British Ambassador to Lebanon: Cow – not Pig

The British ambassador to Lebanon, a woman named Frances Guy, referred to the late Ayatollah Hussein Fadlallah, a staunchly anti-American cleric who was mentor to the militant Hezbollah in Lebanon as a decent man whose death was sad news, adding, "the world needs more men like him".

An Israeli spokesman diplomatically responded, "Sheikh Fadlallah was behind hostage-taking, suicide bombings and other sorts of wanton violence, but Ambassador Guy said he was a man of peace, and Ambassador Guy is an honourable woman."

Not being bound by diplomatic niceties, I would have said that she is a pig but that would have made her unacceptable to her Hezbollah friends, and we would not want that. Cow?

Foreign Secretary Hague should fire her without delay.

Can They Talk Without Guns?

According to the Israeli press: Israel will not hesitate to use force to protect its gas fields from being claimed by Lebanon, Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau warned this week in an interview with Bloomberg News.

Is Israeli cabinet members’ version of “penis envy” “gun envy”?

What next? Will Israel’s Minister of Health threaten to send the Israeli army to countries that sue Teva (the Israeli generic drug manufacturer) for infringement of patent rights?

When will they ever learn?

The Pope’s Latest Non Apology

Earlier today, the Pope has come out with yet another expression of regret on the subject of sexual abuse.

Has he finally managed to get it right?

Again, the Pope spoke of “… sins of priests came to light — particularly the abuse of the little ones,” adding that “in admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation we will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation…”

The Pope has still not accepted that he is answerable for the COVER UP by the Church, popes, cardinals and bishops. He continues to go on about the wrong kind of priests who found their way into the Church.

Will he ever? I do not think so.

King Cameron's Gold

On his first visit to Afghanistan, David Cameron, the new British Prime Minister arrived with money for his troops. Just like kings used to in the old days, Cameron came to the front to hand out coin-filled purses to the warriors.

Just in case they had not understood who their benefactor was, King Cameron clarified that the soldiers’ pay rise would be backdated to – surprise surprise -the day on which he was elected. Cameron’s advisers will doubtlessly remind the soldiers and their families of this benevolent act of our new king in five years’ time, before the next elections.

Until then, the happy soldiers will be expected to fight with greater enthusiasm.

Sissinghurst and the Vatican

Visiting Vita Sackville-West's Sissinghurst to enjoy the flowers in the magnificent gardens is like visiting the Vatican museum in order to enjoy the art.

In both places what you see is mainly hordes of people.

Should all those people not be somewhere else? working perhaps?

Shipwrecked

More about Israel, the Turkish boat and Gaza:

The whole world has turned against Israel following its seizing of a Turkish boat heading for Gaza. Israel itself is divided between those who are angry with the government for the failed operation and those who think a biased world should not be permitted to dictate to Israel in matters of national security.

1. My heart does not bleed for the death of knife wielding men on a Turkish boat who attacked Israeli soldiers. They were nasty men who knew what they were getting themselves into.

2. The international media that describes a Turkish boat with men armed with knives and whips, as a “peace convoy” either does not know what it is saying or is just plain biased.

3. The Western world has a growing problem with an ever more fundamentalist Turkey. Fortunately, Europe did not succumb to the pressure and grant them EU membership.

HOWEVER, Israeli public opinion that cries out against a hostile world believing that the problem lies only in Israel’s poor public relations suggests pure blindness.

Contributing to this blindness is the fact that for 43 years, ever since the 1967 War, the international community let Israel get away with its land-grabbing policies. Most Israelis were either born or immigrated to the country after 1967. They take the Occupied Territories for granted. They even take occupation for granted. Changing their states of mind will be hard.

Ship of Fools - But Who Are the Fools?

In attacking the boats that were trying to make their way to Gaza, Israel has managed to be morally wrong as well as a bungling failure.

I am intrigued by the fact that very few voices - if any - to stop Israel from this folly, were heard before it all went pear- shaped. Especially in Israel, where everyone now seems – rightly – to attack the government for “Operation Sky Winds”, the sane minority was not really heard in this matter.

One reason for this lack of opposition is that Israel’s sane minority is rather small. Any opposition to the right-wing majority’s militancy is dubbed as “leftist” in a country in which “leftist” has become a dirty word. A country in which those who have the courage and energy to stand up against the government agenda are referred to as “anarchists”, “traitors” and “fifth column”. Most succumb and have retreated to live in their “bubble”.

A second reason is that many of Israel’s “left wingers” themselves are too busy with “right or wrong my country” whilst forgetting the need to ensure the first part of the well known saying “my country, may it always be right”.

If Israel does not want to lose more important battles, its sane minority must save it from continued acts of immorality and folly. Immorality does not always equate to recklessness but with time it very often leads to it. That is where you lose your battles. In this battle, Israel lost on the public opinion front. The nasty and evil Hamas won with their wits without even having to fire a shot. Israel must choose its battles more wisely – it cannot afford to lose the important ones.

Cosmetics Do Not Cure Cancer

Israel is like a person who has cancer who – instead of going for treatment to try and get rid of his tumour – goes for a facial and a haircut and expects everyone to admire his beauty. He then gets annoyed when his friends suggest that he should see a doctor.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that Bibi Natanyahu’s best friend and supporter in the USA is cosmetics heir Ron Lauder.

Israel - The Problem and The Solution

The Problem

The BBC and a Japanese newspaper recently conducted a joint opinion poll to establish which countries are considered to be a positive influence in the world. 30,000 respondents in 33 countries were polled.

Germany, Japan, the European Union got the top marks.

The country that was most negatively viewed was Iran at 56 percent, followed by Pakistan at 51 percent and Israel at 50 percent.

The Solution

“Israel, Not What the World Thinks” is the motto of a Hebrew pamphlet that I was handed as I was leaving Tel Aviv airport several weeks ago. Israel’s Ministry of Propaganda is eager to change the general perception of the country. To this end, Israelis are instructed to “first listen, then talk” and to “keep eye contact - your counterparts will notice that you are attentive to them.” Not only humour which "always helps” but photos and maps and personal stories to illustrate one’s case should also be used.

Having mastered these techniques, we are given the ammunition: A list of key moments in Israel's history. Israel - as seen by this government pamphlet - is a cocktail of wars mixed with winning the Eurovision Song Contest and occasional Nobel prizes. These are topped up by the information that “Windows XP”, the Disk-on-Key as well as Cherry tomatoes were invented in Israel.

Can illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories be made good by Israeli professors winning Nobel prizes?

Will people change their minds about Israeli occupation and settlement of Arab territories occupied in 1967 because Dana International won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 or because an Arab Israeli, Rana Raslan, was made Miss Israel in 1999?

Printing pamphlets is easy.

The Vatican – The Legionaries of Christ – and I

The Vatican has just announced that the Pope has appointed an envoy to take over and reform the Legionaries of Christ, the conservative order that has been discredited by revelations that its founder, Father Maciel, sexually abused boys and fathered at least one child.

I came across Maciel’s name when I was researching for Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church. Indeed some of Maciel’s “activities” are mentioned in the book.

The following is an excerpt from my diary, May 2007 during my stay in Rome:

At the Piazza delle Cinque Lune, just in front of the Opus Dei university, I approached what at first I thought were two Jesuits; it turned out that they weren’t Jesuits. They were members of The Legionaries of Christ; training to become priests; one was Mexican and the other Brazilian. They were 33 years old, “Just like Jesus”, the Brazilian said. “Try not to die at 33”, I replied. “Yes, there is so much more to do”, was his response.

Wasn’t there some kind of a problem with their founder, Father Maciel, sometime ago, I asked? Surprised that I had heard about it, they responded that it was all untrue. They know, they knew Maciel personally and had lived with him in the same house and "no way could he have done any of the things which are said about him… it is people who object to the Order that he founded who are behind all this.”

I wanted more and suggested we go for a coffee. The Brazilian who did most of the talking told me that they had to return to their house, adding that he would “pray for me”. He gave me his phone number but when I rang he said that he was unable to meet me.