Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control

Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territory Seham Tantesh in Gaza and Julian Borger Israeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo… Read More Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control

Millions in India stripped of vote before critical state election, as government seeks to ‘purify’ electoral roll

Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan in Delhi Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities. In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names… Read More Millions in India stripped of vote before critical state election, as government seeks to ‘purify’ electoral roll

Capitalism’s endgame: private equity – it has captured our everyday lives

These companies now own everything from nurseries to care homes, squeezing vital services for profit while we foot the bill… As a style of ownership, private equity resembles the opposite of democracy. It concentrates power among a small group of exceptionally wealthy dealmakers who reap the benefits of society’s failure to hold them accountable. It’s no surprise… Read More Capitalism’s endgame: private equity – it has captured our everyday lives

Imperial Decline in the Straits of Hormuz

Alfred W. McCoy ( Tomdispatch.com ) – In the first chapter of his 1874 novel The Gilded Age, Mark Twain offered a telling observation about the connection between past and present: “History never repeats itself, but the… present often seems to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends.” Among the “antique legends” most helpful in… Read More Imperial Decline in the Straits of Hormuz

Keyboard warriors

Alex Karp, Palantirianism, and the tech industry’s embrace of total war. By Jacob Silverman Last July, four high-ranking tech executives — all of them involved with artificial intelligence — were sworn into the US Army Reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel. They were part of a new unit called Detachment 201, also known as the… Read More Keyboard warriors

The Iran war and international law: it’s worse than a mistake; it’s a crime

NB: Barring honourable exceptions, Western establishments are irredeemably racist. For them, it is a rule of thumb that some of don’t count as human beings. Their behaviour reminds us of the Nazi laws on ‘life unworthy of life‘ DS Double standards in Europe and elsewhere are laid bare by the muted response to US and… Read More The Iran war and international law: it’s worse than a mistake; it’s a crime

Children killed, a school turned into a graveyard: even in wartime, we can’t accept this

There are rules and world leaders must insist they be honoured in practice and in spirit. After this atrocity in Iran, a more effective tribunal for crimes against children is essential Gordon Brown The killing of a reported 168 people, primarily schoolgirls, in the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab in Iran has shaken to… Read More Children killed, a school turned into a graveyard: even in wartime, we can’t accept this