"A Hideous Atrocity": Noam Chomsky on Israel’s Assault on Gaza & U.S. Support for the Occupation

Noam Chomsky

Democracy Now

Hideous. Sadistic. Vicious. Murderous. That is how Noam Chomsky describes Israel’s 29-day offensive in Gaza that killed nearly 1,900 people and left almost 10,000 people injured. Chomsky has written extensively about the Israel/Palestine conflict for decades. After Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, Chomsky co-authored the book "Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians" with Israeli scholar Ilan Pappé. His other books on the Israel/Palestine conflict include "Peace in the Middle East?: Reflections on Justice and Nationhood" and "The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians." Chomsky is a world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught for more than 50 years.  Read more

Part 1:  "A Hideous Atrocity": Noam Chomsky on Israel’s Assault on Gaza & U.S. Support for the Occupation



Part 2:  Noam Chomsky: Israel’s Actions in Palestine are "Much Worse Than Apartheid" in South Africa



You can visit our Gaza article archive here.

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Crisis in the Middle East: The end of a country, and the start of a new dark age

Photo by Khalid Albaih (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In a terrifying excerpt from his essential new book, ‘The Jihadis Return: Isis and the New Sunni Uprising,’ veteran Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn describes the native barbarous forces overwhelming the region around Iraq, and the kind of society—thanks in large part to the failed U.S. intervention there—they look set to succeed in creating.

He begins, in an excerpt published exclusively at his paper, The Independent:

Iraq has disintegrated. Little is exchanged between its three great communities – Shia, Sunni and Kurd – except gunfire. The outside world hopes that a more inclusive government will change this but it is probably too late. The main victor in the new war in Iraq is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) which wants to kill Shia rather than negotiate with them. Iraq is facing a civil war that could be as bloody as anything that we have seen in Syria and could go on for years.
The crucial date in this renewed conflict is 10 June, 2014 when Isis captured Iraq’s northern capital, Mosul, after three days’ fighting. The Iraqi government had an army with 350,000 soldiers on which $41.6bn (£25bn) had been spent in the three years from 2011, but this force melted away without significant resistance. Discarded uniforms and equipment were found strewn along the roads leading to Kurdistan and safety. The flight was led by commanding officers, some of whom rapidly changed into civilian clothes as they abandoned their men. Given that Isis may have had as few as 1,300 fighters in its assault on Mosul this was one of the great military debacles in history. Within two weeks those parts of northern and western Iraq outside Kurdish control were in the hands of Isis. By the end of the month the group had announced a caliphate straddling the Iraq-Syria border.
... This book focuses on several critical short- and long-term developments in the Middle East that are affecting or will soon affect the rest of the world. The most important of these is the resurgence of the al-Qa’ida-type movements that today rule a vast area in north and west Iraq and eastern and northern Syria. The area under their sway is several hundred times larger than any territory ever controlled by Osama bin Laden, the killing of whom in 2011 was supposed to be a major blow to world terrorism. In fact, it is since bin Laden’s death that al-Qa’ida affiliates or clones have had their greatest successes, including the capture of Raqqa in the eastern part of Syria, the only provincial capital in that country to fall to the rebels, in March 2013. In January 2014, Isis took over Fallujah just 40 miles west of Baghdad, a city famously besieged and stormed by US marines 10 years earlier. Within a few months they had also captured Mosul and Tikrit. The battle lines may continue to change, but the overall expansion of their power appears permanent. With their swift and multi-pronged assault across central and northern Iraq in June 2014, the Isis militants had superceded al-Qa’ida as the most powerful and effective jihadi group in the world.
... The resurgence of al-Qa’ida-type groups is not a threat confined to Syria, Iraq, and their near neighbours. What is happening in these countries, combined with the increasing dominance of intolerant and exclusive Wahhabite beliefs within the worldwide Sunni community, means that all 1.6 billion Muslims, almost a quarter of the world’s people, will be increasingly affected. Furthermore, it seems unlikely that non-Muslim populations, including many in the West, will be untouched by the conflict. Today’s resurgent jihadism, which has shifted the political terrain in Iraq and Syria, is already having far-reaching effects on global politics with dire consequences for us all.

Read more here.

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Obama’s War Against Russia Backfires

Written by Eric Zuesse.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s war against Russia isn’t only causing Russia to cooperate more strongly with the other BRIC countries to break the U.S. dollar’s reign as the global reserve currency, but it’s also causing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s job-approval rating in Russia to soar, and the confidence that the Russian people have in their own Government to soar likewise.

The latest of these signs came on August 5th, 2014 in a report from Gallup Analytics (by subscription only) headlined “Russians’ Confidence in Many Institutions Reaches All-Time High.”

‘I’d Like to Join ISIS and Kill with Them’: Children Volunteer for Jihad

VICE has taken another look at the inner workings of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), this time focusing on the effective and disturbing way that the radical Islamists recruit one particular group: children.

“For us, we believe that this generation of children is the generation of the Caliphate,” one ISIS fighter tells the camera. “God willing, this generation will fight infidels and apostates, the Americans and their allies, God willing. The right doctrine has been implanted in these children. All of them love to fight for the sake of building the Islamic State and for the sake of God.”

Image via YouTube

Central Bankers/US Government Set Stage For False Flag Event

X22Report

According to the latest stats wage growth is non existent. Wholesale inventories barely grew which will hurt Q2 GDP and the number revising game begins. Housing is collapsing and the government has now changed the rules for FICO credit to pump real estate back up. Record numbers of Americans are renouncing their citizenship. The sanctions on Russia are backfiring and now Russia is making plans to get supplies from the BRICS nations. While Congress was on vacation the Central bankers/US Government started bombing the Islamic State in Iraq, this is setting the stage for the false flag event. The Islamic State promised to attack US interests if attacked.Be prepared for a false flag event.

Please check the Sentinel Alerts for the latest news on the economic collapse. The Sentinel Alerts are updated throughout the day. If you haven’t already, go to “The People” and join the community of people who are helping each through the economic collapse.

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Update: The Engineered Destruction and Political Fragmentation of Iraq. Towards the Creation of a US Sponsored Islamist Caliphate

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham: An instrument of the Western Military Alliance

Prof Michel Chossudovsky

First published by Global Research on June 14, 2014.

Update, August 9, 2014

President Barack Obama has initiated a series of US bombing raids in Iraq allegedly directed towards the rebel army of the Islamic State (IS).

The Islamic State terrorists are portrayed as an enemy of America and the Western world. Amply documented, the Islamic State is a creation of Western intelligence, supported by the CIA and Israel’s Mossad and financed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

We are dealing with a diabolical military agenda whereby the United States is targeting a rebel army which is directly funded by the US and its allies. The incursion into Iraq of the Islamic State rebels in late June was part of a carefully planned intelligence operation.

The rebels of the Islamic state, formerly known as the ISIS, were covertly supported by US-NATO-Israel  to wage a terrorist insurgency against the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad.  The atrocities committed in Iraq are similar to those committed in Syria. The sponsors of IS including Barack Obama have blood on their hands.

The killings of innocent civilians by the Islamic state terrorists create a pretext and the justification for US military intervention on humanitarian grounds. Lest we forget, the rebels who committed these atrocities and who are a target of US military action are supported by the United States.

The bombing raids ordered by Obama are not intended to eliminate the terrorists. Quite the opposite, the US is targeting the civilian population as well as the Iraqi resistance movement.

The endgame is to destabilize Iraq as a nation state and trigger its partition into three separate entities.

Obama Warns of 'Long-Term Project' in Iraq

U.S. air missions and aid deliveries to Iraq will continue as long as needed, but U.S. airstrikes have already destroyed weapons the militant Islamist rebels could have used to launch new attacks, President Barack Obama said Saturday.

Saying fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham had advanced on the strategic northern city of Erbil more rapidly than the U.S. had expected, Obama said in a nationally televised news conference from the South Lawn of the White House: "I don't think we're going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to be a long-term project."  Read more

The Islamic State: Battle for Iraq (Vice News Series)

Update: The Engineered Destruction and Political Fragmentation of Iraq. Towards the Creation of a US Sponsored Islamist Caliphate

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The Islamic State: Battle for Iraq (Vice News Series)

The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced their intention to reestablish the caliphate and declared their leader, the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph.

Flush with cash and US weapons seized during recent advances in Iraq, the Islamic State’s expansion shows no sign of slowing down. In the first week of August alone, Islamic State fighters have taken over new areas in northern Iraq, encroaching on Kurdish territory and sending Christians and other minorities fleeing as reports of massacres emerged.

Elsewhere in territory it has held for some time, the Islamic State has gone about consolidating power and setting up a government dictated by Sharia law. While the world may not recognize the Islamic State, in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group is already in the process of building a functioning regime.

Why Is Obama Bombing Iraq, Really?

By Juan Cole

This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s Web page.

Al-Zaman reports that a U.S. drone hit mortar emplacements and F-18s struck artillery arrays and armored vehicles deployed by the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) in Kuwair east of Mosul on the way to the Kurdistan capital of Irbil, and near a major dam, some areas of which are controlled by the IS fighters.

Also on Friday, the Naqshbandi Army denied any involvement in a push on the Kurdistan capital of Irbil, denouncing it as racist.  The Naqshbandi Sufi order is important in Mosul and was infiltrated and used by agents of Baathist high official Izzat al-Duri, a former vice president of Saddam Hussein.  The Naqshbandis are said to be nowadays having tensions with the so-called Islamic State, with which they allied to kick al-Maliki’s largely Shiite government out of Mosul.

Obama & Airstrikes to Protect Iraqi Kurds: 1991 Deja Vu all Over Again

By Juan Cole

Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s Web page.

During the Gulf War in early 1991, then-president George H. W. Bush called on Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party.

In the Kurdish north and in the Shiite South, hundreds of thousands heeded his call.  But after the short war was over in March, Bush appears to have completely lost interest in the Kurds and Shiites who rose up and now were in danger of being massacred by the Baath army.  Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf told the Iraqi military it could not fly armed helicopter gunships (as a way of protecting Iraqi crowds that had demonstrated).  The Iraqi officers said that they used the helicopter gunships as aerial ambulances, but that some were armed with rockets.  Could they please fly the armed helicopters?  Schwarzkopf said that he was too tired to argue, and said “OK.”

Russia and China planning to dump the US dollar

The Russian and Chinese central banks have agreed a draft currency swap agreement, which will allow them to increase trade in domestic currencies and cut the dependence on the US dollar in bilateral payments.

“The draft document between the Central Bank of Russia and the People’s Bank of China on national currency swaps has been agreed by the parties,” and is at the stage of formal approval procedures, ITAR-TASS quotes the Russian regulator’s office on Thursday.

The Russian Central Bank is not giving precise details on the size of the currency swaps, nor when it will be launched. It says this will depend on demand.

According to the bank, the agreement will serve as an additional instrument for ensuring international financial stability. Also, it will offer the possibility to obtain liquidity in critical situations.

“The agreement will stimulate further development of direct trade in yuan and rubles on the domestic foreign exchange markets of Russia and China,” the Russian regulator said.

Currently, over 75 percent of payments in Russia-China trade settlements are made in US dollars, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

In early July, the Central Bank’s chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said Moscow and Beijing were close to reaching an agreement on conducting swap operations in national currencies to boost trade. The deal was later discussed during her trip to China.

Ebola reaches UK: Briton feared to have caught virus after travelling in West Africa

A BRITON is feared to have caught the deadly Ebola virus after travelling in the West African region where it has claimed more than 800 lives.

It is now feared that Ebola has reached the UK [GETTY]

Health chiefs in Wales said yesterday that the condition of the suspected victim is being "closely monitored".

Officials confirmed that the unnamed patient from Cardiff, South Wales, contacted them after feeling ill on their return to British soil.

They were effectively quarantined in their own home and would speak to doctors on a daily basis until the threat was deemed to have passed.

Public Health Wales said the patient believed they "may have been exposed" to the virus which has killed 826 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea.

Spokesperson Anna Humphries said: "We have known about this person for the last week - somebody travelled in West Africa and came back a week ago.

"They identified they may have been exposed to Ebola.

"The reason we haven't spoken about this before is the individual is not currently a case of ebola."

She said there was "no risk to the public" posed by the quarantined traveller and stressed that the case is unconfirmed.  Read more

You can visit our Ebola Virus article archive here.

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US-Led Airstrikes Begin Against ISIS Militants in Iraq

Written by Nick Bernabe, Social Media Manager of Free and Equal, March Against Monsanto and Founder of The Anti-Media.

ISIS, now known as IS or the Islamic State, has been sweeping across wide swaths of Iraq and Syria; reportedly slaughtering civilians, Shi’ite Muslims, and other non-Sunni people living in occupied areas. The latest in this string of violence includes up to 40,000 people trapped on Mount Sinjar, surrounded by IS militants, facing death by execution or dehydration.

While the rise of the Islamic State has been blamed on al-Maliki’s Shi’ite dominated government, the Iraqi regime has made no real concessions to appease Iraqi Sunni concerns about being excluded from representation, which has enabled IS’ rapid conquest of the area.

Dennis Kucinich on the Responsibility to Speak Out About Gaza

AP/Lefteris Pitarakis

This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: The former congressman says, “You can’t just stay silent when you see a massacre of people going on.” Also: Washington, D.C., will decide whether to legalize marijuana.

Listen to the show (Dennis Kucinich interview begins at 15:45):

(Trouble listening? Right-click to download the podcast here.)

Guests, in order of appearance: Michael Cindrich, Dennis Kucinich.

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Obama Wines and Dines African Dictators as Ebola Spreads - Geneva Business Insider

This month on the Geneva Business Insider, James Corbett and David L. Smith discuss: the latest on the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the decision to send infected patients to Germany and the US for treatment; the conflict in Gaza and what it has done to the population of the world's largest open-air prison; and the latest moves on the Eastern European chessboard as Putin bristles at Poland's "Ukraine invasion" fears.




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A Jewish American Woman Who Lived In Palestine Speaks Out Against The Israeli Occupation

A Jewish American woman (Anna Baltzer) who spent time in Palestine to observe and document human rights violations and to help with the overall situation there explains and shares photographs of her experiences while living in Palestine.  


"Anna Baltzer is such an amazing person and the perspective she brings to the cause is beyond words. Check out her page and give her a like to show some support!" ~ Tone S.

Listen to more David Rovics music below (featured in Anna Baltzer's video):


Listen to more David Rovics music here.  SPECIAL FEATURE: Palestine Set on Soundcloud All David's songs about Palestine in one place for free download or streaming, starting with "Gaza," just written in July, 2014.

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9/11 Truth Is Hitting The Mainstream

[Editor's Note: The following post is by The Dollar Vigilante Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Berwick]

An absolutely monumental shift is in process that most have not recognized yet. The truth, or at least some truth, is about to be shown to the American masses about 9/11.

I say American masses because everywhere I’ve gone in the world outside of the US, with few exceptions, almost everyone knows that the US government conspiracy theory on 9/11 is for people with tin-foil hats that are either completely zombified or are under mass hypnosis.

Most of the rest of the world looks on the US like the Truman Show and can’t believe how many people in the show don’t realize it’s not real.

Before we delve into what is about to happen let’s just take one last look at the official conspiracy theory of 9/11 by one of the great freedom-minded investigative journalists on the planet, James Corbett… because this theory is about to evaporate in front of our very eyes:

It’s hard to believe but there are still millions of people in the US who believe that is what happened!

TWO MAJOR EVENTS IN PROGRESS

The first event is a 40 minute broadcast that went out on C-SPAN on August 1st with Richard Gage, founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 truth.

This is an absolute must-see interview for the reasons I will explain.

Turkey Takes On Big Pharma, Big Banking, Zionists?

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What Led Israel to Stop the Assault — and What Comes Next?

Democracy Now

After a nearly month-long assault that left at least 1,865 Palestinians dead, Israel has pulled its ground forces from the Gaza Strip under the 72-hour ceasefire that went into effect earlier today. Israeli and Palestinian factions have agreed to attend talks in Cairo on a longer-term agreement. Gaza officials say the vast majority of Palestinian victims were civilians in the Israeli offensive that began on July 8. Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed. Palestinians are returning to homes and neighborhoods that have seen a massive amount of destruction. Nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents were displaced during the fighting which destroyed more than 3,000 homes. The ceasefire was reached after international outrage over Palestinian civilian deaths peaked, with even Israel’s chief backer, the United States, criticizing recent Israeli shelling of United Nations shelters that killed scores of displaced Palestinians. 

To discuss the lead-up to the ceasefire and what to expect from the talks in Cairo, Democracy Now is joined by author and scholar Norman Finkelstein.

His most recent books, Old Wine, Broken Bottle: Ari Shavit’s Promised Land and Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End.

The Ebola Virus Pandemic: “A Weapon of Mass Destruction”?

The deadly Ebola virus

Joachim Hagopian

The Department of Defense and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classify the Ebola virus as a biowarfare agent. Reports of up to 90% of humans infected die within a very short time. Therefore, it is a very real, extremely potent potential weapon of mass destruction.

Every single day Ebola keeps cropping up in different places, eight cases spreading into Africa’s most populated nation Nigeria, several more now have surfaced beyond the African continent with suspected new cases in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. At least six others fresh off flights from West Africa are currently being quietly tested at locations here in the US in New York, Philadelphia and Ohio. With all the latest news of the spreading outbreak understandably giving rise to public fear and panic that it is just a plane ride away now, millions if not billions on this planet are pondering whether the African pandemic might be rapidly turning into a global epidemic spreading to every corner of the earth. Of course to reduce these concerns, the World Health Organization (WHO) and US government are busily downplaying the risks to citizens here in North America.

Is it coincidence that the first two Americans suffering from the deadly disease are now inside the US border? Is it coincidence that the most deadly outbreak of the disease in history has admittedly now killed nearly 900 West Africans already this year? Over 200 more than just a few days ago? Is it coincidence that President Obama has just signed an executive order to have the power to begin rounding up American citizens with respiratory diseases against their will? Is it coincidence that FEMA roundups are about to begin in Los Angeles, deceiving homeless people with the carrot stick of a meal to corral them into those FEMA concentration camps and Halliburton refurbished, soon to no longer be empty prisons we’ve been hearing about?