Stephen Lendman

War criminal B. Netanyahu appears to be celebrating the report.
Partner-in-crime S. Peres would appear to be pretty happy too...

International law is explicit, fundamental, inviolable, and sacrosanct.

In January 2012, Netanyahu appointed a three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy. Included were former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker and former Tel Aviv District Court president Tchia Shapira. They examined three issues:

(1) Legal aspects of Israel's occupation.
(2) The 2005 Sasson Report's conclusion that dozens of outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land were illegal.
(3) Whether Israel's presence in the West Bank is, or is not, an occupation.

Levy's report rewrote international law. It claimed that occupation

"as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria spanning over decades."

"Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered illegal."

It recommended legalizing illegal outposts. It said zoning officials should authorize them without further political approval. It urged no restraints on settlement construction. Netanyahu praised the report.

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Stephen Lendman

In their book titled "Demonstration Elections," Edward Herman and Frank Broadhead described US-staged elections. They're manipulated to consolidate American power and influence public opinion to believe sham processes are legitimate. Herman and Broadhead defined what goes on as:

"A circus held in a client state to assure the population of the home country that their intrusion is well received. The results are guaranteed by an adequate supply of bullets provided in advance."

They're freely used to achieve desired outcomes. The authors' main theme was that "elections held under conditions of military occupation and extensive pre-election 'pacification' " aren't free. They're conducted to install client regimes. Those in charge are pro-Western puppets, not legitimate leaders. US-style democracy is engineered. It's illusory, not real. Force backs it to assert control. Elections are instruments of US dominance. Selling deception is crucial. Media scoundrels regurgitate the Big Lie. Herman says "the media leopard never changes its spots." Managed news substitutes for truth and full disclosure. Readers and viewers are deceived and betrayed. It happens repeatedly at home and abroad.

Libya's July 7 sham elections are the latest example. Democracy was absent from the ballot. Puppet National Transitional Council (NTC) leaders manipulated the process. On Tuesday, votes were still being counted.

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Justin Raimondo

Howard Berman threatens fourth-smallest nation on earth

No country is safe from the power of the Israel lobby — no, not even tiny Tuvalu, a nation consisting of nine minuscule islets in the middle of the Pacific Ocean totaling ten square miles. Rep. Howard Berman, former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee and longtime Democratic party power broker, is threatening the Tuvaluans with economic sanctions because they are allowing Iranian ships to register under the Tuvaluan flag. “This has the effect of assisting the Iranian regime in evading US and EU sanctions and generating additional revenues for its nuclear weapons program,” said the bullying Berman in a letter to Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Willy Telavi. The reflagging is “sanctionable activity,” Berman continued, and “given the close and co-operative relationship that our two governments now enjoy, it would be unfortunate if this action were permitted to stand.” A very thinly-veiled threat — but to do what? What will be the consequences if Tuvalu gives Berman the answer he so richly deserves?

As our Jason Ditz points out, Tuvalu has no significant relations with the US: there is no US military base, and the amount of US aid — a desalinization plant, a few other minor contributions — is negligible.

There is one way, however, that Berman could try to bully the Tuvaluans into compliance with his diktat: the US Tuna Treaty, as its called, is a typical mercantilist arrangement whereby the governments involved give US ships permission to fish for tuna in the South Pacific in return for a hefty payment. The private companies involved are subsidized by the US government to the tune of $6 million per year to pay for their licenses. The treaty is up for renegotiation next year: it would be an easy task for the powerful Berman to insist on the US taking a hard line and depriving Tuvalu of some $10 million in revenue per year.

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