Israel has announced that it will be building 800 new housing units. Of these, 560 will be in Maale Adumim, a town of 40,000 located four miles east of Jerusalem, and 240 will be in three Jerusalem neighborhoods.State Department spokesman John Kirby reacted with unusually strong language:If it’s true, this … would be the latest step in what seems to be the systematic process of land seizures, settlement expansions, and legalization of outposts that is fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution. We oppose steps like these which we believe are counterproductive.Kirby added that Washington was “deeply concerned”:This action risks entrenching a one-state reality and raises serious questions about Israel’s intentions.It should be added that Maale Adumim and the three “East Jerusalem” (actually eastern, northern, and southern Jerusalem) neighborhoods are located on land that was illegally occupied by Jordan from 1949 to 1967, and that Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War after Jordan attacked Israel.
It should not, though, have to be added.
The notion that Israel, by building homes in such places, jeopardizes chances of resolving the Palestinian issue is fundamentally flawed, and the State Department -- if it were not wedded to that notion -- would be able to find out why by doing a little fact-checking.
As Evelyn Gordon illuminates, since Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister in 2009 (he has been reelected twice), Israel has not been engaging in a “systematic process of land seizures” or anything of the kind. Actually, construction in “settlements” -- a term now used even for Jerusalem neighborhoods -- has slowed to a crawl:
As data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics unambiguously shows, since taking office … Netanyahu has built far fewer units in the settlements than any of his predecessors. True, he periodically announces grandiose building plans, as he did this week. But most are quietly frozen again immediately afterward; very few ever get built.Even if we were to elect a person of impeccable integrity, keen conservative vision and a thorough understanding of the unique blessing Western civilization has been to humankind, undoing the damage the Freedom-Haters have wrought would be a Herculean task.
And the chances are so great that it is nearly a certainty that post-America's next president won't be remotely any such kind of person.
We're on our own, folks.
“I killed myself to give the Palestinians a state. I had a deal they turned down that would have given them all of Gaza," Clinton said.
ReplyDeleteHe then praised Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, for setting up meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“There’s nobody who’s blameless in the Middle East, but we cannot really ever make a fundamental difference in the Middle East unless the Israelis think we care whether they live or die. If they do, we have a chance to keep pushing for peace," Clinton said. "And that’s her position. Not to agree with the Israeli government on everything, not to pretend that innocents don’t die, not to pretend that more Palestinian children don’t die than Israeli children. But that we can’t get anything done unless they believe, when the chips are down, if somebody comes for them we will not let them be wiped out and become part of the dustbin of history." 05/13/16 05:52 PM EDT
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/bill-clinton-palestinians-israel-223176
With only days before the Republican Party’s National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, presidential candidate Donald J. Trump finally abandoned any pretense ‘neutrality’ on the Israel-Palestine issue, and is now firmly “committed” to supporting Israeli settlement expansion on territories it has seized illegally, and also not recognizing a Palestinian State.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the promising rhetoric and previous displays of good will on this crucial foreign policy issue, exactly how did he finally arrive back at the status quo?
What started off as interesting, became promising, before eventually settling into Washington’sdefault position. On numerous past occasions during the GOP debate cycle and along the campaign trail, Trump had stated his feelings (which appeared to have an air of passion at the time) and intentions to secure a peace deal for the open-ended Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Israeli Lobby started to get very interested in the beginning of December 2015, when during an interview with the AP, Trump seemed to blame Israel for not securing a lasting peace agreement. I have a real question as to whether or not both sides want to make it,” Trump said, before explaining that his concerns predominantly reside with “one side in particular [Israel].
He also hinted that he wasn’t interested in any Jewish Republican money, to a chorus of boos he crowed, ‘I can’t be bought’. The same for any outside money too. Later, it slipped out again during a nationally televised GOP debate, with Trump making sounds about “negotiating a peace deal.”
Now here was a true maverick, hunting the forbidden cow. Amid all of Trump’s wild gaffes and ad hominem attacks, this was an epiphany. At this moment Trump really stood out, and caught the attention – and support – of a whole new legion of disaffected, disenfranchised moderates paddling on the fringe of the Trump wave. That was it. Soon after the phone rang. It was Sheldon.
The Donald had been summoned to a one-on-one in Las Vegas with the capo de capo himself, the George Soros of American right-wing politics, the kingmaker, Lord of the Slots and Supreme Master of Macau, billionaire property, casino tycoon and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, 82 yr old Sheldon Adelson.
It was after this time that Trump appeared muted on the issue of Israel-Palestine. 27 June 2016
http://www.globalresearch.ca/donald-trumps-u-turn-on-palestine-firmly-committed-to-the-israel-lobby/5533130
Trumpie today about the police slayings: Saying "our nation has become too divided," Trump said that "this is a time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion. We will pull through these tragedies."
ReplyDeleteI've now come to begin to understand what's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding.
I'm with the Clintons & Jimmuh on this issue. It is not an Israel right or wrong thing. If some interpretations of Revelations are true & correct, it will all play out the way it's been foretold to. From the beginning. Not a pretty scene for all but a few here. Go figure?
ReplyDeleteBoth of these candidates are horrible. Neither one must've president. Should either one win the November election, he or she must be too damaged and ruined to be effective at anything
ReplyDeleteJimmuh is a flat-out Hew-hater.
ReplyDeleteJew
ReplyDeleteHe also thinks there's something noble and visionary about seeing things from the perspective of terrorists and despots
ReplyDeleteA lot of people all over the world think very highly of Jimmuh. Our bad, I guess. To you & your ilk. Oh well, to each their own I suppose. Perhaps God blames it all on Palestine too, I dunno, do you?
ReplyDeleteJames Earl Carter Jr. is a great Georgian, American and man of God and I take him at his sincere word. Some Hasidim tried to claim his Big C was a curse from Jehovah. We are not dealing with open minds in the middle east and I would like to be able to tell them all to deal with it. By themfriggingselves!
ReplyDeleteBut of course you want to damage the Clintons and now Trump. As for the Clintons, your ilk has been trying that for over 3 decades now without success. When your ilk fails to succeed, they blame it on a low information citizenry, but that citizenry has a lot more what you revere as common sense than you will ever give them credit for, at least when you lose.
ReplyDeleteYou bet I want to damage the Clintons and Trump. Ruin them, incapacitate them. That is going to be one of this blog's main focal points as long as they are a menace to this nation.
ReplyDeleteGee that really adds to your credibility. Books have been written about your ilk's destructive tendencies. That's one large reason why you guys aren't exactly swimming in popularity. They call you assholes.
ReplyDeleteAnd your right wing conspiracy ain't so vast either.
ReplyDeleteTrump is of course one of the major assholes. He will simply be defeated. He can proceed to destroy himself if he tries hard enough.
ReplyDeleteThis is really strange. Quite suddenly you have become a rabid fan of one of the most corrupt, power-mad, unlikeable, dangerously reckless and shrill public figures of the last century. And she's utterly bereft of any actual accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, per USA Today / Suffolk, your new hero is viewed unfavorably by 53 percent of post-Americans.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm a rabid fan? No, not at all, just not at all fond of Trump who truly would wreck the country. Look at it this way, it won't be any worse than 8 years of Obama. Yeah, the 4 years will seem like 8 with her reputation tarnished so much, rightly or wrongly, but you can look at it that a Pub might make it to the Oval Office in 2021 now. As for accomplishments, what was she supposed to accomplish as First Lady for 8 years in AR, 8 years in the White House, 2 terms in the Senate and 6 as Secretary of State? There ain't a woman in the world EVER who's done all that.
ReplyDeletePlus, she stayed married and is a loving grandma. Doesn't that stick in your craw?
ReplyDeleteYou don’t have to like Hillary Clinton or her ideas. I get it. She’s a Democrat, a progressive (in most eyes), and conservatives don’t like that. However, you cannot say she does not have any accomplishments. Here are just a few:
ReplyDelete◾Even though her major initiative, the Clinton healthcare plan, failed (due to Republican obstruction), you cannot deny that it laid ground for what we have today, the Affordable Healthcare Act, something Clinton supports and would continue.
◾She played a leading role in the development of State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides the much-needed state support for children whose parents cannot afford nor provide them with adequate healthcare coverage.
◾She was also instrumental in the creation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Foster Care Independence Act.
◾Successfully fought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and asthma at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
◾She spearheaded investigations into mental illness plaguing veterans of the Gulf War; we now have a term for it – Gulf War Syndrome.
◾At the Department of Justice, she helped create the office on Violence Against Women.
◾She was instrumental in securing over $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center redevelopment.
◾Took a leading role in the investigation of health consequences of first responders and drafted the first bill to compensate and offer the health services our first responders deserve (Clinton’s successor in the Senate, Kirsten Gillibrand, passed the bill).
◾Was instrumental in working out a bi-partisan compromise to address civil liberty abuses for the renewal of the U.S. Patriot Act.
◾ Proposed a revival of the New Deal-era Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to help homeowners refinance their mortgages in the wake of the 2008 financial disaster.
◾Was a major proponent of sensible diplomacy which brought about a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and brokered human rights with Burma.
◾Oversaw free trade agreements with our allies such as Panama, Colombia, and South Korea.
◾Was the most traveled Secretary of State to date.
◾The Clinton Foundation, founded by her and her husband, has improved the living conditions for nearly 400 million people in over 180 countries through its Initiative program.
These are not all of her accomplishments. Her activism on behalf of women a children across the world is renowned. Her activism for raising the minimum wage and combating climate change is stellar. You do not have to support what she does or stands for. But do not say she doesn’t have any accomplishments. The conservatives who say this are the ones who are pushing for Ted Cruz – who brought on a $24 billion shut down. That, to them, is an accomplishment?
Yes, Hillary Clinton has accomplishments. You don’t have to like them, but they do, in fact, exist.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/04/13/heres-a-list-of-hillary-clintons-accomplishments-so-quit-saying-she-doesnt-have-any/
Go third party then. That'll really wreck Trump.
ReplyDeleteWhich I would like very much. Thank you very much. I am at the point where I think Bernie would be a better Dem choice and she should take him on as veep. That will be a killer line-up now, won't it? Al Franken might add some comedy cajones to break the tension? Secy of State? Surely not DOD of the lone super power. I have never lived in the lone superpower before and hope to enjoy it on unto that good night...
ReplyDeleteOF course she stayed married. Billy Jeff the Zipper was her ticket to power.
ReplyDelete8 years of Obama have been horrible for this country. It's been transformed from the United States of America into post-America, a nation bent on its own decline.
Re: First Lady, Senate seat and serving as Secretary of State and being a woman while doing so: Who gives a shit? Save that line of argument for the identity-politics jackboots.
Clinton healthcare plan: Of course, Pubs obstructed it. It was based on government involvement in health care. Always bad and wrong.
SCHIP: raw redistribution.
Foster Care, Patriot Act, WTC redevelopment: debatable whether these are on balance the proper purview of government.
Home Owners Loan Corp: raw redistribution.
"Sensible" ceasefire between Israel and Hamas: not so sensible, given that Hamas still exists.
Most traveled Sec of State: whoopee
Clinton Foundation: You're really going to trot that out as a laudable point on her resume? It's the ultimate in corruption and pay-for-play.
Minimum wage: bad and wrong for at least three reasons: It's tyranny (government telling a private organization how to conduct its affairs), it distorts the market value of an hour's worth of labor, and and it elbows society's most economically vulnerable out of the labor force.
Ted Crus pushing for a shutdown: Exactly why we love him.
Now, let's look at why she's evil:
1.) smearing and threatening the women who have come forward with charges of sexual predation against BJ the Z
2.) Lying to the Benghazi parents
3.) The charges related to email hat James Comey outlined.
Vote 3rd party then.
ReplyDeleteI've given that some thought.
ReplyDelete