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- Video: Soldiers aim guns at fallen boy’s head outside West … 0
- Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ … 7
- Exile and the prophetic: The Jewish Identity Network 3
- Trauma begins at home 3
- CNN’s Tapper lends himself to claustrophobic discussion of unicorn– Israel’s … 4
- Church of Scotland’s revised ‘Promised Land’ report has softer edges … 18
- Guatemalan genocide got assist from US, Christian Right, and Israel 15
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 49
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- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 676
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 312
- Dershowitz calls Hawking an ‘ignoramus,’ a ‘lemming,’ and likely an … 203
- In photos: Gaza marches and rallies mark 65 years of … 149
- Glenn Greenwald brings facts and reason to ‘Real Time’, ruins … 145
- San Francisco bus ads condemn Israeli apartheid: backlash begins 120
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 101
- Washington state bus-ad campaign dares to state: ‘Equal rights for … 100
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- Dershowitz calls Hawking an ‘ignoramus,’ a ‘lemming,’ and likely an … 149
- Glenn Greenwald brings facts and reason to ‘Real Time’, ruins … 88
- International Criminal Court opens preliminary investigation into attack on Mavi … 82
- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 69
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 63
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 62
- Church of Scotland backs away from boycott call in the … 62
- More on the Church of Scotland’s controversial report on occupation 60
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- The Latest from Mondoweiss for 05/19/2013 - http://t.co/CEtLw0LHmv, 7 hours ago
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- Exile and the prophetic: No dissenter is an island http://t.co/vnbRO0AgjV, 2013/05/18
- Islamophobia is as widespread and acceptable as anti-Semitism used to be http://t.co/j9GvEIOYqI, 2013/05/18
- Guatemalan genocide got assist from US, Christian Right, and Israel http://t.co/oJT9HsoQcD, 2013/05/18
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The War of Ideas in the Middle East
What a waste of time this letter was. Obama is a subservient worm, who has repeatedly demonstrated that he lacks any physical attachments that even vaguely resemble testicles.
"It is, in fact, the most tolerant nation in the region. Muslims living in Israel enjoy more freedom than those living in most Arab countries"
Yeah, well, that must be when the batshit crazy orthos aren't spitting on bus riding women, or throwing rocks at them because they wanna pray at the wailing wall. But, gee, just because they spit on and stone thier own Jewish folk, we mustn't think they'd be intolerant of Muslims, eh???
"I would have emailed Dershowitz ....."
You have his email address???? Good lord, man, let's have it!!!!
"....we only had one editorial direction and that is we could not mention Israel, in any context"
Something tells me that Maddow is subject to the same mandate, one that she seemingly embraces with no regrets.
So....has anyone heard back from "Newseum" on this? I know a number of us have contacted them, and I'm curious as to thier response, if any.
"Hawkings should not have gotten involved in this"
I would be interested in why you say that. Because he is not singing praises for the Jewish State? Because great minds have no business taking moral stands? Because he is respected and his opinion carries weight? Let's see...eenie meanie...miney moe..who am I gonna listen to...Dershowitz....or Hawkins......
Kind of a no brainer, ain't it?
"The Palestinians are worthy of concern, but not at the expense of Israel"
What an amazing statement. Do people really think like that?
I see the male orthos are stoning Jewish women at the wailing wall, for thier daring to pray there in celebration of the recent Israeli court decision allowing it.The stones, the statements such as quoted above, personages such as Dershowitz...the disingenuous hasbaridiotic internet trollwork of those such as Hophmi or RJL...all symptoms of a deep ailment suffered by zionism, insidiously infecting the whole of Israel.
"The Palestinians are worthy of concern, but not at the expense of Israel"
Oh my. Unbelievable, isn't it?
Hmmmm.....perhaps I should have said..... "He is everything they can honestly claim to be. "
I consider Dershowitz to be the perfect spokesman for Israel and the zionists. He is everything they claim to be.
"About Clemons……"
You still don't get it, do you? He sold out. Its all about his career now, no matter what snake oil he has to peddle, or ass he has to kiss. He wants in the inner sanctum, so what's he care about how donkey tastes?
"I would note that last night on the PBS News Hour, Steve Clemons of the Atlantic and the New America Foundation praised Israel for its attack and said it might be a model to us."
What a huge disappointment this guy Clemons has become. An opportunist who doesn't think twice about doing whatever it takes to climb the career ladder. Donkey, ape, dog.....ain't gonna matter to him, if it gets him one more rung up the ladder.
"Blank – - What is “fantasy” about the effort of many coutries, to achieve a nuke’free zone in the Middle East?"
Well, the facts as we know them, and history, speak for themselves. You blunder forth with a pipedream, and expect to be taken seriously? Tell me, James. do you honestly forward the premise that the political will exists in Washington DC do act in the manner you describe? Or perhaps you entertain the absurd notion that such a scenario as you describe can take place without the United States signing on?
Fact is, James, Israel has virtually guaranteed that the middle east will NEVER be a "nuke free zone" by its own actions, threats, and indimidations. The LOGICAL response to Israel's threats to its nieghbors, its historical expansion, and it's repeated war crimes and invasions against neighboring countries is to seek nuclear parity to establish an actual balance of power. Certainly, if I was a citizen of Iran or Iraq I would consider it the RESPONSIBILITY of my nation's leaders to seek a military capability that was on a par with Israel's. Considering Israel's clandestine past and present actions concerning its sizable nuclear arsenal, it is obvious they cannot be trusted with such a destructive power unless it is countered by a neutralizing force, such as a nuclear armed Iran. Ironically, Iran's development of a nuclear arsenal may be the factor that deters the eventuality of nuclear weapons being used in the middle east. But to people like you, "nuclear free" apparently translates to "only Israel has nukes" in the middle east, because if you think they are going to give up thier nukes, you're even more delusional than I imagined.
So, uh, tell me James, considering Isreal's treatment of the Palestinians, its false flag operations, its gargantuan and organized propaganda machine, its threats, its willingness to attack its neighbors, and its history of using white phosphorous and cluster munitions against civilian non-combatants.......
You think they'll think twice about incinerating a few million Muslims in a nuclear fireball if they can create the rationale for doing so? PARTICULARLY if it means acquiring yet more acreage?
"The only answer now is to apply trade sanctions that will force the state of Israel to renounce its nuclear and chemical weapons programs and agree to a ME Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the immediate future"
Optimism such as the above is sheer idiocy. Why advance a "solution" that one realizes is nothing but a fantasy?
Dershowitz need only look in the mirror to find an answer to that question.
Ya gotta love it when a hateful bigot isn't enough of a hateful bigot in the opinion of a roomful of hateful bigots. Where's Koresh when we need 'im?
"Her foot-licking of Oren....."
Got news for ya;
That wasn't his foot she was licking.
And the 200 dead this week due to the chaotic sectarian violence our meddling has imposed upon the Iraqi people? What of those poor unmentioned souls at Tuwaitha who bathed, drank, and did laundry with water that was stored in yellow cake barrels, all because of the incompetence and indifference of our military leaders?? And those that will suffer and die from thier exposure to DU? The victims of the daily sectarian bombings in Iraq?
Honestly, it irks me that this so-called "study" is being shown the light of day here. Why not just tell us "they hate us for our freedoms ", or "we really DID find WMDs in Iraq" if you're going to hawk this kind of garbage. Might as well go all out, and give Fox a run for its money.
Really, the only honest way to assess the devastating cost to the Iraqi people is by starting at the beginning, when we gave Saddam a wink and a nod about his intention to invade Kuwait, providing the neo-con SCUM thier excuse for pursuing a definite agenda in the Middle East, which is still being pursued as we speak, even by this imposter and scheming liar currently soiling the rugs in the Oval Office. Since 1991 is the proper and just timeline through which to estimate the deaths wrought by our despicable and illegal meddlings in Iraq, never mind Afghanistan and Pakistan. And what of the deaths caused by our support of Saddam's war against Iran?? And the chemical weaponry that Cheney and Rumsfeld made sure that Saddam had in his arsenal to be used against the Iranians and the Kurds??? We don't count the deaths caused by this kind of debauchery engaged in by the satanic actions of such DC maggots????
250,000 is laughable, absurd, fictitious, despicably dishonest, detached from reality, purposely deflated, ludicrous, and a pathetic attempt to edit history.
link to thelancet.com
The Lancet, Volume 355, Issue 9218, Pages 1851 - 1857, 27 May 2000 <Previous
Sanctions and childhood mortality in Iraq
Background
In 1999 UNICEF, in cooperation with the government of Iraq and the local authorities in the “autonomous” (northern Kurdish) region, conducted two similar surveys to provide regionally representative and reliable estimates of child mortality (the subject of this paper) and maternal mortality.
Methods
In a cross-sectional household survey in the south/centre of Iraq in February and March, 1999, 23 105 ever-married women aged 15—49 years living in sampled households were interviewed by trained interviewers with a structured questionnaire that was developed using the Demographic and Health Surveys questionnaire and following a pre-test. In a similar survey in the autonomous region in April and May 14 035 ever-married women age 15—49 were interviewed.
Findings
In the south/centre, infant and under-5 mortality increased during the 10 years before the survey, which roughly corresponds to the period following the Gulf conflict and the start of the United Nations sanctions. Infant mortality rose from 47 per 1000 live births during 1984—89 to 108 per 1000 in 1994—99, and under-5 mortality rose from 56 to 131 per 1000 live births. In the autonomous region during the same period, infant mortality declined from 64 to 59 per 1000 and under-5 mortality fell from 80 to 72 per 1000. Childhood mortality was higher among children born in rural areas, children born to women with no education, and in boys, and these differentials were broadly similar in the two regions.
Interpretation
Childhood mortality clearly increased after the Gulf conflict and under UN sanctions in the south/centre of Iraq, but in the autonomous region since the start of the Oil-for-Food Programme childhood mortality has begun to decline. Better food and resource allocation to the autonomous region contributed to the continued gains in lower mortality, whereas the situation in the south/centre deteriorated despite the high level of literacy in that region.
link to en.wikipedia.org
The Lancet, one of the oldest scientific medical journals in the world, published two peer-reviewed studies on the effect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation on the Iraqi mortality rate. The first was published in 2004; the second (by many of the same authors) in 2006. The studies estimate the number of excess deaths caused by the occupation, both direct (combatants plus non-combatants) and indirect (due to increased lawlessness, degraded infrastructure, poor healthcare, etc.).
The first survey[1] published on 29 October 2004, estimated 98,000 excess Iraqi deaths (with a range of 8,000 to 194,000, using a 95% confidence interval (CI)) from the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq to that time, or about 50% higher than the death rate prior to the invasion. The authors described this as a conservative estimate, because it excluded the extreme statistical outlier data from Falluja. If the Falluja cluster were included, the mortality estimate would increase to 150% over pre-invasion rates (95% CI: 1.6 to 4.2).
The second survey[2][3][4] published on 11 October 2006, estimated 654,965 excess deaths related to the war, or 2.5% of the population, through the end of June 2006. The new study applied similar methods and involved surveys between May 20 and July 10, 2006.[4] More households were surveyed, allowing for a 95% confidence interval of 392,979 to 942,636 excess Iraqi deaths. 601,027 deaths (range of 426,369 to 793,663 using a 95% confidence interval) were due to violence. 31% (186,318) of those were attributed to the Coalition, 24% (144,246) to others, and 46% (276,472) unknown. The causes of violent deaths were gunshot (56% or 336,575), car bomb (13% or 78,133), other explosion/ordnance (14%), air strike (13% or 78,133), accident (2% or 12,020), and unknown (2%).
225,000????? What, now Mondo is going to feed us swill? No mention of the Lancet Report? No mention of the UN report citing 500,000 infant deaths as a direct result of the sanctions?
225,000 deaths is a ridiculously low number, rendered absurd by the disingenuous representation of this being any kind of objective or fact based "study". If someone actually chooses to be suckered into buying this kinda propaganda, fine. But expecting to sell it to anyone reasonably informed is a bit presumptuous. And personally, I dislike being presumed to be an idiot.
There is a column in the Sunday Los Angeles Times, Opinion Section, along these same lines today, written by an Amercan citizen with a Palestinian father and anglo american mother. It describes an angreement that that shameful witch Boxer has arranged with the Israelis. It makes it very simple and easy for an Israeli to breeze on into our country by visa, but does not hold Israel to the same standard when vetting American citizens wishing to visit Israel. The column is well written, and clearly logical in its dissent against such lopsided and biased policy agreements. It was somewhat gratifying to see the Times run the piece. I can only imagine the zio spore that the "letters to the editor" section will be soiled with tomorrow.
Oh....
...and...uh....
....Glenn Beck.
"......the Chilli Peppers — Alicia Keys,—Chaka Khan ( a magnificent singer but no intellectual expert) Macy Gray?! Tilda Swinton......"
You're right. Its absurd to call upon celebrity when the truth speaks for itself. A shame you zios rarely have the option to utilize the truth, though. So, hence the utilization of these jackasses like Alexander. Unfortunately for our side, we have no excuse. Cheer up, zio, at least you've got Chuck Norris.
Wrong.
Phil, you obviously are not hobnobbing with Joe Homeowner middle america. We are, collectively, some of the most ignorant, ill-informed, brainwashed, and opinionated creatures on God's green earth. Just this morning, at the counter of one of the local eateries here, I listened to an extremely intelligent (seriously) townsperson wax elequent on middle eastern affairs, citing, verbatim, the worthless swill that is regurgitated daily on Fox News. We have a looooong ways to go before your optimism is even remotely founded in reality. As long as our media continues to be a spokesentity for Washington DC and its policies, rather than serving as our Fourth Estate, the idea that the general public will wake up to the very real phenomena of "blowback" is ludicrous to the extreme. Our general sources of info are corrupted beyond redemption, becoming more so with each passing day. Our ignorance is nurtured with misinformation designed to popularize policy and agenda.
Truthfully, often times I find the optimism expressed here naive to the extreme. Case in point, the recent swooning expectations many expressed about the impending confirmation of Hagel as Sec of Def. Does anyone here really believe he would have ascended to his position if he was willing to buck the status quo?
No, Phil, these events, such as the Boston bombing, are merely fodder to continue to nurture a public acceptance of middle eastern policy. Politically capitalized on, they have the exact OPPOSITE effect on the public psyche than the effect that you are so optimistic in advancing. Besides, if a localized and relatively minor "attack" such as the Boston event does not get us all back in line chanting the GWOT mantra, I have no doubt that a larger event will be concocted to do the trick. The two kids in Boston are a prime example of a neo-con's wet dream. I imagine those such as Cheney thanked thier lucky stars when those two bombs exploded.
Again and again, non-stop, we see false narratives used by the advocates of Israel. What is truly astounding to me when considering the hasbarist trolls that post here, is that they apparently don't recognize what these false narratives say about Israel, and themselves. What admirable act, policy, nation, people or agenda needs to be constantly defended by lies and exaggerations??? If admirable, would such prevarications be neccesary???
Of course not, the truth would suffice.
"Obama supports the Palestinians more than he does Israel...blablahblah"
I'm speechless. This person wants to be taken seriously?
"Yes, we heard it before, all the problems in the world are because of the Jews"
Not really. They had nuthin' to do with the gopher in my garden.
"Mexicans just can’t freely drive on American roads....blablahblah."
You gotta be kidding me. Egads, what makes these idiots tick?
Check out the L.A. Times article, today, (the 22nd), on Hagel's impending visit to
the Jewish State. Long article, not a single mention of the Palestinians. Whole article devoted to how Hagel's visit is to reinforce our "oneness" with Israel over the Iranian "nuclear threat". Hagel, unfortunately, is gonna be a HUGE disappointment to all his loyal fans here at Mondo. He is as spineless,and as sold-out, as Obama is.
There is nothing in Obama's tenure that so perfectly defines him as a fake and a fraud as his Cairo speech does. Of course, we have many other examples of his insincerity; for example, rendition, military aggressiveness, Gitmo, signing statements, the "public option", etc.. But really, the Cairo speech is epic in its clear representation of what this empty oportunistic piece of sh*t is actually made of. At least that embarrassing monkey Bush was the real deal. We expected a monkey, and we got a monkey. But we sure didn't expect to get what Obama has ended up being......(A SNAKE).
Well, prior to our criminal intervention in Iraq's affairs, the Iraqi people were not plagued by the daily bombings and carnage that they must now suffer. We have killed over a million of them, non-combatant Iraqi citizens, since 1991. And really, we might as well count those dying now through sectarian violence, seeing as how our criminal intervention set the stage for the turmoil, suffering, and carnage that is now commonplace in Iraq. And those that will die as the result of DU contamination and severe damage to thier environment? Shouldn't we count them too?
Is it any wonder there are those that hate us enough to drive them to commit acts of terrorism against us?? This Boston event may be domestically plotted, or maybe not. But should it really suprise us if it is an act of terrorism committed by an Islamic radical, or radicals, incensed by our crimes, policies, and international meddling?The simple truth is that our leaders are subjecting us to the inevitable and dangerous anger of those victimized by our policies in the middle east. We are our own worst enemy. We might as well get used to being targeted, because it is the logical result of our own actions.
"Alex, why was he, as opposed to any other boy, arrested? Who gave the IDF his name? If he’s not responsible, he’ll be released" RJ
You have lied to us. When the lie was pointed out, you just went on to your next blahblahblah justification for the unjustifiable without apologizing for the lie, or seeking to counter the accusation of dishonesty. You don't have any credibility. You're a shameless liar. Why do you continue to post when you have so completely destroyed your own credibility?
"One day they will go too far even for their apologists"
No they won't. Just ask Tristan Anderson or Emily Henochowitz. They can do whatever they want to Ameerican citizens, and the scum in DC will just send them a few more billion dollars in return.
Wow, no comments on this one? Perhaps 'ol Hophmi will enlighten us as to why this master criminal deserves such a force to take him into custody.
Damn, forget those Irani nuklur monsters lurking under every Israeli bed, the TRUE threat is these rock throwin' teenage hooligans. By golly, its amazing these troopers were able to capture this adolescent dynamo of ill intention without the use of a cluster bomb or two!
"British tribunal says anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism"
Good. Perhaps they'll clue-in Rosenberg on that fact.
"My beloved friend, Phil, should either shut down all comments or preferably screen them for anti-Semitism, Islamohatred and other forms of bigotry"
BTW, Rosenberg, there can be no greater example of "Islamohatred" than that demonstrated by the zionist settlers by their actions towards the Palestinians. And, I see that Hophmi, downthread, has hitched his jackass to your wagon. There's a message there for ya, but I doubt you'll get it.
Ah, Hophmi. To see YOU so align yourself with Rosenberg on this thread should tell Rosenberg something. But it won't.
"Those who feel the need to say that there is “nothing terribly unique” about the Holocaust are, in my opinion, driven by anti-Semitism"
Oh horseshit. You just lost any respect I had for you. History is stuffed to the gills with mass murders of epic numbers of humans, eradicated in the pursuit of racial or ethnic "cleansing" by one fanatical segment of humanity or another.
Egads, by some counts, that I happen to believe, the United States is responsible for the deaths of over a million Iraqi non-combatants through war and the sanctions. And who knows how many more will die from the effects of DU dust and the horrible environmental damage we inflicted upon their country? You want an eye opener? Check into what happened at Tuwaitha.
Accusations of "anti-semitism" because we choose to see the full picture of man's inhumanity to his fellows, instead of buying into your carefully exploited"special" kind of suffering does not paint a very flattering picture of you.
"Why let it be tainted by people who found the cause because they just don’t like Jews"
OK, I'll bite. Who here, in your esteemed opinion, "just doesn't like Jews". Be direct. Name the person, and quote the person, giving us the exact comment that enabled you to reach the conclusion that you are so confident in. Personally, I find your accusation every bit as offensive as the kind of bigotry you are accusing us of.
"Two of them thought the exhibition explains well why there is a need to attack Iran"
Amazing, isn't it? Does it just escape thier mindless pondering that thier most strident ally is the one country that has actually incinerated fellow humans in a nuclear fireball? And that thier own government has repeatedly insinuated a willingness to do the same thing to the Iranians? A nation that has actually used nukes allied with a nation that repeatedly threatens to use them does not seem like a duo that has much room to judge.
"Nothing from the other side, no Islamic organizations extending invitations to non-Muslims to come inside and talk"
Hmmm. Who do you suggest they invite? Besides, here you have a Jewish Synagogue inviting a rabidly racist Jew to speak. How do you waltz into this being about inviting a member of another faith to speak to an Islamic organization? Where is the parrallel to a synagogue inviting the witch Geller to speak? Perhaps you think CAIR should invite Geller to speak??? Maybe you just haven't thought things through, eh?
Ahhh, so a classically racist and brutally prejudicial system of government is a democratic institution simply because we don't live in a utopian world.
Well, golly, lets label child molestors as "saints" then. I mean, after all, its not a perfect world, eh?
"How would you define the democracy of Belgium?"
Who gives a shit??? We're talking about Isreal. Do you ever directly address an issue, or is the kinda horseshit diversion you offer above pass as honesty in your fantasy world?
Letting her speak may underscore the depravity of her mindset to those of us reasonably informed. But the problem becomes those uninformed individuals who assimilate her lies and distortions because they fill the empty areas in thier body of knowledge. One of our local talk radio pukes, "Chaz McCay", regularly has Geller on. And I wish I had a tenspot for everytime one of her hateful distortions of reality are repeated by someone I engage in a conversation about Israel, the Middle east, Judaism, or Muslims. These people BELIEVE Geller. They truly DO believe in bloodthirsty hordes of radical Islamists seeking to impose Sharia law on American soil. Letting her speak only feeds the ignorance that is the norm, rather than the exception, among our general populace. When Geller speaks on this particular radio program callers are carefully screened about what it is they intend to ask or comment about, or listener's calls are not even introduced into the program. Obviously, there's a reason for that. It doesn't take a mensa to figure out the reason, does it? They WANT you to be ignorant and uninformed. They WANT you to assimilate Geller's venomous and vile bigotry. They nurture it. They sow it. And, sadly, there are many amongst us that are all too eager to do so.
"For the Americans, It’s about avoiding an arms race in a strategically important region"
Then why did Israel start one by developing nuclear weapons, refusing to join the NPT, and constantly threatening its nieghbors by putting "all otions" on the table?? Personally, I hope Iran DOES develop nukes. Only then will the foaming at the mouth zionists think twice about incinerating a bunch of Arabs in a fit of insanity.