The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining it ...

A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic - George Orwell, 1984

So Obama, Merkel, Cameron, Hollande and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi - let's call them the Fab Five - get on a video conference call to muster their courage and "increase pressure" asking for a cease-fire in Gaza. Later in the day, Israel's Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu delivers his answer, in plain language: he remains dead set on achieving his version of a Final Solution to Gaza. [1] With or without "pressure".

So what's left for the Fab Five after having their illustrious Western collective behinds solemnly kicked? They decide to dump Gaza and instead sanction Russia - again! How brilliant is that as an exit strategy?

Alimuddin Usmani Interviews Gilad Atzmon

Alimuddin Usmani: In a recent text you called the British labor opposition leader, Ed Miliband, a shameless Zionist. Ed's father, Ralph Miliband, was a Marxist and a member of Hashomer Hatzair. Is there a contradiction between being both a Marxist and a Zionist?

Gilad Atzmon: This raises a few questions that deserve close attention. First, can someone be a Marxist and a Zionist simultaneously? Theoretically, NO; practically, YES.

On the theoretical level, there is a blatant contradiction between Marxism and Zionism. Marxism is universal and cosmopolitan, Zionism is tribal and nationalist. Can anyone be a cosmopolitan and a nationalist or universal and tribal? Ordinary people probably can't, but the Jew can - Ralph Miliband clearly got away with it and he wasn't the only one.

While the term 'Jewish Left' is an oxymoron due to the impossible contradiction between ethno centrism and the universal, it turns out that quite a few Jews have managed to overcome this hurdle. They operate tribally within their racially oriented Jews-only political cells, but they also identify as Marxists, Socialists and leftists. They must believe that no one notices the duplicity. But many do.

We have been reporting on how the US government is using very nefarious and egregious methods on tracking its own citizen's financial information, fining them and even instituting the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as a form of subterfuge capital controls which is closing off international banking to Americans (as we reported yesterday in Mexico)

FinCen, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has, in essence, been making nearly any international transfers of money viewed as a criminal activity. FATCA has been making it harder and harder for Americans to open international bank accounts. And FBAR, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, has made it a highly punishable offense for any American with a foreign account worth over $10,000 if they do not file an FBAR each year.

The problem with FBAR is that countless Americans with foreign accounts and US expats are completely unaware of its existence. And, despite the fact that there are literally tens of thousands of rules in the US tax code for things like this, ignorance of its requirement is not excusable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing Russian banks to transfer data directly to the US tax authorities, according to the corresponding document published online.

The legislation creates the legal conditions necessary for Russian financial institutions to register online with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and subsequently fulfill their obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

The US FATCA requires foreign banks to supply the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with information on American taxpayers' bank accounts. Under FATCA, signed into law in 2010, financial institutions worldwide are required to report details on the accounts and transactions of US taxpayer clients to the IRS and act as fiscal agents for the US, with the right to charge a 30 percent tax on their passive income related to the United States. Banks can be sanctioned if they do not join FATCA.

As under Russian law, banks are not allowed to disclose information to foreign government institutions, the US was previously in negotiations with Russia on signing an intergovernmental agreement that would simplify the process for all banks acceding to FATCA requirements.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has declared the purported satellite photos placed on Twitter by the US Ambassador in Ukraine as fakes.

I could tell that the images were fakes not only from their low resolution and absence of proper designation, but also from the unprofessional way in which the information was released.

Of course, many users of social media would have no experience and could easily fall for the hoax, which was clearly the US government's intention.

The anti-Russian propaganda campaign being conducted by Washington follows in the footsteps of the campaigns conducted against Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad, and Iran. Washington's campaign of lies against Russia proves the absence of integrity in the US government and is reckless as it can lead to war.

Today a legendary trader and investor spoke with King World News about the Fed's move, and also warned that an unknown event may trigger an avalanche of selling in global markets. Victor Sperandeo has been in the business 45 years, and has worked with famous individuals such as Leon Cooperman and George Soros. Another legend, hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, said, "Victor Sperandeo is gifted with one of the finest minds I know. No wonder he's compiled such an amazing record of success as a money manager."

Incredibly, Sperandeo was interviewed in Barrons in September of 1987, where, with astonishing accuracy, he predicted that the stock market would crash. The market crash took place one month later and it just added to his legendary reputation. Below are the warnings issued by Sperandeo.

A top Israeli official wants President Barack Obama to stop meddling with the Jewish state during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

Speaking to Israel's Army Radio, Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel criticized Obama telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there should be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. "Leave us alone," Ariel told Army Radio, directing his words at Obama. "Go focus on Syria."

Obama spoke with Netanyahu Sunday about the rising number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis.

"Building on Secretary Kerry's efforts, the President made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement," the White House said in a statement, adding that the president reiterated that Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks from Hamas.

Ariel told Army Radio that Israel's offensive should be more aggressive. "It was obvious that international pressure would mount eventually," Ariel stated. "We should have acted faster, harder and with more determination. The rocket threat needs to be tackled. The tunnel threat is being addressed, but it is not enough."

Ariel claimed that the pressure from the White House for an immediate ceasefire was "outrageous" and would "help Hamas," according to Breitbart News. "[W]e never thought it would be the Americans who would lead the pressure," Ariel told Army Radio.

For the first time in American history, a chamber of Congress has authorized its leader to sue the President of the United States.

In a 225-201 vote, the House of Representatives backed Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in his decision to file a lawsuit against President Obama over his handling of the Affordable Care Act. Boehner and other Republicans allege that Obama has flouted his constitutional authority by unilaterally extending deadlines in the law, particularly those related to the employer mandate penalties.

As RT noted previously, the president delayed the mandate - which would penalize employers who chose not to offer health insurance to their workers - for one year back in July 2013. When it was supposed to take effect this year, it was again pushed back into 2015. If filed, the lawsuit would attempt to make Obama implement the ACA exactly on the timetable that was originally passed by Congress - despite Republican attempts to repeal the legislation in its entirety.

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a podcast and transcript from prominent author, neuroscientist, and atheist Sam Harris entitled Why Don't I Criticize Israel?. In it, Harris expressed his "enlightened" position on Israel/Palestine, one which he obviously feels is rooted in fairness, morality, and reason. I mean, hell, this is the founder and CEO of Project Reason after all. Despite my inclination to throw my laptop against the wall, lose my lunch, or simply rip out my hair, I managed to force myself to read the entire screed. Finally, with beads of rage-sweat forming on my forehead, and my face turning the color of Harris's Stanford alma mater, I felt compelled to respond.

Now, I should admit that I know little about Harris's other works - I haven't read his books on religion and neuroscience for example - so I am not attacking his body of work. In doing some basic research, I've found many statements he's made regarding Islam, Israel, and a host of issues with which I take major issue and, in a different context, would vigorously challenge. However, here I am restricting myself solely to his recent comments on Israel/Palestine. It should be remembered, especially by people who might read this months or even years from now, that Harris's comments (July 27, 2014) were made in the midst of one of the most vicious and brutal Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people in recent years. And that's saying a lot considering the long and sordid recent history of Israeli aggressions.

This is not to say that I want to base my refutation solely on emotional arguments. On the contrary, I prefer to ground my comments on factual bases that not only refute Harris's distortions, but hopefully provide ammunition to others to take on Israeli apologists, Jewish and Christian Zionists of all stripes, and generally anyone who tries to "condemn everyone equally." Why? Because the war against the Palestinian people is a war against all people who believe in justice and morality, peace and progress. It is a propaganda war and, despite their millions of dollars, lobbyists, public relations teams, and apologists in every field from academia to entertainment and politics, we are winning. That being said, part of the fight is in never letting them go unchallenged. And Sam Harris will not go unchallenged.

Below, I will reproduce a few of the key quotes from Harris's podcast/transcript in quotes.

Israel has said it is calling up another 16,000 reserves following a security cabinet meeting that decided to keep up military operations in Gaza, ignoring international pressure for an immediate ceasefire.

The move will allow the Israeli military to substantially widen its 23-day campaign against Hamas, which has already claimed more than 1,360 Palestinian lives - most of them civilians - and reduced entire Gaza neighbourhoods to rubble. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians have died during the campaign.

Israel has now called up a total of 86,000 reserves during the Gaza conflict. At least 19 air strikes were carried out overnight, officials said.

Against a background of heavy fighting in Gaza and the shelling of a UN-run school, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, convened his senior colleagues in a security cabinet on Wednesday to discuss the crisis amid warnings that Hamas's demands for lifting the siege of the Palestinian coastal enclave were a "non-starter" and stalling ceasefire efforts in Cairo.