• AtticusInk Newsvine Column

  • My Interview With Norman Finkelstein March 6, 2009
    This is a transcript of an interview with Norman Finkelstein last November, which was conducted by Atticus Mullikin and arranged and filmed by Bernd Kapeller, Associate Producer at the European Journalism Centre. The video was recorded following Mr. […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Comment Deletion Policy March 6, 2009
    In order to more effectively and consistently moderate my own discussion forums, this Comment Deletion Policy will apply to all visitors to my column. Visitors will see a disclaimer among the first comments on my posts that includes a link to this page. […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • How home became homeland September 8, 2008
    Roger Cohen laments what the American nation is quickly becoming, and what it could have been. Whatever happened to Lincoln's "last, best hope?" […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Bush wants to redeclare war in time for the election. August 30, 2008
    Tucked deep into a recent proposal from the Bush administration is a provision that has received almost no public attention, yet in many ways captures one of President Bush's defining legacies: an affirmation that the United States is still at war with Al Qaeda. […]
    JoulesBeef
  • Conservative Andrew Bacevich on the End of American Exceptionalism August 29, 2008
    Conservative professor of history and international relations at Boston University and twenty-three year veteran of the US Army, Andrew Bacevich, speaks with Amy Goodman about his new book The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. A quote from the interview: […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Jon Stewart rips media's false sense of urgency August 27, 2008
    Case in point: the recent sniping between the presidential campaigns after presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain couldn't remember how many houses he owned. As Stewart watched the campaigns trade attack ads over the comment, he said he thought of President Franklin D. […]
    TheJonesGirl
  • "Contemporary Energy and Military Policies Virtually Indistinguishable" August 26, 2008
    A new documentary based on the work of Professor Michael Klare reveals the inextricable link between American foreign policy and energy supply over recent decades. The following is a synopsis of the film from the website. […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Taking Issue With "Why We Fight": A Reaction From the Author August 25, 2008
    WARNING. This is as long as the original article, as I wanted to be as thorough as possible. However, everything is organized under convenient subtitles, so you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't want to. -------------------- […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Ron Suskind says Iraq Intel Forged August 24, 2008
    Terry Gross interview's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind on his allegations that the head of Iraqi intelligence told the British there were no weapons of mass destruction prior to the invasion of Iraq. […]
    Atticus Mullikin
  • Why We Fight...Conservatism: A META, Meta-article August 15, 2008
    *SEPTEMBER 8TH UPDATED DISCLAIMER & WARNING* "Why We Fight" in the title of this article refers to a series of propaganda films made by Frank Capra during the Second World War, which you can link to via my Recommendations. […]
    Atticus Mullikin

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

Did you know that the IBM Corporation helped to organize the Holocaust? Did you know that the Nuremberg Laws were based on guidelines drafted by a eugenics organization in the United States, and that the idea of a blond-haired, blue-eyed master race was an American one? Did you know that corporate and governmental power in America conspired to dismantle mass-transit systems and addict Americans to internal combustion engine vehicles?

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In August 2007, NPR featured a story entitled One Year Later, Vestiges of War Fading in Israel, about life on the border between Israel and Palestine one year after the 2006 invasion of Lebanon. Accompanying the story was a photograph so beautiful that, at first, I temporarily forgot the subject matter. An Israeli plane was dropping fire-retardant where Hezbollah rockets had fallen. The contrast between the photographic artistry and the violent confrontation it depicted was profound.

The photographer’s name is Yoav Lemmer, and he seems to work for the Agence France-Press. He photographs life and conflict in and around Israel/Palestine, Sudan and Eritrea, and other parts of the developing world. I did a quick internet search and, although I couldn’t find a biography, his photography is ubiquitous, most often labeled AFP and appearing mostly in French news publications.

One of the most striking photos was Settler’s Block, taken in 2004 and depicting Israeli border police in a confrontation with Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The sheer amount of action, the posture and facial expressions of the people, the upright, armored horses of the border guard, and the overcast, moody-blue haze give the picture all the texture of a painting in the Louvre, a romantic hearkening to Napoleon or ancient Rome, with one difference. The photo shows reality without the filter effect of a fat commission from a wealthy patron, a reality where each side is flawed and has much to lose, and where there is no obvious winner or solution.

Mr. Lemmer’s images, and there are thousands of them, are available at Getty Images.

Also posted on my Newsvine column.

This article was originally published on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

USMC General Smedley Butler, the most decorated Marine of his time, made allegations in 1934 that he had been approached by Wall Street financier Gerald MacGuire, representing some of the wealthiest businessmen in America, who wanted him to lead a 500,000 man force in a march on the White House to unseat then President Roosevelt.

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