Killing Rachel Corrie - Again

[Peregrine]

Sepka has a history of this crap. Why is it being tolerated?

because RI is more than just a Palestinian solidarity board,

As much as I dissagree with Sepka's opinions & political leanings, I do feel she(?) has a right to express them. As far as I can tell, I don't think she's broken any forum rules. Referring to Rachel Corrie as a spoiled princess, especially in a thread like this, was rather callous, imo.

[Simulist]

I don't often like what Sepka has to say, but I think a counterpoint is valuable — especially when it reminds me why I no longer believe the kinds of bullshit she advocates. (Now I believe new bullshit.)

Time to look beyond even my most sacred and precious bullshit.

[DoYouEverWonder]

I don't often like what Sepka has to say, but I think a counterpoint is valuable — especially when it reminds me why I no longer believe the kinds of bullshit she advocates. (Now I believe new bullshit.)

Time to look beyond even my most sacred and precious bullshit.

Murdering someone no matter what color they are is pretty evil in my book, so I don't have much tolerance for people who condone or try to excuse the use of military force to kill someone in cold blood and I certainly hope that it wouldn't be tolerated here, but that's not my call to make.

[Simulist]

I don't often like what Sepka has to say, but I think a counterpoint is valuable — especially when it reminds me why I no longer believe the kinds of bullshit she advocates. (Now I believe new bullshit.)

Time to look beyond even my most sacred and precious bullshit.

Murdering someone no matter what color they are is pretty evil in my book, so I don't have much tolerance for people who condone or try to excuse the use of military force to kill someone in cold blood and I certainly hope that it wouldn't be tolerated here, but that's not my call to make.

I think murdering someone is pretty evil too. (That includes murdering murderers.) Given what comparatively little light I possess, that's how I see it.

One thing I've noticed about most murderers, warmongers, and their enablers is that they all seem pretty staunchly convinced of their own bullshit.

[StarmanSkye]

The contrast between Dr. Plaut who wrote the article and Rachal Corrie could hardly be greater. Dr. Plaut claims the moral high ground for israel, decrying the 'terror' murders of hundreds of Israeli women and children yet ignoring the routine murders of many, many thousands of Palestinian women and children. His main point is the duty Israel has to defend and protect Israeli human rights. It is telling that his condemnation of Corrie Rachel as a clueless, useful idiot whose life and death was exploited by terrorist extremists was made in the context that as protagonist aggressors, Palestinians have (and are entitled to) absolutely NO rights, at all. He doesn't even bemoan Corrie's death as a terrible tragedy, but uses it as an opportunity to disseminate lie after lie after exaggeration after distortion after omission, to ultimately claim that Rachel 'was the victim of Palestinian terror.'

Dr. Plaut's steadfast implication is that Palestinian rights are a non-issue. This is undoubtedly a point that decades of pundits, political and religious authorities, writers, reporters, speakers, academics and officials have driven home in newspapers, interviews, lessons, articles, news stories, tv and radio stories -- and which is accepted without questioning by a large segment of Israel society. It is the cornerstone of justifying Israel's policy as an occupying power, in which the humanity of one's victims is routinely ignored and denied. This is probably the hardest thing for most Americans and Europeans to understand, but key to how Israel manages to sustain, provoke and even incite violence as the result of an official policy encouraging its Border Patrol forces and Internal Defense troops to indiscriminately mistreat, abuse, insult, humiliate, assault, threaten, intimidate, beat and steal from Palestinians. It is like ordinary Palestinians are opportunistic free-fire targets for the acting-out of collective Israeli pent-up anger, rage, quest for revenge, frustration, hate, outrage ...

AD's take on Corrie's probable response to Dr. Plaut's letter provides a deep insight into the moral abyss Israel is being led into by its leaders who have propagandized the case for war and deformed its soldiers attitudes, bending the nation's collective will towards making violence inevitable -- and serving as its own justification.

"It's safe to say that in the face of hatred and misunderstanding, all the Corries would respond with a depth of spirit that expresses itself in love and respect for all people and a steadfast focus on the goal of justice for all."

Dr. Plaut's malicious dishonoring in a major Israeli newspaper of Corrie's life and tragic death in service to a noble calling of love and peace shows the kind of obstacles to truth and light hatemongers there -- as here
-- are using to protect their franchise of privelege and power.

***
(Following: VERY insightful detailed anonymous testimonies showing the reality of excused and encouraged brutal treatment of non-combatant ordinary Palestinians, driving unending & unresolved conflict.)

http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel ... 668&page=2

IDF Women Soldiers Speak About Israel War Crimes
by STEPHEN LENDMAN


On January 29, Israel's ynetnews.com reported that "Female soldiers break their silence," revealing accounts of "systematic humiliation of Palestinians, reckless and cruel violence, theft, killing of innocent people and cover-up."

On July 15, 2009, Reuters reported that participating IDF soldiers in the recent Gaza conflict said "they were urged by commanders to shoot first and worry later about sorting out civilians from combatants. Accordingly, they (said, they) went into Gaza with guns blazing," with comments like the following typical of others:

-- "If you're not sure, kill;"

-- "Better hit an innocent than hesitate to target an enemy;"

-- "In urban warfare, anyone is your enemy; no innocents;" and

-- "They kept repeating to us that this is war and in war opening fire is not restricted....There was a clear feeling, and this was repeated whenever others spoke to us, that no humanitarian consideration played any role in the army at present."

In his book titled, "The 'Good Soldier' on Trial: A Sociological Study of Misconduct by the US Military Pertaining to Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq," Professor Stjepan Mestrovic documented disturbing evidence of illegal US rules of engagement (ROE); namely, that commanders order troops to commit war crimes, citing an Army brigade colonel saying kill every military-aged Iraqi on sight, even civilians posing no threat.

Yet when the truth comes out, low-ranking soldiers are blamed, prosecuted, and punished to absolve superiors up the chain of command to the top.

Mestrovic correctly observed "that a crime becomes a 'war crime' when it involves the government, which is to say, when a crime is the result of unlawful social policies and plans."

According to noted sociologist Emile Durkheim, "The immorality of war depends entirely on the leaders who willed it - the soldier and even those government officials who had no part in the decision remain innocent."

It's true in America, Israel and all sides in times of war.
(cont; See site)

[AhabsOtherLeg]

.
I was supposed to go and see a play about her life at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, but instead I became drunken and fell down some stairs.

Nevertheless, she is tenderly remembered here, and the play was a great success. For every person that wants to kill her again, there are large numbers who think that her memory should be kept alive (and that she herself would approve of her memory being kept alive).

The play is not one-sided or exploitative - and doesn't show her as a saint or a dupe. She was a human being who tried to do good, and that's what the play portrays.

I think I would've liked it. Short review here: http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents ... -1.1012006

[Cordelia]

Today marks seven years since her death.

This video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919P3t6N-V8, was posted on the 'What Really Happened' site as a tribute by Saladin. Saladin wrote: "This is my first effort at making a You Tube video so it is far from perfect, but my heart went into it. Peace and Blessings be upon you dearest Rachel and all who have been willing to risk their very lives for justice."

R.I.P.

[Iamwhomiam]

This was a deed most foul and inexcusable.

Corrie was there protesting the illegal destruction of the homes of Palestinian families.

I'm glad they published my comment, even if it was slightly edited.

I suggested that Plaut be immediately terminated... from his employment at Haifa U.

Israel was born of terrorist's acts and now, generations later, such inhuman behavior seems to be inbred in many of its citizens.

Let's not forget... Biden was visiting at the time that this was published and Plaut's screed was the Dead Sea salt thrown into the wound opened by the announcement of their plan to build 16k units of housing, illegal by the agreement settling the '67 war, in the West Bank territory of
East Jerusalem.

[AlicetheKurious]

Just came across this piece, and it seems appropriate to post it here. In his ugly screed, Mr. Plaut never acknowledges the humanity of Israel's victims -- by definition, they are "terrorists", "Islamo-fascists", "monsters", "murderers", and therefore not only can, but should be killed, robbed, maimed and terrorized by the "innocent" Israelis. That is the essence of racism, which defines guilt or innocence according to race or ethnicity, and which makes any horrors, no matter how sadistic or inhumane, "worth it" as long as they are perpetrated by and for the Master Race against Lesser Beings.

Rachel Corrie and so many other heroes and heroines represent humanity's rejection of this sick and evil world-view, and this is why they must be vilified and defamed at every opportunity, their memory desecrated. Mr. Plaut and his ilk are not only insulted, but enraged by the very concept of Solidarity with Israel's victims, because it dares to acknowledge the shared humanity of people across racial and ethnic and cultural barriers, and therefore strikes at the very heart of zionism, where lurks a dirty open secret: its very legitimacy rests on the twin pillars of dehumanizing and demonizing the victims of zionism on the one hand, and sanctifying those who rob them and kill and oppress them on the other, as long as these are done in the name of the Jewish people. There would be no question at all about what to call them if the very same actions were done to Jewish people, instead of by Jewish people, and for the exact same reasons: Nazism.

Note: I actually worked at Palestine Hospital in Cairo many, many years ago, but haven't been there in a while. It's good to know the amazing people there are still doing a heroic job:

The human toll of U.S.-Israeli crimes

In Egypt, a glimpse of the countless lives destroyed

Iraq war veteran and ANSWER Coalition representative Michael Prysner reports on the Viva Palestina delegation’s journey to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian supplies.

Today I saw the first victims of "Operation: Cast Lead."

I joined a small delegation from Viva Palestina and visited the Palestine Hospital in Cairo. This hospital, for many years, has treated some of the worst trauma from Israel’s continued aggression towards Gaza. The Israeli blockade only lets patients leave Gaza a few times a year; the last time was in January, shortly after the siege. At that time, 78 casualties were transported to this hospital, most of them victims of white phosphorous, severe head injuries and amputations.

We entered the building to see a young boy about 12 years old in the hallway in a wheelchair. One leg was still wrapped in a cast, the other was twisted beyond recognition. He was timid, and wheeled himself away.

The doctor who greeted us described the patients who were admitted from January’s massacre. He said that, in 13 years of treating Palestinian victims, these were by far the worst injuries he had ever seen. He described an unusual amount of amputations, caused by the most high-tech, devastating munitions—paid for by the U.S. government and developed by corporate war profiteers.

He described an adolescent girl who eventually died from a head trauma that could not be treated. He described trying to care for injuries that were thought to be normal burns, only to discover weeks later that they were caused by white phosphorous as cysts and infections caused by the chemicals began to develop. He described the need for mental health personnel as a vital component to every patients’ treatment there. Keeping them alive only goes so far when you have to make them want to live.

The first victim I met was Abdel Halim Jaber, 31, from the Jabalia refugee camp. Jabalia dates back to when the Zionists' project was first established. Abdel’s parents were expelled from their homes and forced into this camp in 1948.

We told Abdel that we were from the United States, coming to bring over 50 cars and trucks filled with medical aid to break the siege of Gaza. He immediately broke down and started crying. We could only cry with him.

Abdel wiped tears from around the tube protruding from his nose with one hand, and with the other cradled the equipment coming out of his arms and his stomach. And he told his story.

He was walking with eight other family members to his sister’s house. There was no fighting in the area. There were no government or military buildings around; it was just ordinary city street.

A missile hit nearby. Shrapnel entered through his groin, destroyed his genitalia, his bladder, his colon, and his rectum, leaving pieces of metal throughout his body. He cannot eat anything, and can only take intravenous fluids. He relies on a catheter, artificial bladder, and a colostomy bag to function.

Abdel is still confined to a chair in the hospital. So far, he’s had six surgeries to try to rebuild him—or at least six that he remembers. The first few days were so traumatic, he has blanked them out.

He described the first week in the hospital in Gaza. The entire time, bombs were still being dropped. The hospital building was shaking nonstop, and he was sure he would be killed.

Abdel could not contain his tears talking about the trauma of thinking he was going to die every second—knowing that others were dying with every explosion, and that another explosion would surely follow somewhere.

I asked him what he wanted the people of the United States to know about the siege. "You have to expose what this has done to the children," he said. "They have suffered the most because of this."

He talked about his two sons. One of them was not physically uninjured in the attacks, but he had always received high grades in school. Since the massacre, he can’t function in the classroom and hasn’t passed a single test. "It has destroyed him," he said.

His other son, only 12 years old, developed malaria in his eyes because the blockade does not allow the necessary medication to cross into Gaza. Now he desperately needs eye surgery, but the necessary medical equipment can’t cross into Gaza either. He wept into his hand, telling us that soon his son would lose his sight permanently. Over and over, the Israeli government has denied his son permission to leave Gaza for treatment.

I met Ahamed Tafish from Zaytoun. At the age of 26, he has his entire body riddled with shrapnel. His legs, feet, arms, hands, and face are nothing but scars, craters and protruding metal still under the skin. His windpipe is now plastic. Several of his fingers were severed.

And he lost his eyes.

"I don’t want much" he said. "I only want to be able to see a little bit, so I can eat by myself, and go to the bathroom by myself."

When he was wounded, he had just gotten out of a car with his friend. Again, an area where there was no fighting, no military or government targets. A missile struck, and he saw his friend torn in half. But he was still breathing, and he ran to his aid. As he was helping him, a second missile came down, and Ahamed became another casualty.

His biggest concern now was supporting his family. Jobs are scarce, and he and his older brother were the only ones earning a paycheck and providing for their whole family. His brother was murdered in the attacks. Now blind, Ahamed doesn’t know how he can keep his family from starving.

I also met Mohammed Hamdi Khaziq. Footage of Mohammed has ben seen on al-Jazeera hundreds of times and all over the Internet, showing him as he raised two fingers in the air from what was thought to be a pile of dead bodies.

Mohammed was at his graduation from the police academy. All of Gaza’s infrastructure and government institutions were destroyed, including every police building. He was graduating in a class of 45 cadets; 40 of them were killed when a missile struck the building. "They all made their final graduation," he said.

"I wish I had died with them" he added, looking down at one stump where a leg once was, his remaining leg mangled and useless.

There were others. A man with half of his body paralyzed from a brain injury. A woman paralyzed from the waist down. This was only a tiny taste of the bitter reality that is waiting for us in Gaza.

We have all seen the images of the attack on Gaza: the demolished buildings, the Israeli tanks, the explosions, the smoke rising from mounds of rubble. Those of us with the stomach for it have seen the images of the human toll, too. Parents lifting their dead children from the ash, people buried under concrete, screaming women with severed limbs.

But actually seeing the victims—sitting next to them, putting your hand on their shoulder, watching them shake and choke as they tell their stories, telling them that you’re sorry for what has happened—is the most indescribable, painful and paralyzing way to witness the suffering that Israel has unleashed on innocent human beings. I challenge any skeptic to see what I have seen today and not conclude that the Israeli and U.S. governments are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

To all of the victims I met today, I could only offer them one thing: that I would tell their stories. That their testimonies, their wounds, and their tears would help build the movement for justice in the United States.

They wished us luck on our trek to Gaza. We leave tomorrow for Al-Arish, then to Gaza on Sunday, to meet countless more like those whom I have met today, to hear countless more tragic stories and to see countless more destroyed lives. Today was only a few among many thousands.

I only hope that people in the United States begin to hear these stories and understand that we are bound by conscience and humanity to fight for what is right: ending this criminal siege and punishing those responsible.

Michael Prysner joined the U.S. Army when he was 17 years old, hoping that he would get a college education and, in his own words, "believing that the U.S. government stood for freedom, justice and equality." Prysner was later deployed as part of the initial invasion of Iraq.

Of his experience, Michael wrote: "I spent 12 months in Iraq, doing everything from prisoner interrogations, to ground surveillance missions, to home raids. It was my firsthad experiences in Iraq that radicalized me. I soon realized that my purpose in Iraq was to be the oppressor, and to clear the way for U.S. corporations with no regard for human life.

"I separated from the Army in 2005. I understood that illegal conquering of Iraq was for profit, carried out by a system that serves a tiny class of superrich whose endless drive for wealth is at the expense of working people in the United States and abroad.

"I still had the same drive to fight for freedom, justice and equality as I did when I joined, and I understood that fighting for those things meant fighting against the U.S. government, not on behalf of it."

http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?ab ... le&id=9137

[Cordelia]

In case it's not already here, an interview with Israeli filmmaker Simone Bitton about her documentary 'Rachel' http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2010/0 ... d-on-film/