By Stephen M. Walt.
The late George Carlin was a brilliant comedian and social critic, especially in his obsession with how language can be used to distort or deceive. He’s also a lot funnier than Derrida or Bourdieu.
In one of his best routines, Carlin began by noting:
You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth. I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like words that conceal reality. I don’t like euphemisms or euphemistic language. And American english is loaded with euphemisms. Because Americans …

Dear Every Peace Activist,
The world dramatically changed on 9/11, though, not for the reasons that were given by the Bush administration less than twenty four hours after the attacks, but for reasons that are deeply disturbing, and revealing; reasons that are either unknown, or have been repressed by activists in the peace movement.
As we enter the ninth anniversary of the War on Terror, the war in Afghanistan is intensifying, tensions in Iraq are resurfacing, and the …

Noam Chomsky interviewed by Roger Hurwitz, David Woolf & Sherman Teichman
Leviathan, 1:1-3, Spring, 1977, pp. 6-9, 86 [March, 1977]
QUESTION: Given the fact that now you have a government dominated by people like Carter and Brzezinski who were deeply involved in the Trilateral Commission, which emphasized maintaining a strong relationship with both Western Europe and Japan, will there be a new emphasis on new policy?
CHOMSKY: First of all, I don’t think there is any significant difference between the Trilateral view and the Kissinger view. The difference is …

By Peter Symonds, 5 July 2010.
US President Barack Obama signed into law last Thursday Congressional legislation against Iran that has the potential to heighten tensions, not only with Tehran, but America’s European and Asia rivals.
The legislation broadly targets foreign banks and corporations doing business in Iran and sets out unilateral US penalties against those that do not fall into line. Companies could be denied access to the US Export-Import Bank, restricting their ability to sell into the US market, or denied US government contracts.
The …

By Joharah Baker.
Nothing irks me more than politicians who blow off serious situations with hollow phrases on the outrageous assumption that people will actually believe them. Living in Palestine with a career revolved around words, you can imagine how many times I am irked in a day. Today is no different.
A quick glance at the headlines in Haaretz (really, the only Israeli paper I read), met me with this quote: “Israel’s plan to raze E. Jerusalem homes is an obstacle to peace.” The …

By the Editor.
The US Department of The Treasury has kindly decided to relax export controls related to technology for Iranian web users. The amendments will allow Internet users in Iran to download software related to communications, such as instant messaging and chat clients, and tools related to social networking. They will also permit the export of the same types of software to Iran.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin opines that this is “consistent with the administration’s deep commitment to the universal rights of all the world’s citizens”. How …

By Esam Al-Amin.
On April 12, 2010, President Barack Obama hosted a forty-seven nation Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. He met with dozens of heads of state making his case for a fourth set of crippling sanctions on Iran because of its intransigence on the nuclear issue. His main argument was the refusal of Iran to accept the proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of transferring the bulk of Iran’s low enriched uranium outside the country in exchange for medical nuclear isotopes.
The following …

Kevin Ovenden, a representative of Viva Palestina, was on the main ship of the Freedom Flotilla when Israeli soldiers descended onto the deck – he spoke from Turkey to Siân Ruddick.
“We knew the Israelis were going to attack, or intercept us in some way. At 11pm we had the first contact. A visual warning was that two Israeli warships were approaching us, followed by a third.
“We were 90 miles north of the Israeli coast, and 22 miles away from the buffer zone that Israel …

By Ghassan Hage.
I don’t write poems but, in any case, poems are not poems.
Long ago, I was made to understand that Palestine was not Palestine; I was also informed that Palestinians were not Palestinians; They also explained to me that ethnic cleansing was not ethnic cleansing. And when naive old me saw freedom fighters they patiently showed me that they were not freedom fighters, and that resistance was not resistance. And when, stupidly, I noticed arrogance, oppression and humiliation they benevolently enlightened me so I can see that …

By Ray McGovern
A chief lesson to learn from President Barack Obama’s recent unwillingness to stand up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Lobby is that such timidity can get people killed.
Casualty figures are still arriving in the wake of Israel’s Sunday night-Monday morning commando attack on an unarmed flotilla trying to bring relief supplies to the 1.5 million Palestinians crowded into Gaza. Already, at least nine civilian passengers are reported killed, and dozens wounded.
Seldom has an act of aggression been so …