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

[able]

cnn host claimed Israel claims the flotilla has ties to hamas and al qaeda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf7tl0ozkrQ&feature=player_embedded

[grapecrusher1]

Alex .... The Israelis could not wait for the flotilla to enter the water that they fallaciously claim jurisdiction over (accepted internationally) because it would have been daylight.  The IDF needed the cover of darkness to obscure their actions SO you and others would question the actions of the humanitarians.  Did they throw flashbangs or did the Israelis in order to blame those on the boats.  It creates speculation and the Israelis recognize that and risked the international waters issue.

[Okinawa]

'Israel is a Lunatic State' - Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_CKL5h2_8

[Dok]

Hamas stops flotilla aid delivered by israel

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel has attempted to deliver humanitarian aid from an international flotilla to Gaza, but Hamas -- which controls the territory -- has refused to accept the cargo, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

Palestinian sources said trucks that arrived from Israel at the Rafah terminal at the Israel-Gaza border were barred from delivering the aid over protests that members of the flotilla were not delivering the materials.

Israel had 20 trucks of aid found on the ships, such as expired medications, clothing, blankets, some medical equipment and toys.

Nine people died on Monday when Israel intercepted an aid vessel bound for Gaza.

Under Israeli policy, humanitarian aid must come through Israel and be checked by Israeli authorities who are looking to intercept smuggled weapons bound for militants aiming to attack Israel.

As part of this policy Israel forbids ships from dropping off goods at Gaza ports and works to thwart smuggling via tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/02/israel.palestinians.aid/

[grapecrusher1]

That CNN article needs some corrections:

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel has attempted to deliver humanitarian aid from an international flotilla to Gaza, but THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED Hamas -- which controls the territory -- has refused to accept the cargo UNTIL THE FLOTILLA PEOPLE, IMPRISONED ILLEGALLY, ARE RELEASED, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

Nine people died on Monday when Israel CRIMINALLY AND BARBARICALLY intercepted an aid vessel bound for Gaza.

Under INTERNATIONALLY ILLEGAL Israeli policy, humanitarian aid must come through Israel and be checked by Israeli authorities who are looking to intercept smuggled weapons bound for militants aiming to attack Israel.

As part of this ILLEGAL policy WHICH IS TANTAMOUNT TO GENOCIDE Israel forbids ships from dropping off goods at Gaza ports and works to thwart smuggling via tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

[Dok]

Egypt eases own Gaza blockade after Israel Freedom Flotilla raid

Egypt partially opened its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, briefly suspending its participation with Israel’s blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's decision followed Israel's deadly raid on the "Freedom Flotilla" trying to bring aid to Gaza earlier this week, which has stoked outrage across the world, perhaps nowhere more so than in Egypt. The Egyptian government's 1979 peace deal with Israel is deeply unpopular with its citizenry, who are also angry that their government is adding to the burdens of Gazans.

The border opening was mostly about symbolism, with the Mubarak government bending to the pressure to end its participation in the blockade without breaking. More than 100 Palestinians were allowed through the Rafah crossing into Egypt Wednesday and several truckloads of goods were sent into Gaza. But Egypt restricts the types of goods allowed into Gaza and only Palestinians with special permits are allowed to cross – mostly students and those seeking medical treatment.

IN PICTURES: The Gaza flotilla and the aftermath of the Israeli naval raid

In the past, Egypt has cracked down hard on protests calling for an open border with Gaza. But Israel’s killing of nine activists during the Monday raid stoked a new fury across the Muslim world and left Egypt in a difficult position. A partial opening at Rafah was what the regime had to do to keep the ire from overflowing, said many Egyptians.

“The Egyptian people are extremely angry about what Israel did,” said Reda Khalil, an engineer. “All of us are upset, and there was no other choice for Egypt but to open the crossing to support our Palestinian brothers.”

He voiced hope that Egypt would leave the border open. “There will be problems if they try to close the border after a few days,” he says.

Complicating Egypt's stance towards Gaza is the fact that it's ruled by Hamas, an Islamist movement closely aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is Egypt's strongest opposition movement. After Hamas swept to power in the 2006 Palestinian elections, the Mubarak regime feared a successful Muslim Brotherhood-style government on its doorstep as an example its own citizens might want to follow, so Gaza's economic isolation also served its own interests.

Not surprisingly, a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure here says the border should stay open. “It is a good escape but it is not enough,” says Essam El Erian, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau. “I hope that it is the first step in the way of the continuous opening of the border for goods and persons. I think the Egyptian authorities are now under pressure, and if they really want to change the policy it will happen in the next few weeks.”

How long will Rafah stay open?
Egypt has opened the border for brief periods since Israel imposed heavy restrictions on the movement of goods and people from Gaza in 2007, but it's also been moving to tighten up control. An announcement late last year that Egypt would build an underground fence on the border to stop the smuggling tunnels that have become economic lifelines for tens of thousands of Gazans, led to tension and an exchange of fire between Palestinian and Egyptian border guards

Hossam Zaki, spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, said the government hasn't decided how long the Rafah crossing will be open. “The president didn't specify that, so it's going to be until further notice,” he said. The decision also did not change the type of goods allowed into Gaza, he said. Rafah is mainly used as a crossing for people, not goods, but Egypt has permitted some aid, mostly medical supplies, into the territory. It has not allowed the building supplies Gaza needs to rebuild after Israel’s offensive last year.

Israel sealed the Gaza border when the Islamist group Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, only allowing a trickle of food and goods into the territory. Egypt largely followed suit, but periodically allows shipments into Gaza and permits some Palestinians to cross. Both Egypt and Israel are motivated by a desire to see Hamas weakened. Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Egypt also fears taking the burden of responsibility for the situation in Gaza from Israel's shoulders.

Closing the tunnels
Egypt has further angered its citizens with the decision to build the subterranean wall along the border to block the smuggling tunnels. Many of the day-to-day goods used in Gaza are smuggled through the tunnels, but they are also used for weapons. Hamas taxes the smuggled goods, and reducing that source of revenue would further pressure the movement, which is already experiencing a financial crunch. Emad Gad, an analyst with the government-financed Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, says Egypt’s wall is near completion.

Egypt’s position has not only provoked the ire of its citizens, but has provided an opportunity for rival Arab states to criticize the regime. Opening the border now will keep countries like Qatar and Syria from accusing Egypt of siding with Israel, says Mr. Gad.

“The Egyptian regime is trying not only to deflect the anger on the street, but also to drop a card from the hand of the hard-liner countries,” he says. He predicts the border will remain open for several months.

Egyptians have staged multiple demonstrations against Israel in Cairo since Monday, including a large protest attended by many members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The demonstrations are notable because Egypt has largely quashed protests over Gaza since Israel’s offensive in the territory which ended in January 2009. That conflict left about 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

With the spotlight on the issue, Egypt could find it difficult to revert to its former policy of keeping the border closed. But Gad does not anticipate the regime completely abandoning its policy; he says after several months the regime will likely return to only intermittent openings. “It's a very hot issue now, because the blood is there. But after two months the Egyptian public will forget,” he says.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0602/Egypt-eases-own-Gaza-blockade-after-Israel-Freedom-Flotilla-raid/(page)/2

[grapecrusher1]

Looks like this could escalate.
Organizers: Freedom Flotilla 2 in a few weeks
Ma'an News

June 2, 2010

Gaza – Ma’an – The Brussels-based European campaign against the siege on Gaza announced Wednesday that they had secured funds to support three new aid ships to be sailed to Gaza.

The fleet will be called the Freedom 2, which head of the campaign Arafat Madhi said would be "much bigger than the first," which included nationals from some 40 nations and 10,000 tons of aid, currently held by Israel following the takeover of six ships in international waters on Monday morning.

"Following the massacre committed by Israeli forces against solidarity activists on board the Freedom Flotilla in international waters, there have been increasing calls by Arab, Islamic, and European countries to launch a new aid fleet much bigger than the first one. This is a clear challenge by the free people of the world in the face of Israel’s arrogance," Madhi said.

The officials aid the ships would sail in a few weeks' time from ports in Turkey, whose Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed his country's support, including aid contributions, for the flotilla.

During a televised speech Tuesday, Erdogan said future flotillas bound for Gaza territorial waters under Israeli threat would be accompanied by a military escort to ensure their safety.

http://uruknet.com/?p=m66577&hd=&size=1&l=e

[Viper]

Please take a step back from this for a sec to read this amazing text, you won't regret it:

When I Woke Up !

When I finally woke up I took a look around. I saw city halls, courthouses, houses of government, churches, schools, and universities by the hundreds and thousands. I saw systems; systems for managing the land, the air, and the water; systems for managing human behavior; systems for managing religion; systems for managing learning; systems for managing food, shelter, clothing; systems for managing love and procreation: a vast complex of carefully engineered systems. I saw millions of people working, not for themselves, but for someone else. I saw millions of people doing, not what they themselves want to do, but what someone else wants them to do. I saw the depressing evidence of a people who have externalized and institutionalized-in fact, have tried to standardize-the very nature of humanity.

I saw a whole people who've lost the way of life and in its place have built a technological monster which does most of their hard work, carries their water, delivers their food, raises their kids, makes their decisions, says their prayers, transports them, informs them, entertains them, and controls the people it serves, absolutely. I also saw that the monster, seemingly unable to manage itself, was running wild, totally out of visible control, ripping the land to pieces, spreading poisons, filling the air with filth, dumping garbage and shit in the rivers and lakes and oceans. I saw all that, and I saw the people, millions of them, crowded together in cities, living side by side in towns, villages, rural areas. But I didn't see a single community. Is someone doing all of this on purpose ?

from a text by Wilfred Pelletier and Ted Poole

[Coincidence Theorist]

Please take a step back from this for a sec to read this amazing text, you won't regret it:

When I Woke Up !

When I finally woke up I took a look around. I saw city halls, courthouses, houses of government, churches, schools, and universities by the hundreds and thousands. I saw systems; systems for managing the land, the air, and the water; systems for managing human behavior; systems for managing religion; systems for managing learning; systems for managing food, shelter, clothing; systems for managing love and procreation: a vast complex of carefully engineered systems. I saw millions of people working, not for themselves, but for someone else. I saw millions of people doing, not what they themselves want to do, but what someone else wants them to do. I saw the depressing evidence of a people who have externalized and institutionalized-in fact, have tried to standardize-the very nature of humanity.

I saw a whole people who've lost the way of life and in its place have built a technological monster which does most of their hard work, carries their water, delivers their food, raises their kids, makes their decisions, says their prayers, transports them, informs them, entertains them, and controls the people it serves, absolutely. I also saw that the monster, seemingly unable to manage itself, was running wild, totally out of visible control, ripping the land to pieces, spreading poisons, filling the air with filth, dumping garbage and shit in the rivers and lakes and oceans. I saw all that, and I saw the people, millions of them, crowded together in cities, living side by side in towns, villages, rural areas. But I didn't see a single community. Is someone doing all of this on purpose ?

from a text by Wilfred Pelletier and Ted Poole

Thanks for sharing this Viper. Upon reading, I realized I'd read it before...at Alan Watt's site. When trying to find the source, I learned he may have borrowed it from Glen Kealey. I just checked, and Kealey actually has it posted on his MySpace page, under "Blurbs/ About Me". Check it out:

http://www.myspace.com/candamble

Is someone doing all of this on purpose ?

You forgot to include Pelletier's/Poole's/Kealey's answer to that question, which is:

"Yes, Persian Zoro-Astrian/Zoro-Babel Freemasonry is doing it on purpose!
The SculPTor Adapted for CIPI from a text by Wilfred Pelletier and Ted Poole"

[Suriel]

All At Sea
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25592.htm

By Yvonne Ridley

June 01, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- I wonder how many of you remember the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship the Achille Lauro way back in October 1985?

Four members of the Palestine Liberation Front took control of the liner off Egypt as she was sailing from Alexandria to Port Said.

It was a bungled operation in which the hijackers killed disabled Jewish-American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and then threw his body overboard.

The incident created headlines around the world and polarized people over the Palestinian cause.

It also prompted the law makers to create new legislation making it an international crime for anyone to take a ship by force.

And this is the reason for the brief history lesson - under article 3 of the Rome Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation of 1988, it is an international crime for any person to seize or exercise control over a ship by force, and also a crime to injure or kill any person in the process.

The treaty necessarily adopts a strict approach. One cannot attack a ship and then claim self-defence if the people on board resist the unlawful use of violence.

In other words, according to international law, the actions of the Israeli military were beyond the law and those involved should be treated no differently than, say, the Somali pirates who are also in the habit of boarding ships by force.

Any rights to self defence in such dramatic circumstances rests purely with the passengers and crew on board. Under international maritime law you are legally entitled to resist unlawful capture, abduction and detention.

What those on board the Freedom Flotilla did was perfectly legal. I believe they acted with great courage in the face of heavily armed IDF commandos, while others might have thought their actions reckless.

Whatever your view, a number paid the ultimate price for their international right to resist.

Israel now stands virtually alone having exposed itself as a pariah state.

I wrote an article last year calling them the Pirates of the Mediterranean after they had illegally boarded other aid ships, kidnapping crew and passengers.

Now I want you to ask yourself this question … if a group of Somali pirates had forced their way onto half a dozen humanitarian aid ships from the West, slaughtering around nine or 10 people and injuring scores more what do you think the international reaction would have been?

Let me tell you. A NATO task force would by now be steaming towards the Horn of Africa accompanied by a couple of drones and various members of the press to record the occasion. (On a point of interest the Achille Lauro sank in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia in 1994.)

So why is Israel allowed to get away with murder? In a pre-meditated act the Zionist State showed once again its total disregard for human life – and international law.

There were pensioners, women and children on board those ships which were carrying bags of cement, electric wheelchairs, toys, medicines and water purifiers for Gaza's people.

Realizing Israel had shot itself in the foot, the vile state’s leader Binyamin Netanyahu then started shooting from the lip.

He asked us to believe that his troops were acting in self-defence. And then, 24 hours later, given time to come up with more lies he told the world that the soldiers were armed with paintballs and had not expected to use their weapons. Not content with insulting our intelligence he said his nice, cuddly IDF folk had only boarded the boats to carry out an inspection and inventory.

Then backing him up was Mark Regev, the Zionist State’s political Pinocchio. He reckons these evil-doers on board the boats grabbed the IDF’s real guns and used them to fire on the soldiers.

These are the same soldiers that come from an elite, highly trained, crack squad … hmm Mr Regev, if that’s the case why would you send in the A-Team if they were just going to do an inventory?

And if they were such a hot squad how did a bunch of civilians manage to overpower them and give them a good slap?

Either Israeli soldiers fight like a bunch of old women – which Hizb’Allah says they do – or they intended to massacre those on board to make sure that no other peace activists get involved in trying to help the Palestinian people of Gaza.

Well if that was the aim then it has failed. As I write this some heroic friends of mine from the Free Gaza Movement are bound for Gaza now onboard the appropriately named ship Rachel Corrie.

In our thousands in our millions … today we are all Palestinians.

Journalist Yvonne Ridley is the European President of the International Muslim Womens Union, and a committed peace activist who was on the first boat to break the siege of Gaza in 2008.

[Viper]

...You forgot to include Pelletier's/Poole's/Kealey's answer to that question, which is:

"Yes, Persian Zoro-Astrian/Zoro-Babel Freemasonry is doing it on purpose!
The SculPTor Adapted for CIPI from a text by Wilfred Pelletier and Ted Poole"

That was Kealey's words, i didn't add the last word in the OP, which is "yes" by Pelletier and Poole,
they were the original writers, i seen that addendum online before too, thought it belittled the message though as it's so plain to see without using labels.
The original reads :
Is someone doing all of this on purpose ? Yes!

[Suriel]

Censure Follows Raid on Gaza Aid Flotilla
http://original.antiwar.com/frykberg/2010/06/01/censure-follows-raid-on-gaza-aid-flotilla/
by Mel Frykberg, June 02, 2010

RAMALLAH – The Israeli government’s spin machine has launched into full-throttle as the country faces yet another diplomatic crisis and harsh international criticism for Monday’s raid on the Free Gaza (FG) humanitarian aid flotilla that left 19 people dead and about 50 injured.

However, whether Israel’s slick and well-oiled publicity machine, and the various lobby groups that support the Jewish state, will be able to overcome the huge international fallout, which comes in the wake of the devastating Goldstone Report into the Gaza war, remains to be seen.

“Israel has shot itself yet again in the foot. This was a disastrous operation with so many killed and wounded in international waters. It was totally unjustifiable,” says Prof. Moshe Maoz from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.

“The damage Israel has done to itself is enormous and it is a wound which will just grow. It has irreparably damaged its relationship with the international community and with the Muslim world. The Israeli government is going from bad to worse,” Maoz told IPS.

“Israel’s behavior has given Hamas more positive publicity than the organization could ever give itself,” Samir Awad, an academic at the Birzeit University, near Ramallah, told IPS.

Gideon Levy, a journalist from the Israeli daily Ha’aretz and acerbic critic of Israeli government policy, caustically summed up the country’s Mediterranean misadventure as “the freedom flotilla trapping the Israeli ship of fools in a sea of stupidity.”

Approximately 700 people from 40 countries, including journalists and about 35 parliamentarians, on six boats were attempting to deliver 10,000 tons of aid to the besieged civilian population of Gaza.

However, before they had even left international waters, one of the boats, the Mavi Marmara, was attacked by heavily armed Israeli commandos.

Some of the activists fought back with crude instruments, and a disputed number were left dead after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers opened fire.

Foreign journalists have been unable to verify the exact number killed or the nationalities and names of all of the wounded due to a military blackout on the information.

Despite the disproportionate use of force by the commandos, the Israeli foreign ministry and military have been working overtime to make the commandos appear the victims of “violent peace activists.” But many are not buying this scenario, including many on the Israeli Left, and international censure has been swift.

Twelve countries, mostly European but several Arab countries too, have called the resident Israeli ambassadors in demanding explanations. Turkey and Greece have canceled joint military maneuvers with Israel.

NATO held emergency talks on Tuesday at the request of Turkey, which lost the lion’s share of nationals in the botched raid.

Many in NATO acknowledge that unarmed Turkish civilians were killed after their boat was attacked in international waters as they were carrying out a humanitarian mission.

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Israel, and it appears doubtful that the relationship between Israel and Turkey will ever fully recover, despite the fact that Turkey was hitherto Israel’s strongest ally in the region.

The UN Security Council on Monday condemned and called for an impartial investigation into Israel’s actions, while UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon urged Israel to lift its blockade on the coastal territory.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, urged the international community to prosecute those responsible for the deaths of the Gaza flotilla activists.

William Hague, British foreign secretary, called on Israel to open all of Gaza’s border crossings.

“I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza Flotilla. Our embassy is in urgent contact with the Israeli government. We are asking for more information and urgent access to any British nationals involved,” stated Hague.

Even long-time Israeli ally and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd condemned the Israeli action and called for the siege to be lifted.

Five Australians were on the FG boats, including two respected journalists from the daily Sydney Morning Herald. Both have refused to sign Israeli deportation orders and are currently being held in detention. Another Australian man was shot in the leg.

But anger at Israel’s action extended beyond international diplomacy and was widespread on the global street.

Demonstrations broke out in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and in Gaza, neighboring Arab countries, as well as many cities across Europe and the U.S.

Hundreds of Israelis also took to the streets in Tel Aviv, and in Ashdod where the activists and their boats were forcibly taken.

The future of peace in the region could also be at stake. Israel’s relations with the region have fallen to an all-time low.

Of specific importance is a possible freeze in proximity talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Negotiations between Israel and the PA had recently been revived after months of deadlock.

But members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) gathered in Ramallah and called for Israel to be boycotted. PA President Mahmoud Abbas is also due to visit Gaza for the first time in four years in what could be a step toward a unity deal with his Hamas rivals – something Israel would abhor.

Israel also faces growing dissatisfaction from within its borders from its Arab minority. Resentment at rampant discrimination has been aggravated by the targeting of Sheikh Raed Saleh, a prominent activist and leader of Israel’s Islamic Movement, who was wounded in the clashes.

Meanwhile, IDF forces continue to show their contempt for international peace activists and their confidence in being immune to prosecution.

During a demonstration at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem on Monday an American woman appeared to be deliberately targeted when a teargas canister was fired at her head, causing her to lose an eye.

Witnesses reported that 21-year-old Emily Henochowicz was standing with several other foreigners when a number of canisters were fired in their direction and one of them hit her.

Israeli soldiers regularly fire the high-velocity teargas canisters, which are designed to penetrate walls, directly at protesters despite regulations requiring they be fired in an upward arc. As a result, a number of people have died and others have been seriously injured.

(Inter Press Service)

[Viper]

..When trying to find the source, I learned he may have borrowed it from Glen Kealey. I just checked, and Kealey actually has it posted on his MySpace page, under "Blurbs/ About Me". Check it out:

http://www.myspace.com/candamble

Borrowed it from Kealey?, all K done was add a silly bit at the end, now who FOUND it first between the two?, well that doesn't really matter anyways.

[Suriel]

Obama’s Timidity and Deaths at Sea
http://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2010/06/01/obamas-timidity-and-deaths-at-sea/
by Ray McGovern, June 02, 2010

A chief lesson to learn from President Barack Obama’s recent unwillingness to stand up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Lobby is that such timidity can get people killed.

Casualty figures are still arriving in the wake of Israel’s Sunday night-Monday morning commando attack on an unarmed flotilla trying to bring relief supplies to the 1.5 million Palestinians crowded into Gaza. Already, at least nine civilian passengers are reported killed, and dozens wounded.

Seldom has an act of aggression been so well advertised in advance. Israel had made clear that it would use force to prevent the ships from reaching Gaza and heard no stern protest from President Obama, who apparently could not overcome his fear of Israel’s legendary political clout.

Earlier this year, Obama did criticize Israel’s continued settlement of Palestinian areas and Netanyahu’s resistance to holding meaningful peace talks, but the president has failed to follow up his words with firm action or resolve. Netanyahu concluded that Israel could do what it wished, including dropping commandos from helicopters onto crowded ships and, after alleging a clash with civilians, ordering the use of lethal force.

Then, Netanyahu could expect that America’s Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) – with leading figures like Wolf Blitzer, who built his journalistic career by working for the Jerusalem Post – would finesse the murderous assault into something reasonable and possibly even tilted sympathetically toward the Israeli troops.

Early on, CNN began repeating the Israeli “explanation” for its attack on the high seas, parroting the Jerusalem Post, which reported that “militants were killed” after they set upon Israeli naval commandos who boarded one of the six ships Monday morning at two o’clock.

The commandos “were met with strong resistance from men armed with bladed weapons and the situation degenerated into a massacre when one of them grabbed the weapon of a soldier and opened fire,” said the Jerusalem Post, quoting Israeli military sources.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that the relief convoy organizers had a “radical Islamic anti-Western orientation,” and that Israeli “naval forces were attacked with metal clubs and knives, as well as live fire,” though there were no reports of Israeli deaths. The IDF statement continued, “The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose,” adding that the Navy then used riot dispersal methods, which include live fire, according to the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA).

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak blamed the organizers of the convoy for the violent outcome, and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told a news conference why that was so: “The organizers’ intent was violent, their method was violent, and unfortunately, the results were violent.”

So, you see, the Israeli military resorted to violence only in self-defense. Right.

Quiet Conversation

On Monday, President Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone about the incident. Afterward, the White House said Obama had expressed “deep regret” over the deaths, but declined further comment, citing “the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances” as quickly as possible.

Don’t hold your breath, though, waiting for the timid Obama or his Likud-leaning advisers – much less the FCM – to question the Israeli version.

We are likely to get an “explanation” worthy of the late Alexander Haig as to why the slaughter may well have been “justified.” Haig’s death in February brought to mind comments he made about a brutal incident on the night of Dec. 2, 1980, shortly after Ronald Reagan’s election victory.

In rightist-ruled El Salvador, government security forces stopped four American churchwomen in their mini-van and were ordered to kill them. The soldiers first raped the women and then executed them with high-powered rifles. Reagan’s foreign policy team decided to treat the rape-murder as a public relations problem, best handled by shifting blame onto the victims. And so, the women were deemed not nuns, but “political activists.” (Today, “militants”–whatever that means–is often the label of choice.)

After becoming Reagan’s first secretary of state, Haig told Congress that “the nuns may have run through a roadblock or may have accidentally been perceived to have been doing so, and there may have been an exchange of fire.”

In just a few weeks, the American women had gone from being innocent victims to “political activists” to armed insurgents – although knowledgeable U.S. government officials conceded there was no evidence to support Haig’s shootout speculation. As an intelligence analyst at the time, I knew of Haig’s inclination to make up stuff.

Watch for something similar to happen with respect to the “militants” or “activists” who were killed or wounded in the incident off Gaza. I avoid tuning in to the FCM anymore (it’s just too much for my Irish temper), but I’m told that Israel-friendly pundits are already spinning faster than the famous centrifuges in Iran.

Uncle Remus’ Wisdom

“He Don’t Say Nothin’,” as Uncle Remus put it, with improper grammar but with an accurate understanding that by not saying anything you can often convey a powerful or dangerous message.

As a presidential candidate, Obama was careful to say nothing about the brutal Israeli blockade against the 1.5 million people in Gaza, about to enter its fourth year. As president-elect, he stayed mum as the Israelis attacked densely populated Gaza, killing some 1,400 Gazans.

As president, he has backed down at every significant moment when Netanyahu thumbed his nose at Obama or at Vice President Joe Biden.

Obama knew about the “Freedom Flotilla” and its plan to bring supplies to Gaza. And he had to be aware of Israel’s threats to attack the relief ships. But, like Uncle Remus’ Br’er Fox, Obama “don’t say nothin.’”

Quite the contrary, Obama’s pro-Zionist White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who recently vacationed in Israel and met with Netanyahu last Wednesday, extended an invitation for a working visit at the White House. Netanyahu was to visit Obama on Tuesday after a four-day visit to Canada.

On Monday morning, Netanyahu canceled out of a gala dinner to be held in his honor in Ottawa and nixed the visit to Washington. He said he hoped that both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Obama “understand that Israel has a great security problem.”

Getting Away With Murder

The fatal incident off the Gaza coast was not the first time Israel had used lethal force against a nearly defenseless ship at sea. The attack on the “Freedom Flotilla” was reminiscent of the attack on the USS Liberty during Israel’s Six-Day War against three of its Arab neighbors.

The war started on June 5, 1967, when Israel carried out an unprovoked blitzkrieg attack. What is my source for “unprovoked?” Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who 15 years later admitted publicly:

“In June 1967, we had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that [Egyptian President] Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”

Three days into the war, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats turned their firepower on the intelligence-collection ship USS Liberty in international waters after the Israelis had identified it as a U.S. Navy ship.

The Israelis later insisted that the strafing and torpedo attacks were accidents in the fog of war. However, U.S. intelligence intercepted Israeli conversations at the time showing the attacks were deliberate, and their nature and persistence showed clear intent to sink the Liberty and leave no survivors.

Israeli commandos clad in black were about to land from helicopters and finish off what remained of the Liberty crew when Seaman Terry Halbardier (later awarded the Silver Star) slid over the Liberty’s napalm-greased deck to jury-rig an antenna and get an SOS off to the Sixth Fleet.

Israeli forces intercepted the SOS and quickly broke off the attack. But 34 of the Liberty crew were killed and over 170 wounded.

To avoid exacerbating relations with Israel, the U.S. Navy was ordered to cover up the deliberate nature of the attack, and the surviving crew was threatened with imprisonment if they so much as told their wives. When some of the crew later called for an independent investigation, they were hit with charges of anti-Semitism.

One of the surviving crew of the USS Liberty, decorated Navy veteran Joe Meadors, was with the “Freedom Flotilla” when it was attacked on Sunday night. Meadors is past president of the USS Liberty Veterans Association. The State Department tells us that Joe Meadors survived this latest Israeli attack. At last word, he sits in an Israeli jail.

Rachel Corrie

Another American was murdered in cold blood on March 16, 2003. Twenty-three year-old Rachel Corrie, a volunteer serving in Gaza with the International Solidarity Movement was run over by an Israeli army bulldozer after a prolonged face-off in full view of several of her volunteer colleagues. Rachel had been trying to prevent the bulldozing of a Palestinian home where she had been staying.

The message the Israelis wanted to convey in killing Rachel Corrie was that international volunteers would no longer be exempt from the brutal treatment accorded young Israeli volunteers who tried to stand up, as Rachel did, for decent treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.

The FCM’s excitement over President George W. Bush’s eagerly anticipated “shock-and-awe” bombing of Iraq three days later pushed what limited coverage there was about Rachel’s murder to the back pages. The Israelis claimed the killing was an inadvertent mistake, like the shoot-up of the Liberty. The courageous Rachel was very much with the Freedom Flotilla in spirit. And a certain poetic justice is to be found in that one of the ships in the convoy bore the name “Rachel Corrie.”

Israel cannot hide behind “inadvertence” this time, although its spin-masters are already doing their best to smear the civilians on the ships with buzzwords, calling them “militants” and “terrorists” who “ambushed” and tried to “lynch” the Israeli commandos.

These P.R. tactics may work with the American FCM and neocons in Washington – and by extension the TV-watchers in the United States – but patience with Israel in the international community is wearing paper-thin.

Some Care About the Scandal of Gaza

Much of the world’s impatience has to do with Gaza, including the Israeli attack from Dec. 17, 2008, to Jan. 18, 2009, as well as the three-year blockade that began when Hamas won Palestinian elections and became the governing party in Gaza.

Israel and the U.S. government deem Hamas to be a terrorist organization, though some other countries regard it more as a resistance movement fighting against Israeli occupation.

Regardless of how one feels about Hamas, Israel’s harsh blockade of Gaza and last year’s military assault have inflicted a humanitarian disaster on the Palestinian people.

Has Netanyahu Gone Too Far?

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has reacted strongly to the Israeli attack on the relief ships, the largest of which sailed from Turkey. According to one report, Turkey has served warning that Turkish navy ships will escort future relief convoys to Gaza.

Erdogan has had it with Israeli mistreatment of Muslims in his eastern Mediterranean neighborhood. On Jan. 29, 2009, at the economic summit in Davos, he leveled harsh criticism to Israeli President Shimon Peres’  face, labeling Gaza “an open-air prison.”

Erdogan angrily cited “the sixth commandment – thou shalt not kill,” adding, “We are talking about killing” in Gaza. Erdogan’s one-and-a-half-minute tirade was captured on camera by the BBC.

Five days before Erdogan’s outburst, the Brazilian government also condemned Israel’s bombing of Gaza and its effect on the civilian population as a “disproportionate response.”

It seems to have been the atrocity in Gaza – plus a common determination to prevent war from spreading to Iran – that galvanized the successful joint effort by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to defy Israel. They persuaded Iran to agree to transfer half of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey for further processing, rendering it unusable for a nuclear weapon.

“Defy Israel?” you ask. Confused? If the Israeli leaders truly believe that low-enriched uranium comprises an essential part of an “existential threat” to Israel from eventual nuclear weapons in Iran, would they not be delighted at Iran’s agreement to send half of that uranium out of the country? Good question.

Truth be told, Israel cares a lot less about Iran’s uranium that it does about forcing “regime change” in Tehran. Netanyahu does not want any agreement with Iran; he wants sanctions against Iran, and eventually a military conflict, with the U.S. jumping in to help finish Iran off.

And this twin wish is shared by American neocons who remain influential in the Obama administration and in the FCM.

The pro-Israeli hardliners are the ones running U.S. policy on the Middle East, not Obama, who seems only nominally in charge. Unusually clear proof of this came when the Brazilians released a letter revealing that Obama had personally encouraged the Brazilian and Turkish leaders to pursue the kind of deal they were able to work out with the Iranians.

Small wonder, then, that the leaders of Brazil and Turkey were taken aback when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other administration spokespeople trashed the tripartite Iran-Turkey-Brazil deal and pressed ahead with a new round of sanctions.

And the president? Did he step up and acknowledge that he had encouraged Brazil and Turkey to seek the uranium deal? Well, he don’t say nothin’.

Israeli Influence

While Americans continue to be starved of real information from the FCM, better informed people around the world have come to view with disdain the degree to which Washington dogs are wagged by Israeli tails.

When I suggested five years ago before a Capitol Hill hearing chaired by Rep. John Conyers that Israel was right up there, together with oil and military bases, as comprising the real rationale for war on Iraq, I, too, was called anti-Semitic. But the evidence has always been as clear as it is abundant.

An inadvertent remark by a major player on Iraq, former British Prime Minister Blair, has provided insight – straight from the horse’s ass, I mean, mouth.

In early February 2010, the British press revealed that Blair, testifying to the Iraq war commission in the U.K., offered the following account of his discussions with Bush in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002. (That’s when Bush said war was the only way to deal with Saddam Hussein, and Blair acquiesced.) But Blair’s remarks revealed that Israeli concerns were a major part of the equation and that Israeli officials were involved in the discussions. Thus, Blair:

“As I recall that discussion, it was less to do with specifics about what we were going to do on Iraq or, indeed, the Middle East, because the Israel issue was a big, big issue at the time. I think, in fact, I remember, actually, there may have been conversations that we had even with Israelis, the two of us, whilst we were there. So that was a major part of all this.”

It is a safe bet that Hillary Clinton’s Likud-friendly lieutenants and their new junior partners in London are busy conferring with Tel Aviv right now about how to handle the P.R. challenge caused by the upstart leaders of Turkey and Brazil with the temerity to work out a deal with Tehran. (Never mind that Obama personally asked them to do it.)

How does one make into a bad thing Iran’s agreement to ship half its uranium out of the country, even if additional steps might still be needed to assure the world that Iran is telling the truth when it says it isn’t building a nuclear bomb?

More and more people around the globe are seeing Obama as subservient to the Likud Lobby, perhaps not as enthusiastically as Bush was, but still unwilling to put action behind his occasional words of dissatisfaction. Important players in the Middle East, as well as increasingly assertive countries like Turkey and Brazil, conclude that the policies and behavior of Tel Aviv and Washington are virtually identical.

And then there is the $3 billion or so that the United States gives Israel each year that enables the Israelis to arm themselves to the teeth. It is understandable, then, that many will blame Washington for what happened in the dark of night, on the eve of Memorial Day, on the high seas.

Hard Lessons

The likely results are three-fold:

1. On Memorial Day next year, there may well be hundreds more “fallen heroes” to honor, killed by Muslim and other “militants” who make no distinction between what the U.S. has done in Iraq and Afghanistan and what Israel does in Gaza and the occupied West Bank – and add Lebanon and Syria, for good measure.

As Gen. David Petraeus pointed out earlier this year, the unresolved Arab-Israeli “conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel” and thus puts U.S. troops at greater risk.

“Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the [region] and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world,” Petraeus said. “Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support.”

2. The linking of U.S. support with Israeli actions increases the incentive of terrorists to ply their dark arts in the United States.

While it is difficult to find a measure of objectivity in official U.S. government documents on this topic, every so often there is a slip between cup and lip. There was such a slip on Sept. 23, 2004, for example, when the Pentagon-sponsored U.S. Defense Science Board issued a formal report concluding:

“Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights.”

You will not be surprised to find out that the board’s report was generally suppressed in the FCM, as were the following, more specific, examples:

“By his own account, KSM’s [9/11 “mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's] animus toward the United States stemmed not from his experience there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.” (9/11 Commission Report, July 22, 2004, page 147)

And what motivated Dr. Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, the 32-year-old Jordanian physician of Palestinian origin, who on Dec. 30, 2009, detonated a suicide bomb at a CIA site in eastern Afghanistan, killing seven American CIA operatives? According to his brother, al-Balawi “changed” during the three-week-long Israeli offensive in Gaza, which killed some 1,400 Gazans.

When al-Balawi volunteered to treat injured Palestinians in Gaza, he was arrested by Jordanian authorities, his brother said. It was after that arrest that al-Balawi allowed himself to be “recruited” to spy on al-Qaeda for the CIA. Quickly, it became payback time for Americans and Jordanians whom he associated with Israel.

Christmas underpants bomber Abdulmutallab, also is reported to have been particularly outraged by Israel’s slaughter of Gazans at the turn of 2008-09 and Washington’s defense of Israel’s action.

That Israeli actions in Gaza acted as catalysts to al-Balawi’s and Abdulmutallab’s determination to exact revenge on the U.S. is hardly surprising – the more so in view of Washington’s efforts to suppress the findings of the UN-commissioned Gaza investigation by Justice Richard Goldstone. His report concluded that:

“The blockade policies implemented by Israel against the Gaza Strip, in particular the closure of or restrictions imposed on border crossings in the immediate period before the military operations, subjected the local population to extreme hardship and deprivations that amounted to a violation of Israel’s obligations as an Occupying Power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. …

“Israel has essentially violated its obligation to allow free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital objects, food, and clothing that were needed to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilian population. …

“The Mission concludes that the conditions resulting from deliberate actions of the Israeli forces and the declared policies of the Government with regard to the Gaza Strip before, during, and after the military operation cumulatively indicate the intention to inflict collective punishment on the people of the Gaza Strip.

“The Mission, therefore, finds a violation of the provisions of Articles 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

3. Attacking Iran.

It is no secret that this goal enjoys high priority on Netanyahu’s agenda. It could be stopped in its tracks by a public warning from President Obama. But all signs point to his bending to neocon advice to shy away from a showdown and, rather, leave everything, including another war of aggression, “on the table.”

The fact that world leaders consider Netanyahu a clear and present danger to peace in the region is shown by the way the leaders of Turkey and Brazil moved at an accelerated pace to bend the Iranians to the kind of deal that Obama personally had advocated, before being overruled by Hillary Clinton and others in his misguided Team of Rivals.

The urgency of the Turkey-Brazil initiative came through in the words of Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who could hardly have been more explicit:

“We can’t allow to happen in Iran what happened in Iraq. Before any sanctions, we must undertake all possible efforts to try and build peace in the Middle East.”

Green Light?

Netanyahu listens only to Washington, when he listens at all. Following the bloody attack on the Freedom Flotilla, I imagine he will now get at most a mealy-mouthed “please-don’t-do-this-again” from the White House, together with acquiescence in an Al-Haig-type made-up excuse about an “exchange” of fire.

If that proves to be the case, Netanyahu is altogether likely to consider that Israel has a green light to provoke hostilities with Iran, with the full expectation that the United States will jump right in to help the non-ally ally finish the job.

Non-ally ally? Sorry, despite what you hear from Obama, Congress, and the whole Washington establishment, Israel is not an ally of the United States. Webster’s (and international law) define ally as “a state associated with another by treaty.”

There is no mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and Israel. (Washington has broached the idea to Israel from time to time, but Israel has said no thanks. Treaties, you see, require internationally recognized borders, and – for obvious reasons – Israeli leaders avoid that subject like the plague.)

NATO member Turkey, on the other hand, is a U.S. ally. This could make things very awkward if Turkey sends its warships to accompany the next convoy trying to lift the siege of Gaza. It is possible that Washington may have to choose between a real ally and a synthetic one, if shots are fired.

Israel’s Attack Illegal; What Now?

Craig Murray, a former British ambassador and Foreign Office specialist on maritime law (and VIPS member), has just weighed in with a helpful description of two clear legal possibilities, which take into account both international law and the Law of the Sea:

“Possibility one is that the Israeli commandos were acting on behalf of the government of Israel in killing the activists in international waters. The applicable law is that of the flag state of the ship on which the incident occurred.

“In legal terms, the Turkish ship was Turkish territory. So in this case Israel is in a position of war with Turkey, and the attack by Israeli commandos falls under international jurisdiction as a war crime.

“Possibility two is that, if the killings were not military actions authorized by Israel, they were then acts of murder and fall under Turkish jurisdiction. If Israel does not consider itself in a position of war with Turkey, it must hand over the commandos involved for trial in Turkey under Turkish law. It is for Turkey, not Israel, to carry out any inquiry or investigation and to initiate any prosecutions. Israel would be obliged by law to hand over indicted personnel for prosecution.”

Stay tuned.

[Suriel]

Israeli Knesset member rejects navy account of attack
http://story.argentinastar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/642270/cs/1/
Argentina Star
Wednesday 2nd June, 2010 
(Johnathon Cook - The National)

An Arab member of the Israeli parliament who was on board the international flotilla that was attacked on Monday as it tried to take humanitarian aid to Gaza has accused Israel of intending to kill peace activists as a way to deter future convoys.

Haneen Zoubi said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the flotilla’s flagship, the Mavi Marmara, and fired on it a few minutes before commandos abseiled from a helicopter directly above them.

Terrified passengers had been forced off the deck when water was sprayed at them. She said she was not aware of any provocation or resistance by the passengers, who were all unarmed.

She added that within minutes of the raid beginning, three bodies had been brought to the main room on the upper deck in which she and most other passengers were confined. Two had gunshot wounds to the head, in what she suggested had been executions.

Two other passengers slowly bled to death in the room after Israeli soldiers ignored messages in Hebrew she had held up at the window calling for medical help to save them. She said she saw seven other passengers seriously wounded.

“Israel had days to plan this military operation,” she told a press conference in Nazareth. “They wanted many deaths to terrorise us and to send a message that no future aid convoys should try to break the siege of Gaza.”

Released Tuesday by police, apparently because of her parliamentary immunity, she said she was speaking out while most of the hundreds of other peace activists were either being held by Israel for deportation or were under arrest.

Three other leaders of Israel’s large Palestinian Arab minority, including Sheikh Raed Salah, a spiritual leader, were arrested as their ships docked in the southern port of Ashdod. Lawyers said that under Israeli law they could be held and questioned for up to 30 days without being charged.

Contradicting Israeli claims, Ms Zoubi said a search by the soldiers after they took control of the Marmara discovered no arms or other weapons.

It was vital, she added, that the world demand an independent UN inquiry to find out what had happened on the ship rather than allow Israel to carry out a “whitewash” with its own military investigation.

Ms Zoubi spoke as Palestinians inside both Israel and the occupied territories observed a general strike called by their leaders.

A statement from the High Follow-Up Committee, the main political body for Israel’s Palestinian citizens, described the raid on the flotilla as “state-sponsored terrorism”.

Demonstrations and marches in most of the main Palestinian towns and villages in Israel passed off quietly. Local analysts described the mood as angry but subdued, not least because of the openly hostile climate that has developed towards Palestinian citizens since crackdowns on their protests during the Israeli attack on Gaza 18 months ago.

However, police were reported to have been put on high alert, with thousands of extra officers drafted into the north, where most Palestinian citizens live.

On Monday, clashes between protesters and police broke out close to the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City and in the northern town of Umm al Fahm after false rumours circulated that Sheikh Salah, the leader of Israel’s main Islamic Movement, had been killed in the Israeli naval operation.

Police were reported to have arrested 18 youths, mainly for throwing stones in various locations in the north.

Scores of Palestinians demonstrated outside the Turkish consulate in East Jerusalem Tuesday to show their support for Ankara, which has harshly criticised Israeli actions. Two demonstrators were reported to have been arrested by police.

In the West Bank, many Palestinians observed the first of three days of mourning decreed by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, over the killings of international activists.

Even before the attack on the flotilla, the country’s Palestinian minority, a fifth of the population, had been braced for a backlash from the government and Jewish public for its leaders’ participation in the flotilla. As the ships set sail, Ynet, Israel’s most popular news website, had asked whether Ms Zoubi was an “MP in the service of Hamas”.

But faced with the severe diplomatic fall-out from Israel’s killing of peace activists, Israel’s Palestinian leaders warned that they were likely to come under even fiercer criticism in coming days.

Tuesday right-wing parties launched their first attacks on Ms Zoubi, demanding the revocation of her immunity and her expulsion from the parliament. Danny Danon, a member of the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called for her to be “tried for treason”.

In her statement on the attack, Ms Zoubi said that at 4am on Monday she had seen at least 14 Israeli boats surround their ship 130km out at sea, in international waters.

She said the passengers had been gripped with fear at the noise and confusion as the commandos abseiled on to the deck. “I did not believe we were going to survive more than five minutes,” she said.

Taleb al Sana, another Arab MP, supported Ms Zoubi’s contention that Israeli claims that the commandos shot only at the passengers’ legs were false. “I have visited the wounded in hospital and they all have shot wounds to the head and body,” he said.

Adalah, a legal centre for Israel’s Arab minority, said nine lawyers had been given limited access Tuesday afternoon to the hundreds of activists detained in Beersheva and were trying to take testimonies “in very difficult circumstances”.

Its lawyers and human rights groups were also trying to track down who had been injured and where they being treated.

“Our view is that Israel is intentionally trying to obstruct this work and is enforcing an information blackout,” said Gaby Rubin, a spokeswoman for Adalah.

[Suriel]

Biden: Israel right to stop Gaza flotilla from breaking blockade
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/biden-israel-right-to-stop-gaza-flotilla-from-breaking-blockade-1.293833
*  Published 23:47 02.06.10
* Latest update 23:47 02.06.10
By Natasha Mozgovaya

VP Biden tells Charlie Rose that the Israel Navy might not have needed to drop commandos onto the Gaza-bound ship, but insists that Israel is entitled to defend its security.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday defended Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and its decision to intercept the pro-Palestinian flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to the coastal territory, though he did not go so far as to defend the Israel Navy raid that killed nine people two days earlier.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Biden pointed out that Israel had given pro-Palestinian activists the option of unloading their cargo at the Ashdod port, and offered to bring it to the Gaza Strip on their behalf.

"They've said, 'Here you go. You're in the Mediterranean. This ship -- if you divert slightly north you can unload it and we'll get the stuff into Gaza,'", he said. "So what's the big deal here? What's the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it's legitimate for Israel to say, 'I don't know what's on that ship. These guys are dropping… 3,000 rockets on my people.

"Look, you can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not  -- but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know -- they're at war with Hamas -- has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in."

During the interview, Biden also blamed Hamas for the crisis that has wracked the coastal territory and for the ongoing state of conflict with Israel.

"As we put pressure, and the world put pressure on Israel to let material go into Gaza to help those people who are suffering, the ordinary Palestinians there, what happened? Hamas would confiscate it, put it in a warehouse [and] sell it.

"So the problem is this would end tomorrow if Hamas agreed to form a government with the Palestinian Authority on the conditions the international community has set up," Biden told Rose.

[Suriel]

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stands by raid on ship
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10219391.stm
Page last updated at 20:35 GMT, Wednesday, 2 June 2010 21:35 UK


Turkish planes were expected to collect activists at Israel's Ben Gurion airport

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel had "no other choice" but to stop the flotilla of ships which tried to break the Gaza blockade on Monday.

Nine activists were killed when Israeli troops raided one of the ships in an operation widely criticised by Turkey, which recalled its ambassador in protest, and others.

"This was not a love boat, this was a boat of hate," Mr Netanyahu said.

A mass deportation of foreign activists by air is under way.

As activists accused Israeli forces of brutality, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council voted to set up an independent international inquiry into the raid.

In London, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Israel's raid was "completely unacceptable" and called for the Israeli blockade of Gaza to be lifted.

The International Quartet's Middle East envoy, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, said the blockade was "counter-productive".

"What [Israel] should be doing is allow material in to rebuild homes and sanitation and power and water systems, and allow business to flourish," he told Reuters news agency in an interview in Bethlehem.

The Israeli prime minister, who visited injured commandos in hospital in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, said the soldiers had been met by a "vicious mob" and had acted to defend themselves.

He said that it was Israel's duty to prevent rockets and other weapons being smuggled into Gaza to Hamas by Iran and others.

The flotilla, he argued, was not aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans but was trying to break the blockade.

Israel would not allow Gaza to become an "Iranian port in the Mediterranean", he said.

He dismissed criticism of the raid as "an attack of international hypocrisy".

"I regret to say that for many in the international community no evidence is needed: Israel is guilty until proven guilty," he remarked.

Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak thanked the commandos involved in the raid when he visited them at their base in Atlit.

"We live in the Middle East, in a place where there is no mercy for the weak and there aren't second chances for those who don't defend themselves," he was quoted by Haaretz newspaper as saying.

Brought to airport

About 120 of the detainees were expelled overland through Jordan on Wednesday morning.

Others were ferried by coach to Ben Gurion airport for deportation.

Two Turkish air ambulances picked up wounded activists and took them to Ankara.

The BBC understands that several passenger planes due to take some 500 remaining detainees to Turkey and Greece are still on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport.

Three Israeli Arabs detained on the flotilla remain in custody.

Four of the activists who were killed were Turkish, and Turkey's parliament has called for relations with Israel to be reviewed.

HOW ISRAEL RAID UNFOLDED

The flotilla of six ships, including the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara, was on its way from Cyprus to Gaza carrying supplies including cement, paper and water purification tablets.

As the flotilla, still in international waters, neared Gaza, Israeli commandos intercepted the boats from air and sea. This image shows a soldier rappelling from a helicopter onto the upper deck of the ferry.

The Israelis say their soldiers were set upon and beaten with bats, chairs and metal poles as soon as they boarded the Mavi Marmara. Activists say the soldiers attacked them first.

As the incident escalated, the Israelis used live weapons on the activists, although the exact circumstances are unclear. This still from Turkish TV footage shows first aid being given to an injured activist.

At the end of the incident at least nine activists were dead. Israel escorted the flotilla to the port of Ashdod and detained the protesters. An online maritime tracking map shows the route taken by the boats.

[Suriel]

Israel underestimated reactions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ31KTf3YAk

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator in the peace process, says that Israel underestimated world reaction to the raid.

Here he speaks to Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halket from Jerusalem.

[Dig]

The US MSM are again exposing how totally incompetent they are in telling the truth by lying through their f-ing teeth to serve conflicts of interest. They are exposing how they do not give a flying crap about "We the People" and only continue to push military confrontations in attempt to expedite more wars for more corporate profits and more consolidation of power!

The nuclear bomb makers at General Electric are really begging for WWIII. Their propaganda machine, MSNBC, is true to form with Chris Matthews (a completely outed CIA agent and blabbering psychopath who is hell bent on kissing as much Bilderberg ass as humanly possible), Andrea Mitchell (wife of zionazi psychopath and Knight to the British Empire, Sir Alan Greenspan), Barney Frank (who has been caught running a child sex slavery ring from his basement and who covered up the kidnapping, torture, an execution of underage boys at Boys Town), Elliott Spitzer (abuser of power and now fully neutralized General Electric Slave),an the rest of the CIA agents who do not work for "We the People" but for Harriman, Rockefeller, Bush, and other zionazi Bilderberg assholes who cannot wait to destroy US sovereignty with Israeli cowering as well as China cowering and EU cowering!

WHY ISN'T GENERAL ELECTRIC UNDER FULL INVESTIGATION FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, CONSPIRACY, SEDITION, AND AT THE VERY LEAST RICO VIOLATIONS!

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
-Benito Mussolini (father of fascism)


General Electric
http://www.warprofiteers.com/article.php?list=type&type=16

Run until 2001 by “Neutron” Jack Welch, who made it a matter of principle to lay off 10% of his workers per year, the world’s biggest company churns out plastics, aircraft engines and nuclear reactors and media spin through NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and msnbc.com.

CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt
Military contracts 2005: $2.2 billion
Defense-related contributions in the 2004 election cycle: $220,950*

The world’s largest company by market share, General Electric’s revenues in 2003 totaled $134.2 billion. GE was run until 2001 by “Neutron” Jack Welch, who made it a matter of principle to lay off 10% of his workers per year.

General Electric makes household appliances, plastics, water treatment systems, lighting, medical equipment, and commercial financial services. It also makes aircraft engines and nuclear reactors, and keeps criticism at bay with its ownership of media giants NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Bravo, and, in partnership with Microsoft, msnbc.com. GE’s recent partnership with Vivendi added Universal Studios, USA, Trio and Sci-fi cable channels to its $43 billion media empire.

General Electric is one of the world’s top three producers of jet engines, supplying Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other military aircraft makers for the powering of airplanes and helicopters. The “war on terrorism” has seen GE’s military contracts rise substantially. But the company’s “defense” side has been doing well for a while. GE and other military contractors got a big boost under the Clinton administration from Presidential Directive 41 which stated that it was the job of US diplomats to promote arms sales abroad in order to safeguard American jobs; this directive tied the promotions of diplomats to how effectively they hocked US armaments.

GE has designed 91 nuclear power plants in 11 countries, yet its nuclear reactors around the world have a fatal flaw. In the event of a nuclear meltdown, there is a 90 percent chance that radiation from GE-designed reactors would be discharged directly into the atmosphere. While the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is aware of the problem, it continues to license GE nuclear reactors. GE’s history with nuclear power is an ugly one.

In the 1940s-1960s the company ran experiments on humans with radiation, including irradiating the reproductive organs of prison inmates in Walla Walla, Washington, without warning them of the risk of cancer. Other tests were run on the elderly and hospital patients. General Electric intentionally released large amounts of radiation into the air from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, in order to see the distance it would travel. These atrocities were revealed in hearings in 1986 held by Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

The company has also been accused of knowingly poisoning its workers at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady, New York with radiation and asbestos.

General Electric is currently attempting to overturn the US Superfund Law of 1980, which allows the government to hold polluters responsible for cleaning up their toxic chemicals. GE argues that it is “unconstitutional” for the Environmental Protection Agency to force the company to pay $500 million for the cleanup of the Hudson River, where GE dumped carcinogenic PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, over three decades. In March 2004, a federal appeals court has revived GE’s lawsuit. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that GE is trying to change the Superfund Law: the company is responsible for 78 Superfund sites around the US. It’s clearly not safe to be a worker for GE either. The US government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has cited the company for 858 workplace safety violations from 1990-2001.

General Electric has been involved in so many cases of fraud that in the 1990s the Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency created a special investigations office specifically for the company, which indicted GE on 22 criminal counts and recovered $221.7 million. In one case, in 1992, GE entered a guilty plea to criminal and civil charges for defrauding the Pentagon in a case where money was funneled to the Israeli military. GE was fined $69 million for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

GE’s financial division has been another area ripe for fraud. GE was fined $100 million for trying to get bankrupt creditors to pay without informing the bankruptcy courts, in effect paying debts that they no longer legally owed. Not surprisingly, General Electric is the financial backer of WorldCom, the telecom company whose massive fraud and creative accounting led to the largest bankruptcy in US history.The company has been involved in countless scandals, but strangely enough, they don’t seem to affect General Electric’s ability to win government contracts – but then, this is typical of all military contractors. According to a survey by the Center for Public Integrity, from 1990-2002, 30 of the US government’s top contractors were found guilty of fraud in 400 cases, leading to settlements and fines amounting to at least $3.4 billion. General Electric paid $982.9 million for 63 cases in this period.

Such repeated behavior and continued contracts wouldn’t be possible without friends in high places, of which General Electric. GE spent more than $31 million in 2001 and 2002 lobbying lawmakers; in 2000 it spent $16 million. Reigning CEO Jack Welch had enormous influence and was consistently ranked CEO of the Year by the slavish business press; he was major Republican donor as well. GE director Sam Nunn was senator for Georgia for 27 years, and also sits on the boards of ChevronTexaco. GE’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel and Secretary, Benjamin W. Heineman, used to work for the US government’s Department of Health, Education and Welfare. General Electric's defense sector gave $221,200 to political campaigns in the 2004 election cycle, with 50 percent going to Democrats and 50 percent to Republicans. *Source: opensecrets.org

General Electric
Fair Finance Watch
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
GE Workers United
EnviroHealthAction

US: Energy Group Plans to Build Nuclear Plants in Gulf States
by Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times
September 23rd, 2005
A consortium of eight companies said on Thursday that it would spend about $100 million to prepare applications to build two nuclear reactors, in Mississippi and Alabama, a step that seems to move the industry closer to its first new reactor order since the 1970's.

US: Court Revives GE Challenge of Superfund Law
by Devlin Barrett, Associated Press
March 4th, 2004
A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 1980 Superfund law that allows the government to assess polluters for cleaning up toxic waste sites.

US: Big Media Gets Bigger
by Bill Moyers, NOW with Bill Moyers on PBS
October 10th, 2003
Big media companies keep getting bigger – with more and more power over our lives. This week's deal between General Electric (GE) and Vivendi means that GE'S NBC, which helped elect Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor of California, has just picked up not only Universal Studios, but the USA, Trio and Sci-fi cable channels, to go with CNBC and MSNBC, all now part of a $43 billion dollar empire.

US: The Case Against General Electric
Multinational Monitor
August 1st, 2001
General Electric has a lengthy record of criminal, civil, political and ethical transgressions, some of them shocking in disregard for the integrity of human beings. This article will list a few examples.

World: General Electric's Global Assault
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Mother Jones
May 26th, 2000
While the 20-reign of General Electric's CEO has been a golden era for shareholders - the company's stock value has risen three time more than the Dow Jones average, leading Forbes magazine to name Welch the "Most Admired CEO of the Century" - it has been a disaster for employees.

US: General Electric Expose Garners an Oscar
by Megan Rosenfeld, Washington Post
April 23rd, 1992
Chasnoff's film indicts the multi-billion-dollar corporation on two counts: failing to clean up the site of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, and knowingly poisoning workers with asbestos and radiation at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady, N.Y. Scenes of Hanford area residents who have had or know of birth defects and cancer are juxtaposed with the familiar jingle: "GE: We bring good things to life."

General Electric Makes it to the top war profiteers list:

Top Military Contractors/War Profiteers
 
The following companies are the top 10 recipients of U.S. military dollars.

David J. Lesar, CEO, Kellogg, Brown & Root (subsidiary of Halliburton )
2003 military contracts revenue: $3.9 billion
Runs US military bases in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Djibouti, Georgia, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey and Uzbekistan, built Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prisons, South Vietnam & Diego Garcia military bases
 
Vance D. Coffman, CEO, Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Maryland.
2002 Salary: $25.3 million
Campaign Contributions in 2002: $9.7 million, Military Contracts 2000-2003: $69.1 billion,
Products: F-16, F/A-22 jet fighters, C-130J air transport, Hellfire, Javelin missiles

Philip M. Condit, CEO, Boeing of Chicago, Illinois
2002 Salary: $4.1 million
Campaign Contributions in 2002: $1.6 million, Military Contracts 2000-2003: $60 billion
Products: F-15 fighter, C-17 air transport, Apache Helicopter, JDAM "smart" bombs

William H. Swanson, CEO, Raytheon of Lexington, Massachusetts.
2002 Salary: $8.9 million, Military contracts 2000-2002: $27.5 billion
Products: Patriot & Tomahawk missiles, "Bunker Buster" bomb

Ronald Sugar, CEO, Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles, CA
2002 Salary: $1.5 million, military contracts 2000-2002: $34.6 billion (including TRW)
Products: B-2 stealth bomber, amphibious assault ships

Nicholas D Chabraja, CEO, General Dynamics of Fall Church, Virginia
2002 Salary: $15.2 million
Campaign Contributions in 2002: $1.64 million, Military Contracts 2000-2002: $25 billion
Products: Abrams M1 tanks, Trident submarines

George David, CEO, United Technologies of Hartford, Connecticut
2002 Salary: $9.7 million, Military contracts 2000-2002: $9.8 billion
Products: Black Hawk, Sea Hawk, Comanche helicopters

John F. Welch, Jr., CEO, General Electric of Fairfield. Connecticut
2002 Salary: $15.1 million
Campaign Contributions in 2002: $221,350,
Military Contracts 2000-2003: $7.7 billion
Products: Aircraft engines, nuclear reactors, NBC news, msnbc.com
 
Paul V. Lombardi, CEO, DynCorp
Owned by Computer Sciences Corporation of El Segundo, California
Campaign Contributions in 2002: $221,350, Military Contracts 2000-2003: $5.5 billion
Products: Rent-a-cops in Afghanistan, Bosnia & Iraq, US-Mexico border, defoliation missions in Colombia.

Felons on the Air
Does GE's Ownership of NBC Violate the Law?
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1254
November/December 1994
By Sam Husseini

General Electric's ownership of the NBC TV network has been in the news in recent months. As Extra! went to press, companies like Time Warner, Disney, ITT and Turner Broadcasting have reportedly been negotiating to either buy NBC outright or enter into some kind of partnership with GE. But a little-noted aspect of communications law raises questions about GE's ownership of NBC's broadcast licenses -- and its ability to sell those licenses to another company.

Shady Characters

The Federal Communications Act of 1934 created the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the airwaves, which are considered public property. The act states that the FCC should assess the "character...of the applicant to operate the station," and ensure that the "public interest...would be served by the granting" of a license.

Despite a general decline in the FCC's enforcement of the public interest aspect of this law, there is at least one factor that the FCC still considers before granting a license: whether the applicant has committed a felony.

In 1989, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, complained of FCC laxness in examining felons (Broadcasting, 1/1/90); his office said the policy "represents one of the excesses of the last eight years." This apparently led the FCC to issue a statement saying it would "consider all felony convictions," as well as "misdemeanors in certain circumstances," as factors in granting or renewing broadcast licenses. This announcement toughened a policy that had been weakened in 1985.

Shortly thereafter, the FCC revoked the broadcast license of WFXL-TV in Georgia because the license-holder was an individual convicted of laundering drug money. The FCC also denied the licensee's appeals to be able to sell the station, forcing him to forfeit his investment (Broadcasting, 8/12/91).

Not all felons have been treated so harshly. Alan Gottlieb, an anti-environmental, pro-gun activist who helped raise money for the 1988 Bush/Quayle campaign, was convicted of tax evasion in the mid-'80s. Though he was denied a gun permit for a time, he was granted the license for KBNP in Portland, Ore. in 1989.

Gottlieb, who also owns a chunk of the Talk America radio network, told Extra! that he disclosed his felony conviction to the FCC, but they still allowed him to purchase the station; apparently he convinced the FCC that his felony was due to a record-keeping mistake. To Gottlieb's knowledge, no one has contested his license.

A corporation, like an individual, can also lose its license on character grounds. "If you're going to permit corporate licenses in the first place -- which is questionable -- you've got to apply the same standard" to corporations and individuals, former FCC commissioner Nicholas Johnson told Extra!.

Broadcasting reported in 1991 (3/25/91) that "the FCC was considering holding license revocation hearings" for WNCN-FM in New York after its parent company, GAF, was convicted of securities fraud. The FCC dropped the matter after the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Even without a felony conviction, a corporate entity can lose its license because of character questions. In a prolonged case, the FCC decided not to renew the licenses of 14 of the TV and radio stations owned by RKO General, a subsidiary of General Tire (now GenCorp). "The FCC decision was not based on the quality of broadcast service...but on the question of RKO's corporate integrity," Fortune noted (4/21/80). "General Tire was maintaining slush funds for such uses as improper overseas payments and questionable campaign contributions," Time later reported (8/24/87), and "allegedly filed false and misleading financial statements." Of particular concern was RKO's lack of candor in reporting these wrongdoings to the FCC.

RKO was stripped of one station (Boston's WNAC-TV) without compensation,and was forced to sell other stations for less than full market value, resulting in major financial losses.

Citizen GE

These cases would pale in significance if the FCC applied the "character question" to NBC's parent. As the owner of the network, GE controls the licenses for NBC's six owned-and-operated TV affiliates. These stations,located in key markets, are worth an estimated $2.5 billion.

But these assets could be threatened if the FCC ruled that GE's criminal record -- including a host of fraud, environmental, financial and employment violations -- made the corporation unfit to hold broadcasting licenses. (See Extra!, 6/92.) As William Greider writes (Rolling Stone, 4/16/92), "Citizen GE practices its everyday politics unhindered by its status as a convicted felon."

When GE acquired NBC's licenses, the rules were somewhat looser. On Dec. 10, 1985, the FCC relaxed the policy on character qualifications, declaring that a large corporation could be held responsible for felonies only if the heads of the corporation or those directly involved in the broadcasting aspect were the wrongdoers. The very next day, GE announced it would buy NBC's parent, RCA, for $6.2 billion. (The timing, of course, was completely coincidental -- as was the fact that GE chair Jack Welch was an old friend of then-President Ronald Reagan, who had gotten his start in politics largely thanks to GE.)

GE was a direct beneficiary of the new FCC policy, as an AP report noted the following year (6/5/86):

Acting for the first time under a new policy on judging the "character" of broadcast licensees, the commission determined there was no reason to deny the license transfers because GE had rehabilitated itself [since pleading guilty to fraud charges in 1985] and convinced the government it had taken steps to insure that similar violations would not happen again.


GE's Rap Sheet

But despite the FCC's faith in GE's redemption, the corporation has returned to its criminal ways repeatedly since it took over NBC. A partial sampling of its rap sheet since then:

In 1990, GE was "convicted of defrauding the Defense Department by overcharging the Army for a battlefield computer system." (Fortune, 9/5/94) GE paid $30 million in criminal and civil fines.

In 1992, GE "pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and corrupt business practices in connection with its sale of military jet engines to Israel," the Washington Post reported (7/23/92). "Bob Pettit, general counsel to the FCC, said today that such convictions are 'relevant' for the commission to consider, but do not result in automatic loss of license," the paper noted.

GE currently faces anti-trust charges "of a scheme by GE executives to rig prices with DeBeers Consolidated Mines, the secretive South African cartel that controls much of the world's diamond production." (Fairfield County Business Journal, 5/25/92)

Most recently have come revelations of illegal reporting at Kidder Peabody, GE's investment subsidiary, which resulted in the dismissal of Kidder CEO Michael Carpenter -- who was brought in from another GE division by Welch in 1989 to put Kidder in order. "Like it or not, the scandals at Kidder Peabody were brought on by GE's management," Fortune asserted (9/5/94).

A February 1994 report of the Project on Government Oversight found that GE had 16 instances of fraudulent activity against the government since 1990 -- the most of any company listed (Daily Citizen, 3/14/94). Such revelations led Russell Mokhiber, editor of Corporate Crime Reporter, to note, "If the law were 15 strikes and you're out, GE would be banned."

The FCC is particularly concerned with questionable activity before other government agencies, since this might indicate a willingness to deceive the FCC. Despite GE's unsavory record, formal challenges have rarely been made to its ownership of the NBC licenses. Such cases were to be raised in a hearing against NBC by National Capital Communications Inc., which was filing a competing application for WRC-TV, NBC's D.C. affiliate. But NBC and NCCI made a deal whereby NBC would pay $295,000 (ostensibly for legal costs) to NCCI, in return for NCCI dropping its challenge Television Digest, 5/24/93).

"The Price They Ought to Pay"

In the past, the FCC has ruled that non-broadcast legal cases against GE "raise no substantial and material question" as to NBC's qualifications to own its licenses. (See Communications Daily, 3/5/92). But this was under an FCC with a more conservative cast, and preceded the somewhat toughened 1990 character policy. As things stand, "the FCC's rules on the subject are vague about what impact wrongdoing by one corporate subsidiary has on another," Electronic Media reports (7/27/92).

Any sale of NBC's licenses has to be approved by the FCC. This may give the agency (and anyone seeking to challenge NBC's licenses) an additional opportunity to review GE's fitness to own the outlets in the first place. Any action by the FCC against GE would likely result in a prolonged court battle, but could prove disastrous for GE should it lose.

GE maintains that it should not be held responsible for the actions of rogue employees. But Greider, in his book Who Will Tell the People, writes that this argument is disingenuous, given GE's "high-pressure management culture":

GE first turns up the heat on its line managers by creating a climate of purposeful insecurity -- everyone's job is at risk if his or her division's profit performance lags. Then, when division managers in the field are caught in false billings and other forms of profiteering, GE piously disavows them as "miscreant employees."


The Washington Post (7/23/92) noted that

some disaffected former employees contended that GE's relentless competitive drive to dominate markets and increase profits fostered a climate in which some managers decided to cut corners to preserve their careers.


Says retired FCC commissioner Nicholas Johnson of the culpability of parent corporations like GE for illegal activity by subsidiaries: "If you're going to allow conglomerate licenses -- something that was prevented in the case of ITT [which tried to buy ABC] in 1967 -- this ought to be part of the price these guys ought to pay."

"Bozos and Thieves"

GE/NBC's potential vulnerability on this question has apparently been used for less than principled reasons. In 1989, Broadcasting Magazine (4/3/89) announced that "NBC will soon have a competitor for Ted Turner's CNN with CNBC," a cable channel that was originally conceived as carrying round-the-clock news. Shortly thereafter, Ted Turner attacked GE as "the most corrupt corporation in America," It was run by "bozos" and "thieves" who have been "indicted and admitted to stealing from the Pentagon" (Electronic Media, 4/13/89). Turner declared: "These crooks, these convicted felons, should be behind bars."

After hearing this implicit threat -- and after getting a cold shoulder from TCI, the nation's largest cable systems operator, which owns part of CNN -- GE decided that CNBC would become merely a financial and talk outlet rather than an all-news channel, thus preserving CNN's monopoly.

Curiously, one of the few outlets to have noted what it called GE's "Litany of Sins" was Fortune, which ran a cover story (9/5/94) about trading scandals at GE's Kidder Peabody division. This issue was on the newsstands when information that Time Warner (which owns Fortune) was considering buying NBC was first reported.

The complicated politics of broadcast ownership make it questionable whether Time Warner was trying to leverage GE in the Ted Turner fashion. Time Warner has reportedly proposed that GE would keep a majority stake in NBC's affiliates in any deal, since the FCC would (for now) frown on Time Warner, a major cable operator, acquiring broadcast outlets.

Still, it's odd to see Time Warner's Fortune complaining about corporate synergy: "When the Kidder scandal came to a head in June, GE went on CNBC, which it owns, to respond," the September 5 cover story noted.

Vulnerable Media

GE is not the only media company vulnerable to the "character" issue. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has been charged by the FCC with "either carelessness or recklessness" for failing to disclose a fraud settlement. (See sidebar.)

Turner ally TCI, which benefited from GE's backing down on CNBC, faces similar license problems; although its cable systems are not licensed by the FCC, TCI relies on FCC-regulated licenses to maintain its national system. A TCI anti-trust conviction led to a license challenge from the non-profit Media Access Project; TCI managed to hold on to its broadcast licenses, but had to pay the Media Access Project $50,000 in attorneys' fees (Multichannel News, 6/10/91).

And after the Wall Street Journal (1/27/92) ran an article headlined "Cable Cabal," which tracked a series of insider stock transactions by TCI Chair Robert Magness and CEO John Malone, Broadcasting (2/24/92) noted that

If TCI were ever convicted of a wrongdoing, its microwave licenses (and its current attempts to get a DBS [Direct Broadcast Satellite] license) could be jeopardized. Any conviction could disqualify TCI under the FCC's character-qualification policy, which is primarily concerned with felony convictions that suggest a willingness to deceive a federal agency or the public.


In the past, the government's potential to abuse the FCC's power to strip the licenses of felons has chilled news media. In 1971, the Washington Post was concerned that if it was ruled to have violated the law when it published information from the "Pentagon Papers" -- classified documents about the Vietnam War -- the Post's broadcast holdings might be jeopardized. Publisher Katharine Graham "was really risking the television stations, all of them," by its reporting, editor Ben Bradlee noted (AP, 5/13/91).

What's needed are clear, tough and consistent FCC standards regarding the character of licensees. This would better ensure that the airwaves are used in the public interest in a vibrant manner without fear of political manipulation.

Sam Husseini is FAIR's activist coordinator.

Sidebar: NBC Brings Good Things to GE

While a licensee's deception of any government agency is always problematic, the FCC is particularly concerned when the commission is itself lied to. The FCC allowed GE to take over NBC in part because it accepted "GE's assurance that NBC News will operate autonomously, without interference by the new bosses." (Advertising Age, 6/16/86) But there is considerable evidence this has not been the case.

"Don't bend over backwards to go after us just because we own you," former NBC News president Lawrence Grossman said GE chair Jack Welch told him. The GE boss was worried, Grossman reported, "that in the news division, we might be off the reservation and might want to demonstrate our independence."

Grossman also reported that Welch gave him specific criticism, like telling him that "NBC's reporters should stay away from using depressing phrases like 'Black Monday'" to refer to the 1987 stock market crash. Welch even insisted that Today show weather forecaster Willard Scott continue to mention GE light bulbs on the air. "It was one of the perks of owning a network," Grossman said. "You get your light bulbs mentioned on the air.... People want to please the owners."

Grossman, who was fired in 1988, says he also got pressure from NBC head Robert Wright (who had come from GE Financial Services) when NBC News aired reports critical of MCA/Universal, whose TV arm supplied fare to NBC. "The vibrations or message that was being communicated [by Wright] was 'We're losing money and you guys are risking even more when you put on these reports,'" Grossman told Electronic Media (11/11/91).

Grossman's revelations were shrugged off by the FCC. William Johnson,deputy chief of the Mass Media Bureau, said (Electronic Media, 11/11/91): "If the owner has an opinion, he's entitled to say that to his employees. It's hard for me to see what's wrong with that."

NBC News has also edited out or excluded negative reporting on GE, from GE's use of defective bolts in airplane engines to references to the INFACT-led boycott against GE. NBC News has also plugged subjects dear to its corporate parent's heart, as with a 14-minute series on a GE-manufactured breast cancer detector. (See Extra!, 1-2/91.)

[Dig]

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stands by raid on ship
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10219391.stm

Why are you posting Goebbles propaganda on this forum. Of course Nazis stand by their Nazi tactics. WTF?

How is BBC's investigation of WTC7 coming?

What about 7/7?

BBC is completely discredited, they lie through their f-ing teeth to serve the Queen Bitch and her plans for WWIII!

[Dig]

Biden: Israel right to stop Gaza flotilla from breaking blockade

Why are you posting MSM crap?

Anyone can go to these government propaganda sites to see this bullshit.

Why did Biden meet with terrorists that funded 9/11?

Why is he still not speaking about Israeli, Saudi, and Pakistani involvement?

Biden works for Rockefeller art the CFR. Thiis moron wants to climb the lader of globalist success by helping to destroy US sovereignty. He wants more wars, less healthcare, more terrorism, and complete secrecy while him and his zionazi friends plan more attacks on the constitution.

Please stop with this horseshit, we all know the  "official" lies, just like we know the "official" lies of 9/11, USS Liberty, USS Maine, Gulf of Tonkin, an 7/7.

You are posting as if you were a History Channel documentarian!

WeAreChange LA Questions VP Biden on 9/11 and Nano-thermite

http://www.infowars.com/wearechange-la-questions-vp-biden-on-911-and-nano-thermite/
WeAreChange LA
May 18, 2009

After the last words were spoken, it was obvious that the press would not have an opportunity to ask questions, so Jeremy and Bruno moved quickly, crammed against the wall, toward the podium in an effort to create an opportunity to ask a question. We were at an advantage with our hand held cameras, and we actually found ourselves right next to Biden as he moved chairs aside to fulfill requests for photos with residents in attendance. The moment generated many smiles and laughter, and genuine joy could be seen in the faces of all the residents. Biden stood and addressed the residents, and the instant that the photo op was finished, Jeremy engaged him: Vice-President Biden, Im Jeremy Rothe-Kushel with WACLA Media. Biden said, “If I had your hair, I would be President!” Jeremy couldnt disagree with that and offered up that Biden could have some since there was enough to go around. Then it was time to get serious and Jeremy jumped right into the preliminary part of his question.

It seems like with the kind of work that Esparanza and communities around the world are doing in terms of rejuvenating themselves, we could all rejuvenate our communities. So, I want to ask you about the role, the foundational role, [that] restoring the rule of law has in terms of rejuvenating our economy because there was a recent scientific paper that came out, I dont know if you know about it, but it basically is conclusive that the World Trade Center was blown up by very high, advanced explosives and it should have been and continue to be the very highest news story right now. So, my question to you is, when are you and President Obama going to ask the Department of Justice to start a criminal investigation in terms of who produced this advanced nano-thermite and who put it in the World Trade Center?

The space had gone silent, and every single person, including the press, the residents, the politicians and the Secret Service were listening intently to Jeremy’s question, and they all could not help but witness Biden’s discomfort and his loss for words. At this point Biden asked to see the report and took it to into his hands to look at it.

With the paper in the Vice-Presidents hands, Jeremy finished up the question by asking: And if you all are not going to do that, is it possible for We the American People to trust you with our economy if we cant trust you with restoring the rule of law? Biden, obviously caught in an awkward moment, handed the scientific paper back to Jeremy, and said “Yes,” then said thank you to everybody, and quickly turned to leave. While leaving the scene, offered up a little bit more in terms of his ambiguous answer. That its possible to trust—you can trust us.

Unsatisfied with the evasiveness and ambiguity of the Vice Presidents answer, Jeremy continued to call out to Biden, asking him to clarify his position in regards to the 9/11 cover-up, but Biden did not clarify his position any further. Are you going to do an investigation? Sir, are you part of the treasonous cover-up of 9/11 or are you going to help clear this up? Vice President Biden, this is about treason under Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution.

Today we managed to get the only question asked, and every single person present walked away from that event with Jeremy’s question about scientific proof for military grade explosives used in the destruction of the Twin Towers on their mind. On our way out, a reporter complained to Jeremy that “it doesn’t matter what story you are after you should always keep it with the agenda of the moment,” to which Bruno’s pleasant response was, “When is 9-11 ever the agenda of the moment?” The reporter bowed his head and walked away.

As we stood in the street, smiles on our faces for having just had an intense experience of engaging high rank politicians about 9-11 and treason, the same Secret Service agent we had interacted with before the press conference came walking out. He smiled and pointed at us, “Great work guys!” then he saluted us! Yes, a Secret Service agent saluted us for asking the Vice President a hard question about scientific proof of the controlled demolition of the towers on 9-11. Bruno called out to him “Thank you! You did a great job running a smooth operation!”

[Dig]

Did everyone get that?

Not only are they the number one sponsor of terrorism around the world...

General Electric has been involved in so many cases of fraud that in the 1990s the Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency created a special investigations office specifically for the company, which indicted GE on 22 criminal counts and recovered $221.7 million. In one case, in 1992, GE entered a guilty plea to criminal and civil charges for defrauding the Pentagon in a case where money was funneled to the Israeli military. GE was fined $69 million for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

HOW IS THIS NOT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST?!?!?!?!

[Dig]

WHO IS INVESTIGATING GENERAL ELECTRIC BRIBERY?!?!?!?!


Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq.) is a United States federal law known primarily for two of its main provisions, one that addresses accounting transparency requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and another concerning bribery of foreign officials.

Provisions and scope

The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA prohibit:

Issuers, domestic concerns, and any person from making use of interstate commerce corruptly, in furtherance of an offer or payment of anything of value to a foreign official, foreign political party, or candidate for political office, for the purpose of influencing any act of that foreign official in violation of the duty of that official, or to secure any improper advantage in order to obtain or retain business.

Persons subject to the FCPA

Issuers – Includes any U.S. or foreign corporation that has a class of securities registered, or that is required to file reports under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934

Domestic concerns – Refers to any individual who is a citizen, national, or resident of the United States and any corporation and other business entity organized under the laws of the United States or having its principal place of business in the United States

Any person – covers both enterprises and individuals

History

As a result of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations in the mid-1970s, over 400 U.S. companies admitted making questionable or illegal payments in excess of $300 million to foreign government officials, politicians, and political parties. The abuses ran the gamut from bribery of high foreign officials to secure some type of favorable action by a foreign government to so-called facilitating payments that were made to ensure that government functionaries discharged certain ministerial or clerical duties. One major example was the Lockheed bribery scandals, in which officials of aerospace company Lockheed paid foreign officials to favor their company's products.[1] Congress enacted the FCPA to bring a halt to the bribery of foreign officials and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the American business system.

The Act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 19, 1977, and amended in 1998 by the International Anti-Bribery Act of 1998 which was designed to implement the anti-bribery conventions of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA make it unlawful for a U.S. person, and certain foreign issuers of securities, to make a payment to a foreign official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person. Since 1998, they also apply to foreign firms and persons who take any act in furtherance of such a corrupt payment while in the United States. The meaning of foreign official is broad. For example, an owner of a bank who is also the minister of finance would count as a foreign official according to the U.S. government. Doctors at government-owned or managed hospitals are also considered to be foreign officials under the FCPA, as is anyone working for a government-owned or managed institution or enterprise. Employees of international organizations such as the United Nations are also considered to be foreign officials under the FCPA. There is no materiality to this act, making it illegal to offer anything of value as a bribe, including cash or non-cash items. The government focuses on the intent of the bribery rather than on the amount.

The FCPA also requires companies whose securities are listed in the United States to meet its accounting provisions. See 15 U.S.C. § 78m. These accounting provisions, which were designed to operate in tandem with the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA, require corporations covered by the provisions to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the corporation and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls.

[grapecrusher1]

Good old Helen Thomas questions puppet boy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTmZV8hGZXY

[Dok]

UNHRC Passes Resolution Condemning Israel’s Flotilla Raid & Probe



In a major blow for Israel, the United Nations Human Rights Council today passed a resolution condemning Israel’s decision to launch an armed raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. The UNHRC has called for a Goldstone-like inquiry into the deadly military operation.

During a debate in Geneva, the 47-member UNHRC passed the resolution with a majority vote of 32. The US voted against the move, while several European countries abstained from the voting. In the resolution, the UNHRC accuses Israel of violating international law and asked Israel to lift Israel’s blockade on Gaza immediately.

Before the vote, the UNHRC allowed some nongovernmental organizations to address the Council. Citing Israel’s offer to transfer the cargo which was loaded on flotilla’s, Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watche, said the flotilla activists and organizers “wanted to create a political provocation; they were looking for a physical confrontation.” He said that the activists abroad the ship used metal bars, knives and guns. “Is this a humanitarian state of mind?” he asked.

Yesterday, Israeli ambassador Leshno Yaar told Council members, “The attack on Israeli soldiers was beyond all doubt premeditated.” He defended the attack saying the commandos acted in self-defense. Yaar stressed that Israel has broken any international law and its decision to intercept boats breaching its naval blockade was fully justified. But Palestinian ambassador, Imad Zuhairi slammed Israeli government saying, “Israel believes it is above the law.”

http://www.lanewsmonitor.com/news/UNHRC-Passes-Resolution-Condemning-Israels-Flotilla-Raid---Probe-1275512410/

[Dig]

All of the Military Industrial Complex shills are setting Israel up. This is how the Illuminazis play their chessgames, they got the next 20 moves figured out.

South Korea sabatoged the plans with the pulling back of the rhetoric.

Iran sabatoged the plans with the deal with Brazil.

Israel could sabatoge the WWIII plans with terminating the blockade of humanitarian relief.

How much more obvious does it get.

Israel, find out who gave the intel and the orders. Find out about the war games in the area.

You are getting Punked! The entire Bilderberg controlled nations are lining up. For the first time I am in very close agreement with Henry Makow. Heed his warnings, you are getting played big time.

[grapecrusher1]

All of the Military Industrial Complex shills are setting Israel up. This is how the Illuminazis play their chessgames, they got the next 20 moves figured out.

South Korea sabatoged the plans with the pulling back of the rhetoric.

Iran sabatoged the plans with the deal with Brazil.

Israel could sabatoge the WWIII plans with terminating the blockade of humanitarian relief.

How much more obvious does it get.

Israel, find out who gave the intel and the orders. Find out about the war games in the area.

You are getting Punked! The entire Bilderberg controlled nations are lining up. For the first time I am in very close agreement with Henry Makow. Heed his warnings, you are getting played big time.

Interesting

[grapecrusher1]

If in fact Israel is being set up for destruction this would be entering into endgame territory.

[Viper]

All of the Military Industrial Complex shills are setting Israel up...

Setting the israeli PEOPLE up, yes and the rest of the world, the leaders; religious and political on the other hand are in on the deal IMO, ones at the top anyways, they got four hundred nukes protecting them and they don't give a shite about "their people" cause the leaders at top aren't of that people.

[larsonstdoc]

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=173565

From a Lebanon newspaper.  Is this true or propaganda?

Mossad: Turkey trying to form alliance with Iran and Syria
June 1, 2010


     
NOW Lebanon correspondent Amal Shehadeh reported on Tuesday that director of the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad) Meir Dagan said that Turkey is trying to form an alliance with Iran and Syria in order to confront Israel. He added that statements by Turkish leaders confirm their effort to form such a coalition.

This comes after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan said that his people have “grown sick and tired of Israel’s lies,” after Israeli commandos raided  Gaza-bound aid ships – the majority on board reportedly being Turkish nationals – and left at least nine dead.

According to Dagan, Turkey believes regaining its hegemony over the Arab world “would open new routes of influence for the country.”

Dagan also said that the US’ ability to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians has decreased as did Tel Aviv’s cooperation with Washington. “This would have a negative effect on peace talks,” he added.

[Dok]

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=173565

From a Lebanon newspaper.  Is this true or propaganda?

Mossad: Turkey trying to form alliance with Iran and Syria
June 1, 2010


      
NOW Lebanon correspondent Amal Shehadeh reported on Tuesday that director of the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad) Meir Dagan said that Turkey is trying to form an alliance with Iran and Syria in order to confront Israel. He added that statements by Turkish leaders confirm their effort to form such a coalition.

This comes after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan said that his people have “grown sick and tired of Israel’s lies,” after Israeli commandos raided  Gaza-bound aid ships – the majority on board reportedly being Turkish nationals – and left at least nine dead.

According to Dagan, Turkey believes regaining its hegemony over the Arab world “would open new routes of influence for the country.”

Dagan also said that the US’ ability to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians has decreased as did Tel Aviv’s cooperation with Washington. “This would have a negative effect on peace talks,” he added.

oh its true. would you like a list of all the nations that will join in on this alliance?

[Dig]

Setting the israeli PEOPLE up, yes and the rest of the world, the leaders; religious and political on the other hand are in on the deal IMO, ones at the top anyways, they got four hundred nukes protecting them and they don't give a shite about "their people" cause the leaders at top aren't of that people.

damn straight!

just like the US and many others!

Britain, Turkey, the EU, and UN has condemned the action. Ex Mossad chief has called it nuts. All the Hal Turner types are going full throttle. You can see the set up a mile away. The neocons in Israel have been put there for a reason, the Tavistock social architects know that they will dig their heels in. this is a setup.

who provided one of the most advanced and skilled commando teams on the planet with such obvious counter-productive intelligence and orders.

Israel has a habt of promoting leaders that sabatoge their own people. Sharon was indicted for sending his troops into harm's way. They need to expose the whole thing and end the Brzezinski chess game ASAP!

All the Liebermans and Matthews who say Israel is justified in this action and that the peaceful protestors were really crypto-terrorists ARE HELPING TO SET ISRAEL UP!

Everyone should be demanding an inquiry ASAP!

[larsonstdoc]

oh its true. would you like a list of all the nations that will join in on this alliance?

  Go for it!

[able]

Setting the israeli PEOPLE up, yes and the rest of the world, the leaders; religious and political on the other hand are in on the deal IMO, ones at the top anyways, they got four hundred nukes protecting them and they don't give a shite about "their people" cause the leaders at top aren't of that people.

neither are most of the people..... just ask Bibi Milikovsky!

when you living/starving in a Russian slum you are approached and told that if you move to Israel and live in a illegal settlement for x number of years you get the house free of charge and the only catch is you must change your name, teach any children you have Hebrew and shoot those brown people that live along that fence if they ever get through the fence then your jewish.

Bibi makes it personal


Aside from the usual canards, Israel's premier is claiming ancient heritage on the basis of his immigrant father's assumed name. Well, why not, ponders Ahmed Amr*

April 3, 2010

You can't make this stuff up. It was a Monday, the first day of spring in 2010, a time usually reserved for a little fresh air. Alas, the prime minister of Israel was dispensing noxious fumes in a speech to AIPAC, the pro-Israeli lobbying conglomerate that is considered the single most effective arm-twisting organisation in Washington. Did I forget to mention the prime minister's name? It's Binyamin Netanyahu. The significance of that factoid will become apparent as we move along.

Here's part of what Netanyahu had to say to the AIPAC faithful and the drooling congressmen and senators who came to pay homage to the prince of Israel.

"The attempt by many to describe the Jews as foreign colonialists in their own homeland is one of the great lies of modern times. In my office, I have on display a signet ring that was loaned to me by Israel's Department of Antiquities. The ring was found next to the Western Wall, but it dates back some 2,800 years ago, 200 years after King David turned Jerusalem into our capital city. The ring is a seal of a Jewish official, and inscribed on it in Hebrew is his name: Netanyahu. His name was Netanyahu Ben- Yoash. My first name, Binyamin, dates back 1,000 years earlier to Binyamin, the son of Jacob. One of Binyamin's brothers was named Shimon, which also happens to be the first name of my good friend, Shimon Peres, the president of Israel. Nearly 4,000 years ago, Binyamin, Shimon and their 10 brothers roamed the hills of Judea. Ladies and gentlemen, the connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel cannot be denied. The connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem cannot be denied. The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital."

There you have it folks. If your name is Binyamin Netanyahu, what more justification do you need to expropriate land from the native Palestinians? What's all this fuss about international law and the indigenous rights of the native inhabitants of Palestine? When will the Palestinians stop ranting about their bonds to the land of their ancestors?

What the Israeli bashers don't seem to grasp is that Israel's prime minister is named Binyamin and Israel's president is named Shimon. Not only that, Binyamin has a very old ring that he found in a pawnshop next to the Western Wall. And here's the kicker, it was the seal of a Jewish official who used to work for the East Jerusalem Water Company 2,800 years ago and -- you won't believe this -- his name was also Netanyahu. An interesting morsel that the prime minister omitted from his speech is that this very same ancient Jewish official took early retirement and opened a falafel stand to supplement his pension. That's why the ancient name of Netanyahu is still legend in the Holy Land.

Now apparently some people can't handle the facts -- especially Palestinian people. But the rest of the world knows the indisputable truth: Jacob had a dozen kids and one of them was named Binyamin and another one was named Shimon. I can't remember the name of the other 10, but it doesn't really matter because they used to play together in a nursery in the Judean hills and they graduated with honours in roaming. That's what they did in nurseries back in Ye Olde Holy Land -- they made the kids roam.

If Palestinians had a lick of sense, they would at least have had the vision to name their kids Shimon or Binyamin or Avraham. With names like Simon, Michael, Ahmed and Ibrahim, how can they possibly make audacious claims to their "right" to remain on their ancestral lands? I bet none of them have rings like Netanyahu. Every time you talk to one of these Palestinian agitators all they can come up with are the keys to their homes and land deeds going back hundreds of years. If they were serious about peace, they'd start shopping around for seals at pawnshops. But you know the Palestinians, they never miss a chance to buy a ring and they have a stubborn militant streak about what to call their little darlings.

There is only one problem with Netanyahu's rationale. Binyamin's father, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, used to have a different name. Before Bibi's daddy immigrated to Palestine from Lithuania, the family name was Milikovsky. See, this is where I get a little bit confused. Wouldn't the prime minister have a better claim for encroaching on Palestinian land if he found a 2,800 year old ring from an ancient Jewish official named Milikovsky?

To his credit, Binyamin Milikovsky (aka Bibi Netanyahu) is a chip off the old block. His father, the senior Milikovsky, was considered a rightwing radical even by Menachem Begin. He famously said: "The two states solution doesn't exist. There are no two people here. There is a Jewish people and an Arab population. There are no Palestinian people. So you don't create a nation for an imaginary people. They only call themselves a people to fight the Jews."

See, the 10 million imaginary Palestinians will stop at nothing. They insist on calling themselves a people. What kind of indistinguishable peace loving "population" would do a thing like that? You're obviously spoiling for a fight if you start calling yourself a people. Would it kill them to name their kids Binyamin or Shimon? Zionist colonial settlers, like Bibi Milikovsky's Lithuanian daddy, had the sense to change their family names. In the name of peace, why can't the Palestinians do the same?

As a sign of their commitment to a peaceful two state solution, the United States must insist that the Palestinians rename their children and dig up some old rings. A good place to start is near that shish kebab stall that stood by the Western Wall 2,800 years ago. Just ask Bibi Milikovsky for a treasure- hunting map. Of course, an alternative solution is for Netanyahu to reclaim his Lithuanian heritage and start addressing us as Bibi Milikovsky, son of a Zionist colonial settler. That might make him a little more flexible on Jerusalem.

This name thing is very confusing. I think somebody is messing with my head and trying to propagate one of the "great lies of modern times". You know the one about how a Milikovsky who becomes a Netanyahu gets to strut around like he's a native of the Holy Land and brag about how his ancestors built Jerusalem?

* The writer is an Arab-American commentator and author of The Sheep and the Guardians: Diary of a SEC sanctioned swindle.

http://uruknet.com/index.php?p=m64780&hd=&size=1&l=e

 

[Viper]

neither are most of the people....  

Whatever, it be their home, unlike the controllers of the world, they be nomads.

[Dig]

Holy crap!

Olbermann is interviewing Edward Peck, former counter terrorism expert for Reagan.

He was on one of the ships that got boarded and gives a personal account that contradicts the MSM/CNN/MSNBC narrative.

He talked about the USS Liberty survivor that was shot with a paintball gun. He was on his ship!

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have completely been discouraged with Olbermann since his Obama butlicking and demonization of the constitution. But, I tell you what, he went against the General Electric narrative with this one! Kudos to the nutcase! Nah really, thanks for the brief hint of reality among the swirl of deceit that is MSNBC. He really Ratigan-ned the programming!

[able]

Whatever, it be their home, unlike the controllers of the world, they be nomads.

agreed 1000%

if they give the occupied land back to the Palestinians (u.n lines) and kick out the right wingers i don't care what religion they follow.

[Satyagraha]

I have completely been discouraged with Olbermann since his Obama butlicking and demonization of the constitution. But, I tell you what, he went against the General Electric narrative with this one! Kudos to the nutcase! Nah really, thanks for the brief hint of reality among the swirl of deceit that is MSNBC. He really Ratigan-ned the programming!

Why?

Why would he buck GE? I smell a rat with a big head.

[Dig]

agreed 1000%

if they give the occupied land back to the Palestinians (u.n lines) and kick out the right wingers i don't care what religion they follow.

the palestinians do not even want the land, they just want to stop being inter-generationally made victims of apartheid and genocide. this is just nuts anyway you slice it. There are over 1,000 solutions that both sides agree with (if you take away the neocons and the Bilderberg funded terrorists - kind of the same thing), and the blockade to humanitarian aid ain't one of them!

[Dok]

  Go for it!