by Gabriel Sheffer Jewish state controlled by four informal networks, not by government In light of the battle between Olmert, Netanyahu and Barak for the next premiership, the public debate focuses on the question on who of these three politicians is the “strong leader” many Israelis yearn for. At the same time, the failures of all Israeli leaders throughout history and their inability to implement their policies are attributed to
Its been a long time since I wanted to ask Scott Horton about his political ideas. I have to confess that ever since I discovered his fantastic radio show and his blog I have been listening to it on a daily basis. Never before had I heard a radio show with such a more interesting list of experts invited or with a more knowledgable and free thinking host. Scott, whom
by Uri Avnery THERE ARE books that change people’s consciousness and change history. Some tell a story, like Harriet Beech Stowe’s 1851 “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, which gave a huge impetus to the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Others take the form of a political treatise, like Theodor Herzl’s “Der Judenstaat”, which gave birth to the Zionist movement. Or they can be scientific in nature, like Charles Darwin’s “The Origin
After reading the very interesting article by Joel S. Hirschhorn “Time to Boycott Voting” I decided to contact him to ask him some further questions about his controversial point of view. He kindly agreed to answer my questions for which I am most grateful to him. ——- Q: Please introduce yourself, tell us about you, about what you do in life A: Though I started my professional life in engineering
Seymour Hersh was interviewed today by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on DemocracyNow! JUAN GONZALEZ: The Bush administration is approaching its last year in the White House. As the clock ticks toward 2008, speculation grows over whether President Bush and Vice President Cheney will indeed launch a widely feared attack on Iran. The latest report from the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh says war planning is intensifying. Writing in the New
By Joel S. Hirschhorn After many years of political disappointment, more progressives, liberals and conservatives – and certainly moderates and independents – know in their hearts that voting for Democrats or Republicans is a waste. Just imagine if voter turnout was cut to 25 percent or less! Let the whole world see Americans boycotting a broken and corrupt political system and rejecting what has become a delusional democracy. To keep
by Amira HassDemocracy is more than going to the polls “The protest wave has calmed down,” some Israeli journalists said Friday of the Burmese military junta’s success in driving thousands of demonstrators off the streets, using excessive violence. Despite the natural sympathy for the uprisers, several editors chose the word “calm,” which embodies the rulers’ point of view: The norm is “calm,” even if it means constant government violence. The
by Lew Rockwell Iran is now selling 65% of its oil in euros, 20% in yen, and only 15% in dollars, and even that 15% it plans to switch to “more creditworthy currencies” such as the UAE dirham. With the Bush administration threatening fullscale war against Iran almost every day, and taking any number of other warlike steps (sanctions, funding of terrorism, etc.), political reasons are enough to explain this
By Simon Walters Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America’s stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush’s senior women officials: “I hate all Iranians.” And she also accused Britain of “dismantling” the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon. The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary
Actually, while Hersh reported that Bush does not give a rat’s ass about what will happen to the GOP at the next elections, it would have been more to the point to say that the Neocons do not give a rat’s ass. The reason is simple: since they equally control both factions of the War Party or, as Mumia Abu-Jamal calls it, the two factions of the “Republicrat Party” it
The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran threatened Monday to attack some 170 American targets in the Middle East and around the world if it is attacked by Israel or the US, Israel Radio reported. A high-ranking officer from the country’s Revolutionary Guards told the force’s official journal, The Guards, that Teheran succeeded, after extended and comprehensive work, to identify hundreds of strategic American targets in the Middle East and around
by Chris Weigant There’s a raging debate within the Bush administration, the punditocracy, and the blogosphere about whether or not it is time to bomb Iran. While this conversation scares small children (and other sane people), most of the focus has been on (1) whether President… oh, excuse me… Vice President Cheney truly is moonbat-crazy enough to do so, and (2) whether anyone else in America (including the military) would
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Senate Monday passed a mammoth 648 billion dollar defense policy bill, shorn of attempts by disappointed anti-war Democrats to dictate President George W. Bush’s Iraq strategy. The bill included around 128 billion dollars for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. The legislation passed by 92 votes to three after Democrats lost several attempts to dictate US troop levels
BBC – Cuban doctors working in Bolivia have saved the sight of the man who executed revolutionary leader Che Guevara in 1967, Cuban official media report. Mario Teran, a Bolivian army sergeant, shot dead Che Guevara after he was captured in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands. Cuban media reported news of the surgery ahead of the 40th anniversary of Che’s death on 9 October. Mr Teran had cataracts removed under a Cuban
by M. J. Rosenberg Critics of “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” by John J. Mearsheimer and Steven M. Walt cannot be surprised that the attacks on the book prior to publication have already helped propel it to #10 on Amazon’s best-seller list. Not only that, the names “Walt-Mearsheimer” have become almost People magazine famous, odd for two mild-mannered political scientists from the University of Chicago and Harvard. It
“ICH” – Free people of the world, we believe it is time to provide you with another updated report on the status of the war as we in the resistance factions perceive. We have several indications from the fields and from within the puppet government in Baghdad that the tactics used by the occupation forces have developed, yet the strategic aims that drive them, remains the same and in order
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s major political parties denounced the US Senate proposal calling for a limited centralized government with the bulk of the power given to the country’s Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish regions, saying it would seriously hamper Iraq’s future stability. At a news conference earlier Sunday, at least nine Iraqi political parties and party blocs representing both Shiites and Sunnis said the Senate resolution would diminish Iraq’s sovereignty and called
by Seymour M. Hersh In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran. “Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people,” Bush told the national convention of the American Legion in August.
Sheik Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah slams vote to label Revolutionary Guard a terror organization by Roee Nahmias and Dudi Cohen “The declaration of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group is a declaration of war,” Sheik Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Hizbullah’s spiritual leader, said Sunday in response to a Senate resolution on Wednesday calling on the State Department to include the dominant branch in Iran’s army on its list of terrorist organization.
By Uri Avnery “ICH” — — A respected American paper posted a scoop this week: Vice-President Dick Cheney, the King of Hawks, has thought up a Machiavellian scheme for an attack on Iran. Its main point: Israel will start by bombing an Iranian nuclear installation, Iran will respond by launching missiles at Israel, and this will serve as a pretext for an American attack on Iran. Far-fetched? Not really. It
