Institute for Public Accuracy
18 April 2011

As media have turned their attention elsewhere, breaking news of Egypt’s uprising has fallen into the shadows. Local activists report that in Egypt the military is banning the local press from covering any of its activities. So Egyptian activists are turning to other methods — including testimonial videos on YouTube — to reach the public with such information.

Click here to continue reading “From Cairo: Egypt’s Military Leading the Counter-Revolution?”

By Lauren Booth
17 April 2011

The killing of Vittorio (Vik) Arrigoni in Gaza this week follows (too) closely, the murder of pro-Palestinian peace activist Juliano Mer Khamis in the West Bank. Juliano, 52, was shot dead outside the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp on the West Bank on the 4th April. His documentary Arnas’s Children detailed the work of his mother in helping Palestinian children deal with the trauma of living under Occupation through the use of drama and self – expression.

Juliano untimely, bloody, end was one he had predicted three years ago on Israeli television. Vittorio Arrigoni was found, this week, hung, by armed ‘fanatics’ in an apartment in Gaza. An end he would never, ever, have predicted.

Click here to continue reading “Vittorio and Israel’s Attack on the Intellectual Intifada” by Lauren Booth.

Anarchists Against the Wall
16 April 2011

On April 17th we mark one year to loosing Bassem, who we also knew as Pheel. Although he is greatly missed at the village and during every demonstration, his spirit keeps on living with each and every one of us.

For this anniversary we decided to share the short film made in his memory. The film was ready within days, just in time to be screened at the International Conference on Popular Resistance which was held in Bil’in, 22nd-24th of April 2009. Thanks goes to Shai Carmeli-Pollak for the sensitive and wonderful work he has put into it.

Bassem Abu Rahma – A Friend To Us All
http://blip.tv/file/3480954 (عربي)
http://blip.tv/file/3481361 (עברית)
http://blip.tv/file/3471631 (English)
http://blip.tv/file/3481174 (Français)

In loving memory of Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rahma (Pheel)
19.12.1977 – 17.4.2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Freedom Flotilla 2 Steering Committee

April 15, 2011 (London)

The murder of human rights activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, is a tragedy for his family, for those of us who knew him, and for the Palestinians who loved and admired him. The Steering Committee of Freedom Flotilla 2 condemns this senseless murder and the people who are behind it. They took the life of one of the most passionate supporters of justice for Palestine. This murder is damaging to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice as well as our work in support of that struggle.

In his honor, we are naming our next voyage, FREEDOM FLOTILLA – STAY HUMAN.

Nothing that we write can capture the man who was so full of the joy of life, a man with the pipe in his mouth and the captain’s hat always tilted at an angle on his head. The man with the big smile and gentle nature, someone who used his physical strength to hold small children in his arms, sometimes several at a time. His laughter and his last comments every time we saw him will ring in all of our ears as we board the boats to return to Gaza at the end of May.

“Stay Human,” he would say, then grin and clench his pipe in his teeth.

Vittorio had sailed with us from Greece on the first small fishing boat to enter Gaza in the summer of 2008, one of 44 activists sailing to protest the illegal blockade imposed by Israel against the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza. We will do our best, Vik, to carry on the work you have done. The flotilla will return to Gaza in your honor.

Austin G. Mackell
12 April 2011

The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein, is the ducks fucking nuts. The most fitting endorsement I have heard of it comes from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow; “The only book of the last few years in American publishing that I would describe as a mandatory must-read. Literally the only one.”

The Shock Doctrine synthesises an incredible amount of information into a single piercing argument against the myth that free markets and democracy march hand in hand around the globe throwing cheeseburgers, happiness and women’s rights at anyone not too backward to know what’s good for them. The picture that emerges from her work rather, is one of a rising corporatism, exploiting and sometimes creating disasters, violence, crises and transitions – times when nations are disoriented and vulnerable – to engineer massive movements of wealth away from the people and into the pockets of global and local elites. These shocks are often not enough, however, to completely erase resistance and so further shocks; torture chambers, murders, disappearances, become necessary.

Click here to continue reading “Reading the Shock Doctrine in Cairo” by Austin G. Mackell.