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Ambulance

The Trump Effect: 2 Palestinians killed, 700+ injured in clashes with Israeli forces - IDF launches airstrikes in response to failed "rocket" attack


Sott.net
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:43 UTC
idf palestinian
© ReutersPalestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem (pictured) today while there were also confrontations in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah in the wake of Donald Trump's new stance on Jerusalem
It has been two days since Trump's Jerusalem decision. Immediately after the announcement, Palestinians took to the streets to protest. Protests are ongoing in Afghanistan, Jordan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Egypt. The decision was bound to result in violence. U.S. troops were put on "notice to move" alert in Afghanistan in anticipation of violence breaking out. The Iraqi PMU said U.S. troops themselves were at risk of attacks. But as usual, Palestinians were the first to suffer the effects.

Earlier today, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that 104 Palestinian protesters had been wounded in clashes with Israeli occupation forces: 4 with regular bullets, 18 with rubber bullets, 70+ with tear gas. A producer for RT, Amzhad Shahin, was taken to the hospital after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli military. Later, that number was raised to 245 injured, 11 from live fire. Thirty-year-old Mohammad al-Masri was killed east of Khan Younis. A second death was initially reported, but hasn't yet been confirmed. The Israelis confirmed they shot two people, accusing them of being the "main instigators" of "violent riots" (i.e., rock-throwing).
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Chart Bar

Northern Ireland poll shows majority would support Irish unification in event of 'hard Brexit'

Kevin Mullan
Derry Journal
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 23:17 UTC
United Ireland brexit
Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson says new findings that a large plurality of people would support a United Ireland if it kept the North in the European Union after a 'hard Brexit' reveal a deep level of concern about the 'Tory/DUP anti-EU agenda'.

A new LucidTalk poll commissioned by the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament, of which Ms. Anderson is a member, also found that a majority of people in the North now support 'Special Status' within the EU.

Key findings of the poll were: that 57.8 per cent of people support 'Special Status' for the North within the EU; that 47.9 per cent support the North remaining in the EU by joining a United Ireland; that 52.4 per cent believe there will be a reduction in rights as a result of Brexit; and that 75.8 per cent believe EU standards should be maintained post-Brexit.

Comment: Here are the poll's results:

northern ireland poll
This is historic. According to Northern Ireland's 2011 census, 48% of the population is of a Protestant/unionist background, while 45% is of a Catholic/Irish nationalist background.

The poll's result suggests that a critical mass of the population that is traditionally loyal to the UK, and which have historically been thoroughly brainwashed into believing that the Irish are evil, are now prepared to reconsider their views.

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Map

SOTT Focus: Ireland, UK and Brussels reach Brexit agreement: No hard border for Northern Ireland, which effectively remains in EU

Joe Quinn
Sott.net
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 23:58 UTC
brexit scrabble
'Brexit' just took an interesting turn. After all-night talks between Irish, British and EU leaders, a deal was reached Friday morning, after which British Prime Minister Theresa May said at a press conference in Brussels that there will be "no hard border" between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, along the Northern Irish border.

Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar hailed the agreement as "politically bulletproof" after Britain promised to "maintain full alignment with those rules of the internal market and the customs union which, now or in the future, support north-south cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 [Good Friday] agreement".
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Cult

Hamptons Syndrome: Why the poor and working class defend the aristocracy and idolize the super-wealthy

Teodrose Fikre
Ghion Journal
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Hamptons
Stockholm Syndrome is a condition that sets in as kidnap victims and hostages come to depend on and eventually grow enamored with their captors. This is a most pernicious of maladies; for people who are brutalized by their oppressors to not only be in need of those who torment them but actually come to adore them, is truly perplexing. Patty Hearst is the most renowned example of someone who was beset with Stockholm Syndrome after she was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army; not only did she get programmed to love her kidnappers, she joined her captors in their rampage across America. Well my friends, Stockholm Syndrome ain't got nothing Hamptons Syndrome!

Hamptons Syndrome is a condition where the poor, working and middle class become dependent on their aristocratic oppressors and eventually get smitten by them. I will be honest, for a while I thought only Republicans and conservatives were beset by this condition. I would shake my head each time I heard of some working schmuck in middle-America raving about the wealthiest Americans while bashing his fellow struggling Americans. In all candor, it used to piss me off witnessing people of meager means worshiping the rich and affluent all along casting aspersions at those mired in poverty. Nothing rankled my nerve quite like hearing some "conservative" bash impoverished souls on welfare while ignoring the affluent who live off government dole and thrive through corporate and estate welfare.
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People 2

"Feminist Islam" has a depressing future - and there's no guarantee it will come

Chetna Prakash
Quillette
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:50 UTC
islam women hijab
A review of Women, Faith and Sexism: Fighting Hislam, by Susan Carland. Melbourne University Press (May, 2017) 266 pages.

Dr. Susan Carland is an important public figure in the Australian landscape, especially at a time of heightened cultural intolerance. As an academic, a Muslim convert, and the wife of the most widely recognized Muslim in Australia today - journalist and TV presented Waleed Aly - Carland often finds herself in the role of the defender of Islamic faith in Australia. She has personally experienced two different (and currently clashing) cultures closely, has had the privilege of examining them from a social theory perspective, and is blessed with eloquence and charm. Who better to explain what is going on?

On the one hand, we keep hearing about and seeing evidence of the unequal treatment of women within Muslim communities the world over. On the other, we find that Muslim women are among the staunchest defenders of Islamic faith and community. So how are we to reconcile these two realities? And to what extent are regressive practices coded into Islamic religious texts?

Carland's recently published book Women, Faith and Sexism: Fighting Hislam is an attempt to grapple with these vexing questions - a condensed, reader-friendly version of her Ph.D. thesis on feminism within the West's Muslim communities. For her thesis, Carland interviewed 23 Muslim women who are fighting sexism and misogyny within Muslim communities in Australia and the United States. These interviewees include theologians, academics, journalists, bloggers, and activists. The book discusses their work, why they felt it was needed, the challenges they face, what role their faith plays in the fight, and who supports them.
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Family

House Speaker Ryan pledges 'entitlement reform' in 2018

Nathaniel Weixel
The Hill
Wed, 06 Dec 2017 05:24 UTC
PRyan
© Washington PostHouse Speaker Paul Ryan
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday said House Republicans will aim to cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid and welfare programs next year as a way to trim the federal deficit. "We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit," Ryan said during an interview on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show.

Health-care entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid "are the big drivers of debt," Ryan said, "so we spend more time on the health-care entitlements, because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking."

Ryan said he's been speaking privately with President Trump, who is beginning to warm to the idea of slowing the spending growth in entitlements.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised not to cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.

Comment: Government should reform itself to keep its hands out of the public till, the contents of which were paid in advance by citizens and businesses that also pay taxes. Punishing the under-privileged and health-compromised is not the answer to Congressional allocations that create deficits.

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Star of David

Jerusalem designation hands American Jews a tough choice

Jonathan Cook
The National
Mon, 04 Dec 2017 05:33 UTC
man and sign
© Mosaic Magazine
For decades most American Jews have claimed an "Israel exemption": resolutely progressive on domestic issues, they are hawks on their cherished cause. Racism they would vigorously oppose if applied in the United States is welcomed in Israel.

Reports at the weekend suggested that Donald Trump was about to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, throwing a wrench in any peace plan.

If true, the US president will have decisively prioritised support for Israel - and pro-Israel lobbies at home - over outrage from Palestinians and the Arab world. But paradoxically, just as American Jews look close to winning the battle domestically on behalf of Israel, many feel more alienated from a Jewish state than ever before.

Comment: Unrequited loyalty by Israel comes as a shock to those Jews who, professing fealty to their heritage, have chosen to live elsewhere under different societal standards.

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Airplane

Nuclear-capable Russian Tu-95 bombers on maiden flight from Indonesia


RT
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 19:43 UTC
Tu-95MS
© Ministry press service Russian Federation / SputnikTu-95MS bomber
A pair of Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers has flown a maiden patrol mission over the South Pacific from a military base in Indonesia. Crew and support staff had to deal with an unfamiliar tropical environment to successfully navigate and complete the mission.

The two Tupolev bombers, which can carry nuclear weapons, flew Tuesday from Ukrainka Airfield in Russia's eastern Amur region to the Biak Airbase in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province. The almost 7,000km flight with mid-course in-flight refueling took about 10 hours, which was longer than the pilots expected. Bad weather prompted several changes in their flight course, they told journalists.

A pair of Ilyushin Il-76MD military transport planes had arrived at the site a day ahead, carrying equipment and support crews. The mission, it turned out Thursday, was more than just a social visit to Indonesia. The Tu-95s, known as "Bears" in the West, flew a patrol mission over the southern Pacific before returning to the Indonesian base. The patrol was the first of its kind for the Russian Air Forces and was without incident, despite the persistently difficult weather conditions in the region.

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Red Flag

Jerusalem effect: Amsterdam man with Palestinian flag breaks windows of Israeli restaurant, subdued by police


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 11:31 UTC
Palestinian flag
© AT5 / YouTube
A man with a Palestinian flag has smashed windows at a Jewish restaurant in Amsterdam and forced his way inside, local media reported. The incident has been caught on camera.


Comment: Because bringing your sectarian conflicts into other peoples countries is what multiculturalism is all about. Trump moves an embassy, so some peon in Amsterdaam has to attack a shopkeeper?


The video of the incident which emerged on local media, shows the man carrying a Palestinian flag hitting windows of the Glatt Kosher restaurant. The man then kicks his way through the front door and a few seconds later emerges with an Israeli flag, the footage shows.

Officers deployed pepper spray to arrest the suspect, who turned out to be a 29-year-old male residing in the Netherlands.


Comment: We are likely to see a lot more of this from those who are rightly outraged by Trump's recent decision. But the real danger here is not only the likelihood (if predictable) carnage that the IDF will wreak on Palestinians lashing out in Gaza or the West Bank - but the conflation between those Palestinians acts and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, who are already coming out and making statements in support of Palestine. This whole situation can turn into another bloodbath against innocents in no time - when half the world will be told to think that Palestinians are the same as "the terrorists."

See: The Myth Of The Palestinian Suicide Bomber

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Sheriff

Cops break man's face and express regret that they didn't kill him

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 20:07 UTC
police beating victim
Once again, the cops from what is now becoming one of the most infamous departments in the country are in the spotlight. This time, the Euclid police department beat a man so severely that they literally broke his face and he had to be hospitalized. Also, after they arrested him, two officers were caught on the dashcam expressing their disappointment that they didn't kill him.

Tensions between police and citizens in Euclid, Ohio have come to a head recently after police killed an unarmed 23-year-old man over a marijuana roach and officers were seen on video pulverizing another man over a suspended license, and, as TFTP reported last week, beating the hell out of an innocent man after mistaking his colostomy bag for a weapon.

The most recent black eye on the department stems from the arrest of Erimius Spencer. Because Officer Michael Amiott and Officer Shane Rivera smelled a plant, they claimed the right to kidnap and cage Spencer in December 2016.

According to the police department who has been caught lying on multiple occasions and beating entirely compliant and innocent individuals, Spencer resisted when they found less than one gram of cannabis in his possession. Naturally, they used the claim of resisting to inflict serious harm on Spencer.
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