August 6, 2008

It is the 63rd anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The US Dept. of Energy estimates the 5 year death toll from the bomb at Hiroshima alone to be over 200,000, the vast majority of whom were civilians. In the piece below, John Pilger readily debunks the myth that the bombing of Hiroshima was either needed or intended to end the war in the Pacific.

This anniversary has a particular significance, coming as it does at a moment when Israel is intensifying its belligerent posturing towards Iran, culminating perhaps in Benny Morris’ recent threat / prediction in the New York Times of a nuclear attack.

Pilger reminds us that we have seen this all before: the intensive disinformation campaign (in this case, a positive will to forget the International Atomic Energy Agency and US intelligence agencies’ reports that Iran does not pose a nuclear threat), and the campaign of racist vilification.

Trita Parsi talks about the effect of threats on Iranian public opinion
   Trita Parsi was born in Iran and grew up in Sweden. He earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Uppsala University, a second Master’s Degree in Economics at Stockholm School of Economics and a PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. He has served as an adviser to Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH18) on Middle East issues and is a co-founder and current President of the National Iranian American Council (www.niacouncil.org).

Dr. Parsi is the author of Treacherous Alliance – The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States (Yale University Press, 2007).

Heating Up: The Battle for the Jewish Voice and the Jewish soul

Dear Mom, Dad, your Zionist friends, and Bob Dylan too,

I’ve got news for you all: The times they are a changin’! Remember last Passover ?  Remember when we sat around the Seder table and listened to you rant about Israel`s victimhood ?  About how ethnic cleansing really isn’t that bad ?  And about how if they try to kill the Jews this time, we will at least take them all with us ?  Remember the rolled eyes of my cousins and the looks we exchanged thinking you were all nuts ?

(Click title or picture to read the rest)

Pilger continues to be one of those rare journalists with words that resonate for international activists and humanists. In this article, he recalls the moral courage of Dennis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck, assistant secretary-generals of the UN, who actively denounced, loud and clear, the sanctions against Iraq as a crime against humanity.

On March 28, 2008, Naomi Klein gave the keynote address at the event at Canada’s first ever Independent Canadian Jewish Conference, attended by over 100 Jews against the occupation of Palestine from over a dozen organizations in over 20 cities across Canada.

The video of her talk is now online and covers the upcoming 60th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Israel, the boycott/divestment/sanctions movement, and the significance of the growing Jewish anti-occupation movement in Canada. »»»

This documentary draws from some of the best reports from five The Fifth Estate documentaries and was aired by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) on March 2007 and March 2008.

There is a link to view it on line on the The Fifth Estate CBC web site (click the picture above).

“The Lies That Led To War” provides context to the events of the previous six years, showing how political, diplomatic, media spin – which sometimes crossed the line into outright lies – have been used by the those in power to further their own agendas.

[ All Copyrights © CBC 2007. The Siriel-Media is a free on-volunteer-basis blog and has the democratic right to promote and share this link.]

March 3, 2008
by Malalai Joya, an Afghan MP currently appealing her suspension from the country’s parliament. She spoke to rabble.ca editor Derrick O’Keefe.

After 9/11, unfortunately the United States and its allies like Canada pushed us from the frying pan into the fire, by putting in power the Northern Alliance criminals and warlords. As long as they follow this wrong policy, the situation in Afghanistan will become more disastrous.

Eric Margolis: Manley report on Canada’s role in Afghanistan justifies failing mission
— The Real News network, Wed. Jan. 23rd, 2008.

Manley, a Canadian parliamentarian, had the task of leading a non partisan commission to study the Afghan situation and propose solutions or change. Eric Margolis gives his assessment of the report…

Eric Margolis is a contributing editor for The American Conservative and Sun Media.

:: Video interview >>

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Global Research November 28, 2007

Editors have a mantra, do not look back, move on, write what is current. But sometimes looking back is vital. Those who ignore even the recent past are doomed to understand nothing, sink deeper into quagmires – and bleat again : ‘Why do they hate us’ ?

Looking through material for the book that has been far too long in the making, I found a copy of a letter which I sent to a prominent (UK) Member of Parliament. It is dated November 1993 and clarifies for ever why the invaders were never going to be greeted with ‘sweets and flowers’.

Meridian Hotel, Baghdad, 4th November 1993.
As you know, when I was here in April/May 1992, I thought things could get no worse. Yet in July this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations note in a Report: ”...with deep regret”, all the: “pre-famine indicators being in place”. Further that an appreciable proportion of the population now had less calorific intake than the most famine stricken parts of Africa. That was July. This is apocalypse. This is an internationally sponsored genocide. :: read on >>

[also visit our section about Sanctions or blockades]

A REAL News interview >>

Are assumptions about Iran wrong ?
Monday November 19th, 2007