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Axis Of Evil: Iranian forces captured 15 British sailors and marines Friday morning in Iraqi territorial waters. This is an act of war. How will Great Britain respond?
A century ago, the British would have responded swiftly, with ruthless ferocity. Even 25 years ago the reply would have been just as prompt — as it was in 1982, when Margaret Thatcher sent ships and troops to the Falklands. We fear today’s response won’t ruffle the sensitivities of the Code Pink crowd.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government will make a weakling’s mistake if it lets this drag on without a quick resolution
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=259541777551555
“Bollocks BBC utter bollocks. Blacks have a longer history in the UK than they do in the US. You can thank the Romans for that and not the nasty British Empire.”
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/early_times/romans.htm
One historian, Anthony Birley, in his work The African Emperor: Septimius Severus, explains that between AD 193 and 211 the Roman empire embraced a multicultural mix of peoples from Syria, Germany, Britain, Spain and Africa. Eight African men had positions of command in the northern Roman legions, and others held high rank as equestrian officers.
During his time in office, Septimius (Severus) legalised marriage during military service. There is no evidence to suggest that all the Roman legionaries returned home upon their discharge from military service, so it is possible that some Black Romans married, had children, and remained in Britain after their tour of duty. Perhaps they might be considered to be Britain’s first diaspora people – from North Africa.
archduke speaking : there is a lot of evidence that racism simply didnt exist prior to the 17th century. it orginated with the theories of social darwinism (19th century), and indeed, with the british slave trade from africa (18th). to dehumanise the slaves (through racism) would of course make slave trading more palatable. but prior to that, the evidence is , is that the divisions were mostly based on religion. if you were a black african puritan, Cromwell wouldnt have batted an eyelid.
” pounce | Homepage | 24.03.07 – 7:34 pm”
correct me if i’m wrong, but i recall something about a black african prince being a suitor of elizabeth the first. or maybe further back in Tudor times. i’ll have to google around for that.
and of course, there’s shakespeares play “othello” which is based around a lead character who is black. so , yeah – the history goes back centuries. and with abolition week, folks forget that there was a lucrative trade in white English slaves to North Africa via the raiding parties of the Arabs, who used to strike Wales, Cornwall and the south english coast. Not to mention the Irish pirates (yes, mea culpa – sorry about that folks…), who carted off Saint Patrick (a Romano-Briton no less )from Wales, into slavery in Ireland.
“Anonymous | 24.03.07 – 7:01 pm ”
superb analysis. thanks. far more than we’d get from the multi-billion pound “news” agency of Al BBC.
and it makes a lot of sense – the U.S. Congress just voted to set a deadline for US withdrawal from Iraq – so the Iranians can certainly bide their time.
the Iranians also know that Gordon “MacCavity the cat” Brown picks his nose in parliament,so he wont be as formidable an opponent as Tony Blair.
and if the US elects a moonbat in 2008 (like Billary Clinton) , then its all engines on full to building the nuclear bomb to wipe out israel.
they can bide their time and sit this one out. then all hell will break loose.
” IngSoc is doublethink | 24.03.07 – 5:42 pm |”
wow. i got a lot of hope from that post – in that the spooks *do* know that it is a problem. if you identify the problem, you’re half way there to solving the problem.
the media class chatter is indeed deafening. and i personally saw a bit of that when the bbc ten o clock news didnt actually report the NEWS on march 17th.
no reference whatsoever on that program that it was saint patricks day. we no longer have a BBC thats even capable of reporting the news.
its entirely a leftist pseudo Marxist agenda setting propagandist. and if the Islamists are fellow travellers, they get the “ooh we cant call them terrorist murderers” treatment.
The BBC – Lord Haw Haw for the 21st century.
oh and a heads up from the army rumours forum about our kidnapped soldiers.
http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewtopic/t=61538.html
quote:
My apologies, but after further consideration , and in view of which branch of the Iranian Forces allegedly has our people at the moment, I am closing or deleting all threads regarding this morning’s incident , save any threads purely concentrating on best wishes and God speed for a return of the detainees.
In my view, there now exists a real danger that speculation and reported remarks influenced by genuine anger will be to the detriment of the safety of our people and OPSEC.
Please do not open new threads seeking to speculate on this incident.
Remarks made here, could very easily end up elsewhere, to the detriment of all concerned.
************************************
archduke says: so if you have any info on the kidnapped troops via inside information or whatever, DONT post it on internet forums or on here – keep it to yourself… lets leave the security services to do their job and not contribute to the media chatter
meanwhile, the BBC does Iran’s bidding
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6491577.stm
“Sailors admitted incursion – Iran”
why not just shut the f**k up and not report on this whatsoever, thereby not giving our enemies any propaganda outlets.
The (D)HYS on the siezure of navy personel is fully moderated – does that mean that every post is read before published?
If so how does this get through?
“British are the biggest terrorists on earth. 3 thousand people were shot dead in jalian wala baug in punjab, India by british just for organising a speech within India, by sikhs against the british power.They hanged Indian freedom fighters. They did that for 150 years and have not paid any compensation to any Indians and now they claim saddam and iran are the biggest villlans, but all know that british are the number one enemy of humanity, and are the ones who conceived slave trade and racism
bhupinder, toronto”
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=1&threadID=5882&start=60&tstart=0&edition=1&ttl=20070324191835&#paginator
I have complained about the post
Jon | 24.03.07 – 8:41 pm
We know that BBC forum moderation is done by a 3rd party. What bets they’re in India?
“Jon | 24.03.07 – 8:41 pm”
as i said – the BBC is Lord Haw Haw for the 21st century.
Bio and archduke – I know you are right but it is still unbelievable. The post I quoted above gets through a “fully moderated” (D)HYS – but this one about the EU does not (and this too was fully moderated.)
“If so many are against our continuing membership of the EU, as I am, why are none of you voting for a political party which will take us out? You all complain, but do absolutely nothing. If you are really serious about getting out of this almighty mess, vote UKIP. As for celebrating our membership, the EU in it’s current form is NOT what we signed up for 50 years ago, so this will be no celebration for most.”
http://newssniffer.newworldodour.co.uk/bbc/threads/show/5825
Can anyone see anything wrong with this – regardless of your views on the EU. How does this “break the rules”?
“http://newssniffer.newworldodour.co.uk/bbc/threads/show/5825”
Comment censoring is manufacturing left-wing consent.
I’m speechless.
(Geddit? Sorry)
“Britain is lost if this represents the opinion of its citizens:”
i dont blame him. he’s just one of the Beeboid brainwashed sheeple. if you have a tax funded Lord Haw Haw monopoly, then attitudes like that are to be expected.
god only knows what the security services think about this. it must drive them up the wall.
archduke | 24.03.07 – 3:47 pm | #
They’re having a sly smile.
There is an expression:
“All mouth and trousers”
Planks like that are the nightmares of politicians.
“Jon | 24.03.07 – 9:08 pm ”
the censorship is arbitary and done on a whim. and of course, completely unaccountable to anyone.
can you imagine ANY other internet forum where the administrators would only allow stuff on that THEY approve.
in the free market, such a forum would just die a death. the BBC however, is outside of the market and thus we get such idiocy as a “fully moderated” winston smith like Internet forum. if you stand back and think, its like a re run of Pravda all over again. this is the internet for chrissakes!
http://newssniffer.newworldodour.co.uk/articles/33706/diff/0/1
interesting. Bridget Kendalls speculation has been dropped.
and the comments by an Iranian professor.
seems as if the BBC has taken heed and gone into report-as-little-as-possible mode, for the safety of our troops. so, in that regard, that is to be commended.
it would be nice of B-BBC to just stick up a blog warning to folks , asking them to keep their traps shut on this incident, so as not to endanger the lads out there – or to inadvertently give out information to the enemy.
Biodegradable:
I’m actually beginning to wonder whether John Jones, Cardiff and the like are really Jihadi infiltrators.
For a while now I have been seeing comments on various sites on the internet (I’m sorry, I can’t remember which sites), signed with names like “Bob Smith” or “Dave Edwards”, which I feel certain are in fact from Muslim fanatics. I think that some of them must be pursuing this as a deliberate policy.
wouldnt surprise me Deckchair, to be honest. the internet is a powerful medium.
hence all the jihadist videos on YouTube. but , oddly enough, the anti-jihad videos get taken down very quickly because loads of jihadists vote them as “inappropriate”. i dont think Youtube really understand the scale of organising behind this.
I’m just waiting for the BBC to pester the relatives of the navy personel to try and get them to say that this “incident” is all the fault of Bush and Blair.
“I’m actually beginning to wonder whether John Jones, Cardiff and the like are really Jihadi infiltrators.”
I hope you are right – the alternative does not bear thinking about.
“I’m just waiting for the BBC to pester the relatives of the navy personel to try and get them to say that this “incident” is all the fault of Bush and Blair.
Jon | 24.03.07 – 11:06 pm | ”
that’ll be the Today program, radio 4. Monday morning.
and somebody from the MCB will be invited on as well, to whine about the islamophobic British army, and how those soldiers ended up kidnapping themselves – for of course, Muslims are never to blame for anything. its all America and the Jooooos fault.
0-0 england v israel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6469805.stm
work in progress…
Naughty: This morning we have a special edition of the “Today” programme brough to you LIVE from the year 1945.
First – a warning. Later in the programme we will be playing the national anthem – so some of you may prefer to look away now.
MontaQuinn: Yes, but first the news headlines.
Minion: Night-time bombing over Germany has caused an estimated 20,000 casualties this month. Most were women and children – or charity workers.
Allied casualties continue to mount, among growing calls for a ceasefire. Every month, the total number of dead and injured is a bigger number. It never goes down.
A spokesman for both of Britain’s muslims claims they are insulted and offended to receive a bacon ratio of one ounce every fortnight.
The international community has condemned the use of special “bouncing bombs” to circumvent the Germans’ defences.
Naughty: Thanks and here is the leading human right lawyer Gareth Pierce…
Gareth (for it is she): This is a very important test case, brought on behalf of the “Frankfurt Five”. They are all decent, law-abiding former SS officers. They are going to the high court to demand their right to carry on wearing Nazi regalia, including jackboots and swastika armbands. Its insulting and degrading to round them up and put them in a POW camp. These prisoners are among the most vulnerable in our society.
Naughty: Thanks, and later on we have Monsignor Bruce Kent explaining why we should extend the war by a year and incur maybe half a million casualties, rather than using some new types of weapon that can wipe out Japanese cities one-by-one until they surrender.
Montaquinn: Here is an introduction for a daring new series starting this week about the history and culture of Bavaria. And on woman’s hour today we have an interview with Eva Braun.
Naughty: Thanks, Caroline, and now over to Berlin, where we interview Gerhard Heydrich, uncle of the accused Heinrich Heydrich.
Uncle: He was a lovely boy. All he ever did was play football with his mates.
Neighbour: I can’t believe these accusations. Its not the Heinrich I knew.
to be continued
Amazed that no one here picked up on this
‘Mr Kamlish accused Ibrahim of trying to get the other co-defendants to switch legal representation to his solicitor to make sure they all told the same story.
The court heard claims that Ibrahim’s solicitor, Mudassar Arani, sent £600 to Asiedu while he was in custody in Belmarsh Prison. Mr Kamlish produced a document which he claimed showed changes made to Asiedu’s defence statement to make Ibrahim’s own case look better.
“Somebody connected to this solicitor has been trying to persuade my client to change his case to suit Ibrahim’s case,” he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=ERSDPVX4LA105QFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2007/03/24/nterr24.xml
This is Attempting To Pervert the Course Of Justice, an indictable offence.
Anyone interested can follow the links to:
Mudassar Arani or to Arani & Co.
She’s featured on this blog before with the usual islamophobic allegations trash.
Does she feature on the BBC. Of course not except in some nonsense about Belmarsh prison officers being beasly to muslims.
I think the Attorney General and the DPP, instead of chasing UK Service personnel for imaginary ‘war crimes’, could better use their talents in mounting a prosecution against Arani.
At the very least the Law Society needs to take an interest in this. this woman has made a fortune in legal aid defence work, usually with the likes of Abu Hamza.
Above was me
First – a warning. Later in the programme we will be playing the national anthem – so some of you may prefer to look away now.
Jack Hughes | 25.03.07 – 12:00 am
Life imitates art, this from the apartheid state of Israel that tramples on the rights of Muslims:
Arab minister visits Reform Synagogue in Tel Aviv
When asked about his refusal to sing Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, Majadele said that he respects the anthem but does not intend to sing it. He said people who felt it was his duty to sing the national anthem were “uneducated and uncultured, with no idea where they were.”
The minister also refused to wear a kippa when asked, upon entering the synagogue, saying “I don’t intend to wear a kippa and I have never worn one. Kippas are worn by Jews and I am a Muslim.”
This did not perturb the members of the Reform movement, who said “the important thing is that the minister arrive and feel comfortable during his visit.” Rabbi Kariv added, “a kippa merely has symbolic value and there are Jews who come to the synagogue and do not wear one.”
Compare and contrast with the attitude of Muslims when Ariel Sharon dared to walk on the esplanade outside the Al-Aqsar mosque.
Methinks I’ll try entering a mosque without removing my shoes…
Anonymous | 25.03.07 – 12:22 am was me
Weasels ate my cookies!
TPO: Mudassar Arani has a question and answers piece, presumably for “terrorists” as I cannot think that normal British subjects would be approached by MI5.
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1204&
“Ms Arani is being sued for £30,000 compensation for racial discrimination, injured feelings and unpaid earnings. Mr Sharma left his £10,000-a-year job in August last year after just three months.
The Sun revealed this month how Ms Arani has raked in almost £1million in legal aid over five years — mostly defending terror suspects.
Her latest client Muktar Mohammed-Said, 27, is accused of trying to blow up a London bus on July 21.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005390877,00.html
“A SOLICITOR in the law firm representing hook-handed cleric Abu Hamza was jailed today for 12 months for smuggling letters out of Belmarsh prison.
Maya Devani, 26, of Arani and Co, was convicted in June of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
She was caught as she left the jail accompanied by senior partner Muddassar Arani, who was unaware of the deception.
Devani had tucked the notes – containing instructions about setting up a false alibi – into her case folder in January last year during a visit to gunman Timothy Merchant, who was awaiting trial for attempted murder. ”
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2690426.html
The list is endless.
And here is the BBCs take of the same story.
“Solicitor smuggled alibi letter
A solicitor has been convicted of smuggling a letter out of Belmarsh jail, which would have provided a gunman with a false alibi.
Maya Devani had visited her client, Timothy Merchant, who was being held on two charges of attempted murder.
But when she left the south-east London prison, she allegedly took written instructions for an alibi.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5106672.stm
Notice she was “convicted” , so she didn’t “allegedly” do it – she did.
It goes on to say;
“Merchant, who has since been convicted of the charges, shot two men who gave evidence against his younger brother in a trial.”
No “allegedly” here
“to be continued
Jack Hughes | 25.03.07 – 12:00 am |”
somebody cut and paste that into a local textfile for posterity. utter genius
says it all in a nutshell.
BBC R4 plods on like a weary carthorse. I’ve just managed to switch off before being overcome by a wave of nausea as it began its latest Talk for Lent (or whatever it’s called).
The wise person chosen to lecture us? None other than Shami Chakrabarti – who may (for all I know) actually be a Christian, though I doubt it. The other week, they had some lunatic called Cherie Booth.
No Left-liberal agenda at the BBC, is there?
archduke:24.03.07 – 10:45 pm
wouldnt surprise me Deckchair, to be honest. the internet is a powerful medium.hence all the jihadist videos on YouTube. but , oddly enough, the anti-jihad videos get taken down very quickly because loads of jihadists vote them as “inappropriate”. i dont think Youtube really understand the scale of organising behind this.
Interesting Video: “Radical Islam`s war against the West”
http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/12min.htm
.
Re the “John Jones of Cardiff” is he a Jihadist or a dumbnuts dhimmi? This might ne a clue…
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD150807
The following are excerpts: [1]
“Raiding American Forums is Among the Most Important Means of Obtaining Victory in the Fierce Media War… and of Influencing the Views of the Weak-Minded American”
“There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among the most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war… and of influencing the views of the weak-minded American who pays his taxes so they will go to the infidel American army. This American is an idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is… [It is therefore] mandatory for every electronic mujahid [to engage in this raiding].”
“It is better that you raid non-political forums such as music forums and trivia forums… which American people… favor… Define your target[ed forum]… and get to know it well… Post your contribution and do not get into… futile arguments…”
Indicate You Are an American
“Obviously, you have to register yourself using a purely American name… Choose an icon that indicates that you are an American, and place it next to your nickname [in the forum].”
“In my experience, the areas most visited in American forums… [are titled] ‘Random Thoughts’ and ‘What’s going on in your mind?’… [The former] takes priority in the American forums, and is highly popular. You should post your contribution there… This should include films of the mujahideen in Iraq, mujahideen publications in English, and images and films of the Americans’ crimes, [such as] killing unarmed civilians in Iraq… etc.”
On the Falklands War, I clearly remember that in the weeks leading up to the invasion by Argentina there were massive demonstrations in Buenos Aires against the junta led by Galtieri. It was quite obvious that the junta launched the invasion to distract the Argentinian public from the demonstrations–a foreign adventure to distract from internal problems (something the BBC is fond of accusing the UK and US of doing). Also there were warnings for Brits to be careful when visiting Spain due to anti-British feeling over the war.
I can add a little to that one too, as I’ve visited argentina and now have a family connection south america. The overt anti-british attitude of a lot of argentinians is about the same as our attitude to teh french in terms of how sincere it is. Shortly after the war the argentines found out that Galiteri had sent their youngest and least well trained to invade the islands, for what reason nobody really knows. The falklands war holds a very special kind of anger and shame for the argentines now. They mourn the war in a way that we probably don’t understand – and the BBC definitely won’t understand – because they allowed themselves to be conned in to it by a dictator who they had hated a week earlier, and lost their youngest sons to it for what turned out to be nothing more than a distraction. The anger they direct at the British is a superficial cover to hide their anger at themselves. Underneath that they still like to emphasise their strong links with Great Britain – they never renamed the English Tower in Buenos Aires, for instance – and more than a few argentinians would prefer that the whole mess was just left in the past. But, for many, the ‘malvinas’ are an issue of national pride, just as they are for us.
The BBC might think it’s doing some sort of justice to the argies by portraying us as the aggressors, but they aren’t. I expect most argentinians would tell them to take a hike if they started peddling their nonsense down there. By its nature the BBC’s attitude to the falklands is favourable to Galiteri, and I doubt many argetinians would look too favourably on that.
Steve Gerrard as reported by BBC Sport after the Israel/England match,
The surface was excellent but the dry surface made it difficult to pass the ball at a high tempo. When that is the case, it is difficult to break sides down. :o(
Mr. Gerrard, there is a future for you after retirement as a BBC reporter (from Gaza.)
Archonix, the Falklands adventure certainly misfired for Galtieri and Co. Perhaps the UK did Argentina a favour by liberating the islands as it hastened the return to proper democratic elections. If Mrs T had not sent a task force and just protested to the UN then Galtieri would have no doubt been hailed as a national hero and strengthened the power of the junta and put off the day when Argentina returned to democracy. Of course the British victory was a humiliation for Argentina, so it is not surprising that there is anger towards us. Perhaps the people of Argentina will one day understand why we HAD to go to war.
In Alan Clarke’s diaries he writes of visiting the Falklands shortly after the end of the war, flying in on an RAF Hercules. As the plane came in to land a primary school was just ending its day and mothers were collecting children just like back home and he comments that how could we have left these people in the hands of a brutal dictator.
The “right on,” PC-obsessed, socialist-loving, human rights obsessed BBC would rather paint a brutal fascist junta as a victim of British imperialism than praise our armed forces for their victory and hastening the end of an odious regime.
dr writes:
“Re the “John Jones of Cardiff” is he a Jihadist or a dumbnuts dhimmi? This might ne a clue…”
I’ve absolutely no doubt that, notwithstanding a far sprinkling of barking Independent readers, most such posts are by jihadis.
Sadly, I’m also sure the vermin aren’t posting from Islamabad.
We have an enemy within the UK and it’s one that needs aggressive rooting-out.
On Broadcasting House this morning the Iraqi boss of Baghdad South power station described the many times gas and power lines had been “damaged by the terrorists.”
The BBC’s Hugh Sykes, on the other hand, very deliberately called the same people “insurgents stroke resistance fighters.”
I think there’s a clique of BBC foreign correspondents – star names working mainly in the Middle East – who view themselves as untouchable. They share a dislike for the evil western military-industrial complex, and they’re not exactly subtle about conveying this. They get away with it because the heads of the various BBC news operations are either sympathetic to their politics or are scared to take them on. Hugh Sykes knows he won’t be reprimanded when he calls terrorists “resistance fighters” or speculates wildly about Americans killing children at checkpoints. John Simpson knows he won’t be reprimanded when he calls terrorists “misguided criminals” or refuses to report good news from Iraq because he believes that’s propaganda. Jeremy Bowen knows he won’t be reprimanded when he sides with Hizbullah or shoehorns a little rant about Palestinian refugees into a report about Iraq. There are others – Johnston, Muir and Guerin spring to mind. For all Simpson’s claims that he doesn’t think it’s the role of BBC news to “influence people”, that is exactly what he and his fellow travellers from the foreign desk hope to achieve. And as Simpson says, the great thing about working for the BBC is “we don’t have to apologise for what we do.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6492689.stm
“The Red Army Faction sought to combat what it saw as capitalist oppression of workers and US imperialism.”
but what were they? Jehovahs Witnesses? Mormons? Anarchists? Fascists?
the BBC curiously seems to skirt around that matter.
wikipedia tells us who they were pretty much immediately..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction
however the BBC seems to skirt around this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6314559.stm
and its not until several paragraphs in that you get a hint:
“Born from the radical student movement of that period, the RAF comprised mainly middle-class youngsters who saw themselves as fighting a West German capitalist establishment which they apparently believed was little more than a reincarnation of the Third Reich.”
are the BBC trying to rewrite history here?
Anonandon writes:
“or all Simpson’s claims that he doesn’t think it’s the role of BBC news to “influence people”, that is exactly what he and his fellow travellers from the foreign desk hope to achieve.”
An excellent post! Simpson is either a liar or a fool. No, on second thoughts, make that a liar and a fool.
It would be remiss not to comment on the BBC’s celebration (for that’s what it is proving to be) of the EU’s 50th birthday.
Saturday evening’s R4 examination of Britain’s footballing history in Europe was worth listening to even if, like me, you abhor the game, because it was nothing but an advertisement for pan-Europeanism, showing the BBC at its absolute, polemical, worst.
That the BBC has shown a profound pro-EU, pro-federalist bias for decades is incontestable, but this latest display of enthusiasm should serve as a reminder that, however many times the public rejects it, hydra-like, the BBC will keep regenerating the monster. Not dead, but ony sleeping.
In covering the plight of the (3rd person) British troops captured by Iran News24 goes to their man outside the FO.
He reports that the FO & Iran are giving differing versions.
“You pay your money & take your choice”, he says.
So the BBC regard the madmen in Teheran as having eaqual credence with the British government.
I wish I was allowed to pay my money, or not, & make a choice on funding the BBC.
Changing a lightbulb BBC-style:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/25/nbbc25.xml
Is it time for a campaign to refuse to pay the TV Licence tax?
More moral inversion from jeremy Bowen. he stops short of comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, but only just.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6485947.stm
You hear a lot of talk about war in the Middle East at the moment.
There was so much of it when I was in Beirut last month that it started me wondering. Was this what it felt like to be somewhere like Prague in about 1934?
…
But I started wondering about Prague or Warsaw or Budapest in 1934 or 1936 because a lot of the people I had been meeting recently across the Middle East think that what is different now is the combination of crises that are raging, bubbling steadily or slowly smouldering.
…
Most Israelis I have talked to believe they will have to go to war again with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement that fought them to a standstill last summer.
They are worried that Arabs might lose their fear of the Israeli army if they do not.
And Hezbollah is backed by Iran, which many Israelis believe would like to eliminate their country.
In Israel, the former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has been explicit about it.
He looks at the bombastic anti-Israeli rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and says it is now 1938 and Iran is Germany.
That strikes a deep chord in Israel but Arabs I have spoken to are just as concerned about the future, though for different reasons.
…
While I was in Beirut, I spoke to senior people from all the main sectarian groups – Shias, Sunnis, Druze and Christian – and they all shared concerns about what they saw as Israel’s aggressive plans.
This is the second time, at least that Bowen has used this ploy:
… he exodus of Iraqi refugees, which is the biggest movement of people in the Middle East since the Palestinian refugee crisis after Israel was established in 1948…
So, having blamed Israel for all the ME’s problems he ends with:
I hope the future is not as dark for the Middle East as it was in Europe in the 1930s, but for most of the 20th Century, conflict in Europe poisoned the rest of the world.
Seven years into this new century, the Middle East is showing every sign of doing the same.
Yes Mr Bowen, there are comparisons with the 1930s, but as ever it’s the Jews who are being slated for extermination, not the ones threatening war, unless of course you believe the Protocols of The Elders of Zion, which you evidently do.
“Let’s dance like it was 1939!”
interesting. the french carrier Charles De Gaulle , is also in the Gulf, teaming up with the americans
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=28448
that brings to five , the number of carrier groups in striking distance of Iran – Eisenhower, Bataan, Boxer, John C. Stennis, and now Charles De Gaulle.
The Heaven and Earth show on BBC this morning was nothing but propaganda.
The only shocking thing is that the BBC are still able to surprise me from time to time !
I should know by now that they can crowbar their dogma into any kind of programme.
Sorry to spoil your day:
“BLAIR’S SECRET EU PRESIDENT PLAN”
TONY Blair is secretly backing plans to create a permanent President of Europe, in a move that could see him go head to head for the job with bitter rival Jacques Chirac.
Senior Brussels sources revealed that Mr Blair was backing the idea as European leaders gathered in Berlin last night to mark the European Union’s 50th anniversary.
The plan was first floated as part of the EU constitution, which was rejected by voters in France and Holland two years ago.
It is now being discussed again as part of negotiations in Berlin aimed at reviving the Constitution without sparking more referendums.
Kim Darroch, Mr Blair’s personal envoy to the EU, has been told to use the negotiations to press for a permanent EU president to replace the current system, in which the presidency rotates among the member states every six months.
The Prime Minister would be one of the favourites for the job, which would go to a former EU leader. His main rival would be the outgoing French president Jacques Chirac, who has clashed with Mr Blair over the future of Europe many times during the past decade.
Mr O’Brien said: “It is very hard to see how the president would be accountable to the people. As for who could do it, Tony Blair would be an obvious candidate.”
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/2688