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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

What if they made a flotilla and no one came?

Beset by breakdowns and delays, the flotilla of fools may now only depart next week. It is also losing passengers - down to about 300-350 from an original expectation of 1,500.
“There have been many obstacles and complaints. Some boats are not ready and it is not clear when we will sail, although we expect it will be in the coming week,” Ewa Jasiewicz, a leader of the Free Gaza Movement from Poland, told The Jerusalem Post from Greece. “We cannot rule out the possibility that it will be pushed off until the beginning of next week.”

...

“Insurance has been withdrawn, one of the ships was sabotaged and Greek authorities have not given all of the permits,” Jasiewicz said about the delays.

Jasiewicz rejected IDF assertions reported in the Post on Tuesday that intelligence obtained by Israel shows that some of the passengers plan to attack soldiers and are bringing sacks of sulfur on board to pour on the soldiers and then set them on fire.

“We have no record of that. It is a false claim,” she said.

“All of the passengers have been trained in nonviolence and noncompliance tactics. The whole idea is not to have contact with the Israeli army. We are not seeking any violent confrontation... The only violence we have heard of is coming from the Israeli army.”
YNet adds:
Fewer than 300 activists will be participating in the Gaza flotilla – a much smaller number than originally expected, with an additional decrease expected.

An internal flotilla memorandum which reached Ynet reveals that the flotilla is expected sail with fewer than 300 participants and a few dozen journalists, assuming that no further delays or incidents occur before the flotilla sets sail.

According to the memorandum the Italian ship Stefano Chiarim is expected to have 65 people on board – the largest number of passengers in the flotilla. The Canadian ship "Tahrir" will have 48 passengers and the American ship Audacity of Hope, which is currently being held at port by Greek authorities, is set to have 40 passengers.

There are an additional seven ships from Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Greece and Norway which are expected to set sail. The organizers' most optimistic scenario is that there will be 292 passengers with an additional 36 journalists.

But it is highly likely that some of the ships will be declared unfit to sail. In addition, it is possible that the Greek government will withhold a departure authorization, making the number of participants even smaller.
That's less people than participated in the last flotilla. Here's a chart for you to keep score:

And now the IDF may confiscate the ships (a mistake that was made last time was not confiscating them) in order to deter future flotillas. Maybe we can make them into a museum or use them for afternoon cruises for disadvantaged Israeli kids.

Heh.

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8 Comments:

At 8:55 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Carl.
Sink them in front of Gaza harbor make an artificial reef it will increase the fish population ,in a way they will aid feed Gaza.

 
At 9:01 AM, Blogger Sarah said...

Are the Journalists counted in the passenger totals? Or are they in addition to the passengers? If they are included then they are over 10% journalists.

 
At 9:14 AM, Blogger NormanF said...

They have so many problems they may never set sail. And they're losing money every day they sit idle in port.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of folks.

Heh

 
At 9:15 AM, Blogger Daisy said...

God forbid to have Israeli kids ride the boats, if confiscated. They sound like death traps - good for the scrap heap.

 
At 11:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/gaza-activists-blinded-faith

they are eating their own

 
At 3:23 PM, Blogger Sunlight said...

I haven't heard any of the (R) candidates in the U.S. meniton "THE AUDACITY OF HOPE" as the U.S. contribution to the ATTACK on Israel, replete with OBAMA friends and supporters... and Obama has not said boo about it as far as the ripping off of his own book title to lead the attack. Maybe he is the community organizer for the whole thing. The (R)s should make a campaign ad out of even just this much info...

 
At 8:36 PM, Blogger syscoohm said...

Since a good number of Turks were killed by Israel last time, its not surprising the numbers are down!

 
At 1:13 AM, Blogger anikraze said...

coming from an american... you are a racist fat bigot

 

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