A simple lesson in bias

When people talk of bias in the media, specifically a liberal bias in the media,
this is what they mean. The story begins thus:

Gingerly, Arabs Question Suicide Bombings

It has been muffled by Israel's latest military offensive in the West Bank and the Bush administration's demands for the ouster of Yasir Arafat, but a debate is under way among Palestinians over suicide bombing.

The article could just as easily have begun at "A debate is under way...." but that would have left out the cheap shots at Bush and Israel, neither of which is support by the text of the article. In fact, the article illustrates what is "muffling" such debate.

Dr. [Hanan] Ashrawi was among 55 Palestinian politicians and intellectuals who published an unusual appeal to fellow Palestinians on June 19 in the Arabic-language newspaper Al Quds. It called for a reassessment of "military operations that target civilians in Israel" and urged those behind them to "stop pushing our youth to carry out these operations."

...

The day the advertisement was published, a suicide bomber killed six people at a Jerusalem bus stop. ...

While I applaud even the tiny steps that Dr. Ashrawi attempts to take, I can't help but note that were immediately undercut by yet another homicide-bomber attack. So, but true.