A bird's eye view of the vineyard
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The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog. We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).
What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are
Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
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The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by
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Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony
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News Round-Up Sun Sep 08, 2024 01:02 | Will Jones
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Ulez Expansion Failed to Lower Pollution Levels, Report Finds Sat Sep 07, 2024 17:00 | Will Jones
Sadiq Khan?s Ulez expansion to outer London failed to lower pollution levels, a report has found.
The post Ulez Expansion Failed to Lower Pollution Levels, Report Finds appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Children Turned Feral by Lockdown Are Leaving the Rest of us Living in Fear Sat Sep 07, 2024 15:00 | Will Jones
Children have been turned feral by lockdown and are leaving the rest of us living in fear, says Camilla Tominey, as she notes an alarming 16% rise in criminality amongst under-18s since 2020.
The post Children Turned Feral by Lockdown Are Leaving the Rest of us Living in Fear appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Cost of Furnishing Asylum Seekers? Flats ?With Satellite TV? Too ?Sensitive? to be Released, Says Wa... Sat Sep 07, 2024 13:00 | Will Jones
The cost of furnishing flats for asylum seekers "with satellite TV" cannot be released under Freedom of Information laws because the issue is too "sensitive" and could put them at risk, a watchdog has ruled.
The post Cost of Furnishing Asylum Seekers? Flats ?With Satellite TV? Too ?Sensitive? to be Released, Says Watchdog appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Is Corporate Music Making Us More Compliant? Sat Sep 07, 2024 11:00 | James Alexander
Is corporate music making us more compliant? In the 1960s, the music led to the money, says James Alexander. Since then, the money has been making the music to the same four chords, and it's all been downhill.
The post Is Corporate Music Making Us More Compliant? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
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Jump To Comment: 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1undisputable notion of Humans’ obligation to accept one another of whatever race, gender, religion and culture they are
That is the biggest load of BS i have ever read
read the HAMAS charter kid, Wake up to yourself
a couple of nice things they state in their charter:
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."
"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
NICE
Arabs/Muslims should be able to make a clear separation and distinction between Jews and Jewish culture and Israeli policies and politics. While this is true, and is further supported by the universal and undisputable notion of Humans’ obligation to accept one another of whatever race, gender, religion and culture they are, I have to say that after this latest experience, aside from the cruel and violent Israeli government policies and attitudes, the culture of victimization that Israelis and Jews around the world are publicly promoting in the Media does nothing but aggravate the situation and push Arabs/Muslims further away from the possibility of accepting them. Furthermore, Israeli Jews and pro-Israeli Jews around the world, who are using the worldwide sensitive Holocaust experience and victimizing themselves to serve the Israeli government policies, make the separation that should take place between Israeli politics/policies and Jews/Jewish culture/Jewish experience almost impossible. To justify a war like this one by saying that “Israel has the right to defend itself” and stir Holocaust memories, fears, angers is both morally unacceptable and a strong argument for Anti-Semitic Arabs/Muslims not to change in the near future.
Since 1970, Israel has spent more than $6.5 billion in the Merkava [all with american money , the 3 billion dollar a year packet , plus the 10 billion recetly given to sharon on behalf of american congress]
The bulk of the roughly $2.1 billion in military assistance Israel receives annually from the United States is dollar-denominated and must be spent in America.
Nearly 22 percent of the Merkava’s content is of American origin, including a portion of its armor plant and its 1,500 hp MTU engine, produced under license by General Dynamics Land Systems. GDLS is now under contract to manufacture 400 Mk4 engines at a cost of nearly $200 million.
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2004/Feb/...i.htm
Other US help includes:
• US Jewish charities and organizations have remitted grants or bought Israel bonds worth $50 billion to $60 billion. Though private in origin, the money is "a net drain" on the United States economy, says Stauffer.
• The US has already guaranteed $10 billion in commercial loans to Israel, and $600 million in "housing loans." (See editor's note below.) Stauffer expects the US Treasury to cover these.
• The US has given $2.5 billion to support Israel's Lavi fighter and Arrow missile projects.
• Israel buys discounted, serviceable "excess" US military equipment. Stauffer says these discounts amount to "several billion dollars" over recent years.
• Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $1.8 billion per year in military aid, ostensibly earmarked for purchase of US weapons, to buy Israeli-made hardware. It also has won the right to require the Defense Department or US defense contractors to buy Israeli-made equipment or subsystems, paying 50 to 60 cents on every defense dollar the US gives to Israel.
US help, financial and technical, has enabled Israel to become a major weapons supplier. Weapons make up almost half of Israel's manufactured exports. US defense contractors often resent the buy-Israel requirements and the extra competition subsidized by US taxpayers.
• US policy and trade sanctions reduce US exports to the Middle East about $5 billion a year, costing 70,000 or so American jobs, Stauffer estimates. Not requiring Israel to use its US aid to buy American goods, as is usual in foreign aid, costs another 125,000 jobs.
• Israel has blocked some major US arms sales, such as F-15 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s. That cost $40 billion over 10 years, says Stauffer.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1209/p16s01-wmgn.html
Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.
The brave warriors of judaism continue to hide behind american tanks ...
and what american tanks would these be? the Israeli designed and manufactured Merkava ones?
and as for Israel having designs on imperial expasion... sigh if this is the case why did isreal hand back all of the sinai? why would they want to expand territory and thus make themselves a demographic minority in their own country?
this is too easy.....
The 'Zionists' are just trying to survive Hezbollah are sponsored by Iran who's imperialist intentions and ambition to 'wipe israel off the map' are well known. I reckon there are elements throughout the Arab world (including the Lebanese) who are more than happy for Israel to do their dirty work here in wiping out Hezbollah. And what choice do the Israelis have? Would all the barstool socialists here be happy to see them wiped out? Apparently israeli lives aren't as important as Arab ones.
The brave warriors of judaism continue to hide behind american tanks and weaponry while bombing women , children and old men...
This pre-emptive war was planned a year ago in advance by the israeli govt in a bid to start a greater imperial war, for many obivous reasons . Anyone who cant not see this is deluding themselves. The evidence exceeds the scope of this post.
Remember the official story by mossad shills : two israel soldiers(not civilians) were inside the Lebonese border when they allegedly got kidnapped. "Hezbollah " did this in the hope of an exchange to free their militamen held capitve by the Israelis. Israel knew it all. Now, even if the official story were true , using such an insanely gross retaliation of mass genocide on innocent civilains is an open war crime ( people whom have nothing nor would have nothing to do with the "hezbollah" militia ) but rest assured there will be no charges or follow ups made by the UN towards israels atrocities.
This of course all acts as a catalyst for an american entry into the war with Iran...The zionists will not stop until it completes its testimonial "Eretz Israel" as prophecised by the old testement that includes all of lebonon, syria, egypt , and half of iraq and saudi arabia. To put it in plain terms; the Middle East.
The brave waarriors of islam continue to hide behind women , children and old men...
The terrorist state of Israel continues its indiscriminate bully bombing of a sovereign state. I am tired of the slanted news coverage of the bully boys the U.S. and Israel - the United States of Israel. They have been getting away with blue murder for decades now with the terror they inflict on far inferior armies, with the white phosphorus bombs leaving children burned to bits. The United States gives Israel $2 billion per year to build them up - in the meantime spreading propanda about the War on Terror - such bullshit. Hezbollah was created to protect the useless Lebanese army from the Zionist invaders - as was Hamas to protect the Palestinian citizens. Both those honourable groups work with the poor - educating and providing hospital care for them. I am very proud that most of the Irish people see this very clearly and are appalled at Israel and the United States behaviour - or terrorism which is what it really is. I have lived in Beirut and I can tell you it's a wonderful place with wonderful people - highly civilized and cultured.
How absurb that the United States is now sending guarded humanitarian aid to Lebanon while at the same time sending huge bunker busting bombs to those slimeballs in Israel. And how is it possible for Condy Rice to mediate this conflict when her country is sponsoring Israel and propandazing rubbish about terrorists. Even the new Canadian Prime Minister has been sucked into this War on Terror horseshit, The old Canadian PM, Chretian, was a man's man who stood up to Bush. The major news media in the United States and England are caught up in this propaganda as well. Watch carefully next time you see a BBC anchor interview a Jew and an Arab on the current situation. The Jew gets the softie patronizing questions - the Arab invariably gets pummelled by the anchor about terrorism and the fallout. On Hard Talk recently Saeb Erakat, a distinguised Palestinian spokesman was treated as a nobody because he has no power, his party defeated by Hamas. Surely the man still has great insights to offer viewers on the subject of his embattled homeland. He has spent most of his life occupied by Israel. CNN is a joke - not worth discussing - basically an arm of the Pentagon - a proganda machine for both U.S. and Israel's interest. Sure didn't Wolf Blitzer work for the Jersusalem Post in his developing years.
In Bush's long awaited appearance at the African American dinner recently, the blacks were amassed that he never brought up the war in Lebanon which many of the black leaders wanted to hear about. What America once did to their blacks they never perpetrate on the Arab-Muslim world, bombing beautiful places like Iraq and Lebannon back to the stone age. Syria is another very beautiful place of antiquity and I'm sure they would love to bomb Damascus to bits as well. The new world despises history because they have none. Israel was jealous of Lebannon's resurgence in recent years - that's why they bombed it to bits - not because of the 2 soldiers. What about the 10,000 prisoners they still hold, many women and teenagers? Or the democratically elected ministers of Hamas having their homes bombed and being arrested on trumped up charges. How does that compare with 2 Jewish soldiers?
Why does Israel want UN security resolutions upheld when they don't honour any against them?. I am neither Jewish - nor Arab, nor Muslim but I find the United States and Israel's state terrorism deplorable and I can only imagine the rage which their victims feel. What Israel and the U.S. really want is the entire Arab and Muslim world to hand over their weapons - to honour all U.N. resolutions which they retain all their weapons, built them up even more - and never honour any U.N. resolutions except when it favours them.
Sure Israel withdrew from Gaza - then terrorized even more - continued with more illegal settlements - and more wall building - to enslave the Palestinians in their bantu like fashion.
This is not a war. It is a man with a giant hammer trying to kill a mouse. The mouse keeps moving but the littles ants get crushed along the way. 45 years ago - the great Marshall McLuhan predicted all this scenario - It will go on and on. The little mouse will always finds ways of avoiding the big hammer and he will breed other mice to take his place.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/07/24/pchrgazana...blus/
Extract :
PCHR’s preliminary investigation into the crime in Shejaeya Quarter indicates that at approximately 08:00 on Friday, 21 July 2006, an IOF tank stationed along the border east of Gaza City fired a shell at a residential house belonging to Jaber Harara, located near El-Muntar hill, near the border. The shell landed directly on the roof of the 3-story house. Two of Jaber’s children and their cousin were on the roof. They were killed instantly. Jaber’s wife went up from the second floor to see what happened after the first shell landed. As soon as she reached the roof, a second shell was fired at roof. She was killed instantly. Three members of the family were injured by shrapnel, including a 3-year old girl. The victims killed are:
- Mo’min Jaber Harara (18);
- Amer Jaber Harara (21);
- Sabah Harara (45), the mother of the first two; and
- Mohammad Hamdi Harara (27
_________________
This is the real reason why Israel has destroyed Lebanon. Nobody can hear the Palestinians dying anymore. Lebanon is dispensable and annoying. Palestine is necessary. So the operation is Palestine requires a smokescreen. New borders and rules are being created for us. Palestine and Lebanon are being used as the tools of proof.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeit_macht_frei
Sean,
This is an emergency, Lebanon is in ruins. International law is shredded now, on the ground. America will not ask Israel to stop destroying Lebanon, it will continue to support it.
Ms. Condolleeza Rice went to Lebanon to shake hands, then to Israel to kiss and embrace. You dont have to worry, your sensibilities are being respected by the US messenger.
This is a new and different type of catastrophe. It affects all people equally. The Lebanese people must receive protection from the international community. Israel must stop its aggression. It is now down to the bone. They are Lebanese bones.
Our governments must act to stop the splitting of Lebanese bones by American weapons fired by Israeli military. If they cant, then our government is useless, they endanger us. International Law must be upheld and advanced, not destroyed. The slaughter of Lebanese citizens as collective punishment for paramilitary operations is a heinous international crime.
America supports it. Where does that leave us?
Ireland is a nation similar in population size to Lebanon. Israel is a rogue state, defying all civilised protocol. We Irish should fear Israel. Seek curtailment of Israel's insane arsenal for our own safety.
See Lebanon. Witness American support for the killing.
In such a world, nobody is safe. What say you?
Support the killing of Lebanese families? Why? Explain it.
So it's a war , deal with it?huh? then if it's a war Israel shouldnt be critisized for winning it, right? after all the video now proves the Lebanese knew of hezzbollahs Plans and took no action to stop it. isnt that the legal definition of complicity? most of these protests are completley hypocritical in light of this evidence. You reap what you sow- I no longer have any sympathy for the Lebanese Government, the've shown themselves to be in bed with hezzbollah. if they're people suffer too bad, i see no one here deploring Israeli death's. Are jews too be given less consideration, smells like Nazism here. what's Gaelic for 'Arbeit Macht Frei"?
Sean,
You really dont want to hold the Lebanese government responsible for this raid, do you ?
Think of all the raids that have occurred against far weaker targets, anywhere, backed and apologised for by superpowers.
Hizbullah planned and executed the raid. Deal with that. Its a war. Israel calls it a war , America calls it a war. It was a commando raid that the Americans would be making a movie about already, if only they had done it. "The Greatest Raid " Starring Charlton Heston.
_________________________________________________________
The horror unleashed against the Lebanese people is inexcuseable . There are no mitigating circumstances.
Paddy, it is interesting that it really does show the Lebenese Govt. Knew what was going to happen, thats far different from being (The Govt., not the People) Innocent, Thats known as aiding & abeting a criminal act.
"The original border crossing, the capture of the two soldiers and the killing of three others was planned, according to Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader who escaped assassination by the Israelis on Friday evening, more than five months ago"
http://www.countercurrents.org/leb-fisk160706.htm
Israel wages war on its neighbours relentlessly, they are not to expect to reap a harvest of peace poppies.It is rubbish to claim that the Lebanese people are legitimate targets for any reason. Nothing justifies Israel's actions.
Heres a Video clip where the Hezzbollah leader explains how he told Lebanese Government officials AHEAD of time about Hezzbollah's plan to kidnap Israeli's. From the Horses mouth, now how long till this is removed Mysteriously?
last night I saw Aznar (yes the Aznar) do an interview in English (!) with Mr Sarkur of the BBC news channel. I must say I'm enjoying Mr Sarkur's season - a few weeks he did the russian foreign minister and just before that Mary Harney. He's good at asking unpopular politicians questions they squirm about - even if they've had a few hours to think them over. But Aznar took the biscuit.
Yep, Aznar took the sandwiches of the picnic, left the top off the fizzy and really...
it's filed here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/5209566.stm But isn't ready to watch yet on your PC. Aznar wants Israel in NATO, "to guarantee his liberty, prosperity, freedom" and _completely supports_ Israeli military actions against "terrorists" (its difficult to work out who is a civilian and a terrorist) as he supports anyone's actions against any terrorist anywhere. "got to be tough". He also said the spanish people fell for lies (really interesting how he pronounces "eta", "ee-tee-a" even after getting prompted to say it like everyone else. He still loves Bush "a great leader" and denies wiping the government computers of Madrid from March 11 to March 14. In short he's just as mad as always - & considering he is credited with being the former world leader who visits Bush on a friendly basis the most - one wonders at the levels of sanity in Crawford Texas.
__________________________________________________________________________
Hezbollah grew into a near national movement, because it looked after the victims of the enemies aggression. It set up schools, social welfare type payments, war pensions, & is first on the site with emergency medical care. This was a pattern emulated by Hamas as well, who went one stage further and actively included women in the political process and canvassing. So... let commentators reflect that while Hezbollah and Israel fight now, and we in the charitable west worry about getting sticky plasters into Beirut - Hezbollah's non military wing have already done it. In only a short time - more and more people will support Hzb and that means hating Isreal - whether noted sensible types like Aznar, Kissenger or Bush are behind them or not.
Israel has the right to defend itself to stop the Hezbollah rocket attacks and the Hamas suicide bombins and the hostage taking in Gaza and Lebanon.
It is proportionate for them to attack terrorists and military targets in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.
But Israel must stop targetting and killing civilians.