We Manipulate, You Decide …

November 22, 2006

Internal Middle East politics and the accompanying media manipulation, especially in Lebanon, is quite difficult to comprehend.

So was he married or not?

Robert Fisk writes in The Independent:

Gemayel, son of ex-president Amin Gemayel and nephew of the murdered president-elect, Bashir Gemayel – murder tends to run in the family in Lebanon – was no charismatic figure, just a hard-working unmarried Christian Maronite minister whose unrewarding task had been to call émigré Lebanese home to rebuild their country after Israel’s bloody bombardment.

The Angry Arab replys:

Robert Fisk has a new cause: to support unconditionally the Sanyurah government. Do you notice that he uses the same language of the Bush administration when he talks about Lebanon? And Fisk says this about Gemayyel: "a hard-working unmarried Christian Maronite minister". In fact, his father kept pushing him to be less lazy, and he was married with two kids.

The BBC has a picture taken at Bashirs funeral with a text that says:

Distraught family members – father and former President Amin Gemayel, and his wife Patricia Daif – joined the procession.

This Arab CV site states:

His Excellency Deputy Pierre Amin Gemayel – Married to Patricia Daif
Christian Maronite

The (current) Google cached version of an Al Jazeerah text explains:

Pierre Amin Gemayel was born on 1972 in Bekfaya.

He had his education from La Sagesse University. He was married to Patricia Daif.

But the current not-cached version of that Al Jazeerah link does not include those lines.

The Globe and Mail report based on AP has attached an AFP photo with the subline:

This file photo shows Pierre Gemayel, son of former Lebanese President and leading Christian opposition figure Amine Gemayel, waving to well-wishers with his bride Patricia Daif in 1999.

If the always truthiness reporting media can not agree on the simple fact of married or not, how can they agree on who assassinated the guy?

We manipulate, you decide …

Posted by b on November 22, 2006 at 20:37 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Fisk, whose reporting from matters other than Lebanese is always worth a read. As for this…….
He lives mostly in Beirut FFS!!

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Nov 22 2006 21:35 utc | 1

I have all the respect in the world for Robert Fisk. He is a true lion of journalism. He has in his heart, the best intentions for all the dis-enfranchized in the world, at least as he sees it. He is a true loyalist.
But he is starting to sound for the bourgeis polo-playing, Paris/London flying elite in the neo-colonial homelands.
Fisk is nobodys tool, but he is starting to sound so tired.

Posted by: jony_b_cool | Nov 22 2006 22:37 utc | 2

B,
On topic only in the manipulative sense of the word 🙂 As you know there was a bomb in the green zone. Now if you go to Yahoo News’ Iraq Photos page and get clicking you’ll come to a wealth of photoshoppable photos of the preparations ~~Pretzel boy’s missed photo call opportunity~~ the green zone thanksgiving party.
I’m sure there are some highly expert photoshoppers who pop in here from time to time 🙂 Some manipulation opportunities come under the heading of “once in a lifetime”

Posted by: makrfromireland | Nov 22 2006 23:50 utc | 3

just popping by … it’s been way too long since I’ve had MoA and Le Speakeasy time. A friend, who is Lebanese and who has travelled with Fisk has mentioned to me that his health has recently been quite bad.

Posted by: Siun | Nov 23 2006 0:35 utc | 4

hi siun, good to see you

Posted by: annie | Nov 23 2006 1:07 utc | 5

Hey Annie!
I come by to read often but life has been way too hectic recently – still, it’s always a pleasure to read so many favorite writers in one place.

Posted by: Siun | Nov 23 2006 1:18 utc | 6

@Siun, Hope you can find something to celebrate on “thanksgiving” 🙂
Any chance Fisk’s health is related to DU?

Posted by: jj | Nov 23 2006 6:10 utc | 7

Any chance Fisk’s health is related to DU?
Wow, never though of that jj, gosh I hope not…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Nov 23 2006 7:09 utc | 8

jj – merci! thankful for people who fight for justice, for some good work to do and for the company of good friends.
On Fisk and DU – interesting question. My impression from my friend was age plus hard life but I will ask next time she’s on grid.

Posted by: Siun | Nov 23 2006 8:54 utc | 9

Hmm – today Fisk suddenly detects a wife …
Robert Fisk: Gemayel’s mourners know that in Lebanon nothing is what it seems

But the Maronites and Greek Orthodox, the Druze and – yes – the Muslims who came to pay their condolences to Gemayel’s wife, Patricia, and his broken father, Amin, wept copiously beside the flag-draped casket.

Posted by: b | Nov 23 2006 11:40 utc | 10

the assassination of Gemayel has received extraordinary coverage by CNN. they have been live for the past couple of hours at the funeral. every few minutes “anti Syrian minister” comes up followed quickly by “six Syrian opponents killed in last two years”
another thing I am noticing is that all the people in the cathedral are light skinned, the priests look european, the mourners are all dressed in european designer clothing, and no audio is transmitted…only the english translator is heard.
I noticed German radio and TV is similarly on message with this. Of course BBC is right there too.
with my aluminum foil deflector beanie tightly strapped on, I would say that this is an extremely well orchestrated pysops.
I would also say that the fight to direct US policy has gone to a higher level. when they start doing “own goals” by popping friendly politicians you know desperation has got a firm hold on their cold black hearts.

Posted by: dan of steele | Nov 23 2006 12:19 utc | 11

Worth reading in Full

To the alarm of hard-liners in Israel and in the United States, these ideas were beginning to make their way in American and European opinion. Calls for a global settlement were coming from many quarters, including last week from the leaders of Spain, France and Italy. Even Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair has seemed to distance himself from Washington in stressing the need for a “whole Middle East strategy,” with priority given to the Palestinian-Israel conflict.
In these circumstances, it seems hardly likely that Syria – eagerly seeking dialogue with the West, emerging from isolation, and pressing hard for the United States to re-launch the Middle East process – would put all this in jeopardy by ordering a squalid murder of a relatively unimportant Lebanese politician.
On the other hand, Syria’s enemies – Israel and its Lebanese agents first among them – would have every motive to seek to check Syria’s return to international respectability and to prevent the restoration of Syrian influence in Lebanon, even in a milder form than before.
These then are the rival theories. Both Israel and Syria have in the past resorted to murdering their political opponents. Israel continues to do so routinely in the Palestinian territories. Which of the two is guilty this time? Hard evidence either way will not be easy to find. But until it is found, it would be wise to suspend judgement.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Nov 23 2006 13:01 utc | 12

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