Category: Uncategorized

Israel, Uncategorized

Israeli soldiers open fire on Gaza protesters fourth week in a row | +972 Magazine

Palestinian medics evacuate a protester injured during the Great Return March in Gaza. April 20, 2018. (Mohammed Zaanoun / Activestills.)

Some 70 percent of the Gazan population are refugees, meaning they, their parents, or their grandparents fled or were expelled from towns, villages, and cities inside the territory that became Israel in 1948.

Speaking to +972 Magazine before the first day of protest last month, one of the ‘Great Return March’ organizers, Hasan al-Kurd, explained that the plan was to set up camps between between 700-1000 meters from Israel’s border fence, outside the Israeli army’s unilaterally imposed buffer zone. In the weeks leading up to Nakba Day, there would be weekly marches as well as bicycle races and other events.

By mid-May, the Return March organizers hope that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will join.

via Israeli soldiers open fire on Gaza protesters fourth week in a row | +972 Magazine

Uncategorized

Exposing Canary Mission’s campaign against Palestinian human Rights: A Resource for College and University Leaders | Informed Comment

What is Canary Mission?

Canary Mission first appeared in the spring of 2015 with a series of online attacks on undergraduate student activists who had spoken out about the denial of Palestinians’ human rights. Though the organization’s leadership and membership are anonymous, it is clearly ideologically aligned with the far-right end of the Israeli political spectrum.

via Exposing Canary Mission’s campaign against Palestinian human Rights: A Resource for College and University Leaders | Informed Comment

Uncategorized

Turnbull looks to India as home for Australian super funds

  1. Australian companies scammed and remain unpaid from the Commonwealth Games in India
  2. One of the world’s most volatile Stock markets
  3. The  slowest court system on the planet when it comes to complaints
  4. Turnbull the mony manager wants to risk our Super in a highly corrupt commercial market

The troubled Adani coal mine continues to raise anxieties in Australia’s relationship with India, but the project was not raised in the leadership talks, with the focus on investment from superannuation and other big funds.

via Turnbull looks to India as home for Australian super funds

Australians, Uncategorized

The African-Australian success stories you’ve probably never heard

 

With a PhD in economics, Mr Haraco quickly set about starting his own business. He imports food and drinks, deals in real estate, and runs a pizza and billiards parlour.

He works hard to ensure other African-Australians can enjoy the kind of success and prosperity that he and his family have.
Advertisement

via The African-Australian success stories you’ve probably never heard

Banking, Banks, Uncategorized

African Gangs Makes Melburnians Afraid To Go Out, But AMP And The Banks Make People Unsafe In Their Houses – » The Australian Independent Media Network

The Liberals were right. There’s no need for a banking Royal Commission. It’s just fostering ill will and leading to a lot of complaints from people. Ok, not perhaps, the dead clients that the Commonwealth Bank continued to charge for advice even though they knew that they’d died. Let’s be real here, people. Dead people aren’t in the best position to make their own decisions so they probably needed the advice more than anyone. I have it from a source that in many cases the advice was: “You should stop paying me now that you’re dead.” Not one of these dead clients are complaining that the advice was wrong, even if it wasn’t heeded.

Yep…

via African Gangs Makes Melburnians Afraid To Go Out, But AMP And The Banks Make People Unsafe In Their Houses – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Meet the Trumps, Uncategorized

Fox News, White House Advisers and Press

Hannity Should Be Fired From Fox News For Being A Presidential Advisor

The next time you hear Donald Trump bluster and harumph about something he’s angry about, you should assume Sean Hannity is his anger translator. Trump doesn’t need speechwriters as long as he can call up Hannity and get his lines for the next day.

 

The Washington Post’s Robert Costa, Sarah Ellison and Josh Dawsey published an excellent story today, outlining just how embedded Fox News personality Sean Hannity is with Donald Trump’s White House.

India, Uncategorized

India – Committed to Renewables

 

 

 

Media, Media Cavalry, Uncategorized

Watch NPR’s David Folkenflik’s brutal takedown of Fox’s handling of Sean Hannity

Murdoch and Hannity are Trump “confidantes” and see value in that relationship.

The contradiction then becomes in the terms “news” and “journalism” and the product  that’s actually being delivered.

Watch NPR’s David Folkenflik’s brutal takedown of Fox’s handling of Sean Hannity

Australian Politics, Uncategorized

Truth tampering – a sinister political reality – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Australians were justifiably shocked, appalled and embarrassed by the ball tampering our test cricketers attempted last month in South Africa. Somehow, better was expected of them. After all, they were playing the gentlemen’s game – cricket – where any cheating was simply ‘not cricket’.

Why then are we not even more disgusted by the truth tampering our politicians perpetrate day after day? We ought to be! But we seem to accept it as the norm. We allow them to lie to us with scarcely a murmur of protest.

The motive behind their tampering is the same: an insatiable desire to win, win, win at any cost; to utterly defeat the enemy. 2353NM expanded on this theme in his insightful piece: A Winning Culture.

via Truth tampering – a sinister political reality – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Filed under:
jobs, Uncategorized

Australians landed almost 1 million new jobs in five years — so what kind of jobs are they and is that a big deal? – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Bye Bye  Full Time work Benefits Holidays, Sick leave and Security. Bye Bye Bank loans and long term planning.

Australians landed almost 1 million new jobs in five years — so what kind of jobs are they and is that a big deal? – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Israel, UK, Uncategorized

Anti-Semitism rears its ugly head once more

 

“Anti-Semitism is distinct from other forms of racism because instead of looking down on other races as inferior, it directs the venom upwards, towards an imaginary and evil elite. The “evil” — ever malleable historically as Bolshevism, “rootless” cosmopolitanism, capitalism, globalism, Zionism — has a new potency in this anxious, reactionary moment.”Julie Szego

I don’t know whether Julie Szego is Jewish or not but she certainly seems lost. To her if you do or don’t mention Jews your anti-Semitic. If you do or don’t mention Israel your anti-Semitic, If you are a Jew or aren’t a Jew your possibly anti-Semitic. Apparantly Netanyahu like Corbyn is anti-Semitic but neither know they are but in Corbyn’s case it’s inexcusable, in Netanyahu he’s just confused.

As my father married a Shitzka  it make me fully half or just my shadow anti-Semitic?  Jews don’t recognize me Nazis do and I ‘m deplored at what the State Israel is currently doing while being able to say some of my best friends are Jews without fear of lying.   What does Julie Szego say? “I don’t fear for the Jews. I fear for the world.” She says utterly nothing from her” I’m lost and alone” apartheid position of them and me which according to her makes me part of the World and her lamentably not. (OD  comment)

 

via Anti-Semitism rears its ugly head once more

Education, Uncategorized

Day to Day Politics: For an evaluation of what a splendid education can do, just look at the cabinet. – » The Australian Independent Media Network

 

PS For an evaluation of what a splendid education can do for you just look at the cabinet.

Even when it’s suggested that equality of opportunity in education is a noble pursuit and the right of every child, people like Christopher Pyne , when he was Education Minister, used to say it was class warfare and he ludicrously described the Gonski reforms as such. Mind you at the same time, he confessed to never having read the report.

Now years down the track we have the farcical situation where education is still a mess with the Coalition having a secret slush fund to top up the funding of the private school system while taking money from the Catholic School system.

Why is it so? Why do we deny every kids right to a decent education. You would think that even conservatives when they look into the eyes of the innocent child wouldn’t deny them an education equal to that of any child.

After all they could churn out capitalists who might vote for the. party. As it stands once my generation has passed on their voting pool will be very shallow.

via Day to Day Politics: For an evaluation of what a splendid education can do, just look at the cabinet. – » The Australian Independent Media Network

LNP Government, Lobbyists, Uncategorized

Liberal figure promoted alleged mafia don to Italian business chamber

 

Matthew the Mafia Guy’s Man delivered on a Liberal Roll

A Liberal Party figure appointed by Opposition leader Matthew Guy to lead the state’s property development agency personally promoted the alleged head of the Calabrian Mafia in Australia to a prominent business body.

Tony De Domenico used his position last October as president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Melbourne to make alleged mafia boss Tony Madafferi, a chamber member.

via Liberal figure promoted alleged mafia don to Italian business chamber

Homelessness, Uncategorized

Finland has found the answer to homelessness. It couldn’t be simpler | Harry Quilter-Pinner | Opinion | The Guardian

A homeless man in London

Actually, no. The evidence from Finland – as well as numerous other pilot schemes across the world – shows the opposite is true. When people are given homes, homelessness is radically reduced, engagement in support services goes up and recovery rates from addiction are comparable to a “treatment first” approach. Even more impressive is that there are overall savings for government, as people’s use of emergency health services and the criminal justice system is lessened.

via Finland has found the answer to homelessness. It couldn’t be simpler | Harry Quilter-Pinner | Opinion | The Guardian

Uncategorized

Showing They ‘Learned Nothing’ From Iraq, Corporate Media Help Beat War Drums for Trump Attack on Syria

“It’s incredible how readily the cable news channels have politicians on pushing for war in Syria with almost no questions asked about how disastrous it might be or the so-called evidence,” Uyger added. “They pretended to learn lessons from Iraq but have actually learned nothing.”

via Showing They ‘Learned Nothing’ From Iraq, Corporate Media Help Beat War Drums for Trump Attack on Syria

Israel, Uncategorized

Israel’s arms exports: A decade of war and new markets | +972 Magazine

 

Israeli soldiers belonging to the IDF's Sky Rider unit seen during a training drill at the Tze'elim army base, August 5, 2013. The Sky Rider Unit operates unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by Elbit Systems. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently published an updated report on international arms transfers, showing Israel’s numbers continuing to grow. While SIPRI only tracks the sales of leading companies in the arms industry — and there are many more sales, deals, and trainings that go unrepresented in these figures — the statistics give us a glimpse into the trends of Israel’s military exports.

Israel’s arms exports: A decade of war and new markets | +972 Magazine

Related stories

via

Israel, Uncategorized

Palestinians lose legs as Israel punishes them by denying medical care | The Electronic Intifada

Crowd of protesters carry injured man

The legs of two Palestinians were amputated on Wednesday after Israel refused to allow them to leave the blockaded Gaza Strip for treatment.

Human rights groups had appealed to the Israeli authorities to allow for the transfer of Yusif Karnaz, 20, and Muhammad al-Ajouri, 17, to a hospital in the occupied West Bank for surgery that would save their limbs.

via Palestinians lose legs as Israel punishes them by denying medical care | The Electronic Intifada

Humour, Uncategorized

Teenager Borrows Father’s Suit For Court Appearance – The Shovel

via Teenager Borrows Father’s Suit For Court Appearance – The Shovel

Consumption, Uncategorized

‘Protectionist tariff:’ Warning over tax hit coming for online shoppers

Australian consumers have less than three months until an online shopping tax, as experts warn the “protectionist tariff” will be passed on by businesses without any guarantee taxpayers will benefit.

From July 1, clothing, electronics and furniture bought overseas worth less than $1000 from companies such as Amazon and eBay will be slugged with a 10 per cent GST, as the volume of online shopping surges and local retailers struggle to stay afloat.

via ‘Protectionist tariff:’ Warning over tax hit coming for online shoppers

Melbourne, Uncategorized

Melbourne is the live music capital of the world, study says – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Dick Diver performing at the Tote Hotel

via Melbourne is the live music capital of the world, study says – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Education, Uncategorized

Richest private schools get payments from $7m government ‘slush fund’

Many of the country’s wealthiest private schools are receiving bonus payments from a secretive fund the Turnbull government claims is necessary to help schools transition to its Gonski 2.0 funding model.

On Sydney’s north shore alone, Loreto Kirribilli, St Aloysius’ College and St Ignatius’ Riverview are among the 102 independent schools – most of them in NSW – receiving top-up payments from the $7.1 million pool in 2018.

via Richest private schools get payments from $7m government ‘slush fund’

China, Uncategorized

China-Australia tension as biggest trading partner gives us the cold shoulder

News Corp’s best anti- Australian work

China: The freeze in diplomatic relations between China and Australia is on, despite official denials – and business executives are clearly despondent about it.

via China-Australia tension as biggest trading partner gives us the cold shoulder

Israel, Israel Crimes, Uncategorized

Shoot and cheer | The Electronic Intifada

via Shoot and cheer | The Electronic Intifada

Media, Uncategorized

These Americans are trapped in their jobs: they need to pay $10,000 to quit | Terri Gerstein | Opinion | The Guardian

sinclair offices

, Sinclair contracts contain a requirement that employees must pay their employers if they leave their jobs before their contract terms end. For example, an employee making $50,000 annually might have to pay in the ballpark of $10,000 if she wanted to leave after one year of a two-year term.

via These Americans are trapped in their jobs: they need to pay $10,000 to quit | Terri Gerstein | Opinion | The Guardian

Israel, Uncategorized

A state-sponsored mass shooting | +972 Magazine

I am generally wary of making any predictions but here’s how I see this playing out. The Israeli army will eventually come out with a statement about how it cannot reach any definitive conclusions about who shot Yasser Murtaja, or why he was shot, but it will be able to definitively conclude that the Israeli army doesn’t target journalists — so he surely was mistakenly hit. A tragedy that can be blamed entirely on Hamas. (Hamas is always to blame.)

But Murtaja was not the only journalist shot by Israeli snipers that day. Shooting one wrong person could conceivably be an accident. Six journalists shot on the same day suggests something more sinister.

via A state-sponsored mass shooting | +972 Magazine

clean energy, Uncategorized

Solar PV and wind are on track to replace all coal, oil and gas within two decades

Solar photovoltaic and wind power are rapidly getting cheaper and more abundant – so much so that they are on track to entirely supplant fossil fuels worldwide within two decades, with the time frame depending mostly on politics. The protestation from some politicians that we need to build new coal stations sounds rather quaint.

via Solar PV and wind are on track to replace all coal, oil and gas within two decades

Coal, Uncategorized

UK Conservatives are embracing a future without coal-fired power stations – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

The Dirty Pro- Coal Speeches Abbott gave in Britian had no effect on the enviroment.

As Tony Abbott and other prominent Coalition MPs make the case that Australia should be building new coal-fired power stations, Conservatives in Britain are pushing a very different agenda.

The Tory Government wants to end the use of unabated coal in the UK within seven years, and the policy is being driven by Claire Perry — the cabinet minister responsible for energy policy, who believes environmentalism is not a philosophy exclusively owned by the green-left.

“Conservatism to me is about protecting what you inherit and improving it,” Ms Perry told the ABC.

“So whether it’s making sure the economy is robust for the next generation or whether it’s about stewarding this beautiful environment that we live in, that for me is the essence of my conservatism.”

Conservatives have been at the forefront of action on climate change in Britain for decades.

via UK Conservatives are embracing a future without coal-fired power stations – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Uncategorized

Trump says women in migrant caravan ‘raped at levels never seen before’, despite lack of evidence for claim | The Independent

The president had ditched his prepared remarks to open a meeting on tax reform in West Virginia to address the immigration issue. “And remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower when I opened. Everybody said, ‘Oh, he was so tough.’ And I used the word ‘rape.’ And yesterday it came out where, this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before. They don’t want to mention that,” he said.

While the distinct absence of evidence for the suggestion does not rule out the possibility that there are incidents of rape taking place within the caravan, Mr Trump’s claim that there were reports that “came out” “yesterday” does not check out in a survey of media reports.

via Trump says women in migrant caravan ‘raped at levels never seen before’, despite lack of evidence for claim | The Independent

Israel, Uncategorized

Israeli violence against Palestinians will never end as a result of UN & US hypocrisy — RT Op-ed

Israeli violence against Palestinians will never end as a result of UN & US hypocrisy

“many 1000s of Gazans are ready to die as martyrs rather than submit to Israel’s policy of slow death; Israeli snipers will continue 2 kill Palestinian demonstrators in cold blood; US gov’t & news media have given Israel a green light.”

The US is fine with “rebels” like Al-Qaeda “protesting” in Syria, but when genuinely unarmed Palestinians protest the occupiers who violently expelled them from their homes and land, they are “inciting violence.”

During peaceful protests on March 30 in eastern Gaza, an unarmed Palestinian man walked on farmland towards the fence built by his occupiers. Within minutes, he was shot by one of the 100 Israeli special forces snipers deployed along the fence precisely to quash dissent—by any means necessary—under the old pretext of “self-defense.”

On the same day, a Palestinian woman, armed solely with a flag, walked towards the fence which has imprisoned her for so many years. She, too, was targeted by one of the snipers.

Among the 17 killed that day was a 16-year-old girl and a 27-year-old farmer, the latter killed by Israeli tank fire.

Even the BBC, which is not generally known to report fairly on Palestine, noted: “The first to die was Omar Samour, 27 – a Palestinian farmer killed in Israeli shelling as he worked his land near Khan Younis early on Friday, before the protests began.”

Yet, according to Israel, this farmer was a “terrorist infiltrator,” the lexicon which Israel uses to whitewash its extrajudicial assassinations.

via Israeli violence against Palestinians will never end as a result of UN & US hypocrisy — RT Op-ed

Murdoch Media, Uncategorized

How Fox & Friends’ ‘Caravan Of Immigrants’ Story Led To Trump Careening On Immigration | Crooks and Liars

via How Fox & Friends’ ‘Caravan Of Immigrants’ Story Led To Trump Careening On Immigration | Crooks and Liars

Homelessness, Uncategorized

What you need to know about women’s homelessness: the shocking truth – » The Australian Independent Media Network

 

45% of single women over 45 are earning the minimum wage or less and all of these are either already homeless or at risk of homelessness, as the minimum wage is no longer able to pay the lowest rentals. 330,000 women fall into this category.

Very few are mentally ill before they become homeless, and very few are sleeping on park benches. Very few are criminals. Very few are professional beggars. They are mostly perfectly ordinary white collar workers or pensioners.

via What you need to know about women’s homelessness: the shocking truth – » The Australian Independent Media Network

Media, Uncategorized

Revelations from Bill O’Reilly’s settlements underscore how Fox News enables its sexual harassers

But O’Reilly did not act alone; he was enabled by Fox News, which has a long history of protecting sexual harassers and abusers and which has a culture described by one former employee as a “sex-fueled, Playboy mansion-like cult steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny.” And, according to the Times, when one of O’Reilly’s accusers filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, “Fox News and Mr. O’Reilly adopted an aggressive strategy that served as a stark warning of what could happen to women if they came forward with complaints. … Before [former Fox producer Andrea] Mackris even filed suit, Fox News and Mr. O’Reilly surprised her with a pre-emptive suit of their own.”

Revelations from Bill O’Reilly’s settlements underscore how Fox News enables its sexual harassers

Opinion, Uncategorized

EDITORIAL EXCERPT: The bad Guys

TIME AND AGAIN, we see the thirst for victory far outstrips conservatives’ oft-expressed concern for principles and conventions. You could say it is itself a long-standing tradition.

The Victorian pairing controversy confirms that conservatives really have only one principle — to win at whatever cost, writes managing editor Dave Donovan.

TIME AND AGAIN, we see the thirst for victory far outstrips conservatives’ oft-expressed concern for principles and conventions. You could say it is itself a long-standing tradition.

via EDITORIAL EXCERPT: The bad Guys

Israel, Uncategorized

Israel: Massacre of Palestinian Protesters in Gaza was a Calculated War Crime (HRW) | Informed Comment

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Both before and after the confrontations, senior officials publicly said that soldiers stationed along the barrier that separates Gaza and Israel had orders to target “instigators” and those who approach the border. However, the Israeli government presented no evidence that rock-throwing and other violence by some demonstrators seriously threatened Israeli soldiers across the border fence. The high number of deaths and injuries was the foreseeable consequence of granting soldiers leeway to use lethal force outside of life-threatening situations in violation of international norms, coupled with the longstanding culture of impunity within the Israeli army for serious abuses.

via Israel: Massacre of Palestinian Protesters in Gaza was a Calculated War Crime (HRW) | Informed Comment

Israel, Uncategorized

Israeli leaders ordered “calculated” killings of Gaza protesters | The Electronic Intifada

Israeli leaders ordered “calculated” killings of Gaza protesters | The Electronic Intifada

Israel, Uncategorized

Will Israel pay a price for its latest Gaza massacre? | The Electronic Intifada

 

via Will Israel pay a price for its latest Gaza massacre? | The Electronic Intifada

Israel, Uncategorized

– IMEMC News » International Middle East Media Center

via – IMEMC News » International Middle East Media Center

Media Bias, Uncategorized

Stop it! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

The fact is Australia is near the bottom of the ladder of OECD countries when it comes to the job market (ODT)

I am getting so sick and tired of seeing the constant stream of Murdoch News Corp and LNP Government bash-a-welfare-bludger propaganda stories in the media, all done in the name of turning the general population against people who are seeking employment, or are in receipt of any Social Security payment for that matter.

It obviously serves an agenda of trying to keep our attention away from the abysmal job market; the expansion of part-time work vs full time permanent positions and the ever increasing casualisation of our workforce. Not to mention the fact that available jobs are now outnumbered by unemployed people many, many times over. Add in the vast under-employed number of people and we have a crisis on our hands.

via Stop it! – » The Australian Independent Media Network

conservatives, Uncategorized

Koala wipe out: Government apathy and the STD killing our national icon

Koalas are in big trouble with disease now rampant in wild populations.

Dr Michael Pyne, head veterinarian at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, says that one-third of Australia’s koalas have been lost over the last two decades, largely due to the spread of chlamydia, which now affects between 50 and 100% of wild populations.

via Koala wipe out: Government apathy and the STD killing our national icon

Australia, Uncategorized

ATO raids tax office whistleblower amid Fairfax-Four Corners investigation

A public servant turned whistleblower employed by the Australian Taxation Office has this morning had his home raided by officers from the ATO and the Australian Federal Police, after speaking with a major joint Four Corners and Fairfax investigation into alleged abuse of power by the tax office.

via ATO raids tax office whistleblower amid Fairfax-Four Corners investigation

Australia, Uncategorized

The fundamental operating model of Australian politics is breaking down

Is there any Australian left who hasn’t complained, or at least rolled their eyes about the state of politics in Canberra? Most of us tend to blame the politicians for all this, but a new analysis of voter data suggests a less comfortable truth. The problem is not just them. It’s also us.

via The fundamental operating model of Australian politics is breaking down

Israel Crimes, Uncategorized

As soldiers, we too were told to open fire at protesters in Gaza | +972 Magazine

Soldiers have a privilege. Every three or six months they move to a different area. They see only a fraction of Gaza’s despair, but before they even have a chance to process or think about it, they move on to see the despair in Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus.

via As soldiers, we too were told to open fire at protesters in Gaza | +972 Magazine

Israel, Uncategorized

13-year-old “leaves hell” of Israeli detention | The Electronic Intifada

He was detained during a 10 December protest in Bethlehem against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

According to Abdel Raouf, at least 10 soldiers rushed the crowd of protesters and grabbed him.

“One of the soldiers threw me to the ground, and another began beating me on my legs,” he told The Electronic Intifada. “I couldn’t walk for a month because I felt so much pain in my leg from the beating.”

Following his detention, the minor was brought to an interrogation facility in Israel’s Gush Etzion settlement bloc. Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Gush Etzion is illegal under international law.

Hours of interrogations with Israeli authorities followed, Abdel Raouf told The Electronic Intifada, as Israeli officials accused Abdel Raouf of throwing stones at Israeli forces during the protest.

It was five hours before his father was called and told his whereabouts. Palestinian parents are frequently denied the right to accompany their children during interrogations conducted by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank.

13-year-old “leaves hell” of Israeli detention | The Electronic Intifada

Israel, Israel Crimes, Uncategorized

For Israel, There’s Little Political Cost to Killing Palestinians

All the while, the ongoing blockade and restrictions imposed on Gaza have made conditions more difficult for the Palestinians who live there. “I want to be shot,” one 22-year-old protester told my colleagues on Friday. “I don’t want this life.”(Photo: Adam Helweh/Flickr/CC)

This weekend in Gaza, Palestinians buried their dead after Israeli soldiers killed at least 18 Palestinian protesters and wounded hundreds more on Friday. About 30,000 Palestinians had gathered near the fenced barrier separating the Gaza Strip from Israel, both protesting the stifling blockade on their territory and mourning the dispossession of their ancestral lands at the hands of the Israeli state.

As in many other Palestinian protests that take place in the occupied territories, most protesters were unarmed and nonviolent. Families picnicked in the shadow of the Israeli border and flew Palestinian flags. But like so many other Palestinian protests, this one ended in tears.

via For Israel, There’s Little Political Cost to Killing Palestinians

Israel, Israel Crimes, Uncategorized

Shooting Protesters in Cold Blood: How Israel Became a Typical Middle Eastern Dictatorship

"It may be objected that Israel is not a dictatorship like that of Yemen or Syria. But for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, that is precisely what it is." (Photo: Steve Rhodes/flickr/cc)

The Israeli army snipers who were ordered to shoot unarmed Palestinian protesters last Friday at the Gaza border, killing 17 outright and wounding hundreds of others, were acting according to the contemporary script of Middle Eastern dictators.

The Israeli army initially admitted in a tweet that the tactic was premeditated and precise, but then deleted the tweet, as the Israeli peace group B’tselem pointed out:

via Shooting Protesters in Cold Blood: How Israel Became a Typical Middle Eastern Dictatorship

Media, Uncategorized

Here are 66 local news stations airing Sinclair’s brainwashing anti-media promo

Is this a coincidence that Andrew Bolt is doing much the same on his showThe Bolt Report recently decrying the World’s Main Stream Media as being Left-Wing, Corrupt and issuing Fake News. Does he do anything original? (ODT)

In March, CNN’s Brian Stelter obtained internal documents sent to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s local TV news stations requiring them to film and air short promotional segments decrying “biased and false news” and accusing unnamed mainstream media figures of bias. The script, obtained by CNN, focuses on the mainstream press, attacking unspecified “national media outlets” for publishing “fake stories.” At points, the script appears to echo President Donald Trump’s attacks on press with cries of “fake news.” (Though the final version of the script, as NPR noted in an interview with a Sinclair executive about the promotional spots, no longer included “the word national … coupled to the word media.”)

via Here are 66 local news stations airing Sinclair’s brainwashing anti-media promo

Media, Uncategorized

John Oliver Takes Aim At Sinclair Broadcasting Group | Crooks and Liars

John Oliver Takes Aim At Sinclair Broadcasting Group

“Sinclair took their game to a new level.That statement is creepy enough, but when you see just how many local stations were forced to read it and you watch them together, as many have been doing online in the last couple of days, you begin to realize the true effect of Sinclair’s reach and power,” he said.

He aired the clip of Sinclair bobbleheads repeating the same message, via Deadspin.

“Yeah. Nothing says ‘we value independent media’ like dozens of reporters forced to repeat the same message over and over again like members of a brainwashed cult,” Oliver said.

via John Oliver Takes Aim At Sinclair Broadcasting Group | Crooks and Liars

Uncategorized

Israel admits, then deletes, responsibility for Gaza killings | The Electronic Intifada

 

The Israeli army posted a statement on Twitter on Saturday apparently accepting full responsibility for the killings a day earlier of 15 Palestinians as thousands took part in the Great March of Return in Gaza.

The army then quickly deleted the admission – as more evidence of war crimes by its soldiers came to light – but not before a copy was made by the human rights group B’Tselem.

via Israel admits, then deletes, responsibility for Gaza killings | The Electronic Intifada

Israel, Uncategorized

Netanyahu praises Israeli army after killings of Palestinians | Israeli–Palestinian conflict News | Al Jazeera

More than 1,500 Palestinians were injured in Friday's protests calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Netanyahu was protecting Israelis from the NOISE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised Israel’s security forces after the killings of 17 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, just as condemnation over the Israeli army’s use of live ammunition against protesters grows.

In a statement on Saturday, Netanyahu thanked his troops for “guarding the country’s borders” and allowing “Israeli citizens to celebrate the [Passover] holiday peacefully”.

via Netanyahu praises Israeli army after killings of Palestinians | Israeli–Palestinian conflict News | Al Jazeera