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Walking along the cracked sidewalk that charts my route home from college, my head was filled with thoughts of Gaza and the recent 'ceasefire' and the fact that 160 Gazans had been ruthlessly slaughtered in eight days. As I ambled along, constating how lucky I was not to have to fear the sound of F16's or a sudden missile strike or being burnt alive by white phosphorous, I was stopped dead in my tracks by an unusual sight. Scattered on the ground in front of me were many bloody feathers, and lying right in the middle of the sidewalk, as if placed there by someone, was the head of a pigeon. Blood still dripped from its severed spinal cord, right below the neck. Light still shined from its eye. I asked a girl who happened to be standing next to me if she'd ever seen a bad omen. She just shrugged and walked away.

On October 24th Sudan experienced a mysterious explosion at one of its military facilities in its capital city. Israel was fingered as the sole suspect with the motive and opportunity to achieve such a precise aerial attack in the region, and of course they've bombed other Arab states before in 2007, 2009 and 2011:
"Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied striking the site. Instead, they accused Sudan of playing a role in an Iranian-backed network of arms shipments to Hamas and Hezbollah."
By destroying a shipment of arms before it could make it into Gaza just before the "Pillar of Cloud" attack on the Palestinian people, the Israeli government was hoping to tie the Palestinians arms behind their backs before putting a bullet in their heads.

Analysts from across all media agencies seemed to be extremely excited about the possibility that, by attacking the Sudanese weapons factory in October, Israel might be preparing for war with Iran. Then the November "Pillar of Cloud" came, leveling parts of Gaza.

The IDF got the ball rolling by killing two civilians in Gaza, (which was 'business as usual'). The date, November 14th, will not live in infamy, because no one cares. Hamas responded by firing rockets into Israel. The Israelis then invoked their tired old "self-defence" excuse and did the only thing they know how to do: mass murder.

In the following 8 days of mayhem, Gaza was continuously assaulted by the most cowardly military in the world. Women and children were murdered indiscriminately. Journalists, and the truth, were targeted for elimination while Israel openly admitted to targeting them. Most of the rest of the world was content to sit back and watch, zombified, pacified, or just dead inside.

According to NBC news, Israeli leaders learned "valuable lessons" during this latest concentration camp uprising. Lessons like how psychologically prepared their citizens were, how effective the Iron Dome was, etc. And according to the Atlantic:
"While it is difficult to imagine that Israel launched its current offensive primarily to gauge these factors as a test-run for an attack on Iran, it certainly provides important ancillary benefits toward that end."
Even though they don't explicitly say it, it's easy to sense the implicit awe in which these mainstream media whores hold "great and powerful" leaders. These same reporters were only too happy then to trumpet the "ceasefire", so that the world could go back to sleep. Yet, as has been reported by SOTT.net, a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine just means scaling down Israeli targeted killings:
Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Benni Gantz, stated Wednesday that the Israeli army will continue its offensive against the Gaza Strip "as if mediation efforts are not ongoing", and added that the army is "following an agenda that will be implemented despite what happens on the political spectrum."
This is such a total slap in the face to every decent human being, to life itself, that it takes my breath away. Army chief Benni Gantz followed up his slap in the face to humanity with a kick to the testicles by signing off on the arrest of 55 activists in the West Bank on the very same night when the ceasefire was declared. Among those arrested so far are 5 Palestinian parliamentarians, some with ties to Hamas (when are we going to see individuals arrested for having ties to Netanyahu?). So just because a ceasefire has been declared doesn't mean that we've hit reset on our descent into the abyss. Remember that Mr. 'missing link' George 'dubya' Bush is still at large, and ol' black heart Cheney is still a "statesman". In fact, I can't think of a single known war criminal who has been held accountable for the massive crimes they have committed in our modern era.

It's hard to know what the Israeli government learned about the "psychological preparedness" of the Israeli people as a result of this latest round of mass murder of Palestinians, but if the Israeli press is in any way indicative of public opinion, then the results are in. According to the BBC:
"A commentary by Sima Kadmon in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot newspaper laments that the government has not kept its election promise to "crush Hamas' rule". "No wonder that the residents of the south are bitter and feel that they have been deceived if there is such a gap between what they had been promised and what they got in the ceasefire agreement," it says.
While Hamas' terms for the ceasefire was "stop killing us and allow food to enter the Gaza Strip", the Israelis apparently demanded nothing less than the "crushing" of Hamas.

No wonder then that:
"Within an hour of the Prime Minister's announcement on his Facebook page the post attracted over 3000 comments, the vast majority of which expressed disappointment and anger. Of 100 comments reviewed by The Algemeiner, less than 10 were positive or neutral."
It's sad, but either people in the West do not understand the fundamental reasons for the genocide(s) in the Middle East, the truth of history and the truth of our present, or they tacitly support genocide. Does anyone understand that Gaza is an open air prison, shut off from the outside world, and that individuals who attempt to break through to bring in much needed supplies are killed?

Israel does not have the right to defend itself against its victims. Israel is not the victim when it destroys farms, livestock, hospitals, schools, etc. Of course Israel claims that it is "targeting terrorist infrastructure" but that just makes it clear that Israel sees all Palestinians as terrorists and Palestinians living normal lives as "terrorism". Clearly, what we are confronted with here is genocide. Every act of resistance in Gaza is against this genocide. Let that sink in.

What seems clear is that many Israelis are angry that the violence has been toned down, because they really, really wanted to see more dead Arabs. There are no words in the English language to adequately describe this level of hypocrisy, or pathology. It is literally a maniacal lusting for blood. It's way past time for every Israeli with a functioning conscience (heck, just a brain will do) to consider leaving the state of Israel.

The broker of the 'ceasefire', Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was rewarded for his efforts by getting to pose as a hero on the international stage. The fact that Morsi was chosen by the Israelis and the US to 'broker' this 'cease-fire' is no surprise since he has repeatedly danced to the West's tune on the destruction of Syrian society via Western armed and financed 'al-qaeda' mercenaries. By way of additional payment, Morsi appears to have been given the go-ahead to use the international plaudits to justify setting himself up as Mubarak's successor:
"The constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the [Egyptian] president are final and not subject to appeal," The [Presidential Spokesman Yasser Ali] added.
Coincidence? What ever happened to the Egyptian 'revolution'? Morsi is now more popular with the US and Israeli governments than with his own people, who are staging protests as I write.

According to CNN, with Egypt now the hero in the eyes of the Palestinian people, Iran's strength in the region has been weakened as the power in the Middle East shifts towards Egypt.

As Morsi takes his time in the spotlight, China said that Beijing was following up to do more to "balance out" the US' role in the process, and was offering $1 million in foreign aid to Palestine. According to a Palestinian envoy:
"They want to be involved [in the Middle East] and we are interested in them being more involved. A special role (for) China is coming."
This comes at a time when China's demand for oil rose 6.6%. Is it possible that China is maneuvering itself into position over Gaza's gas fields? It certainly could be one factor, with China's manufacturing activity growing, "indicating firm oil demand." The vultures are hovering.

RT reports that the Egyptian-mediated "ceasefire" was also prompted by the US' promise of soldiers stationed in Sinai. They'll be there next week, if RT is correct, to take out Iranian smugglers (as they call them). This will mark another violent increase in tension if the US openly attacks Iranian interests.
"Israeli gunfire at the Gaza border has killed one Palestinian and wounded several others, medics said, two days after a ceasefire between the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas and Israel took hold."
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has "called on the Arab League and the Middle East Quartet comprising Russia, the European Union, UN and US, to work together to" restart Israeli-Palestinian talks. When first hearing that, after seeing all the power moves put in place by Israel and the United States, it's unclear just what Mr. Lavrov hopes to achieve with such comments. The peace process is obviously a farce. But Russia has gone ahead and sent ships from its Black Sea Fleet to the Gaza Strip to "evacuate Russians" in case violence resumes, while the US did the same 4 days ago.

Factor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria, and we see that the Middle East has become the elite's slaughterhouse. As has been said before, "never again is happening again."

Iran is openly protesting, via the UN, about the US' hostile actions in the Persian Gulf. With the US using drones to violate Iranian airspace, it is clear that world leaders are keeping tensions high, most likely to mask incoming 'airstrikes' of a very different kind. With meteors and fireballs lighting up the planet like a giant discotheque, the psychopaths and their cronies in power may be trying to make sure they're the only ones who get out the back door before the dance hall explodes. Permanent war does that perfectly well by keeping everyone permanently terrified, subservient or distracted. This is the world our children are being born into.

So, reality check. Our economies and infrastructure are demolished, our money is lost in the black hole of debt, people are literally eating one another as the planet is dying, and the only thing on the minds of the major world leaders is the next war, the next murder, the next nation to pillage, and the typical political maneuvering for power. Meanwhile Mordor from the Lord of the Rings movies, known in real life as Mount Tongariro, has erupted.

Have you ever seen a bad omen?

People around the world do not understand the difference between the psychopaths-in-power and normal human beings, and those who choose, in those small incremental steps, to follow the one or the other. The effects of these choices are real (9-11, Bush, Cheney, JFK, MLK and on and on), and they place the blame for what is occurring squarely on each and every one of us. According to Jose Grude from the Corbett Report:
"People in positions of power that systematically perpetuate evil behave as if they were a different human species; a 'para-Homo sapiens,' if you will. No matter how much good will there is in the world, there continues to be much war, suffering and injustice...

Ponerology and "successful" psychopathology (i.e. not the "violent serial killer" type, but the Stalin, Pol Pot, Cheney, Rockefeller, Kissinger, Bill Clinton, or Donald Rumsfeld type) clinically explain how "pathocracies" - the system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of non-psychopaths - are generated and dominated by those that possess an inborn genetic trait (psychopathy) prevalent in 4-6% of the population that makes them physiologically unable to feel normal human empathy. They are emotionless, selfish, cold and calculating, and devoid of any moral or ethical standards, yet they are intelligent, charming, driven, focused, and therefore tend to achieve the highest positions of power by concealing their true nature under a "mask of sanity." This concept applies to all existing hierarchical power structures."
That is where we're at. The heartless world of authoritarianism, the boot "smashing on a human face - forever" as George Orwell said. Rights are a myth. Freedom is a myth. We are all slaves, until we choose not to be, and then choose again every day. In which stream of life are you moving? The straight and narrow, or the wide gate that is currently being decorated with the bodies of Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi, Afghani, and eventually your own children?

It's unclear just what will happen in the coming months, with radical change on the wind and Israel and America stomping around Iran. Israel continues to trumpet its hysterical lies that seem intended to keep everyone on the verge of a breakdown or infect them with the same pathological world view of the average Israeli. With protests that erupted around the world, and the photos of dead Palestinian children flooding social media networks, hopefully these lies are starting to be seen for what they are. I'm not holding my breath, because we may well have a long valley of death to walk through either way.