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Systematic genocide: Gaza farmers subjected to herbicide warfare

Maureen Clare Murphy
The Electronic Intifada
Tue, 23 Jul 2019 00:00 UTC
Israeli herbicide Gaza
© Forensic Architecture
Thousands of acres of Gaza farmland have been damaged by Israel’s aerial spraying of herbicide.
Israel's military propagandists are at it again. A video recently tweeted by COGAT, the bureaucratic arm of Israel's military occupation, celebrates its efforts to teach Palestinian farmers in the West Bank about hybrid fruits and vegetables. What the military doesn't boast of in its cheerful short video is its systematic poisoning of besieged Gaza's most fertile agricultural land.

Since 2014, the Israeli military has used crop-dusting planes to spray herbicide along Gaza's eastern boundary. It has long razed agricultural and residential land along the so-called "buffer zone" to increase its soldiers' field of vision. The unannounced spraying of herbicide takes place inside Israel when winds blow the toxins into Gaza.

In 2016, Israel's defense ministry admitted to the practice in response to a freedom of information request. "It confirmed that the substances sprayed contained three herbicides," according to a new report by London-based research group Forensic Architecture:


Comment: See also:

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Boat

In bold defiance: US warship sails through Taiwan Strait day after China calls it a regional security threat


RT
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:06 UTC
USS Antietam
© Facebook/CG 54
USS Antietam
A guided-missile cruiser has sailed through the Taiwan Strait just a day after the Chinese military criticized Washington for "adding complexity to regional security" and warned it to stay clear of the island.

The transit of USS Antietam (CG-54) through the narrow waterway "demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, said, stressing that the US will continue to conduct their 'freedom of navigation' voyages, which Beijing has repeatedly condemned.

The Chinese military warned the US to stay clear of Taiwan on Wednesday, vowing to use force, if necessary, to prevent any attempts to split the island from the mainland. "The PLA will resolutely defeat anyone attempting to separate Taiwan from China and safeguard national unity at all costs," the newly released white paper on national defense stressed."The US is strengthening its Asia-Pacific military alliances and reinforcing military deployment and intervention, adding complexity to regional security."
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Toys

Mueller hearing was a 'very big mistake' for anti-Trump #Resistance, but will they soldier on?


RT
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:51 UTC
mueller testimony report congress

Robert Mueller testifies before Congress on his report
President Donald Trump's Democratic opponents have shot themselves in the foot by forcing Robert Mueller to testify publicly, not realizing he already done his best to make the probe look credible, journalist Aaron Maté told RT.

The testimony by former special counsel Robert Mueller only further highlighted the flimsiness of the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, which after more than two years of investigation ultimately turned up no evidence of conspiracy.

"Democrats made a very big mistake in calling this hearing today," Maté said. "They didn't realize the investigation was baseless and that Mueller and his team actually did their best to make this investigation look credible."

Comment: Lliberal media pundits weighed in as they picked through the debris:
Robert Mueller's testimony to Congress failed to live up to the expectations of many Russiagate-peddling pundits, with one notable exception being MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who had glowing praise for the former special counsel.

Even among the news outlets that championed the Russiagate narrative, Mueller's Q&A with the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday received less than stellar reviews.

CNN's Chris Cillizza lamented that "Mueller was less than convincing or forceful," and that in many instances his testimony had "made things muddier."

Another CNN contributor argued that Mueller's testimony has "provided Republicans good reason to argue that the investigation was a two-year, multimillion-dollar waste of time."

Mueller didn't fare much better over at MSNBC. One of the network's national security analysts, Jeremy Bash, remarked that he had "kind of sucked the life out of the report," describing Mueller's performance as "boring" and "kind-of evasive."

NBC's Chuck Todd was similarly unimpressed, arguing that the testimony was a "disaster" in terms of optics for the Russiagate-promoting Democrats.

headlines Mueller testimony congress
© RT
In contrast to these fickle party poopers, there was one celebrated talking head who stayed true to Russiagate's unbending dogma.

Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC host who perfected the art of Russia-baiting, characterized the hearings as "landmark" and "historic." (In fairness to Maddow, she also acknowledged that Mueller "definitely seemed older than his 74 years.")

"All in all, just look at today as a whole, it was a remarkable day," Maddow beamed. "I know the Trump White House and conservative media are trying to, like, chin up tonight, make it seem like they had a great day today... they did not have a great day today."


Thus proving Maddow's complete detachment from reality.


Commenting after Mueller finished his testimony, US President Donald Trump slammed media outlets which promoted the now-debunked theory that his presidential campaign had "colluded" with the Kremlin in 2016.

"This whole thing has been collusion - with the media, with other countries... This has been a disaster for the Democrats," he said.


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NPC

Council of Europe chief says Ukraine is not yet sovereign - Kiev blames Russia


RT
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:34 UTC
eu ukraine flags
© REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
Kiev suspects Moscow is plotting behind the Council of Europe head, who hailed President Zelensky's electoral win but warned there's still a way to go before Ukraine can beat corruption and become, wait for it, a sovereign state.

Thorbjorn Jagland, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, relayed his praise via Twitter, hailing Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party. Its electoral victory, having declared a crusade on corruption, "creates new hope for Ukraine" but there's still much to be done, Jagland said.

Building "non-corrupted institutions which people can trust, is the way forward to a sovereign Ukrainian state," the top European official tweeted.


Jagland's judgement wasn't warmly embraced in Ukraine. The president's office has yet to comment on the tweet, but the Foreign Ministry fired back and - unsurprisingly - suggested that Moscow's hand must have been behind the message.

Comment: Anyone paying attention can only agree with Jagland's sentiment. Ukraine is NOT a sovereign country. It is hopelessly corrupt. Well, perhaps not hopelessly. At least the new election results offer some iota of hope. At the very least, the voters want change, and that is something.

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Question

Epstein's money trail: Will probe into Deutsche Bank reveal powerful connections?


RT
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:41 UTC
Epstein
© Reuters / Jane Rosenberg
A court sketch of Jeffrey Epstein, made during his bail hearing in New York
Since his arrest, Jeffrey Epstein's story has spiraled from one of sexual depravity to one of shady dealings at the highest levels of international finance. RT's Rick Sanchez asks: can justice overcome the power of money?

Millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested earlier this month on conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges, with girls as young as 14 among his alleged victims. The financier has since sat in jail pending trial, and additional victims have reportedly come forward.

Epstein's name has long been associated with sexual misdeeds, since he dodged serious prison time for a litany of similar offenses a decade ago, striking a sweetheart plea deal with prosecutors that saw him serve thirteen months in a low-security prison.

However, attention has now turned to how exactly Epstein used his wealth to buy influence, and potentially fund a sex trafficking operation. Deutsche Bank has been contacted by investigators, having worked with Epstein since 2013, long after JP Morgan Chase cut its ties with the registered sex offender. Only after media reports last year again shone the spotlight on Epstein's alleged crimes did the bank begin to close his accounts.
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Star of David

Democrats kowtow to AIPAC, stay on Israel's side with 2020 elections looming

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:13 UTC
Pelosi AIPAC
© AIPAC
Nancy Pelosi at AIPAC, 2017.
Last night House Democrats overwhelmingly backed Israel and its lobby over critics of the country's human rights violations. Democrats voted 209-16 for a resolution that characterizes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign targeting Israel as bigoted, promoting "principles of collective guilt, mass punishment, and group isolation." The resolution passed the House by 398 to 17.

The Israeli prime minister today trumpeted the fact that the vote was bipartisan. So did the Israel lobby group AIPAC, which took credit for the vote, saying it worked to keep Democrats in the pro-Israel fold. Elliot Brandt, a lobby official, announced the vote within minutes last night.
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Heart - Black

Trump Justice Department to resume federal executions

Jacqueline Thomsen
The Hill
Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:33 UTC
ag barr
© AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Attorney General William P. Barr
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that it will resume capital punishment for the first time in nearly two decades.

Only three federal executions have taken place since 1988, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. All five of the death-row inmates named in Thursday's release were convicted for the murders of children.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has adopted a regulation that will require federal authorities to use a single drug, pentobarbital, in federal executions, according to the DOJ release. That drug is used by several states for lethal injections.

"Congress has expressly authorized the death penalty through legislation adopted by the people's representatives in both houses of Congress and signed by the President," Barr said in a statement Thursday.

"Under Administrations of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals, including these five murderers, each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding. The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system."
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Bad Guys

US House passes resolution condemning boycotts for Palestinian rights

Josh Ruebner
The Electric Intifada
Wed, 24 Jul 2019 17:23 UTC
US House of Representatives
© Jonathan Ernst/ Reuters
A nonbinding resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on 23 July foreshadows even more brazenly unconstitutional legislation to penalize and criminalize boycotts of Israel.
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution Tuesday evening condemning people for exercising their constitutional right to engage in boycotts in support of Palestinian rights.

The resolution, H.Res.246, passed by a vote of 398-17 with five representatives abstaining and 12 not voting.

The resolution puts the House of Representatives on record as opposing "the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel, including efforts to target United States companies that are engaged in commercial activities that are legal under United States law, and all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel."
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Gold Bar

Chinese firms to construct gold smelter, refineries in Tanzania

Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
Reuters
Wed, 24 Jul 2019 17:26 UTC
tanzania
Tanzania said on Wednesday it had awarded licences for the construction of a mineral smelter and two gold refineries to Chinese firms, as part of government efforts to generate more revenues from the nation's mining industry.

Minerals Minister Doto Biteko said the Chinese companies would also soon be awarded licences for mines, each of which would require investment worth more than $100 million.

He did not name the firms or give details about the mining or other projects in the East African nation, Africa's fourth-biggest gold producer after South Africa, Ghana and Mali.

President John Magufuli banned the export of mineral sand in March 2017, a concentrate that contains silver, copper, gold and other minerals, sparking a $190 billion tax dispute with Acacia Mining, which already has mining operations in Tanzania.

The government invited bids from mining firms to build smelters and refineries, although Tanzania's chamber of mines has said such projects would not be economical.

Biteko said 37 Chinese companies had expressed interest.
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Star of David

Teens forced to take Israel propaganda course before overseas trips

Tamara Nassar
Electronic Intifada
Fri, 19 Jul 2019 17:27 UTC
israel propaganda
© Adalah
A screenshot from the online video course required by Israel’s education ministry to high school students wishing to travel on school trips. The onscreen caption claims that anti-Semitism in Europe has grown because of the migration of Muslims
Israel's education ministry is requiring all high school students, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, to take a propaganda course and test as a condition for going on overseas school trips.

Adalah, a legal advocacy group for Palestinians in Israel, sent a letter last month to the ministry of education demanding that it remove the requirement and end the hasbara course.

"The Israeli education ministry is trying to turn high school students into agents of propaganda charged with spreading extreme racist ideology," Adalah attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi stated.

"This is outrageous and illegal."
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