ConnecticutBob.Com is a modest blog on the internet since 2006. Progressive ideas are encouraged, and all politically-minded and reasonable people are welcome. America is the greatest country in the world, but we'll invade you if you disagree.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Gaza protest video from today
I decided to peel myself out of the recliner today (after all, the good game won't start until 4:30, Eagles at Vikings) and head down to New Haven to shoot some video at the Gaza protest.
Maybe fifty people were there at any point in the proceedings, but on a Sunday in New Haven, that's a huge crowd. I spent about an hour taking pictures and interviewing people who showed up.
Generally the mood was of concern and outrage at the events of the last week. I also met and spoke with Melinda Tuhus from The New Haven Independent, who was also interviewing people.
One of the things I've noticed about interviewing people today is that they have very specific and detailed reasons for protesting Israel's actions in Gaza. I asked Melinda how she managed to edit down their typical three-minute long answers into usable sound bites; she said she was using her recording simply to replay while she makes notes. I did manage to pare down the video into something just over four minutes long, but it was a challenge. Here it is:
How the hell can you tell anything about the people's mindset that I interviewed, other than what they actually said? Are you The Amazing Kreskin? I didn't hear a SINGLE word about killing Israelis or wanting to harm ANYONE!
All everyone wanted to talk about was how to get Israel to stop killing civilians and get the necessities of life flowing back into Gaza.
Didn't you watch my video? Surely you don't think that nice Jewish lady wants to kill anyone, do you?
>> Surely you don't think that nice Jewish lady wants to kill anyone, do you?
Yes.
I think she's either insane or a collaborator.
Real Jews refer to them as "self-loathing Jews" and there seems to be loads of `em.
The bitch in Litchfield that said; "I don't think a Star of David would fit into the Historic District" is of Jewish descent.
The entire video is loaded with f***ing brain dead liars that while claiming they want "peace" lie through their teeth regarding the situation in Gaza.
And YOU have very clearly failed to take much-less read any of the links I've sent you or posted here.
Dude, you might want to take a Xanax and chill out a bit. You're foaming at the mouth.
Sending me links to articles from wingnut noise-makers like AtlasJuggs and DianaWest (who quotes lovingly from Ms. Juggs) isn't going to change my mind, or indeed, anyone who actually USES their mind! Next thing I know you'll be quoting that jagoff over at Little Green Footballs.
Listen up. Some ignorant yodel handing out anti-Semitic flyers in Denmark doesn't automatically make everyone who shares a dislike of Israel's thuggish tactics a terrorist sympathizer.
Why doesn't that simple concept manage to penetrate your cranium?
No buddy, I'm wearing a barbed wire jockstrap 'cause I'm THAT fucking tough! Whaddya think of THEM apples? LOL!
I did notice how Robbins ends his article by urging Israel to basically go in and "get it done" (I can guess what that means) before we swear in a new president, because he knows that having a president who embraces the rule of international law isn't going to be the creampuff pushover that our current "Commander-in-Grief" happens to be.
>>I'm wearing a barbed wire jockstrap 'cause I'm THAT fucking tough!
Gosh! That is tough!
You seem to ignore Robbins preface:
It’s clear what caused the renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. On June 19 of this year, a six-month ceasefire agreement went into effect after several months of escalating conflict. On December 19, Hamas announced it would not renew the agreement and resumed rocket attacks on southern Israel. In response, and after repeated warnings, Israel launched a long-planned operation to remove the source of the problem: the entire Hamas infrastructure.
"...Israel launched a long-planned operation to remove the source of the problem: the entire Hamas infrastructure."
And when that "Hamas infrastructure" happens to overlap with needed civilian infrastructure (and places like civilian housing, and people like civilian people) then I guess that's just what they call "tough titty" for the Gazans.
After all, it's their fault for living there. They should'a known better!
I didn't ask anyone if they were Muslim, but there were people there of obviously Mediterranean descent, and I'd guess some of them were Muslim. I didn't get details of all the organizations there, but I think some of them were religion-based.
1) Our "Dear Leader" unilaterally forced a premature election upon the Palestinians (an election whose outcome both the Fatah leaders and the European Union correctly predicted - but what do THEY know?); and
2) Once Hamas did win that election, Israel (with US support) negated (or at the least undermined) this democratic result by cutting vitally needed aid to the Palestinian Authority -- thereby making a bad situation worse.
These are indisputable FACTS that Israeli apologists (including many conservatives) conveniently ignore.
On the other hand -
3) Hamas forcibly overthrew a democratically-elected government in Gaza, which had neither majority popular nor morally-defensible reasons; and
4) Hamas-backed militants (if not Hamas itself) has been lobbing missiles into Israel: like the Nazi V missiles, an act of agreesive war not against a government, but an attack on civilians.
These are FACTS that Palestinian apologists (and many progressives) conveniently ignore.
It's time to stop arguing debate points; both the civilian populaces of Israel and Gaza are the victims here; and neither of their governments have clean hands.
Debates are useful on esoteric subjects, but have usually proven wasteful while people needlessly suffer.
The tragedy of the Palestinians cannot be laid solely at the feet of the Palestinians, nor the Israelis: the former European colonial powers, the US; and the Arab countries in this region all share the blame for this state of affairs. Now is a unique opportunity - not to address the blame, but rather to work on the future solutions.
You overlook one huge factor in any peace. Hamas and other militant groups have never and never will acknowledge Israels right to exist. That sentiment is shared by many so called moderates in arab countries. Also when Clinton had an agreement in 2000 that would have given the palestinians 96% of what they wanted, (the rest involved Israeli water rights)the moderate PA led by arafat turned it down.
Unfortunately, when emotions are so deep-rooted and are running so high, "rational & logical" often take a back seat - usually to everyone's regret. And maybe, just maybe, "cold water" is needed here (by both sides)....
Anon #18 -
Try to hold your attention span longer than the 4th paragraph. I'm not proposing a solution; nor am I taking sides (I know what I don't know). I'm stating only the facts which ignited this current action.
I don't give the square end of a rat's ass as to who is more at fault here, nor do I care about the historical wrongs by any side. I only wish for BOTH of the following:
(a) that the Israeli Nation to be able to live in security in peace with its neighbors; and simultaneously,
(b) that the Palestinian people be given a VIABLE homeland, in which they, too, can live in prosperity and peace.
I'm no fan of extremists; but I can understand how otherwise peaceful people can be goaded into extremism. Bolsheviks, Nazis, McCarthyism, Mugabeists...the list grows daily. No country is immune from this danger (though the level and direction of extremism constantly morphs).
Add a name to your critiques. As "Anonymous", you're a cipher. Freedom of speech - like all our dearly bought freedoms - have a correspondent responsibility to maintain that freedom by standing behind your statements. A cipher has no responsibility; thus, you have not earned the concordant freedom.
Notice that we tend to respect the opinions of those who provide some sort of identity more than we do to Anonymous posts.
The Palestinians have been dealt the worst hand by the surrounding Arab states that have prevented them from resettling and moving on with their lives. Instead they've been forced to live for decades in refugee camps, stateless and led on with the promise that one day Israel won't exist and they can live there. That's not going to happen. It's a sad situation. All these ANSWER protesters are doing is continuing the fantasy that there will one day be a Palestinian state in what is now Israel - I good example is the man holding a sign in one picture that calls for the "right of return." There's no place to return to unless you believe that Israel is going to be displaced. Again, that's simply not going to happen.
Adam, I think it's much more than simply a question of "returning to their homeland". That's the long-term goal of many people who support an independent Palestinian state, but there's more going on here.
I had to edit the video from 38 minutes to just over 4 minutes, but most of the people at the protest said over and over that there is an immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza that must be addressed right now. NOW, not eventually. The people of Gaza are being deprived of the necessities for living.
And I think it's obvious the vast majority of them AREN'T terrorists.
I agree there's a humanitarian crisis and its tragic. The Palestinians not involved with Hamas are stuck in the middle. The question I have though is what else can Israel do when missiles are killing their citizens? They have a responsibility to respond to protect their people.
Interesting argument I heard recently was that Iran (who backs Hamas) was thought to have stirred up the recent hostilities b/c they hope instability in the middle east will drive up oil prices. Iran needs more oil money because the price drop has been killing them lately.
Congrats on your recent appointment by the way, I hope you'll post about your work on the board. I'm all for transparency in government.
Thanks, Adam. I'm looking forward to continuing the good work the MGAT crew had been doing for years as a mayoral committee. My goal is to help the program look as good as it can, while covering all the necessary meetings and events.
Maybe fifty people were there at any point in the proceedings, but on a Sunday in New Haven, that's a huge crowd. I spent about an hour taking pictures and interviewing people who showed up. 
Generally the mood was of concern and outrage at the events of the last week. I also met and spoke with Melinda Tuhus from The New Haven Independent, who was also interviewing people. 
One of the things I've noticed about interviewing people today is that they have very specific and detailed reasons for protesting Israel's actions in Gaza. I asked Melinda how she managed to edit down their typical three-minute long answers into usable sound bites; she said she was using her recording simply to replay while she makes notes. I did manage to pare down the video into something just over four minutes long, but it was a challenge. Here it is:
25 comments:
Hi Bob,
Thanks for coming out to New Haven today and posting this great video. We'll keep in touch on further actions.
OK Chris. Feel free to share this article/video any way you think would help.
Here's a link to what people with the same mindset as pictured above are handing out in Denmark!
Wonderful Copenhagen
Meanwhile, from Paris, Nidra Poller reports:
"Death to the Jews!"
(Nidra's brother has posted here recently)
How the hell can you tell anything about the people's mindset that I interviewed, other than what they actually said? Are you The Amazing Kreskin? I didn't hear a SINGLE word about killing Israelis or wanting to harm ANYONE!
All everyone wanted to talk about was how to get Israel to stop killing civilians and get the necessities of life flowing back into Gaza.
Didn't you watch my video? Surely you don't think that nice Jewish lady wants to kill anyone, do you?
>> Surely you don't think that nice Jewish lady wants to kill anyone, do you?
Yes.
I think she's either insane or a collaborator.
Real Jews refer to them as "self-loathing Jews" and there seems to be loads of `em.
The bitch in Litchfield that said; "I don't think a Star of David would fit into the Historic District" is of Jewish descent.
The entire video is loaded with f***ing brain dead liars that while claiming they want "peace" lie through their teeth regarding the situation in Gaza.
And YOU have very clearly failed to take much-less read any of the links I've sent you or posted here.
Dude, you might want to take a Xanax and chill out a bit. You're foaming at the mouth.
Sending me links to articles from wingnut noise-makers like AtlasJuggs and DianaWest (who quotes lovingly from Ms. Juggs) isn't going to change my mind, or indeed, anyone who actually USES their mind! Next thing I know you'll be quoting that jagoff over at Little Green Footballs.
Listen up. Some ignorant yodel handing out anti-Semitic flyers in Denmark doesn't automatically make everyone who shares a dislike of Israel's thuggish tactics a terrorist sympathizer.
Why doesn't that simple concept manage to penetrate your cranium?
Ahhhh, you're wearing that naughty barbed wire bra we got you again aren't you?
I can always tell when you're wearing that because you get soooo disagreeable.
How's National Review?
No buddy, I'm wearing a barbed wire jockstrap 'cause I'm THAT fucking tough! Whaddya think of THEM apples? LOL!
I did notice how Robbins ends his article by urging Israel to basically go in and "get it done" (I can guess what that means) before we swear in a new president, because he knows that having a president who embraces the rule of international law isn't going to be the creampuff pushover that our current "Commander-in-Grief" happens to be.
>>I'm wearing a barbed wire jockstrap 'cause I'm THAT fucking tough!
Gosh! That is tough!
You seem to ignore Robbins preface:
It’s clear what caused the renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. On June 19 of this year, a six-month ceasefire agreement went into effect after several months of escalating conflict. On December 19, Hamas announced it would not renew the agreement and resumed rocket attacks on southern Israel. In response, and after repeated warnings, Israel launched a long-planned operation to remove the source of the problem: the entire Hamas infrastructure.
"...Israel launched a long-planned operation to remove the source of the problem: the entire Hamas infrastructure."
And when that "Hamas infrastructure" happens to overlap with needed civilian infrastructure (and places like civilian housing, and people like civilian people) then I guess that's just what they call "tough titty" for the Gazans.
After all, it's their fault for living there. They should'a known better!
>>And when that "Hamas infrastructure" happens to overlap with needed civilian infrastructure
Not really how it is.
Israel nor anyone else stores munitions in places of worship, hospitals, schools, or apartment buildings.
Hamas does, in direct violation of every applicable convention.
You say one thing, I say another.
It never ends!
CT bob... just ignore him really.
Nice video you put together. Were there any Muslims there?
Sabr, thanks.
I didn't ask anyone if they were Muslim, but there were people there of obviously Mediterranean descent, and I'd guess some of them were Muslim. I didn't get details of all the organizations there, but I think some of them were religion-based.
Time for a reality check, people:
On the one hand --
1) Our "Dear Leader" unilaterally forced a premature election upon the Palestinians (an election whose outcome both the Fatah leaders and the European Union correctly predicted - but what do THEY know?); and
2) Once Hamas did win that election, Israel (with US support) negated (or at the least undermined) this democratic result by cutting vitally needed aid to the Palestinian Authority -- thereby making a bad situation worse.
These are indisputable FACTS that Israeli apologists (including many conservatives) conveniently ignore.
On the other hand -
3) Hamas forcibly overthrew a democratically-elected government in Gaza, which had neither majority popular nor morally-defensible reasons; and
4) Hamas-backed militants (if not Hamas itself) has been lobbing missiles into Israel: like the Nazi V missiles, an act of agreesive war not against a government, but an attack on civilians.
These are FACTS that Palestinian apologists (and many progressives) conveniently ignore.
It's time to stop arguing debate points; both the civilian populaces of Israel and Gaza are the victims here; and neither of their governments have clean hands.
Debates are useful on esoteric subjects, but have usually proven wasteful while people needlessly suffer.
The tragedy of the Palestinians cannot be laid solely at the feet of the Palestinians, nor the Israelis: the former European colonial powers, the US; and the Arab countries in this region all share the blame for this state of affairs. Now is a unique opportunity - not to address the blame, but rather to work on the future solutions.
Bob Symmes said...
>>Time for a reality check, people:
There goes that Symmes again - acting logical and rational.
The guy really knows how to throw cold water on things doesn't he?
You overlook one huge factor in any peace. Hamas and other militant groups have never and never will acknowledge Israels right to exist. That sentiment is shared by many so called moderates in arab countries. Also when Clinton had an agreement in 2000 that would have given the palestinians 96% of what they wanted, (the rest involved Israeli water rights)the moderate PA led by arafat turned it down.
ACR -
Unfortunately, when emotions are so deep-rooted and are running so high, "rational & logical" often take a back seat - usually to everyone's regret. And maybe, just maybe, "cold water" is needed here (by both sides)....
Anon #18 -
Try to hold your attention span longer than the 4th paragraph. I'm not proposing a solution; nor am I taking sides (I know what I don't know). I'm stating only the facts which ignited this current action.
I don't give the square end of a rat's ass as to who is more at fault here, nor do I care about the historical wrongs by any side. I only wish for BOTH of the following:
(a) that the Israeli Nation to be able to live in security in peace with its neighbors; and simultaneously,
(b) that the Palestinian people be given a VIABLE homeland, in which they, too, can live in prosperity and peace.
I'm no fan of extremists; but I can understand how otherwise peaceful people can be goaded into extremism. Bolsheviks, Nazis, McCarthyism, Mugabeists...the list grows daily. No country is immune from this danger (though the level and direction of extremism constantly morphs).
Add a name to your critiques. As "Anonymous", you're a cipher. Freedom of speech - like all our dearly bought freedoms - have a correspondent responsibility to maintain that freedom by standing behind your statements. A cipher has no responsibility; thus, you have not earned the concordant freedom.
Notice that we tend to respect the opinions of those who provide some sort of identity more than we do to Anonymous posts.
Bob Symmes said:
>>that the Palestinian people be given a VIABLE homeland, in which they, too, can live in prosperity and peace.
They were, it's called `Jordon'.
Watch this: What really happened
ACR -
saw it, lived through it, got the T-shirt.
Again (ad nauseum) let's not deal with the mistakes of the past; let's deal with the present. Maybe, then, we'll support the future.
The Palestinians have been dealt the worst hand by the surrounding Arab states that have prevented them from resettling and moving on with their lives. Instead they've been forced to live for decades in refugee camps, stateless and led on with the promise that one day Israel won't exist and they can live there. That's not going to happen. It's a sad situation. All these ANSWER protesters are doing is continuing the fantasy that there will one day be a Palestinian state in what is now Israel - I good example is the man holding a sign in one picture that calls for the "right of return." There's no place to return to unless you believe that Israel is going to be displaced. Again, that's simply not going to happen.
Adam, I think it's much more than simply a question of "returning to their homeland". That's the long-term goal of many people who support an independent Palestinian state, but there's more going on here.
I had to edit the video from 38 minutes to just over 4 minutes, but most of the people at the protest said over and over that there is an immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza that must be addressed right now. NOW, not eventually. The people of Gaza are being deprived of the necessities for living.
And I think it's obvious the vast majority of them AREN'T terrorists.
I agree there's a humanitarian crisis and its tragic. The Palestinians not involved with Hamas are stuck in the middle. The question I have though is what else can Israel do when missiles are killing their citizens? They have a responsibility to respond to protect their people.
Interesting argument I heard recently was that Iran (who backs Hamas) was thought to have stirred up the recent hostilities b/c they hope instability in the middle east will drive up oil prices. Iran needs more oil money because the price drop has been killing them lately.
Congrats on your recent appointment by the way, I hope you'll post about your work on the board. I'm all for transparency in government.
Thanks, Adam. I'm looking forward to continuing the good work the MGAT crew had been doing for years as a mayoral committee. My goal is to help the program look as good as it can, while covering all the necessary meetings and events.
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