March 31, 2003

Put that Picture Down the Memory Hole The Guardian’s John Sutherland takes off his tin foil hat and writes a conspiracy fill tirade against anyone that interferes with the canonisation of dead ISM protester Rachel Corrie, killed by accident when she got in the way of an Israeli bulldozer clearing land near the Gaza-Egypt border. He takes issue with the distribution of a photograph of Corrie burning the US flag and the claims that the photographs of Corrie confronting an Israeli bulldozer took place hours before her death. He writes: Two days later a contrary photograph of Rachel appeared, first in the Seattle Times (the article accompanying it has since been removed). It depicts her snarling, shawled and in a Palestinian street demonstration, tearing up a paper US flag. The provenance given for the photograph (a mysterious snapper called "Khalil Hamra") led nowhere. Where, then, had it come from? Paranoia suggested the Israeli secret service, which monitors such events. This picture also looked, to some expert eyes, doctored. While trying to downplay it, the ISM admits the picture is real. A picture has been circulated that shows Rachel burning a drawing of the American flag. Trying to use this picture to somehow indicate that Rachel deserved to be run over by a bulldozer is an appalling act of demonization that infers that forms of protest which include flag burning are capital offences. In the words of Rachel’s parents: "The act, while we may disagree with it, must be put into context. Rachel was partaking in a demonstration in Gaza opposing the war on Iraq. She was working with children who drew two pictures, one of the American flag, and one of the Israeli flag, for burning. Rachel said that she could not bring herself to burn the picture of the Israeli flag with the Star of David on it, but under such circumstances, in protest over a drive towards war and her government’s foreign policy that was responsible for much of the devastation that she was witness to in Gaza, she felt it OK to burn the picture of the American flag." He also writes: Pictures had accompanied the news reports of Rachel's death, megaphone in hand, standing in front of the menacing bulldozer. A pose inescapably reminiscent of Tiananmen Square. Another picture showed her fallen in front of the murderous blade. Questions were asked as to whether the images had been "manipulated". Not manipulated, just incorrectly labelled as they took place hours before her death. The ISM writes: The photographs taken on the day of the incident and at the scene show various angles of Rachel engaging the bulldozer drivers and show two different bulldozers. Again, reading the eyewitness testimonies will clarify that Rachel and the other ISM volunteers were in the area engaging two bulldozer drivers for approximately two hours before Rachel was crushed. The photos are 100% consistent with the eyewitness accounts and offer clear evidence that the bulldozer drivers were aware of the presence of the ISM volunteers and their efforts. Clearly The Guardian and John Sutherland should stop publishing articles about this incident until he and the organisation try to uncover facts surrounding it and not just publish nonsense conspiracy theories. 9:35:02 PM

Guardian of Stupid Terms Why does The Guardian use the term "Tel Aviv" to refer to the government of Israel? The Knesset and government building are located in Jerusalem. No matter what the British position is on the status of Jerusalem, the Israeli government is not in Tel Aviv. 9:31:54 PM