Arab Spring Took Only One Setting Himself On Fire -- Now 3 Palestinians Have Done It

On September 1, a young Palestinian in Gaza killed himself by setting himself on fire:

The death of a young Gaza man who set himself on fire because he could not find a job has sent shock waves through this conservative territory and underscored growing despair among Palestinian youth.

The Middle East Media Sampler 4/20/12: Springtime For Fatah and Hamas!

From DG:

1) Springtime for Abbas 

Last May, the Associated Press carried a story, Inspired by Arab Spring, Palestinian protest is bursting with new energy: 

Sunday's protests were driven by renewed hopes that Palestinian statehood - at least as an internationally approved idea within specific borders - is approaching after years of paralysis.
The optimism is fed by reconciliation efforts between the Islamic militant Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah movement after a four-year split, as well as growing international support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' plan to seek UN recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in September over Israel's objections.  

Although some say UN recognition will change little on the ground, the pro-democracy revolts in the Arab world have instilled a new sense of possibility among Palestinians, who had been dejected after two failed uprisings against Israeli rule and fruitless peace talks over the past 20 years.  

The premise here is that there was a parallel between the Arab Spring and Palestinian statehood aspirations. That's not quite right.

Mideast Media Sampler 1/13/12: Vigilante Journalism At The New York Times?, Arab Spring Passes Palestinians By

From DG:

1) Is Arthur Brisbane the Bernard Goetz of newspaper editors?

Arthur Brisbane is the public editor of the New York Times and his latest column, Should the Times be a truth vigilante, is causing quite a stir. Brisbane writes:

This message was typical of mail from some readers who, fed up with the distortions and evasions that are common in public life, look to The Times to set the record straight. They worry less about reporters imposing their judgment on what is false and what is true.
Is that the prevailing view? And if so, how can The Times do this in a way that is objective and fair? Is it possible to be objective and fair when the reporter is choosing to correct one fact over another? Are there other problems that The Times would face that I haven’t mentioned here? 

Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign debates, The Times has employed a separate fact-check sidebar to assess the validity of the candidates’ statements. Do you like this feature, or would you rather it be incorporated into regular reporting? How should The Times continue a function like this when we move to the general campaign and there’s less time spent in debates and more time on the road? 

Unsurprisingly the two targets of Brisbane's column are Republicans, whom the readers felt should have been fact checked on the spot. But my issue here is a different bias. A year ago, I wrote an e-mail to Brisbane's office about factual errors included in its Middle East reporting.

I made three main points.