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Star of David

Israeli Intelligence Minister Katz calls for 'civil targeted killings' of BDS leaders

Richard Silverstein
Tikun Olam
Thu, 30 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
Barghouti
© Never Again CanadaBDS leader Omar Barghouti
The Yediot Achronot conference attacking BDS has become a veritable carnival of hate. Everyone from delusional Hollywood celebrities (Roseanne Barr) to cabinet ministers, to the leader of the Opposition have pledged fealty to the cause. Two of the speakers are under criminal investigation for corrupt political or financial dealings.

But the apogee came yesterday when Intelligence Minister Israel Katz called for the "civil targeted killing"of BDS leaders like Omar Barghouti. The phrase he used (sikul ezrahi memukad) derives from the euphemistic Hebrew phrase for the targeted killing of a terrorist (the literal meaning is "targeted thwarting"). But the added word " civil" makes it something different. Katz is saying that we won't physically murder BDS opponents, but we will do everything short of that.

We are entering dangerous territory when an Israeli cabinet minister engages in wordplay that implicitly places a bull's-eye on the backs of non-violent activists. If there are Israel apologists out there who dismiss the significance of such rhetoric they are sadly mistaken. In this torrid political environment in which Israeli leftists have become criminals and wounded Palestinian youth may be summarily executed in the street, it is only too easy to foresee Palestinian activists like Barghouti having a bounty on their heads.

Does anyone doubt there are scores of Yigal Amirs out there who'd be pleased to strike a blow for their hateful cause by putting a bullet in the head of a Palestinian?

Not to be outdone, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri voiced blatant lies claiming Barghouti and other BDS activists are in the pay of terrorist organizations and nations hostile to Israel. He warned that Israel would use the full force of its intelligence services against BDS treating them as if they are terrorists. In this circumstance, and knowing Israel has engaged in serial assassinations of its enemies, it's not hard to foresee where this could end.


Comment: BDS - it must be working for Israel to go to these barbaric lengths to insulate itself.

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X

UN ambassador Haley: Assad is a 'war criminal,' US won't accept new term


RFE/RL
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:43 UTC
Nikki Haley
© CTV NewsUN Ambassador Nikki Haley
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is "a war criminal" and that the United States would not accept that he could again run for election again in the war-torn country.

Nikki Haley on April 3 told a news conference that Assad has been "a hindrance to peace for a long time" and that his treatment of Syrians was "disgusting." "We don't think that the people want Assad anymore," she said. "We don't think that he is going to be someone that the people want to have."


Comment: Then the people will not vote for him...duh. Nobody thought the people wanted Trump either, but voila!


Assad's future has been the key barrier in negotiations aimed at ending the six-year civil war in Syria. In August 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama said Assad must leave power. In 2015, then-Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad must go, but that the timing of his departure could be a subject of negotiation.

Haley on March 31 said the Trump administration was not pursuing a strategy to push Assad out of power, echoing comments made by other U.S. officials who said the focus for now is ending Syria's six-year civil war and defeating Islamic State (IS) militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 30 said that Assad's future was up to the Syrian people.

Reporters asked Haley at the April 3 news briefing if that meant Washington would accept that Assad could again run for the presidency in elections. "No, it doesn't mean that the U.S. will accept it," she said.

Comment: Is there anyone else who could step in and relieve Ambassador Haley of her job? There must be someone! See also:

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Arrow Up

Boeing signs $3.4 billion deal with Iran under Trump administration


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 20:30 UTC
Boeing 737 MAX
© Jason Redmond / ReutersBoeing 737 MAX
Boeing has signed a $3.4 billion deal with Iran's Aseman Airlines to supply 30 737 MAX aircraft to the carrier. It's the first Boeing deal with Tehran since President Donald Trump took office pledging to take a harder stance with the country.

Aseman is owned by Iran's civil service pension fund and operates as a private company. It is the third-largest carrier in Iran.

The 30 jets are to be delivered as part of a larger deal, which implies a possible delivery of another 30 planes to Aseman. Boeing described the deal as a "memorandum of agreement."

At current prices, the 30 jets are worth $3.4 billion. However, carriers usually enjoy about 50 percent discount for such deals. The deliveries will start in 2022.

Comment: See also: Tehran threatens retaliation if Washington nixes Boeing deal

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Stock Down

Chief equity strategist sees bleak future for US stocks


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 15:47 UTC
stock market bull Wall Street Standard and Poor
© Bloomberg / Getty Images
The American economy presents more risk to the US stock rally than the political strain between President Donald Trump and Congress that investors are currently concentrating on, according to veteran money manager Bob Doll, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Unprecedented optimism over the country's economy is leaving traders highly vulnerable to negative surprises on growth, said Doll, the Chicago-based chief equity strategist and senior portfolio manager at Nuveen Asset Management, which oversees nearly $230 billion.

Doll stays bullish on longer-term equities, saying that assets and high-yield bonds may suffer in the short-term with risks of a deeper sell-off growing.

"We remain constructive in the medium-and long-term toward risk assets but are growing increasingly cautious about the short-term outlook. More than politics, the economy probably presents a more probable roadblock for equities," the analyst wrote in a letter, seen by Bloomberg.

Comment: Of course it is unlikely to continue! The booms have been made out of thin air. It's only a matter of time until a 'correction' comes, and this time around it may very well be brought on to make a scapegoat out of Trump. But for now, he is more or less keeping within the bounds of the US empire's direction.

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Gold Coins

Le Pen: Investors know the Euro system is dying, will invest in France under national currency


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:53 UTC
Marine Le Pen
© Stephane Mahe / ReutersMarine Le Pen
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen who's known for her anti-euro stance said on Tuesday investors won't pull their money from France if it gives up the EU single currency.

"There's so much liquidity in the world that they are not going to pull their chips out of France, above all when France will once again be back on the road to economic growth," she told French Sud Radio and TV channel Public Senat.

According to Le Pen, investors "are worried because they know they will no longer be able to make the profits they made previously."

"The world has changed, and that's what's worrying them. The world is moving away from free trade and laissez-faire policy," she added.
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Hiliter

The Silence of the West: The March 17, 1995 Annexation of the Crimean Peninsula

Arina Tskanova
Strategic Culture
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
The Crimeans
© Unknown
Due to the international media's continued claims about the «annexation of Crimea», it's been difficult for the citizens of the US and Europe to make sense of the details of the peninsula's recent history. Exactly three years ago, on March 16, 2014, the Crimeans were offered a choice: to rejoin Russia or to return to the constitution of 1992 that proclaimed Crimea a legal, democratic, secular state whose relationship with Ukraine was based on bilateral agreements. That constitution was unilaterally abolished by Kiev on March 17, 1995, and here's what's surprising: no one at that time in the West demanded that the Ukrainian government stop violating the provisions of international law and the rights of the inhabitants of the Crimean peninsula. And then in 1995, special ops forces from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) landed in Crimea and Sevastopol in order to establish «Ukrainian law and order», seizing the building housing the Supreme Council of the republic, where the administration of the acting president of Crimea, Yuriy Meshkov, was also headquartered, and demanding that he be turned over. Since Meshkov refused to vacate his office, they tried to poison him. Much later he described how his drink had been poisoned, and that later in the hospital he was refused proper medical care. Only an emergency evacuation to Moscow miraculously saved his life.

Comment: Read Eric Zuesse on why the U.S. needs to stop lying about Crimea

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X

'Iran will not succumb to US psywar' says Iranian chief general


PressTV
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:29 UTC
General Mohammad Bagheri
IRGC Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Armed Forces General Staff Intelligence and Operations Deputy
Iran will never submit to pressure and psychological warfare by the United States and its allies, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri says.

Speaking in a meeting with commanders, managers and staff of the Iranian Armed Forces in Tehran on Tuesday, Baqeri added that boosting the country's defensive preparedness and capacities was a serious and immutable strategy pursued by the Islamic Republic.

In line with the Islamic Republic's defense doctrine and following a realistic approach to regional issues, particularly the enemies' threats, the country would never hesitate to develop its deterrent and defensive power, he emphasized.
"Promoting defensive readiness and capacities, maintaining preparedness for swiftly repelling threats, and deepening intelligence command over the enemy's moves are among the priorities of the Armed Forces, particularly the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)" the Iranian commander said.

Comment: Iran has been subjected to a long history of US and British attacks, so it is understandable that they have a disposition towards defending themselves against Western influences. Iran has had many successes and has rebuilt their county to be a key influence in fight the war on terror as well as combating the drug trade in the Middle East. That said, it is also easy to go overboard in trying to resist Western influences, which Iran has succumbed to through their adaptation and implementation of strict Islamic laws. Iran would do well for its people and its position in the world if it were to take a more measured response to Western interference.

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Cowboy Hat

Putin responds to Navalny: Fighting corruption is necessary, but color revolutions always end badly

Ruslan Ostashko / translated by J. Arnoldski
Fort Russ News
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:17 UTC
Putin listening
The dream of every internet-potato has come true, the dream of all those who ran around social media crying "Why is Putin silent?! Why is Putin saying nothing about corruption? Why is he not commenting on the demonstrations of students demanding justice?" All of these people can be congratulated, because the President has noticed them and said what he thinks about the anti-corruption agenda that is so stirring the internet public.

In general, the desire to be noticed is a very teenage and rather infantile approach to political life. However, this suits the age of those who took to the streets on Navalny's call as well as those released who are now sitting at home on the couch. This desire to be noticed by the government despite the fact that they have no specific program besides slogans like "for everything good and against everything bad" reminds me of a joke about a lost tourist.

There's a dense forest. A lost tourist is in the forest and shouting something. A bear comes to the source of the noise and asks: "What's all the racket"? The tourist says that he's lost and that he screamed so that someone would find him. "Well here I've found you," the bear says, "better now?" In this case, the role of the bear, our national symbol, is played by Vladimir Putin, and Navalny plays the role of the tourist.
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Bullseye

Fresh evidence that the Trump-Russian 'scandal' was a political hit from the Obama team


New York Post
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 08:29 UTC
Susan Rice
Susan Rice

Do you suspect that the noise over Trump campaign contacts with the Russians is just a political hit arranged by Obama insiders before they left? You got fresh evidence of that Monday, with news that then-national security adviser Susan Rice was behind the "unmasking" of Trumpites in transcripts of calls with Russian officials.

Again, nothing on the public record so far shows that anyone on Team Trump said anything improper on those calls.

It's no surprise that US spooks intercept foreign officials' calls. But intelligence community reports don't disclose the names of US citizens on the other end. To get that info, a high official must (but rarely does) push to "unmask" the Americans' names.

Bloomberg's Eli Lake now reports that Rice started doing just that last year.

That was perfectly legal. But we also know that the Obama administration later changed the classification of the "unmasked" transcripts, and other similar material, in order to spread the information as widely as possible within the government.

Comment: See also:

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Megaphone

Erdogan vows to continue calling European nations "Nazi remnants and fascists"

Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu
Reuters
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:08 UTC
Erdogan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday to continue calling European countries "Nazi remnants and fascists" if they maintain their "current attitude against Turkey", despite repeated condemnation from European capitals.

"They don't let my ministers make speeches in Europe (...) Once the referendum on April 16 is over, we will consider, everything has a price," Erdogan told a referendum rally in the western city of Zonguldak.

Erdogan has repeatedly lashed out at European countries including Germany in campaigning for the referendum, accusing them of "Nazi-like" tactics for banning his ministers from speaking to rallies of Turkish voters abroad.
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