Filtering out the Nonsense, Aggregating Whatever's Left.
Source: Antiwar.com
The reality of the West’s trademark current foreign policy – marketed for the past two decades under the principle of a “Responsibility to Protect” – is all too visible amid Libya’s flood wreckage.
Many thousands are dead or missing in the port of Derna after two dams protecting the city burst this week as they were battered by Storm Daniel. Vast swaths of housing in the region, including in Benghazi, west of Derna, lie in ruins.
Source: Mondoweiss.net
“The study is the most comprehensive and persuasive analysis of why the Israel occupation has now become illegal,” says former UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk. “It will be the intellectual and political touchstone on Palestine and international law for some time.”
Last week, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) issued a study two years in the making: The Legality of the Israeli Occupation of the Occupied Territories, Including East Jerusalem.
Source: Antiwar.com
“Maybe there is a beast. Maybe it’s only us.”
~ William Golding (1911-1993), “Lord of the Flies”
Hidden within some folks are the souls of saints. Hidden within others are the souls of beasts. Torture unleashes the beasts.
Nothing is more destructive of human decency, nothing is less fruitful in seeking truth, nothing is more totalitarian and nothing so undermines the government’s own cases as its use of torture.
Yet, torture is universally condoned by the government.
Continue reading “Torture Comes Home to Roost – Andrew P. Napolitano 8/25/23”
Source: Mondoweiss.net
The letter accusing Israel of apartheid initiated by Israeli Jewish scholars has given permission to commentators at mainstream publications to echo the accusation.
That letter initiated by Israeli scholars calling out American Jewish leaders for supporting “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “Jewish supremacy” is getting more and more signatures, 1,600 and counting in ten days, and it is sparking media attention.
The Jewish letter is giving the media cover to speak a heresy– Israeli apartheid.
Source: starkrealities.substack.com
The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands.
Source: Antiwar.com
In 1980, when I asked the press office at the U.S. Department of Energy to send me a listing of nuclear bomb test explosions, the agency mailed me an official booklet with the title “Announced United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 Through December 1979.” As you’d expect, the Trinity test in New Mexico was at the top of the list. Second on the list was Hiroshima. Third was Nagasaki.
So, 35 years after the atomic bombings of those Japanese cities in August 1945, the Energy Department – the agency in charge of nuclear weaponry – was categorizing them as “tests.”
Source: Max Blumenthal via Twitter
A campaign that began as a defiant broadside against the war state and censorship industrial complex has suddenly pivoted to a bellicose exercise in pandering to rich Likudniks who seek war with Iran, the permanent violent warehousing of Palestinians and the criminalization of activism that challenges Israeli apartheid.
RFK Jr’s host was Shmuley Boteach, a professional race hustler and alleged financial fraudster who owes the existence of his one-man political operation to the fortune of Sheldon Adelson, the late ultra-Zionist oligarch who called for dropping a nuclear weapon on Iran.
If RFK was not handed a massive wad of Benjamins to suck up to Shmuley, he was embarrassing himself for free, because he was clearly out of his depth.
Source: TheLastAmericanVagabond.com
This Monday, Palestinians across various cities inside the occupied West Bank took to the streets in protest of the Palestinian Authority’s arrest campaign of resistance fighters wanted by the Israeli military. In the wake of Israel’s failed invasion of Jenin, which fell short of dealing a blow to the newly formed armed groups in the area, they now turn to a Palestinian collaborator force to do their dirty work.
Source: TheLastAmericanVagabond.com
The Israeli public have again escalated their demonstrations, both against and for the current far-right coalition government’s planned legal system overhaul, leading to violence, road blockages, and calls on US President Joe Biden to condemn Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As the civil unrest picks up, will the Israeli leadership look for a way out by finding a military conflict as a distraction?
Source: ZeroHedge.com
In light of the Biden White House approving cluster bombs for Ukraine, under the justification that ‘but Russia used them first’, below is a quick trip down memory lane…
First, here is then White House press secretary Jen Psaki unequivocally condemning the use of cluster munitions as a potential “war crime” in 2022. The implication behind the exchange is that only the “bad guys” use them…
Source: ZeroHedge.com
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg doesn’t see a problem with internationally banned cluster munitions… only when the US or its allies deploy them, apparently.
Without doubt if cluster bombs were being deployed by Russia or official US enemies, NATO would condemn it (and has in the past). But with the Biden administration now reportedly moving forward with sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, Stoltenberg has said that “Nato does not have a position on them” as some allies have signed up to prohibit their use and some haven’t….
Source: MoonOfAlabama.org
The Washington Post says that the U.S. will now give cluster munition to Ukraine.
Biden approves cluster munition supply to Ukraine
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
Continue reading “Ukraine: Biden Again Escalates – Moon Of Alabama 7/7/23”
Source: Mondoweiss.net
The Biden administration supports the Israeli invasion of Jenin wholeheartedly and is echoing the Netanyahu government’s claim that the city is a “nest of terrorists.” But many voices in the West, including the media, are skeptical.
Not surprisingly, the White House issued blanket approval yesterday of Israel decision to launch a devastating attack on Jenin, a Palestinian refugee camp in occupied territory:
Source: LibertarianInstitute.org
Human Rights Watch found that Ukrainian troops have been using scatter mines. The anti-personnel weapons are internationally banned, including by Kiev, because of their devastating impact on civilians.
HRW reports uncovered several instances where Ukraine used anti-personnel scatter mines. The human rights monitoring group first made the allegation in a January report, but a press release issued on Friday says more evidence was found recently.
Continue reading “Ukrainian Forces Are Using Outlawed Mines – Kyle Anzalone 7/2/23”
Source: LewRockwell.com
The neocons who control brain-dead Biden tell us over and over that World War II was the “good war.” Didn’t we have to stop Hitler from conquering the world? They say this in order to justify their plans to start a nuclear war against Russia and China. If you look at the facts rather than neocon propaganda, World War II looks very different.
Continue reading “The Truth About World War II – Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. 6/26/23”
Source: TheLastAmericanVagabond.com
The latest string of settler terrorist acts against Palestinian communities, coupled with the advancements shown by the West Bank resistance forces, is leading towards a dramatic escalation inside of the occupied territory. As the current Palestinian political scene remains divided, with no sign of national elections in sight, the hunger for a unified leadership is growing and the Palestinian Authority (PA) is now faced with a crucial set of decisions.
Source: Mondoweiss.net
The Israeli military has admitted its policy of punitive demolitions does not work as a deterrent measure, and human rights groups have declared the policy violates international law. So, why does Israel continue doing it?
Continue reading “Israel’s Punitive Home Demolition Policy, Explained – Yumna Patel 6/8/23”
Source: Antiwar.com
Most mornings as I prepare for my run, I tune in to BBC news. Of late, the newscaster has presented, in sober British-fashion, the number of Palestinians killed the night before by the Israeli army in its near-nightly raids on homes and refugee camps in the occupied Palestinian Territories. When I canvass American news sites to learn more, there is no mention of these atrocities. The airwaves are replete, however, with news of the Russia-Ukraine war and the death of civilians.
Continue reading “Deconstructing Israel’s Propaganda Machine – M. Reza Behnam 6/5/23”
Source: AntiWar.com
As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, the state-building project it cemented into place in 1948 by expelling 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland is showing the first signs of unraveling.
The surprise is that Israel’s woes spring not, as generations of its leaders feared, from outside forces – a combined attack from Arab states or pressure from the international community – but from Israel’s own internal contradictions.
Source: Mondoweiss.net
The New York Times all but ignored Palestinian civilians killed by Israel’s latest assault on Gaza and dismissed an essential factor in Israel’s calculus — pressure on Netanyahu from the fascistic members of his own coalition.
Source: TheLastAmericanVagabond.com
At around 2:00 AM, Tuesday Morning, unprovoked Israeli airstrikes rained down on residential buildings throughout the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel had decided to launch an assassination campaign against leaders in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, murdering three of them along with their families whilst they slept in their beds at night. Despite the majority of those killed being civilians, Western corporate media rushed to distort what actually happened in order to make Tel Aviv seem justified.
Source: ZeroHedge.com
The White House has said it stands by Israel as its offensive against Gaza militants enters a third day. As of Thursday evening local time, at least 26 Palestinians have been reported killed, which includes both civilians and multiple leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, under heavy IDF airstrikes.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi on the same day, reaffirming the US’ “ironclad support for Israel’s security.”…
Source: Mondoweiss.net
On May 9, the people of Gaza woke up to the sound of bombs as over 40 Israeli warplanes launched an overnight military operation against the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ). For most people, it was just one more night of terror in the never-ending cycle of Israeli bombardment, but for some families it was the night that would change their lives forever.
Source: Mondoweiss.net
Khader Adnan, 44, died in Israeli custody as he neared his 90th day on a hunger strike protesting his imprisonment. The veteran of two previous hunger strikes, Adnan became an international symbol of Palestinian steadfastness and resistance.
Continue reading “Khader Adnan’s Martyrdom – Mondoweiss 5/2/23”
Source: Mondoweiss.net
Early Zionism sought to reform the “Ghetto Jew” into the secular Zionist militant. But now the new Israeli government not only wants to push society to the right, but to dismantle its secularism as well.
Source: ZeroHedge.com
The Russian military has weighed in on the UK’s plans to supply depleted uranium tank rounds to Ukrainian forces, which was announced by UK’s junior Defense Minister Annabel Goldie in a Tuesday parliament briefing.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian armed forces, told a press briefing Friday that the weaponry will cause irreparable harm to all Ukrainians, whether civilian or military.
Source: Reuters.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned British plans to send tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly.
Source: mate.substack.com
Nearly six months after the Nord Stream pipelines exploded and one month after Seymour Hersh reported that the Biden administration was responsible, US officials have unveiled their defense. According to the New York Times, anonymous government sources claim that “newly collected intelligence” now “suggests” that the Nord Stream bomber was in fact a “pro-Ukrainian group.”
The only confirmed “intelligence” about this supposed “group” is that US officials have none to offer about them.
Source: LBCGroup.tv
The United States said on Wednesday it would be concerned if there is a prolonged disruption to humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria after the Aleppo airport was knocked out of service by an air strike that Syrian state media blamed on Israel.
The airport was being used to deliver aid to victims of last month’s earthquake that killed thousands. Syria’s Ministry of Transport had diverted all flights with earthquake aid to Damascus or Latakia, the United Nations said on Wednesday….
Source: LBCGroup.tv
A suspected Israeli airstrike targeting Aleppo International Airport in Syria again tore multiple craters on its runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday. A United Nations official separately has criticized the attack for hindering earthquake relief for the hard-hit, war-torn nation.
Continue reading “Likely Israel Strike Damages Syria Airport – AP 3/9/23”
Source: NYTimes.com
The Pentagon is blocking the Biden administration from sharing evidence with the International Criminal Court in The Hague gathered by American intelligence agencies about Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter.
American military leaders oppose helping the court investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans. The rest of the administration, including intelligence agencies and the State and Justice Departments, favors giving the evidence to the court, the officials said….
Source: NYTimes.com
The U.S. military on Wednesday repatriated a U.S.-educated Saudi engineer who had been held for more than 20 years at Guantánamo Bay under suspicion of having made bombs for Al Qaeda, but was never brought to trial.
Source: LBCGroup.tv
An Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo early on Tuesday, putting it out of service, Syria state media said. All flights were rerouted to two other airports in the war-torn country, according to the report.
Continue reading “Israeli Strike Damages Aleppo Airport – AP 3/7/23”
Source: CNN.com
“We are born dead” is graffitied, in English, on a wall across from the razor-wire sewn bulwark of the United Nations compound in northern Yemen. It is a distillation of the suffering of generational war; a plea from the abandoned and discarded.
I recently returned, through my involvement with the humanitarian organization War Child, from the northern reaches of Yemen’s Houthi regions. Access is virtually impossible for Americans (especially journalists) and took months of fraught negotiations. Not surprising, as American fingerprints are easily found on this crisis. US military support for Saudi Arabia, an integral player in the conflict, has been constant since its inception seven years ago.
During that stretch, a Saudi-led coalition has tried with little success to crush the Iran-backed Houthi insurgency in a conflict replete with potential war crimes. The effects of the war have been devastating.
Continue reading “Too Hungry to Weep: The Tragedy of Yemen’s Starving Children – CNN 3/2/23”
Source: AntiWar.com
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday that one of the reasons Moscow suspended its participation in the New START treaty was because the US helped Ukraine attack a facility housing Russian nuclear weapons.
Source: ZeroHedge.com
Russia has come under attack by multiple drones on Tuesday, with one of those drones reportedly causing a fire at an oil depot in the southern part of the country, and another hitting outside Moscow.
The attack on the oil facility happened in Tuapse, which lies about 150 miles southeast of the Crimean peninsula, with Reuters citing local media to report, “Emergency services put out a fire at an oil depot in southern Russia overnight after a drone was spotted flying overhead, the RIA news agency said on Tuesday.” Crucially, Tuapse is about 500 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory, which exhibits significant reach assuming the UAV was launched by the Ukrainians….