Puppet MastersS


Star of David

No shame: After Palestinian takes Olympic gold for Jordan, Israelis claim his roots are 'Israeli'

israel propaganda olympics
© Daily ForwardThe Jewish Daily Forward's headline of Jordan's Ahmad Abu Ghosh's Olympic gold medal.
After Palestinian Ahmed Abu Ghosh won Jordan's first-ever Olympic gold medal in Rio on Friday for the men's 68-kg Taekwondo event, claims that the athlete's roots in the Jerusalem area are "Israeli," and that his family "relocated" or "moved" to Jordan decades ago have followed.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported the Olympian's heritage as from an "Israeli-Arab village," while i24 referred to the Palestinian hamlet as an "Arab majority town."
israel propaganda olympics
© i24i24 headline on Ahmad Abu Ghosh’s “Israeli” heritage.
"The Olympic medalist's grandparents moved from the village to Jordan decades ago," reported Israel's Ynet News.

Haaretz wrote, "The gold-medalist's grandparents relocated from Abu Gosh decades ago to Jordan."

Abu Ghosh was born in Jordan, but his grandparents hailed from a Palestinian village that is their namesake, Abu Ghosh. The town's local council was not immediately available to confirm the circumstances in which the medalist's family left. But "relocated"? It is likely they were refugees among the 750,000 Palestinians who were expelled or fled during Israel's 1948 war.

Palestinian outlets reported that Abu Ghosh was raised in a refugee camp for Palestinians, al-Nasser, near Jordan's capital. But this detail of his family's displacement was omitted from Israeli news coverage.

Comment: So Israel feels entitled to claim an accomplished athlete as having 'Israeli roots', because his family once lived in the territory, until they were driven out by Israeli terrorists in 1948. 'Fleeing to a refugee camp' is now 'deciding to go to Jordan'.

The slimy Hasbara bunch is getting worse every day.


Light Saber

Routing the fifth column? Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte fires 'thousands' of government employees

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Sunday that he would be sacking every member of his administration who was appointed by a previous President. The move — the latest in what Duterte calls a campaign against corruption — is one of several that have left critics troubled over what they say is an excessive wielding of executive power.

"Until now, in my provincial visits, I still hear that corruption is being committed," he said in a long press conference in the earliest hours of Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "My mouth is, as they say, lousy. If you are there because of a presidential appointment, I will declare all your positions, all throughout the country, vacant."

As for the number of government employees to be sacked: "It will number in the thousands."

Comment: See also: 'I don't give a sh*t about them': Philippine president Duterte threatens to leave 'stupid' UN


USA

US occupation of Syria is now official

2 US army guys
© www.fort-russ.com
"This is a historic and dangerous development which only increases the chances of total war."

Over the last 24 hours, the United States has made clear its status as a hostile occupational force in Syria. Yesterday, the US issued a communique to the legitimate Syrian government and the Russian anti-terrorist coalition assisting the Syrians. The United States has indicated that it has carved out a swath of Syria with boots on the ground fulfilling the roles of active duty personnel, such as special ops forces, advisors, trainers, mechanics, and supporting units. The US has declared a no fly zone and threatened to target and shoot down Syrian and Russian planes within Syrian airspace [over the Kurdish autonomous region - ed].

As RT reports, US Commander of American forces in Iraq and Syria Lt. General Stephen Townshend stated: ""We've informed the Russians where we're at ... (they) tell us they've informed the Syrians, and I'd just say that we will defend ourselves if we feel threatened." Since, as Reuters reports, clashes between Kurdish and Syrian forces have intensified.

A number of analysts previously forecasted that the US would take this route given the success of the Syrian and allied Russian campaign in general and in particular in light of souring US-Turkish relations, the possibility of the US losing access to the Turkish Incirlik base, and the dire situation of Takfiri forces holed up in Aleppo. Different international news agencies have already run a version of the story which presents the US forces' communique as a "warning for Russia and Syria" (CNN) or a "defensive threat" (IBT), but they have failed to distinguish the de facto meaning of this development. Nor have they included that the US military's official statement is in stark violation of international law, constituting an illegal occupation of a sovereign state.

Comment: US aggression and violating international law can't be denied this time. It is a critical pivot point that will certainly be addressed by action. Hard to believe it has finally come to this.


USA

The greatest obstacle to peace is the US government

Obstacle to Peace
© Obstacle to Peace
In our days of darkness, spreading ignorance, and absence of serious debate in public forums, we can take hope from the fact that some scholars still produce serious and informative books on the most critical issues of our time. If in the future policymakers again seek the guidance of truth, they will have the information at hand.

One such book of truth is Jeremy R. Hammond's just published Obstacle to Peace, a closely reasoned, heavily documented (68 pages of footnotes), fully indexed, readable book with a Foreword by Richard Falk, an Introduction by Gene Epstein, and an endorsement by Noam Chomsky.

The obstacle to peace is the United States government, which has consistently opposed the entire world's decades-long effort to stop the Zionist genocide of a land called Palestine.

Palestine is a stolen and oppressed land. Israel's greatest leaders themselves acknowledge the fact. Tom Are quotes David Ben-Gurion:
"If I were an Arab leader, I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural, we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We came from Israel, it's true, but that was two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?"
What once was a country consists today of a few small isolated Palestinian ghettos in the West Bank surrounded by Israeli settlements and an open air prison known as Gaza. Periodically Israel launches military assaults on the civilian population of Gaza, destroying the lives of the people and the infrastructure of the prison camp.

Israel then prevents outside efforts from sending supplies to the suffering people in Gaza. "Freedom flotillas" crewed by Nobel Laurates, present and former members of US and European legislative bodies, and even members of the Israeli Knesset set sail with supplies for Gaza and are pirated and captured in international waters by the Israeli Navy, which, as a warning to others, kills some of the delegation in "self-defense." The United States steadfastly defends Israel's criminal behavior with its UN veto and other governments, though disapproving, are unwilling to confront Washington and force a change.

Info

Turkey withdraws ambassador from Austria over pro-Kurdistan Workers' Party rally

Turkey and EU flags
© Fatih Saribas / Reuters
Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Austria amid growing tensions between the two countries. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the top diplomat was called back for "consultations."

The minister added that the Turkish authorities also want to "review" their relations with Austria, Anadolu news agency reports. "Unfortunately, the ground for our bilateral relations and cooperation to continue as normal has disappeared," Cavusoglu said, as quoted by AP.

Cavusoglu also said that the Austrian ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry over a rally, which was held in Austria in support of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as by the US and European countries.

Star of David

A new milestone for BDS: The boycott comes to the Olympics

Israel Palestine Olympics BDS
© Getty Image Islam El Shehaby refuses to shake Or Sasson's hand.
"I have no problem with Jewish people or any other religion or different beliefs. But for personal reasons, you can't ask me to shake the hand of anyone from this state, especially in front of the whole world." These words, spoken by an individual who has just engaged in a gesture of support for the Palestinian people, are a standard response to the accusation of anti-Semitism which is routinely hurled at pro-justice activists.

The necessary distinction made between the "Jewish people" and the Israeli state is one Israel itself seeks to erase, as it strives to deflect all criticism of its policies, blaming it on anti-Jewish hatred instead. As such, these words do not in themselves establish new grounds, but a new approach to solidarity. Yet as Egyptian judoka Islam El-Shehaby uttered them last week in Brazil, they signified a new milestone: the sports boycott had arrived at the 2016 Olympic Games.

"Shaking the hand of your opponent is not an obligation written in the judo rules. It happens between friends and he's not my friend," El Shehaby explained, in the fallout from his action, which resulted in his dismissal from the games, for "poor sportsmanship."

One day before El-Shehaby's refusal to shake the hand of the Israeli Olympian he had just competed with, another judoka, Saudi Joud Fahmy, had withdrawn from the competition, in order not to have to compete against an Israeli athlete, should she win and advance to the next round.

And yet two days earlier, the Lebanese team had refused to let Israeli athletes ride on the same bus that had picked them up first, on its way to the opening ceremony. The Lebanese athletes persistently blocked the door, preventing the Israelis from getting onto the bus. As a result, the International Olympic Committee had to send in a separate bus for the Israelis.

Comment: Kudos to those athletes who are willing to endure criticism and censure to stand with an oppressed people.


Star of David

Israel shells Syria after stray mortar crosses into Golan Heights

Israeli artillery gun
© Ancho Gosh / Reuters
The IDF says it has attacked a Syrian Army launch site near Israel's border in the Golan Heights, after a Syrian mortar landed inside Israeli territory. The initial incident produced no casualties or damage, according to Israeli media.

Israel believes that the mortar, which landed next to a minefield, was not aimed at its land, but nonetheless dispatched aircraft to neutralize the source of the firing. In accordance with its policy, Israel holds Damascus responsible for any overspill from its internal conflict, and considers any rockets that breach the border a direct attack. IDF planes have made dozens of such sorties since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

While the majority of the Golan Heights have been in Israeli possession since it won the Six-Day War in 1967, the Syrian side of the border has been a focal point for fighting between the Syrian government and the Al Nusra Front, a militant Islamist organization.

Microscope 2

Best of the Web: The day before Deraa: How the West brought civil war to Syria

deraa protest
Setting the stage: 'protests' in Deraa in March 2011, instigated and organized by Western intelligence-trained agents provocateurs
The day before September 11, 2001 was like any normal day in New York City. September 10, 2001 was unaware of the earthshaking events which would happen the next day.

Similarly, one might think the day before the violence broke out in Deraa, Syria, in March 2011, would have been an uneventful day, unaware of the uprising about to begin.

But that was not the case. Deraa was teaming with activity and foreign visitors to Syria well before the staged uprising began its opening act.

The Omari Mosque was the scene of backstage preparations, costume changes and rehearsals. The Libyan terrorists, fresh from the battlefield of the US-NATO regime change attack on Libya, were in Deraa well ahead of the March 2011 uprising violence. The cleric of the Omari Mosque was Sheikh Ahmad al Sayasneh. He was an older man with a severe eye problem, which caused him to wear special dark glasses, and severely hampered his vision. He was not only visually impaired, but light sensitive as well, which caused him to be indoors as much as possible and often isolated. He was accustomed to judging the people he talked with by their accent and voice. The Deraa accent is distinctive. All of the men attending the Omari Mosque were local men, all with the common Deraa accent.

USA

Children of the American police state

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone...
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.

—Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall"
American Police State
© Ben Garrison
The nation's young people have been given front-row seats for an unfolding police drama that is rated R for profanity, violence and adult content.

In Arizona, a 7-year-old girl watched panic-stricken as a state trooper pointed his gun at her and her father during a traffic stop and reportedly threatened to shoot her father in the back (twice) based on the mistaken belief that they were driving a stolen rental car.

In Oklahoma, a 5-year-old boy watched as a police officer used a high-powered rifle to shoot his dog Opie multiple times in his family's backyard while other children were also present. The police officer was mistakenly attempting to deliver a warrant on a 10-year-old case for someone who hadn't lived at that address in a decade.

In Maryland, a 5-year-old boy was shot when police exchanged gunfire with the child's mother—eventually killing her—over a dispute that began when Korryn Gaines refused to accept a traffic ticket for driving without a license plate on her car.

It's difficult enough raising a child in a world ravaged by war, disease, poverty and hate, but when you add the police state into the mix, it becomes near impossible to guard against the growing unease that some of the monsters of our age come dressed in government uniforms.

The lesson being taught to our youngest—and most impressionable—citizens is this: in the American police state, you're either a prisoner (shackled, controlled, monitored, ordered about, limited in what you can do and say, your life not your own) or a prison bureaucrat (politician, police officer, judge, jailer, spy, profiteer, etc.).

Unfortunately, now that school is back in session, life is that much worse for the children of the American police state.

The nation's public schools—extensions of the world beyond the schoolhouse gates, a world that is increasingly hostile to freedom—have become microcosms of the American police state, containing almost every aspect of the militarized, intolerant, senseless, overcriminalized, legalistic, surveillance-riddled, totalitarian landscape that plagues those of us on the "outside."

If your child is fortunate enough to survive his encounter with the public schools with his individuality and freedoms intact, you should count yourself fortunate.

Most students are not so lucky.

Dig

Trump's campaign shake-up sparks Clinton camp's buzz for 'conspiracy theories'

alien hillary
© www.sacsmartdeal.comThose "dark forces." Conspiracy theory or the real Chillary?
It took just a few hours, after Donald J. Trump announced a major staff shake-up last week, for Hillary Clinton's campaign team to settle on a new buzzword. "He peddles conspiracy theories," her campaign manager, Robby Mook, said of Mr. Trump on MSNBC. "We hear rehashed conspiracy theories," he added moments later. "He doubled down on this today," Mr. Mook said, wrapping up, "by appointing someone to lead his campaign who makes these conspiracy theories basically his professional mission."

For the better part of two decades, the invocation of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" against the Clintons — as Mrs. Clinton famously called it when allegations of sexual misconduct engulfed her husband's administration — has elicited eye rolls even among some of the couple's allies.


Comment: Wow. Who knew Bill's 'misconduct' was a 'conspiracy theory,' and in comparison to other 'conspiracy theories,' a 'vast' one at that!


It was not worth amplifying such attacks by responding to them, advisers often reasoned. And any discussion of a secret plot to undercut the Clintons risked sounding like paranoia, peevishness or just an attempt to duck responsibility.


Comment: A conspiracy theory is not a theory, nor a conspiracy, if it is true. In which case, Trump is not the source...he is the messenger. In reverse, some inconvenient truths are passed off as conspiracy theories to enlist a calculated disbelief response from the public.