We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Witch-Hunt Against CAP & Media Matters Escalates

Click here to access article by Omar Baddar from Jadaliyya.

Israeli leaders and their US Zionist allies are putting enormous pressure on the Obama administration to provide guarantees for a nuclear-weapon-free Iran. Of course, their first preference is that US forces take out Iranian nuclear facilities. They are even going so far as to threaten unilateral military strikes against Iran without these guarantees thinking that their ace-in-the-hole US Zionist supporters will force the US to come to the aid of Israel should the latter start a war with Iran. 


It is a very high-stakes game that Israeli leaders are playing by risking so much harm to Israeli citizens in the event of a war--unless of course they are bluffing. From this article it appears that US Zionists are using every conceivable ploy including a well-funded media campaign and attacks on critics of Israel in order to obtain this guarantee. Of course, the fact the Israel has nuclear arms is simply never mentioned.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the smear campaign launched against two progressive groups, the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Media Matters, for the crime of permitting criticism of Israel to occasionally appear in their analyses. That “crime” is then grossly exaggerated not only into “anti-Israel” accusations, but also into accusations of “anti-Semitism.” The latter charge comes in line with a long history of baseless accusations of “anti-Semitism” leveled against groups, academics, and intellectuals who are critical of Israeli policies. The smear campaign has been exposed and combatted by many....