I don’t know what it is exactly with information but it seems that dumber than usual snippets appear in packs and more often then not in conjunction with something that should have been covered more. It is very much the case today.
In Israel, both sides found a way to look as pathetic as they could.
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Israel-agrees-to-extend-Gaza-cease-fire-by-four-hours-Israeli-official-says-368989
Hamas used an old trick : they refused a free extension of the 12 hours Israeli decided ceasefire. The proposal was for the mini-truce to be augmented by a third, adding four hours to the twelve that it comprised [ 08H00 to 20Hoo local time going until midnight instead ]. Why? Well, as I have explained before, the Arabs as a group have undue attachment to the concept of saving face no matter what. In Hamas’ case, this bad habit borders on necessity. Unless you are severely deluded, you should know that if the IDF / Tsahal ( Israeli Armed Forces ) wanted to, they have the means to level the whole Gaza strip. Considering which, all the conflicts that erupt around it are doomed to be losses for the Palestinian brigades of Al-Qassam. Saying so is in no way doubting the militants’ abilities and will but a simple recognition of the power, numbers and equipment of the forces in presence. In order to save face then, all such events require a gift of sorts, a piece of candy or trophy that Hamas can build an alternative story around to convince Gazaouis that it was worth it. After about a thousand deaths, you’d think any excuse would do but it is in fact the contrary and the bigger the beating they took, the bigger the trinket they require to turn it into a victory. Short of a thank you note from Jerusalem, it’s hard to imagine what it will take this time. And 3 minutes after the 12 hours mark, despite the extension, 3 rockets were fired on Israel. But before you form the idea that this is solely a Hamas thing, consider this :
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28487894
The Seleka leadership also rejected a ceasefire deal back in almost forgotten CAR ( Central African Republic ). Yes, the guys that had conquered power ( March 2013 ) and went on to commit daily exactions on the Christian majority until the UN almost reluctantly agreed to let France commit 2 000+ men to stop the massacre and were subsequently pushed back to their original zones in the North_East which unleashed chaos in the freed part as Christians took to daily revenge killings won’t abide! Their military wing considers it wasn’t part of the deal so it’s a no go. Yeah sure doped fanatic armed men always bring up the best peace deal, everyone not in a democracy knows that. So not just a Hamas thing.
https://www.facebook.com/StandingWithIDF/photos_stream
http://www.ibtimes.com/israeli-women-strip-standing-idf-facebook-page-part-larger-propaganda-effort-1638230
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-women-do-gaza-strip-for-idf/
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/israeli-army-morale/
Israel can’t very well go as far as rejecting a ceasefire they instated almost unilaterally of course. But you know how it goes : in the very rare instances when governments manage to make the moral choice, take the high road etc, there will always be a group in the people to turn up with a stupid or degrading idea to blemish it with. Well, in the present conflict, the group is named Standing With IDF. The Facebook account link above will show you full boobs and perky asses adorned with paint or marker tags proclaiming the strumpet that owns the said body parts to be thus offering support to the IDF.
A stupid idea because the need for recreational sex in a war fought mere dozens of miles away from home is ludicrous. The Operation Protective Edge will not last much over a month. If the average Israeli soldier can’t abstain for that long under the stressed conditions of real live fighting, they should be neutered. In their defence, I have not been able to find a request by Tsahal for the virtual whores so it is not its fault.
A degrading idea because if the blame should be thrown first and foremost on the bimbos for reducing women in general along with themselves to the role of sex object, a secondary effect is that it throws shame on Israel. I don’t think the hyper-religious rabbis of the ultra right in the Land really relish the idea that their soldiers are watching this but I’m completely certain that the average bright Israeli citizen would not like to have it spelled out in the titles of tomorrow’s press :
Israeli soldiers relax with soft porn after a grueling day of civilians’ slaying!
Facebook either edited it out or they went private as their link is now inactive.
Another for a news to become stupid is that the ability for the media to go full retard is dependent on interest : you need a big news that all want to follow, big names to drop and a complex background that the journalist knows next to nothing about. This is the case in the following examples.
Short version, this title :
U.N. recovers second black box from Air Algerie crash site in Mali.
I’ll give you a link [ click here ]but don’t blame the press outfit, the same title came through Reuters and to many other news media. And it is all wrong! The UN recovered nothing. There are troops covered by a UN mandate in Mali, yes but this is not the UN. http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusma/
The United Nations is a civilian in nature. That is why when they gather troops for a Peacekeeping Mission it needs countries to provide them. America is to proud to place troops under UN mandate and most other countries are unwilling to commit too many men in any case. When a mission is set up, the major contributor is usually in charge of command. All of which matters darn little since effective command for Blue Helmets is almost entirely void of the use of force. By a sad twist of history, this can be proven by the MINUSMA force commander that comes from Rwanda where 20 years ago a Canadian General had to watch powerless as hundreds of thousands of people were massacred. France, Chad and Burkina Faso are providing useful soldiers to Mali. The rest are buffed observers. Again, not a comment on their abilities but on the set-up only. After all, to paraphrase Stalin when asked to be conciliatory with Pope Pius XII,
The UN? How many divisions? … Wake me up when you see a General in a UN uniform permanently. Until then the UN finds nothing. It discusses until after the events and when it’s too late to fix anything it sends emissaries and experts to draw reports. In honest parlance : post-mortems!
To link to our previous story, even Iran agrees with me the UN does nothing ( in that case on Palestine ) http://tehrantimes.com/oped/117290-the-world-supported-palestine-on-quds-day-while-the-un-did-nothing
And then there is Ukraine. What a great mess for journalists to cover since things are muddled enough by now that saying the most moronic things will easily seem reasonable. Well, almost! The readers must have heard of the new sanctions decided by Europe on Russia.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eu-reaches-preliminary-deal-russia-sanctions-24709260
18 business and 15 persons were agreed on Friday. The discussions are ongoing as to what else can be done.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/opinion/the-eu-cant-let-russia-get-away-with-murder.html
Well, in the opinion piece above from which come all the excerpts below, a man that should know better since he was defence minister of a Baltic state and is a European Deputy, Artis Pabriks went all wrong. Here are his conclusions / recommendations with added running commentary by yours truly :
“First, America and Europe must demand an investigation of who gave the order and who executed the strike on Flight 17.”
Ridiculous! The initial intel may have even come from Russia that this would not help in the least. The separatists are not a unified fighting force and their hierarchy is not that of a professional army. In such an asymmetric conflict it is even entirely likely that the guy who pushed the button on that missile launcher acted on opportunity and reported later. They will not denounce each other either and they most likely hold no records: they’re hoodlums not accountants. if the cell phones data is gathered , they may be sent to the ICJ in a few years but that’s about it.
“Second, Russia must immediately shut down its border with Ukraine to any movement of military equipment and international observers should be sent to monitor the border.”
LOL If you ask Putin, he’ll tell you without batting an eyelid that that is exactly why his troops are there 😉 . As for your observers, Artis, Vlad won’t allow them on Russian soil and the other side of the border is the separatist rebels territory, remember? So unless you are suggesting the creation of a kamikaze observer force to the EU parliament, it’s a no go.
“Third, Europe and America must support reform in Ukraine. There is money available and Ukrainians could draw on the experience of countries like Poland and Baltic states to assist in their transition.”
No, they cannot. Ukraine is much more impoverished than Poland or your beautiful small Baltic states ever were. It’s industry is mostly primary sector and the highest level of technology was found in military products built for Russia and space rockets. Raising the country to even acceptable EU level ( say a notch above Greece ) would take billions for 2 or 3 decades if not four or five. And the disappearance of some of its markets and bad blood following this crisis will linger on and slow thing even more.
“Fourth, after more stringent anti-Russian sanctions are agreed upon, there must be trans-Atlantic solidarity to mitigate any Russian economic or political pressure on European member states that depend on Russian energy supplies.”
Interesting but utterly unlikely. The US role in this affair can almost be summed up by Victoria’s resounding “Fuck the EU!” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957 As for the sharing of the burden, just refer to the recent BNP fine affair that should be followed by more. That’s close to economic sanctions right there and there! The US is not doing anything to make the Europeans secure in trusting them. It may even be because they think oil and gas fracking will make them energetically independent that they press on. If Europe wants solidarity in gas prices, it stands a better chance asking Algeria.
“Fifth, Europeans must realize that their fading soft power will decrease even faster without a significant increase of their military budgets and hard-power capabilities. A first step would be a stronger and more permanent NATO presence in Poland and the Baltic states.”
That is the proverbial cherry on the sundae. I do understand that NATO provides air defense coverage of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania but that should not have you reverse the course of logic out of gratitude. Many European nations rely totally on NATO as it is, maintaining the minimum amounts of armed forces to satisfy membership privileges. These and a couple bigger ones are truly infeudated to America and think their salvation lies in NATO. Strangely enough, the USA both complain of the diminishing return of the Alliance while still using it a s a tool to limit European independence in defense matters. Of the major countries in the EU, Poland wants a local defense sincerely but buys lots of US armaments not proving it. Germany is a middle ground of a big enough armed forces with good local equipment opposed to a mouse in intent to act militarily. The UK is ready for a collective defence with its French cousins but doubtful on anything European starting with the currency and ending with the rules. If it doesn’t work with France, their ally is on the other side of the Pond to whom its mili industry is already trusted in big part. Which leaves said France that has both the power, budget and the will but that the others think wants to take over and be in charge as well they may ( both the rest to believe that and the French to want it ). Let’s be brutally honest, the whole Ukrainian affair is not even enough to shove that lot into a common defence, my poor man.
But I forgive you for these naive conclusions easily upon considering the starting point of your reflection :
“When Russia invaded and annexed Crimea earlier this year, the West was by and large taken by surprise.”
Really? If that is true, considering that I did myself on this blog call the invasion days ahead, before the end of the Olympic Games in Sochi,
http://definitivelapseofreason.com/2014/02/20/ukraine-events-in-3-names-and-3-timeframes-from-pre-history-to-next-monday/
http://definitivelapseofreason.com/2014/02/22/fingers-crossed-on-ukraine/
the West is completely clueless. Maybe that explains what followed since? Certainly it shows that your call will remain unheard.
Sorry mate!
Tay.
Definitive Lapse of Reason 