Israël valt doelen aan in Libanon, Syrië en Irak >> oorlogsmisdaden, zonder één woord van kritiek uit het westen

Ongelofelijk maar waar: Israël oefent keer op keer terreur uit op doelen in Syrië en Irak (en sinds 25 augustus ook doelen in Libanon), zonder dat Israël ook maar één woord van kritiek krijgt uit het westen, alsof het normaal is dat een land een ander soeverein land aanvalt zonder ook maar enige kritiek te krijgen..... Vergelijk dat eens met Oost-Oekraïne, waar het bewind in Kiev de bevolking terroriseert met bombardementen op steden en dorpen (zeer ernstige oorlogsmisdaden volgens het Verdrag van Genève). Het westen schreeuwt om het hardst dat Rusland meevecht in Oost-Oekraïne aan de kant van de burgers die zich terecht hebben afgescheiden van Oekraïne*, zonder ook maar een flinter aan bewijs te leveren voor die beschuldiging......

Al jaren schendt Israël het luchtruim van Libanon voor bombardementen op doelen in Syrië, zonder ook maar een waarschuwing te krijgen van de VN. Nu gaat Israël nog eens tien stappen verder door met drones Libanese burgers te vermoorden** en zoals te verwachten was, de westerse wereld doet er weer het zwijgen toe...... Hetzelfde westen dat onder aanvoering van de VS dag in dag uit Iran beschuldigt de stabiliteit in het Midden-Oosten te ondermijnen...... De VS dat NB zelf illegale oorlogen uitvecht in het Midden-Oosten, (Noord-) Afrika en Afghanistan, alsof dat stabiliteit zou brengen (waar de VS en de rest van het westen niets te zoeken hebben in het Midden-Oosten...)... Het zijn dan ook niet Iran of Syrië die de stabiliteit in het Midden-Oosten de nek omdraaien, maar juist de VS, Israël, Turkije en Saoedi-Arabië..... (dat laatste land kan zelfs ongestraft een genocide uitvoeren in buurland Jemen......)

VN schepen in de haven van Beiroet, die daar liggen ter bescherming van Libanon veranderden zelfs niet van positie toen Israël met een bombardement het mediacentrum van Hezbollah aanviel, laat staan dat ze de haven verlieten om Beiroet te verdedigen...... (je hoeft er niet van op te kijken als Israël de VN voorafgaand aan het bombardement waarschuwde......)

De Libanese premier Hariri mopperde voor de vorm wat over de Israëlische aanvallen, terwijl hij in feite een trouwe bondgenoot is van de VS en Saoedi-Arabië (hij is zelfs een Saoedische staatsburger......).... 

Hassan Nasrallah, het hoofd van Hezbollah (de enige groep die zich inzet voor alle burgers van Libanon), stelde dat Israël voor het eerst sinds 2006 agressie gebruikt tegen Libanon, dit middels een drone die Israël met opzet liet neerstorten..... Echter elke schending van het Libanese luchtruim is een ernstige oorlogsmisdaad en dat doet Israël keer op keer als het doelen aanvalt in Syrië...... Israël gebruikt telkens weer het versleten cliché dat het doelen uitschakelt die een bedreiging zouden vormen voor Israël, terwijl het juist Israël zelf is dat een dodelijke bedreiging vormt voor velen in het Midden-Oosten, bijvoorbeeld voor de burgers en Palestijnse vluchtelingen in Beiroet......

Als Israël, Saoedi-Arabië en Turkije is de VS een terreurstaat die het Midden-Oosten naar believen in brand zet....... Nogmaals: hoe is het mogelijk dat de rest van het westen er het zwijgen toe doet.... Oh ja, dom van mij, immers de rest van het westen doet voor een groot deel mee aan de VS terreur door deelname middels terreurorganisatie NAVO, dat onder militair opperbevel staat van de VS........ Ook wij hebben belasting betaalt voor de vernietiging van Afghanistan, Libië, Irak en Syrië en dat tijdens de illegale oorlogen die de VS tegen deze landen voerde en voert.......

Het volgende artikel is van Andre Vltchek, werd eerder gepubliceerd op New Eastern Outlook (NEO) en werd door mij overgenomen van Information Clearing House. Jammer dat Vltchek Irak niet meenam in zijn artikel, immers ook daar oefent Israël terreur uit middels bombardementen......

Israel has attacked Lebanon and Syria: So what?

By Andre Vltchek

August 27, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - On August 25th, 2019, Israel attacked Lebanon. It has done it again. Just as it attacked Syria, the same night.

RT reported the same day:

Israeli drone flights were “an open attack on Lebanese sovereignty” and an assault on UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, Hariri said on Sunday, just hours after reports of two Israeli UAV incidents in Beirut.

Hariri called the drone incursion a “threat to regional stability and an attempt to increase tensions.”

He said there’s a heavy presence of planes in the airspace over Beirut and its suburbs, adding he will consult with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on what could be done to repel the “new aggression.””

So, what? Really, we have been ‘here’ before, on so many occasions.

PM Hariri is fuming, but he is one of the closest allies of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in the region. In fact, he is a Saudi citizen. Is he going to do anything, like getting into a war with Israel? Never.

Can he actually do anything?  No. Nothing, even if he would want to. The truth is that practically he can do absolutely nothing. Not he, nor Lebanon’s President Aoun, or even the Lebanese armed forces. Lebanon has no means with which to repel any Israeli attack. Absolutely no means! 
The country’s air force is pathetic, consisting of several flying toys, like modified Cessnas, old helicopters, and several A-29 Super Tucanos. That could hardly frighten some of the mightiest and well-trained squadrons in the world – those of the Jewish state.

The bitter and uncomfortable truth is, also, that Israel can basically do anything it desires, at least in this part of the world.

Just a few days ago, I dared to drive, again, from Beirut all the way down to Naqoura, and then, along the Blue Line (‘protected’ by the United Nations), east to Kfarkela.

Now, the repulsive Israeli wall which is scarring one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Middle East, has almost been completed, all along the border. One year ago, the Lebanese government protested, calling it almost an act of war. The Israelis did not care. As always, they did what they wanted. They came right towards the line, or more precisely, at least on several occasions, they crossed the line; and constructed their concrete monstrosity right in front of the eyes of the Lebanese soldiers and the UN personnel. “So, now, what are you going to do?” they were practically saying, without pronouncing it.

Nobody has done anything in retaliation. Zero! Now UNIFIL Indonesian soldiers are taking selfies right in front of the Blue Line, leaning against their armored vehicles, while Hezbollah flags are waving only a few meters away from Israel. All this horror show is just some 10 kilometers from the Israeli occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights. You can see the Golan Heights easily from here. A few years ago I was there, in the Golan Heights; I ‘smuggled’ myself there, to write a damming report. I learned then, and I am getting more and more confirmation now: Israelis are really great experts at building the walls that are ruining and fragmenting the entire region!

But then and now, nothing that can stop them!

Whatever Israel bombs it gets away with it, no one dares to intervene.
Today as the Israel drones, full of explosives, flew into Lebanon, UN battle ships were docked in the harbor of Beirut. After an explosion rocked a Shi’a neighborhood, damaging the Hezbollah Media Center (which I visited some two years ago), the ships did not even change their position, let alone depart from the harbor in order to defend Lebanon!

So why are these ships there? No one knows. No one asks, obviously.

Here, it is always like that. I drive to a Hezbollah area. There is a private checkpoint. I photograph it. They stop me. A huge guy with a machinegun blocks my way. I jump out of the car, put my hands together: “Do you want to arrest me?” He gets insecure. I ignore him. I drive away. I am pissed off: why not better fight the Israelis and their constant invasions, with such a physique and weaponry?

A friend of mine, a top UN official from the Gulf who doesn’t want to be identified, just told me bitterly:

There is no condemnation: there is complete silence from the United Nations and from the West.

Hariri feels obliged to protest, as his nation was attacked. But is he really outraged? Hardly. He hates Syria, he hates Hezbollah.

Lebanon is only united by a few iconic dishes, culinary delights; not by politics.

Is the country ready to defend itself? Hardly. Those who have money are too busy racing their European cars, without mufflers, on potholed streets, or showing their legs in various five-star malls.

The poor people of Lebanon do not matter; they do not exist. Palestinians matter nothing, living and dying, cramped like sardines in repulsive camps with hardly any rights. This has been going on for long decades.

Many Lebanese Christians actually secretly cheer Israel. Or not so secretly… And they are so enamored with everything Western, that, as they told me on several occasions, they would love to be colonized by France, again.

Lebanon is so fragmented by race, religion, social status, that it cannot stand on its feet. Turkish powerplant platforms are providing energy. Infrastructure has collapsed. Filth is everywhere. 
Cynical corruption consumes everything. But exhibitionism and showing off never stop. Money is there only for hedonistic clubs and sojourns to Nice. Hezbollah is the only institution which cares about the welfare of all Lebanese people; the only force ready to defend the country against foreign interventions. Israel and the West know it. And they are doing all they can to destroy Hezbollah.

Lebanon has become a laughing stock in the region. Like this, it is very difficult to face one of the mightiest militaries on earth.

*****

Just a few hours before Lebanon was hit, Israel admitted that its air force hit the Shi’ite militia and Iranian targets in Syria. It declared that it took out “killer drones” prepped by the Quds Force to carry out attacks in Israeli territory.

Israel justifies everything by its ‘defense’. Any outrageous attack, any bombing, is always ‘preventive’. The world has become used to it, by now. The world is doing nothing to stop it.
People die. Many do; annually. So, ‘the Israeli citizens can be safe’. So the West and its allies can control the region, indefinitely.

On August 25th, Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, described the ongoing situation in the Middle East as ‘very, very dangerous’:

U.S. tries to revive Daesh in Iraq… U.S. helicopters are rescuing Daesh in Afghanistan… 

He spoke about the attack on Lebanon:

The drones that entered the suburbs at dawn are military aircraft. The first aircraft was a reconnaissance aircraft flying at low altitude to get an accurate picture of the target. We did not shoot down the plane, but some young men threw stones at it before it fell. What happened last night was a suicide drone attack on a target in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Netanyahu would be mistaken if he thinks that this issue can go unnoticed. Lebanon will face a very dangerous situation if this incident goes unaddressed. The dawn suicide attack is the first act of aggression since 14 August 2006. The Lebanese State’s condemnation of what happened and referral of the matter to the Security Council is good, but these steps do not prevent the course of action to be taken.  Since 2000, we have allowed Israeli drones for many reasons but no one moved.  Israeli drones entering Lebanon are no longer collecting information, but assassinations. From now on, we will face the Israeli drones when they enter the skies of Lebanon and we will work to bring them down.  I tell the Israelis that Netanyahu is running with your blood.

The West and its allies are escalating tensions all over the Middle East. Some say, “war is possible”. Others say “it is imminent”. But it is not just a possibility. There is a war. Everywhere. In Afghanistan and Syria, in Yemen and Iraq. Wherever you look! Even in Lebanon.

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter.

• First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook

==========================================

* De bevolking van Oost-Oekraïne heeft zich afgescheiden van Oekraïne, nadat de door de bevolking democratisch gekozen president werd gedwongen op te stappen, als gevolg van een door de VS georganiseerde opstand..... De VS parachuteerde de corrupte marionet Porosjenko, die een neonazi-junta leidde; hoeveel is er nodig voordat een bevolking zegt tot hier en niet verder???

Zie ook:
'Een volk dat leeft onder bezetting heeft het recht gewapend verzet te plegen, ook het Palestijnse volk'

'"Israël heeft afgelopen nacht in de Gazastrook opnieuw luchtaanvallen uitgevoerd op terreurorganisatie Islamitische Jihad..." ahum....'

'Israëlische 'Friends Tweet' komt als een boemerang terug met de gruwelen die Israël begaat tegen het verdrukte Palestijnse volk'

'Palestijnse kinderen hebben recht op leven, vrij van onrecht en onderdrukking'

'Israël houdt 24 uur per dag Palestijnen in de gaten met gezichtsherkenningsapparatuur en hulp Microsoft'

'Israël gebruikt sadistisch geweld bij vernietigen Palestijnse huizen in Oost-Jeruzalem'

'Zomaar een paar dagen uit 'het leven' van Palestijnen: vernederingen, beledigingen, vernietiging en moord door Israël'

'Huis van Afgevaardigden VS stemt massaal voor beperking vrijheid van meningsuiting: BDS in de ban en vrijbaan voor Israëls gewelddadig beleid tegen Palestijnen'

'Israël steelt 141 miljoen dollar aan belastinggeld van de Palestijnse Autoriteit'

'Israël gaat alweer haar boekje ver te buiten in Oost-Jeruzalem'

'De Israëlische VN ambassadeur: de weg naar vrede is overgave van de Palestijnen, waarbij ze nationalistisch suïcide moeten plegen..... ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!'

'Israël maakte het onmogelijk voor arabieren terug te keren naar hun huizen'

'Israëlische kolonisten verantwoordelijk voor branden op de West Bank'

'Duitse razzia's: jacht op ondersteuners van Hamas en het verdrukte Palestijnse volk'

''Rechter' houdt Palestijns meisje van 16 jaar in gevangenschap, verder een invalide in rolstoel vermoord: 'leve het dappere Israëlische leger....''

'Israël vermoordde doelbewust journalisten'

'Gazastrook: 'de onafhankelijke verslaggeving' over de strijd van Israël tegen Palestijnse terroristen...'

'UNICEF is trots supporter van de bloedige Israëlische vervolging van Palestijnen en hun kinderen'

'Dode Israëlische militairen zijn meer waard dan burgers en de moord op 300 Palestijnen is terecht >> de verkiezingscampagne van Netanyahu'

'Great Return March: 1 jaar protest, 1 jaar massamoorden, 1 jaar westerse anti-Palestijnse propaganda'

'Gaza ‘On Brink Of Collapse’ As Residents Remain ‘Caged In’' (Video)

'Israël martelt 60% van de gevangengehouden Palestijnse kinderen........' 

'Israël voert standrechtelijke executies uit en martelt kinderen......'

'Israël bewijst nogmaals fascistisch te zijn >> journalist met kritiek wacht gevangenisstraf......' (en zie de links in dat bericht)

'Britse band boycot het Eurovisiesongfestival in Israël'

'CIDI vóór Israël vóór vrede, tegen racisme en antisemitisme....... ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!'

'Eurovisiesongfestival 2019 in fascistische apartheidsstaat >> boycot dit festival!!'

'Simon Wiesenthal Center: antisemitische top tien 2018 >> o.a. moorden toegestaan voor Joden'

'Israël arresteert Palestijnen tijdens gewelddadige nachtelijke overvallen op de West Bank'

'Israëls huidige oorlog tegen de Palestijnen: o.a. de etnische zuivering van Oost-Jeruzalem'

'Israëlische 'helden' schieten invalide Palestijn in het achterhoofd'

''Antisemitisch bericht' >> Sinds 2000 heeft het Israëlische leger 2.070 Palestijnse kinderen vermoord, dit jaar 'staat de teller' op 52 kindermoorden.........'

'Ceremoniële beloning voor 'heldhaftige' Israëlische scherpschutters die ongewapende Palestijnse demonstranten vermoordden'

'Tien bedrijven die Israël helpen bij de massamoord op de Palestijnen'

'TUI met reizen naar Israël: "Discover apartheid and the mass murders on Palestinians and smile...."'

''Israëlische helden' schieten 6 ongewapende Palestijnse demonstranten dood op Gazaans grondgebied, inclusief 2 jongens van 12 en 14 jaar oud.....'

'Vier spelende Palestijnse jongens werden doelbewust vermoord middels een Israëlische drone'

'Palestijnse man met syndroom van Down gearresteerd door 'dappere' Israëlische militairen: hand gebroken en 3 dagen opgesloten.......'

'Israël bestormt voor de zoveelste keer met groot machtsvertoon de Al-Aqsamoskee......'

'Israël vermoordt alweer 'zeer heldhaftig' 5 ongewapende Palestijnen, waaronder een 12 jarige en een 17 jarige jongen........'

Westers imperialisme op retour: VS 'regime change motor' loopt vast

Andre Vltchek schreef op New Eastern Outlook >> NEO (door mij overgenomen van Information Clearing House) een artikel over het westers imperialisme dat wat betreft het omverwerpen van regimes steeds minder lijkt te werken. Ondanks alle miljarden die de VS steekt in het omverwerpen van een regime*, lukt dit niet meer, zie de mislukte agressie, of beter gezegd terreur tegen Syrië, Venezuela, Iran en Noord-Korea. Daarnaast hebben de VS en haar oorlogshond de NAVO China en Rusland in het vizier, echter daar een verandering van regime bewerkstelligen is onmogelijk zonder het atoomwapen te gebruiken.......

Zelfs de sancties die de VS (en veelal de EU-NAVO-lidstaten) tegen voornoemde landen heeft genomen, zijn niet langer het recept tot verandering van de regimes in die landen, dit ondanks het overlijden van een enorm aantal mensen en dan m.n. de ouderen, kinderen en het zwakke deel van de bevolking...... Zo hebben VS sancties tegen Venezuela intussen al aan meer dan 40.000 mensen het leven gekost (vermoord door de VS, met hulp van de EU en dus ook van Nederland....). Een ouder voorbeeld zijn de sancties die de VS nam tegen Irak, ingesteld tegen het eind van de jaren 90 in de vorige eeuw, daardoor overleden er 500.000 kinderen, verantwoordelijk VS minister van BuZa hare kwaadaardigheid en oorlogsmisdadiger Albright (onder opperschoft Bill Clinton) vindt nog steeds dat dit 'offer' gerechtvaardigd was.......

Vltchek stelt dat het nog niet is afgelopen wat betreft westers imperialisme, maar dat e.e.a op z'n retour is, kan je meer dan duidelijk zien, neem Syrië, Iran en niet te vergeten Venezuela.... Dit ondanks alle tamtam, terreursancties en georganiseerde protesten (maar al te vaak uiterst gewelddadig....) door meestal de CIA met het VS ministerie van BuZa aan de touwen

Mooi artikel, al denk ik kijkend naar bijvoorbeeld Honduras en Colombia, dat de VS daar de touwtjes behoorlijk strak in handen heeft en al helemaal in een land als Brazilië met de fascistische Trump lakei Bolsonaro, hetzelfde geldt voor Oekraïne........ En gezien het enorme aantal militaire bases van de VS over de wereld (meer dan 800!!), die voor kleine landen een fikse stimulans zijn voor de (veelal tanende) economie, zullen velen niet durven opstaan tegen deze voor het land voordelige zaak, waarmee inkomsten gegenereerd worden voor zaken als infrastructuur en volksgezondheid (al verdwijnt er ongelofelijk veel geld in de zakken van corrupte politici en van ambtenaren, precies het soort figuren waar de VS het van moet hebben......) 

Het nadeel van het voorgaande ondervinden de bevolkingen tegen wie bij demonstraties ook VS militairen kunnen worden ingezet en het niet toestaan door de VS dat regeringen in die landen zich al te zeer gaan afzetten tegen de VS...... Maar toch is een opstand als in Soedan hoopgevend en ondanks weinig aandacht voor deze opstand in de reguliere westerse media, zou het volk toch langzaam weer macht op het leger winnen.......

Vltchek wijst in zijn artikel ook op de reguliere westerse media, waar men voortdurend bezig is om landen als China en Rusland zwart te maken en te demoniseren, waar deze media het blijkbaar normaal vinden dat de VS alleen deze eeuw al meer dan 22,5 miljoen mensen heeft vermoord (veelal met hulp van NAVO-lidstaten, onder militair opperbevel van de VS), alsof dat de normaalste gang van zaken is........ 

Waar Rusland en China niet eens in de schaduw kunnen staan wat betreft het enorme aantal slachtoffers dat onder VS verantwoordelijkheid is gevallen en dat NB in landen waar de VS niets, maar dan ook helemaal niets te zoeken had, heeft en zal hebben!! Ondanks dat feit zou je als je de westerse media moet geloven, echt de idee hebben dat Rusland en China dat aantal slachtoffers hebben gemaakt...... Waar die media ook nog eens kilometers aan fake news maakten met propagandaleugens over tegenstanders van de VS en de redenen voor het illegaal oorlogvoeren door de VS....... (wat men gewoon volhoudt, terwijl de bewijzen van tegenovergestelde overweldigend zijn......) 

Suddenly West is Failing to Overthrow “Regimes”

By Andre Vltchek

August 22, 2019 "Information Clearing House" -  It used to be done regularly and it worked: The West identified a country as its enemy, unleashed its professional propaganda against it, then administered a series of sanctions, starving and murdering children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. If the country did not collapse within months or just couple of years, the bombing would begin. And the nation, totally shaken, in pain, and in disarray, would collapse like a house of cards, once the first NATO boots hit its ground.

Such scenarios were re-enacted, again and again, from Yugoslavia to Iraq.

But suddenly, something significant has happened. This horrific lawlessness, this chaos stopped; was deterred.

The West keeps using the same tactics, it tries to terrorize independent-minded countries, to frighten people into submission, to overthrow what it defines as ‘regimes’, but its power, its monstrously destructive power has all of a sudden become ineffective.

It hits, and the attacked nation shakes, screams, sheds blood, but keeps standing, keeps proudly erect.

What we are experiencing is a great moment in human history. Imperialism has not yet been defeated, but it is losing its global grip on power.

Now we have to clearly understand ‘Why?’, so we can continue our struggle, with even greater determination, with even greater effectiveness.

First of all, by now we know that the West cannot fight. It can spend trillions on ‘defense’, it can build nuclear bombs, ‘smart missiles’ and strategic warplanes. But it is too cowardly, too spoiled to risk the lives of its soldiers. It either kills remotely, or by using regional mercenaries. Whenever it becomes clear that the presence of its troops would be required, it backs up.

Secondly, it, the West, is totally horrified of the fact that there are now two super-powerful countries – China and Russia – which are unwilling to abandon their allies. Washington and London do all they can to smear Russia and to intimidate China. Russia is being provoked continuously: by propaganda, by military bases, sanctions and by new and newer bizarre mass media inventions that depict it as the villain in all imaginable circumstances. China has been provoked practically and insanely, ‘on all fronts’ – from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and the so-called ‘Uyghur Issue’, to trade.

Any strategy that could weaken these two countries, is applied. Yet, Russia and China do not crumble. They do not surrender. And they do not abandon their friends. Instead, they are building great railroads in Africa and Asia, they educate people from almost all poor and desperate countries, and stand by those who are being terrorized by both North America and Europe.

Thirdly, all the countries in the world are now clearly aware of what would happen to them, if they give up and get ‘liberated’ by the Western empire. Iraq, Honduras, Indonesia, Libya and Afghanistan, are the ‘best’ examples. Submitting themselves to the West, countries can only expect misery, absolute collapse and the ruthless extraction of their resources. The poorest country in Asia – Afghanistan – has totally collapsed under NATO occupation.

The suffering and pain of the Afghan and Iraqi people is very well known to the citizens of Iran and Venezuela. They are not giving up, because no matter how tough their life is under sanctions and the West-administered terror, they are well-aware of the fact that things could get worse, much worse, if their countries were to be occupied and governed by the Washington and London-injected maniacs.

And everyone knows the fate of the people living in Palestine or Gollan Heights, places which have been overrun by the closest ally of the West in the Middle East, Israel.

Of course, there are other reasons why the West cannot get any of its adversaries to kneel.

One is – that the toughest ones are left. Russia, Cuba, China, North Korea (DPRK), Iran, Syria and Venezuela are not going to run away from the battlefield. These are the most determined nations on earth. These are the countries that have already lost thousands, millions, even tens of millions of their people, in the fight against Western imperialism and colonialism.

If one is following the latest attacks of the West carefully, the scenario is pathetic, almost grotesque: Washington and often the EU, too, are trying hard; they are hitting, they are spending billions of dollars, using the local mercenaries (or call it ‘local opposition’), and then they quickly withdraw after wretched but anticipated defeat. So far, Venezuela has survived. Syria survived. Iran survived. China is fighting horrible Western-backed subversions, but it is proudly surviving. Russia is standing tall.

This is a tremendous moment in human history. For the first time, Western imperialism is being not only defeated, but fully unveiled and humiliated. Many are now laughing at it, openly.

But we should not celebrate, yet. We should understand what and why this is happening, and then continue fighting. There are many, many battles ahead us. But we are on the right track.

Let them try. We know how to fight. We know how to prevail. We have already fought fascism, in many of its forms. We know what freedom is. Their ‘freedom’ is not our freedom. Their ‘liberty’ is not our liberty. What they call ‘democracy’ is not how we want our people to rule and to be ruled. Let them go away; we, our people, do not want them!

They cannot overthrow our systems, because they are, precisely our systems! Systems that we want, that our people want; systems we are ready to fight and die for!

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. View his books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter. His Patreon


First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook
========================================
* Zo trok de VS 4 miljard uit voor de opstand en daaropvolgende coup in Oekraïne......

Iran en de sociale kant van dit land, iets dat je niet terugvindt in de reguliere media, integendeel....

Andre Vltchek publiceerde afgelopen maandag een artikel op Information Clearing House met als vertaalde titel: 'Hallo, ze hebben tegen je gelogen over Iran'.

Niet alleen wijst Vltchek op het feit dat een heel groot deel van wat de reguliere (massa-) media als nieuws brengen, niets anders is dan gefabriceerde leugens, waar hij m.n. ingaat op de agressie tegen Iran, maar ook laat hij 'zien' hoe Iran omgaat met ellende in de wereld: solidair met onderdrukte volkeren, die worstelen om te blijven leven, naast landen als Jemen (aan wie Iran geen wapens levert, maar humanitaire hulpgoederen!), Syrië en Palestina (van Palestina is in feite geen sprake meer), maar ook landen als Cuba en Venezuela.......

Zoals Vltchek terecht stelt: de westerse volkeren worden gehersenspoeld met ideeën dat Iran een fanatieke moslim staat is, echter daar is geen bliksem van waar, vergeleken met de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten (VAE), Saoedi-Arabië (S-A), Indonesië en Egypte en een land als Marokko, is Iran een moderne staat met een uiterst moderne infrastructuur, idem architectuur en een rijk cultureel leven. Terwijl de genoemde fanatieke moslimlanden niet worden getroffen door westerse sancties, maakt niet uit wat voor barbaarse misdaden ze begaan, moet het Iraanse volk boeten voor de enorme hypocrisie en machtswellust van het westen en de arabische dictatoriaal geregeerde staten...... 

Tja Iran is sjiitisch en dat ligt niet lekker bij die arabische soennitische staten, waar de VS uiteraard in het geniep wel het sociale karakter van Iran als een enorm 'gevaar' ziet, veronderstel dat een volk aan kan tonen prima en gelukkig te kunnen leven in een socialistische staat..... ('brrr, je moet er niet aan denken....')

Vrouwen in Iran spelen allesbehalve een ondergeschikte rol en je ziet dan ook regelmatig dat een vrouw haar man terechtwijst in het openbaar. (probeer dat maar eens in Saoedi-Arabië!)

Met de nieuwe sancties probeert Washington Teheran op de knieën te krijgen, maar dat zal waarschijnlijk niet lukken, daar China en Rusland achter het land staan (zo is China bezig een deal met Teheran te sluiten over levering van olie en gas, uiteraard zal dit ook onderdeel zijn van nauwere economische samenwerking, zoals die met Rusland al bestaat)

Lees het uitstekende schrijven van Vltchek en oordeel zelf:

Hello, They Lied To You About Iran!

By Andre Vltchek

August 20, 2018 "Information Clearing House" - 
Have you ever considered the possibility that almost everything that you have been told about the world by the Western mass media is a lie and fabrication?

I am sure you have, at least lately, when the insanity of Western propaganda is becoming very clear and obvious. But what about the extent of indoctrination you were subjected to?


If you live in Europe or North America, how poisoned are you by the lies about Cuba and Venezuela, Russia and China, North Korea and yes – about Iran? Are you beyond recovery? If you see the truth, if you were confronted by reality, would you still be able to recognize it, or would you perceive it as propaganda and lies?

I have just left Tehran, a city with a tremendous history and culture, overflowing with museums, theatres, wonderfully kept parks dotted with modern art sculptures. It is a city with modern and fully subsidized public transportation, consisting of high-tech metro, ecological bus ways, as well as suburban trains. A city of tall trees, and quiet squares, of elegant cafes, and extremely educated and kind people.

A city that could easily be part of the ‘top ten’ cities on Earth, were it not be the capital of a country that the West is trying to ruin, first with unjust and draconian sanctions, and then, who knows, even by a militarily invasion.

What do most Westerners know about Iran; what were they told? I think the image the mass media outlets want to project is of “Iran – a radical Muslim country, some sort of Shia Saudi Arabia”, or perhaps worse. Much worse, as Saudi Arabia, the closest Arab ally of London and Washington,cannot be touched in the West, no matter what barbarity and terror it spreads all around the world.

Those who know both Jeddah and Teheran would laugh at such a comparison. Saudi Arabia, and its semi-colony Bahrain, despite their wealth from oil, are some of the most compassionless societies on the planet, misery rubbing shoulders with repulsively vulgar and extreme showing off of wealth.

Iran is in its essence a socialist country. It is internationalist, in full solidarity with many oppressed and struggling nations on our planet. No, I am not talking about Syria, Yemen or Palestine only; I am talking about Cuba and Venezuela, among many others. You did not know? It is not surprising: you are not supposed to know!

You are also expected to remain ignorant about Iran’s social system, clearly socialist. Free education and medical care, greatly subsidized public transportation and culture, huge public spaces and to some extent, strong government and at least partially, central planning.

Despite those absolutely unjust, terrible sanctions imposed, with some interruptions, from Washington and its allies, Iran is standing tall, trying as much as it can to take care of its people. And despite the terrible ordeal Iranian people are being put through, they do not cheat and do not steal. The exchange rate collapsed after Washington imposed another round of bizarre sanctions, triggering frustration, even protests.

But the majority of Iranians understands who the real culprit is. And it is no secret that the so-called opposition is often financed from the West.

Most visitors do not understand anything about the local currency or exchange rates. I am no exception. I simply give taxi drivers or waiters my wallet, and they only take what is due. I checked with my Iranian colleagues: and the amount that is being taken is always fair.

Iranians do not display ‘arrogant pride’; they only show the determined, decent and patriotic pride of a nation with thousands of years of great culture which knows perfectly well that it is on the right side of history.

You were told ‘how religious Iran is’; I am sure you were. But unlike in Saudi Arabia or Indonesia, religion is not ‘being thrown into your face’ here; it is not waved as a flag. In Iran, religion is something internal, deep, which is expressed humbly and without noise. While the mosques of Jakarta broadcast, for hours a day and usingpowerful loudspeakers, entire sermons, while people are now being thrown into jail for even criticizing this brutal imposition of religion on the general public, in Tehran I could hardlyeven detect Adhan(call for prayer). Most of the local female Teheran city-dwellers only cover their hair symbolically – one third or even just a quarter, keeping most of their hair exposed.

But the West would never inflict sanctions on Indonesia or antagonize it in any other way, no matter how brutal it is to its own people:

Washington, London and Canberra already ruined its socialist direction after the US-orchestrated coup of 1965. Jakarta is now an obedient, turbo capitalist, anti-Communist, West-junk-food-and-crap-entertainment-loving society. It has nothing public left. The elites have fully robbed the country on behalf of the West. Religions in Indonesia are used to uphold the pro-Western fascist regime.

Iran is totally the opposite: its interpretation of religion is ‘traditional’, as it used to be before the West managed to derail its essence in so many parts of the world. It is socialist, compassionate, spiritual and yes – internationalist.

Unlike in places like Jeddah or Jakarta, where going out to eat is now the height of cultural life (and often the only option of how to ‘enjoy the city’), Tehran offers high quality art cinemas (Iranian films are some of the greatest and most intellectual in the world), world-class museums and galleries, vast public spaces, as well as a great number of sport and amusement public facilities, including beautifully maintained parks.

You want to hang from a rope and fly over a valley, near one of the tallest TV towers on Earth – you can do it easily in Teheran. You want to see a series of the latest Chinese art films –you can, at the magnificent palace called the Cinema Museum. Or maybe Chekhov or a Tennessee Williams theatre play, if you understand some Farsi? Why not?

Of course you can sit in a horrendous traffic jam, if you are in love with your car, as you would in Riyadh or Jakarta, but you can also zip through the city in comfort and cheaply, on board the super modern metro system. You can walk on beautiful sidewalks, under tall trees, some of which grow from the clean creaks that separate driveways from pedestrian areas.

What else were you told; that you cannot look into a woman’s eyes or you will be stoned to death? Couples are holding hands everywhere in Tehran, and annoyed girls are slapping the faces of their men, teasingly and sometimes even seriously.

But would you believe it, if you saw it? Or is it too late; have you reached the point of no return?

One day, a driver who was taking me from my hotel to the Press TV television studio, exclaimed in desperation:

“Europeans who come here, even for the first time: they don’t want to learn. Even if they come to Iran for the first time, they land at the airport, get into my car, and begin preaching; teaching me about my own country! They all come with the same story, with the same criticism of Iran. There is no diversity! How can they call themselves democratic countries, if they are all thinking the same way?”

In Teheran, the diversity of thought is absolutely striking. With my colleagues and comrades, we discuss everything from the war in Yugoslavia, to Latin America and of course, Iran itself. They want to know about Russia and China. I love what I see and what I hear – when people are curious and respectful of other cultures, it is always a great start!

Iran is bleeding, suffering, but it is strong. Not everyone agrees with government policies here (although most of them do support their government), but everybody is determined to fight and defend his or her country, if it is attacked militarily or by other means.

Whenever I come here, I have this impolite urge – I want to shout at my readers: Come here and learn something! Iran is not perfect, but this is real – here, life is real and so are the people.

Thanks to their culture and history, they somehow know how to separate precious stones from junk, pure thoughts from propaganda, cheap and deadly capitalism from the great strive for a much better world. If you don’t believe me, just watch their films; one masterpiece after another.

Perhaps that is why the West wants to first ruin, and then to totally destroy this country. For the West, Iran is ‘dangerous’. Iran is dangerous, even deadly,for the imperialist arrangement of the world, as China is dangerous, as Russia is, as Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and Bolivia are.

To ruin Iran will not be easy, I would even say: it could prove impossible. Its people are too smart and determined and strong. Iran is not alone; it has many friends and comrades. And even Iran’s neighbors – Turkey and Pakistan – are now quickly changing direction, away from the West.

Don’t take my word for all this. Just come and see. But do no preach: ask questions, and then, please sit, listen and learn! This country has more than 7,000 years of tremendous history. Instead of bombing it, read its poets, watch its films, and learn from its internationalist stand! And then, only then, decide, whether Iran is really your enemy, or a dear comrade and friend.

[First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook]

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter.
======================================
Zie ook: 
'Rudy Giuliani viert het sterven van Iraniërs en stelt desondanks dat het Iraanse bewind door de VS geweldloos zal ondergaan.......'

'With Veiled Regime Change Threats, Trump and NeoCons Blasted for Exploiting Iran Protests'

'US Empire Is Running The Same Script With Iran That It Ran With Libya, Syria'

'Nikki Haley (VS ambassadeur in de VN) bedreigt sjiitisch Iran met militair ingrijpen......' (klik ook op de links onder dat bericht)

'VS liegt schaamteloos om het westen verder op te zetten tegen Iran........'

'Protesten Iran opgezet door de VS en Israël'

'Iraanse protesten allesbehalve compleet spontaan (zoals VS ambassadeur bij de VN Haley durfde te stellen...)....'

'Iran, de protesten en wat de media je niet vertellen.........'

'Iraanse protesten gezien door de propaganda bril van de VS en de rest van het westen........'

'Reagan middels manipulaties tot president gekozen; waarom de gijzelaars in Iran moesten wachten op hun vrijheid....'

'Saoedi-Arabië beschuldigt Houthi's en Iran van raketbeschieting en noemt dit een oorlogsverklaring............'

'Israelische officier met de koperen fluit waarschuwt voor Iraanse expansie...... ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!'

'Iran: moderne oorlogspropaganda ingezet door VS tegen 'ongehoorzaam land...''

'Warmonger Called Out on Live TV After Pretending to Care About Iranian Protesters'

'MEK, een Iraanse terreurorganisatie werd door Clinton van de terreurlijst verwijderd en de VS 'wens' tot Iraanse 'regime change''

'Iran houdt zich aan nucleair verdrag, ondanks VS agressie'

Dan nog wat links naar berichten over de werkelijke agressor in onze wereld >> de VS: Alleen vanaf 1945 tot het jaar 2000 heeft de VS al 20 miljoen mensen vermoord (deze eeuw al meer dan 2 miljoen, hoewel deskundigen al spreken over een aantal van meer dan 2,5 miljoen...), zie: 'VS vermoordde meer dan 20 miljoen mensen sinds het einde van WOII........' Zie verder:  

'List of wars involving the United States' 

'VS buitenlandbeleid sinds WOII: een lange lijst van staatsgrepen en oorlogen..........'    

'CIA 70 jaar: 70 jaar moorden, martelen, coups plegen, nazi's beschermen, media manipulatie enz. enz.........'

Hashima en de Japanse ontkenning van wreedheden tijdens WOII

De schrijver van het hieronder opgenomen artikel, Andre Vltchek, heeft een reis gemaakt naar Japan om daar het eiland Hashima (ook bekend als Gunkanjima), in de buurt van Nagasaki te bezoeken.

Vltcheck wilde met eigen ogen het eiland zien waar Japan duizenden Koreaanse en Chinese gevangenen liet werken in de mijnen en op de scheepswerven waar oorlogsschepen werden gebouwd. Het meest gruwelijk was wel het lot van Chinese en Koreaanse vrouwen die daar als seksslaven te werk werden gesteld....... 

Vltcheck beschrijft hoe je je als bezoeker moet onderwerpen aan de strakke regie van de gidsen, die geen vragen wensen te beantwoorden die niet in het Japanse straatje passen, dus geen vragen over de werkslaven en de seksslaven. Van 1919 tot 1945 werd Korea bezet door Japanse troepen en in die tijd werden naar schatting 60.000 Koreanen gedeporteerd naar Japan om daar als slaven te worden ingezet (op plekken als Hashima)....... 

Het eiland heeft intussen de status van werelderfgoed gekregen (van de UNESCO), daarvoor heeft Japan beloofd aandacht te schenken aan de slavernij op Hashima en nog een paar van dergelijke industriële terreinen. Je raadt het al: van die aandacht is niets te merken en men wordt zelfs pissig als je ernaar durft te vragen.......

Japan herschrijft haar geschiedenis en voor WOII heeft men amper plek in de geschiedenisboeken, e.e.a. heeft alles te maken met het steeds sterker wordend nationalisme, dat zoals je weet vaak de voorloper is van fascisme en vooral gepaard gaat met een fascistische zienswijze op de geschiedenis........

Men zegt vaak dat we kunnen leren van de geschiedenis, echter dat geldt duidelijk niet voor zaken als fascisme, of de vele uitwassen van het kapitalisme waar zovelen, het dodelijke slachtoffer van werden......... (het cliché: 'van hard werken is nog nooit iemand doodgegaan', is een smerige leugen, vooral gebezigd door welgestelden en neoliberale politici, zoals die van de VVD, CDA, D66 en de zogenaamde christelijke partijen CU en SGP, zelfs politici van de PvdA hebben deze leugen in het verleden gebezigd........ Al duizenden jaren hebben mensen zich daadwerkelijk doodgewerkt, 'niets nieuws onder de zon.....')

Hashima – Brutal History and the Most Haunted Island on Earth

By Andre Vltchek

August 08, 2018 "Information Clearing House" - Do you want to see perhaps the spookiest island on earth – Hashima (also known as Gunkanjima – the Battleship Island) – which is located just 30 minutes by speedboat from the historic Japanese port city of Nagasaki? Now you can. Just book online, pay the equivalent of 40 American dollars, and then hop on one of those shiny sleek vessels belonging to Gunkanjima Concierge or to some other company.

Do it, and you will see the island which looks like an abandoned monstrous wreck; like a sunken and haunted ship.

You will sail around it. You will even be able to disembark and walk a few hundred meters on a fenced path. Guides/minders will let you take a few snapshots.

But that is all. No stepping left or right off the path. No going ahead of the group. No lagging behind. And please, no ‘provocative’ questions!

The guides are well trained to ‘entertain you’, to tell you just how ‘haunted’ the island is and how ‘vibrant’ it used to be in the past.

Sugary smiles never leave their faces.

But were you to defy their written and unwritten rules, they’d immediately jump and appear next to you. They would even loudly scold you. Suddenly they’d become very rude.

What are they afraid of? What are they hiding? What really took place on this island?

The true horrors of the past will never be conveyed to you. It is all about WWII, and Japan is still in denial.

A Japanese tour guide (designated for the Japanese-speaking visitors) as well as a carefully prepared electronic recording for the English speakers, will recount countless details about the island’s geography and uncontroversial chapters of history, but close to nothing about the terror of the slave labor into which the Korean and Chinese people were forced into, during World War II.

*

On 6 July 2015, The Guardian reported:

“Unesco has decided to grant world heritage status to more than 20 old industrial sites in Japan after officials from the country agreed to acknowledge that some of them used Korean forced labourers before and during the second world war.

The 23 Meiji period (1868-1912) sites include coalmines and shipyards that Japan says contributed to its transformation from feudalism into a successful modern economy.

South Korea, however, had opposed the application for world heritage status unless clear reference was made to the use of an estimated 60,000 labourers forced to work at seven of the sites, including the island coalmine Gunkanjima, during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.”

Opposition was also expressed by China (PRC).

The issue of forced labor and Tokyo’s stubborn rejection to acknowledge it, delayed the inscription of the sites by UNESCO. However, in 2015, Japan yielded, and its delegation to UNESCO declared:

“Japan is prepared to take measures that allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites”.

The sites, including the notorious Hashima/Gunkanjima, eventually gained world heritage status. In exchange, both South Korea and China expected Japan to highlight the suffering of their people during the occupation and WWII. The sites where forced laborers used to be held, were supposed to carry clearly marked and detailed explanations. But as in so many other cases related to its dark history, Japan did close to nothing to keep its side of the bargain. With the world heritage status, it got what it wanted, but gave almost nothing in return.

*

In May, I spent three days in Nagasaki, visiting my friend, a leading left-wing Australian historian, Geoffrey Gunn.

For many years, I have been coming to this city, searching for answers to a myriad of questions related to Japan’s and Asia’s complex past.

The past of Nagasaki has it all: great old Japanese culture, Christians and their prosecution, the Dutch traders and their settlement, a vibrant Chinese minority. Nagasaki was always one of the most ‘open’ cities in Japan, by choice or by force. But also, this is where the military ships were built, where many slave laborers were brought to from the occupied territories, and this is also where the second A-bomb was exploded by the US at the end of WWII.

Seen from the roof of the imposing Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum, the bay of the city is still dotted with WWII ‘relics’. Near the water, there is a huge crane, another fragment of an industrial UNESCO world heritage site. The crane belongs to the Mitsubishi shipyards, which have been, for long decades, producing and repairing Japan’s military vessels.

“Officially, Japan does not have a military,” I said, sarcastically. “But look, it is in possession of these huge battleships, docked at the other side of the bay.”

“You are lucky. They just arrived here,” said Geoff. “These docks played an extremely important role in the past. Gunkanjima mines also belonged to Mitsubishi. They were excavating coal there, and then building some of the largest battleships here, in Nagasaki.”

For the rest of the evening we discussed the bizarre refusal of the Japanese governments and public to acknowledge the past. Even now, more than 70 years after the end of the war, these issues are taboo: the genocide committed against the Chinese people, and the terrible crimes against the Koreans.

Often, when the past is mentioned, the famously polite Japanese people suddenly become defensive, even aggressive.

*

In 2015, Japan began literally blackmailing UNESCO, temporarily withdrawing its payment dues, after the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Agency listed the 1937 Nanjing Massacre documents in its “Memory of the World” program. The funds were eventually released, but the message was sent, clearly and patently.

This stubborn refusal to deal with the horrors of the past is bringing Japan closer and closer to the deadly embrace of the West, particularly the United States, and further and further away from potentially friendly relations with the rest of north Asia, particularly China.

After WWII, the so-called Tokyo Trial supervised by the US (also known as The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE)) was clearly designed to punish just a few individuals, while preserving the Japanese industrial, business and political system in its original form, so it could serve the interests of the West. After the trial, Japan was allowed to rebuild and to join the West in its aggressive policy towards the Asia Pacific. It played a significant role in the brutal Korean War, during which the West massacred millions of Korean citizens.

“Modern Japan has no foreign policy,” I was once told by the Irish academic and political analyst David McNeal, who is based in Tokyo. “It is strictly following the US dictate. The same goes for the media coverage of the international events.”

David has no illusions about the Japanese take on its history:

“They are rewriting text books; they skip through WWII, dedicating to it only eight pages… Nationalism is rising… There is so much self-censorship in Japanese media, now. And the government is issuing ‘guidelines’, the so-called ‘Orange Book’, for instance: how to treat anything that is ‘contagious’… or anything related to history. There are instructions to writers and translators. For instance: ‘never use words like Nanking Massacre, except when you quote foreign experts’. Or ‘Yasukuni Shrine – never use word “controversial” in connection to it.’ We cannot write about ‘sexual slaves’ from WWII.”

The more ignorant about its past Japan gets, the more it seems to strongly dislike its former victims – China and Korea. According to a Pew Research Center poll (2017), 83% of the Japanese people have an unfavorable view of China. Korea does not fare much better. Both countries (PRC and ROK) are now clearly leaving Japan behind, when it comes to the economy and in the case of South Korea, the standard of living. The reaction of Tokyo: moving closer and closer towards the West, while adopting an increasingly aggressive policy towards two communist nations: China and North Korea.

*

But back to the Battleship Island… You pay, and you get onboard. Right from the beginning, even before the vessel departs from Nagasaki, you get bombarded by outrageous propaganda: about that “samurai spirit” of Japan and the entire Nagasaki area.

There is continuous control, right from the start. You get up from your seat, and immediately someone approaches you: Where are you going? Do you want to change seat? No, you cannot sit here…” Guides (or call them minders) sound extremely rude: their English is primitive, while their obsession with all sorts of rules and regulations is fundamentalist.

An old dude who is here clearly in order to play the role of the main propagandist, is continuously clarifying things into the microphone. His voice is amplified, and his performance soon turns into an annoying and uninterrupted flow of verbal diarrhea. There is no space for reflection – no time to feel and to pause or let alone to ask some serious questions.

Whenever he stops, some cheaply-made video begins playing on the screen. Then advertisements of Kirin Beer are beamed.

The yacht is sailing towards the place that held thousands of people as slave laborers, where many died, where women were turned into sexual slaves. But the circus goes on. No reflection and no repentance.

On the island, I refuse to follow the group. I lag behind, trying to avoid loud noise and the herd of people. Of course, I soon get confronted by two “guides”, trying to push me back towards the flock.

I ignore them, keep filming.

They become aggressive. One shouts: “This is Japan. Follow our rules!”

I keep filming.

I did not come here to be loved. The reason for my journey was simple: to determine whether the Japanese government sticks to the deal it made with UNESCO, Korea and China – whether it marks and commemorates the sites where forced laborers were pushed into an inhuman existence and work, and where some of them, died.

I found nothing of that kind: no information, no commemoration!

Back in Nagasaki, I asked for brochures explaining the past. There were no such brochures. The organizers of the island visits had no idea what I was asking about.

Later, the next day, professor Gunn took me to a small private museum managed by local Koreans, commemorating the terror which Japan committed against the Korean and Chinese people.

At least this is where the truth about ‘the most haunted island’ on Earth can be found. If one could find that tiny museum…

Gunkanjima – a ghost island which resembles, at least from a distance, a mighty destroyer; an island dotted with tall buildings now lacking windows and doors. An island where thousands of miners used to go down into deep shafts, some voluntarily, some by force. An island – Gunkanjima – where many people used to live, and many died. A place so mysterious and so unique, beautiful in its own way, but also both symbolic and horrifying.

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter.

==============================
Zie ook:
'In de VS berichtte men in 1945, dat Hiroshima 'a military base' was.......'

'Hiroshima, één van de grootste oorlogsmisdaden ooit, 71 jaar later redenen te over voor herdenking!'

'De werkelijke reden voor de VS atoomaanvallen op Hiroshima en Nagasaki.... Niet om de oorlog met Japan ten einde te brengen.......'

'Hiroshima en Nagasaki, aanvallen zijn niet te verdedigen enorme oorlogsmisdaden >> The Indefensible Hiroshima Revisionism That Haunts America To This Day'

'Atoomaanvallen op Hiroshima en Nagasaki, één van de grootste oorlogsmisdaden uit de menselijke geschiedenis'

'Overlevenden atoomaanval op Hiroshima vragen om een verbod op kernwapens' (2018)

en zie voor verdere VS-terreur na WOII:
'VS vermoordde meer dan 20 miljoen mensen sinds het einde van WOII........'

'VS buitenlandbeleid sinds WOII: een lange lijst van staatsgrepen en oorlogen..........'

'List of wars involving the United States'

PS: Als je het artikel van Vltcheck leest, zou je kunnen denken dat de tweede atoombom die de VS afwierp op Nagasaki ook Hashima trof, echter dat is niet waar, wel werd Nagasaki afgeschilderd als doel met grote militaire aanwezigheid en militaire bedrijvigheid...... Al had de VS met een atoomaanval op Hashima de duizenden werkslaven daar getroffen. De VS gebruikte de leugen over 'het militaire karakter van Nagasaki' om de atoomaanval op die stad 'te verantwoorden..........' (en ja ook de VS overheid is expert in geschiedvervalsing......) Wel werden veel dwangarbeiders in de stad Nagasaki zelf getroffen door de tweede atoombom die de VS op Japan afwierp (in feite was de aanval op burgerdoel Nagasaki, zoals die op Hiroshima, ook een test zodat men de gevolgen van zo'n laffe schoftenaanval nog beter kon bestuderen....)......