Massive demonstrations have taken place all over the UK against the continuing massacre in Gaza. There appears for the last three decades, to be a massive gulf between the attitude of the population of the United Kingdom towards the continuing genocide of the Palestinians, and the attitude of the political class across all mainstream political parties.
The divorce of the political class from the people – commonly referred to in the media as the decline of trust, as though it were the people’s fault – has been a huge phenomenon of recent times. In the case of the vocal and unreserved support of the political class for Zionism, it really does seem to be as simple as the constant pumping of pro-Zionist money to the politicians. Actually, this makes it a useful marker for how the entire rotten system works.
OldMark
I think Kerry was being sarcastic – he didn’t intend to be heard.
Nevermind Thanks.
Here’s the shit.
Tony Blair is tracked down in London by @MichaelLCrick, who asks him why he isn’t in the Middle East #Gaza http://bit.ly/1mwBZbz #c4news
http://www.channel4.com/news/tony-blair-in-london-michael-crick-gaza-labour-20th
~~
Should Blair make speeches in London as Gaza burns?
In a speech on the 20th anniversary of his becoming Labour leader, Tony Blair devotes half a minute to the situation in Gaza. We asked if London is the place for the Middle East quartet envoy to be?
Mr Blair told an audience of the New Labour pressure group Progress that he was “saddened and angry about the tragedy of the Gaza conflict”.
The former prime minister, derided by some for leading the UK into the Iraq war, described how hundreds of Palestinians, including children, had lost their lives in “this nightmare” and said he had witnessed the ongoing “fear and insecurity” of people in Israel “who still see their right to exist under challenge”.
Mr Blair, the Middle East representative for the Quartet (United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia), spoke for 31 seconds about the conflict in the 25-minute Philip Gould lecture.
Channel 4 News asked followers on Facebook and Twitter if they thought the Middle East envoy should be in London at a time when violent clashes in Gaza are escalating and the death toll has risen above 500.
http://www.channel4.com/news/tony-blair-middle-east-speech-london-gaza-live-video
The End of Israel
by Gilad Atzmon / July 21st, 2014
In his speech to the nation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged yesterday that the war on Gaza is a battle for the existence of the Jewish State. Netanyahu is correct. And Israel cannot win this battle; it cannot even define what a victory might entail. Surely the battle is not about the tunnels or the militants’ underground operation, the tunnels are just weapons of resistance rather than the resistance itself. The Hamas and Gaza militants lured Israel into a battle zone in which it could never succeed and Hamas set the conditions, chose the ground and has written the terms required to conclude this cycle of violence.
For ten days Netanyahu did all he could to prevent an IDF ground operation. He was facing the reality that Israel lacks a military answer to Palestinian resistance. Netanyahu knew that a defeat on the ground would eradicate the little that remains of IDF’s power of deterrence.
Five days ago, Israel, at least in the eyes of its supporters, held the upper ground. It saw it citizens subject to an endless barrage of rockets, yet it showed relative restraint, killing Palestinian civilians only from afar, which served to convey an imaginary image of strength. But that has changed rapidly since Israel launched its ground operation. Israel is now, once again, involved in colossal war crimes against a civilian population and worse, at least strategically, its elite infantry commandos are being eradicated in a face-to-face street battle in Gaza. In spite of clear Israeli technological superiority and firepower, the Palestinian militants are winning the battle on the ground and they have even managed to move the battle to Israeli territory. In addition, the barrage of rockets on Tel Aviv doesn’t seem to stop.
IDF’s defeat in Gaza leaves the Jewish State with no hope. The moral is simple. If you insist on living on someone else’s land, military might is an essential ingredient to discourage the dispossessed from acting to reclaim their rights. The level of IDF casualties and the number of bodies of Israeli elite soldiers returning home in coffins send a clear message to both Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli military superiority belongs to the past. There is no future for the Jews-only-State in Palestine; they may have to try somewhere else.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/07/the-end-of-israel/
~~~~~
Gilad Atzmon, now living in London, was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He is the author of The Wandering Who and one of the most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Read other articles by Gilad, or visit Gilad’s website.
I notice that no one is joining in with my call of yesterday to give credit and support to Mahmood Abbas in his attempt to broker a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas – since this seems to be the only show in town aimed at stopping the undoubted suffering of Palestinians in Gaza it does rather speak volumes of many commenters here.
You can actually watch them write new lines for the puppets to say as the old ones get discredited. Here’s the newest bullshit from Paul Kahn, that greasy dripping blivet of Zionazi cant at Harold Koh’s disgraced haunt, Yale.
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/gaza-ukraine-internationallawwarcivilians.html
Kahn recites the US Juche: IHL don’t work. His latest hail-mary rationale: it fails to accommodate armed conflicts not of an international character. His reason is that modern warfare is just too complicated. Kahn conceals the one big reason why IHL doesn’t work in Gaza: the US and Israel will fight to the death to ensure that it does not apply. And why do they try to make sure it won’t apply? Because the civil/military command structure don’t want to take their medicine. Because they’re scared of getting locked up. See? That is how laws work!
Apply Kahn’s logic to Joe Blow crimes like pedophilia. Then Michael Jackson proves NAMBLA is right. Power asymmetry voids law. No, dipshit, law voids crimes of asymmetrical power.
“The law cannot tell us which people should be states or where to draw the boundaries between states.” So… wait for it… politicians have to do it! Pitch-perfect top-down US statism. And wrong, if not illiterate. By law, peoples have the right to self-determination under democratic standards established by law (ICCPR Article 25). US statists can’t handle that because the US doesn’t adhere to those democratic standards and it never did. When did US politics ever guarantee the free expression of the will of the electors? US politics is built to ensure that the will of the electors is restricted two irrelevant state-authorized forced choices – so the US, or Israel, cannot take its natural course, and break up.
Lots more reeking bullshit at the link.
I notice that no one is joining in with my call of yesterday to give credit and support to Mahmood Abbas in his attempt to broker a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas…
For me it goes without saying, but glad to say it anyway. But he’s not on his own, and he’s currently in or on his way to Qatar to try and narrow the gap between Fatah and Hamas on an Egyptian proposal. This requires that the (Fatah) PA undertake controls on the Rafah crossing as a condition of opening it: craftily inserting the Israel-compliant PA in place of Hamas. Hamas’s objection to this, in realpolitik terms, is a foregone conclusion; the initiative is designed to fail. Ban Ki-Moon and John Kerry are currently in Cairo – the latter will be, however reluctantly, widening the gap between Hamas and Fatah, in line with US-Israel co-operation, and Turkey is also involved.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10981722/Kerry-to-lead-new-Gaza-ceasefire-talks-as-death-toll-tops-500.html
True words here from Lenny Lapon –
On October 19, 2010 my plane landed in Israel and instantaneously I was awarded Israeli citizenship with identification card # 012706735, solely because I am Jewish. Through reflection and study I have come to realize that this act was a travesty of justice. There are several million Palestinians and their descendants who cannot enter and/or live and move freely in their native historical homeland.
For several decades I believed, as most Jews do, that the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel was an answer to the Nazi Holocaust and other persecutions of Jews through the centuries, such as the Russian pogroms, the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. However, none of these atrocities were carried out by Palestinians and none of them justify the atrocities and other injustices perpetrated upon the Palestinian people by the Zionist Movement and the State of Israel for over a century. I am referring to the racist colonization of Palestine, the Nakba/Catastrophe of 1948 whereby the establishment of Israel as a state was accompanied by the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian Arab villages, massacres of thousands of men, women and children and the forced exile of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland. Subsequently Israel has embarked upon an aggressive, Nazi-like expansion and a brutal, inhuman, military occupation of nearly half a century.
As a serious student of the Nazi Holocaust, I can only be horrified at the disgrace that the State of Israel and its Jewish supporters continue to bring upon the memory of Jewish Holocaust victims. It’s a moral abomination to emulate Nazi tactics in the name of the Jewish people and their alleged security: cowardly massive bombings and slaughter of civilian populations who have no air force to protect them, collective punishment and torture, mass incarcerations, destruction of thousands of homes, and the vicious blockade and ghettoization of Gaza.
Israel is not becoming an apartheid state—it already is one with separate and unequal laws and policing for its Jewish citizens on one hand and for its non-Jewish, mostly Arab citizens and victims of the occupation on the other hand.
It is with a newfound clarity of thinking and analyzing a very emotional tragedy that I have thrown off the shackles of Zionist propaganda and am proudly and publicly renouncing my Israeli citizenship effective immediately. At the same time I denounce the ongoing colonial oppression of the Palestinian people, a terrible injustice that is greatly facilitated by US tax dollars supporting the vast Israeli military machine. I also encourage other Jews to educate themselves and to stand on the side of the oppressed.
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/renouncing-israeli-citizenship.html
http://world.einnews.com/article/214862600/oIXX77EMqQJ8bpd9
Blair breaks silence on Gaza, not
Turbolol.
BrianFujisan
Thanks for the video upload I will pass it on to some of the lads. bbc were left in no doubt that; we know hey are pulling wool over our eyes, and shame on them for that!
Sofia,
Thanks for the lessons, good job you are indexing them.
Who invented, who manufactures and who sells these flechette nail dart bombs, and where else have they been used and by whom?
Gilad Atzmon is correct. They cannot ‘win’. More Israeli military deaths overnight.
ZBC have sent the stooge John Simpson to Sderot. Wailing and knashing of teeth at an Israeli military funeral was shown. Then he spoke to Zippi (Tzipi Livni) whom he described as the ‘most dovish’ of Israeli politicians!!!! Really Mr Simpson?
A very pleasant interior of an Israeli home with a damaged ceiling was shown. He also showed an Israeli film of Hamas men emerging from a tunnel and told us that all 10 were killed. Satisfaction there. Then we were shown the interior of the tunnel. He praised its sophisticated construction. As we could see, it’s still all about the tunnels.
His plummy tones, slow delivery and his war weariness add gravitas to the message.
A more outrageous piece of Israeli propaganda could not have been produced.
In sharp contrast, Lyce Doucet showed the wrecked hovels and blasted hospitals in Gaza.Two patients were killed in their beds and the hand of a nurse who was assisting in an operating theatre was amputated by an Israeli weapon. There is no water or electricity.
Gaza crisis: Shejaiya assault defines grimmest day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28399287
‘Early on Tuesday, Israel announced that two more members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been killed, taking the number of soldiers killed in fighting to 27. Two civilians have also died.
Monday’s attacks across Gaza killed at least 56 people including 16 children, Gazan health officials said, with the Palestinian death toll now at more than 560.’
Gaza conflict: Diplomats push for ceasefire
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28413656
Fool
On flechettes. A pretty name for an evil little weapon.
http://www.theguardian.com/graphic/0,,2274464,00.html
Israel-Gaza conflict: Deadly flechette shells ‘used by Israeli military in Gaza Strip’ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-conflict-israeli-military-using-flechette-rounds-in-gaza-strip-9617480.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flechette
http://www.theguardian.com/graphic/0,,2274464,00.html Repeating as broken link above.
Sorry it won’t copy.
Click on the link at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.
External links
How flechettes work The Guardian newspaper.
Radio 4s PM (I only have radio) had a former American ambassadeur on yesterday – which is typical of the sort of expert they consult. A westerner. Someone steeped in the Hamas as terrorists narrative, rather than as resistance movement. In his case a long-time member of the establishment in Israel’s most supportive country. Presented as some kind of impartial expert… telling us without challenge… how Hamas are the problem….
BBC Gaza
July 21, 2014
By Jonathon Shafi
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2014/07/21/bbc-gaza/
‘This is more than disgraceful. And it is not bias. It is a lie, plain and simple. It is misinformation of the worst sort, and it is an insult to journalism. It is an insult to the communities who pooled their resources to organise the demonstration. It is an insult to every single person who attended the demonstration. Yet it is worse than an insult. It is politically calculated. It is a deliberate and it cannot be anything else. The only other possibility is that the level of journalism is now so low within the BBC that even elementary principles of reportage are not being met.
But that would be letting them off lightly. In truth, the BBC are tail spinning into decline for a reason: they are closing ranks with an establishment in crisis. We have a chance to expel that establishment in September. And after that the opportunity to replace the BBC with a public broadcaster, worthy of the people it is meant to inform.’
Anas Sarwar – Never rebels. Zero votes out of 692. A strong signature of a career crawler… no disagreement with the leadership on anything…
http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40271#divisions
turbolol, Baal? you had me in stitches. I can’t bear of thinking of the chance Crick had that moment…..
Ba’al Zevul That article you linked to on Blair and Gaza
“Hamas regime has never had much time for Blair. They’ve always been suspicious of his close ties and backing for Israel. ”
Total inversion of what’s going on. Blair won’t talk to Hamas because the Israelis tell him not to. He’ll give the IRA comfort letters… but he won’t talk to Hamas. Even though he’s the supposed peace envoy (despite being one of the region’s chief warmongers). You would think talking to Hamas would be an essential part of that… but no…
Ellman referred to ‘terrrrr tunnels’ in yesterday’s HoC session. She did a BOGOF by doubling up. Clever ploy by Agent Cameron to conflate Ukraine and Gaza. He is not as stupid as he looks.
Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op): Does the outrage in Ukraine call for a speedy review of the international rules on the safety of flying over conflict zones? Does the much-needed call for a ceasefire in Gaza include a call for the end of Hamas’s terror tunnels and does the Prime Minister agree that they, too, are a war crime?
The Prime Minister: I strongly agree with what the hon. Lady has just said about Hamas, as I mentioned a few moments ago. In terms of the rules governing which airline should fly on which routes, I have asked the Secretary of State for Transport to consider the issue carefully. Eurocontrol is the organisation that sets out the parameters for European flights and obviously airlines themselves have to choose whether to continue with those flights. We are going to look very carefully at whether more needs to be done in this area.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140721/debtext/140721-0001.htm
The phrase has now been taken up by BiBiC.
Gaza ‘terror tunnels’ – in 60 secs Watch01:00 Video
Middle East crisis: Israel releases ‘Gaza tunnel footage’
21 July 2014
Israel sent ground troops into Gaza on Thursday, saying the ground operation is necessary to target Hamas’ network of tunnels.
It has stated the tunnels pose a threat of terrorist attacks against the Israeli population.
Israel said it had killed more than 170 militants since Thursday night, when it launched the offensive.
Air strikes are also continuing, with the Palestinian death toll reportedly nearing 600, the majority of them civilians.
The BBC looks at Israel Defense Forces footage from the operation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28403116
The UK and America’s interest in Israel’s existance is money loundering.
Israel sends money to the election campaigns of politicions. These Politicions send money and business deals to Israel. And the circle goes round and round.
Mary,
I am confused by your attack on the ‘ZBC’ and John Simpson. If the news report had only shown the Israeli perspective then I would agree with your criticism. However, due to the fact you follow up those comments by praising Lyce Doucet’s piece from Gaza it sounds as though the BBC have got the balance right. I know you don’t have any consideration for the Israeli’s but there are two sides to every story. It is also relevant to consider and report on the rocket attacks when they are used as justification to bomb and shell Gaza.
And before the usual smears are posted, I am not defending Israel or the great ‘Zionist conspiracy’ by asking a question of Mary.
which website give honest information?
No sign of Bibi accepting any words of Ban Ki Moon. He is sounding off now as the two stand alongside in Tel Aviv. Bibi was looking daggers.
Israel Lobby Tries (and fails) to Intimidate Another UK MP
By Stuart Littlewood on July 16, 2013
Here we go again.
On 8 July British MP ‘Battling’ Bob Russell was speaking during a House of Commons debate on the national curriculum in schools.
/..
http://truthaholics.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/israel-lobby-tries-and-fails-to-intimidate-another-uk-mp/
The UK arms trade.
How Britain profits from the attack on Gaza
By Ian Dunt Tuesday, 22 July 2014
A Palestinian boy sits on the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli air strike earlier today. Air strikes killed at least seven people in Gaza, including five members of the same family, an emergency services spokesman said. members of the same family, an emergency services spokesman said.
The video emerged on Monday. It appears to show a man searching for his family amid the rubble of Gaza, apparently during a ceasefire. He is shot by a sniper. For a while he lies there, moving awkwardly. Then he is shot again.
/..
http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2014/07/22/how-britain-profits-from-the-attack-on-gaza
The political history of Gaza. The Israeli cruelty and oppression is in the collective memory of the Palestinians who have survived.
Gaza’s Resistance Will Not be Crushed
by Ramzy Baroud / July 22nd, 2014
On the 13th day of Israel’s so-called Operation Protective Edge, stories of entire families collectively pulverized, women and children keenly targeted by Israeli soldiers, saturate the media.
/..
http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/07/gazas-resistance-will-not-be-crushed/
In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians!
Gaza. Gaza. Don’t you cry, we will never let you die!
From the river to the sea, Palestine WILL be free!
The Zionist troughers/supporters in the HoC are after David Ward again.
http://news.sky.com/story/1305866/lib-dem-mps-twitter-row-over-israel-comments
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28424396
(So important and apart from any real news from Gaza, the BBC have that above under ‘breaking news’)
Cleggover admonishes him. More corrective treatment is called for.
The chairman of the Cons, Grant Shapps, the one whose youth was spent in the B’nai B’rith movement and who used the alias Michael Green to run a business, joins in.
Are they not a vile bunch?
Stuart Littlewood’s previous articles about the persecution of David Ward by his partei.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2013/01/31/the-curious-case-of-david-wards-scalp/
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2013/07/uk-mp-and-israel-critic-david-ward-is-suspended-from-party/
Absolutely nothing on Shapps’ Twitter about the war crimes of his motherland.
https://twitter.com/grantshapps
and nothing on that of the political puff of air Clegg about Gaza or the entity known as Israel…cooking, what he’s wearing and pics from the GIRL summit.
https://twitter.com/nick_clegg
Abandon hope anyone who thought we had political parties or leaders.