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Tag Archives: Israel
Staking out This Week this morning: TWS talks to Feingold
My friend Sam Husseini’s project, The Washington Stakeout, was at the studios of ABC’s This Week this morning. The guests were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Senator Russ Feingold.
I collaborate with Husseini, providing technical support, and I also watch the shows. This morning I noticed that Clinton repeated a myth about the start of the Afghan war that the Institute for Public Accuracy, where Sam is the communications director, called-out in a press release earlier this week.
The appearance of both Clinton and Gates was pre-taped earlier in the week, otherwise I’m sure Sam would have tried to question her on it if she stopped for the press gaggle.
Sam did have some interaction with Senator Feingold which is now posted at The Washington Stakeout.
Husseini asked Feingold about the legitimacy of the Afghanistan war, Israel’s nuclear weapons (of which official acknowledgment might catalyze a different calculus in the US’s non-proliferation actions with regards to Iran, India, as well as, of course, Israel), and, in essence, how much due diligence was actually done in exploring the feasibility of Single Payer health care.
Activist ships being jammed by Israel in international waters?
Two ships, the Free Gaza and the Liberty, are sailing against the Israeli blockage of the Gaza Strip as a form of human rights protest.
I’ve received an email blast from The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Apparently early this morning they were in contact with the sea-going activists for a brief period and they said that their various electronic systems (it is vague) are being scrambled, despite flying a friendly flag and still being in international waters.
Here’s the email:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein <snipped />@icahd.org
Date: Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 5:03 AM
Subject: FW: Statement from the SS Free Gaza & SS Liberty
To: <snipped />@icahd.org***please forward freely***
10am, 23 August, 2008
A Statement from the International Human Rights Workers Aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty, Sailing to Gaza*At 10am this morning, the Cyprus team of the Free Gaza Movement was able to briefly speak with our people on board the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty. They are all fine, and they asked us to release the following statement:
“The electronic systems which guarantee our safety aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty have been jammed and scrambled. Both ships are flying Greek flags, and are in international waters. We are the victims of electronic piracy. We are currently in GMS P area A2 and we are relying on our satellite communications equipment to make a distress call, if needed.
We are civilians from 17 nations and are on this project to break the siege of Gaza. We are not experienced sailors. As a result, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board such an emergency develop.
We are currently experiencing rough sea conditions, and we call on the Greek government and the international community to meet their responsibilities and protect the civilians on board our two ships in international waters.”
Because they are not “experienced sailors,” perhaps there is room for some misdiagnosis of the problem — I have no reason to come to that conclusion and don’t have the knowledge required to vet. Perhaps the period in which they could clearly communicate was too brief to add detail.
This is unsettling news. One does think, for a moment, back to what the Israeli state did to another ship called Liberty.