Arab MK Hanin Zuabi Stripped of Right to Speak in Parliament
PNN – 18.07.11
Tel Aviv – The Knesset ethics committee voted on Monday to strip Arab member of parliament Hanin Zuabi of her rights to address parliament and vote in committees.
Hanin Zuabi speaks in parliament (File Photo)
The decision comes one year after Zuabi had other parliamentary rights taken away from her, including her diplomatic passport, financial help for legal assistance and the right to travel to countries Israel does not have official ties with.
The stripping of these rights came after Zuabi sailed on the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara during last year’s Gaza flotilla.
Zuabi was first elected in 2009 as a member of Balad. The 42-year-old Palestinian from Nazareth is one of Israel’s 1.5 million Arab citizens.
When some of her parliamentary rights were revoked last year, Zuabi went to the High Court of Justice to get the privileges back, but they were ultimately stripped by a Knesset vote of 34-16.
MK Zuabi said on Monday that ‘this is the first time that the ethics committee of the Israeli parliament have punished parliamentarians for their behavior outside of parliament’, adding that MKs had been punished before but for conduct inside of parliament.
Zuabi continued, saying that the committee’s decision contradicts the rules of conduct for the committee and reflects a profound desire for a political vendetta, reflected by a hysteric racist right-wing majority that doesn’t differentiate between its right-wing positions and political legitimacy.
Zuabi stated ‘the political majority in Israel is not the source of legitimacy instead it should be the law, therefore the question is whether I did something against the law or not. I did not do anything contradictory to law, unless in this case the right-wing groups control the Israeli courts, creating a judicial system that reflects a right-wing majority.’
Zuabi also affirmed that the political immunity that is given to Knesset members is specifically granted to protect them from the oppression of the majority, so as to protect them from sanctions that might be imposed on them. Therefore the decision by the ethics committee conflicts with the immunity which should provide protection for MKs during such cases.
Zuabi has been a vocal critic of some of Israel’s policies both inside and outside the Knesset. Last week she was taken out of the Knesset hall by security officers after interrupting a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the recently-passed anti-boycott law.
Anonymous Soldiers as Medical Experts? Only when the NYT covers Israel killing a Palestinian
By Alex Kane | Extra! | April 2011
This article was originally published in the April 2011 issue of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s Extra! magazine. It was only recently put online.
U.S. media coverage of the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah reflected how the corporate press routinely covers high-profile civilian deaths caused by Israel. The Israeli government, it seems, can count on U.S. media to print its anonymous claims—no matter how baseless.
Two days after Abu Rahmah, a Palestinian woman from the West Bank village of Bil’in, died from tear-gas inhalation during a December 31 demonstration against the separation wall, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) went into spin mode. Anonymous “senior officers” in the Israeli army pushed a number of theories about her death—Abu Rahmah wasn’t at the demonstration, she had cancer, it may have been an “honor killing” and more—that the Israeli press dutifully reported. Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf (+972 Magazine, 1/4/11), who was actually present at the Bil’in demonstration, described these claims as “half-truths and lies.”
U.S. corporate media also used anonymous Israeli military sources to cast doubt on the 36-year-old Abu Rahmah’s killing. In the New York Times (1/5/11), reporter Isabel Kershner characterized the story as a “debate” with “clashing narratives.” Though she noted that the IDF claims were all anonymous while the Palestinian claims were “backed by medical documents,” Kershner went on to give roughly equal time to both arguments.
Among the IDF’s anonymous claims were that they “had never heard of tear gas killing anyone in the open” and that Abu Rahmah may have had “some pre-existing ailment that, alone or compounded by the tear gas, caused her death.” Why anonymous military officials should be treated as experts on medical questions was never explained.
The Washington Post (1/6/11) similarly stated that anonymous military officials “suggested that an existing medical condition might have contributed to 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahmah’s death.” The Los Angeles Times’ only brief mention of the case (1/3/11) explained, “Since tear gas is typically nonlethal, it remained unclear whether soldiers used excessive amounts or whether the woman had health problems that contributed to her reaction.”
But the IDF claims were contradicted by extensive eyewitness reports from other protesters, Israeli journalists from +972 Magazine and the family of Abu Rahmah. In a January 4 statement put together by the Popular Struggle Coordina-tion Committee, Abu Rahmah’s mother said her daughter “was not sick with cancer, nor did she have any other illness, and she was not asthmatic,” while the director of the health center that treated Abu Rahmah stated that she “died from lung failure that was caused by tear gas inhalation, leading to a heart attack.”
Furthermore, the claim printed in the New York Times that the IDF “had never heard of tear gas killing anyone in the open”—boosted by Kershner’s own claim that the gas “can be lethal in closed environments but is considered nonlethal in the open air”—was belied by a Ha’aretz report (1/7/11) that noted that a 2004 study conducted by the IDF found that “a high concentration of the gas in a given location could cause serious or even lethal harm.” In fact, a toddler living in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan had died from tear gas just a few months prior to Abu Rahmah’s death (Ma’an News Agency, 9/24/10).
Kershner wrote that the IDF “routinely fires CS tear gas against the protesters to keep them away from the barrier and to disperse stone-throwing youths.” She didn’t mention that the wall has been ruled to be illegal under international law, according to an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (7/9/04); as Human Rights Watch has noted (3/5/10), “85 percent of the barrier’s route lies inside the West Bank, separating Palestinian residents from their lands, restricting their movement, and in some places effectively confiscating occupied territory.”
Moreover, Kershner’s wording seemed to imply that the Israeli army was simply responding to stones being hurled. But as Sheizaf’s eyewitness report stated, “the tear gas was fired by the IDF well before the march got even close to the fence.” Sheizaf wrote that at these demonstrations, “when stone-throwing does occur, it usually begins after the army disperses the march…. As for the soldiers, they are standing on the hill, heavily protected, and the stones normally pose no real danger for them.”
The coverage of Abu Rahmah’s death recalls how corporate media treated the killings of nine civilians by Israeli commandos aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. As Peter Hart wrote in Extra! (7/10), “much of the U.S. media coverage has been remarkably unskeptical of Israel’s account of events and their context.” It appears that half a year later, little has changed.
Alex Kane is a freelance journalist and blogger based in New York City (alexbkane.wordpress.com). He can be followed on Twitter @alexbkane.
German government to subsidize sale of sixth submarine for Israel
IRNA | July 17, 2011
Berlin — German tax payers are to foot part of the bill for the highly controversial sale of a sixth submarine to Israel, the Hamburg-based news magazine Der Spiegel said in a report on Sunday.
The German government is to allocate 135 million euros from next year’s defense budget to pay for the Dolphin-class submarine, estimated to cost around 500 million euros.
The deal was apparently sealed during the latest Israel visit of German Defense Minister Thomas de Maziere.
Germany is already paying one-third of the one billion euro price tag for the fourth and fifth Dolphin submarine which are currently still being built for Israel.
Berlin subsidized also the first three submarines which it delivered to Israel in 1999 and 2000, having paid around 550 million euros (1.1 million D-Mark).
Germany has played a major role in arming the Israeli navy over the past 12 years.
The German government has kept silent on its military deals with the Zionist regime, refusing to reveal any details of the contract.
A hardline supporter of Israel, Germany, has become a major arms supplier of the illegal Jewish state despite a constitutional ban to send arms to crisis regions.
There are no official statistics available on the sale of German weapons to Israel as almost all arms exports to the Zionist regime are shrouded in extreme secrecy.
German arms deliveries to Israel between 1998 and 2001 reached reportedly around 900 million US dollars.
Hamas Perspectives on September, Unity Government: Interview with PLC Member Totah
Mark West for the Alternative Information Center | 17 July 2011
Negotiations for a Palestinian unity government are seemingly at an impasse and new questions rise daily concerning the “September initiative” to request full United Nations membership for Palestine. What are the perspectives of Hamas leadership concerning these issues, and possible developments in the Palestinian struggle for liberation? Mark West interviews Palestinian Legislative Council Member Mohammad Totah.
What are your thoughts on the Hamas-Fatah unity deal? What are the main points of disagreement between Fatah and Hamas concerning the agreement?
Totah: Hamas were hoping for a successful reconciliation as both sides are under occupation and will be more powerful when united. The central problem at the moment is Fatah’s choice of Salam Fayyad as the current Prime Minister. When we signed the reconciliation agreement with Fatah in Egypt, it was stated that both factions will agree on the PM and ministers of the government.
In fact, we agreed on two things: first of all, to rebuild Gaza and secondly, to prepare the ground for new elections. That means both sides had to agree on the PM and ministers. Unfortunately, Abbas wants to impose his decision to keep Salam Fayyad as PM, which does not adhere to the reconciliation agreement signed by both sides.
Fayyad’s main achievement has been to build institutions in Palestine. Nonetheless, while some institutions are ready for statehood, we are still under occupation. Hamas thinks that we have to achieve the freedom of our land and people before we build national institutions. Let me tell you, any country or people that is under occupation has to confront the occupation, to resist, until they get their freedom and then start building organizations. It is futile to construct organizations and institutions under occupation because the Israelis can come at any time and destroy everything that was built.
Last of all, two years ago, Fayyad promised that by September 2011 Palestinians would no longer need to depend financially on any external donor. Yet, the PLO is currently unable to pay its salaries because they are still dependent on foreign aid. How can you say you are ready to be a state when you cannot pay for that same state without foreign aid?
How do the methods of Hamas to resist occupation differ from Fatah? Do you think Hamas has a stronger hand in eventual negotiations with Israel?
Totah: Hamas and Fatah employ two innately different strategies. Fatah’s plan is to get peace for our people and land through negotiations and the renunciation of violence. However, over the last 20 years Fatah has continuously been negotiating with Israel, but on the ground nothing has changed, no rights have been gained. That can only mean their strategy has failed to return any rights to the Palestinian people.
Our approach differs fundamentally. Palestinians have the right, under international law, to resist the occupier by any means as an occupied people. As a result, Hamas keeps resisting the occupation in various forms, violent and non-violent. But resistance does not always mean the use of military force; there are many alternate means to resist occupation. My fellow parliamentary members and I who are residing in the ICRC tent while Israel wants to deport us are an example of an alternative method to resist the occupation.
Ultimately, Hamas prefers a peaceful solution: to live in our homes peacefully and freely. But when they occupy us, what should we do? Look at the history, all over the world those who lived under occupation have resisted by all means. Without resistance you will never attain the right to be free. What will force the occupier to listen when there is no resistance? If we don’t resist, the Israelis will live freely, and we will live like slaves. Instead, we refuse to be slaves of the occupation and we choose to live with dignity.
Last of all, let’s not forget that in 2006 the Palestinian people chose to give 59 percent of all parliamentary seats to Hamas because they realized Israelis are not going to give them their land peacefully.
If it disagrees fundamentally with Fatah’s strategy, will Hamas eventually engage in direct negotiations with Israel?
Totah: We are not against negotiations. If you want to achieve anything, you will have to negotiate. But there are two prerequisites: to negotiate, you need have good cards on the table, and secondly, Israel will have to agree on several fundamental Palestinian rights before any negotiations can take place.
In 2006, Hamas and other factions agreed on the borders of 1967 as the basis for negotiations, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and a truce for ten to fifteen years. Before any negotiations can take place, Israel will have to agree on this framework and discuss how they will withdraw from the occupied territories and allow Palestinians to return to their land.
And if there are no strong cards to play, if you don’t have force in one hand and peace in the other, you will not be able to negotiate successfully. Our experience as Palestinians has shown that to be true.
Then what does Hamas think of plan to submit to the UN secretary general an official request for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of UN by the PLO?
Totah: Palestine already gained recognition in 1988, so the appeal for UN membership does not add anything new to the cause. But why not go for it? Why should Hamas create obstacles for Fatah to reach its goal to attain international recognition? If they want to go to the UN, let’s go, but we know the Palestinian people will not gain their sovereign rights this way. At the same time, Hamas also knows we have nothing left to lose, so let them go and we will see what happens. The good thing is that it will show the world what Israel stands for and that the Palestinians are fighting for their rights.
Did Fatah communicate their intentions to go to the UN during the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks?
Totah: During the reconciliation talks it was not mentioned by Fatah. But when they discussed it with Hamas at a later date, Hamas agreed not to block the procedure. At the same time, we made it clear that we are convinced the appeal for full UN membership will not return Palestinian rights to its people. But as we cannot see any negative consequences, we will do nothing to obstruct the move.
Some say that, in case the Palestinian people do not attain any actual gains through the UN process this September, there is a chance of a third Palestinian wave of resistance against Israel. What are your thoughts on that?
Totah: Fatah and Abbas believe in peace through negotiations, not resistance. After September, Fatah will continue with negotiations as usual, with no deadline in sight. Abbas has also stated that he will reject any form of violent intifada, and confront any instigator of violence. Hamas, on the other hand, does believe in resistance.
Everywhere in the world, people who are under occupation have other choices than negotiations. The truth is that if your only choice is peaceful negotiations, then the occupier does not care about your cause. But if we resist the occupation in other ways, then Israel knows we hold other cards. That’s when concessions can be made from both sides. But when only peaceful resistance is used, all concessions will be from our side and the occupation will never end.
In case a truly autonomous Palestinian state is declared in the coming years, what kind of political system does Hamas envision for Palestine?
Totah: Ultimately, we want to live peacefully in a democratic state with human rights and the rule of law. Look at me, as a member of the Palestinian parliament I have been in prison for three and a half years. Now I’ve been living in the ICRC compound for 1 year, a place from which I cannot leave because they want me to resign from parliament and revoke my residency.
The reason I refuse to leave is that I believe in democracy, and that only the Palestinian people have the right to ask me to resign, not the Israeli government.
Undeterred, two Freedom Flotilla ships head to Egypt
By Saed Bannoura | IMEMC News | July 17, 2011
After weeks of threats by the Israeli and US governments, sabotage by unknown parties, and a public relations campaign by the Israeli government aimed at discrediting the Freedom Flotilla in the international media, the peace activists with the Freedom Flotilla to break the siege on the Gaza Strip say they remain steadfast in their aims, and one of the original ten ships on the flotilla is now on its way to Egypt, with a second prepared to depart shortly.
From Egypt, the crew and passengers of the ships will decide whether to continue to Gaza to break the Israeli siege which, despite Israeli claims to the contrary, remains in place and continues to cripple the Gazan economy.
Due to the extended delays, which included the detention of the crews and passengers of several of the ten flotilla ships, many participants in the Flotilla have had to return to their home countries, and the others have been blockaded in a Greek port by the Greek coast guard, at the behest of the Israeli government.
But one ship managed to escape the impound by Greek authorities, as it was not docked with the others at the time of the impound. That ship, the Dignite al Karama, set sail on Saturday evening toward Egypt. The ten people on board, mainly French activists, say they have to represent the entire flotilla with their one ship, since the others remain under Greek detention.
The ship, known as the ‘Dignite al Karama’, was commissioned by French activists, and includes in its passenger list Israeli-born peace activist Dror Feiler, who is the head of ‘European Jews for a Just Peace’, Greek sociologist Vangelis Pissias, and a number of other dignitaries.
A second Flotilla ship, the ‘Juliano’ (named after slain peace activist Juliano Mer-Khamis, who was apparently killed by a Palestinian gunman while working for peace in Jenin), plans to depart the port of Heraklion as soon as it is given permission to sail to Alexandria, Egypt and join the Dignite Al Karama.
The Dignite al Karama has been docked at the port of Kastellorizo, a remote Greek island that is sympathetic to the Flotilla’s cause. In World War II, fearing German attacks, some of the island’s inhabitants fled to the Gaza Strip, where they were given refuge. The mayor of the town of Kastellorizo welcomed the activists, and authorized them to leave Greek waters.
The other ships, docked in Athens, were blockaded and impounded by the Greek coast guard after requests by the Israeli Prime Minister to his Greek counterpart, leading the activists to say that “The Gaza blockade has been extended to Greece.” A group of Spanish activists remain on hunger strike after occupying their country’s embassy in Athens.
The Freedom Flotilla aims to bring humanitarian aid and support to the people of Gaza, and to expose the four-year old blockade on the Gaza Strip imposed by the state of Israel in order to, in the words of Israeli officials, “put the people of Gaza on a diet”. Since the blockade began, unemployment levels have reached highs of 80% and malnutrition rates among small children have been estimated at highs of 40%.
Egypt seizes cement bound for Gaza
Ma’an – July 16, 2011
EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian border guards thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 20 tons of cement into Gaza via tunnels along the border, security sources told Ma’an.
Palestinian and Egyptian smugglers were involved in the effort to bring large amounts of building materials into the besieged enclave, they added. The smugglers fled the scene.
Forces raided the area and seized 430 bags of cement, the security officials said. The cement will be sold at auction and the tunnel will be blocked by stones, they added.
Finding Order in the Orwellian Chaos
By Eric Blair | Activist Post | April 10, 2011
It has become nearly impossible to determine the “truth” in our increasingly chaotic world. Reality is seemingly being twisted and flipped on its head in this rapid unfolding of multi-front crises. The world is facing a new world war in the Arab world, nuclear holocaust from the Fukushima meltdown, total economic collapse/takeover, and a stunning rise in the cost of essential commodities.
In each case, the public is being told directly the opposite of basic human understanding. In fact, it’s so blatant that it appears to be a test to see how fast and far the collective human psyche can be warped. George Orwell would be impressed with the level of doublespeak manipulation that has taken place concerning these recent catastrophic events.
War is now classified as a humanitarian action. Nuclear radiation is now good for your health. Private and government financial collapse is the fault of the taxpayer. And the price for food and oil are dependent on gambling, not actual supply and demand.
Never before, that I and others can recall, have we been hit with so many crises at once with previously unacceptable explanations coming from the people’s supposed leaders. The U.S. president can now put American soldiers into combat and spend tax dollars on war without even consulting the citizens’ elected officials. The EPA can autocratically adjust acceptable radiation levels for human health despite all evidence to the contrary. The private bankers can demand bailouts and austerity cuts from an already ailing population who had nothing to do with their debts. The price of food and oil are allowed to be determined in Wall Street’s casino at the expense of humanity. And we’re being told it’s for our own good, our personal safety, and our economic security.
This insane warping of morals and common sense can only occur under the direction of a force which requires mass confusion and a compromise in human morality to accomplish an unpopular agenda. A force whose motto is “Order Out of Chaos.” A force whose deliberate purpose for creating such calamitous situations is more consolidated control. And clearly, it’s a force with great access to the mainstream media megaphone to propagate their desired reaction to these crises.
What’s different about these events compared to the past is their size, scope, and coalescence at the same time. What David Icke refers to as the “Totalitarian Tiptoe” in his explanation of the establishment’s creeping tyranny through problem-reaction-solution engineering of crises, has seemingly turned into the “Last Leap.” In other words, it can’t be more obvious that we’re quickly moving toward a malevolent global dictatorship with or without the acceptance of the masses. Yet, efforts to defuse and desensitize the population with morally-conflicting messaging appear to be intensifying.
In order to induce hypnosis, a hypnotist must overload the participant’s mind with unknown “message units” to trigger the primitive survival instincts of “fight, flight, or play dead.” As the mind attempts to interpret these foreign message units it becomes overwhelmed. The hypnotist then senses the peak of the overload and releases the subject to flee-and-play-dead with the command to “sleep.” However, it is likely that the participant would have chosen this path regardless of the command, because the participant began the process in a relaxed position and, as a domesticated animal, has certain preconditioning to escape to flight when overwhelmed.
Once in this state of message unit overload, the part of the mind required for critical thinking is defused and the subject is willing to accept nearly any suggestion — as comically seen in stage hypnosis shows. During this stage show by the elite, we have witnessed rabid anti-war liberals turn into lapdogs for preemptive killing. We’ve witnessed health community officials promote a variety of poisons as normal. And we’ve witnessed free market economists promote monopoly cartels as genuine capitalism.
Accepted knowns are remarkably easy to manipulate using suggestive messaging, especially if attached to a strong emotional response like fear. Make no mistake, this method is a well-understood science; being human, we are all certainly susceptible to these manipulative techniques. So how do we keep our moral bearings during this calculated onslaught of reprogramming?
First, we must recognize when fear, which is the most powerful of emotional triggers, is being used to influence our perception of a given policy, or reality in general. We must not allow ourselves to feel the fear, but instead recognize it as the tool of control that it is. Once mastered, you will notice other less-potent emotional triggers being aimed at convincing your mind to accept unknowns. You will be amazed at how many of your peers fall for it and will desperately try to argue that the fear justifies some inhumane action.
Secondly, it seems wise to drop our perceived meaning of all labels like Democrat or Republican, or capitalism or communism, etc. And we must stop rooting for a team or blindly following a leader based on certain labels. For example, does an aggressive war become righteous if a Democrat with a Peace Prize launches it? Or even if religious leaders promote its cause? Don’t be blinded by mindless groupthink that is often directed by authority in all its forms. Think for yourself.
Ultimately, we must narrowly focus our compass toward the core human beliefs of peace, love, and liberty. When our bias is always being pulled by those forces, we are less likely to be led off course. Believers in peace cannot possibly justify violence unless a direct threat requires immediate self-defense; and only then as a last resort. Believers in love respect their neighbors as equals and would never stand for injustices perpetrated against them — socially, economically, environmentally etc. Believers in liberty would rather die as a consequence of their own decisions than have their essential freedom confined by authority. Significantly, when our compass is dialed into these human principles, we’ll typically find ourselves in a polar conflict with the establishment version of events and desired solutions. These extreme opposite forces allow us to see the real agenda more clearly.
Recognizing the game that is being played for our minds allows us to filter out previously unknown message units as trash so that they never bring about an overload. It allows you to live a life of your own accord. And that is the key to transforming the prevailing system. In other words, we can’t defeat this powerful negative force by playing into their reality. We must, individually, live by our principles even when others frown upon it. Don’t worry, the others will break their trance eventually, as the manufactured anger to justify war, engineered hatred of their neighbors, and the constant bombardment of injustices upon them will eventually grow old. And you, as one living example of purity, will disprove a thousand lies.
Blowing It: Democrats, Unable to Be a Party of the People, are Sinking Themselves
Dave Lindorff – This Can’t Be Happening – 07/16/2011
The smoking ruin that is the the Obama White House, and the rotting corpse that is the Democratic Party, have, incredibly, together been boxed into a corner by, of all things, the certifiably insane Republican Party.
This amazing situation has resulted not through any brilliant strategy on the part of the Republicans, but by the self-inflicted wounds of the Democrats.
Faced with a collapsing economy that is at serious risk of performing a reprise of the Great Depression, Congressional Democrats and President Obama were in a perfect position to grab the flag and run home with it by declaring war on unemployment and on the party that has unequivocally declared itself openly to be the standard bearer of the wealthy and powerful.
All the president and Congressional Democrats had to do was announce that Social Security, Medicare, education and programs to protect the poor were all off limits in any discussion of the federal budget, and to declare an immediate 25% cut in military spending, as called for earlier by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
How hard would that have been to do? The polls show it’s what the public wants. Any elected official who did this, particularly someone elected and re-elected as a Democrat, would have been hailed by voters for such a bold action.
According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in late May and released June 11, 60% of Americans correctly attribute the nation’s enormous deficit primarily to military spending, which eats up 52% of every tax dollar (Social Security and Medicare are entirely funded by separate payroll taxes, and not only have not contributed a single dollar to the federal deficit, but have been routinely borrowed from by the government to finance the deficit in the government’s operating budget caused by military spending). Only 24% blame the deficit on domestic spending other than military (and probably every one of those is a Republican or right-wing independent who likely believes that the earth was created 6000 years ago, and is flat, and who will never vote Democratic no matter what).
Military vs. Education spending around the globe (US in company of Iran, China, Russia, UAE and India)
That same poll showed that the vast majority of Americans (73%) object to proposals to cut the budget by reducing federal funding for social programs, or federal funding to the states for education, or by reducing Social Security benefits (59%), for example by raising the retirement age.
What the Pew poll finds Americans do support is raising the cap on income subject to the Social Security Tax (FICA), from its current meager level of $106,000, to cover all income (66% in favor). They also favor raising taxes on those households that earn more than $250,000 a year (65% in favor), and they favor getting rid of tax deductions for corporations, which have allowed many wildly profitable companies like Exxon, GE and News Corp to pay no corporate taxes despite earning billions of dollars in profits (62% in favor). They also overwhelmingly favor reducing America’s military operations overseas, where the US currently maintains over 800 bases in countries all over the world, including wealthy allies such as Europe and Japan (62% in favor).
After being deluged with poorly written, simplistic and often ideologically-driven news stories all year hyping the supposed budget “crisis,” the percentage of Americans who say they are worried about the budget deficit has crept up from 24% to 28%, but far more Americans say they are worried about the jobs crisis (38%, up from 34% in March).
If you were a political advisor in the White House, or in the Democratic Congressional Committee or the Democratic National Committee, one would think that seeing those numbers, the strategy going forward would be obvious: declare the country to be facing New Depression, call the Republican Party out as a bunch of know-nothings, end the wars, bring the troops home, slash military spending, call for higher taxes on the rich, and, in Congress, introduce a public jobs program every day of every week, forcing the Republicans to vote them down, one after another through the next election day.
But the Democratic Party, as I said, is a rotting corpse, and it certainly is not an organization that sees itself as fighting for the common man and woman.
As for the White House political team, and the president himself, they seem to have long since lost their grip on reality.
The president has been hanging around with Wall Street bankers, taking their money and their self-serving ideas, for so long now he actually thinks like them. Congressional Democrats, like their Republican colleagues, are so covetous of corporate campaign cash and lobbyist perks that, with a few exceptions, they can’t imagine crossing any corporate interests.
This is not a case of Democrats being stupid. You’d have to be far worse than stupid not to see the correct political strategy to adopt at this point.
What has happened is that the Democratic Party is no more. It is, at this point, all about current incumbents gaining the favor of the corporate elite, lulling the public into a non-voting torpor or stupor, and of course, arguing that people worried about the nation’s future should vote for them yet again because “the Republicans are worse.”
In a press conference on Friday, President Obama made some incredible statements, all demonstrably untrue. He said “We are all part of the same country,” and yet he surely knows that when it comes to the leaders of America’s biggest corporations, including GE, whose chairman Jeffrey Immelt he appointed to head his Jobs Council, this is demonstrably false. While many of these leaders may be Americans by birth, the companies they run and represent earn the majority of their revenues and profits from operations abroad, and are thus, technically speaking, foreign enterprises, with foreign interests that trump any US interests. Obama said, “We are all in this together,” speaking of the supposed debt “crisis,” but of course, he has announced himself ready to cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid programs, upon which poor and working class families depend, while leaving the rich largely unscathed. He has said it is the “will of the people” to cut the budget, but to the extent that that is even true, which is highly debatable, the will of the people is actually to cut military spending, not to cut Social Security or Medicare or even budgets for education or Medicaid.
The good news is that an increasing number of Americans appear to be finally realizing that this president is a fraud–a shill for bankers, the corporate interests and the neo-con military establishment who has just been posing as a man of the people.
The bad news is that there is little likelihood of any Third Party arising before 2012 that could seriously contest the national election, meaning that we are probably headed for either more of the same or a for Republican-led government.
The hope has to be that the blatant sell-out of the public interest and the national interest by both parties and by the president is becoming so self-evident that the American public will actually wake up from its media-induced somnolence and will abandon them both.
The institutional obstacles to such an unprecedented rebellion are of course enormous, but then, these are unprecedented times.
Crackdowns, Torture and Intimidation in Bahrain
By Stephen Lendman | July 16, 2011
Largely ignored by Washington, Western governments, and America’s media, the ruling Al Khalifa monarchy continues cracking down brutally against nonviolent protesters since civil resistance began last February.
On July 14, UK Telegraph writer Richard Spencer headlined, “Bahraini woman poet tells of torture while in custody,” saying:
Incarcerated after reciting a poem critical of government policies, “Ayat al-Qurmezi (age 20) became one of the symbols of the (ongoing) protests…. After she was arrested….she was beaten, electro(shocked) and threatened with sexual assault while in custody.”
On July 11, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) headlined, “Teachers ordeal in Bahrain: arrested, tortured, sacked, suspended and prosecuted,” saying:
Teachers and Bahrain Teachers Association (BTA) members participated in protest demonstrations, demanding respect for human rights and democratic change. As a result, they faced “arbitrary arrests, military prosecution, torture, suspensions, salary cuts, and investigation.”
BTA board members were arrested, held incommunicado with no access to family or lawyers. A month later, some were released. Others are still detained, including BTA President Mahdi Abu Deeb, charged with:
“deliver(ing) speeches haranguing and instigat(ing) protesters and inciting them against the political regime, flouting the real voluntary and lofty goals of the association.”
On June 6, Deeb and BTA Vice President Jaleela Al Salman were tried in military court charged with:
“inciting others to commit crimes, calling for the hatred and overthrow of the ruling system, holding pamphlets, disseminating fabricated stories and information, leaving work on purpose and encouraging others to do so and taking part at illegal practices.”
So far, at least 66 teachers were arrested. In addition, riot police repeatedly targeted 15 or more girls’ schools. Teachers and students were arbitrarily arrested, detained, and “physically abused.”
Other schools were also attacked. Many teachers were arrested, interrogated, intimidated, abused, charged with going on strike, participating in peaceful protests, and inciting anti-regime sentiment.
In custody, they were beaten and tortured. One female teacher said:
“Around 10 policewomen were asking me and beating me at the same time. Then they handcuffed me and kept beating me on the head and back while kicking me and stepping on my feet.”
Others were threatened with rape and beaten. A woman who had major back surgery was repeatedly kicked there after explaining her medical condition.
Many faced secretive military trials and convicted. More trials are expected. Many others were arbitrarily suspended from positions or sacked. More remain under investigation. Intimidation throughout Bahrain is pervasive.
On June 14, Human Rights Watch headlined, “Bahrain: Stop Military Court Travesty of Justice,” saying:
HRW called for ending military tribunal injustice, and “free(ing) everyone (including opposition politicians, medical professionals, students, teachers, journalists, and human rights activists) held solely for exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.”
HRW’s Middle East director Joe Stork said:
“Most defendants hauled before Bahrain’s special military court are facing blatantly political charges and (unfair) trials.”
Human Rights First (HRF) on Bahrain
On July 14, a HRF press release headlined, “NEW REPORT: Despite National Dialogue Crackdown Continues in Bahrain,” saying:
The Bahraini government “continues to intimidate, torture, and detain human rights defenders, and shoot at civilians.” According to HRF’s Brian Dooley:
“Human rights defenders with whom we spoke are wary that the dialogue is (nothing) more than elaborate play-acting for the international community’s benefit.”
The report titled, “Bahrain: A Tortuous Process” presented findings based on a July 6 – 12 fact-finding mission. It included interviews with human rights defenders, other activists, victims and their families, dozens of recently released detainees, journalists, medical professionals, students, and Bahraini government officials.
In addition, HRF personnel “witnessed riot police firing on unarmed women without warning with a variety of weapons.”
Nonetheless, peaceful marches and protests continue, despite security force attacks, using sound bombs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and live fire.
Human rights defenders are prime targets, facing arrests, detentions, torture, and illegitimate trials. In fact, (on June 21) prominent activist Abdulhadi Al Khawaja received life in prison in one of many show trials.
Others like him express views anonymously, fearing reprisals if go public. They also assume their phones are tapped and goings monitored. A Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights member said:
“We live under the constant fear of arrest. They can come at any time for us.”
Another activist said homes and other facilities are regularly raided, adding:
“I still wake up scared. I have clothes ready, next to the bed. I get up sometimes in the middle of the night and look out the window if I hear a noise, thinking it’s them again. It’s a permanent fear that they could come at any time, day or night.”
Human rights defenders complained about Washington’s double standard, muting its regime criticism, stressing Bahrain’s an important regional partner, ally, and home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Disingenuously on July 2, Obama welcomed Bahrain’s National Dialogue, calling it “an important moment of promise….The United States commends King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his leadership in initiating the dialogue.”
In contrast, one participant told HRF:
“There are four halls, each having between 50 to 80 participants” allowed five minutes to speak. “The session ends while some still have not talked. Nothing is known about how all these chaotically dispersed talks will end up….” King Hamad has final say.
“You have it all predetermined and the final document has already been decided. These meetings are nothing more than a camouflage. It is a joke to call it a dialogue to start with.”
Based on numerous interviews, HRF reported “credible, consistent accounts of torture,” other forms of abuse and humiliation, including detainees forced to kiss photos of the king, belly dance, make animal noises, and sign confessions.
One former detainee said he was blindfolded for weeks, forced to stand for hours, wasn’t allowed to wash or pray, and was even beaten when permitted to use the toilet. Others had similar horror stories. Injured detainees were also abused, including on their wounds. Intimidation, humiliation, and forced confessions are routine.
On July 6, HRF’s Brian Dooley witnessed riot police attacking peaceful pedestrians, saying:
“People were standing in doorways, chatting….It was a calm, chatty atmosphere…. (S)uddenly riot police (with) shields appeared behind us.” With no warning, they opened fire, using “sound bombs, tear gas canisters, and rubber bullets.”
People started screaming. Some were struck, including by shrapnel. “I could see people ahead of us running, panicking. The police kept on firing at us….We were not part of a rally, or even near (one). There were a few dozen people spread out along the length of the street in small groups like ours, and the police just appeared and attacked us.”
Others told HRF similar stories, police firing on unarmed, peaceful civilians without warning. People not in detention face harassment. No one feels safe. Abuses continue regularly.
Protected by Washington, Bahrain is a lawless police state, targeting anyone seen challenging regime authority and many others for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Nonetheless, peaceful protests continue, despite punitive reprisals, including arrests, detentions, torture, show trials, and imprisonment. Nary a word from Washington complains.
A Final Comment
A new Zogby International Arab American Institute poll shows unfavorable attitudes about America. In fact, Obama’s 10% or lower approval rating surpasses Bush’s lowest level. In fact, he scores worst on Palestine and engagement with the Muslim world.
In five of six countries surveyed, Washington scored lower than Turkey, China, France or Iran. Specifically, “US interference in the Arab world” is called the greatest obstacle to regional peace and stability after Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Libya perhaps was one war too many. Waging it increased negative perceptions about America and Obama.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
Iran lawmaker: US behind Iraq unrest
Press TV – July 16, 2011
A senior Iranian lawmaker says Tehran believes the US is responsible for the acts of terrorism carried out in Shia or Sunni-populated regions of Iraq.
“Iran considers the invaders of Iraq responsible for terrorist activities in the Shia- and Sunni-populated areas [of Iraq],” Fars News Agency quoted Deputy head of Iran’s Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Hossein Ebrahimi as saying on Saturday.
“[Iran] asks all the Muslims of Iraq to dash the hopes of the US through maintaining their solidarity,” he added.
The Iranian lawmaker made the remarks after three explosions targeted Muslims pilgrims near the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq, killing nine people and wounding 70 others. The blasts came as visitors are overwhelming the city to attend the celebrations marking the birth anniversary of the 12th Shia Imam, Mahdi (PBUH).
Ebrahimi described the terrorist attacks as US measures to widen the religious rifts in the violence-hit country.
“The Americans, through bombings in Karbala and [carrying out] acts of terrorism in Shia-populated areas, seek to frame Sunni brothers of acting against the Shia but the vigilance of the Shias will thwart this US conspiracy,” the official said.
The US led the invasion of Iraq in 2003, under the pretexts that former dictator Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
However, later it was revealed that not only the former Iraqi regime was not in possession of the arms, but also that the US and British leaders, who had defended the military action, knew about the non-existence of such weapons.
Over one million Iraqis have been killed during the invasion, according to the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business (ORB).
Featured Video
Russia, China & Iran Seek to Contain U.S. Military
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Truth Telling, Whistle Blowing and the American Way
By Prof. Tony Hall | American Herald Tribune | July 15, 2016
The Kevin Barrett-Chomsky dispute in historical perspective – 3rd part of the series “9/11 and the Zionist Question”
Over decades Chomsky has moved towards the center of formidable networks of academic associations, publishing enterprises, activist groups, speakers forums and New Media operations. The fact that the senior professor is so well wired into such an effective communication grid of activist interaction has hugely amplified his voice and his influence.
Chomsky’s ideas have been broadcast to the far corners of the world in every conceivable format. His work is translated into many languages as the MIT professor goes from honor to honor, distinction to distinction, all the while seeming to combat the expansionary impulses emanating from some of the world’s leading centers of power including those in Israel. The phenomenal success of Chomsky’s career would seem to prove and illustrate that there is still some substance in the conception of America as the land of the free, home of the brave. … continue
Blog Roll
Recent Comments
loongtip on Showdown loongtip on New York Bans Israel-Linked Te… loongtip on Trump tells India to stop purc… eddieb on The Old Testament and the Geno… papasha408 on Trump’s war posturing against… Coronistan on This is How We Should Have Res… Coronistan on NO MANDATES, NO PROFITS: MODER… Lutz Barz on Russia Vows to Protect Its Oil… loongtip on Russia Vows to Protect Its Oil… loongtip on Hamas never agreed to lay down… eddieb on Conspiracy Denial eddieb on WEF Calls for ‘Cultural Revolu…
Aletho News- Beijing cancels Panama deals after court blocks Chinese port operations
- Idea of strategically defeating Russia an ‘illusion’ – Lavrov
- Russia doubts ‘bright future’ for US economic ties – Lavrov
- Russia Urges International Community to Curb Arms Flow From Ukraine to Africa
- US’s Lack of Response to Russia’s New START Proposals Regrettable – Foreign Ministry
- Douglas Macgregor: Russia, China & Iran Seek to Contain U.S. Military
- Judge Strikes Down Hawaii Deepfake Law as Unconstitutional
- Sen. Schumer: I Will Continue to Fight to Give Israel All the Aid It Needs
- Epstein Files- Steve Bannon Admits Trump Administration Would ‘Not Cross Sheldon Adelson’ During First Term
- Israel-Palestine head of HRW resigns over blocked report on Palestinians right of return
- If Americans Knew
- Israel kills at least 23 in Gaza, in one of deadliest days since “ceasefire” began – Not a ceasefire Day 118
- U.S. Envoys Refused to Report “Apocalyptic” Conditions in Gaza. Exclusive Photos Show the Reality They Suppressed
- Israel tells Gazans, “smoking is hazardous to your health” – Not a ceasefire Day 117
- The Truth About Gaza’s Dead – Part 1: How We Got Here
- They were forced to hand one son over to the Israeli army in return for another. Eight months later he was dead in prison
- Exclusive: New owner of CBS coordinated with former Israeli military chief to counter the country’s critics, according to leaked emails
- AIPAC Gears Up for Midterm Election Cycle With $95 Million War Chest
- Official US gov’t reports contradict Mike Waltz’s rants against UNRWA
- Israel lets just 5 patients out of 20,000 exit Gaza – Not a ceasefire Day 116
- Trump Again Bypasses U.S. Congress to Push $6 Billion in Arms Sales to Israel
- No Tricks Zone
- Climate Scientist Who Predicted End Of “Heavy Frost And Snow” Now Refuses Media Inquiries
- Polar Bear Numbers Rising And Health Improving In Areas With The Most Rapid Sea Ice Decline
- One Reason Only For Germany’s Heating Gas Crisis: Its Hardcore-Dumbass Energy Policy
- 130 Years Later: The CO2 Greenhouse Effect Is Still Only An Imaginary-World Thought Experiment
- New Study Affirms Rising CO2’s Greening Impact Across India – A Region With No Net Warming In 75 Years
- Germany’s Natural Gas Crisis Escalates … One Storage Site Near Empty …Government Silent
- Polar Colding…Antarctica Saw Its Coldest October In 44 Years!
- New Study: Sea Levels Rose 20 Times The Modern Rate During The Roman Warm Period
- As German Gas Storage Dips Dangerously Low…Shortage Hardly Avoidable
- New Study: Brazil’s Relative Sea Level Was 2+ Meters Higher And SSTs 3-4°C Warmer 6000 Years Ago
Aletho News 