9 Killed/Hundreds Kidnapped by Israeli commandos who stormed Gaza Flotilla

[Suriel]

Irish aid vessel still sailing for Gaza, ’serious consequences’ promised if passengers harmed
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0601/irish-aid-vessel-sailing-gaza-minister-pledges-serious-consequences-passengers-harmed/

By Stephen C. Webster
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 -- 7:17 pm

Irish humanitarian aid ship the MV Rachel Corrie is still sailing for Gaza, in spite of Israel's recent, devastating attack on other vessels in the Gaza aid flotilla, resulting in at least nine dead activists and hundreds of prisoners.

The ship, named after 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army -- has been pleading with the international community to pressure Israel into leaving them alone.

The Irish government, for its part, has threatened Israel with "serious consequences" if any Irish national, captured or currently aborad an aid vessel, is harmed.

"If any harm comes to any of our citizens, it will have the most serious consequences," Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, according to The Irish Times.

"Taoiseach" is the position bestowed upon the individual who leads Ireland's government.

The MV Rachel Corrie is reportedly due to arrive in Gaza tomorrow, according to the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Irish officials have demanded Israel let the boat pass unimpeded. Ireland has long opposed Israel's military blockade of Palestine.

"The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza," Cowen said.

"The Rachel Corrie is carrying medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned in Hamas-ruled Gaza, organizers said," the Seattle Post-Globe reported.

Five Irish activists and five Malaysian activists were said to be aboard.

"In the names of our friends, we are more determined than ever to continue into Gaza with our humanitarian cargo and our support for the blockaded and suffering people of Gaza," read a message sent on behalf of the activists, published by Global Research. "We expect Israel to respond to the international condemnation of its violence by not impeding by any means the safe passage of the Rachel Corrie. We appeal to the international community and United Nations to continue to demand Israel our safe passage into Gaza."

Activist group Jewish Voice for Peace declared in an e-mail to supporters, "We still don't know the names of those who were killed or injured, or where they are from. And we don't know the whereabouts or well-being of more than 400 activists still being held by Israel." The group demanded Israel release the activists without condition or charge.

The activists' call echoed another from NATO, which demanded the prisoners' freedom and pressed the need for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation" into the events.

In response to the activist killings, Egypt announced it would open a portion of border crossing into Palestine to allow in future shipments of humanitarian supplies. Turkey, reportedly the country of origin for some of the May 31st raid's victims, pledged it would send a military escort with future Gaza aid boats.

Israel claims the killings were the result of a "provocation" by activists who attacked the soldiers as they landed. However, journalists who were on board the vessel during the raid reported civilian casualties first, before they confirmed soldiers had landed, indicating that Israeli forces began their bombardment before boarding the ship.

By Tuesday, the United States had not condemned Israel for taking action against a ship in international waters, instead calling for an investigation to learn the facts of what happened. Instead, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stuck to the language of a UN Security Council statement issued late Sunday on the Israeli assault on a convoy headed to Gaza.

The statement condemns "those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded," but did not specifically say whether the Israeli raid or actions of pro-Palestinians supporters caused the violence.

"Let me simply restate what the international community and the United States supported early this morning at the UN Security Council through a presidential statement," Gibbs said.

"The Security Council statement that I read calls for an investigation that is prompt, impartial, credible and transparent, conforming to international standards, of exactly what happened," Gibbs said. "And we're obviously supportive of that."

With AFP.

[Dig]

I just heard on Michael Savage that "another group of Hamas Gaza Aid Ships" are going to ship aid again to The Gaza Strip, but with The Turkey Military to help them.

Any links on this new news story?

This crap is some potential to be bad.

Irish aid vessel still sailing for Gaza, ‘most serious consequences’ promised if passengers harmed
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0601/irish-aid-vessel-sailing-gaza-minister-pledges-serious-consequences-passengers-harmed/
By Stephen C. Webster
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 -- 7:17 pm

Irish humanitarian aid ship the MV Rachel Corrie is still sailing for Gaza, in spite of Israel's recent, devastating attack on other vessels in the Gaza aid flotilla, resulting in at least nine dead activists and hundreds of prisoners.

The ship, named after 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army -- has been pleading with the international community to pressure Israel into leaving them alone.

The Irish government, for its part, has threatened Israel with "the most serious consequences" if any Irish national, captured or currently aborad an aid vessel, is harmed.

"If any harm comes to any of our citizens, it will have the most serious consequences," Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, according to The Irish Times.

"Taoiseach" is the position bestowed upon the individual who leads Ireland's government.

The MV Rachel Corrie is reportedly due to arrive in Gaza tomorrow, according to the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Irish officials have demanded Israel let the boat pass unimpeded. Ireland has long opposed Israel's military blockade of Palestine.

"The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza," Cowen said.

"The Rachel Corrie is carrying medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned in Hamas-ruled Gaza, organizers said," the Seattle Post-Globe reported.

Five Irish activists and five Malaysian activists were said to be aboard.

"In the names of our friends, we are more determined than ever to continue into Gaza with our humanitarian cargo and our support for the blockaded and suffering people of Gaza," read a message sent on behalf of the activists, published by Global Research. "We expect Israel to respond to the international condemnation of its violence by not impeding by any means the safe passage of the Rachel Corrie. We appeal to the international community and United Nations to continue to demand Israel our safe passage into Gaza."

Activist group Jewish Voice for Peace declared in an e-mail to supporters, "We still don't know the names of those who were killed or injured, or where they are from. And we don't know the whereabouts or well-being of more than 400 activists still being held by Israel." The group demanded Israel release the activists without condition or charge.

The activists' call echoed another from NATO, which demanded the prisoners' freedom and pressed the need for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation" into the events.

In response to the activist killings, Egypt announced it would open a portion of border crossing into Palestine to allow in future shipments of humanitarian supplies. Turkey, reportedly the country of origin for some of the May 31st raid's victims, pledged it would send a military escort with future Gaza aid boats.

Israel claims the killings were the result of a "provocation" by activists who attacked the soldiers as they landed. However, journalists who were on board the vessel during the raid reported civilian casualties first, before they confirmed soldiers had landed, indicating that Israeli forces began their bombardment before boarding the ship.

By Tuesday, the United States had not condemned Israel for taking action against a ship in international waters, instead calling for an investigation to learn the facts of what happened. Instead, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stuck to the language of a UN Security Council statement issued late Sunday on the Israeli assault on a convoy headed to Gaza.

The statement condemns "those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded," but did not specifically say whether the Israeli raid or actions of pro-Palestinians supporters caused the violence.

"Let me simply restate what the international community and the United States supported early this morning at the UN Security Council through a presidential statement," Gibbs said.

"The Security Council statement that I read calls for an investigation that is prompt, impartial, credible and transparent, conforming to international standards, of exactly what happened," Gibbs said. "And we're obviously supportive of that."

[Guns Equal Freedom]

Thanks guys.

[TheCaliKid]

They are trying to start WWIII

[Dig]

Look at this bullshit...

Notice the headline and the content do not align?

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/White-House-Supports-UN-Stance-on-Gaza-Convoy-Raid-95347184.html

Arbeit Macht Frei!

[grapecrusher1]

Turkish navy 'to back next convoy' following Gaza flotilla raid

By David Williams
Last updated at 1:02 AM on 2nd June 2010

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has called for Israel to be punished for its attack

Israel is facing another potentially explosive confrontation at sea as pro-Palestinian activists sent two more boats to challenge its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Turkey - one of Israel's closest Muslim allies until Monday's clash left several of citizens dead - was last night reported to be considering sending a naval escort for the boats.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1283268/Turkish-navy-convoy-following-Gaza-flotilla-raid.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[grapecrusher1]

Strong words coming out of Britain -- not my emphasis

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2996191/Outrage-grows-at-commando-raid-on-aid-ships.html

BRITAIN last night demanded the IMMEDIATE freeing of 41 UK peace campaigners seized at sea by Israel - amid growing outrage at its bloody swoop on a convoy of aid ships.

The ultimatum was issued as Tel Aviv defended the attack on six vessels trying to smash its blockade on supplies to Palestinians in Gaza.

[rio]

Jesus what a shit-storm

[rio]

A real anti-Zionist Jewish lobby would be Jewish Voices for Peace, but even they don't go as far as we desperately need.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/images/JVPPOSTERS.pdf

When I got the news about Israel's armed attack on the Gaza Flotilla at 2:30 am on the morning of May 31, I felt sick. I immediately called a dear friend in Jerusalem, one of the most committed activists I know.  Across the ocean, I could hear in her voice that she was in tears. "The worst part about it, " she said, "is that nothing will change."

"No," I replied. "I can't believe that can be true.  Things have to change."
"Well," she said, "then it is up to you, the internationals."

She's right. It is up to us, the internationals both here in the United States and abroad.

That is why I want you to send a message to US President Obama if you live outside of the United States, and to Obama and the US Congress if you are a U.S. resident,  demanding the immediate release of the detained human rights activists, an end to the siege on Gaza, an impartial investigation of the attack on the flotilla, and a suspension of US aid until Israel abides by international law.

We still don't know a lot about what happened to the flotilla of boats carrying some 700 human rights activists from around the world and over 10 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza-- Israel has kept the activists under a near total media blackout while sharing only its implausible narrative of events. What we do know is that Israeli commandos boarded a ship in international waters and killed at least ten activists, injuring dozens of others.

Israel insists that highly trained commandos were forced to lethally fire on activists, creating a new definition of self-defense. In the first alternative accounts to appear, an Israeli Knesset member and an Al Jazeera cameraman who were on board the ship at the time each described something different, a scene of chaos with civilians waving white flags and commandos using stun guns, rubber bullets and tear gas. Regardless of what actually happened when armed soldiers landed, Israel's wanton killing of civilians is unacceptable.  

We still don't know the names of those who were killed or injured, or where they are from. And we don't know the whereabouts or well-being of more than 400 activists still being held by Israel.

These deaths, and the attacks on the boats, have hit all of us around the world particularly hard. There were people from 40 different countries on board the ships, including Israelis and Palestinians. Israel sent armed commandos onto a civilian ship in international waters, a brazenly illegal act to enforce Israel's nearly 3-year illegal siege of Gaza - a siege that has left 1.5 million men, women and children living like prisoners on substandard diets, deprived of the simplest things like potato chips, musical instruments, and toys.  The flotilla wasn't just about this one delivery of aid. It was about the right of Palestinians to have sea, land and air routes to the rest of the world and for the need to end the blockade.

I know that there comes a point in one's life when you simply have to take a stand. You cannot sit by silently and watch ongoing and wholly unjustified destruction of life, tacitly supported by governments around the world, and simply do nothing.
The flotilla was filled with people just like you and me who finally decided it was time to risk life and limb to take a stand, to break through those prison walls, and we thank them for it.

Now, as citizens of the world, we owe it to the people of Palestine, and the people of Israel who want to live in peace, and the brave people on that flotilla, to build the movement to make Israel accountable to international law and standards of simple human decency - especially because our governments have failed us.

The response of the U.S. government thus far has been wholly inadequate, with a mild statement "regretting the loss of life," without assigning any blame for the fiasco, let alone applying any sanctions for Israel's acts.  Please, join me in telling President Obama and Congress enough is enough. US taxpayer dollars fund Israel's occupation, and together with wall to wall uncritical diplomatic support have sent the message that any Israeli action, no matter how foolhardy, will be backed by the full might of the United States.

It's time for that to stop.

We must also continue to build the already massive global people's movement for justice, which has undeniably found its greatest impact in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. This is about all of the ways, big and small, people can bypass their often ineffective governments to use economic pressure to make the Israeli government accountable to international law. After launching our energetic support for campus efforts to divest from the occupation, Jewish Voice for Peace will let you know soon about our own divestment campaign to help bring pressure on Israel to reach a just solution.  
It is time for the United States, as Israel's closest ally and most powerful nation in the world, to stop unconditional support for the Israeli government.Doing so will protect Israelis and Palestinians, American citizens, and internationals alike.  

Click here to demand that President Obama and Congress call for an immediate lifting of the siege of Gaza,

an international and impartial investigation into the tragic killing of civilians in a humanitarian mission, and the suspension of military aid to Israel until he can assure the American public that our aid is not used to commit similar abuses.

Rebecca Vilkomerson,
Executive Director,
Jewish Voice for Peace

PS, We've prepared posters in PDF format that you can use at protests, in your car window or on bulletin boards. Download them here.

[Dig]

Ex-Mossad agent: Gaza flotilla raid ’so stupid it’s stupefying’
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0601/exmossad-agent-gaza-flotilla-raid-so-stupid-stupefying/
By Stephen C. Webster
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 -- 10:53 pm


While the United States has reserved judgment in the matter, a former Mossad agent is casting blame for the botched raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, pointing directly at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for allegedly ordering forces to act without vital preparation.

The former Mossad agent is Victor Ostrovsky, who enlisted in the Israeli Defense Force at age 18 and has since written two books highly critical of Israel's war-fighting apparatus. His first book, "By Way of Deception," illustrates the brutal and often confusing nature of the Israeli spy service's covert operations, casting the agency as a villain that engages in the drug trade to further their ambitions over the good of Israel. His other book, "The Other Side of Deception," speculates as to Mossad's greater agenda. The book is available online in its entirety.

If one were to ask him, he'd say that Israel's raid on the Gaza aid flotilla was "so stupid it's stupefying" -- exactly the words he used speaking with Washington Post "Spy Talk" columnist Jeff Stein.

For one, Ostrovsky suggested, commandos could have approached the ship from under water and disabled the propellers, letting the activists drift for days until their food supplies ran out. He added that Israeli soldiers should not have fast-roped into a crowd as they had, instead suggesting that it would have been more productive to board the ship from the front and back, then work inward.

"The mistakes were on every level," Ostrovsky told Stein, "from the order to forcefully board outside the territorial waters to the actual attack."
Story continues below...

He ultimately blamed the Israeli prime minister for giving an order to "do something now" instead of making adequate preparations for repelling the vessel from the Gaza shore. He also chastised the Israeli leadership for stopping the boat in international waters, even if its stated destination was beyond the military blockade.

US officials take no immediate stance on Gaza flotilla raid

Asked if President Barack Obama condemned Israel for the raid, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs stuck to the language of a UN Security Council statement issued late Sunday on the Israeli assault on a convoy headed to Gaza.

The statement condemns "those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded," but did not specifically say whether the Israeli raid or actions of pro-Palestinians supporters caused the violence.

"Let me simply restate what the international community and the United States supported early this morning at the UN Security Council through a presidential statement," Gibbs said.

"The Security Council statement that I read calls for an investigation that is prompt, impartial, credible and transparent, conforming to international standards, of exactly what happened," Gibbs said. "And we're obviously supportive of that."

[Dig]

Pelosi: ‘I Don’t Want To Go Into A Discussion Of The Blockade Of Gaza’
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/01/pelosi-gaza/

Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a conference call with bloggers, where she received questions — including from ThinkProgress — about Israel’s raid of the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and activists bound for Gaza. Pelosi refused to speak directly about whether Israel’s blockade is causing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying that the focus should instead be on solving Middle East peace through a two-state solution:

PELOSI: Well, first of all, this incident, as you mentioned, is very recent. There is very strong interest in getting the facts and a transparent and credible investigation is what people are calling for — that’s what the White House has mentioned, and that’s what I support as well. We have to have the facts on which to make a judgment about how we go forward. I don’t know — I appreciate what you’re saying that people are suffering from different physical challenges because of the blockade. I don’t know that. I know blockades have consequences. … But the fact is, this is a terribly regrettable situation. I regret the loss of life first and foremost, and again, call for a credible and transparent investigation about how this came to be. […]

TP QUESTION: Do you think the blockade of Gaza should be lifted because it’s causing undue suffering on the people in the region?

PELOSI: [...] I don’t want to go into a discussion of the blockade of Gaza. I hope that we can end that by having a resolution in terms of Middle East peace. That’s where we spend our time, not necessarily on one particular tactics of one country or the next, but on the bigger picture, which is we must have peace in the Middle East. It must respect both sides, it must have a two-state solution — and I emphasize the solution part of it, so that both sides feel respected and well-treated and safe as they go forward with the new peace agreement — and I hope that whatever actions are taken on both sides, it’s in furtherance of that peace.

Though Congress doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, Israel’s blockade of Gaza has received harsh condemnation from officials and organizations worldwide. Progressive pro-Israel organization J Street issued a statement strongly condemning the human toll of Israel’s blockade: “This shocking outcome of an effort to bring humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza is in part a consequence of the ongoing, counterproductive Israeli blockade of Gaza.” Both the EU and Russia called for the “immediate opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and people to and from Gaza.” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said, “Had Israelis heeded to my call and to the call of the international community by lifting the blockade of Gaza, this tragic incident would not have happened.”

As Matt Duss noted in today’s Progress Report, “Though the ostensible reason for the Israeli and Egyptian-enforced siege on Gaza is to weaken the militant group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since ejecting its Fatah rivals in 2007, it has actually had the reverse effect.” CAP Senior Fellow Brian Katulis pointed out in a 2009 report, co-written Marc Lynch and Robert Adler, that the blockade “has hurt the Palestinian people while not substantially inhibiting Hamas. And simultaneously it allows Hamas to blame persistent shortages on the Israeli blockade.”

[Coincidence Theorist]

“Are you all outraged? I just want to say something, and please excuse my language. But just who in the f**k does Israel think they are!?!  To board a humanitarian aid ship in international waters, and slaughter our brothers and sisters, who in the f**k do they think they are!?! And the only reason they do this SHIT is because they get away with it. They’ve been getting away with slaughtering Palestinians now for decades. The international community has to put an end to this!”

~Cindy Sheehan, in San Francisco on Tuesday

Here's the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQpSscs9QwY

[voodo0]

tab 13

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/01/gaza.raid.resolution/index.html?hpt=T2

[Dig]

“Are you all outraged? I just want to say something, and please excuse my language. But just who in the f**k does Israel think they are!?!  To board a humanitarian aid ship in international waters, and slaughter our brothers and sisters, who in the f**k do they think they are!?! And the only reason they do this SHIT is because they get away with it. They’ve been getting away with slaughtering Palestinians now for decades. The international community has to put an end to this!”

~Cindy Sheehan, in San Francisco on Tuesday

Here's the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQpSscs9QwY

Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is someone who will not go quietly into the night!!!!!!!!!!

AJ should have her on ASAP

[InfoArsenal]

The way the media is standing around with their pants down means something screwed up with their plan.

I have a feeling Benny and Obama were sitting in a war room watching things unfold as part of their plan to create new wars.

[grapecrusher1]

The way the media is standing around with their pants down means something screwed up with their plan.

I have a feeling Benny and Obama were sitting in a war room watching things unfold as part of their plan to create new wars.

I agree.  If you look at the vids where the commandos land they are standing around all dumbfounded -- it is strange.  I think some of them were supposed to be killed.  This did not unfold properly as Bibi and company had planned.  The fact that international waters is an issue is an indication that things didnt go as they were supposed  too.

[RabidSheep]

“Are you all outraged? I just want to say something, and please excuse my language. But just who in the f**k does Israel think they are!?!  To board a humanitarian aid ship in international waters, and slaughter our brothers and sisters, who in the f**k do they think they are!?! And the only reason they do this SHIT is because they get away with it. They’ve been getting away with slaughtering Palestinians now for decades. The international community has to put an end to this!”

~Cindy Sheehan, in San Francisco on Tuesday

Honestly, this lady once annoyed the crap out of me. Over the last year though I have come to
really see eye to eye with her.

Alex should have her on sooner than later, preferably.  

As for Israel, I can not begin to understand why they are allowed to subject Palestinians to the very horrors they themselves have felt. The Palestinians are no saints either. It reminds of children fighting on the school yard.

Israel never should have boarded the boat and the Palestinians should have never beaten the IDF. Humanitarian efforts do not require violence, vice versa a boat raid of humanitarians does not require deadly force.  

Despite what side of the argument you are on no solution is going to fix this region. It will end as it always does, in blood.  

[Coincidence Theorist]

...and the Palestinians should have never beaten the IDF.

[InfoArsenal]

Yeah, I'm confused by this too..

It was a mixed multi-national crew sponsored by Turkey--even Israelis were on there.

They fought back because they were being shot and killed.

Them fighting back is probably what led to a cease-fire surrender instead of an all-out slaughter.

They probably had commandos as hostages--notice there was no IDF fatalities suspiciously.

[Coincidence Theorist]

Yeah, I'm confused by this too..

It was a mixed multi-national crew sponsored by Turkey--even Israelis were on there.

They fought back because they were being shot and killed.

Them fighting back is probably what lead to a cease-fire surrender instead of an all-out slaughter.

They probably had commandos as hostages--notice there was no IDF fatalities suspiciously.

InfoArsenal, you bring up an excellent point--the crew on the ship was multi-national. In fact, as I understand it, there were over 50 countries represented on the flotillas.

But let's back up a bit and be clear about a couple things, because I think some like RabidSheeple might be tuning into too much mainstream zio-garbage.

1. UNARMED, CIVILIAN HUMANITARIAN AID SHIP
2. INTERNATIONAL WATERS

[RabidSheep]

InfoArsenal, you bring up an excellent point--the crew on the ship was multi-national. In fact, as I understand it, there were over 50 countries represented on the flotillas.

But let's back up a bit and be clear about a couple things, because I think some like RabidSheeple might be tuning into too much mainstream zio-garbage.

1. UNARMED, CIVILIAN HUMANITARIAN AID SHIP
2. INTERNATIONAL WATERS

One, nice pun. A personal attack, that is sweet.  

Two, I do not dispute these facts.

Analogy, cop illegally searches you. Do you resist, risking more than the illegal search and seizure?  

Or do you let him search you and sort it out later?

Obviously you haven't seen my other post.

Israeli forces never should have stormed that ship. They were asking for the fight put up by the convoy. Like they knew they would be attacked and did it to provoke a reaction. Despicable.  

Edit: I realize I should have typed Palestinian supporters in the post under fire.

[InfoArsenal]

Analogy, cop illegally searches you. Do you resist, risking more than the illegal search and seizure?  

Or do you let him search you and sort it out later?

No offense, but this is incredibly simplified analogy for what happened.

The more accurate analogy would be:

A foreign commando group known for killing civilians/black ops/terror attacks raids your boat and starts machine gunning people left and right.

Do you fight back?

Or do you lay down and die?

[RabidSheep]

No offense, but this is incredibly stupid analogy for what happened.

The accurate analogy would be:

A foreign commando group known for killing civilians/black ops/terror attacks raids your boat and starts machine gunning people left and right.

Do you fight back?

Or do you lay down and die?

That is not an analogy. That is a synopsis. 

[InfoArsenal]

That is not an analogy. That is a synopsis.  

The point is how absurd is it to say a cop down the street is like a foreign terror organization known for murder?

You can substitute the parts like NAZI SS, etc for commando group.

ie:

If you were on a flight with real terrorists and they were shooting other passengers would you just sit there like an idiot?

They did exactly what AJ said non-brainwashed people do when the SHTF: Grab whatever's around you and fight back.

[RabidSheep]

No, but if I was on a boat of  "peace activist" I might question actions of violence on either side.

[InfoArsenal]

No, but if I was on a boat "peace activist" I might question actions of violence on either side.

You're being completely ridiculous now.

Peace activist != vegetable.

That's like saying Jesus should turn the other cheek if a mob gay men tried to rape him.

[citizenx]

Bottom line:  we still haven't seen any irrefutable evidence that people on board the boat had weapons or attacked IDF troops in any fashion.  Where are the IDF dead?  Where are the IDF that were shot?

There aren't any of either.  Why?  Likely because they opened fire on people that were not threatening them in any mannner, and who by some reports were actually sleeping.

So accusing people on board the boat of fighting back (justifiably or not) or of threatening those that boarded their vessel illegally in a very threatening manner  (again, justifiably or not) is extremely premature, but this undescores why a truly objective and impartial international inquiry should be conducted.

[Dig]

Glenn Grenwald exposes more General Electric/MSNBC cover up of Israeli massacre:



Talking about Israel with Eliot Spitzer on MSNBC
http://www.salon.com/print.html?URL=/opinion/greenwald/2010/06/01/spitzer
By Glenn Greenwald Tuesday, Jun 1, 2010 17:02 ET

I was just on MSNBC talking about Israel, the Gaza blockade and the flotilla attack with Eliot Spitzer, who was guest-hosting for Dylan Ratigan.  It was a rather contentious discussion, though quite illustrative of how Israel is (and is not) typically discussed on American television, so I'm posting the whole 8-minute segment below.  Two points:  (1) before I was on, Spitzer had on an Israel-defending law professor, followed by Netanyahu's former Chief of Staff, and both of them (along with Spitzer) were spewing pure Israeli propaganda in uninterrupted and unchallenged fashion; at the end of Spitzer's discussions with them, he asked them to "stick around just in case," and once I was left, he brought at least one of them back on to respond to what I said without challenge; (2) literally 90 seconds before my segment was about to begin, the new cam and sound system I just acquired stopped working, forcing me to unplug everything and use only my laptop cam and mic, which caused the technical aspects to be less than ideal (though still perfectly workable); to watch in full screen, click play, then click in the lower right hand corner of the picture and select "option":
 

UPDATE:  Just to give the context, this was the five-minute, propaganda-suffused segment with former Netanyhau Chief of Staff George Birnbaum to which I listened before my segment began.

[RabidSheep]

You're being completely ridiculous now.

Peace activist != vegetable.

That's like saying Jesus should turn the other cheek if a mob gay men tried to rape him.

I do not disagree the Israelis used excessive deadly force, but the people on the boat could have just as easily lived to fight another day. Do you not see my point? By attacking the IDF they only made things worse. We will never now what the outcome would have been if the convoy would not have fought back.

Bottom line:  we still haven't seen any irrefutable evidence that people on board the boat had weapons or attacked IDF troops in any fashion.  Where are the IDF dead?  Where are the IDF that were shot?

There aren't any of either.  Why?  Likely because they opened fire on people that were not threatening them in any mannner, and who by some reports were actually sleeping.

So accusing people on board the boat of fighting back (justifiably or not) or of threatening those that boarded their vessel illegally in a very threatening manner  (again, justifiably or not) is extremely premature, but this undescores why a truly objective and impartial international inquiry should be conducted.

This I can agree with.

[Dig]

What does Israel fear from media coverage?
http://www.salon.com/print.html?URL=/opinion/greenwald/2010/06/01/israel
By Glenn Greenwald Tuesday, Jun 1, 2010 07:02 ET

This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH Monday May 31, 2010 purports to show Israeli soldiers aiming a gun on the deck of a Turkish ship, part of an aid convoy heading to the Gaza Strip, after Israeli soldiers boarded the vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast.

(updated below - Update II - Update III)

The New York Times, today:


A day after Israeli commandoes raided an aid flotilla seeking to breach the blockade of Gaza, Israel held hundreds of activists seized aboard the convoy on Tuesday . . . .Reuters reported that Israel was holding hundreds of activists incommunicado in and around the port city of Ashdod, refusing to permit journalists access to witnesses who might contradict Israel's version of events.

Physically blocking journalists from reporting on their conduct is what Israel does (as well as others); recall this from The New York Times on January 6, 2009, regarding Israel's war in Gaza:


Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza

Three times in recent days, a small group of foreign correspondents was told to appear at the border crossing to Gaza. The reporters were to be permitted in to cover firsthand the Israeli war on Hamas in keeping with a Supreme Court ruling against the two-month-old Israeli ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza.

Each time, they were turned back on security grounds, even as relief workers and other foreign citizens were permitted to cross the border. On Tuesday the reporters were told to not even bother going to the border.

And so for an 11th day of Israel’s war in Gaza, the several hundred journalists here to cover it waited in clusters away from direct contact with any fighting or Palestinian suffering, but with full access to Israeli political and military commentators eager to show them around southern Israel, where Hamas rockets have been terrorizing civilians. A slew of private groups financed mostly by Americans are helping guide the press around Israel.

Like all wars, this one is partly about public relations. But unlike any war in Israel’s history, in this one the government is seeking to entirely control the message and narrative for reasons both of politics and military strategy.

Isn't it strange how Plucky, Democratic Israel goes to such extreme lengths to prevent any media coverage of what they do, any journalistic interference with their propaganda machine, in light of the fact that -- as always -- They Did Absolutely Nothing Wrong?  Is physically blocking the media from covering what happens the act of a government that is in the right?  Thomas Jefferson answered that question quite some time ago:


Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues of truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is freedom of the press. It is therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.

Israel is now not only detaining the victims of its aggression, but also threatening to prosecute and imprison them.  Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said yesterday:  "All those who lifted a hand against a soldier will be punished to the full extent of the law."  So when Israel seizes ships in international waters and kills anyone who resists (and others standing near them), that is an act of noble, plucky self-defense.  But those who fail to submit completely to this lawless and barbarous act of aggression are the Real Criminals who will be prosecuted and imprisoned "to the fullest extent of the law."  In other words, not only is Israel -- which seized ships in international waters and killed civilians -- the Real Victim, but the Real Criminals are those on the ship.  But doesn't the victim of a crime usually want media coverage of what the criminal did?  How odd for the victim in this case to take such extreme steps to ensure that the world cannot hear from the witnesses.

* * * * *

Two other related points:  (1) as I noted yesterday, the real question for Americans is our own country's responsibility for what Israel does; as virtually the entire world vehemently condemns Israel's conduct, the U.S. -- as usual -- acts to protect the Israelis at the U.N. and joins it in heaping blame on its victims; and (2) Robert Farley highlights a small though typical piece of false Israeli propaganda, this one from supreme propagandist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, which pervades our discourse in unchallenged form.

 

UPDATE:  For those who thought that Israel regretted what happened here in any way or would try to avoid such incidents in the future, you were quite wrong:


Israel will use more aggressive force in the future to prevent ships from breaking the sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, a top Navy commander told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

"We boarded the ship and were attacked as if it was a war," the officer said. "That will mean that we will have to come prepared in the future as if it was a war."

Perhaps from now on, Israel can just blow out of the water (international waters) any and all ships it suspects might be trying to deliver food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to Gaza.  One thing is for certain:  if Israel did do that, the United States Government -- the Congress and White House and both political parties -- would defend and justify Israel's conduct, because that's what they reflexively do:  "there won’t be any daylight between the US and Israel in the aftermath of the incident on the flotilla yesterday," ABC News reported today, in case that wasn't already obvious.

Meanwhile, one of the many Israel-Firsters in the U.S. Congress -- Rep. Anthony Weiner, last seen lambasting President Obama for daring to publicly mention a difference between the U.S. and Israel -- today not only defended Israel's attack (obviously) but also, revealingly, pronounced:  "Even if we are the only country on earth that sees the facts here, the United States should stand up for Israel."  In other words:  who cares how isolated it makes us or what harm we suffer?  What matters is not American interests, but Israel.  That's a rare (though unintentional) act of candor when it comes to making clear the priorities of the U.S. Congress.   Finally, Newsweek's Ben Adler explains why the U.S. will never criticize Israel no matter what Israel does:  because huge numbers of Republican and Democratic politicians are vehemently devoted to that foreign country, and the ones who aren't are petrified of criticizing Israel, especially in an election year.  That, too, is some rare candor on the subject.

 

UPDATE II:  Politico's Ben Smith: 


For while much about the incident remains unclear, a day of carefully parsed statements from the White House and State Department left at least one irrefutable aftershock: With much of the world expressing fury over the raid, the contrast with Washington’s muted response could not have been more striking.

"The situation is that they’re so isolated right now that it's not only that we're the only ones who will stick up for them," said an American official. "We're the only ones who believe them -- and what they’re saying is true."

So the virtually the entire world -- dictatorships and democracies; allies, enemies and neutral parties toward Israel; in Europe, Asia and South America -- have condemned Israel and rejected its claims.  But the U.S., standing virtually alone, embraces the Israeli claims and (as is virtually always the case) refrains from even the mildest criticisms. 

As usual, we find here the Key Tribal Principles:  my side is always right, and the group which my parents taught me from childhood to love and cherish can do no wrong.

 

UPDATE III:  Now it seems as though the U.S. is almost engaged in self-satire, mocking the absurdity of its own blind and irrational devotion to Israel with increasingly comical positions:


Israel should lead investigation into attack on Gaza flotilla, says US

Turkey's demands for international inquiry blocked at meeting of United Nations security council

The United States has blocked demands at the UN security council for an international inquiry into Israel's assault on the Turkish ship carrying aid to Gaza that left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.

A compromise statement instead calls for an impartial investigation which Washington indicated could be carried out by Israel.

As the next "compromise," perhaps the U.S. can offer to support an international investigation . . . led by Joe Lieberman, Sarah Palin, or Anthony Weiner.  As Scott Larson said on Twitter:  "Self-regulation has worked so well for BP that surely it will be just as shiny for Israel."  About the American position, CasualObserver added:  "BP should lead investigation into massive gulf oil leak, says U.S."  Indeed, Israel took so very seriously the conclusions of the Goldstone Report that there's no reason whatsover to doubt that they'd be the best party to conduct a candid and objective investigation of the flotilla attack as well.  Of course, we're a country in which having the Executive Branch investigate alleged lawbreaking by the Executive Branch is called "oversight," so maybe this all makes sense when viewed through that lens.

[Dig]

VOTE THEM OUT!



Harman challenger: Top Dem "in the pocket" of AIPAC
http://www.salon.com/print.html?URL=/politics/war_room/2010/06/01/winograd_versus_harman
By Anika Anand Tuesday, Jun 1, 2010 18:15 ET

Israel's deadly raid of a humanitarian aid flotilla on Monday could play a role in the final week of a key congressional primary.

Rep. Jane Harman, a highly visible California Democrat who has been a prominent voice in the national security debate, is being challenged in next Tuesday's primary by Marcy Winograd, a progressive who charges that Harman is "in the pocket of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee."

In a statement posted on her website on Monday, Winograd called for an international investigation into the flotilla raid and called Harman's refusal to speak out immediately on the issue "shameful."  She also charged that Harman's lack of response indicated she approved of Israel's violent tactics and said her policies make her constituents less safe.

Contacted by Salon today, Harman issued the following statement through her press secretary:


I join President Obama in expressing my deep sorrow at the loss of life, and hope for a speedy recovery for the wounded flotilla members and Israeli soldiers. However, until the facts of this complex and tragic episode are fully investigated and understood, it is premature to assess blame or call anyone a murderer. The focus now must be on preventing events from escalating and leading to more violence or scuttling the peace process. It is my hope that Israel will promptly permit any humanitarian supplies contained on the six vessels to travel from the port of Ashdod to the people of Gaza.

Winograd argues that this statement is inadequate because it doesn't demand that any investigation be international -- and not conducted solely by the Israelis. The issue of the raid, she added, has caused her campaign phone to ring "off the hook."

"People are thoroughly disgusted with her attacks on me calling for quality and dignity in the Middle East," Winograd said.

Winograd challenged Harman in a 2006 primary and received a surprising 37 percent of the vote. This time, she's running with the support of Democracy for America, the group launched by Howard Dean.

[spindle]

Israeli forces storm Gaza aid flotilla, following the story on BBC news.

Gaza hopes to welcome blockade-busting flotilla
Preparations are under way in Gaza to receive a convoy of ships that is trying to break Israel's economic blockade.
29 May 2010
Gaza aid flotilla leaves Cyprus
Activists aboard an aid flotilla say they have left Cyprus and will reach Gaza on Monday, but Israel says it will not let them in.
30 May 2010
Deaths as Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship
At least nine people die when Israeli commandos storm a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza, sparking international condemnation.
31 May 2010
Reaction to Gaza aid ship deaths
International reaction to news of deaths on board an aid ship raided by Israeli troops.
31 May 2010
Reporters' log: Gaza flotilla
Reports from BBC correspondents in Israel, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Turkey after Israeli commandos storm a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza.
31 May 2010
LIVE: Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
Reports and reaction as it happens after Israeli commandos storm a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza.
31 May 2010
In pictures: Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship
Images from the storming by Israel of a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza, which left more at least nine people dead.
31 May 2010
Gaza flotilla raid sparks press fury at Israel
The raid on the Gaza aid flotilla and its bloody end has unleashed a wave of anger against Israel in the wider region.
1 Jun 2010
Eye witness accounts of Israeli raid
Passengers from the Gaza flotilla describe the Israeli raid on their ship convoy.
1 Jun 2010
Witnesses cast doubt on Israel's convoy raid account
Activists on ships raided by Israeli commandos cast doubt on Israel's version of events that led to at least nine deaths.
1 Jun 2010
Israel still dominating headlines
Repercussions from the Israeli army's military operation against an aid flotilla for Gaza are widely reported in Wednesday's papers.
2 Jun 2010


search

[spindle]

Here is an alternate view of Gaza flotilla.

Obama Has Made Nuclear War in the Middle East Inevitable
By Tom White
President Obama must learn that public criticism of Israel is seen by her enemies as a sign the Obama administration may be unwilling to defend Israel if attacked. The president’s reluctance to admit that radical Islam is a threat sends the wrong message to those who would destroy Israel, and it actually does more to thwart efforts for peace than to help.

Not long after that article was published,the Israeli Navy was attacked by a flotilla of armed thugs pretending to be on a mission of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The pro-Palestinian thugs  were armed and intent on starting a fight with Israel.

The Palestinians have shown a willingness to attack Israel at every opportunity. Emboldened by President Obama’s anti-Semitism, the only thing standing in the way of the Palestinians attacking Israel (again) is a lack of weapons – grenades, rockets, etc.

It is impossible to keep all of the smuggled weapons out of the hands of the Palestinians, but the Naval blockade is an effective means to limit the flow of arms.


This has happened time and again. When the Palestinians feel that they have sufficient arms to mount an offensive, they use some perceived wrong committed by Israel as justification to indiscriminately rain down death and destruction on the nearest Jews.

When the Israeli forces mount a defense, and target those responsible, the UN and much of the Jew hating world condemns Israel (for defending themselves.)

When Iran threatens to annihilate Israel, the UN yawns and feigns interest, yet can never “come together” on a meaningful  response.

Israel has a right to defend herself. By ignoring the evidence that this was a setup, President Obama continues his path to a full blown nuclear war in the Middle East. Failing to condemn the pro-Palestinian perpetrators of what amounts to a suicide attack on Israel, the UN and the US push the region one step closer to war.

If this tactic is allowed to work, despite overwhelming evidence that this was no humanitarian aid effort, there will be no pulling back. Already, anti-Semites are rioting in the streets to fan the flames of racial hatred and take advantage of the lack of interest in Israel by the Obama Administration.

This will turn out to be the most significant miscalculation in the series of miscalculations by the Obama Administration.

The world (and yes, that means the US) is on the brink of economic collapse. A major war in the Middle East will send oil prices sky high and the teetering economies of the world will cease to function.

And the loss of life and devastation will surpass the looming economic disaster.

As Israel goes, so goes the world.

[citizenx]

Here is an alternate REALITY view of Gaza flotilla.

Fixed

[spindle]

I agree, thats a good fix.
 

[Dig]

Turkey sends planes for activists
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/06/20106293939694105.html


Turkey has sent three planes to Israel to bring back hundreds of activists detained after a deadly raid on their aid flotilla to Gaza.

At least four Turks were killed when Israeli troops stormed a convoy of ships in international waters on Monday, sparking angry protests in the Muslim-majority nation.

"Our objective is to bring back everybody as well as the bodies," a Turkish diplomat told the AFP agency on Wednesday.

Some 350 activists will be sent back to Istanbul on Turkish aircraft, while around 20 injured people will return via Ankara on ambulance planes, Turkey's capital.

The Turkish Red Crescent said one national, currently in intensive care after surgery in a Tel Aviv hospital, would stay there for several more days.

Strained ties

Relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorated rapidly following the deadly raid, with most of the bloodshed occurring on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged ship carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists.

State media reported on Wednesday that Turkey's justice ministry is considering legal action against Israel.

Officials are looking into both domestic and international law to see what action might be undertaken after Monday's operation in international waters, a report by the Anatolia news agency said.

It comes a day after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, called for Israel to be "punished" for its "bloody massacre".

"It is no longer possible to cover up or ignore Israel's lawlessness. It is time for the international community to say 'enough is enough'," he said.

Thousands of Turks staged two days of protests across the country denouncing the action.

Some members of Turkey's Jewish community say they fear that anger over the flotilla deaths will lead to a rise in anti-Semitism in the nation.

"We are definitely worried, because that [the anger in Turkey] can turn very easily to anti-Semitism," Ivo Molinas, the editor in chief of the weekly Istanbul-based publication Shalom, said.

"The rhetoric used by the prime minister has been very radical," Molinas, a member of the 20,000-member Jewish community residing in Turkey, added.

Turkey says it has beefed up security to protect its Jewish minority, while Israel has ordered families of Israeli diplomats out of Turkey.

Besir Atalay, the Turkish interior minister, said security has been stepped up at 20 points alone in Istanbul, which has several synagogues and centres.

Turkey became Israel's chief regional ally when the two signed a military co-operation deal in 1996.

But relations have soured since Israel's devastating war on Gaza last year amid criticism from Erdogan's government.

[spindle]

Israeli ambassador compares flotilla attack with WW2

Gaza flotilla attack: Israeli ambassador compares raid to Second World War
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, has compared the Gaza flotilla attack with America's fight against Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
 By Alastair Jamieson

In an interview with Fox News, he described the operation, in which nine people died, as "perfectly legal, perfectly humane – and very responsible".

He defending the attack in open waters, saying: "Israel acted in accord with international law. Any state has the right to protect itself, certainly from a terrorist threat such as Hamas, including on the open seas.

"The US acted under similar international law when it fought the Germans and the Japanese in World War Two."

His comments came as Israel began deporting hundreds of activists seized from the flotilla, including more than 120 activists from Muslim countries who were taken to the border with Jordan early this morning.

There is no immediate word on the fate of 42 British nationals who were on the convoy of ships.

US President Barack Obama has spoken to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey, which had branded the attack a "bloody massacre", the White House said.

The President expressed "deep condolences" over the deaths on board a Turkish flagged ship that was part of the flotilla and said Washington was working with Israel on the release of impounded vessels and passengers.

In his television interview, Mr Oren said Israel "has to make some hard choices sometimes," adding: "We live in a rough neighbourhood."

One of the 42 British nationals on the flotilla was deported immediately but the remainder were being seen by British consulate staff.

The man deported, Hasan Nowarah, from Glasgow, flew home on Tuesday evening.

"All I could hear was screaming and bullets all over the place, over the Marmara, the Turkish ship," he told Sky News.

"All you could see was screaming and bullets. Out of the blue as I looked around our ship, all I could see were hundreds of Zodiacs.

"Hundreds of Zodiacs full of soldiers, and big ships, lots of ships, and I believe as well submarines in the sea."

Some of the Britons had been travelling without passports, and others had destroyed their papers, diplomats were told. There may be more British citizens among the many detainees who initially refused to identify themselves.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who is under intense pressure over the bungled raid both from countries around the world and at home, remained defiant last night. He told a meeting of Israel's inner cabinet that he would not bow to pressure to lift the blockade on Gaza, which the activists were trying to break.

[InfoArsenal]

I do not disagree the Israelis used excessive deadly force, but the people on the boat could have just as easily lived to fight another day. Do you not see my point? By attacking the IDF they only made things worse. We will never now what the outcome would have been if the convoy would not have fought back.

Well we know what would have happened if the Jews fought back against the NAZIs, or the Chinese against the Maoists, or the Russians against the Stalinist, or the blacks against the abortionists...

THEY'D BE HERE.

Genocide is REAL and there is no MLK/Ghandi solution to it.

So are you for gun grabbing and banning knives as well?

Violence only makes things worse right?

America should have just remained an English colony and we'd be even more free?

[chris jones]

They are trying to start WWIII

DawnIsMyGoddess.
I don't want to get off subject and apoligize ahead of time, I have to make one point. WW III conjurs up images of Nukes and the apocolypse, is it or is WW III according to the following definiton presently ongoing.

A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters, and last for multiple years. The term has usually been applied to two conflicts of unprecedented scale that occurred during the 20th century: World War I (1914–1918), World War II (1939–1945), although in retrospect a number of earlier conflicts may be regarded as "world wars". The other most common usage of the term is in the context of World War III, a phrase usually used to describe any hypothetical future global conflict. Wik*
nations involved;
The size and capabilities of the Coalition forces involved in operations in Iraq has been a subject of much debate, confusion, and at times exageration. As of August 23, 2006, there were 21 non-U.S. military forces contributing armed forces to the Coalition in Iraq. These 21 countries were: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, South Korea,the United Kingdom and the USA.

However, in the August 23, 2006 Iraq Weekly Status Report (Slide 27) the State Department listed 27 foreign countries as contributing troops to the Coalition in Iraq. The additional four countries were Japan, Portugal, Singapore and the Ukraine.

In addition, that same Weekly Status Report listed 34 countries (including the US) as maintaining personnel in Iraq (as part of the Coalition, UNAMI, or NATO). The State Department reported that Fiji was contributing troops though UNAMI and that Hungary, Iceland, Slovenia, and Turkey were assisting with the NATO training mission.

5 nations have been invaded, from where I sit it appears that WW III is in effect. We can debate definitions but to what end, over 27 nations are involved. The prior so called WW's, The participants in World War II were those nations who either participated directly in or were affected by any of the theaters or events of World War II.
The Axis powers were a group of countries led by Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy (however, in the final years, only its northern part, as the Italian Social Republic) and the Empire of Japan. They were considered the aggressors of the conflict. The Allies, led by the United Kingdom and until its defeat, France, were joined in the European theatre by the Soviet Union in June 1941 and by the United States in December 1941. In the Asia-Pacific theater, the Allies were led by the Republic of China, following the 1937 invasion of China by Japan, and the United States and the British Commonwealth, following the 1941-1942 Japanese attacks.

In comparison, a gulag exists in Gaza, 5 nations have been invaded,genocide- well over a million have been genocided and the slaughter continues, 27 nations are involved. It seems to me that the definition of World War is without substance in regard to 1st world conflict and a disregard for so called 3rd. world nations as if they are not nesessary to be included. Times magazine was a major contribitor this term,WW..
Off subject, sorry!

[lee51]

Notice the title: plural "grenades" but the text says "a stun grenade"

'Activists threw stun grenades'

"The IDF Spokesperson's office on Wednesday afternoon released more new footage of Gaza flotilla activists attacking soldiers with a stun grenade, a box of plates, and water hoses."

New IDF footage shows attacks before soldiers boarded 'Mavi Marmara.'

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177261