How a Jewish, American soldier hears some anti-Semitic comments in Iraq (during protests against the Gaza massacre), becomes incredibly racist against Arabs on his return to the US and then reflects on why he still remains proud to be Jewish (and presumably Zionist). Yes, “liberating” Iraq is such a noble, Jewish act; millions of Arabs…
Showing all posts tagged Iraq
Religion: what is it really good for?
The Auckland Writer’s and Reader’s Festival was a blast, ending yesterday. So much interest to talk openly about Israel/Palestine and audiences literally crying out for their corporate media to allow a wide range of views, including Arabs, anti-Zionists and skeptics. This New Zealand blogger reported on my event yesterday, a conversation about religion with Economist…
Maybe Israel and Iraq ain’t that different
Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog perhaps doesn’t realise that its reference to Israeli politics is very revealing. This isn’t just about a comparison to Israeli politics but a belief that somebody like Tzipi Livni is essentially sharing the same message as current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Different rhetoric, same belief in Zionist exceptionalism. Maybe Iraq…
The three New Zealanders who said “no” to US aggression
Spending time in New Zealand brings fascinating tales of a nation with a radical and independent streak. Admirable and pretty unique. I’ve been told by a number of different people about this story from March this year, an example of a non-violent protest against US wars that resulted in a great deal of local sympathy…
Israel and Iraq questions provide double whammy in Auckland
I’m currently at the Auckland Writer’s Festival. Wonderful event. Speaking to hundreds of people every day – mainly about the Middle East but also on the importance of alternative voices online – and the one message that keeps on coming up is how rarely dissenting Jewish perspectives or those critical of Israel appear in the…
The one-minute explanation for the “war on terror”
Lessons on terrorism that every American should know:
Americans murdering Afghans, says Seymour Hersh
The journalist who helped break the story that detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were being tortured by their US jailers told an audience at a journalism conference last month that American soldiers are now executing prisoners in Afghanistan. New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh also revealed that the Bush Administration had developed advanced…
What the West has brought the children of Fallujah (ie. not joy)
An important CNN report (simply being in the mainstream media is key) that highlights growing birth defects in Iraq: A large and growing number of Iraqi children are suffering from severe birth defects, as shown in the heartbreaking CNN segment embedded below, and their parents blame alleged U.S. chemical-weapons attacks. Lawyers representing the families have…
Can Australia please not hate refugees for five minutes?
Here’s Australia’s Liberal Party, the main Opposition, with its election-style ad. Note the brief section on refugees, red lines indicating an invasion of “illegals” from countries such as Iran, Sri Lanka, Iraq etc. Not racist at all. No chance:
How Blackwater would like to police the world
The ongoing saga over private military contractor Blackwater continues (mostly exposed by journalist Jeremy Scahill) in this exclusive report: Erik Prince, the reclusive owner of the Blackwater empire, rarely gives public speeches and when he does he attempts to ban journalists from attending and forbids recording or videotaping of his remarks. On May 5, that…