Benjamin Netanyahu did everything shy of stuffing ballot boxes for Mitch Romney. He gambled, and lost. Now Benny will have to wait to see what his odious efforts have earned him.Israel awoke to the news it faced what many see as a politi…
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The Disaffected Lib: Will Israelis Shut the Church of the Holy Sepulcher?
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate says it might have to close Jerusalem’s Christian shrine, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, because an Israeli water company is breaking its deal with the church. The church says it’s had a deal going back to 1969 under which water was supplied at no charge.
Continue readingRedBedHead: Arab Revolutions Put Iran Attack On Back Foot
There can be little doubt that the Arab revolutions have already transformed the Middle East and look set to continue and deepen that transformation. Dictators in Tunisia, Yemen and, most spectacularly thus far, Egypt have gotten the boot. In Tunisia and Egypt the working class played a sizeable role in
Continue readingdrive-by planet: New work by Remi Kanazi ‘Normalize This!’ undercuts Israeli spin
Remi Kanazi is a performance poet and rights activist based in NYC. His poetry collection – Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine – was published in 2011. The novelist John Berger said this about Kanazi’s work: “You want to hear a voice which refuses to be silenced, and only
Continue readingIsraelis endorse apartheid
For those supporters of Israel who gamely continue to insist that Israel is not an apartheid state, a recent poll published in the Haaretz newspaper should offer second thoughts. The poll was relentless: If the West Bank were annexed by Israel, over two-thirds of Israeli Jews say that the 2.5
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: How Petty Can Israel Get
Last week ambitious students around the world took the SAT, or scholastic aptitude test, their ticket to a chance at a good education and a bright future. Students around the world except for Palestinian students that is. It seems the Israelis received the exams for the Palestinian kids and withheld
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Gaza-bound ‘Estelle’ boarded by Israeli forces: ‘Ship to Gaza’ campaign
Top: Crew members of the Estelle A ship carrying thirty activists from Europe, Canada and Israel has been intercepted and boarded by Israeli marines. The Estelle, carrying a cargo of humanitarian supplies – including soccer balls and children’s books – was seeking to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza. When
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Olive Grove War Re-Ignites
How do you steal a Palestinian’s land? It usually begins by destroying his olive groves. Destroy his livelihood and then you can claim the land unoccupied and build a settlement. It’s the olive harvest on the West Bank and, true to form, Israeli settlers with the help of the Israeli
Continue readingDrive-by Planet: ‘Roadmap to Apartheid’: Israeli and South African parallels
Clips from “Roadmap” that draw Israel/ S. African parallels A feature-length documentary Roadmap to Apartheid is the first time close parallels between the apartheid of the old South African regime and Israeli-style apartheid have been explored in a documentary film in significant depth. The parallels between the two systems have
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Israel & Iran: Mitt Romney accepts Israel’s Red Line
Iraeli & Romney Red Line? A dramatic difference has emerged between President Obama’s policy towards Iran and that of Romney. In his major foreign policy speech, Romney has taken a giant step towards Israel, accepting the Israeli Prime Minister’s Red Line that Iran should not acquire nuclear weapons capability. Obama
Continue readingThe U.S. squeezes the Palestinians
The Palestinian Authority has announced that before the end of the year (but after the U.S. presidential election) it will press for a vote by the General Assembly for upgraded status at the UN. On cue, the United States has gone into bullying mode, warning European nations that if they
Continue readingFive of Five: Mr. Fish Netanyahu Cartoon
Mr. Fish Cartoon:
Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.N. General Assembly explaining how easy it used to be to beat the absolute shit out of cookie monster back before he obtained a cookie recipe from 1945, which immediately turned him int…
Continue readingFive of Five: Mr. Fish Netanyahu Cartoon
Mr. Fish Cartoon: Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.N. General Assembly explaining how easy it used to be to beat the absolute shit out of cookie monster back before he obtained a cookie recipe from 1945, which immediately turned him into a fucking lunatic sugar junkie prone to crazy outbursts and
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Iran & Israel: The Timing of the Attack
Today we probably learned the outer limits of the timing of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities during a speech to the UN by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Israeli red line? He held up a diagram of a bomb with a spluttering fuse, and with a red marker, drew a
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Obama’s Noise Gaffe on Iran-Israel: Will it cost him the election?
President Obama made a remarkable statement on 60 Minutes when he characterized the Israeli government’s concern about the need for a red line to deter Iran as ‘noise’ which he disregards: President Obama sent a poisonously dangerous message to the world about hisattitude towards Israeli concerns. And for friends of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Fair Weather Friends: Western Reaction(s) to the Middle East Protests
The ongoing protests in the parts of the Middle East and North Africa, ostensibly in the wake of a Z-list anti-Islam film produced in the US, have elicited the same tired, hackneyed response on the part significant portions of Western audiences and commentators. “Savages,” the refrain has been, “uncivilized barbarians!”
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Netanyahu, Harper, and the War on Obama
The other night I accused Stephen Harper of timing his decision to sever ties with Iran in order to ratchet up tensions, just before Benjamin Netanyahu went ballistic. Why is he doing this? My guess is that he's saying what he's saying because he knows he can't attack, especially before the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Red Line
When it finally hit me why Stephen Harper suddenly cut ties with Iran, I felt slightly dizzy. So great was my horror. For it seems obvious to me that it had little or nothing to do with security, and everything to do with an orchestrated campaign by Benjamin Netanyahu to
Continue readingLeft Over: Get Chicken Little on the Phone!!!!!
Did intelligence fears prompt Canada to cut Iran ties?By Brian Stewart, CBC News Shades of the 1950′s, McCarthyism and the Red Scare! One would think that we were in the middle of the so-called Cold War, and that the Commies were hiding under the beds, once again…. Really, Harpo?
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Photo Tells Us Why Canada Severed Diplomatic Ties With Iran
Last Friday, the right-wing Conservative government of Stephen Harper closed the Canadian embassy in Tehran, and kicked Iranian diplomats out of Canada. Since than, Canadians have struggled to figure out Harper’s motive for this hotile and undepolomatic move. This picture partly answers the question. The picture was taken during Israeli
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