Tag Archives: The Guardian

Dec 5 2010

Despite the catastrophic fire in Israel, the Guardian’s demonization of the Jewish state proceeds as usual

A Guest Post by AKUS and Israelinurse

The fire raging on the Carmel has caught the world’s attention, and has made headlines in print and on TV.

The Guardian’s vicious anti-Israeli bias has rarely been better demonstrated than in the report by Haroon Siddique, filing from London (Forest fire kills 40 in Israel).

As Backseatblogger pointed out:

The Guardian has only published one story written by Haroon Siddique. That story appeared on December 2nd.  There has been nothing since. The fires are still spreading and are now approaching the University of Haifa.

Originally his story stated that 40 prison guards were killed fleeing the fire. (i.e. insinuating that the guards had left their prisoners to die).

Now that story has been ‘corrected’ to read as follows:

A forest fire in northern Israel killed about 40 people today. Authorities cleared the Carmel Forest area of hundreds of people, including some 500 Palestinian inmates from the Damon prison, after the fire broke out early today. The bus was carrying some 50 prison guards when it flipped over and got caught in the flames.

But this is still not the whole story, despite a rare admission of a correction from the Guardian, which, however, managed to omit the reason the correction was required:

This article was amended on 3 December 2010. The original, reflecting information then available, referred to the bus evacuating prison guards from blaze in Carmel mountains (sic). This has been corrected

(Note to the Guardian – the world, generally speaking, refers to the area as Mount Carmel, as it has been known for approximately 2,500 years, despite anything the Palestinian Authority might have to say on the matter).

In fact, it appears that the article was “corrected” once again, with the addition of a link to Ha’aretz and a change of subheader:

Authorities cleared the Carmel Forest area of hundreds of people, including some 500 Palestinian inmates from the Damon prison, after the fire broke out early today. The bus was carrying some 50 prison guards when it flipped over and got caught in the flames, according to Haaretz.

According to JustJournalism, the  original subheader (“standfirst” in journalese) of Siddique’s article  read:

the bus was ‘evacuating prison guards from blaze’

And that was corrected too, to read:

Many of the dead were killed when bus taking prison guards to rescue Palestinian inmates from blaze in Carmel mountains went up in flames, say rescuers

Continue reading →

Dec 3 2010

How Harriet Sherwood reported on the Fire in Israel

A Guest Post by AKUS

The worst fire in Israel’s history has been burning out of control on the Carmel Mountain near Haifa since Thursday morning. So how has the Guardian’s reporter in Israel, Harriet “ChickenLady ” Sherwood, choose to cover it? The same way she covers Palestinian terrorism – I see nothing, I hear nothing, I say nothing.

The Guardian had to rely on Haroon Siddique reporting from London. (Still the Guardian’s only report on the catastrophic fire which has raged for 0ver 36 hours.)

No doubt the ChickenLady was too busy writing about the sufferings of the Palestinians – who are still suffering from a shortage of construction materials to build yet more upscale restaurants, hotels, and single-sex water parks.

This woman is a disgrace and if the Guardian had any beitzim they would yank her out of Israel.

Dec 2 2010

Slow news day in Israel for Sherwood? No worries. Just regurgitate lies, damn lies, and statistics about the “cruel” Gaza blockade

A guest post by blogger Daphne Anson

Reading the Guardian on Israel is always a queasy experience.  Were it not for the fact that Harriet Sherwood’s Guardian report of 30 November headed “Israel accused over ‘cruel’ Gaza blockade” reflects the customary tone and thrust of her Jerusalem-based reports concerning Israel, I might have assumed that her willingness to swallow the detrimental assertions of a lynch mob of NGOs hook, line and sinker is just a case of Sherwood being green.  Alas, I know better: the Guardian has an agenda, and one that’s in perfect harmony with that of the NGOs who are in the forefront of efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state. In reporting the latters’ report uncritically, with no genuine look at the countervailing facts, Ms Sherwood acts less as correspondent than as cheerleader.

“Gaza‘s 1.5 million people are still suffering from a shortage of construction materials, a ban on exports and severe restrictions on movement six months after Israel agreed to ease its blockade on the territory, according to a report from 21 international organisations”, her opening sentence tells us. “The loosening of the embargo has done little to improve the plight of Gaza’s civilians, according to the coalition, which includes Amnesty, Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid and Medical Aid for Palestinians.”  The usual suspects, then, well-known for their antipathy to Israel’s cause – though if we don’t already know that for ourselves we’d be none the wiser, for Ms Sherwood has not volunteered that salient fact. We have to have read the thoroughly researched reports and empirical analyses at the website of NGO Monitor to know who pushes their buttons and why they do and say the things they do.

Like the Guardian itself, the organisations named all peddle the familiar narrative of Palestinian victimhood and Israeli evil that the Guardian under Alan Rusbridger’s editorship has done so much to bolster.  The report which they and the sixteen other NGOs involved (many of which are in the forefront of efforts to promote BDS and delegitimize Israel) have just issued, entitled Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza Blockade, tells us, according to Ms Sherwood’s précis:

“Israel agreed to ease its restrictions on goods and materials allowed into Gaza following its attack on a flotilla of aid boats in May, in which nine Turkish activists were killed. Since then the import of food and many other consumer items has resumed, although there is still a ban on exports and severe restrictions on construction materials. Israel argues that the latter could be used by militants for military purposes.”

This is a deplorably shallow and one-sided description.  We don’t necessarily expect investigative journalism, but surely we deserve honest reporting.  Ms Sherwood has omitted to remind readers (and if any readers need reminding, they are the Guardian’s!) that the “attack” was not on “a flotilla” – it was, by the law and custom of the sea, a legitimate raid on a particular vessel that had refused to cooperate with the Israeli authorities.  The flotilla sailed under the auspices of the IHH, a fundamentalist Islamic group with direct links to terrorism.  Antisemitic chants had preceded the flotilla’s sailing.  “Go back to Auschwitz!” was an audible taunt from the vessel when contacted by Israeli coastal radio operators and asked to put into Ashdod so that its cargo, avowedly of humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza, could be searched and assessed prior to being sent to its destination overland.  Israeli commandos had been brutally beaten with iron bars as they attempted to go aboard, and responded accordingly.

It’s true that there is still a ban on exports – although as Ms Sherwood tells us at the end of her report – strawberries and carnations for European markets are allowed out.  (To be precise, starting from last Sunday, 2.5 tons of strawberries and 2,000 blooms are being exported to Europe via the Kerem Shalom crossing.)  She tells us, again précising the NGOs’ report, that: “imports of construction materials are 11% of the 2007 pre-blockade levels” and that “Despite having agreed to allow in materials for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to rebuild its schools and clinics damaged or destroyed in the three-week war in 2008-09, Israel has permitted only 7% of the necessary amount.”

While big-noting the report is part and parcel of what we have come to expect from the Guardian, ever-zealous to highlight something, however tenuous, that might damage the image and interests of the Jewish State, in many respects the NGOs – like the Guardian in its enthusiastic airing of their indictment against Israel – have been overtaken and outsmarted by events.  Its assertions are nicely diluted by Israeli governmental statistics, more specifically by those of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).  Thus, since the beginning of this year, 78 projects, largely concerned with education, health and infrastructure, have been approved for funding – 64 of them since Israel’s easing of the blockade.  This past Sunday, 286 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid and commercial products crossed from Israel into Gaza, along 21 imported vehicles.  In October, 2569 Palestinians left Gaza through the Erez crossing.

Continue reading →

Dec 2 2010

Water cooler conversation at the offices of the Guardian between Harriet Sherwood and a new intern*

CiF Watch’s team of crack reporters recently went undercover at the offices of the Guardian.  After getting lost in a large dank room which houses all of their Soviet memorabilia (I guess I should probably return the shoe I stole, you know, the one Khrushchev used at the UN during his infamous “We will bury you!” speech), we were able to secretly record a short, yet revealing, conversation between Harriet Sherwood, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, and a new intern.

*satire

Dec 1 2010

Guardianistas Make a Quantum Leap

A guest post by AKUS

Quantum leap – a change in an electron’s state that appears to be discontinuous; the electron “jumps” from one energy level to another very quickly, after existing briefly in a state of superposition

Superposition – the property of a particle to occupy all of its possible quantum states simultaneously.

Cognitive dissonance – the ability of a Guardian reader to believe two completely conflicting things simultaneously. In fact, the Guardian reader is often capable of believing all possible conflicting things simultaneously even when there is no evidence for any of them. This is the preferred quantum state of the average Israel basher on the Guardian threads.

With the Guardian’s hope of creating a major international uproar out of the Wikileaks cables deflating like a child’s party balloon as the almost totally innocuous contents of the leaked material becomes increasingly apparent, the editors have had to turn to juicier fare.

As luck would have it, two Iranian nuclear scientists have been mysteriously assassinated. The Guardian saw fit to run two stories about this (so far). One was not for comment – Attack on Iranian nuclear scientists prompts hit squad claims, and lines up the usual suspects (Mossad and CIA) with a couple of possible Iranian players – one called Jundallah and the other “The People’s Mujahedin (MeK or PMOI)”.

The second, with a suitably sci-fi picture of a masked worker next to an ominous set of vats like the ones in the dairy on my former kibbutz comes to us courtesy of JulianBorger’sGlobalSecurityBlog (note the impressively missing spaces between the words). It carries the provocative header Who is killing Iran’s Nuclear Scientists? and “[raises] the question of whether there is a nuclear hit-team at work”.

Borger points out that they were both “senior figures in Iranian nuclear science.” He rather fatuously claims there are similarities between the attacks that killed these two and an attack that killed another Iranian nuclear scientist in January. The first similarity is motorcycles. In the latest case, the killers apparently rode bikes up to the scientists’ cars, stuck bombs on the sides and detonated them while fleeing. In the earlier case, a motorcycle exploded. The second similarity is that all three were nuclear scientists ….

In a stunning display of fair and balanced reporting, Borger claims, rather contradicting the first article, that “the two attacks today, … would in any case represent something of a leap in sophistication for Jundullah operations. There are also reasons to be sceptical of the role of the People’s Mujahedin (MeK or PMOI)”. On the other hand, not shy to advance his own conspiracy theory, Borger postulates that “The last possibility is that these scientists have been killed by the state either for giving away secrets, or on suspicion of contemplating defection.”.

Despite having two perfectly good Iranian possibilities, and a half way decent conspiracy theory implicating Ahmadinajad,  it is but a short quantum leap for the eager readers to assume that Israel (and, in some cases, the CIA) was involved. Proof, of course, is unnecessary when leaping from one quantum state to another. As usual, the danger of the Iranian nuclear weapons program is immediately dismissed, which led to this scathing comment:


Continue reading →

Nov 30 2010

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

A Guest Post by AKUS

A new article by Harriet “ChickenLady” Sherwood, the Guardian’s woman in Jerusalem, who almost never has a good word to say about Israel, revealed a shocking new initiative by Israel: Israel recruits citizen advocates in Europe.

Yes – Israel has decided to ask eight or so of its European embassies to each identify 1,000 of the 300 million EU citizens who could help offset the drip-drip of anti-Israeli venom that daily oozes out of Europe’s mass media, blogs, and organizations – from media like, in fact, the Guardian. According to Sherwood, “These individuals – likely to be drawn from Jewish or Christian activists, academics, journalists and students – will be briefed regularly by Israeli officials and encouraged to speak up for Israel at public meetings or write letters or articles for the press.” Five of the embassies have been authorized to hire PR firms to help.

In fact, I am shocked – in a good way. This represents a remarkable change of direction for Israel. Until now, the Foreign Office and the laughable Information Ministry have never even indicated that they are aware of the problem and that something needs to be done about it. So – bravo, Israel – a shekel late and a shekel short, but if not now, when? And if not us, who? as Rabbi Hillel would have said if he were running the Foreign Ministry.

Of course, since we are talking about Israel, Sherwood has to make it clear in tone and words that the Guardian views this as yet another underhand effort by Israel to refute the attacks on its legitimacy.

Rather than comparing Israel’s PR efforts with those of every developed country on the planet (for example, the UK in the USA here and here and here) she chose to compare them with Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar, citing a Guardian article that took aim at the efforts by the first two to overcome their image problems. Rwanda and Sri Lanka, of course, are well-known for actual acts genocide and mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians – so Sherwood is implicitly stating that Israel is in the same category.

Sherwood provides a strong hint that in her opinion Israel is doing something underhand by using PR firms to assist with its initiative. She provides a link to a critical Guardian article about various countries’ PR efforts, noting in a non-sequitor that “Bell Pottinger, headed by Lord Bell, a former adviser to Lady Thatcher represents Sri Lanka and Madagascar.” She provides no proof that Israel is using this firm, just the insinuation that there is something underhand about the firm and a country that would hire it. What could be more despicable, after all, than to use a PR firm whose head once advised Lady Thatcher and now advises Sri Lanka?

Continue reading →

Nov 23 2010

At the Guardian, pictures are really worth a thousand (misleading) words

In “The Guardian has a problem with Photographs“, (CiF Watch, Aug. 8), Akus cited several examples of Guardian photos being used which either were misleading, inflammatory, and/or downright dishonest (one photo of Gaza used in a 2010 article by Laila El-Haddad, to reinforce the essay’s suggestion that Gaza was “worse than a prison camp“, below, was actually a shot taken back in 2005, before Israel’s withdrawal.  Subsequent criticism resulted in the Guardian removing the photo.)

Here is Harriet Sherwood’s recent dispatch about Israeli legislation which requires a national referendum before any decision to withdraw from Golan.

Of all the photographs to use, Guardian editors chose one from Ghajar at an angle showing the IDF soldier’s weapon pointed at a Palestinian child.

Can anyone seriously claim that the angle of the weapon in relation to the child is merely a coincidence?  Can someone truly argue, with a straight face, that the juxtaposition may not have been noticed by Guardian editors when making the decision to use this photograph?

For anyone even faintly familiar with the Guardian’s relentless demonization of Israel, the answer should be obvious.

Nov 21 2010

Earth to Harriet Sherwood (Updated)

On Nov. 19 I wrote about Harriet Sherwood’s recent report from the village of Ghajar, mentioning the succinct analysis of her article by ‘Just Journalism’.

Well, it seems that the folks at ‘Just Journalism’ are not the types to let the grass grow under their feet and so they contacted Sherwood in order to get some kind of clarification. So far, no answers from Sherwood or anyone else at the Guardian appear to be forthcoming. You can read all about it here .

Now, all this has had me thinking. As readers know, I was in Ghajar ten days ago when the IDF permitted a limited number of journalists and bloggers to enter the village for a limited amount of time. These events are quite rare; I know of journalists who have tried several times to gain access to Ghajar unsuccessfully. Seeing as the village is situated in a difficult region and the security risks are high, it is not a place into which one can wander at will.

I didn’t see Harriet Sherwood among the couple of dozen or so journalists in Ghajar that day. That, of course, doesn’t mean that she wasn’t there; to be honest, after the initial 15 minute or so meeting with the village spokesman, I preferred to use the remaining allotted time to go off on my own and speak to as many people as possible rather than stay with the herd. But would Sherwood really have waited an entire week to file her report if she had been there that day? And would she have completely disregarded the words of the village council’s spokesman who was not mentioned at all in her article?

Alternatively, was the IDF spokesperson’s unit so generous as to arrange yet another visit for journalists to Ghajar just a week after the previous one, with all the associated hassle of advance security checks, co-ordination with UNIFIL and added security measures involving extra personnel?  If so; good on them.

Or does, in fact, “Harriet Sherwood in Ghajar” as written at the head of the article actually mean “Harriet Sherwood at the checkpoint just outside Ghajar, talking to villagers going in and out”? And does that go some way to explaining why her article is illustrated by a picture taken outside the village and why she jumped so rapidly on the ‘Berlin Wall’ theme, having not seen for herself that in fact there exists no such barrier inside the actual village?

Unless Sherwood starts answering her e-mails, I guess we’ll never know.

UPDATE on November 23: While CiF Watch was primarily concerned with the content of Harriet Sherwood’s reporting (her absurd Berlin Wall analogy), rather than the narrower question of whether she was actually reporting from inside Ghajar, we have confirmed, through a reliable source, her presence in city.

Nov 12 2010

Fauxtographic Farces at the Guardian

A Guest Post by AKUS

In the space of a couple of days the Guardian has managed to tag articles with archival photographs that seem to prove that the editorial crew there has completely lost its bearings when it comes to Israel.

The first was the use of a picture of chicken coops in Beijing to illustrate an absurd article on November 9th by Harriet “ChickenLady” Sherwood about the misery inflicted on chickens in Israel. Never mind that the entire population of Israel, as a well-worn joke goes, would barely fill a hotel in China, and the number of persecuted chickens in China, or, for that matter far closer to the Guardian’s headquarters in London would vastly outnumber those in Israel. This farcical article was front and center on “World News/Israel” for the Guardian. As has been well reported here the fauxtograph, purportedly showing a vicious Israeli persecuting chickens was actually of a Chinese worker, with the caption:

A worker feeds chickens at a poultry farm in Beijing. Activists in Israel have set up a hidden webcam televising the plight of caged chickens at one Israeli farm Photograph: China Photos/Getty Images

Note the typically shaded language: In China, a worker “feeds chickens”. How humanitarian! But in Israel, caged chickens face a “plight”. No food for you, Israeli chickens!! (h/t – Seinfeld – “the Soup Nazi”).

November 11th brings a new example of the Guardian’s fauxtography – the use of a picture of the Mavi Marmara interception to illustrate an unrelated article in “World News/Gaza”. The caption reads:

Israeli commandos intercept the Mavi Marmara in May. Two of those on board are also on the boat surrounded by Libyan warships. Photograph: Kate Geraghty/Getty Images

It’s a complicated story which you can read in full here. But the Guardian’s header, which reads like a synopsis of the plot of a Marx Brothers movie – perhaps a version of “A Night in Casablanca” – reveals that this has nothing to do with the Mavi Marmara except that “survivors” from the Mavi Marmara are on board:

Gaza aid team trapped on Greek boat

Six British volunteers and Mavi Marmara survivors among those on Strofades IV shadowed by Libyan warships after captain ‘fled port’

Continue reading →

Nov 11 2010

CiF’s Harriet Sherwood too busy covering Israel’s violations of the inalienable rights of battery hens to report on Palestinian on Palestinian violence

H/T, Backspin

“We do not practice any torture here,” he says. “That takes place at the interrogation centre, before people are convicted.” – Naser Suleiman, director of Gaza’s new maximum security prison, to Sydney Morning Herald correspondent Jason Koutsoukis.

(See Guardian story about the battery hens from Nov. 9.  Warning: not for the faint of heart!)

(CiF Watch’s take on Sherwood’s story, here)

Nov 7 2010

The Missionary is First in the Pot

A Guest Post by AKUS

Harriet Sherwood, the Guardian’s de facto reporter on events in Gaza and the West Bank, had a curious column that was not open for comment: UN in Gaza orders weapons to protect its head. By “head”, the Guardian is referring to the abominable John Ging of UNRWA.

John Ging is found at the forefront of those condemning Israel for the blockade of Gaza. During “Cast Lead”, he accused Israel of destroying “thousands of tons of food” that for some reason sits in UNRWA depots instead of being distributed to those who, apparently, need it. He was the source of the disproved accusation that Israel shelled a UN school during “Cast Lead”, when it turned out that Israel retaliated against Hamas terrorists using the area near the school to attack Israeli troops. He has laid out the welcoming mat for the “Elders” visit to Gaza, a group that includes (former) President Jimmy Carter, notorious for his book comparing Israel to South Africa, and (former) Archbishop Tutu, now leading the charge for an academic boycott of Ben Gurion University in South Africa. He supported the Mavi Marmara flotilla that led to the violent confrontation in which nine terrorists were killed and several Israel soldiers severely wounded.

One would imagine that a man with such a fine record would be able to stroll easily around the streets of Gaza, perhaps leaving his compound for a nice breakfast at one of the luxury hotels that line the beachfront, followed by a swim at Crazy Waterpark (oops – sorry – under new management)  and ending the day with a well-deserved meal at Roots restaurant, while once more bending the ear of a gullible Western reporter or an Elder about the horrors of life in Gaza.

Not so.

For some reason, there are people in Gaza who seem to dislike him even more than Israel does. Rather more, given the attempts by Gazan elements to assassinate him. Referring to the need for protection, France 24 cited an AFP report dated November 5th that:

“However, Ging has been attacked in the past by radical Islamist groups in the volatile territory, and in 2007 one person was killed and six wounded in an attack on a UNWRA school.”

Or, as Harriet wrote, also on November 5th, typically puffing up this lying Israel-hater while glossing over the identity of his attackers:

“There have been two attempts to assassinate Ging, an energetic and charismatic advocate for the rights of Palestinian refugees. In March 2007, masked gunman fired at least 14 bullets at Ging’s armoured car as it travelled through Gaza. A second attack a few months later left one Palestinian dead and several wounded.

Earlier this year, arsonists attacked a site at which UNRWA was hosting summer games for Gazan children, leaving behind three bullets as a warning to Ging”.

Continue reading →

Oct 31 2010

Selling out to Soros

 

Well,well; it’s amazing what one finds out by reading the Guardian. Had I not read the October 28th editorial “In praise (I think that’s British understatement) of George Soros” for instance, I would never have discovered that I’m apparently of a curmudgeonly persuasion.

It turns out too that I’m deemed to remain “an ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions” (according to the dictionary) for the Guardian informs me that “[o]nly the most curmudgeonly of his critics could fail to admire what the billionaire is doing with his money”.

As a socialist, I do resent the fact that the Soros fortune was mostly made by carelessly playing around with the lives of the little people affected by currency speculation. Short sellers and operators of hedge funds for the super-rich are not the traditional type of praiseworthy hero for a Left of centre newspaper, but the Guardian’s apparent ‘conversion’ indicates just how far it is prepared to go in sanctifying the methods in order to realise the aim.

I’m afraid that I must also plead guilty to holding on to the stubborn notion that the legalisation of drugs – one of Soros’ pet campaigns – is not a positive step for society to take, particularly in light of the well-known link between drugs and the financing of terror, but also due to my experience as a health-care professional who has often had to deal with the devastating effects of drug use not only upon the lives of addicts themselves, but also upon their families and even innocent bystanders.

But the aspect of Soros’ ‘chequebook advocacy’ which makes me most ill-tempered is his support for organisations which aim to eliminate the Jewish nature of Israel and undermine the elected government of a democratic nation by means of delegitimisation. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to live in a society in which we count votes, not cash; in which every voice carries equal weight, regardless of wealth or connections. The sad thing is that once upon a time, the Guardian believed in that too.

Soros’ ‘Open Society Institute’ funds a whole host of operations in Israel such as Adalah, Peace Now, Breaking the Silence, Gisha and Yesh Din. Adalah works towards a one-state ‘solution’ in which the Jewish nature of Israel would be replaced by a “democratic, bilingual and multicultural” framework. Jewish immigration would only be permitted for “humanitarian reasons.” In other words, millions of Palestinian refugees would be brought to Israel, but Jews would be severely limited in their right to immigrate as the Law of Return would have been abolished.  Adalah promotes the erroneous and delegitimising concept of ‘Israeli apartheid’ and contributed significantly to the infamous Goldstone Report.  Soros’ Open Society Institute has provided legal assistance to Adalah in its attempts to overturn the Israeli law which states that spouses from enemy states are not automatically granted Israeli citizenship for reasons of security. That’s not only foreign intervention in the internal legal affairs of a sovereign state, but also reckless gambling with the lives of Israeli citizens.

Soros recently donated $100,000,000 in matched funding over a period of 10 years to Human Rights Watch. Readers will no doubt remember that just over a year ago Human Rights Watch’s founder, Robert Bernstein, accused the organization of “helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state”. The generous Soros pledge does not bode well for any kind of improvement in the organizational culture at HRW ; in fact one might even say that this is a case of ‘birds of a feather’ joining forces –  supposed political agenda-free ‘human rights’ activists using the language of civil rights and democracy in order to promote extremist ideology. And if that sounds a little far-fetched, consider the following.

Continue reading →

Oct 14 2010

Israel’s success, and the Guardian’s pain

H/T Yaacov Lozowick’s Ruminations by Yaacov

The Guardian created a map indicating the locations of the world’s 100 most important cleantech companies (businesses and ideas at the forefront of the clean technology revolution), and guess where Israel is on the list?  (First, let’s note, which areas aren’t represented at all: South America, Africa, Australia, as well as Russia and former Soviet states.) Then, let’s look at the top countries which are represented, from top down: USA, UK, Germany…. and then Israel. And actually, if you count the two American firms which were set up and are run by Israelis, Israel ties Germany for number 3.  Quantifying Israeli economic achievements (success which is so remarkably disproportionate to their size) must be excruciatingly painful for the Guardian – a paper so eager to undermine and delgetimize Israel at every turn. And, I, for one, really feel their pain.

Here are the maps, indicating where the top cleantech companies are located.  Notice those blue dots in the Middle East.

Let’s look a bit closer:

And, now, look even closer at those dots, which, if you haven’t guessed already, are in Israel – a nation with a population of a mere 7.5  million, and the 2nd  smallest state in the Middle East.

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist highlighting Israel’s success – and the enormous gaps represented by its, um, neighbors.  As I said, I truly do feel the Guardian’s pain on this story – the schadenfreude is just seeping out of my pores.

Sep 16 2010

“Fitna” from the Guardian to Ground Zero

This is co-written by Armaros and Medusa

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, seen here attending a conference in Indonesia in 2007 which included members of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) - a radical terrorist movement that seeks 'implementation of pure Islamic doctrine' and the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia

Once again Chris McGreal (who we exposed previously here) puts out the Guardian’s message to its blind faithful when he unquestioningly accepts that Faisal Abdul Rauf, the prime mover behind the drive to construct an Islamic “cultural centre” and mosque within sight and sound of Ground Zero in New York, was being honest and open with his audience at the Council for Foreign Affairs in New York.

True, McGreal admits that Faisal Rauf’s plan is “controversial”, (although the 30,000 people who gathered at the site to protest against it on 9/11 would almost certainly call that an understatement of their feelings and opinions) but everything about McGreal’s article, from the smiling, apparently benign face of Rauf at the top of it to the unquestioning repetition of Rauf’s blatant lies within it screams “al-taqiyya” to any knowledgeable person who reads it.

Does McGreal give us any indication that Faisal Rauf is being economical with the actualité?   Not at all and we explore his article further below.  This may be because McGreal is a Guardianista to the marrow of his bones, who is primed to ignore anything which jars with the Guardian World View.   For him to admit in print that Faisal Rauf has been dishonest in his dealings about the mosque with the people of New York and has been callous and heartless in his resolute pursuit of his plan – in light of the protests of the grieving families and friends of the dead of 9/11 – would certainly mean that he would then have to question almost everything the Guardian now stands for, if, that is, he didn’t lose his job.

McGreal has a long record in writing biased rubbish about Israel, but he is first among equals in regard to the mosque controversy with Michael Tomasky, who appears to be leading the Guardian’s efforts to demonise the opponents of the Ground Zero mosque as “racists”, “Islamophobes”, “right wingers” and other sundry terms of endearment which the Guardian reserves for those who oppose its radical ideology.

Before we enter the distorted world of Guardian reportage, let’s recall several salient facts about Faisal Rauf and the developers of the Ground Zero Mosque which McGreal, Tomasky et al choose not to share with their readership:

Faisal Rauf is on record as blaming America for the carnage of 9/11 .

Rauf has said, “We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than al Qaida has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims.”

Rauf has also has suggested that the use of terrorism and suicide bombings is understandable.

Rauf is also on record as praising the Iranian regime during the brutal crackdown in the summer of 2009.

Rauf has stated his wish for the U.S. to become a “Sharia Compliant” country that is “Islamic” in nature – adding that, in his mind, the U.S. is already more or less “compliant”. This is no spiritual idealism as some may put it on the left. This is part of a plan on the part of radical Islam to subvert the West as noted by high level security and intelligence officials from both political parties.

Continue reading →

Sep 15 2010

The Guardian claims that Jews are the real “Palestinians”

A guest post by AKUS

The Guardian has reported on a proposed Christian theme park in Mallorca, similar to one that apparently already exists in Buenos Aires:

Welcome to Holy Land – Europe’s first Christian theme park

Scan to the end of the article and you will find the Guardian making it clear who the real Palestinians are, and refuting the increasingly frequent claim by those who today call themselves “Palestinians” that there never was a Temple in Jerusalem:

“With a cast of extras in the costumes of Romans and early Palestinians, the park advertises itself as ‘a place where everyone can learn about the origins of spirituality’. Visitors include tourists and groups of young Roman Catholics studying for their first communion.

The park planned for Mallorca reportedly intends to build replicas of, among other things, the Wall of Lamentations and a Roman court house.”

It’s pleasing to see that instead of simply saving space by using the word “Jews”, they preferred to make it clear that they, like most Jews, know who lived in Palestine in Roman times.

It looks like the editorial shakeup at the Guardian may be having a positive effect