I think the Chechyan "rebellion" is about as legitimate as the Columbian "leftist" guerillas whose number one agenda is to sell drugs. Russia is correct in trying to stamp this "rebellion" out.

[agoldin]

Here is online petition to CNN to call terrorists what they are:


http://www.petitiononline.com/aleshady/petition.html