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Dec 27, 2017 | www.politico.com
Former Trump chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon milled his former Oval Office colleague Jared Kushner into a bloody chunk of battle sausage this week and smeared him across the shiny pages of Vanity Fair . You've got to read Bannon's quote three or four times to fully savor the tang of its malice and cruelty. After scorning the Russia collusion theories as fiction, Bannon acknowledged the grisly reality that the Russia investigation poses for his former boss. And he blamed it all on Kushner, for having created the appearance that Putin had helped Trump. Dropping Kushner head first into the grinder, Bannon turned the crank.
"[Kushner was] taking meetings with Russians to get additional stuff. This tells you everything about Jared," Bannon told the magazine's Gabriel Sherman. "They were looking for the picture of Hillary Clinton taking the bag of cash from Putin. That's his maturity level."
Informing Vanity Fair that Kushner's hunt for political smut led him to over-fraternize with the Russians might not be the best way for Bannon to throw special counsel Robert S. Mueller III off the collusion scent. So what was the big man in the Barbour coat up to?
That Bannon and Kushner skirmished during their time together in the White House has been long established. Kushner advocated the sacking FBI Director James B. Comey, for example, and Bannon opposed it. He later told 60 Minutes that the firing was maybe the worst mistake in "modern political history" because it precipitated the hiring of the special counsel and had thereby expanded the investigation.
Sherman's piece reveals the cognitive split that evolved between Bannon and others, specifically Trump, on how to handle the mess that had been created. "Goldman Sachs teaches one thing: don't invent shit. Take something that works and make it better," Bannon told Sherman. He said he consulted with Bill Clinton's former lawyer Lanny Davis about how the Clintons responded to Ken Starr's probe. "We were so disciplined. You guys don't have that," Bannon recalls Davis advising him. "That always haunted me when he said that," Bannon told Sherman. Bannon said the investigation was an attempt by the establishment to undo the election, but he took it seriously and warned Trump he was in danger of being impeached.
Bannon's gripe against Kushner in Vanity Fair continues: He claims that Donald Trump's disparaging tweets about Attorney General Jeff Sessions were designed to provide "cover" for Kushner by steering negative media attention toward Sessions and away from Kushner as he was scheduled to testify before a Senate committee.
There's even more hot Bannon on Kushner action. Bannon tells of an Oval Office meeting he attended with Trump, Kushner and Kushner's wife Ivanka Trump in which he called Ivanka "the queen of leaks." "You're a fucking liar!" Ivanka allegedly responded. Hard to know how to score this round, but shattering the public image of Ivanka as poised princess must have been satisfying for a guy who called Javanka "the Democrats."
Getting mauled by Steve Bannon might not be the worst thing to happen to the president's son-in-law this week. He and Ivanka were sued by a private attorney for failing to disclose assets from 30 investment funds on their federal financial disclosure forms. Perhaps more ominous for Kushner, and according to the New York Times , federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank records about Kushner's family's real estate business. "There is no indication that the subpoena is related to the investigation being conducted by Robert S. Mueller III," the Times allowed. Yeah, but wouldn't you want to be there when Mueller's team invites Bannon in to talk to him about the Vanity Fair article, and they ask him, "What did you mean about Jared taking meetings with Russians to get additional stuff? Like, what stuff?"
Although "people close to Kushner, who decline to be named" told the Times they don't think the Mueller investigation exposes him to legal jeopardy, the young prince isn't taking chances. The Washington Post reports that his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has been shopping for a "crisis public relations firm" over the past two weeks. (Senator Robert Menendez, the recent beneficiary of a deadlocked corruption trial, is another Lowell client.)
Why hire super flacks now? Does Kushner sense disaster? Another Bannon offensive? The Flynn plea bargain exposed him -- according to the press -- as the "very senior member" of the Trump transition team described in court documents who told former national security adviser Michael Flynn to lobby the Russian ambassador about a U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements. Maybe he's just buying reputation insurance. Or maybe he's taken to heart Chris Christie's scathing comments. Christie was squeezed out of the Trump transition early on, some say by Kushner who is said to hold a grudge against Christie who, when he was federal prosecutor, put Kushner's father in jail . This week Christie said that Kushner "deserves the scrutiny" he's been getting. It was almost as if Christie and Bannon were operating a twin-handled grinder, cranking out an extra helping of Kushner's tainted reputation.
President Putin and President Trump occupied the same page about the scandal this week in what was either a matter of collusion or of great minds thinking alike. Speaking at a four-hour media event in Moscow, Putin blamed the scandal on the U.S. "deep state" and said, "This is all made up by people who oppose Trump to make his work look illegitimate." According to CNN , Trump took the opportunity this week to call the Russia investigation "bullshit" in private. In public, he told reporters, "There's absolutely no collusion. I didn't make a phone call to Russia. I have nothing to do with Russia. Everybody knows it."
Everybody, perhaps, except former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Appearing on CNN , Clapper used direct language to bind former KGB officer Putin to Trump tighter than a girdle to a paunch. "[Putin] knows how to handle an asset, and that's what he's doing with the president," Clapper said. "I think some of that experience and instincts of Putin has come into play here in his managing of a pretty important account for him, if I could use that term, with our president."
Writing in Newsweek , Jeff Stein collected other tell-tale signs of Trump's cooptation: He refused to take Russian meddling in the election seriously. He responds favorably to Putin's praise and seems to crave more. He dismisses worries about his circle's connections to Kremlin agents before the election and during the transition -- and he tried to call off the Flynn investigation.
It's enough to make you wonder why Bannon thinks Kushner is the enemy, not Trump.
******
If you've read this far, you're probably disappointed that more didn't happen in the Trump Tower scandal this week. Sue me in small claims court via email to [email protected] . My email alerts never believed in collusion, my Twitter feed is set to cut a plea deal with Mueller, and my RSS feed has several crisis PR firms on retainer.
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Dec 25, 2017 | consortiumnews.com
The Israel-gate Side of Russia-gate December 23, 2017
While unproven claims of Russian meddling in U.S. politics have whipped Official Washington into a frenzy, much less attention has been paid to real evidence of Israeli interference in U.S. politics, as Dennis J Bernstein describes.
By Dennis J Bernstein
In investigating Russia's alleged meddling in U.S. politics, special prosecutor Robert Mueller uncovered evidence that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured the Trump transition team to undermine President Obama's plans to permit the United Nations to censure Israel over its illegal settlement building on the Palestinian West Bank, a discovery referenced in the plea deal with President Trump's first National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the United Nations General Assembly (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
At Netanyahu's behest, Flynn and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly took the lead in the lobbying to derail the U.N. resolution, which Flynn discussed in a phone call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (in which the Russian diplomat rebuffed Flynn's appeal to block the resolution).
I spoke on Dec, 18 with independent journalist and blogger Richard Silverstein, who writes on national security and other issues for a number of blogs at Tikun Olam .
Dennis Bernstein: A part of Michael Flynn's plea had to do with some actions he took before coming to power regarding Israel and the United Nations. Please explain.
Richard Silverstein:
The Obama administration was negotiating in the [UN] Security Council just before he left office about a resolution that would condemn Israeli settlements. Obviously, the Israeli government did not want this resolution to be passed. Instead of going directly to the Obama administration, with which they had terrible relations, they went to Trump instead. They approached Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner became involved in this. While they were in the transition and before having any official capacity, they negotiated with various members of the Security Council to try to quash the settlement resolution.
One of the issues here which is little known is the Logan Act, which was passed at the foundation of our republic and was designed to prevent private citizens from usurping the foreign policy prerogatives of the executive. It criminalized any private citizen who attempted to negotiate with an enemy country over any foreign policy issue.
In this case, what Flynn and Kushner were doing was going directly against US foreign policy, because Obama wanted the resolution to pass; He just didn't want to vote for it because that would cross the Israel lobby in the United States. The US finally ended up abstaining on the resolution and it passed 14-0.
But before that happened, Flynn went to the Russians and to Egypt, both members of the Security Council, and tried to get the resolution delayed. But all of Israel's machinations to derail this resolution failed and that is what Mueller was investigating, the intervention and disruption of American foreign policy by private citizens who had no official role.
This speaks to the power of the Israel lobby and of Israel itself to disrupt our foreign policy. Very few people have ever been charged with committing an illegal act by advocating on behalf of Israel. That is one of the reasons why this is such an important development. Until now, the lobby has really ruled supreme on the issue of Israel and Palestine in US foreign policy. Now it is possible that a private citizen will actually be made to pay a price for that.
This is an important development because the lobby till now has run roughshod over our foreign policy in this area and this may act as a restraining order against blatant disruption of US foreign policy by people like this.
Bernstein: So this information is a part of Michael Flynn's plea. Anyone studying this would learn something about Michael Flynn and it would be part of the prosecution's investigation.
Silverstein:
That's absolutely right. One thing to note here is that it is reporters who have raised the issue of the Logan Act, not Mueller or Flynn's people or anyone in the Trump administration. But I do think that Logan is a very important part of this plea deal, even if it is not mentioned explicitly.
Bernstein: If the special prosecutor had smoking-gun information that the Trump administration colluded with Russia, in the way they colluded with Israel before coming to power, this would be a huge revelation. But it is definitely collusion when it comes to Israel.
Silverstein: Absolutely. If this were Russia, it would be on the front page of every major newspaper in the United States and the leading story on the TV news. Because this is Israel and because we have a conflicted relationship with the Israel lobby and they have so much influence on US policy concerning Israel, it has managed to stay on the back burner. Only two or three media outlets besides mine have raised this issue of Logan and collusion. Kushner and Flynn may be the first American citizens charged under the Logan Act for interfering on behalf of Israel in our foreign policy. This is a huge issue and it has hardly been raised at all.
Bernstein: As you know, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC has made a career out of investigating the Russia-gate charges. She says that she has read all this material carefully, so she must have read about Flynn and Israel, but I haven't heard her on this issue at all.
Silverstein:
Even progressive journalists, who you'd think would be going after this with a vengeance, are frightened off by the fact the lobby really bites back. So, aside from outlets like the Intercept and the Electronic Intifada, there is a lot of hesitation about going after the Israel lobby. People are afraid because they know that there is a high price to be paid. It goes from being purely journalism to being a personal and political vendetta when they get you in their sights. In fact, one of the reasons I feel my blog is so important is that what I do is challenge Israeli policy and Israeli intervention in places where it doesn't belong.
Bernstein: Jared Kushner is the point man for the Trump administration on Israel. He has talked about having a "vision for peace." Do you think it is a problem that this is someone with a long, close relationship with the prime minister of Israel and, in fact, runs a foundation that invests in the building of illegal Israeli settlements? Might this be problematic?
Silverstein:
It is quite nefarious, actually. When Jared Kushner was a teenager, Netanyahu used to stay at the Kushner family home when he visited the United States. This relationship with one of the most extreme right political figures in Israel goes back decades. And it is not just Kushner himself, but all the administration personnel dealing with these so-called peace negotiations, including Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman, the ambassador. These are all orthodox Jews who tend to have very nationalist views when it comes to Israel. They all support settlements financially through foundations. These are not honest brokers.
We could talk at length about the history of US personnel who have been negotiators for Middle East peace. All of them have been favorable to Israel and answerable to the Israel lobby, including Dennis Ross and Makovsky, who served in the last administration. These people are dyed-in-the-wool ultra-nationalist supporters of [Israeli] settlements. They have no business playing any role in negotiating a peace deal.
My prediction all along has been that these peace negotiations will come to naught, even though they seem to have bought the cooperation of Saudi Arabia, which is something new in the process. The Palestinians can never accept a deal that has been negotiated by Kushner and company because it will be far too favorable to Israel and it will totally neglect the interests of the Palestinians.
Bernstein: It has been revealed that Kushner supports the building of settlements in the West Bank. Most people don't understand the politics of what is going on there, but it appears to be part of an ethnic cleansing.
Silverstein:
The settlements have always been a violation of international law, ever since Israel conquered the West Bank in 1967. The Geneva Conventions direct an occupying power to withdraw from territory that was not its own. In 1967 Israel invaded Arab states and conquered the West Bank and Gaza but this has never been recognized or accepted by any nation until now.
The fact that Kushner and his family are intimately involved in supporting settlements–as are David Friedman and Jason Greenblatt–is completely outrageous. No member of any previous US administration would have been allowed to participate with these kinds of financial investments in support of settlements. Of course, Trump doesn't understand the concept of conflict of interest because he is heavily involved in such conflicts himself. But no party in the Middle East except Israel is going to consider the US an honest broker and acceptable as a mediator.
When they announce this deal next January, no one in the Arab World is going to accept it, with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia because they have other fish to fry in terms of Iran. The next three years are going to be interesting, supposing Trump lasts out his term. My prediction is that the peace plan will fail and that it will lead to greater violence in the Middle East. It will not simply lead to a vacuum, it will lead to a deterioration in conditions there.
Bernstein: The Trump transition team was actually approached directly by the Israeli government to try to intercede at the United Nations.
Silverstein:
I'm assuming it was Netanyahu who went directly to Kushner and Trump. Now, we haven't yet found out that Trump directly knew about this but it is very hard to believe that Trump didn't endorse this. Now that we know that Mueller has access to all of the emails of the transition team, there is little doubt that they have been able to find their smoking gun. Flynn's plea meant that they basically had him dead to rights. It remains to be seen what will happen with Kushner but I would think that this would play some role in either the prosecution of Kushner or some plea deal.
Bernstein: The other big story, of course, is the decision by the Trump administration to move the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Was there any pre-election collusion in that regard and what are the implications?
Silverstein:
Well, it's a terrible decision which goes against forty to fifty years of US foreign policy. It also breaches all international understanding. All of our allies in the European Union and elsewhere are aghast at this development. There is now a campaign in the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution condemning the announcement, which we will veto, but the next step will be to go to the General Assembly, where such a resolution will pass easily.
The question is how much anger, violence and disruption this is going to cause around the world, especially in the Arab and Muslim world. This is a slow-burning fuse. It is not going to explode right now. The issue of Jerusalem is so vital that this is not something that is simply going to go away. This is going to be a festering sore in the Muslim world and among Palestinians. We have already seen attacks on Israeli soldiers and citizens and there will be many more.
As to collusion in all of this, since Trump always said during the campaign that this was what he was going to do, it might be difficult to treat this in the same way as the UN resolution. The UN resolution was never on anybody's radar and nobody knew the role that Trump was playing behind the scenes with that–as opposed to Trump saying right from the get-go that Jerusalem was going to be recognized as the capital of Jerusalem.
By doing that, they have completely abrogated any Palestinian interest in Jerusalem. This is a catastrophic decision that really excludes the United States from being an honest broker here and shows our true colors in terms of how pro-Israel we are.
Dennis J Bernstein is a host of "Flashpoints" on the Pacifica radio network and the author of Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom . You can access the audio archives at www.flashpoints.net .
Drew Hunkins , December 23, 2017 at 5:37 pm
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 5:47 pmAs most regular readers of CN already know, some dynamite books on the inordinate amount of influence pro-Israel zealots have on Washington:
1.) 'The Host and the Parasite' by Greg Felton
2.) 'Power of Israel in the United States' by James Petras
3.) 'They Dare to Speak Out' by Paul Findley
4.) 'The Israel Lobby' by Mearsheimer and Walt
5.) 'Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of U.S. Power' by James PetrasI suggest that anyone relatively knew to this neglected topic peruse a few of the aforementioned titles. An inevitable backlash by the citizens of the United States is eventually forthcoming against the Zionist Power Configuration. It's crucial that this impending backlash remain democratic, non-violent, eschews anti-Semitism, and travels in a progressive in direction.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:38 pmWhich one would you suggest? I already read "The Israel Lobby."
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:38 pmFindley and Mearsheimer are certainly worthwhile. I will look for Petras.
SocraticGadfly , December 23, 2017 at 6:10 pmIf you haven't already read them, the end/footnotes in "The Israel Lobby" are more illuminating.
SocraticGadfly , December 23, 2017 at 6:05 pmThat influence is also shown, of course, by the fact that Obama waited until the midnight hours of his tenure and after the 2016 election to even start working on this resolution.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:41 pmWhile I think Bibi is an idiot, I also think the Logan Act is overinvoked, overstated, probably of dubious legal value and also of dubious constitutional value.
In short, especially because Trump had been elected, though not yet inaugurated, I think he is not at all guilty of a Logan Act violation. This is nothing close to Spiro Agnew calling Anna Chenault from the airplane in August 1968.
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:32 amProbably true, although evidence of extreme collusion with Israel eliminates any case against Russia, with whom we have far more reasons for amity. Bringing out the Israel collusion greatly improves public understanding of political corruption. Perhaps it will awaken some to the Agnew-Chennault betrayal of the people of the US.
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 10:48 pmIt's ironic that Russia-gate is turning out to be Israel's effort to distract attention from its complete control over the Democratic party in 2016. From Israeli billionaires behind the scenes to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at the helm.
The leaked emails showed the corruption plainly, and based on the ACTUAL evidence (recorded download time), most likely came from a highly disgruntled insider. The picture was starting to spill into public view. I'd estimate the real huge worry was that if this stuff came out, it could bring out other Israeli secrets, like their involvement in 9/11. That would mean actual jail time. Might be hard to buy your way out of that no matter how much money you have.
Annie , December 23, 2017 at 6:59 pmThe Logan act states that anyone who negotiates with an enemy of the US, and Israel is not defined as an enemy.
Al Pinto , December 24, 2017 at 9:16 amThe Logan act would not apply here, although I wish it would. I don't think anyone has been convicted based on this act, and they were part of a transition team not to mention the Logan act clearly states a private citizen who attempts to negotiate with an enemy state, and that certainly doesn't apply to Israel. In this administration their bias is so blatant that they can install Kushner as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestine peace process while his family has a close relationship with Netanyahu, and he runs a foundation that invests in the building of illegal settlements which goes against the Geneva conventions. Hopefully Trump's blatant siding with Israel will receive a lot of backlash as did his plan to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
I also found that so called progressive internet sites don't cover this the way they should.
Herman , December 24, 2017 at 10:54 am@Annie
"The Logan act would not apply here, although I wish it would."
You and me both .
From the point of starting to read this article, it has been in my mind that the Logan act would not apply here. After reading most of the comments, it became clear that not many people viewed this as such. Yes, Joe Tedesky did as well
The UN is the "clearing house" for international politics, where countries freely contact each other's for getting support for their cause behind the scene. The support sought after could be voting for or against the resolution on hand. At times, as Israel did, countries reach out to perceived enemies as well, if they could not secure sufficient support for their cause. This is the normal activity of the UN diplomacy.
Knowing that the outgoing administration would not support its cause, Israel reached out to the incoming administration to delay the vote on the UN resolution. I fail to see anything wrong with Israel's action even in this case; Israel is not an enemy state to the US. As such, there has been no violation of any acts by the incoming administration, even if they tried to secure veto vote for Israel. I do not like it, but no action by Mueller in this case is correct.
People, just like the article in itself, implying that the Logan Act applies in this case are just plain wrong. Not just wrong, but their anti-Israel bias is in plain view.
Whether we like it or not, the former and current administration view Russia is as an enemy state. Even then, Russia contacting the incoming administration is not a violation of the Logan Act. That is just normal diplomacy in the background between countries. What would be a violation is that the contacted official acted on the behalf of Russia and tried to influence the outgoing administration's decision. That is what the Mueller investigation tries to prove hopelessly
Annie , December 24, 2017 at 1:55 pm"Whether we like it or not, the former and current administration view Russia is as an enemy state." So that is how it works, the White House says it is an enemy state and therefore it is. The so called declaration is the hammer used for trying to make contact with Russia a criminal offense. We are not at war with Russia although we see our leaders doing their best to provoke Russia into one.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:41 pmThanks for your reply. When I read the article and it referenced the Logan Act, which I am familiar with in that I've read about it before, I was surprised that Bernstein and Silverstein even brought it up because it so obviously does not apply in this case, since Israel is not considered an enemy state. Many have even referenced it as flimsy when it comes to convictions against those in Trump's transition team who had contacts with Russia. No one has ever been convicted under the Logan Act.
mrtmbrnmn , December 23, 2017 at 7:36 pmThe Logan Act either should apply equally, or not apply at all. This "Russia-gate" hype seems to apply it selectively.
alley cat , December 23, 2017 at 7:45 pmYou guys are blinded by the light. The Israel connection disclosed by the malpracticer hack Mueller in the recent Flynn-flam just made Trump bullet-proof (so to speak).
There is no doubt that Trump is Bibi's and the Saudi's ventriloquist dummy and Jared has been an Israel agent of influence since he was 12.
But half the Dementedcrat Sore Loser Brigade will withdraw from the field of battle (not to mention most of the GOP living dead too) if publically and noisily tying Israel to Trump's tail becomes the only route to his removal. Which it would have to be, as there is no there there regarding the yearlong trumped-up PutinPutinPutin waterboarding of Trump.
Immediately (if not sooner) the mighty (pro-Israel) Donor Bank of Singer (Paul), Saban (Haim), Sachs (Goldman) & Adelson (Sheldon), would change their passwords and leave these politicians/beggars with empty begging bowls. End of $ordid $tory.
Leslie F. , December 23, 2017 at 8:28 pmSo Mueller caught Kushner and Flynn red-handed, sabotaging the Obama administration? What of it? He can't use that evidence, because it would inculpate the Zionist neocons that are orchestrating his farcical, Stalinist witchhunt. And Mueller, being an efficient terminator bot, knows that his target is Russia, not Israel.
Mueller can use that evidence of sabotage and/or obstruction of justice to try to coerce false confessions from Kushner and Flynn. But what are the chances of that, barring short stayovers for them at some CIA black site?
So Mueller will just have to continue swamp-fishing for potential perjurers ahem witnesses, for the upcoming show trials (to further inflame public opinion against Russia and Russia sympathizers). And continue he will, because (as we all know from Schwarzenegger's flicks), the only way to stop the terminator is to terminate him/it first.
JWalters , December 23, 2017 at 8:40 pmHe used it, along with other info, to turn flip Flynn and possibly can use it the same way again Kusher. Not all evidence has end up in court to be useful.
mike k , December 23, 2017 at 8:44 pmThis is an extremely important story, excellently reported. All the main "facts" Americans think they know about Israel are, amazingly, flat-out lies.
1. Israel was NOT victimized by powerful Arab armies. Israel overpowered and victimized a defenseless, civilian Arab population. Military analysts knew the Arab armies were in poor shape and would not be able to resist the zionist army.
2. Muslim "citizens" of Israel do NOT have all the same rights as Jews.
3. Israelis are NOT under threat from the indigineous Palestinians, but Palestinians are under constant threats of theft and death from the Israelis.
4. Israel does NOT share America's most fundamental values, which rest on the principle of equal human rights for all.
Maintaining such a blanket of major lies for decades requires immense power. And this power would have to be exercised "under the radar" to be effective. That requires even more power. Both Congress and the press have to be controlled. How much power does it take to turn "Progressive Rachel" into "Tel Aviv Rachel"? To turn "It Takes a Village" Hillary into "Slaughter a Village" Hillary? It takes immense power AND ruthlessness.
War profiteers have exactly this combination of immense war profits and the ruthlessness to victimize millions of people.
"War Profiteers and the Roots of the War on Terror"
http://warprofiteerstory.blogspot.comVast war profits easily afford to buy the mainstream media. And controlling campaign contributions for members of Congress is amazingly cheap in the big picture. Such a squalid sale of souls.
And when simple bribery is not enough, they ruin a person's life through blackmail or false character assassination. And if those don't work they use death threats, including to family members, and finally murder. Their ruthlessness is unrestrained. John Perkins has described these tactics in "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man".
For readers who haven't seen it, here is an excellent riff on the absurdly overwhelming evidence for Israel's influence compared to that of Russia, at a highly professional news and analysis website run by Jewish anti-Zionists.
"Let's talk about Russian influence"
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/08/about-russian-influence/mike k , December 23, 2017 at 8:49 pmHitler and Mussolini, Trump and Netanyahoo – matches made in Hell. These characters are so obviously, blatantly evil that it is deeply disturbing that people fail to see that, and instead go to great lengths to find some complicated flaws in these monsters.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 9:00 pmKeep it simple folks. No need for complex analyses. Just remember that these characters as simply as evil as it gets, and proceed from there. These asinine shows that portray mobsters as complex human beings are dangerously deluding. If you want to be victimized by these types, this kind of overthinking is just the way to go.
Sam F , December 23, 2017 at 8:54 pmThere is a modern theory of fiction that insists upon the portrayal of inconsistency in characters, both among the good guys and the bad guys. It is useful to show how those who do wrongs have made specific kinds of errors that make them abnormal, and that those who do right are not perfect but nonetheless did the right thing. Instead it is used by commercial writers to argue that the good are really bad, and the bad are really good, which is of course the philosophy of oligarchy-controlled mass publishers.
backwardsevolution , December 23, 2017 at 9:18 pmA very important article by Dennis Bernstein, and it is very appropriate that non-zionist Jews are active against the extreme zionist corruption of our federal government. I am sure that they are reviled by the zionists for interfering with the false denunciations of racism against the opponents of zionism. Indeed critics face a very nearly totalitarian power of zionism, which in league with MIC/WallSt opportunism has displaced democracy altogether in the US.
Joe Tedesky , December 23, 2017 at 10:33 pmA nice little set-up by the Obama administration. Perhaps it was entrapment? Who set it up? Flynn and Kushner should have known better to fall for it. So at the end of his Presidency, Obama suddenly gets balls and wants to slap down Israel? Yeah, right.
Nice to have leverage over people, though, isn't it? If you're lucky and play your cards right, you might even be lucky enough to land an impeachment.
Of course, I'm just being cynical. No one would want to overturn democracy, would they?
Certainly people like Comey, Brenner, Clinton, Clapper, Mueller, Rosenstein wouldn't want that, would they?
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:33 amI just can't see any special prosecutor investigating Israel-Gate. Between what the Zionist donors donate to these creepy politicians, too what goods they have on these same mischievous politicians, I just can't see any investigation into Israel's collusion with the Trump Administration going anywhere. Netanyahu isn't Putin, and Russia isn't Israel. Plus, Israel is considered a U.S. ally, while Russia is being marked as a Washington rival. Sorry, this news regarding Israel isn't going to be ranted on about for the next 18 months, like the MSM has done with Russia, because our dear old Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, or so they tell us. So, don't get your hopes up.
Joe Tedesky , December 24, 2017 at 11:12 amIt's true the Israelis have America's politicians by the ears and the balls. But as this story gets better known, politicians will start getting questions at their town meetings. Increasingly the politicians will gag on what Israel is force-feeding them, until finally they reach a critical mass of vomit in Congress.
Jeff Blankfort , December 24, 2017 at 12:18 amI hope you are right JWalters. Although relying on a Zionist controlled MSM doesn't give hope for the news getting out properly. Again I hope you are right JWalters. Joe
Abe , December 24, 2017 at 12:39 amActually, Netanyahu was so desperate to have the resolution pulled and not voted on that he reached out to any country that might help him after the foreign minister of New Zealand, one of its co-sponsors refused to pull the plug after a testy phone exchange with the Israeli PM ending up threatening an Israeli boycott oturnef the KIwis.
He then turned to his buddy, Vladimir Putin, who owed him a favor for having Israel's UN delegate absent himself for the UNGA vote on sanctioning Russia after its annexation of Crimea.
Putin then called Russia's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, since deceased, and asked him to get the other UNSC ambassadors to postpone the vote until Trump took over the White House but the other ambassadors weren't buying it. Given Russia's historic public position regarding the settlements, Churkin had no choice to vote Yes with the others.
This story was reported in detail in the Israeli press but blacked out in the US which, due to Zionist influence on the media, does not want the American public to know about the close ties between Putin and Netanyahu which has led to the Israeli PM making five state visits there in the last year and a half.
Had Clinton won the White House we can assume that there would have been no US veto. That Netanyahu apparently knew in advance that the US planned to veto the resolution was, I suspect, leaked to the Israelis by US delegate Samantha Power, who was clearly unhappy at having to abstain.
argos , December 24, 2017 at 7:00 amThe Israeli Prime Minister made five state visits to Russia in the last year and a half to make sure the Russians don't accidentally on purpose blast Israeli warplanes from the sky over Syria (like they oughtta). Putin tries not to snicker when Netanyahu bloviates ad nauseum about the purported "threat" posed by Iran.
JWalters , December 24, 2017 at 3:34 amHe thinks Putin is a RATS ASS like the yankee government
alley cat , December 24, 2017 at 4:49 am"This story was reported in detail in the Israeli press but blacked out in the US"
We've just had a whole cluster of big stories involving Israel that have all been essentially blacked out in the US press. e.g.
"Dionne and Shields ignore the Adelson in the room"
http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/jerusalem-israels-capitalThis is not due to chance. There is no doubt that the US mainstream media is wholly controlled by the Israelis.
Brendan , December 24, 2017 at 6:18 am"He [Netanyahu] then turned to his buddy, Vladimir Putin "
Jeff, that characterization of Putin and Netanyahu's relationship makes no sense, since the Russians have consistently opposed Zionism and Putin has been no exception, having spoiled Zionist plans for the destruction of Syria.
"Had Clinton won the White House we can assume that there would have been no US veto."
Not sure where you're going with that, since the US vote was up to Obama, who wanted to get some payback for all of Bibi's efforts to sabotage Obama's treaty with Iran.
For the record, Zionism has had no more rabid supporter than the Dragon Lady. If we're going to make assumptions, we could start by assuming that if she had won the White House we'd all be dead by now, thanks to her obsession (at the instigation of her Zionist/neocon sponsors) with declaring no-fly zones in Syria.
Skip Scott , December 24, 2017 at 7:59 amTrump and Kushner have nothing to worry about, even if a smoking gun is found that proves their collusion with Israel. That's because the entire political and media establishment will simply ignore the Israeli connection.
Journalists and politicians will even continue to present Mike Flynn's contacts as evidence of collusion with Russia. They'll keep on repeating that "Flynn lied about his phone call to the Russian ambassador". But there will be no mention of the fact that the purpose of this contact was to support Israel and not any alleged Russian interference.
argos , December 24, 2017 at 6:57 amI think you have it right Brendan. The MSM, Intelligence Community, and Mueller would never go down any path that popularized undue Israeli influence on US foreign policy. "Nothing to see here folks, move along."
Herman , December 24, 2017 at 10:47 amThe zionist will stop at nothing to control the middle east with American taxpayers money/military equiptment its a win win for the zionist they control America lock stock and barrel a pity though it is a great country to be led by a jewish entity.
Zachary Smith , December 24, 2017 at 1:34 pmWhat will Israel-Palestine look like twenty years from now? Will it remain an apartheid regime, a regime without any Palestinians, or something different. The Trump decision, which the world rejects, brings the issue of "final" settlement to the fore. In a way we can go back to the thirties and the British Mandate. Jewish were fleeing Europe, many coming to Palestine. The British, on behalf of the Zionists, were delaying declaring Palestine a state with control of its own affairs. Seeing the mass immigration and chafing at British foot dragging, the Arabs rebelled, What happened then was that the British, responding to numerous pressures notably war with Germany, acted by granting independence and granting Palestine control of its borders.
With American pressure and the mass exodus of Jews from Europe, Jews defied the British resulting in Jewish resistance. What followed then was a UN plan to divide the land with a Jerusalem an international city administered by the UN. The Arabs rebelled and lost much of what the UN plan provided and Jerusalem as an international city was scrapped.
Will there be a second serious attempt to settle the issue of the land and the status of Jerusalem? Will there be a serious move toward a single state? How will the matter of Jerusalem be resolved. The two state solution has always been a fantasy and acquiescence of Palestinians to engage in this charade exposes their leaders to charges of posturing for perks. Imagined options could go on and on but will there be serious options placed before the world community or will the boots on the ground Israeli policies continue?
As I have commented before, it will most probably be the Jewish community in Israel and the world that shapes the future and if the matter is to be resolved that is fair to both parties, it will be they that starts the ball rolling.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 5:56 pmAs I have commented before, it will most probably be the Jewish community in Israel and the world that shapes the future and if the matter is to be resolved that is fair to both parties, it will be they that starts the ball rolling.
The Nice Zionists responsible for the thefts and murders for the past 69 years along with the "Jewish Community" in the rest of the world will resolve the matter so as to be fair to both parties. This is mind-boggling fantasy.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 5:48 pmTruly mind-boggling. Ahistorical, and as you say, fantasy.
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 6:11 pmFFS, Netanyahu aired a political commercial in Florida for Romney saying vote for this guy (against Obama)! I mean, it doesn't get any more overtly manipulative than that. Period. End of story.
$50K of Facebook ads about puppies pales in comparison to that blatant, prima facia, public manipulation. God, I hate to go all "Israel controls the media" but there it is. Not even a discussion. Just a fact.
Taras 77 , December 24, 2017 at 6:35 pmJust for the record, Richard Silverstein blocked me on Twitter because I pointed out that he slammed someone who was suggesting that the Assad government was fighting for its (Syria's) life by fighting terrorists. Actually, more specifically, because of that he read my "Free Palestine" bio on Twitter and called me a Hamas supporter (no Hamas mentioned) and a "moron" for some seeming contradiction.
I also have to point out that he "fist pumped" Hillary Clinton at Mohammed Ali's eulogy. If he's as astute as he purports to be, he has to know that Hillary would have invaded Syria and killed a few hundred thousand more Syrians for the simple act of defiantly preserving their country. By almost any read of Ali's history, he would have been adamantly ("killing brown people") against that. But there was Silverstein using the platform to promote, arguably, perpetual war.
Silverstein is probably not a good (ie. consistent) arbiter of Israeli impact on US politics. Just sayin'.
I wish it were otherwise.
This may be a tad ot but it relates to the alleged hacking of the DNC, the role debbie wasserman schultz plays in the spy ring (awan bros) in house of rep servers: I have long suspected that mossad has their fingers in this entire mess. FWIW
Good site, BTW.
Zachary Smith , December 24, 2017 at 7:35 pm
Larry Larsen , December 24, 2017 at 8:51 pmI can't recall why I removed the Tikun Olam site from my bookmarks – it happened quite a while back. Generally I do that when I feel the blogger crossed some kind of personal red line. Something Mr. Silverstein wrote put him over that line with me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/us/06leak.html?hp
In the course of a search I found that at the neocon NYT. Mr. Silverstein claims several things I find unbelievable, and from that alone I wonder about his ultimate motives. I may be excessively touchy about this, but that's how it is.
P. Michael Garber , December 24, 2017 at 11:54 pmYeah Zachary, "wondering about ultimate motives" is probably a good way to put it/his views. He's obviously conflicted, if not deferential in some aspects of Israeli policy. He really was a hero of mine, but now I just don't get whether what he says is masking something or a true belief. He says some good stuff, but, but, but .
Yeah I found a couple of Silverstein's statements to be closer to neocon propaganda than reality: "Because this is Israel and because we have a conflicted relationship with the Israel lobby . . ." "Instead of going directly to the Obama administration, with which they had terrible relations, they went to Trump instead." My impression was that the whole "terrible relationship between Obama and Netanyahu" was manufactured by the Israel lobby to bully Obama. However these are small blips within an otherwise solid critique of the Israel lobby's influence.
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Dec 23, 2017 | en.wikipedia.org
The formal component of the Israel lobby consists of organized lobby groups , political action committees (PACs), think tanks and media watchdog groups . The Center for Responsive Politics , which tracks all lobbies and PACs, describes the 'background' of those 'Pro-Israel' as, "A nationwide network of local political action committees, generally named after the region their donors come from, supplies much of the pro-Israel money in US politics . Additional funds also come from individuals who bundle contributions to candidates favored by the PACs. The donors' unified goal is to build stronger US-Israel relations and to support Israel in its negotiations and armed conflicts with its Arab neighbors." [24]
According to Mitchell Bard, there are, three key formal lobbying groups:
- Christians United for Israel , the US "largest" pro-Israel lobby. [25] [26]
- The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which directly lobbies the United States Congress
- The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations which "is the main contact between the Jewish community and the executive branch " of the US government. [23]
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A summary of pro-Israel campaign donations for the period of 1990–2008 collected by Center for Responsive Politics indicates current totals and a general increase in proportional donations to the US Republican party since 1996. [46] The Center for Responsive Politics' 1990–2006 data shows that "pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990." [47] In contrast, Arab-Americans and Muslim PACs contributed slightly less than $800,000 during the same (1990–2006) period. [48] In 2006, 60% of the Democratic Party 's fundraising and 25% of that for the Republican Party's fundraising came from Jewish-funded PACs. According to a Washington Post estimate, Democratic presidential candidates depend on Jewish sources for as much as 60% of money raised from private sources. [49]
... ... ...
AIPAC does not give donations directly to candidates, but those who donate to AIPAC are often important political contributors in their own right. In addition, AIPAC helps connect donors with candidates, especially to the network of pro-Israel political action committees. AIPAC president Howard Friedman says "AIPAC meets with every candidate running for Congress. These candidates receive in-depth briefings to help them completely understand the complexities of Israel's predicament and that of the Middle East as a whole. We even ask each candidate to author a 'position paper' on their views of the US-Israel relationship – so it's clear where they stand on the subject."[43]
.... ... ...
Mearsheimer and Walt state that "pro-Israel figures have established a commanding presence at the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Security Policy, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). These think tanks are all decidedly pro-Israel and include few, if any, critics of US support for the Jewish state."[50]
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In 2006 former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq Scott Ritter published "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change" ( ISBN 978-1-56025-936-7 ). In his book he stated that certain Israelis and pro-Israel elements in the United States were trying to push the Bush administration into war with Iran. [124] He also accuses the U.S. pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty and outright espionage (see Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal ). [125]
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Dec 13, 2017 | www.theguardian.com
he entire Middle East, from Palestine to Yemen, appears set to burst into flames after this week. The region was already teetering on the edge, but recent events have only made things worse. And while the mayhem should be apparent to any casual observer, what's less obvious is Jared Kushner's role in the chaos.
Kushner is, of course, the US president's senior advisor and son-in-law. The 36-year-old is a Harvard graduate who seems to have a hard time filling in forms correctly .
He repeatedly failed to mention his meetings with foreign officials on his security clearance and neglected to report to US government officials that he was co-director of a foundation that raised money for Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law. (He is also said to have told Michael Flynn last December to call UN security council members to get a resolution condemning Israeli settlements quashed. Flynn called Russia.)
In his role as the president's special advisor, Kushner seems to have decided he can remake the entire Middle East, and he is wreaking his havoc with his new best friend, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old who burst on to the international scene by jailing many members of his country's ruling elite, including from his own family, on corruption charges.
Days before bin Salman's unprecedented move, Kushner was with the crown prince in Riyadh on an unannounced trip. The men are reported to have stayed up late, planning strategy while swapping stories. We don't know what exactly the two were plotting, but Donald Trump later tweeted his "great confidence" in bin Salman.
But the Kushner-bin Salman alliance moves far beyond Riyadh. The Saudis and Americans are now privately pushing a new "peace" deal to various Palestinian and Arab leaders that is more lop-sided toward Israel than ever before.
Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian parliamentarian in the Israeli Knesset, explained the basic contours of the deal to the New York Times: no full statehood for Palestinians, only "moral sovereignty." Control over disconnected segments of the occupied territories only. No capital in East Jerusalem. No right of return for Palestinian refugees.
This is, of course, not a deal at all. It's an insult to the Palestinian people. Another Arab official cited in the Times story explained that the proposal came from someone lacking experience but attempting to flatter the family of the American president. In other words, it's as if Mohammed bin Salman is trying to gift Palestine to Jared Kushner, Palestinians be damned.
Next came Donald Trump throwing both caution and international law to the wind by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
But it's not just Israel, either. Yemen is on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster largely because the country is being blockaded by Saudi Arabia. Trump finally spoke out against the Saudi measure this week, but both the state department and the Pentagon are said to have been privately urging Saudi Arabia and the UAE to ease their campaign against Yemen (and Lebanon and Qatar) for some time and to little impact. Why? Because Saudi and Emirati officials believe they "have tacit approval from the White House for their hardline actions, in particular from Donald Trump and his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner," journalist Laura Rozen reported .
The Kushner-bin Salman alliance has particularly irked secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Kushner reportedly leaves the state department completely out of his Middle Eastern plans. Of special concern to Tillerson, according to Bloomberg News , is Kushner's talks with bin Salman regarding military action by Saudi Arabia against Qatar. The state department is worried of all the unforeseen consequences such a radical course of action would bring, including heightened conflict with Turkey and Russia and perhaps even a military response from Iran or an attack on Israel by Hezbollah.
Here's where state department diplomacy should kick in. The US ambassador to Qatar could relay messages between the feuding parties to find a solution to the stand-off. So what does the ambassador to Qatar have to say about the Kushner-Salman alliance? Nothing, since there still is no confirmed ambassador to Qatar.
What about the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia? That seat's also vacant. And the US ambassador to Jordan, Morocco, Egypt? Vacant, vacant, and vacant. What about assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, a chief strategic post to establish US policy in the region? No one's been nominated. Deputy assistant secretary for press and public diplomacy? Vacant.
It's partly this vacuum of leadership by Tillerson that has enabled Kushner to forge his powerful alliance with bin Salman, much to the detriment of the region. And in their zeal to isolate Iran, Kushner and bin Salman are leaving a wake of destruction around them.
The war in Yemen is only intensifying. Qatar is closer to Iran than ever. A final status deal between Israel and the Palestinians seems all but impossible now. The Lebanese prime minister went back on his resignation. And the Saudi state must be paying the Ritz-Carlton a small fortune to jail key members of the ruling family over allegations of corruption.
There's a long history of American politicians deciding they know what's best for the Middle East while buttressing their autocratic allies and at the expense of the region's ordinary people. (The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has traditionally provided the rationale for America and its allies in the region, and his recent sycophantic portrayal of bin Salman certainly didn't disappoint!)
But the Kushner-bin Salman alliance also represents something else. Both the US and Saudi Arabia are concentrating power into fewer and fewer hands. And with fewer people in the room, who will be around to tell these men that their ideas are so damaging? Who will dare explain to them how they already have failed?
Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the award-winning books How Does It Feel To Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America Topics Trump administration Opinion US foreign policy
DirtWorshiper -> curiouswes , 9 Dec 2017 11:39
We've made war all over the world for decades, sponsored coups, propped up dictators all so our own ruling elites can make out like bandits. We are a rogue state and becoming an oligarchy too.zolotoy -> redux00 , 9 Dec 2017 11:39If European settlers had very little to do with it, where did all of those Zionist militias in 1948 come from?BParker -> Addicks123 , 9 Dec 2017 11:39The US has honestly broken many Palestinians into pieces. Where do you think all those fighter jets, tanks and gun boats come from.shemarch -> MetellusScipio , 9 Dec 2017 11:39wardpj -> Blubbers , 9 Dec 2017 11:38In 1948 my father, who knew the Middle East well, said of the creation of Israel 'it will never work'. Of course, throwing thousands of people off their land is not the best way to create a peaceful country. And, while the Western guilt about the Holocaust furthered the creation of a homeland for the Jews, the plight of the Palestinians was completely neglected.
The increasing encroachment by Israel's settlements have been making the only creditable solution - the two states -increasingly difficult. Now Trump's declaration over Jerusalem has made the situation completely impossible.
I think you need a more cogent "analysis" than that. It doesn't really say anything, does it. There's religion everywhere, so what's specific about the middle East? Start from that question and you may get somewhere.zolotoy -> MaryLeone Sullivan , 9 Dec 2017 11:38America sure as hell does support it .dancer693 , 9 Dec 2017 11:37The Trump administration has certainly increased tensions in the area...significantly. Much of this seems to have to do with challenging Iran's influence in the area. I suspect that is why Saudi Arabia and Trump are in cahoots. Saudi Arabia wants to be the new dominant country in the region and Iran is their main competitor. I expect a new war in the region against Qatar/Iran and Yemen. And we all know where Kushner will place his allegiance.urfanali -> TonyBennWasRight , 9 Dec 2017 11:37One of the interesting things to me about all this is that Kushner is really the major focus right now in the Russia investigation. He has clearly been implicated in crimes for which he will be indicted. And soon. I have a hard time (in addition to the overwhelming everything else) with the fact that the President would give Kushner so much influence in the discussion. He's about to be indicted!!! Why would anyone negotiate with him?
The Zionist settler state helping to spread its illegal settlements across the Palestinians land with the help needed of the US, UK and the House of SaudMaryLeone Sullivan -> TonyBennWasRight , 9 Dec 2017 11:35Israel never existed until 1949.hubbahubba -> umrkgermany , 9 Dec 2017 11:34The book Allies for Armageddon by Victoria Clark states that right-wing Israeli political groups exploit the Christian Fundamentalists in American into giving Israel their support and funding, as the latter believe Israel's full control of Jerusalem etc will bring forth the rapture.2020Vision4 , 9 Dec 2017 11:34Oh man, and all this while Trump runs a distractionary, hedge fund supporting operation to allow tax avoiders to now have access to their off shore cash at a lower tax rate. Where is the infrastructure rebuilding or are Trump supporters blinded even more now by Trumps enlarging butt cheeks blaming Obama and Bush.Charles Demers -> workshy_freeloader , 9 Dec 2017 11:34For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. - H. L. Menckendancer693 -> Kathleen John O'Donnell , 9 Dec 2017 11:30Good questions. Trump has declared that the department should be reduced significantly. The vacant posts are partly due to that and partly due to the fact that Tillerson has rejected most of the administration's recommendations because of their being political picks.Addicks123 , 9 Dec 2017 11:28Tillerson in the mean time seems to have barricaded himself behind a very few loyal lieutenants. He has not been able or interested in enabling or supporting the rest of the department.
Trump constantly ridicules Tillerson, privately and publicly and Tillerson called Trump a moron after a meeting in which Trump expressed his desire to increase our nuclear arsenal 10 times. Finally, Trump's vision of foreign policy is to have it concentrated in the White House instead of the State Department and Trump is totally uninterested in ANY of the State Department's advice or consultation. I guess the answer to your question is "all of the above".
I get the impression that Trump is moving quickly with the Mueller investigation closing its net.Swilkerin , 9 Dec 2017 11:28Until the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital the US could at least pretend to be an honest peace broker in the ME/Palestine issue - they have now dropped even this. The Palestinians have always considered the US to be biased against their interests and pro-Israel and this confirms it, why should they listen to the people who want to achieve a Palestine State by peaceful means when they kicked in the teeth at every twist and turn? The militants have just gained a brigade of new volunteers and elsewhere Daesh/Isis will be rubbing their hands at this propaganda gift.
Hopefully Trump won't last much longer - but that means a President Pence and if you watch Trump's speech announcing this he is there in the background nodding. One set of religious nutcases are egging on another lot and that's not going to be good for the Middle East.
Tillerson and co represent the continuation of the NeoCon doctrine of Cheney and Rumsfeld. Its foreign policy lead by oil and gas interests. Trump really is busy shoring up his constituency base for the future with tax cuts for old money and oligarchs, while the right wing christian brigade which is also seriously loaded (its big business) are of cause delighted with the Jerusalem embassy decision. It also helps an embattled Likud establishment which is under the kosh and faces huge challenges to get reelected.angie11 , 9 Dec 2017 11:25Trump, Netanyahu, Salman: The true 'axis of evil'. And so it goes...joiwomcow , 9 Dec 2017 11:25Standard Republican playbook: when things are going badly at home, pick a fight in the middle east. This was timed to distract from Deutsche Bank releasing Trump's financial records to Muller. Expect Trump to escalate as Muller closes in - my guess is he'll bomb Iran, but who knows...johnbig , 9 Dec 2017 11:24Fabmothz , 9 Dec 2017 11:24There is one benefit from Trump's decision. It is now fully clear that the USA is foursquare behind the Israelis and has always been so. Far from being and "honest broker" for peace they haveaccepted for 40 years any initiative the Israelis have made to ectend theor land area.
Just one question for Israel which all other countries in the world can answer easily: Where are the frontiers of your nation ?
It's OK, the Palestinians have just recognized Washington DC as the capital of Israel.MichaelGerard1990 -> fredimeyer , 9 Dec 2017 11:24Jared has been funding illegal settlements. He's aim is to end Palestine.Norman_Finklesteen 9 Dec 2017 11:22
Last week there were crowds of people in the streets protesting at the corruption within Netenyahu's government, potentially very dangerous in respect to instigating investigations. A distraction was necessary and Trump handed him a loaded one with the Embassy debacle. Of course things are going to escalate, deaths, bombings, threats, retaliation. Now the streets will be filled with people supporting 'strongman' Netenyahu, demanding reprisals and safety measures. Job done. But at what cost?MetellusScipio -> TonyBennWasRight , 9 Dec 2017 11:20I'm not saying it should be ignored, not at all. I was simply making the point that the Palestinians will see things very differently, and any solution, if there is one, can only be found in a compromise.fredimeyer , 9 Dec 2017 11:20Jared is indeed responsible for what is happening. It was very obvious two years ago that Trump had not the slightest idea of politics in the region. Also Trump's astonishing characteristic of actually listening to people, and being persuaded by whoever has his ear, is unprecedented in the presidency.KrisFernie -> lotoole , 9 Dec 2017 11:19Jared is a member of what can only be called a cult, far removed from the mainstream of American jews. Jared's views manifestly place his interpretation of what is good for Israel ahead of what is good for the American people, and even ahead of what is in fact the majority viewpoint among Israelis. There are limits to what an American president can do, and this embassy issue is mostly window dressing.
But what is important is that the international community now step in to offset trump's position and make it clear that Israel's policies are not rewarded
In order to bait Iran? Trump's pleasing the Saudis, for what reason? The answer is to follow the moneyAlGilchrist -> MetellusScipio , 9 Dec 2017 11:18The PLO founding charter only claimed Gaza as Palestinian land. Before Israel recaptured the eastern part of Jerusalem from Jordan, not the Palestinians.leanttotheleft , 9 Dec 2017 11:18This is the Empire in a further excess of dysfunction. The 'benevolent hegemon' of the 'new world order' often talked about in the post Cold War era has morphed into a poker table of over-entitled dick-swingers gambling with other people's money, countries and lives.redux00 -> TonyBennWasRight , 9 Dec 2017 11:14And of course Trump and his dubious entourage arrive after several terms of both Republican and Democrat misrule. George W Bush plumbed new depths of cock-eyed middle eastern policy, which often seemed to have been prompted by war criminal Ariel Sharon and Israel. Meanwhile the Democrats mixed with the Wall Street financiers, facilitating the liberalisation of the finance sector, and the culture of debt dependency and asset-stripping - 'vulture capitalism' - which has only grown more ruthless since the financial crash of 2008.
Large parts of West Jerusalem were occupied by Zionist militias in 1948. Including the most expensive neighborhoods today, Qatamon, Talbiyeh, Baqa. All ethnically cleansed. The rest of the city was occupied by force in 1967. Jerusalem has been an Arab city for centuries, Muslim Jewish and Christian. European settlers have very little to do with it.zolotoy -> logos00 , 9 Dec 2017 11:13America has always supported illegal Israeli settlements. The current gang is just a bit more honest (because more blatant and crude) about it.tc2011 , 9 Dec 2017 11:08Trump's announcement represents nothing less than the theft of the putative Palestinian capital of East Jerusalem. His announcement is illegal under international law and contravenes all previous diplomatic agreements on the subject. What the wider world is finally starting to see is that US conservatives and the Israeli government do not want a peace deal, they want capitulation and to turn the Palestinians into non-people.Trump and his people would like a war. They don't really care where. Because the main US export is war stuff..our owners make money from war..any war, anywhere.redux00 -> GoingUp , 9 Dec 2017 11:01The days when the US with the Israelis in tow would rule over this region are finished. The one good thing about Trumps Jerusalem debacle is that it makes clear how dead the fiction of the two state solution is. And though it scares the racists and supremacists, we are moving closer and closer to one democratic secular state.logos00 , 9 Dec 2017 10:56Apart from all the other reasons for Kushner not having the leading role in the middle east, his financial support to settlers should automatically rule him out of any participation in brokering deals between Palestine and Israel. How can someone who is actively supporting illegal settlements have any semblance of being neutrality? However, in terms of the ethics of the Trump administration, it is simply business as usual.redux00 , 9 Dec 2017 10:56But what underlies all this is waning US and Saudi power in the region. They might burn the place down but they cannot remake it. The Saudis have devastated Yemen, killed thousands of children, and overseen a cholera epidemic. And still they can't defeat the Houthis. Their proxies have been routed in Syria and Iraq. The Qatar blockade has failed. So has the gambit to reshape Lebanon.KarlNaylor75 , 9 Dec 2017 10:53Kushner is a toady duplicitous operator no doubt, but the whole American Israeli Saudi vision for the region is a nightmare that has no chance of success.
Trump's announcement in recognising Jerusalem as Israeli capital shows his cunning strategic genius. It has united the governments of the Muslim Middle East in coming together and made it more unlikely that Saudi Arabia could align with Israel in triggering a wider conflict with Iran without incurring huge public disapproval within the country.algae64 , 9 Dec 2017 10:53Trump is advancing the cause of Humanity by means that less appreciative and simple minds cannot fathom. All governments in the Middle East will be far more fearful in not knowing what Trump might do next or why. This is the secret essence of power and diplomacy in keeping others guessing and thus less likely to feel they have his support.
It's all part of a long term master plan whereby Trump could extricate the US from having much of a role in the Greater Middle East. Governments will have to compete before Trump for influence and raise their game and money before he will deal from strength. Trump is playing all the rival forces off to get the best deal and to preserve and enhance peace.
The Guardian also ran an overly-reverential article about the Saudi crown prince a while back. It's worrying that they and the Americans are doing all of this with hardly a murmur of disapproval. Where's the UN resolution and sanctions? Where's the sanctions from the EU? America will veto everything at the UN and the EU mostly does what America wants it to do. Shows how useless the major organisations really are. I used to think that the EU was a good counter to American power, but they seem to have joined forces with the US recently, which is worrying when you have an unpredictable American president like Trump.AndPulli , 9 Dec 2017 10:47Kushner is totally out of his depth and playing with fire. The damage done by the shambolic Trump maladministration will take years, if not decades, to repair. These years will be looked back on as those during which America slid into disaster. Where are Trump's babysitters when you need them? They need to keep an eye on Baby Kushner too.umrkgermany -> Izzybe , 9 Dec 2017 10:46He wanted to tick off a box on his lunatic list of campaign pledges before Christmas. Consequences schmonsequences. I think he's also a willing tool of the end of times, rapture crazy Christian fundamentalists.Robape , 9 Dec 2017 10:41The USA should be declared a Rogue state. It certainly behaves worse than all other states. Trump needs locking up as well.Madmacstoo , 9 Dec 2017 10:37I assume the announcement that the US now recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was more to do with Trump attempting to deflect interest away from Mueller now that he, his family and other chums in the administration are coming under financial scrutiny by the inquiry. At a stroke its certainly made Kushner's job in the Middle East much-harder if not impossible and surely makes him a target for every disaffected Palestinian.Tony Stopyra , 9 Dec 2017 10:36Jared, who needs enemies when you've got a father-in-law like Donald.
And with fewer people in the room, who will be around to tell these men that their ideas are so damaging?
This is terrifying when you realise there are those close to Trump who are clearly telling him that this sort of this is not only not damaging, but may have divine sanction... http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jerusalem-donald-trump-israel-capital-decision-reason-why-evangelical-voters-us-fear-a8099321.html
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Dec 09, 2017 | www.youtube.com
dulsen20113 days ago
Here is a list of officials in the US Government who hold Dual Citizenship, as well as just how much influence Israel had and still have on our government.. 1. Attorney General - Michael Mukasey 2. Head of Homeland Security - Michael Chertoff 3. Chairman Pentagon's Defense Policy Board - Richard Perle 4. Deputy Defense Secretary (Former) - Paul Wolfowitz 5. Under Secretary of Defense - Douglas Feith 6. National Security Council Advisor - Elliott Abrams 7. Vice President #$%$ Cheney's Chief of Staff (Former) - "Scooter" Libby 8. White House Deputy Chief of Staff - Joshua Bolten 9. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs - Marc Grossman 10. Director of Policy Planning at the State Department - Richard Haass 11. U.S. Trade Representative (Cabinet-level Position) - Robert Zoellick 12. Pentagon's Defense Policy Board - James Schlesinger 13. UN Representative (Former) - John Bolton 14. Under Secretary for Arms Control - David Wurmser 15. Pentagon's Defense Policy Board - Eliot Cohen 16. Senior Advisor to the President - Steve Goldsmith 17. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary - Christopher Gersten 18. Assistant Secretary of State - Lincoln Bloomfield 19. Deputy Assistant to the President - Jay Lefkowitz 20. White House Political Director - Ken Melman 21. National Security Study Group - Edward Luttwak 22. Pentagon's Defense Policy Board - Kenneth Adelman 23. Defense Intelligence Agency Analyst (Former) - Lawrence (Larry) Franklin 24. National Security Council Advisor - Robert Satloff 25. President Export-Import Bank U.S. - Mel Sembler 26. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families - Christopher Gersten 27. Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs - Mark Weinberger 28. White House Speechwriter - David Frum 29. White House Spokesman (Former) - Ari Fleischer 30. Pentagon's Defense Policy Board - Henry Kissinger 31. Deputy Secretary of Commerce - Samuel Bodman 32. Under Secretary of State for Management - Bonnie Cohen 33. Director of Foreign Service Institute - Ruth Davis Senate: Senator Dianne Feinstein (California) Senator Barbara Boxer (California) Senator Benjamin Cardin (Maryland) Senator Russ Feingold (Wisconsin) Senator Al Franken (Minnesota) Senator Herb Kohl (Wisconsin) Senator Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey) Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut) (Independent) Senator Carl Levin (Michigan) Senator Bernard Sanders (Vermont) (Independent) Senator Charles Schumer (New York) Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon) House of Representatives: Representative Howard Berman (California) Representative Susan Davis (California) Representative Bob Filner (California) Representative Jane Harman (California) Representative Adam Schiff (California) Representative Henry Waxman (California) Representative Brad Sherman (California) Representative Gary Ackerman (New York) Representative John H. Adler (New Jersey) Representative Shelley Berkley (Nevada) Representative Steve Cohen (Tennessee) Representative Eliot Engel (New York) Representative Barney Frank (Massachusetts) Representative Gabrielle Giffords (Arizona) Representative Alan Grayson (Florida) Representative Paul Hodes (New Hampshire) Representative Steve Israel (New York) Representative Steve Kagen (Wisconsin) Representative Ronald Klein (Florida) Representative Sander Levin (Michigan) Representative Nita Lowey (New York) Representative Jerry Nadler (New York) Representative Jared Polis (Colorado) Representative Steve Rothman (New Jersey) Representative Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) Representative Allyson Schwartz (Pennsylvania) Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida) Representative Anthony Weiner (New York) Representative John Yarmuth (Kentucky) Last and not the least influential Zionist lobby in America is the Christian Zionists Movement backed by American senators and politicians, bragging a million plus members America is the only country in the world that has this many citizens of another country in its congress??? And 4 billions every year to israel ?? Why ?? No wonder israel AIPAC is running a muck
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Dec 09, 2017 | nymag.com
The idea certainly is to remove ambiguity, but not in the way these officials mean. Let's not forget that Kushner, who is leading the president's so-called peace team, is a family friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has openly dreamed of killing the peace process started at Oslo in 1993 since his first prime ministry in the late 90s. Kushner also spent nine years running a foundation that funded West Bank settlement projects, which he reportedly failed to disclose in his filings with the Office of Government Ethics. He's also close with the rising leadership of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who don't much care for Israel but agree with Netanyahu that Iran is a much bigger threat to their security and prosperity than his country is.
In other words, the person in charge of our Middle East policy has an agenda of his own, as do the people pulling his strings, and these agendas appear to be driven more by regional interests than those of the U.S. (perhaps this is what Trump means by not interfering in the affairs of other countries). This is also not entirely about Palestine and Israel: Wednesday's move is mostly about Iran, Middle East expert Marc Lynch believes -- specifically, squaring the circle of how to form an Israeli-Arab alliance against it without resolving the Palestinian issue first.
As Trump put it in his announcement, his decision simply recognizes reality and acknowledges that our longstanding approach to the peace process so far has failed. He's not wrong about that: The peace process has been at a virtual standstill for over a decade by now, some would say even longer. However, what Trump is doing may not turn things around.
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Dec 04, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com
"Jared Kushner failed to disclose his role as a co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under international law , on financial records he filed with the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year.
The latest development follows reports on Friday indicating the White House senior adviser attempted to sway a United Nations Security Council vote against an anti-settlement resolution passed just before Donald Trump took office, which condemned the structure of West Bank settlements. The failure to disclose his role in the foundation -- at a time when he was being tasked with serving as the president's Middle East peace envoy -- follows a pattern of egregious omissions that would bar any other official from continuing to serve in the West Wing, experts and officials told Newsweek ." newsweek
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Syria is quiescent at the moment, North Korea hangs in the balance as a possible scenario for a major war. Some people would like to steer me away from the subject of the Mueller investigation but the story is far too interesting for me to accept that.
I would think that Flynn's guilty plea is about developing leverage with regard to Kushner's oddness.
- - He did a poor job of filling out security clearance forms. He did that repeatedly. Too good to obey the law? I have filled out the same tedious forms many times and I can understand his reluctance, but, people can be hired to interview you and fill them out for you.
- - He thinks that he and his perfect group of experts (identities?) can bring the Palestinians and Israelis to an agreement over what I long ago came to see as a problem without a solution. The difficulty is that the two groups' deeply felt desires and aims are mutually exclusive and not really subject to compromise. The truth is that they both want ALL of the land between the sea and the Jordan River and in Israel's case a good many of them want a piece of Jordan as well. Kushner will learn that both Bibi and the Palestinians are lying to him about their willingness to compromise. But, his blindness to that is not a crime. It is simply the result of his conceit and actual ignorance of these people.
- - IMO he is an agent of the Israeli state or the Jewish Agency who is unregistered under FARA.
- - It now appears that Kushner sent Flynn (perhaps the dumbest Irishman in the world - I am part Irish) to seek in the president elect's name Russian government cooperation in blocking a resolution at the UN that was unfavorable to Israel. Did Trump know that Flynn was so dispatched or did Kushner take it upon himself to use his father in law's influence to send Flynn on this errand on behalf of a foreign state? Is this a crime? I know not as yet. pl
Eric Newhill , 04 December 2017 at 03:37 PM
Sir,The Beaver , 04 December 2017 at 04:27 PM
It's hard to imagine anyone who carries water for Israel taking a big hit. It will be interesting. Kushner's relationship with Trump makes him vulnerable - nay, a target - to Borgist machinations. His relationship with Israel should make him invulnerable to the same.The Borg faces a quandary? Perhaps a rift in the Borg develops? I can't see Israel throwing Kushner under the bus and incurring Trump's wrath. I can't see Israel allowing it's name to be very publicly associated with underhanded behavior.
Colonel,The Beaver , 04 December 2017 at 04:36 PMThe irony: From the guy in charge of peace process in the Middle East
In addition, yesterday at the Saban17 Forum, Kushner described the Trump Middle East peace team as made up of "3 orthodox jews and a coptic Egyptian". Since Haim Saban was the moderator , he thanked the Whiz Kid for trying to derail UNSC resolution on settlements. "as far as I know there's nothing illegal there" he told Kushner.
Will try to locate the You Tube video and post it later on
ColonelAlaric , 04 December 2017 at 05:35 PMAnother article :
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.826751and the video of yesterday:
Well said:Yeah, Right said in reply to Eric Newhill... , 04 December 2017 at 05:44 PM"IMO he is an agent of the Israeli state or the Jewish Agency who is unregistered under FARA."
He also seems to lack any common sense when it comes to geopolitics. Him, Netanyahu, and MBS together.....oh my
"It's hard to imagine anyone who carries water for Israel taking a big hit"Keith Harbaugh , 04 December 2017 at 06:02 PMI suspect it might be the reverse i.e. once someone does take a big hit then everyone who carries water for Israel will be in serious trouble.
Once the floodgates open there may be no stopping it.
Some sad news about Ireland (IMO):outthere , 04 December 2017 at 06:06 PM"How Ireland Moved to the Left: 'The Demise of the Church' "
By LIAM STACK. 2017-12-02
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/world/europe/ireland-abortion-abuse-church.htmlJOSEPH CAMPBELL: that wonderful Irish saying, you know, "Is this a private fight, or can anybody get into it?"confusedponderer said in reply to Eric Newhill... , 04 December 2017 at 06:41 PM
me tooEric Newhill,Huckleberry , 04 December 2017 at 06:50 PM
I strongly doubt that Israel will ' throw Kushner under the bus '.They won't be asked for their advice, view or preference in the matter whether Kushner is to stay in the whitehouse or whether he is to be kicked out. They have no saying in that matter, despite their considerable influence in the US.
IMO, what will count is simply domestic - that is, to what extent Kushner is a problem for Trump, and that'll be what solely counts in the question whether Kushner will get the boot or not.
It speaks for itself, in its own way, that the role and tasks of Kushner have been greatly reduced recently.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/jared-kushner-horizons-are-collapsing-within-the-west-wing
That's likely to for one to limit the damage the man can or could cause in addition to the damage he has caused, and, if there is someone else doing his former tasks, a boot won't create a great gap if he gets the kick.
So, why that reduction of Kushner's role, I wonder? Well, actually, I don't wonder. I daresay it's because what Kushner has advised as policy has and is gnawing at the reputation of Trump.
Trump by himself is, well, what he is, but in addition to the advice he got and likely still gets from Kushner he isn't exactly getting 'well considerated advice'.
Kushner's poor and ill advice is no problem for Israel, rather they see it as an advantage, but poor and ill policy resulting from such advice is a political and a poll problem for Trump. That IMO is all that'll count here.
Kushner was after all the genius recommending Trump to fire Comey, Kushner was responsible for 'middle east peace', and Kushner was rather friendly to the Saudis and all that.
Now, how well again did firing Comey do Trump? How far is that middle east peace? I haven't seen it yet. And what about the Saudis and what they do? What about Yemen and Quatar? In sum, all of that is hardly a series of successes, a series successes for America that is.
Pissing into Trumps policies Kushner may have done just what Israel and/or the Saudis wanted. But then: What for the US? Where is US, or, naturally, Trump's grand success based on Kushner's briliant advice? Is there any such succes?
Nope, there isn't anything like that and that's the problem for Kushner as an advisor and for Trump as well.
Firing Comey likely wasn't a wise thing to do, and middle east peace is far away, etc. pp. Trump may not be wise or smart but he probably understands when he is getting poor advice from Kushner.
Just to sum it up: ISIS is being kicked by the Syrians, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia - not by the US or Iraq, or by Turkey or Saudi Arabia. What a success. The Turks play their own 'post-NATO' games, with post-osmanian terriotorial ambitions and their support of so far by and large friendly sunni jihadis in Syria and likely in Lebanon. What a success.
The Israelis for their part don't succeed in 'breaking the Shia highway from Iran to Hezbollah', nor did they succeed in overthrowing Assad. What a success for America.
The Saudis, despite being absurdedly rich, cannot get their act together in Yemen. The Saudis got US backing, US aid in their siege of Yemen and likely they get US recce or air refuelling but still fail in Yemen, and fail also in getting Egypt or Pakistan doing the dirty work that the Saudis alone cannot do and fail doing when they try.
What the Saudis excel at in Yemen is besieging and blockading and blowing up a lot of things from the air. Oh yes, and then there is that nasty Cholera desease in Yemen with something like 400.000 being sick and some 2000 or so having died last time I looked.
Yemen's cholera is likely one of the worst human cathastrophies in recent time. The UN speaks of 'a cholera outbreak of unprecedented scale'.
http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2017/security-council-yemen/en/
I suppose that for Saudis, Israelis and Kushner likely the cholera is ... hmm ... oh yes, it is Iran's and Houthi's fault and certainly not the fault of some neighbour blowing up water cleansing facilities, infrastructure, hospitals and/or bridges and the like ...
IMO if Kushner gets the boot, good riddance.
While I like the Colonel's "Borg" notion, this all strikes me as ZOG.jdledell , 04 December 2017 at 06:51 PMI've talked with Israelis who have met with David Friedman, the Trump bankruptcy lawyer, hard right Jew and now U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Quietly, he has told important Israelis to pay no attention to Kushner's ideas about Israel, the mideast, and a peace agreement but treat him nicely so not to P.O. Trump. The consensus is Kushner is in way over his head in many of his foreign affairs ideas.JohnH , 04 December 2017 at 07:32 PMIt is interesting that media reports leave out the purpose of Flynn's contacts with Russia. Had he just been upfront and said, "I contacted Russia on behalf of the Israeli lobby," I suspect that he would never have been fired or indicted...since violating the law on behalf of Israel seems not to be considered illegal.notlurking , 04 December 2017 at 09:07 PMNever a good idea to have family members serving in government positions when you are the president...Daddy Trump does not want to hurt the feelings of darling Ivanka....Fred -> Keith Harbaugh... , 04 December 2017 at 10:14 PMKeith,Eric Newhill said in reply to Yeah, Right... , 04 December 2017 at 10:25 PMNext time turn the bold off when you are done.
Yeah Right,FB Ali -> Keith Harbaugh... , 04 December 2017 at 11:27 PM
Well "everyone who carries water for Israel" would be, well, just about everyone. So, ok, maybe it's not totally Israel's call, but it sure will be the Borg's call. I agree that once they take the lid of that box, unspeakable furies will be released. So they won't.Whatever Trump thinks of Kushner and whatever his loyalties may be (or not be), Trump isn't running the investigation. Mueller is. Mueller appears to be an assimilate. Ergo, I say that Kushner has nothing to worry about.
Keith Harbaugh,Laura , 05 December 2017 at 12:25 AMFor SST, the "sad news" is that you don't know how to close Bold Lettering after using it.
I would suggest you don't try such fancy stuff until you have discovered how to use it properly.
I have tried to close it off.
Trump is a micro-manager on stuff he thinks 1) he is interested in 2) might know something about and 3) affects him directly. There are actually very few people he interacts with...so it seems to me that if you are "White House," you are following Trump's dictates. Everyone is so afraid of ticking him off (legendarily nasty temper and abusiveness) that they just go with his flow.WJ , 05 December 2017 at 12:30 AMOf course, this only works for a while...we may be coming up on the point at which it rather spectacularly stops working.
In my opinion Kushner will be passed over and the move will be directly against Teump on an obstruction of justice charge, which I believe is constitutionally-speaking an impossible charge to prosecute but which can and will be used to pressure Congress to open impeachment proceedings with the aim of either (1) actually removing Trump from office or (2) so thoroughly discrediting his administration that he loses all political wiggle room, esp on foreign policy and trade, for the remainder of his term. Are there enough neocon and establishment Republican types in Congress open to pursuing this? I don't know. There is little Trump can do at this point except to find a way of calling the FBI's bluff more convincingly than he has done, although the media's absolute refusal to do anything but parrot FBI/CIA talking points on the issue has made that task an almost impossible one to achieve. The whole damn FBI investigation into Flynn from the beginning must be shown to be thoroughly empty of real content and entirely politically motivated, as it is; but it is hard to show this when the entire narrative of corporate media has established (by the empty repetition of the same unsubstantiated assertions) that just the opposite is the case.confusedponderer said in reply to Keith Harbaugh... , 05 December 2017 at 02:25 AM... let's kill the bolding ;)dogear , 05 December 2017 at 02:42 AMEntertaining yarn with running bearconfusedponderer said in reply to Huckleberry... , 05 December 2017 at 02:46 AMWe are all je seus jimmy
Huckleberry,Adrestia , 05 December 2017 at 02:56 AM
likely it's more than the ZOG, but simply a grand-standing cross party consensus on nonsense.Recently I almost spilled my coffe trying not to laugh loud when I read Trump's EPA head, iirc tellingly a guy from industry and a guy hostile to environmental protection, tell me and America why Trump kicking the Kyoto protocoll is a brilliant idea and won't harm the environment.
Why? Well, that's because, so he said, because American coal is very special and very different from the coal found on the rest of the world.
According to him, unlike the coal of the jealous rest of the world, American coal doesn't produce CO2 when being burnt, so it poses no environmental risk. And that the rest of the world only is jealous about that and they want to curb CO2 emissions only to harm America. See? No problem.
IMO that's a hard case of hard idiocy at work. If you don't like what science tells you, speak of 'fake news' and make it up as you like while you go along?
I had chemistry as a focus class in school and thus I very strongly doubt the assertion of the 'EPA head' on how special all that super American coal is.
But isn't that a brilliant leader for a enviromental protection agency? I'd bet that the advice from that genius is about as brilliant as what Kushner offers.
It is so idiotic that I even see the possibility of a Trumpian subversive destruction course: What I mean? Well, not filling so many agency seats is a deliberate policy IMO.
Deliberately don't fill open job slots at agencies, get rid of all these unwanted and unwilling scientists telling you all these bad things and have reliably hostile but reliably happy loons ruin an unwanted agency, to then close it 'because it doesn't work'?
stops the boldLondonBob said in reply to confusedponderer... , 05 December 2017 at 04:39 AMTrump's mistake was not firing Comey sooner, and appointing Rosenstein, the idea Comey could have stayed on as FBI Director is fantastical.Dubhaltach said in reply to Keith Harbaugh... , 05 December 2017 at 04:50 AMIn reply to Keith Harbaugh 04 December 2017 at 06:02 PMJohn_Frank , 05 December 2017 at 06:02 AMAttempting to fix your HTML
Turning to the substance of your post. How is "How Ireland Moved to the Left: 'The Demise of the Church' " even remotely relevant to
My dad was born in 1960 and reared in 1960 - 1970s Catholic Ireland. His description of the viciousness with which the institutional church behaved is chilling. His description of the way in which children were beaten so savagely in the first school he attended that they needed several days to recover sufficiently to be physically capable of attending school is downright horrific. The way in which he and other Irish people of his generation describe the way in which the Catholic church actively promoted sectarianism is horrific. His entirely matter-of-fact description of how he personally was repeatedly singled out because his mother was a protestant is horrific. The revelations of institutionalised sexual abuse are horrific. The revelations of the suffering of children who underwent forced adoptions are horrific. The revelations of mass graves of orphans are horrific. The role of the Catholic hierarchy in preventing the introduction of a healthcare programme for low income children and their mothers at a time when in Ireland TB was killing Irish children in their droves is revolting. If ever there was an institution that illustrates the dictum that "absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely" the Catholic church in Ireland is it.
And you think the decline of the Catholic church's power in Ireland is a pity? In my private life I'm a conservative Catholic and I don't think the decline of the Catholic church's institutional power is a bad thing. On the contrary I think it's a very good thing. Fewer raped and abused children for a start. There was an Irish trade union leader called Jim Larkin who coined the slogan "You'll crucify Christ in this town no longer." conservative Catholic though I am I have to agree that he had a point.
Finally this pattern of institutionalised savagery wasn't just in Ireland. Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, all have statutory Tribunals of Enquiry running at present and all of them are revealing the same pattern of systematic savagery and sexual abuse. From what I've read and been told by Americans whose word I trust the same appalling and revolting pattern is far from unknown in your country.
Was the decision to make contact with various foreign governments, including Russia, to seek to a delay in the UN SC vote on the Palestinian question illegal?LeaNder said in reply to Keith Harbaugh... , 05 December 2017 at 06:51 AMAccording to Professor Dershowitz, No.
If it was, what about what Reagan did with the Iranians while Carter was President, or what Carter did with Arafat, while Clinton was President?
Also, as others have noted, what about what Obama did in 2008 with Iran, Russia and Syria?
Returning to the topic at hand, what if one can show that Obama's decision making process was motivated by his personal animosity towards the Israeli Prime Minister?
An interview with Alan Dershowitz
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/12/an_interview_with_alan_dershowitz_on_trump_and_the_mueller_investigation.htmlThat written, people may find the following piece by Byron York of interest:
Byron York: In Trump-Russia probe, was it all about the Logan Act?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-in-trump-russia-probe-was-it-all-about-the-logan-act/article/2642434If individuals within the outgoing administration deliberately contrived to start an investigation, based on an Act that is arguably no longer enforceable, by leaking highly classified intercepted communications, given everything else that has transpired, including allegations of corrupt practices within the Justice Department and the FBI concerning the conduct of the Hillary Clinton investigation and the Russian counter-intelligence investigation, (or if you prefer the Donald Trump investigation), Mr. Mueller's conflicts of interest and legitimate questions about his authority, a defendant with funds, who was determined to fight any allegation by Special Counsel, could quite possibly "tip the whole process over."
let's close this.confusedponderer said in reply to LondonBob... , 05 December 2017 at 08:16 AMLB,b , 05 December 2017 at 08:18 AM
well, I think I disagree.IMO Comey was a problem because he investigated things that Trump didn't want to get public and didn't weant to see investigated.
My point is this:
I simply assume there were things Trump didn't want to see investigated or discussed openly, and that's why and how Comey became a problem for Trump.
It's IMO not that Comey was evil or vile or a nasty democrat, but that it was the nasty things he was looking at and into.
Was not Paul John Manafort, Trump's campaign manager, engaged in doing odd policy things in Ukraine and getting money for that from ukie oligarchs? Assuming that the oligarchs likely got that money not entirely legally, it suggests that that was something that was unwanted to get public. And so on.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/paul-manafort-russia-trump.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html
Or how did Trump get all that money to build all these golf sites when banks were down? That wasn't cheap. And then banks were not lending money, and Trump had a bad rep for being banktrupt a few times - so who did lend him money? And so on.
That's the sort of things I assume Trump didn't want to see investigated or being talked about publicly.
Kicking out Comey was saying: " Oh, well, why not let us talk about something else and do that quickly?
Slight correction:turcopolier , 05 December 2017 at 08:20 AM
"It now appears that Kushner sent Flynn to seek in the president elect's name Russian government cooperation in blocking a resolution at the UN that was unfavorable to Israel."Kushner sent Flynn to talk to ALL UNSC countries. Russia was just one on that list and to make this about Russia is thereby not adequate.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/politics/jared-kushner-michael-flynn-russia/index.html
(CNN)Jared Kushner is the "very senior member" of President Donald Trump's transition team who directed incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn to contact the Russian ambassador to the United States and other countries about a UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.confusedpondererturcopolier , 05 December 2017 at 08:25 AMYes, you are confused. The great majority of unfilled "slots" in the executive branch are for bureaucratic managers and various other kinds of drones. pl
confusedpondererturcopolier , 05 December 2017 at 08:28 AM"That's the sort of things I assume Trump didn't want to see investigated or being talked about publicly." That is quite an assumption in the absence of any evidence. pl
The Beaver said in reply to jdledell... , 05 December 2017 at 08:48 AMThanks. IMO that actually makes Kushner's action as an unregistered Israeli agent worse. pl
@ jdledellturcopolier -> dogear... , 05 December 2017 at 08:56 AM
an à propos observation:As for how Kushner's potential legal exposure in the Mueller probe might complicate the administration's peace efforts, the former Israeli security official said it might be able to survive his distraction or even absence. Kushner's function has largely been "to translate the Greenblatt product to the president and when [needed], to show up with Greenblatt and be the message" that the Greenblatt team speaks for the president.
"If you want to look for a silver lining, this administration has been accumulating pro-Israeli credentials," the former Israeli official said. "When they table a deal, it will be very hard for this [Netanyahu] administration to say no."
dogearex-PFC Chuck , 05 December 2017 at 09:01 AM
"je seus jimmy?" What is it that you are trying to say? plHere's the URL for The Intercept story:Greco said in reply to notlurking... , 05 December 2017 at 09:04 AM
https://theintercept.com/2017/12/04/trump-white-house-weighing-plans-for-private-spies-to-counter-deep-state-enemies/The Kushner family is very influential and holds some sway in Democrat circles. I don't know if Trump could have become president without him. And he played the key role in bringing in men like Gary Cohn.LeaNder said in reply to jdledell... , 05 December 2017 at 09:15 AMjdledell, what's your take on Trump's campaign promise and so far only postponed decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem?Greco said in reply to confusedponderer... , 05 December 2017 at 09:17 AMThe consensus is Kushner is in way over his head in many of his foreign affairs ideas.
Whoever wasn't before including Clinton?
I read Powers complete statement or her explanation of why the Obama admin choose abstention versus the usual veto on The Times of Israel. Published by the TOI staff.
Because cheaper energy prices in China, who use coal to fuel their country, makes them a more attractive alternative for setting up production than in the US, where they're banning coal. Lower energy prices in the US means its more affordable for manufacturing in the US.ex-PFC Chuck said in reply to Dubhaltach... , 05 December 2017 at 09:20 AMYou want to see the economy sputter and eventually collapse on the weight of its own welfare commitments to a jobless public? Ban coal, it will get the US there all the quicker.
SR Wood said in reply to Dubhaltach... , 05 December 2017 at 09:35 AMIf ever there was an institution that illustrates the dictum that "absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely" the Catholic church in Ireland is it.When Lord Acton uttered this famous quote, he was referring specifically to Pope Pius IX and his minions as they were ramming through the approval of doctrine of papal infallibility at the Vatican I Council. In violation of the precedents of Canon Law, free expression on the part of the bishops and other clergy who opposed it was suppressed and the lay Catholic Acton was the de facto leader of what opposition there was.
You mean the popular BBC series Ballykissangel was just looking at 60's Ireland through rose colored glasses. Darn!Greco , 05 December 2017 at 09:47 AMHe's set to leave according to rumours, but I think Flynn will give up Kushner in exchange. Kushner's lawyers will attack Flynn's credibility, since Flynn plead guilty to lying. Unlike Flynn, Kushner can afford very good lawyers and beat the case. I imagine Kushner will take the flack for ordering Flynn, thus "exonerating" Trump of any potential wrongdoing regardless of whether Trump did in fact order Flynn or not. And I don't see Kushner being exposed as some kind of Israeli operative, not while Zucker, Lack, Rhodes and others head major corporate news networks.LeaNder said in reply to John_Frank ... , 05 December 2017 at 09:50 AMThanks Frank, have been missing "the Dersh". Bias alert: I was highly pleased that a South African case in which he seems to have been involved as legal adviser has taken a different turn recently.Steve G said in reply to Dubhaltach... , 05 December 2017 at 11:19 AMBut strictly in our present context, I wondered too. My nitwit take: Considering we live in a 'democratic' society wouldn't we either as simple humans or collectively representing some interest groups have been quite free to lobby to change the vote too?
If we at least 'theoretically' are, then neither Flynn nor Kushner can have done anything wrong.
Dubhaltachjsn -> confusedponderer... , 05 December 2017 at 12:50 PM
Grew up in a Polish Catholic neighborhood. I attended
public school where as the majority of the kids went
to the now renamed Pope John Paul II school within
the church. Had to fight my way home and on the
local school yard a half a block where I lived too
many times to remember. The boys seemed the meanest
group I had ever encountered. Later learned the nuns
were ruthless disciplinarians as well as the " brothers"
who taught high school.
And yes the Pope did visit the school.Confusedponderer,John_Frank , 05 December 2017 at 03:03 PM
I agree with almost all of what you wrote here, in addition, entrapment was Muellers expertise at FBI: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-fbi-entrapment-is-inventing-terrorists-and-letting-bad-guys-off-the-hook-20120515 Which looks to be what he is up to now for an obstruction charge against the Donald: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454311/mueller-strategy-obstruction-justice-investigation-leading-impeachmentWhat information Trump has on Clinton with regards to Russian uranium stock purchase and the Clinton Foundation is critical here as this Clinton Cluster**** happened on Mueller's watch at FBI and could make him look both partisan and corrupt.
On a somewhat related basis, this morning the media was reporting that Mueller had subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank.Croesus said in reply to LeaNder... , 05 December 2017 at 03:23 PM1. Read for example this piece by Reuters:
Deutsche Bank gets subpoena from Mueller on Trump accounts: source
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-deutsche-bank/deutsche-bank-gets-subpoena-from-mueller-on-trump-accounts-source-idUSKBN1DZ0XNHowever, according to John Roberts of Fox News:
Fox News John Roberts: Mueller has NOT issued a subpoena for Deutsche Bank
https://t.co/vy6NRdvi77According to the Reuters report, the reason that Mueller wanted to see certain records are two fold:
"A U.S. official with knowledge of Mueller's probe said one reason for the subpoenas was to find out whether Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump's mortgage or other loans to Russian state development bank VEB or other Russian banks that now are under U.S. and European Union sanctions.
Holding such debt, particularly if some of it was or is coming due, could potentially give Russian banks some leverage over Trump, especially if they are state-owned, said a second U.S. official familiar with Russian intelligence methods.
"One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that," the second official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
A source close to Deutsche Bank said the bank had run checks on Trump's financial dealings with Russia.
During his election campaign, Trump said he would seek to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which were strained during President Barack Obama's administration.
There was no immediate response to the Deutsche Bank subpoena from Trump's lawyers.
The subpoena was earlier reported by German daily Handelsblatt."
To repeat, according to one unnamed US official, Mueller wants to know:
"One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that," the second official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
So, wanting to have better relations with Russia is now a crime?
2. As to Bloomberg, this morning, Jennifer Jacobs tweeted:
Deutsche Bank management is ready to share information about the lender's dealings with Trump, a bank executive told Bloomberg.
https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/938033568198033413She did that after posting a link to this article with the headline in her tweet:
Mueller investigation goes after Trump's bank records.
https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/938018356476727296Mueller Subpoenas Trump Deutsche Bank Records
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/deutsche-bank-is-said-to-have-received-subpoena-on-client-trump3. Also, if John Roberts is correct, (and I suspect that he is) that no subpoena has been issued, has not the reputation of Reuters and Bloomberg been blown up by their reporting?
It looks like someone is seeking to "shape the narrative" with misleading reporting.
Perhaps "nitwit" is not the word you're looking for; that word is demeaning. You might be looking for something more like, "from my limited understanding," or, "as clearly as I can figure it out . . ."Laura said in reply to Greco... , 05 December 2017 at 03:50 PM"Nitwit" just means, "i'm scatterbrained and dumb," and you are not that.
Greco -- I'll bet Kushner is the one they love to hate...someone is going to give him up because of who he is married to. They can't go after her, but they can sure do him in.Babak Makkinejad said in reply to Croesus... , 05 December 2017 at 04:07 PM"Sacraficial zink."
I agree with this.Fred -> Dubhaltach... , 05 December 2017 at 04:30 PMBut I have my doubts about her being a German; or else they do not teach anything useful in the gymnasia.
Dubhaltach,Fred -> John_Frank ... , 05 December 2017 at 04:33 PM"this pattern of institutionalised savagery ..."
I am reliably informed by multiple US Senators that 1 in 5 women on college campuses in the US are sexually assaulted. There are zero warnings posted on any of them; zero university presidents have been fired because of this particular version of "instutionalized" savagery. Zero of these senators nor the president from the same political party have called for a "statutory Tribunal of Enquiry" - yet. However there is a fine campaign to create a narrative about male sexuality. "Toxic Masculinity". Today's edition of USA Today has a page and a half contribution to same. I am shocked, just shocked, that the author, Jessica Guynn, made zero mention of Senator (((Franken))) or Harvey (((Weinstein))) or just what political party they belong to. Who - Whom is still a question forbidden in the mainstream media. All of which has nothing to do with the topic of the thread.John Frank,John_Frank -> Fred... , 05 December 2017 at 04:49 PMDid you miss that ABC News suspending Brian Ross for his last fake news report about the Trump investigation?
No.John_Frank -> John_Frank ... , 05 December 2017 at 04:52 PMMore from John Roberts of Fox News:Keith Harbaugh said in reply to Fred... , 05 December 2017 at 07:21 PMOn the record from @realDonaldTrump attorney @JaySekulow - NO SUBPOENA TO DEUTSCHE BAN
https://twitter.com/johnrobertsFox/status/938144926956695552
How difficult is it for members of the press to trot on down to the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. and check the court records?
Fred, and others:LeaNder said in reply to Croesus... , 06 December 2017 at 09:38 AM
As usual, I intended to "Preview" that comment before posting it.
I was working fast, and after entering the draft text,
with a number of embedded carriage returns,
(like those in this comment),
I entered my name and email address,
then intended to Preview the message.
Unfortunately, working fast and without thinking, I again hit "Enter" (on the keyboard) after entering the email address,
rather than clicking on "Preview".
That keyboard "Enter", outside of the text entry box,
posted the offending comment.
Very sorry; I apologize.
Thanks to FB Ali for closing the guilty HTML tag
(his reply is where the bolding currently ends).
And thanks to Col. Lang for accepting the comment.
Croesus, thanks for the linguistic support, appreciated.LeaNder said in reply to Babak Makkinejad... , 06 December 2017 at 09:47 AMFact is, I love the word wit. For longer now, for reasons that would take to long to explain. Wit, (Witz), nitwit? Thus almost naturally I love nitwit too. Just as I like Shakespeare's fools or jesters. ... Dimwit? Fool? Stupid (as noun)?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nitwit
But yes, absolutely no doubt it could be an insult or at least demeaning. But also if I use it as signifier for myself?
Strictly, it would be more complex to explain but this partly triggered it, a part of a comment I stumbled across here was at the back of my mind to. Thus a bit scatterbrained? Not always completely focused. Without any doubt. The evidence:
The Big Dersh: "I predicted the deal with Flynn," he said, offering an example of his predictive capacities. "Not because I am smarter, but because I am more objective."
Did you follow John Frank's links to Slate's Isaac Chotiner, the linked Slate article The Dersh mistook as written by Isaac too and beyond? Was an interesting journey.
Babak, remember not my fault, the Diocletian Line! Useful, useless.Babak Makkinejad said in reply to Fred... , 06 December 2017 at 09:47 AMYou live in Michigan, how many such cases are there at Ferris, Grand Valley, MSU, Oakland, Wayne, UofM, Central, Mich Tech, Western Michigan?
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Dec 07, 2017 | www.unz.com
renfro , December 7, 2017 at 2:37 am GMT
@CanSpeccyIt would surely be in the US interest if fewer Jews felt the need to put the interests of Israel before those of their own country, the USA. Moreover, if Israel were truly independent and secure, or as secure as is possible for any small country to be, would that not encourage America's Israel Firsters to go and live in Israel, thus loosening the grip that the Israeli lobby has on the US Government
Afraid not.
First and foremost Israel has to have enough Jews in the US to talk it up to politicians as a voting block for them.
Another First is that Israel is not self supporting and never will be –they don't the land water or resources to be self sufficient -- hence the stealing of Palestine and the constant money grubbing from other states.
Second..They also have to have Jews here to ensure the politicians keep giving Israel billions of our tax money every year. And Israel really has to have the Uber Jews in the US stay here to fund and sway both parties and elections, threaten politicians, form their lobby and keep an eye on their Israel voting.
Also important, Israel must have all the 100s of US Jewish agencies, clubs, org and etc to propagandize and to use Congress to get special grants and favors for hundreds of Jewish charities.
Jews also make 100 phone calls for Israel and Jewish programs to their congresspeople for every one call a non Jew makes to their rep on some issue.
Another point, Israel must have enough Jews in the US to get a lot of them educated -- the average IQ of Jews in Israel is 85, Jews have only succeeded and excelled when exposed to non Jewish education.If there were no Jews in the US it is unlikely US tech giants and others would set up plants in Israel when they could find cheaper and just as skilled and more educated workers in Asia and elsewhere or that Israel would get special trade favors from the US.
If there were no Jews in the US Israel wouldn't be able to sell a billion dollars worth of bonds to US unions and pension funds every year.
If there were no Jews in the US, Jews couldn't send 2 billion of money made in the US to Israel every year -- that money would have been in non Jewish pockets and stayed and circulated in the US economy.
If there were no Jews in the US then the 90% of Dept of Homeland Security funds might go to improving school security and preventing school shootings in the US instead of to Jewish temples and office buildings for Jewish security.
If there were no Jews in the US then they couldn't clog up American courts to sue every other country and corporation in the world for more money for the Jews.
If there were no Jews in the US our constitutional free speech rights wouldn't be under assault by the uber Jews.
If there were no Jews in the US congress wouldn't even think of trying to criminalize citizens rights to boycott whoever he wishes.
If there were no Jews there wouldn't be Jews who go into small towns around the country looking for some town or county that opens their business meetings with a Christian prayer so they can sue them under separation of church and state because it hurts their feeling and saying Jesus makes them uncomfortable- -yea they did that in my state and took it all the way to the supreme court –and lost thankfully.
Last but not least if there were no Jews in the US Israel probably would never have existed or would have failed shortly after it started because there would have been no diaspora Jews to lobby the countries they lived in to help Israel .
I getting tired but will list more sometime
Meanwhile -- If you go to the presidential libraries starting with Truman, in all their papers and discussions on Israel you will see the phase .. "domestic political considerations " ..over and over and over by every president meaning the pressure and money that the tribe exerts for or against a politician according to their Israel policy.
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Nov 22, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com
outthere , 22 November 2017 at 03:24 PM
Here is an analysis of how much Israel spent to influence USA elections
Washington - Which Nation is Really Interfering in the Electoral Process?
http://viableopposition.blogspot.ru/2017/07/washington-which-nation-is-really.html
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Oct 31, 2017 | www.unz.com
Alfred , October 31, 2017 at 6:33 am GMT
Israel is overplaying its hand. Hubris always comes before the downfall.Erebus , October 31, 2017 at 6:46 am GMTAll their plans in the Middle East have failed. They have not won a single war since 1967. In 1973, they were saved by US pilots, intelligence and supplies. Ever since they have failed – most recently in Syria.
@whyamihereBuzz Baldrin , October 31, 2017 at 11:15 am GMTIt's amazing to me how people get so angry at the thought of the US supporting the only friend it has in the region, Israel.
To which John Sheehan, S.J. provides the perfect retort:
"Every time anyone says that Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, I can't help but think that before Israel, we had no enemies in the Middle East."@whyamihereDr. X , October 31, 2017 at 12:47 pm GMTI side with President Eisenhower's diplomacy-first foreign policy, which balanced domestic and military spending.
In practice, this meant neutrality to Israel, reduced boots on the ground in the Middle East, a huge missile gap over the Soviet Union, controlled and relatively beneficial immigration, and expanded physical and cultural infrastructure during the 50s.
, as for your fear that Muslim terrorists would "turn Israel into another third world Muslim hellhole where barbarity is commonplace," you're a little late. Likud beat them to it.
@whyamihereAnon2000 , Next New Comment October 31, 2017 at 9:40 pm GMTCan someone please explain to me (with limited snark, if possible) why you side with Hamas and Hezbollah over Israel?
I don't side with Hamas or Hezbollah over Israel. I think a lot of Muslims are nutjobs and lunatics. However, I as an American am under no obligation to pick one side or the other. America should be neutral with regard to Muslim nutjobs, as well as Jewish nutjobs who think that Yahweh made them the "Chosen People" and will give them the "Promised Land."
Not. My. Problem.
As John Quincy Adams said, America "goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy" and America "is the champion and vindicator only of her own ."
Screw Hamas and Hezbollah, and screw Israel, too.
Trump has made many big mistakes, including his entire foreign policy team from Tillerson to John Mattis to HR McMaster, but Nikki Haley has got to be one of the worst mistakes he ever made. This daft woman should just be known as "Israel's ambassador to the UN", nothing more than an attack dog for Israel. She has made no effort whatsoever to even be remotely objective or cool headed when it comes to Israel. Given all the rumors coming out of South Carolina of her extra marital affairs, I am almost certain she's sleeping with an Israel loving neocon Jew.She is also John McCain in a dress. Every time Trump is anywhere near this woman, he's talking about going to war with somebody, be it Syria, Venezuela, North Korea John McCain in a dress is leading the way.
The whole "Russian collusion" investigation was a farce. The real foreign interference in our election that Mueller should be investigating are Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Saudis donated no less than $25m to the Clinton Foundation and even directly to her campaign, while Israel has enough Jewish agents in the US donating on their behalf.
utu , October 31, 2017 at 9:51 pm GMT
The PLO was also supported by the old Soviet UnionIn retrospect Soviet influence in the Middle East was very positive. It helped to create secular states like Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Libya (and Afghanistan in late 1970s) with modern universal educational systems, rights for women, industrialization, etc. It was the West and Israel that decided to destroy these states by using Islamists and Muslim fundamentalists and terrorists by supporting them starting with Muslim Brotherhood, Al Queida, Daesh and pumping up and keeping alive Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism. It is possible that fundamentalists were used even against the pro western Islamic state like Iran in 1979 because it was modernizing fast and growing strong and the fact that Iran was very pro West and pro Israel did not save it. Israel prefers weak and dysfunctional states/areas even if they are overtly hostile to Israel over friendly and strong (like Iran of Shah) states.
It is the West and Israel that are solely responsible for stoking up the flames of radical Islamism and it is them responsible for spreading of Islamophobia in the West which has only one purpose: the acceptance of Israel and its plans of domination and expansion as the comrade in arms gains common enemy. The enemy was however constructed. Everything what we are doing now is reactive to what the US and Israel has created.
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Oct 17, 2017 | www.unz.com
One month ago, I initiated here at Unz.com a discussion of the role of American Jews in the crafting of United States foreign policy. I observed that a politically powerful and well-funded cabal consisting of both Jewish individuals and organizations has been effective at engaging the U.S. in a series of wars in the Middle East and North Africa that benefit only Israel and are, in fact, damaging to actual American interests. This misdirection of policy has not taken place because of some misguided belief that Israeli and U.S. national security interests are identical, which is a canard that is frequently floated in the mainstream media. It is instead a deliberate program that studiously misrepresents facts-on-the ground relating to Israel and its neighbors and creates casus belli involving the United States even when no threat to American vital interests exists. It punishes critics by damaging both their careers and reputations while its cynical manipulation of the media and gross corruption of the national political process has already produced the disastrous war against Iraq, the destruction of Libya and the ongoing chaos in Syria. It now threatens to initiate a catastrophic war with Iran.
To be sure, my observations are neither new nor unique. Former Congressmen Paul Findley indicted the careful crafting of a pro-Israel narrative by American Jews in his seminal book They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby , written in 1989. Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's groundbreaking book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy said much the same thing nine years ago and discussions of Jewish power do emerge occasionally, even in the mainstream media. In the Jewish media Jewish power is openly discussed and is generally applauded as a well-deserved reward bestowed both by God and by mankind due to the significant accomplishments attributed to Jews throughout history.
There is undeniably a complicated web of relationships and networks that define Israel's friends. The expression "Israel Lobby" itself has considerable currency, so much so that the expression "The Lobby" is widely used and understood to represent the most powerful foreign policy advocacy group in Washington without needing to include the "Israel" part. That the monstrous Benjamin Netanyahu receives 26 standing ovations from Congress and a wealthy Israel has a guaranteed income from the U.S. Treasury derives directly from the power and money of an easily identifiable cluster of groups and oligarchs – Paul Singer, Sheldon Adelson, Bernard Marcus, Haim Saban – who in turn fund a plethora of foundations and institutes whose principal function is to keep the cash and political support flowing in Israel's direction. No American national interest, apart from the completely phony contention that Israel is some kind of valuable ally, would justify the taxpayers' largesse. In reality, Israel is a liability to the United States and always has been.
And I do understand at the same time that a clear majority of American Jews, leaning strongly towards the liberal side of the political spectrum, are supportive of the nuclear agreement with Iran and do not favor a new Middle Eastern war involving that country. I also believe that many American Jews are likely appalled by Israeli behavior, but, unfortunately, there is a tendency on their part to look the other way and neither protest such actions nor support groups like Jewish Voice for Peace that are themselves openly critical of Israel. This de facto gives Israel a free pass and validates its assertion that it represents all Jews since no one important in the diaspora community apart from minority groups which can safely be ignored is pushing back against that claim.
That many groups and well-positioned individuals work hand-in-hand with the Israeli government to advance Israeli interests should not be in dispute after all these years of watching it in action. Several high level Jewish officials, including Richard Perle , associated with the George W. Bush Pentagon, had questionable relationships with Israeli Embassy officials and were only able to receive security clearances after political pressure was applied to "godfather" approvals for them. Former Congressman Tom Lantos and Senator Frank Lautenberg were, respectively, referred to as Israel's Congressman and Senator, while current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has described himself as Israel's "shomer" or guardian in the U.S. Senate.
A recent regulatory decision from the United Kingdom relates to a bit of investigative journalism that sought to reveal precisely how the promotion of Israel by some local diaspora Jews operates, to include how critics are targeted and criticized as well as what is done to destroy their careers and reputations.
Last year, al-Jazeera Media Network used an undercover reporter to infiltrate some U.K. pro-Israel groups that were working closely with the Israeli Embassy to counter criticisms coming from British citizens regarding the treatment of the Palestinians. In particular, the Embassy and its friends were seeking to counter the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), which has become increasingly effective in Europe. The four-part documentary released late in 2016 that al-Jazeera produced is well worth watching as it consists mostly of secretly filmed meetings and discussions.
The documentary reveals that local Jewish groups, particularly at universities and within the political parties, do indeed work closely with the Israeli Embassy to promote policies supported by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also confirms that tagging someone as an anti-Semite has become the principal offensive weapon used to stifle any discussion, particularly in a country like Britain which embraces concepts like the criminalization of "hate speech." At one point, two British Jews discussed whether "being made to feel uncomfortable" by people asking what Israel intends to do with the Palestinians is anti-Semitic. They agreed that it might be.
The documentary also describes how the Embassy and local groups working together targeted government officials who were not considered to be friendly to Israel to "be taken down," removed from office or otherwise discredited. One government official in particular who was to be attacked was Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan.
Britain, unlike the U.S., has a powerful regulatory agency that oversees communications, to include the media. It is referred to as Ofcom. When the al-Jazeera documentary was broadcast, Israeli Embassy political officer Shai Masot, who reportedly was a Ministry of Strategic Affairs official working under cover, was forced to resign and the Israeli Ambassador offered an apology. Masot was filmed discussing British politicians who might be "taken down" before speaking with a government official who plotted a "a little scandal" to bring about the downfall of Duncan. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is the first head of a political party in Britain to express pro-Palestinian views, had called for an investigation of Masot after the recording of the "take down" demand relating to Duncan was revealed. Several Jewish groups (the Jewish Labour Movement, the Union of Jewish Students and We Believe in Israel) then counterattacked with a complaint that the documentary had violated British broadcast regulations, including the specific charge that the undercover investigation was anti-Semitic in nature.
On October 9 th , Ofcom ruled in favor of al-Jazeera, stating that its investigation had done nothing improper, but it should be noted that the media outlet had to jump through numerous hoops to arrive at the successful conclusion. It had to turn over all its raw footage and communications to the investigators, undergoing what one source described as an "editorial colonoscopy," to prove that its documentary was "factually accurate" and that it had not "unfairly edited" or "with bias" prepared its story. One of plaintiffs, who had called for critics of Israel to "die in a hole" and had personally offered to "take down" a Labour Party official, responded bitterly. She said that the Ofcom judgment would serve as a "precedent for the infringement of privacy of any Jewish person involved in public life."
The United States does not yet have a government agency to regulate news stories, though that may be coming, but the British tale has an interesting post script. Al-Jazeera also had a second undercover reporter inserted in the Israel Lobby in the United States, apparently a British intern named James Anthony Kleinfeld, who had volunteered his services to The Israel Project, which is involved in promoting Israel's global image. He also had contact with at least ten other Jewish organizations and with officials at the Israeli Embassy,
Now that the British account of "The Lobby" has cleared a regulatory hurdle the American version will reportedly soon be released. Al-Jazeera's head of investigative reporting Clayton Swisher commented "With this U.K. verdict and vindication past us, we can soon reveal how the Israel lobby in America works through the eyes of an undercover reporter. I hear the U.S. is having problems with foreign interference these days, so I see no reason why the U.S. establishment won't take our findings in America as seriously as the British did, unless of course Israel is somehow off limits from that debate."
Americans who follow such matters already know that groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) swarm over Capitol Hill and have accomplices in nearly every media outlet. Back in 2005-6 AIPAC Officials Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman were actually tried under the Espionage Act of 1918 in a case involving obtaining classified intelligence from government official Lawrence Franklin to pass on to the Israeli Embassy. Rosen had once boasted that, representing AIPAC and Israel, he could get the signatures of 70 senators on a napkin agreeing to anything if he sought to do so. The charges against the two men were, unfortunately, eventually dropped "because court rulings had made the case unwinnable and the trial would disclose classified information."
And Israeli interference in U.S. government and elections is also a given. Endorsement of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election by the Netanyahu government was more-or-less carried out in the open. And ask Congressmen like Paul Findley, Pete McCloskey, William Fulbright, Charles Percy and, most recently, Cynthia McKinney, what happens to your career when you appear to be critical of Israel. And the point is that while Israel calls the shots in terms of what it wants, it is a cabal of diaspora American Jews who actually pull the trigger. With that in mind, it will be very interesting to watch the al-Jazeera documentary on The Lobby in America.
Rurik , October 17, 2017 at 4:29 am GMT
Philip Giraldi is a rare American treasure. A voice of integrity and character in a sea of moral cowardice and corruption. If there is any hope for this nation, it will be due specifically to the integrity of men like Mr. Giraldi to keep speaking truth to power.googlecensors , October 17, 2017 at 5:00 am GMTOne is unable to open the documentary – all 4 parts – on YouTube suggesting that google/YouTube are censoring it and have caved into the Jewish LobbyMalla , October 17, 2017 at 5:03 am GMTWhen the Jewish Messiah comes, all of us goyim (Black, White, Yellow, brown or Red) will be living like today's Palestinians. Our slave descendant will be scurrying around in their ghettos afraid of the Greater Israeli Army military andriod drones in the sky.Frankie P , October 17, 2017 at 5:42 am GMTBut if I was a Westerner, I would support Israel any day. Because if the Israeli state were to be ever dismantled, all of them Israelis would go to the West. Why would you want that?
@Rurikwayfarer , October 17, 2017 at 5:43 am GMTHe has been set free by the truth, proving the old maxim.
Understand a Spoiled Child, and You Will Understand Israel. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoiled_childDan Hayes , October 17, 2017 at 5:48 am GMTDiscipline the Spoiled Child, and Boycott Israel. source: https://bdsmovement.net/
Israel Anti-Boycott Act – An Attack on Free Speech?
Philip,Uebersetzer , October 17, 2017 at 6:14 am GMTMy admittedly subjective impression is that your UR reports are becoming more open/unbounded after your release from the constraints of the American Conservative . In other word, you're now being enabled to let it all hang out. In my book that's all to the good.
Of course your work and those of the other UR writers are enabled by the beneficence of its patron, Ron!
There may be limits to their power in Britain. Jeremy Corbyn is hated by them, and stories are regularly run in the MSM, in Britain and also (of course!) in the New York Times claiming that under Corbyn Labour is a haven of anti-Semitism. Corbyn actually gained millions of votes in the last election. Perhaps they will nail him somewhere down the road but they have failed so far.JackOH , October 17, 2017 at 6:59 am GMT" . . . [W]ars in the Middle East and North Africa that benefit only Israel and are, in fact, damaging to actual American interests (emphases mine).Cloak And Dagger , October 17, 2017 at 7:43 am GMTThat's the money shot, Phil. I'm okay with Jews, okay with the existence of Israel, all that, but I think we were massively had by Iraq II. When Valerie Plame spoke in my area, she talked disgustedly about a plan to establish American military power throughout the Middle East. She used the euphemism "neocons" for the plan's authors, and seemed about to burst with anger. I looked up the plan, but don't recall the catch phrase for it.
I recall the basic idea was for the U. S. to do Israel's dirty work at U. S. expense and without a U. S. benefit, and I think there was the usual "God talk" cover in it about "democratization", "development", blah-blah.
I remain skeptical that the Al-Jazeera undercover story in the US will be able to be viewed. I anticipate a hoard of Israel-firster congress critters to crawl out from under their respective rocks and deem Al-Jazeera to be antisemitic and call for it being banned as a foreign propaganda apparatus, much as is being done with RT and Sputnik.Mark James , October 17, 2017 at 9:32 am GMTI fear that we are long past the point of being redeemed as a nation. We can only watch with sorrow as this great nation crumbles under the might of Jewish power – impotent in our ability to arrest its fall.
ask Congressmen like Paul Findley, Pete McCloskey, William Fulbright, Charles PercyKevin , October 17, 2017 at 9:37 am GMTI'd also add Adlai E. Stevenson III and John Glenn. Stevenson was crucial in getting compensation -- paltry sum though it was– payed to "Liberty" families for their loss. The Israelis had been holding out. Something for which the Il Senator was never forgiven (especially by The Lobby).
Netanyahu should not have been allowed to address the joint session. No foreign leader should be speaking in opposition to any sitting President (in this case Obama). It only showed the power of "The Lobby." Netanyahu who knew that Iran didn't have the weapons the Bush Adm. had claimed, was treated like a trusted ally. He shouldn't have been.
Tyrion , October 17, 2017 at 9:53 am GMTAnd the point is that while Israel calls the shots in terms of what it wants, it is a cabal of diaspora American Jews who actually pull the trigger. With that in mind, it will be very interesting to watch the al-Jazeera documentary on The Lobby in America.Maybe, instead of Russia-Gate, we have is Israel-Gate. This time Netanyahu discreetly interfering in US Presidential Election ..Chilling thought though!
Randal , October 17, 2017 at 9:58 am GMTAnd Israeli interference in U.S. government and elections is also a given. Endorsement of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election by the Netanyahu government was more-or-less carried out in the open.
London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, actually went to America to campaign for Hillary. Numerous European leaders endorsed her, while practically all denounced Trump. Exactly the same can be said of the Muslim world, only more so.
The problem with criticism of Israel is not that it lacks basis in truth. It is that it is removed from the context of the rest of the world. Israel's actions do not make Israel an outlier. Israel fits very much within the norm. Even with the recording this is the case.
All embassies try to further their national interest through political machinations and all people in politics tend to use hyperbolic language to describe what they are doing. I don't know if your shock is just for show or you are just a bit dim. The same applies to Buzzfeed's 'expose' of Bannon and the gasps the article let out at his use of terms like #War.
Unfortunately, contemporary idiots of all stripes seem to specialise in removing context so that they can further their specious arguments.
geokat62 , October 17, 2017 at 9:59 am GMT"so I see no reason why the U.S. establishment won't take our findings in America as seriously as the British did"
Sadly, Clayton Swisher is probably correct that the US establishment will take their findings in America just as "seriously" as the British media and political establishment, and government, did.
The British government attitude was that everything was fine because the Israeli government "apologised" and the "rogue individual" responsible was taken out of the country, and the British media mostly ignored the story after an initial brief scandal. Indeed the main substantive response was the Ofcom fishing expedition against Al Jazeera looking for ways to use the disclosure of these uncomfortable truths as a pretext for shutting that company's operations down.
But there's no "undue influence" or bias involved, and if you say there might be then you are an anti-Semite and a hater.
The supreme irony behind all this is that Trump has been prevented by his own personal and family/adviser bias from using the one certain way of removing all the laughably vague "Russian influence" nonsense that has been used against him so persistently. All he had to do was to, at every opportunity, tie criticism and investigation of Russian "influence" to criticism and investigation of Israel Lobby influence under the general rubric of "foreign influence", and almost all of the high level backing for the charges would in due course have quietly evaporated.
@Rurikanimalogic , October 17, 2017 at 10:54 am GMTPhilip Giraldi is a rare American treasure.
Rare, indeed, Rurik.
And in this rare company I would place former congressman, Ron Paul.
Here's an excerpt from his latest article, President Trump Beats War Drums for Iran :
Let's be clear here: President Trump did not just announce that he was "de-certifying" Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. He announced that Iran was from now on going to be in the bullseye of the US military. Will Americans allow themselves to be lied into another Middle East war?
This state of affairs, where the Zionist tail wags -- thrashes -- the US dog is bizarre to the point of laughter. Absent familiarity with the facts, who could believe it all? Is there a historical parallel ? I can't think of one that approaches the sheer profundity of the toxic embrace the Zionists have cover the US & west generally.The Alarmist , October 17, 2017 at 11:01 am GMTSo how is using money we give them as foreign aid (it's fungible by any definition of the US Treasury and Justice Department) to lobby our legislators not a form of money laundering? Somebody ought to tell Mnuchin to get FINCEN on this yeah, I know, it sounded naive as I typed it. FINCEN is only there to harass little people like you and me.Bardon Kaldian , October 17, 2017 at 11:05 am GMT@googlecensorsjacques sheete , October 17, 2017 at 11:15 am GMTNot true.
@Mallajacques sheete , October 17, 2017 at 11:21 am GMTAbby Martin is amazingly sharp. Many of the things she says can be confirmed by Uri Avnery, both his books and articles.
Here's a link to his weekly columns.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery
Incredible stuff there; thanks for posting it.
@Mallajacques sheete , October 17, 2017 at 11:32 am GMTOur slave descendant will be scurrying around in their ghettos afraid of the Greater Israeli Army military andriod drones in the sky.
According to the first vid, those drones will be built by the goyim.
Maybe there's a message there for us.
@Cloak And DaggerISmellBagels , October 17, 2017 at 11:45 am GMTI fear that we are long past the point of being redeemed as a nation. We can only watch with sorrow as this great nation crumbles
We are long past that point.
I myself am watching with joy, because this supposedly "great nation" was corrupt to the core from its inception.
For evidence, all one has to do is read the arguments of the anti-federalists who opposed the ratification of the constitution* such as Patrick Henry, Robert Yates and Luther Martin. Their predictions about the results have come true. Even the labels, "federalist" and "anti-federalist" are misleading and no doubt intentionally so.
Those who spoke out against the formation of the federal reserve bank* scheme were also correct.
The only thing great about the US in a moral sense are the high sounding pretenses upon which it was built. As a nation we have never adhered to them.
*Please note that I intentionally refrain from capitalizing those words since I refuse to show even that much deference to those instruments of corruption.
Philip, glad to see you undaunted after the recent attacks on you. We can maybe take solace in the fact that their desire for MORE will finally pass a critical point, and dumbass Americans will finally wake up.jacques sheete , October 17, 2017 at 11:47 am GMTjacques sheete , October 17, 2017 at 11:58 am GMT"She said that the Ofcom judgment would serve as a "precedent for the infringement of privacy of any Jewish person involved in public life."
I have news for that twister of words.
In my opinion, if you choose to put yourself in the limelight, you have no private life. That is especially true for those who think they're entitled to a position of power.
In other words, if you think you're special, then you get judged by stricter standards than the rest of us.
It's called accountability.
BTW, speaking of Netanyahu, why do we hear so little about the scandal involving the theft of nuclear triggers from the US?
"The Israeli press is picking up Grant Smith's revelation from FBI documents that Benjamin Netanyahu was part of an Israeli smuggling ring that spirited nuclear triggers out of the U.S. in the 80s and 90s."
Thank you Mr Giraldi. You covered an amazing number of issues in such a well written and compact article.ISmellBagels , October 17, 2017 at 12:30 pm GMTThanks also to Mr Unz for publishing these sorts of things.
@jacques sheeteAnon , Disclaimer October 17, 2017 at 12:42 pm GMTWhat she really meant by that was HOLOCAUST ALERT HOLOCAUST ALERT!!
@Mallaiffen , October 17, 2017 at 12:47 pm GMTWhen you listen to Abby Martin describe her experience regarding this brutal apartheid system in Israel and the genocide of the Palestinian people, remember, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic , was a prison guard in the Israeli Defense Forces guarding the West Bank death camp. And David Brooks, political and cultural commentator for The New York Times and former op-ed editor for The Wall Street Journal , has a son in the Israel Defense Forces helping to perpetuate this holocaust of the Palestinian people. I hope I live to see the day when some Palestinian Simon Wiesenthal hunts these monsters down and brings them to trial in The Hague.
NPR Morning Edition 10/17/17LondonBob , October 17, 2017 at 12:58 pm GMTRachel Martin talks to Vahil Ali, the communications director for the Kurdish president.
In which she tries to steer him into calling for armed American intervention in Kurdistan to resist the Iranian sponsored militia.
The lobby is not as powerful in Britain as it is the US, we can talk about it and someone like Peter Oborne is still a prominent journalist, but I don't see that it makes that much difference. We seem to end up in the same places the US does.Sherman , October 17, 2017 at 1:15 pm GMTI had my meeting with the Rothschilds, Goldman Sachs and the Israeli Department of Hasbara last week and we discussed how our plan to suppress both the US and British governments is progressing.ChuckOrloski , October 17, 2017 at 1:25 pm GMTApparently we are meeting our targets and everything is going according to plan.
Thanks for update Phil!
@geokat62Jake , October 17, 2017 at 1:27 pm GMTHey geokat62,
Speaking about how greatly rare a treasure are the P.G.'s words, below is linked a deliberately rare letter written by Congressman Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of the AZC.
http://www.israellobby.org/azcdoj/congress/defaultZAC .
Also, re, "Will Americans allow themselves to be lied into another M.E. war?"
(Sigh)
History shows that, in order for ZUSA to start M.E. wars, Americans are routinely fed Executive Branch / Corporate Media-sauteed lies. Such deceit is par-for-the-course.
At present, it would be foolish for me to not realize there is a False Flag Pentagon plan "on the table" & ready for a war with Iran.
What is playing out in the UK, and is in early stages in America, is the fight between the two side of Victorian WASP pro-Semtiism.Michael Kenny , October 17, 2017 at 1:31 pm GMTWASP culture has always been philo-Semitic. That cannot be stated too much. WASP culture is inherently philo-Semtic. WASP culture was born of Anglo-Saxon Puritanism, which was a Judaizing heresy. Judaizing heresy naturally and inevitably produces pro-Jewish culture. No less than Oliver Cromwell made the deal to get Jewish money so he could wage culture war to destroy British Isles natives were not WASPs.
WASP culture has always been allied with Jews to destroy white Christians who are not WASPs. You cannot solve 'the Jewish problem' unless you also solve 'the WASP problem.'
By the beginning of the Victorian era, virtually all WASP Elites in the Empire – who then had a truly globalist perspective – were divided into two pro-Semitic camps. The larger one was pro-Jewish. It would give the world the Balfour Declaration and the state of Israel.
The smaller and growing one was pro-Arabic and pro-Islamic. It would give the world the people who backed Lawrence of Arabia and came to prop up the House of Saud.
Each of these philo-Semitic WASP Elites groups was more than happy to keep the foot on the pedal to destroy non-WASP European cultures while spending fortunes propping up its favorite group of Semites.
And while each of those camps was thrilled to ally to keep up the war against historic Christendom and the peoples who naturally would gravitate to any hope of a revival of Christendom, they also squabbled endlessly. Each wished, and always will wish, to be the A-#1 pro-Semitic son of daddy WASP. Each will play any dirty trick, make any deal with the Devil himself, to get what he wants.
The Israeli lobby is more powerful throughout the Anglosphere than the Saudi/Arabic lobby, but the Saudi lobby is equally detestable and probably even a more grave threat to the very existence of Western man.
It is impossible to take care of a serious problem without knowing its source and acting to sanitize and/or cauterize and/or cut out that source. The source of this problem is WASP culture.
That the intelligence services of many countries engage in such conduct is not really news. Indeed, you could say that it's part of their normal job. They usually don't get caught and when accused of anything they shout "no evidence!" (now, where have I heard that recently?) Of course, if the Israelis engage in such conduct, then, logically, other countries' services do so too.Fran Macadam , Website October 17, 2017 at 1:32 pm GMTThus, Mr Giraldi's argument lends credibility to the claims that Russia interfered in the US election and to the proposition that US intelligence agents are seeking to undermine the EU.
Since those two operations are part of the same transaction, i.e. maintain US global hegemony by breaking the EU up into its constituent Member States or even into the regional components of the larger Member States, using Putin as a battering ram and a bogeyman to frighten the resulting plethora of small and largely defenseless statelets back under cold war-era American protection, could it be that US and Russian intelligence services collaborated to manipulate Trump into the White House? If that were true, it would be quite a scandal! Overthrowing foreign governments is one thing, collaborating with a foreign power to manipulate your own country's politics is quite another! But of course, there's "no evidence"
Not surprising that the Jewish public gets gamed by Israeli political elites, just as the American public keeps getting gamed by our own cabal of bought politicians. Trying to fool enough of the people, enough of the time, contra Lincoln (who was not exactly a friend of critical dissent against war either .)Anon , Disclaimer October 17, 2017 at 1:53 pm GMT@wayfarerDaphne Caruana Galizia exposed both local thieves and the CIA-Azerbaijan cooperation in supplying ISIS with arms:
https://www.rt.com/news/406963-assange-reward-caruana-galizia-death/ https://www.newsbud.com/2017/10/16/breaking-gladio-b-assassinates-journalist-with-car-bomb/
"Azerbaijan considers Malta to be "one of its provinces": https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2017/09/azerbaijan-considers-malta-one-provinces/
The Middle Eastern wars have repercussion .
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Jan 04, 2017 | www.unz.com
I am reluctant to write about the "Israel problem" at the heart of U.S. foreign policy two weeks in a row but it seems that the story just will not go away as the usual suspects pile on the Barack Obama Administration over its alleged betrayal of America's "best and greatest friend and ally in the whole world."
Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his gaggle of war criminals continue to foam at the mouth over the United Nations vote it is, in truth, difficult to blame Israel for what is happening. The Israelis are acting on what they see as their self interest in dominating their neighbors militarily and having a free hand to deal with the Palestinians in any way they see fit. And as for their relationship with Washington, what could be better than getting billions of dollars every year, advanced weapons and unlimited political cover in exchange for absolutely nothing?
Surely even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that the settlements are illegal under international law and are an impediment to any peaceful resolution with the Palestinians, which is what Resolution 2334 says. It has been U.S. policy to oppose them since they first starting popping up like mushrooms, but Netanyahu has encouraging their expansion in full knowledge that he is creating facts on the ground that will be irreversible. He has also pledged to his voters that he will not permit the creation of a Palestinian state, so why should anyone be confused about his intentions?
Daniel Larison over at The American Conservative summed up the situation perfectly, observing that "Calling out Israel for its ongoing illegal behavior becomes unavoidable when there is no progress in resolving the conflict, and the current Israeli government has made it very clear that there won't be any progress Israel isn't actually an ally, much less a 'vital' one, and it certainly isn't 'critical' to our security. The U.S. isn't obliged to cater to some of the worst policies of a client government that has increasingly become a liability. The real problem with the U.S. abstention on the resolution is that it came many years after it might have done some significant good, and it comes so late because Obama wasted his entire presidency trying to 'reassure' a government that undermined and opposed him time and again."
So stop blaming Israel for acting selfishly, since that is the nature of the beast, as in the fable of the frog and the scorpion. More to the point, it is the American Quislings who should be the focus of any examination of what is taking place as they are deliberately misrepresenting nearly every aspect of the discussion and flat out lying about what might actually be at stake due to Washington's being shackled to Netanyahu's policies. I will leave it to the reader to decide why so many U.S. politicians and media talking heads have betrayed their own country's interests in deference to the shabby arguments being put forward on behalf of an openly apartheid theocracy, but I might suggest that access to money and power have a lot to do with it as the Israel Lobby has both in spades.
The Quislings are making two basic arguments in their defense of surrendering national sovereignty to a troublesome little client state located half a world away. First, they are claiming that any acknowledgement that the Israelis have behaved badly is counterproductive because it will encourage intransigence on the part of the Arabs and thereby diminish prospects for a viable peace agreement, which has to be negotiated between the two parties. Second, the claim is being made that the abstention on the U.N. vote violates established U.S. policy on the nature of the conflict and, in so doing, damages both Israeli and American interests. Bloomberg's editorial board has conjoined the two arguments, adroitly claiming in an over-the-top piece entitled "Obama's Betrayal of Israel at the U.N. Must Not Stand" that the abstention "breaks with past U.S. policy, undermines a vital ally and sets back the cause of Middle East peace."
Citing the damaged peace talks argument, which is what the Israeli government itself has been mostly promoting, Donald Trump denounced the U.N. resolution from a purely Israeli perspective, stating that "As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis." He subsequently added "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect," a comment that just might be regarded as either tongue in cheek or ironic because that is precisely how Israel treats Washington. It is reported, however, that Trump does not do irony.
The pundits who most often scream the loudest in defense of Israel are often themselves Jewish, many having close ties to the Netanyahu government. They would undoubtedly argue that their ethno-religious propinquity to the problem they are discussing does not in any way influence their views, but that would be nonsense. One of those persistently shouting the loudest regarding the "peace" canard is the ubiquitous Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, who has never seen anything in Israel that he dislikes. He commented that Obama had stabbed Israel in the back and had made "peace much more difficult to achieve because the Palestinians will now say 'we can get a state through the U.N.'"
Syndicated columnist and fellow Israeli zealot Charles Krauthammer added his two cents , noting that the resolution abstention had meant that Washington had "joined the jackals at the U.N." Observing that the U.N. building occupies "good real estate in downtown New York City Trump ought to find a way to put his name on it and turn it into condos." Iran-Contra's own Elliot Abrams, who opposes Jews marrying non-Jews, meanwhile repeats the Krauthammer "jackals" meme and also brays about the "abandonment of Israel at the United Nations."
But the prize for pandering to Jewish power and money has to go to the eminent John Bolton, writing on December 26 th about "Obama's Parting Betrayal of Israel" in The Wall Street Journal (there is a subscription wall but if you go to Google and search you can get around it). Bolton, an ex-Ambassador to the U.N under the esteemed George W. Bush, is a funny looking guy who reportedly did not get a position with the Trump administration because of his Groucho Marx moustache. He currently pontificates from the neocon American Enterprise Institute (AEI) where he is something called a senior fellow. He has written a book "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad," which is available for 6 cents used on Amazon, plus shipping. There is another John Bolton who wrote "Marada the She-Wolf," but they are apparently not related.
In his piece, Bolton hit on both the peace talks and the "I'm backing Israel arguments." He uniquely starts out by claiming that Barack Obama "stabbed Israel in the front" by failing to stop Resolution 2334, which he then describes as "clearly intended to tip the peace process towards the Palestinians abandon[ing] any pretense that the actual parties to the conflict must resolve their differences." That's the peace argument plus the negotiations fiction rolled together. He then goes on to argue that Obama has betrayed Israel by "essentially endors[ing] the Palestinian politico-legal narrative about territory formerly under League of Nations' mandate."
Bolton concedes that the damage has already been done by Obama's complicity "in assaulting Israel" and the opening can be exploited by what he describes as the "anti-Israeli imagineers" at the United Nations. He calls on Donald Trump to work to "mitigate or reverse" such consequences and specifically "move to repeal the resolution, giving the 14 countries that supported it a chance to correct their error." That they cheered loudly when the resolution passed apparently will have to also be somehow expunged, though Bolton does not mention that. Nations that refuse to go along with the repeal "would have their relations with Washington adjusted accordingly" while "the main perpetrators in particular should face more tangible consequences."
Bolton is unhesitatingly placing Israeli priorities ahead of American interests by his willingness to punish actual U.S. allies like Britain, Germany and France, as well as major powers Russia and China, out of pique over their vote against the settlements. He also recommends withholding the U.S. contributions to the U.N., which amount to over 20% of the budget. Bolton then goes on to reject any Palestinian state of any kind, recommending instead that a rump version of territory where the bulk of the Palestinians will be allowed to live be transferred to Jordanian control.
As always, there is scant attention paid by any of the Israel boosters for actual American interests in continuing to perform proskynesis in front of Netanyahu and whatever reptile might succeed him. American values and needs are invisible, quite rightly, because they are of no interest to John Bolton and his fellow knee jerkers at AEI, the Hudson Institute, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), Brookings, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the rest of the alphabet soup that depends on the generosity of pro-Israel donors to keep the lights on.
Bolton provides precisely one short sentence relating to Washington's stake in the game being played, noting that the U.N. abstention poses "major challenges for American interests." He never says what those interests are because there are none, or at least none that matter, apart from godfathering a viable two state solution which Israel has basically made impossible. And that is only an interest because it would lessen much of the world's disdain for U.S. hypocrisy while mitigating the radicalization of young Muslims turned terrorists who are in part enraged by the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, blaming it correctly on American connivance. In reality having the U.S. finally vote on the side of sanity and fairness is really a good thing for Americans and hopefully will lead to severing a bizarre "special relationship" that supports a kleptocracy in Asia that has been nothing but trouble.
Randal , January 3, 2017 at 12:06 pm GMT
n230099 . January 3, 2017 at 12:57 pm GMTThe pundits who most often scream the loudest in defense of Israel are often themselves Jewish, many having close ties to the Netanyahu government. They would undoubtedly argue that their ethno-religious propinquity to the problem they are discussing does not in any way influence their views
And their disingenuous declarations are now arguably backed by force of law in the UK, where referring to the potential for mixed loyalties on the part of jewish people in relation to the jewish nation falls within the "official definition of anti-Semitism" recently adopted as a result of despicable pandering by politicians at the very highest levels.
Patriot says: Show Comment Next New Comment January 3, 2017 at 1:11 pm GMT" and it comes so late because Obama wasted his entire presidency "
LOL!! And yet still a God to some. He was supposed to get the U.S. out of the region. Now the trail he and the war criminals Bush, Rumsfeld, Clinton, Kerry, Rice and Power leave is lined with more dead civilians than have died on either side in Palestine and Israel since 48. Israeli/Palestinian issues are not without some significance but pale in the scope of the war crimes of the U.S in the past 16 years. Millions dead and all we hear is 'f'n Jews' .
• Replies: @uslabor US General Wesley Clark said in 2002 he was given a memo "that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran." Every one of those countries a potential enemy of Israel.I think, in addition to the obvious oil resources, the US attacked those countries for the benefit of Israel.
It ain't so much, as you say "f'n Jews". For me it is F*cking Zionist Israelis and their Neoconservative enablers in Washington.
Hrw-500 says: Show Comment Next New Comment January 3, 2017 at 1:13 pm GMTPhilip,
You are a brave man. It is very dangerous to critize Israel or Jews. Please be safe. Thanks for having the courage to speak truth to power.
• Replies: @Junior Amen to that! Courage indeed!Even when an assault is caught on camera like what occured to Alison Weir at the National Press Club, of all places, there are no consequences for attacks on those that have the courage to criticize Israel.
I filed a pollice report and then waited and waited. Finally, the detective in charge of determining whether or not to prosecute Murray decided not to do so. The detective's name is in another notebook somewhere. As I recall, it was Rosenbaum or something similar.http://alisonweir.org/journal/2011/5/23/israel-is-not-alone-member-knocks-phone-out-of-my-hand-press.htmlThat reminds me of a very politically incorrect cartoon made by a guy nicknamed A. Wyatt Mann.
http://afloweroutofstone.tumblr.com/post/110285737337/on-nuance
• Replies: @SolontoCroesus re the first cartoon, "Join the US Army, Fight for Israel"This morning C Span Washington Journal interviewed new members of US Congress.
Among them was Brian Mast, a Republican who defeated Patrick Murphy in Florida's 18th district, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's former district. https://www.c-span.org/video/?419267-3/interview-representativeelect-brian-mast-rfl
Mast was a bomb detonations expert in US military who lost both legs and an arm in Afghanistan. Mast said he'd never thought about running for congress until he wound up at Walter Reed hospital; he said he had thought he'd spend his career doing what he loved -- "jumping out of airplanes and kicking in doors and roping out of helicopters." He said it was "very difficult for him to lose that purpose" he'd had in life.
In the process of "finding another battlefield to fight on," many congressmen & staffers visited him.
He eventually went to work for various US counterterrorism agencies in addition to
"spending some time in the Israeli army . . . of which I'm very very proud. . . . I'm probably the only congressman who has been in the Israeli military . . .According to wikipedia, Mast attended Christian schools and identifies as a Christian; no denomination is mentioned. Whatever denomination it is, apparently their Jesus counsels: "Blessed are they who kick in doors, for they shall be called peacemakers;" and "Seek and ye shall find, kick and the door shall open . . ."
Mast said he applied his military, mission-oriented training to preparing himself to function in congress. He moved seamlessly from military to counterterrorism,
With the Israeli military he worked in a role that Mast identified as SAREL (?), "which allows individuals from around the world to work with the Israeli military . . . a program they rely on quite heavily to accomplish a lot of what they need to go on with their military, as they don't have nearly as large a military as the United States."
(The closest I could find to "SAREL" was an Israeli medical and pharmaceutical research, development and production corporation,
Israel's largest private supplier under one roof of goods and services to healthcare and medical institutions. )I find it troublesome that the US military or associated agencies are so interwoven with Israeli state forces and institutions. In my assessment, such intense interrelationships violate George Washington's counsels in his Farewell Address, just as surely as Mast's attitudes invert the counsels of Christianity.
The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts., @Alden What's the official song of the Israeli army?For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of american, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.
Onward Christian Soldiers
Lot says: Show Comment Next New Comment January 4, 2017 at 3:15 am GMT • 100 Wordsas the usual suspects pile on the Barack Obama Administration over its alleged betrayal of America's "best and greatest friend and ally in the whole world."
"Usual suspects" = Vast majority of American voters. Once again the tiresome fringely Israel bashers have lost an election.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 28 Dec 2016 "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching! "
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 22 Dec 2016
The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed
Astuteobservor II says: Show Comment Next New Comment January 4, 2017 at 3:37 am GMT @Charlotte AllenCharlotte Allen says: • Website Show Comment Next New Comment January 4, 2017 at 3:39 am GMT @paratropLove all you Joo-obsessors coming out of the woodwork.
I'm neither Disaspora-Jewish nor Evangelical Christian, and I'm behind Israel 100 percent. The problem in the Holy Land is this: two objects occupying--or claiming to occupy--the same space. That's impossible, so you have to pick one. I pick Israel.
Israel is the West--and it's the way the West ought to be but isn't, at least so far in Europe: a bulwark against Islam, which is the real menace to Western civilization, not some crazy haredim in yarmulkes living out in the middle of nowhere. Israel stands up to Islam. We don't. At least till now (Trump). I don't care if everything you say about the Jews, the Jewish lobby, or whatever, is true. I stand for Israel, because I don't stand for the Dar al-Islam. Have any of you ever been to Israel? I have. Where would you rather live: Israel (a beautiful and prosperous country) or an Islamic hellhole (pick any Muslim country--hey, pick Turkey! See you at the next Istanbul nightclub!)?
The settlements are Israel's way of saying: We won. It's what the victors in wars do. Want to have no settlements in your country? Try actually winning one of the three stupid wars plus God knows how many intifadas you've started with the aim of driving the Israelis to the sea. "International law"? You actually believe the U.N. ought to be running the world? What are you--a bunch of lefties?
How sorry do I feel for the poor, poor Palestinians? Hey--not sorry at all! They've spent, what, six decades sitting on their behinds and whining when not 1) lobbing rockets at Israelis; 2) bombing school buses and restaurants; and 3) dancing in the streets over stuff like 9/11. Plus making life miserable for the few Christians left in the Holy Land. That alone puts me on the side of the Israelis.
Yeah, yeah, most American Jews are irritating liberals, and I wish they'd cut it out. Especially the victimology stuff with the country clubs, since they're America's most successful ethnic group. And I don't buy neocon foreign policy, since there's no reason for Americans to be fighting wars and dying in them in the Mideast, period. Israel does an excellent job of furthering its own interests, such as staying in existence, and Bibi strikes me as an excellent behind-the-scenes power player--you know he's got lines into both Syria and Russia.
If Israel gets attacked, I'm all for aiding Israel, but that hasn't happened yet, and probably won't--unless the Muslims would like to see even more settlements.
And finally, I can't stand John Bolton's mustache. Neither can Trump, I'm told. Meanwhile, yay for Trump! When I think "quisling," I think Obama, not Trump--sorry.
you called it "holy land"
that tells me more than enough.
Our youth are often sacrificed to foreign wars fought for immoral causes - witness Vietnam and Iraq. I am sure that Rachel Corrie's parents will continue to grieve all their lives for their beautiful daughter but at least they have the comfort and pride that she died for a truly moral reason and has become a worldwide beacon of the cause. Vale Rachel.
Oh yeah, she died for being an idiot who thought it was kind of like the Sixties: stuffing daisies into gun muzzles. Her parents should have had the sense to tell her that war is serious business.
Johnny Smoggins says: Show Comment Next New Comment January 4, 2017 at 4:17 am GMT • 100 Words @Aaron AaronsGeorge Washington and his fellow European settler-colonists did to the indigenous people of North America what Jewish European settler-colonists did to the indigenous people of the Levant. (To be fair, though, the Zionists, if only for lack of opportunity, did not capture, import, and permanently enslave millions of people from another land.)
It's noteworthy that both Zionists and Nazis invoked the "American" treatment of the indigenous population to justify their own crimes. As Israeli historian Benny Morris said back in 2004, "Even the great American democracy could not have been created without the annihilation of the Indians."
So invoking the settler-colonial nationalism of the slave owner and murdering land-stealer, George Washington, is something Zionists, not their opponents, can do honestly.
This is a ridiculous, and all too common argument from Jews – the land of the U.S. was stolen from the natives so Americans can't say anything about Israel stealing Palestine from Palestinians.
First of all, the native people of North America were literally living in the stone age when Whites showed up and their lives have been made immeasurably better thanks to the inventions and largesse of the White man. In contrast, Palestinians have done nothing but suffer under Israeli rule.
Second, native North Americans are subsidized to the point of billions of dollars every year and receive every possible benefit from the government (and taxpaying Whites). Free health care, education and every form of affirmative action that's ever been dreamt up are all theirs for the taking. Tell us friend, does the Jewish state extend this to Palestinians as it does to Jews?
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Jul 26, 2017 | blogs.timesofisrael.com
The Seal of the United States Congress tells an observer a number of salient facts about American politics: the olive branch stands for America's commitment to peace; the arrows represent its readiness for war; and the Star of David, which The Economist has helpfully added to the original design, symbolises the control of Jews and/or Israel over America's policies of war and peace.
Peter Schrank's cartoon, which accompanies an article on negotiations with Iran in this week's Economist, depicts President Obama with his ankle shackled to the Judaised seal of the US Congress, thereby prevented from shaking hands with Iran's President Rouhani, who is being restrained by his nefarious-looking, US-flag-burning compatriots.
The message is that either American Jews or Israel (and it is unclear which, because the Star of David is both a Jewish and Israeli symbol) are holding the United States back from making peace with Iran – and moreover, that they are doing so through their control of the machinery of the American government, since the Star of David is incorporated into the official insignia of the US, alongside the stars and stripes. The Israel Lobby, as the cartoon rather nefariously hints, is not a separate influence on the US government – it is a constituent part of it.
Schrank's previous cartoons have hardly been kind towards Israel, but one can only wonder what was going through the mind of his editors: there are questions about the impartiality of the magazine's coverage of Israel , but as last week's very fair and reasonable "Who is a Jew?" feature suggests, The Economist is hardly an anti-Semitic publication.
Intentionally or not, however, Schrank's cartoon is now an addition to the disturbing trend of cartoons hinting at the sinister control of Western governments by Israel or Jews, following Steve Bell's Guardian cartoon showing Netanyahu as a puppeteer with Tony Blair and William Hague as finger-puppets, and a cartoon in the Qatari Al-Watan newspaper depicting an Orthodox Jew driving with Obama's head as a gearstick and the UN logo as his steering wheel.
I shan't accuse The Economist directly of anti-Semitism, but it bears repeating that the EUMC Working Definition , adopted by the British government, covers "stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective -- such as the myth of Jews controlling the government" and also covers "using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism to characterise Israel or Israelis". Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions.
The notion that Jews control the world's major institutions of power, including governments, media and banks, is one of the most established and pernicious myths peddled against Jews, and it is difficult not to see continuity between contemporary hints about "Zionist" control of world governments and nineteenth-century cartoons depicting a Jewish octopus with its tentacles over the globe.
In France, 29% believe Jews have too much control of international financial markets; in Italy, 39% believe Jews have too much power in the business world; and in Hungary, Poland and Spain, well over half of the population believes at least one of these propositions. In the United States , 14% believe that "Jews have too much power in the U.S. today", and that's from the most philo-Semitic of countries out there.
Anti-Semitic tropes enjoy even greater vibrancy in the Muslim world, where the Elders of Zion is taken as gospel, Jewish conspiracies are more common than Jews, and The Economist is available too – subtly, and quite probably unintentionally, reinforcing such prejudices.
The Economist's readership might be more intelligent than the general public, but it should not flatter itself. Even if its readers believe the myth of Jewish power in proportions far lower than is average, their perceptions are hardly likely to be dispelled by such cartoons, which contribute towards a toxic drip-drip in public discourse, confirming the unarticulated suspicions about Jewish power of those who find that such beliefs are neither rare nor taboo.
It may well be that the cartoon was intended only as a nod to the influence of Israel or AIPAC in Washington's policy-making on Iran; and perhaps the cartoonist had good reasons not to include a Tricolore and shahada , despite similar pressure from the French and Saudis. Nevertheless, it does not take a Professor in Anti-Semitism Studies to understand how such an image can reinforce the myth of the Jewish conspiracy in the minds of those already convinced of its veracity, and for whom the words "Jewish lobby" trip too easily off the tongue.
Cartoons work by using images and symbols familiar to readers in order to induce them to read between the lines and infer a particular unspoken message from the image. The best that can be said about Schrank's cartoon is that it is ambiguous, but this ambiguity is precisely what makes it so noxious: the Economist can dissociate itself from the most toxic of interpretations, but still the process of "wink wink, nudge nudge" will continue to encourage readers, quite reasonably, to jump to conclusions about Jewish control over Capitol Hill from the incorporation of the Star of David into official US symbols.
Belief in a Jewish conspiracy is sufficiently prevalent worldwide that for the Economist to buttress them, even unintentionally, is negligent at best and utterly reckless at worst. If there is nuance, the Economist cannot protest innocence when it is lost in translation.
Update The Economist has pulled the cartoon from its website, explaining: "The print edition of this story had a cartoon which inadvertently caused offence to some readers, so we have replaced it with a photograph." Given that the article makes no mention of AIPAC, the Israel Lobby, or indeed Israel (bar a passing reference in brackets to Benjamin Netanyahu), this was probably a wise move.
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Jul 24, 2017 | www.unz.com
There is only one story in the news, for followers of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and that is Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Grim's report at the Intercept yesterday on new legislation in the Congress that would criminalize support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
The bill is such a crude example of overreach by the Israel lobby that it is sure to backfire on its supporters as Greenwald and Grim's report ricochets around the Democratic Party:
But now, a group of 43 senators -- 29 Republicans and 14 Democrats -- wants to implement a law that would make it a felony for Americans to support the international boycott against Israel, which was launched in protest of that country's decades-old occupation of Palestine. The two primary sponsors of the bill are Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio. Perhaps the most shocking aspect is the punishment: Anyone guilty of violating the prohibitions will face a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison .
The proposed measure, called the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), was introduced by Cardin on March 23. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that the bill "was drafted with the assistance of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee." Indeed, AIPAC, in its 2017 lobbying agenda , identified passage of this bill as one of its top lobbying priorities for the year:
The bill's co-sponsors include the senior Democrat in Washington, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, his New York colleague Kirsten Gillibrand, and several of the Senate's more liberal members, such as Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
Randal, July 21, 2017 at 12:36 pm GMT
hyperbola, July 21, 2017 at 2:10 pm GMTAdam Schiff is worthy of special mention, as David Bromwich points out to me. "He is among the scores of obedient Democrats co-sponsoring the bill. Schiff has a high reputation in liberal circles, but he voted for the Iraq war, supported the Saudi intervention in Yemen, said the assassination of Qaddafi was 'an end to the first chapter of another popular revolution,' and approved of Trump's bombing of Syria.
On foreign policy he is a believer in the conventional wisdom of the Cold War and the War on Terror, that's all; but his opinions have taken on an outsize importance since he is now routinely accepted as the party's outstanding authority on Russia. He knows Russia about as well as he knew Iraq and Libya."
The likes of Schiff have "high reputations" because they do the bidding of elites in promoting the interventionist and militarist foreign policies that serve the interests of foreign powers and of minority and other lobby groups. So much for the "liberals" as a supposed anti-establishment force.
rec1man, July 22, 2017 at 1:19 am GMTSo Gillibrand was bludgeoned into sponsoring anti-American, police-state legislation by the lobby. The rest seem to be the usual suspects – primary loyalty to a foreign country/sect.
Controversy Over Prominent BDS Activist Linda Sarsour Reaches New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Jewish leaders and pro-Israel activists have expressed concern over a contribution to Time Magazine by New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that praised Linda Sarsour – a Palestinian-American political activist and vocal advocate for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
In a short piece accompanying the magazine's "100 most influential people" list for 2017, Gillibrand paid tribute to "four extraordinary women -- Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour" for organizing the Women's March on Washington, DC on January 21 ..
lavoisier, Website July 22, 2017 at 11:27 am GMTHere is why BDS wont work, will never work
Israel is rapidly diversifying its trade with India and China, both of which are growing segments of world economy
Narendra Modi of the BJP supports Israel screwing the Palestinians due to shared enemy of islam.
When he visited Israel last month, he didnt even visit Palestinian Authority and instead visited Holocaust museum41% of Israeli defense exports go to India
The only people interested in BDS are muslims and leftist liberals ; as Muslim immigrants do more terrorism and no-go areas and mass rapes in Eurabia, there is less and less public support for BDS bcos the public supports anyone who hits back at islam
Seamus Padraig, July 24, 2017 at 12:30 am GMTThe most disturbing aspect of this story is the fact that so many of our elected representatives are willing to pass a law that is clearly a violation of all that this nation supposedly treasures -- free speech and freedom of conscience. I know, I know that the Zionists are behind this mischief. But my God our leaders are traitorous scum!
What has happened to our nation?
I hope that all the blue pilled Americans realize the depth of depravity necessary for our so called leaders to craft such legislation and to support it.
Perhaps they might wake up and realize that America–the land of the free and home of the brave–is long gone. Then they might do something to try and get it back.
exiled off mainstreet > , July 24, 2017 at 5:19 am GMTShalom, Bibi.
I recall a comedy film from the 1980s with Robin Williams on a Caribbean island describing the constitution there as being "written in pencil". That now seems to apply to the USA. How could such an obvious breach of the First Amendment even be considered? It seems that a sort of primary loyalty to a foreign country has metastasized to the point that free speech itself is under threat. Once a law like this is enacted, the final shreds of legitimacy of the yankee state which, after all, claims its legitimacy by following constitutional legal forms, will have vanished.
I should add that the same people demanding this law, which is at the behest of provable foreign interests, are many of the same ones propagating the phony propaganda anti-Russian conspiracy theory. Real treason and sedition seem to be the order of the day to these people.
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Jun 13, 2017 | www.unz.com
truthtellerAryan Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:07 am GMTexiled off mainstreet Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:08 am GMTHi PG, could our commander-in-chief have had ulterior reasons to cook up the ostracizing of Qatar?
https://www.google.com/amp/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_593d6691e4b0c5a35ca06118/amp
Mind you, we have these obese brainless stooges who would dance to any tune as long as they're assured they'll still be in power comes tomorrow. Now the assurance has also been approved by the masters, DJT is in deeply with the Ziocons . When our masters accomplish this mission, than we'll again be led to the next one. The Ayrabs don't seem to get it yet. They'll all end up in the Zionists slaughterhouse
It seems Gen. Clark was right, just a little diversion here.
What will become of the average Goy?Miro23 Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:37 am GMTLet me commend Mr. Giraldi for another excellent contribution. The Saudi regime is the chief enemy of civilization and those backing it are tarred with the same brush. It is disappointing to see Trump taken in by the deep state love of the Saudi barbarians.
Fran Macadam Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 8:29 am GMTSo watch the lies if you want to know when the next war is coming. If the House of Saud, the Israelis and Donald Trump are talking trash and seem to agree about something then it is time to head for the bomb shelter. Will it be Iran or an escalating catastrophe in Syria? Anything is possible.
A fine article, and the answer to all this surely lies with the US. If Trump had pulled out of Middle East conflicts (as he was elected to do), all this talk would be much less dangerous. Israel and Saudi Arabia aren't going to attack Iran on their own.
LondonBob Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:44 am GMTIt's The Art of the War Deal.
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:51 am GMTThe Israeli and Saudi lobbies, and associated actors, seem to have had some success. I still don't see it going much further, Trump instinctively doesn't want another Iraq on his watch whatever the likes of Mattis etc. wish to engineer.
RealAmerican Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:51 am GMTwhat's been mostly forgotten is that Hearst and his newspapers largely opposed Washington's entry into both WWI and WWII. ' Citizen Kane' and the endless array of Hearst-bashing references ignore this neglected yet significant fact.
Very, very true, and funny how that works. In the same way Charles Lindbergh, because of his opposition to entering WW2, has been egregiously smeared as an "anti-Semite" and the charge still sticks to this day.
Thanks for pointing that out, and informing us about Poo-litzer.
AmericaFirstNow Website Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:11 am GMT@anon An anonymous dim-witted nincompoop attacking the honorable and brave Mr. Giraldi for speaking the truth. The definition of cowardice, I bet.
Anonymous Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:20 am GMTAll in accord with the rest of the Israeli Likudnik Oded Yinon neocon plan vs Iran which Netanyahu's Israel AIPAC agent Kushner has duped the Saudis into supporting as well because of their Sunni vs Shia hatred of Iran:
Netanyahu's Israel 1st AIPAC agent Kushner has Trump pushing Israel Lobby agenda vs Syria as well:
No surprise when pandering Hillary Clinton pushed Syrian regime change for Israel's sake as well:
So ISIS attacks Europe and US because of Israel:
- CIA's Mike Scheuer on ISIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwp7uwK6bc
- CIA's Mike Scheuer on terrorism motivation ignored by US media:
- Petraeus & CENTCOM warned of Israel threat as well: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/07/general-petraeus-israel-emails
- Israel as terrorism motivation for San Bernardino ignored by US media as well: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/12/reported-politely-ignores/
- Paul Findley: The High Cost of Subservience to Israel: http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0064805.html
- See Dutch AIPAC documentary via following Youtube:
So no surprise when Netanyahu said US is easily manipulated at following URL:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2010/07/18/netanyahu-us-easily-manipulated
George Washington must be rolling in his grave for pandering US politicians who ignore his Farewell Address warning at following URL:
AmericaFirstNow Website Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:21 am GMTLet me commend Mr. Giraldi for another excellent contribution. The Saudi regime is the chief enemy of civilization and those backing it are tarred with the same brush. It is disappointing to see Trump taken in by the deep state love of the Saudi barbarians. "The Saudi regime is the chief enemy of civilization "
Looks like you have a problem with reading comprehension. Read the first two paragraphs again, and then review who is indeed the Chief enemy of civilisation.
War for Blair Mountain Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:21 am GMTJust noticed that the youtube for Michael Scheuer's CNN interview with Smerconish about ISIS didn't go through in prior post! Following one should:
- All in accord with the rest of the Israeli Likudnik Oded Yinon neocon plan vs Iran which Netanyahu's Israel AIPAC agent Kushner has duped the Saudis into supporting as well because of their Sunni vs Shia hatred of Iran: http://america-hijacked.com/2014/07/13/the-unfolding-of-yinons-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east-the-crisis-in-iraq-and-the-centrality-of-the-national-interest-of-israel/
- Netanyahu's Israel 1st AIPAC agent Kushner has Trump pushing Israel Lobby agenda vs Syria as well: http://america-hijacked.com/2012/02/12/israel-lobby-pushes-for-us-action-against-the-syrian-government/
- No surprise when pandering Hillary Clinton pushed Syrian regime change for Israel's sake as well: http://america-hijacked.com/2016/03/22/clinton-email-shows-us-sought-syria-regime-change-for-israels-sake/
- So ISIS attacks Europe and US because of Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48_ZeiK5gqU
- CIA's Mike Scheuer on ISIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwp7uwK6bc
- CIA's Mike Scheuer on terrorism motivation ignored by US media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ncn5Q16N4&list=PL3C32560738EF3C30&feature=plpp
- Petraeus & CENTCOM warned of Israel threat as well: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/07/general-petraeus-israel-emails
- Israel as terrorism motivation for San Bernardino ignored by US media as well: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/12/reported-politely-ignores/
- Paul Findley: The High Cost of Subservience to Israel: http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0064805.html
- See Dutch AIPAC documentary via following Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N294FMDok98
- So no surprise when Netanyahu said US is easily manipulated at following URL: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2010/07/18/netanyahu-us-easily-manipulated
- George Washington must be rolling in his grave for pandering US politicians who ignore his Farewell Address warning at following URL: http://astandforjustice.org/#washington
dearieme Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:26 am GMTIran poses no threat to the Native Born White American Working Class.
Your allegiance is to Greater Israel
Phil and I have 0 allegiance to Israel Donald Trump's allegiance is to Greater Israel and this makes Donald Trump a GOD DAM TRAITOR!!! ...
ANON Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:30 am GMT"The United States has been using lies to go to war since 1846″: 1812.
AmericaFirstNow Website Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:32 am GMT@Mark Green Well I have to thank you for prompting me to read up on Joseph Pulitzer"s remarkable career but I can't commend your attention to detail or recommend you as a source of accurate information to others.
There is a slight problem about your blaming him for being (before WW1) "pro US intervention in Europe" having "demonized Imperial Germany" and then that he "helped sanitize American efforts (pre WW2) to help the British". *He died in 1911* .
Interesting to compare Pulitzer's great career with that of another Central European Jew who immigrated with no English but built a popular newspaper empire. Both served in the armed forces of their adopted country. The other is that appalling rogue Robert Maxwell.
NoseytheDuke Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:34 am GMTSee following article from Jewish Forward publication on how Netanyahu's Israel 1st AIPAC agent Kushner (who arranged Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel) has brought other Jewish AIPAC Israel 1sters into the White House:
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 11:38 am GMT@Wizard of Oz Idiot! The lie that OBL was involved in any way in 9/11 for just one. The lie that he was killed in the Delta 6 raid in Pakistan is another.
anonymous Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 12:28 pm GMTSpeaking of lies, war and the media, let us not forget the blatant lying about Stalin's crimes by Walter Duranty published in the New York Times for which the scumbag was awarded a prize by Pulitzer, another Red Millionaire.
It took the Times around half a century to begin to publicly admit to its callous malfeasance, yet apparently..
The Pulitzer board has twice declined to withdraw the award, most recently in November 2003, finding "no clear and convincing evidence of deliberate deception" in the 1931 reporting that won the prize (see Pulitzer Board statement), and The Times does not have the award in its possession.
- New York Times Statement About 1932 Pulitzer Prize Awarded to Walter Duranty
http://www.nytco.com/new-york-times-statement-about-1932-pulitzer-prize-awarded-to-walter-duranty/
Also note that in the statement, they deceitfully attempt to shift the responsibility for dirtball reporting on the effects of Soviet censorship, which though real, is no excuse for their mendacity.
War for Blair Mountain Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 12:52 pm GMTLooks like the Saudis have pretty much bought us off with their ridiculously large arms purchases and other ways of sending their billions our way. Money talks. The other stuff is just window dressing. We're their hired help and security guard.
Philip Giraldi Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 12:59 pm GMTPhil
Seriously 1846 is not relevant .and anyone who thinks it is in the context of opposing the ongoing war against Christian Russia and Shia Muslim Iran is not really a serious anti-war critic ..You need to deal with the fact that many of us here on Unz Review do not suffer from even a speck of White Guilt .even Old Noam Chomsky likes his precious Israel Jew only .which is the reason why Noam and Norman Finklestien are opposed to the right of return for Palestinians
So be a good phenomenologist and remember that context is everything
Agent76 Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 12:59 pm GMT@MSB Done! Thanks for catching it!
War for Blair Mountain Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm GMTJun 6, 2017 America's Reign of Terror: A Nation Reaps What It Sows
The U.S. government is creating the terror. It is, in fact, the source of the terror. Just think about it for a minute: almost every tyranny being perpetrated against the citizenry-purportedly to keep us safe and the nation secure-has come about as a result of some threat manufactured in one way or another by the U.S. government.
Wizard of Oz Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 1:31 pm GMTPhil
I can tell you from first hand personal family reasons that the filthy cockroach Donald Trump has very big plans to slaughter the Working Class Native Born White Christian American Male Teenager Population by using them as canon fodder for Greater Israel in a war with Shia Muslim Iran. This is Donald Trump's MAGA JOBS PROGRAM .post-Gruman Corp MAGA rally a year ago
Trump is as much of a filthy repellent cockroach as Hillary and Bill Clinton.
It looks like Trump's red hat MAGA HAT WEARING CHICKENHAWK WARHAWK JOCKSNIFFING White Male Voting Bloc Cucks and they are most definitely CUCKS who deserve to have the shit beat out of them .have given Trump a blank check to 1)bomb Hezzbollah in Syria and 2)bomb Shia Muslim Iran for Greater Israel
Donald Trump+Hillary Clinton=a "cute" post-nuclear WW3 cockroach breeding pair .a 13 billion year COCKROACH RIECH!!!
nsa Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 1:41 pm GMT@NoseytheDuke I never doubted that you think that but PG is a comparatively serious person and I wondered what he would say, choosing his words as carefully as he quite often seems to. Come to think of it I think he's been caught out being a bit careless on some of his other details this time.
And what's your version of sbat happened at Abbotabad and why?
anon Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 1:53 pm GMTThe jooies and their kept eunuchs in wash dc are complaining their precious US (((holocaust))) museum is only being funded with 54 million in American taxpayer funds. This underfunding is very serious as they will have to close the lampshade wing and the soap bar exhibition. Contact your congressional whore immediately and complain ..
Wizard of Oz Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:08 pm GMT@War for Blair Mountain Hey Happy Guy ,
Whats the problem. Giraldi is always whining about America and praising Iran. Why should he stay here . If he likes Iran so much he should move there . Do you think Giraldi should disclose if he has received money from any Iranian entity ??War for Blair Mountain Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:18 pm GMT@NoseytheDuke Presumably you think ObL died much earlier than the Navy Seals raid. But why would Obama go along with the charade? No doubt you would say he was looking for political advantage domestically – to which of course I answer that he wouldn't be so dumb as to believe that no one would blow the whistle.
Let's move on to whete you say the extremely long and detailed account of ObL's death in Wikipedia is wrong and say why. In particular, how come Al Qaeda and other Muslim organisations announced his death and threatened revenge?
Z-man Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:26 pm GMT@anon Well now first of all, .I want to greet you with a great big FUCK OFF!!! .Dearest Ivanka
The target of Phil's venom are the Jewish Neocons .and non-Jewish Neocons:The homo- cannibal General Mattis .Hannibal Lectre look-a-like General McMaster in-a-flava-bean-salad with the homo General Mattis .and the filthy cockroach breeding pair Donald Trump and his cockroach husband Hillary Clinton .and the SATANIST!!! that own and run the Military Industrial Complex ..the treasonous SATANIC NON-AMERICAN-ANTI-AMERICAN CABAL spawned in Satan's personal toilet bowl in rancid rotting corpse strewn HELL!!
Chris Mallory Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:28 pm GMT@Mark Green True, thank you and depressing, but hope springs eternal and I'm hoping Trump still has some independent thought and some patriotism and patriots behind him!
David Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:34 pm GMTMexico had more right to Tejas than the Zionist gangsters have to Palestine.
Neither group has any claim to the land. Mexico invited the Americans into Texas, primarily because Mexico could not deal with the Comanche who lived in Texas and raided both Texas and Mexico. Mexico then lost the war against the Texans and lost all claim to Texas.
Much of the SW, though claimed by Mexico was controlled by either the Comanche or the Apache.
Those tribes might have a claim, but Mexico has none.
Z-man Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:37 pm GMT@Lot You're displaying poor moral character to call the author America-hating.
Z-man Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:42 pm GMT@AmericaFirstNow Unfortunately Mr. Scheuer hasn't been on TV much lately.
Z-man Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:48 pm GMT@AmericaFirstNow See following article from Jewish Forward publication on how Netanyahu's Israel 1st AIPAC agent Kushner (who arranged Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel) has brought other Jewish AIPAC Israel 1sters into the White House:
http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/359120/jared-kushners-friend-picked-by-donald-trump-as-assistant/ The infestations continue.
Mark Green Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:54 pm GMTLooks like the Saudis have pretty much bought us off with their ridiculously large arms purchases and other ways of sending their billions our way. Money talks. The other stuff is just window dressing. We're their hired help and security guard.
Ah but there's the rub, and a good one, as the die hard Zionists in the US Congress, isn't that redundant, are already complaining about the deal. http://www.defensenews.com/articles/us-senate-democrats-rallying-votes-against-saudi-arms-sale
Hopefully the rats will kill themselves!Theres also this from 'Up Chuck' Schumer;
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/schumer-to-oppose-smart-bomb-sale-to-saudi-arabia
MarkinLA Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 2:56 pm GMT@ANON Joseph Pulitzer II ran the St. Louis Post Dispatch and NY World after his father's death. He was a staunch supporter of FDR.
Dutch Boy Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 3:36 pm GMT@jacques sheete Mexico lost Texas because Santa Anna made himself a dictator and caused revolts all around Mexico. The Texans just happened to win. Mexico was trying to raise an army to retake it when the US annexed Texas.
Mexico made the stupid mistakes. Mexico knew the US wanted Texas and California. Mexico had rejected offers to buy them. Mexico should have done everything it could to avoid giving the US a chance to grab them.
Santoculto Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 3:44 pm GMT@Lot Quite correct. Polk wanted to buy the eventual Mexican Cession, not conquer it.
Realist Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 4:36 pm GMT@anon Jewnonymous
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 4:47 pm GMT"In a 2009 State Department memo signed off on by Hillary Clinton it was stated that "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.""
Why the hell would use anything Clinton said or did to advocate a position?
Rurik Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 4:53 pm GMT@Chris Mallory You are correct that the Mexicans invited Americans into Texas, (talk about the negative effects of encouraging immigration), and Mexico may never have had much claim to the land, but they still have a more legitimate claim than the Zionist gangsters have on Palestine.
In fact, if there were no oil in the region, I suspect the Zionists would all move to NYC!
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 5:11 pm GMTNote that the Saudi Royals 1) have totally accepted Israel, 2) have absolutely nothing negative to say (or do) regarding Israel's subjugation of Palestine, 3) are hostile to Iran (like Israel), and 4) are willing also to accept the Kingdoms's second-tier military status vis-a-vis Israel.
For these reasons, the authoritarian, undemocratic, and terror-funding Royal Saudi family is totally 'in sync' with Zio-Washington. The Saudis are even safe from any potential US-Israeli destabilization campaign. (At least for now.)
to understand the Saudi leadership, you need only see how they got along with Iran during the reign of the Shah; a Zio/Anglo quisling installed after the CIA putsch that removed the legitimate, democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27état
Under the quisling puppet Shah, Iran was terrorized by a CIA/Mossad run organization notorious for its torture methods.
Time magazine described SAVAK as having "long been Iran's most hated and feared institution" which had "tortured and murdered thousands of the Shah's opponents."[24] The Federation of American Scientists also found it guilty of "the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners" and symbolizing "the Shah's rule from 1963–79." The FAS list of SAVAK torture methods included "electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails."[25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAVAK
it was during this reign of Zionist and Anglo terror that the corrupt House of Saud got along wonderfully with the Shah's Zio-Iran. Here you see the king of Saudi Arabia dancing for the amusement of the treacherous little Shah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYIft-_FcYQ
- who exhorted the rulers of Saudi Arabia to embrace the cultural and spiritual sewage of the Zio-West thus:
"Please, my brother, modernize. Open up your country. Make the schools mixed women and men. Let women wear miniskirts. Have discos. Be modern. Otherwise I cannot guarantee you will stay on your throne."[15]
as long as Iran was under the thrall of the Fiend, the Saudi were their bestest buddies ever. They were also bestest buddies with Israel and England and the ZUSA.
so much treachery and evil and oppression and murder and torture.. it makes the head spin.
anyways, what do you expect from a fiend, I guess
so today the Saudis are still under the thrall of the same Fiend, but Iran is not. Hence Saudi Arabia assassinates Shia clerics it doesn't like, and Iran gets blamed for human rights violations.
The lies and mendacity and treachery are nearly beyond comprehension. The Saudis toss their fellow Arabs in Palestine under the Zionist bus, and fund and foment ISIS to crucify Christians and burn men alive. The stark divisions between good and evil (if there are such concepts) could hardly be more glaring.
and yet the Zio-fiend has Trump making nice with the murderous, terrorist-funding Saudis, while saber rattling at the peaceful and civilized Iran.
great article yet again Mr. Giraldi --
Z-man Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 5:41 pm GMT@MarkinLA Yeah, I know all about it. At one time I was a great admirer of the Texians, and the constitution of the Texas Republic, and used to love to visit the Alamo before it was done over. Anyway my main point was not about Mexico or Texas.
BTW, as you probably know, Davey Crockett was one of the original "Love it or Leave It" dudes and left the US in disgust (in 1836) with craven, dishonest, politicians after his stints in government including Congress and headed for Texas telling the story that if not re-elected, his constituents could go to Hell, and [he] would go to Texas.
Rotten politicians are an original and permanent feature of American political life, it seems.
Sam McGowan Website Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 5:43 pm GMTThe homo- cannibal General Mattis .
LOL!!!
Jake Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:09 pm GMTI've been to Iran and anyone who thinks a war there would be easy has rocks in their head.
iveritas Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:13 pm GMTI believe Qatar has the highest per capita income (for its citizens) in the world. That can never sit well with the House of Saud.
The British Empire made the House of Saud what it is, and the American successors of the Brits intend to keep the con game going. Wise and decent US leadership would recognize the Saudis as the worst of the Middle East and act accordingly. But the English all but created them, and we follow the English lead. And ow that the Israelis dearly love the Saudis, we can expect to see US-Israeli-Saudi mischief all over the region.
edNels Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:17 pm GMTPG is a true and a great patriot. those who have the chutzpa to tell PG, "move to Iran", my message to you is, move to Saudi Arabia or to Israel. But then again, most likely you're already there.
On the plus side, the personal attacks on PG are great. It means he must be doing something right.
Not to mention, when comments take the form of personal attacks instead of arguing the principle tenants of the article, it means the other side doesn't have a defensible point of view. Which only means PG's assertions are correct and indisputable.
I see some red-blooded Americans arguing about Texas, not being in Mexico. These people are forgetting the best form of patriotism is true understanding of our history as a nation. Ignorance and waiving a flag alone is not patriotism. Patriotism is defending the foundation and principles of our nation. Mainly, our constitution. Texas or the number of stars on our flag, etc. does not make America. America for me is the principles our founding father put forth. Which was formulated in a document far advanced for its time (even for today) in the form of our constitution.
Anything outside of the framework of our nation, I consider false or anger-patriotism. There is a reason why media has played a role in shaping the wars of choice mentioned in this article. Because faced with true facts against the framework of our constitution, those wars are not in the best interests of the public or the country.
Thank you, PG!
Mark Green Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:36 pm GMTNow that's something. 13 billion years of COCKROACH REICK PESTILENCE!
Who or what is underlying the common denominator that makes it compelling to work so hard to bring about the ideal conditions for the Cockroach infestation that will grow after the Nuclear conflagration that is the fruit of Heimy science? (Poison/long half-lives.)
Or, what is the correlation in DNA of the Cockroach and some humanoids? Ever think of that?
God (as he may be understood,) or not, has infinity to work it out, and one lead that should be gone into could be where (from a concept called "Morphic Resonance" which posits that within DNA code there is much dormant potentiality, that also can be shown to tie together various diverse life forms.
INO's, some of the humans are in effect analogous to David Icke's ideas about lizards, or like the Bodysnatchers concept of long ago SF movies, (the one with Kevin McCarthy in BW was good).
The proclivities of, or the fruits of, the Drift The point aimed at by some people!
They seem to want to reset Earth to another beginning. A CockRoach Reich!
Thanks for the idea!
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:40 pm GMT@iveritas Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Here is an outstanding essay that distinguishes between patriotism and nationalism. The author is none other than Joe Sobran.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/06/joseph-sobran/patriotism-or-nationalism/
jacques sheete Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:52 pm GMT@Sam McGowan I don't think a shooting war on Iran is imminent; it's enough to yap about imagined threats to keep people glued to the media and thinking we need the protection of crazies. No threat, less "need" for politicians and the military.
The more threats, the more dollars for the nut jobs amongst us.
Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.
H.L. Mencken, In Defense of Women (1918)
Scott Peterson at the Christian Science Monitor produced a timeline for dire Israeli and US predictions of an imminent Iranian nuclear weapon, beginning ~38 years ago.
A timeline of warnings since 1979. Breathless warnings that the Islamic Republic will soon be at the brink of nuclear capability have been made for decades. Here is a chronicle of predictions.
truthtellerAryan Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 6:55 pm GMT@iveritas PG is a true and a great patriot. those who have the chutzpa to tell PG, "move to Iran", my message to you is, move to Saudi Arabia or to Israel. But then again, most likely you're already there.
On the plus side, the personal attacks on PG are great. It means he must be doing something right.
Not to mention, when comments take the form of personal attacks instead of arguing the principle tenants of the article, it means the other side doesn't have a defensible point of view. Which only means PG's assertions are correct and indisputable.
I see some red-blooded Americans arguing about Texas, not being in Mexico. These people are forgetting the best form of patriotism is true understanding of our history as a nation. Ignorance and waiving a flag alone is not patriotism. Patriotism is defending the foundation and principles of our nation. Mainly, our constitution. Texas or the number of stars on our flag, etc. does not make America. America for me is the principles our founding father put forth. Which was formulated in a document far advanced for its time (even for today) in the form of our constitution.
Anything outside of the framework of our nation, I consider false or anger-patriotism. There is a reason why media has played a role in shaping the wars of choice mentioned in this article. Because faced with true facts against the framework of our constitution, those wars are not in the best interests of the public or the country.
Thank you, PG!
Patriotism is defending the foundation and principles of our nation. Mainly, our constitution.
You sound like a highly respectable sort, and I agree with a lot of your comment, but you may want to reconsider your ideas about that document. I consider it a huge link in the chain around our necks. As for the "founding fathers," they were of opposing minds and the anti-federalists had good reasons for arguing against the imposition of the constitution. They were mostly correct.
In fact, Patrick Henry refused to attend the Constitutional Convention saying, "I smell a rat." He could have been totally anosmic and still would have been able to smell one, or more likely, quite a few.
The document stinks, and here's why*.:
The Constitution looked fairly good on paper, but it was not a popular document; people were suspicious of it, and suspicious of the enabling legislation that was being erected upon it. There was some ground for this. The Constitution had been laid down under unacceptable auspices; its history had been that of a coup d'état.
It had been drafted, in the first place, by men representing special economic interests. Four-fifths of them were public creditors, one-third were land speculators, and one-fifth represented interests in shipping, manufacturing, and merchandising. Most of them were lawyers. Not one of them represented the interest of production - Vilescit origine tali. (the dice were loaded from the start)
Albert Jay Nock, Liberty vs. the Constitution: The Early Struggle
[Excerpted from chapter 5 of Albert Jay Nock's Jefferson]https://mises.org/library/liberty-vs-constitution-early-struggle
*My apologies to those who've seen this numerous times before, but it's a critical message and obviously must be presented to each individual as (s)he steps forward. Thanks in advance for your patience as well as your indulgence!
anon Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 7:54 pm GMTWhy doesn't Giraldi move to Iran ? Thats where his concerns and allegiance are. And maybe the source of his finances also ?
I bet they would love a chubby bear like him. Why don't you crawl back to the ghetto that you belong? Why, after over two millennia of living in peace and prosperity in the land of Iran, the loudest voices for going to destroy Iran is coming from Joooies Iranians who have left Iran after the revolution? If they can't pinch a penny from you, you become their enemy. Has their lived such a treacherous bunch? It's greedy Zionists like you that end up putting the whole tribe in trouble
RobinG Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 8:20 pm GMT@Wizard of Oz https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/did-george-w-bush-do-all-he-could-to-prevent-911/411175/-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz obj ected that "I just don't understand why we are beginning by talking about this one man, bin Laden." Clarke responded that, "We are talking about a network of terrorist organizations called al-Qaeda, that happens to be led by bin Laden, and we are talking about that network because it and it alone poses an immediate and serious threat to the United States." To which Wolfowitz replied, "Well, there are others that do as well, at least as much. Iraqi terrorism for example."
and more "cording to Eichenwald's sources, "the neoconservative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the CIA had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neoconservatives saw as a greater threat."
--
That was the lie about Laden That was the lie
truthtellerAryan Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 9:06 pm GMT@jacques sheete Question: How does Mr. Nock define production?
He wrote, "Not one of them represented the interest of production- " but he had just listed manufacturing as one of the represented interests. Also, in those days, did shipping include ship-building? If not, it was certainly a closely related enterprise. Anyway, you see my point. Nock made an absolute statement, but he himself contradicted it.
Certainly the scales were weighted, but so much of the argument here is just railing against human nature. Are some people more ambitious or enterprising than others? (Let alone those who are more evil and unscrupulous.)
Some people are very intelligently curious, but it seems rare that the scientist who makes [often labors over for years] a discovery is the one who profits from it. Not fair perhaps, but the way of business, the way of the world.You don't like the Constitution or the Founders? They were the ones who stepped up to take responsibility (and to press their own interests, if you will). It's hard to please everybody. So much harder now that there are so many of us. Just look at how much disagreement there is here in these comments. Can you imagine if there were another revolution, and afterwards a new convention. Do you think they'd crowdsource the new Constitution on the web? Let the computer decide? Who would program the machines?
anon Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 9:26 pm GMT@Mark Green Hi Mark Green, well observed. The Arabs are so blinded by money, so lost in Zionist tricks, are tripping in their own stupidity. One of the largest ethnic-religious groups in the world, wealthy, but as dumb as a door nail, as Edward Said once said "they are a sorry lot ", haven't yet grasped how they're accommodating their own demise. Ironically, they're are paying for all expenses that will finish them, at least send them to dark ages.
They don't see how they're being played by their half-brothers . I guess treachery is in the blood ..truthtellerAryan Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 9:53 pm GMTNote that the Saudi Royals 1) have totally accepted Israel, 2) have absolutely nothing negative to say (or do) regarding Israel's subjugation of Palestine, 3) are hostile to Iran (like Israel), and 4) are willing also to accept the Kingdoms's second-tier military status vis-a-vis Israel.to understand the Saudi leadership, you need only see how they got along with Iran during the reign of the Shah; a Zio/Anglo quisling installed after the CIA putsch that removed the legitimate, democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.For these reasons, the authoritarian, undemocratic, and terror-funding Royal Saudi family is totally 'in sync' with Zio-Washington. The Saudis are even safe from any potential US-Israeli destabilization campaign. (At least for now.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27état
Under the quisling puppet Shah, Iran was terrorized by a CIA/Mossad run organization notorious for its torture methods.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAVAKTime magazine described SAVAK as having "long been Iran's most hated and feared institution" which had "tortured and murdered thousands of the Shah's opponents."[24] The Federation of American Scientists also found it guilty of "the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners" and symbolizing "the Shah's rule from 1963–79." The FAS list of SAVAK torture methods included "electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails."[25]
it was during this reign of Zionist and Anglo terror that the corrupt House of Saud got along wonderfully with the Shah's Zio-Iran. Here you see the king of Saudi Arabia dancing for the amusement of the treacherous little Shah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYIft-_FcYQ
- who exhorted the rulers of Saudi Arabia to embrace the cultural and spiritual sewage of the Zio-West thus:
as long as Iran was under the thrall of the Fiend, the Saudi were their bestest buddies ever. They were also bestest buddies with Israel and England and the ZUSA."Please, my brother, modernize. Open up your country. Make the schools mixed women and men. Let women wear miniskirts. Have discos. Be modern. Otherwise I cannot guarantee you will stay on your throne."[15]
so much treachery and evil and oppression and murder and torture.. it makes the head spin.
anyways, what do you expect from a fiend, I guess
so today the Saudis are still under the thrall of the same Fiend, but Iran is not. Hence Saudi Arabia assassinates Shia clerics it doesn't like, and Iran gets blamed for human rights violations.
The lies and mendacity and treachery are nearly beyond comprehension. The Saudis toss their fellow Arabs in Palestine under the Zionist bus, and fund and foment ISIS to crucify Christians and burn men alive. The stark divisions between good and evil (if there are such concepts) could hardly be more glaring.
and yet the Zio-fiend has Trump making nice with the murderous, terrorist-funding Saudis, while saber rattling at the peaceful and civilized Iran.
great article yet again Mr. Giraldi --
Under the quisling puppet Shah, Iran was terrorized by a CIA/Mossad run organization notorious for its torture methods.
Lets compare to the current regime that executes Bahai school teachers. Mona Mahmoudenezhad , Bahai school teacher aged 17 years was executed along with 9 other female Bahai school teachers by the Iranian regime you are so fond of. Execution method: Public hanging from crane.
Also denial of basic human rights : Homosexuality illegal and punishable by death penalty . 150 homosexuals executed each year in Iran .
Prosletizing Christianity is illegal and punishable by the death penalty . Converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by the death penalty. In court a mans testimony is given twice the weight of a womans.fund and foment ISIS to crucify Christians and burn men alive
Muslims funding Muslims to kill Christians ? Nothing new . Has been going on for 1400 years.
Rurik Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:12 pm GMT@anon It is official that loving America more than Zionists and Israel is anti-America. How embarrassing, that you see some of our cuck politicians wear flag lapels on their suits with both the Zionist and American flags as one. Treason or patriotism? We've already seen symbolically, the swearing of allegiance to this treacherous "shitty" nation by these so called " patriots "
lavoisier Website Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:47 pm GMTthe only people I'm aware of that were hanged by a crane were some homosexual rapists that raped a young boy
something the rapists would probably get a medal for doing here in the Zio-West
so it sounds to me like you're lying or pathetically misinformed
"Today, there are at least 600 churches and 300,000–370,000 Christians in Iran.[1]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Iran
and I understand that there is also a thriving and ancient Jewish community in Iran.
OK, I checked and the women were hanged back in the early eighties, just following the revolution that freed Iran from decades of Zionist atrocities and rapine, and apparently they were suspected of collaborating with the Zionists somehow. But that was a long time ago, and I don't hold today's Iranian government guilty for what was done decades ago.
the fact is that Iran has been wronged, (savaged even) by the ZUSA and Israel for a long, long time. Following their revolution that freed them from the Zio-stooge Shah, the ZUSA used their good buddy Saddam to wage a catastrophic war on Iran, and even handed Saddam some nice chemical weapons and gas to use on Iranian troops. Charming huh?
They've been menaced by Israel for so long that it's part of the fabric of their national narrative, because it seems that the Jewish supremacists can not stand to see others thrive. It drives them whacky- it does. They must have their boot on all throats, Palestinian, Iraqi, Lebanese, Syrian and everybody else. Iran tells them to fuck off, and the Jewish supremacists go bonkers.
If there's another world war, it will be forced upon the planet by Jewish, Zionist supremacists and their bought politician whores in London, Paris and DC.
I pray God speed to Trump in ferreting these Satanic scum out of the government and halls of power here in the former (and soon to be great again) good ol' US of A.
ANON Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:48 pm GMT@anon The current Iranian regime is at least as ruthless and oppressive as was the regime led by the Shah. However, that regime poses no threat to the United States of America and should not be our problem. Trump is picking a fight with Iran because they threatened Israel. Again, Israel's fights should be their own fights. Leave us out.
That being said, it is naive to dismiss how much damage we have done to countries like Iran by meddling in their internal affairs and putting in power ruthless puppets like the shah. His cruelty to his own people is what eventually led to his regime being destroyed. If you cause enough harm to people, they will seek revenge.
If he had been more benevelont and avoided murder and mayhem, he may have been able to turn his country around. But he would also have had to work for the interests of his own people.
Rurik Show Comment Next New Comment June 13, 2017 at 10:49 pm GMT@Mark Green I would say "nice try" but that would be an exaggeration. The NY World closed in 1931 after being sold by the Pulitzers (plural). You would of course know that they were not Jewish but I suppose you could try making something of the fact that their mother was from a formerly slave owning Southern family..
this treacherous "shitty" nationMust be strange to totallyl obsessed and consumed with something so trivial as " a shitty nation ". But you being an Aryan I would think you would be more concerned with Germany and the fact that you will lose the Aryan homeland within a couple of generations due to almost zero native birth rate ,a soaring Muslim birhrate from your pet " refugees" and turkish laboreres, and millions more military age Muslim men ( refugees ) pouring over your borders . But don't worry , keep obsessing over Jews. By the way who perpetrated the sexual assault festival at Germanys expense on New Years Eve , Jews or Muslims ,?? Who kidnapped/groomed and pimped out 1400 native British girls in Rotherham , Muslims or Jews ??Muslim men ( refugees ) pouring over your borders . But don't worry , keep obsessing over Jews.
your butt-boy George Soros just got his arse handed to him
no more kosher Muslims in Hungary
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May 29, 2017 | www.huffingtonpost.com
Kushner's reported actions suggest "we are in a really dark place as a society," Michael Hayden said.
Former CIA Director General Michael Hayden said that the reported plan by chief White House adviser Jared Kushner's to arrange secret communications with the Russians during President Donald Trump's transition was "off the map" and like nothing he has seen in his lifetime.
Hayden wants to chalk up the stunning plan to "naivete" rather than evil intentions - but that's not reassuring, he said in an interview on CNN.
"Right now, I'm going with naivete, and that's not particularly comforting for me," he said. "What manner of ignorance, chaos, hubris, suspicion, contempt would you have to have to think that doing this with the Russian ambassador was a good or an appropriate idea?"
Hayden was commenting on reports, which first appeared in The Washington Post Friday, that Kushner discussed last December establishing a secret communication channel with the Kremlin - using Russian facilities - without any monitoring by the U.S.
Kushner discussed the idea in Trump Tower with Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., who was surprised by the request, the Post reported, because of security risks such an arrangement would pose to both countries.
Kushner emerged last Thursday as a person of interest in the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.
Without specifically mentioning the report about Kushner, Trump tweeted Sunday in an apparent response to a number of recent stories about his administration that "leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies."
Kushner's reported plan is evidence of an extreme cynicism about "organs of the state," said Hayden, and a belief that government institutions only serve the self-interests of the president currently in power. The apparent implication of such a Kremlin link was that the Trump team trusted Russian agents more than the outgoing Obama administration or the U.S. intelligence community.
"What degree of suspicion of the existing government, what degree of contempt for the administration they were replacing would be required again to think this was an acceptable course of action?" he asked.
Hayden added: "It says an awful lot about us as a society that we could actually harbor those kinds of feelings that the organs of the state would be used by my predecessor to come after me or ... to disrupt my administration in a way that made it seem legitimate to me to use the secure communications facilities of a foreign power - a foreign power that some in government alleged you were cooperating with to affect the American election."
It's evidence, he added, that "we are in a really dark place as a society."
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May 29, 2017 | economistsview.typepad.com
EMichael May 27, 2017 at 10:32 AM Sounds like Ivanka married her daddy....."Elizabeth Spiers, a former Observer editor, has told the story of how Kushner directed her to dig up dirt on Richard Mack, another real estate developer who held some of the debt on one of Kushner's buildings, after he refused to write down the loan during a cash-flow crunch. "[D]uring one of our weekly meetings," she wrote in a blog post, "Jared told me he had a story he wanted us to pursue and that it was very important to him." Spiers says she knew Kushner had an agenda, but agreed to run it down. "Apparently, Richard Mack had been on the other end of some transaction nearly gone wrong and it had rubbed Jared the wrong way," she wrote.Spiers put her most aggressive real estate reporter, Dan Geiger, on the case-but after calling up "everyone within a 100-mile radius of the subject," the best he could find were vague suggestions that Mack could be "kind of an !!shole." Kushner was disappointed and insisted she assign another reporter to the story-who also came up empty. Vicky Ward, a well-regarded journalist who profiled Kushner for Esquire, disclosed last year that he then ordered Spiers to find an authority outside the newsroom to write the same story: her. She declined."
Spiers departed on amicable terms with Kushner, she says, but the anger toward him among former Observer employees runs deep. Harleen Kahlon was an experienced digital media maven when she was hired by Kushner in 2010 to boost the paper's digital outreach. The two worked closely to redesign the website, with a weekly one-on-one meeting in her office in which Kushner would come in, put his feet up on her desk and check in on the progress of the site's redesign, for which he hired one of New York's top digital firms. "He would compensate his lack of knowledge by saying stuff like, 'Let's just blow up the whole concept of digital.' It would sort of sound interesting for a second and then you would just forget about it and get on with the work."
At the end of the year, when she went to collect her performance bonus at his real estate office for meeting agreed upon metrics on page views and audience growth, Kushner told her that they couldn't pay, citing financial concerns, and asked her to "take one for the team." Instead, Kahlon abruptly quit. Ever since, whenever she sees him on TV or on the streets of New York, she points him out to people as: "the guy that stole my money."
Just before the election, Kahlon described her former boss on Facebook thusly: "We're talking about a guy who isn't particularly bright or hard-working, doesn't actually know anything, has bought his way into everything ever (with money he got from his criminal father), who is deeply insecure and obsessed with fame (you don't buy the NYO, marry Ivanka Trump, or constantly talk about the phone calls you get from celebrities if it's in your nature to 'shun the spotlight'), and who is basically a sh!thead."
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/25/jared-kushner-russia-fbi-donald-trump-215191
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May 16, 2017 | www.eutimes.net
Before everything else, America needs to know that US President Jared Kushner violated the Logan act and this is punishable by 3 years imprisonment by calling Canadian prime minister in order to convince Zio-slave Donald Trump not to scrap NAFTA.Jared Kushner urgently asked Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to persuade President Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw from NAFTA, according to Canadian media reports.
A White House official insists that it was the other way around – Trudeau aides in Ottawa desperately tried to get Kushner to intervene and prevent Trump from pulling out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that 'aides to Trump' asked Trudeau two weeks ago to call their boss and persuade him to back down from his pledge to quit NAFTA, according to the National Post.
It later emerged that the White House aide who contacted Ottawa was the president's son-in-law, Kushner, Metro reported.
On April 26, Trump told Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that he would not immediately pull out of NAFTA, just hours after administration officials said he was considering a draft executive order to do just that.
Kushner, who has an expansive profile that includes foreign policy, speaks regularly to Canadian officials on a range of issues.
Trudeau has also sought to publicly engage Trump's daughter, Ivanka, as part of his efforts to build bridges with the new administration.
Trudeau sat in on a White House meeting chaired by Ivanka Trump about empowering women in the workplace and supporting female-owned businesses.
The Canadian premier and the president's daughter also attended a Broadway show about welcoming immigrants.
An unnamed White House source claims that Trudeau aides urgently phoned Kushner after hearing that the president was about to sign an executive order to pull out of NAFTA.
Kushner told his Canadian counterpart that this was a matter the leaders needed to discuss themselves, according to the White House official, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss private conversations.
The Canadians asked when Trudeau should call.
After checking at the White House, Kushner called back to say Trump was ready to talk now.
Trump has cited the call from Trudeau that quickly followed as the impetus for his decision to abandon the executive order and instead move to renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico.
The president also wielded the call from Trudeau, as well as a separate call from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
But accounts of Kushner's involvement differed Monday in Canadian media reports, which claims it was he who first reached out to Trudeau's chief of staff to suggest a call between the two leaders.
After the phone calls with Trudeau and Pena Nieto, the White House made the surprise announcement that the US would remain in NAFTA pending a re-negotiation of its terms with its two neighbors.
'President Trump agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries,' said the White House.
Trump is also said to have reconsiders after his top advisers pleaded with him to do so.
Trump had pledged during his election campaign to end US participation in the agreement, which he branded 'one of the worst deals ever'.
But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue – who showed the President a map showing the areas which would be badly affected – talked him out of the move.
In an interview in the Oval Office, Trump told Washington Post: 'I was all set to terminate. I looked forward to terminating. I was going to do it.'
After being shown the impact the move would have on farmers in areas which supported him in the election last year, the President agreed to listen.
He said: 'It shows that I do have a very big farmer base, which is good. They like Trump, but I like them, and I'm going to help them.'
Trump was reportedly being lobbied to take the US out of NAFTA by Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, and Peter Navarro, who heads the National Trade Council.
The two men are believed to have drafted an executive order that just needed the president's signature in order to begin the process of terminating US participation in NAFTA.
'You never know how much of it is theater, but it didn't feel that way,' a Canadian government official told National Post.
'Maybe they're just learning how to be a government. At least they were open to the conversation, and that stopped them doing something rash and destructive.'
WHAT IS NAFTA?
The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States was signed into law in 1994 under President Bill Clinton.
The framework of the deal was first drafted under President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
NAFTA essentially eliminated almost all tariffs among the three nations, allowing for the seamless flow of goods and supplies across borders.
Today, approximately $1.4billion in goods cross the US-Mexico border every day.
NAFTA also makes it easy for companies to move operations from the US to Mexico.
NAFTA also ushered in a new era of regional and bilateral free trade agreements, which have proliferated as the World Trade Organization's global trade talks have stagnated.
The United States now has FTAs with twenty countries, and is pushing for major new regional deals with Asia and Europe.
NAFTA also pioneered the incorporation of labor and environmental provisions in US trade agreements, provisions which have become progressively more comprehensive in subsequent FTAs.
Economists largely agree that NAFTA has provided benefits to the North American economies.
Regional trade increased sharply over the treaty's first two decades, from roughly $290 billion in 1993 to more than $1.1 trillion in 2016.
Cross-border investment has also surged, with US foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in Mexico increasing in that period from $15 billion to more than $100 billion.
But experts also say that it has proven difficult to tease out the deal's direct effects from other factors, including rapid technological change, expanded trade with other countries such as China, and unrelated domestic developments in each of the countries.
Debate persists regarding NAFTA's legacy on employment and wages, with some workers and industries facing painful disruptions as they lose market share due to increased competition, and others gaining from the new market opportunities that were created.
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May 07, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com
This report from the Washington Post has to be fake news , because there is no way that any entity connected to the administration of President Donald J. Trump would attempt to draw Chinese immigrants into the US for their own personal financial benefit, given the president's strong views on immigration and China. Right? Right?! Excerpts:BEIJING - The Kushner family came to the United States as refugees, worked hard and made it big - and if you invest in Kushner properties, so can you.
That was the message delivered Saturday by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's sister Nicole Kushner Meyer to a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors in Beijing.
Over several hours of slide shows and presentations, representatives from the Kushner family business urged Chinese citizens gathered at a Ritz-Carlton hotel to consider investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a New Jersey luxury apartment complex that would help them secure what's known as an investor visa.
The potential investors were advised to invest sooner rather than later in case visa rules change under the Trump administration. "Invest early, and you will invest under the old rules," one speaker said.
The tagline on a brochure for the event: "Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States."
More:
And the highlight of the afternoon was Meyer, a principal for the company, who was introduced in promotional materials as Jared's sister.
The event underscores the extent to which Kushner's private business interests have the potential to collide with his powerful role as a top official in his father-in-law's White House, particularly when it comes to China, where Kushner has become a crucial diplomatic channel between Beijing and the new administration.
While Kushner has reported divesting from elements of the family business, including the specific project that his sister pitched in Beijing, the session Saturday demonstrated that the company is perceived as enjoying close ties to the Trump administration. Ethics laws prohibit government officials from profiting personally from their public-sector work.
Watchdogs and ethics experts on Saturday criticized the Beijing event as an attempt to cash in on Kushner's newfound proximity to power.
"It's incredibly stupid and highly inappropriate," said Richard Painter, the former chief White House ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush's administration, who has become a vocal critic of the Trump administration. "They clearly imply that the Kushners are going to make sure you get your visa. . . . They're [Chinese applicants] not going to take a chance. Of course they're going to want to invest."
Read the whole thing. This thing wouldn't pass the smell test even down here in the Banana Republic of Louisiana. Just to get this straight: to the Trump administration, immigration is bad, unless the immigrants come bearing fortunes that stand to benefit to Kushner clan. Some bunch of nationalists this lot is!
What a racket, this administration. It does appear from this that the family is so greedy that it doesn't care that its godfather, Donald Trump, sold himself to the American people as someone who opposes liberal immigration policies and who thinks China is sticking it to the American people on trade matters. And you know what? Why should he care, if Americans who voted for him are content with, "But but but Gorsuch !"?
Look:
I was threatened, harassed and forced to delete recordings and photos of The Kushner family recruiting Chinese investors in US Green cards. https://t.co/8IG5LzjbaU
- Congcong Zhang (@daphnewelkin5) May 6, 2017
Here's a slide shown during Kushner Co. event in Beijing identifying @realDonaldTrump as "key decision maker" on EB-5 investor visa program pic.twitter.com/j1M4E7eGtQ
- Javier C. Hernández (@HernandezJavier) May 6, 2017
UPDATE: It's on to Shanghai for the shameless Kushners, reports the NYTimes :
Posted in China , Immigration , Weimar America , All Things Trump . Tagged China , immigration , Trump , Kushners .Mr. Kushner has said that he has stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the family business. But government ethics filings show that he and Ivanka Trump, his wife and the president's daughter, continue to benefit from Kushner Companies' real estate and investment businesses, a stake worth as much as $600 million, and probably much more.
The Shanghai event, at the opulent Four Seasons Hotel, was patrolled by burly security guards who screened those in attendance and kept journalists outside, in an elevator lobby. The organizers had refused on Saturday to allow late registration as word spread of the Beijing event. One guard at the Shanghai event was heard saying that at least some of the participants would be leaving through a private back exit.
But some who attended described an investor pitch similar to the one in Beijing, and Mr. Trump's political power was palpable at the Shanghai event even if his name went unsaid. As on Saturday in Beijing, one slide presented to the Shanghai audience on Sunday showed a photograph of Mr. Trump when describing who will decide the future of the visa program for foreign investors, according to a snapshot taken by an audience member.
The Kushner Companies' marketing push comes as Mr. Kushner is emerging as a crucial voice on China relations, brokering meetings between his father-in-law and top Chinese government officials.
While the Trump connection piqued the interest of many people in attendance, such events soliciting investors for projects in the United States are not unusual in China. The so-called EB-5 visa program awards foreign investors the right to live in the United States for two years and a path to permanent residency, in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in American development projects. A bright red line near the top of the posters in the Four Seasons lobby prominently mentioned EB-5 visas.
About three-quarters of the roughly 10,000 investor visas issued last year went to Chinese nationals.
Although the program was created as a way to finance projects in economically troubled neighborhoods, it has instead turned into a form of cheap financing for luxury real estate developers. Applicants are primarily seeking the visa, so they do not seek a significant return on their investment.
MH - Secular Misanthropist , says: May 7, 2017 at 10:10 am I completely understand why engaging in this should be off limits the Kushners. But this sort of thing is big business in Boston for years. It seems a lot Chinese who make a lot of money realize the value of the rule of law. So they invest in projects to move their money to the US, and then immigrate to the US. Many of their children were already going to schools here as well, so it was basically a multi-generation exodus.Oakinhou , says: May 7, 2017 at 10:14 amI wonder if Kushher made it clear that people that invest 500k in any business is entitled to a visa. Investing in Kushner Properties is not a requirement.MikeCA , says: May 7, 2017 at 11:46 amThe brother of one of my best friends is applying for an Investor green card right now. Let's see how fast his is processed compared to those for investors in the Trump and family businesses
You can't feel shame if you have no sense of it. The presidency is nothing but a money making exercise for Trump & Co and of course an ego trip. " I'm President". Yes you are Mr. Trump. Why not try acting like one?EngineerScotty , says: May 7, 2017 at 11:56 am
Trump's die hard base will stick with him;will they be enough to keep the GOP in charge of congress and to reelect him in 2020?But he's rounding up the illegal aliens, and appointed Gorsuch to the court. Who cares if he's hawking real estate to Chinese gazillionaires? Trump is not Hillary, and that's all that really matters.EngineerScotty , says: May 7, 2017 at 11:58 amAs Freddie Trumper (sic) taunted at the end of the musical _Chess_, "you just don't have the instincts of a winner".
At any rate, we should drop the letters A, L, and D from the President's first name, and just call him Don Trump.collin , says: May 7, 2017 at 12:11 pmI am with Josh Barro, I don't think the average Trump voter really cared that much about this stuff and it has not hurt Trump yet. (It was draining the Multicultural swamp!) As long as the economy is growing jobs and health care & Social Security is not taken away, Trump ratings will not lose many supporters. I would argue that Trump simply reached 40% approval ratings in month 3 instead month 18 like most Prez in the past. So this stuff has yet to effect his Presidency and supporters are happy ICE is increasing their deportations. (Even if doesn't bring manufacturing jobs back.)Noah172 , says: May 7, 2017 at 12:44 pmThat if something does go wrong, this stuff, much like HRC e-mail/Foundation/More E-mail/Goldman Sachs/Comey E-mails, could be used a narrative against Trump in 2020. And there a few concerns:
1) If healthcare does not go well. Notice Ds in the MT & GA06 Special Elections are a louder about AHCA.
2) Retail location job loss in an historical long expansion. (We are close to 7 years so it is longer than the Bush Boom.) Not this high paying jobs, but there are a lot people getting by with these jobs and it appears it is going hit the WWC towns the hardest.
3) I am still concerned Trump is gets us into a war.This is disturbing to me, without question. There should be more investigation. Kushner should ideally leave the White House, or at least lose influence (there was also recent news he failed to disclose some other financial interests). Some caveats, however:Noah172 , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:15 pmWe don't know if Trump himself knew about, much less approved, this caper. It is very plausible that people who aren't really personally close to Trump but who can pretend to be would name-drop him without his permission (that would go for any other powerful person).
If I read the WaPo story correctly, Jared Kushner himself sold his interest in the development in question.
The slide showing Trump as a "key decision maker" also shows former (as in, Obama) Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, current Secretary John Kelly, and Senators Grassley and Leahy (latter a Democrat). Are they all in on this scam? Grassley and Leahy, BTW, are opponents , repeat, opponents, of the current EB-5 visa program.
The WaPo story implied that rich foreigners are rushing to get EB-5's because they fear Trump will end the program.
I would ask everyone, Trump fans and haters alike, to consider the possibility that it's these rich and perhaps overeager Chinese who are the ones getting played. The Kushners name-drop Trump to shake down the Chinese, but, golly gee, they don't get their visas because of unforeseen bureaucratic difficulties.
The silver lining to this sordid tale might be more public scrutiny of EB-5 - I repeat, Senators Grassley and Leahy, featured in this very presentation in China, are prominent opponents of the visa - and reform or abolition of the program.
BTW, liberals in the audience:
Go ahead and snicker at this story if you want, but it is YOU - not nationalist deplorables like me - who want Jared to stay in the White House, as he is a major, maybe the major influence on Trump to cave on his nationalist populist campaign pledges. Careful what you wish for.
To clarify my 12:44 comment:Noah172 , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:20 pmI don't trust Trump - or almost any political figure - to do the right thing (according to my policy preferences) without incentive and political pressure to do so. In a way, I am heartened that Jared is getting embarrassing scrutiny, which might force Trump's hand to distance himself from his son-in-law. I would have thought that the liberal (and neocon) press would protect Jared as a check on the influence of Bannon and the nationalists. Maybe there still is actual journalism going on.
Trump's waffling and bad influences are all the more reason for people of my political persuasion, which does not have big money to back it up, to be more active and organized and always demand better of our leaders. In the end, even a corrupt, unprincipled Trump is more likely with the right incentives and pressure to move the needle on nationalist causes than any of his 2016 or likely 2020 opponents.
This thing wouldn't pass the smell test even down here in the Banana Republic of LouisianaAll In The Family , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:21 pmSpeaking of which, you voted for Edwin Edwards because you believed his opponent to be unacceptably dangerous.
Why should he care, if Americans who voted for him are content with, "But but but Gorsuch!"?
Why should Edwards have cared if his voters, including you, were content with, "But but the klucker!"?
(And there's also the obvious whataboutist retort with HRC: "But but Garland!")
Do you really think Trump would betray his voters with an obviously corrupt program like this just to help sustain real estate bubbles in the big coastal cities? NahPhillip , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:33 pmSeriously, the Kushner family is to Trump as the Rodham family and Brother Roger were to Bill Clinton, a continuous source of embarrassment with criminal implications that serves to divert attention from his own embarrassments with criminal implications.
Chinese billionaires who made their fortunes through low wage exports to the United States, which undermined the manufacturing sector and jobs here. Seems like candidate Trump had a few things to say about this issue. But hey, its just business, right?Just Git , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:40 pmUnbelievable
The GOP establishment thinks American citizenship and being American has no deeper meaning than cash on the barrel-head.hb , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:45 pmAnd they'll sell American citizenship to Red Chinese Communists just as soon as anybody else. After all, they sell their own votes to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Korea, whoever. Why shouldn't they sell American citizenship the same way?
Ms. Kushner is exactly right that these corrupt Chinese would be citizens in the same sense as the Kushners themselves. What she doesn't get is that most real Americans want "Americans" of that kind kicked out.
I just emailed my senators and representative in Congress. This so called legal immigration stinks to me like those indulgences the Catholic Church sold at the time of the Reformation.Richard2 , says: May 7, 2017 at 1:52 pmAbout the only good thing I've heard about Trump is a rumored comment that being President has been a lot harder than he expected. One such difficulty is that hordes of greedy relatives may pretend they have Presidential access in order to defraud foreigners. Legally little can be done about this, if the scammers exercise some care, and hinting that embarrassing relatives may be dropped into the Pacific tied to large rocks is itself illegal. Probably President Trump is not personally involved in such schemes, as they add to his own troubles, so citizens should ignore such reports unless evidence surfaces that stealing everything in sight has become official White House policy.Kid Charlemagne , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:01 pmBut isn't this just one of many conflicts of interest we see in the Trump presidency? China, Turkey, the Philippines Trump properties, Ivanka's business etc. etcKid Charlemagne , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:04 pm
See Donald Trump's Conflicts of Interest: A Crib Sheet belowhttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/508382/
As an outsider, what is remarkable is how accepting of all this the American people areCall them like I see them , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:07 pmI cannot believe some of the replies on this article.John Gruskos , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Yes, this is real, yes other corps/families have Chinese investors, but they are not the POTUS's family.
Don't any of you see this is like mixing religion & politics at the very least.
If you are the POTUS you need to reassure the country that your decision-making is based on what's best for the nation and not your family business.
I would expect that from anyone serving in the highest office in the land!
What is wrong with you people? Before you start I am a lifelong Republican, but I am not going to say it is ok for my team when I would never want the other side doing this.If Rand Paul embraces immigration restriction, or if Ted Cruz embraces a non-interventionist foreign policy, Trump could very well lose the 2020 Republican presidential primary.Agnikan , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:37 pmSurly, according to Trump, Seattle–like Korea–was once part of China, so that's no big deal.a foul odor , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:42 pmSo Trump is making it possible for his family members to offer US citizenship to people who buy real estate from them. US citizenship must make a nice, glittering little trinket in the gifting bag at Kushner real estate promotions in China.Lord Help Us , says: May 7, 2017 at 2:50 pmSounds like "swamp" to me. Sounds like Trump is pumping more sewage into the swamp he was supposed to drain.
What could possibly go wrong?Skeptic , says: May 7, 2017 at 3:16 pmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/eb5-visa-investigation.html
Can someone tell me why Trump hasn't cancelled this corrupt ripoff scheme out of hand? Apparently, as with the H-1B program he has so far failed to stop, the whole country is being put on the block to enrich people the Kushners and their ilk, rich crooks who use government programs to make themselves even richer by importing foreigners.
Surly: Tell me about it. J. Jacobs called it 'catastrophic capital.' It works well for the people who have it. But it destroys cities. Memo to White House: uhm, re-read Death and Life of Great American Cities.George , says: May 7, 2017 at 3:47 pmYour sort right that this is fake news. Jared Kushner and the administration say they had nothing to do with this, and I see no reason to believe that isn't true. His sister is an idiot, but so are many people 's siblings.RS Rogers , says: May 7, 2017 at 4:02 pmNormally, I would not hold any politician accountable for the behavior of his distant relations and extended family. But normally, a politician doesn't employ his extended family in an official capacity; and normally, a politician does not retain direct, personal business investment with his distant relations.That is, I don't care what Billy Carter or Rogers Clinton or Neil Bush get up to, and I don't hold their misbehavior against their brothers or father in the White House. But Bobby Kennedy or the Trump children and the Kushner clan? Their actions do rub off on President Kennedy or Trump, for good or ill.
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May 05, 2017 | ...
wayfarer , April 20, 2017 at 10:12 pm GMT
The problem with fiat money is that if one has enough of it, one can buy just about anything under the sun that they please, including even large parts of a country's political system and government.Seraphim , April 20, 2017 at 11:52 pm GMTTake for example, Jared (a.k.a. billionaire arch-Zionist trust-fund baby) Kushner
@Talha Kosher Nostra!!!Oh man - that was awesome!!!
Peace. It is not my invention. All From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"Jewish-American organized crime":
'Jewish-American organized crime emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mafia, Kosher Nostra, or Undzer Shtik (Yiddish: אונדזער שטיק). The last two of these terms refer to the Italian Cosa Nostra (Italian pronunciation: [kɔza nɔstra]); the former is a play on the word kosher, referring to Jewish dietary laws, while the latter is a direct translation of the phrase (Italian for "our thing") into Yiddish, which was at the time the predominant language of the Jewish diaspora in the United States
In more recent years, Jewish-American organized crime has reappeared in the forms of both Israeli and Jewish-Russian mafia criminal groups, and Orthodox kidnapping gangs .
Several notable Jewish American mobsters provided financial support for Israel through donations to Jewish organizations since the country's creation in 1948. Jewish-American gangsters used Israel's Law of Return to flee criminal charges or face deportation "
Anonymous , April 21, 2017 at 3:31 am GMT
Art , April 21, 2017 at 6:56 pm GMT@wayfarer
Even the staff at his own Jewish day school were surprised he was accepted at Harvard.
He was described as a lacklustre student his father bought his entry, and they were disappointed that more qualified students from his school didn't make the cut.
@AldenI just read the latest ADL diktat.
As of today any mention of Jared Kushner is deemed anti Semitic. Consequences will be severe. I just read the latest ADL diktat. As of today any mention of Jared Kushner is deemed anti Semitic. Consequences will be severe.
They have good reason to hide him – he and his family have some shady business dealings – his father is a x-convict. How did he come into billions of dollars? They say that Jared inherited his money – how did that happen when his father is still living – did they get special tax treatment?
Hmm?
Peace - Art
p.s. Jared Kushner is 100% Zionist
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Apr 17, 2017 | www.strategic-culture.org
Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has emerged as a significant influence within the policy-making apparatus of the White House. After a rather public imbroglio with Trump's strategic policy adviser Stephen Bannon over the U.S. cruise missile attack on the Shayrat airbase in Syria, Kushner is "in", as they often say in Washington, and Bannon is "out". In any case, the anti-globalist faction, which is led by Bannon, has received verbal "thumbs down" on several fronts from Trump.
Trump's adoption of Clintonesque Democratic Party policies of opposing the Syrian government, confronting Russia, supporting NATO, backing the U.S. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, and militarily confronting North Korea and China in East Asia have neo-conservatives and globalists cheering but many within Trump's political base of "America First" nationalists and libertarians crying foul.
The warning signs that Kushner was fronting for the neo-conservatives was always present. His media company, Observer Media, which publishes the weekly on-line New York Observer, prominently featured several neo-conservative writers. Kushner, who also led the real estate firm Kushner Companies, turned over control of the newspaper to his brother-in-law after being named as senior adviser to President Trump.
Kushner inherited a real estate empire from his father, Charles Kushner. In 2007, Jared Kushner made the largest single purchase of a single building in U.S. history, he paid $1.8 billion for a 41-story building at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In 2015, Jared Kushner bought a 50.1 percent share in the Time Square Building in Manhattan from Africa Israel Investments, Ltd. (AFI), an investment and holding company owned by Israeli-Uzbek diamond magnate Lev Leviev. In what could spell trouble for U.S. relations with the Palestine and Africa, AFI has been involved in the building of illegal settlements on the West Bank and the acquisition of diamonds from Africa's bloodiest of conflict zones.
AFI and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, have been subjected to disinvestments by a number of governments and companies over its West Bank activities. In August 2010, the Norwegian pension fund divested in the two firms. Leviev is also involved in dodgy casino operations, which puts him in the same business circles as casino operator Trump. In 2009, Playtech Cyprus, Ltd., one of AFI's companies, began providing casino equipment to a new casino in Bucharest, Romania. Playtech was started in 1999 by four Israelis, Teddy Sagi, Elad Cohen, Rami Beinish, and Amnon Ben-Zion. Playtech's on-line gambling software is primarily provided by software programmers in Estonia. Sagi is a convicted stock fraudster, having been convicted of fraud in the 1996 "Discount Bank affair", a stock and bond manipulation scheme that shook the Tel Aviv business community. Leviev's Africa diamond mining operations involve several "former" Mossad officers, most notably in Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Namibia, and Angola.
The narrow gap of separation between Jared Kushner and some of Israel's top gangsters is cause for alarm. This situation became especially acute after it was revealed that Kushner failed to provide all the requested information on his national security questionnaire forms concerning his contacts with foreign persons and interests, has led for congressional calls for his security clearance to be suspended.
The feud between Jared Kushner and Bannon is not the first personality conflict Kushner has had with members of the Trump team. The first demonstration of Kushner's powerful influence over Trump was evidenced in his firing of Trump transition team chairman New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his loyalists, who included former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers and Matthew Freedman. For Kushner, the firings were an ultimate payback for Christie. While the U.S. Attorney for Northern New Jersey, Christie successfully prosecuted Kushner's father for tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign contributions. Christie wanted a three-year prison sentence for the elder Kushner but he ended up serving a year at a federal penitentiary in Alabama.
Christie's federal law enforcement investigation discovered that Charles Kushner tried to lure his brother-in-law and employee, William Schulder, into a prostitution honey trap at the Red Bull Inn motel in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The elder Kushner paid $10,000 to a high-end prostitute, who reportedly worked for a Manhattan escort agency linked to the Mossad, to lure Schulder into a trap, complete with a videotape system, designed to prevent him from testifying on behalf of Christie at Kushner's trial.
After Schulder's wife was sent a videotape of the tryst at the motel, Christie managed to not only ensure that an embarrassed but angered Schulder remained a star witness but also got the prostitute to testify against Kushner. Another witness for the prosecutors, Robert Yontef, Kushner's chief bookkeeper, was also subjected to a Kushner prostitution trap and a "smoking gun" videotape arranged by another call girl hired by Kushner.
Charles Kushner also managed to get New Jersey Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey to appoint him to the New York-New Jersey Port Authority Commission, which owned the World Trade Center, a plum position on 9/11 for a suspected asset of Israel's Mossad. Hudson County and Jersey City law enforcement authorities were well-aware that Mossad elements were involved in many of the intelligence activities surrounding and in support of the 9/11 event in the months leading up to the attack in 2001.
The Kushner family appears to relish in the politics of revenge and blackmail as McGreevey discovered the hard way.
While he was mayor of Woodbridge, McGreevey met an Israeli intelligence asset named Golan Cipel during a 2000 fact finding trip to Israel arranged by Charles Kushner, who was a generous donor to McGreevey's political coffers. Although the trip was sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest, the goal was to ensure future loyalty from an up-and-coming New Jersey politician being groomed for governor of his state. Cipel was the chief spokesman for the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion, but he soon ended up on McGreevey's gubernatorial campaign staff, thanks to the influence, U.S. work visa clearance, and money arranged by the elder Kushner. It is noteworthy that Rishon LeZion represents one of the right-wing Likud Party's most important bases of support in Israel. A powerful political kingmaker, Charles Kushner secured McGreevey's Democratic nomination for the governor's race after seeking the support – that is, arm twisting – the Democratic Party chairmen of the counties of Union, Essex, Middlesex, and Camden.
After becoming governor, McGreevey appointed Cipel, an Israeli national and employee of Kushner, as his chief counselor on political strategy, foreign affairs, and relations with the Jewish community. But it was McGreevey's appointment of Cipel as his director for homeland security that raised eyebrows across the state, especially after 9/11.
During McGreevey's governorship, Cipel decided to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against the governor in Mercer County Court. Cipel, a one-time "diplomat" – read that as a Mossad agent – at the Israeli Consulate General in New York, in a single legal action, destroyed McGreevey's political career. The suit forced McGreevey, who was married with two children, to admit that he led a parallel and secret gay lifestyle. With that bombshell news hitting the media, McGreevey was forced to resign. Several New Jersey political observers believe that Charles Kushner was behind Cipel's lawsuit after McGreevey did not turn out as the kind of puppet Kushner expected him to be. In fact, during the Cipel suit, McGreevey's lawyers contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and tipped them off about a possible Kushner-Cipel extortion operation directed against the governor.
Undoubtedly, Christie, who had his eyes already set upon the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton, knew all about the role that Charles Kushner played in the ultimate blackmailing of one of his predecessors as governor. With the sort of background information possessed by a federal prosecutor like Christie, who had access to wiretap transcripts gathered from the Kushner family's phone and other communications, it is clear that Jared Kushner saw Christie as a major threat to the future Kushner family agenda within the Trump administration.
With Christie, and, possibly soon, Bannon out of the way, Jared Kushner will be able to cement his Svengali-like control over Trump. Considering the record of political muscle exercised by the Kushner klan against two New Jersey governors, one can only surmise the Kushners have a great deal of blackmailable information on Mr. Trump.
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www.unz.com
Donald Trump has now named his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior adviser, notably on Middle East/Israel issues, and as Kushner fired me ten years ago over these issues, it seemed a good time to review my memories of our (limited) interactions and do what journalists do, make a prognosis about his future efforts.
Kushner was 25 when he bought the New York Observer from investment banker/artist Arthur Carter in 2006, and as all such transactions do, the move set off panic on the editorial side of the paper. The editor, my dear friend Peter Kaplan, now deceased, was at once engaged in a struggle with his new boss over the paper's news budget and independence. For my part I had been a columnist for a few years, protected against attacks and my own ineptitude by my Harvard chum Kaplan (yes, Virginia, that's how media works), and had lately started Mondoweiss there as a personal blog, and because I was vehemently against the Iraq war and beginning to connect that tragedy to the US relationship to Israel in my postings, I was apprehensive about Kushner's view of the blog and me. I knew that he had been a big supporter of the orthodox Jewish Chabad House at Harvard and had lauded Alan Dershowitz there. Not a good sign - when I was discovering Rachel Corrie and The Israel Lobby.
Peter Kaplan was a great student of character; it was his chief delight in life (after a cigar, a turkey leg, and a Preston Sturges film in the middle of the night); and my understanding of Kushner's character was formed by closed-door conversations with Peter. He told me that Kushner was smart, ambitious, and full of hubris. The two statements Peter made that resonate down through the years are: "Jared has ice in his veins." And: "He doesn't know what he doesn't know."
For a little while the clear-skinned young owner took Kaplan on as his grizzled guide to the world of journalism, but that interval was short-lived. It was somewhat shocking to Kaplan that a guy who had no experience of journalism, and was a boob about literature, wasn't a very good reader, had spent his college years doing real estate deals, etc., was eager to make decisions about the paper's values. But such is the way of the world, and after an agonizing couple of years Peter went back to Conde Nast.
I didn't last as long. Jared and I had a few polite conversations in the year that we cohabited on Broadway, and two very uncomfortable meetings over Israel and Palestine. One was before I went out there in July 2006 on his dime to see the country for the first time, during the Lebanon War, and the second one was after I got back that August. In the first, Kushner told me about his Holocaust background, his grandparents who barely survived , and his regard for Israel. When I got back, Kushner and Brian Kempner, the newspaper's publisher who had worked at the Israel lobby group AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), couldn't wait to hear what I had seen out there, they said. But when I started talking about the occupation, the room went cold as the poles, and Kushner gazed right through me with those unsmiling dark little eyes. Kaplan was even more uncomfortable than I was, and thankfully brought the tortuous meeting to a close.
But I managed to get a frank description of apartheid in Hebron into the pages of the Observer .
This couldn't last. In February 2007 Kaplan closed his office door and said he was a Zionist, Kushner was a Zionist, Kempner was a Zionist, and the janitor was a Zionist, too, and the newspaper would not pay for me to blog, as I was demanding (at that time I was only paid for published columns). It was fitting; I was gone.
My interactions with Jared were limited, but they don't give me hope about his ability to achieve peace in the Middle East. He lived in a deeply-Zionist-patriarchal mental space then; I never saw him take a step out of it. There was a provincial element to his commitment. As Peter said, he didn't know what he didn't know. The guy who replaced Kaplan was even more of a Zionist than Kaplan, while the nimble-footed Kempner went on to work in the Kushner real estate firm. Kushner's ambition and political shrewdness were evident to us, but I never saw any worldliness or largeness of spirit. He was very impressed by his own family. The big asterisk is that he was 25 and 26. I wouldn't want anyone to judge me on the basis of stuff I said at that age . . .
Lastly, I bear no ill will to Jared Kushner. He paid for my first trip to Israel and Palestine (at 50!); he paid for me to see the occupation. My firing was also a blessing; he cut me loose from the paternalist mainstream media, and I was forced to sink or swim on the internet. To some smaller or bigger degree, I can thank Jared for this website, and the wonderful relationships I have formed through the internet with people of strong hearts and principle, qualities prestige media culture does not select for. For the sake of all of us, I can only hope Kushner gets to enter a larger world too.
Maghlawatan January 10, 2017, 5:09 pmKushner reminds me of a few bosses I have had. They only know what they know which means SFA . Zero interest in the wider world. He probably knows loads about NY real estate and not much elseMivasair January 10, 2017, 9:37 pmVery good profile, Phil. One thing struck me, as it did Keith. The only "peace" that Kushner and people like him want for Israel is the "peace" of total domination and rule over others with no disturbance. So, talking about him bringing "peace" makes no sense whatsoever. That's not at all what he or anyone around him wants.echinococcus January 11, 2017, 1:52 amI suppose the peace of cemeteries is the best quality of peace if you're the undertaker.
eljay January 11, 2017, 7:30 am
rosross January 11, 2017, 5:29 pmKushner likely desires the same sort of Zionist "peace" that jon s advocates, one which:
- allows Israel to remain a religion-supremacist "Jewish State";
- allows Israel to keep as much as possible of what it has stolen;
- absolves Israel of responsibility and accountability for its past and on-going (war) crimes; and
- absolves Israel of its obligations under international law (including RoR).
Israelis and their supporters are forever talking about peace, when anyone of sound mind knows that the issue is not peace but justice for the Palestinians who have had their land stolen by European colonists.Justice first and then peace is possible. Israel pushes the peace line because it knows the issue is not about peace and that a subjugated people like the Palestinians have not a snowball's chance in hell of wielding any sort of power which might contribute to peace.
hungrydave January 14, 2017, 2:44 am Brilliant.
I will remember this. I've had the same thoughts but never realised how to enunciate it so clearly.
Marnie January 11, 2017, 1:04 am
I read somewhere that the soon to be FLOTUS (ivanka kushner) is scared s#%&less of israel. That's good. I don't imagine her husband has any plans to make it one of his homes.Lack of experience/knowledge in the positions being filled is the hallmark of the tRUMP administration, especially wrt tRUMP himself. I have no idea what the next 4 years are going to be like, but i imagine the worst.
http://pre04.deviantart.net/5b05/th/pre/f/2016/272/2/7/end_of_the_world_by_alexiuss-dajaesc.jpg
Pixel January 11, 2017, 5:27 pm
" [Ivanka} is scared s#%&less of israel."Marnie, can you say more? I'm not sure what you mean
Marnie January 12, 2017, 12:39 am
No, I can't find the article I'd read about her fear for husband traveling to zioland. I shouldn't have brought it up without backup. Sorry everybody.YoniFalic January 11, 2017, 1:28 pmWhile the appointment of Kushner is clearly nepotistic, it does not seem much worse than JFK's appointment of his brother. The historical record indicates that Robert Kennedy was if anything much more vile on Israel Palestine issues than Jared Kushner is.
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KenH , April 30, 2017 at 1:22 pm GMT \nApr 29, 2017 | www.unz.com
Maybe the president believes he's won a great victory over the wicked Syrians by lobbing cruise missiles at one of their underused air bases. Maybe Trump believes that he's scared the evil Russians and the too big for their sampans Chinese into obedience.
His 22,000 lb MOAB terror bomb on Afghanistan should keep those pesky Taliban quiet for a while even though the Pentagon claimed the intended target was a group- Khorosan – that may not actually exist.
Those major malefactors, the crazy North Koreans, could be about to feel America's full military might if they so much as twitch.
Not content with nearly stirring up a new war with North Korea, President Donald Trump is now waving the big stick at another of Washington's favorite bogeymen, Iran. For the Trumps, Iran is poison.
In recent days, President Trump has threatened to renounce the six-power nuclear agreement to freeze or shrink Iran's nuclear infrastructure. This sensible pact was signed during the Obama administration by the great powers: US, Britain, France, Russia, Germany and China. Trump appears willing to abrogate the treaty and outrage the other great powers just because he hates Iran for some reason and, it appears, Muslims in general.
The Trump administration seems increasingly influenced by Israel's far right Netanyahu government. In fact, PM Netanyahu often appears the most moderate member of his rightist coalition which is dominated by militant West Bank settlers.
Trump has surrounded himself with ardent supporters of Israel's right. One of his major bankrollers is casino mogul Sheldon Adelson who is a key supporter of Jewish expansion on the illegally occupied West Bank.
Israel's right has made a hate fetish of Iran and incessantly calls for war against the Islamic Republic. However, the mighty US Israel lobby twice failed to push the Obama administration to attack Iran. The US Congress, by contrast, is totally under the thumb of Israel's American lobby and pays more respect to PM Netanyahu than the president. He who pays the piper .
In fact, Congress sought to block sales of Boeing civilian airliners to Iran worth $16.6 billion even though it would have cost thousands of American jobs. Congress has been trying to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal ever since it was signed, putting American national interests on a collision course with those of Israel's right.
But now President Trump says he's found a new reason to sabotage the six-power deal: Iran, insists Trump, supports 'terrorism' and has bad intentions. This charge has been around for decades, cited by Israel as a compelling reason to attack Iran because Tehran supports the 'terrorist' Lebanese movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian movement Hamas.
The 'terrorist' label is slapped onto all enemies of Israel and the United States. It's a handy, meaningless sobriquet that automatically denies those so named political or moral justice.
I was with the Israel army when it invaded Lebanon in 1982 and saw first-hand how its arrogance turned formerly pro-Israel Shia Lebanese in the south into anti-Israel fighters. Israel actually encouraged and may have secretly financed the growth of Hezbollah and Hamas hoping they would drain support from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Lebanon's Amal militia.
Israel hates Hamas and Hezbollah and is determined to eradicate them. The principal supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah has long been Syria. Large parts of Syria have now been destroyed by a US-engineered uprising and bands of Saudi-financed mercenaries. That has left Iran as the main supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, and a principal backer of Syria's Assad government. The PLO has become a puppet of Israel and the US.
So Israel is now determined to destroy Hezbollah in its strongholds in Lebanon and then crush Hamas with Trump's blessing, so ending any dreams of a Palestinian state. Iran is now being blamed for all Washington's problems in the Mideast. So war fever against Iran is again mounting.
Interestingly, Iran
Mark Green , April 29, 2017 at 4:54 pm GMT \n
"The Trump administration seems increasingly influenced by Israel's far right Netanyahu government." -Eric MargolisTimur The Lame , April 30, 2017 at 12:26 pm GMT \nMore to the point:
"We control America." -Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
IDF vs Hezbollah round 2 should be interesting. All the Pauly Shores and Jared Kushners in uniform shat their panties when they faced a tough disciplined adversary immune to air superiority. Asymmetrical warfare is the 21st century's antidote to gunboat diplomacy.We in the west got scant information of the drubbing the Edomites got in that scrap. If you read between the lines of major media coverage (as obviously should be done) one got the distinct impression that they ran out of euphemisms to try to paint that conflict as anywhere near positive.
It turns out that the mighty Israeli army had feet of clay. And hurt feelings too judging by the massive 48 hour air assault they conducted before the peace agreement came into effect.
My prediction is that the next time around the IDF will use all modern MOAB and fuel air ordnance weapons (gifted by Uncle Sugar) to clear the ground before their snowflake grunts appear on the scene. A real holocaust (by dictionary definition) as it were. Of course militarily it is the proper thing to do but politically problematic. If Hezbollah has accounted for this by burrowing ever more deeply, there will be dragons. Israel cannot allow for any kind of casualty count domestically.
It is written that the French killed 75,000 0f their own due to artillery barrages in WW1. Those days are long over.
Cheers-
It looks like Trump hasn't gotten Eric's memo. He's also not afraid to think really big. Besides, Trump is one of those people who double down and try to prove anyone wrong who says he can't do something, so we should prepare for war with Iran, Syria, N. Korea, and Russia no matter the consequences.
The Trump administration seems increasingly influenced by Israel's far right Netanyahu government.
Ditto that. Trump is a Judaized white man who was surrounded by many American Jews with longstanding ties to the Likud party, so I always thought his talk of non-interventionism and "America first" seemed fanciful and merely designed to ensnare "deplorabes". It was only a matter of time before his court Jews employed their wiles to change Trump from populist with a humble foreign policy into a cross between George W. Bush and Bibi Netanyahu bent on regime change and more reckless and insane than both combined.
Bragadocious , April 30, 2017 at 4:17 pm GMT \nActually, Shel Adelson put all his casino chips in Rubio's corner, and considered Trump unreliable at best. Until Trump won. Then I guess Adelson did support him, though I doubt Trump is bought and paid for to the extent Rubio would have been.
Let's look at the alternatives here. Any other Republican except for Rand Paul wanted confrontation with Iran, and on a faster timetable than Trump. Hillary was more hawkish than Trump, on that nearly everyone agrees. So really, the odds of any other major candidate starting a war with Iran were greater than they are with Trump.
But what of this?
Trump is a Judaized white man who was surrounded by many American Jews with longstanding
ties to the Likud party, so I always thought his talk of non-interventionism and "America first"
seemed fanciful and merely designed to ensnare "deplorabes."
Again, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to serve as President without "American Jews with
longstanding ties to the Likud Party" to be lurking around somewhere. They are everywhere
, in both parties, and at a synagogue near you. But if Trump gets into the morass of regime
change, he's a one-term President and a massive failure. I think he knows that.
Donald Trump's rhetorical bravado in Syria and Afghanistan is a prelude of a looming attack on Iran that will evolve, at the end, into an outright war across the Middle East. Such a war of aggression will break America's neck and will be the beginning of the end of the State of Israel. Both crazy states have nuclear weapons and they will use them. Both, Israel and the US, don't have any ethics. They are driven by a domination of other peoples. The US have been waging wars since its establishment, except for 17 (!) years. A real peace-loving nation. The same holds true for Israel. Since 1948, Israel has been at war with its neighbors and threatens Iran with war.
Trump, at the order of Netanyahu, will destroy Iran in order to establish Israel as the only hegemonic power over the whole Middle East and Northern Africa. That's why they are destroying one country after another according to sectarian and religious lines such as the Yinon Plan outlined. The whole chaos in the Middle East serves only Israel. Just recently, Netanyahu said that Israel is one of the superpowers. How right he is.
Druid , May 1, 2017 at 12:52 am GMT \n@Anonymous By all means sell all the guided missiles, sorry... airliners, that Persian hearts desire! They will go up in smoke, torched by 500 lb bombs, or maybe by Standard missiles while trying to hit a high-rise building in the civilized world.
And Israel wins without fighting yet again. Sun Tzu is smiling, but looks a bit tired. Sorry,
911, inside job!
Hey Eric- in your list of threats by Trump, you skip his threats to Mexic0, China, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Britain, the EU, and most recently South Korea. And not to forget: Canada.
Of course, he's not threatening war against any of those. Just trade war.
Except China.
It's hard to tell whether he knows the difference between friends and foes.
Oh, wait, there is one country and one leader he has never threatened, never spoken a bad word of, and never so much as hinted at being any sort of issue for the United States.
Wonder why that is?
Thank you for frankness Mr. Margolis. Humanity always prevails, terrorists always lose!
Only sure cure, to get Americans to stop terrorizing the planet earth-Remove/relocate UN into Palestine (West Bank). Didi , May 2, 2017 at 12:30 pm GMT \n
Mr. Margolis. Everything in Trumpland has to be magnified to huge. The attack on the Iran agreement fits nicely in Trump's idiosyncrasy that every achievement of president Obama must be dragged through the mud and declared the worst thing ever done by a US president. As in the case of NAFTA Trump may actually do nothing after he has talked to two women: May and Merkel. There is even an outside chance that he will talk to a third: Le Pen. mr meener , May 2, 2017 at 12:46 pm GMT \n
head rabbi in Israel .goyim were born to serve Israel. trump has been kosherized by all the traitor jews around him with the master of them all kosher Kushner. the Syrian air force base was bombed because Syria did shoot down an Israeli jet. even the NK fiasco is tied to Israel. when Israel bombed the Syrian reactor in 2006 they killed 10 north Korean scientists who they knew were there. EVERY foreign policy war blockades sanctions bombing are ALL for israel. there is utterly no hope for this country mr meener , May 2, 2017 at 12:48 pm GMT \n
@Proud_Srbin Thank you for frankness Mr. Margolis. Humanity always prevails, terrorists always lose!
God Bless Mankind! when the terrorist army is ISIS Israel's private army they will not lose.
they have the backing of the whole west and saudia arbia. keep dreaming evil never loses in a
world controlled by satan and his spawn
China and Russia, both bordering Korea, have not yet drawn their redlines to any attack on NK.
And why not? Is it because they know or feel sure that US dares not wage a full scale war against NK?
Surely, surely mad US generals, fake MSM, fake Congress are not that mad to attack a country
like Korea.
How about by a pinprick; similar to that on the Shayrat airbase?
Don G. , May 2, 2017 at 5:19 pm GMT \nIsrael hates Hamas and Hezbollah and is determined to eradicate them. The principal supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah has long been Syria. Large parts of Syria have now been destroyed by a US-engineered uprising and bands of Saudi-financed mercenaries. That has left Iran as the main supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, and a principal backer of Syria's Assad government. The PLO has become a puppet of Israel and the US.
I've said all along that the war being waged by the US against Syria is for the purpose of destroying the supply line used to transfer advanced weapons from Iran to Hezbollah. Israel simply cannot abide the thought of being unable to invade Lebanon at will, and will never, ever get over having their plow cleaned by Hezbollah in 2006.
Obama has left an indelible mark with his signing on of the US to the deal on Iran's nuclear program. It's irreversible now because Russia is a party to the deal. As is the Syria war because of Russia's influence and it's MAD deterrent. And North Korea is safe because of China's influence.
Throughout the world the situation is going to be different now for the US. Russia and China
have stood up and drawn a line in the sand. The deterrent to US aggression that was missing since
the fall of the Soviet Union is now back.
@bob balkas China and Russia, both bordering Korea, have not yet drawn their redlines to any attack on NK.
And why not? Is it because they know or feel sure that US dares not wage a full scale war against NK?
Surely, surely mad US generals, fake MSM, fake Congress are not that mad to attack a country
like Korea.
How about by a pinprick; similar to that on the Shayrat airbase? Make no mistake Bob, the red
lines have been drawn by China and Russia that forbid a US strike against North Korea. Much goes
on in the background that is not fed to the US media. This is why the US media is useless for
letting us know what is really happening in foreign affairs that include the US. It's also the
reason why 90% of what we read on antiwar.com is useless too.
It's a good idea to avoid military action against Iran. No matter how many military victories you chalk up on the battlefield, you can't win in the long run fighting in an area in which the vast majority of the population does not want you there.
Kushner and the military have the foreign policy portfolio. Trump has no idea whats going on. All of a sudden everybody likes him. That's enough for Trump. So "we" have gone full Zio. Duck and cover!
I think a lot of people are confusing the little independent State of Israel with the international bankers often referred to as the new world order NWO I don't agree they are the same force and Israel has been and will continue to be as much of a victim as all the rest of us . Carroll Price , May 3, 2017 at 2:52 am GMT \n
@eric siverson I think a lot of people are confusing the little independent State of Israel with the international bankers often referred to as the new world order NWO I don't agree they are the same force and Israel has been and will continue to be as much of a victim as all the rest of us . With American tax payers forking over in excess of 5 billion dollars per year to Israel (and that's only what we know about) you could hardly refer to that shitty little aberration as an independent state.
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