Tidig morgon i Kabul efter rätt sen ankomst i går kväll. Men man börjar att känna sig rätt hemtam här.
Närmast väntar frukost med Kai Eide – chef för den FN-mission UNAMA som har att samordna de omfattande internationella insatserna i landet.
Kai och jag känner varandra sedan ett antal decennier tillbaka.
Sedan följer ett digert program – omedelbart därpå med EU:s valobservatörer för att höra deras bedömningar av den process som nu pågår.
Och alldeles självklart har jag med mig EU:s särskilde representant här Ettore Sequi och Europakommissionen.
Alla Dessa Dagar 
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3769461,00.html
Since Mr Bildt is now the president of the EU at the moment it is time for him to pick up the phone and ask his EU friends what do they think about the AB antisemitic article.
As I said from day one: This is not an issue about freedom of speech – except that Mr. Bildt is taking weeks to use his ”right” to condemn this article.
Go ahead Carl, pick up that phone and later issue a statement. You have already caused too much damage to how Jews are treated in your country and around the world.
yal67
även för en Israel-vän börjar det nu bli litet jobbigt och contraproduktivt allt tjat på Carl Bildt. Acceptera vår svenska ståndpunkt. De flesta svenskar står bakom och stöder den svenska yttrandefriheten, den ska ingen minister lägga sig i. Propagandan får drivas på annat sätt och, jag tycker, inte spamma över i detta forum
Utrat,
For us outside of Sweden the spin of ”this is a Swedish issue about freedom of speech” is totally misunderstood (at best).
Freedom of speech was never the issue here.
Freedom of the press was never the issue here.
As far as I and many around the world, AB can say what they want and print what they want.
The only issue is that the Swedish government has not made it’s position on this issue clear. (correction: it kept it’s mouth shut – which maybe for Swedes is OK but this is not how it is done else where – if the Swedish government take active part in trying to resolve the middle east conflict it can not remain silent to false accusations)
So if you are a friend of Israel or not a friend of Israel – this issue is not going away. False accusations can not remain without an answer. years of false publications about Israel, years of of using double moral standards – ignoring what other countries and organizations do and blaming only Israel for what goes on – all this is what you could open your eyes to. Sure it is not easy to realize that you have allowed antisemitism to prosper (AB articles ARE antisemitic)
Keeping silent in the face of evil is evil by itself – a country that has the EU presidency can not remain forever ”Neutral” so I am sorry if I am stepping on issues that are uneasy for the Swedish people to deal with and you prefer forgetting all about it. Not going to happen.
Tudig? Vilket lustigt ord. Är det på riktigt eller något fel? Svara snälla Carl!
Carl har verkligen många bollar i luften! Tudig är tydligen en by i Kamerun där Ingenjörer utan gränser inlett ett vattenförsörjningsprojekt. Vet dock inte om EU är inblandat ännu.
yal67: We have a different opinion about the meaning of the sentence ”freedom of speech”. Accept and move on, just as we accept your right to think different.
Kris08,
Are you Carl’s communication adviser or something like that ?
smalanningen,
Thank you for kicking me out. I realize that ”freedom of speech” does not include ” the right to listen to views that you don’t like” but in any case. I am here and the people of Israel (seriously millions of Jews) are waiting to hear Carl Bildt response to the issue.
I have been following Israeli politics for over 30 years and I am amzazed how people like Obama and Bildt are able to get Netanyahu ( never voted for him and never will) the support of most Israelis. For crying outloud – this right wing head of the Likud get less than 25% of the votes in Israel and now Bildt and Obama turn him to the most popular PM in the last 5-10 years.. Good Job.
yal67
det råder enighet i vårt parlament om att bekämpa antisemitism – det räcker så! Lägg inte på mer ved på den här brasan. Det räcker som det är. Hur många läser ABs kultursida och hur många tror på vad som står där? Tror Du vi är helt obildade och dumma eller? Carl Bildt har hos oss ett anseende som vida överstiger Liebermann och vår utrikesminister kommer aldrig att fördöma något som stått i Aftonbladet däremot kommer han att arbeta för en säkrare värld utifrån sin position och möjlighet. Något annat är inte möjligt
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111229.html
Utrat,
I don’t read Swedish and google translation does have it’s limitation but I’ll try to do my best.
I am sorry. I don’t mean to offend you but I’ll say it directly and bluntly:
You don’t have a shred of an idea what is antisemitism.
you think that antisemitism is something like ” All Jews make hi interest loans” ?
Wake up we are in the 20th century – antisemitism has become much more sophisticated but the core of it has not change – thinking differently about Jews.
Do Jews have a right to homeland ? or only Palestinians do ? The Jewish people existed for over 3000 years. The term ”Palestinian people” was invented in the 1960s or 1970s.
Still both have the same right.
Do you support the right of the Palestinian people to be free in their country, an independent country called Palestine ?
I do.
Do you support the right of the Jewish/Israeli people for a country ? well this is the essence of Zionism.
OK let’s go to Afghanistan: Does you media report every time NATO drop a bomb on a wedding, a village, a funeral and kill12-40 civilians ? Is Sweden a member of NATO ? Are you a member of EU which has many NATO members ?
have you expressed concern to your EU partners about the killing of civilians in Afghanistan ? If not why is it only Gaza that is such a concern to you.
antisemitism is more than you think it is. Just look around you and if you can not find it have a short drive to Malamo where a team from israel need to play w/o audience in fear of attacks.
Are all the Malamo rioters in Jail ? have they broken the Swedish antisemitism laws by attacking a Jewish team ?
# utrat säger:
augusti 31, 2009 kl 1:06 e m
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111229.html
That is a start but not enough. It has to specifically deal with false and un even attention given to israel by your media and your government.
wake up to 21st century antisemitism: it is all around you.
utrat,
Jag läser dagligen Carl Bildts blog men kommenterar inte så ofta.
Ditt inlägg 12:33 är kort, tydligt men innehåller ganska mycket.
Jag tror även att de flesta av oss som läser blogen håller med Dig.
Mycket bra.
Jag håller också med utrat 12:33.
Undrar om vi borde gå tillbaks till regeln som infördes för ett eller två sedan (?) att kommentarerna hålls till ämnet av varje respektive CB-inlägg. Det vi har sett under den senaste tiden, och som lär fortsätta idag, kallas för spamming. Till slut blir det väldigt tröttsamt när en papegoja försöker dominera ett forum som detta.
yal67
Schmuck to
”You don’t have a shred of an idea what is antisemitism”
No you didn´t offend me at all ´cause one of my mantra is(from the Swedish author Wilhelm Moberg)”Don´t worry about other persons respect for you It is the respect for your self you can´t live without” As you don´t know anything of my background – but free to write whatever you want in this blog – I know from this your remark that you just pic up anything that suits your eventual purpose with this campaign. It´s actually meaningless to discuss further as you in the end always can tell ”You are antisemit!” Smash back to Aftonbladet not the Swedish system
Tack tg46
låt oss undvika spamming på den här fina bloggen!
jag kommer inte att spamma
In any case – including considering the sensible comment at 12:33 – it appears as if the goodhearted Minister Franco Frattini jumped the gun. Possibly because Italian governance traditionally keeps a somewhat tighter ship:
To suppress a paper here involves the ruin of the publisher, almost. But in Naples I think they speculate on misfortunes of that kind. Papers are suppressed there every day, and spring up the next day under a new name. During the ten days or a fortnight we staid there one paper was murdered and resurrected twice. The newsboys are smart there, just as they are elsewhere. They take advantage of popular weaknesses. When they find they are not likely to sell out, they approach a citizen mysteriously, and say in a low voice—”Last copy, sir: double price; paper just been suppressed!” The man buys it, of course, and finds nothing in it. They do say — I do not vouch for it — but they do say that men sometimes print a vast edition of a paper, with a ferociously seditious article in it, distribute it quickly among the newsboys, and clear out till the Government’s indignation cools. It pays well. Confiscation don’t amount to any thing. The type and presses are not worth taking care of.
[Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad, 1st print 1869]
utrat,
anyone who thinks that passing a law in parliament solves antisemitism does not understand 21st century antisemitism.
I did not say you are antisemite I wrote that you DO NOT UNDERSTAND what antisemitism is.
so let’s try again to test your reading skills:
I don’t read Swedish and google translation does have it’s limitation but I’ll try to do my best.
I am sorry. I don’t mean to offend you but I’ll say it directly and bluntly:
You don’t have a shred of an idea what is antisemitism.
you think that antisemitism is something like ” All Jews make hi interest loans” ?
Wake up we are in the 20th century – antisemitism has become much more sophisticated but the core of it has not change – thinking differently about Jews.
Do Jews have a right to homeland ? or only Palestinians do ? The Jewish people existed for over 3000 years. The term ”Palestinian people” was invented in the 1960s or 1970s.
Still both have the same right.
Do you support the right of the Palestinian people to be free in their country, an independent country called Palestine ?
I do.
Do you support the right of the Jewish/Israeli people for a country ? well this is the essence of Zionism.
OK let’s go to Afghanistan: Does you media report every time NATO drop a bomb on a wedding, a village, a funeral and kill12-40 civilians ? Is Sweden a member of NATO ? Are you a member of EU which has many NATO members ?
have you expressed concern to your EU partners about the killing of civilians in Afghanistan ? If not why is it only Gaza that is such a concern to you.
antisemitism is more than you think it is. Just look around you and if you can not find it have a short drive to Malamo where a team from israel need to play w/o audience in fear of attacks.
Are all the Malamo rioters in Jail ? have they broken the Swedish antisemitism laws by attacking a Jewish team ?
Israel, Iran and Obama
Conflict is inevitable unless the West moves quickly to stop a nuclear Tehran:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574348533106427974.html
yal67:
Are You afraid of Iran?
Bild:
yes.
I have some very good Iranian friends (in the US) who have family still in Iran.
My fear is that either my country will harm them or that their country will harm my family in Israel. (either directly or via hizbulla)
The 2006 war was ugly but it is nothing compare to what is coming. despite the UN forces Hezbollah has tripled the amount and range of their missiles and for sure will be Iran front base against Israel. As a response Israel will destroy large parts of Lebanon. This is going to be ugly and I feel bad about it and afraid. yes.
yal67
Let us hope that no country will start any attack.
Bild,
Israel has no option but to prevent a nuclear Iran. I hope you realize that. Check the size of israel on the map and you will understand why.
yal67
Do You think an attack on Iran will prevent it from
getting nuclear?
An Israeli attack on Iran would likely trigger a fierce response from Teheran and the Muslim world as a whole. What we have seen so far in modern history when it comes to terrorist attacks against Israel (and the West as a whole) would be like child´s play, I fear, compared to what would come.
I really hope (as a true friend of Israel) that the Israeli ledarship is not foolish enough to try this option: but I would not exclude it, judging from the extreme chuzpah of leading Israeli politics of today.
Prevent ?
no.
But will delay for sure and hopefully the world (who so far failed to take action) will take action and prevent.
tsolin,
It will be the option of last resort – but make no mistake – if needed it will be done.
as for the ”reaction” : I am not at all sure that terrorists need excuse to act. They have a bag load of excuses all the time. What they lack is opportunity.
yal67: One major problem with this issue is all the differences between Israel and Sweden – and all other countries for that matter, since this has become somewhat of an international thing.
I am pro-Israel and I do understand where all your anger is coming from, I think we all do since the history of Israel and the Jews above all is one of the first things we learn in history class and we never stop reminding each others about it.
Of course, there are anti-semites in Sweden. Probably a whole bunch of them. But not more than in any other country! This is truly a sad fact, but that is the way it is and there will always be idiots.
However, we’re used to discussing everything in Sweden and in these discussions we allow everyone to say what they want even if we don’t agree with what they say.
You might have noticed that we’re quite a calm kind of people and if someone brings something totally outrageous to the discussion, we tend to just ignore it as nonsense. There are pro’s and con’s due to this; it opens up the discussions since we face all sides of the problems etc, and the worst thing about it is that sometimes these kinds of articles pops up.
You should know that Aftonbladet is a pretty crappy news paper, much people read it but few does it for anything else than just a quick overview on what’s happening (and the sports section). Not many are interested in the editorial articles or what else contributions to the debate that can be found in the paper. And you’ll have to search for a long time until you can find someone that believes in and agrees with what is said there.
This is part of the reason why we have such an easy approach to all of this in Sweden: we don’t take the article seriously and therefore the whole spectacle around it is surprising to us.
I don’t think that the article has anything with anti-semitism to do. Many swedes are anti-Israel but not because of the Jews living there, but because of the relations between Israel and the US.
Israel is seen as the United States extended arm in the Mid East, and people aren’t too fond of the US in Sweden. Much of this is the media’s fault, where Aftonbladet is playing a great part in the constant defamation of the US.
My point is that we don’t take the article too seriously, and neither should you. It is a dumb article, I agree with you on that, and it is a shame that any paper will publish something like it – but as long as it’s not claiming that it’s presenting facts… we can’t do much about it.
Carl Bildt has said that he doesn’t agree with what the author of the article says, but that he still can’t condemn the article. We simply don’t do that, and we hope that you can respect it.
I think that the article has been condemned enough by media and people all over the world for anyone to still consider it as serious stuff… so the best for all is to just move on.
This is a one time thing and if it ever happens again, which I absolutely doubt, it won’t be excused this easily.
arpharazon:
The Aftonbladet article received the attention it deserved. Any desire of Aftonbladet to publish a follow-up in the culture section on rumors regarding IDF taking blood of palestinian children for cooking purposes will be weight very carefully in spite of the fact that we do have freedom of speach in Sweden.
The organ theft article is part of Swedish journalism history, as is the Swedish government’s lacking of appropriate response, which has been carefully noted.
flyktingar säger: IDF taking blood of palestinian children for cooking purposes
Den som alltid lika sannfärdiga israeliska version av historien har härmed också noterats.
Otroligt!
Aftonbladet Kultur har publicerat en kopia av Boströmartikeln.
”Okunnigt om antisemitism”
Efter ett avståndstagande av antisemitism upprepas Boströms spekulationsharang Jude – Organhandel – Israeliska fösvaret – Organstöld – med antiisraeliska uttalanden insprängda.
Texten avslutas med den brasklapp, som gör artikeln till antisemitisk kultur:
”Plundrades de på sina organ, eller är detta bara en urban legend som saknar täckning?”
Signerat
– Mattias Gardell –
Sorry Mattias, utan juden i New Jersey på andra sidan jordklotet som säljer organ, funkar inte texten. Du behöver den kopplingen. Att den, som du själv uttrycker ”är tunn”, är ett understatement.
Carl Bildt, ska vi få höra något mummlande denna gång, som förra eller kanske inget alls?
Detta slår trots allt Aftonbladet:
”Tusentals kroppar”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3770443,00.html
Israeli Organ Harvesting, By Alison Weir
http://counterpunch.org/weir08282009.html
Judisk pojkes njurar till palestinskt barn.
Platsar inte i Aftonbladet.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251145167369&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Chris,
so now you are quoting Neo-Nazis ?
what is the point in all that ?
Yal67
arpharazon,
thank you for your kind words.
May Sweden remain as it is for a long long time. It sounds like a prefect environment. (boring but comfortable) Here life (like the Chinese curse) are more interesting.(unfortunately)
Donald Bostrom Swedish Journalist on Israeli organ harvesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZxyD931dEQ