"Rabin was killed by a man who represented everything in the later generations of Israelis that the original European Zionists feared: a fanatically religious, right-wing Oriental Jew who saw violence as the most powerful tool at his disposal."
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Historical record shows deliberate targeting of hospitals was policy for U.S.
"Political Science professor Corey Robin directed me to this article in The Nation by Greg Gradin and said: “Right after Kunduz, historian showed deliberate targeting of hospitals was policy for U.S. in Cambodia.” " (thanks Amir)
belt tightening in Saudi Arabia
"Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has booked an entire luxury hotel in southern Turkey as part of the G20 Summit reportedly for a whopping $18 million.
Reports indicate that King Salman will be staying at Mardan Palace, which is known to be the most expensive luxury resort in Europe and the Mediterranean region. He is expected to check in at the hotel, which will remain closed for all other guests, a few days ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held in Anatalya...The king will be accompanied by nearly 1,000 people, according to reports. The king has a reputation for travelling with a huge entourage. Recently, for his three-night stay in the US capital, he booked the entire 222-room Four-seasons."
Jimmy Carter
The only think you need to know about Jimmy Carter is that he concedes that the unrepentant anti-Semitic Nazi despot, Anwar Sadat, has been his biggest inspiration. The rest are boring details.
How Israel is desperate for Hollywood approval: It ain't Paul Newman anymore
This is called start-studded: "Star-studded US gala raises $31m for IDF, in one night":
Jason Alexander, Antonio Banderas, Live Schreiber and Gene Simmons are the stars. Hardly. Oh, wait: we forget the international star: Jason Segel. In the 1950s and 1960s, Israel did enjoy the support of the top stars of Hollywood--not that it is important (except for Israel), and now it settles for washed up "stars".
This is a member of the Syrian regime "parliament"
"Appeal to the American people..
"Rise on this fucking Negro who is named Barack Obama" because the oppression will vanish and the justice will prevail .
#By Al-Shekh Ahmad Shlash ."
"Rise on this fucking Negro who is named Barack Obama" because the oppression will vanish and the justice will prevail .
#By Al-Shekh Ahmad Shlash ."
Saturday, November 07, 2015
Can you imagine if this was Iran? "UAE told UK: crack down on Muslim Brotherhood or lose arms deals"
"The United Arab Emirates threatened to block billion-pound arms deals with the UK, stop inward investment and cut intelligence cooperation if David Cameron did not act against the Muslim Brotherhood, the Guardian has learned.
Internal UAE government documents seen by the Guardian show that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was briefed to complain to the prime minister about the Muslim Brotherhood in June 2012, when one of its leading members, Mohamed Morsi, became Egyptian president.
In the briefing notes it was suggested that the crown prince demand Cameron rein in BBC coverage.
In return, Cameron was to be offered lucrative arms and oil deals for British business which would have generated billions of pounds for the jet divisions of BAE Systems and allowed BP to bid to drill for hydrocarbons in the Gulf."
Saudi Arabia & UAE hire Eritrean & Sudanese mercenaries to kill Yemeni people
"Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are paying Eritrea to help fight its anti-Houthi military campaign in Yemen in an agreement that may violate United Nations sanctions against the Horn of Africa nation, according to a UN report." "Eritrea receives fuel and financial compensation in return for its support, which includes providing 400 soldiers who “are embedded with the United Arab Emirates contingent of the forces fighting on Yemeni soil.” "Sudan, which also borders Eritrea, is part of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, providing aircraft and deploying at least 300 infantry troops, according to its military."
Syrian rebels used sulfur mustard and it is a small item in the New York Times: where are the front page headlines?
"Insurgents in Syria used sulfur mustard in August"
A seriously ill Bahraini man fears he will be killed when he is deported to the Gulf state next week
"A seriously ill Bahraini man fears he will be killed when he is deported to the Gulf state next week, after his UK asylum application was turned down by British authorities." "News of Hasan’s imminent deportation, set for 10 November, comes after British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond attended a ceremony to announce the opening of a new UK naval base in Bahrain."
Photo of Israeli agents disguised as protesters
"Israel’s violence against Palestinian protesters — and its use of undercover agents disguised as civilians — is routine."
the unelected president of the PA shuts down a newspaper office
"The Palestinian administration in the occupied West Bank shut down the local office of a pan-Arab newspaper this week after accusing it of "offensive" reporting on Palestinian security coordination with Israel, officials said." "Such domestic scrutiny is touchy for the U.S.-backed Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces have quietly helped Israel curb violence in the West Bank while he publicly condemns Israeli crackdowns and policies regarding a contested Jerusalem shrine."
Saudi regime opens up to Western media: they have nothing to hide
"Reuters was allowed to visit Qatif only with Saudi government officials, and the interviews in this article took place in their presence." (thanks Basim)
Friday, November 06, 2015
Hizbollah and the media campaign against it
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: "Hizbollah and the Media Campaign Against it".
Washington’s intent in Syria is to induce collapse and then partition the country
"As bad or worse, does Washington’s primary objective remain “regime change” after all this tragedy, and its true intent even now is not to defeat the Islamic State until Damascus collapses?" "In gist, Eric Draitser argues “it is increasingly likely” that Washington’s intent in Syria is to induce collapse and then partition the country." “The U.S. knows perfectly well that it cannot openly arm terrorists,” Draitser asserts, “so it must do so under the guise of a counter-terrorism operation such as this. “We’ve seen such a strategy play out in Libya, as well as Afghanistan, and there’s no reason to believe the U.S. wouldn’t do the same in Syria.”"
U.S. military fired at people fleeing a burning hospital
"A U.S. warplane shot people trying to flee a burning hospital destroyed in airstrikes last month, according to the charity that ran the facility."
The casual anti-Arab racism of US officials: the case of James Baker
This sentence from the new book by Dennis Ross is being cited widely as the epitome of wisdom and profundity: "“With you people, the souk never closes, but it is closed with me. Have a nice life.”"
Now we know why US and Israel are pleased with tyrant Sisi: Egyptian army kills Palestinian fisherman off Gaza coast
"Egyptian military forces shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Health in the besieged enclave said. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson of the ministry, said Firas Mohammad Miqdad, 18, from Rafah was shot in the abdomen by Egyptian forces while at sea and died from his injuries."
American censorship in the service of Israel
"But on Israel, CAP’s efforts to manipulate the content of its publications are even more aggressive and overt. Under Tanden, the group has repeatedly demonstrated it will go to almost any length to keep AIPAC and its pro-Israel donors happy, regardless of how such behavior subverts its pretense of independent advocacy. In 2012, a former AIPAC spokesman, Josh Block, launched a campaign to brand several young, liberal writers at CAP’s blog, ThinkProgress, as anti-Semites due to their writings on Israel, Palestine and Iran." "Most of the CAP writers accused of Israel heresy were gone from the organization within a short time thereafter, and several have publicly revealed that they had been censored on matters pertaining to Israel." (thanks Amir)
Chalabi
"It’s one of the bizarre paradoxes of history that Chalabi was embraced by the pro-Israel neoconservative elite even as he was in contact with an Iran that sought Israel’s destruction."
The true Yitzhak Rabin
"'I Would Like to See Gaza Drown in the Sea': Remembering the True Yitzhak Rabin, 20 Years After His Assassination"
Learning feminism from Hollywood
"Malala Yousafzai tells Emma Watson: I'm a feminist thanks to you". Personally, I only learned vainness from Hollywood.
Thursday, November 05, 2015
Man of Peace
American liberals are certain:Yitzhak Rabin is a preferable war criminal to Netanyahu. His war crimes were more humane and more thoughtful. If only he lived long to grace US liberals with more of his accomplishments--for peace natürlich.
I don't recall reading one article in the Western press about the official anti-Shi`ite bigotry of all pro-Saudi regimes in the ME
Al-Azhar official clerical office for quackery issues a statement accusing Iran of spending money to "attract" converts to Shi`ism. (thanks Mariam)
Syrian observatory justifying car bombs
"In a fierce assault that began by detonating two suicide car bombs, Islamic State militants took the town of Maheen in the southwest of Homs province from government forces, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Some 50 fighters on the government side were killed or wounded, and clashes raged afterwards on the outskirts of a mostly Christian town nearby, Sadad, it said. Islamic State issued a statement claiming the advance, which brought it within 20 km (13 miles) of the north-south highway linking Damascus to Syria's other main cities Homs, Hama and Aleppo. Syrian state media made no mention of the attack.
The Observatory's Rami Abdulrahman said the attack might have been a response to pressures the group is under elsewhere." (thanks Basim)
California State University, Stanislaus made to the first ever list of colleges by Economist: and using the criterion of "value" of education measured in dollars
| 1 | 99 | VA |
$55,230
|
$77,600
|
$22,370
| |
| 2 | 99 | MA |
$65,177
|
$85,500
|
$20,323
| |
| 3 | 99 | PA |
$60,461
|
$73,700
|
$13,239
| |
| 4 | 99 | MA |
$74,473
|
$87,200
|
$12,727
| |
| 5 | 99 | MA |
$62,333
|
$74,900
|
$12,567
| |
| 6 | 99 | CA |
$29,569
|
$42,000
|
$12,431
| |
| 7 | 99 | PA |
$64,566
|
$76,800
|
$12,234
| |
| 8 | 99 | WV |
$31,773
|
$43,400
|
$11,627
| |
| 9 | 99 | TX |
$33,699
|
$45,200
|
$11,501
| |
| 10 | 99 | CA |
$37,032
|
$48,100
|
$11,068
| |
| 11 | 99 | PA |
$39,415
|
$49,900
|
$10,485
| |
| 12 | 99 | CA |
$56,484
|
$66,400
|
$9,916
| |
| 13 | 99 | CT |
$39,831
|
$49,700
|
$9,869
| |
| 14 | 99 | PA |
$59,361
|
$68,800
|
$9,439
| |
| 15 | 98 | PA |
$68,820
|
$78,200
|
$9,380
| |
| 16 | 98 | DC |
$74,102
|
$83,300
|
$9,198
| |
| 17 | 98 | IA |
$46,908
|
$55,700
|
$8,792
| |
| 18 | 98 | NY |
$73,069
|
$81,700
|
$8,631
| |
| 19 | 98 | CA |
$44,368
|
$52,900
|
$8,532
| |
| 20 | 98 | CA |
$
|
Israeli soldiers rampaged through East Jerusalem’s only emergency hospital
"For three straight days, Israeli soldiers rampaged through East Jerusalem’s only emergency hospital, located on the Mount of Olives. Medical and human rights groups say the raids are part of a pattern of Israeli obstruction to medical care in the occupied city. Over the last month, Israeli occupation forces have seriously hindered medical care to Palestinians by blocking ambulances at checkpoints, harassing medics and violating patient privacy."
commercial sex zones thrive in tandem with many U.S. bases around the world
"Today, commercial sex zones thrive in tandem with many U.S. bases around the world, from Baumholder in Germany to Fort Bragg in North Carolina." "In 2002, a Cleveland television station exposed how military police officers were protecting the bars and the GIs in them, and interacting with women they knew had been trafficked and sold at auction. “You know something is wrong when the girls are asking you to buy them bread,” one soldier said."
US government explains: we will continue to support despots no matter
"And it is very good to be in Bahrain—a close, valued, and longstanding partner of the United States." "The region's oil supplies have powered industries and economies for generations since the Gulf prospectors first struck oil in Bahrain in 1931. And while we are now more energy sufficient, Middle East oil continues to drive the global market, and we remain determined to secure its supply." "And we're expediting sophisticated military sales—including recently announced F-16 support to Bahrain; some of the most advanced ships in the world for Saudi Arabia to patrol the Gulf; air and missile defense systems to UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait."
Reporter kicked out after she asks Kerry about Uzbekistan's human rights record
"An American reporter is escorted out of the room where U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, after she asks a question about the U.S. State Department's critique of the Uzbek human rights record."
This is what I call Washington Zionist conventional wisdom: don't you ever feel sick of the iron consensus in DC on ME issues?
| Robert Satloff (@robsatloff) | |
|
Are #Russia/#Iran/#Asad playing helpful role in anti-#ISIS fight? @JobyWarrick @will_mccants & @azelin all say NO! washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi…
| |
The names of Palestinians killed by Israel
"The shooting of a Palestinian youth in Hebron Wednesday by Israeli soldiers brought the number of Palestinians slain since October 1st to 75. 57 have been killed in the West Bank, 17 in the Gaza Strip, and one in the Negev. More than 20% of those killed have been children."
U.S. disregard of human rights
" “The United States is lagging behind most of the free world with its disregard of the rights of the rest of the world,” wrote Amie Stepanovich, U.S. policy manager for Access Now, in an email to The Intercept. “It is now more important than ever for the U.S. to recognize that human rights treaties have force beyond our borders.” "
Everyone knows it is true
"The point of deconstructing this New Yorker piece is not that Filkins is more careless about checking facts than his journalistic peers; rather, it is to direct attention to much more bigger and more complex problem affecting the entire news media structure: a climate of opinion in which certain issues are matters of such solid consensus that normally alert and energetic journalists suspend their skepticism and factchecking, because, after all, “everybody knows” that certain propositions are true." (thanks Amir)
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