NPR is the information IV drip for the elite. I listen to it constantly. This morning WAMU, Washington, D.C.'s NPR station, broadcast a scathing commentary on the Israeli occupation from John Salzberg (John, I'm guessing you're Jewish?) of Washington's Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. Excerpt:
Israel has used severe measures to enforce the occupation causing widespread and profound suffering of the Palestinian people including loss of life and injuries, economic deprivation, declining heath services and conditions, deteriorating educational programs and services, and prevention of social interaction with family, friends and Palestinian society at large. In sum: in its enforcement of the occupation Israel has violated virtually every human right contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. U.S., Israeli and international non-governmental organizations confirm these violations.
Weiss again: I'm wrong. Looks like Salzberg is a Quaker. Apologies to all Quakers and Jews and thanks to correctors.
Nothing weirder than middle aged white guys talking like their spooks. What is a "peep"
Still no comment on Samir Kuntar. Hero to Phil Weiss and his merry band of storm troopers.
Though NPR's coverage can often seem biased (at least to my ears), I was thrilled to hear recently the compelling story of actor Mike Farrell who actually spent considerable time in Israel working with activist groups. He quite clearly and rationally laid out the case for condemning Israel's apartheid policies against the Palestinians. His goal was unmistakeably to foster the conditions for peaceful co-existence, but was subject himself to the most scurrilous of accusations regarding his motives.
I am always bouyed by truth-tellers anywhere getting a platform.
And he sucked on MASH. Wayne Rogers was way better
SOG, "peep" is not a creation of black speech.
SOG – I didn't follow M*A*S*H other than enjoying occasionally if it was on. I am little concerned with Mike Farrell's acting credits than his committment to social justice.
Interestingly enough, I consider Wayne Rogers a hack on many levels (as I do you, SOG). I have seen him on cable financial shows/segments talking about how good war with Iran would be for the economy. My guess is that Mr. Rogers (not the 'good' one) is a unrepentent Zionist and reaps the rewards financially from all that entails.
SOG: I'll give you a comment on Kuntar: He's a cold-blooded killer and the celebration of his release is a horrific spectacle.
But one cold-blooded Palestinian does not even begin to excuse away the crimes that Israel has committed and continues to commit. And while you're crusdaing against Kuntar and Hezbollah's embrace og him, just consider this: Isn't Israel, with its dastardly and reprehensible cluster bombing of civilian areas in southern Lebanon, most reponsible for the dramatic rise in Hezbollah's clout these past two years?
Contrarian, great comment!
The cluster bombs is something rarely mentioned in the news and is a war crime. Israel first denied it, but then Halutz begrudgingly admitted that they were fired against his orders. So, even if we believe this psychopath about it, why aren't the responsible – the ones who gave the orders – punished?
Hezbollah, ( a bunch of lovable happy go lucky lads ) started this whole thing by attacking Israeli territory. The idea was to get hostages which they subsequently executed and then multilated in order to get Kuntar back ( who looks fine btw) Anyway, you just can't say that what he did was evil. Because to you and Peter D all he did was knock off some Jews, which is fine and dandy, isn't it?
Still waiting for the Phil Weiss take on Kuntar. The world wonders.
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Sword of Gideon | July 18, 2008 at 07:04 PM<
You're wrong. Israelis attacked first. Israeli soldiers caught over the border in Lebanese territory. AFP, Xin Hua, and many wire services reported with 'boots on the ground' reporters before news blackouts started.
WhatReallyHappened captured Indo-Asian News Service report on 7/12/07.
link to whatreallyhappened.com
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761781.html
IDF commander: We fired more than a Million Cluster Bombs in Lebanon
By Meron Rappaport
"What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs," the head of an IDF rocket unit in Lebanon said regarding the use of cluster bombs and phosphorous shells during the war.
Quoting his battalion commander, the rocket unit head stated that the IDF fired around 1,800 cluster bombs, containing over 1.2 million cluster bomblets.
In addition, soldiers in IDF artillery units testified that the army used phosphorous shells during the war, widely forbidden by international law. According to their claims, the vast majority of said explosive ordinance was fired in the final 10 days of the war.
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The rocket unit commander stated that Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) platforms were heavily used in spite of the fact that they were known to be highly inaccurate.
MLRS is a track or tire carried mobile rocket launching platform, capable of firing a very high volume of mostly unguided munitions. The basic rocket fired by the platform is unguided and imprecise, with a range of about 32 kilometers. The rockets are designed to burst into sub-munitions at a planned altitude in order to blanket enemy army and personnel on the ground with smaller explosive rounds.
The use of such weaponry is controversial mainly due to its inaccuracy and ability to wreak great havoc against indeterminate targets over large areas of territory, with a margin of error of as much as 1,200 meters from the intended target to the area hit.
The cluster rounds which don't detonate on impact, believed by the United Nations to be around 40% of those fired by the IDF in Lebanon, remain on the ground as unexploded munitions, effectively littering the landscape with thousands of land mines which will continue to claim victims long after the war has ended.
Because of their high level of failure to detonate, it is believed that there are around 500,000 unexploded munitions on the ground in Lebanon. To date 12 Lebanese civilians have been killed by these mines since the end of the war.
According to the commander, in order to compensate for the inaccuracy of the rockets and the inability to strike individual targets precisely, units would "flood" the battlefield with munitions, accounting for the littered and explosive landscape of post-war Lebanon.
When his reserve duty came to a close, the commander in question sent a letter to Defense Minister Amir Peretz outlining the use of cluster munitions, a letter which has remained unanswered.
'Excessive injury and unnecessary suffering'
It has come to light that IDF soldiers fired phosphorous rounds in order to cause fires in Lebanon. An artillery commander has admitted to seeing trucks loaded with phosphorous rounds on their way to artillery crews in the north of Israel.
A direct hit from a phosphorous shell typically causes severe burns and a slow, painful death.
International law forbids the use of weapons that cause "excessive injury and unnecessary suffering", and many experts are of the opinion that phosphorous rounds fall directly in that category.
The International Red Cross has determined that international law forbids the use of phosphorous and other types of flammable rounds against personnel, both civilian and military.
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Kuntar is lower than a piece of shit and should be hung, drawn, and quartered.
The people Kuntar killed were innocents, innocents that were not American citizens.
Rachel Corrie and the 30+ sailors on the USS Liberty were American innocents murdered by our friend Israel. These deaths hit closer as she could be our liitle sister and the fallen of the Liberty our older brothers.
This may be cold and realistic, but it is the truth. Our country needs a cold and realistic foreign policy.
Funny, just after I was lamenting the lack of coverage of the cluster bombing of Lebanon, AP reports this piece in Haaretz!
MRW, don't you think that if Israel attacked first, Nasrallah would be the first to claim it? This fact alone -that Nasrallah himself never contradicted the Israeli version – discredits all the reports you mention.
Patrick, the USS Liberty story is the one I cannot wait to finally understand what really happened. There seems to be so much unanswered questions, it's mind-boggling. My guess is that both countries have something to lose from the exposure of the real events. There is a theory Israel attacked USS Liberty in order to cover up its execution of Egyptian prisoners and it is only marginally more convincing than other supposed motives for the Israeli attack, but still falls short of being convincing: it suggests that Israel would attempt something like sinking a US ship to cover up something of much lesser potential fall-out.
As to Rachel Corrie, as I commented before: I doubt there was a way of proving the driver's intent of killing her. But the treatment of the affair and the general indifference of Israeli public to it is shameful.
Not to mention the indifference of the American Congress, and to this date, most of America.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1003236.html
I know Phil has referred to this article.
Here it is in fact.
Essential things Israelis and Iranians should know about each other
By Trita Parsi and Roi Ben-Yehuda
1. Israel is a vibrant yet incomplete democracy
2. Iran is a vibrant quasi-democracy
3. Streets are named for poets
4. Iranians are lonely and distrustful
5. Zionism is not a dirty word
6. Sympathy with Palestinians, but no desire for conflict with Israel
…"
The other salient item is that Persian Americans have no voice in American government, while Jewish Americans have much more than their (quantitative) share. That's the way it goes. Persian Americans, wake up! America can only benefit from more input!
SOG: Israel created Hezbolla:
link to boards.fool.co.uk
Interesting article from the Washington Post tracing the origin of Hezbollah:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07…