...this batch of celebrities got a NEWS CONFERENCE?

I mean, they can sing and act and stuff (at least, I think), but jeez.

World protests at Gaza conflict:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7809676.stm

"Rallies are being held in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Athens and several Asian cities, following similar events in parts of the Muslim world on Friday.

Earlier, tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs called for an end to the bombing campaign at a rally in northern Israel.

US President George W Bush meanwhile blamed the violence firmly on Hamas.

He said Hamas was a terrorist organisation, backed by Iran and Syria, and dedicated to the destruction of Israel"

Fire some rockets at her palatial estate and see how long she puts up with it.

There have been MASSIVE protests and demonstrations in practically every single major city in Europe since the 28th December.

There have been protests in Berlin, Greece, Lebanon, London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Beirut, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Amman, Damascus... the list goes on and on. There have been demonstrations in more than 30 cities in the UK alone.

The Israeli people have even been demonstrating in Tehran.

Here is where you can get info on the US campaign:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/



They've just sent in the ground troops.

Bianca Jagger:
Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, Chair of the World Future Council, Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, and a member of the Director's Leadership Council of Amnesty International US.

Annie Lennox:
Academy Award-winning songwriter, also a political and social activist, leading such events as a pro-Palestinian rally in London January 3, 2009

Ken Livingstone:
English socialist politician, mayor of London 2000-2008.

Alexei Sayle:
English stand-up comedian, actor and author, notable for his cynicism, intelligence and political awareness.

It's a shame that being able to imitate others and act makes them able to speak out about things in the world. You'd think that people could make up their own mind or at least hear from experts in the given subjects. Good to hear opinions as always, but being a celebrity does not make your opinion value more than anyone else.

I totally agree that the war sucks though.

You'd think these leftists could at least get a dose of realpolitik.

Instead it's all pie in the sky.

The Palestinians stated purpose is the destruction of Israel. How do you appease that?

I care nothing about the so-called issues in this conflict (I'm one of those VS Atheists, but a nice one), the only thing that matters to me is that, as of Jan 3, the butcher's bill stands at 4 Isrealies vs. roughly 450 Palistinians. That's not a war, that's a slaughter.

Yes, most of the dead are Hamas militants, and those militants have situated themselves to ensure some level of civilian casualties if they are assaulted, but there are still far more PEOPLE dead today than if Isreal had not started this offensive (like Iraq, but at a far smaller scale).

negotiations are useless, these people will never negotiate peace, only death and destruction will come from there, and they will need to bomb and kill themselves into submission

>> ^deathcow:
negotiations are useless, these people will never negotiate peace, only death and destruction will come from there, and they will need to bomb and kill themselves into submission


That's a startlingly selective reading of history you have there. Read up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_process_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict

>> ^hawkinson:
Yes, most of the dead are Hamas militants, and those militants have situated themselves to ensure some level of civilian casualties if they are assaulted, but there are still far more PEOPLE dead today than if Isreal had not started this offensive (like Iraq, but at a far smaller scale).

The thing about this position is that we're too far away from it to really know what it's like.

Most countries don't have the possibility of missiles coming into their cities every day, or have suicide bombers wandering their streets, or feel they require armed guards with machine guns on many street corners. Most countries aren't surrounded by other countries that would very cheerfully completely smear them off the map if they could.

I'm not saying the Israelis are right in this action, and I can't judge its effectiveness either. But I'm not saying they're wrong - they live in a different and threatened environment and think differently because of it. I can't judge their actions because I don't know how I'd react if I lived in their circumstances.

But I can tell you I'd be pretty strongly motivated to do something to minimize or neutralize the threat to my children if I were empowered to, and I don't think I'd care much about the so-called "butcher's bill" if I thought it was an us-or-them scenario.

THAT is why I find these celebrity spokespeople crying into the camera offensive. They're completely biased and this short little clip shows no attempt to think from the other direction, which is what a responsible political entity should do if it's going to raise awareness. Further, they're getting a boatload of attention for doing it. Their hearts might be in the right place, but their minds and their histories aren't best suited to deal with the situation.

I am really deeply saddened by some of the comments here.

"Most countries don't have the possibility of missiles coming into their cities every day, or have suicide bombers wandering their streets...."

Most countries haven't forced 1.5 million human beings to live like animals with little or no contact with the outer world, and little or no hope of any progress regardless of what they do.

"Yes, most of the dead are Hamas militants"

Wow, it's amazing the same thing happens in Iraq. Most of those dead are 'insurgents' and alQ. I'll bet all the school kids and mothers where also militants.

>> ^lantern53:
The Palestinians stated purpose is the destruction of Israel. How do you appease that?


Step 1: occupy a country and put over a million people into the largest open air prison.
Step 2: blockade all sea ports, air space, control all movement in and out of borders and then bomb the power plant. Make sure there is no clean water, sewage pumps, medicine, hospital electricity, or any international aid allowed in.
Step 3: Keep putting up bigger walls, more illegal encroaching settlements
Step 4: When those people throw rocks and fireworks out of their prison camp, bomb the living fuck out of them. Certainly nine dead from randomly fired rockets is equal to dropping bombs on people who can't even escape or become refugees in another country. (At least the US let 5 million Iraqis flee their ancient homelands)
Step 5: dig a big pit for the bodies.

Problem solved.

Now that the Eurythmics have spoken, the Middle East must come to their senses.

Wow, from top 15 down to 7 votes, and back up to the teens, I'd love to see a votes vs. time plot for this clip. Oooh, where to I make feature requests?

BTW, my feathers were a little ruffled by this thread, but in the end its been a healthy debate.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Palestinian-Israeli-Conflict