The two sides of Israeli press freedom

The 2008 Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders released today has some fascinating data.

The entire report is here.

Israel’s press freedom, inside the country, ranks at 46 [out of 173; Eritrea is last]

In the West Bank, where Israeli military law is sovereign, Israeli press freedom ranks at 149 [just between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Azerbaijan, with Zimbabwe not far behind].

Reporters Without Borders explain:

The Israeli military’s responsibility for the death of a Palestinian cameraman employed by Reuters in April and the impunity granted to the soldier who fired the fatal shell account for Israel’s fall (149th outside its own territory) in the ranking.

Iceland comes in at number 1 on the press freedom rankings; although I guess they didn’t do enough to warn of a catastrophic economic collapse.

Nasrallah’s poison, Dagan’s demise, Iran’s floating dirty bomb, and Mossad’s pigeons

Here are the latest rumors floating around the Middle East:

Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned by a highly toxic chemical just a few days ago and his life saved by a special team of 15 Iranian doctors jetted into Lebanon. Which could maybe explain why he’s not going to Egypt.

For starters, what kind of medical team is made up of 15 doctors? That’s almost an entire emergency ward – how many second opinions can one poison victim need?

And in any case, Nasrallah gave an interview this weekend where he called the rumor of his demise ‘psychological warfare’. He should know…

Interesting story here about who would replace him as head of Hizbullah should he be knocked off. Continue reading

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