Total number of comments: 58 (since 2010-10-23 14:08:25)
joemowrey
I am an anti-war activist and an advocate for Palestinian rights.
Website: http://palestinetruthcoalition.com
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- ‘Forward’ piece on destruction of Palestinian neighborhood fronting Western Wall … 1
- Israel cracks down on American travel to West Bank by … 1
- Bradley Manning rally to feature, Ellsberg, Ann Wright, Dan Choi, … 0
- Another ‘NYT’ piece buys Israel’s al-Dura report– which PA spox … 1
- Jewish philanthropies stay away from org dedicated to Yiddish culture … 4
- Reporters Without Borders on the Israeli al-Dura investigation: ‘the nature … 2
- Obama’s secret wars in Muslim world make Americans vulnerable 2
- ‘Al Jazeera’ reposts Massad piece, after censoring it 0
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- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 2239
- Washington state bus-ad campaign dares to state: ‘Equal rights for … 1716
- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem 1691
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 1368
- Palestinian-American Raed Zidan plants flag on top of Everest, dedicates … 1339
- Christians denounce Israel’s manhandling of worshipers at Holy Sepulcher on … 950
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 809
- In photos: Gaza marches and rallies mark 65 years of … 442
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- International Criminal Court opens preliminary investigation into attack on Mavi … 96
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 89
- Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ … 86
- Kennedy’s insistence on right of return prompted Ben-Gurion to rewrite … 75
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 73
- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 69
- Uncompromising hope inspired by Ghassan Kanafani 63
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 62
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- RT @grassfed: MT“@BPFF_Festival: #Palestinian film "Omar" by Hany Abu-Assad, receives 5 min standing O at #Cannes: http://t.co/xvCDQDwuDP” …, 41 mins ago
- ‘Forward’piece on destruction of Palestinian neighborhood fronting Western Wall not embraced by all ‘Forward’ readers http://t.co/a8nvXYynM6, 2 hours ago
- Israel cracks down on American travel to West Bank by requiring tourists to obtain military permit http://t.co/vNUagVufkS, 2 hours ago
- Bradley Manning rally to feature, Ellsberg, Ann Wright, Dan Choi, Sarah Shourd http://t.co/C1C7G1DXJ6, 2 hours ago
- "belligerent military occupation of Palestine does not need any hoax or staged incidents to expose its brutality" http://t.co/PGFbErTIOK, 3 hours ago
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click link to see last 100 comments- Biden says Jewish ‘influence’ behind American cultural politics is ‘immense… immense’ (17)
- Woody Tanaka: “How does this pandering play among his audience?” I, for one, find myself hard pressed to...
- Woody Tanaka: Because it had nothing to do with their Jewishness, per se. It had to do with the culture they grew up...
- Woody Tanaka: “support for Israel for our one friend in the Middle East” Funny, though. Before we...
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack (89)
- Annie Robbins: Accentitude, there’s something i’d like to ask you about referencing a comment you made...
- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem (46)
- Annie Robbins: obsidian, israel started the gaza massacre of 08-09 by claiming hamas was planning on kidnapping...
- Obsidian: AND this http://www.timesofisrael.com/p alestinians-nabbed-for-plannin g-to-kidnap-israelis/
- Another ‘NYT’ piece buys Israel’s al-Dura report– which PA spox calls ‘fantastical’ racist propaganda (1)
- ritzl: Dutch posted this link in the “Reporters Without Borders” article. http://mondoweiss.net/2013/...
- ‘Forward’ piece on destruction of Palestinian neighborhood fronting Western Wall is not embraced by all ‘Forward’ readers (1)
- MRW: All classic pilpul responses except for Art Wegweiser.
- Israel cracks down on American travel to West Bank by requiring tourists to obtain military permit (1)
- ritzl: I asked Hostage the other day about the “cleverness” of a possible strategy to get Israel to...
- Kennedy’s insistence on right of return prompted Ben-Gurion to rewrite history: They fled ‘of their own free will’ (75)
- Hostage: Here is a memorandum from Acting secretary Bowles to President Kennedy, April 28, 1961 regarding An...
- Biden says Jewish ‘influence’ behind American cultural politics is ‘immense… immense’ (17)
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A very illuminating graphic, which can be seen at the following link link to frugaldad.com explains why we can no longer expect "newsworthy" to be a reason for information to be made available to us by our corporate media. Six corporations control 90 of what we are told. The illusion that we live in a democracy with a "free" press is just that, an illusion.
Another example of this is the article at Common Dreams recently link to commondreams.org pointing out that even though 97% of the scientific community understands that climate change is caused by humans, only 42% of Americans have a clue. (It's actually pretty amazing that the figure is that high. A very encouraging statistic, really.) Our diet of information is strictly controlled. We are the most ignorant and misinformed nation on the planet. People really have been convinced that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. It makes having a rational conversation with the vast majority of Americans nearly impossible.
Obama has absolutely no problem violating U.S. and international laws regarding the extrajudicial assassination of people around the globe. But when it comes to violating a law passed by Congress which he claims prevents him from closing Guantanamo (a law, which by the way, he signed), well golly, his hands are tied. What disgusting bull roar.
He is more than willing to send a bunch more psychos down there to force feed these poor people, an action which is clearly a form of torture and has been acknowledged as such by the UN and other international bodies. The fact that it is torture makes it a violation of U.S. law. So here's the raw truth: this sociopath is choosing to break the law by torturing these guys rather than choosing to break the law by closing that hell hole and letting these guys go. He is choosing it. Get that? The man is not "weak" or "a poor negotiator." He is a monster. Face reality. Quit apologizing for him.
On the contrary, Barack Obama is well into his depth. He is doing exactly what his corporate paymasters hired him to do, on every front. This notion that he is somehow just a weak-willed pawn who gets "shoved around" is nothing more than self delusion on the part of those who still can't bring themselves to accept what a grand master of the long con Obama is, and that in fact, they are the ones being conned.
I don't see anyone "shoving around" our poor, helpless Assassinator in Chief when he meets in the Oval Office every Tuesday with his gang of murderous, sociopathic thugs to determine who will be obliterated by our international fleet of killing drones.
Barack Obama and his cadre or fascist war mongers has done more to bring us to the brink of open totalitarianism than any previous President. Thanks to his "leadership" we now live in a country where anyone can be imprisoned indefinitely without charge or trial, U.S. citizens included. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can be killed on the whim of one man, with no oversight or accountability. At the same time, he is consciously and willingly waging more direct and proxy wars than any previous President. He is a serial liar, a war criminal, and a shill for corporate America. He is anything but naive. Clever like a conscienceless fox is more like it.
Carl K is absolutely correct. Nothing Obama says means anything, other than that he is a very skilled and articulate liar. And most importantly, as Carl says, agonizing over the lies Obama tells so easily and with such conviction is truly a waste of time.
link to dissidentvoice.org
For anyone thinking the new Pope is going to be good for anyone but the corrupt church hierarchy, check out this video. Also, tune in to Democracy Now today.
Yes. Like all political lobbying, it has nothing to do with any "community," Jewish or otherwise, pressuring anybody. Unless that community has bunches of money to put into the pockets of our "leaders," via organizations like AIPAC, their voices are marginal at best. Money talks; peaceful demonstrations, letter writing and petitions walk. For instance, 30,000,000 people in the streets worldwide couldn't stop the war of aggression on Iraq. $30,000,000, properly distributed among members of our craven Congress, might have.
Hagel groveled. He reversed himself on every Lobby-offending remark he has ever made. And they were only remarks. In practice, he has been a reliable shill for the status quo his entire career. He will continue to toe the line on U.S. foreign policy, just as Obama has. These guys wouldn't be in positions of power if they weren't committed to advancing the cause of Empire.
"But will Hagel’s presence make a difference? Who knows?"
Really? I think we all know quite well. Hagel's presence will make about as much difference as Obama's presence has made. Ask a Palestinian about that.
One day we'll be thanking guys like Hagel and Obama for imprisoning us indefinitely at Guantanamo without charge or trial. Wow, what a great victory. They didn't kill us and our families with drones.
And then there is the U.S., which doesn't even bother with sham policy definitions like "administrative detention." We currently have 171 people locked up indefinitely at Guantanamo without charge or trial, many who have been there for the entire decade of shame since its creation. Incredulously, 89 of these people have actually been cleared for release, yet they still are being held in conditions which demonstrate the true barbarity of our so-called liberal society and our faux moral posturing to the rest of the world.
Oh, but it's not Obama's fault. Congress won't let him close it. Now there is a huge stinking pile of Progressive manure. Here's a guy who claims the kingly right to assassinate anyone he chooses, anywhere in the world, including U.S. citizens. But he doesn't have the power to release the innocent men he is imprisoning at Guanatnamo? Oh, right. Congress won't approve the funding. How about if Barry uses a little chump change from the billions he's spending on his fleet of killer drones.
The fact that so-called Progressives continue to support this monster on any level is a disgrace which we can only hope will one day come back to haunt everyone who voted for and supported Obama and his criminal Presidency.
Not nice of me? Not polite? I believe it was here at Mondoweiss we read that some issues are too important for politeness.
Just to be clear, though apparently Dan does, I do not consider people who post anonymously to be cowards. Everyone has there reasons for anonymity. It's a choice. But I do believe our opinions carry more weight when we are willing to put our names where our mouths are, so to speak. How much impact would Carter's use of the word 'apartheid' have had if his book was published under an author's name of "anonymous," or some cute nickname, instead of his own. (Not that I consider Carter to be any kind of hero. In fact, he is a war criminal, like all U.S. Presidents, and should be on trial in the Hague.)
"Haven’t we seen enough of “Ivy league lefties” to know they’re by definition, full of shit? “Will” will be a consultant for SDK Knickerbocker in a couple of years, and he’ll be laughing at his “righteous indignation” phase."
I agree with Dan. Once "Will" grows up and smells the Lobby (and DNC) coffee he'll be towing the line like all good Ivy league so-called lefties. That's how he has been conditioned throughout his educational life here in Corporatastan (the U.S.) . Bluster away with a few semi-intelligent objections now and then to make it look like you understand the concept of critical thinking, but in the end, tow the line so you can cash in by being a shill for the status quo.
I also heartily agree with Dan about the whole "anonymous" thing. As someone who uses my name whenever I comment anywhere, (and it is my real name) I find it absurd (if not sad) that so many commenters at this and other feisty sites use "handles" instead of their actual names. What is this, CB radio land? If you have an opinion you aren't ashamed to express, why hide behind a funny nick name? Courageous people like Phil and Adam and Annie sure don't. (At least we assume they are using their real names!)
" The issue is too important for me to be polite. "
My feelings exactly about this issue and also about the issue of U.S. wars of aggression and empire. This is exactly what I tell people when they say I'm being "too aggressive," or "too negative." Politeness has its place. but so does directness and passion. People are suffering and dying. How "polite" are we supposed to be in the face of that reality?
Talknic,
In this day and age, anyone with access to the internet can discover the truth in a matter of hours. So if it's not hypocrisy or denial, that leaves willful ignorance or sheer laziness. The true victims are the people who suffer because of lack of initiative on the part of those who could well learn the truth and stand up for it, but choose not to.
Let's face it, hypocrisy and dishonesty are necessary core values for anyone who defends Zionism. Either that or a serious ability to live in a state of self delusion. You can't defend racism and ethno-religious nationalism if you are being honest, with yourself or anyone else. I choose to believe that most of the intelligent, seemingly rational, so-called "liberal" Zionists fall into the self-delusional category. Hmmm...which category does that put me in?
Alterman claims to want equality and justice for everyone in Palestine. But he also wants Israel to exist as a Jewish (in this case, Zionist) state. The two things are mutually exclusive. When the dominance and relative exclusivity of one ethno-religious group over all others is the foundation for the social and political policies of a nation, human rights and social justice will necessarily be secondary to this ethnocentric ideology.
For Israel to exist as a Jewish state, exclusionary policies have to be implemented in order to maintain a Jewish majority. That has always been the stated objective of every Zionist government since Israel’s inception. Zionism, by definition, is antithetical to true equal rights for anyone other than Jews.
The inescapable conclusion is, if there is to be equality and justice in Palestine, Israel can no longer exist as a Jewish state. Israel is either a state based on equal rights for all it’s people, regardless of ethno-religious demographics, or it is a Jewish state. It can't be both.
So yes, I guess one could claim, as Alterman does, that since the goal of BDS is to achieve equality and justice for Palestinians, then indeed, the goal of BDS is the "destruction" of Israel as a Jewish state. Of course, his use of the word "destruction" is purposefully misleading and intended to inflame negative emotions in the reader.
Thanks, as always, for providing us with another revealing glimpse at the deranged mindset of the rightwing Zionists. The last line of her piece says it all, not just about her attitude, but about Zionism in general. "The film, “The Gatekeepers” directed by Dror Moreh, will cause Israel great harm, great damage." In other words, Zionism is incompatible with the truth and cannot tolerate its light. The two concepts are mutually exclusive.
As I pointed out in my previous post concerning the original article addressing this issue, no one seems to have the "spine" to point out that Clinton, like all our national "leaders" is a sociopath who will lie and change her story to suit her ambitions. She has and will continue to (given the chance) implement policies that result in the deaths of innocents around the globe.
As long as we continue to pretend these are normal, rational actors running out country, we will continue to see the same old irrational behaviors and policies being implemented. At some point, someone (as in "all of us sane, rational human beings") has to begin to shout out that the Emperors have no clothes, no conscience, and no legitimacy in a rational moral universe.
I'll go first. Reality has to begin to unfold somewhere.
No one seems interested in mentioning that Hillary Clinton, like so many people in our government, should be on trial in the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity, not being bandied about for possible Presidential aspirations. We talk about these monstrous sociopaths who wage war and reek havoc, death and destruction on people all around the globe as if they were normal human beings like you and me. Did you ever see the clip of her chortling about the prospect of bombing Iran? This lady is deeply disturbed.
We're having the wrong conversation. It shouldn't be, "Gee, what's Hillary up to," so much as it should be, "What terrible things might Hillary do in the future if we don't stop her now."
But then, that's just me.
Thanks for putting this subject on the front burner here at Mondoweiss. How can we even begin to imagine achieving justice in Palestine when our own government is being run by murderous thugs and racketeers who are slaughtering people all around the globe? These guys are nothing more than a bunch of two-bit gangsters, but with the power of the most militarized nation in the history of the planet at their disposal.
This isn't about Democrats or Republicans or the Lobby or any of the other distractions we often spend so much time discussing with such passion. The real problem is our rogue empire (regardless of which party is at the helm) and its blatant disregard for the rule of law. As Marin Luther King said so many years ago, we are the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. And the sad thing is, those Americans who are even mildly aware of this fact seem not to care.
JeffB,
Ah yes. How do we "deal" with Al-Qaeda? Your comment suggests you actually believe that randomly killing people we deem to be a threat makes us "secure." Oh, and if a few of their innocent neighbors die in the process, gosh, sorry about that. The bloody history of European and Western intervention and destruction of Muslim/Arab countries and their cultures aside (in answer to the question, "Why do they hate us?") the fact is, slaughtering people we "suspect" are "terrorists," along with their inconveniently placed wives and children, only produces more "terrorists." It is not just an immoral and barbaric behavior unbecoming of civilized cultures, it is a counterproductive strategy.
"They" don't "hate us for our freedoms" (which are ever diminishing, by the way). They hate us because we rape and pillage their countries, their cultures and their economies, then kill their families.
Much the same as elections in this country revealed a total lack of mobilization against war, extrajudicial assassinations, extraordinary rendtition, etc. etc. The societies in both Israel and the U.S. have at their core a narcissistic mind set. Just one of the "shared values" we hear so much about.
This is the same form of delusion that so-called progressives in the U.S. suffer from concerning Obama. It's a guilt thing. They can't admit they have supported something (and/or someone) which is so obviously contrary to their core values and beliefs. So liberal Zionists support Zionism and progressives support Barack Obama. Rather than accept how mistaken they have been, they live in la-la land and pretend this will bring about change. Sad, really.
I have to agree with Dan Crowther. and I'm not usually one to use the "S" word. But it is indeed shameful to refer to Barack Obama in any context as "anti-War." He is currently waging more direct and proxy wars around the globe than any previous president in U.S. history. Every Tuesday, he gets together with a gang of murderous thugs to decide who they will assassinate this week. Oh, and though it kind of flew under the radar, Obama's "Kill List" is now officially named the "Disposition Matrix." No, I'm not making this up. Google it if you don't believe me. That's Orwellian enough to qualify as the perfect compliment to Phil's suggestion that Obama is an anti-war president. Take it back, Phil! It tarnishes what is otherwise a very intelligent analysis (albeit, one I don't completely agree with).
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your argument, but you seem to be suggesting that because Jewish history makes Jews sensitive to Christian imagery we should cut the Israeli rabbinate some degree of slack for trying to prohibit the display of Christmas decorations in Israel.
I'm right there with you concerning the violence and atrocity which has been spawned by Christianity, (not to mention U.S. empire) and the effect certain cultural symbols can have on people. But it seems reasonable to assume that the Israeli rabbinate and the Mayor of Upper Nazareth want to prohibit the use of Christmas decorations because of racism and religious bigotry, not because of any touchy-feely sensitivity to the role Christians played historically in the suffering of Jews.
You make a good academic point about religious and secular iconography, but I'm not sure that is "the point" of Cook's article, or that a consideration of religious symbolism throughout history explains the disgusting situation Cook documents in his piece. Even if it does explain it on an intellectual level, we shouldn't excuse it. (I'm not suggesting that you do excuse it.) Perhaps we need to quit blaming history for people's bigoted attitudes and hold the individuals themselves accountable in real time for their hateful actions.
link to canada.com
Phil's analysis of the parallel's between the two situations is fine by me. But, just for the record, here is a link to an article which provides some perspective on Lincoln. Albeit, the author is a libertarian (more or less), but he reminds us that our school-book mythology about Honest Abe, much like Spielberg's film, bears little relation to the actual facts of history. Like all expressions of U.S. exceptionalism it should be taken with a grain of salt. I haven't seen the film yet, but I do understand that it is intended to be entertainment, not a strict documentary.
This may be a little off topic for the typical thread on this site, but I hope you are willing to post my remarks concerning the addition of Scott Roth so that other readers might respond to what is a genuine concern on my part.
I'm a long time reader, occasional commenter, and great admirer of Mondoweiss, so I say this with only the best intentions. Be careful of the long tentacles of the Nation Magazine. There is a bevy of Obama faithfuls there whom I feel have a less principled vision than they do a commitment to the Democratic Party establishment. If we start seeing nearly daily posts here from John Nichols and Katrina vanden Heuvel, or other unquestioning support for the policies of the Democrats, we should be concerned about the integrity of this site.
In my opinion, the Nation has had a very negative influence on another excellent site, Common Dreams. I have no way of knowing what exactly the connection is between CD and and the Nation, but the frequent appearance of Nation writers (as well as writers faithful to the Nation Magazine) at that site seemed to marked a substantial change in the editorial tone. Again, that's just my personal view and analysis. It could just be a coincidence. Common Dreams is still a valuable information source, but I felt that the amount of pre-election fawning they did over Obama (who is anything but a friend to the Palestinian people or the cause which Mondoweiss champions) was unconscionable.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been banned from commenting at Common Dreams because I questioned what I thought was the obvious infiltration of the site by Nation Magazine shills for the Dems, and asked, quite innocently one day, if there might be funds coming into CD from the Nation. That post never appeared. I was blocked, without explanation, and never received a response to several appeals I made to the editors there.
I respectfully ask the same question here. Is the Nation Magazine going to be helping to fund Mondoweiss? If so, I hope Phil and Adam will maintain their usual high standards and not succumb to the influence of the Nation Magazine's Democratic Party leanings at the expense of the editorial integrity we have come to admire here.
Yonah,
So, you believe ethnic cleansing was "militarily indicated." Does this include the slaughter of unarmed men women and children in documented massacres such at took place at Deir Yassin? I guess this tells us a lot about your moral compass. By the way, many Holocaust deniers and apologists for the Nazis claim that exterminating the Jews was "militarily indicated."
Emma,
My bad. I should have put 'partition process' in quotes to indicate it was not my language, or otherwise qualified that statement. You are correct. There was no legal partition of Palestine.
Very well done, with one important exception. When it says, "...several Arab states invaded the new state of Israel," this fails to acknowledge that one of the reasons the Arab states intervened was because the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the erasure of "over 400 villages and towns," had begun in earnest in December of 1947 and was well under way before any Arab country "invaded."
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians had already been driven off their lands by a campaign of violence and terror on the part of the Zionist militias (not yet soldiers of what was at that point the undeclared state of Israel). The British troops who were obligated to "maintain order" during the partition process stood by and watched as helpless men, women and children were being murdered and/or driven out of their homeland.
Note that the massacre at Deir Yassin, just one of many such events, took place on April 9, 1948. The end of the British mandate and the unilateral declaration of statehood by the Zionists occurred a month later.
I agree with Peeesss,
I doubt Rudoren would have gotten the job if she wasn't thoroughly vetted concerning her commitment to the task of weaving every piece of Palestinian misery together with subtle Zionist hasbara. It may take her some time to rise to the level of mastery Bronner achieved at this, but I doubt she'll last long in the position if she starts telling the truth on a regular basis without managing to spin it correctly.
As I pointed out in a previous post, you have to read her rhetoric carefully. But do notice that any mention of Palestinian suffering will more often than not be accompanied by at least one (two to one is preferable) hasbara spin point. Below is my previous post giving a shining example of this technique.
But then again, I suppose we could be optimistic and hope she has an awakening. But it won't matter. If she does, she'll be fired or "reassigned," hounded out of the limelight, and her career will be destroyed.
Previous post:
“…12 people killed the day before in the single deadliest attack since the latest hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip began Wednesday after months of Palestinian militant rocket fire into Israel.”
Gotta love the amount of Zionist spin she can cram into one sentence to offset the fact that 12 innocent people were blown apart. “…hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip…” implying your average fair fight between two warring countries. As if. Then, “…began…after months of Palestinian militant rocket fire into Israel.” Oh, of course, these equally-balanced “hostilities” are only taking place because of Palestinian rocket fire. More than 60 years of Zionist oppression, dispossession and ethnocide against the native population of Palestine has nothing to do with it.
"...12 people killed the day before in the single deadliest attack since the latest hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip began Wednesday after months of Palestinian militant rocket fire into Israel."
Gotta love the amount of Zionist spin she can cram into one sentence to offset the fact that 12 innocent people were blown apart. "...hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip..." implying your average fair fight between two warring countries. As if. Then, "...began...after months of Palestinian militant rocket fire into Israel." Oh, of course, these equally-balanced "hostilities" are only taking place because of Palestinian rocket fire. More than 60 years of Zionist oppression, dispossession and ethnocide against the native population of Palestine has nothing to do with it.
No one will ever match the devious propagandistic mastery of Ethan Bronner, but Rudorin ain't half bad at it herself.
I've been to Wadi Foquin. In fact, the sewage from Betar Illit's waste treatment plant which "seeps in" to the fields of Wadi Foquin comes from an overflow pipe which is deliberately engineered to come out of a hillside above the village and spill down directly into the village's farm lands. On a fairly regular basis, partially untreated effluent from the plant is pumped onto Wadi Foquin's fields. In this instance (and in many similar situations around the West Bank) the Zionist settlers are literally shitting on the Palestinians. Like so many aspects of the colonization of Palestinian land, this disgusting behavior in almost impossible to believe. But I've seen it with my own eyes.
Sumud is correct. Obama is anything but incompetent. In fact, he may be the most cunning war criminal to occupy the White House in decades. And if anyone thinks Obama's re-election means there won't be an attack on Iran (by either Israel or the U.S. or both) don't bet the ranch on it. War is what we do as a nation. It is essentially our only export. Our Presidents are hired to promote and incite global violence. Obama is just another shepherd of empire. He will do what he is told to do. Only now he will do it with a "mandate" from progressives. How sad.
"Obama is a politician a lawyer a product of a free society, a democrat. I think those are reasons enough to trust Obama..."
Wow. The list of lies Obama has told since his arrival on the political scene is too long to reproduce here. For just one choice example, remember when Senator Obama promised to personally filibuster any bill which included amnesty for the telecoms for assisting our government in spying on us? You know, the bill he later voted for and helped shepherd through the Senate? Being a politician and a lawyer are reasons enough to distrust anyone in my opinion.
And as for our "free society," what country have you been living in? Our President (whoever that may be in the future) now has the right to imprison you indefinitely without charge or trial. He can assassinate you too, just because your name is "on a list." And in case you havent noticed, ain't nothing "free" in our public arena. It's going to cost about a billion dollars for the keys to the White House. And neither Romney nor Obama will hold those keys. That privilege is reserved for the power elite who buy one or the other of them and pay them to represent the interests of corporate Amerika.
How many countries has Iran invaded, bombed preemptively, overthrown through covert operations, destroyed with economic sanctions, targeted with drone aircraft, etc. in the last 200 years? I'm thinking Zero! As for that same question about the U.S., again the list is too long to reproduce here. So who is it you're giving your trust to?
We'll have a free society when we free our minds from the myth of U.S. (and Israeli) exceptionalism.
This one goes into the history books right alongside Colin Powell's cartoon illustrations of the "mobile weapons labs" in Iraq. And just like those absurd claims, Bibi's nonsense will be bought, hook line and sinker, by the pro-Zionist U.S public, which is who this speech was for.
Good point about anti-Arab racism in the U.S. But calling Abbas an Arab moderate is a bit of a stretch. Let's not forget that he is no longer the elected President of the Palestinian National Authority. His term expired in 2009 and he now serves at the pleasure of the U.S. and Israel. If he were ever to do anything other than provide cover for their interests he would be gone in a jiffy. Let's hope there is a special place in someone's hell for people like Abbas. And frankly, I think giving either him or Netanyahu an international forum is absurd. But that's the world we live in. We always let the sociopaths run our planet.
Michael Moore will occasionally mention the injustices in Palestine, but he will never take a strong stand on any issue which may threaten in any meaningful way the control the Democrats has over so-called progressives. He is, first and foremost, a shill for the Democratic party. From his support for Wesley Clark in 2004 to his current campaigning for a President who claims the right to assassinate U.S. Citizens, no war criminal is too bloodthirsty for Moore, as long as that criminal is a Democrat.
Over the past 40 years, it's not the Right which has brought us to where we are. What rational, progressive-minded person would support the extremist policies of our current government, unless, of course, those policies were implemented by a Democrat? It took a Democratic administration to turn us into the Assassination Nation. It's faux-liberals like Moore with their lesser-of-two-evils blind loyalty to the Democratic branch of our war-mongering corporatist government which has facilitated our decline into madness.
Tens of millions of so-called liberals who claim to be believers in human rights and social justice will go to the polls in November and cast their vote for one of the most secretive, pro-corporate, militarist Presidents in our history, with guys like Moore cheering them on. The Right could never have accomplished this. And yet, the illusion is that only Republicans vote against their own interests. Wow.
Obamacare is a gift to corporate america. It comes as no surprise that Roberts would support it. The notion that this decision marks some historic change in Roberts' pro-corporate agenda is just plain silly.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that this ceremony could not have taken place in Israel unless Ashley had converted to Judaism. Unless something has changed recently, only Rabbis are allowed to perform state-recognized marriages in Israel for Jews and they are prohibited from marrying a Jew to a non-Jew. As of 2010, Civil marriage is allowed on a limited basis, but only for couples with no declared religious affiliation. Joe "I'm a Zionist" Biden would have had to give his daughter away in Cyprus, the wedding location of choice for many "unrecognized" couples in Israel. Either that, or she and her groom would have had to disavow their respective religions. Ouch.
Bravery isn't a word which should be used to describe Beinart. Opportunism would be more suitable. He's made his fame and fortune being the darling of the pro-Zionist-liberal crowd. Now he's going to make even more money pretending he's had a sudden awakening. I'll bet the advance he got for his latest book was easily in the high six figures. To suffer punishment like that, where do I sign up? He's probably laughing all the way to the bank about how he has "knowingly exposed himself to a mountain of vitriol." (per Matthew Taylor). What he has knowingly exposed himself to is an avalanche of money as the controversy surrounding his book sends the sales through the roof.
At one point, someone referred to Beinart's new book as a form of "penance" for having supported the Iraq war. Some penance. Perhaps a more appropriate "penance" for Beinart would be to have to give all the proceeds from his latest book to the people of Palestine. Call me a cynic, but I'll bet he wouldn't be nearly as "brave" if he wasn't making a bundle of dough for the effort.
Wow Denis,
Basically polite? Just "following orders?" Is there anything "polite" about this invasion of these people's privacy? Would you defend the actions of masked gunmen (actually "kids," as you point out; kids given too much power and abusing it too willingly) if they invaded your home in the middle of the night and wanted to question your sleeping five-year-old daughter? Think about what you are saying. How would you respond if these were Palestinians invading a Jewish home? And what purpose do the masks serve, other than to terrorise these people whose home their are defiling with their presence. Polite, my keester. These are thugs, plain and simple. If any one of them were my son I would be ashamed of their behavior.
"One reason I admire Beinart is he is a reflective man who has done penance for his Iraq mistake."
Sorry, but I can't buy into the notion that those who supported the war in Iraq deserve admiration for having finally opened their eyes to reality. It would be like praising someone for admitting that the world is indeed round, not flat. You might reward a child for such an admission, but people like Beinart are supposedly intelligent, thinking adults. If he were truly "a reflective man" he would never have supported that illegal and immoral invasion in the first place. There was never any rational justification for our war of aggression against Iraq. It was so obviously based on lies and deceptions, and there were so many cogent and informed voices pointing out that fact, even a child could have seen through the web of propaganda which was spun to initiate such a nightmare.
Also, the notion that Beinart has "done penance for his Iraq mistake" is more than a little disgusting. Millions of people have either died or suffered immeasurably because of the arrogance of talking heads such as Beinart. Like so many other arm-chair warriors, he is an ideologue who bases his policy positions on his own narrowly defined self-interests. He was willfully ignorant to the point of criminal complicity when it came to Iraq. He is similarly ignorant and ideologically motivated in his policy positions on Palestine.
An appropriate penance for Beinart might be a few years of unpaid community service in Baghdad, or perhaps Hebron, to help relieve the suffering he promotes through his mindless and very unreflective foreign policy bloviations.
Who are these people we give so much credence to? Beinart is one of those so-called liberals who was gung ho for the war of aggression against Iraq. Oh, but later he changed his mind when he found out there were no weapons of mass destruction. Now he is "pushed" to partially acknowledge reality in Palestine (and only barely at that) because he finally bothered to look at a few YouTube videos. What will it take to convince him and others like him that the world is round, not flat. Will he need to sail to the "edge" and find out he didn't fall off?
What a punk this guy is. Just another hypocritical ideologue who should be laughed off the public stage, not listened to as if he had anything meaningful to say. But I guess that's the world we live in. The witless become our valued pundits, and we become their idolatrous fools.
Opaleye,
Optimism is good. Maybe sanity will over ride greed this time around. I won't say "Let's hope so," because that word is no longer in my vocabulary! It's all a question of where and how the most money is to be made by those pulling the strings behind the scenes.
For a very in depth look at what Obama and his gang are up to when it comes to war-mongering precedents, check out this article today by Tom Engelhardt. He is generally pretty milk toast himself when it comes to Palestine. But he has some sharp incites in this piece. Obama is just another shepherd of Empire. The game plan is always the same, only the names of the players change now and then.
link to commondreams.org
Perfect post from Keith. What's going on here? So may familiar Mondoweiss voices suddenly drinking the Obama Kool-Aid. This charade by Obama is laughingly transparent. It's embarrassing to have to point it out. Gee, now which voters do you think he is winning over by pretending to stand up to Netanyahu? Of course, it is the so called Progressive anti-war base he needs to get re-elected. But once the coronation is over, it will be war-mongering business as usual. Did we learn nothing from the 2008 election cycle? Obama will say anything. But he won't deliver on any of it. Please give me some examples of any instance when this was not the case over the last three years.
This weapons deal is very much like the behind the scenes maneuvering Obama did before his previous coronation. He promised Israel a fast track for some much needed weapons in exchange for an end to Cast Lead (golly gee what do you know) just in time for his inauguration party. The cynical disregard for human life this type of chicanery illustrates should make us all sick to our stomachs. Don't forget, this is the same guy who now claims the right to kill anyone he wants, appointing himself the sole arbiter of "due process."
Waiting until after the election to give Israel the bunker buster bombs it will use on Iran is no concession at all. Quit pretending there is anything new in this recent round of three card Monty. We're still going to lose our twenty bucks. There ain't no queen to be found. Just more slight of hand from ObamaCon, Wizard of Guile.
"Eric Holder struck a brave blow against these out of step ideas when he stood up against the film."
And this same Eric Holder struck a craven blow against the U.S. Constitution when he gave his recent speech claiming that the opinion of the President as to whether or not someone deserves to me assassinated amounts to due process.
We have to quit lauding criminals and racketeers for single instances of principled behavior. These are not good people. They are gangsters and war mongers. Let's keep our message consistent as we struggle to achieve social justice for everyone.
"War erupted between Israel and the Arabs..."
Really? How about, "After Zionist militias implemented a program of ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people from their native lands during which hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children were forcibly expelled from their homes before even a single soldier from the surrounding Arab states officially took up arms against the Zionist colonial machine, Arab nations declared war on the newly unilaterally-declared state of Israel in a disorganized, underfunded, and under armed (and largely insincere and self-serving) attempt to prevent the advancement of this agenda of ethnocide in Palestine."
That reality (despite the run-on sentence) is just slightly different, isn't it? Let's be careful not to advance the Zionist narrative with careless language.
"I must admit I have been a "liberal Zionist," a supporter of the right and possible need for the Jewish people to have their own state. Just not this one. Can we start again?"
Start another racist state, expecting different results? We all know Einstein's definition of insanity. Any course of events which leaves a Zionist state in place is nothing more than a time bomb. Racism is not the basis for a functional society. It's time to abandon the notion that there can be such a thing as a "liberal Zionist." Liberalism and racism are mutually exclusive.
And yet, it's considered anti-semitic to make comparisons between the racist violence unleashed against Jews in Germany and the racist violence unleashed every day against the Palestinians by religiously insane settlers in the West Bank. I would say Jews learned much from the Nazis. But then again, Jews seem to have learned nothing at all from their own history. How sad.
"A sustained non-violent movement on a massive scale in Palestine would be no passive Kumbaya sit-in. It would involve serious danger and horrible risk, and it would require many people to die while others would be forced to watch and do nothing but continue to protest peacefully."
A similar statement could be made about the situation here in the U.S. And until we do begin to embrace such a strategy there is little or no hope for us or the Palestinians. Once the Empire (the U.S.) is toppled, oppressed peoples around the globe will begin to rebuild their cultures and nations. Not until.
Thanks for that bit of sanity, Dex. This notion that if we coddle Zionists in just the right way we can win them over is absurd. Zionism will unravel when the entire world rejects it and all of its supporters. No exceptions. Hand-holding these willfully ignorant exceptionalists only enables them. You don't sit down and have a drink with an alcoholic in order to engage them in a discussion about why they should stop drinking. You tell them, "Don't call me until you are sober."
How about that. Four Jewish groups discussing ideas for "resolving the Israel/Palestine conflict." Hmmm. Has it occurred to anyone that a Palestinian voice might be useful in this discussion?
A real sign that "the mess that we made" through the Zionist colonization of Palestine is on the road to being cleaned up will be when Jews everywhere finally realize that they are not the center of the universe. That's the core of the problem, after all. Somebody forget to tell the collective Jewish community of the world that they and their culture/religion are not the Sun that the Earth and all it's inhabitants revolve around.
No, I'm not being anti-semitic, I'm being pro-Earthling. It's about "the other," stupid. Until there is no "us and them" there will be no justice and hence, no peace. Fat chance, I know. But somebody's got to dream.
Don't get too excited about Bernie Sanders. He is a sham progressive. Ten bucks says he'll be waving the flag for Obama come election time. He is also a staunch soft-Zionist (that's being generous). Here's a link to a fine analysis of this so-called Socialist by Ashley Smith.
link to dissidentvoice.org
Sanders is all talk and no action. He's been feeding at the Congressional trough for nearly two decades now. Anyone care to make a list of the progressive milestones he's achieved?
Yes, this is purely a propaganda ploy on the part of the Egyptian military. It's not difficult to imagine Israel is behind it. The Rafah crossing is not "open" by any definition of the word. But already we're seeing how this sham language will be used to discredit the Flotiilla. I can hear the Zionists now: "This Flotilla is nothing more than a deliberate confrontation. Haven't you heard that the Rafah crossing is 'permanently open.'" It's a shame so many, including many in the Arab world's press, are buying into this. Let's hope those organizing the Flotilla will have sense enough to counter this nonsense with some accurate publicity concerning the truth about this "opening," then continue with their plans to challenge the blockade.
With all due respect, Phil, you must be drinking the Kool-Aid. Maybe someone put something in your water. This entire dance between Bibi and Barry is a scripted scam. In the end, nothing will change for the Palestinians other than that their situation will continue to deteriorate. Mark my words. ObamaCon, Wizard of Guile, lies like he breathes. Like all sociopaths (remember, he kills people with drone aircraft on a nearly a daily basis, yet still can sleep at night), the only sincerity or empathy he can muster is a mockery of true emotion.
Then there is this piece from Associated Press Deconstructed about Matti Friedman, the AP correspondent whose article was originally deconstructed by APD.
link to israelpalestinenews.wordpress.com
He's another Hasbara specialist along the lines of Ethan Bronner. Though in my opinion, Friedman is not nearly as skillful at his devious twistings of reality as Bronner. Just one more propagandist for Israel posing as a journalist.
Sorry to pick nits here, but "Israel has a thriving democracy for Jews" is way off base. The Ethiopian Jews who are discriminated against on a daily basis would disagree. Norman Finkelstein and other Jews who criticize Israel and are banned from entering the country might also have a different perspective. Maybe that statement should be clarified as, "Israel is a thriving democracy for whitish-looking Jews who love Israel without question."
But thanks for pointing out just one more of the myriad of inequities facing Palestinian citizens of Israel. Mondoweiss is a powerful voice for Palestinian rights.
It was clear in 1947 that the UN partition was a sham which the Zionists would embrace only until they could seize more Palestinian land than was already unfairly allotted to them. They proceeded to do so immediately. The suggestion that had the Palestinians accepted partition the situation which exists for them today would be any different is disingenuous. To quote Jeff Halper from his most recent article, "...all Israeli governments are unwaveringly determined to maintain complete control of Palestine/Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, frustrating any just and workable solution based on Palestinian claims to self-determination."
This has always been the stated intention of the Zionist movement. No amount of capitulation on the part of the Palestinians, in 1947, now or in the future, will change that fact. To believe that the Palestinians, by giving up any part of their land, their culture or their national identity, might derail the Zionist juggernaut is the real delusional hope. Until Israel is de-Zionized, no just solution can be implemented.
This attitude of entitlement, believing that all of Palestine is "Israel," is deeply ingrained in Israeli culture and society. Every Israeli soldier I encountered during my brief visits to the West Bank seemed convinced that the "Arabs" were occupying Israel, not the other way around. Unfortunately, that attitude, or perhaps just that level of ignorance, also exists here in the U.S. thanks to our corporate media.