'American and European aid money has bought brand new SUV's for PA officialdom, the best in (with cheap labor) construction and luxuries, but nothing has changed for the Palestinian refugees, who are being kept in deliberate misery by their fellow Palestinians. Yet, western (American and European) charity is meant to ameliorate the condition of the refugees. Instead, the camps are administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, better known as UNRWA, whose primary aim is self-perpetuation of the camp bureaucracy, paid for primarily by the West. UNRWA has fostered and encouraged the Palestinian refugee problem as a way to maintain the armed struggle against the Jewish State. It has done nothing to solve the refugee problems.'
I am not a sheep, I have my own mind
I have had enough of being told what and how to think
Whilst we are still allowed the remnants of free speech,
I will speak out.
I also reserve the right to discuss less controversial matters should I feel the urge.
Pages
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
The Self-Inflicted Palestinian Victimhood | FrontPage Magazine
Arthur Darvill is not just Rory from Doctor Who and he wants to sing about it
Arthur Darvill (Rory from Dr Who) performs 'The Ballad Of Arthur Darvill', sung to the tune of Let It Go from Frozen for the Matt Edmondson Show on BBC Radio 1.
Bob Hoskins R.I.P.
I'm sure most of the reports will centre upon his role in the mediocre (in my view) Who Framed Roger Rabbit but I prefer to remember him in that great 1980 London film The Long Good Friday.
Hopefully one of the TV channels will show this film in its entirety, and if they do you MUST watch it, but in the meantime here's the ending of that marvellous film with one of the great Londoner speeches - "The Mafia, I've shit 'em" - and that lovely long concentrated look at Bob Hoskins' face.
Also here's Bob Hoskins' entrance in The Long Good Friday, great walk and great 1970s music.
The Long Good Friday was a marker for the end of the stagnation of the Labour and wet Tory 1970s and the start of the dynamism and optimism of the Thatcher era. Watch the whole film and see how much London has changed since 1980, especially docklands - Harold Shand was a visionary, but also to see where the recent London gangster films such as Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake and Snatch owe a huge debt. Also spot Helen Mirren, as Harold Shand's wife, near the start of her film career.
Sitting here I'm also remembering Bob Hoskins for his part in the great Denis Potter's Pennies From Heaven and the wonderful film Mona Lisa in which Bob Hoskins plays the very cheap George, here's an extract but do watch the film if you get the chance.
Spot the 'rabbit' reference, a good Pub Quiz question could link Bob Hoskins and rabbits. Also Michael Caine playing a superior London villain, for a change.
Did Nigel Farage 'bottle it' or was his decision a sensible one?
First, the EU elections are UKIP's priority, they are a party founded to oppose the UK's continued membership of the European Union and as such the EU elections provide the best platform for gathering votes from those sympathetic to that view. To stand in the Newark by-election would mean a dilution of the, comparatively, meagre UKIP resources.
Second, whilst standing in the Newark by-election would be tempting and Nigel Farage might even win it, most stunning by-election victories are reversed at the following general election and in this case the next general election is a year away. Any positive publicity from winning the by-election would be more than negated by the negative publicity arising from losing UKIP's only seat (the BBC would love the headline 'UKIP lose 100% of House of Commons seats') next year.
I believe that Nigel Farage was in a no-win position: stand and risk losing focus on the EU elections this year and garnering negative publicity next year when/if he lost the seat, not stand and be called a 'bottler'. I think he's made the best decision for UKIP and himself, and maybe consequently the UK.
Star Wars news
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Monday, 28 April 2014
1941 The Grand Mufti meets Hitler
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
The shortest commercial airport runway in the world - Saba airport aka Yrausquin airport
Saba airport aka Yrausquin airport
'The airport's risky reputation arises from the airport's physical position: it is flanked on one side by high hills; and on the runway's other side and both ends, cliffs drop into the sea. Additionally, the runway at the airport is extremely short (400m) this creates the possibility that an airplane could under/overshoot the runway during landing or takeoff and end up in the sea or dashed on the rocky cliffs.
Although the airport is officially marked as closed to traffic (X), regional airline propeller aircraft are able to land there under waivers from The Netherlands Antilles' Civil Aviation Authority. The most common aircraft to land there are the Twin Otter and BN-2 Islander
Irausquin Airport can be seen from some places in Saint Martin.
Jet aircraft are unable to land at the airport, because the runway is too short (approx. 1,300 ft or 396 m). However, smaller airplanes (DHC-6, BN-2 and helicopters) are common sights there. There is a small ramp and terminal on the southwest flank of the runway. The ramp also has a designated helipad. The terminal building houses offices for Winair, immigration and security, a fire department with one fire truck and a tower. The tower is an advisory service only and does not provide air traffic control. Aviation fuel is not available on the island of Saba.
The only airline currently serving Yrausquin Airport is locally owned Winair, which operates daily flights to Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius aboard a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter. The flight to Saint Maarten takes about twelve minutes.'
I haven't landed at this airport yet, but one day I will...
Saturday, 26 April 2014
Strange things going on in Russia and Bolivia
2. A mysterious figure 'appears' and moves at a Bolivian football match...
Friday, 25 April 2014
Watch "James Franco & Seth Rogen "Bound 3" Kanye West Pa…" on YouTube
Watch "Kanye West - Bound 2 (Explicit)" on YouTube
Thursday, 24 April 2014
BBC News - Labour Party seeks to cut links with Co-op Bank
'Sources at the Labour Party have told the BBC's business editor, Kamal Ahmed, that negotiations have begun to move a £1.2m loan Labour has with the Co-op Bank to the Unity Trust Bank, and that once the loan has been moved Labour would move all its current account facilities to the same bank.'
Oddly the Unity Trust Bank website website informs me that 'Unity funds its banking business entirely from shareholder capital and customers' deposits. Our shareholders - Trades Unions and the Co-operative Bank - are long term investors, having owned the bank since formation.'
'Represented on the Board Communication Workers' Union
GMB National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers UNISON UNITE USDAW The Co-operative Bank plc '
'The Co-operative Bank plc, through its subsidiary Co-operative Commercial Limited, owns 26.66% (14.64% in 'B' shares and 12.02% in 'C' shares).'
'Unity Trust bank right now is functionally part of the Co-op Bank. The Co-op's 27 per cent shareholding is one thing. But more important is that the bank's articles of association demand that Co-op controls Unity Trust.Regulators (the Bank of England now) naturally demand that bankers, not union leaders, run banks.Therefore, despite its minority shareholding, the Co-op Bank appoints the majority of the board, the chairman and the MD.That means the Co-op Bank's own risk director and financial control director sit on the board of Unity Trust Bank.'
Sometimes I know exactly how Anderson feels - the 'expert' whose answers, whilst correct, just aren't helpful
The life of a technical expert is not always easy, the problem is explaining to corporate or arty types what is and what is not possible. In reality it is usually much easier than in this video but sometimes...
Thanks to Yvonne in the Biased BBC comments for the link.
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
I spoke too soon! A fine example of BBC bias by omission
Do read the whole article and pay particular attention to the passage headed 'The wall':'While Christians around the world are enjoying the Easter holiday, Jews everywhere are celebrating the holiday of Passover - a convergence of festivals which traditionally sees a surge in pilgrims to Jerusalem.The BBC's Erica Chernofsky takes a closer look at why this city is so important to Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the three religions which trace their shared origins back to the biblical figure of Abraham.'
Oddly the BBC choose not to tell us what exists on the site of the Holy Temple, now why would that be? Maybe you should read this earlier article of mine for enlightenment.'The Jewish Quarter is home to the Kotel, or the Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall of the mount on which the Holy Temple once stood.
Inside the temple was the Holy of Holies, the most sacred site in Judaism.
Jews believe that this was the location of the foundation stone from which the world was created, and where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Today, the Western Wall is the closest place Jews can pray to the Holy of Holies.
It is managed by the Rabbi of the Western Wall and every year hosts millions of visitors. Jewish people from all over the world visit this place to pray and connect to their heritage, especially during the High Holidays.'
What the BBC do tell us about the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem is that:
Before Israel retook Jerusalem from Muslim occupation this is how Muslims treated the 'third holiest site in Islam'
'The Muslim Quarter is the largest of the four and contains the shrine of the Dome of Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque on a plateau known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary.
The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is under the administration of an Islamic trust called the Waqf.
Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad travelled here from Mecca during his night journey and prayed with the souls of all the prophets. A few steps away, the shrine of the Dome of the Rock holds the foundation stone, where Muslims believe Muhammad then ascended to heaven.
Muslims visit the holy site all year round, but every Friday during the holy month of Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Muslims come to pray at the mosque.'
The BBC anti-Israel agenda is transparent and relentless.
Where's NotaSheep?
I also have no plans to look at Twitter until Monday, so @Wotsit4 has even more time to formulate an answer to my much asked question:
Why do you think that Israel is occupying the West Bank and Gaza post 1967 but that Jordan and Egypt weren't occupying the West Bank and Gaza 1948-1967?I know he won't answer my question because to do so would show either his real motives in opposing Israel's "occupation" or the paucity of his knowledge of Middle East history.
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Let's all go to the mall by Robin Sparkles
Let's All Go To The Mall by Robin Sparkles - "At the mall having fun is what it's all aboot..."
If you watch How I Met Your Mother then this will make sense, otherwise probbaly not!
And here's the cast of How I Met Your Mother singing Let's All Go To The Mall at 2013 Comic Con
Saturday, 19 April 2014
The master of the homosexual inuendo - Julian Clary
The Jews, always the other...
'Posters and leaflets have appeared in Donetsk, Eastern Ukrainian, demanding Jews register, pay a new tax or leave, because of 'their support for the Kiev government'.'
Friday, 18 April 2014
For any 9/11 troofers out there
There you are straight from the horse's mouth, or at least his son's.'NEW YORK, N.Y. - Osama bin Laden's hours in a dark Afghanistan cave the evening of the Sept. 11 attacks were brought to light when his son-in-law testified in his own defence at his terrorism trial, portraying the al-Qaida leader as worried and apprehensive as he contemplated how America would respond.The son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, said the al-Qaida leader asked him hours after the attacks what he thought would happen next.
"Politically, I said, America, if it was proven that you were the one who did this, will not settle until it accomplishes two things: to kill you and topple the state of the Taliban," Abu Ghaith said he told him.
Bin Laden responded: "You're being too pessimistic," Abu Ghaith recalled in a discussion that he said went late into the night.
He said bin Laden had sent a messenger to pick him up earlier on Sept. 11 from a house in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he had watched the news unfold on television. He said bin Laden told him: "We are the ones who did it."
He said he had met bin Laden only six or seven times previously before he was brought to the cave in a rough mountainous area.
The surprise testimony Wednesday by Abu Ghaith seemed to soften the image of the one-time Kuwaiti teacher and preacher known for fiery anti-American rhetoric on widely circulated post-attack videos until a prosecutor took his turn, eliciting damaging admissions from the 48-year-old defendant before showing a videotape on which Abu Ghaith spoke and included a hijacked plane slamming into a World Trade Center tower.
Questioned by defence lawyer Stanley Cohen and later by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ferrara, the bearded Abu Ghaith testified that bin Laden seemed worried that night.
The next morning, Abu Ghaith said, he saw bin Laden with an al-Qaida military leader, Abu Hafs al-Masri, and current al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri at breakfast, and bin Laden invited him to join them.
He said bin Laden told him: "Now, after these events ... it's a no-brainer to predict what is going to happen. What you expected may actually happen. And I want to deliver a message to the world. And Dr. Ayman also wants to deliver a message. I want you to deliver that message."
Within two hours, the four men were posing in front of a rocky backdrop as Abu Ghaith spoke using what he said were "bullet points" provided by bin Laden that mixed verses from the Qur’an with justification for the terrorist attacks.
It was a position that would bring the onetime imam infamy as well as a place in the inner circle of the world's most wanted terrorists and eventually to federal court in Manhattan, where he was brought after his capture last year in Jordan.
Abu Ghaith was the final witness in his trial on charges he conspired to kill Americans and aid al-Qaida as a spokesman for the terrorist group. Closing arguments were scheduled for Monday.
The testimony was a rare gambit by the defence, a last-ditch effort to counter a mountain of evidence against Abu Ghaith, including an alleged confession and the video showing him sitting beside bin Laden on Sept. 12, 2001, and another in which he warned Americans that "the storm of airplanes will not abate." The defence has never disputed that Abu Ghaith associated with bin Laden after 9-11, but it contends he was recruited as a religious teacher and orator, and had no role in plotting more attacks.
On cross-examination, though, Abu Ghaith admitted that he sent his pregnant wife, six daughters and a son to Kuwait while he went to Afghanistan on Sept. 7, 2001, after hearing inside and outside al-Qaida training camps that something big was going to happen soon.
Ferrera mocked Abu Ghaith's statement that he stayed and helped bin Laden for two weeks after Sept. 11 because the conditions in Afghanistan were tense and he had no way to travel.
"You are telling this jury that you made a speech in which you called on people to terrorize the infidels because you didn't have a personal car?" he said, drawing from one juror a smile and a nod to a fellow juror.
"I don't understand the question," Abu Ghaith responded.
Testifying through an Arabic interpreter, the Kuwaiti-born defendant seemed relaxed, wearing a blue shirt, open at the collar, beneath a charcoal-colored jacket.
He testified he first met bin Laden when the al-Qaida leader, who was living in Kandahar, Afghanistan, summoned him in June 2001 after hearing he was a preacher from Kuwait. He took bin Laden's daughter as an additional wife years after 9-11.
The defendant said that videos he made warning of more attacks on Americans were based on "quotes and points by Sheik Osama." He testified his videotaped sermons were religious in nature, and meant to encourage Muslims to fight oppression.
Abu Ghaith said he wasn't involved in recruiting aspiring terrorists and denied allegations he had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks or the failed shoe-bomb airline attack by Richard Reid in December 2001.
"My intention was to deliver a message, a message I believed in," he said. "I was hoping the United States would say, 'Let's sit down and talk and solve these problems,' but America was going on and doing what I expected them to do."
His lawyers said they were hopeful that another part of Abu Ghaith's testimony, that he had met self-professed Sept. 11 architect Khalid Sheik Mohammed, would cause the federal judge overseeing the trial to reconsider his decision to exclude Mohammed from testifying via videotape from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Ferrera zeroed in on Abu Ghaith's testimony that he accepted an invitation to meet with bin Laden on Sept. 11 because the al-Qaida leader was a sheik who deserved respect, along with his admission that he was aware bin Laden's organization was behind earlier terrorist attacks against Americans abroad.
"Despite knowing that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans," the prosecutor asked, "you met with him to be polite?"'
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Windows Vista is no laughing matter...
IT: What kind of operating system does it use?
Operator: Vista
IT: We're going to die!
Then from The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon doesn't like Windows Vista
But Sheldon prefers Windows Vista to Windows 7
And from Futurama
And
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Hold on, this could be serious! (A Rule 5 and probably NSFW post)
Kate Upton wants to have smaller breasts!!!
“I wish I had smaller boobs every day of my life as I love to wear spaghetti tops braless or go for the smallest bikini designs. Every single day, I’m like, ‘Oh, man, it would be so much easier,’ especially if people didn’t constantly bring them up. If only they were a little more like… earrings. If I could just take them off like they were clip-ons... I know I say I wish I had smaller boobs - and that's true because at least twice a day I wish that. But the grass is always green, as they say!”I feel unwell, how could she even contemplate that?
Here's some Kate Upton images, some as previously posted on this blog, some new to illustrate what the world would miss...
That last one may meet the holy grail of internet searches as it's Kate Upton Twerking in a Bikini!
One Map to Understand All The Threats Facing Israel
'Israel is a small country, only 424 km long and from 114 to 15 km wide, and is surrounded by many enemies. What does this mean in concrete terms? Who are the people and organizations threatening the sovereignty of Israel and from where do they act? Use this map to understand all of the different challenges that we face. These threats are real, and the IDF is forced to act on all fronts, more often than you might think.'
3 killed, 4 wounded in Gaza Strip explosion - the BBC will wait before reporting this...
Hamas Praises Deadly West Bank Shooting via TIME.com
'The prime minister of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has praised an attack that killed an Israeli in the West Bank.Speaking Tuesday in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh said the shooting a day earlier outside the city of Hebron "brought back life to the path of resistance." He saluted "Hebron and the heroes of Hebron."'
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
The question that @Wotsit4 just can't answer, so I will...
Why do you think that Israel is occupying the West Bank and Gaza post 1967 but that Jordan and Egypt weren't 1948-1967?
I wonder if @Wotsit4 will finally manage to answer that question in the comments here?
You see the trouble is that he knows he can't answer that question honestly because that would either reveal his real motives in opposing Israel or leave him open to me pointing out that people who know far more than he about the 'Palestinians' explained it thus:
Way back on March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview with Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here’s what he said:
'The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity.
In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism.
For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.'
Zahir Muhsein was only a PLO executive committee member, so here's the PLO leader Yasser Arafat speaking on Jordanian TV on the same day that he signed the Declaration of Principles on the White House lawn in 1993:
“Since we cannot defeat Israel in war, we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish a sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel.”
Those were comments from 'Palestinians' how about we remember what a Jordanian king said?
Here's King Hussein:
In 1965 - “Those organisations which seek to differentiate between Palestinians and Jordanians are traitors.”
In 1981 - “Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.”
How about looking the first Palestine National Charter of 1964, this explicitly denies any claim to the West Bank and Gaza which were then “occupied” by Jordan and Egypt:
Article 24: This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah AreaSo the PLO weren't interested in 'liberating' the West Bank and Gaza to form part of a 'Palestinian' state until they were 'occupied' by Jews. Jordan was fine.
Remember that for many years, the PLO itself promoted a "stages plan" that would first create a Palestinian state on the 1949 - 1967 armistice lines, and then work from that position to destroy Israel. Indeed senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki recently stated that this remains the goal for Fatah as well, but that "you can't say it to the world. You can say it to yourself."...
The facts are out there and easy to find but the likes of @Wotsit4 and @DD1958 ignore them because to do otherwise would prove their standpoints to be based on lies.
Maybe it's just me, but this had me laughing out loud just now... The wonders of private medicine!
BUPA versus NHS http://t.co/Wbj66Yi7OM
(https://twitter.com/Dastardly_Pants/status/456014062032535552)
The BBC ignoring the deaths of Israeli Jews in a way that they wouldn't Palestinian Muslims
Chag Sameach!
Reasons to be cheerful
Which G7 economy has seen the biggest increase in living standards since 1980? The UK - by a big margin. http://t.co/mReaa8VrCl
(https://twitter.com/asentance/status/455764052929560577)
Modern stamps (part 2 - UK)
Wondered how Buckingham Palace looked in c.1700? Here you go! One of many new Buckingham Palace Royal Mail stamps > http://t.co/WXeCaI0JOF
(https://twitter.com/PostOffice/status/455992724512976896)
Modern stamps (part 1 - Finland)
Do you like Finland's new gay erotic stamps? Should Royal Mail follow their lead? http://t.co/6TZD55f32B
(https://twitter.com/TheGayUK/status/455988936436105216)
If you want to watch the lunar eclipse, you can here...
Monday, 14 April 2014
More from the NHS, the 'envy of the world'
'A pregnant woman with appendicitis died after a bungling trainee surgeon mistakenly removed one of her healthy ovaries, a tribunal heard today.'
Sunday, 13 April 2014
The Dome of the Rock aka The third holiest site in Islam in disrepair in 1954
Saturday, 12 April 2014
France in 2014, will it be the UK in 2016?
Will Ed Miliband become the British Francois François Hollande? I think it's quite likely, after all in 2012 we were told that Ed Miliband had agreed to work with the new Socialist President of France to “tilt” Europe away from austerity.How'd that work out? France marooned with high taxation and a stagnant economy - just what you'd expect with a Socialist government. Meanwhile the UK has, relatively, lower taxation, much better growth and if it wasn't for the Lib Dems and a liberal Prime Minister the situation could be even better.
Friday, 11 April 2014
Echobelly - Great Things
Tweet from Israel Mission to UN (@IsraelinUN)
Amb. Prosor's letter to @secgen regarding #Hezbollah's violations of resolution #1701 http://t.co/MK1r864vKU
(https://twitter.com/IsraelinUN/status/454625931483947009)
Diplomat who won EU exit essay prize silenced by government - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10758301/Diplomat-who-won-EU-exit-essay-prize-silenced-by-government.html
Thursday, 10 April 2014
BBC report only the stories that they want to report
'Jailed expenses crook Jim Devine has been ordered to pay his former office manager £18,000 in damages after a judge ruled that he had defamed her to cover up his own criminality. Marion Kinley alleged Devine had “stated I’d stolen significant sums of money while office manager and the reason I did this was because I had a serious gambling problem”. The judge agreed “that when he made these statement he knew them not to be true and that they were made maliciously” and that Devine’s evidence was “incredible” and “implausible”. This is one Jim won’t be able to charge to the taxpayer... '
Last night's MasterChef popular culture reference
It's Masterchef Synesthesia by Swede Mason.
As I blogged almost three years ago.
Jack is clearly a fan of this video and who could blame him. He's also a very talented chef, he should go far, in my top three of this series so far...
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
What is the holiest site in Judaism?
The one hundred and eighty ninth weekly "No shit Sherlock award" - 'Arafat was lying when he condemned terror against Israel'
'Late PA head’s bodyguard says Egypt pressed him to denounce attacks; adds Islamic law permits lying in politics'
When hatred is all you've got
Of course the hate-filled just had to let rip in YouTube comments:
There's some really delightful people out there.
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Palestinians killed in a refugee camp but as Israel can't be blamed I doubt the BBC will report it
Do you want to charge your Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 from flat to full in 30 seconds?
Will there be tears for Peaches Geldof from Richard Bacon today?
It's from the BBC's Most Annoying Person list for 2010 - Peaches Geldof. What's that you're saying Richard Bacon?
"No matter how much we might want Peaches to go away"
Hmmm, want to retract those unfortunate words now, Richard Bacon? I'm sure you just meant you wanted her to disappear from the public eye, but even so... a tad unfortunate given what's happened?
As I Tweeted yesterday, Peaches Geldof's death is a tragedy for her family and friends but should not have been the top news story on the BBC news last night. Celebrity deaths are given way too much attention in our celebrity obsessed culture.
An interview from. The BBC's Arabic Service that the BBC English language service will 100% not report = Arafat lied when he condemned suicide bombings
'Muhammad Al-Daya, longtime bodyguard of Yasser Arafat, said in a recent TV interview that Arafat used to lie when he denounced bombings in Israel. Arafat "would condemn the bombing in his own special way, saying: 'I am against the killing of civilians.' But that wasn’t true," said Al-Daya, in a BBC Arabic interview which aired on April 3, 2014.'
Monday, 7 April 2014
Where in the world is this sushi restaurant?
That's right it's in Ramallah, in the Palestinian Authorities West Bank, not the sort of image of the Palestinian Territories you normally see is it? I wonder why the BBC and other anti-Israel western media prefer to ignore the presence of nice hotels, sushi bars and big houses in the Palestinian Territories?
Some questions that the American Physical Society is asking but that the BBC will not be reporting
'A question the American Physical Society panel will address is one we ask repeatedly: Why wasn't the current global temperature stasis, with no discernible change in the past 15 years, not predicted by any of the climate models used by the IPCC, part of the United Nations?More at Investors.com but not on the warmist BBC.
The APS announcement lists among its questions to be answered: "How long must the stasis persist before there would be a firm declaration of a problem with the models?"
And at the APS, "Climate Change Statement Review." In a nod to the likelihood that nature, not man, calls the shots, another APS audit question asks the panel: "What do you see as the likelihood of solar influences beyond TSI (total solar irradiance)? Is it coincidence that the stasis has occurred during the weakest solar cycle (i.e., sunspot activity) in about a century?"'
Dying for an imaginary right of return
'... it’s better they die in Syria than give up their right of return.'
Friday, 4 April 2014
SPECIAL REPORT: Palestinians in Flagrant Violation of At Least 11 of 15 Treaties Abbas Just Signed - The Tower - The Tower
The definition of chutzpah
'In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten defines chutzpah as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”
I would like to add an alternative definition: “that quality enshrined in a palestinian who asks for a humanitarian permit to enter Israel, in order to receive treatment to improve his eyesight so he can take part in future sniper attacks against Israelis.” '
Nigel Farage really letting then Prime Minister Gordon Brown have it in 2009
Some news about Jordan that you won't find on the BBC
The court announced late last week that it agreed with one lawyer’s statement – based on a fatwa – that says a woman who does not cover up or wear a hijab is considered a “slut” and shouldn’t be allowed to testify in court.
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Spot which country isn't on this list of countries hoarding gold...
I note that the UK is not on that list, now who might be to blame for that?
Gordon Brown of course... As I blogged yesterday
'Gordon Brown - who employed Ed Miliband and Ed Balls as advisers during his years as chancellor - is often accused by opponents of selling off Britain's gold reserves far too cheaply.
He decided to dispose of almost 400 tonnes of gold between 1999 and 2002 - the majority of Britain's reserves - for between $256 and $296 an ounce, only to watch it soar up to $1,615 per ounce.' The article about today's PMQs is here. The whole truth is rarely to be found on the BBC anywhere.'
Do I need to change my blog name now?
You see the goat genes mean this geep is faster than its lamb contemporaries; goats are just better than sheep!'A rare, hybrid animal that is part goat and part sheep has been born on a farm in the Republic of Ireland.
The animal, referred to as a geep, was born about two weeks ago on Paddy Murphy's farm in County Kildare.
The unexpected arrival is thought to be the result of mating between a goat and one of the sheep farmer's Cheviot ewes.
...
Mr Murphy confirmed that the geep appeared to be healthy and "thriving" and was able to run faster than other lambs that were born around the same time.
"He's unbelievable," he said. "He's so fast you'd have to get him into the pen to catch him. There's no chance you would catch him otherwise."'
The 'moderate' Iranian who thought Jews were too dirty to shake hands with
Do watch all of the video but the part that pertains to the title of this piece is from 5:16 to 6:15.
Well which is it? Is early morning sunbathing good or bad for you?
First this article revealed that:
'Holidaymakers wanting to lose weight on holiday should sunbathe in the morning rather than the afternoon, according to a new study.Then this article told us that ;
Researchers found early rays keep off the pounds as people exposed to earlier sunlight are leaner than those who opt for the afternoon.
The report shows the timing, intensity and duration of light exposure during the day is linked to weight - the first time this has been shown.'
'(A) Woman, 63, dies after being mauled by shark as she went for early morning swim off Australian beach'
Maybe early morning sunbathing is good for you but not early morning swimming? Personally I like to do both, but not in shark infested areas.
The Mail versus The Guardian
Yesterday The Guardian published this article entitled 'Why are the nerves of empathy severed when it comes to immigration?'
Please read both articles, I have.
Now why doesn't Jonathan Jones in his Guardian piece ask these questions: If these poor people are struggling for a better life away from Africa or Eastern Europe, why are they so desperate to get to the UK rather than settling in Germany or France, where they already are? What is it about the UK that makes them so desperate to get here?
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Did Nick Clegg lie about EU not wanting an army?
'Britain has blocked EU proposals, backed by France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Germany, that would have paved the way for developing a new fleet of unmanned surveillance drones and a European Air Force comprised of heavy transport and air-to-air refuelling planes.
A recent report by Lady Ashton's EU External Action Service revealed that work had already begun on モremotely piloted aircraft systems", known as drones.
The drones will be known as Males, standing for "Medium Altitude Long Endurance" and under commission proposals would have been "directly purchased, owned and operated by the Union" along with military aircraft.`
From this Telegraph report of December 2013 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10528852/David-Cameron-flies-to-Brussels-determined-to-fight-EU-drones-programme.html
Some news that you won't find on the pro-Palestinian BBC
The United Nations Department for Safety and Security reported 65 rockets and 15 mortar shells fired from Gaza towards Israel, with an additional 19 rockets and five mortars landing within Gaza and 20 rockets exploding at the launching site during the reporting period. No injuries were reported. The rockets are indiscriminate and a violation of international law.
Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment by the de facto authorities remained issues of concern in Gaza (see paras. 62–66 below). OHCHR received numerous reports of persons being arbitrarily detained for periods of up to a few months by the internal security agency across the Gaza Strip. Many detainees were allegedly subjected to shabeh[1] and sleep deprivation, with their heads covered with a bag for from a few days up to a few weeks. Detainees were reportedly allowed to remove the bag during prayers but, in most cases, not during interrogations. At meal times, most of the detainees were only allowed to lift the bag above their nose. Several detainees reported exposure to further ill-treatment and, at times, torture, including being hit on the soles of their feet, having their head hit against a wall and being slapped in the face or beaten with sticks, rubber tubes or lashes on other parts of their body.
1. Concerns remain regarding the arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of detainees in the custody of the PPS and the Palestinian General Intelligence Service (GIS), including detainees linked to political opposition groups. While ill-treatment of detainees in GIS custody is not systematic, OHCHR documented a pattern of ill-treatment against those who do not make confessions. In several cases, detainees have alleged been blindfolded, handcuffed, slapped in the face and kicked in the legs. OHCHR also documented five cases during the reporting period where the authorities allegedly held detainees incommunicado and used sleep deprivation and stress positions. In at least one case, the detainee alleged multiple violations that may have amounted to torture.2. OHCHR was only able to interview a small sample of detainees held by PPS in the latter part of the reporting period, but it documented one case in which a detainee alleged that he was held in stress positions, subjected to sleep and sunlight deprivation and held incommunicado for 14 days. Several detainees reported being held incommunicado in the first two weeks of detention when detainees tend to be most vulnerable. As recorded on many previous occasions, both GIS and PPS continued to detain suspects arbitrarily despite orders to release detainees by the courts, thereby undermining the rule of law.[1]...
1. In August 2013, two men were summoned to the internal security agency in northern Gaza and allegedly detained, interrogated and tortured because one of the men was involved in a public disagreement over a political issue. Both were blindfolded after arriving at the agency and accused of inciting people against the de facto authorities. One of the men said he was slapped in the face, kicked and beaten with sticks on his legs and on the soles of his feet. The other was reportedly beaten with sticks and a lash, and made to stand on one leg with arms lifted, while being beaten on the leg he was standing on.
2. Detainees were held longest at the interrogation centre of the security agency in Gaza City and were allegedly prevented from meeting with their families during the interrogation phase which, in some cases, lasted several months. If at all, detainees were reportedly only able to meet their lawyers after the interrogations were completed and then only in the presence of security agency officials. This was the case of a 27-year-old man who was arrested by the internal security agency in April 2013 for collaborating with Israel. He was subjected to shabeh and sleep deprivation, and was only allowed to see his family after a month of detention, with no access to his lawyer during that period. [2]...The lack of effective and transparent investigation into cases of alleged unlawful killing, torture and ill-treatment involving the Palestinian security forces is of serious concern. Of the five investigative committees established in 2012 to look into various allegations, the report of only one committee was published, and it did not provide details of any action taken against perpetrators.[1] There is also a grave failure to properly investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment. The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) had filed 124 such complaints in respect of the West Bank as of 31 October 2013, but consistently received outright denials from the authorities without initiation of a thorough and effective investigation.
De facto authorities in Gaza and armed groups
According to available information, no measures have been taken by the de facto authorities in Gaza to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by the said authorities or armed groups in Gaza, including the direct targeting of civilians and the indiscriminate firing of rockets towards Israel.[1]
3. Media reports, citing the spokesperson of the Interior Ministry of the de facto authorities, claim that following an investigation of the summary execution of alleged collaborators during the November 2012 escalation of tension,[2] measures had been taken against four prison officials “who had failed to do their jobs”.[3] Besides lacking transparency, there is insufficient information to determine if any investigation met international standards. It appears that the armed men directly responsible for the killings continue to enjoy impunity.
4. In July 2013, at least 10 people were abducted and eight severely beaten by armed masked men in Gaza. The victims reported that the abductors presented themselves as members of Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and accused them of being involved in the Tramadol[4] trade. Officials of the de facto authorities were allegedly involved in providing the armed men with information about the location of the victims. During their abduction, the men — who were covered with bruises and at least eight of whom had broken legs — were allegedly blindfolded, handcuffed and severely beaten on numerous occasions, including with iron rods, prior to their release. At the time of writing this report, there were no indications that any investigations into these incidents were being conducted by the de facto authorities in Gaza.
Perhaps worst of all are the sections of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly:
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, OHCHR continued to receive reports that journalists faced arrest and questioning for work deemed to be critical of the authorities. OHCHR documented cases of Palestinians arrested for distributing political leaflets, as reportedly was the case in the incidents at Askar and El Far’a refugee camps.Also there is the matter of the death penalty...
1. While other legitimate charges may have been brought against the suspects in those cases, the fact that the authorities considered the distribution of critical political pamphlets a criminal issue is of concern.De facto authorities in Gaza2. The de facto authorities in Gaza continued to restrict the enjoyment of the rights to freedoms of expression and opinion and of peaceful assembly. Members of political parties, journalists, social media activists and academics were arbitrarily detained. They reported being ill-treated and, in some cases, tortured because of opinions expressed through different media platforms, including social media, and their involvement in activities considered to be political and against the de facto authorities or their policies.[1]3. In August 2013, at least 20 Fatah members were arbitrarily detained and many reportedly ill-treated. The Fatah members were alleged to have distributed money to families of Fatah supporters who had been killed and injured during the 2007 intra-Palestinian clashes. Some were detained for weeks without charges and allegedly subjected to sleep deprivation, shabeh, beatings and extensive interrogation. Most stated they were obliged to sign documents stating their commitment to cease engaging in any political or other activities directed against the de facto authorities.[2]4. A number of individuals were detained in relation to Tamarod.[3] In one case, a 40-year-old employee of the Palestinian Authority was detained for approximately 18 hours by the internal security agency in Rafah in September 2013. He was interrogated about his involvement with Tamarod and reportedly subjected to shabeh and other ill-treatment and repeatedly told to confess that he had received documents related to Tamarod. He was released, reportedly after the security agency discovered that its intelligence was wrong. In another case, a Fatah activist was arrested by the security agency on two occasions for his alleged pro-Tamarod campaign on Facebook. He was reportedly tortured during detention, threatened with further detention if he opened a new Facebook account, and forced to sign a paper stating that he would not engage in political activities.[4]5. The de facto authorities also dispersed a number of peaceful demonstrations using excessive or unnecessary force. On 5 May 2013, the police of the de facto authorities forcibly dispersed a peaceful assembly organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine protesting against Israel's attacks on Syria. Demonstrators and journalists were beaten with sticks, and some were detained for a few hours. The photography equipment of some journalists was confiscated or damaged.[5] Shortly after, officials of the de facto authorities issued a statement denouncing the use of force against the journalists and apologizing for the “harsh treatment” they had undergone. However, the authorities maintained that the protest was unlawful, arguing that legal procedures had not been followed.[6] The spokesperson of the Ministry of the Interior of the de facto authorities requested that a commission of inquiry be established to investigate the incident. Since then, there has been no indication that this commission has been formed.
1. Another serious issue of concern was the closure of two media offices. On 25 July 2013, the Prosecutor General of the de facto authorities in Gaza issued an order to temporarily close Ma’an News Agency and Al-Arabiya News Channel, accusing them of distributing false news regarding Hamas and its role in relation to political developments in Egypt. Ma’an News Agency reported that the de facto authorities provided it with a list of preconditions to be met in order to reopen the news agency, which were inconsistent with press freedom. Both offices were reopened in mid-November, without preconditions.
Palestinian Authority1. On 4 May 2013, the Permanent Military Court in Jenin sentenced a security officer to death by firing squad for collaborating with Israel. In line with recent practice, the Palestinian President did not ratify this or any other death sentences. Pursuant to the President’s instruction, Palestinian military courts have retried a number of death-row prisoners and sentenced them instead to terms of imprisonment.De facto authorities in Gaza2. Since 2008, courts of the de facto authorities in Gaza have issued 60 and upheld eight death sentences previously issued by the courts of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.[1] The de facto authorities executed three persons during the reporting period, bringing to a total of 17, the number of executions since its takeover of Gaza.3. Palestinian Basic Law rightly restricts the jurisdiction of military courts to “military affairs” (art. 101 (2)). In Gaza, under existing laws,[2] the de facto authorities can impose the death penalty for a broad range of crimes, and civilians continue to be tried by military courts[3] despite the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.[4] On a number of occasions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged the de facto authorities to halt executions, and raised concerns about the process by which death sentences were imposed in Gaza.[5] OHCHR consistently documented allegations of denial of the right to receive legal assistance, the use of ill-treatment and torture during interrogations and violations of the right to a fair trial by both civilian and military courts of persons later sentenced to death.4. In addition, persons sentenced to death are being denied the right to seek pardon or commutation of their sentences. None of the 17 executions in Gaza were ratified by the President, as required under Palestinian law. Moreover, trials failed to meet fair trial standards, which is of heightened concern where the death penalty may be applied.[6]
Finally how about the rights of women?
I've checked the BBC news website and there's not a word about this report and I don't expect there ever will be for the BBC are very clear that Israel is to blame for everything that happens to the Palestinians and that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are lovely peace-loving people who wouldn't hurt a fly.Violence against women1. Women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory face multiple layers of violence and discrimination. The analysis made by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in 2005 remains valid. She found that the combination of decades of Israeli occupation, the use of force against Palestinians by Israel, the different forms of resistance used by Palestinians against such use of force and the patriarchy prevailing in Palestinian society expose women to a continuum of violence in all spheres of life.[1]2. Palestinian NGOs report that violence against women continues to be widespread[2] and so-called “honour killings”[3] remain of concern. Family honour plays a fundamental role in Palestinian society. Although there are no reliable statistics on “honour killings,”[4] in 2012,[5] ICHR documented five such cases across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.[6] However, there appears to be underreporting of cases; 13 additional cases of murder of women were documented as occurring under “mysterious” circumstances, which indicates that the number of “honour killings” may be higher.[7]In 2011, the Palestinian President abolished article 340 of the 1960 Jordanian Penal Code,[8] which had been in force in the West Bank, and which allowed effective impunity for men who kill or injure their wives or female relatives (maharim) [9] whom they consider to be involved in adultery. However, this measure has not been effective as provisions establishing mitigating circumstances remain in force, in particular article 98 of the Penal Code,[10] which provides for reduced penalties for a person who commits a crime in a state of great anger resulting from a wrongful and dangerous act on the part of the victim.[11] An NGO study of cases of “honour killings” between 2005 and 2010 showed that the evocation of such mitigating circumstances had dramatically reduced penalties.[12] In eight out of 10 cases, the perpetrators were charged with premeditated murder, which carries life imprisonment,[13] however, in most of the cases, due to a combination of mitigating circumstances and the victim’s family’s decision to “drop” the victim’s personal rights,[14]