Gaza 7-19-2017

19, July 2017                                            Gaza

Determined to intensify the suffering of the Palestinians, Israel has imposed new draconian restrictions limiting electricity to barely 2 hours a day. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, lamented “I see this extraordinarily inhumane and unjust process of strangling 2 million civilians in Gaza.” 60 percent of the youth are unemployed and see no future. Raji Sourani, the award-winning human rights lawyer, recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, said “Israel is fulfilling its promise to drive us into the Middle Ages.” Gaza has suffered 3 brutal assaults leaving the city in complete shambles. Israel has refused to allow the importation of construction materials to rebuild their city. The sewage is untreated and the water undrinkable. People are unable to sleep because of the oppressive heat, food can no longer be refrigerated, many hospitals have ceased to function, dialysis patients have been turned away condemning them to a certain, painful death. Water pumps are unable to pump water beyond the second floor. Raw sewage cannot be treated and is dumped into the sea contaminating all sea life. Nightfall brings about total darkness causing a huge spike in accidents. More and more countries have expressed outrage over Israel’s inhumane treatment of its oppressed people. It’s time the US to demand Israel lift the siege of Gaza, restore full electricity supply and cease  rewarding Israel with billions of aid for its brutal apartheid policies.

War Crimes in Mosul 7-18-2017

18, July 2017                            War Crimes in Mosul

According to “Airwars” and Amnesty International’s, report "At Any Cost: The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq," war crimes may have been committed by the U.S. Coalition forces and certainly by the demonic ISIS.

The scale of civilian deaths is huge. Amnesty accuses Iraqi and coalition forces of inflicting massive harm on civilians during the battle for west Mosul. Relentless bombing using explosive and highly imprecise weapons killed and injured thousands of civilians trapped in the city.

Amnesty reported it was common for people to be full of shrapnel and not even seek medical attention. Iraqi forces were consistently using IRAMs, improvised rocket-assisted munitions. These basically functioned as flying IEDs. These were flung into neighborhoods randomly killing scores of civilians.  International law forbids such weapons being used in populated areas.

ISIS rounded up civilians in buses and trucks and forced them to move into conflict zones serving as human shields marking an historic low in warfare. 

Civilians who tried to escape were executed by snipers. The bodies of these people would be hung in public areas as a warning to others. ISIS fighters welded the front doors of other homes trapping the occupants. Booby traps were set preventing the occupants from leaving via the exits.

Mobile phones were banned by ISIS preventing trapped civilians from being rescued.

Oh, what savagery!

Torture & Killings 7-17-2017

17, July 2017                                            Torture & Killings

On his first trip abroad, Trump was feted by the Saudis who regaled him with a huge weapons contract and effectively silenced him about concerns for human rights.

Following President Trump’s visit, a Saudi criminal court upheld several death sentences handed down to protesters.

The country is set to execute 14 men including

Mujtaba who was only 17 when he sentenced to death five years ago. Another member of the group is Munir al-Adam, who is half-deaf and partially blind.

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest executions in the world. Prisoners are often brutally tortured into making false confessions and convicted in secret trials.

Confessions resulting from torture are inadmissible under international and Saudi law. As many as 40 percent of the people executed in Saudi Arabia are executed for nonviolent offenses like participating in protests. There has been a massive uptick in executions and death sentences for nonviolent protest offenses. One of the victims, Ali al-Ribh, was dragged out of school, tortured, forced to confess and then executed at a secluded spot. His family never saw him again. ISIS and Saudi Arabia share the same grotesque ideology. How quickly we forget, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 911 were from our great ally, Saudi Arabia. How much longer can we tolerate our cherished values that wear on our sleeves, to be abandoned so easily in pursuit of trade deals which often results in selling weapons of mass destruction to the head chopping merchants of death?

Israel’s hard right turn 7-12-2017

12, July 2017                         Israel’s hard right turn 

Runaway Jewish nationalism is threatening the very survival of the Jewish state.

Buckling under pressure, Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to grant more and more power to ultra-Orthodox Jews alienating Palestinians and the Jewish diaspora alike perpetuating the belief that Israeli Jews are more Jewish than the Jewish diaspora.

His recent actions have dealt a mortal blow to the 75 percent of the Reform and Conservative 10 million diaspora Jews. No longer can men and women pray together in the Western Wall of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Caving in to pressure Netanyahu endorsed a bill granting a virtual monopoly over conversions to ultra-orthodox rabbis.

Non-Israeli Jews have expressed outrage over Netanyahu’s heavy handed policy rulings. The pro-Israeli lobby, Aipac demanded a policy reversal.

Also, by refusing to end the brutal occupation, Israel is rapidly sliding into apartheid, pariah state. A thoroughly exasperated former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak warned “What are you going to do with 420,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank? How do you reverse this trend that will inevitably lead to the end of Israel as a Jewish democratic state?”

No longer is the power of the American purse having much impact on Israeli policies. Give us your unconditional support but don’t interfere in our domestic polices seems be Netanyahu’s message.

Reform and Conservative rabbis are rapidly becoming irrelevant.

Trump’s European Trip 7-9-2017

9, July 2017                          Trump’s European Trip

It is no accident that Trump chose Poland as his first destination city in Europe. The Polish government bused thousands of spectators from around the country and promised a free picnic at the defense ministry as a reward for cheering enthusiastically for Trump. It was strange that Trump promoted Christian values in his speech which he has done much to undermine. He has sold billions in weapon sales to countries like Saudi Arabia which have been used to stile descent, commit genocide in neighboring Yemen and export Islamic fundamentalism throughout the world. Oh, how Jesus must be weeping!

Not surprisingly, reporters were locked out of the Putin-Trump meeting to protect Trump from answering embarrassing questions. The warm effusive meeting will have negative consequences. Buoyed by Trump’s total unconcern for promoting democracy, the rule of law and human rights, Russia has already used its iron fist to crackdown on dissidents. Last month, more than 1,700 people were arrested for peaceful protests — the largest number of arrests in a single day in decades including Aleksei Navalny, the anti-corruption, anti- Putin activist who was attacked physically and is facing a slew of trumped-up charges. Gay men have been attacked in Chechnya. The meeting was a huge victory for Putin who got Trump to cast doubt on their 2016 election hacking. But in a “brilliant” move Trump suggested that Russia and the US share cybersecurity threats. The fox guarding the henhouse? Oh, what cruel irony! When will the sycophants and enablers break their silence?

Hijacked Presidency 7-4-2017

4, July 2017                                     Hijacked Presidency

Just as we lulled ourselves in believing that Trump had hit rock bottom, we proved to be wrong. Last Sunday he posted a video on Twitter running towards a wrestling ring and pummeling a dummy with a CNN logo in place of his head. The video had a predictable impact, a mixture of horror, hate mail and threats of violence directed at CNN and other media outlets. Another dark and sinister video was released by the NRA threatened those who oppose the president the “clenched fist of truth.”   If violence occurs under the guise of defending the juvenile antics of the president the blame will clearly lie with the twitter-in-chief, his sycophants and enablers. Imagine the public reaction if the roles were reversed and CNN were the aggressor pinning a fake Trump to the ground. There is little doubt the Secret Service would be breaking down doors with guns blazing. We have fast become inured with his tweets, just another pile of dirt on a mountain of vulgarities.  The bar has become so low we may have to dig underground to find it.

It speaks volumes that Trump still refuses to acknowledge outside interference in our elections. He has made no effort to prevent future interference. What power does Putin wield over Trump? Perhaps Christopher Steel of MI6 can answer that question.

Trump’s Tweets & Taunts 7-2-2017

2, July 2017                         Trump’s Tweets & Taunts

Trump seems determined to destroy the dignity of the high office of the presidency 140 characters at a time.

The tweets reveal the real persona of the president, a vindictive, cruel man who is incapable of tolerating criticism with no regard for societal norms. The long list of his victims should invoke utter disgust to even his most diehard supporters. Over and over again, what we see is a highly insecure, misogynist, a conspiracy theorist and a liar who has an enormous ego and a razor thin skin.  He lashes out with venomous tweets at the slightest slights. He relishes insulting women, the disabled, African Americans and Hispanics. What we saw in the Hollywood tape was the true Trump, a man boasting of his exploits with women. This was not locker room talk.

He blasted his way 2016 election demolishing his opponents with viscous insults.

The twitter history of his victims speaks for itself from Machado, Megyn Kelly, and Rosie O’Donnell.

He mocked Chris Christie taunting, “No more Oreos.”  He insulted Jeb Bush as “low energy,” ridiculed Rick Perry’s glasses and “pinned down” little Marco belittling him for sweating.  

He grossly abuses the bully pulpit threatening his opponents with false stories, challenging Comey’s sworn testimony with a bogus story of recording their private conversation. He taunted Mika Brzezinski threatening to unleash the spicy details of her divorce.

He demands loyalty surrounding with sycophants who have abandoned their dignity and constantly nourish his oversize ego.