still defiant after 30 years | peter lazenby scottish identity – what is that? | lesley riddoch the man who sank argentina | greg palast ColdType writing worth reading ISSUE 88 Special ISSUe murderTHE of gaza

Nine essays by David Edwards and David Cromwell l philip giraldi l Ramzy baroud l Linda McQuaig l Jonathan Cook John reiner l Chris Hedges l richard pithouse l Deepa Kumar STILL DEFIANT AFTER 30 YEARS | PETER LAZENBY SCOTTISH IDENTITY – WHAT IS THAT? | LESLEY RIDDOCH Cover: Israeli tank fires a shell into THE MAN WHO SANK ARGENTINA | GREG PALAST Gaza in a propaganda photograph ColdType from the Israel Defence Forces WRITING WORTH READING ISSUE 88 SPECIAL ISSUE MTHE U R D E R O F GAZA

NINE ESSAYS BY ● DAVID EDWARDS AND DAVID CROMWELL ● PHILIP GIRALDI ● RAMZY BAROUD ● LINDA McQUAIG ● JONATHAN COOK JOHN REINER ● CHRIS HEDGES ● RICHARD PITHOUSE ● DEEPA KUMAR ColdType Issue 88 / AUGUST 2014

3. Book excerpt / The vulture: chewing argentina’s living corpse greg palast 6. predators in the field stacey warde 11. the absurd hell that is america’s police state john w. whitehead 15. worse than orwell’s worst nightmare john pilger 20. superbugs threaten to return us to the dark ages trevor grundy 24. still defiant after 30 years peter lazeny & joan heath 32. Book excerpt / Scottish identity: what is it? Lesley riddoch cover stories / the murder of gaza

42. ‘disgustingly biased’ david edwards & david cromwell 47. israel, right or wrong philip giraldi 51. it is not just an israeli war on gaza Ramzy baroud 54. whow stephen harper betrayed canada Linda mcquaig 58. stake rises for israel as rockets reach airport jonathan cook 61. with a heavy heart over gaza john reiner 66. palestinians have a right to self defence chris hedges 69. gaza’s future is everone’s concern richard pithouse 72. telegenically dead deepa kumar

76. crime (israel) and Punishment (russia) pepe escobar 79. delusions of grandeur william blum

Editor: Tony Sutton – [email protected]

2 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt The Vulture: Chewing ColdType Argentina’s living corpse In this excerpt from Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, Greg Palast tells how hedge fund investor Paul Singer forced a nation into default

call came in from New York to my to screw down the compensation promised to Singer had seized bosses at BBC Television Centre, the workers. He offered them peanuts. And, Peru’s “Air Force London. It was from one of the dying, they took it. Like the Ice Man, Singer One” presidential knuckle-draggers on the payroll of The Vulture used the cudgel of “tort reform” jet; for the payoff, A Singer handed the billionaire Paul Singer, Number One funder to beat the weakened workers into submis- for the Republican Party in New York, mil- sion. With asbestos workers buried or bought- fleeing president lion-dollar donor to the Mitt Romney super- off cheap, Singer’s asbestos death factories Fujimori the keys to PAC, and top money-giver to the GOP Senate were now worth a fortune... and Singer made his getaway plane campaign fund. But better known to us as his first “killing.” Singer The Vulture. Then it was on to Peru, where Singer had, “We have a file on Greg Palast.” through a brilliant financial-legal maneu- Well, of course they do. ver too questionable for others to attempt, And I have a file on them. grabbed control of the entire financial system I had just returned from traveling up the of the country. When Peru’s scamp of a presi- Congo River for BBC and the Guardian. Sing- dent, Alberto Fujimori, decided it was a good er’s enforcer indicated that Mr. Singer would idea to flee his country (ahead of his arrest on prefer BBC not run a story about him – espe- murder charges), Singer, Peru’s lawyer Mark cially not with film of his suffering prey: chil- Cymrot of Baker & Hostetler told me, let Fu- dren, cholera victims. jimori escape in return for the Murderer-in- Like any vulture, Singer feasts when vic- Chief ordering Peru’s treasury to pay Singer tims die. Literally. For example, Singer made $58 million. Singer had seized Peru’s “Air a pile buying asbestos company Owens Corn- Force One” presidential jet; for the payoff, ing out of bankruptcy. The company had con- Singer handed him the keys to the getaway cealed from its workers they would get asbes- plane. tosis from handling their product. And by the way, I didn’t give Singer the You don’t want to die of asbestosis. Your name “Vulture.” lungs turn to mush and you drown inside His own banker buddies did – with admi- yourself. ration in their voices. The asbestos company was forced to pay What provoked the threatening call to tens of thousands of its workers for their BBC from Singer’s tool was my film from the medical care and for their families after their Congos (there are two nations in Africa called deaths. “Congo”). There is a cholera epidemic in West But then Singer used his political muscle Africa due to lack of clean water. Our investi-

August 2014 | ColdType 3 Book excerpt

Either the Greek gation learned that Singer paid about $10 mil- start sifting through garbage to feed myself.” government would lion for some “debt” supposedly incurred by Christoulas then shot himself in the head. The pay Singer and Dart the Republic of Congo. To collect on his $10 government had cut his pension as part of an several times what million, Singer had begun seizing about $400 austerity plan to pay foreign creditors. One in the speculators million in the poor nation’s assets. four workers also lost their jobs. invested, or Singer Clean water for the Congo? Forget it – Sing- Greece’s creditor banks took their pound and Dart would er and his vulture colleagues grabbed it all. of flesh, but gave up some of theirs, canceling undermine the In Africa, I spoke with Winston Tubman, 80 percent of the loan principal. That is, all entire bailout deal, the former deputy secretary-general of the but two “bankers”: billionaires Ken Dart and bringing down UN. He asked me to ask the Vulture and his Singer The Vulture told the European Central the remnant of cronies, “Do you know you are causing babies Bank and Greek government, they wanted it Greece’s economy to die?” all. Singer and Dart would not cancel 80 per- – and the rest of It’s legal, it’s sick, it’s Singer. cent or even 8 percent of the bonds they held, Europe with it Well, not legal in most of the civilized even though Singer and Dart, apparently, only world. Britain, Germany, Holland, and many paid a fraction of the face value for them only others have outlawed Singer’s repo-man sei- a few weeks before. Either the Greek govern- zures. In Europe, Singer is a financial outlaw. ment would pay Singer and Dart several times But in the USA, he’s a “job creator.” what the speculators invested, or Singer and Singer The Vulture gets loads of positive Dart would undermine the entire bailout press, in the New York Times especially, where deal, bringing down the remnant of Greece’s the corpse-chewer offered an open checkbook economy – and the rest of Europe with it. to any state Republican who would vote for Held hostage, the Greek government the right of gays to marry. Don’t think of this dipped into its emptying purse and paid as an unselfish act of moral courage: it was Singer and Dart every penny they demand- more droit du seigneur, the right of the Lords ed. Singer’s co-investors in his fund Elliott of the Manor to deflower the virgins of choice Management made a killing – including the on their lands. The Vulture’s son wanted to “blind” trust of one Mittens Romney. marry another man, and so Vulture But the Vulture’s gravy train of greed was would buy the New York State Legis- about to run into an unexpected obstacle on lature to approve the nuptials. (That the track. On April 4, just hours after Christou- almost all Singer’s money would go to las took his own life, in a courtroom in Wash- national candidates who would make ington, DC, the President of the United States gay marriage illegal, well, money is and his Secretary of State hit Singer with a thicker than blood.) legal brick. Without any public announce- But, under press cover of funding ment, without the usual press release and in the GOP for social rights, Singer’s influ- language so abstruse only a lunatic journalist ence in the state legislature has paid back who went to the University of Chicago Law a hundredfold. He lobbied the legislature School would notice, Obama’s Justice Depart- to change the law on the calculation of in- ment nailed the Vulture to the wall. terest charges on his vulture loan-sharking It was Ash Wednesday and Obama’s boys operation, a change that will guarantee him drove those nails in: they demanded a US hundreds of millions of dollars more from the federal court to stop Singer from attacking Billionaires Congo. Argentina. & ballot bandits The Vulture’s latest hit was a pay-off from In this case, Singer had sued to get mil- Greg Palast the bankrupt government of Greece. On April lions, even billions, from the government of Seven Stories Press 4, 2012, seventy-seven-year-old Greek phar- Argentina for old debt that President Ronald macist Dimitris Christoulas wrote, “I find no Reagan had already settled in a deal involv- $14.95 other solution for a dignified end before I ing the biggest US banks. But Reagan’s deal

4 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt was not good enough for Singer and his hedge advisor Dan Senor – currently on the payroll Obama and Clinton fund NML Capital. Singer demanded that a US of . . . Paul Singer.) told the court that court order Argentina to pay him ten times Does Obama have the stones to stick with the Vulture was the amount he’d get under the Reagan deal. his decision? And do Singer and friends, undermining And to get his way, the Vulture also sued to working with Karl Rove, have the money- the safety of stop the Big Banks from getting their own knife which could cut them off? the entire world payments from the Reagan deal. The Rove-bots are already flashing their financial system, But then a bolt of legal lightning cooked blade: in June 2012, Republicans on the House destabilizing every the Vulture’s goose: Obama’s Justice Depart- Committee on Financial Services held an un- financial rescue ment and Hillary Clinton’s State Department precedented emergency hearing about the mission from South together filed an amicus curiae, a “friend of president’s stealth move on the Vulture. They America to Greece the court” brief in the case of NML Capital et sat for testimony by Ted Olsen, George Bush’s to the Congo al. v. Republic of Argentina. It wasn’t all that former solicitor general, who attacked Obama friendly. Obama, a constitutional law profes- and Clinton with code words and inscrutable sor, suddenly remembered that the president legalismo, not once mentioning Singer or his has the power, unique to the Constitution hedge fund by name. of the USA, to kick the Vulture’s ass up and But in the White House and on the top down the continent, then do it again. floors of the Wall Street towers, they knew Specifically, Obama and Clinton demanded exactly what this was all about. And in the the court throw out Singer’s attempt to bank- golf carts on Martha’s Vineyard, they knew rupt Argentina (because that is what Singer’s the Vulture had to be put in his place. Rob- demand would have done). ert Wolf, golfing with President Obama on This was Singer’s nightmare: that the Pres- the Cape, was furious. The CEO of UBS (a.k.a. ident of the United States would invoke his United Bank of Switzerland), had put to- extraordinary constitutional authority under gether the Argentina deal. And Swiss bankers the Separation of Powers clause to block the don’t allow anyone to move the hole on their Vulture and his hedge-fund buddies from green. making superprofits over the dead bodies of Wolf bundled plenty of campaign loot for desperate nations. Obama, who made Wolf his “economic recov- The stakes in the legal-financial-political ery” advisor. UBS has recovered nicely (with war are enormous, yet the real battle is hid- a sweet plea-bargain deal on criminal tax-eva- Greg Palast is den from the public view. sion charges). an investigator of A titanic struggle had now been set in Now, UBS, JPMorgan, and Citibank chief- corporate fraud motion, a battle over billions, between the tains are lined up with Obama and Clinton. and racketeering Obama administration and the wealthiest The Establishment banks look upon the nou- turned journalist. men in America, the hedge-fund billionaires, velle vultures like Singer as economic ber- He is the author of all out of sight of the public and press. serkers, terrorists in a helicopter ready to pull New York Times Argentina’s consul called me from DC, the pin on the grenade. If Singer’s demands bestseller “The Best stunned by the Clinton move. WTF? Did I aren’t met, he’ll blow up the planet’s finance Democracy Money have any info? system. In this war of titans, Obama and Clin- Can Buy” and I said, this action goes way, way beyond ton are merely foot soldiers, not the generals. “Armed Madhouse. Argentina. Obama and Clinton told the court It’s billionaire banking-powers versus billion- His previous book that the Vulture was undermining the safety aire hedge-fund speculators. One is greedy was Vultures’ of the entire world financial system, desta- and scary and the other is greedy and plain Picnic: In Pursuit bilizing every financial rescue mission from dangerous. Take your pick. of Petroleum Pigs, South America to Greece to the Congo. (What Here is the real battle – a winner-take-all Power Pirates would Romney do? His expected replacement war over the control of the world financial and High-Finance for Clinton would be his chief foreign policy system. CT Carnivores” (2012)

August 2014 | ColdType 5 Country life Predators in the field Stacey Warde worries about big cats with sharp claws

The proximity of s a farmhand, I spend a lot of time Authorities found the previous cyclist’s the cougar’s print in the orchards that border cougar body partially buried nearby after tending the to my workplace country in rural coastal central Cali- traumatized woman, and discovered a healthy made me reflect fornia, halfway between Los Angeles 2-year-old male lion, weighing 115 pounds, on the many days A and San Francisco. lurking in the shadows, standing guard over I’ve spent alone There are frequent sightings, from ranchers his earlier quarry. Sheriff’s deputies shot and in the middle of and people who live out in the wild, which sur- killed the lion. the avocado and rounds our little beach village, Cayucos, “the The proximity of the cougar’s print to my orange groves, out little town that time forgot,” and, although workplace made me reflect on the many days of shouting range I’ve had the good fortune, so far, of avoiding I’ve spent alone in the middle of the avoca- direct contact with one of these mountain li- do and orange groves, out of shouting range, ons, I’ve met far worse predators in the hills hunched over, concentrating, like the cyclist, they roam. on the task at hand, oblivious to predators. A recent posting of a photo on Facebook And believe me, they’re out here. from a neighboring farm showed the clear I’m an easy target for a hungry lion. M-shaped padding of a California mountain Lately, I’ve spent most of my work hours in lion’s paw. and between the rows, in the deep dark mid- “Holy shit!” I commented. dle of a forest of green avocado trees, pruning, That’s so close, I thought, in cougar time, trimming suckers and deadwood, tending irri- just minutes away. That beast could pounce gation lines that provide water and nutrients, and I’d never know it. enjoying the fresh air and serenity of the out- It happened not long ago in Orange County. doors. A competitive and sponsored cyclist hunched It’s quiet steady work and I like it. It keeps over a broken bicycle chain in the Whiting me fit and no one bothers me, I go at my own Ranch wilderness area took a crushing bite to pace. I’m alone. No office politics or subter- the back of his neck, as is the habit of cougars fuge, no irritating phone calls and needless in- on the prowl for easy prey, and was dragged terruptions. I just go, and occasionally pause to off the path and into the brush. He was eaten. observe the leavings and scat and rustlings of Not long after that, the same lion, appar- previous visitors from the surrounding wild. ently, dragged a woman cyclist by her head I have the run of the orchard, which plays into the brush, but an alert friend grabbed the host to a myriad of beasts small and large. woman’s leg, fended off the lion, and saved Wild boars, piglets, skunks, turkeys, deer, her from certain death. quail, coyotes, bobcats, squirrels, rats and

6 ColdType | August 2014 Country life quite possibly mountain lions. I’ve seen all the al, a rancher known for his daring, who pio- I’m somewhat creatures in both orchards, with the exception neered big wave surfing with his friend Jerry clueless about of mountain lions and wild boars, which is Lopez on the North Shore of Oahu, told me of the otherworldly fine with me. an encounter with a cougar during the night stealth and “Yeah, well, they’re out there,” says the that had him crawling under his vehicle for elusiveness of ranch boss, stating the obvious, when I men- protection. He had pulled up to a watering sta- these incredible tion the image of tracks posted on Facebook, tion on his ranch, just a few canyons down the creatures that cover “but they’re mostly looking for deer or…” he highway from the orchards where I work. It huge swaths of hesitates, “…sheep.” was dark out and he did not see the animal. ground in a day Sheep means domestic, which means close As he was about to adjust the valves, he heard to home, next to the orchards. And there are a blood-curdling scream from the beast not 10 plenty of deer in the orange grove, which yards away. means plenty of food for mountain lions. I “I’ve never been so terrified in my life,” he see deer lounging in the shade between rows said, explaining why he crawled under the of large leafy green trees, tails twitching, ears four-wheeler instead of bolting. “I was shaking alert, keeping watch, bolting into the brush in my boots.” After slipping away, he returned when they see me. the next day to find the lion’s kill on the other The boss’s remark only slightly assures me. side of the tree where he’d been standing. “They’re mostly nocturnal,” he adds of the big I stretch with my long-handled cultivator cat. Small comfort, I think. and breathe and feel the earth beneath my Now, throughout the day I keep close watch boots and know that I’d last about two seconds over my shoulders, frequently peering up and in such an encounter. My only consolation, I down and between the trees, searching for tell myself, and believe as much as possible: signs of life other than my own. At least I won’t go down without a fight. I’m somewhat clueless about the other- Still, I strive to be vigilant and know that worldly stealth and elusiveness of these in- sooner or later, if it’s not the mountain lion, credible creatures that cover huge swaths of something else is going to get me. It’s going to ground in a day. Generally, they tend to shy get us all, whatever you’re afraid of, it’s going away from encounters with humans. As de- to get you. I’ve accepted that, even if daily I velopment creeps into their range, however, protest loudly against it. Being alone, mindful encounters become more likely. of the risks, ever watchful, I’m constantly re- I imagine that I could fend one off with minded of my mortality and the shortness of my long-handled cultivator, which has sharp life. Against the odds, I plow forward, lunging heavy metal tines at one end and give the against the rocks and hardness of clay, which effect of a claw. I carry it with me during my will eventually pull me down, while I scream: treks through the orchards, twirling and spin- “I have a right to be here!” ning it like the wood staff I learned to wield as ______a weapon through years of aikido training. “There is a way that seems right to a man, I’d throw myself into the combat with that but it’s end is the way of death.” or with a much longer, extended pruning saw I read that the other day as I was thinking that I also carry and which cuts sharp. about the mountain lion prowling the fields Experts advise those who may find them- nearby, wondering about its range and wheth- selves face-to-face with a mountain lion to er it might ever come into the orchard, and make themselves big, throw up their arms and why was I still laboring as a farmhand. I read yell and make lots of noise, the opposite of it on the marque of the community church what we might want to do instinctively, which downtown, a quaint, Third Street edifice that is to run. gives food to the poor on Wednesdays and My landlord, no chicken-hearted individu- serves a community dinner at Thanksgiving.

August 2014 | ColdType 7 Country life

I could get eaten The quote is from the book of Proverbs in out: This is the way that has seemed right to by a mountain lion. the bible, calling into question our ability to me, staying here, building ties, getting ground- It might be better choose aptly, calling out our need for guidance ed, hoping for a better future, even if my budget than alternatives and protection. Whatever way one chooses, no allows me to take one day at a time. like poverty, matter how right it may seem at the time, its Another day whips by, I keep watch over cancer, a collision end is determined by forces beyond our con- my health, critters in the wild and ill-tempered on Highway 1, or trol. men, and wonder: What are my options and worse, encounters You may think you’re wise and doing right, opportunities? With no retirement, no sav- with some local but God – and the harsh determinist nature of ings? What’s next? “Hi, I’m Stacey! Welcome ranchers, bullies at the universe – is the final judge of that. to Wal-Mart”? That option certainly seems the corporate office, The sign irritated me at first but I kept like death to me. But what real options are or men in suits thinking about it: Am I on the right path? Do there for the millions of Americans like me I belong here in the orchards? In this town? displaced forever through the greed of Wall What guides me through these uncertain days Street bankers selling fraudulent loans? where there are predators in the field? Am I I could get eaten by a mountain lion. It making wise choices? What is the end of “my” might be better than alternatives like poverty, way? What is the end of “anyone’s” way? cancer, a collision on Highway 1, or worse, en- What’s next? counters with some local ranchers, bullies at It doesn’t look too hopeful, at least not the corporate office, or men in suits. Every day from here, not yet. I’ve been working in these I think about the shortness of life, about pos- hills and fields since 2008, when the economy sibilities and how I might live more wakefully. drew near collapse, altering countless lives, in- The cougar has helped me with that. cluding mine, putting millions on notice that I seek the companionship of those who nothing is secure, not your job, not your life, have been touched in an honest way, who’ve not institutions you trusted with your hard- been broken and humbled, rather than jaded earned savings, not your investment in real and embittered, by their experiences, who estate, nothing. I found farm labor one of the know their limits and yet keep aiming beyond few viable options. Everything that I’d known what they know, without losing their sense until that point had been completely altered, of what is possible and humane. Life is short, or disappeared entirely, jobs, opportunities, as we’ve heard so often, and so, between the the future…. mountain lion and choosing a path, I’ve been I gave up publishing, one of the hardest hit thinking a lot about how quickly time passes. industries during the near-collapse brought on At 55, I’m not so young any more. mostly by Wall Street bankers who traded in “I’m an old man!” I’d yell at the mountain and got filthy rich off of bad loans, and took to lion. “You don’t want to eat me! I’d taste like the local farm, exposing myself to an entirely shit!” different way of life, one that is full of unique ______hardships: dust, molds, chemicals, heat, ex- Turkey vultures and red tailed hawks, a posure. It’s wild and wonderful out here but golden eagle, circle above, lifted by updrafts it doesn’t pay well, barely a living wage, and from the surrounding hills, which are barren there are plenty of risks. I live from one pay- and rocky. The trees, thankfully, are merely check to the next. I chose this path because it green with leaves, buds and new fruit, and was the only one available at the time. So far, nothing lurks in them. I like it yet keep wondering, where’s the beef? I scan the ridge lines and arroyos, searching Where’s the real money, the real security? for movement in the dry weeds and grasses Now, five years later, entering into my “gold- common to the coastal sage region after years en” years, as so many millions of other hapless of drought. boomers, I wonder how my choices will play About a year ago, the ranch lost a sheep to a

8 ColdType | March 2014 Country life mountain lion. I was drinking coffee with the ner escaped into the forest night. For whatever I grabbed my boss, going over the day’s work plan for my reason, call it a fool’s curiosity, a death wish, flashlight and solo duties in the orchard, when he blurted, the need to hail the beast, I whistled at it like shined it on the “Oh yeah, and watch out for the big cat!” a bird. creek below It took me a moment to register the “big The animal turned to face me and began to where I’d heard cat” part of his comment. I was heading out walk across the creek. the steps, and saw the door when I realized what he meant. I “Oh fuck!” I yelled. the unmistakable turned to face the boss, “You mean, mountain [For every “Oh fuck!” I’ve blurted, I wonder sleek shape and lion?” how different my life would be if I had shout- brown coloring of a “Yeah, got one of our sheep last night.” ed, “Oh yeah!”] mountain lion not “Should I be carrying a gun?” I offered. Fortunately, perhaps it was instinct, I had 30 yards away “You can if it’ll make you feel better but already jumped out of my bag before turning you’ll be all right.” on the flashlight. I was on my feet, standing I spent that entire day creeped out by the next to the pile of dead wood I’d stacked for possibility of crossing paths with that noctur- the morning fire. I tossed several large pieces nal sheep rustler. of the dry wood onto the hot coals and they ______burst into flame with a suddenness that star- I encountered a mountain lion once in the tled even me. I shouted loudly through the wild of coastal northern California while fire, “Yeah!” camping on a sandbar on a creek between The cougar turned quickly away and ran towering redwoods. I had just tucked into back into the forest across the creek. “What’s my sleeping bag next to my wife, who was going on?” my wife asked sleepily. already sleeping. We rested beneath a tarp I I told her. had rigged into a lean-to so we could look “Sometimes you’re not so bright,” she said, up at the stars and stay protected from the turning to go back to sleep. I sat by the fire moisture of nightfall. The coals were still for as long as possible, restless and unsettled, burning hot on the campfire I’d built in the feeling stupid. sand at the opening to our shelter, keeping Now, as the shadows grow long, I’m keenly us warm. A full stack of deadwood I’d gath- alert to any signs of intruders in the orchard. I ered in the forest stood ready to stir the fire watch for tracks, scat, and anything that would again in the morning chill. warn of the presence of a mountain lion. I had dozed off when I was awakened by The boss’s “Well, yeah, they’re out there” the quick flip-flapping sound – splish, splash, keeps playing through my mind. I spend less splish – of a duck’s webbed feet, scooting along time crouched beneath the trees and more the creek just below the sand bar. time looking over my shoulders, listening for I thought nothing of it until, seconds later, I crackling leaves and twigs, basically any sign heard the slow deliberate steps of a man walk- of life in the darkening grove. ing up river. My watch showed just past 1 a.m. I’ve attuned my ears to the presence of rap- Who would be walking upstream at this tors winging overhead in search of prey, the hour? whoosh of air from their wings swooping like I grabbed my flashlight and shined it on a phantom past the tops of avocado trees. I’ve the creek below where I’d heard the steps, and developed an eye for signs of coyotes chewing saw the unmistakable sleek shape and brown on irrigation lines and pigs pushing up leaves coloring of a mountain lion not 30 yards away. in search of food. It stood frozen in the unnatural light, its legs I’ve spotted deer and bobcats, wild turkeys stuck like posts in the middle of the dark and the remains of skunks shredded by preda- creek. tors, perhaps a great horned owl or coyote. The duck had long ago disappeared. Din- The orchards teem with wildlife.

March 2014 | ColdType 9 Country life

There are worse Experts advise against solo ventures into we lost our harvest, and possibly thousands of predators in the wild. A good way to protect oneself from dollars. this town than harm is to travel with a companion. I don’t I pleaded for water long before it got so bad. mountain lions, have that option and rather like working alone “You of all people, a farmer, must know how people who call in the orchards. important it is for me to harvest those berries themselves It feels right most days. Still, I often won- and get them to market,” I argued. Christians, people der what I’m doing here, thinking that I might “Well, get yourself a water tank,” he said who love to hate, do better for myself, and long for the editor’s after a moment. people who refuse chair and wish for another chance to publish a “Just let us have some water to get through to give you water magazine (where lions of another sort can be the harvest,” I said, “and then we’ll get out of when you need it confronted, even tamed). here.” He did not want us there. In the five long years since the so-called I don’t know to this day what we did to turn Great Recession, I’ve worked in the fields, him on us. Once, he said: “How come you picked up side jobs in landscaping and win- have to be a fucking liberal?” Maybe it was po- dow cleaning, pushing wheelbarrows and litical as much as it was personal. I thought he climbing ladders. I’ve been mostly a laborer was a good guy, a good Christian who attends and work hard for my money. At my age, the church whose marque warns of the perils that’s no easy feat. The lion doesn’t frighten of the paths we choose. me half as much, however, as the vultures on “Oh yeah, he’s a straight up guy,” a local Wall Street, who were mostly responsible for businessman, once said of him. I thought so the crash of 2008, and some of the people I’ve too until he put me out of business. Now, he met here, who have their own predatory hab- refuses to acknowledge me. There are worse its, which are more insidious, I think, than the predators in this town than mountain lions, much-maligned cougar. people who call themselves Christians, people I’ve witnessed beauty here that few ever who love to hate, people who refuse to give get to see, and I’m grateful for that. There’s you water when you need it. blight out here too, but mostly it’s fresh and The way of death really belongs to them. clean, the air swept cool from coastal breezes, Frankly, I’d rather be eaten by a mountain the land tended and watched, scrubbed by sun lion than make friends with someone who is and drought. more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing and goes Water is a precious resource in this dry, to church. That’s the choice I want to make, semi-arid climate but there seems to be plen- the path that seems right to me: Steer clear of ty of it in this part of the country. It can vary predators, hypocrites and trouble. from one canyon to the next, though, and not I heard a story once about a hunter who far from here farmers are hauling truckloads was tracking a mountain lion in the hills not of water and paying lots for it to keep their far from here. He found himself going in a cir- trees alive. cle after a while and then got a creepy feeling. We haven’t had that problem in this can- He turned on instinct and not 15 yards behind Stacey Warde is yon yet and hope that we never will. But if the him was the very lion he had been tracking. publisher of The drought continues, the worst on record, as it Maybe it’s a true story, maybe it’s not. But Rogue Voice. This has for these many years, it could get ugly. it shows we are never far from trouble if we go article is adapted I’ve seen ugly when a farmer gets stingy looking for it. For now, I like working alone and from an earlier with water. I suffered the loss of a full season’s keeping vigilant watch in cougar country. CT version that harvest of blueberries because we were refused appeared on his water from our supplier, a long-time farmer. Stacey Warde is publisher of The Rogue blog. Green berries about to turn color, promis- Voice. This article is adapted from an earlier ing a well-deserved bounty, fell off the plants version that appeared on his blog, by the buckets full. The plants went dry and http:?/theroguevoice.com

10 ColdType | March 2014 criminal injustice The absurd hell that is the US police state Stupidity and malice are rapidly becoming the new trademarks of a corrupt US justice sustem, writes John W. Whitehead

“The greatest evil is not now done in those in state custody after allowing the 9-year-old Police charged sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to to spend unsupervised time at a neighbor- the boy with paint. It is not done even in concentration hood playground while the mom worked manufacturing camps and labour camps. In those we see its a shift at McDonald’s. Mind you, the child and distributing final result. But it is conceived and ordered asked to play outside, was given a cell phone child pornography (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in in case she needed to reach someone, and and issued a clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted the park – a stone’s throw from the mom’s search warrant to offices, by quiet men with white collars place of work – was overrun with kids en- “medically induce and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven joying its swings, splash pad, and shade. an erection” in cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. A Connecticut mother was charged with the 17-year-old Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for leaving her 11-year-old daughter in the car boy in order to Hell is something like the bureaucracy of unsupervised while she ran inside a store photograph his a police state or the office of a thoroughly – despite the fact that the child asked to erect penis nasty business concern.” – C.S. Lewis, The stay in the car and was not overheated or Screwtape Letters in distress. A few states away, a New Jersey man was arrested and charged with endan- hether it’s the working moth- gering the welfare of his children after leav- er arrested for letting her ing them in a car parked in a police station 9-year-old play unsupervised parking lot, windows rolled down, while he W at a playground, the teenager ran inside to pay a ticket. forced to have his genitals photographed A Virginia teenager was charged with by police, the underage burglar sentenced violating the state’s sexting law after ex- to 23 years for shooting a retired police dog, changing sexually provocative videos with or the 43-year-old man who died of a heart his girlfriend. Instead of insisting that the attack after being put in a chokehold by matter be dealt with as a matter of parental NYPD officers allegedly over the sale of un- concern, police charged the boy with manu- taxed cigarettes, the theater of the absurd facturing and distributing child pornogra- that passes for life in the American police phy and issued a search warrant to “medi- state grows more tragic and incomprehen- cally induce an erection” in the 17-year-old sible by the day. boy in order to photograph his erect penis Debra Harrell, a 46-year-old South Caro- and compare it to the images sent in the lina working mother, was arrested, charged sexting exchange. The police had already with abandonment and had her child placed taken an initial photograph of the boy’s pe-

August 2014 | ColdType 11 criminal injustice

Any deviations nis against his will, upon his arrest. nalization, government surveillance, milita- from the norm – In Georgia, a toddler had his face severely rized police, neighbors turning in neighbors, especially those burned when a flash bang grenade, launched privatized prisons, and forced labor camps, that offend the by a SWAT team during the course of a no- to name just a few similarities – is tracking sensibilities of knock warrant, landed in his portable crib, very closely with what we saw happening in the “government- detonating on his pillow. Also in Georgia, a Germany in the years leading up to Hitler’s knows-best” police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old rise to power. nanny state or boy who answered the door, reportedly with When all is said and done, what these in- challenge the a Nintendo Wii controller in his hands. The cidents reflect is a society that has become powers that be cop claimed the teenager pointed a gun at so bureaucratic, so legalistic, so politically – become grist her, thereby justifying the use of deadly correct, so militaristic, so locked down, so for prosecution, force. Then there was the incident wherein self righteous, and so willing to march in persecution a police officer, responding to a complaint lockstep with the corporate-minded police and endless that some children were “chopping off tree state that any deviations from the norm – tribulations for the limbs” creating “tripping hazards,” pulled especially those that offend the sensibili- poor souls who a gun on a group of 11-year-old boys who ties of the “government-knows-best” nanny are caught in the were playing in a wooded area, attempting state or challenge the powers that be – be- crosshairs to build a tree fort. come grist for prosecution, persecution and While the growing phenomenon of cops endless tribulations for the poor souls who shooting family pets only adds to the in- are caught in the crosshairs. sanity (it is estimated that a family pet is ______killed by law enforcement every 98 minutes Then there are the incidents, less colorful in America), it’s worse for those who dare perhaps but no less offensive to the sensi- to shoot a police dog. Ivins Rosier was 16 bilities of any freedom-loving individual, when he broke into the home of a Florida which should arouse outrage among the highway patrol officer and shot (although populace but often slip under the radar of a he didn’t kill) the man’s retired police dog. sleeping nation. For his crime, the teenager was sentenced For instance, not only is the NSA spying to 23 years in prison, all the while police of- on and collecting the content of your com- ficers who shoot family pets are rarely rep- munications, but it’s also going to extreme rimanded. lengths to label as “extremists” anyone who Meanwhile if you’re one of those hop- attempts to protect their emails from the ing to live off the grid, independent of city government’s prying eyes. Adding insult to resources, you might want to think again. injury, those same government employees Florida resident Robin Speronis was threat- and contractors spying on Americans’ pri- ened with eviction for living without utili- vate electronic communications are also ties. Speronis was accused of violating the ogling their private photos. Recent revela- International Property Maintenance Code tions indicate that NSA employees routine- by relying on rain water instead of the city ly pass around intercepted nude photos, water system and solar panels instead of the considered a “fringe benefit” of surveillance electric grid. positions. Now we can shrug these incidents off A trove of leaked documents reveals the as isolated injustices happening to “other” government’s unmitigated gall in labeling people. We can rationalize them away by Americans as terrorists for little more than suggesting that these people “must” have being suspected of committing “any act done something to warrant such treatment. that is ‘dangerous’ to property and intended Or we can acknowledge that this slide into to influence government policy through in- totalitarianism – helped along by overcrimi- timidation.” As The Intercept reports: “This

12 ColdType | August 2014 criminal injustice combination – a broad definition of what anism, Arendt warned that “the greatest A recent report constitutes terrorism and a low threshold evil perpetrated is the evil committed by released by for designating someone a terrorist – opens nobodies, that is, by human beings who re- Human Rights the way to ensnaring innocent people in fuse to be persons.” Watch reveals secret government dragnets.” All the while, This is where democracy falls to ruin, that “nearly the TSA, despite the billions of dollars we and bureaucracy and tyranny prevail. all of the spend on the agency annually and the liber- As I make clear in my book, “A Govern- highest-profile ties to which its agents subject travelers, has ment of Wolves: The Emerging American domestic yet to catch a single terrorist. Police State”, we have only ourselves to terrorism plots No less disconcerting are the rash of in- blame for this bureaucratic hell that has in the United cidents in which undercover government grown up around us. Too many of us will- States since agents encourage individuals to commit ingly, knowingly and deliberately comprise 9/11 featured crimes they might not have engaged in what Arendt refers to as “cogs in the mass- the ‘direct otherwise. This “make work” entrapment murder machine.” involvement’ scheme runs the gamut from terrorism to These cogs are none other than those of us of government drugs. In fact, a recent report released by who have turned a blind eye to the govern- agents or Human Rights Watch reveals that “nearly ment corruption, or shrugged dismissively informants” all of the highest-profile domestic terror- at the ongoing injustices, or tuned out the ism plots in the United States since 9/11 mayhem in favor of entertainment distrac- featured the ‘direct involvement’ of govern- tions. Just as guilty are those who have trad- ment agents or informants.” ed in their freedoms for a phantom promise Most outrageous of all are the asset for- of security, not to mention those who feed feiture laws that empower law enforcement the machine unquestioningly with their tax to rake in huge sums of money by confis- dollars and partisan politics. cating cash, cars, and even homes based on And then there are those who work for little more than a suspicion of wrongdoing. the government, federal, state, local or con- In this way, Americans who haven’t been tractor. These government employees – the charged with a crime, let alone convicted soldiers, the cops, the technicians, the social of wrongdoing, are literally being subjected workers, etc. – are neither evil nor sadistic. to highway robbery by government agents They’re simply minions being paid to do a offering profit-driven, cash-for-freedom job, whether that job is to arrest you, spy deals. on you, investigate you, crash through your ______door, etc. However, we would do well to re- So who or what is to blame for this bureau- member that those who worked at the con- cratic nightmare delivered by way of the po- centration camps and ferried the victims to lice state? Is it the White House? Is it Con- the gas chambers were also just “doing their gress? Is it the Department of Homeland Se- jobs.” curity, with its mobster mindset? Is it some Then again, if we must blame anyone, shadowy, power-hungry entity operating off blame the faceless, nameless, bureaucratic a nefarious plan? government machine – which having been Or is it, as Holocaust survivor Hannah erected and set into motion is nearly im- Arendt suggests, the sheepish masses who possible to shut down – for the relentless mindlessly march in lockstep with the gov- erosion of our freedoms through a million ernment’s dictates – expressing no outrage, laws, statutes, and prohibitions. demanding no reform, and issuing no chal- If there is any glimmer of hope to be lenge to the status quo – who are to blame found, it will be at the local level, but we for the prison walls being erected around cannot wait for things to get completely out us? The author of The Origins of Totalitari- of control. If you wait to act until the SWAT

August 2014 | ColdType 13 criminal injustice

This much I team is crashing through your door, until ours. In the same way, the government’s ap- know: we are not your name is placed on a terror watch list, pointed purpose is not to threaten or under- faceless numbers. until you are reported for such outlawed mine our freedoms, but to safeguard them. We are not cogs in activities as collecting rainwater or letting Until we can get back to this way of the machine. We your children play outside unsupervised, thinking, until we can remind Americans are not slaves. We then it will be too late. what it really means to be a free American, are people, and Obedience is the precondition to totali- and learn to stand our ground in the face free people at that tarianism, and the precondition to obedi- of threats to those freedoms, and encourage ence is fear. Regimes of the past and present our fellow citizens to stop being cogs in the understand this. “The very first essential for machine, we will continue as slaves in thrall success,” Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, “is a to the bureaucratic police state. CT perpetually constant and regular employ- ment of violence.” Is this not what we are John W. Whitehead is a constitutional seeing now with the SWAT teams and the attorney and author. He is founder and security checkpoints and the endless wars? president of The Rutherford Institute and a. As the Founders understood, our free- editor of GadflyOnline.com. His latest book doms do not flow from the government. “A Government of Wolves: The Emerging They were not given to us, to be taken away American Police State” (SelectBooks) is at the will of the State; they are inherently available at amazon.com

“John Whitehead is one of the most eloquent and knowledgeable defenders of liberty, and opponents of the growing American police state, writing today. I am pleased to recommend A Government of Wolves to anyone interested in learning how modern America increasingly resembles a dystopian science fiction film instead of a Constitutional Republic.”—RON PAUL

14 ColdType | August 2014 Propaganda boom Worse than Orwell’s worst nightmare John Pilger is appalled at the lack of dissident voices in the mainstream media

he other night, I saw George Or- period,” says an Observer headline, “and why The once hopeful well’s 1984 performed on the London politics don’t make good art.” Consider this in concept of stage. Although crying out for a con- a newspaper that promoted the bloodbath in “reform” now temporary interpretation, Orwell’s Iraq as a liberal crusade. Picasso’s lifelong op- means regression, T even destruction. warning about the future was presented as a position to fascism is a footnote, just as Orwell’s period piece: remote, unthreatening, almost radicalism has faded from the prize that appro- “Austerity” is reassuring. It was as if Edward Snowden had priated his name. the imposition of revealed nothing, Big Brother was not now a A few years ago, Terry Eagleton, then pro- extreme capitalism digital eavesdropper and Orwell himself had fessor of English literature at Manchester Uni- on the poor and the never said, “To be corrupted by totalitarian- versity, reckoned that “for the first time in two gift of socialism ism, one does not have to live in a totalitarian centuries, there is no eminent British poet, for the rich: an country.” playwright or novelist prepared to question ingenious system Acclaimed by critics, the skilful production the foundations of the western way of life”. No under which the was a measure of our cultural and political Shelley speaks for the poor, no Blake for uto- majority service the times. When the lights came up, people were al- pian dreams, no Byron damns the corruption debts of the few ready on their way out. They seemed unmoved, of the ruling class, no Thomas Carlyle and John or perhaps other distractions beckoned. “What Ruskin reveal the moral disaster of capitalism. a mindfuck,” said the young woman, lighting William Morris, Oscar Wilde, HG Wells, George up her phone. Bernard Shaw have no equivalents today. Har- As advanced societies are de-politicised, the old Pinter was the last to raise his voice. Among changes are both subtle and spectacular. In ev- the insistent voices of consumer feminism, eryday discourse, political language is turned none echoes Virginia Woolf, who described on its head, as Orwell prophesised in 1984. “the arts of dominating other people … of rul- “Democracy” is now a rhetorical device. Peace ing, of killing, of acquiring land and capital”. is “perpetual war”. “Global” is imperial. The At the National Theatre, a new play, Great once hopeful concept of “reform” now means Britain, satirises the phone hacking scandal that regression, even destruction. “Austerity” is the has seen journalists tried and convicted, includ- imposition of extreme capitalism on the poor ing a former editor of Rupert Murdoch’s News and the gift of socialism for the rich: an inge- of the World. Described as a “farce with fangs nious system under which the majority service [that] puts the whole incestuous [media] cul- the debts of the few. ture in the dock and subjects it to merciless rid- In the arts, hostility to political truth-telling icule”, the play’s targets are the “blessedly fun- is an article of bourgeois faith. “Picasso’s red ny” characters in Britain’s tabloid press. That

August 2014 | ColdType 15 Propaganda boom

A “precision” is well and good, and so familiar. What of the declares: “Toppling Saddam was right, but we 500-pound bomb non-tabloid media that regards itself as reputa- pulled out too soon”. This ran across a promi- fell directly on ble and credible, yet serves a parallel role as an nent article on 13 June by a former Blair func- their small mud, arm of state and corporate power, as in the pro- tionary, John McTernan, who also served Iraq’s stone and straw motion of illegal war? The Leveson inquiry into CIA installed dictator Iyad Allawi. In calling for house, leaving phone hacking glimpsed this unmentionable. a repeat invasion of a country his former mas- a crater 50 feet Tony Blair was giving evidence, complaining ter helped destroy, he made no reference to the wide. Lockheed to His Lordship about the tabloids’ harassment deaths of at least 700,000 people, the flight of Martin, the plane’s of his wife, when he was interrupted by a voice four million refugees and sectarian turmoil in a manufacturer’s, from the public gallery. David Lawley-Wakelin, nation once proud of its communal tolerance. had pride of place a film-maker, demanded Blair’s arrest and “Blair embodies corruption and war,” wrote in the Guardian’s prosecution for war crimes. There was a long the radical Guardian columnist Seumas Milne advertisement pause: the shock of truth. Lord Leveson leapt in a spirited piece on 3 July. This is known in to his feet and ordered the truth-teller thrown the trade as “balance”. The following day, the out and apologised to the war criminal. Lawley- paper published a full-page advertisement for Wakelin was prosecuted; Blair went free. an American Stealth bomber. On a menacing Blair’s enduring accomplices are more re- image of the bomber were the words: “The spectable than the phone hackers. When the F-35. GREAT For Britain”. This other embodi- BBC arts presenter, Kirsty Wark, interviewed ment of “corruption and war” will cost British him on the tenth anniversary of his invasion of taxpayers £1.3 billion, its F-model predecessors Iraq, she gifted him a moment he could only having slaughtered people across the develop- dream of; she allowed him to agonise over his ing world. “difficult” decision on Iraq rather than call him In a village in Afghanistan, inhabited by the to account for his epic crime. This evoked the poorest of the poor, I filmed Orifa, kneeling at procession of BBC journalists who in 2003 de- the graves of her husband, Gul Ahmed, a car- clared that Blair could feel “vindicated”, and pet weaver, seven other members of her family, the subsequent, “seminal” BBC series, The including six children, and two children who Blair Years, for which David Aaronovitch was were killed in the adjacent house. A “precision” chosen as the writer, presenter and interviewer. 500-pound bomb fell directly on their small A Murdoch retainer who campaigned for mili- mud, stone and straw house, leaving a crater 50 tary attacks on Iraq, Libya and Syria, Aarono- feet wide. Lockheed Martin, the plane’s manu- vitch fawned expertly. facturer’s, had pride of place in the Guardian’s Since the invasion of Iraq – the exemplar of advertisement. an act of unprovoked aggression the Nurem- The former US secretary of state and aspir- berg prosecutor Robert Jackson called “the su- ing president of the United States, Hillary Clin- preme international crime differing only from ton, was recently on the BBC’s Women’s Hour, other war crimes in that it contains within it- the quintessence of media respectability. The self the accumulated evil of the whole” – Blair presenter, Jenni Murray, presented Clinton as and his mouthpiece and principal accomplice, a beacon of female achievement. She did not Alastair Campbell, have been afforded gener- remind her listeners about Clinton’s profan- ous space in the Guardian to rehabilitate their ity that Afghanistan was invaded to “liberate” reputations. Described as a Labour Party “star”, women like Orifa. She asked Clinton nothing Campbell has sought the sympathy of readers about her administration’s terror campaign us- for his depression and displayed his interests, ing drones to kill women, men and children. though not his current assignment as advisor, There was no mention of Clinton’s idle threat, with Blair, to the Egyptian military tyranny. while campaigning to be the first female presi- As Iraq is dismembered as a consequence of dent, to “eliminate” Iran, and nothing about the Blair/Bush invasion, a Guardian headline her support for illegal mass surveillance and

16 ColdType | August 2014 Propaganda boom the pursuit of whistle-blowers. life.” He had in mind a speech by Blair in which Today’s grand Murray did ask one finger-to-the-lips ques- the then prime minister promised to “reorder illusion is of an tion. Had Clinton forgiven Monica Lewinsky for the world around us” according to his “moral information age having an affair with husband? “Forgiveness is values”. when, in truth, a choice,” said Clinton, “for me, it was absolute- Richard Falk, the respected authority on in- we live in a media ly the right choice.” This recalled the 1990s and ternational law and the UN Special Rapporteur age in which the years consumed by the Lewinsky “scandal”. on Palestine, once described as “a self-righteous, incessant corporate President Bill Clinton was then invading Haiti, one-way, legal/moral screen [with] positive propaganda and bombing the Balkans, Africa and Iraq. He images of western values and innocence por- is insidious, was also destroying the lives of Iraqi children; trayed as threatened, validating a campaign of contagious, Unicef reported the deaths of half a million unrestricted political violence”. It is “so widely effective and liberal Iraqi infants under the age of five as a result of accepted as to be virtually unchallengeable”. an embargo led by the US and Britain. Tenure and patronage reward the guardians. The children were media unpeople, just as On BBC Radio 4, Razia Iqbal interviewed Toni Hillary Clinton’s victims in the invasions she Morrison, the African-American Nobel Laure- supported and promoted – Afghanistan, Iraq, ate. Morrison wondered why people were “so Yemen, Somalia – are media unpeople. Murray angry” with Barack Obama, who was “cool” made no reference to them. A photograph of and wished to build a “strong economy and her and her distinguished guest, beaming, ap- health care”. Morrison was proud to have talk- pears on the BBC website. ed on the phone with her hero, who had read In politics as in journalism and the arts, it one of her books and invited her to his inau- seems that dissent once tolerated in the “main- guration. stream” has regressed to a dissidence: a meta- Neither she nor her interviewer mentioned phoric underground. When I began a career in Obama’s seven wars, including his terror cam- Britain’s Fleet Street in the 1960s, it was accept- paign by drone, in which whole families, their able to critique western power as a rapacious rescuers and mourners have been murdered. force. Read James Cameron’s celebrated reports What seemed to matter was that a “finely of the explosion of the Hydrogen bomb at Bi- spoken” man of colour had risen to the com- kini Atoll, the barbaric war in Korea and the manding heights of power. In The Wretched American bombing of North Vietnam. Today’s of the Earth, Frantz Fanon wrote that the “his- grand illusion is of an information age when, in toric mission” of the colonised was to serve as a truth, we live in a media age in which incessant “transmission line” to those who ruled and op- corporate propaganda is insidious, contagious, pressed. In the modern era, the employment of effective and liberal. ethnic difference in western power and propa- In his 1859 essay “On Liberty” to which mod- ganda systems is now seen as essential. Obama ern liberals pay homage, John Stuart Mill wrote: epitomises this, though the cabinet of George “Despotism is a legitimate mode of government W. Bush – his warmongering clique – was the in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be most multiracial in presidential history. their improvement, and the means justified by As the Iraqi city of Mosul fell to the jihad- actually effecting that end.” The “barbarians” ists of ISIS, Obama said, “The American people were large sections of humanity of whom “im- made huge investments and sacrifices in order plicit obedience” was required. “It’s a nice and to give Iraqis the opportunity to chart a better convenient myth that liberals are peacemakers destiny.” How “cool” is that lie? How “finely and conservatives the warmongers,” wrote the spoken” was Obama’s speech at the West Point historian Hywel Williams in 2001, “but the im- military academy on 28 May. Delivering his perialism of the liberal way may be more dan- “state of the world” address at the graduation gerous because of its open-ended nature: its ceremony of those who “will take American conviction that it represents a superior form of leadership” across the world, Obama said, “The

August 2014 | ColdType 17 Propaganda boom

If Israel’s atrocities United States will use military force, unilateral- a promise made to Soviet President Mikhail in Gaza become ly if necessary, when our core interests demand Gorbachev in 1990 that Nato would not expand too gruesome to it. International opinion matters, but America “one inch to the east”, Nato has, in effect, mili- ignore, it would put will never ask permission …” tarily occupied eastern Europe. In the former Egyptian President In repudiating international law and the Soviet Caucasus, Nato’s expansion is the big- Abdul-Fattah rights of independent nations, the American gest military build-up since the Second World el-Sisi under president claims a divinity based on the might War. pressure to open of his “indispensable nation”. It is a familiar A Nato Membership Action Plan is Washing- the Egyptian message of imperial impunity, though always ton’s gift to the coup-regime in Kiev. In August, crossing into Gaza bracing to hear. Evoking the rise of fascism in “Operation Rapid Trident” will put American the 1930s, Obama said, “I believe in American and British troops on Ukraine’s Russian border exceptionalism with every fibre of my being.” and “Sea Breeze” will send US warships within Historian Norman Pollack wrote: “For goose- sight of Russian ports. Imagine the response if steppers, substitute the seemingly more in- these acts of provocation, or intimidation, were nocuous militarisation of the total culture. And carried out on America’s borders. for the bombastic leader, we have the reformer In reclaiming Crimea – which Nikita manqué, blithely at work, planning and execut- Kruschev illegally detached from Russia in ing assassination, smiling all the while.” 1954 – the Russians defended themselves as In February, the US mounted one of its they have done for almost a century. More than “colour” coups against the elected government 90 per cent of the population of Crimea voted in Ukraine, exploiting genuine protests against to return the territory to Russia. Crimea is the corruption in Kiev. Obama’s national security home of the Black Sea Fleet and its loss would adviser Victoria Nuland personally selected the mean life or death for the Russian Navy and a leader of an “interim government”. She nick- prize for Nato. Confounding the war parties in named him “Yats”. Vice President Joe Biden Washington and Kiev, Vladimir Putin withdrew came to Kiev, as did CIA Director John Brennan. troops from the Ukrainian border and urged The shock troops of their putsch were Ukrai- ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine to abandon nian fascists. separatism. For the first time since 1945, a neo-Nazi, In Orwellian fashion, this has been inverted openly anti-Semitic party controls key areas of in the west to the “Russian threat”. Hillary Clin- state power in a European capital. No Western ton likened Putin to Hitler. Without irony, right- European leader has condemned this revival wing German commentators said as much. In of fascism in the borderland through which the media, the Ukrainian neo-Nazis are sani- Hitler’s invading Nazis took millions of Rus- tised as “nationalists” or “ultra nationalists”. sian lives. They were supported by the Ukrai- What they fear is that Putin is skilfully seeking nian Insurgent Army (UPA), responsible for a diplomatic solution, and may succeed. On 27 the massacre of Jews and Russians they called June, responding to Putin’s latest accommoda- “vermin”. The UPA is the historical inspira- tion – his request to the Russian Parliament to tion of the present-day Svoboda Party and its rescind legislation that gave him the power to fellow-travelling Right Sector. Svoboda leader intervene on behalf of Ukraine’s ethnic Rus- Oleh Tyahnybok has called for a purge of the sians – Secretary of State John Kerry issued “Moscow-Jewish mafia” and “other scum”, in- another of his ultimatums. Russia must “act cluding gays, feminists and those on the politi- within the next few hours, literally” to end the cal left. revolt in eastern Ukraine. Notwithstanding that Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kerry is widely recognised as a buffoon, the se- United States has ringed Russia with military rious purpose of these “warnings” is to confer bases, nuclear warplanes and missiles as part pariah status on Russia and suppress news of of its Nato Enlargement Project. Reneging on the Kiev regime’s war on its own people.

18 ColdType | August 2014 Propaganda boom

A third of the population of Ukraine are ernment Says”. Obama congratulated the Summon from Russian-speaking and bilingual. They have long junta for its “restraint”. history the ghosts sought a democratic federation that reflects On 28 June, the Guardian devoted most of a of Vietnam, Ukraine’s ethnic diversity and is both autono- page to declarations by the Kiev regime’s “pres- Chile, East Timor, mous and independent of Moscow. Most are ident”, the oligarch Petro Poroshenko. Again, southern Africa, neither “separatists” nor “rebels” but citizens Orwell’s rule of inversion applied. There was Iraq; note the who want to live securely in their homeland. no putsch; no war against Ukraine’s minority; same tags. Separatism is a reaction to the Kiev junta’s at- the Russians were to blame for everything. “We Palestine is the tacks on them, causing as many as 110,000 (UN want to modernise my country,” said Poroshen- lodestone of this estimate) to flee across the border into Russia. ko. “We want to introduce freedom, democracy unchanging deceit Typically, they are traumatised women and and European values. Somebody doesn’t like children. that. Somebody doesn’t like us for that.” Like Iraq’s embargoed infants, and Afghani- According to his report, the Guardian’s re- stan’s “liberated” women and girls, terrorised porter, Luke Harding, did not challenge these by the CIA’s warlords, these ethnic people of assertions, or mention the Odessa atrocity, the Ukraine are media unpeople in the west, their regime’s air and artillery attacks on residential suffering and the atrocities committed against areas, the killing and kidnapping of journalists, them minimised, or suppressed. No sense of the firebombing of an opposition newspaper the scale of the regime’s assault is reported in and his threat to “free Ukraine from dirt and the mainstream western media. This is not un- parasites”. The enemy are “rebels”, “militants”, precedented. Reading again Phillip Knightley’s “insurgents”, “terrorists” and stooges of the masterly “The First Casualty: the war correspon- Kremlin. Summon from history the ghosts of dent as hero, propagandist and mythmaker”, I Vietnam, Chile, East Timor, southern Africa, renewed my admiration for the Manchester Iraq; note the same tags. Guardian’s Morgan Philips Price, the only west- Palestine is the lodestone of this unchang- ern reporter to remain in Russia during the 1917 ing deceit. On 11 July, following the latest Is- revolution and report the truth of a disastrous raeli, American equipped slaughter in Gaza – 80 invasion by the western allies. Fair-minded and people including six children in one family – an courageous, Philips Price alone disturbed what Israeli general writes in the Guardian under the Knightley calls an anti-Russian “dark silence” headline, “A necessary show of force”. in the west. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and On 2 May, in Odessa, 41 ethnic Russians asked her about her films that glorified the Na- were burned alive in the trade union head- zis. Using revolutionary camera and lighting quarters with police standing by. There is techniques, she produced a documentary form horrifying video evidence. The Right Sector that mesmerised Germans; it was her Triumph leader Dmytro Yarosh hailed the massacre of the Will that reputedly cast Hitler’s spell. I as “another bright day in our national his- asked her about propaganda in societies that tory”. In the American and British media, imagined themselves superior. She replied that this was reported as a “murky tragedy” re- the “messages” in her films were dependent sulting from “clashes” between “national- not on “orders from above” but on a “submis- ists” (neo-Nazis) and “separatists” (people sive void” in the German population. “Did that collecting signatures for a referendum on a include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie?” I federal Ukraine). The New York Times buried asked. “Everyone,” she replied, “and of course it, having dismissed as Russian propaganda the intelligentsia.” CT warnings about the fascist and anti-Semitic policies of Washington’s new clients. The Wall John PIlger’s new film, “Utopia”, has Street Journal damned the victims – “Deadly received glowing reviews in the UK and Ukraine Fire Likely Sparked by Rebels, Gov- Australia

August 2014 | ColdType 19 The great FLU Superbugs threaten to return us to Dark Ages The last pandemic to kill millions of people was the Spanish flu outbreak at the end of World War I. Trevor Grundy wonders when the next will hit us

In the course of he pandemic that swept across the food and shelter which was not the case in three months, over globe at the end of the First World countries such as India, China or most places 43,000 soldiers War (1914-1918) has been described in Africa. Mortality ranged from about five succumbed to the by various historians as the great- per 1000 in Europe and USA: nine per 1000 in disease. One of the T est medical holocaust in history – alongside Latin America: 15 per 1000 in Africa and 20-34 most striking of AIDS, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, cholera per 1000 in Asia. the complications and typhus. The Dutch researcher and specialist in Af- was haemorrhage Some media commentators have drawn rican social history Professor Jan–Bart Gewald from mucous parallels between the devastation caused by told a gathering of academics in 2007 that membranes, Spanish ‘flu with the Black Death from 1347- “Spanish influenza” originated not in Spain especially from 1351 when the rat and flea carried bubonic (which was neutral throughout the 1914-1918 the nose, stomach plague wiped such a large percentage of the conflict) but in France at a military camp and intestine European population. Such comparisons are where over 100,000 men lived beside pigs and exaggerated. The bubonic plague wiped out poultry. close to 200 million people, roughly one third Others say it started in China and then of Europe’s population in the tumultuous spread to Kansas USA, crossing over into Eu- 14th century. rope and then Africa and other parts of the Although no-one is able to tell us exactly world by German and Allied soldiers locked how many died, it is common to focus on the in one of the most appalling slaughters in his- impact Spanish influenza had in 1918 on West- tory. ern countries where systematic information In March 1918, the deadly virus struck at on mortality has been available for a number military camps in America, where soldiers of years. Estimates are anything from 20 mil- waited shipment to the war in Europe. lion to 40 million, substantially more than the In the course of three months, over 43,000 estimated 18 million (10 million combatants soldiers succumbed to the disease. One of the and eight million civilians) killed in the war most striking of the complications was haem- itself. More died in a single year than were orrhage from mucous membranes, especially killed in the four years of the Black Death from the nose, stomach and intestine. Bleed- from 1347-1351) ing from the ears and skin also occurred but But the highest death rates were neither the majority of deaths were from bacterial in America or Europe. They were in Asia and pneumonia. The disease killed 20 percent of Africa – not surprisingly because the majority those infected, as opposed to the usual ‘flu of Westerners had access to reasonably decent epidemic of 0.5 percent.

20 ColdType | August 2014 The great FLU

Lawrence Vambe in a photo taken shortly after Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980 at Domboshava outside Harare. He became a leading journalist and author. Photo: Trevor Grundy

The epidemic did not kick off in Spain but dugouts of horrendous war the disease spread Like so much else, the name stuck – Spanish ‘flu. like wildfire and lay the seeds for further out- the devastating Like so much else, the devastating impact breaks further afield.” impact of the of the epidemic was played down by the vic- Hundreds of thousands of men were epidemic was torious Allies and within a few years the pub- shipped to Africa where a fierce war between played down by lic’s memory of the Spanish ‘flu fell away and the Germans and British (backed by South Af- the victorious historians call it “the forgotten epidemic.” The ricans and Rhodesians) raged in East Africa. Allies and within names of millions of the war dead are remem- In 1998, Professor Howard Phillips in the a few years, the bered on stones and walls around the world, Department of History at the University of public’s memory but there’s no clear division between those Cape Town and Professor David Killingray, of the Spanish who died in combat and those who died of in- organized a conference entitled “Refections ‘flu fell away and fluenza at the war’s end in November. on the Spanish Flu Pandemic after 80 years: historians call it But forgotten?? Causes, Course and Consequences.” Little “the forgotten Well, almost. It was seen as an extension of known studies were examined including Pro- epidemic” one of the many tragedies of the war. fessor Terence Ranger’s “The Influenza Pan- “On the battlefield of Northern France,” demic in Southern Rhodesia: A Crisis of Com- Gewald explains, ”troops on either side of prehension,” which he compiled in 1988. the line, sometimes 500 meters apart, were There have been hundreds of learned ar- infected by airborne diseases. In the prisoner ticles about the impact influenza made on of war camps and gas-ridden trenches and America, Britain, and Europe – relatively few

August 2014 | ColdType 21 The great FLU

“Every morning, on the devastation it caused in Africa. one of them would In the north-eastern districts of Northern milk a cow and Rhodesia (Zambia) the pandemic arrived in feed me with fresh the context of war and famine. milk. Without those German soldiers under Lettow von Vor- dedicated nuns, beck had routed British colonial forces, sacked I would not have Kasama and seemed set to continue onwards. survived” Ian Phimister tells us in “Wangi Kolia – Coal, Capital and Labour in Colonial Zim- babwe 1894-1954” (Baobab Books Harare, 1994) that the first case of Spanish influenza in neighbouring Southern Rhodesia (Zimba- bwe) came in October 1918, one month before the war’s end. He writes: “From there the epidemic spread swiftly to Gwelo (Gweru), Que Que (Kwekwe) and Salisbury (Harare) before engulfing other towns and districts the line of rail. Wankie’s The poor, the old, the wretched and the hungry turn came on October 14, 1918 “and within will always be the most vulnerable during the space of a few days nearly two thousand epidemics. The next one could be mainly man natives were prostrated. The influenza pan- made. Photo: Trevor Grundy demic struck the colliery with explosive force. Like most other large Southern Rhodesian cause of the drop in production in Zambia. mines, Wankie’s overcrowded, filthy com- The pandemic spread, fast as a bullet and pound provided optimum conditions for the against the fear of an invisible foe there is no rapid spread of the disease. Underground la- heroic combat. bourers, subject to variations in temperature Lawrence Vambe MBE, the Zimbabwean as they left hot and confined working con- journalist and author (“An Ill-fated People” ditions below ground for the surface where and “From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe” (both there were no change houses, to suffer most published by William Heinemann, London from the pandemic. Hundreds of miners drew 1972 and 1976 respectively) was born in March the appropriate conclusion and fled to the 1917. His mother died the following year, a compound into the surrounding countryside. victim of Spanish influenza. Vambe and his Some undoubtedly carried inflection into siblings were brought up by German nuns at outlying villages but many more unquestion- Chishawasha Mission (Roman Catholic) out- ably saved their own lives by escaping from side Salisbury (Harare). “Every morning, one the colliery. By 24 October, an estimated 100 of them would milk a cow and feed me with black workers had died and by the end of the fresh milk. Without those dedicated nuns, month the total number of dead had more I would not have survived,” he told me. “I than doubled. One white miner died in the wonder how many young Zimbabweans to- same period. For nearly two weeks Wankie day know what happened – the devastation was at a complete standstill.” caused by that terrible epidemic.” Francis L. Coleman records in “The North- Blacks blamed whites: whites blamed ern Rhodesian Copper Belt 1899-1962” (Man- blacks. chester University Press, 1971) that the price In South Africa, the authorities reacted by of copper rose from £61 to £170 a ton by the passing more segregation legislation – the Na- end of 1916, but it was Katanga, in neighbor- tive Urban Areas Act – to separate the races. ing Congo (Zaire) that prospered the most be- Although in some hospitals white nurses

22 ColdType | August 2014 The great FLU were told to treat blacks because the authori- hardly matters where the epidemic started or Africans started ties were so frightened it would spread even who was responsible. to believe that further without treatment. It was no respecter of race or ethnic group. the whiteman’s In “Black Peril, White Virtue: Sexual Crime All human beings were fair game, as they are chimurenga in in Southern Rhodesia 1902-1935” (Bloom- now if British Prime Minister David Cameron Europe (they ington: Indiana University Press, 2000) Jock is right that super bugs resistant to antibiotics were drawn into McCullough tells us that the “natives” were could return us to the European Dark Ages, a it because they forbidden from travelling on trains. Chiefs time so chillingly and brilliantly described by were then part of were instructed to keep their people con- the American historian Barabra Tuchman in the British Empire) fined to their villages. The state requisitioned “The Distant Mirror” (Macmillan, 1979) had caused the cattle and petrol supplies. Almost ten times A report in the Times (July 2, 2014) said epidemic more Europeans – about 1,300 of them – died that a team of economists will lead an inter- from Spanish ‘flu than were killed in the first national group of experts aiming to spur on chimurenga (war in the Shona language) of a new generation of antibiotics. Jim O’Neill, 1897. a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs Africans started to believe that the white- has been asked to consider how governments man’s chimurenga in Europe (they were would be able to afford to pay pharmaceutical drawn into it because they were then part of companies to produce the right drugs which the British Empire) had caused the epidemic could overcome future epidemics and how which turned customary life upside down in poorer countries (many of them in Africa) both of the Rhodesias (Zambia and Zimba- can be encouraged to improve the control of bwe). existing antibiotics which are often sold over So many women were sick. Men had to the counter in shops. grind corn and prepare meals. Diets changed. Jeremy Farra, director of the Wellcome Cassava – a relatively easy crop to grow requir- Trust, says that drug-resistant bacteria, vi- ing less labour than maize – became suddenly ruses and parasites are driving a global health popular. crisis. “This,” he says,” threatens not only our Melvin E. Page writing in “The Chiwaya ability to treat deadly infections, but almost War: Malawians and the First World War” every aspect of modern medicine from can- (Boulder Press Colorado, 2000) tells us that cer treatment to caesarean sections, therapies the connection between the war and the pan- that save thousands of lives every day rely on demic of influenza was not only immediate antibiotics that could soon be lost.” but causal. A common expression was that “But only five new types of antibiotics ‘war air’ had brought the new and devastat- have been introduced since the 1960s and the ing disease into Africa because of white men supply of newly developed drugs is dwindling fighting one another thousands of miles away as companies see little profit in working on in Europe. treatments designed only to be used as a last A young woman in the Eastern Cape, Non- resort,” said the Times. tetha Nkwenkwe, was overcome by Spanish And, as usual, it will be the poor, the home- ’flu but she recovered and said she hadre- less, the already ill and hungry who will bear ceived divine messages. She began preaching the brunt of the next medical cataclysm given and prophesizing that influenza was a divine that we’re all to silly, greedy or both to let any- warning of things to come – a taste of what thing like that happen again. CT God was bringing on – Judgment Day. The colonial authorities out her and her Trevor Grundy is a British journalist who followers into prison. lived and worked in Central, Eastern and Against the background of an estimated Southern Africa from 1966-1996. He works in 30-50 million deaths in just over one year, it wEngland as a researcher and author

August 2014 | ColdType 23 in the picture Still defiant after 30 years No coal mines survive in County Durham in England, but this year’s annual miners’ gala in the city still attracted 150,000 supporters who remembered the part played by Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government in the destruction of the coal mining industry and Britain’s most powerful trade union Words: Peter Lazenby Photos: Joan Heath

Durham’s narrow urham is a small and ancient English streets are cathedral city with a history stretch- thronged and ing back more than 1,000 years. The lined with tens cathedral was founded in 1093 on of thousands of D the site of an old church in the era of Roman people to see the Catholic domination of Britain. It took more march of trades than 70 years to build. Sons followed fathers union banners and in the building of the cathedral – stonema- their bands sons, carpenters. One can only marvel at their achievements in a time when only the most basic tools were available. To the secular the cathedral is a tribute to the skills of the work- ers who built it, rather than to a deity. Adjacent to the magnificent cathedral thousands of people watching the parade is Durham Castle, a medieval fortification of trades union banners and bands. At the which is now part of the University of Dur- bottom of the incline, the marchers walk ham. Cathedral and castle sit atop a rocky across a bridge over the River Wear before promontory and are the striking feature of arriving outside the County Hotel, used as the skyline far beyond Durham city. Ancient headquarters for gala organisers and their streets wind down to the city centre from visiting guests. the cathedral and castle – streets which have The march covers a short distance, may- been trod by monks, pilgrims, worshippers be a mile, yet takes up to six hours as each and warriors over the centuries. band stops beneath the balcony of the hotel On Durham Miners’ Gala day these to play a piece specially selected and prac- streets are thronged and lined with tens of ticed for the occasion.

24 ColdType | August 2014 A stirring moment as the Easington Lodge banner is preceded by its band, past Durham’s County Hotel

By mid-morning the sidewalks are almost supporters, and filling even more with the The march covers unpassable, such is the density of the crowd drawn-out arrival of the procession. a short distance, applauding the groups of marchers. Each The gala has a carnival atmosphere. But maybe one mile, banner has as many as six “carriers” – two the speeches from the platform, lasting yet takes up holding the banner’s poles, with two at the around two hours, are a serious business – to six hours front and back holding ornate ropes fixed highly political, rousing, but drawing laugh- to complete to the top of the banner poles, to secure the ter as well as cheers as speakers lampoon the banner from gusts of wind. Behind the ban- government, the boss-class, and other targets ners follow thousands of union members of the day. and their families. By late afternoon the gala is over, but the The gala field, approached via a short streets remain thronged until after midnight, slope, is already occupied by thousands of the city’s pubs packed with revellers.

August 2014 | ColdType 25 in the picture

Marching on from the County Hotel in front of the Durham Miners’ Association banner.

Craighead Lodge band marches along the street. Banner of the Chopwell Lodge of the NUM.

The effect of mine The first coal miners’ union in the Dur- Union of Mineworkers – Britain’s most pow- closures was ham area was founded in 1869, and staged erful trades union. Destruction of the union shocking: no jobs its first gala in 1871. At its peak, when hun- through the closing of the coal mines wreaked for young people, dreds of coal mines operated in the North havoc on Britain’s close-knit mining commu- helplessness, of England, it attracted crowds of 300,000 nities. The loss of a mine meant the loss of frustration, – seven times the population of the city of each community’s economic base, along with followed by a Durham. This year’s gala, the 130th in its his- the businesses which depended on the min- growth in drug tory, took place during the 30th anniversary ers’ wages. abuse and crime in of the start of the year-long 1984-5 miners’ The effect was shocking: no jobs for young many communities strike against pit closures. There were 150,000 people, helplessness, frustration, followed by attendees, although Durham no longer has a growth in drug abuse and crime in many any coal mines, or miners. The last deep coal communities. The Conservatives threw more mine in the Durham coalfield was shut down than 150,000 coal miners out of work, mean- in 1993 by the Conservative Government, as it ing near-destitution for many of them and fulfilled its intention to destroy the National their families. For every miner’s job there

26 ColdType | August 2014 Brass band leads the banner and balloon of the Unison Union. were reckoned to be three more in associat- trades union members in Britain. Today there The Conservatives ed industries – equipment manufacture and are 6.5 million. After wrecking Britain’s coal threw more than transport among them. So the Conservatives’ mining industry – the country’s only long- 150,000 coal act of political vandalism against the mining term indigenous source of fuel – the govern- miners out of industry cost some 600,000 jobs. ment attacked manufacturing industries such work, meaning There was more to the Conservatives as steel and ship-building. Such was the Con- near-destitution planned destruction of the National Union servatives’ determination to wreck Britain’s for many of them of Mineworkers, though. The miners were trades union movement. and their families the “shock troops” of Britain’s trades union Why? Because the movement was the only movement. In 1974 they had brought down barrier between the Conservatives and their a Conservative government; with the miners ultimate goal: the transformation of Britain gone, the way was open to attack rest of the from a social-democratic nation, with a wel- unions. It is significant that when the Con- fare state, publicly-owned national health servative Government of Margaret Thatcher service, publicly-owned housing, and pub- came to power in 1979 there were 13.5 million licly-owned industries, including the supply

August 2014 | ColdType 27 in the picture

Among the speakers (from left): Christine Blower, National Union of Teachers; Dennis Skinner MP; Dave Hopper, Durham Miners’ Association; Steve Gillan, Prison Officers’ Association; Paul Kenny, GMB.

The historic Follonsby banner is paraded through the narrow streets of Durham .

After wrecking of power, operated for the benefit of all the The Conservatives have enthusiastic sup- Britain’s coal people. Into what? Into a country where every port for their project from the media. Eighty mining industry, service would be based on profit. per cent of the British Press pours out a daily the government The transformation continues as publicly- flood of right-wing propaganda, while the attacked owned health care services are being handed state-owned British Broadcasting Corporation manufacturing to private companies. The welfare safety net is manipulated by the Government. industries which assisted disabled and unemployed peo- – – – – – – – – – such as steel and ple and others is being dismantled. All that All is not lost, however, for the unions that ship-building was once owned by the state, and operated remain – many operating in what is left of in the interest of the people, is being handed the public sector – are fighting back. An esti- to corporations whose only motive is profit. mated 1.5 million public sector workers took Extra taxes are being piled on the poor, while strike action on July 10. Resistance is growing. taxes on Britain’s wealthiest people have been More strikes are planned. cut. Billions of pounds has been transferred The growth in support for the Durham from the poor to the rich. Miners’ Gala is another sign of the fight-back.

28 ColdType | August 2014 A pipe band leads the Eldon colliery union branch’s ornate banner

It is also evidence that while the mining com- After the mine closures, across the former Eighty per cent of munities were wrecked by the coal mine clo- coalfield of Durham “banner support groups” the British Press sures, the spirit of many of those communi- sprang up. In many communities, where a pours out a daily ties lives on. For many in the Durham area it banner had disappeared after the closure of flood of right- focuses on the preservation of the banners the coal mine, a replica is created. Damaged wing propaganda, of the National Union of Mineworkers. Each banners have been meticulously repaired. while the state- coal mine, employing roughly 1,000 miners, There are regular exhibitions of banners, owned British had its own branch of the union, and its own which are brought out each year for the Dur- Broadcasting union banner. Durham used to have 70 deep ham Miners’ Gala. More banners are being re- Corporation is coal mines. discovered or recreated every year, and these manipulated by Among the union officials elected annually new banners are greeted with great ceremony the Government to by each branch was the position of “banner at the Gala. suit its ends man.” To this miner fell the responsibility of The gala is known historically as “the Big caring for the branch’s trades union banner, Meeting,” and seeing the crowd of tens of keeping it maintained and ready for use. thousands listening attentively to the outspo-

August 2014 | ColdType 29 in the picture

Kibblesworth Lodge banner celebrates Aneurin Bevin. Crowds pack the racecourse awaiting the banners.

More banners ken speeches explains why. When the speak- there will be more banners representing former are being re- ers – including national union leaders, so- mining communities of the Durham coalfield. discovered or cialist Members of Parliament, international The spirit of the miners will live on. CT recreated every guests and two miners from Eastern Ukraine year, and these – finish, the banners are marched from the Peter Lazenby is a lifelong British trades new banners are field, again led by their bands. But in the city union activist and journalist, and is a greeted with centre the four newly discovered or re-created reporter for the Morning Star newspaper, a great ceremony banners take another route, up a steep incline left national newspaper supporting Britain’s at the Gala to the hill-top cathedral that dominates the labour and trades union city, where a congregation of 1,200 awaits the arrival of the new banners, to be blessed by Joan Heath is a university lecturer, the Bishop of Durham. journalist, former practising solicitor, and a This year there were 80 mining union ban- member of the management committee of ners at the gala, although only three deep mines the co-operative which owns the Morning remain in Britain. There were many more from Star. She is also a member of a collective other unions and organisations, and also ban- which makes banners for the labour ners from schools, carried by pupils. Next year movement.

30 ColdType | August 2014 The banners and bands arrive at the racecourse, where the festivities are already under way.

This year there were 80 mining Legacy of an industry’s destruction union banners The destruction of Britain’s deep coal mining industry meant the abandonment the country’s only at the gala, even indigenous fuel – which would have lasted for 200 years. Also abandoned was the world’s most ad- though only three vanced research into Clean Coal Technology, which would have vastly reduced the environmental deep coal mines damage caused by burning fossil fuel. Gas and oil reserves beneath the North Sea are running out, so remain in Britain more than 50 million tons of coal a year are imported for Britain’s power stations from countries which include Russia, and Colombia which has a record of exploiting child labour in its mines. Fuel bills in Britain have soared as a result. The gas and electricity industries and power stations, once publicly-owned, are now in private hands. The owning companies’ only motive is profit. Britain now suffers the existence of fuel poverty – people facing a choice of eating or heating. They can’t do both. Every winter 30,000 pensioners die from cold-related illnesses, while “food banks” have sprung up across thew country, providing parcels of non-perishable food for families facing hunger. This is the legacy of the destruction of Britain’s coal mining industry and of the National Union of Mineworkers. – Peter Lazenby

August 2014 | ColdType 31 Book excerpt Scottish identity – what is it? In this excerpt from her new book, Blossom, Leslie Riddoch argues that Scotland has the resources, the history and the character to become an independent nation, ruled from Edinburgh, not London

Scotland has et’s lay this one to rest straight away arguing over what we already know – Scot- natural and – Scotland has a more distinctive land has some of the worst health, employ- cultural assets personality than many independent ment and social outcomes in Europe and one other countries nations. We have massive energy of the biggest income gaps. If you live in one would give L resources – Ireland has next to none. We of the ten per cent poorest neighbourhoods their eye teeth have a strategic location the Vikings once you are five times more likely to experience to possess killed for (literally). We have more viable crime, twice as likely to have chronic or se- and internationally ranked cities than Eng- rious health problems that result in emer- land. We land a third of the fish caught by gency hospital admission and your kids will the fish-mad Icelanders and a natural sce- score only half the combined academic re- nic splendour that makes other Europeans sults of their most affluent S6 peers in the weep. We have more coastline than Germa- ten per cent richest neighbourhoods. These ny, a richer folk tradition than the are dramatically unequal outcomes. Irish (OK, we could have a wee The picture of income row over that one) a list of inven- inequality is equally tors proportionately longer than stark. In 2010/11 the any other nation on earth and poorest 30% of Scots world-renowned food, energy received 14% of national and engineering firms as a re- income and there’s been sult. very little change in this We have natural and cul- income inequality since tural assets other countries 1998/99. would give their eye teeth So let’s not spend too to possess – but somehow much time arguing. Income the overall result is not a and health, education and generally healthy nation employment outcomes in with affordable energy, Scotland are very uneven. comfortable homes, inventive The only real question is industry and creative lives spent Blossom whyIn fact, Scotland has a long sailing, rowing, fishing, ski-ing, legacy of unequal access to Lesley Riddoch walking and generally guddling wealth, opportunity and assets – around in nature. Luath Press, Edinburgh so unequal that Scotland’s natu- We could spend a lot of time £11.99 ral advantages are like familiar,

32 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt

Yes Scotland’s first annual Independence rally in Edinburgh in 2012. Photo: Phyllis Buchanan family heirlooms for the few and untouch- the Establishment. Ownership able, almost imaginary treasures for the This country can blossom – but we need of assets and many. Inequality has nipped Scotland in to recognise the real problem first. decision making the bud. Scots currently inhabit a large, beauti- power are held Over generations this blight has inhibited ful garden whose owners can’t manage it in relatively few confidence, soured capacity, silenced hope, properly and won’t trust anyone else to do hands and modern repelled the independent-minded and erod- the job. As a result monocultures run riot, Scotland too ed confidence in Mother Scotland’s ability dominant plants stifle diversity, native spe- often resembles to care for all her weans. In some ways that’s cies grow in the shade, climbers are unsup- a medieval to our credit. Most Scots feel uneasy enjoy- ported, soil is exhausted, seeds are blown fiefdom run by ing pleasures that cannot be shared. Sadly elsewhere, weeds run unchecked and litter the top, from the most also believe the few will fix things fills corners. Passers-by admire the - back centre and for the without pressure. We might as well expect drop, spot the potential but puzzle over the Establishment Black Buns to vote for Hogmanay. general lack of care. There are a small num- Confidence arises from owning assets, ber of stunning exhibits but in general, all running lives and taking decisions. That in the garden is not rosy. Somewhere under confidence – the life-blood of a nation – the weeds the little white rose of Scotland should pump around the whole of the Scot- is still alive – growing, budding but never tish body politic. It doesn’t. Ownership of quite flowering for more than a few pre- assets and decision making power are held cious days. in relatively few hands and modern Scot- How can it? A competent gardener is land too often resembles a medieval fief- needed to restructure the garden from the dom run by the top, from the centre and for grassroots upwards – but the best candidate

August 2014 | ColdType 33 Book excerpt

The current is busy. That best candidate is the Scottish look like anyone real. working definition people. We could inhabit a well-tended, di- Nonetheless at some point all Scots have of Scottishness is verse garden, home to foreign exotica, har- tried to pour themselves into the part. Like male to the core dy hybrids and flowering, reproductive and 90 minute Christians who appear in church and ties a nation distinctively Scottish plants. But it would for marriages and funerals, 90 minute Scots psychologically take a collective commitment of time and “turn out” for Burns Nights, Stag nights, Hen and symbiotically effort… and we must start from where we nights, Rugby matches, Tartan Army events, to a neighbour are. Divided. weddings, funerals and barmitzvahs. When uber Scots would Some see Scotland as a viable proposi- identity is demanded or ritual is required, rather not emulate tion, others privately think the country is a men advance and women recede – the kilt hopeless basket case with large, sick, hope- appears, a few poems or songs are dusted less urban populations who cannot fend for down, bawdy sideways snipes are made at themselves and dispersed rural communi- women and serious drinking helps lads fo- ties inhabiting land so barren it’s only fit for cus on the only point of Scottish identity grouse moors. If we are to move forward, we that seems to matter. must move forward together. So let’s try to Not being English. tackle this divided opinion not deny it. Not indulging in pedantry, moderation, Scotland has inequality. Does it have an village greens, David Cameron, New Labour, underlying identity beyond that – some- house-price discussions, real ale, cricket or thing that genuinely unites all its people? morris dancing. Something you might call a national iden- It’s easy to sneer. But if this describes the tity? English – what does it make the Scots? Yes it does – in so far as any nation does. Immoderate, excessive, concrete-jungle But it may not revolve around the symbols tolerating, Old Labour, vodka drinking, of nationhood most commonly associated football-worshipping, hard men? The cur- with the Scots. rent working definition of Scottishness is And that’s a paradox worth dwelling on male to the core and ties a nation psycho- a little. logically and symbiotically to a neighbour It’s more than 300 years since the Treaty uber Scots would rather not emulate. of Union. Britain PLC has partly de-merged If anyone hadn’t noticed, the English are its acquisitions. currently on a quest of their own – driven to Scotland has regained a parliament, is self-discovery by the apparently resurgent set to vote on independence and feelings of Celts. Jeremy Paxman, Kate Fox, David Star- Scottishness abound. No wonder. It would key, Simon Schama – the bookshelves are be hard to think of a nation with more vis- groaning with attempts to scrape together ible, durable and internationally accepted a DNA of the English that does not rely on calling cards of identity – Tartan, Bagpipes, Empire, Good Queen Bess, 1966, Dunkirk Auld Lang Syne, Haggis, Burns Whisky, and Eastenders. Golf. If being English is currently a puzzle – And yet. being not English is an absolute nonsense. Do all Scots identify with these Balmora- Expressed succinctly in Renton’s speech, lised symbols of nationhood? by Irvine Welsh in Trainspotting, Disconnected from the environment “I hate being Scottish. We’re the lowest that created them, kilt wearing, single-malt of the fucking low, the scum of the earth, quaffing, Pringle wearing, golf-mad Scots the most wretched, servile, miserable, pa- seem strangely inauthentic. Like an iden- thetic trash that was ever shat into civili- tikit picture on a Wanted poster – each piece zation. Some people hate the English, but may be accurate but the whole face doesn’t I don’t. They’re just wankers. We, on the

34 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt other hand, are colonized by wankers. We he’d listen to a witheringly sarcastic phone- Andy’s dad did can’t even pick a decent culture to be colo- in about the day’s football (Off the Ball) work in the nized by. We are ruled by effete arseholes. watch a sitcom about two auld geezers on a shipyards, lived in It’s a shite state of affairs and all the fresh bleak housing estate (Still Game), and stay a council house, air in the world will not make any fucking in guzzling lager because he had no cash to refused to buy it difference.” buy a round. on principle, voted It’s no wonder young Scots want out – Ever thought of going out and just buy- Labour until the into a bigger or smaller world where iden- ing a pint for yourself, Andy? shipyards closed, tity can be defined by sex, drugs, music, Dinnae be daft. switched to the shoe size, Facebook friends – anything oth- Aye – Andy disnae quite speik proper SNP, decided er than the dull, out-dated strait-jacket that English when he disnae huv tae either. they were Tartan accompanies the geographical accident of With Scotland’s best fishing on the door- Tories . . . being Scottish. step, does Andy own a fishing rod – or a And yet. boat perhaps? Try believing Scots are not a distinctive Naw – and he disnae dae “country” danc- group but just self-deluded northern Brits ing or shoot deer up the arse either. surfing the net and watching MTV in a glo- Do any of his family own land? balised world devoid of local cultural refer- C’mon, we live in a council house. ence. Andy does. This earnest Scottish TV OK Andy. researcher came over to chat after a BBC Did you vote for Britain’s favourite paint- discussion programme in which I was the ing in 2005 –Turner’s Fighting Temeraire only person to think Scottish independence (The Battle of Trafalgar)? Or Britain’s favou- was a perfectly reasonable political choice. rite poem in 2009 – Rudyard Kipling’s If? The comment seemed to bother him. Like Nope – Andy’s top marks would go to I had otherwise been on or near his wave- Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross (a pic- length but with one apparent endorsement ture he knows in great detail because unlike of Scotland as a meaningful entity, had many English galleries, access to Scottish jumped straight onto another planet. public art has always been free). And on Looking at this well-meaning, back- best poem he’d be torn between Burns’ Tam ground-denying product of modern Britain, O’Shanter, MacDiarmid’s Drunk Man Looks it seemed like time for mischief. at the Thistle and McCaig’s lines about his Was Andy watching MTV in a terraced best poem being two fags long. house – the traditional unit of “British” And yes, before I ask, Andy’s dad did housing? work in the shipyards, lived in a council Nope – he lived in a tenement. house, refused to buy it on principle, voted Did he take A levels like most British stu- Labour until the shipyards closed, switched dents? to the SNP, decided they were Tartan Tories Nope – he took Highers. A more rounded and then supported Tommy Sheridan until education according to his mum. the Parliament Building costs overran – at Did his parents own their house – like which point he stopped voting altogether the average Briton? and died (prematurely) from lung disease Nope, and unlike most English students five years ago. he stayed in their council flat during univer- Andy – how did your mum vote? sity. Cheaper. D’you know her son never actually After MTV would he stay in to watch the asked. Ashes followed perhaps by the Vicar of Dib- Andy, catch a grip. ley? The Scots are not just what happens Nope. Unlike anyone south of the Border when you vary England’s default settings –

August 2014 | ColdType 35 Book excerpt

Try suggesting more rain, less winter daylight, more pov- The Nordic nations differ by only a few Spain and erty, more hills, more cloud, less sun, fewer shades of grey. The Low Countries have pas- Portugal, the people, less ethnic diversity. Though these tel coloured borders. And yet try suggest- Netherlands and basic physical and social truths have cer- ing Spain and Portugal, the Netherlands Belgium, Norway tainly helped shape identity and behaviour. and Belgium, Norway and Sweden should and Sweden Scots are not just intemperate versions merge. Try it – and stand well back. In main- should merge. of our more measured southern cousins. We land Europe, slight but important points of Try it – and stand don’t live in the same houses, laugh at the cultural distinction form the cornerstone of well back same jokes, read the same books, or share each nation state. I remember interviewing the same life expectancy. We don’t have the the Sinn Fein leader and former IRA man same capacity to commercialise ideas. We Martin McGuinness for Channel Four’s Peo- don’t have the same informal rules about ple’s Parliament during that bizarre period collective behaviour. We don’t speak quite in the 80s when his voice was “banned” on the same language and we don’t (publicly) TV and radio. If Sinn Fein got their wish and aspire to the same social goals. We don’t Northern Ireland became part of the Irish have the same history, weather, geology, Republic, I asked, what would be visibly dif- bank notes, education system, legal system ferent to the casual onlooker. or tradition of ownership. We don’t vote the He thought for a while and said, “the same way, we don’t die the same way. street signs would be in Irish Gaelic.” Scots are no more northern variants of The same thought occurred to every the English than the Irish are western ones. member of the production team – is that Indeed, our mission may be to offer the all? Could such a tiny change possibly jus- English a (currently undesired) revival as tify those long decades of struggle, death, southern Celts or the Anglo-Norse. grief and violence? Neither is the Scottish identity just a And yet, travel from Germany to the bundle of remnants – a set of random be- Netherlands and street signs are often the haviours by mindless contrarians welded only visible evidence of border crossing. In together into a dangerously unstable and fact, Scotland does look different – there unpredictable personality. Although on a are virtually no terraced houses in Scottish bad day it can feel that way. Scots are quite cities and virtually no tenements in Eng- obviously and consistently different from lish ones (though I’ll grant you Newcastle their neighbours – English, Irish or Norwe- stretches the point). And yet we speak the gian. But different enough? same language, share institutions and re- Scots are (characteristically) in two cent centuries of history with our southern minds. Most folk believe national difference cousins. So the Martin McGuinness ques- must be enormous before policy or gover- tion arises again. Does a very different his- nance arrangements need pay the blindest tory once upon a time justify change today? bit of attention. Thus Scotland must be as Do real social and cultural differences jus- unlike England as Brazil is unlike Denmark tify full, political independence? before difference is worth recognising or Look around. Some distinctive nations nurturing. National difference must be as choose to go it alone – others opt to remain stark as two primary colours, as absolute within larger states. Former parts of Den- as gender and as non-negotiable as the Iron mark are now within the Federal Republic Curtain before it can hope to justify “na- of Germany, the population of the United tionhood”. In practice, this “high bar” of States of America contains more Spanish distinction is not louped by many indepen- speakers than Spain, Russia straddles five dent European states. And yet, perversely, time zones and the single state of Brazil is the Scots demand it of themselves. physically larger than the fifty states of Eu-

36 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt rope. Enormous diversity can remain with- state or does recent banking collapse sug- The urge to break in some single states (though usually with gest Scotland cannot rely on its own re- away from an more devolution than Britain has tolerated) sources to stand alone? Can Alex Salmond existing union – whilst other nations depart from remark- guarantee Scots will be better off in an inde- political, marital or ably similar states as soon as war, occupa- pendent Scotland? financial – is rarely tion or revolution permits. Of course he can’t. totally rational, Of course Scotland is a sufficiently dis- If Scots need guarantees and cast-iron or economically tinctive nation to consider political inde- certainty, the country will remain forever prudent pendence. But distinctiveness alone is not a grudging and grumbling part of the UK. enough. Another vital ingredient is needed None of our small, independent neighbours before a set of people are ready to go the broke away from larger states to be better extra mile. And since even David Cameron off. Far from it. When Norway announced concedes Scotland could “wash its face” independence from Sweden in 1905 it im- economically let’s not spend time on dis- mediately became the second poorest na- tractions. tion in Europe. The tiny independent nation The missing ingredient is more impor- of Iceland which boasted the world’s first tant and less tangible than money. You parliament reluctantly returned to Norwe- could call it a form of love. That warm, mu- gian control in the 13th century after tree- tual feeling of confidence and trust between felling turned the island into a northern independent people that encourages them desert. Still their tiny population (smaller to join forces, share resources and change than Dundee) seized its chance for inde- living arrangements to face the future to- pendence without a moment’s hesitation gether. when the Germans occupied Stepmother But hey – love? In a debate about Scot- Denmark in 1944. tish independence? Back then, Iceland had no geo-thermal That’s a toughie for a nation that doesn’t power, nor had it fought and won the Cod do emotion (without a large skelp of Wars nor gambled and lost everything drink). thanks to a bunch of cocky young bankers. So instead of examining the strength of It did have an influx of confident American bonds that exist between Scots – we focus soldiers at the Keflavik airbase. And then it on the bonds that would be broken if we left took a leap in the dark. the UK. Instead of considering the vitality of So it goes. The urge to break away from new working relationships we concentrate an existing union – political, marital or fi- on the pain of dissolving old ones. The con- nancial – is rarely totally rational, or eco- stitutional debate focuses on detail, process, nomically prudent. There may be prepa- money and currency – like a divorce where ration, debate and plans – but eventually hurt, betrayal and despair cannot be dis- caution becomes an anchor and the voyage cussed and practicalities assume paramount must begin. and disproportionate importance. Who will Of course, the cautious Scots may yet be have the stereo – and can its future be sensi- the exception that proves the rule. Scotland bly discussed in isolation from the CDs? approaches the independence question But national self-determination isn’t with another big current running – local- about technicalities – it’s about identity, ism. It may not be necessary for Scotland to confidence and trust. prove its people are dramatically different The technical questions are not trivial. or guaranteed to have short-term economic Almost everything written about Scottish success to argue that 5 not 55 million people independence eventually touches on the is a better size for governance. And don’t Black Gold. Will oil sustain a new Scottish forget events. With a public-sector disman-

August 2014 | ColdType 37 Book excerpt

No offence to tling coalition government at Westminster cal outlook, despite devolution. In the last speakers of who knows what MacRubicon a cost-cut- Westminster elections just 1.7% of Scottish Welsh, Gaelic ting London government may soon cross MPs were Conservative compared to 20% of or Scots, but and how Scots will react. Welsh MPs and 56% of English MPs with the language alone Culture, oil, politics, history and size. Northern Irish water muddied by different does not sustain Scotland has as many reasons for seeking political loyalties – as is their prerogative. nor fully define a independence as any other restless nation – 1.7%, 20% and 56%. Those figures tell us nation – at least although currently the argument convinces something. not this one more voters south of the border that north The distinctiveness of Wales is largely of it. A majority of English people has con- cultural not political or institutional. Welsh- sistently supported Scottish independence ness is kept alive by male-voice choirs, since the 2007 SNP victory raised the ques- Welsh language schools, S4C, the Method- tion. Some – like English socialist Mark Per- ist Chapel and (once upon a time) by cam- ryman – think the departure of the collec- paigns against holiday homes. No-one can tivist Scots would provide a long overdue be in any doubt the Welsh are culturally jolt to the complacent English left. Others distinct from the English. But has that been – like ex Sun-editor Kelvin McKenzie think enough to create feelings of nationhood or a Scots are whingeing, subsidy junkies and drive towards a new Welsh state? Like defi- cannot wait to halt the “gravy train” head- ant prisoners whistling Home of our Fathers ing north. Mind you, I’m sure he thinks the as the firing squad take aim, Welsh culture same about Yorkshire. has been the last defence against economic Such strong southern support for Scot- and social domination. The Scots have al- tish independence could have been har- ways had more. nessed to prompt a UK-wide debate about No offence to speakers of Welsh, Gaelic or federalism, devolution and democratic Scots but language alone does not sustain change right across the paternalistic, top- nor fully define a nation – at least not this down United Kingdom. But it hasn’t. one. Law abiding, rational, dour-old souls It’s been far easier to portray Scotland’s that we are, Scots are defined by outlooks endless agonising over constitutional sta- created by institutions that predate (and tus as a right royal pain. We do want more have survived) the Union. By an educa- powers, don’t we? A bit... no a bit more... no tion system that seeks breadth not special- that’s too much....no maybe it’s fine...... what ism. By a legal system based on statute not about a referendum with one question.... or precedent. By a Kirk not led by the Head two ....no wait…… of State. By housing policy not historically It’s been far easier to mock northern based on sale and inheritance but (for bet- indecision, view Scottish independence as ter and worse) on tenancy and rent. By an Alex Salmond’s personal obsession and his economy based (recently) on state activity party’s landslide majority in 2011 as a form not private enterprise. And by an endless of mass hypnosis. It’s not so easy to regard and hopeless quest for kinship and connec- the plodding Scots as a revolutionary van- tion in lieu of the social democratic state guard destined to challenge Britain’s cen- Scots have lacked the opportunity (and de- tralised, top-down, class-ridden, unequal termination) to build. society until something better emerges. But All that most Britons notice about Scots who else will? The conservative English? Or is that we wear kilts – but who doesn’t these the Welsh? Gubbed by their neighbours in days – and have two public holidays at Hog- 1283, our Celtic cousins were forced to dance manay. to an English tune in education, health, lo- In fact, we do many things differently cal government, housing and even politi- north of the border but since we don’t quite

38 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt understand why any more, there’s no rea- So Scots generally ignore the paradox of We reassert son anyone else should. As a result Scots are an empty rural landscape in which there our collective often propping up what doesn’t matter and is somehow no affordable space for us to proletarian ignoring what does. live. We blame the resulting sky-high prop- identity with every Occasionally we catch the scent of a blos- erty prices on wealthy incomers seeking curry we order, som that has been taken from the room – second homes instead of an absurd land every sun-bed like Hugh MacDiarmid’s little white rose of scarcity tolerated by successive Scottish we occupy, every Scotland that “smells so sweet and breaks governments. We allow city to remain divid- triple voddie the heart.” ed from country and therefore – uniquely we demolish in What is it then? What is Scottishness? at our latitude – have no weekend hut or the name of a It isn’t the Scottish football team – how- cabin culture. We are at home in the pub, “good time” and ever convenient a repository that is for out- on the terracing, in the DIY store or on the every year of life pourings of male emotion. couch – not in nature. We live indoors like expectancy we It isn’t – sadly –organised communitar- troglodytes amongst the finest natural scen- thereby lose ian endeavour. Scots don’t do credit unions, ery in northern Europe. Land remains over- local energy companies, community trusts priced and under-used – people-free thanks or local asset ownership (at least not on the to planning preference, economic difficulty scale of our English and Irish neighbours al- and landowner diktat. Empty, man-made though we are finally catching up). We don’t desolation is now “Natural Scotland”. do local governance – perversely in a tiny We tell ourselves it doesn’t matter. Mod- country we do extremely large. ern Scots are predominantly urban Scots It isn’t a tradition of healthy living. We after all with gyms for exercise, parks for don’t do the body as a temple, exercise, eat- dog-walking, some of Europe’s most popu- ing vegetables or getting outdoors. We don’t lar cities for leisure and trips abroad for live in nature. We don’t build in wood. guaranteed sunshine. What happens in run- Our national dish is Chicken Tikka Masa- down rural areas is not our problem. What la washed down with Irn Bru or super la- goes wrong in wrecked urban communities ger. is not our fault. We reassert our collective proletarian Life is good – by and large. Scotland identity with every curry we order, every bumps along. Most of the nation’s health sun-bed we occupy, every triple voddie we problems are concentrated in a few post- demolish in the name of a “good time” and codes the rest don’t visit. Folk are gener- every year of life expectancy we thereby ally happier than they are down south. And lose. All to prove we are Scottish – the un- when the economy improves / Labour gets derdogs against the British Bulldogs. David back into power/ Scotland votes for inde- against Goliath. Wee, tough Billy Bremner pendence everything will get better. against louche, decadent David Beckham. But no matter which constitutional sce- Real men against New Men….with women nario is favoured an underlying assumption making the tea. is shared – that the rising tide will lift all We cling to a tough-talking, self-mock- boats. And of course it will – except those ing, cynical world outlook instead of rec- that are beached, poorly made, badly an- ognising such gallows humour for what it chored or holed below the waterline. In is – a coping mechanism created in days of some parts of Scotland, those are the ma- appalling poverty and maintained by afflu- jority. Inequality is fiercely resistant to well- ent descendants of impoverished Scots out meaning warm words, pilot projects, su- of guilt and solidarity with those still mired perficial change, sticking plaster and rising in near-permanent inequality. A world we tides. It would be great if there was an easier dare not fully acknowledge, tackle or fix. way to restore the great overgrown garden

August 2014 | ColdType 39 Book excerpt

Polls consistently of Caledon than hoiking out the virulent sions, old money and all? show Scots want weeds and staking up overwhelmed native This may seem a harsh, even alarmist more economic climbers. There isn’t. critique of a country that’s evidently not on control and Scots are currently being asked to define its collective knees. The blight of inequality tax-raising Scottishness through the constitutional affects only some – by definition. The fear of based here prism of independence alone. But perhaps “falling behind” encourages just as strong – but maybe that isn’t a wide, searching or engaging and self-improving a reflex amongst oth- not total enough ball-park. Polls consistently show ers. On a good day, no symptoms of general independence. Scots want more economic control and tax- malaise are visible. But look closely. Just as Not yet raising based here – but maybe not total disease spreads when herd immunity falls independence. Not yet. Desire for the “Full below 90%, just as a barrel is soured by one Monty” is being blocked, perhaps by gen- badly bruised apple – so the whole of Scot- eral happiness within the UK, perhaps by land is impacted by the acute problems of 300 years as a junior partner but possibly the few. by something that’s been around longer. Look closer still. Our collective response Chronic disempowerment. The kind that contains symptoms of low-grade damage arises from centuries living on land we – hesitation, poor self-esteem and chronic could not own, piers we could not use, rivers fear of making mistakes. we could not fish and forests we could not No matter how few are truly crippled enter. Centuries inhabiting homes we could by “the Scottish Effect” we all pay for it. In not (till recently) own, improve or inherit cash terms – of course – but in the more and cities, towns and villages whose shape important matter of outlook too. Trust in we (still) cannot really determine. Centuries the capacity of others, belief there is such speaking in dialects and languages we could a thing as society and our very identity as not use in official situations, thinking about equality-loving Scots – all these precious so- realities, histories and people we would cial goods are threatened by the existence of never hear on the radio or TV channels of no go zones, jobless, loan-shark patrolled, our own public broadcasting service. drug dependent ghettos, fear of others and The Scots much discussed “lack of con- the corrosive cynicism of the dispossessed. fidence” cannot be remedied by simply Aye right. We are the only nation who could “pulling ourselves together” developing turn a double positive into a negative and “positive self-talk” or “thinking big.” Our bestow that withering outlook on a leading disempowerment arises from several cen- Book Festival. turies experience of “keep out” and “keep Above all, inequality eats away at leader- off” signs. A sense of involvement can’t sud- ship. Who knows what pace of change can denly just be switched on – especially when reasonably be sustained when some can run involvement in Scottish democracy has be- marathons whilst others can hardly walk come so limited. to the chippy? How can such an unevenly Awash with credit, homes, cars, jacuzzis, empowered group cross the road together flat-screen televisions, patios, fridge-freez- when one person’s uncertainty causes ev- ers and leather three piece suites – most eryone else to falter? Blight on healthy modern Scots are leading lives of relative plants doesn’t arise by mistake or accident. comfort compared to our forebears. But are It’s the fairly predictable outcome of diffi- we in control of this country? Are Scots ac- cult climate, poor soil conditions, a lack of tively shaping Scotland or are we still pas- protection, shelter and nourishment. As it is sively shaped by it – absent experts, distant in the orchard so it is in society. officials, old choices, old loyalties, old divi- Of course Scotland is not doing too badly.

40 ColdType | August 2014 Book excerpt

Of course there have been successful Scots. lective expectations. That grip weakened The Scottish Of course there always will be exceptions – slightly with devolution and weakened fur- Establishment has but none as powerful as the rule. The ex- ther with the surprise election of two SNP used wealth, pectation of exclusion is at the core of Scot- governments. The move towards a more brass-neck, tish identity and the root of the “Scottish empowered, equal, community-focussed, cultural Effect”. Even though the children and great- Nordic-style society has begun. But the confidence and grand-children of the dispossessed have movement is hesitant and – ironically – di- long control of wealth and material goods they don’t have vided by the all-consuming political battle valuable assets the collective power to shape their local over Scotland’s constitutional future. to keep a grip on lives or feel Scotland is unequivocally their The task for Scots, quite simply is to weed Scotland’s psyche, country and their responsibility to use well. out old inequalities and associated ways of institutions Across much of Europe land and wealth was thinking to let Scotland blossom. This book and collective redistributed centuries back and democracy tries to show that amongst ordinary Scots expectations deepened in the process. It didn’t happen – far from the chattering classes and cen- here. That single fact has allowed privilege tres of establishment power – and against and exclusion to thrive and normalise – incredible odds, that process has already even as Scots try to entrench their broadly begun. CT social-democratic values at Holyrood. The Scottish Establishment has used Lesley Riddoch is an awarding winning wealth, brass-neck, cultural confidence and broadcaster and journalist who writes long control of valuable assets to keep a grip regularly for the Scotsman and Guardian, on Scotland’s psyche, institutions and col- Her website is http://lesleyriddoch.com

STILL DEFIANT AFTER 30 YEARS | PETER LAZENBY SCOTTISH IDENTITY – WHAT IS THAT? | LESLEY RIDDOCH THE MAN WHO SANK ARGENTINA | GREG PALAST ColdType WRITING WORTH READING ISSUE 88 SPECIAL ISSUE MTHE U R D E R O F GAZA

NINE ESSAYS BY ● DAVID EDWARDS AND DAVID CROMWELL ● PHILIP GIRALDI ● RAMZY BAROUD ● LINDA McQUAIG ● JONATHAN COOK JOHN REINER ● CHRIS HEDGES ● RICHARD PITHOUSE ● DEEPA KUMAR Subscribe to ColdType It’s FREE s e n d a n e m a i l to [email protected]

August 2014 | ColdType 41 The murder of gaza / 1 ‘Disgustingly biased’ David Edwards & David Cromwell on the dismal performance of corporate media during the latest Gaza massacres

Despite this small oon after Malaysian Airlines MH17 Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address number of military crashed near Donetsk, Ukraine on the nation shortly.’ deaths compared July 18, killing 298 people, the BBC Despite this small number of military to the Palestinian website quickly, and rightly, set up deaths compared to the Palestinian toll, toll, it seems clear S a ‘LIVE’ feed with rolling reports and com- it seems clear that the killing of the Israeli that the killing of mentary on the disaster. This was clearly an troops triggered the BBC live feed. It focused the Israeli troops important and dramatic event involving hor- intensely on these deaths, with entries of this triggered the BBC rific loss of life with serious political implica- kind: live feed tions. The public would, of course, be search- ‘Ben White, writer tweets: Israel has lost ing for the latest news. more soldiers in a 3 day old ground offensive However, since July 8, ten days prior to than it did during Cast Lead & Pillar of De- the crash, Israeli armed forces had been fense combined (12).’ bombarding the trapped civilian population And: ‘View to the Mid East, a writer in of Gaza with airstrikes, drone strikes and Ashdod, Israel tweets: One of the soldiers naval shelling. As the massive Israeli assault who was killed in Gaza tonight prays at the ramped up on July 9, the World section of the same synagogue I go to. Grew up in the same BBC News website had this as its headline: neighbourhood.’ ‘Israel under renewed Hamas attack’ The feed incorporated no less than five By July 18, around 300 people had been photographs from two funerals of the Israeli killed in Gaza, 80% of them civilians. The soldiers but none from the far more numer- Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a key political ous Palestinian funerals (one picture showed issue of our time, one that was clearly de- Palestinian relatives collecting a body from a veloping by the minute after July 8. And yet morgue), with these captions: at no point had the BBC set up a ‘LIVE’ feed ‘Friends and relatives of Israeli Sergeant with rolling news. Adar Barsano mourn during his funeral at That finally changed on July 20 after so the military cemetery in the northern Israeli many days in which so many Palestinians city of Nahariya.’ had been killed. Why July 20? The answer And: ‘Sagit Greenberg, the wife of Israeli appears to be found in the fourth entry of the soldier Maj Amotz Greenberg, mourns dur- live feed under the title ‘Breaking News’: ing his funeral in the central town of Hod ‘Some 13 Israeli soldiers were killed over- Hasharon.’ night in Gaza, news agencies, quoting Israeli Obviously, Israeli suffering also merits military sources, say. Israeli Prime Minister compassion, but these military deaths were

42 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 1 overshadowed by a far higher loss of Pal- next few days or weeks, or not?’ The level of estinian lives, most of them civilian men, In other words, BBC News presented BBC bias was women and children. At the time of this writ- Hamas rocket attacks as the stumbling block emphasised by ing, the toll stands at 746 Palestinians killed to peace, exactly conforming to Israeli state an article headline and 4,640 wounded. Israel has suffered 32 propaganda. that placed military and two civilian deaths. One foreign In a report on the same edition of News at inverted commas worker from Thailand has also been killed. Ten, the BBC’s world affairs editor, John Fi- around the siege in In the following days (and at time of writ- dler-Simpson CBE, asserted that ‘one reason Gaza, as if it were a ing) the live feed was cancelled; a period that why casualties on the two sides are so out matter for debate: has seen hundreds of Palestinian deaths and of proportion’ is because ‘Israel has devel- “Palestinian PM a handful of Israeli military deaths. oped the world’s most effective anti-missile says lift Gaza For some time on the morning of July defence’. ‘siege’ as part of 21, the sole Gaza content on the BBC News This suggested a more or less equal fight ceasefire” home page was ‘Breaking News’ of an ‘Israeli with Israeli simply better able to protect it- soldier missing in Gaza’. self. Fidler-Simpson added: Remarkably, on the morning of July 23, ‘The Iron Dome system’s ability to knock when 18 Palestinians were killed, the BBC set Hamas missiles out of the sky has been a re- up a live feed for the wrecked Italian cruise markable achievement for Israel during this liner Costa Concordia, which showed the crisis. The success rate is quite phenomenal.’ ship being towed to Genoa. There was no live Back in the real world, weapons experts feed for Gaza. Ted Postol of MIT and Richard Lloyd of Tesla The BBC has supplied names, ages, pic- Laboratory, argue that claims for Iron Dome tures and emotive background stories of are wildly exaggerated, estimating a suc- the Malaysian air crash victims while, with cess rate of less than 5 per cent. Peter Coy of rare exceptions, Palestinian dead have been BloombergBusinessweek comments: presented as nameless figures, briefly men- ‘Lloyd e-mailed me a copy of a 28-page tioned, then forgotten. analysis that’s the most detailed critique yet The level of BBC bias was emphasised by of the holes in the Iron Dome system – holes an article headline that placed inverted com- so big that, if he’s right, would justify calling mas around the siege in Gaza, as if it were a it Iron Sieve.’ matter for debate: “Palestinian PM says lift BBC bias has also been typified by its Gaza ‘siege’ as part of ceasefire”. The BBC downplaying, or complete blanking, of large- subsequently changed the title, but a tweet scale demonstrations in several UK cities pro- promoting the article with the original word- testing BBC coverage. As activist Jonathon ing remains. Shafi noted of the BBC’s lack of interest: The BBC has also implied that ‘Rockets ‘It is misinformation of the worst, and it is fired from Gaza’ are comparable to ‘Gaza tar- an insult to journalism.’ gets hit by Israel’. Readers are to understand After the four Palestinian Bakr boys, aged that attempted attacks by unguided, low-tech between 9 and 11, were killed by an Israeli rockets are comparable to actual bombings shell, the New York Times headline on July by state of the art bombs, missiles and shells. 16 read: The BBC’s source? ‘Israel Defence Forces.’ ‘Boys Drawn to Gaza Beach, and Into Cen- On July 21, BBC News at Ten presenter ter of Mideast Strife’ Huw Edwards asked a colleague live on air: This worked well to obscure the truth ‘...the Israelis saying they’ll carry on as that the boys had been killed while play- long as necessary to stop the Hamas rocket ing football on a beach. Artist Amir Schiby attacks. Do you detect any signs at all that produced a wonderful, moving tribute to the there’s a hope of a coming together in the Bakr boys.

August 2014 | ColdType 43 The murder of gaza / 1

Many expert Even indisputable evidence here and here A study of news performance in 2001 by commentators that Israel had fired on hospitals in Gaza, ma- the Glasgow Media Group noted that Israe- argue that the jor war crimes, brought little outrage from lis ‘were six times as likely to be presented deeper cause politicians and media. Jonathan Whittall, as “retaliating” or in some way responding behind the latest Head of Humanitarian Analysis at Médecins than were the Palestinians’. violence is in fact Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders The US media watchdog, Fairness and Ac- Israel’s opposition (MSF), reminded the world: curacy in Reporting, observed that the cur- to the Palestinian ‘Our role is to provide medical care to war rent conflict ‘is usually traced back to the unity government, casualties and sick detainees, not to repeat- kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teen- including Hamas, edly treat the same patients between torture agers on the West Bank. When their bodies formed earlier sessions.’ were found on June 30, Israel “retaliated” by this year Despite the unequal battle and high civil- attacking Gaza. The July 2 killing of a Pales- ian death toll, no high-profile advocates of tinian teenager, allegedly a revenge murder the West’s ‘responsibility to protect’ (‘R2P’) by Israeli extremists, was reported as further civilians in Iraq, Libya and Syria have been escalating the conflict.’ calling for ‘intervention’. On the BBC’s News at Ten (July 23), re- We asked passionate ‘R2Pers’ like David porter Quentin Sommerville commented (at Aaronovitch, Jonathan Freedland and Men- 14:31): zies Campbell if they felt ‘we must do some- ‘The kidnapping and murder of three Is- thing’. They did not reply. Freedland com- raeli teenagers, blamed on Hamas, sparked mented in a BBC interview that the death this conflict.’ toll was ‘very lopsided’ – a polite euphemism The Guardian readers’ editor, Chris Elliott for a massacre that, according to Unicef, has – ostensibly the newspaper’s watchdog on claimed 10 children per day. E-International bias in language and presentation – echoed Relations website reports: Israeli propaganda, describing Israel’s cur- ‘While the conflict has generated near rent attack as a ‘counter-offensive’. blanket international media coverage it has NBC News correspondent Ayman Mohyel- been strangely ignored by the three most din supplied a rare example of dissent: prominent and vociferous organisations es- ‘But even before the kidnapping of three tablished to promote the idea of “The Re- Israeli-Jewish teenagers and killing of the sponsibility to Protect”, namely The Inter- Palestinian teenager last week, two Pales- national Coalition for the Responsibility to tinians were killed back in May and didn’t Protect (ICRtoP), the Global Centre for the trigger the kind of international outcry and Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) and the international outrage that the killing of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to three Israeli teens have.’ Protect (APCR2P)... Corporate media have generally not iden- ‘Since the operation began these groups tified these deaths as initiating a ‘cycle of have published myriad tweets, posts and violence’. According to human rights group articles – on issues ranging from the rights B’Tselem, 568 Palestinians had been killed of women, the treatment of refugees, mass by Israeli security forces from January 2009 atrocity cries and the provision of medical till the end of May 2014; 84 of those fatalities aid... Yet, coverage of the crisis in Gaza has were children. Over the same time period, 38 been negligible.’ Israelis were killed by Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Who Starts The ‘Cycle Of Violence’? Many expert commentators argue that The term ‘cycle of violence’ often occurs in the deeper cause behind the latest violence corporate reporting of the Israel-Palestine is in fact Israel’s opposition to the Palestinian conflict. But who starts the cycle spinning? unity government, including Hamas, formed

44 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 1 earlier this year which has been recognised described what a return to the status quo ac- A cessation of the even by the US. tually means: current violence ‘Israel strikes Gaza from time to time and would not mean No Ceasefire – ‘It’s The Siege, Stupid’ kills Palestinian civilians there and in the an end to war and If Palestinians are blamed by corporate me- West Bank without garnering much scrutiny suffering for the dia for starting the violence, they are also from the international media and, by exten- Palestinians blamed for refusing to end it. A Guardian ar- sion, the international community.’ ticle title read: In February 2013, Ben White commented: ‘Pressure mounts on Hamas to accept ‘Three months have passed since the ceasefire as Gaza death toll tops 300 – Hamas ceasefire that brought an end to Israel’s left isolated by its refusal to accept a truce as eight-day attack on the Gaza Strip known as death toll rises and UN chief heads for the Operation “Pillar of Defence”... Since late No- region to help broker peace’ vember, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have Jerusalem correspondent Harriet Sher- averaged over one a day, every day. These in- wood commented: clude shootings by troops positioned along ‘But with the Palestinian death toll rising the border fence, attacks on fishermen work- over 300, it is the Hamas leadership that has ing off the Gaza coast, and incursions by the come under increasing pressure from mul- Israeli army.’ tiple international sources to accept an im- These attacks are mentioned in passing, mediate ceasefire in Gaza. or ignored, by a corporate media system that ‘”The objective is to convince all the Pal- is so clearly indifferent to the loss of Pales- estinian factions to accept the ceasefire,” one tinian life. Israel-based journalist Jonathan western diplomat told the Guardian.’ Cook observed of the latest conflict: But a cessation of the current violence ‘It’s depressingly predictable that the cor- would not mean an end to war and suffering porate media have swallowed the line of Is- for the Palestinians. Ali Abunimah of Elec- rael accepting the “ceasefire proposal” and tronic Intifada commented: Hamas rejecting it. What Hamas did was re- ‘[T]he two Palestinian resistance groups ject a US-Israeli diktat to sign away the rights Hamas and Islamic Jihad have set forth ten of the people of Gaza to end a siege that cuts conditions for a ceasefire and ten-year truce them off from the rest of the world.’ with Israel. Corporate Filtering – ‘A Top-Down ‘They include an end to all armed hos- Intimidation Campaign’ tilities, the end of the siege of Gaza, and the construction of internationally supervised The bias in failing to report the brutalisation air and seaports.’ of a trapped, impoverished people under oc- Abunimah explained the rationale behind cupation is staggering. Many might wonder these conditions: why journalists fail to speak out. But several ‘It’s the siege, stupid. Talk to virtually any- journalists who have exposed Israeli actions, one in Gaza and they will tell you the same. and media bias favouring Israel, have been The siege is living death, slowly crushing the punished. life out of Gaza. It has to end. Ayman Mohyeldin, the NBC News corre- ‘This is a main reason why Hamas did not spondent who witnessed the killing of the accede to the attempt by Israel, through its four Bakr boys, and whose reporting of the ally the Egyptian dictatorship, to impose a tragedy moved many readers around the unilateral “ceasefire” about which Hamas world, was subsequently ‘told by NBC execu- says it was never even consulted, hearing tives to leave Gaza immediately’. Glenn Green- about the initiative only through the media.’ wald reports that NBC executives claimed the Jerusalem-based journalist Mya Guarnieri decision was motivated by ‘security concerns’

August 2014 | ColdType 45 The murder of gaza / 1

Biased US-UK as Israel prepared a ground invasion. But NBC that we see in Gaza.’ journalism is then sent another correspondent, Richard Jebreal said that in her two years as an empowering Engel, into Gaza with an American producer. MSNBC contributor, she had told her produc- the Israeli After a storm of protest on social media, NBC ers: ‘”we have a serious issue here”. But every- government’s announced it had ‘reversed its decision’. The body’s intimidated by this pressure and if it’s effort to terrorise broadcaster dissembled: not direct then it becomes self-censorship’. the Palestinian ‘As with any news team in conflict zones, Blumenthal reported than an NBC pro- people into deployments are constantly reassessed. ducer, speaking anonymously, had confirmed accepting gradual We’ve carefully considered our deployment the reality of ‘a top-down intimidation cam- genocide as their decisions and we will be sending Mohyeldin paign aimed at presenting an Israeli-centric land and resources back to Gaza over the weekend.’ view of the attack on the Gaza Strip’. are stolen The day after Mohyeldin was pulled out, Pressure on the executives responsible CNN correspondent Diana Magnay was re- for disciplining journalists is also intense. Jill moved from covering the conflict after she re- Abramson, former executive editor of the New ported Israelis cheering the bombing of Gaza York Times, has said Washington often ‘played from a hillside overlooking the border. When the terrorist card’ to get stories spiked: the people cheering allegedly threatened to ‘Sometimes the CIA or the director of na- destroy Magnay’s car ‘if I say a word wrong’, tional intelligence or the NSA or the White she described them on Twitter as ‘scum’. House will call about a story... You hit the On July 21, journalist and MSNBC con- brakes, you hear the arguments, and it’s al- tributor Rula Jebreal said in an interview on ways a balancing act: the importance of the MSNBC of MSNBC: information to the public versus the claim of ‘We’re ridiculous. We are disgustingly bi- harming national security... Over time, the ased when it comes to this issue. Look how government too reflexively said to the Times, many [sic] air time Netanyahu and his folks “you’re going to have blood on your hands if have on air on a daily basis, Andrea Mitchell you publish X” and because of the frequency and others. I never see one Palestinian being of that, the government lost a little credibil- interviewed on these same issues.’ ity... But you do listen and seriously worry... The MSNBC interviewer responded: ‘We Editors are Americans too... We don’t want to have had Palestinian voices on our show.’ help terrorists’. Jebreal replied: ‘Maybe for 30 seconds, But editors should remember that they and then you have 25 minutes for Bibi Ne- are human beings first, Americans second tanyahu...’ – to behave otherwise risks supporting their Max Blumenthal reported on AlterNet: own government’s terrorism and that of its ‘Within hours, all of Jebreal’s future book- allies. ings were cancelled and the renewal of her For in truth, biased US-UK journalism is contract was off the table.’ empowering the Israeli government’s effort Later that day, Jebreal tweeted: to terrorise the Palestinian people into ac- ‘My forthcoming TV appearances have cepting gradual genocide as their land and been cancelled! Is there a link between my resources are stolen. As we have discussed expose and the cancellation?’ here (see also Gideon Levy here), the hid- David Edwards and Jebreal commented: den backstory is that this land grab can not David Cromwell ‘I couldn’t stay silent after seeing the be conducted under conditions of peace. It are co-editors of amount of airtime given to Israeli politicians requires Perpetual War; a phoney, one-sided Medialens, the versus Palestinians. They say we are balanced ‘war’ dominated by Israel’s perennial trump British media but their idea of balance is 90 percent Israeli card: high-tech military power supplied watchdog – guests and 10 percent Palestinians. This kind by that eternal ‘peace broker’, the United http://medialens.org of media is what leads to the failing policies States. CT

46 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 2 Israel, right or wrong But what’s in it for America? asks Philip Giraldi

t is a familiar scenario. Israeli is killing piece by Michael Oren, former Israeli Am- The US media did hundreds of civilians, mostly women and bassador to the US and current CNN “ex- not report how children, and the Zionist propaganda ma- pert,” entitled “Israel Must be Permitted to Israelis watching chine is working overtime. The President Crush Hamas” as well as the featured ap- the bombing I from their lawn of the United States reaffirms America’s pearances by Prime Minister Netanyahu on solemn pledge to protect Israel at all costs national television. chairs on a hill and justifies the carnage by stating that Is- Oren’s call to crush Hamas is particu- near Sderot were rael has a right to defend itself. Secretary of larly ironic as it runs directly contrary to photographed State John Kerry repeats the message and American interests. The US intelligence cheering and the US House and Senate pass unanimously community believes that the group would applauding each American Israel Public Affairs Committee likely be succeeded by something far more time a target in (AIPAC) drafted resolutions affirming the radical. Gaza exploded same. The media, Congress, and Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- all also connive to ignore the deliberate tanyahu lies repeatedly and the US media targeting of civilians to include hospitals, gives him a bully pulpit to spread his disin- schools and private homes by the IDF, formation about what is occurring, includ- producing massive infrastructure damage ing a propaganda cartoon explaining why and increasing the numbers of dead and he had to use artillery and bombs to level a wounded. residential district, killing nearly 100 civil- The US media did not report how Israe- ians in what was described as a “heinous lis watching the bombing from their lawn massacre.” chairs on a hill near Sderot were photo- The mainstream media obligingly toes graphed cheering and applauding each the line, depicting something like a battle time a target in Gaza exploded. They were between equals pitting the Israeli Army also sharing popcorn and one described (IDF) against Hamas militants, obfuscat- the event as “just good fun.” ing the essential asymmetry of a conflict Also missing in the discussion is the that has killed more than 1,000 Palestin- damage that the conflict does to the United ians civilians. States, which is seen throughout the world A very large percentage of the commen- as Israel’s puppet, manifested most recent- tators on television and radio as well the ly when Washington alone opposed and authors of mainstream print media opinion will presumably veto any United Nations are American and Israeli Jews, to include a inquiry into possible war crimes connected

August 2014 | ColdType 47 The murder of gaza / 2

Washington has to the Gaza conflict. dead and that the abduction had not been no obligation America diplomats are supposed to sup- carried out by Hamas cynically used the to protect the port American interests while the Found- kidnapping as a pretext to attack Hamas Netanyahu ing Fathers created an army and navy to on the West Bank, blaming the group for government in defend the United States, not Israel, a fact the crime without producing one shred international fora that seems to have escaped the notice of of evidence. An Arab teenager was subse- nor is there any many in the White House, Congress and in quently burned to death by Jewish extrem- treaty obligation the media. In reality, Washington has no ists and the boy’s American citizen cousin to defend Israel obligation to protect the Netanyahu gov- was badly beaten by police when he joined or anyone else ernment in international law nor is there a demonstration. outside the NATO any treaty obligation to defend Israel or Netanyahu may or may not have cared alliance anyone else outside the NATO alliance. Is- who was killing or kidnapping whom on a rael is neither an ally nor is its self-defined micro level, but he knew a good opportu- security a compelling US national inter- nity when he saw one. He took advantage est if one excludes the drumbeat of the of the situation to launch a plan to destroy domestic lobby that protects it no matter Hamas and pari passu the Palestinian uni- how badly it behaves. ty government. The sequence of events leading up to the Hundreds of arrests were made, again current slaughter is clear, though Israel’s without any evidence linking those de- friends pretend that it all started when the tained with the kidnapping, and homes of first homemade rocket landed inside Isra- suspects were demolished. When Hamas in el, justifying any subsequent steps neces- Gaza eventually struck back with its home- sary for “defense.” But the Israel-Palestine made rockets, killing or injuring no one, problem truly began in 1948, when armed Israel unleashed its modern army and air Jews deliberately terrorized and then drove force on the largely unarmed and defense- more than 700,000 Palestinians from their less Palestinians. homes. Israel also has found allies in the usual It was exacerbated when in 1967 the places in the US media and political circles military occupation of the West Bank and to help explain the ensuing massacre. Ay- Gaza began, leading to the creation and man Mohyeldin, the NBC News correspon- expansion of illegal settlements on Arab dent who personally witnessed and report- land. ed the killing by Israel of four Palestinian The current cycle of violence, rooted in boys on a Gazan beach was ordered by the denial of viable statehood for the Pal- NBC executives to leave Gaza immediately, estinian people, began in April when Israel presumably because he had strayed from deliberately torpedoed US brokered peace the acceptable message, which is that the talks by accelerating settlement building deaths of Palestinians is somehow their and failing to comply with an agreement own fault. CNN also “reassigned” reporter to release prisoners. Diana Magnay who tweeted regarding an On May 15, Israeli soldiers shot dead two Israeli mob that threatened her when she Palestinian teenagers, an event that was filmed their celebration of missile strikes videoed. They were among the 26 Palestin- in Gaza. She called her attackers “scum” ians killed by Israelis since January, with and was quickly removed. no one being held accountable. The far fewer deaths of Israelis in the Four weeks later, three Israeli teenag- conflict are, however, rather more cele- ers from Hebron were kidnapped and later brated than the mass high tech execution discovered dead. Netanyahu, who knew of Palestinians. American volunteers in the that the three young men were already IDF are depicted as somehow doing their

48 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 2 patriotic duty, albeit in a foreign army. The media. There is also a strong dose of racism A comprehensive Washington Post described how the “Death and ethnocentrism in is political matrix, ten year truce of two Americans in Israel brings conflict with broad popular support for either dis- offer by Hamas home.” enfranchising or expelling all non-Jews. Or has been rebuffed Both men identified in the article even killing them, with crowds in Tel Aviv by Israel and though born in the US had chosen to live routinely chanting “Death to Arabs.” the slaughter in Israel, producing some pushback in the An Israeli member of parliament Ayelet will presumably blog comments. Shaked of the ultra-nationalist Jewish continue until One noted that bearing arms for a for- Home party has called all Palestinians ter- Netanyahu eign country that is not in NATO is ille- rorists, saying women should be especially decides to stop gal (and used to lead to automatic loss of targeted for killing during the ongoing citizenship) while another comment ob- Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip served that if you are by choice fighting because they give birth to “little snakes.” in a foreign army you are no longer really She explained “They have to die and their American. I might add that directly sup- houses should be demolished so that they porting Israel’s militarized colonization of cannot bear any more terrorists,” adding Palestinian lands is against stated US gov- “They are all our enemies and their blood ernment policy and does actual damage to should be on our hands. This also applies American interests. to the mothers of the dead terrorists.” A The Gazans are, to be sure, an easy tar- prominent Rabbi has also endorsed com- get, crowded into a narrow strip of land plete destruction of Gaza and genocide, as with no place to go as they are controlled a “deterrent measure to exterminate the on all sides by Egypt and Israel. enemy.” Fleeing inhabitants cannot even turn to Perhaps most discouraging is the vis- the sea which is controlled by the Israeli ceral hatred directed at American critics of navy. A comprehensive ten year truce of- Israeli policies that surfaces occasionally fer by Hamas has been rebuffed by Israel among that nation’s most zealous support- and the slaughter will presumably con- ers. tinue until Netanyahu decides to stop. The Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, former Michael United Nations has suggested that what Jackson spiritual adviser and self-designat- Israel is doing might fit the definition of ed “America’s Rabbi,” has penned a piece a war crime, just as was the case back in entitled, “By Condemning Israel, Presby- 2009 for Operation Cast Lead, when more terians Condemn Themselves.” He writes than 1,400 Gazans were killed and schools regarding the Presbyterian decision to di- run by the UN were deliberately targeted, vest from companies supporting the Israeli as has been the case also currently. occupation of the West Bank, stating that That the US is so tied to a rogue nation “The rotting corpse of the Presbyterian like Israel would be incomprehensible but Church suffered another nail in the coffin for the action of what has been described with its general convention vote on Friday as the Israel Lobby. to divest from companies doing business As Harvard Professor Stephen Walt with Israel.” puts it, “AIPAC is the only explanation for Boteach, who has also become close to a America’s morally bankrupt Israel policy.” number of prominent politicians, received Israel is in reality a place that most Ameri- no mainstream censure for this comments cans would find unsympathetic. It is a cor- attacking a major Christian denomination rupt theocracy that denies equal rights to in the vilest terms. Christians and Muslims, a fact that is con- His article also plays fast and loose with veniently overlooked by Congress and the the facts. He observes “In the wake of the

August 2014 | ColdType 49 The murder of gaza / 2

Boteach and his Oslo Accords, in which Israel granted the friends, most certainly to include the friends, most PLO political autonomy in the West Bank, likes of multi billionaire casino magnate certainly to about 60,000 Americans were murdered in Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas, have no include the likes Israel.” Since Oslo in 1993 the actual figure dual loyalty at all. of multi billionaire for dead Americans, many of whom were Their only concern is for Israel and they casino magnate Israeli dual nationals, is 53. stay in the United States to cash in and to Sheldon Adelson That the United States has provided po- make sure that the rest of the American of Las Vegas, litical support for a monster like Benjamin people are coerced and propagandized suf- have no dual Netanyahu is criminal but it is a tribute to ficiently so as to guarantee that the US will loyalty at all the grip that Israel’s lobby has on Ameri- remain Israel’s patsy. But more and more ca’s political class and media. Americans are waking up to the fraud and For starters, one might reasonably the ongoing slaughter of another thousand suggest that people like Boteach and or so Palestinians in Gaza virtually guar- the American volunteers including antees that there will be more questions Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel who go about the relationship with Israel than an- to fight for Israel while eschewing any swers. Eventually the truth will out. CT service in the US Army should perhaps move permanently to the country that Philip Giraldi is a former CIA case officer they love most. The charge of dual loy- and Army intelligence officer. alty which surfaces regularly regarding He is now executive director of the Israel’s most passionate Jewish support- Council for the National Interest at ers misses the point. Boteach and his www.councilforthenationalinterest.org

South Africa before the Freedom’srevolution Children Photographs by Duncan Mangham

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50 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 3 It is not just an Israeli war on Gaza Benjamin Netanyahu is not the only leader culpable of Gaza’s bloodbath; others in western capitals are also responsible, writes Ramzy Baroud

o some, US secretary of state John fending Israel’s ‘Operation Protective Edge’ Obama has Kerry may have appeared to be a war – the slaughter of thousands of inno- been a dedicated genuine peacemaker as he floated cent civilians in Gaza. stalwart of Israel around ideas during a Cairo visit on On 5 March, 2014, a Congressional bill – and copper T bottoming its 25 July about a ceasefire between Israel and The United States-Israel Strategic Partner- Palestinian fighters in Gaza. But behind his ship Act (H.R. 938, S. 462) – declared that vision of its measured diplomatic language, lies a truth Israel is a “major strategic partner of the security by not even America’s top diplomat can easily United States.” going as far hide. His country is very much involved in The sweeping bill covered many pro- as defending fighting this dirty war on Gaza which has grams from energy, to “research pilot pro- Israel’s ‘Operation killed over 1,050, injured thousands more, grams” between Israel and the US Depart- Protective Edge’ and destroyed much of an already poor, di- ment of Homeland Security. What is most war lapidated space that was barely inhabitable important to note is that Congress now to begin with. requires additional reports that would up- US economic and military aid to Israel date the government on the US’ commit- is measured annually in the billions, and ment to Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge the US government continues to be Israel’s (QME). strongest and most ardent ally and politi- This is merely one of many bills and gov- cal benefactor. In fact, the US-Israel “spe- ernment initiatives that continue to give cial relationship” is getting more “special” Israel a special undeserved status. But this by the day even though Israel is sinking military edge is used mostly to maintain further into the abyss of a well-deserved Israel’s illegal military occupation. Most isolation. of Israel’s victims in its latest war on Gaza True, there are some, even in the justice are civilians who are killed by US weapons. for Palestinians camp, who speak of how There is no escaping the fact that the US is exceptional and fair the Barack Obama Ad- a partner in the Israeli crimes in Gaza and ministration has been in comparison to its the rest of Palestine. predecessors. Without a complete reversal of US atti- However, they neglect the fact that aside tude towards Israel, the US will continue from a few particularly strong-worded to lack any credibility as a peacemaker or a statements, Obama has been a dedicated mere ceasefire mediator. stalwart of Israel and copper bottoming its But America’s support for Israel is vision of its security by going as far as de- crossing new red lines. There are report-

August 2014 | ColdType 51 The murder of gaza / 3

The French edly over 1,000 US citizens fighting in the than some protesters chanting some slo- government Israeli army according to reports that are gans during a solidarity rally that may or imposed a ban to now resurfacing due to the recent killing may not be deemed anti-Semitic? prevent French of two US-Israeli soldiers – Max Steinberg, Indeed, not only are western govern- society from 24, of California, and Nissim Sean Carmeli, ments providing Israel with arms, funds showing its 21, of Texas. Like the rest of the IDF sol- and political cover to sustain its occupa- solidarity with diers killed in recent fighting, they were tion and war, but they are also contributing the besieged killed while invading parts of the besieged thousands of military experts and boots on and massacred Gaza Strip. But the number must be an un- the ground in order to fight a war in Gaza Palestinians in derstatement since some of Israel’s most where war crimes and crimes against hu- Gaza ardent Jewish settlers are also American, manity are being committed on an hourly and happen to be armed and dangerous. basis. Although this is causing a bit of a media Consider this: While British citizens buzz, there is no political crisis. Instead, fighting against the Syrian government of only condolences are offered to the fami- Bashar al-Assad are being detained and lies of the Americans fighting the genocid- persecuted, British citizens who are fight- al war on Gaza. ing for Israel are not. The British govern- The US is not alone in this. European ment is turning a blind eye to what should governments display an incredible amount be considered a criminal act. of hypocrisy as they continue to utilise Western hypocrisy on this is as profound doublespeak in their approach to Middle as the phenomenon of westerners killing East conflicts in general, and the situation Palestinians, which some are now calling in Palestine in particular. ‘Israeli Jihadists’. The pressure mounting from European Belgium also stands accused of allowing civil society makes it a bit more challeng- such criminality. Although Belgian civil ing for EU governments to endow Israel society is one of Palestine’s strongest sup- with the same unconditional love and sup- porters, their government is cloaked with port as that bestowed upon it by the US. EU unmistakable dishonesty. Many Belgian hypocrisy is too palpable even for clever citizens are also taking part in Israel’s le- politicians to hide. thal wars in Gaza and military occupation of the occupied territory, with little or no Shameless Britain protest from their government. The British government is shamelessly on The recruitment of Belgians is mostly the Israeli side, even while entire families in done through the same organisations that Gaza are being pulverized by western weap- recruited thousands of foreign fighters for ons and military technology.Meanwhile, the IDF. Think of them as terrorist head- the French government imposed a ban to hunting organisations that operate in a prevent French society from showing its perfectly legal environment. solidarity with the besieged and massacred Recently, Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Palestinians in Gaza. Wever, called on the Belgian government But why ban mere demonstrations of to cancel dual citizenship of ‘Syria jihadis’. solidarity while France, the US and other His call was made during a recent visit to Western governments are allowing their a synagogue in Brussels after four people Jewish citizens to be enlisted in the Israeli were shot by an alleged French-born citi- Defense Forces (IDF) which is actively kill- zen suspected of having spent time fight- ing Palestinian civilians? ing in Syria. Shouldn’t that be a much greater con- The country’s Minister of Justice An- cern to the duplicitous French government nemie Turtelboom took the initiative fur-

52 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 3 ther by calling on EU countries to block civil society initiatives to bring criminals to The French are jihadists from going to Syria, suggesting justice for the sake of exposing the orga- now considering a the creation of a list of all known “Syria nizations that recruit them, the “support six months ban on jihadists.” groups” that sustain them, and govern- those travelling But what about the number of Belgians ment silence and hypocrisy that tolerate to Syria and Iraq, who are fighting, killing and committing the entire criminal enterprise. so as not to take war crimes on behalf of Israel? Why is the Western involvement in the war on the any chances that Belgian government keeping silent about Palestinian people is indeed going beyond some of them those in the Israeli army, with no state- the usual and known support of funds, may be recruited ment yet issued, even after the killing of military technology and economic aid, to in the ongoing Belgian citizen Eytan Barak? actual participation in the slaughter of Pal- strife there Not only is the Belgian government estinians in Gaza. This is not a matter than miserably failing to prevent Belgians from can be addressed within the larger argu- fighting in Gaza, but the mainstream me- ment of Western double standards in Israel dia is also failing to report such events. and Palestine, but an urgent issue that de- Only alternative media seems interested mands immediate attention. in what should be a major story in Brus- By preventing those who leave their sels. countries to kill Palestinians in Gaza, fewer The same questions apply to other civilians are likely to be murdered. western governments. The hyper-sensitive Legal cases should be brought before French government turned a blind eye courts throughout western capitals to try when a French citizen was killed during known names of US-EU soldiers, and new the Gaza onslaught. lists should be composed of others who use dual citizenship status to further the Looking the other way suffering of the Palestinians so that legal While the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on action may immediately take place. the killing of staff Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, It is one thing to fail to stop war crimes most of the French media and government from being committed, it is a whole oth- have looked the other way. The very gov- er level of failure to defend, finance and ernment that continues to make life diffi- take active part in carrying out these war cult for African immigrants in France, sees crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin no problem of its own immigrants taking Netanyahu is not the only leader culpable part in foreign wars that are in violation of of Gaza’s bloodbath; others in western cap- its own citizenship laws. itals should also be held to account. In fact, the French are now considering (Thanks to Laila Benallal for her help with a six months ban on those travelling to the research for this article.) CT Syria and Iraq, so as not to take any chanc- es that some of them may be recruited in Ramzy Baroud is a PhD scholar in People’s the ongoing strife there. As for travelling to History at the University of Exeter. He is the Israel to join the IDF? Well, for Paris, that’s Managing Editor of Middle East Eye. Baroud a whole different matter. is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a The list of participating countries is media consultant, an author and the founder growing as is the number of those suspect- of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is ed war criminals fighting and killing in the My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s name of Israel. This is not met with enough Untold Story (Pluto Press, London).

August 2014 | ColdType 53 The murder of gaza / 4 How Stephen Harper betrayed Canada

Linda McQuaig discusses the moral ertain minimal standards are ex- disconnect at the heart of the Canadian pected of a national leader in what is Government’s stance on Israel’s known as the ‘civilized world’. C One of those standards would attack on Gaza seem to be that, when massive numbers of de- fenceless civilians are being killed, a national Photos: Pro-Gaza demo in Toronto, by Tony Sutton leader should call for the killing to stop. Questions about responsibility, blame,

54 ColdType | August 2014 Thousands of protestors express anger and sorrow outside the US consulate in the heart of Toronto

punishment, repercussions, etc., can always rael has a right to defend itself. And the mili- Paul Heinbecker, follow. But surely the first order of business tant group Hamas is criminally responsible a former Canadian – the one with moral urgency – is to halt the for launching hundreds of rockets into Israel ambassador, killing of innocent people. in the past week with the intent of causing noted on CBC TV’s So it’s quite extraordinary, as well as ap- death and destruction, killing one Israeli at Power and Politics palling, that Canada’s prime minister Ste- the time of writing. that international phen Harper has steadfastly declined to join But the lopsided nature of the death law prohibits other world leaders in calling for a halt to toll (200:1) highlights the enormous power Israel from, for Israel’s bombing of Gaza, which has killed imbalance between the two sides – one instance, attacking more than 200 people and left more than equipped with home-made rockets and no a military target 1,500 injured. air defence, and the other fielding the most if it is located in a Instead, Harper has asserted that “Canada sophisticated laser-guided missiles and a densely populated is unequivocally behind Israel” – a ringing state-of-the-art defence system, backed up building endorsement uttered not long after Israeli by nuclear weapons. bombs ripped through a house in Gaza, kill- Harper insists that Israel goes to great ing five children and thirteen other members lengths to avoid killing civilians. But Paul of an extended family, and also destroyed a Heinbecker, a former Canadian ambassador, centre for the disabled, killing two. noted on CBC TV’s Power and Politics that The message from Harper seemed to be: international law prohibits Israel from, for Let the killing continue! instance, attacking a military target if it is lo- Of course, Harper is correct in saying Is- cated in a densely populated building.

August 2014 | ColdType 55 Demonstrators chant slogans outside the US consulate in Toronto during one of several protests against US and Canadian government support for the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Officially, Harper maintains that Israel notifies flict – a position that still appears on the Ca- according to the residents of its impending attacks, but Hei- nadian government’s website. website, Canada nbecker points out that there is essentially Officially, according to the website, Can- does not condone nowhere to flee to safety in Gaza – a tiny, ada does not condone Israel’s military occu- Israel’s military poverty-stricken strip of land where some pation and supports UN resolution 242 call- occupation and 1.8 million people live crowded together, ing for Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders. supports UN trapped on all sides. While you’d never know it from listening to resolution 242 What is striking about Harper’s intensely Harper, Canada still “supports the creation calling for Israel one-sided approach is the way he resolutely of a sovereign, independent, viable, demo- to withdraw to its avoids dealing with the central fact of this cratic and territorially contiguous Palestin- 1967 borders decades-old conflict: that millions of Pales- ian state.” tinians in the West Bank and Gaza have been Canada’s official website further states living under Israeli military occupation for that “Israeli settlements in the occupied ter- more than forty-five years, and that Israel ritories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva has effectively annexed what used to be their Convention” and that the “settlements also land, building settlements on it that now ac- constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a commodate more than 600,000 Israelis. comprehensive, just and lasting peace.” Harper’s refusal to take any of this into Of course, these positions, updated on the consideration flies in the face of Canada’s website last January, were developed under long-standing position on the Mideast con- earlier Canadian governments that recog-

56 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 4

Captions here

The peaceful march in Toronto against the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza was preceded by clashes between supporters of Israel and protestors at Queen’s Park, home of the Ontario legislature.

nized the land issue as integral to a peaceful ficial “withdrawal” from Gaza in 2005 has solution. resulted in tighter, not looser, Israeli military The Harper government hasn’t yet had control over the territory. the nerve to renounce these positions, appar- Canadians are often asked to imagine ently fearful of drawing fresh attention to its the plight of Israelis, who must endure in- abandonment of Canada’s tradition of sup- discriminate rocket attacks. But we’re rarely port for the UN and our role as peacekeepers asked to imagine the plight of Palestinians, Linda McQuaig – traditions many Canadians still revere. who not only endure far more devastating is the winner of a By keeping his focus exclusively on the attacks with no place to hide, but also watch Canadian National current bombing (and only on the bombing as their land is slowly but inexorably taken Newspaper Award, by Hamas), Harper helps divert attention over – with the apparent support of seem- who has been from the real story behind the conflict: the ingly fair-minded people, like the Canadi- a reporter for relentless takeover of Palestinian land. ans. the Globe and Mail, In statements that have received little no- Of course, most ordinary Canadians know and columnist tice (at least here in Canada), Israeli Prime little about all this. They’re caught up in for the National Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently in- their daily lives, and trust their government Post and Toronto dicated that Israel has no intention of ever to represent their values and speak for them Star. She was the giving up control of the West Bank, where 2.5 in world matters. New Democrat million Palestinians live. In other words, the Under the Harper government, that trust candidate in Toronto military occupation will continue. Israel’s of- couldn’t be more flagrantly abused. CT Centre in 2013.

August 2014 | ColdType 57 The murder of gaza / 5 Stakes rise for Israel as rockets reach airport Temporary air blockade of Israel reveals deeper issues to its citizens, writes Jonathan Cook

In Israel, air srael’s effective loss of its only interna- about how deeply disappointed my two links to the rest tional airport for a couple of days last young children would be if my wife could of the world are week – and the cloud of uncertainty that not find a way home from Chicago last considered not continues to hang over its operation in week. just a luxury but I the future – has deeply unsettled Israelis. Others drew grander parallels. One lead- also an almost The US Federal Aviation Administration ing analyst even compared Israel’s situation existential issue (FAA) banned American carriers from fly- to the blockade of Berlin by Russia at the ing to Israel, a move soon followed by many start of the Cold War. European airlines, after a rocket from Gaza It would be satisfying to write that Israe- landed close to Ben Gurion airport, near Tel lis, in experiencing a very temporary and Aviv, on July 22. The FAA and the airlines partial air blockade, gained a little insight seemed especially jittery after the downing into the far worse conditions for Palestin- of a Malaysian passenger jet over war-torn ians in Gaza, who have spent the past eight Ukraine a few days earlier, killing 298. years under an Israeli-imposed siege, denied The suspension of flights was overturned most contact with the outside world. barely 48 hours later, following great pres- The coastal enclave of Gaza is penned sure from Israel. Nonetheless, it was a warn- in on all sides by fences, walls and watch- ing to Israelis that, now Palestinian factions towers. It has no airport or seaport because in Gaza have longer-range rockets, there is Israel destroyed them long ago. Fishermen a potentially more serious, collective price are barely allowed to get further than shal- to be paid for Israel’s repeated military as- low waters before being fired on by Israeli saults on the tiny enclave. gunboats, while the air above Gaza is the In Israel, a country that views itself, in domain of Israel’s surveillance and weap- the words of a former prime minister, as a onized drones. “villa in the jungle,” air links to the rest of The central demand Hamas has made the world are considered not just a luxury for an acceptable ceasefire is that the siege but also an almost existential issue. ends and Gaza be allowed to reestablish sea Some fourteen million passengers pass and air links to the world. through the airport every year, many of But most Israelis have appeared to make them visiting, or being visited by, Jewish no connection between their own experi- relatives abroad. Israel’s economy also ben- ence and the gnawing frustration, fear and efits from a large number of tourists. fury of the people of Gaza at their long im- I felt the anxiety personally, worrying prisonment. Instead, they have focused on

58 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 5 their resentment on Hamas and the foreign rael had only one fatality. Israel has airlines for inflicting on them a small incon- But if Israelis really were under such a developed venience. serious threat, surely it would be unwise, a rocket The brief suspension of flights also - ex even reckless, for international airlines to interception posed deeper issues concerning Israel’s cur- be risking their passengers’ lives by flying system – mostly rent attack on Gaza, dubbed Operation Pro- into an airport next to Tel Aviv, well within paid for by the tective Edge – issues usually skirted by the the range of rockets. US – called Iron war rhetoric of Israel and Hamas. Confronted with this argument, Israeli Dome that it says The first concerned Israel’s much-vaunt- officials suddenly and dramatically changed is protecting ed right to “self-defense” against the rock- their tune. Even as most other carriers can- population center ets from Gaza, a principle backed even by celled flights, all of Israel’s own airlines, US President Barack Obama. such as El Al, continued to fly in and out of Harvard law professor and vocal Israel Ben Gurion as normal. supporter Alan Dershowitz set out a retro- Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime spective logic for Israel’s attack, saying: “Ev- Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to reas- ery country in the world would do every- sure the airlines: “Our airport is safe; our thing in its power to keep open its airports, airport is secure.” the lifelines to its economic viability.” But which was it? Were most Israelis in True enough. But Dershowitz’s argument danger from the rockets, despite the low hardly justified Operation Protective Edge. casualty figures, or was most of Israel safe? Given that Israel has been enforcing a siege Regev tried to deflect attention from this on Gaza for at least the past eight years – in conundrum with a quite astounding state- fact, it destroyed the airport in 2001 – it was ment. an eloquent reminder that Hamas had a re- Israel has developed a rocket intercep- sponsibility to “do everything in its power,” tion system – mostly paid for by the US – including attacking Israel, to restore Gaza’s called Iron Dome that it says is protecting own economic lifelines. population centers. Regev argued that Israel Inadvertently, Dershowitz was exposing had tracked the rocket near the airport and not only the hypocrisy of Israel’s support- allowed it through because “we saw that it ers, but also reminding us that international wasn’t going to hit inside the airport.” law gives the Palestinians alone a right of Though few bothered to check, a quick self-defense – against Israel’s belligerent oc- look at a map showed how improbable that cupation and the siege of Gaza. account was. The path of a rocket from Gaza Then there was the issue of Israel’s stren- to Yehud, the neighborhood that was hit, uous efforts to end the FAA’s suspension would have passed over part of the airport, of flights. Its activities were hard to square through its air space, close to aircraft tak- with the image it portrayed of a country un- ing off and landing. The idea that Israel was der a barrage of Hamas rockets, terrorizing not concerned about this happening, given its population. Israel’s heightened security fears about Ben Last week, Israel’s ambassador to the Gurion, is simply inconceivable. United Nations, Ron Prosor, echoed the of- So it must indicate something else. There ficial refrain, that Hamas was hell-bent on were a few possibilities. Israel’s “destruction.” He added: “There is It may be, as several missile interception no country in the world that would tolerate experts both in Israel and abroad have sug- such an assault on its citizens.” gested, that Iron Dome’s true success rate is The casualty figures told a different story. far lower than claimed. It could be as low as Before Israel invaded Gaza, the Palestinian 5 percent, says Ted Postol, of Massachusetts death toll stood in the hundreds, while Is- Institute of Technology. Some have branded

August 2014 | ColdType 59 The murder of gaza / 5

The reality is that it “iron sieve.” limitations noted above, is that – whatever an Iron Dome Or it may be that Israel does not have its rhetoric – Hamas has mostly avoided interception either enough Iron Dome launchers or targeting Ben Gurion, accepting, however missile is far more enough interception missiles – which cost reluctantly, that there are certain unwrit- dangerous to a as much as 50,000 US dollars a time – to ten rules in these now almost ritual engage- plane – if it locks intercept all the rockets being fired as Pales- ments. onto it by mistake tinian factions get better at reaching popu- Cynically, Israel prefers in Gaza to “mow – than the rockets lation centers. the lawn,” as the Israeli military term it: fired from Gaza Or, as one analyst with close ties to the remind Hamas and ordinary Palestinians Israeli military claimed, it may be that the who is boss through intermittent bouts of Iron Dome crew was “ordered to be extra extreme violence. The goal is to weaken cautious about interceptions near the air- Hamas without actually overthrowing it port that could interfere with the planes fly- and thereby leave the enclave lawless and ing above it.” While this seemed a plausible unmanageable. explanation, it did not address the FAA’s Hamas, by contrast, wants to inflict concerns about safety. It simply reframed enough psychological and economic dam- them. age on Israel to encourage Israel to change The reality is that an Iron Dome inter- policy, but not so much that Israel will feel ception missile is far more dangerous to a compelled either to topple the Islamic group plane – if it locks onto it by mistake – than or to reoccupy Gaza. the rockets fired from Gaza, which means The rocket on Ben Gurion airport risked that if Hamas fires rockets at Ben Gurion, it changing Israel’s calculations. Is it possible creates a double threat – from the rockets that Hamas decided to increase the pressure and from the interception missiles. on Israel – with a kind of warning shot – in Whatever the correct explanation, Isra- growing frustration at Israel’s mounting at- el’s airport patently isn’t safe during these tacks on its core infrastructure, such as its confrontations – and is likely to get less safe tunnel network in Gaza, and Israel’s refusal in the future. Hamas rockets can reach Ben to engage in meaningful ceasefire negotia- Gurion and, though not exactly precise, tions? need only to hit in the vicinity to shut Is- Whatever the truth, that rocket suggests rael’s gateway to the world. the stakes in the conflict are only getting So why isn’t Hamas barraging Ben Gurion higher for Israel. CT airport in the hope that one or more rockets get past Iron Dome, or that Israel mistaken- Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn ly shoots down a plane with an interception Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books missile? That way, it could give Israel a taste are “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: of what a real blockade feels like. Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle Some Israeli analysts claim that is pre- East” (Pluto Press) and “Disappearing cisely what Hamas has been doing, but Iron Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Dome has saved the day. Despair” (Zed Books). His website is But another possibility, suggested by the www.jonathan-cook.net

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60 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 6 With a heavy heart over Gaza John Reiner describes the flood of memories of his 2009 trip to Jenin provoked by Israel’s latest assault on Gaza

uring the past several weeks, I’ve doctors and human rights groups who are The atrocities spent a lot of time thinking about witnesses to the slaughter. Videos showing being committed the Jenin refugee camp in the West the death and destruction of Gazans of all by the Israel Bank. I visited the camp back in ages are viewed by millions and are lead- Defense Forces D (IDF) are being 2009 during my trip to the Occupied Pales- ing to mass actions of protest by people all tinian Territories (OPT). I vividly remem- over the world who are making their voices documented ber with a broken heart how camp leaders heard. by doctors and described the psychological damage done Whether it was a young man looking human rights to the children following the 2002 Israeli for relatives who was repeatedly shot and groups who are massacre at the camp. killed by an Israeli sniper or four young witnesses to the We were told about children who re- boys playing soccer on a deserted beach slaughter fused or were unable to sleep for fear of who were targeted and blown up by an Is- Israeli helicopters bombing them in their raeli gunboat, the theme remains constant homes while they slept. We were told about – the lives of Palestinians, regardless of 14- and 15-year-olds wetting themselves in age, are worthless to the Israeli forces be- school because of how traumatized they ing sent to destroy them. were. I’ve thought about all this as I’ve seen In order to fully understand what is oc- the horrors of the current Israeli onslaught curring, it is necessary to put this onslaught, on Gaza unfold day after day. this massacre, into the larger context of What’s happening in Gaza by most ac- the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation, and counts is worse than previous Israeli as- in the case of Gaza, the illegal siege and saults there in 2006, 2009 and 2012. An all- blockade. During my trip to the OPT, a trip too-common and utterly heart-wrenching that did not include Gaza, we saw firsthand theme is the reporting of entire families the impact of the occupation on virtually being virtually wiped out. The numbers – every aspect of Palestinian life. eight, nine, 12, 18, 25 members, including ______17 children, of individual families – are al- We saw the true face of the occupation most beyond one’s ability to comprehend. in Hebron in an old woman who, despite This latest episode of Israeli war crimes, living across the street from the cemetery like the previous ones, is being played out where her loved ones were buried, is forced in front of a global audience. The atroci- to walk more than a mile to pay her respects ties being committed by the Israel Defense because the street that separates her home Forces (IDF) are being documented by from the cemetery is a Jews-only road.

August 2014 | ColdType 61 The murder of gaza / 6

Just as the We experienced it walking through the Israel, continue to support the resistance, occupation streets in Hebron below a wire netting that regardless of whether or not they are sup- dominates life for is necessary to block the rocks and feces porters of Hamas. The consistent message Palestinians in thrown down on them from the Jews who from the people of Gaza has remained defi- the West Bank, live above them. Sadly, the netting was not ant, and that message is that as long as the the siege and nearly as effective at blocking the verbal siege stands, the resistance must continue. blockade choke abuse that was hurled down upon the Pal- Their demands have always been the the life out of the estinian citizens of Hebron. same, and that is for the crippling siege people of Gaza We saw it in the faces of the old and the to be lifted so that the people of Gaza can young in the Dheisheh refugee camp lo- have access to food and water, medicine cated just south of Bethlehem. There, like and medical supplies, and other necessi- in Jenin, we met people over the age of 60 ties that they have been denied for years who had spent their entire lives inside the on end. Palestinians in Gaza have access to camp as refugees. We saw it in the faces water for just three hours every three days of people stranded for hours at a time at and have power for between only four and the various checkpoints that dot the West eight hours a day. Bank. These checkpoints are designed to The siege must be lifted so that they can make the lives of Palestinians even more have the freedom of movement to escape impossible. what has been accurately described as the At the infamous Qalandiya checkpoint, world’s largest open air prison. For far too we met students who told us they were long, the besieged of Gaza have been de- forbidden from even bringing pencils nied the most basic of human rights, suf- through. This was confirmed by students at fering what many describe as a slow and Birzeit University, near Ramallah, who told calculated death at the hands of Israel. If us that it was impossible for them to make the conflict ends with Gaza still under siege it to class on time due to the checkpoints. as it has with the previous assaults, then Many were therefore forced to spend what nothing will change, and it will simply be little money they had renting rooms with a matter of time, perhaps another year or many other fellow students as it was the two, before the next assault by the occupy- only way they could be close enough to ing Israeli military forces takes place. school to make it to class on time. As I write this, more than half of Gaza At Birzeit, we were told of the horrors has been destroyed by the current Israeli of administrative detention, a policy that assault. Due to the blockade that severely arrests Palestinians without charge or trial restricts the importation of building and for periods up to six months. What makes construction materials, many structures it worse is that when the six-month period destroyed during Operation Cast Lead is up, Israeli authorities can simply renew more than five-and-a-half years ago have the six-month period, and the cycle contin- yet to be rebuilt. ues on and on, with Palestinians, including ______many students, spending years in deten- I don’t pay much attention to conspiracy tion without ever even being charged with theories. The things we already have docu- a crime. mented evidence of are more than enough Just as the occupation dominates life to terrify us, yet throughout this entire for Palestinians in the West Bank, the siege nightmare, the Israeli government has cov- and blockade choke the life out of the peo- ered up the truth about what led to this lat- ple of Gaza. It is for this reason that the est assault on Palestine. The cover-up sur- inhabitants of Gaza, despite suffering con- rounding the abduction and tragic murder stant bombardment and slaughter from of three settlers has been a crime in and

62 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 6 of itself. This is a direct contradiction of what This latest What we do know is that Israeli intel- the Israeli establishment has said – for slaughter has ligence forces knew that the three Israeli example, Netanyahu asserted, “Hamas is allowed us to teens had been killed within the first day responsible and Hamas will pay.” Yet, the see another of their abduction. Yet, they carried out damage was already done, and the justifi- parallel with the charade of trying to rescue them with cation Israel sought by waving the war flag recent history, a military engagement called Operation around the deaths of three illegal settlers specifically Brother’s Keeper. What followed was an 11- was achieved. For the past three weeks, the the sham day rampage through the West Bank that people of Gaza have been massacred by an ceasefire saw the killing of at least five Palestinians occupying force hell-bent on inflicting as agreement as well as the arbitrary arrest of more than much death and destruction as possible. concocted 500 Palestinians, including virtually every ______between Israel Hamas leader in the West Bank. Events like this – and the apartheid condi- and the In addition, the IDF engaged in a mas- tions that Palestinians are forced to live un- anti-Hamas sive campaign that saw them loot, pillage der – have many on the Israeli left increas- Egyptian and destroy countless Palestinian homes – ingly fearful that the state of Israel is more government that all this being done while their leaders, led and more resembling Nazi Germany during came to power by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the 1930s. This opinion, which many Pales- through a coup and his Economics Minister Naftali Ben- tinians and their supporters have held for nett, constantly spewed the most disgust- years now, is even expressed by some who ing rhetoric, thereby inciting the violence survived the Nazi Holocaust. that followed. Reports of bands of thugs beating Ar- Ayelet Shaked, a member of Bennett’s abs and leftists opposed to the occupation ultra-right Jewish Home Party in the Israe- while chanting “Death to Arabs, death to li Knesset, recently referred to Palestinian leftists” and “Throw all Arabs in the gas children as “little snakes” and said that ev- chamber” leaves me with an ominous ery Palestinian was an “enemy combatant.” chill. On my visit to the OPT, it was easy Sadly, the vile sentiments expressed by the to see why these comparisons are drawn. political leaders of Israel seem to reflect We witnessed Jewish-only roads and spe- the sentiments of a majority of their con- cial license plates and IDs for Palestinians. stituents. Their call for Palestinian blood Even Palestinian citizens of Israel are de- was answered by the shocking kidnapping nied many of the basic rights that Jews en- and murder of 17-year-old Mohammad joy, and now they are forced to take loyalty Abu Khdeir, who was burned alive on the oaths to a government that has systemati- morning of July 2 while he was on his way cally denied them of their basic rights for to the local mosque for morning prayers. more than 65 years. Added to this is the Finally, after more than a month of continuous construction of illegal settle- claiming that Hamas was responsible for ments on occupied Palestinian land and the kidnapping but without providing the destruction of Palestinian homes and any evidence to support this claim, a BBC land at an ever-increasing pace. reporter has revealed that Israeli police This latest slaughter has allowed us to spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld told him see another parallel with recent history, that the kidnappers were a “lone cell” that specifically the sham cease-fire agree- was not operating under orders from the ment concocted between Israel and the Hamas leadership. Rosenfeld also said that anti-Hamas Egyptian government that “if kidnapping had been ordered by Hamas came to power through a coup. Two weeks leadership, they’d have known about it in ago, they proposed a deal that would put advance,” according to the reporter. an end to this latest round of killing, but

August 2014 | ColdType 63 The murder of gaza / 6

When it was only which would leave in place the siege and reckoning of the crimes committed by the Palestinians blockade of Gaza and provide absolutely state of Israel and its chief benefactor, the dying, mostly no relief to its 1.8 million inhabitants. United States of America. civilians, there They did this without consulting Hamas, Israel constantly boasts of its technical was not a peep knowing full well they could never accept superiority when it comes to the precision about the need for but giving Israel political cover to justify of its weapons. It has long claimed that its a ceasefire coming more air strikes and a ground invasion, “smart weapons” possess pinpoint accura- from anyone in thus intensifying the wholesale slaughter cy. If indeed that is the case, then they have Washington of Gaza. This deadly charade is reminiscent committed atrocities worthy of the most of the 2000 Camp David Summit when all despicable of war criminals. The IDF has the blame for failing to come up with an targeted and killed people undergoing sur- agreement was placed at the feet of Pales- gery when the hospitals they were in were tinian National Authority President Yasser shelled. They have killed people in schools, Arafat. hospitals, mosques, sports stadiums, mar- US President Bill Clinton and Israeli kets, media centers, rehabilitation centers Prime Minister Ehud Barak knew that Ara- and other medical facilities, including fat could not accept the terms of the Camp those for the handicapped and disabled. David agreement, which would have forced Ambulance drivers and EMS workers have massive concessions on the part of the Pal- been targeted as well as being prevented estinians but demanded virtually nothing from retrieving the dead and wounded of the Israelis. Yet both leaders placed all leading to more senseless deaths. the blame for the summit’s failure at his An unimaginably despicable example of feet. Clearly, this has been a recurring their pinpoint accuracy occurred July 24, theme for as long as the “peace process” when the IDF bombed a school in Beit Ha- has existed. noun being used as a United Nations shel- ______ter, killing 16 and wounding more than 200. So now we are once again witnessing the While Netanyahu has consistently blamed widespread destruction of the Gaza Strip Hamas for using Palestinians as human and its inhabitants. Sadly, the only lan- shields, this worn-out argument has never guage coming out of Washington is the been backed up by any evidence and has same as it always has been: “Israel has the in fact been repeatedly refuted by one re- right to defend itself.” Israel continues to port after another. What has been verified, enjoy a free pass from its greatest enablers however, is the IDF’s use of Palestinians, – allowing it to kill and destroy with impu- including children, as human shields [3]. nity. It is only now, when a small number This policy, which they have employed for of Israeli soldiers have been killed, that we many years, was recently used during the hear President Obama say that we must Shejaiya massacre that saw the killing of have a ceasefire. 72 Palestinians. When it was only Palestinians dying, Netanyahu had the unmitigated temer- mostly civilians, there was not a peep ity recently to say that he actually cared about the need for a ceasefire coming from about the safety of the people of Gaza, im- anyone in Washington. With the number ploring them to heed the warnings of the of dead in Gaza now more than 1,300, in- IDF when they were told to evacuate. The cluding more than 220 children, and climb- question the people of Gaza have for him ing steadily each day as Israel continues it is, “Where, Mr. Prime Minister, should we assault, an end to the killing is of course evacuate to?” Where is it safe to go when needed. Yet, what is needed even more hospitals, clinics, schools, mosques and than that is a long overdue accounting and homes are targeted? The wounded cannot

64 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 6 even find refuge. Gaza, even under the best ists.” The effectiveness of the strategy was The failure of any of circumstances, is a shoebox. There is no- impressed upon me when I told people of politician in this where to run, nowhere to hide. There is no my plans to visit the West Bank just be- country to hold safe haven for the besieged of Gaza. fore the first anniversary of Operation Cast Israel accountable ______Lead. Many people expressed shock that for crimes All we ever hear from our politicians is, “Is- I would be going to such a “dangerous” committed against rael has the right to defend itself...Israel has place and asked if I was scared that I would Palestine is what the right to defend itself,” and “No country be killed by a terrorist or suicide bomber. allows them to could be expected to live like this.” This is It was my proud duty to inform them continue to exist of course unless that country is Palestine. that the only threat we faced during our as the world’s According to virtually every major Ameri- stay was from the Israelis, whether it was last remaining can political leader beginning with Presi- from a member of the IDF pointing a high- colonial-settler dent Obama, regardless of whether they’re powered rifle at us at a checkpoint or a sus- state the most ardent conservative Republican, picious bureaucrat at the airport interro- such as Sen. Ted Cruz, or the most liberal gating us as to why we had come to Israel. “progressive” Democrat, such as Sen. Eliz- The people we met in Palestine simply abeth Warren, there is no distinction when desired to live peaceful lives, free from oc- it comes to Israel. cupation. The level of kindness and hu- The failure of any politician in this coun- manity we were shown was something I try to hold Israel accountable for crimes know none of us will ever forget. Having committed against Palestine is what allows the opportunity to meet people who have them to continue to exist as the world’s had their lands confiscated, their orchards last remaining colonial-settler state. of olive trees destroyed, some of them hun- The outrageous influence exercised on dreds of years old, their water stolen, their US political leaders by AIPAC and other houses demolished, and their relatives ar- pro-Israeli organizations is a great place rested and even killed while they still talk to look for an answer to the question as to of an unquenchable desire for peace and why the US is so endlessly supportive of freedom will always serve as an inspiration the racist and apartheid polices practiced to all of us dedicated to the continued fight by Israel. for Palestinian freedom and justice. CT The goal of such groups and their sup- porters is to relentlessly portray Palestin- This essay was published by Socialist ians as “terrorists” or “religious extrem- Worker at http://socialistworker.org

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August 2014 | ColdType 65 The murder of gaza / 7 Palestinians have a right to self defence Chris Hedges says Gaza is justified in taking action against Israeli attacks

No world body, f Israel insists, as the Bosnian Serbs did Violence, even when employed in self- including the in Sarajevo, on using the weapons of in- defense, is a curse. It empowers the ruthless United Nations, dustrial warfare against a helpless civilian and punishes the innocent. It leaves in its appears willing or population then that population has an aftermath horrific emotional and physical able to pressure I inherent right to self-defense under Article scars. But, as I learned in Sarajevo during Israel through 51 of the United Nations Charter. The inter- the 1990s Bosnian War, when forces bent on sanctions to national community will have to either act your annihilation attack you relentlessly, conform to to immediately halt Israeli attacks and lift and when no one comes to your aid, you the norms of the blockade of Gaza or acknowledge the must aid yourself. When Sarajevo was be- international law right of the Palestinians to use weapons to ing hit with 2,000 shells a day and under defend themselves. heavy sniper fire in the summer of 1995 no No nation, including any in the Muslim one among the suffering Bosnians spoke world, appears willing to intervene to pro- to me about wanting to mount nonviolent tect the Palestinians. No world body, includ- resistance. No one among them saw the ing the United Nations, appears willing or UN-imposed arms embargo against the Bos- able to pressure Israel through sanctions to nian government as rational, given the rain conform to the norms of international law. of sniper fire and the 90-millimeter tank And the longer we in the world community rounds and 155-millimeter howitzer shells fail to act, the worse the spiral of violence that were exploding day and night in the will become. city. The Bosnians were reduced, like the Israel does not have the right to drop Palestinians in Gaza, to smuggling in light 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bombs on weapons through clandestine tunnels. Their Gaza. It does not have the right to pound enemies, the Serbs – like the Israelis in the Gaza with heavy artillery and with shells current conflict – were constantly trying to lobbed from gunboats. It does not have the blow up tunnels. The Bosnian forces in Sa- right to send in mechanized ground units rajevo, with their meager weapons, desper- or to target hospitals, schools and mosques, ately attempted to hold the trench lines that along with Gaza’s water and electrical sys- circled the city. And it is much the same in tems. It does not have the right to displace Gaza. It was only repeated NATO airstrikes over 100,000 people from their homes. The in the fall of 1995 that prevented the Bos- entire occupation, under which Israel has nian-held areas from being overrun by ad- nearly complete control of the sea, the air vancing Serbian forces. The Palestinians and the borders of Gaza, is illegal. cannot count on a similar intervention.

66 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 7

The number of dead in Gaza resulting rael to change the physical character, demo- At what point from the Israeli assault has topped 650, and graphic composition, institutional structure do the numbers about 80 percent have been civilians. As I or status of the Palestinian and other Arab of dead and write this, the number of wounded Pales- territories occupied since 1967, including Je- wounded justify tinians is over 4,000 and a substantial frac- rusalem, or any part thereof, have no legal self-defense? tion of these victims are children. At what validity and that Israel’s policy and prac- 5,000? 10,000? point do the numbers of dead and wounded tices of settling parts of its population and 20,000? At justify self-defense? 5,000? 10,000? 20,000? new immigrants in those territories consti- what point do At what point do Palestinians have the el- tute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Ge- Palestinians have emental right to protect their families and neva Convention relative to the Protection the elemental their homes? of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also right to protect Article 51 does not answer these spe- constitute a serious obstruction to achiev- their families and cific questions, but the International Court ing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace their homes? of Justice does in the case of Nicaragua v. in the Middle East.” United States. The court ruled in that case Israel, as an occupying power, is in di- that a state must endure an armed attack rect violation of Article III of the Geneva before it can resort to self-defense. The defi- Convention Relative to the Protection of nition of an armed attack, in addition to be- Civilian Persons in Time of War. This con- ing “action by regular armed forces across vention lays out the minimum standards an international border,” includes sending for the protection of civilians in a conflict or sponsoring armed bands, mercenaries or that is not international in scope. Article irregulars that commit acts of force against 3(1) states that those who take no active another state. The court held that any state role in hostilities must be treated humanely, under attack must first request outside as- without discrimination, regardless of racial, sistance before undertaking armed self-de- social, religious or economic distinctions. fense. According to UN Charter Article 51, a The article prohibits certain acts commonly state’s right to self-defense ends when the carried out against noncombatants in re- Security Council meets the terms of the ar- gions of armed conflict, including murder, ticle by “tak[ing] the measures necessary to mutilation, cruel treatment and torture. It maintain international peace and security.” prohibits the taking of hostages as well as The failure of the international commu- sentences given without adequate due pro- nity to respond has left the Palestinians with cess of law. Article 3(2) mandates care for no choice. The United States, since Israel’s the sick and wounded. establishment in 1948, has vetoed in the UN Israel has not only violated the tenets of Security Council more than 40 resolutions Article III but has amply fulfilled the con- that sought to curb Israel’s lust for occupa- ditions of an aggressor state as defined by tion and violence against the Palestinians. Article 51. But for Israel, as for the United And it has ignored the few successful reso- States, international law holds little impor- lutions aimed at safeguarding Palestinian tance. The US ignored the verdict of the rights, such as Security Council Resolution international court in Nicaragua v. United 465, passed in 1980. States and, along with Israel, does not ac- Resolution 465 stated that the “Fourth cept the jurisdiction of the tribunal. It does Geneva Convention relative to the Protec- not matter how many Palestinians are killed tion of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 or wounded, how many Palestinian homes August 1949 is applicable to the Arab terri- are demolished, how dire the poverty be- tories occupied by Israel since 1967, includ- comes in Gaza or the West Bank, how many ing Jerusalem.” The resolution went on to years Gaza is under a blockade or how many warn Israel that “all measures taken by Is- settlements go up on Palestinian territory.

August 2014 | ColdType 67 The murder of gaza / 7

America funds Israel, with our protection, can act with im- have lost hope that foreign governments and abets these punity. will save them. They know their fate rests crimes with The unanimous US Senate vote in sup- in their own hands. The revolt in Gaza is an $3.1 billion a year port of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the me- act of solidarity with the world outside its in military aid dia’s slavish parroting of Israeli propaganda walls. It is an attempt to assert in the face of to Israel. We are and the Obama administration’s mindless overwhelming odds and barbaric conditions responsible for repetition of pro-Israeli clichés have turned the humanity and agency of the Palestinian the slaughter us into cheerleaders for Israeli war crimes. people. There is little in life that Palestin- We fund and abet these crimes with $3.1 ians can choose, but they can choose how billion a year in military aid to Israel. We to die. And many Palestinians, especially are responsible for the slaughter. No one in young men trapped in overcrowded hovels the establishment, including our most lib- where they have no work and little dignity, eral senator, Bernie Sanders, dares defy the will risk immediate death to defy the slow, Israel lobby. And since we refuse to act to humiliating death of occupation. CT make peace and justice possible we should not wonder why the Palestinians carry out Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning armed resistance. reporter, writes a regular column for The Palestinians will reject, as long as Truthdig every Monday. Hedges’ most recent possible, any cease-fire that does not include book, written with Joe Sacco, is “Days of a lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. They Destruction, Days of Revolt”

WRITING WORTH READING ● ISSUE 33 ● J ANUARY ����

Read ColdType what we TheREADE R wrote �����/� about the 2009 GAZA Israeli Massacre of a nation invasion JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN NIR ROSEN CHRIS HEDGES JOHN PILGER DAHR JAMAIL JONATHAN COOK URI AV NERY of Gaza STUART LITTLEWOOD RAMZY BAROUD JOHAN HARI BILL VAN AUKEN ROBERT PARRY HABIB BATTAH ALAN MAAS http://coldtype.net/Assets.09/pdfs/0109.Extra1.Gaza.pdf

68 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 8 Gaza’s future is everyone’s concern Richard Pithouse explains why we are all obligated to be in solidarity with the people of Gaza

Every time a man has contributed to the Some Palestinians are Christian, many In many parts of victory of the dignity of the spirit, every are secular and Palestinian resistance to Is- the world, like time a man has said no to an attempt to raeli oppression has often been organised Ireland or South subjugate his fellows, I have felt solidarity on the basis of nationalism or left wing Africa, popular with his act. – Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, ideas. solidarity with White Masks, 1952 Edward Said, one of the most compel- the Palestinian ling advocates of the Palestinian cause, struggle is he ruthless assault on Gaza has was born into a Christian family. And while generally rooted sometimes been presented in leading Christian figures, including Des- in a shared South Africa’s media, and on occa- mond Tutu, have taken a clear position in history of colonial T sion in some solidarity efforts too, support of justice for the Palestinian people oppression as an issue that is solely of concern to Mus- it is also true that, from the United States rather than lim people. It is true that in recent years to Uganda, many of the most impassioned shared religious state politics in both Palestine and Israel defenders of the Israeli state are right-wing convictions has taken on a more religious inflection. Christians. There has also been a growth in popu- In Israel, in South Africa and around the lar movements in both Palestine and Israel world many Jewish people, religious and that frame the conflict in religious terms. secular, have taken a clear position against Moreover there is a historical religious di- the Israeli state and in solidarity with the mension to the origins of this conflict in so Palestinian struggle. You cannot deduce a far as the long persecution of the Jews in person’s religion from where they stand in Europe, which is the root cause of Zionism this conflict nor can you deduce their posi- as an armed colonial project, cannot be di- tion on this conflict from their religion. vorced from a murderous European intol- Moreover in many parts of the world, erance, that, for a thousand years, framed like Ireland or South Africa, popular soli- itself as Christian. Europe, long imagined darity with the Palestinian struggle is gen- as a Christian space, displaced its historic erally rooted in a shared history of colonial moral debt to the Jews of Europe onto the oppression rather than shared religious Palestinians. convictions. But this conflict began as a colonial oc- But although not all Palestinians are cupation. It did not start as a religious war Muslim and not all Jews, or Christians, and has never been reducible to the ques- support the oppression of Palestinians by tion of religion. the state of Israel, this conflict does have

August 2014 | ColdType 69 The murder of gaza / 8

One result of an inescapable contemporary religious di- ethical conflicts within religions. All of the the construction mension resulting from the fact that, since major world religions – Buddhism, Christi- of Islam as the the latter years of the Cold War, American anity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism – have new enemy of imperialism has actively sought to politi- enabled profoundly ethical orientations to the West is that cise Islam. This was first undertaken in or- the world and they all also carry entirely Palestinians are der to cultivate an ally in opposition to the perverse currents that all decent people, presented as Soviet Union. irrespective of the accidents of their birth irrational, without After the Cold War the politicisation and their own religious choices, must op- regard for the of Islam was used to manufacture a new pose. sanctity of enemy that could legitimate American at- The particular stake that Muslim people human life tempts to control the world’s oil. Among have in opposing the demonization of Is- and as part other crimes this led to the devastation of lam is not unique. After all women have a of a lower form Iraq in the name of human rights and free- particular stake in opposing sexism, black of culture dom – a crime for which the butchers in people have a particular stake in opposing Washington will never have to account to anti-black racism and gay people have a any court because global power relations particular stake in opposing homophobia. are such that white and Western power But just as this does not let men, white continues to be equated with reason, mo- people or straight people off the proverbial dernity, virtue and civilization even when hook when it comes to the necessity to op- it engages in mass murder for the purpose pose these systems of oppression people of wholesale theft. who are not Muslim have a moral obliga- One result of the construction of Islam tion to be in solidarity with all Palestinians as the new enemy of the West is that Pales- as people, and, also, with Palestinian Mus- tinians are presented, from the Jerusalem lims who are oppressed, in part, as Mus- Post to the New York Times, as irrational, lims. without regard for the sanctity of human The assault on Gaza is, like the devasta- life and as part of a lower form of culture tion of the Congo, or the ongoing disaster that is a threat to what is assumed to be in Iraq, everyone’s concern. In the particu- the enlightened, democratic and, in every lar case of Gaza the way in which Islamo- respect, superior culture of Western civili- phobia is used to legitimate oppression zation. is also everyone’s concern. It is also true This means that there is a degree to that the way in which Islam is sometimes which Muslim people, around the world, misused to legitimate oppression, as in the have a particular stake in contesting the Iraqi cities of Mosul, Fallujah and Tikrit at way in which a set of pejorative ideas the moment, is everyone’s concern. about Islam are mobilised to dehumanise In 1940 the Nazis forced more than Palestinians. But this does not mean that 400,000 Jewish people into a tiny corner the conflict in and around Palestine can be of Warsaw that became known as the War- reduced to one of religious identity. saw Ghetto. More than half of these people Even when religious identities are mo- were sent to the Treblinka death factory bilised in support of political objectives, a in 1942. In 1943 the residents of the ghet- process that is particularly easy in this part to began a campaign of armed resistance of the world given its place in the history against the Nazis. and imagination of Judaism, Christianity They held out, in a heroic struggle, for and Islam, we are still not dealing, at the three months before the Nazis burnt and ethical level, with a conflict between two blew up the ghetto, building by building, or three religions as monolithic blocks. murdering everyone they could find. On the contrary there are always acute In 2002 Mark Edelman, who was a Dep-

70 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 8 uty Commander of the Jewish Military Or- few. But in my heart I am not parted from We are all – ganization in the uprising in the Warsaw them, from the forgotten. … irrespective of Ghetto, wrote an open letter to the lead- Continue the rebellion. A different re- the accidents of ers and soldiers of all the militant groups bellion of the here and now against evil, our birth or our in Palestine. He critiqued their methods even the evil befalling our own and only religious choices – but, nonetheless, addressed the Palestin- beloved country. Rebel against racism obligated to be in ian militants as militants, and, by implica- and violence and hatred of those who are solidarity with the tion, endorsed their struggle as a struggle different. Against inequality, economic people of Gaza for justice. gaps, poverty, greed and corruption. Rebel A few months ago Chavka Fulman-Ra- against the Occupation.” ban, one of the last survivors of the War- This is what an ethical orientation to the saw Ghetto, gave a speech at the Ghetto- world looks like. We are all – irrespective of Fighters’ House Northern Israel in which the accidents of our birth or our religious she declared that: choices – obligated to be in solidarity with “All of my nearest, most beloved com- the people of Gaza. CT rades fought from the rooftops, in the fires, from the bunkers. Most of them perished. Richard Pithouse teaches politics at I hurts me that I can no longer remember Rhodes University. at Grahamstown, South all their names. We memorialize only a Africa

Bendib’s world Khalil Bendib, OtherWords.org

August 2014 | ColdType 71 The murder of gaza / 9 Telegenically dead Deepa Kumar on Israel’s crumbling media war

Among the sraeli propaganda has hit a new low. While as a way of gaining credibility and trust. To various shifts the world was still trying to come to terms make sure that the point is understood, the it suggests, the with the mass deaths in Shejaiya, Benja- manual repeats again (in bold and under- manual notes that min Netanyahu went on CNN to state that lined this time) the instruction “use Empa- it is important I Hamas uses the “telegenically dead” to fur- thy” – the suggestion being that empathy is to distinguish ther “their cause.” He added that for Hamas: an important tool to be used in the propa- between the “The more the dead, the better.” Even while ganda war. Palestinian people Netanyahu followed the propaganda script, When innocent Palestinian children and and Hamas which is to first show sympathy and express women are killed, the first response should remorse, by reducing dead Palestinians to be to show empathy; the next is to reframe a photo-op he showed how his own mind the issue stating that Israel is not to blame works. and that it is only defending itself and fur- There is a standard script for how to ther that it only wants peace. Even when it deal with Palestinian casualties. After Israel is raining death and destruction on Palestin- killed four boys on the Gaza beach on July ians, the manual is clear: “Remind people – 16th, the US establishment media fell in line again and again – that Israel wants peace.” behind Israel’s PR framework: acknowledge Developed after the 2008 Gaza war, when the tragedy, but blame Hamas. This is ex- Americans began to show greater sympathy actly what Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev for Palestinians, this propaganda manual said on Channel 4 News when grilled by tries to address some of the shortcomings the anchor Jon Snow. It is also how the US during Operation Cast Lead. Among the State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki various shifts it suggests, the manual notes responded using the same word-for-word that it is important to distinguish between talking points. the Palestinian people and Hamas. Ayman This framework, developed in 2009, can Moyheldin, one of the few international re- be found in the Israel Project’s 2009 Global porters who covered Cast Lead, noted that Language Dictionary. The Orwellian manual Israel sought to “portray everyone in Gaza provides a detailed outline on how to “com- as a Hamas sympathizer, as a terrorist sym- municate effectively in support of Israel.” pathizer” as a way to justify its indiscrimi- One of its first instructions is that pro-Is- nate killing. raeli propagandists need to show empathy. The 2009 manual counters this strategy The manual insists that they should “show stating that while American’s “get” that empathy for BOTH sides” (caps in original) “Hamas is a terrorist organization. . .if it

72 ColdType | August 2014 The murder of gaza / 9 sounds like you are attacking the Palestin- fied” of covering Israel than any other issue. The US political ian people. . .you will lose support.” It care- Jon Stewart comically made the same point elite, the elite fully emphasizes again: “Right now, many in his segment “We Need to Talk about Is- in Israel, and Americans sympathize with the plight of rael.” the owners of the Palestinians, and that sympathy will The end result is that news coverage of the corporate increase if you fail to differentiate between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict follows pre- media share a the people from their leaders.” dictable pro-Israeli patterns that are out- set of common In other words, in order to decrease sym- lined in an educational video produced by economic and pathy for the Palestinian people new tactics media scholar Sut Jhally called Peace, Pro- political interests were needed to augment older ones. paganda, and the Promised Land: US Media that ensures Israeli propaganda has a long history. In and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. that pro-Israeli 1982 the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was But something new has been happen- propaganda met with international condemnation. In ing in the establishment media, particu- dominates in the particular, the massacre of Palestinians larly since the July 16th tragedy. Ayman establishment in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila Moyheldin now working for NBC witnessed media damaged its public image. and covered Israel’s cold blooded murder of Israel then instituted a permanent PR four young Palestinian boys playing soccer establishment that would work to cultivate on the beach. Moyheldin’s coverage was gut good media coverage in the US. The Hasbara wrenching but it was carried by NBC nev- project involved training Israeli diplomats ertheless. and press officers on how to speak in ways However, NBC immediately recalled that ensured favorable media coverage. Moyheldin, giving no explanation for why The media watchdog group, Committee its best journalist on this topic (Moyheldin for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in has covered Gaza before, speaks Arabic, and America (CAMERA) was formed to monitor has a good understanding of Middle East and respond to “unfair” media coverage of politics) might be pulled out of Gaza. Israel. This is standard establishment media But pro-Israeli coverage isn’t simply the protocol. But what happened next is any- product of good talking points rather it thing but standard. stems from the “special relationship” be- Following Glenn Greenwald’s article tween the US and Israel and their mutual on this at the Intercept, large numbers of interests in the Middle East. It is not a coin- people, primarily through social media, cidence that Jen Psaki would use the same held NBC’s feet to the fire. In contrast to language as Mark Regev. Or that John Kerry standard patterns where the only pressure would echo Benjamin Netanyahu. comes from well-funded pro-Israeli groups, The US political elite, the elite in Israel, this time ordinary people who are reeling and the owners of the corporate media from the Palestinian death toll organized share a set of common economic and po- their dissent. litical interests that ensures that pro-Israeli The result was that Moyheldin was re- propaganda dominates in the establish- instated. He tweeted: “Thanks for all the ment media. Should journalists and media support. I’m returning to #Gaza to report. organizations break from the script, vari- Proud of NBC’s continued commitment to ous pro-Israeli groups, such as CAMERA, cover #Palestinian side of the story. generate flak and bring enough pressure to Similar outrage at ABC’s Diane Sawyer bear on editors and reporters that they are who misidentified the devastation and suf- brought back into line. fering of Palestinians as Israeli, prompted a As Glenn Greenwald noted recently, me- rare apology from the slavishly pro-Israel dia figures and executives are more “petri- corporate media.

August 2014 | ColdType 73 The murder of gaza /

“Children, The dynamic at work is as follows: First, while the framework of “Blame Hamas” maybe four feet independent media have played a crucial dominates mainstream media coverage, the tall, dressed in role in countering Israeli propaganda and humanity of Palestinian people is cracking summer clothes, offering alternative accounts. Second, social through the decades long, well established running from media have provided a forum from which façade of pro-Israeli propaganda. an explosion, independent journalism, as well as first And how can it not? When the actual don’t fit the hand reports from Palestinian people in experience of journalists contradicts the description of Gaza, are circulated. Third, in these spaces propaganda narrative, if they have a heart Hamas fighters, Israel is losing the propaganda war, despite or a brain, they cannot help but see Zionist either” its vast resources of trolls and misinforma- propaganda for what it is. This is possibly tion experts. Fourth, grassroots activists why Israel kept out foreign journalists dur- using social media have been able to bring ing the 2008 Cast Lead operation. pressure to bear on the establishment me- Another journalist, CNN’s Diana Magnay, dia. Fifth, this climate has enabled establish- hearing the cheers of Israeli’s as Palestin- ment journalists on the ground to be more ians were being bombarded, and somewhat forthcoming about the horrors of what is horrified by it said spontaneously on the air happening in Gaza. – “it is really astonishing, macabre and an Thus, Tyler Hicks, a photojournalist for awful thing really to watch this display of the New York Times, who also witnessed the fire in the air.” As a trained journalist, she Israeli attack on the beach was allowed to seems to have self-censored and substituted contribute a story in the Times about his ex- the words “fire in the air” for what she actu- perience. Calling the lie to Israel’s claim that ally thought about the people cheering on: it only bombs Hamas targets, he wrote: “A “scum,” the word she would later tweet. small metal shack with no electricity or run- Magnay wrote: “Israelis on hill above ning water on a jetty in the blazing seaside Sderot cheer as bombs land on #gaza; sun does not seem like the kind of place threaten to ‘destroy our car if I say one word frequented by Hamas militants, the Israel wrong.’ Scum. Defense Forces’ intended targets. Children, Despite the serious intimidation faced by maybe four feet tall, dressed in summer journalists, in this case to bomb Magnay’s clothes, running from an explosion, don’t fit car if she got even “a word wrong,” such the description of Hamas fighters, either.” pressure seems to be working less and less. At the beach when this tragedy occurred, While Magnay was called away from Gaza Hicks asked: “If children are being killed, by CNN, a vigilant social media sphere com- what is there to protect me, or anyone bined with mass protests around the world else?” has created a climate where if media institu- Ben Wedeman, CNN’s veteran foreign tions are to retain their credibility they have correspondent, found out first hand that to at least appear to be balanced. nothing can protect journalists. He was hit This is the opening that Palestinian rights in the head by an Israeli rubber bullet. Fol- activists and supporters need to harness in lowing this, he filed a report of a family in order to reframe the debate. While our side Gaza who were evacuating their neighbor- lacks lobby groups, media watchdog outfits, hood in anticipation of an Israeli attack. paid trolls, disinformation experts, and the The scream of horror and panic of a little vast financial resources of the Israeli side, girl hearing a missile strike close to her loca- we do have one thing going for us – the tion filled the screens of CNN viewers. truth. CT For the first time, perhaps, Americans are witnessing the suffering of Palestinian Deepa Kumar is an associate professor of people in the establishment press. Even media studies at Rutgers University.

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April ����August | 2014TheREADE | ColdTypeR �� 75 power & hypocrisy Crime (Israel) and Punishment (Russia) Pepe Escobar wonders why the West has ignored Israel’s war crimes while imposing sanctions on Russia

Israel gets away The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Eurotrash mob is now “determined to act”. with unlawful Hate was not that one was obliged to act No, not against Israel because of Gaza; premeditated a part, but that it was impossible to avoid against Russia because of Ukraine. Such a mass murder of joining it ... lovely Orwellian symmetry: the extended civilians, while A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, Two Minutes Hate from Israel towards Ga- Russia gets a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces zans morphs into the extended Two Min- framed for a in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow utes Hate from the “West” towards Russia, (smaller-scale) through the whole group of people like an mirroring the extended Two Minutes Hate airborne mass electric current, turning one even against from Kiev towards Eastern Ukrainians. murder one’s will into a grimacing, screaming Not even Hollywood could come up of civilians lunatic – George Orwell, 1984 with such a plot; Israel gets away with un- lawful premeditated mass murder of civil- o Obama, Merkel, Cameron, Hol- ians, while Russia gets framed for a (small- lande and Italian Premier Matteo er-scale) airborne mass murder of civilians Renzi – let’s call them the Fab Five that has all the makings of being set up by S– get on a video conference call to the Kiev vassals of Russia’s Western “part- muster their courage and “increase pres- ners”. sure” asking for a ceasefire in Gaza. Later Sanctions, sanctions, sanctions is the in the day, Israel’s Benjamin “Bibi” Ne- one and only official Obama administra- tanyahu delivers his answer, in plain lan- tion “policy” on Russia. On top of the next guage: he remains dead set on achieving European Union sanctions, coming soon, his version of a Final Solution to Gaza. [1] the US will be piling up – what else – more With or without “pressure”. sanctions. After all, Washington is so “con- So what’s left for the Fab Five after hav- cerned” that Moscow will sooner or later ing their illustrious Western collective invade Ukraine; that would certainly, and behinds solemnly kicked? They decide to finally, answer all those In God We Trust dump Gaza and instead sanction Russia – prayers. again! How brilliant is that as an exit strat- Where we stand now egy? Spectacular non-entity Tony Blinken, Let’s follow the facts. Washington from the who doubles as deputy national security get-go said it was Russian President Vladi- adviser to Barack Obama, was keen to stress mir Putin’s missile that downed MH17. to Western corporate media that the unruly They swore they had evidence. Like in “We

76 ColdType | August 2014 power & hypocrisy know. Trust us”. The historical record for fiscated the recordings of Kiev control How come all the past 60 years at least shows they can- tower talking to MH17. That would cer- this trillion-dollar not be trusted. There was never any evi- tainly explain why MH17 was overflying a Full Spectrum dence. Just spin. war zone (Malaysian Airlines revealed they Dominance Moscow, via the Defense Ministry, pre- were forced to). Hefty bets can be made the apparatus cannot sented hard evidence. And called for an un- recordings are now being “doctored”. come up with a biased international investigation. Wash- Then there are the black boxes, which single, conclusive ington ignored it all – the call and the hard will not de decoded by the Malaysians or by piece of evidence? evidence. the Dutch, but by the Brits – acting under The US Navy, crammed with state-of- Washington’s orders. As The Saker blogger the-art missile defense radars, has been summed up the view of top Russian spe- in the Black Sea for weeks now. As much cialists, “the Brits will now let the NSA fal- as the Russians, they have tracked every sify the data and that falsification will be particle flying over Ukraine. The NSA goes coordinated with the SBU in Kiev which for signals intelligence; the National Geo- will eventually release the recordings who spatial-Intelligence Agency goes for phe- will fully ‘confirm’ the ‘authenticity’ of the nomena in the imagery realm; the Defense NSA-doctored recordings from the UK.” To Intelligence Agency adds Humint; there’s make it more palatable, and erase suspi- the CIA; and there’s the all-seeing, all- cions about Anglo-American foul play, the knowing Director of National Intelligence. Dutch will announce it. Everyone should How come all this trillion-dollar Full Spec- be forewarned. trum Dominance apparatus cannot come NATO heads, for their part, are droolin’. up with a single, conclusive piece of evi- Kiev’s forces/militias will hold “joint ex- dence? ercises” with the North Atlantic Treaty The only risible “evidence” presented so Organization in Ukraine in slightly over a far pictures the acronym salad of US intel month from now, on September 1; red alert agencies spending their time reading blogs applies, because this is when Ukrainian and Twittering. As in the State Department President Petro Poroshenko said the slow head in Kiev twittering satellite imagery motion ethnic cleansing of Donbass will be that the New York Times parroted “proved” finished. Russia is shelling Ukraine from across the As for the R2P (“responsibility to pro- border. The proverbial “senior US officials” tect”) angle, it sounds quite improbable. even had to tersely admit on the record True, Moscow can always say that unless they have no proof whatsoever about “Pu- the slow motion ethnic cleansing of Don- tin’s missile”. If they had, NATO would be bass stops they will recognize the Donetsk ready to flip burgers in Red Square. and Luhansk Republics. In that case, Mos- Based on the wealth of info now in the cow would be replaying Abkhazia and open, the top probability of what caused South Ossetia; a de facto R2P backed by the MH17 tragedy was an R-60M air-to-air military muscle. missile shot from a Ukrainian Su-25 – and Under international law – which Wash- not a BUK (there’s also the possibility of a ington never respects, by the way – this is double down; first an R-60M and then a not the same as “invading” Ukraine. The BUK). The R-60M is very fast, with an ideal frankly scary Samantha Power, the US Am- engagement distance of up to five kilome- bassador to the United Nations, would ob- ters. That’s how far the Su-25 detected by viously freak out – but that’s a dose of her the Russians (they showed the graphics) own medicine. It would indeed be compa- was from MH17. rable to what the Americans are doing to SBU – Ukrainian intel – for its part con- the benefit of those Salafi-jihadis in Syria;

August 2014 | ColdType 77 power & hypocrisy

Khodorkovsky and better yet, to what the US did in Ko- line: the Russian state simply won’t al- was found guilty sovo. low itself to be robbed by a dodgy ruling not only by the on behalf of a bunch of oligarchs. In paral- The $50billion vultures Russian judicial lel, a case can be made that not only the system but also And now, on top of sanctions, Moscow also Return of the Living (Neo-Con) Dead but by the European has to contend with a massive US$50 billion also substantial sections of the deep state Court of Human theft attempt. The International Arbitration in Washington DC and environs – as well Rights Court in The Hague found that the Krem- as “Western” plutocracy – want to provoke lin’s pursuit of Yukos and its main share- some sort of NATO war against Russia, holder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a decade sooner rather than later. ago was politically motivated. Moscow can’t And in another parallel line, Moscow appeal – but it will pursue all legal avenues rumor has it that the Kremlin finds this for trying to get this ruling “set aside”. protracted post-Yukos battle just an after- Well, it’s The Hague’s decision itself that thought compared to the economic war is political. Khodorkovsky was found guilty about to convulse Europe and eventually not only by the Russian judicial system pit Europe against Russia: exactly what the but also by the European Court of Human Empire of Chaos is praying – and working – Rights. Yukos and Menotep shareholders for. “Two Minute” Hate? Talk about hours, were and remain a bunch of oligarch gang- days, weeks, and years. CT sters – to put it mildly. Note: So here’s the Empire of Chaos once again in action, manipulating a Dutch court after 1. Netanyahu: We’re prepared for an literally stealing Germany’s gold and fining extended operation in Gaza, The Jerusalem France for selling warships to Russia. In Post, July 28, 2014. this case though, the “West” has more in- vestments in Russia than the Russian gov- Pepe Escobar is the author of “Globalistan: ernment in the West. Payback could be a How the Globalized World is Dissolving into bitch – as in Moscow, for instance, freezing Liquid War” (Nimble Books, 2007), “Red all US and EU energy investments especial- Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during ly in the new ultra-profitable frontier, the the surge” (Nimble Books, 2007), and Arctic oil fields. Western Big Oil will never “Obama does Globalistan: (Nimble Books, allow this to happen. 2009). This article first appeared at This could go on forever. The bottom http://www.atimes.com

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78 ColdType | August 2014 anti-empire report Delusions of grandeur William Blum looks at recent statements from American leaders and finds that their views are not shared by the rest of the world

S Secretary of State John Kerry, July ership is essential, even if we must often “Let me say 8, 2014: “In my travels as secretary lead in new ways.” it clearly: The of state, I have seen as never before Senator Barack Obama, April 23, 2007: United States can, the thirst for American leadership “In the words of President Franklin must, and will U lead in this new in the world.” Roosevelt, we lead the world in battling im- President Barack Obama, May 28, 2014: mediate evils and promoting the ultimate century. Indeed, “Here’s my bottom line, America must al- good. I still believe that America is the last, the complexities ways lead on the world stage. If we don’t, no best hope of Earth.” and connections one else will.” Gallup poll, 2013: Question asked: of today’s world Nicholas Burns, former US Under Sec- “Which country do you think is the greatest have yielded a retary of State for Political Affairs, May 8, threat to peace in the world today?” new American 2014: “Where is American power and lead- Replies: Moment . . “ – ership when the world needs it most?” United States 24% Hillary Clinton Mitt Romney, Republican Party candi- Pakistan 8% date for President, September 13, 2012: China 6% “The world needs American leadership. Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea, The Middle East needs American leadership each 5% and I intend to be a president that provides India, Iraq, Japan, each 4% the leadership that America respects and Syria 3% keep us admired throughout the world.” Russia 2% Paul Ryan, Congressman, Republican Australia, Germany, Palestinian territo- Party candidate for Vice President, Septem- ries, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Korea, ber 12, 2012: “We need to be reminded that UK, each 1% the world needs American leadership.” The question is not what pacifism has John McCain, Senator, September 9, 2012: achieved throughout history, but what “The situation in Syria and elsewhere ‘cries has war achieved? out for American leadership’.” Hillary Clinton, September 8, 2010: “Let Remark made to a pacifist: “If only every- me say it clearly: The United States can, one else would live in the way you recom- must, and will lead in this new century. In- mend, I would gladly live that way as well deed, the complexities and connections of – but not until everyone else does.” today’s world have yielded a new American The Pacifist’s reply: “Why then, sir, you Moment – a moment when our global lead- would be the last man on earth to do good.

August 2014 | ColdType 79 anti-empire report

After the I would rather be one of the first.” pan to think again of being and acting like a communists came Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Great Power.” … various US-Japanese secu- to power in China 1947, words long cherished by a large ma- rity and defense cooperation treaties, which in 1949, the United jority of the Japanese people: called on Japan to integrate its military States opted for “Aspiring sincerely to an international technology with that of the US and NATO a strong Japan peace based on justice and order, the Japa- … the US supplying new sophisticated mili- safely ensconced nese people forever renounce war as a sov- tary aircraft and destroyers … all manner of in the anti- ereign right of the nation and the threat or Japanese logistical assistance to the US in communist camp. use of force as means of settling interna- Washington’s frequent military operations For pacifism, it’s tional disputes. in Asia … repeated US pressure on Japan been downhill “In order to accomplish the aim of the to increase its military budget and the size ever since preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forc- of its armed forces … more than a hundred es, as well as other war potential, will never US military bases in Japan, protected by be maintained. The right of belligerency of the Japanese military … US-Japanese joint the state will not be recognized.” military exercises and joint research on a This statement is probably unique missile defense system … the US Ambas- amongst the world’s constitutions. sador to Japan, 2001: “I think the reality of But on July 1, 2014 the government of circumstances in the world is going to sug- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with- gest to the Japanese that they reinterpret or out changing a word of Article 9, announced redefine Article 9.” … a “reinterpretation” of it to allow for mili- Under pressure from Washington, Ja- tary action in conjunction with allies. This pan sent several naval vessels to the Indian decision can be seen as the culmination of Ocean to refuel US and British warships as a decades-long effort by the United States part of the Afghanistan campaign in 2002, to wean Japan away from its post-WWII then sent non-combat forces to Iraq to assist pacifist constitution and foreign policy and the American war as well as to East Timor, set it back on the righteous path of being another made-in-America war scenario … a military power once again, only this time US Secretary of State Colin Powell, 2004: acting in coordination with US foreign pol- “If Japan is going to play a full role on the icy needs. world stage and become a full active partici- In the triumphalism of the end of the pating member of the Security Council, and Second World War, the American occu- have the kind of obligations that it would pation of Japan, in the person of General pick up as a member of the Security Coun- Douglas MacArthur, played a major role in cil, Article Nine would have to be examined the creation of this constitution. But after in that light.” … the communists came to power in China in In 2012 Japan was induced to take part 1949, the United States opted for a strong in a military exercise with 21 other coun- Japan safely ensconced in the anti-commu- tries, converging on Hawaii for the largest- nist camp. ever Rim of the Pacific naval exercises and For pacifism, it’s been downhill ever war games, with a Japanese admiral serving since … step by step … MacArthur himself as vice commander of the combined task ordered the creation of a “national police force. reserve”, which became the embryo of the And so it went … until, finally, on July future Japanese military … visiting Tokyo in 1 of this year, the Abe administration an- 1956, US Secretary of State John Foster Dull- nounced their historic decision. Abe, it es told Japanese officials: “In the past, Japan should be noted, is a member of the Liberal had demonstrated her superiority over the Democratic Party, with which the CIA has Russians and over China. It was time for Ja- had a long and intimate connection, even

80 ColdType | August 2014 anti-empire report when party leaders were convicted World El Salvador. The State War II war criminals. The particularly severe increases in Hon- Department was If and when the American empire en- duran migration are a direct result of the virtually alone gages in combat with China or Russia, it ap- June 28, 2009 military coup that overthrew in the Western pears that Washington will be able to count the democratically-elected president, Manu- Hemisphere in on their Japanese brothers-in-arms. In the el Zelaya, after he did things like raising the not unequivocally meantime, the many US bases in Japan minimum wage, giving subsidies to small condemning the serve as part of the encirclement of China, farmers, and instituting free education. The Honduran coup and during the Vietnam War the United coup – like so many others in Latin America States used their Japanese bases as launch- – was led by a graduate of Washington’s in- ing pads to bomb Vietnam. famous School of the Americas. The US policies and propaganda not only As per the standard Western Hemisphere got rid of the annoying Article 9, but along script, the Honduran coup was followed by the way it gave rise to a Japanese version of the abusive policies of the new regime, loy- McCarthyism. ally supported by the United States. A prime example of this is the case of Ki- The State Department was virtually alone miko Nezu, a 54-year-old Japanese teacher, in the Western Hemisphere in not unequiv- who was punished by being transferred ocally condemning the Honduran coup. from school to school, by suspensions, sal- Indeed, the Obama administration has re- ary cuts, and threats of dismissal because of fused to call it a coup, which, under Ameri- her refusal to stand during the playing of can law, would tie Washington’s hands as the national anthem, a World War II song to the amount of support it could give the chosen as the anthem in 1999. coup government. She opposed the song because it was This denial of reality still persists even the same one sung as the Imperial Army though a US embassy cable released by set forth from Japan calling for an “eternal Wikileaks in 2010 declared: “There is no reign” of the emperor. At graduation cer- doubt that the military, Supreme Court emonies in 2004, 198 teachers refused to and National Congress conspired on June stand for the song. 28 [2009] in what constituted an illegal and After a series of fines and disciplinary unconstitutional coup against the Execu- actions, Nezu and nine other teachers were tive Branch”. Washington’s support of the the only protesters the following year. Nezu far-right Honduran government has been was then allowed to teach only when anoth- unwavering ever since. er teacher was present. The questions concerning immigration into the United States from south of the bor- Yankee Blowback der go on year after year, with the same is- The number of children attempting to cross sues argued back and forth: What’s the best the Mexican border into the United States way to block the flow into the country? How has risen dramatically in the last five years: shall we punish those caught here illegally? In fiscal year 2009 (October 1, 2009 – Sep- Should we separate families, which happens tember 30, 2010) about 6,000 unaccompa- when parents are deported but their Amer- nied minors were detained near the border. ican-born children remain? Should the po- The US Department of Homeland Secu- lice and various other institutions have the rity estimates for the fiscal year 2014 the right to ask for proof of legal residence from detention of as many as 74,000 unaccom- anyone they suspect of being here illegally? panied minors. Approximately 28% of the Should we punish employers who hire ille- children detained this year are from Hon- gal immigrants? Should we grant amnesty duras, 24% from Guatemala, and 21% from to at least some of the immigrants already

August 2014 | ColdType 81 anti-empire report

The protest in here for years? … on and on, round and have the perfect storm of suffering followed Rome involved round it goes, decade after decade. Those by the attempt to escape from suffering. around three in the US generally opposed to immigration It’s not that all these people prefer to live million people, make it a point to declare that the United in the United States. They’d much rather and is listed in the States does not have any moral obligation remain with their families and friends, be 2004 Guinness to take in these Latino immigrants. able to speak their native language at all Book of World But the counter-argument to this last times, and avoid the hardships imposed on Records as the point is almost never mentioned: Yes, the them by American police and other right- largest anti-war United States does indeed have a moral ob- wingers. rally in history. ligation because so many of the immigrants M’lady Hillary Madrid hosted the are escaping a situation in their homeland second largest made hopeless by American intervention Madame Clinton, in her new memoir, re- rally with more and policy. ferring to her 2002 Senate vote supporting than 1½ million In addition to Honduras, Washington military action in Iraq, says: “I thought I protesters. About overthrew progressive governments which had acted in good faith and made the best half a million were sincerely committed to fighting pov- decision I could with the information I had. marched in the erty in Guatemala and Nicaragua; while in And I wasn’t alone in getting it wrong. But I United States El Salvador the US played a major role in still got it wrong. Plain and simple.” suppressing a movement striving to install In a 2006 TV interview, Clinton said: such a government. “Obviously, if we knew then what we know And in Mexico, though Washington has now, there wouldn’t have been a vote. And I not intervened militarily since 1919, over certainly wouldn’t have voted that way.” the years the US has been providing train- On October 16, 2002 the US Congress ad- ing, arms, and surveillance technology to opted a joint resolution titled “Authoriza- Mexico’s police and armed forces to better tion for Use of Military Force Against Iraq”. their ability to suppress their own people’s This was done in the face of numerous pro- aspirations, as in Chiapas, and this has tests and other political events against an added to the influx of the oppressed to the American invasion. United States, irony notwithstanding. On February 15, 2003, a month before Moreover, Washington’s North Ameri- the actual invasion, there was a coordinated can Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has protest around the world in which people in brought a flood of cheap, subsidized US some 60 countries marched in a last desper- agricultural products into Mexico, ravaging ate attempt to stop the war from happening. campesino communities and driving many It has been described as “the largest protest Mexican farmers off the land when they event in human history.” couldn’t compete with the giant from the north. The subsequent Central American Estimations of the total number of par- Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has brought ticipants involved reach 30 million. The pro- the same joys to the people of that area. test in Rome involved around three million These “free trade” agreements – as they people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness do all over the world – also result in govern- Book of World Records as the largest anti- ment enterprises being privatized, the regu- war rally in history. Madrid hosted the sec- lation of corporations being reduced, and ond largest rally with more than 1½ million cuts to the social budget. protesters. About half a million marched in Add to this the displacement of commu- the United States. How many demonstra- nities by foreign mining projects and the tions in support of the war can be cited? It drastic US-led militarization of the War on can be said that the day was one of human- Drugs with accompanying violence and you ity’s finest moments.

82 ColdType | August 2014 anti-empire report

So what did all these people know that war rhetoric; they wanted to hear anti-war The audience, it Hillary Clinton didn’t know? What informa- rhetoric (and she of course gave them a tiny should be noted, tion did they have access to that she as a bit of that as well out of the other side of booed Hillary member of Congress did not have? her mouth), so we can assume that this is Clinton, The answer to both questions is of course how she really feels, if indeed the woman for the second “Nothing”. She voted the way she did be- feels anything. year in a row cause she was, as she remains today, a whol- The audience, it should be noted, booed ly committed supporter of the Empire and her, for the second year in a row. its unending wars. “We came, we saw, he died.” – Hillary And what did the actual war teach her? Clinton as US Secretary of State, giggling, as Here she is in 2007, after four years of hor- she referred to the uncivilized and utterly rible death, destruction and torture: depraved murder of Moammar Gaddafi in “The American military has done its job. 2011. Look what they accomplished. They got rid Imagine Osama bin Laden or some other of Saddam Hussein. They gave the Iraqis a Islamic leader speaking of September 11, chance for free and fair elections. They gave 2001: “We came, we saw, 3,000 died, ha- the Iraqi government the chance to begin to ha.” CT demonstrate that it understood its responsi- bilities to make the hard political decisions William Blum is the author of “Killing necessary to give the people of Iraq a better Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions future. So the American military has suc- Since World War II”, “Rogue State: a guide ceeded.” to the World’s Only Super Power,” “West-Bloc And she spoke the above words at a con- Dissident: a Cold War Political Memoir,” and ference of liberals, committed liberal Demo- “America’s Deadliest Export – Democracy: crats and others further left. She didn’t have The Truth About US Foreign Policy and to cater to them with any flag-waving pro- Everything Else”

BIG MEDIA & INTERNET TITANS Edited by Granville Williams Published by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom Price £9.99 ISBN 978-1-898240-07-5

Media pluralism must be put back on the political agenda. That is what a new book, just published by the media reform group, the UK-based Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, argues. Big Media & Internet Titans highlights the democratic challenges posed by excessive media power, both in the hands of ‘old media’ but also through the emergence of the four giants of the internet age – Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Never before have such global behemoths grown so fast or spread their tentacles so widely. The book poses urgent questions about media ownership and throws down the democratic challenge for politicians to embrace policies which will promote diverse, democratic and accountable media.

You can order the book online at: www.cpbf.org.uk CPBF 23 Orford Road London E17 9NL E-mail [email protected]

August 2014 | ColdType 83 Writing worth reading

STILL DEFIANT AFTER 30 YEARS | PETER LAZENBY SCOTTISH IDENTITY – WHAT IS THAT? | LESLEY RIDDOCH THE MAN WHO SANK ARGENTINA | GREG PALAST ColdType WRITING WORTH READING ISSUE 88 SPECIAL ISSUE MURDERTHE OF GAZA

NINE ESSAYS BY ● DAVID EDWARDS AND DAVID CROMWELL ● PHILIP GIRALDI ● RAMZY BAROUD ● LINDA McQUAIG ● JONATHAN COOK JOHN REINER ● CHRIS HEDGES ● RICHARD PITHOUSE ● DEEPA KUMAR ColdType www.coldtype.net