A good site:
http://therealnews.com/web/index.php
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Hey, it's time for fun! Silly Newsweek article on the media.
There's an article in the latest Newsweek called he The Myth of Objectivity: Is the Mainstream Press Unbiased?. It's a mostly incoherent attempt at media analysis. He strays between a lot of topics and fails to address any important points: Coverage of presidential elections, Watergate, WMDs. I don't care to go through all of it. I'll just address a point he makes about reporters' personal beliefs, and the effects that advertising dollars have on news coverage.
It's true that the press is not 'ideological' as he says. Ideologues (a word that's used improperly in my opinion, and more often means those with strong convictions, particular adherence to international law) are weeded out pretty early (particularly those with more leftist tendencies [1]), because 'ideologues' would have a difficult time conforming to the rigid, narrow spectrum of views that's presented by newspapers owned by large corporations, selling advertising space to corporations, and trying to build the kind of affluent readership that advertisers are drawn to. You would assume that the stories 'reflect the interests of the buyers, the sellers, and the readers.'[2]
The author attempts to refute that newspapers cave to advertisers, but ironically, only supports it. "If they did," he says, "There would be less political or foreign coverage... [because] advertisers are not eager to underwrite coverage of wars, often for fear of being associated with controversial topics."
Quite ironic, in trying to make his point, he disproves it.
Therefore, you'd expect coverage of foreign wars, particularly ones that involved the United States, to be a rather tepid rendering of the actual events. So take one example, how often do you hear the press discussing that the credible estimate of deaths in Iraq as 1 million people? How often do you see op-eds in Newsweek that the U.S. and Israel alone are blocking a two state settlement in Israel/Palestine? You don't. Because advertisers don't want to be "associated with controver[sy]" as the author astutely observed[3]. And the author's inability to not even recognize the point that he actually made illustrates an important point: the general ignorance of reporters in the mainstream. Their 'bias', if you want to call it that, is that they don't even think twice about important news that they're not reporting. They can't even see what's right in front of their noses, as Orwell said.
1. Think back to February 2003, if you can. A month before the March 19 invasion. There were lots of anti-war demonstrations that month. Within the dissident/leftist media, you could read the most scathing pieces about the designs for Iraq. You would read, quite frequently, that an invasion of Iraq, if carried out, would constitute the most egregious violation of international law: an act of 'aggression'. A crime that the Nazis were hung for at Nuremberg. And then you heard careful speculation on the death toll that would result from an invasion -- it was hundreds of thousands. Considering that Iraq was already in shambles from a decade of genocidal U.S. sanctions, any further disturbance would send Iraq over the edge. But hardly a peep in the most trusted journals, like the NYT (and forget CNN or FoxNews). The coverage didn't talk at all about the fact that the invasion would be a crime against humanity. No one cared. So it was never mentioned. And nobody thought about it.
2. Most likely a direct quote from Chomsky, in his millions of speeches, and possibly in the seminal work he co-authored that comprehensively addresses this subject. (Manufacturing Consent with Ed Herman, Chomsky. See also works by Robert McChesney)
3. It's credible that 1 million people have died in Iraq as a result of the invasion; The U.S. and Israel are blocking a two-state settlement. These are both questions of fact. The latter you might not agree with, though there's an abundant documentary record that's by now incontrovertible, and is more widely known about outside the U.S. (but it's by no means difficult to uncover. You can read about it at Barnes and Noble if you like). However, just as a thought experiment, say that neither of these assertions are true (and there's many who would deny the latter). Regardless, of the veracity of the claims, they're uncontested in the wider world and in the scholarly realm. So why is there no critical debate about these subjects in the mainstream? It's not only that there's no columnist or reporter who argues for these assertions; it's that they're not even allowed to talk about it. Not even to breach these topic.[4]
4. I only gave two examples. Perhaps it's a mistake on my part. Because you might challenge both of them, and then think you've destroyed my premise. Obviously, a subject like this has to be dealt with care, and certainly demands more than two footnotes. But this is a blog, and this was supposed to be a 'fun' entry, and footnoting footnotes is getting to be a little too un-fun.
It's true that the press is not 'ideological' as he says. Ideologues (a word that's used improperly in my opinion, and more often means those with strong convictions, particular adherence to international law) are weeded out pretty early (particularly those with more leftist tendencies [1]), because 'ideologues' would have a difficult time conforming to the rigid, narrow spectrum of views that's presented by newspapers owned by large corporations, selling advertising space to corporations, and trying to build the kind of affluent readership that advertisers are drawn to. You would assume that the stories 'reflect the interests of the buyers, the sellers, and the readers.'[2]
The author attempts to refute that newspapers cave to advertisers, but ironically, only supports it. "If they did," he says, "There would be less political or foreign coverage... [because] advertisers are not eager to underwrite coverage of wars, often for fear of being associated with controversial topics."
Quite ironic, in trying to make his point, he disproves it.
Therefore, you'd expect coverage of foreign wars, particularly ones that involved the United States, to be a rather tepid rendering of the actual events. So take one example, how often do you hear the press discussing that the credible estimate of deaths in Iraq as 1 million people? How often do you see op-eds in Newsweek that the U.S. and Israel alone are blocking a two state settlement in Israel/Palestine? You don't. Because advertisers don't want to be "associated with controver[sy]" as the author astutely observed[3]. And the author's inability to not even recognize the point that he actually made illustrates an important point: the general ignorance of reporters in the mainstream. Their 'bias', if you want to call it that, is that they don't even think twice about important news that they're not reporting. They can't even see what's right in front of their noses, as Orwell said.
1. Think back to February 2003, if you can. A month before the March 19 invasion. There were lots of anti-war demonstrations that month. Within the dissident/leftist media, you could read the most scathing pieces about the designs for Iraq. You would read, quite frequently, that an invasion of Iraq, if carried out, would constitute the most egregious violation of international law: an act of 'aggression'. A crime that the Nazis were hung for at Nuremberg. And then you heard careful speculation on the death toll that would result from an invasion -- it was hundreds of thousands. Considering that Iraq was already in shambles from a decade of genocidal U.S. sanctions, any further disturbance would send Iraq over the edge. But hardly a peep in the most trusted journals, like the NYT (and forget CNN or FoxNews). The coverage didn't talk at all about the fact that the invasion would be a crime against humanity. No one cared. So it was never mentioned. And nobody thought about it.
2. Most likely a direct quote from Chomsky, in his millions of speeches, and possibly in the seminal work he co-authored that comprehensively addresses this subject. (Manufacturing Consent with Ed Herman, Chomsky. See also works by Robert McChesney)
3. It's credible that 1 million people have died in Iraq as a result of the invasion; The U.S. and Israel are blocking a two-state settlement. These are both questions of fact. The latter you might not agree with, though there's an abundant documentary record that's by now incontrovertible, and is more widely known about outside the U.S. (but it's by no means difficult to uncover. You can read about it at Barnes and Noble if you like). However, just as a thought experiment, say that neither of these assertions are true (and there's many who would deny the latter). Regardless, of the veracity of the claims, they're uncontested in the wider world and in the scholarly realm. So why is there no critical debate about these subjects in the mainstream? It's not only that there's no columnist or reporter who argues for these assertions; it's that they're not even allowed to talk about it. Not even to breach these topic.[4]
4. I only gave two examples. Perhaps it's a mistake on my part. Because you might challenge both of them, and then think you've destroyed my premise. Obviously, a subject like this has to be dealt with care, and certainly demands more than two footnotes. But this is a blog, and this was supposed to be a 'fun' entry, and footnoting footnotes is getting to be a little too un-fun.
Monday, March 3, 2008
'Burned flesh in the streets'. Israeli official calls it a 'prequel'
Here are excerpts from reports on Gaza
I want to Know When I am Dying By Mohamed Omer (3/3/2008)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13550
I met with two children who survived Wednesday's Jabalyia soccer bombing: the other 4 kids were, as you likely know, killed. One of the children I saw had no flesh on their legs, had burns all over their bodies from the tank's shelling. This was one of the scariest things I have seen yet, and I have seen a lot more than that. Only today, 35 killed, still going on and 180 injured, many were women and child. Hospitals appeal for blood donation and fuel for ambulances.
I asked one boy to give me details of what happened that Thursday afternoon. The 9 year old boy cried while he told that he'd seen the decapitated head of his cousin strewn far from his body, arms and legs, far away from where they were all playing soccer. His mother added that there wasn't any electricity when her son was admitted to the hospital.
Special Report: Israeli Extra-Judicial Executions BY Stephen Lendman (3/3/2008)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13549
PCHR also reported that an Israeli aircraft bombed Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah's home in Gaza City on Saturday. It was completely destroyed and killed six members of his family, including three women. Six other family members were injured, four of whom were children and one was a "two-day old" infant. The situation is dire, hospitals can't cope, Israeli forces prevent ambulances from evacuating the injured, supplies of everything are short, morgues are overwhelmed, coffins aren't available to bury bodies, and overall conditions are impossible for Gazans to handle as they continue being attacked without mercy.
Palestinians in the West Bank are also affected. On Sunday, Israeli forces assaulted protester, in Hebron with live rounds and tear gas, killing a 14 year old boy and injuring 45 others, including 24 children. In Ramallah the same way injuring seven teenagers; and in Bethlehem as well injuring two boys, one from bullet wounds to the leg and the other from tear gas inhalation. Other demonstrations took place in Jenin, Nablus and other West Bank and Gaza locations.
Gazan Holocaust BY Jennifer Loewenstein (3/3/2008)
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein03042008.html
Watch as A, a Hamas soldier, runs for his life into his house. His pursuers miss shooting him so they launch three rockets into the house on the edge of Jabalya camp killing everyone inside (four family members). They are angry now so every house in the way gets the same treatment and without the "militant" to guide their next moves: rockets fired into the interiors of homes with no knowledge of who is inside. Eye-witnesses report this and worse: a six month old baby girl becomes tiny body parts with her mother and brother. A small child is cut apart by shrapnel and screams that she doesn't want to die just before leaving this world. The mothers and fathers cannot protect them so they weep and scream at the funerals that this side of the world never views, especially during basketball season.
Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livini said:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/3/headlines#4
“The world should respect any action taken by Israel in order to defend its citizens. I would like to say that I cannot accept condolences saying that there are victims, both sides. Well, yes, there are victims both sides, but there is no moral equation between these terrorists who are looking for civilians to kill and between the Israeli soldiers who are looking for the terrorists.”
Democracy Now interview with Mohammed Omer and Amira Hass
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/3/report_from_gaza
MOHAMMED OMER: Well, this was yesterday. I found arms and legs and fingers scattered in the streets everywhere. And this was the situation—burned flesh in the streets with children and kids and women. And so far, 130 Palestinians were killed in the last few days. Out of 130, there are thirty-nine children, ten women, in addition to 370 children who were injured in the past few days. And there is 35 percent of those cases who were injured in the head and the upper side of the body, this which makes the whole situation at Kamala Adwan hospital quite difficult for the ambulance crews to deal with such cases, especially those people who are arriving from the far north of the Gaza Strip, where ambulances could not reach, because the Israeli bulldozers and F-16s were not able to evacuate the bodies.
Right now, I can see also some ambulances... [T]hey are trying to get some more bodies into the area by getting the arms and fingers and legs of people that they were not able to reach. And I’m actually close right now to the area where the ambulance crews are patrolling... I can say that they are collecting... with some plastic bags some remains of human flesh, like arms and fingers and legs, and mostly children’s and women’s.
People here still don’t have food. They have difficulty in accessing food, have difficulty in accessing different kinds of things. And probably you can hear the Israeli F-16 right now. It’s hovering in the sky, and it has been bombing since the early morning...
Israel has been using the heaviest missiles by F-16s. Some experts here estimate that there are one-ton weight of Israeli missiles that Israel has been using.
I want to Know When I am Dying By Mohamed Omer (3/3/2008)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13550
I met with two children who survived Wednesday's Jabalyia soccer bombing: the other 4 kids were, as you likely know, killed. One of the children I saw had no flesh on their legs, had burns all over their bodies from the tank's shelling. This was one of the scariest things I have seen yet, and I have seen a lot more than that. Only today, 35 killed, still going on and 180 injured, many were women and child. Hospitals appeal for blood donation and fuel for ambulances.
I asked one boy to give me details of what happened that Thursday afternoon. The 9 year old boy cried while he told that he'd seen the decapitated head of his cousin strewn far from his body, arms and legs, far away from where they were all playing soccer. His mother added that there wasn't any electricity when her son was admitted to the hospital.
Special Report: Israeli Extra-Judicial Executions BY Stephen Lendman (3/3/2008)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13549
PCHR also reported that an Israeli aircraft bombed Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah's home in Gaza City on Saturday. It was completely destroyed and killed six members of his family, including three women. Six other family members were injured, four of whom were children and one was a "two-day old" infant. The situation is dire, hospitals can't cope, Israeli forces prevent ambulances from evacuating the injured, supplies of everything are short, morgues are overwhelmed, coffins aren't available to bury bodies, and overall conditions are impossible for Gazans to handle as they continue being attacked without mercy.
Palestinians in the West Bank are also affected. On Sunday, Israeli forces assaulted protester, in Hebron with live rounds and tear gas, killing a 14 year old boy and injuring 45 others, including 24 children. In Ramallah the same way injuring seven teenagers; and in Bethlehem as well injuring two boys, one from bullet wounds to the leg and the other from tear gas inhalation. Other demonstrations took place in Jenin, Nablus and other West Bank and Gaza locations.
Gazan Holocaust BY Jennifer Loewenstein (3/3/2008)
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein03042008.html
Watch as A, a Hamas soldier, runs for his life into his house. His pursuers miss shooting him so they launch three rockets into the house on the edge of Jabalya camp killing everyone inside (four family members). They are angry now so every house in the way gets the same treatment and without the "militant" to guide their next moves: rockets fired into the interiors of homes with no knowledge of who is inside. Eye-witnesses report this and worse: a six month old baby girl becomes tiny body parts with her mother and brother. A small child is cut apart by shrapnel and screams that she doesn't want to die just before leaving this world. The mothers and fathers cannot protect them so they weep and scream at the funerals that this side of the world never views, especially during basketball season.
Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livini said:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/3/headlines#4
“The world should respect any action taken by Israel in order to defend its citizens. I would like to say that I cannot accept condolences saying that there are victims, both sides. Well, yes, there are victims both sides, but there is no moral equation between these terrorists who are looking for civilians to kill and between the Israeli soldiers who are looking for the terrorists.”
Democracy Now interview with Mohammed Omer and Amira Hass
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/3/report_from_gaza
MOHAMMED OMER: Well, this was yesterday. I found arms and legs and fingers scattered in the streets everywhere. And this was the situation—burned flesh in the streets with children and kids and women. And so far, 130 Palestinians were killed in the last few days. Out of 130, there are thirty-nine children, ten women, in addition to 370 children who were injured in the past few days. And there is 35 percent of those cases who were injured in the head and the upper side of the body, this which makes the whole situation at Kamala Adwan hospital quite difficult for the ambulance crews to deal with such cases, especially those people who are arriving from the far north of the Gaza Strip, where ambulances could not reach, because the Israeli bulldozers and F-16s were not able to evacuate the bodies.
Right now, I can see also some ambulances... [T]hey are trying to get some more bodies into the area by getting the arms and fingers and legs of people that they were not able to reach. And I’m actually close right now to the area where the ambulance crews are patrolling... I can say that they are collecting... with some plastic bags some remains of human flesh, like arms and fingers and legs, and mostly children’s and women’s.
People here still don’t have food. They have difficulty in accessing food, have difficulty in accessing different kinds of things. And probably you can hear the Israeli F-16 right now. It’s hovering in the sky, and it has been bombing since the early morning...
Israel has been using the heaviest missiles by F-16s. Some experts here estimate that there are one-ton weight of Israeli missiles that Israel has been using.
Israel backs out of Gaza. Condi must've said something.
An Israeli military spokesman said the operation into Gaza is “winding down. Almost all our forces have already returned to Israel.” This according to AFP [1].
It would seem that Washington finally reeled in these maniacs. That’s only speculation, but as much as Condoleezza Rice doesn’t care about dead Palestinians [2], she’s not about to endure one of Israel’s killing fits on the eve of her visit to Israel. For God’s sakes, even Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah/Palestinian Authority), the U.S./Israeli marionette in the Annapolis Peace Talk circus couldn’t even put up with the massacre. He’s vowed to discontinue all peace talkin’ until Israel stops shooting stuff [3].
For future reference, the magic number before someone stops Israel: 112 dead Palestinians [4]– the toll since Wednesday, likely to increase.
Just a month ago, before the wall was knocked down at Rafah, Defense Minister Ehud Barak described Gaza as a large ‘experiment’. The world’s largest prison, with all the ins and outs at his command. Whereby blockading the territory and thus depriving the people of much needed food, medicine, cement, electricity, water and fuel, Barak could break the people of Gaza and have them turn against Hamas, the elected leadership.
That experiment proved a miserable failure, after the people of Gaza collectively tore down the prison walls. Harsh repression and misery has followed, but breaking down walls proved to be a model of resistance that everyone could get behind – unlike the crude Qassams. No one, outside of the increasingly deranged leadership in Israel and maybe Myanmar, thinks people should be locked up like animals.
And after today, what appears to be a premature withdraw from the Gaza Strip, might be another sign for hope. It seems the latest mass killing ‘experiment’ has also proved a miserable failure. Israel might be learning, albeit slowly, that they won’t be able to get away with murder for much longer.
Olmert and Barak surely have more experiments they’d like to conduct. And the public response against the invasion of Gaza today, may be the litmus test used for a repeat of the 2006 Lebanon War.
Will their military actions become more measured, or will they continue in this rampaging wounded-beast-mode for some time to come?
1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080303/wl_afp/mideastconflictgazawithdraw
2. Nor does she seem particularly concerned by anyone who dies in Israeli incursions. Recall the 2006 Lebanon War that left 1000 dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. Commenting on the destruction, she said we’re witnessing “the birth pangs of a new Middle East” (http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL25155242._CH_.2400)
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/02/AR2008030200217.html?hpid=topnews
4. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080303/wl_nm/palestinians_israel_dc;_ylt=AtYZQR.7tw7zif.BOZn.lD.ROrgF
It would seem that Washington finally reeled in these maniacs. That’s only speculation, but as much as Condoleezza Rice doesn’t care about dead Palestinians [2], she’s not about to endure one of Israel’s killing fits on the eve of her visit to Israel. For God’s sakes, even Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah/Palestinian Authority), the U.S./Israeli marionette in the Annapolis Peace Talk circus couldn’t even put up with the massacre. He’s vowed to discontinue all peace talkin’ until Israel stops shooting stuff [3].
For future reference, the magic number before someone stops Israel: 112 dead Palestinians [4]– the toll since Wednesday, likely to increase.
Just a month ago, before the wall was knocked down at Rafah, Defense Minister Ehud Barak described Gaza as a large ‘experiment’. The world’s largest prison, with all the ins and outs at his command. Whereby blockading the territory and thus depriving the people of much needed food, medicine, cement, electricity, water and fuel, Barak could break the people of Gaza and have them turn against Hamas, the elected leadership.
That experiment proved a miserable failure, after the people of Gaza collectively tore down the prison walls. Harsh repression and misery has followed, but breaking down walls proved to be a model of resistance that everyone could get behind – unlike the crude Qassams. No one, outside of the increasingly deranged leadership in Israel and maybe Myanmar, thinks people should be locked up like animals.
And after today, what appears to be a premature withdraw from the Gaza Strip, might be another sign for hope. It seems the latest mass killing ‘experiment’ has also proved a miserable failure. Israel might be learning, albeit slowly, that they won’t be able to get away with murder for much longer.
Olmert and Barak surely have more experiments they’d like to conduct. And the public response against the invasion of Gaza today, may be the litmus test used for a repeat of the 2006 Lebanon War.
Will their military actions become more measured, or will they continue in this rampaging wounded-beast-mode for some time to come?
1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080303/wl_afp/mideastconflictgazawithdraw
2. Nor does she seem particularly concerned by anyone who dies in Israeli incursions. Recall the 2006 Lebanon War that left 1000 dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. Commenting on the destruction, she said we’re witnessing “the birth pangs of a new Middle East” (http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL25155242._CH_.2400)
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/02/AR2008030200217.html?hpid=topnews
4. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080303/wl_nm/palestinians_israel_dc;_ylt=AtYZQR.7tw7zif.BOZn.lD.ROrgF
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Gaza's Bloody Saturday/Sunday - 71 dead.
71 Palestinians dead in two days. Half were civilians. (A third were children? (More accurately, a third of the first 55 reported deaths were children))
The violence continued into Sunday. 8 more Palestinians were killed in Israel's continued ground and air assault of Gaza.
The international outcry -- that is from citizens of the world in general, and leadership in the south/third world -- is, as always, uniformly against Israel's illegal operation, and the wanton killing of civilians and children etc. But more importantly, at least as far as the leadership of of Israel is concerned -- when you start massacring this many people in such a blatant fashion, there starts to be tiny rumbles from the White House and the EU. So when the newswires report that there's "international outcry," they mean that other like-minded war criminals like Israeli PM Olmert, are a little too uncomfortable with having to explain away these acts of state terror. Other times, like everyday, the real International Community is absolutely reeling from the illegal, 40-year occupation of Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the continual land grabs, extra-judicial killings, and outright massacres that happen therein.
So the White House issued a statement: "The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume." It's as if 'violence' is what afflicts the peoples of the Middle East. No condemnation for the perpetrators is attached, because we all know who we're not allowed to blame and who we are allowed to blame.[1]
BTW, The death toll for the past three months in the fighting now stands at 305 people. 3? of that 305 are Israelis. Two soldiers killed in the incursion into Occupied Palestinian Territory (isn't that supposed to be a sovereign state by now as per UN 242 and the will of the "international community" [U.S.]?), and one woman killed in Sderot from a falling Qassam -- the first death of its kind in nine months.
On the subject of 71 Palestinian deaths vs. 2 Israeli deaths, PM Olmert pledged that the incursion will continue. As he, and Defense Minister Barak have said in previous days, the deaths resulting from Israeli attacks are actually the fault of Hamas, and those firing Qassam rockets. It seems thus that both will be able to shrug off the deaths, and get over it for the remainder of their courageous invasion. However, if a judgment is every rendered by the World Court, they might not take the massacre with as much bravado.
Similar logic was employed a few days ago by Deputy Defense Minister Vilnai, when he threatened a 'shoah' upon the Gazan people if Qassam fire continues. The word 'shoah' literally means holocaust or disaster, but has in recent history been used solely to refer to THE HOLOCAUST. There was some backpedaling by Mr. Vilnai's PR people, that 'shoah' can be used to mean things other than the big H... But when you say 'shoah', everyone knows what you mean. And it's hypocritical considering how Israel's leaders and their cheerleaders in the U.S. have silenced any comparison between The Holocaust and other genocides as being 'anti-semitic'.
There was much ado about the usage of this no-no word, but that's a sideshow. The real issue is that an Israeli official threatened a holocaust on a people. As the U.N. Charter states: "The threat or the use of force" is a war crime. That's obviously something that neither Israel nor the U.S. has taken very seriously -- the most recent illustration being threats against Iran, which continue even from the leading Democratic Pres. candidates. So nothing new there. But worth considering if you think international laws ought to be applied equally.
Comparisons between Israeli crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and those of the Nazis in East and West Europe have been longstanding. Most recently, the walled in, and besieged Gaza has been called a Warsaw Ghetto. Now that the Nazi analogy has been made by decree from an Israeli official, it seems that the floodgates have opened, and officials from Hamas, Fatah, and Saudi Arabia are now calling this latest incursion on Saturday and Sunday 'a holocaust' in addition to the less inflammatory and legal definition -- which is apt: "war crimes".[2]
The gravity of the most violent days since the beginning of the uprising in 2000 are relatively diminished in U.S. media, obscured by the farcical presidential debates. However, the issue is at the forefront in Israel, and while now it is still small, the peace movement within Israel (or Leftists as they're generally referred to in the press there) are out on the streets. They were protesting in front of the defense ministry in Tel Aviv on Sunday night.
Demonstrators held up signs expressing hope: "[Don't] despair Gaza, we'll end the occupation" and "Don't worry Ehud [Olmert], Bush will be meeting you at The Hague."[3]
1. Just ask Barak Obama, who in January, before Gazans blew up the wall at Rafah, sent the US's UN Ambassador a letter, to veto a resolution to end the siege, because " All of us are concerned about the impact of closed border crossings on Palestinian families. However, we have to understand why Israel is forced to do this... Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians." And his critics say he's not tough on terror. Well I guess they're right, in a way, since he effectively condones Israeli terror against Palestinians.
2. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080302/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazasaudi
3. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3513953,00.html
The violence continued into Sunday. 8 more Palestinians were killed in Israel's continued ground and air assault of Gaza.
The international outcry -- that is from citizens of the world in general, and leadership in the south/third world -- is, as always, uniformly against Israel's illegal operation, and the wanton killing of civilians and children etc. But more importantly, at least as far as the leadership of of Israel is concerned -- when you start massacring this many people in such a blatant fashion, there starts to be tiny rumbles from the White House and the EU. So when the newswires report that there's "international outcry," they mean that other like-minded war criminals like Israeli PM Olmert, are a little too uncomfortable with having to explain away these acts of state terror. Other times, like everyday, the real International Community is absolutely reeling from the illegal, 40-year occupation of Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the continual land grabs, extra-judicial killings, and outright massacres that happen therein.
So the White House issued a statement: "The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume." It's as if 'violence' is what afflicts the peoples of the Middle East. No condemnation for the perpetrators is attached, because we all know who we're not allowed to blame and who we are allowed to blame.[1]
BTW, The death toll for the past three months in the fighting now stands at 305 people. 3? of that 305 are Israelis. Two soldiers killed in the incursion into Occupied Palestinian Territory (isn't that supposed to be a sovereign state by now as per UN 242 and the will of the "international community" [U.S.]?), and one woman killed in Sderot from a falling Qassam -- the first death of its kind in nine months.
On the subject of 71 Palestinian deaths vs. 2 Israeli deaths, PM Olmert pledged that the incursion will continue. As he, and Defense Minister Barak have said in previous days, the deaths resulting from Israeli attacks are actually the fault of Hamas, and those firing Qassam rockets. It seems thus that both will be able to shrug off the deaths, and get over it for the remainder of their courageous invasion. However, if a judgment is every rendered by the World Court, they might not take the massacre with as much bravado.
Similar logic was employed a few days ago by Deputy Defense Minister Vilnai, when he threatened a 'shoah' upon the Gazan people if Qassam fire continues. The word 'shoah' literally means holocaust or disaster, but has in recent history been used solely to refer to THE HOLOCAUST. There was some backpedaling by Mr. Vilnai's PR people, that 'shoah' can be used to mean things other than the big H... But when you say 'shoah', everyone knows what you mean. And it's hypocritical considering how Israel's leaders and their cheerleaders in the U.S. have silenced any comparison between The Holocaust and other genocides as being 'anti-semitic'.
There was much ado about the usage of this no-no word, but that's a sideshow. The real issue is that an Israeli official threatened a holocaust on a people. As the U.N. Charter states: "The threat or the use of force" is a war crime. That's obviously something that neither Israel nor the U.S. has taken very seriously -- the most recent illustration being threats against Iran, which continue even from the leading Democratic Pres. candidates. So nothing new there. But worth considering if you think international laws ought to be applied equally.
Comparisons between Israeli crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and those of the Nazis in East and West Europe have been longstanding. Most recently, the walled in, and besieged Gaza has been called a Warsaw Ghetto. Now that the Nazi analogy has been made by decree from an Israeli official, it seems that the floodgates have opened, and officials from Hamas, Fatah, and Saudi Arabia are now calling this latest incursion on Saturday and Sunday 'a holocaust' in addition to the less inflammatory and legal definition -- which is apt: "war crimes".[2]
The gravity of the most violent days since the beginning of the uprising in 2000 are relatively diminished in U.S. media, obscured by the farcical presidential debates. However, the issue is at the forefront in Israel, and while now it is still small, the peace movement within Israel (or Leftists as they're generally referred to in the press there) are out on the streets. They were protesting in front of the defense ministry in Tel Aviv on Sunday night.
Demonstrators held up signs expressing hope: "[Don't] despair Gaza, we'll end the occupation" and "Don't worry Ehud [Olmert], Bush will be meeting you at The Hague."[3]
1. Just ask Barak Obama, who in January, before Gazans blew up the wall at Rafah, sent the US's UN Ambassador a letter, to veto a resolution to end the siege, because " All of us are concerned about the impact of closed border crossings on Palestinian families. However, we have to understand why Israel is forced to do this... Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians." And his critics say he's not tough on terror. Well I guess they're right, in a way, since he effectively condones Israeli terror against Palestinians.
2. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080302/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazasaudi
3. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3513953,00.html
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Bush calls Lebanon's presence in US's Mediterranean a 'provocative act.'
NYT | Hezbollah Scolds U.S. for Sending Ships Toward Lebanon
U.S./Israel to begin another war with Lebanon shortly.
A look back on the 2006 U.S./Israel invasion of Lebanon:
Nearly All the War Crimes Were Israel's: The Second Lebanon War, A Year Later By JONATHAN COOK 07.16.2007
U.S./Israel to begin another war with Lebanon shortly.
A look back on the 2006 U.S./Israel invasion of Lebanon:
Nearly All the War Crimes Were Israel's: The Second Lebanon War, A Year Later By JONATHAN COOK 07.16.2007
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
More on King
On the 23rd, I wrote a post about the siege of Gaza, Dr. King and social justice movements generally. Tonight, I read an article on Counterpunch titled "Restoring the Anti-War King
." It's a good article, and the author includes excerpts from a speech King made in 1967, "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam."
Here is King comparing the reaction of the media to his views on racism at home versus racism abroad:
." It's a good article, and the author includes excerpts from a speech King made in 1967, "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam."Here is King comparing the reaction of the media to his views on racism at home versus racism abroad:
On The "Noble" Media: "Been a lot of applauding over the last few years. They applauded our total movement; they've applauded me. America and most of its newspapers applauded me in Montgomery. And I stood before thousands of Negroes getting ready to riot when my home was bombed and said, we can't do it this way. They applauded us in the sit-in movementwe non-violently decided to sit in at lunch counters. The applauded us on the Freedom Rides when we accepted blows without retaliation. They praised us in Albany and Birmingham and Selma, Alabama. Oh, the press was so noble in its applause, and so noble in its praise when I was saying, Be non-violent toward Bull Connor; when I was saying, Be non-violent toward [Selma, Alabama segregationist sheriff] Jim Clark. There's something strangely inconsistent about a nation and a press that will praise you when you say, Be non-violent toward Jim Clark, but will curse and damn you when you say, "Be non-violent toward little brown Vietnamese children. There's something wrong with that press!"
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