A radical act of cinematic restraint: How to understand the ending of ‘A House of Dynamite’

Total destruction cannot produce narrative. You can’t tell a story about the end of all stories. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists In the final frames of Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite, nothing explodes. The intercontinental ballistic missile has not made impact, the countdown is almost over, and the screen simply fades to black.… Read More A radical act of cinematic restraint: How to understand the ending of ‘A House of Dynamite’

Israel’s underground jail, where Palestinians are held without charge and never see daylight

Exclusive: Detainees at Rakefet include nurse deprived of natural light since January, and teenager held for nine months‘ NB: The moronic American War Secretary recently said that Zionism & Americanism are the front lines of Western civilisation and freedom in our world today: It would be more accurate to say these ‘isms’ are a sadistic death… Read More Israel’s underground jail, where Palestinians are held without charge and never see daylight

Life with Robert Fisk: I realised I would not be at peace until I wrote this book

In a new memoir, journalist Lara Marlowe recalls the life she shared with her former husband Lara Marlowe When the British journalist Robert Fisk died of a stroke at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin on October 30th, 2020, we had been divorced for 11 years and separated much longer. In the year since Robert’s death,… Read More Life with Robert Fisk: I realised I would not be at peace until I wrote this book

The Disaster Correspondent: Why I stopped explaining the Middle East to Americans

NB: The phrase ‘the fundamental racism of their editorial line’, sums up what it feels to be the perennial object of dehumanisation by the Western establishments and a sizeable part of their populations. Lina Mounzer has said something very important here, and it has lessons not only for the West and Israel, but also for… Read More The Disaster Correspondent: Why I stopped explaining the Middle East to Americans

Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan

“Directorate S,” was covertly training, arming, and seeking to legitimize the Taliban, in order to enlarge Pakistan’s sphere of influence From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ghost Wars, the epic and enthralling story of America’s intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11Prior to 9/11, the United… Read More Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Whitewashing Gas Exploration in Post-Genocide Gaza

By Dan Steinbock / Informed Comment New York (Special to Informed Comment) – In December 2022, Israeli Ministry of Energy launched the Fourth Offshore Bid Round offering new exploration licenses. A year later, it awarded licenses to several Israeli and international companies: Eni (Italy), Dana Petroleum (UK, a subsidiary of a South Korean company, and Ratio… Read More Whitewashing Gas Exploration in Post-Genocide Gaza

Israel’s top military lawyer arrested after she admitted leaking video of soldiers’ abuse

Rightwing politicians and pundits have called the soldiers accused of attack on Palestinian detainee ‘heroes’ and military investigators traitors. Her arrest and detention raises serious questions about the rule of law in Israel, accountability for abuse and killing of Palestinians during what a UN commission has called a genocidal war, and the country’s ability to defend… Read More Israel’s top military lawyer arrested after she admitted leaking video of soldiers’ abuse

Justice still eludes 1984 victims, only 39 convictions in 650 cases / Forty-one years on: 13 murder convictions, 253 acquittals

NB: In the period October 31 till November 2, 1984, mass violence in Delhi following the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi resulted in the deaths of thousands of Sikhs resident of Delhi. The official figures were just under 3000; but many believe this to be an understatement. In the links beneath this article, there is… Read More Justice still eludes 1984 victims, only 39 convictions in 650 cases / Forty-one years on: 13 murder convictions, 253 acquittals

How far would I have gone to get away? Mukul Kesavan remembers the 1984 violence against Sikhs

The faintest of all human passions is the love of truth: A. E. Housman (1859-1936) Protestors in Amritsar with photographs of relatives who were killed in the 1984 riots. | Narinder Nanu/AFP NB: Today is the forty-first anniversary of the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi and the beginning of the massacre of innocent Sikh residents of… Read More How far would I have gone to get away? Mukul Kesavan remembers the 1984 violence against Sikhs