Steely Dan

What type of humanitarian aid will be on the flotilla?

Well here is what the Jewish boat will be taking

I'm sure that it will be appreciated when legally delivered to the UN and Israeli authorities to be distributed inside Gaza.

i forgot that is ususal procedure... i.e. hand it over to the prison guards

Yes I see what you mean, Hamas do have a history of confiscating aid to keep people deprived for propaganda reasons and recruitment purposes.

It's a death cult going through it's own dark ages, which it may take centuries to grow out of. The best that can be done is seal the borders and let them get on with it. The only practical consideration is how best to stop the contagion spreading, as that is the most dangerous part of the meme.

As I've pointed out elsewhere: I am as in favor as anyone, if not more, of people asserting their rights or trying to gain more and the removal of brutal and autocratic regimes in efforts towards democratization.

But the cold hard fact is that in so many cases (Mubarak in Egypt a perfect example but there are loads more past and present), despotic regimes have their foot firmly on the neck of some very nasty characters and are all that stand in the way of something worse than them (chaos or theocracy or some other sort of tyranny).

Assad, like his dad, is a nasty individual. But like his dad (who was even "better" at it) he has kept radical Islamists from having their way. And guess who is going to be the most organized, motivated and otherwise prepared to step into the vacuum? For example, the Muslim Brotherhood (and their offshoots like Hamas et al) are no joke. Let's hope that a couple years from now (in Egypt, Syria, Libya, Tunisia wherever) you aren't looking at a Islamist state oppressing its people and sponsoring the export of Jihad.

Luckily for anyone foolish enough to be reading me, I'm being called to read the bedtime story or else I might go on and on...

Hmmm, better the despot you know eh? I think your comments regarding Egypt are particularly relevant. I have stated elsewhere what folly I thought it was calling for Mubarak to go. The situation in Syria is in some respects similar. In 1982 Assad Snr killed an estimated 30,000 in Hama, which was basically to put down a Muslim brotherhood uprising. I wonder whether Assad Jnr would have that luxury in the political climate of 2011?

As to who replaces Assad, there is an argument that if the Muslim brotherhood took over they would have to go some to out do Assad's sponsorship of terrorism - I guess the main change might be a Sunni sponsored terrorism versus the current Alawite/Shiite model.

More cracks today.

http://www.debka.com/article/20840/

Damascus was alive with rumors Thursday, April 14 that President Bashar Assad and his family were preparing to flee to Saudi Arabia. They were, sparked by the discovery that several high-ranking Syrian officials and army officers were evacuating their families from the capital to Persian Gulf emirates.

US intelligence officials also disclosed that Iran was secretly helping Assad crack down on his own people, providing gear to suppress crowds and assistance in blocking and monitoring protesters' Internet and cell phones.

This video clip proves nothing ? it is pure and simple propaganda by Israel ?

It was released by " Fuel for Truth " ( http://www.fuelfortruth.org/ )

which describes itself as :-

" Fuel For Truth equips young Americans with the basic skills and facts necessary to advocate on behalf of Israel and the United States. Americans, Israelis, and citizens of all democratic nations must work together to combat the threats to our beloved societies, in whatever form they take."

and

Fuel For Truth was born in the days following September 11, 2001 by a group of young, secular Jewish men under the age of 30.

NEXT !

Please provide proof of otherwise?

He can't seeing as the World Health Organization that famous Zionist propaganda body was the source for the obesity stats.

I'm surprised the Israelis aren't being accused of fattening up the Gazans to be eaten... though watch this space as no doubt some middle eastern media will think of this angle.

Gaza has about the highest per capita total of foreign aid on earth, what could they possibly be lacking, slimming pills?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_aid_to_Palestinians

but even with foreign aid they still cant get so many things like corriander........oh and chocolate

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8654337.stm

Funny you should mention the Beeb, but did you know they commissioned an independent report investigating whether they had an anti-Israel bias. The findings of the report they refused to then reveal and have spent an estimated 200,000 pounds to keep the contents of the report buried.

Here is more on Fat Gaza, let them eat cake, fallafel, kebabs, etc etc.

Ha ha ha, He who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Wasn't it only the other day that Iran was moaning about the government of Bahrain's human rights abuses? Of course Iran is right up there with the world's most noxious regimes so any sanctions against them can't come quick enough.

The lady is right. Arabs in general will always rally around the strong man who talks/boasts the loudest. And they'll always be cowed by the religionists who compel them to feel too guilty and scared to stray from strict adherence Islam. The few who dare to have bright thoughts for an egalitarian future will always be smothered by the few (on the other end of the spectrum) who seek draconian control. The cycle will go on and on. The only 'free' Muslims will be the ones who are lucky or rich enough to move far afield - to freer countries.

Yes agreed, we are in uncharted territory for sure and in big danger of replacing a collection of despots with a collection of medieval theocracies. Despots are so much easier to contain as fundamentalist Islam recognises no Country and no law except it's own, therefore any immigration from such Countries sets off a ticking timebomb in the west. I think someone was asleep at the wheel big time in calling for the removal of Mubarak.

Hmmm Crew representing over fifty Countries! I wonder how many other ships can boast such an (ahem) international mixture. This more than anything gives the game away that this is nothing but a propaganda exercise; I'm sure the organizers would dream of a scenario involving corpses representinng said nations bobbing up and down in the med.

Gaza has about the highest per capita total of foreign aid on earth, what could they possibly be lacking, slimming pills?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_aid_to_Palestinians

"Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are united against the drone attacks and these are not in favor of both the countries," added Gilani. "The Afghan war cannot be won without the support of Pakistan."

The Afghan war wouldn't have been necessary in the first place had it not been for Pakistan playing a double game. I think drones are far preferable to risking carbon based life forms in that region considering what happened to the U.N mission in Kabul recently.

and then there are people like steely dan that keep insisting, like he just did on page 1 that "Israel doesn't discriminate" the notion that an aphartied state isn't discriminating is ridiculous.. and it was proved false in other threads were many examples of israeli discrimination , jewish only housing, not renting to arabs, demolishons of arab houses..discrimination in employment, etc. even alot of democracies still have issues of discrimination, israel is an extreme example of discrimination, which is termed aphartied.

http://www.icejusa.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9455

The ridiculous thing is that a clear double standard applies when it comes to Israeli treatment of Palestinians and that dished out to Palestinians by the likes of Jordan. On demolitions, more illegal Jewish properties were demolished last year than Palestinian ones.

We can draw a veil too over the Sharia law based discrimination against all non-Muslims throughout the middle east and the 850,000 Jews expelled from Arab lands when Israel defeated the Arab aggressors in 1967. Perhaps you can come back in another couple of months after doing some basic research.

It's really kicking off in Syria - If this is indeed an Arab spring hopefully we will see the back of the disgusting Syrian regime.

http://www.debka.com/article/20840/

The popular uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad is still spreading. Tuesday, April 12, one of the Assad family's own Alawite tribes and the key Sunni city of Aleppo joined the movement demanding the president and his kin's removal. Assad fought back against the expanding threat to his survival by mobilizing all his military and security resources, including the loyal young thugs of the shabbiha gangs. They have orders to shoot to kill and not permit ambulances to collect the wounded. Tanks seal the most restive towns of Teraa, Bania,s Latakia and Hama.

The hundreds of thousands of Arabs killed by their own regimes is absolutely in context comparing their numbers with the two deaths reported in Bahrain. As for the Iranian regime, it's ironic they should be even around to criticise others after the fraudulent 2009 election and the brutal surpression of the ensuing demonstrations.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html

Tutu condemns Israeli 'apartheid'

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has accused Israel of practising apartheid in its policies towards the Palestinians.

The Nobel peace laureate said he was "very deeply distressed" by a visit to the Holy Land, adding that "it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa".

...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1957644.stm

He is not the only one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy

http://www.hudson-ny.org/1953/arab-apartheid

You never hear about the Arab apartheid towards Palestinians, nor for that matter the massacre of an estimated 15-25,000 Palestinians killed in Jordan when the PLO were kicked out do you?

As ever Eddie manages to take the side of one of the most odious regimes, who are themselves instrumental in formenting unrest within Bahrain. Setting that aside for a second the following video puts the limited but regrettable violence within Bahrain into perspective.

Its also time to get a small update of reality. try to read the OP for example.

There will be a so called Palestinian State soon, later in the future maybe even a Greater Palestine

A place where everyone can live in peace, without any segregation and no discrimination by an ethnic or religious group.

No discrimination? Yes, such a place exists, it's called Israel. You won't find it anywhere else in the Arab world. Palestinian cancer patients are not treated in Jordanian hospitals and are deliberately kept in refugee camps by Arab governments as a cynical propaganda tool.

If somehow a Hamas-Fatah coalition is formed it would soon descend into Palestinian versus Palestinian violence and you would have a situation more akin to Somalia than Israel.

If the Goldstone report has not been severely damaged, why are the liberal appologists and much of the Arab press having such a hissy fit about it?

Which Palestinians, what state?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK_lrqg2dko

Hiding behind the carefully spun arguments of the liberal appologists the Muslim world (yes, the same Muslim world that kills people at random over Quran burning or Cartoon drawing) vents it's spleen. The truth is out there and the truth is indeed ugly, but it won't stop lying hypocrites from indulging such hate.

http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/should-the-jews-riot-in-the-streets-burn-embassies-and-kill-people-over-these-cartoons/

JEW-HATING cartoons have emerged all over the Arab world after Justice Richard Goldstones retraction in which he reversed the most serious accusation against Israel in the libelous Goldstone Report (the UN Human Rights Council-mandated investigation into Israels 2009 military operation in Gaza) that Israel intentionally targeted civilians.

Do you think the Spanish are also fed up with the religion of peace descending on once quiet little towns like Salt?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlH7vZoOUdU&feature=player_embedded

Hamas needs to stop the violence against Israel and make peace with the PLO.

Its a resistance movement that fights against the illegal occupation.

Hamas are terrorists whose explicit aim is to bring an end to Israel. Their terror activities are suffered not only by Israeli citizens but also any Palestinians who don't follow their absolutist jihadi aims.

Could he have missed this January 15, 2009, Ha’aretz news report, written by Barak Ravid, that revealed the government’s plans to prepare for the aftermath of its murderous assault on Gaza’s civilian population?

The Foreign Ministry has created a special task force to prepare for the aftermath of the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza operation. . . . .

The working assumption is that Israel has suffered a blow to its image in the West in the wake of heavy civilian casualties in the Strip. Israeli officials believe after the fighting stops and foreign journalists are allowed entry into the territory that negative sentiment toward Israel will only grow as the full picture of destruction emerges.

What did emerge was a belated admission by Hamas that about 700 of the 'civilians' killed were actually Hamas fighters, a fact that I see is still far from adressed by the western media who have willfully negligently allowed the dust to settle on this lie.

As for any ostracisation experienced by Goldstone after the report was published let me remind you yet again the fate he would no doubt have suffered had he been Muslim and made damaging allegations against a Muslim nation.

"Students"? They must be knocking on a bit now being 1980's vintage.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/09/61-arrested-banned-paris-muslim-veil-protest/#ixzz1J4bKjYR5

Lerner identified the man who had traveled from Britain as Anjem Choudary, the head of Islam4UK until it was banned earlier this year by Britain's government for glorifying al-Qaida. Several people associated with the group have been linked to terrorist acts.

The protest was called by a group known as Unicite Tawhib, which has been linked to Internet sites that call for Islam to dominate France and the world, Lerner said.

Just in case anyone falls for the hurt minority argument, these are dyed in the wool troublemakers.