Worldfocus

12/20/2008 :: 08:08:26 PM
Om Says:

I’d like to take issue with Ms. Robinson’s propaganda/fake outrage towards Mugabe: for one, who’s she to call for illegal military coup against a sovereign nation? “Get rid of Mugabe,” is that really the problem here or is it Mr. Mugabe’s economic and land reform policies that’s ticking of Ms. Robinson? I’ll take a wild guess and say that she personally liked Mr. Mugabe at some point in her career at the WS, BW, etc., etc. until 2000 when Mr. Mugabe made the first fair land reform in the white-minority dominated lands of Southern Africa. And his economic indigenization policies i.e. anti-neoliberal economic policies that Ms. Robinson is quite fond of didn’t help either. I hope Worldfocus would try to do an honest piece about what’s behind the West’s vulgar dislike of Mugabe. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if WF did actually look into the West’s real motives in Zimbabwe (it’s Mugabe’s land redistribution, taken back from *colonial whites*, anti-neoliberal economic policies, and Zimbabwe’s natural mineral resources are the motives, stupid!) and all the sudden lost its grants, contributions, and endowments because after all, people like Ms. Robinson are the ones who are kind enough to contribute to public television in a big *way*, but if these pesky public television journalists poke around looking for the real motives of its ‘benefactors,’ surely something strange will happen. Oh well, at least Mr. Rose didn’t try to outdo Ms. Robinson on this one. By the way, Ms. Robinson, how many have died in the DRC, Darfur, Somalia, Northern Uganda, and continue to die that have so far have not earned your *fake outrage over humanitarian catastrophes/absence of democracy/human rights abuses in third world countries like Zimbabwe? And what do these places have to do before they can get your military intervention/coup endorsement? I’ll wait for the answer! Thank you for being a wonderful supporter of democracy, human rights, and humanitarian causes everywhere:-)

12/20/2008 :: 07:40:40 PM
Doron Lubinsky Says:

The discussion tonight and the comments above display an extreme anti-Israel bias.
(1) Mr. Savidge talks of “Palestinians being punished for a conflict between governments”. When will World Focus show the suffering of Israeli civilians in southern Israeli towns? If not for the early warning sirens and bomb shelters, there would have been far more injuries. Over 200 rockets hits Israel in the last fortnight. Israel closes the border crossings only in the aftermath of rockets and otherwise lets in supplies.
(2) The Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas and publicly celebrate every Israeli casualty by handing out sweets. They and their leadership bear the brunt of the blame for their situation. It is also remarkable that there is never any shortage of weapons, munitions, flags to burn, to wave, … .
(3) Hamas has chosen war, and couldn’t care about the suffering of ordinary Palestinians (let alone the Jews that is publicly says it will all kill). It controls the Gaza media, which produce endless propaganda segments. It hoards all supplies, and all its cronies and gangs are well supplied. It manipulates shortages and creates media events which a gullible media swallow.
(4) Egypt has kept the Rafah border crossing shut, not allowing Palestinians into Egypt, or supplies into Gaza. How long will it take the media and the international community to point out that Egypt maintains a complete blockade, and couldn’t care about the Palestinians?
(5) The segment tonight on the furor in Egypt after a Sheikh shook the hand of Israel’s president shows just how little chance there is of peace. For 60 years, the Arab world has conducted military, political, and psychological war against a tiny Jewish state. It has never cared about the Palestinians - except as a pawn to destroy Israel.

The refugee issue is the clearest sign of this – Israel uplifted hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab lands. They came to Israel penniless but rebuilt their lives. Vast Arab lands with cast resources refused to do the same for a similar number of Arab refugees. And both refugee populations were the results of wars started by the Arab world.

When will you ever show the bottom line, Mr. Savidge? Namely, that Israeli territorial concessions have not brought peace, and no Israeli concessions can bring peace when the Arab media and education system is indoctrinating its people for endless conflict.

12/20/2008 :: 04:24:54 PM
susan Walsh Says:

Mr. Rose lacks the ABCs of intrnational politics, stuned you have him as your analyst. The Palestinians and the Israelis need American leadership, money,and power to solve this problem. Mr. Rose the US, and the UK created the question of Palestine and they must solve it. The issue is not about emotions, its about real threat to the Palestinians by the 4th largest army on earth: Israel

12/19/2008 :: 09:06:42 PM
Brian Lynch Says:

Yeah, blame the Jews. That’s the answer to everything.

12/19/2008 :: 07:55:57 PM
jay Janson Says:

1. Panel discussion with extreme right wing - Council on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Mag, and right wing of NY Times rep.
2. Mislead public with idea that EU, UK and US are not responsible for making the Zimbabwe economy scream.
3. Zionist Israel vrs Palestine Arabs is just a spat between equals not between the mid-East super power backed greatest military power and a disenfrachised and occupied colonized people since end of WWI.
4. Goodness gracious, what to do about Mugabe, so to get on with privatizing what is left of his nation.
5. And this Arabs who won’t give up fighting for justice.
6. Try to continue to block the listeners from Einstein, Buber, Fromm and Othordox Neturei Karta advising against partition and creating a Zionist state instead of a one state solution which would have put the Jews in leading position peacefully.