Palestine Think Tank

The paranoid and pathological-to-the-core line of the neoconservative ideologues reappears on the lips of this champion of U.S. liberalism: the ever-present threat to the well being and security of the American people, whether coming from Communists, populism, drug trafficking, Islamic fundamentalism or international terrorism. But these threats, more imaginary than real, are a necessary ingredient in justifying the unlimited and ceaseless expansion of military spending and the enormous profitability that this provides to the giant oligopolies that depend on the immense business of war.

WRITTEN BY MARY RIZZO
 
Barack Obama is a very handsome man. He has the charisma of a showman. He speaks very well, and what’s more, he can even dance. It’s not clear whether that is sufficient criteria to make one into a president, oops, not “a” president but “The President”, but it certainly was enough to get [...]

WRITTEN BY MARY RIZZO
“Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested.” 
I doubt that anyone has read that devastating incipit from Kafka’s “The Trial” without feeling a bolt of emotion. In its naked simplicity, crude force and powerful arrangement, we see facets [...]

There was one way in which President Obama’s escalation speech brought significant relief to the 59% of people in this country, as well as the overwhelming majorities of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and elsewhere who oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan: It was a pretty lousy speech. That is, it had none [...]

The Islamic world is obliged to undergo a deep-rooted and all-embracing change. It cannot continue in its current form. No one is denying this. However, there is a reality which both the West and our intellectuals must accept: The Islamic world can change only in accordance with its own inner dynamics and points of reference.
Attempts [...]

WRITTEN BY Zahir Ebrahim
In Response to Jeff Gates' At What Cost the Israel Lobby?
Jeff Gates at www.criminalstate.com, on the issue of Israeli Nuclear weapons, after exploring JFK's (perceived) role, observes of the immediate pertinent question at hand:

'Special Standard for a Special Friend Due to its “special relationship” with the U.S., Tel Aviv remains a non-signatory to [...]

Africa’s Last Colony: Spain’s Error, Morocco’s Sin aptly describes the situation and dire circumstances under which the Saharawi live. Water poisoning, torture, forced disappearances and other inhumane situations are some of the conditions under which the Saharawi live.
Over 150,000 Saharawi are internally displaced refugees living on a daily ration provided by the United Nations Food Programme while many are hounded into detention without trials or forced into exile.

English translation: Machetera
In an unusual decision, the Norwegian Nobel Committee put an end to seven months of searching among the 205 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize and conferred it upon Barack Obama.  The Norwegian committee's decision provoked very mixed international reactions: ranging from stupefaction to huge laughter.  The statement by the organization's president, Thorbjorn Jagland got straight to the [...]

In Gaza, Saleh Al-Naami finds the latest ideas coming out of Cairo for Palestinian reconciliation miss the core problems
Perhaps the common denominator in the special night prayers at West Bank mosques during Ramadan is a plea for Palestinian unity and an end to internal divisions that constitute a national crisis. It appears that the Palestinians [...]

Paul J. Balles views a major public relations manual for Israel lobbyists. Written by Dr Frank Luntz, a US Republican political consultant and pollster, on behalf of The Israel Project, a US media advocacy group, it teaches pro-Israel propagandists how to hoodwink people about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how to silence critics and how to avoid [...]