Here is the Guardian's headline about the BBC's investigation of a BBC documentary about the Gaza flotilla:
Quote:BBC film on Gaza aid flotilla praised by trust despite breaching guidelines
BBC Trust clears Panorama documentary on Mavi Marmara over majority of complaints, but upholds three out of 51 points
All sounds very promising.
The BBC standing up to the Israeli lobby.
Uh - no. Here's the detail:
Quote:The accuracy breaches related to the failure to include preliminary autopsy reports into how activists died and more details of the exact nature of the aid for Gaza being carried by the flotilla.
Panorama was also found by the BBC Trust to have breached impartiality guidelines by not verifying that the Israelis took proper care of the badly wounded following allegations of mistreatment of some of the casualties.
(snip)
The three key complaints relating to the points that were upheld included, "insufficient detail about the circumstances of the deaths", "the omission of allegations about Israeli mistreatment of the passengers after the flotilla was taken over" and "the misrepresentation of the humanitarian aims of the flotilla and of the Turkish humanitarian organisation, the IHH".
Regarding the claim that the manner in which the nine people killed was fundamental to the accuracy of the Panorama documentary, the BBC Trust agreed that because of the lack of clear video footage of anyone being shot, details from the preliminary autopsy reports would have "given a broader picture and added to the programme's description of how the activists died".
The ESC decided that "the information about the volume and nature of the gunshot wounds detailed in the preliminary autopsy reports gave a fuller picture of the manner in which the Israelis killed nine people and the level of force deployed by the Israeli commandos."
It also said that on the matter of the treatment of casualties by the Israelis, "the imagery and the accompanying script line ('The Israelis evacuated the badly wounded to hospital') would have left viewers with the impression that the badly wounded were all promptly and appropriately cared for. The committee noted that, although not proven, there are detailed allegations of mistreatment of at least some of the casualties."
Those three points are absolutely fundamental.
This is not a documentary to be praised. Rather it is a documentary to be thrown in the trash....
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
Some playing of games by Turkey, Israel and the UN.
Note the way that MSM manages to get a Kurd to accuse Turkey of hypocrisy when it criticizes Israel.
When key NATO member Turkey commits atrociites against Kurds, MSM is usually nowhere to be seen....
Quote:Turkey expels Israel's ambassador over refusal to apologise for Gaza flotilla raid
Move comes on same day that UN report finds that Israel used 'excessive and unreasonable force' to stop flotilla
Julian Borger and Constanze Letsch in Istanbul guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 September 2011 18.35 BST
Turkey dramatically downgraded its relations with Israel on Friday, expelling the country's ambassador and cutting military ties with its former ally over Israel's refusal to apologise for an armed assault on a Gaza-borne aid flotilla that killed nine people.
The move, which takes Turkish-Israeli relations to a new low, came on the day a UN report into the Gaza flotilla incident was published. It found that Israeli had used "excessive and unreasonable" force to stop the flotilla approaching Gaza, but that it was justified in maintaining a naval blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
Announcing the measures, Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said that the Israeli ambassador, Gabby Levy, and other senior Israeli diplomats would have to leave their posts by Wednesday and that Turkey's representation in Israel would be downgraded to the junior level of second secretary.
Levy was reported to be in Israel and would not be returning to Ankara.
"The time has come for Israel to pay for its stance that sees it above international laws and disregards human conscience," Davutoglu said. "The first and foremost result is that Israel is going to be devoid of Turkey's friendship … as long as the Israeli government does not take the necessary steps, there will be no turning back."
Davutoglu also said Turkey would take measures in the future to protect its shipping, without going into detail.
The UN investigation chaired by Geoffrey Palmer, a former New Zealand prime minister, focused on the events of 31 May last year on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish-flagged vessel which was the largest ship in an flotilla aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade. It was boarded by Israeli commandoes who were resisted by some of those on board. Nine pro-Palestinian activists eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish American were killed in the raid.
The breakdown in diplomatic relations followed several months of delicate negotiations between Turkish and Israeli diplomats over the wording of an Israeli apology for the incident and compensation for bereaved families, which Ankara had made a condition of improving relations. However, a compromise over a text broke down when it was rejected by right-wingers in the Israeli government of Binyamin Netanyahu.
"There is a deep sense of frustration within the Turkish foreign policy establishment that despite the efforts to mend the relationship and despite coming very close to agreeing to a text, the situation became untenable," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who is now an analyst for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace thinktank.
"The publication of the UN report really established a deadline. Its publication had already been postponed twice, and the Israelis then asked for another six months delay, which Turkey would not accept.
"There is a feeling that neither Israel nor Turkey has anything to win by this, and there must be a degree of frustration in Washington too, as it invested a lot of time and effort in the efforts to mend this. Turkey seems to have lost the ability to play a role in the Middle East peace process because of the breakdown in the relationship with Israel. It was one of the few countries that could talk to both sides. That ability is gone and is unclear if we will be able to regain it. By being unable to settle the relationship with Turkey, meanwhile, Israeli has lost a friend and ally. This is a lose-lose situation."
Israel issued no official response to the Turkish decision, but Israeli officials have suggested to journalists that Ankara was distancing Israel to improve its standing in the Arab world. They have also pointed to the judgment in the Palmer report that the blockade of Gaza is justified under international law. Turkey has rejected that finding and called for the blockade to be reassessed by the UN and by the international court of justice.
However, Alon Liel, a former Israeli diplomat who once served in Turkey, argued that the current government had made a strategic mistake by failing to agree an apology with Turkey.
"The talks on the apology and on fixing this crisis in the relationship had been continuing for six months. The professional staff, the military and legal experts and diplomats had reached an agreement, on a technical apology, but even this was rejected by [foreign minister and coalition partner Avigdor] Lieberman. The issue of an apology is very unpopular in Israel, and Netanyahu ultimately adopted the Lieberman position," Liel said.
He warned that the Turkish expulsion of the Israeli ambassador would increase public pressure in Jordan and Egypt for their governments to follow suit.
Liel said: "In my 30 years as a diplomat we always put contacts with Middle East countries as a top priority, second only to the United States, but it seems that this government have given up on the region, assuming there will be no peace with Palestinians so nobody will like us anyway."
In the streets of Istanbul, the breach in relations with Israeli was mostly popular. Many Turks are angry that Israel refuses to apologise.
Yalçin Kuzgöl, owner of a barber shop in the gentrifying neighbourhood of Cukurcuma, thinks the UN was unable to issue an independent opinion: "All UN decisions and statements are always made in the favour of Israel, no matter what they have done. This is also the case for the Mavi Marmara report."
In the pre-dominantly Kurdish neighbourhood of Tarlabasi, barber Hassan Teke said: "Israel has become like a spoiled child, the spoiled child of the US."
None of his customers have heard of the government announcement yet, but the mention of Israel and the Mavi Marmara still gets a reaction: many Turks are angry that Israel refuses to apologise.
A few metres further down the street, a Kurdish man who wishes to remain anonymous has a very different opinion: "I think that the reaction of the Turkish government is two-faced and wrong. Turkey has no right to complain about the lack of human rights in other countries as long as the Turkish government keeps killing its own citizens in the [Kurdish] southeast."
He added: "So Israel made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. To cut all relations because the other party does not want to apologise is exaggerated."
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
Israel has forced low-cost airline Jet2.com to cancel the tickets of three women from Manchester intending to travel to Bethlehem via Tel Aviv this weekend for a gathering of pro-Palestinian activists.
Jet2.com informed the women by email that the airline would refuse to carry them and no refund would be paid. The move follows pressure on airlines from Israel to ban known activists.
One of the women, retired nurse Norma Turner, said Jet2.com had caved in to pressure. "It never crossed my mind that Israel could stop people with British passports leaving British airports," she told the Guardian.
Israel has promised to deny entry to hundreds of activists due to arrive at Tel Aviv airport on Sunday en route to the West Bank for a week of educational and cultural activities.
Up to 2,000 mainly European sympathisers plan to board planes in what has been dubbed a "flytilla" in reference to previous attempts to breach the blockade of Gaza by flotillas of boats.
Jet2.com's decision followed a similar move by the German carrier Lufthansa, which cancelled the tickets of dozens of activists on Thursday, saying it was complying with Israel's demand not to fly certain passengers to Tel Aviv. Other airlines are expected to follow suit.
In an email sent to the three women, Jet2.com said it had been obliged to provide the Israeli authorities passengers' names, dates of birth, passport numbers and nationalities.
"As a result of providing that information, Jet2.com has been informed by the Israeli authorities that you will not be not permitted to enter Israel. Consequently, if Jet2.com carries you to Israel, you will be refused entry and Jet2.com will be liable for both a fine and your return to Manchester," the email said.
"We regret that, in light of the decision taken by the Israeli authorities, we are unable to accept you for carriage to Israel on this occasion and your booking with Jet2.com has been cancelled."
The airline apologised and said the cancellation was "totally beyond our control" but said the passengers would not be reimbursed.
The Israeli authorities have warned they will not permit entry to "hostile elements" and "provocateurs". It distributed "no-fly" lists of known activists to airlines, which were warned that they would be expected to bear the costs of flying activists back to their point of departure.
"The provocateurs will be dealt with in a determined and quick way," Israel's public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, said this week. "If they arrive in Israel they will be identified, removed from the plane, their entry into Israel will be prevented and they will be moved to a detention facility until they are flown out of Israel."
Hundreds of police will be deployed to Ben Gurion airport from Saturday night and flights carrying activists will be diverted to a smaller terminal, where security forces and immigration officials will check and question passengers.
Israel's response was "paranoid and hysterical", said Mazin Qumsiyeh, one of the organisers of the Welcome to Palestine programme and a university professor in Bethlehem. "They simply don't want the world to know what's going on in Palestine."
The activists say they will be open about their intention to travel directly in special buses from the airport to Bethlehem. Israel controls all entry points to the West Bank.
A similar "flytilla" last July resulted in the detention and deportation of scores of activists. In May 2010, a flotilla of boats attempting to reach Gaza ended in Israeli forces shooting dead nine activists.
The mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh, told a press conference: "These people are coming to talk about peace, they are not coming to wage war against Israel. They are coming to visit the Palestinian people who are under occupation and to talk to them and to help them because these people are isolated."
Turner said she would seek legal advice on Jet2.com's move. "I think the airline should honour its commitment. We had checked in, and we have our boarding passes.
"Every country has the right to control its own borders. But to stop us leaving British shores just shows the extent of Israel's power and influence."
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
Not just small local airlines. Lufthansa, Air France and Belgian Air as well. Indications are that Israel supplied a 'Blacklist'. It's quite despicable the attempt to suppress all form of solidarity with the Palestinians no matter how small.
Quote:The occupation reaches Europe: airlines cancel flytilla' passenger tickets
by Allison Deger on April 13, 2012 23
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3770[/ATTACH]
"Flight France-Palestine," 2011. (Image: DOM)
Three European airlines have canceled the flights of passengers from the Airflotilla2, or flytilla, the campaign in which activists challenge Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories by flying into Tel Aviv and announcing to customs their intent to travel to the West Bank. The campaign started last year with a similar "Welcome to Palestine" fly-in, where some were also refused entry onto their purchased departure flights, at the behest of Israeli security.
Again, this year based on "Israel's orders," Lufthansa Airlines, Brussels Airlines and EasyJet all have canceled flytilla passenger tickets. As of today, European airlines have canceled up to 40 passenger tickets.
Campaign organizers with Bienvenue Palestine also found the tickets of two passengers unaffiliated with the flytilla were included in the mass cancellations.
Screen shot of organizer flytilla organizer, the Bienvenue Palestine campaign. Tweet on the bottom translates: "@Lufthansa @FlyingBrussels @Jet2Offers prefer to support Israeli apartheid in lieu of their humanitarian clients. "
After arriving in-country, activists are expected to tour the West Bank with Bienvenue Palestine. I translated from French Bienvenue Palestine's full statement on flight cancellations:
Several dozen passengers who bought plane tickets to travel to Tel Aviv Sunday, April 15 were notified Thursday by Lufthansa airlines that their reservations were canceled, "by Israel's orders."
"Israel produced a list of names of persons to whom this country denies entry. Yours is on it, which brings us to cancel your ticket and we will immediately refund your credit card," said Lufthansa employees to the passengers.
Unable to distinguish between those who intended to participate in the Welcome to Palestine mission and those who were not involved, the Israeli government, long accustomed to mass "collateral damage," apparently decided to blacklist passengers in bulk. As of Thursday evening we had reports of at least two people who are not connected to the campaign and were planning to travel to Israel whose tickets were also canceled.
Passengers on Lufthansa flights have not committed any infractions, and do not accept the mafia-methods, favored by governments complicit in the imprisonment of the Palestinian people, starting with the French government.
Therefore, with the support of many friends, passengers with the campaign will arrive at their departing airports as scheduled this weekend, as a reminder that the West Bank and the rest of Palestine do not belong to Israel, and to demand respect of international law.
Passengers also received cancellation notices from the other European airlines, stating "Israel Immigration Authorities have informed us that you will be refused entry to Israel and instructed us to refuse you carriage." Bienvenue Palestine posted the text of the notices. Below is one from EasyJet:
Dear DUPONT,
We regret to inform you that Israel Immigration Authorities have informed us that you will be refused entry to Israel and instructed us to refuse you carriage. We have therefore had no choice but to cancel your reservation on easyJet flight to Tel Aviv on 15/04/2012. You will receive a full refund of your booking….
Please do not go to the airport as the Israeli Immigration Authorities have instructed us to refuse you carriage.
If you require further information relating to the refusal of travel may we suggest that you make contact with the Israeli Embassy in Bern. Their contact details are noted below for your information.
We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause you and please be assured we are working under the instruction of the Israeli Immigration Authorities and will be unable to accept you for travel until so advised by the authorities.
Yours Sincerely
easyJet Customer Services
The notices indicate airlines received a master "back list" from Israeli authorities, which was used to select the passengers that were kept from boarding flights. Though the methods used to compile the list are unclear, yesterday Ynet News confirmed Israeli border security did send airlines companies both a passenger black list, along with a letter advising the companies to bar those listed from boarding their flights. http://mondoweiss.net/2012/04/the-occupa...ckets.html
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Court unanimously approves indictment seeking life sentences for four former top IDF brass over flotilla raid.
Photo: Stringer Turkey / ReutersA Turkish high criminal court has unanimously accepted an indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman and the Andalou Agency reported Monday.
The indictment seeks nine counts of aggravated life imprisonment for former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, OC Israel Navy V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom, former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former IAF intelligence head Brig.-Gen. Avishai Levy. Related:
Relations between the regional powers deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board the ship.
Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador and froze all military cooperation after a UN report into the incident released last September largely exonerated the Jewish state.
On February 8, 2011, the report of Israel's Turkel Commission that examined the events surrounding the protest flotilla held that "the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip... was legal pursuant to the rules of international law."
Moreover, the "actions carried out by Israel on May 31, 2010, to enforce the naval blockade had the regrettable consequences of the loss of human life and physical injuries.
"Nonetheless, and despite the limited instances of uses of force for which we could not reach a conclusion, the actions taken were found to be legal pursuant to the rules of international law."
In September, Turkey threatened to take Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the Marmararaid.
Senior IDF officials have said they are taking legal precautions to protect soldiers and officers who participated in the operation to stop the Mavi Marmara.
The IDF Military Advocate- General's Office established a joint team with the Justice Ministry to study the UN-commissioned Palmer Report, released in September 2011, which justified Israel's decision to impose a sea blockade on the Gaza Strip but also criticized the navy's operation to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla.
The report said that "the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the takeover of theMavi Marmara was unacceptable."
The team was studying the legal consequences of the report and possible ways to provide protections to IDF soldiers.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak had tried to broker a compromise with Turkey in an effort to minimize the legal exposure of the commandos.
Reuters, Yaakov Katz and Oren Kessler contributed to this report. http://www.jpost.com/International/Artic...?id=271688
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Quote:The indictment seeks nine counts of aggravated life imprisonment for former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, OC Israel Navy V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom, former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former IAF intelligence head Brig.-Gen. Avishai Levy.
Good.
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
And so the international courts and criminal tribunals are avoided, and an amoral POTUS brokers a filthy deal between two rogue states.
Quote:Netanyahu apologises to Turkish PM for Israeli role in Gaza flotilla raid
Obama brokers call between Netanyahu and Erdogan as Israel says sorry for role in 2010 naval raid that left nine Turks dead
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem and Ewen MacAskill in Washington The Guardian, Friday 22 March 2013 15.43 GMT
Gaza flotilla raid 2010, Turkey Israel
Nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara in 2010 to stop a it reaching Gaza. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Barack Obama has persuaded Israel to apologise to Turkey for the loss of nine lives on board the Mavi Marmara the lead ship in an aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza in a deal that paves the way for diplomatic relations to be restored between the two countries.
News of the US-brokered deal came on Friday as Obama was leaving Israel at the end of his first official visit during which he was praised for an emotional speech tailored to mainstream Jewish opinion but criticised for doing nothing practical to advance stalled peace negotiations and downplaying Palestinian suffering.
The apology to Turkey for the May 2010 incident had been resisted by Israel until now, despite pressure from the international community. Both are close US allies Turkey is a member of Nato so the president was well placed to broker the deal.
According to White House officials aboard Air Force One, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu placed a call to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan while closeted with Obama in a trailer on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport in the last minutes before the president's departure for Jordan. Obama joined the call at one point.
The Israeli prime minister's office said Netanyahu "apologised to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to the loss of life". Erdogan accepted the apology, White House officials said.
This was the "first step" towards normalisation of relations between the two countries, US officials said, and had been the subject of talks between Obama and Netanyahu in Jerusalem this week.
Arriving in the Jordanian capital Amman Obama went into talks with King Abdullah II on the escalating crisis in neighbouring Syria as well as the prospects for reviving Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
On the Israeli-Turkish deal the president said the "the timing was good" to restore the ruptured relationship, though it was "a work in progress".
A statement from Netanyahu's office said: "The two men agreed to restore normalisation between Israel and Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against IDF soldiers.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu … expressed regret over the deterioration in bilateral relations and noted his commitment to working out the disagreements in order to advance peace and regional stability."
It added: "The prime minister made it clear that the tragic results regarding the Mavi Marmara were unintentional, and that Israel expresses regret over injuries and loss of life. In light of the Israeli investigation into the incident, which pointed out several operational errors, Netanyahu apologised to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to loss of life and agreed to complete the agreement on compensation."
A statement released in Obama's name on Friday afternoon said: "The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security.
"I am hopeful that today's exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper co-operation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities."
The US has been deeply concerned about the deterioration in relations between its two key allies in the region since the flotilla debacle. Nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara in an operation to prevent it and other ships in the flotilla from reaching Gaza. The bloody confrontation was met with a wave of international condemnation, and Israel was forced to ease its stringent blockade of the tiny Palestinian enclave.
Turkey cut all diplomatic ties with Israel following the incident, and demanded that the Gaza blockade be lifted before normal relations would be restored. In Gaza, which has been ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas for almost six years, Turkey was hailed as a champion of Palestinian rights.
Reconciliation talks ran into trouble recently when Erdogan called Zionism a "crime against humanity" and compared it to fascism. But on Friday, a senior US official, briefing journalists on the flight from Tel Aviv to Amman, said brokering the deal become possible after Erdogan backtracked on those comments.
In an interview with a Danish paper this week, Erdogan did not retract his words but said they had been misinterpreted.
Netanyahu told Erdogan "he had seen his interview in a Danish newspaper and that he, Netanyahu, appreciated those comments", the US official said.
Asked if Obama had brokered the deal, the official said: "I think it would be accurate to say the president has been making this point to both leaders for going on a couple years now. So I think it's well known by both Turkey and Israel the importance we place on seeing these two close friends of ours have normalised relations."
He added: "No one is claiming that this resolves every potential difference between Israel and Turkey. I think we said, and I think they would tell you, this was an important step because one of the key things that had been dividing them was their strong differences over the Mavi Mara incident and Turkey's desire for an apology and compensation."
Israel will now move ahead on existing plans to pay up to £4m ($6.1m) in compensation to the dead activists' families.
The deal to end the rift allows Obama to claim a significant diplomatic victory from his first trip as president to Israel. While his speech to Israeli students on Thursday was widely praised, he risked accusations that he had achieved nothing of substance. There was no new plan to kickstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, little movement on how to deal with Iran's nuclear programme and nothing concrete on Syria.
But the end of the Israeli-Turkish standoff is progress. With so much turmoil and uncertainty in the region, the US wants to be able to count on Turkey and Israel working in tandem.
The rift created problems beyond just the symbolism. Turkey, as a member of Nato, was able to block Israeli participation in proposed multilateral exercises. The US, which backs Turkey's bid for membership of the European Union, sees it as an important player in Syria. Nato helped beef up military defences along the border last year.
Before flying to Jordan, Obama visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. In the afternoon he crossed the pre-1967 "green line" to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. A desert storm forced him to abandon the presidential helicopter and instead travel by road, passing through the eight-metre-high concrete wall that cuts off the West Bank city from Jerusalem.
Obama's first visit to the Holy Land since becoming president appeared to have succeeded in its main aim of reassuring Israel of the "unbreakable alliance" with the US and recalibrating the hitherto frosty relationship between its leaders. Palestinians remained deeply sceptical about his ability to force real change.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, is to explore renewing the talks. "We'll keep plugging away," Obama said in Amman. "We'll see if we can make it happen."
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
Jan Klimkowski Wrote:And so the international courts and criminal tribunals are avoided, and an amoral POTUS brokers a filthy deal between two rogue states.
Quote:Netanyahu apologises to Turkish PM for Israeli role in Gaza flotilla raid
Obama brokers call between Netanyahu and Erdogan as Israel says sorry for role in 2010 naval raid that left nine Turks dead
It was never going to end any other way. What's a few dead activists between friends? There is business to do together and this loose string had to be tidied up. As the Palestinians know all too well the word 'justice' and 'Israel' are never used in the same sentence. And I doubt it is in Turkish either. Turkey has a lot of aces up its sleeve that it has chosen not to use. Especially the archives of land titles. It will take some thing much bigger than this for Turkey to find their cojones. For a moment I thought the words would have stuck in the mouth of Netanyahu but then I remembered he probably lies all the time and his words mean nothing anyway. He'll say the same to the Australian government about Zygier and it will mean the same.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Jan Klimkowski Wrote:And so the international courts and criminal tribunals are avoided, and an amoral POTUS brokers a filthy deal between two rogue states.
Quote:Netanyahu apologises to Turkish PM for Israeli role in Gaza flotilla raid
Obama brokers call between Netanyahu and Erdogan as Israel says sorry for role in 2010 naval raid that left nine Turks dead
It was never going to end any other way. What's a few dead activists between friends? There is business to do together and this loose string had to be tidied up. As the Palestinians know all too well the word 'justice' and 'Israel' are never used in the same sentence. And I doubt it is in Turkish either. Turkey has a lot of aces up its sleeve that it has chosen not to use. Especially the archives of land titles. It will take some thing much bigger than this for Turkey to find their cojones. For a moment I thought the words would have stuck in the mouth of Netanyahu but then I remembered he probably lies all the time and his words mean nothing anyway. He'll say the same to the Australian government about Zygier and it will mean the same.
I wonder if the US/Israeli/Turkish axis is coming together to finish off Syria.
"We'll know our disinformation campaign is complete when everything the American public believes is false." --William J. Casey, D.C.I
"We will lead every revolution against us." --Theodore Herzl
![[Image: pixel_1.png?utm_source=jPost&rnd=89694366]](http://wpc.2a95.edgecastcdn.net/002A95/pixel_1.png?utm_source=jPost&rnd=89694366){kind=tracking}