Barack Obama is on the right track. He has not expressed unconditional support for Israel and he is apparently conscious of the plight of Palestinians. Of courese there are still the cheerleaders of Olmert, and they are Bush, Iggy and Harper. The American people have dumped Bush. Someone must shake Iggy's and Harper’s heads hard so that they may come back to their senses. Otherwise, we must dump them too.
Below is a video by Michael Heart on the plight of Gaza. Michael Heart is a songwriter and singer from L.A.
"He has not expressed unconditional support for Israel and he is apparently conscious of the plight of Palestinians."
ReplyDeleteFunny, CBC's The National did a story on Obama's position, and commented how it completely mirrored that of Harper.
Steve V, friend I do not know which CBC you watch. Harper and cronies unequivocally said that Israel has every right to defend itself. Some defence!
ReplyDeleteSo did Obama, yesterday, specifically against rocket attacks. As a matter of fact, there isn't a wit of difference between what Ignatieff said and what Obama said. NONE.
ReplyDeleteActually, CBC compared Obama to Bush:
""Obama also made it clear, that the United States stands first and foremost behind Israel and it's security needs. Where that conflict is concerned at least, the new President positions are strikingly similar to those of his predecessor"
Neil MacDonald CBC
I'm about to do a post on this topic, because the disconnect between criticizing Iggy and simultaneously praising Obama is beyond selective.
You may consider to read this link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/569872
Obama has called on both sides - Israel and Gaza - to honour the ceasefire and not to instigate violence. This is very different from Ignatieff's and Harper's "It's all Hamas's fault, Israel can pound them all they like" approach.
You are delusional if you think Iggy and Obama have the same position.
I agree with Steve on this one Ledaro... and was surprised not to see Obama in that collage of yours. You should put him in there, alongside Bush and friends, saying something like, "let me be clear".
ReplyDeleteNew York Times: Q. and A. With Taghreed El-Khodary in Gaza
Q. What do people in Gaza expect from the Obama administration? How did they react to the statements on the current crisis from the president elect and from the new secretary of state? Thank you for doing this. — Sandro
A. Taghreed El-Khodary responds:
Before the war, many were hopeful and optimistic. During and after the war, people have lost the hope and feel disappointed. When asked why, they explained that his reaction came late and that he’s not showed any difference from the Bush administration.
Ignatieff called for a ceasefire too. Obama put the sole responsibility for this conflict at the foot of Hamas, specifically the rocket attacks. I suggest you read the text of his comments, and I would encourage you to review his past musings, because the wide chasm you are trying to create between he and Ignatieff simply doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteI disagreed with Ignatieff, but please, please, don't praise Obama for singing from the same hymn book. Fact of the matter, both leaders are pandering to the pro-Israel crowd.
Blues Clair, who would you quote next, Osama Bin Laden?
ReplyDeleteTaghreed El-Khodary is not a spokesperson for Obama.
I will be more than willing to criticize Obama if he shows total indifference to Gaza suffering.
However, Iggy has said.
"Canada has to support the right of a democratic country to defend itself. Israel has been attacked from Gaza, not just last year, but for almost 10 years. They evacuated from Gaza so there is no occupation in Gaza." Good for you Iggy. That sounds like a resounding and unequivocal support by any standards.
Iggy supported Iraq war. Obama did not. Obama is against torture and Iggy is all for it. Obama is closing Gitmo. I never heard Iggy saying that Gitmo was a dreadful mistake. On and on it goes. He is further right of Bush right now.
Steve V, if Obama behaves like Iggy or Harper I will be the first one to criticize. I do not suffer from Obamamania.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he reached out to Muslim world in his inaugural speech. He is closing Gitmo. Very smart moves to calm the extremists and their ability to recruit new volunteers.
After all there are over 2 billion Muslims in the world and you cannot ignore that fact. Obama is smart and he recognizes it. I did not see such smartness from Iggy. Initially I was leaning towards him but his blunderous statements on Israel/Gaza put an end to that leaning. If he smartens up I may reconsider.
Ledaro, Taghreed El-Khodary was born in Gaza and was in Gaza during the conflict reporting for the NYTs. The Palestinians you defend and want protected, according to El-Khodary, say that Obama's initial respone to this crisis was no different then Bush's. I don't know what that has to do with Osama Bin Laden.
ReplyDeleteI'm no fan of Ignatieff, but, re: torture, in his own words...
"So I end up supporting an absolute and unconditional ban on both torture and those forms of coercive interrogation that involve stress and duress, and I believe that enforcement of such a ban should be up to the military justice system plus the federal courts. I also believe that the training of interrogators can be improved by executive order and that the training must rigorously exclude stress and duress methods"
- Michael Ignatieff
then again... HRW replies.
cheers
Blues is certainly no fan of Ignatieff, so...
ReplyDelete"Steve V, if Obama behaves like Iggy or Harper I will be the first one to criticize. I do not suffer from Obamamania."
Well, his speech yesterday read like Ignatieff, so I expect the same response.
Here's the deal. All these leaders have it wrong, and continually try and appease the pro-Israeli lobby. Obama has done this, on multiple occasions, during his run, and now again, with this speech yesterday. If you want to be fair, then include Obama in your picture, instead of trying to post the absurd, that his view is somehow wildly different than the people you attack.
I'm disappointed in the whole lot of them, and for your to omit Obama, speaks to a decided bias, against Ignatieff and for Obama. The two men are the same on this score, and their position moving forward is pretty much verbatum too, with Obama possibly being more hardline than Iggy. That's the fact of the matter, and frankly any attempt to say otherwise is pretty weak.
I will say, I was quite encouraged by some of Obama's words, as it relates to the Muslim world. I will also state, I have no doubt his Presidency is a massive improvement, on the hopes for any lasting peace.
Blues Clair, Taghreed El-Khodary was probably referring to Obama’s silence prior to his inauguration. As article is dated Jan 19, 2009. I can understand that because Bush was still the President. However, Iggy has supported torture in the past. One of his quotes:
ReplyDelete“To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war". Michael Ignatieff 2004. I do not know the date of your quote. He is a crazy professor whose stand on moral issues is unclear.
Steve, V. I did not listen to Obama’s yesterday’s speech so I cannot comment on that. He is lot more enlightened than Iggy. Obama is in power and his actions so far reveal leaning towards diplomacy the way he has sent delegations to Gaza/Israel, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Iggy’s unequivocal support for Israel remains a big blunder coming from a Liberal leader. Conservative (or Progressive Conservatives) in the past used to be left of even Democrats in US and Liberals definitely further left. I do not see any difference between Iggy and Harper when it comes to foreign affairs. We disagree on that. I will change my mind until such time that Iggy shows some awakening.
LeDaro
ReplyDeleteRead the text of the speech, it is verbatum Ignatieff. Obama wasn't for peace, he supported this offensive in Gaza, for the exact same reason articulated by all the people in your photoshop. In other words, get your head out of your ass, it's ridiculous the way your peeling Obama away, when he doesn't deserve it and his words make you look, well...
Hey, I get that your pissed at Ignatieff, and what with the whole Liblogs thing, you're on some sort of cause now, but the facts are your enemy here, so don't demonize one guy, while pumping how great the other guy is, when you can't get a piece of paper between their positions. Enough with the jihad, okay, it's getting old, and with duplicity, you've jumped the shark.
That's my view, sue me.
Steve, you have no argument now and you have resorted to be obnoxious. That is enough. Once you start behaving like an ass then no need to have any discussion with you.
ReplyDeleteToo bad. I thought you were a smart guy. Yes "thought control" by some did bother me and did more research and it horrified me about Israeli’s atrocities. Is there any thing wrong with it?
"you have no argument "
ReplyDeleteActually, when you can't deal with the issue at hand, and constantly divert attention, it means YOU have no argument. I've provided the quotes, the positions are entirely the same, you can't deal with it, so now I'm "obnoxious" or whatever on my blog. Go educate yourself, because your position here denotes "clueless", or better yet, applying different standards, depending on whether you have a crush or an adversion to a person.
Anyways, I'm done. Have a good day.
Steve, when you think that Iggy and Obama are one and the same then it is obvious you're crazy and you need psychiatric help.
ReplyDeleteYour post on Iggy and Obama is one big fart, immature and total nonsense.