This thread was moved here from the Middle East News & Politics forum.

Dead children are dead children.  Selective outrage belittles the "in the face of terror, we are all humans" proclamation, used only when it is convenient.

Mar 22, 2012 -- 5:13AM, CharikIeia wrote:

Plus, Catherine Ashton is a political nobody - a bad joke of European politics.

Did anyone pay attention to anything she said before this?

If not, why pay attention now?

From wikki

Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, PC (born 20 March 1956) is a British Labour politician who in 2009 became the European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Under the Treaty of Lisbon this post is combined with the post of Vice-President of the European Commission.

Her political career began in 1999 when she was created a Life Peer (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) by the Labour Government under which she took on a ministerial position (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State) in the Department for Education and Skills in 2001, and subsequently in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Justice. She became a Privy Councillor PC in May 2006.

Catherine Ashton was appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Queen's Privy Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet in June 2007. As well as Leader of the Lords, she held responsibility in the House of Lords for equalities issues, and she was instrumental in steering the EU's Treaty of Lisbon through the UK's upper chamber. In 2008, she succeeded Peter Mandelson as Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission.

In December 2009 she became the first person to take on the newly enlarged High Representative role for the EU that was created by the Treaty of Lisbon.^[1] As the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, she is the highest paid female politician in the world.^[2]

. . .

Responsibilities as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

As High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a post that was combined with Vice-President of the European Commission, Ashton was elected by the Heads of State and Government of the 27 European Union countries at a summit in Brussels.

Besides representing the EU at international forums and coordinating the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, the High Representative also:

• As Vice-President of the European Commission, she participates in the weekly meeting of the European Commission.

• Participates in the meetings of the European Council, where all EU leaders meet.

• Is head of the European External Action Service

• Responsible for the European Union Special Representatives

• President of the Foreign Affairs Council

• President of the European Defence Agency

• Chair of the board of the European Union Institute for Security Studies

During her term in office she and her team have given priority to a number of European and global issues. These include:

• Participation in the Quartet negotiations on the Middle East Peace Process

• Leading European negotiations with Iran over its controversial Nuclear programme

• Responding to the Arab Spring with a new European Neighbourhood Policy (May 2011), to provide funding and market access to North Africa

• Supporting democratic forces in Libya by opening an EU office in Benghazi in May 2011 and supporting the National Transitional Council

• Building a European consensus to establish sanctions against the Assad regime in Syria

• Strengthening relations with the EU’s Strategic Partners such as the US, Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa

• In the Balkans, forging renewed talks between Serbs and Kosovars (“Belgrade-Pristina" dialogue)

• Negotiating an upgraded status for the EU at the UN as foreseen under the Lisbon Treaty

• Establishing the European External Action Service (1 December 2010), which merged the external relations departments of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and will have diplomats seconded from national foreign services.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Ashton

Yup, she is a total nobody.

Chari, please do not insult us.

But her influence in the rest of the world is not. she is the representative of the Europeans to the Quartet, she is the European spokesman for foreign affairs. What she says as a representative of the EU matters. It is roughly the same problem which Israel has with Avigdor Lieberman.  If you think of Ashton as the European Lieberman, you will better understand the problem. 

Normally, I would not bring this up but someone thinks I am picking on Europeans. Honestly, if I were it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Sadly, there is real reason for concern, whether anyone wishes to admit it or not.

Ken Livingstone: Jews won't vote Labour because they are rich

Prominent Labour-supporting Jewish Londoners have written a devastating letter to Ed Miliband expressing their profound concerns about mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Jewish Chronicle, was written in response to a meeting held on March 1st at which Mr Livingstone stood by his decision to embrace radical Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi and take money from the Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.

Most damaging for Mr Livingstone is the revelation that he believes Jews will not vote Labour because they are rich. The letter states: "Ken toward the end of the meeting stated that he did not expect the Jewish community to vote Labour as votes for the left are inversely proportional to wealth levels, and suggested that as the Jewish community is rich we simply wouldn't vote for him."

The letter explains to Mr Miliband that Jewish Labour supporters were finding it "harder and harder to consider voting for Ken".

At the heart of the critique is the fear that Mr Livingstone's language when discussing the Jewish community, Israel and Zionism is close to classic antisemitism.
. . .
full article:
www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/65425/ken-liv...