Thursday, August 29, 2024

Common Dreams:

"Human rights defenders are calling out Western news outlets and political leaders for their conspicuous lack of coverage and vocalized condemnation after leaked video footage appeared to show Israeli soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian detainee in the notorious Sde Teiman prison and the release of a new report documenting systematic torture of prisoners held by Israel.


Earlier this week, Israel's Channel 12 aired a video showing Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists assaulting a Palestinian man at Sde Teiman, which is often called 'Israel's Guantánamo.' The victim was reportedly hospitalized with a severe anal injury, ruptured bowel, broken ribs, and lung damage. In addition to torture, former Sde Teiman detainees have described rampant rape and sexual abuse, allegedly often committed by female soldiers.  


Instead of avoiding the Sde Teiman rape story, Israeli media have aired an interview with one of the IDF suspects—who are being hailed as 'heroes' by far-right Israelis including multiple Cabinet ministers—and panel discussions including one in which a journalist called for 'institutionalized' rape of Palestinian prisoners. This, as Israeli leaders demanded an investigation of the rape video to find and punish whoever leaked the footage, and as Israeli lawmakers argue that it's permissible to rape Palestinian prisoners."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-media-coverage-of-israel-palestinian-conflict


-->Any story that reveals the state supported war crimes of the Israeli government is bound to be censured in the US media. Let's face it, our media is often just propaganda when it comes to Israel.


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Common Dreams:

"US Among Nations 'Brazenly' Flouting Arms Trade Treaty, 10 Years On: Amnesty 

As a treaty conference began, the human rights group called for an end to arms transfers to Israel and said that unlawful deals have led to 'devastating loss of life' in Gaza, Sudan, and Myanmar. 


Amnesty International on Monday called for an end to arms transfers to countries including Israel, Sudan, and Myanmar, saying they cause "devastating loss of life" and contravene the Arms Trade Treaty, the parties to which are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland this week. 


The United Nations treaty was signed by well over 100 countries in 2013 and went into effect in 2014, though 27 signatories, including the United States, the world's largest arms exporter, still haven't ratified the deal, which regulates the trade of conventional weapons including non-nuclear bombs, shells, and missiles. 


'Numerous governments continue to brazenly flout the rules, leading to a huge loss of life in conflict zones,' Patrick Wilcken, an Amnesty researcher, said in a statement. 'It is time for state parties to live up to their legal obligations and fully implement the Arms Trade Treaty, to prohibit the flow of arms to countries when it is known they would be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or if it could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.' "

https://www.commondreams.org/news/arms-treaty-us-israel


-->US involvement in this genocide is never on the US media agenda.


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Common Dreams:

"Oil Change International on Tuesday released a report detailing fossil fuel transfers to Israel since its siege of Gaza began in October, arguing that the countries and companies responsible, which include the United States and U.S.-based multinationals, could be held liable for contributing to 'acts of genocide' under international law. 


Azerbaijan, Kazahstan, and Gabon are major suppliers of crude oil to Israel, as are Big Oil companies such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell, according to the report, which comes from data that the U.S.-based advocacy group commissioned from Data Desk, an investigative consultancy. 


... More than half were sent after the International Court of Justice ruled on January 26 that Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and that some of Israel's acts 'appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention'—part of an ongoing judicial process. 


'Corporations supplying jet fuel and oil to Israel may be providing material support to the military, aware of its foreseeable harmful effects, and therefore risk complicity in war crimes, genocide, and other crimes under international law,' Irene Pietropaoli, a fellow in business and human rights at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, said in a statement."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/energy-oil-israel-complicit


-->Very little US coverage of this story. 


Thursday, August 08, 2024

Common Dreams:
"Maduro Victory Shows Democratic Bolivarian Socialism Continues in Venezuela. The faith of the president's supporters in the Bolivarian project is a testament to the real achievements of the socialist government in weathering the 936 sanctions placed on the country by western governments and turning adversity into opportunity.

Shortly before midnight on 28 July, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that — with 80 percent of the over 20 million votes counted — the trend was irreversible: Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected president of Venezuela.
According to the CNE, Maduro received 51.2 percent of the vote, while his primary opponent, the little-known Edmundo Gonzales, received 44.02 percent. With that result, it was clear that the Venezuelan majority chose to continue the project of Bolivarian socialism introduced by Hugo Chavez at the end of the nineties. Recognizing the economic turn-around of the last two years and proud of their achievements in building 5.1 million housing units, securing food sovereignty, and deepening communal democracy, Venezuelans re-elected Maduro for a third six-year term.

A former ambassador to Argentina, the opposition candidate Gonzales replaced far-right leader Maria Corina Machado as the candidate of the Unity Platform after Machado was disqualified from running. Machado has long been an outspoken critic of Chavismo, supporting US sanctions and advocating foreign intervention in the country. In 2018, she asked Benjamin Netanyahu for military assistance in dismantling the Maduro government. Machado has close ties in the United States. In 2009, she was a Yale World Fellow. On June 23, 2024 she spoke at a National Endowment for Democracy awards ceremony in Washington, DC. She has been nicknamed the new 'iron lady' after her idol Margaret Thatcher."
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/venezuela-election-results-2024

-->Coverage of the recent elections had a winner, Democratic Bolivarian Socialism, and one loser, the free press in the United States. It is laughable that the entire American media would have the same opinion on Maduro. Our media standards are so low, that enemies of the US Empire are never given a fair break.

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The Guardian UK
"In August 2023, an executive at Israel Bonds – an organization that sells Israeli bonds to fund that nation’s government and buttress its military – emailed the Ohio state treasurer’s office a sales pitch: could the state of Ohio buy a batch of Israeli bonds for $5m? In less than 40 minutes, the treasurer’s office approved the purchase, bringing Ohio’s Israeli bond purchases to a total of $35m for that year.

The fast deal was made between parties that were on exceptionally friendly terms, according to a trove of emails and other records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). And it was not the only matter being discussed with Israel Bonds. At the same time that the Ohio treasurer, Republican Robert Sprague, allocated millions in state funds to the bond purchases, he was also making arrangements with the bond seller’s business development team to join an exclusive guided trip to Israel, scheduled for later that year. ...

The more than 2,000 pages of emails and other records obtained by the ICIJ, largely through records requests, offer an unprecedented glimpse inside Israel Bonds’ extensive efforts to court public officials in the US while delivering highly personalized sales pitches in a stream of pro-Israel messaging. The documents show how some officials who buy these bonds have gained access to an often-glitzy world that includes gala dinners, cocktail celebrations and private meetings with top Israeli leaders and senior military officials – and how these dealings with Israel Bonds sometimes blurred the lines between private life and official business."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/25/us-officials-israel-bonds-ethics

-->How deeply the Israel Lobby is involved in our financial sector. And all these bribes make sure that US retirement funds are paying for the genocide in Gaza. No national coverage of this scam in our nation's media.

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The Guardian UK:
"Israeli airstrikes hit two schools and a hospital complex in Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, amid reports of heated disagreements between US and Israeli leaders about a possible ceasefire deal. Inside Israel, a Palestinian stabbed two people to death in a city near Tel Aviv, adding to tensions as the country braces for Iran’s response to the assassinations of key allies this week. ...

Israeli airstrikes on two schools in Gaza City killed at least 25 people sheltering there on Sunday, and another attack on the courtyard of al-Aqsa hospital killed at least five people and set the tents of displaced people on fire.

The hospital is the main medical facility in the central city of Deir al-Balah, but its grounds have become an informal settlement for people who have fled their homes, many of them displaced various times as Israeli troops have moved across the strip during 10 months of war. Video from the Associated Press showed men trying to put out fierce flames in the early morning dark and rescue the injured. A second strike on a nearby home killed a girl and her parents, the hospital said."


-->The steady genocide of the Palestinians goes on and on. The NYT doesn't even think it is newsworthy enough to report. So holocausts happen, especially when our nation's media is so closely controlled by the Military Industrial Complex.

Thursday, August 01, 2024

The New York Times:
"Venezuela’s Autocrat Is Declared Winner in Tainted Election. The result, which would give Nicolás Maduro six more years as president, was disputed by the opposition, and the United States said it had 'serious concerns.'

Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was declared the winner of the country’s tumultuous presidential election early Monday, despite enormous momentum from an opposition movement that had been convinced this was the year it would oust Mr. Maduro’s socialist-inspired party.

The vote was riddled with irregularities, and citizens were angrily protesting the government’s actions at voting centers even as the results were announced. ... Mr. Maduro’s government has invented election results before, and this tally was immediately called into question by the opposition and by several officials in the region."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/world/americas/venezuela-election-results.html

-->How many times can our newspaper of record express its distrust in the Venezuela's recent election? And what better example do we have of the NYT being the newspaper of the US Empire. Venezuela has the oil the Empire wants, and the effect this has on our free press is almost laughable. Any proof offered of all these accusations? Certainly not! The NYT doesn't even bother.

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The Guardian UK:
"The G20 group of the world’s most powerful countries is exploring plans for a global minimum tax on the world’s 3,000 billionaires, aiming to end a 'race to the bottom' that has enabled the super-rich to pay less than the rest of the population.

Leaders gathering in São Paulo for a key G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors are preparing to discuss an internationally agreed backstop on the taxation of hypermobile wealthy individuals, amid increasing global cooperation to tackle tax avoidance.

Aiming to build on the cooperation that resulted in a 15% global minimum tax on multinational companies, which came into effect in January, the plan is being promoted under Brazil’s presidency of the G20 before a summit of world leaders in Rio de Janeiro in autumn. ... 'Currently the richest people can avoid paying the same level of tax as other people who are less rich. We want to avoid such tax optimization,” Bruno Le Maire [France’s finance minister] told Reuters news agency before the meeting."
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/feb/29/taxation-worlds-billionaires-super-rich-g20-brazil

-->I don't see this story in the NYT, the favorite newspaper of the filthy rich. The very rich are the people our newspaper of record caters to. Why make them angry with all this socialist rhetoric?

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Capitol Hill Citizen:
"In April 2024 Congress overwhelmingly passed and President Biden signed a military aid bill that provides $95 billion in war aid – including $61 billion to Ukraine, $8 billion to Taiwan and $26 billion to Israel in effect a genocide tax on the American people. ...

Out of the ashes of the Gaza slaughter and ongoing war in Ukraine is growing a new anti-war movement, with a special focus on the most powerful political force driving the U.S. support of the Gaza genocide – the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The new anti-AIPAC movement is building on increasing discontent in the American electorate with Israel’s assault on Gaza and its people. A March Gallup poll found that after narrowly backing Israel’s military action in Gaza in November, Americans now oppose the campaign by a solid margin.
https://www.capitolhillcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CHC9.Page1Web.pdf

-->The NYT coverage of Gaza is way down, despite the fact that the slaughter in Gaza is going on unabated. So the NYT wouldn't and didn't run a story like this, outlining the change in support for Israel's genocide.