Jonathan Cook

Netanyahu’s hard line comes as his poll ratings have slumped following the upswing in violence, which has been accompanied by concerted attacks from rightwing rivals, including from within his own governing coalition. A survey of Israeli Jews at the weekend found 73 per cent were unhappy with his performance.
Both Avigdor Lieberman, of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, and Naftali Bennett, of the settler party Jewish Home, were more trusted to deal with the current crisis, the poll found.

It is bad enough that Palestinians in Israel have to face security forces that treat them like an enemy. But things will get much, much worse when even the highly prejudicial rule of law in Israel is replaced by the lynch mob.

 
by Jonathan Cook
In the age of phone cameras, we have become increasingly used to photos and videos of Palestinians in the West Bank being shot by soldiers in unjustifiable circumstances.

While the Guardian and Observer market themselves as caring about justice and equality, but do nothing to bring them about apart from promoting tinkering with the present, hugely unjust, global neoliberal order, Corbyn’s rhetoric suggests that the apple cart needs upending.
The post Guardian’s terrible dilemma over Corbyn appeared first on BSNEWS.

By the time politicians reach Westminster, they do not need to be recruited to a cabal. They have simply proven over a long period that they have a strong ideological fit with the institutions that govern us. If not, their careers would have stalled much earlier, in the lower rungs of these institutions, or they would have “dropped out”. The same processes select those who fill top posts in the media and other influential “professions”.

Israel believes it can tame Hamas’ political leadership, making them as cautious and subdued as Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. But it also wants to maintain the pressure on Hamas’ military wing by emphasising that it is little different from the beheaders of Islamic State.
Israel’s compulsive need to dominate Palestinians trumps all – even as it finally dawns on a few generals that Gaza’s endless immiseration is no policy at all.

As long as the media represent the span of interests of the 1% – from the psychopathic Murdoch empire to the capitalism with a little heart of the Guardian Media Group – our politicians will range from the Blue Tories of the Conservative party to the Red Tories of the Labour party. And we will remain enslaved.
The post The real lessons of the Tory victory appeared first on BSNEWS.

Tired, confused, desperate and paranoid are just a few of the epithets that have been hurled at Netanyahu in the last days of the campaign.
In response, Netanyahu has concentrated on what he does best: fear-mongering.
The post Racism, paranoia and desperation mark Netanyahu’s election campaign appeared first on BSNEWS.

“What the British government cannot tell the public is that the current growth model for the UK economy revolves around the endorsement and protection of financial sector fraud.”
The exposure of HSBC’s fraud in Britain could fundamentally jeopardise both the bank’s domestic and US operations.
The post HSBC and the sham of Guardian’s Scott Trust appeared first on BSNEWS.

Just because we are encouraged to avert our gaze from the dependency of the media on advertising does not mean that interference by advertisers will cease. The relationship was poisoning the integrity of our media and journalists long before the Oborne revelations and it will continue doing so long after – or until we come up with a completely different model of media funding.
The post Peter Oborne opens a media can of worms appeared first on BSNEWS.

Noam Chomsky’s critique of the boycott/divestment/sanctions movement against Israel, which is in solidarity with the Palestinian people, has attracted wide attention.1 The Nation, where his article appeared, published five responses, to which Chomsky responded, and at least five appeared independently.2 Chomsky’s views were not new, but were first expressed during a BDS initiative in 2002, at Harvard and MIT.