Richard Falk

The civilian population of Gaza are trapped in an overcrowded war zone with no form of exit. This situation reveals a serious gap in international humanitarian Law.

As the hideous Israeli assault on Gaza, named Operation Protective Edge, by the IDF enters its second week, overdue international appeals for a ceasefire fall on deaf ears. Bibi Netanyahu tells the world that no outside pressure will alter Israel’s resolve to reach its military and political goals to disable Hamas for the indefinite future. The purported justification for such aggression is to make sure this time that Israelis will never again have to seek shelter from Hamas rockets, which could require a prolonged military campaign combining ground forces with a continuing air and naval assault.

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John Pilger

The other night, I saw George Orwells's '1984' performed on the London stage. Although crying out for a contemporary interpretation, Orwell's warning about the future was presented as a period piece: remote, unthreatening, almost reassuring. It was as if Edward Snowden had revealed nothing, Big Brother was not now a digital eavesdropper and Orwell himself had never said, "To be corrupted by totalitarianism, one does not have to live in a totalitarian country."

Acclaimed by critics, the skilful production was a measure of our cultural and political times. When the lights came up, people were already on their way out. They seemed unmoved, or perhaps other distractions beckoned. "What a mindfuck," said the young woman, lighting up her phone.

As advanced societies are de-politicised, the changes are both subtle and spectacular. In everyday discourse, political language is turned on its head, as Orwell prophesised in '1984'. "Democracy" is now a rhetorical device. Peace is "perpetual war". "Global" is imperial. The once hopeful concept of "reform" now means regression, even destruction. "Austerity" is the imposition of extreme capitalism on the poor and the gift of socialism for the rich: an ingenious system under which the majority service the debts of the few.

In the arts, hostility to political truth-telling is an article of bourgeois faith. "Picasso's red period," says an Observer headline, "and why politics don't make good art." Consider this in a newspaper that promoted the bloodbath in Iraq as a liberal crusade. Picasso's lifelong opposition to fascism is a footnote, just as Orwell's radicalism has faded from the prize that appropriated his name.

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Edward S. Herman

The fool is John Kerry, who has looked bad in his rushing around between Washington and Tel Aviv trying to get in place a “framework” agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that would show progress in the efforts of the honest broker, assailing Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela for his “terror campaign against his own people,” and, of course, denouncing the Russians for their “aggression” against the coup-regime of Ukraine. His statement that “You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on a completely trumped-up pretext,” has to be regarded as an Orwellian classic and may be his signifier in future history books, in the unlikely event that he makes it at all. His punchline has been the subject of many jokes and laughs in the dissident media, but the mainstream media have hardly mentioned it and certainly haven’t made it the butt of jokes and a basis for discrediting the man (just as there has been no discrediting of Madeleine Albright based on her statement on national TV that killing 500,000 Iraqi children via the sanctions of mass destruction in the 1990s—which she helped engineer—“was worth it”).

Of course, it is possible that Kerry really believed he was speaking truths, having internalized the assumptions that flow from U.S. “exceptionalism,” which make words like “invasion,” “aggression” and “international law” inapplicable to us as the world’s police; and what might be a “completely trumped up pretext” if offered by the Russians is only a slight and excusable error or misjudgment when we do it. After all, the New York Times quickly used the word “aggression” in editorializing on the Crimea events (“Russia’s Aggression,” March 2, 2014), whereas it never used the word to describe the invasion-occupation of Iraq, nor did it mention the words “UN Charter” or “international law” in its 70 editorials on Iraq from September 11, 2001 to March 21, 2003 (Howard Friel and Richard Falk, The Record of the Paper).

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Stephen Lendman

Photo: Eden Abergil, former IDF soldier: "I hate Arabs and
wish them all the worst. I would happily kill them all, even butcher them." Incredibly, a commentator was worried that the worldwide stir that her statement had caused might have ruined her life. Abergil responded to the comment, making it clear to the surfer that she didn't take the issue too seriously: "No honey, they didn't ruin my life. I can't afford to have Arab-lovers ruin the perfect life I'm leading!!! I am not sorry and I do not regretttttt it." (More here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

♣ ♣ ♣

According to UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Richard Falk, "Palestinians don't even have the right to have rights." Militarized occupation denies them. Harshness exceeding the worst of South African apartheid describes their status. The UN and Human Rights Council do nothing to help. According to Falk, they "failed to follow through in a way that is effective in bringing peace and justice to the peoples of Palestine, and until (they do, they have) no ethical or (other) basis for not trying (their) utmost to do so."

Palestinians are isolated on their own. In 1948, Israel stole 78% of their homeland. In 1967, it took the rest. Militarized occupation exists. It's lawless. It's illegitimate. It continues because world leaders do nothing to stop it. They turn a blind eye to Israel's worst crimes. They honor its war criminals. They do it disgracefully. They're complicit in their crimes. Imagine calling Ariel Sharon a hero! Imagine being saddened by his death! Imagine saying Israel is poorer without him! Imagine praising a cutthroat killer! Imagine calling him a peacemaker!

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Stephen Lendman

On January 11, Ariel Sharon died. He's not missed. A previous article discussed his blood-drenched military and political career. It did so in depth. It explained his decades of high crimes against peace. They began before Israel's creation. They continued until his debilitating stroke induced coma. It occurred in January 2006.

Sharon was pure evil. He was satanic. He was no saint. A special place in hell awaited him. It now claims him. His criminal legacy remains. It's indisputable. It's well documented. Eulogizers largely ignored it. They did so shamelessly. Obama and other world leaders praised him. A previous article quoted them. They ignored his high crimes. They have plenty of their own to answer for. The same place in hell awaits them. Bill Clinton is one of many US unindicted war criminals. He was complicit in Sharon's crimes. One war criminal honored another. He issued a statement saying:

Ariel Sharon gave his life to Israel to bring it into being, to sustain and preserve it, and at the end of his long service, to create a new political party committed to both a just peace and lasting security. It was an honor to work with him, argue with him and watch him always trying to find the right path for his beloved country.

Congressional members mourned Sharon. House Speaker John Boehner (R. OH) called him "one of the greatest warrior-statesmen in modern history. His "contribution to establishing and defending Israel's independence is incalculable, and his devotion to peace undisputed." George W. Bush called him a "man of peace." Vice President Joe Biden said he'll lead a US delegation to his memorial service. He'll do so "to pay tribute to the unshakeable partnership between the United States and Israel." John Kerry said his "journey was Israel's journey. The dream of Israel was the cause of his life, and he risked it all to live that dream." He did so over the corpses of many thousands of Palestinian civilians he slaughtered in cold blood. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY) said "Israel lost one of its greatest sons and America a friend." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D. CA) called him "a powerful voice for his beliefs and values." He "always maintained the courage of his convictions." Other congressional members offered praise. They did so when condemnation is demanded.

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Eva Bartlett

Photos and updates from Gaza paint one of the most dire scenarios the Palestinians locked in the Strip have faced, Israeli bombing campaigns aside.

For over a month Palestinians in Gaza have endured 18 or more hours/day power outages. Now, with unusually heavy rains, cold temperatures, Israeli-released torrents of water (suddenly opening of dams along the border with Gaza), and even snow, Gaza is under water, under siege, and people are suffering freezing conditions. According on one international in Gaza, a baby has frozen to death in one of Gaza’s refugee camps.

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Mohammed Omer

We decided to make this urgent report from Mohammed Omer into an action alert—Gazans need our help now!
Contact Secretary of State John Kerry
U.S. Department of State
2201 C ST., NW
Washington, DC 20520
Call: 202-647-4000; select option 4 and ask operator for the comment line.
202-647-6575 (Public Communication Division); select option 8 to leave your comment.

It is cold, there is no power, and I am charging my computer using a car battery in order to get this message out. It is so cold in Gaza that everyone has cold feet and a cold nose. A new storm is hitting this besieged enclave. There is no electricity, and shortages of water, fuel, and vital services mean people just sit and wait for the unknown.

Tens of houses east of Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, in Khan Younes and Rafah are flooded with rain today. The sewage system cannot function and Gaza municipalities announced a state of emergency. Schools and most shops are shut, there is no traffic and few people are walking in the street.

Gaza City’s garbage trucks have been at a standstill due to the ongoing fuel shortage. I’d gotten used to the bright orange truck that usually passes by, sounding its horn, a sign for all my neighbors to bring out their garbage for collection.

Now the donkey is our only remaining hope. Since last week—when fuel supplies ran dry—the only sound one hears now is the click-click of their hooves as they pull their carts along the road at 4 a.m. By noon, they have collected all they can on their busy route. In Gaza’s Barcelona neighborhood, garbage containers are overflowing—a normal occurrence since fuel ran out.

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Gilad Atzmon/Roy Bard

Roy Bard and Gilad Atzmon - London 25/9/13

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon

Roy Bard is a known figure within Britain’s far left, anti-war and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement. He is a member of the Indymedia UK collective, a leading British anti-capitalist media outlet.

I first encountered Bard five years ago. At the time the site was subjected to an international Jewish ‘anti’-Zionist campaign: a cabal of ethnic activists demanded that Indymedia deleted my articles. Being a principled man, Bard didn’t bow to their pressure. Bard has been subjected to a malicious slanderous campaign ever since.

The article below is about sadness – if the personal is political, as some progressives insist, this article is an intimate insight into the medium in which such a transition takes place. It reveals the measures of brutality and intolerance that are unfortunately intrinsic to the Jewish Left. I was really moved when I read this article.

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John Pilger

A stirring has begun, though people of conscience should hurry.

Russia's peace deal over chemical weapons will, in time, be treated with the contempt that all militarists reserve for diplomacy. With Al-Qaida now among its allies, and US-armed coupmasters secure in Cairo, the US intends to crush the last independent states in the Middle East: Syria first, then Iran.

On my wall is the front page of Daily Express of September 5, 1945 and the words: "I write this as a warning to the world." So began Wilfred Burchett's report from Hiroshima. It was the scoop of the century. For his lone, perilous journey that defied the US occupation authorities, Burchett was pilloried, not least by his embedded colleagues. He warned that an act of premeditated mass murder on an epic scale had launched a new era of terror.

Almost every day now, he is vindicated. The intrinsic criminality of the atomic bombing is borne out in the US National Archives and by the subsequent decades of militarism camouflaged as democracy. The Syria psychodrama exemplifies this. Yet again, we are held hostage to the prospect of a terrorism whose nature and history even the most liberal critics still deny. The great unmentionable is that humanity's most dangerous enemy resides across the Atlantic.

John Kerry's farce and Barack Obama's pirouettes are temporary. Russia's peace deal over chemical weapons will, in time, be treated with the contempt that all militarists reserve for diplomacy. With Al-Qaida now among its allies, and US-armed coupmasters secure in Cairo, the US intends to crush the last independent states in the Middle East: Syria first, then Iran. "This operation [in Syria]," said the former French foreign minister Roland Dumas in June, "goes way back. It was prepared, pre-conceived and planned."

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Gilad Atzmon

Professor Richard A. Falk, UN Special
Rapporteur on "the situation of human
rights in the Palestinian territories occu-
pied since 1967."

I was amused and proud to see my latest book The Wandering Who? held aloft by Israeli chief Sayan Hilllel Neuer at the UN’s Human Right Council. The book was presented as ‘exhibit B’ in a farcical self-appointed Talmudic kangaroo court against the great Professor Richard Falk who lent his name, amongst many other leading humanists and intellectuals, in support of my work.

Infamous Hasbara spin-doctor Neuer doesn’t like Falk, this is clear. Along the years Zionists have developed a collective anathema towards humanists and humanism. Neuer Insisted that The Wandering Who? is ‘Anti-Semitic.’ In order to support his ridiculous claim, he recruited Ali Abunimah, the man who single-handedly managed to reduce the Intifada to an electronic blog.

So here is some bad news Neuer better take into consideration: 24 hours before Abunimah published his peculiar ‘interpretation’ of my thoughts, he was foolish enough to admit to Professor Norton Mezvinsky that he actually had not read The Wandering Who or “anything else by Atzmon.” How embarrassing. At the time, Professor Mezvinsky, gave me his full consent to publicise Abunimah’s confession.

In his relatively short intellectual career, Abunimah has managed to produce some of the most mind-boggling statements in the history of contemporary intellectual exchanges. I guess that Neuer could do with the support of someone who is familiar with my work or at least clever enough to hide his ignorance.

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