Australia

April 1, 2011December 11, 2020

Israel the Self-Delegitimiser

Zeev Sternhell pins down Israel’s descent into fascism, self-delegitimisation and subsequent denial:

The settlement colonialism is the main reason today, usually the only one, for the opposition, sometimes bordering on hatred, that Israel arouses among much of the Western intelligentsia. It’s not the enemies of Zionism and the anti-Semites who are delegitimizing Israel, but Israel itself, with its own two hands.
…
The disgraceful flight from a confrontation with the right in the Knesset will not soon be forgotten, and the center’s moral bankruptcy will be recorded as a disgrace. The greatest enemies of democracy and the sources of fascism’s strength have always been not the radical right’s independent power, but the opportunism, conformism and cowardice of the center.

JPost goes into full swing and denial of Israeli fascism, in unwitting hypocrisy:

“Fascist” was a title infamously hard-earned by Brown Shirts in places like Germany, Italy and Bosnia, where racial laws were passed and genocides were carried out.

Passing racial laws and genocide are precisely what Israel has done and is doing.

And here’s more confirmation that the apartheid Israeli regime doesn’t want two (viable) states:

Isaac Molho, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior adviser and top negotiator on the Palestinian channel, made a secret trip to Moscow on Wednesday and met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The purpose of the visit was to dissuade Russia from supporting the European Union’s intention to present in two weeks’ time a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

@phbarratt There will be one state in Mandate Palestine and Israel’s grandchildren will wonder why they are a minority in an Arab state. #

@Jinjirrie Racist Australians support Israeli crimes against Palestinians as they do Australia’s crimes against Aboriginals .#

Winner of the first Israeli Apartheid Video Contest offers a comparison of South African Apartheid To Israeli Apartheid. Read the full story about the contest at Electronic Intifada.

Global BDS Day of Action 2011 – Chicago

Palestine / Israel Links

Global BDS Day of Action 2011
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (24-30 March 2011)
This is how many cops Max Brenner needs to prevent their customers hearing how they support occupation #BDS
Israeli activists call for a ‘no fly zone’ over Gaza
Netanyahu under probe for graft
Glenn Milne expresses his hatred for Palestinians and their rights

My published (corrected as I must have still been waking up when I wrote it) comment:

‘Learn more about the non-violent call from Palestinian people for justice and rights at bdsmovement.net before casting aspersions at those who support human rights against oppression, please, Glenn.

Leading anti-apartheidists like Bishop Desmond Tutu say Israeli apartheid is far worse than that perpetrated by white South Africa. The South African Human Sciences Research Commission has identified Israel practising colonialism and the three pillars of apartheid.

While Israel continues its land theft and settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, inflicts apartheid on Palestinians and denies Palestinian Israelis full equal rights, those Australians who are in tune with Martin Luther King’s example who see injustice anywhere as a threat to justice everywhere won’t stop highlighting Israeli crimes against humanity. Australia was at the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement against white South Africa – it’s time we Australians stood up again to insist our government acts to support the principled boycott against Israel.’

Murdock smears again
Sonja Karkar’s story on the smears: The Greens and BDS caught up in Israel’s theatre of the absurd

There is absolutely nothing in the BDS Call by Palestinian Civil Society of 2005 that says “Israel should be just a one-state country”. In fact, the statement merely says that BDS “should be maintained until Israel meets its obligations to recognise the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination”. It also clearly states that there is no alternative but to call for such non-violent punitive measures since “all forms or international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply” with its obligations under international law.

How that could be considered an “extreme” policy or one that goes against reconciliation, peace or justice, makes the mind boggle. But that’s precisely the theatre of the absurd into which Australia has fallen.

The inspiration for that initial call came from the South African struggle against apartheid, a struggle against injustice and oppression. And in case Australians have not heard what eminent South Africans have had to say about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians through all the fog of misinformation and hysteria, it bears repeating that Archbishop Tutu, Nelson Mandela, former government minister Ronnie Kasrils, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Professor John Dugard, former head of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Willie Madisha, and also the current one, Sidumo Diamini have all said that what Israel is doing to the Palestinians is worse than anything that was done in South Africa. It is apartheid.
…

BDS then is neither extreme nor likely to “strengthen the hand of extremists”. It is Israel’s and its apologists reactions to BDS that are extreme. When two women have already been subjected to virulent attacks for their support of BDS, one has to wonder how much of this smear campaign is to neutralise the Greens and how much to quash the BDS campaign for good in Australia.

The Marrickville smear just shows their Green fear

There was a de facto anti-Green alliance of both major parties, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and the Australian Jewish New, a powerful alliance that ran a slanderous campaign asserting that the Greens are anti-Israel (or anti-Semitic) because they support BDS and Palestinian rights.

The anti-BDS and anti-Greens campaign in Marrickville – which reached fever pitch in the last two weeks of the election campaign – included the outrageous accusation that the Greens are “fascists” and “Nazis”. Greens billboards in the Marrickville electorate were plastered with swastikas, as well as racist and sexist abuse.

The attempt to slur those who criticise Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as fascists – or supporters of the Nazi’s attempts to wipe out the Jewish population in Eastern and Central Europe during the World War II – is a crude and desperate attempt to silence critics.

…

The argument that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic is ridiculous but it is routinely used by supporters of Israel to try and silence its critics. The accusation that critics of Israel’s policy towards Palestinians ignore other human rights abuses around the world and just pick on Israel is also wrong. Anti-racists are just as outspoken about Western justifications for imperial wars, the treatment of refugees, and the treatment of Indigenous people in this country.

On the other hand, most of the people doing the smear job on the BDS campaign are not noted for speaking out against these injustices.

Andrew Robb labels Greens’ Israel boycott calls ‘anti-semitic’
Bob Brown can’t run away from his support for the NSW Greens BDS policy.
Business slaps down boycott talk – these zionist shills are not aware that BDS selectively targets institutions which support Israeli apartheid and occupation – seems as though the Australian is using green tech to wedge the greens.
NSW Greens Israel boycott damaging: Brown
Lonely, but pampered, at the top – Nutanyahoo plagiarises Gough Whitlam
Hamas: “Israel Is Deluding Its People, Obstructing Swap Deal”
Moyle in Northern Ireland twinned with Gaza
Our brothers, ourselves : Will American Jews be able to continue to support Israel if it maintains its current political, social and religious orientations? Yes – and no – it depends on whom you ask
JPost in denial of Israeli fascism
The extreme right turned Israel into an anachronism
Yet another racist Israeli law on the way – The Palestinian Prisoners’ Forum warns against Israeli law preventing Palestinian detainees from meeting with lawyers
We must stop the nationalist and racist Lieberman

It is true half the nation is afraid of missiles on Ben-Gurion International Airport but the other half is even more from afraid of having Lieberman as prime minister.

In Palestine, curse anything but the land
Incitement and Racism in Israeli Media

Commenting on the racial laws recently enacted in Israel, Dror Edar wrote an article which was published in ‘Israel Today’ newspaper under the title “The priority is for Jews”. He said that the first priority is to preserve Jews’ rights, and not the rights of the Arab minority in Israel.

“The repeated claim that the Arabs are a minority in Israel, thus we need to preserve their right is a false one. The Jews are the majority in Israel, thankfully, but they are the minority in a threatening unstable Arabic and Islamic environment”, he said.

He added “Reserving the rights of the Arab minority in Israel can’t be at the expense of preserving the rights of the Jewish minority in the region.”

Activists: Settlers burn storefront in Al-Khalil
Hamas: Knesset’s citizenship revocation law targets the Palestinian presence
How to friend an Israeli soldier
Adalah, ‘The Inequality Report: The Palestinian Arab Minority in Israel’ (pdf) – important document
If you are Palestinian you were born with a goal, a goal to fight for justice.
Joe Klein and the Palestinian Gandhi – another pundidiot discovers the Palestinian tradition of non-violence

Libya Links

Noam Chomsky: On Libya and the Unfolding Crises
The price of Dignity in Libya

Wikileaks Links

@Anony_Ops hacks Nuclear Launch Codes

Australia Links

Most white Australians I know are vacuously unaware of their privilege and racism. Michael Anderson nails it:
Australia as “last bastion for the Aryan race”

Michael Anderson: ‘the New Way Sovereignty Summit in Canberra will challenge Australia’s application for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

“Australia does not have the right to be nominated, let alone have a seat there. How can a colonial state of England have such a right? We will make every effort to lobby against Australia getting nominated.”’

Does the Australian working class have the power to change society?

March 28, 2011December 11, 2020

Malevolent Marrickville Machinations

Marrickville Defacements Too busy to write much today, so here goes with a mish mash of Marrickville links. Greens candidate and Council Mayor Fiona Byrne was targeted with a reprehensible volley of smears and dirty campaign tactics prior to the election in order to hijack both the Greens and the principled BDS resolution passed by Marrickville Council. Prominent in hasbara media ops as usual was the scurrilous Australian.

But what a joke! the ALP and the Libs in disgraceful unison with Fred Nile in support of Israeli apartheid.

Now we find:

The Liberal-National Government will need 22 votes to get its agenda through the Legislative Council.

It is expected to turn for that support to Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats and the Shooters and Fishers party, who are predicted to hold two seats each.

Pre-election dirty tricks in Marrickville:

In Marrickville – where the swing required to unseat Labor was 7.5 per cent – Ms Tebbutt was slightly ahead of Ms Byrne but had not claimed victory.

The battle for Sydney’s inner west took an ugly turn yesterday when police were called to investigate vandalism of Marrickville Greens’ candidate Fiona Byrne’s campaign posters that were defaced with swastikas.

The Nazi symbols appeared on Ms Byrne’s posters in Petersham and Enmore on Friday night, some scrawled with the words: ”Watch out for the Nazi.” Other threats have been made.

Ms Byrne is the mayor of Marrickville Council, which controversially voted to boycott Israel four months ago. The boycott has sparked threats to other Marrickville councillors.

Police confirmed they were investigating the threats and the poster defacements.

Ms Byrne played down the threats yesterday, saying they were simply part of an intense campaign. ”It’s been a pretty emotional campaign,” she said. ”There have been some interesting tactics out there, but for me it’s about the voters and really keeping positive.”

She said the threats, most of which had been made in blogs or sent by email, had been reported to the NSW Electoral Commission and the police.

@annabelcrabb: If Carmel Tebbutt wins M’ville she can thank Israel, and the cute baby on her electorate-wide flyer she put out last night #nswvotes #

@annabelcrabb: Last night, Tebbutt’s campaign distributed a door tag with cute baby pic – “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” #nswvotes #

My encounter on twitter with Israel born Hajnal Ban nee Black, in denial about the smear tactics and illegal campaign poster defacements used against Fiona Byrne is below. Apparently the term ‘denier’ is trademarked to the Israel Lobby.

Jinjirrie: The bizarro world of @HajnalBlack : ‘I am merely calling for respect in the Climate Change debate. There is no respect when the word denier is used in this context’ http://is.gd/5oMKcE #

Jinjirrie: . @HajnalBlack why do you think a non-violent campaign for justice against a state globally identified as apartheid is anti-semitic? #

HajnalBlack: @Jinjirrie Sorry, I forgot, Hamas is non-violent #

Jinjirrie: . @HajnalBlack Hamas is not a signatory to the 2005 non-violent call for BDS of Israel from Palestinian CIVIL society

Jinjirrie: . @HajnalBlack have you ever bothered to read the relevant #BDS documents? http://bdsmovement.net/ http://pacbi.org/ #

Jinjirrie: . @HajnalBlack BDS is directed at institutions which support the illegal Israeli Occupation and apartheid, not individuals #

Jinjirrie: . @HajnalBlack before I forget, what’s your reaction to the Nazi swastika poster defacements & filthy smear campaign against Fiona Byrne? #

@HajnalBlack: @Jinjirrie Her views and actions would indicate that she should be moderate in her perspective if she’ld like to avoid such harsh reactions #

Jinjirrie: @HajnalBlack so you condone the use of political smear tactics & Nazi swastika poster defacements against Fiona Byrne? #auspol #BDS #

No response … yet.

Hajnal is happy to smear the Greens as fringe extremists with the best of them. In heropen letter to the Prime Minister of Australia she fumes:

“You and your Ministers’ use of the word ‘climate change denier’ to describe me and others who agree with the fact that human induced climate change ‘science’ is questionable and the fact that a Carbon Tax will do zilch to lower Earth’s temperature is offensive. It is clear that your clever use of the English language is designed to paint people with opposing views to you as similar to holocaust deniers; fringe extremists who can’t grapple with reality.

I would like to formally make you aware of the fact that I regard your comments as racial vilification, as they link me to a group of people who I hold with such anathema, such distaste, that it hurts our family’s sensitivities surrounding the holocaust.

I won’t bother writing a letter of concern to the Greens who also part take in this despicable word game, as the Greens are a fringe group. However your antics and the hysteria that you whip up against people opposed to your increase in taxes is most certainly painting you as a Green-sympathising extremist.”

Hajnal Black proves Christopher Pyne wasn’t alone in channelling the tenuous Holocaust allusion. Pynehead laid claim on a trademark for ‘denier’ last week.

There was a time (much of the 20th century, indeed, when established beliefs were up for challenge) when scepticism was fashionable. In the currently overheated period, however, the very words sceptic and (gasp) denier have become as loaded as the accusation by a mediaeval inquisitor of heresy.

”Denier,” cried Ms Gillard. You might hardly be surprised to discover there was a bonfire being built in the grounds of Parliament House for the ritual burning of the heretic Abbott.

Mr Pyne flew to what he imagined was his leader’s defence.

He demanded that Mr Jenkins force Ms Gillard to withdraw her ”offensive words”.

”We all know the connotation the Prime Minister is trying to bring about by using the word ‘denier’,” he fulminated.

”We know she’s trying to allude to the Holocaust. It is offensive and it must stop.”

The Speaker, digesting Mr Pyne’s leap of logic, declared he had to employ ”as much sensitivity as I can muster” to deal with the matter.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t buy the proposition.

”I think that the construction the manager of opposition business has placed at this point in time is stretching it,” he understated.

Mr Pyne protested. ”I make the connection between climate change denier and Holocaust denier.”

Mr Jenkins told MPs to ”take a deep breath and behave in a manner that those that observe us from outside would expect”.

His plea was, of course, denied.

UPDATE

Excellent story by Sonja Karkar on the Marrickville muckraking and subversion by the Coalition of Delegitimisation ‘The Greens and BDS – Killing two birds with one stone’

UPDATE 2

Lee Rhiannon, NSW Greens Senator-elect’s comments on BDS are prescient in this article by Antony Loewenstein dissecting the Greens’ result in the NSW election.

“Months before the election we needed to explain why the Greens backed BDS and we needed to work closer with our allies on BDS; academics, the Arab community and social justice movements in Sydney and Melbourne. Collectively we didn’t do enough to amplify support for BDS and show that this is part of an international movement.”

..

For Rhiannon, one of the saddest sights of the election was the ALP Left, “who call themselves the conscience of the party, driving this attack on the Greens over BDS. Anthony Albanese and Luke Foley ran a sophisticated campaign through the media to discredit the Greens. This is a party who has sometimes worked closely with the Palestinians — but in this case it was a bankrupt move for political reasons.”

..

Jamie Parker revealed to New Matilda the extent of the hatred directed at him during the campaign due to the Greens BDS policy. He had countless letters sent to him calling him a Nazi and Jew hater. His car was vandalised and campaign signs spray-painted with swastikas. He received death threats and some abusers said they knew where he lived. “One letter said I wanted to turn Balmain power station into a gas chamber and the light rail would take people there”, Parker tells me. “Lefty Jews told me that you can’t be surprised if extreme people do extreme things but they wouldn’t come out in public and condemn it.” He was appalled.

Did Fiona Byrne Get Fair Coverage?
The Australian’s banal, predictable under-analysis – no mention of the dirty tricks and repetition of the illusory but damaging ‘Byrne taking the issue to the state’ smear’
On push polls:

A push poll does not have to sound evil, but can take a hot button issue and attribute to candidate because he belongs to a particular Political Party.
A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll. Push polls may rely on innuendo or knowledge gleaned from opposition research on an opponent. They are generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning.[1] The term is also sometimes used inaccurately to refer to legitimate polls which test political messages, some of which may be negative. Push polling has been condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants,[2] and is illegal in New Hampshire.[3]

Federal leader Bob Brown yesterday admitted Byrne’s controversial decision to support Marrickville Council’s boycott of Israel had undermined her campaign: ”I think it [the boycott] had an effect on it?—?that’s my feedback from the electorate. I’m picking up from the electorate that it’s a matter of concern… As I’ve pointed out through the campaign, it’s not national Greens policy.”

On election eve police were called to investigate vandalism of Byrne’s posters which had been defaced with swastikas and phrases like “Watch out for the Nazi”. Pro-Israel groups also gathered at Marrickville polling booths on Saturday, urging voters not to support her because of her pro boycott-stance.

Crikey revealed on Friday that Ian Cohen, the NSW Greens’ longest-serving member in the upper house, does not support a boycott of Israel and believes it damaged the party’s campaign.

Anti-Israeli stance focus of Greens review – Oz slime
Father Dave speaks in support of BDS at Marrickville Council
Company denies push polling against Greens

Cr Byrne said the companies involved needed to take responsibility for the effect of the survey.

“Members of the community have made it clear that the last question asked is about myself and the state election,” she said.

“At the end of the day, such a question reveals the true intention of this survey, which is to influence the outcome of the state election campaign.”

A Greens spokesman said it was likely there was more than one phone poll being conducted in Marrickville, which is held by Labor by a magin of 7.5 per cent.

Liberal candidate Rosana Tyler said yesterday several members of her own party had also taken part in a recent phone survey, believing it to be from council.

“The way the questions were framed it would appear that it was a council survey,” she said.

Greens hung Fiona Byrne out to dry

”Many voters were searching for a genuine progressive alternative to NSW Labor and we failed to present as that,” Ms Faehrmann writes in the Herald today.
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She says the Greens abandoned Ms Byrne when she came under attack from Labor and Jewish lobby groups for her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

”The original proponents of BDS within the NSW Greens were nowhere to be seen, and our overwhelmed candidate for Marrickville was left with little support,” she writes. ”In any language, it was poor strategy and bad behaviour.”

Palestine / Israel Links

Mighty Israel and its quest to quash Palestinian popular protest
ADL slams Facebook for refusing to remove ‘third Intifada’ fan page

“We are disappointed that Facebook has rejected our request to remove this site, which is in clear violation of their terms of service,” the ADL said in a statement.

“We are especially disappointed in this case because in the past there has often been understanding and sensitivity from Facebook when we have brought violations of its own rules to its attention. We urge Facebook to reconsider its decision and remove this site, which by its very title incites violence,” the statement added.

Settlers squat on church-owned land, demand farmers leave
Grand larceny by the criminal zionist entity Israeli Authorities Orders Coal Fields Evacuated
National Director Foxman says page misleadingly calls for peaceful demonstrations; regrets Facebook has not yet taken down page. – what a loon!
Third Intifada
Third Intifada Event
31 Mar, CANBERRA: ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK- Palestine Solidarity and the BDS Campaign
Smothering the “Dynamic Debate” in Israel
Breaking Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza goes mainstream : Swiss president has plans
Jerusalem bus bomb victim was British
Bob Geldof – do not accept an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University
46% of Jewish Israelis support settler “price tag” terror, Congress blames Palestinians for incitement
“The Israel Lobby”, five years on

‘One of the great personal successes, in my view, has been the increasing number of Jews who recognise the devastating result of simply allowing the pro-settler, anti-Palestinian Zionists solely taking the floor. Judaism simply cannot be about backing never-ending colonisation of Arab land.’

Israeli Apartheid Week in Gaza
80 Reasons Why Gaza has the right to self-defense
Palestinians jailed because lawyer can’t communicate with them
Boycotting Israel … from within – Ronnie Barkan : “What is even worse is that people are raised to be deeply racist. Everything is targeted at supporting [Jewish] privilege as the masters of the land. Supporting BDS means renouncing my privileges in this land and insisting on equality for all.”
Who is annexing Whom? – Uri Avnery:

So political boycotts are not wrong, as long as they are directed against others. It’s the old “Hottentot morality“ of colonial lore – “if I steal your cow, that’s right. If you steal my cow, that’s wrong.”

Rightists can call for action against left-wing organizations. Leftists cannot call for action against right-wing organizations. It’s as simple as that.

BUT THE law is not only anti-democratic and discriminatory, it is also blatantly annexationist.

By a simple semantic trick, in less than a sentence, the lawmakers do what successive Israeli government did not dare to do: they annex the Palestinian occupied territories to Israel.

Abu Rudaineh calls on Hamas to accept Abbas’ offer
Palestine: Biggest Escalation of Violence in Gaza since Cast Lead
British Jews begin pitched battle over hasbara
Who are the Libyan Freedom Fighters and Their Patrons?
Two killed in Gaza air strike
Denial is a river of Palestinian blood running through zionism : Yossi Gurvitz – When the Ghosts Return
Israel deploys ‘Iron Dome’ anti-rocket system
Bomb Shelters Going Up In Washington Square – Israel Lobby hasbara in New York
Department of oxymorons, Israel division
Majority of Palestinian Voices Still Being Ignored
The Nakba Law deepens apartheid in Israel
Israeli minister, media perpetuate lie about Goldstone’s Gaza report
Israeli genocidalism: Army Evicts Palestinian Family in Jordan Valley to Facilitate Settlement
More Israeli genocidalism: Officials: Israel destroys ancient wells near Bethlehem
Settler pogroms target sheep, olive trees and children – and yet more Israeli genocidalism!
South Africa: ‘Boycott Israel’ campaign scores big win

Syria Links

Syrian Bloodbath

Libya Links

Libya: a legitimate and necessary debate from an anti-imperialist perspective
how we missed you, humanitarian intervention
Of Principle and Peril
Who gains? Loving the Libyan Rebels
Libyan “Revolutionaries” Aren’t So Revolutionary..

Egypt Links

On Sunday evening, around 2000 protesters marched against the proposed law by Essam Sharaf’s cabinet banning strikes and protests.
War stalks revolution in Middle East

US Links

Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib psychologist is WH’s newest appointment
UNDERSTANDING PLUTOCRACY (war, ecocide, neo-feudalism, alienation, etc.) AND WAKING FROM IT
The privatization of US foreign policy
The Day the Klan Marched – Anti-KKK Protesters Beaten by Racist Austin Police
U.S. Products Help Block Mideast Web
The Kill Team : How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them.

Australia Links

Why give voice to bigots? Why are the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald giving voice to an Islamaphobe?
Inequality is growing in Australia: ACOSS

“We know the cost of essential items and services like food, rent, energy, health, education, clothing and transport costs continue to go up. In fact since 2000, the cost of living in Australia, as evidenced by the CPI has risen by 34% with energy expenses in particular doubling in the past decade and expected to double again in the next 5 years. And ACOSS believes this is understating it as the CPI isn’t necessarily the best measure to reflect the disproportionate impact of the rise of essential goods and services for people on the lowest incomes.

“We know that nationally over a million low-income households are in housing stress with housing costs exceeding more than 30% of household income. 65% of people on low incomes in private rentals currently experience housing stress, with many of these households spending over half their income on rent.

“And whilst the cost of staying afloat has gone up, those people who some of the most reliant on our social safety net – people who are unable to get paid work – have not had commensurate increases in their social security payment – the Newstart Allowance.”

Bolt’s day in court as racial villification case kicks off
Politics of misogyny, or misogyny of politics … you decide
Partnerships: not a political quick fix

‘It is clear that before we can effectively close the gaps in Education, Employment and Health we need to remove the ability of the Federal Government to use Aboriginal Australia as an election tool and place it into the hands of a bi-partisan task-force with a 7 to 10year life span to include and pro-actively consulate with Indigenous community members to implement effective community strategies.’

March 20, 2011December 11, 2020

Game On in Libya – Regime Change?

Libya intervention While Kevin Rudd “would not be drawn on whether the intervention would ultimately end Gaddafi’s 40-year rule”, the Los Angeles Times reports “U.S. officials acknowledged that they were seeking to oust Kadafi, but also that they did not have a clear path to do so.”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Washington and its allies also were committed to using nonmilitary means to force Kadafi out, including steps intended to cripple the Libyan economy and isolate him diplomatically.

As expected, Gaddafi is casting the assault as ‘Western colonialism and a Christian “crusader” mentality toward the predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle East’, which may play better in Libya than the rest of the region.

The LA Times also reports that

“Libyan officials accused international forces of hitting a hospital and other civilian targets. The armed forces said in a statement that 48 people had been killed in the strikes and 150 injured. Kadafi declared he was willing to die defending Libya, and in a statement broadcast hours after the attacks began, condemned what he called “flagrant military aggression.” He vowed to strike civilian and military targets in the Mediterranean.”

However, ABC Australia chronicles the observations of a resident of Tripoli who saw missiles hitting a Libyan army base near his home.

“We could hear this whistle coming from above the car,” he said.

“The car has moved and they dropped another two into this army base.

“It’s not far from the heart hospital really, but they missed it. That’s a very good shot.”

There are also unconfirmed reports that 3 French jets have been downed.

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales note that the western intervention is an oil grab, while Fidel Castro sees ‘the Security Council ignored problems in countries that were friendly to the US’.

Has the West really calculated sufficiently the strength of Gaddafi’s support amongst the populace and the interpolation of historic internecine tribal rivalries?

Mark Quarterman, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington:

The risk in Libya is that the military operation will not end quickly or decisively. He said it is easy to imagine Gaddafi’s well-armed government remaining strong, despite the no-fly zone.

“After the first few days, this could settle into a protracted fight between Gaddafi and the rebels, essentially a stalemate with neither side able to retake ground or negotiate an end to the fighting,” he said. “Then what do you do?”

…

International military forces are operating under the command of Gen. Carter F. Ham, head of the U.S. African Command. The Pentagon says command will be turned over to the coalition in coming days, although which country will lead it remains unclear.

Here we have another open-ended intervention initiated without an exit strategy or clear plan, predestining yet another occupation by the West which may lurch on for years, crippling Libya and bringing its people little real freedom, as with the ill-fated US-led adventurism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Will the Western intervention be used by Obama as his very own proving ground, his blooding, playing to the near-campaign US electorate much of which is tired of being the bad guys?

How do the people resisting Gaddafi feel about western intervention? According to Gilbert Achcar, who thinks ‘from an anti-imperialist perspective one cannot and should not oppose the no-fly zone, given that there is no plausible alternative for protecting the endangered population’:

‘In watching on TV the crowds in Benghazi cheering the passage of the resolution, I saw a big billboard in their middle that said in Arabic “No to foreign intervention.” People there make a distinction between “foreign intervention” by which they mean troops on the ground, and a protective no-fly zone. They oppose foreign troops. They are aware of the dangers and wisely don’t trust Western powers.’

What does the Arab League really want?

The leader of the Arab League says that Arabs did not want military strikes by western powers when they had called for a no-fly zone over Libya. Secretary-General Amr Moussa said he was calling for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” he said.

What we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians. Amr Moussa, Arab League

14.00 Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military commander, concedes the end-game of military action in Libya is “very uncertain”. He acknowledged it could end in a stalemate with Colonel Gaddafi.

What effect will the assault by the West have on the rest of the MENA revolutions? the hypocrisy of establishing a no fly zone over Libya whilst neglecting the protection of protesters in Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Morocco and Yemen is staggering.

Between imperialism and tyranny, there is no real choice – consider another path – to stand against both alongside the people who resist them.

UPDATES

Arab League condemns broad Western bombing campaign in Libya
Infantile Leftism
RT @SultanAlQassemi: Al Arabiya: Medical sources: More than 90 people were killed during the Gaddafi forces attack on Benghazi. #Libya #
Gaddafi denounces foreign intervention
RT @SultanAlQassemi: France 24 Arabic: #Libya calls for urgent UN Security Council meeting following coalition strikes. #
RT @SultanAlQassemi: France24Arabic: #Libya says it will no longer stem flow of illegal immigrants to Europe; considers UN res 1973 void. #
@SultanAlQassemi: Libyan State TV shows pictures of injured patients. Says 48 civilians killed & 150 injured following coalition airstrikes (via BBC World) #
UPDATE 1-Turkey to play appropriate role over Libya
Remains of Gaddafi’s force smolders near Benghazi
LIVE BLOG: Libya – Operation Odyssey Dawn

Remembering Sun Tzu in the Art of War:

1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best
thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact;
to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is
better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it,
to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire
than to destroy them.

2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles
is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists
in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to
balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent
the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in
order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field;
and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it
can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets,
movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take
up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over
against the walls will take three months more.

5. The general, unable to control his irritation,
will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants,
with the result that one-third of his men are slain,
while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous
effects of a siege.

6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s
troops without any fighting; he captures their cities
without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom
without lengthy operations in the field.

7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery
of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph
will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten
to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one,
to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army
into two.

Libya Links

What’s happening in Libya?
‘Foreign crusade against Libya will make Gaddafi a hero’
5 questions few are asking about Libya
Libya, Getting it Right: A Revolutionary Pan-African Perspective
Libya conflict: war on Gaddafi is personal – and he is unlikely to retreat
Bush Doctrine Revised: Obama puts his stamp “Western military intervention in Libya is far more dangerous: it is intended to legitimize the return of colonial powers to our region and 2) perhaps as importantly to abort democratic uprisings all over the region.”
A Poem At the Break of War
Meanwhile in other non-oil exporting nations: Deadly attacks on protests in Yemen, Syria : Security forces struck against unarmed demonstrators urging their leaders’ ouster.
Libya and the familiar patterns of war
US demonstrations against Libyan military intervention
Libyan no-fly zone: Gaddafi’s forces and rebels are hard to tell apart from the air
China, which abstained from UN vote, expresses regret over allied airstrikes against Libya
Relief will fade as we see the real impact of intervention in Libya : Welcome though it seems on humanitarian grounds, there are six serious problems with this UN resolution
Libya accuses rebels of breaching truce
Robert Fisk: First it was Saddam. Then Gaddafi. Now there’s a vacancy for the West’s favourite crackpot tyrant
U.S., allies launch missile strikes on Libyan targets
West launches first strike on Libya
Libya unrest: Nato military strength in the Mediterranean
The case against bombing Libya
Expose U.S. Fabrications About Libya
Images: Gaddafi forces destroyed on the road between Ajdabiya and Benghazi

Palestine/Israel Links

More disgusting ziocolonialist crimes go unpunished: Ayman’s horse killed by settlers
Palestinian Refugees: a Surplus Population
Maniacal Tipsy Livni calling for another round of collective punishment against the defenceless people of Gaza
Two Arrested During alMa’asara Demonstration
Boycott roundup: Canada campuses mobilize to divest
Settlers attack Zatari family in Al Buwayre, wounding father
Neged Neshek
Graffiti History Of Palestine: “It’s all on the walls.”
Libya crisis: Misrata ‘being razed to the ground’
Report: Palestinian anti-wall activist tortured, threatened with rape and execution by Shin Bet because of BDS activities
Video of the Bobigny trial (Press TV) – BDS activists on trial in France
Artists Against Apartheid Vol 1
Israelis retaliate for killing of settlers – where’s the no fly zone to protect Palestinians from Israel’s illegal activities?
I support a no fly zone over Palestine
Israeli shelling destroys Gaza power lines
Jewish settlers raze vast tracts of Palestinian agricultural land east of Yatta

Egypt Links

Workers Guarantee the Egyptian Revolution
Egypt votes on charter changes while youth movement would prefer a whole new constitution

Japan Links

Desperate nuclear chiefs to bury plant in concrete ‘tomb’

Syria Links

Syrian Revolution Protests in Dar’aa on 18th March 2011 p1

Bahrain Links

Bahrain opposition seeks UN, US help in crackdown
U.S. “deeply concerned” by arrests in Bahrain
Saudi Arabian intervention in Bahrain driven by visceral Sunni fear of Shias
Jamese Zogby: may not represent Arab-Americans, but he certainly represents UAE royal families

Afghanistan Links

North Waziristan drone strike: Tribesmen vow ‘jihad’ against US
Afghan warlord on US payroll accused of terror campaign

Wikileaks Links

WikiLeaks and Freedom Forum : John Pilger

Other Links

DoJ still protecting Bush eavesdroppers, says ACLU
Compare deaths by coal and nuclear energy

March 18, 2011December 11, 2020

Father Dave speaks in support of BDS at Marrickville Council

In response to erroneous allegations of anti-semitism and ‘even more insidious’ criticisms that it was none of Council’s business, Father Dave (Rev. David B. Smith) said:

That “it’s none of my business attitude”, I think, is really what allowed the Holocaust to happen,”I’m sorry about what happening to jews in Poland but its none of my business”, “I’m sorry about what’s happening to blacks in South Africa but what’s it got to do with me”, “I’m sorry about what’s happening to Palestinians in Bethlehem but it’s none of the business of Council”, and if we all take that attitude the whole world burns. As Martin Luther King said, injustice anywhere is a threat against justice everywhere and we cannot sit idly by while our sisters and brothers in Bethlehem suffer, not as a country, not as individuals either and again I congratulate our Council for their consistent, courageous stand.

Father Dave was Marrickville Citizen of the Year for 1997 and 2009.

Related Links

The Order of the Fighting Fathers
Fighting Father Dave
A Marrickville councillor has slammed mayor Fiona Byrne for using the Council web site to explain why Israel should be boycotted.
The Q Society and Marrickville Council
Australian Greens candidate faces abuse and lies over backing Israel sanction
What some young Jews do in their spare time; defend occupying Israel
Council defeats attempt to overturn Israel boycott
Navit Shchligel, member of the State Zionist Council of Western Australia and Friends of Israel Western Australia, has a repellently racist hasbara article published by ABC Unleashed. She is a signatory of the shifty Q Society petition.
Fiona Byrne cops a load from the Liberals, where Hartcher repeats the lie that $40,000 was spent on the BDS resolution:

Opposition local government spokesman Chris Hartcher told The Australian yesterday that, if the Coalition won government, he would use his discretionary powers to “call councils to account” over the issue.

and from Labor:

Labor has attacked Ms Byrne, saying she lied and contradicted herself over whether the Greens would push for a state-wide boycott.

“I have no plan or intention to bring the BDS to State Parliament,” Ms Byrne said.

But when asked on radio last month if she would introduce her BDS bill into Parliament, Fiona Byrne said:

“I would suggest that the New South Wales Greens would be looking to bring that forward.”

Her original statement is not surprising.

Boycotting Israel is official Greens policy.

A statement in December declared: “The Greens have decided to support the BDS campaign.”

“It’s up to the party to take that on,” Ms Byrne said today.

“My position is that I have no intention to bring the BDS to State Parliament.”

Greens’ Israel boycott confusion

NSW Greens spokesman Mark Riboldi said Ms Byrne had not made a formal “vow” to introduce GBDS in state parliament. “Also, ‘I would suggest that the NSW Greens would be looking to’ is not the same as ‘I will’,” Mr Riboldi said.

More Oz scuttlebutt: Shameful way with words on display
More Labor scuttlebutt : Lying accusation levelled at key Greens candidate
Marrickville backs ban
Greens deny anti-Israel policy
What a joke! ALP & Libs in disgraceful unison with Fred Nile in support of Israeli apartheid
Fear and Loathing in Marrickville – BDS in Australia

Palestine / Israel Links

Palestinian Bedouins in al-Araqib: “We won’t leave”
Palestine Education is an exciting new initiative from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Israel To Demolish Six Homes In East Jerusalem For Wall Construction

Libya Links

Clinton Promises to Bomb Libya, Calls Qaddafi ‘Creature’
The Surprisingly Broad Scope of UN Security Council 1973: Not Just a No-Fly Zone, at Least So Long as Gaddafi Is On Offense
Libya: I’ll attack passenger jets, warns Gaddafi, as air strikes loom
Obama on presidential war-making powers – ‘OBAMA: The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.’
@SultanAlQassemi: Al Arabiya: British PM: Britain may move against Libya before the Parliamentary vote on Monday #
RT @AJELive: Koussa announces an end to military operations in #Libya at news conference in #Tripoli http://aje.me/gEqoII
@AJELive: #Libyan government to offer humanitarian aid and respect human rights, Koussa says in #Tripoli: http://aje.me/gEqoII
@avinunu Genius move by Gaddafi. Feels he can’t win but freezes status quo where he in Tripoli. Now rebels will “violate” UNSC res if they advance. #
The U.N.’s High Stakes Gamble in Libya

The Libya intervention is also complicated by the trends in the rest of the region. There is currently a bloody crackdown going on in U.S.-backed Bahrain, with the support of Saudi Arabia and the GCC. The Yemeni regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh is currently carrying out some of its bloodiest repression yet. Will the Responsibility to Protect extend to Bahrain and Yemen? This is not a tangential point. One of the strongest reasons to intervene in Libya is the argument that the course of events there will influence the decisions of other despots about the use of force. If they realize that the international community will not allow the brutalization of their own people, and a robust new norm created, then intervention in Libya will pay off far beyond its borders. But will ignoring Bahrain and Yemen strangle that new norm in its crib?

The Libyan Revolution is Dead: Notes for an Autopsy – Maxmillian Forte tears it up

A great mass of humanitarian social media addicts and self-styled cyberactivists in their hundreds of thousands signed petitions to beg the United Nations to authorize the bombing of Libya. Bearers of good intentions, no doubt, but perhaps less skilled as historians. Many will not even Google their way to the nearest Wikipedia entry that might cause them to ask some basic questions. On the other hand, history does not always repeat itself, and I am not one to make solid predictions, so perhaps this is not a useful basis for discussing the role of “humanitarian concern” in this debacle.

Instead, I have questions.

For example, exactly what kind of global human rights agenda is it that requires substantial military spending, private defense contractors, and a robust air force?

“We can’t stand by and do nothing”–and why not, when it is precisely what you are doing every day when it comes to the slaughter of civilians in Afghanistan (courtesy of our own troops), when it comes to the “secret” war in Yemen, the “secret” war in Somalia, or for that matter, the killing of civilian protesters today in Yemen and Bahrain? How about how we stood by and did nothing, as our allied torture state, Uzbekistan, boiled alive opponents and the detainees sent to them by the CIA? Boiled alive–whisper it, because not even Gaddafi has imagined perpetrating such horrors. Whisper it, so you can forget it again: “Andijan massacre;” “Uzbekistan: Repression Linked to 2005 Massacre Rife;” “500 bodies laid out in Uzbek town;” “‘High death toll’ in Uzbekistan;” “’700 dead’ in Uzbek violence.”

Bahrain Links

Bahrain: Hospitals and health centres targeted in attacks

Other Links

No Dirty Gold

March 15, 2011December 11, 2020

Whodunnit? Fake Phone Poll Pushing Voters in Marrickville

Marrickville Council supports the global BDS movement, and Mayor Fiona Byrne is standing for the Greens for the state legislature, promising to expand BDS against apartheid Israel there if she gains election. A phony push poll has been discovered aimed at undermining her campaign and BDS.

From the SMH:

Residents were asked questions such as “Did you know Fiona Byrne led a boycott against Israel on council recently?”

A council spokeswoman said no such survey had been commissioned and the calls were being investigated. If necessary, they would be referred to the Federal Police.

Cr Byrne said the calls were a clear case of “push polling”. “Push polling is a manipulative dirty trick, an old style political tactic and people are sick of it,” she said. “The Greens support is growing because we campaign positively on issues that matter to people.”

It is the second instance of alleged push polling in a seat held by a Labor minister. The Coalition accused Labor of push polling in John Robertson’s seat, Blacktown, in February after residents were phoned and asked about fake Liberal policies.

…

Marrickville resident Gavin Smith said he became suspicious when the interviewer repeatedly mispronounced the mayor’s surname and referred to the council as “Marrickville City Council”.

“I immediately said to the girl ‘Are you representing the Labor Party?’ and she said ‘No no it’s Marrickville City Council’,” he said.

Deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, who holds the seat by a 7.5 per cent margin, denied the calls came from Labor.

“We have no knowledge of these phone calls and are not responsible for them,” she said.

One resident traced the call to a telephone research company called Australian Fieldwork Solutions. The company confirmed it was carrying out a survey in Marrickville but would not disclose who commissioned it or what the questions were.

From Crikey:

The Greens candidate for Marrickville is the local mayor Fiona Byrne. Last December, the Greens and Labor-dominated council voted 10-2 to cut links with organisations that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. NSW Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt, the current MP for Marrickville, opposes the boycott?—?as does her husband Anthony Albanese, who represents the area at a federal level.

Byrne said: “This is absolutely and obviously push polling, but misrepresenting itself. I think that misrepresentation is quite insidious. It’s old-style political tactics and I think people are tired of it.”

…

She said the survey had misled voters by asking whether they would vote for her given she had “instigated” a boycott against Israel.

“I supported a motion that came to council. I as a councillor did not instigate a boycott,” she said.

And from the Australian, it’s reported that zionist groups have attempted a wedge in Marrickville “booking the local town hall for an AFL “peace team” made up of Israeli and Palestinian footballers.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies spokesman Peter Wertheim yesterday branded as “total hypocrisy” tonight’s anticipated decision by the Marrickville council to allow the reception for the team, which is visiting for the AFL World Cup in Melbourne in August, to proceed.

“While the proposal to host the AFL peace team is precisely the sort of project we encourage, it is total hypocrisy for a council that has a boycott in place to allow it to occur in their facility,” Mr Wertheim told The Australian.

Fiona Byrne addressed this shonky tactic clearly:

“There is no issue with a local group hiring a hall to host the AFL peace team. The global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign has to do with council activities, not with what local community groups do when they hire a hall.”

The peace team is co-sponsored by the Peres Peace Centre in Jerusalem and the Al-Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, a Palestinian non-government organisation.

The Aq-Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue is partnered by the Peres Peace Centre, and helps the Israeli hasbara campaign to normalise the occupation and Israeli apartheid. Both organisations are members of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGOs Forum.

UPDATE

Now two push polls?

Fiona Byrne said two push-polls had been reported to her, including one poll which reportedly claims to be from Marrickville Council. Marrickville Council will follow up with Police to see if a crime has been committed by persons pretending to be from Council.

Crikey records the Liberal candidate’s confirmation of dirty poll calls and reiterates the two poll scenario :

Liberal candidate Rosana Tyler, who opposes Marrickville Council’s boycott, says members of her campaign team had received the call.

“The caller gave their name but not the organisation. They just said they were ringing from a Melbourne-based company. They did say they were ringing on behalf of Marrickville Council. The questions did seem to be manipulative.”

Tyler says the boycott issue is turning “ordinary” voters against the Greens: ”There is consternation in Marrickville that this council has just lost the plot.”

Greens spokesman Mark Riboldi says he believes two “push polls” canvassing the boycott issue have been running in the area. In the first, callers identify themselves as employees of polling firm Australian Fieldwork Solutions. He says this poll is “not illegal, but definitely dirty”. In the second, callers claim to be ringing on behalf of Marrickville Council.

St Peters resident Mel McCabe told Crikey she participated in the fake Marrickville Council survey last Friday evening.

“It’s made me angry,” she said. “I’m not aligned with anyone, but I’m really angry that I gave personal insights about my views to give fodder for someone to throw at Fiona. It didn’t sit well.”

She says she was asked whether she would be more or less likely to vote for Byrne given the mayor’s support for the boycott.

…

Petersham retiree Gavin Smith, a well-known local environmentalist, told Crikey he received a call last Tuesday purportedly on behalf of Marrickville City Council. He said the caller asked whether councils should be involved in foreign affairs.

Palestine / Israel Links

Call to Save the History, Culture and Heritage of Lifta Village
Former Israeli PM Olmert to be indicted on bribery charges
Models strut in rare West Bank fashion show
Students Against Israeli Apartheid at the University of Toronto and York University Launch Campus Divestment Campaign
Whitewashing Israeli apartheid with literary finesse
Holding the University of Toronto accountable
Why Palestinians will protest on 15 March
End the Division on 15 March: Demonstrate for Palestinian Solidarity
Unbelievable racism, hate-talk, from Prime Minister Sharon’s son
Israeli forces detain over 300 in Awarta
Israeli troops attack Palestinian worshippers at Aqsa Mosque
Please Send Letters of support for BDS at KPFT Houston to the Pacifica National Board
#BDS: Security Company G4S to ‘partially’ cut ties with Israeli Apartheid
#BDS: Palestinians, Israelis, Allies Oppose Exploitation of LGBT Rights at Berlin’s International Tourism Fair
Foreign Office extremely concerned by Israel’s decision on settlements
Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board – blast from the past
Roger Waters Supports Boycott On Israel
Money before morals – another zionist wailing about the success of BDS
Collective blame, revenge, genocidal mentality and concern trolling
End Palestinian game – Op-ed: Israel should make it clear that Abbas will pay heavy price for his two-faced game : loopy logic setting up Abbas as the next unsuitable ‘peace partner’ as part of the eternal Israeli stall
Gaza revolts! day1
After Itamar: Exploring the cynical logic that makes everyone a target – No viable armed faction has taken credit, and Israeli police are even treating Thai workers as suspects.
Itamar: Already, The Aftermath
you are a scoundrel Dimi Reider
IDF continues mass West Bank arrests in wake of Itamar massacre
: According to reports from Palestinian news agencies, the IDF took all men from the West Bank village of Awarta in for questioning.
Israel begins long-fought deportation of foreign workers’ kids on Yishai’s orders
Israel Apartheid Week’s keynote address with Ali Abunimah
Zio-paranoia – Knesset hears claims of YouTube bias against Israel
Palestinians handcuffed, detained for picking wildflowers
Hundreds pour in for Gaza ‘unity’ rally
Geneva conference on Palestinian prisoners’ rights hears shocking testimonies
Chill regional winds blow across Israel

Israel’s lobbying clout in Washington is formidable, but does it out-clout the generals?

As the head of one Israeli strategy think-tank remarked after the Tahrir Square triumph against the Mubarak regime: “Our whole structure of analysis just collapsed.”

‘Itamar killings carried out by foreign worker’

The Bethlehem-based news agency Ma’an, which is close to the PA leadership, ran a lead news story that claimed that a Thai worker had been arrested by the IDF on suspicion of killing the five members of the Fogel family on Friday night.

The agency did not say how it obtained the information. However, it said that shortly after the killings, Israeli security forces arrested all the Thai workers who were inside the settlement.

Ma’an pointed out that no Palestinian group had claimed responsibility for the attack and that Palestinians were banned from entering settlements.

Another Palestinian news agency, Qudsnet, claimed that an Asian man who used to work for the Fogel family was behind the killings.

Quoting a Palestinian family living in the nearby village of Awarta, the agency said that the family members were slaughtered because the father refused to pay the Asian worker his salary, which is estimated at 10,000 Shekels.

Netanyahu’s exploitation of the murders at Itamar
Netanyahu is ignoring Abbas’ efforts to end Palestinian incitement
Blackshirt ziocolonists : Days and Nights of Rage
Three injured as Israeli army attacks Awarta – Israel engages in fascist reprisals
The writing is on the wall – Ian McEwan’s contemptible collusion with Israeli apartheid
March 21st KEY Date in Human Rights Council for Gaza Conflict Victims

Iraq Links

Monday: 19 Iraqis Killed, 43 Wounded
THE MURDER OF THE IRAQI EDUCATION INDITED INTERNATIONALLY IN GHENT

Japan Links

Worst Nightmare? Nuclear meltdown threat as Fukushima fuel rods ‘fully exposed’
Live Feed from Japan
The Idiocy and Hubris of Engineers: Will GE Get Whacked for the Catastrophic Failure of its Nuk Plants in Fukushira?
Japan Faces Prospect of Nuclear Catastrophe as Workers Leave Plant

Libya Links

Erdo?an discusses alternatives with Gaddafi to end crisis
The clarifying Manning/Crowley controversy

Wikileaks Links

West Asia policy hostage to ‘Muslim vote’ – US imperialism in full view –

‘Communications to Washington from senior American diplomats in the New Delhi Embassy constantly portray India’s West Asia policy as being hostage to the Muslim factor in domestic politics. In its bid not to antagonise Muslim voters, the cables explained, the government was forced to play down its “strategic relationship” with Israel. ‘

The ABC lined up Julian Assange for Gillard on Q & A last night, but denies there was an ambush