Leading boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) advocate Omar Barghouti introduces this important piece by the head of Haaretz: Nothing new. BUT… it comes from the publisher of one of Israel’s most influential newspaper. Other prominent Israelis from within the establishment (and the Israeli media is most certainly part of the establishment, by any objective standard) have…
Finland signed up to American network of terror after September 11
Yet more evidence is emerging of the global scope of torture post 9/11 by the Bush administration with virtual bi-partisan support. Just the latest (via Reprieve in the UK): As a front-page article in Finland’s leading daily Helsingin Sanomat today explains, the Finnish government have reluctantly been compelled, in response to requests by Amnesty International,…
Condi Rice reassures world; Bush made space for Arab Spring
Yes, and Iraq is a liberated nation with peace and tranquility. Delusional: “The demise of repressive governments in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere during this year’s “Arab spring,” she says, stemmed in part from Bush’s “freedom agenda,” which promoted democracy in the Middle East. “The change in the conversation about the Middle East, where people now…
Let’s be clear; Australia has no interest in helping Palestinians end Zionist occupation
Last night’s UNESCO vote, that confirmed Palestine as a full member, showed just how few nations in the world are true client states of America, craven (hello, Australia!) or both: There were 14 “no” votes, 52 abstentions and 107 “yes” votes (there were also 20 Member States absent): No:… Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania,…
As Chomsky arrives in Sydney, here’s why his voice is so crucial
This year’s winner of the Sydney Peace Prize is soon to dazzle Australian audiences with thoughts so rarely expressed in the mainstream media. Take this:
Rupert worries that Stalin is reborn in NYC
While some in the Western media are accurately assessing the validity of the global Occupy movement, Murdoch’s New York Post takes the low road to typical sleaze (though with unintentional comedy): Some 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters saw red yesterday — giving an enthusiastic welcome to a genuine communist. Alex Callinicos, a professor of European…
Maybe Anonymous can defeat Mexican drug thugs
Truly a story for the modern age, with web gurus pitted against drug lords: An international group of online hackers is warning a Mexican drug cartel to release one of its members, kidnapped from a street protest, or it will publish the identities and addresses of the syndicate’s associates, from corrupt police to taxi drivers,…
The Commonwealth needs relevance bypass
John Kampfner is spot on in the Guardian last weekend: The death knell of the Commonwealth has been sounded for as long as there have been summits. By accident rather than design, this anachronistic gathering of 54 states may actually say more about the state of global priorities than the participants realise. And the direction…
Hey haters, Serco is just doing its best to make as much profit from misery as possible
As Serco continues to make money from Australia’s incompetent immigration detention centres, the company comes out swinging, claiming it cares deeply for “these people” (also known as asylum seekers) to Perth’s Sunday Times: Refugee deaths in detention are just part of the migration service business, according to Serco, the company managing Australia’s detention centres. In…