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Israel's War Criminal of the Year Award
by Stephen Lendman
Imagining honoring crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Imagine calling war on humanity honorable.
Imagine granting a nation's highest civilian award for waging it. It shouldn't surprise. Obama will receive Israel's Presidential Medal of Distinction. More on him below.
On February 18, Shimon Peres announced the award. It'll be given during Obama's March visit. It's his first as president. He'll get it at Peres' Jerusalem residence. An Israeli press release said:
"It will be the first time in history that a serving president of the United States of America will receive an award of this kind from the president of the State of Israel."
Peres' spokesperson added:
"Barack Obama is a true friend of the State of Israel, and has been since the beginning of his public life. As president of the United States, he has stood with Israel in times of crisis."
The Leeches are Back and are Urging the Wrong Prescription: The Grand Bargain Returns
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers Co-directors, It's Our Economy
Leeches could also be used in bloodletting. The withdrawal of so much blood as to induce syncope (fainting) was considered beneficial, and many sessions would only end when the patient began to swoon.
As the economy shows signs of recession, the leeches return. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles have issued a new report calling for even deeper austerity. It is not what the economy needs as it stagnates and sputters toward a possible new collapse. Their report combined with President Obama’s State of the Union, the sequestration and Republican dogma are all combining to bring on another round of budget cuts, which will only make recession more likely.
It is important to put the current economic debate in context. Dr. Jack Rasmus, an economist who gets it right more than any other we are aware of, provides the framework with his in-depth analysis of the US GDP over the last 15 months. He summarizes the present dismal situation:
Straight Talk on US/Israeli Relations
by Stephen Lendman
Harry Truman recognized Israel minutes after its May 14, 1948 independence was declared. He was the first world leader to do so.
Weeks earlier on March 25, he met secretly with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann. He pledged support. A special bond was established.
Strategic interests largely benefit Israel. Washington provides it more aid and benefits than all other nations combined. It's not because of historic binding ties.
A special relationship does more harm than good. It's counterproductive and lawless. It's financially, politically, militarily and diplomatically bankrupt.
Samer Easawi: Hunger Striking for Justice
by Stephen Lendman
Samer's a Palestinian activist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member. On April 15, 2002, Israel kidnapped him in Ramallah. It did so during multiple community incursions.
Samer was wrongly charged with allegedly planning attacks on Israel. When evidence doesn't exist, Israel invents it.
He was sentenced to 30 years for supporting right over wrong. He's one of thousands of Palestinian political prisoners. They symbolize longstanding Israeli ruthlessness.
Israel's Racist of the Year Award
by Stephen Lendman
Israeli racism is longstanding. It's institutionalized. Imagine honoring it. Israel did so. It finds new ways of reaching new lows. It disgraces itself in the process.
It shouldn't surprise. It's common practice. Jews alone matter. Arabs are considered subhuman.
Mondoweiss co-editor Philip Weiss headlined "Defense of separation wall = Prize for service to humanity."
"Israel honors New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier."
West Bank Village Struggles to Survive
by Stephen Lendman
Batir is special. Its heritage is longstanding. It's been that way for centuries. It's one of Palestine's most beautiful villages.
It's built around natural spring water. It's dotted by wells and reservoirs. Traditional agriculture is its way of life. Villagers want it kept that way.
Spring water irrigates Batir's gardens. They made village produce famous. Preserving it is vital. It's too important to lose.
In 1948, Batir was on the front line of Israel's War of Independence. Green Line separation divides its ancestral lands. Its residents were the only Palestinians allowed to cultivate them inside its post-war border.
In Honor & Memory of Huey P. Newton
Larry Pinkney
Serious revolutionary political struggle is an ongoing, long and protracted affair - spanning many years - and it does not lend itself to romanticism. By the same token, it is extremely important to understand the role of various women and men freedom fighters who were trail blazers in this continuing struggle for justice, equality, and human rights in the United States and throughout the world. It is our consciously and clearly understood past that serves to gird us for the present and future struggles.
The corporate media endeavors, on virtually every level, to keep the masses of people dangerously ignorant of the reality of what is actually occurring contemporarily, as well as what transpired in the distant and not-so-distant past. Corporate media obfuscation and disinformation is the order of the day. In the not-so-distant past, the Black Panther Party represented stalwart resistance to such obfuscation and disinformation, and today its very legacy continues to stand as a beacon of unequivocal opposition to corporate media manipulation and misinformation.
Chavez Returns
by Stephen Lendman
He's home. He arrived on February 18 at 2:30AM Caracas time. He announced his arrival via Twitter.
"I have returned to the Venezuelan homeland," he said. "Thank God!! Thank you beloved people! I will continue the treatment here."
Separately he thanked Fidel and Raul Castro. He praise Cuba's superb medical providers. "We will live and we will overcome," he said.
Fidel Castro wished him well on departure. He said in part:
Upcoming Iranian Nuclear Talks
by Stephen Lendman
Multiple previous P5+1 talks were held. America manipulated them to fail. So did Israel covertly. Western nations were pressured to go along.
On February 26, new talks will be held in Almaty, Kazahhstan. Expect no more this time than earlier.
It bears repeating. Tehran's nuclear program isn't at issue. It's red herring cover for imperial aims. It's the oil, stupid, and regional dominance.
Iran's sovereignty stands in the way. Its program is peaceful. It complies with NPT provisions. World leaders know it. So do IAEA inspectors.
Washington targets all independent governments. It wants pro-Western puppet ones replacing them. It invents reasons to do so. It operates extrajudicially in defiance of rule of law principles.
Lieberman's Trial Begins
by Stephen Lendman
He's an ultranationalist extremist. He represents the worst of Israel's lunatic right-wing fringe. He matches Netanyahu's zealotry. He out-Sharon's Sharon.
He's a latter day Kahanist. In 1988, Israel outlawed his Kach party. It was the first Jewish organization in decades to be called a "threat to national security."
It's resurrected writ large. Lieberman represents Israel's true face. He and majority Israeli hardliners reflect a cancer in the body politic. They're an abomination. They consider Muslims subhuman. They deplore democratic freedoms.
They prioritize persecution, violence and state terror. They legitimize institutionalized racism. They practice it in its worst form. They promote Arab hatred. They spurn rule of law principles.
Lieberman belongs in prison, not government. He's partly sidelined. He's been investigated for years. In August 2009, police gave prosecutors clear evidence of fraud, bribery, money laundering, embezzlement, and obstructing justice.
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