AJ+ “Israel’s month-long assault on Gaza has over 1900 Palestinians dead, mostly civilians. It has sparked condemnation by the UN and of course on twitter. Outraged tweeps are using the hashtag #BDS, short for means boycott, divestment and sanctions — a growing movement to get Israel to change its policies when it comes to human […]
Archives for August 2014
Is Zionism/ Jewish Nationalism a Political Cult? The Salaita Firing
By Juan Cole Liberal politics in the broad sense, in the tradition of Locke, Voltaire, Madison, Jefferson and John Stuart Mill, is rooted in a conviction that vigorous debate clarifies issues and makes for better public policy over time. This principle is often misunderstood by political partisans, who confuse analytical disagreement with simply being contrarian […]
Israel caused $5 billion in damage to Gaza, 40,000 Homes Destroyed or Damaged
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s offensive on Gaza has caused over $5 billion of damage to homes and infrastructure in the Strip, the Minister of Public Works said … Some 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 30,000 homes partially destroyed, al-Hasayneh said. “The three areas that have undergone the most intense destruction are Shujaiyya, Beit […]
Israeli Soldiers Deliberately Shot down Fleeing Civilians (Stories begin to Leak out) – HRW
By Human Rights Watch When will there be justice for the civilians in Khuza’a, who suffered shelling for days, then faced deadly attacks by Israeli soldiers after being ordered to leave the town? – Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director (Gaza) – Israeli forces in the southern Gaza town of Khuza’a fired […]
Hiroshima Taught us that the “National Security State” isn’t about Security for us (Noam Chomsky)
By Noam Chomsky via Tomdispatch.com If some extraterrestrial species were compiling a history of Homo sapiens, they might well break their calendar into two eras: BNW (before nuclear weapons) and NWE (the nuclear weapons era). The latter era, of course, opened on August 6, 1945, the first day of the countdown to what may be […]
British Cabinet Member Resigns over UK Gov’t Gaza Stance, wanted to go to ICC
Channel 4 News “Sayeeda Warsi, the minister who quit over Gaza, says she had to stand down because of the UK’s “indefensible” position. Watch her first TV interview since her exit” She said that a conservative member of parliament was on the phone with her “weeping” at the images coming out of Gaza. (Why are […]
Israel Still Holding Gaza Civilians Hostage, Doesn’t Get Geneva Conventions
By Juan Cole The Israeli government is saying that it will only let in building materials so that Palestinians in Gaza can rebuild or repair the some 40,000 buildings that have been damaged or destroyed if Hamas disarms. It is legitimate for Israel to seek the disarming of Hamas, but it isn’t legitimate or legal […]
Climate Change, Dirty Natural Gas, and the Gaza War
By Juan Cole Calls by Israeli politicians in mainstream positions for the Palestinians to be ethnically cleansed from Gaza in part reflect frustration over the security issue many Israelis maintain the people of Gaza pose to Israel. (If the concern were justified, you’d think the death toll for the Israeli side would be much greater […]
Product Placement takes over the Media & subverts the News (John Oliver)
By John Oliver “The line between editorial content and advertising in news media is blurrier and blurrier. That’s not bullshit. It’s repurposed bovine waste.” HBO: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Native Advertising