State Dept. Threatens Gaza Flotilla Protesters

[marshabar1]

Published on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Reuters


US State Dept. Threatens Activists with 'Fines or Incarceration' if They Proceed to Gaza

The United States on Friday warned activists against plans to send a new aid flotilla to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it would be irresponsible and dangerous.

"Groups that seek to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement, adding that there were established ways to move humanitarian aid to Gaza.

"We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla," Nuland said.

Israel on Wednesday said it had warned the United Nations that a new aid flotilla -- which activists say could depart from European ports in coming days -- could result in "dangerous consequences.

Israel has made clear it will prevent any new flotilla from reaching Gaza. A year ago, nine Turkish activists, including one with dual U.S.-Turkish nationality, were killed in an Israeli raid on a similar convoy.

www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/24-9


What's up with that. I thought they'd be out there promoting it??? I guess Israel has made it clear enough that it won't be without danger.

[piff]

Hey MARSH.

[Deleted]

PIFF!!!!!! Hi!! Good to see you here!! Sorry you got caught in the troll net. Our mods are working overtime lately!! YAY!! Piff is here!!!

I dunno, Marsha.. I like it, though.. Is that the Dohrn/Ayers flotilla?? Hey, I give Obama credit when it is due. If this is what it appears to be, good for team Obama. IRS yanked tax exempt status from CAIR, too. Could be a fluke paper thing they can get out of, but it is possible Obama is doing something good there, too. IF any of this is as it seems-- GREAT!!!

[marshabar1]

Very very surprising. Just makes it juicier for the useful idiots.

The celebrated poet and novelist Alice Walker has reiterated her intent to participate in the upcoming flotilla to Gaza, despite a warning by the United States State Department, which advises citizens against joining the attempt to break Israel's naval blockade of the Strip.The author of 'The Color Purple' wrote a special piece for CNN on Tuesday outlining her plan to carry letters to the people of Gaza on board the “Audacity of Hope,” boat.“We will be carrying letters …expressing solidarity and love. That is all its cargo will consist of," Walker wrote. "If the Israeli military attacks us, it will be as if they attacked the mailman. This should go down hilariously in the annals of history.""But if they insist on attacking us, wounding us, even murdering us, as they did some of the activists in the last flotilla, Freedom Flotilla I, what is to be done?” she asks.
Alice Walker in Gaza - AP - March 8, 2009

U.S. writer Alice Walker talks with Palestinian women during a visit to Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip on March 8, 2009.
Photo by: AP

Her letter goes on to talk about the brave “followers of Ghandi,” and the “Jewish civil rights activists” who stood side by side with blacks in America's South and places her current “mission,” within this context.

She concludes by rebuking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies, and those in the U.S. that back them.

"What of the children of Palestine, who were ignored in our President's latest speech on Israel and Palestine, and whose impoverished, terrorized, segregated existence was mocked by the standing ovations recently given in the U.S. Congress to the prime minister of Israel?”

www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/author-alice-walker-to-take-part-in-gaza-flotilla-despite-u-s-warning-1.369262



If they make it to Gaza they can stay at the nice resort and play at the new water park.

Journalist Ashraf Abu Al-Houl wrote in Al-Ahram: “I was last in Gaza in mid-February. Returning three weeks ago, I found it almost unrecognizable… and the greatest surprise was the nature of that change. I would have expected a change for the worse, considering the blockade – but the opposite was the case; it seemed as if it had emerged from the blockade.

“A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza’s coast. Further, the sight of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me.

barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/egyptian-journalist-is-shocked-by-what-he-found-in-gaza/

After the shopping mall and several fancy restaurants, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have recently invested around $20 million in new seaside and tourist resorts.

According to sources in there, thousands of Palestinian families have started visiting the resorts, which offer a wide range of attractions.

The boom in the local tourism industry is largely attributed to the fact that the underground smuggling business along the border has become less profitable since Israel’s recent decision to allow various goods into the Gaza Strip reduced prices of many items significantly.

www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=182943

[Deleted]

Guess the radicals will have to find a new "cause." Kind of embarrassing the way they lavish all this attention on people that hate "Western" ways. Sounds like they would not mind going down as martyrs, either. What is wrong with people?

[Deleted]

Interesting.. whole news crews were supposed to go on this flotilla trip.
www.theblaze.com/stories/report-ny-times-cnn-cbs-to-ride-along-with-anti-israel-gaza-flotilla/
It will be interesting to watch this.

[ameiko]

Wow, Obama can't make up his man whether to support Isreal or not!

Still, I'm glad that his administration is letting these morons know what idiots they are. I hope that Isreal sinks these flotillas and be done with it.

"What of the children of Palestine, who were ignored in our President's latest speech on Israel and Palestine, and whose impoverished, terrorized, segregated existence was mocked by the standing ovations recently given in the U.S. Congress to the prime minister of Israel?”

Idiot. If the Palestinians stopped lobbing rockets into Isreal, blowing up their busses, etc.... then Israel would be happy to trade with a PEACEFUL neighbor. Palestine had brough misery upon itself.

[marshabar1]

"Wow, Obama can't make up his man whether to support Isreal or not!"

Ha ha, ameiko. Funny slip. Of course Obama has totally "made up" his man, everything from the name on. . .

No one is accusing Obama of being likable. He is not unlikable, but he lacks Reagan's (or Bill Clinton's) warmth. What's more, his career has been brief. He led no movement, was spokesman for no ideology and campaigned like a Nike sneaker -- change instead of swoosh. He seems distant. No Irish jokes from him. For the average voter, he casts no shadow.

Reagan, by contrast, had been around forever. He was not defined solely by gauzy campaign ads but by countless speeches, two contentious and highly controversial terms as California governor and a previous race for the presidency. There was never a question about who Reagan was and what he stood for. Not so Obama. About all he shares with Reagan at this point are low ratings.

What has come to be called the Obama Paradox is not a paradox at all. Voters lack faith in him making the right economic decisions because, as far as they're concerned, he hasn't. He went for health care reform, not jobs. He supported the public option, then he didn't. He's been cold to Israel's Binyamin Netanyahu and then all over him like a cheap suit. Americans know Obama's smart. But we still don't know him. Before Americans can give him credit for what he's done they have to know who he is. We're waiting.

www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/07/20/barack_obama_introduce_yourself_106374.html



Nope. We still don't know who this cold, gloating, glaring, sneering man is. Don't even know his name for sure.

[handyman2]

If I remember correctly there is a law that says American citizens are not to get involved in political matters of other countries without state department clearance and approval. News groups can report on them but are not allowed to take part in one side or the other.

[marshabar1]

Jun 25, 2011 10:50:04 GMT -5 handyman2 said:

If I remember correctly there is a law that says American citizens are not to get involved in political matters of other countries without state department clearance and approval. News groups can report on them but are not allowed to take part in one side or the other.

Yeah well, they're liberals therefore citizens of the world first. That's gotta count for something. Israel must have given the administration of stiff heads up. Can't imagine this state department getting involved otherwise.

Can't wait for the arrests.

[Deleted]

They love being arrested. I like watching them cry when they get arrested at town hall meetings... Maybe if they just left them in jail for a few days with the illegals and other fun criminals they would adjust their outlook. A paper arrest with a small fine has little impact.

[marshabar1]

Guernica: Have you been following the “SlutWalk” protests, the international movement borne out of remarks made by a Toronto police officer that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not be victimized?” What are you thoughts on the movement?

We have lost the peace we once shared with the other animals and with it our peace with ourselves on the planet.

Alice Walker: I’ve always understood the word “slut” to mean a woman who freely enjoys her own sexuality in any way she wants to; undisturbed by other people’s wishes for her behavior. Sexual desire originates in her and is directed by her. In that sense it is a word well worth retaining. As a poet, I find it has a rich, raunchy, elemental, down to earth sound, that connects us to something primal, moist, and free.

The spontaneous movement that has grown around reclaiming this word speaks to women’s resistance to having names turned into weapons used against them. I would guess the police officer who used the word “slut” had no inkling of its real meaning or its importance to women as an area of their freedom about to be, through the threat of rape, closed to them.

www.guernicamag.com/blog/2794/michael_archer_qa_with_alice_w/


These people are . . . what? Amazing?

Oh yeah, disgusting.

[ameiko]

wrong thread Marsh?

That said, I think it's pretty ridiculous. The whole thing started because one cop said that women would be raped less if they didn't dress like sluts.

He's right.

People will react to you based on how you act and dress. If a woman dresses and act ssexually provocative, people will see her as offering up sex. There are very primative, primal, and powerful passions that are being provoked in the reptile portion of the human brain. Good judgement in both genders can be overriden as that side takes over (we see it when women have sex and then claim "it just happened" or you see a frenzy of violence in a mob) .

Some women don't seem to understand this. They claim they can act and dress as they want without consequence. Point this out and you are accused of "siding with the rapist."

Umm.. no. I'm not saying that a rapist should not be prosecuted nor saying that he has a right to commit such an act. Simply pointing out that actions have consequences.

If a drunk man dressed to the nines, flashing his diamond rings and hundred dollar bills hanging out of his pocket, and strolling down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood, was mugged he would receive no sympathy. He put himself in a very bad situation.

Same thing with women who act and dress in a very sexy manner, go drinking, and then go home with men they barely know: bad stuff is likely to happen.

[Deleted]

I would call my daughters modern young women. You saw my 19 YO daughter's dance video, Marsha. They like to have a good time, party lightly, run around in bathing suit tops and cut-offs.... and they would NEVER take part in a slut walk. Thank God. They think the whole thing is disgusting. But then again... they don't sleep around, get abortions or any of that stuff, so maybe they are not modern after all. They ALSO have always understood that girls need to stick with their girl pals when they go out, and walking around alone and half naked is dangerous. Common sense. Look at that beautiful little college girl.. walking around drunk, barefooted, and alone in the middle of the night-- never seen again. It does not matter if it is right or wrong that girls and women are not safe out there on the streets, what matters is that it is a fact. I've given many, MANY free cab rides to little drunk college girls I find wandering the streets drunk, crying, half naked in the middle of the night. Very, very dangerous for young ladies to put themselves out like that. Taking part in a slut walk is a real good way to catch the eye of some psycho..

[Deleted]

Well, crap.. I posted after her.. oh, well, it's her thread..
;D

[ameiko]

Jun 26, 2011 10:32:31 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Well, crap.. I posted after her.. oh, well, it's her thread..
;D

And I added to mine so it's all good. Let the mods sort it out.

;D

I look at things like a "slut walk" and realize how far down the road to hell we are. As much as I dismiss modern marriage, quite frankly a society functions best when a woman's modesty and virginity are cherished and most people get married young and stay married. Freeing that sexuality destroys the family and thus society.

So sad...

Linking back to the original topic, think how fewer people would be involved in those "causes" if they were too busy either working to support a family or raising one!

[marshabar1]

Alice Walker is the poet who is determined to go on the Gaza Flotilla despite State Department warning, Ameiko. Should have clarified. She's a moral figurehead for these people who want to see Israel destroyed. Oh and of course the mad bomber moral figureheads, Dohrn and Ayers. Are they still going?

[deziloooooo]

Jun 26, 2011 10:32:31 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Well, crap.. I posted after her.. oh, well, it's her thread..
;D

Actually , don't understand the

"oh, well, it's her thread.."

to me , once posted, it fair game for all, though the post of marshas is a bit off the reason of the thread, but anyway, to get back on the topic first posted, the op, here is a new developement just posted.
-----------------------------------------

english.aljazeera.net/
-----------------------------------------
Middle East

Israel warns media over latest Gaza flotilla

Israel may ban journalists aboard planned aid flotilla for 10 years and also seize their equipment, official says.

David Poort Last Modified: 26 Jun 2011 13:28


"Israel has warned journalists that they could be banned from entering the country for 10 years if they travel aboard an aid flotilla scheduled to set sail for the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government issued the warning on Sunday, saying the journalists could also have their equipment seized in addition to other sanctions.

The threat came as pro-Palestinian activists prepared to set sail for Gaza from Greece and elsewhere in an effort to break Israel's blockade of the coastal territory.

Eleven ships - nine passenger boats and two cargo ships - carrying about 1,000 activists from 20 countries are said to be taking part in the second Freedom Flotilla.

Among the activists are many Israelis, including Amira Hass, a prominent journalist of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The attempt by the activists to break the Israeli siege comes a year after a similar flotilla was violently intercepted by Israeli commandos.

Nine activists on board the lead ship Mavi Marmara were shot dead and 40 others were wounded in the Israeli assault that evoked global condemnation.

'Dangerous provocation'

Israel insists the latest flotilla is a "dangerous provocation" and has vowed to intercept it.

"Those participating in the flotilla have declared that it is their intention to 'break' the naval blockade that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for security reasons, given Hamas's efforts to smuggle weaponry and terrorists into the Gaza Strip," Oren Helman, director of Israel's Government Press Office, said.

Helman said the government of Israel has instructed the Israeli army not to allow the flotilla to reach Gaza.

"Participation in the flotilla is an intentional violation of Israeli law and is liable to lead to participants being denied entry into the State of Israel for ten years, to the impoundment of their equipment and to additional sanctions," Helman said.

"I implore you to avoid taking part in this provocative and dangerous event, the purpose of which is to undermine Israel's right to defend itself and to knowingly violate Israeli law."

On Friday, the US also warned the activists against their plans to send the new flotilla to the Gaza Strip, saying it would be irresponsible and dangerous.

"Groups that seek to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers," Victoria Nuland, a state department spokesperson, said in a statement.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there were better ways of getting help into Gaza.

"We don't think it's useful or productive or helpful to the people of Gaza," Clinton told reporters after a meeting with the visiting South Korean foreign minister.

'Element of surprise'

Most of the activists are planning to set sail from Greece. They have, however, deliberately kept their plans vague, including their exact date of departure, to retain an element of surprise.

Meanwhile, passengers of a US boat in the planned flotilla said Greek officials might be blocking their departure because of US and Israeli diplomatic pressure.

Activists on board The Audacity of Hope said that Greek officials "received an anonymous request of a private citizen concerning the seaworthiness of the ship".

The boat therefore requires a detailed inspection before which it will not be permitted to leave.

"Israel has said openly that it is pressuring governments to try to stop the flotilla, and clearly Greece is a key government since several of the boats plan to leave from Greece," Medea Benajmin, an activist on the boat said.

"It is unconscionable that Israel would take advantage of the economic hardship the Greek people are experiencing to try to stop our boat or the flotilla."

The ships are not set to leave for at least five days, Mohamed Sawalha, the head of the International Committee to break the Siege, told Al Jazeera"

[Deleted]

Oh, yeah, I saw the Alice Walker flotilla thing, missed the connection... duh... correct... from slut walks to freedom flotillas... all really stupid.

[Deleted]

Ayers and his terrorist wife WERE going. Haven't seen anything lately. Maybe their bud Obama asked them not to go.. we'll see.

[ameiko]

Alice Walker: I’ve always understood the word “slut” to mean a woman who freely enjoys her own sexuality in any way she wants to; undisturbed by other people’s wishes for her behavior. Sexual desire originates in her and is directed by her. In that sense it is a word well worth retaining. As a poet, I find it has a rich, raunchy, elemental, down to earth sound, that connects us to something primal, moist, and free.

It's actually women who use the term "slut" quite often against other women. If you have one woman giving our sex cheaply, it lowers the price for all women. It's one reason why a woman's sexuality was controlled and often by other women.

Hmmm... I wonder if I could use the world "slut" and then defend myself as being poetic?

Hmmm... who wants to see me experiment?

[Deleted]

Hey, why not?? Go up to some half naked beautiful young lady, shake her hand and congratulate her for being a modern slut!!!
(Arrange bail in advance.)

[ameiko]

Jun 26, 2011 10:51:49 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Hey, why not?? Go up to some half naked beautiful young lady, shake her hand and congratulate her for being a modern slut!!!
(Arrange bail in advance.)

I was thinking making my funeral arrangements in advance...

;D

This is a great gatekeeper question for dating: "so, have you ever been involved in a slutwalk?"

[Deleted]

US State Dept. Threatens Activists with 'Fines or Incarceration' if They Proceed to Gaza

They (& everybody else) knows that those are empty threats. If our President wanted to stop them he would have bombed them by now. (or maybe a cruse missile). Sure would be interesting if he was in the white house while his daughters were dating. One kiss & BOOM!

[Deleted]

He sure does like his bombs...... hey, one of his kids is almost old enough to date. Maybe he will send one of those tiny little bug drones along on dates...
;D

[marshabar1]

Krickitt & Ameiko.

[ed1066]

Hey Dezi, did you know that every year at Purim, Al Jazeera publishes a story about how Jews use the blood of Muslim babies to make their Hamantashen? Did you know that? They want their readers to believe that our people kill Muslim babies and drink their blood. It's called a blood libel, perhaps you've heard the term?

[marshabar1]

Hey who cares if threads go off topic as long as people are having fun and not attacking each other? I like a good organic free-wheeling thread. I'm no fascist. ;D

[billisonboard]

Jun 26, 2011 10:48:50 GMT -5 ameiko said:

... If you have one woman giving our sex cheaply, it lowers the price for all women. It's one reason why a woman's sexuality was controlled and often by other women.
...

All women are prostitutes, some get cash for sex while others get payment in kind? Is that what you mean ameiko?

[deziloooooo]

Jun 26, 2011 22:09:25 GMT -5 @ed1066 said:

Hey Dezi, did you know that every year at Purim, Al Jazeera publishes a story about how Jews use the blood of Muslim babies to make their Hamantashen? Did you know that? They want their readers to believe that our people kill Muslim babies and drink their blood. It's called a blood libel, perhaps you've heard the term?

I heard of it ed, it goes back to the middle ages , when it was said by those who wanted to whip up the crowd , many times by the Church , to get he good folks whipped up to go after the Jews in their areas..

Al Jazeera actually prints that garbage? You sure? Or is that another "ed" ism...sorry, have to ask, you have posted some real doozies, right? Let me google...

www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_03147.html

"IN ARAB COUNTRIES
The blood libel was repeated in the Arab countries in modern times in a number of ways in various books, as in Egypt in the 1960s, the titles referring to "talmudic human sacrifices" or "the secrets of Zionism." Mustafa Tlass, a key political figure in Syria for decades, first published his book on the 1860 Damascus blood libel in 1983. The book, called "Matzah of Zion" and reprinted in a number of editions and translated into many languages, became an influential and frequently quoted authority on how Jews and Zionists constantly perpetrate cruel ritual murders. Newspapers as well joined in, with the Egyptian government-sponsored Al-Ahram publishing in October 2000 a full-page article called "Jewish Matzah Made from Arab Blood." TV series and discussions also evoke the blood libel, as on the al-Jazeera station and in the Al-Manar (Hizbullah television network) series The Exile in 2003. The image of the Zionist in these visual depictions, watched by millions all over the world, is that of the Der Sturmer Jew, bloodthirsty and frighteningly ferocious."