A Black Day for Human Rights (2)

How they voted.

According to the Guardian UK the voting at the UN Human Rights Council  in Geneva today was as follows:

In favour (25): 

Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Djbouti, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia.

Against (6):

Holland, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Ukraine, US.

Abstentions (11):

Belgium, Bosnia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Japan, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Slovenia, Uruguay.

Did not vote (4)

Angola, Britain, France, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan.

I am not sure what the difference is between "abstaining" and "did not vote" (let me know if you understand it); this further information from the Guardian UK sheds some light on it, but it seems an overly subtle difference to me.

Gordon Brown reportedly had a heated telephone call on Wednesday with Netanyahu, who pressed him to vote against the resolution.

Brown spoke again with Netanyahu this morning, hours before the vote, and Britain then decided not to take part at all. A Downing Street spokesman said:

"We did not participate in the vote. We were involved in discussions with Israel and the Palestinians about potentially substantive improvements in the situation on the ground and therefore asked for a delay to the vote."

The Jerusalem Post has more on the reasons for UK and France not to participate in the vote:

An unnamed British diplomat told Israel Radio that in the hours prior to the vote, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had tried to get clarifications from Israel that would enable the countries to vote against the resolution.

France and Britain reportedly decided to refrain from voting after the contacts with Israel failed to produce the results they were seeking. 

Well perhaps I was too hasty with my comments of quisling for Gordon Brown; I suppose I can't blame him for the state of the UN Human Rights Council. 


Gurth Whitaker
Calgary AB

ADDENDUM, apparently they are confused over at the BBC about the difference between "abstaining" and "did not vote." I found this gem on their website:

"No, we didn't abstain - we didn't vote."

Confused? We were. Apparently, there is a key difference between the UK government abstaining and not voting when the UN Human Rights Council backed a report into the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

A Black Day for Human Rights

A Black Day for justice and truth!

A Black Day for the peace of the Middle East!

A Black Day for the whole world!

The UN Human Rights Council  in Geneva today, passed a resolution endorsing the Goldstone Commission Report by 25 votes to 6, with eleven countries abstaining.

Five states, including France and the UK, declined to vote. I hand my head in shame at the coutnry of my birthday. The spirit of Winston Churchill is not alive in this administration, but the spirit of Nevill Chamberlain is in control.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke

Brown the despised Prime Minister of the UK must wear the shame, must bear the epithet 

Quisling! Traitor! Betrayer! Collaborator! Judas! Turncoat! Fifth columnist! - you Benedict Arnold!

England you did not vote;

you didn't register your vote on this sham, this farce.

You failed to vote against this collection of human-rights abusers and didn't stand firm with the only democracy in the Middle East; Israel this tiny country in the Middle East surrounded by hate-spewing, blood thirsty war-mongers who have cynically sponsored terrorism, and suicide bombers. 

"It's all about the oil stupid!"

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a statement today:

"The council's decision undermines efforts to safeguard human rights in accordance with international law, as well as the efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East,"

"The decision encourages terror groups in the whole world and undermines world peace. The decision also ignores the fact that the IDF took unprecedented measures to avoid harming civilians, and [ignores] the terrorists' use of civilians as human shields."

the Post went on to say:

Although the Goldstone report also accuses Hamas of war crimes, the five-page resolution adopted in Geneva explicitly mentions only Israeli violations of international law.

Ealier today, I posted the video, of the address by British hero, Colonel Richard Kemp, addressing the UN Human Rights Council, on behalf of UN Watch.

Watch the video of Colonel Kemp's address here: Self-Defense is not a Crime of War.

Concerning the actions of the IDF (Israel Defence Force) in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, Colonel Kemp told the U.N. Council that:

'the IDF is the Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'

Read the article in Jerusalem Post here: Israel slams UNHRC over its 'one-sided, unjust decision'


Gurth Whitaker
Calgary, AB

Hezbollah Stockpiling Munitions in Homes

Hezbollah uses the homes of civilians to stockpile weapons and munitions in Southern Lebanon, in violation of the truce, and UN Resolution 1701.

"Permanent Ceasefire to Be Based on Creation Of Buffer Zone Free of Armed Personnel Other than UN, Lebanese Forces"

Thinking people are well aware that terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah (Lebanon) and Hamas (Gaza and West Bank), are no respecters of treaties or agreements, in fact they have no interested in peace, nor the welfare and rights of their citizens.

In fact quite the opposite as we saw in the war in Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah located rockets in the niddle of densely populated civilian locations. It was their express hope that civilians would be injured or killed to fuel anti-Israel hatred. Hamas followe tha same tactics in Gaza.

Now Hezbollah are stockpiling again, in preparation for another war; aided by Syria and their sponsor Ahmadinejad.

Hezbollah are stockpiling rockets to fire at civilians in Israel - and hiding them in villages. UN wake up!

The Israeli military released video footage on Tuesday it said was taken from an unmanned surveillance drone overlooking the scene shortly after the explosion. The footage was taken by an infra-red camera in black and white.

It showed frantic activity by dozens of people around the site with people loading at least one long object on a truck. The army then said two truckloads of munitions, including rockets were taken to another hiding place in a nearby village.

Israel is not the enemy of Palestinians

JP reports today on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the opening of the Knesset's winter session on Monday: Netanyahu: PA must recognize Israel as Jewish state for there to be peace.

"We are willing to work hard for peace," but added that "Without recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, we simply cannot reach peace."

I have been saying for some years now:

Israel is not the enemy of the Palestinian people.

I believe that to be true to the bottom of my heart; so when I saw this same statement in Natanyahu's speech it resonated deeply within me.

"This is also the hour for leaders of the Arab states in the area to tell the truth to their people - that the State of Israel is not the enemy of Islam."

Israel is not the enemy of the Palestinian people. Who is? I offer this short list:

Truth and Survival

Beware of Liberal Dreamers

A superb piece by Barbara Kay in Wednesday's National Post sheds light on the issue of "Islamism" starting from 9/11, and goes to the very heart of this still pressing matter.

The root issue is not just Islamic militancy and Jihad, but arguably even more dangerous,  is a distorted response by the west.

Remembering September 11

Remembering September 11

We understand a lot more about Islamic militancy and violent Jihad than we did in the days after 9/11. I recall Prime Minister Blair and George Bush explaining that Islam is a religion of peace. Many believed that at the time.

The Couragious Golda Meir

A wonderful story about the courage of Golda Meir and the cowardice of Austrian Chancellor Kreisky.

Israel was viciously threatened even before the modern sate was born. Many have forgotten that the Mufti of Jerusalem allied the Palestinians with Hitler and supported genocide. Israel was viciously attacked at the birth of the modern state and throughout her recent history; she is surrounded at home by hatred and vitriolic lies, and abroad by left wingers and nazis. This is the context for her cowardly betrayal (yet again) by a European so-called ally.

Austria closed the only pipeline for Jews escaping from Russia, caving in to threats from Arab terrorists.

The Arab terrorists had captured and taken hostage "seven Jews ... among them a 73-year-old man, an ailing woman and a three-year-old child."