Stephen Lendman

It's longstanding Israeli policy. Palestinians aren't wanted. Israel considers them subhuman. It wants them eliminated. It wants Jewish exclusivity. It wants maximum Jews and minimum Arabs. Israel's entire history is blood-drenched. Depravity defines it. It's longstanding genocidal war on Palestine reflects it. In 1985, then Israeli president Chaim Herzog said:

"We are certainly not willing to make partners of the Palestinians in any way in a land that was holy to our people for thousands of years. There can be no partner with the Jews of this land."

Former Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan urged treating Palestinians like dogs.

They're denied fundamental human and civil rights. Israel spurns peace and stability. Militarized occupation harshness persists. Rule of law principles don't matter. War without mercy is waged preemptively whenever Israel wishes. Victims are blamed for its crimes.

Imagine living in limbo under a foreign occupier. Imagine being denied self-determination. Imagine having no control over your daily life. Imagine living in constant fear. Imagine being economically strangled. Imagine being collectively punished. Imagine being denied free expression and movement. Imagine Gaza's suffocating blockade. Imagine isolated West Bank population centers. Imagine closed borders, curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints, electric fences, and separation walls. Imagine daily Kristallnacht in Palestine. Imagine hellish state terror. Imagine normal life denied. Imagine torture as official Israeli policy. Imagine mass arrests and imprisonments. Imagine thousands of Palestinian political prisoners languishing in Israel's gulag. Imagine their brutal treatment. Imagine it for wanting to live free on their own land in their own country. Imagine land and resource theft, targeted assassinations, and diaspora Palestinians prevented from returning to land rightfully theirs. Imagine Israeli security forces given authority to kill, brutalize, and otherwise collectively punish Palestinians with impunity. Imagine them taking full advantage. Imagine them being promoted, decorated or otherwise honored for cold-blooded murder and brutality. Imagine justice denied. Imagine Western leaders supporting Israeli genocide.

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Stephen Lendman

Amnesty International (AI) is an imperial tool. It fronts for power, wealth and privilege. It receives generous corporate foundation donations. According to Francis Boyle:

Amnesty International is primarily motivated not by human rights but by publicity. Second comes money. Third comes getting more members. Fourth, internal turf battles. And then finally, human rights, genuine human rights concerns.

To be sure, if you are dealing with a human rights situation in a country that is at odds with the United States or Britain, it gets an awful lot of attention, resources, man and woman power, publicity, you name it. They can throw whatever they want at that.

But if it's dealing with violations of human rights by the United States, Britain, Israel, then it's like pulling teeth to get them to really do something on the situation. They might, very reluctantly and after an enormous amount of internal fightings and battles and pressures, you name it. But you know, it's not like the official enemies list.

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Stephen Lendman

He did so in flagrant violation of international law. It's not the first time. It won't be the last. It is longstanding US policy. All US wars are lawless.

They violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2). It states all US laws and treaties "shall be the supreme law of the land…"

International law is clear and unequivocal. No nation may attack another except in self-defense. None may do so without Security Council authorization. None exists. Expect none forthcoming.

UN Charter Article 2(7) states:

Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter.

Under no circumstances may one nation, or combination thereof, intervene against another without Security Council authorization: Article 8 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention of Rights and Duties says:

No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another. [Under Article 10, differences between states] should be settled by recognized pacific methods. [Article 11 calls sovereign state Territory] inviolable...

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Stephen Lendman

Obama and Merkel: As Guilty as Anyone in Kiev

Ukraine is the epicenter of European fascist reemergence. May's Odessa massacre revealed its ugly face. Kiev bore full responsibility. What happened was no-holds-barred barbarism. Reports at the time suppressed. Premeditated mass murder was committed as planned. More on this below.

On September 9, Itar Tass said Odessa-based media accused Kiev of fabricating its report. "(W)itnesses' evidence proving the involvement of National Security and Defense Council head Andryi Paruby" was excluded. Kiev's report suppressed "evidence of numerous witnesses about involvement in the riots of about 500 (Maidan) radicals…" Regional governor Vladimir Nemrovsky "accommodated (them) in Odessa."

Kiev's report excluded Odessa branch Center Right Ukraine Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) leadership names. Former world heavyweight boxing champion/current Kiev major Vitali Klitschko heads it. Other names are omitted. They include Maidan veteran Andrei Yusov and other Maidan leaders.

"…Radical nationalists…set ablaze a tent camp of pro-federalism activists and the House of Trade Unions (TUH)." Kiev wrongfully blamed "pro-Russian activists" for neo-Nazi-infested Maidan radicals' crimes. Its report lied calling it "impossible" to determine cause of death of Odessa victims "due to the lack of state-of-the-art equipment." Verifiable evidence proves otherwise. Neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs set Odessa's Trade Union House (TUH) ablaze.

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Stephen Lendman

State terror is official Israeli policy. It's longstanding. It's war without mercy on Palestine. It’s against any nation, group or individual Israel targets.

Operation Protective Edge is the latest example. It was well-planned premeditated aggression. It was cold-blooded murder. It had nothing to do with Hamas rockets. It was about preventing Palestinian self-determination. It was to sabotage Palestinian unity. It was to maintain occupation harshness. It was to keep stealing Palestinian land. It showed Palestinians they're defenseless against overpowering Israeli might. It proved Israel can commit genocidal high crimes against peace with impunity. It can do it whenever it wishes. It can do it for any reason or none at all. It can blame Palestinian victims for its crimes.

Nora Barrows-Friedman is an Electronic Intifada editor and contributor. On Monday, she headlined "Dr. Mona El-Farra on mass trauma and destruction in Gaza." Dr. El-Farra is prominent Palestinian physician. She chairs Gaza's Palestinian Red Crescent Society. She directs Gazan projects for the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). During Operation Protective Edge, she lost nine family members. They included five children. Palestinians are aggrieved victims. Justice remains denied. A rocket or missile hit the El-Farra family home. Survivors fled in panic. A second Israeli attack struck them as they did so. It was clear, cold calculated murder. Israel murdered them in cold blood. It's standard Israeli practice. It's longstanding Israeli policy. Rogue states operate this way.

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Stephen Lendman

NATO warlords concluded two days of meetings and related activities. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said a Readiness Action Plan was agreed on." It'll "strength (the alliance's) defense," he said. It can be deployed on very short notice. It includes "several thousand land troops." It complement's NATO's (multinational) Response Force. It includes land, air, sea and special force elements. It's a stand-alone force available for rapid deployment. It maintains up to 25,000 troops.

NATO's mission is offense, not defense. Its readiness tells "any potential aggressor: should you even think of attacking one (member), you will be facing the whole alliance." Rasmussen announced plans to launch a Defense Capacity Building Initiative. It "reinforce(s) (NATO's) commitment to partner nations. It includes cooperation with Georgia, Moldova and Jordan. It provides "security capacity support" for Libya. It's ready to assist Iraq on "request." The alliance's US-led Open Door policy aims for establishing a global police force. To include as many nations as possible. To subordinate member-state militaries under its command. To operate virtually everywhere. To do so extrajudicially. "Today we have decided how to make NATO more ready and better connected," said Rasmussen. "This is the blueprint for the NATO of tomorrow.

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Stephen Lendman

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses the audience as he
takes part in festivities to mark the 75th anniversary of the vic-
tory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in Ulan Bator, Mongolia,
September 3, 2014. (Distributed by Reuters)

Fail safe days appear over. The unthinkable appears possible. At stake is world peace.

On Wednesday, Putin offered a seven-point plan to end Southeastern Ukraine's conflict. A previous article discussed it. It's genuine. It's sincere. It's fair-minded. It favors neither side. It's a way to restore regional peace. It's an important proposal to keep conflict from spreading.

It doesn't matter. Obama wants war, not peace. So do rogue NATO partners. Kiev's puppet regime is a convenient proxy. Obama commented before Putin explained his plan, saying:

"There is an opportunity here. But no realistic political settlement can be achieved if, effectively, Russia says:" 'We are going to continue to send tanks and troops and arms and advisors under the guise of separatists who are not homegrown, and the only possible settlement is if Ukraine cedes its territory or its sovereignty or its ability to make its own decisions about its security and its economic future.’"

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Stephen Lendman

Russian photojournalist Andrey Stenin was found dead in Southeastern Ukraine. He was murdered in cold blood.

Obama's new friends are cold-blooded killers. They're waging war on freedom. They're killing civilians. They want all opposition elements crushed. They want fascist rule institutionalized. They want democracy in name only. They want it prevented at all costs. They want all independent news sources suppressed. They want their message alone getting out. They harass, beat, terrorize, abduct and murder independent journalists. Russian ones are most vulnerable.

On August 5, Russian photojournalist Andrey Stenin went missing. He was working in Southeastern Ukraine for Russia's International Information Agency Rossiya Segdnya. For weeks, his whereabouts was unknown.

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Stephen Lendman

On Sunday, Israel's Civil Administration announced confiscation of around 1,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian land. It lawlessly declared it State Land. It's to establish a Gva'ot settlement. It's located south of Bethlehem. It's in the Southern West Bank. Peace Now calls itself "the leading voice of Israeli public pressure for peace." It called Israel's action "unprecedented."

In 1984, Gva'ot was established as a military base. Earlier, Israel's Housing Ministry planned to build 15,000 units. The idea was to establish a city in Gva'ot. Smaller plans substituted. The new announcement expands Gva'ot. It'll become a new settlement. It may connect to the Green Line.

Peace Now called Sunday's announcement "proof (that) Netanyahu does not (want) a new 'Diplomatic Horizon' but" intends blocking Palestinian self-determination. He and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon bear full responsibility for Sunday's declaration. It "cannot pass without their approval," said Peace Now. By confiscating another 1,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian land, they "prove(d) again that violence delivers Israeli concessions while nonviolence results in settlement expansion(s)." Peace Now official Hagit Ofran believes "Netanyahu will carry out a lot of expansion(s) because of the pressure he feels from his right wing and the feeling that the (Gaza) war did not end up with many successes."

Confiscated land belongs to five Palestinian villages. They include Jaba, Surif, Wadi Fukin, Husan and Nahalin. They lie between the Etzion settlement bloc and Jerusalem. At issue is connecting Etzion to Jerusalem and its surrounding area. Last year, Israel sought bids for 1,000 housing units on the site. Over 500 are being built. Ten families reside on the site. Many more will follow.

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Stephen Lendman

Obama long ago lost credibility. Nothing he says can be believed. He lies, deceives and misinforms. His political career reflects it. He can't be trusted.

On August 28, he held a short press conference. He did so ahead of America's Labor Day weekend.

He began with a statement before taking questions. It's painful listening to his dissembling. His comments exclude telling Americans what they most need to know.

Willful deception substitutes. His agenda excludes good faith. His public posturing reflects it. His war against American workers went unexplained ahead of the day commemorating their struggles. His support for corporate America facilitates permanent job losses, lower wages, fewer benefits, gutted work rules, less health and safety protection, and forfeited security through lost benefits and pensions.

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