The Pallywood Al-Durrah Affair

 

A story which I had managed to miss blogging about completely, was covered extensively by my friend neo-neocon who flew to Paris and attended yesterday the second of the three al-Durrah (four versions of spelling exist) defamation trials at Le Palais de Justice.

But first some background

French Judges are carefully examining harrowing television images of a Palestinian father shielding his son from a burst of bullets.

The ghastly television footage transformed 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura into an international martyr of the second intifada and ignited a lingering controversy. Six years later, France 2, the state-supported channel that captured the exclusive video, is fighting to protect its reputation in a French courtroom, where it is suing three Internet critics who questioned the channel's veracity.

To confront its on-line detractors, France 2 is invoking the 1881 press slander law that Émile Zola defied when he published "J'accuse" in the Dreyfus affair. In effect, it is an insult law that protects individuals or groups from defamation that "strikes at honor" and reputation.

The channel's lawsuits accuse three Web site operators - an Israeli translator, a Parisian doctor and a former candidate for Parliament turned media consultant - of impugning the station and its Jerusalem correspondent, Charles Enderlin, a gravelly voiced veteran whose work and writing have drawn plaudits from the mayor of Paris and President Jacques Chirac, among others. [...]

In his first report, which France 2 released without charge to other international television stations, Enderlin said simply that the father and his son "were the target of fire from Israeli positions." He was not actually there when the shooting happened but worked closely with a Palestinian cameraman who filmed the scene.

Since then, the debate has shifted from where the bullets came from - it is unclear whether it was Palestinian or Israeli fire - to whether the shooting was a form of street theater staged for propaganda effect.

Neo-neocon is in Paris covering the second trial involving "Pierre Lurçat, a 39 year old Jerusalem resident and president of an association called Liberty, Democracy and Judaism was sued because he is the leader of an organization listed as the legal operator of a Web site,www.liguededefensejuive.com, that urged readers to attend a planned demonstration against France 2 in 2002: "Come demonstrate against the lies of France 2," it said, and "the gross manipulation with an award for disinformation to France 2 and Charles Enderlin."

Those of you who are used to the free-for-all that is the internet are probably more than a bit perplexed as to what the big deal is here. That this sort of statement could be a cause of action in any court in a country that considers itself to be a modern, developed, progressive nation--not to mention a bastion of liberty--is ludicrous.

Let's put aside for the moment the question of whether the accusations this defendant made against France 2 and Enderlin are true, as blogger and historian Richard Landes (and, in the interests of full disclosure, acquaintance and friend of mine) has suggested at his website Second Draft and his blog Augean Stables.

Forget it? Isn't it of the utmost importance? Absolutely of the utmost importance. I happen to believe the evidence is strong that both France2 and Enderlin may have done exactly what Lurçat and the other two defendants have accused them of doing (at the very least the plaintiffs almost certainly lied in their original allegations that the Israelis deliberately killed the boy, and about the amount of footage they had and what it showed; I've written at some length on al Durah/France 2 before, here and here.)

Some more on her latest impressions, in case you missed "the gilded exterior with a hollow heart", whilst Richard Landes @ his blog Augean Stables has extensive backgrounder and has followed the trials personally from the beginning.

Whilst researching, I discovered this extraordinary piece dealing with the Muslims who aggressively demanded the 1741 Voltaire play to be canceled in Saint-Genis-Puilly, due to it's offensive subject. Why stop at blogging Pallywood, why not go 265 years back to the famous "French 18th Century champion of enlightenment" if you can get away with it...

Comments

[Ghost Dansing]

Doesn't matter Brian... regardless of your opinion you shouldn't mock people with horrible diseases... it's mean spirited to say the least.

The National Institute of Health has a nice WEBSITE on Stem Cells.

VI. What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized?
There are many ways in which human stem cells can be used in basic research and in clinical research. However, there are many technical hurdles between the promise of stem cells and the realization of these uses, which will only be overcome by continued intensive stem cell research.

Studies of human embryonic stem cells may yield information about the complex events that occur during human development. A primary goal of this work is to identify how undifferentiated stem cells become differentiated. Scientists know that turning genes on and off is central to this process. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are due to abnormal cell division and differentiation. A better understanding of the genetic and molecular controls of these processes may yield information about how such diseases arise and suggest new strategies for therapy. A significant hurdle to this use and most uses of stem cells is that scientists do not yet fully understand the signals that turn specific genes on and off to influence the differentiation of the stem cell.

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/

The Catholic Church is against embryonic stem-cell research because it involves the destruction of human embryos. Pope John Paul II says embryonic stem-cell research is related to abortion, euthanasia and other attacks on innocent life.

On August 9, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that he would support limited federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. It was a controversial decision he had weighed for some months. Catholic leaders, including Pope John Paul II and U.S. bishops, had implored the president to reject such funding. In the end, Bush allowed research funding only for those stem cells that already had been extracted from destroyed embryos. He prohibited further destruction of embryos for stem-cell research.

Although there was a sigh of relief among some religious leaders that the funding was so restricted, the U.S. bishops were quick to condemn the very idea of accommodating the intentional destruction of human embryos for research. Stem-cell research in itself is not wrong, but creating and/or destroying human life in order to "mine" stem cells is, according to Church teaching.

When President George W. Bush met with Pope John Paul II at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on July 23, 2001, the President was surprised that stem-cell research was on the pope's agenda. Yet the pope sees the United States as pivotal in setting moral social policies worldwide.

The pope exhorted the president to reject embryonic stem-cell research as a practice related to abortion, euthanasia and other assaults on innocent human life: "A free and virtuous society," said the pope, "which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death."

After the pope's address, President Bush delivered prepared remarks, applauding Pope John Paul II for carrying, in Mr. Bush's words, "the Gospel of life, which welcomes the stranger and protects the weak and innocent."

http://www.americancatholic.org/News/StemCell/
http://slatts.blogspot.com/2006/10/biology-101-explanation-of-stem-cells.html

http://jme.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/26/3/166.pdf
"Human embryonic stem cells and respect for life"
John R Meyer
2000;26;166-170 J. Med. Ethics

Stem Cell research will proceed in the world... It will be your religious duty to not avail yourself of its benefits Brian. God's hand has little or nothing to do with your politics.

[Red Violin]

Sorry, Off Topic:

While Mr. El Baradie (Mr. Secretary of State) and uselss Eu and UN were sleep, Iran Moves To Double Uranium Enrichment.

At this rate, hizbollah will be getting it's first shipment of nukes by next Norooz.

[brian]

At least Republicans aren't lying to Parkinson's patients about nonexistant cures if only those Democrats were elected. Remember Christopher Reeve? I guess Bush's policy on stem cells killed him. He would be alive and well, possibly starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys if only KerryEdwards had won. Who cares about all this Republican moral mumbo jumbo, right Ghost? Let's just cultivate human beings like ears of corn, to serve as spare parts bins for those of us lucky enough to not get harvested ourselves. Why not just clone Congerssional pages and market them as guilt free sexual slaves, or obediant errand gophers? How many future children are you willing to kill to save Micheal J. Fox's acting career?

[Ghost Dansing]

Anyway, I would side with Voltaire on this whole thing anyway.

The snowcone bouquette of what I think is Edelweiss is a very nice picture as well...perhaps a tribute to the Alpine area where the great Muslim confronation with Votaire took place?

"Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me, small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me.", Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein, Jr., "Edelweiss", film music, The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews, 1965.

In Austria, on St. Valentine's Day, it is traditional for a man to present a woman with a bunch of edelweiss, the implication being that he has risked his life climbing up to where the flowers grow. In fact, a GM version is grown commercially at lower altitudes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontopodium_alpinum

The Edelweiss Pirates (Edelweißpiraten) were a loose group of youth culture in Nazi Germany. They emerged in western Germany out of the German Youth Movement of the late 1930s in response to the strict regimentation of the Hitler Youth. Similar in many ways to the Leipzig Meuten, they consisted of young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 18, who had either evaded the Hitler Youth by leaving school (which was allowed at 14) or avoiding the Reich Labour Service and military service.

The origins of the Edelweißpiraten can be traced to the period immediately prior to World War II, as the state controlled Hitler Youth was mobilized to serve the state, at the expense of the leisure activities it had previously offered young people. This tension was exacerbated once the war began and youth leaders were conscripted. In contrast, the Edelweißpiraten offered young people considerable freedom to express themselves and to mingle with members of the opposite sex, whereas Nazi youth movements were strictly segregated by sex, the Hitler-Jugend (boys) and Bund Deutscher Mädel (girls). Though predominantly male, the casual meetings of the Edelweißpiraten even offered German adolescents an opportunity for sexual experimentation with the girls that tagged along with every group. The Edelweißpiraten used many forms and symbols of the organisations of the German Youth Movement, which were outlawed earlier. They used their tent (the Kohte), their style of clothing (the Jungschaftsjacke), and sang songs, all of which were prohibited symbols of the German Youth Movement. These symbols and also the traditions such as hiking came from members, who were previously in the groups of the German Youth Movement.

Memorial for the Cologne victims on Schönstein Str, next to the BahnhofApart from gatherings on street corners, the Edelweißpiraten engaged in hiking and camping trips, which kept them away from the prying eyes of the authoritarian Nazi regime. They often engaged in fights with the Hitler Youth and took great pride in attacking them. As one group, the "Navajos", sang:

Des Hitlers Zwang, der macht uns klein,
(Hitler's compulsion, it makes us small)
noch liegen wir in Ketten.
(still, we're bound in chains)
Doch einmal werden wir wieder frei,
(But one day we'll be free again)
wir werden die Ketten schon brechen.
(We'll smash through the chains)
Denn unsere Fäuste, die sind hart,
(For our fists, they are hard)
ja--und die Messer sitzen los,
(Yes, and the knives are attached loosely)
für die Freiheit der Jugend,
(For the freedom of Youth)
kämpfen Navajos.
(Navajos are struggling)

The Nazi response to the Edelweißpiraten was harsh. Individuals identified by the Gestapo as belonging to the various gangs were often rounded up and released with their heads shaved to shame them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelweiss_Pirates

[karen]

"At least Democrats aren't ridiculing people with Parkison's disease."

Yeah, you're right, GhostD- they are only using them. Go read Anchoress' post on the subject of ESCR vs ASCR- embryos aren't doing their Democratically acclaimmed job, it seems.

[Ghost Dansing]

Neo-neocon should stopped being a scared rabbit and become a proud Liberal again. Neocons have been soundly discredited by the results of their own policies becoming dominant and implemented by an incompetent Republican administration.

Those in fear are frequently enamored by bellicose talk and aggressive antics...forgotten is Teddy Roosevelt's admonishment to "walk softly and carry a big stick". Many were wooed by the loud mouth that walks with his britches down around his ankles... the fruits of neocon labors are now there for all to see...failure and incompetence. Neo-neocon should re-examine her roots...they are good ones. The Neocons are a mere weed in the garden of history, soon to meet the electric weed-eater (I think that is a Ghost Dansing original) :)

At least Democrats aren't ridiculing people with Parkison's disease.

"I'm a woman in my fifties, lifelong Democrat mugged by reality on 9/11. Born in New York, living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely leaving the fold and becoming that dread thing: a neocon. My friends and family are becoming sick of what they see as my inexplicable conversion, so I've started this blog to give vent to my frustration. I have a background as a therapist, and my politics make me a pariah in my profession, too. Little did I know that I moved in such politically homogeneous circles."

"What sort of liberty is it that produces a legal system that allows a well-known reporter a cause of action against a private citizen for calling his news report a lie? And what sort of liberty is it that produces a legal system that does away with the presumption of innocence for that defendant?"

Typical French... everything is the big drama!

I would say if the France 2 accusers have their evidence, it will certainly backfire on France 2. They certainly must have evidence, or else they would not have made such accusations. The vile French Press will finally get their comeuppance and hoisted on their own pitard to boot! Whooda thunk? Remind me to look-up "pitard"...I forgot what it is.

Civil law is primarily contrasted against common law, which is the legal system developed among Anglo-Saxon people, especially in England.

The original difference is that, historically, common law was law developed by custom, beginning before there were any written laws and continuing to be applied by courts after there were written laws, too, whereas civil law develops out of the Roman law of Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis (Corpus Iuris Civilis).

Thus, the difference between civil law and common law lies less in the mere fact of codification, but in the methodological approach to codes and statutes. In civil law countries, legislation is seen as the primary source of law. By default, courts thus base their judgments on the provisions of codes and statutes, from which solutions in particular cases are to be derived. Courts thus have to reason extensively on the basis of general rules and principles of the code, often drawing analogies from statutory provisions to fill lacunae and to achieve coherence. By contrast, in the common law system, cases are the primary source of law, while statutes are only seen as incursions into the common law and thus interpreted narrowly.

The underlying principle of separation of powers is seen somewhat differently in civil law and common law countries. In some common law countries, especially the United States, judges are seen as balancing the power of the other branches of government. By contrast, the original idea of separation of powers in France was to assign different roles to legislation and to judges, with the latter only applying the law (the judge as la bouche de la loi; 'the mouth of the law').

The term "civil law" as applied to a legal tradition actually originates in English-speaking countries, where it was used to lump all non-English legal traditions together and contrast them to the English common law. However, since continental European traditions are by no means uniform, scholars of comparative law and economists promoting the legal origins theory usually subdivide civil law into three distinct groups:

- French civil law: in France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Spain, Portugal and former colonies of those countries;
- German civil law: in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and the Republic of China (Taiwan);
- Scandinavian civil law: in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland.
- Chinese law is a mixture of civil law and socialist law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)

[mac Brachman]

Shout-out to GD: sorry, I got a little carried away on the previous thread. Sometimes I let the righteous anger just sail along, with little/no inhibition. Shalom, Mac Brachman

[mac Brachman]

Questions about the Mohammed Al-Durrah shooting incident were discussed at length in an article by Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows that ran in the June 2003 issue of that magazine: "Who Shot Mohammed Al-Durrah?" There have also been several books published about the incident, most of which call into question the official PA version of events, the one parrotted by so much of the media in Europe, the U.S., and (need I add it?) the Arab/Muslim world. Shalom, Mac Brachman

[Francis W. Porretto]

"That this sort of statement could be a cause of action in any court in a country that considers itself to be a modern, developed, progressive nation--not to mention a bastion of liberty--is ludicrous."

"Liberty" and "France" don't belong in the same sentence. France invented dirigiste economics, the closest approach to fascism since 120 of Italy's finest marksmen put the last six bullets into Mussolini's corpse. The French have no conception of freedom of speech; they routinely prosecute those of "incorrect" views (ask Robert Faurisson). Their educational system all but forbids competition. Their work relations are so tightly regulated that French employers have all but ceased to hire. If anyone is disqualified from speaking knowledgeably about freedom, it would be the French.

[Crusader.NoRegrets.]

Come on, guys, the Spaniards are smart enough to know when they're whipped. They don't need the "reminders" the French have had to deal with. They know who their new bosses are, and they're making nice, so the bosses don't have to start, you know, torching buses and ambushing cops.

[Red Violin]

"THE nation's most senior Muslim cleric has blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals."

Muslim leader blames women for sex attacks

Thanks, gringoman for the info. on the Moor's festival. It should be brought back to it's original splendor. NO PC, please...LOL

[gringoman]

Alexandra,

The reaction of AMM (Angry Muslim Man) to a 1741 Voltaire play on the subject of what Edward Gibbon calls "the Mohammedan superstition," is certainly illustrative. Since there are so many available illustrations, why not go back even centuries earlier? Like the "moros" or Moors or Muslims who conquered and occupied Spain for 800 years? Today in Spain they are still remembered in fiestas. But Mundo Politically Correct now reigns even there, especially in the new post-macho Espanya Socialista of cute Pedro and dulce Pablito. Forget the AMM's in France. No need for such Muslim Angries to complain in Spain today. The pc Spaniards now, apparently, have learned to censor themselves as well as any American or NYTimes type can. E.g. Some of the fun-loving fiestas used to throw effigies of Mohammed down from castle walls. That is now out. It's no-no, Pablo. In fact, they are no longer doing such traditional displays as exploding heads of Mohammed. What happened to the Spanish sense of fun that Henmingway once enjoyed? It sounds like there is not even a need for pc instructors giving classes in "sensitivity training," like we can get in the new Islamic Centers at Harvard and Georgetown etc, generously funded by Wahabbi gold dinars. The Spaniards can do it to themselves.

Doesn't it put you in the mood for ecumenics, or a nice dollop of multy-culty?

http://www.spot-on.com/archives/klosky/2006/10/christians_and_moors_in_spain.html