Killing Ayrabs is part of the mission, yes?

Jeremy Scahill, Huffington Post, October 30: Apparently there is one set of rights for Blackwater mercenaries and another for the rest of us. Normally when a group of people alleged to have gunned down 17 civilians in a lawless shooting spree are questioned, investigators will tell them something along the lines of: “You have the…

Forgive us our sins

The irreplaceable Max Blumenthal – film-maker and all around trouble-maker against the American Right – is back with a new short about a recent conference of the Christian fundies. And remember, abortion/homosexuals/Arabs/Muslims are a threat.

But, why, how dare you challenge Israel?

Zionist anger is a wonderful thing to watch. After I recently wrote an article for Crikey that dared to suggest that Israel’s behaviour in Palestine was outrageous, Douglas Kirsner, chair of the Public Affairs Committee of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, chimed in and defended his wonderful homeland and said it was wrong that anybody…

Please love your victimisers

Azmi Bishara, Al-Ahram Weekly, 25-31 October: If you want to understand the magnitude of the Palestinian tragedy and the depths of their dilemma take a look at the recent decree issued by the Israeli Ministry of Education which in essence asks Jewish and Arab schoolchildren to sign the Israeli declaration of independence as part of…

Principle before profit?

Many Western multinationals, like Google, have embraced China and chosen to comply with onerous restrictions and censorship. WordPress, a popular blogging tool, has not. Matt Mullenweg, the 23-year-old founder, explains why: We had a bigger problem in China. It set the moral compass for the company. About a quarter of our traffic was coming from…

Heal me, Moses

Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have found a modern-day Moses. Who, you may ask? AKA Nashville-based blogger Webutante – barely knew Jewish Republicans existed until last week, when she met former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, whom she now views as “a modern day Moses leading his people out of slavery, into freedom.…

Finding fault with Iran

With all the talk of an imminent strike against Iran, it’s sometimes easy to forget the true nature of the Ahmadinejad regime. Some people are clearly appreciative of its stance: Armenian Americans slammed the decision by a university in the Armenian capital of Yerevan to honor Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad during a state visit…

Honouring a tyrant

The Guardian, October 30: Diplomacy often calls for pretence and evasion to further the needs of nations but rarely in such public fashion as this week. The state visit to Britain by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is an expression of base politics and supposed mutual advantage, lacking the honour and glory that ought to…

The Rudd delusion

My latest New Matilda column is about the likely foreign policy of a Kevin Rudd government (namely, pretty damn similar to the current mob): The coming Federal election will be a contest between a social and economic conservative (John Howard) and a marginally less social and economic conservative (Kevin Rudd). Those so-called progressives, such as…

Yes, this is apartheid South Africa

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: “We hope the occupation of the Palestinian territory by Israel will end. There is a cry of anguish from the depth of my heart, to my spiritual relatives. Please, please hear the call, the noble call of our scripture. Because of what I experienced in South Africa, I harbour…

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