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The "two state solution" is the sanctification of Israeli apartheid

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org
Thu, 18 Oct 2018 18:03 UTC
Israel palestine map
I expect you are all familiar with the maps showing the radical shrinking of Palestinian land over 70 years due to the expansion of colonial Israeli settlement. Startling and appalling, yes, but to me they bring back strong memories of other maps, in a precisely analogous situation, which goes to the heart of why Israel is an apartheid state.

The original apartheid state of South Africa created "homelands", known colloquially as "bantustans", and proposed that, as the apotheosis of apartheid, these "homelands" would become independent states and house the majority black population of the country in fenced-off areas which had been too arid, rocky or commercial mineral free to attract significant white settlement over three centuries of theft. South Africa actually did recognise some of these as Independent states, while the rest were supposed to be on a course to recognition.
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USA

Desperate to bash Trump: Former diplomats fall for fake North Korean Twitter account


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 18:09 UTC
Kim Jong-un
© Reuters / KCNA
Obama-era UN envoy Samantha Power and former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul have been caught falling for a parody of North Korea's official Twitter account, retweeting its praise of Kim Jong-un to spite the US President.

It's a reasonable expectation that two experienced diplomats would be able to tell parody from news, but politicians never fail to surprise: Power and McFaul were apparently a little too eager to unload on Donald Trump to double-check if the @DPRK_News account they retweeted was actually real.

As Twitter users from all over were sneering at Trump's refusal to attend a ceremony commemorating US Marines in France due to light rain, "DRPK News Service" published a tweet which read: "Supreme Leader Kim John-Un does not fear rain."

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Brick Wall

As US sanctions take hold Iranian banks are about to be cut off from global financial network - UPDATE


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 14:59 UTC
Iran flag Bank of Iran
© Reuters / Morteza Nikoubazl
Banks in Iran have started sending letters to their branches, informing them that they will be cut off from the international financial messaging system SWIFT starting Monday.

Being cut off from SWIFT makes it difficult for Iran to get paid for exports and to pay for imports.

SWIFT's chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt had earlier confirmed the messaging service will start disconnecting some Iranian banks. Last week, the Belgium-based organization announced that it would be suspending some unspecified Iranian banks' access to its messaging system.

Comment: Iran has been suffering under US sanctions in one form or another for over forty years. They will again find a way, especially with Russia's aid to overcome this latest insult. Trump does not seem to comprehend that his tactics towards Iran so not function in isolation, but will have repercussions around the world, mostly to America's detriment. Eventually who will want to trade with such a belligerent nation?
Update: US Treasury Dept. say Iran now isolated from SWIFT system:
The Iranian Central Bank has been cut off the SWIFT financial messaging system, the US Treasury Department has said. Disconnection makes it more difficult for the Islamic Republic to settle import and export bills.

SWIFT planned the cutoff for several days, having come under pressure from the US to do so. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the move is "the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system."

Last week, SWIFT said that it would begin cutting off access to several unspecified Iranian banks. More than 70 Iranian and Iranian-linked financial institutions were sanctioned, including a host of banks that allegedly provided services to Hamas and Hezbollah, and others that provided services to the Iranian armed forces.

While the US could not directly force SWIFT to cut off Iranian banks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned that penalties would be applied to firms that refused to comply with the latest sanctions.

A neutral entity, SWIFT had found itself torn between a US-EU diplomatic row as of late. Scrambling to save the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran deal, EU leaders enacted a 'blocking' law in August, prohibiting firms operating in the bloc from complying with the US sanctions.

Now, in siding with Washington, SWIFT, which is based outside Brussels, may face penalties in Europe.

Meanwhile, European leaders are planning on introducing an alternative system to ensure that payments to and from Iran can be processed. Such a system will not be ready for several months at least, and Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Sajjadpou expressed frustration last week with the delay, saying "what is lacking is both speed and efficiency."

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a financial network that provides high-value cross-border transfers for members across the world. It is based in Belgium, but its board includes executives from US banks with US federal law allowing the administration to act against banks and regulators across the globe.

It supports most interbank messages, connecting over 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories.


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TV

Fearmongering? British Army General reminds public that it's 'ready to help' in case of no-deal Brexit


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 12:41 UTC
british army street
© AFP / Daniel Leal-Olivas
The British military is "thinking hard" about how they can help in the event of a no-deal Brexit, a general said, as Theresa May's UK-EU deal comes under increased attack from Brexiteers and Remainers, alike.

General Sir Nicholas Carter, the chief of Britain's defense staff, told BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, they were making preparations on the best course of action to take if a situation arose where ports and roads were blocked, a potential consequence of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.

Carter told Marr: "What we always do of course is to make sensible contingency plans for all sorts of eventualities.

"Whether it's a terrorist attack or whether it's a tanker drivers' dispute, industrial action or whatever else it might be."

Comment: It seems some sort of societal collapse is on the mind of many in the military and preparations are being made even by those not undergoing an exit from the European Union: In actuality, if Britain ever finally manages to leave the EU, the necessity for the army would probably be highly unlikely, however that hasn't stopped some in government reminding UK citizens of possible anarchy.

brexit bbc


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Attention

Israel launches special forces raid into Gaza, kills top Hamas commander - 7 killed in total, including one IDF occupier

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 17:09 UTC
iron dome
© Reuters / Amir Cohen
Major Israeli operations occurred in the Gaza Strip in the night hours of Sunday during which Palestinian medical sources say at least 6 people have been killed in what was a daring Israeli elite forces raid that breached about 3 kilometers into Palestinian territory.

Palestinian officials confirmed an Israeli special forces raid on a group of Hamas commanders in the city of Khan Younis, which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say killed suspected Hamas terrorists, including a senior commander in its military wing.

Israeli media sources uploaded a military video of the brazen raid into Gaza:


Comment: Today, the IDF confirmed that on IDF invader/occupier was killed in the attack, and another injured.

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MIB

New York Times claims Saudi intel discussed plot to assassinate top Iranian officials


Sputnik
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 16:54 UTC
iranian revolutionary guard
© AP Photo / Vahid Salemi
Citing three people familiar with the discussions, The New York Times reported that senior Saudi intelligence officials had inquired about the possibility of killing Iranian 'enemies' using private companies. Saudi authorities haven't commented on the media outlet's claims so far.

As The New York Times claims, referring to three sources with knowledge of the matter, Saudi intelligence officials met with a group of businessmen in March 2017 to discuss a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives in a bid to undermine Iran's economy.

In the course of the alleged discussion, an aide to Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, asked about killing top Iranian officials, including Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force, a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

After consulting their lawyer, the businessmen rejected the plan, while George Nader, a Lebanese-American entrepreneur, who was allegedly the person who had arranged the meeting, suggested that a London-based company might agree to take on the task, The New York Times reported.


Comment: They needed a lawyer to tell them it wasn't a good idea? No worries, an unnamed London-based company probably has no problems taking on the job of contract killer...

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Bullseye

Ex-Houthi minister gets a shoe thrown at him just like George W. Bush


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:45 UTC
Bush and Abdul-Salam Ali Gaber
© Youtube / Al Hadath
Echoing the infamous shoeing attempt of George W. Bush in 2008, an ex-Houthi minister was stuck by the footwear of an angry Yemeni journalist during his first media outing since his defection to Saudi Arabia.

The shoe went flying at Abdul-Salam Ali Gaber, who had served as the Houthi's information minister since civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, as he spoke to gathered media in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday.

In Arab culture, the throwing of a shoe at someone is seen as a mark of deep contempt - and an insult - for the intended target. The practice came to the attention of those outside the Arab world in 2008, after Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi hurled both of his shoes at former US President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad.
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Gold Coins

De-dollarizing: Russia excels at eliminating reliance on dollar ahead of pending US sanctions


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:06 UTC
dollar hammer break ditch
© Ralf Hiemisch / Getty Images
The list of the countries currently taking active steps towards eliminating their economic reliance on the US dollar is growing. Russia has joined a league of nations is making a lot of headway with the task, the WSJ reports.

The share of foreign currency in corporate and personal deposits in Russia has declined to 26 percent in September from a 2016 peak of 37 percent, the newspaper reports, citing data from the Central Bank of Russia. Meanwhile, the share of dollar-priced export revenues reportedly dropped to 68 percent in the second quarter of the current year from more than 80 percent five years ago.

Rapidly growing trade turnover with Russia's partners in Asia, particularly China, is seen as one of the success criteria of the work on de-dollarizing the economy. The share of Russia-China trade priced in national currencies has quadrupled in four years to some 19 percent of the entire turnover, and is set to grow further, Moscow-based economist at ING Bank Dmitry Dolgin told the media.

Comment: Hubris, wishful thinking and a delusion that doubling down on self-defeating policies will eventually work as intended will prove to be the undoing of the US:

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Attention

American 'liberation': New report breaks silence on US slaughter in Raqqa, civilian deaths at least 25x higher than admitted


RT
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:08 UTC
raqqa
© AFP
Syrians walk along a destroyed street in Raqqa, February 18, 2018.
Entire families perished in US-led strikes on Raqqa that may have claimed more civilian lives than those of ISIS, NPR said in a shocking report tilting the Western media narrative on what has become of the "liberated" city.

The retaking of Raqqa from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) extremists, was hailed by the mainstream media as a major victory for the Western coalition one year ago - even despite harrowing reports of civilian casualties and unhinged destruction caused by the offensive. One year later, the Syrian city, where people are living side-by-side with rubble and human remains, barely makes a blip in Western media.
raqqa
© Reuters / Erik De Castro
A baby stroller is pictured near a burnt vehicle in Raqqa, Syria October 18, 2017.
But now a new report, supplied with a warning it "contains descriptions of dead bodies," is bringing harrowing testimonies of people, working tirelessly to recover corpses from under the ruins, to the Western readers. Those may be surprised to discover that US-led airstrikes apparently left more civilian casualties than publicly acknowledged.

Comment: The 'liberation' of Raqqa by the US military and their Kurdish allies was an indiscriminate slaughter. Russia has been pointing this out for the last year, but no one has listened. While US politicians and media virtue signalled by decrying the (actual) liberation of cities like Aleppo and Damascus by the Syrians and Russians, they were totally silent about their own slaughter in Raqqa. Even worse, the Russians at least put in the effort of surveilling potential targets for civilians. The Americans bombed anything and everything without a second thought. And after the liberation of Syrian towns and cities, the Russians help clean up and rebuild. The Americans simply left Raqqa to rot. Who are the barbarians here?

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Network

Thaw looming? North and South Korea begin tearing down guard posts at the border


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 14:34 UTC
korean soldiers
© South Korean Defence Ministry / AFP
South Korean soldiers are locking a military gate as they withdraw from a border guard post in the DMZ
Soldiers from North and South Korea are beginning to actually demilitarize the demilitarized zone, tearing down guard towers that symbolize the peninsula's division.

On Sunday, soldiers from both sides of the DMZ began to disassemble 20 frontline guard posts along the highly fortified and historically tense border. The de-escalation gesture of removing the guards, weaponry and now the structures themselves was jointly agreed upon by generals from the two Koreas' armies in late October in an effort to meet goals set during September's meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

While the militaries initially agreed to the removal of 22 guard posts, it was later decided that each side would leave one of these up, without weaponry. The North Koreans are believed to be preserving the guard tower where Kim Jong-un had once been, according to Yonhap.

While some progress is being made, there remains a lot of work to do if the two sides hope to disarm along the 38th parallel. South Korea's side is said to have a total of 60 such guard posts, whereas North Korea has 160. The border between the two is one of the most heavily armed areas in the world.
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