The media "coverage" of this latest episode is particularly grotesque.

From Ali Abunimah:

"The dramatic rout of the US and Israeli-backed Palestinian militias in Gaza by forces loyal to Hamas represents a major setback to the Bush doctrine in Palestine.

Ever since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in the occupied territories in January 2006, elements of the leadership of the long-dominant Fatah movement, including Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his advisors, have conspired with Israel, the United States and the intelligence services of several Arab states to overthrow and weaken Hamas. This support has included funneling weapons and tens of millions of dollars to unaccountable militias, particularly the "Preventive Security Force" headed by Gaza warlord Mohammad Dahlan, a close ally of Israel and the United States and the Abbas-affiliated "Presidential Guard." US Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams -- who helped divert money to the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s and who was convicted of lying to Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal -- has spearheaded the effort to set up these Palestinian Contras... Abrams is also notorious for helping to cover up massacres and atrocities committed against civilians in El Salvador by US-backed militias and death squads.

Two recent revelations underscore the extent of the conspiracy: on 7 June, Ha'aretz reported that "senior Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip have asked Israel to allow them to receive large shipments of arms and ammunition from Arab countries, including Egypt." According to the Israeli newspaper, Fatah asked Israel for "armored cars, hundreds of armor-piercing RPG rockets, thousands of hand grenades and millions of rounds of ammunition for small caliber weapons," all to be used against Hamas.

From the moment of its election victory, Hamas acted pragmatically and with the intent to integrate itself into the existing political structure. It had observed for over a year a unilateral ceasefire with Israel and had halted the suicide attacks on Israeli civilians that had made it notorious. In a leaked confidential memo written in May and published by The Guardian this week senior UN envoy Alvaro de Soto confirmed that it was under pressure from the United States that Abbas refused Hamas' initial invitation to form a "national unity government." De Soto details that Abbas advisers actively aided and abetted the Israeli-US-European Union aid cutoff and siege of the Palestinians under occupation, which led to massively increased poverty for millions of people. These advisors engaged with the United States in a "plot" to "bring about the untimely demise of the [Palestinian Authority] government led by Hamas," de Soto wrote.

Despite a bloody attempted coup against Hamas by the Dahlan-led forces in December and January, Hamas still agreed to join a "National Unity Government" with Fatah brokered by Saudi Arabia at the Mecca summit. Dahlan and Abbas' advisers were determined to sabotage this, continuing to amass weapons, and refusing to place their militias under the control of a neutral interior minister who eventually resigned in frustration."

More.

This major report by the Campaign for America's Future tries to convince us that the idea of a conservative America is "a myth." Atrios hails the report as revealing "the truth about this country."

The report's highlights include poll numbers indicating that Americans hold "progressive" positions on the following issues: the economy, health care, the role of government, immigration, and energy.

This was just the way Kerry tried to position himself. Find the "view" of the majority of voters and give them what they want. Hillary is doing the same thing.

This may have worked in the congressional elections, but it won't work at the national level, when the issue is who will be "the leader." It won't work when one prospective leader is promising to cleanse the nation in Arab blood.

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And in any case, even if this analysis did foretell a Democratic victory in 2008, its exclusion of precisely that issue--the issue of Arabs being killed by the U.S.--gives away the game.

Americans are indeed "conservative" on that issue, regardless of their position on "the war." (Which war?)

Americans may calmly profess "progressive views" on "domestic issues" to pollsters, but as soon as the possibility of racist murder is broached, a switch is thrown and the American orgy of self-pitying, self-righteous fury begins.

"Progressive views" have nothing to do with the one thing that matters--the hysterical denial and indignation that are at the basis of Giuliani's popularity. His response to Ron Paul in the first debate was perfect:

How dare you suggest that terrorism might be thought about rationally and politically? Don't you know that they hate us for our freedom? Don't you know that they hate us because of who we are? Can't you see that this leaves us no choice? How can you deny that we have to kill them? How can you deny that killing is our only option? Killing is what must be done. I will kill! I promise to kill them for you, and show you the bodies! I promise to kill you, and televise your death! I promise to kill! I promise! I kill! Kill!

A "policy program" is not a response to that. Self-righteous indignation, hysterical denial, and self-pitying rage are intoxicants, or demons. They are not ideas. They are not proposals.

What is needed is some kind of emetic, or antidote, or cure.

De Paul's Catholic allegiances threatened by the extraction of oaths to bloody idols from faculty members.

Another professor at DePaul University was rejected for tenure at the same time as Norman G. Finkelstein, and she believes her advocacy for the embattled political scientist may have derailed her career.

"There is no good explanation for why I was denied tenure," Mehrene E. Larudee, an assistant professor of international studies, said in an interview on Monday. "So one has to look elsewhere."

Praised as "outstanding" by the dean of her college and recommended unanimously by distinguished faculty peers during the tenure process, Ms. Larudee was 19 days away from becoming director of DePaul's program in international studies when she learned on Friday of the decision against her.

She and the program's current director, Michael A. McIntyre, had been discussing the responsibilities she would be assuming when he received, via e-mail, a letter from DePaul's president, the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider.

"Hey, this is great, I'll get to congratulate Mehrene right now," Mr. McIntyre recalls thinking, until he read the letter. "Our jaws just dropped, hit the floor, when we saw the decision went the other way," he said.

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education

There is no escape from religion. The secular state demands religious allegiance. The national cult in the U.S. and Israel is Holocaust piety. All must bow before the victims of the evil that only the secular state can prevent.

Israeli anarchists added red paint to water in two central Tel Aviv fountains. They said that the paint represents the blood of Palestinians killed and injured by IDF in the territories.














According to the anarchists, the paint represents “the blood of the thousands who were killed and the tens of thousands who were injured throughout the long years of occupation, and was meant to illustrate the scope of the killing that is being carried out by the occupation army only several dozen miles away from Tel Aviv.”

In a pamphlet distributed by the activists, they wrote, “We believe that after 40 years of murderous occupation, the Tel Aviv public no longer has the right to enjoy decorative displays while ignoring the crimes that are being committed in its name in the occupied territories on a daily basis.”

They invited the residents of Tel Aviv to dip their hands in the reddened water and “realize that these hands, which appear clean, are also stained with the blood of the occupied and the oppressed.”

More at the ISM website.

NYC volunteers?

As of June 8th, Norman Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul University.

Alan Dershowitz will be organizing a book-burning in Harvard Square next week to commemorate the event.

Much of this ground was covered recently by the New York Times, namely the large fortune Giuliani has scored directly off the murders of 9/11, and the murders-to-come for which he is directly responsible (first responders and rescuers breathing toxic air at Ground Zero, and now slowly dying from it). But Taibbi's in fine form here unloading on the horrifying future president. (It will happen if we don't stop it somehow.)

I hate to spoil the best part of the piece (it's worth reading the whole thing), but Taibbi sums it up quite nicely at the very end:

Now Giuliani is running for president -- as the hero of 9/11. George Bush has balls, too, but even he has to bow to this motherfucker.