Day: February 9, 2016

What’s Next For Palestine?

It is no secret that I am a supporter of the state of Palestine…..my support comes from a friend and colleague when I was working in the Middle East….I saw first hand what the situation was really like in the West Bank…..so out of loyalty to a friend I attempt to help Americans and others become more informed on the situation……

I begin with an American douche bag, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, it is rumored to be on the payroll of the Israel Lobby….oh sorry that should be gets massive donations for his chest from the lobby….he has introduced a new bill…….

Slamming what he characterized as a global effort to “delegitimize Israel,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a new bill on Monday that would reverse decades of U.S. policy and allow goods produced in the West Bank and Gaza to be labeled “Made in Israel” when they are sold in the U.S.

Cotton’s new bill, which his office says does not yet have any co-sponsors, resembles past congressional attempts to equate Israel with its settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories under the guise of resisting an international boycott against Israel. Yet it goes further than those past efforts: If signed into law, it would reverse a 20-year policy of labeling products from settlement businesses differently than those from Israel proper.

The Obama administration has consistently rejected laws that conflate Israel with the territories it controls. After lawmakers denounced the European Union in November for prohibiting goods made in the occupied territories from being labeled “Made in Israel,” the administration pointed out that U.S. customs law dating back to 1995 has nearly identical provisions.

Specifically referencing the 1995 statute in guidance it issued on Jan. 23, the administration stated, “It is not acceptable to mark [goods produced in the West Bank or Gaza Strip] with the words ‘Israel,’ ‘Made in Israel,’ ‘Occupied Territories-Israel,’ or any variation thereof.”

Yet until the Obama administration pointed this out, it seemed many U.S. lawmakers were unaware that the longstanding policy existed — in part because the U.S. labeling rules have been inconsistently enforced.  (now there is a telling statement….”lawmakers were unaware of a longstanding policy”…..)

The problems that the Israelis are having in the West Bank…..settlements are making life miserable for the people living in the West Bank….land is taken, crops destroyed and homes are destroyed all to make room for more settlements….if Israel were truly interested in making peace they would STOP allowing the settlements from being built….the settlements are illegal!

What is the UN doing about this situation?  You may ask.

The United Nations General Assembly voted by a wide margin in December to demand Palestinian sovereignty over natural resources under Israeli occupation.

Like numerous other resolutions opposing the occupation, it is unlikely to offer any relief to Palestinians, who continue to be jailed, beaten and killed by military forces and robbed of their lands by settlements.

The resolution was adopted by 164 votes in favour and five against. Predictably, the United States, Canada, Israel and two US neo-colonies – Micronesia and the Marshall Islands – voted against. Australia was among 10 states that abstained.

Source: UN Fiddles While Palestine Burns

The West is disingenuous when they claim to support a ban on settlements…..whose payroll are the politicians really on?  Is it the taxpayer or Israel?  Actually the answer is obvious….

There is a movement in process for countries to recognize the State of Palestine….Of the 193 member states of the United Nations, 134 recognized the State of Palestine, and an equal number maintain diplomatic relations with the Palestinians. Many have opened consular offices in the Palestinian territories.

Since 1995, the Palestinian Authority has issued Palestinian passports to citizens of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that are widely accepted internationally as valid travel documents.

If that many countries recognize the state of Palestine as a legitimate entity why does the US buck the recognition?  The answer to that is obvious…..CASH!

With that said what can Palestine do now?

The French government stated that if the next round of talks between the PLO and Israel fail, it will offer formal recognition to the “State of Palestine”. Unfortunately, as we have seen time and time again, such steps are – in pract

Source: Can Palestine exploit the rift between Israel and the West?

Palestinians need to do everything possible……it is time for the whole world to recognize the state of Palestine.  They need to do what the rest of the world does…..exploit the Hell out of the situation.

Do it…..Do it now!

In closing……not ALL Israelis are in the bag of keeping Palestinians down….read this open letter from an Israeli Jew…..

An open letter to my fellow Israelis: As the world media became instantly transparent, the reality of our crimes became impossible to hide, and we put an extra focus on propaganda to twist it all into “self defense”. Who on earth would want to “survive” if this is how “survival” looks?

Source: To my fellow Israelis: We can stop this – Mondoweiss

This concludes the old Professor’s posting day…..I shall return tomorrow

 

In 2016 Campaigns, US Foreign Policy Not Faring Well

Keeping with the flavor of the day…..I would like to talk about what is being said on the campaign trails for the 2016 election……

For months I have been saying with all going on in the world that this election, the 2016 election, would be a foreign policy election….the first one in decades……but so far there has been very little about the international scene that has been said……most of it that has been uttered are some diatribes about what this candidate or that will do to defeat ISIS….there is so much more happening that we need to be aware of on the international stage….the war in Yemen, the drought in Ethiopia, China’s policies in the Pacific and hatred being shown around the world…….with all that there is still not much other than a few slogans for applause…..

I have been looking for a good reason for the lack of concern over international situations…….then I read this article by Ivan Eland……

After months of reality-show media coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign, the voting process is thankfully starting. As the voters begin to speak, perhaps the coverage will have more actual reality in it. In recent years, it is no secret that media coverage of elections virtually ignores where the candidates stand on major issues, in […]

Source: In the 2016 Campaign, US Foreign Policy Establishment Not Faring Well Either – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

I realize that it is still early in the nomination process but for me that is NO excuse for the lack of concern by candidates on the problems of the world…..

It matters not which candidate is your fave……if he/she is elected there is a world of problems that will need immediate attention and cute speeches and macho chest thumping will not cure……it will take foresight and decisiveness to solve……..

Hillary Is the Candidate of the War Machine

As long as I posted my piece on Bernie’s foreign policies….I guess to be fair I should post something on Clinton as to not look like I am biased in my writing (that was just me being humorous and I do believe I missed the target.)……

There should be no doubt in any of my readers  minds as where I stand on the US armed involvement around the world…..okay I admit it…..I prefer a peaceful way of solving flash points over armed conflict…..if that makes me an “apologist” then I accept the title…..or if someone thinks I am being “politically correct” then I will accept that analysis also…..I have had better insults leveled at me in the past…..

The media has decided that they will do whatever possible to help Clinton realize her dream of the ascension to the all powerful position of president…..and in doing so they seldom bring up the fact of her foreign funds from international sources or her close association with the defense industry…..so let me help in case anyone is truly concerned about her rise to power……

Source: Hillary Is the Candidate of the War Machine

If elected she will  make damn sure that war is the ONLY reality the US has for the next decade….maybe longer.  If the candidate this stance should endear her to neocons and in doing so open the flood gates for massive funding from the M-IC…..

Is that what you are voting for?

Let’s Talk About Bernie Sanders and the Middle East

I think that foreign policy will be important in this upcoming election……I am pretty sure that I know where the clowns in the GOP candidate pool stand and that of Clinton…..but I have been hard press to say just what Bernie’s foreign policy will look like……

Then BAM!  Someone did my research for me!  Well not a complete look but on the region that is getting the most attention these days…….the Middle East.

This is for all the Bernie supporters that may not have any idea of what his foreign policy will look…..

Foreign policy has taken a backseat to domestic issues in the Democratic primary thus far. There are two explanations for this. One is that the Democratic base simply doesn’t see foreign policy – apart from “terrorism,” which at least has a foreign policy component to it – as a key issue. The other is that […]

Source: Let’s Talk About Bernie Sanders and the Middle East – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

Some of his stances do not appeal to me….but then NO candidate either GOP or Dem appeals to me……their realist views are what got us into this situation to begin with…..I guess I need to stop here and explain what I mean by “realist”.

A “realist” in foreign policy means that the only option open to settle concerns is a military one……

A Bigger Problem Could Brewing

First thing I would like to do is thank ALL my readers on the stats from yesterday……they were through the roof…..I appreciate all the fine folks that stopped by and helped make it a great day here on IST…….also it was one of my better days for comments and that is one reason I write a blog…..I like it when my readers reply to each other and the conversation begins……Thank you….thank you……

Most Americans are oblivious to what is happening in the Middle East…..well beyond the moron talking points that is……but there are bigger issues happening that we need to keep an eye on…..if we ignore it then the chances of them becoming out of control is a big possibility…..

What I am talking about is the chance that the Saudis are prepared to send in troops to fight in Syria…….

Saudi Arabia is prepared to deploy ground troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) if US-led coalition leaders agree to the offer.

Saudi’s air force has targeted ISIL with air strikes since the campaign began in Syria in September 2014, but the Gulf kingdom is now ready to provide ground forces to defeat the armed group, a military spokesman said on Thursday

“Today, the Saudi kingdom announced its readiness to participate with ground troops with the US-led coalition against ISIL, because we now have the experience in Yemen,” Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told Al Jazeera.

“We know that air strikes cannot be enough and that a ground operation is needed. We need to combine both to achieve better results on the ground.”

Asseri didn’t elaborate on how many soldiers the kingdom could send.

But there are others that say that this is not about the riff between the Saudis and Iran……

Despite media speculation about war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, several domestic and international factors make that prospect highly unlikely.

Source: Five reasons why Iran-Saudi conflict won’t escalate – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Whatever the outcome of this situation matters not….the consequences are a different story all together…..

I know Queen Bey’s performance at SB 50 is more important than anything happening  today….but tomorrow you could be ass deep in the sands of another conflict……Spend a little time and get to know the possibilities for the future…..when you are informed then you are seldom caught with your pants down…….

How to Convert a Terrorist in Three Grades or Less

I read a lot….mostly stuff that are in my field of interests, the Middle East…..and with all the clap-trap slogans on the internet about terrorists that are hiding everywhere with the exception of where we actually look…..and then there is all the calls for the “degrading and destruction” of ISIS and ways to fight terrorism and their message…..

I read this piece and thought I would share it with my readers….fascinating article…..well at least for me….maybe someone else will find a good read……….

Source: How to Convert a Terrorist in Three Grades or Less

Please let me know what you think……