NBC News Pulls Veteran Reporter from Gaza After Witnessing Israeli Attack on Children

Been watching news most of the day as I take care of 87 year old mother for the summer. Ayman still reporting. Most MSNBC host streaming him His reporting is revealing the disproportionate amount of fire power very clear, the killing innocent Palestinians in the hundreds…500 and counting. Last night on one of the MSNBC outlets Richard Engel in a no nonsense way let the public know what is really going on in the Gaza. Blood Bath. “Not very pinpoint from my angle here in the Gaza. Then goes onto describe the amputation of a young Palestinian girls leg and the loss of her mother father and brother due to Israeli fire. Yesterday on Ronan Farrow’s Rula Jebreal called out the decades long complicity of the MSM always supporting Israel. She even called out Andrea Mitchell for never giving air time to Palestinians. Today Andrea had Yousef Munayer on. I thought Rula might be a goner for calling Andrea on her historic complicity.

How absurd to have Senator Diane “voted for the 2002 Iraq war resolution” lecturing Putin about the killing of innocents. She needs to “woman up” and admit her role in supporting the Bush administrations rush to invade Iraq. She is covered in the Iraqi people and Americans soldiers blood. Along with Kerry and Clinton. And then we keep hearing Reps, Kerry, Feinstein etc stating that Russia needs to stop supplying “terrorist” with weapons. Monkey see Monkey do. Insane hearing Mika Bryznyski talking about Russian media propaganda. What the hell planet are these propagandist on?

Are you about exposing the sins of the national government of the United States of America or a shill for anti-Semites, Greenwald? So the several thousand Israeli citizens killed by the homicide bombers during the intifadas were what, collateral damage to you? Self-defense is always justified. Offensive violence never is. The problem with leftists is the innate inability to distinguish the two.

O/T – Here’s a lead that The Intercept could follow. Robert Parry, who is a Polk-award winning investigative journalist, is reporting the following at Consortium News:

What I’ve been told by one source, who has provided accurate information on similar matters in the past, is that U.S. intelligence agencies do have detailed satellite images of the likely missile battery that launched the fateful missile, but the battery appears to have been under the control of Ukrainian government troops dressed in what look like Ukrainian uniforms.

Thanks for the wonderful report may god bless u and the innocent ppl of GAZA

Obama could stop this by immediately cutting off all aid to Israel. Why should he
be afraid of AIPAC ? He can’t run again.
Israel has become the Frankenstein creation of Washington. It’s up to Washington to do something about it.
Who taught the Israeli’s that attacking defenseless population centers was an honorable thing?

I went to the San Francisco March for Palestine today. After the rally at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero we marched up Market street. I was in the front of the line so I periodically looked back to get an estimate of how many people there were. It was kind of hard to tell but I would guess that the procession filled maybe about 1.5 blocks. For those who know Market, that’s a pretty good size.

The march paused frequently for more rallying. There was also a die-in where everyone sat down in the street. There was a police presence but it was all peaceful as far as I could tell. The energy really started to pick up the further up Market we got. I couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed like more and more people joined in from the sidewalks along the way.

The march ended up at at City Hall. Those in the front ran up the steps. Most appeared to be Palestinian. The steps were filled with people, many waving Palestinian flags. It was an exhilarating moment. One of the the speakers on the steps said the crowd was estimated to be 6,000 people.

I was hoping the local news channels would have video if it tonight but there wasn’t coverage of it except a segment on a much smaller SF demonstration by both sides at a Jewish temple.

There’s going to be another demonstration next Saturday, also at the Ferry Building, which I’m definitely going to attend. Being among the protesters reminded me how much America needs this type community based activism right now. It was good to feel the bond and know there are many sane people still out there.

What’s going on is sheer madness and utterly depraved. It is an evil that I wasn’t expecting to see sanctioned again by the US government in my lifetime. Observing the many horrific images of the slaughter of indigenous Palestinian civilians affected me to the core. Getting together with other rational human beings in an expression of solidarity is a smart move. Government isn’t going to stop the genocide until the people insist on it.

Here’s a brief story on the march with some pictures:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Rally-in-S-F-to-protest-violence-in-Gaza-5634188.php#photo-6621815

Finally….. “UN Security Council urges immediate Gaza ceasefire”

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/21/372160/un-security-council-urges-gaza-truce/

Photo caption: Israelis sit on a hill to watch air strikes on Gaza, some bring drinks and snacks as they cheer the explosions a few miles away. Photograph: UPI/Landov/Barcroft Media

And more thugs threatening people for having the wrong politics:

As the sun begins to sink over the Mediterranean, groups of Israelis gather each evening on hilltops close to the Gaza border to cheer, whoop and whistle as bombs rain down on people in a hellish warzone a few miles away.

…

Given the dramatic views, media crews are coming to the area to cover the fighting. On a nearby hilltop, an ugly scene develops as a group of Israeli men threaten a photographer, accusing him of being a “leftist”. We are warned against asking for interviews, as another cheer goes up.

Rest, with photos of the happy partiers, here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/israelis-cheer-gaza-bombing

Analysis | Israel’s attack on Gaza is the culmination of 66 years of settler-colonialism

(Clip)

Bending the law to kill

So far, the IDF has killed more than 400 Palestinians, 80% of whom are civilians, and wounded 2,000; while two Israelis have been killed (one by ‘friendly’ fire). Israeli officials claim that they are targeting Hamas military installations. “According to the army, since the start of the entire operation, 200 ‘command and control centres’ and 43 ‘Hamas regime buildings’ have been hit,” notes British journalist Ben White. “The former is often a euphemism for someone’s family home; the latter includes government ministries.”

Israel’s military track record suggests worse. White highlights a Ha’aretz report from 2009 which revealed that “IDF officers were receiving legal advice that allowed for large numbers of civilian casualties and the targeting of government buildings.”—Nafeez Ahmed

@barncat 20 Jul 2014 at 8:49 pm

——–

I’ve read your latest post. It’s getting late for me now. I’ll see if I can compose a thoughtful response tomorrow and post it.

Headline: ‘Are you a fucking leftist?’ –Israeli fascists target anti-occupation activists in Tel Aviv

Pedinska made an important point below. While polls show Israelis overwhelmingly in support of their nation’s massacre in Gaza, there is a small minority who are outraged, and who are protesting in the face of violent, Jewish-fascist attacks.

And I mean fascist. Some have adorned themselves with a logo of European fascists, save for replacing a part of the design with Stars of David. These scum are inquiring: “Are you a leftist?” If so, they want you dead. Israeli David Sheen has posted Facebook commentary from these people explicitly advocating gas chambers for “leftists.”

Attacks on so-called leftists have been going on for a long time from the aggressively Zionist snake pits, and our own Craig Summers has all but said that everyone commenting here against Zionist atrocities is a leftist, by definition.

In today’s Israel, as with the Nazis of Germany, being associated with the left is dangerous. Even — perhaps especially — if you are a Jew.

More here: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/fascists-occupation-activists.html

Now, for the coup d’grace..

http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fmedia%2F70%2Ftip_report.pdf

Notice any of this work around here?

wow, i’ve been trying to post the link to AJE livestream, and my post’s don’t show up. Strange.

What really happened with NBC and Ayman Mohyeldin
By Brian Stelter

His exit from Gaza had caused an uproar among his fans and fellow correspondents, some of whom wondered if Mohyeldin, the network’s only Arab-American correspondent in the region, was being censored by the network. Ultimately, the public backlash played a role in the network’s decision to reinstate him, according to interviews with NBC News employees. …
 
Among some NBC employees, concerns still linger about whether Mohyeldin was singled out for his empathetic stories about Palestinians in Gaza. But the interviews strongly suggest that this was a situation caused by network news infighting and bureaucracy.

I think the bolded bit is evidence from another source/reporter in support of Glenn’s contention that he had off-the-record discussions with current NBC employees.

Said one of the employees, “Everyone’s looking for a conspiracy and missing the real story, which is a news division making mistakes through ratings nervousness.”

I wonder what their particular ratings concerns were while they had a reporter producing vivid story after story of the brutality that is existence in Gaza right now?

The rest of it reads, imho, like a skein of bullshit, lies and fog-of-war emissions. It’s a carefully crafted story that adheres to the timeline and introduces enough ‘hazards-of-the-bidness’ hogwash to sound vaguely convincing to those who haven’t been paying attention and/or have an adolescent need to still BELIEEEEEEVE! in whatever authoritarian figure moves their junk. In the meantime, a few feinting flowers, previously enamored of his prospects (when NBC paid him prime money to move from Al Jazeera’s boudoir to theirs), suddenly weren’t quite convinced he had the “right stuff”.

“But network news is all about scripting and storytelling,” one of the employees said, and some managers had doubts about Mohyeldin’s skills.

Suddenly the fruits of their reporter coup weren’t quite so enticing.

According to another employee, though, a story had never before been taken away from Mohyeldin for “tracking” reasons, so it raised eyebrows.

Eyebrows, I tells ya!!!

This is classic he said/she said obfuscation. And the sad thing is, you’d think these people would be able to afford someone who could do this in a much more convincing fashion.

“The decision is final,” Verdi told him, according to a person told of the conversation immediately afterward.

As my grandmother used to say, “Aren’t you gettin’ a bit big for your britches over there?”

Mr. Verdi, how’s that working for you now?

And the cherry in the sunday (I say “in” because it was buried near the end of the story):

Behind the scenes, the network tried to convince Mohyeldin to sign off on a statement that, he thought, whitewashed the situation. Later on Friday, NBC management directly apologized to him and reassigned him to Gaza.

This summarization, from the very last paragraph, works for me:

“So basically NBC is saying ‘We thought we’d get away with this but we realized we were wrong,'” Yousef Munayyer, the executive director of The Palestine Center, wrote on Twitter. “Just shows you the power of social media.”

http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/20/media/ayman-mohyeldin-nbc-news/index.html

Today Barack Obama talked to Binyamin Netanyahu to CONDEMN Gaza’s (feeble) attempts at resisting-being-violated, and to reiterate his SUPPORT for Zionist murderous bullying and the right of Israel to ‘defend’ itself with devastating violence against innocent people.

Nothing was said about Gazan’s right to (even feebly) defend themselves, but this is apparently typical.

Obama ‘raised concerns’ about mounting civilian casualties, but seemingly in such a weak manner that Netanyahu thanked him for his support. (Obama has expressed concern previously for the civilian casualties he himself causes with drones, and bombing places like Libya – but the concern has never actually built to regret, behavioral change or admission of guilt, which has led some to conclude he’s merely mimicking empathy in much the same manner as sociopaths).

WAY O/T BUT EXTREMELY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT

Science confirms: Politics wrecks your ability to do math

Everybody knows that our political views can sometimes get in the way of thinking clearly. But perhaps we don’t realize how bad the problem actually is. According to a new psychology paper, our political passions can even undermine our very basic reasoning skills. More specifically, the study finds that people who are otherwise very good at math may totally flunk a problem that they would otherwise probably be able to solve, simply because giving the right answer goes against their political beliefs.

The study, by Yale law professor Dan Kahan and his colleagues, has an ingenious design. At the outset, 1,111 study participants were asked about their political views and also asked a series of questions designed to gauge their ‘numeracy,’ that is, their mathematical reasoning ability. Participants were then asked to solve a fairly difficult problem that involved interpreting the results of a (fake) scientific study. But here was the trick: While the fake study data that they were supposed to assess remained the same, sometimes the study was described as measuring the effectiveness of a “new cream for treating skin rashes.” But in other cases, the study was described as involving the effectiveness of “a law banning private citizens from carrying concealed handguns in public.”

The result? Survey respondents performed wildly differently on what was in essence the same basic problem, simply depending upon whether they had been told that it involved guns or whether they had been told that it involved a new skin cream. What’s more, it turns out that highly numerate liberals and conservatives were even more — not less — susceptible to letting politics skew their reasoning than were those with less mathematical ability. …

http://grist.org/politics/science-confirms-politics-wrecks-your-ability-to-do-math/

Greenwald tries to attack Elizabeth Warren on twitter – Uses right wing source:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/19/1315043/-Greenwald-tries-to-attack-Elizabeth-Warren-on-twitter-Uses-right-wing-source#

That was some bullshit, Glenn…. yet, I expect that underhanded punk-pussy bullshit from a Libertarian Fame-Seeking Capitalist pig like you :D

Tudaloo Muthafuckas!

Obama wrings his hands and plucks worriedly at his pantaloons…..

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-tells-israeli-prime-minister-he-has-serious-concerns-about-increasing-palestinian-casualties-2014-7http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-tells-israeli-prime-minister-he-has-serious-concerns-about-increasing-palestinian-casualties-2014-7

Wherein he invokes the here-to-fore requisite incantation:

“The President discussed Israel’s ongoing military operation, reiterated the United States’ condemnation of attacks by Hamas against Israel, and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself.

Ritual dances. Required scripting. Ornately elevated protocols to avoid bitter words and scathing glances incurred when the occasionally serendipitous acquisition of the softest of semi-stiffies lends sufficient (though ephemeral) courage to vocalize the rare, and extraordinarily mildly apologetic condemnation.

What did they call those subservient, adult males at court?

Eunuch.

Yes, that is the word I was looking for.

@cram
“doug wood, The quran can’t be read just like that. It’s not like reading books or bible. That verse you read probably about what had happened at that time. ”

I am not a student of the Qur’an. I was a student journalist and world traveler at the time a tribe of Saudi princes came to my home. So I was quick to ask probing questions about international policy. It was shocking that they were so open and truthful about what I considered could have been state secrets.

Their authority comes from the Qur’an. Believers know Allah has already determined the beginning and end, the term, of individuals and states. It is a religion of fate. Anyone who tries to affect the future via conversation does not believe in Allah. Not telling the truth is a mark of a nonbeliever. So I read the Qur’an and other history books like The Life and Times of Mohammad by Garuud (forgive my spelling). The Qur’an is relevant to the future of Israel.

There is nothing more evil than killing women and children.

For the sake of Israel, I would ask people to condemn Israeli actions in as many venues as possible.

Hamas is obviously hoping that Israel will launch a full scale invasion and take over the administration of Gaza, which they themselves have not done very successfully. This would probably improve the welfare of Gaza, and would also enshrine Hamas as the underground resistance – a role in which they will receive a great deal of public support. In addition, once the fiction of Gaza as an autonomous administrative entity is dispensed with, Israel will come under more international pressure to expand the civil rights of the Palestinians and ultimately to progress towards a possible one state solution (which is anathema to Israel).

While Israel obviously will be wary of falling into such a trap, simply withdrawing after having inflicted damage on Gaza will allow Hamas to take credit for repelling an invasion. Things will then return to the status quo except that Hamas’ domestic position will have been enhanced and Fatah will once again appear irrelevant.

So Israel’s best option is to withdraw reluctantly, not because of resistance by Hamas, but due to increasing international pressure. The US is an unreliable ally who will not provide this pressure, but will simply vote unanimously in the Senate to support Israel’s actions, whatever they may be. This is not helpful, as it provides no cover for Israel. John Kerry will show no leadership, but will highlight his own irrelevance by making ineffective appeals for Hamas to respect the cease fire. So once more, for the sake of Israel, please condemn Israeli actions in as many venues as possible.

Deepa Kumar on the framing of the Gaza narrative by Israel and the US:

“And you have to ask where does this framing actually come from and, in fact, there is a propaganda handbook that was produced back in 2009. It’s called the Israel Project’s 2009 Global Language Dictionary in which they have a sort of step by step, five-step approach, if you will, about how Israeli spokespeople should talk about civilian casualties in Gaza. So the first speaking point is show empathy. In fact, I’m quoting from the handbook. It says, ‘All human life is precious. We understand that the loss of one innocent Palestinian life is every bit as tragic as the loss of an Israeli life.’ Then go on to admission, as a second step, ‘We admit that Israel isn’t always successful at preventing civilian casualty.’ Third step is effort saying, ‘We’re trying to stop civilian casualties,’ etc. Ultimately, it’s about turning the table. That’s step five. Blame Hamas. Say that it’s a tragedy that Hamas continues to want to perpetuate this so-called war, whatever. Because they didn’t accept the ceasefire agreement, it’s Hamas to blame right now. And it’s truly shocking and callous that that is the framework that has also been adopted by the US spokespeople so that we have very little empathy. We’re not asked to feel sad for the innocent people who are being killed by Israeli gunfire.”

From *Podcast: Deepa Kumar on Anti-Muslim Racism Behind NSA Surveillance, Media’s Coverage of Gaza* Transcript included.

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/07/20/podcast-deepa-kumar-on-anti-muslim-racism-behind-nsa-surveillance-medias-coverage-of-gaza/

Dennis Kucinich *Israel Invades Gaza Because It Can*

“Israel invades Gaza because it can. Gazans, in the face of an invasion, have no ability to strike back, while Israel strikes forward. Israel has total military superiority, an air force which can knock and then bomb, a navy which can shell Gazans from miles off shore, an army which can roll tanks into Gaza nonstop. Gazans have no army, navy, or air force with which to defend. Israel, as any nation, has a right to defend itself, but it confuses offense with defense. It is on the offensive in Gaza. Israel, with its overwhelming military strength, is attacking and invading Gaza in violation of international and U.S. law. Its construction of settlements violates the Oslo agreement. Its Central Bank dries up the Gaza economy and blocks payments to Gazan civil servants. Its total control brings the Palestinians to utter subjection and total despair. Israel can kill, injure, and humiliate Palestinians at will, with impunity, which is exactly what gave rise to Hamas and strengthens Hamas’ hold in Gaza, even as the IDF advances.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-j-kucinich/israel-invades-gaza_b_5598535.html

In today’s theology lesson, we turn to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Biblical Old Testament, or, more exactly, the fifth book in the Hebrew Torah. It is a book of law; Deut. 20 discusses their conduct of war.

When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby. However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.
— Deut. 20

As noted below, “It must stop.”

“Israel Threatens Witnesses to its Killings of Palestinians, and it Must Stop”

By contributors | Jun. 22, 2014 | Via Human Rights Watch

“Israeli forces are threatening to treat Palestinians like criminals because they witnessed or recorded what appear to be war crimes committed by the Israeli military,” said Brad Parker, international advocacy officer and attorney at DCI-Palestine. “Instead of harassment and threats Israeli forces should focus on bringing to justice those responsible for killing two boys on May 15.”

I want to be really clear about something. I have in the past excoriated people for comparing Israel to Nazi Germany in this and other fora. For whatever it is worth to anyone to know this, I’m done with that, too. Jews in Israel are acting like Nazis. American taxpayers are funding Nazi-like behavior. We need to deal with this reality, somehow.

In today’s ordnance lesson, we learn the word “flechette.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/israel-using-flechette-shells-in-gaza

If it’s a US-made round, and you may see them in some of the news photos, look for an olive-drab projectile with yellow diamonds. The US term is “bee hive”, and the fuze might be one that can be manually set for range so that it will burst just short of the target.

To understand why the Zionist/Ashkenazi Israeli propaganda machine is so pervasive one must read the THE TALMUD UNMASKED and THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE ASHKENAZIS ARE NOT THE DESCENDANTS OF THE ANCIENT ISRAELITES. Both available on the net. The Zionists have NO Jewish blood, they are converted Jews, originating in Russia, The Ukraine, and Germany. This connects the Ukrainian issue with Israel Every delegate sent from the U.S.and E.U. to direct the coup are Zionists. The Ukraine is their true homeland, they never occupied the land rightly belonging to the Palestinians in ancient history. Their possession originated in 1948 and Zionists were installed as rulers by Rothschild and minions. The current State of Israel was not and never has been their homeland. There are many who have been silenced by accusations of Anti Semitism, which might carry more weight……..IF they were actually Semites. The true understanding of U.S. foreign policy, or lack thereof, must be preceded by recognition of how many Zionists are installed in key positions in our Govt..,education, media, finance, clergy, medicine/drug companies, regulators, Agribusiness, and JUDICIARY. Virtually ALL aspects of our lives have been infiltrated by the JEW spoken of in REVELATION 2:9. The Jew who is NOT a Jew.
At least read the two referenced publications if there is a desire to seek out truth, wherever it leads us. There is always more than than one view point AND those who seek to suppress ALL but their own agendas. The enemy is already within our gates and we are blissfully unaware. The Zionists in every country , most importantly Israel, should be deported to their respective country of origin.

If the depraved Zionists who comment here would be so accommodating, please list the types of actions Israel could not morally take in “dealing with” Gaza. Not impractical ones, immoral ones.

Are there any which you find to be foreclosed?

Why is it so much worse if it is a child that suffers?

U.S. President Barack Obama say he has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that ‘no nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders,’ as Israeli troops backed by tanks, aircraft and navy ships continued to advance into the Gaza Strip.

But isnt that what this is all about! WHAT ARE ISRAELS BORDERS? if we knew and Israel stopped building illegal settlements, most of this problem would disappear. Isnt that why the peace process fails….

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

What’s happening in Gaza is more like the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans in the 19th century than it is the Nazi holocaust.
In terms of its relentlessness over a long period of time, massacre by massacre, it’s land grabbing and gradual population reduction, the American Indian experience
Is a more apt comparison. It was never enough to drive the survivors onto reservations, they were infected with small
pox and other diseases to reduce the population. The USG wrote the book on ethnic cleansing for the modern world.

Truth, and wounded children, reported movingly by CNN.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/standard.html?/video/world/2014/07/19/dnt-wedeman-death-comes-early-in-gaza.cnn&video_referrer=

Five ambulances directly hit by IDF tanks and F-16s.

IDF claims it sent telephone messages to residents of Shejaia neighborhood to evacuate. Oh, well, it’s ok, then.

Is it really enough for us to Tweet and comment at a web site? Israel has commenced a literal massacre of the Shijaia, section of Gaza. Tens of thousands are fleeing; dead litter the streets.

This video shows what you and I, as American taxpayers, are funding right now. If seeing corpses everywhere makes you sick, don’t watch. It repeats after the 2:00 mark; you can stop then. It’s one block, one street, in this part of Gaza that is being called a massacre:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VyZqqlQNZT4

This must stop. There must be accountability. Objecting online isn’t enough.

@barncat

Please keep in mind that when Muslim scholars have talked about women being obedient to their husbands, they have done so with the qualification and condition, implicitly or explicitly, that the husbands reflect certain qualities and play certain roles and have certain responsibilities, and do so within the bounds of the outer code of Islam.

All of the above is presented as something positive and constructive.

But, in the West, the word ‘obedience’ and the very idea of it in husband/wife relationship, is considered bad and very negative.

So, it’s highly likely that when the poll was taken, the people who responded with a yes to obedience thought that they were expressing something positive, desirable and noble, without realizing that it’d be construed in a negative way in the West.

I’ve seen many instances of an action given a positive connotation in some Muslim countries, while the same action is considered in a negative way in the West, and vice versa.

Wearing the Hijab is considered noble and an act of piety and modesty by many Muslims, while it’s frowned upon by many in the West.

Some Muslim men consider not shaking the hand of a woman to be an act of respect, while it’d be considered arrogance and an insult if a non-Muslim Western woman tried to shake the hand of a Muslim and he’d refuse to do so. In his mind, he’d be doing something respectful, while in the mind of the woman it’d not be the case.

So the polling must add questions to probe into the inner meanings and the values that people have associated with certain outer actions and forms, to get a more accurate assessment.

I can give more examples, but I think I’ve answered your questions.

@AtheistInChief

The Quran does not necessarily ask women to obey men.

But that’s how many Muslims have interpreted these verses.

Remember, that a few years after the Prophet died, the Muslims were ruled by tyrants, who changed the original meanings of certain Quranic terms and injunctions for power and control.

They also concocted stories about the Prophet and invented traditions.

The Sufi movement began to restore Islam to its original form.

Islam, as many Sufis see it, is about love. Many of us also adhere to the doctrine that the Truth is within us and is accessible even to those who call themselves atheists.

See if you can pick up some books by SEYYED Hossein Nasr, William Chittick, Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, Martin Lings and Kabir Helminski, to understand exactly what many of us really adhere to: the Islam you see on Fox News or something else.

Mr. Greenwald

You wrote an article praising a reporter for Russian TV who criticized the Russian invasion of Crimea. You wrote:

“……..American media elites awash in an orgy of feel-good condemnation in particular love to mock Russian media, especially the government-funded English-language outlet RT, as being a source of shameless pro-Putin propaganda, where free expression is strictly barred (in contrast to the Free American Media). That that network has a strong pro-Russian bias is unquestionably true. But one of its leading hosts, Abby Martin, remarkably demonstrated last night what “journalistic independence” means by ending her Breaking the Set program with a clear and unapologetic denunciation of the Russian action in Ukraine……..”

RT followed that up with:

“……..RT also issued a statement saying: “Contrary to the popular opinion, RT doesn’t beat its journalists into submission, and they are free to express their own opinions, not just in private but on the air………”

Right. Yes, Abby Martin was courageous. But that falls far short of the truth about Russian Television. Russian TV is complicit in denying the role of Russia in the downing of the Malaysian jet. Now, how about a story about the reporter for Russian TV who just quit because of “…..what she called the Kremlin-funded station’s “disregard for the facts” in its coverage of the downing of the Malaysian passenger jet over Ukraine….”

“…….A reporter for a global Russian TV channel resigned over what she called the Kremlin-funded station’s “disregard for the facts” in its coverage of the downing of the Malaysian passenger jet…..Sara Firth, based in London, quit Friday morning after five years with Moscow-based RT. After tweeting her departure, she told the Press Gazette Thursday’s coverage was “the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.”……”I walked into the newsroom, and they were running an eyewitness account of God knows who the person was blaming the Ukrainian government, …..”It’s the level of disrespect for the facts that really bugs me,” she said……”

“…….”I couldn’t do it any more, We’re lying every single day … and finding sexier ways to do it.”…..Firth said that they spread “lies” and that they “work for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”….”

“…….”We are asked on a daily basis if not to totally ignore then to obscure the truth,” she tweeted…..”

Russian TV responded:

“……”Sara has declared that she chooses the truth; apparently we have different definitions of truth,”….”

Indeed they do, Mr. Greenwald. Nice of you though to provide propaganda on behalf of Russian TV though. Maybe it even helped their ratings.

@Mona: “Sufi Muslim, let me ask you. What is the significance in Muslim women covering their heads, and even their faces? What beliefs or policies drive this convention?”

———————-

The head cover is the tradition of the Abrahamic faiths, as depicted in Biblical movies and imaginary portraits of Mary.

I’ve seen Jewish and Christian women covering their heads; although, many Hindu and Sikh women also wear a head cover.

The inner meanings that many Muslim women associate with the head cover are piety, modesty, and consciousness of God.

I tend to look at the inner meaning one has associated with an outer form/action as it’s clearly a psychological thing.

The same act, with no spiritual meaning associated with it, will not have the same effect on a person’s inner self.

The Quran does not ask women to cover their heads. It simply assumes that they are already doing it by virtue of their Arab tradition as part of the overall Abrahamic family of traditions.

It simply enjoins them to cover their bosoms with their headgear, and to not show their ‘beauty’, which has been interpreted by many to mean faces, while others have said it means something else.

As a result, Muslim women associated piety and shame to at least covering their heads and cleavage, while others went further, and included faces as well.

The Prophet’s wives were routinely harassed.

So they were asked to stay at home and cover fully when they went out.

Since they were considered nobles, other women followed suit and started to stay at home generally, but cover themselves completely when they went out.

This became a status symbol for women, because the Prophet’s wives were declared mothers of all believers.

Women who acted this way continued to be considered noble and high class women even after the Prophet died.

Since then, for centuries, covering and segregation became symbols of piety and modesty, but also of high class and nobility.

Yet, at the same time, many men started to force women to cover and to stay at home for control and subjugation.

Kings and other rich people started to set up women’s quarters in their residences so the men could have a good time, often with other women of the opposite sex.

Many Muslims, like me, tend to interpret Islamic sources through proper historical and textual contents, and apply them in manners that are appropriate for our times and circumstances.

I believe that while it’s absolutely necessary for Muslim women to cover themselves, even with the face covered, in some Muslim countries, because the men there are not mature enough to not harass them, as is the case in some parts of Afghanistan, it’s not necessary for women who live in the West to wear the Hijab, let alone the full Burqa, especially since it’s become rather difficult for those women who wear the Hijab to get jobs. Western women who wear the Burqa find it even more difficult to integrate and function; though I’ve seen women working in a hospital with the full Burqa in UAE.

Moreover, we do live in the age of Islamophobia.

So there’s absolutely no need for Muslims to draw attention.

It’s a matter of doing what is appropriate and practical in the situation one lives in.

I respect the mystic core of every religion, but there seems to be a propagandist bias against Islam which presumes its text (the Quran) is particularly offensive – this is not so, as the following bizarre quotes from the (Judaic) Old Testament and (Christian) New Testament of the Bible demonstrate:

Women Must Cover Their Hair During Prayer: “But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head…” (1 Corinthians 11:5)

Women Will Never Teach or Have Authority Over Men: “I permit no woman to teach or have authority over men; she is to keep silent.” (Timothy 2:11)

If You Disobey God, You Will Eat Your Babies: “If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.” (Leviticus 26:27-30)

Cursing At Your Parents Warrants Death: “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.” (Leviticus 20:9)

Giving Birth to a Daughter Makes You Unclean for 66 Days: “But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.” (Leviticus 12:5)

Non-Virgins Are To Be Stoned To Death: “But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22: 20-21)

If You Steal Something, or Sin in Any Way: Cut Off Your Hand: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.” (Mark 9:43)

Deformed People Can not Approach God: “For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken. No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.” (Leviticus 21:18-21)

If Your Brother Dies, You Need To Fuck His Wife: “Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.” (Mark 12:19)

No Sex During A Woman’s Period: “…thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.” (Leviticus 18:19)

These are just a few examples of the nonsense that moderate and sensible Bible-religionists ignore. Similarly, it needs to be understood that moderate Muslims (and this is most of them, just like most Christians and Hebrews are moderate) ignore the more outdated and inflammatory interpretations of the Quran.

Time to play “spot the colors.” Note the photo next to this NYT story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/world/middleeast/gaza-israel.html

Notice, first, the shell colors. The armored vehicle is field artillery, probably US made, as would be the ammo, stacked up behind the vehicle. Yellow projectiles are probably high explosive. Pukey green, a color I well remember, is for white phosphorus. I remember being taught, back in the former US Army, that WP was for marking or smokescreening but never to be deliberately used on enemy personnel, let alone civilians or built up areas. A US tank in that era might have had 2 or 3 WP rounds out of 50 or so total. (Of course, that was before Fallujah and Operation Shake and Bake).

So, if you see news photos of Israeli artillery, take a look at what’s on the pallets behind the guns.

Here’s another fun fact: the shells ship with an inert plug screwed in at the top, often with a ring on it for lifting. These rounds, in these pictures, all have fuzes screwed in and ready to fire.

Isn’t that, er, illuminating?

I read the Qur’an online to better understand the messages from visiting Saud princes. Among other things were the verses that claim any land once owned by Muslims is holy land and must be recovered by all united Muslims. That is particularly for the three holy sites. Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

@AtheistInChief
Why in the world would I want to read the quran. … or the bible or any other book of bullshit?

“The only democracy” just issued this:
————————————————————————————
Subject: GPO Advisory to Journalists Covering Operation Protective Edge from the Gaza Strip

GPO Advisory to Journalists Covering Operation Protective Edge from the Gaza Strip
(Communicated by the GPO)

Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza continue to attack Israel’s civilian population. They have fired over 1,800 rockets at Israel’s towns and cities, putting five million of our citizens – men, women and children – in bomb shelters. They have infiltrated Israel by sea and tunnel in an attempt to murder and kidnap Israelis.

In response to these attacks and Hamas’ repeated rejection of cease-fire proposals, the IDF began a ground operation in Gaza on Thursday night.

The GPO is doing everything in its power to provide the foreign press with timely information and to facilitate access.

Nevertheless, we wish to stress that Gaza and its vicinity are a battleground. Covering the hostilities exposes journalists to life-threatening danger (and involves risk to equipment).

As part of Hamas’ strategy of hiding behind the civilian population it has frequently exploited journalists as human shields, deliberately putting them at risk of injury or death.

Israel is not in any way responsible for injury or damage that may occur as a result of field reporting.

The GPO advises the members of the press to take every possible precaution. Journalists in need of assistance should contact the GPO to facilitate expedited passage from the Erez crossing.

Be safe in your mission.

Gator90 19 Jul 2014 at 10:30 am

As you surmised, I can certainly relate to his struggles and quandaries. For myself, it is resolved. Zionism — the good intentions of many Zionists notwithstanding — is untenable, both ethically and practically. The Jews of Israel and elsewhere have a choice: maintain the doomed illusion of a “democratic” and “Jewish” nation-state through brutal force and raw, murderous power; or try to rediscover our souls.

I came across the following article via a Cory Doctorow tweet earlier this morning.

How to Criticize Israel Without Being Anti-Semitic

http://this-is-not-jewish.tumblr.com/post/34344324495/how-to-criticize-israel-without-being-anti-semitic

To me, a non-Jewish person struggling to understand the history as well as the present wrt this conflict, it seems to be valuable advice. Some of the issues are fairly apparent, others not so much, and so I was grateful for this piece. I am interested in your thoughts on the entire piece but particularly, in light of your comment quoted above, the author’s expansion on point 5.

The title of that section, Don’t say “Zionists” when you mean Israel makes absolute sense to me. The two are not one and the same. I think this particular section defines many of the disagreements you and others here have had over the years (or maybe I’m just full of gas). I think it would be helpful reading for some here who use the term Zionist frequently, if only so they can remain thoughtful about such things.

Zionism is no more a dirty word than feminism. It is simply the belief that the Jews should have a country in part of their ancestral homeland where they can take refuge from the anti-Semitism and persecution they face everywhere else. It does not mean a belief that Jews have a right to grab land from others, a belief that Jews are superior to non-Jews, or any other such tripe, any more than feminism means hating men. Unless you believe that Israel should entirely cease to exist, you are yourself Zionist. Furthermore, using “Zionists” in place of “Israelis” is inaccurate and harmful. The word “Zionists” includes Diasporan Jews as well (most of whom support a two-state solution and pretty much none of whom have any influence on Israel’s policies) and is used to justify anti-Semitic attacks outside Israel (i.e., they brought it on themselves by being Zionists).

This bit of that explanation, was something I was entirely unaware of, but I think it important in terms of realizing that govt policies everywhere can be hijacked by the few, to the never-ending detriment of the many:

And many of the Jews IN Israel who are most violent against Palestinians are actually anti-Zionist—they believe that the modern state of Israel is an offense against God because it isn’t governed by halakha (traditional Jewish religious law).

I hope you see this and feel like sharing your thoughts. I always find them enlightening and helpful.

What would happen, I wonder, even if *just on this board* to ANY reporter who said that s/he was proud that his/her network’s “commitment to cover the #Israel side of the story”…?

Yes, this is rhetorical; I do not expect an honest answer form anyone here.

regardless of how you feel towards this topic, this website has handsdown, alot of the most knowlegdeable people ive ever seen comment.

*Israel Vows to Escalate Gaza Offensive: 341 Killed*

“In addition to the direct casualties of the Israeli attacks, the UN is warning of a growing refugee crisis, noting over 40,000 internally displaced Palestinians have applied for UN sanctuary now. The World Food Program is looking to send more food aid into the strip, though their ability to do that remains unclear, particularly with Israeli politicians openly calling for all food to be cut off from the enclave as part of the current war.”

http://news.antiwar.com/2014/07/18/israel-vows-to-escalate-gaza-offensive-285-killed/

How convenient an Arab is writing what he “saw” the Jews do. This is ridiculous the IDF has no intentions to target children and the reality is how can you believe a reporter who is bringing his own anti semitism beliefs on the job. wake up America, Israel supplies gaza with electricity on a daily basis. All we want is for the hatred from the Palestinians to stop. Israel does not target children. #eliminate the ignorant #biasedreporter #nbcshouldreevaluateitsreporters

Every time I have the word ‘Zionazi’ in one of my posts, the Guardian removes it.

If I make another post, asking the Guardian’s censors to explain why they removed my previous post just because it had the word ‘Zionazi’ in it, they remove that too. I experimented and I posted comments that had ‘Islamo-fascist’ in them and all those comments survived.

Strange?

What has Snowden done to make your life better?

It is clear that the rogue “governments” in Israel and the U.S. have made a major misstep this time. They have now PERMANTLY lost the propaganda war they waged for over sixty years -it is toast.

Yesterday I saw two commentaries about the situation in Gaza~one on MSNBC, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chris Hayes show and again on Bill Maher Realtime on HBO. An all Jewish panel other than Bill, no opposing sides and both commentaries on both shows stated that the Palestinians use their people as human shields and also that their leaders are Islamic terrorists likened to ISIS. This is what we hear. Granted, their way of life is different and they do keep women down but I don’t believe there is ever a reason to kill, and to make excuses like “they were warned, why were the kids playing outside anyway?”, Just appalling. Bill Maher made a comment about Jews being smarter and being nobel scientists and educated. Although I watch his show every week I have to say that last night I felt a strong leaning against him and the panel. And the spokesperson on Chris Hayes from Israel was adamant about his views and how “we build hospitals”, “The Palestinians “build tunnels”. So much heard from one side, but then Chris Hayes said he couldn’t get anyone from Gaza to comment so in his case, he tried to get an opposing view but somehow couldn’t. I loved the reporting by Ayman~he was honest straight forward and factual as well as clear. I am furious with the reasoning to pull him. There should be a mass movement to call and write the Broadcasting owners and be a thorn in their sides. All these good writers on this site. Get your letters written. It can only help his cause and show him some support as Glenn has done here with this article and with news appearances such as the one I saw on Amy Goodman’s, which by the way Glenn, was amazing!! Thanks again Glenn for awesome news.