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Israeli Soldiers Break Silence
by Stephen Lendman
Breaking the Silence (BTS) is an organization comprised of Israeli combat veterans. They served since the start of the second Intifada. They refuse any longer to stay silent.
Their testimonies expose "the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories." Their purpose is to stimulate public debate. They revealed abuses too gruesome to hide.
They include "looting and destruction of property." Many other crimes and abuses are much worse. In their own words, they reveal the deplorable immorality of Israel's militarized occupation.
Most Israelis ignore it. They turn a blind eye to what's done in their name. "In order to become civilians again, soldiers are (also) forced to ignore what they have seen and done."
BTS members have been revealing disturbing truths for years. A previous article discussed them, saying:
"We, reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)....have always served in the front lines" (We) were first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, (and we did it) to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it."
Settler Attacks on Palestinians
by Stephen Lendman
Last February, a Jerusalem Fund/Palestine Center (PC) report titled "When Settlers Attack" discussed data collected from 2004 to 2011. It includes over 3,700 separate incidents. It explains when, how, and why they occur.
PC discovered a disturbing increase in violence. Palestinian civilians are targeted. Northern rural West Bank villages are most affected.
Each year, attacks peak during olive harvest season. Most aren't "price tag" revenge incidents. They're structural and systemic. They're occupation related.
Over 90% of areas experiencing violence are under Israeli security jurisdiction. According to PC's executive director Yousef Munayyer:
"The dramatic rise in settler violence in the last several years demands investigation and analysis into why this happens."
Global Peace and Security: President Obama and Mankind at Crossroads
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
The Obama’s presidency was seen a fantasy to the centuries old white legacy of the White House. The power and its glorification associated with the White House have not resulted in any ground breaking discoveries even after Obama’s entry to the Washington landscape. The crucial challenge Obama faces is how to cope with change and adaptability to a New Beginning that he envisaged but betrayed by conscientious compromise to ensure his own political survival. Paul Craig Roberts called him “The World’s Least Powerful Man – the Obama Puppet.” Obama did not pave the way to hell for the unwanted wars but found it already paved by George Bush to keep on solo walking to entrapment - the Madness of Unthinking. Politics is a game of new and creative ideas not a fixed entity or an end to itself. Those who perceive “points of no return” and scramble “red lines” indulge in self-geared acts of absurdity and can hardly relate to the contemporary informed global intellect and changing priorities of the mankind, open and flexible to change and futuristic developments. On all of his major policy statements and strategic intents from the immediate closing of the Guantanmobay Terrorism Headquarters, the end of two bogus wars, the lobbyists dominated politics, re-approaching diplomacy and outreach to normalization of relations with the Muslim world, President Obama got glued to the form and forgot the essence of meaning and purpose for which he won the election - “Yes We Can.”
Circus Shenanigans in Tampa
by Stephen Lendman
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey calls theirs "the greatest show on earth." Politics in America combines sham with show me the money.
Republicans got first dibs. Their version of politics US-style hits Tampa from August 27 - 30. Mother nature had first say. Isaac's fury claimed day one. Perhaps its message was nyet on three days of hype, bombast, fraud, and promises made to be broken.
The following week, Democrats have their turn. Charlotte, NC hosts three days from September 4 - 6. Growing numbers of Americans reject both parties. A pox on politics serving elite interests only. They're in lockstep on all issues mattering most. Duopoly power controls them.
Perhaps one day these charades will be held and no one notices. Why bother when bipartisan complicity spurns public concerns. Just scrap 'em, say some.
Israeli Court Legitimizes Murder
by Stephen Lendman
Cindy and Craig Corrie hoped for better. So did sister Sarah. The world knows Israel murdered their daughter, Rachel, in cold blood. On August 28, Israeli justice ruled otherwise.
It's unsurprising in a nation contemptuous of rule of law principles, democratic values, and life itself. More on the court ruling below.
Israel is a rogue terror state. It's an out-of-control blight on humanity. It's a regional menace. Racism and persecution are institutionalized. It's unfit to live in for most Jews. For Arabs and supporters of equal rights and justice, it's dangerous. On March 16, 2003, an Israeli bulldozer soldier/driver murdered Rachel Corrie in cold blood.
Anti-Syrian Blame Game
by Stephen Lendman
Washington, NATO allies, complicit regional partners, the UN, and media scoundrels wrongfully blame Syria for massacres, other killings, and atrocities committed by Western recruited death squads.
Washington features dirty tactics. They include blaming victims. Syria has been ravaged for months. Fingers point the wrong way. Assad is more victim than villain.
Massacres he's wrongfully blamed for are strategically timed. In June, Houla made headlines. Weeks later, Traymseh followed. Evidence pointing the right way was buried.
Killer gangs bore full responsibility.
Now another massacre made headlines. Mass media misinformation maliciousness again blames victims. Below is a sampling of headlines. They show why growing numbers of readers and viewers choose alternative sources to stay informed.
Getting Away with Torture in Israel
by Stephen Lendman
Torture is illegal at all times under all circumstances with no allowed exceptions. Israel's Supreme Court ruled both ways.
On the one hand, it banned torture. On the other, it permitted physical force in "ticking bomb" cases. At the time, Court President Aharon Barak claimed it saves lives. He authorized use of the "necessity defense" to get away with lawless practices.
He let Israel's attorney general determine guidelines. They constitute an a priori authorization to torture. International law is clear and unequivocal. The UN Convention against Torture calls it: "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain and suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity...."
America preparing for a post-Israel Middle East?
Franklin Lamb
Beirut
Illena Ros-Lehtinen
Congresswoman Illena Ros-Lehtinen will have her hands full as she makes the political and social rounds at this month’s Republican National Convention. Illena, is the only female committee chair in the House of Representatives and arguably Israel’s most ardent agent. She is a constant thorn in the Obama administration's side, regularly castigating the president for playing "political games with U.S. foreign policy” and being “soft on Iran” and undermining the legitimacy of Israel. Ros-Lehtinen is a congressional cheer leader also for her Jewish voters in Florida -- a key battleground in the rapidly approaching US presidential election. Most recently, Ros-Lehtinen helped shepherd through Congress yet another bill tightening sanctions against Iran while calling for US military action against the Assad regime in Syria.
Palestinians Living in Firing Zones
by Stephen Lendman
Life in Occupied Palestine is hard enough. Imagine how much worse in firing zones.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
(1) Israel designated about 18% of West Bank land closed military zones, aka firing zones. It's one among other ways Israel steals land.
(2) About 5,000 Palestinians in 38 communities are affected. Most are Bedouins. Land they've lived on for generations was theirs in peace until 1948. Everything changed when Israel began stealing it. It's now used for military and other purposes.
Washington Opposes Peace
by Stephen Lendman
America's history is blood-drenched. Permanent war is policy. Peace and stability are verboten.
One nation after another is targeted. Aggressive wars follow. Rule of law principles and democratic values are discarded. Wealth, power and unchallengeable dominance alone matter.
Scoundrel supporters glorify what they should condemn. More on them below. Syria is being ravaged and destroyed. Spurious accusations target Iran. Neither country threatens anyone. Malicious lies say otherwise.
Headlines claim Tehran keeps accelerating efforts to produce nuclear weapons. No evidence whatever is cited. On August 25, Reuters headlined "IAEA gets no deal with Iran on bomb research suspicions," saying:
So-called "concerns" about "suspected nuclear weapons research by Tehran" weren't resolved. IAEA chief inspector Herman Nackaerts said important differences remain. Agreement looks unlikely.
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