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Delegates Walk out of UN Racism Conference
Delegates attending the United Nations conference on racism have walked out as Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke on the Middle East and racism in Europe.
The empty seats of nations who boycotted the UN review conference on racism. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has opened a five-day UN review conference on racism, saying he was "profoundly disappointed" at the boycotts by some Western countries while all forms of racism persist. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini) The delegates left the conference during Mr Ahmadinejad's speech after he called Israel a racist government.
Mr Ahmadinejad's comments drew applause from some delegations that remained.
Earlier today United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon defended a contentious text which caused several countries to withdraw from a global racism conference.
Mr Ban Ki-Moon made his comments in an attempt to salvage the UN summit on racism that the United States and its major allies are boycotting over concerns about its draft declaration.
Australia, Canada, Germany, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands have withdrawn from the summit because of fears it will be a platform for what US president Barack Obama called "hypocritical and counterproductive" antagonism towards Israel.
Defending the disputed text as "carefully balanced", Mr Ban Ki-Moon said the Geneva meeting was needed to address simmering tensions that could otherwise trigger social unrest and violence.
"I deeply regret that some have chosen to stand aside. I hope they will not do so for long," he said in remarks prepared for the opening session."
The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights expressed her disappointment at the withdrawal by the US and several of its allies from the conference. "I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States' decision not to attend," said Navi Pillay, who is hosting the conference.
She conceded some countries were focusing solely on one or two issues to the detriment of the fight against intolerance, but said it is essential that the issue of racism be tackled globally.
Israel recalled its ambassador to Switzerland today for "consultations" in protest over the Swiss president's meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Ahmadinejad has suggested the Holocaust never happened and has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction. He is scheduled to address the conference later today, coincidentally as Israel marks its annual Holocaust
The Iranian President arrived in Geneva yesterday and met privately with President Hans-Rudolf Merz of Switzerland, the country that represents the diplomatic interests of the United States in the Islamic republic.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said the conference is needed to eliminate racial intolerance around the world. Asia News, a Catholic news agency that is part of the missionary arm of the Vatican, said of the pope's comment: "The Holy See is distancing itself from the criticisms of some Western countries."
The administration of President Barack Obama announced on Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the weeklong meeting in Geneva, which already is experiencing much of the bickering and political infighting that marred the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa.
"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Mr Obama said in Trinidad yesterday after attending the Summit of the Americas.
But he said the language of the UN's draft declaration risked a reprise of Durban, during which "folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."
"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Mr Obama said. "Hopefully some concrete steps come out of the conference that we can partner with other countries on to actually reduce discrimination around the globe, but this wasn't an opportunity to do it."
Some European countries are still deciding whether to attend the UN conference, which runs through April 24th. Britain said it will send diplomats, despite concerns the meeting could become a forum for Holocaust denial or anti-Semitic attacks.
The major sticking points regarding the proposed final UN declaration are its implied criticism of Israel and an attempt by Muslim governments to ban all criticism of Islam, Sharia law, the prophet Muhammad and other tenets of their faith.
Germany's withdrawal is significant since it has played a leading role in UN anti-racism efforts as a result of its troubled historical legacy. In recent meetings, it has expressed dismay about some governments' attempts to downplay the significance of the Holocaust.
Germany it made its boycott decision after consulting with other European Union nations.
"This decision was not easy," said German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "As in Durban in 2001, this conference could be abused by others as a platform for their interests. We cannot accept that," he said.
New Zealand's foreign minister Murray McCully said today he was not satisfied the wording of the draft statement would prevent the conference from "descending into the same kind of rancorous and unproductive debate that took place in 2001."
Israel and Jewish groups have lobbied hard against Western participation in the meeting, arguing that the presence alone of American and European negotiators would give legitimacy to what they fear could become an anti-Semitic gathering.
Israel's Foreign Ministry thanked the boycotters yesterday and predicted the conference would "once again serve as a platform to denigrate Israel and single it out for criticism."
Still, after years of preparations there appears little evidence to validate these fears. The statement of 2001 that is so contentious now was cheered in Israel at the time, as it recognised the Jewish state's right to security.
Regarding its boycott, President Obama's administration said it could not endorse any statement that singled out Israel or included passages demanding a ban on language considered an "incitement" of religious hatred. Such calls "run counter to the US commitment to unfettered free speech," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Many Muslim nations want curbs to free speech to prevent insults to Islam they claim have proliferated since September 11th. They cite the 2005 cartoons of Muhammad published by a Danish newspaper that sparked riots in the Muslim world.
European countries also have criticised the meeting for focusing heavily on the West and ignoring problems of racism and intolerance in the developing world.
Agencies
- Posted in
142 Comments so far
Show AllBoycotting does nothing more than to demonstrate an unwillingnees to discuss issues.
Avoiding an argument does not win the argument. Israel and the US will be forced to address these issues sooner ar later and later is always the worse choice.
q
Problem is that the conference is to bash Israel and ignore atrocities committed by all of the other countries except for the US. One sidedness is wrong, no matter which side it comes from. Remember Sudan with Darfur or Iran with gays. Iran also denies that the holocaust took place.
So if the conference were to bash all of the other countries and ignore the atrocities committed by Israel then you'd be all for it?
This use of provocative and hyperbolic language ("bash Israel") only serves to prevent discussion and preventing discussion is the number one goal of the zionist propagandists on this site.
jj
The Problem is Israel. You would think a people who suffered their own holocaust would become sensitive to life - apparently not. They did the same thing to the people of Gaza and now they are planning to start WWIII if they are to bomb Iran. WTF is wrong with the leaders of Israel? WTF is wrong with the leaders of the United States for kissing Israel's ass?!
HOW TRUE....ISRAEL HAS ALL THE FACTS AGAINST THEM
Nothing is wrong with the 'leaders'.
They work perfectly well according to plans of the zionist fascist one-world gang, made up by the classy filth of finance, political cronies and corporate mafia.
What they say is that the victors version of history is incomplete. That is what they said. Not the MSM bullcrap you regurgitate.
Watching the Military Channel. A propaganda arm of the military industrial complex. Hitler's Bodyguards they had interesting segment on jewish zionists and Adolph Eichman. They both colaborated to solve the European jewish problem by creating a homeland by exporting European jews to Palestine.
German nationalist were worried about jewish nationalism. Jewish nationalist wanted the Holy Land. So NAZIs and Zionists collaborated to remove inhabitants of Holy Land and replace it with a Jewish Zionist Religious State.
Koenig Memorandum
KOENIG'S RECOMMENDATIONS
"The underlying premise of the Report's recommendations is how to contain the minority through coercive measures. It consists of policy proposals in five areas: demography and national sentiments, political leadership, economy and employment, education, and law enforcement. The first section on demography and nationalism is overshadowed by the fear that the Palestinians would in the near future comprise a majority of the population in the Northern District, thus endangering Israeli sovereignty over the Galilee, particularly the parts of this region that were designated to the Palestinian Arab State according to the 1947 U.N. partition resolution. The recommendations included the expansion and deepening of Jewish settlements in Palestinian populated areas, and at the same time, the exploration of ways to dilute the concentrations of Palestinian population; the introduction of a policy of reward and punishment towards leaders and settlements that express hostility towards the state and Zionism; and the establishment of an Arab political party that would raise the banner of integration instead of Palestinian nationalism."
Which leads to other MSM bullcrap. What Ahmadinejad said was 1. Right of return of displaced population. 2. Democratic elections. 3. No more zionist state.
Why? Because there are more arabs than zionists. Which is why they have to move settlements out and justify terrorism to steal more land that was stolen from the arabs since WW2
Prior population and the birth rate favor the arabs.
For Zionism democracy means the end of Israel. Terrorism is the last gasp of a dying empire.
1) Iran does not "deny" the holocaust. They are saying that the numbers have obviously been inflated, and they want the world to study them, and I believe that at some point we will, no matter how strong Jewish influence may be today.
Why is it so difficult to find a satisfactory number of bones, or ANY gas chambers and/or equipment? I want to see at least ONE bar of bone soap.
Why don't you take an hour or so and study a little? You can learn. Believe me. You don't have to run around parroting nonsense.
2) What if Iran DID deny the holocaust? We deny the holocaust of the indigenous Americans...wiped them the f***k out and teach garbage about some thanksgiving bullshyte...why aren't you up in arms about THAT? OOOOOOOOOOH, I know, the Jews are CHOSEN. Why are you so cool with the idea of Jewish supremacy?
For all practical purposes, it would be better if the holocaust was forgotten. Zionist Israel has certainly not learned a thing from it, except perhaps how to commit the same atrocities. The last administration of the United States learned that torture is ok if it is done to 'terrorists'. Mr Ahmadinejad is silly in his ignorance of history, and the treatment of gays in the Muslim world is horrible. But the rest of the world seems to be just as stupid in ignoring the true lesson of the holocaust: just how far people are willing to go if they "are in the right".
Spengler:
Slow down, quickstepper. You and your nice company of Jew haters are on the wrong side on this ussue. I'll come to check CD in 100 years to see who will be left here.
Sorry, saying that people who criticize Israel are "Jew haters" is just the tired old Zionist strategy of conflating Israel and Jews in general, despite the obvious danger this creates for Jews outside of Israel. Most Jews aren't Israelis. Israel doesn't speak for the Jews, any more than the Ku Klux Klan speaks for the Christians.
Many black South Africans have said that Israel's brutality toward the Palestinians is even more extreme than what the blacks in South Africa suffered under apartheid. In fact, the people of the world are realizing that Israel is an apartheid, RACIST state.
These remarks, by Ariel Sharon, are typical of Israeli Zionist attitudes:
Quote from Ariel Sharon:
“Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn them, to have everyone hate us, to pull the rug from underneath the feet of the Diaspora Jews, so that they will be forced to run to us crying. Even if it means blowing up one or two synagogues here and there, I don’t care. And I don’t mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me if you want, as a war criminal. Then you can spruce up your Jewish conscience and enter the respectable club of civilised nations, nations that are large and healthy. What you lot don’t understand is that the dirty work of Zionism is not finished yet, far from it. True, it could have been finished in 1948, but you interfered, you stopped it. And all this because of the Jewishness in your souls, because of your Diaspora mentality. For the Jews don’t grasp things quickly. If you open your eyes and look around the world you will see that darkness is falling again. And we know what happens to a Jew who stays out in the dark. So I am glad that this small war in Lebanon frightened the Yids. Let them be afraid, let them suffer. They should hurry home before it gets really dark. So I am an anti-Semite? Fine. So don’t quote me, quote Lilienblum instead [an early Russian Zionist - ed.]. There is no need to quote an anti-Semite. Quote Lilienblum, and he is definitely not an anti-Semite, there is even a street in Tel Aviv named after him”.
Thanks petrkrop
Jewhaters, Self-hating Jews, Nazi sympathizers Please.
What a disgusting and immoral tactic to hide behind a historical atrocity to justify war crimes, genocide and ethnic cleansing. What's more calling everyone a nasty name just makes the Zionist racist imperialist look even more ridiculous.
It is like accusing anyone critical of the Iraq war as anti-american and a traitor. Save your neo-Fascist BS for the Likud meetings.
The USA is also guilty for protecting and enabling Israel (as well as the US's own war crimes). Israel is a Jewish supremacist, racist Apartheid state. Just because the leaders of this state happen to be neo-Fascist Jews makes no difference.
The reason why we in the US should focus on this should be obvious. If anyone calls you the slurs mentioned above just laugh and say: oh like Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu and Dr. Richard Falk !
What I have seen on other blogs is that eventually you blunt the blathering of MSM brainwashed people with nothing intelligent to say when you start showing the quotes of Zionist on how they planed to steal Palestine and remove the indingenous population using terrorism.
Trail of Tears Spengler?
Thats the trail Zionist and the terrorists that support them are on.
Cry me a river.
If a conference on Racism wants to ostracise specific nations with Racist Cultures or Policies, they should be free to do so; just as the USA names "Evil Nations".
Israel by popular demand must be a Major Racist Perpetrator on the Racist List.
I tried to understand what the use of this conference could be, but failed. If it's a gathering dedicated to Israel-bashing or Islam-protecion, I don't even to bother trying.
How is it Israel bashing. Just because Israel's racism is on the agenda does not mean that the other agenda were swept away. Funny you should mention "Islam-protection" because i want to know who is protecting the Muslims form Islam-bashing by the US, UK, Denmark, and Israel? The Jews, for all their racist and genocidal tendencies, seems to be protected by the US of I...You bloody hypocrite!!
In the US, it would be the ACLU, United Voices, CAIR, etc. I don't know if the other countries have similar civil rights organizations, but I'm sure they do. Also, you know, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Do you think the Danish cartoons constituted Islam-bashing, or free speech/freedom of expression?
Where were the ACLU, etc when Muslims were taken to Gitmo without charges?
Freedom of speech is a funny thing. It is also a double-edged sword. If you choose to use the freedom of speeh to incite hate or violence than be prepared for the blowback.
Lately, since I've gotten involved in progressive issues, ACLU has been very involved in getting Gitmo closed down. I don't know about the aftermath of 9-11, I was still in high school then and didn't pay attention to the world.
And accusing those cartoonists of 'inciting hate or violence' presumes that they knew the reaction would be hateful and violent. They may have suspected it would be a big deal which also may have been a factor in their decision to draw them, but any reasonable person can agree the reaction far outstripped the insult. Since I am pretty secular myself, I am admittedly uncomfortable with people who take their religioun more seriously than anything else in the world.
zmann,
I never accused anything. If the cartoonist thinks that the outcome wasn't going to be violent, they must have had their heads in the sand.
Let's see what would have happened if the cartoonist turned their attention on the jews and the holocaust? Isn't it illegal out in Europe to speak ill of that? Where is the free speech there? I am willing to bet that you would be lambasted in the same manner if you tried that out here too. Look what happened to McKinney, Mel Gibson, etc...They would ostracize you publicly in the US. There is NO free speech when it comes to criticize the jews/israelis. But it is ok to go and spread hatred about Islam. See Dershowitz's action spreading hatred and lies! Double standards practiced here more than free speech.
I think it's specifically illegal in Germany to deny the Holocaust happened, other than that I don't know about the rest of Europe. I never heard anything about McKinney saying stuff like this, but hey any drunk rant by a celebrity (Mel Gibson) is going to make the news in this country.
In any event, was diplomatic property destroyed, people killed by riots from whatever McKinney or Mel Gibson said? So Mel Gibson may be ostracized on Hollywood, I personally wouldn't work with people who I personally dislike if I had the choice (and it's not like it'll ruin him, who knows how rich he is?). And last I heard, McKinney became a Presidential candidate, I don't think her political career was hurt much by whatever she said.
Mckinney has no chance for anything. You know it and so do the rest of the world. Once you have been labelled, it is over.
Gibson may have ranted while drunk, but his career was pretty much done after that. because the rant was against the chosen people, it made the headlines. Did you hear of any such headlines about stuff against the Muslims?
lets not try and claim that no one was killed blah, blah, blah... The jews, and powers that be hurt you many other ways. The so-called 'civilized way'. You heard of sanctions? And the pre-emptive strikes, etc , etc. Did you not hear the plans to strike Iran? Even though Ahmedinejad was misquoted over and over again? I am no fan of Iran, but this should make you pause and think for a moment. And the fools leading the US as well as Israel keeps repeating this lie over and over again that folks like you think its a fact.
"Did you hear of any such headlines about stuff against the Muslims? "
Sort of, I used to listen to a few conservative talk radio shows at work daily and they constantly rant against Muslims...but it helps their careers, not hurts them, bleh.
"Did you not hear the plans to strike Iran? Even though Ahmedinejad was misquoted over and over again? I am no fan of Iran, but this should make you pause and think for a moment. And the fools leading the US as well as Israel keeps repeating this lie over and over again that folks like you think its a fact."
Actually I *am* a fan of Iran, I deeply respect and appreciate the Iranian people for their rich culture and history. I am also disgusted by the 1953 coup against their democratically elected president that could have provided a major alternative to the Cold War thinking of commies vs. capitalists. And what makes you think I believe the misquote of Ahmadinejad? I know his statement was directed against the Israeli government, not the Israeli people, and I share much of his anger against the Israeli government.
v.purto
"Let's see what would have happened if the cartoonist turned their attention on the jews and the holocaust?" As everybody knows - NOTHING had happened. Nobody was ever killed, no property was ever destroyed. Nothing but words. You know it very well and argue with you and your ilk is like pissing against the wind...
Now you are an idiot. Pray tell when did the Danish do a similar stunt against the Holocaust/jews? You know that it is a crime there don't you?
I guess you don't know how to read very well or you would have none that the Danish newspaper made cartoons for all 3 religions.
I wish people would bother to learn the facts before they start ranting.
The cartoons were published for many months after the initial bloodbath. I do not believe they were so clever or informative so as to warrant repeated publication and possibly repeated lost of life and property.
Once again the term anti semitic is being used instead of the correct terms anti Zionist or anti israel.
I do not understand how any words against zionism or israel could be to harsh or even harsh enough.
Thank you.
q
"......an attempt by Muslim governments to ban all criticism of Islam, Sharia law, the prophet Muhammad and other tenets of their faith."
Excuse me? What the hell makes Islam so special. They are beginning to sound just like the I-See-Anti-Semitism-Everywhere crowd.
It seems that Muslims are trying to stave off legit criticism of their faith by hiding behind rascism the way many Zionists do.
Well Har, that's exactly how this article and the MSM spins the story isn't it? There are a lot of other important issues being discussed at the conference including internal discrimination in many countries.
Anyways, the West walks out whenever it doesn't have the upper hand in controlling the agenda. Moreover, to much of the Third World, Israel is only the last colonial-settler state left in the world in the mold of South Africa or Rhodesia, and a particularly dangerous one as well that bombs its neighbors and territories at will and serves as the key henchman of the US and other Western powers.
The West's hue and cry over hypocrisy is beyond depraved. The West has striven hard to deny and whitewash (both literally and figuratively) its own history of conquest, genocide, and slavery. And doesn't Israel feel the slightest ounce of shame that it is this same front of colonial-settler/lebensraum seeking countries that use it to shield their own unresolved issues of racism and colonialism.
The West is not the only part of the planet that has a lot of apologizing to do: the Middle East was a main destination for the East African slave trade (Zanzibar was an infamous slave port), which lasted longer (9th century to 20th), & enslaved many more than the European powers. As for racism, Arab attitudes towards black Africans are as rancid as they have ever been. As for Iran, try being an ethnic or religious minority (such as the Bahai's or Kurds) in that country.
"Let ye who be without sin cast the first stone."
It's interesting to note that the nations that walked out of the conference to protest criticism of Israel are the same nations that have burned the majority of the coal, gas and oil causing climate change.
Rich white people of the north are killing the darker people of asia and the south in the millions and eventually billions because they refuse to control their industrial emissions. God forbid these same people hear some legitimate criticism of Israel for caging Palestinians in concentration camps, starving the population and then bombing them.
Israel is a racist state. The US practices torture. The rest of the walk out nations are all former colonial powers that are wealthy due to the rape of other nations resources.
Also check out (or not) the Huffington Post which is rapidly devolving into the neo-liberal counterpart to the neo-con blogs out there. It's pro Israel bias has never been stronger with so many bloggers dedicated to flacking for Israel.
The irony here is that the 'speaker'---'spoke the truth'.
Israel is a racist nation, based solely on race as a precursor to its forming.
The "Jews" have a distinctive DNA, and are considered to be a 'racially classified' category. And of course consider themselves to be the "Chosen ones of God".
Like all other racists, they claim their superiority to be "God given", and their justifications for their many crimes.
The "Religions" like Christianity and Islam are simply trying to do the same, but by "proxy"---you "choose" to be one or the other, and are rewarded in "Heaven" or "Paradise" for your choice.
The "west walked out" of the UN session mainly because they know the truth, and are unwilling to admit to a terrible mistake in the re-establishment of Israel (the Romans had a better idea, disperse those pesky 'chosen ones' and let "God" sort it out)---so instead of facing the truth, it was more 'dramatic' to "walk out". Since in this case they could not 'kill the messenger', or "silence the truth"---they just chose to ignore it.
The truth is still the truth---Israel is a 'Racist's Nation', and in order to be a supporter or a member you have to (at least publicly) support the idiotic idea that "God" made them the "Chosen ones"-----so "God" can't be wrong: Right?
Now if you are one of those "fools" who believes in that "God", and support the reestablishment of Israel, and argue that it must be "God's will"----then I would ask: Why are you not worried about a "God" that needs so much help from all of you "Humans"------(hell you can't even fly without a machine much less create the Universe----in six days no less)----
If you can step away from all of the "propaganda" and imagine yourself from another "planet" for example, you will wonder how could it be possible that anyone could believe the things that so many humans believe----and are willing to shed so much innocent blood over, and destroy their own planet over.
Then again, if the UN had any true integrity they would boycott the USA for its policies concerning the treaties with the Nations of Native Peoples of the US----its illegal occupation of more that 60% of it geographic territory--and the trillions of dollars of material wealth stolen from those nations-----but that would be an impossible stretch of the imagination.
It is absolute insanity.
Good Luck World, you really need it----there is no 'God' that's coming back and save you from yourselves. It's really up to you.
To be clear, the zionists and not the Jews are the racists.
q
v.purto
Your clarification won't help you. It is too deep in your heart, so do not even try to be PC. You hate Jews and there is nothing you can do about it. Live with it. I know you can. Or ask Pope to explain to you what he is thinking about the whole problem.
Unfortunately some do not make the distinction between the two. Which is not very hard considering that Zionists have made the word "Zionism" equal "Jew".
NativeSon, I think that it is an evolutionary problem. Identity. Humans need an identity, an anchor, a purpose. When living from hand to mouth and in continual danger from sabre-toothed Tigers and other hazards the identity is simply survival.
Now that we no longer have to think about survival our brain evolution has not yet adapted to that mode and to fill this void we have religion. The conflict in all the religious babble and all the power structure (power over others) that comes about as displacement of the survival mode is simply resolved by the word faith. Unquestioning faith will enable you to ignore and forget about all that fussy conflicting stuff. Just shut off your brain and have faith.
We are then evolutionary imperfections but evolution is always self-correcting in that errors generally don't survive and are thus weeded out. We are on that course.
Now we know who is in bed with Israel by looking at the representatives of the countries who boycotted the summit, and who walked out. I am sure if the Isreali Foreign Minister spoke at the summit and started bashing Ahmadinejad, Iran, and Islam, few people would have walked out, and most likely would have nodded their heads in agreement. Clearly, the deck is stacked in favor of Israel.
am sure if the Isreali Foreign Minister spoke at the summit and started bashing Ahmadinejad, Iran, and Islam, the Muslim countries would have walked out. While Israel has its faults, no Muslim country has any right to criticize.
Yes, and there are many more Muslim countries than the Western ones who just walked out....so there would have likely been even more leaving.
Let's see, Western countries demean Islamic countries for considering criticism of a religion a violation of human rights, while refusing to participate in a human rights conference criticizing the religious interpretation of statehood constituting Zionism. Me thinks me smells the rat of hypocrisy.
Deepa
It is not a surprise that the US and its allies have boycotted the UN Conference on Racism.
By knowing some of the things that have happened in the recent past, these countries' boycott of the conference is a known fact.
-In 2008 the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) based in Geneva, Switzerland, criticised the U.S. for failing to meet international standards on racial equality, and its treatment of American Indians, African Americans, Latinos and other racial minorities.
After considering the U.S. government’s written and oral testimony, the 18-member committee said that it has found “stark racial disparities” in the U.S. institutions, including its criminal justice system, housing, healthcare and education.
-The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on Thursday September 13, 2007 by a majority of 144 states in favour, 4 votes against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and 11 abstentions (Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine).
And of course Switzerland has its own racism problems.
Lets be clear her. Anyone with some sense can see by it's actions Israel is a racist nation. Which is highlighted and emphasized the more the US, and other western nations try to cover this up. And further creates hatried and division with the ME nations-especially in the arab street. Not a good thing right now folks.
However I also think this is a red herring probally to cover up the fact that their is some rather harsh censureship free speech proposals in this thing what actually is getting folks to boycott the conference. I just wish the MSM will start highlighting this fact also. But hey, one has to protect the zionist state (NOT jewish state-it ceased being that a long time ago now).
(it's crap like this that has part of me wishing that Israel would bomb Iran).
RE:...(it's crap like this that has part of me wishing that Israel would bomb Iran).
...........
ewww..you see, it's sentiments like the above that keep us all in a constant state of war-like antagonism on this planet...
Innocent people get killed when nation states decide to 'bomb' another...and, remember, in so many places in this world, the innocent civilian has very little control over their government and what their government does...and they end up being the pawns and hapless victims in power games that nations play.
let's not hope or wish bombing on any nation where there are innocents....
Tis better to wish death on one of these godless, murderous leaders...and let the people create a better society after he's gone.
I am very disappointed that common dreams prints articles that state,
"Mr Ahmadinejad has suggested the Holocaust never happened and has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction." as undisputed fact.
This is known as "sliding a primise by the reader". As in all writers are propagandists. If you can slip a premise by the reader, then you have them. The unstated premise being that Mr Amidinejad actually said these things.
I remember reading about the "lost in translation" stuff just after his original speech.
Sorry for the rather long artcicle. But I think it worthy to at least have at our disposal, when people start telling us that Amadinejad is worse than "Hitler". I do not use quotation marks flippantly.:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12790.htm
And again, when Bill Maher's "Religulous" came out, I was sad to see that he too was towing line in the "Wipe Israel off the map" statement ascribed to Amadinejad.
There's tons of info about this speech. All I did was a google using, "Amadinejad holocaust denial translation". Lots of stuff comes up.
Thx.
-G
This is known as "sliding a primise by the reader"
--------------------------
Placing a lie between statements most would consider accurate is a very effective technique to have it accepted as fact.
It's a lie sandwich.
premise