United Nations Security Council fiddles while the Middle East keeps going up in flames

Somehow it always come down to blaming the Jews

Paul McGeough in The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday:

While upheaval continues in the Middle East, the idea that the Obama administration was more concerned about its strategic interests than the human rights of more than 300 million Arabs was confirmed when Washington torpedoed a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement-building in occupied Palestinian territory.

Anne Bayefsky on Pajamas Media on February 18:

The spectacle of the UN Security Council engaged in one more Israel-bashing exercise, while the Iranian and Arab world burns, is a stark example of the organisation's moral turpitude and irrelevance for the 21st century. Iranians are rioting today against a vicious government that stones women for alleged adultery, murders homosexuals for the crime of existing, amputates limbs by judicial decree, brutalises anyone wanting free speech, and is currently holding two Americans hostage for hiking.

Is there a security council resolution in the works on the dying and the dead in Iran? Bahrain? Libya? Tunisia? Egypt? Algeria? Not the slightest possibility. The only thing on the table at the UN is a statement that it is illegal for any Jew to live on any land that is claimed by Palestinian Arabs.

Inflaming racism! Peter Hartcher in The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday:

Scott Morrison decided to see if he could win some political points by inflaming racism and resentment. Morrison publicly raised objections to the government's decision to pay for air fares for some of the survivors of the Christmas Island boat wreck to travel to Sydney for the funerals of their relatives.

Some were Christian funerals, others were Muslim. But all of them were foreigners, all of them were boatpeople, all of them were dark-skinned, and to Morrison that made them all fair game.

Who mentioned race? Scott Morrison with Chris Smith on 2GB Sydney last Monday:

Chris Smith: Today a story is emerging that 12 asylum seekers -- killed in the December Christmas Island tragedy -- are to be buried in Sydney tomorrow.And here's the rub; we can now confirm that the A[ustralian] F[ederal] P[olice] will pick up the tab for the funerals, whilst the Department of Immigration, through your tax dollars, is funding the flights. Tell me I'm dreaming here. Every other Australian, if someone they love died in another state or another territory, the government wouldn't be paying to get your loved one to your home so you can bury him or her. I have on the line the shadow immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison. What do you know about what I have said.

Morrison: Well I've got to say that I'm quite mystified. I mean, we all believe that it was a terrible tragedy that occurred back in December. There is no issue about that. But this on the face of it just doesn't strike me as a reasonable request, the cost involved. I mean this is a government that just doesn't understand the value of the taxpayer's money and when they run out of it they just come and ask you for more with more taxes.

An "AFR Exclusive" on page one of The Australian Financial Review yesterday.

STOKES in $3.5 billion media deal

Er, not so exclusive. Page one of The Australian yesterday.

STOKES to unite media interests with $5.4bn merger of Seven, WAN

The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday

STOKES in three-way merger deal

The Age yesterday.

STOKES to strengthen media grip

Yeah, but the AFR knew it first.

The Australian Financial Review exclusively confirmed the details of the transaction on Saturday

No it didn't. The Australian on January 19.

Pundits punt on Stokes consolidating Seven's media investments

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