Rachel and Paul Chandler

Paul Chandler from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who was seized with his wife Rachel when armed Somali pirates boarded their yacht, the Lynn Rival, in the early hours of 23 October, said he believed they could be killed in “three or four days”. David Batty, The Guardian.

The Somali pirates are demanding a £2m ransom for the release of Paul and Rachel – as they are not the crew of a ship containing an expensive cargo there’s little chance of anyone paying their ransom. This is what happens when wealthy oil companies and the like keep paying ransoms – it encourages more pirates – as these companies believe paying ransoms is the best course of action then they should dip into their pockets an pay Paul and Rachel’s ransom – it’s their actions that have encouraged the lawlessness that’s infesting the seas around Somalia – and perhaps instead of paying millions in ransom they might divert their millions to alleviating the abject poverty that’s driving some Somali’s to becoming pirates.

I guess, I’m not the only one, but over the last week-and-a-half I’ve hardly taken note of the news, which explains why Israel has been bombing the hell out of Gaza. I can understand Israel’s despair at continuing rocket fire from Hamas, however, bombing isn’t going to solve anything, in fact it’s only going to make matters worse, I’ll repeat Gary Hedges words.

The Israelis in Gaza, like the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, are foolishly breeding the next generation of militants and Islamic radicals. Jihadists, enraged by the injustices done by Israel and the United States, seek to carry out reciprocal acts of savagery, even at the cost of their own lives. The violence unleashed on Palestinian children will, one day, be the violence unleashed on Israeli children. This is the tragedy of Gaza. This is the tragedy of Israel. Gary Hedges – AlterNet

How much longer can Israel treat Gaza like, some massive prison, where it executes the prisoners at will? Gaza reminds me of that sci-fi film “Escape from New York” in which Manhattan Island, New York has become a maximum security prison – Gaza, fiction brought horribly to life.

Gary Hedges reports on Gaza.

Israel’s siege of Gaza, largely unseen by the outside world because of Jerusalem’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid workers, reporters and photographers access to Gaza, rivals the most egregious crimes carried out at the height of apartheid by the South African regime. It comes close to the horrors visited on Sarajevo by the Bosnian Serbs. It has disturbing echoes of the Nazi ghettos of Lodz and Warsaw.

…

The use of terror and hunger to break a hostile population is one of the oldest forms of warfare. I watched the Bosnian Serbs employ the same tactic in Sarajevo. Those who orchestrate such sieges do not grasp the terrible rage born of long humiliation, indiscriminate violence and abuse. A father or a mother whose child dies because of a lack of vaccines or proper medical care does not forget. A boy whose ill grandmother dies while detained at an Israel checkpoint does not forget. All who endure humiliation, abuse and the murder of family members do not forget. This rage becomes a virus within those who, eventually, stumble out into the daylight. Is it any wonder that 71 percent of children interviewed at a school in Gaza recently said they wanted to be a “martyr”?

The Israelis in Gaza, like the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, are foolishly breeding the next generation of militants and Islamic radicals. Jihadists, enraged by the injustices done by Israel and the United States, seek to carry out reciprocal acts of savagery, even at the cost of their own lives. The violence unleashed on Palestinian children will, one day, be the violence unleashed on Israeli children. This is the tragedy of Gaza. This is the tragedy of Israel.

Read the whole article at AlterNet.

Hat Tip: Lenin’s Tomb.