Carter on Palestinian Prisoners

KABOBfest
November 30, 2006

Jimmy Carter appeared on PBS’s Newshour. In his interview with Judy Woodruff, I was surprised to hear the kinds of arguments I never hear on American media outlets. Carter actually expressed the views of Palestinians. The former president, unlike most Americans, actually listened to what the Palestinians had to say — and checked it out himself. Can you imagine the panic of Israel’s PR specialists?

This exchange on the question of the captured Israeli soldier was impressive:

JUDY WOODRUFF: President Carter, people would listen to what you’re saying here, and they would read your book, and they would say, “He’s putting the onus here on the Israelis.” And many would return that by saying, “But wait a minute. It’s the Palestinians who continue to fire rockets into Israeli land. It’s the Palestinians who have kidnapped Israeli soldiers. It’s the Palestinians that continue to perpetuate terrorist acts against the Israelis.”

JIMMY CARTER: Sure, that’s what you say, and that’s the general consensus in the United States. The fact is that, when the Palestinians dug under the Israeli wall from Gaza and captured the Israeli soldier, one soldier, at that time, Israel was holding 9,200 Palestinians prisoner, including 300 children, almost 300, 293 children, some of them 12 years old, and holding almost 100 women prisoner,.

And immediately, the Palestinians who took that soldier said, “We want to swap this soldier for some of our women and children.” And the Israelis rejected that proposal and refused to swap at all with the Palestinians in the West Bank. That was the key to the issue.

So it’s right that the Palestinians took a soldier, which they should release. But for Israel to keep 9,000 Palestinians and not release any of them is something that you don’t mention in the question, and it’s generally not even known in this country.

Wow. At some point media heads will have to start asking tough questions to Israeli talking heads.

Source: KABOBfest

Le Pen now the pick of 17% of electorate

By Katrin Bennhold
November 30th, 2006

PARIS: While France’s other presidential candidates are busy vying for airtime and holding campaign rallies, Jean-Marie Le Pen is heading off to the Caribbean for a two-week vacation.

The veteran leader of the far-right National Front is in good spirits. Five months ahead of presidential elections, opinion polls show him with almost twice the support he had ahead of the 2002 ballot, when he stunned France by coming in second.

Le Pen says he is not worried about temporarily vanishing to the beach. For months he has watched his ratings climb as media attention stayed firmly focused on the two main contenders: Ségolène Royal on the left and Nicolas Sarkozy on the right.

Some commentators have compared him to a crocodile, lurking dangerously under water. He prefers another image.

“I’m like Zorro,” Le Pen said in an interview at National Front headquarters this week. “You rarely see him, but you know he’s there.” (….Full Article Here)