Hello all,

With the sad and unfortunate death of 3 Nigerian citizens in Lebanon, I thought the following letter to CNN is relevent:
--------------

I have been following your coverage of the Israeli attack on Lebanon through your site, and I am appalled to see the lack of information provided to your audience on the ACTUAL escalation of events that has truly led to this inconceivably unjust and criminal military onslaught onto Lebanon and its citizens by the terrorist government of Israel.

Lebanon and the Lebanese population will suffer for months, if not years, to recover from this heinous offensive on their territory and their sovereignty, all in the name of Israel's self-defense. Without justifying the kidnappings themselves, it must be pointed out that Israel's existence and well being have not come under any real threat as a result of the kidnappings, or as a result of any other event in recent history for that
matter. How much self-defending does Israel really need to do with the superpower of the day standing so closely behind, disbursing billions, deploying masses of weapons, invading countries opposed to Israel's existence and biting ferociously at any reproachful finger that may be pointed in Israel's direction?

The majority of articles published on your site instigate that the Israeli hostilities against Lebanon are retaliation to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers, echoing President Bush's sentiment that the kidnappings give Israel the 'right to defend itself'. Has not one author in your team, nor any of your editors, nor yourself, thought it relevant to
mention the months and years of Israeli kidnappings of Palestinian and Lebanese
civilians, officials and public figures that have gone without retribution? What about the hundreds, nay thousands of Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians rotting away in Israeli prisons without charge or trial for years on end?

And what of the tens of Palestinians assassinated daily in the Palestinian territories for 'alleged' crimes against Israel, which only Israel has made claim to but has never substantiated in front of an international court?

What of the Palestinian's rights to self defend or retaliate when their homes, schools, hospitals and livelihoods are destroyed, and their fathers, sons, brothers, mothers and sisters are murdered?

What has happened to the rule of law? Or has Bush also relieved Israel of adhering to international laws on occupation, war and human rights? Once in violation of these laws, and Israel IS without a doubt in violation, does that not constitute it a criminal and terrorist state? Do international laws apply to all the other governments except that of Israel? Do the US and Israel alone decide which governments are terrorist and which aren't?

You have conveniently chosen not to pose such questions nor seek their answers, though their relevance to the coverage of the current crisis is imperative. Any good piece of reporting would present the reader with all the facts and allow them to reach their own conclusions. You have consciously and unforgivably colluded to misinform your readers as to the real causes behind the current (and continuing) Middle East crisis, and you have failed to depict Israel's contribution to the disastrous events happening in the region. Your news department has shown cowardice in its decision
to not criticize, let alone condemn, Israel's disproportionate and murderous military actions in Lebanon.

How can such a show of an unbalanced and exaggerated response of force to the kidnappings be deemed as self-defense?

How should Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority respond to hundreds already kidnapped by Israel? What would be in your opinion a proportional response to those crimes? By your apparent standards, the answer to such a question would certainly be terrifying.

You have proven to be a disappointment to your readers, both to those who are unaware of the history of this conflict, and as a result of your coverage, have been led to reach the wrong conclusions, and to those readers who are aware of the history of the conflict and have been let-down by the blatant bias in your reporting and the un-explicable misinformation you have provided in favor of the Israeli government.

I will spare no effort on my part to ensure that this opinion of your news agency is circulated to friends, associates and contacts all over the globe, and to local newspapers worldwide, so that as many people as possible may be propelled to question your credibility as a news agency, and so that as many people as possible may be compelled to look elsewhere for their source of international news.

May Ibrahim
Montreal, Canada
July 19th, 2006.

careful before CNN forwards your letter to the State Department for aiding Hezbollah

[/quote][quote author=shango link=topic=19099.msg530005#msg530005 date=1154126868]
careful before CNN forwards your letter to the State Department for aiding Hezbollah

lol shango lol please don't kill me 

If anything Israel is the one getting bad press, not the terrorists   Hope they all get Nuked out of this life time by israel , had enough of these big mouth terrorists enough is enough

mr zexyworm
dont seperate hezbollah form lebanese govt. hezbollah is part of lebanes govt so the whole lebanon is in support of their act
it is as simple as saying if ur hand goes to tif does it mean it is not part of ur body.?
ur mouth might saying it did not send ur hand but ur head knows wat is wat

if hezbollah decide to go for a war and they did not prepare very well . it is just too bad
or have u forgotten that hezbollah only allows international press to see wat they want them to see . unlik isreal that is open to all

dont be deceived about the arab slogan that isreal came to take their lands by 1948. b4 1948 were there no jews

palestine are not a whole people as u think they r a gatthering of lebanese, syrians, egyptian(arafat). and some other arabs
u can ask arafat wat trouble he use to cause in egypt and algeria b4 the jews surfaced
i know ur a moslem and ur buyin into this religious bigotory but on that account i stand to challenge u that u have failed ur arguments
should i ask u the jews bein slaughtered by hezbollah rockets r they civilians or just jews.
and asj ur hezbollah brothers to tell u the truth how come the building and the dead they say happens only women and children are involved? where are all the men? or are the men hezbollah agents? dont tell me an average man will leave his family intimes of war and run solo?
it is obviously ur religious head is allowing u to think stupid
sorry for the insult

I think CNN is biased in favour of lebanon because they give em more coverage.

thank you otokx

I dont know what part of the news he listens to.

@euphoria; do you see CNN showing destroyed buildings in Isreal? don't you think that those hundreds of kaytusha rockets cause some damage?

tell me about it, nobody remebers the israelis have been terrorised for yonks, those brain washed terrorist have all been blowing up innocent ppl, school buses, shoppin malls, street every where, sly buggers, about time they got it, left to me,i would nuke those rogue nations all and i aint apologising. My friend died in London from the blasts , these terrorist have been given free rein, enuff is enuff. No apologies at all for my comments. They should be flattened.

@euphoria; your confusing me.

What has the escalation of the conflict achieved? Nothing tangible unless for the senseless destruction of lives and properties by the 2 sides.

I am sure Israel underestimated the strenght of Hezbollah in the first place otherwise Israel would not have taken the steps it took.

It is a known fact that many civilians from Lebanon and Palestine are in Israeli jails many a times without any trials or can you arrest a suicide bomber without the person blowing himself or herself up?

Unfortunately, many have taken sides based on religion which is a shame.

Let Isreal go back to pre 1967 borders, let Palestine be granted statehood and let us hear the reasons for the so called terrorists activities in the world.

From Osama, the president of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas to even Saddam accused of paying money to the families of suicide bombers, the reasons are the same, Israeli occupation of Arab lands.

Without addressing the root causes of these issues even as early as 1900s the world will continue to watch while innocent lives are being wasted on a daily basis.

You can never have peace without justice and fairplay.

When i hear people talk of pre 1967; I laugh because that cannot happen. I have suggested that the southern part of lebanon be giving to palestinians since the lebanese people are not very serious in controlling that area.

You may laugh but the bitter truth is that until Israel withdraws from seized lands there is no stopping what some of us call terrorism, I am inclined to call some of them freedom fighters or resistance organizations.

Might shouldn't translate to right.

We can have peace in the middle east if all the parties want peace or we can have war just as we have people playing politics with other peoples lives.

Give Palestinians Lebanese lands? Very intelligent and wise suggestion. Maybe someone needs to collect the computer you are using right now and give it to a mad man on the street.

otokx


awww am i really? oh well, i am in my own world i guess, i hate Lebanon and the others and what they stand for am i clear now? i was sayin when i hear the news it always seem like it's Israel who is the bad guy and they always say ''this poor family from lebanon got killed,'' ''that poor child from lebanon'' i was just sayin Israel has suffered at their hands too thats all.

@Afam; you hit the nail on the head. I don't mind my PC being giving to a mad man because I have access to so many free - of - charge. But the mad man will not derive any benefit from the PC. The palestinians have not utilized the small land giving to them; corruption is the order of the day and without aid from the western world they are hopeless. They have even started fighting themselves. Isreal on the other hand have turned desert lands to beautiful gardens and that is what the palestinians want; but they can't maintain it if giving.

@Euphoria

Don't mind me o, Afam wanted to ruin my morning but the devil is a liar. Don't mind CNN and the rest. They are all tools in their respective government hands even though they will say they are private. See as they have cooked up a terror plot to divert attention from the middle east crises. Isreal has continually suffered loss in the hands of the Arabs with the exception of Jordan. Their ultimate hope is the annihilation of the jews but it won't work. It is the word of God that they keep fighting each other until the end of time so I think we should leave them.

Otokx quote:

"I have suggested that the southern part of lebanon be giving to palestinians since the lebanese people are not very serious in controlling that area."

This is the most grotesque manure-like text I laid my eyes in a long time.

As a Palestinian I'm shocked to see Nigerians say this about a disposessed people such as ours.

How about the British coming back to push Yorubas into Benin, then claim Ile-Ife land as theirs, since Beninois people can't control a bunch of people like Nigerians. Would that make sense?

Palestinians are NOT a herd of sheep. Palestinians are human beings, with economic, historical, and sentimental attachment to their ancestral homeland.

We are waiting to reclaim our land, which belongs to us. We have lived on it, harvested, and established institutions on it, for thousands of years, until those Zionists immigrated from Europe on ships through Haifa.

The Jews settled the land and drove the Arabs out through terror. This happened in 1948 and 1967.

If you don't believe me check wikipedia or google for the following Jewish terror gangs: Irgun, Hagana.

Do not watch CNN, Sky News or the like. Those are controlled by Jews or evangelical fanatics who attempt to brainwash the world into believing Hezbollah and Hamas are the equivalents of Al-Qaeda.

Otokx quote:

"I have suggested that the southern part of lebanon be giving to palestinians since the lebanese people are not very serious in controlling that area."

This is the most grotesque manure-like text I laid my eyes pn in a long time.

As a Palestinian I'm shocked to see Nigerians say this about a disposessed people such as ours.

How about the British coming back to push Yorubas into Benin, then claim Ile-Ife land as theirs, since Beninois people can't control a bunch of people like Nigerians. Would that make sense?

Palestinians are NOT a herd of sheep. Palestinians are human beings, with economic, historical, and sentimental attachment to their ancestral homeland.

We are waiting to reclaim our land, which belongs to us. We have lived on it, harvested, and established institutions on it, for thousands of years, until those Zionists immigrated from Europe on ships through Haifa.

The Jews settled the land and drove the Arabs out through terror. This happened in 1948 and 1967.

If you don't believe me check wikipedia or google for the following Jewish terror gangs: Irgun, Hagana.

Do not watch CNN, Sky News or the like. Those are controlled by Jews or evangelical fanatics who attempt to brainwash the world into believing Hezbollah and Hamas are the equivalents of Al-Qaeda.

zexyworm
u say u r palestine well sorry for u
i know u have been deceived by the regular islamic lies that u have been feed with over time. naturally the arabs thik thatthe jews are second class citizens it is quite baffling that the jews are outsmarting them and they cant understand how
u tellme ur from palestine let me inform u there was never a palestine
u might read this article if u care and stop lying to urself

Who Are The Palestinians?
Lebanese American Sharon Nader Sloan is a real estate attorney practicing in Los Angeles. Her family is from Beirut, Tripoli and Hasroun, Lebanon. She wrote in 2002, "The ideas that the West Bank and Gaza are occupied Palestinian land, and that the Palestinian people are fighting for their land, have been accepted by most of the governments of the world and by most of the media in the world." But, should they be? Here's what she says:

The fact simply is that there are no Palestinians. These people are Arabs like all other Arabs, and they happen to live in a region called Palestine. They are not a separate people.
What makes a separate people? Religion, language, culture, garb, cuisine, etc. The Arabs in Palestine speak the same language, practice the same religion, have the same culture, etc., as all the other Arabs. The few minor differences that exist between them are like the minor differences that exist between the American Northerners and Southerners, Easterners and Westerners, but they are still all Americans. People in the south of France are quite different from the people in the north, but they are still all French. These inconsequential differences do not make a people.

The Arabs living in Syria or Jordan, etc., are also the same Arabs, but they are each a separate nation because they each have a separate country. The so-called Palestinians want a separate country because they claim to be a separate nation. They are not. They were never a separate people before the new state of Israel. How did they become one now?

Because of these lies, the so-called "Palestinians" feel justified in sending suicide bombers to kill women, children, babies, old men, old women and noncombatant citizens. Because of these lies, the United Nations and the media of the world are condemning Israel who is acting less harshly than any other country would act in retaliation for such heinous attacks. What is the United States doing in Afghanistan, a totally foreign country? Killing Afghanis. Why? Because they attacked us on Sept. 11. I understand this. But why do they not understand that that is exactly what Israel is doing, only on a much smaller scale?

Ask yourself this: Should the use of terror ever be rewarded? When is the use of terrorism justified as a military tactic? As a political tactic? As an economic tactic? What implications does this hold for future conflicts?

Let us examine the truths here:

Arab "Palestinian?" with Flag of "Palestine?"1) There never was a Palestinian state or a Palestinian nation. There are no Palestinian people, per se. Rather, these are Arabs living in a region that historically has been called many things, including "Palestine."

2) Israel did not go to war against a Palestinian state and occupy its land. Rather, Israel was attacked by six Arab countries at once. She defended herself, defeated her attackers, and won the so-called territories, not from the Palestinians, but from Jordan and Egypt.

3) Jerusalem was never the capital of any state but Israel. It was certainly never the capital of a country that never existed. Why should the Palestinians get any part of it? Because they want it? Because they have terrorists?

4) Jerusalem, under the current Israeli control, is a free and open city. Israel, as a democracy, guarantees freedom of religion within its borders. Contrast this fact with areas that have come under Palestinian occupation. What percentage of Christians have left in recent years because they cannot stand the harassment and persecution?

5) Most Arabs living in Palestine today are not indigenous to the region. It was not until after the Jews had changed deserts and swamps into a productive and thriving land that the Arabs started migrating there. Arafat himself was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. Did you know that?

The belief that giving the Palestinians a state will bring peace is a delusion. The truth is that they want it all. The short-term goal is a state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza. The long-term goal is a state which includes all of "historical Palestine," including Jordan.

How do I know this?

The late Faisal Husseini, Arafat's Jerusalem representative, a man who was cultured, sophisticated and considered the most moderate of all the Palestinians, shortly before his death on May 31, 2001, expressed his true feelings in an interview with the popular Egyptian newspaper el Arav. Husseini said: "We must distinguish the strategies and long-term goals from the political-phased goals which we are compelled to accept due to international pressures." But the "ultimate goal is the liberation of all of historical Palestine." Explicitly he said: "Oslo has to be viewed as a Trojan Horse."

He even added and clarified that it is the obligation of all the Palestinian forces and factions to see the Oslo Accords as "temporary" steps, as "gradual" goals, because in this way, "We are setting an ambush for the Israelis and cheating them." He also differentiated between "strategic," long-term, "higher" goals, and "political" short-term goals dependent on "the current international establishment, balance of power" etc.

All of historical Palestine! Does not this include all of Israel and all of Jordan?

@afam
u have to check your fact rights again
isreal did not seize any land outrightly , these lands belongs to isreal before the ottoman empire
and the palestines did not exist as a people but as spare arabs in the palestine territory
most started migrating there because isreal had turned desert lands into swamps
u can ask arafat if u see him, how come he that was born an egyptian, then ran to algeria to cause trouble then he saw he was not succeding he then shifted to palestine claiming he was born and will die there in which he died there, i just wish he would receive some virgins.
try read up about him to know he is not from any palestine
they have transfered these lies down to their children childen now the whole children see the jews as the agreessor and they r ready to die in order to receive 72 virgins and a big drum of beer
tellme if these islamist fascist that hide under the guise of oppressed palestines and others such like if they were so hngry for women can't they rape themselves no need to wait for a paradie your not sure of entering

and let me tell u this zexyworm . the arabs always see the jews as 2nd class citizens. u can chekc that out in your quran or where ever because they keep saying the jews are infidels and call them dogs alike . let me ask u how come a dog is smarter than his master? who is an infidel ? is it the one that comes out in a fight or the one that hides behind women and children durig a fight?

"u say you're palestine well sorry for u
i know u have been deceived by the regular islamic lies that u have been feed with over time. naturally the arabs thik thatthe jews are second class citizens it is quite baffling that the jews are outsmarting them and they can't understand how
u tellme your from palestine let me inform u there was never a palestine
u might read this article if u care and stop lying to yourself"

Nothing new in your article my dear. It's only Zionist propaganda. You have the audacity to deny my existence as a Palestinian Arab. That strategy won't work, because what you call us is irrelevent, the truth is, the Jewish terror gangs like Irgun and Hagana systematically drove the Arab population out through terror. Just search "King David Hotel" bombing on google.

Furthermore, I spotted your nonsense about the Palestinian flag. The Palestinian flag, you should know, was the first EVER Arab flag and it symbolized the Arab revolution against colonial powers in the 1920s. Check your facts, Mr.

I also dare you to pull off your mask and identify your own nationality.

When it comes to mine, I am extremely proud of being Palestinian, and being from Jerusalem. And I certainly dont give any attention to Evangelical fanatical beliefs such as yours.

Some jews are united against Zionism, which is a colonial mentality:


http://www.nkuk.org/

Origins of the Palestinian flag:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Palestinian_territories

http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/meaning_of_flag.htm

Let those sites speak for themselves.

kaecy5,

You say Yassir Arafat was born in Cairo. That is disuputed, his own family and even himself claim he was born in Jerusalem.

On the other hand, the 1st prime minister of Israel and essentially its creator, is David Ben Gurion, who was born in Poland!
To top it all, he even lived in New York for a while, before going on his Zionist excursions in Palestine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ben-Gurion

This should of course come as no surprise. 80% of Israelis today were either born OUTSIDE "Israel" or the descendents of people born outside "Israel".

Guess who is the native? Palestinians, Palestinian Arabs, yes.

So go ahead and try to smear Palestinians, others will not buy it.

George tells it as it is!

Love the way he handled the biased reporter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbEv0T2rwgo

Hi Kaecy5,

To begin with, I hope its very clear that I am neither an Israeli or an Arab so naturally I do not have any need or reson to side with either of them on this issue.

How can one say that Palestine never existed before Israel, are you aware that 2 states were supposed to have been created but only Israel ended up being created?

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http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575008_8/Israel_(country).html

Page 8 of 17
Israel (country)
Encyclopedia Article
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Israel: People and PlacesIsrael: People and Places
27 items
Article Outline
Introduction; Land and Resources; Population; Economy; Government; History
A
The Period Before Independence

The number of Jews in Palestine was small in the early 20th century; it increased from 12,000 in 1845 to nearly 85,000 by 1914. Most people in Palestine were Arabic-speaking Muslims and Christians. Support for the Zionist movement, whose leaders included Chaim Weizmann and Herzl, came largely from Diaspora Jews in Europe, North America, and elsewhere in the world.
A 1
The Balfour Declaration

By World War I the extremely active Zionist movement had won backing from the government of the United Kingdom, which wanted support from world Jewry for its struggle against Germany. The British government therefore issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, in the form of a letter to Edmund James Rothschild, one of the British Zionist leaders, from the Foreign Secretary Arthur J. Balfour: “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” The document in effect violated promises made by the British government to the Arabs in return for their support in the Allied war effort, as it had undertaken to “recognize and support” Arab independence in the Arabian Peninsula, Palestine, Transjordan, Syria, and Iraq.
A 2
The Jewish Community Under the Mandate

After World War I the terms of the Balfour Declaration were included in the mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The mandate entrusted the United Kingdom with administering Palestine and with assisting the Jewish people in “reconstituting their national home in that country”.

Large-scale Jewish settlement and development of extensive Zionist agricultural and industrial enterprises in Palestine began during the British mandatory period, which lasted until 1948. The Jewish community, or Yishuv, increased tenfold during this era, especially during the 1930s, when large numbers of Jews fled Europe to escape German National Socialist persecution. Tel Aviv became the country’s largest all-Jewish city, dozens of other towns and villages were founded, and hundreds of Jewish agricultural collectives (kibbutzim) and co-operatives were established.
A 3
Growth of Zionism

Many Jewish political parties founded in Eastern Europe as part of the world Zionist movement developed bases in mandatory Palestine. They included labour, orthodox religious, and nationalist groups whose leaders emigrated from Europe and after 1948 became political leaders and officials in the new Jewish state.

The Yishuv extended its democratic, representative institutions after World War I. Among these institutions was an elected assembly with a National Council that managed the community’s day-to-day affairs in education, health, social welfare, and other services. Jewish religious life was supervised by a Rabbinical Council that controlled marriage, divorce, and other family matters.

Local government institutions were also developed to run the city of Tel Aviv and many smaller Jewish settlements. The educational system, cultivating Hebrew language and culture, expanded, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was founded. The World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Palestine assisted the Yishuv by raising funds abroad, recruiting Jewish immigrants, and seeking political support from Western governments.
A 4
Arab and Jewish Revolts

British officials, under the High Commissioner for Palestine appointed by the government in London, were responsible for defence and security, immigration, postal services, transport, and port facilities, and for balancing Arab and Jewish interests. They were the highest authorities, ultimately responsible for governing the country.

The British attempted to maintain the delicate balance between the interests and demands of the Yishuv and those of the country’s predominantly Arab (70 per cent) population. As Jewish immigration to Palestine increased and as Jewish settlement spread, Arab opposition to British rule and to Zionism grew. Serious rioting by Arabs against Jewish settlement occurred in 1921 and 1929. British attempts to restrict Jewish immigration in response to this precipitated Jewish-sponsored riots in 1933.

The rise of Jewish immigration from the mid-1930s in response to the persecution in Germany intensified the unrest in Palestine. The British response was, in 1937, to propose the establishment of separate Jewish and Arab states within the mandate area. The proposal was accepted by most of the Zionists, but rejected by the Arabs. At the end of 1937 the conflict between the two communities had developed into open warfare, which continued through 1938. A British offer of eventual independence for a bi-communal Palestinian state, made in 1939, led to further violence. The scheme was shelved on the outbreak of World War II.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I do hope that many people stop looking at this issue as a religious war because it is not. You have arabs and moslems in Israel just as you have christiens in Lebanon.

Was Arafat not married to a christian? Did Saddam not have a christian as his deputy even when christians constituted about 3% of the Iraqi population?

We must not allow politicians and religious bigots destroy the lives of innocent people in their quest to push their own selfish and misguided agendas.

Do have a good day.