Day by day Archive

Jan 25, 2009

Stop War Crimes! Make Zionism history!

Gaza child born under Israeli missile fire – 22 Jan 09

If you wish to know why the BBC decided the way it did on the DEC Gaza appeal, read the next item below:

Mark Thompson, the ‘impartial’ of the BBC: Talks with Ariel Sharon

In November 2005, BBC Director General Mark Thompson traveled with his Jewish wife to Israel, where he held direct talks with Ariel Sharon, which were intended to let the BBC ‘build bridges with Israel’.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/bbc-chief-holds-peace-talk
s-in-jerusalem-with-ariel-sharon-517400.html

This link is no longer working – the paper has removed it! If the link fail you, read it below, in the next item.

This came from an article in Wikipedia and the source was an article in The Independent. It shows how Mark Thompson is the least qualified person to adjudicate on matters of “impartiality” when it comes to Palestine/Israel. Apparently, this trip was given very little publicity at the time. So, if you ever wondered why the BBC is so ‘impartial’, read all about it… Peace was made with Israel, but not with Palestine….

BBC chief holds peace talks in Jerusalem with Ariel Sharon: The Independent, November 29, 2005

The BBC is often accused of an anti-Israeli bias in its coverage of the Middle East, and recently censured reporter Barbara Plett for saying she “started to cry” when Yasser Arafat left Palestine shortly before his death. Fascinating, then, to learn that its director general, Mark Thompson, has recently returned from Jerusalem, where he held a face-to-face meeting with the hardine Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Although the diplomatic visit was not publicised on these shores, it has been seized upon in Israel as evidence that Thompson, who took office in 2004, intends to build bridges with the country’s political class.
Sources at the Beeb also suspect that it heralds a “softening” to the corporation’s unofficial editorial line on the Middle East.
“This was the first visit of its kind by any serving director general, so it’s clearly a significant development,” I’m told.
“Not many people know this, but Mark is actually a deeply religious man. He’s a Catholic, but his wife is Jewish, and he has a far greater regard for the Israeli cause than some of his predecessors.”
Understandably, an official BBC spokesman was anxious to downplay talk of an exclusively pro-Israeli charm offensive.
Apopros this month’s previously undocumented trip, he stressed that Thompson had also held talks with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.

Continue reading Jan 25, 2009

Dec 30, 2008 (or before)

Dec 30, 2008 (or before)

Alternative Information Centre website

Israeli Aggression toward Gaza as Compensation for Strategic Failures

This is one of the best websites for political analysis in the Middle East

Electronic Intifada by Ali Abu Nimah

Electronic Intifada: News you will not find on CNN!

The best news website on Palestine, always gets thye news first. Excellent articles and reports.

Continue reading Dec 30, 2008 (or before)

Jan 23, 2009

More than 1500 Palestinians dead, over 436 children,

109 women, and more than 5,500 wounded

(Numbers taken from the Hebrew press today, those numbers are already inaccurate, as more and more bodies are found under the rubble))

What would this mean in Britain with its population of 60 million, in comparative terms?

It would mean more than 52,000 dead, 17,000 of them children, and 212,000 wounded.

More than 4,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza, more than 20,000 severely damaged

50,000 Gazans homeless and 400,000 without running water

Steve Bell in The Guasrdian, 23 Jan, 2009
Steve Bell in The Guasrdian, 23 Jan, 2009

Children of Gaza: stories of those who died and the trauma for those who survived: The Guardian

Rory McCarthy reports from Gaza City on the individual stories of some victims and the physical and psychological toll on an estimated 350,000 youngsters
Amira Qirm lay on a hospital bed today with her right leg in plaster, and held together by a line of steel pins dug deep into her skin. For several days after her operation Amira, 15, was unable to speak, and even now talks only in a low whisper.
In her past are bitter memories: watching her father die in the street outside their home, then hearing another shell land and kill her brother Ala’a, 14, and her sister Ismat, 16, and then the three days that she spent alone, injured and semi-conscious, trying to stay alive in a neighbour’s abandoned house before she could be rescued last Sunday. Ahead of her, she has a long recovery. First there is an imminent flight to France for the best possible medical treatment, many more operations and then months of rehabilitation and psychiatric care.
Only now, after most of the dead have been buried, is the first properly researched reckoning of the toll emerging. What already stands out is the striking cost borne by the children of Gaza, who make up more than half of the 1.5 million people living in this overcrowded strip of land.

Continue reading Jan 23, 2009

22 Jan, 2009 – Part 2

Breaking News:Broadcasters refuse to air Gaza charity appeal: The Guardian

BBC declines to show DEC appeal under agreement dating back to 1963, leading to other outlets following suit

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 13 aid charities, launched its appealtoday saying the devastation in Gaza was “so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act”.
But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating back to 1963 when it announced it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters then followed suit. Previously, broadcasters have agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, with each station choosing a presenter to front the appeal, shown after primetime news bulletins. The BBC said it was not the first time broadcasters had refused to show a DEC appeal. The corporation said it had been concerned about the difficulties of getting aid through to victims in a volatile situation. The BBC, which has faced criticism in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. The DEC’s chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said the decision could have a big impact on its appeal. “We are used to our appeal getting into every household and offering a safe and necessary way for people to respond. This time we will have to work a lot harder because we won’t have the free airtime or the powerful impact of appearing on every TV and radio station.”

How despicable of the BBC, but how unsurprising, and in line with its systematic support of Israel

Continue reading 22 Jan, 2009 – Part 2

Jan 22, 2009

More than 1500 Palestinians dead, over 436 children,

109 women, and more than 5,500 wounded

(Numbers taken from the Hebrew press today, those numbers are already inaccurate, as more and more bodies are found under the rubble))

What would this mean in Britain with its population of 60 million, in comparative terms?

It would mean more than 52,000 dead, 17,000 of them children, and 212,000 wounded.

More than 4,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza, more than 20,000 severely damaged

50,000 Gazans homeless and 400,000 without running water

(UN figures)

The UN says rebuilding the Gaza Strip will cost billions of dollars
The UN says rebuilding the Gaza Strip will cost billions of dollars

Supreme Court revokes ban on Arab parties from national elections: Ha’aretz

Israel’s Supreme court overruled on Wednesday a parliamentary panel which had decided to bar Israeli Arab parties from running in next month’s parliamentary election. The court issued its decision in response to an appeal filed by Arab politicians against the ban. A spokesman for the Courts Administration said judges overturned the ban in an unanimous vote Wednesday.
In response to the court decision, Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi said: “We have defeated fascism, but this battle is not quite complete, discrimination has become centralized. We will finish this operation in Israel on the day of elections.”

The Central Elections Committee (CEC) last week banned the Arab parties United Arab List-Ta’al and Balad from running in February’s parliamentary elections amid accusations of racism from Arab MKs. Arab faction delegates in the CEC walked out of the hall before the vote, shouting, “this is a fascist, racist state.” As they walked out, CEC deputy chairman MK David Tal (Kadima) and the Arab delegates pushed each other and a Knesset guard had to intervene and separate them.

Continue reading Jan 22, 2009

Jan 21, 2009

More than 1400 Palestinians dead, over 436 children,

109 women, and more than 5,500 wounded

(Numbers taken from the Hebrew press today, those numbers are already inaccurate, as more and more bodies are found under the rubble))

What would this mean in Britain with its population of 60 million, in comparative terms?

It would mean more than 52,000 dead, 17,000 of them children, and 212,000 wounded.

A Palestinian girl stands amongst the ruins of destroyed houses on the outskirts of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip
A Palestinian girl stands amongst the ruins of destroyed houses on the outskirts of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip

Ban ‘appalled’ by Gaza’s damage: BBC

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is appalled by Israeli attacks on a UN compound in Gaza after seeing the destruction for himself. Mr Ban said that those responsible should be held accountable and demanded a “full investigation” through proper judiciary systems. He was speaking in front of the smouldering remains of the UN food warehouse destroyed by Israeli shells. He said he would do all he could to help the population of Gaza. Mr Ban is the first international leader to visit Gaza for several years, entering through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing and driving through the bomb-damaged northern suburbs to Gaza City. He later visited the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has been one of the main targets of Palestinian rocket attacks in recent years. He described the rockets as indiscriminate weapons and said the attacks by Hamas are violations of basic humanitarian law. However, he also called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza, saying the embargo only strengthens Hamas by fuelling desperation in the impoverished enclave.

Odd, this! He seems not to have enjoyed his visit to Gaza that much.

Continue reading Jan 21, 2009

Jan 20, 2009

More than 1400 Palestinians dead, over 436 children,

100 women, and more than 5,300 wounded

(Numbers taken from the Hebrew press today, those numbers are already inaccurate, as more and more bodies are found under the rubble))

What would this mean in Britain with its population of 60 million, in comparative terms?

It would mean more than 52,000 dead, 17,000 of them children, and 212,000 wounded.

Gaza doctors struggle to treat deadly burns consistent with white phosphorus: The Guardain

Dozens dying after Israeli attacks from injuries ‘unlike any seen before’ that medics say should not be fatal Doctors in Gaza described today how they had struggled to treat dozens of patients with terrible and unusually deadly burns consistent with white phosphorus weapons, during Israel’s three-week war in Gaza. Nafiz Abu Shabaan, head of the burns unit at Shifa hospital and the most senior burns surgeon in Gaza, said 60 to 70 patients had died in his unit during the war from severe burns that were unlike any injury he had previously seen. Patients with only relatively small burn injuries, which ought to be survivable, were dying unexpectedly. His account, along with evidence from survivors, corroborates mounting evidence from groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that the Israeli military fired phosphorus shells into populated areas of Gaza in direct violation of international humanitarian law. Amnesty said it believes Israel is guilty of a war crime. White phosphorus is allowed to be used as a smokescreen on the battlefield in certain situations, but its use in civilian areas is prohibited under United Nations conventions. Now that IS strange! I heard Major Avital Leibowitz, the commander of the IOF Blond Brigade of BlahBlah (otherwise known as the Brunhildas) say many times that Israel does NOT use such weapons! Surely, she could not be lying? Unimaginable. If you feel like not sleeping tonight, see film on link below:

Continue reading Jan 20, 2009