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IHR News & Views

Historian Mark Weber and host Fróði Midjord provide informed “big picture” perspective on current events, highlighting the broader trends and crucial factors behind the headlines.
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The Boer War Remembered
Mark Weber
The Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 was more than the first major military clash of the 20th century. Pitting as it did the might of the globe-girdling British Empire, backed by international finance, against a small pioneering nation of independent-minded farmers, ranchers and merchants in southern Africa who lived by the Bible and the rifle, its legacy continues to resonate today. The Boers’ recourse to irregular warfare, and Britain’s response in herding a hundred thousand women and children into concentration camps foreshadowed the horrors of guerilla warfare and mass detention of innocents that have become emblematic of the 20th century.
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Over the centuries, rage and hostility against Jews has repeatedly erupted in terrible violence. Again and again, Jews have been driven out of countries where they’d been living. Why does anti-Semitism exist? And why has furious hostility toward Jews broken out, again and again, in the most varied nations, eras and cultures? … Anti-Semitism is not a mysterious “disease.” As Herzl and Weizmann suggested, and as history shows, what is often called anti-Semitism is the natural and understandable attitude of people toward a minority with particularist loyalties that wields greatly disproportionate power for its own interests, rather than for the common good.
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The Spanish Inquisition and the Jewish Question
Brian Chalmers
It is nearly impossible to dig into any chapter of Jewish history without uncovering lessons for our own age. Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries is a particularly striking example. Even today, our view of this period, and particularly of the Spanish Inquisition, colors our attitudes regarding relations between Jews and non-Jews. The Inquisition is considered one of Jewish history’s darkest chapters — and one of Christian history’s most shameful.
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The Civil War Concentration Camps
Mark Weber
No aspect of the American Civil War left behind a greater legacy of bitterness and acrimony than the treatment of prisoners of war. “Andersonville” still conjures up images of horror unmatched in American History. And although Northern partisans still invoke the infamous Southern camp to defame the Confederacy, the Union had its share of equally horrific camps. Prison camps on both sides produced scenes of wretched, disease-ridden and emaciated prisoners as repulsive as any to come out of the Second World War … In addition to camps for captured soldiers, the North also established concentration camps for civilian populations considered hostile to the Federal government.
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Zionism’s Violent Legacy
Donald Neff
… The Irgun was not the only Jewish terrorist group but it was the most active in causing indiscriminate terror in pre-Israel Palestine. Up to the time of the Jaffa attack, its most spectacular feat had been the July 22, 1946, blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, with the killing of 91 people – 41 Arabs, 28 Britons and 17 Jews. The other major Jewish terrorist group operating in Palestine in the 1940s was the Lohamei Herut Israel – “Fighters for the Freedom of Israel,” Lehi in the Hebrew acronym – also known as the Stern Gang after its fanatical founder Avraham Stern.
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On the Importance of Revisionism For Our Time
Murray Rothbard
Revisionism as applied to World War II and its origins (as also for previous wars) has the general function of bringing historical truth to an American and a world public that had been drugged by wartime lies and propaganda … Revisionism brings to the artificial frenzy of daily events and day-to-day propaganda, the cool but in the last analysis glorious light of historical truth. Such truth is almost desperately needed in today’s world.
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Collusion: Franklin Roosevelt, British Intelligence, and the Secret Campaign to Push the US Into War
Mark Weber
Secretive and unlawful collusion by an American leader with a foreign power that subverts the US political process is not new. The most far-reaching and flagrant case was by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940-41. In the months before the US formally entered the war in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt did everything he could to get America into the global conflict without actually declaring war. The cooperation with British intelligence by the President and other high-ranking US officials during that period was quite illegal. Such collusion by the nominally neutral US to further the war aims of a foreign government was contrary to both US law and universally accepted international norms.
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No figure of modern French history is as honored as Charles de Gaulle … In 1940 he refused to accept his country’s defeat by Germany, and from London he founded and led the pro-Allied “Free French” force during World War II. From 1944 to 1946 he headed the provisional government of France. In 1958 he was called from retirement by popular acclaim to resolve the seemingly unsolvable crisis over Algeria … During the years that he dominated his country’s political life – 1958-1969 – he charted an independent foreign policy, tied neither to the US nor the USSR, and strove to make France the preeminent nation in Europe … It’s impossible to read any lengthy biography of this man without admiration for his audacious self-confidence, courage, determination, and cunning.
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… With the aid of the civilian population, mass graves had been discovered, in which thousands of corpses had been buried. These graves were to be opened and the commission was to establish whom the [Soviet] NKVD had murdered … The exhumations in Vinnytsia began on May 25, 1943, and were carried on in three places. The [local] population was of the opinion that there were around 20,000 victims in the war years … I had been a soldier in the Ukrainian army during the First World War and had seen many men killed in battle, but what I had then seen can in no way be compared with what I witnessed in that park … The horror of Vinnytsia I shall never forget, and it is doubtful whether ever a Dante would be able to portray the agony that had taken place.
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The Origins of the Second World War: A Review
Murray N. Rothbard
It is not often that one is privileged to review a book of monumental import, a truly significant “breakthrough” from obscurantism to historical knowledge and insight. But such a book is the magnificent work by A.J .P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War … The central theme of Taylor is simply this: Germany and Hitler were not uniquely guilty of launching World War II (indeed they were scarcely guilty at all) … Basically, Hitler has no “master plan”; he was a German intent, like all Germans, on revising the intolerable and stupid Versailles-diktat, and on doing so by peaceful means, and in collaboration with the British and French … Not only did Hitler do this with insight, he did it with patience, as Taylor excellently shows …
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Straight Talk About Zionism
Mark Weber
… A Zionist Jew, by definition, owes his primary loyalty to the Jewish community and to Israel. Zionism is not compatible with patriotism to any country or entity other than Israel and the world Jewish community … Zionist Jews and their non-Jewish supporters embrace a blatant double standard. Jewish-Zionist organizations, along with their non-Jewish allies, support one social-political ideology for Israel and the world Jewish community, and a completely different one for the United States and other non-Jewish countries. They insist that ethnic nationalism is evil and bad for non-Jews, while at the same time they vigorously support ethnic nationalism — that is, Zionism — for Jews.
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How Hitler Tackled Unemployment
Mark Weber
To deal with the massive unemployment and economic paralysis of the Great Depression, both the US and German governments launched innovative and ambitious programs. Although President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” measures helped only marginally, the Third Reich’s much more focused and comprehensive policies proved remarkably effective. Within three years unemployment was banished and Germany’s economy was flourishing. And while Roosevelt’s record in dealing with the Depression is pretty well known, the remarkable story of how Hitler tackled the crisis is not widely understood or appreciated.
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Tactics of Organized Jewry in Suppressing Free Speech
Prof. Tony Martin – Institute for Historical Review
… I’m going to try to extract from my experience certain basic sort of tactics that I think the Jewish lobby has used over the years pertaining to my particular situation … The first and major tactic that I discovered in their attack on me was their reliance on lies — just straight-up lies. There’s no other way to describe it, just telling lies. Many of the categories that I will enumerate overlap, and many of them could also come under this general rubric of telling lies. But I think that if one had to isolate a single tactic, it was a tactic of telling lies. I think they’ve elevated telling lies to a very high artistic form.
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Stalin's War Against His Own Troops
Yuri Teplyakov
… In August 1941 Hitler permitted a Red Cross delegation to visit the camp for Soviet POWs in Hammerstadt. It is these contacts that resulted in an appeal to the Soviet government, requesting that it should send food parcels for our officers and men. We are prepared to fulfill and comply with the norms of the Geneva convention, Moscow said in its reply, but sending food in the given situation and under fascist control is the same as making presents to the enemy … How great was Stalin’s hatred for those who had found themselves behind enemy lines. It made no difference: who, where, how and why? Even the dead were considered to be criminals.
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Why I Survived the A-Bomb
Akira Kohchi
Hiroshima native Kohchi was a 16-year-old schoolboy when his city was devastated by the first nuclear attack in history. He tells the dramatic, personal story of how he experienced and survived the bombing, and provides a moving account of his search for his family through the burning rubble of the doomed city. Then Kohchi recalls how, years later, he forced himself to come to grips with his past and uncover the facts about the bombing and the history the led up to it. The author’s frankness and humane spirit make this a first-hand Japanese account of a war crime that dwarfs almost all others. A unique revisionist classic. Praised by the Japan Times newspaper as a “noteworthy” and “authentic” personal account, and by Bookwatch newsletter as a “moving, gripping account.” With full color dust jacket, photos and notes
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Was Hiroshima Necessary?
Mark Weber
America’s leaders understood Japan’s desperate position: the Japanese were willing to end the war on any terms, as long as the Emperor was not molested. If the US leadership had not insisted on unconditional surrender — that is, if they had made clear a willingness to permit the Emperor to remain in place — the Japanese very likely would have surrendered immediately, thus saving many thousands of lives … General Curtis LeMay, who had pioneered precision bombing of Germany and Japan (and who later headed the Strategic Air Command and served as Air Force chief of staff), put it most succinctly: “The atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war.”
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YouTube Censors 'Restrict' IHR Videos
Institute for Historical Review
In line with a recent crackdown policy, YouTube has “restricted” a number of independently produced videos of IHR talks and presentations. To watch a “restricted” video, the viewer must first click through a warning screen. Also, comments on the video are not allowed, and the number of views is not given. Even worse, YouTube will never “suggest” a “restricted” video to viewers, which is how many people find our videos. While YouTube claims that its “restriction” policy is aimed at videos with “inflammatory religious or supremacist content,” applying it to IHR videos is absurd. YouTube restricts our voice not because we have violated any objective standards, or because we have done anything wrong or illegal — but because it doesn’t like what we say.
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… Judaism is not just “another religion.” It’s unique among the world’s major religions. The core values and ethos of Judaism are markedly unlike those of Christianity, Islam, and the other great faiths … A core message of the Hebrew scriptures is that Jews are a divinely “chosen” people — a unique community distinct from the rest of humanity … The seemingly intractable Middle East conflict is more than just a problem of Zionism or politics, or a dispute over land. Israel’s often arrogant policies, and especially its inhumane treatment of non-Jews, have roots in centuries-old attitudes that are laid out in ancient Jewish religious writings.
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Suggested Reading: A Study Guide
Mark Weber
In an age when vast amounts of information from a wide range of sources are instantly available online, it can be difficult to sort out what’s reliable, useful, and trustworthy. In response to many inquiries over the years, here are recommended books on five important historical topics: The Second World War, American History, International Relations, Communism, Marxism and the Soviet Union, and, Zionism, US-Israel Relations, and the ‘Jewish Question.’ This listing is neither exhaustive nor final. Additional subject categories and titles are planned, and descriptions may be revised or updated.
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Zionism and the Third Reich
Mark Weber
A little-known chapter of history is the wide-ranging collaboration between Zionism and Hitler’s Third Reich. During the 1930s, Jewish Zionists and German National Socialists shared similar views on how to deal with the “Jewish Question.” They agreed that Jews and Germans were distinctly different nationalities, and that Jews did not belong in Germany. During the 1930s no nation did more to substantively further Jewish-Zionist goals than Hitler’s Germany.
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How accurate is this hallowed portrayal of America’s role in World War II? As we shall see, it does not hold up under close examination … The three Allied leaders accomplished what they accused the Axis leaders of Germany, Italy and Japan of conspiring to achieve: world domination … Presidential deception to justify war did not start with George W. Bush. Americans who express admiration for the US role in World War II, and for Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential leadership, have little moral right to complain when presidents follow his example and lead the country into war by breaking the law, subverting the Constitution, and lying to the people.
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Our Job in a Time of Crisis
Institute for Historical Review
Mark Weber explains why the work of the IHR in countering the forces of historical deceit, bigotry and cultural distortion is vitally important. An awareness of factual history is essential to an understanding of ourselves and the great issues of our age, says the IHR director in this five-minute video presentation. Unless and until the interests that have gripped our nation are clearly identified and discredited, he says, there will be no change in basic policies or direction.
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The Forced War: When Peaceful Revision Failed
David L. Hoggan
Completely reset, expanded and reformatted new IHR edition! In this important, detailed study of the origins of the Second World War, Dr. Hoggan explains why Hitler decided to attack Poland in 1939, and examines the short-sighted policies that made war all but inevitable. The author dismantles the often-repeated charge of sole German responsibility for the war, which for many years has been a centerpiece of the prevailing narrative of twentieth century history. The eminent American historian Harry E. Barnes called this “the first thorough study of the responsibility for the causes of the Second World War in any language … likely to remain the definitive revisionist work on this subject for many years.” With an introduction by Mark Weber, dust jacket, detailed index, source notes, extensive bibliography, map, and 30 photographs. Also available in softcover edition.
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Liberating America From Israel
Paul Findley
Nine-Eleven would not have occurred if the U.S. government had refused to help Israel humiliate and destroy Palestinian society. Few express this conclusion publicly, but many believe it is the truth. I believe the 9/11 catastrophe could have been prevented if any U.S. president in recent decades had had the courage and wisdom to suspend all U.S. aid until Israel withdrew from the Arab land seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The U.S. lobby for Israel is powerful and intimidating, but any determined president could prevail and win overwhelming public support for the suspension of aid by laying these facts before the American people.
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Abraham Lincoln and the Issue of Race
Robert Morgan
Many Americans think of Abraham Lincoln, above all, as the president who freed the slaves. Immortalized as the “Great Emancipator,” he is widely regarded as a champion of black freedom who supported social equality of the races, and who fought the American Civil War to free the slaves. While it is true that Lincoln regarded slavery as an evil and harmful institution, it also true, as this paper will show, that he shared the conviction of most Americans of his time, and of many prominent statesmen before and after him, that blacks could not be assimilated into white society. He rejected the notion of social equality of the races, and held to the view that blacks should be resettled abroad.
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A Straight Look at the Jewish Lobby
Mark Weber
… Jews wield immense power and influence in the United States. The “Jewish lobby” is a decisive factor in US support for Israel. Jewish-Zionist interests are not identical to American interests. In fact, they often conflict. As long as the “very powerful” Jewish lobby remains entrenched, there will be no end to the Jewish-Zionist grip on the US political system and the American media, the Zionist oppression of Palestinians, and the Israeli threat to peace.
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Machinations of the Anti-Defamation League
Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey, Jr.
I was in politics for fifteen years, and I think you should start with the assumption: never trust a politician … When people finally learn the truth, they turn against those who have been lying to them. And I think that if the movement of which you people are the cutting edge can retain dispassion in the face of outrages, setbacks and humiliations, the truth can ultimately prevail. You are doing something worse than criticizing the government of the United States; you’re threatening the security of the state of Israel. And the Jewish community is dedicated to preserve that state, and to destroy those who speak against it. Good luck!
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The Ethics of War: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gregory P. Pavlik
Since the last “good war,” a debate has ensued over the moral legitimacy of the use of nuclear weapons, particularly against civilians. The critics hold that it is a crime to incinerate civilians en masse; defenders commonly claim that the bombing was necessary to bring the war to a close, thereby saving countless American lives. Most of those who make this claim do so in earnest. The problem is that this defense is both historically false, and taken to its logical conclusion, extremely dangerous … The U.S. War Department and related agencies that specialized in producing hate propaganda and lies developed specifically racialist attacks on the Japanese.
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In a remarkable but under-reported address, one of America’s most prominent and influential political figures has acknowledged the “immense” and “outsized” Jewish role in the US mass media and cultural life. Joe Biden – now President of the U.S. – said that this has been the single most important factor in shaping American attitudes over the past century, and in driving major cultural-political changes. “Jewish heritage has shaped who we are – all of us – as much or more than any other factor in the last 223 years. And that’s a fact,” Joe Biden told a gathering of Jewish leaders in Washington, DC … “Behind of all that, I bet you 85 percent of those [major social-political] changes, whether it’s in Hollywood or social media, are a consequence of Jewish leaders in the industry. The influence is immense … And, I might add, it is all to the good,” he went on.
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… While it’s an artistic achievement and grand entertainment, “Darkest Hour” is badly flawed history … “Darkest Hour” reinforces the widespread belief that Churchill’s speeches played a crucial role in sustaining British morale. A scholar who has carefully looked into the matter has found that this view is largely a myth … “Darkest Hour” reinforces the widely held impression, which Churchill himself encouraged, that an honorable or lasting peace with Hitler was simply not possible. But as he himself later acknowledged, that’s simply not true … The British leader’s famous “We shall never surrender” speech was little more than “sublime nonsense,” says British historian John Charmley.
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The Past Marches On
George Morgenstern (1953)
… Add to these the operations of an organized propaganda capable, apparently, of doping Americans into belief in any myth, and there is formidable reason why public opinion should be so stupefied and stultified that the nation can be led from war to war in pursuit of ever retreating goals. Yet, despite the general numbness, Americans, surveying the results of half a century of intermeddling, dimly perceive that all is not well.
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What Christians Don’t Know About Israel
Grace Halsell
American Jews sympathetic to Israel dominate key positions in all areas of our government where decisions are made regarding the Middle East. This being the case, is there any hope of ever changing U.S. policy? … The answer to achieving an even-handed Middle East policy might lie elsewhere — among those who support Israel but don’t really know why. This group is the vast majority of Americans. They are well-meaning, fair-minded Christians who feel bonded to Israel – and Zionism – often from atavistic feelings, in some cases dating from childhood.
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More than once I have come across the view that if British lads of the 1940s could have foreseen the state of their country today, they would never have bothered to fight the Second World War. Few of those who have heard that view may realize that there is empirical evidence to support it … The prevailing tone of their letters is one of bitterness over what had become of the county they once cherished. Of the four or five most often voiced complaints, the most common is over mass migration from other countries and continents, and how that has drastically changed British life, culture and society … “The men who offered their lives have been betrayed and gave their lives in vain. Most of the older people say thank goodness we are ending our lives. It is no longer the Britain that we fought for.”
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Why Germany Attacked the Soviet Union
Institute for Historical Review
As dawn was breaking on Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, military forces of Germany, Finland and Romania suddenly struck against the Soviet Union. The stunning news of this attack was announced to the world by German radio at 5:30 that Sunday morning, when Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels broadcast the text of a proclamation by Adolf Hitler to the German people that laid out his reasons for the historic offensive. Following that was the broadcast of Germany’s declaration of war against the Soviet Union. This was in the form of a diplomatic note to the Soviet government. Because Hitler’s proclamation and the German Foreign Office declaration explain at some length the reasons and motives for the fateful decision to strike against the USSR, these are documents of historic importance. With a foreword by Mark Weber.
News & Comment
President Roosevelt’s Secret Pre-War Plan to Bomb Japan
Mark Weber – Institute for Historical Review
Several months before Japan’s December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt secretly authorized devastating American bombing raids against Japanese cities. A top-secret document declassified in 1970 shows that in July 1941 Roosevelt and his top military advisers approved a daring plan to use American pilots and U.S. war planes – deceitfully flying under the Chinese flag – to bomb Japan’s major cities … An air strike force of 500 Lockheed Hudson bombers was to be organized as “The Second American Volunteer Group” under Chennault’s command. Its mission would be the “pre-emptive” bombing of Japan. The strategic objective of JB 355 was the “destruction of Japanese factories in order to cripple munitions and essential articles for maintenance of economic structure in Japan.”
Trump’s Hyperbolic Rhetoric: Not an Out of the Box Thinking, But Out of Touch With Reality
Jamal Kanj - CounterPunch
… At times, it feels as though one would need to be a psychologist to fully dissect Donald Trump’s hyperbolic statements. His rhetoric is not just inflammatory when it comes to Palestine — it permeates nearly every topic he discusses. Trump exemplifies the dangers of elevating a person of ignorance and limited intellect to a position of immense power. His remarks frequently diverge from reality, driven by self-interest and amplified by a circle of enablers who exploit his shallow understanding of governance and global affairs.… Trump’s inner circle, predominantly Israel-first advocates, play a significant role in shaping his short-sighted declarations by feeding him biased and one-sided information.
Germany’s Turning Point
Dieter Stein – The American Conservative
… The [AfD] party benefits from widespread discontent about the consequences of more than a decade of uncontrolled mass migration from the Middle East and North Africa as well as voters’ worries about economic decline, deindustrialization, costly green energy policies, high cost of living, and deteriorating security in many German cities … Stopping the existential threat of continued mass immigration is increasingly understood as the pivotal issue for preserving Germany’s national identity and culture, halting the erosion of public security, and slowing down the huge financial drain of welfare payments to immigrants and their dependents … Public dismay at economic weakness and at high immigration will continue.
Israel’s Parliament Extends Entry Ban to Anyone Who Supports Anti-Israel Boycott, Denies the Holocaust, or Advocates International Prosecution of Israeli Military
Israel National News
The Knesset [Israel’s parliament] approved the expansion of the Entry Law to prohibit the entry of those who deny the Holocaust or the October 7thMassacre, as well as those who support the international prosecution of Israelis for security activities … The new law expands the already existing ban on granting visas to supporters of boycotts on Israel to include those who deny the Holocaust or the October 7th Massacre, as well as those who support the prosecution of Israelis in the international courts for their actions in the security forces.
Home Office `Indoctrinating Civil Services With Distorted History of British Empire’
The Telegraph
The Home Office has been accused of “indoctrinating” civil servants with a “distorted” history course about the British Empire. The lessons, recommended for all staff in the department, are aimed at educating officials about Britain’s colonial past and migration patterns. However, the course has been criticised by historians as being anti-British propaganda “of the crudest kind” and “full of exaggerations and misconceptions”. They also claim the lessons are “infused with critical race theory” and “assumptions about how white people are inherently racist towards ethnic minorities”. Three eminent historians from Oxford and Cambridge universities have written to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to raise concerns about the course, which they say is “intellectually impoverished” and “full of elementary inaccuracies”.
What Americans Think of Trump’s Support for Israel
ABC News
… Trump has made good on some of his campaign rhetoric by doubling down on support for Israel … Trump floated a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip and forced relocation of all Palestinians, a stance he has since repeated … Recent polling suggests that the idea is widely unpopular and may raise concern among Americans about the direction of Trump’s foreign policy … As for what policies Americans want to see, the YouGov/The Economist survey found that a plurality, 35 percent, supported decreasing military aid to Israel, while 27 percent supported maintaining the same amount of aid and only 15 percent supported increasing aid … And Americans are fairly united in disagreeing with Trump that the U.S. should take over Gaza.
`Threatened by Books?’ Israel Condemned for Arresting Palestinian Bookshop
Middle East Eye
Thousands have taken to social media this week to condemn Israel after its authorities arrested the Palestinian owners of a historic occupied East Jerusalem bookshop for “inciting terrorism” with Palestinian literature, using a children’s coloring book as proposed evidence. Educational Bookshop is a decades-old bookstore chain respected by locals and internationals alike, with both Arabic and English-language locations. The Muna family have become well-known figures in the local Palestinian community and with diplomats, academics, and writers who have visited occupied East Jerusalem. … South African author and illustrator of the colouring book, Nathi Ngubane, told MEE that he is concerned his work is being used by the Israeli authorities to censor Palestinians.
The Day Israel Came for the Booksellers
Oren Ziv - +972 Mag
If at any point over the past year and a half you might have thought the Israeli authorities had already crossed every possible threshold when it comes to curtailing Palestinians’ freedom of expression, you would have been mistaken. Because yesterday, Israeli police raided two branches of a world-famous Palestinian bookstore in occupied East Jerusalem, arrested the owner and his nephew, and seized a selection of books — including a children’s coloring book … Police representative Sgt. Maj. Ortal Malka said they had identified eight books in the Educational Bookshop that met the criteria for “incitement,” but did not specify which ones. She also refused to address the fact that most of the books are not even written in Arabic and that the store’s clientele is primarily international.
Farewell to FDR Propagandist William Leuchtenburg
Mary Grabar – Chronicles
The last of the historians from the FDR era has died. William Leuchtenburg, called by the Associated Press “the reigning scholar on Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal,” was 102 years old when he died on Jan. 28. Leuchtenburg was heaped with accolades for his FDR worship … Leuchtenburg bequeathed to future generations the image of FDR that prevails today — that of a wartime “grand strategist” and “traitor to his class” who empathized with the “common” or “forgotten man.” In truth, FDR’s New Deal policies prolonged the Great Depression, and his ineptness and infatuation with Stalin expanded Communist tyranny across the globe.
Hostile Takeover of Canada
Eric Margolis
Canadians are among the world’s calmest, most polite, and gracious people. They are also, in my experience, peaceful, honest and modest. You never see them angry – except for now. Donald Trump, with his absurd megalomaniac claims to Greenland, Canada, Panama and now Gaza, has managed to do what no one else has done. He has made the United States hated across Canada … Trump has looked at foreign affairs in the same way he viewed leasing store locations, as a simple straightforward business function, like renting property in New York City. Fury over his Mussolini-like claims to Canadian land will eventually abate but the damage has been done … Trump’s threats against Canada have outraged one of America’s most important military and trade allies. And for what purpose? To make Trump feel powerful and virile.
Can We Really Cut Half of The Military Budget? You Bet!
Ron Paul
The wailing sound you heard last Thursday was the chorus of the Beltway warmongers shrieking in despair at President Trump’s suggestion that there was no reason for the United States to be spending one trillion dollars on “defense.” “… One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia, and I want to say let’s cut our military budget in half. And we can do that, and I think we’ll be able to do that,” the President told reporters. With this statement, President Trump blew up one of the biggest myths of our time, particularly among Republicans, that spending more on the military is essential to keeping us safe. … I very much hope that President Trump follows through with his plan to drastically reduce our bloated military budget.
Roosevelt’s Fraud at Yalta and the Mirage of the `Good War’
James Bovard
This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. One of the biggest frauds of the final stage of that war was the meeting at Yalta of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and President Franklin Roosevelt. Yalta has become a synonym for the abandonment of oppressed people … The German civilians killed after the war were simply another asterisk that could safely be ignored by Good War chroniclers … U.S. government secrecy and propaganda efforts did their best to continue portraying World War Two as the triumph of good over evil. If Americans had been told in early 1945 of the barbarities that Yalta had approved regarding captured Soviet soldiers and the brutal mass transfer of German women and children, much of the nation would have been aghast.
David Starkey: ‘I’ve Witnessed the Disintegration of Everything that I Loved in Britain’
The Telegraph
… Between the gasps and laughs of every Starkey lecture shines a pertinent point. Britain was ruined by its elite; he thinks we need to undergo a “cultural restoration” … At his height, he was a bestselling author famous for popularising the Tudor period via documentaries such as The Six Wives of Henry VIII or Monarchy; watched by millions and being paid millions to make them … “The world of the Left is a series of complete lies,” and thus it cooked up the “noble lie” of multiculturalism – “diversity is strength” – to which we must pledge loyalty … He’s witnessed “the disintegration of everything that I valued, everything that I loved, everything that I have researched, everything that I taught”. Good education – “fundamentally, the transmission of culture” – British identity, Britain itself. “It is comparable to the fall of Rome,” a society on the verge of bankruptcy.
Vice-President Vance Stuns Munich Conference With Blistering Attack on Europe’s Leaders
The Guardian
The US vice-president, J D Vance, has launched a brutal ideological assault on Europe, accusing its leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration, and running in fear from voters’ true beliefs. In a chastising speech on Friday that openly questioned whether current European values warranted defence by the US, he painted a picture of European politics infected by media censorship, cancelled elections and political correctness. Arguing that the true threat to Europe stemmed not from external actors such as Russia or China, but Europe’s own internal retreat from some of its “most fundamental values”, he repeatedly questioned whether the US and Europe any longer had a shared agenda. “What I worry about is the threat from within,” Vance said …
VP Vance Blasts ‘Orwellian’ German Laws
RT News
The criminalization of free speech in the EU could put a “strain” on relations between Washington and its allies there, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday, calling on Western nations on both sides of the Atlantic to “reject” such policies. “This is Orwellian,” the vice president wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). He was referring to an interview with three German state prosecutors released by the US broadcaster CBS on Sunday. Focused on Germany’s efforts to fight offensive content on the internet, the interview included the prosecutors saying that insulting anyone in public or online is a crime in their country … According to CBS, the German laws specifically prohibit the spread of malicious gossip, violent threats and fake quotes online. Reposting false information is punished as well, the broadcaster said …
Trump Administration Sanctions ICC Prosecutor on Behalf of Israel
D. Decamp – Antiwar
On Thursday [Feb. 13], the US Treasury Department announced it had imposed sanctions on Karim Khan, a British lawyer who is the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), an action taken on behalf of Israel. The sanctions came after President Trump signed an executive order to target the court in response to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over their role in war crimes in Gaza. Under the sanctions, any of the assets Khan may have in the US have been frozen, and he is barred from entering the country … In his executive order, Trump accused the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
Trump Didn’t Invent the Gaza Ethnic Cleansing Plan.
Jonathan Cook
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intention from day one of his “revenge” attack on Gaza, launched 16 months ago, was either ethnic cleansing or genocide in Gaza. His ally in genocide for the next 15 months was former US President Joe Biden. His ally in ethnic cleansing is current US President Donald Trump … Trump’s team revived their own interest in the ethnic cleansing plan the moment Israel launched its genocide – long before Trump knew whether he would win the November 2024 election … We should not lose sight of the bigger picture. Israel and the US are still committed to “cleaning out” Gaza, one way or another, as they have been for the past 18 years. They are simply looking for a more propitious moment to resume. That could be this weekend, or it could be in a month or two.
The US Should Not Take Over Gaza
Ron Paul, MD
This week, President Trump upended US Middle East policy by announcing that the United States would “take over” war-ravaged Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” … Senator Graham is correct that most South Carolinians are not excited about sending Americans or US tax dollars to take over Gaza. Neither are most other Americans. In fact, polls show that the majority of Americans oppose providing military aid to Israel or other countries … Even if a long-term US occupation of Gaza went 100 percent according to plan, the US government, which has an over 36 trillion dollars and growing debt, cannot afford another open-ended overseas military commitment. … The best thing the United States can do to rebuild Gaza and promote peace in the Middle East is to stop funding Israel’s occupation and blockade of Gaza.
World Rejects Trump’s Gaza Relocation Plan, Demands Two States
JNS
Global reaction came swiftly on Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Gazans to be relocated out of the Strip, which he described as a “demolition site”— with most, if not all, countries panning the idea. Trump proposed that ownership of the Strip be transferred to the United States, which would rebuild it. “This was not a decision made lightly,” he said … Palestinians could be located to various locales. “It could be numerous sites or it could be one large site, but the people will be able to live in comfort and peace,” Trump said … Most countries, which have embraced a two-state solution whereby a Palestinian state would be established adjoining the Jewish state in territories liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, expressed a mixture of incredulity and indignation.
Harrowing World War Two Archive Footage Shows 1945 Allied Bombing of Dresden
Daily Mail (Britain)
Harrowing footage from World War Two showing the annihilation of the German city of Dresden by Allied forces has resurfaced on the anniversary of the bombings which killed up to 25,000 people. Video from 1945, shown as part of an American news report, shows the fearsome bomb attacks undertaken by the [British] RAF [air force] on the night of February 13 … At the start of the clip, with the American narrator describing the Allied attacks, British bombers are seen high above the Saxony city. Dresden is then seen at night, with the aerial view showing the terrifying sound and light of the explosions… The narrator said the Allied airmen were ‘linking up their attacks with Marshal Stalin’s army’. The bombings were also intended to cause a state of alarm and panic in the civilian population and weaken the German war effort.
President Roosevelt’s Secret Pre-War Plan to Bomb Japan
Mark Weber – Institute for Historical Review
Several months before Japan’s December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt secretly authorized devastating American bombing raids against Japanese cities. A top-secret document declassified in 1970 shows that in July 1941 Roosevelt and his top military advisers approved a daring plan to use American pilots and U.S. war planes – deceitfully flying under the Chinese flag – to bomb Japan’s major cities … An air strike force of 500 Lockheed Hudson bombers was to be organized as “The Second American Volunteer Group” under Chennault’s command. Its mission would be the “pre-emptive” bombing of Japan. The strategic objective of JB 355 was the “destruction of Japanese factories in order to cripple munitions and essential articles for maintenance of economic structure in Japan.”
Trump’s Hyperbolic Rhetoric: Not an Out of the Box Thinking, But Out of Touch With Reality
Jamal Kanj - CounterPunch
… At times, it feels as though one would need to be a psychologist to fully dissect Donald Trump’s hyperbolic statements. His rhetoric is not just inflammatory when it comes to Palestine — it permeates nearly every topic he discusses. Trump exemplifies the dangers of elevating a person of ignorance and limited intellect to a position of immense power. His remarks frequently diverge from reality, driven by self-interest and amplified by a circle of enablers who exploit his shallow understanding of governance and global affairs.… Trump’s inner circle, predominantly Israel-first advocates, play a significant role in shaping his short-sighted declarations by feeding him biased and one-sided information.
Germany’s Turning Point
Dieter Stein – The American Conservative
… The [AfD] party benefits from widespread discontent about the consequences of more than a decade of uncontrolled mass migration from the Middle East and North Africa as well as voters’ worries about economic decline, deindustrialization, costly green energy policies, high cost of living, and deteriorating security in many German cities … Stopping the existential threat of continued mass immigration is increasingly understood as the pivotal issue for preserving Germany’s national identity and culture, halting the erosion of public security, and slowing down the huge financial drain of welfare payments to immigrants and their dependents … Public dismay at economic weakness and at high immigration will continue.
Israel’s Parliament Extends Entry Ban to Anyone Who Supports Anti-Israel Boycott, Denies the Holocaust, or Advocates International Prosecution of Israeli Military
Israel National News
The Knesset [Israel’s parliament] approved the expansion of the Entry Law to prohibit the entry of those who deny the Holocaust or the October 7thMassacre, as well as those who support the international prosecution of Israelis for security activities … The new law expands the already existing ban on granting visas to supporters of boycotts on Israel to include those who deny the Holocaust or the October 7th Massacre, as well as those who support the prosecution of Israelis in the international courts for their actions in the security forces.