Genius from California

In response to an article reporting that Schwarzenegger intends to cut off Welfare completely for the poor in CA....

It is about time! I went to collage and paid every dime my own self. My husband made too much money ($18,000. a year ) ,but standing in line one day a girl from another country was there to get her $3500. pell grant. Always hearing people talk about what they was going to do with their money. These darn females needs to start taking birth control pills. I was 14 when I had my son with no help from anybody so don't tell me it can't be done. Just a bunch of girls want to suck tax paider money. get rid of the green cards and illegals. Also stop sending money to people who hates us. I also don't have insurance so will just have to lay down and die, but don't expect somebody to give it to me. Get a life and get off your butt dead beats!!!

Posted by: Kathleen | May 22, 2009 at 04:42 PM

Letter to the Office of Tony Blair

Dear Sir/Madam,

May I be one of the first to congratulate Tony Blair on a well deserved prize. He has been an outstanding leader and I agree that this prize

marks his "foresight", "exceptional intelligence" and "steadfast determination" to end conflicts.

Just like Lebanon in 2006 no doubt where he strove extremely hard to prevent a ceasefire! I thought he should get more than a measly 1 million dollars though. Perhaps they are saving the big prizes for his steadfast determination to 'end' conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan by creatively inventing threats and plagiarising PhD tomes?

I understand that the money will go to Mr Blair’s new charity for religious understanding. I guess that charity will be run by his wonderful and extremely tolerant Israeli friends who promote religious understanding by using 3000lb bombs, White Phosphorus and DIME bombs to spread the message of love and tolerance in the region. It is great to know that the prize will fund graduates in his field. Is this a combined degree in Genocide, Untruth and Hypocrisy? I must have missed this one when I did my UCAS application many years ago. Please could you send me the course number? I must enrol my own offspring on that course so they too can emulate this great statesman of modern times.

Yours truly,

David Milipede

If you would like to email your congratulations as well please do contact: faithsact@tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

Do journalists intentionally lie about Palestine?

I don't subscribe to the idea that journalists rarely lie intentionally. In the real world, there are a lot of scumbags in the media world who WILL and DO lie intentionally. We also know that they will deliberately distort facts, miss out facts and frame the argument to suit their own viewpoint. Other journalists will do it less readily and will be uncomfortable but will follow the editorial direction all the same.

Writing an article is about planning - working out a story flow. This is a very conscious process because you are forced to think about what you want the story to convey and put it together so that the ‘facts’ are framed in the context that you want them to read. You decide what ''facts' are the 'attention grabbers' and put those at the top so they can be easily internalised by the casual reader who reads the headline and the first paragraph. Then you arrange the rest according to your story flow using what is known as the pyramid approach. The approach helps you not only to capture attention but to structure your story. It is not necessary for the 'facts' to be true; they can be controversial or attention grabbing statements. The point is to convey YOUR message according to editorial direction. If it does not meet the standards expected (i.e. is not in keeping with the house style and politics) then you will have to redo it.

Why does the BBC always remind us in virtually every article that ‘Israeli invaded Gaza to stop the firing of rockets into Southern Israel’? Why has this Israeli explanation appear to be accepted in spite of all the evidence to the contrary and why does it have to be repeated endlessly? The BBC claim not to have the time or space to add vital context for example the continuing occupation, the Hamas offers for peace based on 1967 boundaries, over 11000 Palestinians currently rotting in Israel prisons (including over 400 children) but they are OK to repeatedly include the Zionist key message that they are merely 'reacting against rockets'. This is a good example of known context that is deliberately ignored. These facts are shocking enough to be headlines. The grotesque images of dead children are available to these media outlets but they are deliberately omitted on the grounds of 'taste'. The media decide for us what constitutes good taste just as they decide what we want to read about.

The lies and distortions would not be swallowed so readily by the public if they were not reasonably credible. It is not that journalists are unaware of the occupation, or unaware of the misery imposed by Israel. Most know full reasonably well the bloody history of ethnic cleansing.Why is it then that the real history does not reach our screens and airwaves? Why are the extremists murderers of Kadima and Labour in Israel portrayed as ‘centrists’ when they order the massacres of children in Gaza? The answer, at least partially, lies in the modern face of Israel with its high standard of living, its ‘democracy’, its Western outlook and lifestyle, which is a world away from misery on the other side of the wall. It is much easier develop relations with Israeli press officers who speak good English and fluently answer questions on ‘terror’. It is easier (and cheaper) to accept the Israeli press releases and dress them up as reporting. The Arabs are difficult to understand, difficult to reach and their culture appears alien. Like people passing by a beggar averting their eyes and pretending not to notice, it is a deliberate and conscious decision to ignore the Palestinians. This is why you see many more Zionist spokespeople on TV and hear them on the radio whilst fluent Palestinians are virtually absent (even though Palestinians are among the best educated peoples in the world).

Reality is complex and the Herman/Chomsky propaganda filters are relevant but it is possible for most intelligent journalists to recognize that what their employers/editors are demanding is not the truth but an angle that favours their proprietor or their own political leanings. Many consciously take the decision to either compromise their beliefs/ethics or do not care anyway and just want to further their careers. The commercial aspect of media business plays a part too despite the usual claims that their advertising is firewalled from the journalism. Which media outlet would risk losing an important advertising account, rather than tone down or ignore a story? It is no conspiracy theory that Zionist business links are spread throughout the corporate world whether it is media, banking, insurance or retail. Many politicians fall over themselves to be ‘friends of Israel’ because this eventually translates into powerful contacts, lucrative consultancies and business opportunities. The links that have been forged with the West are powerful and allow the Zionists to control the agenda to some extent. Establishment propaganda and commercial pressures do the rest.

Those BBC impartiality rules in full

We must have 'the militant group' tag attached every time Hamas are mentioned just in case the reader forgets this at first mention in the first paragraph.

Include footage of an injured Israeli where possible, despite the disparity in the number of casualties. These pictures are much easier to come by when you are embedded with the Israelis.

Where possible include condemnation of Hamas by
a. the Palestinian authority
b. by several Israeli ministers/spokespeople

Always mention that Israels aim is to stop rockets or quote Israel as saying such.

Remember to include a count of the number of rockets wherever possible and the effect it had whilst ignoring the Israeli bombs/shells/rockets and their effects. If you must mention the effects then the passive word 'explosions' must be used alongside 'smuggling tunnels' and 'weapons'.

When mentioning ceasefire violations, timelines should always begin with Hamas violating the ceasefire and Israel responding. Ignore any preceding Israeli violations - they did not happen.

Count the number of Israeli civilians but don't use this word for Palestinians; they are either just Palestinians or militants.

Include when possible the Israeli right to 'self-defence'. Do not mention under any circumstances the Palestinian right to self-defence or not be be turfed off their land or not to have their homes demolished.

Where possible mention Israeli democracy and contrast against er.. Hamas seizing power in Gaza.

Mention as often as possible that Hamas are sworn to the destruction of Israel in the Hamas charter. Ignore the Likud charter which swears to the destruction of Palestine by claiming all land to the west of Jordan. Ignore the shrinking of Palestinian territory and the fact that Israel does not recognise Palestine. Also ignore the numerous offers by Hamas to recognise Israel on the basis of the internationally recognised 1967 boundaries.

Ignore continuing illegal settlement activity in the West Bank and quote Israeli ministers as saying they will allow 'natural growth' of settlements.

You must faithfully obey these rules at all times otherwise our impartiality may be questioned.

DEC appeal

DEC appeal for Gaza

Following the disgusting decision of the BBC in blocking the broadcast of a DEC appeal to raise money for the appalling plight of Palestinians in Gaza, all bloggers with a conscience should post this DEC appeal.

Please send your complaints to the BBC for taking this appalling political stance instead of being impartial. Complain online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaints_stage1.shtml

or phone the BBC to complain 03700 100 222

22 Jan: Aid agencies launch joint appeal to relieve Gaza humanitarian crisis

Leading UK aid agencies are today (Thursday, 22 January) appealing to the public for urgently needed funds to help ease the desperate plight of people affected by the conflict in Gaza.

Launching the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal, chief executive Brendan Gormley said that the devastation wrought in the Gazan territory was so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act.

Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, and many thousands have been injured, overwhelming local hospitals. The destruction has left people without homes and many children without schooling; power, food and water supplies are insufficient to cover the population’s needs.

Mr Gormley said: “DEC agencies have a humanitarian mandate. We are not proposing to attempt to rebuild Gaza – that is not our role. But with the public’s support we can help relieve short-term needs. Agencies are already providing food, drugs and blankets as well as delivering clean water.

“But we will soon reach the limit of what we can do, without more money. For Gazans struggling to survive, receiving urgent humanitarian aid will help them take the first step to recovery.”

Mr Gormley stressed that DEC aid agencies were non-political. “We work on the basis of humanitarian need and there is an urgent need in Gaza today. Political solutions are for others to resolve, but what is of major concern to us all is that many innocent people have been affected by the situation – and it is them that we seek to help.”

- ENDS -

The DEC press office can be contacted on 0207 387 0200 or out-of-hours on 07930 999014.

Notes to editors:

1. The DEC consists of: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.

2. The Palestinian Ministry of Heath (MOH) has reported 1,314 Palestinian fatalities since 27 December 2008. This is noted in the Situation Report on the Humanitarian Situation in the Gaza Strip – No.14, 19 January 2009 (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

3. How to donate:
It’s easy to donate. Please visit our website on www.dec.org.uk or call the DEC on 0370 60 60 900. We know people are facing financially difficult times but even a small donation makes a difference. Even a small donation to the appeal will help get food, water, shelter, emergency and medical supplies to people who desperately need it.

4. The DEC criteria to launch an appeal are:
The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift International humanitarian assistance. The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national Appeal.There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public Appeal would be successful.

5. For new footage, photographs, case studies and pre-recorded or live interviews with both aid agency staff on the ground and in the UK, please contact the DEC press office on 0207 387 0200 or out-of-hours on 07930 999014.

Eva's blog

Eva Barlett has been blogging throughout the the weeks of terror and destruction that the zionist scum waged against the people of Gaza. Her reporting has been graphic and her bravery and compassion are an example to us all. Here is a snippet of her latest post:

Rudely, I left before a meal, though all insisted I stay. Normally, I would not turn it down, particularly after they had just begun to get their house into less of a disaster state: feces cleaned up from where the IOF soldiers had strewn it, all over the house; bags of soldiers’ filthy leavings taken out; soldier-soiled clothing gathered, bagged, and burned; and the many shattered dishes and broken items cleared out. It is barer, and there are so many new bullet and tank shelling holes. The un-describable, terrible, stench still lingers, that of an army which occupied the house for 2 weeks and left shit and unknown foul smells throughout the house. It is a stench I’ve smelled in other houses in the area occupied by the IOF.

But even though I was very happy they had progressed enough to cook in their kitchen and bask in the hospitality they love, I had to leave, to allow time for visiting Arafa’s family.

Read more of Eva's blog here.

Obama: time for optimism?

Obama managed to raise more than any other candidate in history and that did not involve saying no to the lobbyists.

Anyone is better than Bush but they must be judged by their actions not fine words. It is all very well saying to the Muslim world that we will extend a hand of friendship and so on but when in practice you are planning a 'surge' in Afghanistan that will kill god knows how many Muslims, that is indeed a very bad omen. Afghanistan does not need a surge nor is it a threat to the USA. I am no fan of the Taliban; most of them are ignorant armed bandits but their AK47s and Kalashnikovs are no threat to the US and never were. There is no secret lair of international terrorists sitting in a cave despite the fantasies of the Western media. There are a lot of pissed off tribesmen who unsurprisingly are out for revenge and will probably take it by killing more Pakistani civilians by targeting westerner frequented hotels in the nearest country.

How will Obama be judged? My guess is that if he invests in green technologies to tackle global warming and some social welfare programmes, even despite the US forces carrying on killing in Afghanistan and Israel carrying on murdering Palestinians and robbing their lands, he will be judged by the media as a success and a hero.

There is nothing wrong with optimism but it has to be balanced with some healthy skepticism. He may and I hope he does manage to benefit the poorer sections of the US society - but if he wanted he could end the war in Afghanistan now. The US military have no real reason to be there.

He could say enough is enough and bring the troops home but he will not and thousands more will die and millions will suffer. He is not some secret weapon of the working classes but a wily politician who knows that he need to press a few popularity buttons to get votes. Keep watching out for the omens but don't get carried away with his 'brilliance'.