- The Guardian
- Issue #2157
NAZI to NATO. The following is a list of members of Hitler’s Nazi regime who went on to become prominent in NATO, imperialism’s nuclear military spearhead: Adolf Heusinger, Hitler’s chief of staff became chairman of the NATO Military Committee 1961-64; Hans Speidel, Nazi Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s chief of staff, became Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Central Europe 1957-63; Johannes Steinhoff, Luftwaffe pilot became Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, 1971-74; Johann von Kielmansegg, General Staff Officer of Nazi Wehrmacht’s High Command became NATO Commander of Allied Forces Central Europe, 1966-68; Ernst Ferber, Lieutenant Colonel of the Nazi Wehrmacht General Staff became Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Central Europe, 1973-75; Karl Schnell, First General Staff Officer of 76th Panzer Corps became Commander in Chief of NATO Central Europe, 1975-77; Franz-Joseph Schulze, Senior Lieutenant of the Nazi Luftwaffe became Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Central Europe, 1977-79; Ferdinand von Senger und Etterlin, Adjutant to the Nazi Wehrmacht High Command became Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Central Europe, 1979-83 – The Beacon.
Following on from the above, Palestine needs us to scrap the AUKUS war machine and challenge US imperialism. That’s what supporting Palestine and opposing war means. The US spy base at Pine Gap near Alice Springs is supplying the Israeli military with targeting information for use in its war against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s National Signals Unit has an agreement with the US National Security Agency and Pine Gap is the key platform for its impact. At the same time, instead of reviving a diversified manufacturing base, since 2018, successive Australian governments have sought to make Australia one of the top 10 global arms exporters. As a result arms manufacturing here has continued to increase as more companies have jumped onboard the AUKUS gravy train.
PARASITE(S) OF THE WEEK: are the governments trying to shut down protests for Palestine. An estimated 300,000 people have walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in rainy weather as part of a pro-Palestinian protest with actions taking place in other states. The bridge reopened at 5pm after being closed since to traffic since late morning. Meanwhile, in Britain supporters gathered outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court as Palestine protest organisers pleaded not guilty to charges, highlighting that they are “the accusers, not the accused.”
Stop the War Coalition chairman Alex Kenny and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Sophie Bolt are accused of failing to comply with conditions imposed by the Metropolitan Police on a demonstration held on Whitehall on 18 January.
The police previously claimed that some protesters had attempted to breach the conditions by marching out of the agreed protest area.
Both campaigners confirmed their identities and entered not guilty pleas.
Speaking outside the court, Kenny quoted the Scottish socialist John Maclean, telling the crowd: “We stand here today as the accuser, not the accused, and we should always bear that in mind. We’re accusing the state of complicity in a genocide, and we don’t accept any wrongdoing or guilt on our part.” He warned of a growing crackdown on protest rights, saying that there is a “concerted effort to squeeze our ability to speak up about Palestine.”
“We know that this is happening because we’ve built a mass movement that, despite the smears, lies and intimidation, will not be silenced and is not going away,” he said. “We are the voice of majority opinion in this country, and history will prove us right and our politicians wrong.”
