Joke of the day: "Flotilla activists putting their lives on the line"

From the Australian Associated Press:

Three Australians will be putting their lives on the line when they board a boat hoping to stop the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, the NSW Greens say.

"(They) are putting their welfare on the line to take part in a peaceful humanitarian mission to bring aid to the people of Gaza," said the party's leader David Shoebridge.

Last year nine activists were killed when Israeli marines stormed the flagship of an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

One of the Australians taking part, former Greens MP Sylvia Hale, said she hoped for a "more moderate" response when she takes part in the Freedom Flotilla 2.

"The Israeli government has shown by its past actions that it's prepared to shoot first and ask questions later," she said.

"We don't expect gentle handling."

The threat of violence, however, has only encouraged activists with over 500,000 applying to be part of the flotilla.

"Violence encourages further acts of resistance, the flotilla last time was comprised of six ships this time I understand there are 12," Ms Hale said.

The trio, which also includes youth worker Michael Coleman and Vivienne Porzsolt of Jews Against Occupation, has called on the Australian government to protect them.

Mr Coleman said the passengers on board the boat would be acting "completely lawfully".

"We will give Israeli forces no pretext for any assault."

Putting their lives on the line? Please. If they were interested in danger, they'd be volunteering to work in Afghanistan. Or Syria.

Everyone knows that the only people putting themselves in danger on this latest exercise in political theatre are the ones stupid enough to attack trained, armed soldiers who are doing their jobs. The reporter knows it, the Israelis know it and the flotilla fools know it quite well. After all, the people on last year's ships that were not on the "Mavi Marmara" - and didn't have jihadist, martyrdom seeking Turks wildly waving metal bars and knives* on deck - seem to have somehow made it home in one piece. How is that possible when everyone knows the IDF "shoots first and ask questions later"?

And note how this "news" article swallows the absurd statistic that 500,000 people volunteered for the flotilla. Oh, really? Where is the list? Who even made such a claim? Where are the Facebook groups of people who were denied access, and what was the reason given? Can we see the form letter of denial?

This isn't a news article; it is a press release for the Free Gaza idiots.

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*I noticed today that the UN report on the flotilla claimed, in footnote 69: "The Mission has found no evidence of knives being taken on board by passengers except for one traditional ceremonial knife."

The report was published over three months after Hurriyet published photos showing "peace activists" with hunting knives - knives that Reuters cropped out of the photos initially and then republished after there was an outcry.

How could the crack investigators at the UN miss that when hundreds of thousands of people saw the photos? A real mystery, I tell ya.