Much is made in the rush to war with Iran of Ahmadinejad’s alleged saying that Israel should be “wiped off the map”. I am not an Iranian speaker and not qualified to enter the debate as to whether that is, or is not, an accurate statement. I view Ahmadinejad as a thug anyway, irrespective of any linguistic quibble.
But it is quite astonishing that Netanyahu’s decalred, published and open intention to wipe the Palestinians from the map gets nil publicity in the west. The source for this is impeccable: Likud’s party platform as presented on the website of the Knesset.
This is absolutely compulsory reading for anybody who was taken in by the opposition to Palestinain statehood “without negotiation” as explained by the Israeli stooges in western governments. This is the actual, official Israeli policy:
The Jordan Valley and the territories that dominate it shall be under Israeli sovereignty. The Jordan river will be the permanent eastern border of the State of Israel.
So Likud says all of the West Bank belongs to Israel
The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting.
This clearly claims all of Gaza – and Judea and Samaria – as land to which Israeli people have an “inalienable right”. It is the apotheosis of religious fanatic claims to a “Greater Israel”, elevated into the policy of the ruling party.
Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of Israel. The government will flatly reject Palestinian proposals to divide Jerusalem, including the plan to divide the city presented to the Knesset by the Arab factions and supported by many members of Labor and Meretz.
So all of Jerusalem is to be taken too.
Likud specifically lays claim to absolutely all of the lands under at least semi-autonomous Palestinian control, and they say these claims are inalienable. There is no hint of any room for negotiation in the language of these statements. The UK and US governments who pretend that it is the Palestinians who are blocking negotiations, do so knowing they are lying, and because the majority of our politicians are tied in to the Israeli lobby with golden cords.
Netanyahu’s platform, claiming every inch occupied by Palestinians, is a programme for genocide. It can be described as nothing else.
There is absolutely no room left to argue that Netanyahu does not intend to wipe the Palestinians off the map.
On the Iran War Debate blog, the previous one to this, I’ve just posted a map of US military bases around Iran. Take a look at it and decide who is the agressor.
Osborne needed the cash in a hurry. To help pay for the Olympics (£9.5 Bn,four times over budget), perhaps? Greece is bitterly regretting hosting this farce, and so will we.
Osborne is quoted as saying ‘ We hired independent financial advisors’. Who? I see no mention of HMG in the list below or of any financial advisors.
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Virgin Money buys Northern Rock
17 November 2011 | By James Swift
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Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer both had key roles advising on Virgin Money’s acquisition of nationalised bank Northern Rock, with the deal officially unveiled this morning.
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Virgin Money will pay £747m for Northern Rock – the ’good half’ of the bank that includes its 75 branches – creating an entity with four million customers. According to reports, Virgin Money has agreed to make no compulsory redundancies for three years as part of the deal.
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The deal was funded by an investment consortium led by Virgin Group Limited and WL Ross & Co.
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A&O advised Virgin Money, led by global corporate head Andrew Ballheimer. Corporate partners David Broadley and George Knighton also advised.
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Freshfields advised Northern Rock, with corporate partner Barry O’Brien leading on the deal assisted by global head of the finance Alan Newton.
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Herbert Smith, led by M&A partner Gavin Davies also had a role advising Greenhills, Virgin Money’s financial adviser.
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Jones Day advised WL Ross & Co. M&A partner Leon Ferera led on the deal, assisted by finance partner Tim Flood, anti trust partner Frances Murphy and tax partner Blaise Marin-Curtoud.
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The Lawyer
Mary
The advisers in the list are the lawyers advising various parties (not surprising since it came from the Lawyer magazine) – as you already stated above the Gov’t’s independent advisers were Deutsche and Freshfields. There really is no secret about this – much as you might think – all the parties want to be seen as having independent advisers so if something has goes wrong they have an alibi.
As of 28 January 2010 the board of Virgin Money is composed of:[20]
* Chairman – Sir Brian Pitman (deceased).[21]
* Non-Executive Directors – Norman McLuskie and Colin Keogh
* Directors – Gordon McCallum and Patrick McCall
* Chief Executive Officer – Jayne-Anne Gadhia
* Chief Finance Officer – Finlay Williamson
* Chief Risk Officer – Marian Watson
* Chief Operating Officer – Roland Russell
* Chief Marketing Officer – Paul Lloyd
* Corporate Development Director – David Dyer
(Wiki)
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No, but seriously….
@Arsalan – Ahmajinedad not thug enough? I think you need to be careful what you wish for!
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Craig referring to Ahmajinedad as a thug was, to my mind, describing his internal policy (autocracy, homophobia, secret police etc) and we certainly do not need more of that. You are talking about external policy, and appear to be in favour of war with Israel – which is plainly crazy. I can understand your view that *having* nuclear weapons creates a deterrent effect – which *may* be the case. But it also increases the chance that they will be used.
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You really do not wish to bring a war onto the heads of the Iranian people – they will have the US as opponents, and plenty of deaths will be the result – and that is just in the case of a non-nuclear war.
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I note you talk about “white men” who have interfered with foreign lands, esp. in the case of Palestine. This is true, but be careful you don’t succumb to racism. There are plenty of good white people hereabouts, and they want a just settlement between Israel and Palestine just as much as you do. It is a random twist of fate that the present imperialists are white “Christians” – they could just as easily have been dark-skinned “Muslims”, if history had played out differently.
Nothing on their website about a Board. This sticks out on their About Us page.
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‘We are aiming to make everyone better off.’
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Yes. Especially themselves.
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Branson’s healthcare outfit is already making large inroads into the NHS. Getting a good hold of OUR assets.
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http://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/about/
Peripherally skirting the original topic….
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Shots fired at White House – Al Qaeda terrorists?
Nah. They’d have got what they were aiming at. Just a Hispanic nutter. But:
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/11/17/3090327/man-wanted-in-dc-shooting-has-israel-tattoo
Jon
I know from past experience is a fan of a Moslem caliphate extending as far as Chechenya – which might explain some of the positions he takes. Quite how he plans to get the Sunnis and Shias together he hasn’t quite explained.
“Ok, it’s not genocide. It’s just a continuation of making Palestinians’ lives so intolerable they move somewhere else. The “acceptable face” of ethnic cleansing, I suppose.”
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within a group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis1.html
Stolen land, physical death, torture, terror and destroyed infrastructure aside we are talking about traumatized survivor children on a massive scale.
The Palestinians (Filastiniyyun) will never be gone any more than the native Americans are gone from America or the Yiddish -are -not -Hebrews are gone from Europe. The Palestinians, for starters were made invisible while the foreigners were given their identity as the natives of the Holy Land. They assumed everything Palestinian, just called it “Jewish”. Pretty clever. But Israel and it’s narrative is a Truman Show and the fake sky is becoming more obvious by the day. Believe you me, we were not suppose to find out about the Palestinians. That genocide was meant to be hidden. Something went wrong…the Palestinians held on.
Stephen,
“but unfortunately the tent people have been too busy with their gesture politics to cotton on.”
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“…small gestures accrue, and democracies and revolutions are made up of the myriad gestures of the small.” –Rebecca Solnit
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‘Tent people’ are homeless people – for the ignorant – and yes ‘occupylsx’ accommodates nine homeless families who would otherwise be walking the streets.
Of course, Ahmedinejad did not call for genocide. Juan Cole debunked it long ago. A. was quoting Khomeini as saying that Israel would disappear in the future. A true statement, I would say.
The idea of genocide is something that remains in the Israeli mentality that you have to accuse others of. It is necessary to accuse x of wanting to genocide Jews. You just have to think of how many leaders have been accused of having been Hitler. How many times we have been in 1938. We still are, I think.
Komodo,
Imagine if the shooter was called “Any Muslims Name”. We all know soon after some Muslim country would have been bombed, but instead the chap sported:” “Israel” tattoo in a flowery script”. Hence the almost menacing tone of the article.
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There is a something feckin rotten in the state of US, and none seem to smell the rotten decay,
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BTW why don’t we call this blog Stephen the keyboard warrior’s blog and be over and done with it? This specimen has taken over the place, becoming sort of our very own cyber-settler, is there a new testament bit about Israelites were promised the cyberspace too?
The Islamic Republic of Iran not only celebrates a “Palestine Day” they have a Palestine embassy. Palestine is connected to everything in the Muslim world. Israel doesn’t want any anti-Zionism anywhere in the world. ALL the Muslims on earth are anti Israel and now we have a majority of the non Muslims in the world too. They will kill us all if we let them go on.
Bollocks, …..bollocks, …..everyone is bad, rotten, …… Israel fantastic…… anyone who even thinks ………. bollocks, ……. fellow traveller …… poppycock …… disagree and you are a poopy pants ….. bollocks, … trolling trolling, …. bollocks…. so there you have it, see how wrong you are? I know I am always right, because …… bollocks.
Israeli policy has always been the same since before 1948, whatever is said. As Ben Gurion told us. Take all of Palestine, and empty it of its native inhabitants (you cannot accuse Christian Palestinians of being recent arrivals).
I think myself, though I could be wrong, that Netanyahu’s plan of war against Iran, is intended as a shake-up, to cover for an ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. He doesn’t care about feeble Iran, but getting rid of Arabs from the West Bank, that’s a big thing.
Personally, I think his plan won’t work. More likely a weakening of Israel through overstretch.
But who am I to say?
Any other bidders invited in?
If so, who were they and what were they offering?
Why was the deal kept totally secret?
When did dicussions start?
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And WHy was it sold to an airline chief for 747m???
Geddit? Boeing 747?
They are laughing in our faces, openly mocking the taxpayer – funny handshakes all round, trebles on the house!
Kieran,
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Sorry Rebecca Solnit is one of America’s literary finest and one of my 12 visionaries who are changing my world including Craig. Her posts on the Occupy movement can be found here at:
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www(dot)tomdispatch(dot)com/
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– the website of another visionary Tom Engelhardt who once said,
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“It’s as if the American people, over a period of time, have conducted their own Iraq Study Group and woken up to the genuine catastrophe. A majority wants all American troops out within two years, on a timeline; and an even larger number would jump at the chance of getting out in a year if the Iraqi government offers us a way out. Perhaps the most interesting thing of all is that a significant majority of Americans think that American troops are not stabilizing the situation but are creating more violence in Iraq. That’s stunning because the mainstream media, inside-the-Beltway view is that only American troops stand between Iraq and civil war.”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xamjeyxT1iA
Hero of the Occupation: Captain Ray Lewis (retd) of the Philadelphia police. Joins Wall Street sit-down — in uniform — & is promptly arrested by the NYPD:
http://www.twitvid.com/7LS8C
Jiusito (17th November 2011)
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I strongly suspect Craig knew that, but was playing the dickhead to spice up his post and provoke some responses. I’ve noticed him doing this on a number of occasions.
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Now that you’re played that role Craig, feel free to end the pejorative and accurately propagate what Ahmadinejad said.
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Thank you.
Well said Genie, Mark, Fedup and others. Obviously none of us could sleep. Too much horror going on around to have an easy mind.
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Yes it’s weird having this resident troll who is such a nice friendly chap in some of his exchanges which is a well tried tactic. Arrived when the subject of Israel and Palestine came up as you realize. They are allocated specifically to individual sites esp ones like this when support for Palestine is demonstrated. I noted the suggestion that the comments on Israel/Palestine should be given a separate thread. That would result in the desired result of heading us off into a siding.
There used to be two of them on an American site where the editors got so fed up with the ‘noise’ that they disabled comments. One called himself J’aime but there was little love in his heart. The other one was one of those slightly threatening ‘we-know-where-you-live’ types.
Finally it’s Children in Need day today as we all know so well. No mention EVER of the children in Iraq and Afghanistan who we have killed, injured, made orphan or homeless. Remember them.
IDF thugs at work carrying out the orders of the Apartheid state.
New video shows Israeli forces dragging Palestinian Freedom Riders from settler bus
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29748.htm
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The settler only buses on segregated roads are operated by Egged and Veolia. The latter, a French owned multinational, is on the BDS list. They are active in this country in waste collection and disposal for local authorities.
{http://jfjfp.com/?p=26726&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=all-eyes-on-the-freedom-riders}
If this is true, then three cheers for the Portuguese, sticking the finger up to the Yanks.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/17/extradition-request-george-wright-denied
@mary
“That would result in the desired result of heading us off into a siding.”
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Separate thread, boxed up, archived away, line drawn under. The ix/xi Effect.
Today is Robert Louis Stevenson Day, but of course you all knew that. One quote:
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“Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
When Irag was invaded the first time round it was Bibi who said on Sky News LIVE..’Our aim is to wipe every arab from the face of the earth’….never repeated !
“I think myself, though I could be wrong, that Netanyahu’s plan of war against Iran, is intended as a shake-up, to cover for an ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. He doesn’t care about feeble Iran, but getting rid of Arabs from the West Bank, that’s a big thing.”
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YES. Think Lebanon 2006, widely reported, as was not the simultaneous attack on Gaza. For those who missed it, this was apparently designed to get Gilad Shalit back. It didn’t. Overkill, literally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Israel-Gaza_conflict
“Arrived when the subject of Israel and Palestine came up as you realize.”
Not actually true – go and have a look. I think you will find that the subject of Israel and Palestine is pretty much a perennial here. As for shunting topices into a siding – you possibly need to look at yourself first although I appreciate that you view it as teh only line in a one track railway.
As for having been allocated by my controller – I can only assume that you think that way because that is the model you operate upon yourself. All my own work I’m afraid.
Rocki
You are right that it was never repeated – that may well be because it was never said. If you Google the words you get a googlewhack with another third hand quote. If it had been said on Sky News you can be pretty sure there would be a YouTube clip or similar somewhere.
Stephen: First you said you didn’t know what hasbara meant, and then you said you did. Quick Google? I think not. Then you said your purpose here was to modify the extreme views of the commentators and teach us moderation. And here you are blurring the issues around Bibi’s right to ethnically cleanse his extremist state. Truly “By way of deception, thou shalt do war.”
But yes, you’re an amateur.
Check this:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/deception.html
“The Mossad – believe it or not – has just 30 to 35 case officers, or katsas, operating in the world at any one time. The main reason for this extraordinary low total, as you will read in this book, is that unlike other countries, Israel can tap the significant and loyal cadre of the worldwide Jewish community outside Israel. This is done through a unique system of sayanim, volunteer Jewish helpers”