According to a new BBC global poll (via the Jerusalem Post): Israel retained its position as one of the world’s most negatively-viewed countries, according to BBC’s annual poll published Wednesday night.… With 50 percent of respondents ranking Israel negatively, Israel keeps company with North Korea, and places ahead of only Iran (55% negative) and Pakistan…
Showing all posts tagged Islam
In relation to religious vilification, should we limit freedom of speech?
I’m rapt to be involved in this upcoming debate in Sydney:
The Islamist revolution is here; are we ready and even willing?
The grand sweep of history after the Arab Spring is yet to be written; it remains a work in progress. But this piece, by Hussein Agha and Robert Malley in the New York Review of Books, is a stunner, riffing on the prospects of an Islamist phase, what this means for democracy, Arabs in general…
Does the European Left ignore Islamist violence in a mutual hatred of Israel?
It’s an interesting and long argued detail, here by Colin Shindler in the New York Times. He makes some disturbing points but ignores the elephant in the room, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and how that affects global attitudes towards Israel, Jews and Zionists: Last week, Twitter… shut down… a popular account for posting anti-Semitic messages in…
Obama’s vast, global scope of murdering “terrorists”
The Washington Post reports the largely hidden counter-terrorism policies of the Obama administration, without oversight, legal checks or balances and media scrutiny. There’s a word for this and it ain’t democracy. Part one: Over the past two years, the Obama administration has been secretly developing a new blueprint for pursuing terrorists, a next-generation targeting list…
ABCTV New24’s The Drum on Romney/Obama debate, Iran, Israel and Zionist occupation
Last night I appeared on ABC TV News24’s The Drum (video here) discussing the last Presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The real challenge was counting how many times Israel was loved/praised/embraced/kissed during the 90 minute discussion (clue: 65432 times). I argued that it’s remarkable how little it is acknowledged that one nation,…
America is blind in Syria
The lead story in today’s New York Times is comical. Almost. What’s clear is how little Washington understands the Syrian revolution, who is fighting and why. Its intelligence is clearly suspect and hardline Islamists are being strengthened. America learns nothing from history.… Afghanistan in the 1980s, anybody? Most of the arms shipped at the behest of… Saudi…
Beware the jidadi felafel
We have been warned (via The Daily Currant): Minnesota Congresswoman… Michelle Bachmann… courted controversy today by claiming that falafel and other “jihadi foods” should be banned from school lunches in the United States. In an interview with local television station… KSTPin Minneapolis, Bachmann explained that after visiting a local elementary school she was shocked to find that… falafel… – a…
In the Syrian civil war, America and jihadis are on the same side
Yet more spectacular reporting from Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (the man has form) from the Syrian city of Aleppo (via the Guardian): Soldiers! Soldiers!” The man hissed his warning as he hurried past, two bullets from a government sniper kicking up dust from the dirt road behind him. It was enough for Abu Omar al-Chechen. His ragtag…
Fear radical, pro-Islamist Obama
So says a new, massively popular documentary currently in the US, 2016: Obama’s America: Once again, fundamentalist Zionism is masked behind a supposed fear of Muslims.