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The Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Framing the Narrative
They called it “Operation Sea Breeze.” Despite the pleasant-sounding name, Israel’s violent commando raid on a flotilla of humanitarian aid ships, which left nine civilians dead, has sparked international outrage. The raid occurred in the early-morning hours of May 31, as the six vessels laden with humanitarian aid were still in international waters, bound for Gaza, where 1.5 million Palestinian residents are in their third year of an Israeli-imposed blockade. Israel has, from the outset, sought to limit the debate over the attack, and to control the images.
Israeli military boats and helicopters raided the vessels and took control of the flotilla. Nine of the activists on board the largest vessel, the Mavi Marmara, were killed at close range by Israeli commandos firing live ammunition. Nineteen-year-old U.S. citizen Furkan Dogan was shot once in the chest and four times in the head. Israel commandeered the six vessels and arrested the roughly 700 activists and journalists, hauled them to the Israeli port of Ashdod and kept them out of meaningful communication with family, press and lawyers for days. The Israeli government confiscated every recording and communication device it could find—devices containing almost all the recorded evidence of the raid—thus allowing the state to control what the world learned about the assault. The Israelis selected, edited and released footage they wanted the world to see.
Four days after their capture, most of the detainees were deported by the Israeli government, well after the story had been framed.
I caught up with two veteran journalists who were covering the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald, chief correspondent Paul McGeough and his photographer, Kate Geraghty. They were in Istanbul, where they had been deported from Israel. They had spent time on most of the ships of the flotilla, but were aboard the smaller, U.S.-flagged Challenger 1 when the raid occurred.
Geraghty described how she was shot with a Taser: “I was photographing Israeli commandos coming up a ladder. There was a white flash, this thing hit my arm. I was thrown a meter and a half. It hurt, and I immediately became sick, began throwing up.” She yelled that she and McGeough were from The Sydney Morning Herald, and one of the commandos responded, in English with an Australian accent, “We know you’re from the Herald.” Despite her breadth of experience covering conflict zones around the world, she found her maltreatment by the Israelis “more personal. They knew who we were, they stole my gear, they falsely imprisoned us when we were in international waters covering a legitimate story.”
I pointed out to McGeough the Rasmussen poll that found 49 percent of U.S. voters believe pro-Palestinian activists on the aid ships are to blame for what happened. He replied, “If ordinary Americans had seen below deck, the men with zip ties on their wrists, on their knees for hours, denied permission to go to the toilet, forced to soil their pants, women pleading to be able to give drinks to men, that may have changed their sense of what happened on the ships.”
When journalists are free to function, they can report the truth. The Israeli military has been forced to retract its claim that passengers aboard the flotilla were agents of al-Qaida. An Israel Defense Forces press release sent out two days after the assault says approximately 40 flotilla passengers “are mercenaries belonging to the Al Qaeda terror organization.” The independent journalist Max Blumenthal says both he and an Israeli colleague asked the Israeli military press office to substantiate its claim. No evidence was provided, and one day later the press release was modified. The original headline was changed from “Attackers of the IDF Soldiers Found to be Al Qaeda Mercenaries” to “Attackers of the IDF Soldiers Found Without Identification Papers.”
McGeough told me: “This is what we do: We embed with U.S. forces in Iraq, and with Australian forces in Afghanistan. I’ve spoken to Israeli officials, and in the West Bank and Gaza I’ve spoken to Hamas, to young would-be suicide bombers, because that’s how we get stories. If you just tell one side of the story then people can’t have a sensible view of a dynamic conflict, in order to understand how it might be resolved.”
McGeough and Geraghty and all the other journalists have yet to receive their laptops, cameras, videos, photos and other possessions from the Israelis. And Israel has said it will not accept an independent investigation of its raid. Israel’s continued attempts to hide the truth only further imperil the security of Israelis, Palestinians and all those working for a just peace in the Middle East.
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
- Posted in
86 Comments so far
Show AllSixty-four-year-old Dr. Paul Larudee, was on board one of the ships carrying humanitarian relief to Gaza.
On 31 May 2010, around 4 a.m., Larudee's ship was boarded by as many as 500 Israeli soldiers.
After the ship's captain called an alert, Larudee immediately walked out onto the deck and found that Israeli soldiers had broken the windows of the wheelhouse (the area where the captain controls the ship) in an attempt to take command of the vessel. As Larudee and several others tried to defend the wheelhouse, Israeli soldiers tased him twice so that he would back away from the area. He said he offered no resistance and just let his body go limp.
"I have never struck anyone in more than 20 years," he said. "I was beaten. There is black and blue all over my body. They inflicted pain on me on a frequent basis because I did not recognize their authority. Everyone on all of the ships was completely unarmed."
After some time, Larudee decided to jump off the ship and to try to swim away from the Israeli forces.
"I knew it would be a way to slow down what they were doing," he said. "It caused the ship to stop for an hour or possibly longer and it kept another ship occupied for several hours actually. It was worth doing that, but I paid a price for it."
"When the Israeli forces picked him up, he was severely beaten and tied to a mast at the stern of their ship.
"His legs and hands were bound as he was subjected to the hot sun in wet soaking clothes for four hours.
"He said his body almost went into shock from the extreme hot and cold conditions.
"A lot of Americans are looking at Israel through rose-colored glasses," he said. "Israel is not a demon, but it is not being held accountable for its actions, and when you do that, it allows bad things, very bad things, to happen."
Paul is scheduled to return home from Greece on 11 June 2010.
Learn more @
http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1746&Itemid=234
What Dr. Larudee went through on that ship, when he was bound to the mast in the hot sun while wearing wet clothes after having received a severe beaten, should be considered a crime against humanity as well as torture. But as a former congressman remarked on Democracy Now! yesterday, the American mass media would rather focus on what Helen Thomas said instead of devoting their attention to the murder of nine peace activists aboard that ship. Why has the media barely said a word that one of the people murdered was American? Is it because he was of Turkish extraction and also because those deaths would, to put it mildly, put Israel in a bad light? Since almost every country in the world has expressed outrage regarding Israel's actions, they should then take the obvious step of filing criminal charges against Israel for what it has done to those people.
Eileen, fancy meeting you here! ;-)
rita
Seemingly British protesters returned having had their passports stolen by the Israeli's along with credit cards and other personal effects.
How long will it be before these passports are used as cover for another murder somewhere in the world??
"If you just tell one side of the story then people can’t have a sensible view of a dynamic conflict, in order to understand how it might be resolved.”
The Golden Goose: resolved?
The basis of my Bigger Better Boy and Bigger Better Girl social status: resolved?
Hmm...I guess resolution is possible. But where do I find another such tasty Goose? And I get itchy wearing anything but Big Kid Pull Ups...
This suspicion and hatred from the right concerning those who are trying to create a better world, is playing itself out across the globe. It is precisely why there has been no real reform in the United States, the Republicans detest any form of progress, they fear losing their grasp on power. Like Netanyahu, they are short-sighted and myopic, they care nothing about the common good, and preserving their destructive way of life means everything to them. I had hoped that Obama would make a stand against the brutality of Israel, but his response has been disappointing. Without the leadership of the US, this situation in Israel will only get worse. Every parent knows that spoiling a child will only increase his bad behavior. Israel is Obama's spoiled child. Its time for some tough love.
Yes, but those that want a better world persist and continue to fight. Before the Israelis came around there wasn't a single country in the mideast that had any rights for women at all, or gays, or anyone else for that matter. Now there is at least one to set an example. There were no democracies, but only monarchies and despotisms. Now there are some democracies. Imperfect yes, but with the Israeli example before them, as well as I guess some help from the rest of the world, they are making progress. Israel has had to fight hard for human rights, and taken a lot of attacks and abuse in the process, but if you are a committed progressive then you stick at it. If only American progressives were willing to fight their own battles instead of constantly criticizing others.
With Israel's example to guide mid-eastern countries they'll be:
Expanding their borders by putting settlements on the land of others
Building nuclear bombs and the vehicles to transport them on land, sea and air.
Creating walled ghettos
Slaughtering civilian women, men and childrren
Attacking ships in international waters
Ignoring U.N. resolutions
etc.
Some example.
To quote Amos Oz's proverb: "a man who has a big hammer sees every problem as a nail." Israel indeed has a BIG hammer but its hammer will not win the hearts and minds of its Arab neighbors.
Oz was actually paraphrasing the proverb "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
Interestingly, either phrasing fits Israel perfectly.
q
I just saw on an AP report that israel is now allowing some foods such as "soda and chips" to go thru the blockade. Whuppie!
"Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said the move was meant to defuse pressure for an international investigation of the raid."
Sounds like a fair deal to me. Give 'em Coke and Lays and that'll shut 'em up. Or at least make 'em fat and lazy like Americans.
I would be willing to bet they will throw a Burger King in for good measure!
I appreciate your reporting, Amy, on the gross manipulation of the media by the Zionists, for it is this manipulation that allows our illegal wars, and bankrupts our country both financially and morally.
But I still remember, all too well, folks like you, Pete Seeger, and Dennis Kucinich who backed Obama/Biden, both avid Zionists, who to this day continue the above mentioned atrocities.
When you learn how to identify the root of injustice, you can properly back those who can fix the problem.
Take a cue from antiwar.com's Justin Raimondo, who now boldly proclaims loud and clear "Our Enemies, the Israelis."
Zorex, Amy Goodman never supported barak obama as far as i know. I could be wrong, but i haven't missed more than a few broadcasts of Democracy Now in the past ten years.
If anything she appeared to support Nader. In fact, i would appreciate it if you backed up your statement here with a link to show her supporting obama.
Thanks.
rita
OK. Amy may not have been wearing an Obama/Biden button, (can't say the same for Dennis), or singing her heart out for the black serial killer now sitting in the White House, but it is the way DN! gave so much coverage to the Democratic, Zionist presidential candidates while almost totally ignoring the one Republican (Ron Paul) who was "emphatically" against empire and did not have a love affair with Israel.
Call it sour grapes if you must, but for a program that is supposed to stand for true equality, freedom, and decry "empire," DN!'s campaign coverage of Paul was a real disgrace.
But now that I've vented, I again applaud Amy for seeking the Truth. I just hope she, and many, many others start to realize, like Raimondo, what the Truth really is.
Zorex, thanks for responding.
not to belabor the point (i hate belaboring points!)
But DN had Cynthia McKinney and Nader on the show many times. She never had Obama or Mccaine on. Ron Paul, i am not so sure about. You could check, though.
And the show needs to report the news of the day. Some of it was about what was going on elections wise. She did focus on the biracial aspect of obama and it's being a 'first' in the u.s. And that did wear on my nerves, i will grant you that.
And she did seem pleased right after he won. But she is no novice and far from naive. Of that we can rest assured.
Peace
Hey everyone.
My thoughts on the discussion here. Amy Goodman first and foremost is a HUGE BRIGHT shining light when it comes to getting objective REAL news out. She does a fantastic job and is always objective and thorough in her coverage. I am a huge Amy Goodman fan and think she is the best!
She did have the third parties, Cynthia, Nader and allowed Dennis K on her show after at least two of the debates between Obummer and McSwain and asked them the same questions that the latter were asked during the televised debates.
That being said, I did wonder about the big party that DN was having after Obama won.
Two points, on that last sentence, how many of other CommonDreams posters made the "same mistake" and unless Amy actually said "i voted for Obama" we'll never know.
And, sorry one more point, its time to forget and learn from that mistake and realize that the battle is never over....
Good commentary,GOYB.
I didn't make the mistake. And i would bet Amy didn't either. My personal opinion.
Mistakes are redeemable only if real learning happens as a result. A personal paradigm shift. I haven't seen that happen yet.
People are waiting (not everyone) for the next saviour and chief.
I share your admiration of Amy!
rita
Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Democratic party (or supported one of its candidates)?
Progressive McCarthyism at its best.
Would anyone here like to comment on the legal ramifications of Israel boarding an American ship in international waters? Along with the killing of a US citizen and the unlawful detention of US citizens, shouldn't SOME response from "our" government have been triggered?
Is anyone aware of similar actions taken by another government against US citizens and property "extraterritorially?" While the USSR killed many US citizens in the shooting down of KAL 007, that was in Soviet territory. Other than the attack on the USS Liberty by Israel in 1967 (in international waters?...certainly NOT in Israeli territorial waters), I can't think of any precedent.
Thanks in advance for any response.
monroematt asked "Is anyone aware of similar actions taken by another government against US citizens and property "extraterritorially?" '
I can't think of any government that has done such a thing in recent years. I think the War of 1812 had some of that in it, they called it 'impressment' and they took the men to work on the other country's ships. I think the Native Hawaiians attacked US ships as well. Again a long time ago. And then the Germans and their allies in WW I and II.
The Palestinians took over the Achille Lauro in 1985, but that was an Italian ship. That was rightfully called a hijacking. What was it the Israelis did that wasn't a hijacking? And for some reason no one uses the word "kidnapping" but that is hat they did to the passengers on the ships. Perhaps those passengers still alive could make some kind of formal complaint or report to Interpol along with the Hague.
When the North Koreans did it, it was called kidnapping, so the word is not exclusively for non-nation actors.
Thanks. As usual, it seems that "international law" applies only if the actions are against the interests of the MIC.
In the late 18th century, after the U.S. gained independence, Barbary pirates (corsairs) expanded their piracy to include U.S.-flagged ships. This eventually forced the U.S. to send U.S. Navy & Marine ("...to the shores of Tripoli...") forces to stop these pirates. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_corsairs
"On 8 April 2009, four Somali pirates seized the Maersk Alabama 240 nautical miles southeast of the Somalia port city of Eyl. The ship was carrying 17,000 metric tons of cargo, of which 5,000 metric tons were relief supplies bound for Somalia, Uganda, and Kenya. On 12 April 2009, United States Navy SEAL snipers killed the three pirates that were holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage aboard a lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama after determining that Captain Phillips' life was in immediate danger.A fourth pirate, Abdul Wali Muse, surrendered and was taken into custody. On May 18, a federal grand jury in New York returned a ten-count indictment against him." See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_in_Somalia
So why is the Israeli commando raid, which included seizing U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters, mistreating the crews and passengers, and holding them in detention while confiscating their belongings, treated any differently?
Don't you think it's an interesting "coincidence" that the Helen Thomas story broke at just the "right" time?
JA - Mind control? That's ridiculous. I'd write more but my favorite program is coming on. Maybe later.
Im spite of conflicting claims, it is clear that the deaths aboard the Mavi Marmara were a case of that well known phenomenon,"suicide by cop."
Two credible witnesses have emerged, a Muslim Turkish MD and the filmmaker hired by the blockade breakers, who have testified that the activists attacked the commandos first with deadly force. (References below.) Any fool knows that if you attack assault troops with knives and clubs, you are gonna get your ass handed to you.
Some among the activists had said that martyrdom would spell victory for them. They sought it, they got it, they, in their own crazy calculus and in the war for public opinion, won.
------------------
"As the commandos came on board, the crew and passengers started using pipes and pieces of the boat as weapons. ...there were a few "bad apples" that were beating the soldiers."
Scott Hamann, filmmaker from Portland ME, who was aboard the Mavi Marmarra
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/06/06-5
NYT June 5 A1 the divine Sabrina Tavernise quotes a credible witness…”Mahmutt Koskun, a Turkish Doctor who was in the middle of it…when three Israeli commandos slid down ropes…a crowd set upon them. “They ran at them without pause or hesitation,: Dr Koskun recalled. One soldier was stabbed and two were beaten.”
Forget that the ship was in international waters - just like the USS Liberty.
Missed the point?, overlooked the context?, ignore the law?, or are you simply an apologist?
I apologize for my earlier posts suggesting that Israel should be relocated - lock stock, and barrel - to the northwestern coast of Australia, near Broom. At the time, it seemed like a good solution.
But as the information spaces fill in about the Flotilla event and as some members of Congress call for persecution of any Yanks who participated, I am not sure I really want to share the Milky Way with Israel. They should pick either the Large or Small Magellanic Cloud, execute Operation Space Sneeze, settle upon land belonging to some other life form and blame the Holocaust, pointing in the direction of the Milky Way.
Congresspersons getting ready to punish Americans for Thought Crime, and for Un American Activity should plan to go along with them. Else, don't even think about it.
Trylon
The Bliftxsians in the Small Magellenic Cloud are already protesting.
“If ordinary Americans had seen below deck, the men with zip ties on their wrists, on their knees for hours, denied permission to go to the toilet, forced to soil their pants, women pleading to be able to give drinks to men, that may have changed their sense of what happened on the ships.”
Reminds me of the time the cops held SF demonstrators in Candlestick Park in 1970.
If you are not a subservient serf, you are a terrorist.
Who are these assholes and why do we support them? Christ, I feel dirty as an American. Joe Biden gushing over these _____ when he visited Israel last. It's all par for the course, though. "Cops" lie.
billiam:
They are Jr. Partners in Empire Inc. They are Mini-Me and the USA is Dr. Evil.
The USA supports them becuase it benefits the Empire and the military industrial complex.
Israel is only doing what the USA does. If Obama or Congress were to criticize Israel, it would not only be out of character it would be hypocrisy. If you criticize Israel one must criticize the chief Imperial War Criminal - The USA
You mean you felt "clean" as an american BEFORE this???
I would love to take a shower at your place! ;-)
Peace,
rita
Yeah me too ready to..., out damn spot!
Israel is as much a danger to world peace as it is to the Palestinians, and the Israel lobby is a very real threat to what few shreds of freedom we have left here in the United States.
McCarthyism only lasted a few years. This attempt to prevent any criticism of or opposition to giving Israel a free ride has gone on within the United States since 1948, but has been much worse since 1967.
The propaganda is predictable and effective, and echoed from all media except for Democracy Now and a few other brave but poorly-heard non-corporate broadcasters.
Goebbel's Big Lie technique is the most favored approach.
The current Zionist tendency is clearly towards fascism.
A Peace Now speaker was shouted down at an LA pro-Israel rally.
And I believe I read that Israeli liberal octagenarian commentator Uri Avner was physically attacked in Israel.
Helen Thomas referred to the fact that most Israelis do not have roots in the Middle East, but are immigrants from elsewhere. Both her parents are Lebanese, a country subjected to repeated Israeli war crimes.
At the turn of the 20th century the Jewish population of what is now Israel was less than 10%. It was a massive influx of Jews with the rise of Hitler and after that caused the problem, many if not most as technically illegal as undocumented Mexicans in LA.
In that context her remarks may have been offensive to some, but were based on facts that supporters of Israel do not want to dwell on.
There can be no further doubt that the Israel Lobby runs the White House, the Congress, and the media. Its not a conspiracy theory, it's an actual conspiracy.
Think of the implications.
Yeah its all Israel's fault. The USA got involved in Vietnam because of Israel. The USA invaded Iraq and Afghanistan because of Israel; installed Pinochet, installed the Shah etc. The US has hundreds of military bases across the globe because of Israel. Gee thanks for your deep analytical insights, I understand now.
Thank you socialist. As i have been saying, the glass house always has dwellers who love to throw stones.
Gotta love the haters!
ps. Try to avoid reading posts for awhile. My health tip of the day.
Asolutely, J.A.!
"The USA invaded Iraq and Afghanistan because of Israel, . . ."
Well, this statement is clearly true.
q
Sorry not so fast quickstepper think about it for a minute.
So no other powerful interests benefitted? No other powerful interests cheerleaded? No other powerful interests were involved?
I think the evidence is abundantly clear that powerful interests other than Israel were and are the primary beneficiaries of the wars. Guess who they are. Or do you need some hints?
W's vendetta + Oil + Israel = War
Israel is as much a danger to world peace as it is to the Palestinians, and the Israel lobby is a very real threat to what few shreds of freedom we have left here in the United States.
McCarthyism only lasted a few years. This attempt to prevent any criticism of or opposition to giving Israel a free ride has gone on within the United States since 1948, but has been much worse since 1967.
The propaganda is predictable and effective, and echoed from all media except for Democracy Now and a few other brave but poorly-heard non-corporate broadcasters.
Goebbel's Big Lie technique is the most favored approach.
The current Zionist tendency is clearly towards fascism.
A Peace Now speaker was shouted down at an LA pro-Israel rally.
And I believe I read that Israeli liberal octagenarian commentator Uri Avner was physically attacked in Israel.
Helen Thomas referred to the fact that most Israelis do not have roots in the Middle East, but are immigrants from elsewhere. Both her parents are Lebanese, a country subjected to repeated Israeli war crimes.
At the turn of the 20th century the Jewish population of what is now Israel was less than 10%. It was a massive influx of Jews with the rise of Hitler and after that caused the problem, many if not most as technically illegal as undocumented Mexicans in LA.
In that context her remarks may have been offensive to some, but were based on facts that supporters of Israel do not want to dwell on.
There can be no further doubt that the Israel Lobby runs the White House, the Congress, and the media. Its not a conspiracy theory, it's an actual conspiracy.
Think of the implications.
i only wish that the israeli operatives who clouded the airwaves with their lies just think for a minute. read goodman's article and imagine just once that other readers have already done so. what picture you think they will draw from these israeli lies when compare them with goodman's? why does anybody see their new comments and not charecterize them as lies before even reading them, whether in fact these writings are lies or not.why readers don't form the impression that these israeli opeative have read germany's goebles propaganda books. and yes perfected their use to mislead the public.would anyone henceforth will believe the isreai propaganda machine or descibe it as cry wolves? who do you think has lost the public opinion then.if you poeple are smart, wake up before it is not too late.
"The current Zionist tendency is clearly towards fascism."
Great commentary Weezie.
However, I would suggest that Israel IS a fascist state AS IS AMERICA.
I refer to the American brand of fascism as CORPORATE FASCISM.
Israel is a militarized mutant projection of the American Empire and serves the purposes of the empire as an Americanized nuclear military base in the heart of the Middle East.
With all the professional journalists aboard, I would bet that at least one had the self-possession to swallow or hide or put in a bottle-in-the-sea the memory chip from his/ her camera as the mission collapsed amidst Operation Sea Breeze. The truth will out.
Zionists seem to enjoy playing the we-are-the-victim card no matter what the facts.
Dr. Paul Larudee seems more hero than victim. All participants, even those not practicing non-violence, are practitioners of heroic virtue. In fact, I wish I had been among the heroes.
May the flotillas never cease until the wall comes down.
"...the Rasmussen poll that found 49 percent of U.S. voters believe pro-Palestinian activists on the aid ships are to blame for what happened."
Israel got a 48 hour jump on the flotilla story--and a pass by all the msm--to saturate the media with their narrative.
But those advantages--as great as they are--are not the primary reasons for the success (49%) of what is at best a ludicrous narrative.
And the primary reason isn't because the American and Israeli people are just stupid.
What makes Israel's recent narrative conserning the flotilla resonate so strongly is that it is already reinforced by a long standing (30+ years) and deep-seated frame created and supported by all political parties in both the U.S. and in Israel.
Generally that frame is that the notion of justice is an extra, an add-on--subject to compromise and kept around only so long as circumstances permit--instead of being an integral part of society--especially one that claims to be democratic. Boiled down to a phrase--this frame is the acceptance of injustice--although most prefer to call it being "realistic."
And the most recent interpretation of that frame--since 911--for Israel is:
justice = rocket attacks on Israeli citizens
and here in the U.S.
justice = letting terrorists get away
No wonder so many are willing to accept injustice.
But it's not just the fact that justice has been defined and framed in this way--it's that there has been no competing or opposing definition from anyone. Instead there was yet the creation of another vacuum around an issue--which was then filled with the ideas and values representing the lowest common denominator.
In the U.S., it's the Democrats, liberal/progressives we have to thank for creating this vacuum and subsequent redefining of justice.
How do Democrats, liberal/progressives define justice? They don't. They marginalize it and anonymize the role of those in power that decide what will be the choices.
Probably the clearest and most recent example regarding this was the healthcare reform debacle.
Instead of attempting to make justice an integral part of a new healthcare system, Democrats and liberals/progressives opted for one that accepted the inherent human injustice of the market's role in healthcare.
They even took out a little insurance for the success of such "reform" with the help of the "public option." Most people think of the PO as a plan for healthcare. It wasn't. It was an idea regarding healthcare, one that functioned as a stepping stone to an actual health insurance plan--Obama's. Accordingly, the idea the PO represented was simply the acceptance--via the market--of injustice in healthcare. And once Democrats and liberals/progressives were able to accept the PO--they could go for anything--i.e. the Obama health insurance plan.
Instead of using the issue of healthcare as a way to clearify and define the proper role of justice in society that would contest the opposing frame, Democrats and liberals/progressives used it to reinforce it.
Ensuring that any future narrative--such as the one regrading the recent flotilla--would fail to resonate.
Correct!
To nearly every politician, getting re-elected is much more important than justice.
Too many liberals and progressives fall for this, and support or vote for candidates who mouth all the right words, but fail to work for justice once in office.
The political system we have allowed to evolve here has no real need of true justice. It may have penalties for certain wrongdoing (i.e. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about extramarital sex but Bush & Cheney were never even prosecuted for massive war crimes and crimes against humanity), but the idea of true justice is so absent from our public discourse that it might as well be a foreign word.
Most USans, due to media influence ("news", movies, TV crime shows) confuse vengeance with justice. Fairness to all would seem like a concept familiar to us as a people, but it is no longer in evidence.
We have so much work to do...
don't worry. rasmussen is fox's go-to pollster. they lack objectivity. in the u.s., it is grounds for a libel suit to falsely identify someone as a member of a criminal group. let's sue israel for calling resisters al quaeda members!
The IDF attacks ships in international territory; kills 9 people, abuses several hundred people for days, steals their equipment (I simply assume most cameras and stuff was simply destroyed and will never be returned to the owners) ... and the solution is to a libel suit for false claims.
Yeah, I am pretty sure the IDF forgot about that one; and now they will be really terrified upon the idea of a libel suit.
;-(