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Report: Tunisia, now the only real democracy in the Middle East, exposes Israel's false claim

Ramzy Baroud
The Palestine Chronicle
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00 UTC
tunisia
© AFPTunisia, the true democracy in the Middle East
Tunisia is the Middle East's greatest success story, according to the findings of the V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019.

One of the world's most regarded annual reports on democracy and good governance, the V-Dem Report is produced by the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

While Tunisians can be proud of the prospect of democracy in their country, Israelis have little to be proud of. A country that has long prided itself, however misleadingly, of being 'the only democracy in the Middle East', has lost the title to Tunisia, a small North-African Arab nation of just over 11 million people.

Understandably, Tunisians might find their overall ranking ahead of well-established democracies less meaningful, considering that the politically unstable country is still undergoing a painful democratic transition. However, considering that the country has registered a sizable improvement in every democratic aspect examined by the V-Dem Report, Tunisia truly deserves the title of "the star pupil of democratization of the past ten years."

Israel, however, has been, once more, exposed for its charade democracy. Since it was established atop the ruins of the Palestinian homeland, Israel has relentlessly touted its democratic virtues while excluding millions of Palestinian Arabs from any form of democratic participation.
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Corona

Puppet master fantasy come true: Half of humanity is self-isolating - and other Covid-19 news


DW
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:24 UTC
hazmat covid suit
Over 3.9 billion people — more than half of humanity — are in confinement due to the coronavirus, according to Thursday tally conducted by French news agency AFP. Coronavirus prevention measures that include required or recommended confinement, curfews, and quarantines have been put in place in over 90 countries and territories. Thailand was the most recent country to enact a curfew, which will come into effect on Friday, pushing the tally over the halfway point.

Comment: Putin has extended the "paid holiday" period until the end of April:
The move comes a day after the President acknowledged that the situation with COVID-19 in Russia was becoming "complicated," during a meeting with officials, conducted remotely. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova used the opportunity to suggest extending the paid time off.

Putin said the peak of the coronavirus epidemic is yet to come both globally and in Russia. Moscow, which is the hardest hit Russian city, announced almost 600 new confirmed cases on Thursday.
...
According to Putin, the combination of isolation regimes and holidays will allow Russia "to buy time for proactive measures." However, he conceded its too early to talk about turning the tide of infections.
The UK will remain in lockdown until at least after Easter. (The British MoD is keeping silent on the number of infections among soldiers.) Trump has announced $25bn in emergency cash for public transit systems. According to a French official, the US bought a shipment of face masks bound for France with cash - they apparently offered to pay double the price, essentially outbidding France. Aid to Cuba, on the other hand, was blocked at the last minute due to US sanctions. The Pentagon is stocking up on body bags (100 thousand of them) to distribute to hospitals and morgues. And poor Netanyahu, just out of self-isolation, is back in it (along with other top officials) after Israel's health minister tested positive.

See also:

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Russian Flag

Russian FM slams West, US for wanting to 'exploit' Covid-19 crisis in Venezuela: 'No humanism or democracy'


RT
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:50 UTC
covid-19 coronavirus Venezuela
© Cristian Hernandez / AFPA man wears a face mask as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, in Caracas, Venezuela. March 23, 2020.
Certain political groups in the West will not hesitate to use the difficulties brought on by the coronavirus pandemic to carry out their long-lasting plans to topple the Venezuelan government, Russia's Foreign Ministry has said.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing how certain countries - we should say, not the countries as a whole, but certain political forces there - are still being driven... by the desire to exploit the difficult situation in the world, the grave epidemiological situation in Venezuela to achieve their political goals," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.

Comment:

Venezuela FM rebukes Washington for barring emergency repatriation flight for 800+ citizens 'stranded' in US amid Covid-19 crisis

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Light Sabers

Kremlin says no talks with Saudi Arabia happened, after Trump's tweets claim Moscow and Riyadh will cut oil production


RT
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:25 UTC
oil pump
© Reuters / Todd Korol
US President Donald Trump has said he expects that Russia and Saudi Arabia could drastically curtail their oil output after a conversation between the two nations' leaders. Moscow denies that any talks took place at all.

Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to relay some "great" news for the oil and gas industry, as he expressed his hopes for some supposedly upcoming cuts in crude oil production by Saudi Arabia and Russia which could reverse the current plunge in oil prices. According to the president, oil production could be scaled back by as many as 10 million barrels in total - or even "substantially more."

In his statement, Trump referred to his conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who he said had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin. This statement seems somewhat bizarre, since Moscow has confirmed that the talks never occurred, nor are there any plans to cut production.

"No, there was no such conversation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's Interfax news agency when asked about Putin's supposed talks with the Saudi crown prince. Moscow said earlier that no talks between the two nations have been held since the strife between Russia and the OPEC members earlier in March, which was described as an oil price war between Moscow and Riyadh.
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Star of David

Israeli gov't expanding settlements while settlers step up assaults in the Occupied Territories

Madeeha Al-A'raj/ NBPRS
Palestine News Network
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:02 UTC
illegal settlement israel
© AFP/Thomas CoexBuildings under construction in Gilo, an illegal Jewish settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem, June 6, 2019.
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that although, the entire world is working together to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Israeli occupation and its extremist settlers step up their attacks against the Palestinians, storming their cities, towns, villages and camps, and launching arrest and confiscation campaigns against them and their properties, while they are staying at homes due to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. Besides, the increasing demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities in the northern Jordan Valley and other areas in the West Bank, they have also isolated about 8000 citizens in the Barta'a Sharqeia town behind the Apartheid Wall.

For its part, B'Tselem organization for Human Rights condemned the continued Israeli occupation authorities' violations in the occupied territories without giving any attention for the situation in which the whole world including the Palestinian citizens suffer due to the Coronavirus epidemic. The organization said that the Israeli army exploited the current opportunity to expel the Palestinians in the Bedouin and the in the Jordan Valley, adding that Israel holds the responsibility of the safety of the five million Palestinians under its control. While the United Nations confirmed that the Israeli government bears legal responsibility for the benefit of Palestinians in the occupied territories from basic health services to combat the spread of the new Corona virus in the world.
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Magnify

"Upon information & belief": Trump warns of potential Iran 'sneak attack' on US forces in Iraq


RFE/RL
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 18:19 UTC
us iraq
© REUTERS/Thaier Al-SudaniUS-led coalition forces hand over base to Iraqi military
President Donald Trump has warned Iran of a "heavy price" if it or its allies in Iraq attack U.S. troops or assets in Iraq.

"Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq," Trump tweeted on April 1.

"If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!" he added.

It was not immediately clear if Trump meant the United States actually has intelligence of such a plan.

Over the past year, the United States has accused Iranian-backed militias of attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting coalition forces and on foreign embassies, particularly the U.S. mission.

Comment: RT reports on the increased sanctions on Iran and military presence in the region:
The Trump administration has been criticized for continuing economic sanctions on Iran, which has over 47,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 3,000 deaths from the virus, according to the country's health ministry. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did admit on Tuesday that the US could consider easing sanctions on Iran in the future to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.

"We evaluate all of our policies constantly, so the answer is - would we ever rethink? - of course," he told reporters when asked about the possibility.

The US sanctions are part of a "maximum pressure" policy to curb Iran's nuclear, missile and regional activities.

While US troops are supposed to be exiting the Middle East, a New York Times story claimed military commanders were ordered last week to be prepared for an escalation of combat in the country.
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TV

India's migrant exodus: Media and liberals attempt to use national crisis to destabilize Modi government amid lockdown


RT
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 02:36 UTC
modi
© (L) Reuters / Anushree Fadnavis, (R) Reuters / Altaf Hussain
With India's 1.3 billion people now on Covid-19 lockdown, the country faces another urgent crisis; the sudden exodus of inter-state migrants, now out of work, desperately fleeing the capital to reach their countryside villages.

Thousands of poor migrants were seen crowding a bus station in Delhi on Saturday, with little choice but to completely ignore the rules on maintaining 'social distancing' — one of the necessary steps taken across the world to 'flatten the curve' of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Similar scenes were witnessed in other provinces, too, as migrants attempted to make their way out of cities and back home.

Health risks

It seems this mass movement has been sparked mostly by fear. These migrants, already poor, have been left with no money in their pockets — and with work no longer readily available, it's become even harder for them to feed themselves, let alone their families.

Comment: See also: Modi Wins Second Term as India's PM Following 'Unexpected' Landslide Victory in Largest Ever Democratic Election - Globalist Media Seething

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Black Magic

Nancy Pelosi: Cancer on the body politic

Patricia McCarthy
American Thinker
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 06:22 UTC
caricature pelosi
© Donkey Hotey, CC BY-SA 2.0.
"Nancy Pelosi is a cancer on the body politic."

Those are the words of Mark Levin, and he is profoundly correct. It is actually an understatement. This woman has dedicated her entire recent term to impeaching President Trump over a phone call. She stupidly bought into Adam Schiff's lunacy that they had the evidence that the president had threatened the president of Ukraine with a quid pro quo -- either investigate the Clinton campaign's meddling in the 2016 election or else. None of that was true, any more than the Russia collusion hoax, but Pelosi still gambled that she could take out Trump with that phony ploy. It was Biden who threatened Ukraine with an actual quid pro quo -- either fire the man investigating my son or lose a billions dollars in U.S. aid.

Then came the Wuhan virus. Oh my, were the Democrats thrilled. This would be the crisis they could use, manipulate to their desired end. This is how utterly stupid these Democrats are! This is how malicious they are; they are ready and willing to destroy the United States economy to take down a president they abhor. Why do the loathe him so? Because he is effective and successful. The American people, those not members of the political/academic class, love this man. They love him for a myriad of good reasons. Chief among them is that he recognizes and respects them, unlike the partisans of the left who view most Americans as nothing more than flotsam and jetsam, inconveniences they must tolerate. So superior to the worth of most citizens do the likes of those who inhabit Pelosi's circle of pals see themselves, they suffer no unease over dismissing us as invalid. That so many of us love and revere President Trump makes us all the more worthy of their dripping disdain.

Nancy Pelosi is a blight upon her district. San Francisco is a disaster about which she cares nothing. It is a city ravaged by drug abuse, homelessness, rampant crime and all the other scourges of leftism. She lives extravagantly in her gated mansion. She lives a life of wealth and privilege in city suffering a civilizational collapse created and orchestrated by her own party. She revels in it. She has become a near-billionairess by way of politics of the most corrupt variety. She is indeed a cancer on the body politic.

Comment: See also:

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Light Sabers

Yemen's Houthi militia accuse Saudi-led coalition of weaponizing coronavirus


Sputnik
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 02:05 UTC
respiratory mask
© CCORespiratory mask
Efforts to mediate the crisis in Yemen, which marked its fifth anniversary last week, have been complicated by repeated back-and-forth strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Houthi Information Minister Dhaifullah Al-Shami has urged civilians not to use facemasks and any other medical equipment dropped from Saudi-coalition aircraft in recent days, claiming that they may be contaminated with the coronavirus, Almasirah, a Yemeni television channel has reported.
Al-Shami voiced his "surprise" at seeing coalition aircraft dropping facemasks in Sana'a and other provinces, given that "US-Saudi aggression had caused the worst humanitarian catastrophe" in his country. According to the minister, there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yemen. Al-Shami urged media and activists to spread the word about the alleged danger posed by the air-dropped masks.
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Star of David

Because they 'care' so much: Health official says Israel may need to 'medically annex' West Bank

Sari Bashi
Responsible Statecraft
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 21:42 UTC
checkpoint bethlehem jerusalem IDF Israel
© Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock.comCars wait to pass through the Israeli military checkpoint in the separation wall controlling movement between Bethlehem and Jerusalem
The threat of COVID-19 in Israel/Palestine has created unprecedented cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, including the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip, to limit travel.

Israel has a genuine interest in preventing the coronavirus from spreading among Palestinians, too. But the newly imposed travel restrictions serve an additional goal: furthering Israeli annexation of the West Bank, as outlined by the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan.

In contrast to federal, state, and local governments in the U.S., the Israeli and Palestinian authorities began cooperating relatively early to contain COVID-19. They required travelers from at least some countries to self-quarantine in early February, they closed Palestinian schools on March 5 and Israeli schools on March 12, and as of last week, they mostly closed external borders and ordered residents of Israel and the West Bank to stay home.
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