Zionist Israel Conducts Nazi-Style Ethnic Cleansing: Analyst

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Keld Bach

Map courtesy of Occupied Palestine (click image to enlarge)

The Israeli regime is carrying out large-scale Nazi-style ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank by destroying the Palestinian properties, an analyst tells Press TV.

“In my opinion, this type of large-scale ethnic cleansing is nothing more than what I would call…Israeli style and I think that in its inhumanity and in its callous displacement of indigenous population, I would call it Nazi-like in its extreme disregard for human life for the rule of law,” Bruce Katz said on Friday.

He said the Zionist regime is pushing ahead with its “brazen continuation of ethnic cleansing which has really gone on since 1948.”

On Wednesday, the United Nations denounced Israel for demolition of Palestinian homes and displacement of their residents in the West Bank.

Source: Press TV

Related: Roger Waters Compares Israeli Policy to Nazi Germany

Posted in Human Rights & Justice, War & Terror | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

‘Lie of the Year’ Prize Goes to Barack Obama

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Keld Bach


It’s probably not the kind of recognition he wanted to receive, but President Barack Obama has been awarded PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year” for 2013.

The infamous prize, handed out annually by the fact-checking website PolitiFact, was given to Obama because of his statements claiming that Americans would be able to keep their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act if they liked their plan.

Obama’s explanation didn’t pass muster, however, especially since he’d been captured on video promising that health care plans would stay in place at least two dozen times. Facing public backlash, Obama apologized and unveiled a one-year plan to allow insurers keep selling existing plans that are about to be cancelled.

Source: RT USA

Posted in Culture & Society | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Edward Snowden: Not TIME’s Person of the Year, but FP’s Global Thinker 2013

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Keld Bach

Edward Snowden, seen during a video interview with The Guardian. (Glenn Greenwald/Laura Poitras /EPA/LANDOV)

Edward Snowden, who has become the public face of an international debate over surveillance, tops the list of Foreign Policy‘s Global Thinkers for 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed the inner workings of the U.S. intelligence operations has been living in Russia since June and is currently wanted by U.S. law enforcement authorities and faces charges in federal court. In lieu of attending a reception in Washington on Wednesday for this year’s Global Thinkers, Snowden sent the following statement:

It’s an honor to address you tonight. I apologize for being unable to attend in person, but I’ve been having a bit of passport trouble. Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras also regrettably could not accept their invitations. As it turns out, revealing matters of “legitimate concern” nowadays puts you on the list for more than “Global Thinker” awards.

2013 has been an important year for civil society. As we look back on the events of the past year and their implications for the state of surveillance within the United States and around the world, I suspect we will remember this year less for the changes in policies that are sure to come, than for changing our minds. In a single year, people from Indonesia to Indianapolis have come to realize that dragnet surveillance is not a mark of progress, but a problem to be solved.

We’ve learned that we’ve allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities. And take notice: this awareness, and these sentiments, are held most strongly among the young–those with lifetimes of votes ahead of them.

Even those who may not be persuaded that our surveillance technologies have dangerously outpaced democratic controls should agree that in democracies, surveillance of the public must be debated by the public. No official may decide the limit of our rights in secret.

Today we stand at the crossroads of policy, where parliaments and presidents on every continent are grappling with how to bring meaningful oversight to the darkest corners of our national security bureaucracies. The stakes are high. James Madison warned that our freedoms are most likely to be abridged by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power. I bet my life on the idea that together, in the light of day, we can find a better balance.

I’m grateful to Foreign Policy Magazine and the many others helping to expose those encroachments and to end that silence.

Thank you.

Source: Foreign Policy

Related: No Contest: Edward Snowden is Person of the Year

Posted in Democracy & Liberty, Espionage & Secret Agencies, Human Rights & Justice, Media & Journalism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Surprise, Surprise: Roger Waters Now Deemed an anti-Semite by the ADL

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Keld Bach

Roger Waters (photo credit: Lior Mizrahi/Flash90)

Having previously defended Roger Waters from accusations of anti-Semitism, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday reluctantly acknowledged that “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” have “seeped into the totality” of the former Pink Floyd frontman’s views.

The ADL was responding to comments Waters made in an interview Saturday with Counterpunch magazine comparing Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to Nazi Germany.

“Judging by his remarks, Roger Waters has absorbed classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and these have now seeped into the totality of his views,” Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the ADL), told The Times of Israel. “His comments about Jews and Israel have gotten progressively worse over time. It started with anti-Israel invective, and has now morphed into conspiratorial anti-Semitism.”

Added Foxman: “How sad that a creative genius could become so perverted by his own narrow-minded bigotry.”

Source: The Times of Israel

Also see: Roger Waters Compares Israeli Policy to Nazi Germany | ‘Anti-Semitic, It’s a Trick, We Always Use It’ | Helen Thomas: “Jews are NOT Semites, most of them came from Europe”

Posted in Human Rights & Justice, Music & Performance, War & Terror | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uruguay Legalizes Sale and Production of Marijuana

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Keld Bach


Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize both the sale and production of marijuana. President Jose Mujica has championed the measure as a way of combatting the illegal drug industry that has decimated parts of Uruguay.

The country’s parliament passed the bill by a vote of 16 to 13 on Tuesday evening. Senator Alberto Couriel, a member of the ruling Broad Front left-wing coalition, called the passing of the bill “a historic day” for Uruguay.

Under the new legislation, the price of marijuana will be set at one dollar per gram, aiming to undercut the current price of $1.40 on the illegal market. The sale and production of the drug will be regulated by a specially-set-up government body which will administer a database of adult citizens registered to consume marijuana.

“This is an attempt to bring an end to the illegal drugs trade by identifying the market and bringing it into the light of day,” said President Mujica in a statement. Mujica added that the law does not promote the consumption of the drug; it merely identifies the consumer so that authorities may “intervene if [the consumer] overdoes it.”

Before the new legislation was passed, the consumption of marijuana in Uruguay was not penalized, but the sale and production of the drug was considered a criminal offense.

A number of conditions will govern the sale and production of the drug. Registered Uruguayans over the age of 18 will have the right to buy up to 40 grams of marijuana from pharmacies every month and cultivate a maximum of six plants on their property. The legislation will also allow for the creation of so-called cannabis clubs, composed of up to 45 members who will be able to grow a maximum of 100 plants.

Uruguay’s National Drug Board estimates that there are around 120,000 marijuana users in Uruguay from a population of 3.3 million. Consumer groups estimate a higher figure, putting the number of users at around 200,000.

Source: RT News

Related: José Mujica: The World’s ‘Poorest President’

Posted in Culture & Society, Human Rights & Justice, Psychedelics & Narcotics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Antarctic Temperature Hits Record Low

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Keld Bach

Emperor Penguins at Antarctica (photo by The Daily Galaxy)

Scientists report temperatures in the Antarctic dipped to minus 93 Celsius in 2010, breaking the previous 1983 record.

Researchers made the discovery while analysing 32 years of global surface temperatures that were recorded by satellites.

They found that a high ridge in the East Antarctic Plateau contains pockets of trapped air that dipped as low as minus 93 Celsius in August of 2010, researchers said at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco on Monday.

The previous record low was minus 89.2 degrees Celsius and was documented in 1983 at the Russian Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica.

The super-cold temperatures occur when air is caught and held for a while. If the skies are clear for a few days, the ground radiates remaining heat into space, creating a layer of super-chilled air above the snow.

Source: Al Jazeera

Related: Arctic Ice Cap Grows by 29% in a Year | Sorry Global Warming Alarmists, the Earth is Cooling

Posted in Climate Change, Nature & Environment | Tagged | Leave a comment

No Contest: Edward Snowden is Person of the Year

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Keld Bach

In an effort to gin up a bit of publicity for its annual choice for “Person of the Year,” Time has released its list of ten finalists. They include Pope Francis, President Obama, Jeff Bezos, Miley Cyrus, Ted Cruz, and two Middle Eastern leaders: Bashar al-Assad, the embattled President of Syria, and Hassan Rouhani, the new President of Iran. Of these, Pope Francis is by far the strongest candidate, but even the radical new Pontiff can’t compete with another troublemaker on the list: Edward Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor who is currently residing somewhere in Russia as the guest of Vladimir Putin, Time’s 2007 honoree.

According to Time, its award, which will be bestowed on Wednesday, goes to the person who, in the opinion of the magazine’s editors, had the most influence on the news. By this metric, it’s no contest.

[—]

Naming Snowden as Person of the Year won’t, by itself, change what happens in Washington and other capitals. But the honor, coming from the editors of the world’s most famous newsweekly, would, at least, send a message that journalists recognize the contribution he has made, and the importance of the issues he has raised.

Source: The New Yorker

Related: Edward Snowden voted Guardian person of the year 2013

Posted in Democracy & Liberty, Espionage & Secret Agencies, Human Rights & Justice, Media & Journalism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Leaked: Pussy Riot and Greenpeace Activists Will be Freed under Amnesty

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Keld Bach

Honorary President of non-profit organisation ATTAC, Susan George (Center L), holds a sign bearing the portrait of a jailed Greenpeace activist alongside other protesters taking part in a demonstration calling for the release of a group of Greenpeace activists imprisoned in Russia, on October 31, 2013, in Paris. (AFP Photo / Pierre Andrieu)

The members of the Pussy Riot punk band, Greenpeace activists and protesters jailed after the May 2012 Bolotnaya demonstration will be freed in an amnesty dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Izvestia newspaper claims.

A total of 25,000 people will be freed under the amnesty initiated by President Putin, Interfax cited Vladimir Vasilyev, deputy speaker of parliament, as saying.

“Around 1,300 people will be released from prison, and 17,500 people will be relieved of non-custodial sentences. In addition, criminal proceedings against nearly 6,000 can be terminated,” Vasilyev said.

Several Russian media including Izvestia and Vedomosti newspapers have obtained a copy of the draft amnesty, which was submitted to the parliament by President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

According to the papers, the participants in such high-profile cases as the Pussy Riot Cathedral protest, Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise boarding of an oil rig and the Bolotnaya Square riots will all be granted amnesty.

The upcoming amnesty won’t apply to those who committed crimes that posed a serious danger to society, Vladimir Vasilyev said, adding that the amnesty will give preference to convicts in vulnerable social categories and people who have served the country.

It will favor all minors, mothers with small children, pregnant women, women over 55 and men over 60, the disabled, Chernobyl cleanup workers and military veterans, he said.

The amnesty will be adopted before the end of the year and implemented within the next six months, a high-ranked source in the parliament told Izvestia.

Russia celebrates the 20th anniversary of the country’s Constitution on December 12.

Source: RT News

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Roger Waters Compares Israeli Policy to Nazi Germany

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Keld Bach

Excerpt from an interview with Roger Waters:

Frank Barat: You’re talking about yourself being one of the only one, in your position, taking radical political positions. When it comes to Palestine, you are very open about your support for a cultural boycott of Israel. People opposing this tactic say that culture should not be boycotted. What would you answer to that?

Roger Waters: I would say that I understand their opinion. Everybody should have one. But I can’t agree with them, I think that they are entirely wrong. The situation in Israel/Palestine, with the occupation, the ethnic cleansing and the systematic racist apartheid Israeli regime is un acceptable. So for an artist to go and play in a country that occupies other people’s land and oppresses them the way Israel does, is plain wrong. They should say no. I would not have played for the Vichy government in occupied France in the Second World War, I would not have played in Berlin either during this time. Many people did, back in the day. There were many people that pretended that the oppression of the Jews was not going on. From 1933 until 1946. So this is not a new scenario. Except that this time it’s the Palestinian People being murdered. It’s the duty of every thinking human being to ask: “What can I do?”. Anybody who looks at the situation will see that if you choose not to take up arms to fight your oppressor, the non violent route, and the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S) movement, which started in Palestine with 100% support from Palestinian civil society in 2004-2005, a movement that has now been joined by many people around the world, the global civil society, is a legitimate form of resistance to this brutal and oppressive regime. I have nearly finished Max Blumenthal’s book “Goliath: Life and Loathing in greater Israel”. It’s a chilling read. It’s extremely well written in my view. He is a very good journalist and takes great pains to make sure that what he writes is correct. He also gives a voice to the other side. The voice, for instance, of the right wing rabbinate, which is so bizarre and hard to hear that you can hardly believe that it’s real. They believe some very weird stuff you know, they believe that everybody that is not a Jew is only on earth to serve them and they believe that the Indigenous people of the region that they kicked off the land in 1948 and have continued to kick off the land ever since are sub-human. The parallels with what went on in the 30’s in Germany are so crushingly obvious that it doesn’t surprise me that the movement that both you and I are involved in is growing every day. The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was trying to shed light on this when we met, I only took part in two sessions, you took part in many more. It is an extremely obvious and fundamental problem of human rights which every thinking human being should apply himself to.

Read full interview at CounterPunch

Related: Stephen Lendman: World is Blind to Genocide of Palestinians | UN slams Israel on West Bank home demolitions

Posted in Anti-War & Non-Violence, Human Rights & Justice, Music & Performance, War & Terror | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nixing Mandela Funeral as Too Costly, Bibi Shows World What He’s Truly Made of

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Keld Bach

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife Sara in a plane bound for London, May 3, 2011. Photo by GPO

In his eleventh-hour decision against attending the funeral of Nelson Mandela, Benjamin Netanyahu proved that he is not the smug, petty, vindictive, waffling, in-your-face insulting man he seems. He’s something worse.

The problem is not so much that the prime minister had first informed the South African government that he would, in fact, attend the ceremony, alongside Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, French President Francois Hollande, and scores of other world dignitaries, among them Iranian President Hassan Rohani, in what is expected to be a world gathering unprecedented in scope.

Nor is the basic problem the fact that the decision was made so abruptly and with such lack of consultation, that the office of President Shimon Peres was thrown for a loop, and it was unclear if arrangements could be made to have Peres represent Israel in Netanyahu’s stead.

The problem is the reason Netanyahu chose to give: Money. The trip would cost too much. The problem, then, is the message Netanyahu has chosen to send:

My Israel, which so craves and demands legitimacy and recognition as a full partner in the community of nations, does not consider a man like Nelson Mandela, or a nation like South Africa, or the sentiment of an entire world, worth the price of a plane flight.

In sending this message, Benjamin Netanyahu has treated the passing of Nelson Mandela as he does every challenge in statecraft: He has addressed one problem by creating another.

His message is clear: My Israel, which spends untold tens of millions on such matters as bolstering and protecting settlement construction during peace negotiations with the Palestinians, or erecting detention facilities for African asylum seekers rather than formulating coherent and just refugee policies, has nothing left over for this man Mandela.

Source: Haaretz

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