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"The horror of the Holocaust is not that it deviated from human norms; the horror is that it didn't. What happened may happen again, to others not necessarily Jews, perpetrated by others, not necessarily Germans. We are all possible victims, possible perpetrators, possible bystanders."

-- Yehuda Bauer

News and Opinion

Biden, Israel’s accomplice in Gaza, pretends to be a bystander

On October 15th, President Biden took umbrage at a suggestion that his administration could not back both the Ukraine proxy war and Israel’s assault on Gaza at the same time. “We're the United States of America for God's sake, the most powerful nation… in the history of the world,” Biden told CBS News. “We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.”

Three months and well over 20,000 defenseless Palestinians slain later, the self-declared leader of the most powerful nation in the history of world now claims to be a helpless bystander.

According to four US officials, Biden is “increasingly frustrated” and “losing his patience” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected “most of the administration's recent requests related to the war in Gaza,” Axios reports. “The situation sucks and we are stuck,” one official complained. “The president's patience is running out.” Another official fumes that “there is immense frustration” in the Oval Office. According to Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen: “At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger. They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again.”

Van Hollen is correct that the administration is getting slapped in the face by Israel. But he omits that Biden is a willing scene partner in a barely disguised performance: pretending to be up in arms about Israel’s genocidal conduct while doing everything he can to support it. ... The US not only imposes no conditions on its support for Israel’s mass murder campaign in Gaza, but has twice bypassed Congress to expedite weapons for it. After all, this administration professes to have “no red lines” when it comes to Israeli aggression, and is fronted by a president who has declared that there is “no possibility” of a ceasefire. ...

Biden is so committed to continuing the Gaza slaughter that he has even expanded the war zone to Yemen. In a statement announcing his authorization of US strikes last week, Biden declared that he was acting to protect “freedom of navigation” and the “free flow of international commerce.” ... As in Gaza, the ultimate targets of US aggression in Yemen are civilians. While the Pentagon claims to be targeting Ansar Allah’s military capabilities, the “greater risk from the air attacks is likely borne by ordinary Yemenis,” the New York Times notes. This risk to ordinary Yemenis is consistent with longstanding US policy, specifically the current Biden team’s 2015 decision under President Obama to green-light the Saudi-led war on Yemen that has caused the ensuing humanitarian crisis. Around 21 million Yemenis – two-thirds of the country – rely on aid for survival, while more than four million are internally displaced.

In facing “one of the world’s worst humanitarian calamities,” the Times adds, Yemen faces “a dubious distinction now shared by Gaza.” Given its critical support for Israel’s assault, the US therefore has the dubious distinction of fueling two of the world’s worst humanitarian calamities.

The IDF’s War Crimes Are a Perfect Reflection of Israeli Society

Gaza Famine Arrives With 'Incredible Speed'

Gaza's children—already reeling from 102 days of U.S.-backed Israeli bombardment that has killed and maimed tens of thousands of them—are now dying of starvation, with adults likely to soon follow, as famine rapidly grips the besieged Palestinian enclave, doctors and United Nations officials said this week.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans, half of whom are children, are starving as Israel's bombardment and siege have "brought famine with such incredible speed to the front of the lines," United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said during a Monday interview on CNN.

The Guardian reported Tuesday that doctors in Gaza say that newborn babies there are not lasting more than a few days because their undernourished mothers are unable to feed them.

"We don't have the numbers but we can say that children are dying as a result of the humanitarian situation on the ground as well as due to the direct impact of the fighting," United Nations Children's Fund spokesperson Tess Ingram told the U.K.-based paper from Gaza.

A group of U.N. human rights experts said in a statement Tuesday that "it is unprecedented to make an entire civilian population go hungry this completely and quickly. Israel is destroying Gaza's food system and using food as a weapon against the Palestinian people."

"Not only is Israel killing and causing irreparable harm against Palestinian civilians with its indiscriminate bombardments, it is also knowingly and intentionally imposing a high rate of disease, prolonged malnutrition, dehydration, and starvation by destroying civilian infrastructure," the experts continued.

"Our alarm for the unfolding genocide does not only refer to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza," they added, "but also concerns the slow suffering and death caused by Israel's long-standing occupation, blockade, and current civic destruction, since genocide advances through an ongoing process and is not a singular event."

Mohammad Kahil, a northern Gaza resident who was one of the nearly 2 million Palestinians forcibly displaced by Israel's bombardment and invasion, told The Guardian from Rafah in the south that "there's no food, no water, no heating."

"We are dying from the cold," he added.

Salwa Tibi, an aid worker and mother of four, told CNN her children are "screaming all day from hunger."

Critics of what many—including a South African-led case at the International Court of Justice—are calling Israel's genocidal war on Gaza say this is all by design.

Israel's War on Journalists

Gideon Levy on How Israel's Press Is Failing to Cover the War's True Toll

Australian Journalist Fired After Israel Lobby Push

Leaked text messages obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday show that the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation fired radio host Antoinette Lattouf last month following a pressure campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists.

Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian journalist who was working in a short-term contract position for an ABC morning radio program, was terminated shortly after she shared a Dec. 18, 2023, Human Rights Watch Instagram accusing the Israeli government of “using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza” — an accusation that ABC covered at the time.

The Herald reported Tuesday that “dozens of leaked messages from a WhatsApp group called Lawyers for Israel show how members of the group repeatedly wrote to the ABC demanding Lattouf be sacked, and threatened legal action if she was not.” One Lawyers for Israel member called Lattouf’s lawyer, who is Jewish, a traitor.

The letter-writing campaign reached ABC chair Ita Buttrose, who responded to one message saying that she had “forwarded your email on to Chris Oliver-Taylor, the ABC’s chief content officer, who is dealing with this matter.”

Lattouf has filed a wrongful termination claim against ABC over her firing, alleging that she was unlawfully ousted because of a “political opinion or a reason that included political opinion.” Lattouf’s complaint says she was fired for “breaching the ABC’s social media policy.” ABC said in response that it had “received some complaints” about Lattouf “in relation to her perceived stance on the Gaza conflict” and advised her to avoid posting to social media anything that could be deemed “controversial.”

U.S. allies’ fear of backing the genocide charge against Israel reaches all the way to Australia

Australia has finally made clear its official position on the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a radio interview on Monday ruled out Australia as a participant in the ICJ process, saying: “We need to have a pathway to security and peace…Not any court case.”

While the government may nominally support a peace in Gaza, it’s not so far been backed by substantial actions. And statements from the leadership provide little confidence in their stance. Infamously, in October, Foreign Minister Penny Wong declined to condemn from afar Israel’s order for a “total siege” and to cut food and water supplies from Gaza. Wong said: “I think it’s always very difficult from over here, to make judgements about what security approach other countries take.”

The government of South Africa’s 84-page application to the World Court — titled, “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)” — includes nine pages of evidence of genocidal intent, including statements from Israeli decision makers and military officials.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) previously said that, “it was aware of the proceedings but that it was not appropriate to comment on matters before the court.” This stands in stark contrast to another recent analogous Australian government stance. In September 2023, Australia joined with 31 other countries intervening before the ICJ in support of Ukraine’s case alleging Russia had violated the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

At this point, however, the Australian government hasn’t taken its usual course to join in the statements of the United Kingdom and United States about the lack of merit of the proceedings. But the pressure on Australia has been considerable.

150 Mennonites Arrested at Capitol for Peacefully Demanding Gaza Cease-Fire

The faith-based pro-Palestinian rights group Mennonite Action on Tuesday reported that 150 members and supporters were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police for holding a peaceful occupation of the Cannon House Office Building, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.

The group displayed signs reading, "Mennonites for a Cease-fire" and, "Let Gaza Live" as they sang hymns and other songs from a "cease-fire songbook" organizers had distributed.

On its Facebook page about two hours after the peace action began, Mennonite Action reported that "all Mennonites in the Cannon building have been placed in police custody, singing hymns through their arrest."

Mennonite Action describes itself as "a movement of Mennonites bonded by a common belief that we have a responsibility to use our voices as powerfully as possible for the cause of peace and justice."

From Red Sea to Iran, Will Israel's Gaza Assault Spark Wider War?

US Launches More Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen as Escalations Continue

The US military said Tuesday that it launched more strikes against the Houthis in Yemen as tensions in the region continue to escalate.

US Central Command claimed that it hit Houthi anti-ship missiles. “At approximately 4:15 am (Sanaa time), US Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” CENTCOM said.

But later in the day, the Houthis were able to target a Greek-owned ship in the Red Sea despite the US strikes. CENTCOM said the M/V Zografia “reported they were struck but seaworthy and were continuing their Red Sea transit. No injuries were reported.”

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, took credit for the attack and said the Zografia was bound for Israel. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Yemeni forces “targeted the ship Zogravia, which was headed to the ports of occupied Palestine, with several adequate missiles, leaving direct hits.”

Col. Douglas Macgregor: Is Biden Starting a Regional War in The Middle East?

Yemeni government urges UK to back Gaza ceasefire

The UN-recognised government of Yemen has urged the UK to change its policy in Gaza and back an immediate ceasefire.

The call was made by Ahmad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, during a phone conversation on Tuesday with the British Middle East minister, Lord Ahmad.

He said it was imperative that a ceasefire be implemented immediately in Gaza, according to the read-out provided by the Yemeni side. The call means both sides in Yemen’s civil war – the UN-recognised government and the Houthi rebels – support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The UK says it would only support a ceasefire that is sustainable, which is defined by ministers as one reached after Hamas is no longer able to pose a security threat to Israel.

On Monday in the Commons the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, insisted no connection should be drawn between Gaza and the US-UK strikes in Yemen, but that is not a widely shared view as the Houthis say they are undertaking strikes on commercial shipping to put pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

POWDER KEG? Iran Warns Biden to BUTT OUT While Launching MISSILES into Pakistan: Lt Col Davis

Iran strikes ‘militant bases’ in Pakistan in latest Middle East flashpoint

Iran has launched airstrikes on Pakistan territory, apparently aimed at a Sunni militant group, in the latest sign of a wave of violence rolling across the Middle East and beyond.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said two children were killed and three others were injured in what it called an “illegal” airstrike, and summoned Tehran’s senior diplomat in Islamabad to protest against the “unprovoked violation of its airspace”. The ministry did not give more details of the strikes, but Pakistani social media accounts said missile and drone strikes had been aimed at the Balochistan province which lies along the 1,000km border between the two countries.

In Iran, it was reported that the strikes were aimed at bases of a Sunni militant group, Jaish al-Adl, but references to the attack in Iranian media quickly disappeared. Iran and Pakistan have long had a tense relationship, in large part because of the activities of Balochi separatists and other militant groups in the border area. However, this would mark a significant escalation on the territory of its nuclear-armed neighbour.

The strikes in Pakistan came less than a day after Iranian missile strikes in Syria and Iraq, part of a string reprisals against Tehran’s enemies in the wake of a double suicide bombing in the city of Kerman on 3 January which killed more than 80 Iranians. Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for that attack. Is it unclear whether Tehran believes Jaish al-Adl is also involved, or it was just lashing out against foes to satisfy domestic calls for vengeance.

The Iranian reprisal attacks over the Kerman attack appear to have no direct connection with the Gaza war, but have come at a time when that conflict is already spreading instability across the region.

Sooprise, sooprise, sooprise!!!

Senate votes against Sanders resolution to force human rights scrutiny over Israel aid

US senators have defeated a measure, introduced by Bernie Sanders, that would have made military aid to Israel conditional on whether the Israeli government is violating human rights and international accords in its devastating war in Gaza.

A large majority of senators on Tuesday evening voted against the measure, which was seen as a long shot. While Sanders’ effort was struck down, it reflected growing tension among Democrats over US support for Israel. ...

The White House had said it opposed the resolution. The US gives Israel $3.8bn in security assistance each year, ranging from fighter jets to powerful bombs that could destroy Hamas tunnels. Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional $14bn.

The measure that Sanders proposed uses a mechanism in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which Congress to provide oversight of US military assistance, that must be used in accordance with international human rights agreements. It would have forced the state department to provide a report within 30 days – and aid to Israel would be cut off if human rights violations were found.

The measure faced an uphill battle. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress oppose any conditions on aid to Israel, and Joe Biden has staunchly stood by Israel throughout its campaign in Gaza, leaving Sanders with an uphill battle. But by forcing senators to vote on the record about whether they were willing to condition aid to Israel, Sanders and others lawmakers sparked debate on the matter.

Davos Elites Plan to BOMB THEIR WAY to Peace; WEF Promises ‘NEW ORDER’

Delusions on display in Davos:

Zelenskiy tells Davos chiefs: ‘Strengthen our economy, we will strengthen your security’

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made an impassioned plea for international support for his country’s war against Russia, insisting that Vladimir Putin must live to regret starting the conflict almost two years ago. In a speech that received a standing ovation from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian president said the Putin had stolen 13 years of peace and would only respond to military defeat.

“If anybody thinks this is just about Ukraine they are fundamentally mistaken,” Zelenskiy said, after a meeting in Davos with 70 chief executives and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. Dressed in his trademark black jumper, Zelenskiy said the Russian leader was spurred on to take military action by warnings to Ukraine not to escalate a conflict that began with the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“Every ‘do not escalate’ sounded like ‘you will prevail’ to Putin. Because of ‘don’t escalate’, lives were lost,” Zelenskiy said. “One man has stolen at least 13 years of peace, replacing them with pain, pain, pain and crisis that impact the entire world.”

Zelenskiy had earlier received strong support from von der Leyen, who said Putin had failed militarily, economically and diplomatically. “Ukraine can prevail in this war but we must continue to empower their resistance,” von der Leyen said in her keynote address. “Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond. They need a sufficient and sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory.”

Ukraine has begun accession talks to join the European Union, a move supported in Brussels. “EU membership will be Ukraine’s historic achievement,” she said.

With US in Deep Freeze, LNG Exports Blamed for Spike in Domestic Gas Prices

With millions of Americans suffering sub-zero temperatures under a deadly Arctic blast, a leading consumer advocate on Tuesday attributed the fivefold increase in the U.S. benchmark price of natural gas to the recent "explosion in LNG exports."

As the National Weather Service warns of continued near-record temperatures and wind chills affecting over 100 million people—mainly in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions and as far south as Texas—plunging mercury means soaring demand for fuel across much of the continental U.S.

This, in turn, sent liquefied natural gas prices skyward, with the spot price of gas from Henry Hub in Louisiana—the official delivery location for futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange—soaring 400%, according toBloomberg.

But the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen says there's another explanation for sky-high LNG prices besides the deep freeze.

"The explosion in LNG exports since 2016 has resulted in a far more fragile and volatile balance between supply and demand," said Tyson Slocum, head of the group's energy program. "Exports of LNG have created higher prices for U.S. consumers, leaving them vulnerable to massive price spikes like what happened this weekend. U.S. gas demand hit a record high over the weekend, led by record exports."

Slocum added that the U.S. Energy Department "has failed to implement procedures restricting gas exports during extreme weather events, or proactively establish seasonal standards to curtail exports in advance of pending extreme weather events."

The Biden administration has presided over what climate campaigners have called a "staggering" LNG expansion, including Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 export terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana and more than a dozen other projects that, if all completed, would make U.S. exported LNG emissions higher than all of Europe's combined greenhouse gas footprint, according to climate campaigner Bill McKibben.

McKibben and others have called on President Joe Biden to halt LNG exports.

"Nearly 90 years ago, Congress mandated that most natural gas could only be exported if the government first determined that doing so was 'consistent with the public interest,'" noted Slocum. "The Biden administration's Energy Department is in charge of enforcing this law, and has presided over unprecedented volumes of natural gas exports, exacerbating higher prices during winter storms."

Supreme court to decide whether US cities can enforce anti-homeless laws

The US supreme court will be reviewing an appeals court ruling that officials in cities across the west say bar them from removing unhoused people from public spaces when there are no shelter beds available.

On Friday, the supreme court agreed to hear an appeal from the city of Grants Pass, in south-west Oregon, where in 2022 a three-judge ninth circuit of appeals panel ruled that the city could not enforce its anti-camping ordinance that barred people from using any sort of shelter or bedding equipment on public property.

This ruling was partially based on the 2018 decision in Martin v Boise, a case that ended with the ninth circuit of appeals deciding that pushing people from city sidewalks and clearing encampments without offering shelter violates the US constitution’s cruel and unusual punishment clause.

Police, officials and business owners have contested the decision, arguing that it ties the hands of municipalities that want to clear homeless encampments. Advocates for the unhoused, on the other hand, argue that this decision does not stop local governments from building and investing in support services and shelters, but it does stop people from being punished for sleeping outdoors when they have no other option.

“Homelessness is growing not because cities lack ways to punish people for being poor, but because a growing number of hard-working Americans are struggling to pay rent and make ends meet,” the National Homelessness Law Center said in a statement after the supreme court announcement. “This case does not limit communities’ response to addressing homelessness. Cities remain free to use any of the many evidence-based approaches that end homelessness, like housing,” the statement continued.

Biden Support CRATERS in Georgia as Trump Takes 8 Point Lead

Shell faces shareholder rebellion over climate activist resolution

Shell’s board faces a shareholder rebellion as large investors including the UK’s biggest pension scheme prepare to back a climate activist resolution. Twenty-seven investors have agreed to back a resolution filed by the Dutch shareholder activists at Follow This that calls for the oil company to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets with the 2015 Paris agreement.

The investor coalition together owns about 5% of Shell’s shares and includes the government-backed National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which manages the pensions of almost a quarter of the UK’s workers.

The resolution has also won the backing of the French asset management firm Amundi, which holds almost €2tn (£1.7tn) in assets, as well as Candriam, Scottish Widows, and Rathbones Group.

Diandra Soobiah, the head of responsible investment at Nest, said: “We urge Shell to set a credible scope 3 absolute emissions target. This would demonstrate leadership, show Shell is serious about transitioning its business, and play a role in generating real world change.”

“Scope 3” emissions include all greenhouse gas emissions that companies do not either generate directly or purchase for their own energy needs. This extends to everything from raw materials used to create a product to the transportation that delivers that product to a consumer.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

In Genocide Case Against Israel at The Hague, the U.S. Is the Unnamed Co-Conspirator

War On Gaza - Iran Demonstrates Its Means Of Self-defense

Italy turns to Cuba to help revive ailing health system

This pristine lake has endured for 2m years. Why are its fish in crisis?

Briahna Joy Gray: Is Israel KILLING HOSTAGES? Inside the IDF's Reported Oct 7 'Hannibal Directive'

Senate KILLS Bernie Bill To Examine Israel Human Rights Violations

Iran show of force, calibrated warning

NYC Eric Adams LASHES OUT At Democrats Over Border Crisis, Migrant SURGE

FBI DEFIES Judge’s Order To Turn Over Seth Rich’s Laptop!

A Little Night Music

Phillip Walker – The Bottom Of The Top

Phillip Walker – Louisiana Walk

Phillip Walker - Think

Phillip Walker – Go Ahead And Take Her

Phillip Walker - I Can't Lose (With The Stuff That I Use)

Phillip Walker ~ Special Built Woman

Phillip Walker - Laughin' and Clownin'

Phillip Walker – The Blues And My Guitar

Phillip Walker ~ Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark