wallOutside a Palestinian refugee settlement in Jersualum

 OK.

That‘s a wall.

But the rest is chain-link.

Simon Plosker from pro-Israeli media watchdog HonestReporting writes::

[author and former diplomat] Eamon Delaney‘s book review for the Irish Independent of one author’s experiences in the Middle East does not appear at first sight to be contentious.

However, it includes the following statements:

‘Her first [Dervla Murphy’s book], entitled A Month by the Sea – Encounters in Gaza, described conditions in the crowded Mediterranean strip of Gaza, which is surrounded by Israel, run by Hamas and sustained by smuggling.’

Gaza is not “surrounded by Israel.” It also has a border with Egypt, which is also blockading the Hamas-controlled Strip.

Referring to the West Bank/Judea & Samaria, Delaney states that the territory is:

‘Surrounded by a huge wall and chopped into zones by the Israeli military.’

Except the area is not “surrounded by a huge wall.” Firstly, considering the territory borders Jordan, it cannot considered to be “surrounded.” Secondly, Israel’s security barrier is not a “huge wall” but is over 95 percent chain link fence.

As for the statement that the territory is “chopped into zones by the Israeli military,” this is also inaccurate.

The territory is divided into Areas A (under full Palestinian Authority civil and security control), B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control), and C (full Israeli civil and security control). These areas were created not by the IDF but as a result of the Oslo Accords as negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians.

Later, in what we hope is simply a careless typo, Yad Vashem is referred to as “the holocaust museum.” The Holocaust is commonly and correctly spelled with a capital “H” to affirm that it refers to a specific and unique historical event. To spell it with a lower case “h” is simply incorrect and in doing so makes the Holocaust of the Jewish people indistinguishable from other historical genocides.

Ultimately, Eamon Delaney’s book review is an example of how careless and inaccurate language can subtly alter even a relatively neutral piece of writing concerning Israel.

FIGHT!

Irish Independent Gets Careless With the Facts (HonestReporting)

Dervla Murphy on life on the ground in the West Bank (Eamon Delaney, Irish Independent)

above2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvVAScUB9P8

Rathgall Hillfort, Wicklow.

Part of series of sneaky aerial ‘peeks’  that also include beautiful Ballymoon Castle, Co Carlow

Darren writes;

I’m making a collection of ruins, castles, scenic areas and other interesting places/ things around Ireland as seen by quad copter. I’m putting them up on YouTube to share with the world. I’m also making as much use of the quadcopter as possible to justify the cost of it to my long suffering wife :)

I would love to get suggestions to hidden gems in their local area or anything else in Ireland that might look great from the sky. All suggestions or ideas are welcomed!

Anyone?

SpéirView

90371669

Yikes.

This afternoon.

Leon writes:

Ryanair CEO Michael O’ Leary reflected in the Ryanair Gold Cup after it was announced in Dublin today that the airline will sponsor the 100,000 Grade 1 Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday, April 5th. Formerly known as the Powers Gold Cup….

Saddles will have a weight limit of 10kg.

Racing news: New sponsor for Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in April (Sky Sport)

(Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

00016599A cell at Wheatfield prison, Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, Dublin

An open letter to Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald.

Madam

I am writing to ask for your response to the treatment of inmates who were sentenced to detention by the courts last week for breach of an injunction restricting their right to assembly, free association and protest under Irish constitutional and European law.

The prisoners have informed us that they have been in solitary confinement since their transfer to Wheatfield Prison, being allowed 1 hour in 24 outside the confines of their locked single prison cells.
Solitary confinement is internationally regarded as the physical isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day.

Meaningful contact or interaction with other people is generally reduced to a minimum, with prisoners in many jurisdictions only allowed out of their cells for one hour of solitary exercise each day.

In Ireland, protection prisoners are defined under Rule 63 of the Prison Rules 2007as those prisoners considered to be under threat or at risk from other prisoners “who are reasonably likely to cause significant harm to him”.

Prisoners may be put ‘on protection’ either as a result of a request from the prisoner or after consideration by the prison governor. The majority of prisoners who seek protection do so at committal stage.

The prison service attributes this practice to prisoners’ fear of repercussions related to issues that occurred outside prison (drug debts, gang rivalry and perceived cooperation with Gardaí) rather than the fear of random acts of violence

Isolation or solitary confinement reduces socially and psychologically meaningful contact to a level that is too low for many prisoners to remain mentally healthy. The adverse health effects associated with isolation range from insomnia and confusion to hallucinations and mental illness. These health risks can arise after only a few days and can increase with each additional day spent in isolation
I demand, Madam, on behalf of my friends that you ttop this unjust, illegal, immoral and unwarranted persecution of the jailed water protesters and issue an explanation for the treatment they have received and an apology to them and their distraught families.

Paul Madden
Dublin Says No

Dublin Says No (Facebook)

(Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

41

life

Further to much correspondence.

Anne writes:

I am surprised you haven’t featured the debate around Stephanie Roche/Life magazine [racy photoshoot of world’s best goal nominee in yesterday’s Sunday Independent magazine] considering  you usually make a noise about women’s football. As someone who has played football with Step I am happy for her if she is happy with the pictures. What I would like to know is whether she had to dress like that to be on the cover?

patrick-oscars-2015-4551-superJumbo Director Alejandro González Iñárritu (centre) with Best Film Oscar for Birdman

What do you mean you ‘weren’t invited’?

What you may need to know:

1.  The night’s big shocker was Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman bagging four golden naked guys, including the two biggies for best director and best picture. One-time favourite 12 Years of Emo – sorry – Boyhood took home a single, solitary statuette.

2. First-time presenter Neil Patrick Harris was… okay. What worked: The Birdman bit and an early salvo at the inherent whiteness of the nominees (at least David Oyelowo got a good seat). What didn’t work: His opening number (ugh) with dancing stormtroopers and Jack Black (double ugh), not to mention choosing to follow the best short documentary winner’s heartfelt speech about suicide with an ill-judged joke about the woman’s dress.

3. Thank you count – Spouses and/or parents: 23. Agents: 11. Wes Anderson: 6. God: 1. It was a bad year for false idols with Harvey Weinstein failing to garner a single expression of gratitude.

4. Patricia Arquette gave a well-received (mainly by Meryl Streep) speech about equal pay, while John Legend and Common used the opportunity to express some rousing and heartfelt sentiments on civil rights. But the best speech of the night was undoubtedly Ida’s Pawel Pawlikowski, who gallantly barrelled through not one but two rounds of cut-off music. Well played, Sir.

5 In spite of some fine work from John Travolta, the weirdest presenter award goes to Terence Howard, who tried to break the microphone and seemed to be publicly working through some personal issues.

6. Commiserations to Irish nominees Cartoon Saloon, Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney. Sadly both Song of the Sea and Boogaloo and Graham lost out in their respective categories.

7. If you’re shocked or surprised that your personal favourite didn’t get the love, then The Hollywood Reporter’s series of “Brutally Honest” interviews with Academy members casts a light on the process behind who gets what and why.

8. For example, one anonymous voter picked Leviathan (2014) for best foreign film based on the poster. “I didn’t get around to seeing any of them. I shouldn’t have voted, but I did. Everywhere I looked, I saw pictures of this stupid carcass and I thought, ‘That’s a cool-looking thing.’ And I voted for a movie based on the dead whatever it was in the ad thinking that it looked cool.”

9. And it gets worse: On casting his vote for best documentary feature, he added “I didn’t see any of the nominees, but goddamn Virunga is running commercials late-night every freaking hour, and those gorillas, man — I was like, ‘Wow, that looks heavy.’ And I voted for it.” So now you know.

10. Broadsheet Verdict: As these things go, it wasn’t bad but it was far from exceptional. But more importantly – who were you wearing? This special was brought to you in association with Quinnsworth Yellow Pack Vodka – even better than the real thing.Highlights of the 87th Academy Awards are on RTÉ2 tonight at 9pm.

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

Broadsheet.ie