During the Second World War the Allies carved up Iran and turned the Iranians into coolies. The Australians invaded Vichy Syria, and all across North Africa British, Australian, German, Italian, American, French, South African, New Zealand, and Indian armies rampaged back and forth from Morocco to Egypt. City after city was fought over. Battles raged not just in the deserts, but also across farms and orchards.

I have never seen any film, TV show, article, or book even referring to, let alone sympathising with, the suffering this must have caused to the local populations. I have never heard anyone, aside from myself, even mention it. I have heard and seen plenty of reference to the sufferings not just of the victims of the Axis, but also the members of the Axis as well. Sympathy is extended not just to the French, the British, the Danes, the Dutch, the Russians, and occasionally to the Chinese, but also even to the Germans and Italians and sometimes the Japanese as well.

Never to the Arabs.

Their existence is barely acknowledged. The fact that the Libyan brigade took part in the fighting in North Africa is never mentioned. I have seen one film (I can't remember the title) about a long-distance raid in North Africa which included a couple of Arab fighters. That is the only exception I know of.

As for the rest, they tend to follow the pattern of three examples which spring to mind. First, Tobruk. This is a film about the magnificent defence of that city by the Australian Army. There was absolutely nothing in that film to suggest that this was, in fact, an Arab city where Arab people lived their lives.

Ice Cold in Alex. (Probably the best war film ever made.) In this one a couple of characters who seem to be Arabs turn up, but we discover quickly they are actually pretty soldiers in disguise.

Patton. Arabs are represented in this film. There's a small cheerful Arab boy who salutes Patton, and some skulking figures looting the ruins of the American army after the disaster at Kesserine. And that's it. (The film grossly misrepresents the relationship between Montgomery and Patton as well, but that is a different issue.)

Even the modern opponents of landmines seldom mention how heavily mined the trade and caravan routes of North Africa were, and how many Libyan, Egyptian, and Tunisian casualties there were from those mines.

I fear you will have to wait for a very long time before you see a film about the expulsion of the Palestinians. We're still making films about how badly the Australian aborigines were treated. Maybe when we finished all those, we'll get round to the Palestinians.

Two countries without an offensive knock out strike. Meanwhile we have poor little Nuclear Israel. This is gettting sickening.

I saw your link to the US Department of Justice "misinformation" website. I just wanted to point out that just because they say things like, "There are many conspiracy theory websites, which contain a great deal of unreliable information.", they never did say it was inaccurate. It could be unreliable because the NSA hackers attack it on a weekly basis. It could be unreliable due to service providers who have geographic monopolies and provide unreliable service, if any.

Atleast 3,000+ troops haven't died because of suppossed "unreliable" information on rense. Lying bastards.

Thank you for sticking it out.

Seriously, I am glad to see you take that stand. I hope people will read between the lines and understand why.

I agree that to prove the assertion that the 16th amendment was actually ratified, those folks should produce the actual signed bills of ratification. I'm all for it, in fact. Problem is, as I see it, those same folks will never actually do that, so we go round and round.

Why doesn't a reputable someone, (you, for instance? :)), on our side of this continuing debate, do it for them. You know, produce and publish the ones they say ratified from the states they say did the ratifying. It's just as valid if we who claim the 16th was never ratified prove our position by failing to produce the necessary 36 valid signed bills of ratification.

Perhaps I'm blowing smoke and someone has already done this work. If so, could you point out to me (and to other interested parties) where to find and study it?

Thanks for your time and your excellent website.

You posted a link to an article from 2006 about the number of people who believe in conspiracy theories. This specific paragraph tells it all as far as I am concerned.

The survey also found that people who regularly use the Internet but who do not regularly use so-called "mainstream" media are significantly more likely to believe in 9/11 conspiracies. People who regularly read daily newspapers or listen to radio newscasts were especially unlikely to believe in the conspiracies.

Gee, and I wonder why that is? I haven't read an actual newspaper in nearly a year. I haven't watched TV news in probably 5 years. The only reason I will go to sites like MSNBC is to check on sports scores and see what passes for "News" on their site... And there is no news. Almost all of it is Britney Spears, Palestine bashing, or now, the latest type of article, contests. ???? People send in pictures of their restored cars. Or their cat. There have been celebrity look-alike contests. What the hell is that? Why can't we get an hour of in-depth reporting on the Missile Defense Shield that is worrying Russia? Why not a week-long program investigating the horrors going on in Palestine?

Anyway, have a good week, site is as great as always.

The Old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, especially the Sherman and Peabody episodes, were a mother lode of puns.

He claims he needs 2 million dollars max to build a *power generating* full size powerplant, and what's more, with a boron-deuterium reaction, it will produce electrons, which can be converted directly into electricity, and so not requiring the large steam powered turbines that a tokomak reactor would need.

Cool stuff!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

http://www.emc2fusion.org/

First let me say that I really enjoy your web page and your radio efforts. You are arguably as good as it gets in print and radio.

Your depth of knowledge and common sense evaluations are indeed admirable.

I believe it was John Powell who said we don't know Bush lied to us about going to war. (Please excuse me if I have the name wrong.) I was hoping you would remind him of Sen. Dick Durbin's admission of knowing we were being lied to because of information he had received on the "Intelligence" Committee.

The interview you did with Dick Allgire was tremendous.

Thank you for all your efforts.

It always seemed as if there was more to the Daniel Pearl story, than has been revealed. What was he doing in Pakistan in the first place? He going to places/meeting people he was distinctly advised against. His father, and the staff at the Wall Street Journal have denied that he was spying for America. Word must be on the street that the work of journalists has always been good cover for covert operations, and they're always looking for some extra cash that intelligence agencies are quick to offer. What wasn't acknowledged was that Pearl also carried an Israeli passport, as well. You don't think ...?

Beyond that, it was clear that the movie was a propaganda flick, and the movie-going public is tired of propaganda flicks. "Flight 93", last time I saw it, was selling for $5 in a checkout stand rack.