Coverage of Lebanese War Grossly Inaccurate

In the wake of this week's death of 57 civilians at Qana as a result of seven hours of Israeli bombing, the Israeli army characterized the 48 hour pause in its bombardment of Lebanon as a "partial suspension of aerial activity." (Someone in the IDF has been studying their Orwell, no?) The New York Times, in their turn, reports this as "Israel Agrees to Temporary Suspension of Aerial Activities."

I'm still looking for the link, but one story yesterday in the Times reported that "scores" of Lebanese civilians have died so far as a result of Israel's bombing. But to date, over 350 civilians have died (one third of them children). The primary and most commonly accepted meaning of "scores," you might remember, is "units of twenty." A more appropriate use of the descriptor "scores" in reference to the war on Lebanon would be "scores of Lebanese civilians were killed in a single bombing raid today," or "scores of Lebanese civilians were buried in mass graves" (both actual news stories).

Other recent selections from the Times' coverage of the war on Lebanon include "Up to 7,000 Israeli Troops Push Into Lebanon" (whatever you do, don't say "invade") and "Bush Sticks to Call for Lasting Mideast Peace" (this is what you say about the president who refuses to call for a ceasefire, I guess.) That story comes complete with a subhead characterizing the Lebanese war as a "Broader Global Struggle," a phrase lifted straight from Bush's "War on Terror" media playbook.