Overnight Open Thread
Open | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 10:46:21 pm PST
Col. Edwards: You speak of solarbonite, but just what is it?
Eros: Take a can of your gasoline. Say this can of gasoline is the sun. Now you spread a thin line of it to a ball, representing the Earth. Now, the gasoline represents the sunlight, the sun particles. Here we saturate the ball with the gasoline, the sunlight. Then we put a flame to the ball. The flame will speedily travel around the Earth, back along the line of gasoline to the can, or the sun itself. It will explode this source, and spread to every place that gasoline, or sunlight, touches. Explode the sunlight here, Gentlemen, and you explode the universe. Explode the sunlight here, and a chain reaction will occur, direct to the sun itself. And to all the planets that sunlight touches. To every planet in the universe. This is why you must be stopped. This is why any means must be used to stop you. In a friendly manner, or as it seems, you want it.
— Plan 9 from Outer Space
Gazacam
Science | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 5:15:28 pm PST
This is a live webcam from Gaza — we’re testing some new embedding code to see if the streaming works. (The video may take a while to start up...)
CNN's Staged Video Update: Let's See the Uncut Footage
Middle East | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 4:59:52 pm PST
A good point about the disputed CNN Gaza hospital video, from Richard Landes: Let’s See Mr. Mashharawi’s Rushes.
Video: All the Things You Are
Video | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 4:13:40 pm PST
Some Saturday music: the Keith Jarrett Trio with a stellar version of “All the Things You Are.”
Saturday Afternoon Open
Open | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 12:01:39 pm PST
The traditional midday thread is now open for folderol and lollygagging...
CNN's Staged Video Updates: The Norwegian Connection
Media | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 11:09:37 am PST
European LGF reader “morning star” points out another interesting connection between the Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, and “freelance photographer” Ashraf Mashharawi:
Please note that Mads Gilbert knows or is part of a group in his home town Tromsoe in Norway, who long have planned to make a film together with Ashraf Mashharawi (the famous “freelance cameraman” in the video).
See
http://www.tromso-gaza.no/styrereferat081008.pdf
and
http://www.tromso-gaza.no/styrereferat081111.pdf
This group, which promotes friendship between Tromsoe and Gaza, also met Ahmed Mashharawi, a film maker with whom Ashraf Mashharawi has worked together, at a film festival.
This means Gilbert and Mahharawi probably knew each other before this incident.
And more connections surface; here’s a 15-minute documentary at the Danish site counteract.tv, titled “From the Camp.“ The credits contain several names that will be familiar if you’ve followed the threads:
Cameraman & Director: Ahmed Mashharawi
Script: Raid Dawoud
Editing: Ashraf Mashharawi
Narrator: Paul Martin
UPDATE at 1/10/09 12:04:46 pm:
Translations of the PDF files linked above:
(Hat tip: Sugiero.)
CNN's Staged Video Updates
Media | Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 9:17:11 am PST
Here’s an interesting update to the story of the obviously staged video from Gaza promoted and vouched for by CNN.
The company that provided this video story to CNN and several other news outlets is World News & Features, as we pointed out yesterday after CNN published their defense of the piece.
At the lower right of the World News & Features front page, we find a link to Nepras.net as the designer of the site.
A WHOIS lookup for worldnf.tv reveals that the domain is hosted by Nepras.net:
Domain Name: WORLDNF.TV
Created on: 07-Feb-06
Expires on: 07-Feb-09
Last Updated on: 07-Feb-08Administrative Contact:
Martin, Paul
World News & Features
High gatte
London N6 6AT
United KingdomTechnical Contact:
Martin, Paul
World News & Features
High gate
London N6 6AT
United KingdomDomain servers in listed order:
NS1.NEPRAS.NET
NS2.NEPRAS.NET
And the primary contact and general manager for Nepras.net is none other than the “freelance photographer” who filmed that hospital scene, Ashraf Mashharawi.
Overnight, I received several more emails from doctors and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), all expressing the opinion that the video is staged and that the “CPR” shown is an obvious fraud, for many reasons. So far, not one doctor has written to say the technique shown in the video might be genuine.
UPDATE at 1/10/09 11:21:43 am:
And more connections to Hamas; the official website of the Hamas television station (Aqsa TV) was registered by Mashharawi’s company:
Domain Name: aqsatv.ps
Creation Date: 2006-03-13
Expiration Date: 2009-03-13
Status: ActiveDomain Name Owner:
Name: aqsatv
Address: gaza
Tel:[redacted]
Fax:
Country: PalestineAdministrative Contact:
Name: aqsatv
Address: gaza
Tel: [redacted]
Fax:
Country: PalestineTechnical Contact:
Name: aqsatv
Address: gaza
Tel: [redacted]
Fax:
Country: PalestineRegistrar:
Name: Nepras For Media & IT
Address: [redacted]
Tel: [redacted]
Fax: [redacted]
WebSite: www.nepras.com
