It is no surprise Paradise Now, the first Palestinian movie (part financed with
Dutch money!) to be nominated for an Oscar, is coming under fire from those who want us to think
any sympathetic treatment of Palestinians is anti-semitic. What is somewhat surprising is who was
the spokeperson for this campaign:
LOS ANGELES - A petition claiming that the movie "Paradise Now" glorifies Palestinian suicide bombers and
asking for its removal from Oscar consideration was delivered Friday to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts &
Sciences -- two days before the Academy Awards.
The petition, carrying more than 36,000 signatures garnered online, was presented at the academy’s Beverly Hills
headquarters by Arab-American peace activist Nonie Darwish.
Darwish said "Paradise Now" "did not show the evils of terrorism enough."
What is an "Arab-American peace acivist" doing parroting rightwing zionist talking points? Well, if you
google her, what comes up
but links to Frontpage Magazine, the ultra rightwing political site that also publishes David Horowitz. Follow the
links and it becomes clear she's a house Arab who makes a nice living saying contrarian things about the Middle
East conflict, trading on the novelty of an Arab parroting rightwing and zionist talking points. Her role here is
to gin up controversy for a movie that for once takes a look at the Palestinian rather than the Israeli side of the
conflict and she does this by using the private tragedy of an Israeli man whose son was killed in a suicide bombing
three years ago. This is typical of her kind, safe and sound in America, far removed from the conflict they help
prolong, with others paying the price for their foolishness.
In unrelated news, this is actually the 500th post to my blog. The first ever post here was written on
March 7, 2002 so it took me just under four years to get there.
This is just a place for me to jot down some random thoughts and reactions to the news so I don't have to yell at the television or radio, or mutter to myself whilst reading the news.
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Real Climate
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