Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Time to say ‘No” to Israeli fascism (PIC)

I was amazed by this statement & if i get it correctly, it seems religion played a major role in determining one's act & decision...

Well, this mantra of Israel being both a Jewish and democratic state is a big lie for a simple reason, namely that the “Jewishness” of Israel will always override whatever democratic facade the Zionist entity could still claim to have.

Time to say ‘No” to Israeli fascism (PIC)
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem

Israel and her supporters are making rabid efforts to enhance the ugly image of the new Israeli government. That government, as we all know, is composed of manifestly fascist parties based on Jewish supremacy and racist disregard for the Palestinian people which has been on the receiving end of Zionist savagery and brutality for over sixty one years.

This month, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his thuggish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are going to try to convince the leaders of western countries that Palestinians don’t really need freedom and liberty and human rights and that, like all animals, all they need is bread and some other food supplements.

Netanyahu, who is slated to visit Washington D.C. later this month, is a great believer in the “power of the Jewish mind.” Hence, he thinks he will be able to convince President Obama that the most pressing priorities in occupied Palestine should be to achieve economic prosperity, not promote human rights, including the right to life, for the Palestinians.

Netanyahu is a notorious prevaricator, a professional liar, and a master of vacuous sound-bites. He often says what he doesn’t mean and means what he doesn’t say. He thinks that enhanced hasbara efforts by Israel would make the international community, particularly the US and Europe, turn a blind eye to Israel’s frantic settlement expansion in the West Bank as well as ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu will speak extensively about the proverbial red herring, namely the so-called “Iranian threat,” and is likely to demand that the Obama administration undertake to “neutralize the Iranian threat” before Israel makes up its mind with regard to Palestinian statehood.

Finally, Netanyahu is likely to speak vaguely about a prospective Palestinian state on “parts” of “ Judea and Samaria ” provided that all details pertaining to such an entity are subject to Israeli security considerations.

As to Lieberman, he is probably going to present a more honest description of the new government. Indeed, unlike home-grown Israeli politicians, the former Moldovan immigrant is still insufficiently skilled in the hasbara art which explains his straightforward style with the media.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu reportedly rebuked Lieberman for speaking to the international media as if he was speaking to his right-wing constituencies.

This prompted Lieberman to hire a Public Relations consultant who has advised the foreign minister to speak vaguely on controversial subjects so that his words could be interpreted in many ways.

Lieberman has also been advised to say that he supports the two-state solution “in principle.”

However, it is amply clear that the phrase “in principle” encapsulates a huge amount of ill-will, deception and subterfuge on Israel ’s part. After all, Israel has really killed the possibility of establishing a genuine and viable Palestinian state on the West Bank.

Hence, instead of facing the prospects of paying the price for the death of the two-state solution, e.g. by having to accept a unitary, democratic state on all mandatory Palestine, Israel will exhaustively strive to give the Palestinian a deformed and despicable small entity made up of hapless and miserable Bantustans and townships controlled by CIA-trained Gendarmes whose main task would be to guard Israeli colonies and torment and even kill Palestinians who might dare to protest the liquidation of their national cause.

Such an entity, which Palestinian Judenrates would be free to give the grandest of names, would effectively spell the liquidation of the Palestinian problem. This is at least what is being planned by Zionist circles in cooperation with western and some treacherous Arab regimes.

I say such a scenario would spell the liquidation of the Palestinian cause because Israel would retain the bulk of East Jerusalem and force the weak Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to kiss the paramount Right of Return goodbye if only to demonstrate its good-will and desire for peace.

Another gambit Netanyahu and Lieberman are likely to try to sell to the Americans and Europeans is the demand that the Palestinian Authority, probably including Hamas, recognize Israel as a state of the Jewish people.

Fortunately, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas seems to have finally discovered the strategic entrapment inherent in any Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Much of the world is still unsuspecting about this particular Israeli demand. Indeed, most political circles in Europe and North America are likely to think that the Israeli demand is logical, rational and innocuous.

They are utterly ignorant of the implications, ramifications and repercussions of recognizing Israel as a “Jewish state” let alone “a state of the Jewish people.”

For those who still don’t understand, let us be clear about this.

Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state implies that Israel has the right to expel its non-Jewish citizens, particularly the 1.6-million Arab community. This may not happen immediately, but it could happen at some point in the future.

Of course, Israeli leaders and spokespersons would argue that this is not what Israel wants to do and that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state.

Well, this mantra of Israel being both a Jewish and democratic state is a big lie for a simple reason, namely that the “Jewishness” of Israel will always override whatever democratic façade the Zionist entity could still claim to have.

Hence, it is imperative that honest media around the world expose the Israeli deception in this regard. First, because the Netanyahu government is only using the issue of “Jewishness of the state” as a stalling tactic aimed at throwing the ball onto the Palestinian court. And, second, because any Palestinian recognition of an exclusively Jewish state would perpetuate the deportation of millions of Palestinian refugees who had been unjustly uprooted from their ancestral homeland in order to fulfill Zionist ambitions.

Unfortunately, this brazenly racist endeavor on the part of the Zionist state has not be sufficiently challenged by the international community which is continuing to deal rather lightly hypocritically and even facetiously with this issue.

This is why; Palestinians and their supporters are urged to expose the genocidal goals of Zionist efforts.

Finally, it is important that the Obama administration demonstrate to Netanyahu that the US is the United States of America, not the United States of Israel.

Otherwise, Lieberman’s statements last week that America’s decisions with regard to Israel are controlled by Israel, ought to be vindicated.

In short, the ball is in the Obama administration’s court, at least for the time being.

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Monday, May 4, 2009

Poll: 66 percent of Israeli Jews back attack on Iran (Ynetnews)

Don't think I agree with any military action against any country as there is no Win-win situation in war scenario. But again, if it is the matter of Live and Death..probably the course of action will be significantly different. By the way, which human being in this world is not selfish?

Poll: 66 percent of Israeli Jews back attack on Iran (Ynetnews)
A large majority of Israeli Jews support military action aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, according to a survey sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League.

According to the poll, co-sponsored by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, a large majority of those who support a move by the army said they would maintain their support even if the Obama administration opposed it.

An overwhelming majority also said they believed close relations with the United States were essential for ensuring Israel's security.

The survey, administered by the Maagar Mochot research institute, involved 610 respondents, constituting a representative sample of Israeli Jews over the age of 18.

Asked about military action against Iran, 66 percent said they approved of it, 15 percent said they were opposed and 19 percent said they did not know. Among those who said they approved army action, 15 percent said they would change their minds if the United States opposed it, while 75 percent said they would not. The rest said they did not know or gave other answers.

Focusing on Israeli-U.S. relations in the Obama era, the survey revealed concern over possible erosion of U.S. support for Israel, and over a rapprochement between the United States and Arab countries at the expense of Israel.

Sixty percent of the respondents said they had a "positive" or "very positive' attitude toward President Obama. However, only 38 percent said they thought his attitude to Israel was friendly - in contrast to 73 percent of respondents in a 2007 poll, who defined the attitude of the previous president, George W. Bush, as friendly.

Asked whether reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim world would come at the expense of Israel's interests, 63 percent said they believed it would; 71 percent, however, said the interests of the United States and Israel were "similar" or "complemented each other."

Most Israelis, according to the poll, follow the news in America, mainly through the Israeli media.

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Sunday, May 3, 2009

Cancer patients trapped in Gaza while factions duke it out (Ynetnews)

The ultimate party who suffer in conflict nations is the PEOPLE. Despite the frequent fear on the attack, normal routine like the rights to seek medical attention is also being discriminated & halted due to concern of leaking inteligent infor. Until the day both nations start to trust each other, PEOPLE of both nations will continue to suffer either in physically or mentally....

Cancer patients trapped in Gaza while factions duke it out (Ynetnews)
Eight Gazans dead since Hamas-Fatah clash dissolved medical referral committee responsible for gaining entrance into Israel for terminal patients

Hundreds of Palestinian patients have been trapped in the Gaza Strip, unable to travel abroad for crucial treatment for cancer and other diseases, because of political infighting between Hamas and its rival secular faction, Fatah.

Eight Gazans who were waiting to travel abroad have died since the crisis began in March, when the dispute shut down a medical referral committee that helps sick residents find treatment outside of Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.

Dr. Bassem Naim meets with Scottish delegation in Gaza, accuses Israel of using Palestinian patients seeking medical treatment to get information on Palestinian groups' operatives

On March 22, Hamas officials took control of the Fatah-run medical committee, which referred about 1,000 patients a month with life-threatening illnesses to Israel and Egypt. Hamas officials said the committee was rife with corruption and needed reform.

In response, the West Bank government, which funds medical treatment for Palestinians abroad, froze most patient transfers.

On Monday, there was hope for a resolution. Hamas health minister Basim Naim announced the restoration of the referral committee, which Hamas' rival, Fatah, had controlled but Hamas shut down in March.

The committee would resume coordinating medical treatment abroad. But Hamas has reservations and has asked mediating independent health workers to find new committee members both sides can agree on, said senior health official Yousef Mudalal.

The IDF has also begun to coordinate entries into Israel, but has demanded that any patients previously under the care of Gaza's humanitarian organizations coordinate their entry through the referral committee. The organizations claim this will prolong the patients' waiting period.

Rights activists say the political differences are jeopardizing people's lives. "They are playing with the lives of people and their pain. There's a complete absence of responsibility," said Khalil Shaheen of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

The Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights, working with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, has managed to get 35 patients out of Gaza for treatment since the committee collapsed, said Ran Yarom of PHR. But the groups say they don't have the resources to do the committee's job.

The PHR also stated that the IDF has demanded the referral committee take charge of 78 cases, including 31 patients requiring life-saving or eye-saving surgery, 17 cancer patients, 15 cardiology patients, and several patients who require organ transplants.

"From the moment the referrals were brought to the IDF it should have taken responsibility for them," the PHR said in a statement.

The organization also demanded the army complete treatment of the referrals it had been responsible for and prevent further bureaucratic delays.

"The army told us that it wasn't urgent and that lives weren't at stake, and that there is a difference between life endangerment and quality of life. Maybe for the army loss of sight is just a matter of quality of life," the statement said.

'He might be dying before my eyes'
The crisis compounds the challenges facing Gaza's medical system. Hospitals use aging equipment and suffer from low medicine supplies.

And in late January, the West Bank government halted payments for medical care in Israel, saying the treatment was too expensive. Fatah health officials said they would only pay for Gaza residents to obtain cheaper medical care in Egypt.

Ten-year-old Ribhi Jindiyeh, a lymphoma patient, lies in bed at home, skinny and jaundiced, too weak to move. He underwent chemotherapy last year in an Israeli hospital, and when he returned home in January, he seemed better. But in March, he began urinating blood.

Gaza doctors can't find the problem and give him infusions every two days to keep him alive.

"Nobody here knows why he is losing so much blood, but nobody can refer us to a hospital abroad, either," his mother, Nevine, 38, said.
Another son, 4-year-old Yehia, was diagnosed with lymphoma in March.
"I want everybody to help my son — Israel, Fatah, Hamas, whoever," Nevine said. "If they can't help a sick child, who can they help? They should all pack up their bags and go home."

In Gaza City, 12-year-old Mohammed Zibdeh, a brain cancer patient, waits for a permit to travel, breathing with the assistance of a ventilator device in his throat.

Last year, doctors in an Israeli hospital worked to shrink his brain tumor with chemotherapy. Now Zibdeh has constant headaches, and his father, Riyad, 48, fears the tumor is growing back. "I can't help him, and he might be dying before my own eyes," he said

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True stories from Bolehland 2 (The Malaysian Insider)

I just can't stop laughing when first read on the post below by James Chin but when I go thru the post again 2nd time...it some how trigger the thoughts & also observed some commonality on what is going on in surrounding in this so called Boleh-land. BTW, "Boleh" in English means "Can do". I am still wondering if this is the true reflect of the current leader in this country...Do you?

True stories from Bolehland 2 (The Malaysian Insider)
APRIL 23 — Here are some more incredible (but true) stories from the land of make believe, Bolehland. Bolehland is a country far, far away where everything is possible, where the strange and unbelievable is actually everyday life, where anyone with the proper connections can get away with anything, and where the words “accountability”, “fair”, “just” do not exist. All the stories are taken from the Bolehland mainstream media so they must be true.

1. All chairmen must fly first class for the sake of subordinates
This a direct quotation from a former mentri besar (chief minister) who is alleged to have spent RM1.7 million on “study trips” to places like Disneyland during the holiday season. I’m sure this former MB learnt a lot from his “study trips” since we know when he came back, he never builds anything close to resembling Disneyland. Anyway, back to the quote. When asked about the huge amount spent on the trips, e.g. first-class tickets, this is what he had to say: “You must remember when I was the (PNSB) chairman. I have my entitlement. If I were to reduce my entitlement to what an officer gets then what is the officer going to reduce to? I am the chairman. There is the deputy chairman, board of directors, government officers going along. If I fly business class (not first class), then what happens to my state secretary? He will complain. If I am travelling alone it is easier. But I am travelling with a group of people and if I downgrade myself — it’s a problem for the others.” So there you have it. Airlines have first class in order to help those below the chairman’s post get business class. You cannot have a chairman flying coach or business class otherwise what will his subordinates think? He will lose the respect of his subordinates in addition to forcing them to fly coach. In Bolehland, the most important thing is protocol and entitlements. This is the reason why there are so many applicants who want to be politicians. If you are a VVIP, you must be in first class or not go at all. How dare you expect politicians to sit in economy. Economy is for taxpayers like you and me.

2. You are only poor if you don’t have a TV or Astro
According to the NST, the Welfare Department says if you have a TV or Astro, then you do not qualify for government aid since you are not “hardcore poor”. The department bars the disabled from getting welfare aid if they have Astro or a television set at home. The rule applies even if one lives in someone else's house, temporarily or otherwise. In one case, a disabled 40-year-old, paralysed from the neck downwards, who lives with her partly-paralysed mother, was afraid of getting a TV and Astro connection after being warned by a welfare officer that they would cut aid to them if she did so.

This is the first time I have heard that in Bolehland having a TV is considered to be “rich”. Nevermind that a new small TV nowadays cost less than RM200. You can also get a second hand one for free in some charity shops. In the case of the disabled, what do the authorities in Bolehland want them to do? Sit around and stare at the wall all day long? The answer is “yes” because if they stare at a TV, they are no longer poor.

3. The “best best boss” can be found in Bolehland
What is the best company to work for in Bolehland? The answer is Maika Holdings. And how do I know that? Simple, read what happened at an inquest in the death of an Indian actress, Sujatha, who died last year. This actress also worked as a PA to the boss of Maika. To cut the story short, during the inquest it was revealed that the boss of Maika, who is also the son of a VVIP, just loved to look after his employees. He gave this actress RM200,000 in cash for her apartment, funding for medical treatment and education, and also for her two brothers’ education in Australia. The boss also acted as the guarantor for the hire-purchase loan which Sujatha took out to purchase a Mazda RX8 sports car. He also took her for a holiday in Perth.

Wow, I wish to nominate the boss of Maika for Bolehland’s “Best Best Boss” award for his undying kindness and welfare of his employees. Is Maika hiring? I’m sure millions of workers are lining up to join. With a boss like this, there will never be any issue of strikes, unhappiness in the workplace, fake MCs, days off, etc. Malaysian workers will be the envy of the world.

4. If you don’t report it, it does not exist
There is one company in Bolehland that owns all the private free-to-air TV stations. Apparently, one of the big bosses in this company, MP, sent out an email telling the editorial staff that they cannot report that some VVIP and his wife might be involved in a Mongolia murder case. Thus if it is not reported, then it is clear that there are no links, and therefore there is no case. Who says you cannot make things disappear? Who cares if the international press has all gone to town with the same story.
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