Exposing Stalin’s Plan to Conquer Europe
Daniel Michaels – Institute for Historical Review

… Thus, when German forces struck [the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941], the bulk of Red ground and air forces were concentrated along the Soviet western borders facing contiguous European countries, especially the German Reich and Romania, in final readiness for an assault on Europe. In his second book on the origins of the war, "M Day" (for "Mobilization Day"), Suvorov details how, between late 1939 and the summer of 1941, Stalin methodically and systematically built up the best armed, most powerful military force in the world – actually the world's first superpower – for his planned conquest of Europe. Suvorov explains how Stalin's drastic conversion of the country's economy for war actually made war inevitable.

Stalin’s Role in the Coming of World War II
R. C. Raack – World Affairs

… Following Suvorov, Stalin did not want peace at all, not in 1938, at the time of the Sudetenland crisis, or in 1939, or 1941. Nor was he defensive, nor reactive. Indeed he was not buying time for defense, but to prepare for attack, just waiting for the right moment for his own march westward. He saw Hitler as "the icebreaker" clearing the Bolshevik path west … The general scheme for a Red military thrust westward is now too well founded in historical fact to doubt without first proving invalid the so far unchallenged testimonies behind it. 

Examining Stalin's 1941 Plan to Attack Germany
Daniel Michaels – Institute for Historical Review

… Free Russian and German historians are collaborating to ascertain the historical decisions and actions that led to that bloodiest of all conflicts. Wolfgang Strauss, a respected German Slavicist and political analyst, explains this clarifying historical process in "Operation Barbarossa and the Russian Historians' Dispute," … He examines here the research of revisionist scholars in Russia and Germany on Stalin's role in igniting the German-Russian conflict and his efforts to expand the Soviet empire across Europe. Perhaps most importantly, he also shows how a shared understanding of the war is contributing to reconciliation between these two great European peoples.

Russian and German Historians Debate 'Barbarossa'
Daniel Michaels – Institute for Historical Review  

Revising the history of the Second World War's crucial Russo-German campaign is very much a work in progress, nowhere more so than in Russia and Germany . Ever since Viktor Suvorov (Vladimir Rezun) broke the ice a decade ago with his sensational Ledokol (published in English as Icebreaker… Russian historians have been reexamining the many myths, legends, and fantasies associated with the outbreak of the death duel between Communism and National Socialism. The role of Joseph Stalin, in particular, has aroused the most heated controversy. In Russia, the debate has involved two major groups. 

US Troops Used 'Comfort Women' in Occupied Japan
Associated Press

Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in World War II has a little-known sequel: After its surrender -- with tacit approval from the U.S. occupation authorities -- Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for American GIs. An Associated Press review of historical documents and records shows American authorities permitted the official brothel system to operate despite internal reports that women were being coerced into prostitution. … Tens of thousands of women were employed to provide cheap sex to U.S. troops until the spring of 1946, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur shut the brothels down. The documents show the brothels were rushed into operation as American forces poured into Japan beginning in August 1945.

Buying the War
Bill Moyers Journal – PBS Television (Video) 

On Wednesday, April 25 a new PBS television series, Bill Moyers Journal, premiered with "Buying the War," a 90-minute documentary that explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. "Buying the War" includes interviews with Dan Rather, formerly of CBS; Tim Russert of “Meet the Press”; Bob Simon of “60 Minutes”; Walter Isaacson, former president of CNN; and John Walcott, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel of Knight Ridder newspapers …

Jews Denounce Seminar in Italy on 'Holocaust Denial'
European Jewish Press

A controversial three-day academic seminar discussing the legitimacy of denying the Holocaust has been strongly criticized by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). Held on April 17-19 at the University of Teramo in central Italy , the event gathered historians, journalists, lawyers and writers to analyze Holocaust denial. … Lecturers included renowned historians and representatives of the extreme right wing organisations, along with fiercely anti-Zionist personalities from the far left. … Speakers included Robert Faurisson, a leading personality among those who deny the Holocaust, who gave his contributions to the seminar via a video conference as he has been denied entry in Italy because of his negationist views.

Toyota Surpasses GM in Global Sales in First Quarter
Bloomberg

Toyota Motor Corp. surpassed General Motors Corp. in first-quarter sales of cars and trucks, threatening GM's 76-year reign as the world's biggest automaker … Toyota overtakes GM 50 years after exporting its first passenger car to the U.S. The Toyota City-based automaker is relying on record imports and six North American plants to gain on GM in its home market. GM, after losing $12.4 billion in the past two years, is ceding lower-margin U.S. sales to rental-car companies and cutting incentives as it tries to return to profit.

French Jews Must Move to Israel, Says Israeli Leader
BBC News (2004)

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has urged all French Jews to move to Israel immediately to escape anti-Semitism. He told a meeting of the American Jewish Association in Jerusalem that Jews around the world should relocate to Israel as early as possible. But for those living in France, he added, moving was a "must" because of rising violence against Jews there.

SPLC Takes Aim at Prof. MacDonald
Los Angeles Times 

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday called for an investigation into the campus activities of Kevin MacDonald, a Cal State Long Beach psychology professor whose writings about Jews have been used to support the views of white supremacists. Of particular concern, according to a center report published this week, are MacDonald's theories suggesting that "Jews, who have typically been in the minority in countries around the world, are compelled by an evolutionary strategy that makes them push for liberal policies, like immigration and diversity, with the intent of weakening the power of the majority that rules them."

Americans Less Informed About Current Events
The New York Times

Americans may have more news outlets today than two decades ago, but they still don’t know much more about current events than they did then, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press … Only 69 percent of people in the latest survey could come up with Dick Cheney when asked to name the vice president; in 1989, 74 percent could name Dan Quayle. Fewer could name the governor of their state (66 percent now compared with 74 percent in 1989) and fewer could name the president of Russia (36 percent now compared with 47 percent before). In 1989, fully 81 percent of people knew that the United States had a trade deficit; today, only 68 percent knew.

Prominent Israel Rabbi Blames Liberal Jews for Holocaust
Associated Press

Members of the Reform Jewish movement filed a complaint with police against a former Israeli chief rabbi who blamed the liberal Jewish movement for the Holocaust. The complaint accused Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu of defamation after he told an ultra-Orthodox radio station last week that the Holocaust was punishment for Reform Judaism's liberalization of the religion. Israeli media reported his remarks on Wednesday. Asked by a radio interviewer what was the sin of the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis, Eliyahu quoted a biblical verse about divine punishment for altering a ritual and added, "Those people (victims) were not to blame, but the Reform movement began in Germany. Those tinkerers with the faith got their start in Germany." 

Carter Speaks on Israel, Palestine, 'the Lobby,' and More
Meet the Press – NBC Television (Video)

Former President Jimmy Carter talks frankly about Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, how discussion of Israel policy has been effectively removed from public debate in the US, and more, in this three and a half minute interview with Tim Russert on NBC television’s “Meet the Press.”

Large-Scale Immigration Cited as Threat to Britain
Telegraph (Britain)

Immigration may be threatening Britain's status as a country, it has been claimed. A pamphlet by social policy think-tank Civitas said the UK may already have reached a "tipping point" where it can no longer be regarded as a single nation. David Conway, the author, said that if Britain has become a "nation of immigrants" it could lead to political disintegration.

'Devastating' Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq to Air Wednesday
Greg Mitchell -- Editor and Publisher

The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear on Wednesday evening, April 25: a 90-minute PBS television broadcast titled, "Buying the War," marking the return of the "Bill Moyers Journal." The war continues today, now in its fifth year, with the death toll for Americans and Iraqis rising again -- yet Moyers points out, "The press has yet to come to terms with its role in enabling the Bush administration to go to war on false pretenses." … Several prominent media figures, prodded by Moyers, admit the media failed miserably, though few take personal responsibility.

A Somber New Look at Allied Treatment of Defeated Germans
Nigel Jones 

After the Reich by Giles MacDonogh, to be published in April, is a study of Germany and Austria under Allied and Soviet occupation from the closing days of WWII to the Berlin airlift in 1949. It makes for very sombre reading indeed. … He claims, and the claims appear to be well-documented, that far from our received picture of the occupation being a relatively 'clean' and peaceful process, it amounted to little less than a lesser Holocaust. That Germany was systematically raped, both literally and metaphorically … Torture of prisoners was a widespread practice -- often carried out
by Jewish refugees from the Nazis serving in the Allied forces.

Zionist Thugs Attack Paul Fromm
Focal Point Publications (Britain)

Canadian Free Speech activist Paul Fromm was attacked at the College of Teachers hearings in Toronto (Canada) on Thursday where the College is conducting hearings on the attempt to revoke his teacher's certificate on a series of politically motivated allegations. He showed up in the morning for the hearing, to find ten Jewish Defence League (JDL) thugs waiting with Israeli flags and placards … Once the JDL thugs recognized Fromm … [he] attempted to get onto the elevator, filled with office workers. Three of the thugs forced their way on, as did two police officers … He attempted to choke and assault Fromm. The police immediately intervened and pulled a JDL thug off Fromm. 

The Holocaust as Political Asset
Amira Hass – Haaretz (Israel)

… Turning the Holocaust into a political asset serves Israel primarily in its fight against the Palestinians. When the Holocaust is on one side of the scale, along with the guilty (and rightly so) conscience of the West, the dispossession of the Palestinian people from their homeland in 1948 is minimized and blurred. The phrase "security for the Jews" has been consecrated as an exclusive synonym for "the lessons of the Holocaust." It is what allows Israel to systematically discriminate against its Arab citizens … Turning the Holocaust into an asset allows Israel to present all the methods of the Palestinian struggle (even the unarmed ones) as another link in the anti-Semitic chain whose culmination is Auschwitz .

Holocaust Remembrance: What's Behind the Campaign?
Mark Weber

… Holocaust remembrance is not, as its supporters claim, a noble effort motivated by sincere concern for humanity. Instead, this relentless campaign is an expression of Jewish-Zionist power, and is designed to further Jewish-Zionist interests … The Holocaust remembrance campaign reflects an arrogant view of Jews as a special and superior people. … Jewish death and suffering do not deserve to be venerated more than the death and suffering of non-Jews. The Holocaust remembrance campaign deserves scorn, not support, because it is a one-sided effort that serves narrow Jewish and Israeli interests and bolsters Jewish-Zionist power.

Recalling History in Afghanistan Conflict
Eric Margolis – Toronto Sun (Canada) 

The death last Sunday of six Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan reminds us of Santayana's famous maxim that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. The soldiers were killed near Maiwand, a name meaning nothing to most Westerners. But there, on July 27, 1880, during the bloody Second Anglo-Afghan War, the British Empire suffered one of the worst defeats in its colonial history … Understanding today's war in Afghanistan requires proper historical context. … If 160,000 Soviet troops and 240,000 Afghan Communist soldiers could not defeat the Pashtuns in ten years, how can 50,000 U.S. and NATO troops do better?

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya
Ricklibrarian

Author Caroline Elkins refutes the official story. Her evidence shows that up to 300,000 Kikuyu were held in the many camps and 1.5 million men, women, and children were forced from their homes to live in reserves in the far corners of the colony, mostly on infertile land, where many died. Most were captured by military action and lost all of their possessions. Entire villages were burned … Elkins believes that between 130,000 and 300,000 Kikuyu men, women, and children died. Much of the book is about the brutality of the colonial police, British military, vigilante colonists, and loyalist guard.

In France, a Mood of Decline
Associated Press

… The national mood now, as France enters the final week before Sunday's presidential election, is far less exultant … Yet for the French, no word seems too dark to describe their funk. This malaise has translated into a volatile and unsettled election campaign, with surprises and suspense, and led by candidates promising change but none of the shock therapy that may be necessary to revive French fortunes. … The riots confronted the French with a reality they had long chosen to overlook: of a vast, angry underclass consisting largely of Africans and Arabs distanced from ancestral family values but shut out of the French cultural and economic mainstream.

Why is the Peace Movement Silent About AIPAC?
John Walsh

… I raised the question of AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] directly with Kerry's aide, inquiring about its hawkish influence on Kerry and other Senators. Suddenly the aide was quite engaged. Leaning forward, he said: "That will never be discussed publicly. That will never be discussed publicly." Clearly even Kerry's office is unhappy with the pressure that comes from AIPAC. It is widely acknowledged that the reps and senators are ticked at AIPAC, and their hostility seems to be growing these days. With upwards of 60 percent of their campaign contributions coming directly or indirectly from the Israel Lobby, the Democratic congressmen are not free to respond to their antiwar base.

The Final Act of Submission
Scott Ritter 

… So if we are to continue to permit AIPAC [American-Israel Public Affairs Committee] to operate as an undeclared agent of a foreign nation, and to influence American foreign and national security policymaking at the expense of our Constitution, then we should acknowledge our true status as nothing more than a colony of Israel, pull down the Stars and Stripes and raise the Star of David over our nation’s capitol. While representing the final act of submission, it would also be the first truly honest act that occurred in Washington, D.C., in many years.

A Look At The 'Powerful Jewish Lobby'
Mark Weber

To sum up: 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 systematic Jewish distortion of current affairs and history, the Jewish-Zionist domination of the U.S. political system, Zionist oppression of Palestinians, the bloody conflict between Jews and non-Jews in the Middle East, and the Israeli threat to peace.

European Union Agrees on 'Holocaust Denial'
and Racism Bans
BBC News

European interior ministers have agreed to make incitement to racism an EU-wide crime, but have stopped short of a blanket ban on Holocaust denial. The agreement makes it an offence to condone or grossly trivialise crimes of genocide -- but only if the effect is incitement to violence or hatred. The deal follows six years of talks, and will disappoint Germany, which pushed hard for a Holocaust-denial law. Berlin has also had to drop a proposal for an EU-wide ban on Nazi symbols.

Top Wolfowitz Postings Went to Iraq War Backers
Emad Mekay and Jim Lobe -- Inter Press Service

Of the top five outside international appointments made by embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz during his nearly two-year tenure, three were senior political appointees of right-wing governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq. The latest appointment came just last month when former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher was named senior vice president for external affairs … Wolfowitz, who became the Bank's president in June 2005, has long insisted that his own role as deputy defence secretary under U.S. President George W. Bush, in which he was a key architect of the Iraq war, would never influence his decisions at the Bank.

Pete McCloskey Leaves Republican Party
The Contra Costa Times (California)

Lifelong Republican, Marine veteran and former Congressman Pete McCloskey has left the GOP and registered with the Democratic Party. McCloskey says he is disgusted with the "succession of ethical scandals, Congressmen taking bribes, and abuse of power by both the Republican House leadership and the highest appointees of the White House." As a Republican, McCloskey served in the House of Representatives from a San Mateo County congressional district from 1967- to 1983. He was a brief presidential hopeful when he ran on an anti-war platform against Richard Nixon in 1972.

Machinations of the Anti-Defamation League
Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey, Jr.

You might wonder why a man would leave northern California and come to southern California in the middle of a lovely weekend. I came because I respect the thesis of this organization -- the thesis being that there should be a reexamination of whatever governments say or politicians say or political entities say. 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. 

British Journalists Call for Boycott of Israeli Goods
The New York Times

Britain's biggest journalists' union, The National Union of Journalists, has criticized Israel's "military adventures" and has voted narrowly in favor of a boycott of Israeli goods. The vote followed calls by some British academics last year to ostracize their Israeli counterparts. At the annual delegates meeting of the journalists' union last Friday, a vote calling for "a boycott of Israeli goods similar to those boycotts in the struggles against apartheid in South Africa " was approved 66 to 54. The delegates also urged Britain and the United Nations to impose sanctions on Israel. The union has about 40,000 members. 

Throw the Bums Out!
Lee Iacocca

Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! … You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. 

The Power of the Israel Lobby
VPRO (Netherland)

Eye-opening Dutch television documentary on the power of the pro-Israel Lobby in the US , with stress on the impact of the “Israel Lobby” paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. English-language version of video documentary, “De Israel Lobby,” of the Netherlands public television association VPRO, and broadcast on Tegenlicht, (“Counterlight”). Includes interviews with John Mearsheimer, Lawrence Wilkerson (former chief of staff to Secy. of State Colin Powell), John Hagee (cofounder of Christians United for Israel ), Richard Perle, and Tony Judt (historian). Runtime: 52 mins.

Belgians Hail the Middle Ages
The New York Times 

In Belgium, a country of 10 million, there are at least two dozen groups re-enacting the Middle Ages, rubbing stones together to make fire, eating their dinners out of caldrons, re-enacting heroic battles and staging mock hangings. Ms. Janssens leads one such group, the Order of the Hagelanders, and said: “We have doctors and lawyers, people from all walks of life. It has become a national passion.” Such is the country’s obsession with the past that in a recent poll of 1,000 Belgians, ages 35 to 65, by the Flemish Heritage Foundation, a majority of respondents said that if they could go back to high school, they would study history, with 30 percent choosing the Middle Ages, compared with 11 percent for the 20th century. 

French Leader Urged Israel to Invade Syria
INN (Israel)

France urged Israel to invade Syria during the war against Hizbullah this past summer. [Israel] Army Radio reported Sunday that French President Jacques Chirac contacted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert via a secret channel at the very beginning of the war in Lebanon. He informed him that France would support an Israeli invasion of Syria. Chirac asked that Israel act to topple the Assad regime, and promised in return to block any moves against Israel within the United Nations or European Union.

Jews: A Religious Community, a People, or a Race?
Mark Weber

Defining "Jew" has never been simple. Is he someone who practices Judaism, the Jewish religion, or is he identified by his ancestry? While many Americans assume that Jews are essentially a religious group, Jews themselves take for granted that their community is much more ethnic-national than it is religious. Benjamin Netanyahu, until recently Israel's prime minister, frankly regards Jews as members of a racial group. Speaking in February [2000] to a gathering of nearly a thousand Jews in southern California, he said: "If Israel had not come into existence after World War II then I am certain the Jewish race wouldn't have survived."

Europe’s Growing 'Multiculturalism' Crisis
Arnaud de Borchgrave – UPI

From the British city of Leeds to Livorno in Italy and from Luxembourg to Ljubljana in Slovenia , multiculturalism is pretty much a bust. Quicksand is the only common ground between Western values and militant Muslim fundamentalism … The European cult of appeasement has given free rein to radical imams whose only goal is to Islamicize Christian Europe. The terrain is fertile. Only 20 percent of Europe's Christians attend church services on Sunday, but mosques are packed with worshippers on Fridays, where sermons are political paeans to the courageous jihadis in Iraq and Afghanistan .

Wolfowitz-Feith Memo Shows Pentagon Effort to Link
Al Qaeda to Iraq
Los Angeles Times

Just four months after the Sept. 11 attacks, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz dashed off a memo to a senior Pentagon colleague, demanding action to identify connections between Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime and Al Qaeda. "We don't seem to be making much progress pulling together intelligence on links between Iraq and Al Qaeda," Wolfowitz wrote in the Jan. 22, 2002, memo to Douglas J. Feith, the department's No. 3 official … Wolfowitz's memo, released Thursday, is included in a recently declassified report by the Pentagon's inspector general. The memo marked the beginnings of what would become a controversial yearlong Pentagon project supervised by Feith …

How Syria Helped the US in the 'War on Terror'
James G. Abourezk

About five years ago I had a visit with Syrian President Bashar Al Asad, a visit when he told me that his intelligence services had uncovered a plot by Al Qaeda that would have killed American servicemen in the Middle East . He turned over the information to the U.S. , which was then able to stop the operation, saving the lives of the Americans who were being targeted … I asked the U.S. Ambassador to Syria if what he had said was true. His reply was that not only was it true, but that President Asad had been able to stop more than one Al Qaeda attack on American interests.

Interracial Marriages Surge Across U.S.
Associated Press

… The number of interracial marriages has soared; for example, black-white marriages increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures. Factoring in all racial combinations, Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld calculates that more than 7 percent of America's 59 million married couples in 2005 were interracial, compared to less than 2 percent in 1970. Coupled with a steady flow of immigrants from all parts of the world, the surge of interracial marriages and multiracial children is producing a 21st century America more diverse than ever, with the potential to become less stratified by race.

'Right Wing' Crime Rate in Germany Sets New High
Reuters 

Crimes committed by neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists in Germany reached their highest level last year since reunification in 1990, a newspaper reported on Monday. The crime rate rose by 14 percent to more than 18,000 extremist offences, Tagesspiegel daily said, in an advance release of a story to run on Tuesday. Of the 18,000 offences, 1,100 were acts of violence -- an 8 percent rise from the previous year, it said, citing federal police figures. 

Sunic, Weber and Smith Address Spirited IHR Meeting
Institute for Historical Review

An upbeat spirit of solidarity and enthusiasm marked the IHR meeting on Saturday evening, March 24, 2007, in Irvine, California. The three speakers – Tomislav Sunic, Mark Weber and Bradley Smith – were in good form, not only in delivering their own talks, but also during the lively question and answer sessions. IHR Director Weber opened the meeting and introduced the other speakers.

Behind the Iran Crisis: The Israel Lobby's Campaign for War
Mark Weber

In recent months the most pressing international issue has been the question of a new war in the Middle East … This crisis is artificial. It is every bit as phony as the one manufactured to provide a pretext for war against Iraq … Once again we are told that another country that Israel regards as an adversary is a grave threat to peace. Once again our politicians and a compliant media present a barrage of sensational and frightening propaganda claims – claims remarkably similar to those we heard in 2002 and 2003, and from the same Israel-friendly crowd … The Jewish-Zionist grip on our nation is an expression of a profound and deeply rooted problem… Such a lobby or power… could only gain such a hold on the governmental machinery of a society that is fundamentally sick and corrupt.

America’s Infrastructure is Crumbling, Say Engineers
MSNBC

Crowded schools, traffic-choked roads and transit cutbacks are eroding the quality of American life, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gave the nation's infrastructure an overall grade of D. A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers assessed the four-year trend in the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure, including roadways, bridges, drinking water systems, public parks, railroads and the power grid. The overall grade slipped from the D-plus given to the infrastructure in 2001 and 2003.

Most Americans Think Country is on the 'Wrong Track'
Bloomberg (USA)

Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll, conducted April 5 to 9 … shows that a strong majority of Americans believe the U.S. is on the wrong track and President George W. Bush's approval rating was 36 percent, a record low … The percentage of Americans who say the country is on the wrong track remains near a record high, at 66 percent, compared with 70 percent in the March poll and 61 percent in January.

Sen. Fulbright, 1967:
Jews 'Think They Have Control of the Senate'
Haaretz (Israel)

Hundreds of pages released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee contain protocols of the closed hearings of this committee from the seminal year of 1967 … Here is one of the more amazing dialogs contained in these pages: Date: June 9, 1967. The senators contemplate ways to pressure Israel and the Arabs and delve into the question of Jewish power in America … The Chairman, J. William Fulbright of Arkansas: … “The trouble is they think they have control of the Senate and they can do as they please. … I said they know they have control of the Senate politically … “

The Institute for Historical Review needs another full-time staff member to join our team here in southern California.

As office manager and website specialist, he or she should have good computer skills, a demonstrated ability to produce quality work on a timely basis, reliability, self-initiative, a commitment to the ideals and goals of the IHR, and be able to work together well with others. Business or marketing experience and a grounding in history are desirable but not essential. Preference will be given to applicants who already live in southern California.

The starting salary is competitive. We offer the satisfaction of stimulating, challenging work of great social value and importance. The IHR is located near beautiful beaches in an economically dynamic region with an ideal climate.

Doomsday for the Greenback
Mike Whitney – Global Research

The American people are in La-la land. If they had any idea of what the Federal Reserve was up to they’d be out on the streets waving fists and pitchforks. Instead, we go our business like nothing is wrong … Everyone agrees that the current trade imbalances are unsustainable and will probably trigger major economic disruptions that will thrust us towards a global recession. Still, Washington and the Fed stubbornly resist any change in policy that might reduce over-consumption or reverse present trends. It’s madness … Regrettably, we are probably facing a decades-long economic downturn in which the dollar will weaken, stocks will fall, GDP will shrivel, and traditional standards of living will decline.

Israel Backers Demand 'Subservience,’ Says Carter
The Jewish Week (New York)

Mideast peace is possible only with forceful U.S. engagement, former President Carter said as he received an award for speaking out on controversial topics. Carter addressed some 400 people in Washington on April 4 as he received the Ridenhour Courage Prize, given in part because of his recent book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The work infuriated many Israel supporters who saw it as one-sided … Carter said the Bush administration and pro-Israel groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee prevent Americans from having a real debate on Middle East policy. "The American friends of Israel, who demand such subservience, are in many cases sincere and well-intentioned people; I know them," Carter said.  

Kurt Vonnegut, Author of 'Slaughterhouse-Five,' is Dead
Associated Press

Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical novelist who captured the absurdity of war and questioned the advances of science in darkly humorous works such as "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle," died Wednesday. He was 84 … His mother had succeeded in killing herself just before he left for Germany during World War II, where he was quickly taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge. He was being held in Dresden when Allied bombs created a firestorm that killed an estimated 135,000 people in the city.

Jews Flock to Germany
The Telegraph (Britain)

Almost 70 years after the Nazis plotted the Holocaust, German Jews are celebrating Passover with the news that their community has become the fastest growing in the world. This extraordinary reversal of fortune has even seen Jewish immigration to Germany outstrip that to Israel. According to one rabbi, Israelis are flocking to Berlin, rather than German Jews making their aliya, or emigration, to Israel. … Across Germany the number of Jews has increased tenfold from the 23,000 members it counted in 1990.

Free Speech and Democracy in Europe
Bruno Gollnisch (Interview) – Altermedia

The leader of the newly formed patriotic faction in the European Union parliament, and vice-chairman of France’s National Front party, was recently sentenced to a three months suspended jail sentence and a 5,000 euro fine for remarks about “the Holocaust.” Here he speaks about civil rights, freedom of speech and democracy in France and Europe, including the oppressive “politically correct” double standard.

Marvin Hier Tops Newsweek List of Influential Rabbis
Jewish Journal (Los Angeles)

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most influential American rabbi of them all?  Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, according to a list published Monday in Newsweek. An article titled "American Jews: The List – Choosing the Chosen," rates America ’s most influential rabbis …

The Simon Wiesenthal Center: 
A Bastion of Jewish-Zionist Power
Mark Weber 

Since its founding in 1977, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has grown to become one of the most important and influential Jewish organizations in the world. … Although it calls itself “an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust fostering tolerance and understanding,” the Center in reality is a propaganda agency whose agenda is to further Jewish-Zionist interests… The Center and its head, Rabbi Marvin Hier, wield considerable political power. "Hier has accrued unprecedented clout in the Legislature, on Capitol Hill, in the city's boardrooms and even in Hollywood," says the Los Angeles Times.  

IHR News and Comment
Institute for Historical Review

The Institute’s “IHR News & Comment” e-mail service continues to grow, attracting ever more subscribers who appreciate these informative, timely roundups of news, analysis and commentary. To subscribe to this free public service, send a note to news@ihr.org

Israel Doesn’t Want Peace
Gideon Levy – Haaretz (Israel)

The moment of truth has arrived, and it has to be said: Israel does not want peace. The arsenal of excuses has run out, and the chorus of Israeli rejection already rings hollow. Until recently, it was still possible to accept the Israeli refrain that "there is no partner" for peace and that "the time isn't right" to deal with our enemies. Today, the new reality before our eyes leaves no room for doubt and the tired refrain that "Israel supports peace" has been left shattered.

Left-Right Alliance Against War?
Jon Basil Utley – Foreign Policy in Focus

Americans opposed to war are a distinct minority … Even so, Washington is on the verge of extending the war with an attack on Iran. To change American policy, we need to understand the differences between the antiwar movements on the Left and the Right before identifying how they might cooperate … The leadership of both parties supports war and empire. … There remains much that divides Left and Right. But, particularly as these designations lose their meaning, there is much that unites us as well. Opposition to American empire can serve as the banner that welcomes us into the one big tent of people opposed to war, an Anti-Imperialist League for the 21st century.

Morgenthau Plan Documents
David Irving

The Morgenthau Plan, more formally known as the Treasury Plan for the Treatment of Germany, was devised by Assistant Treasury Secretary Harry Dexter White and Secretary Henry R. Morgenthau Jr. in the summer of 1944 … While important elements of the Plan, including the subtle re-education of the Germans by their own refugees and the dismantling of German heavy industry to aid British exports, were indeed put into effect, in the directive 1067 which the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff finally issued to Eisenhower, the main parts of the Morgenthau Plan, including orders to liquidate entire classes of suspected Nazi war criminals upon simple identification, and to leave the German nation to 'stew in its own juice,' were not formally implemented.

Austin J. App: In Memoriam
Revisionists.com

Austin App, a German-American scholar, was a major revisionist author and publicist. From the mid-1940s until his death in 1984, he was a prolific publicist, bringing to public attention suppressed facts about the brutal oppression, dispossession and expulsion of millions of ethnic Germans from their ancient homelands in central and eastern Europe.  App was the author of more than a thousand articles, columns and book reviews, which appeared in a wide range of American and European periodicals, as well as of eight books. He addressed the first IHR Conference in 1979.

IHR News and Comment
Institute for Historical Review

The Institute’s “IHR News & Comment” e-mail service continues to grow, attract­ing ever more subscribers who appreciate these informative, timely roundups of news, analysis and commentary. To subscribe to this free public service, send a note to news@ihr.org

Rep. Findley Speaks About US Mideast Policy
EvTv1 – Video

Former US Congressman Paul Findley explains in this interview how the Israeli lobby controls the debate and information about the Middle East and, especially, the Israel-Palestine conflict. The result, he says, is a one-sided US policy in the Middle East that is contrary to authentic American interests. Runtime: 2:34 minutes.

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 catastrophe could have been prevented if any U.S. president during the past 35 years 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 – even President Bush this very day – could prevail and win overwhelming public support for the suspension of aid by laying these facts before the American people …

Some British Schools Drop Holocaust Lessons to Avoid Offending Muslims
Daily Mail (Britain)

Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, a [British] government backed study has revealed. It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades – where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem – because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques. The findings have prompted claims that some schools are using history "as a vehicle for promoting political correctness."

Iraq Oil Contracts Going to Asian Countries
CNN

Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government.

Jewish Billionaires Club
Leslie Bunder

Successful Jews from across the globe have made it to the annual Forbes billionaires issue. According to the business magazine, there are now 946 billionaires in the world, and among them are Jewish people from the USA, Brazil, Spain, United Kingdom and Israel. Richest Jew is casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. The 73-year-old who owns The Venetian in Las Vegas is worth $26.5 billion and is the sixth wealthiest person on the planet. Coming in at number 11 is Oracle boss Larry Ellison with a worth of $21.5 billion. Chelsea Football Club owner and Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovitch, has a worth of $18.7 billion. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, aged 33 is one of the youngest billionaires with a worth of $16.6 billion.

The Mid-Life Crisis of the European Union
Patrick J. Buchanan

The 50th anniversary of the European Union brought to the fore as many questions as telegrams of congratulations. Quo vadis? Where is Europe going? Other than commerce, what is the EU all about? … Not one member of the EU has a birthrate among its native born to enable it to survive in its present form. Europe ’s welfare states are failing to produce the babies to replace the aging and shrinking population. Thus, virtually all the nations of Western Europe are undergoing invasions – from the Mahgreb, Middle East, South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa … The EU is a thing of paper, an intellectual construct. Unlike a nation, it has no heart and no soul. 

Rising American Anxiety Over US Foreign Policy
Jim Lobe - Inter Press Service

Increasingly anxious about the court of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, particularly in Iraq , the country appears to be moving toward a "full-blown crisis of public confidence," according to the latest "Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy" survey designed by veteran pollster Daniel Yankelovich released here Tuesday. Among other findings, the survey, the fourth in a semiannual series by the New York-based Public Agenda and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), found that nearly six in 10 respondents doubt the government is being honest with them about foreign policy – a 10-point increase from just six months ago.

Nazi Germany’s Environmental Policies and Outlook
World Future Fund

This brief collection of quotes illustrates the decisive role that a radical ecological understanding of the world played within National Socialism.  Needless to say, ecology as a science and natural philosophy as a whole have not always assumed the same radical ideological shape throughout history … The deteriorating world environmental situation in our time could create incentives for even harsher regimes than those of Nazi Germany. Thus, it is useful to study this subject.

Our Patience on Iraq Should Be Exhausted
Sheldon Richman

In the discussion over whether the recent increase in troops will achieve the stated objective, the big picture is getting lost. Even most war critics in Congress seem to not fully see it. They routinely criticize the Bush administration for its incompetent execution of the war, but by doing so they have dropped the more important ball: regardless of how the war is being run, the invasion was illegal, unconstitutional, and contrary to the interests of the American people … But even if the war were “going well” it would be morally and politically objectionable.

Jews Face 'Holocaust' by Interfaith Marriages
Pauline Tam -- The Ottawa Citizen

The high rate of Jews who marry non-Jews has created a "spiritual holocaust" that threatens the survival of Judaism, says an Orthodox scholar and leading opponent of intermarriage. Esther Jungreis, an international lecturer who has been called "the Jewish Billy Graham," equates intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews with self-imposed annihilation on the scale of the Nazi extermination campaign. … Mrs. Jungreis, a Holocaust survivor and New York-based author, argues there is a moral imperative for Jews to marry within the faith … 

New Book by Dr. Sunic Examines America’s National Character

This important new book, Homo Americanus, provides a well-informed and brilliant examination of the American national character. The author, a former US professor and former Croatian diplomat, reviews the country’s founding myths and its legacy of Calvinist Puritanism, boundless economic progress, and self-choseness, and their role in shaping the messianic impulse in US domestic and foreign policy. In modern America, contends Dr. Tomislav Sunic, notions of “democracy,” “multiculturalism,“ “political correctness” and hyper-individualistic “freedom” now threaten the country’s European heritage, and the cultural-ethnic heritage of all peoples. With a foreword by Prof. Kevin MacDonald

A Secret US-Backed War Against Iran
ABC News

A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News. The group, called Jundullah is made up of members of the Baluchi tribe and operates out of the Baluchistan province in Pakistan, just across the border from Iran . It has taken responsibility for the deaths and kidnappings of more than a dozen Iranian soldiers and officials … Some former CIA officers say the arrangement is reminiscent of how the U.S. government used proxy armies, funded by other countries including Saudi Arabia, to destabilize the government of Nicaragua in the 1980s.

He Isn’t Anti-Semitic. He’s Right
Zev Chafets -- Los Angeles Times

… Alarmed, the reporters warned [Micheal Ray] Richardson that his words could be considered insulting because they fit the stereotype of Jews as crafty and shrewd... Excuse me, but Richardson didn't say anything offensive… In fact, Jews, as a people, are smart, in my experience. And they're proud of it (especially the dumb ones). … As far as I can tell, Jews (about one percent of the population) only own about half the teams in the NBA (and a pretty fair proportion in baseball and football too). So what? … As to the observation that Jews run a lot of successful businesses, no kidding. Jews are very likely the most economically successful ethnic group in the U.S.

West Has Bloodied Hands
Eric Margolis -- Toronto Sun (Canada)

Who was the first high government official to authorize use of mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq? … The correct answer: Sainted Winston Churchill. As colonial secretary and secretary for war and air, he authorized the RAF in the 1920s to routinely use mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq and against Pashtun tribes on British India's northwest frontier … Britain, the U.S., Kuwait and Saudi Arabia convinced Iraq to invade Iran, then covertly supplied Saddam with money, arms, intelligence, and advisers. Meanwhile, Israel secretly supplied Iran with $5 billion US in American arms and spare parts while publicly denouncing Iran for terrorism.

Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows
The New York Times

Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top one percent of Americans - those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 - receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows. The top ten percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression … The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980.

Behind the Denials: A De Facto Hostage Exchange
Patrick Cockburn 

The stand-off over the 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran ended with a de facto prisoner exchange, despite denials by Britain and Iran that a swap was intended. The first sign of a breakthrough the day before yesterday was the release of Jalal Sharafi, an Iranian diplomat abducted from the streets of Baghdad two months ago, whom Iran claimed had been seized by Iraqi commandos controlled by the US. …The seizure of the sailors and marines was the latest episode in a series of tit-for-tat  confrontations between the US and Iran which began when the US tried to seize senior Iranian intelligence officials on an official visit to Arbil on January 11.

Lessons in Capture: Iran’s Release of Britons
Jim Lobe – Inter Press Service

The drama surrounding the release of 15 British sailors and marines after 12 days in Iranian captivity was designed to convey two key messages that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would do well to heed, say experts here. First, the Britons' original capture by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard near the entry to the disputed Shatt-al-Arab waterway was meant to demonstrate that, despite its conventional military weakness and diplomatic isolation, Iran retains the ability to strike at western interests when it feels sufficiently provoked. Second, when western powers engage Iran with respect and as an equal, they are more likely to get what they want than when they take a confrontational path designed to bully or humiliate the regime.

But Who’s Against the Next War?
David Rieff – The New York Times

To hear the Democrats vying for the 2008 presidential nomination tell it, their foreign-policy views represent a sharp, even radical break with the course the Bush administration has pursued since 9/11 … Upon closer examination, however, the differences between these candidates and President Bush hardly seem as consequential as all that … It is their positions on Iran’s nuclear program, a subject that is almost certain to bedevil whoever becomes president in 2009, that most strongly suggest that the foreign-policy differences between Democratic and Republican policy elites have been vastly overblown … 

New High-Profile Criticisms of the Pro-Israel Lobby
Forward (New York)

The simmering debate over American policy toward Israel and the role of the Jewish community in shaping it exploded with near-nuclear force this week. Several of the nation’s best-known international affairs commentators fired salvos at pro-Israel lobbyists and defenders of Israel fired back with unprecedented fury. In the space of three days, major critiques of Jewish lobbying were published by controversial billionaire George Soros, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof, the respected British newsmagazine The Economist and the popular Website Salon. The replies were furious. The New York Sun accused Kristof and Soros of spreading a “new blood libel.”  

Russian TV Series Highlights Divide About Stalin Legacy
Los Angeles Times

The poignant scene – for viewers who can stomach it – is part of a controversial 40-episode TV drama, "Stalin Live," now airing on a nationwide [Russian] network … For Stalin admirers, of whom there are many in Russia, the series is an entertaining and educational look at the man who turned the Soviet Union into a superpower. To critics, it is a dangerous distortion of history that threatens to misinform a younger generation about a leader responsible for the deaths of millions of people, and reinforce a trend toward greater authoritarianism in politics.

Iran and Selective Outrage
Robert Parry – Consortium News

One of the least endearing features of Washington's political/media hierarchy is its propensity for selective outrage, like what is now coming from George W. Bush about the "inexcusable behavior" of the Iranian government in holding 15 British sailors whom Bush has labeled "hostages." … But Bush becomes a pious defender of international law when it suits his geopolitical interests … The major U.S. news media predictably follows along, getting into an arms-crossed harrumph over foreigners trampling on the inviolate principles of international law, the same rules that should never constrain U.S. actions.

Japanese Textbooks Reflect Revised History
The New York Times

In another sign that Japan is pressing ahead in revising its history of World War II, new high school textbooks will no longer acknowledge that the Imperial Army was responsible for a major atrocity in Okinawa, the government announced late Friday. The Ministry of Education ordered publishers to delete passages stating that the Imperial Army ordered civilians to commit mass suicide during the Battle of Okinawa, as the island was about to fall to American troops in the final months of the war. The decision was announced as part of the ministry's annual screening of textbooks used in all public schools. 

How Many Iraqi Deaths? 655,000, or Far Fewer?
BBC News

The British government was advised against publicly criticising a report estimating that 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the war, the BBC has learnt. Iraqi Health Ministry figures put the toll at less than ten percent of the total in the survey, published in the Lancet. But the [ UK ] Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the [Lancet] survey's methods were "close to best practice" and the study design was "robust". Another expert agreed the method was "tried and tested".

The War on Iran
Michel Chossudovsky – Global Research

The US has completed major military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf  within a short distance of Iranian territorial waters.  This naval deployment is meant to "send a warning to Tehran" following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747, which imposes major economic sanctions on Iran in retaliation for its non-compliance with US demands regarding its uranium enrichment program. The US war games off the Iranian coastline involved the participation of two aircraft carriers, the USS John Stennis carrier group and the USS Eisenhower with some 10,000 navy personnel and more than 100 warplanes.

US Ready to Strike Iran Soon, Russian Media Reports
The Jerusalem Post (Israel)

The United States will be ready to launch a missile attack on Iran's nuclear facilities as soon as early this month, perhaps "from 4 a.m. until 4 p.m. on April 6," according to reports in the Russian media on Saturday. According to Russian intelligence sources, the reports said, the US has devised a plan to attack several targets in Iran, and an assault could be carried out by launching missiles from fighter jets and warships stationed in the Persian Gulf. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a security official as saying, "Russian intelligence has information that the US Armed Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf have nearly completed preparations for a missile strike against Iranian territory."

The Botched US Raid that Led to the Hostage Crisis
Patrick Cockburn – The Independent (Britain)

A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines. Early on the morning of 11 January, helicopter-born US forces launched a surprise raid on a long-established Iranian liaison office in the city of Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. They captured five relatively junior Iranian officials whom the US accuses of being intelligence agents and still holds. In reality the US attack had a far more ambitious objective, The Independent has learned. The aim of the raid, launched without informing the Kurdish authorities, was to seize two men at the very heart of the Iranian security establishment. 

Belgian Ex-Senator On Trial for 'Holocaust Denial’
United Press International

A former Belgian senator went on trial Friday for denying the Holocaust during an interview on Dutch television. The court watched Roeland Raes' interview and then adjourned until June 15, Expatica reports. Raes, a leader in the Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Blok – which has since been reconstituted as the Vlaams Belang – was interviewed because he had ties to a similar Dutch group. On television, he suggested that Anne Frank's diary was faked and said the Nazis did not operate death or concentration camps, just very poorly run work camps. The Forum of Jewish Organizations in Flanders filed a complaint after the broadcast, charging that Raes had violated Belgian Holocaust denial laws.

Europe Set on Path to Oblivion, Pope Warns
LifeSite News

Europe’s rejection of its traditional Christian identity is leading to its imminent disappearance from the world stage, Pope Benedict XVI said in an address to a congress of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) on March 24. “[I]n demographic terms, it must unfortunately be noted that Europe seems set on a path that could lead to its exit from history,” Pope Benedict XVI stated at the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome on March 25, 1957, which formed the foundations of today’s European Union. “It could almost be imagined that the European continent is actually losing faith in its own future,” the Pope said.