Russia takes artificially overvalued dollars & uses them to buy artificially undervalued gold

And now Putin sells Russian energy resources in exchange for these US dollars, artificially propped by the efforts of the West. With which he immediately buys gold, artificially devalued against the U.S. dollar by the efforts of the West itself!

The Golden Trap of Chess Master Vladimir Putin

 by Dmitry Kalinichenko

Accusations of the West towards Putin traditionally are based on the fact that he worked in the KGB. And therefore he is a cruel and immoral person. Putin is blamed for everything. But nobody ever accused Putin of lack of intelligence.

Any accusations against this man only emphasize his ability for quick analytical thinking and making clear and balanced political and economic decisions.

Often Western media compares this ability with the ability of a grandmaster, conducting a public chess simul. Recent developments in US economy and the West in general allow us to conclude that in this part of the assessment of Putin’s personality Western media is absolutely right.   

Despite numerous success reports in the style of Fox News and CNN, today, Western economy, led by the United States is in Putin’s trap, the way out of which no one in the West can see or find. And the more the West is trying to escape from this trap, the more stuck it becomes.

What is the truly tragic predicament of the West and the United States, in which they find themselves? And why all the Western media and leading Western economists are silent about this, as a well guarded military secret? Let’s try to understand the essence of current economic events, in the context of the economy, setting aside the factors of morality, ethics and geopolitics.

After realizing its failure in Ukraine, the West, led by the US set out to destroy Russian economy by lowering oil prices, and accordingly gas prices as the main budget sources of export revenue in Russia and the main sources of replenishment of Russian gold reserves.

It should be noted that the main failure of the West in Ukraine is not military or political. But in the actual refusal of Putin to fund the Western project of Ukraine at the expense of the budget of Russian Federation. What makes this Western project not viable in the near and inevitable future.

Last time under president Reagan, such actions of the West’s lowering of oil prices led to ‘success’ and the collapse of USSR. But history does not repeat itself all the time. This time things are different for the West. Putin’s response to the West resembles both chess and judo, when the strength used by the enemy is used against him, but with minimal costs to the strength and resources of the defender. Putin’s real policies are not public. Therefore, Putin’s policy largely has always focused not so much on effect, but on efficiency.

Very few people understand what Putin is doing at the moment. And almost no one understands what he will do in the future.

No matter how strange it may seem, but right now, Putin is selling Russian oil and gas only for physical gold.

Putin is not shouting about it all over the world. And of course, he still accepts US dollars as an intermediate means of payment. But he immediately exchanges all these dollars obtained from the sale of oil and gas for physical gold!

To understand this, it is enough to look at the dynamics of growth of gold reserves of Russia and to compare this data with foreign exchange earnings of the RF coming from the sale of oil and gas over the same period.

Moreover, in the third quarter the purchases by Russia of physical gold are at an all-time high, record levels. In the third quarter of this year, Russia had purchased an incredible amount of gold in the amount of 55 tons. It’s more than all the central banks of all countries of the world combined(according to official data)!

In total, the central banks of all countries of the world have purchased 93 tons of the precious metal in the third quarter of 2014. It was the 15th consecutive quarter of net purchases of gold by Central banks. Of the 93 tonnes of gold purchases by central banks around the world during this period, the staggering volume of purchases – of 55 tons – belongs to Russia.

Not so long ago, British scientists have successfully come to the same conclusion, as was published in the Conclusion of the U.S. Geological survey a few years ago. Namely: Europe will not be able to survive without energy supply from Russia. Translated from English to any other language in the world it means: “The world will not be able to survive if oil and gas from Russia is subtracted from the global balance of energy supply”.

Thus, the Western world, built on the hegemony of the petrodollar, is in a catastrophic situation. In which it cannot survive without oil and gas supplies from Russia. And Russia is now ready to sell its oil and gas to the West only in exchange for physical gold! The twist of Putin’s game is that the mechanism for the sale of Russian energy to the West only for gold now works regardless of whether the West agrees to pay for Russian oil and gas with its artificially cheap gold, or not.

Because Russia, having a regular flow of dollars from the sale of oil and gas, in any case, will be able to convert them to gold with current gold prices, depressed by all means by the West. That is, at the price of gold, which had been artificially and meticulously lowered by the Fed and ESF many times, against artificially inflated purchasing power of the dollar through market manipulation.

Interesting fact: the suppression of gold prices by the special department of US Government – ESF (Exchange Stabilization Fund) – with the aim of stabilizing the dollar has been made into a law in the United States.

In the financial world it is accepted as a given that gold is an antidollar.

• In 1971, US President Richard Nixon closed the ‘gold window’, ending the free exchange of dollars for gold, guaranteed by the US in 1944 at Bretton Woods.
• In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reopened the ‘gold window’, without asking Washington’s permission.

Right now the West spends much of its efforts and resources to suppress the prices of gold and oil. Thereby, on the one hand to distort the existing economic reality in favor of the US dollar and on the other hand, to destroy the Russian economy, refusing to play the role of obedient vassal of the West.

Today assets such as gold and oil look proportionally weakened and excessively undervalued against the US dollar. It is a consequence of the enormous economic effort on the part of the West.

And now Putin sells Russian energy resources in exchange for these US dollars, artificially propped by the efforts of the West. With which he immediately buys gold, artificially devalued against the U.S. dollar by the efforts of the West itself!

There is another interesting element in Putin’s game. It’s Russian uranium. Every sixth light bulb in the USA depends on its supply. Which Russia sells to the US too, for dollars.

Thus, in exchange for Russian oil, gas and uranium, the West pays Russia with dollars, purchasing power of which is artificially inflated against oil and gold by the efforts of the West. But Putin uses these dollars only to withdraw physical gold from the West in exchange, for the price denominated in US dollars, artificially lowered by the same West.

This truly brilliant economic combination by Putin puts the West led by the United States in a position of a snake, aggressively and diligently devouring its own tail.

The idea of this economic golden trap for the West, probably originated not from Putin himself. Most likely it was the idea of Putin’s Advisor for Economic Affairs – doctor Sergey Glazyev. Otherwise why seemingly not involved in business bureaucrat Glazyev, along with many Russian businessmen, was personally included by Washington on the sanction list?  The idea of an economist, doctor Glazyev was brilliantly executed by Putin, with full endorsement from his Chinese colleague – XI Jinping.

Especially interesting in this context looks the November statement of the first Deputy Chairman of Central Bank of Russia Ksenia Yudaeva, which stressed that the CBR can use the gold from its reserves to pay for imports, if need be. It is obvious that in terms of sanctions by the Western world, this statement is addressed to the BRICS countries, and first of all China. For China, Russia’s willingness to pay for goods with Western gold is very convenient. And here’s why:

China recently announced that it will cease to increase its gold and currency reserves denominated in US dollars. Considering the growing trade deficit between the US and China (the current difference is five times in favor of China), then this statement translated from the financial language reads: “China stops selling their goods for dollars”. The world’s media chose not to notice this grandest in the recent monetary history event . The issue is not that China literally refuses to sell its goods for US dollars. China, of course, will continue to accept US dollars as an intermediate means of payment for its goods. But, having taken dollars, China will immediately get rid of them and replace with something else in the structure of its gold and currency reserves. Otherwise the statement made by the monetary authorities of China loses its meaning: “We are stopping the increase of our gold and currency reserves, denominated in US dollars.” That is, China will no longer buy United States Treasury bonds for dollarsearned from trade with any countries, as they did this before.

Thus, China will replace all the dollars that it will receive for its goods not only from the US but from all over the world with something else not to increase their gold currency reserves, denominated in US dollars. And here is an interesting question: what will China replace all the trade dollars with? What currency or an asset? Analysis of the current monetary policy of China shows that most likely the dollars coming from trade, or a substantial chunk of them, China will quietly replace and de facto is already replacing with Gold.

In this aspect, the solitaire of Russian-Chinese relations is extremely successful for Moscow and Beijing. Russia buys goods from China directly for gold at its current price. While China buys Russian energy resources for gold at its current price. At this Russian-Chinese festival of life there is a place for everything: Chinese goods, Russian energy resources, and gold – as a means of mutual payment. Only US dollar has no place at this festival of life. And this is not surprising. Because the US dollar is not a Chinese product, nor a Russian energy resource. It is only an intermediate financial instrument of settlement – and an unnecessary intermediary. And it is customary to exclude unnecessary intermediaries from the interaction of two independent business partners.

It should be noted separately that the global market for physical gold is extremely small relative to the world market for physical oil supplies. And especially the world market for physical gold is microscopic compared to the entirety of world markets for physical delivery of oil, gas, uranium and goods.

Emphasis on the phrase “physical gold” is made because in exchange for its physical, not ‘paper’ energy resources, Russia is now withdrawing gold from the West, but only in its physical, not paper form. So does China, by acquiring from the West the artificially devalued physical gold as a payment for physical delivery of real products to the West.

The West’s hopes that Russia and China will accept as payment for their energy resources and goods “shitcoin” or so-called “paper gold” of various kinds also did not materialize. Russia and China are only interested in gold and only physical metal as a final means of payment.

For reference: the turnover of the market of paper gold, only of gold futures, is estimated at $360 billion per month. But physical delivery of gold is only for $280 million a month. Which makes the ratio of trade of paper gold versus physical gold: 1000 to 1.

Using the mechanism of active withdrawal from the market of one artificially lowered by the West financial asset (gold) in exchange for another artificially inflated by the West financial asset (USD), Putin has thereby started the countdown to the end of the world hegemony of petrodollar. Thus, Putin has put the West in a deadlock of the absence of any positive economic prospects.

The West can spend as much of its efforts and resources to artificially increase the purchasing power of the dollar, lower oil prices and artificially lower the purchasing power of gold. The problem of the West is that the stocks of physical gold in possession of the West are not unlimited. Therefore, the more the West devalues oil and gold against the US dollar, the faster it loses devaluing Gold from its not infinite reserves.

In this brilliantly played by Putin economic combination the physical gold is rapidly flowing to Russia, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan and India, the BRICS countries, from the reserves of the West. At the current rate of reduction of reserves of physical gold, the West simply does not have the time to do anything against Putin’s Russia until the collapse of the entire Western petrodollar world. In chess the situation in which Putin has put the West, led by the US, is called “time trouble”.

The Western world has never faced such economic events and phenomena that are happening right now. USSR rapidly sold gold during the fall of oil prices. Russia rapidly buys gold during the fall in oil prices. Thus, Russia poses a real threat to the American model of petrodollar world domination.

The main principle of world petrodollar model is allowing Western countries led by the United States to live at the expense of the labor and resources of other countries and peoples based on the role of the US currency, dominant in the global monetary system (GMS) . The role of the US dollar in the GMS is that it is the ultimate means of payment. This means that the national currency of the United States in the structure of the GMS is the ultimate asset accumulator, to exchange which to any other asset does not make sense.

What the BRICS countries, led by Russia and China, are doing now is actually changing the role and status of the US dollar in the global monetary system. From the ultimate means of payment and asset accumulation, the national currency of the USA, by the joint actions of Moscow and Beijing is turned into only an intermediate means of payment. Intended only to exchange this interim payment for another and the ulimate financial asset – gold. Thus, the US dollar actually loses its role as the ultimate means of payment and asset accumulation, yielding both of those roles to another recognized, denationalized and depoliticized monetary asset – gold.

Traditionally, the West has used two methods to eliminate the threat to the hegemony of petrodollar model in the world and the consequent excessive privileges for the West.

One of these methods – colored revolutions. The second method, which is usually applied by the West, if the first fails – military aggression and bombing.

But in Russia’s case both of these methods are either impossible or unacceptable for the West.

Because, firstly, the population of Russia, unlike people in many other countries, does not wish to exchange their freedom and the future of their children for Western kielbasa. This is evident from the record ratings of Putin, regularly published by the leading Western rating agencies. Personal friendship of Washington protégé Navalny with Senator McCain played for him and Washington a very negative role. Having learned this fact from the media, 98% of the Russian population now perceive Navalny only as a vassal of Washington and a traitor of Russia’s national interests. Therefore Western professionals, who have not yet lost their mind, cannot dream about any color revolution in Russia.

As for the second traditional Western way of direct military aggression, Russia is certainly not Yugoslavia, not Iraq or Libya. In any non-nuclear military operation against Russia, on the territory of Russia, the West led by the US is doomed to defeat. And the generals in the Pentagon exercising real leadership of NATO forces are aware of this. Similarly hopeless is a nuclear war against Russia, including the concept of so-called “preventive disarming nuclear strike”. NATO is simply not technically able to strike a blow that would completely disarm the nuclear potential of Russia in all its many manifestations. A massive nuclear retaliatory strike on the enemy or a pool of enemies would be inevitable. And its total capacity will be enough for survivors to envy the dead. That is, an exchange of nuclear strikes with a country like Russia is not a solution to the looming problem of the collapse of a petrodollar world. It is in the best case, a final chord and the last point in the history of its existence. In the worst case – a nuclear winter and the demise of all life on the planet, except for the bacteria mutated from radiation.

The Western economic establishment can see and understand the essence of the situation. Leading Western economists are certainly aware of the severity of the predicament and hopelessness of the situation the Western world finds itself in, in Putin’s economic gold trap. After all, since the Bretton Woods agreements, we all know the Golden rule: “Who has more gold sets the rules.” But everyone in the West is silent about it. Silent because no one knows now how to get out of this situation.

If you explain to the Western public all the details of the looming economic disaster, the public will ask the supporters of a petrodollar world the most terrible questions, which will sound like this:

– How long will the West be able to buy oil and gas from Russia in exchange for physical gold?

And what will happen to the US petrodollar after the West runs out of physical gold to pay for Russian oil, gas and uranium, as well as to pay for Chinese goods?

No one in the west today can answer these seemingly simple questions.

And this is called “Checkmate”, ladies and gentlemen. The game is over.

SYRPER EXCLUSIVE: WHAT LAVROV IS TELLING MU’ALLEM; WHAT MU’ALLEM IS TELLING PUTIN AND LAVROV

By Ziad Fadel

The Foreign Minister and Minister for Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic, Mr. Waleed Al-Mu’allim, is in Sochi to meet with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Russian F.M., Sergei Lavrov.  The meeting is face-to-face which required the Syrian top diplomat to fly to Russia.  You can assume that the reasons for the trip have to do with secrecy, confidential exchanges of information and the need to prevent Western eavesdropping.  This meeting could be the most important of the entire war in Syria.

Pay no attention to press conferences or summaries offered up by both sides to the talks at the end.  This meeting is not about publicity or orotund denunciations of terrorism.  Both countries have staked out clear positions on ISIS, American meddling and the incessant violations of international law by the West, its troglodyte Arabian allies, and the Zionist Apartheid State.

Russia remains mildly interested in a negotiated end to the fighting in Syria which will see Dr. Assad continue his stewardship for at least another 7 years but which might involve a reconfiguration of the Syrian governmental structure so as to accommodate new elements from the expatriate opposition.  The Russians have to know with whom Damascus would negotiate and whom Damascus fiercely rejects.  Neither the Syrians nor the Russians will brook any surprises.

The Syrian FM is there to give them a list of groups and personalities Damascus finds acceptable in order to have a realistic political framework in which to negotiate.  My readers already appear to sense that Ahmad Mu’aadh Al-Khateeb (Al-Hasani), a former head of NACOSROF, will be on the short list especially in light of recent pronouncements he has made in support of the Assad Administration and its fight against terrorism.

Al-Khateeb is important because of his religious affiliations; he hails from a wealthy clerical Damascene class whose Sunni credentials are impeccable and deeply rooted in the life of the capital.

There is also a hope that Dr. Haytham Al-Mannaa’ will see his way to resolving his irrational differences with the Assad government and, at the very least, endorse the talks.

His track record in condemning the use of violence and in criticizing the Saudis/Qataris has been quite laudable.  His prestige rooted in pacifistic principles will gain him much gravity if the talks are ever held with him contributing.  That he is a successful physician practicing in France is another plus since his personal financial situation has obviated the necessity of falling into the gilded cage of crude Wahhabist briberies.

Michel Kilo is another Syrian dissident who will be on the list.  Kilo is a Kolakovskian-style communist who has written editorials mostly critical of the Ba’ath Party while playing a never-ending cat-and-mouse game with our security services.

In general, he is a non-violent advocate for change and has played a critical role in keeping the expatriate opposition a good whiff away from the reeking stench of the Muslim Brotherhood.  He represents a secular and progressive Weltanschauung acceptable to the Ba’ath.  More than that, I cannot say, since I am not at liberty to do so.  One particularly awful affiliation of his which would militate against his inclusion is the fact that SyrPer Liar of the Year Nominee and British catamite, Raami ‘Abdul-Rahmaan of SOHR, counts himself a Kilo-watt, ahem, an admirer of Kilo.

Another might be Nizaar Nayyoof, an Alawite critic of his coreligionists’ political role in Syria, who would also be acceptable if his health allowed him to participate in intense and serious negotiations.

Suhayr Al-Ataasi, of a landed Syrian-Turkish family from Homs, might also be an acceptable addition if you can get her away from an hairdresser for more than an hour.

Personalities like George Sabra, an avowed communist atheist, whom the Arabian apes thought would assuage the anxieties of minorities is absolutely unacceptable. 

George Sabra (a/k/a Captain Kangaroo) stares at another pipe-dream in which he has no role. This criminal actually fought to have Nusra treated as a non-terroristic liberation movement. 

His tirades against the government, his mercenary style, his praise of terroristic atrocities in Syria make him persona non grata.  He will have to sit this one out in some squalid hotel in a hardscrabble quarter of Istanbul.

Others who are unacceptable are the MB favorite, Ghassan Hitto; the bloated hog francophile, Burhaan “Le Pipe” Ghalyoon;  Kamaal Labwaani (who promised the Zionists recognition and the whole Golan if they would help to unseat Dr. Assad); ‘Abdul-Baasit Seedaa (his sleep-inducing style of oratory is absolutely unacceptable);  Haytham Al-Maalih who will face a death sentence if he ever sets foot in Syria.

Al-Maalih actually described how he would torture the Assads if they ever fell into his old, ugly, wrinkled paws. 

Another reject is Ahmad Jarbaa, the former and present pimp, embezzler and extortionist who sleeps in Saudi beds with Eastern European boys.

Mr. Mu’allim is also in Russia to find out how things are playing out in the Ukraine and how that might impact on Russia’s posture on Syria.  SyrPer has the opinion of an astute political analyst in Moscow who has asked that his name not be used in this article.  While I shy away from such treatments of sources, I also have to acknowledge that both my sources in Syria, Wael and Monzer, are also using false monikers.  So, let’s call my Muscovite source, Anatoly.

Anatoly says that Putin is going to make it clear to Mr. Mu’allim that Russia not only stands behind Dr. Assad’s government, but will view Syria, for the foreseeable future, as a state with a “mutual defense pact” binding it to Moscow.  Anatoly also thinks that Russia does not share the Syrian state’s acquiescent, “wishy-washy” view of U.S. air attacks on ISIS.  Russia does not believe the attacks are effective and, moreover, sees them as contributing to a western-inspired depiction of the government in Damascus as illegitimate.  (Readers might note that some Syrian publications have hinted at a renewal of U.S.-Syrian diplomatic ties in the near future).

Moscow has tried in vain to coerce Washington into coordinating air strikes over Syria with Damascus.  Failing that, Russia employed a slick ruse that would take the matter up at the U.N.S.C. where American violations of Syrian air space could be used to further embarrass the Obama regime internationally.  With the Syrians balking at the idea – their view being that any strikes against ISIS can’t be all bad – the Russians feel they have no standing to raise the rebuke.  That Dr. Al-Ja’afari has not railed against American trespasses is proof of the Russian position.

Russia wants the U.S. out of Syria unless joint action authorized by the U.N., in consultation with Damascus, is taken.  Any resolution for such action has to be very language-precise to avoid the catastrophe of the Libyan Affair.  SyrPer believes that a new diplomatic strategy is part of the agenda in Sochi.  This is because the Russians have read correctly that a new Republican-dominated Congress in Washington will pressure the American president into greater adventurism in the Near and Middle East.  With a valid Chapter 7 resolution on the table (which the West will veto) Russia will be prepared to participate militarily, a fact that will kibosh France’s ludicrous dream of a no-fly or buffer zone.  Actually, the Russians are analyzing this very brilliantly.  We only hope Damascus catches on.

SyrPer has learned that Russian companies are being given the priority in both exploration and drilling for natural gas off the coast of Syria in territorial waters.  These agreements, which will be of immense importance to Moscow in the way it maneuvers economically around the limp-wristed sanctions promoted by Germany and France,  lie at the heart of the profitable line of credit Moscow has extended to Damascus.  Mr. Mu’allim has been reminded that the line of credit and the good will have yet to be exhausted.

With the Syrian Army verging on the liberation of all Aleppo City – an eventuality calculated to diminish Western machinations in the area – an eventuality seen as unacceptable by the Saudi vermin and the Turk sociopaths – Russia is consulting with Mr. Mua’llim about a renewed Western push to establish an Islamist rump state abutting Turkey which the West hopes to use as a bargaining chip against Dr. Assad – the same bargaining chip they are trying to create in Der’ah with much difficulty and failure.  This rump state would figure favorably in France’s calculations for a security zone.

In order to deal with terrorist redeployments at the Turk border, with most frontier entryways in the hands of the terrorist allies of the U.S., Moscow is warning Damascus to expect an intensified American campaign targeting the Syrian Army as soon as Chuck Hagel is replaced by a more aggressive Defense Secretary more acceptable to the maniacal and blood-thirsty Republican war criminals in Congress. 

The Russians will tell Mr. Mua’llim that Russia will not object if the SAA deploys and uses its S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system especially when the U.S. and Britain or France target the SAA in an effort to relieve pressure on their Jihadist/Takfeeri allies like Nusra or Harakat Hazm in both Aleppo and Idlib.

Syria knows it must listen carefully to what Putin says.  With the Saudis and Qataris enjoying a new rapprochement after a failed Saudi-inspired coup e’etat in Doha and Saud Al-Faysal’s unproductive visit to Moscow, Mr. Putin is expecting a ramping up of pressure with greater investments by both culturally stagnant Arabian states in newly formed terrorist groups to be stationed in Turkey and Jordan.  Putin has told Mr. Mua’llem that he can count on Russia to continue building up the Syrian army, providing diplomatic support with an air umbrella (if necessary) to block any NATO assault on Syria.  Mr. Mua’llem could not expect any rosier confab.

The future of negotiations with the opposition appears to be distant and improbable.  While Russia wants to pursue a resolution consistent with the U.N. Charter, Syria has told Mr. Lavrov that sources inside the opposition are indicating nobody has any stomach for more failed conferences and that many in the opposition are looking for a way back to Damascus.  This means that Saudi Arabia has read the situation similarly based on its own stooges inside the enemy camp and that Riyadh sees no solution outside the scope of the battlefield.

This gets us now to the core of this essay.  Russia and Syria, with Iran, of course, are going to embark on a more combative approach to the war in Syria.  Expect more aggressive Russian moves at the U.N. in light of France’s volte-face on the contract for the Mistral helicopter carrier.  Russia is aware of how unpopular Hollande is in France.  All the French people need now is a crisis in the delivery of natural gas during winter time.  Remember, alcohol reduces body temperature.  The Russians, no novices when it comes to slurping vodka, know this very well.

Expect, also, action in the Arabian Peninsula.  I believe Iran will be pulling out all the stops, especially, if the Saudis make the mistake of executing Al-Shaykh Nimr Al-Nimr, the Shi’i cleric who was tried in a Saudi security court and found guilty of fomenting anti-monarchical violence.  Once Iran has made the decision in consultation with Russia and Syria (and Iraq), Saudi Arabia will get a taste of an insurgency which will spread from Bahrain to the Dhahraan oil fields all the way to Qatar.  Arabian monkeys will get a taste of what anti-Wahhabists do with serrated bread knives.

You are watching the collapse of the Arabian oil and gas empire.  We believe that Mr. Putin has told Mr. Mu’allem that a new multi-polar world order has no place for pre-Iron Age apes like the Saudis and the Qataris.  We think Mr. Putin is going to start kicking them to the curb.  ZAF

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

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Palestine in Syria – International Conference on the fight against terrorism and religious extremism

Conference on Palestinian communities in Europe wraps up activities, affirms support to Syria

Damascus, SANA-Conference on the Palestinian communities in Europe wrapped up its deliberations on Sunday with an assertion to support Syria, as people and government, against terrorism

At a final statement, the conference affirmed an unlimited support to Syria and rejected any foreign intervention in its domestic affairs or any attempt to affect its territorial integrity.

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Franklin Lamb

واشنطن تُعدّ «قاعدة» جديدة لسوريا

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

On the 75th anniversary of usurping Liwa Iskenderun, black history of Turkey returns itself

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Admin

29/11/2014

Damascus, SANA

The 75th anniversary of usurping Liwa Iskenderun from its homeland Syria by Turkey comes today to remind the Syrians of the black history of Turkey which annexes the region arbitrary.

Turkey captured the Liwa as a bribe according to a tripartite agreement with the French-British occupation during the World war II.

France and Britain agreed to give that strategic land as a bribe to Turkey in return for the latter to support the Allies in the World War II, an issue which Turkey tries to do nowadays through backing the armed terrorist organizations.

The Liwa is located on the north-west part of Syria and overlooks the Mediterranean with 4800 KM area.

More than one million people live in the region where the average of the Turks didn’t exceed 20% of the residents in 1920.

The Arabs liberated the Liwa in 20 Hijra from the Byzantine occupation and restored it to the Arab identity.

The Liwa came under the French occupation after the Sykes-Picot treaty signed secretly between France and Britain in 1916.

In 1936, mass 40- days protests erupted all over Syria against France demanding independence when the latter yielded and signed an agreement on September 9th with Syria recognizing its freedom, independence including the Liwa.

On September 1, 1939 Turkey exploited the outbreak of the World War II and the Coalition’s need to join Turkey to them or keeping it neutral, particularly after the treaty of Montero 1939, it dominated the straits in the time of war, announcing the annexation of the Liwa.

Internationally, the Liwa is still an independent region which follows Syria in its external affairs and linked to it in the currency, Customs and mail, the League of Nations which gave birth to the UN didn’t recognize all the procedures and changes made by France and Turkey to the Liwa.

The names of cities, mountains and plains in the Liwa still bear the spirit of the region and its history, they speak through the identity of the land, as Antakya, Iskenderun and al-Swiediya are names which reflect the Arabism of the cities.

Iskenderun and Antakya are considered as main cities of the Liwa.

The Liwa is still everlasting in the memory and hearts of the Syrians as an occupied Arab land which will return to its motherland, Syria.
Mazen Eyon

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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

UN General Assembly: Israel’s actions in Jerusalem are null and void

Source

Thursday, 27 November 2014 18:18

The United Nations General Assembly adopted six resolutions regarding Israeli occupied territories through a recorded vote last night, addressing the areas of Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan.

In terms of Jerusalem, the Assembly voted on a resolution confirming that all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel to change the legal status of the Holy City of Jerusalem are null and void.

The decision was supported by a recorded vote of 144 countries in favour, six countries opposed, namely Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and United States, while ten countries abstained from the vote (Australia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Togo and Tonga and Vanuatu).

The Assembly also adopted a resolution that stressed the need for Israel, the occupying power, to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories, and demanded the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activity and Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law.

The Assembly’s decision also outlined the need for delivering humanitarian and medical aid to the Palestinians.

Another decision was implemented regarding the Syrian Golan Heights as a result of the Assembly’s concern for Israel’s lack of compliance with Resolution 497 (issued in 1981) calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from the Golan Heights which have been illegally occupied since 1967. The decision was supported by 99 countries, rejected by six, while 57 (mostly European) countries abstained from the vote.

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النار السيبيرية والثلج الدمشقي .. هل حضرت حلب الى موسكو؟؟

بقلم نارام سرجون

…..
في الأيام الماضية حاولت أن أضع مجساتي وأجهزة التنصت والرصد على ما دار من حديث هادئ بين الثلج السوري والنار السيبيرية .. نار فلاديمير بوتين السيبيرية وثلوج الأستاذ وليد المعلم .. بين نار سيبيرية وثلج دمشق تكمن الألغاز في حديث الحروب والغاز .. الا أن حديث الثلج والنار كان خافتا جدا هذه المرة .. وهامسا جدا .. ورغم حرصي على التحقيق بقسوة ودون رحمة مع كل اللقاءات بين السياسيين الكبار واستجواب تصريحاتهم في غرف التحقيق فان كل وسائل الضغط والعصر والاكراه والترغيب والترهيب لم توصلني الى اعتراف واحد أو الى كلمة واحدة من حديث الثلج الدمشقي مع النار السيبيرية .. وهنا لايصح الهوى ولا الميل بل الاستقراء والاستنتاج الهادئ ..

المعلم رجل بارع في السياسة وهو لايصل الى عاصمة كبيرة وبيده فناجين قهوة بل قرارات كبيرة .. فعندما كان في موسكو ابان ذروة التهديد الاميريكي بضرب سورية كانت بيده صفقة السلاح الكيماوي التي أنقذت العالم من مواجهة كبيرة لاتقل عن المواجهة أثناء أزمة الصواريخ الكوبية .. وحصل المعلم منها على نفس التعهد الأميريكي الذي صدر ابان أزمة الصواريخ الكوبية بعدم غزو كوبا .. وعلاوة على ذلك حصل على سلة من السلاح النوعي الروسي الذي يتفوق على ردعية السلاح الكيماوي يتم تسليمه عند استكمال التخلي عن الكيماوي الذي لايستعمل ..

اليوم يذهب المعلم الى روسيا لأن بعضا من المعارضة صار يريد الخروج من المعارضة وعملية التميز عن جسم المعارضة تعني بالقواميس السابقة الانسلاخ والانشقاق الى جهة أخرى .. ولكن تسبق السيد وليد المعلم أيضا تصريحات أردوغان وهولاند عن حلب .. فالأتراك والفرنسيون لاينامون هذه الأيام لأن حلب تسمع صوت سنابك الخيل لاصوت سنابك الفضائيات ولاعنتريات وحوافر فناجين القهوة .. فهل يعقل أن لاتكون حلب أو الرقة حاضرة في موسكو ؟؟
كما قلت فانني لاأقدر على التنبؤ لأن التكتم كان واضحا على جزء مهم من اللقاء السوري الروسي .. ولاشك ان بعض طلائع الوشوشات والتسريبات تحدثت صراحة عن انتزاع بعض من المعارضة من أحضان الغرب وحلفائه .. ولكن انتزاع جزء من المعارضة يستدعي انتزاع ما بقي من الجغرافيا التي تقف عليها المعارضة لأن ذلك الجزء من المعارضة انتقل الى القناعة بفشل مشروع الاعتماد على الغرب في تحقيق أي تغيير في سورية بسبب انتصارات متتالية باهرة للجيش السوري على الأرض من محيط دمشق الى الوسط والشمال .. ويجب اقناع هذا الجزء من المعارضة بصوابية استنتاجهم بنهاية اللعبة الغربية العسكرية بالاستيلاء على جزء مهم من الارض .. لأن هذا سيعزز رأيهم وخطوتهم بين الباقين ايضا ويستميل آخرين ينتظرون اتجاه الميزان النهائي .. ولذلك فان تردد البعض أو تشدده يجب تليينه باظهار البأس العسكري أيضا الذي سيلين أيضا من رأس تركيا وفرنسا .. ومن هنا لايمكن ان يكون تطرق المعلم الى صفقات السلاح استعراضا مجانيا وهو المقل جدا بالحديث عن أسرار عسكرية وصفقات .. وهذا التصريخ الصادر عن المعلم لايجب فصله عن حديث فابيوس عن حماية حلب بغارات غامضة .. والذي سبقه لقاء قلق بين اردوغان وهولاند بشأن حلب والتعهد بعدم التخلي عنها .. لأن الغارات الغامضة ستسقط بصواريخ لاغموض فيها ولالبس .. واسمها اس 300 ..

الغرب يريد الاحتفاظ بحلب في هذه المرحلة على الأقل والأتراك يعتبرونها جوهرة المعارضة الاسلامية والأرض التي يقايضون عليها .. وخروج المعارضة منها يعني عمليا خروج روح التمرد من جسد المعارضة وموت الثورة ببطء .. وجسد بلا روح يجب دفنه .. والحقيقة أن حلب شكلت في اعلام الثورجية نصرا معنويا ورمزيا وزخما للمعارضة عند اقتحام أجزاء منها لأنها المدينة السورية الثانية بعد دمشق .. فحلب هي دمشق الشمال أو ظل دمشق في الشمال .. والسطو عليها سيهز دمشق كما ظن البعض منهم ..

اليوم .. الجوهرة في قاموس المعارضة مطوقة بشكل شبه كامل “بحبل من مسد” .. ويريد العالم تثبيت الخطوط ومنع انهيارها وجاء ديمستورا لتلك الغاية فقط .. وأرسل هولاند واردوغان مع ديموستورا مجموعة من الانذارات والخطوط الحمراء والتصريحات المتشددة والعبارات “الغامضة” ..

وقد استعنت ببعض الاصدقاء الروس في ابعاد فناجين القهوة عن الخرائط لكي أتمكن من النظر مليا فيها لأن اللقاء الروسي السوري يستدعي معرفة بالرأي الروسي فأهل روسيا أدرى بثلوجها وبوتينها .. ولفتني مااتفقوا عليه بأن لقاء المعلم وبوتين سبقه رفض بوتين للقاء الفيصل الذي كان يريد تهديد الروس بشكل مبطن بأنه سيضطر الى تدمير أسعار النفط في العالم والذي يتواصل لأن في ذلك ضربا لاقتصاد روسيا الذي يقود طموحاتها العظمى ..ويقود عودتها كقوة عظمى ..
واستقبال المعلم مباشرة بعد طرد الفيصل يعني أن روسيا ستعيد أسعار النفط دون مساعدة الفيصل .. ولايستبعد البعض ان تكون ضربة موجعة في حلب هي التي ستبدأ بضبط اسعار النفط وضبط بورصات السياسة الدولية معا .. لأن تجريد تركيا والسعودية والمعارضة من حلب يعني أن محور روسيا سيبدأ بأخذ المبادرة في الشمال .. وأن استعادة حلب سيأتي بمعارضين جدد الى مظلة الحوار في موسكو ويسقط ورقات المعارضة في تركيا وحلفائها .. و العارفون بالأمور يرون أن ديمستورا لن يقدر على فرض تعهد على فصائل المقاتلين المشتتين في حلب الذين لايمكن لحبال ديمستورا أن تلف أعناقهم التي تصر دمشق على أن تمسكها بشروطها أو أن ينجح ديمستورا في انتزاع تعهدات من مسلحي حلب بالعمل على تسوية خلال فترة وجيزة محددة تبدأ بفترة انتقالية يسميها ديمستورا تجميد القتال لكنها بشروط دمشق الصارمة نحو انهاء ملف حلب ..

ويراهن أحد الأصدقاء الروس أن ساعة صفر اخراج المعارضة من حلب قد تقررت في لقاء المعلم وبوتين التي يجزم أنها ستكون قبل الربيع القادم .. وكان التلويح بالسلاح الروسي الذي يصل وصواريخ س 300 تحذيرا لكل من يريد ضرب الجيش السوري حول حلب وغيرها تحت اية ذريعة رغم ان الكثيرين يقولون ان الصواريخ موجودة وقد تم تزويد السوريين بها عبر طرف ثالث ليقول الروس انهم لم يعطوها للسوريين بعد ..

ولو راجعنا الأحداث الماضية لمعرفة تغير الموقف الروسي نحو مزيد من التشدد لصالح الدولة السورية لرأينا أنه منذ بداية العدوان على سورية ظهرت آلاف النبوءات والتوقعات والأنبياء الذين قالوا ان المنطقة ستشتعل بسبب الاحتكاك غير المباشر في سورية .. ولكن الساحات الخارجية بقيت هادئة وبدا أن هناك اتفاقا بين القوى الرئيسية المتمثلة بروسيا والناتو على ألا تخرج الحرب من الحدود السورية .. ولذلك فشل أردوغان في تجاوز الحدود لأن الناتو كان يدرك أن مجرد التوغل مترا واحدا بالجيش التركي في سورية فان الحرب ستشتعل في كل المنطقة والروس لن يقفوا مكتوفي الأيدي رغم أنهم لن يتدخلوا بشكل مباشر لكنهم سيعطون سلاحا كاسرا جدا للمعادلة العسكرية الراهنة .. فتم زجر أردوغان وجره من عنقه في كل مرة كان يبشر بها بدخول الاراضي السورية لأن صبره نفذ .. وكانت كل زيارة له الى البيت الأبيض يعتقد أنها ستكون لأخذ الضوء الاخضر فيصاب بخيبة امل من قوة التحذير الاميريكي والطلب منه أن يبلع لسانه وان يحشو صبره من جديد في صدره .. لأن معطيات الغرب كانت تقول ان هناك خيار شمشون سيمتد من ايران الى لبنان وسيحترق المعبد الناتوي من السعودية الى تركيا .. على الجميع .. وبنفس الوقت يقول غربيون يتابعون الاحداث بدقة انهم على يقين أن القيادة السورية كانت مقيدة بالتزام عدم نقل الحرب الى خارج الحدود وفق رغبة روسية قوية ولذلك فقد تزعرن نتنياهو واستعرض ضربات خاطفة لاتمثل حربا على سورية لكنها كانت تحرج السوريين وتتحداهم وتنقل رسائل غربية للمتمردين أن هناك جدية وقرارا في اسقاط النظام بدليل تجرؤ اسرائيل عليه بشكل مباشر في دمشق .. ولكن التحرش الاسرائيلي لم يكن اطلاقا راغبا بالحرب كيلا يرد “خيار شمشون المقاوم” .. الروس لم يكونوا راغبين بتوسيع مجال الصراع وكان الخيار هو تثبيت الدولة السورية الصامدة وتمكينها من اللعب على الزمن والانتصار بهدوء وتدريج بدل خوض حرب اقليمية لايمكن التنبؤ كيف ستنتهي وكم ستكلف بل قد تعرض روسيا للحرج الشديد كونها تريد أن تظهر قوة عظمى ضرورية ضابطة للسلام لامحرضة للحرب ..

لكن الأميريكيين نقلوا المواجهات لأول مرة خارج سورية في أوكرانيا .. وامتص الروس الهجوم .. لكن الهجوم دخل الآن الى روسيا وايران بشكل مختلف بضرب أسعار النفط الذي يقصد به اقتصاد ايران وروسيا أولا لأن اضعاف الاقتصادين الروسي والايراني مما قد ينعكس على الموقف من الأزمة السورية ويتسبب بانكفاء بدرجة من الدرجات لاحتواء الآثار الداخلية لهذا العامل الاقتصادي ..

ولذلك اذا لم يتمكن الروس من تليين المعارضة السورية واستمالة بعضها أو بحلحلة التشنج في حلب فلن يجدوا بدا من الموافقة على حسم جبهة مواجهة مهمة في شمال سورية وتوجيه صدمة عسكرية لحلفاء الغرب .. بأية طريقة .. لأن انتصار الحليف السوري سينعكس على كل شيء فهناك قوى مناوئة ستحس بالقلق من صعود مد حلفاء الروس على حساب حلفاء الغرب وبالذات السعودية وتركيا ..اللتين سيتسبب النزق والعصبية من رسالة خسارة حلب بتوتر أسعار النفط ايضا بتوتر مناطق انتاجه .. لأن مايخشى منه أن يكون التصعيد المتوالي سببا في جنون السياسة في مرحلة مابعد حلب ..التي قد تعني كسر قواعد الاشتباك القديمة .. الذي لن يسرّ الغرب ومواليه ..

رغم ان جدول مواعيدي المزدحم في هذا الوجود لايهوى الانتظار وليس في مواعيده لقاء مع شيء الا النصر تلو النصر .. الا أنني ساتريث وأنتظر .. وسأشرب القهوة بهدوء على ايقاع الثلج وايقاع النار .. والثواني تقتل الثواني .. وعقارب الزمن تأكل عقارب الزمن .. تحرقا وتوقا

 

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Islamic Jihad slams PA-Israel security coordination as unity govt expires

 

Palestinians drive past graffiti depicting (from L to R) late founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) George Habash, late Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and late Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shaqaqi, on November 21, 2014 in Gaza City. AFP / Mohammed Abed

Published Sunday, November 30, 2014

Al Akhbar

The national consensus government declared by Hamas and Fatah this summer has finished its interim term, Hamas spokesman said Sunday, as the Islamic Jihad movement urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop security coordination with Israel.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a press conference in Gaza City that the unity government’s six-month term had expired, and that dialogue should be resumed on a national level to discuss the future of the government.

“Any decision on whether the government should be disbanded or continued or be reshuffled must be made only through national dialogue and consensus,” Abu Zuhri said, adding that Hamas “isn’t interested in incitement, but rather seeks to maintain national unity.”

The Palestinian national unity government was formed following a reconciliation deal signed by Palestinian political rivals Hamas and Fatah in April.

The deal sought to end years of bitter and sometimes bloody rivalry between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, which dominates the West Bank-based PA.

Palestinian parties agreed in September that the unity government would assume immediate authority over Gaza, however the government has so far failed to make any real changes on the ground in Gaza.

Abu Zuhri went on to criticize the PA for making what he called “politically motivated arrests.”

So far in November, 80 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank for political affiliation, he said, adding that 70 of them were still in PA custody.

“Hamas denounces the escalating violations and criminal acts by the PA security services against supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance,” he added, calling on PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to stop the detention campaign.

Similarly, the Islamic Jihad movement urged Abbas Sunday to release all political detainees and refrain from detaining any Palestinian over political affiliation.

Besides the recent wave of detentions, the movement said the security coordination between the PA and Israel has become a “real danger” to the Palestinian national unity.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Yousef al-Hasayna said in a statement that the appreciation expressed by the Israeli authorities regarding the PA’s readiness to continue coordinating with the occupation forces on the security level “is a strike to the nationalistic values of the Palestinian security services” and “is in contrast with the values and beliefs of the Palestinian people.”

“Israel is using this coordination to oppress the Palestinians and make sure no uprising will erupt in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” al-Hasayna said.

“The only one benefiting from this coordination is the Israeli occupation.”

Gaza reconstruction

Ongoing differences between Hamas and the PA have kept tensions high in Gaza.

Earlier this month, a senior United Nations official warned that another conflict will engulf Gaza unless stability in the territory is achieved rapidly.

“I do not see the national consensus government effectively governing Gaza,” Robert Turner, director of operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, said.

“If we do not have political stability, a national Palestinian government, and at least an easing of the blockade, yes there will be another war,” Turner told reporters.

For 51 days this summer, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip by air, land and sea.

More than 2,160 Gazans, mostly civilians, were killed and 11,000 injured during seven weeks of unrelenting Israeli attacks in July and August.

The assault ended with an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement that calls for reopening Gaza’s border crossings with Israel, which, if implemented, would effectively end the latter’s years-long blockade of the embattled territory.

However, the Zionist entity had repeatedly blocked the entry of building material, prompting the UN in September to broker another deal. The reconstruction of Gaza has yet to begin.

The Palestinian Authority has estimated that the rebuilding Gaza will cost $7.8 billion.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said during a visit to the Gaza Strip in October that the devastation he had seen was “beyond description” and “far worse” than that caused in the previous Israel-Gaza conflict of winter 2008-2009.

According to the UN, as many as 80,000 Palestinians homes were damaged or destroyed during the days of hostilities, a higher figure than was previously thought, and over 106,000 of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents have been displaced to UN shelters and host families.

Israel routinely bars the entry of building materials into the embattled coastal enclave on grounds that Palestinian resistance faction Hamas could use them to build underground tunnels or fortifications.

For years, the Gaza Strip has depended on construction materials smuggled into the territory through a network of tunnels linking it to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

However, a crackdown on the tunnels by the Egyptian army after it overthrew then-President Mohammed Mursi has effectively neutralized hundreds of tunnels, severely affecting Gaza’s construction sector.

Economists in Gaza have estimated that as many as 400 trucks of equipment – from concrete to building materials and machinery – is needed every day for the next six months to meet the demand, but so far only around 75 trucks have made deliveries.

“I know there is frustration at the pace of reconstruction,” Turner said, adding that efforts were underway to fully implement a mechanism negotiated by the UN’s special coordinator in the Middle East, Robert Serry, to speed up the flow of goods.

Alaa Radwan, head of the Popular Committee for Monitoring the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, made a simple calculation: “Given the pace at which construction materials are currently entering Gaza, it will be at least 20 years” before the damage caused by this summer’s war is repaired.

While Hamas and people in Gaza have lamented the slow flow of goods, Turner was optimistic that the volume could be greatly increased if political stability could be brought to bear and if Egypt and Israel fully lifted their combined blockade.

“I do not believe the crossings are a problem,” Turnor said. “All the technical problems can be addressed. The question for me is that the political choke points be addressed.”
“If the political will exists… expanding the crossing to 800 trucks a day is just a matter of paying for the expansion.”

The crisis between Hamas and Fatah has been delaying the flow of reconstruction material into war-battered Gaza because the opening of border crossings, both under Israeli and Egyptian control, is conditional on PA personnel being stationed there.

According to the UN brokered deal, all materials going into Gaza should be extremely monitored, including GPS tracking and video surveillance of their storage, to ensure nothing goes missing and ends up being used for “military purposes.”

On top of the slow pace of reconstruction and the intolerable bureaucracy, Fatah’s failure to pay employees of Gaza’s former Hamas government has further escalated tensions between the two rivals.

Moreover, the situation in Gaza was thrown into doubt early November after bombs targeted the houses of some 10 senior Fatah officials in Gaza.

Even though Hamas leaders rushed to denounce the attacks and called upon security services in Gaza to investigate into the attacks and bring those responsible for it to justice, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority security services accused Hamas of having knowledge of the blasts before they happened.

Hamas top member, Khalil al-Hayya, however, slammed the accusations as “groundless” and “baseless,” saying whoever was behind the blasts was trying to thwart reconciliation and ensure the Palestinian Authority did not re-extend its control over Gaza.

Hayya also warned against using the incident as an excuse to avoid reconciliation, calling on all sides to uphold their responsibilities towards the national good.

(Al-Akhbar, AFP, Ma’an)

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• مبعوثا أبو مازن ونتنياهو أجريا مفاوضات سرية… لم تأت ثمارها
• تعداد اليهود ما بين النهر والبحر يقلق إسرائيل
• نتنياهو يشرح فوائد قانون «الدولة القومية»: إنهاء حق عودة الفلسطينيين أولاً
• Israeli settlers torch Jerusalem school as hundreds protest ‘Jewish state’ bill
• Hamas warns of ‘explosion’ as Israel, Egypt keep Gaza borders shut
• Israel reopens Gaza crossings as UN warns of renewed violence

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

How Israel relies on Islamophobia

How Israel relies on Islamophobia

Paul Racco http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m110236&hd=&size=1&l=e

In the latest edition of “Axis of Evil” politics Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued to the United Nations on September 29th that “Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas,” and that they are following the path blazed by Iran 35 years ago.

The Prime Minister in the process exposed the mutual relationship between Zionism and its crutch: Islamophobia.

What could a national resistance party in Gaza, an international jihadist organization in the northern Levant, and the state of Iran have in common? The Prime Minister would have you believe they all adhere to the same doctrine of militant Islam that is forever at war with the rational, liberal, ever-philanthropic West. Yet, with an accusation as inaccurate as George W. arguing that Iran and Iraq had anything in common other than a border, Netanyahu could only hope that the West heard “Muslim, Muslim, Muslim,” and jumped on its Crusading bandwagon.

Let’s be clear about the effects of Islamophobia: it dehumanizes. It ensures the lives of Muslims will not be valued equally to those of non-Muslims, especially the white ones. It allows President Obama to state to the New York Times that Israel was “scratched out of rock,” rather than colonized on the ruins of ethnically cleansed Palestinian villages.

We can thank Bill Maher for showing the world how this is not only a “conservative” problem. If a self-identifying liberal, an ideological beacon of tolerance, such as Maher can proclaim, “(Islamophobia) is not a real thing when we do it” and “it’s the only religion that acts like the mafia”; we officially have a cultural epidemic in the United States.

Islamophobia has permeated far beyond TV personalities spewing liberal exceptionalism when it comes to racism. In the eloquent words of Laura Durkay, the hit TV show “Homeland” is currently pitching its fourth season using “a blonde, white Red Riding Hood lost in a forest of faceless Muslim wolves.”

Excusing racist advertising as insignificant because it’s “just a TV show” protects the party not subjected to the discrimination from accusations of racism and bigotry. It promotes a subconscious level of consent that “this is indeed the world we live in,” ensuring the casual nod of approval when the same bigotry finds it’s way onto Boston subways

 

Islamophobia homogenizes the Muslim world into a singular thinking-and-acting body with a nucleus of irrational militant Islam. Any peaceful, “liberalized” outliers remain on the cultural periphery, rather than the core. As a result, we are excused from distinguishing Hamas, ISIS, or Iran from one another because we’ve already predetermined their place in a homogenous body of Islamic-politick. Forget about context; don’t bother with history.

Israel relies on Western Islamophobic pretenses to further its foreign policy agenda in delegitimizing Palestinian grievance, leaving the occupied state’s colonization unquestioned. It dismisses responsibility for historical crimes committed against Palestinians such as ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, and apartheid because the victims of the crimes are either part of a homogenous group of radicalism or subhuman. If the Palestinians were a Euro-Christian people, we can rest assured the West wouldn’t have stood idly by as Israel dropped chemical weapons on Gaza in 2008 and bulldozed over 28,000 Palestinian homes since 1967.

Zionism needs the Western sympathizing countries to remain Islamophobic. Despite Netanyahu’s plea that “it’s not Islam. Its militant Islam,” his country continues to benefit from the proliferation of the doctrine. As long as Israel floats in its “sea of red-Arab Muslim terror” (see above), it will remain in perpetual victimhood while simultaneously being a colonial-occupying power in Palestine.

 

Protocol No. 7, Paragraph 2

2. Throughout all Europe, and by means of relations with Europe, in other continents also, we must create ferments, discords and hostility. Therein we gain a double advantage. In the first place we keep in check all countries, for they will know that we have the power whenever we like to create disorders or to restore order. All these countries are accustomed to see in us an indispensable force of coercion. In the second place, by our intrigues we shall tangle up all the threads which we have stretched into the cabinets of all States by means of the political, by economic treaties, or loan obligations

Henry Ford

““The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on. They are sixteen years old and they have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now.”

Ever wondered why there are so many defending the indefensible , Israel and Zionism out there?

ZIONIST SHILLS get PAID “easy $” for posting comments, tweeting or clicking the LIKE button!!!

Ever wonder why there are so many defenders of Israel and Zionism out there? Well here it is. BY WAY OF DECEPTION thou shall FOOL THE MASSES on youtube & social media. http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/

If the USA had any sense they would make Hagel the next President

Hagel’s Resignation is Obama’s Defeat US President Obama and US Defense Secretary Hagel agreed that the time is right for another person to head the Defense Department. Chuck Hagel believed the moment was propitious for submitting the resignation. Some doubt whether the story is true. For instance, the New York Times cited aides saying Mr. Obama made the decision to remove his Defense Secretary after weeks of rising tension over a variety of foreign policy issues, especially the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Some US politicians believe it’s a start of shake-up in the White House. Hagel is the second high ranking US official to resign recently. In September Attorney General Eric Holder stepped down. The both officials will remain in office until their successors are confirmed. Obama is not in a hurry to name the candidates. Hagel did not see himself as a «hawkish adviser» as his task was to end the wars and ease the burden on the military and he seemed to be doing his best to carry it out.  A former Senator from Nebraska, the Secretary was the only Republican in the administration. As a Vietnam War veteran he was respected by the military. Chuck Hagel took his office in February overcoming serious opposition in Senate. Some said he was too soft on Iran. He has refused to sign a letter asking to include Hezbollah on the list of the terrorist organizations. Hagel called the war in Iraq one of the five biggest blunders in U.S. history. He was critical of George W. Bush’s foreign policy, calling it «reckless».  The Secretary supported the idea of Israel and HAMAS holding talks and made public remarks about the considerable influence of the Jewish lobby on Congress. «The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security,» Hagel wrote in his 2008 book America; Our Next Chapter. He went on, «Similarly, the Palestinian people must also have the same right to live in peace in Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and with the same hope for a prosperous future». The confirmation process dragged on for four months due to filibustering, many senators and leaders of influential Jewish groups opposed the nomination. Experts warned about the possibility of conflict between Obama, as he was elected for the second term and Israeli government and predicted that a clash between the US Defense Secretary and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was inevitable. Hagel was put through the grinder to survive a brutal hearing with Senators. Obama helped him ride through the confirmation process. Back then the President reminded his listeners: «Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction. He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that’s something we only do when it’s absolutely necessary». Just recently Obama was happy about the excellent relationship that his Defense Secretary had with the military. What has changed? Obama and Chuck Hagel had met a number of times before the resignation to discuss military planning for the following two years. According to Obama, that’s when the Secretary informed him of his plans. Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said the resignation could have been better prepared. According to him, the unexpected news does not forebode well. The ongoing shake-ups signal the need to tackle new problems. Probably the foreign policy is going to get tougher. Speaker in the House of Representatives John Boehner said the selection of a replacement must be accompanied by a new look at US military policies. «This personnel change must be part of a larger re-thinking of our strategy to confront the threats we face abroad, especially the threat posed by the rise of ISIL», the Republican said in a statement. True, the Hagel’s views on Ukraine and Syria were different from the rest of the administration. He criticized the US reckless policy in Iraq and Afghanistan but resignation was not on the agenda. Now Obama decided to sacrifice his Defense Secretary so that he could please those who did not like Hagel. The resignation started to loom in spring as senators blamed Hagel for his failure to predict the Russia’s actions in Crimea.  He neither supported the idea of supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons, nor did he approve the decision to deliver Humvee armored vehicles to this country. And he was right saying the action could trigger retaliation on the part of Russia. Hagel did not support the air strikes against the Islamic State as he expressed concern over the implications (meaning the tragedy of 9/11 in New York). The Defense Secretary believed that the expenditure equal to $2, 4 – 3, 8 billion yearly for fighting the Islamic State was too much. Gradually Hagel grew disillusioned with the foreign policy of the incumbent administration. The November intermediate election was a Republicans’ big win. For the first time since 2006 the GOP gained control of both chambers. Obama said there was no shellacking, «It doesn’t make me mopey. It energizes me, because it means that this democracy’s working», he said of his party’s defeat. Whatever he says cannot hide the fact that Americans are frustrated with their President. The presidential job approval rating has plummeted to less than 50%. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said American people were up in arms. It may be an exaggeration but the November 4 vote was viewed as a referendum that Obama lost. This is an undisputed fact. Chuck Hagel has joined the ranks of those who have lost faith in Obama. His resignation is another defeat of Obama in Congress.  Today the President’s team faces serious opposition within the Democratic Party. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted President Barack Obama in the wake of a devastating Democratic defeat in the midterm elections. «It doesn´t make sense that we have to fight so hard against our own government and our own administration and our President to try to find a balance», he said. The Democrats called the election results «a personal defeat of Obama». The Hillary Clinton’s aides told her to keep away from the incumbent President. It means other officials may follow Hagel and resign soon. The number of Obama supporters in the administration may dwindle to unusually low numbers.

UN urges Obama not to try a cover up on torture

UN torture experts weigh in on disputed Senate CIA interrogation report

GENEVA — Seven top United Nations human rights experts on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama “not to yield” to demands from the Central Intelligence Agency that key material be edited out from a Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA interrogation practices.

In an open letter, the experts called on Obama to release the Senate report “in the most complete and comprehensible form possible, allowing the victims and the public to fully understand the facts.”

“Your decision on this issue will have far-reaching consequences for victims of human rights violations everywhere and for the credibility of the United States,” the letter said. Among the signers were Juan E. Mendez, an Argentinian who is the U.N.’s special rapporteur on torture, and Christof Heyns, a South African who is the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions.

The report is the culmination of a four-year investigation into the CIA’s use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques on prisoners swept up after the 9/11 attacks. The Intelligence Committee voted in April to release the report’s 400-page executive summary – the report itself numbers thousands of pages – but the CIA and the Senate committee are now locked in a dispute over CIA demands that pseudonyms that the report uses for real people be redacted. The CIA claims the pseudonyms would allow people to identify individuals mentioned in the report. Senators say the fictitious names are needed to help readers understand what happened.

The U.N. letter said agreeing to those redactions would not just hide identities but would “obscure patterns that are a crucial element of the system of violations that needs to be fully understood and redressed.”

The experts emphasized that other nations are watching Obama’s actions on the issue closely. “(I)f you yield to the CIA’s demands for continued secrecy on this issue, those resisting accountability will surely misuse this decision to bolster their own agenda in their countries,” the letter said.

On Nov. 12, Mary E. McLeod, the State Department’s acting legal adviser, told a U.N. committee investigating U.S. compliance with the 1984 Convention Against Torture, that the report would be released “with appropriate redactions.” A senior U.S. official said the expectation is the report will be released during the current lame-duck session of Congress.

U.N. anti-torture experts have for years probed U.S. treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, and at so-called black sites that the CIA operated outside the United States. The Senate report reportedly reveals details of that treatment that Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has called shocking.

Obama ordered an end to abusive interrogation techniques when he became president, but his administration has declined to pursue criminal charges against government officials who authorized or took part in the interrogations. In the letter, the U.N. praised Obama’s decision to end the CIA interrogation program.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/26/248310_un-torture-experts-weigh-in-on.html?sp=/99/104/244/106/&rh=1#storylink=cpy

 

Putin Declares Continued Support for Palestinian Statehood

Russian Leadership Declares Continued Support for Palestinian Statehood

Russian president Vladimir Putin has vowed continued support for Palestinians’ legitimate right to establish an independent, territorial and viable state as soon as possible.

“We believe that Palestine’s acquisition of national sovereignty on the common international legal base will be an important factor in ensuring comprehensive, just settlement in the Middle East,” Putin said in a letter sent to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, November 29, 2014.

According to the PNN, the letter was delivered by the Russian ambassador to the state of Palestine, Alexander Rudakov, who handed it over to Secretary-General of the Presidency, al-Tayeb Abdul Rahim, in Ramallah.

“We are ready within multilateral efforts and in close cooperation with you to continue promoting resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process,” Putin added.

He reportedly concluded by reiterating the friendly relationship between Russia and Palestine:

“I note with satisfaction the friendly and constructive Russian-Palestinian relations. I am confident that further expansion of the whole complex of mutually beneficial bilateral relations serves the fundamental interests of our peoples. I would like to confirm that the Russian side intends to continue to provide all possible assistance to the Palestinian Authority in the establishment of state institutions and addressing the pressing social and economic problems,” the Russian president declared, in wishing the Palestinian people health, new success, peace and well-being.

11/29/14 Amid State of Escalating Violence, Abbas Says Palestinians Can No Longer Live with Status Quo

Weekly report on israel’s terrorism against the State of Palestine

FULL REPORT ON http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10746:weekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-20-26-november-2014-&catid=84:weekly-2009&Itemid=183

Israeli forces continued to open fire at border areas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces killed a bird hunter in the northern Gaza Strip.

2 other civilians, including a child, were wounded in similar shooting incidents.

 

A shepherd was killed due to the explosion of a landmine of the Israeli forces’ military remnants in the northern Jordan Valley.

 

Israeli forces continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.

5 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children and a woman, were wounded in al-Nabi Saleh and Kufor Qaddoum weekly protests.

7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other peaceful protests.

 

Israeli forces conducted 39 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

8 civilians, including 2 children, were wounded during Israeli incursions; 3 of whom were wounded in Jerusalem.

60 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, 3 women and 3 photojournalists, were arrested

21of these civilians, including 4 children,the 3 women and 3 photojournalists, were arrested in occupied Jerusalem.

6 civilians, including a child, were arrested while attempting to infiltrate into Israel through the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

 

Israel continued to impose a total closure on the oPt and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank.

At least 4 Palestinian civilianswere arrested at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

 

Israeli forces continued to support settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

A tractor and a number of plastic containers were confiscated in the south of Hebron.

Israeli settlers set fire to a house balcony in Abu Falah village, northeast of Ramallah.

Summary

 

Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in theoPt continued during the reporting period (20 – 26 November2014).

 

Shooting:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed a bird hunter in northern border area in the Gaza Strip, while a shepherd was killed due to the explosion of a landmine of the Israeli forces’ military remnants in the northern Jordan Valley in the West Bank. Additionally, 22 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children and a woman, were wounded; 20 of whom were in the West Bank and 2 were in the Gaza Strip.

 

In the West Bank, on 23 November 2014, a landmine of the Israeli forces’ military remnants exploded and killed a 43-year-old shepherd in the northern Jordan valley, east of Tubas.

 

On 20 November 2014, 4Palestinian civilians were wounded when Israeli forces moved into Askar refugee camp, northeast of Nablus.

 

On the same day, a Palestinian child sustained a bullet wound to the right leg when Israeli forces moved into Deir al-Hatab village, northeast of Nablus. In addition, a 16-year-old child sustained a fracture in the leg when he fell to the ground while Israeli soldiers were chasing the protestors.

 

On 22 November 2014, Israeli forces fired a sound bomb at a 45-year-old civilian in Sho’fat neighbourhood, north of East Jerusalem. As a result, he sustained minor wounds to the leg.

 

On 25 November 2014, Israeli forces fired a gas canister at a 55-year-old civilian and his 18-year-old son while heading to a condolence house, east of the Old City in East Jerusalem. As a result, they sustained shrapnel wounds.

 

In the same context, Israeli forces used excessive force against peaceful protests organised by Palestinian civilians, international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 4 civilians, including 2 children and a woman, were wounded in al-Nabi Saleh weekly protest, northwest of Ramallah. In addition, a 17-year-old child sustained a bullet wound to the left leg in Kufor Qaddoum weekly protest, northeast of Qalqilya, while 7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children,were wounded in other protests.

 

In the Gaza Strip, in excessive use of force, on 23 November 2014, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian, east of Jabalia, while hunting birds.

 

On 21 November 2014, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of al-Shuhada cemetery, east of Jabalia, opened fire at a group of young men, who threw stones at the mentioned fence.

 

On 23 November 2014, a 17-year-old child from Rafah sustained a bullet wound to the chest (the bullet entered and exited) while being present with his friends near the Airport Street, southeast of Rafah, 1,500 meters away from the border fence.

Incursions:

 

During the reporting period,Israeli forces conducted at least 39 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.During these incursions, Israeli forces arrested at least 60Palestinians, including 7 children, 3 women and 3 photojournalists.  Twenty-one of these civilians, including 4children, the 3 women and 3 photojournalists,were arrested in Jerusalem.

 

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forcesstationed along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child, while attempting to sneak into Israel through the border fence in al-Shouka village.

 

Restrictions on movement:

 

Israel continued to impose a tight closure of the oPt, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

 

The illegal closure of the Gaza Strip, which has been steadily tightened since June 2007 has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.  The Israeli authorities impose measures to undermine the freedom of trade, including the basic needs for the Gaza Strip population and the agricultural and industrial products to be exported. For 7 consecutive years, Israel has tightened the land and naval closure to isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and other countries around the world. This resulted in grave violations of the economic, social and cultural rights and a deterioration of living conditions for 1.8 million people.  The Israeli authorities have established Karm Abu Salem (KeremShaloum) as the sole crossing for imports and exports in order to exercise its control over the Gaza Strip’s economy.  They also aim at imposing a complete ban on the Gaza Strip’s exports. During the reporting period, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian patient who obtained a permit to travel to the West Bank for medical treatment, while another civilian accompanying his father was arrested while the father was denied travel for medical treatment.

 

Israeli forces have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

 

Efforts to create a Jewish demographic majority:

 

Bulldozing activities

On 23 November 2014, Israeli special forces accompanied by Israeli municipality staff moved into al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan village. They raided a number of houses and stores. They also issued financial fines for violation of construction laws. The municipality staff also issued fines for the traders in Ain al-Louza neighborhood.

Collective Punishment            

 

On Monday, 24 November 2014, Israeli forces raided two houses belonging to Ghassan and ‘Odai Abu Jamal and took measurements from the inside and out.

Attacks by Israeli settlers        

 

On 21 November 2014, a settler ran down34-year-old female in Shufat Street when she was heading for the noon prayer in the nearby mosque. The mother of the aforementioned woman said her daughter suffered bruises in her legs after she was deliberately ran down.

 

On the same day, three setters attacked a 22-year-old civilian after they intercepted a car driven by him along with two others in al-‘Amoud gate area. He suffered bleeding under his eye and bruises in his shoulder.

 

On 23 November 2014, Israeli settlers raided a house belonging to Nima Abu Hidwan (57) in al-Maghariba gate area and attacked her in her sleep by spraying her with hot pepper causing her severe burns.

 

On 25 November 2014, an Israeli settler ran down a14-year-old child deliberately in Rumima area. The child suffered multiple fractures in his left leg. Furthermore,Israeli settlers attacked a 19-year-old civilian near the “French Hill” settlement, north of Jerusalem.

 

Settlement activities:

 

Israel has continued its settlement activities in the oPt, a direct violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

 

On 20 November 2014, Israeli forces backed by two military vehicles and a vehicle belonging to the Construction and Organization Department in the Israeli civil administration moved into Kherbat Sousia area near Hebron.  Israeli soldiers deployed in the area and confiscated a tractor and a number of Plastic barrels, which are used for collecting water for personal purposes.

 

Attacks carried out by settlers

 

On 20 November 2014, about a hundred Israeli settlers from “Adi Ad” settlement which is established on the northern lands of al-Mughir village, gathered and tried to attack the aforementioned village. Israeli forces intervened to control the settlers and evacuate them form the area.

 

On 22 November 2014, a group of settlers from “Messicot” settlement in the northern mountains of tubas attacked Hilal ‘Adel ‘Ilian Darghma (22) when he was grazing in Ain al-Hilweh area.

 

On 23 November 2014, a group of settlers sneaked into Kherbet Abu Falah village, northeast of Ramallah. They headed to a house belonging to Huda Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahim Hamayel (54) and tried to raid it. They broke the balcony’s window, spilled an incendiary substance inside and set fire to the balcony’s contents after throwing a tear gas canister and a sound bomb inside.

 

ISIS Attacking Kobani from Turkey

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1653573

Turkish soldiers stand on a hill, facing ISIS fighters’ new position, near the Syrian border town of Ain al-Arab (Kobani)

A Kurdish official and activists say extremists from the so-called Islamic State group have launched an attack on the Syrian border town of Kobani from Turkey _ a first in the ongoing siege.

Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party, says ISIS group militants in Turkey attacked the border crossing point that links the country to Kobani.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Khalil said the offensive began with an armored vehicle suicide attack on the border crossing.

There was no immediate comment from Ankara.

The ISIS group began its Kobani offensive in mid-September. The town later became the focus of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition against the militants.

More than 270 airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition and an American airdrop of weapons can’t stop the ISIS.

The Observatory said the latest fighting has killed eight Kurdish fighters and 17 terrorists.

The campaign to silence Gilad Atzmon

November 28, 2014  /  Gilad Atzmon

GA: I believe that i have never circulated the following article.  It was published originally  in March 2012.  It is very well written and genuinely presents the arguments against me and in favour of my work.   Evidently, the call for ‘my disavowal’ was never taken seriously  by anyone out of the pro Palestinian Jewish ghetto and had zero impact on my career and activity. However,  I admit, it is exiting for me to see that just two years after the call to ‘ignore my thoughts’, every thinking being involved with Palestine accepts now that Jewish culture, identity and supremacy  are t the core of any issues to do with the Jewish State and its Jewish lobby. 

End

By Paul Woodward

Speaking at a panel discussion on “Jewish identity politics” in London last October, shortly after the publication of his book, The Wandering Who?, Gilad Atzmon made this observation:

Identity drifts you far away from what you are.

This is the issue. This is one of the most important [issues raised in the book] — I wouldn’t like to call it a revelation because maybe I’m not the one who brought it up — but people who know who they are, they don’t need identity.

Identity is actually a form of identification.

This book is now endorsed very widely by a lot of people, a lot of Muslims and Muslim converts wrote about it, like the one I have in mind at the moment is Kevin Barrett who wrote, this is the most important text — he is definitely not a Jew, he is a Muslim — he said this is a very important text for me about identity politics. It teaches me how to drift away from this whole restricting discourse into a society where we can celebrate who we are without falling into a kind of methodical discourse that tells us who we should be or what we ought to be.

This merits repetition and reflection: people who know who they are, don’t need identity.

And the converse is also true: people who cling to an identity, don’t know who they are.

For some people, these philosophical observation are not of the slightest interest when articulated by Atzmon for the simple reason that he has been labelled an antisemite. Thus, for someone like Alan Dershowitz, Atzmon is beneath contempt. Instead, Dershowitz shamelessly directs his venom at anyone in a position of influence who dares to suggest that Atzmon’s ideas are worth reflecting upon.

Atzmon is unphased, but he isn’t just getting attacked by Zionists.

“Not only has my latest book, The Wandering Who?, rocked the boat, but it also has managed to unite Alan Dershowitz and Abe Foxman with Ali Abunimah and Max Blumenthal. That is pretty encouraging: it means that peace may prevail after all.” — Gilad Atzmon, March 14, 2012.

The Emergency Committee for Palestine has now spoken:

For many years now, Gilad Atzmon, a musician born in Israel and currently living in the United Kingdom, has taken on the self-appointed task of defining for the Palestinian movement the nature of our struggle, and the philosophy underpinning it. He has done so through his various blogs and Internet outlets, in speeches, and in articles. He is currently on tour in the United States promoting his most recent book, entitled, ‘The Wandering Who.’

With this letter, we call for the disavowal of Atzmon by fellow Palestinian organizers, as well as Palestine solidarity activists, and allies of the Palestinian people, and note the dangers of supporting Atzmon’s political work and writings and providing any platforms for their dissemination. We do so as Palestinian organizers and activists, working across continents, campaigns, and ideological positions.

Atzmon’s politics rest on one main overriding assertion that serves as springboard for vicious attacks on anyone who disagrees with his obsession with “Jewishness”. He claims that all Jewish politics is “tribal,” and essentially, Zionist. Zionism, to Atzmon, is not a settler-colonial project, but a trans-historical “Jewish” one, part and parcel of defining one’s self as a Jew. Therefore, he claims, one cannot self-describe as a Jew and also do work in solidarity with Palestine, because to identify as a Jew is to be a Zionist. We could not disagree more. Indeed, we believe Atzmon’s argument is itself Zionist because it agrees with the ideology of Zionism and Israel that the only way to be a Jew is to be a Zionist.

This statement — part of an open letter titled “Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon” — was preceded by a similar denunciation, “Not Quite ‘Ordinary Human Beings’ — Anti-imperialism and the anti-humanist rhetoric of Gilad Atzmon,” written by “some North American anti-imperialists,” and signed by a large number of representatives of the Palestinian solidarity movement.

They say at the end of their statement: “We wish to reiterate that we consider many of those promoting Atzmon’s work to be allies, but would ask that they reconsider their decision to do so. This is not a call for censorship, but for consistency and accountability.”

What is clear is that Atzmon offends, antagonizes and is felt as threatening by a number of anti-Zionists. The group of Palestinian activists who I facetiously labelled the Emergency Committee for Palestine are making a show of solidarity with fellow anti-Zionists. Their move might be well-intentioned, but at the same time it is by its nature, presumptuous, patronizing and authoritarian.

What should follow this disavowal? Should there be a book-burning event in order to protect the minds of those of us who might be so imprudent as to show some curiosity about Atzmon’s ideas?

Statements of disavowal and denunciation, the picketing of Atzmon’s lectures, and a campaign to persuade others not to provide Atzmon with a platform — if this is not an effort at censorship, what would be involved in actually trying to silence Atzmon?

In reality, this is clumsy neo-McCarthyism. It deserves no more respect than the pronouncements of Zionists like Dershowitz who as much as he might profess a belief in the value of free speech will do whatever he can to silence those he opposes.

A year ago, Rabbi Michael Lerner, who had heard the criticisms leveled at Atzmon, did something that few of these critics have the courage to do: he invited the-man-who-should-be-shunned into his home and engaged him in conversation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the whole discussion has been put online, but here’s a snippet that is worth watching — unless of course one wants to follow the advice of the disavowalists.

 At the conclusion of a response he has written to the current round of criticism, Atzmon says: “If my opposition is concerned with my thoughts, it will have to learn to debate. Before we can proceed, I guess, my detractors may have to actually read my book and decide exactly what they are against.”

He says this in full awareness that many of his critics prefer to rely on the judgements of others rather than engage in their own inquiry. This has led to an absurd situation: Atzmon’s lectures are being picketed by individuals who when confronted by him admit that they have not actually read his work, but instead merely rely on damning quotes, cherry-picked by anti-Atzmon activists who seem to welcome neither free speech nor free inquiry.

Free speech is not some fatuous liberty like being able to shop on EBay or dye your hair purple. The reason we have free speech is because in a society governed by the people, no one can be allowed the privilege or assume the power of becoming the guardians of thought. Those who try to limit the free exchange of ideas have a casual and dangerous disregard for the value of political freedom.

No one is being forced to consider what Atzmon has to say — but neither should anyone try and coerce others to refrain from pursuing such an interest.

There is something frankly moronic about any political culture where individuals are encouraged to swallow or reject ideas simply because of the reputation of the source. This is an insult to human intelligence and an invitation to intellectual idleness.

For those with an interest in the dangerous activity of thinking — and in defiance of those who pronounce I should not be providing such a platform — here is a panel discussion on “Jewish identity politics” in which Atzmon was joined last fall by Irving Rappaport (moderator), Glenn Bowman (social anthropologist, University of Kent), Oren Ben-Dor (Reader in the Philosophy of Law, University of Southampton — who remains silent for reasons unknown), and Karl Sabbagh (author, journalist and television producer).

The discussion, followed by questions, runs for one hour forty minutes, divided into ten parts. It’s well worth watching from beginning to end.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

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Israeli forces shoot Italian activist, 11 Palestinians in West Bank demo

Palestinians shout slogans and wave flags on a hill during a protest against the Israeli settlement and Israeli apartheid wall near Maqam Nabi Musa, 11 kilometers south of the West Bank city of Jericho on November 28, 2014. Anadolu / Issam Rimawi

Published Saturday, November 29, 2014

A pro-Palestinian Italian activist was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli gunfire during a Friday protest in the northern West Bank, medics and the activist’s organization said.

Italian ISM activist Patrick Corsi in an ambulance after being shot in the chest by Israeli

 

Palestinian security sources said Patrick Corsi, a 30-year-old member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was shot during the weekly demonstration at Kafr Qaddum, west of Nablus.

Eyewitnesses said Corsi, who had participated in last week’s protest as well, had been documenting the event with a camera.

ISM, an activist group whose members frequently attend Palestinian protests to monitor the actions of Israeli soldiers, confirmed the shooting in a statement.

“The Italian activist, known as Patrick, was wearing a yellow high visibility jacket when he was shot with .22 live ammunition,” the statement said.

The statement added that 10 Palestinian protesters were wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets at the protest, in addition to 18-year-old Sami Jumma who was struck by live fire.

“We were standing with a group of Palestinian demonstrators when Patrick was shot. The military had fired three rounds of tear gas, and then a shot rang out and Patrick stumbled back. There was between five and ten minutes from the last tear gas canister fired and the bullet that shot Patrick.”

“He was just standing there, peacefully protesting, wearing a hi-viz jacket, he wasn’t doing anything and they just decided to shoot him,” the statement quoted an ISM volunteer at the scene as saying.

“The bullet entered Patrick’s chest near a main blood vessel, but thankfully did not puncture it. If God forbid it had, the lengthened journey to the hospital because of the closed road could have cost Patrick his life,” ISM media coordinator Ally Cohen was quoted in the statement as saying.

Due to an Israeli closure of Kafr Qaddum’s main road to Nablus, the travel time to the nearest hospital is around 30 minutes instead of 10.

Khaldoun Ishtewi, media coordinator for public campaigns in Kafr Qaddum, told Ma’an news agency that the Italian national was taken to the Rafidia Public Hospital in Nablus for treatment.

Ishtewi added that several Palestinians suffered from excessive tear-gas inhalation as a result of canisters fired by Israeli soldiers during the clashes.

An Israeli military spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad told Ma’an that

“shooting live fire at the upper part of the bodies of protesters is directly targeting them and is a deliberate attempt at murder.”

“Israel does not differentiate between foreign solidarity activists, Palestinians, or even journalists,” he added.

An Israeli army spokesman described the event as a “riot” during which 100 Palestinians allegedly hurled rocks at troops and burnt tires.

After failing to disperse people and “due to increased violence,” soldiers “fired small caliber rounds toward main masked instigators,” the spokesman said.

In the West Bank at the Qalandiya crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah, Israeli border policemen “fired small caliber rounds toward two main instigators’ lower extremities” during a violent clash with some 150 Palestinians, the spokesman said.

There was no immediate report on their condition.

Protests are held every Friday in Kafr Qaddum against Israel’s closure of a main road linking the village to its nearest city, Nablus, as well as against the Israeli occupation more generally.

The West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

(AFP, Ma’an, Al-Akhbar)

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مع الحدث _ اليوم الاعلامي للتضامن مع فلسطين _ ابو عماد رامز مصطفى | المنار

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Jewish Lobby: Obama hates Israel

Rehmat

Posted on November 28, 2014 | 

On Sunday, America’s top 1,100 Israeli poodle gathered to voice their hatred of US president Barack Obama for his preference to have dialogue rather than use military force to stop Iran becoming a nuclear power in the Middle East. The event was the Zionist Organization of America’s annual dinner party.

Mortimer Klein, president of the ZOA was the first to throw a stone at Obama. He called the president by his African name – “Barack Hussein Obama” – and said “shame on you” for failing to stand strongly with Israel against its enemies (Iran, Syria, and Hamas). Next 20-minutes Klein launched a high-octane condemnation of Palestinians.

The Canadian-born US Senator Ted Cruz, who was introduced by his Jewish professor at Harvard, Alan Dershowitz (Obama supporter), issued a blistering critique of US policy toward Israel and told the Zionist crowd that Barack Obama was endangering Israel by refusing to confront Iran and block its nuclear ambitions. In June 2014, after meeting Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Cruz told  JINSA meeting that Netanyahu believes Obama is too weak to attack Iran – and Israel might have to do its dirty work alone.

“A lot of national politicians court the people in this room. So there must be some value to it,” said Mortimer Zuckerman, the real estate developer and publisher, who sat near Cruz at the head table. He added that Cruz’s command of issues of interest to pro-Israel activists was impressive.

The group also honored John Hagee, pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. Miriam Adelson, wife of billionaire casino magnate, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Fox News television host judge Jeanine Pirro, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, Garry Baur, Dr. Daniel Pipes, Jewish businessmen Ken Bialkin, David Brog, Martin Gross, Jack Halpern, Irwin Hochberg, Richard Stone, and Jewish king-maker Sheldon Adelson, who called Hagee “the greatest and most effective Christian Zionist in the world.”

Home Depot founder-chairman Bernard Marcus called Obama, ” a Chamberlain in the White House”. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain (1937-40) was a critic of Jewish power in England – but some historians claim his family had Jewish German roots.

Hagee called Obama

“one of the most anti-Semitic presidents in the history of the United States of America.”

And he mocked Obama for calling US-Israeli relations unbreakable, saying:

“He knows it’s unbreakable because he’s been trying to break it for the last five years.”

Earlier this month, Hagee told his 1.8 million “Christian sheep” that a US-Irannuclear deal would be anti-Israel and anti-Jews.

As expected, Abraham Foxman, the head of powerful Israel lobby ADL, only criticized pastor John Hagee for his calling Obama “anti-Semite” and demanded an apology. He urged Hagee to reconsider his remarks, calling them “Offensive and misplaced”.

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Salim Zahran: Lebanese negotiations with the Nusra Front and Ali Baraka of Hamas.

الحدث _ سالم زهران | الجديد 29 11 2014

الحكومة تستغني عن الوسيط القطري و«أبو طاقية» يقود الوساطة الجديدة

المخابرات اللبنانية تطالب عين الحلوة بتسليم المولوي والأسير وشاكر

قال مسؤول حركة «حماس« في لبنان علي بركة، من جهته:

ليس لدينا تأكيدات عن وجود المولوي في المخيم. لكن السؤال المهم: اذا كان شادي المولوي في صيدا او في مخيم عين الحلوة، كيف وصل الى هذه المنطقة. كيف اجتاز 120 كلم من طرابلس الى صيدا ووصل الى هذه المنطقة. هذا الامر برسم كل الجهات المعنية الحريصة على الامن والاستقرار في لبنان. وان الموقف الفلسطيني الموحد هو بعدم استخدام المخيمات من اي جهة لضرب استقرار لبنان ولن نسمح بأن يستهدف لبنان من المخيمات .

قال بركة

ان «الأمن واحد في لبنان سواء كان في المخيمات ام خارج المخيمات ولن نقبل ان تقوم اي جهة باللعب بمصير المخيمات التي هي محطات نضالية على طريق العودة الى فلسطين ولن تكون مأوى للفارين والهاربين من القضاء والعدالة او من المطلوبين للدولة اللبنانية. لن نحرّف بوصلة نضالنا وجهادنا ولن ننجرّ الى اي خلافات او اي صراعات داخلية ولن تكون المخيمات الا عامل استقرار في هذا البلد».

طالبت المخابرات اللبنانية ممثلي الفصائل الفلسطينية في عين الحلوة بتسليمها المطلوبين شادي المولوي وأحمد الأسير وفضل شاكر، بعد التأكد من تواريهم في المخيم.

وطلب مدير الاستخبارات اللبنانية في الجنوب، العميد علي شحرور من وفد “اللجنة الأمنية الفلسطينية العليا”، خلال اجتماع في ثكنة محمد زغيب في صيدا الأربعاء 26 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني “تحمّل مسؤولياتها وضبط الوضع الأمني في المخيم، بوجود هؤلاء الذين يحتمون بين أهله ويخططون لأعمال إرهابية جديدة بعد أن اعتدوا على الجيش والسيادة الوطنية”، مشددا على أن الأجهزة الأمنية لا تقبل “أقل من التعاون وتسليم المطلوبين”.

AFPشاكر والأسير

من جهتها لم تؤكد القيادات الفلسطينية في المخيم ولم تنف وجود المطلوبين فيه. إذ أكد أمين سر قيادة الساحة اللبنانية فتحي أبو العردات أن الموضوع “قيد المتابعة، وأن المخيم لن يكون لا ممرا ولا مقرا لأي فرد يسعى الى الفتنة وسيبقى في إطار السيادة والقانون وهو جزء من الأمن اللبناني”، بينما قال ممثل حركة حماس في لبنان علي بركة إنه “حتى الآن لم يثبت وجود المولوي في عين الحلوة. والمخيم الفلسطيني لن يكون إلا الى جانب وحدة لبنان وأمنه واستقراره ولن نقبل أن تستخدم مخيماتنا من أي جهة كانت للإساءة لأمن أهلنا في لبنان”.

AFPداخل مخيم عين الحلوة (صورة من الأرشيف)

في غضون ذلك يعج المخيم بمطلوبين أكثر خطورة من الأسير والمولوي، خصوصا في حي الطوارىء المعروف باحتضانه جماعات متشددة، منها بقايا “فتح الإسلام” أو “جند الشام” ومجموعات قد تكون بايعت “جبهة النصرة” أو “الدولة الإسلامية” أو حتى من قيادة التنظيمين.

ويُطرح هنا سؤال هو كيف تمكّن مطلوب خطير كالمولوي من الانتقال مع عائلته من باب التبانة في طرابلس الى مخيم عين الحلوة مرورا بكل الحواجز الأمنية والعسكرية من الشمال الى الجنوب والدخول الى المخيم بسهولة؟

هذا وما زالت تجربة مخيم البارد ماثلة في أذهان الفلسطينيين الذين يحاولون منع انتقال تجربة البارد الى مخيمات أخرى.

AFPالجيش اللبناني داخل مخيم نهر البارد المدمر (صورة من الأرشيف)

المصدر: RT + وكالات

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What did Putin say to Rouhani in a historic phone call?

I believe that the two parties, Russia and Iran, could gain profound insight into the strategic relationship that existed between the Soviets and Abdul Nasser’s Egypt. It was a strategic relationship, despite the ideological differences, and was even at times a political one between the two sides. – Nahed Hatar

Nahed Hatar

What did President Putin discuss with his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani during the phone call that was held between them shortly after agreeing to extend Iran’s nuclear talks in Vienna? Almost certainly, this was the most important event.

According to the Kremlin statement, though it did not provide sufficient details about the phone conversation, the two presidents discussed the “substantial progress” in the last round of talks in Vienna and stressed the necessity of clinching a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

“They also discussed current issues in key areas of bilateral cooperation, including the implementation of the joint projects”. However, “Al-Mayadeen” News TV quoted some “sources”, most probably Iranians, as saying that Putin assured Rouhani that Russia will not allow the nuclear negotiations to continue for a long time, and will not also allow removal of the sanctions imposed against Iran to be delayed any longer.

As stated by “Al-Mayadden”, Moscow showed readiness to strengthen strategic bilateral alliance, including coordination with China to break the sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic. Moreover, with reference to President Rouhani’s initiative to call his Russian counterpart, does this initiative in this sensitive time reflect the fact that the Iranian president has a tendency of establishing strategic ties or is it merely a diplomatic step to thank Moscow for its tireless efforts to save the Vienna negotiations? Perhaps the answer to the two aforementioned questions depicts the features of the next phase, regionally and internationally.

Russia is also at present facing Western sanctions which cost the Russians, in a few months, more than one hundred billion dollars. Definitely, they will not accept to go on with this economic and financial attrition. Moscow will thus be in front of two options: either accepting a “subordinate” role to the major Western powers politically that leads accordingly to losing the strategic achievements accomplished during President Putin’s era, or heading hastily towards building a self-reliant global economic and financial system and renouncing the Western one.

Of course, in the context of this option, Iran will most likely play a key role in building a solid trio with Russia and China in the framework of the BRICS group of fast-growing, major non-Western economies, which include also India, Brazil and South Africa. A question remains, why is Iran enjoying this advantage exclusively? This comes because it does not only act as an economic value, but also as a strategic, military and defense-based one; especially regarding its Arab allies in Syria, Lebanon-Hezbollah, and Iraq. It is noteworthy that Syria is Russia’s old ally, and the Russians consider Hezbollah as a regional power and an ally and they are seeking to restore their positions in Iraq.

Possibly, the tendency towards creating strategic alliance with Iran is already settled in Russia, for it is, in essence, an expression of a strategic need for preserving the Russian growing influence. Yet, is this the case in Iran too? It is well known that the current Iranian policy is the product of disagreement between two movements: the Revolutionary movement led by Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, and the Liberal movement, led by Rouhani. The two movements most prominently disagree on files related to the position on Syria and the Iranian aids to the Syrians.

The Revolutionary movement seeks to provide Damascus with further multi-format support, while the Liberal movement seeks the opposite. Perhaps its aim behind this is not only saving the cost of Syria’s support, so as to improve the domestic spending, but also courting the West to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue, allowing by this the lifting of sanctions on Iran and overcoming the economic and financial difficulties.

Doubtless, it has tactical relations with Moscow and it is benefiting from them to improve the conditions for reconciliation talks with the West. Yet, Russia is facing a complex problem with these two movements. The Revolutionary movement is a strategic ally with no uncertainty or hesitation in the face of the West, but it disagrees with Moscow on issues related to several files, including, for example, the position on political Islam, on the regime of the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and on the authority in Ramallah. This comes particularly since Moscow believes that the Palestinian authority is its ally and thus it supports its political line.

The dispute over these files would never remain a theoretical or collapsible one, but it would be transformed into a political dispute. However, the Rouhani liberal movement seems to be in harmony with Russia in its way of mastering the world and the era, but it is untrustworthy in terms of looking forward to reaching understanding with the West on the one hand and in terms of supporting Syria, which constitutes the jewel of the Russian crown, on the other hand. At the moment, it is a golden international opportunity for Iran to re-position itself as part of a Russian-Chinese Alliance that would fix the Iranian internal contradiction.

This re-positioning allows Iran, at the same time, to maintain its independence and to preserve its policies regarding the West, as well as to solve its economic and financial problems. Hence, are we going to witness an internal understanding within the Iranian policy that would adopt this approach, or we are going to witness a struggle that paralyzes the possibility of taking advantage of the opportunity instead?

I believe that the two parties, Russia and Iran, could gain profound insight into the strategic relationship that existed between the Soviets and Abdul Nasser’s Egypt. It was a strategic relationship, despite the ideological differences, and was even at times a political one between the two sides. The West does not intend to establish peaceful relations and to cooperate with Russia and Iran, but rather intends to weaken both of them internally. In actual fact, those who do not want to realize this are deluded, and those who do not prioritize the bilateral alliance are waiving the principal interests of the country and its future.

Source: Newspapers	29-11-2014 – 13:18 Last updated 29-11-2014 – 13:18

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