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Hezbollah PR Again
By Micah Halpern

Sunday February 4, 2007

I've been Thinking:

For the past two weeks an ugly canard has spread through Lebanon that Israel has sent poison gas balloons to Lebanon.

The story has received press coverage.
The Hezbollah website in English and in Arabic carried the news.
Al Jazeera went with it on air and on their website.
I understand that.

What I do not understand is why the Associated Press ran with the story.
The gist of the story is that 8 people were hospitalized after 10 mysterious balloons flew over Southern Lebanon. They were "rushed to the hospital suffering from nausea and fatigue."
AP reported that "mysterious balloons drifting in from Israel to Lebanon are unnerving people, with some south Lebanon villagers reportedly feeling ill and authorities warning residents against touching them."

There is usually some truth in every fabrication. This is what happened: Ha Ir, a local newspaper owned by Haaretz, sent up green helium filled balloons with their named plastered across the balloons as a promotional gimmick.
The wind carried the balloons further than intended. Lofting these balloons might righteously raise the ire of ornithologists or environmentalists because they are a hazard to birds, but they are hardly poisonous to humans.

The Hezbollah PR machine goes at it again.

4 June 2017 12:14 PM in Thoughts


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