Saturday, April 30, 2005
Haifa Unbecoming*
In today's Ha'aretz, there is an interesting article on a case that is quite similar to the Columbia affair. Except that since the winds of change haven't touched the media, our beloved left-leaning Ha'aretz points out that instead of one real version that is clearly anti-Arab (similar to the manner in which the Columbia affair was deciphered as being "anti-Semitic"), "[t]here are two versions of what happened in the classroom, and they are mutually contradictory and divided along the lines of national origin: the version of two Arab students and, pitted against it, the opposite version propounded by the lecturer and the Jewish students." Do not be fooled. This is not simply a case of Ha'aretz being the unbiased newspaper that it has claimed to be for the longest time. In fact, it was Ha'aretz that printed Sharansky's "Jews of silence" argument over the Columbia affair, and also that of Guy Spigelman. Here's one sentence from the first article:
Let's get back to the Haifa affair, then. The professor, a Mr. David Bukay, "is convinced" that one of the students who complained of anti-Arab incitement in the classroom, Fadi Abu Yunes, who was enroled in the course (unlike many of the Jewish students in Prof. Massad's classroom), "came to the course with the deliberate intention of interfering and of vilifying him." Mr. Bukay, however, fails to realise that the student, a Palestinian, barely had the money to enrol in the course (which resulted in his late enrolment, as we are told). His argument that Abu Yunes took the course simply to interfere in the lecture or to vilify him is therefore ridiculous. Mr. Bukay argues, "He was sent and I know who sent him. He was a provocateur." So who sent him? Pray elaborate, "Professor" Bukay.
In fact, let us look at the coverage that Ha'aretz gives to the events in the classroom: "From the moment Abu Yunes crossed the threshold of Dr. Bukay's lecture hall, the atmosphere turned volatile. He started to ask questions and make comments, shouting out while Bukay was speaking, usually without asking permission."
Compare this to what Ha'aretz did not say in the article on the Columbia affair: "[t]here is ample evidence of [Massad’s] willingness -- as part of a deliberate pedagogical strategy -- to permit anyone who wished to do so to comment or raise a question during his lectures. For many students this approach itself became problematic because it allowed a small but vociferous group of fellow students to disrupt lectures by their incessant questions and comments." (Section IV, Ad Hoc Grievance Committee Report, Columbia University)
In fact, as Prof. Massad argues, many of those students were not registered in his classes. In his response to the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee Report, he says, "The class did however include a number of auditors (I found out they were unregistered during the last week of class) who would consistently harass me with hostile ideological questions that ignored all the readings. Students complained about the disruption this caused the class. I tried to emphasize to the auditors that their questions must be relevant to the subject at hand and that they must do the readings. They never did and I continued to answer their questions until the end of the semester to avoid creating a tense atmosphere in the classroom."
None of this Ha'aretz mentions, not even in passing.
In fact, Ha'aretz talks about the fact that "[Jewish students] confirm that Bukay cited the very small number of Arab Nobel laureates as proof of the Arabs' backwardness and that he said that the Arabs in the Middle Ages mainly preserved the achievements of the Greeks and the Romans and hardly developed anything of their own, apart from algebra [1]", without even taking a position on the racist remarks (and I don't know what is racist if not talk of "Arab backwardness"). Keep in mind that Ha'aretz has always expressed its views on anti-Jewish incidents, including the alleged anti-Semitic affair at Columbia University. All that Ha'aretz does in this case is question if Bukay is indeed racist: "As part of his efforts to prove his argument, did Bukay cast aspersions of a racist character?" The author continues, "It is difficult to know for certain [2], but it is clear that what he said was not easy for an Arab student to listen to." No kidding? I would like to see you write the same sentence when the culprit is an Arab and the victims are Jews. Would you even question if it is racist?
Ha'aretz, in an attempt to defend Mr. Bukay, does the typical thing; cite the support of an Arab student. In fact, we don't know if such a student even exists. But let's give Ha'aretz the benefit of doubt once more, and look at the statement: "Dr. Bukay constitutes a dominant factor in shaping my personality. He is the only one who taught me that I must recognize the fact that my culture, the Arab culture, is corrupt, repressive, violent and anti-democratic." Now how did Mr. Bukay arrive to this conclusion? Would he be so kind as to educate us on the steps he followed to arrive to this supposedly non-racist (or as Ha'aretz probably would like us to believe, anti-racist) conclusion?
The whole story turns even more ridiculous. The democracy and freedom-loving Bukay "decided to expel Abu Yunes from the course." (I hope he gave him full refund and did not steal his money as his kind have stolen land from Palestinians for more than 57 years).
But wait, it gets even better. Even the author of the article, at this point, is confused about whether to accuse Bukay of racism or to place him in the "controversial but not racist" list. I will not post the "interview", but I will mention the sentence that made me chuckle: "Sania Hamady, David Pryce-Jones and Raphael Patai - look in the index under `lie' - go to Bernard Lewis." Bernard Lewis, the notorious liar and denier of the Armenian Genocide. Mr. Bukay's hero, apparently. Go read the whole exchange. Go.
This is what I call academia gone... nuts. At University of Haifa, which is currently being boycotted by the AUT. Now you know why.
Notes:
Italics in all of the above are mine, and are used for emphasis.
* Or, "Haifa and Ha'aretz Unbecoming"
1 Perhaps "Professor" Bukay, who insists on his "scientific" attitudes later on in the article, would like to attend a lecture or two on the importance of algebra and algorithms in our times? That is, before he starts citing the achievements of "Israelis" in the field of modern technology... Perhaps his fellow "Israeli" "professors" would like to inform him that without algorithms (named after Al Khawarizmi, a Persian mathematician who wrote his works in Arabic - "Professor" Bukay fails to make a distinction between Persian and Arab, but by his standards of who is an Arab, he is wrong in dismissing the contribution of Al Khwarizmi for being insignificant compared to the contributions of Jews), none of that would exist, and the "Israelis" would be *gasp* nothings in the field of technology that they boast of being the leaders of in the Middle East and even the world?
2 But apparently not so in the Columbia affair; after all, Jews never lie, only Arabs do.
For their part, the professors insist the allegations stifle their freedom to express pro-Palestinian views, with one calling it a campaign against critics of Israel.Notice the wording: "Insist"? Does this mean that the author believes that the allegations are true and that the professors only "insist" that they are not? "Pro-Palestinian"? Since when is speaking out against occupation and for human rights the equivalent of being "pro-Palestinian"? The very term in this context suggests that there is some sort of bias against "Israelis" based on their ethnicity, and that therefore we must take the side of the poor, oppressed, "pro-Israeli" students who are a tiny minority against an army of "pro-Palestinians" (who apparently support suicide bombings by the very vice of their "pro-Palestinian" views). "Calling it"? So the author does not believe that it is indeed a campaign against critics of "Israel", and that it is only the professors who insist on calling it that? How very unbiased of Ha'aretz to be publishing this. But even better is the following passage, excerpted from the second article:
By relentlessly attacking Israeli policies and our right to defend ourselves, unions, academics and politicians around the world are doing a disservice to the cause of peace, as it weakens the left camp in Israel. "Where is the solidarity for our suffering?" I challenged the union's secretary general.Defend? Peace? Left camp in "Israel"? Suffering? Did I miss something here? At any rate, let's give the author of this article the benefit of the doubt; in fact, let us extend that benefit to Ha'aretz too, and say that Ha'aretz prints articles from both sides of the spectrum. When was the last time you saw an article by Amira Hass appearing on Ha'aretz? Previously there were at least 2 per week. I just ran a search, and the last article by Hass is on March 29, 2005. That's a month, folks. And during that time, Ha'aretz has printed more than a hundred extreme-right articles. Even if I am mistaken and for some reason missed an article or two by Hass, the more than a dozen right-wing articles per week clearly make Ha'aretz a right-wing newspaper regardless of the few "other" articles it prints.
Let's get back to the Haifa affair, then. The professor, a Mr. David Bukay, "is convinced" that one of the students who complained of anti-Arab incitement in the classroom, Fadi Abu Yunes, who was enroled in the course (unlike many of the Jewish students in Prof. Massad's classroom), "came to the course with the deliberate intention of interfering and of vilifying him." Mr. Bukay, however, fails to realise that the student, a Palestinian, barely had the money to enrol in the course (which resulted in his late enrolment, as we are told). His argument that Abu Yunes took the course simply to interfere in the lecture or to vilify him is therefore ridiculous. Mr. Bukay argues, "He was sent and I know who sent him. He was a provocateur." So who sent him? Pray elaborate, "Professor" Bukay.
In fact, let us look at the coverage that Ha'aretz gives to the events in the classroom: "From the moment Abu Yunes crossed the threshold of Dr. Bukay's lecture hall, the atmosphere turned volatile. He started to ask questions and make comments, shouting out while Bukay was speaking, usually without asking permission."
Compare this to what Ha'aretz did not say in the article on the Columbia affair: "[t]here is ample evidence of [Massad’s] willingness -- as part of a deliberate pedagogical strategy -- to permit anyone who wished to do so to comment or raise a question during his lectures. For many students this approach itself became problematic because it allowed a small but vociferous group of fellow students to disrupt lectures by their incessant questions and comments." (Section IV, Ad Hoc Grievance Committee Report, Columbia University)
In fact, as Prof. Massad argues, many of those students were not registered in his classes. In his response to the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee Report, he says, "The class did however include a number of auditors (I found out they were unregistered during the last week of class) who would consistently harass me with hostile ideological questions that ignored all the readings. Students complained about the disruption this caused the class. I tried to emphasize to the auditors that their questions must be relevant to the subject at hand and that they must do the readings. They never did and I continued to answer their questions until the end of the semester to avoid creating a tense atmosphere in the classroom."
None of this Ha'aretz mentions, not even in passing.
In fact, Ha'aretz talks about the fact that "[Jewish students] confirm that Bukay cited the very small number of Arab Nobel laureates as proof of the Arabs' backwardness and that he said that the Arabs in the Middle Ages mainly preserved the achievements of the Greeks and the Romans and hardly developed anything of their own, apart from algebra [1]", without even taking a position on the racist remarks (and I don't know what is racist if not talk of "Arab backwardness"). Keep in mind that Ha'aretz has always expressed its views on anti-Jewish incidents, including the alleged anti-Semitic affair at Columbia University. All that Ha'aretz does in this case is question if Bukay is indeed racist: "As part of his efforts to prove his argument, did Bukay cast aspersions of a racist character?" The author continues, "It is difficult to know for certain [2], but it is clear that what he said was not easy for an Arab student to listen to." No kidding? I would like to see you write the same sentence when the culprit is an Arab and the victims are Jews. Would you even question if it is racist?
Ha'aretz, in an attempt to defend Mr. Bukay, does the typical thing; cite the support of an Arab student. In fact, we don't know if such a student even exists. But let's give Ha'aretz the benefit of doubt once more, and look at the statement: "Dr. Bukay constitutes a dominant factor in shaping my personality. He is the only one who taught me that I must recognize the fact that my culture, the Arab culture, is corrupt, repressive, violent and anti-democratic." Now how did Mr. Bukay arrive to this conclusion? Would he be so kind as to educate us on the steps he followed to arrive to this supposedly non-racist (or as Ha'aretz probably would like us to believe, anti-racist) conclusion?
The whole story turns even more ridiculous. The democracy and freedom-loving Bukay "decided to expel Abu Yunes from the course." (I hope he gave him full refund and did not steal his money as his kind have stolen land from Palestinians for more than 57 years).
But wait, it gets even better. Even the author of the article, at this point, is confused about whether to accuse Bukay of racism or to place him in the "controversial but not racist" list. I will not post the "interview", but I will mention the sentence that made me chuckle: "Sania Hamady, David Pryce-Jones and Raphael Patai - look in the index under `lie' - go to Bernard Lewis." Bernard Lewis, the notorious liar and denier of the Armenian Genocide. Mr. Bukay's hero, apparently. Go read the whole exchange. Go.
This is what I call academia gone... nuts. At University of Haifa, which is currently being boycotted by the AUT. Now you know why.
Notes:
Italics in all of the above are mine, and are used for emphasis.
* Or, "Haifa and Ha'aretz Unbecoming"
1 Perhaps "Professor" Bukay, who insists on his "scientific" attitudes later on in the article, would like to attend a lecture or two on the importance of algebra and algorithms in our times? That is, before he starts citing the achievements of "Israelis" in the field of modern technology... Perhaps his fellow "Israeli" "professors" would like to inform him that without algorithms (named after Al Khawarizmi, a Persian mathematician who wrote his works in Arabic - "Professor" Bukay fails to make a distinction between Persian and Arab, but by his standards of who is an Arab, he is wrong in dismissing the contribution of Al Khwarizmi for being insignificant compared to the contributions of Jews), none of that would exist, and the "Israelis" would be *gasp* nothings in the field of technology that they boast of being the leaders of in the Middle East and even the world?
2 But apparently not so in the Columbia affair; after all, Jews never lie, only Arabs do.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Winds of change haven't touched the media
I am sure many of you heard or read about the "kidnapping" of two supposedly "Israeli" citizens from the supposedly "Israeli" village of Al Ghajar. I was curious today (as always), so I ran a search on Google News and came up with 3 links on that report, the first from Map source: BBC
Thursday, April 28, 2005
What was Libanpost thinking??
Obviously they don't have the brains to think. The Daily Star reports,"Earlier this week, dozens of Sidon residents reported receiving registered envelopes through Libanpost which contained a poster bearing the signature of a British firm offering a $10 million reward to any person who offers credible information regarding Arad's fate.
Sources told The Daily Star that many Sidon residents headed directly to the national post service's headquarters. Libanpost's administrators immediately reported the issue to security officials."
I wonder why the "Israelis" are pursuing this at this particular moment, knowing full well that the situation in Lebanon is quite volatile. I wonder if they actually understand the phrase "NOT now"?
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Meeting Robert Fisk
I recently found out that I had been linked to on a number of blogs, the most striking being the following. Well I am impressed (especially with the last of the 3 links). And I must add, very surprised. I didn't expect to be linked to on so many blogs. I guess I'm getting notorious around here... :) Anyway, I was looking at that blog, and I found something interesting. 4th & 5th pictures. Yes, that's Robert Fisk. THE Robert Fisk. I'm jealous. I mean, I do have some issues with his articles lately, but, and that is a BIG but, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon was simply too good a book to be overshadowed by a couple of not-so-good articles by Fisk. You should all (no ifs, buts, and maybes) BUY that book. Forget Thomas Friedman, especially that you now have a guide to writing your very own Thomas Friedman op-ed column. Happy? I am sure Prof. As'ad will love this - that's if he hasn't seen it already (the guy sure gets around the web!). Anyway, back to Robert Fisk. I would like to meet him one day. Now, I know he wouldn't say no to free dinner, so I might actually stand a chance. ;) Anyway, I would like to meet him for a few reasons, one of them being that I absolutely loved his book, another being that I would like to personally thank him for his heroic reporting from Lebanon, another for his report on Qana massacre, and finally to ask him if he knew (or had met) my dad by any chance. I doubt it but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
Yes, that's my dream. Meeting Mr. Fisk. Do I sound pathetic? :)
Yes, that's my dream. Meeting Mr. Fisk. Do I sound pathetic? :)
IAF to continue intimidation
It was decided that the "Israeli" Air Force would continue its intimidation by flying its jets over Lebanon until the Lebanese government follows its orders to disarm Hezballah.
Shalom!
Shalom!
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
"Drama ... but not a genocide"
Turkish Jewish businessman Jak Kamhi, the founder and chairman of Profilo, a large electronics and appliance manufacturing company [...] counts various U.S. presidents and Israeli prime ministers among his friends. Speaking in his cavernous Istanbul office, which is furnished with toffee-colored leather chairs and couch, Kamhi says he has helped the fight against the Armenian claims out of a sense of duty to the memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. "[Countering] the so-called genocide is more important for the Jews in the Diaspora and Israel than the Turks," Kamhi says. "It is not something you can compare to the Holocaust and the genocide that happened in Europe. You can speak about a drama, about many other things, but not about a genocide. That happened in Europe."The Jerusalem Report, May 2005 issue
Monday, April 25, 2005
Syria out, and first fight already
Supporters of LF and FPM clash in Martyrs' Square
Yup, and this is the beginning of the end, folks. The end to the so-called "unity", that is. The first pointer to it was this, and now my doubts have been confirmed. But, an Antoinette Geagea dismissed the incident: "Why is the media making such a big deal of this? It is just a childish argument by some boys aged 16-17 whom I doubt know what is really happening between the political parties."
Well, dearest Antoinette Geagea, it takes as little as 16-17 year olds to start a civil war in Lebanon.
Yup, and this is the beginning of the end, folks. The end to the so-called "unity", that is. The first pointer to it was this, and now my doubts have been confirmed. But, an Antoinette Geagea dismissed the incident: "Why is the media making such a big deal of this? It is just a childish argument by some boys aged 16-17 whom I doubt know what is really happening between the political parties."
Well, dearest Antoinette Geagea, it takes as little as 16-17 year olds to start a civil war in Lebanon.
Back from Ottawa
Alright, I am back. It was a long day for me. I had to get up at 5 am and get some stuff sorted out, then had to rush to the ակումբ (Armenian community centre) to catch the bus. And on top of that, it was raining like it's never rained before. There were overall 4 buses taking off from Toronto (more were supposed to come but for some reason the company let the organisers down). Took off at about 6:30 am. We had a half-hour service stop halfway to Ottawa, and then continued for another 2 hours or so. We arrived around 10:30-10:45 am if I remember correctly. Soon after that, the Montrealers arrived, and they were not as many as we expected them to be. They were saying that in previous years there used to be 20 buses (??!) from Montreal alone. Well there's no way there were 20 buses in total, let alone only from Montreal.
When we got to Ottawa there were a few people there already who had set up the audio system. The media was not there, which was a big relief to me after seeing all those flags of the Republic of Armenia. The "ceremony" was organised by the ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) / ARFYOC (Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organisation of Canada). I was expecting that they would bring flags, but I was hoping that they would at least make it different this year, it being the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide... Boy was I mistaken! Actually, it was different. Yes indeed it was. There were more flags. Now don't get me wrong, I have always liked the ARF better than other Armenian parties, including the Ramgavars (due to the fact that I grew up in an ARF-supporting home and community), but lately I've been growing increasingly cold towards it, thanks in no small part to a revision of my political opinions (I've been looking into the Hunchak party ideologies). But I think my dislike of the ARF is also due to the fact that they are very unrealistic if not anti-realistic. Yesterday's speech by the representative of the Կեդրոնական Կոմիտէ (central committee) of the ARF was disgusting. Not only did he not have good command of the Armenian language (which most of the "ceremony" was in), his constant references to "Greater Armenia" did not appeal to my tastes. When I say unrealistic, I mean it. Those ARF-supporters who stayed at home due to "bad weather" (rain) rather than coming out in their thousands to Ottawa would not, in a thousand years, move to those lands even if they are given back to Armenians. In fact, they are not even moving back to Armenia-proper, which I dare say has better infrastructure and is much more developed than most areas of eastern Turkey that are included in the "historical western Armenia" map. They talk about the brave Armenian martyrs and the need to take up arms and fight for our lands, but they would not even stand under the rain without umbrellas. The majority of the supporters of such talk were not even present (as mentioned above). What do they expect from non-Armenians if they, as Armenians (and probably grandchildren of genocide survivors), didn't care about filling that field in front of the Turkish Consulate? Where were they? Glued in front of their TVs, or whining about the necessity of getting back their ancestors' lands? Or singing «Ատանայի Կոտորածը» (Massacre of Adana) and forgetting all about «Մենք Պէտք Է Կռուենք» (We must fight) and its lyrics: «Ամօ՛թ այն հային եւ բիւր նախատինք, Որ ազգի սիրոյն չի գործում բարիք:» (Shame and scorn on the Armenian who does not do good for his nation). Shame indeed. A big shame on the ARF for turning the Armenian Genocide into a nationalistic agenda, thereby giving ammo not to the Armenians, but to the Turkish government and the deniers on its payroll.
Do I regret going there yesterday? Yes and no. Yes because it was very disappointing and frustrating, and because I supported them in a way (by being there), and moreover got counted as belonging to the ARF crowd. No because I was a witness to it so I could report on their idiocy and their use and abuse of my great-grandparents' memory to further their so-called "nationalistic" / "patriotic" goals. The ARF and its supporters must realise that waving the flag of Armenia does not make one an Armenian. And for Christ's sake quit talking about the "white genocide" when you don't even speak Armenian with your children at home.
Well, that's all I wanted to say (this entry has a soft-ish tone because I find myself unable to put into words the extent of my anger and frustration). You can check out the photos from the "ceremony" here. For photos of a REAL demonstration and commemoration, check out this and this and this (thanks Armen from Iran for the links). Not a flag to be seen - I bet that takes away from the validity of the demonstration/commemoration. OK, I'm starting to sound sarcastic, so I will end this here.
When we got to Ottawa there were a few people there already who had set up the audio system. The media was not there, which was a big relief to me after seeing all those flags of the Republic of Armenia. The "ceremony" was organised by the ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) / ARFYOC (Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organisation of Canada). I was expecting that they would bring flags, but I was hoping that they would at least make it different this year, it being the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide... Boy was I mistaken! Actually, it was different. Yes indeed it was. There were more flags. Now don't get me wrong, I have always liked the ARF better than other Armenian parties, including the Ramgavars (due to the fact that I grew up in an ARF-supporting home and community), but lately I've been growing increasingly cold towards it, thanks in no small part to a revision of my political opinions (I've been looking into the Hunchak party ideologies). But I think my dislike of the ARF is also due to the fact that they are very unrealistic if not anti-realistic. Yesterday's speech by the representative of the Կեդրոնական Կոմիտէ (central committee) of the ARF was disgusting. Not only did he not have good command of the Armenian language (which most of the "ceremony" was in), his constant references to "Greater Armenia" did not appeal to my tastes. When I say unrealistic, I mean it. Those ARF-supporters who stayed at home due to "bad weather" (rain) rather than coming out in their thousands to Ottawa would not, in a thousand years, move to those lands even if they are given back to Armenians. In fact, they are not even moving back to Armenia-proper, which I dare say has better infrastructure and is much more developed than most areas of eastern Turkey that are included in the "historical western Armenia" map. They talk about the brave Armenian martyrs and the need to take up arms and fight for our lands, but they would not even stand under the rain without umbrellas. The majority of the supporters of such talk were not even present (as mentioned above). What do they expect from non-Armenians if they, as Armenians (and probably grandchildren of genocide survivors), didn't care about filling that field in front of the Turkish Consulate? Where were they? Glued in front of their TVs, or whining about the necessity of getting back their ancestors' lands? Or singing «Ատանայի Կոտորածը» (Massacre of Adana) and forgetting all about «Մենք Պէտք Է Կռուենք» (We must fight) and its lyrics: «Ամօ՛թ այն հային եւ բիւր նախատինք, Որ ազգի սիրոյն չի գործում բարիք:» (Shame and scorn on the Armenian who does not do good for his nation). Shame indeed. A big shame on the ARF for turning the Armenian Genocide into a nationalistic agenda, thereby giving ammo not to the Armenians, but to the Turkish government and the deniers on its payroll.
Do I regret going there yesterday? Yes and no. Yes because it was very disappointing and frustrating, and because I supported them in a way (by being there), and moreover got counted as belonging to the ARF crowd. No because I was a witness to it so I could report on their idiocy and their use and abuse of my great-grandparents' memory to further their so-called "nationalistic" / "patriotic" goals. The ARF and its supporters must realise that waving the flag of Armenia does not make one an Armenian. And for Christ's sake quit talking about the "white genocide" when you don't even speak Armenian with your children at home.
Well, that's all I wanted to say (this entry has a soft-ish tone because I find myself unable to put into words the extent of my anger and frustration). You can check out the photos from the "ceremony" here. For photos of a REAL demonstration and commemoration, check out this and this and this (thanks Armen from Iran for the links). Not a flag to be seen - I bet that takes away from the validity of the demonstration/commemoration. OK, I'm starting to sound sarcastic, so I will end this here.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Lebanese Army? Hezballah fighters? Syrian loyalists? No, they are the real Lebanese. Maronites, that is. Christian supporters of... the Lebanese Forces... and of course the disarmament of all militias...
Friday, April 22, 2005
Remembering the Armenian Genocide
I will be going to Ottawa on Sunday, so I will be unable to post something on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Well I don't have much to say on the occasion. My dealings with the issue of the Armenian Genocide have been both personal [indirectly of course] and political/historical. I will talk about both. But first, the personal: The Armenian side of my family originally came from Sasun. Most of them did not survive the genocide. In Sasun: The Turks gathered the Armenian women and children, lined them up, and started killing them one by one. My grandmother's father's mother could not bear to see her son killed in front of her eyes; she begged a Kurdish man to take him and do whatever he wanted with him; raise him as a Kurd, anything he wanted. The man, after a moment of hesitation, took the boy. No one knows what happened to his mother [most probably murdered]. The Kurdish man took the boy and raised him as his own son. He became a shepherd. Every day he would write the Armenian alphabet on the sand, so as not to forget it. Years later, the man wanted him to get married to a Kurdish girl. He ran away. He made his way to Syria. Meanwhile, his future wife (my grandmother's mother) had made it to Mosul (Iraq), where she remained in hiding for a while. All her children (she was married before) except for one daughter saved by a Kurdish man (whom she paid to have her back), had been massacred or had died of starvation on the long walk. Along with her daughter and sister (who had also survived but had lost all her children) they made their way to Aleppo. There she met my grandmother's father, and they got married. My grandmother was born in 1923. She's still alive and tells me that her father had written a book in Armenian about his experiences. The handwritten book was preserved for a long time, but got lost during the Lebanese war. Sometimes I get angry with my grandmother for having lost such a precious book. But it's of no use now. It's gone, never to be seen again.
The political: One of the things that baffle me is how Jews of all people can deny the Armenian Genocide. I was reading Yair Auron's The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide a while back, and he made the distinction between passive and active denial. A sidenote: I do respect Auron for taking a dissenting stance on the issue, but he is too much of an apologist for the "State of Israel" for my tastes. Later on in this entry I will explain why I accuse him of that. But for now two reasons why I mentioned Auron. The first is the issue of passive vs active denial. The second is the text of a lecture he gave back in February 2003.
On the passive vs active denial, in a recent article on the Jerusalem Post (which seems to be doing its best lately to debunk the claim that most Jews - including individuals as opposed to the myth that the culprits are the "Jewish and/or "Israeli" politicians* and lobbyists* not the Jewish people" - do deny the Armenian Genocide), a Larry Derfner says, "What does the State of Israel and many of its American Jewish lobbyists have to say about it, about this first genocide of the 20th century? If they were merely standing silent, that would be an improvement. Instead, on the subject of the Armenian genocide+, Israel and some US Jewish organizations, notably the American Jewish Committee, have for many years acted aggressively as silencers."
The article starts out strongly but in the end yo-yos between [supposed] criticism of "Israel" and denier Jews, and covering up on the [inevitable and logical but unmentioned] conclusion that if it's an issue of "fair enough" in response to the argument that "it's a matter for historians [not politicians] to decide", "revisionists" [of the Jewish Genocide] should be able to say the same. Thus, the very premise of the author's argument is based on double standards rather than support for a universal method of dealing with this issue, and as such provides further ammo for the war of double standards that the same Jewish deniers he has supposedly set out to criticise have been waging for decades.
The final point I will address is Auron's lecture, which I mentioned above. In it he says, "The headlines of the Turkish Daily News, the influential English daily, on April 10, 2001, were clear: "Peres: Armenian Allegations are Meaningless." The newspaper interviewed Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on the eve of his official visit to Turkey. Peres claimed in it that it is for historians to deal with such historical issues. The claim may seem feasible, and is sometimes used by governments - including the American and the Israeli - who wish to avoid the dilemma. Nevertheless, it is very well known that this denial tactic is practiced manipulatively by the Turks and their supporters."
A few paragraphs ago I accused Auron of being an apologist for the Jewish and "Israeli" deniers. I will now (briefly) explain why. Pay special attention to his wording. An eloquent writer no doubt, but that is the point. Eloquent writers are eloquent because they are equipped with the ability to imply things in subtle ways or leave their readers wondering what they really meant. My argument? The American and "Israeli" governments are not examples of "wish[ing] to avoid the dilemma". Both governments - especially the latter - have adopted policies of active denial rather than passive non-recognition. On to the second point: this denial tactic is not practised at all by "the Turks", let alone manipulatively. The Turkish government denies that there is even a "dilemma". Moreover, Auron talks of but does not name "supporters" of the Turks. This is a practise typical of apologists who use vague terms and refrain from bluntly naming those whom they are, according to their claims, criticising.
As a final note, do check out this article (thanks umkahlil). And here are some photos of the Armenian Genocide.
I am afraid this is all I had to say. I could go on for pages about my family's wanderings around the world after the genocide, and how I can barely hold back tears when I think of what I would do if and when I visit the birthplace of my great-grandparents or the tiny country that we have never set foot in (I've visited Armenia, but I was 1.5 years old at the time) but are supposed to love... But that would be getting too personal about it. Hopefully one day I would be posting *my* photos of Sasun on this blog. But that won't happen any time soon.
So I will end this entry on a bitter note.
Notes:
* And we all know that they are immune to criticism of any sort from any direction, so naturally they would be the ones to take the blame for denying the Armenian Genocide (or to use the more politically correct phrase, "not recognising it"), and the world watches and ... laughs. Note that there is a huge difference between non-recognition (most of the time passive, sometimes active) and outright denial (active). I for one do not care about "Israel's" non-recognition, as I do not recognise "Israel" as a legitimate entity to begin with. But I do take issue with the Jewish denial of the Armenian Genocide.
+ Notice the capitalisation. In contrast, the word "holocaust" is mentioned 8 times in the same article, and an "H" rather than an "h" is used in all 8 mentions.
Well I don't have much to say on the occasion. My dealings with the issue of the Armenian Genocide have been both personal [indirectly of course] and political/historical. I will talk about both. But first, the personal: The Armenian side of my family originally came from Sasun. Most of them did not survive the genocide. In Sasun: The Turks gathered the Armenian women and children, lined them up, and started killing them one by one. My grandmother's father's mother could not bear to see her son killed in front of her eyes; she begged a Kurdish man to take him and do whatever he wanted with him; raise him as a Kurd, anything he wanted. The man, after a moment of hesitation, took the boy. No one knows what happened to his mother [most probably murdered]. The Kurdish man took the boy and raised him as his own son. He became a shepherd. Every day he would write the Armenian alphabet on the sand, so as not to forget it. Years later, the man wanted him to get married to a Kurdish girl. He ran away. He made his way to Syria. Meanwhile, his future wife (my grandmother's mother) had made it to Mosul (Iraq), where she remained in hiding for a while. All her children (she was married before) except for one daughter saved by a Kurdish man (whom she paid to have her back), had been massacred or had died of starvation on the long walk. Along with her daughter and sister (who had also survived but had lost all her children) they made their way to Aleppo. There she met my grandmother's father, and they got married. My grandmother was born in 1923. She's still alive and tells me that her father had written a book in Armenian about his experiences. The handwritten book was preserved for a long time, but got lost during the Lebanese war. Sometimes I get angry with my grandmother for having lost such a precious book. But it's of no use now. It's gone, never to be seen again.
The political: One of the things that baffle me is how Jews of all people can deny the Armenian Genocide. I was reading Yair Auron's The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide a while back, and he made the distinction between passive and active denial. A sidenote: I do respect Auron for taking a dissenting stance on the issue, but he is too much of an apologist for the "State of Israel" for my tastes. Later on in this entry I will explain why I accuse him of that. But for now two reasons why I mentioned Auron. The first is the issue of passive vs active denial. The second is the text of a lecture he gave back in February 2003.
On the passive vs active denial, in a recent article on the Jerusalem Post (which seems to be doing its best lately to debunk the claim that most Jews - including individuals as opposed to the myth that the culprits are the "Jewish and/or "Israeli" politicians* and lobbyists* not the Jewish people" - do deny the Armenian Genocide), a Larry Derfner says, "What does the State of Israel and many of its American Jewish lobbyists have to say about it, about this first genocide of the 20th century? If they were merely standing silent, that would be an improvement. Instead, on the subject of the Armenian genocide+, Israel and some US Jewish organizations, notably the American Jewish Committee, have for many years acted aggressively as silencers."
The article starts out strongly but in the end yo-yos between [supposed] criticism of "Israel" and denier Jews, and covering up on the [inevitable and logical but unmentioned] conclusion that if it's an issue of "fair enough" in response to the argument that "it's a matter for historians [not politicians] to decide", "revisionists" [of the Jewish Genocide] should be able to say the same. Thus, the very premise of the author's argument is based on double standards rather than support for a universal method of dealing with this issue, and as such provides further ammo for the war of double standards that the same Jewish deniers he has supposedly set out to criticise have been waging for decades.
The final point I will address is Auron's lecture, which I mentioned above. In it he says, "The headlines of the Turkish Daily News, the influential English daily, on April 10, 2001, were clear: "Peres: Armenian Allegations are Meaningless." The newspaper interviewed Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on the eve of his official visit to Turkey. Peres claimed in it that it is for historians to deal with such historical issues. The claim may seem feasible, and is sometimes used by governments - including the American and the Israeli - who wish to avoid the dilemma. Nevertheless, it is very well known that this denial tactic is practiced manipulatively by the Turks and their supporters."
A few paragraphs ago I accused Auron of being an apologist for the Jewish and "Israeli" deniers. I will now (briefly) explain why. Pay special attention to his wording. An eloquent writer no doubt, but that is the point. Eloquent writers are eloquent because they are equipped with the ability to imply things in subtle ways or leave their readers wondering what they really meant. My argument? The American and "Israeli" governments are not examples of "wish[ing] to avoid the dilemma". Both governments - especially the latter - have adopted policies of active denial rather than passive non-recognition. On to the second point: this denial tactic is not practised at all by "the Turks", let alone manipulatively. The Turkish government denies that there is even a "dilemma". Moreover, Auron talks of but does not name "supporters" of the Turks. This is a practise typical of apologists who use vague terms and refrain from bluntly naming those whom they are, according to their claims, criticising.
As a final note, do check out this article (thanks umkahlil). And here are some photos of the Armenian Genocide.
I am afraid this is all I had to say. I could go on for pages about my family's wanderings around the world after the genocide, and how I can barely hold back tears when I think of what I would do if and when I visit the birthplace of my great-grandparents or the tiny country that we have never set foot in (I've visited Armenia, but I was 1.5 years old at the time) but are supposed to love... But that would be getting too personal about it. Hopefully one day I would be posting *my* photos of Sasun on this blog. But that won't happen any time soon.
So I will end this entry on a bitter note.
Notes:
* And we all know that they are immune to criticism of any sort from any direction, so naturally they would be the ones to take the blame for denying the Armenian Genocide (or to use the more politically correct phrase, "not recognising it"), and the world watches and ... laughs. Note that there is a huge difference between non-recognition (most of the time passive, sometimes active) and outright denial (active). I for one do not care about "Israel's" non-recognition, as I do not recognise "Israel" as a legitimate entity to begin with. But I do take issue with the Jewish denial of the Armenian Genocide.
+ Notice the capitalisation. In contrast, the word "holocaust" is mentioned 8 times in the same article, and an "H" rather than an "h" is used in all 8 mentions.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Highlights of the day (Special Feature: Dan vs Jarrod)
"I have no doubt that most of the Israelites will immediately recognize the Genocide if asked", says "Professor" Yehuda Bauer.
If asked?!?!?!?!?!?!?! But I thought it was all about "never again" and "the duty of the Jewish people to speak out against genocide".
Meanwhile in Germany, as reported by Berliner Zeitung:
BERLIN. Der Bundestag wird heute einen Antrag der CDU/CSU-Fraktion beraten, in dem das Parlament aufgefordert wird, der Vertreibung und Ermordung von 1,5 Millionen Armeniern durch die Türken zu gedenken. Der Begriff Genozid wird in dem Text allerdings vermieden. Trotzdem hatten fast alle türkischen Vereine in Berlin die geplante Parlamentsdebatte kritisiert.
Rough translation: The Bundestag will today discuss a resolution sponsored by the Christian Democratic Union, which addresses the issue of the deportation and massacres of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turks. The term genocide is avoided in the text. Nevertheless, nearly all Turkish associations in Berlin have criticised the parliamentary debate.
But that's not about it. While I was reading through the comments at Blogrel, I "met" a Jarrod who lives in Germany. Apparently, he has decided he wants an ... "intelligent debate" on ... the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, I am not surprised. The political climate, after all, encourages such arguments, because they help to lead the battle for the de-legitimisation of the factual and well-documented Armenian Genocide.
Jarrod tries to be logical (I mourn the loss of logic - the future of humanity does not look bright) and poses the question, "With the Ottoman empire falling apart, having lost a great deal of land over the 40 years before WWI and on the brink of losing WWI, does it make sense that they would suddenly decide for a “Final Solution” or genocide against a people they long lived completely peacefully with? Out of the blue?"
Well, going by your "facts" and your sense of "making sense", the answer would be, no. But such hatred that leads to genocide (or massacres or "so-called genocides", if you prefer to call it that) does not make sense either, don't you think? That does not mean it does not happen, does it? Moreover, you will have to do slightly better than that with your "facts". The premise of your argument is actually false to begin with, which means that your conclusions, even if valid, stand no chance of being sound. I will clarify. The Turks did not live peacefully with the Armenians. I recommend that you look into the racist and even *gasp* murderous policies of the Ottoman Empire against its Armenian citizens. Things like double taxation and if you will excuse my bluntness (as it might offend your pro-"intelligent debating" self) massacres (long before WWI).
Mr. Jarrod then says, "Aren’t the events rather heavy handed tactics by a regime scared of losing power than anything remotely racist?"
Of course. Because the deportation, murder, and forced conversion of all Armenian citizens of Turkey [but not of Muslim Turks or Kurds] is about "a regime scared of losing power than anything remotely racist". Yup. And can you imagine how scary a foetus in an Armenian woman's belly is?! Poor regime. Must've been really scared. :-(
But then Mr. Jarrod concludes, "Massacre Yes. Genocide No."
Dare I cite (or will I be accused of being anti-Turkish and *gasp* anti-Semitic [for taking away the "uniqueness" of "The Holocaust"] if I do that?) Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?
If asked?!?!?!?!?!?!?! But I thought it was all about "never again" and "the duty of the Jewish people to speak out against genocide".
Meanwhile in Germany, as reported by Berliner Zeitung:
BERLIN. Der Bundestag wird heute einen Antrag der CDU/CSU-Fraktion beraten, in dem das Parlament aufgefordert wird, der Vertreibung und Ermordung von 1,5 Millionen Armeniern durch die Türken zu gedenken. Der Begriff Genozid wird in dem Text allerdings vermieden. Trotzdem hatten fast alle türkischen Vereine in Berlin die geplante Parlamentsdebatte kritisiert.
Rough translation: The Bundestag will today discuss a resolution sponsored by the Christian Democratic Union, which addresses the issue of the deportation and massacres of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turks. The term genocide is avoided in the text. Nevertheless, nearly all Turkish associations in Berlin have criticised the parliamentary debate.
But that's not about it. While I was reading through the comments at Blogrel, I "met" a Jarrod who lives in Germany. Apparently, he has decided he wants an ... "intelligent debate" on ... the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, I am not surprised. The political climate, after all, encourages such arguments, because they help to lead the battle for the de-legitimisation of the factual and well-documented Armenian Genocide.
Jarrod tries to be logical (I mourn the loss of logic - the future of humanity does not look bright) and poses the question, "With the Ottoman empire falling apart, having lost a great deal of land over the 40 years before WWI and on the brink of losing WWI, does it make sense that they would suddenly decide for a “Final Solution” or genocide against a people they long lived completely peacefully with? Out of the blue?"
Well, going by your "facts" and your sense of "making sense", the answer would be, no. But such hatred that leads to genocide (or massacres or "so-called genocides", if you prefer to call it that) does not make sense either, don't you think? That does not mean it does not happen, does it? Moreover, you will have to do slightly better than that with your "facts". The premise of your argument is actually false to begin with, which means that your conclusions, even if valid, stand no chance of being sound. I will clarify. The Turks did not live peacefully with the Armenians. I recommend that you look into the racist and even *gasp* murderous policies of the Ottoman Empire against its Armenian citizens. Things like double taxation and if you will excuse my bluntness (as it might offend your pro-"intelligent debating" self) massacres (long before WWI).
Mr. Jarrod then says, "Aren’t the events rather heavy handed tactics by a regime scared of losing power than anything remotely racist?"
Of course. Because the deportation, murder, and forced conversion of all Armenian citizens of Turkey [but not of Muslim Turks or Kurds] is about "a regime scared of losing power than anything remotely racist". Yup. And can you imagine how scary a foetus in an Armenian woman's belly is?! Poor regime. Must've been really scared. :-(
But then Mr. Jarrod concludes, "Massacre Yes. Genocide No."
Dare I cite (or will I be accused of being anti-Turkish and *gasp* anti-Semitic [for taking away the "uniqueness" of "The Holocaust"] if I do that?) Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?
Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Armenians went through ... definitely not (a) [too inhumane to have happened], definitely not (b) [hmm?], most certainly not (c) [and I don't even know why I was thinking about the long marches in deserts, one of them being Der el Zor, where human remains are still being found], unthinkable to argue that they went through (d) [cutting a woman's belly and pulling out the foetus being the most humane act in the world] , and of course, not (e) either [because it makes no sense that the Turkish government would have done that!]
To end this entry - despite the title (Dan vs Jarrod), I would like to add that I refuse to debate this, either intelligently or non-intelligently. I am not in the least interested in debating the facts of the Armenian Genocide. That is for you to read about, and not for me to prove. So if anyone can prove that the evidence of the Armenian Genocide are fake, all the more power to you. Until then, I would say that you should not hide behind “let’s have an intelligent debate”, because I am not about to take the bait.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
"Big Lie"
With a hint of bitterness, he shows the remains of posters detailing the Armenian genocide glued to walls along the street and torn down, he says, by passing Jews.
"Sometimes they write 'big lie' over them," he says.
"Sometimes they write 'big lie' over them," he says.
We want the truth!
Lebanese policemen stand guard at a street-side cafeteria after an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, late Wednesday, April 20, 2005. A bomb exploded in a street-side cafeteria frequented by low-income laborers, wounding at least three people. The bomb, apparently a hand grenade, was thrown from a car in the Muslim neighborhood of Cola.
Of course, this is not reported on any news agency websites (where are those
The above photo was taken from the Yahoo photo slideshows page. I do
And where are those news reports on the supposedly unbiased search (& destroy?) engine Google? The Google news page that lists news reports on Lebanon was updated 1 hour ago (edit: now 49 minutes ago), and still no trace of this or this or this. But, google Google News NOW with the following key phrase: "lebanon grenade". Beats the purpose, doesn't it? Gee, thanks Google and Yahoo! ! Such unbiased search engines indeed! Or maybe they were just innocently removing anti-Semitic content from the sensitive public eye... Yup, that's it, folks. I finally found the explanation to the mystery.
Edit 1: Check out Al Jazeera's report on the "incident". "The grenade was thrown by an unknown assailant after a parking dispute between three people in the Kola district, police said." Unknown??! What? You mean you didn't follow him?! How pro-Syrian of you! Shame shame. And parking dispute? Since when do Lebanese hurl grenades at one another based on a parking dispute? I haven't heard of such a thing taking place in Lebanon ever since the war (supposedly) ended. And then, "[o]ne hour later, 200 grams of TNT in a plastic bag exploded in an empty field in the Mamora neighbourhood [yup, it's definitely a parking dispute], a mainly Shia area on the outskirts of Beirut's southern suburbs, police sources said." I suppose that gives the Shi'ite Lebanese the right to set up "vigilante" groups and hawajez (checkpoints)? Notice how the police didn't even mention that the targets are Syrians (or even implied that those [literally] poor Shi'ites were being targeted - but we did see everyone whining about "Christian areas" being bombed and all those [figuratively] poor Christians fearing for their lives). Ahh, the winds of change indeed!
Edit 2: Interesting that not even Ha'aretz's article on the grenade was added by Google, when it has used it as a source on political developments in Lebanon before (for example, this one). Of course, Google finds nothing wrong in citing... Arutz Sheva on the ...
Edit 3: In response to my sarcastic remarks that went as follows, "We want the truth! It was the Baath! It's OBVIOUS! Only Baath are able to commit such crimes!", a LFPM supporter said, "Baath? As in the party? It could be them or it could be others, it doesn't really matter." To which I replied, "Absolutely. But the Hariri bombing was ... definitely planned and executed by... "loyalists". Yup. Besides, it doesn't really matter."
Edit 4: Conclusion: Hezballah must be disarmed!
+ Probably referring to the SSNP (Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party)
* Does not include Hezballah as they are not Lebanese
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
And they wonder why...
Members of the so-called "opposition" (read: majority Christian supporters of the racist LF, tyrant Aoun, and terrorist Bush) wonder why Hezballah and other Lebanese reject 1559. They ask, what is wrong with USA interfering if that would guarantee that we would be free of Syrian control? Some of them argue USA might not have "other" plans for Lebanon after all, that we should stop seeing conspiracies in every small thing. They accuse us of using that simply as an excuse for maintaining Syrian control over Lebanon. They accuse us of abandoning the Lebanese and their cause and supporting another country - namely Syria. They say we are traitors. Most of the time I don't reply to these accusations and smear campaigns. This time around, however, I will explain why *I* (I don't claim to be the spokesperson of the anti-"opposition" camp) don't support the "opposition".
On the question of Hezballah's status, Bush said: "There is a reason why we've put Hizbullah on a terrorist list. They've killed Americans in the past." He then thought it would be appropriate of him [as the defender of the "opposition"] to add: "You can't have a free country if a group of people are like an armed militia." Mr. Bush forgets that even before the Hezballah killed Americans, U.S "peacekeepers" had effectively taken sides (always with the side that supported "Israel") and occasionally fired on Chouf villages. Will the real Druze please stand up? Now you will accuse me of trying to break the so-called unity and sow sectarian hatred (as if it somehow disappeared), but I will tell you that I am not. I am the last person to be interested in sectarian issues; I am, after all, an atheist. I simply don't care about religion. Period. The reason I address the Druze is that I still have some hope that they would stop being so blind and realise that their leader Walid beik is deceiving them about what it means to be supportive of the "opposition". I have no such hope from the Maronites. I've "washed my hands off" the Lebanese Christians. Do you know, some advocate federalism and the transfer of Christians to the "Christian side" and Muslims to the "Muslim side" under that plan. Others hate the Palestinian refugees so much (as if they are not oppressed enough by them already) that they would not hesitate to deport or massacre them (again). Still others claim Lebanon should be "clean" of all "foreign" elements, including its very own citizens who happen to be of Armenian (Christian) background. I suppose they are bitter that the Armenian community (there were individuals who joined - my current neighbour being one of them) refused to join the Phalangists. In fact, there were fierce battles waged and massacres perpetrated by the latter against the former for that very reason, until, that is, the Armenians took up arms and took control over the defense of their "areas". So I have no hope in this matter from Lebanon's Christians as a whole.
Moreover, Bush said that if Lebanon failed to force Hezballah to disarm, it would provide assistance. What do "opposition" supporters think about this? Is it sovereign enough for them? Or is there enough lack of interference by a "foreign power" in its affairs? Are the so-called patriots not angered and humiliated by such statements? How can they ever be silent to, no, rather, supportive of, such a thing? Moreover, how can they support such a thing at one moment then yell "freedom, independence, sovereignty!" at another? Are they that blind so as not to realise that their double standards are rendering them the laughing-stock of anyone sane (and not subscribing to American propaganda) out there? I say sane because it is most certainly insane to be a member of this hypocritical group that calls itself "the opposition" and assumes the title of patriotism. And I do not intend to attach to this the statement "so that is why you should support the anti-"opposition" side" - that would be a false dichotomy fallacy, one that is unfortunately put to use all the time in Lebanon). Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart." This is too true. Think about what has been done in the course of history in the name of patriotism, of king and country, of clergy and religion. You don't have to look further than Iraq and the police state the United States itself has become to see how true this is. Many, many wrong things have been done, and much blood has been shed in the name of liberty, patriotism, sovereignty, and independence. At the end of the day we must at least question if not outright reject these social constructs (or at least the manner in which they are [mis]represented) that have plagued us for millenia. For me freedom might sound and feel true, for others that same freedom might mean quite the opposite, even death. Political absolutism, this adopted child of successive U.S governments, possesses the power to oppress dissenters and become that which it claimed to be rebelling against: a defender of oppression, corruption, and dare I say it, un-patriotism.
So for the sake of humanity, please drop this destructive concept of yours and stop weaving a web of arguments with it. The sooner you stop, the better. Now you see what my problem with the "opposition" is. You have your concept of patriotism, and I my own. But let us stop thinking about and more importantly planning on imposing our personal views on each other. In fact, when I say "us", I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and treating you as an equal when it comes to the use and abuse of that term. I for one do not use it to drive my point home. The only time I ever take the word patriotism in my mouth is when I point to the fact that you are using it and abandoning it at the same time. At least when you decide on a concept stick to it rather than yo-yo-ing back and forth between the two positions.
On another note, I wonder how big Bush's "aid" package to the "opposition" will be in return for the settling of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
On the question of Hezballah's status, Bush said: "There is a reason why we've put Hizbullah on a terrorist list. They've killed Americans in the past." He then thought it would be appropriate of him [as the defender of the "opposition"] to add: "You can't have a free country if a group of people are like an armed militia." Mr. Bush forgets that even before the Hezballah killed Americans, U.S "peacekeepers" had effectively taken sides (always with the side that supported "Israel") and occasionally fired on Chouf villages. Will the real Druze please stand up? Now you will accuse me of trying to break the so-called unity and sow sectarian hatred (as if it somehow disappeared), but I will tell you that I am not. I am the last person to be interested in sectarian issues; I am, after all, an atheist. I simply don't care about religion. Period. The reason I address the Druze is that I still have some hope that they would stop being so blind and realise that their leader Walid beik is deceiving them about what it means to be supportive of the "opposition". I have no such hope from the Maronites. I've "washed my hands off" the Lebanese Christians. Do you know, some advocate federalism and the transfer of Christians to the "Christian side" and Muslims to the "Muslim side" under that plan. Others hate the Palestinian refugees so much (as if they are not oppressed enough by them already) that they would not hesitate to deport or massacre them (again). Still others claim Lebanon should be "clean" of all "foreign" elements, including its very own citizens who happen to be of Armenian (Christian) background. I suppose they are bitter that the Armenian community (there were individuals who joined - my current neighbour being one of them) refused to join the Phalangists. In fact, there were fierce battles waged and massacres perpetrated by the latter against the former for that very reason, until, that is, the Armenians took up arms and took control over the defense of their "areas". So I have no hope in this matter from Lebanon's Christians as a whole.
Moreover, Bush said that if Lebanon failed to force Hezballah to disarm, it would provide assistance. What do "opposition" supporters think about this? Is it sovereign enough for them? Or is there enough lack of interference by a "foreign power" in its affairs? Are the so-called patriots not angered and humiliated by such statements? How can they ever be silent to, no, rather, supportive of, such a thing? Moreover, how can they support such a thing at one moment then yell "freedom, independence, sovereignty!" at another? Are they that blind so as not to realise that their double standards are rendering them the laughing-stock of anyone sane (and not subscribing to American propaganda) out there? I say sane because it is most certainly insane to be a member of this hypocritical group that calls itself "the opposition" and assumes the title of patriotism. And I do not intend to attach to this the statement "so that is why you should support the anti-"opposition" side" - that would be a false dichotomy fallacy, one that is unfortunately put to use all the time in Lebanon). Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart." This is too true. Think about what has been done in the course of history in the name of patriotism, of king and country, of clergy and religion. You don't have to look further than Iraq and the police state the United States itself has become to see how true this is. Many, many wrong things have been done, and much blood has been shed in the name of liberty, patriotism, sovereignty, and independence. At the end of the day we must at least question if not outright reject these social constructs (or at least the manner in which they are [mis]represented) that have plagued us for millenia. For me freedom might sound and feel true, for others that same freedom might mean quite the opposite, even death. Political absolutism, this adopted child of successive U.S governments, possesses the power to oppress dissenters and become that which it claimed to be rebelling against: a defender of oppression, corruption, and dare I say it, un-patriotism.
So for the sake of humanity, please drop this destructive concept of yours and stop weaving a web of arguments with it. The sooner you stop, the better. Now you see what my problem with the "opposition" is. You have your concept of patriotism, and I my own. But let us stop thinking about and more importantly planning on imposing our personal views on each other. In fact, when I say "us", I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and treating you as an equal when it comes to the use and abuse of that term. I for one do not use it to drive my point home. The only time I ever take the word patriotism in my mouth is when I point to the fact that you are using it and abandoning it at the same time. At least when you decide on a concept stick to it rather than yo-yo-ing back and forth between the two positions.
On another note, I wonder how big Bush's "aid" package to the "opposition" will be in return for the settling of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Another day, another revolution
What colour should the next revolution be represented by? I think we will soon be out of colours; because it appears that the winds of change (sic) are spreading faster than was previously predicted... Must be that the Cedar (or was it Gucci?) Revolution inspired the wave of revolutions in the Middle East. Yup, those "young, Westernised, technology-savvy activists" (thanks for the link, Angry Arab) are simply irresistible. And you know, I was thinking, maybe the revolution in Saudi Arabia will be given the honorary title of the Rainbow Revolution and its colour would be... the colours of the rainbow?
Woman at Point Zero
I just started reading this book. It's a short one, 108 pages long, and I got through the first 50 pages in a single sitting. This book was a required reading for one of the courses I was taking 2 years ago, and while I had bought the book, I never had the time to read it. Seeing as it was short and I was in the mood to read (it's not easy for those of us suffering from ADHD to be in that kind of mood), I took it up. I must say that I am amazed by how touching it is. I got goose bumps while reading it. I would argue that it would sound even better in the original (Arabic), as the translation (by Sherif Hetata) seems to be overly simplified. The novel is, so far, very poetic. But the plot unfolds very quickly, which is what makes it a page-turner.Those of you who are wondering what the book is about, here's what the back cover says: "From her prison cell, Firdaus, sentenced to die for having killed a pimp in a Cairo street, tells of her life from village childhood to city prostitute. Society's retribution for her act of defiance - death - she welcomes as the only way she can finally be free."
It is a feminist novel. It is also quite political (outside of feminism, that is). For example, here's a passage: "When they pronounced the word 'patriotism' I could tell at once that in their heart of hearts they feared not Allah, and that at the back of their minds patriotism meant that the poor should die to defend the land of the rich, their land, for I knew that the poor had no land" (28).
I can't wait to resume reading the book, but I had to do a search on google before continuing. So I did, and it turns out that she has a website. On digging through the site in search of her political opinions especially on the Middle East, I noticed an interesting article on terrorism. Quite articulate I must admit, especially with the following:
These measures envisioned as effective ways in the fight against terrorism, are they not in themselves of a "terrorist" nature, a reflection of a "terrorism" imposed by the State, by the rulers of the United States in the name of their "war against terrorism"? Perhaps that is why they are meeting with a mounting opposition from law makers in the Republican and Democratic parties, from political and academic institutions, from peoples organizations and associations for whom issues related to democracy and the loss of civil liberties are becoming a growing concern.Yes, very eloquent. I highly recommend that you pick up this book. If not buy it, then get it from the library. I promise that it will neither harm you nor waste your time. On the contrary, I think that it will raise a lot of awareness of the struggle of women in the Middle East, not only in terms of bombs, war, and death, but also in terms of corrupt, sexist regimes, the very regimes that never tire of propagandasing the cause of freedom from occupation. What about the occupation that women live in? It's time that men in the Middle East (and this is directed not only at Muslims as most of you will think, but also at Christians and Jews - there is A LOT of sexism in the last two, but it is not talked about as much - thanks to the media and the glorification of those religions and the denigration of Islam) open their eyes and realise that their patriarchal systems need to be dismantled and a new system of equality and mutual respect should take their place.
If the policies being implemented by the United States administration are shot through with an increasing violence against the American people said to be needed in order to ensure their "protection against future terrorist attacks" and maximize "internal security" would it be surprising if the violence exercised against other poorer, weaker peoples in the world is reaching the proportions we are witnessing today in the so called "war against terrorism" and the "spread of democracy"?
I keep wondering how the military intervention and occupation first of Afghanistan, then of Iraq can further "the fight against terrorism for humanity." How the increasing death and destruction meted out to the Afghani and Iraqi people can quell the fires of hatred or, dissipate the desperation which helps to fuel the loss of faith in collective, democratic action. I wonder why the killing of Palestinian men, women, and children by a regular technologically, nuclear, laser equipped army continues to be qualified as self defense, why military invasion and mass massacres by "coalition troops" are not described as "terrorism" but as civilizing, democratizing missions meant to free our world of the "Bin Ladens" who have arisen, and continue to arise in different parts of the world.
Edit 1: Does anyone know how I can wrap text around the photo?!?
Edit 2: I finished reading the book last night. Wow. Just wow. Read it.
An "Israeli" boy watches mixed Palestinian-"Israeli" teams play during a soccer match in Herzilya.
The tournament is hosted by "The Peres Center for Peace", an oxymoron if there is any. Mr. Peres, in his address to the Knesset on the "Grapes of Wrath" said:"'Grapes of Wrath' is an operation which has no time limit, but is explicit in its objectives. These objectives are to ensure a long period of quiet for the communities of the north, to stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon [by killing 100+ civilians, half of them children], and to halt the firing of Katyushas [by firing artillery shells], thereby enabling a resumption of the peace process. The operation relies on the use of sophisticated and precise weapons [very precise indeed]. It accords expression to the IDF's advantage in human [human quality? oh wow, how very non-supremacist of you] and technological quality [yes, I suppose that is true - after all you're the one that receives billions in military "aid", not Lebanon - and despite that, your arses got handed over to you by Hezballah. I guess they are of a superior human quality then?], in mobility, and intelligence, and in precise and accurate hits [yes, I can tell]."
Letter to the Editors of Ha'aretz
Re: Ha'aretz plays hide & seek
I sent the following letter to the editors of Ha'aretz:
Dear Editors,
I am writing this e-mail with regards to the article that appeared on Ha'aretz yesterday (April 17, 2005) titled Waiting for the denial to end (Dalia Shehori). I noticed the link to it on the main page of the English version of Ha'aretz but it was removed shortly thereafter. Not even the search engine could find the article. I happened to have bookmarked it and could show it to family and friends.
I am not sure why the link was removed in such a hasty manner. I would like to think that it was not due to external pressures, or even worse, internal ones. When I saw the article, I was impressed that Ha'aretz had posted something that went "against" government policy in what is one of the most shameful denialist acts by the very people who are supposed to be against such denial. Unfortunately, that didn't last long, as the article was removed shortly after I noticed it.
I would like to know why it was removed, and I sincerely hope that Ha'aretz would do the right thing and put it back up. I, too, am waiting for the denial to end. Not only the government's denial, but also the denial by many independent institutions in Israel as well as in many Jewish communities worldwide.
Sincerely,
Dan Marsden
I sent the following letter to the editors of Ha'aretz:
Dear Editors,
I am writing this e-mail with regards to the article that appeared on Ha'aretz yesterday (April 17, 2005) titled Waiting for the denial to end (Dalia Shehori). I noticed the link to it on the main page of the English version of Ha'aretz but it was removed shortly thereafter. Not even the search engine could find the article. I happened to have bookmarked it and could show it to family and friends.
I am not sure why the link was removed in such a hasty manner. I would like to think that it was not due to external pressures, or even worse, internal ones. When I saw the article, I was impressed that Ha'aretz had posted something that went "against" government policy in what is one of the most shameful denialist acts by the very people who are supposed to be against such denial. Unfortunately, that didn't last long, as the article was removed shortly after I noticed it.
I would like to know why it was removed, and I sincerely hope that Ha'aretz would do the right thing and put it back up. I, too, am waiting for the denial to end. Not only the government's denial, but also the denial by many independent institutions in Israel as well as in many Jewish communities worldwide.
Sincerely,
Dan Marsden
Qana Massacre
"A man was lying in two pieces. There was a woman who was pregnant and I could see the arm and leg of her unborn baby poking out of her stomach. There was a man who had shrapnel in his head. He was not dead but you could see a piece of metal in his neck, like he'd had his throat cut. He told his daughter to come to help him and lift him up. And I heard her say: 'Wait a minute, I'm trying to put my brother together -- he's in two pieces.' There was another brother holding a child in his arms. The child had no head..." - Fawzieh Saad, survivor of the 18th April 1996 Qana massacre
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 669)
When Peres had launched this latest war -- 'Grapes of Wrath' was its malign name -- we were treated to the usual nonsense about a war on 'terror', a war against 'international terror', about Israel 'not sitting idly by'. Terrorists, terrorists, terrorists; the same brainwashing that had so affected the Israeli soldiers who invaded Lebanon 14 years earlier. The Israelis firing the shells into Qana were probably schoolboys in 1982. But they still believed the same fantasies. On the very first day of the bombardment, the Israelis fired a missile at the 'Hezbollah terrorist headquarters' in Beirut. But they missed the Hezbollah's offices and the rocket beheaded a little girl in a neighbouring apartment. Then they fired at a car carrying a 'terrorist' to Beirut. But there was no 'terrorist'. Their missile killed the driver -- a young woman -- as she stopped to buy a sandwich at a shop opposite the Jiye power station.
Then just five days before the Qana massacre, another Israeli Apache helicopter pilot fired a missile into an ambulance south of Tyre. It was carrying 'terrorists', the Israelis announced. But it was not. The vehicle was packed with families fleeing their shelled village, obeying the instructions to leave which they had heard over the Israeli-run militia radio station. Two women and four young children were killed in the ambulance. I would later identify and meet every survivor. None was a member of Hezbollah. [...] But the Israelis went on claiming that 'terrorists' were in the car. They never apologised.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 672)
The Hezbollah had by [the evening of April 16] fired exactly 120 Katyusha rockets over the border. Israelis along the border spent nights in shelters. By contrast, Israel was firing 3,000 shells a day into Lebanon while its air force were launching 200 missile raids every 24 hours and 400,000 Lebanese civilians were straming up the roads to Beirut, often under fire from two Israeli gunboats that cruised the shoreline, firing at vehicles on the coastal highway -- because, of course, the 'terrorists' were using the roads.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 673)
I spoke to hundreds of UN troops about the story of the mysterious videotape. Did it exist? And if so, why had it not surfaced? Why hadn't the UN publicised it? Then I learned that the film existed, but that it had been given to General van Kappen and that the soldier had been instructed never to give it to anyone. I heard, too, that the UN's final report on the massacre would be kept secret under what was described as American pressure on the UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros Ghali.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 681)
Then two days [after the mass funeral of the massacre victims at Qana], I was sitting at home in Beirut when my mobile phone rang. A voice gave me a map reference and added: '1300 hours.' I ran to the front room where I kept my files on southern Lebanon, tearing open the large-scale map of the region. The reference was to a crossroads near Qana. I have never driven so fast to southern Lebanon. And at 1300 hours, I saw in the rear-view mirror a UN jeep, pulling up behind me.
A soldier in battledress and blue beret walked up to me, shook hands and said: "I copied the tape before the UN took it. The plane is there. I have made a personal decision. I have two young children, the same age as the ones I carried dead in my arms at Qana. This is for them." And from his battledress blouse he pulled a video-cassette and threw it on the passenger seat of my car. It was, I think in retrospect, the most dramatic individual personal act I have ever seen a soldier take. The mighty powers may try to cover up, but the little people can still sometimes win.
I drove at speed back to Beirut and slammed the cassette into my recorder. Zooming into the smoke over Qana, the amateur cameraman caught the explosion of shells above the camp. From the distance the film was taken, it was still possible to make out the individual shellbursts. Norwegian troops can be seen close to the camera. Then one of them looks into the sky and the camera pans up. There is a buzzing sound and into focus comes the 'drone', trailing smoke from its engines, flying low over the base. As it moves, the sound of explosions can still be heard and a UN radio in the background can be heard. On it, Commandant Smyth is passing on the message that "Fijibatt headquarters is under fire". The camera zooms again and there is the conference room, burning like a torch. So it was all true.
I made stills of the crucial pictures. The UN had no idea I had the film. Nor had the Israelis. But if The Independent printed all the details -- with photos from the tape -- then the UN would be forced to publish its report. There could be no denying these images. [...] At the same time, and at no profit, we arranged to distribute copies of the tape to every television station which requested it -- British, American, French, Arab, and Israeli, all of whom showed the sequence of the 'drone' over Qana during the shelling. The UN, mainly on the basis of the film -- of which they had, of course, all along had a copy -- concluded that the slaughter was unlikely to have been caused by an error, a gentle way of saying it was deliberate. The Israelis, confronted with the film by van Kappen, then changed their story. "In their eagerness to cooperate with the United Nations," they said, they had given wrong information to the major-general. There was indeed a 'drone' over Qana, they said, but it was not photographing the camp. It was on 'another mission'. The Israelis did not say what this 'other mission' was. They also said that the pilotless aircraft with its live-time television cameras only arrived after the shelling had ended -- a claim the videotape clearly shows to be untrue.
What followed was predictable. The UN was accused by some Israeli lobby groups in the United States of 'anti-Semitism'. American reporters at the press conference held to publish the UN report asked hostile, almost insulting questions of UN officials, often implying racist motives behind the report's conclusions. A New York daily told its readers that the UN had been insensitive to ask the Dutch general to write the report because Holland had allowed its Jewish population to be sent to Auschwitz in the Second World War. Once more, the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis were being employed to protect Israel's misdeeds.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 682-683)
This is what I love Robert Fisk for. When he's not getting all involved in politics and instead doing his job as a journalist, he is amazing. I decided to share these excerpts (for educational purposes only - buy his book if you want to read the entire thing) because I thought that no matter what *I* wrote, it wouldn't be the same. He effectively demolishes the myth of "Jewish purity of arms". As for the officer who handed the video to him, whoever he is, wherever he is now, he is my hero. Thank you.
Edit: Here is "Israel's" response to the UN report on Qana.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 669)
When Peres had launched this latest war -- 'Grapes of Wrath' was its malign name -- we were treated to the usual nonsense about a war on 'terror', a war against 'international terror', about Israel 'not sitting idly by'. Terrorists, terrorists, terrorists; the same brainwashing that had so affected the Israeli soldiers who invaded Lebanon 14 years earlier. The Israelis firing the shells into Qana were probably schoolboys in 1982. But they still believed the same fantasies. On the very first day of the bombardment, the Israelis fired a missile at the 'Hezbollah terrorist headquarters' in Beirut. But they missed the Hezbollah's offices and the rocket beheaded a little girl in a neighbouring apartment. Then they fired at a car carrying a 'terrorist' to Beirut. But there was no 'terrorist'. Their missile killed the driver -- a young woman -- as she stopped to buy a sandwich at a shop opposite the Jiye power station.
Then just five days before the Qana massacre, another Israeli Apache helicopter pilot fired a missile into an ambulance south of Tyre. It was carrying 'terrorists', the Israelis announced. But it was not. The vehicle was packed with families fleeing their shelled village, obeying the instructions to leave which they had heard over the Israeli-run militia radio station. Two women and four young children were killed in the ambulance. I would later identify and meet every survivor. None was a member of Hezbollah. [...] But the Israelis went on claiming that 'terrorists' were in the car. They never apologised.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 672)
The Hezbollah had by [the evening of April 16] fired exactly 120 Katyusha rockets over the border. Israelis along the border spent nights in shelters. By contrast, Israel was firing 3,000 shells a day into Lebanon while its air force were launching 200 missile raids every 24 hours and 400,000 Lebanese civilians were straming up the roads to Beirut, often under fire from two Israeli gunboats that cruised the shoreline, firing at vehicles on the coastal highway -- because, of course, the 'terrorists' were using the roads.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 673)
I spoke to hundreds of UN troops about the story of the mysterious videotape. Did it exist? And if so, why had it not surfaced? Why hadn't the UN publicised it? Then I learned that the film existed, but that it had been given to General van Kappen and that the soldier had been instructed never to give it to anyone. I heard, too, that the UN's final report on the massacre would be kept secret under what was described as American pressure on the UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros Ghali.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 681)
Then two days [after the mass funeral of the massacre victims at Qana], I was sitting at home in Beirut when my mobile phone rang. A voice gave me a map reference and added: '1300 hours.' I ran to the front room where I kept my files on southern Lebanon, tearing open the large-scale map of the region. The reference was to a crossroads near Qana. I have never driven so fast to southern Lebanon. And at 1300 hours, I saw in the rear-view mirror a UN jeep, pulling up behind me.
A soldier in battledress and blue beret walked up to me, shook hands and said: "I copied the tape before the UN took it. The plane is there. I have made a personal decision. I have two young children, the same age as the ones I carried dead in my arms at Qana. This is for them." And from his battledress blouse he pulled a video-cassette and threw it on the passenger seat of my car. It was, I think in retrospect, the most dramatic individual personal act I have ever seen a soldier take. The mighty powers may try to cover up, but the little people can still sometimes win.
I drove at speed back to Beirut and slammed the cassette into my recorder. Zooming into the smoke over Qana, the amateur cameraman caught the explosion of shells above the camp. From the distance the film was taken, it was still possible to make out the individual shellbursts. Norwegian troops can be seen close to the camera. Then one of them looks into the sky and the camera pans up. There is a buzzing sound and into focus comes the 'drone', trailing smoke from its engines, flying low over the base. As it moves, the sound of explosions can still be heard and a UN radio in the background can be heard. On it, Commandant Smyth is passing on the message that "Fijibatt headquarters is under fire". The camera zooms again and there is the conference room, burning like a torch. So it was all true.
I made stills of the crucial pictures. The UN had no idea I had the film. Nor had the Israelis. But if The Independent printed all the details -- with photos from the tape -- then the UN would be forced to publish its report. There could be no denying these images. [...] At the same time, and at no profit, we arranged to distribute copies of the tape to every television station which requested it -- British, American, French, Arab, and Israeli, all of whom showed the sequence of the 'drone' over Qana during the shelling. The UN, mainly on the basis of the film -- of which they had, of course, all along had a copy -- concluded that the slaughter was unlikely to have been caused by an error, a gentle way of saying it was deliberate. The Israelis, confronted with the film by van Kappen, then changed their story. "In their eagerness to cooperate with the United Nations," they said, they had given wrong information to the major-general. There was indeed a 'drone' over Qana, they said, but it was not photographing the camp. It was on 'another mission'. The Israelis did not say what this 'other mission' was. They also said that the pilotless aircraft with its live-time television cameras only arrived after the shelling had ended -- a claim the videotape clearly shows to be untrue.
What followed was predictable. The UN was accused by some Israeli lobby groups in the United States of 'anti-Semitism'. American reporters at the press conference held to publish the UN report asked hostile, almost insulting questions of UN officials, often implying racist motives behind the report's conclusions. A New York daily told its readers that the UN had been insensitive to ask the Dutch general to write the report because Holland had allowed its Jewish population to be sent to Auschwitz in the Second World War. Once more, the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis were being employed to protect Israel's misdeeds.
(Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon, p. 682-683)
This is what I love Robert Fisk for. When he's not getting all involved in politics and instead doing his job as a journalist, he is amazing. I decided to share these excerpts (for educational purposes only - buy his book if you want to read the entire thing) because I thought that no matter what *I* wrote, it wouldn't be the same. He effectively demolishes the myth of "Jewish purity of arms". As for the officer who handed the video to him, whoever he is, wherever he is now, he is my hero. Thank you.
Edit: Here is "Israel's" response to the UN report on Qana.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Ha'aretz plays hide & seek
If you can find a link to this article on Ha'aretz's main page or using the search engine, I will reward you by adding you to the list of contributors to this blog.
The article was there just this morning along with a rather big flag of Turkey, and I was lucky enough to catch it, as it was removed shortly afterwards (for someodd reason). It seems to me that some people (albeit a quite powerful group - powerful enough to assert their will on the so-called "left-leaning" Ha'aretz) were not satisfied with the article as it has the potential to undermine the so-called uniqueness of the Jewish genocide...
The article was there just this morning along with a rather big flag of Turkey, and I was lucky enough to catch it, as it was removed shortly afterwards (for some
Will the real Jewish left please stand up?
Michael Neumann, a Professor of Philosophy at Trent University, has an interesting article on CounterPunch about the Jewish left. Here's an excerpt:
In short, all these people who weep for the Palestinians, all these activists who put their bodies on the line, all the eminent figures and eloquent writers who condemn Israel's vile actions--none of these people actually request, let alone demand, any remotely serious action against Israel. And there are only ugly explanations for this bizarre behaviour. Are Jews still better than Palestinians? Did the Nazi era confer on them an unlimited licence to plunder and murder? Is being Jewish so sacred, so wise, so humanitarian, so warm and cuddly that a Jewish state couldn't "really" do much harm, or deserve more than a good scolding?
Via umkhalil.
Also check out my and Here and There's posts on the Jewish and/or "Israeli" left.
In short, all these people who weep for the Palestinians, all these activists who put their bodies on the line, all the eminent figures and eloquent writers who condemn Israel's vile actions--none of these people actually request, let alone demand, any remotely serious action against Israel. And there are only ugly explanations for this bizarre behaviour. Are Jews still better than Palestinians? Did the Nazi era confer on them an unlimited licence to plunder and murder? Is being Jewish so sacred, so wise, so humanitarian, so warm and cuddly that a Jewish state couldn't "really" do much harm, or deserve more than a good scolding?
Via umkhalil.
Also check out my and Here and There's posts on the Jewish and/or "Israeli" left.
Moving
Due to numerous complaints about problems viewing the old blog, I decided that it was time I moved it to a better location. All the posts and comments have been transfered to the new location. Hopefully this will be the last time we're moving. Please update your bookmarks. I apologise for the inconvenience.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Breaking News
The Lebanese Health Ministry (or what is left of it) has reported that there has been a rapid escalation of symptoms (but not a spread of the bacterium itself) of what they call the Hariri flu. The bacterium has been named in honour of the late ex-PM Rafik Hariri, who gave everything to Lebanon, never taking anything away from its sons and daughters (except for 99.9% of the ownership of downtown Beirut - but since he's dead now and a hero tool for the "opposition", he is excused - in fact, the airport should now be renamed in his honour - because the "opposition" is apparently for uniting all sides instead of imposing their heroes on others, etc. Yup, very united of them). Officials (or whoever is left of those after the peaceful revolution of accusations of "loyalism" to Syria sweeped through the entire population+) have released a list of symptoms they believe will help identify and honour such cases. That's right, for the first time in history, bacteria are being embraced rather than shunned and battled against.
+ Only 40% of the Lebanese being real Lebanese.
+ Only 40% of the Lebanese being real Lebanese.
The official list of symptoms:
1-Excessive paranoia
2-"The opposition is peaceful"
3-"We are not militias, only vigilantes"
4-"We don't have weapons, only Hezballah does"
5-"If you're not with us, you're.... pro-Syrian or a Syrian"
6-"Ka3k vendors are mukhabarat"
7-"Najib Mikati is pro-Syrian"
8-"The Truth, we want the Truth! Syria was behind it!"
9-"We're not against Syrians, only the Syrian government. The Syrian people have suffered under the Ba'athist regime just like we have." *stabbing some more Syrian workers*
10-"War? Never again!" *stabbing some more "Syrian-looking" Lebanese workers*
11-"Palestinians? We support their right of return!" (Meanwhile at home: "When will those filthy Palestinians leave our country?")
12-"We're not pro-Israel!" (Meanwhile at rallies: "Disarm Hezballah! Apply 1559 fully!" [because we want to do "Israel's" job])
13-"Zoom Out & Count, 100% Lebanese" (A photographer mistakenly zooms in and here is a lady with her uniformed Sri Lankan maid, and there are two Sri Lankan maids with Lebanese flags, 100% Lebanese indeed)
14-Owns at least 1 Hariri mask
15-Can't utter one sentence without mentioning Hariri's name at least twice, and the rest of the sentence being a mixture of French, English, and Lebanese (See next point)
16-"Lebanon is not an Arab country and the language we speak is not Arabic but Lebanese" (Breaking news for linguists!)
17-Tururuttuttut, General!
18-"You should be happy to kiss General's feet"
19-"The opposition is not sectarian" (Walid Beik not sectarian,PatriarchPolitician Sfeir not sectarian, hmm, who else..?)
20-"LFPM is a secular movement that is open for all" (95% of its members are... Christians)
21-"Bring only a Lebanese Forces flag, and never ever talk to Palestinians or Syrians"
22-"We are patriotic and united! See, we wave Lebanese flags, not the flags of the parties we support!" (Meanwhile the "opposition" had to ask its supporters not to bring party flags the NEXT time so as to further the propaganda of "Revolution made for TV" and "A movement for all Lebanese" and "We are united")
23-"Sheb3a farms is not Lebanese; besides, even if it is, it's just a strip of land, why does it matter?" (Meanwhile on "opposition"-supporting "discussion" boards, there are hundreds of members who have 10,425 in their usernames, user titles, avatars, or signatures)
..
..
..
n-Unfortunately, the Health Ministry has so far been unable to count and record all the symptoms of the Hariri Flu. We are working on it 'round the clock. Please stay tuned for more. We will release a statement as soon as we come up with more information necessary to honour the bacteria and attempt to spread it around. We apologise for the inconvenience.
The masks are not enough
As if the Hariri masks were not enough, there is a petition circulating around that calls for renaming Beirut International Airport guess what... Rafik Hariri International Aiport. I kid you not. Apparently this was suggested by who else but the supposedly "moderate pro-Syrian" Najib Mikati. Yup. I can tell Mikati is quite the pro-Syrian!
I am afraid I must go and throw up now.
I am afraid I must go and throw up now.
New masks are now being sold in Lebanon. Yup. And guess what? It's of the same guy who owned, err umm, 99.9% of downtown Beirut (I suppose the 0.1% would be the St. Georges) and was hated, yup, hated for it. Meet the hero of the "opposition". And the new heroes of Lebanon (the all new version of fascist Maronites) - alas the photo shows only one -
A pro-"opposition" caricature. Translation: "We will hold the elections as quickly as possible" (on the shell is written "the government"). What I don't understand, though, and I hope someone could explain this to me, is how the "loyalists" would benefit from postponing the elections?? If anything it would boost the position of the "opposition". But perhaps the "opposition" is simply trying to score some cheap propaganda points off this??
Friday, April 15, 2005
A Tale of Two Infiltrations
We must, of course, put "Israel's" case first, since the lives of its (Jewish) citizens are more valuable and important than the lives of, for example, Lebanese civilians, and in particular the "wrong kind" (according to the peace-loving "opposition") of them (Shi'ites). Here's what Ha'aretz (the supposedly+ left-leaning newspaper) reports:
surprisingly not on Ha'aretz:
Shalom!
The Israel Offense* Forces will investigate how a Fatah militant managed to infiltrate into a military base on the Golan Heights from Syria on Friday morning.The other case, and of course the less important one (since we all know that Lebanon is always the initiator of aggression) is the following incident, reported on both Daily Star and JPost but
The man was captured after a shootout with IOF* troops, security sources said.
In a rare flare-up in the normally quiet Golan, the gunman penetrated the border fence and opened fired on the IOF's* Tel Hazeka outpost, northeast of Katzrin.
+ See *
* Necessary corrections made
Lebanese authorities have captured two dogs that crossed the border from Israel, checking whether they were booby-trapped or carried electronic implants that could be used for spying, Lebanese security officials said Friday.I am sure that in retaliation of this grave aggression by Lebanese authorities, "Israel" was FORCED to respond by flying its airplanes over Southern Lebanese towns...
The two dogs, Shylo-type, "infiltrated" Lebanon on Thursday through an opening in the barbed wire fence that separates the Kfar Kila village in Southern Lebanon from the northern Israeli town of Metulla.
Shalom!
Map showing the countries that were sent samples of a flu virus. The UN's health agency revealed that some of the samples appear to have gone missing on their way to two of their destinations in Lebanon and Mexico. JOY! So will the opposition breathe a sigh of relief over Hezballah's weapons now that they have bio-terror weapons handy? What do you mean they already had weapons??? Can't be! The opposition is peaceful!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
"Lebanese Forces", "Kata'eb", and "FPM": Same shit, different names?
Jubilant crowds have stormed and ransacked the Baath Party offices in Zahleh and attempted to do the same with Karim Pakradouni's Katayeb branch after Syria pulled out its intelligence apparatus from the largest Catholic-populated city in the Middle East, An Nahar reported Thursday.
The two-pronged attack came amid festive celebrations in the streets of Zahleh staged by activists of Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces, ex-President Amin Gemayel's Katayeb Corrective Movement and of Gen. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.
Read more...
So much for the so-called graph that Mustapha of Beirut Spring has designed for us:
(Notice the distance between the FPM and "Christian Mainstream" in that graph, and then start thinking if they're that far from one another in reality, and also whether or not the "Christian Mainstream" is supposed to be placed in the middle of the graph as opposed to the far right).
The two-pronged attack came amid festive celebrations in the streets of Zahleh staged by activists of Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces, ex-President Amin Gemayel's Katayeb Corrective Movement and of Gen. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.
Read more...
So much for the so-called graph that Mustapha of Beirut Spring has designed for us:
(Notice the distance between the FPM and "Christian Mainstream" in that graph, and then start thinking if they're that far from one another in reality, and also whether or not the "Christian Mainstream" is supposed to be placed in the middle of the graph as opposed to the far right).
3 more resolutions against "Israel"
GENEVA - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights on Thursday condemned Israel's use of force against Palestinian civilians and called on Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied territories.
The 53-member state body, at its annual session, easily adopted three resolutions on Israel presented by Arab countries.
The United States and Australia were alone in voting against both the resolution on settlements and one on the Golan Heights.
Britain, Canada, Germany and Italy were among those joining the United States in voting against a text condemning Israel for use of force, including executions, and "continued systematic violations" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied since 1967.
Continue reading...
The 53-member state body, at its annual session, easily adopted three resolutions on Israel presented by Arab countries.
The United States and Australia were alone in voting against both the resolution on settlements and one on the Golan Heights.
Britain, Canada, Germany and Italy were among those joining the United States in voting against a text condemning Israel for use of force, including executions, and "continued systematic violations" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied since 1967.
Continue reading...
Massacre in Jenin
An "Israeli" soldier covers his nose from the overwhelming smell of death in the Jenin refugee camp. Zalmon Shoval, Ariel "Man of Peace" Sharon's adviser, argues that what happened at Jenin was justifiable since "Israel [with no less than 200 nuclear warheads] was fighting for its life". Shoval also said, "Mr [Terje Roed] Larsen (UN Middle East envoy) has no business whatsoever to tell us what is right or wrong".
Armenian Mythology: Ara the Beautiful and Shamiram
At this time there lived Semiramis (Shamiram in Armenian), the queen of Ninevah. Her husband was Ninus, who came to loathe her for her infidelity, and left his country. Semiramis, who had heard about the fame of the handsome Armenian king Ara, lusted after his image and asked him to come to Ninevah and marry her. When Ara refused, she marched her armies towards Armenia.
The battle began when Semiramis arrived in the region called Ararat. She ordered her commanders to capture Ara alive, but he was vanquished and killed by one of her sons. His body was found on the battlefield among the other slain soldiers. In order to calm the Armenians, who wanted to continue the fight to avenge his death, Semiramis said, "I have prayed to the gods to lick his wounds and heal him. Ara will revive."
Continue reading...
"Israel's" plan for Iran
"Here's a novel idea... if the flipping Israelis are so hot to invade (or at minimum bomb) Iran, let them do it themselves. Of course they will not do this since there are around 66 million Iranians and about 6 million Israelis, including a couple hundred thousand rabid settlers in the West Bank, Gaza, and the land Israel filched from Syria. Better to get the stupid Americans to do it", says Kurt Nimmo.
He continues, "Naturally, according to the Likudites and their Neocon buddies, Muslims and Arabs have a genetic predisposition to kill Jews and if they are allowed to have even one measly Hiroshima-grade atom bomb they will immediately nuke Tel Aviv. It is a bullshit story, entirely racist and irrational, the sort of nonsense the Zionists have pedaled for decades in an effort to get their way, that is to say de-Palestinianize Palestine and demonstrate their mercilessness to the Arabs and Iranians. Moreover, when history is examined, the indisputable fact emerges that it is Israel, under the leadership of a number of rabid Zionist serial offenders such as Sharon and Begin, that is responsible for much of the trouble in the region, from starting a couple major wars to killing scads of otherwise peace-loving people and blaming it on the Arabs (viz., the Lavon affair and Mossad's planting of a radio device in Libya, resulting in the U.S. bombing Libya, to name but two of a number of murderously deceptive events engineered by rabid and remarkably sociopathic Zionists). Hell, if I was Iranian with a neighbor like Israel I'd want a couple nukes of my own too, especially considering the Israelis have about 200 of them."
He continues, "Naturally, according to the Likudites and their Neocon buddies, Muslims and Arabs have a genetic predisposition to kill Jews and if they are allowed to have even one measly Hiroshima-grade atom bomb they will immediately nuke Tel Aviv. It is a bullshit story, entirely racist and irrational, the sort of nonsense the Zionists have pedaled for decades in an effort to get their way, that is to say de-Palestinianize Palestine and demonstrate their mercilessness to the Arabs and Iranians. Moreover, when history is examined, the indisputable fact emerges that it is Israel, under the leadership of a number of rabid Zionist serial offenders such as Sharon and Begin, that is responsible for much of the trouble in the region, from starting a couple major wars to killing scads of otherwise peace-loving people and blaming it on the Arabs (viz., the Lavon affair and Mossad's planting of a radio device in Libya, resulting in the U.S. bombing Libya, to name but two of a number of murderously deceptive events engineered by rabid and remarkably sociopathic Zionists). Hell, if I was Iranian with a neighbor like Israel I'd want a couple nukes of my own too, especially considering the Israelis have about 200 of them."
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Blog business
I guess we're stuck with Blogspot and my current host. 1) I don't like Wordpress 2) I already tried other software too (one of them being Greymatter) and didn't like them 3) I'm not sure if the host I was thinking of switching to is reliable (I believe the hosting offer is only for 1 year, whereas this one is more than that). So we will have to make do with the Google Ads, some of which is pro-"Israeli". I know it sucks.
I will update the look of the blog (i.e. template) in the coming few days. I will try to keep it as quick-loading as possible, as I know the pains that dial-up users have to go through.
And in case you did not notice, there is a new poll in the sidebar. So practise your democratic "right" and vote!
Yesterday I bought myself a brand new chess board (the old one is in Lebanon). Anyone up for a "long distance" chess game? :) Let me know. I promise I won't kick your arse. Not too much anyway. :D
Alright, off to refreshing the news sites to see if there's anything worth reading.
I will update the look of the blog (i.e. template) in the coming few days. I will try to keep it as quick-loading as possible, as I know the pains that dial-up users have to go through.
And in case you did not notice, there is a new poll in the sidebar. So practise your democratic "right" and vote!
Yesterday I bought myself a brand new chess board (the old one is in Lebanon). Anyone up for a "long distance" chess game? :) Let me know. I promise I won't kick your arse. Not too much anyway. :D
Alright, off to refreshing the news sites to see if there's anything worth reading.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Lebanese war series - Day #6
Conclusion
I have not been writing much in the Lebanese war entries (6-day series). It's not that I can't say much about the war, it's just that it's difficult for me to talk much about it in terms of my personal experiences, although I have made half-hearted attempts at it.
Fact is, nothing will bring back our loved ones. Those of us who never found out what happened to them will continue wondering, and suffering in the process. The most difficult part is, some of us will never know, because no witnesseses exist, or finding them is literally impossible.
It's more than just a personal experience. For some of us (at least this is the case for me), it has become an obsession. When I look at photos of any particular area of Beirut, I wonder if that is where the "incident" took place. When I was a kid, I would convince myself that "when I grow up I will" find out the truth, and then "everything will be alright". I've given up on those hopes now, although I still can't let go of the wish that one day I would find out. You might think or say (or both), "why does it matter at this point? Just let go of it. It's over now, and nothing can bring him back." Yes, I know. But tell that to my heart. I suppose I sound pathetic; that's why I don't write much about this. And maybe it's better that I am missing out on the events for the commemoration of the war. I don't think I'm ready for that. Maybe 30 years from now I will be. But for the moment, I will take my anger out through words rather than crying in public (which is most probably what I would be doing if I went to any of those events). I guess the most important thing is that I don't hate those who hurt my dad. I dare say that if I met them today I would hug them instead of trying to hurt them. Time might not heal, but it certainly does help with reconciliation and forgiveness.
1 month and 13 days left until I land in Lebanon. I've been looking forward to that moment for 4 years now. But as the days roll, I shiver at the thought of going back. I don't know if I can describe what I am feeling or for that matter why. But I can say that it has certainly been different (for a change) to have spent 4 years without constantly being forced, through the streets and buildings of the war, to run through your mind the scenes of death and destruction, the sounds of the bombs, the shelters, the unexploded bombs in apartments, parking lots on fire, tanks rolling over cars with men, women, and children in them, line-ups at gas stations and bakeries, and many, many more. You can take all that and do whatever you want with it. I want new streets, new names, new places. And no memories. Sure, I can talk about it, but it won't go away. None of that will. Ever. You can have your rallies and shows of unity, I will watch and keep silent, and be glad that I'm not there.
And they talk about unity after all the death and destruction.
We are not talking about statistics here. I refuse to subscribe to your movement of turning loved ones into numbers. Your statistics mean nothing to me; there are real people behind those numbers, real names, real suffering. Perhaps start by collecting their names and showing that you care. You and your kind were sitting in bunkers while ordering your so-called "armies" to bomb residential areas, ordering your men to kidnap or massacre civilians (and all that in the name of religion). Your words are hollow, they echo and make a lot of noise, but there is little meaning or feeling behind them. You are opportunists. And if you don't stop using the memory of my dad for your petty agendas and political gains, I will do everything in my limited powers to silence you.
Stop using and abusing the memory of the dead. 15 years after the last man, woman, and child were killed, and you still show no respect.
You can show me this, but I will only see this.
I have not been writing much in the Lebanese war entries (6-day series). It's not that I can't say much about the war, it's just that it's difficult for me to talk much about it in terms of my personal experiences, although I have made half-hearted attempts at it.
Fact is, nothing will bring back our loved ones. Those of us who never found out what happened to them will continue wondering, and suffering in the process. The most difficult part is, some of us will never know, because no witnesseses exist, or finding them is literally impossible.
It's more than just a personal experience. For some of us (at least this is the case for me), it has become an obsession. When I look at photos of any particular area of Beirut, I wonder if that is where the "incident" took place. When I was a kid, I would convince myself that "when I grow up I will" find out the truth, and then "everything will be alright". I've given up on those hopes now, although I still can't let go of the wish that one day I would find out. You might think or say (or both), "why does it matter at this point? Just let go of it. It's over now, and nothing can bring him back." Yes, I know. But tell that to my heart. I suppose I sound pathetic; that's why I don't write much about this. And maybe it's better that I am missing out on the events for the commemoration of the war. I don't think I'm ready for that. Maybe 30 years from now I will be. But for the moment, I will take my anger out through words rather than crying in public (which is most probably what I would be doing if I went to any of those events). I guess the most important thing is that I don't hate those who hurt my dad. I dare say that if I met them today I would hug them instead of trying to hurt them. Time might not heal, but it certainly does help with reconciliation and forgiveness.
1 month and 13 days left until I land in Lebanon. I've been looking forward to that moment for 4 years now. But as the days roll, I shiver at the thought of going back. I don't know if I can describe what I am feeling or for that matter why. But I can say that it has certainly been different (for a change) to have spent 4 years without constantly being forced, through the streets and buildings of the war, to run through your mind the scenes of death and destruction, the sounds of the bombs, the shelters, the unexploded bombs in apartments, parking lots on fire, tanks rolling over cars with men, women, and children in them, line-ups at gas stations and bakeries, and many, many more. You can take all that and do whatever you want with it. I want new streets, new names, new places. And no memories. Sure, I can talk about it, but it won't go away. None of that will. Ever. You can have your rallies and shows of unity, I will watch and keep silent, and be glad that I'm not there.
And they talk about unity after all the death and destruction.
We are not talking about statistics here. I refuse to subscribe to your movement of turning loved ones into numbers. Your statistics mean nothing to me; there are real people behind those numbers, real names, real suffering. Perhaps start by collecting their names and showing that you care. You and your kind were sitting in bunkers while ordering your so-called "armies" to bomb residential areas, ordering your men to kidnap or massacre civilians (and all that in the name of religion). Your words are hollow, they echo and make a lot of noise, but there is little meaning or feeling behind them. You are opportunists. And if you don't stop using the memory of my dad for your petty agendas and political gains, I will do everything in my limited powers to silence you.
Stop using and abusing the memory of the dead. 15 years after the last man, woman, and child were killed, and you still show no respect.
You can show me this, but I will only see this.
Lebanese war series - Day #5
Surrender
The Lebanese have spent the past 15 years in a political coma, refusing to acknowledge their violent past lest the ghosts arise from their mass graves and return to stir the embers of sectarianism and mutual suffering. "Whatever you do, don't mention the war" had a special place in a country whose people stubbornly refused to learn the lessons of their fratricidal slaughter.
For almost 10 years, my own book on the civil war was banned by Lebanon's censors. Even Hariri himself told me he was powerless to put it back into the shops - ironically, it was a pro-Syrian security official whose resignation the Lebanese opposition is now demanding who lifted the ban last year - and none of Lebanon's television stations would touch the war. It remained the unspoken cancer in Lebanese society, the malaise which all feared might return to poison their lives.
There clearly was a need to understand how the conflict destroyed the old Lebanon. When al-Jazeera broadcast from Qatar a 12-part documentary about the war, the seaside Corniche outside my home in Beirut would empty of strollers every Thursday night; restaurants would close their doors. Everyone wanted to watch their own torment. So, I suppose, did I.
...
The original 13 April - in 1975 - marked the day when Phalangist gunmen ambushed a busload of Palestinians in Beirut. The bus still exists, the bullet holes still punctured through its rusting skin, but it will be left to rot in the field outside Nabatea where it lies to this day. The only bullet holes visible to the crowds next week will be the ones deliberately preserved in the statue of Lebanon's 1915 independence leaders, who were hanged in Martyrs Square, where a "garden of forgiveness" connects a church and a mosque and where Hariri's body now rests, along with his murdered bodyguards. The square itself was the front line for the entire war. Who knows how many ghosts still haunt its hundreds of square metres?
Not far to the east is the infamous "Ring" highway where Muslim and Christian gunmen stopped all traffic in 1975 and walked down the rows of stalled cars with knives, calmly slitting the throats of families of the wrong religion. Eight Christians had been found murdered outside the electricity headquarters and Bashir Gemayel directed that 80 Muslims must pay with their lives. The militias kept on multiplying the figures. When you are in a war, you feel it will never end. I felt like that, gradually coming to believe - like the Lebanese - that war was somehow a natural state of affairs.
...
That the conflict was really between Christian Maronites and the rest somehow disappeared from the narrative. It was everyone else's fault. Not the Lebanese. Never the Lebanese. For years, they called the war hawadess, the "events". The conflict was then called the "War of the Other" - of the foreigners, not of the Lebanese who were actually doing the killing.
A taxi driver who gave me a lift several years ago turned to me as we were driving through the streets and said: "Mr Robert, you are very lucky." And he meant that I - like him - had survived the war. I remember the last day. The Syrians had bombed General Michel Aoun out of his palace at Baabda - in those days, the Americans were keen on Syrian domination of Lebanon because they wanted the soldiers of Damascus to face off Saddam's army of occupation in Kuwait - and I was walking behind tanks towards the Christian hills.
Shells came crashing down around us and my companion shouted that we were going to die. And I shouted back to her that we mustn't die, that this was the last day of the war, that it would really now end. And when we got to Baabda, there were corpses and many people lying with terrible wounds, many in tears. And I remember how we, too, broke down and cried with the immense relief of living through the day and knowing that we would live tomorrow and the day after that and next week and next year.
...
And so I think the Lebanese are right to confront their demons next week. Let them celebrate. To hell with the ghosts.
Robert Fisk, The Independent, April 9, 2005
The Lebanese have spent the past 15 years in a political coma, refusing to acknowledge their violent past lest the ghosts arise from their mass graves and return to stir the embers of sectarianism and mutual suffering. "Whatever you do, don't mention the war" had a special place in a country whose people stubbornly refused to learn the lessons of their fratricidal slaughter.
For almost 10 years, my own book on the civil war was banned by Lebanon's censors. Even Hariri himself told me he was powerless to put it back into the shops - ironically, it was a pro-Syrian security official whose resignation the Lebanese opposition is now demanding who lifted the ban last year - and none of Lebanon's television stations would touch the war. It remained the unspoken cancer in Lebanese society, the malaise which all feared might return to poison their lives.
There clearly was a need to understand how the conflict destroyed the old Lebanon. When al-Jazeera broadcast from Qatar a 12-part documentary about the war, the seaside Corniche outside my home in Beirut would empty of strollers every Thursday night; restaurants would close their doors. Everyone wanted to watch their own torment. So, I suppose, did I.
...
The original 13 April - in 1975 - marked the day when Phalangist gunmen ambushed a busload of Palestinians in Beirut. The bus still exists, the bullet holes still punctured through its rusting skin, but it will be left to rot in the field outside Nabatea where it lies to this day. The only bullet holes visible to the crowds next week will be the ones deliberately preserved in the statue of Lebanon's 1915 independence leaders, who were hanged in Martyrs Square, where a "garden of forgiveness" connects a church and a mosque and where Hariri's body now rests, along with his murdered bodyguards. The square itself was the front line for the entire war. Who knows how many ghosts still haunt its hundreds of square metres?
Not far to the east is the infamous "Ring" highway where Muslim and Christian gunmen stopped all traffic in 1975 and walked down the rows of stalled cars with knives, calmly slitting the throats of families of the wrong religion. Eight Christians had been found murdered outside the electricity headquarters and Bashir Gemayel directed that 80 Muslims must pay with their lives. The militias kept on multiplying the figures. When you are in a war, you feel it will never end. I felt like that, gradually coming to believe - like the Lebanese - that war was somehow a natural state of affairs.
...
That the conflict was really between Christian Maronites and the rest somehow disappeared from the narrative. It was everyone else's fault. Not the Lebanese. Never the Lebanese. For years, they called the war hawadess, the "events". The conflict was then called the "War of the Other" - of the foreigners, not of the Lebanese who were actually doing the killing.
A taxi driver who gave me a lift several years ago turned to me as we were driving through the streets and said: "Mr Robert, you are very lucky." And he meant that I - like him - had survived the war. I remember the last day. The Syrians had bombed General Michel Aoun out of his palace at Baabda - in those days, the Americans were keen on Syrian domination of Lebanon because they wanted the soldiers of Damascus to face off Saddam's army of occupation in Kuwait - and I was walking behind tanks towards the Christian hills.
Shells came crashing down around us and my companion shouted that we were going to die. And I shouted back to her that we mustn't die, that this was the last day of the war, that it would really now end. And when we got to Baabda, there were corpses and many people lying with terrible wounds, many in tears. And I remember how we, too, broke down and cried with the immense relief of living through the day and knowing that we would live tomorrow and the day after that and next week and next year.
...
And so I think the Lebanese are right to confront their demons next week. Let them celebrate. To hell with the ghosts.
Robert Fisk, The Independent, April 9, 2005
Anti-"Israel", anti-USA, anti-1559 protests in front of the U.S Embassy in Lebanon
Monday, April 11, 2005
Lebanese war series - Day #4
Children of the war
Sitting with the boys in the living room, the fading picture of their parents on the wall I felt a deep, oppressive sadness at the misfortunes which had befallen these boys, the youngest of whom had become men before their time. Brothers locked in a world of loss. The fading portrait of their parents on the wall and a feeling that the house was exactly the way mother had kept it ensured haste in my workshop. They seemed keen but their eyes only conveyed anguish. The oldest was getting married in a weeks time. I said my thanks and goodbyes secretly hoping they would use the cameras for the wedding.
I met many more people that day, in particular, three more children who were to join the ranks of hundreds who have offered me their stories of loss, anguish, fear and pain. The stories have begun to become one: stories of flight, of losing loved ones, stories written simply and honestly. They had all thanked me but I felt unhappy, I felt inadequate. They have trusted me to tell their stories but it seems too little; no words can convey the sorrow and fear in their eyes.
Source: War Child
And this may be cheesy, but I wanted to include it anyway:
All of my life, all I have known,
only a place where peace cannot go;
All over the world, the gift from before,
nothing is left for the children of war;
And did you go to your bed with a sweet lullaby,
And the sound of the guns in the night,
And did you dance in the fields, did you run for your life,
From the hell that came down from the sky?
-Chris de Burgh, "Lebanese Night"
Edit: The second photo of Palestinian refugees in the slums of Karantina was taken by Françoise Demulder (France, Gamma) and won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 1976.
Sitting with the boys in the living room, the fading picture of their parents on the wall I felt a deep, oppressive sadness at the misfortunes which had befallen these boys, the youngest of whom had become men before their time. Brothers locked in a world of loss. The fading portrait of their parents on the wall and a feeling that the house was exactly the way mother had kept it ensured haste in my workshop. They seemed keen but their eyes only conveyed anguish. The oldest was getting married in a weeks time. I said my thanks and goodbyes secretly hoping they would use the cameras for the wedding.
I met many more people that day, in particular, three more children who were to join the ranks of hundreds who have offered me their stories of loss, anguish, fear and pain. The stories have begun to become one: stories of flight, of losing loved ones, stories written simply and honestly. They had all thanked me but I felt unhappy, I felt inadequate. They have trusted me to tell their stories but it seems too little; no words can convey the sorrow and fear in their eyes.
Source: War Child
And this may be cheesy, but I wanted to include it anyway:
All of my life, all I have known,
only a place where peace cannot go;
All over the world, the gift from before,
nothing is left for the children of war;
And did you go to your bed with a sweet lullaby,
And the sound of the guns in the night,
And did you dance in the fields, did you run for your life,
From the hell that came down from the sky?
-Chris de Burgh, "Lebanese Night"
Edit: The second photo of Palestinian refugees in the slums of Karantina was taken by Françoise Demulder (France, Gamma) and won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 1976.
Hezballah drone "unacceptable"
I noticed this on the Ha'aretz news ticker: Foreign Ministry says Hezbollah aerial drone flights are "unacceptable" (AP)
No!!! Really?!? Surely you must be kidding????
Edit: Ha'aretz now reports that "Israel's Air Force launched fighter planes in response, but they failed to bring down the drone" and that "[t]he Air Force's anti-aircraft systems picked up the drone but did not fire rockets at it, and the F-16 planes did not hit it either."
BBC, on the other hand, reports the following: "Witnesses in Lebanon said that just after Hezbollah's statement, Israeli jet fighters overflew the port city of Tyre and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp, causing sonic booms."
Detected it my arse!
Now you can see why "Israel" desperately wants 1559 to be implemented. All hail the "opposition"! Doing "Israel's" job in the name of "Lebanese patriotism"!
No!!! Really?!? Surely you must be kidding????
Edit: Ha'aretz now reports that "Israel's Air Force launched fighter planes in response, but they failed to bring down the drone" and that "[t]he Air Force's anti-aircraft systems picked up the drone but did not fire rockets at it, and the F-16 planes did not hit it either."
BBC, on the other hand, reports the following: "Witnesses in Lebanon said that just after Hezbollah's statement, Israeli jet fighters overflew the port city of Tyre and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp, causing sonic booms."
Detected it my arse!
Now you can see why "Israel" desperately wants 1559 to be implemented. All hail the "opposition"! Doing "Israel's" job in the name of "Lebanese patriotism"!
I know I've been posting lots of pics lately, but I just could not resist this one. Ariel "Man of Peace" Sharon is offered biscuits wrapped with paper with the Israeli flag as he meets with George Dubya. I wonder if he has any biscuits of the West Bank and East Jerusalem too? Jesus, here I come! Yee-haw!
"I received her three months ago, and built a stable for her in our back yard. It was the first horse I ever owned, and her death saddens me. To me there's no difference between an animal being killed and a human." (Except when it's a Palestinian, now that's good news!)
1559 and "Israel"?
1559 is a zionist resolution. Not convinced yet? Perhaps this might help:
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Monday it flew a spy drone over northern Israel, and the drone returned safely.In other news, the first garbage dumping has taken place in the West Bank.
The flight was confirmed by the Lebanese government. The Israeli Army said it was aware of the report and checking into it.
Hezbollah said in a broadcast over its Al-Manar Television channel that "a Mirsad drone of the Islamic Resistance flew over settlements in the northern part of occupied Palestine and later returned safely.''
Source
Tom Hurndall
Thanks to Rafahpundits for reminding me (I had totally forgotten it was 2 years ago today that Tom Hurndall was shot). Even though I had posted about Tom Hurndall before (on my old blog), I wanted to post again, out of respect for Tom and his loved ones.
On January 13, 2004, British activist and photojournalist Thomas Hurndall died of pneumonia while in a coma caused by an "Israeli" soldier on April 11, 2003, who shot him while he was escorting two Palestinian children to safety in Rafah.
I am sure the people over at Boker Tov will insist that he, too, was a terrorist.
Remember, Anne & co.,
You and yours are committing a genocide. And one day you will be in the same courts that the Nazi criminals were in. Recent events make me think it's going to be sooner than I was expecting it to be. So the bottom line is, you can try to hide your crimes behind Halabja & Saddam, but sooner or later you will be haunted by them; even if it's 90 years from the last Palestinian child you killed, you will be reminded time and again that you have blood on your hands (just like the Turks are haunted by the crimes their grandparents committed against Armenians), that you must admit to your wrongdoings, apologise, and compensate.
On January 13, 2004, British activist and photojournalist Thomas Hurndall died of pneumonia while in a coma caused by an "Israeli" soldier on April 11, 2003, who shot him while he was escorting two Palestinian children to safety in Rafah.
I am sure the people over at Boker Tov will insist that he, too, was a terrorist.
Remember, Anne & co.,
You and yours are committing a genocide. And one day you will be in the same courts that the Nazi criminals were in. Recent events make me think it's going to be sooner than I was expecting it to be. So the bottom line is, you can try to hide your crimes behind Halabja & Saddam, but sooner or later you will be haunted by them; even if it's 90 years from the last Palestinian child you killed, you will be reminded time and again that you have blood on your hands (just like the Turks are haunted by the crimes their grandparents committed against Armenians), that you must admit to your wrongdoings, apologise, and compensate.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
"Anti-Semitism"
"The demonization of Israel, or vilification of Israeli leaders, sometimes through comparison with Nazi leaders, and through the use of Nazi symbols to caricature them, indicates an anti-Semitic bias rather than a valid criticism of policy concerning a controversial issue." - Report on Global Anti-Semitism, Bureau of Democracy (misleading), Human Rights (misleading), and Labor
No! Really?!?!? Shucks!
That makes those land thieves what - self-hating Jews?
No! Really?!?!? Shucks!
That makes those land thieves what - self-hating Jews?
He doesn't recognise his dad. A Palestinian man holding his son for the first time ever. Photo by Nayef Hashlamoun.
Lebanese war series - Day #3
Refugees
A refugee child in the destroyed Camille Chamoun Stadium. Click here to see what the stadium looks like now.
Here's another photo of the stadium (notice the refugee tents):
A refugee child in the destroyed Camille Chamoun Stadium. Click here to see what the stadium looks like now.
Here's another photo of the stadium (notice the refugee tents):
Funeral Handshakes?! / !مصافحات جنائزية؟
مصافحات جنائزية؟!
عبد الباري عطوان
(Excerpts)
ماذا سيقول الرئيس السوري واجهزة اعلامه للمعارضة اللبنانية، التي اتهمها بالاستقواء بالامريكان، والاتصال بالاسرائيليين، بعد هذه المصافحة، بل ماذا سيقول للسيد حسن نصر الله، قائد حزب الله ، الذي خرج عن المألوف قبل بضعة ايام، عندما اشاد بالرئيس السوري ونظامه، كقلعة للصمود والمواجهة قل نظيرها في زمن التطبيع العربي الرسمي مع الكيان الاسرائيلي؟
عبد الباري عطوان
(Excerpts)
ماذا سيقول الرئيس السوري واجهزة اعلامه للمعارضة اللبنانية، التي اتهمها بالاستقواء بالامريكان، والاتصال بالاسرائيليين، بعد هذه المصافحة، بل ماذا سيقول للسيد حسن نصر الله، قائد حزب الله ، الذي خرج عن المألوف قبل بضعة ايام، عندما اشاد بالرئيس السوري ونظامه، كقلعة للصمود والمواجهة قل نظيرها في زمن التطبيع العربي الرسمي مع الكيان الاسرائيلي؟
الاخطر من ذلك، كيف سيبرر النظام السوري، بحرسيه القديم والجديد، اعدام الآلاف من السوريين الشرفاء بتهمة العمالة للاجنبي، والاتصال بالسفارات الغربية بعد هذه المصافحة المزدوجة والمتعمدة مع الرئيس الاسرائيلي؟
انه التطبيع المجاني، ومحاولة البقاء في سدة الحكم بأي طريقة كانت، ولاطول فترة ممكنة، ودون انتظار اي مقابل سياسي، فالمهم هو الاستسلام كليا للعدو الغاصب
...
لقد تبين لنا ان الطرف الاسرائيلي هو الذي يتدلل ويرفض العودة الي مائدة المفاوضات، رغم التنازلات السورية الرسمية السخية، وليس النظام السوري نفسه، مثلما كان يشاع دائما، ويجد من يصدقه في اوساط العرب، والسوريون منهم علي وجه التحديد.
الاسرائيليون سيواصلون التجبر، وسيتمسكون اكثر بمواقفهم الرافضة لتقديم اي تنازلات للعرب، وسيؤكد هذا التهافت لمصافحتهم قناعاتهم المسبقة بان العرب هم الطرف الاضعف، فاقد الكرامة، وزمام المبادرة، وسيبنون سياستهم علي اساس ممارسة المزيد من الاذلال والحاق اكبر قدر من المهانة بهم، حتي يقفوا عراة تماما طالبين الصفح والغفران
...
كنا نتمني لو ان الرئيس الاسد اخذ العبرة من الطيار السوري، الذي هرب بطائرته الحربية الي اسرائيل طالبا اللجوء، وكيف انتهي مجرما منبوذا مطاردا، فقد اخذ الاسرائيليون منه كل ما يريدون، اخذوا منه طائرته وكرامته وقذفوا به ذليلا الي الشارع كما قذفوا من قبله بانطوان لحد وقادة جيشه. فهؤلاء لا يخشون الا من الذين يحترمون انفسهم، ويقاومون دفاعا عن حقوقهم وارضهم ومقدساتهم
...
نشعر بالحزن والاسي والتبرم والضيق، ونحن نتذكر آلاف الشهداء الذين سقطوا دفاعا عن هذه الامة وكرامتها وشرفها، من سوريين ومصريين وفلسطينيين ولبنانيين وعراقيين وكل العرب الآخرين. هؤلاء الذين صدقوا زعاماتهم، ونفذوا تعليماتهم، وضحوا بارواحهم الطاهرة. وكان الاجدر بهم ان يقاتلوا من اجل الديمقراطية والحرية في اوطانهم قبل ان يقاتلوا الاعداء ويستشهدوا، لان الاوطان الحرة هي التي تقاتل وتنتصر، اما الدكتاتوريات الفاسدة فتقود شعوبها من هزيمة الي اخري
...
لقد تبين لنا ان الطرف الاسرائيلي هو الذي يتدلل ويرفض العودة الي مائدة المفاوضات، رغم التنازلات السورية الرسمية السخية، وليس النظام السوري نفسه، مثلما كان يشاع دائما، ويجد من يصدقه في اوساط العرب، والسوريون منهم علي وجه التحديد.
الاسرائيليون سيواصلون التجبر، وسيتمسكون اكثر بمواقفهم الرافضة لتقديم اي تنازلات للعرب، وسيؤكد هذا التهافت لمصافحتهم قناعاتهم المسبقة بان العرب هم الطرف الاضعف، فاقد الكرامة، وزمام المبادرة، وسيبنون سياستهم علي اساس ممارسة المزيد من الاذلال والحاق اكبر قدر من المهانة بهم، حتي يقفوا عراة تماما طالبين الصفح والغفران
...
كنا نتمني لو ان الرئيس الاسد اخذ العبرة من الطيار السوري، الذي هرب بطائرته الحربية الي اسرائيل طالبا اللجوء، وكيف انتهي مجرما منبوذا مطاردا، فقد اخذ الاسرائيليون منه كل ما يريدون، اخذوا منه طائرته وكرامته وقذفوا به ذليلا الي الشارع كما قذفوا من قبله بانطوان لحد وقادة جيشه. فهؤلاء لا يخشون الا من الذين يحترمون انفسهم، ويقاومون دفاعا عن حقوقهم وارضهم ومقدساتهم
...
نشعر بالحزن والاسي والتبرم والضيق، ونحن نتذكر آلاف الشهداء الذين سقطوا دفاعا عن هذه الامة وكرامتها وشرفها، من سوريين ومصريين وفلسطينيين ولبنانيين وعراقيين وكل العرب الآخرين. هؤلاء الذين صدقوا زعاماتهم، ونفذوا تعليماتهم، وضحوا بارواحهم الطاهرة. وكان الاجدر بهم ان يقاتلوا من اجل الديمقراطية والحرية في اوطانهم قبل ان يقاتلوا الاعداء ويستشهدوا، لان الاوطان الحرة هي التي تقاتل وتنتصر، اما الدكتاتوريات الفاسدة فتقود شعوبها من هزيمة الي اخري
BRAVO!!!!
Edit: Here's a rough translation:
Funeral Handshakes?!
By Abd el Bari Atwan
What will the Syrian president and his media personnel say to the Lebanese opposition, which he accused of applying to the Americans and contacting the Israelis, after this handshake. Moreover, what will he say to Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezballah who went out of the ordinary a few days ago when he refered to the Syrian president and his regime as a fort of sustenance and defiance in a period of official Arab normalisation with the Israeli entity?
Even more dangerous than that is, how will the Syrian regime, with its old and new guard, justify the execution of thousands of honest Syrians on accusations of cooperating with foreigners and contacting Western embassies, after this calculated, double handshake with the Israeli president?
It is a free normalisation, and an attempt to stay in office in any way possible, and for the longest period possible, without expecting any political setoff, for the important thing is the complete surrender to the usurping enemy.
...
It has become clear to us that it is the Israeli side and not the Syrian regime (as was always thought) that is flirting and refusing to return to the negotiations table, despite generous official Syrian renunciations, and the former has found some in Arab circles (particularly the Syrians) who are ready to believe this.
The Israelis will continue practising constraint and will hold on all the more to their position of refusal to offer any renunciations to the Arabs, and this flocking for shaking their hands will reassure them of their convictions that the Arabs are the weaker side that has lost its dignity and the reins of initiative, and they will build their policies on the bases of practising more contempt, insulting and humiliating them all the more, until they stand totally naked in front of them, asking for absolution and forgiveness.
...
We wish that President Assad had learned the lesson of the Syrian pilot who escaped with his fighter jet to Israel requesting refuge, and how he ended up a fugitive criminal, for the Israelis took from him all that they wanted; they took his plane, his dignity, and kicked him onto the street as they did to Antoine Lahd and the colonels of his militia before him. For they are not afraid except from those who respect themselves and resist in defense of their rights, land, and all that they consider sacred.
...
We feel sad, uneasy, and distressed as we remember the thousands of martyrs who fell in defense of this nation and its dignity and honour, be they Syrians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis, and all the other Arabs. Those are the ones who believed in their leaders, carried out their orders, and sacrified their virtuous souls. It would've been more worthwile had they fought for democracy and freedom in their countries before fighting the enemies and martyring themselves, because free nations are the ones that fight and triumph, while rotten dictatorships lead its peoples from one defeat to another.
Edit: Here's a rough translation:
Funeral Handshakes?!
By Abd el Bari Atwan
What will the Syrian president and his media personnel say to the Lebanese opposition, which he accused of applying to the Americans and contacting the Israelis, after this handshake. Moreover, what will he say to Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezballah who went out of the ordinary a few days ago when he refered to the Syrian president and his regime as a fort of sustenance and defiance in a period of official Arab normalisation with the Israeli entity?
Even more dangerous than that is, how will the Syrian regime, with its old and new guard, justify the execution of thousands of honest Syrians on accusations of cooperating with foreigners and contacting Western embassies, after this calculated, double handshake with the Israeli president?
It is a free normalisation, and an attempt to stay in office in any way possible, and for the longest period possible, without expecting any political setoff, for the important thing is the complete surrender to the usurping enemy.
...
It has become clear to us that it is the Israeli side and not the Syrian regime (as was always thought) that is flirting and refusing to return to the negotiations table, despite generous official Syrian renunciations, and the former has found some in Arab circles (particularly the Syrians) who are ready to believe this.
The Israelis will continue practising constraint and will hold on all the more to their position of refusal to offer any renunciations to the Arabs, and this flocking for shaking their hands will reassure them of their convictions that the Arabs are the weaker side that has lost its dignity and the reins of initiative, and they will build their policies on the bases of practising more contempt, insulting and humiliating them all the more, until they stand totally naked in front of them, asking for absolution and forgiveness.
...
We wish that President Assad had learned the lesson of the Syrian pilot who escaped with his fighter jet to Israel requesting refuge, and how he ended up a fugitive criminal, for the Israelis took from him all that they wanted; they took his plane, his dignity, and kicked him onto the street as they did to Antoine Lahd and the colonels of his militia before him. For they are not afraid except from those who respect themselves and resist in defense of their rights, land, and all that they consider sacred.
...
We feel sad, uneasy, and distressed as we remember the thousands of martyrs who fell in defense of this nation and its dignity and honour, be they Syrians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis, and all the other Arabs. Those are the ones who believed in their leaders, carried out their orders, and sacrified their virtuous souls. It would've been more worthwile had they fought for democracy and freedom in their countries before fighting the enemies and martyring themselves, because free nations are the ones that fight and triumph, while rotten dictatorships lead its peoples from one defeat to another.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Lebanese war series - Day #2
Massacre of a family
Today's photos are somewhat* graphic (although not as graphic as some of the other photos from the war), so I will not be posting thumbnails, only links, to avoid upsetting anyone who does not wish to view them. The photos are from Stavro Jabra's website. You can find more pics of the war taken by him here.
Massacre of a family at Ras Dekwaneh (1976)
Photo #1
Photo #2
* dead people, but not disfigured.
Today's photos are somewhat* graphic (although not as graphic as some of the other photos from the war), so I will not be posting thumbnails, only links, to avoid upsetting anyone who does not wish to view them. The photos are from Stavro Jabra's website. You can find more pics of the war taken by him here.
Massacre of a family at Ras Dekwaneh (1976)
Photo #1
Photo #2
* dead people, but not disfigured.
IOF does it again
Israel "Defense" Forces soldiers shot dead three Palestinian youths in the Gaza Strip Saturday.Shalom!! We fight with a purity of arms! Palestinians are terrorists!
Shortly after news of the shooting spread, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said the group was no longer bound by a de facto ceasefire with Israel.
Palestinians fired at least 10 mortar shells at Gush Katif settlements.
According to Palestinian sources, the youths was playing on the outskirts of the Rafah refugee camp, several hundred meters from the frontier. IDF forces opened fire on them from the south.
"I saw a group of youths playing soccer in a playground about 50 meters from the fence," said Wael Barhoum, 26. "Suddenly there was gunfire toward the youths from the Israeli side. I ran towards the playground and we saw two of the youths were dead and a third was wounded."
Source
A Palestinian terrorist
Edit 1: The count of mortars fired on "Gush Katif" colony reaches 25 in the past 2 hours.
Edit 2: Now 28 shells.
A Palestinian terrorist grieving after learning his brother was one of three youths shot and killed by IOF troops near Rafah on Saturday.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Lebanese war 6-day series - Day #1
Bitterness
April 13, 2005 is the 30th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese war. I was looking at the large war photo collection in my possession, and I thought I might do something with it. So I decided I would do a 6-day photo series.
USS New Jersey fires a salvo from her 16"/50 guns during a deployment off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, 9 Jan. 1984
"They did not make war. They were simply victims of war, in the honorable attempt to keep the peace. The gift of these men was of the ultimate quality and we know that it was of such value that it cannot be given again." - The Beirut Memorial Online
Also take a look at the plaque.
I wonder what, for example, the USS New Jersey firing salvo at the Chouf villages had anything to do with Americans' freedom.
April 13, 2005 is the 30th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese war. I was looking at the large war photo collection in my possession, and I thought I might do something with it. So I decided I would do a 6-day photo series.
USS New Jersey fires a salvo from her 16"/50 guns during a deployment off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, 9 Jan. 1984
"They did not make war. They were simply victims of war, in the honorable attempt to keep the peace. The gift of these men was of the ultimate quality and we know that it was of such value that it cannot be given again." - The Beirut Memorial Online
Also take a look at the plaque.
I wonder what, for example, the USS New Jersey firing salvo at the Chouf villages had anything to do with Americans' freedom.
Wordpress?
OK, here's a test run of Wordpress. I was in the mood for installing stuff, so I installed Wordpress, which was very easy to do. I am at the moment looking into the software features. So far I am not as impressed as I was expecting to be. So at the moment, it's still Blogger/Blogspot. However, the good news is, I might change my host. I recently got a free hosting offer that does not have any banners (and even better, no Google Ads). Anyway, I guess you (my readers - and that includes our resident zionists, after all this is a REAL democracy) can check it out and let me know. So far I am strongly against switching to Wordpress. The Blogger template is much more simple, and the commenting feature is much better. The only thing that I like about Wordpress is the category feature. Other than that, it's just not my type of software.
In case I do switch to the other host (whether with Blogger or Wordpress), I will synchronise this one with the other one. So those of you who for some reason do not want to update your bookmarks, can still read and comment here.
In case I do switch to the other host (whether with Blogger or Wordpress), I will synchronise this one with the other one. So those of you who for some reason do not want to update your bookmarks, can still read and comment here.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
The Israeli left
Dan had a post about the Israeli left. He basically challenged the existence of the Israeli left. It turns out he was right. Here's the Statement of Purpose of one of the rather left-wing, compromise-encouraging organisations (alleging that it's a joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative) in Israel:
**** And why is that? How about the Jewish state? What about the nuclear weapons? And how can you expect that Palestinians trust the international community to guarantee their security and independence when the international community had been asleep all the while when Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed (and still are)?
- Two states for two peoples: Both sides will declare that Palestine is the only state of the Palestinian people and Israel is the only state of the Jewish people.
- Borders: Permanent borders between the two states will be agreed upon on the basis of the June 4, 1967 lines, UN resolutions, and the Arab peace initiative (known as the Saudi initiative).
- Border modifications will be based on an equitable and agreed-upon territorial exchange (1:1) in accordance with the vital needs of both sides, including security, territorial contiguity, and demographic considerations.
- The Palestinian State will have a connection between its two geographic areas, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
- After establishment of the agreed borders, no settlers will remain in the Palestinian State.
- Jerusalem: Jerusalem will be an open city, the capital of two states. Freedom of religion and full access to holy sites will be guaranteed to all.
- Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem will come under Palestinian sovereignty, Jewish neighborhoods under Israeli sovereignty.
- Neither side will exercise sovereignty over the holy places. The State of Palestine will be designated Guardian of al-Haram al-Sharif for the benefit of Muslims. Israel will be the Guardian of the Western Wall for the benefit of the Jewish people. The status quo on Christian holy site will be maintained. No excavation will take place in or underneath the holy sites without mutual consent.
- Right of return: Recognizing the suffering and the plight of the Palestinian refugees, the international community, Israel, and the Palestinian State will initiate and contribute to an international fund to compensate them.
- Palestinian refugees will return only to the State of Palestine; Jews will return only to the State of Israel.
- The international community will offer to compensate toward bettering the lot of those refugees willing to remain in their present country of residence, or who wish to immigrate to third-party countries.****
- The Palestinian State will be demilitarized**** and the international community will guarantee its security and independence.
- End of conflict: Upon the full implementation of these principles, all claims on both sides and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end.
**** And why is that? How about the Jewish state? What about the nuclear weapons? And how can you expect that Palestinians trust the international community to guarantee their security and independence when the international community had been asleep all the while when Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed (and still are)?
How the Jews made the desert bloom
The "opposition's" honeymoon with myths
In addition to 99.9% of the Shi'a, many Druze and Sunnis, there are also many Christians who are against 1559 and the manner in which some "Lebanese" have been treating the Syrians. The International Herald Tribune (via The New York Times), in a surprising albeit slight departure from its zionist, pro-"opposition" stance (for that agenda still occupies much of the article), reports:
Myth #2: The "opposition" is only against the Syrian government not the Syrian people.
Myth #3: "Opposition" supporters are not racists.
Myth #4: "Opposition" supporters are not fascists.
"When a cow dies, the number of butchers always increases," the gravely voiced [Alber] Mawad said, reciting an Arabic proverb. "I am not going to be one of those people running down the Syrians now that they are leaving."Myth #1: The "opposition" is the majority.
In the eyes of Mawad, 66, the Syrian soldiers who entered this predominantly Christian village [Bologna] in 1976 brought the town peace and stability, mainly by keeping warring Lebanese from killing one another.
...
Yet here in Bologna, and in the other predominantly Christian villages of Mount Lebanon where many of the Syrians lived, it is more difficult to find the denunciations heard on the streets of the capital.
...
Under the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon and Syria were governed as a single area. Even today, some Lebanese tell of stationery their parents used listing Beirut as being a city in Syria. Neither country maintains ambassadors in the other's capital, and no visa is required to cross the border.
...
"All Lebanese hate the Syrians," said a driver in Beirut. "They are just afraid now."
...
In the late 1970s, Syrian soldiers took over all but a few rooms of [Mohassan] Fadul's house that she used to rent out to boarders.
...
"Animals!" she raged, walking through the house, as a group of workers shoveled trash from the place. "They are not even people."
Myth #2: The "opposition" is only against the Syrian government not the Syrian people.
Myth #3: "Opposition" supporters are not racists.
Myth #4: "Opposition" supporters are not fascists.
Chamoun has a solution to the Palestinian "problem" in Lebanon
"I don't see any reason whatsoever for the Palestinians [in Lebanon] to have arms", says "Christian" politician Dory Chamoun.
Or jobs, or money, or food for that matter. Very Christian of Mr. Chamoun indeed.
Or jobs, or money, or food for that matter. Very Christian of Mr. Chamoun indeed.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Not ethnic cleansing
Yediot Achronot reports the following interview with the "Mayor" of Jerusalem Uri Lupolianski:
The Middle East's only democracy
الديمقراطية الوحيدة في الشرق الأوسط
Միջին Արեւելքի միակ տէմոքրասին
Brought to you by: G-d's chosen people (that means they can murder, steal, massacre, and G-d will love them all the more for it).
The government must move to exchange land and population with the Palestinians, or else Israel will disappear in a few years, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski told Ynet readers during an online chat Wednesday. All hail the "Middle East's Only Democracy"!This is:
[T]he mayor said Israel must swap land and residents with the Palestinian Authority in order to endure as a Jewish state. Wahh, what's the matter, keeping others down because otherwise you just can't be "superior", huh?
"If the government won't act in the direction of exchanging land and population, in a few years we will not have a country. There will no longer be a Jewish majority; we may even see a non-Jewish prime minister," Lupolianski said. And why exactly do you need a Jewish PM? What fucking difference does it make? Sounds like the fascist Maronites have learned quite a lot from their "Israeli" neighbours. Or maybe it's the other way around. I don't know to be honest. "Israelis" and fascist / right-wing Maronites seem to be in a fierce competition for that award! Or would that be "reward" (from USA)?
"What other choice do we have if we want to have our own country? Does the Jewish nation not deserve its own state? It is wrong to establish a 'mini-Palestine branch' within the state of Israel." What? Now the Jews are a nation? Huh? First they were a religious entity, then they became a race, and now they are a nation. Wahhh, slow down a little bit there, buddy buddy! And for the record, no one "deserves" a state of their own. Especially not YOUR kind.
As for the upholding of the Chametz (leavened bread) Law in the city, he said the legislation would be enforced because "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the heart of the Jewish nation." All hail theocracy!
The Middle East's only democracy
الديمقراطية الوحيدة في الشرق الأوسط
Միջին Արեւելքի միակ տէմոքրասին
Brought to you by: G-d's chosen people (that means they can murder, steal, massacre, and G-d will love them all the more for it).
A Lebanese woman from Shebaa village in south Lebanon carrying her baby holds a Lebanese flag outside the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut April 6, 2005 where U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen held a press conference. Dozens of Shebaa villagers gathered outside the hotel to protest statements by the U.N. envoy that the disputed Shebaa Farms border area was Syrian, not Lebanese as claimed by Beirut (REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi). A good place to start on the Shebaa Farms ownership issue is Asher Kaufman's "Who owns the Shebaa farms? Chronicle of a territorial dispute."
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
"Israel" doesn't need Palestinian goyim
This is not news, but since it was repeated on Ha'aretz, I thought I might post this proof that "Israelis" (by that I mean Jews, because non-Jews are not really "Israelis") are not racist:
"Israel" is planning on banning Palestinian "foreign" labourers from the country. In the meantime, "Israel" will be depending on the more "correct" kind of people, i.e. non-Palestinian labourers.
Ha'aretz claims that "[b]anning Palestinian labor is part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, which aims to separate the two peoples by withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank this summer, and completing the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank."
Right, so now "Israel" just wants to separate from Palestinians (and what is "Israel" going to do about its Palestinian CITIZENS? Separate them too? Not for now, surely. But maybe by 2025? Perhaps we should stop worrying, 'cos those smart "Israelis" can always come up with new technologies that would put an end to goy fertility in the Holy [Jewish] Land, eh?). And what a man of peace this Sharon guy has become! Unbelievable (indeed). I nominate him for the Nobel (that's right, the irony, Nobel invented the TNT - he was a Sharon kinda guy after all!) "Peace" Prize.
Ha'aretz - though without realising it - continues to expose the idiocy (or to be more politically correct, naiveté?) of "Israelis" (and here I was beating myself for being a "British dolt" and a "dumb goy"):
"[W]hen a wave of suicide bombings struck Israeli buses and shopping centers, the idea of separating Jews and Arabs became popular in Israel."
Say what? I thought there were Arabs who died in those bombings too. Maxim's restaurant rings a bell? Here we go again with the fetish of "us Jews are always the victims. The only ones at that, too." Moreover, are "Israelis" actually as dumb as I believe they are? I mean, can they not realise that this separation (which in the case of "Israel" is always coupled with oppression, since that separation is based on land and resource theft which results in the economic debasement of "the other") that seems to be giving them wet dreams is the very reason for such attacks? Yes yes, a Jew ("Israeli"?) says, "let's build walls and imprison ourselves and we can all live happily ever after, seeing only Jews, talking only with Jews, and dealing only with Jews. Everything Jewish (and clean of all those filthy, unchosen goyim). Since those goyim are just sooooo below us. G-d says so!" *looks up a verse in the Torah*
Now now, I'm an anti-Semite, aren't I? But wait, Semite? Semite? I thought the same Jews who yell "anti-Semitism" every step of the way argue that there is no such thing as a Semitic race and that it was all created by a racist Englishman. Do I see some contradiction here?
Pardon the sarcasm. I'm in that kinda mood today, ya know?
"Israel" is planning on banning Palestinian "foreign" labourers from the country. In the meantime, "Israel" will be depending on the more "correct" kind of people, i.e. non-Palestinian labourers.
Ha'aretz claims that "[b]anning Palestinian labor is part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, which aims to separate the two peoples by withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank this summer, and completing the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank."
Right, so now "Israel" just wants to separate from Palestinians (and what is "Israel" going to do about its Palestinian CITIZENS? Separate them too? Not for now, surely. But maybe by 2025? Perhaps we should stop worrying, 'cos those smart "Israelis" can always come up with new technologies that would put an end to goy fertility in the Holy [Jewish] Land, eh?). And what a man of peace this Sharon guy has become! Unbelievable (indeed). I nominate him for the Nobel (that's right, the irony, Nobel invented the TNT - he was a Sharon kinda guy after all!) "Peace" Prize.
Ha'aretz - though without realising it - continues to expose the idiocy (or to be more politically correct, naiveté?) of "Israelis" (and here I was beating myself for being a "British dolt" and a "dumb goy"):
"[W]hen a wave of suicide bombings struck Israeli buses and shopping centers, the idea of separating Jews and Arabs became popular in Israel."
Say what? I thought there were Arabs who died in those bombings too. Maxim's restaurant rings a bell? Here we go again with the fetish of "us Jews are always the victims. The only ones at that, too." Moreover, are "Israelis" actually as dumb as I believe they are? I mean, can they not realise that this separation (which in the case of "Israel" is always coupled with oppression, since that separation is based on land and resource theft which results in the economic debasement of "the other") that seems to be giving them wet dreams is the very reason for such attacks? Yes yes, a Jew ("Israeli"?) says, "let's build walls and imprison ourselves and we can all live happily ever after, seeing only Jews, talking only with Jews, and dealing only with Jews. Everything Jewish (and clean of all those filthy, unchosen goyim). Since those goyim are just sooooo below us. G-d says so!" *looks up a verse in the Torah*
Now now, I'm an anti-Semite, aren't I? But wait, Semite? Semite? I thought the same Jews who yell "anti-Semitism" every step of the way argue that there is no such thing as a Semitic race and that it was all created by a racist Englishman. Do I see some contradiction here?
Pardon the sarcasm. I'm in that kinda mood today, ya know?
Now that they've got no Palestinian babies / children to shoot (because they would be facing the wrath of Hamas if they do - and Hamas has been more patient than I ever will be), guess whom "Israeli" (recall "purity of arms") soldiers abuse? That's right, Palestinian TRAFFIC policemen. In occupied Al Khalil (Hebron).
Sharon wants there to be "Palestinian territories"?
"I'm optimistic because I firmly believe that Ariel Sharon wants to have a peaceful partner, wants there to be a democracy in the Palestinian territories," Bush told reporters after meeting with members of his Cabinet.
Lebanese soup / شوربة لبنانية
8 days to the 30th anniversary of the Lebanese "civil" war, and the Lebanese Forces have already made a comeback. Reuters reports:
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A spate of bombings has brought Christian youths onto the streets of east Beirut, checking each night for parked cars from outside the neighborhood and occasionally stopping drivers to ask where they are heading.Meanwhile,
...
Hannouche and his Maronite Christian friends, mostly in their late teens or early 20s, gather each night on a street corner in Beirut's Ain al-Roumaneh area watching for suspicious cars or wandering around a nearby church they fear might be hit.
...
[George] Hannouche's group and others like it guarding strategic points around the Christian area say no one in their community directed them to act. But most, nonetheless, claim allegiance to the Lebanese Forces (LF), a banned wartime Christian militia. One youth wore the LF's stylized crucifix symbol.
...
Ain al-Roumaneh, where the civil war began with Christian gunmen attacking a bus full of Palestinians, stands on a section of the old wartime front, or so-called Green Line, between Christian east Beirut and the mainly Muslim west of the city.
U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said the bombings and "embryo" vigilante groups could undermine Lebanon's stability. لأ، ولا؟The LF keeps showing signs of readiness for another round of fighting, while the UN continues to whine and Walid beik & co. coordinate their next course of action under the supervision of the American finger that is so keen on mixing the Lebanese soup.
"The distance from forming a vigilante group to establishing a militia is extremely short," he told Reuters. Especially if those "vigilante" groups already have weapons.
A glimpse of the Holy Land: Where only Jews are allowed to throw stones.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Q: What's left of the "Israeli" left?
A: Not much. (Not that it ever existed).
Poll: Most Israeli Jews say Israeli Arabs should emigrate
Right, let's talk more on "Israeli" (Jewish?) tolerance. All comments (including Boker Tov-ish types) welcome.
Anyway, the last time I checked, there were few countries where the majority called for the mass emigration of the minority who were citizens of the same country. And indeed if such a call were made against Jews, the Jewish communities elsewhere would have created a huge uproar about it. Alright, so the majority of "Israelis" (not "Israeli Jews", you're either both Jewish and a citizen or are neither) want "Israeli Arabs" out of the country. I don't see what the big deal is? After all, those damn Arabs are causing the expulsion of Jews from their homes! Of course, we just don't like the fact that the so-called expulsion is designed in order to prevent the return of more than a million Palestinians to "Israel" or for that matter to the West Bank. They can have some of Garbage Bank and the huge Gaza Strip. They can always fit another 1.5 million into Gaza, non?
Poll: Most Israeli Jews say Israeli Arabs should emigrate
Right, let's talk more on "Israeli" (Jewish?) tolerance. All comments (including Boker Tov-ish types) welcome.
Anyway, the last time I checked, there were few countries where the majority called for the mass emigration of the minority who were citizens of the same country. And indeed if such a call were made against Jews, the Jewish communities elsewhere would have created a huge uproar about it. Alright, so the majority of "Israelis" (not "Israeli Jews", you're either both Jewish and a citizen or are neither) want "Israeli Arabs" out of the country. I don't see what the big deal is? After all, those damn Arabs are causing the expulsion of Jews from their homes! Of course, we just don't like the fact that the so-called expulsion is designed in order to prevent the return of more than a million Palestinians to "Israel" or for that matter to the West Bank. They can have some of Garbage Bank and the huge Gaza Strip. They can always fit another 1.5 million into Gaza, non?
Sunday, April 03, 2005
They've done it again
Look, they've gone done it again.
A prominent Lebanese legislator and his wife were killed late on Sunday when their car skidded into the central barrier of a highway in heavy rain, police said.So, who killed Khalil? Surely you don't believe the car really skidded?
Ali Youssef Khalil, who was in his 70s, was chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee and represented Lebanon's southern province. A former Cabinet minister, Khalil supported the government during the current crisis over Syria's troops in Lebanon and the investigation of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri's assassination.
Discrimination even in garbage
Those of you who claim "Israel" has never been and isn't in violation of international law in the "occupied territories" (I don't like using that phrase since all of Palestine is occupied, not just West Bank and Gaza), here's another one of those violations in West Garbage Bank:
Israel to dump 10,000 tons of garbage a month in the West BankI am sure though that the people over at Boker Tov are celebrating this great victory that the "people of 'Israel'" have achieved.
Israel has decided to transfer garbage beyond the Green Line and dump it in the West Bank for the first time since 1967. The project was launched despite international treaties prohibiting an occupying state from making use of occupied territory unless it benefits the local population.
In addition, pollution experts say such use of the Kedumim quarry - located in an old Palestinian quarry between the Kedumim settlement and Nablus - will jeopardize Palestinian water sources.
The dump operators plan to deposit some 10,000 tons of garbage from the Dan and Sharon regions every month in what was known as the Abu Shusha quarry, the largest in the West Bank. In the last few days trucks and bulldozers have been covering the quarry's floor with brown soil to turn it into a garbage dump. Huge semi-trailer trucks are to bring the Sharon and Dan garbage, which will be amassed at the Hadarim garbage station near Tel Mond prison, to the quarry.
The construction is being carried out by Baron Industrial Park, a company jointly owned by the councils of Kedumim and Karnei Shomron and the Shomron Regional Council. The Hadarim site is operated by D.S.H., a private, Netanya-based garbage disposal company owned by the Valensi family.
The initiative started out as an idea to rehabilitate a 15-dunam plot in the quarry by filling it with building waste, junk and shredded tires. It evolved into a huge project spread over dozens of dunams for household garbage, operated as a private business and expected to yield tens of millions of shekels.
Transferring Israeli garbage to the West Bank will be much cheaper for D.S.H. than taking it to a site in Israel. Local and regional councils pay NIS 90 to NIS 105 for removing a ton of garbage to a transit station in Israel. They pay the dump some NIS 40 per ton for depositing the waste and the transporter gets another NIS 30 per ton.
The profit is NIS 20 to NIS 35 per ton. But burying the garbage in the Kedumim dump, according to an internal Baron Park document, will cost a mere NIS 30 per ton, leaving a greater profit in the hands of the entrepreneurs and operators.
Transferring the Israeli garbage to Samaria will bring the company a profit of NIS 6 per ton, totaling some NIS 60,000 a month.
Israel's construction and operation of the Kedumim dump appears to be in violation of the international law, as it involves transferring garbage to territory defined as occupied. Second, experts warn that the dump would jeopardize the Mountain Aquifer, one of the largest freshwater sources in Israel and Palestine. This is because the dump, which was originally used for "dry waste," will receive and absorb household garbage with organic substances.
It is also unclear whether the procedures for constructing and operating the dump on state land were carried out according to the law, or how bulldozers are working at the site before a final construction permit has been issued.
Why has the civil administration failed to take measures against Baron Industrial Park for allowing D.S.H. - six months ago - to dump hundreds of tons of garbage in the site in violation of the law and before the Environment Ministry and Water Commission approved it?
West Bank sources say the reason for the civil administration's inaction is that everyone is afraid of Daniella Weiss, the council head of Kedumim, one of the owners of Baron Park.
The biggest mystery is how D.S.H., of all companies, was allowed to build and operate a very profitable waste site on state land without any tender being issued, as required by law.
The Kedumim dump will create an absurd situation. The West Bank is filled with illegal Palestinian garbage dumps, which constitute serious environmental hazards and jeopardize the groundwater, because the civil administration refuses to let Palestinians build modern waste disposal sites. The most modern dump being built there - the Kedumim dump - is intended only for garbage from Israel.
"We are dealing with a double crime," says MK Yossi Sarid, former environment minister. "On the one hand, Israel is preventing the Palestinians from making use of the quarry and its resources, and in exchange we are giving them the Sharon's garbage. I believe this is a violation of international treaties."
Iche Meir, the director of the union of Samaria local authorities for the environment, said the work had been done without the union's approval and was illegal.
The civil administration issued an order to stop the work on the site and Baron Park was instructed to move the garbage and start the insulation work on the quarry floor again, as a condition for the Environment Ministry's approval.
Haaretz has learned that although the environment minister has not yet approved the work on the dump, and despite the civil administration's order to stop the construction, the bulldozers are still working on the site.
A civil administration spokesman commented that he was unable to provide the answers to the legal issues, due to lack of time. He said the Kedumim council head gave D.S.H. a permit to operate a garbage dump before the plan was approved by the authorities and this is why the civil administration ordered the work to stop.
Source
Saturday, April 02, 2005
"Israel" believes in purity of arms! "Israel" wants peace! Shalom! Salam! Paix! Pace! Paz! Frieden!
Orphans of Tal Afar
You've probably seen this picture:
More photos
Hussein Hassan was hurrying to get home. His wife, Kamila, sat beside him in the family Opel; their five youngest children, 2 to 14, were squeezed in the back seat with a 6-year-old cousin. They had been at his brother's house, but now curfew was 15 minutes away, and Tal Afar's streets are no place for a family after dark. Hussein turned off Tal Afar's main traffic circle onto Mansour Boulevard. Rakan was first to spot the soldiers in the deepening dusk. They were waving their arms and raising their assault rifles. The boy jumped up in the back seat. Before he could open his mouth to warn his father, a storm of gunfire struck the car, killing both parents and covering the children with their blood. What do you do when you're in the dark in a foreign land where you're not wanted and are therefore on your guard for "terrorist" attacks, and are expecting the driver of the car to see YOU but not YOU to see who's in that car? You open fire. Truly liberating.
See the liberated Hassan children:
Jilan, far left with her siblings, wants to 'kill the Americans'.
Must be the Arab terrorist gene.
Thesurprising thing is, the occupying powers and their zionist allies point out the fact that those are "children" (and are ought to be treated as such) if and when they are part of the resistance to the occupation of Iraq (or Palestine), but not when those same children are being killed by the hundreds and thousands.
More photos
Hussein Hassan was hurrying to get home. His wife, Kamila, sat beside him in the family Opel; their five youngest children, 2 to 14, were squeezed in the back seat with a 6-year-old cousin. They had been at his brother's house, but now curfew was 15 minutes away, and Tal Afar's streets are no place for a family after dark. Hussein turned off Tal Afar's main traffic circle onto Mansour Boulevard. Rakan was first to spot the soldiers in the deepening dusk. They were waving their arms and raising their assault rifles. The boy jumped up in the back seat. Before he could open his mouth to warn his father, a storm of gunfire struck the car, killing both parents and covering the children with their blood. What do you do when you're in the dark in a foreign land where you're not wanted and are therefore on your guard for "terrorist" attacks, and are expecting the driver of the car to see YOU but not YOU to see who's in that car? You open fire. Truly liberating.
See the liberated Hassan children:
Jilan, far left with her siblings, wants to 'kill the Americans'.
Must be the Arab terrorist gene.
The
The caravan moves on....
There's a saying in Armenian that goes something like "the dog barks and the caravan moves on". «Շունը կը հաչէ, գարաւանը կը քալէ:» It's something to the effect of: "no one gives a fuck".
What makes me bring this up? Well, it seems like the "Israeli"left-leaning newspaper Ha'aretz is having a fit over some comments by an American representative on "Israel's" nuclear weapons. But don't worry, for the "Israeli" government it has always been and always will be a case of «Շունը կը հաչէ, գարաւանը կը քալէ:»
What makes me bring this up? Well, it seems like the "Israeli"
In her statement Saturday [Jackie Walcott] Sanders [ambassador, Conference on Disarmament and special representative of the president for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] said: "The Conference should also reinforce the goal of universal NPT adherence and reaffirm that India, Israel and Pakistan may join the NPT only as non-nuclear-weapon states. Just as South Africa and Ukraine did in the early 1990s, these states should forswear nuclear weapons and accept IAEA safeguards on all nuclear activities to join the treaty. At the same time, we recognize that progress toward universal adherence is not likely in the foreseeable future. The United States continues to support the goals of the Middle East resolution adopted at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, including the achievement of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction."Read full article here.
According to the Israeli experts, the American administration does not want to expand nuclear proliferation to additional states in the region and agrees that in time it would be preferable to have the Middle East nuclear free, but disagrees with the immediate adoption of a policy which would prevent American forces like the Sixth Fleet ships and airplanes from carrying nuclear warheads in bombs and missiles as well. (very peaceful and liberating indeed).
Hacked!
"hacked by arab-sup7 no israil". Or so say the people who hacked the "Isreally" website. ;)
At the bottom of the page they say:
HACKED BY arab-sup7
PALESTINE HACKERS
If by the time you see this entry and check out the website it's back up again, which I doubt, let me know and I'll post some screenshots. ;)
At the bottom of the page they say:
HACKED BY arab-sup7
PALESTINE HACKERS
If by the time you see this entry and check out the website it's back up again, which I doubt, let me know and I'll post some screenshots. ;)
Friday, April 01, 2005
World Council of Churches Press Release
Early morning post.
March 31, 2005Thank you, WCC! Thank you for summarising the situation so eloquently!
WCC deeply concerned about the status of Jerusalem
Expressing alarm about new political developments which adversely affect the status of Jerusalem, the director of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs issued an open letter today reiterating the position of its member churches and calling for "an open and inclusive Jerusalem, a city of shared sovereignty and citizenship, a city of two peoples and three faiths, of Christians, Muslims and Jews".
The letter was issued in the context of recent urgent expressions of concern by churches and NGOs about unilateral land acquisition by the Israeli authorities and the latest plans for the Israeli security wall in the Jerusalem area.
The Commission of Churches on International Affairs is the specialized instrument of the WCC for political and security issues.
The full text of the open letter is given below:
OPEN LETTER ON THE STATUS OF JERUSALEM
The World Council of Churches is deeply concerned about actions by the Government of Israel which threaten the achievement of a just peace for both Israel and Palestine by pre-empting negotiations on the final status of Jerusalem within the framework of international law. This letter reiterates the position of the WCC on a matter of critical importance.
While world attention is drawn to its Gaza withdrawal plans, the Government of Israel has intensified unilateral programs to consolidate control over Jerusalem and other occupied territory. These include:
- Creating a new de facto border by construction of the Wall on occupied territory, cutting all of annexed Jerusalem off from the West Bank in contravention of international law and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in 2004.
- Cutting the West Bank in two by adding 3,500 housing units to Maale Adumim settlement. This decision mocks prospects for a viable, contiguous Palestinian State with a shared Jerusalem as its capital.
- Repeated declarations by the government’s top leaders that large illegal West Bank settlements and all of Jerusalem will belong to Israel in any final agreement.
- Ongoing violations of human and civil rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem - illegal Jewish settlements are built in their neighborhoods while construction permits for Palestinians are denied, family homes are demolished, requests for family reunification are denied.
The WCC has long affirmed that the final status of Jerusalem must be part of a comprehensive peace settlement and be negotiated without delay; that the unilateral annexation of Jerusalem by the Government of Israel puts regional and world peace in jeopardy; that alterations of boundaries, population and settlements which change the religious, cultural or historical character of Jerusalem without the consent of the parties involved and the approval of the international community are violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- Threats and more threats, including an absentee property law allowing confiscation of Palestinian property in Jerusalem and a new regulation to require permits for Jerusalem residents entering the West Bank.
Irregular transfers of church-held land from one side to the other only add to the alarm of those who hope for justice; all such transfers must be annulled.
The WCC calls for an open and inclusive Jerusalem, a city of shared sovereignty and citizenship, a city of two peoples and three faiths, of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Now is the time to cease actions that pre-empt peace in Jerusalem and to begin negotiation of Jerusalem’s final status within the framework of international law.
Source
Myth: Armenians cannot be racist or advocate the genocide of others
I can't backtrack my steps to find out how I found this guy, but finding out about him was a very enlightening experience. His name is Mike Nargizian. As the last name suggests, he is an Armenian. But he is not just any regular (if there is any such thing as that) Armenian, he is an "Israeli"-Armenian. Moreover, he is a "zionist". Now you tell me there is a zionist Armenian out there and I will laugh out loud. It's a hilarious thing to say. It is, well, DUMB to think that Armenians would ever support zionism for its ideology. There is a very interesting phenomenon in many Armenians, one that could be called "the genocide syndrome" (which is another dumb excuse for another dumb Armenian behaviour), which is characterised simply by a hatred of Muslims. If you ask them why they hate Muslims, they wouldn't know what to tell you. Indeed many deny that their support of George Bush and zionists has anything to do with hating Muslims. But behind the scenes there is a lot of anti-Muslim (and often anti-Arab) sentiment (especially among Armenians in USA and Europe). At home Armenian children are taught that Muslims are filthy or simply not on the same level as they are. They are not allowed to play with Muslim children (now that's an unholy thing if any, playing with a Muslim child!). As teenagers or adults living at home, they cannot bring their Muslim friends home (a big no-no). This was (and still is) the situation in our house too. And I know it is also true of most Armenians here in Canada and the large Armenian community in L.A as well as in Lebanon. Anyway not to get carried away; right, I was talking about that guy. Well, here's a letter he has sent to Professor Norman Finkelstein:
unknown sources. You, sir, are an Armenian on zionist payroll, working in a smear campaign to delegitimise the quite real and legitimate concern of people like Finkelstein and Chomsky (as much as I dislike the latter).
But, this is not to paint all Armenians with the same brush. There are many (although most of them are silent) who do see the injustice done to the Palestinians and refuse to be blind to it based on some illegitimate justification that most of them are Muslims (what of that?). Here's an excerpt from a letter (dated 24 April 2002) sent to Prof. Finkelstein by another Armenian:
Հայեր, կը բաւէ՛ ատէք Իսլամներուն:
4 October 2002First of all, fucking illiterate man (I hope you're reading this) that is not how you write a letter to a professor, no matter how much you disagree with or have disrespect for him/her. That is the first pointer to lack of any knowledge of or interest in the conflict or of/in Mr. Finkelstein's position for that matter. It also shows that your position is not one of legitimate concern or involvement but one of trollish, non-ideological support for the zionists based on prejudices you have acquired from some
HEY NORM, just writing to check in and see how the Jewish Jihad or Zionist Jihad is going? How has the applaud from Arab "Media" outlets been going? You still a regular on Al Manar television.
Keep me posted Norm. What a meaningful life you lead. :-)
A beacon of light in an otherwise dark world.
But, this is not to paint all Armenians with the same brush. There are many (although most of them are silent) who do see the injustice done to the Palestinians and refuse to be blind to it based on some illegitimate justification that most of them are Muslims (what of that?). Here's an excerpt from a letter (dated 24 April 2002) sent to Prof. Finkelstein by another Armenian:
I was drafted to be a soldier during WWII, and was in southern Germany in an artillery battalion when the war ended. I used to say that even though I did not want to die because others had made a mess of the world, that at least I was helping the Jews, victims similar to my parents. How naive. After years of thinking that the Israelis were in the right in the Mideast, I began to realize that they did not want peace, wanted all the land, and were persecuting and killing the Palestinians. Even though the Palestinians are Muslims, (like the Turks), I saw that they were the new victims and disgusted that the US was supporting the state that was out to kill them off. (italics are my own)There are few men of real compassion these days, and thank you for being one of them. It's the honesty, fairness and morality of people like you, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and other that gives me some hope that all people are not self serving killers.It is about time that the Armenian community addressed the anti-Muslim sentiments that are so common in Armenian homes, schools, community centres, and even (believe it or not) churches.
My sincerest best wishes to you, Jack Minassian.
Հայեր, կը բաւէ՛ ատէք Իսլամներուն:
Right = Righteous?
Just came across this.
Hah! The funniest bit is the bumper sticker on Nazism, communism, and slavery. It claims that war put an end to all three. Hmm? Perhaps those people need History 101? After all, it was Hitler who took it to the battlefield and annexed neighbouring countries. Did I miss something, or what?
Sometimes I wish the other side (i.e. fascists, neo-Nazis, also known as "Republicans", "zionists", and "pro-"Israelis"") were more competent. Constantly exposing their lies and fallacies becomes boring after a while.
Perhaps the right just can't afford to get a dictionary (don't blame it for bombing Iraq, it needed the oil!), so maybe we can enrol it in English 101, you know, 'cos it doesn't seem to know that "right" and "righteous" are two different words.
In other news, the last seminar in my undergraduate life ended with an interesting confrontation. Well, it was not a confrontation per se, but a very awkward situation (hilariously so). Those of you who haven't read Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus might not fully understand its significance. One of the students in the class (a zionist, from what I and others gathered from previous conversations) said that she thought Titus Andronicus was awesome, that it was the best play written by Shakespeare. The professor challenged her on that. He started a very eloquent rant, which went on for a good 2 minutes. Alas I did not have my laptop or tape recorder with me to record it. But it went something like this: [start of rant] Titus Andronicus is awesome? Now that's degraded. Our culture has become so degraded, even more so than it was in Shakespeare's time. Titus Andronicus is about people who punished others by taking their guts out while they were alive. Fucking degraded. Now you tell me that's awesome? I would not be surprised, since our culture places high emphasis on the 'heroism' behind such acts, when you have video games where you can bomb cities, where you have leaders like George Dubya bombing the shit out of Baghdad. Fucking degraded, that is what Titus Andronicus is. Why? Because it offers no comment on the immorality or meaninglessness of such things. Whereas with King Lear for example, it is different. [end of rant] By the time he finished, everyone's jaws had dropped. And me? Well, I was nodding in approval of his rant the whole time. Bravo! But one thing was on my mind throughout the whole thing, will he be charged with "anti-Semitism"? Ahem.
Hah! The funniest bit is the bumper sticker on Nazism, communism, and slavery. It claims that war put an end to all three. Hmm? Perhaps those people need History 101? After all, it was Hitler who took it to the battlefield and annexed neighbouring countries. Did I miss something, or what?
Sometimes I wish the other side (i.e. fascists, neo-Nazis, also known as "Republicans", "zionists", and "pro-"Israelis"") were more competent. Constantly exposing their lies and fallacies becomes boring after a while.
Perhaps the right just can't afford to get a dictionary (don't blame it for bombing Iraq, it needed the oil!), so maybe we can enrol it in English 101, you know, 'cos it doesn't seem to know that "right" and "righteous" are two different words.
In other news, the last seminar in my undergraduate life ended with an interesting confrontation. Well, it was not a confrontation per se, but a very awkward situation (hilariously so). Those of you who haven't read Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus might not fully understand its significance. One of the students in the class (a zionist, from what I and others gathered from previous conversations) said that she thought Titus Andronicus was awesome, that it was the best play written by Shakespeare. The professor challenged her on that. He started a very eloquent rant, which went on for a good 2 minutes. Alas I did not have my laptop or tape recorder with me to record it. But it went something like this: [start of rant] Titus Andronicus is awesome? Now that's degraded. Our culture has become so degraded, even more so than it was in Shakespeare's time. Titus Andronicus is about people who punished others by taking their guts out while they were alive. Fucking degraded. Now you tell me that's awesome? I would not be surprised, since our culture places high emphasis on the 'heroism' behind such acts, when you have video games where you can bomb cities, where you have leaders like George Dubya bombing the shit out of Baghdad. Fucking degraded, that is what Titus Andronicus is. Why? Because it offers no comment on the immorality or meaninglessness of such things. Whereas with King Lear for example, it is different. [end of rant] By the time he finished, everyone's jaws had dropped. And me? Well, I was nodding in approval of his rant the whole time. Bravo! But one thing was on my mind throughout the whole thing, will he be charged with "anti-Semitism"? Ahem.
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