Alan Johnston - what can we do?

2007-05-09T15:23:06Z

The BBC Gaza reporter bloke is still being held hostage somewhere…..as a journalist type person this worries me deeply. It’s easy to watch the news and let it wash over you, but I feel that we could all do something to help…but what? Petitions/ marches/protests might make us feel better, but don’t achieve anything. I hate feeling powerless to help. Does anyone know of any kind of direct action that I /we could take to at least voice how concerned we are? Does anyone know anything about Jaish Al Islam, and would releasing Muslim prisoners in Britisih jails really secure his release? What a nightmare.

2007-05-10T14:20:29Z

ps…........the save alan johnston sites are crap….....

2007-05-10T14:22:56Z

I sent the standard email that was sent round in an email to all the NUJ members. Other than that I am not sure what we can do on a more direct-action level.

2007-05-10T14:32:06Z

Can we sink a certain boat tomorrow night in protest? ho ho ho

2007-05-10T14:42:23Z

Stop buying Jaffas?

2007-05-10T14:47:59Z

Organise an Alan Johnston FCL Meet-up and Random Gig Crash bash? Bet that would help.

2007-05-10T15:26:36Z

well we could do a fundraiser sort of thing, but then I’d get all drunk and spend the money on pizza and tramps on the way home…......and I started out so seriously.

Purpabooboo, give me your conspiracy theory on this please….........

2007-05-10T15:30:00Z

No really – you can sign the petition and put the button on your blog. The details are here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/04/how_you_can_help.html

2007-05-10T17:52:42Z

That really is shit, isn’t it. Oooh, putting a picture of him on my blog will really show those pesky hostage takers…............ thanks for deepening my frustration…......

2007-05-10T18:46:43Z

Look Willster, I really wish I could tell you where the Jaish Al Islam live so you could go there, shoot em up and rescue the man himself, but it just isn’t like that.

And no, you putting the button on your blog is not going to spring anyone any time soon. But militant groups have an awareness of public relations these days. And anything that keeps the issue in the public eye increases the chance that he will get out alive. That includes signing a petition and putting his mug on your website, which is why the BBC started this campaign. The thing about public pressure is that it relies on co-ordinated collective action, not some sort of vague one-man protest.

Sorry you feel so frustrated, but then again it isn’t you being held hostage, so – well actually I’m not really that sorry then.

2007-05-10T23:05:32Z

Fuck me, yet another new feature. You really can’t go away for any time at all can you.

2007-05-10T23:34:20Z

As Sydney Youngblood said “all we can do is sit and wait”.

Unless you have any ties to Islamic terrorist organizations.

2007-05-10T23:55:07Z

We could, of course, campaign to stop all EU aid to Hamas…

2007-05-11T13:56:45Z

comradem, good point, and I broadly agree. Cheers. Rumour has it in my rumour mill that the Jaish Al Islam is simply one of the bigger Palestinian clans which is angling for a fat ransom…......... Still think a blog ad is dodgy…........

2007-05-11T13:59:23Z

but devil, I’m very partial to Hamas, especially with lemon, olive oil and pitta heh heh heh

2007-05-11T14:08:30Z

There’s a bunch of balaclavas and armalites we can get on the cheap now. Direct action’s the only way forward.

2007-05-14T09:25:38Z

badger, let’s go. What’s happened to the SAS, I ask you? What about Steven Seagal? Lou Gossett Junior? Where have all the heroes gone? No more heroes anymore….....yes, I’m singing….. I still don’t think the hostage takers are sitting around looking at blogs to see if anyone is talking about them, though. I’m still worried.

2007-05-14T14:34:33Z

Just as well really, or they’d know we were coming. Can we do it in a sort of comedy-adventure way? You might be able to pull off the full Flashheart derring do, but I think more effective results might be got by tactics last seen in ‘Jewel of the Nile’. I’ll be DeVito, if you like.

2007-06-01T08:09:04Z

Good news! Well, he’s still alive at least…

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d84507de-1013-11dc-96d3-000b5df10621.html

2007-06-01T16:29:43Z

But they don’t know how old the tape is. Still, my athiest prayers must be paying off. And I still hope he’s home very soon.

2007-07-04T13:19:35Z

There you go. It worked.

2007-07-04T13:47:27Z

Phew. The poor sod. I’m delighted. But what did his incarceration achieve? Tossers. I hope he doesn’t now do the chat show circuit or write a book or anything.

2007-07-04T14:13:14Z

Who knows what it achieved, depends on your perceptions for starters. The Dagmush family seem to have made a grave error of judgement, but within Gaza I dare say all manner of factions have seen their stock rise or fall because of this.

Given Hamas’ key role in negotiating his release, they’ve done well out of it both within Palestine as Fatah just wouldn’t have this pull, and without, with the British authorities accepting their pivotal role. As they prosper, so Fatah, despite proclaiming itself the new government, looks weaker. Must admit, I was with Willster on what’s the point of a lot of the campaign, but I read this morning how Johnston had access to a radio and that hearing about the protests across the world kept his spirits up, so I accept I was wrong there.

And to cheer EB while crossing many threads, I strongly suspect my suspicions were misplaced about last week too. To counter this choking climbdown, I’ll needlessly resurrect our other discussion to remind him the OECD counts the UK as an offshore tax haven and is looking into recovering over £1trillion in misappropriated funds and holdings that London’s financial services exploting “soft touch” regulations have helped pour into the country’s bank vaults (to sluice out again to other havens).

Not that I want to argue either of them again. Please!

2007-07-04T14:32:21Z

I suspect he’ll be back to work before long. News conference live now – he’s saying he’d like a somewhat calmer assignment, like maybe EU correspondent. Ha.

2007-07-05T22:46:21Z

The thing with some journalists ‘it is part of the frontline job’. Two of my friends were held hostage, one in Mexico and the other in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. When I was in Beirut, we all wondered, ‘who will go missing next’. My other friend is now in Pakistan, and God Knows What Will Happen! Every day is a risk…. but neither of these friends would ever consider being bored working in a bank.

I think it is great that the NUJ were out there supporting him but… as usual, the media do not say Why this is happening,which has been mentioned in a talk in the Frontline Club (a Club for journalists and those with frontline connections).

I plan to go there myself and I don’t think a kidnapping will stop me. In fact the kidnaping generally wants to make me want to go there. I want to know what is going on. I like to find out what is going on particularly as papers here are very skanty on what is really happening. I mean you only read about Paris Hilton in the Mail or tennis players. In some ways the hostage situation .. has highlighted the problems… and they are still there and it will happen again…

2007-07-06T09:59:12Z

Ms Provincial – I used to live there (if we are still talking Gaza), if you seriously want to go drop me a message.

2007-07-06T10:11:52Z

“Hurrah for Hamas!”

The above will be replacing the ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ at the Strand, from October.

Mockernee – ooh! And I thought you were going to go heavy on this

Anyway, banks are lovely. No returns.

2007-07-06T10:45:56Z

Badger, just to be contrary I find the witch-hunts for MI5 failings after such events unseemly. If they uncover evidence of collusion, official incitement or facilitation, fair enough to throw the book at them, but if it’s simply that guys they were monitoring slipped under radars or implemented plans ahead of expectations, shit happens.

MsP, I had to laugh when the Beeb reported his release the other night, one report started with the classic “of course, the release of Alan Johnston won’t in itself bring lasting peace to the region”. Well bugger me, who’d have guessed?