Media Completely Loses Grip On Reality

I read some of the Associated Press coverage of the various hotspots in the Middle East with one hand ready to catch my jaw. Because it often drops to the floor when I read what they report with a straight face. Today, I could not quite grab it in time and it did three bounces off the carpet before I could corral it. The subject: the Palestinian efforts to avoid a civil war. The jaw damaging report:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Khaled Mashaal, leader of the militant Hamas movement, flew to the Saudi city of Jiddah before heading to Mecca to meet their host, King Abdullah, ahead of the start of talks Wednesday.

The talks are open-ended, a reflection of Saudi Arabia's determination to keep them going until the Palestinians reach a deal for power-sharing in a new coalition government.

The king's mediation and the holding of the talks in Mecca underline the Saudi pressure on the sides to overcome their differences. The Saudis are pointedly convening the talks in a Mecca guest palace overlooking the Kaaba, the cube-shaped shrine toward which all Muslims turn when they pray.

Four days of gunbattles between Fatah and Hamas fighters killed more than 30 people and wounded over 200 others until a cease-fire took hold Sunday.

Even as Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas left the Gaza Strip Tuesday for the talks, Hamas and Fatah security officials fired at each other for 10 minutes at the Gaza-Egypt crossing terminal. No injuries were reported.

Here's a small hint for the AP. A "ceasefire" means people cease firing weapons at one another. At this point, based on their performance to date on this a Palestinian ceasefire means one side screams "Cease" and the other replies with "Fire". They alternate which side calls which word. What I'd personally recommend is that if they really want to avoid a civil war, under no circumstances should they declare another ceasefire.