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Star of David

Former Israeli diplomat's advice: Don't talk about Israel with black groups

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC
Ido Aharoni
© UnknownIdo Aharoni speaking on November 12 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Ido Aharoni, a longtime diplomat for Israel, warned American Jewish groups that they should not talk about Israel when trying to build ties with African American organizations. Because then Israel "is defined by its problem"- its treatment of Palestinians. So, change the subject!

At a New York event last November, Aharoni was asked about "intersectionality" and "black-Palestinian solidarity." As the US becomes a "browner, more international, more leftwing society"- what is Israel's strategy? Aharoni, Israel's former consul-general in New York who is now a professor of international relations at NYU, said:
"I'll answer this the same way I did when I worked for the Israeli government. It's not good for Israel to be the defining factor in this conversation. What do I mean by that? The human rights groups that work on ethnic understanding, they should take Israel out of the equation. So if I'm the Anti Defamation League, you know, when Israel is relevant, talk about Israel. But Israel should not be the main thing that you rally around in your conversation with the African-American community, for example. It's a strategic mistake, and it shouldn't be that way. And there are many organizations that over the years excelled in establishing ties with the African American community, for example, ADL, the American Jewish Committee, the JCRC [Jewish Community Relations Council]....

"My advice would be to take Israel out of that equation. And just to develop the ties. You can say, But how can we take Israel out of the equation? Well, the agenda of the American Jewish community with the African-American community should not be centered around Israel. Israel could be part of it. But it should not be the main thing. That's my point. Because if it's the main thing, Israel is defined by its problem."
Aharoni conceded that that "problem" is turning off American Jews too.


Comment: Israel is a dangerous hoax built on public sympathy and false perception. Its foundation can only last if the illusion stays intact. But, like ice melts in the spring, it is only a matter of time.

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Arrow Down

Brazilian President Bolsonaro lowers minimum wage


teleSUR
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 20:36 UTC
Novi predsjednik Brazila Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil's new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro lowered the minimum wage. He signed a decree that sets the minimum wage to 998 Brazilian reais (approximately US$257) from 1,006 Brazilian reais (approximately US$267) as estimated by former President Michel Temer.

This action will be transitory as it has to be approved by the Congress within the next 60 days.

Taking the helm of their ministries Wednesday, Bolsonaro's cabinet unveiled sweeping plans to step up privatization, toughen prison sentencing guidelines, and hand control over Indigenous land to the Agriculture Ministry.
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X

Senate slaps down House attempt to end government shutdown

Eric Beech
US News
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 19:42 UTC
Mitch McConnell
© Reuters/Jonathan ErnstU.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is surrounded by reporters as he returns from meeting with President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders at the White House, to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 2, 2019.
U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday the Senate will not consider bills Democrats plan to vote on in the House on Thursday that would end the government shutdown but not include President Donald Trump's demand for $5 billion for a border wall.

"The Senate will not waste its time considering a Democratic bill which cannot pass this chamber and which the president will not sign," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
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Chess

US issues updated warning urging Americans to 'exercise caution' traveling in China

Dan Mangan
CNBC
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 19:39 UTC
beijing customs
© Fred Dufour | AFP | Getty ImagesA woman crosses the security gate at the airport before she takes her flight in Beijing.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday updated its travel warning about China, urging Americans to "exercise increased caution" in the country "due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals."

The State Department's "Level 2" warning, which was first issued last year, noted that Chinese authorities have "exit bans" to prevent U.S. citizens from leaving China, sometimes "for years."

The updated warning notes that the bans are used "coercively" to "lure" people back to China from abroad, a point that was not mentioned when the warning was first issued. The bans are also used to compel Americans to participate in Chinese government investigations and to help Chinese authorities resolve civil disputes "in favor of Chinese parties," the warning says.
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Bad Guys

Saudi Arabia demands death penalty for likely scapegoats charged in murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi


Al Jazeera
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 17:57 UTC
Jamal Khashoggi MBS
Saudi Arabia's state media says the 11 suspected killers of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi have attended their first court hearing in the capital, Riyadh.

The official Saudi Press Agency said the prosecutor, the country's attorney general, has demanded the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects.

A statement from prosecutors said the suspects attended the hearing with their lawyers.

The statement also said that prosecutors sent a request to Turkey for evidence that Ankara has collected while investigating the slaying, which has badly hurt the kingdom's international reputation and strained its ties with Western countries.
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Binoculars

Restraining foreign policy is becoming a more popular stance in Washington

Kadira Pethiyagoda
The National Interest
Tue, 01 Jan 2019 18:00 UTC
Tulsi Gabbard
© (4.14.17) courtesy file imageTulsi Gabbard
In 2016, Trump positioned himself as the anti-interventionist candidate; in 2020, it seems he knows that he'll face some unprecedented competition for that title.

Donald Trump's pull out of Syria, the Senate's recent vote to end American support for the Saudi War in Yemen, and Tulsi Gabbard's announcement that she may run for President in 2020 all suggest we are at a pivotal moment in U.S. foreign policy. The Senate's historic vote, which reasserted Congress's right to decide on matters of war, suggests a recognition that foreign policy is back on the debating table after decades of being "above politics." Gabbard constitutes a unique constellation of foreign policy positions, many of which may bridge the chasm between the views of the public and those of the political class and mainstream media. Trump himself recognized this and nodded to his base when he decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

Comment: Gabbard would make a worthy first woman president. She is light years better than Killary. It remains to be seen how she will stack up against Trump in the 2020 run.

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Eagle

EJ Magnier: Trump bows to domestic pressure, delaying troop withdrawal from Syria

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:34 UTC
manbij
In response to domestic pressure, Trump agreed to extend the deadline for withdrawal of thousands of US troops from the northeaster Syrian province of al-Hasaka from the initial 30 days previously announced until April this year. Journalistic warmongers and hawks in think-tanks and among the US establishment have been railing at Trump with implausible arguments for maintaining the presence of US forces in Syria. The attacks on Trump are mainly justified on the pretext of protecting the US allies, the Kurds, from possible extermination by the Turks. Other analysts dare to repeat the absurd US mantra that "ISIS has between 20,000 and 30,000 militants in Syria and Iraq" to justify the continuous occupation of northeast Syria. If these arguments were not enough, others claim that Trump would be delivering the north of Syria to Iranian and Russian scarecrows, or that he would be facilitating the "Iranian-Baghdad-Damascus-Beirut connection". Trump remains determined to pull out, despite his allies Israel, France and the UK begging him to stay longer in the Levant.

No delay will change the fate of al-Hasaka province or the unfolding course of events: 2019 will mark the return of the northeast province to the control of the Syria government forces; Turkey is choosing its camp; and the Arabs - afraid of becoming orphans like the Kurds - are overwhelming Assad with their warmth, acting as though they had not been waging war on his country since 2011.

As far as concerns the Kurds in al-Hasaka, based in the north-east of the Syrian province, they have offered themselves as human shields to Trump's forces since they considered themselves US allies. Today, following Trump's decision to withdraw his occupation forces, they have come to the clear recognition: the US can't be trusted as an ally. Indeed, president Donald Trump did not consult with his European allies and certainly not with the YPG/SDF Kurds of Syria before deciding on withdrawal of his forces. The YPG, a branch of the PKK in Syria, understand that the continuous presence of the US forces as occupation troops imposes the burden of rebuilding the destroyed cities and infrastructure on the Kurds. Trump is not willing to undertake this reconstruction, and is failing to gather enough financial aid for this purpose from the Arab oil-rich countries who understand that the war in Syria is over.
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NPC

Democrats taking over the House plan massive gov't expansion and higher taxes while promising free everything for anybody

Joseph Curl
The Daily Wire
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:49 UTC
ocasio cortez
© Boston Globe / Contributor / Getty Images
Here come the Democrats, and they're dragging behind them a big bag of socialism.

At noon on Thursday, Democrats officially take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. A short time later, the new majority will pick a Speaker, expected to be (once again) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Californistan).

And a little while after that, they'll start work on a bold "new" agenda to expand government, blanket business with new regulations, raise taxes on all Americans and push a new socialism that will deliver "free" health care and college tuition.

In fact, socialism is literally coming to the new House as democratic socialists, such as outspoken Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ​and Muslim Rashida Harbi Tlaib, join the 116th Congress. Their platform is increasingly similar to that of rank-and-file Democrats, including a "Medicare-for-all" program and "guaranteed jobs" programs, along with demands for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Democrats will also push a "Green New Deal," which would create hundreds of new regulations on businesses and the energy sector.
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Stormtrooper

Ecuador to audit Julian Assange's asylum & citizenship as country eyes IMF bailout


RT
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:13 UTC
Assange
© InterceptJulian Assange
Ecuador has begun a "Special Examination" of Julian Assange's asylum and citizenship as it looks to the IMF for a bailout, the whistleblowing site reports, with conditions including handing over the WikiLeaks founder.

Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa tweeted an image of the letter he received from the State Comptroller General on December 19, which outlines the upcoming examination by the Direction National de Auditoria.

The audit will "determine whether the procedures for granting asylum and naturalization to Julian Assange were carried out in accordance with national and international law," and will cover the period between January 1, 2012 and September 20, 2018.

Assange has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since he sought asylum there in 2012. He was granted Ecuadorian citizenship last December in a bid to protect him from being extradited to the US where he fears he faces secret charges for publishing US government cables and documents.
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Info

The Hill: US intel community knew all along Flynn's RT meeting with Putin wasn't collusion - he even briefed them about it

John Solomon
The Hill
Wed, 02 Jan 2019 16:05 UTC
Michael Flynn
© Yuri Gripas/BloombergMichael Flynn
Sometimes public silence can be deafening or, for that matter, misleading.

For nearly two years now, the intelligence community has kept secret evidence in the Russia collusion case that directly undercuts the portrayal of retired Army general and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn as a Russian stooge.

That silence was maintained even when former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates publicly claimed Flynn was possibly "compromised" by Moscow.

And when a Democratic senator, Al Franken of Minnesota, suggested the former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) chief posed a "danger to this republic."

And even when some media outlets opined about whether Flynn's contacts with Russia were treasonous.

Yes, the Pentagon did give a classified briefing to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in May 2017, but then it declined the senator's impassioned plea three months later to make some of that briefing information public.

"It appears the public release of this information would not pose any ongoing risk to national security. Moreover, the declassification would be in the public interest, and is in the interest of fairness to Lt. Gen. Flynn," Grassley wrote in August 2017.

Comment: See also:

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