“From a report in today’s Independent: Mossad boss heads for exit after Dubai murder fallout

Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, could step down in three months after the country’s Prime Minister refused to extend his term, a television channel has claimed.

The unconfirmed reports will prompt speculation that Mr Dagan, 65, is being ousted over a botched operation in January to kill a Hamas operative in Dubai that led to a diplomatic backlash from some of Israel’s closest allies.

Meir Dagan, Mossad boss. Employed to 'notch' murders, not to botch them

This is sad news indeed. One hates to hear of anyone losing their job, especially so close to retirement age.

Apparently the Israeli leadership”s concern was not that Dagan orchestrated murders. That was his job. The problem was he botched it.

The Dubai murder-debacle, which led to a souring of relations even with the usually supine Irish, British and Australian Governments, was ‘the final straw’.

Even so, the story reports that Dagan wasn’t a total failure:

Under his watch, Mossad is believed to have notched up a series of hits, including the assassinations of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus and Brigadier General Mohammed Suleiman, a senior figure in Syrian intelligence.

“Notched up a series of hits”?!

The biggest problem illustrated by this story, to my mind, is cynicism itself. It’s bad enough that utter maniacs are at the helm of a nuclear-armed, psychopathic Apartheid-type State. But what has happened to western journalism, and indeed to the entire western Enlightenment tradition, when the murderous goings-on of these people are reported – and eventually come to be regarded – as normal?

To be fair, The Independent is by no means the worst offender here. It’s one of the more enlightened western mainstream newspapers.

For shameless, in-your-face pro-Zionist/terrorist bias, it’s hard to beat the New York Times, whose reporter Deborah Solomon recently interviewed Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni.

Tzipi Livni, daughter of romantic terrorists

Asked about her parents, Livni was frank: “Both of them were in the Irgun,” Livni said. “They were freedom fighters, and they met while boarding a British train. When the British Mandate was here, they robbed a train to get the money in order to buy weapons.”

To this interesting admission that her interviewee was the daughter of anti-British terrorists, Solomon responded “It was a more romantic era”.

At least two national leaders have a clue. Meeting in Caracas, Presidents Chavez of Venezuela and President Assad of Syria discussed Israel:

Someday the genocidal state of Israel will be put in its place, in the proper place and hopefully a real democratic state will be born,” Mr Chavez said…. Mr Assad called Israel a state “based on crime, slaughter.”

It looks like it’s been a good month for Venezulan President Hugo Chavez.

Viva Hugo Chavez!

This blog has taken a pro-Chavez editorial line from the outset – and sees no need for change on that front. Viva Chavez!

I put Hugo Chavez’ lucky run down to good karma – that and the truly dreadful karma of his enemies. But a man may be known by his foes as much as by his friends – and that’s another reason Chavez has my respect.

During Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza, President Chavez led the world by breaking diplomatic ties with the rogue Apartheid State.

Then came an attack on a synagogue in Caracas. Hugo Chavez was widely blamed in the western press for fermenting an ‘anti-Semitic’ attack, although no real evidence was given to support the claim. For example, David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, said “The total disrespect of a Jewish house of worship reflects the escalating climate of hostility towards Jews in Venezuela”

However, it seems the Venezuelan police may be able to clear up mysteries like the Caracas synagogue attack quite promptly. It must make the FBI green with envy. Within a few days of the desecration, there were 11 arrests. Guess what – seven were policemen – and one of the arrestees was a security guard at the synagogue! The local Jewish community quitely thanked Chavez for prompt action in solving the crime. The rest of the world shut up.

Next came the referendum over electoral terms. The position supported by Chavez won this time, rather clearly. It did not stop the western mass media from churlishly reporting Hugo Chavez scores a hollow victory.

We are warned that Chavez could be President until mid-century, under the new law. Of course, there’s a small matter of winning elections until then, but clearly the naysayers are nervous. They look at Fidel Castro, they look at the excellent public health systems these independently-minded latins can build – and they worry. Good, I say! Let them be worried! Here’s an example of them worrying aloud:

Using a long and nearly incomprehensible referendum question, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela won the right Sunday to remove constitutional limits on terms of office. As long as Venezuela’s voters continue to elect him, Chavez could now stay in office until 2049, as he once said he wants to do.Even if we don’t take that literally, it is still unsettling to hear Chavez, the head of Venezuela’s government since 1998, say he needs to remain in power until at least 2019 to realize his goal of revolutionizing the oil-rich country’s economic and social structure.

Today comes the latest twist in President Chavez’ lucky run. No-one else that I’ve noticed is scoring this as a victory for Chavez – and to my knowledge, he hasn’t commented. But somehow, I can’t imagine he’s too devastated…

It turns out that a significant slice of Venuzuela’s wealthiest citizens entrusted their fortunes to a Texan banker and entrepreneur called Allen Stanford. He seemed such a nice and trustworthy guy – and the Antiguan dual national has a knighthood as well.

But now the proprietor if Stanford International Bank (SIB) has done a runner. Reuters informs us that Stanford had billions from Venezuela wealthy:

Venezuelan clients of SIB include professionals with a few thousand dollars on deposit and others who had invested as much as tens of millions of dollars, said the industry source, who asked not to be named.

'Sir' Allen Stanford - who'd have thought a billionaire Texan cricket fan and Basil Fawlty lookalike might double as a swindler?

“We put our money overseas because in Venezuela there is no security for investors,” said a retiree, who stood in line at SIB with her husband and whose savings had come from home rentals.

When will Venezuela’s wealthiest folk figure out there is no security in Texan conmen? You’d think – after eight years of George W. Bush – they might have worked that out by now…

Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez may gain a reprieve from the incessant battering he’s copped from the Venezuelan elite since he first came to power.

For a while, they may focus more on rebuilding their finances and less on tormenting a fine President who works courageously for the majority of his people – not just for the privileged few.

Evo Morales, says NO to Israeli mass murder

Bolivian President Evo Morales has followed the lead of Venezuela and cut diplomatic relations with the Zionist State.

This comes as the Gaza death toll rises to over 1,000 and condemnation of Israel over war crimes against Gaza reaches an unprecedented crescendo. Aljazeera reports:

Morales said on Wednesday that he would seek to get top Israeli officials, including Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, charged with “genocide” in the International Criminal Court.

The Bolivian president also dismissed the United Nations and its “Insecurity Council” for its “lukewarm” response to the crisis and said the general assembly should hold an emergency session to condemn the invasion.”Considering these grave attacks against … humanity, Bolivia will stop having diplomatic relations with Israel,” Morales told diplomats in the Bolivian capital, La Paz.

He also said that Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, should be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize for failing to stop the invasion.

Meanwhile, Haaretz claims that Venezuela, which expelled the Israeli ambassador last week, is backing away from a full diplomatic break.

Hugo Chavez: unlike Bush, Israel treats him with respect

One thing is noticeable. Israeli politicians are not bragging about calling up Hugo Chavez and telling him what to do.

They treat leaders like Chavez and Morales with respect. As they should.

_______________________________-

Here’s a short extract from Demands grow for Gaza war crimes investigation in Tuesday’s Guardian newspaper:

The Israeli military are accused of:

• Using powerful shells in civilian areas which the army knew would cause large numbers of innocent casualties;
• Using banned weapons such as phosphorus bombs;
• Holding Palestinian families as human shields;
• Attacking medical facilities, including the killing of 12 ambulance men in marked vehicles;
• Killing large numbers of police who had no military role.

Israeli military actions prompted an unusual public rebuke from the International Red Cross after the army moved a Palestinian family into a building and shelled it, killing 30. The surviving children clung to the bodies of their dead mothers for four days while the army blocked rescuers from reaching the wounded.