I have just finished reading "Freedom - next time" by John Pilger, in this book he reviles the global lies that the media have told and the cover ups - started by government agencies and reviled by noble whistle blowers, court actions and other leaks.

The war with Gaza started and while I was reading I thought that I would look to see what the news output was. On the first day of the land invasion the BBC didn't mention once on its fount page or headlines that millions of people had protested against the Israeli governments actions. They equated the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians with only a couple of injured soldiers and showed a blow by blow account of the "tactical actions" in photographs.

This "double speak" as Orwellian would put it designed the truth in Palestine. Hamas is a terrible organisation, and the very people that they fire their rockets to are Israel Arabs and Muslims but this is tiny compared to what Israel is doing now.

Imagine if the UK has flattened Northern Ireland just because there was a hard core IRA, imagine if instead of working towards peace (although long and hard) in the Bask region Spain had decided to start an overhead assault. People would not only be outraged, but they would call the governments extremist, illiberal and a danger to their own people committing war crimes. Well this is what the Israeli state has done, provoked by Hamas, but encouraged by the right in power.

This latest attack, however may be better for Hamas that many outside think, as elections build up in Israel later in the year this latest war will making it more likely for a right wing government to be elected. Hamas directly advantages from the right wing in Israel as they are two side of the same coin. Hamas set up by the right to take power away from the secular PLO has better support, and is stronger when there is an another side to fight. In this war both sides have all to gain and all to loose by escalating it and so they have.

Freedom next time puts this latest sad story in context with many other stories of international brute over brains often linked to the USA and the UK's imperialist past of dreams.

Labels: Books, International Politics, Peace Studies