Aboard the good ship Mavi Marmara

Please note: everything in this post is based on information from Al Jazeera, Al Aqsa (the Hamas TV channel), and the IHH, the "charity" organization behind the Gaza flotilla.

The video footage below originally aired on Al Jazeera TV:



[The following is from Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik of PalestinianMediaWatch.org, but please note that their sources are Al Jazeera and Al Aqsa.]

The following is the transcript from Al-Jazeera TV:
Reporter: "Despite the Israeli threats and several unexpected delays, the arrival of the ships at the meeting point before sailing to the Gaza Strip inflamed the emotions and the enthusiasm of the participants."
Visuals from Gaza flotilla ship of young Muslims shouting Islamic battle chant invoking the killing and defeat of Jews in battle:
"[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!"
[Khaibar is the name of last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army and it marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia in 628.]
Reporter: "While singing songs reminiscent of the Palestinian Intifada (Palestinian terror war against Israel, 2000 - 2005), participants expressed their longing to reach Gaza."
A participant: "Right now we face one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza." [Based on Islamic call before battle: "Either victory or Martyrdom".]
[Al-Jazeera TV, May 29, 2010]

Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV chose to glorify flotilla participants who shouted the Islamic battle cry by broadcasting an interview with a university lecturer who referred to them as "those with faith and will."

Dr. Abd Al-Fatah Shayyeq Naaman, lecturer in Shari'ah law at a university in Sanaa (Yemen):
"Yesterday I followed the news agencies and they conveyed Zionist threats to stop the convoy and prevent it from entering Gaza; on the other side, those with faith and will once again call out upon hearing the reports of the threats: '[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!'"
Hamas TV Host: "Strong motivation."
Shayyeq Naaman: "One woman standing on the ship said that now we are awaiting one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or the beaches of Gaza."
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 30, 2010]

Al-Jazeera also reports that before the confrontation, flotilla participants announced that they would use "resistance" against Israel. Mukawama (resistance) is the Arabic term used by Palestinians to refer to all violence against Israel, including suicide terror.

"The flotilla includes hundreds of Arab and foreign solidarity activists from more than 40 countries ... They have announced their determination to use resistance to any attempt at piracy by the Israeli occupation."
[Al-Jazeera website, May 29, 2010

But wait, there's more. Two photos of the merry shipboard peacemakers now prove that they were armed with knives as well as with metal clubs. What's worse is that when most people first saw these photos, Reuters News Agency had cropped the knives out of the photos! The website LittleGreenFootballs has both the cropped and uncropped versions. Below are the uncropped pictures of knife-wielding peace activists:


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Other photos, proudly displayed at the website of the IHH (the "charity organization" that organized the "aid ships" to Gaza) document the violent capture of Israeli soldiers at the hands of the club and knife wielding peace activists. The IDF has claimed all along that it was the abduction of these soldiers, and the seizure of their weapons, that led to the escalation of the confrontation aboard the Mavi Marmara and the subsequent loss of life.

In closing, I cannot help but think of Assud the Jew-Eating Bunny, former star of the Hamas children's show, "Tomorrow's Pioneers". Assud became a martyr early in 2009 by throwing himself in front of an Israeli rocket. As he lay dying he asked the children of Gaza to "remember me as a martyr." Assud was the third "co-host" of Tomorrow's Pioneers to die a martyr's death. The current co-host is Nassur the Bear, who appears to be something of a coward since he has yet to martyr himself despite now being on the show several months longer than any of the previous co-hosts. To learn more about martyrdom-themed children's entertainment click on the picture below (and also check out the wikipedia entry for Tomorrow's Pioneers).

Gaza Flotilla: Martyrdom by Proxy

Two articles, one in the June 4 New York Times and the other in today's (June 7) Der Spiegel, shed a great deal of new light on what really happened aboard the Mavi Marmara. These articles are based on eyewitness accounts from passengers on the ship, that is, volunteer participants in the flotilla.

Here is an excerpt from the Der Spiegel article describing the mood and the intentions of those on the ship:

El Sakka describes the atmosphere on board [the Mavi Marmara] as "euphoric," almost as if "we were on a pleasant cruise," he says. The ship was linked via satellite with the Internet and a number of TV stations and continuously sent out images and interviews to the world. A reporter from the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera filed a report on Sunday afternoon that made headlines a number of days later. A group of Arab activists could be seen chanting: "Remember Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! Muhammad's army is returning!"

This is an intifada battle cry, a fighting slogan that recalls a victorious battle fought by the Prophet Muhammad's army against the Jews. El Sakka, a veteran of many pro-Palestinian demonstrations, knows the words well -- and he disapproves of them. "We avoid such slogans at our rallies," he says. "I didn't personally see this group on the ship. But I recognize the reporter. He was definitely there." The other footage in the report also stems from the Mavi Marmara, he says -- including a woman standing on deck and saying in Arabic: "Right now we face one of two happy endings: either martyrdom or reaching Gaza."

And here is an excerpt from the NYT article describing what happened:

It was just getting light when the Turkish boat, packed with 546 activists, descended into chaos, and Mahmut Coskun, a Turkish doctor on board, was in the middle of it.

The crack of an Israeli sound grenade and a hail of rubber bullets from above were supposed to disperse activists, but instead set them in motion. And when three Israeli commandos slid down ropes out of helicopters to take over the ship, a crowd set upon them.

“They ran at them without pause or hesitation,” Dr. Coskun recalled.

One soldier was stabbed and two were beaten. From that moment on, the attempted takeover turned into an armed assault, with angry Israeli commandos opening fire. Within an hour, the commandos had taken control of the ship, and nine Turks, including one who also had American citizenship, were dead.

The Der Spiegel article also claims that as yet unreleased video footage reveals that the ship's passengers also fought among themselves, as some of them, including one "Arab-looking woman" and "a number of leftist European actitivsts" tried to protect the Israeli soldiers from their fellow "peace activists"!

Wilders Could Be In Next Dutch Gov't

The man likely to become the next Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte of the VVD (The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), has stated that his Party (which is expected to garner the most votes in Wednesday's national election, but not an outright majority) could form a ruling parliamentary coalition with the Christian Democrats and with Geert Wilders' PVV (Party for Freedom). This is according to David Charter, writing for the UK Times and reporting from the Hague.

Rutte also said that he would be open to a coalition with the Labor Party as well, and he also characterized Wilders as "quite left-wing" on economic issues.

According to the most recent polls, Wilders' PVV is set to double it's strength in the Dutch parliament from 9 to 18 seats. That still puts it in fourth place, though, behind the Christian Democrats (24 seats), Labour (29) and the Rutte's VVD (36).

In addition to his "leftist" economic policies, Wilders is also a strong supporter of gay rights and women's rights. He and his party are routinely labeled as "right-wing" because of their strong, unapologetic criticism of Islam as a "totalitarian ideology".

Until recently Wilders had enjoyed uncritical support from the American right, but then, quite suddenly, Wilders came under fire from prominent members of the FOX News punditocracy (more on that here); and Wilders also had a recent falling out with the Christian Action Network (CAN), which had planned to release a film about Wilders, until Wilders personally and quite publicly distanced himself from the group when he became aware of homophobic actions and statements by CAN (more on that here).

Wilders gained international attention in 2008 when he released the film Fitna, a highly controversial 18 minute long documentary which is extremely critical of Islam.

Another "Peace Activist" Confirms IDF Version of Events

The following is from the transcript of an interview with Kevin Neish conducted live this morning by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. Neish is a Canadian citizen and a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. He spoke by phone with Goodman from Istanbul.

I stepped out on the deck at just one point, just to look at the Israeli rigid-hulled Zodiacs, big—I think forty-feet long, I believe, they’re huge—and gunboats, regular-hulled gunboats, just sort of, I guess, roaring up on either side. And then, I spent—I don’t know what time it was. I’ve been told it was 4:00, 4:30. I didn’t check my watch. But then, from there, I watched them pull in a couple of Israeli commandos, I guess, and strip them of their weapons and then pack them down the stairs. And then the wounded, wounded and dead—the staircase was slick with blood on one side where I came down. Blood splattered on my clothing.

This corroborates what another eyewitness "peace activist", Kevin Ovenden, said yesterday to the British Stalinist newspaper The Morning Star. It also corroborates the IDF version of what really happened aboard the Mavi Marmara.

I realize that truth is famously the first casualty of war, and that this is war. But the fact is that the truth is not really all that difficult to find, at least in this case.

And the fact is that those aboard the Mavi Marmara were ready for a fight and got the fight they were itching for. This does not justify Israeli policy in Gaza. But the great injustices done to the Palestinians do not have the magical power to alter reality.

Click here for the complete transcript (along with various audio formats) of this morning's Democracy Now interview, which also includes Kevin Ovenden who, quite surprisingly, now openly states that it is "difficult to ascertain" whether or not IDF forces opened fire before they were themselves attacked by those on the ship. Ovenden also once again confirms that two IDF soldiers were forcibly abducted and held prisoner by the "peace activists" aboard the "aid ship":

two Israeli soldiers that I know of were overpowered, as people instinctively resisted with bare hands and whatever was around them—they were overpowered, but they were not harmed. The injuries they sustained were only those of being knocked to the ground. They were disarmed and handed back to the Israeli military as soon as was possible, which is after they had murdered nine people onboard the ship. There was every opportunity to inflict harm on those two soldiers, and no harm was inflicted. They were simply kept apart and dealt with by the medical team onboard.

Israel has certainly reaped the whirlwind as a result of it's occupation and continued oppression of Gaza and the West Bank and of all Palestinians. But "peace activists" who stupidly seek out confrontations with the IDF and intentionally provoke and initiate violence in order to generate international headlines are playing with fire. If they want to fight the IDF let them join Hamas, if they haven't already.

Gaza Flotilla: Rush To Judgement?

Three videos (scroll down) show that a group of people aboard the Mavi Marmara "aid ship" were armed with steel rods, broken bottles, nunchucks, slingshots, knives and incendiary and explosive weapons. The videos also show that this group of people prepared their weapons in advance and were waiting for the IDF commandos when they came to board the ship, and that when the Israelis did arrive the armed group put up a vigorous fight.

In fact, one of those aboard, Kevin Ovenden, a former George Galloway staffer who spoke to the British leftist paper Morning Star, revealed that the ship's Turkish crew abducted two IDF soldiers who had been wounded in the course of the melee and held them captive:

Mr Ovenden praised the Turkish crew of the vessel as "truly heroic in their attempts to prevent further loss of life," saying they had taken two injured Israeli soldiers inside the ship to prevent them being hurt further in the panic and chaos.

From the reports I've seen there was only serious violence on board the Mavi Marmara (there were five other ships boarded and seized by the IDF at the same time), which indicates that there was something different about this particular ship -- probably the people on it.

Here is a video of the fighting onboard the Mavi Marmara:


And here is a video that shows preparations on board the Mavi Marmara just prior to the beginning of the IDF boarding:


Here is a third video showing the greeting given to the IDF by the "peace activists" aboard the Mavi Marmara:

Arundhati Roy: "It ought to be an armed movement ... I do not care ... Pick me up, put me in jail."

This Press Trust of India story is making the rounds:

Thu, Jun 3 02:52 PM

Mumbai, Jun 3 (PTI) Author-activist Arundhati Roy, who has been accused of romanticising Naxalism, has said she will continue to back the Maoists' armed struggle even if she is put behind bars. While claiming that she does not support violence, the 48-year-old Booker prize winner feels that the Naxal movement could be nothing but an armed struggle as the Gandhian way would not have been successful in the present context.

"The Naxal movement could be nothing but an armed struggle. I am not supporting violence.

"But I am also completely against contemptuous atrocities-based political analysis," she said delivering a lecture on 'The War on People' organised by the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights here late last night. "It ought to be an armed movement.

"Gandhian way of opposition needs an audience, which is absent here. People have debated long before choosing this form of struggle," Roy, who had saluted the "people of Dantewada" after 76 CRPF and police personnel were mowed down by Maoists in the deadliest attack targeting security forces, said.

"I am on this side of line. I do not care. Pick me up put me in jail," she asserted. While terming the naxalite violence as a corollary to the battle between the tribals and corporate houses to gain control over natural resources like minerals, water and forests, she said, "While 99 per cent of Maoists are tribals, 99 per cent of tribals are not Maoists.

"What the government calls Maoists corridor, is in fact MoU-ist corridor. You have an MoU on every mountain, river.

"MoUs signed by biggest corporations in the world who are waiting to gain hold of the resources," Roy said. Explaining the economics behind iron ore mining, Arundhati quoting from Lokayukta''s report said, while the government earns Rs 24 per tonne, the mining company gets Rs 5,000.

More Prayer Candles, Please!

You may have missed it (I know I did) but last year a store in San Francisco started selling its own line of Saint Obama Prayer Candles.

The candle is actually a knock off of an "official" Saint. Juan Martin de Porres was born in 1579 in Lima, Peru, and died in 1639. His father was a Spanish lord, and his mother was a former slave, to whom the nobleman was not married.

St. Martin was a vegetarian and included among the miracles attributed to him are bilocation, levitation, miraculous healing, and communication with animals. He was beatified in 1962 and his feast day is November 3rd. Some consider him the patron saint of interracial couples and of racial harmony.

In addition to the original, Indioproducts.com (one of a handful of major players in the Prayer Candle industry, which is estimated to be worth between $100M and $2B annually) now sells their own Obama Hope Prayer Candle, which bears no resemblance to St. Martin de Porres or any other actual saint.

Prayer candles are usually associated with Catholicism, Spiritism, various Latin American folk-beliefs, and Afro-Carribean religions (especially Santeria). But some enterprising visionaries have started to branch out with candles inspired by Eastern religions, Astrology, etc. The Wandering Gypsy Soul Candle Company has a beautiful line of Muses of the Zodiac candles as well as "Chakra Novena" and "Laughing Buddha" candles.

But it would be hard to beat the offbeat selection of Prayer Candles at the Vintage Religion website, whose self-description is "unique gifts inspired by the religions and cultures of the world." Alongside their nice selection of traditional and folk-Catholic candles (and also some very pretty rosaries and other standard items -- but they also carry "Jesus Hates It When You Smoke" ashtrays!), Vintage Religion also has an assortment of Hindu-themed Prayer Candles honoring Ganesh, Shiva, Lakshmi, Kali, Durga, Krishna and also a Radha/Krishna candle.

In addition to their Hindu themed candles, Vintage Religion also sells three Buddhist themed candles (including Kuan Yin), four different Frida Kahlo candles, and a Chinese Dragon candle. They also have a Saint Martin de Porres candle that looks like it was the model for the Saint Obama candle mentioned earlier.

One artist who has productively explored what can be done with the Prayer Candle as a visual medium is Vicky Berndt, who, in addition to the Judy Garland candle pictured to the right, also has produced candles honoring Loretta Lynn, Karen Carpenter, Little Richard, Salvador Dali and more.

Berndt appears to approach the whole Prayer Candle thang strictly from a popular culture angle, with no real interest in any any spiritual significance. That's kind of a shame, but her candles are so beautiful and ingenious just as they are that it is unfair to criticize for them for what they are not.

I also should mention that Robert Place, designer of the Alchemical Tarot, now sells a beautiful Prayer Candle sporting the High Priestess image from that deck (pictured to the left).

My purpose here, though, transcends mere pimpage for a few online artists and merchants whose Prayer Candles meet and exceed my expectations. More importantly, these examples help to highlight two features of the Prayer Candle phenomenon that might be overlooked (although they are already present even there) in the more ordinary candles found on the shelves at your local grocery store or Walmart.

First of all, the mass produced, low-cost nature of the Prayer Candle makes it an inviting template for experimentation. To the right kind of mind, every Prayer Candle has "your crazy idea HERE" emblazoned across it. And the Prayer Candle's "industrial" characteristics also lend themselves to a market-driven selection process to determine which ideas not only tickle the artist's fancy, but resonate with a wider audience. There are severe limits to this second point, however, unless you have friends at one of the major candle manufacturers or the distributors.

When the above two considerations (low-cost mass production + market-driven positive feedback) are solidly grounded in mass pop-culture, as opposed to the self-conscious boutique pop-culture-as-kitsch POV of someone like Vicky Berndt, though, they take on a new life. In real pop-culture the innovativeness of the individual artist takes a back seat (and then some) to what sells. But the results can be just as startling and fascinating as Berndt's latest brainchild: her Michael Jackson as Krishna candles.

Because of its mass appeal and mass-production the Prayer Candle becomes an unphotoshopped snap-shot of real-world spirituality in all its glorious messiness: inclusive of love-magic, money-magic, legal-magic, healing, devotion and spiritual enlightenment. When it comes to Prayer Candles it seems that nothing is censored simply because it is too strange or crude or even profane, nor is there any hesitation or embarrassment about expressing the loftiest and most selfless religious aspirations. Indeed Saint Augustine of Hippo must take his place beside Jesus Malverde (considered to be the Patron Saint of Drug Dealers).

One can almost imagine Huston Smith gazing at the shelves of his local Botanica when he wrote these words:

What a strange fellowship this is, the God-seekers in every land, lifting up their voices in the most disparate ways imaginable to the God of all life. How does it sound from above? Like bedlam, or do these strains blend in strange, ethereal harmony? Does one faith carry the lead, or do the parts share in counterpoint and antiphony where not in full-throated chorus?

We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine.
[The World's Religions, p. 2]

[This is a follow-up post to Lady GaGa Prayer Candles.]
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Another negative review of Prothero's "God Is Not One"

The slow motion epic fail continues.

Yet another negative review of Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One has appeared. This one was written by Leo D. Lefebure (Professor and Matteo Ricci Chair at the Georgetown University Theology Department), and appears in today's online edition of The Christian Century.

As was the case with the two negative reviews that appeared just a little over a week ago in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe (by Jay Tolson and Alec Solomita, respectively), Lefebure seems broadly sympathetic to Prothero's stated goal, but he also clearly feels that Prothero has completely failed to deliver. (For an overview of those other two reviews, along with relevant links, see my previous post: "Holy Crap! Two reasonably intelligent reviews of Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One".)

Lefebure's analysis of Prothero is calm, methodical, and withering.

Lefebure begins (after an introductory paragraph that tells you more in five sentences about what Prothero is actually trying to do, than Prothero himself ever bothers to tell the reader in his entire book) by pointing out that there is nothing original in Prothero's rejection of perennialism. Then he moves on to point out that: "Any astute defender of the Perennialist School would, of course, readily acknowledge the kind of surface differences that Prothero notes." (This is Lefebure's nice way of saying that Prothero's whole schtick is nothing but a long drawn-out straw man argument, rather than a serious critique of the Perennialist School.)

Lefebure then takes on Prothero's bizarre accusation that Gandhi's teachings on religious tolerance have directly and significantly contributed to religious intolerance and violence. And Prothero's crude sleight-of-hand, in which he attempts to consign any commonality among humanity's religions to the field of ethics, and, thereby, deny that religions as religions share anything in common, is also deftly exposed by Lefebure.

And there's more, including some factual whoppers that undermine any value that Prothero's book might have even as just another popular survey of world religions.


Previous posts from this blog on Stephen Prothero's "God Is Not One":
Holy Crap! Two reasonably intelligent reviews of Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One
Good Fences Make Good Religions?
Who, if anyone, is Stephen Prothero arguing with, other than himself?
How Stephen Prothero mangles the economics-politics-religion analogy
The basis of universal spirituality
Contra Prothero

GENERAL, YOUR TANK IS A POWERFUL VEHICLE

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General, your tank is a powerful vehicle.
It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men.
But it has one defect:
It needs a driver.

General, your bomber is powerful.
It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant.
But it has one defect:
It needs a mechanic.

General, man is very useful.
He can fly and he can kill.
But he has one defect:
He can think.

[From a German War Primer, by Bertolt Brecht]