Palestine and the Blogosphere

I’ve been following the latest in Gaza for a couple of days now. It is truly disgusting and quite enraging. Similarly enraging though is the state of the media covering the situation, though it should come as no surprise.

The mainstream media seem to put far greater emphasis on the couple of Israeli casualties and the more than one hundred Palestinians killed are demoted to a mere footnote.

Also, they are in complete cohesion with the lie created by the U.S. that Fatah is the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas won the election democratically in 2006, but you can only have democracy in the Middle East if you vote the way the United States wants you to. So, Fatah, backed by the U.S., attempted a coup of Gaza and Hamas drove them out. The media portrays this as Hamas taking over Gaza from the Fatah government. It’s a blatant lie used to cover up the fact the vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas, an organisation commited to resisting Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

It is a shame that in the absence of truthful media coverage, the alternative is far too weak to make an impact. Bloggers within Palestine and Palestinian bloggers abroad are providing some decent coverage of the current situation as well as in the past. One highlight is of course, Electronic Intifada, though I am on the hunt for more.

During the Lebanon war, in Australia, tens of thousands of Muslims and Arabs came out in mass protests against the war and while inspiring, the link missing was the notable absence of non-Arab and Muslim people opposed to the war. It was unfortunetely seen as “their issue” and seen to not affect Australians. Of course, with aid going to Israel and funding being dedicated to defence more and more, it clearly was a world issue. But please point out to me if I’ve missed a chunk of the non-Arab Blogosphere, but there is a notable absence of left-wing commentary on the situation in Gaza.

Whilst I disagree with the notion that the role of socialists is to educate people, and indeed blogging is not the best place to do it, but I feel the trend within the Blogosphere over the last couple of days reflects some real life political problems with the Left and the situation in Palestine needs to be put in the centre of our minds at the moment.

Blog Against War and Racism

It’s clear that the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the racism that surrounds it, are key issues at the moment. The majority of people in most countries, including Australia, the United States and Britain oppose the war in Iraq. The FLBU is calling on all bloggers to express this opposition by posting a picture of you holding a placard/sign expressing your opposition on your blog. Trackbacks should picked up your post but just to be sure, email me – benjamin [at] benjaminsolah [dot] com – your link and I’ll add it to a list at the bottom of this post. Include the details of your local anti-war or anti-racism rally and encourage others to take a stand against the war.

Rally details can be found at the following websites:
United States: A.N.S.W.E.R.
United Kingdom: Stop the War Coalition
Australia: Stop the War Coalition – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane

Join the bloggers who have already taken a stand against war and racism!
Benjamin Solah – Sydney, Australia

Stop the war

Far-Left linkage: Bloggers speak out against the war

It’s been four years since the invasion of Iraq and to mark this horrendous anniversary, there’s been rallies in major cities around the world this weekend. Of course, bloggers were there and catching the events on film. So, as part of the first ‘Far-Left linkage,’ I’ve got a selection of posts of the demonstrations from around the world.

In Sydney, a few hundred converged on Town Hall to call for the troops out as well as the release of David Hicks, an Australian locked up in Guantanamo Bay.

Washington DC played host to thousands of Christians holding a candlelight vigil outside of the White House to express their opposition to a war that was justified by Christian rhetoric.

Albuquerque was full of powerful and creative placards as around 1,000 people turned out to oppose the war.

Tens of thousands of protesters, including Cindy Sheehan turned out at the Pentagon to oppose the war.

Thousands marched in Los Angeles to compliment the rallies in other parts of the States.

Admin note: If any blogger out there has a post about the protests this weekend, let me know and I’ll see if I can add you to the links. I’ll be making this feature more regular in order to publicize the Far-Left’s presence in the Blogosphere, and also, Bloggers presence amongst the Far-Left.

A new direction for the FLBU

There hasn’t been a post to this blog since last year’s atrocious war on Lebanon in July and so, by a new direction for the FLBU, I actually mean an actual direction as opposed to nothing. This blog was initially designed for bloggers who called themselves part of the ‘Far-Left’ to unite in one place and to express our views. The fact that there’s been a total of three bloggers posting here means that this is really not a blog of the Far-Left and it is something that needs to be turned around.

I think the main problem is in the fact that most Far-Left Bloggers have no idea that this thing exists let alone are convinced to become part of this. And for those bloggers who are waiting for a revival of the FLBU, it’s encouraged to get in contact with me and also to spread the word about the Far-Left Bloggers Union.

Also, I think what we want to do is to use this blog to look at blogging itself from a Far-Left perspective and how it impacts or is impacted by the real world. We need to use this connection to emphasize the need for political activity in real life and not just as isolated bloggers exchanging ideas through cyberspace. And this means getting involved in the other political blogs and online activities such as the Carnival of Socialism and to attend political rallies, meetings and even join a political organization that is committed to building demonstrations and movements.