Pound in me pocket
I got no pound in me pocket
I ain’t got an eye in me socket
But Keef’s Labour
Will be our saviour
And boost Great Britain
Just like a rocket
That’s wot he say anyway
Growth the secret of our payday
Rach sez there’s nay money
But we’ll be in’t land of honey
Cos Keef’s Labour
Will be our saviour
Be sad if it weren’t funny.
Welcome to the new dystopia, same as the old dystopia. It's Monday, and less than forty-eight hours ago Iran, in conjunction with Hezbollah and the Houthis, launched a series of missile and drone attacks on Israel. Twitter was alive with tweets about the assault, including footage of the iron dome, and the media stations quickly picked up the attack. WWIII was trending.
The Guardian later reported that:
"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that about 360 missiles and drones were fired from Iran and that “99% of the threats” had been intercepted in a successful defence mission that may have cost Israel £800m – but will have saved many lives and dented Iran’s military credibility."
It's hard to find really accurate information on the attack and the extent of the success of it. It seems that Iran and its allies weren't expecting to cause very many casualties, and I've read that the drones that they used weren't the most sophisticated they have, though to date I've been unable to verify that.
I've no doubt that millions of people, including me, are sick and tired of the horrors of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, supported by the USA, UK and its allies, and are desperate for the slaughter to end. But Israel has impunity despite the so-called 'rules based order', and is able to get away with mass murder. As a result, the whole of the west has blood on its hands, and has lost all credibility, if it ever had any.
One of the worst offenders is Germany. They have offered unqualified support to Israel and have attacked genocide protestors in their own country. The Palestine Conference which was meant to be held in Germany on Saturday was raided by the police and shut down. One of the Jewish speakers was arrested. Yanis Varoufakis who was invited to speak via streaming has since been banned from entering Germany or making any political broadcasts there. You can find the speech that was banned here.
It's important to know that the dystopian world we live in now isn't new. It's been around for a very long time. When I was a kid, the Vietnam War was raging. The USA dropped many thousands of pounds of bombs on Vietnam and Cambodia, and rained down Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide, onto the rain forests. This series of photographs captures some of the horrors of that time. I was able to witness many of these horrors on TV news at home. Coverage was much more graphic in those days. And, since then, we have had other horrors in the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This bloodshed has been going on for the whole of my life in the supposedly civilsed world, most of it initiated by the imperialist USA.
Here we are in our very own dystopia, wondering whether it's really all going to kick off. My view is that it won't - not for a while yet - but I can't be sure. Nobody can. This all comes on top of shit rivers, failing NHS, no dentists, shit post and public transport and a life negotiating potholes on the roads - #BrokenBritain - as they say. What can we do? Stay calm, organise, organise and fight back is the only real option. Support independent and independent socialist candidates in the upcoming local and national elections. Vote Green if you can (I'm not a massive fan, but they are a better option than any of the other parties), and boycott genocidal Labour and the Conservatives.
If you want to find out about more of the history and background to our current problems, check out my post on Western Culture.
Labour loves Thatcher
Did you know that your oppressors are the real victims? The people that keep you poor, without access to a dentist or healthcare, and living in grotty rented accommodation. That's what we learned this week after the farcical 'Gaza ceasefire debate' in parliament on Wednesday. Apparently, the fiasco, which scuppered the SNP motion on Israeli genocide wasn't down to Keir Starmer twisting the arm of the speaker Lyndsey Hoyle to break with precedent and allow Labour's amendment to the SNP's motion - it was really about the fear that MPs have of being threatened by protestors.
As the guardian reported: 'Hoyle on Thursday again apologised for a “wrong decision” and said his mistake had been made in pursuit of looking after MPs, after being told of “absolutely frightening” threats against them if the Labour position was not debated'.
Since then, we have had MPs whining about 'threats' from peaceful protestors who have questioned them about their support for Israeli genocide in Gaza. On Thursday, Glasgow MP Paul Sweeney claimed that his constituency office had been "stormed" by people protesting about Gaza. MPs are the real victims, not the helpless people of Gaza who are being slaughtered because of their refusal to support a ceasefire.
The National reported on the protest at Sweeney's office:
"However, Police Scotland has now confirmed it was not aware of anyone storming in or threatening Labour staff.
Police Scotland also said it was made aware of a "peaceful protest" that officers attended with no issues because the protestors involved left of their own accord."
Victimhood has always been a weapon of the far-right. The Nazis started out of victims in a world that was 'controlled by Jews'. Wherever you look, the same thing is happening now. Liz Truss is apparently the victim of the 'deep state' rather than her own incompetence. This is what she said at the CPAC conference in the US with her far-right chum Stave Bannon. With these delusional goons, nothing can ever be their fault. There is always someone else to blame.
Expect a rise in victimhood as the far-right continue to exploit the anger and resentment of the millions that they have impoverished through austerity, profiteering and privatisation. It is those things which are driving far-right populism and the growing threat to what is left of our failing democracy.
On the 26th January, a few days ago, the International Court of Justice delivered its interim verdict on the charges of genocide in a case brought by South Africa against Israel. The outcome was much more positive than many of us thought it would be.
Although the word genocide wasn't mentioned, the court did refer to genocidal statements made by Israeli politicians and officials. The court made clear that Israel must not commit war crimes including injuring and killing Palestinian civilians, and denying them, food, healthcare and energy.
As you would expect, the Israelis dismissed the finding of the court and continued to bomb Gazaand deny food, medical supplies, and energy to the Palestinians trapped there. So, the genocide continues.
The following day, Israel claimed that twelve members of UNWRA took part in the 7th October attacks by Hamas. This has lead to Many countries including the USA, UK, Germany to cease funding to the relief orgainsation, further worsening the plight of the people of Gaza. I haven't been able, as yet, to confirm this allegation is true, but if it is, why did the Israelis wait until the 27th January to reveal this? Why didn't we know weeks ago?
It has also been reported that Israeli settlers are trying to block aid entering Gaza.
And so, the death toll continues to grow, and the catastrophe remains with no end in sight. If you want to donate to UNWRA to help the Palestinians, you can do so here.
The big news this week was the hearing at the International Court of Justice (IJC). South Africa, a state which itself has been a victim of apartheid, brought a case of genocide against Israel. On Thursday 11 January, South African lawyers delivered a compelling case to the court, detailing Israel's slaughter of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and the bombing of hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, as well as the denial of food, water, electricity and medical supplies. Their arguments were delivered calmly and convincingly.
There can be no doubt that the South African case is irrefutable. Not only is the damning evidence there for all to see, but Israeli politicians have gone on record openly calling Palestinians animals and supporting their elimination. They have condemned themselves through their own mouths.
On the following day, Israeli lawyers delivered a predictable response - Hamas, Hamas, Hamas and accusing their detractors of lying and blood libel.
The media coverage was - no surprise - appalling. The South African case was ignored by the major channels (Sky, BBC, CNN etc) who then proceeded to broadcast the Israeli case the following day.
The result ought to be a forgone conclusion - Israel is guilty as charged, but unfortunately it's more complicated than that. The ICJ 'judges' are appointed by UN countries, the chair by the USA, and the UK, Germany, France and other Israeli allies. How will they rule in judgement? I think we know the answer already. As Craig Murray said, "Israel is not on trial here, what's on trial is actually the international court".
If, as it seems likely, the court will rule against South Africa, where do we go from here? Well, we can keep up as much pressure as we can through the massive global demonstrations that have been taking place and increase the pressure for boycott, divestment and sanctions, which is already having an effect on Israel and the corporations, such as Starbucks, that support it.
I doubt that this will be the end of legal attempts to stop the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but we must hope that the IJC ruling will be in favour of South Africa and keep up the fight!
