At DailyKos, "Rbguy" is providing excellent coverage of a post-Gaza hearing conducted by the House subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia (under the Foreign Affairs committee). Here's part of his report on David Makovsky, the cheerful guy from WINEP, the belly of the Israel lobby, who testified on February 12 that the peace process should just try to make little improvements in people's lives:
Bank to ease tensions and end the mistrust on the settlements, sealing
shipping containers in order to facilitate Palestinian exports, upgrade
Israeli crossing points with appropriate biometrics to shorten the
lines, and increase Arab-state funding of major construction projects
to kick-start the Palestinian economy.
I went to Makovsky's actual testimony. Makovsky is the director of WINEP's Project on the Middle East Peace Process, whatever that is. This is from the paragraph about improving "the quality of Palestinian life."
(Last night in Brooklyn, I saw a B'tselem video from last year of an Israeli soldier in the occupied territories, at the orders of a commanding officer, shooting a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator at point-blank range with a rifle, doing god know's what to his leg. Maya Sabatello said that because of the video, the incident has been investigated and two Israelis were charged with "unbecoming" behavior, a light charge.
(I can only imagine what such people would regard as "appropriate biometrics."
(PS. From "Rbguy"'s excellent report diary at DailyKos
Yesterday he
filed a report on the testimony by Safa Rifka of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, including this:
Dkos has its own share of berel-bots and they are waiting in the wings to savage anyone who might dare to make Zionists cry. I'm amazed that anything relating to justice for Palestine makes it through the gatekeeping; whether diarists or commenters.
One comment already said that most Kossacks avoid I/P issues like the plague, whereas another said they are only interested in the "pie fights." From my perspective, the berel-bots at Dkos turn everything they can into a pie fight, and get people banned that make too many salient points on the issue.
Colonial masters suggest measures to make the colonial subjects' subjugation a little less uncomfortable, then pat themselves on the back about how enlightened and civilized they are. Old news in 1878 or so.
Maybe they should just tattoo them. Biometrics is the new tattoo technology.
LanceThruster: I second your comment. I've been blocked numerous times even setting up an account.
Behold the "biometrics"!
It might be more cost-effective to make the Palestinians have to wear a yellow crescent on their clothes to make it through the checkpoints.
Would those biometrics be like the chip I had implanted in my dog in case he runs away?
"the berel-bots at Dkos turn everything they can into a pie fight, and get people banned that make too many salient points on the issue."
I know a couple of people who have been banned from there, both very knowledgeable, aware, and always civil people whom I have never seen using any kind of inflammatory or even provocative language.
Last April Makovsky spoke at Hillel at University of Illinois, Urbana. The by-invitation-only lunch was for him to discuss Iran, presumably under what circumstances it should be bombed. I wasn't there, of course. The evening talk (I was there) was on the "chances for co-existence", a standard theme among those who fancy themselves as moderates (which he does). He actually assumed that the students there would not understand or agree that "co-existence" is an option; that is, assuming they were to his right.
He began his talk with the following summary of the history of Zionism: "The Jews came in peace; the Arabs wanted war." He supported his argument with a total of one fact: the assassination of Emir Abdullah of Trans-Jordan in 1951 by a Palestinian. He explained that there wasn't enough time to elaborate. During his talk he chastised the Palestinians for their lack of economic development, especially in Gaza, as if Israel has not had a policy for years of preventing that. Naturally, he asked what we would do if there were rockets fired into our country. All of this in the spirit of moderation.
Beyond the aggravation of listening to somebody like this, it's hard to convey how stupid and boring he was; utterly self-absorbed. He name-dropped (Salam Fayyad, we can work with him, he's the Palestinian savior, Makovsky meets with him on trips there). He rambled around during his lecture and in answering (softball) questions, throwing crap on the wall to see if it would stick, virtually incoherent at points. And yes, he made the same point about making the settlements more "efficient"–how can one not think of Eichmann when hearing this? It would be actually refreshing and more entertaining if these people were just rabid Arab-haters like Lieberman, instead of pretending that they're not.
It was gratifying to hear Rashid Khalidi put him in his place on a Charlie Rose show in January (I think); a discussion that also included Roger Cohen.
I'm not even sure that people like Makovsky are even authentic ideologues, beyond their desire to identify with power–they're just think tank hacks. If the Israel Lobby were to dry up, he'll figure out what to tell some other think tank or lobby whatever it is they want to hear.
I'm surprised that David Makovsky, since he is so concerned with improving Palestinian's lives as well as Israel's security, hasn't come up with a dual solution: the implantable chip that Judy implanted in her dog and "Implanon", the implantable contraceptive device sure to beat back that "demographic threat" to Israel!
How about explosive implants?
So that if things get too out of hand…boom boom boom boom!
"Last night in Brooklyn, I saw a B'tselem video from last year of an Israeli soldier in the occupied territories, at the orders of a commanding officer, shooting a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator at point-blank range with a rifle, doing god know's what to his leg."
He was shot in the foot with a rubber bullet. It hit the toe of his shoe and bounced off. There was no damage to his foot.
Of course you already knew this because it was a major story.
@Sand – Agreed. They are PEPs (Progressive Except on Palestine). I mean, to ban Richard Silverstein or Desertpeace, of all people, says a lot about just how much they need to control the dialog (see great piece on that here: link to dissidentvoice.org
)
I saw something on DKosopedia ( link to dkosopedia.com
) that stated that there was no "progressive" view regarding the I/P issue, but if that is the case, why do they allow those who support justice for Palestine and are willing to try to counter some of the Israeli misinformation/disinformation, to be smeared outright and continuously as Nazis and Holocaust deniers? Complaint emails to anyone at DKos gets *zero* response.
HuffPost is just as bad, though a few sensible voices occasionally break on through.
Julian, "rubber" bullets are not rubber, and do not bounce, especially when fired at point blank range.
But I think you know that.
More on "rubber" bullets:
Rubber bullets found to maim and sometimes kill
"LONDON – Some types of rubber bullets used by police to restrain unruly protesters kill and maim too often to be considered a safe method of crowd control, new research concludes.
< snip >
"A study of their use by Israeli security forces has found police often fire from too close and aim poorly. Even when fired properly, it said, the bullets are so inaccurate that they can cause unintended injuries.
< snip >
"Those bullets are in fact made of metal encased in a rubber shell, and are different from the original rubber bullets first used in 1970 by the British in Northern Ireland.
"The British rubber bullets were designed to be fired at the ground so that they would bounce up and hit the legs of demonstrators."
Oh jesus. He was shot in the foot with a rubber bullet. It hit the toe of his shoe and bounced off. At point-blank range, bullets bounce off targets. Especially rubber ones used by a hyper-security-for-themselves military.
God save us from this level of stupidity on this blog.
Sorry, forgot to post a link:
Blunt and penetrating injuries caused by rubber bullets
during the Israeli-Arab conflict in October, 2000:
a retrospective study
The Lancet v.359, n.9320 25may02
Yeah, that rubber bullet really bounced didn't it.
link to youtube.com
/>
And then also as well besides, not all bullets are made of rubber.
Feb 25: Soldiers kneecap 17 year old girl
Of course, the real point of that incident is not whether the "rubber" bullet bounced off the guy's foot (the number of fatalities and permanent brain injuries caused to Palestinian children by penetrating head wounds from "rubber" bullets NOT shot from point blank range gives an idea just how bouncy they are). The real point is that that Israeli soldier stood there, took aim, and fired his weapon from a distance of less than a metre at a bound, blindfolded young man who was under the control of another Israeli soldier, was offering no resistance, and whose only "crime" had been taking part in a peaceful protest.
The "most moral army in the world" – yeah, right!
"Last night in Brooklyn, I saw a B'tselem video from last year of an Israeli soldier in the occupied territories, at the orders of a commanding officer, shooting a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator at point-blank range with a rifle, doing god know's what to his leg."
He was shot in the foot with a rubber bullet. It hit the toe of his shoe and bounced off. There was no damage to his foot.
Of course you already knew this because it was a major story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As opposed the the Palestinian who shot, at point blank range, a bullet in the skulls of a pregnant woman, and, in turn, slowly, methodically, each of her four pre-teen daughters.
Go on Phil. Keep defending Palestinian terrorism. I want you to dream that dream every night of the rest of your life.
I like how the pig, Julian attempted to downplay the repulsiveness of the abuse by the IDF by saying it was a RUBBER bullet. As if that made it less disgusting.
LD, of course even if it had been a rubber bullet it would not have made it less disgusting, but as you may know, "rubber" bullets are not made of rubber anyway. They are made of steel with a very thin coating of rubber.
And here is another part of the "rubber" bullet story that most people do not know about. In the case of penetrating wounds it is not unusual for small particles of the rubber coating to become imbedded in the flesh, causing wounds that heal very slowly and with great difficulty, and leaving permanent damage. In addition, the particles can be a source of infection that can be very persistent and difficult to heal, plus rubber particles from the bullets can decompose over time releasing toxic substances into the body.
The film of that shooting of bound and blindfolded Ashraf abu Rahma has been shot by a 17 year old Salam Kanaan who is living in a house in a village of Ni'lin overlooking the checkpoint.
The family has been paying for it ever since:
Mr Kanaan Senior has been arrested by IDF a day after video was handed over to Bt'selem.
The soldiers are shooting live ammunition into the house at random from the checkpoint ever since the story broke into the western media.
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=Kanan+&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#q=++Ni'lin&hl=en&emb=0&start=40
Pregnant Tali Hatuel and her four daughters: Hila, Hadar, Meirav and Roni should never be forgotten. Their murder by Islamic Jihad, in May 2008 was was brutal and unforgivable.
Lets equally honor memory of children on the other side of the conflict, their murders by IDF, in the same month, May 2008 were also brutal and unforgivable:
Hussein, Khaled, Ahmad al-Kawaldeh,Jamil, Baha, Rifat, Muntasser, Yousaf, Ahmad al-Sowariki, Hamdi, Rami, Fadi, Hamed, Muhammad Mowafi, Samih, Mahmood, Fuad, Asma and her little brother Ahmad, Hani, Muhammad al-Shaer, Ibrahim al-Bilawi, Ibrahim al-Qan, Sabir, Muhammad abu-Nasr, Mahmoud, Ahmad abul-Said,Mubarak, Walid, Rageb, Ilyad, Tamer, Hamed, Wael, Islam, Hussein, Rawan, Muhammad al-Hams, Adnan, and 15 year old Hamza from Balata refugee camp.
Sorry, it was meant to be May 2004 NOT 2008 in the above post.
Pregnant Tali Hatuel and her four daughters: Hila, Hadar, Meirav and Roni should never be forgotten. Their murder by Islamic Jihad, in May 2008 was was brutal and unforgivable.
Lets equally honor memory of children on the other side of the conflict, their murders by IDF, in the same month, May 2008 were also brutal and unforgivable:
Hussein, Khaled, Ahmad al-Kawaldeh,Jamil, Baha, Rifat, Muntasser, Yousaf, Ahmad al-Sowariki, Hamdi, Rami, Fadi, Hamed, Muhammad Mowafi, Samih, Mahmood, Fuad, Asma and her little brother Ahmad, Hani, Muhammad al-Shaer, Ibrahim al-Bilawi, Ibrahim al-Qan, Sabir, Muhammad abu-Nasr, Mahmoud, Ahmad abul-Said,Mubarak, Walid, Rageb, Ilyad, Tamer, Hamed, Wael, Islam, Hussein, Rawan, Muhammad al-Hams, Adnan, and 15 year old Hamza from Balata refugee camp.
Hear hear. Chris, WonderCat, Dude: Will you join Eva and myself and presumably most others here in condenming acts of violence against all innocent victims, including the blindfolded youth shot by the IDF at pointblank range?
Pregnant Tali Hatuel and her four daughters: Hila, Hadar, Meirav and Roni should never be forgotten. Their murder by Islamic Jihad, in May 2008 was was brutal and unforgivable.
Lets equally honor memory of children on the other side of the conflict, their murders by IDF, in the same month, May 2008 were also brutal and unforgivable:
How so? Were they stood up at a wall, no blindfold, in front of their parents, and killed by firing squad two feet away? Were their parents killed that way before they were? Exactly what is the comparison? Are you comparing collateral damage in a war wherein the IDF is firing at positions held by terrorists in schools and mosques?
Spit it out. Exacxtly what are you actually stating? Are you attempting, in your perverse antisemitic way, to compare the accidental deaths of palestinian children with this brutal, personal, let me see the blood spurting out of their heads along with the brains, massacre?
@Shirin – Btw, on the "New Comment Policy" thread, I answered a question you asked that I did not see earlier (about beliefs I found objectionable). It's currently the last comment (4th page).
THX.
@berel – stop using bold since you don't know how to do it properly (or mods, give him the boot – we can cut and paste his diatribes from memory at this point – they won't be missed…really).
You're such an antisemite Berel.
Why? Just because he believes in different kinds of "dead" and in the great consolation of being "collateral damage" rather than "intended target".
I mean, that's what griefing families can find comfort in, right? That their loved ones, torn into pieces by heavy weaponry of various kinds, were "collateral damage". Really sweetens your loss. (Pity this isn't a webforum. A rolling-eye smiley would be in order now.)
Kishiro, if you do not see the difference between the child accidentally killed because of the retalitory strike against the terrorists pretending to defend your interests by firing missles at innocent people from kindergardens, and the brutal, personal, let me see the blood spurting out of their heads along with the brains, massacre of 4 young girls either after they witnessed the same blatant murder of their mother, or perhaps their mother was forced to witness the same blatant murder of her daughters, than you are a sick perverted person.
Roll your eyes, smiley. We know what you are.
Wait, decrying murder, regardless of the rhetoric used to euphemize it is perverted?
You're about as convincing as those leaflets the IDF dropped on Gaza before they incinerated 500 children.
Wait, that White Phosphorus must have incinerated the leaflets first! No wonder those Palestinian children died horrifically!
This terminology, 'collateral damage' or 'detterance capacity' is just thinly veiling State terror. Who are these words supposed to comfort? The people picking up the pieces of their dead family and friends don't give a damn if Israel 'didn't mean it'.
Considering the Palestinians know the Zionists better than the Zionists know themselves, I don't think they'll be comforted by these soft words.
We all know that the intent of the massacre was to inflict heavy civilian death tolls to reinstate that fear in the Arab world. Every time Israel is delegitimized by the FACTS and the Palestinian 'peace offensive' then it goes out and slaughters more Palestinian children or Lebanese children.
WE know what YOU are, Berel. A scumbag apologist for mass murder and genocide. You are the Nazi, the fascist, the antisemite. Not us.
Be careful LD. berel's tactics are intended to get you to react the way you just did. It's an understandable reaction, given his outright lies and defense of genocide, but it also may lead to getting you banned, as per the new rules.
Just ignore these apologists for racism, mass murder and genocide.
Careful, LD. Your reactions are identical whether or not I post. Kelly basically called you a moron. I second the opinion, however. Kelly has you pegged.
By the way, Kelly, why are you asking us to ignore Eva, Phil, Colin, and yourself?
"Julian, "rubber" bullets are not rubber, and do not bounce, especially when fired at point blank range.
But I think you know that.'
What I know is he wasn't seriously injured and you and Weiss knew it.
This was a major story covered a million times, not some new revelation. The statement "doing god know's what to his leg" was made to be inflammatory, not truthful.
It's funny how the close-range shooting of a restrainted and blindfolded Palestinian man is seen by some as inconsequential. What might have been even funnier was to remove the blindfold and aim the gun at him, but fire blanks! See? No harm, no foul.
It's just like when those harrassing observant Jews would shave their beards in public in order to terrorize and humiliate them. It's not like it wouldn't grow back, right?
/snark off