These are brilliant resources - Thanks heaps, Rob.  First time I actually checked out flickr,  and now the livestation too.  Very happy to find them.

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 7:53:47 PM

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Thanks, Rob

We definitely need new sources of news and this is a good one. 

by Mac McKinney (53 articles, 113 quicklinks, 240 diaries, 1413 comments [31 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 7:54:55 PM

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The first images on Aljazeera were from a Los Angeles homeless center. Imagine, what major network in the US would offer such in depth coverage?

by Jason Paz (68 articles, 88 quicklinks, 111 diaries, 1384 comments [97 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 8:10:40 PM

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Rob,

You say, “I am a Jew who supports Israel's right to exist. I support Israel's right to defend itself against thousands of rocket-bombs fired at it.”

I say “I am a Muslim who supports Israel’s right to exist, and defend itself. I support the right of Palestinians to have a homeland with all the rights and privileges of full citizenship. I support their right to resist occupation, and defend themselves against the sub-existence imposed on them through checkpoints, assassinations, imprisonment, and blockade.”

I know it is impossible for us to send our kids to die, but if you live like these people, you would understand that life is a burden; you would agree that maybe in their angry souls they believe that the best they can offer their sons is the right to end their lives. It is insane I know, but think about it. I’m sure you can imagine!

I think after all, we both are humans, and we live in normal human environment. This is why I believe in Israel’s right to exist, and I know you feel the Palestinian plight.

Thank you for the article and the resources. I admire greatly what you do.  

by sameh abdelaziz (47 articles, 10 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 39 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 8:59:47 PM

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... might be one of the mighty tools to topple the evil empire.

Between "twitter" and other methods of instant communication as they become available, and as traditional sources of news fall to the wayside, we can only hope that more and more people can get unfiltered news.

For the last thing is the world those that are committing atrocities want is us to witness their crimes.

by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 10:06:17 PM

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You're right, the people responsible for these filthy tricks want to pretend they're not dirty. The part that they don't understand is that hiding it and pretending doesn't make them clean.

The Divine willing, every one of the political criminals [around the world] responsible for innocent deaths will be caught out and held accountable, and their self-delusions and destructive power will cease so that the rest of us can go on with the business of fostering life.

by Jennifer Hathaway (16 articles, 15 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 758 comments [220 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 11:13:28 PM

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Rob,

You say that because Nizar Rayan sent a child to be a suicide bomebr he is incapable of compromise. that depends on WHY he sent his child. If his reasoning was because Israel refuses to allow a Palestinian state  and has been slowly taking over the West Bank, then if Israel is willing to give most of the west Bank back and allow a real palestinian state, then he would certainly be willing to compromise.

If it is because he will only accept the complete dissolution of Israel and the formation of a islamic state in its place, then he would not be open to Compromise. Are you so sure that you know what motivates these leaders of Hamas?

What if Israel genuinely allowed a viable Palestinian state. Immediately there would be a complete shift in international support. people like me would start condemning Palestinian leaders for unreasonable demands. Countries like Iran and Syria would gain no political leverage by supporting groups that demanded the impossible. Might not that at least possibly alter many who now profess the destruction of Israel?

Since no reasonable viable state has ever been proposed by Israel, there is no way to know how much compromise is possible. Hamas was never given the opportunity to govern. This conveniently saved israel and Hamas of responsibiity to act in the real interests of their people. Hamas did not engage in any illegal action from the time it was elected until the Israeli's illegally invaded and kidnapped 1/3 of their elected representatives. there was a real opportunity to see how fanatic and unreasonable Hamas would be, but the US and israel refused to see what would actually happen. Has Israel been MORE secure because of that action?

I have only been to Israel once, and it was an amazing experience. It is surely one of the great societies the world has ever produced. I would go to great lengths to preserve what is great about Israel

But I condemn the US response to Native Americans in the 19th century, even though groups of them resorted to barbarous acts against innocent US settlers. I don't care if there were leaders of native groups that wanted to kill all the white men. THEY deserve our sympathy, not the US. In the same way it is Palestinians that deserve our sympathy and not Israel.

Israel is in fact destroying and has been engaged in actively destroying a culture. I have knwn a number of palestinians in Brooklyn, and none were  bloodthirsty fanatics. In fact there were almost all friendly warm and humble people. 

We need to support the people that are being destroyed. that means that we must care about Israeli victims as much as Palestinians, but it is not an even steven situation, where both sides are doing bad things so they should each be judged the same. the Israeli government is guilty of war crimes, just as Bush is, just as The US was was in the Phillipines and against Native Americans.

by Tony Duncan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 58 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 12:12:31 AM

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In military terms, Gaza is defenseless. Israel's blockade and attacks are essentially acts of collective punishment, mass torture really of a civilian population, to extract concessions from their democratically elected government or, failing that, destroying that government by killing or imprisoning its members.

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, those living in Gaza and the West Bank are "protected persons" under military occupation. Israel is in gross and repeated violation of almost every provision of that convention. To suggest that both sides are equally to blame is to be a party to Israel's war crimes.

by William White (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 78 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 5:18:00 AM

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ya its a shame our tv news is trash except for link-tv------oh rob-we send our kids on suicide missions when we enlist them to the araq war-and some past ones too--we just never explained it as well to our kids before we sent them off to war---all war -is a suicide mission-the bible clearly explains this war and clearly defines the outcome--which is proving to be true-just nobody believes the bible--all answers were written down long ago--all comming true-- the primmers are easy to find for the time lines--the land is gods -for his [christian] jews to live and thats that-

by TRADESMAN (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 335 comments [40 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 5:58:58 AM

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I am a  Jew by birth.  That absolutely does not mean that I have to support the Israel's right to exist more than say the right of France or Eire. If France becomes a   fascist state I would vouch  for its disintegration.  I support the right of Israeli, French and Irish to live peacefully where they are.    I as such consider options as  how that can be achieved and I see no other but Israel to become a secular state: one man- one- vote with  throwing Gods out to the sea. I would appreciate an Israeli- Lebanese Confederacy under the secular Parliament. A dream? OK, here  what is not: if   that does not happen I consider that for the people of Israel to live in peace and security I would offer the Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem and West Bank under the 20years Nigerian mandatory rule with  the UN fully supporting  Nigeria as a pacifier- administrator.  I don't care  for the 'Jewish' or ' Arab' identity- people  are to be safe and 60 years of war do not cut it. They have to understand that they can face  something very different.

So, returning to the  Jews and Israel I would argue that   no country  has a ' right to exist', only people and they  choose the kind of existence they deserve. Countries change, appear and disappear, people remain.  If the Israeli citizens, 80% of them seem to fully support the Gaza incursion that means that they, directly or indirectly send their sons to kill civilians and maybe die themselves, exactly the same as that Hamas leader.  Let's not  be stupid: Jews are the Middle-Eastern ethnical group and my mentality is much closer to the mentality of that Arab than to the one of Bush and I love it.

We hold those truths self- evident that all men have a right to life, freedom and pursuit of happiness. Not the countries, just people. As such  I would appreciate if we  acknowledge, all of us that Israel is but one of many and  it faces the same problems of  its own self-harm as France or Eire faced before. The argument about her right to exist is bogus.  It is all about  those people on all sides to understand who their true enemy is and also about people here to let the sticky fingers go.

by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [130 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 8:25:08 AM

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and view the big picture.

What does Israel want?  Economic expansion and real estate development in the US model: Californication.  Israel is the stuff of blood diamonds and banking domination--that is what I see on the streets of NYC.

What does Palestine want?  To be what it has been since the beginning of time.

Both are based on ancient empires that I feel are obsolete, just as our ancient empire is, the capital system of Rome.

From my constructivist, synergistic, and empathy perspective, there can be no question that the financially leveraged global nation of Israel wants to bulldoze the native and local culture of Palestine, which happens to be both Muslim and Christian, and I guess even partly Jewish itself.  Given history how could it not be?

As a veteran of the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, it is hard for me to think of Islam as pacifist, but Palestine did not attack back then, a Saudi mercenary did who was initially backed by the US in Afghanistan as a strategy against the former USSR-- a capital maneuver.

Israel has 99% of the firepower in this case, and has suffered far less than 10% of the fatalities.  No Israeli is losing his home to Palestine; Palestinians have lost everything to Israel.

I talked with pro-Palestinian Orthodox Jews at the Gaza peace rally.  They point the finger at Zionism, and I wonder about the history of Israel and the influence of the banking system that helped create it; and the possibility that this banking system evolved into the globalist system that is creating so much havoc for the US, and ultimately the world.

That is why we empathic people stay neutral and pray for peace. 

by John Bessa (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 94 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 9:21:00 AM

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Israel should have continued to allow Hamas Rocket Attacks to blow up Israelis...

that logic is like expecting one of the largest tigers, in the world, to allow a little kid to poke it with a stick because it has  99" of the TEETH in the exchange...

Sorry, but it does not work that way.

If Hamas did not continue to launch rockets at Israel, Israel would not have invaded Gaza, IT IS THAT SIMPLE....

Unfortunately, some people do not want to believe reality or the facts.  If you are upset that Israel is there, that is a different discussion for a different thread on a different day...

Right now, we are discussing what happens when militants launch rockets, unprovoked, against Israel for 8 months...

Ciao, CZ

PS..  Al Jazeera, by definition as well as practice, is anti-Israel...   Arab Textbooks are written to say that the Jew should be hated, but Al Jazeera does not report this..  does not lift a finger to point this out..  If anything it lifts fingers to STOP this from being reported....  Nothing fair about that, but SOMEHOW Al Jazeera has a more balanced view of the war in Gaza? 

by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:01:38 PM

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listen to this:

And the hate and killing goes on and on

by John Bessa (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 94 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:30:34 PM

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Law is the logic--International Law says this attack on Gaza is a war crime...there's your logic. Period

by William Whitten (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4880 comments [1685 recommended, 28 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 4:42:58 PM

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the PAST 8 MONTHS when Hamas was launching Rockets against Israel for NO REASON WHATSOEVER?

Where IS your outrage regarding Hamas using civilian HOMES, complete with CIVILIANS to use as a base for operations till Israel obliterates it?

you have nothing but contempt for Israel, but where is your contempt for the militants who use HUMAN SHIELDS to launch their attacks behind?

your rhetoric could be copied and pasted from the anti Israeli web sites.

Ciao, CZ

by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 11:04:58 PM

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UN Resolution 242

The Israelis have no legitimate authority to be anywhere near the Gaza.

International Law is subverted by the US for Israel continually by single handed vetoing of any meaningful action regarding the clear and obvious crimes of Israel.

As always Law is interpreted by Power to mean whatever Power wants it to mean.

Looking beyond TVLand would be very beneficial to you dear sir.

by William Whitten (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4880 comments [1685 recommended, 28 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 at 12:40:42 AM

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Hamas bombing innocent women and children?  Your latest argument has no place in this discussion, because it is meaningless...

I brought up the fact that Hamas has been taking pot shots at Israel, MURDERING people with rocket attacks for the past 8 months, and your defense for Hamas's actions is to bring up a UN resolution.  

Israel WAS no where near Gaza UNTIL Hamas continued with its rocket attacks after a supposed treaty to stop violence.

Again I ask you, where is your outrage for Hamas's role in the violence?

Ciao, CZ

by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 at 6:56:29 AM

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Thank You Rob for the Al Jazeera tips.  I expect this will add balance to the skewed coverage that most readers are getting from the Neocon-artist dominated American "Goebbels Media".  

I still feel I need to call you again on another right-wing framing that you repeat.  This framing is a meme that, what I call the "Goebbels Media", has repeated over and over.  The meme is that the Israeli "Defense" Forces (IDF) are "defending" Israel with a massive bombardment of Gaza that is causing 100 times the death and maybe a million times the misery that the rocket attacks on Israel have.

This is not to diminsh the grief of those whose loved one may have been killed by a Palestinian rocket, but if you were one of the thousands of Gazans whose daughter or wife was killed or whose house was destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of your city, would you be less or more likely to want to shoot a rocket at Israel?  I would contend that it only pleases the far right power elite that these Israelis died in rocket attacks.  It gives them justification for sucking countless billions from us all for in the name of their war machine and allows them to continue their neocon right wing rule by fear.

The Israeli government has done the same thing for decades with the same result.  For every Israeli Jew whose death is attributed to Palestinians at least 4 Palestinians are killed including a disproportionate number of children and others that were not responsible for any violence.  You may or may not consider the United Nations neutral, but this U.N. study gives some documentation of this.  This doesn't count the enormously greater suffering the Palestinians have gone through in terms of having property confiscated, homes bulldozed (with people inside), enormous restriction of movement, humiliation and impairing of their ability to make a living and feed their families. 

If the Israeli policy makers wanted to stop rocket attacks they would arrest and try in a court more of those that shot rockets and engage in fewer extra-judicial killings that kill more than the alleged "terrorists" and and they certainly would refrain from collective punishment. (I can't use "terrorist" without quotes until the term is also used for the commanders of armies that kill and terrorize many more than those framed as "terrorists".)

The disproportionality of Palestinian casualties and suffering does not matter to a significant element of the Israeli and American Jewish fundamentalist far right.  Some of these people still quote biblical passages where Moses and others commit genocide in Egypt or another nation to avenge the death of any Jew.  This is called "collective punishment" and is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

Do you believe that this bombardment of much of Gaza is "defending" against the rocket attacks?

In brotherhood,

your fellow Jew, for whom "Never Again!" means never again to ANYONE, not just to us Jews.

-DSG

by David Salaam Goldstein (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 41 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:33:09 PM

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