/commentisfree

How German media outlets helped pave the way for Israel’s murder of journalists in Gaza | Hanno Hauenstein | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/13/german-media-outlets-israel-murder-journalists-gaza

a growing consensus recognises #Gaza as the site of a livestreamed #genocide. Yet in Germany – a country that prides itself on having learned the lessons of its own genocidal history – some of the most powerful media institutions have played a part in enabling Israel’s actions. Some German journalists have even justified the killing of their Palestinian colleagues.

The clearest example is Axel Springer, Europe’s largest publisher and owner of Bild, Germany’s biggest newspaper. Hours after the killing of al-Sharif became public, Bild splashed his image under this headline: “Terrorist disguised as journalist killed in Gaza” (which was later changed to “Journalist killed was allegedly a terrorist”). Let that sink in.

About a week before, Bild had published another piece: “This Gaza photographer stages Hamas propaganda.” The article targeted the Palestinian photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, accusing him of staging images of starving Palestinians as part of a Hamas campaign, despite the evidence that the subjects of the photos were indeed starving and waiting for food. In the article, Fteiha’s title as journalist appeared in quotation marks, implying he wasn’t a real journalist, and that images of starvation were exaggerated fabrications.

The Bild story – along with a piece in the liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) that had asked experts “How real are the images from Gaza?”– was swiftly amplified on X by Israel’s foreign ministry, which cited them as proof that Hamas manipulates global opinion. Fteiha was branded an “Israel- and Jew-hater” serving Hamas. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation quickly piled on, joined by rightwing influencers.

In this case, German media had become a direct pipeline for Israeli talking points, quickly recycled into the international arena and repackaged as “evidence”. Fteiha said in response: “I don’t create suffering. I document it.” Calling his work “Hamas propaganda”, he continued, “is a felony against the press itself”.

Just days before the Bild and SZ articles were published, one of Germany’s largest journalists’ associations, Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV), issued a statement warning of “manipulation” in press photography. It specifically cast doubt on images showing emaciated children in Gaza, claiming their condition “apparently is not attributable to the famine in Gaza”. The DJV offered no evidence for this claim – largely because no such evidence exists.

#Allemagne #journalisme

Dans les prisons israéliennes, la torture et la mort sont devenues une norme que l’on ne cherche même plus vraiment à dissimuler

Les souffrances du docteur Hussam Abu Safiya ne constituent pas un cas isolé. Les mauvais traitements infligés aux détenus palestiniens se déroulent au grand jour, et pourtant rien ne change

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/13/israel-prison-torture-death-hussam-abu-safiya-palestine

#israel

AI #surveillance is being supercharged – and it will chill social progress | Bruce Schneier and Jon Penney | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/06/ai-surveillance-policy

— Permalink

#artificialintelligence #automation #chillingeffect #socialcooling #democracy #politics #repression #conformity #power #powerdynamics #sociology #domination #technology #SocialCreditScore #bruceschneier #bestof

Combien d’autres Lyhanna faudra-t-il encore avant que la France ne prenne au sérieux les agressions sexuelles sur mineur·es ?
L’indignation suscitée par le meurtre de cette fillette de 11 ans est justifiée. Mais cette affaire met en lumière une négligence systémique plus profonde en matière de protection de l’enfance
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/03/lyhanna-france-child-sexual-assault

The spectre of gen Z socialism is haunting the world … according to the Economist
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/09/gen-z-socialism-the-economist

“Gen-Z socialists demand handouts funded by billionaires” and harbor “a remarkable hostility to private enterprise”, the Economist observes, at the same time that those young socialists “are uninterested in letting the market rip and redistributing the proceeds”.

The logic is compelling, even impeccable, for rich people who don’t want to part with their money. After all, they know full well from first-hand experience that the ripping market can effectively redistribute capital.

“A robust defence of the ideas that have brought unprecedented riches has barely been tried,” the Economist explains. However, “what is so worrying about the Gen-Z socialists is how deeply their ideas are bleeding into the centre-left”.

Even if Iran benefits from this deal with Washington, any peace is likely to be temporary | Sina Toossi | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/16/iran-peace-deal-us-washington-war-lebanon

Selon l’auteur s’il y a bien un débat interne au sein des autorités iraniennes ce n’est pas celui présenté par les MSM, à savoir entre adversaires et partisans des négociations ; le désaccord réside dans la manière de les mener.

The debate now unfolding inside Iran is equally revealing. Contrary to many assumptions, the primary divide is not between supporters and opponents of diplomacy. Even many critics of the memorandum are not rejecting negotiations outright. Rather, the debate centres on what lessons Iran should draw from the war itself.

The dominant segment of Iran’s security-oriented media ecosystem argues that the war fundamentally altered regional perceptions of Iranian power. Before the conflict, they contend, Israel and the US had become accustomed to an Iran that responded cautiously and prioritised strategic patience over direct confrontation. This reinforced a perception of Iran as weak and a “paper tiger”. The war, in their telling, changed that equation. Iran demonstrated both a willingness and an ability to impose meaningful costs on its adversaries.

The concern among many critics of the agreement is not that diplomacy occurs, but that the way it is pursued could gradually erode the leverage created by the war. Their argument is less “do not negotiate” than “do not negotiate in a way that conveys weakness and invites more pressure”.

This is why Lebanon has become so important. Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasised that ending the war in Lebanon is not a peripheral component of the memorandum but one of its central pillars. For Tehran, Lebanon has become the principal test of whether Washington can actually deliver on commitments made during negotiations.

The Israeli strike on Beirut on the day of the MOU brought that question into sharp relief. Many Iranian commentators interpreted the strike primarily as a test from both the US and Israel: would Iran, now that it was nearing an agreement with Washington, revert to its prewar pattern of restraint, or insist that diplomacy and more assertive Iranian actions proceed in tandem?

If Israel can continue military operations in Lebanon while negotiations move forward, what confidence should Iran have that other provisions of the agreement will ultimately be respected? These questions now sit at the centre of Iran’s internal debate.

Ultimately, the prevailing view among Iran’s decision-makers is not that they have reached a lasting settlement with the US, or even that this agreement will necessarily endure. It is that they have forced Washington into a temporary arrangement that consolidates wartime gains, provides economic relief, and positions Iran more favourably for whatever comes next.

For Tehran, the memorandum is not the end of the conflict; it is the end of one phase and the beginning of another. The final whistle has not blown, it is only half-time.

Une minorité britannique est confrontée à une menace meurtrière dans nos rues.
Où sont donc les soi-disant antiracistes ?

Alors que les Juifs/Juives sont confronté·es à la menace mortelle de l’antisémitisme, elles et ils ne devraient pas être livré·es à elles ou eux-mêmes. Il est temps que leurs compatriotes britanniques se mobilisent

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/01/antisemitism-racism-jews-britain

**

La majorité modérée doit se mobiliser dans la lutte contre l’antisémitisme

L’attentat terroriste perpétré dans ma circonscription a laissé les Juifs et les Juives britanniques comme moi dans un sentiment d’isolement et de peur. Mais j’ai été témoin d’une véritable solidarité à l’œuvre – je sais que c’est possible

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/02/moderate-majority-fight-against-antisemitism-british-jews

#antisemitisme

Une catastrophe climatique nous menace. Voici pourquoi on en parle si peu | George Monbiot | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/23/catastrophic-climate-event-scientists-atlantic-system-collapse-billiona

— Permalien

#climat #crise

La décision du CIO de protéger la catégorie féminine est une victoire pour l’équité

Les athlètes transgenres et les personnes atteintes de troubles du développement sexuel doivent être traité·es avec respect, et le nouveau régime de contrôles doit être mis en œuvre avec tact. Mais il s’agit d’un pas en avant

Lire l’article (en anglais) de Tanya Aldred sur le site du Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/21/ioc-decision-female-category-olympics-trans-athletes

#feminisme

Dans une Budapest en liesse, après la défaite des populistes, j’ai entrevu la possibilité d’une transition sans précédent

Avec l’éviction de Viktor Orbán, héros de Trump, les Hongrois ont exigé le rétablissement de la démocratie. L’Europe doit désormais les soutenir

Lire l’article complet (en anglais) de Timothy Garton Ash sur le site du Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/14/budapest-populists-donald-trump-viktor-orban-hungary-europe

#hongrie

Alors que des ambulances juives sont incendiées, nous devons éteindre les flammes de la haine, de Golders Green à la Cisjordanie

Les Britanniques sont confronté·es à un choix clair : attiser les divisions engendrées par toutes les horreurs qui se produisent à l’étranger, ou refuser de laisser cette haine s’installer au sein de nos propres communautés

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/23/jewish-ambulances-ablaze-flames-of-hate-golders-green-west-bank

#international

La guerre de Trump dans le monde des jeux vidéo : l’IA, les mèmes et un discours simpliste ont réduit le conflit en Iran à une simple histoire à sensation

Ce qui devait être une victoire facile s’est transformé en bourbier ; il ne reste donc plus qu’à en faire une source de dopamine

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/23/iran-us-trump-video-game-war-ai-memes

#international

Israël a anéanti l’UNRWA à Gaza – et le reste du monde n’a rien fait

Je quitte mes fonctions au sein de l’organisation à un moment critique pour le droit international. Les conséquences ne touchent pas seulement les Palestiniens, mais l’ensemble du Moyen-Orient
Philippe Lazzarini

▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/21/israel-crushed-unrwa-gaza-palestinians-middle-east

#palestine #israel

Les attaques contre les synagogues et les commerces juifs au Royaume-Uni, en Europe et aux États-Unis ne nuisent pas à Netanyahou. Elles ne font que nuire aux Juifs et juives ordinaires

Trop de personnes veulent présenter les actes de violence et d’antisémitisme comme des coups portés au gouvernement israélien. Mais la peur et la terreur s’abattent sur des personnes bien réelles, à des milliers de kilomètres de là

Lire l’article complet de Jonathan Freedland sur le site du Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/20/attack-uk-us-europe-netanyahu-jews-violence-antisemitism

#international

Polly Toynbee meets Donald Trump : the 1988 interview | Polly Toynbee | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/12/polly-toynbee-1988-interview-donald-trump

Trump en 1988.

What would he do about Iran, for instance? ‘I’d be harsh on Iran. They’ve been beating us psychologically, making us look a bunch of fools. One bullet shot at one of our men or ships and I’d do a number on Kharg Island. I’d go in and take it. Iran can’t even beat Iraq, yet they push the United States around. It’d be good for the world to take them on.’

Que ferait-il à propos de l’Iran, par exemple ? « Je serais dur envers l’Iran. Ils nous ont battus psychologiquement, nous faisant passer pour des imbéciles. Une balle tirée sur l’un de nos hommes ou sur un de nos navires et je ferais un numéro sur l’île de Kharg. J’entrerais et le prendrais. L’Iran ne peut même pas battre l’Irak, et pourtant il bouscule les États-Unis. Ce serait bien que le monde les affronte.

Trouvé ici : ▻https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/whipsaw-effect-trump-again-signals - lecture recommandée.

La conclusion :

Someone summarized the situation aptly—to paraphase:
Iran has survived decades of the world’s sanctions, but the world could not survive two weeks of Iranian sanctions.

As Israel prepares to implement the ‘Gaza model’ in Lebanon, where is the international reaction? | Ben Reiff | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/18/israel-gaza-model-lebanon-international-reaction-sanctions

Anyone following Israeli media discourse in recent days may be experiencing a severe case of deja vu.

Alongside euphoric reactions to the US-Israeli pummelling of Iran (backed by 93% of the Jewish-Israeli population), politicians and prominent commentators are now clamouring for an escalation in Lebanon – hoping to see a repeat of the devastation Israel has wreaked in Gaza.

Working from home? It’s so much nicer if you’re a man | Emma Beddington | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/01/working-from-home-its-so-much-nicer-if-youre-a-man
▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d6b996a448a043ebaf15472c4fe0ed57075a8011/425_0_4229_3385/master/4229.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:
Un bureau à soi… cc @mona

This rang true because it is: it did just happen. Structural pay equalities meant men – habitually the higher earners – staked the more obvious primary claim on working space in locked-down homes. Research shows women experienced more non-work interruptions, compounded when they didn’t have a “dedicated unshared workspace” – their emotional wellbeing suffered, but so did their professional lives. “My husband locks the room from the inside when he needs to concentrate,” a participant in an Indian study on pandemic working habits reported. “I don’t have that liberty. I have no room of my own.”

In 1929, Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own as a riposte to the physical and economic exclusion of women from intellectual and professional spaces. In 2025, they can’t bar us from libraries, but intimate domestic spaces have proved stubbornly intractable. Back when men had inviolable studies and smoking rooms, there was an assumption that the domestic sphere was feminine, so they “needed” to escape the noise and mess of childrearing and homemaking. Now we’re ostensibly all in it together, doing conference calls in our slippers, but there are still more man caves than women’s. Because Risbridger is right: the recently released UK 2024 Skills and Employment survey found 60% of men had a dedicated room for work at home and only 40% of women. We still can’t manage to meet Woolf’s prescription.

The world wants to ban children from social media, but there will be grave consequences for us all | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/02/ban-children-social-media-biometic-data-surveilled

Age-verification systems require collecting sensitive data to support the biometric information. In no time, the internet will become a fully surveilled digital panopticon

Le scandale Epstein serait donc une affaire politique ? 

Quelle idiote j’ai été de penser qu’il s’agissait d’abus massifs commis sur des femmes et des filles. L’obsession pour les acteurs individuels et le chaos politique laisse moins de temps pour se concentrer sur la misogynie. Et c’est tant mieux, n’est-ce pas les gars ?

Lire l’article (en anglais) de Marina Hyde sur le site du Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/06/jeffrey-epstein-scandal-politics-mass-abuse-women-girls

#feminisme