Israel Attack Humanitarian Ship, 10 men killed

[Zapatista]

A report in todays Irish Times shows that Cavan/ Monaghan Fine Gael TD, Seymour Crayford, intends to speak at a pro-Israeli event on Thursday July 8th. Please contact Seymour and inform him that his actions are unacceptable. Contact him by E-mail seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie or phone his constituency office 047 71911

[Main Street]

International Committee of the Red Cross has released a report calling for Israel to end the blockade

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/13/israel.gaza.closure/index.html?hpt=T2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Some of the report may be disputed, e.g.  how much responsibility a civilian population has for the government they democratically elect. But what can not be disputed is the humanitarian principle of not carrying of war to a civilian population, a principle which existed since the end of WW2, even before the modern state of Israel was born.
The report is timely as Israel are desperate to justify the blockade, having just constituted an "independent" commission to probe
into the flotilla attack and seizure.

[ziggysego]

I couldn't believe it today when I heard Trimble was to oversee the Israeli Enquiry into Israelis murdering 9 humanitarians. The only name that comes to my mind is Widgery.

[tyssam5]

Jon Stewart and the attack on Helen Thomas
There is a reason Jon Stewart has such an intact comedy news throne.

He's well educated, always current, a sharp wit; he's funny, and he's the right religion.

I could care less what religion he or anyone else is, until it starts getting in the way of the human race, which it did in last week's program where he rips into veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas.

It takes comedy down a dreary road in my opinion, when people like Stewart speak in terms so ignorantly offensive to Palestinians, journalists, and all people with half a brain in on-air jobs. But all comedy aside, Stewart is heartless for attacking nine generations of American journalism and history, a person who knew presidents when Stewart was still a baby playing in his poop.

Helen Thomas, the only real voice in her league with the guts and fortitude to tell the truth about what Israel has become; a cruel gatekeeper for a whole population that owned the land Israel now comprises, only 60 years ago.

Jon Stewart obviously believes the line about the "Chosen People who can kill and pillage in the name of God". Israel's military operates like the Nazis' who oppressed them in the 1930s and 1940s and while it isn't socially acceptable to talk about it, it is still being increasingly discussed. The people of Gaza are sniped from Israeli towers, farmers are shot down in their fields. Families are slaughtered by Israel's military while having picnics on the beach.

Jon Stewart is cool with that, it creeps me out.

I have heard Jon Stewart go on about "Iran's nukes" when in fact there is not a shred of evidence that there is any plan there for nuclear weapons; it is against their philosophy and I defy any reader to show me a passage where Iran talks about wanting or planning to have nuclear arms. But Israel has hundreds, and every stinking one is illegal. They refuse to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; illegal and dangerous, that's what Israel is.

So after 60 years, it is still OK, with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, to act like the tragic plight of the Palestinian people is just fine, perfectly OK. Then he has the lack of class to go on and on and on about racism. He's Jewish, so as long as he leaves Arabs out; he's meeting personal goals, and Israeli goals.

He's obviously personally angry that Helen Thomas had the guts to tell a rabbi who asked her thoughts on Israel, "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine" — that is what Helen Thomas said.



Stewart misses the fact that she had the confidence to trust the little racist rabbi; she was telling him the truth, with regard to how she sees it, from an inside perspective in the White House dating back to the earliest years of broadcasting.

Maybe she has a point Jon Stewart, but then you are "cool" with Israeli oppression and the murder of little kids, ooops, I meant "Israel's right to defend itself", and the slaughter in Gaza, oh there I go again, "Operation Cast Lead" (somehow that doesn't sound much better). Then of course it is no big deal to you that Israel uses weapons that are expressly illegal under the Geneva Convention. Jon Stewart is one of the smartest guys around, he has to know, why would he choose to ridicule an American hero for speaking out?

Palestinian kids have to be escorted to school to escape daily violence from "settlers" intent on harming them. Groups like the Christian Peacemakers Team literally has to escort the kids past the radical Jews to simply keep them safe.

Oh wait, that's right, they are "defending themselves" as they attack little boys and girls in the streets.

We reported recently that the settlers are now organizing terror cells, to train in techniques that allow them to more effectively kill Palestinians, and if you actually read the story, and look at the images, you will see little Israeli kids being trained to be terrorists against the indigenous population that these entitlement babies have to steal from.

Oh, and if a settler squats in one of these "settlement" homes for ten years, he gets it for free. Israeli settlers bent on harassing Palestinians look similar in an odd way, to LA gang members; and in a similar way they move in packs, never fighting alone, with no regard for women or children in casting their violence. They are the scourge of Israel's religious lunatic fringe

Stewart's reply to Helen Thomas' statement about how Israelis should give the country back to the Palestinians was predictable, and mostly only understood by fellow Jews...

He said, "Why did the Jews ever leave Germany and Poland?"



Which is a total implication that it is "dangerous" for Jewish people to live in Germany today, and not one Jewish or German friend in recent years has tried to push that story. There are neo-Nazis in the back alleys and all, but you get punished in Germany for displaying a swastika.

He compared her to a racist manifestation of the Sesame Street character, Elmo. Must've had the writers on overtime for that one, eh Jon? Here is the clip that is potentially world changing, which received little fanfare, next to the comment about Israel's occupation of Palestine. What I could do is show pictures of little children intentionally attacked by the Israeli military during their winter siege on Gaza, 2008/2009. Schools were targeted, hospitals were targeted. I will never relinquish an inch in this area, I only regret not being in Palestine right now to aid our brothers and sisters who are starving and under constant daily threat from Israeli "settlers" — friends of Stewart's who are all religious fanatical Zionists intent on clearing all Palestinians from the land, in the name of God of course.

Any real hope for a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict seems far away, though the recent murders of unarmed peace activists aboard the Mavi Marmara in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla are bringing about an end to the blockade, along with the efforts of Egypt and Turkey.

Israel went too far and definitely lost some of their grip, thank goodness for that. US citizen Emily Henochowicz was shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister as she demonstrated against the Flotilla massacre.

Hey Stewart, what about Emily? Do you know who I'm talking about? Right, the Jewish American art student from New York who lost an eye last week when one of your cousins over in Israel shot her at point blank range with a tear gas gun. She didn't die, thank God, but she lost an eye and was really hurt badly.

Cool with you Jon Stewart?

No mention of her in the Helen Thomas piece, why not?

Some Jewish people, like Emily, are the best people in the world, like Muslims, and Christians, and Buddhists, but you don't have some damned right to stand in judgment of someone like Helen Thomas, you're totally a punk next to her and you will never be her, because you chose to be a joke maker instead of a serious journalist, whatever.

Israeli people write every day in comments and to my e-mail address, asking why I don't tell the other side of the story. My immediate answer is that there is only one truth; one group is suffering and one group is benefiting, and that group is clearly Israel.

But what is Israel? There is no easy answer, the best one is that it is not Israel, it is Palestine.



— Tim King is a former US Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Posted by
TIM KING | ARAB NEWS
Jun 13, 2010 22:33

I must check that program out. Funny article though, not to include any quotes from Stewart?

[mylestheslasher]

A report in todays Irish Times shows that Cavan/ Monaghan Fine Gael TD, Seymour Crayford, intends to speak at a pro-Israeli event on Thursday July 8th. Please contact Seymour and inform him that his actions are unacceptable. Contact him by E-mail seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie or phone his constituency office 047 71911

Does it surprise you what these FG tosspots would do - not me. Thats why no matter how much I'd like to vote FG to get rid of FF I just could not bring myself to vote for them. Crayford and Shatter are a pair of pricks.

[Zapatista]

A report in todays Irish Times shows that Cavan/ Monaghan Fine Gael TD, Seymour Crayford, intends to speak at a pro-Israeli event on Thursday July 8th. Please contact Seymour and inform him that his actions are unacceptable. Contact him by E-mail seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie or phone his constituency office 047 71911

Does it surprise you what these FG tosspots would do - not me. Thats why no matter how much I'd like to vote FG to get rid of FF I just could not bring myself to vote for them. Crayford and Shatter are a pair of pricks.

I get ye and agree that FG are nut jobs but to be fair it is FF in Government and it is up to them to act. They have failed miserably in their approach to Israel. One is as bad as the other imho.

[Hardy]

A report in todays Irish Times shows that Cavan/ Monaghan Fine Gael TD, Seymour Crayford, intends to speak at a pro-Israeli event on Thursday July 8th. Please contact Seymour and inform him that his actions are unacceptable. Contact him by E-mail seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie or phone his constituency office 047 71911

Why are his actions unacceptable?  It's a free country. Do you really believe it would be serving any cause to try to silence free speech just because we disagree with the speaker? If you do, you scare the shit out of me.

Let him speak and address what he says. If you believe his views shouldn't be expressed, you should be prepared to say who should decide what can be said by whom.

Where did you stand on Section 31?

[Zapatista]

Fair enough, wrong choice of word. I should have said that it should be accepted lying down.

[dowling]

Folks, all the best for now, as there is no way i'm going to participate one minute longer on this board as long as a sc**bag with an Irish flag, and the word Tyrone beside it continues to personally attack me.

The moderators are not interested in moderating, so what is the point in continuing.

Good luck all.

I would urge you to reconsider. I don't usually comment on these threads but I would follow some of them, particularly this one as I'm sure many others do. I applaud you for taking the time to pass on the important information you do on this board. And it's a great idea to use this forum as a means of getting across what's happening around Gazza. Of course there will be those with bitter minds or an ignorance of what's going on but in spite of these one or two hardcore opponents I've no doubt there are others who now have a greater appreciation of everything that has been going on. This forum isn't a world stage but getting across the message of the plight of the Palastinian people even through this medium is doing something that is helpful.
So again Dixie reconsider. Refrain from exchanges from those hardcore but keep the information coming and one light shining on Israel's activitie

[glens abu]

A report in todays Irish Times shows that Cavan/ Monaghan Fine Gael TD, Seymour Crayford, intends to speak at a pro-Israeli event on Thursday July 8th. Please contact Seymour and inform him that his actions are unacceptable. Contact him by E-mail seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie or phone his constituency office 047 71911

Why are his actions unacceptable?  It's a free country. Do you really believe it would be serving any cause to try to silence free speech just because we disagree with the speaker? If you do, you scare the shit out of me.

Let him speak and address what he says. If you believe his views shouldn't be expressed, you should be prepared to say who should decide what can be said by whom.

Where did you stand on Section 31?

Where did you stand on it Hardy

[Hardy]

I thought it was stupid. Why do you ask?

[Main Street]

  I don't see what the problem is with members of Friends of Israel from meeting and giving their viewpoints. The lines are marked to their support for the rights of Israel to exist, to exist free from attack, the threat of attack and defend itself from both. Quite basic stuff unless you disagree with Israels' right to exist like some of israel's rabid neighbouring fanatic leaders.
Certainly lines would be crossed if the Friends of Israel was used as a platform to support Israels' blockade of Gazza,.

The horse has already bolted regards the justification for the continuation of the blockade. This "independent" commission appears to be composed of people with similar leanings. Not only that, the scope of the tribunal is probably within very strictly defined, legalistic parameters. In the end, they might only give their opinion as to whether the boarding and seizure of the flotilla ships was in accordance with maritime law, which is not at all the major concern of humanitarians.

[Hardy]

Anybody any thoughts on the supposedly impending Blair-brokered agreement to row back on the blockade? Can the flotilla organisers claim the credit for this and will it be a fitting legacy for the people killed on it?

Will the pro-Hamas hardliners dismiss it as window dressing? (Silly question. Of course they will). Will Hamas find a way to subvert the initiative and get the full-blown version reinstated, as their propaganda machine will be spiked without it?

Will the pro-Israeli hardliners and the Israeli right try to foment an incident to subvert the initiative and get the full-blown version reinstated? Of course they will.

For the rational majority, those who want a settlement rather than a victory, is this a significant step?

[glens abu]

I thought it was stupid. Why do you ask?

just curious,so it would only be stupid to ban Crayford from speaking at the pro-Isreali event

[Hardy]

How do you draw that conclusion?