Yair Shamir: Profile of Israeli Extremism
Yair Shamir: Profile of Israeli Extremism
by Stephen Lendman
He's a former IDF officer. He's now an Israeli politician and businessman. He's former Prime Minister Yitzhak's son. He's named after Avraham "Yair" Stern.
In 1940, he founded the terrorist Lehi group. It's commonly called the Stern Gang. During WW II, it offered to help Nazi Germany and fascist Italy against Britain.
Syria News May 7
UN: No conclusive proof chemical weapons used in Syria - NOW
Moscow Sees No Hard Evidence of Chemical Weapons in Syria - RIA Novosti
Al Qaeda's track record with chemical weapons - CNN.com
Senate Dem introduces bill to arm Syria opposition - Fox News
Syrian Opposition Groups Deny Chemical Weapons Attack - US News and World Report
Will The UN Find Sarin In Syria? - Medical Daily
VIDEO: UN commissioner Carla Del Ponte on sarin use by Syrian rebels - YouTube
VIDEO: Sarin use strongly suspected in Syria - YouTube
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No early warning for US over Israeli strikes in Syria - todayszaman
Russia "especially concerned" by Israel's Syria air strikes - NOW
Putin, Israeli PM Discuss Syria by Phone - Naharnet
China criticizes Syria raid as Netanyahu, Abbas visit - NOW
EU warns of 'spillover' threat in Syria region following Israeli air strikes - straitstimes.com
Al-Maliki: Israeli Aggression on Sites in Syria Violates International Law- SANA, Syria
Jordan Lower House condemns Israeli attacks on Syria - Jordan News Agency (Petra)
Any arms Israel targeted in Syria not Iranian, general says - NOW
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Turkey launches military exercise near Syrian border - Yahoo! News
Turkish PM calls Syrian President Assad ‘a butcher’ - PanARMENIAN.Net
Erdogan Keeps Silent About Israeli Strikes on Syria - Al-Monitor
Turkey Fears Russia Too Much to Intervene in Syria - The Atlantic
Turkey rejects claims of joining regional cooperation against Iran - todayszaman
Top Iraqi official accuses Turkey of controlling Sunni protests - todayszaman
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Lebanon gets kidnappers' list, readies for Syria talks - THE DAILY STAR
Turkish intelligence to secure release of kidnapped Lebanese in Syria - todayszaman
Lebanese factions train Syrian refugees as militants: Lebanon interior minister - PressTV
Iraqi Shiites begin to hold public funerals for ‘martyrs’ killed in Syria - Middle East Online
Iraqi death hints of Iran's role in Syrian crisis - newsday.com
VIDEO: Funeral in Iraq for Shi'ite militant killed in Syria - Reuters.com
Iran: Funeral for IRGC officer killed in Syria - ncr-iran.org
Exclusive: Syrian aid in crisis as Gulf states renege on promises - The Independent
Syrian Opposition Seeks Control of Oil Resources - Al-Monitor
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The 'Onion' latest victim of Syrian Electronic Army's fat jokes - FP Passport
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
U.S. Corporate Media: Your Source for Lies About Syria
U.S. suggestions that the Syrian government could have used chemical weapons have been treated as fact by some media outlets, and are helping to fuel the case for greater U.S. military involvement. But subsequent reporting has called into question these early, credulous reports--and highlighted the continuing media failure to treat WMD claims with the skepticism they deserve.
Go to FAIR.
Stop Expanding Arlington National Cemetery and Stop Producing Corpses
An NPR story on Monday carried this headline: "Expansion Plans At Arlington National Cemetery Cause Environmental Concerns." Only environmental concerns? Are there any other concerns that anyone can think of? I mean if, for example, "All Things" were going to be "Considered," would there be any other things worth considering?
U.S. troop deaths were 0.3 percent of the deaths in the most recent attack on Iraq. Most of those U.S. dead (and all of the non-U.S. dead) do not end up in Arlington. Most end up in other cemeteries. Some are never recovered. Some are unceremoniously dumped in land fills. And yet the cemetery is running out of room even for cremated corpses.
Advocates of military spending often push for increases to keep pace with gross domestic product. Should Arlington be the same? Should we kill off our young in proportion to how much money our bankers have? Should we expand cemeteries to keep pace with weapons budgets, prisons, highways, and fracking subsidies? Or should we take this opportunity to consider altering our priorities?
President Kennedy, whose eternal flame burns atop the hill at Arlington, wrote that we would have wars until the conscientious objector was given the prestige and respect now given to soldiers. Why is there no cemetery to honor those who resist massive crimes based on the sort of lies told about Iraq 10 years ago and told about Syria today? Why do we have to educators or doctors or diplomats or firefighters or historians or poets honored with the ceremonial wasting of fertile soil? Why only those who participate in state-sanctioned murder?
As Eisenhower warned on his way out of office, we get the society we prepare for. Expanding Arlington Cemetery is preparing us for a horrible future, one that we and the rest of humanity may not survive. The environmental concerns raised by this vision should be much more encompassing that a particular creek and stand of trees. The destructive arrogance of our war economy will either be replaced by a sustainable peaceful system or destroy us.
Pass that along to National Pentagon Radio when you get a chance.
BBC's Longstanding Pro-Israeli Bias
BBC's Longstanding Pro-Israeli Bias
by Stephen Lendman
Since 1922, BBC's first general manager, John Reith, explained his mandate. UK officials "know they can trust us not be be really impartial," he said.
It's a reliable business/government partner. Earlier it was called the "British Falsehood Corporation." More recently it's been known as the "British Bombing (or Bombast) Club."
Stay Out of Syria
The Obama administration has seemingly painted itself into yet another military corner by announcing that use of chemical weapons by Syria would constitute a red line that would mandate military action on the part of the United States. Now we are hearing reports that the red line may have been crossed, and some prominent officials are calling for the U.S. to step up its aid to the rebels and/or impose a no-fly zone. Proponents of military action such as Secretary of State John Kerry and hawkish Senator John McCain seem to think that the U.S. can sort out the “good guys” in the Syrian civil war, and use U.S. military assets to help the rebels take down the Assad government.
U.S. military involvement in Syria could only make things worse. Syria does not need a "no fly" zone. It needs a "no weaponizing" zone. The White House and its allies need to stop arming one side of a civil war, and to persuade Russia to stop arming the other. Further escalating the violence will result in nothing that could outweigh the damage of that violence.
The Netanyahu government in Israel has just raised the ante in this precarious situation by conducting air-to-ground missile attacks against Syria, undoubtedly with the tacit approval of the United States. Allowing Israel to attack Syria without consequences is not only the sanctioning of a crime; it also allows momentum to develop for greater violence and pushes peaceful resolution further out of reach. Diplomacy must be actively pursued before it is too late.
Further military interference in Syria would be a disastrous decision in important ways. For one thing, it is not at all clear if chemical weapons have been used, and if so, by which side. U.S. media has a tendency to turn conjecture into accepted fact merely by repeating it. Furthermore, the U.S. military has itself used and continues to use chemical and nuclear weapons — Agent Orange and napalm in Vietnam and white phosphorus and depleted uranium weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ongoing hypocrisy of U.S. policy and practice in this regard undermines our nation’s international moral and legal position.
Secondly, there are few if any “good guys” among the combatants in Syria. Because the White House has decided that regime change in Syria is our business, Americans are now squarely allied with extremist anti-democratic insurgents—the same people the administration has deemed our enemy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As it has time after the time, the theory that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” will come back to bite the U.S. once Assad is out of office.
Those who hold Libya up as an example of the kind of military action that should be taken in Syria don’t understand some very basic concepts. Syria’s air defense batteries are located in urban centers, not like Libya’s, which could be attacked without causing a high number of civilian casualties. If the U.S. targets urban centers in Syria, global opinion will quickly turn against us. Furthermore, the Assad government’s close relationship with major powers Russia and Iran could mean that a U.S. attack would lead to widespread war. An escalated U.S. war in Syria would not be waged simply on American terms. Those who advocate for military action don’t seem to understand the global response to our actions.
But the most basic reason that the U.S. should not interfere militarily in Syria is because we should support self-determination. It should be left to the Syrian people to decide who will run their government. Overthrowing foreign governments is not legal, moral, or practical. It is not a safe practice to encourage. In fact, in nearly a century of warmaking, there is still no example of the United States or NATO having “liberated” a country to beneficial effect. Libya's violence is spilling into neighboring nations. Iraq is arguably in worse shape post-intervention than Syria is pre-intervention.
In the immediate term, the Green Shadow Cabinet calls on the United States government and the international community to provide humanitarian aid—food and shelter for those displaced, and assistance to countries that are providing safe haven for Syrian refugees. And the administration should invest in multilateral diplomatic efforts involving both Russia and Iran, as well as others, to push for a cease fire and an end to weapons shipments.
In the long term, we must win an international ban on weapons and war profiteering, which is a major factor in feeding the cycle of violence.
LEAH BOLGER is Secretary of Defense in the Green Shadow Cabinet. She is a former Commander in the United States Navy, retired.
DAVID SWANSON is Secretary of Peace in the Green Shadow Cabinet. He is author of War is a Lie, When the World Outlawed War, and The Military Industrial Complex at 50.
Iran War Weekly - May 5, 2013
Iran War Weekly
May 5, 2013
Hello All – It is too soon to tell whether Israel’s weekend bombing of Syria will irrevocably change the course of the war and engulf the region in death and fire. Israel has intimated that further attacks are on the way, and the Obama administration has stated that US strikes against Syria’s air defenses and air fields are under discussion. Syria (via the Arab League) seems about to take the issue to the UN Security Council, where we can expect the United States to defend Israel by blocking discussion. What will Syria then do after further Israeli aggression?
Iran War Weekly - April 21, 2013
Iran War Weekly
April 21, 2013
Hello All -- Following on the failure of the talks in Kazakhstan about Iran’s nuclear program, the United States and its allies renewed their non-diplomatic offensive against Iran this week. Secretary of Defense Hagel was in the Middle East, most especially in Israel, to push a $10 billion program introducing more advanced offensive weapons into the Israel, Saudi, and UAE arsenals. Like the trips of President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry made two weeks earlier, Hagel’s mission is both to reassure Israel and other regional allies that the United States still considers “all options on the table,” while at the same time pressuring Israel to defer military action against Iran and to give sanctions and negotiations more time.
May 2013 Appearances/Protests of War Criminals
Here is the list of appearances/Protests of War Criminals for May, 2013. If any of these war criminals are in your area, please plan something around their appearance. We will be happy to help you get things started. You may access posters and leaflets on our website - http://warcriminalswatch.org/index.php/downloadable-materials/173-posters-a-leaflets
Iran War Weekly - April 11, 2013
Iran War Weekly
April 11, 2013
Hello All – As expected, last week’s negotiations in Kazakhstan between the P5+1 and Iran about the latter’s nuclear program ended in failure. While leaders of the two sides have agreed to keep talking, no next meeting has been scheduled, and it is unlikely that there will be one until the conclusion of Iran’s presidential election, which will take place in June.
America and Israel: Imperial Partners in Crime (Part II)
America and Israel: Imperial Partners in Crime (Part II)
by Stephen Lendman
In late January, Lebanese military sources reported multiple Israeli violations of Lebanon's airspace. One or more targets on the Syrian-Lebanese border were struck.
Around the same time, Israeli warplanes attacked a military research center in Jamraya. It's about 10 miles from the Lebanese border. Early Sunday morning, Israel struck it again.
Google Recognizes Palestinian Statehood
Google Recognizes Palestinian Statehood
by Stephen Lendman
On May 1, Google recognized Palestine. It did so on its homepage. Earlier it referred to "The Palestinian Territories." More on that below.
On January 4, Abbas' presidential decree acknowledged the State of Palestine. It followed gaining UN nonmember observer status.
Reuters: U.N. Investigators Say Syrian Rebels, Not Syrian Regime, Used Chemical Weapons
So, wait. It wasn't the Syrian regime, but rather the Syrian rebels who used sarin nerve gas recently? That's the story being reported tonight by Reuters, from actually named sources among U.N. investigators. But will anybody notice? Or, with Israeli airstrikes already under way, and the neo-cons already demanding another new war, is the news too little, too late...again?
The week before last, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, reading from a letter sent by the White House to Congress, announced that the Administration believes that the Syrian government recently used chemical weapons against its own people. If true, it would be a move which President Obama had previously described as a "red line" and a "game changer" in the Administration's policy on the two-year old civil war still raging in that country.
Some Don't Pay Their War Taxes
This past Saturday morning felt like mid-winter in Asheville, North Carolina, but was actually some weeks past tax day, and dozens of people were gathered in front of a federal building to say something about what federal income taxes are used for -- something much more unusual than one would expect.
Posters carried messages including: "War steals from the poor" and "Defund Militerrorism." This in itself was not so unusual. Opponents of war often use tax season to inform their friends and neighbors that roughly half of income tax dollars go to war preparation. We could have the educations and health and happiness that other nations have if we didn't waste our money on the military, we say. We'd have more and better jobs, and jobs we could feel better about, we tell people.
If only our taxes weren't put to such bad ends.
But the people gathered from across the country in Asheville on Saturday were in town for a meeting of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. They had gathered on Saturday morning to announce the awarding of grants of thousands of dollars to a long list of great humanitarian causes -- all the things we wish our taxes were going to. For these people, this is in fact what their taxes are going to. Many of them have put the dollars they owe in taxes into one of a number of funds set up for this purpose. They can take their money back if they choose, but meanwhile the interest it earns goes to worthy causes of their choosing in the form of these grants announced in something more like a celebration than the usual tax-day lamentation that war opponents are all familiar with.
Following the announcements in front of the federal building, the small crowd stretched out in a long single-file line walking through Asheville, posters held high, making a tour of locations in the lives of the homeless and destitute, locations in need of the money that went to buy the bombs Israel was just then dropping on Syria.
Syria News May 6
Why did Israel bomb Syria? - EA WorldView
Analysis: Israel may be ready for more active military role in Syria - NBC World News
Profile: Syria's top-secret Jamraya research centre - BBC News
A Look at the Missile Reportedly Targeted in Syria by Israel- ABC News
Lawmakers: Israeli strikes show Syrian air-defense vulnerability - The Hill's Global Affairs
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV: Israeli jet shot down over Damascus - Ya Libnan
U.N. voices 'grave concern' at reports of Israel strikes in Syria - Yahoo! News
Lebanon condemns Israel's use of airspace to strike Syria - THE DAILY STAR
Iran calls for stand against Israel after Syria attack - Yahoo! News
Iraqi Shiite leader urges Syria to strike back at Israel - The Times of Israel
Egypt, Arab League condemn Israeli "attacks" in Syria - NOW
Opposition Syrian National Coalition Condemns Israeli Attacks - Naharnet
FSA: Our Operations Not Related to Israeli Attacks — Naharnet
VIDEO: Syrian Government Statement in Response to Israeli Airstrikes in Damascus - YouTube
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Relatives of hostages protest outside Turkish base - THE DAILY STAR
Lebanon wants Turkey, Qatar to help release hostages in Syria (VIDEO) - PressTV
FSA brigade pledges to fight Hezbollah's Qusayr advances - Alarabiya.net
VIDEO: Syrian army gains control of strategic Qusayr suburban areas - YouTube
House intelligence chair: Hezbollah funding Syrian troops - MSNBC
Iran ready to "train" Syria army, commander says - NOW
Muslim Brotherhood opens direct link to rebels in Damascus - The National
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
We lament the pre-emptive and illegal war against Iraq
Interfaith Service of Lamentation and Hope
APRIL 22, 2013 ● 5:00 P.M. INTERFAITH PEACE CHAPEL
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GATHERING MUSIC Jenny Holland, flute David Moldenhauer, piano
PRELUDE Dona Nobis Pacem
by Giulio Caccini, arr. James Moore
Stephanie Darbo, soprano
When truth has fallen in the public squares (Isaiah 59), falsehood becomes the memory norm of a people unless someone provides a truthful narrative befitting democracy at its best. Truth telling, our purpose today in the name of the God of Peace and Justice, calls for transparency and accountability from all parties, offering judgment, self-examination, and the hope of restoration.
We recognize that all of us as a nation bear responsibility for the fall of truth. It is the responsibility of each citizen of the United States to reflect on one’s own role in the decisions of presidential administrations and it behooves us to make whatever changes are necessary for the common good.
WELCOME Rev. Bill McElvaney INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS Rabbi Steve Fisch
LAMENTATIONS
We lament the misinformation used to justify the war against Iraq, a country with no weapons of mass destruction despite the assurance of the Bush administration to the contrary.
We lament the muting of dissent by the Bush presidency during the U.S. initiated war in Iraq, casting doubt on the patriotism of those opposing the war.
We lament President Bush’s wrongful assumption that U.S. invasion and occupation would make the U.S. more secure when in fact the consequence was increased recruitment of would-be terrorists.
We lament the claim by the Bush administration that our nation was protected from terrorist attacks when in fact the worst terrorist attack in history on U.S. soil occurred during the Bush presidency.
We lament resistance to acknowledge claims of the scientific community regarding climate change.
ALL: We call upon God to guide us towards truth telling in the public square.
America and Israel: Imperial Partners in Crime
America and Israel: Imperial Partners in Crime
by Stephen Lendman
Longstanding ties remain firm. Both nations are imperial partners. Naked aggression is official policy. Regime change in Syria is planned. Daily events head inexorably toward full-scale intervention.
Honduras: State-Sponsored Death Squad Terror
Honduras: State-Sponsored Death Squad Terror
by Stephen Lendman
Adrienne Pine is American University Professor or Anthropology. She's worked in Honduras. She's written about state-sponsored violence.
Syria News May 5
Obama Does Not Foresee U.S. Boots On The Ground In Syria - ABC News
VIDEO: Obama: No U.S. Ground Troops in Syria - YouTube
Iraqi Shia fighters warm up to fight in Syria - Hassan Hassan
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VIDEO: Explosions heard on Sunday in Damascus - Al Jazeera Blogs
Hezbollah official says won’t let U.S., Israel gain control of Syria - THE DAILY STAR
More Weapons Trafficking to Syria Militants? - Syria Report
FSA Leader: We Won't Share U.S. Arms With Extremists (AUDIO) - NPR
FSA investigates residents’ claims of chemical weapons’ use in Qusayr - Alarabiya.net
Syria’s Christians Fear Collapse of the State - Al-Monitor
The Syrian Army Tightens Grip over Jabhat al-Nusra Strongholds in Ghouta - islamicinvitationturkey
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2 YPG Kurdish fighters killed in clashes with FSA in Til Temir, 15 abducted in Efrin - ANF
PYD View On Tel Temir clashes with FSA - Transnational Middle-East Observer
VIDEO: FSA enroute to attack Afrin and liberate it from its Kurdish inhabitants - YouTube
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
Protecting Humanity from US Drones
by Debra Sweet The April month of protest against US drone warfare and surveillance ended very strongly in Syracuse Sunday with a protest of hundreds of us at Hancock Air Force Base, where drones — unmanned aerial vehicles — are piloted over Pakistan, Afghanistan, and perhaps Yemen, Somalia and other countries. Picture the starkness of the political clash.
The President Runs A Concentration Camp
by Debra Sweet President Obama seems to fear that the hunger strike of the Guantanamo prisoners endangers the United States' reputation. He doesn't want them to die. So we learned today when he was questioned by a reporter. See Obama's remarks, and pertinent commentary from Kevin Gosztola: Obama’s Deluded Remarks Ignore His Role in Keeping Prisoners at Guantanamo.
Ducking the Full Costs of War: The Ongoing Scandal Called the Veterans Administration
By Dave Lindorff
My mother died last Thursday at the age of 89. Her death, fortunately coming peacefully after she suffered a stroke during her sleep, followed a long mental decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
US-Style Free Trade in Good Hands with Michael Froman
US-Style Free Trade in Good Hands with Michael Froman
by Stephen Lendman
On May 2, Obama named Froman his new US trade representative. He's a former Harvard law school classmate. He's currently a key adviser. More on him below.
Andy P. Hart: Suicide or Murder?
Andy P. Hart: Suicide or Murder?
by Stephen Lendman
On May 1, Truthout's Jason Leopold reported Hart's "apparent suicide." He represented a number of Guantanamo prisoners. More on that below.
Israel strikes Syria to keep ‘game-changing weaponry’ from reaching Hezbollah
Israeli officials acknowledged Friday evening that they had launched airstrikes that hit inside Syria, say U.S. officials. It is not clear whether any Israeli warplanes violated Syrian airspace in carrying out the strike. “We can not comment on these reports, but what we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, specifically to Hezbollah in Lebanon,” an Israeli spokesman in Washington said, according to Andrea Mitchell.
Syria News May 4
Brzezinski Joins Lugar Warning Against U.S. Role in Syria - Bloomberg
VIDEO: Brzezinski : If we become chief protagonist in Syria, we are going to be stuck - YouTube
Syrian Air Defenses Pose Formidable Challenge - TIME.com
Saudis Try to Quell Syria-Bound Jihad - WSJ.com
Moscow Ready to Talk to Free Syrian Army – Minister - RIA Novosti
Hezbollah Leader Defends Involvement in Syria - Al-Monitor
Syrian Internal Opposition Leader Notes 'Militarizing' of Political Approach - Al-Monitor
VIDEO: The stories of graphic videos in Syria by Anastasia Popova - LiveLeak.com
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World Press Freedom day: journalists being deliberately targeted in Syria - Telegraph
Evidence of 'executions' as Assad's forces launch offensives in Syria's west - Al Bawaba
Christian Refugees in Syria Forced Back to Iraq by War - Rudaw
Al-Qaeda sets up Sharia courts in Aleppo city - The Times
New Addition to the Syrian Islamic Front - Syria Comment
Clash between Two Terrorist Groups in Duma - SANA
Kurds building bridge to link Iraqi Kurdistan with Syrian Kurdistan - ekurd
Kurdish National Movement for Peaceful Change: Kurds in Syria Will Remain Syrians - SANA
VIDEO: Syrian rebels killed Turkish policeman - Local people reaction - LiveLeak.com
To contact Bartolo email peaceloversingle@gmail.com
