That an Israeli minister states that he intends to work to reduce the birthrate among a specific ethnic group, and does not find himself sent home that same day or under arrest until the end of legal proceedings, is a new low of degeneration and disgrace.
2014
Rare images document the centuries-long history of Africans in India
Fascinating story of Africans who arrived in India and sometimes became kings.
Rare images document the centuries-long history of Africans in India.
Israeli binationalism is old news – Opinion Israel News | Haaretz
Israeli binationalism is old news – Opinion Israel News | Haaretz.
Thoroughly agree. But this is for an Israeli audience. And though some Israelis are beginning to wake up to this reality, they do so at a time when Palestinians are finally having some success at getting European governments to accept “Palestine” as a state. So now, if Israelis start saying, “wait, the two state solution is completely unrealistic,” it puts Palestinians in a position of looking foolish.
In terms of control, Israel pulls the strings, calls the shots, but in terms of an occupied people and their moral right for freedom, it is the underdog that has to be listened to. Every people has a right to self-determination, with regard to the character of its leadership and national identity. If the Palestinians want to be independent, they have the right to be, and if they would prefer to coexist with Israelis in a single nation, then it’s a question for both peoples to decide, together. Israel would need to present a proposal to them to agree to go on living together, but in a binational democratic state. What is not acceptable is to leave things as they are.
Entombed: Life in the USA’s cruel isolation chambers | Amnesty International
Entombed: Life in the USA’s cruel isolation chambers | Amnesty International.
80,000 kept in solitary at any one time.
Anti-consumerism bag
(caligraphy by Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh)
Ulcers in Zion
OpEd in Ynet, “Abbas’ strategic threat could be more dangerous than Hamas” by Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to US, shows that Abbas is managing to hit home.
via Abbas’ strategic threat could be more dangerous than Hamas – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.
Nahum Barnea (same paper): “Netanyahu needed Abbas – if not as a real partner, then as a fig leaf. That fig leaf has flown away. There is no one to hide the bluff.”
Gideon Levy (HaAretz):
“he told the truth. When he said the Palestinians had been “uprooted from … their good land,” the Israeli television commentator explained that this was a “harsh speech of incitement.” The entire nationalist chorus, from the Labor Party on, with the backup singers of the United States, broke out in shrieks of shock and condemnation. Honestly! How dare Abbas, that ingrate! ”
Is there a way to live in Israel without contributing to the occupation? – Opinion Israel News | Haaretz
“What can we say about someone who lives in Israel but decides at some point that he doesn’t want to take part in the occupation and settlement enterprise? What do we expect from such a person? These are serious questions and I want serious answers, from both the right and the left.”
I think there is no way to live in Israel without contributing to the occupation. There isn’t even a way for an American to live in the US, and pay his taxes, without contributing to the occupation. But the best way to live in Israel, as an Israeli, is to oppose all government policies that go against the promptings of one’s conscience and to support all non-violent means of social, regime and policy change. My personal question is about the responsibilities and constraints within which a resident alien non-Israel citizen should work. Being a resident alien in any country means that one is kept outside the democratic process of that country. In some ways, it’s the worst position to be in.
Israel’s moment of choice
This is the same thesis presented by Sam Bahour some time ago
In an exclusive opinion piece for Haaretz, senior Fatah official Husam Zomlot says that Israel can’t have it both ways: either it takes full responsibility for the Palestinians or it relinquishes control of their lives and territory.
via Israel’s moment of choice – Opinion Israel News | Haaretz.
Google urged to change privacy rules by data regulators
How come privacy seems to be a matter of concern only in Europe?
“European data privacy regulators have put renewed pressure on Google to alter its privacy policy. It follows changes to the policy two years ago which regulators felt breached European rules.”
via BBC News – Google urged to change privacy rules by data regulators.
Abandon the entire social networking model?
I’m beginning to grow weary both of the commercial social networks and their alternatives. The web outside of them was always more expansive and interesting than that which is caught within them. Its content is more usefully captured directly than through artificial filters. I would be more interested to read what my friends publish unconstrained in the personal space of their own website or blog than within the artificial confines of a social media stream. On a personal site, I decide on what content to present and how to present it. It’s my own decision and I feel more free about it.
The problems with this approach are mainly –
a) more and more people are abandoning such personal spaces and consigning their content to social media streams.
b) it is difficult to effectively capture what’s interesting on the web without the recommendations and filters provided by streams.
To the latter my best response is still RSS news feeds. A federated version of something like the old Google Reader would be better. (Not something like Digg.)
To the former, the best response is to nurture one’s own blog or site as an example, and to share to it, rather than to the streams.