Israeli Butchery at Sea

by Gilad Atzmon / May 31st, 2010

As I write this piece the scale of the Israeli lethal slaughter at sea is yet to be clear. However we already know that at around 4am Gaza time, hundreds of IDF commandos stormed the Free Gaza international humanitarian fleet. We learn from the Arab press that at least 16 peace activists have been murdered and more than 50 were injured. Once again it is devastatingly obvious that Israel is not trying to hide its true nature: an inhuman murderous collective fuelled by a psychosis and driven by paranoia.

Watch live streaming video from insaniyardim at livestream.com

For days the Israeli government prepared the Israeli society for the massacre at sea. It said that the Flotilla carried weapons, it had ‘terrorists’ on board. Only yesterday evening it occurred to me that this Israeli malicious media spin was there to prepare the Israeli public for a full scale Israeli deadly military operation in international waters. Make no mistake. If I knew exactly where Israel was heading and the possible

consequences, the Israeli cabinet and military elite were fully aware of it all the way along. What happened yesterday wasn’t just a pirate terrorist attack. It was actually murder in broad day light even though it happened in the dark.

Yesterday at 10 pm I contacted Free Gaza and shared with them everything I knew. I obviously grasped that hundreds of peace activists most of them elders, had very little chance against the Israeli killing machine. I was praying all night for our brothers and sisters. At 5am GMT the news broke to the world. In international waters Israel raided an innocent international convoy of boats carrying cement, paper and medical aid to the besieged Gazans. The Israelis were using live ammunition murdering and injuring everything around them.

Today we will see demonstrations around the world, we will see many events mourning our dead. We may even see some of Israel’s friends ‘posturing’ against the slaughter. Clearly this is not enough.

The massacre that took place yesterday was a premeditated Israeli operation. Israel wanted blood because it believes that its ‘power of deterrence’ expands with the more dead it leaves behind. The Israeli decision to use hundreds of commando soldiers against civilians was taken by the Israeli cabinet together with the Israeli top military commanders. What we saw yesterday wasn’t just a failure on the ground. It was actually an institutional failure of a morbid society that a long time ago lost touch with humanity.

It is no secret that Palestinians are living in a siege for years. But it is now down to the nations to move on and mount the ultimate pressure on Israel and its citizens. Since the massacre yesterday was committed by a popular army that followed instructions given by a ‘democratically elected’ government, from now on, every Israeli should be considered as a suspicious war criminal unless proved different.

Considering the fact that Israel stormed naval vessels sailing under Irish, Turkish and Greek flags. Both NATO members and EU countries must immediately cease their relationships with Israel and close their airspace to Israeli airplanes.

Considering yesterday’s news about Israeli nuclear submarines being stationed in the Gulf, the world must react quickly and severely. Israel is now officially mad and deadly. The Jewish State is not just careless about human life, as we have been following the Israeli press campaign leading to the slaughter, Israel actually seeks pleasure in inflicting pain and devastation on others.

Gilad Atzmon, now living in London, was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He is the author of The Wandering Who and Being in Time and is one of the most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. He can be reached via his website. Read other articles by Gilad, or visit Gilad's website.

This article was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 7:32am and is filed under Israel, Video, Zionism.

72 comments on this article so far ...

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bozh said on May 31st, 2010 at 9:09am #

I wld not be surprised if ?all or most ‘jewish peace’ {means: socalled} activists give us a different story ab the latest israeli atrocity!

I do not think that our brethren [nasha bracha, in slav] have died in vain. SLAVA IM= glory to them! tnx
Tom Burghardt said on May 31st, 2010 at 10:55am #

Lest we forget, the latest IDF atrocity was bought and paid for by U.S. taxpayers and is the deranged product of a murderous system that views human beings as little more than disposable pawns to be snuffed-out. Little wonder then, that America and its stationary aircraft carrier in the Middle East, Israel, are objects of ridicule and contempt as they hold forth about “freedom” and “democracy.”

The sooner this Empire collapses, the better!
Mulga Mumblebrain said on May 31st, 2010 at 11:59am #

As ever the blogs are infested with hasbara liars spreading insane untruths, and scarcely bothering to hide their utter contempt for non-Jewish life. There lies the essence of the mentality that excuses each atrocity and makes more and more, worse and yet worse horrors absolutely inevitable. These creatures regard killing non-Jews who resist Jewish oppression as, not just a matter of no moral concern, but a religious obligation, a ‘mitzvah’ or good deed. Based on Torah injunctions to exterminate ‘God’s enemies’ down to the last suckling babe, and the religiously sanctified genocides inflicted by the Jews on the inhabitants of Canaan, the religious fascists who run Israel see mass murder and genocide, not as crimes, but acts of religious devotion.
Don Hawkins said on May 31st, 2010 at 12:36pm #

Mulga a question now hearing an international crisis on CNN because of the Israel raid. Would they have known this was going to happen Israel?
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 2:29pm #

Activists from Israel Denied Right to Enter Ashdod Port, Demonstrate Nearby

More than 60 activists from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were denied entry into the port of Ashdod, to where the Israeli army announced it was bringing the ships and the hundreds of international activists from the Freedom Flotilla, brutally attacked by the Israeli navy earlier this morning (31 May). In the attack at least 16 activists were murdered and dozens injured.

The Israeli activists were denied entry into the normally open Ashdod port, the largest in Israel. Port entrances were blockaded and demonstrators were forced to attempt and demonstrate nearby, on a hill overlooking the port. Right-wing thugs arrived, however, and pushed the demonstrators out of the area while the Israeli police looked on and did nothing.

Soldiers from the Israeli Military Spokesperson Department were on site near the Ashdod Port, responding to questions of the numerous Israeli and international journalists in the area searching for information.

The Israeli authorities had prepared the Ashdod Port ahead of time for their violent attack on the Freedom Flotilla, setting up a temporary detention facility for the hundreds of activists they intended to deport and reserving space for the Freedom Flotilla ships they eventually captured in international waters.

http://www.alternativenews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2629:activists-from-israel-denied-right-to-enter-ashdod-port-demonstrate-nearby-&catid=119:english&Itemid=878
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 2:29pm #

Communist Party of Israel leading member congratulates pirate army’s victory

Demos in Israel – today and in the next weekend

A Communist Party of Israel leading member, MK Mohammad Barakeh, chairman of Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) “congratulated” the Israeli prime minister and defense minister for “the shining victory of their pirate army on the freedom civilian sail”. “The crimes of the pirate government in killing some of the sail’s participants put the government beyond international and human law. Tyrants like Bibi and Barak will find themselves in the suitable place in the garbage can of history”, said MK Barake.

A demonstration by the Israeli Coalition against the siege in Gaza supporting the break the siege flotilla will be held today afternoon, (Monday, May 31) at 4:00 p.m., in front of the Ashdod port, Gate No. “We will be there to express our solidarity with the flotilla. And will call to break the siege and open the gates of Gaza”, said an activist of the coalition.

New Saturday (June 5) will be another demonstration in the Center of Tel-Aviv held by the C.P. of Israel, Hadash, Peace Now, Yesh Gvul, Meretz, Gush Shalom, Fighters for Peace, Physicians for Human Rights and others, at the eve of the 43 anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Another two demonstrations will be held next Friday (June 4) in west Jerusalem by Women in Black and in east Jerusalem by peace and communists activists against the settlers in Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah. On Saturday lawyers served new eviction notices to two Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, a permanent focus of struggle for the Arab residents and Israeli peace activists against settlers.

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/images/cpi_flotilla.doc
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 2:30pm #

Israel: Protest in Arab Town of Um el-Fahem against Israeli Attack on Freedom Flotilla

A mass rally has been held in Um el-Fahem today in condemnation of the Israeli pirate attack on the freedom flotilla. Former Mayor of Um el-Fahem Raed Salah was on board the Mavi Marmara during the attack, in which nearly 20 activists are said to have been killed by the IDF.

http://www.um-elfahem.net/content/2010/05/31/1667

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/israel310510.html
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 4:11pm #

What Atzmon had to say the day before the attack:

Hebrew Culture for Dummies by Gilad Atzmon

May 30, 2010 at 3:02PM

In the last few days Israel was singled out by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation conference’s decision to note Israel as a country’s whose facilities must be regulated as “fundamentally wrong and duplicitous.” This happens for a reason. As much as Israel insists to operate as a modernised high-tech Jewish Ghetto, it also persists in being the biggest threat to world peace. Seemingly, nations are starting to show some real signs of fatigue of the Jewish state and its collective lunacy. But the bad news from Israel doesn’t stop just there. The Sunday Times reports today that Israel stations nuclear missile in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline. This doesn’t leave much room for doubt. Following the suicidal Massada narrative, the Jewish state is now doing everything it can to escalate the situation in the Middle East into a nuclear world war.

This brings us back to the Free Gaza Flotilla that aims to deliver necessary aid to the besieged Gazans. It doesn’t take a genius to gather that in addition to its humanitarian mission, the Free Gaza Flotilla has a simple symbolic role. It is there to direct world attention to the unbearably grim situation in Gaza. Gaza is the biggest jail in the history of humanity. It is a concentration camp for 1.5 million Palestinians, many of them 1948 refugees. The Gazans have been living in a blockade for four years. They are subject to air raids, warfare with WMDs, they are starved and face severe shortages of water, petrol, electricity and medical supplies.
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 4:12pm #

Cont.

The Flotilla should also be realised as a symbol of world fatigue of Israeli barbarism. As such, the Flotilla can only win. It will win if Israel let it through to accomplish its crucial humanitarian mission but it will also win if Israel stops it off shore, detains its participants and sends some of them to jail as Israel has vowed to do. Israel can only lose here and its leadership may want to think twice on how to minimise the damage they are about to inflict upon themselves.

The Jewish state is very engaged with Jewish history. Yet, Israelis have managed to draw the very wrong historic lesson. Rather than becoming a compassionate and merciful nation, Israel has become an ultimate merciless evil. It locks the indigenous population of the land in concentration camps. It existentially threatens the entire region with its nuclear arsenal. It indeed looks as if the Jewish state gave up on the possibility to become a nation amongst nations. It gave up on humanism.

Following the astonishing statistical figure of 94% of Israelis supporting the 2009 genocidal assault on Gaza, the Israeli leadership gathers that inflicting pain on others translates into political popularity in the Jewish State’s street. Currently, the Israelis seem to gain a lot of pleasure from watching their kosher Navy chasing cement and paper on its way to Gaza. As I write these words, 6 boats are making their way to Gaza. Their humanitarian mission is sacred. This Flotilla is also a symbol of our resentment towards Israeli barbarism. Israel better listen to the nations now because the world’s ability to endure tolerance to Zionist brutality is running out fast.

http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/hebrew-culture-for-dummies-by-gilad-atzmon.html
Mulga Mumblebrain said on May 31st, 2010 at 7:29pm #

Rupert Moloch’s evil flag-ship,’The Australian’,is running only pro-Israel comments on its blog. Bias so plain, so wicked, so vicious, but totally expected as the opinions section is run by Jewish Zionists,and has been, by others such,for years.
hayate said on May 31st, 2010 at 8:43pm #

It’s not just the slimeballs in the mainstrean, corporate media working to limit damage to israel, some of the alternatives have also been limiting the flow of info, through the articles they’ve posted and/or through what info they’ve allowed to be posted on their sites as comments by the readers.

Take for example z-net. They’re coverage is an article by the zionist stealth hasbarat, paul jay, infamous ceo of the real news network. The article mentions the attack in the first few paragraphs in neutral terms, then goes into jay’s recent trip to israel and a rehash of the recent history of the Gaza blockade. There is nothing inherently wrong with what this article says, it’s the context. But the info is sparse when there were any number of better articles z-net could have gone with or supplemented this one with. It’s quite obvious z-net went with sayanim jay’s piece because it limits immediate damage to israel, while appearing to be from the “right” progressive perspective. From past observations of z-net info manipulations, I fully expect this set the pace of their future coverage and they will be covering this attack very shallowly from here on in. IE: doing zionist damage control on the sly.

Another site called monthly revue is limiting info flow in another sly manner. They are covering the event well with several articles, but being extremely limiting as to what can be posted there in comments. I’ve posted the same articles and other info there that I’ve posted here, but less than a third made it past the censor there. Mostly, they censored posts that linked other articles. Examples excluded include the Cynthia McKinney commentary, both Atzmon commentaries, a news item that said the Turkish guv may provide naval escort to future Gaza convoys (this after a piece about the Turkish guv official response and in response to some hasbarat that posted a comment attacking the Turks), the commentary from George Galloway was another casualty to the censor’s whims. This censorship is rather surprising at monthly revue since they’ve been good with article selection and not shown zionist bias before as far as I’m aware of. This heavy handed censorship of info flow in their comments section is a very recent phenomenon.

I expect to see more of this sort of sly form of censorship and damage control favouring israel in the progressive media since the potential here for severe permanent damage to israel is quite great.
Don Hawkins said on June 1st, 2010 at 1:54am #

Well here in the States yesterday Fox New’s let’s see how do I put this were calm each word carefully chosen. Thoughtful smiles and great knowledge and wisdom. Yes the darkside still using tried and true methods oh and the President of the United States the oil spill was his fault. Can hardly wait to see some more of those tried and true methods today.
Rehmat said on June 1st, 2010 at 3:54am #

The Floatilla included three vessels from Turkey, flying Turkish flag. As a member of NATO, Turkey has the right under NATO Charter to attack Israeli Navy and demand other NATO members to join the attack. But we all know it will never happen because the western members of NATO are all Israeli poodles.

Just imagine if the attackers had been Iranians instead of Israelis – Washington would have been the first to nuke Iran to 10th century.

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/freedom-flotilla-under-israeli-threats/
bozh said on June 1st, 2010 at 6:05am #

Bears repeating: Greatest criminal minds at work once again. Expect more and more severe crimes from them. tnx
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 12:44pm #

I checked z-net today and their coverage of this israeli terrorist piracy act is much better today, with several first rate articles about it. That’s a relief, as z-net has a large progressive following and since the american Jewish run corporate media is following the israeli propaganda line, every alternative site is needed to counter these goebbelsian lies. It was a hugely destructive to the anti-war movement when z-net and many other alternative sites went with the ziofascist propaganda line about the israeloamerican “color revolution” attack on Iran.
dan e said on June 1st, 2010 at 1:48pm #

hayate, do you have a link or the URL for “monthly revue”? this is different from “Monthly Review”, right?

BTW thanks for all the gd work you’re doing!
Deadbeat said on June 1st, 2010 at 2:24pm #

hayate writes …

I checked z-net today and their coverage of this israeli terrorist piracy … is … better today, … That’s a relief, as z-net … was a hugely destructive to the anti-war movement when [it] and many other alternative sites went with the ziofascist propaganda line about the israeloamerican “color revolution” attack on Iran.

I was an avid reader of Z-Magazine during the 1990’s. However I stopped reading the publication after their positions during the War on Iraq and protests in 2003. Michael Albert wrote an article “in support” of the Troop, promoted the “War for Oil” mantra, supported the anti-antiwar pro-Kerry tactic of “Anybody But Bush” and has been a long time booster of the Chomskyism.

Their promotion of a cypto-racist as their intellectual leader helped to retarded the Left by moving the Left from a real principled anti-racist (and subsequently an anti-Capitalist) stance. The consequence of Chomskyism killed any real confrontation of the raising influence of Zionism not just the extremist in Israel but Zionism gaining access to and influence in the halls of power in the United States.

Perhaps this incident will wake up the Left and force it to regain adherence to the principles of justice and equality and being to fully support the BDS campaign and to stop equivocating on the matters of racism, capitalism, and injustice.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:32pm #

dan e

I messed up on the spelling, it is Monthly Review 😀 Here’s a link:

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/

Thanks, BTW.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:33pm #

dan e

I messed up on the spelling, it is Monthly Review 😀 Here’s a link:

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/

Thanks, BTW.

Deadbeat

I signed on with z mag from their very first issue and I still have all their issues from then up to around 1995, when I canceled the subscription. I was huge fan of the periodical at first, but was growing disenchanted by the mid 90’s. It was their pathetic coverage of the Yugoslavia break-up that was the final catalyst. They basically took the attitude that all the sides were nasty capitalist fascists and it behooved the left to simply ignore what was happening there. I found that condescending, anti-knowledge attitude offensive, insulting and extremely harmful. With that sort of attitude, no one needed to have bothered about hitler invading Poland, since, in 1939, both countries were right-wing fascist and who cares, eh? I wrote them a nasty letter when I canceled their subscription. 😀 I’m not knocking the majority of the writers who publish in z mag, whom I think are an extraordinary group of insightful people. I always considered the problem to be mostly one of “management”.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:37pm #

Cont.

Back in the 80’s I was a huge fan of chomsky, but during the 90’s it seemed he was losing touch. During the Yugoslav break-up, his major contribution to the dialog at one point was why not arm the Serb’s opposition since the Russians were arming the Serbs. It’s only fair, right? I’ve forgotten whether he was talking about Bosnians or Kosovars. This from a avowed pacifist! His hostility to investigating the jfk murder seemed odd, as well. At the time I figured he was going senile or something, but I didn’t think there was anything duplicitous about it at that time. Eventually, though, the rose coloured glasses came off as I gradually came to look at his work with a critical eye more and more. It was this interview with Jeffrey Blankfort I read several years ago:
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:43pm #

Cont.

That finally convinced me that chomsky wasn’t just a stubborn old man who was refusing to look at things from other people’s pov, but that there actually was some serious things wrong with both his views and his work. Especially with his views on zionism and zionist influence.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:45pm #

Very strange. For some reason the site wont accept the link to the interview.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:47pm #

Google Jeffrey Blankfort Jewish-American anti-Zionist.
hayate said on June 1st, 2010 at 10:48pm #

It’s on the Portland Indymedia site.
Deadbeat said on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:27pm #

hayate,

Thanks for the info. I just found out that Amy Goodman of DN! makes $5,000,000.00/year. If this is accurate it would clearly show hypocrisy from these so-called “progressive” personalities when Goodman and company constantly rails against corporations and politicians.
Hue Longer said on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:52pm #

DB,

Concerning Goodman, I didn’t hear her coverage today but yesterday’s was very good concerning the attack on the flotilla…did you hear or read the transcript?

An easy lesson in recognizing one’s own ad hominem is to look where you use or wish to use “hypocrisy” and ask what that means to your point. Just because someone may be or is a hypocrite, doesn’t mean that what they say is irrelevant.

Of course my apologies if your issue is the man and not the issues,,,after all, you brought this up concerning someone’s similar (issue?) with Chomsky.
hayate said on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:58pm #

Strange, I just tried posting the Indymedia Portland Blankfort interview link again and the site blocked it again. I’m curious what it is about Portland Indymedia that dissident voice finds so threatening they block links to their site.
Deadbeat said on June 2nd, 2010 at 3:16pm #

Look Hue, did you see Democracy Now on the DAY the flotilla was being attacked? Do you know what was on DN! that day…

How IRONIC Hue that you don’t.

DN! dedicated their ENTIRE SHOW on that day the flotilla was being attacked to ….

NOAM CHOMSKY

!!!HOW THAT FOR IRONY!!!!!

Goodman would air the one person who has done the most damage to the Left and who enables both Israel and Zionism.
Hue Longer said on June 2nd, 2010 at 4:49pm #

DB,
Calm down with the caps, it makes you look raving mad (not that you’re not).

I don’t listen to the show live and after finding out about the killings went there to listen but didn’t because they had no coverage of it….so yes, I do know that they aired Chomsky for an hour (i’ll have to listen to the good professor later).
Democracy Now airs at what? 6am EST? The killings occurred between 9pm-12am EST the previous night?

If that doesn’t get you to change your position and reconsider listening to the show I suggested, maybe knowing that they were in New Orleans the next day prepared to do the whole show on the spill but managed to put together great coverage on the killings. Check it out….it was very good

unless of course you’re not interested in what’s being said more so that who is saying it

Cheers
lichen said on June 2nd, 2010 at 5:22pm #

Monday was a holiday, and Democracy Now! always airs some pre-taped programming on holidays, because they are not there in the studio broadcasting anything, hence why there were no headlines either. But I guess they should also stay locked in the studio on thanksgiving and christmas, so they don’t miss a news story? Too bad the issue for some people isn’t the latest israel massacre, but what a hypocrite chomsky supposedly is.
Hue Longer said on June 2nd, 2010 at 5:30pm #

lichen,

lol…there’s that too, eh?
Deadbeat said on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:03pm #

Hue Longer writes …

DB, Calm down with the caps, it makes you look raving mad (not that you’re not).

And your personal attacks makes you look like you have a vendetta. DN! show is also streamed on the Internet so you have no excuses Hue other than to look foolish.

Obviously you like READING what I WRITE. Otherwise you would just ignore it.
Deadbeat said on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:05pm #

lichen writes …

Monday was a holiday, and Democracy Now! always airs some pre-taped programming on holidays … isn’t the latest israel massacre, but what a hypocrite chomsky supposedly is.

There would be NO massacre at all had Israel been BOYCOTTED at the same time there was a boycott of South Africa. So you can make all the excuses you want to. The massacre is directly related to the RETARDATION of the Left and its failure to stand up to racist.
Deadbeat said on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:07pm #

The point lichen which seem to go over your head is that you MISSED THE IRONY.
lichen said on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:35pm #

There was no irony; it was a scheduling decision made likely weeks before, highlighting someone who is a dissident against israeli policy, whether you feel he 100% agrees with you on smaller matters, or not. The left were the ones sailing to Gaza with hundreds of thousands of tons of aid for Gazan’s. And funny that you now claim there should have been a boycott of israel back in the 80’s/90’s, since you’ve made comments here strongly against the current BDS movement, and criticizing people involved in it. You just can’t send your anger in the right direction, can you?
hayate said on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:39pm #

I much prefer an angry anti-zionist to a stealth zionist.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 1:31am #

lichen writes …

you’ve made comments here strongly against the current BDS movement, and criticizing people involved in it.

That a boldfaced LIE lichen. hayate has you PEGGED. You are a racist Zionist and karma is a bitch.
mary said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:33am #

Hayate – was it an interview between Blankfort and Chomsky in 2006 on Portland Indymedia?

I can’t even get the link up.I get this. Our friends linked to Tel Aviv have been busy with their poisonous viruses I guess.

I use Windows IE8. Perhaps Linux/Firefox would get it.

________________________________________________________
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The security certificate presented by this website was not issued by a trusted certificate authority.

Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server.

We recommend that you close this webpage and do not continue to this website.
Click here to close this webpage.
Continue to this website (not recommended).
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Any techies around who know how to bypass?

If you arrived at this page by clicking a link, check the website address in the address bar to be sure that it is the address you were expecting.
When going to a website with an address such as https://example.com, try adding the ‘www’ to the address, https://www.example.com.
If you choose to ignore this error and continue, do not enter private information into the website.

For more information, see “Certificate Errors” in Internet Explorer Help.
dan e said on June 3rd, 2010 at 11:51am #

Newcomers to DV: watch out for this “lichen”, he’s very sneaky. Uses gambits, poses as “progressive” but is mainly concerned to defend Zionism’s last line of defense, i.e. those who pose as “critics of Israeli policies” but defend its “right to exist” as a state founded on racism & conquest, just like the Confederate States of American & the Dritte Reich.
dan e said on June 3rd, 2010 at 11:54am #

BTW I tried to post the google search page for “Jeff Blankfort Chomsky”, that is the first page of it plaintexted, but I got the “your post awaits moderation” & then it disappeared. Would be nice to be told what the reason was?
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:04pm #

Jeffrey Blankfort: Jewish-American anti-Zionist journalist http://www.rebelnews.org/opinion/middle-east/2380
Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:13pm #

dan e,

You are coming to the defense of DB making a fool of himself by changing the subject to someone who pointed it out? Maybe lichen is these things but I think I could make the same argument against you; this is juvenile sophistry.

I’m defending logic and not lichen-whom I disagree with concerning some issues (not every issue is Zionism either)

New readers would do much better to entirely ignore the comments sections of DV…I don’t forward the articles much anymore due to the embarrassments to be found down here (and you call other people sneaky zionists?)
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:19pm #

Finally! I should have searched for alternate sources with the interview.

Mary

From 2006. The interview was not between chomsky and Blankfort, chomsky wasn’t there and has refused to debate with Blankfort for many years. It was an interview done by the San Francisco Indymedia org, though their site no longer has the interview archived as far as I could tell. Part of the interview was about chomsky, but it’s also about Blankfort’s life, his activism, politics – national and local, the influence of zionism, it’s a very informative interview. Like I said, it was this interview with Blankfort that was the catalyst of changing my mind about chomsky. Before I read, I was not familiar with Blankfort – and somewhat suspicious of huim, as well, because of his criticism of chomsky. Blankfort’s description of local bay area politics, though, convinced me he was genuine, as they matched what I had observed. So I followed up by checking out more of his work.

BTW, I wouldn’t use internet explorer. When I used to use it, I had all kinds of trouble. The israelis are seriously attacking websites. They are the main source of internet hacking attacks.
dan e said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:21pm #

and so we a reduced to dependence on Australian Andrew Winkler and his Ziopedia operation. Winkler sees nothing wrong with publishing writing by professional white supremacist David Duke. Apparently, from reading their “comments”, most of his readers are Australian-style racists concerned to defend European Civilization from those who don’t properly appreciate what Colonization has done for the “lesser breeds” as Kipling described victims of European conquest.

Yes, Winkler does publish a lot of anti-Zionist material, much of which is probably of value. But my take is that by associating genuine anti-Zionism with such as Duke and his own white supremacist readership, Winkler sets us up to be tarred by the Zionist brush that wants to paint anyone who tries to expose the true nature & history of Zionism & the ZPC as “anti-Semitic”.
So I block him from sending me stuff.

However, if other ways to get the article are blocked, what can you do? “any port in a storm”, I guess. It still bothers me…?
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:43pm #

Hue Longer adds NOTHING to the conversation and clearly has a vendetta. Rather than focus on the topic his role here is to use AD HOMINEM attacks on my stance against CHOMSKYISM. The critiques on Noam Chomsky is NOT a personal attack upon Chomsky they are an analysis and critique of his POSITIONS that Chomsky having a HUGE megaphone for nearly 50 years has influenced GENERATIONS of activists.

Hue’s attacks is exemplary of Chomskyism that clearly illustrates the retarding effect that it has the Left. Noam Chomsky is a PROFESSED Zionist which leads one to question his level of commitment to anti-racism especially since he has argued against identifying Israel as an “apartheid” entity. In addition Chomsky has come out AGAINST the BDS campaign as well as his dismissal of the power and influence of Israel Lobby.

However the real damage caused by Noam Chomsky is his construction of AXIOMS — his trademarked “U.S. Imperialism”. And who can argue against “U.S. Imperialism”. But Chomsky as well as Chomskyites like William Blum and the late Howard Zinn has manipulated the awfulness of “U.S. Imperialism” as a diversion from the change in the INFLUENTIAL FORCES BEHIND U.S. POWER during the past 30 to 40 years. The rise of Zionism into the seats and halls of the U.S. political economy has totally been ignored by this most famous “intellectual” and “prolific” researcher.

Hue Longer rather than examine such a important contradiction is REDUCED to ad hominems attacks.

But because mainstream politics in the U.S. is so far to the Right, Chomsky APPEARS radical when in fact he is not. The nifty aspect of his “U.S. Imperialism” axioms is that it gets people to think in terms of materialism rather than racism. When most people hear “imperialism” they naturally think that the motivations are Capitalistic. However Capitalism is NOT the driving force for Zionists. SUPREMACY is the driving force. Zionists USE Capitalism to acquire their power and they use that power to achieve DOMINANCE ABOVE all other groups. That is the goal of Zionism.

Capitalists use RACISM to keep the working class weak and divided as their primary goal is capital accumulation. While the three pillars of injustice (identified by MLK as racism, materialism, and materialism(capitalism) ) are constant their use are inverted by the Zionists because they have a different goals from Capitalists. This is why a radical analysis is needed to CONFRONT Zionism. An analysis that will not and never come Noam Chomsky since he has an affinity to a racist ideology and places his ETHNIC LOYALTY well above anti-racists principles.

The fact that the Left has anointed anyone as its intellectual leader having an affinity to a RACIST ideology is BULLSHIT and if the Left is going to have any credibility it must purge itself of its equivocation to RACISM. This is why there is an ISRAEL and why U.S. citizens are now STUCK with a heavily Zionist-influenced political economy.

I await your rebuttals Hue.
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:44pm #

Strange that DV blocks Portland Indymedia, but not rebelnews – who appear to be somewhat less than savoury, now that I had a look around their site.

Here is another source of the Blankfort interview that is much better (hopefully, it wont be blocked ;D ):

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/125012-Jeffrey-Blankfort-Jewish-American-anti-Zionist-journalist
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:48pm #

Correction: that should read…

(identified by MLK as racism, militarism, and materialism(capitalism) )
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 12:51pm #

From the interview …

SF-IMC: So let’s talk about Zionists in the progressive left . . .
Jeffrey Blankfort: They’re almost synonymous.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 1:05pm #

Ok Hue and all you liberal-Zionists of the “U.S. Imperialism variety” that has RETARDED the left have you any comments …

(note — emphasis are mine).

# Jeff Blankfort on June 3rd, 2010 at 18:00:

In writing my critique of Chomsky which has had the positive effect of opening the eyes of many former Chomskyites, I went through every book that NC has written on the I-P subject and what I found was unsubstantiated, that is non or poorly sourced, statements about US-Israel relations that were easy to contradict by available and accessible sources that were and remain available to Chomsky as they were to me. I quote some but, for reasons of space, not all of them, in my article on him. Neither Chomsky or any of his acolytes has endeavored to refute any of my evidence proving the degree to which Chomsky has distorted US-Israel relations in order to prove that it is the US and not Israel who is the main culprit while ignoring or dismissing Israel’s control over Congress, as Israel Shahak pointed out in a letter to me which I cite in my article. He has, as well, ignored not only the fact but the importance of Jewish funding for both parties. Whether he is simply being intellectually dishonest or worse, I can only say that he has done a marvelous job for Israel in shielding the Israel Lobby and the Jewish institutions that make it up from attack by the Palestinian solidarity movement in the US which to this point in time has been an utter failure.

As for his being blocked from entering Israel, nothing could have been better for reestablishing his credentials on the left. That Barghouti, knowing Chomsky’s positions on BDS, right of return, etc., invited him was inexcusable. And if Barghouti wasn’t aware of Chomsky’s positions, he should get out of politics.

But then again, he has accepted Abbas’s “leadership” of the PA after Abbas tried to suppress the Goldstone Rept so I don’t expect much better from him or any of the current Palestinian leadership which has been on a steady decline since the 70s, due on one hand to Israeli assassinations of the best and the brightest and collaboration by the ambitious and corrupt with Yasser Arafat having set the standard for the latter.
Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 1:33pm #

Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 1:05pm #

“Ok Hue and all you liberal-Zionists of the “U.S. Imperialism variety” that has RETARDED the left have you any comments …”

You are a Zionist posing as an angry, functionally illiterate anti-Zionist Zealot? Whose dual job it is to distract discussion away from every topic posted at DV-ironically abusing and misusing words like irony and ad hominem while making any new person wandering by feel like remaining lonely in their opposition to Zionism?

I’d love for the discussion to be about the topic. Maybe the editors can post one of your CAPS laden rants as it’s own piece so we’ll know where to get your take on everything else that is submitted—it’ll also save you from lashing out every time you get corrected.
dan e said on June 3rd, 2010 at 2:44pm #

hue longer: I don’t see where you’ve corrected anything. All I see in your last comment is a lot of name calling.

I see that you call my warning to newbies about Lichen and his tactics “juvenile sophistry”, but what do you call Lichen’s blatant lies when he claims DB said things DB never said?

You claim you could characterize me the same way as I described Lichen? So go ahead, do it. I was able to support my claim by pointing to an outright lie Lichen just posted; what support can you come up with?

Let me draw reader’s attention to this para of your post:
“New readers would do much better to entirely ignore the comments sections of DV…I don’t forward the articles much anymore due to the embarrassments to be found down here (and you call other people sneaky zionists?)”

So you believe new readers would be better off not to be exposed to the Jeff Blankfort interview Hayate just went to such effort to post a link to? Or to mention of any of the authors whose names & work I or others have posted links to?

For the record, I did not call Lichen a “sneaky Zionist”. I know he uses deceptive tactics in argument, of which his attempt to create a strawman by lying about what DB said is one example. More can be found by reviewing Lichen’s previous post. I am not a mindreader, so I don’t know what Lichen’s ideological or psychological motives are, in the absence of any clear statement by him. But it is clear that his intent is to deflect criticism away from Chomsky’s intentional or unintentional sabotage of the anti-Iraqwar and the anti-Zionism struggles.

If we want to prevent more Isreali crimes like the attack on the flotilla and the ongoing atrocity that is Gaza, eventually we have to look past today’s sensational news and try to understand why it is that this stuff keeps happening but the US “left” is totally ineffective.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 2:46pm #

Hue Longer spews …

You are a Zionist posing as an angry, functionally illiterate anti-Zionist Zealot? …

ROTFLMAO. And that’s your rebuttal to a serious topic. Like I said Hue you provide no value whatsoever. All you do is throw out ad hominems and then hide behind it.

I’d love for the discussion to be about the topic.

I posed a topic and your “rebuttal” only rebuttal is to accuse me of being a Zionist.

You’re a JOKE Hue.
Max Shields said on June 3rd, 2010 at 2:56pm #

The DN show that featured Chomsky was on Memorial Day and it was pre-recorded. the very next day at 8 am EST DN covered the flotilla.

But here’s what you’ll never get out of Deadbeat, Hue, he’ll not admit that DN’s coverage, given their reach on the Memorial Day massacre was some of the best coverage. Listening to Ali Abunimah is worthy some of the best interviewing.

DN shouldn’t be taken at face value, but much of what is on is definitely some of the best journalism in the States.

For Deadbeat it all black and white. He can’t tolerate nuance even when it’s barely evident. Goodman’s a Jew, Chomsky is a Jew, Zinn is a Jew. All Jews all suspect and all gatekeepers for Zionism according to Deadbeat regardless of what they say. I’m not all that impressed with Chomsky (aside from his linguistic research which I found very profound). I don’t think Zinn is a powerful thinker. But each has spoken when others, like many of the posters here, have been silent. There is a courage that shouldn’t be denied, even if one suspects that there is a bit too much leaning toward a particular culture or ethnicity.

Ali Abunimah speaks of one democratically run region. I find that appealing because in the end it is the only feasible approach to the region.

And what does Deadbeat want to see? So far he has remained silent on solutions (oh yeah Marxism will resolve it all; another worshipper of the old codger Marx).
lichen said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:00pm #

Hue is right; all I see here is pathetic dogma, lies, evasions, and ridiculous obsessions. I also see, as I have pointed out before, U.S. apologists who wish to defend their countries leaders by claiming they have no power and are not responsible for their actions–instead israel is. There is a U.S. empire, and that is what those of us in the US should be focussing on stopping. The reality is there are not ‘chomskyites’ but mostly left pluralists, who have read a lot of things from this and that author and are free to make their own judgments on where they stand regarding individual subjects, but don’t feel the need to lash out at others for not agreeing with them 100%.

DB, you are a liar, and a hateful, angry troll; one minute you bash BDS’ers and Cynthia Mckinney/her supporters, the next minute you bash the left for supposedly not getting behind these things. Hue is right about you, and he adds much more to discussions than you have.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:02pm #

lichen writes …

<i<Hue is right; all I see here is pathetic dogma, lies, evasions, and ridiculous obsessions.

It’s called RACISM lichen and we’ve seen the ugly results of it going unchallenged for decades.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:06pm #

lichen writes …

DB, you are a liar, and a hateful, angry troll; one minute you bash BDS’ers and Cynthia Mckinney/her supporters, the next minute you bash the left for supposedly not getting behind these things. Hue is right about you, and he adds much more to discussions than you have.

You liberal Zionist expose your true selves when challenged. The SMEAR campaign is now in full gear. This is a sign of fear and WEAKNESS. This I’m glad to see. BRING IT ON!!!
lichen said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:08pm #

Well, Max, you’re either with them or with the zionists; there is no other option, and no need to build a large, broad movement, when instead you can have a small, ‘pure’ one that goes nowhere.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:19pm #

Well, Max, you’re either with them or with the zionists; there is no other option, and no need to build a large, broad movement, when instead you can have a small, ‘pure’ one that goes nowhere.

What we have witnessed is 30 years of acceptance of RACISM hidden has “dissent”.
Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:24pm #

Hello Dan E,

I wasn’t referring to my correction of DB’s silly paranoia concerning why DN didn’t air coverage on the killings (my correction was inaccurate). lichen corrected him and he was the subject of your rant –not me. Concerning correcting in my latest post, aside from the obvious one above from lichen, I have corrected DB many times on his mischarge of ad hom (sometimes in the same sentence he commits it).

I’m not sure DB never said those things and don’t really care if lichen (a guy who last week called my words, “beyond stupid”) shows proof but if he was lying it wasn’t sophistry (another abused word these days).

Concerning making the same charge against you as you did lichen, yes just read what I mockingly accused db of and change out his name with yours (though I find you functional if not very logical)

concerning the links made by you and hayate and DB or anyone else for that matter…If they are related to the article or at least have organically progressed to the point of posting them, great! No, I don’t think it benefits new readers or anyone else to constantly go about “informing” in this way…in fact, no matter the truth of the words themselves, the tactics are the same thing I loath from paid trolls (again why I could make a better case-not that I believe it-that DB or yourself are the zionists).

If you want to correct the record fine, but you said on the record,
“Newcomers to DV: watch out for this “lichen”, he’s very sneaky. Uses gambits, poses as “progressive” but is mainly concerned to defend Zionism’s last line of defense “.

Your last count I absolutely agree with….not your tactics or all of your conclusions

And please quit with suggesting I’m merely “name calling”….DB’s rap looks small on you.

And a final word on this from me is that I enjoy the insight you and DB (and anyone else) has to offer. dan e’s reading store he displays is impressive

Cheers
bozh said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:57pm #

Max, with respect and sans any dysphemism and euphemism!
I am only speaking for self. I suggest that we once and for all establish symbolic value of the word “jew”.

What does the word symbolize? How does its symbolic value differ from symbolic values of milk, irish, catholic, bread, etc?
Let’s face it. It is easy to espy that words stand for actualities. A word like pole stands for what a given pole does, says, etc.
Fortunately, we can see with naked eye what a pole does. U don’t need schooling, advice to observe what irishman 1 does, either.

We also know that german 1 can be catholic. But s/he wld not call self catholic. S/he’ll say, i expect: i am german; and one is not offended much if at all.

As far as i know only robert novak, who was ‘jewish’ at one time, declared “i am not a jew”.
Wld not one be frightened and suspicious if 100 mn russians declared that they were orthodox? Or 26mn iraqis declaring for a millennium: we are islamic; meaning to say that they are of islam; having an unique essence of islamisheness; similar to that of a unique essence of jewishness.

If an iraqi wld say to me that he’s islamish, i wld be at least puzzled ab it. More likely, i wld be deeply resentful.
I also react like that to s’mone who says that he’s a jew and thus possesses special quality of jewishness.

So, i have said many times i do not trust as single jew or single catholic or single muslim.
Nature-gods don’t produce jews, catholics, muslims; people do that. In my view the greatest criminal minds.
I do not care what blankfort says; i only pay attention to what he does and he does jewisheness just like zinn, chomsky, klein, rabin, shamir.
That for me ends all mystory ab this ugly and vicious phenomena!

I think that any ishness, even polishness, let alone let their catholishness, is an obsatcle to peace-justice because that label stands for s’mthing in reality. But what? No single human being wld ever discover what such airy-eerie symbols stands for. tnx
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 4:11pm #

All of sudden lichen. Max Shields, and Hue Longer doesn’t KNOW THE DEFINITION OF IRONY.

All three seizes on IRONY as an opportunity to DISTORT and TWIST it into something it is not. The reason: the continued critique of the LEFT that has annotated an avowed Zionist as its intellectual leader.

The consequence of which has been 50 years of not mounting any real challenge as Zionism in the U.S. and its support for Israel grew.

Rather than confront that problem they’d rather obscure it with distorted and twisted rhetoric.

This is exactly to be expected from Liberal Zionist.

DN! airing the Zionist Chomsky on the very day the flotilla was attacked is extremely IRONIC.
Deadbeat said on June 3rd, 2010 at 4:19pm #

Lichen writes …

DB, you are a liar, and a hateful, angry troll; one minute you bash BDS’ers and Cynthia Mckinney/her supporters, the next minute you bash the left for supposedly not getting behind these things.

This is again a lichen LIE. My criticism has always been toward the duplicity of the Left. You’ve also accused by of gay-bashing as well among other things. This is all part of the smear champaign by racists like you who tries to conceal themselves among the grassroots.

The only way to uproot people like you is ADHERENCE to PRINCIPLES.
lichen said on June 3rd, 2010 at 4:23pm #

I don’t in any way support zionism–I think it is a sick, racist idea, but I’m also sick of the celebrity-obsessed antizionists here who reduce everything to zionist power and think they’ve found the holy grail of politics, but spend all their time bashing people who, as max points out, just happen to be jewish (he left Naomi Klein out of his list, whom db once gave me an extremely incoherent, borrowed reasoning of why she sucks–he claims over and over again that Max is a capitalist, but went out of his own way to defend pinochet mastermind milton freidman against Klein.)

Indeed, sectarian, dogmatic marxists and anti-zionists are distasteful to me, as is bashing people who act with good intentions on the basis of simplistic conclusions. But yes, everyone who doesn’t agree 100% with your abstract ideology, is a capitalist or a zionist or a racist person. Who could disagree with that?
lichen said on June 3rd, 2010 at 4:28pm #

Thankfully you don’t try to conceal yourself among the grassroots, deadbeat, because you have nothing to do with them in the first place. That is typical of ideologues; the dynamism and pluralism of mass movements is distasteful to you. You are intellectually dishonest, and contradictory in what you spew invective at. You say that:

“You’ve also accused by of gay-bashing as well among other things.”

Which is a completely incoherent statement. You’ve accused me of being a racist, here and otherwise; you’ve also attempted to claim that homosexuals as a whole are racist, in response to my making the point that everyone has their own issues. So really, I could care less.
bozh said on June 3rd, 2010 at 5:54pm #

I do not want to get involved in whay DB, Hue, lichens writings excep it to say that each is correct according whatever words the use or however they explain or justify their stance on any subject.

But i am right, according what i know or think i know, to say that i suspect all ‘jews’. Each one of them may have own end solution in mind, and i have mine.
This approach ends the type of talking that the three above-listed fellas are now engaged in; consisting largely of overgeneralizations, condemnation, ad hominems, etc.
That’s not the kind of society i am working for! tnx
bozh said on June 3rd, 2010 at 5:57pm #

Sorry ab typos. I didn’t realize i made so many; thus, i didn’t reread my post! tnx
Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 6:01pm #

Now I’ll forward this article… Thanks bozh!
dan e said on June 3rd, 2010 at 6:26pm #

Lichen & Hue Longer: After reading your posts now for several months, I have come to some conclusions you won’t like, but which I think are worthy of consideration by other DV readers and especially by new DV readers.

I don’t know what goes on in your minds, but it appears that both of you hope to keep others as ignorant as possible. How can anybody hope to understand the Israel problem without doing an indepth study of it? Chomsky and his followers represent one set of opinions about Israel and Imperialism, but there are others whose credentials are just as good or better who hold very different views of the problem.

I see the two of you brandishing the word “imperialism”, parroting the absurd claim offered by such as Steven Zunes that calls for careful investigation of Zionist power in the US are somehow a distraction from the struggle against US/Nato Imperialism. What nonsense.

For your information, people like Jeff Blankfort and James Petras have been in the trenches against Imperialism for decades. I wouldn’t put my own track record in the same category, but I did begin studying seriously and participating in organized anti-Imperialist activity some fifty years ago.

Opposition to Racist Imperialism was where we started. None of us got involved in the anti-Zionist struggle because we didn’t like Jews. Blankfort is of course Jewish himself. In my own case, since grade school I’ve found myself in close association with Jewish individuals and groups, in large part because of my choice of fields of endeavor. Most of what I’ve learned about Zionism and Capitalist Imperialism I’ve learned from Jews.

Petras of course has been writing profound analyses of various aspects of & developments in Imperialism for close to four decades, just counting from when I first came across his byline in a Left journal edited coincidentally by Jews:)

I’ve read enough of Deadbeat’s writing to know that he’s done his homework on the subject of capitalist imperialism. So let’s not have any more of this stuff you step in when you cross the cow pasture about wanting to divert people from the struggle against Imperialism.

If you want to struggle effectively against Imperialism, Militarism, Colonialism, you must realize first of all that Racism is inextricably intertwined in the evil system, and that Zionism has come to be the most virulent & dangerous form of Racism as it is manifested globally today. I say this in full realization that inside the USA today the largest numbers of those who feel the greatest impact of racism are the Blacks and the Native Americans.

I think many often lose sight of the fact that neither Racism in general or Zionism in particular are simply ideological phenomena, simply sets of false beliefs. They are that of course, but also are institutional structures and institutionalized material practices.

Zionism is above all a State. A State is much more than a government; States always include an Ideological component, a set of legitimizing myths & rationalization of current events plus a complex apparatus to defend and propagate them; a Coercive component; a process for achieving/maintaing unity among the ruling and supporting sectors of the society; and a Financial component.

So, “anti-Imperialist” friends, would any of you care to share any insights or opinions about the work of any of the universally recognized students of Imperialism? Like Hobson, Hilferding, Ulanov, Luxembourg, Cabral, CLR James, Immanuel Wallerstein, just to mention a few?

I know it upsets Max whenever it is suggested that anything useful can be learned from Karl Marx, so I’ll just stop right here:)
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 8:04pm #

Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 3:24pm

“concerning the links made by you and hayate and DB or anyone else for that matter…”

Listen zionist, don’t try and involve me in your petty slander/misdirection crap.
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 8:04pm #

dan e

said on June 3rd, 2010 at 6:26pm

Well said.
Hue Longer said on June 3rd, 2010 at 8:57pm #

hayate,

if you read dan e then how is it you can’t see that I was responding to HIS bringing up your links? You don’t have an understanding of the context either. All this because of Amy Goodman being brought up as a Zionist under an article about the attacks on the flotilla? Let DB drown on his own…this is foolish

Did you guys catch today’s show? again very good coverage of the flotilla attack (dan e , I know you think she’s too ugly too watch, but were you to just listen to the radio broadcast would it…ah forget it)
hayate said on June 3rd, 2010 at 10:11pm #

Last summer democracy now used zionist propaganda promoting the israeloamerican “color revolution” against Iran. Like the real news network did. Like grit news did. Like antiwar did. Like the israeli occupied corporate media did. How a site/personality covered that war crime is a very good litmus test on whether they are shilling, ultimately, or truly independent . Democracy now opted to shill for the israeloamerican covert ops inflicted on Iran. They didn’t have to. Nobody kidnapped them and held a gun to their heads, forcing them to support that series of war crimes.

Over the years I’ve read others complaining about democracy now’s coverage of israeli related issues. Mostly saying goodman didn’t cover the issues enough in their opinion. Whether the claims were true or not, I cant confirm because I never much cared for the show’s fast paced “hurry-up, you got 30 seconds” format and don’t go there regularly. I used to listen to them on pacifica years ago and it seemed goodman was always rushing her guests, which is not how I think interviews should be done. It had too much of “sound bite” feel to it most of the time.

On the other hand, I’ve seen/heard some very good shows on dn, where they didn’t press the guest for time. There was one recently with the delightful Arundhati Roy on the Maoists/”Tribals” in India and the guv attacks on them that was very well done, though I noticed somebody else besides goodman did most of the interviewing :D.

But shilling out to the israeloamerican propaganda line on the Iran “color revolution” thoroughly disgusted me with goodman and democracy now, it thoroughly disgusted me with many sites/personalities who shilled that propaganda. I know that when their oligarchy calls on them again, they will do it again. The question is when, on what issue/event, will they go into “shill mode” again. Will it be something I know about, so the betrayal will be obvious, or will it be something I’m unfamiliar with and I get taken cause I didn’t catch the shift to “shill mode”? That is a trust that once you betray it, you can not be trusted again. You can not undo the damage.

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