CNN reporters joke about tear gas - in Tunisia

Backspin reports on a CNN story where their reporters talk about covering the Tunisian riots, as they downplay any dangers from tear gas (start around the 2:30 mark):



As Backspin notes,

Can you imagine Western journos covering Bilin security fence protests breathlessly gushing for the IDF? Why is the world only uptight about tear gas when Israel is involved?

But it is even worse. While there have been rare deaths during the weekly Bil'in and Nilin riots, for the most part they are set up as circuses, with activists dressed as Avatar characters or Santa Claus. In Tunisia, they were very deadly, with 78 people killed in a couple of weeks - including one journalist from a tear gas canister!

So why do reporters cover Bil'in as if it is incendiary and Tunisia as if it is a joke?