Monday, February 23, 2015

the-problem-of-israel-in-the-modern-world

Je suis né en 1938, soit  dix ans avant le coup de force de mauvaise conscience de l’Occident d’après-guerre qui va «créer» l’État d’Israël. Depuis, il n’y a toujours que la guerre sur le dos des Palestiniens.
Je recommande particulièrement à votre attention le long texte du sociologue canadien Michael Welton. Il dénonce avec le ton ferme et nuancé dont je sens le besoin d’entendre depuis de très nombreuses années.  J’ai appris l’italien à Florence en juin ’67 en écoutant les nouvelles de la Guerre des 6 jours de la bouche d’un lecteur de nouvelle de la RAI qui était juif. … . Les mots sont potentiellement des bombes …  Raymond Fredette, Canada

.http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/30/the-problem-of-israel-in-the-modern-world/

printhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/17/obama-plays-hardball-with-israelfor-once/print




Africa's Share in Global Tectonic Shifting: Mugabe of Zimbabwe Chairman of AU

Will Africa Leave International Criminal Court?

Alexander MEZYAEV | 24.02.2015 | 00:00

Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, has been chosen as African Union (AU) chairman. He is soon to be 91. Since a long time Mugabe has been a pain in the neck for the West. Zimbabwe has been under sanctions for many years and its head of state is imposed a travel ban preventing him from entering Europe. After the election the European Union relaxed some restrictions. The African Union has taken a decision to substitute the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a court of its own to consider the cases of human rights violations and international crimes. 
The fact that the African Union may withdraw from the ICC Statute has attracted attention. The issue was discussed while the ICC tried to prevent the drastic decision. In December 2014 the trial chamber demanded for the process to be started or withdraw all charges in the case of Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta. On December 5, 2014, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) officially withdrew the charges against the President of the Republic of Kenya. There was no evidence to go upon, as there was no evidence to support accusations in the cases of Libyan Muammar Gaddafi, Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Cote D’Ivoire and Omar - Bashir, the President of Sudan. The purpose of all these lawsuits was not to establish the truth but rather to exert pressure on the heads of state. It’s propitious to remember that when the ICC held its first trial (the case of Thomas Lubanga from the Democratic Republic of the Congo) the first witness to testify confessed right in the court room that he had given false evidence under the pressure of prosecutor’s office. 
Right before the African Union’s summit the International Criminal Court decided to demonstrate its readiness to cooperate with the AU. It used the case of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the leading opponent of the International Criminal Court, for the purpose. For ten years (1) (!) the Court could not arrest a single person charged in the case of Lord’s Liberation Army. On January 24, Dominic Ongwen, a commander in the Lord's Resistance Army, abruptly decided to surrender and face the trial the day after. (1) This trick proves that the Court can arrest anyone it brings charges against. But it does it only to meet its own purposes. 
The struggle for keeping Africa a party to the International Criminal Court is still ahead. Attempts to find a compromise mixed with muscle flexing will take place till the next AU summit in June 2015. 
The demonstration of force is becoming more visible in Nigeria with its general elections (including presidential election) to take place on February 14. On February 2, Fatou B. Bensouda, an ICC prosecutor, unceremoniously meddled into the pre-election campaign calling on Nigerians to make a right choice. Sounds blur enough, but there is a clear message in this phrase. The fight against the Islamist group Boco Haram is at the top of Nigerian agenda. The group takes active part in the election campaign. Blasts have accompanied the leading candidates rallies. On February 3, a bomb went off just 3 minutes after Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan left an election campaign rally. (3) The Boco Haram’s terrorist activities have been intensified. The ICC prosecutor has said the Nigeria’s government forces have already committed crimes against humanity that fall under the ICC jurisdiction. It’s an unambiguous message to the President of Nigeria. The prosecutor calls on the voters to make a right choice. It constitutes a direct involvement into Nigeria’s internal affairs. The candidate calling for unrelenting fight against Boco Haram has received a «black spot» from the International Criminal Court. (4) 
African states are not alone among those who are disillusioned with the ICC activities. On January 16, the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, launched a «preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine». In response Israel started an active campaign to discredit the International Criminal Court. It called on other states to stop funding it. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on January 18, «We will demand of our friends in Canada, in Australia and in Germany simply to stop funding it», he told Israel Radio. «This body represents no one. It is a political body», he said. «There are a quite a few countries - I've already taken telephone calls about this - that also think there is no justification for this body's existence». Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan are the main ICC donors. There was an interesting reaction to the statement. «The countries that support the court will continue to support the court», said one European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. «We respect the independence of the court and the prosecutor». (5) «Protecting the judicial and prosecutorial independence of the ICC is critically important», he added. (6) By the way, the investigation may lead to quite opposite results than expected, no matter the picture is clear. The ICC prosecutor may come to a conclusion that Israel is not the only one to commit the crimes. Trying to look «impartial» the ICC’s ruling may say that the «both sides» have done it. Such a verdict would not mean that both - Israel and Palestine – would be made responsible. Israel has not become a party to the ICC Statute (the Rome Statute) and it’s not under the Court’s jurisdiction. Palestine is a signatory to the Rome Statute and its leaders may become defendants. Once Israel is not a party, internal political opponents, like Hamas, for instance, could have been the target for the Palestinian government becoming a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It’s not a rare occasion when the International Criminal Court is used as an instrument to fight internal opposition by governments of some states. Here is an example. The government of Uganda became a party to the Statute of ICC hoping the Court will help it to catch the leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army. The same thing has happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government did not dare to bring to court the opposition leaders and transferred them to the ICC. By accepting the case the Court violated its own Statute. Palestine has to take into account that the attempts to transfer cases to the Court may have unexpected consequences. The ICC easily changes targets. The attempts to «outwit» the West may backlash. 
Talking at the final session of the African Union summit, the new African Union chairman Robert Mugabe has recommended that Africa must pull out of the International Criminal Court. «What the West will say or do is not my business», he added. The withdrawal from the International Criminal Court has already been included into the official agenda of the African Union summit to be held in June this year. (7)
Footnotes: 
(1) The government of Uganda asked to investigate the situation in the country in December 2003
(3) Nigeria: Jonathan Escapes Death in Gombe
(4) Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, ahead of the general and state elections in Nigeria
(6) The attempts to exert financial pressure on international courts have happened before. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), commonly known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has been facing financial difficulties for a number of years changing sponsors because the government of Cambodia has refused financial support. The reason is the attempts of some «independent» prosecutors of the Tribunal to launch lawsuits against those the Court was not targeted at initially. This is another example of a state using the «international community» and its financial resources for its own ends. The West never provides funds for something that does not meet its interests. This lesson should have been learnt a long time ago by those who want to outwit the elites that have ruled the world for many centuries… 
(7) President Uhuru Kenyatta issues a statement on the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the closing of the 24th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union at AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa (excerpts).
Tags: International Criminal Court Africa Nigeria Zimbabwe

US-Gesetzesvorlage: Herzlos mit Israel gegen Palästina und den Rest der Welt

Israel handelt ohne irgendein menschliches Gefühl. Es ist ungeheuerlich!!!  
 
Dazu noch ein wichtiger Bericht, den Inga Gelsdorf dankenswerter Weise schon übersetzt hat. Siehe die beiden Anhänge
 
Und die westliche "Wertegemeinschaft" wird wohl zustimmen?!
 
Das macht ratlos. Gtüsse Annette
 
 
Zwei Mitglieder des US-Kongresses haben eine Gesetzesvorlage eingeführt

die einen gigantischen Handel zwischen der EU und der USA in eine verheerende Waffe gegen das Volk von Palästina und all diejenigen verwandeln würde, die mit ihnen nach Gerechtigkeit trachten.  
Zusammen mit der vorgeschlagenen transatlantischen Handels und Investment-Partnerschaft (TTIP), die zur Zeit verhandelt wird, würde das vorgeschlagene  Gesetz alle 28 Mitgliedsstaaten der EU dazu zwingen, hart gegen europäische Gruppen durchzugreifen, die sich an der wachsenden BDS-Bewegung (Boykott, Sanktionen und Desinvestitionen)  <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/bds>Â (BDS)  gegen Israel in Solidarität mit dem palästinensischen Volk beteiligen.

Um gegen die zunehmende Isolierung Israels in der globalen öffentlichen Meinung zu kämpfen, würden europäische Regierungen in Polizei-Agenten für den US-Staat verwandelt.
 Der vorgeschlagene US-Israel-Handels und kommerzielle Enhancement Akt (US-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act), der dem Kongress am 10. Februar präsentiert wurde,...

--------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Israel opens dams forcing hundreds of Gazans out of flooded houses (PHOTOS)
RT) – Over 80 houses have been flooded and hundreds of Palestinians forced to evacuate after Israel opened the gates of several dams on the border with the Gaza Strip, inundating the Gaza Valley in waters up to 3 meters high.   -   In the wake of a recent severe winter storm in the region, Israeli authorities opened the floodgates to discharge the accumulated water. Residents of eastern Gaza reported injuries as well as deaths of livestock and poultry, caused by the Israeli action which allegedly came without prior notification, Gaza’s Civil Defense Directorate (CDD) said Sunday.....

Greece Surrenders to Troika

Region: 
 16 
  21  3 
 
  94
GREECE
Instead of renouncing its odious debt and walking away, Athens agreed to pay bankers first, maintain austerity, and let long-suffering Greeks continue taking the hindmost.
SYRIZA campaign pledges proved hollow. Pleasing Brussels and Washington matter more.
After weeks of negotiations, Greece got what the Wall Street Journal called “a tenuous agreement for a four-month extension of its bailout Friday removing immediate concerns over a potential exit from Europe’s currency union but setting the stage for more tense negotiations over the country’s financial future.”
A Troika statement said:
“Greek authorities commit to refrain from any rollback of measures and unilateral changes to the policies and structural reforms that would negatively impact fiscal targets, economic recovery or financial stability, as assessed by the institutions.”
Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Athens “unequivocal(l)y commit(ted) to honor (its) financial obligations.”
Rolling over Friday shows what’s likely coming. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble suggested it saying “(n)ow we hope that trust can grow again.”
Markets signaled approval. The Stoxx Europe 600 reached its highest level since November 2007. Even the weak euro gained against the dollar and yen.
US equities rose. The Russell 2000 small company index hit record highs.
Candidate Alexis Tsipras pledged relief from Troika-imposed harshness. Prime Minister Tsipras proved he’s no different from other Greek politicians.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tried putting a brave face on capitulation saying “(o)ur pre-electoral program was about four years. This deal is about four months.”
Left unexplained are likely worse Greek financial conditions months ahead than now.
Its debt is too onerous to repay. It won’t get easier ahead. Under Friday’s agreement, Greece must indicate more budget cuts and austerity by Monday.
Its plan must be acceptable to Troika officials. Popular needs don’t matter.
Once agreement is reached, Athens will get another 7.2 billion euros making its debt burden more onerous than already.
It’s unclear when funds will be released. On the one hand, both sides must reach agreement by April. On the other, Greece may be broke by March.
ECB officials said they’re willing to resume normal lending to Greek banks for their day-to-day operations. Weeks could pass before funds arrive with no guarantee how much or for how long.
An unnamed ECB official said normal lending won’t start until “there is a great likelihood of a positive conclusion of the programme.”
In other words, until unconditional surrender is abslutely clear. On Friday, Athens agreed to “refrain from any rollback (or) unilateral changes” of existing policies.
Greece’s debt level remains unchanged. Tsipras promised to cut it while campaigning.
Athens can opt out of some austerity measures as long as it substitutes others having just as much financial and economic impact.
Varoufakis was less than candid saying “(a)s of today, we’re beginning to be co-authors of our destiny, co-authors of the reforms that we want to implement.”
If he meant it, they’d be implemented already. Athens would forget about Troika help.
Plenty without austerity strings is available from Russia, China, and perhaps other BRICS countries.
The Financial Times hailed the “11th-hour deal…” Saying it ended “weeks of uncertainty that threatened to spark a Greek bank run and bankrupt the country.”
Troika policies bankrupted Greece. It’s a zombie country waiting for its obituary to be written.
It can rise from the ashes through responsible policies not taken. Long-suffering Greeks face continued impoverishment, unemployment and human misery as far as the eye can see.
Friday’s deal commits Athens to observe earlier agreed on bailout terms. What SYRIZA campaigning rejected.
No strict compliance, no payout, said Germany’s Schauble. According to the FT:
“The decision to request an extension of the current programme is a significant U-turn for Alexis Tsipras…”
While campaigning, he promised to kill existing bailout terms. He showed SYRIZA promises were empty.
According to Schauble, Athens “will have a difficult time to explain the deal to (its) voters.”
Naked Capitalism’s Yves Smith said “(t)here is no way of putting a pretty face on” Friday’sagreement. “It represents a huge climbdown for Syriza.”
“Despite loud promises,” it capitulated to existing bailout terms. Even SYRIZA supporters know far it fell from grace.
It showed “a propensity to over-promise and under-deliver,” said Smith. It faces an enormous challenge ahead to salvage anything out a rotten deal agreed to.
Open Europe economist Raoul Ruparel said Greece “folded this hand but the game of poker continues.”
Its government is “now short stack and living hand to hand (day to day).”
“It continues to be in a very tough position, and how the evaporation of the vision which SYRIZA sold at the election will go down at home is a crucial and potentially explosive unknown.”
Eurogroup finance ministers expressed appreciation to Greek governments over the past few years for addressing banker priorities ahead of popular ones.
They welcomed SYRIZA officials agreeing to continue along the same path as its predecessors – to honor their financial obligations to foreign creditors above all else.
To assure Western monied interests matter most of all no matter how much pain and suffering ordinary Greeks endure.
Capitulation best explains Friday’s agreement. James Petras wrote a masterful account of how Greece got into its present day mess.
He explained he was former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou’s advisor from 1981 – 1984. Like Tsipras, he rose to power on promises of radical change.
“He…ended up capitulating to Brussels and NATO and embracing the oligarchs and kleptocrats in the name of ‘pragmatic compromises,’ ” said Petras.
It remains to be seen how Greeks react when they realize they again were had.
Petras hopes Tsipras will change tactics and avoid another Greek tragedy. It’s hard imagining a major turnaround after such a disgraceful climbdown.
The best time to strike a good deal is straightaway. The worst time is after surrendering too much hoping later to recoup.
Stephen Lendman lies in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. 

GAZA - Palestine: "....es sind ja nur Araber...."!    Annette Klepzig
 
 

 
 Gaza donations fall way short of pledges

UN runs out of funds for relief efforts after just five percent of pledged donations reach Palestinian territory.


Lack of funds rolling in leads to stalling the process of rebuilding Gaza after the 50-day war of 2014 destroyed it....http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/gaza-donations-fall-short-pledges-150218060136423.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
 

  DAVID GROSSMAN: Preis begraben?  Jacques Ungar
 
Jahrzehnte zählte der Israel-Preis zu einem der für den jüdischen Staat seltenen Anlass für nationalen Konsens. Divergierende Meinungen trafen sich in festlichem Rahmen, um Vertreter des eigenen oder eines anderen Lagers zu ehren, weil sie laut Ansicht der Jury Wertvolles für das Gesamtwohl von Staat und Volk getan haben. Nun droht diese Bastion des kleinsten gemeinsamen Nenners in Israel in Gefahr zu geraten, weil der Moloch Knessetwahlen.....  ....Netanyahu nämlich drei Preisrichter aus politisch-ideologischen Gründen von der Mitgliedschaft in der Jury für den Literaturpreis. Darauf sind aus Protest fünf andere Richter zurückgetreten, und neun Kandidaten für den Preis haben dankend abgelehnt....   "....Der Geist des Preises und seine Besonderheit sind schwerstens angeschlagen», klagte Autor David Grossman, einer der Kandidaten, der vorerst auf die Ehre verzichtet....http://tachles.ch/news/preis-begraben
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 

 
 ISRAEL «Klein, peinlich, beschämend».Jacques Ungar,
 
Kurz vor den Wahlen sieht sich der Premier mit einem detaillierten Bericht über die Ausgabegewohnheiten des Hauses Netanyahu konfrontiert – die Konsequenzen sind offen. 
 
Das Parteienbündnis Zionistisches Lager (Isaac Herzog und Tzippi Livni) empfahl am Dienstag nach der Veröffentlichung des 36-seitigen Berichts von Staatskontrolleur Joseph Shapira über die Ausgabegewohnheiten des Hauses Netanyahu GeneralstaatsanwaltYehuda Weinstein, eine polizeiliche Untersuchung....
Geiz und Verschwendungssucht: Und so gesehen steht zu vermuten, dass der Bericht des Staatskontrolleurs nach dem Abklingen der Schlagzeilen in den kommenden ein bis zwei Wochen wie heisse Luft verpuffen wird, auch wenn Joseph Shapira in seinen Zeilen nicht ausschliesst, dass die exorbitanten Ausgabegewohnheiten des Ehepaares Netan­yahu letzten Endes zu einer strafrechtlichen Verfolgung führen können....
«Eine Schande»: Auch jenen Leuten, die es aus Opportunismus oder anderen Gründen offen nicht zugeben würden, dürfte Nachum Barnea mit seinem unter dem Titel «Eine Null im Benehmen» am Mittwoch in «Yediot Achronot» erschienenen Kommentar aus dem Herzen gesprochen haben. Barnea schreibt unter anderem: «Klein, peinlich, beschämend....http://tachles.ch/news/klein-peinlich-beschaemend
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
 Territoriale Integrität für Palästina!   Evelyn Hecht-Galinski
 
Selten ist in letzter Zeit ein Wort so missbraucht worden wie das der “Territorialen Integrität”. Kanzlerin Merkel benutzt es ständig im Zusammenhang mit der Ukraine, aber für andere Konflikte spart sie es lieber aus, ganz besonders natürlich für Palästina. Für Merkel kein Thema. Haben wir jemals von ihr gehört, dass Palästina, den Palästinensern endlich “Territoriale Integrität” zuerkannt werden sollte?  -    Warum also setzen sich Merkel und die EU so vehement für die Ukraine ein? Während sie andere Konflikte nebenbei betrachtet, oder andere handeln lässt? Ist sie eine “Agentin in eigener Sache” für den Friedensnobelpreis und spätere Posten in der EU-Führung, oder will sie gar UNO-Generalsekretärin nach Beendigung der Kanzlerschaft werden? So munkelten informierte Kreise schon letztes Jahr, dass Merkel 2017 nicht mehr antreten will! (spiegel)....    -     ....Dazu gehört auch, dass die EU laut diverser Recherchen spezielle Gefängnisse in der Ukraine finanziert, damit dort Flüchtlinge aus Afrika ohne Chance auf ein Asylverfahren inhaftiert werden. (zeit) (spiegel)   -   Das macht auch der “Jüdische Wertegemeinschaftsfreund” Israel, dort wurden extra Gefängnissefür schwarzafrikanische Flüchtlinge gebaut! (spiegel)
Obama diente doch die Drohne 2012 schon einmal als Wahlkampfhilfe. Der “Drohnenkönig” putschte “Government Change”, wie gerade jetzt in der Ukraine, droht mit Waffenlieferungen und arbeitet meiner Meinung nach auf Putins Sturz hin, was ihm hoffentlich nicht gelingen wird! (handelsblatt) (spiegel)  -  Unzählige Umstürze gehen schon auf das Konto der USA, wie viele werden noch folgen? Was ist aus den ganzen Ländern geworden, die den “Regime Change” hinter sich haben? Nach Umstürzen und kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen hungernde Menschenunzählige kaum noch zu bewältigende Flüchtlingsströme. Widerstand dagegen wird natürlich immer unter dem Begriff Terrorismus abgetan! An Bodenschätzen reiche Länder werden zu Armenhäusern für.....http://sicht-vom-hochblauen.de/territoriale-integritaet-fuer-palaestina/
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 UNDOF (UN-Disengagement Observer Force) enthüllt Israels Unterstützung für die Jihadisten. inamo/online

Berichte von UN-Beobachtern in den Golanhöhen über die letzten 18 Monate enthüllen die Kooperation zwischen Israel und einigen Kadern der syrischen Rebellen. Die Berichte, die 15 Mitgliedern des Sicherheitsrats zugestellt wurden,  enthalten Kenntnisse über reguläre Treffen zwischen der IOF und syrischen Rebellen. . Was den Bürgerkrieg in Syrien betrifft, so ist die Armee des Landes angeschlagen, ihre Infrastruktur zerstört. Von dieser Seite braucht Israel nichts zu fürchten. …Israel ist der Hauptspieler und letztlich unter den Gewinnern dieses Krieges, den Amos Harel “stable instability in Syrien und der Region nennt.  -    Seit dem Bekanntwerden der UN-Dokumentation kann von einer diskreten Rolle Israels  nicht mehr die Rede sein. Der neue Bericht ist die Arbeit der UNDOF (UN Disengagement Observer Force), die an der Grenze zwischen Syrien und Israel die Grenze überwacht. Anfang Dezember 2014 wurde der Bericht an den UN-Sicherheitsrat übergeben. Die UNDOF umfasst 1200 Soldaten aus sechs Ländern, die nach dem Yom Kippur-Krieg/Harb Tishrin (1973) und dem folgenden Entflechtungsabkommen (1974) dort stationiert sind. Die Puffer-Zone zwischen Israel und Syrien erstreckt sich ungefähr.... http://www.inamo.de/index.php/syrien-beitrag-lesen/items/undof-un-disengagement-observer-force-enthuellt-israels-unterstuetzung-fuer-die-jihadisten.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Israels geheimes NUKLEAR-programm.rtf: Obama spielt mit harten Bandagen  gegen  Israel. Von Marc H. Gaffney, 
 
Autor von „Dimona, der dritte Tempel“ (1989), eine  Pionier-Studie über Israels Nuklearwaffen-Programm.  (dt. Ellen Rohlfs)
Nach vielen Jahren offizieller Heuchelei erscheint ein US-Präsident und spielt mit Israel. Neulich gab die US-Regierung einen Bericht von 1987 frei, der Israels geheimes Nuklearwaffenprogramm dokumentiert.   Ich bin ein Kritiker  von Präsident Obama, aber man muss ihn bewundern, wie er  den richtigen Zeitpunkt  für die Veröffentlichung wählte. Ich habe den Verdacht, dass das Weiße Haus dahinter steckt. Im nächsten Monat hat der israelische Ministerpräsident geplant, vor dem Kongress zu sprechen, und zwar auf Geheiß des Sprechers Boehmer. Netanjahus  Thema  soll Irans angebliches Atomwaffenprogramm sein. Die Tatsache, dass.... 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
 
 Exposing Israel's Secret Nuclear Program: Obama Plays Hardball With Israel…for Once. by MARK H. GAFFNEY
Finally. After many years of official hypocrisy, a US president appears to be playing hardball with Israel. The other day, the US government declassified a 1987 report documenting Israel’s secret nuclear weapons program.
I have been a critic of President Obama, but one has to admire the timing of the release which I suspect was ordered by the White House. Next month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak before Congress, at the behest of House speaker Boehner, and the topic of Netanyahu’s address reportedly will be Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. The fact that neither Speaker Boehner nor the Israeli government first cleared the speech with the White House has become controversial, and for good reason. Several prominent members of Congress, among them Senator Leahy, have already indicated they will boycott the speech, which will be a transparent attempt at an end run around the president.  -    Israeli PM Netanyahu is a smooth talker, but he is in no position to lecture Iran or any other state about nuclear weapons. The just-declassified report shows up Netanyahu for what he is, a liar.....
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/17/obama-plays-hardball-with-israelfor-once/print-------------------------------------------------------------------
 Uri Avnery.doc: Anti-Was?  21.Februar 2015
ANTISEMITISMUS nimmt zu. In ganz Europa erhebt er seinen hässlichen Kopf. Juden sind überall in Gefahr. Sie müssen sich schnell aufmachen und nach Hause nach Israel kommen, bevor es zu spät ist.  Stimmt das? Oder stimmt es nicht?  Unsinn.  PRAKTISCH HATTEN  alle alarmierenden Ereignisse, die kürzlich in Europa stattfanden – besonders in Paris und Kopenhagen – und bei denen Juden getötet oder angegriffen wurden, nichts mit Antisemitismus zu tun.   All diese Gewalttaten wurden von jungen Muslimen begangen, die meistens von arabischer Abstammung sind. Sie waren ein Teil des fortwährenden Krieges zwischen Israelis und Arabern; das hat nichts mit Antisemitismus zu tun. Sie haben nichts mit dem Pogrom in Kishinew und  nichts mit den Protokollen der Weisen von Zion zu tun....
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Anti-What ?   Uri Avnery
ANTI-SEMITISM is on the rise. All over Europe it is raising its ugly head. Jews are in danger everywhere. They must make haste and come home to Israel before it is too late.  True? Untrue?  Nonsense....http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1424446157

Kann das Unaussprechliche ausgesprochen werden? Israel als Problem in der modernen Welt. von Michael Welton, Professor an der Universität Athabasca. Autor des Buches Designing the Just Learning Society: a Critical Inquiry.
Die Stimmung in unserer beängstigenden Zeit ist unglaublich kriegerisch, dunkel, apokalyptisch und rachsüchtig. Der ‚Krieg gegen den Terror" ist wie ein Virus, der alles infiziert, mit dem er in Berührung kommt. Und er scheint alles zu kontaminieren, von unseren populären TV-Serien bis hin zu den Prozeduren bei Grenzüberquerungen und Reisen irgendwohin nach Übersee. Man kann die Sonntagszeitung nicht lesen, ohne dass einen ein schlechtes Gefühl beschleicht, ein Gefühl der Bedrohung, das an den Nerven zerrt und einem den Morgenkaffee verdirbt. Jeder Tag bringt einen neuen Schock. Und wenn es nicht der Terror ist, der einem den Tag verdirbt, dann ist es mit Sicherheit die Angst vor der globalen Erwärmung oder der Erschöpfung der Erdölreserven.  -   Ich bin insbesondere daran interessiert, zu ergründen, inwieweit religiöse Überzeugungen und mythologische Systeme dazu beitragen, uns voneinander zu trennen, Irrationalität und Hass gegen andere zu säen und jeden Anflug von Bereitschaft zu radikaler Selbstkritik zu ersticken. Um aufzuzeigen, wie brandgefährlich religiöse Überzeugungen sein können, möchte ich die Aufmerksamkeit auf den israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt im Kontext des Nahen Ostens lenken. Vielleicht ist kein Thema – Israels Schicksal und Rolle im Nahen Osten – in sich so aufgeheizt und symptomatisch für die Unfähigkeit unserer globalen Zivilisation, gerecht zu handeln.....---------------------------------------------------

http://othersite.org/michael-welton-israel-als-problem-in-der-modernen-welt/-----------------------------------------------------------------

Can the Unspeakable be Spoken?   by MICHAEL WELTON, professor at Athabasca University. He is the author of Designing the Just Learning Society: a Critical Inquiry.
 
 VII b ) The Problem of Israel in the Modern World
The mood of our uneasy times is incredibly bellicose, dark, apocalyptic and vengeful. The “war on terror” is like a virus that infects everything it touches. And it does seem to touch everything, from our popular television shows, to getting across borders, travelling overseas somewhere. You can’t read the Sunday paper without feeling queasy, a sense of dread tingling our nerves and spoiling our lovely morning coffee. Everyday brings a new jolt. And if terror doesn’t do the trick, fear of global warming, or running out of oil will spoil your day for sure....http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/30/the-problem-of-israel-in-the-modern-world/print
----------------------------------------------------------------

 
Settlers Defend Goebbels-Like Video Incitement. by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם  
 
Promoting Israeli democracy, exposing secrets of the national security state. (DANK an Intifada Palestine <elias@intifada-palestine.com>)
 
A follow-up on two videos I featured here in yesterday’s posts.  Several NGOs have appealed to the State attorney general (English edition) to find the settler video violates Israeli law against incitement.  Haaretz’s cartoonist, Biderman, has drawn a satiric “take” on the video, which features Joseph Goebbels as producer of the video and settler leader, Benny Katzover, as its editor.  Katsover is chair of the Shomron settler council which produced the original video.  In the caption, Goebbels tells Katzover: “Zoom in on the hanging Jew!”  This accords completely with my own description of the video as Der Shturmer-lite.   -   Meanwhile, the actual settlers who produced the video have distributed their own entirely self-serving statement defending their piece of Nazi garbage.  It’s so fatuous and self-serving it deserves to be translated:    -     Did we succeed in shocking you and arousing a public debate?  That was the goal.....    .....We strongly condemn and reject this ruthless infringement of intellectual property rights and the distortion of the reputation of Torabyeh. What is more…Torabyeh group will take all necessary legal action against those responsible.  Victory for the Palestinian people….http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/02/15/settler-video-producers-defend-nazi-like-incitement/

A German Perspective on Ukraine War by Irene Eckert

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015



A few years ago I met German peacenik Irene Eckert in Chicago at an anti-NATO protest while the cancerous military alliance was holding its annual meeting in that city.  Irene has been very active on the Ukraine issue and yesterday I sent her a question...see below for her response.

BG:  Can you give me your opinion on Merkel and how much Germany will resist Washington?

IE: Well your question goes right into the heart of the matter and there is no clear answer.

There is an ongoing "dispute" here mainly on the political right over an assumed "limited German sovereignty".  In this debate they keep quoting a secret document from May 21, 1949, the so-named "KANZLERAKTE" according to which every West German chancellor had and still has to be approved by the US-government in the first place, so does her or his policies. Officially the existence of such a document is denied.

Another kind of queer juridical  argument refers to the "enemy clause" in the UN charter (Art 53.2 and Art 107) according to which in times of war or better in case of  a new aggression, German "freedom"  be restricted.

De facto, several "treaties" do exist bearing clauses  that give the US quasi unlimited rights over our territory. From the US point of view we are still under "occupational status", see justification for military bases, US-troops, nukes on our soil. What is also relevant in this context: Our gold reserves presumably have been taken to the US Fort Knox long ago.

Legally this is  all unacceptable of course. It goes to show the neo-colonial US attitude Vis-à-vis her "allies" and "friends" who are all dependent creatures. The US never accepted signing a formal peace treaty with Germany under the pretext of cold war conditions. However, they and not the Russians were the refuseniks.

But at latest with the 4+2 treaty on German reunification (1990) these "reserves" where eventually pushed aside by history.

The four allies: US-USSR-GB-France and East and West Germany signed the treaty, which in official language was supposed to replace a peace treaty, it was officially interpreted and characterised here as de facto peace treaty.

But of course everything is matter of power relations. You probably know Zbigniew Brzezinski's Book "The Only Global Power" (2004) according to which we Germans are simply US vassals.

On the other hand: Mrs. Merkel did sign the Minsk agreement after 17 hours of bargaining. The MINSK AGREEMENT seems a highly relevant  document (see for details on the Russian website Strategic-Culture.org) bearing the signatures of the NORMANDIE Team, signed by Hollande, Merkel, Poroshenko, Putin and the Self Defense Forces and the OSCE representative and the foreign ministers.

German business is suffering enormously under the sanctions on Russia, forced upon Europe by the US and her business interests, [they] offer more or less silent resistance.

The Eastern Ukrainian victory in Debalcevo over thousands of Kiev troops and resistance in Kiev against their war hungry puppet government that pushes the country into further impoverishment are all elements of weakness on behalf of the NATO side. Maybe that Debalcevo is even a Stalingrad in miniature.

Politicians are prone to power relationship inside their constituencies and beyond. So Merkel has to somehow respond to the German business class and the strong anti-war sentiment in the German population. She cannot act as a mere puppet. But business is an unstable factor, I do not fully understand their heterogeneous interests. Merkel is under enormous pressure from various sides....

The peace movement is still completely irrelevant, occupying itself with internal debates. But public opinion, in spite of all the brain washing, is not in favor of  war against Russia.

I hope to have given you somewhat of an answer... 
http://space4peace.blogspot.de/2015/02/a-german-perspective-on-ukraine-war.html