Thursday, August 11, 2011
Riots: Tony Parsons says ordinary people are coming together to say 'no more'
TWO hard and bitter lessons in these days of burning and looting – the police can’t protect you and one good person alone is powerless against the mob.
A white man with grey hair who remonstrated with a gang burning a bin was beaten within an inch of his life. His identity remains a mystery. The mob stole his wallet and his phone.
These days you can’t expect the emergency services to save your family from being burned alive or beaten to death.
So in this atmosphere of lawlessness, communities are coming together to stand up for themselves.
Family men are patrolling streets where they have had their fill of blood and broken glass to say: “No more.”
Turks in Dalston. Sikhs in Southall. White communities in Enfield and Eltham. They are standing up for themselves and their families because they no longer trust the police to do it.
Some say the English Defence League was active in Eltham. But whether this is true or not, surely white communities are allowed to protect themselves too?
CHILDREN
In these streets, where the police did not come and the firemen could not do their job, we have been taught that goodness will not conquer evil.
Look at these yobs the wrong way and they will kill you, take your wallet and toss your children’s photos into a bush.
They will torch your home or your business, and your wife and children will weep, and you will dial 999 and nobody will come to help.
So good luck to the street patrols. When the police are reeling, communities either come together or learn to cower behind closed doors.
Even Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, says that citizens can use reasonable force to fight back.
Suddenly our country feels far more tribal than it did last week.
The street patrols divide along racial and ethnic grounds, with people seeking the safety of their own.
But don’t blame these gangs, be they Turkish or white or Sikh.
Blame the witless morons who smashed and robbed and burned.
In the patrols, we see hope of a better day. These are not vigilantes – they are family men who are protecting their homes and loved ones.
There are real dangers in standing up against lawlessness, as we see from the tragic deaths in Birmingham. The good guys don’t always win.
We want to get back to where we were just a week ago, when we had faith in the police to protect us.
Sadly, I don’t know if we ever will.
Save Brazil's Internet!
Next week, Congress could vote to radically restrict internet freedom in Brazil -- criminalizing everyday online activities like sharing music and restricting fundamental blogging tools. We have just six days to stop them.
Public pressure defeated an attack on internet freedom in 2009, and we can do it again! The bill is in three committees in the Chamber of Deputies to stop the bill from passing. These politicians are carefully watching public response to the proposed bill in the days leading up to the big vote -- now is our chance to launch a national outcry and force them to protect internet freedoms.
Brazil has over 75 million internet users -- we can be deafening if we join together. Send a message now to leaders of the Constitution and Justice, Science and Technology, and Public Safety Committees, then share it with your friends and family across Brazil!
Public pressure defeated an attack on internet freedom in 2009, and we can do it again! The bill is in three committees in the Chamber of Deputies to stop the bill from passing. These politicians are carefully watching public response to the proposed bill in the days leading up to the big vote -- now is our chance to launch a national outcry and force them to protect internet freedoms.
Brazil has over 75 million internet users -- we can be deafening if we join together. Send a message now to leaders of the Constitution and Justice, Science and Technology, and Public Safety Committees, then share it with your friends and family across Brazil!
Monday, August 8, 2011
The Video That’s Driving the Palestinians Crazy!
: Recently the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, Danny Ayalon, released a video with facts about the legal status of Judea and Samaria, or as many call it, the “West Bank” (watch the video below). In response to the video release, Saeb Erekat, representing the Palestinian Authority, put out a two page official press release, condemning the alleged “lies and distortions” of the video. In actuality, Erekat did not respond to any of the factual points raised by Deputy Minister Ayalon in the video.
In response to the Erekat press release, Deputy Minister Ayalon issued his own press release asking Mr. Erekat why he did not address even one factual issue in the video. Ayalon also invited Erekat to a public debate on all the issues. “I challenge any of the Palestinian Authority political leadership to an open debate on all the issues ahead of September.” Mr. Erekat refused to take part in a public debate saying that “ending the Israeli occupation is not a point needed to discuss”.
This episode did not end there. Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister sent out another press release saying the following:
“I am more than a little surprised that Erekat rejected my offer of an open and public debate, especially considering he was concerned enough about our video to release a two page official press release”.
“Erekat is used to telling the world that Israel’s policies are illegal and against international law and I offered him the chance to back up his own statements and he is proving unable or unwilling to do so.”
“Like its diplomatic policies, it appears that the Palestinian Authority is only able to debate unilaterally.”
The sad thing about this episode is that it clearly demonstrates how the Palestinian Authority in general, and Erekat in particular, are scared of debating the facts regarding the dispute.
Please join us in thanking Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon for standing up for Israel’s right by sharing this video with your friends and family.
In response to the Erekat press release, Deputy Minister Ayalon issued his own press release asking Mr. Erekat why he did not address even one factual issue in the video. Ayalon also invited Erekat to a public debate on all the issues. “I challenge any of the Palestinian Authority political leadership to an open debate on all the issues ahead of September.” Mr. Erekat refused to take part in a public debate saying that “ending the Israeli occupation is not a point needed to discuss”.
This episode did not end there. Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister sent out another press release saying the following:
“I am more than a little surprised that Erekat rejected my offer of an open and public debate, especially considering he was concerned enough about our video to release a two page official press release”.
“Erekat is used to telling the world that Israel’s policies are illegal and against international law and I offered him the chance to back up his own statements and he is proving unable or unwilling to do so.”
“Like its diplomatic policies, it appears that the Palestinian Authority is only able to debate unilaterally.”
The sad thing about this episode is that it clearly demonstrates how the Palestinian Authority in general, and Erekat in particular, are scared of debating the facts regarding the dispute.
Please join us in thanking Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon for standing up for Israel’s right by sharing this video with your friends and family.
Arabs Try to Set Fire to Jerusalem Cemetery
A Jewish worshipper who came on Thursday to pray at the tombs of revered sages in the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem, came across several Arabs who were attempting to set some shrubs in the cemetery on fire.
The Jew reported this incident to Arutz Sheva through its You Report page, saying, “The Arabs claimed that they simply threw a cigarette. They were sitting in a cemetery and I do not know what they had to do there, and they are the only ones who were there.”
The worshipper, who attached a picture of the fire (below), wrote, “Here's what they do not want you to know. Arabs tried and almost succeeded in igniting shrubs in the Har HaMenuchot cemetery. I called the fire department but by the time they got there the Arab arsonists were gone, and so ended another arson attempt. Is this the new form of terror attacks?”
In the past several weeks, there has been evidence that Palestinian Authority terrorists are reverting to the first Intifada tactic of trying to burn down Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Arabs have set more than 20 fires in Jewish communities, mostly outposts, which have endangered lives and forced the evacuation of residents.
Police investigations have determined that the blazes were intentional, and tracks have led them Arab villages nearby the Jewish communities. Six Arab suspects have been arrested.
In one such incident last Friday, Arabs from Burin started a huge fire which spread up a nearby mountain and came dangerously close to the homes of the nearby community of Givat Ronen.
Firefighters who were called to put out the fire were pelted with stones.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
The Jew reported this incident to Arutz Sheva through its You Report page, saying, “The Arabs claimed that they simply threw a cigarette. They were sitting in a cemetery and I do not know what they had to do there, and they are the only ones who were there.”
The worshipper, who attached a picture of the fire (below), wrote, “Here's what they do not want you to know. Arabs tried and almost succeeded in igniting shrubs in the Har HaMenuchot cemetery. I called the fire department but by the time they got there the Arab arsonists were gone, and so ended another arson attempt. Is this the new form of terror attacks?”
In the past several weeks, there has been evidence that Palestinian Authority terrorists are reverting to the first Intifada tactic of trying to burn down Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Arabs have set more than 20 fires in Jewish communities, mostly outposts, which have endangered lives and forced the evacuation of residents.
Police investigations have determined that the blazes were intentional, and tracks have led them Arab villages nearby the Jewish communities. Six Arab suspects have been arrested.
In one such incident last Friday, Arabs from Burin started a huge fire which spread up a nearby mountain and came dangerously close to the homes of the nearby community of Givat Ronen.
Firefighters who were called to put out the fire were pelted with stones.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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