I was asked by Osman Faruqi, editor of the University of New South Wales student newspaper Tharunka, to write a column: The role of the US hegemony is over. Washington no longer controls the world by charm and force. It’s a multipolar planet with countless centres of power. Wouldn’t this be something to celebrate? In…
Showing all posts tagged United States
Noam Chomsky delivers 2013 Edward Said lecture in London
On 18th March, Chomsky spoke on, “Violence and Dignity – Reflections on the Middle East”:
US-trained death squads in Iraq are our legacy
A remarkable documentary, by the Guardian and BBC Arabic, on the role of US-funded death squads in Iraq via torture skills honed in Latin America during the “dirty wars“. Powerful, explicit and brutal (though there are critics), such films are essential to challenge the spurious argument that the war was anything to do with freedom…
Two-state solution in Palestine dead, buried and cremated
Last year I co-edited a book with Ahmed Moor called After Zionism (re-issued this week with an updated introduction). It’s about the one-state solution and the reasons this outcome is the most just for both Israelis and Palestinians. This piece in Salon discusses, after Barack Obama’s visit to Israel and Palestine last week, the illusion…
Radio Live in New Zealand on 10 year anniversary of Iraq war
The ten year anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq will leave the media agenda now. It should not. The country we invaded and occupied remains broken. I was interviewed this morning by New Zealand’s Radio Live about the conflict (starting at 19.52).
Israeli Jews thank Obama for backing their apartheid state
The following protest took place outside the US embassy in Tel Aviv on March 22:
Obama damns Israeli occupation but will do nothing to stop it
The expectations around Barack Obama in Israel and Palestine were low. This visit was all about showing love for Israel and Zionism with a touch of criticism if it wouldn’t upset his hosts. Noam Sheizaf at +972 correctly explains that pretty words aren’t useful in this conflict: Measuring the value or effect of a speech…
Rolling Stone covers BDS against Israel
A small but important step towards mainstream coverage of an issue, Israel’s colonisation and apartheid, that is only getting worse. Rolling Stone reports: Pink Floyd‘s Roger Waters says a boycott of Israel, similar to the one implemented against South Africa during apartheid, is the “way to go.” He accuses the Israeli government of running a…
Obama apparently believes Israel is a neurotic child needing cuddles
The Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg tells Haaretz as Barack Obama touches down in Israel: President Obama listened carefully to the things President Clinton told him. I believe he now understands that the Israelis are a damaged, lonely and neurotic people who face genuine threats to their existence, so they need love badly. Obama won’t embrace…
What imperial cluelessness looks like in occupied Iraq
Former CNN and Time journalist, Australian Michael Ware, writes a devastating critique of the Iraq war from the inside, as a man who spent years reporting the apocalyptic insurgency that ravaged the war-torn nation. From the Lowy Interpreter: When insurgent leadership factions first offered peace terms, at least to my knowledge, it was to prevent…