Robert Fantina

Robert Fantina is an author and peace activist. His writing has appeared on Mondoweiss, Counterpunch and other sites. He authored Empire, Racism and Genocide: A History of U.S. Foreign Policy and Essays on Palestine.

Analysis: Seeking Redress On Human Rights Violations? Avoid UN Human Rights Council

The appointment of a Saudi U.N. ambassador to chair a Human Rights Council panel that selects independent experts to investigate human rights abuses is described as “the final nail in the coffin for the credibility” of the council.

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Newly elected chair of the UNHRC panel Faisal bin Hassan Trad.

KITCHENER, Ontario --- According to its own website, the United Nations Human Rights Council is “responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.” At the opening of the 4th UNHRC session on March 12, 2007, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “All victims of human rights abuses should be able to

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From Banned Crayons To Concrete, Gaza Struggles To Rebuild After A Decade Of Israeli Blockade

In addition to essential building supplies like boards and concrete, Israel’s blocked crayons, soccer balls, musical instruments and even potato chips from entering Gaza.

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Palestinians work on rebuilding a home destroyed during last summer's Israeli assault on Gaza City. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA -- (OPINION) Gaza residents are starving and struggling to rebuild crucial infrastructure under the effects of Israel’s decade-long blockade on the import of supplies. Following the electoral victory of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2006, Israel, which had ostensibly left Gaza the previous year, established a total blockade of air, sea and

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Daesh: The ‘Enemy’ The US Created, Armed, And Funded

To delve into Daesh’s convoluted money trail, one must first explore its equally convoluted origins. And in both areas, the role of the U.S. and its allies can not be ignored.

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
ISIS militants stand with a captured American Humvee, given to the Iraqi Army and captured by ISIS, June 19, 2014. (AP Photo)

KITCHENER, Ontario --- Out of nowhere, it seems, Daesh, also commonly referred to as ISIL or ISIS, spontaneously formed, a group that perverts aspects of Islam for its own violent ends, and threatens, we are told, all that the civilized world holds dear. The “war on terror,” governments inform their citizens, has a new front. And that front is

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AIPAC: To Those Willing To Worship At Its Altar Go The Political Spoils

With a presidential election a mere one year away, and with seemingly half the population clamoring to be the chosen candidate of one party or the other, the adoration of AIPAC and Israel has hit a fever pitch.

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to members of the audience before speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

OPINION | KITCHENER, Ontario ---  In any oligarchy, as an election approaches, government officials seeking re-election, and those hoping to replace them, all seek out the potential donors with the deepest pockets and most ample checkbooks. This, of course, is true in the United States, where no one can reasonably be expected to win an election

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Religious Persecution In The US: Who Really Suffers? (Opinion)

Those who blame Islam for the violence in Paris, or anywhere else where Daesh (commonly referred to in the media as ISIS or ISIL) operates, are as ignorant and wrong as anyone who would blame Christianity for atrocities committed by members of Christian groups.

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Photo by Boushra Almutawakel.

KITCHENER, Ontario --- To listen to the gaggle of Republican candidates currently seeking the presidency, one would think that Christians in the United States are on the verge of government-ordered extinction. President Barack Obama, they and their minions proclaim darkly, seeks to outlaw Christianity and establish either a secular or Shiite

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Selling Ignorance: How Ben Carson And Donald Trump Finance Their Campaigns

“When nearly 25 percent of the population happily celebrates Independence Day every July 4, without knowing from whom the U.S. gained its independence, there doesn’t seem to be much for a serious candidate to work with.”

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Donald Trump and Ben Carson watt before a Republican presidential debate at Milwaukee Theatre, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

KITCHENER, Ontario --- Never let it be said that any candidate in the United States miscalculated when relying on the ignorance of the U.S. voter. When nearly 25 percent of the population happily celebrates Independence Day every July 4, without knowing from whom the U.S. gained its independence, there doesn’t seem to be much for a serious

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When Freedom Doesn’t Ring: The US And Israel Are Shining Examples Of International Immorality

The notion of the U.S. as the height of global morality and a beacon of freedom and liberty is little more than proof of a successful PR campaign. The rest of the world isn’t buying it, so why are Americans?

Robert Fantina
بواسطة Robert Fantina
Demonstrators burn a U.S. flag in front of the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP/Natacha Pisarenko)

KITCHENER, Ontario -- (opinion) For reasons that only show the effectiveness of public relations campaigns, many U.S. citizens view their government as the height of global morality, a beacon of freedom and liberty in an otherwise broken world. They believe, inexplicably, that the United States is a force for good throughout the world, protecting

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