If you watched justed the BBC, your views would be that it was all the fault of Israel and nothing do to with rockets coming from over the border, watch FOX, at least tries to be fair and balanced. Does any one at the BBC care any more about balance in news!
July 28, 2006 at 12:34 AM
Anonymous
said...
I think my first ever post after discovering your site and Iain Dale's Diary was my delight in finding sites that did not propagate the left wing "Labour luvvie" view of the Blair Broadcasting Corporation. I agree with every word of what you say about the BBC coverage, and it has got a lot worse post Gilligan, not better. The Middle East is an appalling situation, and one day Jews and Muslims will have to talk peace. When is anyones guess. Terrorists however need to be dealt with firmly, but the trouble is, the more support one gives to Israel, the more extreme the terrorists become. What I do believe is that the War in Iraq and Afghanistan has made matters infinitely worse, particularly because the premise that we went to war of "WMD" was a pretext that has come back to haunt us. Blair has a lot to answer for, because many (including myself) were taken in by the spin about WMD in 45 minutes. In life, you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but eventually your sins will find you out. It will be really ironic if Blair falls over Cash for Honours, and his moment with PC Plod is approaching fast, and I shall enjoy it immensely when it comes. IMHO, he deserves nothing less.
This rampant pro-Israel tendancy is surely one of the ugliest aspects of British Conservatism - when will people learn that you can't fix this thing by taking sides?
I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality.
July 28, 2006 at 12:46 AM
Anonymous
said...
The LibDems pro-Hamas tendency is one of their ugliest aspects.
I'd say your moral failings are legion as well
July 28, 2006 at 12:52 AM
Anonymous
said...
Maggie Thatcher fan said... It will be really ironic if Blair falls over Cash for Honours, and his moment with PC Plod is approaching fast, and I shall enjoy it immensely when it comes. IMHO, he deserves nothing less.
I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse... but the rest of your post is bollocks
July 28, 2006 at 12:54 AM
Anonymous
said...
little miss muffet,
Yes. Just give us the GPS coordinates of the UN base and we will deliver to the target.
How can I specify an Hawaiian pizza to be sent to them?
July 28, 2006 at 1:26 AM
Anonymous
said...
"Guido has stopped watching the BBC coverage and has switched to the more balanced Sky News." I choked on my cornflakes reading this (I am an early riser!). I did exactly the reverse earlier; becoming nauseous at Sky's pro-Israel spin fronted by Jewish ex-White House Spokesman James Rubin, I switched to News24. I guess they balance each other out.
However, this morning at 01:06hrs John Simpson was doing a far more balanced piece about whole areas of Israel being deserted because of indiscriminate Hizbollah rocket attacks (well they weren't 'indiscriminate', they were actually targeting civilian areas.)
Now anyone who knows me (or clicks on my name) will tell u I'm not -ahem- a huge fan of the hand-choppers, but I wouldn't trust Sky an inch. Have u seen the 'Outfoxed' DVD? An excellent and entertaining expose (never mind who made it). If you can't get a copy I will bring one for you to the next PD (I was sat next to you at the last one).
July 28, 2006 at 1:43 AM
Anonymous
said...
Oh, I forgot to mention the Israeli shelling of Lebanese-Christian areas... No doubt Sky picked that up?
July 28, 2006 at 1:47 AM
Anonymous
said...
Guido, are you actually an undergraduate? Are you Mark Steyn in disguise? Remember: they're all lying to us, even Ehud Olmert and co. Please keep the cynicism switched on.
I thought it was Aljazeera that would give more balance. I trust you are remembering your Maronite brethren in your prayers Guido.
July 28, 2006 at 2:37 AM
Anonymous
said...
The scouts er... sorry...'observers' at the UN base were giving co-ordinates of IDF troop movements to Beijing who just happened to mention them to Tehran.
Which is why the Israeli Air Force delivered 'pizza' to the base so precisely.
Any why the UN 'watered down' their complaint about their 'order.'
Just 'desserts' for six years of treachery...
July 28, 2006 at 2:49 AM
Anonymous
said...
there is also BurgerIDF for the troops that dont like pizza.
all meat is kosher.
go on - in a world of Jeremy Bowen and Feargal "cry me a river" Keane, sending a burger or a pizza to the IDF is strangely satisfying - if not pseudo-punkish rebelling sort of way.
at the very least, it'll piss off Polly Toynbee, so thats a plus anyway!
July 28, 2006 at 3:20 AM
Anonymous
said...
"I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality."
thanks for reminding me who will be in the front of the queue with Zyklon-B.
kind of takes the "cuddly" image of the Lib Dems off a bit, dont ya think?
July 28, 2006 at 3:23 AM
Anonymous
said...
wow! this has got to be the most fucked up thing.Either i'm fucking drunk or this is a real stinking piece of shit.If this is supposed to be funny in any way i've lost my sense of humour.sorry guido you've shown your colours as a true arsehole.All the best twat.
July 28, 2006 at 3:28 AM
Anonymous
said...
Just like any other petulant and egocentric child, Israel richly deserves a lesson in manners. And a lesson in the Geneva Convention.
July 28, 2006 at 3:38 AM
Anonymous
said...
In case the soldiers are getting bored of pizzas, you can send hamburgers as well: Hamburgers for Israeli Soldiers. I wonder if donations are eligible for giftaid?
Sky News itself reports 445 dead in Leb; 51 in Israel. How typically Stalinist of the BBC to try to make news out of this slight, erm, imbalance. Why stop with pizzas? Let's send lobsters and champagne to the IAF just to smite those twisters at the BBC!
Guido, perleeze: 600 Lebanese killed, many of them children; far fewer Israelis killed, most of them soldiers. Please don't replicate the horrible tendency of Zionists to ignore the human cost - unless it is to their own - and thus ensuring that sympathy for Israel continues to haemorrage. Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians displaced; on the other hand, some of the displaced Israelis have returned from Tel Aviv to their kibbutzim.
And the person who asserted that FOX is balanced is bonkers.
July 28, 2006 at 7:19 AM
Anonymous
said...
little miss muffett said...
Do they deliver to UN observers too?
http://tinyurl.com/fybl5
July 28, 2006 at 7:27 AM
Anonymous
said...
"Woolie hats and gloves for our boys"...dont think the Israeli soldiers are "our boys" any more than the Hezbollah dudes...had no idea Guido was partisan...what a turn off! I'll have to find another blog to amuse me...
Cranmer is loath to admit that he agrees with Guido (just on this). His own opinion, set out yesterday, implicates the BBC, and supports the continuing offensive - it is 'the lesser evil'.
Thank you for the information on kosher pizzas. There are a few Muslim visitors to my site who will now be demanding halal pizzas, in the name of equality, and the magical appearance of the name of 'Allah' will appear in the melted cheese, and this shall be a sign...
July 28, 2006 at 7:51 AM
Anonymous
said...
Joe Taylor "I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality."
I would like to complain to the siteowner about the above comment.
Unfair tactics.
I've only just stopped choking and now have to clean coffee off of the monitor and keyboard.
July 28, 2006 at 7:57 AM
Anonymous
said...
Joe Taylor's post highlights the mental problems of Lib Dums (and for that matter most socialists) in that they truly believe they have the moral high ground.
Ignoring the basics of human nature and living in a dream world might be good fun for you but it makes it mighty hard on those whose lives you fuck up with bad policies and unworkable schemes.
Maybe it would be better if we just gave Scotland to the LibDums and socialist numpties and left them to ruin something that doesn't matter.
Leave the rest of the country to people who can actually see beyond the end of their sandals.
July 28, 2006 at 8:19 AM
Anonymous
said...
I assume you are being clever and ironic when you excuse the actions of a fascist, genocidal client state of a fascist genocidal superpower and claim Sky News is balanced.
If so .. it's way over my head. Perhaps you are good at taking the piss out of our pathetic establishment (for which everyone owes you one). But you probably have no other views worth blogging.
Sorry I can't be witty and funny about this.
July 28, 2006 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous
said...
Is there a site which provides hallal delicacies for the Lebanese resistance?
July 28, 2006 at 8:33 AM
Anonymous
said...
Guido must be blind then, as there's been plenty of coverage of the rocket attacks on Israel. Perhaps they've received slightly less coverage because they've not killed anywhere near as many people as the Israeli air-strikes.
July 28, 2006 at 9:02 AM
Anonymous
said...
I bet the IDF claim the refund if the delivery is more than fifteen minutes late!
July 28, 2006 at 9:10 AM
Anonymous
said...
Beware, this could be an Iranian trick. Imagine the reduction in fighting capability when, after many years of free pizza and coke, Israeli soldiers are too fat to get into their tanks.
In order to provide balance, I will be starting a "Baclava for Hizballah" website soon.
I think people with the true interests of the IDF at heart would be sending them gifts of food that were a little more nutritionally-balanced than pizza (even the kosher variety) and pepsi/coke or other 'empty' products. However your comment about Pepsi amuses me, too - that's the one they sell in the Arab world, whereas Coke is banned in many of them because it (not Pepsi) has bottling plants in Israel; the website you link to refers only to 'Soda' as it is presumably based in the US.
"watch FOX, at least tries to be fair and balanced."
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
July 28, 2006 at 9:20 AM
Anonymous
said...
Guido, you cannot be serious, can you? I mean, pizzas are an extremely unhealthy "food". Are you trying to bring down the IDF by stealth? :-)
Besides, it's great that the BBC are telling it like it is by way of pictures and comments. The whole world can see, therefore, that the Israeli reaction is absurd and can only lead to more problems for Israel and the whole world in the short-term. Their actions are a gift to Al-Queda.
Let's face it, this war is totally idiotic. What it is doing, however, and doing very very well, is demonstrating that the only useful purpose of war is to show that war has no other useful purpose. Regrettably, many are having to suffer in order for that point to be firmly embedded in the minds and hearts of the many. But compared to other major conflicts, this one has had a relatively low death and injury count (so far.)
The point is that we all - that means everybody - have to get along. For that to happen, we have to leave behind the fear-based government and social systems that are, frankly, so last millenium.
July 28, 2006 at 9:24 AM
Anonymous
said...
Blunt said I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse... but the rest of your post is bollocks
Blunt by name, blunt by nature, you are entitled to your opinion just as much I am. Interesting you couldn't be arsed to say why.
July 28, 2006 at 9:34 AM
Anonymous
said...
A good scheme. Perhaps we could do a similar thing for pensioners in this country who this winter will have to choose between 'eat or heat'.
The killing of over 400 civilians is ok if its in Israels interest then, Guido? Not to mention the destruction of a country.
But hey, the war helping them rid themselves of Hezbollah! They should wipe their tears, clean the remains of their mother's skull off their shirt and join the IDF.
Shouldn't they.
July 28, 2006 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous
said...
Great stuff. Maybe we can get the Israelis to come and bomb parts of Londonistan while they're at it. OK, they might take out some tough-talking right-wingers in "collateral damage", but they should get some of the bothersome beardies too.
Or do you only talk tough when you are a safe distance from the action and when the innocent people wiped out among the carnage have nasty tanned complexions?
In fact Guido, you seem to have a lot of spare time on your hands -- these regular jaunts to France and whatnot -- so why not get out to northern Israel yourself and REALLY show your support?
July 28, 2006 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous
said...
between this and the constant self-promotion, I fear the end of Guido is nigh
don't worry about it, all blogs have a half-life. and yours was more unstable than most.
July 28, 2006 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous
said...
Joe Taylor, thank God there are people who see that taking sides is worthwhile. I suppose you'd be one of those Joe Kennedy types in America pre-WWII who thought they shouldn't take sides between Nazis and Britain...
July 28, 2006 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous
said...
At last, Guido tackles the Big Issue. Yep the bbc, disgraceful nest of half baked , self important, institutionally biased tossers. Do not give them your money, if you read this blog , you shouldn't be paying a licence fee. Send their demand back to the DG, sayng you have requested your MP to raise the matter of the nexus between bbc staff serving labour , bbc links to Crapita and donations to labour. you'll find they aren't so interested in taking you to court ! (Rant over!)
I've stopped watching the BBC for news on the middle east and now I watch an American news channel instead for a more balanced US-centric view of the world ... I nearly typed that without laughing.
July 28, 2006 at 9:40 AM
Anonymous
said...
for the sake of "balance"...here is a bit of additional information
Jun 9th - Israeli shells kill at least seven civilians on a beach in the Gaza strip. Hamas calls off truce with Israel.
Guido firstly if you don't want to talk to Midle east bores, don't raise the subject.
Secondly, as far as I can tell the BBC does cover the rocket strikes in Israel and it is clear to me why Israel is acting. What may not be covered enough is just quite how empty northern Israel is becoming.
However, there is a question of whether what Israel is doing is moraly right in total, (No objection to hitting Hezboulah, but the bombings go far beyond that in some ways and seem very limited on Hzboulah in others) and then there is the thorny question of is it all going to work and achieve the stated aims.
Thirdly, no Conservatives are not blindly pro Israel as one poster suggests. I most certainly am not.
July 28, 2006 at 9:48 AM
Anonymous
said...
"I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse... but the rest of your post is bollocks"
Thank you 'blunt' for that hugely constructive contribution to this discussion. Your carefully argued, factually supported response to the post by 'maggie thatcher fan' demonstrates the depth of your thoughts on this matter.
I'm confident that 'maggie thatcher fan' will spend some time considering your alternative view (at least a milli-second), and just may be swayed by the eloquence and power of your rhetoric. Not. You pillock.
q - think you may be getting confused - George Galloway isn't a Lib Dem member as far as I'm aware?
Obviously there can be no middle ground between "pro-Israel" and "terrorist" - appreciate the reminder.
July 28, 2006 at 9:59 AM
Anonymous
said...
its time to take sides folks - you are either for secular democracy (Israel) or you are for Sharia Law (Hezbollah). Its time to stop pissing around, acting like limp wristed neo-Chamberlains, and to nail your colours to the flag of freedom.
if you want to be a bearded crazy, get a plane ticket to Iran.
Judging by Guido's flaming inbox this morning, this post alone should get rid of a few hundred Guardian readers.
Have a full refund. See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
July 28, 2006 at 10:14 AM
Anonymous
said...
who knows said... "for the sake of "balance"...here is a bit of additional information
Jun 9th - Israeli shells kill at least seven civilians on a beach in the Gaza strip. Hamas calls off truce with Israel.
(source Financial Times, 22nd July)"
Chalk another one up for the BBC-led media "balance". It has since been found that the "shells" were probably not Israeli (http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/Gaza_Beach_Libel.asp).
Joe Taylor said... "This rampant pro-Israel tendancy is surely one of the ugliest aspects of British Conservatism - when will people learn that you can't fix this thing by taking sides?"
Absolutely - thank goodness we didn't take sides over Hitler invading Poland. We would never have got rid of him then! "I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality." (Emphasis added.)
Errr.... does the name Michael Brown mean anything to you Joe?
July 28, 2006 at 10:20 AM
Anonymous
said...
There was once a peaceful country called Palestine and the international community gave Britain responsibility for looking after it. At this point the Jewish population numbered about 5% and lived in harmony with their neighbours. Throughout the 1930s Britain encouraged uncontrolled mass immigration by Zionist Jews who created a terrorist network to drive out the British and the indegenous Palestinians. In 1948 the Zionist terrorists ripped the heart out of Palestine by creating their own apartheid state, to which they added the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. So now we have a terrorist, fascist, crusader colony in a condition of permanent warfare with all their neighbours and the millions of Palestinian refugees they have created, and there will indeed be no peace in the region until the Zionist state is 'wiped off the map'.
July 28, 2006 at 10:20 AM
Anonymous
said...
Hezbollah supporters targeted.... Any chance that the IDF will target the Beeb TV Centre? Mmm! I get a warm glow just thinking about it.
Well i think its a wonderful way of showing support to the front line. If they do indeed deliver to outposts and remote patrols, imagine how heartwarming it would be to receive.
I say this regardless of any affiliation, and think it would be a good service for any faction/grouping/nation.
Surely someone could be doing the same for UK forces globally too? I bet a slab of kendal mint cake would go a long way in Helmand.
I got more (and more surprising) information - not opinion - about this war in my first-ever half-hour of Fox News than in a fortnight of al Beeb 'news' broadcasts. They have cameras everywhere, unlike the 'world's greatest news-gathering organiation' - not. I dislike Fox's style and management but one has to hold one's nose if one really wants to find the facts when they're hidden in a pile of shit. Supporters here of al Beeb are no doubt Polly fans, too. Ipso facto, they don't want facts, only reinforcement of their suidical prejudices. Pity their mortal blindness and wave them bye-bye as they call a huff and go off in it. Keep it up, Guido.
Anon at 9.37 - always supposing that Guido fancied joining in, the IDF has staff at Lod and elsewhere to keep enthusiastic amateurs well away the action - as they would do the military effort far more harm than good
July 28, 2006 at 10:35 AM
Anonymous
said...
To those saying that you don't sort these things out by taking sides: until there is a civilised Arab faction to deal with, by "not taking sides" you are equating a civilised democracy - that gives its Arab citizens the vote and full freedoms, that is fighting a defensive war against terrorist targets - with terrorist groups and the states that sponsor them - that afford few freedoms to their citizens, that repudiate democracy and that deliberately target civilians. What a warped sense of morality.
First-person account from a young woman in Beirut, written last Tuesday:
we need the US to listen carefully to the chief humanitarian officer sent by the UN... to the voices of the screaming relatives who are now avowing to avenge their dead... the US and Israel have just succeeded in 12 days to create more hatred than they did in 3 years in Iraq.
Way to go, Bushies. Bring on the Rapture.
July 28, 2006 at 10:58 AM
Anonymous
said...
Yes that's right prodicus, all those of us who watch the BBC News also love reading Toynbee (why do people read her stuff if they hate her, just dont by the Guardian! It's pretty easy, I manage it every day).
"Errr.... does the name Michael Brown mean anything to you Joe?"
I said most, didn't I? :P
I'm man enough to call a cock-up a cock-up (and that was a HUGE one). But we don't exactly have the monopoly on dodgy donors, do we?
July 28, 2006 at 11:03 AM
Anonymous
said...
Calm down, chaps.
Given that Guido posted this item at 24 past midnight, and didn't post a comment on the blog until 10.14 this morning, we can assume that he just MIGHT have had a skinful last night before penning this item, and it was possibly inspired by Fergal Keane's piece on the Beeb news last night, which, even by the bog-trotting goblin's standards, was a double-hankie, triple onion-peeling triumph. Me and the wife decided to nominate him for a BAFTA comedy gong.
July 28, 2006 at 11:07 AM
Anonymous
said...
An Israeli drone fired on a Fox reporter whilst he was reporting from Gaza. The presenters in the studio urged him to safety then one of them, hilariously, added "bad guys just shoot at anything."
It's on youtube somewhere.
July 28, 2006 at 11:07 AM
Anonymous
said...
Easy on the pepperoni - it has bacon fat in it!
July 28, 2006 at 11:13 AM
Anonymous
said...
Cranmer; if your Muslim visitors would like 'halal' pizza, I suggest you direct them to the East End of London. Somewhere around Whitechapel / Mile End should do the trick. From my own (limited) experience, they seem to prefer the epicurean delights of 'Colonel' Sanders, however.
On the downside, they may have to arrange their own delivery...
July 28, 2006 at 11:13 AM
Anonymous
said...
Here's some of that biased stuff from the BEEB:
At least 438 people have been reported killed in Lebanon since fighting broke out in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas, most of them Lebanese civilians. But Lebanon's health minister estimated Thursday that as many as Lebanese 600 civilians have been killed so far in the offensive. Thirty-three Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting and 19 civilians were killed in Hezbollah's unyielding rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns, the army said.
Very one sided - isn't it! Shocking.....except its Fox News:
Of course you won't want to read reports or comments that don't fit in with your pretty little world view where we all hold hand and get along....Tough.
Time for some flippancy - a few years ago a pizza operation in North London was busted for spicing up its offerings with a cannabis garnish. Whether this was for drug abuse or the unethical inducement of the munchies is unknown.
July 28, 2006 at 11:23 AM
Anonymous
said...
I'm more worried by the advert.
It looks like a section observing a nuclear strike.
Chris Carter, you did actually read what you posted right? Charles Kennedy rightly sacked her for the comments, case closed. Smearing the party based on Tonge’s foolishness is cheap and wrong.
July 28, 2006 at 11:28 AM
Anonymous
said...
It all depends where you start, doesn't it? If you go back before the Balfour Declaration and 1948 who is the interloper then? If you go back to the Crusades who then? And back to 1 AD who then? Romans, Jews, Palestinians?
July 28, 2006 at 11:37 AM
Anonymous
said...
Guido,
Should, at some time in the future Ms Fawkes be joined by another Ms or a Master Fawkes you will soon come to realise that cries of 'he started it' are rather beside the point. Stopping it is the point.
Croydonian - I think we could all do with some of that pizza!
July 28, 2006 at 11:38 AM
Anonymous
said...
Tonge's comments were a sober appraisal of the situation and Kennedy is a piss-artist, so no wonder he sacked her.
Dynamite, according the BBC site Kennedy 'asked her to step down'. An important nuance.
Also, note this EDM on funding Hamas that the LDs have joined the paleo Left in signing.
July 28, 2006 at 11:42 AM
Anonymous
said...
11.03: why why do people read her stuff if they hate her, just dont by [sic] the Guardian!
I don't. But I do read her. If I didn't then my absoulte revulsion at the rubbish she 'writes' woudl be nothing more than mindless, uninformed prejudice, wouldn't it?
That's somewhat akin to saying 'If you think Tony Blair lies to the electorate then just don't listen to him' or 'If you think bombing inocent civilians is wrong then just ignore it.'
The BBC piece is entitled "Tonge sacked", and you know it's a conceit to suggest there is any nuance there.
The EDM hardly suggests support for Hamas, just recognises the fact that thousands of people in Palestine face not getting paid, which isn't really in anyone's interests. There's hardly much of a narrative here.
Worked next to the active Lib Dem Friends of Israel stall at the last conference.
July 28, 2006 at 11:49 AM
Anonymous
said...
Since when did innocent people not get killed in war? I fear many years of lazer guided bombs have made people forget that war isn't a scrap between soldiers.
Oh, and us for Israel's creation in 1948 - yes it was unpleasant and shouldn't have happened that way. But it did happen and the Arabs have had amny years to assilimilate the Palestinian refugees.
And at the end of the day, Israel with all its imperfections is a democracy. The Arab states are still stuck in the Dark Ages. One would have thought so-called "progressives" would side with modernity.
Apologies for the seriousness of this post, I can only offer the consolation that it doesn't reek of left-wing self-righteousness.
July 28, 2006 at 11:53 AM
Anonymous
said...
"It all depends where you start, doesn't it? If you go back before the Balfour Declaration and 1948 who is the interloper then? If you go back to the Crusades who then? And back to 1 AD who then? Romans, Jews, Palestinians?"
You are absolutely right. I blame Eve for pulling that apple stunt in the Garden of Eden. But for her, we would all be living in the land of milk and honey!
As ever, a most relevant anecdote from Mr Croydonian:
a few years ago a pizza operation in North London was busted for spicing up its offerings with a cannabis garnish.
If someone would arrange mass delivery Hezbullah, Cranmer shall re-direct church funds to the cause.
July 28, 2006 at 11:56 AM
Anonymous
said...
I used to get uptight about the various sky god worshipers murdering their way to eternity with ever so similar mission statements from the Big Guy who does the value & vision statement bit for them all. Lets be cool about this, the guys are just cutting themselves a little lebensraum, after 4k years of exterminating the neighbours, chilling out with a slice of pizza at least gets their fingers off the triggers for five minutes.
Wipe it off the map 50,000 German Jews migrated to Palestine during the 1930s.After that the British Mandate authorities placed severve limitations on Jewish immigration. Annie mouse Lebanon is home to many Christians and Druze. Not many pilgrims amongst you!
July 28, 2006 at 11:59 AM
Anonymous
said...
Hizbullah Sharia? Surely you're joking. They are motivated more by secular nationalism than fundamentalist Islam. In fact Nasrallah has routinely denounced both the Taliban and Al Queda - Al Zawahiri's recent opportunistic appeal for pan-Islamic unity notwithstanding.
There's a lot of armchair warriors out there eager to see others sent to their death whilst they cheer from the comfort of their homes - if you want to take sides why not spend your own blood and treasure.
It seems there are a lot of people here with a healthy suspicion of there own government yet who'd treat the words and deeds of certain foreign goverments as gospel. This is hard to reconcile with the 100% record of all goverments in history being lying thieving scum. Just because you have the trappings of state and a majority vote behind you doesn't automatically give you moral superiority.
Did the Tory Councillor in Brent, Jack Sayers, speak for all Conservatives when he recently said "Jews run everything in Britain and practically run America"? Nice.
July 28, 2006 at 12:06 PM
Anonymous
said...
If Darwin was still alive he would have written a book on the evolution of politicians...terrorists--->freedom fighter----->recognised politician.
In years to come, history will look back on this conflict with a different perspective and Hizbollah will doubtless be a recognised political party in government somewhere in the same way that the Israelis now gloss over their terrorist tendancies. Same as the IRA.
This "war on terror" business is all bollocks
July 28, 2006 at 12:07 PM
Anonymous
said...
This is not the black and white issue that the anti-israeli BBC and Independent Newspaper would have one believe.
How did the terrorists get so many missiles past the United Nations troops monitoring the ceasefire ? Turning a BLIND EYE ?
Ambulances have frequently been used to transport terrorists and weapons - unfortunately the israelis blew up one on a genuine mercy errand. Have they blown up anyother ambulances ? If these ambulances did contain non-medical personnel would the BBC report it ?
I used to respect Robert Fisk of the Indy
July 28, 2006 at 12:09 PM
Anonymous
said...
The way I see it, both sides are complete murderous maniacs with little to choose between them, although Israel just gets the edge because it is still a democracy. However, it would do the world a favour if we left them alone to blow each other and the entire Middle East to oblivion.
July 28, 2006 at 12:11 PM
Anonymous
said...
In the interest of balance, how about www.hizburgah.org and www.houmous4hamas.net
July 28, 2006 at 12:11 PM
Anonymous
said...
Interesting article by Irwin Stelzer in The Spectator on Bliar-Bush: http://tinyurl.com/egk6l
July 28, 2006 at 12:16 PM
Anonymous
said...
Nice one Guido- personally haven't been able to watch much of the BBC's news output for ages. Sky News certainly isn't perfect, but it is better balanced than the Beeb.
Hizbollah were firing FROM the UN outpost that was bombed. Kofi should have withdrawn the UN observers. But then again they were sharing water and equipment with Hizbollah.
July 28, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Anonymous
said...
I'll continue watching the BBC as long as Matt Price is a correspondent.
He is very sexiful.
July 28, 2006 at 12:29 PM
Anonymous
said...
Manfarang --- so did 50,000 German Jews grab 70% of Palestinian territory in 1948? This is still within the living memory of elderly residents in refugee camps all over the Middle East, so no-one's going to forget about it anytime soon. And why should neighbouring Arab countries condone a crime by assimilating people who don't want to be assimilated? They just want their country back. Wouldn't you?
Have none of you Conservative Friends of Israel lot ever heard of national self-interest? The 'natural' Tory position on Iraq, the 'war on terror', the Lebanon etc should be 'nothing to do with us'. By being so gung-ho and pro-American (and pro-Israeli) we have simply wasted billions, needlessly sacrificed British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and made ourselves international pariahs and targets by proxy. Can any of the neo-con muffs (and we have to count Guido among them now) point to ANY tangible economic, strategic or political advantages that the UK has gained by being up Dubya's ass? Politics isn't about crusades; it's about poker chips.
Am closing the comments on this. Too much politics. The wing-nut / moonbat detector is in overheating.
Last word - a pizza for boys fighting to defend their tiny country from attack is a small way to show some solidarity.
Was this done with tongue in cheek? Not really. I knew it would result in comment chaos, but my heart is with Israel and the innocent people of the Lebanon. Hezbollah has to be defeated before there can be any peace. They have to accept Israel has the right to exist with security.
100 comments:
"Guido has stopped watching the BBC coverage and has switched to the more balanced Sky News."
You are joking, aren't you?
Do they deliver to UN observers too?
If you watched justed the BBC, your views would be that it was all the fault of Israel and nothing do to with rockets coming from over the border, watch FOX, at least tries to be fair and balanced. Does any one at the BBC care any more about balance in news!
I think my first ever post after discovering your site and Iain Dale's Diary was my delight in finding sites that did not propagate the left wing "Labour luvvie" view of the Blair Broadcasting Corporation.
I agree with every word of what you say about the BBC coverage, and it has got a lot worse post Gilligan, not better.
The Middle East is an appalling situation, and one day Jews and Muslims will have to talk peace. When is anyones guess. Terrorists however need to be dealt with firmly, but the trouble is, the more support one gives to Israel, the more extreme the terrorists become.
What I do believe is that the War in Iraq and Afghanistan has made matters infinitely worse, particularly because the premise that we went to war of "WMD" was a pretext that has come back to haunt us.
Blair has a lot to answer for, because many (including myself) were taken in by the spin about WMD in 45 minutes.
In life, you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but eventually your sins will find you out.
It will be really ironic if Blair falls over Cash for Honours, and his moment with PC Plod is approaching fast, and I shall enjoy it immensely when it comes.
IMHO, he deserves nothing less.
I thought Guido didn't do "ishoos"?
This rampant pro-Israel tendancy is surely one of the ugliest aspects of British Conservatism - when will people learn that you can't fix this thing by taking sides?
I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality.
The LibDems pro-Hamas tendency is one of their ugliest aspects.
I'd say your moral failings are legion as well
Maggie Thatcher fan said...
It will be really ironic if Blair falls over Cash for Honours, and his moment with PC Plod is approaching fast, and I shall enjoy it immensely when it comes.
IMHO, he deserves nothing less.
I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse...
but the rest of your post is bollocks
little miss muffet,
Yes. Just give us the GPS coordinates of the UN base and we will deliver to the target.
How can I specify an Hawaiian pizza to be sent to them?
"Guido has stopped watching the BBC coverage and has switched to the more balanced Sky News."
I choked on my cornflakes reading this (I am an early riser!). I did exactly the reverse earlier; becoming nauseous at Sky's pro-Israel spin fronted by Jewish ex-White House Spokesman James Rubin, I switched to News24.
I guess they balance each other out.
However, this morning at 01:06hrs John Simpson was doing a far more balanced piece about whole areas of Israel being deserted because of indiscriminate Hizbollah rocket attacks (well they weren't 'indiscriminate', they were actually targeting civilian areas.)
Now anyone who knows me (or clicks on my name) will tell u I'm not -ahem- a huge fan of the hand-choppers, but I wouldn't trust Sky an inch.
Have u seen the 'Outfoxed' DVD? An excellent and entertaining expose (never mind who made it). If you can't get a copy I will bring one for you to the next PD (I was sat next to you at the last one).
Oh, I forgot to mention the Israeli shelling of Lebanese-Christian areas... No doubt Sky picked that up?
Guido, are you actually an undergraduate? Are you Mark Steyn in disguise? Remember: they're all lying to us, even Ehud Olmert and co. Please keep the cynicism switched on.
I thought it was Aljazeera that would give more balance.
I trust you are remembering your Maronite brethren in your prayers Guido.
The scouts er... sorry...'observers' at the UN base were giving co-ordinates of IDF troop movements to Beijing who just happened to mention them to Tehran.
Which is why the Israeli Air Force delivered 'pizza' to the base so precisely.
Any why the UN 'watered down' their complaint about their 'order.'
Just 'desserts' for six years of treachery...
there is also BurgerIDF for the troops that dont like pizza.
all meat is kosher.
go on - in a world of Jeremy Bowen and Feargal "cry me a river" Keane, sending a burger or a pizza to the IDF is strangely satisfying - if not pseudo-punkish rebelling sort of way.
at the very least, it'll piss off Polly Toynbee, so thats a plus anyway!
"I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality."
thanks for reminding me who will be in the front of the queue with Zyklon-B.
kind of takes the "cuddly" image of the Lib Dems off a bit, dont ya think?
wow! this has got to be the most fucked up thing.Either i'm fucking drunk or this is a real stinking piece of shit.If this is supposed to be funny in any way i've lost my sense of humour.sorry guido you've shown your colours as a true arsehole.All the best twat.
Just like any other petulant and egocentric child, Israel richly deserves a lesson in manners. And a lesson in the Geneva Convention.
In case the soldiers are getting bored of pizzas, you can send hamburgers as well: Hamburgers for Israeli Soldiers. I wonder if donations are eligible for giftaid?
Sky News itself reports 445 dead in Leb; 51 in Israel. How typically Stalinist of the BBC to try to make news out of this slight, erm, imbalance. Why stop with pizzas? Let's send lobsters and champagne to the IAF just to smite those twisters at the BBC!
Guido, perleeze: 600 Lebanese killed, many of them children; far fewer Israelis killed, most of them soldiers. Please don't replicate the horrible tendency of Zionists to ignore the human cost - unless it is to their own - and thus ensuring that sympathy for Israel continues to haemorrage. Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians displaced; on the other hand, some of the displaced Israelis have returned from Tel Aviv to their kibbutzim.
And the person who asserted that FOX is balanced is bonkers.
little miss muffett said...
Do they deliver to UN observers too?
http://tinyurl.com/fybl5
"Woolie hats and gloves for our boys"...dont think the Israeli soldiers are "our boys" any more than the Hezbollah dudes...had no idea Guido was partisan...what a turn off! I'll have to find another blog to amuse me...
Cranmer is loath to admit that he agrees with Guido (just on this). His own opinion, set out yesterday, implicates the BBC, and supports the continuing offensive - it is 'the lesser evil'.
Thank you for the information on kosher pizzas. There are a few Muslim visitors to my site who will now be demanding halal pizzas, in the name of equality, and the magical appearance of the name of 'Allah' will appear in the melted cheese, and this shall be a sign...
Joe Taylor
"I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality."
I would like to complain to the siteowner about the above comment.
Unfair tactics.
I've only just stopped choking and now have to clean coffee off of the monitor and keyboard.
Joe Taylor's post highlights the mental problems of Lib Dums (and for that matter most socialists) in that they truly believe they have the moral high ground.
Ignoring the basics of human nature and living in a dream world might be good fun for you but it makes it mighty hard on those whose lives you fuck up with bad policies and unworkable schemes.
Maybe it would be better if we just gave Scotland to the LibDums and socialist numpties and left them to ruin something that doesn't matter.
Leave the rest of the country to people who can actually see beyond the end of their sandals.
I assume you are being clever and ironic when you excuse the actions of a fascist, genocidal client state of a fascist genocidal superpower and claim Sky News is balanced.
If so .. it's way over my head. Perhaps you are good at taking the piss out of our pathetic establishment (for which everyone owes you one). But you probably have no other views worth blogging.
Sorry I can't be witty and funny about this.
Is there a site which provides hallal delicacies for the Lebanese resistance?
Guido must be blind then, as there's been plenty of coverage of the rocket attacks on Israel. Perhaps they've received slightly less coverage because they've not killed anywhere near as many people as the Israeli air-strikes.
I bet the IDF claim the refund if the delivery is more than fifteen minutes late!
Beware, this could be an Iranian trick. Imagine the reduction in fighting capability when, after many years of free pizza and coke, Israeli soldiers are too fat to get into their tanks.
In order to provide balance, I will be starting a "Baclava for Hizballah" website soon.
I think people with the true interests of the IDF at heart would be sending them gifts of food that were a little more nutritionally-balanced than pizza (even the kosher variety) and pepsi/coke or other 'empty' products. However your comment about Pepsi amuses me, too - that's the one they sell in the Arab world, whereas Coke is banned in many of them because it (not Pepsi) has bottling plants in Israel; the website you link to refers only to 'Soda' as it is presumably based in the US.
I just hope this skit was written in total irony.
"watch FOX, at least tries to be fair and balanced."
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Guido, you cannot be serious, can you? I mean, pizzas are an extremely unhealthy "food". Are you trying to bring down the IDF by stealth? :-)
Besides, it's great that the BBC are telling it like it is by way of pictures and comments. The whole world can see, therefore, that the Israeli reaction is absurd and can only lead to more problems for Israel and the whole world in the short-term. Their actions are a gift to Al-Queda.
Let's face it, this war is totally idiotic. What it is doing, however, and doing very very well, is demonstrating that the only useful purpose of war is to show that war has no other useful purpose. Regrettably, many are having to suffer in order for that point to be firmly embedded in the minds and hearts of the many. But compared to other major conflicts, this one has had a relatively low death and injury count (so far.)
The point is that we all - that means everybody - have to get along. For that to happen, we have to leave behind the fear-based government and social systems that are, frankly, so last millenium.
Blunt said
I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse...
but the rest of your post is bollocks
Blunt by name, blunt by nature, you are entitled to your opinion just as much I am.
Interesting you couldn't be arsed to say why.
A good scheme. Perhaps we could do a similar thing for pensioners in this country who this winter will have to choose between 'eat or heat'.
Pie and chips would be better in 'ull.
The killing of over 400 civilians is ok if its in Israels interest then, Guido? Not to mention the destruction of a country.
But hey, the war helping them rid themselves of Hezbollah! They should wipe their tears, clean the remains of their mother's skull off their shirt and join the IDF.
Shouldn't they.
Great stuff. Maybe we can get the Israelis to come and bomb parts of Londonistan while they're at it. OK, they might take out some tough-talking right-wingers in "collateral damage", but they should get some of the bothersome beardies too.
Or do you only talk tough when you are a safe distance from the action and when the innocent people wiped out among the carnage have nasty tanned complexions?
In fact Guido, you seem to have a lot of spare time on your hands -- these regular jaunts to France and whatnot -- so why not get out to northern Israel yourself and REALLY show your support?
between this and the constant self-promotion, I fear the end of Guido is nigh
don't worry about it, all blogs have a half-life. and yours was more unstable than most.
Joe Taylor, thank God there are people who see that taking sides is worthwhile. I suppose you'd be one of those Joe Kennedy types in America pre-WWII who thought they shouldn't take sides between Nazis and Britain...
At last, Guido tackles the Big Issue. Yep the bbc, disgraceful nest of half baked , self important, institutionally biased tossers. Do not give them your money, if you read this blog , you shouldn't be paying a licence fee.
Send their demand back to the DG, sayng you have requested your MP to raise the matter of the nexus between bbc staff serving labour , bbc links to Crapita and donations to labour. you'll find they aren't so interested in taking you to court ! (Rant over!)
I've stopped watching the BBC for news on the middle east and now I watch an American news channel instead for a more balanced US-centric view of the world ... I nearly typed that without laughing.
for the sake of "balance"...here is a bit of additional information
Jun 9th - Israeli shells kill at least seven civilians on a beach in the Gaza strip. Hamas calls off truce with Israel.
(source Financial Times, 22nd July)
Guido firstly if you don't want to talk to Midle east bores, don't raise the subject.
Secondly, as far as I can tell the BBC does cover the rocket strikes in Israel and it is clear to me why Israel is acting. What may not be covered enough is just quite how empty northern Israel is becoming.
However, there is a question of whether what Israel is doing is moraly right in total, (No objection to hitting Hezboulah, but the bombings go far beyond that in some ways and seem very limited on Hzboulah in others) and then there is the thorny question of is it all going to work and achieve the stated aims.
Thirdly, no Conservatives are not blindly pro Israel as one poster suggests. I most certainly am not.
"I agree...and the war on terrorism has made things worse...
but the rest of your post is bollocks"
Thank you 'blunt' for that hugely constructive contribution to this discussion. Your carefully argued, factually supported response to the post by 'maggie thatcher fan' demonstrates the depth of your thoughts on this matter.
I'm confident that 'maggie thatcher fan' will spend some time considering your alternative view (at least a milli-second), and just may be swayed by the eloquence and power of your rhetoric. Not. You pillock.
I watched an ITV broadcast last night and it was pure 100% anti-Israel. It was pretty impressive in fact.
Laurence Simon, my podcaster buddy, has been giving pizza for the IDF for many a moon. In fact he runs a tic-tac-toe to give money to them.
q - think you may be getting confused - George Galloway isn't a Lib Dem member as far as I'm aware?
Obviously there can be no middle ground between "pro-Israel" and "terrorist" - appreciate the reminder.
its time to take sides folks - you are either for secular democracy (Israel) or you are for Sharia Law (Hezbollah). Its time to stop pissing around, acting like limp wristed neo-Chamberlains, and to nail your colours to the flag of freedom.
if you want to be a bearded crazy, get a plane ticket to Iran.
Judging by Guido's flaming inbox this morning, this post alone should get rid of a few hundred Guardian readers.
Have a full refund. See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
who knows said...
"for the sake of "balance"...here is a bit of additional information
Jun 9th - Israeli shells kill at least seven civilians on a beach in the Gaza strip. Hamas calls off truce with Israel.
(source Financial Times, 22nd July)"
Chalk another one up for the BBC-led media "balance". It has since been found that the "shells" were probably not Israeli (http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/Gaza_Beach_Libel.asp).
Joe Taylor said...
"This rampant pro-Israel tendancy is surely one of the ugliest aspects of British Conservatism - when will people learn that you can't fix this thing by taking sides?"
Absolutely - thank goodness we didn't take sides over Hitler invading Poland. We would never have got rid of him then!
"I must thank this blog for occasionally reminding me why I'm a Lib Dem - at least most of our failings are to do with competence rather than morality." (Emphasis added.)
Errr.... does the name Michael Brown mean anything to you Joe?
There was once a peaceful country called Palestine and the international community gave Britain responsibility for looking after it. At this point the Jewish population numbered about 5% and lived in harmony with their neighbours. Throughout the 1930s Britain encouraged uncontrolled mass immigration by Zionist Jews who created a terrorist network to drive out the British and the indegenous Palestinians. In 1948 the Zionist terrorists ripped the heart out of Palestine by creating their own apartheid state, to which they added the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. So now we have a terrorist, fascist, crusader colony in a condition of permanent warfare with all their neighbours and the millions of Palestinian refugees they have created, and there will indeed be no peace in the region until the Zionist state is 'wiped off the map'.
Hezbollah supporters targeted....
Any chance that the IDF will target the Beeb TV Centre?
Mmm! I get a warm glow just thinking about it.
The Guardian readers would only warm to you if you started supporting al-Qaeda.
Looks like Mr Galloway has sided with the bearded IslamoNazis
Well i think its a wonderful way of showing support to the front line. If they do indeed deliver to outposts and remote patrols, imagine how heartwarming it would be to receive.
I say this regardless of any affiliation, and think it would be a good service for any faction/grouping/nation.
Surely someone could be doing the same for UK forces globally too? I bet a slab of kendal mint cake would go a long way in Helmand.
The BBC covering up for Hezbollah
I got more (and more surprising) information - not opinion - about this war in my first-ever half-hour of Fox News than in a fortnight of al Beeb 'news' broadcasts. They have cameras everywhere, unlike the 'world's greatest news-gathering organiation' - not. I dislike Fox's style and management but one has to hold one's nose if one really wants to find the facts when they're hidden in a pile of shit. Supporters here of al Beeb are no doubt Polly fans, too. Ipso facto, they don't want facts, only reinforcement of their suidical prejudices. Pity their mortal blindness and wave them bye-bye as they call a huff and go off in it. Keep it up, Guido.
Anon at 9.37 - always supposing that Guido fancied joining in, the IDF has staff at Lod and elsewhere to keep enthusiastic amateurs well away the action - as they would do the military effort far more harm than good
To those saying that you don't sort these things out by taking sides: until there is a civilised Arab faction to deal with, by "not taking sides" you are equating a civilised democracy - that gives its Arab citizens the vote and full freedoms, that is fighting a defensive war against terrorist targets - with terrorist groups and the states that sponsor them - that afford few freedoms to their citizens, that repudiate democracy and that deliberately target civilians. What a warped sense of morality.
My coffin count is bigger than yours..
Wipe it off the Map, 10.20am: There was once a peaceful country called Palestine.
Ummm... when?
First-person account from a young woman in Beirut, written last Tuesday:
we need the US to listen carefully to the chief humanitarian officer sent by the UN... to the voices of the screaming relatives who are now avowing to avenge their dead... the US and Israel have just succeeded in 12 days to create more hatred than they did in 3 years in Iraq.
Way to go, Bushies. Bring on the Rapture.
Yes that's right prodicus, all those of us who watch the BBC News also love reading Toynbee (why do people read her stuff if they hate her, just dont by the Guardian! It's pretty easy, I manage it every day).
"Errr.... does the name Michael Brown mean anything to you Joe?"
I said most, didn't I? :P
I'm man enough to call a cock-up a cock-up (and that was a HUGE one). But we don't exactly have the monopoly on dodgy donors, do we?
Calm down, chaps.
Given that Guido posted this item at 24 past midnight, and didn't post a comment on the blog until 10.14 this morning, we can assume that he just MIGHT have had a skinful last night before penning this item, and it was possibly inspired by Fergal Keane's piece on the Beeb news last night, which, even by the bog-trotting goblin's standards, was a double-hankie, triple onion-peeling triumph. Me and the wife decided to nominate him for a BAFTA comedy gong.
An Israeli drone fired on a Fox reporter whilst he was reporting from Gaza. The presenters in the studio urged him to safety then one of them, hilariously, added "bad guys just shoot at anything."
It's on youtube somewhere.
Easy on the pepperoni - it has bacon fat in it!
Cranmer; if your Muslim visitors would like 'halal' pizza, I suggest you direct them to the East End of London. Somewhere around Whitechapel / Mile End should do the trick. From my own (limited) experience, they seem to prefer the epicurean delights of 'Colonel' Sanders, however.
On the downside, they may have to arrange their own delivery...
Here's some of that biased stuff from the BEEB:
At least 438 people have been reported killed in Lebanon since fighting broke out in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas, most of them Lebanese civilians. But Lebanon's health minister estimated Thursday that as many as Lebanese 600 civilians have been killed so far in the offensive. Thirty-three Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting and 19 civilians were killed in Hezbollah's unyielding rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns, the army said.
Very one sided - isn't it! Shocking.....except its Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206033,00.html
Nice to see all the apologists come creeping out of the closet again, Chamberlin would have been proud of you all.
War is hell, so my gran tells me. If you limp wristed clowns get your way I'd get used to it. If Isreal is forced into a ceasefire with no real solution at hand better believe that a Sharia state will be coming to a community near you soon, and don't kid yourself into believing that Isreal is so stupid it deliberately courts global ire by targeting observers.
Listen to this facinating clip of a retired Canuk general which says more than any blasé reportage can
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21786_Canadian_General-_UN_Observer_Post_Used_By_Hizballah#comments
Or the little reported diatribe from Jan Englender
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/25072006/140/aid-chief-blasts-cowardly-hizbollah.html
Of course you won't want to read reports or comments that don't fit in with your pretty little world view where we all hold hand and get along....Tough.
Time for some flippancy - a few years ago a pizza operation in North London was busted for spicing up its offerings with a cannabis garnish. Whether this was for drug abuse or the unethical inducement of the munchies is unknown.
I'm more worried by the advert.
It looks like a section observing a nuclear strike.
Something they're not telling us ... ?
Lee
Chris Carter, you did actually read what you posted right? Charles Kennedy rightly sacked her for the comments, case closed. Smearing the party based on Tonge’s foolishness is cheap and wrong.
It all depends where you start, doesn't it? If you go back before the Balfour Declaration and 1948 who is the interloper then? If you go back to the Crusades who then? And back to 1 AD who then? Romans, Jews, Palestinians?
Guido,
Should, at some time in the future Ms Fawkes be joined by another Ms or a Master Fawkes you will soon come to realise that cries of 'he started it' are rather beside the point. Stopping it is the point.
Croydonian - I think we could all do with some of that pizza!
Tonge's comments were a sober appraisal of the situation and Kennedy is a piss-artist, so no wonder he sacked her.
Dynamite, according the BBC site Kennedy 'asked her to step down'. An important nuance.
Also, note this EDM on funding Hamas that the LDs have joined the paleo Left in signing.
11.03: why why do people read her stuff if they hate her, just dont by [sic] the Guardian!
I don't. But I do read her. If I didn't then my absoulte revulsion at the rubbish she 'writes' woudl be nothing more than mindless, uninformed prejudice, wouldn't it?
That's somewhat akin to saying 'If you think Tony Blair lies to the electorate then just don't listen to him' or 'If you think bombing inocent civilians is wrong then just ignore it.'
The BBC piece is entitled "Tonge sacked", and you know it's a conceit to suggest there is any nuance there.
The EDM hardly suggests support for Hamas, just recognises the fact that thousands of people in Palestine face not getting paid, which isn't really in anyone's interests. There's hardly much of a narrative here.
Worked next to the active Lib Dem Friends of Israel stall at the last conference.
Since when did innocent people not get killed in war? I fear many years of lazer guided bombs have made people forget that war isn't a scrap between soldiers.
Oh, and us for Israel's creation in 1948 - yes it was unpleasant and shouldn't have happened that way. But it did happen and the Arabs have had amny years to assilimilate the Palestinian refugees.
And at the end of the day, Israel with all its imperfections is a democracy. The Arab states are still stuck in the Dark Ages. One would have thought so-called "progressives" would side with modernity.
Apologies for the seriousness of this post, I can only offer the consolation that it doesn't reek of left-wing self-righteousness.
"It all depends where you start, doesn't it? If you go back before the Balfour Declaration and 1948 who is the interloper then? If you go back to the Crusades who then? And back to 1 AD who then? Romans, Jews, Palestinians?"
You are absolutely right. I blame Eve for pulling that apple stunt in the Garden of Eden. But for her, we would all be living in the land of milk and honey!
As ever, a most relevant anecdote from Mr Croydonian:
a few years ago a pizza operation in North London was busted for spicing up its offerings with a cannabis garnish.
If someone would arrange mass delivery Hezbullah, Cranmer shall re-direct church funds to the cause.
I used to get uptight about the various sky god worshipers murdering their way to eternity with ever so similar mission statements from the Big Guy who does the value & vision statement bit for them all. Lets be cool about this, the guys are just cutting themselves a little lebensraum, after 4k years of exterminating the neighbours, chilling out with a slice of pizza at least gets their fingers off the triggers for five minutes.
Wipe it off the map
50,000 German Jews migrated to Palestine during the 1930s.After that the British Mandate authorities placed severve limitations on Jewish immigration.
Annie mouse
Lebanon is home to many Christians and Druze.
Not many pilgrims amongst you!
Hizbullah Sharia? Surely you're joking. They are motivated more by secular nationalism than fundamentalist Islam. In fact Nasrallah has routinely denounced both the Taliban and Al Queda - Al Zawahiri's recent opportunistic appeal for pan-Islamic unity notwithstanding.
There's a lot of armchair warriors out there eager to see others sent to their death whilst they cheer from the comfort of their homes - if you want to take sides why not spend your own blood and treasure.
It seems there are a lot of people here with a healthy suspicion of there own government yet who'd treat the words and deeds of certain foreign goverments as gospel. This is hard to reconcile with the 100% record of all goverments in history being lying thieving scum. Just because you have the trappings of state and a majority vote behind you doesn't automatically give you moral superiority.
annie mouse 10.10
I think I love you....
Did the Tory Councillor in Brent, Jack Sayers, speak for all Conservatives when he recently said "Jews run everything in Britain and practically run America"? Nice.
If Darwin was still alive he would have written a book on the evolution of politicians...terrorists--->freedom fighter----->recognised politician.
In years to come, history will look back on this conflict with a different perspective and Hizbollah will doubtless be a recognised political party in government somewhere in the same way that the Israelis now gloss over their terrorist tendancies. Same as the IRA.
This "war on terror" business is all bollocks
This is not the black and white issue that the anti-israeli BBC and Independent Newspaper would have one believe.
How did the terrorists get so many missiles past the United Nations troops monitoring the ceasefire ?
Turning a BLIND EYE ?
Ambulances have frequently been used to transport terrorists and weapons - unfortunately the israelis blew up one on a genuine mercy errand.
Have they blown up anyother ambulances ?
If these ambulances did contain non-medical personnel would the BBC report it ?
I used to respect Robert Fisk of the Indy
The way I see it, both sides are complete murderous maniacs with little to choose between them, although Israel just gets the edge because it is still a democracy. However, it would do the world a favour if we left them alone to blow each other and the entire Middle East to oblivion.
In the interest of balance, how about www.hizburgah.org and www.houmous4hamas.net
Interesting article by Irwin Stelzer in The Spectator on Bliar-Bush:
http://tinyurl.com/egk6l
Nice one Guido- personally haven't been able to watch much of the BBC's news output for ages. Sky News certainly isn't perfect, but it is better balanced than the Beeb.
Hizbollah were firing FROM the UN outpost that was bombed. Kofi should have withdrawn the UN observers. But then again they were sharing water and equipment with Hizbollah.
I'll continue watching the BBC as long as Matt Price is a correspondent.
He is very sexiful.
Manfarang --- so did 50,000 German Jews grab 70% of Palestinian territory in 1948? This is still within the living memory of elderly residents in refugee camps all over the Middle East, so no-one's going to forget about it anytime soon. And why should neighbouring Arab countries condone a crime by assimilating people who don't want to be assimilated? They just want their country back. Wouldn't you?
UN deaths in Lebanon - what actually happened.
Have none of you Conservative Friends of Israel lot ever heard of national self-interest? The 'natural' Tory position on Iraq, the 'war on terror', the Lebanon etc should be 'nothing to do with us'. By being so gung-ho and pro-American (and pro-Israeli) we have simply wasted billions, needlessly sacrificed British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and made ourselves international pariahs and targets by proxy.
Can any of the neo-con muffs (and we have to count Guido among them now) point to ANY tangible economic, strategic or political advantages that the UK has gained by being up Dubya's ass? Politics isn't about crusades; it's about poker chips.
Pizzas - I would worry they might get delivered to Lebanese children instead. Like the bombs.
Guido is not a neo-con, he is a Catholic.
Am closing the comments on this. Too much politics. The wing-nut / moonbat detector is in overheating.
Last word - a pizza for boys fighting to defend their tiny country from attack is a small way to show some solidarity.
Was this done with tongue in cheek? Not really. I knew it would result in comment chaos, but my heart is with Israel and the innocent people of the Lebanon. Hezbollah has to be defeated before there can be any peace. They have to accept Israel has the right to exist with security.