A long, long time ago, when I began writing for the newspapers, I felt I was a little ?special?, identifying myself as a member of ?the Press?. It granted me entry into some great parties and I was able to meet some very influential people.



Since then I?m afraid that I?ve become jaded and more than a little disappointed with the outright lies that come across the pages of my morning paper. The Los Angeles Times has been a particular source of my disgust. However, I suppose the same can also be said about the New York Times and a hundred more papers across the country.



It just amazes me how, in this day and time, there are still reporters who strive to glorify the ?life" of a terrorist and to minimize the suffering of its victims. A New York Times journalist/reporter casually and without any feeling described the recent murder of grocery owner Avner Mordechai, and the vicious killing of seven-year-old Noam Liebowitz, as ?low level violence.?



If that weren't deplorable enough, shortly thereafter the LA Times featured a story about the ?fatherless? daughter of the terrorist Abdullah Kawasme. However, instead of speaking about the scores of Jewish children who are now fatherless because of that mastermind of many homicide bombings, the article focused away from the real victims of this terrorist. This was accomplished by having a photo of Kawasme's little daughter holding a photo of her dead father. Below was the caption explaining how she is now fatherless, because of an Israeli ?targeted assassination.?



How disgusting that the American press, or any branch of the media for that matter, portrays bloodthirsty Palestinian ?homicide? bombers as ordinary family men, who sadly leave behind loving families. Where are pictures of fatherless Israeli children? These terrorists, who are prepared to take their own lives in order to kill as many in their wake as possible, are animals. There is no ?cycle of violence.? Yet, the Los Angeles Times manages to use that phrase on a regular basis. Hell, they don?t even name the victims. The Times just reports them as ?low level violence.? Hey, instead of the fatherless children, I have an idea. Why not show a few dozen pages filled with the pictures of the Jewish children who have been crippled, maimed and disfigured for life following vicious Arab terrorism?



I am not very good at being politically correct. I tend to tell it like I see it. When I comment that Arab culture in general, and that of the Arab ?Palestinians? in particular, produce a violent, unrelenting people, I?m called racist. Yet, out of the billion or so Muslims around the world, where are the words of condemnation? I'm not reading them in my NY Times or LA Times.



What I found ironic about the one-sided coverage regarding Israel and their alleged mistreatment of ?poor downtrodden Arabs?, was how on the same front page there was a story about eight British soldiers who were ambushed and slain by the Iraqis. I wonder, will the LA Times, NY Times and the rest of the biased press refer to those who are in US hair-trigger sites as ?activists?, ?militants? or ?organizational leaders??



In fact, someone ought to tell the NY Times and LA Times that Hamas is actually listed as a real honest-to-G-d terror organization by our very own government. And while they're at it, they should inform the Bush administration of this fact. When Israel targeted Hamas co-leader Abdul Aziz Rantisi for his part in planning and ordering hundreds of murderous attacks upon Israeli citizens, George Bush ?the son? called the action ?troubling.?



Oh, really? Would he answer in the same way if we were able to do the same to Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden? Actually, we?ve bombed the hell out of many civilian areas for such purposes, but always had the excuse that ?civilian deaths are unavoidable because the Iraqi military was breaking the rules of the Geneva Convention by deploying in civilian areas.? Unless, of course, it is Jews that are being killed, in which case a different standard applies. The same goes for his philosophy of ?No negotiating with terrorists.?



Frankly, I?ve never understood how the ?Palestinians? and their fellow Arabs, who want nothing less than to wipe Israel off the map, get a free pass from the world and, indeed, the press.



When the Los Angeles Times writes about the fate of a Hamas leader, they make him sound like it was a corporate killing. He is usually referred to as a ?senior Hamas militant leader?, ?official? or ?spokesman?. PU-lease.



Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration National Security Advisor, has said that Hamas should be outlawed. No darling, it is jaywalking that should be outlawed. As should bias in the media. And Hamas needs to be destroyed.

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Arlene Peck is an internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess. She can be reached at [email protected].