Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Events point to Israel’s strategy of emptying the north of Gaza of its Palestinian population, with both the massive bombardment that has damaged at least 222,000 residential units, and the refusal to accept a ceasefire so essential life-saving provisions cannot enter. All this shows the massive pressure on the Palestinian population to move south, thus ethnically… Read More Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?

First posted October 01, 2016 Try, for a moment, to envisage a world without countries. Imagine a map not divided into neat, coloured patches, each with clear borders, governments, laws. Try to describe anything our society does – trade, travel, science, sport, maintaining peace and security – without mentioning countries. Try to describe yourself: you have… Read More Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?

Diana Muir Appelbaum: Rootless Roma: The benefits of nationalism, as illustrated by its absence

First posted July 04, 2017 At the core of the Roma’s troubles is the fact that they are a people without a land – but with a twist. To say that a people is without a land can mean at least three things. It can mean that, for one reason or another, a people does… Read More Diana Muir Appelbaum: Rootless Roma: The benefits of nationalism, as illustrated by its absence

The news has become intolerable and inhumane. Democracy’s vital feedback mechanism is broken

Julianne Schultz It is little wonder that people are turning off the news in record numbers. The images are often unwatchable, the descriptions beyond imagining, the scale incomprehensible. Everywhere you look the cruelty of the human spirit is on display. Newsreaders have adjusted their scripts. They used to say, “Some viewers might find the next… Read More The news has become intolerable and inhumane. Democracy’s vital feedback mechanism is broken

Across the globe, compassion for migrants has given way to cruel, performative politics

Kenan Malik On Wednesday, the UK supreme court will give its verdict on the Rwanda deportation scheme. The decision will clearly have a major impact on those who face deportation. It will have an impact, too, on the political debate about immigration, with government supporters either hailing a victory or bemoaning the treachery of the liberal elite.… Read More Across the globe, compassion for migrants has given way to cruel, performative politics

Dogs of war / New acronym in Gaza: WCNSF – Wounded Child No Surviving Family

The truth never dies but is made to live as a beggar: Yiddish proverb NB: For the terminally racist Western establishment, no amount of mass suffering of innocents is going to be enough. It is they, led by the USA who are enabling this enormity. Here’s an American expert in urban warfare, saying Israel is… Read More Dogs of war / New acronym in Gaza: WCNSF – Wounded Child No Surviving Family

A Conspiracy of Silence / The Killing Floor of Gaza

As Israel speaks openly about the ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s Palestinians, Western countries are nowhere to be seen or heard MICHAEL YOUNG Israel has made great efforts over the decades to redefine its ethnic cleansing of the Arab population of Palestine in 1948 as being a consequence of the Arabs’ voluntary departure from their homes, or a… Read More A Conspiracy of Silence / The Killing Floor of Gaza

Is the One-Sided US Response to the Gaza Crisis a Sign of Civilizational Decline?

American politicians, the mainstream media, a powerful segment of academia – all have marginalized the faculty of critical thinking. The paradox is that modern academic disciplines claim to follow Socratic Method of inquiry but in reality, they blatantly follow Sophistic relativistic philosophy and seem unable to confront the corrupting influence of money in American politics… Read More Is the One-Sided US Response to the Gaza Crisis a Sign of Civilizational Decline?