Somewhere on a Hollywood movie set for Groundhog Day, Part 2: Bill Murray wakes up to find he’s just lived through the hottest decade on record, just as he did in the 1990s, just as he did in the 1980s. And he keeps waking up in the hottest decade on record, until he gains the kind of maturity and wisdom that can only come from doing the same damn thing over and over and over again with no change in the result. Ah, if only life were like a movie.
Somewhere in PA: Punxsutawney Phil saw the shadow of unrestricted fossil-fuel pollution from Homo “sapiens” sapiens today. That means global warming for another six thousand weeks — and then some (see NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe).
If we keep... (continue reading)
Somewhere on a Hollywood movie set for Groundhog Day, Part 2: Bill Murray wakes up to find he’s just lived through the hottest decade on record, just as he did in the 1990s, just as he did in the 1980s. And he keeps waking up in the hottest decade on record, until he gains the kind of maturity and wisdom that can only come from doing the same damn thing over and over and over again with no change in the result. Ah, if only life were like a movie.
Somewhere in PA: Punxsutawney Phil saw the shadow of unrestricted fossil-fuel pollution from Homo “sapiens” sapiens today. That means global warming for another six thousand weeks — and then some (see NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe).
If we keep listening to the siren song of delay, delay, delay from the anti-science crowd, then eventually people aren’t going to go through this elaborate charade of wondering whether some large rodent in Pennsylvania can predict the weather — the forecast will always be the same, “bloody hot”:
M.I.T. doubles its 2095 warming projection to 10°F — with 866 ppm and Arctic warming of 20°F
Hadley Center: “Catastrophic” 5-7°C warming by 2100 on current emissions path
Our hellish future: Definitive NOAA-led report on U.S. climate impacts warns of scorching 9 to 11°F warming over most of inland U.S. by 2090 with Kansas above 90°F some 120 days a year — and that isn’t the worst case, it’s business as usual!”
And, as noted, those scientific projections are simply business-as-usual warming.
Under the plausible worst-case scenario of high emissions, high carbon-cycle feedbacks, marmota monax and homo “sapiens” experience much worse by mid-century (see UK Met Office: Catastrophic climate change, 13-18°F over most of U.S. and 27°F in the Arctic, could happen in 50 years, but “we do have time to stop it if we cut greenhouse gas emissions soon”):
If we get anywhere near that outcome, I seriously doubt anybody is going to care about what Punxsutawney Phil thinks about whether it’s going to be an early spring or not.
[And yes, I thought the original Groundhog Day was a great movie, but then, it had a happy ending....](show less)
Dear Alicia,
I'm writing to thank NPR for including the views of David Horowitz in its obituary for Howard Zinn. It was very thoughtful of you to do so.
After all, if you hadn't made sure to quote some fringe right-wing crank slagging Zinn, it would have suggested that Zinn's six decades of teaching about how the U.S. functions might be wrong. But since you did include it, you demonstrated once again that Zinn was correct about NPR and the media generally: you're enthusiastic handmaidens of the U.S. government at worst, timid "liberals" terrified to step one inch out of line at best.
So this really was the greatest sendoff you could give Zinn, essentially validating his entire life. Well done.
best,
Jon Schwarz
P.S. Please don't read this on the air, since that would call Zinn's p... (continue reading)
Dear Alicia,
I'm writing to thank NPR for including the views of David Horowitz in its obituary for Howard Zinn. It was very thoughtful of you to do so.
After all, if you hadn't made sure to quote some fringe right-wing crank slagging Zinn, it would have suggested that Zinn's six decades of teaching about how the U.S. functions might be wrong. But since you did include it, you demonstrated once again that Zinn was correct about NPR and the media generally: you're enthusiastic handmaidens of the U.S. government at worst, timid "liberals" terrified to step one inch out of line at best.
So this really was the greatest sendoff you could give Zinn, essentially validating his entire life. Well done.
best,
Jon Schwarz
P.S. Please don't read this on the air, since that would call Zinn's perspective into doubt.
* * *
FAIR suggests that you too write to NPR's ombudswoman here.(show less)
The Obama administration’s pact to use seven Colombian military bases accelerates “a dangerous trend in U.S. hemispheric policy,” an article in The Nation magazine warns.
The White House claims the deal merely formalizes existing military cooperation but the Pentagon’s 2009 budget request said it needed funds to improve one of the bases in order to conduct “full spectrum operations throughout South America” and to “expand expeditionary warfare capability.”
“With a hodgepodge of treaties and projects, such as the International Law Enforcement Academy and the Merida Initiative, Obama is continuing the policies of his predecessors, spending millions to integrate the region’s military, policy, intelligence and even, through Patriot Act-like legislation, judicial systems,” writes historian G... (continue reading)
The Obama administration’s pact to use seven Colombian military bases accelerates “a dangerous trend in U.S. hemispheric policy,” an article in The Nation magazine warns.
The White House claims the deal merely formalizes existing military cooperation but the Pentagon’s 2009 budget request said it needed funds to improve one of the bases in order to conduct “full spectrum operations throughout South America” and to “expand expeditionary warfare capability.”
“With a hodgepodge of treaties and projects, such as the International Law Enforcement Academy and the Merida Initiative, Obama is continuing the policies of his predecessors, spending millions to integrate the region’s military, policy, intelligence and even, through Patriot Act-like legislation, judicial systems,” writes historian Greg Grandin, a New York University professor.
Although much of Latin America is in the vanguard of the “anti-corporate and anti-militarist global democracy movement,” Grandin writes, the Obama administration is “disappointing potential regional allies by continuing to promote a volatile mix of militarism and free-trade orthodoxy in a corridor running from Mexico to Colombia.” Grandin’s article in The Nation’s February 8th issue is titled, “Muscling Latin America.”
The fountainhead of this effort is Plan Colombia, a multibillion-dollar U.S. aid package that over the past decade “has failed to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States,” Grandin says, noting that more Andean coca was synthesized into cocaine in 2008 than in 1998.
Underlying the anti-drug fight, however, is a counterinsurgency struggle for control of “ungoverned spaces” via a “clear, hold and build” sequence urged by the U.S. military to weaken Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces(FARC). The Bush White House condoned the right-wing paramilitaries who, along with their narcotraficante allies “now control about 10 million acres, roughly half of the country’s most fertile land,” Grandin reports. They also spread terror in the countryside and are responsible for many killings and for driving peasants from their land.
Grandin reports that the paras “have taken control of hundreds of municipal governments, establishing what Colombian social scientist Leon Valencia calls ‘true local dictatorships,’ consolidating their property seizures and deepening their ties to narcos, landed elites and politicians.”
What’s more, “The country’s sprawling intelligence apparatus is infiltrated by this death squad/narco combine, as is its judiciary and Congress, where more than forty deputies from the governing party are under investigation for ties to (the right-wing) AUC (United Self Defense Forces).
“Colombia remains the hands-down worst repressor in Latin America,” Grandin asserts. “More than 500 trade unionists have been executed since (Alvaro) Uribe took office. In recent years 195 teachers have been assassinated, and not one arrest has been made for the killings. And the military stands accused of murdering more than 2,000 civilians and then dressing their bodies in guerrilla uniforms in order to prove progress against the FARC.”
Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities fighting paras who have seized land to cultivate African palm for ethanol production have been evicted by mercenaries and the military, Grandin says. “From Panama to Mexico, rural protesters are likewise targeted. In the Salvadoran department of Cabanas,” he observes, “death squads have executed four leaders—three in December—who opposed the Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Company’s efforts to dig a gold mine in their community.”
Obama could reconsider the Pentagon’s base deal and Plan Colombia, Grandin writes, “But that would mean rethinking a longer, multi-decade, bipartisan, trillion-dollars-and-counting ‘war on drugs,’ and Obama has other wars to extricate himself from—or not, as the case may be.”
“Unable or unwilling to make concessions on these and other issues important to Latin America—normalizing relations with Cuba, for instance, or advancing immigration reform—the White House is adopting an increasingly antagonistic posture,” Grandin explains. He notes that after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Brazil, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Latin Americans to “think twice” about “the consequences” of engagement with Iran. An Argentine diplomat responded, “The Obama administration would never talk to European countries that way.”
Sherwood Ross formerly worked for The Chicago Daily News and other major dailies and as a columnist for wire services. He currently runs a public relations firm for “worthy causes.” You can reach him at sherwoodross10@gmail.com
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The American elite's unbounded, unquestioned, indeed unconscious sense of imperial entitlement and dominance -- based ultimately on war, the threat of war and the profit from war -- is one of the defining characteristics of our age. And if you would like to see a glaring example of this attitude in action, look no further than the front page of Tuesday's New York Times, where one David Sanger gives us his penetrating "news analysis" of the Administration's just-announced $3.8 trillion budget.
Sanger focuses on the huge, continuing deficits that the budget forecasts over the next decade. Completely ignoring the plain truth that his own expert source tell him later in the story -- that "forecasts 10 years out have no credibility" -- Sanger boldly plunges forward to tell us just what it al... (continue reading)
The American elite's unbounded, unquestioned, indeed unconscious sense of imperial entitlement and dominance -- based ultimately on war, the threat of war and the profit from war -- is one of the defining characteristics of our age. And if you would like to see a glaring example of this attitude in action, look no further than the front page of Tuesday's New York Times, where one David Sanger gives us his penetrating "news analysis" of the Administration's just-announced $3.8 trillion budget.
Sanger focuses on the huge, continuing deficits that the budget forecasts over the next decade. Completely ignoring the plain truth that his own expert source tell him later in the story -- that "forecasts 10 years out have no credibility" -- Sanger boldly plunges forward to tell us just what it all means. You will not be surprised to hear that the upshot of these big deficits is that neither Obama nor his successors will be able to spend any money on "new domestic initiatives" for years to come. But let's let Sanger, savant and seer, tell it in his own words:
In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power.
The first is the projected deficit in the coming year, nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output. That is not unprecedented: During the Civil War, World War I and World War II, the United States ran soaring deficits, but usually with the expectation that they would come back down once peace was restored and war spending abated.
But the second number, buried deeper in the budget’s projections, is the one that really commands attention: By President Obama’s own optimistic projections, American deficits will not return to what are widely considered sustainable levels over the next 10 years. ...
For Mr. Obama and his successors, the effect of those projections is clear: Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there is virtually no room for new domestic initiatives for Mr. Obama or his successors. Beyond that lies the possibility that the United States could begin to suffer the same disease that has afflicted Japan over the past decade. As debt grew more rapidly than income, that country’s influence around the world eroded.
What is most interesting here, of course, is not Sanger's noodle-scratching over imaginary numbers projected into an unknowable future, but his total and apparently completely unconscious adoption of the mindset of militarist empire. For as he puzzles and puzzles till his puzzler is sore on how in God's name the United States can possibly find any money at all to spend on bettering the lives of its citizens over the next 10 years, it becomes clear that Sanger -- like the rest of our political and media elite -- literally cannot conceive of an end to empire. Our elites and their courtiers literally cannot imagine life without a permanent war for global dominance, fueled by a gargantuan war machine spread across hundreds and hundreds of bases implanted in more than 100 countries.
And so this consideration, this possible outcome, does not figure in Sanger's "analysis" because it cannot: it lies far outside the scope of his consciousness. The only possible alternative he can conceive to the empire's bloody and bankrupting business as usual is some kind of divine intervention, "miraculous growth" or some "miraculous political compromise."
And make no mistake: the "miraculous political compromise" he is talking about has nothing to do with ending or even trimming the empire. A "compromise" on this issue could only be posited if there was some present conflict over it. But both parties are deeply committed to increasing spending on the wars and the war machine.
No, by "compromise" Sanger means some sort of "Grand Bargain" between the parties to cut Social Security and Medicare, along the lines of the "blue-ribbon panel" of entitlement cutters now being pushed by the Obama Administration. An effort to impose this kind of elitist, unaccountable commission failed in the Senate a few weeks ago -- although the Republicans have proposed such panels before, they didn't like this one because Obama proposed it -- but the idea will keep coming back. Sanger and the elite will doubtless get their "miracle" of slashing the remaining bits of the safety net to shreds in due time.
For these are the only possibilities for deficit-cutting that Sanger can even remotely contemplate: some whiz-bang new techno gizmo -- or maybe some hot new "financial instruments" cooked up by Wall Street -- that will goose the economy with a bright new bubble ... or else finally telling our old, sick, vulnerable and unfortunate to just crawl off and die already. That's it. That's all that our elite can envision.
Yet the ending of the imperial wars and the dismantling of America's global military empire -- and its global gulag -- would save trillions of dollars in the coming years. Not only from direct military spending, but also from the vastly reduced need for "Homeland security" funding in a world where the United States was no longer invading foreign lands, killing their people, supporting their tyrants -- and inciting revenge and resistance.
This would release a flood of money for any number of "new domestic initiatives," while also giving scope for deep tax cuts across the board. Working people would thrive, the poor, the sick and the vulnerable would be bettered, businesses would grow, opportunity would expand, the care and education of our children would be greatly enhanced, our infrastructure could be repaired and strengthened, our environment better cleansed and cared for. In short, people could keep more of their own money while government spending could be directed toward improving the quality of life of all the nation's citizens.
This is no utopian vision. Many problems, much suffering would remain. But it would be a better society -- more humane, more just, more secure, more peaceful, more prosperous than it is now. Such an alternative is entirely achievable, by ordinary humans; it would require no divine miracles, no god-like heroes to bring it about.
But such a society is precisely what our elites cannot -- or, to be more accurate, will not -- imagine. Because, yes, it would "erode" their "influence" around the world to some extent. Although they would still be comfortable, coddled and privileged, they could no longer merge their individual psyches with the larger entity of a globe-spanning, death-dealing empire -- a connection which, although itself a projection of their own brains, gives them a forever-inflated sense of worth and importance.
And on a more prosaic level, the end of empire would mean an end to the horrendous economic distortion wrought by our war-profiteering industries. Other businesses would inevitably come to the fore, economic activity would be sp( click title for more ) evenly across more sectors. And so, yes, those who have feasted so gluttonously for so long on blood money would not be quite as rich as they are now.
A better world -- again, not perfect, by no means perfect, but much better -- is entirely possible. We could easily dismantle the empire -- carefully, safely, with deliberation -- over the next ten years. It is a reasonable, moderate, serious option. It would not require violent revolution or vast social upheaval. But our elites do not want this. They can no longer fathom life without the exercise -- and worship -- of unrestricted power that empire entails. They will not accept -- or even contemplate -- any alternative to it.
And thus every option and policy we are offered -- whether from right-wing Republicans or "progressive" Democrats, or from "serious" news analysts on "serious" papers -- must fall within these pathetically cramped, constricted mental horizons. Empire -- the imposition of dominion by violence and threat of violence, and the financial and moral corruption this breeds, the malevolent example it sets at every level of society -- is the canker in the body politic. Until it is dealt with, there will be no healing, no hope, no change -- just more degradation and disaster all down the line. (show less)
Judith Miller (seemingly) expresses her admiration of Isareli murders 2 Feb 2010As'ad "The strike was vintage Mossad—precise, without fingerprints, and deniable, the kind of operation in which Dagan has specialized since becoming chief of the spy agency seven years ago." As is known, Miller won the Booker prize AND the Nobel prize for peace for locating Iraqi WMDs. She has been rewarded in her career with a spot on...Fox News' media panel. You can't get more prestigious than than in US journalism. (thanks David)
As I mentioned last week, Firedoglake has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. Our independent coverage of hot-button issues — from Jon Walker’s analysis of health care reform, to the unbelievable liveblogging of the Prop 8 trial by Marcy Wheeler, Teddy Partridge and David Dayen — has greatly expanded our audience, and presented new chances, and new challenges, for us to serve our community.
And so, we continue to seek the best and brightest to fill two great employment opportunities here at Firedoglake, which you can check out by visiting our jobs page. One opening is for a DC Political Reporter, who will have the exciting privilege of being our full-time political correspondent on Capitol Hill. The other is for a Deputy Managing Editor, who will coordinate, edit, and publ... (continue reading)
As I mentioned last week, Firedoglake has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. Our independent coverage of hot-button issues — from Jon Walker’s analysis of health care reform, to the unbelievable liveblogging of the Prop 8 trial by Marcy Wheeler, Teddy Partridge and David Dayen — has greatly expanded our audience, and presented new chances, and new challenges, for us to serve our community.
And so, we continue to seek the best and brightest to fill two great employment opportunities here at Firedoglake, which you can check out by visiting our jobs page. One opening is for a DC Political Reporter, who will have the exciting privilege of being our full-time political correspondent on Capitol Hill. The other is for a Deputy Managing Editor, who will coordinate, edit, and publish content from our wonderful team of writers.
Those of you who have already submitted your letters, resumes and writing samples–thank you! We are currently reviewing your applications. The process is still open, however, so we encourage all qualified applicants to jump to the jobs page, and get in the mix. We are especially interested in hearing from DC residents with journalism experience.
On behalf of the rest of the FDL team, I invite you all to check out our job postings and apply. We look forward to reviewing potential candidates over the next few weeks.
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Photo via WN
Obama's budget for 2011 is filled with peculiarities. There are a few primary points of interest when it comes to energy--the empty cap and trade framework outlined within, the severing of multi-billion fossil fuel subsidies (which I'll get to in a post later today), and perhaps most surprisingly, over $54 billion for nuclear power. That's up almost $20 billion from the year before....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Banking executives at Davos are telling Andrew Ross Sorkin, just between bros, that they don't plan on taking the Obama administration's Volcker rule (which will prohibit banks from trading with the life savings of schoolteachers and widows) any more seriously than they ever have, well, any rule, from the Ten Commandments on down. According to Sorkin, "one hedge fund manager described the proposed rule by using more four-letter words in one sentence - as nouns and verbs - than I thought possible." Virgin ears ringing, ARS turned to the next guy for some plain talk.
He got a reply that is almost more shocking, in terms of its naked arrogance.
"I can find a way to say that virtually any trade we make is somehow related to serving one of our clients. They can go ahead and ... (continue reading)
From the NY Mag:
Banking executives at Davos are telling Andrew Ross Sorkin, just between bros, that they don't plan on taking the Obama administration's Volcker rule (which will prohibit banks from trading with the life savings of schoolteachers and widows) any more seriously than they ever have, well, any rule, from the Ten Commandments on down. According to Sorkin, "one hedge fund manager described the proposed rule by using more four-letter words in one sentence - as nouns and verbs - than I thought possible." Virgin ears ringing, ARS turned to the next guy for some plain talk.
He got a reply that is almost more shocking, in terms of its naked arrogance.
"I can find a way to say that virtually any trade we make is somehow related to serving one of our clients. They can go ahead and impose the rule on Friday, and I can assure you that by Monday, we'll find a way around it."
Gishwati forest circa 1986. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rwanda has announced a planned expansion of the Gishwati National Conservation Park. The effort with increase the size of the park by 21 percent—from 3,018 acres to 3,665 acres—and marks the beginning of a conservation corridor, dubbed the "Forest of Hope," intended to help a group of endangered chimpanzees....Read the full story on TreeHugger
In Michigan, explosive details have emerged from the long-awaited release of the autopsy report for a Detroit-area Muslim imam slain by the FBI in October. The imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, headed a Sunni Muslim group called the Ummah. He was shot dead during an FBI raid shortly after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal crimes. Local Muslim leaders have questioned if authorities are trying to cover up facts surrounding his death.
The autopsy report was finally released Monday after a lengthy delay. It shows Abdullah died from twenty-one gunshot wounds and was found with his wrists handcuffed behind his back. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers is expected to join a coalition of civil rights and Muslim groups today to call for a Justice Departmen... (continue reading)
Democracy Now reports:
In Michigan, explosive details have emerged from the long-awaited release of the autopsy report for a Detroit-area Muslim imam slain by the FBI in October. The imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, headed a Sunni Muslim group called the Ummah. He was shot dead during an FBI raid shortly after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal crimes. Local Muslim leaders have questioned if authorities are trying to cover up facts surrounding his death.
The autopsy report was finally released Monday after a lengthy delay. It shows Abdullah died from twenty-one gunshot wounds and was found with his wrists handcuffed behind his back. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers is expected to join a coalition of civil rights and Muslim groups today to call for a Justice Department probe.(show less)
Obama bombs 2 Feb 2010As'ad "Afghanistan-based US predators carried out a record number of 12 deadly missile strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan in January 2010, of which 10 went wrong and failed to hit their targets, killing 123 innocent Pakistanis. The remaining two successful drone strikes killed three al-Qaeda leaders, wanted by the Americans."
In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights” for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel’s lawlessness; its crimes of war and against humanity; occupation; discriminatory policies; illegal home demolitions, land seizures and settlements; oppression of a civilian population; the Separation Wall; the Gaza siege; and preemptive imperial wars.
Nothing so far has worked. Palestine is still occupied. Its people continue to suffer. Their human rights are denied. World leaders ignore them... (continue reading)
In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights” for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel’s lawlessness; its crimes of war and against humanity; occupation; discriminatory policies; illegal home demolitions, land seizures and settlements; oppression of a civilian population; the Separation Wall; the Gaza siege; and preemptive imperial wars.
Nothing so far has worked. Palestine is still occupied. Its people continue to suffer. Their human rights are denied. World leaders ignore them. This no longer can be tolerated. In solidarity, people of conscience everywhere must pressure Israel with BDS initiatives that include boycotting Israeli companies, their products and services, and global ones supporting the occupation. They’re numerous, many with familiar names.
Below is a partial list, starting with global giants, Israeli companies following. Others can be added, but use it as a good start along with a New Year’s resolution to boycott them and encourage others to do it as well.
Motorola
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation “aim(s) to change those US policies that both sustain Israel’s 42-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and deny equal rights for all.” It started with a boycott campaign to “Hang up on Motorola” and its subsidiary, Motorola Israel, that support the worst of illegal occupation practices. They produce:
980 Low Altitude Proximity Fuses for the MK-80 series of high-explosive bombs used against civilian and other non-combatant targets with devastating effect;
the “Mountain Rose” secure cell phone communication system, used exclusively in Occupied Palestine;
Wide Area Surveillance System (WAAS) to monitor and secure the Separation Wall, built on about 12% of stolen West Bank land; and
radar detection devices and thermal cameras for dozens of illegal West Bank settlements.
Morotola consumer products are sold globally, including its cell phones, cordless and corded phones, the Droid phone, accessories, cable modems, digital video equipment, and more. “Hang up on Motorola” and get others to do it, too.
Estee Lauder
Board Member Ronald Lauder chairs the Jewish National Fund and is former a JNF president. In 1901, the Fifth Zionist Congress established it to “purchase, take on lease or in exchange, or otherwise acquire any lands, forests, rights of possession and other rights… for the purpose of settling Jews on (Palestinian) lands.” About 80% of the land was confiscated, not bought from its rightful owners — expelled Palestinians in Israel’s “War of Independence.”
JNF calls itself “Caretakers of the land of Israel for over a century (and) a global environmental leader by planting 240 million trees, building over 200 reservoirs and dams, developing over 250,000 acres of land, creating more than 1,000 parks, providing infrastructure for over 1,000 communities (and) bringing life to the Negev Desert,” exclusively for Jews on stolen Palestinian lands.
JNF develops land. It doesn’t sell it, but can lease it to Jews or any Jewish-controlled company, organization or entity. It holds these lands on behalf of “the Jewish People in perpetuity.” Non-Jews are entirely excluded from renting or buying property, getting financing, opening a business, or doing virtually anything on Jewish land under a strict apartheid policy. JNF policies have been legally challenged, so far without success.
Besides Ronald, other Lauders are also involved – Leonard, Evelyn and William. The company produces skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products that include Clinique, Aramis, Lab Series, Prescriptives and Origins. Acquired brands include M*A*C, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone, Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, Darphin, and Ojon. It’s also the fragrance and beauty products licensee for Kiton, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Sean John, Missoni, Tom Ford, and Mustang.
Other products sold through alternative channels include American Beauty, Flirt!, good skin, Daisy Fuentes, Coach, and Eyes by Design. The company is headquartered in New York, with many stores nationally and in Canada operating Estee Lauder “counters.”
L’Oreal/Body Shop
The Palestinian BDS National Committee calls L’Oreal “Makeup for Israeli apartheid,” and asks consumers globally to boycott “the products of the French cosmetics giant… due to its deep and extensive involvement in business relations with Israel….”
There since the mid-1990s, its L’Oreal Israel subsidiary operates a factory in Migdal Haemek in the Lower Galilee where the Migdal Haemek settlement expelled Palestinian residents, denies their right of return, and expropriated their land for exclusive Jewish use.
L’Oreal Israel makes a line of Natural Sea Beauty products using Dead Sea minerals. However, one-third of its western shore is in the West Bank, and the entire area and its resources are off limits to Palestinians to let Israel exploit it for mining and international tourism.
In July 2008, the company also gave a $100,000 “lifetime achievement” award to an Israeli Weizmann Institute scientist, a research center that clandestinely develops nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons for the IDF war machine.
In addition, L’Oreal Israel’s chairman, Gad Propper, is the founding chairman of the Israel-EU Chamber of Commerce, and was heavily involved in promoting trade with Australia and New Zealand. Since the mid-1990s, Israel has been L’Oreal’s regional commercial center.
Its brands include Maybelline, Lancome, Matrix, Redken, Vichy/Dermablend, and Helena Rubinstein. It also owns the Body Shop, a company reputed to be socially conscious, except when it comes to Palestine.
Intel
The technology giant produces computer processors and other hardware components employing thousands of Israelis. It’s been one of Israel’s major supporters since opening its first development center outside America in Haifa in 1974. Ever since, it’s heavily invested in the country and operates an annual billion dollar export business. It has a microprocessor plant in Har Hotzvim, Jerusalem, another development center there as well, a plant in Lachish-Qiryat Gat, a branch for the development of network communications products in Omer, close to Beersheba, as well as other operations.
Its Qiryat Gat plant lies on Iraq al Manshiya village land where 2,000 Palestinians were expelled to construct the illegal settlement that replaced it. Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition) urges legal action against Intel for using it.
Intel Israel also supports apartheid education, saying the company:
“promot(es)… higher education (through) scholarships for (Israeli) students (and) allocates considerable resources to funding research and purchasing laboratory equipment.”
The company disdains Palestinian rights by supporting Israeli apartheid, lawlessness, and repressive policies.
McDonald’s
It’s the world’s largest fast food retailer, operating in about 120 countries globally, including in Israel since 1993, with about 150 restaurants and a policy of firing Arab workers caught speaking Arabic.
McDonald’s is also a major partner of the Jewish United Fund (JUF) and Jewish Federation. Through its Israel Commission, JUF “works to maintain American military, economic and diplomatic support for Israel; monitors and, when necessary, responds to media coverage of Israel.” JUF is also a major fundraiser, and, through its “Partnership to Israel” program, contributes large sums annually to further illegal settlement development on occupied Palestinian land.
Coca-Cola
The company is the world’s largest soft drink maker, with numerous brands sold virtually everywhere globally. Since the mid-1960s, it’s been been a staunch Israel supporter, and in 1997, the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Economic Mission praised its chairman, Roberto Goizueta, for 30 years of support and for refusing to honor an Arab boycott at the expense of lost regional business. In 2002, Coca-Cola announced plans to build a Kiryat Gat plant on stolen Palestinian land, and in 2005, raised its investment in the Israeli-based Tavor Winery to 51%.
In 2002, the company also helped fund a pro-Israel propaganda lecture by National Public Radio’s Linda Gradstein, claimed to be unbiased.
Disney
The company’s Florida Epcot Center Millennium exhibition depicts occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a joint effort by Tel Aviv and Disney to Judaize the city preparatory to legitimizing Israel’s claim.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in charge of the exhibit, says it highlights the city’s importance to Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, but a formal statement asserts:
There is no doubt that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel (and) the position of Jerusalem as the key component to the Israeli pavilion… speaks for itself without a clearer or stronger statement being necessary.
Of the exhibit’s $8 million cost, Israel paid less than one-fourth, Disney the rest.
Home Depot
As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, it’s second only to Wal-Mart in total retail sales. Its founder and former chairman, Bernard Marcus, actively supports Israel, including through the Marcus Foundation promoting Jewish issues.
In addition, he’s a board member of Emet (Hebrew for “truth”) News Service, reporting pro-Israeli propaganda, analysis and commentary to ensure all US media are on board, and why not with a board of directors including Marcus; Lex Wexner, The Limited’s founder; Edgar Bronfman Sr., Seagram’s former head; Lou Ranieri, a major Wall Street figure and Israeli bank owner; and former UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Before he died, Jack Kemp also served on the board.
IBM
The company invests heavily in Israel, and according to former executive, Lawrence Ricciardi, “This wedge of land and the huge ideals it represents are very important to IBM.”
In June 2001, the American-Israel Friendship League praised the company and two others at its Partners for Democracy Award dinner. In May 2002, the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce gave IBM the Ambassador’s Award “in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the development of the Israeli high-tech industry and (for) advancing trade between the US and Israel.”
IBM began its regional operations in 1949 and was the first large US company with a wholly owned Israeli subsidiary. Its Haifa Research Laboratories employs over 2,000 people doing extensive research cooperatively with the US-based operations. For decades, it’s also been involved with Israeli start-ups and venture capital funds.
Revlon
Billionaire Ronald Perelman controls the company, a major producer of cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care products. He also supports Israeli causes, and is a trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the notorious pro-Israel front group with over 300,000 global members and support from prominent figures like himself, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Senator Charles Schumer, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and many others.
Starbucks
Chairman Howard Shultz is staunchly pro-Israel. In 1998, the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah gave him “The Israel 50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award” for “playing a key role in promoting a close alliance between the United States and Israel.” In 2002, Israel’s Foreign Ministry praised him for being key to the country’s long-term PR success, through his provocative speeches accusing Palestinians of terrorism, calling intifada resistance anti-semitism, asking Americans to back Israel against a common enemy, and sponsoring fund raisers for Israeli causes.
Jointly with the Israeli-based Delek Group, Starbucks Coffee International operated a joint venture in Israel, opened six stores, then shut them after heavy losses.
The Limited
The company is a major retailer with five specialty brands, including Express, The Limited, Lane Bryant, Lerner New York and Structure as well as the major ownership of Intimate Brands.
Its founder and CEO, Leslie Wexner, is a board member of the pro-Israeli Emet News Service, and through his Wexner Foundation promotes “strengthening Jewish Leadership in North America and Israel.” One of its initiatives finances up to 10 Israeli officials at Harvard annually for a year-long Master in Public Administration program (MPA) combined with intensive leadership development. Many alumni return home to high ministerial positions and similar IDF ones.
Wexner also sponsors “Birthright Israel” that brings young American Jews to the country for intensive indoctrination. He supports Hillel, Israel’s bastion on college campuses, and in April 2003, a leaked Wexler commissioned Luntz Research document revealed Israel’s propaganda strategy following the Iraq war. The report titled, “Wexler Analysis: Israeli Communications Priorities 2003″ had 11 key recommendations “on behalf of Israel… in a post-Saddam world.”
It called Saddam Hussein “two of the most hated words in the English language” and the ones (tying) Israel to America…. The day we allow Saddam to take his eventual place in the trash heap of history is the day we lose our strongest weapon in the linguistic defense of Israel.”
Replacing him are Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iranian government as designated “terrorists,” propagandized against to portray Israel as surrounded and threatened by hordes of hostile Muslims bent on its destruction, when, in fact, the Jewish state is the main regional threat.
The Luntz report also called the illegal settlements Israel’s “Achilles heel” against which there’s no good defense. Wexner is one of its best.
News Corporation
It’s the Rupert Murdoch-owned media giant that includes dozens of print publications, motion pictures, book publishing, and Fox News, what Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) calls “the most biased name in news… with its extraordinary right-wing tilt” that includes one-sided Israeli support, and no wonder.
Murdoch invests heavily in Israel and was one of three US companies the American-Israel Friendship League honored for their support at their June 2001 Partners for Democracy Awards dinner. Murdoch, in fact, co-chaired the dinner, was a close friend of Ariel Sharon, calls himself a lifelong ally of Israel, and shows it through one-sided reporting allowing no wiggle room for staff deviation.
Sara Lee
It’s the world’s largest clothing manufacturer, owning in whole or in part familiar brands, including Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, and Wonderbra. Its food brands include Sara Lee, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, and Jimmy Dean, and its global businesses include Fresh Bakery, North American Retail, Foodservice, International Beverage, International Bakery, and International Household and Body Care. It also owns a 30% stake in the Israeli company Delta Galil. More on it below.
In 1998, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu awarded Sara Lee Personal Products executive Lucien Nessim (from its European subsidiary) its highest honor, the Jubilee Award, in recognition of those individuals or organizations who’ve helped Israel’s economy most through trade and investments.
Many other companies and/or their officials have also won it, including Johnson and Johnson, the UK retailer Marks & Spencer, the French food company Danone, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal, Nestle, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Volkswagon, De Beers, Goldman Sachs, Archer Daniel Midland, Cisco Systems, Motorola, AOL, formerly AOL/Time Warner, and numerous others.
Major Israeli companies include:
Delta Galil Industries Ltd.
Israel’s largest textile manufacturer produces clothing and underwear for popular brands including, Gap, J-Crew, JC Penny, Calvin Klein, Playtex, Victoria’s Secret, Hugo Boss, Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren, and others.
Dov Lautman founded and chairs the company, is close to top Israeli officials, and achieved notoriety after sweatshopwatch.org called him a “Sweatshop Czar” for exploiting Arab labor in Egypt and Jordan. In March 2007, he won the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement for his contribution to the country and its people at the expense of neighboring Arabs he exploits.
Ahava
From its illegal Mitzpe Shalem settlement facility, the company produces cosmetics using Dead Sea salt, minerals, and mud, natural substances extracted from West Bank Palestinian land.
Code Pink’s “Stolen Beauty” campaign says:
Ahava promises “Beauty Secrets from the Dead Sea.” And wait until you hear those secrets! Because Ahava is hiding the ugly truth — its products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources…. Don’t let the ‘Made in Israel’ sticker fool you — when you buy Avaha products you help finance the destruction of hope for a peaceful and just future for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Avaha uses Palestinian resources without their permission and pays no compensation for them. In addition, Israel denies Palestinians access to the West Bank portion of the Dead Sea so companies like Avaha can exploit it.
Dorot Garlic and Herbs
Established in 1992 in Kibbutz Dorot, the company is now Israel’s largest frozen seasonings supplier to food retainers, hotels, and restaurants in America, Canada and Europe.
The Strauss Group and Its Subsidiaries
Israel’s second largest food and beverage company supports the Golani reconnaissance platoon, infamous for its decades of slaughtering Palestinians, most recently during Operation Cast Lead.
In the “corporate responsibility” section of its website, a sub-heading titled “In the Field With Soldiers” states:
“Our connection with soldiers goes as far back as the country, and even further. We see a mission and need to continue to provide our soldiers with support, to enhance their quality of life and service conditions, and sweeten their special moments… at the front to spoil them with our best products,” including Max Brenner Chocolates — another brand to boycott because the company backs Israel’s killing machine.
Sabra is another Strauss company in a joint venture with Pepsico. It produces traditional Arab salads like hummus, baba ghanoush, and fried eggplant.
Agrexco
The company is half Israeli state-owned, exporting fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs from Israel and the Occupied Territories, operating under the Carmel, Jaffa and Coral brands. In the West Bank, Agrexco exploits Palestinian workers, including children, paying sub-poverty wages, no benefits, no sick or holiday pay, no rights, and no union.
Hadiklaim
The Israeli Date Growers’ Cooperative sells 65% of all Israeli and West Bank settlement-produced dates under the brand names King Solomon and Jordan River. They also supply supermarkets and retail chains that market them under their own private brands. Customers include UK-based Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose.
Harvesting dates is hard work and why Israelis use cheap Palestinian labor for it — preferably children who are small, agile, work for less, and are easier to cheat.
The job entails days beginning at 5AM, being hoisted atop date palm trees up to 12 meters, left there for up to eight hours with no break and no way down until mechanically returned at day’s end. Workers cling to trees with one arm, using the other for their quota, with no break, and if they complain or fall behind, they’re fired.
Agrexco and Hadiklaim harvest and sell most dates produced in Israel or on illegal West Bank settlements, including brands mislabeled “West Bank.”
Gush Shalom’s BDS Support
Translated from Hebrew, Gush Shalom means “The Peace Bloc” — hard core, especially in times of crisis. Opposing the occupation, it supports an independent Palestine “in all the territories occupied by Israel in 1967″ with East Jerusalem its capital and diaspora refugees free to return or be justly compensated for lost land and property.
In July 2006, it listed settlement-made products/factories to be boycotted, headed by the comment that “A penny to the settlements is a penny against peace.” Consumer ones include:
Avaha cosmetics;
Aphrodite cosmetics;
AMB cosmetics;
Adora Screens;
Aladin cleaning products;
Abadi “Mizrahiot” salted bagel cookies;
Ahva halva and candy;
Adanim Tea;
Arava Grapes;
Areva Herbs;
Barken Cellars wine makers;
Bel Efri jewelery;
Barken Sweets;
Barshap cosmetics;
Better and Different health food;
Beigel & Beigel pretzel bakery;
Beitili furniture and carpets;
Ben-Or toys;
Doron Furnitures;
Dotan leather goods;
Eden Springs Ltd. mineral water;
Edumim fish processed food;
Euro Veavers carpets;
Ever & Levin jewelry;
Gilad spices;
Golan Cheese;
Golan Wines;
Gush Ezion Wines;
Harduf Eggs;
Hebron Wines;
Hlavin Industries;
InterCosma cosmetics;
Kedem Herbs;
Keter Plastics plastic furniture;
Kravitz stationery;
Keisaria Carpets;
Lankry foods;
Luiza herbal tea;
Lital furniture;
Meirtecs blankets;
Motola Preservers pickles;
Malchi-Jourden Industries cosmetics;
Modan satchels and handbags;
Netanel Spices;
Nimrod Cheese;
Noah Winery;
Of Habira chicken;
Openheimer chocolate and sweets;
Organica spices;
Ramat Hagolan Cellars wine makers;
Ramat Hagolan Dairy;
Shamir Salads;
Sharp Delicatessens sausages;
Soda Club home soda water devices;
Shemesh Spices;
Shomron Meat;
Super Drink drinks;
Sus Etz toys;
Tekoa Mushrooms;
Tekoa Wines;
Tel Arza Wines;
Tohikon arts and crafts;
Winter Carpets;
Yenon processed food;
Zion Wines; and
Zivanit shoes and sandals.
To paraphrase Chicago community organizer Saul Alinsky, the way to beat organized oppression is with organized boycotts against Israeli companies and global corporate giants allied with its government’s war machine.
It’s a democratic non-violent weapon of the powerless against the powerful, the tactic Gandhi preferred. It fights fire with activism. It’s how South Africa’s apartheid was beaten, and it can end decades of Israeli lawlessness the same way, bring peace and reconciliation, and give Palestinians their long-denied rights in their own state or together with Jews equally in one land, the way it should be in any just nation.(show less)
photo: Robert Gale via flickr.
Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it has a signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian biofuel company Cosan that would create a $12 billion joint venture for the production and distribution of sugarcane-based ethanol. Both companies will contribute Brazilian assets to the joint venture and Shell will pony up an additional $1.625 billion in cash, to be paid over the next two years:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Ma'an Israel's Peace Now movement and Americans for Peace Now on Monday condemned attacks on the New Israel Fund, which has come under fire for funding human rights organizations whose reports appeared in South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN report on Gaza.
In recent days, a right-wing Israeli organization, Im Tirzu, launched a campaign to discredit the fund, its chair, Naomi Chazan, and some of its grantee organizations, including attacks against Chazan in newspaper ads that show the former Knesset Member with a horn on her forehead.
The controversy apparently began after the Hebrew-language daily Maariv ran an article over the weekend accusing the US-based progressive fund of supporting human rights groups whose findings appeared in the final report of Goldstone's fact-finding m... (continue reading)
Ma'an Israel's Peace Now movement and Americans for Peace Now on Monday condemned attacks on the New Israel Fund, which has come under fire for funding human rights organizations whose reports appeared in South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN report on Gaza.
In recent days, a right-wing Israeli organization, Im Tirzu, launched a campaign to discredit the fund, its chair, Naomi Chazan, and some of its grantee organizations, including attacks against Chazan in newspaper ads that show the former Knesset Member with a horn on her forehead.
The controversy apparently began after the Hebrew-language daily Maariv ran an article over the weekend accusing the US-based progressive fund of supporting human rights groups whose findings appeared in the final report of Goldstone's fact-finding mission.
Peace Now and Americans for Peace Now said in a joint statement that they "are deeply disturbed by the content of this campaign and shocked by its style,...
The groups added: "The NIF grantees that are quoted in the UN report on Operation Cast Lead were performing their duty as Israeli human rights organizations by monitoring and reporting on controversial policies of their government and their military....
.......Meanwhile, the pro-Israel group J Street said it was "gravely concerned about escalating threats to the character of Israel's democracy," according to a statement, which condemned the "new attacks on organizations defending its democratic values and on individuals exercising their basic democratic rights."
"Im Tirtzu’s political leanings are clear," J Street added. "This is a pro-settler group, with $100,000 of funding from Christians United For Israel, a conservative Christian Zionist organization run by Pastor John Hagee, who once stated that God sent Hitler to drive Jews to Israe...
"Pro-Israel Americans should stand up for Israeli democracy, not work to actively undermine it... Full story(show less)
An investigation into claims by South Africans that they have been harassed at airports by people claiming to be with 'Airport security' when in fact they are working for El Al Israeli airline. The interesting part though is that all these security guards are trained by Shin Bet and actually work for them. Shockingly they illegally detain and question passengers (even when not flying on their plane), as well as illegally search people, make copies of documents and pass these off to Israel.
Generally with video's like this, there will be cries of "Anti-Semitism"!
PLEASE NOTE… THIS IS NOT THAT! THIS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS ILLEGAL SPYING, BREAKING THE LAW, SPYING ON INNOCENT CITIZENS OF A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY, SPIES BEING PLANTED AS 'SECURITY GUARDS'.
There may also be claims to discredit this stor... (continue reading)
An investigation into claims by South Africans that they have been harassed at airports by people claiming to be with 'Airport security' when in fact they are working for El Al Israeli airline. The interesting part though is that all these security guards are trained by Shin Bet and actually work for them. Shockingly they illegally detain and question passengers (even when not flying on their plane), as well as illegally search people, make copies of documents and pass these off to Israel.
Generally with video's like this, there will be cries of "Anti-Semitism"!
PLEASE NOTE… THIS IS NOT THAT! THIS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS ILLEGAL SPYING, BREAKING THE LAW, SPYING ON INNOCENT CITIZENS OF A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY, SPIES BEING PLANTED AS 'SECURITY GUARDS'.
There may also be claims to discredit this story, the story was aired by CARTE BLANCHE.
Part 1/2:
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGwBXIPUW5E
Part 2/2:
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POWvgcKWg-U
Israel – South Africa Crises Faces Deadline
Israel's national airline El Al may be forced to ground all flights to South Africa on Sunday after South Africa accused Israel of violating international law by using armed Israeli intelligence agents with diplomatic passports to screen passengers boarding the El Al flights in South Africa.
A diplomatic quarrel between the two countries broke out in September after "Carte Blanche", a South African investigative television program, alleged that the El Al's policy was to profile passengers based on race and religion and offered evidence that its security personnel were actually employed by the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service.
Using hidden cameras, detectives and testimony from a former South African El Al security officer disgruntled over the alleged non-payment of a bonus by El Al, the South African investigative program found evidence that the security personnel for El Al, a private company, had their guns licensed through the Israeli embassy and alleged that the officers were agents of Israel's secret service. The program explicitly accused the Israelis of using racist security policies and knowingly violating South African law.
The program led to an outcry in South Africa, a country still recovering from the wounds of decades of racial persecution during the Apartheid era, and in November South Africa revoked the diplomatic immunity of all El Al staff operating in the country.
A team of Israeli diplomats was dispatched to South Africa to try resolve the matter, but after months of negotiations the two countries do not seem to have come to an agreement on the status and operation of Israeli security personnel in the country.
El Al has now announced that it will cancel all flights to South Africa if its security staff are not provided with diplomatic passports by the end of the month.
Israeli President Shimon Peres is expected to raise the issue when he meets his South African counterpart President Jacob Zuma at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.
El Al refused to comment on the content of the negotiations.
"The Israeli Foreign Ministry is dealing with this and we are hoping that the matter will be solved," Anat Friedman, a spokesperson with El Al Israel Airlines told The Media Line.
Andy David, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Israel would not waver on security.
"In order for us to fly anywhere in the world there are some security preconditions that need to be fulfilled," he told The Media Line. "If they are not fulfilled then El Al cannot fly. With regards to South Africa, the two governments have been in touch and are trying to solve the matter, but if the necessary preconditions for the security of the El Al flight cannot be met then El Al will have to stop flying to South Africa."
South African officials were also tight lipped on the status of the late-hour negotiations.
"We cannot comment on discussions that are ongoing," Elizabeth Smith, Political and Trade Counsellor at the South African Embassy in Tel Aviv told The Media Line. "We prefer to keep these discussions on a bilateral basis and not to speak about the issue indirectly through the media."
But a senior South African Foreign Affairs official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the issue centered around diplomatic immunity.
"South Africa did not expel a diplomat or withdraw the diplomatic immunity of a diplomat," the official told The Media Line. "We withdrew diplomatic immunity for someone who was not a diplomat."
"We are following our obligations under international law," they said. "The Vienna convention is an agreement among states to regulate who is entitled to diplomatic immunity and who is not. Security officers working outside of embassies are not entitled to diplomatic immunity."
"Now the governments are trying to work out how they can best solve the problem in such a way that our adherence to international law is respected and our domestic legislation is respected," the official added, referring to South African legislation governing where armed security personnel can operate.
Directives from the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, require Israeli airlines to provide their own security in foreign airports, an arrangement host countries have traditionally accepted. The head of an Israeli airline's security team in a particular country, a Shin Bet agent, is generally given a diplomatic passport so as to operate with diplomatic immunity.
"Israel Security Agency agents probably operate wherever they perceive a threat," David J Bentley, an analyst with Big Pond Aviation told The Media Line. "Authorities around the world are generally just not quite sure how to handle the situation."
El Al flies a Boeing 767-300 to Johannesburg three times a week, carrying between 1235 and 1400 passengers a week when at full capacity. El Al is the only airline that runs direct flights between Israel and South Africa.
"With the World Cup coming up in South Africa this year and the world's media so focused on South Africa, South African authorities simply do not want any more attention on the country in a manner in which they are not in control of," Bentley said. "To have agents of another country operating in their territory, it's probably the worst time for things like this to happen."
But Dr Virginia Tilley, a researcher at South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council, said the incident had caused much more embarrassment for Israel than South Africa.
"To have put South Africa in a position of having its national law and national sovereignty violated by Israeli intelligence operations is a considerable embarrassment to the Israeli government," she told The Media Line. "Of course these things happen but they are not supposed to be publicly thrown in the face of the host country."
"This was outrageous from the beginning," said Dr Tilley, who was featured on the Carte Blanche investigative program as one of the passengers El Al security agents had profiled. "In South Africa it is particularly not OK for anybody to be screening people based on ethnicity or race and giving them a hard time on that basis."
"They are going way beyond what would be necessary for the security of the airplane," she said. "For example I was traveling to Israel, had a series of documents with me and they copied all of them and faxed them to Israel. That has nothing to do with the safety of an airplane."
"They are conducting espionage under the guise of an airline," said Dr Tilley. "They can't operate a foreign intelligence gathering service in South Africa, interrogating South African citizens on South African soil. That's illegal."
"Israel's argument is that they have unique security considerations and that as such they need unique accommodations from the host country," she said. "That argument begins to crumble when you don't inform the host country."
"Nobody likes that," Dr Tilley said. "Most countries would find it quite irritating that the Shin Bet was operating on their soil without telling them, so this has very broad implications and could spread. Other countries will say 'Well if South Africa is not going to let you do illegal things on their soil then we're not going to let you do illegal things on our soil.'"
The Carte Blanche investigative program had sent a Muslim man with a hidden camera to Johannesburg airport to meet a friend near the El Al check-in desk. While the man was not flying and did not approach the check in desk, he was thoroughly interrogated by men claiming to be airport security personnel. The men turned out to be employees of the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, with diplomatic passports and guns licensed through the Israeli embassy.
"El Al does excellent security work, but they work above the law," Jonathan Garb, a former El Al security agent in South Africa told the program. "This here is secret service operating above the law here in South Africa… It's like the CIA, or the FBI, or MI5, but they're hiding behind the guise of the airline."
"The crazy thing is that we are profiling people racially, ethnically, even on religious grounds," he said, pointing out that the Israeli profiling system meant that black passengers endured much harsher profiling than white passengers.
"We pull the wool over everyone's eyes," Garb added. "We do exactly what we want. The local authorities do not know what we are doing."
Mr Garb was employed by the Israeli airline as a security guard and profiler, trained in Israel and tasked with screening passengers attempting to board El Al's direct flight between Johannesburg and Tel Aviv. After 19 years with the airline, he was fired, allegedly after he filed a complaint with the South African Department of Labor over a financial bonus he claims he was entitled to.
Source: AHN
Israeli Shin Bet spies uncovered in South African Airports working for EL AL airlines [Video] is a post from: Sabbah Report. Get Daily Newsletter, follow on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
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Dubai, February 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Palestinian woman living in Dubai, Susan Al-Hobi, recently climbed Vinson Mount and became the first Arab to reach the highest point in Antarctica. The peak is 4,898 meters (16,050 feet) high.
Al-Hobi previously raised the Palestinian flag on the top of a number of other "highest peaks": Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Mont Blanc (Alps of Western Europe), Aconcagua (South America) and Toubkal (Northern Africa).
According to The Gulf newspaper, Al-Hobi loves adventure and looks forward to climbing all of the seven highest mountains in the world. Remaining for her to climb are the summits of Denali (Alaska, US), Carstensz Pyramid (Papua, Indonesia) and Everest (Nepal). She says she wants to prove to the world that Arab women can conquer t... (continue reading)
Dubai, February 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Palestinian woman living in Dubai, Susan Al-Hobi, recently climbed Vinson Mount and became the first Arab to reach the highest point in Antarctica. The peak is 4,898 meters (16,050 feet) high.
Al-Hobi previously raised the Palestinian flag on the top of a number of other "highest peaks": Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Mont Blanc (Alps of Western Europe), Aconcagua (South America) and Toubkal (Northern Africa).
According to The Gulf newspaper, Al-Hobi loves adventure and looks forward to climbing all of the seven highest mountains in the world. Remaining for her to climb are the summits of Denali (Alaska, US), Carstensz Pyramid (Papua, Indonesia) and Everest (Nepal). She says she wants to prove to the world that Arab women can conquer the impossible.
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"The secretary of state had nothing to say about the condition of human rights, gender equality and so forth in Saudi Arabia and America's other military vassals in the Persian Gulf. Medieval monarchies and hereditary autocracies that host American military bases, buy billions of dollars of advanced weapons from Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman and are home to the U.S. 5th Fleet are not subjected to homilies on human rights and "democratic institutions."
The Xingu river, where the dam will be built. Photo: Leo Freitas.
The environmental Ministry of Brazil has announced a controversial project to build a huge hydroelectric dam in the middle of the Amazon forest has been granted an environmental license. In exchange, the government is asking the winning bidder 803 million US dollars in compensation for ecological damages. Find out why Sting might get annoyed with the news inside....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein write on CNN.com:
Vieques, Puerto Rico (CNN) — Nearly 40 years ago, Hermogenes Marrero was a teenage U.S. Marine, stationed as a security guard on the tiny American island of Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Marrero says he’s been sick ever since. At age 57, the former Marine sergeant is nearly blind, needs an oxygen tank, has Lou Gehrig’s disease and crippling back problems, and sometimes needs a wheelchair.
“I’d go out to the firing range, and sometimes I’d start bleeding automatically from my nose,” he said in an interview to air on Monday night’s “Campbell Brown.”
“I said, ‘My God, why am I bleeding?’ So then I’d leave the range, and it stops. I come back, and maybe I’m vomiting now. I used to get diarrhea, pains in my stomach all the time. H... (continue reading)
Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein write on CNN.com:
Vieques, Puerto Rico (CNN) — Nearly 40 years ago, Hermogenes Marrero was a teenage U.S. Marine, stationed as a security guard on the tiny American island of Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Marrero says he’s been sick ever since. At age 57, the former Marine sergeant is nearly blind, needs an oxygen tank, has Lou Gehrig’s disease and crippling back problems, and sometimes needs a wheelchair.
“I’d go out to the firing range, and sometimes I’d start bleeding automatically from my nose,” he said in an interview to air on Monday night’s “Campbell Brown.”
“I said, ‘My God, why am I bleeding?’ So then I’d leave the range, and it stops. I come back, and maybe I’m vomiting now. I used to get diarrhea, pains in my stomach all the time. Headaches — I mean, tremendous headaches. My vision, I used to get blurry.”…
From our partners at The Agonist. Click here for more information about the Afghanistan war.
Harper’s Magazine, By Scott Horton, January 29
Secretary of Defense Gates’s detentions-policy advisors see Guantánamo as old policy. The all-new, streamlined detentions policy goes by the name of Bagram. Looking over the new policies, there’s no doubt that they have gone some distance to satisfy their critics. But there is a serious question about the legality of the new detentions policy, and even whether it really meshes with counterinsurgency policy. Will it help win hearts and minds? Will it reinforce the legitimacy of the government in Kabul?
In Guernica and The Nation, Anand Gopal takes a close look at the United States detention policies in Afghanistan—not from the perspective of the Pen... (continue reading)
From our partners at The Agonist. Click here for more information about the Afghanistan war.
Harper’s Magazine, By Scott Horton, January 29
Secretary of Defense Gates’s detentions-policy advisors see Guantánamo as old policy. The all-new, streamlined detentions policy goes by the name of Bagram. Looking over the new policies, there’s no doubt that they have gone some distance to satisfy their critics. But there is a serious question about the legality of the new detentions policy, and even whether it really meshes with counterinsurgency policy. Will it help win hearts and minds? Will it reinforce the legitimacy of the government in Kabul?
In Guernica and The Nation, Anand Gopal takes a close look at the United States detention policies in Afghanistan—not from the perspective of the Pentagon but rather from that of Afghan villagers and city dwellers. It’s not pretty:
Of the 24 former detainees interviewed for this story, 17 claim to have been abused at or en route to these sites. Doctors, government officials, and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, a body tasked with investigating abuse claims, corroborate 12 of these claims. One of these former detainees is Noor Agha Sher Khan, who used to be a police officer in Gardez, a mud-caked town in the eastern part of the country. According to Sher Khan, U.S. forces detained him in a night raid in 2003 and brought him to a Field Detention Site at a nearby U.S. base. “They interrogated me the whole night,” he recalls, “but I had nothing to tell them.” Sher Khan worked for a police commander whom U.S. forces had detained on suspicion of having ties to the insurgency. He had occasionally acted as a driver for this commander, which made him suspicious in American eyes.
The interrogators blindfolded him, taped his mouth shut, and chained him to the ceiling, he alleges. Occasionally they unleashed a dog, which repeatedly bit him. At one point, they removed the blindfold and forced him to kneel on a long wooden bar. “They tied my hands to a pulley [above] and pushed me back and forth as the bar rolled across my shins. I screamed and screamed.” They then pushed him to the ground and forced him to swallow 12 bottles worth of water. “Two people held my mouth open and they poured water down my throat until my stomach was full and I became unconscious. It was as if someone had inflated me.” he says. After he was roused from his torpor, he vomited the water uncontrollably. This continued for a number of days; sometimes he was hung upside down from the ceiling, and other times blindfolded for extended periods. Eventually, he was sent on to Bagram where the torture ceased. Four months later, he was quietly released, with a letter of apology from U.S. authorities for wrongfully imprisoning him.
Anand Gopal: Obama’s Secret Prisons
Guernica, By Anand Gopal, January 28
One quiet, wintry night last year in the eastern Afghan town of Khost, a young government employee named Ismatullah simply vanished. He had last been seen in the town’s bazaar with a group of friends. Family members scoured Khost’s dust-doused streets for days. Village elders contacted Taliban commanders in the area who were wont to kidnap government workers, but they had never heard of the young man. Even the governor got involved, ordering his police to round up nettlesome criminal gangs that sometimes preyed on young bazaar-goers for ransom.
But the hunt turned up nothing. Spring and summer came and went with no sign of Ismatullah. Then one day, long after the police and village elders had abandoned their search, a courier delivered a neat, handwritten note on Red Cross stationary to the family. In it, Ismatullah informed them that he was in Bagram, an American prison more than 200 miles away. U.S. forces had picked him up while he was on his way home from the bazaar, the terse letter stated, and he didn’t know when he would be freed.
Sometime in the last few years, Pashtun villagers in Afghanistan’s rugged heartland began to lose faith in the American project. Many of them can point to the precise moment of this transformation, and it usually took place in the dead of the night, when most of the country was fast asleep. In the secretive U.S. detentions process, suspects are usually nabbed in the darkness and then sent to one of a number of detention areas on military bases, often on the slightest suspicion and without the knowledge of their families.
This process has become even more feared and hated in Afghanistan than coalition airstrikes. The night raids and detentions, little known or understood outside of these Pashtun villages, are slowly turning Afghans against the very forces they greeted as liberators just a few years ago.
Audio interview with Anand Gopal
In his article for TomDispatch.com and The Nation, “America’s Secret Afghan Prisons,” Anand Gopal exposes the clandestine American detention process in Afghanistan. In this interview from Tom Dispatch, Gopal talks about his reporting in Afghanistan, and how he learned about an unreported network of U.S. prisons.
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Stand with the people of
Haiti! What the U.S. government isn't telling
you
We at the ANSWER Coalition extend our heartfelt solidarity to
all of our Haitian sisters and brothers, as well as to all those who have friends and
family there, as Haiti copes with the destruction and grief of the massive 7.0 magnitude
earthquake that struck yesterday.
All of us are joining in the
outpouring of solidarity from people all over the hemisphere and world who are sending
humanitarian aid and assistance to the people of Haiti.
At such a
moment, it is also important to put this catastrophe into a political and social
context. Without this context, it is... (continue reading)
Stand with the people of
Haiti! What the U.S. government isn't telling
you
We at the ANSWER Coalition extend our heartfelt solidarity to
all of our Haitian sisters and brothers, as well as to all those who have friends and
family there, as Haiti copes with the destruction and grief of the massive 7.0 magnitude
earthquake that struck yesterday.
All of us are joining in the
outpouring of solidarity from people all over the hemisphere and world who are sending
humanitarian aid and assistance to the people of Haiti.
At such a
moment, it is also important to put this catastrophe into a political and social
context. Without this context, it is impossible to understand both the monumental
problems facing Haiti and, most importantly, the solutions that can allow Haiti to
survive and thrive. Hillary Clinton said today, "It is biblical, the tragedy
that continues to daunt Haiti and the Haitian people." This hypocritical
statement that blames Haiti's suffering exclusively on an "act of
God" masks the role of U.S. and French imperialism in the
region.
In this statement, we have included some background
information about Haiti that helps establish the real
context:
Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive stated today that
as many as 100,000 Haitians may be dead. International media is reporting bodies being
piled along streets surrounded by the rubble from thousands of collapsed buildings.
Estimates of the economic damage are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Haiti’s
large shantytown population was particularly hard hit by the tragedy.
As CNN, ABC and every other major corporate media outlet will be
quick to point out, Haiti is the poorest country in the entire Western hemisphere. But
not a single word is uttered as to why Haiti is poor. Poverty, unlike earthquakes, is no
natural disaster.
The answer lies in more than two centuries of U.S.
hostility to the island nation, whose hard-won independence from the French was only the
beginning of its struggle for liberation.
In 1804, what had begun as
a slave uprising more than a decade earlier culminated in freedom from the grips of
French colonialism, making Haiti the first Latin American colony to win its independence
and the world's first Black republic. Prior to the victory of the Haitian
people, George Washington and then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson had supported
France out of fear that Haiti would inspire uprisings among the U.S. slave population.
The U.S. slave-owning aristocracy was horrified at Haiti’s newly earned freedom.
U.S. interference became an integral part of Haitian history,
culminating in a direct military occupation from 1915 to 1934. Through economic and
military intervention, Haiti was subjugated as U.S. capital developed a railroad and
acquired plantations. In a gesture of colonial arrogance, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was
the assistant secretary of the Navy at the time, drafted a constitution for Haiti which,
among other things, allowed foreigners to own land. U.S. officials would later find an
accommodation with the dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, and then his son
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, as Haiti suffered under their brutal repressive
policies.
In the 1980s and 1990s, U.S. policy toward Haiti sought
the reorganization of the Haitian economy to better serve the interests of foreign
capital. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was instrumental in
shifting Haitian agriculture away from grain production, paving the way for dependence
on food imports. Ruined Haitian farmers flocked to the cities in search of a livelihood,
resulting in the swelling of the precarious shantytowns found in Port-au-Prince and
other urban centers.
Who has benefited from these policies? U.S.
food producers profited from increased exports to Haitian markets. Foreign corporations
that had set up shop in Haitian cities benefitted from the super-exploitation of cheap
labor flowing from the countryside. But for the people of Haiti, there was only greater
misery and destitution.
Washington orchestrated the overthrow of the
democratically elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide—not once, but twice, in
1991 and 2004. Haiti has been under a U.S.-backed U.N. occupation for nearly six years.
Aristide did not earn the animosity of U.S. leaders for his moderate reforms; he earned
it when he garnered support among Haiti's poor, which crystallized into a mass
popular movement. Two hundred years on, U.S. officials are still horrified by the
prospect of a truly independent Haiti.
The unstable, makeshift
dwellings imposed upon Haitians by Washington’s neoliberal policies have now, for many,
been turned into graves. Those same policies are to blame for the lack of hospitals,
ambulances, fire trucks, rescue equipment, food and medicine. The blow dealt by such a
natural disaster to an economy made so fragile from decades of plundering will greatly
magnify the suffering of the Haitian people.
Natural disasters are
inevitable, but resource allocation and planning can play a decisive role in mitigating
their impact and dealing with the aftermath. Haiti and neighboring Cuba, who are no
strangers to violent tropical storms, were both hit hard in 2008 by a series of
hurricanes—which, unlike earthquakes, are predictable. While more than 800 lives were
lost in Haiti, less than 10 people died in Cuba. Unlike Haiti, Cuba had a coordinated
evacuation plan and post-hurricane rescue efforts that were centrally planned by the
Cuban government. This was only possible because Cuban society is not organized
according to the needs of foreign capital, but rather according to the needs of the
Cuban people.
In a televised speech earlier today, President Obama
has announced that USAID and the Departments of State and Defense will be working to
support the rescue and relief efforts in Haiti in the coming days. Ironically, these are
the same government entities responsible for the implementation of the economic and
military policies that reduced Haiti to ruins even before the earthquake
hit.
The ANSWER Coalition has called for a mass
national march and rally in Washington, D.C., on March 20 to oppose the wars and
occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. We will also demand an end the foreign
occupation of Haiti and reparations to Haiti for the vast wealth that has been looted
from the country by foreign imperialist
countries.
Help build the March 20
March on Washington!
Endorse March
20
Organize
Transportation
Volunteer
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literature
Find out about transportation from around the
country
Naomi Klein Issues Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They
Shock Again 14 Jan 2010mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) Journalist and author Naomi
Klein spoke in New York last night and addressed the crisis in Haiti: “We have to be
absolutely clear that this tragedy—which is part natural, part unnatural—must, under no
circumstances, be used to, one, further indebt Haiti and, two, to push through unpopular
corporatist policies in the interest of our corporations. This is not conspiracy theory.
They have done it again and again.” [includes rush transcript]
US Policy in Haiti Over Decades "Lays the Foundation for Why Impact of
Natural Disaster Is So Severe" 14 Jan 2010mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) We discuss the situation in
Haiti following Tuesday’s massive earthquake, as well as the history of Haiti, with two
guests who have spent a lot of time there: Bill Quigley, the legal director at the
Center for Constitutional Rights, and Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for
Justice & Democracy in Haiti. [includes rush transcript]
AfterDowningStreet.org
After Downing Street is a nonpartisan coalition working to expose the lies that create and sustain wars and occupations and to hold accountable those responsible. We have speakers available. If you register on this site, you will have the option to receive occasional Email updates from us. Please read our policy regarding posting comments on this site. Would you like to see ADS news every time you go to Google.com? Use this widget or this widget to put ADS news on any website. We're on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, and have an RSS feed.
By Kathy Kelly
Here in Colorado Springs, student and community organizers recently invited me to try and help promote their campaign against a proposed “No Camping” ordinance, a law to ban the homeless from sleeping on sidewalks or public lands within the city limits. The organizers insist it’s wrongful to criminalize the most desperate and endangered among us, that it instead seems quite criminal to persecute people already in need of far more care and compassion than we've been willing to offer, especially during these bitterly cold winter months. But others in the area are intent on eliminating the tent encampments near the Monument Creek and Shooks Run trails, complaining that the encampments mar natural beauty, deter tourists, create fire hazards, and degrade the environment by s... (continue reading)
By Kathy Kelly
Here in Colorado Springs, student and community organizers recently invited me to try and help promote their campaign against a proposed “No Camping” ordinance, a law to ban the homeless from sleeping on sidewalks or public lands within the city limits. The organizers insist it’s wrongful to criminalize the most desperate and endangered among us, that it instead seems quite criminal to persecute people already in need of far more care and compassion than we've been willing to offer, especially during these bitterly cold winter months. But others in the area are intent on eliminating the tent encampments near the Monument Creek and Shooks Run trails, complaining that the encampments mar natural beauty, deter tourists, create fire hazards, and degrade the environment by strewing heaps of trash and debris near the creek and even in it.
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U.S.: Landmark Case Could Restore Felon Voting Rights
By Matthew Cardinale | IPS
A historic ruling earlier this month on behalf of felons who lost the right to vote could call into question the disenfranchisement of felons and ex-felons in the State of Washington and indeed across the United States.
Federal Ninth District Circuit Court Judges A. Wallace Tashima and Stephen Reinhardt ruled on behalf of several disenfranchised voters, in a 2-1 ruling. Washington's Secretary of State Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna will appeal to the Supreme Court.
If plaintiffs are successful, the case could result in the restoration of voting rights to 47,000 U.S. citizens who are either incarcerated or under state supervision in the State of Washington, said Reed's director of communications,... (continue reading)
U.S.: Landmark Case Could Restore Felon Voting Rights
By Matthew Cardinale | IPS
A historic ruling earlier this month on behalf of felons who lost the right to vote could call into question the disenfranchisement of felons and ex-felons in the State of Washington and indeed across the United States.
Federal Ninth District Circuit Court Judges A. Wallace Tashima and Stephen Reinhardt ruled on behalf of several disenfranchised voters, in a 2-1 ruling. Washington's Secretary of State Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna will appeal to the Supreme Court.
If plaintiffs are successful, the case could result in the restoration of voting rights to 47,000 U.S. citizens who are either incarcerated or under state supervision in the State of Washington, said Reed's director of communications, David Ammons.
In addition, the case could have an impact on the status of felon voting rights in other states, by opening up the path for similar lawsuits.
According to the Sentencing Project, an estimated 5.3 million U.S. citizens cannot vote because they have a criminal conviction and live in one of 48 states which disenfranchise felons and ex-felons. An estimated four million of these are already out of prison and are living and working in their communities.
"It absolutely is a victory," Kara Gotsch, advocacy director for the Sentencing Project, told IPS. "The racial disparity that exists in the criminal justice system and discrimination is something we've been concerned about as an organisation for a long time."
"To have the court acknowledge that racial discrimination is an issue is in itself a significant finding, but the fact that this could also impact the felon voting laws is also important," Gotsch said. Read more.
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Please join the War Resisters League in calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawl in Haiti, an end to the militarization of aid, and a focus on the self-determination of the Haitian people.
"It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." -Abraham Maslow
The War Resisters League stands in support of the grieving families left in the wake of the disaster in Haiti. We celebrate the efforts of Haitian organizations currently working on the ground, including Haiti Action, Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA), the National Congress of Papaye Peasant Movement (MPNKP), the Kordinasyon Rejyonal Oganysasyon Sides (KROS), Tèt Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen (TK), and the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP). We also honor th... (continue reading)
Please join the War Resisters League in calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawl in Haiti, an end to the militarization of aid, and a focus on the self-determination of the Haitian people.
"It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." -Abraham Maslow
The War Resisters League stands in support of the grieving families left in the wake of the disaster in Haiti. We celebrate the efforts of Haitian organizations currently working on the ground, including Haiti Action, Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA), the National Congress of Papaye Peasant Movement (MPNKP), the Kordinasyon Rejyonal Oganysasyon Sides (KROS), Tèt Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen (TK), and the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP). We also honor the work of outside organizations, including many from the United States, such as Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health, and Grassroots International, supporting the relief effort with respect for the self-determination of the Haitian people during the long process of healing and recovery.
We are gravely concerned about the growing U.S. military presence in Haiti and the lack of a clear timetable for the withdrawal of troops. The U.S. military is a central conduit for the distribution of aid in Haiti and has been given temporary control of the airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has called the work ahead "a long-term undertaking" for the United States, stating that "the length of time that we will have thousands of troops in Haiti or off-shore, frankly, is impossible to predict right now." The top U.S. commander in Haiti, Army Lt. General P.K. Keen, has said that the security side of U.S. humanitarian relief operations in Haiti will take on a larger role in the days and weeks following the quake. As of January 21, 2010, 4,000 additional sailors and marines were deployed to Haiti, bringing the total number of U.S. troops in the country to 16,000.
Many have cited the inefficiency of aid operations in Haiti, which have left over five-sixths of those directly affected by the quake without food and little access to water while stores of food and medical supplies continue to sit on the ground at the airport. Reasons for this inefficiency have included the U.S. military's exaggerated and racist concerns about violence in Haiti, in spite of multiple reports that violence has been minimal and people have been helping their friends, families, and neighbors in a spirit of cooperation.
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Today, in the hopes of finally seeing justice, we are petitioning the United States Supreme Court to hear Mr. Arar’s extraordinary rendition case and we urgently need you to take action.DescriptionIn 2002, Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK airport while on his way home to Canada from abroad. He was interrogated, detained in the U.S. for 2 weeks, denied his right to go to court and then secretly rendered to Syria where he was tortured and held in a grave-like underground cell for over ten months. He was never charged with a crime. You can learn more about Mr. Arar’s case by clicking here.
In a disturbing decision last November, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed CCR’s civil case Arar v. Ashcroft in a 7-4 decision. In a strongly worded dissent, Judge Guido... (continue reading)
Today, in the hopes of finally seeing justice, we are petitioning the United States Supreme Court to hear Mr. Arar’s extraordinary rendition case and we urgently need you to take action.DescriptionIn 2002, Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK airport while on his way home to Canada from abroad. He was interrogated, detained in the U.S. for 2 weeks, denied his right to go to court and then secretly rendered to Syria where he was tortured and held in a grave-like underground cell for over ten months. He was never charged with a crime. You can learn more about Mr. Arar’s case by clicking here.
In a disturbing decision last November, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed CCR’s civil case Arar v. Ashcroft in a 7-4 decision. In a strongly worded dissent, Judge Guido Calabresi wrote, “I believe that when the history of this distinguished court is written, today’s majority decision will be viewed with dismay.” We are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review Maher Arar’s case and allow him his day in court. No one should ever be rendered to torture and those who have suffered at the hands of the U.S. government are entitled to redress.
You can help CCR fight for justice for Maher Arar. Tell Attorney General Eric Holder to stop defending the Bush administration’s wrongs and urge him to:
Acknowledge the wrong done to Maher Arar in a public apology;
Remove Maher Arar from the US Terror Watch List;
Appoint outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute crimes relating to Maher Arar’s rendition;
Remedy the harm done to Maher Arar; and
Ensure that the US does not send anyone to torture or arbitrary detention.
Click here to write to Attorney General Holder. Thank you for standing with us in the ongoing fight against torture and impunity.
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Haiti after 5 centuries of genocide, slavery, isolation, colonization and globalization
By Nick Egnatz
With the devastation of the Haitian earthquake of January 12, many Americans are literally learning of Haiti for the first time. The following is an attempt to present a very brief outline of Haiti’s history: first being dominated by Spain, then France and certainly for the last two centuries the United States.
The inspiration to write this came from reading and studying William I. Robinson’s Promoting Polyarchy -- Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony. Haiti, along with the Philippines, Nicaragua and Chile are case studies examined in detail.
Professor Robinson demonstrates how U.S. foreign policy changed in the 1970s from supporting dictators across the globe to an official p... (continue reading)
Haiti after 5 centuries of genocide, slavery, isolation, colonization and globalization
By Nick Egnatz
With the devastation of the Haitian earthquake of January 12, many Americans are literally learning of Haiti for the first time. The following is an attempt to present a very brief outline of Haiti’s history: first being dominated by Spain, then France and certainly for the last two centuries the United States.
The inspiration to write this came from reading and studying William I. Robinson’s Promoting Polyarchy -- Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony. Haiti, along with the Philippines, Nicaragua and Chile are case studies examined in detail.
Professor Robinson demonstrates how U.S. foreign policy changed in the 1970s from supporting dictators across the globe to an official policy of "democracy promotion." Unfortunately the democracy being promoted was not the small "d" democracy that Lincoln defined as government "of the people, by the people and for the people." It was polyarchy instead in which there is elite rule and the masses are given the illusion of democracy by participating in regular elections for pre-screened candidates. In polyarchy, the emphasis is on the forms and institutions of democracy such as regular elections, political parties and the rules and laws governing such. This is what passes for democracy in the U.S. There is no concern of what the results are. Whether these forms of democracy produce a government of, by and for the people is of no concern. While other sources are listed throughout the paper, it is Professor Robinson that is the source and my hope is that I have been able to do justice to a much needed understanding of the effects of U.S. foreign policy on our neighbors and ourselves.
We witness nightly on our television screens the courage and independence of the Haitian people who won their freedom defeating Napoleon’s army and then dealt with isolation from the great powers. Especially the United States which ignored its neighbor for the first century and then invaded, occupied and manipulated the Haitian government in pursuit of its own agenda of neo-liberal globalization (free trade, free markets, no regulations and tax cuts for the wealthy).
1492-1700, Columbus
Leads the Spanish Genocide and Slavery
Second only to Cuba in size amongst Caribbean islands, Hispaniola is made up of the Dominican Republic on the Eastern two thirds, while Haiti comprises the Western one third. In 1492 after first stopping at San Salvador, Christopher Columbus, on a military/business mission to colonize the Orient, landed in Hispaniola. He was welcomed with gifts and kindness by the three million Taino Arawak Indians that lived in relative peace on the island. The man whose holiday we celebrate every October repaid this hospitality with enslavement, massacres and genocide.
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NEW YORK PEACE GRANNIES TO MARK 1000TH AMERICAN DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER | Press Release
As the American military death toll nears the 1,000 mark in Afghanistan, anti-war grandmothers and their supporters are preparing in advance to mark the grim occasion. The grannies held special commemorations for the 3,000th and 4,000th American death in Iraq, and now are planning to perform the same heartbreaking task for those unfortunate soldiers sacrificed to the war in Afghanistan.
"Perhaps most of the public is not much concerned with these wars and their casualties, but the peace grannies always have been, are now and will continue to be until they are stopped," said 94-year-old Lillian Pollak, an active member of the Granny Peace Brigade, one of the organizers of... (continue reading)
NEW YORK PEACE GRANNIES TO MARK 1000TH AMERICAN DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER | Press Release
As the American military death toll nears the 1,000 mark in Afghanistan, anti-war grandmothers and their supporters are preparing in advance to mark the grim occasion. The grannies held special commemorations for the 3,000th and 4,000th American death in Iraq, and now are planning to perform the same heartbreaking task for those unfortunate soldiers sacrificed to the war in Afghanistan.
"Perhaps most of the public is not much concerned with these wars and their casualties, but the peace grannies always have been, are now and will continue to be until they are stopped," said 94-year-old Lillian Pollak, an active member of the Granny Peace Brigade, one of the organizers of the event. "We will publicly acknowledge the carnage in the hope that we will awaken citizens to the fact that the wars are still being waged with their resultant unjustified death and destruction -- not only of our own young people but of countless innocent civilians. We must not let up in our efforts to end these immoral occupations."
Please be advised that a special memorial will be held the day AFTER the 1,000th fatality is announced. People are asked to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the site of the regular Wednesday Rockefeller Center Grandmothers Against the War vigil -- the west side of Fifth Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts. They will vigil there for approximately one hour and then slowly walk to the recruitment center in Times Square for a short appearance. The grannies will be joined by Veterans for Peace, who regularly stand with them on Wednesdays, and other loyal followers.
It is requested that people bring candles and flashlights. Names of the dead will be read. Celebrated persons in in the arts and government have been invited to eulogize the lost lives.
The count is as of this date (Feb. 1) 977, so it is likely that the 1,000th death will occur within the next month or two. Those who plan to attend are asked to be vigilant in observing the count so that they can participate at the right moment.
Regretfully, the casualties continue to mount in Iraq, as well, though not to the extent they have in the past. American deaths there now total 4,375. Hopefully, the U.S. will have pulled out before the total reaches the dreaded 5,000. Rest assured, the indomitable grannies will continue their non-stop efforts to make this a reality.
DATE: The day AFTER the 1,000th American casualty is reached in Afghanistan
TIME: 5:30 - 6:30 P.M.
PLACE: West side of 5th Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts. -- then walk to Times Square Recruiting Center, 44th and Broadway
###
CONTACT: Joan Wile -- 917-441-0651
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Here’s the video accompanying Isabel Kershner’s piece on the West Bank protests last week in the Times. It’s billed: "The Spectacle of West Bank Protests… With a stalled peace process, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters [no mention of Israelis and internationals] clash violently each Friday. The skirmishes are a combination of desperate activism and staged theater." In the video, the narrator, evidently Jaron Gilinsky, who I’m sure is Arab-American (sorry; Jewish irony), says that Jonathan Pollak "claims" to have suffered brain hemmorhages from tear gas cartridges and presents a Palestinian hit in the kidney area by a rubber bullet as play-acting his injury. It calls the protests "theatrical… spectacle." Disgraceful. Remember that these are protests against violent occupation ... (continue reading)
Here’s the video accompanying Isabel Kershner’s piece on the West Bank protests last week in the Times. It’s billed: "The Spectacle of West Bank Protests… With a stalled peace process, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters [no mention of Israelis and internationals] clash violently each Friday. The skirmishes are a combination of desperate activism and staged theater." In the video, the narrator, evidently Jaron Gilinsky, who I’m sure is Arab-American (sorry; Jewish irony), says that Jonathan Pollak "claims" to have suffered brain hemmorhages from tear gas cartridges and presents a Palestinian hit in the kidney area by a rubber bullet as play-acting his injury. It calls the protests "theatrical… spectacle." Disgraceful. Remember that these are protests against violent occupation and separate roadways and land confiscation, worse than Jim Crow conditions. Note that on his website Gilinsky, who is based in Jerusalem, questions the non-violence of the protests.
Related posts:Rep. Walter Jones and Anna Baltzer should get together in North CarolinaMax Blumenthal: How I Got Gassed in the West BankAnother Grim Video From B’Tselem in Shadow of Separation Wall
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Mike Huckabee is interviewed in Israel by the JPost:
The issue is not should there be two states– sure– but should those two states be on the same piece of land.
Certainly the Palestinians have Gaza, but they don’t seem to be content…
The Israelis have always made accommodations for people who aren’t Jewish….[Though they must set limits on the number of] people who dilute the reality of this being a Jewish state, I understand that… Israel is a refuge for Jewish people, and it is an unapologetically-chartered Jewish state…
Over this last year, this [Obama] administration has seemingly put all the pressure on the Israelis, none on the Palestinians.
Related posts:Huckabee: Palestinians Should Go Live in Arab CountriesPalestinians don’t have to recognize Israel as Jewish state, U.S. say... (continue reading)
Mike Huckabee is interviewed in Israel by the JPost:
The issue is not should there be two states– sure– but should those two states be on the same piece of land.
Certainly the Palestinians have Gaza, but they don’t seem to be content…
The Israelis have always made accommodations for people who aren’t Jewish….[Though they must set limits on the number of] people who dilute the reality of this being a Jewish state, I understand that… Israel is a refuge for Jewish people, and it is an unapologetically-chartered Jewish state…
Over this last year, this [Obama] administration has seemingly put all the pressure on the Israelis, none on the Palestinians.
Related posts:Huckabee: Palestinians Should Go Live in Arab CountriesPalestinians don’t have to recognize Israel as Jewish state, U.S. saysHuckabee defies Obama
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More evidence (in Haaretz: "Mitchell to Abbas: No more excuses, renew Mideast talks") that Obama and Mitchell have no problem squeezing the Palestinians to make up for their own political problems and weakness. Having taken on Netanyahu and lost, they compensate for their failure by pressuring the weakest party to give in. A right-wing French government, no less, points out to the Americans their unreasonableness towards Palestinian President Abbas–
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner defended Abbas, urging the envoy to recognize the risk to the Palestinian leader of returning to talks without international guarantees.
but the Obama administration is unmoved. Meanwhile, Mearsheimer & Walt gain material for a revised edition of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Related ... (continue reading)
More evidence (in Haaretz: "Mitchell to Abbas: No more excuses, renew Mideast talks") that Obama and Mitchell have no problem squeezing the Palestinians to make up for their own political problems and weakness. Having taken on Netanyahu and lost, they compensate for their failure by pressuring the weakest party to give in. A right-wing French government, no less, points out to the Americans their unreasonableness towards Palestinian President Abbas–
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner defended Abbas, urging the envoy to recognize the risk to the Palestinian leader of returning to talks without international guarantees.
but the Obama administration is unmoved. Meanwhile, Mearsheimer & Walt gain material for a revised edition of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Related posts:Obama seems complicit in Netanyahu’s scary obstructionismHuman rights investigations for Africa not Gaza, says France’s KouchnerHoyer Junket Upsets Palestinians, Undermines Obama
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Israel has announced that it has reprimanded two senior army officers for their role in an attack on a UN facility during last year’s Gaza offensive. Large amounts of fuel were stored in both underground and above-ground tankers at the facility, and 600-700 civilians were taking shelter there, so the risk of catastrophic civilian casualties was enormous; remarkably, there were no deaths and only three injured. However, a warehouse full of hundreds of tons of food and medicine was destroyed by fire, with untold effects on a desperate population.
Israel’s latest position, that two officers are to blame for "exceeding their authority," is just the newest entry in a series of shifting official explanations for the incident. Immediately after the attack, Israel struggled to get its story str... (continue reading)
Israel has announced that it has reprimanded two senior army officers for their role in an attack on a UN facility during last year’s Gaza offensive. Large amounts of fuel were stored in both underground and above-ground tankers at the facility, and 600-700 civilians were taking shelter there, so the risk of catastrophic civilian casualties was enormous; remarkably, there were no deaths and only three injured. However, a warehouse full of hundreds of tons of food and medicine was destroyed by fire, with untold effects on a desperate population.
Israel’s latest position, that two officers are to blame for "exceeding their authority," is just the newest entry in a series of shifting official explanations for the incident. Immediately after the attack, Israel struggled to get its story straight. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Ban Ki-moon the attack was a "grave error." Other Israeli officials, including then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, disagreed and justified the attack as a legitimate return of fire on Hamas militants operating from the vicinity of the compound. Three months later, in April, 2009, the Israeli military came up with a third version inconsistent with the first two: "The smoke projectiles [white phosphorus] were fired at an area a considerable distance from the UNRWA headquarters, and were not intended to cause damage to either person or property. However, it appears that fragments of the smoke projectiles did hit a warehouse located in the headquarters, causing it to catch fire."
So before this latest announcement, the attack on the UN facility was either a grave error (Barak), direct fire aimed at terrorists (Olmert), or a legitimate use of white phosphorus, not for attack but for concealment, that accidentally ignited the warehouse. Take your pick. Now, we are treated to yet a fourth claim, that two officers are to blame for ordering the attack without authority.
Israel’s pathetic efforts to find the "right" explanation sharply contrast with the Goldstone Report’s sober and thorough discussion of the same incident (pars. 543-595). The Mission members examined the physical and documentary evidence and found that at least three high explosive missiles and seven white phosphorous canisters hit the facility over a three-hour period. During that time, local UN officials repeatedly begged the Israeli military to stop, but to no avail (pars. 579-584). The Report reviewed and rejected Israel’s public defenses of its conduct, and concluded with typical restraint: "The question then becomes how specialists expertly trained in the complex issue of artillery deployment and aware of the presence of an extremely sensitive site can strike that site ten times while apparently trying to avoid it" (par. 578).
What lessons can we draw? The first and most obvious conclusion, one that hardly needed this additional proof, is that Israeli leaders and spokespersons will say whatever they think they can get away with at the moment. If one lie fails to convince or is exposed as false, try another. Perhaps the feature of the Goldstone Report that its detractors find most objectionable is its stubborn refusal to credit the implausible and contradictory pronouncements of Israeli officials. How dare they not believe our lies!
Second, despite Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the Fact-Finding Mission, there is a wealth of public statements made by Israeli officials, both during the Gaza offensive and after, that Goldstone was able to draw upon. Israel’s consistent dishonesty was reasonably relied upon by the Mission to infer that Israel intended the damage it caused, that the immense destruction to civilian lives was deliberate. Third, the outcome of Israel’s latest investigation, undertaken under considerable pressure to make some response to the Goldstone Report, eliminates any question about Israel’s capability of genuinely investigating the conduct of its own military. For a sustained and coordinated attack with dangerous, even illegal munitions directed at a civilian facility with no military value, two army officers have been singled out for the marginal penalty of possibly experiencing diminished chances for promotion in the future. Punishment is intended to deter future misconduct, and it is hard to imagine that this pseudo-disciplinary action will make future, similar actions less likely.
Related posts:Memo to NYT: Goldstone didn’t call white phosphorus a war crime; HRW didWhite phosphorus reprimands are highly selectiveLet Goldstone testify in Congress before you rush to judgment
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Writer David Shulman of Ta’ayush accompanied Palestinian shepherds in the Hebron Hills near the illegal colony, Maon, the other day. The army came in to force the shepherds, who had three flocks of sheep, including two from Um Zaituna, off their own lands. Part of his account:
First we see the police cars driving up to Maon, blue lights flashing. They sit there, waiting. I’m hoping they just came by to have a look and won’t come at us, especially since we’ve now opened up a substantial gap between the herd and the outer perimeter of the settlement. But of course the hope is quickly dashed. A large posse of soldiers and cops is soon marching toward us over the rocks. They reach Zvi and the other Um Zaituna flock first. Even at a distance, I can see them performing the remorseless stag... (continue reading)
Writer David Shulman of Ta’ayush accompanied Palestinian shepherds in the Hebron Hills near the illegal colony, Maon, the other day. The army came in to force the shepherds, who had three flocks of sheep, including two from Um Zaituna, off their own lands. Part of his account:
First we see the police cars driving up to Maon, blue lights flashing. They sit there, waiting. I’m hoping they just came by to have a look and won’t come at us, especially since we’ve now opened up a substantial gap between the herd and the outer perimeter of the settlement. But of course the hope is quickly dashed. A large posse of soldiers and cops is soon marching toward us over the rocks. They reach Zvi and the other Um Zaituna flock first. Even at a distance, I can see them performing the remorseless stages of their beloved ritual: there is a piece of paper being waved at Zvi and the shepherds, clearly the signed order declaring this little patch of desert a Closed Military Zone; the order is examined, photographed, there are the always Quixotic protests, followed by threats from the soldiers and, after a few minutes, a gradual withdrawal of our people eastwards, deeper into the desert. Maybe, I say to myself, the soldiers won’t bother Jamil and his Ta’ayush protectors. No such luck. Having heroically driven the Um Zaituna flock down toward the wadi, the soldiers and policemen pick their way over the rocks toward us.
“You are now in a Closed Military Zone. You have fifteen minutes to get out of here.”
“And just where are we supposed to go?”
“Down into the wadi, past that curve in the hills.” The soldier points vaguely in an easterly direction. He’s also unrolled the map for our benefit, with a poorly defined area outlined in yellow marker.
“And why are you doing this?”
“I work for the Brigade Commander, ask him.”
“I’ll be glad to ask him, but he doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“You now have 14 minutes.”
Some of the soldiers who enforced a flagrantly illegal order that day in South Hebron Hills.
“You know what you are doing is illegal,” we say, “the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that the Army cannot declare a Closed Military Zone arbitrarily, and it is expressly forbidden to do so if this means denying Palestinian shepherds and farmers access to their lands.”
“Doesn’t interest me.”
“And you know that the Army’s own legal adviser in the Territories backed up the Supreme Court’s ruling with a directive issued to all soldiers serving here.”
“Twelve minutes.”
“So why are you here? Taking orders, as usual, from the settlers?” Zvi has joined us, and he’s wonderfully eloquent at such moments.
Related posts:Savage Settlers Near Hebron Attack Palestinian Shepherds, Kill a DonkeyIsraeli army forces Palestinians to serve as ‘human shields’ in raidsIsrael Acts Against Soldiers Who Humiliated Palestinian Shepherds
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This week I realized that the internet has won; the famous tipping point has occurred, and people (sorry; that is journalese for "everyone I know") are getting their information off the web, not from print publications. My completely-subjective evidence:
–I bought the Times the other day for two important stories, the State of the Union speech and Steve Jobs’s announcement of his new Ipad. It lies unopened. I already absorbed what I had to absorb about both stories, didn’t get to it.
–Yesterday Avi, a commenter on this site, got into it with a big Israel supporter, Smndoerksen for more than 20 comments, under another sharp post from citizen-journalist Bruce Wolman. You can see their crackling dialogue here. At one point, the two arguers switched into Hebrew. This is a new form of commun... (continue reading)
This week I realized that the internet has won; the famous tipping point has occurred, and people (sorry; that is journalese for "everyone I know") are getting their information off the web, not from print publications. My completely-subjective evidence:
–I bought the Times the other day for two important stories, the State of the Union speech and Steve Jobs’s announcement of his new Ipad. It lies unopened. I already absorbed what I had to absorb about both stories, didn’t get to it.
–Yesterday Avi, a commenter on this site, got into it with a big Israel supporter, Smndoerksen for more than 20 comments, under another sharp post from citizen-journalist Bruce Wolman. You can see their crackling dialogue here. At one point, the two arguers switched into Hebrew. This is a new form of communication, and as James North says, a journalistic art form.
–The journalism I do read in print, like this smart piece about dogs as children, has an increasingly webby feel to it, strong point-of-view, informal style. Citizen journalism is affecting everything.
At the risk of stating the obvious, people are moving to the web because it’s more exciting, it’s completely immediate, the writers are well-informed, and you see someone’s mind in action rather than through 100 corporate filters, which characterized a lot of my labors in the MSM. People are more sophisticated about information than ever. It’s a new world.
Related posts:The internet and journalism (without piety and lamentation)The Price of Journalism: Picking Peoples’ Brains Without CreditArab journalism is the big winner of Gaza
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On his American lecture tour, Times correspondent Ethan Bronner will be talking about the "opposing narratives" of Israel/Palestine. This is surely a reference to the Israeli narrative vs. the Palestinian one. Racial/ethnic opposition, ala the OJ trial. Well, for those who can’t make the lecture, here’s a different kind of opposing narrative:
Last week The New York Times (Bronner reporting) sandbagged the Goldstone report on the specific question of whether Israel had meant to destroy Gaza’s only flour mill a year ago:
The Goldstone report asserts that the Bader flour mill “was hit by an airstrike, possibly by an F-16.” The Israeli investigators say they have photographic proof that this is false, that the mill was accidentally hit by artillery in the course of a firefight with Hamas m... (continue reading)
On his American lecture tour, Times correspondent Ethan Bronner will be talking about the "opposing narratives" of Israel/Palestine. This is surely a reference to the Israeli narrative vs. the Palestinian one. Racial/ethnic opposition, ala the OJ trial. Well, for those who can’t make the lecture, here’s a different kind of opposing narrative:
Last week The New York Times (Bronner reporting) sandbagged the Goldstone report on the specific question of whether Israel had meant to destroy Gaza’s only flour mill a year ago:
The Goldstone report asserts that the Bader flour mill “was hit by an airstrike, possibly by an F-16.” The Israeli investigators say they have photographic proof that this is false, that the mill was accidentally hit by artillery in the course of a firefight with Hamas militiamen.
The dispute is significant since the United Nations report asserts that “the destruction of the mill was carried out for the purpose of denying sustenance to the civilian population,” an explicit war crime.
Comes now England’s Guardian, one week later, challenging Israel’s response, with a story saying that there is proof that Israel targeted the al-Badr flour mill.
The UN mine action team, which handles ordnance disposal in Gaza, has told the Guardian that the remains of a 500-pound Mk82 aircraft-dropped bomb were found in the ruins of the mill last January. Photographs of the front half of the bomb have been obtained by the Guardian.
This evidence directly contradicts the finding of the Israeli report, which challenged allegations that the building was deliberately targeted and specifically stated there was no evidence of an air strike. Goldstone, however, used the account of the air strike as a sign that Israel’s attack on the mill was not mere collateral damage, but precisely targeted and a possible war crime.
Which narrative makes more sense to you? Do you think the Times will follow up? Somehow I doubt it. Thanks to Henry Norr.
Related posts:In first mention of destruction of Gaza’s flour mill, NYT’s Bronner serves up Israeli claimsGoldstone commission sees evidence of ‘persecution’Another American who must publish his views in Europe
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I read JD Salinger well into my 30s the way that others read him: as a spiritual and psychological guide for the sensitive. He said the world was full of hypocrisy– phoniness– and shallowness, and you had to shun convention to find out who you were. Some of his guidance was to writers. He told writers to write with all their stars out, if I recall the phrase right, meaning that you should hold nothing back that you care about, not store anything away, give everything to the reader. He dedicated Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenter in part to the "amateur reader." He meant people who read with joy and without pretense; and the same went for writing. He loved to write, he hated professionalism and grubby careerism (though god knows he had pushed for fame as a young man, and greased the New ... (continue reading)
I read JD Salinger well into my 30s the way that others read him: as a spiritual and psychological guide for the sensitive. He said the world was full of hypocrisy– phoniness– and shallowness, and you had to shun convention to find out who you were. Some of his guidance was to writers. He told writers to write with all their stars out, if I recall the phrase right, meaning that you should hold nothing back that you care about, not store anything away, give everything to the reader. He dedicated Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenter in part to the "amateur reader." He meant people who read with joy and without pretense; and the same went for writing. He loved to write, he hated professionalism and grubby careerism (though god knows he had pushed for fame as a young man, and greased the New Yorker as hard as he could), and he took those feelings out on anyone who wanted to use his literary reputation to advantage, in lawsuits and rages. Given his incredible success, he could afford to be disdainful.
I stopped reading Salinger because there was a ton of stuff that Salinger couldn’t guide anyone about. He couldn’t write about adulthood, marriage, politics, modern social arrangements, foreign countries, the world. He had withdrawn from the world and wanted nothing to do with it. His hysteria about the publishing business was indicative of his inability to handle, let alone report on, countless other grownup universes.
One piece of advice they give ambitious writers is to drive all the way into your weirdness and explore it, and Salinger did that; and his weirdness fastened on to innocent unconscious childhood. Maybe his greatest story– and the stories are his achievement– A Perfect Day for Bananafish is about a man who has sexually-laden exchanges with a young girl on the beach but can’t face the bedroom with his bourgeois nattering wife, and kills himself. Catcher in the Rye involves a lot of pimply sexual feelings, if I remember right (it’s hard to read). My favorite short story of his is For Esme with Love and Squalor, and it involves a soldier’s squeamish-making love for a young English girl.
Salinger walked his talk. He had trouble with marriages; he went for at least one adolescent woman (in Joyce Maynard). His resistance to adulthood spilled over into viciousness. The boozy smoking suburban women in Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut (again, as I remember; I’m done reading Salinger) are cruelly caricatured. The “flit” in Catcher in the Rye is another mean portrait of compromised adulthood. The child is the holy fool in that novel, the adolescent story on which Salinger’s reputation is based; and "It’s a Wise Child" is the name of the Glass children’s radio quiz show.
The quiz Salinger leaves us with is, Why did he withdraw? Why did he turn his back on the world? A man of such incredible gifts—why did he never turn his lights on worldly adult subjects?
I’d say that the war played an important role. Salinger was in his early 20s when he was drafted and shipped off to war, and if the portrait of the spiritually-broken soldier in For Esme with Love and squalor is any guide, it was a horrifying experience. He saw things he didn’t write about, adult things. In the Times, Chip McGrath reports that Salinger saw a lot of action and had a breakdown. The war caused him to turn against the world, into his head. It’s there in the background. One of the suburbanites from Uncle Wiggly was dating one of the Glass boys, Walt I think, who is killed in the war in an accident–which comes up in Franny and Zooey too. The gun that Seymour uses in Perfect Day for Bananafish, which enters the story in the last line or so with devastating specificity, is an Ortgies 7.65 automatic, which was a German military pistol.
So that is my answer. Salinger was a sensitive artist who was spiritually maimed by the war. He had it with all adult social sophistication early on, and as soon as he was able to, he beat it.
Related posts:I Was WrongSeem to Have Lost Roy Belmont’s Comment…‘Times’ serves up Israeli lies about nonviolent movement
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An important story that is not being covered in the American press: Haaretz covers the delegitimization story, Israel’s mounting isolation in the world community. This is called honest reporting (and truly distinguishes Israel). Aluf Benn:
In a speech at a conference not long ago, an Israeli diplomat serving in a European capital touted Israel’s hoary PR line, distinguishing between "the only democracy in the Middle East" and its autocratic Arab neighbors. "We share common values," the Israeli told the Europeans.
To his surprise, a member of the audience stood up and replied to him: "What common values? We have nothing in common with you."
Elsewhere in Haaretz:
Berlusconi told a welcoming ceremony at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that his dream is to see Israel become ... (continue reading)
An important story that is not being covered in the American press: Haaretz covers the delegitimization story, Israel’s mounting isolation in the world community. This is called honest reporting (and truly distinguishes Israel). Aluf Benn:
In a speech at a conference not long ago, an Israeli diplomat serving in a European capital touted Israel’s hoary PR line, distinguishing between "the only democracy in the Middle East" and its autocratic Arab neighbors. "We share common values," the Israeli told the Europeans.
To his surprise, a member of the audience stood up and replied to him: "What common values? We have nothing in common with you."
Elsewhere in Haaretz:
Berlusconi told a welcoming ceremony at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that his dream is to see Israel become a member of the European Union.
Related posts:‘Haaretz’ publishes stories on Israel’s crisis you won’t see in U.S.Haaretz exposes Israeli extremism: ‘How long does it take an Arab woman to put out the trash?’ ‘9 months’Once Again, Haaretz Says What Our Press Won’t Dare To
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I see that Ethan Bronner, the controversial Times bureau chief in Jerusalem, spoke at Brandeis today. I wonder if anyone asked about his son in the Israeli army. And he is speaking at Vassar College in NY on Wednesday afternoon. The Jewish Studies program. My question: I gather Bronner used to be something of a liberal a few years back (James North tells me). His politics have clearly changed. He’s more conservative today. How did it happen? What was Israel’s role in his shift? I wonder if he can go there…
Update: In an interview with the Brandeis Hoot, Bronner suggests that covering Palestine is dangerous. I wonder if that’s affected his coverage…
“There’s a lot of pressure [in Israel], there’s no other place quite like it, quite so powerful. Its not just the Jewish Americans who care... (continue reading)
I see that Ethan Bronner, the controversial Times bureau chief in Jerusalem, spoke at Brandeis today. I wonder if anyone asked about his son in the Israeli army. And he is speaking at Vassar College in NY on Wednesday afternoon. The Jewish Studies program. My question: I gather Bronner used to be something of a liberal a few years back (James North tells me). His politics have clearly changed. He’s more conservative today. How did it happen? What was Israel’s role in his shift? I wonder if he can go there…
Update: In an interview with the Brandeis Hoot, Bronner suggests that covering Palestine is dangerous. I wonder if that’s affected his coverage…
“There’s a lot of pressure [in Israel], there’s no other place quite like it, quite so powerful. Its not just the Jewish Americans who care, Israel is considered the birthplace for four billion people and three major religions, There’s absolutely no way to make everyone happy because everyone has a different view and they’re hoping you choose to pick theirs,” he said. “The way to address this is by first not being a fool when you are talking to political radicals, look at what happened to Daniel Pearl, you have to think about how far your’re going to follow a story before it becomes dangerous but you also can’t have a strong ideology because then you’re going out [ to cover a story] and you’re constantly trying to prove what you believe, it better to approach it with a ‘what’s going to happen?’ mindset ‘ How is humanity going to fix itself today?’ and let that lead you to your writing.”
Related posts:I passed along a false report re Ethan BronnerTerry Gross interviewed Times’ Ethan Bronner yesterday…Mearsheimer on the Times’ Ethan Bronner
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The American elite's unbounded, unquestioned, indeed unconscious sense of imperial entitlement and dominance -- based ultimately on war, the threat of war and the profit from war -- is one of the defining characteristics of our age. And if you would like to see a glaring example of this attitude in action, look no further than the front page of Tuesday's New York Times, where one David Sanger gives us his penetrating "news analysis" of the Administration's just-announced $3.8 trillion budget.
Sanger focuses on the huge, continuing deficits that the budget forecasts over the next decade. Completely ignoring the plain truth that his own expert source tell him later in the story -- that "forecasts 10 years out have no credibility" -- Sanger boldly plunges forward to tell us just what it a... (continue reading)
The American elite's unbounded, unquestioned, indeed unconscious sense of imperial entitlement and dominance -- based ultimately on war, the threat of war and the profit from war -- is one of the defining characteristics of our age. And if you would like to see a glaring example of this attitude in action, look no further than the front page of Tuesday's New York Times, where one David Sanger gives us his penetrating "news analysis" of the Administration's just-announced $3.8 trillion budget.
Sanger focuses on the huge, continuing deficits that the budget forecasts over the next decade. Completely ignoring the plain truth that his own expert source tell him later in the story -- that "forecasts 10 years out have no credibility" -- Sanger boldly plunges forward to tell us just what it all means. You will not be surprised to hear that the upshot of these big deficits is that neither Obama nor his successors will be able to spend any money on "new domestic initiatives" for years to come. But let's let Sanger, savant and seer, tell it in his own words:
In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power.
The first is the projected deficit in the coming year, nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output. That is not unprecedented: During the Civil War, World War I and World War II, the United States ran soaring deficits, but usually with the expectation that they would come back down once peace was restored and war spending abated.
But the second number, buried deeper in the budget’s projections, is the one that really commands attention: By President Obama’s own optimistic projections, American deficits will not return to what are widely considered sustainable levels over the next 10 years. ...
For Mr. Obama and his successors, the effect of those projections is clear: Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there is virtually no room for new domestic initiatives for Mr. Obama or his successors. Beyond that lies the possibility that the United States could begin to suffer the same disease that has afflicted Japan over the past decade. As debt grew more rapidly than income, that country’s influence around the world eroded.
What is most interesting here, of course, is not Sanger's noodle-scratching over imaginary numbers projected into an unknowable future, but his total and apparently completely unconscious adoption of the mindset of militarist empire. For as he puzzles and puzzles till his puzzler is sore on how in God's name the United States can possibly find any money at all to spend on bettering the lives of its citizens over the next 10 years, it becomes clear that Sanger -- like the rest of our political and media elite -- literally cannot conceive of an end to empire. Our elites and their courtiers literally cannot imagine life without a permanent war for global dominance, fueled by a gargantuan war machine spread across hundreds and hundreds of bases implanted in more than 100 countries.
And so this consideration, this possible outcome, does not figure in Sanger's "analysis" because it cannot: it lies far outside the scope of his consciousness. The only possible alternative he can conceive to the empire's bloody and bankrupting business as usual is some kind of divine intervention, "miraculous growth" or some "miraculous political compromise."
And make no mistake: the "miraculous political compromise" he is talking about has nothing to do with ending or even trimming the empire. A "compromise" on this issue could only be posited if there was some present conflict over it. But both parties are deeply committed to increasing spending on the wars and the war machine.
No, by "compromise" Sanger means some sort of "Grand Bargain" between the parties to cut Social Security and Medicare, along the lines of the "blue-ribbon panel" of entitlement cutters now being pushed by the Obama Administration. An effort to impose this kind of elitist, unaccountable commission failed in the Senate a few weeks ago -- although the Republicans have proposed such panels before, they didn't like this one because Obama proposed it -- but the idea will keep coming back. Sanger and the elite will doubtless get their "miracle" of slashing the remaining bits of the safety net to shreds in due time.
For these are the only possibilities for deficit-cutting that Sanger can even remotely contemplate: some whiz-bang new techno gizmo -- or maybe some hot new "financial instruments" cooked up by Wall Street -- that will goose the economy with a bright new bubble ... or else finally telling our old, sick, vulnerable and unfortunate to just crawl off and die already. That's it. That's all that our elite can envision.
Yet the ending of the imperial wars and the dismantling of America's global military empire -- and its global gulag -- would save trillions of dollars in the coming years. Not only from direct military spending, but also from the vastly reduced need for "Homeland security" funding in a world where the United States was no longer invading foreign lands, killing their people, supporting their tyrants -- and inciting revenge and resistance.
This would release a flood of money for any number of "new domestic initiatives," while also giving scope for deep tax cuts across the board. Working people would thrive, the poor, the sick and the vulnerable would be bettered, businesses would grow, opportunity would expand, the care and education of our children would be greatly enhanced, our infrastructure could be repaired and strengthened, our environment better cleansed and cared for. In short, people could keep more of their own money while government spending could be directed toward improving the quality of life of all the nation's citizens.
This is no utopian vision. Many problems, much suffering would remain. But it would be a better society -- more humane, more just, more secure, more peaceful, more prosperous than it is now. Such an alternative is entirely achievable, by ordinary humans; it would require no divine miracles, no god-like heroes to bring it about.
But such a society is precisely what our elites cannot -- or, to be more accurate, will not -- imagine. Because, yes, it would "erode" their "influence" around the world to some extent. Although they would still be comfortable, coddled and privileged, they could no longer merge their individual psyches with the larger entity of a globe-spanning, death-dealing empire -- a connection which, although itself a projection of their own brains, gives them a forever-inflated sense of worth and importance.
And on a more prosaic level, the end of empire would mean an end to the horrendous economic distortion wrought by our war-profiteering industries. Other businesses would inevitably come to the fore, economic activity would be sp( click title for more ) evenly across more sectors. And so, yes, those who have feasted so gluttonously for so long on blood money would not be quite as rich as they are now.
A better world -- again, not perfect, by no means perfect, but much better -- is entirely possible. We could easily dismantle the empire -- carefully, safely, with deliberation -- over the next ten years. It is a reasonable, moderate, serious option. It would not require violent revolution or vast social upheaval. But our elites do not want this. They can no longer fathom life without the exercise -- and worship -- of unrestricted power that empire entails. They will not accept -- or even contemplate -- any alternative to it.
And thus every option and policy we are offered -- whether from right-wing Republicans or "progressive" Democrats, or from "serious" news analysts on "serious" papers -- must fall within these pathetically cramped, constricted mental horizons. Empire -- the imposition of dominion by violence and threat of violence, and the financial and moral corruption this breeds, the malevolent example it sets at every level of society -- is the canker in the body politic. Until it is dealt with, there will be no healing, no hope, no change -- just more degradation and disaster all down the line. (show less)
Even as progressives were savoring Barack Obama's "masterful" – indeed, "brain-searing" – performance at the House Republicans' retreat last Friday, their dazzling champion was busy applying himself with renewed and reckless vigor to that most un-progressive of occupations: saber-rattling around the world. The last few days have certainly seen a remarkable display of bellicosity by the Obama Administration, putting almost every tool in the militarist kit to use: nukes, ships, missiles, money, proxies and war-profiteering. With just a few flicks of the imperial wrist, Obama sent waves of destabilization through some of the most volatile regions on earth.
There was the sale of $6.4 billion in military hardware to Taiwan: a bumper crop of boodle for America's war-profiteering community, ... (continue reading)
Even as progressives were savoring Barack Obama's "masterful" – indeed, "brain-searing" – performance at the House Republicans' retreat last Friday, their dazzling champion was busy applying himself with renewed and reckless vigor to that most un-progressive of occupations: saber-rattling around the world. The last few days have certainly seen a remarkable display of bellicosity by the Obama Administration, putting almost every tool in the militarist kit to use: nukes, ships, missiles, money, proxies and war-profiteering. With just a few flicks of the imperial wrist, Obama sent waves of destabilization through some of the most volatile regions on earth.
There was the sale of $6.4 billion in military hardware to Taiwan: a bumper crop of boodle for America's war-profiteering community, but a hard slap to the Chinese – who have responded to this stirring of hair-trigger cross-strait tensions by "canceling talks between senior Chinese and US officials on strategic security, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation," as the Guardian notes. Well, if there's one thing the world needs less of today, it's more cooperation on strategic security, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, right?
Especially the latter. In fact, so unconcerned is Obama with nuclear proliferation that he is asking Congress to increase funding for the nation's nuclear arsenal by $5 billion, as McClatchy reports (via Antiwar.com). Much of this extra money will be spent on new facilities that will enable the government to build new nuclear warheads whenever it chooses. "There is no question that some counties, friends and foes, will see the increased spending as a sign of U.S. hypocrisy," said arms control expert Joseph Cirincione, in an obvious bid for the "Understatement of the Year" award. But this kind of higher hypocrisy is meat and drink for the American establishment, whose guiding motto for the earth's lesser breeds has ever been: "Do as we say, not as we do."
Obama was also busy slaughtering a few more villagers in Pakistan with his ever-accelerating "drone" attacks. The latest attack was Saturday night, which killed nine people in North Waziristan. This capped a month in which American drones killed "123 innocent Pakistanis," as The News of Pakistan reports. Ten of the 12 raids "went wrong and failed to hit their targets," but the robots did manage to assassinate three men alleged, by someone somewhere on some kind of evidence, or not, to be "al-Qaeda leaders."
The News also notes that the increase in drone killings by the United States (123 civilians killed this January in contrast to "only" 36 killings in January 2009) seems due in large part to "revenge attacks" by the U.S. in retaliation for the December 30 suicide bombing that killed seven CIA agents at a border base in Afghanistan. Everyone knew the American security organs would be stern in their reprisals for the attack; after all, the U.S. killed a million Iraqis as "payback for 9/11," to quote the rationale for war most often quoted by American soldiers as they stormed into Iraq in 2003. So at this point, 123 for seven seems almost a model of restraint. But it's early days yet; the Reprisal-by-Robot campaign will no doubt harvest much more blood fruit in the months to come.
II.
But of course, the centerpiece of Obama's wild warmonger weekend was the leaked-on-purpose news of the deployment of a bristling "missile shield" to four countries in the Middle East, along with the dispatch of even more warships to join those already poised with minatory intent around the Persian Gulf. The ostensible aim of this sudden outpouring of ordnance to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait is to "protect" these nations from an attack by Iran – a nation which has not attacked anyone for centuries, but which is itself under relentless, open, repeated threat of attack from, er, the United States, and one of its regional proxies, Israel.
Word of the new deployment came just hours after the U.S. Senate voted to impose even more draconian sanctions on Iran: crippling measures that will only make life much more wretched and dangerous for millions of ordinary Iranians. The Senate measures are aimed chiefly at strangling Iran's supplies of gasoline --- a truly noble act of "humanitarian intervention," which, if successful, would see deliveries of essential food and supplies grind to a halt, fire trucks and ambulances parked, schools closed, mass business failures across the country, with the subsequent loss of jobs, homes, health and opportunity. The Iranian ruling elite will of course be spared any of these discomforts – just as our own ruling elite forever escapes even the slightest unpleasant consequence of its actions.
Some observers seem to regard the Senate move as some kind of rebuke to Obama, "taking Iran policy out of his hands" by force; but the deployment of the new war machinery to the region – which was accompanied by sales of military upgrades to the savagely oppressive religious extremists in Saudi Arabia – shows that the American political elite is, as usual, marching in lockstep when it comes to "projecting dominance" and threatening grave punishments (up and including "obliteration," because, as we all know, "all elements of national power" are always "on the table" at all times) for any rogue nations that fail to follow the Potomac line. (And a comparison between the repressive regime in Iran and the far more repressive regime in Saudi Arabia shows us clearly that it the line-following, not lack of freedom, that determines whether a nation is "rogue" or not.)
But we should not see this weekend's machinations in the Persian Gulf as moving the United States closer to war with Iran. The United States has been at war with Iran for a long time now, running and/or assisting armed terrorist groups inside the country to kill scores of people year after year, as we noted here last year. No, what we are seeing now is just another "surge" in the barely covert war with Iran – a war that in some ways has been going on for decades, and flares up any time a government in Tehran fails to show due obeisance. As I noted in that earlier piece, which came out just before the disputed Iranian election, and just after yet another terrorist attack in Iran:
Because the ultimate aim -- the only aim, really -- of the militarists' policy toward Iran is regime change. They don't care about "national security" or the "threat" from Iran's non-existent nuclear arsenal; they know that there is no threat whatsoever that Iran will attack Israel -- or even more ludicrously, the United States -- even if Tehran did have nukes. They don't care about the suffering of the Iranian people under a draconian, repressive and corrupt regime. They are not worried about Iran's "sponsorship of terrorism," for, as we've seen, the militarists thrive on -- when they are not actively fomenting -- the fear and anguish caused by terrorism. This fear is the grease that drives the ever-expanding war machine and 'justifies' its own ever-increasing draconian powers and corruption.
No, in the end, the sole aim of the militarist policy is to overthrow Iran's current political system and replace it with a regime that will bow to the hegemony of the United States and its regional deputy, Israel. There is no essential difference in aim or method between today's policy and that of 1953. (Except that the regional deputy in those days was Britain, not Israel.) What they want is compliance, access to resources and another strategic stronghold in the heart of the oil lands -- precisely what they wanted, and got, with the installation of the Shah and his corruption-ridden police state more than a half-century ago.
They play the long game, our militarists. For example, they agitated openly -- and plotted covertly -- for the invasion of Iraq for almost 10 years before they finally got their way. They have worked for 30 years now to restore a client regime in Iran, and today, with the relentless bipartisan demonizing of the Iranians -- and the "mushroom cloud" fearmongering over a non-existent nuclear weapons program -- they are as close as they have ever been to their goal.
The obscene folly of all this is so self-evident that it seems not only redundant but downright insulting to point it out. Yet in a land so marinated in its own myths, a nation whose imperial sense of entitlement runs so deep, embedded in so many unconscious, unquestioned assumptions that even its "progressives" cannot see the howling evil being done by their leaders (as long as those leaders make even the slightest "progressive" noises now and then), this redundant, insulting task remains an unfortunate imperative.
III.
And no one has laid out the case against attacking Iran with more depth, power, eloquence and persistence than Arthur Silber. What's more, Silber has offered practical steps that even those obsessed with retaining their "serious" and "politically savvy" cred could employ. Of course, most of these steps were first offered back in the bad old Bush days, when "progressives" were castigating the government for its reckless warmongering toward Iran -- not to mention its drone attacks on civilians in Pakistan, its plans for "modernizing" the nuclear arsenal, and its war-profiteering sale of death machinery in every volatile region on earth. Back then, you could still hope -- or pretend -- that the dissent against Bush's rapacious and criminal policies was more principled than partisan, and thus that reasonable suggestions for lowering the war fever might gain some traction.
These days, alas, we find that to many progressives, actions that were considered rank crimes and national shames under Bush have been magically converted into "tough choices," "necessary evils," "practical politics" or even far-seeing "11-dimensional chess" when they are committed by Obama. So the anti-war row is now a lot harder, and longer, to hoe.
But some hardy cultivators, like Silber, are still out there hacking away at the flinty soil, planting seeds of truth in the almost-but-quite-yet-impossible hope that they will bear good fruit some day, in some way, somewhere down the line. And so I urge readers to set themselves to school on some or all of these remarkable Iran-related articles by Silber, while following up on the wealth of links each one provides: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
(*And while you're there, consider contributing something to the tip jar, if you can. Silber continues to suffer from catastrophic health problems, and the website is his only means of support.*) (show less)
We are the San Patricios, a brave and gallant band
There'll be no white flag flying within this green command
We are the San Patricios, we have but one demand,
To see the Yankees safely home across the Rio Grande...
This looks like something worth looking for on the radar: "San Patricio," an upcoming release by The Chieftains and Ry Cooder:
‘San Patricio' (the Spanish name for St. Patrick) tells the nearly forgotten story of the brave San Patricio battalion - a downtrodden group of Irish immigrant conscripts who deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side against the invading Yankees in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
Although the members of the San Patricio Battalion were reviled as traitors and deserters in the U.S., Chieftains' founder and frontman Pad... (continue reading)
We are the San Patricios, a brave and gallant band
There'll be no white flag flying within this green command
We are the San Patricios, we have but one demand,
To see the Yankees safely home across the Rio Grande...
This looks like something worth looking for on the radar: "San Patricio," an upcoming release by The Chieftains and Ry Cooder:
‘San Patricio' (the Spanish name for St. Patrick) tells the nearly forgotten story of the brave San Patricio battalion - a downtrodden group of Irish immigrant conscripts who deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side against the invading Yankees in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
Although the members of the San Patricio Battalion were reviled as traitors and deserters in the U.S., Chieftains' founder and frontman Paddy Moloney says, "the men of the San Patricio Battalion are remembered by generations of Mexicans to this day as heroes who fought bravely against an unjust and thinly veiled war of aggression." ‘San Patricio' brings their story to life through heart-stirring ballads and effervescent dance songs from both countries, including traditional "sones" that the San Patricios might have heard while in Mexico, and Irish airs and reels that evoke the homeland they left behind. ....
‘San Patricio' showcases a brilliant roster of Irish, Mexican and American guest artists including Linda Ronstadt, actor Liam Neeson, Los Tigres del Norte, legendary 92-year-old Mexican ranchero singer Chavela Vargas, Van Dyke Parks, and Lila Downs, among many others. It will be released March 9 on Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group.
On Friday, Tony Blair appeared before the "Chilcot Inquiry," the panel of hoary, lugubrious Establishment worthies set up to "examine" -- with extreme circumspection, exquisite politeness, and all due reverence to authority -- the "origins" of Britain's involvement in the mass-murder spree known as the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The event could be summed up entirely in a single headline:
Tony Blair to a million dead Iraqis, and the grieving survivors of British soldiers: Fuck you.
Blair's appearance before the panel has occasioned some entirely misplaced and uninformed kudos from some in the American progressiverse, who laud the Brits for holding such a bold inquiry. "It's the kind of thing you would never see in the United States," they say, forgetting, if they ever knew, such ... (continue reading)
On Friday, Tony Blair appeared before the "Chilcot Inquiry," the panel of hoary, lugubrious Establishment worthies set up to "examine" -- with extreme circumspection, exquisite politeness, and all due reverence to authority -- the "origins" of Britain's involvement in the mass-murder spree known as the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The event could be summed up entirely in a single headline:
Tony Blair to a million dead Iraqis, and the grieving survivors of British soldiers: Fuck you.
Blair's appearance before the panel has occasioned some entirely misplaced and uninformed kudos from some in the American progressiverse, who laud the Brits for holding such a bold inquiry. "It's the kind of thing you would never see in the United States," they say, forgetting, if they ever knew, such minor matters as the Watergate hearings -- which actually had the power to send people to jail for lying, unlike the completely powerless Chilcot panel -- or the Watergate grand jury, which named a sitting president as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in a criminal case, or even the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton by the United States Senate, which I believe happened well within the adulthood of at least some of our leading progressives.
In any case, there was never any chance that the well-wadded Chilcot worthies were going to lay a glove on former PM turned corporate shill and Catholic saint-in-waiting. Blair was never going to do anything but repeat the bluster -- and outright lies -- he has regurgitated ad infinitum about his blood-soaked adventure with George W. Bush -- and the Chilcotniks were never going to call him on his bullshit. [Blair's knowing and deliberate lies are thoroughly detailed here.]
And so it proved. Blair strutted in -- through a back entrance, to avoid protestors -- and did the expected regurgitation. The war was legal, the war was righteous, the war was legal, and it was the right thing to do. After all, he claimed over and over, Iraq was clearly "in breach of UN sanctions ordering him to destroy all his weapons of mass destruction." Yet, as one observer noted in the Guardian, none of the Chilcot worthies deigned to point out to Blair that Iraq could not possibly been in breach of UN orders to disarm -- because it had no weapons of mass destruction. It was already disarmed -- a fact which the US and UK had known since 1995, and which could have been reconfirmed by the UN inspection teams in 2003 ... if Bush and Blair had not invaded before the inspections were over.
But Blair's illogical connections were never challenged by the panel, nor did he explain why he and Bush invaded before the inspections were completed. Instead, he simply evoke 9/11 over and over and over again -- and then blamed "the external elements of Iran and al Qaeda" for anything that went wrong after the invasion. Apparently, there was not a single Iraqi opposed to the destruction of their country; it was just a bunch of "outside agitators" causing trouble.
Blair's absolute erasure of the Iraqi people in these passages is a perfect encapsulation of the whole mindset that drove the Anglo-American attack: the Iraqis are non-people, they are worthless chits in a geopolitical game, they are rags and automatons at the mercy of big-time players like the Western powers, Iran and al Qaeda.
Indeed, this was his main theme of the day: it was Iran's fault. In fact, Blair seemed to regard his appearance before Iraq War panel chiefly as an opportunity to foment war fever for a new "humanitarian intervention" against Iran. As Jonathan Freedland notes:
Blair pushed further, apparently touting a new war in the Persian Gulf, this time against Iraq's neighbor, Iran. All day Blair used his platform to bring up Iran, even when it was only tangentially related to the topic in hand. The arguments that applied in 2002 – about WMD falling into terrorist hands – applied in spades to Iran in 2010, he said.
Blair took "responsibility" for the war -- but it was a responsibility he gladly shouldered, one he was proud of. As for all the people who have died because of this criminal folly, Blair had nothing nothing to say. As Jonathan Freedland notes:
I thought Blair would have prepared a closing statement that would express, if not regret or apology, at least sorrow for the young British men and women in uniform who had lost their lives. There was, surely, a way for a communicator as gifted as Blair to do that without giving ground on the justness, as he still sees it, of the war. And yet, even when Sir John Chilcot asked him one last time if he had anything to add, Blair did not pay tribute to the dead – British or Iraqi. He simply said "no".
Just like the Hutton inquiry into the strange death of WMD whistleblower Daniel Kelly -- the results of which have recently been sealed up for the next 70 years in a "highly unusual move" by UK authorities -- the Chilcot panel was never going to bring any powerful miscreant to accountability. It was set up -- like the American 9/11 Commission -- to siphon off festering anger and suspicion with a show of official concern. By stirring up just enough murk to cover the small nuggets of truth that inevitably surface in such probes, the Chilcot inquiry, like Hutton, the 9/11 Commission, will be able to claim that while there may have been some regrettable "system" failures here and there on this and that, no actual powerful person should be held accountable for any inadvertent "mistakes" that were made.
And the scam is already working. One of the panel of Guardian commentators, writing alongside Freedland, the "moderate," Broder-like Martin Kettle, was already chewing up some conventional wisdom cud by the end of the day:
On the other side of the argument there were fewer interruptions than there might have been, fewer silly stunts, and actually fewer demonstrators than one might have expected. Though passions are still strong, it may be that a lot of the poison and pain is ebbing. In that sense, today was probably cathartic.
Yes, as good old Kevin Drum always used to say back in the old days, when splitting the difference between some atrocious Bush policy and the president's "far left" critics, "that sounds about right." That hits the comfortable middle spot: yes, it was all a bit unpleasant, but now the "pain is ebbing," and we can look forward to seeing fewer of those "silly stunts" that shrill extremists have used to draw attention to the mass murder of human beings in a war based on ostensible reasons which even the war's architects now happily admit were unfounded -- and, according to Blair, unimportant. So Saddam didn't have WMDs? So what? It was a good thing to kill all those people anyway.
Another of Kettle's fellow commentators has a different view, however, and we'll give the final word here to Seamus Milne:
The spectacle of official indulgence of a man many here and abroad regard as responsible for a devastating war crime has been sickening. John Chilcot said at one point that the lessons of occupation had been "expensive, but very necessary". Millions of Iraqis who have actually paid that price take a very different view.
Entertain conjecture of a remarkable scenario. An American president – born at the margins of society, raised by a pacifist mother – takes office at a time of national turmoil. He inherits a deeply unpopular, highly divisive war from his predecessor and must also deal with a burgeoning, worldwide financial crisis. Yet despite the fractured, fractious political atmosphere, he doesn't dither, doesn't waffle, but immediately launches the most far-reaching program of government activism in half a century.
He doesn't "freeze" domestic spending but greatly expands funding of government benefit programs, and even creates new ones, including direct payments from the general treasury to the poor and needy, in addition to the now-increased Social Security and Medicare funds. He creates new gover... (continue reading)
Entertain conjecture of a remarkable scenario. An American president – born at the margins of society, raised by a pacifist mother – takes office at a time of national turmoil. He inherits a deeply unpopular, highly divisive war from his predecessor and must also deal with a burgeoning, worldwide financial crisis. Yet despite the fractured, fractious political atmosphere, he doesn't dither, doesn't waffle, but immediately launches the most far-reaching program of government activism in half a century.
He doesn't "freeze" domestic spending but greatly expands funding of government benefit programs, and even creates new ones, including direct payments from the general treasury to the poor and needy, in addition to the now-increased Social Security and Medicare funds. He creates new government agencies to rigorously enforce new, sweeping environmental measures. He oversees the most direct and extensive federal intervention in public education in the nation's history, forcibly moving millions of students to different schools in order to impose more equality in society. Denouncing the punitive criminal justice policies of the past, he initiates major prison reforms, creating and expanding rehabilitation programs, stating that "to reform our prisons, we need more teachers, parole officers, psychiatrists, social workers and dollars."
He increases direct government oversight of private businesses, with new agencies to ensure workplace health and safety. He proposes radical reforms in health care, including an initiative that would require employers to provide insurance for their workers while also creating a national insurance program that all could join at whatever level they could afford to pay. He supports "radical feminists" in their push for a constitutional amendment to enforce equal rights for women throughout society.
In response to the financial crisis, he doesn't seek to save the current order but takes unilateral action to completely revamp the global financial structure that had been in place for decades. Perhaps astonishing of all, he even takes direct control of the core operations of the nation's most powerful corporations, dictating the wages they can pay and the prices they can set. As one stunned commentator puts it, the president is carrying out "the largest peacetime intrusion of government in the economy in American history, surpassing even the dreams of the New Dealers."
In foreign policy, after launching several controversial "surges," he does, belatedly, end the unpopular war he inherited. What's more, despite virulent opposition from several quarters, including many in his own party, he astounds the world by openly seeking rapprochement with sworn enemies of the United States – forces dedicated to a fundamentalist ideology whose avowed goal is the destruction of the American way of life and the imposition of their ideology on the entire world. Yet the president not only calls for dialogue and negotiation with these enemies, he even goes to meet their leaders, treats them with respect and public honor, feasts with them, negotiates with them.
**
A strange, even hallucinatory scenario, to be sure. But we haven't even gotten to the weirdest part. Imagine a president who does all these things – surpassing Franklin Roosevelt in government activism; slapping restraints on major corporations; providing vast new funding for the poor, the sick, for prisoners, for the environment; imposing social equality by force; seeking to nationalize health care; meeting and treating with the nation's enemies – yet is not regarded as a commie, a radical, a socialist, a progressive, a liberal, or even a "centrist," but as one of the most rock-ribbed conservatives of his day. Indeed, for many people, he is the arch-conservative of the age, a retrograde, reactionary figure, the embodiment of all that stands in the way of progress.
Yes, the presidential history of Richard M. Nixon paints a striking, even shocking contrast to the prevailing political weather today. It shows, with stark power, how very far the center of political gravity has shifted in the past 36 years. For Nixon was a rock-ribbed conservative by the standards of his day; yet compared to the timorous, time-serving "progressive" now in the White House, Nixon looks like Eugene Debs.
Even Nixon's downfall provides an instructive – and dispiriting – contrast to our day. Done in for covering up a little break-in at his opponent's headquarters? For this the entire machinery of government was convulsed, great investigatory panels convoked, grand jury indictments handed down, a sitting president impeached by the House? It's like some tale from antiquity, or maybe a work of science fiction, especially in our modern world, where the most outrageous crimes – warrantless surveillance, torture, indefinite detention, assassinations – are carried out and countenanced by presidents in broad daylight, with barely a hint of controversy … and no thought whatsoever that they might be answerable for these misdeeds.
Of course Nixon was, despite his famous protestations, a "crook" (and war criminal) of the highest order. He was also very much one of the Founding Fathers of our modern American Post-Republic; indeed, it was Nixon who crafted the one-line constitution that now governs our state: "If the president does it, it's not illegal." I've dealt at length with his perfidy in these pages and elsewhere over the years. (See here, here, and here for examples.)
But looking back at some of the actual policies he had the brass to carry out and/or advocate, (whether from conviction or cynical opportunism doesn't matter; we're looking at deeds here, not intentions or style), many of which were actually designed to address genuine problems and imbalances in society and decrease tensions around the world, one cannot but conclude that, in some ways at least, we used to get a slightly higher grade of mass-murdering war criminal in office back in those long-departed days.(show less)
Dissident Voice
a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice
A Basis of Unity 2 Feb 2010John Jensen A choir is practicing. After a pause, the conductor signals but the sound is like fingernails on a chalkboard. The conductor taps the music stand and says “A little alertness please. We’re on page four, measure three.” This time when the baton rises and descends, everyone sings not the same note, but one ( click title for more )
Words as Weapons: Communication in an Age of Illiteracy 2 Feb 2010Tolu Olorunda Communication is what one does with words and what they do to us.
— J. Samuel Bois, The Art of Awareness1
Our language points up contrasts and dichotomies while reality often falls through the cracks between the categories.
— S.I. Hayakawa and William Dresser, Dimensions of Meaning2
Aristotle was right in acknowledging that “the power of speech ( click title for more )
British Citizens vs an IDF Guard 2 Feb 2010Gilad Atzmon The Times reported yesterday that the British Government is blocking a deal for Paul and Rachel Chandler’s release.
The British couple were kidnapped by Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean. Paul and Rachel may be facing a doomed fate as the British Government is blocking a deal for their release.
A company that claimed to have ( click title for more )
Israeli Occupation Supportive Companies to Boycott 2 Feb 2010Stephen Lendman In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights” for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel’s ( click title for more )
Obama on Why the US Has Not Condemned Israel’s Human Rights Violations against the Occupied Palestinian People 1 Feb 2010Kim Petersen A question was posed to US president Barack Obama at a town hall meeting in Tampa, Florida on 28 January. Obama took this as an opportunity to “talk about the Middle East generally.”
Obama: Israel is one of our strongest allies.
Would one’s strongest allies coax it into the quagmire of aggression and occupation? The US faces ( click title for more )
Iraq snapshot 2 Feb 2010Common Ills Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, the Iraq Inquiry continues in England, Clare Short tells the Inquiry, "We have made Iraq more dangerous as well as causing enormous suffering and diminishing our reputation," Iraq's Sunni vice president visits US officials, a US Senate Committee addresses Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and more. Starting in London, where the Iraq Inquiry
Clare Short says Peter Goldsmith "misled the Cabinet" 2 Feb 2010Common Ills THE Attorney General "misled" the Government over the case for going to war with Iraq, Clare Short told the inquiry into the conflict today.Ms Short, who was international development secretary at the time, said she was not aware of Lord Goldsmith's "doubts and his changes of opinion" over the issue.Lord Goldsmith gave legal advice before Britain committed to going to battle against Saddam
A functioning democracy? 2 Feb 2010Common Ills Yesterday, a deadly bombing shook Baghdad -- or another deadly bombing yet again shook Baghdad. With at least 54 dead and many more injured, how did TV news play the story?ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer reduced it to a headline late in the show.Diane Sawyer: Violence in Iraq today where a female suicide bomber wearing a vest hidden under her head scarf and shawl -- which is called an
The war profiteers (including those on the 'left') 1 Feb 2010Common Ills Of the past decade's political mysteries, none is deeper or of greater consequence than the set of decisions that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On Friday, former British prime minister Tony Blair testified at the Iraq Inquiry, a commission set up by the British government to find out how that country went to war, and how the war was run. Given what we know, and what we still need to find out,
At least 42 dead in Baghdad bombing 1 Feb 2010Common Ills Jomana Karadhseh and CNN report a female suicide bombing in Baghdad has resulted in the bombers death as well as the deaths of 41 other people with one-hundred-and-six more injured. A large number -- possibly all -- of the dead are Shi'ite pilgrims. Caroline Alexander (Bloomberg News) provides this context, "The pilgrims were among more than 30,000 Shiites who have arrived in Iraq for Arbaeen,
If Terror Is the Measure, It’s Healthcare War 2 Feb 2010by Donna SmithSince I was a little child huddled in the elementary school hallway for the bomb drills to the present day when I listen to the reasons my nation must spend more on foreign military actions, the means of securing public support for war in this nation seems to have centered on one word. Terror. ( click title for more )
Don’t Let Citizens United Wreck Our Economy 2 Feb 2010by Zach CarterIn a landmark decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could spend unlimited funds to influence American elections, overturning a century of legal precedent. The Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC undermines the integrity of the U.S. government, as President Barack Obama emphasized at his State of the Union address. But the decision also deals a damaging blow to the U.S. economy by encouraging lawmakers to write economic rules that benefit specific companies at the expense of everyone else.( click title for more )
Hijinks or Undercover Ops? 2 Feb 2010by Laura FlandersIf four politically-motivated young men with left-wing (or Muslim), rather than right-wing ties, broke into the office of a senior Senate Homeland Security Committee member and gained access to her computer files — do you think we’d be hearing less about hijinks and more about Guantanamo?
The story of the break-in at Senator Landrieu’s office gets weirder and weirder by the day.( click title for more )
What Exactly Did Bush and Cheney Do Wrong? 2 Feb 2010by Glenn GreenwaldAs I noted
several days ago, it is not only Republicans -- but Democratic and
media establishment figures as well -- who clearly crave the
preservation of the Bush/Cheney approach to Terrorism and civil
liberties. When Bush's popularity collapsed to historic lows,
political and media elites pretended for awhile to object to his
administration's fear-based and radical policies as extremist and an
assault on "our values." But that was all just such a transparent
pretense.( click title for more )
Barack Obama and the Fading of Hope 2 Feb 2010by Matthew RothschildWhither has it fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now the glory and the dream?
—William Wordsworth
Face it: A lot of people fooled themselves. When Barack Obama was running for President, and when he won, people filled his empty but gift-wrapped box labeled “Hope” with huge dreams of a better America.( click title for more )
Guiding Haiti's Roadmap to Recovery With Human Rights 2 Feb 2010by Monika Kalra Varma and Kerry KennedyOverwhelmed by
sadness, empathy and disbelief, the world's eyes are focused on the
rescue and relief efforts for those in Haiti. However, many who have
worked in Haiti fear that a preventable long-term disaster lies on the
horizon if international interventions don't break with past patterns.
As international aid begins to pour into Haiti, we have a brief moment
to break with past mistakes and bring real change to the country. ( click title for more )
Single Payer Solution for Obama 2 Feb 2010by MN Senator John Marty
"If anyone...has a better approach that will bring down
premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for
seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know." -- President Obama, State of the Union January 27, 2010
An open letter in response to President Obama's State of the
Union request for a better approach to health care reform:
Dear President Obama, ( click title for more )
It’s the Economists Stupid 2 Feb 2010by David Kristjanson-Gural
Economists like to think they
are scientists but for the most part, aware of it or not, they are shilling
for the powers that be. We won’t get out of this mess, until
we call them on their shell game, broaden our thinking about how and
for whom the economy works and take matters into our own hands.( click title for more )
Mock This Campaign If You Like, But How Else Can Blair Be Held to Account? 2 Feb 2010by George Monbiot
What else can you do? When the entire administration is engaged in a criminal act, when there is no clear separation of powers between the government and the judiciary, when those appointed to hold the government to account are as scary as a litter of kittens, where do you turn? Do you appeal to the attorney general's office to prosecute itself?( click title for more )
Obama's Nuclear Generation Gap? 2 Feb 2010by Sue SturgisDuring the energy portion of his first State of the Union address last week, President Obama called for "building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country."a2a_linkurl="http://www.southernstudies.org/2010/02/obamas-nuclear-generation-gap.html"( click title for more )
Don’t Call It a 'Defense' Budget 2 Feb 2010by Norman SolomonThis isn't "defense."The new budget from the White House will push U.S. military spending well above $2 billion a day.Foreclosing the future of our country should not be confused with defending it."Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political
compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there
is virtually no room for new domestic initiatives for Mr. Obama or his
successors," the New York Times reports this morning (February 2).( click title for more )
We Need More, and Bigger, Gardens, Not McMansions 1 Feb 2010by Michael Day It's spring. And no one welcomes the lengthening days more avidly than our household. Cat sprawled in a sun patch, chickens in the veggie patch and kids clambering on the swing set. And the wife and I, shod in old jeans and oversized gardening gloves, planting and sowing, raking and mulching.( click title for more )
Walking Away From Negative Equity 1 Feb 2010by Dean BakerIt is probably best to leave the gods out of discussions of economic policy, but this barrier was breached in November when the CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, told an interviewer that Goldman Sachs was doing God's work.( click title for more )
The Creed of Objectivity Killed the News 1 Feb 2010by Chris HedgesReporters who witness the worst of human suffering and return to newsrooms angry see their compassion washed out or severely muted by the layers of editors who stand between the reporter and the reader. The creed of objectivity and balance, formulated at the beginning of the 19th century by newspaper owners to generate greater profits from advertisers, disarms and cripples the press. ( click title for more )
Good and Boring 1 Feb 2010by Paul KrugmanIn times of crisis, good news is no news. Iceland’s meltdown made headlines; the remarkable stability of Canada’s banks, not so much.
Yet as the world’s attention shifts from financial rescue to financial reform, the quiet success stories deserve at least as much attention as the spectacular failures. We need to learn from those countries that evidently did it right. And leading that list is our neighbor to the north. Right now, Canada is a very important role model.( click title for more )
Talk Now With the Taliban (We’re Going to End Up Having to Talk With Them Anyhow) 1 Feb 2010by Dave LindorffYou had to love the headline the Philadelphia Inquirer put on the jump
page of columnist Trudy Rubin's Sunday commentary about word that the
Obama administration is hoping to talk with at least some mid-level
Taliban leaders about giving up the fight and "coming over" to the
"government" side.( click title for more )
Howard Zinn’s Mirror 1 Feb 2010by David PotortiNine years ago,
when a group of 9/11 family members including me began speaking out
against our nation's militaristic response to the September 11th
attacks, it was a very different time. It was a fearful time, not just
because we lost family at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on
Flight 93, but also because America had become a fearful place. One of
the people who made that time considerably less scary was Howard Zinn. ( click title for more )
What I Have Learned Doing Civil Disobedience for Single Payer 1 Feb 2010by Carol Paris"People should go where
they are not supposed to go, say what they are not supposed to say,
and stay when they are told to leave." --Howard Zinn
Well, that quote pretty well sums up
"what to do." But my biggest challenge is "how."
Specifically, how do I neutralize some pretty powerful fear?
I was scared Friday when I joined Margaret
Flowers to attempt to deliver a message to the President. My thoughts
raced. We're talking secret service.
( click title for more )
Israeli Women Soldiers Break the Silence 1 Feb 2010by Ira ChernusWhat's it like to be a woman serving in the Israeli occupation force
in the West
Bank? Is a woman's experience as an occupier any different than a
man's? Yes indeed, say some women who have just broken their silence and offered
a glimpse into the grim reality of the occupation. ( click title for more )
Counterpunch
CounterPunch is the bi-weekly muckraking newsletter edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. Twice a month we bring our readers the stories that the corporate press never prints. We aren't side-line journalists here at CounterPunch. Ours is muckraking with a radical attitude. Out Of Bounds magazine calls us "America's best political newsletter".
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Groundhog Decade: We’re stuck in a bad movie, where it’s always the hottest decade on record
Somewhere on a Hollywood movie set for Groundhog Day, Part 2: Bill Murray wakes up to find he’s just lived through the hottest decade on record, just as he did in the 1990s, just as he did in the 1980s. And he keeps waking up in the hottest decade on record, until he gains the kind of maturity and wisdom that can only come from doing the same damn thing over and over and over again with no change in the result. Ah, if only life were like a movie.
Somewhere in PA: Punxsutawney Phil saw the shadow of unrestricted fossil-fuel pollution from Homo “sapiens” sapiens today. That means global warming for another six thousand weeks — and then some (see NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe).
If we keep... (continue reading)
The Obama administration’s pact to use seven Colombian military bases accelerates “a dangerous trend in U.S. hemispheric policy,” an article in The Nation magazine warns.
The White House claims the deal merely formalizes existing military cooperation but the Pentagon’s 2009 budget request said it needed funds to improve one of the bases in order to conduct “full spectrum operations throughout South America” and to “expand expeditionary warfare capability.”
“With a hodgepodge of treaties and projects, such as the International Law Enforcement Academy and the Merida Initiative, Obama is continuing the policies of his predecessors, spending millions to integrate the region’s military, policy, intelligence and even, through Patriot Act-like legislation, judicial systems,” writes historian G... (continue reading)
As I mentioned last week, Firedoglake has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. Our independent coverage of hot-button issues — from Jon Walker’s analysis of health care reform, to the unbelievable liveblogging of the Prop 8 trial by Marcy Wheeler, Teddy Partridge and David Dayen — has greatly expanded our audience, and presented new chances, and new challenges, for us to serve our community.
And so, we continue to seek the best and brightest to fill two great employment opportunities here at Firedoglake, which you can check out by visiting our jobs page. One opening is for a DC Political Reporter, who will have the exciting privilege of being our full-time political correspondent on Capitol Hill. The other is for a Deputy Managing Editor, who will coordinate, edit, and publ... (continue reading)
Photo via WN
Obama's budget for 2011 is filled with peculiarities. There are a few primary points of interest when it comes to energy--the empty cap and trade framework outlined within, the severing of multi-billion fossil fuel subsidies (which I'll get to in a post later today), and perhaps most surprisingly, over $54 billion for nuclear power. That's up almost $20 billion from the year before....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Gishwati forest circa 1986. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rwanda has announced a planned expansion of the Gishwati National Conservation Park. The effort with increase the size of the park by 21 percent—from 3,018 acres to 3,665 acres—and marks the beginning of a conservation corridor, dubbed the "Forest of Hope," intended to help a group of endangered chimpanzees....Read the full story on TreeHugger
In Michigan, explosive details have emerged from the long-awaited release of the autopsy report for a Detroit-area Muslim imam slain by the FBI in October. The imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, headed a Sunni Muslim group called the Ummah. He was shot dead during an FBI raid shortly after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal crimes. Local Muslim leaders have questioned if authorities are trying to cover up facts surrounding his death. 
photo: Robert Gale via flickr.
Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it has a signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian biofuel company Cosan that would create a $12 billion joint venture for the production and distribution of sugarcane-based ethanol. Both companies will contribute Brazilian assets to the joint venture and Shell will pony up an additional $1.625 billion in cash, to be paid over the next two years:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Dubai, February 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Palestinian woman living in Dubai, Susan Al-Hobi, recently climbed Vinson Mount and became the first Arab to reach the highest point in Antarctica. The peak is 4,898 meters (16,050 feet) high.
Al-Hobi previously raised the Palestinian flag on the top of a number of other "highest peaks": Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Mont Blanc (Alps of Western Europe), Aconcagua (South America) and Toubkal (Northern Africa).
According to The Gulf newspaper, Al-Hobi loves adventure and looks forward to climbing all of the seven highest mountains in the world. Remaining for her to climb are the summits of Denali (Alaska, US), Carstensz Pyramid (Papua, Indonesia) and Everest (Nepal). She says she wants to prove to the world that Arab women can conquer t... (continue reading)
The Xingu river, where the dam will be built. Photo: Leo Freitas.
The environmental Ministry of Brazil has announced a controversial project to build a huge hydroelectric dam in the middle of the Amazon forest has been granted an environmental license. In exchange, the government is asking the winning bidder 803 million US dollars in compensation for ecological damages. Find out why Sting might get annoyed with the news inside....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein write on CNN.com:
We at the ANSWER Coalition extend our heartfelt solidarity to
all of our Haitian sisters and brothers, as well as to all those who have friends and
family there, as Haiti copes with the destruction and grief of the massive 7.0 magnitude
earthquake that struck yesterday.
Journalist and author Naomi
Klein spoke in New York last night and addressed the crisis in Haiti: “We have to be
absolutely clear that this tragedy—which is part natural, part unnatural—must, under no
circumstances, be used to, one, further indebt Haiti and, two, to push through unpopular
corporatist policies in the interest of our corporations. This is not conspiracy theory.
They have done it again and again.” [includes rush transcript]
We discuss the situation in
Haiti following Tuesday’s massive earthquake, as well as the history of Haiti, with two
guests who have spent a lot of time there: Bill Quigley, the legal director at the
Center for Constitutional Rights, and Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for
Justice & Democracy in Haiti. [includes rush transcript]
( click title for more )
Please join the War Resisters League in calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawl in Haiti, an end to the militarization of aid, and a focus on the self-determination of the Haitian people.
Today, in the hopes of finally seeing justice, we are petitioning the United States Supreme Court to hear Mr. Arar’s extraordinary rendition case and we urgently need you to take action.DescriptionIn 2002, Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK airport while on his way home to Canada from abroad. He was interrogated, detained in the U.S. for 2 weeks, denied his right to go to court and then secretly rendered to Syria where he was tortured and held in a grave-like underground cell for over ten months. He was never charged with a crime. You can learn more about Mr. Arar’s case by clicking here.
In a disturbing decision last November, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed CCR’s civil case Arar v. Ashcroft in a 7-4 decision. In a strongly worded dissent, Judge Guido... (continue reading)
NEW YORK PEACE GRANNIES TO MARK 1000TH AMERICAN DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER | Press Release
As the American military death toll nears the 1,000 mark in Afghanistan, anti-war grandmothers and their supporters are preparing in advance to mark the grim occasion. The grannies held special commemorations for the 3,000th and 4,000th American death in Iraq, and now are planning to perform the same heartbreaking task for those unfortunate soldiers sacrificed to the war in Afghanistan.
"Perhaps most of the public is not much concerned with these wars and their casualties, but the peace grannies always have been, are now and will continue to be until they are stopped," said 94-year-old Lillian Pollak, an active member of the Granny Peace Brigade, one of the organizers of... (continue reading)
If we get anywhere near that outcome, I seriously doubt anybody is going to care about what Punxsutawney Phil thinks about whether it’s going to be an early spring or not.
[And yes, I thought the original Groundhog Day was a great movie, but then, it had a happy ending....]
Some of the soldiers who enforced a flagrantly illegal order that day in South Hebron Hills.
“You know what you are doing is illegal,” we say, “the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that the Army cannot declare a Closed Military Zone arbitrarily, and it is expressly forbidden to do so if this means denying Palestinian shepherds and farmers access to their lands.”
“Doesn’t interest me.”
“And you know that the Army’s own legal adviser in the Territories backed up the Supreme Court’s ruling with a directive issued to all soldiers serving here.”
“Twelve minutes.”
“So why are you here? Taking orders, as usual, from the settlers?” Zvi has joined us, and he’s wonderfully eloquent at such moments.