Politics

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 16, 2011December 11, 2020

Palestinian Unity

Protesters in Gaza issue ‘statement no. 1‘:

The statement was issued just before Hamas security forces violently dispersed the rally, according to witnesses.

The demonstrators called in their statement not to back off from the basic demand which is to end the division until the divided parties hear the people’s voice.

The statement confirmed on the necessity of self-control in the face of any provocation that they could be subjected to in order to disperse them.

The statement added that the “cohesion of the people in Gaza, especially in Al-Katiba square, is peaceful protests, not political and serves the national interests.

“What the youth did in Tunisia and Egypt is pride for the people, make your people proud of you. Stay on what you are, no leaving and no defeat until the end of division,” the statement added.

They called on all the Palestinian parties and organizations to support them and not to say they are the organizers.

Palestine / Israel Links

The Arab revolutions’ message to America
“No Peace Without Water” – The Role of Hydropolitics in the Israel-Palestine Conflict ‘former Agriculture Minister Rafael Eitan declared that relinquishing control over water sources in the OPT would ‘threaten the Jewish state’.’
On the 8th anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s stand in Gaza
PLO: Israel has exploited Itamar murders
2012 on his mind– Obama’s Security Council veto
Hezbollah on Offense
De Niro and Penn back Palestinian film at UN (AFP)
Miral at the U.N.: Under Hollywood gloss, the truth about Israel/Palestine is revealed
Divestment: A Strategy to End the US-backed Israeli Occupation – Sherry Wolf
Lying hasbara headline of the day – Palestinian Authority forces slaughter family of five, slit baby’s throat
Where was the Victoria going and for whom was it carrying? Hasbara reports differ : Analysis: Israel’s shadow war against Iran : Ship Bound for Egypt Is Seized by Israel
Israel’s anti-boycott law is ‘suicidal’ say Israeli artists

Writer Sefi Rachlevsky: “The State of Israel, which has been building outside its territory, has been acting like a criminal state for years. The Israeli government has made insanity its flag, and is now saying that those who won’t wave this flag are criminals.””On the contrary: The anti-legal situation has allegedly become normal. Forcing people to commit criminal offenses is disgraceful and dictatorial, and all we have to do is look at what’s happening around us. There are laws in Libya as well, and they aren’t democratic either.

“As dictatorships in the region collapse one after the other, those who think Israel will be allowed to continue doing what it does in the territories is wrong. Saying that ‘Hebron is here’ is a suicidal act. The Israeli colony is destined to vanish, and those who claim that the territories and Israel are one is giving up on Israel’s continued existence.

“This is an existential question, not just a moral one. The occupation is not Israel, but an Israeli perversion. My patriotism is for the Israeli democracy, not for a dictatorial regime, and that’s what we must fight against.”

Gideon Levy – Let’s rehumanise the Arab-Israeli conflict:

When asked if he supported a “one state” solution, Levy said he would like to live side-by-side with Palestinians in one state, if it were to be equal and democratic. He said he was sceptical as to whether this would be the case, and therefore said he supported a two state solution.

Civil society and Palestine: The growing power – Ramzy Baroud :

The global boycott movement (BDS) and other related campaigns were launched to expose Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian people and galvanize international solidarity.

What is so uplifting to see now is how their achievements have far surpassed these initial aims. The campaigns have animated, accentuated and actually legitimized Palestinian civil society — a notion that long stood outside the official paradigm acceptable to Israel, and which had very little space within the restrictive realm of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

…

Yet, it is the Israeli occupation that is now being delegitimized, its own government that is being isolated, and its own country’s reputation that is constantly compromised. The power of civil society has indeed surpassed that of military hardware, archaic and exclusivist historical discourses, propaganda and political coercion.

LU kicks off Israeli Apartheid Week
Israel manipulates tragedy to advance its own harassment of Palestinians
Palestine is a queer issue
“Operation S” – LSE Palestine Society Occupy for Israeli Apartheid Week
Uruguay recognizes independent Palestine – ‘One hundred nations already recognize Palestine, including 11 of 12 South American nations. Colombia, a close US ally in the region, is the lone holdout.’
One-state Solution for Israel Palestine, Predicts Egypt Activist
A Guide to the Sayings of Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Semitic jazzman
At the Al Jazeera Forum: ‘The fall of dictatorial regimes that were allies of the US and Israel could motivate the Arab streets to strengthen calls for liberation of Palestine, the speakers felt.’
‘Release Palestinian Children’ – Irish MEP
Ukrainian Prime Minister’s Lies, Ukraine Has ‘No Idea’ What Happened to Kidnapped Palestinian, Abu Seesi
Israel’s latest PR bid has failed : Netanyahu wants to sell the missiles’ capture as proof of the Palestinians’ murderous intentions, but the U.S. and Europe clearly distinguish between the PA and Islamic organizations.
Manzarek and Krieger of the Doors, honor your humane legacy and cancel your show in Israel
Haneen Zoabi: a Palestinian woman fighting for equality in Israel :

“You cannot demand from me loyalty to a Jewish state because once you say a Jewish state, you say privileges to the Jews at the expense of the Palestinians. There is no real equality between the Jewish citizens and the Palestinian citizens. I want a liberal state. I want a fully democratic state. I want a state for all its citizens.”

Palestinian Youth Movement: Cherries not Strawberries!!
Itamar massacre: Army blamed for breach
Palestinian Bedouins in al-Araqib: “We won’t leave”

Egypt Links

Hillary Shillary snubbed by Egyptian youth ‘due to her negative stance towards the revolution during its inception and the approach of the US Administration towards the Middle East Region’.

Libya Links

Libyan troops outflank rebels in Ajdabiyah
Why a no-fly zone means no freedom for Libyans

Bahrain Links

Bahrain king clamps down; 3 dead as unrest spreads – Bahrain is now occupied by Saudi troops
U.S.-Saudi Tensions Intensify With Mideast Turmoil

Wikileaks Links

Internet is world’s greatest spying machine and obstacle to free speech, says Assange
Bradley Manning’s Military Doctors Accused Over Treatment
The Cypherpunk Revolutionary : Robert Manne on Julian Assange

Australia Links

Modelling agency denies racism claims : “Please note however that as you are of non-caucasian heritage that your work opportunities in Perth would be extrremely [sic] limited.”

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

March 14, 2011December 11, 2020

Omar Barghouti at the launch of his new book on BDS

On 7th March 2011 the London Review Bookshop hosted the launch of Omar Barghouti’s book “BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights”.

From the full report at Inminds:

Zionist: Omar, you are living in Israel, you are doing a PhD, you are studying in an Israeli university. How does that equate with your boycott campaign, isn’t that hypocritical to live in Israel and consume everything Israeli, then call for a boycott of Israel?

And secondly, if God forbid, you ever needed a life saving medicine, or a member of your family.. in Israel, would you accept that medicine or would you reject that life saving medicine?

Omar Barghouti: I think Mandela went to an apartheid university, when you are living under apartheid you have no choice. You pay taxes to the apartheid regime, you accept services from the apartheid regime, how else can you survive? You go to hospitals, you go to universities, you go to the post office, you go to government offices in the apartheid regime. You are a ‘subject’ of that colonial system, there is no other way. Gandhi studied at a British university as well.

The point is that when you are under occupation, when you are under apartheid, no have no moral choice. There is no choice. We ask people from outside to boycott because they have a moral choice. Responsibility comes with choice.

Germans under Nazi rule who couldn’t open their mouths were cowards but we can perhaps forgive them for not opening their mouths when you think you would be shot by the Nazi genocidal regime if they opened their mouths. Israelis that stay silent are far more cowardly because they do have a choice and they wont get shot if they stand up against the occupation. So we measure this with how much choice you have. When you have no choice what do you do?

So there is absolutely no double standard for people under oppression to call on people who are not under oppression, standing in solidarity with them, to oppose and boycott completely the oppressive regime. What we cannot do, you can do in the UK.

Palestine / Israel Links

A raging Hora on the blood: Four notes – Zionist savagery stalking Palestinians in revenge for murders despite no evidence having been produced that they were committed by Palestinians.
The village of Awarta face repression from soldiers after attack on settlers
Israeli government approves 500 new settler homes as punishment for murder of family
Brandeis is turning in his (liberal Zionist) grave
Jordan Valley Access and Closure Map (OCHA)
Zionists attempt to marginalise Jewish Voice for Peace at Brandeis
A controversy over the movie ‘Miral’
March 15 protest organizers fight efforts to co-opt their movement
Israel incensed pro-Palestinian film to show at UN
Adidas – Don’t Run With Apartheid

The Adidas – Don’t Run With Apartheid campaign is urging people throughout the world to take action at Adidas stores and stockists so that Adidas will reconsider sponsoring the 2012 Jerusalem Marathon.

Adidas has already hinted that they are wary of an international boycott and bad publicity. This is an opportunity for all people of conscience to get involved.

Libya Links

Qaddafi Forces Move on Town Near Rebel-Held Benghazi
US senator says no-fly zone is ‘likely’ – Chuck Schumer, a US zionist democratic senator, has said that imposing a no fly zone on Libya “is more likely” because the Arab League supports the move.
5 reasons to oppose “no-fly zones” in Libya
BBC Interview: Evidence that Algeria is Helping Gaddafi

Bahrain Links

Saudi Arabian forces prepare to enter Bahrain after day of clashes

Wikileaks Links

Manning ‘endangered US security’ : interview with the dubious Lamo
Corporate media smears WikiLeaks
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigns : P.J. Crowley quits after criticizing the treatment in prison of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is charged with stealing documents posted by WikiLeaks.
Saturday Night Massacre: Obama Axes PJ Crowley for Telling the Truth about Bradley Manning
P.J. Crowley Resigns As State Department Spokesman

Australia Links

How to make friends and wow Americans “For instance, a senior congressional staffer privately told the ABC after Julia Gillard’s speech on Capitol Hill that she had wowed the crowd to the point where the PM could probably now “get almost anything she wants” from this Congress.” How about an exit from Afghanistan?
Warning, NSW: companies like Serco aren’t your real friends
Let em In- Insyte ft Nutkaze and Lina Khalil

Other Links

The liquidation of work

March 10, 2011December 11, 2020

Zizek on the One State REAL Solution

In the ABC religion and ethics section, Slavoj Zizek speaks about the fictitious two state solution, annunciating that which many of us already know: ‘If there is a lesson to be learned from the protracted negotiations, it is that the greatest obstacle to peace is what is offered as the realistic solution – the creation of two separate states.’

Zizek goes on to say:

Although neither side wants it (Israel would probably prefer the areas of the West Bank that it is ready to cede to become a part of Jordan, while the Palestinians consider the land that has fallen to Israel since 1967 to be theirs), the establishment of two states is somehow accepted as the only feasible solution, a position backed up by the embarrassing leak of Palestinian negotiation documents in January.

What both sides exclude as an impossible dream is the simplest and most obvious solution: a bi-national secular state, comprising all of Israel plus the occupied territories and Gaza. Many will dismiss this as a utopian dream, disqualified by the history of hatred and violence.

Zizek seems oblivious to Nutanyahoo’s plans to assimilate parts of the West Bank adjacent to Jordan in the fertile Jordan Valley for Israeli military purposes.

He might be cheered though by the latest statistics from an AWRAD Poll in August, 2010 surveying Palestinians across the Occupied Territories, where it was found ‘as much as 53 percent are willing to support, accept or consider the idea of one-joint state in which Israelis and Palestinians are equal citizens between the Jordanian River and the sea. In contrast, 47 percent find this unacceptable.’ It is the collaborator PA which clings to the false western colonialist plan for two states.

Zizek is on the mark with his conclusions:

But far from being a utopia, the bi-national state is already a reality: Israel and the West Bank are one state. The entire territory is under the de facto control of one sovereign power – Israel – and divided by internal borders. So let’s abolish the apartheid that exists and transform this land into a secular, democratic state.

Related Links

The Palestinian Question : the couple Symptom / Fetish : Islamo-Fascism, Christo-Fascism, Zionism : mieux vaut un désastre qu’un désêtre
Zionism and the Jewish Question

Palestine / Israel Links

My twitter notes from Ali Abunimah’s address today at McGill University, Montreal:

Boycotting, divestments & sanctions #BDS against Israel are not an ends in themselves, they are a means to legitimate Palestinian goals

End occupation, end all forms of discrimination against Palestinians, and end the racist exclusion of Palestinian refugees V @avinunu LIVE

When considering criticism of BDS academic boycott, Ali Abunimah draws attention to the awful destruction of schools by Israel in #Gaza

Israel went back again just 2 days ago and bombed Gaza University – so why are people critical of BDS silent on Israeli ‘academic boycott’?

‘It is the duty of civil society to respond to the Palestinian BDS appeal and act, especially when govts are complicit’ @avinunu LIVE

?’#BDS is an ethical, moral, justifiable means to bring pressure on Israel to change ‘ @avinunu Ali Abunimah LIVE

‘Israel has reached a crisis in the type of stories it can tell to cover up its crimes of apartheid’ @avinunu LIVE

The peace process has been an alibi, an excuse, for inaction, something for the gutless to hold onto’ @avinunu LIVE

Govts all worked to forestall, to prevent justice coming from the Goldstone Report, with the excuse being the ‘peace process’ @avinunu LIVE

“The ‘peace process’ is an utter hoax, has reached a dead end, what’s exposed more & more are realities of colonialism, apartheid & racism ”

Israel is 1 of the 4 most negatively viewed countries in the world, there’ve been significant increases in views from Americans @avinunu LIVE

Israel says this is cos of anti-semitism, but even Israeli diplomats quitting – ‘can no longer support Israeli foreign policy’ @avinunu LIVE

(diplomat made actual reference to this anti-semitism cover used by israel hasbarists)

Great historic change can happen and it can happen suddenly, people are still powerful, that when people decide they have had enough, nothing can stop them’ @avinunu LIVE

Billions of aid have gone to the west bank into building a repressive police pseudo state exactly of the kind people are rising up against in Tunisia and Egypt @avinunu LIVE

The IDF recognises that in the event of a popular uprising it will not be able to rely on the PA police state to repress it, and is searching for more collaborators – and that is a dead end – israel really has nowhere left to go @avinunu LIVE

Winning means bringing an end to apartheid, an end to colonial rule, giving everyone in Palestine/Israel a decent life, restitution and justice, refugees’ rights @avinunu LIVE

Jewish National Fund is primary means for land theft by zionists – JNF is one of the key institutions enforcing apartheid by denying Palestinians access to their land, locking it up for jews only @avinunu LIVE

Unchristian committee
Israel PM vows to keep troops on Jordan border
Israel postpones deportation of foreign workers’ children
The Palestine national football team has played its first ever competitive match at home in the West Bank. : It won the second leg of an Olympic qualifying game against Thailand but lost the tie in a penalty shootout.
#BDS: Jordan bans products made in Israeli settlements and in return exempts 2500 Israeli products from taxes
Palestinian leadership not seeking EU to replace U.S. in sponsoring talks
Zionist envy for the hearty intellectual and spiritual meal provided by Palestine solidarity poets.
How zioterrorist false flag ops helped build the apartheid Israeli state.
#BDS: Egyptian Youth Confront Amr Moussa: Israel is NOT a Country!
Palestinian family ordered to share East Jerusalem home with Israelis
How to face “incitement” allegation in Israel
Even after Palestinian independence, Netanyahu wants to maintain the occupation
Campaigners threaten to picket Israeli Music conference
Prevention Of Assimilation in the Holy Land
Eini to US Jewish leaders: Don’t underestimate BDS movement
Hamas dismayed at Hague statement on elections
Palestinians eke out living on dump recycling
Dirar Abu Seesi: Breaking the Israeli Gag
The European Union’s Blind Eye : How the EU ignores Israel’s failure to fulfil its obligations under EU agreements (updated and revised March 2011)
Dirar Abu Sisi, Palestinian In Ukraine, Allegedly Abducted By Israel
Asia to Gaza march will continue until Palestine is free: Mithiborwala
Danish minister fired in row on citizenship for Palestinians

Wikileaks Links

WikiLeaks: Cable identified 23 in Australia with Qaeda links – American diplomats last year proposed that 23 people in Australia be subjected to U.S. air travel curbs due to suspected contacts with Islamic militants in Yemen

Other Links

Hillary Clinton Calls Al Jazeera ‘Real News,’ Criticizes U.S. Media (VIDEO) – something the US can’t buy
Don’t Turn Off The Internet We Have A Revolution
Facebook tackled in ‘war against stupidity’ over real name policy
As King Targets Muslims, There Have Been Almost Twice As Many Plots Since 9/11 From Non-Muslim Terrorists

Since the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, Muslims have been involved in 45 domestic terrorist plots. Meanwhile, non-Muslims have been involved in 80 terrorist plots.

In fact, right-wing extremist and white supremacist attacks plots alone outnumber plots by Muslims, with both groups being involved in 63 terror plots, 18 more plots than Muslim Americans have been involved in.

Facebook tackled in ‘war against stupidity’ over real name policy
U.S. funding tech firms that help Mideast dissidents evade government censors
Why the Government’s Unemployment Rate is Dangerously Deceptive — And the Dark Reality it Hides
New Poll Finds Tea Partiers Have More Racist Attitudes
Libya Live Blog – March 10
‘General Strike!’ Thousands Storm, Reoccupy Wisconsin Capitol in Response to Legislative Votes
You can increase your intelligence: 5 ways to maximize your cognitive potential – Check x 5
2010 Multi-state Survey on Race & Politics
British atheists Dawkins and Hitchens plan arrest for Pope Benedict XVI
Empire Means Never Having to Mean it’s Sorry by Cindy Sheehan
John Frum
What’s Wrong With The Passion? -A Review of Mel Gibson’s; The Passion of the Christ
Welcome to the Shari’ah Conspiracy Theory Industry