Friday, January 30, 2009
Open letter to the British Intelligence services
I am rather concerned. I have reason to believe a foreign terrorist organisation has placed agents of influence inside the BBC. Not only inside but in very influential positions.
This terrorist organisation has as its aim the intent to destroy, a national, ethnical & racial group - a crime against humanity that all people the wold over are obliged by international law to act to prevent. These terrorists are inexplicably not on the list of subscribed organisations. This organisation has already penetrated and runs an entire state and has done for 60 years.
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Shame on the BBC
Jeremy Corbyn finds that people are finally waking up to the media's distortion
Over 100 MPs from all parties have voiced their outrage at the BBC's absolutely astonishing refusal to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee's Gaza appeal.
This decision has further damaged the BBC's reputation in reporting events in the Middle East. Its argument that it would lose its impartiality is simply absurd.
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Turks hail PM after bust-up with Peres
Thousands of Turks welcomed their prime minister home on Friday with chants of "Turkey is proud of you" after he publicly confronted the Israeli president over the bloody Gaza onslaught.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's intervention at the World Economic Forum in Davos also won praise in Gaza, where Turkish flags fluttered from a ruined mosque.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
UN nuclear chief boycotts BBC over Gaza appeal
The head of the UN"s nuclear watchdog has cancelled planned interviews with the BBC in protest at the corporation's decision not to air an emergency appeal for Gaza on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee.
In a statement to the Guardian, Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner, unleashed a stinging denunciation of the BBC, deepening the damage already caused by the controversy.
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The head of the UN"s nuclear watchdog has cancelled planned interviews with the BBC in protest at the corporation's decision not to air an emergency appeal for Gaza on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee.
In a statement to the Guardian, Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner, unleashed a stinging denunciation of the BBC, deepening the damage already caused by the controversy.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The BBC’s pact with Israel
Money and ideology behind BBC’s decision not to broadcast Gaza humanitarian appeal
The BBC’s refusal to broadcast a humanitarian appeal for Gaza on behalf of a group of charities is motivated by a desire to appease US advertisers for its commercial TV channel and website, and by Mark Thompson’s own political proclivities.
Mr Thompson’s refusal to let the BBC air a non-political, humanitarian appeal by a group of charities on behalf of the destitute of Gaza has profoundly, and probably irreversibly, damaged the reputation and integrity of the BBC. Furthermore, by placing the BBC firmly on the side of Israel and its lobbyists in Britain and the US, Mr Thompson has made the BBC and its staff a target for reprisals against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
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Monday, January 26, 2009
No Bias there then?
Mark Thompson, the Director-General of the besieged BBC, while continuing to insist on the ridiculous excuse of "impartiality" in his refusal to air a Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Gaza, looks increasingly pathetic in his weasel-worded attempts.
Mark Thompson impartial? The same Mark Thompson who made such a thing of making overtures to the Israeli warmongers?
"Understandably, an official BBC spokesman was anxious to downplay talk of an exclusively pro-Israeli charm offensive."
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Sunday, January 25, 2009
Obama’s new foreign policy team prepares escalated bloodletting in Afghanistan and Pakistan
In a series of meetings and public appearances Wednesday and Thursday, and with the first military strikes of his administration, President Barack Obama has given a clear signal that he plans intensified bloodshed in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the US escalates its military intervention in Central and South Asia.
Missiles fired from unmanned Predator drones struck two targets inside Pakistan Friday morning, killing at least 18 people. As is always the case with such exercises in remote-controlled murder, US officials claimed they were targeting Al Qaeda, although even US media accounts admitted that the majority of those killed were local residents.
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In a series of meetings and public appearances Wednesday and Thursday, and with the first military strikes of his administration, President Barack Obama has given a clear signal that he plans intensified bloodshed in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the US escalates its military intervention in Central and South Asia.
Missiles fired from unmanned Predator drones struck two targets inside Pakistan Friday morning, killing at least 18 people. As is always the case with such exercises in remote-controlled murder, US officials claimed they were targeting Al Qaeda, although even US media accounts admitted that the majority of those killed were local residents.
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Impartial BBC to Fly Israeli Flag on News Broadcasts
Please support BBC impartiality by paying your £145 per annum TV Licence Tax
LONDON - England - In an effort to remain 'impartial' the BBC is going to play the Israeli national anthem at every news broadcast. In a further bid for impartial reporting, the BBC news logo will be offset in front of an Israeli flag from now on, according to the head of news programming.
Speaking from Tel Aviv, the BBC Director General, Yerachmiel Thompsonbaum, spoke of his disgust at being asked to broadcast a message of humanitarian aid for the dying thousands in Gaza after the Israeli bombing: "There has been a suggestion that we should broadcast a 'humanitarian' appeal for the thousands of people who are 'dying in Gaza'. There is no one dying in Gaza, there is no proof of this fact. In fact we feel that everything is rosy in Gaza and there is no need to help people who are doing fine. British TV licence payers can rest assured that we, at the BBC, are dedicated to impartial reporting."
The BBC has previously run appeals after wars in Africa and in the former Yugoslavia but has now drawn the line with Gaza.
Starting from tomorrow, there will be a BBC tribute to all the brave Israeli tank crews, bomber pilots, artillery and soldiers who reduced the Gaza ghetto into a pile of rubble and misery.
"I think the BBC is right not to broadcast the appeal. The BBC should remain impartial. I would be disappointed if the BBC changed its mind," Feivel Goldberg from Golders Green, North London wrote on the BBC's website.
BBC news directors have also been ordered to change the news logo so as to accentuate the BBC's dedication to impartiality.
"The BBC news logo will be changed from Monday. It will incorporate the design of the Israeli flag and our news broadcasts will also start with the playing of the Israeli national anthem. Thank you for paying our huge salaries with your TV Licence so you can have an impartial news broadcaster," a BBC announcer told audiences last night.
Don't forget folks, Jonathan Ross is back again with his £6 million BBC salary after his little paid vacation. Keep paying the TV Licence, it is well worth it.
from THE DAILY SQUIB
Saturday, January 24, 2009
British Capitalism - the Worm Ouroboros
The other day I happened to hear an interview on the BBC with a US investor who had some pretty awful things to say about the UK economy, and why he wouldn’t invest a red cent in this country.
To paraphrase, ‘you don’t manufacture anything, your banks, from which you make most of your wealth, are bankrupt, and all your North Sea Oil has gone, so what do you have to offer an investor?’
The BBC interviewer, in a futile attempt to head him off at the pass, accused him of creating a panic to which he replied, ‘I don’t have any investments in the UK so I have nothing to gain’, in other words it’s not his problem, nor his fault that the UK economy is broke. What it reveals to me is a decrepit and worn-out capitalism, one whose ruling class have lived off interest for far too long.
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The other day I happened to hear an interview on the BBC with a US investor who had some pretty awful things to say about the UK economy, and why he wouldn’t invest a red cent in this country.
To paraphrase, ‘you don’t manufacture anything, your banks, from which you make most of your wealth, are bankrupt, and all your North Sea Oil has gone, so what do you have to offer an investor?’
The BBC interviewer, in a futile attempt to head him off at the pass, accused him of creating a panic to which he replied, ‘I don’t have any investments in the UK so I have nothing to gain’, in other words it’s not his problem, nor his fault that the UK economy is broke. What it reveals to me is a decrepit and worn-out capitalism, one whose ruling class have lived off interest for far too long.
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Churchill’s Crimes From Indian Holocaust to Palestinian Genocide
In WW2 Churchill deliberately starved 6-7 million Indians to death, continued to foster Muslim-Hindu antipathy that led to the horrors of Indian Partition and persuaded his War Cabinet on racist Partition of Palestine. Yet the holocaust-complicit Anglo media, academic and politician Establishment is still in denial.
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Friday, January 23, 2009
BBC Refuses to broadcast Gaza Charity Appeal
The BBC's highly one-sided reportage of the Gaza massacre was disgraceful in the extreme ... even for a state broadcasting system whose job is to mirror the pro-Zionist views of the current governing regime in power. Any pretence of unbiased reporting that the BBC might have held was blown a long time ago when Tony Blair finally muzzled Aunty from making the slightest criticism of his imperialist adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now the BBC has gone a step further by banning a humanitarian charity appeal against the much terrorised people of Gaza; a terrorising that the BBC fully endorsed and supported uncritically.
Here the Editors of Medialens describe the BBC's ban and proposes various actions that readers might wish to make.
Rory's Note: After this latest pro-Zionist outrage by the BBC resulting in widespread anger against the BBC, demonstrations, a criticism of the BBC by the government and apparent grass-roots indignation amongst even the BBC staff of this latest it is high time that the publicly-funded BBC is reorganised root-and-branch to get rid of the pro-Zionist influence that has disgraced it internationally.
The BBC's highly one-sided reportage of the Gaza massacre was disgraceful in the extreme ... even for a state broadcasting system whose job is to mirror the pro-Zionist views of the current governing regime in power. Any pretence of unbiased reporting that the BBC might have held was blown a long time ago when Tony Blair finally muzzled Aunty from making the slightest criticism of his imperialist adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now the BBC has gone a step further by banning a humanitarian charity appeal against the much terrorised people of Gaza; a terrorising that the BBC fully endorsed and supported uncritically.
Here the Editors of Medialens describe the BBC's ban and proposes various actions that readers might wish to make.
Rory's Note: After this latest pro-Zionist outrage by the BBC resulting in widespread anger against the BBC, demonstrations, a criticism of the BBC by the government and apparent grass-roots indignation amongst even the BBC staff of this latest it is high time that the publicly-funded BBC is reorganised root-and-branch to get rid of the pro-Zionist influence that has disgraced it internationally.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"Exterminate all the Brutes": Gaza 2009
"On Saturday December 27, the latest US-Israeli attack on helpless Palestinians was launched. The attack had been meticulously planned, for over 6 months according to the Israeli press. The planning had two components: military and propaganda. It was based on the lessons of Israel's 2006 invasion of Lebanon, which was considered to be poorly planned and badly advertised. We may, therefore, be fairly confident that most of what has been done and said was pre-planned and intended."
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Outcry over Israeli weapons used in Gaza
Medics working in the Gaza Strip have condemned Israel's use of suspected "new weapons" that inflict horrific injuries they say most surgeons will not have seen before.
Dr Jan Brommundt, a German doctor working for Medecins du Monde in the south Gazan city of Khan Younis, described the injuries he had seen as "absolutely gruesome".
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Medics working in the Gaza Strip have condemned Israel's use of suspected "new weapons" that inflict horrific injuries they say most surgeons will not have seen before.
Dr Jan Brommundt, a German doctor working for Medecins du Monde in the south Gazan city of Khan Younis, described the injuries he had seen as "absolutely gruesome".
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Bye Bye Bush: Washington, America and the World Welcome Barack Obama
Taking the oath of office on the Lincoln Bible and quoting our founding father George Washington, Barack Obama's inaugural address was a low-key call for action with a sober tone. Our new President gave us highlights from history, reminding us that we can do it again, calling this, "a new era of responsibility,"- saying, "We are ready to lead once more."-
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Palestine: How to Comprehend This
"I have just come from Jabalia, and I have no words. I do however have pictures. These came from the Azbet area, and cover a space that would take 15 minutes at a brisk walk. But the devestation stretches as far as the eye can see. The estimate is 6-8000 houses in Gaza damaged, and 5000 completely destroyed."
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Gaza is our Guernica
It is long past time for the world to acknowledge that the destruction of Gaza is the Guernica of our time. All our moral compasses will be set from this point, as to our attitude in this true holocaust. Not one of us is exempt; all will be weighed in the balance of our beliefs and actions.
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Friday, January 16, 2009
Israeli Assault Injures 1.5 Million Gazans
Nazareth: This week the death toll in Gaza passed the 1,000 mark, after nearly three weeks of Israeli air and ground attacks. But surprisingly, no one has reported an even more appalling statistic: that there are some 1.5 million injured Palestinians in Gaza. How is is possible that such an astounding figure could have passed the world’s media by?
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Nazareth: This week the death toll in Gaza passed the 1,000 mark, after nearly three weeks of Israeli air and ground attacks. But surprisingly, no one has reported an even more appalling statistic: that there are some 1.5 million injured Palestinians in Gaza. How is is possible that such an astounding figure could have passed the world’s media by?
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Widening the struggle
GEORGE GALLOWAY argues that the time has come to step up the struggle to achieve justice for Palestinians.
As I write, the death toll in Gaza is approaching 1,000, nearly 400 of them confirmed as children. I dread to think what the figure will be by the time you read this.
What is happening in Palestine is murder on a mass scale, perpetrated by one of the most powerful states in the world with the backing of US, Britain and its allies. I say what is happening in Palestine for a significant reason - Gaza is part of Palestine.
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GEORGE GALLOWAY argues that the time has come to step up the struggle to achieve justice for Palestinians.
As I write, the death toll in Gaza is approaching 1,000, nearly 400 of them confirmed as children. I dread to think what the figure will be by the time you read this.
What is happening in Palestine is murder on a mass scale, perpetrated by one of the most powerful states in the world with the backing of US, Britain and its allies. I say what is happening in Palestine for a significant reason - Gaza is part of Palestine.
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Bringing Bush and Cheney to justice
Where is the special prosecutor?
The most popular question on President-elect Obama's own Web site, change.gov, is whether he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bush administration practices such as torture and illegal wiretapping.
Americans seem to be more concerned with this issue than with the state of the economy. Pepe Escobar examines how both Obama and Vice-President- elect Joe Biden have given evasive answers at best compared to how both outgoing President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have been on the record strongly defending their practices.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has proposed - an investigating committee. But in the end a prosecutor - special or otherwise - may not be that hard to find.
Where is the special prosecutor?
The most popular question on President-elect Obama's own Web site, change.gov, is whether he will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bush administration practices such as torture and illegal wiretapping.
Americans seem to be more concerned with this issue than with the state of the economy. Pepe Escobar examines how both Obama and Vice-President- elect Joe Biden have given evasive answers at best compared to how both outgoing President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have been on the record strongly defending their practices.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has proposed - an investigating committee. But in the end a prosecutor - special or otherwise - may not be that hard to find.
'Israel warns Lebanon of massive war'
Israel has reportedly threatened Lebanon with massive aerial bombardment as it continues a deadly full-scale offensive against the Gaza Strip.
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Israel has reportedly threatened Lebanon with massive aerial bombardment as it continues a deadly full-scale offensive against the Gaza Strip.
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The Mask is Off
I am trying very hard to direct my vitriol against the Israeli government. But after viewing this video, I have no choice but to condemn every Jewish American who supports the current atrocities.
The mask is off: These monsters want genocide. They know full well that it was Israel, not Hamas, which broke the ceasefire. They do not care. Racial and religious hatred has consumed the souls of these people.
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I am trying very hard to direct my vitriol against the Israeli government. But after viewing this video, I have no choice but to condemn every Jewish American who supports the current atrocities.
The mask is off: These monsters want genocide. They know full well that it was Israel, not Hamas, which broke the ceasefire. They do not care. Racial and religious hatred has consumed the souls of these people.
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
The future of Europe and Russia are linked together - Putin
There are some that do not want to see Russia and Europe working together and have tried to bring up past phobias, says Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who spoke with the German ARD channel and also discussed Ukraine's role in the current gas crisis.
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Not guilty: The Israeli captain who emptied his rifle into a Palestinain schoolgirl
An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.
The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
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An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.
The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
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Amnesty International calls for Full Arms Embargo as Weapons Ship heads to Israel
Letter to David Miliband calls for UK support, including rigorous checks on UK licensing after 'UAV' reports
Amnesty International has called for a full arms embargo on all parties involved in the Gaza conflict.
The call came as the organisation revealed that a German cargo ship carrying huge amounts of weaponry - possibly including controversial white phosphorous - has been heading for the Israeli port of Ashdod.
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Letter to David Miliband calls for UK support, including rigorous checks on UK licensing after 'UAV' reports
Amnesty International has called for a full arms embargo on all parties involved in the Gaza conflict.
The call came as the organisation revealed that a German cargo ship carrying huge amounts of weaponry - possibly including controversial white phosphorous - has been heading for the Israeli port of Ashdod.
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Does Israeli Intelligence Lie?
All of the suffering in Gaza – indeed, all of the suffering endured by Palestinians under Israeli occupation for the last eight years – could have been avoided if Israel negotiated a peace agreement with Yasser Arafat when it had the chance, in 2001.
What chance? The official Israeli position is that there was no chance, "no partner for peace." That's what Israeli leaders heard from their Military Intelligence (MI) service in 2000 after the failure of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at Camp David. Arafat scuttled those talks, MI told the leaders, because he was planning to set off a new round of violence, a second intifada.
Now former top officials of MI say the whole story, painting Arafat as a terrorist out to destroy Israel, was an intentional fiction. That's the most explosive finding in an investigative report just published in Israel's top newspaper, Ha'aretz, by one of its finest journalists, Akiva Eldar.
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All of the suffering in Gaza – indeed, all of the suffering endured by Palestinians under Israeli occupation for the last eight years – could have been avoided if Israel negotiated a peace agreement with Yasser Arafat when it had the chance, in 2001.
What chance? The official Israeli position is that there was no chance, "no partner for peace." That's what Israeli leaders heard from their Military Intelligence (MI) service in 2000 after the failure of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at Camp David. Arafat scuttled those talks, MI told the leaders, because he was planning to set off a new round of violence, a second intifada.
Now former top officials of MI say the whole story, painting Arafat as a terrorist out to destroy Israel, was an intentional fiction. That's the most explosive finding in an investigative report just published in Israel's top newspaper, Ha'aretz, by one of its finest journalists, Akiva Eldar.
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Gaza Is the Future
Israel's on a rampage – and here's why
by Justin Raimondo
Why is Israel pounding Gaza? Well, we know the official explanation, which goes something like this: if you Americans were being targeted by crude, albeit potentially lethal, rockets from, say, Mexico, on a daily basis, how would you respond? Israel, we are told, had to take on Hamas. As Barack Obama put it, while campaigning in Sderot, the Israeli response is "part of being a country." They had no choice.
This is bollocks, as everyone but the brain-dead realize. To begin with, Hamas offered a truce and had abided by the previous cease-fire, but the Israelis weren't interested. Instead, Tel Aviv chose to unleash what the whole world sees as an appallingly disproportionate response, raining death on one of the most tightly packed urban environments on earth and launching what looks to be an invasion and reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
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Israel's on a rampage – and here's why
by Justin Raimondo
Why is Israel pounding Gaza? Well, we know the official explanation, which goes something like this: if you Americans were being targeted by crude, albeit potentially lethal, rockets from, say, Mexico, on a daily basis, how would you respond? Israel, we are told, had to take on Hamas. As Barack Obama put it, while campaigning in Sderot, the Israeli response is "part of being a country." They had no choice.
This is bollocks, as everyone but the brain-dead realize. To begin with, Hamas offered a truce and had abided by the previous cease-fire, but the Israelis weren't interested. Instead, Tel Aviv chose to unleash what the whole world sees as an appallingly disproportionate response, raining death on one of the most tightly packed urban environments on earth and launching what looks to be an invasion and reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
90 organizations, mainly French, to prosecute Israel for War Crimes
Ninety organizations, mainly French, decided to prosecute Israel at the International Court for committing War Crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli offensive left more than 4000 Palestinians dead in its first two weeks, the French Lamond Newspaper reported.
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Ninety organizations, mainly French, decided to prosecute Israel at the International Court for committing War Crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli offensive left more than 4000 Palestinians dead in its first two weeks, the French Lamond Newspaper reported.
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We Say Enough! We Are Jews in Solidarity with Palestine
No to Israel! Yes To Self-Determination, Democracy & Freedom! Stop U.S. Funding of the War on Palestine!
The whole world is horrified by the murderous Israeli assault against the suffering people of Gaza. From Seoul to Caracas, from Johannesburg to Amman to London, millions of people have poured into the streets to demand an end to this genocidal campaign, which is funded by the United States and carried out with U.S.-supplied weaponry.
There have also been protests in U.S. cities. While most of those marching are Arab-Americans, many African Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and whites have joined in. Many Jewish people, outraged at Israel's war crimes and anguished that they are carried out in their name, are speaking out.
It's good that Jewish people of conscience are disassociating themselves from the Gaza aggression. But it's not enough. This atrocity is only the latest, and it's no aberration. It reflects the program of the Israeli settler state—which is based on the theft of Palestine, the ouster and suppression of the Palestinian people, and the racist ideology of Zionism—and of its primary sponsor, the Pentagon and U.S. business establishment.
It's not enough to oppose the bombing. It's not enough to demand an end to the 41-year occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. We stand in complete and unconditional support for the self-determination of the Palestinian people. This includes the right to return to Palestine, from the river to the sea, and the right to democratically determine the form and the future of the Palestinian state.
Nothing less will undo the historic crime of al Nakba—the 1948 catastrophe of the establishment of the state of Israel based on the ouster of the Palestinian people from their homeland, oppression and inequality.
That crime betrayed the whole history of the Jewish people. From helping topple the czar in Russia and build the unions in New York, to resisting pogroms and fighting to the last breath in the Warsaw Ghetto, opposition to persecution, oppression and racism was central to the Jewish heritage.
We call on Jewish people around the world, including those inside Israel, to join us in reclaiming that heritage. Reject racism and genocide. Reject the Zionist state, the very concept of which is racist to the core. Take the hand of our Palestinian sisters and brothers. Defend their righteous struggle to restore their stolen land and build a democratic Palestine.
This is not an impossible quest. Remember how mighty the settler state in South Africa seemed, only a little over two decades ago? The racist regime there was buttressed by U.S.—and Israeli—support. But it was battered by the unstoppable political and military struggle against apartheid, which gained worldwide support. Apartheid fell, replaced by a new state based on legal equality.
A future of equality for all is possible in Palestine too. Until this future is won, the Palestinian struggle will go on. We stand with that struggle.
Initial list of signers:
Toni Arenstein, NY
Dave Axelrod, NJ
Tibby Brooks, NY
Ellen Catalinotto, NY
Sara Catalinotto, NY
Hillel Cohen, Doctor of Public Health, NY
Naomi Cohen, NY
Heather Cottin, Long Island Troops Out Now Coalition, NY
Barbara Dorritie, Teacher, MA
Ellie Dorritie, ret., APWU*, WNY
Rachel Duell, prof., NJ
K. E. Durkin, NY
Sharon Eolis, nurse-practitioner, ret., NY
Shelley Ettinger, NY
Leslie Feinberg, Co-founder, Rainbow Flags for Mumia, NY
Irving Fierstein, artist, NY
Laurie Fierstein, NY
Michele Finkelman, AFSCME L. 215*, NY
Sherry Finkelman, UFT L. 2*, NY
Julie Fry, V-P., Assn. of Legal Aid Attorneys*, NY
Gavrielle Gemma, NJ
Michael Gimbel, del., NYC Central Labor Council*
Carl Glenn, NJ
Jerome Goldberg, attorney. MI
Marsha Goldberg, NY
Fred Goldstein. NY
Lila Goldstein, Students for Justice for Palestine*, MA
Judy Greenspan, CA
Sue Harris, Ph.D., NY
Joyce Kanowitz, NY
Stevan Kirschbaum, chair, Grievance Comm., USW L. 8751*, MA
Tova Klein, CA
Michael Kramer, I.D.F. veteran, Veterans for Peace, Chap. 021*, NJ
Donna Lazarus, UFT*, NJ
Milt Neidenberg, ret., Teamsters L. 840*, NJ
Frank Neisser, CWA L. 1701, ret.*, MA
Cornelia Rakow, NY
Arthur Rosen, NY
Anita Rosenblithe, AFT*, NY
Malcolm Sacks, Montreal
William Sacks, attorney, NY
Karina Mellos-Schechter. NY
Dave Schechter, NY
Susan Schnur, Transit Union L. 268*, OH
J.R. Singer, Ph.D., NY
David Sole, Pres., UAW L. 2334*, MA
Al Strasburger, NJ
Paul Teitelbaum, International Action Center, AZ
Jill White, EdD, IL
Eddie Yood, NY
from International Action Center
Tel Aviv 'should face war crimes probe'
NINE Israeli human rights groups united on Wednesday to call for Israel's top leaders to face a war crimes investigation over their apparent disregard for international law.
The groups, which came together under the umbrella name Clear and Present Danger, say in a letter to top Israeli politicians and military officers that Operation Cast Lead "constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes."
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NINE Israeli human rights groups united on Wednesday to call for Israel's top leaders to face a war crimes investigation over their apparent disregard for international law.
The groups, which came together under the umbrella name Clear and Present Danger, say in a letter to top Israeli politicians and military officers that Operation Cast Lead "constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes."
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Claims to be Able to Order Bush Around
So outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was speaking in Ashkelon on Monday, and he said the most amazing thing. The USG Open Source Center translated the relevant passage from his speech, in which he claimed he had the ability to control US foreign policy and summarily over-rule the Secretary of State ...
... Olmert has something over Bush. I remember that Bush had taken on Sharon in September of 2001, calling for a Palestinian state and ordering Sharon to stop colonizing the West Bank. Sharon was so furious that he compared Israel's situation to that of Czechoslovakia in 1938, when the rest of Europe let Hitler grab part of it. But by spring of 2002 Bush was bending over backward to please the Likud. What changed? Something did. There is a mystery to be explained here.
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So outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was speaking in Ashkelon on Monday, and he said the most amazing thing. The USG Open Source Center translated the relevant passage from his speech, in which he claimed he had the ability to control US foreign policy and summarily over-rule the Secretary of State ...
... Olmert has something over Bush. I remember that Bush had taken on Sharon in September of 2001, calling for a Palestinian state and ordering Sharon to stop colonizing the West Bank. Sharon was so furious that he compared Israel's situation to that of Czechoslovakia in 1938, when the rest of Europe let Hitler grab part of it. But by spring of 2002 Bush was bending over backward to please the Likud. What changed? Something did. There is a mystery to be explained here.
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US Cancels Munitions Shipment To Israel Via Greece
WASHINGTON (AFP)--The U.S. military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a U.S. warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.
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WASHINGTON (AFP)--The U.S. military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a U.S. warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.
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Human Rights Council condemns Israel by large majority
GENEVA, January 12. – The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) today adopted by a large majority a resolution strongly condemning Israel. The resolution was accompanied by speeches denouncing the outrages committed in the Gaza Strip.
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GENEVA, January 12. – The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) today adopted by a large majority a resolution strongly condemning Israel. The resolution was accompanied by speeches denouncing the outrages committed in the Gaza Strip.
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UK: Israeli PM is a war criminal - Labour MP in the Commons
David Miliband's statement on developments in Gaza yesterday showed MPs are more hostile towards Israel now than they were during the 2006 incursion into Lebanon.
MPs from all sides were calling for the Israeli ambassador to London to be expelled, sanctions against Israel and a ban on arms exports.
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David Miliband's statement on developments in Gaza yesterday showed MPs are more hostile towards Israel now than they were during the 2006 incursion into Lebanon.
MPs from all sides were calling for the Israeli ambassador to London to be expelled, sanctions against Israel and a ban on arms exports.
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Urgent Call To The People Of Greece: Block The Shipment of US Arms To Israel Through Greek Port!
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine calls upon the Greek movement, the Greek people and all international progressive forces to halt the planned shipment of U.S. arms to Israel from the Greek port of Astakos. International media reports have revealed that the U.S. Navy is attempting to ship 325 20-foot containers of ammunition, over 3000 tons, in an emergency shipment of arms to aid the occupation in its ongoing war crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
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The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine calls upon the Greek movement, the Greek people and all international progressive forces to halt the planned shipment of U.S. arms to Israel from the Greek port of Astakos. International media reports have revealed that the U.S. Navy is attempting to ship 325 20-foot containers of ammunition, over 3000 tons, in an emergency shipment of arms to aid the occupation in its ongoing war crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
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Palestinian Union of Workers Call for Comprehensive Boycott of Israeli Products
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Union of Workers’ Unions called for a comprehensive boycott of Israeli products effectively immediately.
Any product with a non-Israeli alternative should be substituted as an act of defiance and protest against the Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip, said a statement from the union.
more...
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Union of Workers’ Unions called for a comprehensive boycott of Israeli products effectively immediately.
Any product with a non-Israeli alternative should be substituted as an act of defiance and protest against the Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip, said a statement from the union.
more...
Norwegian Rail & Tram Union Workers in Political Strike against Gaza Massacre
Last Thursday 8 January all trains in the whole of Norway, and all trams and subways in Oslo, stood still for two minutes as a result of a political strike organized by the Norwegian Locomotive Union and the Oslo Tram Workers Union in protest of the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Demonstrations were held in at least 28 cities in Norway.
more...
Coca-Cola faces Malaysian boycott
KUALA LUMPUR - Over 2,000 Muslim restaurants in Malaysia have removed Coca-Cola from their menus as part of a boycott of US products to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza and subsequent US support.
The nationwide boycott began on 9 January and is led by the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association with support from the Muslim Restaurant Operators Association.
Besides Coca-Cola, 100 other American brands and products including Starbucks, Colgate, McDonald’s and Maybelline will also be targeted.
more...
KUALA LUMPUR - Over 2,000 Muslim restaurants in Malaysia have removed Coca-Cola from their menus as part of a boycott of US products to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza and subsequent US support.
The nationwide boycott began on 9 January and is led by the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association with support from the Muslim Restaurant Operators Association.
Besides Coca-Cola, 100 other American brands and products including Starbucks, Colgate, McDonald’s and Maybelline will also be targeted.
more...
Monday, January 12, 2009
Israeli Peace Activists face Crackdown
200 still behind bars after taking part in protests against their country's military offensive in Gaza
JERUSALEM–Israeli dissidents, opposed to their country's military offensive in Gaza, have run into a police crackdown on a scale not seen in nearly a decade, say human rights campaigners here.
Since the launch of the Gaza offensive two weeks ago, at least 500 Israeli peace activists have been arrested and jailed, all but a few of them Arab Israelis. At least 200 are still behind bars.
more...
200 still behind bars after taking part in protests against their country's military offensive in Gaza
JERUSALEM–Israeli dissidents, opposed to their country's military offensive in Gaza, have run into a police crackdown on a scale not seen in nearly a decade, say human rights campaigners here.
Since the launch of the Gaza offensive two weeks ago, at least 500 Israeli peace activists have been arrested and jailed, all but a few of them Arab Israelis. At least 200 are still behind bars.
more...
Eire Government MP Calls for Expulsion of Israeli Ambassador
"Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews in a letter to the Irish Times today, called for the Irish Government to expel the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland."
Good for Chris Andrews! Venezuela has already done this. It's time many more followed their example.
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"Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews in a letter to the Irish Times today, called for the Irish Government to expel the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland."
Good for Chris Andrews! Venezuela has already done this. It's time many more followed their example.
more...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Spam Alert
The hasbara brigade strikes again! You always hear about Israeli attempts at media manipulation. Everyone knows it's going on but usually the process happens through cyber insurgents like those involved with Giyus (and its media monitoring software, Megaphone). Now, we know that the Israeli foreign ministry itself is orchestrating propaganda efforts designed to flood news websites with pro-Israel arguments and information.
more...
The hasbara brigade strikes again! You always hear about Israeli attempts at media manipulation. Everyone knows it's going on but usually the process happens through cyber insurgents like those involved with Giyus (and its media monitoring software, Megaphone). Now, we know that the Israeli foreign ministry itself is orchestrating propaganda efforts designed to flood news websites with pro-Israel arguments and information.
more...
Saturday, January 10, 2009
George Galloway: "The BBC has become the English-language arm of the Israeli Defence Force"
Sound Problems? Click here
Watch George weekly on http://www.presstv.com/
Sound Problems? Click here
Watch George weekly on http://www.presstv.com/
John Pilger: The lying silence of those who know
"In Gaza, the enforced starvation and denial of humanitarian aid, the piracy of life-giving resources such as fuel and water, the denial of medicines and treatment, the systematic destruction of infrastructure and the killing and maiming of the civilian population, 50 per cent of whom are children, meet the international standard of the Genocide Convention. "Is it an irresponsible overstatement," asked Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and international law authority at Princeton University, "to associate the treatment of Palestinians with this criminalized Nazi record of collective atrocity? I think not."
In describing a "holocaust-in-the making", Falk was alluding to the Nazis' establishment of Jewish ghettos in Poland. For one month in 1943, the captive Polish Jews led by Mordechaj Anielewiz fought off the German army and the SS, but their resistance was finally crushed and the Nazis exacted their final revenge. Falk is also a Jew. Today's holocaust-in-the-making, which began with Ben-Gurion's Plan D, is in its final stages. The difference today is that it is a joint US-Israeli project."
more...
"In Gaza, the enforced starvation and denial of humanitarian aid, the piracy of life-giving resources such as fuel and water, the denial of medicines and treatment, the systematic destruction of infrastructure and the killing and maiming of the civilian population, 50 per cent of whom are children, meet the international standard of the Genocide Convention. "Is it an irresponsible overstatement," asked Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and international law authority at Princeton University, "to associate the treatment of Palestinians with this criminalized Nazi record of collective atrocity? I think not."
In describing a "holocaust-in-the making", Falk was alluding to the Nazis' establishment of Jewish ghettos in Poland. For one month in 1943, the captive Polish Jews led by Mordechaj Anielewiz fought off the German army and the SS, but their resistance was finally crushed and the Nazis exacted their final revenge. Falk is also a Jew. Today's holocaust-in-the-making, which began with Ben-Gurion's Plan D, is in its final stages. The difference today is that it is a joint US-Israeli project."
more...
Thursday, January 08, 2009
It's Time to denounce Israel as an International Pariah
Despite the Israeli government's attempts to lie and turn reality on its head and its banning of journalists from Gaza, with the death toll of mainly innocent civilians mounting to over 700 and the UN and relief agencies' withdrawal from Gaza it is surely time for those of us who are not in the thrall of the Anglo-Americans to denounce the government of Israel as an international pariah and to call for economic sanctions and trade embargoes against it.
By now it must be clear to the world that this is a gangster regime that can only remain in power because it is supported by similar gangsters in the USA, the UK and the European Union. We shouldn't expect anything from gangsters whose mutual interest is only to serve each other.
It is time for the rest of the world to take the power back into its own hands and to act independently. By its actions Israel has made itself into an international pariah. It is time for the free world to both recognise this and to treat the pariah as such.
Continued Massacre in Gaza and A Lie You weren't Supposed to Believe
"Let's be clear about this. On 6 January, three UN-run schools in Gaza were attacked by Israeli forces, not just one. What is more, the previous day an Israeli bombing of a UN school had killed three members of the same family. This sort of killing can usually be dealth with in a perfunctory fashion ('we regret all loss of innocent life, but the responsibility belongs to those who use terror and hide among civilians...'). However, the massacre of 43 people in a UN school bearing flags and insignia and housing some 350 refugees from the fighting (many of whom had fled on orders from IDF leaflets dropped on the towns and cities), demanded a more considered explanation and justification ..."
more...
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
How do Ceasefires End? Israel kills first
As Israel and Palestine suffer a hideous new spasm of terror, misery, and mayhem, it is important to ask how this situation came about. Perhaps an understanding of recent events will afford lessons for the future ...
... a systematic pattern does exist: it is overwhelmingly Israel, not Palestine, that kills first following a lull. Indeed, it is virtually always Israel that kills first after a lull lasting more than a week.
more...
As Israel and Palestine suffer a hideous new spasm of terror, misery, and mayhem, it is important to ask how this situation came about. Perhaps an understanding of recent events will afford lessons for the future ...
... a systematic pattern does exist: it is overwhelmingly Israel, not Palestine, that kills first following a lull. Indeed, it is virtually always Israel that kills first after a lull lasting more than a week.
more...
STOP THE WAR COALITION
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
LONDON RALLY: THURSDAY 8 JANUARY
WITH TONY BENN, TARIQ ALI AND GEORGE GALLOWAY MP
RALLY: STOP THE GAZA MASSACRE
THURSDAY 8 JANUARY 7.30 PM
FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
EUSTON RD, LONDON NW1 2BJ
Map: http://tinyurl.com/7r9ez5. Nearest tube: Euston.
SPEAKERS: Tariq Ali , Tony Benn, George Galloway MP, Lindsey German (Stop the War), Sally Hunt (UCU), Hugh Lanning, Jeremy Corbyn MP, British Muslim Initiative speaker, Palestinian speaker.
650 killed. Over 3000 injured. Nowhere in Gaza is safe as Israel bombs schools, ambulances, mosques and residential tower blocks. No electricity, half the country with no water, food very scarce, hospitals unable to cope with the consequences of Israel’s barbarity, severe shortage of medical supplies – a London Rally calling for this massacre to stop now has been organised by Stop the War and Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Thursday 8 January, at 7.30 pm.
If you live in the London area come and here Tony Benn, Tariq Ali, George Galloway MP and other speakers voice their anger and outrage over Israel’s war crimes and the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians trapped in Gaza, and to discuss what we in Britain can do to help bring this carnage to an end.
There will be an all Scotland demonstration against the war in Gaza this Saturday, 10th January in Edinburgh. Gather at East Market St 12.30pm.
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
LONDON RALLY: THURSDAY 8 JANUARY
WITH TONY BENN, TARIQ ALI AND GEORGE GALLOWAY MP
RALLY: STOP THE GAZA MASSACRE
THURSDAY 8 JANUARY 7.30 PM
FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
EUSTON RD, LONDON NW1 2BJ
Map: http://tinyurl.com/7r9ez5. Nearest tube: Euston.
SPEAKERS: Tariq Ali , Tony Benn, George Galloway MP, Lindsey German (Stop the War), Sally Hunt (UCU), Hugh Lanning, Jeremy Corbyn MP, British Muslim Initiative speaker, Palestinian speaker.
650 killed. Over 3000 injured. Nowhere in Gaza is safe as Israel bombs schools, ambulances, mosques and residential tower blocks. No electricity, half the country with no water, food very scarce, hospitals unable to cope with the consequences of Israel’s barbarity, severe shortage of medical supplies – a London Rally calling for this massacre to stop now has been organised by Stop the War and Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Thursday 8 January, at 7.30 pm.
If you live in the London area come and here Tony Benn, Tariq Ali, George Galloway MP and other speakers voice their anger and outrage over Israel’s war crimes and the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians trapped in Gaza, and to discuss what we in Britain can do to help bring this carnage to an end.
There will be an all Scotland demonstration against the war in Gaza this Saturday, 10th January in Edinburgh. Gather at East Market St 12.30pm.
Anger Management
Posted today to MEDIALENS
I meet many people with internalized anger- more commonly diagnosed as depression. Anger is a natural emotion that should be given a channel for expression rather than being suppressed. The protesters outside the Israeli Embassy are quite justified in their outrage at the dreadful attacks- as are the Palestinians. The rest of us remain depressed.
Israel and the US are quite happy to violate international law, thus making a mockery of the whole concept of rules we should all live by. Perhaps rules aren’t so great- if so, anarchy reigns over us all right now. We’re not doing much about it- most don’t even care. Most are doomed.
Where is our government though? Have they lost sight of people entirely? I would suggest that the Israeli propaganda that the BBC parrots is as a result of our own Government policy and is not the ‘fault’ of Israel per se. We are talking about British government policy. Do the Israelis REALLY control UK media? It more shows how our Government bends over and takes it from aggressive Israelis due to our ‘special’ relationship with America. BBC output is editorialized after all- you only have to look who it’s done by. The people you voted for who don’t care about you are firmly in Auntie’s chair.
At times like these you need a Government that can take a stand. This shower let themselves be held to ransom by banks and lobbyists, now punched around the policy ring by Israel. With Tony Blair as a special envoy to the Middle East, what hope is there for peace? ‘Labour Friends of Israel’- It’s a dreadful indictment. The Queen should immediately move to dissolve a Parliament that is doing far more harm than good.
Bring home the war criminal Blair. Have him stand trial for his crimes: Iraq and Afghanistan- now Palestine and Israel. Let’s use what’s left of our freedoms to bring home the man that took them from us. Have him locked away for a very long time as a signal to him and his ilk.
Meanwhile, as our currency slips down the pan alongside the soft, strong and very long US dollar, do the ties that bind us to Europe break or grow ever tighter? Will England really become thousands of miles closer to the US and away from France and Germany as a result? Such is American influence on our lives that we almost believe our country might one day actually uproot and end up somewhere near New York. What a bondage it is, knowing only English!
Why does England worry about US oil when it should be worrying about Russian gas? What is stopping the UK from adopting the best practices of Europe right now? We need to escape and change our relationship with an America that has become thoroughly infected, filthy and vulgar, behind it’s Hollywood mask. Just being able to speak the same language is nowhere near enough reason to make our relationship ‘special’. Such a relationship hardly needs to be maintained. Who defines the English language anyway? We do.
We should speak the English of Europe much more than the English of America- at the very least (we’re so ignorant of language). I suppose this does mean engaging with that awkward Sarkozy bloke rather than with a peon from the United States, but I find the European attitude towards human rights, amongst other things, to be far more in keeping with the British psyche than that of the warmongering States these days.
Not that one should underestimate the power of the US and it’s disgusting little allies, but one should also not underestimate the relative power of a united Europe against a declining America. All it takes is for the UK to leap the channel into Europe and it might make enough of a difference. I often wonder what the effect of a united Europe would be against a United States in the Middle East?- Not much hope? OK, and how about backed by Russia? Yes, that bunch- remember the ones that took OUR side and stood against Nazi aggression not so long ago- (perhaps for all the wrong reasons but even the fine, upstanding UK and Great Winston Churchill have had their ulterior motives in the past. Also, nobody disagrees that it was a good idea to get rid of Hitler and the Nazi regime)
Let’s cut the bullshit. Lobby Westminster? Lobby Parliament? Lobby the Beeb? Lobby Israel? Are you mad? To what effect on those secured establishment policy positions? Let the record show that this kind of protest is exactly what they expect, channel and suppress. Time to think out of the box! Or even better, get out completely and leave it alone. Go and find something more worthwhile to focus your attention on.
If the Queen will not dissolve parliament and bring these thieves to justice, then let us sell the notes bearing her name and the evaporating promises of the Chancellor- head of Her Majesty’s faltering Treasury. Money is no longer backed by gold, but by the faith of the people. SELL, SELL, SELL!
Use what little trading structure and power we have left to just sell British currency contracts in exchange for European ones- actually- ANY ones other than those awful American things- buy gold and silver- just get out of Sterling and right now (but be careful of the Rothschilds). Get the British middle classes out of America and into Europe for their own safety- this is where the banks should have been on the ball. Another reason would be that the UK appears to be following the Icelandic model. After all, if it were not so similar in structure, would UK business have thought twice about investing? “WE all go down together!”- I don’t think so. Buy some Euros, get paid in Euros- steer clear of the Queen for a while.
In fact, just get out of the mindset of ‘good old London USA’. Get as far away as you can- even if it’s only in the same way that you were so nearly in America. Switch to European and British films/tv- or stop watching it altogether. Do not go and watch anything made in Hollywood. Learn to love those Bollywood classics, French actresses, German analysts, Ingmar Bergman, and eat more curry. You might not have to give up Saturday football for long if you’re lucky and act now by sending the dish back to Murdoch before he doubles the rent. The internet is a massive resource of all things non English too. Learn a new language, take a trip to France, Spain, Germany- move there. Live there for a while. They all speak English anyway. Give it a go. The only way this charade will carry on is if we continue to buy it all up with our spare cash. The poor support the rich. Time to concentrate on the chips, rather than the newspaper.
I mentioned internalized anger at the start of this. On a truly ‘British’ level- as citizens, rejecting America in solidarity with Europe means ‘no more anger for now and a chance for the future.’
It was all a big con. We’ve angrily known this for a long time- deep down where it hurts: America may have been pretending to be stupid, but Europe sure wasn’t. What were we in the UK pretending to be? A poodle? Even THAT’s bloody French!
And you become what you pretend to be: German Engineer in New Zealand, French railway driver, Swedish fish smoker, British worker, International trader, food seller, fruit picker- even a journalist- but never a God awful yank hell bent on putting ‘a dead God or the barrel of a gun’ back into my daily life! It seems to give you fewer choices by not having America onside- but see how false most of the choices were in the context of our working towards nothing more than a great war in the Middle East. What else have we achieved lately? Look at what we’ve lost- all of our savings, freedoms, families, children. What on Earth were we thinking?
But you have to allow room for stupidity. For that matter, I would not even engage with an Imam and his similarly stupid views on monotheism, eternal life and religious law. Europe is really tolerant of religion and we should surely try to learn from respective religious histories just how NOT to do it. This is a function of philosophy- Fixed and blinkered ideologues should never be your master. Self mastery is the ultimate truth- even If only with reference to taking back control over your own life.
Come on middle England- get up and cash your chips in. Leave the porno casino for long enough to tell Mister Murdoch that it isn’t the right kind of business for your own home and what's left of your family. Perhaps even leave the smelly pub, the bad food, the awful weather, the miserable wet inhabitants. Who gives a toss for the corruption of our lives anymore? Who cares about the stupid laws they make? Go beg/ borrow/ steal some money, if you need to. Convert it and take a few years holiday away somewhere nice. You’ve suffered enough- go and enjoy yourself, work perhaps, listen, learn while you let this system go to the wall through lack of funding. Don’t pay tax and contribute your talents to some place that might appreciate them more- for the time being. Success is the best revenge.
And when you get to this place, don’t forget to send me a postcard and let me know how the journey was!
The Invasion of Gaza: "Operation Cast Lead", Part of a Broader Israeli Military-Intelligence Agenda
The aerial bombings and the ongoing ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli ground forces must be analysed in a historical context. Operation "Cast Lead" is a carefully planned undertaking, which is part of a broader military-intelligence agenda first formulated by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 ...
... The longer term objective of this plan, as formulated by Israeli policy makers, is the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestinian lands:
"Terrorize the civilian population, assuring maximal destruction of property and cultural resources... The daily life of the Palestinians must be rendered unbearable: They should be locked up in cities and towns, prevented from exercising normal economic life, cut off from workplaces, schools and hospitals, This will encourage emigration and weaken the resistance to future expulsions" Ur Shlonsky, quoted by Ghali Hassan, Gaza: The World’s Largest Prison, Global Research, 2005)
more...
The aerial bombings and the ongoing ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli ground forces must be analysed in a historical context. Operation "Cast Lead" is a carefully planned undertaking, which is part of a broader military-intelligence agenda first formulated by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 ...
... The longer term objective of this plan, as formulated by Israeli policy makers, is the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestinian lands:
"Terrorize the civilian population, assuring maximal destruction of property and cultural resources... The daily life of the Palestinians must be rendered unbearable: They should be locked up in cities and towns, prevented from exercising normal economic life, cut off from workplaces, schools and hospitals, This will encourage emigration and weaken the resistance to future expulsions" Ur Shlonsky, quoted by Ghali Hassan, Gaza: The World’s Largest Prison, Global Research, 2005)
more...
BBC's Pro-Israeli Bias
In its near 86 year history, BBC has a long, unbroken and dubious distinction. Today it's little different from its corporate-run counterparts in America, Britain and throughout the world. In fact, on its tailored for a US BBC America audience, what passes for news matches stride for stride what people here see every day - mind-numbing commercialism, shoddy reporting, pseudo-journalism, celebrity and sports features, and other diverting and distracting non-news that should embarrass correspondents and presenters delivering it. It offends viewers and treats them like mushrooms - well-watered, in the dark, and uninformed about the most important world and national issues affecting their lives and welfare.
more...
In its near 86 year history, BBC has a long, unbroken and dubious distinction. Today it's little different from its corporate-run counterparts in America, Britain and throughout the world. In fact, on its tailored for a US BBC America audience, what passes for news matches stride for stride what people here see every day - mind-numbing commercialism, shoddy reporting, pseudo-journalism, celebrity and sports features, and other diverting and distracting non-news that should embarrass correspondents and presenters delivering it. It offends viewers and treats them like mushrooms - well-watered, in the dark, and uninformed about the most important world and national issues affecting their lives and welfare.
more...
How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state's legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions
more...
Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state's legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions
more...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Gaza: Industrialised Killing of Civilians
It is obvious now that the Israeli campaign has the sole purpose to destruct Gaza and Gazans people. This is not about Hamas or a few stovepipes and Chinese rockets that the Islamic Jihad (sponsored by whom?) is launching into Israel.
This is industrialized killing of civilians for the "fun of it".
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Qatar says Israel's Gaza offensive a "war crime"
DUBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. ally Qatar said on Sunday Israel's attack on Gaza amounted to a war crime and renewed calls for an emergency summit of Arab countries.
"Our (Arab) people in Gaza are subject these days to an unjust aggression which does not differentiate between children, women and old people, and between civilians and fighters," Qatar's ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said.
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Tel Aviv rally decries Gaza assault
Tens of thousands protest in UK against the Israeli attacks on Gaza
"Tens of thousands of protesters showed their anger at the Israeli bombing of Gaza today [Saturday] in a series of rallies across the UK that included throwing shoes at the gates of Downing Street.
More than a thousands pairs of footwear were thrown by protesters marching down Whitehall. A firework was also set off metres from the Downing Street gates."
more...
"Tens of thousands of protesters showed their anger at the Israeli bombing of Gaza today [Saturday] in a series of rallies across the UK that included throwing shoes at the gates of Downing Street.
More than a thousands pairs of footwear were thrown by protesters marching down Whitehall. A firework was also set off metres from the Downing Street gates."
more...
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Rafah - report from the ground
Fida Qishta of Rafah, Gaza describes the past few days as Israeli bombing kills hundreds
While Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, lies through her teeth that there is "no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" here is yet another report about the true state of affairs.
Or watch video here
Fida Qishta of Rafah, Gaza describes the past few days as Israeli bombing kills hundreds
While Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, lies through her teeth that there is "no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" here is yet another report about the true state of affairs.
Or watch video here
The Shadow Money Lenders: The Real Significance of The Fed’s Zero-Interest-Rate Policy (ZIRP)
The Battle To Save The Fiat Money System Has Begun
The disinformation by the global financial dailies in the last twelve months as to the cause of the global financial tsunami, serve the same purpose as the global mass media when they perpetuated the lies that lulled the people to support the war criminals Bush, Blair and Howard to launch the barbaric war against Iraq and Afghanistan which resulted in the genocide of millions, the mutilation of hundreds of thousands, physically and psychologically, and the devastation of an entire nation.
The wars unleashed thus far, specifically the “War on Terror” were launched to preserve the shadow money-lenders’ political and military power.
This War on Terror is the greatest military sideshow that distracted the American people from the financial rape and plunder of their economy and the destruction of their Constitution.
more...
New Gaza Humanitarian Blog
Harm to civilians during the fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel.
Read it here
Harm to civilians during the fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel.
Read it here
Protesters glued inside BBC Wales HQ
While, predictably, the BBC report only government-approved propaganda about the Israeli massacre in Gaza protesters in Wales carried out a demonstration which included the gluing of themselves to the glass security doors of the BBC in Cardiff.
Undercurrents Alternative News reports: "I filmed a dramatic direct action protest today in Cardiff. Just after 2pm, three protesters walked into the lobby of the BBC Wales headquarters and two super-glued themselves to glass security doors.
While one activist handed out leaflets, frustrated reporters were prevented from leaving or entering the main BBC News building.
Draped in a Palestinian flag, campaigner Bob Cotterell said, ‘We have super-glued our skin to the main doors of the BBC in protest at the irresponsible reporting of the Middle East issue by the public broadcaster.
He continued to say, ‘The Middle East is a sticky situation but if the public has any hope of understanding both sides, then we need the BBC to give the full, rather than partial, facts.
The protesters are upset that the reporting of the Israeli F-16 aerial bombings does not put them in any real context.
Fellow activist D Murphy said, while glued to the gate, 'While we hear about rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, we rarely hear that this is Palestinian land stolen by Israel. '
She continued, 'Since Saturday, Israel has killed more than 350 civilians in response to the repeatedly reported 4 deaths amongst the Israelis. The hugely disproportionate response by the Israel is not highlighted.'
Four Police cars arrived at the scene with sirens and lights flashing. All journalists were ejected from the BBC building and the main entrance was blocked off with metal barriers.The protesters complained that the BBC has chosen to name Hamas as a ‘Militant Organisation’ rather [than] its rightful term of ‘Government’, omitting that in January 2006, with a huge majority, Hamas was democratically elected to govern the people of Palestine.
Wrapped in a Palestinian flag, she added: ‘We do not hear that Israel has violated more United Nations resolutions than any other country, and today it is collectively punishing the ordinary people of Gaza breaking Article 33 of the 4th Geneva Convention.’
They have asked people to fax, phone or e-mail the BBC and urge them to review their reporting of the Middle East and 'not make the situation even worse'.
The activists continued to say, ‘We are calling upon the BBC management to revise every news report before broadcast to ensure that the language used to report the attacks is responsible and fair. We ask that wider context is given for viewers to understand the issues on a deeper level.’
The 'Glue Two' are a part of the group who previously locked themselves inside Cardiff Castle to highlight the 50th anniversary of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine."
BBC also reported the story: Meanwhile, in the protest at BBC Wales, a man and woman glued themselves to barriers, temporarily closing access via the main reception area.
They said they were unhappy with coverage of the conflict and asked the BBC to refer to Hamas as a government which has been democratically elected.
A BBC spokesman said: "We're satisfied that the BBC's coverage of the events in Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been balanced, fair, accurate and up to the usual BBC standards of impartiality.
"In our reports, we have tried to explain how the current situation started and has since developed, and given air-time to representatives from across the political spectrum."
Complaints to the BBC should be made to www.bbc.co.uk/complaints and Helen Boaden, Director of BBC news, helenboaden.complaints@bbc.co.uk
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