This Rush To Bloodshed Is As Embarrassing As It Is Dangerous

The Men With Guns Love To Run The Show.

Look around the world, and you will see that the men with the guns love to run the show.
Could it happen here?
I doubt it, but I’d never rule it out.
In the 1960s and 1970s, retired high-ranking officers plotted to bring down the Labour government of Harold Wilson.
Thatcher considered mobilising troops during the miners’ strike 30 years ago, and soldiers have been used to counter industrial action by workers.
The House of Lords is stuffed with old sweats.
There are more generals, wing commanders and admirals than you can shake a swagger stick at.
And the top brass are almost invariably Tories.
They operate behind the scenes in Whitehall and Westminster, not just to sustain the inflated defence budget, but to keep Britain how they like it, uncritical of the military, docile servants of private enterprise and in our place as loyal subjects.
( Paul Routledge, 23.05.2014 )

American Boy Brutally Beaten By Israeli Police.

A 15-year-old American high school student, whose Palestinian cousin was abducted and murdered, has said that he was brutally beaten by Israeli police in an unprovoked attack amid riots in East Jerusalem.
Tariq Abu Khdeir, of Tampa, Florida, was released by a Jerusalem court under house arrest after being detained without charge.
With his face still badly swollen, he spoke to television reporters outside the courtroom.
( Jon Swaine, 06.07.2014 )  ..  theguardian.com

Human Rights Accuse Ukraine Government Of Using Indiscriminate Rockets Near Populated Areas.

Unguided Grad rockets launched apparently by Ukrainian government forces and pro-government militias have killed at least 16 civilians and wounded many more in insurgent-controlled areas of Donetsk and its suburbs in at least four attacks between July 12 and 21, 2014, Human Rights Watch said.
The use of indiscriminate rockets in populated areas violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and may amount to war crimes.

Grads are unguided rockets that cannot be targeted accurately, and are often fired in salvos from multi-barrel rocket launchers to saturate a wide area.
Human Rights Watch called on all parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, particularly Ukrainian government forces, to stop using Grad rockets in or near populated areas because of the likelihood of killing and wounding civilians.
Insurgent forces should minimise the risk to civilians under their control by avoiding deploying forces and weapons in densely populated areas.

Although Ukrainian government officials and the press service of the National Guard have denied using Grad rockets in Donetsk, a Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground strongly indicates that Ukrainian government forces were responsible for the attacks that occurred between July 12 and 21, 2014.
( Human Rights Watch, 24.07.2014 )  ..  hrw.org

A Child In Gaza Is Killed By Israel On Average Every Hour.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority has banned a radio advertisement from a human rights organisation which listed the names of some of the scores of children killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.
Human Rights Group B’Tselem said: “Is it controversial that the children aren’t alive? That they’re children? That those are their names? These are facts that we wish to bring to the public’s knowledge. So far more than 600 people have been killed in bombings in Gaza, more than 150 of them children. But apart from a brief report on the number of fatalities, the Israeli media refrains from covering them. IBA says broadcasting the children’s names is politically controversial. But refusing to do so is in itself a far-reaching statement – it says the huge price being paid by civilians in Gaza, many of them children, must be censored.”
Aid agencies said that a child had been killed in Gaza on average every hour for the preceding two days, and more than 70,000 children had been forced to flee their homes.
( Harriet Sherwood, 24.07.2014 )  ..  theguardian.com

Was Jill Dando Murdered Because She Knew About A Paedophile Ring?

Murdered television presenter Jill Dando tried to alert her bosses to a paedophile ring at the BBC ­involving “big name” stars, claims a former colleague.
The friend and retired BBC worker said the late Crimewatch host was told DJs, celebrities and other staff were involved in organised abuse.
But the anonymous source says “no one wanted to know” when Miss Dando raised concerns about the alleged ring and other sexual abuse claims at the BBC.

She is said to have passed a file to senior management in the mid-1990s, but they never carried out an investigation.
The 37-year-old TV presenter was shot dead on April 26, 1999, on the doorstep of her home in west London.
The crime remains unsolved.

The source said: “I don’t recall the names of all the stars now and don’t want to implicate anyone, but Jill said they were surprisingly big names.
I think she was quite shocked when told about images of children and that information on how to join this horrible paedophile ring was freely available.
Jill said others had complained to her about sexual matters and that some female workmates also claimed they had been groped or assaulted.

Nothing had been done and there seemed to be a policy of turning a blind eye.”
The former colleague said female BBC staff confided in Jill, one of the best-known TV faces of the day after fronting primetime shows including Holiday and the Six O’Clock News as well as Crimewatch.
The source said: “I think it was in the mid-1990s. She was seen as the face of the BBC and a magnet for women with problems.”

Miss Dando compiled a file of complaints but was a television presenter and “not really an investigative journalist”, the source said.
“She passed the information on to someone else and they gave it back. No one wanted to know. I do remember that she gave a file to senior management. I don’t think she heard any more. Other women who complained told Jill they didn’t want to risk their careers by making official statements against individuals as they would lose their jobs and that bosses seemed to ignore it.”
A BBC spokesman said they would always investigate any allegations of this nature, but added: “We’ve not seen anything that substantiates these claims.”
( John Carr, 21.07.2014 )

Israelis Are Taking To Social Media Calling For A Higher Body Count In Gaza.

Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip has been accompanied by yet another sharp increase in incitement against Palestinians and solidarity activists on social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook groups have been set up to call for the collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Others host incitement against Palestinian students at Israeli universities, including posting pictures of and personal information about individual students.

There have been no Israeli deaths as a result of rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza, though much of the mainstream media have focused on the impact of rocket fire on Israel rather than the staggering death toll in the Gaza Strip.
As Israel’s latest military offensive enters its sixth day, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that 170 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,000 injured.
Four thousand civilians in eight UNRWA schools are fleeing the heavy bombardment in the north.

During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead (December 2008-January 2009), more than 50,000 Palestinians took shelter in UNRWA installations across the Gaza Strip as Israel’s bombs destroyed buildings and homes.
The main office of UNRWA was directly struck and the main warehouse was burned to the ground after Israeli military forces fired white phosphorous.
Approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed by Israel’s military during the three-week long military assault.
Meanwhile, Israelis are taking to social media to call for a yet higher body count in Gaza.
( Patrick Strickland, 13.07.2014 )  ..  electronicintifada.net

This Rush To Bloodshed Is As Embarrassing As It Is Dangerous.

Why are we always the first country to be so outraged at a foreign situation that we want war?
Why is the British Prime Minister announcing (via Twitter) that he will be seeking approval from the UN to start bombing Damascus?
How many other parliaments are being recalled today to debate intervention in a far-off, religious civil war?

Are they doing it in Australia, Germany, Russia, Sweden or Mexico?
No. Just London, despite the fact that we have no historical or cultural ties with Syria and it offers no discernible threat to our security.
Ah, but it’s in our national interests, say the politicians.
That’s despite a poll showing that only 9% of us are interested in entering another un-winnable conflict.
Unlike those Oxbridge graduate Westminster advisors telling their political paymasters how “being decisive” could play well for them with the voters.

The only interests (apart from arms and coffin suppliers) that another Middle East war suits are politicians like Cameron and William Hague.
Well, they’d finally be recognised on a global scale wouldn’t they?
Which didn’t do Tony Blair’s retirement pot any harm.
For the rest of us this rush to bloodshed is as embarrassing as it is dangerous.
( Brian Reade, 29.08.2013 )

Israelis Cheer From Hilltops As They Watch Bombs Rain Down On The People Of Gaza.

Groups of Israelis gather each evening on hilltops close to the Gaza border to cheer, whoop and whistle as Israeli bombs rain down on the Palestinian people a few miles away.
Old sofas, garden chairs, battered car seats and upturned crates provide seating for the spectators.
On one hilltop, a swing has been attached to the branches of a pine tree, allowing its occupant to sway gently in the breeze.
Some bring bottles of beer or soft drinks and snacks.
Nearly all hold up smartphones to record the explosions or to pose grinning, perhaps with thumbs up, for selfies against a backdrop of black smoke.
Some bring their children.
( Harriet Sherwood, 20.07.2014 )  ..  theguardian.com