What is the point of Hazel Blears? By Yvonne Ridley

It’s a question I’ve often asked myself but her ineffective initiatives and weak sound-bites have largely been so insignificant that most of us choose to ignore her.

Her Westminster life began to take off when she joined a group of largely other dodgy-looking boilers who were given the unlikely soubriquet of Blair’s Babes.

Some of my decidedly politically incorrect mates in the media called them Blair’s Brown Baggers, but let’s not go down that road.

It seems that Ms Blears chief occupation is to spend tax-payers time and money on initiatives that basically go nowhere. A prime example is the forum she launched in May 2007 grandly called ‘The Empowerment Action Plan: Making Empowerment A Reality In Every Community’.

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NATO GAME OVER: peace activists close NATO headquarters

21 March, 2009

From all over Belgium, by bus, bike, taxi, public transport and even by walking, hundreds of activists came to NATO’s headquarters in Evere, Brussels. They tried non-violently to enter the NATO terrain and seal gates, windows and doors. At the same time, the NATO has been symbolically buried during a farewell ceremony. Today, this burial is still a symbolic act, but the will to turn this symbol into reality is very high.

Despite the massive presence of police forces equipped with water canons, helicopters, horses, kilometres of barb wire, … several activists managed to enter the military base to seal gates, windows and doors. 450 peace activists have been arrested and showed clearly that Vredesactie and the Bombspotters do not let the NATO keep going with its business as usual.

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Bye Bye NATO – by Staff

22 March 2009

nato.jpgEurope: On the 3rd and 4th of April, NATO will celebrate its 60th anniversary and the preparations for the protest party are already in full swing! Here are the latest updates.

The 2009 NATO summit in Strasbourg and Baden Baden is much more than the average NATO summit. This year the world leaders will be preparing their plans for a new form of global governance. This new governance will be based on increased militarization both between countries and within countries, especially in terms of an increase in border control and a decrease in the separation of powers between police and military. For more information about this new NATO ‘strategy paper’ For the strategy paper itself see here.

Want to know more? Come to Target Café on the 25th of March (de Peper, 301 overtoom, Amsterdam. 8pm/20.00).

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Malcolm X on Zionism

23 March 2009 — williambowles.info

The Zionist armies that now occupy Palestine claim their ancient Jewish prophets predicted that in the “last days of this world” their own God would raise them up a “messiah” who would lead them to their promised land, and they would set up their own “divine” government in this newly-gained land, this “divine” government would enable them to “rule all other nations with a rod of iron.”

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Israeli Troops Reveal Their Immoral Behavior in Gaza By Gideon Levy

22 March, 2009

[Tikkun editor’s note: Whenever human rights violations have occurred, the Israeli propaganda machine in the US and Israel proclaim that Israel has “the most moral army in the world and adheres to a doctrine of “tehorat haneshek” (purity of arms) that is a higher standard than any other fighting force in the world. Yet Occupation always and inevitably undermines such intentions. And as Ethan Bronner documented in the NY Times on March 22, there is a significant voice of religious Jews who no longer believe that they have a moral obligation to treat Palestinians by such higher standards, and that group has increasing influence in the Israeli Army’s actual practice. Yet you don’t have to be a Jewish religious extremist to treat Palestinians harshly–the logic of Occupation itself pulls for a disregard for the humanity of the occupied by the occupiers. And now we have concrete proof–supplied by the soldiers themselves. And what will the Israeli propaganda machine do? What it always does–it will set out to attack those who have raised the issue rather than addressing the substance of the charges.]

IDF long age ceased being the “most moral army in the world”–says Ha’aretz columnist Gideon Levy

What shock, what consternation. Haaretz revealed grave accounts by officers and soldiers describing the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians during the war in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman was quick to respond that the IDF had no prior or supporting information about the events in question, the defense minister was quick to respond that “the IDF is the most moral army in the world,” and the military advocate general said the IDF would investigate.

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