MY THOUGHTS INDEED!
IRONIC TWIST TO TRUMP’S POLICIES
January 31, 2017 at 14:31 (Canada, Corrupt Politics, DesertPeace Exclusive, Hate crimes, Islamophobia)
The White House just cited the Quebec mosque attack to justify Trump’s policies
“It’s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive,” said White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is citing the Sunday attack on Muslims in Quebec City as an example of why his own policies are needed.
“We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It’s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation’s safety and security,” press secretary Sean Spicer said at his daily briefing on Monday.
Full Report HERE
And the twist I mention above ….
Quebec Mosque shooting suspect was a fan of Donald Trump and Marine le Pen
Alexandre Bissonnette was described by one former classmate as a ‘nerdy outcast’
The French-Canadian student charged in connection with a shooting spree that killed six people at a Quebec City mosque was a supporter Donald Trump and far-right French politician Marine Le Pen.
Described by one former classmate as a “nerdy outcast.” Alexandre Bissonnette, is the sole suspect in the shooting.
The 27-year-old was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon. Police said he acted alone.
Bissonnette’s online profiles show a wide variety of interests.
On his Facebook page, he indicated he liked Le Pen, US President Donald Trump, the separatist Parti Quebecois as well as Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party, the Israeli Defense Forces, heavy metal band Megadeth and pop star Katy Perry.
“I wrote him off as a xenophobe. I didn’t even think of him as totally racist, but he was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement,” Vincent Boissoneault, a fellow Laval University student, told The Globe and Mail newspaper. He said they frequently clashed over Bissonnette’s opinions about refugees and support for Le Pen and Trump.
The University Laval confirmed on Monday that Bissonnette was a social science student there.
CELTIC FANS URGE ROD STEWART NOT TO PLAY FOR APARTHEID
January 31, 2017 at 14:29 (Apartheid, Associate Post, Boycott Israel, Cartoons, Entertainment)
SCOTTISH SOCCER FANS URGE ROD STEWART TO CANCEL TEL AVIV GIG
NORTHERN NEIGHBOURS WITHOUT WALLS
January 30, 2017 at 12:33 (Canada)
Proud To Be A Canadian!
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Canada welcomes refugees stranded by Trump ban
Canadian PM, Immigration Minister, reassure refugees they won’t be stranded.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced Canada will offer temporary residence to refugees refused entry to the US, and said he intends to have a talk with US President Donald Trump about proper refugee policies.
Trump signed an executive order on Friday barring nationals of seven countries from entering the US.
Trudeau on Saturday tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
He also posted a picture of himself greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport in 2015.
More than 39,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since Trudeau was elected Prime Minister.
Somalian refugee and Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said, “Let me assure those who may be stranded in Canada that I will use my authority as minister to provide them with temporary residency if they need it, as we have done in the past.”
Co-founder of a Canadian tech company and speaker for Tech Without Borders Jennifer Moss said, “If you’re not interested in keeping people that are extremely talented, intelligent, brilliant minds from all around the world, and turning them away at the borders, we’re happy to take those people in our country.”
Reportedly, Trump’s ban includes immigrants who hold Canadian citizenship as well as citizenship from their native country. However, White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn told Canada’s National Security Adviser that those holding Canadian passports – including dual citizens – would not be affected by the ban.
Canada still has a way to go to eliminate hatred ….
Six dead in Canadian mosque shooting
At least six killed as gunmen open fire on Quebec City mosque during evening prayers. Two suspects arrested.
(Click on link to see updated report)
Trudeau condemns ‘terrorist’ mosque attack as toll raised to 6
ANTI-TRUMP DEMOS COME TO ISRAEL ~~ IN VIDEO AND PHOTOS
January 30, 2017 at 12:01 (Activism, Civil Liberties, Corrupt Politics, International Solidarity, Israel)
Scores of left-wing demonstrators in Israel gathered outside of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem to protest against President Donald Trump’s executive action ordering a temporarily halt to the entry of asylum seekers into the United States.
Photos by Tomer Neuberg & Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90
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CHILDREN OF PEACE ~~ A DIALOGUE
January 30, 2017 at 11:45 (Activism, Guest Post, International Solidarity, Palestine)
In the following our interview with Richard Martin, President and Founder of Children of Peace. The organisation struggles for children to be safe from criminality and terrorism in the Middle East, in particular in Palestine. Richard talked to us about the history of his organisation, about how to work for peace by challenging all kind of racism, discrimination of all monotheistic religions, by personal contact and dialogue. Dialogue is the magic word to promote peace. Richard told us: “Children of Peace is a UK based non-partisan, conflict resolution organisation, that aims to protect children and build friendship, trust and reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian children, aged 4 -17 through arts, education, healthcare and sports projects and programmes, so that a future generation and their communities might live in peace, side-by-side.”
Richard Martin of Children of Peace – peace needs contact and face-to-face dialogue
By Denise Nanni and Milena Rampoldi
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How do you identify the organizations you cooperate with?
When I founded Children of Peace in 2004, we sent a delegation from the UK to Israel and Palestine on a fact find. We discovered – to our incredulity – that there were over 50,000 NGOs in Israel & Palestine. This is a huge industry and since the early 1950s we estimate that 7 trillion dollars has reached the region from world organisations and donors.
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Yet, despite all this funding, almost nothing has changed. Only six organisations actually made contact with each other. We wanted to change the culture and focus on dialogue – on making contact, of listening to each community’s narrative, respecting each other’s heritage and those things that we all share – a yearning to protect our children, to build a better life, to be in a safe and hopeful place.
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That’s why we established the Coalition of Peace.
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Essentially all groups – CBOs or NGOs – must apply to join us as affiliates or partners. Most groups approach us or are researched by our team. The application is scrutinised by our Compliance Committee to check the group’s track record and connections to protect the children and our work from criminal or terrorist fronts. If accepted, groups go through a monitoring process for two years before applying for funding.
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Today, the Coalition of Peace is now the single, largest peace network across the Middle East with affiliates in Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Turkey and the West Bank.
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Since 2005 we have helped over 120,000 children in Israel and Palestine.
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How has civil society been responsive so far?
Right from the get-go our position has been to welcome a diverse range of religious, secular and political supporters who shared our non-partisan position. As a conflict-resolution organisation we focus on reconciliation, simply refuse to take sides or bring our own agendas into the region. We take our cue from the communities themselves. We are proud of the support we receive from Christians, Jews and Muslims both in the region and worldwide.
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Taking sides says more about you. It does not advance peace one jot.
As part of our backstory – although we are not a religious organisation nor have any connection with faith based groups – we challenge Christianophobia, Antisemitism and Islamophobia – now on the rise throughout Europe right now – often used as a cover to take sides in this conflict.
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Across the region Children of Peace enjoys the respect of communities in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank. We are the go-to organisation if contacts need to be made. We act as a conduit or peace channel for groups or communities who wish to connect across the divide but cannot do so through direct means.
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Our projects and programmes focus on alleviating poverty within disadvantaged communities, bringing children together from Israel and Palestine through the arts, sports, healthcare and education.
Every year – with Israeli affiliate Humans Without Borders – we help bring dozens of sick or disadvantaged Palestinian children and their families to the seaside in Israel from towns and villages in the West Bank. This is one of the cherished dreams of many landlocked West Bank children – just to see the sea.
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We just funded the refurbishment of the Leir Peace Pre-School in Jerusalem where Christian, Jewish and Muslim children learn and play together. Through another affiliate Rabbis for Human Rights we have provided grants to assist the resource centre for the Negev Bedouin. In Gaza, we work with various groups funding clinics, hospitals and education facilities.
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A few months ago, for example Celtic FC contacted us days before playing a match in Israel. As part of their commitment to diversity in soccer they wanted our help in linking them up with Israeli and Palestinian youth sports groups and within hours the Chairman of Celtic FC Foundation met up with three groups in Israel and Palestine in Jerusalem to gift them football kit and other resources.
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None of this would be possible without the commitment of our extraordinary team at Children of Peace from the Board of Trustees to the Regional Representatives to the volunteers.
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This trust is reflected by the support we receive from world leaders including Pope Francis, former US Vice President Biden, French President Hollande, the Palestinian Envoys to the UK and Washington and the last four British Prime Ministers including Theresa May.
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What are, according your experience, the most effective strategies in order to promote tolerance and democratic values among children?
It’s simple……contact, contact, contact. And dialogue. Meeting people face-to-face and developing a relationship with a real person from a “group” or “community” that you have been brought up to distrust or be suspicious of….changes everything.
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I recall a magic moment when some young Palestinians who were staying here in the UK as our guests were busy texting their Jewish friends in Israel, following an incident….concerned for their safety.
Once you break bread together, everything changes.
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Can you tell me more about the researches on children health issues? What were their findings and conclusions?
Richard: In 2007, Israeli-Palestinian Kassim Baddarni and myself completed a huge research study on the impact of conflict and the presence of violence on Israeli and Palestinian children. We looked at the effects of stress and tension on the physical and mental health of children – on their educational attainment, on family life, on relationships, on their own sense of well-being and adjustment. It is too complex to spell out here but the findings confirm that children from all communities are seriously and adversely affected by the dire situation.
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Israeli children have excellent healthcare but suffer from worrying levels of morbidity whilst Palestinian children have poorer healthcare – they have the highest levels of childhood diabetes, for instance – they too suffer from fear and anxiety. Too many children know of someone in their lives who has died or been injured or negatively affected by sudden and unexpected acts of violence.
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Do you cooperate with any local authority or institution? If yes, how?
Children of Peace is a UK based non-partisan, conflict resolution organisation, that aims to protect children and build friendship, trust and reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian children, aged 4 -17 through arts, education, healthcare and sports projects and programmes, so that a future generation and their communities might live in peace, side-by-side.
As an entirely independent organisation we will cooperate with local government or national governments to further our aims in helping the children, promoting tolerance and building a better place for the next generation.
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Israeli and Palestinian supporters talk about the ‘Children of Peace family’. I like that.
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Original source and more photos HERE
#NotMyPresident ~~ ON WALLS
January 29, 2017 at 15:33 (Apartheid, Associate Post, Collective Punishment, Corrupt Politics, Israel, Palestine)
Philosophically and morally, I find walls repugnant. Some who support them
say you have to be realistic and accept our divisive human nature and look
to protect "our country". But history tells us that nationalism and
protectionism lead to catastrophe.
ON WALLS
By Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Donald Trump in explaining how effective “the wall” between Mexico and the
US would be said to “ask Israel”. This is one liar asking us to ask another
liar! The facts are very clear:
-After most of the residents were ethnically cleansed, a temporary wall of
fences was built around remaining 3500 Palestinians in Al-Majdal to starve
them until they agreed to leave ‘voluntarily’ in 1951 (long after the end
of the 1948 war). The city was renamed Ashqelon
-The wall around Gaza was completed before even the first Palestinian
suicide bombings started and it was a clear failure. Hundreds of tunnels
were dug underneath and used to transport everything from people to camels
to cars.
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-The wall in the West Bank was less than 25% complete when Hamas made a
political decision to stop bombings and run for elections in 2006. Hamas
held to its end of this even though they were not allowed to govern after
being elected.
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-The International Court of Justice ruled the wall illegal since it is
built in the occupied areas (just like the Israeli colonies are illegal and
subject to 4th Geneva convention)
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-Even today in 2017, the wall is actually less than 70% complete; nearly
10,000 Palestinians cross to the Israeli side without Israeli permission to
work DAILY and so any person interested in doing violence could do it
-The wall zigzags in ways clearly intended to capture maximum agricultural
lands and natural resources instead of being more secure straighter lines
in most of its currently built course. (what Zionists call ‘maximum
geography with minimum demography’)
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-The Israeli wall was slated to cost $2.5 billion and be finished in three
years and here we are 14 years later and it cost $8 billion and is not even
finished yet! Imagine the US wall (expected to cost $15-20 billion but will
cost 3-4 times more). US taxpayers are already burdened with $20 trillion
public debt (roughly $60,000 for each of us)
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-There are Palestinians on both sides of the wall (hundreds of thousands on
the so called "Israeli side"). There are also Israelis on both sides of it.
Thus, it cannot be a security issue.
- See also
From The Sunday Times
Philosophically and morally, I find walls repugnant. Some who support them
say you have to be realistic and accept our divisive human nature and look
to protect "our country". But history tells us that nationalism and
protectionism lead to catastrophe. You cannot have it both ways: think of
your-self as morally superior while also thinking of 'countries' and
'nations' as fighting in a zero sum game. Actually the competition itself
maybe the only zero-sum when you are thinking of sates. The latest spat
created by Trump with Mexico will hurt both countries. Trump and his
Zionist handlers are also trying to prop-up India (as a balance to Islamic
countries); see appointment of the only Indian-American in Trump's cabinet
(Nikki Haley, ardent Israeli apologist). This will surely also backfire
hurting India, USA, and Islamic countries (opening more roads to Daesh and
its like minded terror groups to recruit). It is exactly like when
Zionists pushed for the US war on Iraq that damaged Iraq but also damaged
the US ($3 trillion cost and thousands of American lives) and Israel
(because removing Saddam strengthened Lebanon, Hizbollah, Syria, and Iran).
China will come out a winner because it is working to keep good relations
with everyone.
#NotMyPresident ~~ NO BAN, NO WALL! ~~ IN PHOTOS
January 29, 2017 at 09:59 (Associate Post, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Collective Punishment, Corrupt Politics, DesertPeace Exclusive, Human Rights, Photography)
Image by Latuff
Trump’s Muslim ban
NO BAN, NO WALL, NEW YORK IS FOR ALL
SAY IT LOUD, SAY IT CLEAR, REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE
DON’T GIVE IN TO RACIST FEAR, IMMIGRANTS ARE WELCOME HERE
These words were chanted frequently the evening of January 25th at a rally organized by CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) in Washington Square Park in NYC and attended by many thousands. This was a response to Trump’s executive orders that called for a wall to keep out Mexicans, closing our doors to Syrian refugees, and a suspension of visitors from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Sudan & Somilia. People spoke from many organizations, all expressing outrage. One said his family was on a ship filled with Jews escaping Hitler and they were not allowed to enter the US. The ship went from port-to-port never being allowed in anywhere. It had to return to Germany where many perished.
Several speakers were part of the NYC government. They all urged resistance and said that they would not allow anything to happen to the population here. NYC has been declared a “Sanctuary City” meaning that they will not allow families to be torn apart or children to be left without parents. City personnel will not arrest or detain residents for Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The only thing the federal government can do is retaliate by withholding federal funds from the city.
It was a beautiful clear, balmy winter night. The park was filled to capacity with a very mixed group of people. The podium was placed under the iconic arch and the voices of the speakers sometimes echoed. The speeches were both emphatic and militant. Immigrants are on the firing line in this administration. At one point everyone raised their arm and made a pledge to support their foreign born friends and neighbors. It is hoped that some went home feeling less alone, less vulnerable.
On his Facebook page Steven Goldstein, Executive Director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect wrote,
“As President Trump prepares orders to wall out Mexicans and shut out refugees from America, today marks one of the most hateful days in our nation’s history, Donald Trump is retracting the promise of freedom to an extent we have not seen from a president since Franklin Roosevelt forced Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II. Today the Statue of Liberty weeps over President Trump’s discrimination.”
Photos © by Bud Korotzer, Report by Chippy Dee
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Finally some Judicial Justice
Total madness going on here. Thousands are demonstrating at airports all over the country and people who were cleared to come into the US are being put on planes to go back to where they came from. And the vicious moron says it is working “nicely”. A judge in Brooklyn just signed an order to stop the deportations. Demo tomorrow @ Battery Park, where it should be freezing by the water, and then a march to border control offices at the new WTC. Everyone’s adrenaline is pumping non-stop.
(Click on link to see NYT Report)
Judge Blocks Trump Order on Refugees Amid Chaos and Outcry Worldwide
#NotMyPresident ~~ A NATIONAL SOCIALIST AS MESSIAH OF JEWISH OCCUPIERS
January 28, 2017 at 19:08 (Associate Post, Corrupt Politics, Israel, Palestine)
With Trump as the new US president in the White House, a Messiah for the illegal Jewish occupation politics of judaization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, a freezing and unpredictable tweeting business man with a horrifying cabinet of the worst kind is at the top of the US administration.
Trump, a National-Socialist as Messiah of Jewish Occupiers and Third-Position Populists!
by Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, English translation by Milena Rampoldi
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When I hear “America First”, a dread rises up in my soul, and I remember dark, past times. It sounds fatal and reminds me “Deutschland über alles”! Were it not the US corporate bosses and politicians who with the slogan “America First” opposed to a military intervention against Hitler and Nazi Germany? By blaming the US Jews for wanting to take USA into war? They saw an alleged danger coming from the Jews as bigger than the danger coming from Nazi Germany. Now Trump, who stands for politics in plain language, doesn’t see any problem in “America First”, and stands for this more than controversial term. This way he seamlessly integrates into the past, as it said in the book, even published in German in 2015 entitled “Great Again!” Also this title reminds me of “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler. “How I will save Amerika”. However, it seems that the book published in 2000 and entitled “The America We Deserve” matches much better with Trump. Sarcastically speaking, do we deserve Trump or Netanyahu? How can it be that such a National-Socialist was elected? And precisely by a clientele who in the end despises Trump, who surrounds himself with a group of Jewish spin doctors and billionaires. While saying that he is struggling against the lobbies he builds upon the financial Wall Street lobby, the Israel lobby, the army lobby, the oil lobby, and other like-minded people. His awkward, more than inflammatory inaugural speech reminded of his dirty election campaign. Which small group does he mean when he talked about a small group profiting from the government in Washington, at the expense of the people he just wants to give back the power to? Does he mean himself, a more than controversial real estate speculator who until today refuses to disclose his tax return? (1)
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If he wants to make the people “the rulers of the nation again”, it is not in the interest of the people to be governed by a gang of billionaires. When Trump talks about a historical movement the world has never seen before, this fatally reminds me the sayings of the German movement who governed a “Thousand years’ reign” for 12 years until the bitter end. Hitler too was democratically elected! When Trump speaks about a massacre, ending thanks to him on 20 January, the Trump massacre to be expected is even more unforeseeable and more than frightening. He wants to support the “Jewish State”, build walls, block refugees, and give travel bans to Muslims. While he considers himself in a war against the media, the war against Islam has already started. His “Jewish-Christian-Zionist-Evangelical” worldview is as small as his vocabulary. Instead of presenting a presentable program, he prefers the war against the press, against Muslims and all “enemies” who do not share his ideology. Also Hitler attracted his people with highways and jobs. Buy American, and Hire American hire, as illuminating example for ALL! Also the “Jewish State” which sees itself as the “light of the nations” and on the path to “Great Israel” follows this maxim! If Trump wants to form alliances to wipe out the “radical Islamic” terrorism, then these are sentences which neither match with an inaugural speech nor with a democratic politician. These sentences are to be understood as a declaration of war against the Muslim world. This speech was a unique demagogic battle cry of a National Socialist under the motto “America is absolutely unstoppable”! (2)
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It is totally unmasking if you go to the website of the White House. There you can finally understand Trump’s true goals. There he clearly talks about a police state, all structured according to different political sections. Read here:
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- America First Energy Plan
- America First Foreign Policy
- Bringing Back Jobs And Growth
- Making Our Military Strong Again
- Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community
- Trade Deals Working For All Americans
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It is worth to visit the new website of the White House to check the National Socialist New Trump World! A horror vision!
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If we look at Netanyahu it sounds logical: a nationalist Jewish society being at the moral deep point in its occupiers’ status needs a Führer like Netanyahu and his regime. But the US-Americans who live in a society which is unimaginable for us, and where more than 48 millions must live in mobile homes, or have no health insurance and no sufficient basic income, are of course susceptible for supposed saviours like the reckless billionaire Trump. But the US-Americans had to choose between Cinton and Trump, it means between plague and cholera. The situation which is arisen in the meantime is only a joy for the “Jewish State” which had been waiting for Trump in such a yearning way. However, also Clinton’s election would have not caused any disadvantage to the “Jewish State”. One day after Trump’s investiture, the building authorisation for 566 new apartments in the illegally annexed East-Jerusalem was announced. And it was said that this was just the beginning as there were already plans for other 11.000 Jewish settlers’ apartments waiting for authorisation.
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In the meantime, the planned annexion of the settlement block Maale Adumim in the illegally occupied Westbank, not far from Jerusalem, where approximately 40.000 Jewish settlers live, was put on ice until Netanyahu’s announced visit to his friend Trump in Washington. At the moment, approximately 430.000 illegal Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank, and more than 200.000 illegal Jewish settlers in the annexed East-Jerusalem. On Monday Trump and Netanyahu talked on the phone. Trump reassured his unlimited support to his friend Netanyahu, and invited him to the White House for February, after that Trump and Netanyahu agreed on their estimation about the dangers coming from Iran. They announced to struggle together against Iran and the nuclear deal agreed during the Obama administration. In addition, Netanyahu and Trump decided in a “warm-hearted” phone call to work for their common vision for “peace and stability”. They also demonstrated this will with the announcement of negotiations about the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, into the “undivided” capital of a “Jewish State”. A crossing of the red line, an affront against the UN, the international community, and in particular against Palestinians and Muslim states, which claim East Jerusalem with the Haram-al-Sharif as the capital of a Palestinian State. A violation against all diplomatic practices and international law. All this is in the sense of both Fuehrers, Netanyahu and Trump! (4)
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Netanyahu thanked Trump for his friendship and his challenge against “Islamic extremism”. Since the first fears come true, this struggle means a carte blanche in the struggle against Palestinian resistance fighters. It is the hour of the hardliners, who see an opportunity, like the Education Minister and leader of the settlers’ party Bennett who directly tweeted that for the first time since 50 years there was the choice between “sovereignty or Palestine”. Netanyahu already had made the proposal to annex Maale Adumim in the illegally occupied West Bank as the beginning of a new era!
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With Trump as the new US president in the White House, a Messiah for the illegal Jewish occupation politics of judaization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, a freezing and unpredictable tweeting business man with a horrifying cabinet of the worst kind is at the top of the US administration. According to Forbes, his cabinet has a worth of $4,5 billion, the future Minister of Agriculture and veterans not yet included. Also Trump with its 3,7 billion and his wealthy advisers are not included. Part of the Cabinet are the designated Minister of Commerce and hedge fonds manager Wilbur Ross, with a property of approximately $2,5 billion, the Minister of Education Betsy De Vos, with a property of approximately $5 billion, Rex Tillerson, nominated State Secretary and for years the chief of the oil group Exxon Mobil, with a property of $325 billion and particularly spicy, Steven Mnuchin, the nominated Treasure Secretary and previous hedge fonds manager at Goldman Sachs with a property of approximately $300 million ! (5)
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The left fans and supporters of this president should think about if they really want to be among more than obscure Third Position populist supporters! Nobody should say they knew nothing about it!
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Originally posted AT
ZION DIVIDED OVER TRUMP’S PLANS FOR ISRAEL
January 26, 2017 at 15:59 (Corrupt Politics, Israel, Status of Jerusalem)
Is this the same Abe Foxman we all hate?
A MUST WATCH VIDEO
Speaking two days ago at an Israeli security conference, longtime Israel supporter Abe Foxman said that the move would be a blow to peace efforts: “it’s problematic,because it may undo some of the progress we’re all been hoping for.” And the Israeli government doesn’t care about it anyway, but it won’t say so publicly.
#NotMyPresident ~~ IN TOONS // IS THIS WHAT YOU VOTED FOR?
January 26, 2017 at 09:36 (Associate Post, Cartoons, Corrupt Politics)
Images by Carlos Latuff
Will Trump drop da bomb in East Jerusalem?
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Trump’s Muslim ban
From OTHER SOURCES
Tom Toles Editorial Cartoon
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Chan Lowe Copyright 2017 Tribune Content Agency
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John Darkow Copyright 2017 Cagle Cartoons
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Steve Benson Copyright 2017 Creators Syndicate
More HERE
TIMELY TOON ~~ ISRAEL GETS GREEN LIGHT FROM TRUMP TO EXPAND SETTLEMENTS
January 25, 2017 at 13:03 (Associate Post, Cartoons, Illegal Settlements, Israel, Palestine)
Image by Carlos Latuff
Israel approves 2,500 West Bank settlement homes, signaling new approach under Trump.
Mum’s the word so far …..
(Click on link to see report)
Marking New Era, Trump Administration Avoids Condemning Israeli Settlement Expansion
#NotMyPresident ~~ FIGHTBACK CONTINUES
January 25, 2017 at 13:01 (Activism, Associate Post, Corrupt Politics, DesertPeace Exclusive, Photography)
ABOUT 500+ PEOPLE SHOWED UP IN A DRENCHING RAIN TO DEMAND NYS U.S. SENATORS VOTE DOWN TRUMP’S PROJECTED CABINET
Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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Later today ….
Action Alert:
The moment we’ve been bracing for is here. Multiple news outlets are reporting that President Trump will sign an executive order tomorrow (Wednesday), restricting entry to the US from majority Muslim countries. As a city of immigrants, we cannot stay silent in the face of such hate. We ask you to gather tomorrow(Wednesday) night, to show President Trump that all New Yorkers stand with our Muslim neighbors. Together, we will form a beacon of light against the coming darkness
WHAT: CAIR-NY Holds Rally to Oppose Executive Orders on Muslim Immigration
WHEN: Wednesday, January 25, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Washington Square Park Arch
IN PHOTOS ~~ FREEDOM DENIED TO STUDENTS AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
January 24, 2017 at 12:50 (Academic Freedom, Activism, Associate Post, DesertPeace Exclusive, International Solidarity, Photography)
Fordham flunks a free speech test
Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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Fordham flunks a free speech test
This month, Fordham University, my alma mater, denied students on campus the chance to form a student group to support Palestinian rights.
We thought we’d go through the same application process as any other student group. Instead, we were subject to a protracted 13-month review process.
We were eventually approved by the student government and started preparing for our inaugural event — only to learn that Dean of Students Keith Eldredge implemented a rarely used veto power to ban the group from campus
I was still a student when the application to form the group, Students for Justice in Palestine, was first submitted. The process included repeated meetings with administrators; questioning around Gov. Cuomo’s widely criticized executive order against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement; and numerous administrative hurdles.
All of this drained my time and energy and had a serious impact on my studies. I graduated and was never given a chance to advocate for what I believe in on my campus. Now, current and future students won’t have that chance, either.
Advocating for the basic rights of Palestinians is more than just a conviction for me, it is an integral part of my identity. My mother’s father was a Polish survivor of Nazi labor camps, and my father’s parents were born in Palestine prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948. These two histories of oppression taught me to value human dignity and to fight injustice wherever I see it.
My relatives in the West Bank have been forced to live under Israeli military rule for decades now, with no ability to control even the most basic aspects of their lives. The Israeli government controls the borders, which means that even though my grandparents — one of whom is a U.S. veteran — were born there, they are now prohibited from living in their birthplace. They can only obtain a visitor’s visa for three months a year, if they’re lucky.
When I travel to Palestine to visit my relatives, I am routinely discriminated against and threatened by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints simply because I am Palestinian.
It’s only natural that I wanted to establish Students for Justice in Palestine — an organization that exists on over 170 campuses nationwide — at Fordham.
I was devastated to discover that Fordham would prohibit SJP — and, even worse, do so not because of any bad behavior, but simply because of what it represents on paper. This decision violates the free speech and academic freedom the university guarantees under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act in addition to its own values as an institution “committed to research and education that assist in the alleviation of poverty, the promotion of justice, the protection of human rights and respect for the environment.”
This experience has underscored how difficult it is to talk about Palestinian freedom in America without facing serious suppression. In recent years, students and faculty who choose to speak critically of Israeli policies have faced increasing pushback, a problem that has been widely documented by constitutional and civil rights attorneys. In the first half of 2016 alone, there were 171 such incidents of suppression across the country.
Despite these obstacles, support for Palestinian rights has grown over the years as more Americans have become aware of the oppression facing Palestinians. Recent polls found that 60% of Democrats and 46% of all Americans support sanctions or stronger action against Israel for building settlements on Palestinian land, and that sympathy for Palestinians among millennials has tripled since 2006.
Fordham and other institutions can try to shut down this growing social justice movement, but they won’t succeed in silencing people who feel a moral imperative to create a better world.
The great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who called on the U.S. government and consumers to boycott and divest from the apartheid regime in South Africa, once said, “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.” Despite Fordham’s wishes otherwise, I won’t give up this fight. I will continue to stand up for what is right until freedom rings. I will not die.
My request of Fordham is a very modest one: Let Students for Justice in Palestine live.
Awad is a recent Fordham graduate.
#NotMyPresident ~~ THEY CAME AND THEY CAME AND THEY CAME
January 24, 2017 at 10:59 (Activism, DesertPeace Exclusive, Poetry)
They came and they came and they came!
by Mike Luckovich / Atlanta Journal Constitution
THEY CAME
© By Tom Karlson
they came from the east
they came from the west
they came from the north
thet came from the south
all sizes, all ages, all colors
in numbers incomprehensible
they came by foot
they came by rail
they came by subway
they came by plane
taxi, bus, car
pushing babies, held up by walkers, canes
wearing hats of protest
singing songs of their parents, grandparents
given with grace and love to these new protesters
they came with messages
of patriotism
of love
in peace
of resistance
to the call NO JUSTICE NO PEACE
they came with signs
solidarity with
immigrants
Muslims
LGBTQIA
native people
hands off women’s bodies
black folks-Black Lives Matter
people with disabilities
mother earth matters
they came in glorious diversity
by the 10’s the 100’s, the 1000’s
on six continents 600 towns millions strong
they came and they came and they came
by Mike Keefe / Colorado Independent
ANOTHER ‘NO-NO’ FOR VANUNU
January 23, 2017 at 16:09 (Espionage, Irony, Israel)
Nuclear spy Vanunu convicted for violating parole
Former technician at Dimona plant found guilty of meeting with two foreigners without permission; acquitted over 2015 TV interview
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Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician who revealed Israel’s nuclear secrets to a British newspaper 31 years ago, was convicted by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for meeting with two American citizens in violation of the terms of his release from prison, Hebrew media reported.
Full Report HERE
And yet, Jonathan Pollard walks free today
The immortal words of Ariel Sharon
#NotMyPresident ~~ WOMEN UNITED FOR JUSTICE (PHOTO ESSAY)
January 23, 2017 at 15:50 (Activism, Associate Post, DesertPeace Exclusive, Photography, Women)
Demos in New York and Washington D.C.
Photos © by Bud Korotzer
Lots of women are wearing pink hats they are calling “pussy hats” because Trump has referred to women as pussies – kind of an ‘in your face’ gesture.
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The statue of Eleanor Roosevelt on Riverside Drive was given a ‘pussy hat’ – a recognition that she would be marching with us if she could.
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Washington – love having Harriet Tubman in there (she is going on the $20 bill)
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More Photos © by Matt Weinstein HERE
AMERICA WELCOMES TRUMP (NOT) ~~ IN TOONS AND PHOTOS
January 22, 2017 at 11:16 (Activism, Associate Post, Cartoons, Photography, U.S. Election)
Surely NOT my President!
Images by Carlos Latuff
The Inaugural Speech
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Changing of the guard
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Fair thee well!
SOME PICTURES FROM THE FT. WORTH WOMEN’S MARCH
Photos © by Jim Rivers
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And in the Big Apple ….
On January 19th Inauguration Day Eve, 25,000 NYC citizens gathered at an anti-Trump rally near his International Hotel at Columbus Circle. The mass of people stretched for blocks along Central Park West. There were many speakers from the entertainment industry (Robert DeNiro,Michael Moore, Cher, Alec Baldwin, Sally Field, Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo,and many others). Mayor DeBlasio of NYC declared NY an Immigrants Sanctuary City. All the speeches were very militant stressing that working together there would be total resistance to Trump’s hate filled policies against so many groups in society. All present took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution. The evening ended with 25,000 people singing This Land Is Your Land.
Photos and commentary © by Bud Korotzer
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Photos of the Big March in Washington to follow soon ….
MORE FAKE MEDIA NEWS AND SOME DOWNRIGHT LIES
January 19, 2017 at 10:50 (Associate Post, Corporate Media, Corrupt Politics, Media Lies)
Again we were witnesses to a notorious staged farce last weekend in Paris with ringing declarations about the so called “Middle East Peace Conference”.
Pack of Trump-Lies!
By Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, English Translation by Milena Rampoldi
More than 72 statesmen, diplomats, and representatives of different organisations met to debate the two-state solution, a solution which has never been feasible because nobody really wanted it and because of the non-existent peace process.
Neither Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu nor Palestinian President Abbas or a Trump representative sat at the table, so in practise people debated in their own circle. Although President Hollande praised the two-state solution as the objective of the international community, in the end he was left empty-handed, and as the final communiqué was written only with considerable difficulty, it was not worth the paper it is written on. They were embarrassingly intent on not upsetting the new Trump administration thereby confirming our worst fears. (1)
And as has been the case for decades, again Israelis and Palestinians were invited to renew their engagement for a “two-state solution” and to renounce unilateral steps which would prejudice the result of direct negotiations.
“Unilateral steps” are the uninhibited Israeli settlement activity on the occupied Palestinian land with its land grab to judaizise Palestine. The whole world wants the “two-state solution” as emphasized by French Foreign Minister Ayrault, and confirmed by German Foreign Minister Steinmeier who even warned against the possible consequences which in the end would even endanger Israel’s security! However, the “international community” failed to implement its “will” because its whole interest is only concerned with the “Jewish State” and its security which serves to strengthen the occupation regime. It is no secret that the Israelis do not want peace, but all of Palestine without a Palestinian population.
The constantly repeated assertion that only the two parties concerned can find a peaceful solution is also a false conclusion. However, there have been ongoing negotiations for decades, and what did they achieve? On one hand, the “Jewish occupation state” is stronger than ever and spreading like an octopus. The economic contacts which should be extended refer to Palestinians and Israelis, but ultimately only helps the “Jewish State” which becomes more and more powerful, while the occupied Palestinians without rights become weaker and weaker. In fact, Netanyahu was right when he said that the conference was useless. He has even won because the Conference in Paris was not a platform for new UN resolutions, and this was what the Netanyahu regime was afraid of before the conference.
This final communiqué lacked bite and proposals for a solution so that the only alternative is the continuation of the wide-ranging boycott against the “Jewish State”, as long as this does not stop the illegal occupation of Palestine and does not withdraw behind the frontiers of 1967 and it does not become a state with internationally recognised frontiers and does not violate the legal right of return of the expelled Palestinians to their homeland, as recognised by international law.
Nothing of all this can and could be expected, therefore Netanyahu, awaiting for Trump, speaks of the last gasp of the conference and even puts it at one and the same level with the Islamist terrorism by comparing the statesmen having gathered there with its motivation. His conclusion is that they would destroy all hopes for peace.
Although the whole community of states gathered in Paris denounces the construction of settlements as the main conflict point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it does not renounce to the criticism towards the Palestinian “terrorist” attacks. This is so mendacious, because again people try to put the two parties at one level and so the cause is confused with the effect. The cause of the Palestinian resistance is the illegal occupation and dispossession, and the effect is the legitimate resistance against that. Of course, Netanyahu and his regime have a completely different perspective. They defame this legitimate resistance against the permanent construction of settlements on the stolen land, the decades-long occupation, the daily reprisals and the hopelessness as Palestinian “terrorism”.
Netanyahu, who feels strengthened by Trump, Kushner, and Friedman, is feverishly awaiting for the inauguration of Trump on 20 January, because he thinks that with the new president a new era will begin, which will be a calendar of the superlatives. Already an unexpected boom of settlement construction, as we can already notice, involves the “Jewish State”, looking forward to a new chapter in the “eternally undivided capital Jerusalem” after a possible relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump did not only personally invite Netanyahu to this ceremony, but he also invited twenty of the most infamous settlers’ leaders. What a sign and what a provocation! As you can imagine, all this was organised by the Trump whisperers Kushner and Friedman. In his inaugural speech, Trump will also explicitly talk about Israel. So it will be really interesting. However, we should not be afraid of “tomorrow, which will be different from today and is very near”, and of which Netanyahu spins yarns.
There have been enough negotiations, and again without any tangible results. The collective responsibility Ayrault talks about and which should promote negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians is no more than a useless sentence. Netanyahu’s refusal to come to Paris was symbolic, but why were the Palestinians denied participation at the conference? Why was the hypocritical community of states not able to recognise that there is a Palestine which must finally become a free and independent state and this is the collective responsibility towards Palestinians.
However, it is not the two-state solution which has been obsolete since a long time. Since decades, Palestine has been judaized without any restriction, and this was possible thanks to this hypocritical community of states. It has been done absolutely nothing against the Zionist ideology that requires a Jewish state: Eretz Israel. As a consequence, the occupied Palestinians have been living until now under the illegal occupation, in a region full of settlements, without any chance to get a viable, connected state on their territory.
All of this was not even mentioned. The Jewish occupiers were simply allowed to carry on as they please. What do submissive reproaches against the settlement politics help, if Israel gets more and more military aid in absurd amounts and the “Jewish State” continues its aggression wars and the Gaza genocide by always presenting them as “self-defence”, so that Western politicians from Merkel to Obama show solidarity with the Jewish State again and again. And what an eyewash when we always talk about the “moderate” Palestinians, if it is about the collaborateur Abbas, while the democratically elected Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is demonised as terrorist. Under these conditions there will never be peace. And probably this peace is also not desired. The “Jewish State” is an important ally of the so called alliance against terrorism. German ministers and politicians of the Social, Green, and Christian-Democratic Party are zealously trying to imitate Israeli methods. They talk without any restrictions about the uninhibited administrative detention for suspects and “endangerers” according to the Israel model where this method has been applied for a long time against innocent Palestinians. Did we not have this in the past? At that time it was called protective detention to protect us from these agitators! So I cannot agree with the goodwill of some left-wing people who evaluate Trump only from Putin’s point of view although even in this direction there are only contradictions. (2)
Trump and Co. will learn us to fear, from the beginning commercial war, racism, wall construction, and Israel politics, and also by his “out of the Nato”, since this does not concern the Nato itself but only wants that the defence costs we have to carry have to amount at least 2% of the GDP. And all this is in the sense of Merkel, the eulogized “leader”. (3)
Between lies and Trump the world seems to hover between shock and euphoria.
Written FOR
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MIXED FAREWELL LEGACY
January 19, 2017 at 10:39 (Civil Liberties, Corrupt Politics)
The good news …..
President Obama commutes Chelsea Manning’s sentence
The commutation was part of Obama’s Tuesday announcement of 209 commutations and 64 pardons.
Full Report HERE
BUT …. Clemency denied for Leonard Peltier
Now, we urge you to write to Leonard and help to keep his spirits up. Tell him you won’t give up, that you’ll walk the rest of the way with him.
Our hearts are heavy today. President Obama has denied Leonard’s application for a commutation. His name appears on the January 18 list of commutations denied by Obama as issued by the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Leonard’s attorney Martin Garbus was also notified. (Pardon Attorney’s Letter)
Today, in an email, Leonard said, “If I should not [receive clemency] then after we are locked in for the day I will have a good cry and then pick myself up and get myself ready for another round of battles until I cannot fight [any] more. So, don’t worry. I can handle anything after over 40 years.”
It’s hard to bear such a blow, though. And make no mistake — Leonard has been hit hardest of all. But let’s not mourn so very long. Instead, let’s move ever forward. Channel your grief and anger in a positive way. Remember that Leonard still needs our help. He needs quality health care and a transfer to a medium security facility, among other things. We’ll always work towards freedom for Leonard, but these actions may help to make his life more bearable until freedom is won.
Now, we urge you to write to Leonard and help to keep his spirits up. Tell him you won’t give up, that you’ll walk the rest of the way with him. Send cards and letters to:
Leonard Peltier #89637-132
USP Coleman I
PO Box 1033
Coleman, FL 33521
Thank you for your hard work and determination. Blessings to all of you.
Please stay tuned.
In solidarity,
International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Desertpeace 