Iqbal Jassat - ‘Terror’ Channels Face Freedom Threat Posted: 20 May 2009 01:45 PM PDT
The current move to ‘cleanse’ the airwaves involves pro-Israeli members of the congress who are in the process of submitting a bill that seeks to target satellite stations as “terrorist organizations”. The proposed bill is viewed as Israel’s on-going efforts to stem the tide of widespread support Palestinians have received following the Gaza disaster spawned by the apartheid state’s inhumane war. Graphic details and gruesome images of victims of Israeli brutality have also resulted in global outrage resulting in condemnation of these war crimes and demands for the prosecution of the perpetrators. Having failed to eliminate Hamas and the spirit of resistance embodied within all sectors of Occupied Palestinian in spite of the most lethal weapons of mass destruction deployed over three weeks in an intense and highly disproportionate manner, Israel has once again turned to American legislators for help. In keeping with its need to veil its own hidden agenda, Israeli lobbyists within the US Congress seek to promote the bill as part of US efforts to “stem the demonization of Americans in the Arab media”. Satellite carriers ArabSat and NileSat that broadcast channels such as al-Manar and Hamas’ al-Aqsa are in the firing line. Authors of the bill from both the Republican and Democratic parties have explained that these television broadcasters were helping “foreign terrorist organizations in their objectives, including recruiting fighters, collecting funds and disseminating propaganda”. The language sounds as archaic as the Bush administration’s neocon warmongers. Yet it seems that despite the euphoria of “change” heralded with the election of Barack Obama, no fundamental changes in the American construct of the discredited “war on terror” are discernable. The phenomena of “terror-related channels” are part of the Israeli political psychology that treats resistance to its illegitimate Occupation of Palestine as “terrorist”. This ploy is designed to demonize media activists, analysts, authors, commentators and broadcasters in one single sweep and thereby discredit their authenticity. It’s not any different to the propaganda war unleashed against South Africa’s freedom struggle by the now defunct National Party. The essence of this is captured in a critical study by Terry Bell and Dumisa Ntsebeza titled “Unfinished Business: South Africa Apartheid & Truth”: “The optimism stemming from the effective council of war in Simonstown was bolstered politically by elements within the United States security establishment. They were actively engaged in planning armed resistance to the new, Soviet-leaning governments in Nicaragua and Afghanistan. The fact that such governments has come to power in 1979 and that South Africa then faced the prospect of Rhodesia going the way of Angola and Mozambique, fed into the paranoia of the time. South Africa, it seemed, was back in the frontline of the ‘free world’ fight. Here was international communism on the march; the evil empire had gained some advantage, which the CIA and the Pentagon were trying to claw back, having been betrayed by their politicians and congress. “Botha and his generals saw themselves very much part of this ‘international struggle’. South Africa would play its part in fighting the Red menace and so earn the eventual gratitude of the world at large. The enemy could be resisted and overcome by sponsoring opposition from within the very communities that may initially have supported the new governments. An iron fist could be created and wielded by those whose hearts and minds had been won over. Besides, as Botha was especially pleased to note, in Britain the woman he regarded as a friend, Margaret Thatcher, had swept to power. There was also the prospect of a Republican victory in the US presidential race, which would bring the rightwing Ronald Reagan to power. The CIA and the Pentagon might have less difficulty under such an administration. In Germany too, the conservative Helmut Kohl seemed on the way to eventual victory and Robert Muldoon, regarded as a friend of the apartheid state, was back in charge of New Zealand.” Though Bell and Ntsebeza describe the rightwing mood prevalent during the eighties which was inclined to be supportive of the apartheid regime’s version of the war on terror, the current ideological battle waged by Israel in cahoots with its Western allies, including unelected Arab states euphemistically referred to as “moderate”, is a continuation of the same propaganda war. It is a revolting thought that so-called liberal societies who value freedom of expression are being manipulated to implement punitive measures on the back of special legislation designating satellite providers as transmitters of “terror-related channels”. In addition, the bill urges governments and private investors who own shares in satellite companies to oppose transmission of telecasts by al-Aqsa TV, al-Manar TV and other channels designated as “terrorist”. Since al-Aqsa and al-Manar are transmitting on the satellite providers Nile-Sat, controlled by the Egyptian government, and ArabSat, controlled by the Arab League, it is entirely possible that the timing of this bill was calculated to coincide with Hosni Mubarak’s visit to the US following Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama. This latest move to reverse Israel’s negative profile in the battle for hearts and minds is the worst form of mind control and should be resisted. - Iqbal Jassat is chairperson of the Media Review Network (MRN), an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa. |
donderdag 21 mei 2009
De Pro Israel Lobby 129
De Pro Israel Lobby 128
The main point to note is that these pro-Israel union voices have been summoned by the lobby to counter the boycott, which they themselves admit is "growing by leaps and bounds" and "seems unstoppable." As in the striking admission by the AIPAC Executive Director earlier this month, such testimonies from our staunchest adversaries are the strongest indicators that BDS is not only working, but truly shaking the Western mainstream walls.
Unions move to overturn Israel boycott
Paul Howes, Michael Leahy and Stuart Appelbaum | May 21, 2009
LAST month, the Scottish Trade Unions Congress became the latest in a series of unions to call for a boycott of Israeli products. Support for boycotting, divesting from and sanctions against the Jewish state appears to be growing by leaps and bounds.
It has already won considerable support from trade unions in South Africa, Ireland, Britain and Norway. It seems unstoppable. But we intend to stop it.
TULIP - Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine - is a new global movement that believes in engaging with workers and their unions in Israel and Palestine, promoting co-operation and reconciliation.
We do not believe in boycotts, divestment and sanctions. We believe in peace and in a two-state solution to the conflict.
Our new global movement seeks allies in unions and non-governmental organisations everywhere who want to work together to demand respect for all Palestinians, Israelis and guest workers living in that region.
We believe we can take significant strides towards peace and reconciliation if we support those striving to improve the living standards of all working people in the region.
There are outstanding examples of co-operation between Israeli and Palestinian unions that need to be encouraged. For example, there's a remarkable initiative launched by the International Transport Workers Federation to make life much easier for Palestinian drivers.
This has been a small but ground-breaking union agreement encouraging dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli national trade union centres, as well as individual unions and their members on both sides of the divide. This agreement will help improve the livelihoods of hard-working union truckers and their families.
As we write this the ITF is organising to move this important project to a higher level with the co-operation of the Israel trade union congress Histadrut and the Palestinian transport workers union.
This model is a firm rejection of those in trade unions promoting an Israel boycott movement.
This model upholds the traditional role of trade unions when faced with disputes of this kind: bridging the gap between nations at war, encouraging peace, justice and conciliation. It is a trade union tradition and role that we are particularly proud to uphold.
We also applaud the role of the International Trade Union Confederation, which has helped to broker co-operation agreements between the Histadrut and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.
It is unfortunate that in recent years a number of national unions and trade union centres have changed course and abandoned that role.
Instead, they have rallied behind those Palestinians who are opposed to the peace process. Some have gone so far as to deny Israel's right to exist and attacked the Histadrut.
In doing so, in backing the Hamas terrorists who deny Israel's right to exist, they have thrown their support behind Iran's power play in the region. And the Iranian regime is no friend of the trade union movement. Iran - and its Hamas puppets - have a long record of suppressing trade unions and human rights.
Those who support the boycott of Israel actually do nothing to promote peace, justice and reconciliation: in fact, they harm those who want to end the political hegemony of the extremists on both sides.
The boycott stance provides succour to the extremists in Israel and Palestine who refuse to accept the humanity of the other, who refuse to respect the right of all workers in the region to be able to build decent lives for themselves and their families in a peaceful, just and democratic climate.
In recent weeks and months a number of unions have called for boycotts and sanctions directed exclusively against Israel.
They are attempting to demonise the Jewish state, to deny it legitimacy, and to whip up hatred against it. Sometimes that hatred spills over into anti-Semitism.
Those unions are terribly wrong.
We believe the time has come for trade unionists across the world to join forces in support of genuine Israeli-Palestinian peace with justice, based on a two-state solution with secure and recognised borders.
There are already unions and associated NGOs in a number of countries that support this goal. But they are fighting this battle alone, each in their own country. It is time we united our forces.
Today we are publicly launching this new global movement, TULIP.
At the moment, the opponents of a two-state solution are on the offensive, working hard to promote their destructive agenda of boycotts and sanctions targeting Israel. It's time for trade unionists in all countries to go on the offensive, to challenge the apologists for Hamas and Hezbollah in the labour movement.
We have no illusions that this will be anything other than a long and difficult process. But we also know that we have no choice.
We cannot abandon the field to those whose goal is the destruction of any chance for a real Israeli-Palestinian peace.
We welcome trade unionists from all countries to join us.
Paul Howes is national secretary of the Australian Workers Union; Michael J. Leahy is general secretary of Britain's Community union; and Stuart Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, representing workers in the US and Canada.
Noam Chomsky 33
De Nieuwe Reporter
Dit krijgt u te zien zodra u de website van De Nieuwe Reporter bezoekt:
Beste bezoeker,
In samenwerking met InSites organiseren wij momenteel een onderzoek om onze website te verbeteren en een beter beeld te krijgen van onze bezoekers.
Als u deelneemt, kunt u een LCD televisie winnen.
Wenst u deel te nemen?
Twee vragen:
1. Waarom organiseert 'De Nieuwe Reporter in samenwerking met Insites... een onderzoek'? Deze o.a. door de belastingbetaler gefinancierde website geeft zelf als verklaring het verbeteren van 'onze website'. Maar stelt deze journalistenwebsite nu dat voor hen geldt: 'U vraagt en wij draaien'? Zo nee, wat bedoelen ze dan? Hoe komt het dat deze mensen die claimen journalisten te zijn niet zelf weten hoe ze hun website moeten verbeteren?
2. Dat lokkertje, een 'LCD televisie'. Wat voor soort journalisten worden met een 'LCD televisie' gelokt? En als ze al door een 'LCD televisie' worden gelokt, waar worden ze dan nog meer door gelokt? Ik bedoel, is dit slag journalisten wel te goeder trouw als ze gelokt moeten worden met een 'LCD televisie' zodra het gaat om het 'verbeteren' van 'onze website'? Waarom denkt niemand na bij deze website?
woensdag 20 mei 2009
Het Neoliberale Geloof 450
The Empire 452
States: It's taxes, taxes and more taxes
Desperate to balance budgets, states are hiking income and sales taxes on
people and businesses.
Last Updated: May 20, 2009: 12:22 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Facing mounting budget deficits and seeing few
areas left to cut spending, states increasingly are turning to the only
option they have left: raising taxes.
Though public officials are loath to do this, particularly during a
recession, many governors are increasing personal income taxes, raising
corporate income taxes, hiking cigarette and gas taxes, or broadening sales
taxes.
Already, 16 states have taken this unpopular step this fiscal year, and
another 17 have proposed tax hikes for the coming year, according to the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a policy group. In many cases, they
are making small increases in specific taxes, rather than imposing a broad
rate hike.
"The question isn't whether to raise taxes, it's which taxes to raise,"
said Linda Bilmes, professor of public finance at Harvard's Kennedy School
of Government.
Wealthier residents in Hawaii are now paying higher personal income taxes.
The state increased the tax rate to 11% for single filers earning more than
$200,000 and couples making more than $400,000, while also raising levies
on hotel accommodations and real estate purchases.
Smokers in Rhode Island, meanwhile, now pay the highest state tobacco taxes
in the nation, forking over an additional $1 for a total of $3.46 in state
levies per pack.
De Israelische Terreur 865
De Israelische Terreur 864
Theodor Holman 8
Paul2 heeft een nieuwe reactie op uw bericht "Theodor Holman 7" achtergelaten:
Hoe serieus kun je zo'n man nemen
'Moord op Theo van Gogh
Holmans geloofwaardigheid liep in 2004 na de moord op collega Theo van Gogh een geduchte deuk op. In het televisieprogramma Barend & Van Dorp beweerde Holman dat hij bij het opgebaarde lijk van Van Gogh had gevoeld dat het been was geamputeerd. Dit zou volgens hem door de politie zijn gedaan omdat er nog kogels van de moordaanslag in zouden zitten die onderzocht moesten worden. Enige dagen later bleek zijn verhaal niet waar te zijn en slechts bedoeld om de gemoederen in de Nederlandse gemeenschap nog wat meer te verhitten. Onder de dreiging van een juridische aanklacht wegens het 'aanzetten tot haat' (in de richting van de Nederlandse moslimgemeenschap, waaruit de dader van de aanslag voortkwam) trok Holman zijn opmerkingen in.'
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/
De Commerciele Massamedia 213
| Vliegtuigcrash Indonesië eist tientallen levens | |
| Zeker 79 mensen zijn woensdag om het leven gekomen door het neerstorten van een militair transportvliegtuig in Oost-Java. Dat heeft een woordvoerder van de Indonesische luchtmacht voor de radio gezegd. Vraag: waarom is dit nieuws? En waarom is het volgende geen nieuws? 18,000 children die every day of hunger, U.N. says. Elke dag weer tenminste 18.000 kinderen. En hoe komt dat? Waarom is dit geen nieuws voor de westerse commerciele massamedia? |
Theodor Holman 7
Dit schreef anzi naar aanleiding van een stukje van mij over het fascistje "Theodor Holman" Er is hier ook sprake van ironie en overdrijving, maar ik geloof niet dat jij deze humor helemaal begrijpt.Jammer, want net als bij Reve, zit daarin zijn kracht. Ik moest ook altijd lachen om de humorvolle azijnzeikerij van van Reve en nu om het grappige pissen op moslims van Holman. De urinestraal, die doet 't,he! Geweldig, je moet er toch maar opkomen, geniaal!
dinsdag 19 mei 2009
The Empire 451
De Pro Israel Lobby 127
The Empire 450
De Israelische Terreur 863
- Vaderdag: Geef een olijfboom cadeau
- Duizend-en-één nachten benefiet voor Gaza (zie bijlage voor flyer met programma)
- Palestijnse Dabka dans groep in Rotterdam
Vaderdag is dit jaar op 21 juni 2009. Geef een bijzonder en origineel cadeau en maak twee vaders blij! Jouw vader krijgt een certificaat voor het bezit van zijn eigen boom in het Heilige Land en een Palestijnse vader krijgt een olijfboom die hoop geeft op een betere toekomst. Lees meer over deze actie en hoe je een olijfboom cadeau kunt geven op www.planteenolijfboom.nl
Je kunt het digitale formulier op onze website invullen of het bedrag van 20 euro overmaken op onze giro rekening. Maak het bedrag voor eind mei over, om er zeker van te zijn dat het certificaat op tijd klaar is!
Duizend-en-één nachten benefiet op 14 juni in Utrecht
De Olijfbomencampagne en YWCA Nederland organiseren een Benefiet voor Gaza in Arabische sferen.
Zie de flyer in de attachment! Dit is ook leuk voor familie, vrienden, buren, collega's...
Gaza ligt in puin en is nog steeds afgesloten van de buitenwereld. Theatre Day Productions verzorgt theater workshops en trainingen voor de jeugd in de Gazastrook. Het biedt een uitlaatklep voor de jongeren en geeft hen iets om voor te leven.
Palestijnse dabka dansgroep uit Nablus op 29 mei in Rotterdam
Locatie: Engels Grand Cafe
Aanvang: 19.30 uur
Kaarten kunnen aan de deur gekocht worden, maar om zeker te zijn van een plaats kun je alvast reserveren via: 06 14375904
Entree: 10 euro
De Israelische Terreur 862
South African Study Finds Israel Practicing Apartheid
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De Israelische Terreur 861
Gilad Atzmon - Seven Hasbara Tricks
Posted: 18 May 2009 05:36 AM PDT
Imitating Churchill’s innovative template, Stirling’s Seven Other Children is a brief movement of scenes: it departs in 1948’s Nakba, Israeli brutal ethnic cleansing of Palestine of its indigenous population and it lands eventually in the current Palestinian reality which Sterling foolishly portrays as an ‘indoctrination to hatred’. Following Churchill’s template, the message is delivered in short sentences of adults talking to an imaginary Palestinian child. In practice, Churchill’s plot made of short segments of “Tell her… Don’t tell her that…” is replaced by Stirling into “Ask him… Don’t ask him that…”
There is not much to write about the play, for bad art doesn’t deserve attention. Seemingly, even the Zionist press was confused by its lameness and failed to write much. However, we can regard the play as a further glimpse into tribal ideology and practice. We can learn about the precepts that set the production into an inevitable theatrical failure.
As I explored in a previous paper, Churchill who originated the given theatrical format by locating a young female child at the receiving end of the Israeli metamorphosis from victimhood into collective brutality. Stirling, on the other hand has chosen to set a male child at the receiving end of his play. The difference is rather clear. While Churchill’s representation of the ‘Jewish narrative’ within an effeminate framework is something that may bring to mind a similar equation made by the misogynist philosopher Otto Weininger 100 years ago, for Stirling, the Palestinian identity is represented by a young masculine voice. As much as Churchill’s Jew is submerged with a phantasmic imagery of victimhood, Stirling’s Palestinian boy is an assertive character. He is just about to become a warrior. May I suggest at this stage that considering the IDF failures in every one of its military campaigns in recent years, and bearing in mind the Israeli Hasbara spreading images of sobbing, traumatized Jews in Sderot, Churchill’s choice to portray the Jew as a female child makes some sense. Yet, we better also remember that the reality on the ground doesn’t leave much room for doubt. It is actually the Israelis who spread death en masse around them. It is actually the Israelis who drop WMDs on civilians. It is the Israelis who are following a racist national murderous philosophy. It is the Palestinians who are practically seeing their towns and villages being transformed into concentration camps by the Jewish state. Incorporating Churchill and Stirling into a unified reality would leave us with a clear image of a beastly neurotic girl who locks the naive confused boy in a cellar and throws away the key. Thinking about it for a second longer reveals the devastating truth. This is not just a remote theatrical reality, this is actually the true reality of the Jewish state and its brutality. However, in reality, the boy is slowly but surely growing out of his naivety. He is now determined to liberate himself against all odds. And he will.
It is also important to mention that Stirling’s attempt to set the Palestinian narrative as a transition from Victimhood into aggression is not only unimaginative, it is wrong, it is misleading and probably the outcome of some banal Ziocentric projection.
Unlike Jews who keep maintaining their historic suffering institutionally and juridically, Palestinians hardly present themselves as victims. Similarly, the aggression manifested by the Jewish state in the name of the Jewish people and approved by their institutional supporters cannot be translated into Palestinian reality or Palestinian identity discourse. Palestinians are fighting for their liberation, they legitimately struggle for freedom. By no means freedom fighting can be realised as aggression unless one is a Zionist, a Sabbath Goy or both.
This is enough to establish the fact that the premise of the play was rather frail. However, a few issues to do with the play and the motivation behind it should be raised. The Jewish lobbies and blogs that promote the play insist that Churchill failed to even-handedly represent the conflict. This argument is ludicrous on the verge of pathetic. Since when do artists have to be impartial? Since when does an artist have to present a balanced outlook? Artists are committed to beauty. They are obviously capable of passing a message through beauty. Do we impose a demand of impartiality on Shakespeare or Picasso? But we can take it further, did the Jewish activists who are so devastated by Churchill’s play protested against Spielberg’s for his ‘one sided’ presentation of the political and social conditions in ‘Schindler List’? Clearly, the film failed to bring to light the voice of the Nazis. Obviously, no reasonable being would pose such a demand. However, like in the case of the fight against racism, Jewish ethnic activism falls into the same trap. The Jewish activist is not against racism in general, he is solely against anti-Jewish racism. Similarly, Jewish tribal activists are not trying to promote here a new scheme for ‘balanced reporting in the arts’. Instead, they just insist that Jews look better in a given play.
Apparently, UK Zionist lobbies are now putting some enormous pressure on every theatre that gives stage to Churchill’s play, demanding that their current most beloved Goyish play should be staged alongside it, regardless of its quality or lack thereof. I assume that since I myself play every night and each of my gigs are rallies for Palestine, it won’t be long before the same tribal lobbies will sponsor a Jazz act that would counter mine. They may even teach the lucky saxophonist to play my music back to front.
On the face of it, one thing is rather evident. Years ago, London’s prime stages were reserved for Zionist hasbara projects. The Palestinian cause would be celebrated in some alternative theatres, community centres and churches. This has been officially changed. Churchill’s play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre and successfully attracted the attention of the entire British media. Sterling’s Zionist pastiche is humiliatingly stuck in a tiny theatre in Hampstead. It is performed mainly to a Jewish audience. It would be right to claim that the Palestinian discourse is now successfully claiming the big stage while the Zionist seems to be trailing behind.
In the play Stirling keeps asking the Palestinian boy:
… Why we have no friends… “ask him to name one friend”.
But then at the final scene, the one that reflects on Gaza 2009, Sterling himself realises that the Palestinians now have very many friends:
“Ask him if he knows about our friends
Ask him if he knows they have no friends
Ask him if he knows about our friends in Europe”
Clearly, Caryl Churchill and the Royal Court Theatre are just two of the very many Palestinian friends.
Stirling is not alone either, he has now at least seven Zionist bloggers who claim to be his friends. The notorious Israeli smear campaigner David Hirsh promotes him, the Ziocon cyber noticeboard Harry’s Place gives him space, another Jewish blog named OyVaGoy threatens to libidinally explode. With such good friends, Stirling will realise soon that by the time his Kosher associates finish assaulting every theatre in this country, he may have to consider a career change. Watching his play and seeing what Stirling is capable of, it is not exactly a big loss for British Theatre.
However, someone may want to remind Stirling that a brave historical scrutiny of the Jewish reality of the 20th century will reveal the devastating fact that the Zionist project never had real friends. Indeed, it had power, it has influence, it still has a lot of power. But power and friendship are remote categories.
In the play, the final words addressed to the child are there to leave the Jewish audience devastated.
“Ask him if Hitler had the wrong idea”
As if the Palestinians are motivated by racial hatred against Jews, as if they have ever been. Someone should explain to Mr Richard Stirling that as things stand, it is actually the Jewish state that practices racist laws against Palestinians and others. It is the Jewish state that locks millions of people behind barbed wire. It is the Jewish state that squashes neighbourhoods on its habitants. It is the Jewish state that follows Hitler’s doctrine systematically. They somehow must truly believe that the mustachio-ed man had the right idea.
Zie: http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/05/18/gilad-atzmon-seven-hasbara-tricks/
De Israelische Terreur 860
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