Global
Left to its own devices, Israel would never grant Palestinians their freedom.
In the past, some, whether ignorantly or not, claimed that peace in Palestine can only be achieved through ‘unconditional negotiations’.
This mantra was also championed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when he cared enough to pay lip service to the ‘peace process’ and other US-originated fantasies. Back then, he spoke about his readiness to hold unconditional negotiations, though constantly arguing that Israel does not have a peace partner.
All of this was, of course, ‘doublespeak’. What Netanyahu and other Israelis were, in fact, saying is that Israel should be freed from any commitment to international law, let alone international pressure. Worse, by declaring that Israel has no Palestinian peace partner, the Israeli government has essentially canceled the hypothetical and ‘unconditional negotiations’ before they even took place.
The USA used 9/11 to further a hidden agenda with catastrophic results. Not only did we lose blood and treasure, we lost whatever moral high ground we once had. Israel needs to learn from our mistakes.
Leaders make choices in moments of crises which can either lead to enhanced security or catastrophe for their nations, with the lives of innocents often hanging in the balance.
Immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I went to the floor of the House of Representatives and warned against the U.S. lashing out blindly in response to the devastating attacks which killed over 3,000 persons.
The Israeli genocide in Gaza will be remembered as the moral collapse of the West.
As soon as the Israeli war began, following the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7, every moral or legal frame of reference that Washington and its western allies supposedly held dear was suddenly dropped. Western leaders rushed to Israel, one after the other, offering military, political and intelligence support - along with a blank check to rightwing Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his generals to torment the Palestinians.
The likes of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, went as far as joining Israel’s first war council meeting, so that he could take part in the discussion which directly resulted in the Gaza genocide.
Item 1: Speaking tours in two new continents: Over the past 40 years I
spoke about human rights and justice at 45 countries around the world (8 in
Africa, 13 in Europe, 22 in Asia, 2 in North America). Now my wife and I
are planning two trips to two new continents: Australia/New Zealand and
Latin America). We welcome invitations and support or at least network us
with friends you know there who could do this. Events are filling quickly
so please notify us ASAP if you want to help or invite. Rough schedule:
April 15-18: Perth
April 19-23: Adelaide
April 24-28: Sydney
April 29-May 3: Brisbane
May 4-6: Sydney
May 7-12: Melbourne
May 13-17: Canberra
May 18-June 3rd New Zealand
November and December: South America (Chie, Argentina so far but other
countries could be arranged)
Item 2: When I am gone (song by Phil Ochs).... https://youtu.be/PNp1kqnRw-U
The easiest way to cope with the news is to shrivel it into an us-vs.-them abstraction and, thus, to extract as much humanity from it as possible.
I’m thinking about the recent protest death of Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire — doused himself in flammable liquid, lit a match and ignited himself — in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. this past Sunday, Feb. 24. The last words he shouted were “Free Palestine!”
No, this is not the first such death. Over the centuries — and particularly in recent decades, since the Vietnam war — a number of people, spiritually distraught over war or other social conditions, have killed themselves in protest by self-immolation . . . that is, in the most painful way imaginable. You might say they entered hell of their own accord. Why? The question tears at the soul.
The Palestinian city of Rafah is not just older than Israel, it is as old as civilization itself.
It has existed for thousands of years. The Canaanites referred to it as Rafia, and Rafia has been almost always there, guarding the southern frontiers of Palestine, ancient and modern.
As the gateway between two continents and two worlds, Rafah has been at the forefront of many wars and foreign invasions, from ancient Egyptians to the Romans, to Napoleon and his eventually vanquished army.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Eighteen years after a military coup toppled one of Thailand's most politically powerful leaders, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra walked free on parole, finishing six months in a police hospital and sparking fears he now shares power with his party's pliant prime minister.
"There is only one prime minister under the constitution. That's me," their Pheu Thai party's less popular Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin insisted to reporters hours after Mr. Thaksin was freed on February 18.
Some warn that Mr. Thaksin, 74, is so influential and Machiavellian that this Southeast Asian, Buddhist-majority nation now has "double prime ministers".
"Thai society now knows that Thaksin is the shadow prime minister with real power," Wanwichit Boonprong, a Rangsit University political science lecturer, said in an interview.
Mr. Thaksin's six-month hospital incarceration and parole also sparked complaints.
"Even though he [was] a prisoner, he has received special medical treatment privileges in the police hospital without ever having been in prison for a single day," Mr. Wanwichit said.