A.LOEWENSTEIN ONLINE NEWSLETTER

• Karzai knows his pimp isn’t going anywhere, yet
• A “serious” newspaper debases itself
• “In World War Two, journalists were patriots first”
• Sarkozy doesn’t dislike Arabs all the time?
• CNN hearts Bush admin peeps over Wikileaks
• “Don’t come back to Nabi Saleh you piece of shit”
• Corporations are on the way out thanks to intense leaking?
• Zionist fear of fascism grows and who should they blame?
• Wikileaks resonates in Mugabe’s gulag

Karzai knows his pimp isn’t going anywhere, yet Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:39 PM PST How we all miss the good old days? Useful idiot dictator longs for an unquestioning, clueless Washington elite to prop up his regime (not that the Obama administration is much different): Longing for the early years of the Bush administration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been consumed by anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, convinced American officials are now working against him, according to a diplomatic cable from the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. The cable was sent in July 2009, which would become the deadliest month for foreign troops since the 2001 invasion. The surge in casualties resulted from an offensive to oust the Taliban in opium-rich Helmand Province, as well as the increasing power of roadside bombs. On July 7, when Amb. Karl Eikenberry met with Karzai, the Afghan president was looking backward rather than forward, wistfully longing for the early days of the Bush administration, which he referred to as a “golden age.” “Karzai then returned to a familiar theme, his wish for Afghan-U.S. relations to recover the spirit of 2002-04 — a periodKarzai sees as a ‘golden age’ in the relationship,” wrote Eikenberry in a July 16 cable obtained by WikiLeaks and published by The New York Times. “He would like for U.S. forces to again be able to drive their humvees through villages, greeted warmly by villagers who would shout, ‘Good morning, Sergeant Thompson.’ Karzai claimed, as he has many times, that his concern over the erosion of public trust in the U.S. was a driving factor in his increasingly strident criticism regarding civilian casualties, night raids and detentions.” Eikenberry took issue with Karzai’s characterization of that period being a “golden age” — and reminded him that he should be looking forward to the future rather than back to the past. Even in 2002-2004, Eikenberry told Karzai, it was clear that “trouble was brewing as the focus on security and reconstruction drifted and declined due to lack of resources and a comprehensive strategy.”

A “serious” newspaper debases itself Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:28 PM PST Perfection. ABC columnist Tim Dunlop offers his reflections on 2010 and takes out Murdoch’s Australian: If The Australian was a member of your family you would’ve arranged an intervention by now to stop further self-harm. If it was a bloke you would suspect it of having a very small penis. Has anyone ever seen a major institution so addled with insecurities? How else to explain the amount of space they devote to writing about themselves, defending their actions, and justifying their crusades? The country’s only national newspaper, and one that provides a home for some of our best journalists, turned itself into a laughing stock in 2010. From their ridiculous ‘outing’ of a blogger who used a pseudonym (WikiLeaks, eat your heart out!), to the editor’s decision to sue an academic who reported what she heard at a conference, to last week’s feature article in which they attacked every other media outlet for not being enough like them, it has been a stellar year of own-goals for our self-styled most important newspaper evah. Unfortunately for the Oz, they lack an embarrassment gene and seem to enjoy casting themselves as a victim, so don’t expect much of an improvement in 2011. Rumour is they will be erecting a paywall around their content sometime next year. Probably a good thing: their particular brand of onanism is best conducted in private.

“In World War Two, journalists were patriots first” Posted: 28 Dec 2010 03:03 PM PST Newt Gingrich reminds us that his vision for America is a dark, undemocratic nightmare:   A fellow traveller, John Bolton, believes the US should lie its way to superiority. No wonder Washington’s image globally has never been worse:

Sarkozy doesn’t dislike Arabs all the time? Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:24 AM PST Putting aside the unworkability of a two-state solution, this shows growing international anger towards Israel. Next step is financial and diplomatic punishment for the Zionist state: Former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner in January 2010 had already discussed with the US the idea of recognizing a Palestinian state regardless of the outcome of negotiations with Israel, a US cable released by WikiLeaks revealed.  The cable was written by US ambassador to France Charles Rivkin to prepare US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her first bilateral trip to France since entering into her position. “The French agree with us on the need to help [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas return to the negotiating table by offering assistance programs, guarantees, and the support of Arab leaders. However Kouchner also mentioned to SE [George] Mitchell the controversial idea of offering to recognize a Palestinian state now, with undefined borders, or offering to recognize a Palestinian state within a defined timeline, regardless of the outcome of negotiations,” the cable stated. Rivkin labeled French President Nicolas Sarkozy as “impatient” in regard to the Middle East peace process, saying he often tries to rush events ahead of US plans. Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay recently decided to formally recognize a fully independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

CNN hearts Bush admin peeps over Wikileaks Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:20 AM PST This is a debate on CNN over Wikileaks that is deeply revealing. Note the strong sense that journalists should really not uncover information that could upset governments:

“Don’t come back to Nabi Saleh you piece of shit” Posted: 28 Dec 2010 06:15 AM PST Joseph Dana, leading Jewish Israeli activist against the occupation, was arrested last week: On Friday, I was detained by Border Police officers in Nabi Saleh along with another Israeli. We were handcuffed behind our backs, thrown to the ground and beaten. The other Israeli was beaten much worse than I. His head was smashed against the ground and he was kicked repeatedly in the stomach. All of this happened in front ofa Palestinian Btselem photographer who captured the whole thing on video. After the beating, we were then detained and held in a Jerusalem prison for thirty hours. This story is only unique because it happened to Jews. It is almost a daily ritual for Palestinians in the West Bank. The border police commander who led the beating gave us a clear explanation for his actions while in the police station when he said, ‘don’t come back to Nabi Saleh you piece of shit.” Israel does not want Israelis in Nabi Saleh documenting the ruthless and brutal repression of Palestinian unarmed demonstrations. The state will go to shocking lengths to intimidate, beat and detain us. One has to experience it to fully believe it. In the coming days I will publish a more detailed account of my detention and the harassment which I experienced. In the meantime, I would like to draw your attention to a video just released by Btselem documenting a solider beating a Palestinian Btselem photographer. The photographer was on his own land when the soldier attacked him. No charges will be filed against this soldier.

Corporations are on the way out thanks to intense leaking? Posted: 28 Dec 2010 05:18 AM PST Noam Scheiber, The New Republic, 27 December: The Wikileaks revolution isn’t only about airing secrets and transacting information. It’s about dismantling large organizations—from corporations to government bureaucracies. It may well lead to their extinction.

Zionist fear of fascism grows and who should they blame? Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:59 AM PST A Zionist chauvinist worries that his beloved Jewish state is starting to show signs of ignoring democracy. Over to you, Jeffrey Goldberg: Is it actually possible that one day Israelis — Jewish Israelis — would choose to give up democracy in order to maintain Israel’s Jewish voting majority? … Let’s just say, as a hypothetical, that one day in the near future, Prime Minister Lieberman’s government (don’t laugh, it’s not funny) proposes a bill that echoes the recent call by some rabbis to discourage Jews from selling their homes to Arabs. Or let’s say that Lieberman’s government annexes swaths of the West Bank in order to take in Jewish settlements, but announces summarily that the Arabs in the annexed territory are in fact citizens of Jordan, and can vote there if they want to, but they won’t be voting in Israel. What happens then? Do the courts come to the rescue? I hope so. Do the Israeli people come to the rescue? I’m not entirely sure. There are many Israelis who value democracy, but they might not possess the strength to fight. Does American Jewry come to the rescue? Well, most of American Jewry would be so disgusted by Israel’s abandonment of democratic principles that I think the majority would simply write off Israel as a tragic, failed experiment.

Wikileaks resonates in Mugabe’s gulag Posted: 28 Dec 2010 04:30 AM PST The almost impossible role of an opposition leader in a brutal dictatorship: Zimbabwe is to investigate bringing treason charges against the prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and other individuals over confidential talks with US diplomats revealed by WikiLeaks. Johannes Tomana, the attorney general, said he would appoint a commission of five lawyers to examine whether recent disclosures in leaked US embassy cables amount to a breach of the constitution. A cable dated 24 December 2009 suggested Tsvangirai privately insisted sanctions “must be kept in place”. High treason in Zimbabwe can result in the death penalty. Tomana told the state-owned Herald newspaper: “With immediate effect, I am going to instruct a team of practising lawyers to look into the issues that arise from the WikiLeaks. “The WikiLeaks appear to show a treasonous collusion between local Zimbabweans and the aggressive international world, particularly the United States.”