Israel launches deadly Gaza attacks

[Kazi Ndiyo Kipimo Cha Utu]

The Truth About Those Hamas Rockets
By Dennis Rahkonen

January 01, 2009 "Online Journal" -- Five years ago, the Bush administration lied about weapons of mass destruction to dupe us into supporting an illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq.

A few days ago, Israel trotted out only an infinitesimally more credible excuse -- the Hamas rockets case -- as justification for its own murderous shock and awe in Gaza, a long-planned campaign perniciously aimed at ousting a “regime” that came to power via popular, democratic vote.
Yes, such rockets exist, but they’re little more than slingshots against Israel’s incredible military might, and they’re used out of desperation by Palestinians who’ve never been accorded the democratic space within which to gain redress of their eminently just grievances.

Israeli apologists have presented absurd propaganda about those devices.

We’ve been asked, for instance, what would we do if rockets were being launched on our homes in New York or Texas, from Canada or Mexico?

The proper answer is that, if those two nations had been unlawfully occupied or embargoed by the United States for 60 years of relentless oppression and repression, and if all attempts at peaceful change had been forcefully prevented or scuttled by the U.S., then such attacks would be an understandable, indeed a justifiable attempt at gaining intolerably deferred liberty.

Our appropriate response wouldn’t be to bomb the hell out of the nearest Canadian or Mexican city, but to collectively look into mirrors and earnestly ask ourselves, “What have we done wrong to incur their wrath?”

And then act to correct the situation.

Conscientious Israelis acknowledge that the Hamas rockets rationale is fraudulent. For instance, Jerusalem Post writer Larry Derfner has noted, “We don’t want to see how people in Gaza are living, we block it out of our minds -- which, I suppose, is natural for a society at war, but which also keeps that war going longer than it might if we would recognize that Gaza is getting so much the worst of it.

“The [Palestinian] Kassam [rockets] have terrorized the 25,000 people in Sderot and its environs, but have caused very, very few deaths or serious wounds. By contrast, Israel has terrorized 1.5 million Gazans, locked them inside their awfully narrow borders, throttled their economy, and killed and seriously wounded thousands of them . . .
“This is crazy. Israel is the superpower of the Middle East, but because we still think we’re the Jews of Europe in the 1930s, or the Israelites under Pharaoh, we spend a lot more time fighting our enemies than we might if we looked at the whole picture, not just our half of it . . .”

As Gazan hospitals and morgues fill beyond capacity because of an ongoing air assault that cruelly began at precisely the hour when countless children were heading home from school, we’re expected to believe that small craters mostly in empty Israeli fields constitute this terrible episode’s chief sin.

Bugs bothered by sporadically impacting, glorified fireworks cobbled together in backyard garages are ludicrously supposed to be the primary problem, not human limbs and lives shattered by the most destructive weapons that military science can produce!

At any point during the past six decades, Israel could have had peace, simply by assenting to the great moral imperative of our time, namely the Palestinians’ right to their own, unitary, sovereign homeland.

Something which Israel continues to resist tooth and nail.

Two years ago, in Southern Lebanon, Israel engaged in similar bombings in civilian areas. Then, too, it maintained that only “terrorist” targets were being hit. As impartial observers finally ascertained the truth, clear evidence of enormous civilian carnage surfaced.

The Israeli leadership lied then, and it’s lying now.

There’s a veritable holocaust occurring in densely packed Gaza. Think Guernica, or the Warsaw Ghetto, with all the searing irony that comparison involves.
Apart from being an ethical travesty offending all decent hearts, it’s an unpardonable outrage to especially Arab/Islamic peoples around the world.

Witness the angry demonstrations in cities across the planet.

It takes no extraordinary analytical prowess to appreciate that, when the White House ridiculously blames what’s currently happening on “thugs” in Gaza, and when moderate Arab states adopt an accommodationist position pleasing the U.S. and Israel, a profound Arab/Islamic radicalization billows and swells.

New Osama bin Ladens are being born as innocents in Gaza are getting ripped to death by American-made Hellfire missiles, dispatched toward fleshly targets by Israeli pilots.

In fact, the almost certain, counterproductive outcome of Israel’s action makes us necessarily suspect that secret motives mistakenly judged by Tel Aviv to be worth the risk are actually at play.

Three possibilities spring immediately to mind:
1) Obscenely using de facto genocide to give the present Israeli government a “tough” image before upcoming national elections.

2) Roping Barack Obama into a harder pro-Israeli stance than Tel Aviv fears he’d otherwise take.

3) Creating a manipulated, intensely propagandized situation that would enable a desired Israeli attack on Iran.

Whatever the most deeply hidden reality, Israel’s gargantuan crime must be universally condemned in the strongest possible terms . . . and halted at once!
Dennis Rahkonen of Superior, Wisconsin, has been writing progressive commentary with a Heartland perspective for various outlets since the ’60s.

Source:***** The Truth About Those Hamas Rockets******** : Information Clearing House - ICH

Mwandishi huyo hapo juu amekisema kile nilichokisema awali kwa kifupi wakati nachangia mada hii.

 

[Icadon]

Looks like its a noble or fashionable thing to root for a little guy even when he is being an A**hole?[/QUOTE]

hii one liner imeniwekea smile usoni kwa sekunde kadhaa....upo tuff baba'ke utafikiri jina lako la mwisho ni Reubenstein!??...ubovu wenyewe ni kuwa opinions hasa Uropa na hata U.S polepole zinaanza kubadilika na watu wanaanza kujua ukweli kuhusu hii "chronic cancer" ya Israel/Palestine conflict!! Nimemwona Ted Turner juzi kwa Tavis Smiley aki-promote kitabu chake cha "Just Call Me Ted," alisema kitu flani hivi kuhusu hili gogoro, mwenyewe nikasema "ama kweli Arabs na machine zao za propaganda wanajitahidi."

Ipo siku kibao kitageuka...hata kama ni miaka mia mbili ijayo!! Sorry Avital, lakini habari ndo' hiyo...LOL

Hili jigogoro nalo linachangiwa na wanasiasa wa pande zote, I wish ningekuwa na uwezo wa kwenda kuwachukua wote na kuwapatanisha ebo! lakini upande mwingine ningekuwa na uwezo huo sasa hivi ningekuwa naandika hotuba ya kushukuru kwa Nobel Peace Prize badala ya kulalama JF.

hii homicide haibadilisha chochote cha maana ktk Hamas..kwani story line ilikuwa kama hii baada ya kuuawa kwa Sheikh Yassin na Rantisi!! Mie kwa mawazo yangu ni kuwa, haya ni maandalizi ya Ground OP, wamerahisisha eqn kwa kumwondoa Rayyan...mungu aepushe, lakini kuna weza kukawa na briefly ground activities before monday..

Si unajua kuua kamanda wa adui yako ni kama basic ya Military Doctrine 101.

According to the dataz Ground Op ilikuwa ianze juzi ila ndio hivyo hali ya hewa haikuruhusu, alafu hawa IDF wanadai walimpigia simu jamaa aondoe familia kwenye ilo jengo kabla hawajadondosha bomu.

 

[Icadon]

Nasikia marhumu Rayyan, alikuwa anapiga kampeni watu wa Gaza wasikimbie nyumba zao....naona yeye katoa mfano kwa ku-defy warning ya kukimbia and paid the ultimate price!! Huyu ni leader kweli kweli, sio kama Saddam anayeenda kujificha kwenye shimo la nyoka!! Wafu woooooooote wa pande zote mbili mungu awarehemu....

Hivi msee ua unasikiliza au kusoma reports za Martin Fletcher??

Jamaa aliye[kuwa] stationed Tel Aviv? Hapana sisomi reports zake.

Unaona nilisema huu mgogoro unachangiwa na wanasiasa wa pande zote mbili ebu angali hii picha chini hapa.

A photograph supplied by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on 31 December 2008 shows an Israeli medic taking a badly injured Palestinian boy from a Palestinian medic at the Israeli side of the Erez Crossing where the cement walls (behind) separate Israel from the northern Gaza Strip, as Israel allows some Palestinians, wounded in recent Israeli air strikes during operation 'Cast Lead,' to be transfered to Israeli hospitals for urgent medical treatment

 

[Njowepo]

JERUSALEM, Dec. 31 -- Israeli leaders rejected a proposal for a two-day cease-fire on Wednesday and vowed to continue attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, including possibly sending in ground forces.
Israeli warplanes and ships pounded Hamas outposts and the network of tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border used by the group to smuggle weapons, the Israeli military said. The strikes rattled buildings in Gaza City. At least 390 Palestinians have been killed, including dozens of civilians, and 1,600 have been wounded since the Israeli airstrikes began Saturday.
A barrage of more than 20 rockets and mortar shells fired from Hamas-ruled Gaza hit southern Israel. Five rockets struck in and around the city of Beersheba, about 25 miles from Gaza, late Tuesday and Wednesday -- the farthest strikes by Hamas yet. No serious casualties were reported Wednesday from the rockets.
At a cabinet meeting, Israeli leaders decided they were not ready to halt the attacks. Israel will consider a cease-fire only when there is "a real, sustainable calm," said government spokesman Mark Regev.
"A cease-fire will give them time to rest, regroup and rearm," Regev said. "A temporary solution might sound nice, but it's a mirage. It will only blow up in our faces in a couple weeks or a month."
"We think inflicting serious blows on the Hamas military machine is a crucial ingredient in achieving that situation," Regev added. "It is possible we have to pursue military operations for a longer period before conditions are right for a sustainable calm."
In recent days, Israel has dispatched more troops and tanks to the border. It has also announced plans to call up more than 9,000 reservists to active duty. Israel, which is hoping to extract a ceasefire on its own terms, could be massing its ground forces as a pressure tactic.
A ground incursion is "an option," Regev said. "It has not yet been decided upon. But it is clearly an option we have." He stressed, however, that Israel, which pulled its forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005, has no intention of reoccupying the area.
Diaa Rashwan, an analyst on Islamist movements at al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said that if the Israelis go back into the densely populated strip, they will play into Hamas's hands. Hamas "will gain the sympathy of the Arab world as well as bolster their image and strength," Rashwan said. "It will be a great day for Hamas. They will have the best of both worlds -- to be a victim and a resister at the same time."
On Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh declared in a televised speech that the Islamist movement would emerge victorious.
"We tell the Palestinian people in Gaza and everywhere that you will win, inevitably. Victory is near, God willing, and it is closer than people think," Haniyeh said. Hours earlier, an Israeli airstrike destroyed his office. Israel said the office was used for planning attacks against the Jewish state.
Human rights groups warned that ground combat could lead to more civilian deaths. "Israeli forces must bear in mind that there are no 'safe' places in Gaza for civilians to seek shelter," Amnesty International said in a statement Wednesday. "The Israeli army must always choose means and methods of attack that are least likely to harm civilians."
Source: Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, January 1, 2009;

 

[Mbalamwezi]

"The IDF reiterated that it would continue to target infrastructure used by Hamas and
other Gaza terror organizations, and would not hesitate to strike those involved both directly and indirectly in attacks against Israelis.

More than 400 Gazans have been killed and some 1,700 have been wounded since Operation Cast Lead began on Saturday, Gaza health officials said. The number of terrorists and civilians killed is unclear, but Hamas said around half of the dead are members of its security forces and the UN said more than 60 are civilians."

 

[Mbalamwezi]

The IAF films almost all of its bombings, not just to be able to release the videos to the media but more importantly to study the pictures.

"Each operation is extremely complicated since it requires not just a well-trained pilot but also precise intelligence on the target's exact location," a defense official explained Thursday.

One example was in the bombing of weapons-smuggling tunnels in Rafah, along the Egyptian border. In the video, one can see the bomb dropped by a fighter jet hit a structure which is built over the tunnel's entrance. Suddenly, several hundred meters away, there is another explosion at another entrance to the same tunnel and caused by explosives that were packed inside.

With over 400 Palestinians killed since the beginning of the operation, the UN has claimed that a quarter are innocent civilians. While the IDF says it regrets the loss of innocent life, tactically the ratio is relatively low, considering the urban warfare setting Hamas operates from within and the fact that the terror group uses civilian infrastructure, as well as civilians as human shields.

Despite this, the IAF does the maximum to minimize collateral damage and in many cases calls homes before bombing them to allow the inhabitants several minutes to evacuate before the bombing.

In some cases though the residents decided to climb to the roof of their homes hoping that the IAF would not bomb if it saw people from the air.

In response, the IAF fired nearby the building, showing its determination. The people are then seen fleeing the building which is then bombed, setting off secondary explosions caused by the large weapons cache stored inside.

The importance in targeted killings cannot be underestimated. In 2004, for example, within the span of a month, Israel killed Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his successor Abdel Aziz Rantisi, After the spate of assassinations, Hamas asked Israel for a hudna, cease-fire.

 

[BAK]

Pamoja na kwamba hili swala ni gumu Lkn Israel kila mara anapata kiburi kutokana na kuwa baby seated na mataifa yenye Nguvu kwa maslahi yao na anafanya kila mara anavyotaka Hakuna justification yeyote ya kuua raia.Swala kama hili lilitokea Ingushetie wakti georgia alivyoanzisha zali na Rusisa kujibu Dunia yote ilisema Russia ametumia nguvu kupita kiasi ,sasa hili linalofanyika nguvu zilizotumika zinalingana na hayo yanayosemwa kuhusu HAMAS kuayafanya.Hata Palestina wafanye nini mara nyingi Israel ataonyesha msuli wake na kutoa sababu yeyote.NEWS zote kila unayoangalia wanasema HAMAS Wametupa roketi kabla ya hapo lakini hawaonyeshi maafa ya hizo roketi zilizotupwa na HAMAS ,Si watetei HAMAS Lakini Dunia mara nyingi haina justice ya kweli,kama kweli ingekuwepo hawa watu wangepatanishwa na kila mmoja angepata kile alichokuwa na haki nacho lakini kinachofanyika ni Politics kupitia maisha ya watu na kila mmoja wetu anaelewa hili kwa dhamira yake ya kweli.Sisi siku moja tungepewa fursa tu ya kuwekwa huko palestina na kufanyiwa wanayofanyiwa hawa wapalestina kwa dhahiri na siri sidhani kama kuna mtu ambaye angeweza kuhimili ,Ila Hulka ya wanaadamu tulio wengi ni wepesi kufikia maamuzi ya haraka ktk kutoa lawama .Je tumeweza hata kujiuliza ni mara ngapi mazungumzo yanavunjika na kila wapatanishi wanapofikia legitimate agreement kwenye swala fulani basi aliyejihusisha na utekelezaji endelevu wa kufikia makubaliano ambayo angalau yataleta unafuu kwa upande wa pande zote mbili ,kiongozi kwa upande wa Israel aidha ataondolewa madarakani au maisha yake yatakuwa hatarini na kwa upande wao anaonekana ni kiongozi dhaifu.Kila kitu cha palestina control ipo Israel hivi pana uhuru kweli hapo.Kwa kifupi wapelestina wamewekwa kifungoni,hata hao viongozi hatoki hata kwenda nje ya maeneo yake mpaka apewe ruhusa kutoka Israel na hii ni miaka nenda rudi.Mnyonge mnyongeni haki yake mpeni,Haki ya kujilinda anayo Israel tu na raia wake wapelestina hawana hata wakifanyiwa hivi Tanzania yakitokea haya tutayaweza.Mungu atuepushe na hili.

Hapa ndiyo namkumbuka Mwalimu. Mwalimu hakuwa ombaomba toka mataifa ya magharaibi na siku zote hakuogopa kusema ukweli wowote na kuonyesha msimammo wa Tanzania katika kutetea haki duniani.

Mwalimu angekemea mauaji haya ya innocent women and children kwa sauti ya nguvu kabisa. Lakini leo hii tuna njemba ambayo inamuita Kichaka ni rafiki yake, imetoa kauli eti 'imestushwa' na mauaji ya kinyama dhidi ya Wapalestina lakini bila kuonyesha inasimama wapi katika mauaji haya ya kinyama. Sijui ni awamu ipi ambayo tuliamua kuwa na uhusiana tena na Israel maana mpaka 1985 hatukuwa na uhusiano nao wowote walikuwa hawana ubalozo kwetu na sisi tulikuwa hatuna ubalozi kwao kutokana na sera zao za kiharamia za kukalia ardhi ya Waarabu waliyoiteka katika vita vya mwaka 1967 na pia kuwauwa Wapalestina wasio na hatia yoyote.

 

[Mbalamwezi]

Bubu, hata sasa hatuna uhusiano nao wa kibalozi...

 

[BAK]

Bubu, hata sasa hatuna uhusiano nao wa kibalozi...

Juzi juzi nilisoma moja ya magazeti yetu Balozi wa Israel Tanzania akisifia juhudi za serikali katika kupambana na mafisadi, labda kulikuwa na makosa na huyo balozi ni wa nchi nyingine.

 

[Mbalamwezi]

Juzi juzi nilisoma moja ya magazeti yetu Balozi wa Israel Tanzania akisifia juhudi za serikali katika kupambana na mafisadi, labda kulikuwa na makosa na huyo balozi ni wa nchi nyingine.

Upo uhusiano, lakini wa low tone. Balozi yule wa IL yuko stationed Nairobi, anashughulikia nchi za Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sychelles, Malawi na Zambia.

 

[Icadon]

DAMNED IF THEY DO
(BUT ISRAEL'S DEAD IF THEY DON'T)
DEAD Jews aren't news, but killing terrorists outrages global activists. On Saturday, Israel struck back powerfully against its tormentors. Now Israel's the villain. Again.
How long will it be until the UN General Assembly passes a resolution creating an international Holocaust Appreciation Day?
Israel's airstrikes against confirmed Hamas terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip were overdue, discriminating and skillful. So far, this retaliatory campaign has been a superb example of how to employ postmodern airpower.
Instead of bombing empty buildings in the dead of night in the hope of convincing bloodthirsty monsters to become peace-loving floral arrangers - the US Air Force version of "Shock and Awe" - the Israeli Defense Force aimed to kill terrorists.
Israel's attack aircraft appear to have accomplished that part of the mission. As I write, some 300 terrorist dead have been reported in Gaza, while the propaganda-savvy information office of Hamas has strug- gled to prove that 20 civilians died.
Rest of the story.

 

[Natty Bongoman]

Israel tayari wana nuclear bombs siku nyingi, nadhani walipata technologia hiyo 60 au 70.

Nlisikia... walifanya biashara na makaburu kule SA, wakishirikiana kujenga mabomu yao, ama?

 

[Natty Bongoman]

What I am finding annoying, Politricking,... and disrespect, is the 'western notion' that civilians casualties are collateral and would make civilians rise against their so-called bad groups. It has been a sinister excuse, because:
1. the west decides who is 'bad groups' regardless if it happens to be people's choice.

2. most irking, is that the 'west' knows and claims that there ain't democracy in who they are fighting, and yet... kill civilians with an excuse that those powerless civilians would initiate favorably change as their casualties mounts. WHAT A FVCKEN WICKED EXCUSE!

3. Term SELF-DEFENCE has simply been abused and granted with ease to some select nations as an acceptable excuse. For crying out loud! How can a massive attack on the town of whom you term a militant be self-defence? How does attacking and occupying Iraqi be self-defence?

 

[BAK]

2009-01-02 08:22:00

Why Bush administration is struggling on Gaza approach
Sue Pleming
Reuters
Washington​

With three weeks to go, the Bush administration is struggling over how to tackle Middle East violence, hobbled by the exit of key diplomats and cautious after a dismal diplomatic effort in Lebanon in 2006.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George W. Bush have worked the phones with Western and Arab allies since Israel attacked Gaza and Hamas fired rockets into the Jewish state with the collapse of a ceasefire.

But several experts and diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said divisions had emerged with the White House leaning toward letting Israel go on pounding Hamas targets in Gaza and the State Department more cautious.

"There seems to be a lot of internal debate inside the administration," one Arab diplomat said.

A Western diplomat, who also asked not to be identified as his comments were sensitive, said the State Department was mindful of how Arab opinion turned against the United States during the Lebanon war because of US support for Israel.

"The old splits seem to be open," the diplomat said of apparent divisions between the National Security Council at the White House and the State Department.

Complicating the picture is the departure two weeks ago of the State Department's key diplomat for the Middle East, David Welch, while others are also packing their bags. Bush, viewed by many as strongly pro-Israel, leaves office on Jan. 20.

During the 2006 war between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, Rice came under heavy criticism for demanding not an immediate ceasefire but rather that world leaders work urgently to reach a "sustainable" accord to stop the fighting.

That was interpreted as giving Israel a green light to keep on pounding Lebanon.

"There is much more caution this time. Our policy-makers are heavily conditioned by 2006, especially Secretary Rice," said one Middle East expert, who asked not to be identified.

Rice's comments in 2006 that the Lebanon crisis amounted to the "birth pangs of a new Middle East" were later seen as a big mistake and there has since been more care not to repeat such semantic errors.

A diplomat said there was also a lack of confidence in the Israelis and fears that they might launch a ground offensive, coupled with a realization that many Israeli actions have political overtones because of a Feb. 10 general election.

After the fighting broke out in Gaza, Rice issued a statement urging the ceasefire be "restored immediately."

Later State Department comments were more in line with the White House stance, which called for a "durable and sustainable ceasefire," implying stricter terms and conditions for reaching such a truce, which would take longer.

By not demanding an immediate ceasefire, the United States was repeating errors of the past, some analysts said.

"They have not learned that ceasefires are imperfect but that you have to try and build on them," said Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid denied there were any differences with the White House.

"We are completely in sync. Secretary Rice is in touch on a daily basis with the president," Duguid told Reuters.

Washington has joined a flurry of international diplomacy to get a ceasefire deal, with France leading European efforts and Arab ministers working on their own plan while Turkey is also emerging as a significant player.

The UN Security Council, which played a key role in getting a ceasefire deal in Lebanon in 2006, has taken the initiative also on Gaza and called a meeting on Wednesday.

The United States is circulating its own suggestions of what should be in a ceasefire arrangement, including an end to rocket attacks and mortar attacks on Israel and an "immediate" end to Israeli hostilities in Gaza.

Other US elements, which officials said were still "evolving," include implementing a peace initiative by the Arab League, reimplementation of a 2005 agreement on movement and access of goods into Gaza and a process to resolve the continued detention of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as well as Palestinians held by Israel.

Diplomats said foreign ministers from the quartet of Middle East peace brokers -the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations- also discussed a plan on Tuesday based on a French initiative, but this was rejected by Israel.

"As of now, none of the proposals seems to be sticking," said one diplomat, adding there was neither clarity on the language nor sequencing of a cease-fire deal and discussions were ongoing in various capitals on how to proceed.

Sue Pleming of Reuters filed this analysis from Washington.

 

[Icadon]

(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, the Number Four man on the National Union's Knesset list, thinks the leaders of Israel should follow King David's advice from the Eighteenth Psalm regarding Gaza: "I will chase my enemies and catch up to them and I shall not return until I annihilate them."

'Rocket launchers, terror operatives are danger to you and your families,' say thousands of posters dropped on Gaza by Air Force

The Air Force dropped thousands of posters on Gaza Friday in an attempt to rally the residents of the Strip against Hamas. The posters call on civilians to inform the IDF of the whereabouts of any Hamas operative by phone or email.

The IDF has previously used posters to warn Gazans against associating with Hamas, explaining that the terror group could only bring harm to civilians and advising them to reject any proposals to act on Hamas' behalf.


Now the army is asking civilians to act against Hamas by informing Israel of the operatives' whereabouts. "Residents of Gaza, Hamas' leadership will lead you to oblivion. Take responsibility for your fate," the posters say in Hebrew and Arabic.

"The rocket launchers and terror operatives are a danger to you and your families," the IDF writes.

Army officials would not comment on whether the posters had yielded results, but claimed that an in-depth analysis of the status quo in Gaza had led to their distribution.

"Even today, many understand that Hamas is doing direct damage to their daily lives," one official said. "We've seen it in conflicts before. There were cases in which Palestinian residents physically clashed with Qassam-launching cells that wanted to operate on their land."

 

[Icadon]

Ramani za hayo maeneo.Kwa haraka haraka naona Israel inacontrol mipaka yote na Jordan.

 

[Zungu Pule]

Mwalimu hakuwa ombaomba toka mataifa ya magharaibi na siku zote hakuogopa kusema ukweli wowote na kuonyesha msimammo wa Tanzania katika kutetea haki duniani.

Nakubaliana na wewe. Lakini, the last time I checked, Israel sio ombaomba tena. Their economy is strong and no more handouts from US. So, they are no longer "babyseated" as you claimed. Sisi Tanzania ndio bado ombaomba pamoja na amani yetu! To the best of my knowledge, neither US nor EU can stop Israel from doing what they think they should do for their own security.

 

[Icadon]

Nakubaliana na wewe. Lakini, the last time I checked, Israel sio ombaomba tena. Their economy is strong and no more handouts from US. So, they are no longer "babyseated" as you claimed. Sisi Tanzania ndio bado ombaomba pamoja na amani yetu! To the best of my knowledge, neither US nor EU can stop Israel from doing what they think they should do for their own security.

Mr go read as you like to tell others you need to check your facts

Since the 1970s, Israel has received economic aid from the United States, whose loans account for the bulk of Israel's external debt.

Also 1 1/2 years ago they signed a deal with US to give Israel $ 30 Billion in Military aid over the next ten years (in what officials called a long-term investment in peace.)

 

[Kjnne46]

A POEM FOR GAZA

30/12/2008 04:35:00 PM GMT




(Reuters) The bodies of five Palestinian siblings at a hospital morgue following an Israeli air strike.




By Remi Kanazi

I never knew death until I saw the bombing of a refugee camp
Craters filled with disfigured ankles and splattered torsos
But no sign of a face, the only impression a fading scream
I never understood pain
Until a seven-year-old girl clutched my hand
Stared up at me with soft brown eyes, waiting for answers
But I didn't have any
I had muted breath and dry pens in my back pocket
That couldn't fill pages of understanding or resolution

In her other hand she held the key to her grandmother's house
But I couldn't unlock the cell that caged her older brothers
They said, we slingshot dreams so the other side will feel our father's presence
A craftsman
Built homes in areas where no one was building
And when he fell, he was silent
A .50 caliber bullet tore through his neck shredding his vocal cords
Too close to the wall
His hammer must have been a weapon
He must have been a weapon
Encroaching on settlement hills and demographics


So his daughter studies mathematics
Seven explosions times eight bodies
Equals four Congressional resolutions
Seven Apache helicopters times eight Palestinian villages
Equals silence and a second Nakba
Our birthrate minus their birthrate
Equals one sea and 400 villages re-erected
One state plus two peoples…and she can't stop crying
Never knew revolution or the proper equation
Tears at the paper with her fingertips
Searching for answers
But only has teachers
Looks up to the sky and see stars of David demolishing squalor with hellfire missiles

She thinks back words and memories of his last hug before he turned and fell
Now she pumps dirty water from wells, while settlements divide and conquer
And her father's killer sits beachfront with European vernacular
She thinks back words, while they think backwards
Of obscene notions and indigenous confusion

This our land!, she said
She's seven years old
This our land!, she said
And she doesn't need a history book or a schoolroom teacher
She has these walls, this sky, her refugee camp
She doesn't know the proper equation
But she sees my dry pens
No longer waiting for my answers
Just holding her grandmother's key…searching for ink

Source: AJP http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/39/A_poem_for_Gaza.html

 

[Mbalamwezi]

Mr go read as you like to tell others you need to check your facts
Also 1 1/2 years ago they signed a deal with US to give Israel $ 30 Billion in Military aid over the next ten years (in what officials called a long-term investment in peace.)

MKuu Icadon, does this signify Israel is being babysitted? This is a military aid for long term investment in peace. Without this, will Israel crumble down to porverty like most of third world countries?

Even the US--and other economic powerhouses access credits from WB, IFM and the likes. Does this mean their economies are weak?

Ni kweli Israel uchumi wao ni imara sana, nitakupa data baadaye. What i saw there two months ago kilinishangaza sana. Nadhani ni kwa sake of peace tu ndiyo maana wanakuwa treated na misaada ya kinamna ile.