Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak: The United States is a central source for Israel’s qualitative edge [over its enemies] in advanced weapons systems, $3 billion in annual financial aid, ammunition and spare parts that are spread out here in American storage facilities within Israel, and upon which the IDF relies as an ‘oxygen supply’ in…
Showing all posts in June 2019
Obama wants peace in our time (and the Middle East may not be ready)
Either a massive game-changer or a case of massive American over-reach (hello Zionist lobby, Congress etc?) U.S. President Barack Obama’s demands during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Tuesday point to an intention to impose a permanent settlement on Israel and the Palestinians in less than two years, political sources in Jerusalem say.…
Google helps clarify what web freedom should mean?
Does the web need a bill of rights? Jeff Jarvis writes in the Guardian that Google’s recent move in China is significant: Google’s business strategy is dead simple: the more we use the internet, the more Google makes. If governments are allowed and enabled to restrict freedom on the internet to a lowest common denominator…
How to treat a major media mogul who loves page 3 girls and illegal wire-tapping
What the BBC needs to do more often: “Find someone to articulately tell James Murdoch to fuck off.”
Taking from the rich and giving to the poor
This week the Robin Hood Tax campaign launches in Australia. Here’s the global campaign video: And the aim? The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions… that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad. It can start as… low as 0.005 per cent…
The one-person reporter army is coming to an end (thankfully)
2009 was the year that journalism took a (healthy) turn towards more a collaborative future: Up until now, journalism has been devoted to verified facts – but the crowdsourced approach is generally not about using previously trusted sources. Instead of checking each contribution and verifying it individually, this was the start of a new statistical…
“Obama is the greatest disaster for Israel”
It’s hard to tell if this remains simply a lover’s tiff (with no real consequence for the offending party, Israel) or something more. Certainly a war of words has erupted, and it’s rather fun to watch: Israel‘s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, tried to smooth over a breach in relations with the US today, speaking out…
US drone attacks are not legal
An interesting Al-Jazeera English report that explains how the American use of pilotless drones in the “war on terror” has no legal framework. Good to know the world’s only super-power operates illegally:
East Jerusalem should not be touched
While Gideon Levy in Haaretz hopes and prays Barack Obama keeps up his pressure on Israel: Obama is asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and through him every Israeli, to finally speak the truth. He’s asking Netanyahu and the rest of us: What on earth do you actually want? Enough with the misleading answers; the moment…
Letting go of America and being happy about it
Is it even conceivable that Australian politicians (or Israelis) would ever say this publicly? MPs today urged the government to adopt a more hard-headed approach towards the US and avoid the phrase “the special relationship” as Britain’s influence over America was likely to diminish. The 14-member cross-party foreign affairs committee said that the phrase coined…