Never let facts get in the way of a good story. Here’s an important corrective, by a range of Latin American scholars, to a gullible and pro-US media that prefers playing the man than the issues: The supposed “irony” of whistle-blower Edward Snowden seeking asylum in countries such as Ecuador and Venezuela has become a…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
What is the EU now saying about illegal Zionist colonies
It’s a small step, far too little, but a significant symbolic move. Noam Sheizaf explains in +972 magazine: The European Union’s new guidelines regarding the settlements were… the talk of the day in Israel yesterday… (Tuesday), and they are still the leading story in all the morning papers. The feeling is that for the first time, an…
Let’s be clear, Britain sells weapons to thugs globally
A belief in human rights? Preaching to others about improving accountability? It’s all empty rhetoric by most/all Western governments, including Britain. Evidence for the prosecution (via Independent): The Government has issued more than 3,000 export licences for military and intelligence equipment worth a total of …£12.3bn to countries which… are on its own official list…
US surveillance state isn’t new but its scope is
Perhaps the most startling few words about the revelations related to Edward Snowden appeared in the Washington Post this week (via Glenn Greenwald): The Washington Post this morning has… a long profile of Gen. Keith Alexander, director the… NSA, and it highlights the crux – the heart and soul – of the NSA stories, the reason Edward…
Boycotting Israel strikes fear in heart of liberal Zionism
Today’s Haaretz editorial… displays the reality of Israel’s situation; an illusion of stability amidst growing international criticism of its apartheid against the Palestinians: Concern over a possible international economic boycott of Israel has been growing. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is responsible for negotiations with the Palestinians. At the beginning of the month she warned that if…
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald reviews For God’s Sake
The following review by James Grieve appears today: FOR GOD’S SAKE By Jane Caro, Anthony Loewenstein, Simon Smart and Rachel Woodlock. Macmillan. 314pp. $32.99. Here is the latest contribution to the debate on organised religion and the existence of God, started about seven years ago by the so-called new atheists, notably Richard Dawkins and Christopher…
Israel ethnically cleansing Bedouin while the world shrugs
This is how a “Jewish and democratic” state behaves, apparently. Racism by any other name. Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini write for Al Jazeera English: On June 24th the “Prawer Plan for the Arrangement of Bedouin-Palestinian Settlement in the Negev” passed its first reading in the Israeli parliament. If implemented, the Plan will constitute “the…
Untangling the murky energy war between US and China
Far too often the media covers conflicts in terms of good guys and bad guys, ignoring the never-ending power dynamics over energy and oil. Fascinating piece by Pepe Escobar in Asia Times that describes who really runs the world: Beijing has clearly interpreted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s “liberation” of Libya – now reverted into…
Life as a freelance journalist in the Syrian war
This is a remarkable story, one of the finest pieces of writing about journalism I’ve read in ages. It’s by Francesca Borri and appears in the Columbia Journalism Review. Read the whole thing: He finally wrote to me. After more than a year of freelancing for him, during which I contracted typhoid fever and was…
John Kerry’s fruitless Middle East “peace mission”
Far too many in the media get excited when yet another US official talks about restarting the “peace process”. It’s all smokes and mirrors and largely irrelevant to facts on the ground, ever-expanding Israeli occupation over Palestine. Here’s Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: How do we respond to Kerry? I…