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Israel, Georgia and Russia
Arnaud de Borchgrave - United Press International
... Georgia also had a special relationship with Israel that was mostly under the radar. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili is a former Israeli who moved things along by facilitating Israeli arms sales with U.S. aid ... In a secret agreement between Israel and Georgia, two military airfields in southern Georgia had been earmarked for the use of Israeli fighter-bombers in the event of pre-emptive attacks against Iranian nuclear installations. This would sharply reduce the distance Israeli fighter-bombers would have to fly to hit targets in Iran. And to reach Georgian airstrips, the Israeli air force would fly over Turkey.
Most Americans Would Back Israeli Strike on Iran, Survey Shows
The Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Sixty-three percent of Americans say that if diplomacy fails to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis, they would approve of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites, a new poll has found. The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and commissioned by The Israel Project, also finds that 87% of US voters feel that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat to the US. Meanwhile, 80% of Americans said it was likely Iran would use nuclear weapons if it acquired them. The threat of Iran is apparently felt across the political spectrum.
Carter Conspicuously Absent From Podium for Views on Israel
Forward (New York)
Former president Jimmy Carter’s controversial views on Israel cost him a place on the podium at the Democratic Party convention in late August, senior Democratic operatives acknowledged to the Forward. Breaking with the tradition of giving speech time to living former presidents, convention organizers honored Carter with only a short video clip highlighting his work with Hurricane Katrina victims and a brief walk across the Pepsi Center stage. The sidelining of Carter was driven by recognition in the Obama camp and among Democratic leaders that giving the former president a prominent convention spot might alienate Jewish voters.
Wilhelm Furtwängler and Music in the Third Reich
Antony Charles - Institute for Historical Review
Not only during his lifetime, but also in the decades since his death in 1954, Wilhelm Furtwängler has been globally recognized as one of the greatest musicians of this century, above all as the brilliant primary conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra, which he lead from 1922 to 1945, and again after 1950 ... Discussion of his life -- even today -- still provokes heated debate about the role of art and artists under Hitler and, on a more fundamental level, about the relationship of art and politics.
Furtwängler Conducts a Wartime Concert for Berlin Factory Workers
Wilhelm Furtwängler conducts the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra in a concert for factory workers in Berlin, 1942. The prelude to Wagner’s "Meistersinger" opera is performed. Video clip from a German wartime newsreel, with English subtitles. Runtime: 3:51 mins.
New Book on Mormon-Led Massacre Opens Old Wounds
The Associated Press
The date is etched in blood in Utah and Mormon church history and, on a more intimate level, the family trees of people like Karen Maxwell, a mother of eight and choir teacher from Salt Lake City. On Sept. 11, 1857, Mormon militiamen led the slaughter of 120 men, women and children on a wagon train bound for California in an incident known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Chief among the instigators was Isaac Haight, a local militia and church leader. Several generations later, Karen Maxwell would come to know of him as her grandfather's grandfather.
A Zionist Smear: The ADL Attacks an Islamic Peace Conference
Mark Weber -- Institute for Historical Review
The Anti-Defamation League is a master of deceit. A good example is the recent ADL blast against a conference in suburban Baltimore on August 16, 2008, where I was a speaker. Dedicated to peace and cross-cultural understanding, the meeting was organized by Jamaat al-Muslimeen, a local Islamic group.
In the Struggle for Peace and Justice: Countering Jewish-Zionist Power
Mark Weber (Address text)
... By supporting Israel and its policies, the United States betrays not only its own national interests, but the principles it claims to embody and defend. The only country in the world that has a nuclear weapons arsenal, that occupies territory of its neighbors, and which is in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions - is Israel. In fact, if the United States were to hold Israel to the same standards that it has applied to Iraq, Serbia, and other countries, American bombers and missiles would be blasting Tel Aviv, and American troops would seize Israel’s leaders and punish them for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Bush’s `Pax Americana’ Foreign Policy in Shambles
Jim Lobe -- Inter Press Service
Whatever hopes the George W Bush administration may have had for using its post-September 11, 2001, "war on terror" to impose a new Pax Americana on Eurasia, and particularly in the unruly areas between the Caucasus and the Khyber Pass, they appear to have gone up in flames - in some cases, literally - over the past two weeks ... Meanwhile, any hope of concluding a framework for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority by the time Bush leaves office less than five months from now appears to have vanished...
Russia and China Send a Message: History’s Back
Bill Keller -- The New York Times
Writing in The Financial Times last week, Chrystia Freeland recalled Francis Fukuyama's 1989 essay "The End of History?" - which trumpeted the definitive triumph of liberal democracy. The great nightmare tyrannies of last century - the Evil Empire, Red China - had been left behind by those inseparable twins, freedom and prosperity. Civilization had chosen, and it chose us. So much for that thesis ... History, it seems, is back, and not so obviously on our side.
Historian Suggests Southerners Defeated Confederacy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Generations of students have been taught that the South lost the Civil War because of the North’s superior industry and population. A new book suggests another reason: Southerners were largely responsible for defeating the Confederacy. In "Bitterly Divided: The South’s Inner Civil War," historian David Williams of Valdosta State University lays out some tradition-upsetting arguments that might make the granite brow of Jefferson Davis crack on Stone Mountain. "With this book," wrote Publishers Weekly, "the history of the Civil War will never be the same again."
Who Started Cold War II?
Patrick J. Buchanan
... Vladimir Putin is no Stalin. He is a nationalist determined, as ruler of a proud and powerful country, to assert his nation’s primacy in its own sphere, just as U.S. presidents from James Monroe to Bush have done on our side of the Atlantic. A resurgent Russia is no threat to any vital interests of the United States. It is a threat to an American Empire that presumes some God-given right to plant U.S. military power in the backyard or on the front porch of Mother Russia. Who rules Abkhazia and South Ossetia is none of our business.
Obama: New Actor on the Same Old Stage
Robert Fisk - The Independent (Britain)
... Israel is going to have it easy. Because no sooner is he [Obama] elected than he will be enmeshed in the Middle East tragedy and be forced to take sides - Israel's, of course - and then it will be time for the next election, so the president's hands will be tied again and he'll be talking about Israel's security (rather than Palestinian security) and we'll be back on the same old itinerary.
Joe Biden Says `I Am a Zionist’
Ynet News (Israel)
Senator Joe Biden, who was chosen by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama to be his running mate in the upcoming US elections, has previously declared himself to be a Zionist. Calling Israel "the single greatest strength America has in the Middle East," he also revealed a Jewish connection in an interview last year. During the interview conducted by the Jewish 'Shalom TV' Biden said, "I am a Zionist. You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist." He also revealed that his son is married to a Jewish woman, of the Berger family from Delaware, and that he had participated in a Passover Seder at their house.
Battle Over Faked Holocaust Memoir in Mass. Court
The Associated Press
It was a shock to Misha Defonseca's readers this year when she admitted that the best-selling story of her tortured childhood during the Holocaust was false, but her U.S. publisher saw it as an opportunity to undo a stinging, seven-year-old court judgment. Jane Daniel says she never would have been ordered to pay Defonseca and her ghost writer $32.4 million over her handling of profits from "Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years" had the jury known the book was filled with lies. Defonseca never lived with wolves to escape the Nazis, never killed a German soldier in self-defense, never walked 3,000 miles across Europe in search of her parents.
Huge Statue of Roman Ruler Found
BBC News
Parts of a giant, exquisitely carved marble sculpture depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius have been found at an archaeological site in Turkey. Fragments of the statue were unearthed at the ancient city of Sagalassos. So far the statue's head, right arm and lower legs have been discovered, high in the mountains of southern Turkey. Marcus Aurelius was portrayed by Richard Harris in the Oscar-winning 2000 film Gladiator and was one of the so-called "Five Good Emperors". He reigned from 161AD until his death in 180 AD.
Attacking Iran Via South Ossetia
Stephen Kinzer -- The Guardian (Britain)
An editor I once worked for told me that when his parents and grandparents discussed the day's news over dinner, they would inevitably finish by asking each other: "Is it good for the Jews?" "Whether it was a war or an earthquake or men landing on the moon, it would always come down to that," he recalled. "They saw everything through that lens." This year, I've developed a comparable pathology. I am terrified that the Bush administration is going to attack Iran sometime before it leaves office on January 20. Whenever there is a new tremor in Washington or the wider world, I ask myself: Does this make an American strike against Iran more or less likely?
Crisis in the Caucasus
Eric Margolis
The Bush administration appears to have pulled off its latest military fiasco in the Caucasus. What was supposed to have been a swift and painless takeover of rebellious South Ossetia by America's favorite new ally, Georgia, has turned into a disaster that left Georgia battered, Russia enraged, and NATO badly demoralized. Not bad for two days work. Equally important, Russia’s Vladimir Putin swiftly and decisively checkmated the Bush administration’s clumsy attempt last week to expand US influence into the Caucasus, and made the Americans and their Georgian satraps look like fools. We are not facing a return to the Cold War - yet.
Large U.S. Bank Collapse Ahead, Says Ex-IMF Economist
Reuters
The worst of the global financial crisis is yet to come and a large U.S. bank will fail in the next few months as the world's biggest economy hits further troubles, former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday. "The U.S. is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say 'the worst is to come'," he told a financial conference. "We're not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we're going to see a whopper, we're going to see a big one, one of the big investment banks or big banks," said Rogoff, who is an economics professor at Harvard University.
Zionist ADL Smears Islamic Peace Conference
Anti-Defamation League (New York)
A small Muslim organization that promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial recently played host to a gathering in Baltimore that featured speeches by prominent domestic extremists. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the gathering is just the latest example of the "burgeoning relationship" between far-right and Muslim extremists in the United States ... Among the anti-Semites who attended were Mark Glenn, a contributor to the anti-Semitic newspaper American Free Press; Charles Carlson, Director of We Hold These Truths, an Arizona-based anti-Semitic group; and Mark Weber, Director of the Institute for Historical Review.
Buyers of Bogus Degrees Named
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington)
Hundreds of people working in the military, government and education are on a list of almost 10,000 people who spent $7.3 million buying phony and counterfeit high school and college degrees from a Spokane diploma mill. The complete list of buyers, which the U.S. Department of Justice has refused to release to the public, has been obtained by The Spokesman-Review. "There are people in high places with these degrees, and only one of them has been charged with a crime," a source familiar with the list said Monday.
Hadrian: The Roman Emperor Behind the Wall
The Associated Press
He led a global superpower, bought popularity with tax cuts and faced a divisive war in Iraq. In many ways, the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his 2,000-year-old world sound familiar. A new exhibition at the British Museum aims to show that Hadrian, best remembered for building a 117-kilometre wall to separate England and Scotland, is a leader whose achievements and contradictions helped forge our times. "Hadrian is one of the great Roman emperors," exhibition curator Thorsten Opper said Tuesday. "He takes over the empire at a time of acute military crisis, he stabilizes that empire and he assures its survival. "In a sense, he made the world we still live in today."
Hadrian: Emperor of the 'First Holocaust'
Daily Mail (Britain)
... Emperor Hadrian's name has lived on through the ages thanks to his colourful legends, but it is little-known he was responsible for the slaughter of 600,000 Jews Yet when he had ascended the imperial throne 18 years before, Hadrian was hailed as one of the most enlightened and peace-loving of all emperors. What had gone so terribly wrong?
Georgia-Russia Conflict a Blow to Bush Foreign Policy
Julian E. Barnes -- Los Angeles Times
In the last week, two major pillars of President Bush's approach to foreign policy have crumbled, jeopardizing eight years of work and sending the administration scrambling for new strategies in the waning months of its term. From the earliest days of his presidency, Bush had said spreading democracy was a centerpiece of his foreign policy. At the same time, he sought to develop a more productive relationship with Russia, seeking Moscow's cooperation on issues such as terrorism, Iran's nuclear program and expansion of global energy supplies.
The West Shares the Blame for Georgia
Anatol Lieven - The Financial Times (Britain)
The bloody conflict over South Ossetia will have been good for something at least if it teaches two lessons. The first is that Georgia will never now get South Ossetia and Abkhazia back. The second is for the west: it is not to make promises that it neither can, nor will, fulfil when push comes to shove. Georgia will not get its separatist provinces back unless Russia collapses as a state, which is unlikely.
Our Friends in Georgia: Israel’s Mistake
Haaretz (Israel)
Talking to official Israeli representatives in Georgia can be confusing. One moment they're bragging about their close ties with senior members of the local government "He's our man, he's been working with us for years," they say of a government minister, and the next they're emphasizing that Israel does not support either side, and is trying to keep its head above the murky waters of the Caucasian swamp. It can be said almost with certainty that Israel bet on the wrong horse here, and is trying to limit its damage which may turn out to be particularly serious as swiftly as possible. Israel wanted to play a central role in Georgia.
The Secular Religion of `The Holocaust’
Robert Faurisson
The religion of "the Holocaust" is a secular one: it belongs to the lay world; it is profane; in actuality, it has at its disposal the secular arm, that is a temporal authority with dreaded power. It has its dogma, its commandments, its decrees, its prophets and its high priests. As one revisionist has observed, it has its circle of saints, male and female, amongst whom, for example, Saint Anne (Frank), Saint Simon (Wiesenthal) and Saint Elie (Wiesel). It has its holy places, its rituals and its pilgrimages. It has its sacred (and macabre) buildings and its relics...
Holocaust by Hunger: Stalin's Great Famine
Daily Mail (Britain)
... The brutal Soviet dictator Josef Stalin reflected that he would have liked to deport the entire Ukrainian nation, but 20 million were too many to move even for him. So he found another solution: starvation. Now, 75 years after one of the great forgotten crimes of modern times, Stalin's man-made famine of 1932-33, the former Soviet republic of Ukraine is asking the world to classify it as a genocide. The Ukrainians call it the Holodomor - the Hunger. Millions starved as Soviet troops and secret policemen raided their villages, stole the harvest and all the food in villagers' homes.
Jewish Group Sues YouTube Over French Video
AFP
A French Jewish group is suing the YouTube video-sharing website over a clip showing a host of Jewish public figures to the soundtrack of a pre-war anti-Semitic song. The video posted on the US site YouTube and its French rival Dailymotion shows a slideshow of more than 150 French politicians, TV stars, journalists, writers, philosophers, actors, singers and comedians. It is set to the sound of a song recorded before World War II, called "Rebecca's wedding," which describes the guests at a Jewish wedding as dirty, rude and dishonest.
Minorities Set to be US Majority by 2042
BBC News
White people of European descent will no longer make up a majority of the US population by the year 2042 - eight years sooner than previous estimates. The big change is among Hispanics and Asians, whose numbers are expected to double by the middle of the century to form 30 percent and 9 percent of the population. It is projected that black people will account for 15 percent, a small increase.
Democracy: A Flickering Star?
Patrick J. Buchanan
In his 1937 "Great Contemporaries," Winston Churchill wrote, "Whatever else may be thought about (Hitler’s) exploits, they are among the most remarkable in the whole history of the world." Churchill was referring not only to Hitler’s political triumphs - the return of the Saar and reoccupation of the Rhineland - but his economic achievements. By his fourth year in power, Hitler had pulled Germany out of the Depression, cut unemployment from 6 million to 1 million, grown the GNP 37 percent, and increased auto production from 45,000 vehicles a year to 250,000. City and provincial deficits had vanished. In material terms, Nazi Germany was a startling success.
Georgia War a Neocon Election Ploy?
Robert Scheer
... What is at work here is a neoconservative, self-fulfilling prophecy in which Russia is turned into an enemy that expands its largely reduced military, and Putin is cast as the new Josef Stalin bogeyman, evoking images of the old Soviet Union. McCain has condemned a "revanchist Russia" that should once again be contained. Although Putin has been the enormously popular elected leader of post-Communist Russia, it is assumed that imperialism is always lurking, not only in his DNA but in that of the Russian people.
A Path to Peace in the Caucasus
Mikhail Gorbachev
... The roots of this tragedy lie in the decision of Georgia's separatist leaders in 1991 to abolish South Ossetian autonomy. This turned out to be a time bomb for Georgia's territorial integrity. Each time successive Georgian leaders tried to impose their will by force -- both in South Ossetia and in Abkhazia, where the issues of autonomy are similar -- it only made the situation worse. New wounds aggravated old injuries ... The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity.
China To Overtake US As Largest Manufacturer
The Financial Times (Britain)
China is set to overtake the US next year as the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods, four years earlier than expected, as a result of the rapidly weakening US economy. The great leap is revealed in forecasts for the Financial Times by Global Insight, a US economics consultancy. According to the estimates, next year China will account for 17 percent of manufacturing value-added output of $11,783 billion and the US will make 16 percent.
US Turns Down Israeli Plan for Attack on Iran
Haaretz (Israel)
The American administration has rejected an Israeli request for military equipment and support that would improve Israel's ability to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. A report published last week by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) states that military strikes are unlikely to destroy Iran’s centrifuge program for enriching uranium. The Americans viewed the request, which was transmitted (and rejected) at the highest level, as a sign that Israel is in the advanced stages of preparations to attack Iran. They therefore warned Israel against attacking, saying such a strike would undermine American interests.
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Weber Addresses Peace Conference in Baltimore
Mark Weber addressed a conference to promote peace and cross-cultural understanding on Saturday, August 16, in suburban Baltimore. In a crisply delivered and well-received address, the IHR director spoke about the motives behind the US invasion of Iraq, the harmful consequences of America’s "blank check" support for Israel, the Jewish-Zionist grip on US foreign policy, the danger of new wars, and the prospects for an effective peace movement. The event was organized by an Islamic association, Jamaat Al-Muslimeen. Among the other speakers were: Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General; Charles E. Carlson, director of "We Hold These Truths," a Christian organization for peace and justice; Dr. Kaukab Siddique, MC and publisher of "New Trend Magazine"; and, Hesham Tillawi, host of the "Current Issues" television show.
Irving Describes His Austria Imprisonment at IHR Meeting
In an engaging talk at a memorable IHR meeting, June 14, 2008, David Irving described his harrowing arrest in Austria, his sensational trial in Vienna, and his 13 months of imprisonment. The British historian also spoke about wartime Germany’s harsh treatment of Jews, presenting a view of "the Holocaust" similar to the one he laid out more than 30 years ago in the first edition of Hitler's War. Mark Weber took aim at the American national mythology about World War II. He spoke about the two new books by Patrick J. Buchanan and Nicholson Baker, praising them as important antidotes to the familiar, much propagandized portrayal of the war.
First-Rate Talks Mark Successful IHR Meeting
First-rate talks by three seasoned speakers marked a memorable IHR meeting on May 24, 2008, in southern California. Paul Fromm reported with insight and humor on the battle for on-line free speech in Canada. Mark Weber, in a closely reasoned and well-referenced lecture, dismantled the myth of World War II as a "good war" clash between virtue and evil. Mark Green explained why the dread label of "anti-Semitism" is inaccurate and bogus.
The `Good War’ Myth of World War II
By Mark Weber
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.
Israel at 60: A Grim Balance Sheet
By Mark Weber ... Contrary to claims made by American and Israeli political leaders, US support for Israel has never been in America’s authentic national interest, nor has it been based on a commitment to democracy and freedom ... In spite of its impressive military arsenal, and virtually unlimited support from the United States, Israel’s long-term prospects are not good ... Although Israel is a formidable military power, it is an aberrant, crisis-prone state, artificially kept alive with outside support, and based on an unworkable ideology.
Weber Speaks on the Israel Lobby at University of Oregon
“The Israel Lobby: How Powerful Is It?”
By Mark Weber
New Book On Mass Killings and Brutal Mistreatment of Germans
at the End of World War II
By Mark Weber
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IHR News and Comment
Through this free public service, subscribers receive by e-mail, timely roundups of news, analysis and commentary. To subscribe, email news@ihr.org with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
What is Holocaust Denial?
By Barbara Kulaszka
Iraq: A War for Israel
By Mark Weber
Holocaust Remembrance:
What's Behind the Campaign?
By Mark Weber
'Operation Barbarossa' and the
Russian Historians’ Dispute
By Daniel Michaels
New Evidence on Hitler’s 1941
Attack Against the Soviet Union
By Daniel Michaels
Behind the Iran Crisis:
The Israel Lobby's Campaign
for War
By Mark Weber
Familiar Lies for a New War:
Fighting for Truth in an Age of Deceit
By Mark Weber
Who Is Ernst Zundel,
And Why Is He In Jail?
By Mark Weber
Sunic, Weber and Smith Address Spirited IHR Meeting
March 24, 2007
Behind the Iran Crisis:
The Israel Lobby's Campaign for War
By Mark Weber
Holocaust Remembrance Strengthens Jewish-Zionist Power
By Mark Weber
The Simon Wiesenthal Center:
A Bastion of Jewish-Zionist Power
By Mark Weber
Stormy IHR Rally Against Wiesenthal
Center Defies Zionist Thugs
— July 29, 2005
Weber Addresses Spirited IHR Meeting in New York — July 16, 2005
The Challenge of Jewish-Zionist Power in an Era of Global Struggle
By Mark Weber
US 'Democratization' Initiative in the Middle East is Insincere: An Interview with Mark Weber — July 3, 2005
 Americans Rally for Zundel's Freedom(photos/video) Feb.4, 2005
Ingrid Rimland Addresses IHR Meeting(audio) — Feb. 3, 2005
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