OBAMA, THE COOL PRESIDENT

I feel a mix of weary déjà vu and despair every time I hear politicians warn Israel of the consequences of ‘alienating world opinion.’ It should be clear to all now that Israel doesn't give a toss about ‘world opinion.’ The only opinion it cares about is the opinion of the US administration, an administration that provides both the vital diplomatic clout and dollars to enable Israel to continue to flout UN resolutions and resist whatever pressure - painfully little as it happens- the rest of the world cares to exert.
After Israel ‘withdrew’ from Gaza it sought to create an imprisoned and impoverished ghetto,[1] a slum beside the sea, quarantined from the rest of the world with the Israeli state as jailer. The world watched, the world did nothing; what protests were voiced was dismissed by the Israeli state with a shrug. Whenever the trapped citizens of Gaza sought to hit back they have been subjected to a prolonged and merciless bombardment.
Now the people fighting back in Gaza are, it is true, a pretty unsavoury bunch. Hamas not being the kind of people to whom one can naturally warm. This does not lessen the Israeli crime as some seem to feel. I would in fact posit that Hamas are possibly little more than the mirror image of the settler fanatics who stream across from the United States to steal other peoples land,[2] shaped and given legitimacy by the sheer scale of Israeli brutality.
Obama owed nothing to Netanyahu, indeed as I have pointed out elsewhere Netanyahu had sought actively to damage Obama’s electoral prospects. Netanyahu though, it turns out, need not have worried; the most chilling moment of the last couple of weeks was Obama’s cool indifference to the suffering of the people of Gaza.

[1] And yes I am conscious of the historical implications of this word for the Jewish people and consequently use it deliberately.
[2] The land having been promised to them in documents written by God over 2000 years ago

.Having visited this page I would be grateful for your feedback, either tick one of the boxes below or make a comment via the comments button.

Popular posts from this blog

NESRINE MALIK AND THE UNSUNG VIRTUES OF HYPOCRISY

Image
As I write this a 27 year old woman, Mariam Ibrahim, has just had a baby in a Sudanese prison, ‘the condition of the mother and baby is not known as Ibrahim's lawyer and her husband, a US citizen, had been denied access to her. Omdurman women's prison has a basic clinic, where the child is thought to have been born. Ibrahim has been shackled since being imprisoned.’ [1]   Mariam also has an 18 month old child who is also being held in prison with her. The ‘crime’ for which she is imprisoned is apostasy, for which she has received the death sentence. She has also been sentenced to 100 lashes, for the additional crime of having sex with her Christian husband. Although she has been a lifelong Christian her father was a Muslim, Sudanese sharia law forbids women to marry outside the Muslim faith, men needless to say can do as they please in these matters. Mariam Ibrahim and her husband.  Nineteen countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries...
Read more

VOLINE AND TROTSKY

Волин и Троцкого A Footnote in Russian History In April 1917 the Russian anarchist revolutionary Voline* and Leon Trotsky were both stranded in New York as the Russian revolution broke out in Petrograd , inevitably coming into contact with one another. Voline stated that he felt that the Bolsheviks, given their ruthlessness and single minded determination, would ultimately come to power. They would then begin eliminating their opponents, amongst whom of course were the anarchists; this persecution would end with the Bolsheviks shooting the anarchists “like partridges.” Trotsky was dismissive, they might have their differences but they were comrades in arms, they had different interpretations of the revolutionary process but shared the same goals. It was nonsense to speak of Bolsheviks shooting revolutionary comrades, “we are socialists, comrade Voline! So we are not your enemies….” [1] In December of 1919, whilst gravely wounded Voline was captured by the Bolshe...
Read more

THIS OTHER EDEN

Image
Ed, 'Pull on a sweater' Davey Gas and Electricity company British Gas raise their prices by 9.2% way above the current rate of inflation, with wages stagnant and benefits rises pinned to below the rate of inflation this will drive ever greater numbers into fuel poverty, with even more people making the stark choice between heating and eating. …A government, Minister Ed Davey, suggests putting on a sweater at home to keep warm. Queues Outside Southwark Crown Court Thousands of people living on very low incomes queue outside Southwark Crown court in London after being summoned for non payment of the local council tax. Previously there had existed a welfare payment to cover the cost of paying the tax for those on low incomes. The government abolished this benefit last year. The latest figures from the British Charity the Trussell Trust show that the demand for food banks is rapidly increasing…more than 350,000 between April and September this year received a thr...
Read more