Kathleen and Bill Christison are strongly and eloquently endorsing the Nader candidacy, citing Barack Obama's indebtedness to the Israel lobby and ambiguousness on the role of the US Army in Iraq. Crucially, they implore pro-Obama democrats not to seek to limit voters' choices in the 2008 election.
Israel, meanwhile, has withdrawn troops from the Gaza Strip, threatening further operations at any time. Missing Links, a great blog that does a round-up of interesting items from the Arab press, features a long post on various reports on this most recent attack on Gaza--as well as connections that large numbers of people in the Arab world are making between Israel's assault and the arrival of the USS Cole in the waters off of Lebanon.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Well-Made World 33
Of note in Israel this week was a remark by Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai, in which he threatened a 'shoah' in Gaza if Qassam rocket attacks do not cease; the word is rarely used other than to refer, of course, to the Holocaust. The situation in Gaza worsens, with nearly 40 Palestinians--including civilians, and, of those, nine were children--dead in the past few days. The physical attenuation of Gaza's population continues. Electronic Intifada's Ali Abunimah with reaction.
An interesting article from former Israeli journalist Yonatan Mendel on the coextensiveness between the Israeli press and the Zionist project. Mendel looks in particular at the curiosities and double-standards of language that are scattered throughout Israeli journalism.
America's Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, noted Thursday that the security situation in Afghanistan is worsening, with President Karzai controlling not even a third of the country. Karzai, the Guardian notes, denies the American intelligence assessment (which itself echoes earlier, more critical reports by various think-tanks), claiming that his government in fact controls a vast majority of the country. Declan Walsh finds the explanations given by Nato commanders curious. Those commanders claim that the steady increase in suicide bombings is evidence that the Taliban is being "worn down." This claim--which hints at the fact that suicide bombing is an act marked significantly by desperation--is one never heard with regard to suicide bombings in Israel, which are discursively framed as proof of a larger looming (pan-) Arab threat. Walsh also credits the safe haven offered to Taliban fighters in Pakistan with playing a huge role in the Taliban's resurgence.
In his latest piece for Counterpunch, Patrick Cockburn discusses Turkey's bold-faced invasion of Northern Iraq (the only part of the country, he notes, that was at peace until last week), comparing Turkey in their hunt for PKK Turkish Kurd Gorillas to Israel in their repeated incursions into Gaza. He points out that this most recent development in Iraq weakens the state of the Kurdish Regional Government, which, according to Cockburn, was "one of the few concrete achievements of the US and British invasion of Iraq five years ago." Cockburn goes on to provide another useful counter-narrative to the relatively cheery reporting on the "surge" offered by the Times and its cohorts.
An interesting article from former Israeli journalist Yonatan Mendel on the coextensiveness between the Israeli press and the Zionist project. Mendel looks in particular at the curiosities and double-standards of language that are scattered throughout Israeli journalism.
America's Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, noted Thursday that the security situation in Afghanistan is worsening, with President Karzai controlling not even a third of the country. Karzai, the Guardian notes, denies the American intelligence assessment (which itself echoes earlier, more critical reports by various think-tanks), claiming that his government in fact controls a vast majority of the country. Declan Walsh finds the explanations given by Nato commanders curious. Those commanders claim that the steady increase in suicide bombings is evidence that the Taliban is being "worn down." This claim--which hints at the fact that suicide bombing is an act marked significantly by desperation--is one never heard with regard to suicide bombings in Israel, which are discursively framed as proof of a larger looming (pan-) Arab threat. Walsh also credits the safe haven offered to Taliban fighters in Pakistan with playing a huge role in the Taliban's resurgence.
In his latest piece for Counterpunch, Patrick Cockburn discusses Turkey's bold-faced invasion of Northern Iraq (the only part of the country, he notes, that was at peace until last week), comparing Turkey in their hunt for PKK Turkish Kurd Gorillas to Israel in their repeated incursions into Gaza. He points out that this most recent development in Iraq weakens the state of the Kurdish Regional Government, which, according to Cockburn, was "one of the few concrete achievements of the US and British invasion of Iraq five years ago." Cockburn goes on to provide another useful counter-narrative to the relatively cheery reporting on the "surge" offered by the Times and its cohorts.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Well-Made World 32
The improbable Ralph Nader comes into play yet again. We must give Nader credit for unflaggingly believing in the potential and importance of oppositional third-party (left) politics in America for damn near forty years. It's disheartening, though predictable enough, to see all debate around Nader's surprise entry into 2008 Presidential politics framed in the language of presumed deciding role in Al Gore's 2000 defeat. Talk about Nader the 'spoiler' end up harming and diminishing discourse around American third-party politics in general, an obvious collective loss. It can be argued that the Green Party leadership should start shifting downwards in terms of the age and dynamism of their figureheads--and, it should be said, Nader can be downright infuriating--but we like seeing at least some suggestion that mainstream electoral politics still reacts to a 'third way.' We'll let Nader speak for himself.
Fran Shor, however, can only shrug her shoulders.
In this vein, Frank Rich riffs on comparisons between the Bush Administration's pre-Iraq war planning and Hillary Clinton's spectacular misfortune on the campaign trail.
Columbia's Hamid Dabashi finds limits to Barack Obama's purportedly innovative political imagination, citing a picture which is (for us) one of the iconic, if well-hid, images of Barack Obama's political career: Obama and wife Michelle dining in Chicago with Edward and Mariam Said.
The Washington Post reports that many Israelis now support a widespread ground campaign in Gaza. So much for disengagement...
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Well-Made World 31
Dear February,
No more, thank you. Really. It's been quite enough.
Love,
NE
***
Again we go to the real news for a dialogue with Institute for Policy Studies' Phyllis Bennis. The Iraqi Parliament has recently passed three sweeping laws aimed at reconciliation between Shia and Sunni factions, including a potential amnesty deal for thousands of Iraqi prisoners. Bennis considers the extent to which the passing of these laws represents true compromise and a step forward--or whether they simply postpone more bitter wrangling in the months to come.
In a piece for Comment is Free, Haifa Zangana examines the gap between rhetoric and reality in the American government's frequent proclamations on Iraq.
From the West Bank, Khaled Amayreh reports that any hopes for peace in Israel/Palestine in 2008 ought to be scrapped; meanwhile, settlement-building in East Jerusalem has just been jumpstarted once again.
And finally, now that William Kristol has settled comfortably into his new perch at the New York Times, Znet has felt compelled to remind everyone of his, er, legacy.
No more, thank you. Really. It's been quite enough.
Love,
NE
***
Again we go to the real news for a dialogue with Institute for Policy Studies' Phyllis Bennis. The Iraqi Parliament has recently passed three sweeping laws aimed at reconciliation between Shia and Sunni factions, including a potential amnesty deal for thousands of Iraqi prisoners. Bennis considers the extent to which the passing of these laws represents true compromise and a step forward--or whether they simply postpone more bitter wrangling in the months to come.
In a piece for Comment is Free, Haifa Zangana examines the gap between rhetoric and reality in the American government's frequent proclamations on Iraq.
From the West Bank, Khaled Amayreh reports that any hopes for peace in Israel/Palestine in 2008 ought to be scrapped; meanwhile, settlement-building in East Jerusalem has just been jumpstarted once again.
And finally, now that William Kristol has settled comfortably into his new perch at the New York Times, Znet has felt compelled to remind everyone of his, er, legacy.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Un monde bien fait, numero trente
First to Ali Abunimah's recent piece for the Electronic Intifada, in which he examines what Israel considers the "next logical step" for the country's military in Palestine--assassinations of high-ranking members of the Hamas leadership in Gaza.
Next, check out the Realnews website for new interviews with Aijaz Ahmad--we'd particularly recommend this one, in which Ahmad discusses President Bush's State of the Union address.
that's all for now, stay tuned for another update tomorrow.
Next, check out the Realnews website for new interviews with Aijaz Ahmad--we'd particularly recommend this one, in which Ahmad discusses President Bush's State of the Union address.
that's all for now, stay tuned for another update tomorrow.
Works Consulted #9
Bishop, Elizabeth. Collected Poems, London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Coetzee, J.M. Elizabeth Costello, New York: Penguin: 2003.
--The Nobel Lecture in Literature, 2003, New York: Penguin, 2003.
Gaskell, Elizabeth. North and South (1855). New York: Penguin, 2003.
Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time (trans. Joan Stambaugh). New York: State University of NY Press, 1996.
Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time (1925). New York: Scribner, 2003.
Stora, Benjamin. Histoire de l'Algerie coloniale, 1830-1954, Paris: Editions le Decouverte, 1991.
Coetzee, J.M. Elizabeth Costello, New York: Penguin: 2003.
--The Nobel Lecture in Literature, 2003, New York: Penguin, 2003.
Gaskell, Elizabeth. North and South (1855). New York: Penguin, 2003.
Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time (trans. Joan Stambaugh). New York: State University of NY Press, 1996.
Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time (1925). New York: Scribner, 2003.
Stora, Benjamin. Histoire de l'Algerie coloniale, 1830-1954, Paris: Editions le Decouverte, 1991.
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