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NSA Spies on Pope
by Stephen Lendman
NSA spies on world leaders, so why not? Even the Holy See isn't spy proof. It's not off limits.
Pope Francis is monitored. Most likely Benedict XVI. Perhaps John Paul II through at least some of his papacy. NSA spies globally. No one's safe from its intrusive eye.
On October 30, the Italian publication Panorama headlined "Esclusiva Panorama: Datagate, anche il Papa è stato intercettato (Exclusive Panorama: Datagate, even the Pope was intercepted).
Reuters covered the story. On October 30, it headlined "Italian magazine says US spies listened to pope, Vatican says unaware."
Internal Vatican communications are monitored. So are phone calls from the Domus Sanctae Marthae. It's Pope Francis' current home. It's where cardinals reside during papal conclaves.
Israel's Deplorable Human Rights Record
by Stephen Lendman
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) conducts Universal Periodic Reviews. It calls doing so "a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all (193) UN Member States."
It's an "opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations."
It's "designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed."
In January, Israel became the first country to opt out. It no-showed disgracefully. It calls legitimate criticism anti-Israeli bias. It got a second chance. On October 29, it showed up in Geneva. Complicit EU allies rigged the process. Doing so gave Israel special treatment. It's the only UN member state so afforded.
Anti-Defamation League's Top 10 Anti-Israeli Groups
by Stephen Lendman
ADL fronts for Jewish supremacy. It supports Israeli rights over Arabs. It backs occupation harshness. It believes colonizing Palestine for dominance and exploitation is OK.
It's one of 52 Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization (CPMAJO) Zionist organizations.
They disseminate pro-Israeli propaganda. They conduct smear campaigns against its critics. They spew hate and malicious lies.
They do so under the ruse of fighting anti-semitism. They claim support for human rights equitably for all. Their policies are polar opposite.
ADL's history is long and disturbing. It's shamelessly loathsome. It believes Arabs are inferior to Jews.
Remembering Michael Mandel
by Stephen Lendman
On October 27, Mandel died peacefully at home. He passed from cardiac amyloidosis. It's a rare heart disease. It causes arrhythmias, heart blockage disturbances and death.
He died in his 67th year. He went much too soon. He was too good a man to lose. He's badly missed.
He was seriously ill for months. He was a good friend. He was a valued guest on this writer's Progressive Radio News Hour. Since earlier this year, he was too ill to return.
He's survived by his wife Karen, children Max, Giulia, Lucy, Tevi and Orly, and sister Sharon Fuller.
Iranian Reality v. US/Israeli Lies
by Stephen Lendman
Beating up on Iran is longstanding. For Israel, Washington and most Western states, the Islamic Republic can do no right.
Lies substitute for truth. Fiction pretends it's fact. Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. No evidence suggests otherwise.
Iran threatens no one. Not according to New York Times editors. "No country feels more threatened than Israel," they say.
This type bluster rings hollow. Iran hasn't attacked another country in centuries. It threatens none now. Don't expect Times editors to explain.
Obamacare Sticker Shock
by Stephen Lendman
Obama sold smoke and mirrors. He makes used car salesmen look respectable by comparison. His Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides unaffordable coverage.
Millions of households have to pay 40% or more out-of-pocket. It's for co-pays and deductibles. It's on top of costly premiums.
Coverage for 50-year-olds making $46,100 is $10,585. Co-pays and deductibles add up to another $6,250.
Healthcare in America is double its cost in other developed countries. It's increasingly less affordable. Little is done to constrain annual price hikes. It wasn't always this way. A previous article explained.
In 1960, healthcare as a percent of GDP was 5.1%. In 2002, it was 15%. In 2011, it was 17.9%. By 2020, it'll exceed 20%.
Palestinian Prisoner Releases
by Stephen Lendman
Thousands of Palestinian political prisoners languish in Israel's gulag. It's one of the world's worst.
Many innocent victims are held uncharged or tried. Thousands are wrongfully imprisoned based on nonexistent secret evidence. Women are treated like men. Children are treated like adults.
Horrific conditions include cruel and degrading treatment, food unfit to eat, medical neglect, poor ventilation, sanitation and personal hygiene, inadequate clothing, and frequent solitary confinement for any reason or none at all.
Last summer, Netanyahu got cabinet approval to release 104 prisoners. Freeing them is coincidental with so-called peace talks.
Gaza's Tunnel Economy
by Stephen Lendman
They're a vital lifeline. They're a potential death trap. They're a bonanza for profiteers. They symbolize Palestinians' will to survive. It shows their determination to do so against all odds. Decades of Israeli viciousness haven't deterred them. They're not about to quit now. Besieged Gazans struggle to survive. Tunnel supplied goods are essential. After Egypt's military ousted Mohamed Morsi, conditions went from bad to worse. His supporters threatened reprisals. Gazans have no involvement. Hamas was wrongfully blamed for clashes between unidentified militants and Egyptian forces.
According to an earlier IDF statement:
"The Egyptian military activity in the Sinai is coordinated with Israeli security elements and authorized at the most senior levels in Israel, in order to contend with security threats in the Sinai that pose a threat to both Israel and Egypt."
Drying up Ideological Wellsprings of Arab – Israeli Conflict
By Nicola Nasser*
Gradually, awareness that de-Zionization of the US and European foreign policy as well as the internal policies of the State of Israel has become a prerequisite for peace in the Middle East is steadily taking roots in Israeli and world public opinion and consciousness.
However this awareness has yet to wait for drying up the Zionist ideological wellsprings of the Arab – Israeli conflict and translating it into real politics by de-Zionization of Israel and disengaging western foreign policy from its ideological attachment to Zionism.
In his article published by Foreign Policy on last October 25, James Traub quoted US President Barak Obama in a speech last May, “announcing a re-formulation of the war on terror,” as saying: “We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root;” the only alternative to “perpetual war” is a sustained effort to reduce “the wellsprings of extremism.”
The “wellsprings” of “perpetual wars” and “extremism” in the Middle East during most of the past twentieth century until now could easily be detected in the unholy combination of real politics and the “radical ideology” of the secular - turned - religious Zionism.
Bandar beat down - Chief Saudi cleric says fighting in Syria wrong
Michael Collins
"This is all wrong, it's not obligatory [to fight the Syrian government]. These are feuding factions and one should not go there. I do not advise one to go there." Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia
After weeks of agitation for increased attacks on the Syrian government and its president, Bashir al-Assad, the Saudis signaled a 180 degree change in policy, based on the mufti's statement. Fighting with the Syrian rebels is no longer a sacred cause, it is something to be avoided, according to the Kingdom's most important Muslim cleric.
The mufti is not some closet liberal in the Saudi hierarchy. He's the top religious official in the Kingdom. His statements are used to interpret legal and religious policies. The King of Saudi Arabia, who asked him to speak on the Syrian conflict, appoints him.
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