Boston Bombings. By Mazin Qumsiyeh

Via: Popular Resistance.

At first I thought I should not comment on the Boston bombings as it is obvious that we in Palestine, under siege and regular bombardment would clearly sympathize with the victims. But then I saw the usual pundits on mainstream media trying to spin the tragedy to serve racism.

The Israeli Consul-General in Boston told the Jerusalem Post that “Boston is a very quiet and calm place, especially when we come from Israel…..Still, the Jewish community and the consulate are on alert and security has been increased”.  He speaks as if he represents Jews of Boston (and only them) and insinuates as usual that problems in Palestine (‘Israel’) are because of the native “Arabs” not because of the Zionist colonization.

CNN gave extensive time to the Zionist ex-congresswoman Jane Harman who claimed this terrorist attack is likely linked to AlQaeda Islamists while trying to connect herself to victims when she supports terrorism herself. Besides her appalling record in voting for more weapons and money to Israel to kill Palestinians, she was unashamedly more pro-Israel to the point of challenging US interests on several occasions.

A Hundred Deir Yassin and Counting: Beit Daras and the Buried History of Massacres.

Via: The Palestine Chronicle.

The invasion of Beit Daras following the last battle in May 1948. (Photo: Palestine Remembered)

By Ramzy Baroud

Few with any sense of intellectual or historical integrity would still question the bloody massacre that took place in the village of Deir Yassin 65 years ago, claiming the lives of over 100 innocent Palestinians. Attempts at covering up the massacre have been dwarfed by grim details by well-respected historians, including some of Israel’s own.

Even narratives offered by historians such as Benny Morris – an honest researcher who remained committed to Zionism despite the ghastly history he had himself uncovered – presented a harrowing version of the events that unfolded on that day:

“Whole families were riddled with bullets… men, women, and children were mowed down as they emerged from houses; individuals were taken aside and shot. Haganah intelligence reported ‘there were piles of dead. Some of the prisoners moved to places of incarceration, including women and children, were murdered viciously by their captors…”

It was the Irgun Zionist militias of Menachem Begin and the Stern Gang (Lehi) lead by Yitzhak Shamir that took credit for the infamy of that day; and both were rewarded generously for their ‘heroism’. The once wanted criminals rose to prominence to become Israeli Prime Ministers in later years.

The importance of the Deir Yassin massacre to historians often obscures important facts.

Ken Loach Wants Thatcher’s Funeral Privatized

Via: Information Clearing House.

Filmmaker says that putting the plans ‘out to tender’ is what she would have wanted

By Ben Arnold

The outspoken filmmaker explained in no uncertain terms his feelings on the subject of the former prime minister, who died yesterday following a stroke.

“Margaret Thatcher was the most divisive and destructive Prime Minister of modern times,” he said.

“Mass Unemployment, factory closures, communities destroyed – this is her legacy. She was a fighter and her enemy was the British working class.

“Her victories were aided by the politically corrupt leaders of the Labour Party and of many Trades Unions. It is because of policies begun by her that we are in this mess today.

“Other prime ministers have followed her path, notably Tony Blair. She was the organ grinder, he was the monkey.

“Remember she called Mandela a terrorist and took tea with the torturer and murderer Pinochet.
How should we honor her? Let’s privatize her funeral. Put it out to competitive tender and accept the cheapest bid. It’s what she would have wanted.”

Long an opponent of Thatcher, Loach’s views come as little surprise, and follow the announcement that Baroness Thatcher’s ceremonial funeral, to take place at St Paul’s Cathedral, is expected to cost up to £8 million, the biggest funeral of its kind since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

Pete Wylie – The Day That Margaret Thatcher Dies!

Palestinian Villages Destroyed and Depopulated During Al Nakba

Moshe Dayan as quoted in Haaretz, 4 April 1969:

“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist, not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushu’a in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”

The same war criminal, Dayan, stated in 1956, just 8 years after Al Nakba:

“Let us not today fling accusation at the murderers. What cause have we to complain about their fierce hatred to us? For eight years now, they sit in their refugee camps in Gaza, and before [the Palestinians'] very eyes we are possessing the land and villages where they, and their ancestors, have lived … We are the generation of colonizers, and without the gun barrel we cannot plant a tree and build a home.” [Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Original Sins: Reflections on the History of Zionism and Israel, and Avi Shlaim Iron Wall, p. 101]

• Music: Marcel Khalife – The Bridge.

• Video: Re-Uploaded from Palestine Think Tank’s Channel on blip tv.

• A Detailed Map of the Towns and Villages Depopulated by the Zionists in 1948.

The Syrian Diary

A documentary about the human cost of the Syrian conflict and the scale of the devastation. No politics — only people telling their story.
Caution: previously unseen facts of brutality (18+).

• Reporter Anastasiya Popova

• Cameraman Michael Witkin

• Director Evgeny Lebedev

Canada and the Question of Palestine

Yves Engler – Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping: The Truth May Hurt.

“In every country the powerful attempt to define history. Yves Engler’s books – The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, and Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping: The Truth May Hurt – provide an important counterweight to the dominant understanding of Canada’s role in the world, posing a challenge to citizens willing to take their fundamental responsibilities seriously” – Noam Chomsky.

This is a part of Yves Engler’s presentation of his latest book, and it was given in the university of Victoria on the 30th of March, 2012.

The full presentation is available on Vimeo.