Thursday 7 April 2011

DEBBIE MENON : Britain opposes call to retract Goldstone Report

BY: DEBBIE MENON

Have they suddenly discovered their backbone?

By Debbie Menon

You can always take the vertebrae out of a vertebrate (the procedure is probably described as an vertebraectomy), but I doubt that one can be installed in an invertebrate.

However, if the body was once a vertebrate, and has had an incomplete vertebratectomy which may have left a vestige of a vertebrae, then it might be possible for an new one to resprout, develop and grow.

It would probably be a lengthy and painful process though, and the denizens would have to relearn how to walk upright again which might be a bit difficult after crawling and slithering about in the slime and under the rocks and fallen logs of the world where other Zionist white grubs live.

Not underestimating the powers of Zion, all of this might or very well could be just another move to get Judge Goldstone himself to request that the Report be retracted, as mentioned in the article below, which would be his final and total submission to and act of contrition and repentance, and then they could be done with him, and bury what is left of his ruined character for, politically, publicly and professionally he is a dead man walking.

He is Jewish. His entire life, his entire milieu, his entire social network and culture is in and among the world of Jewry. The defamation of character, slander, and professional threats exercised by ADL and AIPAC minions are sufficiently devastating to have a strong influence on most people who might choose to go up against Israel, but even worse would be the social ostracism and shunning by all the rest of the people in a tightly knit and group-identifying culture such as is Judaism.

Goldstone’s retraction only further exposes the devastating effect of Zionist networks over ‘anyone’ (eg:Helen Thomas/ Former President Carter) who stands up to Israel. “Apparently according to his friends, Goldstone didn’t fully understand how politically charged any criticism of Israel could be, and was blindsided by the anger and emotion the report engendered.” Read more: http://forward.com/articles/136818/#ixzz1IpEB75NR

A younger man with other interests and cultural breadth like Norman Finkelsteinpublic atleast have long become wise to such Zionist tactics and they are losing their effectiveness with the public.
 and Gilad Atzmon might survive it (although I suspect Finkelstein is suffering cultural isolation and loneliness also), but Judge Goldstone is an obvious victim. The general
Britain opposes call to retract Goldstone Report
(http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=215240&R=R1&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)
By JONNY PAUL, JPOST CORRESPONDENT
04/05/2011 12:55



Foreign Office: Judge did not seek such move or elaborate on other allegations, ‘which we believe require serious follow-up by parties.’


LONDON – The British government said on Monday that it does not support calls for a retraction of the Goldstone Report after its lead author distanced himself from the report’s main allegations.


In an opinion piece in Friday’s Washington Post, Judge Richard Goldstone indicated that Israel had not deliberately targeted civilians or committed war crimes during Operation Cast Lead two winters ago.


RELATED:
Editorial: Goldstone’s example
Ya’alon urges UN to retract Goldstone Report



“Justice Goldstone has not made such a call [to retract the report], and he has not elaborated on his views surrounding the various other allegations contained in the report, allegations which we firmly believe require serious follow- up by the parties to the conflict,” a Foreign Office spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Monday night.


The British government said that while Goldstone’s acknowledgment was important, his was not the only report on the 22-day conflict.


“Allegations of breaches of International Humanitarian Law made against all parties to the Gaza conflict are not limited to the Goldstone Report and have arisen from certain other credible organizations. We firmly believe that any and all such allegations must be met with credible and independent investigations by the parties to the conflict,” the spokesman said.

Goldstone Fact Finding in Gaza
Responding to Goldstone’s claim that if he’d “known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document,” the spokesman said it was the report that set up a process that allowed for clarity and accountability into the conflict.
“Justice Goldstone makes clear in his recent comments that the Goldstone Report would have looked differently if it had been produced now, on the basis of fresh evidence released by a committee of independent experts, tasked to follow-up on the Goldstone Report. This latest insight into the events surrounding the Gaza conflict have come about because of the process that was set in train by his fact-finding mission.”


The Foreign Office spokesman pointed out that other than conceding that Israel had not targeted civilians deliberately, Goldstone did not elaborate on other allegations; hence Britain’s belief that these allegations be investigated independently.


“This is absolutely consistent with our longstanding policy calling for independent investigations,” he said. “Justice Goldstone does not elaborate on his views on the various other allegations made against Israel in his report and does not call for its retraction. We continue to believe that it is important these allegations are investigated independently.”


The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed Goldstone’s recantation, saying it accorded with the conclusions of Col. Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, concerning IDF measures to avoid civilian casualties “even though Hamas was at the same time deliberately putting civilians in harm’s way.”


The Board added that Goldstone’s op-ed piece “reinforces Israel’s right to self-defense” and notes that “Israel, like any sovereign nation, has the right and obligation to defend itself and its citizens against attacks from abroad and within…. We would call on those who were so quick to use the report as a stick to beat Israel, now to acknowledge publicly that they were mistaken.”
What’s also  interesting is Israel’s hysterical campaign to get the report rescinded… on top of threatening the UN with “countermeasures” if they recognize an independent Palestinian state. 
(http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375061 )

I am holding out no strong hopes that there are any “politicians” in Britain who have the guts or spine to stand up against Zionism.  And, whether the Report is or is not rescinded or retracted, officially or not, the Report and its facts have been put before the public, and nothing will change that… the “facts” and findings will stand in the public eye as the public eye perceives them, and official hokey pokey in the Höchchambers UN or any other sovereign chambers will have little to do with public opinion, for those places have lost all credibility with the general public, and only serve as faux authenticators of lies and trash, with franks and sanctions for sale or grant under intimidation, blackmail and bribe.


Debbie Menon is a freelance writer based in Dubai. Her commentary has been published widely in Print and Online publications. She can be reached at: debbiemenon@gmail.com. Her website: http://mycatbirdseat.com/

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