Dr Gloom

there should be a ban on the advert for that fungal nail infection treatment stuff. it always seems to come on when i'm eating in front of the telly

not wasting all those billions on renewing the trident missle system that we don't need anymore would have been a start. that's the main reason why i voted lib dem. annoyingly it was one of the policies they had to drop as part of the coalition agreement. seems bonkers that money is going into a weapons system that we simply don't need anymore when there's such a massive hole in the public finances.

"Go Back to Auschwitz": A Message From the Flotilla http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45...he_Flotilla.asp

the obvious danger with making the cuts too quickly now is the fragiel state of the global economy. canada got away with it in the 90s because it had a booming us economy to support it during rh e clinton era. likewise with sweden making quick cuts in the 90s when europe was buzzing. obviously that isn't the case now. the cuts clearly have to be made but there is a clear danger of cutting to much, too quickly. it's going to be a difficult balancing act to avoid a double dip recession.

It’s time to stop demonizing Israel The flood of hypocrisy and bad faith that seems to have just been waiting across the media worldwide for the Mavi Marmara is by no means acceptable. By Bernard-Henri Lévy Of course, my position hasn’t changed. As I said the day it happened, during a fierce debate in Tel Aviv with one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ministers, I continue to find the manner in which the assault against the Mavi Marmara and its flotilla was effected off the Gaza coast to be “stupid.” If I’d had any remaining doubt, the inspection of the seventh boat − carried out without a trace of violence Saturday morning − would have convinced me there were other ways Israel could have operated to have kept the tactical and PR trap set by the provocateurs of Free Gaza from snapping shut, and with blood spilled. That said and repeated, the flood of hypocrisy, bad faith and, ultimately, disinformation that seems to have just been waiting for this pretext to flow into the breach and sweep across the media worldwide − as is the case every time the Jewish state slips up and commits an error − is by no means acceptable. The catchphrase being trotted out ad nauseum refers to the blockade imposed “by Israel.” The most elementary honesty, however, requires one to make clear that this blockade has been undertaken by both Israel and Egypt, conjointly, along the borders of the two countries that share frontiers with Gaza, and with the thinly disguised blessing of all the moderate Arab regimes. Saying the blockade has been imposed by Israel alone can only be described as disinformation. The moderate Arab regimes, of course, are only too happy to have someone else contain the influence of this armed extension, this advanced base and, perhaps one day, this aircraft-carrier of Iran in the region. The very idea of a “total and merciless” blockade ‏(Laurent Joffrin’s June 5 editorial in the French daily Liberation‏) “taking hostage the humanity [of Gaza]” ‏(former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin in Le Monde on the same date‏) also constitutes disinformation. We mustn’t tire of reminding others: the blockade concerns only arms and the material needed to manufacture them. It does not prevent the daily arrival, via Israel, of between 100 and 120 trucks laden with foodstuffs, medical supplies and humanitarian goods of every kind. Humanity is not “in danger” in Gaza, and it is a lie to state that people are “dying of hunger” in the streets of Gaza City. It is debatable whether or not a military blockade is the right course of action to weaken and, one day, bring down the fascislamist government of Ismail Haniyeh. But it is an indisputable fact that the Israelis who man the checkpoints between the territories night and day are the first to make the elementary but essential distinction between the regime ‏(that they seek to isolate‏) and the population ‏(which they are careful not to confuse with the regime, and in particular not to penalize as, once again, aid has never stopped passing into Gaza‏). Disinformation: the utter silence, throughout the world, about Hamas’ incredible attitude now that the flotilla has carried out its symbolic duty − to trap the Jewish state and relaunch, as never before, the process of demonization. In other words, now that the Israelis have carried out their inspection and brought the aid cargo to those for whom it was supposedly intended, Hamas’ attitude in blocking that aid at Kerem Shalom checkpoint, allowing it to slowly rot, is met with silence. To hell with any merchandise that has passed through the hands of Jewish customs! Chuck out the “toys” that brought tears to the eyes of good European souls, but became impure after spending too many long hours in the Israeli port of Ashdod! Gaza’s children have been used as nothing more than a human shield for the Islamist gang who took power by force three years ago, or cannon fodder or media vignettes. The children’s games or their wishes are the last thing anyone in the Strip worries about, but who says so? Who shows the slightest indignation? Liberation recently ran an awful headline − “Israel, Pirate State” − which, if words still mean anything, can only contribute to the delegitimization of the Jewish state. Who will dare explain that, if there is a hostage-taker in Gaza, one who coldly and unscrupulously takes advantage of people’s suffering and, in particular, that of the children − in sum, a pirate − it is not Israel but Hamas? Laughable, but given the strategic context, catastrophic disinformation was clearly seen in the speech given in Konya, in central Turkey, by a prime minister who throws in prison anyone who dares to evoke the genocide of the Armenians in public, but who has the nerve, there, before thousands of fired-up demonstrators yelling anti-Semitic slogans, to denounce Israeli “state terrorism.” Still more disinformation: the lament of the useful idiots who, before Israel did, fell into the clutches of these strange “humanitarians” who, in the case of the Turkish IHH, are Jihad enthusiasts, anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish apocalyptical fanatics, both men and women − some of whom, just days before the incident, expressed their wish to “die as martyrs.” ‏(The Guardian, June 3; Al Aqsa TV, May 30‏). How can a writer of the calibre of Sweden’s Henning Mankell allow himself to be taken advantage of this way? When he tells us he is thinking of forbidding the translation of his books into Hebrew, how can he really forget the sacrosanct distinction between a stupid or wrong-headed government and the masses of those who do not identify with it? How can a chain of cinemas ‏(Utopia‏) in France decide to cancel the release of a film, “A Cinq heures de Paris,” in the same way, simply because its writer, Leonid Prudovsky, is an Israeli citizen? Finally, the battalions of Tartuffes who regret that Israel is declining the demand for an international inquiry are disinformers as well. The truth is, once again, much simpler and more logical: What Israel is refusing is an inquiry requested by the UN Human Rights Council, where those great democrats − the Cubans, Pakistanis and Iranians − reign. What Israel does not want is a procedure of the kind that resulted in the famous Goldstone report, commissioned after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The five judges on that sympathetic commission − four of whom had never made a secret of their militant anti-Zionism − wrapped up 575 pages of interviews of Palestinian fighters and civilians, conducted under the watchful eye of Hamas political commissioners ‏(an absolute and unprecedented heresy in this kind of work‏), in a matter of mere days. Such a botched inquiry would amount to a masquerade of international justice, something Israel simply cannot stand for. Its conclusions would be known in advance and would only serve to haul, as usual and perfectly unilaterally, the region’s sole and unique democracy into the defendants’ dock. One last word. For a man like me, someone who takes pride in having helped to conceive, with others, this kind of symbolic action ‏(the boat for Vietnam; the march for the survival of Cambodia in 1979; various and sundry anti-totalitarian boycotts and, more recently, the deliberate violation of the Sudan border to break the blockade hiding the perpetration of massacres in Darfur‏) − in other words, for a militant of humanitarian interference and all the media fuss that goes with it, this pathetic saga has something of a caricature to it, a gloomy grimace of destiny. But this is all the more reason not to give in. All the more reason to reject this confusing of genres, this inversion of values. All the more reason to resist this hijacking of meaning, that places the very spirit of a policy conceived to counter the intent of barbarians at their service. Destitution of the anti-totalitarian dialectic, its imitations and its reversals. Confusion of an era when we combat democracies as if they were dictatorships or fascist states. This maelstrom of hatred and madness is about Israel. But it also concerns, as we should be well aware, some of the most precious things established in the movement of ideas in the last 30 years, especially on the left, and these are thus imperiled. A word to the wise is sufficient. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/...israel-1.294833

did a double bill last night of up and hurt locker. both class

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...olumns&sid=

the idf has just boarded the rachel corrie. let's hope they handle the situation better than last week

i watched it throughout. loved it and hated it in equal measure. it's pretty lame of the writers to throw in so many unanswered questions then say it was a show all about the characters - it was a kop out and yet they were right in some respects. i watched every episode and felt a bit emotional during the afterlife scene in the last episode despite the fact i was still frustrated with all the loose ends. the only question really answered was the flash forward thing going on in the last season was purgatory before the afterlife. so many loose ends before that. i agree with those that say the writers really didn't know where it was going as they were writing it. shame really as i thought the first couple of seasons promised a lot more than the writers were eventually able to deliver.

question on everyone's lips......would you?

Cack. i ended up giving adulthood a go instead of drag me to hell the other night because of the bad reviews on here. only managed 45 mins of it before i had to turn over. awful ...ya get me blud

israel will argue they aren't the agressor, as will the palestinians. remember though that israel is a sovereign state, recognised by the UN. it's worth noting also that many pelestinian refugees were not welcomed by surrounding arab nations. and yet they show solidarity when backign sucide bombers against israel. just as long as they dobn'ty launch their attacks from their own back yard i suppose. http://www.fact-index.com/a/ar/arab_israeli_conflict.html

I'm not siding with the liberals or conservatives. I'm siding with the victim against the aggressor. there are victims and agressors on both sides of this conflict.

looks like the whole affair is going to force israel into making concessions. Israel signals rethink on blockade http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b84c64fc-6ef4-11...144feabdc0.html Israel gave the first sign of concession to international calls for an end to its blockade of the Gaza Strip as thousands of mourners took to the streets of Istanbul on Thursday for the funerals of Turkish victims of its attack on a Palestinian aid flotilla. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was meeting senior ministers last night to discuss ways to ease the Gaza blockade. One Israeli official, explaining government thinking, said it was “necessary to examine every ship that could bring rockets and missiles into Gaza” while also allowing “civilian products” to reach the population. “We are currently exploring additional paths to implement this principle,” the official said. News agency and television reports suggested ministers would consider some sort of international role in enforcing an arms embargo on Gaza. But the prime minister’s office was also quoted as saying another aid ship intending to reach Gaza at the weekend would not be allowed to do so. The Israeli government has rejected calls for an international investigation into Monday’s incident off the Gaza coast. Senior figures are divided over whether to establish an independent Israeli inquiry. “No decision has yet been taken,” said an official in the prime minister’s office. But several ministers argued that an Israeli investigation was necessary to stave off international criticism. Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister, told Israeli radio: “We have no need to fear any commission of inquiry. I told the prime minister . . . that we should create a commission of inquiry that is open and transparent.” But Ehud Barak, the defence minister, is likely to resist this call. A senior security official said: “Objectively, we don’t need [an independent investigation] to understand what happened, because our [internal] procedures are enough.” He conceded, however, that outside pressure may yet make that stance untenable. The repercussions of Monday’s incident have raised questions over the state of US-Israeli relations. The Obama administration wants an investigation into the incident, but argues that an Israeli inquiry would be preferable to a formal United Nations process. Anthony Cordesman, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, suggested that Israel could now be a “strategic liability” for the US. Officials in the Obama administration stressed that they had called for Israel to exercise “restraint” before the raid on the flotilla. The aftermath has complicated the US drive to secure approval from the UN Security Council for new sanctions on Iran. But a vote on a draft resolution is still expected to take place this month. The aircraft that returned 466 pro-Palestinian activists to a rapturous welcome in Turkey also brought home the corpses of the nine who died, all of them Turkish. One of the dead, Furkan Dogan, 19, was a dual national who also held a US passport. The names of the dead published by the Anatolian news agency included a journalist, a mayoral candidate from the Islamist Saadet party and a 54-year-old Taekwondo champion. All nine had suffered gunshot wounds, according to a state forensic institute. Turkish prosecutors are thought to be investigating the case for legal action against Israel. “Israel has made one of the biggest mistakes in its history. Without doubt, Turkey will never forgive such an attack,” said Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president. But some are beginning to voice criticism of the ruling AK party, saying it failed to prevent a confrontation that now poses risks for Turkey.

I know it's not what you intended but this could be construed as suggesting few of the Arab countries have any democratic system at all. There are only four governments in the world that don't claim to be democratic. Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Brunei. Some other countries have single candidate sham elections, like Israel's buddy Egypt. But lots of Middle Eastern countries have multiple candidate elections. I'd agree that Israel probably has the most transparent elections in the region, but even so, according to the 2008 Democracy Index, it's a "flawed democracy". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index yeah, but look at place like iran and syria. none of us used to living in a western democracy could ever live in those countries. on the other hand, if you take away the threat of bombings in israel, i'd wager many of us could live a happy life there. tel aviv is similar to any european city in the med I think that's a different question, whether or not we as western democrats could integrate into a society has little to do with their election process.. I know people that do live and work under an authritarian regime in Saudi Arabia. Qatar explicitly uses Sharia law as the basis of its government, but the quality of life is deemed to be about the same as Israel. not sure i'd fancy living in qatar if i was a woman I'd prefer it to living in occupied Gaza as a man or a woman. but not israel, which was the point i was making

one thing i find slightly ironic is how it is considered liberal to now side with the islamists. by definition, israel is far more liberal than any of the surrounding countries

i'm only going on my own experience of people i have met in israel, who on the whole have been open-minded and liberal. i'm sure there is widespread prejudice there, as in most countries in the world. but in israel, just like here in the uk, i wouldn't rush to mix with such people. one point i'd like to make, is my auntie used to be a "peacenik" and a leading member of the peace now movement. she campaigned for the tweo state solution and remember that it was very close int he mid 90s until rabin was shot. anyway, the song they used to sing was "we shall overcome". quite different from "death to the jews" or "gaza or martyrdom" that was the battlecry of many on the flotilla - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKi1YeBcMw now, like many israelis who in the past were peace activists, my auntie has become old and cynical and now thinks that a majority in gaza (and certainly those that voted hamas) do not seek peace. she sees them as islamic jihadists bent on murdering as many jews and others as possible and spreading havoc in the world until they achieve their ultimate goal: an islamic world. the prejudice and hatred increases with ever act of violence and retalitaion and sadly will rumble on for generations to come it seems.

I know it's not what you intended but this could be construed as suggesting few of the Arab countries have any democratic system at all. There are only four governments in the world that don't claim to be democratic. Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Brunei. Some other countries have single candidate sham elections, like Israel's buddy Egypt. But lots of Middle Eastern countries have multiple candidate elections. I'd agree that Israel probably has the most transparent elections in the region, but even so, according to the 2008 Democracy Index, it's a "flawed democracy". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index yeah, but look at place like iran and syria. none of us used to living in a western democracy could ever live in those countries. on the other hand, if you take away the threat of bombings in israel, i'd wager many of us could live a happy life there. tel aviv is similar to any european city in the med I think that's a different question, whether or not we as western democrats could integrate into a society has little to do with their election process.. I know people that do live and work under an authritarian regime in Saudi Arabia. Qatar explicitly uses Sharia law as the basis of its government, but the quality of life is deemed to be about the same as Israel. not sure i'd fancy living in qatar if i was a woman

that is true as far as jewish people in israel are concernd - my cousin had to travel to cyprus for her civil ceremony because she isn't religious. i'm not sure if the same applies to arabs that live there. even if it does, the country is a real democracy and so much more civilised - if you ask me - than the islamic dictatorships that surround it. lots of arabs live in israel because they can have a better quality of life - it is a western democracy and there are lots of job opportunities - that's despite the risks involved in living there. Of course, the fact that there is a democratic system is better than just about all the Arab countries, its just a shame the right wing loons have too much power. As I've never been there, I have the image that they are second class citizens due to their ethnicity, and are viewed with suspicion in the same way the Irish were when the IRA were at their worst. It may not be the case at all, I have never been to Israel. Since you are part Jewish, I'll ask another question. What's with the big curly sideburns the Orthodox Jews have? And that particular style of hat? in my experience jews and arabs live in peace in harmony. that's not to say there isn't prejudice and racism there. what i would say though is that my israeli cousins have arab friends. when i have been there i have been out for drinks with israeli arabs, eaten at arab restuarants etc. the sidburn thing, i have no idea where that comes from. i can't understand either why the hasidics want to make sure they look as ugly as possible too. and can you imagine wearing those overcoats and hats in the israeli climate? as you can imagine, they don't smell good either. but honestly, they feel like a minority in israel. normal looking people make up the mjaority but it's these right wingers that seem to have a lot of influence, sadly.

I know it's not what you intended but this could be construed as suggesting few of the Arab countries have any democratic system at all. There are only four governments in the world that don't claim to be democratic. Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Brunei. Some other countries have single candidate sham elections, like Israel's buddy Egypt. But lots of Middle Eastern countries have multiple candidate elections. I'd agree that Israel probably has the most transparent elections in the region, but even so, according to the 2008 Democracy Index, it's a "flawed democracy". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index yeah, but look at place like iran and syria. none of us used to living in a western democracy could ever live in those countries. on the other hand, if you take away the threat of bombings in israel, i'd wager many of us could live a happy life there. tel aviv is similar to any european city in the med

economically, yes. it has big, engineering, biotech and high tech industries. i don't think israel even went into recession during the global financial crisis. israel has loan guarantees with the amaericza of course but hasn't been forced to use it. military support from the us is vital not just for israel but the whole middle east region. if america were to ever withdraw its support for israel there would almost certainly be a very destructive war in the middle east.

that is true as far as jewish people in israel are concernd - my cousin had to travel to cyprus for her civil ceremony because she isn't religious. i'm not sure if the same applies to arabs that live there. even if it does, the country is a real democracy and so much more civilised - if you ask me - than the islamic dictatorships that surround it. lots of arabs live in israel because they can have a better quality of life - it is a western democracy and there are lots of job opportunities - that's despite the risks involved in living there.

technically, i'm 100 per cent part of the tribe. according to jewish law, it all goes through the mother. that said, i have only ever attended a synagogue as a tourist. i was brought up an atheist. You say that mate, but the Jews believe it's all in the blood, hence your right of return. Next thing you know you're growing a beard, playing chess -watching 'The Shoa' on repeat and gathering around one candle in the evening with your extended family figuring out ways of scaming money from the Germans. holocaust denier

technically, i'm 100 per cent part of the tribe. according to jewish law, it all goes through the mother. that said, i have only ever attended a synagogue as a tourist. i was brought up an atheist.

Interesting to contrast these two views. Rocket attacks rarely kill more than single figures. More often than not nobody is killed. It's difficult to remember when the Israeli response to them has been measured, diplomatic condemnation though, it's guaranteed to be heavy-handed, military and fatal. Which you seem to be suggesting is appropriate, given the fear they create. Terrible as they are, I think mitigation comes from them being fired from occupied territory engaged in resistance. However, here we have Israel killing 9 people in international waters in what amounts (according to the lawyers) to an act of war against Turkey, and you think the measured, diplomatic condemnation and calls for an investigation (that have already been rejected by Israel and the US...and therefore the UN) is "massively overblown". i'm not disputing that. when the israelis attack the palestinians the casualties are almost always vastly higher than vice versa. but that doesn't mean rocket attacks aren't dangerous. i wouldn't fancy it if people were firing them into england from wales. my family in israel live in constant danger - they don't fear for their lives because that threat is part of every day life over there and they become used to it. you never know when the next sucide bomber is going to attack. that said, the wall - though widely condemned - has made a big difference in reducing the number of suicide bombings in israel. but i repeat, the idf were blatantly attacked as they landed on the boat - see earlier photo and video evidence in thread. did they over-react? when you look at the casualties you would have to say yes. but there had to be a reaction. the 5 other ships all followed the idf instructions to dock so the aid could be checked and safely transported by israeli military. there would have been no casualties if the 6th boat had done likewise.