Priorities, Priorities, Priorities...

The AP sets its priorities - children dying, news as usual. But reporting the desecration of a Quran and watching a U.S. General BEG for forgiveness - Priceless.

BAGHDAD (AP) - An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday.

Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond responded in the most dhimmi fashion:

"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness. In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers."

As if that heartfelt groveling wasn't enough:

The commander also read a letter of apology by the shooter, and another military official kissed a Quran and presented it to the tribal leaders, according to CNN.

Meanwhile...

Separately, mortar shells slammed into a residential area north of the Iraqi capital, killing at least four people and wounding 30, most children playing outside, officials said Sunday.

But there was no apology for the bloodshed of the children by Islamic insurgents.

Bandaged girls and boys with bloodstained clothes cried as they were packed two to a bed at a hospital in Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold where most of the recent fighting has occurred.

UPDATE: Iraqi leaders refuse to accept the apology. Perhaps a public beheading of the offending soldier would suffice?

the Iraqi Islamic Party -- which said it reacted to the news "with deep resentment and indignation" -- wants the "severest of punishments" for the action to serve as a lesson for the future.

"Such assaults have recurred over the past few years; therefore, the apology alone is no longer sufficient," the party said in a statement. "The U.S. military should take preventative measures considering the feelings of Muslims."

When is America going to grow some balls when it comes to these IslamoFascists?

More AP Photo Manipulations

Brian at SnappedShot directs readers to Honest Reporting Canada which is exposing Canada's Globe and Mail for using misleading and crafted pictures in it's stories about Israel:

Globe and Mail readers opened up their morning newspaper yesterday in utter shock and dismay.

A large photo (5 columns inches in length, above the fold, and on page A15) showed an Israeli soldier apparently aiming his weapon in the direction of a Palestinian toddler in a stroller.
It would be wholly unthinkable for an Israeli soldier to point a weapon directly at a baby, even more so in the immediate vicinity of a press photographer. Indeed, a closer examination of this photo reveals how clever positioning on the part of the photographer captures a particular angle and context. Thus, the soldier, his weapon and the baby are the primary focus while we do not see who is pushing the stroller or any of the surroundings in the area that the IDF is patrolling. The soldier is not even pointing his weapon at the baby. The photo is deliberately manipulative and selective in what it shows and what it does not show.

There was no relation between the photo and the story that appeared alongside it, about U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice’s shuttle diplomacy to the Mideast to restore peace talks.

http://blog.honestreporting.ca - Special Report: Globe and Mail Must Apologize

This is the type of media manipulation SnappedShot was exposing before the Associated Press threated litigious retaliation. It is also the reason fair-minded bloggers need to rally around Brian at SnappedShot.com, and help him to keep exposing the AP for what it is - an anti-Semitic, pro-Islamic propaganda organization.

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AP Attacks Blogger

Fans of SnappedShot.com will know by now the Associated Press has taken issue with bloggers exposing its photographic manipulations. For too long, we've witnessed the AP and Reuters siding with terrorists, minimizing the blood lust, villanizing Israel, staging photographs, misrepresenting events with biased captions such as labeling Islamic terrorists as "human Rights activists," etc.

The Associated Press has now stooped to threatening legal action against SnappedShot.com. This could have far reaching effects on many bloggers who have reported the AP's pro-terrorist ties. Now, more than ever, the freedom of expression and the freedom to oppose and expose media manipulations is at stake. We must stand firm. Show your support. Blog this.

AP & Reuters - Taliban Dupes

It's a shame. The Taliban uses the mainstream media's gullibility and leftist leanings for propaganda, and the media couldn't care less.

The Taliban has The Associated Press and Reuters on speed dial.

Elias Wahdat, a stringer for Reuters and BBC news services in Khost province, said that every time the Taliban launch an attack or American troops call in an air strike, he gets a text message.

The Taliban will give its version of what happened, often claiming that American bombs killed civilians. It may take officials with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan hours to put together a news release for the press. In the meantime, the Taliban version is already circulating.

Lt. Col. David A. Accetta, the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs officer and chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said it takes time to verify the facts.

“The major difference between us and the Taliban extremists is that they are not bound by any regulations, laws or policies,” Accetta said. “They do not have to tell the truth and are more likely to use propaganda than they are to put out true, verifiable, factual information.”

But the lag time is leading to propaganda victories for the Taliban, experts and military officers said this week.

...

But Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst with Human Rights Watch, said the Taliban have been very successful at using civilian deaths as a part of their information war against the Afghan government.

“Every civilian death in Afghanistan leads to more calls for the democratically elected government to step down. That is clearly the driving force,” said Garlasco, who just finished a draft report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

Afghan civilians told Garlasco that Taliban fighters force residents to remain in their homes as shields or force them to accompany insurgents on operations. A NATO source told Garlasco that the Taliban will also “seed an area with civilian dead” to make it look like NATO and coalition forces killed them.

He found that at least 388 Afghan civilians — triple the number from a year before — were killed by airstrikes in 2006-07. According to U.N. figures, 314 civilians were killed by international and Afghan government forces in the first six months of 2007 — more than the 279 civilians killed by the insurgents.

http://www.fayobserver.com