Author: Brett Wilkins

A German court on Monday ruled that the city of Frankfurt cannot cancel an upcoming Roger Waters concert amid accusations of antisemitism stemming from the Pink Floyd co-founder's outspoken criticism of Israeli apartheid and other crimes against Palestinians.

Deutsche Welle reports an administrative court in Frankfurt ruled that concert organizer Messe Frankfurt, the state of Hesse, and the city are obliged "to make it possible for Waters to stage the concert" – part of the 79-year-old English rocker's "This Is Not a Drill!" tour – on May 29 as contractually agreed. The city and state had ordered Mess Frankfurt to cancel the show, calling Waters one of the "world's most influential antisemites."

"Politicians don't have the right to intimidate artists and their fans by banning performances," Waters said before the case. "I am fighting for all of our human rights, including the right to free speech."

Continue reading “‘Win for Artistic Freedom’ as Court Reverses Frankfurt Ban on Roger Waters Concert”

The Costs of War Project said the U.S.-led invasion and occupation “caused massive death, destruction, and political instability,” killing hundreds of thousands of people while displacing millions more.

by Brett Wilkins

As the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq approaches, a leading research institute on Wednesday said that "the total costs of the war in Iraq and Syria are expected to exceed half a million human lives and $2.89 trillion" by 2050.

The Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs said that "this budgetary figure includes costs to date, estimated at about $1.79 trillion, and the costs of veterans’ care through 2050."

Continue reading “Iraq War Costs Could Hit Nearly $3 Trillion by 2050: Report”

While advocates of peace and a multipolar world order welcomed Friday's China-brokered agreement reestablishing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, U.S. press, pundits, and politicians expressed what one observer called "imperial anxieties" over the deal and growing Chinese influence in a region dominated by the United States for decades.

The deal struck between the two countries – which are fighting a proxy war in Yemen – to normalize relations after seven years of severance was hailed by Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, as "a victory of dialogue and peace."

The three nations said in a joint statement that the agreement is an "affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interference in internal affairs."

Continue reading “US ‘Imperial Anxieties’ Mount Over China-Brokered Iran-Saudi Arabia Diplomatic Deal”

The head of the United Nations disarmament division warned Thursday of the need for urgent global action to eliminate atomic weapons, especially during the current heightened tensions between the United States and Russia – the world’s leading nuclear powers – over the latter’s thermonuclear threats during its invasion of Ukraine.

Addressing attendees of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ "ICAN Act On It" Forum in Oslo, Norway via a pre-recorded video message, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu linked the concept of "humanitarian disarmament" with international agreements including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Anti-Personnel Landmine Ban Convention, and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Continue reading “UN Disarmament Official Lays Out Path to Reverse ‘Dangerous’ Nuclear Trends”

A former U.S. ambassador to Israel on Friday sharply criticized the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for seeking to annex Palestinian land in the illegally occupied West Bank.

The Guardian reports Daniel Kurtzer, who served as U.S. ambassador in Tel Aviv during the administration of former President George W. Bush, told members of the Jewish Democratic Council of America that the Biden administration should do more to try to prevent the Israeli government’s "creeping annexation" of the West Bank.

Continue reading “Bush-Era US Ambassador Accuses Israel of ‘Creeping Annexation’ of West Bank”

A coalition of Afghan-American community organizations on Wednesday welcomed a U.S. federal judge's ruling rejecting a bid by relatives of 9/11 victims to seize billions of dollars in assets belonging to the people of Afghanistan.

In a 30-page opinion issued Tuesday, Judge George B. Daniels of the Southern District of New York denied an effort by family members of people killed during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to gain access to $3.5 billion in frozen funds from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the country's central bank.

"The judgment creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan," Daniels wrote. "The Taliban – not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people – must pay for the Taliban's liability in the 9/11 attacks."

Continue reading “‘Victory for the Afghan People’ as US Judge Blocks 9/11 Families From Seizing Frozen Assets”