Mali, Ronnie Raygun And Stephen Sizer’s Plight

The headline news on Mali conveys very little. I think it is useful to try and understand the background to events.

Heather Hurlburt argues that Mali’s crisis caused by development failures, not military aid which seems a bit off, but at least it does provide one side of the argument.

Peter Beaumont’s contribution is much better:

“In Mali’s post-dictatorship history, Bamako’s response to these periodic outbreaks of rebellion has, depressingly, remained the same – a “militiatary” policy that meant that different groups armed to neutralise each other. That policy was pursued over a long period even as former peace agreements were largely allowed to slip on their commitments and old grievances allowed to fester.

Indeed, close analysts of developments in Mali have been concerned for almost a decade by the increasing dysfunctional nature of the country’s government, as well as by the re-emergence of Tuareg and Islamist armed factions in the north. “

The New Yorker is pessimistic and sees the next quagmire:

“The situation in Mali dates back to March of last year, when, in a surprise coup, low-ranking government soldiers overthrew the former Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure. Since then, the country has been broken in two, with the lawless north slipping into a hell of medieval-era punishments like flogging, stoning, and even, reportedly, amputations, all dictated by a severe form of Sharia law practiced by the Islamist radicals who now dominate the area. France, the United States, and other Western powers have been nervously watching this unfold, concerned that Mali would become the next major organizational hub and training ground for Al Qaeda. They hoped that the nations of West Africa would intervene on the Malian government’s behalf, but as those countries dragged their feet about doing so, and as the Islamist rebels continued moving steadily into the southern part of Mali, it began to seem that if someone did not take action to halt their advance, it would be too late to stop them. “

Africa is A Country has a good backgrounder, France in Mali: the End of the Fairytale.

Scott Edwards at Amnesty International USA provides a who’s who, which is very handy.

CNN reports on the growing humanitarian crisis in Mali.

I had always appreciated that Ronald Reagan was intellectually decrepit and only capable of repartee when it had been written for him, but I had not realised he could not process information in a written form, as most presidents do.

Apparently, the CIA provided him with simplistic reports and analysis in the form of films:

By chance I read of Rev. Stephen Sizer’s plight on Craig Murray’s sites. It sounds positively miserable:

“That Stepehn is not an anti-semite and has not knowingly endorsed anti-semitism, I have no doubt. But what worries me is the growing bravura with which all critics of Israel or supporters of the Palestinians are charged with the – rightfully – damning slur of anti-semitism.”

Leaving aside the poor spelling and even weaker reasoning within Murray’s post, I imagine he would have had a stronger case if the comments box had not been littered with obvious antisemitism.

I will bet that neither Rev. Sizer nor Craig Murray would be able to adequately explain why that occurred, but this is a very small sample:

[Apologies to readers, as I have left in the links to neo-Nazi and racist web sites, as a public record. It indicates the type of material that is considered fit and proper reading amongst some of Rev. Sizer’s supporters.]

“Cryptonym 13 Jan, 2013 – 12:36 am
…
I later sampled Behind Communism by Frank L. Britton**, available on hundreds of other websites too, it tries to tell the story of pre, during and post-revolutionary Russian history, not found hardly anywhere else, and can hardly do so without mention of its Jewish population and their huge role, it has a tellingly critical tinge that intrudes on the story…”
…
It isn’t an impossibility to be anti-jewish with perfect ethical and moral justification, nothing is above criticism, it like all religions simply being a set of madcap ideas, constituting a bogus identity, rammed into impressionable minds and causing permanent damage. It seems any subject matter which mentions the chosen ones, not closed off only for their exclusive consumption, and which isn’t quite the prescribed Hollywood gloss revisionist whitewash version of events -is proscribed reading nowadays. “

[** See below for details on Frank L. Britton.]

Many of Murray’s readers seem to relish the opportunity to digest more antisemitic and neo-Nazi material.

“A Node 13 Jan, 2013 – 1:37 am

I’m with Cryptonym on this one. Thanks BoD and Kempe for the tip-off about this useful resource.
http://www.iamthewitness.com/
Sure there’s some stuff there that’s a bit rabid for my taste, but there is much that seems reasonable comment.
…
It’s absolutely fascinating and resonates with a lot of my findings elsewhere.
Really, thank you Bod, and particularly you, Kempe, for providing the link.”

“Brendan 13 Jan, 2013 – 1:47 am

Posting a link is now an offence? Blimey.

http://www.holocaustdenier.com/

Smell them apples then.

Note: I do not deny the holocaust.
… “

Holocaust denial and the themes of “Judeo-Bolshevism” are not considered antisemitic by Murray’s poster, although it is a common notion pushed by the Extreme Right and racists, such as David Irving.

“Zona Norte 14 Jan, 2013 – 2:19 am

An anti-semite is someone who hates someone of semitic origin simply because that person is semitic.

I argue, therefore, that it is not anti-semitic:

To deny the Jewish holocaust.
To deny the uniqueness of the Jewish holocaust.
To compare Jewish suffering with that of other peoples.
To point out that Jews figured prominently in the Bolshevik Revolution.
To claim that AIPAC calls the shots in the US’ Middle East foreign policy.
To opposed the existence of the State of Israel.

Such statements or claims may be controversial or dead wrong and could be motivated by anti-semitism but of themselves are not anti-semitic. Refusing a Jew (or Arab) a job because of their race is anti-semitism. Jailing or attacking a Jew or Arab because of their race is anti-semitism. Prejudicial behaviour is the key to anti-semitism. “

[My emphasis.]

“Mary 15 Jan, 2013 – 12:07 pm

Not (fully) reported in the Zionist-controlled corporate media.
…”

etc etc.

[Explanatory note on reference above. Lorne Bair Rare Books notes on Frank L. Britton’s publication, American Nationalist “was the racist and anti-Semitic house organ of Frank L. Britton, a California anti-Communist crusader who was one of the first to detect the presence anti-American influences in Hollywood. Content of the current issues is about equally divided between Jew-baiting and exposure of the plot to “mongrelize” the United States through interracial marriage (also, not surprisingly, a Jewish plot).” ]

I suspect had Frank L. Britton been alive today he’d be commenting on Craig Murray’s site to widespread approval and raising cash for Rev. Sizer’s defence.

Anyone capable of reading should know that the whole “Judeo-Bolshevism” nonsense is the staple of neo-Nazis and hardened antisemites, as are many of the ideas circulating in that thread.

The complaint against Rev. Sizer is here, as a PDF, and fairly damning it is too.

The BOD statement, One Sizer doesn’t fit all.

Update 1: Rev. Sizer hasn’t been slow garnering support enlisting his PhD supervisor, Dr Martin Davies.

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Rev Stephen Sizer: More Anti-Israeli Than Pro-Palestinian

Rev. Stephen Sizer is once more indulging in victimhood and self-promotion. He has managed to convince some worthy individuals to write him references.

Ever shy and retiring Rev. Sizer has published them on his website.

They say, essentially, ‘he’s a jolly good fellow, not a racist, but a fighter for human rights’.

This is an extract from Rev. Dr. Don Wagner of Chicago:

“I have known and worked with Stephen for nearly 15 years and have the utmost respect for his writing, pastoral ministry, and his speaking around the globe on behalf of the victims of persecution and human rights violations. “

I suppose, in part, that might be true, however, Rev. Sizer silent criticism of the Assad regime is noticeable.

You might, not unreasonably, think that in 21 months of slaughter in Syria that Rev. Sizer could have made a critical comment of the Syrian government. After all, he’s immensely capable of criticising Israelis, but suddenly acquires writers’ block when it comes to Assad and Syria.

It is a symptom which seems to inflict many Western “pro-Palestinian” supporters, capable of criticising Israelis at the drop of a hat, yet barely able to muster any criticism whilst Assad is slaughtering civilians.

Just to be clear, I am not accusing Rev. Sizer of hypocrisy, racism or anything else. Merely observing that in 21 months he might have at least commented once on the hundreds of Palestinians killed in Syria.

Rev. Sizer has written on Syria, but I can’t find any criticism of Assad. In fact, the opposite when he uses a proxy to say in June 2012:

“Revd Awad insists Qatar and Saudi Arabia along with the US are funding mercenaries from Libya and Iraq to attack civilians in Syria and that the army are not responsible. He is convinced the President enjoys the support of at least 75% of Syrians. He insists none of Syria’s diplomats around the world has defected to the opposition. He is confident that the Kofi Annan report will exonerate the Syrian government and that the external forces seeking to destabilise Syria will not succeed. “

It drips of paranoia and defensiveness, but later on of that month, June 2012 invokes Robert Fisk to argue Syria: Its all about oil.

For want of his own opinions Rev. Sizer employs Elizabeth Kendal’s Syria: The Lies Being Told.

Unfortunately, it appears that Ms. Kendal is a conspiracy theorist and believes that the Houla massacre committed by the Assad regime’s forces was a contrivance:

“For more on the Houla massacre, now exposed as a false flag operation wherein Free Syrian Army forces disguised as pro-Assad ‘thugs’ massacred unsympathetic mostly non-Sunni families and blamed the regime…”

So as far as I can see Rev. Sizer has written nothing to criticise Assad or his dictatorship which brought about the events in Syria after massacring peaceful protesters in March 2011.

In August 2012, Rev. Sizer utilises the words of others and latterly employing a questionable photograph to hint at something else:

“The first reaction of President Bashar al-Assad was to initially respond with hints of reform. But soon he launched violent crackdowns that could have dispensed with the opposition if not for outside support. “

So what we see is conscious effort to blame everyone else, but the repressive Syrian government. The idea that people could rise up against a dictatorship, of their own free will, after being shot at, murdered and tortured seems to have escaped Rev. Sizer and these various proxies.

Despite 21 months of conflict Rev. Sizer can’t say a single word against Assad.

In short, Rev. Sizer is proclaimed as “speaking around the globe on behalf of the victims of persecution and human rights violations” yet I have not read one word from Rev. Sizer critical of Assad on the hundreds of Palestinians killed, the 40,000+ Syrians dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions displaced within the country.

A curious omission?

Update 1: Whenever I post on Rev. Sizer’s antics the blog gets a lot of spam, incoherent or abusive comments. I would remind potential commentors to read, disgest and understand the Comments Policy.

Update 2: You might almost say “the world goes to hell in a handbasket whilst Rev. Sizer has other preoccupations”. Despite the mounting death toll in Syria, Rev. Sizer’s main concern is, somewhat predictably, Rev. Sizer.

More recently he has cajoled some friendly clergy into supporting him, Bethlehem Bible College, Canon Dr Mike Butterworth, Friends of Sabeel, Revd. Phil Hill, Manfred W. Kohl, Professor Scott Elias, Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA and Bishop Riah Abo El-Assal.

The excuse “some of his best friends are…” is threadbare by use, but I am sure these theologians will be able to explain why Rev. Sizer continually, regularly and mistakenly posted links to vile, hardcore, antisemitic filth.

The British Empire, Far Right And Press TV.

News just in, the British conquered most (or at least tried to) of the world!

Rather fittingly the Torygraph informs its readers that:

“A new study has found that at various times the British have invaded almost 90 per cent of the countries around the globe.

The analysis of the histories of the almost 200 countries in the world found only 22 which have never experienced an invasion by the British.

Among this select group of nations are far-off destinations such as Guatemala, Tajikistan and the Marshall Islands, as well some slightly closer to home, such as Luxembourg. “

I can’t say I am surprised. Anyone familiar with British society can tell you about the low level of jingoism that permeates it. Not as stark as it once was, but it is still around, lurking in the corners.

Beginners Guide To Britain’s Far Right

Keeping up with the cranks, thugs and racists that comprise the Far Right is a full-time job.

These flaky individuals often work together for a few months or years then split off after a drunken argument, or simply because they can’t get on with each other or the rest of humanity.

Cataloguing the changing face of the Far Right is often a difficult job and the new Extremis Project is a useful resource in that respect.

Their Beginners guide to new groups on Britain’s far right is short, but it provides valuable insights:

“Whether culturism is a genuinely new strain of ideological thinking or a cynical euphemism for race remains unclear. However, Britain’s far right have long understood that openly racial language serves to alienate much of their core demographic. Hence, it is no surprise that an ideology that replaces racial preservation with cultural preservation may well be seen as an easier sell. Whether the language of culturism becomes more widely disseminated among Britain’s far right, or whether it proves to be an ideological cul-de-sac, is yet to be seen.

However, as the BFP scramble to jettison their far-right image in advance of their electoral endeavors, the language of culturism could perhaps prove useful in their pursuit of respectability and the ‘silent majority’. Further to this, the EDL’s leader, Tommy Robinson, yesterday resigned as deputy leader of the BFP. The motivation behind his surprise departure remains unclear, but it is possible that with several impending court cases Robinson is attempting to detoxify the BFP/EDL link and put distance between his criminal reputation and Kevin Carrolls attempt to become a Police and Crime Commissioner. Following his surprise departure from the BFP Robinson has indicated that he intends to develop the English Defence League as an independent political party, possibly targeting the 2014 European elections. Where this leaves the fledgling alliance between the BFP and the EDL remains unclear but the consensual belief that the BFP was now the political wing of the EDL is likely no longer the case. “

Greta Berlin, Free Gaza And Racism

I have been away and missed the outburst of anti-Jewish racism from the Free Gaza movement via Greta Berlin.

Jeffrey Goldberg explains it:

“This last theory of his was largely forgotten until last week, when Greta Berlin, a co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, published a message on the group’s Twitter feed: “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” It contained a link to a video of Mullins delivering his message.

The Free Gaza group, the leading edge of the international campaign to delegitimize Israel and bring about its end as the national home of the Jewish people, has always argued that it isn’t anti-Semitic, and is merely trying to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. The group came to public attention in May 2010, when it organized a flotilla of ships to attempt to break the blockade. Israeli commandos boarded the ships and were set upon by passengers wielding pipes and knives. In a terrible overreaction, they responded by opening fire, killing nine. The incident has nearly destroyed Turkish-Israeli relations, and helped make the flotilla cause popular across the Middle East and Europe.
…
Then Berlin’s Twitter message was discovered last week. Berlin said she posted the video without watching it, and that the message was meant for a private Facebook group. Her critics pointed out that the private sharing of Nazi propaganda doesn’t fall into a different moral category than the public sharing of Nazi propaganda, and so she then argued the message was meant to be part of a broader discussion about the nature of hateful propaganda. Free Gaza has officially disowned the post and taken it down.
But this isn’t Berlin’s first dalliance with purveyors of anti-Semitism. She has also endorsed the work of an ex-Israeli Holocaust revisionist (yes, such a person exists) named Gilad Atzmon, author of “The Wandering Who?” Atzmon has argued, among other things, that it was the Jews who persecuted Hitler, and that Jews who commemorate the Holocaust are followers of the “the most sinister religion known to man.”

Ellie Cumbo On Brendan O’Neill’s Gallowayism

This is a lovely put down of the stupid contribution by Brendan O’Neill:

“Is the law a matter of fact or opinion? Today, Brendan O’ Neill followed George Galloway, John Pilger, and Tony Benn to become the latest non-lawyer to offer up his understanding of the law on rape. He’s also the latest to get it wrong, and he probably won’t be the last.

In absolute truth, the law on a particular issue at any given time can be fuzzy. Our legal system regularly relies on the higher courts to bring clarity where what exists is anything but: badly-written Acts of Parliament, a glut of past rulings recent and ancient, and a nebulous sense of how certain words and phrases would now be commonly understood. This is why controversial cases often appear to result in judges changing the law, when what they are seeking to do is just to tidy up an incomprehensible mess.
…
But O’Neill has fatally misunderstood what is meant by the word “intent” in context – despite the fact it is set out in the very Act of Parliament he quotes, the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Rape is made out where the accused “does not reasonable believe” the other person consents. In other words, if the accused truly believed that there was consent, but the court held that belief to be unreasonable (for example because it was based on what the complainant was wearing), the accused would still be found guilty. O’Neill’s statement that “the man must know that there is no consent… must not believe that consent is present, and therefore must know that it is absent” is, then, straightforwardly untrue.

As the CPS indicates in the publicly-available legal guidance that O’Neill appears not to have bothered reading, this was a major and quite deliberate Parliamentary change to the law that existed before 2003, under which an honest belief in consent, however unreasonable, negated the offence. But frankly, we don’t need to go all the way to the CPS for this: it is so settled a legal principle that a first-year law student could probably reel it off in an instant. “

Stephen Sizer, Al Quds Day and Ahmadinejad

[Readers, apologies for linking to racist material, but it is necessary, in this case, as a public record.]

I had almost forgotten it was Al Quds day yesterday.

Thankfully, Stephen Sizer sent out a reminder and a link to Press TV.

Rev. Sizer’s supporters might be surprised that he chose Press TV of all of the world’s news media on Al Quds day, particularly in light of President Ahmadinejad’s recent comments.

Previously, Rev. Sizer, after being caught linking to racist material, wrote:

“Having consulted a number of Jewish friends, I now keep a small list of websites to avoid in future. I will be more careful about the origin of material I post on my blog and Facebook…”

Pity Rev. Sizer could not keep his promise and avoid racist web sites.

I am sure that Rev. Sizer, who is a very smart man, could not fail to see Press TV’s coverage of President Ahmadinejad speech:

“Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the International Quds Day is the day of unity among all human beings to remove the Zionist “black stain” from the human society.

“Today, countering the entity of Zionism and the fabricated Zionist regime safeguards rights of all human beings, defends human dignity and paves the way to save humankind from arrogance, poverty and misery,” Ahmadinejad said in an address at the International Quds Day on Friday.

The world should know that most Western hegemonic and colonial powers maintain a joint commitment to protect the entity of the Israeli regime, he added.

The Iranian chief executive stated that the Israeli regime is a tool to control the Middle East region and the entire world, stressing the regime’s existence is an insult to the mankind.
He added that Western powers are justifying the Israeli regime’s homicide “because they are dependent on them (Zionists).”

Ahmadinejad said that the Zionists masterminded the Word War I and II to dominate nations and prepare the ground for the US power.

He added that all the world’s main centers of power, media and banks are controlled by the Zionists. However, they “use all of them for destruction of values and nations.”

He said that even the US presidential hopefuls have to bow to the Zionists if they want to have the chance to run.

Ahmadinejad emphasized that successive US governments have explicitly announced that they have been committed to salvage the Israeli regime and stated, “So, we should be vigilant and negligence against enemies will give the opportunity to them to dominate the region.”

He highlighted the significance of reinforcing unity and securing fundamental rights of nations in a rational atmosphere and through dialogue.

“The Iranian nation will not give up one iota of its own fundamental rights and those of other nations,” the president pointed out.

The head of the Supreme National Security Council further pointed to regional developments, dubbed by Western media as the Arab Spring, and stated that the world would also witness European and American spring in the near future.

He lashed out at the US President Barack Obama for failing to remain committed to his change slogan and recommended American authorities to avoid pursuing the Zionists and act independently to serve their own interests.

“Westerners are after [the establishment] of a new Middle East. We are also after a new Middle East which will definitely be formed … but in this new Middle East, there will be no trace of the US and Zionists,” Ahmadinejad pointed out.

Millions of enthusiastic Iranian people held massive rallies in Tehran and more than 550 cities and towns on the International Quds Day in support of the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli regime.

The participants carried placards and chanted slogans against the United States and Israel.

In 1979, Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, designated the last Friday of the lunar month of Ramadan as the International Quds Day, during which Muslims across the world hold rallies to show their solidarity with Palestinians. “

Pam Geller, Robert Spencer In The Company Of Neofascists

Matthew Goodwin has graciously provided the line up of assorted misfits, bigots and neo-fascists attending a “Global Counter Jihad” rally in Stockholm on 4th August 2012:

I doubt this is the first occasion Pam Geller and Robert Spencer have found themselves in the company of neofascists (Lennon, Carroll, etc) or that it will be their last.

It shows that once you start down the road to bigotry you will often end up in the company of some very unsavoury types, normally on or about the Far Right.

Update 1: Thanks to TellMama UK for pointing out this piece by SPLC:

“Speakers, according to Geller’s blog, will include some of Islamophobia’s most influential and vicious voices. In addition to herself, Geller lists Robert Spencer, a colleague and self-taught “expert” on Islam who is greatly admired by Anders Breivik, the Oslo terrorist who in July 2011 slaughtered 77 people he thought were enabling Muslim immigration into Norway; Steven Lennon and Kev Carrol of the EDL; Anders Gravers of SIOE; and a host of European and Australian Islamophobes whose names are less well-known in America. Noteworthy among them is Richard Abrahamsson (also known as Richard Abrams), a leader in the Swedish Defence League (SDL) who, according to Islamophobia Watch, has blogged about a plan to “reclaim the Swastika,” writing, “If you want US to respect OTHER cultures, you must also respect OUR culture and its symbols.”

Update 3: Richard Bartholomew is typically thorough:

“

Abrams’ website is for the most part macabre and disturbing: among weird occultic images we find statements such as “I will be remembered as the one who beheaded presidents in righteous wrath”. He is also a musician, sometimes using the fuller name “Richard Isak Abrams”. According to a blurb for his band on LastFM:

Iblis Industries (or 1blis 1ndustries) is a Swedish project created in 2005 by Richard Abrams (also in Sitra Ahra and Hypothermia.)

The music released so far consists of a variey of elements such as; Neoclassical, Downtempo, Black metal, Industrial and Noisestep.

The themes of Iblis Industries is mainly cultivated in a search for the divine embers.

Of course, a provocative interest in the grotesque and and the dark is par for the course with this kind of music, and it is unclear how far one can extrapolate from stage persona to political identification. However, for an organisation seeking wider credibility, the impression given by Abrams’ site is unattractive. And given the links between the self-described “Counter-Jihad Movement” and elements of the Christian Right, such an association is likely to be awkward.

” [My emphasis]

Having looked at Richard Abrams’ site I can confirm that he has serious hangups with the swastika.

Update 4: This is a bunch of EDL members and supporters who were very keen on the swastika so much so they had it tattooed on their chests, watch them giving the Nazi salute:

2012 Olympics, A Munich Silence Round-Up

I had hoped to do many more individual posts, particularly on the issue of a minutes silence at the 2012 Olympic games in memory of the athletes that were murdered in Munich 1972, but instead I present another round-up of news and events.

Jonathan Freedland at the JC:

“They sought to resurrect a lost and ancient tradition, at the centre of which was the high ideal known as the Olympic truce.

The official Olympic website traces this back to Greece in the 9th century BCE, when three rival kings agreed to halt hostilities while the Games were under way: “During the Truce period, the athletes… could travel in total safety to participate in or attend the Olympic Games and return afterwards to their respective countries.”

Today’s International Olympic Committee still proclaims that goal, insisting that it is committed to “protecting” all athletes as well as “searching for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts around the world”.

Forty years ago, the Olympic truce was violated in direct and brutal fashion. At the Munich Games of 1972, 11 athletes discovered they could not, after all, travel in “total safety” and that they would not, after all, be protected.

For Jews again to be killed on German soil was almost too much to bear.

The 11 were members of the team representing Israel. In their quarters in the Olympic village, they were seized by eight Palestinian gunmen disguised as athletes, taken as hostages, and finally killed in a botched rescue effort at a nearby airport. “

Personally, I would have preferred if Freedland had written it for the Guardian directly, but Jennifer Lipman does that and you can imagine what the comments boxes are full of? Disdain and barely concealed contempt for Jews and Israelis.

Helen Lewis at the New Statesman looks at online harassment and women.

Brown Moses has a fascinating post on Manaf Tlass:

“Hama Echo pointed me in a direction of a couple of picture of Manaf Tlass which may indicate that this defection is more about saving his own skin than any ideological differences with the Assad regime. In August 2011 the French anti-fascist website Reflex posted an article about members of the far right in France, including Frédéric Chatillon, founding a new website, InfoSyrie, to correct what they stated was the gross misrepresentation of facts by the Western media in the pay of the US and Israel.

The article goes on to describe links between the far right in France and the Alawite and Assad regime members in Syria, and describes a visit arranged by Chatillon for his associates, that include Thierry Meyssan, chairman of the Voltaire Network; Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a anti-Semitic political activist; essayist Alain Soral; Ahmed Moualek, president of La Banlieue S’exprime (LBS); and Marc George to Lebanon, via a 5 day stop over in Syria.

This stop over in Syria is reportedly largely financed by the Tlass family, including hotels, sightseeing and drivers for their far right friends, including this meeting with Manaf Tlass (and other family members) pictured second from the left. “

There is a conspiracy theory doing the rounds concerning Arafat’s death. The NPR asks two key questions and read Hussein Ibish.

There’s another antisemitic attack in France (and I don’t expect BBC News or the Guardian to cover it in any significant way) but events in France are extremely worrying:

“A French Jewish teenager, who attends the Toulouse school where Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah shot dead three children in March, has suffered a violent anti-Semitic attack on a train, French media reports said on Thursday.

The attack on Wednesday took place on a train travelling between Toulouse, which is in the south-west, and the city of Lyon in the south-east, Le Figaro newspaper reported, quoting an interior ministry statement.

“A teenager aged 17 wearing a distinctive religious symbol, who attends Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse, was taken to task and insulted by two individuals,” the ministry was quoted as saying.

He was then attacked near the toilets “by the same two individuals, who beat him up,” the statement said, adding that the attack ended when a fellow passenger and train conductors intervened. “

A rather naive Max Blumenthal eventually realises the company that he keeps.

The best and worst places in the world to be a woman.

A rye view of events in Israel.

Jon Stewart Mocks Mitt Romney, not hard, don’t mention Venn diagrams.

Undressing the Underwear Bomb Plot?

I tried to argue with Norm over the hyphen in antisemitism but he’d been there.

EDL activist jailed for 9 years.

Surreal? LBJ and Gordon Brown compared.

And a confused fascist.

Ziad J. Asali has some hard questions for One Staters.

Still, polishing a turd? The Lobbying company trying to help improve Assad’s image.

Meanwhile in the US, Alabama Pastors Conference Invites Only ‘White Christians’:

“A group of pastors in Alabama says that they are not racist even though only “white Christians” were invited to their three-day conference, which will include a cross burning and be attended by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members.

Residents in Guin, Alabama became outraged earlier this week after they noticed flyers posted around the town that read, “Annual Pastors Conference All White Christians Invited.” The groups Christian Identity Ministries and the Church of God’s Chosen told WIAT that they just didn’t have the “facilities” to accommodate non-whites.

“We’re seldom ever have been invited to black Muslim events and we never have been invited to NAACP events and we never have been invited to join Jewish synagogues events and stuff,” Christian Identity Ministries Pastor William J. Collier explained.

“It has nothing whatsoever to do with any kind of racism or hate or anything like that,” he added. “And anybody who would brand it as that would be a racist and a hater themselves, you know.” “

Finally, if you didn’t know about Higgs Boson then this might help:

Rev. Sizer, Please, Please Don’t Play The Victim

I suppose that I should be gratified that Rev. Sizer has linked to one of my previous posts, but I am not.

If you read the words of his post what you will see is obfuscation, rhetorical tricks and a desire to play the victim.

What he should have written was a simple apology for his linking, once more, to a racist website.

Rev. Sizer has made a habit of doing this: Palestine Telegraph: July 2011, Ugly Truth: 4 October 2011 Veterans Today: 1 March 2012, and more recently, WindowintoPalestine: 1 June 2012.

Now I can understand the desire to support the Palestinians, it is a most worthy cause, but it is not helped when its Western supporters link to anti-Jewish racism, for the fourth time.

It gives the impression that such Western supporters are more motivated by their animus towards Jews instead of a genuine concern for the welfare of Palestinians.

I am sure this is not the case with Rev. Sizer, however, his inability to distinguish between nonracist material and vile antisemitic garbage suggests that his judgement is faulty in these matters.

And, before he and his supporters drag out the most predictable, I should make it clear that I do not think that he is an antisemite, rather he strikes me as someone of poor judgement who swims in the effluent of modern “anti-Zionism” but can’t see an antisemitic turd when it steams towards him.

So please, Rev. Sizer, for the sake of your own conscience, make a habit of apologising when you are wrong, as in this case and please do not play the victim, it is unbecoming.

Still No Apology From Rev. Sizer Or His Supporters?

Years back, I was told that men of the cloth knew the difference between right and wrong.

And when you have done something wrong that you should apologise.

Sadly, Reverent Stephen Sizer did not learn that lesson.

True enough, Rev. Sizer has deleted the offending post, but it still available in Google’s cache and as shown below on Twitter:

It would be nice, if Rev. Sizer had the decency and depth of character to apologise for posting yet another link to a racist website.

I don’t expect that to happen.

Because, like modern politicians, many members of the clergy don’t seem to think they can do any wrong or see the need to show a degree of contrition when caught.

However, it would be far better if Rev. Sizer admitted he can’t tell the difference between racist and nonracist material.

He should openly apologise, instead of scurrying around and trying to delete the evidence of his misdemeanour.

It is not as if Rev. Sizer is shy or without the ability to argue his points, his blog has a constant stream of negative material on an almost daily basis.

Perhaps he should dedicate a blog post or two on “Why I, Rev. Sizer, should avoid racist web sites and their material”.

But that would presuppose that he knows the difference between right and wrong? Chance would be a fine thing!

Update 1: Interestingly, it appears that Rev. Sizer has pondered this point from a theological angle, How to do Right When You’ve Been Done Wrong (Psalm 26).

I do, however, wish he’d make the next step in the real world and apologise for his own mistake.

Rev. Sizer Links to Racist Material Again.

[Apologies, by necessity this post has links to racist web sites, as a public record. Sorry.]

Rev. Stephen Sizer has an unfortunate blindness when it comes to racism, or more specifically racism towards Jews.

In the past, Rev. Sizer has linked on at least three occasions to racist material and more recently said he would be more careful.

Yet, like an habitual criminal, he returns to the scene of his crimes, or in Rev. Sizer’s case another racist web site, Window Into Palestine blog.

To anyone with anti-racist sensitivities the title of the piece, The BBC caught out with its Zionist run propaganda machine, would have rung alarm bells, but not for Rev. Sizer.

Had this exceedingly well-educated man of the cloth taken a moment or 2 to study the contents of the Window Into Palestine blog he would have surely seen conspiracy theories (AIPAC and the Zionist Hex on America) and downright claptrap (Jews tried to kill President Truman).

But leaving aside the wierd material which protrudes everywhere from that blog, Rev. Sizer could have browsed the author of the piece, Peter Eyre, and found one of his preoccupations was:

“I also believe that world politics are controlled by Wall Street and London Bankers with Christian and Jewish Zionist at its heart.”

Or searched Peter Eyre’s Space to find that the author believes that the 9/11 and 7/7 atrocities were “false flag operations” and a lot more nonsense besides.

Eyre’s WordPress creation is just as strange and disturbing.

The question is, why are intelligent people like Rev. Sizer drawn to this racist and twisted nonsense?

Update 1: The link seems to have gone dead but fortunately I kept a copy and will upload it shortly.

Update 2: I would hate Rev. Sizer’s supporters to deny that it happened! As Google has cached it as well, but in the first link Rev. Sizer uses http://www.windowintopalestine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/bbc-caught-out-with-its-zionist-run.html

Update 3: Thanks to the well known antifascist, Luther Blissetts.

He points out that Peter Eyre rants on about the New World Order nonsense as well.

This is but one example of Eyre’s thinking, from the Islam Times:

“What you have just read is also happening in this country on a different scale. We have both political and financial spheres that are totally funded and controlled by Zionist who promote fraud and corruption as a norm.

Before continuing I just want to divert from this financial topic and show just how deeply embedded the entire Zionist run New World Order is in this country. It dictates and controls our politicians and encourages a continuous war against a non existent enemy that they call Al Qaeda or as George Bush put it “A war on Terror” or a war against “The Axis of Evil.”

This aspect is so important in the state of our economy for many reasons:
· It drains vast sums of “Tax Payers Money” and converts that into “Private Sector Arms Sales”
· It allows the New World Order to carry out their “Geo Political Plans.”
· It rockets the price of a barrel of oil to unbelievable levels.
· It acts as an investment for the “Pharmaceutical Industry”
…
Knowing now that the entire situation in this country is the brainchild of the Zionist NWO it is rather difficult to rectify this out of control movement… “

So what we see with Eyre is essentially an updated version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

This is not the type of author or material that a serious antiracist, as Rev. Sizer suggests he is, should be reading, absorbing and regurgitating as if it is the unvarnished truth.

Update 4: Anyone in doubt about Eyre’s views should watch his performance on the awful RT [from 00:19 onwards]:

[00:19] “…this was no accident, it was a very planned exercise by the New World Order…”

[05:15]”…remember they can take out any country, financially or militarily, that they want to take to take out, this is a master plan of, what I call, the New World Order…”

Update 5: Eyre also believes that 9/11 was the Greatest Illusion Ever Performed. Yuck.

Update 6: I had forgotten that James Mendelsohn had offered Rev. Sizer some sage advice over three years ago, but it went unheeded, If I was Stephen Sizer, Christian Antizionist – James Mendelsohn.

Rev. Sizer, Best Take Michelle Obama’s Advice

After reading one of his recent posts I thought this quote equally applied to Rev. Sizer:

“Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we’ve developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory.”

I had hoped not to have to return to this topic, but it seems that Rev. Sizer and his supporters are keen to humiliate the Council of Christians and Jews and make them apologise.

I have argued elsewhere that this is silly and counter-productive, but my impression is that Rev. Sizer and his fan club are not particularly good listeners or interested in the views of others.

Pity, the speed of his actions and those of his supporters tend to cast doubt on the sincerity of Rev. Sizers’ apology.

In his latest post, Rev. Sizer makes much of the fact that he removed the offending link to the Ugly Truth web site. However, Rev. Sizer only removed it after the racist nature of the site was pointed out to him, several times.

Astonishingly, before it was pointed out to him, Rev. Sizer didn’t investigate the antisemitic content of Ugly Truth as the CCJ points out:

“We are conscious that The Revd Stephen Sizer’s contributions have caused widespread disquiet and hurt in both communities and led to confusion and polarization of views. We have paid particular attention to a link posted by Mr Sizer on his Facebook page to ‘The Ugly Truth’, an antisemitic website.

We consider this to be wholly unacceptable.

We cannot accept it was an accident, because Mr Sizer was alerted to the antisemitic nature of the website in November and again in December, but only removed the link in January when contacted by the Jewish Chronicle. “

[My emphasis.]

If, this unfortunate episode had been a one off, then Rev. Sizer would have had a stronger case, but he has made this same mistake at least three times, by my reckoning.

That is a lot for a highly intelligent man, an academic and community leader. Surprisingly, I can not find any apology from Rev. Sizer on his previous poor choice of material and certainly no embarrassment.

Still, as he reminds us about his “Jewish friends” I can’t help thinking that they might not have known of the extent of Rev. Sizer’s blunders?

Whilst I seriously doubt that Rev. Sizer or his supporters harbour any antisemitic feeling, there is not much evidence of them understanding the issues, or the need for a certain sensitivity.

It all speaks of a very poor sense of judgement in these matters.

Overall, what I see in these instances from Rev. Sizer and his supporters is a lack of insight, a desire to hit back and above all wounded pride.

It might be time, as Michelle Obama recommends, for Rev. Sizer to develop a thicker skin. Or for him not to link to racist material in the first place?

Sudan, Syria, London and Election Bits.

So much happening across the world and so little (infinite) blogging space to put it into.

The Sudanese government seems to be itching for a war in the region and it is the people that really suffer, the Indy reports from Yida:

“On the outskirts of Yida where this month’s 5,000 new arrivals are camping there are hundreds of severely malnourished children. Medical staff at the camp reported twice the normal monthly total of malnutrition cases in the first three weeks of April suggesting a sharply increasing hunger crisis across the border in Khartoum-controlled Southern Kordofan. Refugee leaders at Yida have refused to be relocated further south to the capital of Unity State, Bentiu, complaining the land allocated to them is a “malarial swamp” with no trees. The UN said talks are “ongoing” with the hope of persuading some refugees to relocate to camps further inside South Sudan.

The divorce of the two Sudans last year, which followed a long civil war, left several divisions of what was the southern guerrilla army, the SPLA, inside the interim borders of the new Sudan. The government in Khartoum has accused the south of conspiring with these civil war allies in areas like the Nuba Mountains and launched a brutal offensive against them, which has been marked by the bombing of civilian areas.”

The world looks on as the Syrian government continues to kill people, the BBC on events around Aleppo:

“Live ammunition was reportedly used to disperse an anti-government protest outside dormitories adjacent to Aleppo University’s campus late on Wednesday.

As many as 200 students are thought to have been arrested during the raid.

Aleppo has so far not experienced the violence and large-scale protests seen in other cities during the uprising.

But there have been almost daily demonstrations by its students.”

Apparently, there are elections on for the London Mayor and London assembly, HOPE Not Hate has some sensible advice.

James Bloodworth at Huff Post reminds us of what British fascism could look like. Personally, I feel he’s understates it, but it is worth a read.

I am glad that President Obama has done the right thing.

I Am Glad For Rev. Sizer.

Rev. Stephen Sizer has put out this statement:

“In response to the CCJ Statement, I welcome the news from Surrey police and CPS that, having “carried out a thorough and extensive review of the material in question” they have concluded that “no criminal offences have been committed. The matter has now been closed and no further action is being taken,” a conclusion which will come as no surprise to those who know and work with me.

My support for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, based on international law and recognised borders, achieved by peaceful and democratic means, has unfortunately left me open to what can only be described as an unbalanced and targeted campaign from certain quarters, a situation which is deeply regrettable.

I care passionately about the safety of the Jewish people. I repudiate racism, anti-Semitism as well as Islamophobia. I would not have posted a link to a website I knew to be anti-Semitic. Having consulted a number of Jewish friends, I now keep a small list of websites to avoid in future. I will be more careful about the origin of material I post on my blog and Facebook, and welcome opportunities for discussion with members of the Jewish community to move forwards in a spirit of mutual respect. “

I am glad that Rev. Sizer has put out this statement.

I am glad that he says he’s going to be more careful in the future, and some might think it would be churlish to asked why he made those mistakes in the past, but let us look to the future.

I hope Rev. Sizer sets an example to others and makes sure not to link to racist or extremist material, directly or indirectly.

I have thought for many years that it is a great pity that the Palestinians’ cause is so often sullied by association with anti-Jewish racism. They deserve much better.

I should point out that criticising the Israeli government, in and of itself, is not racist, as long as dual standards are not applied, historical myths perpetuated or offensive imagery used.

The Israeli government should be open to criticism, as with every government, for their actions, however, it is, how you do it, that is the issue.

When Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause associate with known racists or push their material they bring it into disrepute, as with Baroness Tonge and the conspiracy theorist, Ken O’Keefe.

Nor should we be naive enough to assume that anti-Jewish racists do not try to exploit grievances in the Middle East to foster hatred against Jews. They do, it is their agenda.

That is what Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause need to engage with.

Some have belatedly seen the issue and try to repudiate it, which is to be commended, but as the PSC conference showed us there is still a problem.

Let us hope that Rev. Sizer, and like-minded individuals, will remember how racists will exploit any conflict with Israelis. That there is a serious need to become sensitive to anti-Jewish racism. To avoid any, however tenuous, connection to racists, extremists or their material. Finally, that ignorance is no excuse.

I welcome Rev. Sizer’s statement and hope others follow that example.

(H/T: Phil Groom)

Western Supporters Of The Palestinians And Racism: A Dialogue With the Deaf.

[Warning, by necessity this post contains links to racist material as examples. Apologies]

I should have posted this a week ago, but other matters came up.

Whilst composing part of this post in my head, I debated whether or not it should be called a dialogue with the deaf or no good deed goes unpunished.

The reason behind my thinking was, I had noticed that whenever you point out to Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause that they have linked to, or proffered, a racist web site, then they take offence.

They don’t listen.

And before you have manage to explain why their choice of web site was racist they will invariably retort “Are you calling me an anti-Semite?”, “You just want to close down any criticism with accusations of antisemitism, don’t you?” or something similar.

They don’t even apologise or excuse themselves.

Nevertheless, recently when I pointed out to Jeremy Moodey, one of my occasional readers, that he had linked to a racist web site, I had hoped he would acknowledge his error, apologise and avoid such material in the future.

What wishful thinking on my part.

My exchanges with him proved to be a dialogue with the deaf.

Jeremy was unwilling to acknowledge that his choice of article was racist or that the site contained sizeable racist material.

So, as a public service, I am going to explain why Red Ice Creations is racist.

I shouldn’t have to explain this point, but it is apparent that many Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause are almost completely oblivious to anti-Jewish racism.

I could explain that the Red Ice Creations pushes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a truthful document, how it thinks that David Irving has a point. Rants on about the Power of the Rothschilds, how it compares the neo-Nazi, Ernst Zundel, to Galileo and finally spins the tale that, Hitler didn’t want world war.

The site is littered with racist filth, offensive garbage and conspiracy theories that should make any attentive person stop in their tracks.

When you look around you’ll find an article entitled “The Macabre Holocaust Numbers Game” by Henry Makow, Ph.D.

His Wikipedia entry states “Makow has voiced his anti-feminist, anti-semitic, and anti New World Order views in his books.” If there was any doubt on Makow’s views then his post, The Satanist Banker Conspiracy By Henry Makow PhD is enough for any reasoned person to see the problem.

I could explain how it founder, Henrik Palmgren, has some serious issues with Jews.

Or that Palmgren thinks Jews control Holywood:

“Statistically, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics roughly 0.19% of the worlds population are Jewish.

In America about 1.7% of the population are Jewish.

So why is it that in almost EVERY movie and TV show that I’ve tried watching over the last few years at least ONE (but usually more) references to this minority is made. Either to the people, the culture or something else. Why?
…

The jews have after all been thrown out of the majority of European countries in the past. Why is this? Can we attribute this solely to insane, irrational, unfounded anti-semitic hysteria on behalf of the christian Europeans who think that jews killed Jesus (a Jew)?

I don’t think so!”

I suspect astute readers will understand where he’s going with this, but if a site, positively filled with racist and extremist material run by someone who has serious hang-ups against Jews, isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow then what will?

I could explain of all that, but I suspect it wouldn’t register

Still pressing on, the article chosen by Jeremy is one of many similar pieces you find on sites, like Red Ice Creations, it is the soft sneer type, used to pull in readers to the hard core antisemitic filth within.

Essentially, it uses an extract from Louis Theroux On Ultra Zionists to have a go at Jewish dietary laws. It is not concerned with actions against Palestinians or human rights.

It is just about jeering at Jews. Later on in the post it links to an article ranting on about circumcision by J. Steven Svoboda.

So the thrust of Jeremy Moodey’s choice is an article, from a racist web site, which doesn’t talk about human rights or injustices done to Palestinians, instead it focuses on sneering at Jews, dietary laws and circumcision.

And that, Jeremy, is why it is racist.

When you consciously choose to attacked the sincerely held beliefs of an ethnic minority just for sport, as Red Ice Creations does, then you are crossing a red line and conniving with racism.

No, Jeremy, I don’t want to limit your freedom of speech, have as much as you want, only please avoid racist sites and don’t post from them.

It is belittling and offensive, you should know better.

Rev. Sizer And The Questions of Veterans Today

In light of Rev. Stephen Sizer linking to an antisemitic site, Calvin Smith has asked some pertinent questions:

“What is Veteran’s Place? Is it properly anti-Semitic or predominantly anti-Israel?”

The quick reply is, yes, Veterans Today (run by Gordon Duff) is most definitively an antisemitic web site.

Nevertheless, I think Calvin Smith and readers deserves a fuller answer.

Veterans Today is a sullenly obsessive site, whose target is Jews, across the world and throughout history.

We can verify the nature of this site by sampling some of its pages. Readers should be warned that the following are specimens of racist material, used to illustrate the character of Veterans Today.

First off, we find articles either praising Adolf Hitler, excusing him or trying to deflect attention from his murderous crimes:

Hitler and the Banksters: The Abolition of Interest-Servitude posted by Dr. Ingrid Rimland Zundel, wife of well known Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, author of “The Hitler We Loved and Why”

If you have any doubt about the sympathies of the author, or Veterans Today, then this article puts them to rest, when he argues:

” On August 30, 1939, in an act of great statesmanship, Hitler again offered to the Poles the Marienwerder proposals,(21) namely retention of the existing 1919 borders, the return of Danzig (97% German), the construction of a 60-mile autobahn and rail link connecting West and East Prussia (from Schoenlanke to Marienwerder) and an exchange of German and Polish populations. On the orders of the international bankers, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, strongly advised the Poles NOT to negotiate. This is how and why World War II was started. The ensuing forced war resulted in victory for the international financiers and defeat and slavery for all the people of Europe.

Today the bankers reign supreme. The European Union with its commissars in Brussels and its so called “European” Central Bank headquartered in Frankfurt,(22) increasingly resembles the old Soviet Union. However, with the recent ongoing “sovereign” debt crisis and the collapse of the Euro, the plan for a united Europe anchored in perpetual debt enslavement has received a major setback and has indeed started to disintegrate
.
Notwithstanding the inability of Adolf Hitler to permanently liberate Europe, it behooves us to appreciate that what he achieved was not done in vain. It is incumbent on us to learn and understand the fundamentals of usury and to spread that knowledge relentlessly, until our material and spiritual liberties have been restored. “

This is not isolated, another vile piece by J.B.Campbell states:

” We now know that the insane Jewish liars are guided in this by a mystical attachment to the number six, as seen with their national symbol, the six-pointed star. Six, or six hundred, or six thousand, or six hundred thousand, or six million Jews must be removed before the messiah returns or Israel reappears or whatever. It’s not important to us, just that this is a magic number to them. And they should be wholly burnt in ovens. Hence, Holocaust (wholly burnt). Read >>> Jewish History and the Scriptual Orgin of the 6 Million Dollar Number “

It goes on in a similar vein. Yuck.

The owner of Veterans Today, Gordon Duff dives straight into Holocaust revisionism:

“Two thousand people in Europe are in prison today for questioning some part, no matter how minor, of the holocaust. The official story of the holocaust is a compendium of testimony of several hundred thousand people as there was little physical evidence left at the end of the war. Some facilities were reconstructed based on testimony, for historical perspective but in general, it is believed that the Germans destroyed all evidence of death camps and mass graves when they learned they were losing the war.

Thousands of those who find this explanation unsatisfactory and had chosen to disagree, some noted historians, some scientists and some simple troublemakers and activists, have been imprisoned. At the trials, holocaust victims claimed that such questioning harmed them irreparably. However, not one holocaust victim has ever spoken up about the endless numbers of phony holocaust victims who besmirch them every day and have for nearly 65 years. Why is that?

One thing the revisionists claim is that almost every story from the holocaust, including notable books and even world famous holocaust survivors are, in actuality, the worst phonies of all. The analogy of the “phony veteran” is applicable here. After each war, endless numbers of those, who for reasons legitimate or not, felt their contribution to the war effort was less than honorable or noteworthy, claim accomplishments they are undeserving of. It is also known that combat veterans are seldom seen on bar stools at service organizations talking about heroic exploits. “

All of this repellent material was found in a cursory search of Veterans Today.

Any thoughtful individual would not have chosen to link to this site without first verifying the source of the material, and as we have seen Veterans Today is full of the most unspeakable antisemitic filth around.

Looking down its “Featured Columnists” is like a mini-Who’s who of bigots, conspiracy theorists and semi-professional Jew haters.

Alan Hart
Allen L Roland
Anthony Hall
Bob Johnson
David Swanson
Debbie Menon
Denise Nichols
Dr. Ingrid R. Zundel
Ed Mattson
Eileen Fleming
Gordon Duff
James Petras
Jim Fetzer
Jim W. Dean
Johnny Punish
Ken O’Keefe
Ken Smith
Kevin Barrett
Khalil Nouri
Kourosh Ziabari
Paul J. Balles
Raja Mujtaba
Robert O’Dowd
Sami Jamil Jadalla
Sherwood Ross
Stephen Lendman
Stewart Ogilby
Stuart Littlewood
Tim King
Tom Valentine
Vojislav Milosevic

So, the fuller reply to Calvin Smith’s question is, yes, Veterans Today is most certainly an antisemitic web site and I have not even mentioned references to David Duke, ex-Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan or 911 conspiracy theories.

It is hardly coincidental that hard antisemitic sites are replete with conspiracy theories, as such notions are central to anti-Jewish racism.

Whilst it’s true to say that, not every conspiracy theorist is an antisemite, every committed antisemite is a conspiracy theorist, as it is integral to their racism.

In my view, no considered or attentive person would use, link to, associate with the Veterans Today site or any of its authors.

If they did, then you must question their judgement, commitment to anti-racism and above all their attitudes towards Jews.

I think Rev. Sizer should truly reflect on this issue and ask himself the questions:

1. What impulse made me use material from the antisemitic site, Veterans Today?
2. Why was I drawn to it?
3. How can I avoid making this mistake once more?

Jenny Tonge, An Old Bigot Speaks.

A quick post, but Jenny Tonge is at it again, her latest rant:

“”Beware Israel,” she said. “Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form. One day, the United States of America will get sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America’s aircraft carrier in the Middle East – that is Israel. One day, the American people are going to say to the Israel lobby in the USA: enough is enough.”

She added: “Israel will lose support and then they will reap what they have sown.”

What Tonge is saying, in other words, is that the Israel lobby compels the USA to give Israel £70 billion a year.

Tonge is implying that Israel lobby can force the US against their better interest to support Israel and one day they will realise that, which is a conspiracy theory

Anti-Jewish racism is replete with conspiracy theories, supposedly the nefarious power of Jews to influence others. It is the stable of the Extreme Right and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Tonge puts it more politely, but that’s what she believes. Watch a video of her comments (from 01:50 onwards).

Many Liberal Democrats have rightly been disgusted by Tonge’s antics, which date back years, but some (even at the New Statesman) wish to defend her.

Stephen Tall’s post is informative.

And if you can’t make up your mind then watch her fellow participant, Ken O’Keefe go on about 9/11 and Mossad. Baroness Jonge didn’t bat an eyelid at these absurdities.

Huff Post’s coverage.

JC’s Police to probe Tonge’s Israel Apartheid Week rant.

A pointless evening in Hendon by Jamie Slavin.

Not forgetting her stupidity in 2010 suggesting that Israelis went all the way to Haiti, not to aid them, but to harvest organs from dead Haitians. Unbelievable.

Baroness Tonge: The full statement.

Tonge resigns from Liberal Democrats after Israel controversy.

Julian Assange On Russia Today

I thought this Guardian piece rather funny, if understated:

“It’s the television channel that has given voice to a thousand anti-western conspiracy theories, while avoiding criticism of the hand that feeds it. Now state-run Russia Today, the Kremlin’s English-language propaganda arm, has forged an unlikely partnership – with the self-proclaimed defender of truth and freedom Julian Assange.

One day after the WikiLeaks founder said he was launching a 10-part series of interviews with “key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries”, Russia Today announced it had won exclusive first broadcast rights for the show, titled The World Tomorrow, and was due to begin airing the show in March.

“Our viewers are open to the discussions that will be presented through Julian’s show on our channel,” the channel’s editor-in-chief, Kremlin loyalist Margarita Simonyan, said in a statement.
…

Assange fits Russia Today’s profile of giving airtime to views and experts it says are avoided by the mainstream media. But that strategy has meant giving voice to bloggers and self-proclaimed pundits who come appeared on air to proclaim that Freemasons were behind the revolution in Egypt or that repeated showings of the film Deer Hunter in Stockholm were a sign of Sweden being a US pawn.”