Weggis

"We'd" have gotten away with it, if ...

2012-11-14T12:10:20.125Z

"We'd" have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids ;D

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/pages-8/Mossad-demands-return-of-captured-spy-vulture-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html

and when Hamas 'arrest' a Palestinian, it&...

2012-11-14T10:20:31.591Z

and when Hamas 'arrest' a Palestinian, it's a nearly 100% execution rate.

I refer readers to the Facebook thread from whence...

2012-10-11T14:50:54.354+01:00

I refer readers to the Facebook thread from whence this came.
Click!

* However, it appears that when Palestinians are c...

2012-10-11T01:34:42.905+01:00

* However, it appears that when Palestinians are charged the IDF is remarkably adept at securing a near 100% conviction rate (http://972mag.com/conviction-rate-for-palestinians-in-israels-military-courts-99-74-percent/28579/)

This is the reply I sent to Dr. MacEoin a year ago...

2012-10-11T01:27:36.708+01:00

This is the reply I sent to Dr. MacEoin a year ago, he promised to send a long (130 page) response he was writing, but I never got it. In any case:

I’ve just read the advice you offered to members of the Edinburgh University Student Association regarding our motion to boycott Israeli produce. I am, as you were, a Northern Irish student at Edinburgh studying the Middle East, but I can find little in common with your apologia for occupation.

The resolution that received overwhelming support at our general assembly noted that Palestinians living within Israel are discriminated against regarding employment, property rights, education funding and religious expression. It also noted that in the Occupied Territories they are subject to military law, and have no say over whether new settlements will be built on their land, and no rights as regards challenging Israel’s conduct in maintaining its occupation. It made no mention of Israel as a ‘Nazi’ state or a ‘holocaust’ in Gaza. You chose to use that language, distasteful as it is.

The crime of ‘apartheid’ is not simply that of mimicking what happened in South Africa, as you also assert. Since 1973, it has in fact been defined in international law as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.” Taking into account the overwhelmingly racial division that exists in Israel and the Occupied Territories, and the uncontroversially discriminatory nature of Israel’s military law governing Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, which they have had no say in forming, such a charge doesn’t seem unreasonable. When Palestinians are subject daily to arbitrary waits at military checkpoints, separate roads, unequal access to water (with Palestinians in some towns having access to only 37 litres per capita per day, compared to 242 p.c.p.d for Israelis), punitive military incursions, arrests without charge*, and house demolitions, one can see how people charge Israel with apartheid, as have Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, John Dugard and Jimmy Carter. David Ben Gurion was forward thinking enough to make the same prediction in 1967, assuming Israel did not “rid itself of the territories and their Arab population as soon as possible.” Indeed, the bantustans that have been created in 17% of the West Bank and in Gaza are a further striking parallel.

Your last argument is why EUSA does not vote to boycott Iranian or Syrian produce, for instance. Due to sanctions and other restrictions on doing business with both these countries, the problem rarely arises, and I’m unaware of any Iranian produce in EUSA shops. Israel, conversely, has a key trading partner in the UK, and has produce in many large UK supermarkets, where illegal settler products are often falsely labelled. The tactical choice to non-violently target the economy of a state until it complies with international law, given that Iran already faces such measures by the US and EU, seems sensible therefore.

Your letter and its ‘evidence’ seem flimsy, and your comparison of boycotters to Hitler is shameful. Our generation has, in fact, an obligation to ensure that crimes, even those committed by Western nations, do not go unseen and unopposed.

yes, it's enough to drive a man to 1ppm Wolfsb...

2012-10-01T10:27:58.881+01:00

yes, it's enough to drive a man to 1ppm Wolfsbane and Monkshood - or 0.1ppm if really stressed out. But be careful, that's strong stuff!

Notice: all future comments on homeopathy will be ...

2012-09-29T00:40:25.149+01:00

Notice: all future comments on homeopathy will be diluted to the point where they contain no substance of their original meaning.

those vets are idiots just like any other people ...

2012-09-28T22:58:54.872+01:00

those vets are idiots

just like any other people supporting homeopathy.

Quacks treating Ducks!?!

2012-09-28T12:30:40.103+01:00

Quacks treating Ducks!?!

I see you're taking a swipe at homeopathy agai...

2012-09-28T11:23:51.547+01:00

I see you're taking a swipe at homeopathy again - how do you explain some qualified vets supporting such treatment for animals?

I have an Honorary Doctorate in Smart-Arsery award...

2012-09-23T14:35:38.347+01:00

I have an Honorary Doctorate in Smart-Arsery awarded by the University of the Third Age ...

Fussed? No. But your reply indicates that you were...

2012-09-21T16:25:34.107+01:00

Fussed? No. But your reply indicates that you were just trying to be a smart-arse :-)

Have been concentrating on a career change! Sorry ...

2012-09-11T20:49:56.120+01:00

Have been concentrating on a career change! Sorry for the looong delay in replying!

Can't say I'm fussed, but your return tell...

2012-09-09T21:08:33.938+01:00

Can't say I'm fussed, but your return tells me that you are. Touch a nerve did I?
That might have been the purpose of the post? Or not? Yours to figure out ...

Well, if you were joking, it apparently wasn't...

2012-09-09T12:32:54.344+01:00

Well, if you were joking, it apparently wasn't very sucessful. :-)

Well, if I am joking, you've fallen for it :)

2012-09-08T22:17:25.788+01:00

Well, if I am joking, you've fallen for it :)

Are you joking? The party is deemed to have moved ...

2012-09-08T19:12:04.106+01:00

Are you joking? The party is deemed to have moved to the right because two self-proclaimed lefties resigned? I also like the idea that we need some kind of pure leadership e.g. as if being vegan somehow equipp you to build a political party better. Perhaps when she's finished with the party policies, Catherine can have a go at your airy fairy thinking.

Probably the best hustings in the world ;D

2012-07-25T15:05:55.360+01:00

Probably the best hustings in the world ;D

Where have you been, Jess? Are you still a LibDem?...

2012-07-24T22:05:51.554+01:00

Where have you been, Jess? Are you still a LibDem? Did you know that one of yours by the name of Shirley South has joined the Greens?

time to hold the pub quiz in a basement room with ...

2012-07-24T18:31:50.120+01:00

time to hold the pub quiz in a basement room with metal lined walls so no radio signals can get to the said phones!

And there's me thinking Demodecosis is a Left ...

2012-07-22T21:17:17.679+01:00

And there's me thinking Demodecosis is a Left wing condition related to Direct Action ...

Hi Weggis, Good to have a variety of questions pos...

2012-07-22T19:49:17.530+01:00

Hi Weggis,
Good to have a variety of questions posed to candidates!

Of course the best way to get from Highbury and Islington to Angel is by foot and certainly not by car, given the very high levels of air pollution that Islington Greens documented in the Borough recently. And as you point out on your Barkingside21 blog this is what we need to encourage to support our local shops too.

Lungworm is a classic case of prevention being better than cure, which applies to many conditions that affect people and animals these days. By the time the symptoms show the dog can be very seriously ill, sometimes they cant be saved. We need to concentrate much on preventative health in the human field too.

Demodecosis is a nasty skin condition in dogs, caused by a mite that lives in the hair follicle, seem most commonly in staffordshire bull terriers. A breed of dog that is sadly maligned because they are often bred irresponsibly. 20 healthy dogs per day are killed in the Uk because they dont have a home, many of them stafs. One of the many reasons why we need to microchip and license dogs and limit breeding.

No she isn't. The "official" line is...

2012-07-06T16:35:27.706+01:00

No she isn't. The "official" line is to give other talented members some media exposure.

Ah, you spotted the trap question. Well done.

2012-07-06T16:34:17.536+01:00

Ah, you spotted the trap question. Well done.

Hi Weggis, Thanks for highlighting the election. ...

2012-07-06T11:04:58.903+01:00

Hi Weggis,

Thanks for highlighting the election.

My answers:
1. Yes, at least the offside rule as at 1986/7, when I was a referee as a student job - $10 was pretty good pay for a game, even though it involved copping a fair bit of abuse from the sidelines.
2. Against - it will deny spectators hours of pleasurable argument
3. Neither - fairtrade and vegetable-tanned of course!