Je m'excuse France 24

20 November 2011

Obsessive Israel advocacy leads to hearing loss?

I posted a criticism of France 24 for unilaterally recognising Palestine in France 24 desist svp. One criticism of my criticism is that I have become so obsessed in rooting out anti Israelism in the media that I am hearing things that are not necessarily there. When I heard 1PM Palestine I really was hearing 1PM Paris time!

To tell the truth, when I listen I still hear Palestine but the Parisian option is tooreasonable an alternative to ignore.

BBC Complaints Dept

8 November 2011

BBC prints #provocatilla false claims as fact

Complaining to the BBC is usually a complete waste of time†. Still complaining about one false/misleading headline is likely to be easier than complaining about an overall culture of bias against Israel. Please excuse the shorthand nature of the complaint

BBC headline: Israel boards protest boats taking medical aid to Gaza

Inspection of the boats at Ashdod port showed no cargo was aboard.

This was confirmed by the Canadian boat captain when questioned over radio.

If the BBC correspondent(s) was not aware of this at time of the incident he/she has aware of it for four days. The BBC has a journalistic responsibility to update the article with this information.

Continue reading BBC Complaints Dept

UNnecessary UNESCO

2 November 2011

UNESCO: a punch more than a slap

See UNESCO NO!!!!!!!!!

Most of the coverage of UNESCO’s decision to admit Palestine as a full member of UNESCO can be summed up in two points: 1) Israel and America opposed it implying only them and 2) America threatened UNESCO with loss of funding implying coercion by Uncle Sam. Neither point is correct. I’ve tried to add some talking points about why Palestine shouldn’t have been admitted and a depressing prediction for the future. Continue reading UNnecessary UNESCO

Starbucks Cartographic Revisionism

17 October 2011

Frame-by-Frame/ Lie-by-Lie

See Action item: Starbucks f’s up for complaint addresses.
We object to this Starbucks website: Cartographic Regression
I have tried to explain a little why each piece is biased by omission, comission or simply a lie.

Please be fair to Starbucks. In the past they have been attacked for supporting Israel – even if they didn’t. Read about it here and here.

Click on the thumbnails for a screen shot of the Starbucks original.

	In 1917(depending on what month) the area we now call Israel was either part of the Ottoman Empire or under military occupation by Allied troops under Allenby. Either way it was not in anyway under control or ownership by the Arabs let alone a group called Palestinians. The borders looked nothing like this created by the victors of World War One when they divided the Ottoman Empire into states.The map that was chosen in the very first frame is the 1923 British Mandate for Palestine to create a Jewish homeland after the British had chopped off three-quarters in 1922 to create the Kingdom of Transjordan. Ironically the Jews called themselves Palestinians. The Arabs called themselves Arabs or Southern Syrians.
	If Starbucks had said proposed borders under the UN partition plan rejected totally by all Arabs states and local Palestinians, this map would be less objectionable. For accuracy purposes the state labelled Jordan should be labelled Transjordan. It only became Jordan in 1949 when the army (commanded by British officers) captured the area many refer to as the West Bank.
	Israel was formed? Actually Israel was invaded by five Arab armies. The map shows the cease fire lines after Israel successfully drove them out.To call the areas occupied by Jordan and Egypt Palestine is to ignore history. King Abdullah annexed the West Bank to his kingdom and occupied the area for only 19 years until driven out. Egypt suppressed the Arabs in Gaza for the same period. Neither country ever described it as Palestinian.
	Actually nothing much has changed. The area that was never under Palestinian control is still not under Palestinian control. Calling it Palestine is a fiction.
	It is very hard to show narrow lines, sometimes only roads on such a small scale. Since the Oslo Agreements of 1993 some 80% of the Palestinian population came under day-to-day Palestinian control. This is the first time in history that it can be reasonably argued that there was an Arab Palestine other than an abstract concept. Rather than regressing Palestine has actually grown.
	The World Zionist Organization had nothing to do with borders. The impression that the Jews came from Egypt in 1917 is frankly weird. The mountains are also incorrectly placed. All Arab leaders, inside and outside Palestine rejected the UN plan resulting in war and invasion not simply riots. What ever happened to World War One and Two?
	Israel had no tanks in 1948 The 78% of Palestine does not include the Kingdom of Jordan, then and now, with an absolute majority declaring themselves to be Palestinians. 700,000 is above the figure of 650,000 normally accepted. About the same number of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa also became refugees as a result of the war. In 1954 Israel, Britain and France also fought a war against Egypt. Did it slip someone’s memory?
javascript:;	The Arabs armies also had planes, ships and soldiers. That is how modern wars are fought. Between 1967 and 1987 Israel and the Arabs fought several wars resulting in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The Sinai agreement and the resulting border changes would not have happened without it. The First Intifada resulted in Arabs killing more Arabs than the Jews did. It also had no effect on borders.
	Camp David had nothing to do with Lebanon. The talks did not fail in Camp David. As well as a timetable for a Palestinian State the roadmap made demands on the Palestinians for an end to violence, something they were not prepared to do.
	If you didn’t know different you could assume Israel planned to expel Arabs. The plan was known as the Disengagement Plan. All Israelis, not just the army, left Gaza.This was followed by a short but brutal civil war when Hamas threw out Fatah. This in turn was followed by increasing rocket and mortar attacks on Israel, a declaration of war by Hamas and the operation known as Cast Lead. Palestine’s bid for statehood includes Gaza even though the Palestinian Authority has not control there.
	All the pieces of the map together. It is only a screen grab but I include it because hopefully the ridiculous propaganda published by Starbucks will be removed soon.

Does 'A' come after 'B'?

Is Anatot the next Biilin?

A pogrom*, a lynch† or did anti–Israel Activists get their collective arses‡ kicked?

The Internet is buzzing with reports of a ‘serious’ incident at the Israeli community – West Bank settlement of … if you must be politically correct – of Anatot. Words like Pogrom* and Lynch† and Sexual Abuse are freely scattered. The media ignore it, or even worse report it as a minor altercation with limited casualties see: WATCH: Settlers, left-wing activists clash in West Bank -or- 3 lightly injured in clash between settlers, leftists at Anatot That must really piss off the agitators who want press time. Continue reading Does ‘A’ come after ‘B’?

Fisking Fraser

6th October 2011

We all knew that Malcolm Fraser, Australian Prime Minister 1975 to 1983 and ministerial positions including Minister for the Army (1966) and Minister of Defence (1969) was not the same Malcolm Fraser of 2011. Nothing prepared me that he would be that different. What follows is a line by line fisking of an article It’s now time for the West to recognise Palestinian statehood
appearing in Fairfax newspapers. Not just on obvious errors of fact. He owes all Australians an explanation on some points. If he believe this now what did he believe then?

It’s now time for the West to recognise Palestinian statehood

Malcolm Fraser
October 4, 2011

Continue reading Fisking Fraser

Rosh Hashana Greetings

Not so wild West

19 September 2011

See previous post: Well, what have you really done?.

Much ado about Dunbartonshire

F.O.I. response from West Dunbartonshire Council

The Freedom of Information request took much longer than the twenty days predicted (May 25 to Sep 16).

I have reproduced it in full, excluding the contact details for myself and the Council officers who responded. Unless I have different information I can only presume they are professionals who probably wish fervently that the councillors had boycotted Antarctica instead! Penguins would cause them far fewer headaches.

I see no reason to incite harassment by publishing their phone numbers.

My questions are in bold, their answers in italics and snarky comments in [grey with brackets]. Continue reading Not so wild West

Dump Durban, Durban, Durban

Honour Roll

Thanks Canada

Thanks Czech Rep.

Thanks Italy

Thanks Holland

Thanks USA

Thanks Australia

17 August 2011

How can we best work to reduce Durban III to insignificance?

The Durban III hatefest will go on and it will condemn Israel, alone, for all the racism in the world. To my mind, if we can’t stop it, the most practical thing we can do is to encourage as many states as possible not to attend. Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands and the USA are already boycotting. There is strong pressure on Australia to join them. [Pressure which I have just discovered to be successful].

Some will say, and certainly some states, that they have to attend and if there is misbehaviour they will leave. To my mind that’s a lot like attending a boxing match and waiting until someone is punched in the face before leaving. The event is not called Durban III for nothing. Durban III is ostensibly to be a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the first conference, yet it appears to be on track to repeat its failures†.

What else?

A good slogan

Let’s face it Boycott Durban III lacks a certain pizzazz. It’s also a little problematic. Are boycotts suddenly a good thing or is it only when they involve Israel’s enemies? I haven’t discovered the wheel here. Boycotts, unless you are a committed pacifist who would rather die than pick up a weapon to defend himself , are like war. Not all wars are just but there are just wars.

Also, on its face, this conference named after the original World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance is hard to oppose. There are ‘probably’ those who believe that is what they will be doing.

We need a memorable, punchy, slogan.
Dump Durban, Durban, Durban? I’m working on it. So should you.

A good organization

The URL you should have bookmarked and pinned for all information on Durban III and the related UN vote on Palestine is UN Watch http://www.unwatch.org @UNWatch on Twitter. They are right on the spot.

As always, stay tuned to StandwithUs

Like for Israel Facebook Group will have details as will Like for Israel: Durban Facebook Group as we come closer to September 22.

The 5MFI approach (and regress)

Pick Internet media outlets which allow comments and monitor. Be the first with comments.

I’m leaving on Friday for three weeks in America so I apologise in advance that in the crucial build-up to Durban I’ll be AWOL. Unavoidable.

Read: Labor must not walk away from moral leadership at the UN†, Julia Bishop, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 2011.

Regrets - I've had a few

21 August 2011

Israel ‘regrets’ Egyptian deaths

Expect a rash of headlines like this. Newspapers tend to copy directly from the agencies and now the BBC and Washington Post have used these ‘scare quotes’ they will turn up everywhere.

The problem is their dual use as a record of direct speech and as a sign of scepticism. “Israel deeply regrets the deaths of the Egyptian officers,” AP quoted Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying on Saturday. Ehud Barak said that Israel regrets the deaths of Egyptian policemen and there is no reason to doubt that he said it or meant it.

I am commenting wherever I can:

Is there any doubt that the Israeli Minister of Defence regrets the deaths of the Egyptians? Provide evidence if you think not. Why not Israel ‘regrets Egyptian deaths’? Isn’t that what was actually said?

Action Items: Israel ‘regrets’ Egyptian deaths, averting diplomatic crisis Leila Fadel and Joel Greenberg, Washington Post, August 21

Je m'excuse France 24

20 November 2011

Obsessive Israel advocacy leads to hearing loss?

BBC Complaints Dept

8 November 2011

BBC prints #provocatilla false claims as fact

UNnecessary UNESCO

2 November 2011

UNESCO: a punch more than a slap

Starbucks Cartographic Revisionism

17 October 2011

Frame-by-Frame/ Lie-by-Lie

Does 'A' come after 'B'?

Is Anatot the next Biilin?

A pogrom*, a lynch† or did anti–Israel Activists get their collective arses‡ kicked?

Fisking Fraser

6th October 2011

It’s now time for the West to recognise Palestinian statehood

Rosh Hashana Greetings

Not so wild West

19 September 2011

Much ado about Dunbartonshire

F.O.I. response from West Dunbartonshire Council

Dump Durban, Durban, Durban

17 August 2011

How can we best work to reduce Durban III to insignificance?

What else?

A good slogan

A good organization

The 5MFI approach (and regress)

Regrets - I've had a few

21 August 2011

Israel ‘regrets’ Egyptian deaths

Negotiations

Pages

Forbidden Territories

20 November 2011

Obsessive Israel advocacy leads to hearing loss?

8 November 2011

BBC prints #provocatilla false claims as fact

2 November 2011

UNESCO: a punch more than a slap

17 October 2011

Frame-by-Frame/ Lie-by-Lie

Is Anatot the next Biilin?

A pogrom*, a lynch† or did anti–Israel Activists get their collective arses‡ kicked?

6th October 2011

It’s now time for the West to recognise Palestinian statehood

19 September 2011

Much ado about Dunbartonshire

F.O.I. response from West Dunbartonshire Council

17 August 2011

How can we best work to reduce Durban III to insignificance?

What else?

A good slogan

A good organization

The 5MFI approach (and regress)

21 August 2011

Israel ‘regrets’ Egyptian deaths

Negotiations

Pages

Forbidden Territories

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