The Chinese sturgeon, which hasn’t changed much over the last 140 million years, hasn’t reproduced in the last year, according to news reports.

“It is the first time that we found no natural reproduction of the endangered sturgeons since records began 32 years ago when [the Gezhouba] dam was built,” Wei Qiwei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, told Xinhua, the state press agency.

A survey from this past winter turned up no sturgeon eggs in the Yangtze River, the main water body the species inhabits. And a month-long search for young fish swimming down the river that began in August also came up empty, according to Xinhua. Like salmon, Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) spend much of their time in the ocean but return to rivers to reproduce.

Populations of Chinese sturgeon are primarily threatened by habitat loss, overfishing and reduced water quality, driven by dam construction. Dams cut off areas the sturgeon previously used to spawn, and pollution has hurt their ability to reproduce, scientists said.

Like other sturgeons, this Chinese species is long-lived and reproduces infrequently, so it is difficult to build up populations of the animal once they are depleted. From 1973 to 2010, the animals’ numbers dwindled by 98 percent, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which considers the fish critically endangered. They can grow up to 13 feet in length or more.

Chinese sturgeon have been “nicknamed aquatic pandas,” according to Xinhua, and are “listed as a wild creature under… national top protection.” But as there are no existing plans to tear down newly-built dams, it seems unlikely that the species will turn around unless some drastic action is taken.

JNS.org – As the world awaits a decision on Scottish independence in a referendum this week, Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond gave an interview in which he compared the terrorism of the Islamic State with the actions of the state of Israel.

Salmond was speaking to the BBC about the beheading of British aid worker David Haines by the Islamic State when he stated that “the Muslim community of Scotland isn’t responsible in any shape or form for atrocities or extremism in Iraq or elsewhere.”

“I mean, just like a few weeks ago, the Jewish community of Scotland wasn’t responsible for the policies of the State of Israel,” he said.

That is the reality of Scottish Nationalism today.

Yes we do as Trotskyists support the Independence of Scotland from Britain but not this Antisemitic Hell Hole created by Salmond

We are in a new situation in the world.

It was not an accident that George Bush Junior allied himself totally with the centre of the Jihad (Iran) when he saw it as his mission to attack and destroy the great enemy of the Jihad (Iran) who was Saddam Hussein.

NOBODY HAS EXPLAINED

Nobody has ever explained was why Bush was so besotted with removing Saddam. Of course the cover is that he wished for parliamentary democracy everywhere. But that is just a cover. He was inexperienced like Obama, but not entirely stupid. He must have known of the enmity between the Baathists and the Mullahs. It is a mystery.

It was this that removed the floodgates to the Islamic Jihad and the awful sufferings of minorities (including women) at the hands of Islam

Britain is now at the point of breaking up whether Salmond wins today or not.

BRITAIN AND SCOTLAND BOTH AT CENTRE OF JIHAD

But … Britain has been at the centre of the advancement of the Jihad. It has joined Jihadists in destroying Yugoslavia and waged wars on Mubarak, Gadhafi, Ben Ali, Gaghbo (who is also in the Hague with many Serbs), Assad.

Britain is also up to its old warfare against Russia. One thing is certain it is no longer united. The Windsors especially this latest monarch did not even have the guts to fight for her “United Kingdom”. What a spineless creature!

In all of these wars the Scottish nationalists have been behind the British Governments on the side of the Jihad. This is the new factor that needs to be included.

Salmond (above)deliberately placed ISIS in the same category as Israel in his speech to a group called “The Islamic League”. There is a horrible you tube video of this horrific little toady speaking to these soft Jihadists in Scotland.

In this Salmond is not one bit different to any of the European leaders and to the US Establishment as a whole also, with a few Congress representatives exceptions

So we have the old story and more of the same. Salmond and his Scottish nationalists promise to crack down on “Antisemitism” but he is clearly in word (above) and practice supporting Hamas and Fatah as the “Resistance”

Salmond and the Scottish nationalists are out of this same Israel hating milieu as George Galloway.

Thus if you are a Jew living in Scotland today you are not facing a history of Scots assisting Jews, but a present where Israel is continually attacked, placing Jews in Scotland in more and more danger of physical attack (Pogrom)

And the future under capitalism is Jihad and more Jihad, and where a truncated England becomes Sharia, a miserable Scotland becomes Sharia, and Ireland becomes Sharia.

This is a great analysis of the situation facing Israel and Jews by Moise Feiglin but there is a serious weakness in it which I from a Trotskyist and Marxist position will try to explain.

Let me first extract one paragraph (you can find it below also in the body of Feiglin’s text). Actually it could be any one of a number but I seek brevity:

“The increased security budget is not meant to preserve our safety. The budget – beside the widespread corruption that it funds (government-funded pensions and the like) – is meant to preserve… the Oslo mentality.”

Great material here by Feiglin. He is right.

What he points to in essence is that Israel (even more precisely Israeli leadership) has betrayed the Zionist principles of national liberation which led up to the founding of the state in 1948.

Where Feiglin goes wrong from this onwards is that the above paragraph requires a revolution inside Israel in order to surmount this problem (to Feiglin’s credit precisely identified) and move forward

Who will make the revolution? The masses of the Jewish people. And non-Jews who are lovers of Judaism and Israel also I have to include because this is not racist but political.

Is there any other requirement? Yes there is indeed one and only one.

Leadership!

Anything else to say about that?

Yes leadership is stressful. Individuals, groups and parties are known to fold (cave in, betray principles)

So it must be a party of a special type. If it is based on a revolutionary theory that is a good start. Of the cadres who make up the leadership have been tempered by experience that is another good thing.

Can Feiglin himself build such a party?

What a question!

A dualist answer I am afraid…Feiglin can help in the sense that the article above helps but more precisely…

I do not think so. Feiglin is too much of a dogmatist. Dogma is not discipline (Stalin had both dogma galore and discipline but no use here) and is opposed to theory (Theory is dead but green is the everlasting tree of life!)

So in essence Feiglin does point to the way forward but in my opinion cannot actually tread that road.

What was the Hamas’s budget during this war? A fraction of Israel’s. Maybe one percent. So, if everything depended on money, how is it that such a huge monetary gap in our favor did not lead to a resounding Israeli victory – quick, simple, and without fatalities?

Israeli soldiers seen at a deployment area near the border with the Gaza Strip in August. Israel could not win a war like the one this past summer with Hamas, according to the author, because its policy makers are “captive to the concept of the two state solution.”Israeli soldiers seen at a deployment area near the border with the Gaza Strip in August. Israel could not win a war like the one this past summer with Hamas, according to the author, because its policy makers are “captive to the concept of the two state solution.”

The reason we did not win in Gaza has nothing to do with money. We did not win because we are still captive to the concept of the two state solution. Since the Oslo Accords, this concept has spawned an entire “peace industry” – careers in politics, economics, academia, media, and justice, international funds, and a high-cultural life. Only politically-correct and one-dimensional thinking is allowed. In short, what we have is a true dictatorship.

Thinking out of the box built by the Oslo and two-state architects has become a death trap for anyone wishing to advance in Israel’s public service. It is not so pleasant to talk about, but this mental dictatorship has completely conquered Israel’s military leadership. An aspiring officer cannot progress past a certain rank if he does not toe the line. The result is that when it is necessary to scare the cabinet away from victory in Gaza, the Chief of Staff presents a slideshow demonstrating that conquering Gaza would take five years.

Now back to the military budget. In essence Israel’s military has forgotten what the word “victory” means. And yet, its “job” is to provide security. So how does its job? By building fences, anti-missile systems, warning bombs for enemy civilians, anti-tunnel systems, etc. In short, it exchanges ideology for technology.

The increased security budget is not meant to preserve our safety. The budget – beside the widespread corruption that it funds (government-funded pensions and the like) – is meant to preserve… the Oslo mentality.

The problem is that an erroneous idea is like a balloon. You can pour more and more money into it (Oslo has cost us close to one trillion shekels to date), but, ultimately, like the Maginot Line, it will collapse – leaving us without security and without money.

Thus, today’s security budget undermines our security. The more money we pour into it, the more the defense apparatus will be able to evade its responsibility to defend us and not the Oslo mentality. Our defense problem is conceptual – not monetary.

About the Author: Moshe Feiglin is the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and a member of Israel’s Security and Defense Committee. He heads the Manhigut Yehudit (“Jewish Leadership”) faction of Israel’s governing Likud party. He is the founder of Manhigut Yehudit and Zo Artzeinu and the author of two books: “Where There Are No Men” and “War of Dreams.” Feiglin served in the IDF as an officer in Combat Engineering and is a veteran of the Lebanon War. He lives in Ginot Shomron with his family.

Sinead O’Connor: U mention islam.. a religion horribly misrepresented by terrorists… which is like the IRA saying they represented Irish people.. Islam is a BEAUTIFUL religion.. wud make u cry its so beautiful… and gentle.

Sinead O’Connor is not alone in Ireland in having spouted continually these lies about Islam being a religión of peace (it is not a religión and it is not peace) and it is past time that Young people and especially Young women start to call these lies

America tuned in to hear how Obama planned to defeat the Islamic army conquering whole swaths of the Middle East. Instead Obama took to the prime time airwaves to proselytize for Islam.

Obama in his speech to America performed a scrubbing and cleaning up job for Islam

Obama is the true Mohammedan. He claimed:

Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.

Thus today on the anniversary of 9-11 there is still this ideology in the world that tries to paint Islam as being a religión of peace.

ISIl according tot he present President of the US so many years and so many experiences after that fateful claim by Bush is nothing to do with Islam

This is the key concept that we on 4international want to concéntrate on. Of course ISIL has EVERYTHING to do with Islam

As the main scholars of Islm today are pointing out continually every beheading, every burying of humans alive, every single barbarity, is being inspired by the Korana nd the Hadiths

They quote continually

Last night as I thought on the anniversary of 9-11 I wrote this, some of it takes up the issues of leadership:

Another year rolls by and another anniversary of the Muslim attack on the Twin Towers in New York

The reason that the left did not oppose this atrocity is because of the influence of Stalinism and revisionism which itself did not centre on 9-11 but happened a long time before. The left had betrayed the method and principles of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky.

When Leon Trotsky was murdered by the Stalinist assassin Ramon Mercader, recruited out of the Spanish Civil War bloodbath, it was not only Trotsky but a whole cadre leadership which had been wiped out by the Stalinists and the Fascists, with the ID OFof the capitalist imperialist countries like Britain and US

Thus Trotskyism was left without leadership. There was thus no continuity. The person who became known as Tony Cliff was never a Trotskyist, nor was Isaac Deutscher the biographer of Trotsky.

There was a vacuum in 1945. Into that vacuum were sucked in a new layer of leadership into left wing political life.

A big turning point which had great influence was the defeat by the Jews of Israel not only over the armies of the Arabs but by those armies now supported totally by the Stalinists of Moscow in 1967. This was the qualitative year.

The important book Phantom Nation had spelled out in detail how the phenomenon known as the “Palestinians” came into being in 1967, not before. It gained this huge traction in 1967 because from then on it was sold as a commodity

Who did the selling?

The Stalinists as I mentioned above

The Arabs

The Arabs of the area of Palestine who had a history centred on Hajj Amin el Husseini whose Jew Hatred was contiguous to that of the Nazis

The British

The US Establishment who remember had had a history of eugenics and racist Antisemitism

All of that is clear. But there is one other force often overlooked and that is the Jewish leadership of Israel

What did they do well in fact they both did nothing and did a lot.

This is a fact. The leadership of Israel while fighting in a patriotic and brave manner in 1948 was a middle class and a petty bourgeois leadership

This leadership did one thing which was fatal. It did not fight this new concept of “Palestine” but adapted to it. They adapted to the nascent Antisemitism

Before the Palestinians were the Jews. The most patriotic Jews saw themselves as Jewish Palestinians

The Arabs did not like the term. They continually called themselves “Arabs” and sometimes “Arabs of Southern Syria”.

The middle class Jewish leaders drowned themselves in a mythology divorced from the reality of the present. They could have contested the Arabs ove the “Palestine” name. A lot was at stake. It was really their first and massive betrayal.

These were not Marxists or Trotskyists. They were Jihadists on the left.

When 9-11 happened of course they could not attack Muslims or Islam

The first expression of this was the conspiracy industry. The Left Jihadist Fascists resurrected conspiracy in order to cement their alliance with Islam Fascism

The point is not whether US Imperialism were not in bed with the Jihadists. They were in one way or another. For example their multiculturalism was allowing the Jihadists to flourish in Bosnia, Berlin or London

But the Jihadist and anti-Marxist left had become a vehicle for the Jihad.

That was why this massive conspiracy industry suddenly sprang up. They were not seeking truth so much as providing a cover for Islam and so that has remained to this day.

The Trotskyist movement in Ireland as represented by us on this site must be expanded rapidly in order to fight against the deep Antisemitism that is running through the Jihadist and Stalinist/Revisionist movements and indeed through the whole of capitalist society worldwide. But we refer here mainly to Ireland.

We are independent from all other political movements including Jewish movements but we do fight in soldiarity with the latter.

The purpose of this article is to point out two things

1. the great hubbub about the state of Israel taking under its wing about a square mile or a Little less of land

2. the initial promise by the League of Nations to the Jews in 1922 which was far bigger than present day Israel

The leading purveyor of Antisemitism is THE MEDIA and this Antisemitism was clearly on show and proved when it published the HAMAS figures for dead and injured during the recent Gaza War.

This was a deeply Antisemitic action to take and will never be forgiven by us Trotskyists in Ireland who do two things: we defend Jews against Antisemitism and we always stand for truthful discourse

So this is what these scumbags on an Irish website have written on this land issue:

“ISRAEL HAS CLAIMED nearly 1,000 acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank, in what is understood to be the biggest such seizure in decades.

Local authorities in the Gush Etzion area, south of Bethlehem, said the decision to establish new settlements there was a response to the killing of three Jewish teenagers there in June.

Their kidnapping and deaths sparked 50 days of violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip, which killed 2,138 Palestinians, and 68 Israelis, before an indefinite ceasefire last week.

A US State Department official has condemned the land seizure, telling Reuters it was “counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians.”

“We urge the government of Israel to reverse the decision,” the official added.

Peace Now, a group which opposed Israeli settlements, said authorities planned to seize 990 acres near the existing settlement of Gevaot, west of Bethlehem.”

TO UNDERSTAND FULLY THE LIE THAT ISRAEL GRABS LAND JUST LOOK AT THIS MAP

All of these Arab states in the map above have been gained by the Arab people. They started with a couple of states and they now have 22 very rich states. ALL SINCE 1922

THE MEDIA IGNORES THE TINYNESS AND VULNERABILITY OF ISRAEL

SOME THOUGHTS ON HOW ISRAEL HAS BECOME HATED

SOME THOUGHTS ON ANTISEMITISM

The growth of this Antisemitism is a product of maany things but in the world in general it is partly oil. The world of capitalism has been sucking up to rich oil essentially.

The Catholic Church in Ireland has always been basically secular since the times of Paul Cullen. With the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland its place in rural Ireland has been taken over by the also secular Sinn Fein of today. Not such a big leap considering they are both essentially secular (the same type of secularism meaning separation of state and religión)

This is where the Antisemitism is coming from. It comes from Sinn Fein, this replacement of Catholic Church power. That replacement of Catholic Church by Sinn Fein today is complete

THE FOLLOWING MAP IS A GOOD ONE. THE SPLIT ALONG THE RIVER WAS MADE BY THE BRITISH. INVESTIGATE THIS HISTORY FURTHER PLEASE

EXTRACT STARTS HERE

“The Mandate system was instituted by the League of Nations in the early 20th century to administer non-self-governing territories. The mandatory power, appointed by an international body, was to consider the mandated territory a temporary trust and to see to the well-being and advancement of its population.

In July 1922, the League of Nations entrusted Great Britain with the Mandate for Palestine. Recognizing “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine,” Great Britain was called upon to facilitate the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine-Eretz Israel (Land of Israel). Shortly afterwards, in September 1922, the League of Nations and Great Britain decided that the provisions for setting up a Jewish national home would not apply to the area east of the Jordan River, which constituted three-fourths of the territory included in the Mandate and which eventually became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The British Mandate authorities granted the Jewish and Arab communities the right to run their internal affairs; thus the yishuv established the Elected Assembly and the National Council. The economy expanded, a Hebrew education network was organized and cultural life flourished.

The Mandatory government did not succeed in maintaining the letter and spirit of the Mandate. Under Arab pressure, it withdrew from its commitment, especially with respect to immigration and land acquisition. The White Papers of 1930 and 1939 restricted immigration and acquisition of land by Jews. Later, immigration was limited by the 1930 and 1939 White Papers, and land acquisition by Jews was severely restricted by the 1940 Land Transfer Regulations.

The false flag stuff really doesn’t add up. If Israel kept doing this, upped its rate a bit and seized 1000 acres every 3 months, it would take 1400 years, 380,000 dead Israelis and 12 million dead Palestinians to settle the West Bank. While I credit the Israelis with a longer view than, say, Fine Gael, I doubt any plans which are that elaborate.

I don’t doubt that their ultimate goal is the annexation of the larger chunk of the West Bank.

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John Rabbett Sep 1 10:03 AM #

5 123

Murray see the attached link, Israeli news sources reporting 988 acres taken from 5 Palestinian villages. “The move clears the way for construction of a new settlement named Gvaot” according to the news website below. And it doesn’t matter what their reason the detail behind the, they have taken land which isn’t theirs.

Murray it would be counterproductive to annex the whole of the West Bank or Gaza, Israel needs to keep the “enemy at the gates” like all the super powers they need a live fire battle field to keep troops battle ready. Occupy, antagonise and then blame the natives through the media to keep their own populace and military wound up nice and tight with an appetite for war.

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 10:33 AM #

192 11

I can see lots of articles, some of which are maliciously labelled land grab, but no detailed, high resolution mapping that clearly defines exactly what is proposed, and where. Or who it will directly affect, or whether there are existing owners, or whether the land is under agriculture, or…

Israel operates under rule of law and from the little I could glean this morning, this decision has been overseen by the judiciary.

It’s all very well coming out in protest, but what are you actually protesting? Or is it simply that the media have called it a land grab and this has automatically set up a knee jerk reaction to all those who hate Israel?

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Were Jammin Sep 1 10:40 AM #

8 125

Israeli media are reporting it, both left and right wing Murray. This isn’t the states, people bother to check information. Fail

“Israel operates under rule of law ”

And that puts the rest of your hasbara in context. israel regularly wipes its ar$e with both international and humanitarian law.

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John Rabbett Sep 1 10:49 AM #

3 100

Murray, What difference does it make what the land is used for, it is not Israel’s land. Have Israel taken the land? and please note its a Yes or No question.

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Mr Phil Officer Sep 1 10:51 AM #

3 83

Murray Israel violated international law and need to be held to account, the old testament is not the law and the argument that commentators are anti Israeli is an old one now. I don’t hate Israel and I think most Irish people understand and sympathise with the plight of the Palestinian people because of our own history in fact most people Irish or otherwise would be horrified to see a grown man beat and murder a child never mind a well trained and equipped military bombarding their houses and killing them in their beds, that’s not war its an extermination. No army should target civilians.

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Kp Gumbo Sep 1 11:05 AM #

5 35

Jesus but you are a moron !!!

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Ailbhe O’Nolan Sep 1 11:08 AM #

8 52

Murrays got the blinkers on.

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FMan Sep 1 11:15 AM #

50 9

‘SeekingUniversalTruth. Making silly assertions about Israel murdering its own citizens does not advance the cause of peace and an agreed settlement in the area.

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De Wit Sep 1 11:16 AM #

6 61

Why are any of you arguing with murray? Under no circumstances will he ever admit the rogue state has done wrong, have a read of this

“Ireland wants to see a permanent and sustainable ceasefire, the lifting of the blockade on Gaza which is at the root cause of this devastating conflict and ultimately the establishment of a two-state solution which is based on the borders of 1967.”

If this really is our position, then we need to be clear that our craven relationship with the USA will not interfere with this position – letting USA war jets fly over Dublin is not a great way to do that.

I hope to hear our Government publicly denounce this latest land grab.

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Colm O’Brien Sep 1 11:26 AM #

3 40

Murray,

The rule of law you refer to operates like this: the military go to court and say it’s vital for Israel’s security that we have that land to make this road or whatever and the court says ok.

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Sean O’Keeffe Sep 1 11:42 AM #

2 41

There is a great difference between the rule of law (observed by democracies) and rule by law (common to tyrannical administrations).

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M Bowe Sep 1 11:59 AM #

1 43

Olive oil is currently being harvested on this land by the Palestinian owners. As for the death of the 3 teenagers being cause of this illegal land grab, tenders for construction of 1000 Israeli homes was issued for this area last year.

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Paul Maguire Sep 1 12:19 PM #

2 44

It is toltally wrong what Israel is doing no matter what spin you want put on it

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Ablitive Sep 1 12:19 PM #

8 25

Definately a false flag operation and a pretext to ground invade Gaza (Which incidentally occurred simultaneously on the same day as MH17 hoax)

The land belongs to five Palestinian villages of Jaba, Sur’if, Wadi Fuk’in, Husan and Nahal’in according to Haaretz.

The proposal is to ‘create territorial continuity between the Green Line and the settlements of Beitar Ill it, K’far Etzi’on and Gvaot’.

I think when you appropriate 1000 acres belonging to someone else, then the law should act to protect those who are disenfranchised no matter who your international friends are. And this is on top of 245 acres appropriated from Palestine last April!

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Paul Sep 1 12:54 PM #

1 4

maybe they were blown to bits and poured from a wheelbarrow onto them stretchers

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Brian McCarthy Sep 1 1:18 PM #

2 22

You won’t hear any meaningful condemnation from our spineless government. Ireland is open for business but it’s not open to supporting the plight of the palestinians. Boycott Israel!!

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holden mcgroin Sep 1 2:03 PM #

4 34

“Israel operates under the rule of law” hahahahahahahahahaha.

Israel has broken more UN resolutions than Saddam Hussein, Quadaffi and North Korea put together. And as for a “civilized” nation that uses flechettes on women and children don’t get me started. You are a propagandist Murray. An Israeli propagandist.

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Zoe Daly Sep 1 2:10 PM #

2 21

agree Brian,

Ireland is open for business with Israel alright. You won’t hear a peep from our government. Quiet as mice.

Millions apparently spent in arms export to Israel in past few years. Interesting considering the allegiances of our last Minister for Defence!!

Murray wouldn’t know the truth if it hit him in the face. The Israelis ciuld march into his house, boot him out and claim it as their own and he would still deny any wrong doing or that it even happened.

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 5:06 PM #

18 0

Paul, please check out this link, which is what I was looking/waiting for.

Haaretz is the Israeli newspaper that informs the Guardian and BBC – i.e., not my idea of balanced reporting. However, I was waiting to get more info and as you’ve had the courtesy to respond, can I direct you to this link, which is what I was looking/waiting for.

Hamas operate from heavily densely populated civilian areas and put their own people in the firing line.

But you won’t hear that on sky news.

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John Rabbett Sep 1 7:21 PM #

1 11

Murray, I find it interesting that you can have such faith in an article on that has no author attached to it, when other blogs on the site have authors attached. That’s usually a sign of a lack of faith in the author in what they are writing.

You complain about a lack of balanced reporting from Haaretz, yet one of the Experts at the JCPA

Nadav Shragai wrote for that paper for 27 years.

Six out of the ten of the Experts are ex IDF( most of them with high Ranks).

The rest have had roles high up in the Government.

Its looking like all the Experts are Jewish.

Now how can they possibly provide a balanced response.

In fact, its an IDF led propaganda tool. Look back at the blogs not one mention of the fact that Israel bombed UN schools. The blogs show only one side of the story. So I ask how can you think they provide a balanced view

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John Rabbett Sep 1 7:24 PM #

1 10

Oran, it does not matter if they do or do not target civilians, the fact is they hit them, and that should be the issue not that whether or not they target them.

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Oran Burns Sep 1 10:13 PM #

9 4

John it does matter. It matters a huge deal as intent to do harm is a serious crime!

When an army is drawn into urban guerrilla warfare in a heavily densely populated area where the attackers hide amongst civilians in schools, mosques, UN shelters and homes….tragic and awful things happen.

I should add that every loss of Palestinian or Israeli innocent life is a tragedy.

But Hamas are the ones picking a fight and they see loss of life in a holy war as an act of service to God.

So they put women and children in the firing line.

It’s a dirty war tactic which needs to be exposed for what it is.

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John Rabbett Sep 1 10:43 PM #

3 6

So knowing that Hamas put women and children in the line of fire the IDF still choose to fire on them. Yes its a dirty tactic, but even when the IDF were warned they were firing to close to UN shelters they kept firing. Both Hamas and IDF are guilty of using dirty tactics. Bear in mind that Israelis were so concerned that they took months to notice that one of their bomb shelters inside the zone being attacked by Hamas was turned into a Casino…

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 11:40 PM #

4 3

John, I don’t have a problem with its authorship because the information simply makes sense to me. There were 3 areas agreed at Oslo – the one being discussed happens to be in Area C.

With regard to the UN schools, presumably you have read why UN schools were targeted, when they were targeted. You’ve presumably seen footage from Italian, French and Indian news teams that show missiles being launched from civilian areas, in one instance immediately adjacent to a UN facility.

I entirely share your horror at the deaths and injuries and the homelessness that has resulted from this conflict. Having lived and worked in Israel over many years, Israelis do not live their lives hoping to destroy Palestinians or make their lives harder. At one time, before the 2nd intifada, there was so much interaction between Israelis and Palestinians. They worked together, shopped in each others businesses, constructed homes together and shared lives. After the 2nd intifada that stopped completely, except in places like Haifa which has a big mixed Jewish and Muslim/Christian Arab population.

Unless you live there and experience the intensity of life, both good and bad, you cannot begin to understand what drives the narrative in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The Palestinians have so much to gain if they could only try to see past 45 years of hostile programming. It might be possible with Fatah and the PA. It won’t happen with Hamas – they are ideologically unable to negotiate with Israel, so I really don’t know the way forward.

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 11:56 PM #

8 1

I have spoken to guys who went into Gaza for Cast Lead. They said it was like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. The IDF may not fire on civilians so when they come across a Hamas operative firing at them from behind a child or woman, they have to back away. I know this is not the narrative you’ve been told, but its true, nevertheless. I don’t doubt there are some rogue soldiers as in any army who will take the law into their own hands, but if they do and they are found out, Israeli military prisons are not good places to be.

WRT those Israelis who sat on a hill, watching the glow from explosions and cheering, when you have spent the past 12 years frequently having to dive into bomb shelters to avoid rockets and now mortar shells, the people across the border are viewed as very much the enemy and those people on the hill are glad to see that enemy getting a pasting. Its a normal human reaction, but does not mean that when some of the enemy come across the border in desperate need of medical attention, they don’t get that attention in Israeli hospitals.

Last November I shared a Tel Aviv hospital room with 2 other guys, one of whom was a Gazan (and his wife), who was getting medical aid for his terminal cancer. He had the same care and attention and food as we did. Hope you can acknowledge that.

Seems to me that a great deal of the hatred some Irish people feel for Israel stems from their identification with the Palestinians as suffering as did the Irish under the British. While there are some common causes, the two stories are really not the same. In fact, early Israelis had good reason to bitterly hate the English, but thats another story.

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Dummy Crusher Sep 3 12:15 AM #

0 1

Paid Hasbara Puppet!

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Peter Slattery Sep 1 7:33 AM #

28 673

And so wee see the true goal of the Israeli government and the Z word. Nothing they do is in the interest of security and the safety of their citizens. They just crave land.

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Niall H Sep 1 7:49 AM #

28 523

It’s like watching ‘the field’ only they’ve bigger beards and in this case the yank does the murdering.

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SeekingUniverslTruth Sep 1 9:00 AM #

32 79

Drum roll

Ladies and the Gentlemen

The analogy of the year goes to………….Niaaalllllllll H

*rapturous applause…………..standing ovation……………..

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SeekingUniverslTruth Sep 1 9:15 AM #

11 56

i just read that again niall…….clsss lmfao

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 9:21 AM #

313 31

At its centre, Israel is 9 miles wide, from the sea to the West Bank. If Israel just,’craved land’, they would have annexed the entire West Bank by now, not withdrawn from Gaza, or returned the Sinai to Egypt.

Security for its citizens is very much at the forefront of every governments’ mind. Israel is no different.

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SeekingUniverslTruth Sep 1 9:31 AM #

13 168

security is such a quaint term for murder

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Peter Slattery Sep 1 9:56 AM #

6 87

Keep shilling, Murray.

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 10:34 AM #

109 4

So are security guards by your definition, murderers?

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D H Sep 1 11:01 AM #

5 57

Murray israel not only crave the land but they also dont want to end up a pariah. They have long figured that slow and steady is how to achieve this without ending up like sourh africa. And the international community idly by watching and seemingly supporting the ethnic cleansing of palestine to make way for the jewish israel

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Were Jammin Sep 1 11:18 AM #

6 62

@ murray: “So are security guards by your definition, murderers?”

They are if they’re conscripted to the IDF and then shell UN shelters where innocent women and children are hiding in fear of their lives, as we just witnessed multiple times.

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De Wit Sep 1 11:35 AM #

4 49

People that deliberately kill innocent people are murderers, it doesn’t matter what their job is or how many lies they tell about not meaning to do it.

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Zoe Daly Sep 1 11:44 AM #

3 64

Its not just about land. Its about water supplies as well. Israel is claiming all the best land that contains water supplies, streams or wells. They are leaving the arid desert to the Palestinians.

Obama is afraid of the powerful Jewish lobby, because they control America. They run the film, media, entertainment and communications industries. They make or break who so ever they chose, and they have a significant voice in who becomes US President.

But Israel has gone too far this time. It is a rogue state that is out of control, in complete defiance of international law. The US, & the rest of the international community, will have to find the courage to make a stand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

fergal barry Sep 1 7:45 AM #

31 507

Isn’t land grabbing something the Nazis did and we are still hearing how terrible it was for the Jew ish. . And the Holocaust. How come Israel thinks it’s ok for them to now do it.. A very short memory. Sickening.

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Glen Sep 1 7:50 AM #

31 330

Today’s political zi0nists have nothing in common with those who died in hitlers camps but more with hitler himself.

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SeanieRyan Sep 1 8:53 AM #

16 165

Look at what they did to the Black Jews from Ethiopa, they gave them contraceptives via injection and told them they were Hep shots etc.

What is that but straight from Germany of the 30′s. They have become what they most hate.

When the Nazis grabbed land, we are talking about world domination. From the west coast of France to almost Moscow in the east, the arctic circle to the Sahara in the south.

Israel is 9 miles wide at its centre, from the sea to the West Bank. It’s returned Sinai to Egypt and Gaza to the Gazans.

But you still feel able to compare the two? And 330 geniuses think you are right? Thankfully I know many Irish people who have a deeper understanding than you and your online friends.

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John Rabbett Sep 1 9:47 AM #

7 88

Now that is just sick… The fact that they don’t even try to justify it says an awful lot..

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Miguel O’Reilly Sep 1 9:55 AM #

6 95

you really have no idea Murray do you? mass murder, land grab, propaganda machine spouting nonsense. where have we seen this all before eh?

only difference this time is the US are arming them to carry out these atrocities

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DN Sep 1 9:59 AM #

7 88

@murray. Before this Irish state was born we have seen murder and land grab from occupying forces. Dont tell us Irish that we dont understand. We know damn well what its like to live under an oppressive regeme. Spout your propoganda elswhere, shill.

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Murray Freedman Sep 1 10:37 AM #

91 7

So no actual reply to my post – just more name calling? Well I guess that just shows how lacking in answers you are.

PALESTINIANS SIT in a damaged house as they watch a parade celebrating Hamas’s ‘victory’ over Israel, in the Shejaia neighborhood, Gaza. (photo credit:REUTERS)

The analysis of Martin Sherman on the Gaza War is surely correct. This war was conducted in the most disgraceful even farcical manner by the Israeli leaders.

Sherman is correct in that they dissipated the good will in the world by not advancing energetically in the first days to challenge Hamas Fatah power. Very quickly their hesitation gave the opportunity to Antisemites in various forums to themselves organise and advance

But Sherman is incorrect in one main respect which is that he expects the present elite to somehow create a programme which includes propaganda, they call it “Hasbara”. Propaganda is vital. But how can it be done and what is its content. Sherman is incorrect if he thinks or expects or even implies that the present lot can do this. The whole point is that they cannot

But if they cannot then who can.

There needs to be a new party leadership in Israel. Given the total bankruptcy of the present leadership right across the board this will have to be a Trotskyist Party. It is necessary to possess the state and the state apparatus…KEY CONCEPT!

I wish they were not actually necessary or a truth. Then we could all get back to our gardening.

But history ordains that it is not possible. We have to face up to the demands of the situation.

The present Israeli ruling class is very divided and is very bankrupt. LET US NUMBER THEM…There is the traitorous elite around Labour (that is not socialism in case you think it is the discredited Labour Parties of the world), there is a religious outfit called Shas, totally opportunist, not really political at all, there is the openly Shimon Peres residue BASURA (OSLO) as carried on by Livni. Then there is Likud who have various strains of patriotism but that is drowned out by their political ignorance, and their division among themselves. For example Feiglin INTERESTING GUY says good things at times, but the way he treated Glenn Beck shows he is a kind of doctrinaire who lives in the clouds. (Beck had to be welcomed to Jerusalem while never abandoning independence from Beck). These are basic primary school political lessons.

Martin Sherman is doing a very useful job in facing down the excuses for action (he is calling them “canards” Like it!

Sherman wants 1 per cent of budget, a cool billion, devoted to “Hasbara”

I agree and would even up it. That is how important!

It is always concrete. Lenin said Land Bread and Peace. THAT was Hasbara! It was concrete. It explained reality. It proposed action. It justified action. And the action was decisive and courageous. For example Lenin pulled out of the War Bloodbath while Kerensky kept on the bloodletting. THAT alone won huge support.

First steps then 2 months ago LET US IMAGINE

Explain the enemy. Clarify the enemy. That meant the “Protocols of Zion” of Hamas, An evil Nazi type organisation. And Caroline Glick did the second part. She explained how Fatah WAS Hamas at every point.

So I think perhaps one relevant paragraph from the Charter of Hamas would be sufficient

Thus explain the need for the necessary action. Do not overload! Ever!

Which was to take over Gaza by means of a massive onslaught in the very first couple or three days

Kill or arrest (then execute after military trial) the enemy leaders. Even be magnanimous and offer exile to some

Explain through Hasbara that this is the only way to peace, and why there must be nobody who harbours Antisemitic views living in the state of Israel (Our central point which we continually make). Explain this by means of basic maps produced by the pioneering Mark Langfan (for example 3 dimensional maps which show that the hills of Judea and Samaria are overlooking the massively populated Coastal Strip of Tel Aviv and are in striking distance, easily, of the main Israeli airport

Arabs of Palestine can expect a new and promising life elsewhere. Offer this challenge to the world governments to help them, especially Arab Governments to help the Palestinian Arabs find a new life. What happens if they refuse? No matter this is not predicated on the cooperation of our enemy!!!)

Remind the world that the Arabs got 22 states since 1922, not bad going at all, and they are most rich

Even among these Arabs in Palestine there are some who do really love Israel and love Jews. They are exceptional people. Love them! This is a humanitarian solution and not a racist thing in any way!

From that position of decisive power and complete understanding of use of the state (we are never Anarchists a battle which goes back now nearly 200 years) the way opens up

A new situation is created through action

BUT THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. THERE IS CERTAINLY NO OTHER WAY THAN THIS.

GIVE SOMETHING TO US PLEASE!!!

Do you agree? Good and we ask something in return. When you see attacks on Leon Trotsky do some digging because the above ideas are straight from our understanding of what Leon Trotsky was all about. Please. Do your own research. No sly digs either. I want the truth in everything. And I want some loyalty from my friends!