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Saturday, November 17, 2012
I
am writing you very quickly today. World Can't Wait has a mission of stopping
the crimes of our government. All day yesterday, in court (see below) we were
getting messages and calls about the aerial assault on Gaza by Israel. Reading
the news, we learned that Israel is preparing a ground attack, and that three
Israelis were killed by missiles from Gaza. The death toll in Gaza is reported
now to be 15, including children, and the widely circulated photo of a parents
holding a baby they buried today.
From The Smedley Butler Brigade -Veterans For Peace
Hi Smedleys & Samanthas,
Someone just asked me to post the song I wrote that I read at the Veterans
/ Armistice Day Rally at Faneuil Hall. It is entitled "Extremists" and was
inspired by the ACLUM's "Policing Descent", the monitoring of Peace Groups by
the Boston Police.
Extremists
Chorus
They say that we’re
extremists
Cause we’re out here in the
street
How unpatriotic to be marching for
peace
They say “we better watch them, like
never before”
Cause there’s nothing more
dangerous
Than Veterans Against
War
Verse
So they stand on every corner, with
their cameras in their hands
Taking film and snapping pictures of
everything they can
They develop film and write reports
on everything they saw
Protecting all our citizens from
folks who broke no law
They’ve been doing this so long,
they know us to our core
They know we’re peaceful veterans,
who know the cost of war
Because we’ve seen the horror, and
the price we always pay
They have to document everything we
do and say
They got Home Land Security, FBI and
DIA
State and local police, don’t forget
the CIA
Why, we are so important, a clear
danger to the land
Can’t let this love and peace thing,
get too far out of hand
Well they got their Bric, play all
their tricks, wasting all our dough
All those files and pictures, with
nothing much to show
So we raise our voices here today,
to let them know it’s time
Stop hassling the peace groups, go
back to fighting crime
© Patrick J. Scanlon
2012
15 November 2012
Tom Hayden : Sticking It to Wall Street
A legacy of Occupy:
Sticking it to Wall Street
The Occupy movement energized a vanguard of voters to become more populist in their demands.By Tom Hayden / The Rag Blog / November 15, 2012
It is unfortunate that Occupy Wall Street lost its momentum after the uprisings of 2011, because the election and its results have opened another opportunity to stick it to Wall Street and choke and reform the “great vampire squid” for another next generation. As I wrote six months ago in The Nation:
This year marks the first presidential campaign in our lifetime when the gluttony of Wall Street, the failures of capitalism, the evils of big money in politics and a discussion of fundamental reform will be front and center in election debates. No doubt the crisis that gave rise to Occupy will not be fixed by an election, but that’s beside the point. Elections produce popular mandates, and mandates spur popular activism. It’s time to organize a progressive majority.From the general Occupy standpoint, Obama was just another Wall Street candidate, and the elections did not matter much anyway. That is a tragic view to take, since it robbed Occupy of an occasion to take credit and feel empowered -- “Fired up! Ready to go!” as the Obama multitudes say. In fact, Occupy did influence the election, did influence the outcome, and did shape the mandate, without, in most cases, its members even voting for Obama. Hopefully they will try to shape the terms of the bailout ahead.
The Occupy movement influenced the political climate in which Obama and his advisers chose to attack Romney as an agent of Bain Capital; incidentally, against the strong preferences of such powerful Democratic figures as Bill Clinton and Cory Booker, the Newark mayor who publicly said he was “nauseated” by the president’s attack on private equity.
The Occupy movement energized a vanguard of voters to become more populist in their demands. The Occupy movement surely helped make it possible for Elizabeth Warren to ride the wave to Washington. And those were only some of the aftershocks of Occupy long after it faded from the streets and headlines.
Wall Street, which did everything in its considerable power to turn on and defeat Obama, now thinks it is “time to mend fences.” (New York Times, November 8, 2012) But if Obama and Axelrod retain any of their Chicago political instincts, there should be some payback before any mending takes place. If Obama is forced to compromise his preferences on the fiscal cliff, reforming Wall Street is where he should be able to implement his words from the campaign trail.
If Obama had to stock his cabinet with Wall Street players in order to avoid total economic disaster in 2009, now he can offer some new choices and directions. Where is Ralph Nader when we need him?
Obama should stick it to Wall Street and make it hurt so badly that they will never forget the screws in this lifetime.
First, Obama should encourage Harry Reid to put Elizabeth Warren on the Senate Banking Committee and empower a de facto reform bloc of Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, Richard Blumenthal, Tom Harkin, Chris Murphy, Al Franken, Jon Tester, and Warren, among others. Let progressive populist leadership come out of the new Senate. Second, deeper public hearings should bore into the scandal and call the attention of public watchdogs over the obscure process of writing Dodd-Frank regulations on derivatives and hedge fund manipulations.
Wall Street lobbyists are already preparing a "lobbying frenzy” against the administration’s tentative plan to “apply derivatives rules to American banks trading overseas.” (New York Times, November 8, 2012) As Obama promised long ago about health care, such Wall Street plans should be exposed on television at every turn because, like mushrooms, they only grow in the dark.
This opening of the process for all to see can be achieved if there is aggressive monitoring of a U.S. senator. Wall Street somehow thinks its world will conveniently go dark as they lobby in stealth to weaken the Volcker Rule, contain the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and legislate a diluted authority for other key agencies.
The opportunity to prolong the recent ideological and values debate may increase, not subside. On the left, an opportunity still exists to enter the debate loud and clear with concrete demands.
To “occupy” Wall Street is no longer a policy demand, if it ever was. Extending democracy to Wall Street might be a better and bolder banner -- with proposals for greater disclosure, accountability, regulation in the public interest, a ban on secret donors to campaigns, a Robin Hood transactions tax, and a long state-by-state campaign to eliminate the Citizens United decision.
The theme song might be Leonard Cohen’s “Democracy Is Coming to the USA.”
[Tom Hayden is a former California state senator and leader of Sixties peace, justice, and environmental movements. He currently teaches at Pitzer College in Los Angeles. His latest book is The Long Sixties. Hayden is director of the Peace and Justice Resource center and editor of The Peace Exchange Bulletin. Read more of Tom Hayden's writing on The Rag Blog.]
The Rag Blog
15 November 2012
Alice Embree / Terry DuBose : Defend the Soldiers' Right to Heal
Defend the right to heal:
Veterans’ Day parade in Killeen
As the deployments wind down from this decade of combat, service members are finding that their access to medical care is restricted, denied, delayed, and stigmatized.By Alice Embree / The Rag Blog / November 15, 2012
Malachi Muncy’s vision was obscured, but he could hear a boy’s voice saying:“It’s a soldier in a pill bottle. Break out! Break out!”See story by Terry J. DuBose and photos by Alice Embree and Susan Van Haitsma, Below.
The boy, a spectator along the Veterans Day parade route in Killeen, Texas, got it. So did most of those who saw Under the Hood’s message on Saturday, November 10.
Under the Hood (UtH) is a GI coffeehouse that opened in 2009 in Killeen, a mile from Fort Hood, the largest U.S. military post in the world. The UtH contingent marched for the second time in Killeen’s Veterans’ Day event. Three veterans led the march with this banner: “Honor All Who Served: Defend Service Members’ and Veterans’ Right to Heal.”
Behind the banner, on the bed of a pickup truck, was Malachi Muncy, a veteran of two Iraq deployments, a writer and an artist. Malachi had produced the pill bottle image as a print on paper made of combat uniforms. For the parade he took his art large, constructing a six-foot tall orange pill bottle with a white cap. Malachi, in uniform, stood inside the bottle, occasionally reaching his hands above him into the air. The prescription read: “RX: We Deserve Better.”
Although Malachi’s vision was somewhat limited by the orange acetate he was behind, he could hear the crowd’s response. Those seated along the parade route would begin asking each other what was on the truck, then talk amongst themselves as they realized it was a soldier in a pill bottle. There was occasional laughter, even applause. Some spectators made comments about the medicines they were on.
Along the route, UtH supporters handed out leaflets supporting soldiers’ right to heal -- for real treatment beyond pills for the hidden injuries that are now so prevalent -- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Sexual Trauma, and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Supporters also carried signs with the grim markers of this decade of war.“A veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes. Stop the cycle!” “There were 154 service member suicides in the first 155 days of this year. 154 suicides vs. 134 combat deaths.”
In an October 23 article, the Austin American-Statesman dug deep into the Texas face of these statistics: “Special Report: Uncounted Casualties,” reporting on the recent Texas veterans who have died of overdoses, suicide, and vehicle crashes.
As the deployments wind down from this decade of combat, service members are finding that their access to medical care is restricted, denied, delayed, and stigmatized. An appeal to Congress for redress for service members’ and Veterans’ right to heal can be found at www.RighttoHeal.org. You are urged to sign this petition and to continue to support Under the Hood -- a space for free speech, peer support, and decompression.
[Alice Embree is a long-time Austin activist, organizer, and member of the Texas State Employees Union. A former staff member of underground papers The Rag in Austin and RAT in New York, and a veteran of SDS and the women's liberation movement, she is now active with CodePink Austin and Under the Hood Café. Embree is a contributing editor to The Rag Blog and is treasurer of the New Journalism Project. Read more articles by Alice Embree on The Rag Blog.]
Malachi Muncy:A veteran artist
Malachi Muncy, a veteran of two deployments to Iraq, uses art and theater to express his frustration, situation, and anger. Two of his prints, “Trapped” and “Escape,” carry strong messages in this era of record suicide rates among troops and veterans.
Malachi prints on paper made from his combat uniforms. As guerrilla theater for the Veterans’ Day Parade in Killeen, Malachi designed and built a giant pill bottle. Standing in uniform in the bottle on the back of a pickup truck his art reached hundreds along the parade route.
Malachi served in the Texas Army National Guard as a motor vehicle operator from 2003 to 2009, with service in Iraq from 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. He has a BA in journalism form Texas State University (TSU) and is currently pursuing a BA in English.
Malachi’s writing has appeared in the Copperas Cove Leader Press, SKUNK Magazine, and at RawStory.com. His poetry and prose have been included in the Warrior Writers anthologies. Malachi’s print and papermaking artwork has been exhibited at The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago.
Malachi has volunteered as arts coordinator at Under the Hood Café, a GI Outreach Center in Killeen. He has conducted workshops there on making “combat paper” from uniforms -- transforming war experiences into art. In December he will become the new manager of Under the Hood.
-- Terry J. DuBose / The Rag Blog
[Terry J. DuBose, who was an organizer for Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in Texas, is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Diagnostic Medical Sonography at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.]
Find more photos of Under the Hood and the Veterans Day parade by Alice Embree and Susan Van Haitsma.
The Rag Blog
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Greece: Profile of a Failed State
Greece: Profile of a Failed State
by Stephen Lendman
Greece exhibits failed and rogue state characteristics. It governs irresponsibly. It's beholden more to foreign interests than its own. Banker needs are prioritized. Ruling authority outside Greece dictates terms.
The country's unable or refuses to provide public services. It threatens the welfare of its people. It spurns legitimate rule. It's bankrupt but won't declare it.
Governance in Greece combines travesty, tragedy and shame. Democracy's birth place spurns it. It also displays an unprincipled disregard for human need at a time of rampant corruption and prioritized military spending.
In 2011, seven billion euros went for arms. Greece is the tenth largest weapons importer. It's one of 28 NATO countries. Collective defense requires member states to purchase arms and buy them from alliance partners.
As a percent of GDP, Greek defense spending is nearly double that of other EU nations. Germany is one of Athens' main creditors. It's also one of its largest arms suppliers. They account for 15% of Berlin's weapons exports.
No justification exists. Greece has no enemies. It's also broke. It can't or won't provide public services. It borrows hugely to repay and service debt, and rampant corruption is out-of-control.
Transparency International (TI) says "Greek people live in a state of 'corrupt legality,' meaning that the law often condones or even fosters corrupt practices. Corruption is endemic: not limited to any party or social class, nor to the public sector."
"The public sector suffers from substantial gaps in both law and practice, thus allowing corruption to thrive. Public officials have been allowed to act for decades without any transparency or effective oversight."
"As a result, lack of integrity, tendency to demand and accept bribes, and unfaithfulness to public service have proliferated. Wrongdoing has eroded the rule of law and facilitated a culture of impunity."
Privileged elites hide wealth in favored tax havens. Doing so explains part of the problem.
Unaccountability lets them get away with what no one should tolerate. It's especially outrageous at a time of economic crisis and appalling human deprivation. Force-feeding more pain exacerbates deplorable conditions.
Last May, dominant parties polled poorly. Voters rejected austerity. Many voted with their feet and opted out. Ordinary Greeks are beset by crushing wage, benefit, and other social cuts.
Impoverishment, homelessness, and unemployment result. Public anger expresses itself in street protests, strikes, and opportunities sought elsewhere.
Some of Greece's best and brightest are leaving. Why stay without job prospects or futures. Other professionals abroad aren't returning.
Dire economic conditions created a lost generation. Brain drain exodus affects the country's future. Greece is inhospitable to human welfare. Who can survive without jobs, income or futures?
Rage against rogue governance grows. On November 6, The New York Times headlined "Normal Life on Pause, and a Sense of Simmering Rage," saying:
Proprietors go out of business for lack of enough customers and revenue to cover expenses. Deepening Depression conditions exist. Greece's economy is on a downward spiral to oblivion.
"The vitriol toward politicians is in many ways more intense than the outrage expressed toward the European Union and the International Monetary Fund."
"Politicians here rarely venture out in public, and when they do, even the most obscure member of Parliament is accompanied by at least one bodyguard."
On November 7, more austerity measures were enacted. Included are some of the most draconian so far. Street rage became violent. Prior to the vote, 100,000 angry Greeks marched on parliament in Syntagma Square.
Why they haven't stormed it so far they'll have to explain. Don't be surprised if they do ahead in a country best described as a tinderbox ready to explode.
People only take so much. Once pain levels exceed a threshold of no return, all bets are off. Politicians are playing with fire. Revolutionary anger is visceral. One spark too many may ignite it.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails at security forces. A bus stop and kiosk were set ablaze. Athens resembles a war zone.
Dozens of arrests followed. Hundreds or thousands more won't quell rage. Greeks are justifiably mad and show it. It's just a matter of time perhaps before the whole country explodes.
Strikes brought Greece to a halt. Hospitals operate with skeleton crews. Commerce shut down. Journalists walked out. They joined strikers. Broadcasts and publications were suspended.
Troika authority demanded and got another $17.2 billion in budget cuts. At issue is qualifying for $39.6 billion in bailout funds. Greece barely gets enough to pay bureaucrats. Debt service and bailing out bankers get top priority.
The term bailout is a misnomer. Grand theft and extortion more accurately explain policy. Ordinary Greeks are victimized. So is Greece's economy.
It's a shell of its former self. It's a zombie waiting for its obituary to be written. Bankers responsible for crisis conditions are rewarded. Irresponsible governance steals from ordinary people to pay rich ones and corporate crooks.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaris heads Greece's rogue government. On Wednesday, he said Athens took "a big, decisive and optimistic step. A step toward recovery. I am very pleased."
The more Greece borrows, the greater its debt, the harder it is to service and repay, the more future aid that's needed, and faster the country heads toward total collapse.
Catastrophic conditions are pushing people toward deplorable living conditions and starvation. Prioritizing debt service and repayment by greater borrowing guarantees an eventual bad ending.
Impossible to bear pain may become uncontainable rage. More than buildings may burn. Politicians may be targeted. They could be tarred, feathered or shot.
University of the Aegean lecturer Panagiotis Sotiris told Russia Today:
"Every austerity package in the last two and a half years was supposed to be the last one. So it won’t be the last one this time. We are going to see more of this."
With minimal discussion, parliament "pass(ed) a huge law. We are very far from democratic procedure. This is a set of measures, which are actually dictated by the Troika."
Ordinary Greeks have no say. Parliament surrendered to diktat authority. A banner one protestor held expressed mass sentiment, saying: "TRAITOR SAMARAS GET OUT"
In August, Greek unemployment hit a record high. Officially at 25.4%, one in four workers have no jobs. Monthly for the last three years, figures rose. True unemployment may be much higher. Moreover, most jobs pay subsistence wages and poor or no benefits.
Young people are hardest hit. In the 15 - 24 age category, 58% are jobless. It's likely closer to two-thirds. In the last three years, wages have been cut up to 60%. Around 70,000 small business ceased operating.
The latest austerity round targets another 150,000 jobs, further wage cuts up to 30%, pensions cut up to 15%, and fewer healthcare benefits.
Bureaucrats across the board are affected. Minimum wages, holiday benefits, and severance pay will be reduced.
Education will also be hit hard. Universities will be shut. Mass staff reductions will follow. Retirement will be raised from 65 to 67. Job protections are weakened. Layoffs are now easier. Redundancy notice was decreased from six to four months.
The done deal isn't quite complete. On November 11, parliamentarians have to meet Troika officials. Their revised budget must be approved.
Greece also wants more. It seeks a further "emergency growth package." It's worth another 10 billion euros. It's nowhere near enough for what Athens needs. Expect more bailout deals to follow.
On November 5, Greek journalist walked out for the second time in a week. They're protesting plans to merge their social security fund with a national system.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras initially couldn't get a parliamentary agreement to merge the social security funds of journalists, civil engineers, lawyers, and others into the National Organization for Healthcare Provisions (EOPYY). On November 7, the measure passed.
Greece stands at the abyss of collapse. It's mired in deepening Depression. Since 2007, it's economy shrunk nearly 22%. It continues heading south.
Ordinary Greeks bear the greatest burden. Multiple rounds of wage cuts, layoffs and lost benefits created unforgivable hardships.
Bad as things are now, more force-fed austerity is planned. Expect no end of it ahead. Greece is banker occupied. It's debt entrapped.
Class war rages. Living standards plummeted precipitously. Troika authorities demand state-run enterprises, public land, tourist sites, ports, water, and other Greek crown jewels stripped of all worth and sold at fire sale prices.
Brussels calls it a rescue. Ordinary Greeks know it's impoverishment and unemployment. It's financial warfare. It's more destructive than pillaging armies.
It grabs everything in sight and wants more. Corrupt politicians steal what they can and agree. Ordinary people bear unconscionable pain. Earlier hard times produced Nazism.
World War II followed. Failure to learn from history risks repeating it. At issue is doing it disastrously. No one seems to notice or care. It may be too late to matter once reality hits home. It may come sooner than most imagine.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
posted by Steve Lendman @ 11:49 PM 
Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud
Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud
by Stephen Lendman
On November 14, Israel murdered Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari in cold blood. A missile struck his car. Another passenger was killed. Unconfirmed reports said it was his son.
An IDF Twitter message said, "We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead."
Press TV said Shin Bet claimed responsibility. An official statement said:
"During a joint operation of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) and the IDF today, Ahmed al-Jabari, the senior commander of the military wing of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was targeted."
Attacks continue. Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud (aka Cloud Column) killed at least nine Palestinians. Over 20 others were injured. Authorities expect death and injury tolls to rise.
Bombing and shelling continued overnight. At least three more Palestinians were killed. More were injured.
Israel said over 20 sites were targeted. Hamas' military wing, Izzeddin Qassam Brigades, said Israel "opened the gates of hell." A robust response was promised.
Jabari is the most senior Hamas official killed since Cast Lead. He was involved in capturing Gilad Shalit. During his five years in captivity, he led negotiations that freed him.
Netanyahu said Israel chose this time to "exact the heaviest price." Initially he added that a significant military action wouldn't be undertaken. In fact, it was initiated and remains ongoing. Perhaps something greater is planned.
Kadima opposition leader Shaul Mofaz called killing Jabari and attacking Gaza a "deterrence against Hamas in the long term. It isn't the time to loosen our grip and relax. We must search (out Hamas leaders) everywhere."
Former Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni called the killing an "appropriate assassination of the head of a terror organization that is responsible for spilling the blood of Israeli citizens."
Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich said Jabari had the "blood of many Israelis on his hands. (He) was the arch terrorist of the extremist Hamas organization." Killing him was "justified."
Knesset State Comptroller's Committee chairman, MK Uri Ariel said:
"Let the IDF win. This pinpoint attack cannot be our final act. Israel needs to continue and hit the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip with all its might."
"The Israeli government must keep up the pressure until it topples the evil regime that is keeping thousands of Israeli residents from leading normal and peaceful lives."
Other Israeli officials made similar comments. Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz was nonbelligerent, saying:
"Stop the escalation in Gaza. It is a petty bloody circle. War will not solve anything."
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said killing Jabari won't "break the will of our people nor weaken our resistance." He accused Netanyahu of committing a war crime to boost his reelection chances. Doing so, he warned, may "cost him his political future."
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called killing Jabari a "declaration of war." Revenge was promised. "The occupation has committed a grave crime and crossed all red lines."
"The enemy will pay a heavy price for its crime and will regret the moment it thought of perpetrating it."
Israel launched war but doesn't know how to end it. Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed said attacks would follow in hours. He also called killing Jabari a "declaration of war."
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on Arab states to help stop Israel's "barbaric" assault.
An Izzeddin Qassam Brigades statement said, "From this night, the Israeli occupation will be living in hell."
What may be is planned is worrisome. Defense Secretary Ehud Barak called up Israeli reserves. All options are on the table, he stressed. A ground operation may or may not follow.
Haaretz headlined "Israel launches military operation in Gaza." A timeline followed, saying:
On November 14 at 7:37PM, the Palestinian death toll rose to seven. Another 20 others were wounded.
At 7:42 PM, Shimon Peres spoke to Obama by phone. He said Jabari was responsible for "terrorist" attacks. He lied, but both sides accept this explanation.
At 7:45 PM, Abbas called for an urgent Arab League meeting.
At 7:50PM, Barak called for "special situation" status on the home front at a distance of 40 km from Gaza. Government approval is needed.
At 7:59PM, Be'er Sheva alarms told residents to seek shelter from rocket attacks.
At 8:03PM, eight Palestinian deaths were reported. Another 30 were wounded.
At 8:09PM, Palestinians reported an explosion at the home of former Fatah security head, Rashid Abu Shabak in Gaza.
At 8:11PM, rocket fire struck a parked vehicle in Be'er Sheva.
At 8:12PM, Be'er Sheva alarms again sounded. Rocket fire was reported.
At 8:17, 8:19, and 8:20PM, more rockets were fired.
At 8:37PM, Netanyahu accused Hamas and Islamic Jihad of harming Israelis.
At 8:40PM, Israel's US embassy said surgical strikes showed restraint in responding to Hamas rockets.
At 8:50PM, rockets were fired toward Dimona for the first time.
At 9:21PM, Israeli gunboats shelled Gaza.
At 9:18PM, Jimmy Carter condemned attacks on both sides.
Press TV said Israeli warships fired missiles on Gaza.
Egypt recalled its Israeli ambassador. Reuters said Egypt condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza. Foreign Minister Kamel Amr demanded they stop immediately.
Failure "could have negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region." Israel's escalation is "very dangerous."
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party political wing said:
FJP "stresses its full condemnation to the Israeli assignation operation against Al-Qassam leader Ahmed Al-Jabari."
"Israel's return to the policy of assignation of leaders from the Palestinian struggle groups shows that the Israeli occupation wants to drag the region towards instability."
"But the occupying state has to understand that the changes the Arab region, and especially Egypt, have witnessed will not permit that the Palestinian people be put under the hold of the Israeli offense in the same way as the past."
"The wanton aggression against Gaza proves that Israel has yet to realize that Egypt has changed and that the Egyptian people who revolted against oppression/ injustice will not accept assaulting Gaza."
On November 14, Haaretz headlined "Hit on Hamas military chief is only the beginning," saying:
"This is not just 'another' assassination, but rather a hit on one of the top people in the movement and the person in the leadership most identified with the terror struggle against Israel."
Israel's action is the beginning of more to come. Retaliatory attacks will follow. Expect Israel to use them as justification for further strikes. Perhaps Cast Lead 2 is planned. The fullness of time will tell.
Haaretz said Hamas has Fajr rockets. Their range is 75km. They can strike Tel Aviv and other urban areas. Whether this "Judgment Day" weapon will be used remains to be seen.
Israel attacked 20 underground sites believed to store them. Reports didn't claim success. It bears repeating what previous articles stressed. On January 22, Netanyahu faces reelection. Perhaps he thinks killing Gazans increases his prospects.
Once attacks begin and escalate, who knows how they'll end. Death and destruction begets more of it. The more Israel attacks Gaza, the more Arab street anger will grow. So will anti-Israeli sentiment elsewhere.
Israelis perhaps approve. Jabari may be viewed as Netanyahu's bin Laden. Expect his reelection strategy to stress it. Israel removed its main terrorist threat, he'll say.
Gullible Israelis may believe it. Opposition candidates won't refute him. If greater escalation follows, all bets are off.
War benefits often have short shelf life benefits. Netanyahu needs boosting until January 22.
If reelected, he'll worry less about approval afterwards. Blood on his hands will remain.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:03 AM
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Naked Israeli Aggression
Naked Israeli Aggression
by Stephen Lendman
Since 1948, Israel waged varying intensity war on Palestine. Crimes of war, against humanity, and genocide are committed regularly. World community inaction lets Israel get away with murder.
Operation Pillar of Cloud (aka Cloud Column/Pillar of Defense) is Israel's latest naked aggression.
"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire; to give them the light; to go by day and night:" Exodus 13.21.
Israel apparently believes Almighty God sanctifies cold-blooded murder. Self-defense claims don't wash. They never do.
Killing Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari in cold blood intensified Israeli attacks. They began Saturday. They replicate what Israel did so often before.
Israel bombs, shells, ravages, and murders civilian men, women and children with impunity. A special place in hell awaits responsible rogues in charge. Palestinian supporters worldwide condemn them.
Cast Lead 2.0 looms. The lives of 1.7 innocent people are at risk. They're trapped inside the world's largest open air prison. They're sitting ducks. There's no place to hide. Israel takes full advantage.
Mondoweiss published a list of scheduled Emergency Global Actions for Gaza. Silence and inaction aren't options. Accountability time is long overdue.
Evening November 14:
▪ Jerusalem - Damascus Gate, 7:00PM
▪ Ramallah - al Manara Square, 7:00PM
▪ Bethlehem - Manger Square, 7:30PM
▪ Tel Aviv - Ehud Barak's doorstep, 8:00PM
▪ Istanbul | al Fateh Mosque, 9:00PM
▪ London | Israeli Embassy
▪ Quebec | Hall Building, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, 6:00PM
November 15:
▪ George Mason Univesity - Free Speech Square, 1:30PM
▪ Nashville - Centennial Park, 3:00PM
▪ Washington DC - Israeli Embassy, 3:30PM
▪ San Francisco - Israeli Consulate, 5:15PM
▪ New York - Israeli Consulate, 42nd Street & 2nd Ave, 5:00PM
▪ Boston - Copley Square, 4:30PM
▪ Chicago - Outside Obama HQ, 130 E Randolph Street, 4:00PM
▪ Montreal - Hall Building, Concordia University, 5:00PM
▪ Vancouver - The Art Gallery, 5:00PM
▪ Toronto - Israeli Consulate, 180 Bloor Street (east of St. George TTC), 6:00PM
▪ London - Israeli Embassy, 5:30PM
▪ Brighton (UK) - Outside EcoStream HQ, 12:00PM
▪ Brighton (UK) - Victoria Gardens, 5:30PM
▪ Bradford (UK) - 4.30PM
▪ Oxford (UK) - Cornmarket Street, 4:00PM
▪ Dublin - Israeli Embassy, 5:30PM
▪ Belfast - City Hall, 7:00PM
▪ Paris - Ministry of Justice, 6PM
▪ Jerusalem - Outside Hebrew University, 12:00PM
▪ Beirut - Cola, 10:00AM
▪ Sydney - Parmatta Town Hall, 6PM
November 16:
Cairo - Tahrir Square
▪ Washington DC - March from State Department, 6:00PM
▪ San Francisco | Israeli Consulate, 4:00PM
▪ Manchester (UK) - Picadilly Gardens, 5:00PM
SATURDAY, 17 Nov
▪ Stockholm - 3PM
▪ Oslo - 3PM
Mondoweiss co-editor Philip Weiss is in Bethlehem. He called the West Bank mood "resigned" and "edgy." Demonstrations were urged.
Scattered ones occurred in Nablus, Jenin, Qalqilia, Hebron, Bethlehem, and near Ofer military base. Israel responded violently. Protesters were attacked with rubber bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas. Injuries were reported.
Gaza's health minister Mofeed al-Mkhallalaty said what's happening is "a comprehensive war launched by Israel against the civilian population of Gaza killing the elderly, children and infants."
He called for international action to stop it. Gaza's main Al Shifa Hospital and other medical facilities can't handle the severe casualties needing urgent treatment. At least 15 Palestinians were killed. Over 150 were injured. Expect casualty totals to rise. Israel shows no mercy.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the IDF is using white phosphorous and other illegal weapons. It's likely. Israel uses them in all its wars. New ones are tested in real time. Doctors report injuries never seen before.
Mondoweiss contributor Waleed al-Meadana headlined "Almost Dead: An eyewitness report from Gaza," saying:
"Death smells! Blood stains the walls. Pieces of grained human flesh spread everywhere, and broken glass is scattered. I can recognize a hand, and some parts of the head."
"Trees are torn apart some steps away. They are laying dead. And a car is still firing. Or what is left of it. Appalled faces. Shaking voices."
"The sky is weird. Gloomy clouds, bleak scenes, some kind of strange feeling alongside the smell of human blood, and children. Children are gathering up the remnants of the fragmented body."
He lives in Gaza. He's never been this close to Israeli crimes, he added. He's witnessing Israeli barbarity firsthand. Before it ends, he may be lucky to survive in one piece. "Israeli arrogance….showers us with bombs and hate."
Israel said a ground invasion "is only a matter of time." An emergency November 14 Security Council meeting was held. Ban Ki-moon made his usual dismissive comment. He urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint and to respect international law."
Washington blocked possible condemnation of Israel. Ambassador Susan Rice is an unprincipled defender of naked aggression and mass murder.
She ignored Israel's premeditated war on Gaza. She condemned the victims.
"There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel," she said. "We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately."
"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that does nothing but set back the Palestinian cause."
"Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza nor to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination and independence."
Comments like these don't rise to the level of bad fiction. What's happening in Gaza is very real. Since December 27, 2008, Israel murdered well over 1,500 Gazans, injured around 6,000, and caused widespread destruction of non-military related sites.
PA UN ambassador Riyad Mansour said:
"Once again the international community is witness to Israel's malicious onslaught, using the most lethal military means and illegal measures against the defenseless Palestinian civilian population."
"A direct firm message must be sent to Israel to cease immediately its military campaign against the Palestinian people and to abide…. by its obligations under international law."
"The Israeli occupying forces are now mobilizing on the ground as we speak. Fear and panic are spreading among the Palestinian civilian population."
Israel perhaps is readying a large-scale invasion. The Palestine News Network (PNN) reported Israeli paratroopers and Givati Brigade members heading for Gaza's border. IDF officials said Israel "will do whatever is needed to restore calm to Israeli towns in the south."
PNN said IDF forces held training exercises in recent weeks. They're preparing for a possible Gaza offensive. Increasingly it looks likely. Military commanders said its scale will exceed Cast Lead.
Netanyahu addressed Israelis on nationwide TV. He said Israel is prepared and ready for a large-scale offensive.
In his November 14 press conference, Obama said nothing about Israeli aggression. He told Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi by phone that Israel has the "right to self-defense."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the following:
"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence."
"There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately."
"We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast strongly condemned Israeli attacks and atrocities, saying:
"We believe one of the objective of these crimes is covering up the domestic problems of the Zionist regime."
Syria also denounced what it called "barbaric Israeli crimes." It called on the international community to condemn them. Condolences were extended to the families of victims. Arab solidarity is needed. So is worldwide support for a people victimized by Israeli savagery.
US television so far ignored it. Print media reports one-sidedly support Israel. Naked aggression is called self-defense. On November 14, The New York Times headlined "Another Israel-Gaza War?" saying:
"No country should have to endure the rocket attacks that Israel has endured from militants in Gaza, most recently over the past four days. The question is how to stop them permanently."
Blaming Israel's victims is official editorial policy. Hamas and other resistance groups are condemned for defending themselves against savage Israeli attacks.
At the same time, The Times called another full-scale ground war "especially risky." Concern isn't about mass killing and destruction. Cast Lead didn't "solve the problem," it said.
The unexplained problem is millions of Palestinians wanting to live free in their own country, on their own land. They want occupation harshness ended. They want Israeli aggression condemned and punished. They want long denied equity, justice and freedom.
Hamas is Palestine's legitimate government. The Times calls it "a dangerous adversary that may never accept Israel's right to exist."
It won't ever accept Israeli belligerence and oppression. Nor do millions of Palestinians and worldwide supporters. The Times and other media scoundrels won't explain.
Haaretz did no better. It editorialized irresponsibly. "Calm thing down," it said. Assassinated Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari "dedicated his life to war against Israel." Killing him tells Hamas to choose "more moderate" officials.
Southern Israeli security "became impossible in recent days." Gaza rocket attacks threaten residents, said Haaretz. Calming things down depends on pointing fingers the right way.
Hamas, other resistance groups, and all Gazans are victims. Israel provocatively committed aggression. Days of bombing, shelling, and killing were premeditated. Self-defense is inviolable.
Responsible journalists should explain it. Running cover for lawlessness is unconscionable. So is global community silence.
International law obligates world leaders to condemn crimes of war and against humanity. It's long past time Israel was held fully accountable.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
posted by Steve Lendman @ 11:47 PM
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