Terrorism Shown To Pay

Once again, I return to the explosive topic of terrorism. Or rather, how terrorism does indeed pay. The source of the picture is Sky News who covered former conicted terrorist Mandela at the unveiling of a statue in Parliament Square. The irony that a terrorist should be honoured in a place so close to the Mother of all Parliaments is certainly not lost on me.

So at the same time as the Labour Party dominated Select Committee on Foriegn Affairs is recommending dialogue with the likes of Hamas, Brown shows his contempt for democracy by allowing a man convicted of blowing up a train of civilians to strut his stuff in Westminster.

And this doesn't even address what he, and the ANC, have inflicted on South Africa or allowed in Zimbabwe. Talking to terrorists does not lead to peace, security and democracy!

History, Admiral Lord Nelson and General David Petraeus

This is not intended to be a comparison of the respective merits of two commanders. Rather, it is an observation on the similarity of events that saw Admiral Lord Nelson assume command of the British fleet in the Mediterranean and General Petraeus take command of the allied multinational force in Iraq.

What occurs to me is that national leaders sometimes consider it necessary to circumvent the accepted order of military command and protocol, when the situation demands. William Pitt was continuously thwarted by the 'old guard' in Whitehall. George Bush was badly advised, over a number of years, in how to obtain victory in Iraq. What is certain is that both resorted to hiring a relatively junior officer to expedite matters. Nelson went on to destroy the French fleet at Aboukir Bay, and Petraeus has stabilised the situation in Baghdad and the surrounding Sunni region.

What is also striking in it's similarity is how those with less talent take the earliest opportunity to strike at the successful. With Nelson, Whig Admiral Sir John Jervis was thought to have attempted to undermine Nelson. That the likes of abject failures such as General Wesley Clark should have 'sniped' at Petraeus is hardly surprising. What is, perhaps, more surprising is that ralative failure General George Casey should attempt to undermine Petraeus's plan by playing politics as US Army Chief of Staff. The reason why Petraeus was placed in command, in the first place.

Unhistorical Dramas

Today, I have been considering how perceptions of history have been distorted by the film world. Obviously, Hollywood has been the recent major Western culprit, albeit not in the same class as Eisenstein or Riefenstahl. However, the aim has been the same. To provide a political message in an entertaining setting that doesn’t ask too many questions of the viewer. As such, the viewer’s idea of history will be shaped by the filmmaker.

I’ve long been interested why history has been distorted, and as I’ve gotten older, tend to believe that this is not to allow a more enjoyable film but rather to ‘educate’ the viewer who will then unconsciously adopt the same viewpoint as the filmmaker.

John Wayne’s ‘Green Berets’ was the only major mainstream film to support the US troops in Vietnam, and was funded by himself in attempt to balance all the negativity emanating from Hollywood. More recently, we have seen Mel Gibson take part and finance projects for, what many consider, ‘vehicles’ by which he was able to express his anti-British and anti-Semitic views. Even more recently, we have seen two films (King Arthur and The Kingdom of Heaven), which I actually enjoyed by the way, distort social history by suggesting that Christians were generally venal and that the other side were generally justified and noble freedom fighters.

So, what has brought this particular post on? An interesting article in USA Today, on the new Hollywood historical drama 'September Dawn', as it happens. The link is:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/08/hollywoods-terr.html

The article expresses many of the concerns that I generally feel, and also raises a number of unanswered questions. Fortunately, the images portrayed by this latest Hollywood offering are for US citizens to ponder upon, as we have enough to worry about over here, without visiting the possible 'sins of the father' on Mitt Romney and his Presidential campaign. It is unlikely to prove a box office success over here!

FAC Urge Dialogue with Islamic Terrorists

The Commons foreign affairs committee (CFAC) said the decision not to enter talks with Hamas "has been counterproductive" and that "active support for the establishment of a national unity government in Palestine should be a key UK objective."

This of course appears to forget that the Palestinian President is fiercely opposed to these Islamic extremists, and has seen his followers purged in fierce West Bank fighting. Once Fatah has been destroyed, it is not diifficult to see where Hamas will once again turn their attentions to.

The question I want to ask though is what the hell the CFAC thinks it is doing recommending ties with a terrorist organisation, and what message it is sending the world? With Brown looking for an early exit from Iraq, and failing spectacularly to halt further British losses in Afghanistan, it looks like the CFAC is attempting to develop a policy of pacifism when faced with Islamic fascism around the world. And, how long will it be before Pelosi persuades the US Congress to follow suit?

US Quiet on Russians Over Guam

It is perhaps a little surprising that the Russian 'buzzing' of Guam, on Wednesday, has not been reported in the main US and UK media outlets.

Whilst the US appears to remain tight-lipped about the incident, the Russians have been a lot less retiscent. Unlike the unnamed US source in the previous blog, about UK forces in Basra, Major General Pavel Androsov has no such fear of having to remain incommunicado. He told a press conference in Moscow that "it was always the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet (US) aircraft carriers and greet (US) pilots visually," and that "yesterday we revived this tradition."

It has also been reported that last month RAF Tornado fighters were twice forced to scramble after Tu-95 bombers flew close to British airspace. These were the same type of large bomber, capable of delivering a nuclear device, that 'buzzed' Guam on Wednesday. So, what is the Russian game?

Flexing it's muscle ... undoubtedly. However, there is a serious message here that shows this more than 'sabre rattling'. At the beginning of August, Georgia was subjected to an air attack by Russia who also claimed the Arctic as its own that same week. How long will the international community stand idly by and allow Putin to 'strut his stuff' on the world stage.

US Claims of British Failure in Basra

It has been reported that a senior US intelligence official claims that British forces lost control of Basra by pulling our troops out of Basra too quickly. As such, "the British have basically been defeated in the south," he told the 'Washington Post'.

In a report due to be published in the 'Post' tomorrow, the official said that a contingent of 500 British troops based at Basra Palace were "surrounded like cowboys and Indians."

Of course, this appears somewhat simplistic as a soldier from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh was killed when he came under fire during an operation in the Al Fursi district of Basra last night. The latest death brings the total number of British service personnel who have died in Iraq, since the 2003 invasion, to 165.

Whilst the continuing loss of British life illustrates that the British troops are more than merely holed up in the Basra Palace, he does illustrate how vulnerable the British troops are whilst the politicians sit on their hands in London. They are surrounded, by a number of militia and Iranian insurgents, whilst lacking the equipment or numbers to make their presence of use.

Guangzhou Artillery Pieces (Part 2)

Today, I wanted to return to the past and share some more pictures taken of artillery pieces in Guangzhou.

The pieces are bronze, most probably made in China, and definitely from the Qing Dynasty. They would have been placed on platforms lower down the hillside allowing 'plunging shot' on any naval force attempting to enter the harbour.

The main armoury for the period can be seen in the rear of the first photograph, and also served as barracks for the garrison.

Smiling Terrorism

A friend of mine recently sent me an e-letter from two parents who were distraught with a US programme whose advertising appeared to glamorise terrorism.¬

After several days of sitting on this, and pondering whether I should post this, I decided I would. Having reported on the end of Operation Banner several days ago, this was a reminder that terrorism is alive and well and some still wish to put a positive spin on the most evil of acts.

Dear friends Today's New York Times carries a review of a film called "Hot House " that goes inside Israeli prisons and examines the lives of Palestinian prisoners. We're not recommending the film or the review. But we do want to share our feelings with you about the beaming female face that adorns the article. You can see it here.

The film is produced by HBO. So it's presumably HBO's publicity department that was responsible for creating and distributing a glamour-style photograph of a smiling, contented-looking young woman in her twenties to promote the movie. That female is our child's murderer. She was sentenced to sixteen life sentences or 320 years which she is serving in an Israeli jail.

Fifteen people were killed and more than a hundred maimed and injured by the actions of this attractive person and her associates. The background is here.Neither the New York Times nor HBO are likely to give even a moment's attention to the victims of the barbarians who destroyed the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem and the lives of so many victims.

So we would be grateful if you would pass along this link to some pictures of our daughter whose name was Malki. She was unable to reach her twenties - Hamas saw to that. Though she was only fifteen years old when her life was stolen from her and from us, we think Malki was a beautiful young woman, living a beautiful life. We ask your help so that other people - far fewer than the number who will see the New York Times, of course - can know about her.

Please ask your friends to look at the pictures - some of the very few we have - of our murdered daughter. They are at http://www.kerenmalki.org/photo.htm

And remind them of what the woman in the Israeli prison - the woman smiling so happily in the New York Times - said last year. "I'm not sorry for what I did. We'll become free from the occupation and then I will be free from prison."With so many voices demanding that Israel release its terrorist prisoners, small wonder she's smiling.

With greetings from Jerusalem,Frimet and Arnold Roth
On behalf of Keren Malki