One Brutal Regime in Libya Down, Another One Rises

I just did a quick search of the major US mainstream media websites and as of yet, there is no coverage of this. But luckily our friends across the pond in Britain are on top of it: Thousands of people, including women and children, are being illegally detained by rebel militias in Libya, according to […]

White House/State Dept. Continue to Refuse to Condemn Egyptian Military

The violence is escalating in Tahrir Square with the military and security forces cracking down on protesters, with upwards of 35 killed. As usual when dealing with an intransigent, human rights-abusing ally, the administration has just called for “restraint on all sides” which is code for “we don’t want to denounce the disproportionate force used […]

US-Supported Egyptian Military Dictatorship Imprisons Egyptian Bloggers and Activists

Clearly, the US has decided that stability is more important than democracy and human rights in Egypt. For decades we’ve been very close with the corrupt, elite Egyptian defense forces all the while turning our backs while they entrenched themselves in every aspect of civil and economic society. That they detained, tortured and killed anyone […]

Israel LOVES Obama’s Speech at the United Nations

And well they should. After all, the ultimate goal of perpetual occupation, circular negotiations, continued settlement expansion and American protectionism has been achieved. To hear President Obama speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one could be forgiven for thinking that Obama has adopted the philosophy of right-wing Likud. Israel’s far, far, far-right racist Foreign Minister, Avigdor […]

The Washington Post Continues to Carry Bibi Netanyahu’s Water

Richard Cohen is a hack, but given his lofty perch over at the WaPo, it’s important to call him out on his shameless need to put the interests of a foreign country over the interests of the United States: Israel’s dilemma is that the Middle East, for all the talk of revolution, is slipping backward. […]

Libyan Rebels Take Tripoli

Hopefully this signals an end to the hostilities. At this time it appears no one knows where Gaddafi is: Euphoric Libyan rebels took control of most of Tripoli in a lightning advance Sunday, celebrating the victory in Green Square, the symbolic heart of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. Gadhafi’s defenders quickly melted away as his 42-year rule […]

Egyptian #FlagMan Climbs Up Israeli Embassy and Removes Israeli Flag

Egyptians are pissed. After the IDF crossed the Egyptian border killing several Egyptian security forces the other day, Egyptians are demanding justice. They congregated outside the Israeli embassy by the thousands- something that would have been unheard of under Mubarak- and demanded that the Israeli Ambassador leave (he did). An Egyptian man, now being referred […]

Leave the Censorship in Israel, Please

The boycott law that was recently passed in Israel is an unreasonable infringement on freedom of speech and it’s aim is to silence all debate and criticism about Israeli policies vis-a-vis the Palestinians and the Occupation. Many Israelis across the political spectrum seem to agree on that point. Ok, but that’s Israel, this is the […]

The Arab Spring Comes to Israel…

And Bibi Netanyahu is terrified because it’s not Arabs taking to the streets, but the Israeli middle class. Here’s a nice big shout out to the folks in Israel who have managed to get their leaders re-focused on a domestic agenda that revolves around middle class priorities. Good for them. In case you weren’t aware, […]

MJ Rosenberg: Israel Has Given Up on Democracy

I mentioned this law pending in the Knesset yesterday and I meant to add this to the post but never got around to it. Sorry. MJ Rosenberg does a great job as usual of honing in on how much of Israel’s current circumstance is a result of the political/social choices it makes. We often hear […]

Clearly the Only Language the Palestinians Know is Violence

Oh, but wait: The Palestinian Authority has ordered its security forces to prevent demonstrations planned for September from escalating into violent confrontations with Israel, especially in potential friction points like the roadblocks and settlements. Senior Palestinian Authority figures issued the orders to the Palestinian security forces in recent weeks out of concern that there may […]

Washington Post Ombudsman Defends Jennifer Rubin’s Post About the Norway Attack

What is the point of having an ombudsman if all they are going to do is get defensive and rationalize the nonsense that gets printed by their writers/bloggers? So much for accountability. I won’t bore you with a total re-hashing of the controversy, which I wrote about at length when it happened. I was one […]

The National Security State: If We Keep This Up The Terrorists Win

The events of 9/11 have spawned an understandable focus on security, however, the extent of fear-mongering, Islamophobia and ongoing curtailment of civil liberties, along with the meteoric rise of an unwieldy national security state which operates like a secret government within a government, is at odds with the principles and values of representative democracy. The […]

This is why I love Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald is a well-known progressive blogger over at Salon who made a name for himself analyzing the legal implications of the Bush administration’s illegal domestic spying, among other things, including the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. He has become a huge thorn in the side of the lazy, sycophantic media and also […]

Video: Palestinian Youths in E. Jerusalem Abducted by IDF While Playing Soccer

I’m sorry, but this is not how a democracy acts: Some are saying they might have been abducted on suspicion of throwing stones. Or not. Not that it matters. Once a Palestinian is accused of stone-throwing they usually end up in jail even if they are not guilty and even if they are as young […]

Canada: Criticism of Israel is Anti-Semitism

So much for free speech: Nearly two years after the first hearings were held in Ottawa, the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition fto Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) released a detailed report on July 7 that found that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Canada, especially on university campuses. While the CPCCA’s final report does contain some cases of […]

Don’t Ever Forget What the Media Is: Corporate

The media is only as liberal as the conservative multinational corporations that own it. It is no secret that MSNBC has endeavored to be the more liberal version of Fox News, a questionable gambit that is more of a concession to race-to-the-bottom journalism than anything else. While I happen to be quite progressive, I never […]

Will There Ever Be An End to Military Dictatorship in Egypt?

This could put the U.S. in a prickly situation given the Egyptian people don’t trust us due to our strong support of the Egyptian military. While the Egyptian military did exercise significant restraint during the uprising, the U.S. turned a blind eye to the ongoing detention and torture of activists and dissidents by the military, […]

Why the Israeli Anti-Boycott Law is a Slap in the Face to Democracy

Israel’s right-wing government passed a law which penalizes any Israeli who engages in, or speaks about, boycotting Israel or the Occupied Territories. For example, if an Israeli urges artists to not have a concert in Jerusalem, that individual could be sued in civil court and under the law, the person bringing the suit does not […]

FoPo Link Dump: Or News the MSM is Ignoring

I’ve run across a few stories over the last few days that I’ve noticed have received very little coverage in the U.S. mainstream media. Here they are: ~Violence against Palestinians by Settlers is up 152% while violence against Israelis via terrorist attacks [by Palestinians] is down 96%. That number does NOT include the increasing violence […]