Powerful indictment of Washington by Peter Van Buren in TomDispatch about the privatisation disease that sweeps the world and delivers little except profits to a group of corporations. This is what imperialism means in the 21st century: With the success of the post-World War II Marshall Plan in Europe and the economic miracle in Japan,…
Showing all posts tagged United States
London’s Frontline Club discussion about “After Zionism” and the one-state solution
This week I appeared at London’s famous Frontline Club talking about my new book with Ahmed Moor, After Zionism. It was a sell-out with a refreshingly young audience (photos here). The other speakers were Palestinian Ghada Karmi and Israeli Dimi Reider. It was a 90 minute event that signalled the growing mainstream acceptance of only…
BBC Persian TV interview on Israeli threats against Iran
Here’s my interview in London on BBC Persian TV on 21 August 2012 (starts at 11:26) about Iran’s relationship with Israel, Netanyahu’s threats against the Islamic Republic and the avoidance of the real issue in the Middle East; the Palestinians. I argue that an Israeli or American military strike against Iran would be disastrous and…
Feigning care for human rights while condemning Wikileaks and Ecuador
The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald nails it: Readers of the American and British press over the past month have been inundated with righteous condemnations of Ecuador‘s poor record on press freedoms. Is this because western media outlets have suddenly developed a new-found devotion to defending civil liberties in Latin America? Please. To pose the question is…
Understanding a New York Times Israel-based journalist
A fascinating exchange between Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times and Jewish academic Jerome Slater. It’s very revealing of the mindset required to work for the leading American paper. “Balance” is key (because Israel and the Palestinians are clearly equals in terms of power on the ground.) Perhaps the most interesting part is this…
Understanding elite hostility to Wikileaks and Julian Assange
Important column by Seumas Milne in the Guardian (a newspaper that has continually smeared Assange): Considering he made his name with the biggest leak of secret government documents in history, you might imagine there would be at least some residual concern for Julian Assange among those trading in the freedom of information business. But the…
“We call it the Jewish Disneyland trip”
The role of the Zionist lobby in taking politicians and journalists to Israel has a long and sordid history. Note my recent investigation into Australian student leaders being romanced. The latest scandal is discussed in the New York Times: The trip was much like any of the hundreds hosted in recent years by a nonprofit…
Protecting an Australian journalist, such as Julian Assange, from the clutches of US empire
Michael Moore and Oliver Stone on a key point in the Wikileaks saga that must be remembered. Their New York Times op-ed: If Mr. Assange is extradited to the United States, the consequences will reverberate for years around the world. Mr. Assange is not an American citizen, and none of his actions have taken place…
The Israel lobby gets American politicians to disrobe
Really (via Politico): The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff — and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses. During a fact-finding congressional trip to the… Holy Land… last summer, Rep.… Kevin Yoder… (R-Kan.) took off his clothes…