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The Invention of the Jewish People is divided into two parts. The first is a long section on the theory of nationalism, whose main characteristic, according to Sand, is the tendency to invent a past that suits the current needs and goals of the people in question. This is not a new idea (Benedict Anderson and Ernest Gellner have presented versions of it), but this is the best account of it that I have read. Second, there follows a much longer section on Zionism, Judaism, and Israel in light of the earlier discussion of nationalism. Most of this long book is devoted to showing with a great deal of evidence and arguments from several different disciplines that most of Jewish history has been invented.

Jane D'Arista unravels the web of banking confidence schemes

FRONTLINE has produced a remarkable documentary titled "The Warning" which has aired on PBS Television across the nation and which will now force major changes in the Obama administration. It documents how Lawrence Summers, Greenspan and Ruben attacked and blocked Mrs. Brooksley Born, who was in charge of the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) when she warned of the derivatives danger in the mid 90s and heroically fought to regulate them.

As part of Al Jazeera's "In My View" series, former US Muslim chaplain for the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba talks about his experience after being accused of spying and the abuse he alleges occurred at the camp.

Video: Doctors are dealing with an increase in chronic deformities in infants in Falluja, where heavy munitions were used in 2004

In Pakistan’s tribal weapon-making village of Darra Adam Khel, a young Pashtun boy Niaz Afridi defies his father’s expectations that he will carry on the family’s business and demands an education instead.

In Georgia, NATO-led military exercises are preparing the country's troops to operate in Afghanistan. The FIRST Georgian soldiers head to the conflict zone within weeks. RT's Irina Galushko looks at whether people's lives are being used as a bargaining chip to join NATO.

'How the Mighty Fall' by Sarah Gillespie from her debut album 'Stalking Juliet'. Sarah Gillespie Quartet featuring Gilad Atzmon on accordion and harmonica.

Video: If one wants to know why and how the conflict started in Palestine more than 60 years ago, the "confessions" of Israeli and Zionist leaders should make it very clear. 700,000 Palestinians (more than half of the Palestinian population at the time) were expelled in 1948. More than 600 towns and villages were ethnically cleansed. Thousands were killed and maimed...the crimes continue to this date, and so does the unjustified condoning attitude of "civilized" governments.

The mass base of the movement that confronted the Bush Administration's wars -- the Democratic voters -- are standing on the sidelines, unwilling to publicly criticize President Obama. This is despite the fact that opinion polls report a majority of the American people now oppose the Afghan war, including some 70% of Democrats.

“It's beginning to increasingly look as if this urge to the 10% growth rate and democracy are mutually incompatible . . . because this growth has been based on . . . the displacement of millions of people off their land. It's based on extracting minerals and harnessing rivers in a way that is ecologically utterly destructive. And all of this has been done, keeping to the rituals of democracy but emptying them out. So you have the courts and the press and the police pretending to do their jobs, pretending to act as checks and balances, as the institutions of democracy are meant to, but in fact all of them have stakes in this process. They are acting as a cover for the rich, which dismantles democracy right from the bottom." -- Arundhati Roy

"It's beginning to increasingly look as if this urge to the 10% growth rate and democracy are mutually incompatible . . . because this growth has been based on . . . the displacement of millions of people off their land. It's based on extracting minerals and harnessing rivers in a way that is ecologically utterly destructive. And all of this has been done, keeping to the rituals of democracy but emptying them out. So you have the courts and the press and the police pretending to do their jobs, pretending to act as checks and balances, as the institutions of democracy are meant to, but in fact all of them have stakes in this process. They are acting as a cover for the rich, which dismantles democracy right from the bottom." -- Arundhati Roy
This episode of the Riz Khan Show was broadcast live by Al Jazeera on 2 November 2009. See, also, Karan Thapar, "Indian Democracy in a State of Emergency," Interview with Arundhati Roy, CNN-IBN.

Video: In Afghanistan the US soldiers are losing heart for a fight they feel their presence is only prolonging

Parenti speaks about lies, dissent, and how we arrive at the truth of our situation and still retain our sanity. He raises the question whether the Iraq war was not a failure but a success for some parts of the empire – and why.”

An unprecedented number of American generals, along with 1,400 U.S. army soldiers, are participating with top IDF brass in the high-level Juniper Cobra military exercise that one U.S. Navy commander said is aimed at “specific threats.” Public affairs officials interrupted the naval commander in order to divert the conversation from the scenario of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and defending itself from a counter-attack.