The Largest Minority

May 26th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Those of you familiar with Jewish-American professor Norman Finkelstein may recall the politically motivated decision to deny him tenure at DePaul University, along with the decision to put him on administrative leave for the academic year, followed by his eventual resignation. This clear assault against academic freedom was due mostly to an aggressive campaign headed by his bitter Zionist opponent Alan Dershowitz.

Above is the trailer for an upcoming film titled “American Radical“, which documents Finkelstein’s struggle prior to this latest incident.

After landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 23rd, Professor Finkelstein was detained by the Israeli security service Shin Bet. He was interrogated for 24 hours before being deported and told that he was banned from Israel for 10 years.

In 2006, after Israel launched a pre-planned war of aggression against Lebanon as a test-run for Iran, Finkelstein publicly expressing solidarity with the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah. While detained by Shin Bet, the high-profile critic of Israeli occupation was questioned about whether he had met with al-Qaeda operatives or had been sent by Hezbollah. Finkelstein rejected the accusations, explaining that he had traveled to Israel to visit an old friend. Regardless, Shin Bet said the professor was “not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon,” and because he “did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions.”

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May 15th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Scottish artist Jane Frere discusses in length her inspiration and reason for creating the Nakba Project here.
h/t Return of the Soul

May 14th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The US has given professional bigots like Arnon Soffer enough credibility on the international scene to demand that every other country in the region accept Palestinian refugees, with the exception of the one country which is actually obligated to do so - Israel.

Half of Palestine’s Arab population was forced to flee from their homes upon Israel’s creation in 1948. Palestinians have the inalienable right of return under international law, and Israel has no right to exist as a “Jewish State”. So why is this “conflict” still unresolved?

May 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The workers’ struggle has no borders. As always, fantastic documentarian work from nauiocelotl.

May 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Aside from the immigration-centered protests which took place in LA today:

Terminal operators say West Coast cargo traffic has come to a halt as port workers stage daylong anti-war protests.

Pacific Maritime Association spokesman Steve Getzug says thousands of dockworkers did not show up to work Thursday morning, leaving ships and truck drivers idle at ports from Long Beach to Seattle.

February 20th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The border fence isn’t just an insanely stupid idea to solve a perceived “problem” to our national security and economy. It also comes with the added bonus of destroying the environment and violating the land rights of indigenous tribes and other peoples too. Xenophobia comes with a heavy price tag.

However, what’s just as interesting as the people who are getting screwed over by this waste of time and money are the ones which aren’t.

February 4th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Egyptian and Hamas security forces have resealed the border fence at the Rafah crossing through which Palestinians were able to secure food, fuel, and other necessities during the current illegal Israeli blockade of the territory. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a former Palestinian foreign minister, said Hamas “will restore control over this border, in co-operation with Egypt … gradually”. After talking with Egyptian officials on Saturday, Al-Zahar said the closure would only be temporary until the Egyptians could figure out a way to reopen the border.

The democratically-elected Hamas government is not a US/Israeli puppet. Any role Egypt affords to Hamas over the border would amount to tacit recognition of Hamas’ legitimacy. “This is sure to anger Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah, considering they refuse to recognize the rule of Hamas,” said Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Gaza. “But it seems that Egypt is concentrating on the realities on the ground - which is Hamas remaining in control of Gaza, which is why they are working with them.”

Occupied Gaza currently depends on Israel for its supplies, but the recent border breach has sparked calls from Hamas President Ismail Haniya for closer ties with Egypt. Haniya wants to end its reliance on Israel and receive fuel and electricity supplies from Egypt. Some Israeli officials back the proposal as it would reduce their legal responsibility for the territory. “We have said from the days of our election campaign that we want to move toward economic disengagement from the Israeli occupation,” Haniya said. “Egypt has a greater ability to meet the needs of Gaza.” Through resisting the occupiers rather than working with them, Hamas seems to be doing for Gaza what Fatah has failed to do for the West Bank.

source

February 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Everyone knows that there is racial tension in LA between Blacks and Latinos. Both traditionally lower-class groups have been pitted against each other to fight over whatever scraps the wealthy decide to throw down to them. As economic conditions worsen, tensions between these scapegoat groups increases.

Not only does Hillary Clinton represent the elites which have disenfranchised both Blacks and Latinos, but she and her husband have been unapologetically using this “divide and conquer” strategy to gain the Latino vote. This kind of disgusting strategy appeals to the worst in people.

Rachel also states that she’s “personally offended” by Hillary lying about her Iraq War vote in the video below. Rather than apologize to the million plus people that have died as a result of her vote, Hillary would rather claim that she was dumb enough to be tricked by George W Bush.

It’s beyond infuriating that a populace which has been craving real change for 8 years should now only have the choice between pro-war candidates in the next election. If that’s not enough of a clue that our presidents are picked for us, I don’t know what is. Unfortunately, it’s people like Olbermann that are to blame for remaining silent when it was clear that the corporation he works for, along with others, were creating this Obama vs Hillary scenario from the start.