Bobby

[Jonathan Cook @Jonathan_K_Cook]

In a stinging rebuke this month to Judge Sarah Plaschkes, the jury unanimously acquitted Tony Greenstein after just two hours of deliberation over his supposedly “inviting support for Hamas”.

As it turned out, it was not Greenstein on trial; it was British justice.

Once given a chance to hear all the facts, not just the ones curated by the Crown, the jury accepted his, not the prosecution’s, arguments, including his accusation that the judiciary were readily conniving in the growing authoritarianism unleashed by the UK state’s complicity in genocide.

Which may explain why Greenstein’s landmark victory in a case with huge implications for free speech – and the right to speak out on the British state’s partnership in Israel’s genocide – was almost entirely ignored by the establishment media.

Had the jury found against him, you can be sure that same media would have covered the matter extensively, playing its part in sending a message to audiences that they should keep their heads down and avoid showing any solidarity with the Palestinian people or risk sharing Greenstein’s fate.

His acquittal, and the British state’s humiliation, was not a message the state – or the billionaire-owned media – wanted publicised.

What Greenstein’s closing speech managed to do was introduce something the British state and its judiciary have been carefully trying to strip out of the current wave of show trials of anti-genocide activists: important context.

Greenstein had to dismiss his barrister for the closing speech and address the jury directly himself because, had the barrister spoken to the jury as Greenstein did, he would have most likely shared the fate of another distinguished lawyer, Rajiv Menon KC.

Menon is facing contempt of court proceedings over his masterful closing speech in the trial of six Palestine Action defendants, who were charged with multiple and serious crimes over their efforts to destroy killer-drones produced at a factory in Bristol operated by Israel’s biggest arms maker, Elbit Systems.

As a result of Menon’s speech, the jury refused to convict any of the defendants of any of the offences for which the state had put them on trial.

The judge in that case, Jeremy Johnson, was so keen to make an example of Menon – and intimidate other lawyers so they would be dissuaded from giving other Palestine solidarity activists a proper defence – that he managed to abuse the established legal procedure specifically designed for contempt of court referrals.

The Court of Appeal had to overturn his decision, though it allowed him to reapply for contempt proceedings against Menon, this time using the proper channels. Johnson did so.

The point is that judges like Johnson and Plaschkes – faithful servants not of justice but of the British state – know that no jury will convict activists trying to to stop a genocide if it is framed in those terms.

So these judges must rig these trials to keep the jury as ignorant as possible of the relevant context: that the British state is persecuting peace activists for embarrassing it over its collusion in genocide.

This is an extract from my latest article The British state has lost the argument, even as it rigs the trials of genocide opponents. Find a link to the full article in the reply post ⬇️

[Katie Halper @kthalps]

Netanyahu: “it took a long time to get the US to come to its senses” but I finally got it to attack Iran due to my “influence.” This antisemitism must be condemned! cc: @DanaBashCNN, @jaketapper

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

It's true that it's twisted for someone who works for a newspaper to demand the imprisonment of that paper's sources for vital news stories. But it's unsurprising for Thiessen: neocons hate most any disclosures proving their war claims are lies (that's why they wall wanted Daniel Ellsburg imprisoned for life).

But this isn't the worst case of journalists demanding imprisonment of their own sources: the WashPost itself used Edward Snowden as a source and then congratulated itself for the Pulitzer it won from the reporting he enabled.

But after the NYT and press freedom groups urged Snowden's pardon or commutation, the WashPost published editorials demanding Snowden -- their own source -- not be pardoned or commuted but instead go to prison for decades. A very sick thing for a newspaper to do: demand the imprisonment of the source you used for profit and self-promotion.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🇿🇦🇵🇸 South Africa submits dossier to ICJ on Israeli non-compliance in genocide case

South Africa submitted a new dossier to the International Court of Justice on Aug. 25 detailing Israel’s continued non-compliance with legally binding provisional measures in the Gaza genocide case.

South Africa’s government announced the submission Friday, saying the evidence was provided to a committee of ICJ judges responsible for monitoring implementation of the court’s orders protecting Palestinians under the Genocide Convention and considering possible recommendations to the court.

[Double Down News @DoubleDownNews]

"The main cause of antisemitism in the world today is the fact that the Israeli state claims to represent all Jews and is committing a genocide in Gaza, in the name of all Jews.

Israel has the Star of David on its tanks and planes whilst it is killing women and children in Gaza, it’s stirring up antisemitism all the time.

If Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wants to significantly reduce antisemitism, he should make it clear that Jewish people do not support the atrocities and massacres in Gaza and the West Bank.

The fact that he and leaders in the Jewish community don’t even dream of doing that, suggests that their main concern is to defend the Israeli government, not to defend and protect Jewish people in this country."

Mark Etkind, son of a Holocaust survivor:

[Matt Kennard @kennardmatt]

Burnham’s Britain

[Kangaroo Court of Australia - Shane Dowling @Kangaroo_Court]

Justice Fagan exposes the Antisemitism Royal Commission’s lies #auspol

[Justin Glyn SJ @JustinGlynSJ]

Moving description of the #SydneyMarathon by @JuAvrilT: “Those who stand for peace, justice and the rights of an oppressed people are far greater in number than those who would have us believe supporting Palestine is somehow an extremist position.”

[Sarah Wilkinson @swilkinsonbc]

A gang of masked israelis beat our @NBCNews team & pummelled the woman we were interviewing unconscious, reports @MattMcBradley

[David Milner @DaveMilbo]

Ben-Gvir's AI-generated ad for a fucking concentration camp is one of the worst things I've ever seen (I admit I've had that thought a lot recently!). If you're still supporting these pricks, or haven't opened your mouth against them, your cowardice/evil has no limit, no red line

[Peter Cronau @PeterCronau]

The US Defense Dept is ordering Australian government to control its universities.

The chain of command:

1. Pentagon instruction to 30 US universities to scrutinise their Chinese research partners.

2. Pentagon adds Shandong University to its list of foreign institutions deemed to pose national security threats.

3. Penny Wong complies with the US directive, and issues her directive to ANU to drop Shandong University benign research project.

The new normal.

[FreeDanDuggan @FreeDanDuggan]

The only way Australian citizen Dan Duggan can be extradited to the US is for the Australian government to apply retrospective laws against him, a 2018 law being used for a 2012 alleged and denied action.

Lawyer Howard Adams highlights the risk this poses for all Australians.

With 3 years of legal expenses, increased cost of living and an income earner locked up, the Duggans continue to struggle. Please donate to help: https://t.co/LvlqI4s7sF

[Bobby @burrobert]

Corporate Media Worried Second Homes of ‘Blue-Collar’ Millionaires Might Be Taxed - https://t.co/OIFhp7ZqYo

[Bobby @burrobert]

Marandi warns of ‘different’ and ‘very painful’ response to US strikes (VIDEO) — RT World News https://t.co/I2Zyas789g

[Declassified UK @declassifiedUK]

56 years ago this week Salvador Allende was elected in Chile.

A covert British propaganda had sought to prevent his election, declassified files show.

The UK continued to oppose Allende and then backed Gen Pinochet’s murderous coup 3 years later. https://t.co/YJguUtm541

[Katie Halper @kthalps]

Ben-Gvir is quite the snow flake.

[Medea Benjamin @medeabenjamin]

In Washington DC, we joined celebrations of Chinese culture.

While Trump wants to push war against China, we want peace.

China is not our enemy.

[Craig Murray @CraigMurrayOrg]

So the Labour Party's big idea is that our children should work for nothing for billionaires, or be conscripted to fight against Russia.

[Tiberius @tiberiusfiles]

Everyone not baby-brained (including Craig, of course) knew this at the time

A good rule of thumb is to look which group an attack truly serves

The attack clearly served Zionist interests, not Iranian

Israel continues to wage a psychological war on Western societies

[Alan MacLeod @AlanRMacLeod]

It is extraordinary how quickly the US government stopped talking about drugs from Venezuela.