In the deadliest attack since Israel launched its assault on Gaza twelve days ago, up to forty-two Palestinians died on Tuesday after Israel fired mortars at a United Nations school that was sheltering Palestinians who had been forced to flee their homes. Fifty-five Palestinians were also wounded in the attack. Doctors said all of the victims were civilians, including many children. We speak with Christopher Gunness of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/7/headlines#3
Part II of our conversation with investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing.
President-elect Barack Obama is warning the US deficit will top $1 trillion this year, leading to what he says could be extensive cuts to government budgets. Obama made the warning Tuesday as he meanwhile prepares an economic stimulus package that will cost almost the same amount. We speak with Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Arun Gupta of The Indypendent newspaper.
Link TV takes a special look at the ongoing war in Gaza, with a special webpage dedicated to showing perspectives on the crisis outside of the American mainstream media. Link's Mosaic: World News from the Middle East program analyzes the Middle East television coverage of the war in Gaza.
Support Link's independent coverage of the Gaza crisis today!
Was Israel justified in using force in Gaza? More News from Link
Israel-Gaza Border- Day 10 and only the numbers have changed; more than 530 dead and 2,500 injured. Heavy fighting is still raging in the aza Strip between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters after Israel launched its ground offensive on the territory. Al Shifa' Hospital has run out of beds to accommodate the injured as a result of the intense Israeli shelling. Many of them with less severe wounds lie on stretchers in hallways and near stairwells. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, a large number of the victims are civilians, women and children included. An entire family was wiped out by Israeli shelling from the sea; a father, a mother and their five children. Another woman who lost 7 members of her family was shown on a live feed provided by Ramattan News Agency, frantically searching for her only surviving daughter.
Forty-eight hours ago, Israeli planes dropped thousands of leaflets on Southern and Central Gaza asking residents to vacate the area. They also dropped leaflets asking them to call a special phone number to inform on locations of Hamas operatives launching rockets at Israeli towns. In short the Israeli government wants Gazans to rat out their neighbors, brothers and cousins...to become collaborators! The Israeli military has also captured the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV and has been broadcasting messages telling Hamas leaders to give themselves up. However, Gazans have not vacated their homes, and Hamas remains defiant continuing to fire rockets at Israeli towns, "we will not surrender or be defeated, even if Israel drops a nuclear bomb on Gaza," says Ramadan Shalah from Hamas.
In 1967, in six days Israel defeated the armies of several Arab countries and overran the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights. It's been ten days, and Gaza has not yet fallen. Many in the Arab media have started to compare Israel's assault on Gaza, codenamed "Operation Cast Lead", to the Second War on Lebanon in 2006 when Israel failed to defeat Hezbollah and sustained heavy losses in one month of fierce fighting. However, this is not a rerun of that battle. The Israeli army has been less adventurous with its ground troops, and the risk Hamas poses to Israel is far less than the one posed by Hezbollah.
Thousands of Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip overnight with tanks and helicopters, accompanied by naval support and air strikes. They are mostly in the former settlement of Nitzerim, an open area which enables them to cut off the northern part from the southern part of Gaza. Some soldiers have taken up positions on the rooftops of homes and buildings sniping at anything that moves. A frantic woman reported by cell phone that she along with forty members of her extended family were rounded up in one room of her home while Israeli soldiers took to the roof top. From her window she was able to see several dead people in the street below.
Along the Israeli-Gaza border, numerous reporters have been racing from one position to the other, straining to see events through binoculars and television camera lenses. Exploding shells can be heard, and plumes of smoke are visible in different places. The nightfall is more dramatic as bursts of fire illuminate tank gun barrels after each round of firing into Gaza. Fighter jets screech from above and helicopters and drones come and go. Once in while you could see the smoke trail of Qassam rockets leaving Gaza towards Israel.
Israeli and Western media persist in presenting the Israeli offensive as "surgical strikes"; as surgical as shooting chickens in a coop with a shot gun. Israel cannot miss in mankind's largest prison. Gaza is burning.
Join the Conversation on Gaza
The war in Gaza has been brewing for some time, since Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip, and Israel instituted a blockade on the Gaza territory. Past episodes of Link's Mosaic Intelligence Report shed light on the history of this conflict:
President Bush was optimistic a peace accord could be reached, but violence erupted again between Palestinians and Israelis. Will Israel negotiate with Hamas?
Denny Carr, MFA
Photographer and Video Artist
BIKE !!!! hase lepus trike (stroke-paralysis)
age 61 eco-friendly no-car
"I am a stroke survivor and deal daily with a speech disorder called Aphasia. This disorder is a result of my stroke in 2005. I am thankful God has given me the ability to express myself through my images and films." For more information, visit these websites: http://www.azimagery.com/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment