EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

Dr. Norman Finkelstein: Never shy when it comes to bringing the truth into broad daylight.

Norman Finkelstein (born December 8, 1953) is an American political scientist and author whose primary fields of research are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is one of the more "controversial" figures on the left, largely because he refuses to "play nice" -- just as raw war footage from Vietnam delivered a not-so-short, sharp, shock to middle America, Dr. Finkelstein takes the same approach to the issues he writes and speaks about. He is a staunch advocate for a sovereign Palestinian state free from any interference by Israel. During the Second World War, both of Dr. Finkelstein's parents were interned in Nazi concentration camps and he takes vehement exception to anyone he perceives as trying to exploit the holocaust for personal gain. Finkelstein travels extensively giving lectures, primarily on university campuses. He has written several books, including "This Time We Went Too Far: Truth and Consequences of the Gaza Invasion"(2010) and "The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering"(2000).


AZ: Some years back (October 15, 2001), in an interview with Don Atapattu, published as "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," you said the following (according to the transcript that appeared on the Internet) in response to a question about elevating the image of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S.: "Nowadays nothing is possible with the events of September 11, a lot of hard work over many years to try to build a counter consensus disappeared in the rubble of the World Trade Center. I am utterly pessimistic about the prospects now, but I did not think it was impossible (before)." The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is upon us: Are prospects for improving the aforementioned image, and of helping the Palestinians achieve genuine sovereignty and freedom, still so grim?


NF: I overestimated the negative fallout of 11 September on popular movements and underestimated the clear thinking of most people. Already on the eve of the attack on Iraq in March 2003 there were massive antiwar demonstrations in the U.S. despite the orchestrated hysteria about Middle East terrorism. I do not think the War on Terror is any longer a serious distorting factor in public debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict.


AZ: You've also talked about America getting its comeuppance: That our government has maliciously interfered in so many countries around the world that 9/11 was not only evidence of this, but that there would be more to come. Certainly, as far as I can deduce, resentment continues to grow against the U.S. around the globe. From what you know, is this still evolving in militant ways that will see more backlash for the U.S., specifically on U.S. soil?


NF: I don't know anything more than the general public on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks directed at the U.S. But I am struck by how few terrorist attacks there have been. Everyone who rides the New York City subway knows how easy it is to commit a horrendous terror attack and how impossible it is to prevent by body searches, etc. Yet, it's not happened. My conclusion is that the terrorism threat is greatly overblown.


AZ: Is the key to unlocking the door of getting the U.S. out of Iraq and Afghanistan, helping Palestine achieve true sovereignty, restoring power to the U.N. in a way that it isn't emasculated by the U.S., rehabilitating the image of Arabs and Muslims in this country and so on, is the key to first democratize the U.S. mass media, to some extent, in some way, or, alternatively, giving more muscle to the genuinely alternative media like Democracy Now, Z Net, etc.?


NF: There is no single key. Our society seems headed in a very bad direction because the scale of the problems we are now confronting--particularly in the environment--are so much bigger and more potentially damaging, yet nothing serious is being done to address them. Quite the contrary, significant segments of our society are either in denial or just don't care: apres moi, le deluge. I myself worry more and more about what I eat. The new cuts in federal spending will hit hard the regulatory agencies. Right now about 30,000 people die each year from food poisoning. How many more people will have to die before people become convinced that federal regulation isn't such a bad idea, after all?


AZ: Just how critical is it that people be educated in the notion that "U.S." (in political terms) is not the same as "people of the U.S." and that "Israel" (in political terms) is not the same as "people of Israel"? After all, millions in the United States are quite radicalized, and many Jews are very much against the way their government conducts its affairs. Furthermore, how would this education best be achieved in the U.S. and, from there, evolved into action?


NF: Most people are decent; most would not want to inflict suffering gratuitously on other; most can be convinced that sharing wealth isn't a terrible idea. But if you look at poll data, there are also reasons to be pessimistic: over 90 percent of Israelis supported the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon in 2006, against Gaza in 2008-9, and against the Freedom Flotilla in 2010. So, depending on where you look and what you count, you reach different conclusions about how representative governments are of the people.


AZ: Obviously, on any issue, there are a great many things that people can do to aid progress. What would be the most effective thing/s that folks in the U.S. could do to aid the cause of Palestinian sovereignty and peace between Israel and Palestine?


NF: Right now the most important task is education. People are unfortunately ignorant of the basic facts, although more and more people are becoming better and better informed. Judging from poll results, about half the American people have a pretty clear idea that Israel is not up to any good, but most Americans still have a very negative image of Palestinians.


AZ: My specific area of interest is in doing my small part to help unify the single-issue groups of the true Left (generally, but not necessarily, beyond what tend to be called "progressives") so that a synergy might be created to fight for broader, institutional change. Give me your best piece of advice for this.


NF: My best advice is: Try to be consistent in who you are as a public and private person. It's the only way to win people's trust, and without bonds of trust there can be no progressive politics.

The award-winning documentary: "American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein."

My sincere thanks to Dr. Finkelstein for his time.

Take care,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might also like to take a look at NO WAY TO HONOR DR. KING by Medea Benjamin.

BITS & BITES: "HOW CAN YOU CARE TOO MUCH?"

"I have a dream!.... No, wait. That's not the line."

Out of the Mouth of Mickey

Any of you who are activists or agitators for social change on any level have probably heard a million times things like: "What are you so worried about?" "You have to see the glass as half full and enjoy life" etc. etc. These folks, who probably mean well, don't see that you can have a social conscience and work to make the world a better place and still enjoy your life. In fact, you appreciate your blessings even more. The fact that they miss the point so badly makes me a little sad. That's why "spreading the word" is so important. It all makes me think of Mickey Rourke, as the nutty rogue cop in "Year of the Dragon," when he says: "How can you care too much?" That's how I've always felt and as long as there's one person suffering or one child hungry, I'll be quite content to feel rather intense about trying to make a difference.


Hurricane Irene

I've been tracking this angry lady quite closely because my son lives back East. He just turned nine and we spoke on the phone a few minutes ago. "We hardly got anything!" he told me, a little disappointed not to have a bit more excitement in his Sunday. Of course, Irene is no joke for a lot of people who have to pick up the pieces in her wake. I'm very leery of the political mileage that Obama and others get out of stuff like this. The speeches, the grim predictions, the somber summaries -- all from their ivory towers and safe havens. Is there an election simmering on the stove top by any chance? (NOTE: Did you realize that Obama raised a BILLION dollars for his first presidential campaign? Think about how sick that is and what it says about our bogus "democracy." I know some people on the East Coast who could use a taste of that kind of money right now.)


Guest Writers for "House on Fire"

You may have noticed that Code Pink founder and super-gutsy lady Medea Benjamin gave me use of her most recent piece (on the new MLK monument in D.C.) for "House on Fire." I'm very grateful to her; she's a really great person. Well, I've lined up some other big names for "guest appearances." Some of these blog posts will be in the format of "5 Questions for..." So keep checking back. In addition, a couple of my closest friends, who have expertise and special insights into certain activism areas, will also be appearing as guest writers. Tryin' to mix it up a bit here, people!

Click here to read "No Way to Honor Dr. King" by Medea Benjamin


Remember Unions?

When I first started out in the workforce, a long time ago, I worked in blue collar, union jobs. And that seemed about right to me. As I've said before: Unions aren't perfect but they're a hell of a lot better than the alternative! Well, in some good news reported on DemocracyNow.org on Friday, the National Labor Relations Board has come out with new regulations that will require most employers in the private sector to actually put posters on their bulletin boards informing employees about their rights, under federal law, to unionize. Spread the word on this one!

DemocracyNow.org


The Verizon Strike

45,000 Verizon workers are now back at work and kudos to them for gutting it out against a major, and majorly greedy, corporation that was trying to slash their benefits. The final deal is still being thrashed out but put this down as a win for struggling workers and proof that being in a union, and having courage and solidarity, mean something.

You can read more at the Communications Workers of America website


A Win in Wisconsin as Well

You have to tip your hat to the working people of Wisconsin -- and their many supporters -- who refused to let ratbag Governor Scott Walker kill collective bargaining. 10,000 of them (some say many more than this) took over the Capitol at one point and People Power forced recall elections that added pro-worker Democrats to the WI senate and showed that the not-so-good governor isn't nearly as popular as he thought he was.

Click here to visit the We Are Wisconsin website


People Power Across the Middle East

The pro-democracy uprisings that have swept the Middle East in recent months are a fascinating situation that has ramifications for global democracy, and they're making despots from Saudi Arabia to Washington D.C. pretty nervous. No way to predict how it will all play out but when you look at the long list of countries involved you can at least say that something significant has happened and that the power really does lie with the people. And when they decide to take to the streets, they can create history and make our phony leaders look like the weaklings they really are.


Norman Solomon -- An Honest Man Headed for DC

Don't forget to throw your support behind Norman in his run for Congress. I'm as cynical as anyone when it comes to politicians. But Norman is an activist and a wonderful human being, not a career politician. He's a good chance of winning his district and, once he gets to Capitol Hill, the cat will be among the pigeons. Onward!

Click here to see Norman Solomon's campaign site

Take care,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might also like to take a look at BITS & BITES -- July 24, 2011

Toujours Beirut

There is a part of London forever twinned with Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus or anywhere which happens to be the node of the current Arab Diaspora. Walk up Edgware Road from Marble Arch (So called because it’s made of Portland Stone!) to the Marylebone Road flyover and beyond to Chapel Market and towards Harrow Road and you will pass by an intoxicating slice of the Middle East and inhale a fair amount of smoke from the shisha, “hubble bubble,” pipes being smoked on sidewalk tables. In London, a walk in and around Edgware Road west of the city centre takes you to one of the many areas where members of the Middle Eastern community have settled – others are Bayswater, Kensington and Westbourne Grove.



The area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the Ottoman Empire. The trend continued with the arrival of Egyptians in the 1950s, and greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present when events including the Lebanese Civil War, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and unrest in Algeria brought more Arabs to the area. They established the present-day mix of bars and shisha cafes, which make the area known to Londoners by nicknames such as "Little Cairo" and "Little Beirut."



Many Lebanese restaurants, shisha cafes and Arabic-themed nightclubs line the street. The Odeon cinema, once the location of the biggest screen in London, often shows films in Arabic. Edgware Road is unique as a district, rich in ethnic culture, yet also in a very central area of London. The area is known for its distinctive and diverse communities from across the Middle East and Africa, with British Iranian comedian Omid Djalili describing Edgware Road as "after Damascus, Medina and Mecca, is probably the most Islamic place on the planet".





The real growth of the Lebanese community in London started in 1975, with the start of civil war in Lebanon. War drove thousands of people away. They settled all over the world, including in the UK. The exodus was aggravated in 1982 with the Israeli invasion.





Edgware Road is populated by shops selling Arab newspapers, books and music. There's even the odd pharmacy. In the food shops, you can purchase fresh fruit, vegetables, chicken, fish and lamb as well as other indigenous ingredients, such as rose blossom water and pomegranate molasses. Large wooden barrels display a colourful selection of dry, scented spices, as well as pickled aubergines, olives and limes. Some sell ready-made starters and labour-intensive meals, which you can just pop into the oven, grill or fry.



Coffee shops abound and on most days, customers – many of them part of the Arabic community who live nearby or are just passing by – can be seen puffing away at the shisha, an ornate pipe for aromatic tobacco. The restaurants range from smart to quite informal eateries, catering to an eclectic crowd as they are open till late. Some places close at 3am; others are known to close when guests leave. On Edgware Road you'll find an astounding array of Middle Eastern starters, both hot and cold, known as mezze. Many feature aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, radishes, okra, onion, chickpeas, lentils, rice, yogurt and herbs - and are accompanied by Lebanese bread. In general, they constitute an ideal meal for vegetarians.



Mezze can be so delicious and fresh, some diners do not move on to the main dishes; instead they just order more starters. Some of the finest are hoummos, chickpea puree prepared with sesame oil and lemon juice; tabbouleh, a parsley and tomato salad, with crushed wheat, onion, olive oil and lemon juice; and moujaddara, lentils and rice cooked to a creamy texture, topped with fried onions.



Try batinjan makdous, aubergines that have been filled with walnut and garlic; and kibbe, small mouthfuls of minced lamb, cracked wheat and pine kernels, either baked or deep-fried. Fruit juices and hand-made treats from the patisserie counter are a must at all Lebanese restaurants. Order a carrot and orange juice and baklavas – layered pastries in many shapes filled with pistachio nuts and honey.





A favourite salad is fattoush, which brings together lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mint, tiny morsels of deep-fried bread and an aubergine-coloured spice made out of crushed berries called sumak. Most carnivores gravitate towards the warm shawarma sandwiches. They offer marinated lamb or chicken, roasted on a skewer, combined with tomatoes and lettuce, and wrapped up in Lebanese bread. Kofta is a tasty alternative – grilled minced lamb, combined with parsley and pine kernels.



With Lebanese food there is always an excellent alternative for vegetarians - a falafel sandwich, which features small spheres of crushed chickpeas prepared with sesame oil and garlic. It's flavoured with a light tahini sauce, which is made out of sesame seeds.





On Edgware Road, this means the Babylon Salon, the Al-Ahram Bookstore, where you can pick up Lebanese fashion magazines, and Daminis, where you can turn those fashion tips into reality with the latest styles of shalwar kameez, and join the endless promenade of styled-up sons and daughters of sheikhs and oil magnates cruising the W2 strip. The restaurants feature live Lebanese music at weekends, and if it all leaves you hankering after the real thing, pop into Wonder Travel, where a flight to Beirut can be had for as little as £320.

London is too large to be ethnically zoned which is a good thing as we prefer it mixed up here so we can appreciate, share and celebrate diversity. Sometimes I wonder whether London shouldn't be voted the Arab capital of culture at some stage soon. There are, in actual fact, an enormous range of activities, shops and events centred on London's huge Arab community which is estimated at 500,000 and which increases in summer when the heat in the Gulf becomes unbearable.





Edgware Road isn’t the only Arab area either. Towards Notting Hill and Kensington, it becomes more glamorous, princes and oil millionaires mingling with the internationally privileged. Commercial activity buzzes on Queensway and the Edgware Road, where there are more shisha bars than pubs, and shops where you can buy za’taar, or Adel Imam comedies, or Libyan or Egyptian newspapers. For a brief term following the destruction of Beirut and before Qatar and the Emirates upped their profiles, London became the capital of the Arab media. It’s still important, still housing such ventures as the independent pan-Arab paper al-Quds al-Arabi.


Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family Supercars clamped outside Harrods

Many Arabs are fleeing repression or poverty in their own countries and remain poor in London in contrast to the flash sons of the Arab Sheiks like Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family who bought Harrods’s and who fly in a fleet of Supercars in distinctive “baby blue” colour. They became particularly distinctive when they were clamped for illegal parking outside the store! With the Arab Spring and the upsurge for Democracy, Freedom and against corruption in the Arab world there is much talk about taking soundings on the “Arab Street.”



Well in London you don’t have too far to go for it is here that different nationalities can meet and contend with a freedom of expression and from oppression which are luxuries in their own country. Chances are that Edgware Road was the “Arab Street” the debates that led to the Arab Spring first took hold and where it will continue in passionate debate over a Shisha and a Shawarma. Marhaban مرحبا

Toujours Beirut

There is a part of London forever twinned with Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus or anywhere which happens to be the node of the current Arab Diaspora. Walk up Edgware Road from Marble Arch (So called because it’s made of Portland Stone!) to the Marylebone Road flyover and beyond to Chapel Market and towards Harrow Road and you will pass by an intoxicating slice of the Middle East and inhale a fair amount of smoke from the shisha, “hubble bubble,” pipes being smoked on sidewalk tables. In London, a walk in and around Edgware Road west of the city centre takes you to one of the many areas where members of the Middle Eastern community have settled – others are Bayswater, Kensington and Westbourne Grove.



The area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the Ottoman Empire. The trend continued with the arrival of Egyptians in the 1950s, and greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present when events including the Lebanese Civil War, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and unrest in Algeria brought more Arabs to the area. They established the present-day mix of bars and shisha cafes, which make the area known to Londoners by nicknames such as "Little Cairo" and "Little Beirut."



Many Lebanese restaurants, shisha cafes and Arabic-themed nightclubs line the street. The Odeon cinema, once the location of the biggest screen in London, often shows films in Arabic. Edgware Road is unique as a district, rich in ethnic culture, yet also in a very central area of London. The area is known for its distinctive and diverse communities from across the Middle East and Africa, with British Iranian comedian Omid Djalili describing Edgware Road as "after Damascus, Medina and Mecca, is probably the most Islamic place on the planet".





The real growth of the Lebanese community in London started in 1975, with the start of civil war in Lebanon. War drove thousands of people away. They settled all over the world, including in the UK. The exodus was aggravated in 1982 with the Israeli invasion.





Edgware Road is populated by shops selling Arab newspapers, books and music. There's even the odd pharmacy. In the food shops, you can purchase fresh fruit, vegetables, chicken, fish and lamb as well as other indigenous ingredients, such as rose blossom water and pomegranate molasses. Large wooden barrels display a colourful selection of dry, scented spices, as well as pickled aubergines, olives and limes. Some sell ready-made starters and labour-intensive meals, which you can just pop into the oven, grill or fry.



Coffee shops abound and on most days, customers – many of them part of the Arabic community who live nearby or are just passing by – can be seen puffing away at the shisha, an ornate pipe for aromatic tobacco. The restaurants range from smart to quite informal eateries, catering to an eclectic crowd as they are open till late. Some places close at 3am; others are known to close when guests leave. On Edgware Road you'll find an astounding array of Middle Eastern starters, both hot and cold, known as mezze. Many feature aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, radishes, okra, onion, chickpeas, lentils, rice, yogurt and herbs - and are accompanied by Lebanese bread. In general, they constitute an ideal meal for vegetarians.



Mezze can be so delicious and fresh, some diners do not move on to the main dishes; instead they just order more starters. Some of the finest are hoummos, chickpea puree prepared with sesame oil and lemon juice; tabbouleh, a parsley and tomato salad, with crushed wheat, onion, olive oil and lemon juice; and moujaddara, lentils and rice cooked to a creamy texture, topped with fried onions.



Try batinjan makdous, aubergines that have been filled with walnut and garlic; and kibbe, small mouthfuls of minced lamb, cracked wheat and pine kernels, either baked or deep-fried. Fruit juices and hand-made treats from the patisserie counter are a must at all Lebanese restaurants. Order a carrot and orange juice and baklavas – layered pastries in many shapes filled with pistachio nuts and honey.





A favourite salad is fattoush, which brings together lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mint, tiny morsels of deep-fried bread and an aubergine-coloured spice made out of crushed berries called sumak. Most carnivores gravitate towards the warm shawarma sandwiches. They offer marinated lamb or chicken, roasted on a skewer, combined with tomatoes and lettuce, and wrapped up in Lebanese bread. Kofta is a tasty alternative – grilled minced lamb, combined with parsley and pine kernels.



With Lebanese food there is always an excellent alternative for vegetarians - a falafel sandwich, which features small spheres of crushed chickpeas prepared with sesame oil and garlic. It's flavoured with a light tahini sauce, which is made out of sesame seeds.





On Edgware Road, this means the Babylon Salon, the Al-Ahram Bookstore, where you can pick up Lebanese fashion magazines, and Daminis, where you can turn those fashion tips into reality with the latest styles of shalwar kameez, and join the endless promenade of styled-up sons and daughters of sheikhs and oil magnates cruising the W2 strip. The restaurants feature live Lebanese music at weekends, and if it all leaves you hankering after the real thing, pop into Wonder Travel, where a flight to Beirut can be had for as little as £320.

London is too large to be ethnically zoned which is a good thing as we prefer it mixed up here so we can appreciate, share and celebrate diversity. Sometimes I wonder whether London shouldn't be voted the Arab capital of culture at some stage soon. There are, in actual fact, an enormous range of activities, shops and events centred on London's huge Arab community which is estimated at 500,000 and which increases in summer when the heat in the Gulf becomes unbearable.





Edgware Road isn’t the only Arab area either. Towards Notting Hill and Kensington, it becomes more glamorous, princes and oil millionaires mingling with the internationally privileged. Commercial activity buzzes on Queensway and the Edgware Road, where there are more shisha bars than pubs, and shops where you can buy za’taar, or Adel Imam comedies, or Libyan or Egyptian newspapers. For a brief term following the destruction of Beirut and before Qatar and the Emirates upped their profiles, London became the capital of the Arab media. It’s still important, still housing such ventures as the independent pan-Arab paper al-Quds al-Arabi.


Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family Supercars clamped outside Harrods

Many Arabs are fleeing repression or poverty in their own countries and remain poor in London in contrast to the flash sons of the Arab Sheiks like Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family who bought Harrods’s and who fly in a fleet of Supercars in distinctive “baby blue” colour. They became particularly distinctive when they were clamped for illegal parking outside the store! With the Arab Spring and the upsurge for Democracy, Freedom and against corruption in the Arab world there is much talk about taking soundings on the “Arab Street.”



Well in London you don’t have too far to go for it is here that different nationalities can meet and contend with a freedom of expression and from oppression which are luxuries in their own country. Chances are that Edgware Road was the “Arab Street” the debates that led to the Arab Spring first took hold and where it will continue in passionate debate over a Shisha and a Shawarma. Marhaban مرحبا

We will fight them @ Selfridges

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,”

Sir Winston Churchill
June 4th 1940

“We shall stop them shopping at Selfridges.”

David Cameron
Tbilisi, Georgia, August 16th, 2008


Mikheil Saakashvili and David Cameron

Well David Cameron knows how to show solidarity with the Georgian Prime Minister and inept military adventurer, Mikheil Saakashvili, with his blood curdling threat to stop Russian Oligarchs shopping in the West End of London. He also agreed to support Georgia’s application to join NATO, you know the anti-Soviet Bloc looking for a new meaning in life and stationing missiles in Poland to fly over Russia on the way to Iran or other “rogue states.” This is not; you will be surprised to hear the Middle Eastern “rogue state” which has attacked each and every one of its neighbours including destroying the EU funded infrastructure of Gaza, dismembering Lebanon, occupying the sovereign territory of Syria, occupying East Jerusalem and the West Bank which it is settling and applying collective punishment to the civilian population (in defiance of the “quaint” Geneva Conventions), which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and which has developed nuclear weapons. And did I mention that its previous Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, had personally led a terrorist massacre of women and children? During the raid on Qibya in 1953, 69 Palestinians were killed and forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque were blown-up. The act was condemned by the US State Department, the UN Security Council, and by Jewish communities worldwide. And the current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s father was Quartermaster of the Irgun terrorist organisation (you know the guys who killed both the British and UN Peace Envoys and hanged three British soldiers including a Jewish lad from the East End) and Foreign Minister’s Tzipi Livni’s father was the leader of the Irgun group which carried out the King David Hotel massacre which killed 91 people including 17 Jews. And did I mention that a previous Israeli Prime Minister, Menachim Begin was the Irgun leader who gave the order? But less of rogue states with terrorist links, lets get back to the successor of Churchill as leader of the Conservatives.

But whilst PR Dave may not often be compared to Winston Churchill he does know about “fighting them on the beaches” for “Bucket and spade” Dave has shown his true 'blue' colours by holidaying on a £21,000 a week yacht, surrounded by an armada of seven boats of 74 mates and family and banqueting in the finest restaurants on the holiday he would prefer that you didn't see.



Mr Cameron and his family joined 74 friends on seven traditional gulet boats for a week-long tour of the Turkish Riviera which last Friday. Each of the double-masted wooden vessels with 20ft high white sails has its own personal chef, captain and two crew hands. It was Mr Cameron's second holiday within a month, but, unlike the first, he didn't invite the Press along. Three weeks ago the Tory leader and wife Samantha posed for official pictures as he holidayed with his family on a humble bucket-and-spade beach in Cornwall.

With the credit crunch biting, he portrayed himself as a stay-at-home politician in touch with the British electorate. His photo-calls and interviews led even the most loyal Tory newspapers to mock his opportunism. But there was no fanfare at all for his sybaritic week-long tour off Turkey's south-west coast where the former PR executive took advantage of its closeness to the conflict in Georgia and used a private plane for a quick photocall with the Georgian president in Tbilisi.

But by Sunday morning he, Samantha, 37, and their children had joined the sailing party off the Fethiye peninsula to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother-in-law Viscountess Astor. The total cost of hiring the seven gulets was an estimated £150,000. As the armada organised by Samantha's stepdad, Tory peer Viscount Astor sailed majestically out of Gocek Harbour it looked like a scene from 1970s BBC drama The Onedin Line. Margaret Churcher, 62, on holiday from Leicester with her daughter and son-in-law, said: "They were really impressive they took up the whole bay as they sailed out.”Those are beautiful boats but I'll have to keep dreaming. We were in just a tiny sailing boat that would probably fit in one of their cabins." Mr Cameron, his family and in-laws, were in a traditional gulet yacht called the Sema Tuana which sleeps 10.



By day, they swam in the clear blue sea, laughed with pals and drank bottle after bottle of wine served by the dutiful staff. At night, the Camerons dined at rustic seafront restaurants. The large group of pals ate fresh seafood, Turkish mezes and drank local wines at little restaurants dotted along the rugged Aegean coastline. On Wednesday, they relaxed on plush sofas as the MP for Witney read John Milton's epic 17th century poem Paradise Lost in the 38C (102F) heat. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/surly-republican.html )

After showering and changing on board, scores of diners were ferried to land by inflatable dinghies. That night the party took over the Indigo Terrace restaurant in the pretty Turkish port of Kalkan until 2am before being taxied back to sea on their boats. A total of 76 guests racked up a bill of more than £2,000. Waiter Huseyin Aslan, 32, said: "They were all very wealthy and looked like they were here for a lot of fun. They were well behaved but there was a lot of laughing and drinking and some dancing.

Well as Tony Blair once remarked “If we can’t take that lot apart, we don’t deserve to be in government!” Unfortunately Tony is no longer around to take them apart; he is now a full time “Peace” envoy to rogue states in the Middle East, indeed he even has an office in one, in Jerusalem, and he may even visit Gaza one day or indeed enjoy the typical fish meal by the banks of the Euphrates in Baghdad surrounded by grateful Iraqi’s enjoying the restoration of peace he helped bring about there. Makes sense to me! (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/britain-in-iraq.html )

But there is a serious point to all this. Relations with Russia and Middle East Peace must start on the basis of Realpolitik, not comic book characterisations of Brutish Russians, plucky Georgians, Arab Terrorists, Holier than thou Israel. America and Europe’s overriding strategic interests lie in peace and co-operation with Russia based on mutual respect and understanding and a genuine and enduring Middle East Peace based on justice, not military adventurism subsidized by the U.S. of A. Let us say it loud and let us say it clear, whatever about any other considerations Europe and Europe have no great strategic interests in Israel or Georgia, indeed the opposite case could be made for both.

So let’s get back to reality not the sound bites of the Boy Wonder David’s *, Milliband in Kiev who is more interested in plotting coups at home than preventing them abroad and Cameron whose exercise of publicity without responsibility in Tbilisi gives opportunism a bad name. I’m sure David Cameron has many qualities but like his “holiday” in Devon being REAL is not one of them!

* Note; this is not meant to indicate a prejudice against all Davids.

We will fight them @ Selfridges

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,”

Sir Winston Churchill
June 4th 1940

“We shall stop them shopping at Selfridges.”

David Cameron
Tbilisi, Georgia, August 16th, 2008


Mikheil Saakashvili and David Cameron

Well David Cameron knows how to show solidarity with the Georgian Prime Minister and inept military adventurer, Mikheil Saakashvili, with his blood curdling threat to stop Russian Oligarchs shopping in the West End of London. He also agreed to support Georgia’s application to join NATO, you know the anti-Soviet Bloc looking for a new meaning in life and stationing missiles in Poland to fly over Russia on the way to Iran or other “rogue states.” This is not; you will be surprised to hear the Middle Eastern “rogue state” which has attacked each and every one of its neighbours including destroying the EU funded infrastructure of Gaza, dismembering Lebanon, occupying the sovereign territory of Syria, occupying East Jerusalem and the West Bank which it is settling and applying collective punishment to the civilian population (in defiance of the “quaint” Geneva Conventions), which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and which has developed nuclear weapons. And did I mention that its previous Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, had personally led a terrorist massacre of women and children? During the raid on Qibya in 1953, 69 Palestinians were killed and forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque were blown-up. The act was condemned by the US State Department, the UN Security Council, and by Jewish communities worldwide. And the current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s father was Quartermaster of the Irgun terrorist organisation (you know the guys who killed both the British and UN Peace Envoys and hanged three British soldiers including a Jewish lad from the East End) and Foreign Minister’s Tzipi Livni’s father was the leader of the Irgun group which carried out the King David Hotel massacre which killed 91 people including 17 Jews. And did I mention that a previous Israeli Prime Minister, Menachim Begin was the Irgun leader who gave the order? But less of rogue states with terrorist links, lets get back to the successor of Churchill as leader of the Conservatives.

But whilst PR Dave may not often be compared to Winston Churchill he does know about “fighting them on the beaches” for “Bucket and spade” Dave has shown his true 'blue' colours by holidaying on a £21,000 a week yacht, surrounded by an armada of seven boats of 74 mates and family and banqueting in the finest restaurants on the holiday he would prefer that you didn't see.



Mr Cameron and his family joined 74 friends on seven traditional gulet boats for a week-long tour of the Turkish Riviera which last Friday. Each of the double-masted wooden vessels with 20ft high white sails has its own personal chef, captain and two crew hands. It was Mr Cameron's second holiday within a month, but, unlike the first, he didn't invite the Press along. Three weeks ago the Tory leader and wife Samantha posed for official pictures as he holidayed with his family on a humble bucket-and-spade beach in Cornwall.

With the credit crunch biting, he portrayed himself as a stay-at-home politician in touch with the British electorate. His photo-calls and interviews led even the most loyal Tory newspapers to mock his opportunism. But there was no fanfare at all for his sybaritic week-long tour off Turkey's south-west coast where the former PR executive took advantage of its closeness to the conflict in Georgia and used a private plane for a quick photocall with the Georgian president in Tbilisi.

But by Sunday morning he, Samantha, 37, and their children had joined the sailing party off the Fethiye peninsula to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother-in-law Viscountess Astor. The total cost of hiring the seven gulets was an estimated £150,000. As the armada organised by Samantha's stepdad, Tory peer Viscount Astor sailed majestically out of Gocek Harbour it looked like a scene from 1970s BBC drama The Onedin Line. Margaret Churcher, 62, on holiday from Leicester with her daughter and son-in-law, said: "They were really impressive they took up the whole bay as they sailed out.”Those are beautiful boats but I'll have to keep dreaming. We were in just a tiny sailing boat that would probably fit in one of their cabins." Mr Cameron, his family and in-laws, were in a traditional gulet yacht called the Sema Tuana which sleeps 10.



By day, they swam in the clear blue sea, laughed with pals and drank bottle after bottle of wine served by the dutiful staff. At night, the Camerons dined at rustic seafront restaurants. The large group of pals ate fresh seafood, Turkish mezes and drank local wines at little restaurants dotted along the rugged Aegean coastline. On Wednesday, they relaxed on plush sofas as the MP for Witney read John Milton's epic 17th century poem Paradise Lost in the 38C (102F) heat. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/surly-republican.html )

After showering and changing on board, scores of diners were ferried to land by inflatable dinghies. That night the party took over the Indigo Terrace restaurant in the pretty Turkish port of Kalkan until 2am before being taxied back to sea on their boats. A total of 76 guests racked up a bill of more than £2,000. Waiter Huseyin Aslan, 32, said: "They were all very wealthy and looked like they were here for a lot of fun. They were well behaved but there was a lot of laughing and drinking and some dancing.

Well as Tony Blair once remarked “If we can’t take that lot apart, we don’t deserve to be in government!” Unfortunately Tony is no longer around to take them apart; he is now a full time “Peace” envoy to rogue states in the Middle East, indeed he even has an office in one, in Jerusalem, and he may even visit Gaza one day or indeed enjoy the typical fish meal by the banks of the Euphrates in Baghdad surrounded by grateful Iraqi’s enjoying the restoration of peace he helped bring about there. Makes sense to me! (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/britain-in-iraq.html )

But there is a serious point to all this. Relations with Russia and Middle East Peace must start on the basis of Realpolitik, not comic book characterisations of Brutish Russians, plucky Georgians, Arab Terrorists, Holier than thou Israel. America and Europe’s overriding strategic interests lie in peace and co-operation with Russia based on mutual respect and understanding and a genuine and enduring Middle East Peace based on justice, not military adventurism subsidized by the U.S. of A. Let us say it loud and let us say it clear, whatever about any other considerations Europe and Europe have no great strategic interests in Israel or Georgia, indeed the opposite case could be made for both.

So let’s get back to reality not the sound bites of the Boy Wonder David’s *, Milliband in Kiev who is more interested in plotting coups at home than preventing them abroad and Cameron whose exercise of publicity without responsibility in Tbilisi gives opportunism a bad name. I’m sure David Cameron has many qualities but like his “holiday” in Devon being REAL is not one of them!

* Note; this is not meant to indicate a prejudice against all Davids.