Former Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert, who authorized operation Cast Lead against the people of Gaza, had his speech interrupted earlier this month at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. Student activists showed their outrage at Olmert’s role in the Gaza assault by standing up at various points during his
Continue readingAuthor: Jay Cables
drive-by planet: George Galloway warns against western intervention in Syria: speech on video
In this speech George Galloway is in top rhetorical form. He takes a few well aimed shots at western hypocrisy, pointing out that while the U.S. et al are allied with some of the most reactionary and undemocratic regimes in the region they nevertheless talk about bringing democracy to Syria.
Continue readingdrive-by planet: U.S. arms for Syrian rebels: inflaming Sunni-Shia sectarianism
The Obama administration’s decision to authorize the arming of the Syrian rebels is opposed by a large majority of Americans. A recent Pew poll indicates that 74 percent of independents, 71 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of Democrats are opposed to the U.S. and its allies sending arms to
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Israeli soldiers testify: powerful new Breaking the Silence videos featuring female ex-soldiers
I’ve posted before about the work of a remarkable site called Breaking the Silence. It features candid video testimonials by former Israeli soldiers about the experience of being the uniformed enforcers of occupation and state control. The site has released a series of new testimonials by females who served in
Continue readingdrive-by planet: U.S. ‘red line’ on Syrian chemical weapons – a pretext for arming opposition fighters
The Obama administration claims that the Syrian al-Assad regime has crossed a “red line” by using chemical weapons repeatedly over the past year. Obama has gone ahead and authorized the arming of Syrian rebels. According to U.S. officials the weapons will likely include small arms, ammunition, assault rifles and a
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Snowden leaks: NSA whistleblower William Binney warns of ‘totalitarian state’
Following news of leaks by NSA whistleblower Ed Snowden, Obama was asked by a reporter about massive NSA surveillance that involves not just phone tracking, but all types of online user communications. In the course of his defense of this unparalleled invasion of privacy, Obama dropped the “Big Brother” term
Continue readingdrive-by planet: As Turkey explodes Erdogan claims he is not ‘a dictator’ – rather a ‘servant of the people’
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims he is not a dictator… not even a master… but rather “a servant of the people.” Not many Turkish citizens are convinced because following the Gezi Park protest, the treatment meted out to demonstrators by Turkish police has been a total horror show. It
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Syria and the use of ‘humanitarian interventionism’ to drive the real agenda
Since the Syrian conflict broke out some on the left have bought into calls for humanitarian intervention, even if it does mean tacit support for American-backed interference in yet another Middle Eastern country. Neo-liberal governments and their militaries increasingly employ the language of humanitarianism to elicit support as they pursue
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Smuggled samples from Syria test positive for sarin claim UK, France
According to a Guardian report “medical samples smuggled out of Syria have tested positive for the nerve agent sarin.“: The Foreign Office confirmed that body fluids collected from victims of one or more attacks in the country were found to contain a chemical fingerprint of sarin at the Ministry of
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Turks arrest al-Nusra rebels – seize chemical weapons: the west’s Syrian delusions
There has been very little coverage in western media of a current story in Turkish dailies that places chemical weapons in the hands – not of forces connected with Assad – but of the opposition al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front. The Turkish paper Zaman reports that members of al-Nusra planned to bomb
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Woolwich attack on British soldier Lee Rigby was not ‘terrorism’
The killing on an off-duty British soldier on a street in Woolwich, London, had all the ingredients loved by the tabloids… dark skinned Muslim assailants armed with knives and machete… a white well liked military man wearing a Help for Heroes shirt. Had to be an act of terrorism, right?
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Brother Ali – Mourning in America: ‘a critique of our culture of war and death’
This recent Brother Ali video track is worth checking out. Mourning in America is a powerful piece of work. Brother Ali had this to say about the track and the album: This is the title track to my new album, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. The first half
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Activist Assata Shakur put on FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list: reeks of political targeting
In the weeks following the Boston bombing, an icon of the black liberation struggle in the U.S., Assata Shakur, has turned up on the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list. The timing is far from coincidental. It’s the first time a woman has been placed on the bureau’s terrorist list… in
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Boycott Apartheid ft M1 (Dead Prez) and Lowkey
The faces in this powerful video represent the millions around the world who are united against Israeli apartheid. The faces represent all of us… the eyes, the ears, the collective memory. These performers speak for us even as the US and other powers and agencies seek to give greater legitimacy
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Stephen Hawking withdraws from Jerusalem conference – backs boycott of Israel
Reknowned British physicist, Stephen Hawking, has withdrawn from a conference scheduled to be held in Jerusalem in June. The conference – Facing Tomorrow – is to be hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres. Last week Hawking wrote a brief letter to Peres announcing that he wouldn’t be participating. The British
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Google upgrades to ‘Palestine’: on another note – Schmidty sings Israel’s praises oh and Jerusalem Israel’s ‘capital’ according to GoogleMaps
Google has changed the tagline on its homepage in the occupied territories from “Palestinian Territories” to “Palestine.” A Google spokesperson informed BBC that the company had consulted sources and authorities and was “…following the lead of the UN, Icann [Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers], ISO [International Organisation for
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Ilan Pappé exposes Zionist mythologies surrounding the creation of Israel: Australian Press Club address
Ilan PappĂ© is an Israeli historian – born in Haifa, son of German-Jewish parents who fled Nazi persecution. He is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom – director of the university’s European Centre for Palestine Studies
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