We have heard about these tunnels. All we hear is that masses of weapons are smuggled through them. As usual, we only hear one side of the story from the world wide main stream media which seems to have been completely brainwashed by Israeli interests.
The tunnels are an amazing sign of resiliency and act of resistance given the never-ending blockade and siege on gaza. Mohammed Omer reports:
Tunnel owners earn $300 for each 100 pounds of goods smuggled in. (Smuggling animals for Gaza’s zoo can net up to $3,000 each!) With this revenue Abu Khaled supports 20 workers: diggers who do the dirty work, and runners who transport the goods.
As he separates bags of smuggled goods for distribution throughout the Strip, Abu Khaled points to his jeans. “These jeans I am wearing cost Egyptian pounds ($11), including the [Egyptian] merchant’s profit,” he explains, “but now I can sell them for 120 Israeli shekels ($34).”
Not only jeans, but shoes and underwear are brought through the tunnels and resold at high mark-ups. In addition, Abu Khaled notes, “We get medicine, gasoline, food, dried milk and monocycles” through the tunnels—which also serve as the conduit for sending money to merchants in Egypt to pay for the goods smuggled back into Gaza.
Islam frowns upon alcohol and drug use, although pharmaceuticals—even Viagra—continue to be smuggled in. According to Abu Khaled, Hamas police “control what we get in. Weapons and drugs are prohibited.” Rafah municipal officials confirm that they regulate tunnel operations, which they classify as an “investment project.”
In a society where the average family lives on $2 a day or less, tunnel work is a way out of poverty and a means to feed one’s family. Nader, a 20-year-old tunnel digger, admits he can make between $80 and $110 a day. “It depends on how many feet I dig in the ground,” the young man explains, adding that he usually spends 12 hours a day digging underground, in poorly ventilated conditions.
With the border crossing at Rafah now sealed again, people who want kathy kelly imagines what would happen if americans had to send its weapons of mass destruction to the zionist entity through a tunnel:
With the border crossing at Rafah now sealed again, people who want to obtain food, fuel, water, construction supplies and goods needed for everyday life will have to increasingly rely on the damaged tunnel industry to import these items from the Egyptian side of the border. Israel’s government says that Hamas could use the tunnels to import weapons, and weapons could kill innocent civilians, so the Israeli military has no choice but to bomb the neighborhood built up along the border, as they have been doing.
Suppose that the US weapon makers had to use a tunnel to deliver weapons to Israel.
The US would have to build a mighty big tunnel to accommodate the weapons that Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar have supplied to Israel. The size of such a tunnel would be an eighth wonder of the world, a Grand Canyon of a tunnel, an engineering feat of the ages.
Think of what would have to come through.
Imagine Boeing’s shipments to Israel traveling through an enormous underground tunnel, large enough to accommodate the wingspans of planes, sturdy enough to allow passage of trucks laden with missiles. According to the UK’s Indymedia Corporate Watch, 2009, Boeing has sent Israel 18 AH-64D Apache Longbow fighter helicopters, 63 Boeing F-15 Eagle fighter planes, 102 Boeing F-16 fighter planes, 42 Boeing AH-64 Apache fighter helicopters, F-16 Peace Marble II and III Aircraft, four Boeing 777s, and Arrow II interceptors, plus Israel Aircraft Industries-developed Arrow missiles, and Boeing AGM-114 D Longbow Hellfire missiles.
In September of last year, the US government approved the sale of 1,000 Boeing GBU-9 small diameter bombs to Israel, in a deal valued at up to $77 million.
Now that Israel has dropped so many of those bombs on Gaza, Boeing shareholders can count on more sales, more profits, if Israel buys new bombs from them. Perhaps there are more massacres in store. It would be important to maintain the tunnel carefully.
Raytheon, one of the largest US arms manufacturers, with annual revenues of around $20 billion, is one of Israel’s main suppliers of weapons. In September last year, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved the sale of Raytheon kits to upgrade Israel’s Patriot missile system at a cost of $164 million. Raytheon would also use the tunnel to bring in Bunker Buster bombs as well as Tomahawk and Patriot missiles.
Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest defense contractor by revenue, with reported sales in 2008 of $42.7 billion. Lockheed Martin’s products include the Hellfire precision-guided missile system, which has reportedly been used in the recent Gaza attacks. Israel also possesses 350 F-16 jets, some purchased from Lockheed Martin. Think of them coming through the largest tunnel in the world.
Maybe Caterpillar Inc. could help build such a tunnel. Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of construction (and destruction) equipment, with more than $30 billion in assets, holds Israel’s sole contract for the production of the D9 military bulldozer, specifically designed for use in invasions of built-up areas. The US government buys Caterpillar bulldozers and sends them to the Israeli army as part of its annual foreign military assistance package. Such sales are governed by the US Arms Export Control Act, which limits the use of US military aid to “internal security” and “legitimate self defense” and prohibits its use against civilians.
Israel topples family houses with these bulldozers to make room for settlements. All too often, they topple them on the families inside. American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death standing between one of these bulldozers and a Palestinian doctor’s house in 2003.
yes, caterpillar. that company that barack obama–that president of change for koolaid drinkers out there–visited last week:
Over the objections of church groups, peace organizations and human rights activists, President Barack Obama decided to return to Illinois to visit the headquarters of the Caterpillar company, which for many years has violated international law, U.S. law and its own code of conduct in selling its D9 and D10 bulldozers to Israel.
In his speech on Thursday, Obama praised Caterpillar, saying “Your machines plow the farms that feed our families; build the towers that shape our skylines; lay the roads that connect our communities; power the trucks that deliver our goods.” He failed to mention that Caterpillar machines have been used to level homes, uproot olive orchards, build the illegal separation wall and, in some cases, kill innocent civilians, including a 23-year old American peace activist.
Thanks to Marcy Newman at: http://www.bodyontheline.wordpress.com/
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Once in a Lifetime You May Read Something This Rare and Beautiful
A stunningly honest and beautiful love and war poem by Natalie Abou Shakra. She is a 21 year old woman who writes from the rubble of Gaza.
"The Struggle Within Me".
It is a curve, a curvy path. From the very top, till the very bottom. You can trace it with a light touch, from the inclined neck, down to the sensitive nape, around the curve of a yearning breast, around the erecting nipple. The waist moves for your hands to tighten their grip and motion you closer. The line of the hip seduces your tongue to taste its prolonged solitude, in dire need of the warm, damp of the salivary liquid you leave as you go further below. The thighs expand their distance, awaiting a touch, in between a distant cave, that had once existed, now forgotten- Bomb! We all fall down to the ground… a reverie of a longing sensuality broken. Your body does not belong to you any longer. Your sex has suddenly disappeared. You no longer are man, or woman; you are an object subliming in fright, rigidity, terror, trauma, disgust, and anxiety. Love under the bombs? What an alluring, distant broken dream…
Twenty two days, and the coming ones hold more savagery to your body than ever before. The body of Gaza has been barbarically violated, raped. To the images of slaughtering and torn human flesh you awake, you arise, and to the anxiety that you are next, you dwell. Your body, your sex, your self, you lose in the oblivion of an existence you once lived.
I open the tap for warm water, and nothing pours down. I smell of sweat, and a week of non-cleaned flesh, but the yearning for a touch, is left intact despite it all. My hair, too oily to be stroked gently, tangled and shaggy. I am clad in an attire of loose cloths, the only ones I could find, untouched by any other dirt, than that on my body. It removes any form, or curve my figure reveals. I tie the long hair around in several trials to the back. Its length no longer shows. Despite the continuous vibrations of the shelling, shaking the building I am, I struggle to place my kohl. I resist with all my might, "the day shall not rise without the kohl," I jokingly tell myself. "I placed nail polish on," the lady I live with tells me. "I want my spirits uplifted. I cannot take it anymore," she confides in me. She remained home during the twenty two days of death and terror that have not ended yet, now that trauma and shock have replaced them. She is married and has a seven year old boy dependent on her life and wellbeing. I am an activist dedicated to a cause and struggle. I do not stay home. I shall not die home.
The house, without tap water, is a haven of unwashed dishes, smelly bathrooms, and dirty laundry. Nevertheless, it is a roof atop our heads, despite all the broken windows of our house. My host family consists of three individuals, the child and his parents, and now myself. We shared a vacant room, of which we placed a mattress that can support us against the cold of the floor, of which to sleep on during the sleepless nights. There is no privacy to the self, no moment to live to touch yourself, to feel that there is still a body that yearns within you, that sends shocks of vibrations, other than those of the shelling, that cause you to smile, to feel, to climax.
Outside, every man becomes a potential prospect to your loneliness; a companion that can soothe the hunger; the hunger for a loving touch, and the thirst; the thirst for sentimental unity, and the flowing of emotions. 'Do I still look like a woman?' I ask myself in the empty streets as I walk alone, in a ghost town, with no lights, no electricity to lift the shadow of darkness that has fallen against a million and a half bodies of a land. 'Can I break a taboo or two? Do I have a right to against these circumstances?' I question the desperate, yearning soul in the human being of me.
Eyes lock with the pedestrians as I move towards my destination. It is still a long walk towards where I am supposed to be. The shelling continues, and the darkness is broken from the White Phosphorous the Israeli Occupation Forces light our skies with. During the day, darkness dwells reflecting the sun rays, as a result of the constant bombings and dark smoke that arises. Our days become nights, and nights turn to day. I fear for my health, as we all do, against the chemicals used. Can we be future cancer victims? How will my body respond to this present in case it has a future to live?
I struggle with myself to resist an occupation and all its influences. I struggle with a body, with no weapon. I struggle to smile, to laugh, to sing, to dance… to live my days as if there is no grander might that can remove my physical self from this being. I struggle to defy death, the killing machine, the loneliness, the fatigue of emotions and sentiments, the extinction of entertainment, the sadness of tales, of unjust facades of an absurd reality. I struggle for a rose, in a black field of death. I struggle for a crimson reality other than that of blood. I struggle for unity against division. I struggle to defy insecurity and its all resulting fragmentations. I struggle to listen to a tune, to touch a man. I struggle and struggle with all that I can, to live the last moments, as if they were the only ones in my life, to allow myself the non-existent pleasures of an already shortened life span.
Gaza the spark of burning coal onto the ears of forgetfulness; Gaza, now the liberating torch against all the evils of occupation, oppression, repression, colonialism and silence; Gaza, the struggle of the politics of identity and the right to self-determination, of a people, of a body, of every child, man and woman.
Natalie
"The Struggle Within Me".
It is a curve, a curvy path. From the very top, till the very bottom. You can trace it with a light touch, from the inclined neck, down to the sensitive nape, around the curve of a yearning breast, around the erecting nipple. The waist moves for your hands to tighten their grip and motion you closer. The line of the hip seduces your tongue to taste its prolonged solitude, in dire need of the warm, damp of the salivary liquid you leave as you go further below. The thighs expand their distance, awaiting a touch, in between a distant cave, that had once existed, now forgotten- Bomb! We all fall down to the ground… a reverie of a longing sensuality broken. Your body does not belong to you any longer. Your sex has suddenly disappeared. You no longer are man, or woman; you are an object subliming in fright, rigidity, terror, trauma, disgust, and anxiety. Love under the bombs? What an alluring, distant broken dream…
Twenty two days, and the coming ones hold more savagery to your body than ever before. The body of Gaza has been barbarically violated, raped. To the images of slaughtering and torn human flesh you awake, you arise, and to the anxiety that you are next, you dwell. Your body, your sex, your self, you lose in the oblivion of an existence you once lived.
I open the tap for warm water, and nothing pours down. I smell of sweat, and a week of non-cleaned flesh, but the yearning for a touch, is left intact despite it all. My hair, too oily to be stroked gently, tangled and shaggy. I am clad in an attire of loose cloths, the only ones I could find, untouched by any other dirt, than that on my body. It removes any form, or curve my figure reveals. I tie the long hair around in several trials to the back. Its length no longer shows. Despite the continuous vibrations of the shelling, shaking the building I am, I struggle to place my kohl. I resist with all my might, "the day shall not rise without the kohl," I jokingly tell myself. "I placed nail polish on," the lady I live with tells me. "I want my spirits uplifted. I cannot take it anymore," she confides in me. She remained home during the twenty two days of death and terror that have not ended yet, now that trauma and shock have replaced them. She is married and has a seven year old boy dependent on her life and wellbeing. I am an activist dedicated to a cause and struggle. I do not stay home. I shall not die home.
The house, without tap water, is a haven of unwashed dishes, smelly bathrooms, and dirty laundry. Nevertheless, it is a roof atop our heads, despite all the broken windows of our house. My host family consists of three individuals, the child and his parents, and now myself. We shared a vacant room, of which we placed a mattress that can support us against the cold of the floor, of which to sleep on during the sleepless nights. There is no privacy to the self, no moment to live to touch yourself, to feel that there is still a body that yearns within you, that sends shocks of vibrations, other than those of the shelling, that cause you to smile, to feel, to climax.
Outside, every man becomes a potential prospect to your loneliness; a companion that can soothe the hunger; the hunger for a loving touch, and the thirst; the thirst for sentimental unity, and the flowing of emotions. 'Do I still look like a woman?' I ask myself in the empty streets as I walk alone, in a ghost town, with no lights, no electricity to lift the shadow of darkness that has fallen against a million and a half bodies of a land. 'Can I break a taboo or two? Do I have a right to against these circumstances?' I question the desperate, yearning soul in the human being of me.
Eyes lock with the pedestrians as I move towards my destination. It is still a long walk towards where I am supposed to be. The shelling continues, and the darkness is broken from the White Phosphorous the Israeli Occupation Forces light our skies with. During the day, darkness dwells reflecting the sun rays, as a result of the constant bombings and dark smoke that arises. Our days become nights, and nights turn to day. I fear for my health, as we all do, against the chemicals used. Can we be future cancer victims? How will my body respond to this present in case it has a future to live?
I struggle with myself to resist an occupation and all its influences. I struggle with a body, with no weapon. I struggle to smile, to laugh, to sing, to dance… to live my days as if there is no grander might that can remove my physical self from this being. I struggle to defy death, the killing machine, the loneliness, the fatigue of emotions and sentiments, the extinction of entertainment, the sadness of tales, of unjust facades of an absurd reality. I struggle for a rose, in a black field of death. I struggle for a crimson reality other than that of blood. I struggle for unity against division. I struggle to defy insecurity and its all resulting fragmentations. I struggle to listen to a tune, to touch a man. I struggle and struggle with all that I can, to live the last moments, as if they were the only ones in my life, to allow myself the non-existent pleasures of an already shortened life span.
Gaza the spark of burning coal onto the ears of forgetfulness; Gaza, now the liberating torch against all the evils of occupation, oppression, repression, colonialism and silence; Gaza, the struggle of the politics of identity and the right to self-determination, of a people, of a body, of every child, man and woman.
Natalie
Monday, February 9, 2009
Silent Peace Plan
In a novel approach to Peace Diplomacy, Obama's special mid-east envoy decides not to talk to one of the main parties.
"Yet Mitchell did not attempt to talk to Hamas or even visit the Gaza Strip during the visit. Like many others in the West and in the Arab world, he appears to believe it is possible to rebuild Gaza yet ignore its Hamas-led government. His itinerary took him to Ramallah, Cairo, Amman and Riyadh - but not to Damascus. He cancelled a visit to Turkey after a high-level Israeli-Turkish clash at the Davos World Economic Forum - as if this somehow rendered Ankara's own Middle East mediation efforts, past and future, less relevant."
Thanks to: http://www.angryarab.blogspot.com/
Is this really a surprise?
A man with a life history of pro-Israel employment and views decides not to talk to Israel's bitter enemy?
Surprise, surprise.
Are you listening, Mr. President?
"Yet Mitchell did not attempt to talk to Hamas or even visit the Gaza Strip during the visit. Like many others in the West and in the Arab world, he appears to believe it is possible to rebuild Gaza yet ignore its Hamas-led government. His itinerary took him to Ramallah, Cairo, Amman and Riyadh - but not to Damascus. He cancelled a visit to Turkey after a high-level Israeli-Turkish clash at the Davos World Economic Forum - as if this somehow rendered Ankara's own Middle East mediation efforts, past and future, less relevant."
Thanks to: http://www.angryarab.blogspot.com/
Is this really a surprise?
A man with a life history of pro-Israel employment and views decides not to talk to Israel's bitter enemy?
Surprise, surprise.
Are you listening, Mr. President?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Israeli Terrorists Hide Munitions in Synagogue?
Hiding in civilian settings: "Weapons from Israel's pre-independence era were discovered Thursday in a large synagogue in Hod Hasharon, in central Israel.
WoW! What if Palestinians did that?
"Weapons from Israel's pre-independence era were discovered Thursday in a large synagogue in Hod Hasharon, in central Israel.
The location, which synagogue elders say served as a meeting place for members of the Haganah in the 40s, believe that the arms have not been touched since Israel's War of Independence.
They said that the dozens of worshippers who frequent the synagogue, located near the area's business center, were most likely unaware of the existence of the armaments.
The cache was discovered when caretakers of the building decided to clean out an adjoining supply room on the second story of the synagogue. The weapons – three stun grenades, a Sten rifle, magazines and a steel helmet - were stored in a wooden trunk in the room.
At this point, it is unclear whether the arms cache belonged to the organization or whether it was merely a private stash belonging to one of the members. "
Thanks to: http://www.angryarab.blogspot.com/
Might be interesting to go back over the history of the founding of "Israel".
WoW! What if Palestinians did that?
"Weapons from Israel's pre-independence era were discovered Thursday in a large synagogue in Hod Hasharon, in central Israel.
The location, which synagogue elders say served as a meeting place for members of the Haganah in the 40s, believe that the arms have not been touched since Israel's War of Independence.
They said that the dozens of worshippers who frequent the synagogue, located near the area's business center, were most likely unaware of the existence of the armaments.
The cache was discovered when caretakers of the building decided to clean out an adjoining supply room on the second story of the synagogue. The weapons – three stun grenades, a Sten rifle, magazines and a steel helmet - were stored in a wooden trunk in the room.
At this point, it is unclear whether the arms cache belonged to the organization or whether it was merely a private stash belonging to one of the members. "
Thanks to: http://www.angryarab.blogspot.com/
Might be interesting to go back over the history of the founding of "Israel".
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Israel Refuses to Cooperate in Nuremburg/Gaza War Crimes Investigation
How do you win in a game where the cards have been stacked against you?
"Officially" a stateless people with almost no voice or representation, Palestinians must rely on uncertain legal ground to prove Israel Defense/Occupation Forces and the civilian leadership of Israel, conspired to commit war crimes against the entire Gaza Strip killing almost 400 children and another 500 civilian women and men, plus close to 5000 wounded and the total destruction of large swaths of the country. Including hospitals, schools, libraries, police stations, UN buildings, farms and water, sewer and electric utilities.
The UN takes a stand.
The Palestinian Authority has accepted the authority of the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes by both Hamas and Israel.
This is a necessary step, but one on shaky legal ground as Palestine is not "officially" a state, and the UN charter says a "state" must request/agree to an investigation.
Israel denies everything.
Not surprisingly, Israel has denied any crimes, yet has buttoned up their shop so tight only official spokesmen are allowed by law, to talk to the press or anyone else. They have also said Israel will pay for the legal defense of any accused Israeli soldiers or government officials.
To further hamper both the investigation and a popular uprising against Israeli war crimes among their own populace, they have banned the publishing or circulation of names and photos of suspected Israeli war criminals. See the wanted poster here:
http://www.wanted.org.il/ehud_barak_en.htm
New legal precedent?
Since most nations are very shy about publicly criticizing Israel for fear of being the object of the formidable Israeli Lobby PR Army, they might prefer to quietly support the UN in their efforts at correcting Israel's increasingly rouge state behavior.
Israel's next legal move.
Since Palestine is not an "official state, Israel will no doubt challenge the UN's right to investigate on Palestines behalf.
Additionally, Israel may start their own investigation in an effort to shut down the UN investigation...as the UN charter says a state may do their own and that would preclude the UN action.
Likely outcome.
I don't have a crystal ball and have read of no one else who has one, but based on past performance, I think we can expect a long investigation, a long legal battle and a finding of blame and excuses on both sides. But, with Israel again winning the PR war in the heavily Israeli influenced world press. With almost every nation on the UN Security Council having acted as Israel is now acting...ignoring international law...it is doubtful the axe will come down too hard on Israel, especially since Israel seems to have been the birth place for so many of these tactics...or was it in Germany in WWII?
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84605§ionid=351020202
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29009543
- Terry Allen -
"Officially" a stateless people with almost no voice or representation, Palestinians must rely on uncertain legal ground to prove Israel Defense/Occupation Forces and the civilian leadership of Israel, conspired to commit war crimes against the entire Gaza Strip killing almost 400 children and another 500 civilian women and men, plus close to 5000 wounded and the total destruction of large swaths of the country. Including hospitals, schools, libraries, police stations, UN buildings, farms and water, sewer and electric utilities.
The UN takes a stand.
The Palestinian Authority has accepted the authority of the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes by both Hamas and Israel.
This is a necessary step, but one on shaky legal ground as Palestine is not "officially" a state, and the UN charter says a "state" must request/agree to an investigation.
Israel denies everything.
Not surprisingly, Israel has denied any crimes, yet has buttoned up their shop so tight only official spokesmen are allowed by law, to talk to the press or anyone else. They have also said Israel will pay for the legal defense of any accused Israeli soldiers or government officials.
To further hamper both the investigation and a popular uprising against Israeli war crimes among their own populace, they have banned the publishing or circulation of names and photos of suspected Israeli war criminals. See the wanted poster here:
http://www.wanted.org.il/ehud_barak_en.htm
New legal precedent?
Since most nations are very shy about publicly criticizing Israel for fear of being the object of the formidable Israeli Lobby PR Army, they might prefer to quietly support the UN in their efforts at correcting Israel's increasingly rouge state behavior.
Israel's next legal move.
Since Palestine is not an "official state, Israel will no doubt challenge the UN's right to investigate on Palestines behalf.
Additionally, Israel may start their own investigation in an effort to shut down the UN investigation...as the UN charter says a state may do their own and that would preclude the UN action.
Likely outcome.
I don't have a crystal ball and have read of no one else who has one, but based on past performance, I think we can expect a long investigation, a long legal battle and a finding of blame and excuses on both sides. But, with Israel again winning the PR war in the heavily Israeli influenced world press. With almost every nation on the UN Security Council having acted as Israel is now acting...ignoring international law...it is doubtful the axe will come down too hard on Israel, especially since Israel seems to have been the birth place for so many of these tactics...or was it in Germany in WWII?
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84605§ionid=351020202
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29009543
- Terry Allen -
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Did Hillary say "Islamist" like it was a dirty word?
Hillary Clinton has just repeated the same old, tired, thoughtless, non-starter conditions which have been repeated for generations.
"The United States wants to work with all parties to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the Islamist group Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel and respect past peace agreements", U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.
Did she just say "Islamist" like it was some sort of dirty word?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061190.html
Moving on:
What did she have to say about what she requires from Israel in her peace efforts?
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch!
I guess Israel just shows up, receives gifts from the Palestinians and gives nothing in return.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel renouncing violence...not even unlawful violence...like not bombing schools, hospitals, medics, UN installations, civilians, food production, snipers shooting farmers, and indiscriminate attacks using non-directional-specific weapons, etc.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel respecting past peace agreements...like violating cease fires, opening borders, facilitating economic growth, returning confiscated property, conducting meaningful investigations into Israeli abuse, etc.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel formally recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to exist.
Can anyone with fair and honest intentions fail to highlight the rights of the indigenous population?
For a detailed list of Israel's violations of law:
http://www.voicesforpalestine.com/index.cfm?pagepath=International_Law/Israel_s_Violations&id=10417
Commonsense must be employed in understanding Obama Administration intent.
First, Obama gave his famous Al Arabiya interview to a friendly paper that never criticizes the status quo. The paper speaks for the repressive Arab governments. Obama never mentioned listening to the voice of the Palestinian people, only the voice of the Palestinian government that the USA and Israel replaced the freely elected Hamas government with.
Second, elected USA officials receive a lot of money from Israel lobbying organizations, but none from any Arab organizations that are not "approved" by the USA. This means, puppet Arab governments and organizations set up by the USA are welcome to lobby, but not any other Arab voices. Result: Israel tells both sides of the story. Nice scam.
Third, Who are the Middle East Advisors, to Obama, Clinton, Mitchell, etc?
The majority have a solid pro-Israel past.
So far, I have seen not a single Arab advisor appointed to any senior position in either Obama's, Clinton's or Mitchell's staffs.
Not one!
More Commonsense:
How can anyone "think" the conditions for Palestinians will materially change for the better when Israel is not criticized, let alone condemned?
How can anyone "think" ignoring the voice and the will of the people affected, is going to bear fruit?
How can anyone "think" President Obama will be receptive to Palestinian points of view, when he has no Arab advisors, let alone Palestinian ones?
I put "think" in quotes because it would seem...if the Obama administration were of good intent...they would recognize this deficiency in the incompleteness of the information they have and will receive. Without it, how can they make a they make a fair peace initiative?
But at best, it appears there is no thinking involved. It all seems like the same, decades old "reaction" again.
A reaction to the propaganda FOR the Israel position and a reaction to the propaganda AGAINST the Palestinian position.
But, these are all smart people. Clinton, Mitchell, Obama.
They know the deck is stacked.
What can we expect?
Hillary will cobble together a bunch of puppets and call it the new Palestinian government.
They will help train and arm the new government, which will try to silence the voice of the people...any voice that is not in tune with the puppet choir.
And the struggle will go on, because, the Peace Charlatans will have again treated the symptoms rather than the cause.
Late Update:
Brooklyn Man Jailed for Distributing Lebanese TV Channel
In other media news, a Pakistani American who owns a satellite TV company in Brooklyn has pleaded guilty to providing material aid to a terrorist organization. Javed Iqbal was accused of providing the aid by letting customers receive broadcasts from a Lebanese TV station tied to Hezbollah. Prosecutors said Iqbal used satellite dishes on his Staten Island home to distribute television broadcasts of Al Manar. Iqbal faces up to six-and-a-half years in prison. He has lived in the United States for twenty years and is the father of five children.
See what I said? Silence all but the state approved news. Don't give the oppressed a voice.
- Terry Allen -
"The United States wants to work with all parties to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the Islamist group Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel and respect past peace agreements", U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.
Did she just say "Islamist" like it was some sort of dirty word?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061190.html
Moving on:
What did she have to say about what she requires from Israel in her peace efforts?
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch!
I guess Israel just shows up, receives gifts from the Palestinians and gives nothing in return.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel renouncing violence...not even unlawful violence...like not bombing schools, hospitals, medics, UN installations, civilians, food production, snipers shooting farmers, and indiscriminate attacks using non-directional-specific weapons, etc.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel respecting past peace agreements...like violating cease fires, opening borders, facilitating economic growth, returning confiscated property, conducting meaningful investigations into Israeli abuse, etc.
Not a word from Hillary about Israel formally recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to exist.
Can anyone with fair and honest intentions fail to highlight the rights of the indigenous population?
For a detailed list of Israel's violations of law:
http://www.voicesforpalestine.com/index.cfm?pagepath=International_Law/Israel_s_Violations&id=10417
Commonsense must be employed in understanding Obama Administration intent.
First, Obama gave his famous Al Arabiya interview to a friendly paper that never criticizes the status quo. The paper speaks for the repressive Arab governments. Obama never mentioned listening to the voice of the Palestinian people, only the voice of the Palestinian government that the USA and Israel replaced the freely elected Hamas government with.
Second, elected USA officials receive a lot of money from Israel lobbying organizations, but none from any Arab organizations that are not "approved" by the USA. This means, puppet Arab governments and organizations set up by the USA are welcome to lobby, but not any other Arab voices. Result: Israel tells both sides of the story. Nice scam.
Third, Who are the Middle East Advisors, to Obama, Clinton, Mitchell, etc?
The majority have a solid pro-Israel past.
So far, I have seen not a single Arab advisor appointed to any senior position in either Obama's, Clinton's or Mitchell's staffs.
Not one!
More Commonsense:
How can anyone "think" the conditions for Palestinians will materially change for the better when Israel is not criticized, let alone condemned?
How can anyone "think" ignoring the voice and the will of the people affected, is going to bear fruit?
How can anyone "think" President Obama will be receptive to Palestinian points of view, when he has no Arab advisors, let alone Palestinian ones?
I put "think" in quotes because it would seem...if the Obama administration were of good intent...they would recognize this deficiency in the incompleteness of the information they have and will receive. Without it, how can they make a they make a fair peace initiative?
But at best, it appears there is no thinking involved. It all seems like the same, decades old "reaction" again.
A reaction to the propaganda FOR the Israel position and a reaction to the propaganda AGAINST the Palestinian position.
But, these are all smart people. Clinton, Mitchell, Obama.
They know the deck is stacked.
What can we expect?
Hillary will cobble together a bunch of puppets and call it the new Palestinian government.
They will help train and arm the new government, which will try to silence the voice of the people...any voice that is not in tune with the puppet choir.
And the struggle will go on, because, the Peace Charlatans will have again treated the symptoms rather than the cause.
Late Update:
Brooklyn Man Jailed for Distributing Lebanese TV Channel
In other media news, a Pakistani American who owns a satellite TV company in Brooklyn has pleaded guilty to providing material aid to a terrorist organization. Javed Iqbal was accused of providing the aid by letting customers receive broadcasts from a Lebanese TV station tied to Hezbollah. Prosecutors said Iqbal used satellite dishes on his Staten Island home to distribute television broadcasts of Al Manar. Iqbal faces up to six-and-a-half years in prison. He has lived in the United States for twenty years and is the father of five children.
See what I said? Silence all but the state approved news. Don't give the oppressed a voice.
- Terry Allen -
Monday, February 2, 2009
A Short Course in International Humanitarian Law
Here you go, Mr. President.
Read this short, clear and concise article and get a good grounding in International Humanitarian Law...and a better understanding of how Israel behaves and will behave again in the future if we do not all join together to reject it.
International Law
Israeli conduct in its offensive against Gaza has been widely condemned. The president of the United Nations General Assembly has accused Israel of violating international law with its war on Gaza in which over 1300 Palestinians have been killed in three weeks, more than half of them civilians. Israel stands accused of war crimes and the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force. Even prior to this conflict, the Israeli blockade of Gaza violated international law.
The violations of international law inherent in the Gaza assault have been well documented and include collective punishment, disproportionate military force [and] attacks on civilian targets, including homes, mosques, universities, schools.
Overview of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
International humanitarian law is a system of legal safeguards that cover the way wars may be fought and the protection of individuals. It protects persons and property that are, or may be, affected by an armed conflict and limits the rights of the warring parties to use methods and means of warfare of their choice. IHL only concerns actions taken during armed conflict and does not deal with whether or not the war itself is just.
International Humanitarian Law exists in both treaty and customary form. The main IHL treaties are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, the sick, prisoners of war).
In addition, customary law consists of those rules of war that are recognized as binding by states even when the state is not required by treaty to observe them. For example, many of the rules in the first Additional Protocol, including those about the targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attack, and humane treatment of all prisoners, are agreed to be part of customary law. This means that they are binding on nations even if they have not signed Additional Protocol I.International Law is very clear about the rules of engagement during warfare and Israel has most definitely violated these rules before and during these attacks.
The Laws Governing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israel’s Legal Obligations
As an Occupier: The Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians in time of war or occupation, applies to Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories. In addition, Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocol II of 1977 is also applicable to internal armed conflict.
Israel disputes the notion that the Gaza Strip remains occupied since it unilaterally withdrew its military forces and settlers in 2005 after decades of occupation. As such, Israel claims it no longer has responsibility over the welfare of the Gazan population. However, rights groups and international legal experts state that Israel retains the position of an occupying power as it exercises “effective” and total control over Gaza’s air and sea space, land borders, its electricity, sewage, and water networks, and frequently carries out armed incursions into the coastal strip. The absence of a full military administration in Gaza does not diminish its responsibility.
The Right to Self-Defense
Israel's attacks on Gaza from Dec 27, 2008 to Jan 17, 2009, have been argued by the Israeli government, and justified by President Bush and his administration to be a war of self defense as permitted by article 51 of UN charter.
This is not self-defense, it is a war of aggression.
First, Israel is an occupying power under international law and cannot in principle invoke the right to self-defense against an armed attack coming from the territory it occupies. The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the Wall states that "unless an attack is directed from outside territory under the control of the defending State, the question of self-defense in the sense of Article 51 does not normally arise."
Second, self -defense is an act of last resort and in any case is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity. According to international law, an Occupying Power could, at best, justify reasonable, proportional targeted attacks against Hamas military objects, commensurate with the Qassam rocket attacks. However, the scale and manner of its operations in the Strip reveal it to be a war of aggression, in contravention of international law.
Third, Israel broke the ceasefire by assassinating six Gazans on 4 November 2008, provoking Hamas to fire rockets into Israel in response. Moreover, these rocket attacks by Hamas in terms of scale and effect do not amount to an armed attack that warrants the right to self-defense. Such an armed attack must be characterized by serious violations of the peace.
It is critical to understand that these attacks were not, as Israel claims, in self defense. One must be very careful about contextualizing the recent events. Where the clock starts is crucial to interpreting and understanding the current conflict. For more information on the context preceeding these attacks, please go to 'Setting the Context'...in the below link.
http://www.voicesforpalestine.com/index.cfm?pagepath=International_Law&id=10416
I suggest you put the above website link in your favorites. It is top notch.
Thanks to: http://gaza08.blogspot.com/
Dear readers, please forward this helpful post to your concerned friends. It is hard to sort out the facts on this issue unless you make it your lifes work...and who has the time? This article should be very helpful to all who care.
- Terry Allen -
Read this short, clear and concise article and get a good grounding in International Humanitarian Law...and a better understanding of how Israel behaves and will behave again in the future if we do not all join together to reject it.
International Law
Israeli conduct in its offensive against Gaza has been widely condemned. The president of the United Nations General Assembly has accused Israel of violating international law with its war on Gaza in which over 1300 Palestinians have been killed in three weeks, more than half of them civilians. Israel stands accused of war crimes and the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force. Even prior to this conflict, the Israeli blockade of Gaza violated international law.
The violations of international law inherent in the Gaza assault have been well documented and include collective punishment, disproportionate military force [and] attacks on civilian targets, including homes, mosques, universities, schools.
Overview of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
International humanitarian law is a system of legal safeguards that cover the way wars may be fought and the protection of individuals. It protects persons and property that are, or may be, affected by an armed conflict and limits the rights of the warring parties to use methods and means of warfare of their choice. IHL only concerns actions taken during armed conflict and does not deal with whether or not the war itself is just.
International Humanitarian Law exists in both treaty and customary form. The main IHL treaties are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, the sick, prisoners of war).
In addition, customary law consists of those rules of war that are recognized as binding by states even when the state is not required by treaty to observe them. For example, many of the rules in the first Additional Protocol, including those about the targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attack, and humane treatment of all prisoners, are agreed to be part of customary law. This means that they are binding on nations even if they have not signed Additional Protocol I.International Law is very clear about the rules of engagement during warfare and Israel has most definitely violated these rules before and during these attacks.
The Laws Governing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israel’s Legal Obligations
As an Occupier: The Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians in time of war or occupation, applies to Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories. In addition, Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocol II of 1977 is also applicable to internal armed conflict.
Israel disputes the notion that the Gaza Strip remains occupied since it unilaterally withdrew its military forces and settlers in 2005 after decades of occupation. As such, Israel claims it no longer has responsibility over the welfare of the Gazan population. However, rights groups and international legal experts state that Israel retains the position of an occupying power as it exercises “effective” and total control over Gaza’s air and sea space, land borders, its electricity, sewage, and water networks, and frequently carries out armed incursions into the coastal strip. The absence of a full military administration in Gaza does not diminish its responsibility.
The Right to Self-Defense
Israel's attacks on Gaza from Dec 27, 2008 to Jan 17, 2009, have been argued by the Israeli government, and justified by President Bush and his administration to be a war of self defense as permitted by article 51 of UN charter.
This is not self-defense, it is a war of aggression.
First, Israel is an occupying power under international law and cannot in principle invoke the right to self-defense against an armed attack coming from the territory it occupies. The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the Wall states that "unless an attack is directed from outside territory under the control of the defending State, the question of self-defense in the sense of Article 51 does not normally arise."
Second, self -defense is an act of last resort and in any case is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity. According to international law, an Occupying Power could, at best, justify reasonable, proportional targeted attacks against Hamas military objects, commensurate with the Qassam rocket attacks. However, the scale and manner of its operations in the Strip reveal it to be a war of aggression, in contravention of international law.
Third, Israel broke the ceasefire by assassinating six Gazans on 4 November 2008, provoking Hamas to fire rockets into Israel in response. Moreover, these rocket attacks by Hamas in terms of scale and effect do not amount to an armed attack that warrants the right to self-defense. Such an armed attack must be characterized by serious violations of the peace.
It is critical to understand that these attacks were not, as Israel claims, in self defense. One must be very careful about contextualizing the recent events. Where the clock starts is crucial to interpreting and understanding the current conflict. For more information on the context preceeding these attacks, please go to 'Setting the Context'...in the below link.
http://www.voicesforpalestine.com/index.cfm?pagepath=International_Law&id=10416
I suggest you put the above website link in your favorites. It is top notch.
Thanks to: http://gaza08.blogspot.com/
Dear readers, please forward this helpful post to your concerned friends. It is hard to sort out the facts on this issue unless you make it your lifes work...and who has the time? This article should be very helpful to all who care.
- Terry Allen -
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