Focus on Gaza: Faction Fighting

Dandelion Salad

AlJazeeraEnglish

In this week’s Focus On Gaza we look at two blows suffered by the Israeli army. Firstly a UN report which brands the recent Israeli war on Gaza as illegal.

Secondly the chilling accounts of a disregard for civilian safety from its own soldiers involved in the operation, published this week in a leading Israeli newspaper.

We also look at internal discord among the Palestinian movement and the numerous factions involved.

In a special report our correspondent Hoda Abdel Hamid brings together two Gazan students one from each of the two opposing groups – living very different lives and separated by factional rivalry.

Our senior political analyst Marwan Bishara reveals the real chances of a unity government being negotiated by the leaders of these factions in talks in Cairo.

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Pt 2

War On Terror Within: The End of Jewish History by Gilad Atzmon

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By Gilad Atzmon
http://palestinethinktank.com
Mar 18th, 2009

The issue I am going to discuss today is probably the most important thing I’ve ever had to say about Israeli brutality and contemporary Jewish identity. I assume that I could have shaped my thought into a wide-ranging book or an analytical academic text but instead, I will do the very opposite, I will make it as short and as simple as possible.

In the weeks that have just passed we had been witness to an Israeli genocidal campaign against the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. We had been witnessing one of the strongest armies in the world squashing women, elderly people and children. We saw blizzards of unconventional weapons bursting over schools, hospitals and refugee camps. We had seen and heard about war crimes committed before, but this time, the Israeli transgression was categorically different. It was supported by the total absolute majority of the Israeli Jewish population. The IDF military campaign in Gaza enjoyed the support of 94% of the Israeli population. 94% of the Israelis apparently approved of the air raids against civilians. The Israeli people saw the carnage on their TV screens, they heard the voices, they saw hospitals and refugee camps in flames and yet, they weren’t really moved by it all. They didn’t do much to stop their “democratically elected” ruthless leaders. Instead, some of them grabbed a seat and settled on the hills overlooking the Gaza Strip to watch their army turning Gaza into modern Hebraic coliseum of blood. Even now when the campaign seems to be over and the scale of the carnage in Gaza has been revealed, the Israelis fail to show any signs of remorse. As if this is not enough, all throughout the war, Jews around the world rallied in support of their “Jews-only state”. Such a popular support of outright war crimes is unheard of. Terrorist states do kill, yet they are slightly shy about it all. Stalin’s USSR did it in some remote Gulags, Nazi Germany executed its victims in deep forests and behind barbed wire. In the Jewish state, the Israelis slaughter defenceless women, children and the old in broad daylight, using unconventional weapons targeting schools, hospitals and refugee camps.

What Can Bush Teach Us? by Ralph Nader

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by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
3.20.09

George W. Bush is hitting the lecture circuit. Represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau, Mr. Bush for a fee of at least $150,000 flew up to Calgary, Canada and spoke to a conservative business audience amidst street protests.

He also has signed a book contract with Crown Publishers tentatively titled “Decision Points” about a dozen personal and presidential decisions ranging from giving up booze to choosing Dick Cheney to invading Iraq.

Now that he is becoming a lecturer and an author, why not also be a teacher? The 43rd president has much to teach Americans about how weak their democracy is—rights, institutions, processes and the sovereignty of the people.

His first lecture to students could be how he and Cheney violated, circumvented and trampled our Constitution. It was as if they replaced the opening preamble of “we, the people” with “we, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.”

Early in his Administration, Mr. Bush showed a determination to pick up on King George III and root himself in something called “the inherent powers of the Presidency,” often called the “unitary Presidency.” With that, King George IV was establishing his unilateral kingdom, though instead of invoking his divine right, his mantra was the “war on Terror.”

Pakistan: “The Most Dangerous Country” (Full Video)

Dandelion Salad

bravenewfilms

3.19.09

http://rethinkafghanistan.com

The war in Afghanistan and its potentially catastrophic impact on Pakistan are complex and dangerous issues, which further make the case why our country needs a national debate on this now starting with congressional oversight hearings.

Sign the petition to help make hearings a critical first step and then send this video to all of your friends and family. Imagine someone like Andrew Bacevich having the ear of Congress as he explains the perils of war. Now imagine a national dialogue filled with rational, thoughtful discussions on the issues surrounding Afghanistan. That is our goal.

Sign the petition: http://rethinkafghanistan.com#petition

Robert Greenwald will soon travel to Afghanistan to interview some of the country’s elected leaders, experts, bloggers, people, and organizations who could help us provide a more complete Afghan perspective, and would love to have your thoughts and questions to take with him. Please submit them on the Rethink Afghanistan website, and then sign up to follow updates from this journey.

Submit your questions: http://rethinkafghanistan.com/blog/?p=68

Sign up for updates from Afghanistan: http://rethinkafghanistan.com#signup

US Federal Reserve announces massive increase in government debt + US prints more money

Dandelion Salad

By Barry Grey
http://www.wsws.org
20 March 2009

The US Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that it will massively expand its moves to pump liquidity into near-frozen credit markets, including a highly unusual plan to purchase up to $300 billion in longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months.

The plan also includes an additional $750 billion in Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the federally owned mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and an additional $100 billion in Fed purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt. These measures came as a surprise to global financial markets and triggered a simultaneous rush to buy Treasury bonds and a sharp sell-off of US dollars on world currency markets.

[…]

via US Federal Reserve announces massive increase in government debt

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US prints more money to fight recession – 20 Mar 09

AlJazeeraEnglish

The US central bank is resorting to a tool of last resort in its battle to fight the economic crisis: printing money more than $1 trillion.

Al Jazeera’s Nick Spicer explains how this move could affect the economy.

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see

As Economy Reels, Tariq Ali Calls for “Reimagining Socialism”

Was the Bailout Itself a Scam? By Paul Craig Roberts

Restoring our Financial Sovereignty: A New Monetary System by Nikki Alexander

The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2

Federal Reserve on Dandelion Salad

Barack Obama on Dandelion Salad

Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Enough!

Dandelion Salad

heathr456

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Olbermann: Time to get tough on bankers

SPECIAL COMMENT

By Keith Olbermann
msnbc.com
March. 19, 2009

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on the latest atrocity from the banks. The vast, engorged, gluttonous multi-national corporations. Whose sneezes can be fatal to our jobs. Whose mistakes can turn us into the homeless. Whose accounting errors can be so panoramic that they can make our economy tremble and force us to hand them billions after billions in a blackmail scheme that has come to be known as “bailout.”

[…]

via Olbermann: Time to get tough on bankers – Countdown with Keith Olbermann- msnbc.com.

see

As Economy Reels, Tariq Ali Calls for “Reimagining Socialism”

Was the Bailout Itself a Scam? By Paul Craig Roberts

Bernanke’s Hammer by Cameron Salisbury

The Real AIG Conspiracy by Prof. Michael Hudson

Preparing for Civil Unrest in America by Michel Chossudovsky + H.R. 645

Who is AIG? Part 2 of Investigative Series By Mike Ruppert (2001)

The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2

The “Card Check” Hullabaloo By Mike Whitney

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By Mike Whitney
March 19, 2009 “Information Clearing House”

Big business has launched a no-holds-barred propaganda blitz against the Employee Free Choice Act. Their goal is to scare people into believing that if the bill passes it will trigger higher unemployment and a deeper recession. According to opponents, there’s even the threat of creeping socialism. The truth, of course, is far less dramatic. The Employee Free Choice Act or so called “card check” simply makes it easier for unions to organize. Here’s a short summary of the bill posted on the Change To Win web site:

1–Majority Rules, Not the Boss:

Currently, a majority of workers can sign up for a union, but the company can veto that decision and demand an election. This allows the company to fire or harass workers, and threaten that it will close the workplace, in order to coerce workers into voting against a union. Under EFCA, if a majority of employees sign cards indicating they want a union, the company has to recognize the union, as long as it is certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). (Change To Win supports EFCA)