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The mandate that gives Israel the right to exist DOESN’T include the West Bank or Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. These areas were never given to Israel and are not recognized as being part of the state of Israel. Israel is required to return all the land that doesn’t belong to them (with the issue of Jerusalem being a matter for negotiation). It’s as simple as that.
All this crap about Israel making the desert bloom, they took control of Palestinian water aquifers, they steal palestinian land plus they get billions of dollars each year from the USA. Not to mention the fact that there were Palestinian farmers living there before the Jewish settlers arrived in the 1940s. Maybe you think the Arab farmers were growing sand.
If Israel gave back the occupied territories it would still possess around 78% of what was Palestine. President Abbas is only asking for 22% of his homeland back, no more than he is entitled to. Even Hamas has said it would be willing to recognize Israel and call a truce if the occupation ends. Furthermore, the militant groups linked to the PLO would end their armed struggle once the occupation ends.
Tommy, if you don’t consider war crimes to be oppression then I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Either you’re baiting again or you’ve lost the plot.
BTW, David Ben Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shmir and many others were all wanted men during the days of the British mandate. They were all branded as TERRORISTS by the authorities.
I didn’t say anything about getting rid of Jews. There are Jews in Britain and in Israel who oppose the brutality of the Occupation. There are even Israeli soldiers who have gone to prison because they refused to take part in the oppression of the palestinian people. The peace movement in Israel wants to remove all settlements and create 2 states living side by side. Even militant groups linked to Fatah have accepted this idea. An end to the occupation would allow a peace deal between Israel and the Arab League. The Saudis proposed a peace plan which was accepted by the entire Arab League and the only thing stopping its implementation is Israel’s refusal to end the occupation or even to negotiate.
The Israeli government has been very successful in misleading people about what’s really going on over there. So people assume that the saintly and peace-loving Israeli government is under siege from savage Arab barbarians, when in fact it’s the Israelis who are stealing more and more of the Arabs’ land.
It’s a lot easier for innocent people to go to prison for crimes they didn’t commit than people imagine. I know of cases where people have gone to prison on the flimsiest of evidence. If you’re on legal aid and you can’t provide a checkable alibi then you’re screwed. If you’re on legal aid, can’t provide an alibi and face charges of a sexual nature then you might as well forget about the trial and go straight to prison. The system really is that bad. The jury should always give the defendant the benefit of the doubt but it doesn’t always happen. The public have adopted the mindset of guilty until proven innocent.
How does having smaller families help a farmer in Mozambique sell his crop on the international market? How does having less mouths to feed create universal access to healthcare and education? How does contraception stop a European or American company from taking the lion’s share of profits from an African diamond or gold mine?
In places where there have been droughts or famines, the problem is not large families the problem is that the governments don’t have the infrastructure or resources to deal with food shortages. You can’t solve that problem with condoms and aid deliveries are only a short-term solution too. The long-term solution is to create an environment in which countries will be able to prosper and then they will be able to solve all their internal problems. Africa is rich in natural resources and given time and the right economic and political conditions, Africa will inevitably become a wealthy continent.
So every palestinian is a terrorist? That must mean that every Tory is a sex-maniac, a crook or a liar e.g. Shirley Porter, Jeffrey Archer, Jonathan Aitken, cecil parkinson, harvey procter, neil hamilton, etc. Yes, the conservative party must be full of degenerates and criminals and let’s not forget John selwyn gummer trying to posion the public by misleading us about BSE. Let’s not deal with these Tories on an individual basis. They’re obviously a bunch of scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells and the sooner we string ’em up the better it will be for Britain.
Drivel, yeah the USA had nothing to do with Africa except for slavery, overthrowing elected governments, propping up dictators like colonel mobutu, etc. I guess the USA also has nothing to do with the IMF or world bank or WTO. And I guess it must have been a different George Bush who opposed a treaty restricting the sale of small arms.
As I said before, colonialism and the cold war in Africa only ended within the last couple of decades and the Angolan civil war only ended a few years ago. Also the Mobutu regime in congo only ended not that long ago. Apartheid ended about a decade ago. So African countries have had so many obstacles to overcome and it will take time for them to prosper again. Rome wasn’t built in a day and Africa had great centres of civilization such as Egypt, Carthage, Mauritania and Kush. African nations prospered in the past and given time and the right circumstances they will prosper again.
As for aids, it goes back to the issue of poverty. You can’t provide the necessary levels of education and healthcare because the money’s not there. As for the idiotic idea that nature is solving a problem through aids it follows then that Europeans and Americans will be wiped out by nature because they are responsible for the most killing and environmental destruction e.g. Hiroshima, the gulags, the concentration camps, the slave-trade, the conquistadores, exxon valdez, union carbide, and other environmental damage.
You can’t use Nigeria as the example for all of Africa, that’s like using corruption in Italy to explain corruption in europe. Anyway, whenever the 3rd world produces a figure like Castro or Chavez or Allende or Mossadeq or Arbenz or Nkrumah or Lumumba who wants to implement a socialist agenda for the well-being of their people the rich countries try to overthrow them. Rampant free market economics is not the best policy for countries ridden with poverty. It also encourages a climate of greed. Anyway, aid can be passed through NGOs to avoid corrupt officials.
Family size has nothing to do with the issue, it’s normal in Africa and Asia to have large families. It’s not as if there’s a famine across the entire continent of Africa and it’s not as if every single African lives in abject poverty. More kids provide a strong family unit and more breadwinners. In Africa and Asia there is far more emphasis placed on the idea of family. The family unit is much stronger in Africa and Asia than it is in Europe and America and while you’re seeing a disintegration of the family unit and the concept of marriage in wealthy nations, these ideas are still strong in Africa and Asia.
I wonder how long it will take before Ugo’s post gets deleted?
(Sorry it took so long people – I was snoozing after a heavy BBQ lunch – Ed)
If you get accused of a crime like this and you’re completely innocent, there’s a good chance you will go to prison anyway if the case goes to trial. A jury will not give you the benefit of the doubt because the public has the mindset that there’s no smoke without fire. So it will always be a case of guilty until proven innocent with these accusations. Blame the tabloids for making the public like this. Remember when Matthew Kelly was accused of that sort of thing? The scummy News of The World tried to drag his name and reputation through the mud, doing everything to make people think that he was guilty, even though he was completely innocent.
Well the Palestinians are being oppressed by the Israeli government and military. So you can’t blame me for speaking the truth. Of course though, conservatives were never too keen on freedom. Thatcher opposed the ANC, she supported saddam, and she is a good friend of General Pinochet like the rest of the Tory party. The tories are a backward party with a fondness for the days of empire, so naturally they’re not bothered about a bunch of arabs being persecuted. They probably admire the colonial rule of the Israelis over the Palestinians.
Ok, even though I intended not to reply to Emma’s bullsh1t, I feel I have to set the record straight on this particular issue (not for emma’s benefit but for everyone else’s). Africa is dealing with the legacy of colonialism, the cold war, the imposition of failed economic neo-liberalist policies by the IMF/world bank and the unfair trade arrangements of the WTO.
There might be corruption in Africa but there’s corruption in Europe, America and Asia too. Corruption is part of the problem but not the only problem. The biggest problem in my view is the continuous exploitation of African countries by rich countries that has gone on for centuries.
When African countries achieved independence they were never truly free. If you take the examples of Nkrumah in Ghana and Lumumba in Congo, they were both elected socialist leaders who had big plans on eradicating poverty and improving their countries. However, both leaders were toppled by the CIA because the USA saw left-wing governments as a threat. Angola and Mozambique were also targets for the CIA. The rebels in the Angolan civil war (which was one of the world’s longest civil wars) were financed by the USA.
Even if you overlook the impact of colonialism and the cold war, you can’t dismiss the actions of machiavellian businesses from outside Africa. Take for example the actions of Shell oil who conspired with the Nigerian government in relation to the persecution of the Ogoni people who live in an oil rich area. Foreign companies are also getting involved in conflicts where natural resources such as diamond and gold mines are involved.
Basically, everyone wants to point the finger at 3rd world countries but nobody wants to accept any responsibility for their considerable role in these countries misfortunes. It’s so hypocritical. Personally, I think 3rd world countries need to unite to demand cancellation of their debt and to form cartels for certain produce. If they wait for the 1st world to give them a fair deal they’ll be waiting for ever because rich countries can make a profit from war and from poverty and dependency. So it’s time for poor countries to be more radical and do whatever it takes to make their countries prosper.
