Post Gaza, our moral betters are silent on Hamas rule

[Mediocrates]

http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/04/22/the-hideous-face-of-hamas-rule-in-gaza/

You can only imagine what would happen if Israel dealt with its internal political enemies or dissenters in such a fashion,” writes (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042002815.html) Richard Cohen of a new Human Rights Watch report (http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt0409web.pdf) detailing the appalling abuses of human rights entailed by the continuing rule of Hamas in Gaza. “Of particular concern is the widespread practice of maiming people by shooting them in the legs, which Hamas first used in June 2007, when it seized control inside Gaza from Fatah,” says the HRW report. And there’s this too: “Abductions and severe beatings are another major concern. According to ICHR, unidentified perpetrators physically abused 73 Gazan men from December 28 to January 31, causing broken legs and arms. Human Rights Watch documented three such cases of Fatah supporters assaulted during and after the Israeli offensive, as well as one case of what appeared to be a politically motivated house arrest.”

[Mediocrates]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124027104509836989.html

As for Chechnya, there are no solid figures for the number of civilians killed since the second war began in late 1999; estimates range anywhere between 25,000 and 200,000. Chechnya's population, at a little over one million, is about one-third or one-fourth that of the Palestinians. That works out to between 25 to 200 Chechen deaths per 1,000, as against 1.5 to 2 Palestinian deaths per 1,000.

Now type the words "Palestine" and "genocide" into Google. When I did so Monday, I got 1,630,000 results. Next, substitute "Chechnya" for "Palestine." The number is 245,000. Taking the Google results as a crude measure of global outrage, that means the outrage over the Palestinian situation was 6.6 times greater than over the Chechen one. Yet Chechen fatalities were anywhere between 13 to 133 times greater.

Maybe it's that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simply more important strategically than Russia's war against Chechnya, in the same way that the attacks of 9/11 mattered more in the scheme of things than, say, Tamil Tiger atrocities in Sri Lanka.

Yet even before 9/11, there was evidence that al Qaeda was feeding money and arms to Chechen fighters, putting Chechnya squarely into the context of what became the global war on terror. Evidence of al Qaeda involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is sparser, and only came to light in 2007.

I have a hypothesis. Maybe the world attends to Palestinian grievances but not Chechen ones for the sole reason that Palestinians are, uniquely, the perceived victims of the Jewish state. That is, when they are not being victimized by other Palestinians. Or being expelled en masse from Kuwait. Or being excluded from the labor force in Lebanon. Things you probably didn't know about, either. As for the Chechens, too bad for their cause that no Jew will ever likely become president of Russia.

[Mediocrates]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042002815.html

Some residents of Gaza were taken from their homes and shot in the legs or feet. Some were brutally beaten, and some were simply murdered, sometimes after hideous torture. If you are expecting -- based on everything that has happened -- that the awful Israelis did this, guess again. It was Hamas, the authentic and genuine government of Gaza. Well, no one's perfect.

The information about the shootings is taken from a report (http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/20/gaza-hamas-should-end-killings-torture) issued yesterday by Human Rights Watch. It says that "Hamas security forces or masked gunmen believed to be with Hamas" executed 18 people, most of whom were accused of collaborating with Israel, sparing the expense and bother of a trial. Others were shot, maimed or beaten, not for allegedly collaborating with the enemy -- or, as is often the case, having a house or woman that a snitch covets -- but for belonging to the opposition political party, Fatah.

Many of these murders and assaults took place during Israel's recent pummeling of Gaza. Yet, as Human Rights Watch goes to some pains to document, at no time did Hamas's security forces lose control of Gaza, so the murders and maimings were not a consequence of chaos but of government policy. Whatever the case, the murders, shootings and beatings continued even after the hostilities ended. Since then, at least 14 more people have been executed extrajudicially, which is to say murdered. Some were also tortured.

You can only imagine what would happen if Israel dealt with its internal political enemies or dissenters in such a fashion. Last month, for instance, Israel got a heap of criticism and abuse when it was reported (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html) in the Israeli media that some Gaza civilians had been unjustifiably shot by Israeli soldiers. The report was widely cited, not just for its shocking allegations but also because it was supposedly indicative of the sort of place Israel has become. The government said the allegations were based on hearsay. We shall see.

[Reffo]

Talking about moral betters, they seem to be singing from a different hymn book when it comes to other countries than Israel:

The UN Security Council president said on Wednesday that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) must now give up.

“We demand that the LTTE immediately lay down arms,” said the current Council president, Mexico's UN ambassador Claude Heller, following an informal discussion on Sri Lanka by the council.

The rebels have been repeatedly accused of using civilians as human shields. Around 100,000 people have managed to escape rebel-held territory this week, and it was unclear precisely how many were still trapped.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25375066-2703,00.html

...Very interesting, I never heard the UN making a similar call to Hamas. And what about the world mass media outlets like the CNN and the BBC? What happened to their saturation coverage of the suffering of Sri Lankan civilians?

Oh well, no oil there.... the Jews are not involved ...... no Arab civilians. Some people are worth more .... some people are worth less ...... some people deserve more vilification and demonization, some less (not my sentiments but it seems to be the sentiments of cynical organizations like the UN, the BBC, CNN and other western mass media outlets.... they know who they are) :vomit: ...... D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G!

[takeo]

Talking about moral betters, they seem to be singing from a different hymn book when it comes to other countries than Israel:





http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25375066-2703,00.html

...Very interesting, I never heard the UN making a similar call to Hamas. And what about the world mass media outlets like the CNN and the BBC? What happened to their saturation coverage of the suffering of Sri Lankan civilians?

Oh well, no oil there.... the Jews are not involved ...... no Arab civilians. Some people are worth more .... some people are worth less ...... some people deserve more vilification and demonization, some less (not my sentiments but it seems to be the sentiments of cynical organizations like the UN, the BBC, CNN and other western mass media outlets.... they know who they are) :vomit: ...... D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G!

North-Eastern Sri Lanka is still a recognised part of Sri Lanka, while Gaza is not a part of Israel, which makes it an international conflict. Apart from that, the conflict gets a lot more attention, because both Israel and tthe Palestinians have powerful friends. Sri Lankans and Tamils have none.

[Mediocrates]

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/israel/articles/20090424.aspx

Violence continues inside Gaza and the West Bank, but a different kind of violence. In Gaza, Hamas is well on its way to establishing a functioning police state. Opponents are being terrorized into inactivity. In the West Bank, Fatah only controls about half the territory. There are many more factions there that have maintained their local power. Some of these groups are terrorists, more interested in carrying out attacks on Israel than in establishing a Palestinian state. The Israelis cope by continuing their counter-terror operations, seeking out and arresting or killing the more active terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank. This war is largely unreported, because both the terrorists and the counter-terror forces keep their secrets. Since the Israelis figured out how to defeat Palestinian terrorists five years ago, you have few suicide bombs going off in Israel, and any attacks that are carried out are low level and crude. The Israeli operations continue to detect and disrupt terrorist operations, which is how they keep the terrorism out of Israel.

[Mediocrates]

Somalia just awarded 165 million Euros as a reward for piracy.
http://euobserver.com/9/28001

I for one hope this aid goes to the peaceful pirates of Puntland to acquire antiship missiles. So they can avoid the dangerous imperialist zionist capitalist navies and sink the invader occupier freighters from the safety of shore.

[Mediocrates]

http://euobserver.com/9/27994

If truth be told, Hamas in Gaza will enter the EU before the EU allows Israel in.

[Mediocrates]

From the ever wonderful "It's Almost Supernatural"



Before you continue reading, remember that we shouldn't question Hamas' rule because - they were democratically elected in free and fair elections!
Via MEMRI:
On Hamas TV, Friday Sermon Cites 'Protocols of Elders of Zion,' Calls to Annihilate the Jews, Compares Jews To Dogs "It Is the Jews Who Are Leading the Vehement Campaign Against the Muslims Today"
Preacher: "Who is leading the world today against Islam and its people? Who is leading the fierce and vehement campaign in the world today against Islam and its people? The answer is as clear as day: It is the nation of the Jews. It is the Jews who are leading the vehement campaign against the Muslims today.
[...]
"We Muslims know best the nature of the Jews, because the Koran has informed us about this, and because the pure Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad has devoted much space to informing the Muslims of the truth about the Jews and their hostility to Islam and its Prophet." [...]
"[In] 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' The Jews Included Their Plan... Jews Today Are Weaving Their Spider Webs in Order to Encircle Our Nation"
"Their famous book, the existence of which is denied by the reasonable people among them, the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion – but we call it the Protocols of the Idiots of Zion... In this book, the Jews included their plan to besiege the whole world by land, by air, by sea, by ideology, by economy, and by the media, as is happening today, my brothers in the nation of the Prophet Muhammad. The Jews today are weaving their spider webs in order to encircle our nation like a bracelet encircles the wrist, and in order to spread corruption throughout the world." [...]
"Allah Willing, The Moment Will Come When... Not a Single Jew Or Zionist is Left on the Face of the Earth"; "Dogs And Pups Bark and Bite, and... Are Impure – That Is The Truth About the Jews"
"Allah willing, the moment will come when their property will be destroyed and their sons annihilated, until not a single Jew or Zionist is left on the face of the Earth. [...]
And now for a tale about a dog that irritated the neighbours and then begot a pup. Just like with the Jews you see.
"There once was a dog that frightened the entire neighborhood with its barking. This dog begot a pup which was more wicked than its father. The Jews are always the same, brothers. Both dogs and pups bark and bite, and both are impure. That is the truth about the Jews." Perhaps we need to negotiate with Hamas and understand their perspective. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so let's start with a picture.
http://supernatural.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341cb49853ef0115703dac80970b-800wi (http://supernatural.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341cb49853ef0115703dac80970b-pi)