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themiddle

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  • this footage got confiscated? and edited, obviously. nice subs there. id like to see ALL the UNEDITED footage that got confiscated, and from the idf, unedited as well, of course.

    and look what i found. http://www.flickr.com/photos/israel-mfa/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/israel-mfa/4662965686/#comment72157624063697569 suggests that a) the picture was taken some years ago, or b) they should have checked the meta data prior uploading the pictures, as they must have missed to adjust the settings before taking pictures.

  • yes, i also think its from the ships camera. but nevertheless confiscated it seems, since its the idf that posted it, right? they got other content uploaded which seems to be filmed from someone on the ship. http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk#p/a/u/3/B6sAEYpHF24

    and sorry for two comments saying the same. i had problems posting. the site had some server problems today, so i thought the first comment got lost when i didnt see it after refreshing the site and restarting my browser…

    • wtf, our settings move comments with more than one link into the moderation queue (to avoid spam comments, which often contain several links), then you need to wait for an admin to approve of the comment. A line next to the comment on your page should say then that the comment is pending moderation. If you cannot see a comment at all, leave a line saying that something might be stuck in the spam filter (we get thousands of spam messages in no time), so one of us may look for the specific comment there.

  • So – after a week of Muddled commentary by Middle, we have:

    Israel successfully asserted/maintained its right to blockade a terrorist enemy, and prevented further delegitimization of that rightful policy.

    Joe Biden’s statement today was unequivocal in its support for that right.

    Israel successfully parried attempts to divert the world’s attention – and the language they use to describe the situation – from a focus on terror and self-defense to a focus on “humanitarianism”. This is the same tactic that turned a security fence into an “apartheid wall”.

    It revealed the cynicism of Muslim thugs under cover as “peace activists” – severely damaging the credibility of the “peace camp”. The self-righteousness of the blockage-bangers has been reduced to anxious reassurances from the Irish that THEIR boat will not resist Israeli inspection.

    It also countered Turkey’s gambit to increase its regional profile/influence. Read Charles Krauthammer and others on that angle.

    And although my heart goes out to those ambushed soldiers, the way things played out confirmed the belief of Israel’s supporters in her good intentions.

    Internally –
    The fiasco and the revelations of Islamic thuggery have solidified Israeli opinion against the blandishments/excoriations of the “peace camp”.

    In particular, it visited shame and public ire upon the upper-echelon of PC “laptop generals” who rose through the ranks during the Oslo years – the people responsible for the craven half-measures, pulled punches, and betrayal of our legitimate self-interest that got Israel into this mess.

    It is now very clear to most Israelis that caving and currying for favor have only invited further pressure. Valuable clarity, although it came at a price.

    Considering what a “lose-lose” situation everyone said this was… the result is not as bad as initially thought.

  • If only things were this rosy. Let’s wait to see how the investigations go. You know, Goldstone II, the one the American president is demanding along with Pelosi, the one the UNSC is demanding, and the one half of Israel is demanding. Let’s also wait to see the boycott movements successes as a result of this.

    I will say, however, that I think considering the initial fiasco of the attack itself being poorly prepared and executed, as well as the stupid wait to release the first video that countered the claims made against Israel, since then the Israeli PR response has been effective. They’ve especially played the video release game exceptionally well, succeeding in locking up a couple of days of the news cycle.

    That doesn’t change the fact that Israel lost many supporters here, especially the lukewarm ones. This was a stupid operation to begin with and stupidly executed to boot.

    And there’s nothing muddled about my commentary in the past week. Your intense dislike of it is all the evidence I need to prove that.

  • The investigation will come up with something akin to Goldstone, this time with the imprimatur of the US administration. Of course, that’s no big deal if the ever-deepening international isolation of Israel doesn’t bother you.

  • Ben-David’s newfound enthusiasm for Joe Biden is touching, though. Surely if there’s anyone or anything to be counted on, it’s the public pronouncements of the Obama administration.

  • I don’t see how this can be good for isreal. International condemnation, a lost ally or aliance w turky, international spot light on gaza issue, made those comandos look lame and tarnished thier reputation, etc. Etc… And some think this was a successful public relation outcome. Man, good luck. Your going to need it. But I would suggest some adults start running the decision in isreal, because I cannot think of a worse outcome.

  • The rest of the footage was uninteresting as it only contained shots of American Furkan Dogan being shot in the head four times. Therefore, it has been deleted.

    The Armada of Hate Fauxtilla should be investigated by Israel alone, as only Israel has the moral authority to do so.