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Netanyahu fires-em-up. Israelis attack African migrants during protest
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Capt. Justice
May 25, 2012, 11:18:34 PM5/25/12
to
Israelis attack African migrants during protest against refugees
.
Seventeen arrested after protesters go on 'unbridled rampage' targeting
African workers and looting shops serving refugees
.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/24/israelis-attack-african-migrants-protest
.
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, .
Thursday 24 May 2012 06.14 EDT
.
An African migrant in a car with shattered windows after a protest
against African refugees and asylum-seekers in Tel Aviv turned violent.
Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
.
Demonstrators have attacked African migrants in Tel Aviv in a protest
against refugees and asylum-seekers that indicates an increasingly
volatile mood in Israel over what it terms as "infiltrators".
Miri Regev, a member of the Israeli parliament, told the crowd "the
Sudanese are a cancer in our body". The vast majority of asylum-seekers
in Israel are from Sudan and Eritrea.
Around 1,000 demonstrators took part in the demonstration on Wednesday
night, waving signs saying: "Infiltrators, get out of our homes" and
"Our streets are no longer safe for our children." A car containing
Africans was attacked and shops serving the refugee community were
looted. Seventeen people were arrested.
A reporter for the Israeli daily Maariv described it as an "unbridled
rampage" and explosion of "pent-up rage".
"Suddenly one of [the protesters] noticed that in one of the cars
waiting for traffic to move were two young dark-skinned men, apparently
foreign workers. For the hundreds of inflamed and enraged young people,
that was all they needed. Within minutes, they dismantled " there is no
other word to describe it " the car and its passengers. Some of them
smashed the windows with their hands and rocks, others kicked the car,
bent the plastic parts and tried to attack the people inside. .
'I'm not from Sudan, I'm not from Sudan,' the driver tried to tell the
assailants, but nobody was listening at that stage."
The protest followed a claim on Sunday by the prime minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu, that "illegal infiltrators [were] flooding the country" and
threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state. "This
phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our
national security and our national identity," he said.
The government is constructing a fence along the Egypt-Israel border to
deter migrants and asylum-seekers, and is building what will be the
world's largest detention centre, capable of holding up to 11,000
people.
It is also seeking court approval to deport up to 3,000 refugees back to
South Sudan, despite concerns over the humanitarian crisis there and
human rights violations.
Israel's police chief has urged the state to allow asylum-seekers to
work in order to avoid economic and social problems.
.
Seventeen arrested after protesters go on 'unbridled rampage' targeting
African workers and looting shops serving refugees
.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/24/israelis-attack-african-migrants-protest
.
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, .
Thursday 24 May 2012 06.14 EDT
.
An African migrant in a car with shattered windows after a protest
against African refugees and asylum-seekers in Tel Aviv turned violent.
Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
.
Demonstrators have attacked African migrants in Tel Aviv in a protest
against refugees and asylum-seekers that indicates an increasingly
volatile mood in Israel over what it terms as "infiltrators".
Miri Regev, a member of the Israeli parliament, told the crowd "the
Sudanese are a cancer in our body". The vast majority of asylum-seekers
in Israel are from Sudan and Eritrea.
Around 1,000 demonstrators took part in the demonstration on Wednesday
night, waving signs saying: "Infiltrators, get out of our homes" and
"Our streets are no longer safe for our children." A car containing
Africans was attacked and shops serving the refugee community were
looted. Seventeen people were arrested.
A reporter for the Israeli daily Maariv described it as an "unbridled
rampage" and explosion of "pent-up rage".
"Suddenly one of [the protesters] noticed that in one of the cars
waiting for traffic to move were two young dark-skinned men, apparently
foreign workers. For the hundreds of inflamed and enraged young people,
that was all they needed. Within minutes, they dismantled " there is no
other word to describe it " the car and its passengers. Some of them
smashed the windows with their hands and rocks, others kicked the car,
bent the plastic parts and tried to attack the people inside. .
'I'm not from Sudan, I'm not from Sudan,' the driver tried to tell the
assailants, but nobody was listening at that stage."
The protest followed a claim on Sunday by the prime minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu, that "illegal infiltrators [were] flooding the country" and
threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state. "This
phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our
national security and our national identity," he said.
The government is constructing a fence along the Egypt-Israel border to
deter migrants and asylum-seekers, and is building what will be the
world's largest detention centre, capable of holding up to 11,000
people.
It is also seeking court approval to deport up to 3,000 refugees back to
South Sudan, despite concerns over the humanitarian crisis there and
human rights violations.
Israel's police chief has urged the state to allow asylum-seekers to
work in order to avoid economic and social problems.
Capt. Justice
May 26, 2012, 12:12:02 PM5/26/12
to
Capt. Justice
May 29, 2012, 6:38:04 PM5/29/12
to
Tel Aviv "Race Riots" Reveal Much About Israel
by Ran HaCohen, May 28, 2012 .
.
http://original.antiwar.com/hacohen/2012/05/27/tel-aviv-race-riots-reveal-much-about-israel/
.
The "race riots" in Tel Aviv last week - a mass demonstration that
turned into a pogrom against about 60,000 asylum seekers, an
overwhelming majority of them from Eritrea, the rest mostly from Sudan
(Darfur and South Sudan) and a few other African countries - gives a
revealing glimpse into Israeli realities under the current fascist
government.
The predominant speakers at the demonstration in the poor southern part
of Tel Aviv, where most of the asylum seekers and migrant workers are
concentrated, were two Knesset members: Michael Ben-Ari (of the
far-right National Union), who urged the Jewish rabble to take law into
its own hands ('the time for words is over'), and Miri Regev (Likud),
who described the 'Sudanese' (contrary to the facts, many ignorant
Israelis subsume all Africans under 'Sudanese') as "cancer."
Obviously, fascism always deflects public discontent by turning it
against helpless minorities. But the alliance between the two Knesset
members is revealing: whereas Regev is a coalition member, Ben-Ari is
officially part of the opposition. Israel's fascist coalition is in fact
even wider than the 94 (out of 120) Knesset members it now includes, as
it can rely on the support of the far-right opposition to carry out its
policies. Netanyahu uses this quite often. When regulations or tradition
stipulate the appointment of an opposition member to some official
function, Netanyahu appoints someone from the far right, marginalizing
the small liberal opposition even further.
Ben-Ari is a former (?) member of the Orthodox, fascist-racist Kach
movement, which is outlawed in Israel and considered a terrorist
organization in the United States. Miri Regev, on the other hand, was
the spokesperson of the Israeli army during the Second Lebanon War
(2006). Trained and experienced in lying and inciting against the 'enemy
from without,' she now turns her talents against the 'enemy from
within.' Just a few years ago, the far-right former Col. Effi Eitam
defined Israeli Arab citizens as a "cancer," now Regev is using -
without any apology even in hindsight - the same image (quite popular
among neo-Nazis against Jews, by the way) against asylum seekers.
The Palestinian Model
Indeed, the asylum seekers are neatly placed into the square allotted to
Palestinians and Arabs. "Cancer" is just one common image. The
"demographic threat" is evoked against the Africans too:
Netanyahu has warned that the 60,000 (about 0.8% of Israel's total
population) "might become 600,000 and destroy Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state." On the backdrop of this blatant incitement,
Netanyahu's condemnation of violence after the riots is nothing but lip
service.
Even the U.S. government 'viewed negatively [Israeli] government
officials' use of the term 'infiltrators' to refer to asylum seekers, as
well as officials who directly associated asylum seekers with the rise
in crime, disease and terrorism.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai was specifically flagged as an instigator.-
The Hebrew term mistanenim ('infiltrators') was coined to refer to the
Palestinian refugees who tried to return to their homes and fields
inside Israel, from which they had fled or been expelled during the 1948
war.
Though predominantly unarmed, about 5,000 of them were ruthlessly killed
by Israeli soldiers during the 1950s. The routine was repeated after the
1967 war; Israeli historian Shlomo Sand has just revealed how as a young
soldier he witnessed the abuse of an elderly Palestinian 'infiltrator'
who was unlucky enough to be arrested in daylight (those caught at night
were killed summarily): "The detainee was sitting tied to a chair while
my good friends were beating him all over his body, occasionally putting
out burning cigarettes on his arms." Later, a vehicle left carrying the
corpse of the old man. My friends told me they were going to the Jordan
River to get rid of it."
Compared to this organized state violence against "infiltrators," the
incited Israeli demonstrators of last week -whose life has indeed become
impossible due to the presence of thousands of mostly unemployed
immigrants in their already impoverished neighborhoods - treated the
African "infiltrators" rather kindly.
Indeed, even the "solution" used for the "problem" of asylum seekers is
similar to the one implemented on the Palestinians. Showing some civil
courage " a very rare trait in Israel " the chief of police hit the nail
on the head last week when he urged the government to let asylum seekers
work. Imagine: the Africans are arrested upon crossing the border from
Egypt, kept in detention for weeks or months, and then dumped at the Tel
Aviv Central Bus Station. They are not given any work permit as long as
their request is "processed" by Israel - and regarding this 'processing'
we have the evidence of the American 2011 Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices: "of 4,603 new asylum applications, 3,692 were
rejected. Only one was approved."
What's the sense of keeping thousands of people who cannot be deported
to their failed home countries without a work permit, pushing them to
hunger, theft, and robbery- Government spokesmen are quite open about
that: "If we let them work, more will come." We see again the "solution"
traditionally suggested and implemented toward the Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza: do not treat them well; dispossess them, deprive
them of land, work opportunities, and human rights; and they'll go away
(or evaporate). And if ' surprise surprise ' they turn to violence,
that's even better: portray them as terrorists and "Let the Army Win."
After all, there's no problem the Israeli army cannot solve.
The Economy Behind
But it's not just ideology that is at stake here. Behind the scenes,
economic factors play a huge role. While thousands of asylum seekers are
pushed to starvation and crime, Israel opens its gates every year to
thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Asia; entire branches of the
country's economy - especially agriculture and construction - depend on
this cheap labor, since the Palestinian commuters were pushed out of the
labor market to perish behind walls and fences.
The solution seems trivial: instead of importing new workers from the
Philippines or China, Israel can give work permits to the asylum seekers
already here. Why is this not done? We?ve already seen the official
excuse. But the deeper reason is concealed. Take, for example, Miri
Regev. Just a few days before railing against "the Sudanese cancer" in
Tel Aviv, the very same lady tried to promote an amendment to the law
that would reduce government's regulation of foreign workers and give
"manpower contractors" a free hand to import whomever they decide. How
come? Well, unlike asylum seekers, who are often robbed and blackmailed
by Egyptian smugglers but enter Israel free of charge, every legal
migrant worker pays his Israeli "manpower contractor" thousands of
dollars just for entering Israel. Asylum seekers come for free, but
migrant workers are big money. Regev is a politician, and politicians
are always aware of big money.
Remember Eli Yishai, the interior minister "specifically flagged as an
instigator- against asylum seekers" During his time as interior
minister, work permits for migrant workers have soared. His colleague in
the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, former minister Shlomo Benizri, is now in
prison, convicted of accepting bribe from a good friend - a 'manpower
contractor' - in exchange for inside information regarding foreign
workers scheduled to arrive in Israel.
Regev could have helped both the poor asylum seekers and the poor
Israelis who suffer from them - by urging to let the Africans work. But
that would make her unpopular among the 'manpower contractors' who
import Asian migrant workers. Instead, she incites poor Israelis against
poorer Africans and demands benefits for the rich contractors who
exploit poor Asians. Social justice, Israeli-style.
Not Just Africans
Modeled on the violence against Palestinians, the incitement and
eruption of violence against Africans is just another symptom of the
fascist atmosphere in Israel, and it does not end with Africans.
Regev specifically aimed her attack also at 'the leftists who appealed
to courts' (asking not to deport asylum seekers to South Sudan). "Shame
on them, they stopped the deportation," she added, pointing a finger
both at the 'leftists' and at Israel's judiciary, despised and hated by
the government. The rabble got the message: immediately afterward,
Ha'aretz reporter Ilan Lior was attacked when demonstrators claimed to
have identified him as 'a leftist who throws stones at Israeli soldiers
at a checkpoint.' .
His denials did not help. He was saved thanks to police who pushed him
into their car, warning him he might get murdered.
The Israeli journalist was almost lynched, then, not for expressing any
support for asylum seekers in a heated demonstration against them, but
because he was seen as a political opponent in the "only democracy in
the Middle East."
P.S. Regev has apologized for calling the Sudanese 'cancer.' However,
she directed her apology to cancer patients and Holocaust survivors, not
to the Sudanese. .
Read more by Ran HaCohen
Was Elliott Abrams Hitler's Senior Advisor? - September 15th, 2011
Israelis Sick and Tired - but of What? - August 7th, 2011
Things You Can Say, Things You Cannot - July 12th, 2011
West Bank Neighbors: Chronicles of Death - March 15th, 2011
Barak Unmasked - January 20th, 2011
by Ran HaCohen, May 28, 2012 .
.
http://original.antiwar.com/hacohen/2012/05/27/tel-aviv-race-riots-reveal-much-about-israel/
.
The "race riots" in Tel Aviv last week - a mass demonstration that
turned into a pogrom against about 60,000 asylum seekers, an
overwhelming majority of them from Eritrea, the rest mostly from Sudan
(Darfur and South Sudan) and a few other African countries - gives a
revealing glimpse into Israeli realities under the current fascist
government.
The predominant speakers at the demonstration in the poor southern part
of Tel Aviv, where most of the asylum seekers and migrant workers are
concentrated, were two Knesset members: Michael Ben-Ari (of the
far-right National Union), who urged the Jewish rabble to take law into
its own hands ('the time for words is over'), and Miri Regev (Likud),
who described the 'Sudanese' (contrary to the facts, many ignorant
Israelis subsume all Africans under 'Sudanese') as "cancer."
Obviously, fascism always deflects public discontent by turning it
against helpless minorities. But the alliance between the two Knesset
members is revealing: whereas Regev is a coalition member, Ben-Ari is
officially part of the opposition. Israel's fascist coalition is in fact
even wider than the 94 (out of 120) Knesset members it now includes, as
it can rely on the support of the far-right opposition to carry out its
policies. Netanyahu uses this quite often. When regulations or tradition
stipulate the appointment of an opposition member to some official
function, Netanyahu appoints someone from the far right, marginalizing
the small liberal opposition even further.
Ben-Ari is a former (?) member of the Orthodox, fascist-racist Kach
movement, which is outlawed in Israel and considered a terrorist
organization in the United States. Miri Regev, on the other hand, was
the spokesperson of the Israeli army during the Second Lebanon War
(2006). Trained and experienced in lying and inciting against the 'enemy
from without,' she now turns her talents against the 'enemy from
within.' Just a few years ago, the far-right former Col. Effi Eitam
defined Israeli Arab citizens as a "cancer," now Regev is using -
without any apology even in hindsight - the same image (quite popular
among neo-Nazis against Jews, by the way) against asylum seekers.
The Palestinian Model
Indeed, the asylum seekers are neatly placed into the square allotted to
Palestinians and Arabs. "Cancer" is just one common image. The
"demographic threat" is evoked against the Africans too:
Netanyahu has warned that the 60,000 (about 0.8% of Israel's total
population) "might become 600,000 and destroy Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state." On the backdrop of this blatant incitement,
Netanyahu's condemnation of violence after the riots is nothing but lip
service.
Even the U.S. government 'viewed negatively [Israeli] government
officials' use of the term 'infiltrators' to refer to asylum seekers, as
well as officials who directly associated asylum seekers with the rise
in crime, disease and terrorism.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai was specifically flagged as an instigator.-
The Hebrew term mistanenim ('infiltrators') was coined to refer to the
Palestinian refugees who tried to return to their homes and fields
inside Israel, from which they had fled or been expelled during the 1948
war.
Though predominantly unarmed, about 5,000 of them were ruthlessly killed
by Israeli soldiers during the 1950s. The routine was repeated after the
1967 war; Israeli historian Shlomo Sand has just revealed how as a young
soldier he witnessed the abuse of an elderly Palestinian 'infiltrator'
who was unlucky enough to be arrested in daylight (those caught at night
were killed summarily): "The detainee was sitting tied to a chair while
my good friends were beating him all over his body, occasionally putting
out burning cigarettes on his arms." Later, a vehicle left carrying the
corpse of the old man. My friends told me they were going to the Jordan
River to get rid of it."
Compared to this organized state violence against "infiltrators," the
incited Israeli demonstrators of last week -whose life has indeed become
impossible due to the presence of thousands of mostly unemployed
immigrants in their already impoverished neighborhoods - treated the
African "infiltrators" rather kindly.
Indeed, even the "solution" used for the "problem" of asylum seekers is
similar to the one implemented on the Palestinians. Showing some civil
courage " a very rare trait in Israel " the chief of police hit the nail
on the head last week when he urged the government to let asylum seekers
work. Imagine: the Africans are arrested upon crossing the border from
Egypt, kept in detention for weeks or months, and then dumped at the Tel
Aviv Central Bus Station. They are not given any work permit as long as
their request is "processed" by Israel - and regarding this 'processing'
we have the evidence of the American 2011 Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices: "of 4,603 new asylum applications, 3,692 were
rejected. Only one was approved."
What's the sense of keeping thousands of people who cannot be deported
to their failed home countries without a work permit, pushing them to
hunger, theft, and robbery- Government spokesmen are quite open about
that: "If we let them work, more will come." We see again the "solution"
traditionally suggested and implemented toward the Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza: do not treat them well; dispossess them, deprive
them of land, work opportunities, and human rights; and they'll go away
(or evaporate). And if ' surprise surprise ' they turn to violence,
that's even better: portray them as terrorists and "Let the Army Win."
After all, there's no problem the Israeli army cannot solve.
The Economy Behind
But it's not just ideology that is at stake here. Behind the scenes,
economic factors play a huge role. While thousands of asylum seekers are
pushed to starvation and crime, Israel opens its gates every year to
thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Asia; entire branches of the
country's economy - especially agriculture and construction - depend on
this cheap labor, since the Palestinian commuters were pushed out of the
labor market to perish behind walls and fences.
The solution seems trivial: instead of importing new workers from the
Philippines or China, Israel can give work permits to the asylum seekers
already here. Why is this not done? We?ve already seen the official
excuse. But the deeper reason is concealed. Take, for example, Miri
Regev. Just a few days before railing against "the Sudanese cancer" in
Tel Aviv, the very same lady tried to promote an amendment to the law
that would reduce government's regulation of foreign workers and give
"manpower contractors" a free hand to import whomever they decide. How
come? Well, unlike asylum seekers, who are often robbed and blackmailed
by Egyptian smugglers but enter Israel free of charge, every legal
migrant worker pays his Israeli "manpower contractor" thousands of
dollars just for entering Israel. Asylum seekers come for free, but
migrant workers are big money. Regev is a politician, and politicians
are always aware of big money.
Remember Eli Yishai, the interior minister "specifically flagged as an
instigator- against asylum seekers" During his time as interior
minister, work permits for migrant workers have soared. His colleague in
the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, former minister Shlomo Benizri, is now in
prison, convicted of accepting bribe from a good friend - a 'manpower
contractor' - in exchange for inside information regarding foreign
workers scheduled to arrive in Israel.
Regev could have helped both the poor asylum seekers and the poor
Israelis who suffer from them - by urging to let the Africans work. But
that would make her unpopular among the 'manpower contractors' who
import Asian migrant workers. Instead, she incites poor Israelis against
poorer Africans and demands benefits for the rich contractors who
exploit poor Asians. Social justice, Israeli-style.
Not Just Africans
Modeled on the violence against Palestinians, the incitement and
eruption of violence against Africans is just another symptom of the
fascist atmosphere in Israel, and it does not end with Africans.
Regev specifically aimed her attack also at 'the leftists who appealed
to courts' (asking not to deport asylum seekers to South Sudan). "Shame
on them, they stopped the deportation," she added, pointing a finger
both at the 'leftists' and at Israel's judiciary, despised and hated by
the government. The rabble got the message: immediately afterward,
Ha'aretz reporter Ilan Lior was attacked when demonstrators claimed to
have identified him as 'a leftist who throws stones at Israeli soldiers
at a checkpoint.' .
His denials did not help. He was saved thanks to police who pushed him
into their car, warning him he might get murdered.
The Israeli journalist was almost lynched, then, not for expressing any
support for asylum seekers in a heated demonstration against them, but
because he was seen as a political opponent in the "only democracy in
the Middle East."
P.S. Regev has apologized for calling the Sudanese 'cancer.' However,
she directed her apology to cancer patients and Holocaust survivors, not
to the Sudanese. .
Read more by Ran HaCohen
Was Elliott Abrams Hitler's Senior Advisor? - September 15th, 2011
Israelis Sick and Tired - but of What? - August 7th, 2011
Things You Can Say, Things You Cannot - July 12th, 2011
West Bank Neighbors: Chronicles of Death - March 15th, 2011
Barak Unmasked - January 20th, 2011
Capt. Justice
May 29, 2012, 8:44:39 PM5/29/12
to
'War criminal': UK ex-PM Tony Blair heckled during inquiry into Murdoch
scandal
.
http://sg1.msntv.msn.com/News2/Handler.ashx?url=http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/28/11914747-war-criminal-uk-ex-pm-tony-blair-heckled-during-inquiry-into-murdoch-scandal?lite
2 days ago (**Today is Tues 5/29/12 ) .
.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of being "a war
criminal" by a heckler who burst into a courtroom as he testified at an
U.K. inquiry into media ethics on Monday.
By NBC News' Baruch Ben-Chorin and msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson
.
Updated at 10:49 a.m. ET: LONDON -
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of being "a war
criminal" by a heckler who burst into a courtroom as he testifed at an
U.K. inquiry into media ethics on Monday.
The protester, who gave his name as David
Lawley-Wakelin, shouted that Blair should be arrested -- but only
seconds later he was bundled away by security staff.
He yelled at Blair, who is a : "This man should be arrested for war
crimes. JP Morgan paid him off for the Iraq war, three months after he
invaded Iraq."
In response to the outburst, Blair said:
"Can I just say on the record what he said about Iraq and JP Morgan is
completely and totally untrue. I have never had a discussion with them
about that."
Lawley-Wakelin describes himself online as a documentary film-maker
working on a project called the "The Alternative Iraq Enquiry", for
which he has traveled to Iraq.
.
he was being questioned by police, but later released.
.
how he entered the secure area of the court - an embarrassing breach of
security less than a year after Rupert Murdoch was hit by a custard pie
at a inquiry into the same subject at Britain's parliament.
Prior to the interruption, Blair was facing questions about his
relationship with Murdoch.
Blair, who served as prime minister between 1997 and 2007, was the
latest senior politician to appear at the investigation set up last
year in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal when it emerged that
reporters at the Murdoch-owned News of the World tabloid had routinely
hacked into the phones of public figures. Other witnesses have included
actor Hugh Grant, as well as Murdoch and his son James.
.
Blair is godfather to one of the powerful News Corp. chairman and CEO.'s
children.
.
Ordered by Prime Minister David
Cameron, the inquiry has tarnished Britain's elite by laying bare the
collusion between politicians, the police and the media.
.
Tony Blair faces questions over Murdoch relationship
.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair testified this morning about
his close ties to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who's News of the World
tabloid is in the middle of a phone-hacking scandal. NBC's Stephanie
Gosk reports.
.
While Blair is no longer active in British politics, the inquiry may
still prove uncomfortable as it examines issues such as his decision
after stepping down as prime minister to become a godfather to Murdoch's
daughter Grace at a ceremony on the banks of the River Jordan.
.
"Blair led the way in having no shame about courting Murdoch," said Ivor
Gaber, professor of political journalism at City University. "He set the
style and the standard and if you regard Cameron as the 'heir to Blair'
then it's not exactly surprising that he followed suit." , giving
evidence earlier in May, one of Mr Blair's former Cabinet ministers told
the inquiry he felt the relationship had "arguably" become "closer than
wise".
.
Murdoch told the inquiry last month that he had never asked a prime
minister for anything.
.
Blair set the tone for his relationship with Britain's press when he
flew to Australia in 1995 to speak before a gathering of Murdoch's
executives who had previously used their British tabloids to vilify his
Labour Party predecessors.
.
'Into the lion's den' .
.
The decision infuriated much of his left-of-center party who saw the
Australian-born tycoon as a right-winger who had helped to keep them out
of power for years.
.
"People would be horrified," Blair said later in his autobiography. "On
the other hand ... not to go was to say 'carry on and do your worst,'
and we knew their worst was very bad indeed."
.
Former CEO charged in phone hacking scandal
.
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her
husband, Charlie Brooks, have been charged with perverting the course of
justice during the U.K. phone hacking scandal. ITV's Keir Simmons
reports.
.
"The country's most powerful newspaper proprietor, whose publications
have hitherto been rancorous in their opposition to the Labour party,
invites us into the lion's den. You go, don't you?"
.
With the backing of Murdoch's top-selling Sun tabloid, Blair swept to
power in 1997 and again in 2001 and 2005. But with an ever-increasing
reputation for public relations "spin", he started to face questions
over his sincerity.
.
"Tony Blair quickly became famous in Fleet Street for inviting in one
group of newspaper people and telling them how skeptical he was about
Europe; and then inviting in another lot and telling them how keen he
was on Europe," Andrew Marr, a senior BBC journalist, told the inquiry.
Rupert Murdoch 'not fit to run a major company'
.
May 1: Rupert and James Murdoch are severely criticized after
investigations into phone-hacking allegations - and three of their
senior executives are accused of misleading parliament. ITN's Juliet
Bremner reports.
.
"But the different groups compared notes, and his reputation was not
hugely enhanced."
.
Much of that came to a head when Blair and then President George W. Bush
agreed to invade Iraq, going against the public opinion in Britain
.
Blair is likely to be asked why he spoke to Murdoch three times in the
days leading up to the Iraq war and whether this had any impact on the
fact that all Murdoch's papers supported the unpopular invasion.
Murdoch admits phone hacking cover-up
Rupert Murdoch returned to the Leveson Inquiry to give evidence for a
second day. ITV's Paul Davis reports.
.
He will also be asked whether his reliance on Britain's press meant that
he did not properly scrutinize their role in society and whether any
group, such as Murdoch's UK arm, News International, had too much
control of the market.
.
"There was a desperation to get the Sun onside and to get News
International on side, basically at all costs," Liverpool University's
political professor Jonathan Tonge, told Reuters. "And if that meant
sacrificing a serious analysis of the relationship and the health of the
relationship, then so be it."
____ .
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
. .
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Two Americans held over death of student in Japan after Nicki Minaj
concert
UN Security Council condemns Syria massacre
Iran state TV: We'll build second nuclear plant
Video: Intrigue behind arrest of Pope's butler
Budget cut overkill? Canada axes entire marine pollution program
scandal
.
http://sg1.msntv.msn.com/News2/Handler.ashx?url=http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/28/11914747-war-criminal-uk-ex-pm-tony-blair-heckled-during-inquiry-into-murdoch-scandal?lite
2 days ago (**Today is Tues 5/29/12 ) .
.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of being "a war
criminal" by a heckler who burst into a courtroom as he testified at an
U.K. inquiry into media ethics on Monday.
By NBC News' Baruch Ben-Chorin and msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson
.
Updated at 10:49 a.m. ET: LONDON -
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of being "a war
criminal" by a heckler who burst into a courtroom as he testifed at an
U.K. inquiry into media ethics on Monday.
The protester, who gave his name as David
Lawley-Wakelin, shouted that Blair should be arrested -- but only
seconds later he was bundled away by security staff.
He yelled at Blair, who is a : "This man should be arrested for war
crimes. JP Morgan paid him off for the Iraq war, three months after he
invaded Iraq."
In response to the outburst, Blair said:
"Can I just say on the record what he said about Iraq and JP Morgan is
completely and totally untrue. I have never had a discussion with them
about that."
Lawley-Wakelin describes himself online as a documentary film-maker
working on a project called the "The Alternative Iraq Enquiry", for
which he has traveled to Iraq.
.
he was being questioned by police, but later released.
.
how he entered the secure area of the court - an embarrassing breach of
security less than a year after Rupert Murdoch was hit by a custard pie
at a inquiry into the same subject at Britain's parliament.
Prior to the interruption, Blair was facing questions about his
relationship with Murdoch.
Blair, who served as prime minister between 1997 and 2007, was the
latest senior politician to appear at the investigation set up last
year in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal when it emerged that
reporters at the Murdoch-owned News of the World tabloid had routinely
hacked into the phones of public figures. Other witnesses have included
actor Hugh Grant, as well as Murdoch and his son James.
.
Blair is godfather to one of the powerful News Corp. chairman and CEO.'s
children.
.
Ordered by Prime Minister David
Cameron, the inquiry has tarnished Britain's elite by laying bare the
collusion between politicians, the police and the media.
.
Tony Blair faces questions over Murdoch relationship
.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair testified this morning about
his close ties to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who's News of the World
tabloid is in the middle of a phone-hacking scandal. NBC's Stephanie
Gosk reports.
.
While Blair is no longer active in British politics, the inquiry may
still prove uncomfortable as it examines issues such as his decision
after stepping down as prime minister to become a godfather to Murdoch's
daughter Grace at a ceremony on the banks of the River Jordan.
.
"Blair led the way in having no shame about courting Murdoch," said Ivor
Gaber, professor of political journalism at City University. "He set the
style and the standard and if you regard Cameron as the 'heir to Blair'
then it's not exactly surprising that he followed suit." , giving
evidence earlier in May, one of Mr Blair's former Cabinet ministers told
the inquiry he felt the relationship had "arguably" become "closer than
wise".
.
Murdoch told the inquiry last month that he had never asked a prime
minister for anything.
.
Blair set the tone for his relationship with Britain's press when he
flew to Australia in 1995 to speak before a gathering of Murdoch's
executives who had previously used their British tabloids to vilify his
Labour Party predecessors.
.
'Into the lion's den' .
.
The decision infuriated much of his left-of-center party who saw the
Australian-born tycoon as a right-winger who had helped to keep them out
of power for years.
.
"People would be horrified," Blair said later in his autobiography. "On
the other hand ... not to go was to say 'carry on and do your worst,'
and we knew their worst was very bad indeed."
.
Former CEO charged in phone hacking scandal
.
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her
husband, Charlie Brooks, have been charged with perverting the course of
justice during the U.K. phone hacking scandal. ITV's Keir Simmons
reports.
.
"The country's most powerful newspaper proprietor, whose publications
have hitherto been rancorous in their opposition to the Labour party,
invites us into the lion's den. You go, don't you?"
.
With the backing of Murdoch's top-selling Sun tabloid, Blair swept to
power in 1997 and again in 2001 and 2005. But with an ever-increasing
reputation for public relations "spin", he started to face questions
over his sincerity.
.
"Tony Blair quickly became famous in Fleet Street for inviting in one
group of newspaper people and telling them how skeptical he was about
Europe; and then inviting in another lot and telling them how keen he
was on Europe," Andrew Marr, a senior BBC journalist, told the inquiry.
Rupert Murdoch 'not fit to run a major company'
.
May 1: Rupert and James Murdoch are severely criticized after
investigations into phone-hacking allegations - and three of their
senior executives are accused of misleading parliament. ITN's Juliet
Bremner reports.
.
"But the different groups compared notes, and his reputation was not
hugely enhanced."
.
Much of that came to a head when Blair and then President George W. Bush
agreed to invade Iraq, going against the public opinion in Britain
.
Blair is likely to be asked why he spoke to Murdoch three times in the
days leading up to the Iraq war and whether this had any impact on the
fact that all Murdoch's papers supported the unpopular invasion.
Murdoch admits phone hacking cover-up
Rupert Murdoch returned to the Leveson Inquiry to give evidence for a
second day. ITV's Paul Davis reports.
.
He will also be asked whether his reliance on Britain's press meant that
he did not properly scrutinize their role in society and whether any
group, such as Murdoch's UK arm, News International, had too much
control of the market.
.
"There was a desperation to get the Sun onside and to get News
International on side, basically at all costs," Liverpool University's
political professor Jonathan Tonge, told Reuters. "And if that meant
sacrificing a serious analysis of the relationship and the health of the
relationship, then so be it."
____ .
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
. .
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Two Americans held over death of student in Japan after Nicki Minaj
concert
UN Security Council condemns Syria massacre
Iran state TV: We'll build second nuclear plant
Video: Intrigue behind arrest of Pope's butler
Budget cut overkill? Canada axes entire marine pollution program
?
May 29, 2012, 11:25:16 PM5/29/12
to
On Tue, 29 May 2012 19:44:39 -0500, dyno...@webtv.net (Capt.
Justice) wrote:
>'War criminal': UK ex-PM Tony Blair heckled during inquiry into Murdoch
>scandal
>.
Tony cannot be locked up with men. He would enjoy it too much. Can't
Justice) wrote:
>'War criminal': UK ex-PM Tony Blair heckled during inquiry into Murdoch
>scandal
>.
put him with women without giving the women whips and chains.
Capt. Justice
May 31, 2012, 2:50:57 PM5/31/12
to
If Violent Crime Rate is at 40-Year Low, Why is U.S. Spending S100
Billion a Year on Police?
.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31462.htm
.
By Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
AllGov
.
May 30, 2012 ---- From the amount of money spent each year in the
United States on law enforcement, one might assume crime continues to be
a growing problem.
But that's not the case at all.
Crime rates today are at their lowest levels in 30 years and the rate of
violent crime has dipped to a 39-year low. Yet the number of arrests
between 2009 and 2010 declined only slightly, according to the Justice
Policy Institute (JPI), which noted in its new report that police
spending increased 445% between 1982 and 2007 and federal funding for
police burgeoned by 729%.
Meanwhile, local, state and federal governments spend more than $100
billion each year on public safety and to maintain police ranks that
exceed 710,000 nationwide.
Between 1993 and 2007 arrests for violent crimes dropped 27% and
property crime arrests 22%. With fewer violent and property crimes being
committed, the burgeoning ranks of police departments have concentrated
on other offenses, particularly those related to the illegal drug trade.
During the same period, drug-related arrests climbed 45%. The report
notes that "Although Blacks make up 13 percent of the population, they
make up 31 percent of arrests for drug offenses."
"These arrests, often for possession of very small amounts of drugs,
carry tremendous costs both to society and to the people involved, who
must then face the rest of their life with the collateral consequences
of a criminal record," the JPI wrote.
The think tank suggested politicians redirect funding more toward "true
community-based and collaborative policing efforts" as well as
alternative programs and initiatives that "promote healthy safe
communities."
It suggested that law enforcement concentrate on serious offenses and,
for low-level offenses, issue citations rather than pursue arrests.
Billion a Year on Police?
.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31462.htm
.
By Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
AllGov
.
May 30, 2012 ---- From the amount of money spent each year in the
United States on law enforcement, one might assume crime continues to be
a growing problem.
But that's not the case at all.
Crime rates today are at their lowest levels in 30 years and the rate of
violent crime has dipped to a 39-year low. Yet the number of arrests
between 2009 and 2010 declined only slightly, according to the Justice
Policy Institute (JPI), which noted in its new report that police
spending increased 445% between 1982 and 2007 and federal funding for
police burgeoned by 729%.
Meanwhile, local, state and federal governments spend more than $100
billion each year on public safety and to maintain police ranks that
exceed 710,000 nationwide.
Between 1993 and 2007 arrests for violent crimes dropped 27% and
property crime arrests 22%. With fewer violent and property crimes being
committed, the burgeoning ranks of police departments have concentrated
on other offenses, particularly those related to the illegal drug trade.
During the same period, drug-related arrests climbed 45%. The report
notes that "Although Blacks make up 13 percent of the population, they
make up 31 percent of arrests for drug offenses."
"These arrests, often for possession of very small amounts of drugs,
carry tremendous costs both to society and to the people involved, who
must then face the rest of their life with the collateral consequences
of a criminal record," the JPI wrote.
The think tank suggested politicians redirect funding more toward "true
community-based and collaborative policing efforts" as well as
alternative programs and initiatives that "promote healthy safe
communities."
It suggested that law enforcement concentrate on serious offenses and,
for low-level offenses, issue citations rather than pursue arrests.
JAT
Jun 1, 2012, 6:14:05 PM6/1/12
to
On Thu, 31 May 2012 13:50:57 -0500, dyno...@webtv.net (Capt.
Justice) wrote:
>If Violent Crime Rate is at 40-Year Low, Why is U.S. Spending S100
>Billion a Year on Police?
>
To give conservatives a feeling of security.
Justice) wrote:
>If Violent Crime Rate is at 40-Year Low, Why is U.S. Spending S100
>Billion a Year on Police?
>
> .
>http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31462.htm
> .
>By Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
>AllGov
>
There are so many questions that we can ask which are almost
>http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31462.htm
> .
>By Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
>AllGov
>
rhetorical . its control control control. .. of course it is.. Hiring
police gives jobs to those who have proven themselves to be supporters
of the system. You got to keep the soldiers paid....Rome knew this and
Washington does too. so there is every reason to think that even more
money will be spent in the future because the rise and contentment of
the praetorian class is very important to this regime. Someone has to
support TPTB. .
it.
Capt. Justice
Jun 3, 2012, 2:57:28 PM6/3/12
to
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