Showing all posts in June 2019

– George W. Bush advises Ariel Sharon to eat less, work less and exercise more following the Israeli leader’s mild stroke. Oh, he also said Sharon was a visionary and a man of peace. – A fascinating study of American Jews reveals strong opposition to the Iraq war, a majority who have never visited Israel…

Ann Beeson, associate legal director for the A.C.L.U, speaking on Bush administration attempts to monitor and criminalise dissent: “You look at these documents, and you think, wow, we have really returned to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, when you see in F.B.I. files that they’re talking about a group like the Catholic Workers league…

Want to promote a Hollywood film or a war-criminal? Look no further: “Steven Spielberg has hired the public relations consultant who is spearheading Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s re-election campaign to promote his film “Munich“, about the hunt for the Palestinians responsible for the hostage crisis that led to the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes…

Bradley Burston, Haaretz, December 20: “What is it about Israelis that makes them smile when Palestinians rejoice at the misfortunes of the Jews? “What is it about the people of this country that gives them a feeling of validation when newscasters describe gunmen of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza firing in the air and…

Saddam’s Iraq was a threat due to WMD, we were told. It was imperative to invade and stop the dictator launching chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons on his neighbours. So how to explain this? “Saddam Hussein’s weapons experts, known as Dr Germ and Mrs Anthrax, are being released by US forces, an Iraqi lawyer…

Israeli society is riddled with hate: “Maariv reported last week on a survey which found, not surprisingly after five gruesome years of Palestinian Arab belligerence, that topping the “most hated” list for nearly all Israelis were Palestinians. But 67 percent of leftists hated “settlers” even more than Palestinians. “Besides settlers, the Orthodox, haredim, leftists and…

Iranians are being taken back to the stone ages (well, at least before Kenny G): “Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has banned Western music from Iran’s radio and TV stations, reviving one of the harshest cultural decrees from the early days of 1979 Islamic Revolution. “Songs such as George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” Eric Clapton’s “Rush” and…

Change is (hopefully) brewing across the Arab world: “Arabs are no longer blaming external forces for giving the region and its media a bad name. As debates at the ‘Arab and World Media Conference’ revealed, they are also attempting to identify the deficiencies in their own systems and demanding remedies to overcome them.” Arab journalists…

Australians are much more self-aware than politicians and the media realise: “Three out of every four voters disagree with the Prime Minister’s claim there is no underlying racism in Australia. “The Herald Poll reveals deep concerns about the long-term impact of the riots: 59 per cent of respondents believe the violence at Cronulla and other…

The US says it believes in democratisation, unless, of course, it involves parties it doesn’t like: “Two days after the U.S. Congress voted by a large majority (397 to 17) to threaten the Palestinian Authority with withholding aid if it includes Hamas in the next government, U.S. officials pressured the European donor nations to transfer…