Israeli Women Wage Peace

Anthony Freda Art

Stephen Lendman

Anti-war women of the world unite. They're doing it in Israel. Thousands represent a refreshing antidote to Netanyahu's hate-mongering rage for war. 

Women Wage Peace (WWP) activists support a "viable" Israeli- Palestinian peace. They want working for it "place(d) at the top of the public agenda." 

They call peace the only solution "offer(ing) life and hope." With Israeli general elections days away, they urge a "new and different reality in the Middle East." 

They call it "feasible." Saying "we must strive for it." Inspired by the horrors of last summer's Gaza war, they "decided to initiate, mobilize and propose an alternative." 

"The last round of violence has made it clear to all that we must break out of the spiral," they stress. 

Fear-Mongering Ahead of Another US False Flag?

image source

Stephen Lendman

Fear-mongering is sinister. It's reprehensible. It's longstanding US policy. So are false flags. 

Merriam-Webster calls them "deliberate gross distortion(s) of the truth used especially as a propaganda tactic."

Wikipedia says they're "covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities."

Official reports hype Big Lies. MSM scoundrels regurgitate them. Truth is systematically buried. Deception substitutes for reality. 

False flags are pretexts for militarism, wars, occupations, colonization, resource theft, and exploiting populations for profit. They facilitate ruthlessness. They foster police state repression against freedom.

Firestorm Over Professor Steven Salaita's Sacking for Criticizing Israel

Image by: Carlos Latuff

Stephen Lendman

Criticizing Israel publicly entails huge risks. Becoming persona non grata in politics, the media, business and academia may follow. It's a career ender for most who try.

At most, short-term protests follow. They're usually or entirely local. Salaita's University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign (ULUC) sacking elevated public anger to a new level.

Thousands of scholars, students, colleagues, friends, Israeli critics and others rallied to his defense. They're steadfast. They continue. 

They want Salaita reinstated. They want him given full pay and benefits. They want damages paid for all he endured. He deserves it and much more.

Salaita broke weeks of silence. On September 9, he went public for the first time. 

He defended his noteworthy academic/scholarly bona fides. He did so eloquently and effectively. He criticized UIUC's academic lynching.

Investigating Gaza War Crimes

Dees Illustration

Stephen Lendman

On August 11, Human Rights Council (HRC) President Baudelaire Ndong Ella announced the formation of an "independent, international commission of inquiry" into war crimes committed during Israel's Operation Protective Edge. 

International human rights law expert Professor William Schabas was appointed to chair a three-person panel. His special focus is genocide. 

Other members include international law, criminal law, human rights and extradition law expert, Amal Alamuddin, and former UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diene. 

Fake Terror Alert Extended

image credit: genome4hire/Flickr

Stephen Lendman

Announced embassy and consulate closures continue all week. Perhaps longer if ordered. Doing so facilitates deception.

It reflects duplicitous fearmongering. It's to fool people. It serves America's hidden agenda. It targets dissent. It subverts civil liberties. 

It's to silence lawless NSA spying critics. On Sunday TV talk shows, Republicans and Democrats agreed. Terror threats justify NSA surveillance, they claim.

According to Senator Saxby Chambliss (R. GA), there's "an awful lot of chatter out there." NSA monitors it electronically. "If we didn't have these programs then we simply wouldn't be able to listen in on the bad guys."

Senator Lindsey Graham (R. SC) said, "The NSA program is proving its worth yet again."

Fake Washington Terror Threat

Dees Illustration

Stephen Lendman

They're in various forms. They repeat with disturbing regularity. America's war on terror targets Islam. At issue is duplicitous scaremongering. It advances Washington's imperium. 

Wars of aggression follow. False arrests target innocent victims. Terror threats repeat. They're strategically timed. They change the subject. They divert attention.

They fool most Americans. They do so most of the time. Here we go again. Media scoundrels march in lockstep. They regurgitate Big Lies.

Kerry Supports Egypt's Coup

image source

Stephen Lendman

When is a coup not one? When John Kerry claims otherwise. When he says it restores democracy.

It can't reinistate what doesn't exist. It can't do it by military takeover. Perhaps Kerry doesn't understand. America never had democracy. It has none now. 

Coup d'etat power rules. Elections are a useful fiction. People have no say. Monied interests run things. According to Paul Craig Roberts:

The regime ruling in Washington today lacks constitutional and legal authority. Americans are ruled by usurper. (They) claim that the executive branch is above the law.

They call "the US Constitution a mere 'scrap of paper.' " It's quaint and out-of-date. "An unconstitutional government is an illegitimate" one. 

Rogues run America. They do so out-of-control. They're ideological extremists. They're over-the-top. They want subservient puppets running other countries. They want unchallenged global dominance.

Bradley Manning: Guilty of Doing the Right Thing

Stephen Lendman

Final arguments were presented last week. Judge Col. Denise Lind adjourned for the weekend. Tuesday 1PM EDT was verdict day and time.

It didn't surprise. Earlier she refused to dismiss aiding the enemy charges. She let multiple Espionage Act violations stand. She did so disgracefully. Manning faces possible life in prison. 

We'll know once sentence is imposed. We'll know more if it holds on appeal. We know plenty now. Lind threw the book at Manning except entirely. 

She exonerated him of aiding the enemy. She convicted him of 20 of 22 charges. They include five Espionage Act counts. Expect sentencing to be harsh. Manning faces longterm imprisonment. He may never be free again.

Russia Grants Snowden One-Year Asylum

Image

Stephen Lendman

On June 23, he arrived in Moscow. He applied for asylum. He's been stuck in Sheremetyevo Airport transit zone limbo.

Putin was clear and unequivocal. He won't extradite him. No treaty obligation exists. Official requests don't matter.

Snowden's initial ordeal ended. A greater one awaits. He's able to travel freely.

On August 1, Itar Tass headlined "Edward Snowden gets asylum and leaves Sheremetyevo transit zone," saying:

He's "formally in Russia's territory."

"Earlier, a source close to the matter reported this information explaining that the customs officers received the required papers from Federal Migration Service giving Snowden the right to stay in Russia." 

Snowden Wins Whistleblower Award

Stephen Lendman

In America, he's a wanted man. He's a fugitive. He's a world hero. He connected the dots for millions. He told people what they need to know.

Doing the right thing is its own reward. Transparency International Germany gave him its Whistleblower Award. He's "(t)his year's winner," it said.

In 1999, it was established. It's sponsored by the Association of German Scientists (VDW) and the German branch of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).

He'll receive 3,300 euros (about $4,400). He's seeking Russian asylum. Since June 23, he's been in Moscow limbo. He's living in Sheremetyevo Airport's transit zone.

He awaits provisional documents to enter Russia. They're expected soon. Perhaps today. He'll be allowed to travel freely. (It's being reported that he has obtained them - Ed.)

America and Germany: Longstanding Espionage Partners

Image

Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed Stasi. It was East Germany's secret police. It was one of the most repressive state apparatuses in modern times.

Its infamous reputation speaks for itself. It's reincarnated in new form. Given today's state-of-the-art technology. It's worse now than then. The previous article said the following:

On July 7, Der Spiegel headlined "Snowden claims: NSA Ties Put German Intelligence in Tight Spot."

"They're in bed together," said Snowden. NSA partners with foreign intelligence in other countries. Its "Foreign Affairs Directorate (BND)" does so.

It's done in ways to "insulate their political leaders from the backlash." It's precautionary in case people learn "how grievously they're violating global privacy." 

BND/NSA cooperation is far greater than previously known. At issue are serious violations of Germany's privacy laws. According to Der Spiegel, NSA provides "analysis tools."

They're for "BND's signals monitoring of foreign data streams that travel through Germany."

Israeli/Palestinian Peace Talks: Dead on Arrival

Dees Illustration

Stephen Lendman

So-called peace talks are fake. They're a sham. They've always been this way. Decades of talks were stillborn from inception. This time's no different. 

Chances for a just peace are ZERO. Palestinians have no say. Believing otherwise defies reality.

Israel deplores peace. So does Washington. They're jointly running things. Both nations are longstanding imperial partners. They prioritize violence and instability. Peace defeats their agenda.

They don't negotiate. They demand. It bears repeating. Palestinians have no say whatever. They never did. They don't now.

What's Next for Syria?

Stephen Lendman

Conflict drags on interminably. Dozens or more die daily. Syrian forces outmatch Western-backed death squad terrorists. They're not rebels. They're lawless invaders.

They're US proxy fighters. They're imported from dozens of countries. They're waging war against sovereign Syrian independence. Don't expect duplicitous Western politicians or media scoundrels to explain.

Assad's military outguns and outflanks Washington's shock troops. Reinforcements keep coming. Libya 2.0 looks possible. Perhaps likely.

Russia hopes for a September international peace conference. Originally a June one was planned. Why bother when Washington prioritizes war. It spurns peace. Last year's conference failed.

Expect nothing different this time. Peace remains elusive. Advocates have no partners.

Helen Thomas: Dead at 92

Stephen Lendman

On July 20, headlines reported the news. The doyen of the White House House press corps was gone.

After a long illness, the Gridiron Club and Foundation announced her passing. She ended decades covering presidential press conferences saying, "Thank you, Mr. President."

She was special. She'll be sorely missed. She spoke truth to power. Too few like her remain. Washington targets those who do.

She withstood tough challenges. She did it throughout her career. She was born on August 4, 1920. She's a Winchester, KY native. Her father was a grocer. She was one of nine children.

She was the first female White House press corps representative. She worked for UPI. She covered US administrations for five decades. She began during the Kennedy years. Her tenure was unprecedented.

US Courts Approve Indefinite Detention and Torture

Stephen Lendman

America's a police state. It's ruthless. Iron fist authority rules. International law's quaint and out-of-date. US statute protections aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Constitutional rights don't matter. They never did for most people. It's truer now than ever. They're null and void. Executive diktat power rules. Congress and federal courts go along. They're complicit.

They support sweeping lawlessness. It's unprecedented. It affects domestic and geopolitical issues. No one's safe anywhere.

Obama has life and death powers. He can order anyone murdered. He can do so on his say alone. US citizens are as vulnerable as foreign nationals.

He can order anyone indefinitely detained. He can throw them in military dungeons. He can deny them due process and judicial fairness.

They can remain there uncharged and untried. They can stay there forever. They can be brutally tortured. It's OK. Federal courts said so. More on that below.

America's Surveillance Society

Image

Stephen Lendman

It's not new. It's longstanding. State-of-the-art technology makes it easy. It's more intrusive than ever. It's lawlessly out-of-control. 

On July 6, The New York Times Times headlined "In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of NSA," saying:

More than a dozen Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) 'classified rulings created a secret body of law giving the (NSA) power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while (allegedly) pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear proliferation, espionage, and cyberattacks, officials say.'

More on this below. Spying is the national pastime. Legal standards no longer apply. Anything goes is policy. America's a total surveillance society. Big Brother more than ever is real.

It's "time to rein in the surveillance state," said ACLU. It "strikes at the core of our right to free speech, association and privacy."

Snowden: Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

Stephen Lendman

Swedish Sociology Professor Stefan Svallfors nominated him. He praised his "heroic effort at great personal cost."

He revealed NSA's lawless global spying. He told millions worldwide what they need to know. He did so at great risk. 

He deserves high praise, not persecution. He showed "individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms," said Svallfors. 

His nominating letter states:

"Best committee members!

I suggest that the 2013 Peace Prize (be) awarded to the American citizen Edward Snowden.

Edward Snowden has - in a heroic effort at great personal cost - revealed the existence and extent of the surveillance, the US government devotes electronic communications worldwide. 

Lawlessness Is Official US Policy

Stephen Lendman

Sweeping mass surveillance continues. It won't stop. It's intensifying. It reflects rogue state governance. It has nothing to do with national security. Claiming it's a red herring.

It's about control. It's to advance America's imperium. It's political and corporate espionage. It's monitoring truth-tellers. It's targeting constitutional rights.

It's eliminating freedom altogether. It's institutionalizing tyranny. It made America a police state. It's coup d'etat authority. Too few Americans understand. Two few who do challenge it responsibly.

Washington "lacks constitutional and legal legitimacy," said Paul Craig Roberts. "Americans are ruled by usurpers."

Snowden's Asylum Quest

Stephen Lendman

Snowden reflects the best of heroic activism. He acted responsibly. He did the right thing. He committed no crimes. He knew the risks and took them.

Few would do as much. Legions more are needed. Maybe he'll inspire others to come forward. Today they're more than ever needed.

He sacrificed financial security, personal freedom and well-being. He did so to expose serious US high crimes. Potentially everyone's harmed everywhere. Millions worldwide support him. Everyone should.

On Friday, he met with representatives from 13 human rights organizations. He did so in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport transit area. It was closed to the press.

The meeting lasted 45 minutes. It began with Snowden saying: