EYE ON A CRAZY PLANET
Showing posts with label blockade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blockade. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Canadian Sea Hitler boat makes new attempt to break Israel's arms embargo of Gaza
The Sea Hitler, the boat purchased by a group of Canadian radicals and crewed by fanatics including buffoonish University of Western Ontario French teacher David Heap, is making a new stab at trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Dubbed "The Tahrir" by its crew, the Sea Hitler made international headlines after its last attempt to violate the Gaza blockade was stymied by Greek authorities, who refused to allow it to sail out of Greek waters. Heap has accused Israel of "state piracy" demonstrating that the University of Western Ontario employs teachers who do not understand the meaning of some of the words that they use.
This time the boat along with an Irish yacht, has left from Turkey, whose Islamist government has severely strained relations with Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has even threatened to send naval vessels to accompany future flotillas to Gaza, but does not seem to have made good on his threat on this occasion.
Iran has attempted to use sea routes to smuggle weaponry to its proxy Hamas in Gaza and Israel has said it will intercept any vessel attempting to violate the blockade.
Dubbed "The Tahrir" by its crew, the Sea Hitler made international headlines after its last attempt to violate the Gaza blockade was stymied by Greek authorities, who refused to allow it to sail out of Greek waters. Heap has accused Israel of "state piracy" demonstrating that the University of Western Ontario employs teachers who do not understand the meaning of some of the words that they use.
This time the boat along with an Irish yacht, has left from Turkey, whose Islamist government has severely strained relations with Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has even threatened to send naval vessels to accompany future flotillas to Gaza, but does not seem to have made good on his threat on this occasion.
Iran has attempted to use sea routes to smuggle weaponry to its proxy Hamas in Gaza and Israel has said it will intercept any vessel attempting to violate the blockade.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
UN Secretary General's report to declare Gaza blockade legal
Turkey has asked Israel to agree to a toned-down version of the UN Secretary-General's report on last year's flotilla to Gaza, according to a senior government official in Jerusalem.
According to the official, the Turks are "very worried" about the harsh criticism of Turkey they expect the report to contain, and want Israel to agree to a softened version as part of a package deal to end the crisis between the two countries over the flotilla, which took place in May 2010.
..A draft of the report, due to be released within two weeks, was given to Israel and Turkey about six weeks ago. The committee determined that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is in keeping with international law, and therefore its actions to stop the flotilla were also legal.
According to a senior government official in Jerusalem, the report criticizes the Turkish government and highlights the relationship between it and IHH, the group that organized the flotilla.
More from Haaretz
Sunday, July 11, 2010
How to improve your popularity if you are a Middle Eastern tyrant..
Are you a Middle Eastern Tyrant with a case of the doldrums? We have the solution for you:
Deny your people freedom of speech? Big deal. It's not like anyone else in the region has it, except those pesky Zionists, and Allah hates them anyway.
Did you give your police arbitrary arrest powers and they have a sadistic propensity towards torture? Silly question. Of course you did! Your people may resent that, but not out loud and in public.
Oil prices have plateaued for a while and your economy is stagnant? Remind your people that it's probably an American/Zionist plot.
But still, every once in a while it's important to remind the people you exploit, rob from and oppress that you're their champion, so why not do that with an inexpensive yet provocative gesture that will send your domestic popularity skyrocketing?
Send a ship to Gaza! It's cheap, it's risk free (for you) and the best part is, that if the effort itself is a failure, it's still a success! You get to play the familiar, and time-tested role of victim of oppressive Zionist and Western "tyranny" !!
(Ha! Ha!..You could show those idiotic democratic countries a thing or two about tyranny, but let's not talk about that out of school.)
Satisfaction guaranteed. Just ask our newest client, Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
Before: After:
Deny your people freedom of speech? Big deal. It's not like anyone else in the region has it, except those pesky Zionists, and Allah hates them anyway.
Did you give your police arbitrary arrest powers and they have a sadistic propensity towards torture? Silly question. Of course you did! Your people may resent that, but not out loud and in public.
Oil prices have plateaued for a while and your economy is stagnant? Remind your people that it's probably an American/Zionist plot.
But still, every once in a while it's important to remind the people you exploit, rob from and oppress that you're their champion, so why not do that with an inexpensive yet provocative gesture that will send your domestic popularity skyrocketing?
Send a ship to Gaza! It's cheap, it's risk free (for you) and the best part is, that if the effort itself is a failure, it's still a success! You get to play the familiar, and time-tested role of victim of oppressive Zionist and Western "tyranny" !!
(Ha! Ha!..You could show those idiotic democratic countries a thing or two about tyranny, but let's not talk about that out of school.)
Satisfaction guaranteed. Just ask our newest client, Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
Before: After:
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