Do you think it might be because they know something we didn't, at least until now?
A Defense Ministry facility adjacent to the Tzrifin army base has been turned into a temporary warehouse over the past few days, containing beds, mattresses, couches, medical supplies, shoes, clothing, and medicine – some of which has reportedly expired. (my italics)If anyone hears of this from a non-Israeli news source, I'd be interested in knowing.
Update: thanks to the readers who found mention of this story in various venues. The interesting thing is that the fact actually seems to be recognized, but it doesn't impact the narrative.
22 comments:
spiegelonline had a piece on it (http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,698688,00.html) but without the info about the expired meds and also with the misleading headline "israel and hamas are bargaining about the aid shipments"
this pieces talk about the meds
http://www.factum-magazin.ch/wFactum_de/aktuell/2010_06_03_Hamas_Blockade.php
but who reads that (small swiss magazine)? i found it only through google.
The AP at least has a photo
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0bwLdDzeo1gWw?q=gaza
Wether anyone will use it is another question.
It's all over the international news: on the wire services, the Guardian, even the Morning Star, of all places.
I couldn't find it on dradio (their search function is bad though) but instead stumbled on the gem below i.e. an Istanbul paper is now claiming that IHH is German in reality
- there is a big brouhaha going on with everybody telling a different story whether German and Turkish IHH are mother and daughter, sisters or "independent" and this here claims the mother is German - that's a new one for me - and the day before that there actually was an excerpt from a Danish newspaper focusing on Turkey
as to the expired medication I "like" best that one participating organisation was doctors against atomic war (Ärzte gegen den Atomkrieg) - best ask you doctor next time whether he is a member and thus a fan of expired medication.
and while I'm at it Elder of Ziyon has great fotos Kitchen Knife of course - if you want it for sawing trees in half http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/06/observation-on-reuters-cropped-knives.html
Silke
VATAN aus Istanbul geht näher auf die "IHH" ein.
"Die Organisation hat ihren Sitz in Deutschland und unterhält enge Kontakte zu 'Milli Görüs'. Die aber wird vom deutschen Verfassungsschutz überwacht. Die IHH hat offiziell keine Drähte zur türkischen Regierungspartei AKP, aber viele Funktionäre der AKP haben dennoch enge Kontakte zu der Organisation. Auch muss die Regierung Erdogan umgehend die Frage beantworten, ob sie mit Blutvergießen bei dieser Aktion gerechnet hatte", kommentiert VATAN aus der Türkei.
http://www.dradio.de/presseschau/20100603120000/
OT but great news
- if that sticks then Wikileak Assange's unbreakable anonymity (see New Yorker weak before last weak) is proved compromised, useless and hopefully untrustworthy.
Silke
U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/leak/
Washington Times picked up the piece from INN last Tuesday.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/jun/1/Gaza-Freedom-Flotilla-aid-included-expired/
I had seen this story in an email, perhaps from JTA.
But today's story is the retirement of Helen Thomas - one of the most venerated journalists in Washington. She has been covering the White House since practically before there was a White House.
Anyway, this video was taken BEFORE the flotilla incident. The really creepy thing about it is the way she laughs when she says "Jews should get the hell out of Palestine."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcQdWBqt14
Nycerbarb
the IDF is again doing great
- by my gut I am glad they are doing their own investigation without "neutral" supervision which I assume will comply with the highest standards possible without compromising Israel's sovereignty.
http://idfspokesperson.com/2010/06/07/idf-appoints-internal-team-of-experts-to-examine-flotilla-operation/
if the world wants to tear the results to shreds it will do that with or without supervision by a saintly one.
and while we are at it:
the NYB has an exchange between Abe Foxman and Peter Beinart where Beinart shows off his loony self really well - he sure is an emperor without clothes and a vicious one on top
here is one of his many "gems" - reading it made me want the US would introduce the draft so young ones had a chance to learn being serious because if you read it straight he says supporting Israel is only for the elderly? Nutter!!! At the Daily Beast he "coined" the expression "the age of Obama" (not Aquarius but Obama but presumably equally lala)
"But to suggest that Palestinian and Arab behavior fully explains the growing authoritarian, even racist, tendencies in Israeli politics is to don a moral blindfold, a blindfold that most young American Jews, to their credit, will not wear."
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/24/failure-american-jewish-establishment-exchange/
Silke
Nycerbarb
SoccerDad has a piece on Helen Thomas remark - the logic of it I like very very much
Silke
http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/archives/2010/06/07/what_was_so_offensive_about_helen_thomass_remarks.html
I would have held a bet that I read it in the Corriere, an Italian paper, but I cannot find the article anymore. The article in the NZZ however, a Swiss paper in German language, is available online:
According to the article, Hamas refused to accept the goods unless three conditions were met: all "activists" from the flotilla had to be released, Turkey had to accept the delivery on this way, and all of the goods had to be delivered.
The article also says that most of the prisoners had already been released and Israel planned to hand the building materials to international relief organisations to prevent abuse by Hamas.
Judith
P.S. Just to be fair: Many drugs are quite stable when kept under the specified conditions (temperature, humidity, light). Paracetamol for instance, which seems to be especially popular among relief organisations, can be used safely and without loss of effectiveness for years past expiry date.
Anon
I know that drugs are stable long long after their due date has passed
- to include a reasonable margin of safety plus another one and probably another one is the way the due date is established
- still what no doctor in my country would dare to offer a patient is good enough for Gazans?????
and yes patients should start asking their doctors about it when given drugs from the sample cupboard - it is a good occasion to tell them what they think of Ärzte für ooops gegen den Atomkrieg's treatment of their potential patients in Gaza.
Silke
eating Yoghurt from her own fridge regularly after due date with no ill effects ;-)
Michael Totten has the story
http://www.michaeltotten.com/2010/06/the-most-ridiculous-story-of-the-week.php
from there it should spread to the Blogosphere and from there hopefully reach the MSM once more.
Silke
I like his headline :-)
And when they finally do, they'll concoct some insane tale how all the goods were poisoned. At least 50% of Huffington Post readers will believe that.
changing the topic again:
I guess this is my day for watching cantankerous old ladies (sure hope I don't turn into one!). I found this while browsing the comments in the Huffington Post, of all places.
This is from 1979. Ayn Rand was asked her thoughts on American policy in the Middle East on a popular talk show. She got it right!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHSv1asFvU
Oops. Forgot to sign my comment. The Ayn Rand link was from Nycerbarb.
Given the perversity of the times, and the nature of Hamas, and the nature of the world, it would make perfect sense for Hamas to declare a total "hunger strike" until Israel stops it "inhuman" blockade.
(It certainly sounds a lot better better than declaring a "hunger strike" until Iran is allowed to send them scuds and other materiel---though the usual suspects would probably support them even if they said that.)
Nycerbarb
notice how civilized both sides behaved in the audience - no heckling, no attacking - each side does its applause and that's it - those were the days ...
btw who is that died top hair mop second question asker? he sounds like a remarkable specimen of the bleeding heart kind
(having listened to a number of book talks of both Ayn Rand biographies out there right now, I am no fan of her and I object to her calling US behaviour bad the way she does - as empires go through the millenia the US probably comes out as the most benign ever)
Silke
This is Hell
" how all the goods were poisoned."
maybe the IDF screwed up after all and some of the socks Henning Mankell claims have been stolen from him got mixed up with the goods?
Sometimes socks do you-know-what and one can't blame them for refusing ...
Silke
Silke -
That is Phil Donahue. He had a national daytime talkshow from around 1970-1995. Before Oprah Winfrey, there was Phil Donahue. I don't know how well these people are known in Europe, but here they are household names.
Nycerbarb
Nycerbarb
thanks.
I don't remember having ever heard his name
- these US stars were for a long time the arcane knowledge of our journalists which they liked to drop here and there to show how worldly-wise they were.
I probably heard the name Larry King consciously for the first time when our Harald Schmidt started a daily late night show which Wikipedia says happened in 1995
- it must be more than 10 years that I threw out my TV but I think we still haven't gotten our own Oprah. But come to think of it we had for some time a protestant pastor who sounded similarly oily than your Donahue but he never managed to upgrade from afternoon shows (which we cultured ol' Europeans consider to be beneath us ;)
Silke
Silke -
Unfortunately, here in the US, too many people (IMHO) get there news and political information from television and radio demogogues, rather than taking the time to read in depth reporting or historical research. (Hurray for historians who write books for the public!) So, our politics our based on sound bites, and it makes discourse difficult and nuance non-existent.
Nycerbarb
Nycerbarb
I agree - having read one book on a subject puts innumerable soundbites into perspective
- as to historians writing for the public (I love them)
it makes me sad though to get again and again from those who do a book talk at the Pritzker Military Library and elsewhere the impression that the majority of Americans sound other than their British competitors as if their book aims at recommending them for a government advisory position.
To think that it was a collection of American short stories book that made me first get hooked on the language i.e. wow one can do art in short sentences!!! what a revelation! and now you let yourselves get outperformed by the Brits? ;-)
Silke
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