THE KHALEEJ TIMES reports, "The Iraqi Meteorological Organisation confirmed on Saturday that the
light observed in the skies over Iraq on Friday was the result of a
meteor burning up in the atmosphere." Interesting but hardly the most interesting news out of Iraq right now.
Supposedly, US troops will be withdrawing from Iraq. Again! Of course the withdrawal under Barack Obama was not a withdrawal. It was a drawdown as thousands remained in Iraq. In the fall of 2012, Barack began sending more US troops -- special forces. The press ran with "withdrawal" while the US military (rightly) termed it a "drawdown." Yes, there is a difference.
So applause to WION for its use of terms in the video below entitled "Will some US troops remain in Iraq after drawdown?"
Different sources revealed that Baghdad and Washington agreed on a
strategy for the departure of coalition forces led by the United States
from Iraq.
Reuters mentioned that hundreds of troops are expected to leave Iraq
by September 2025 and the remaining forces by the end of 2026, according
to the agreement, which still needs confirmation from top authorities
in both countries and an announcement date.
Last week, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani,
confirmed that the remnants of the terrorist group ISIS are no longer a
danger to the country.
Will it be a withdrawal? No. No, it will be a drawdown, "Reuters also reported that the two governments aim to establish a new
advisory relationship that could see some US troops remain in Iraq after
the drawdown." NEWSWEEK wrongly sells it as a withdrawal. A withdrawal means all leave (except Marines guarding the US Embassy). A drawdown means a number leave but not all. It's amazing that NEWSWEEK can't get it right even as they quote anonymous US military officials. SHAFAQ NEWS notes, "However, the report
highlighted that a US force will remain stationed in Erbil, the capital
of the Kurdistan Region, serving as a key link to US operations in
Syria."
For any who have forgotten, US troops invaded Iraq in March of 2003. Barack Obama carried out a drawdown -- but not a withdrawal -- and US troops remain in Iraq. 21 years later and US troops remain in Iraq.
The US is likely to maintain significant military capabilities to fight extremists in Iraq after the anti-ISIS coalition wraps up in the coming years, an American official said on Friday.
Speaking
after it was reported that US-led coalition forces would leave Iraq by
the end of 2026, the official said their departure “doesn't necessarily
change” the military's ability to go after ISIS.
“I would be extremely surprised if they pulled all US presence out,” the official told The National. Baghdad and Washington agreed in late July on a two-year plan to end the coalition's mission in Iraq, which was brought in to fight ISIS a decade ago.
A shepherd was killed in a Turkish bombardment of a village in
northeastern Erbil on Tuesday, according to a local health official and a
war monitor. The area is known for clashes between the Turkish military
and Kurdish fighters.
Badi’ Kamal Mohammed, 29, was seriously injured when Turkish air forces
hit the Senin meadow in the Sidakan district of Erbil province, hospital
director Karwan Faysal told Rudaw. Faysal added that Mohammed was
brought to Sidakan hospital, where the civilian succumbed to his wounds.
A political adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani
has rejected recent allegations that employees at the premier’s office
have been spying on and wire-tapping senior officials and politicians.
Since
late August, Iraqi local media outlets and lawmakers have alleged that
employees at Sudani’s office had been arrested on charges of spying on
senior officials.
“This is an inflated lie,” said Fadi al-Shammari
in an interview with an Iraqi broadcaster .
Michael Knights of the right-wing Washington Institute For Near East Policy argues this is Iraq's Watergate. Briefly for Iraqi community members, President Richard Nixon and his administration spied on people illegally and Watergate specifically refers to Nixon's 'plumbers' breaking into the Democratic National Committee's office in the Watergate building in 1972. The scandal would eventually reveal other corruptions and crimes of Tricky Dick's administration forcing him to resign the presidency in disgrace to avoid being impeached.
We have one picture of the war in
Gaza. While it's hard for foreign journalists to make it into Gaza,
many images have made their way out. We've seen destruction from the air
and from the ground. We've seen children in peril, people alive and
dead. And now we have the story behind a single image from this week,
which some people will find disturbing. This report is just a little
over two minutes. NPR's Aya Batrawy has the story of the girl in the
pink roller skates.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Tala Abu Ajwa was
heading out to play with her brother when a bomb hit their building in
Gaza City. Shrapnel went flying through the air, piercing her neck. The
10-year-old died within minutes. The photo of her in her pink roller
skates quickly spread online.
HUSSAM ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: I reached Tala's father, Hussam Abu Ajwa, by phone in Gaza City. He says his daughter was bubbly and ambitious.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY:
He tells me the day before she was killed, she told him, Baba, I want
to become a dentist and go back to school. She told her dad she wanted
to celebrate her brother's birthday and forget about the war.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY:
He promised to try. Abu Ajwa, a high school chemistry teacher before
the war, sends me photos of how the family once lived. Tala's arms are
wrapped around his neck in a pool. In other photos, she's hugging her
siblings, dolled up in dresses, headbands, a Daisy Duck sweater. She
loved taking selfies. This last photo of her in the morgue, still
wearing her skates, has gone viral on social media.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY:
Abu Ajwa says he tried his best to keep the family safe. The Israeli
military says it takes precautions to limit civilian deaths in its
targeting of Hamas. It did not respond to NPR's request on why this
residential building was hit. Tala's father says the booms of Israeli
airstrikes would scare her. She'd curl up in his arms.
Meanwhile, REUTERS notes, "Israeli military strikes across the Palestinian Gaza Strip killed at
least 61 people in the space of 24 hours, local medics said on Saturday,
as Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in the territory." Among the targets bombed by the Israeli government? Halima al-Sa’diyya school. They keep bombing schools. ALJAZEERA adds, "Israel has continued attacks in Gaza. At least four people, including
the deputy director of Palestinian Civil Defence in the North Gaza
governorate, Abu al-Abd Morsi, have been killed in an attack on a house
in the Jabalia refugee camp."
And still there is no cease-fire. FRANCE 24 notes, "The war between Israel and Hamas
in Gaza entered its 12 month Saturday with little sign of respite for
the Palestinian territory or hope for Israeli hostages still held
captive." There are protests. THE NATIONAL reports:
Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Tel Aviv again on
Saturday demanding a deal to free the remaining Israeli hostages in
Gaza.
Organisers said 400,000 people blocked Derech Menachem Begin, one of the city's main thoroughfares.
Protests
were also held in other cities, including Haifa, Jerusalem and
Caesarea, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence.
Demonstrators, including the family of the hostages, held banners that read "we are all kidnapped" and "get them out of hell".
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL adds, "Speakers at the Saturday night Tel Aviv rally were to include: Andrey Kozlov, a former hostage rescued from Gaza in an IDF operation; former hostage Danielle Aloni who was released along with her young daughter Emilia during the November ceasefire; Shay Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, whose murder was announced by the IDF earlier this week along with five other hostages; Nissan Calderon, brother of hostage Ofer Calderon; Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander; and Einav Moses, the daughter-in-law of 80-year-old hostage Gadi Moses." London also witnessed a large protest. THE SOCIALIST WORKER reports:
Anger at the Labour government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide filled the streets of central London on Saturday.
Around 125,000 people joined the 17th national demonstration for Palestine since Israel began its genocide last October.
The immense vitality of the Palestine
movement was on show with many first-time marchers. Kamar told
Socialist Worker, “This is my first demonstration in London—and it won’t
be my last.”
Kamar said Western governments have made some concessions
because they “want to be seen to be on the right side of history” while
still backing Israel. “The British government has suspended some arms
sales to Israel, but it’s very small,” she said.
Imad, a lorry driver from West Bromwich in the Midlands,
told Socialist Worker, Labour is failing to do enough. It suspended 30
arms licences—but why not all? It’s just trying to shut people down with
gestures to show they are doing something. If it was serious, Labour
would have suspended all licences.”
But, Imad added, “Anyone who wants to be in Downing Street has to support Zionism.”
Protestor Ian, who had travelled to London, agreed, 30 out of 350 arms contracts is nothing but lip service.
“Labour is still providing arms for the F35 fighter jets,
so there’s no real difference between Labour and the last Tory
government.”
Israeli
forces have been laying tarmac on a key road in Gaza along its southern
border - in what some commentators see as a signal that they're not
prepared to fully withdraw from the territory any time soon.
The road has become a major sticking point in the negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
BBC
Verify has analysed satellite imagery, photos and video that show the
surfacing of a road along the narrow but strategically important strip
of land running the length of Gaza's border with Egypt, long known by
its Israeli military codename: the Philadelphi Corridor.
Between
26 August and 5 September, satellite imagery captured at regular
intervals shows fresh paving along a section of road extending 6.4km
inland from the coast along the border fence.
Gaza remains under assault. Day 336 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza
by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.
But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge
for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel,
the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover
for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.
Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily
basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to
school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe
Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom
believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The
slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US
Congressional Research Service. THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll rises to 40,939, with 94,616 injured." Early on, Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) pointed out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned
the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." Months ago, United Nations Women noted,
"More than
1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza --
have
been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million
women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million
people -- are in crisis levels of of acute food insecurity or worse." Months
ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained
on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000
Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of
their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe
Lazzarini Tweeted:
April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as
killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000
Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has
estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into
Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."
An American woman was shot and killed in the West Bank on Friday, doctors have said.
The
woman, aged 26, was shot in the head in the northern region of the
Palestinian territory and died after being rushed to hospital, medical
official Dr Ward Basalat said. Dr. Fouad Naffa, the head of the
hospital, also confirmed the death of an American woman, who has not yet
been named.
AP notes, "Witnesses, activists and Palestinian media said she was shot by Israeli
troops while attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration against
settlement expansion in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank, near
the town of Beita. Israel's military said it was still looking into the
incident, but it confirmed that troops had opened fire in the area."
FDA Initiates New Studies on Toxic Metals in Tampons Following Push from Senator Murray
Murray announces FDA has responded to her July letter
about toxic metals in tampons confirming it has commissioned an
independent review of the literature, and is conducting a new study on
the issue
Murray: “These are products
millions of women are using on any given day, so it’s important we
absolutely put to rest any concerns about their safety—so I’m pleased
that FDA is taking action to help us better understand the issue of
metals in tampons, and I am going to keep pushing to make sure we are
taking all the steps we need to keep women safe and healthy.”
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has responded to a letter she sent in July requesting the agency examine the findings of a recent study which
found toxic metals—such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and others—in a wide
variety of tampon products, and evaluate any necessary steps to ensure
the safety of tampons and menstrual products. The agency has let Senator
Murray know they take the issue of tampon safety seriously, and they
are working on a more detailed response to the questions from her letter
in addition to two related studies.
“For too long, women’s health has been overlooked and
understudied—ever since I came to Congress, making sure that women’s
health was a federal priority has been important to me. These
are products millions of women are using on any given day, so it’s
important we absolutely put to rest any concerns about their safety—so
I’m pleased that FDA is taking action to help us better understand the
issue of metals in tampons, and I am going to keep pushing to make sure
we are taking all the steps we need to keep women safe and healthy,” said Senator Murray.
Following Senator Murray’s oversight, FDA has initiated an expert,
independent review of the literature on the health effects of metals in
tampons, and an internal lab study at FDA to look at metals found in
tampons and how they get released under normal use.
FDA has commissioned an independent contractor to undertake a
thorough literature review to assess any possible links between tampon
use and adverse health effects. This review will address the following
questions:
What does the literature describe regarding prevalence, levels, and
types of biomarkers found in individuals using vaginal tampons? How does
the prevalence/level/type of biomarker differ from normal/expected
values?
What health outcomes are described in the literature associated with
vaginal tampon use (not including toxic shock syndrome)? How are the
frequencies of these health outcomes reportedly differing from the
general population?
What does the literature describe in terms of laboratory measures
from testing of vaginal tampons (levels of materials, prevalence,
etc.)?
The FDA’ s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Office of
Science and Engineering Laboratories has also initiated a study to
determine the proportion of metals that may be released by tampons in
normal use.
The results will be used to conduct a more precise risk analysis
which will assess the risk of metal exposure to tampon users. The FDA
study will also allow for appropriate statistics to be conducted by
using sufficient samples, which analysis was not possible with the Shearston et al study design.
FDA will use this information to make a determination of any possible health issues.
Senator Murray has a long history of demanding accountability and
careful oversight when it comes to the safety of products women and
families use every day. Recently, Senator Murray passed legislation giving
FDA new authority to, for the first time ever, regulate the safety of
cosmetic products and force a recall when necessary, and as Senate
Appropriations Chair she successfully fought to secure funding for this important work. Senator Murray has also previously pressed FDA and industry for answers and action regarding asbestos in children’s make up kits, demanded answers from Johnson & Johnson regarding asbestos found in baby powder, and was also a leading voice in holding FDA accountable and pushing for solutions following the infant formula contamination and shortage crisis in 2022.
Senator Murray has been a champion of improving and expanding access
to women’s health care throughout her career. Senator Murray was the
lead Democratic negotiator of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which
delivered a major federal investment to boost NIH research, among many
other investments—as the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Health
Committee, Murray specifically pushed to include policies that would
require NIH to improve inclusion of diverse populations, especially
women, in research and to address gaps in knowledge around safe and
effective therapies for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
STATEMENT: GOP Operatives Prop Up Jill Stein and Cornel West as Spoilers
September 4, 2024
This week, the Associated Press
reported that the GOP continues to prop up third-party candidates like
Jill Stein and Cornel West to spoil the election for Donald Trump. This
new reporting fits into a larger pattern we’ve seen play out over this
cycle of Republicans looking to find stalking horses. With an inability
to make Trump more popular, the GOP is hoping to siphon off votes from
Vice President Kamala Harris by jumbling the field.
In response, DNC Senior Adviser Mary Beth Cahill said the following:
“Voters will not be fooled by the GOP playing games with our
democracy. A third party candidate won’t become president, but one of
their spoiler campaigns can help decide who wins. That’s why the GOP is
working around the clock to prop up Jill Stein and Cornel West. We will
continue to call out Republican antics and hold spoiler campaigns
accountable. Only two candidates have a path to 270 electoral votes, and
the only way to stop Donald Trump is by voting for Vice President
Harris.”
Jill Stein’s Connection to the GOP and Republican Efforts to Prop Up Her Candidacy
Trump praised Jill Stein’s spoiler candidacy, saying he likes her “very much” because “she takes 100% from them.”
Donald Trump at Pennsylvania Rally in June:
“Cornel West, he’s one of my favorite candidates. Cornel West and I
like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes
100% from them. He takes 100%.”
Steve Bannon admitted that “the path to victory here is
clearly maximizing the reach of these left-wing alternatives,” adding,
“the more exposure these guys get, the better it is for us.”
New York Times:
“In the multicandidate race, Mr. Trump led by a single percentage
point; Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump by three percentage points in a
hypothetical head-to-head race. ‘The path to victory here is clearly
maximizing the reach of these left-wing alternatives,’ said Stephen K.
Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who also served as Mr.
Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016. ‘No Republican knows that oil
production under Biden is higher than ever. But Jill Stein’s people do,’
added Mr. Bannon. ‘Stein is furious about the oil drilling. The college
kids are furious about it. The more exposure these guys get, the better
it is for us.’”
MAGA activist and GOP operative Scott Presler said it was his goal to gain ballot access for Stein in Pennsylvania.
New York Times:
“Other Trump supporters are trying to help third-party and independent
candidates with the expensive and arduous process of gathering the
signatures needed to get on state ballots. Scott Presler, the
conservative activist whom Lara Trump said she wanted as an early hire
at the Republican National Committee, publicly reached out on social
media to Ms. Stein and Cornel West, a left-wing academic who is running
for president as an independent, to offer his help in collecting
signatures to get them on the ballot.”
Synapse Group— a longtime Republican operative’s firm—
gathered and submitted signatures for ballot access on behalf of Jill
Stein in New Hampshire.
Associated Press:
Jefferson Thomas, a longtime Republican operative from Colorado,
submitted petition signatures that his firm, The Synapse Group, gathered
on behalf of Stein in New Hampshire, records show.
GOP Efforts to Prop Up Cornel West
Trump has praised Cornel West’s spoiler candidacy and says West is “one of [his] favorite candidates.”
Cornel West received the maximum donation from Harlon Crow —
the controversial, conservative billionaire who called West a “good
friend.” West continued to defend the contribution after returning it
due to criticism.
The Hill:
“Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said Friday he returned
a controversial donation from Harlan Crow — the billionaire with
controversial links to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. ‘How sad
that perceptions so quickly triumph over truth in our decadent culture,’
West said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘This holds in our
major catastrophe in the Middle East where the rich humanity of
Palestinians is rendered invisible. It also holds at home in the minor
scandal about Harlan Crow’s donation to my campaign.’ ‘He is a staunch
anti-Trump Republican who has ‘Never Forget’ collections of tyrants
(Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and many others) and patriotic collections of
Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln,’ West continued. ‘Does this
disqualify him from contributing to my campaign? Most people holler yes,
I say no.’ Still, he said, he decided to return the money. The news
comes after West received a $3,300 donation from the Republican
megadonor in August, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The funds came in just weeks before West switched from the Green Party
to an independent bid.”
To spoil the election for Donald Trump, Republican operatives
have worked to help Cornel West gain ballot access in Arizona,
Wisconsin, Virginia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania,
and Maine.
Associated Press:
“Republicans and their allies have worked to get West on the ballot in
Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and Maine, all in the hope that West will help boost former
President Donald Trump’s chances of winning later this year by pulling
support from Harris. West does not need to win a state to serve as a
spoiler candidate — a few thousand votes in battleground states could be
decisive.”
In Arizona, a dozen paid operatives linked to the
GOP-affiliated firm Wells Marketing LLC helped Cornel West gain ballot
access.
NBC News: “A
dozen paid operatives registered with Arizona’s secretary of state on
Sunday to collect signatures on behalf of left-wing presidential
candidate Cornel West, listing their employer as a Republican-leaning
firm that recently worked for GOP House candidate Blake Masters.
Arizona, unlike most states, requires paid or out-of-state
petition-gatherers to register with the state. On their public
registrations, some of circulators working to help West get on the
ballot in Arizona struggled to spell his name, listing it as ‘Carnel
west’ or ‘Cornelle West.’ All checked boxes indicating they are out of
state and that they are being paid. All listed Wells Marketing LLC — or
some variation, with a few misspellings — as the company they are
working for. It’s unclear who is paying them. Wells Marketing did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.”
Wells Marketing is closely affiliated with Mark Jacoby, who
was previously convicted of voter registration fraud and who has a long
history of deceptive tactics and unethical behavior.
Associated Press:
“Last month, more than 80 paid out-of-state signature gathers descended
on the pivotal battleground of Arizona to collect signatures for West,
state records show. Many of the workers listed Wells Marketing, a
mysterious Missouri limited liability company, as their employer. The
company, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, is closely
affiliated with Mark Jacoby, a signature gathering operative from
California with a longstanding reputation for using deceptive tactics
and who was convicted in 2009 of voter registration fraud, court records
show.”
People Over Party – a nonprofit led by an attorney with ties
to the GOP and which has worked with GOP-affiliated canvassing firms –
has pushed to get Cornel West on the ballot in six states.
Associated Press:
“Hamrick serves as counsel for the Virginia-based nonprofit People Over
Party, which has pushed to get West on the ballot in Arizona, Maine,
Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as North Carolina, records
show. […] Though he insists he is not a Republican, Hamrick voted in
Alabama’s Republican primary in 2002, 2006 and 2010, according to state
voting records maintained by the political data firm L2. He was tapped
briefly in 2011 to work for the Alabama state Senate’s Republican
majority. And since 2015, according to federal campaign finance
disclosures, he has contributed only to GOP causes, including $2,500 to
the Alabama Republican Party and $3,300 to Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, a
Republican who has trafficked in conspiracy theories. […] In North
Carolina, People Over Party, worked with Blitz Canvassing and Campaign
& Petition Management — two firms that routinely work for the GOP —
to gather signatures for West. Hamrick later responded in writing on
behalf of workers for the two companies after the state election board
opened its inquiry.”
Attorneys with “deep ties” to the GOP— Amanda Reeve, Brett
Johnson, and Paul Hamrick— barraged West electors in Arizona who said
they no longer wanted to fulfill the role. One West elector in Arizona,
Denisha Mitchell, says that the form registering her as an elector was
forged.
Associated Press:
“Mitchell said after the AP story was published Friday — in which said
she ‘didn’t even know what an elector was’ and that the paperwork was
‘forged’ and riddled with errors — she received a call from someone who
had been handling the West petition work. She missed the call, but when
she called back, she was connected to Hamrick. Hamrick, an
Alabama-based attorney, said the allegations against him were ‘false’
when reached Sunday night, but declined to comment further. Mitchell’s
and Judie’s cases are the latest examples of the dubious tactics used to
get West on ballots nationwide. Mitchell, who had been drawn to West’s
progressive message before she learned Republican-aligned operatives
were working to get him on the ballot, told the AP on Friday that she
was unaware who filled out the paperwork in her name, calling it
‘forged.’ She and her husband previously worked for a
signature-gathering contractor called Wells Marketing, collecting
signatures to get an initiative on the ballot that would raise the wages
of tipped workers in Arizona. Wells Marketing, a mysterious Missouri
limited liability company, was also leading the effort to gather the
signatures needed to get West on the ballot in Arizona.”
Multiple Cornel West electors in Arizona are registered Republicans, one of whom was convicted of manslaughter.
Associated Press: “Rothgeb,
who could not be reached for comment, is a registered Republican, as
are two other electors for West, voting records show. Two additional
electors listed in the state filings are not registered to vote at the
addresses provided for them, records show.”
Associated Press: “But
her story is not the only unusual one among the slate of electors for
West. One of them, Elizabeth Rothgeb, pleaded guilty to manslaughter
after accepting a plea deal stemming from the killing of her
then-husband with an ax in 1998. She spent 10 years in prison and was
released on Christmas Eve 2010, according to online records from the
state prison system. Rothgeb, who could not be reached for comment, is a
registered Republican, as are two other electors for West, voting
records show. Two additional electors listed in the state filings are
not registered to vote at the addresses provided for them, records
show.”
In Georgia, Cornel West’s ballot access efforts were advanced
by a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association whose firm
received payment for services to the Republican National Committee.
Michigan Advance: “Other
attorneys for West with GOP connections include Bryan Tyson, also a
member of the RNLA, who has represented West’s interests in Georgia.
Tyson is a partner with the Atlanta-based Election Law Group, which has
received $60,000 this year for services to the Republican National
Committee.”
In Michigan, John Bursch – an attorney whose firm was paid
$25,000 by Trump’s campaign in November 2020 for “recount: legal
consulting” and who now works as a lawyer for the conservative legal
group that helped overturn Roe v. Wade – fought a challenge to West’s
placement on the state ballot.
Associated Press:
“In Michigan, John Bursch, a senior lawyer for the Alliance Defending
Freedom, the conservative legal group that helped overturn Roe v. Wade,
fought a challenge to West’s placement on the ballot. Bursch’s firm,
Bursch Law PLLC, was paid $25,000 by Trump’s campaign in November 2020
for ‘RECOUNT: LEGAL CONSULTING,’ according to campaign finance
disclosures. Bursch did not respond to a request for comment.”
In Wisconsin, four people employed by GOP-aligned political
canvassing firm Blair Group Consulting gathered signatures to help
Cornel West gain ballot access.
USA Today:
“Liberal activist Cornel West’s efforts to get his name on the ballot
in Wisconsin as an independent presidential candidate received a boost
from Republican operatives who helped collect petition signatures for
his candidacy. The involvement underscores how allies of Republican
nominee Donald Trump have worked to lift the candidacies of third-party
candidates to help the former president’s chances in the November
election in closely contested battleground states. Four individuals
employed at the Republican-aligned political canvasing firm Blair Group
Consulting worked as circulators who gathered signatures in support of
West’s candidacy in Wisconsin, according to petitions submitted with the
Wisconsin Elections Commission this month and reviewed by USA TODAY.”
In North Carolina, three operatives who are current or past
employees of GOP political firm Blitz Canvassing collected signatures to
get West on the ballot.
NBC News:
“Emails from elections officials, obtained through a request under
North Carolina’s Public Records Law, show the pro-West Justice for All
Party authorized three people to pick up and drop off signatures for
them statewide — and all three are current or past employees of a
Colorado-based Republican political firm called Blitz Canvassing. Blitz
Canvassing has worked for numerous Republican House and Senate
candidates and took in more than $14.6 million in payments working for
Never Back Down, the main super PAC that supported former GOP
presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to
campaign finance reports.”
Prominent Republicans complained and took legal action
against the North Carolina Board of Elections after Cornel West was
initially denied ballot access.
NBC News: “The
Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign blasted the
decision, calling it ‘election interference’ and threatening
retribution. ‘Those who have engaged in these un-American acts must be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and receive the harshest
punishment possible so these injustices will never be repeated,’ Trump
campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.”
Carolina Journal: “Presidential
candidate Cornel West, Democratic operative Marc Elias, and the
Republican Party all want a say in the ballot access lawsuit involving
West’s Justice for All Party. […] The North Carolina Republican Party
and Republican National Committee filed a brief supporting JFA’s ballot
access efforts.”
News & Observer: “Supporters
of Cornel West’s third-party presidential campaign sued the North
Carolina State Board of Elections on Monday after it denied ballot
access to West’s new party. […] The lawyer bringing the suit, Phillip
Strach, frequently represents Republican legislative leaders in court
and has recently defended them in gerrymandering lawsuits and challenges
to stricter election laws. His law firm, Nelson Mullins Riley and
Scarborough, has been paid tens of thousands of dollars for legal
services by the Republican National Committee, North Carolina Republican
Party and National Republican Congressional Committee in the last
several years.”
In Pennsylvania, a prominent Republican attorney— Matthew Haverstick— worked to gain Cornel West ballot access.
Washington Post:
“[…] a lawyer with deep Republican Party ties is working to help
independent candidate Cornel West get on it. […] Meanwhile, a lawyer
with longstanding ties to Republican candidates and causes went to court
to argue that the Secretary of State’s office under Democratic Gov.
Josh Shapiro was wrong to reject West’s paperwork. ‘I see no good reason
for Mr. West to be kept off the ballot or Pennsylvanians otherwise
prevented from voting for him,’ the lawyer, Matt Haverstick, said in an
interview. Haverstick declined to say who hired him or why.”
In Virginia, Republican-tied signature gatherers were witnessed using deceptive tactics to help West gain ballot access.
Associated Press: “The
GOP-linked signature collection effort on West’s behalf isn’t limited
to North Carolina. Signature gatherers in suburban Washington were
witnessed asking people in a Target parking lot to sign a petition to
‘get Donald Trump off the ballot,’ NBC4 reported. The signatures were
actually being collected to help get West on the Virginia ballot, and
one of the workers said they would be handed off to the state GOP, the
TV station reported.”
NBC News4:
“There’s an effort in Virginia to put a third-party presidential
candidate on the ballot, but some of the signatures may have been
collected under false pretenses. A group in Northern Virginia with
clipboards and petitions asking people if they wanted to sign to ‘get
Donald Trump off the ballot’ told News4 it was actually gathering
signatures to get Dr. Cornel West on the ballot. […] The group
collecting signatures for West would not say who enlisted it to go to
Virginia or why some of them were misleading voters about the purpose of
the petitions. ‘That’s very unfortunate and a lot of times people do
lie but you can only go off based what people tell you, and you are
supposed to read everything,’ said Precious Edmonds, who signed the
petition believing it was to get Trump off the ballot.”
Cornel West’s campaign doesn’t have a problem with
Republicans propping up his ballot access efforts; his campaign is broke
and can’t afford it on their own.
Associated Press: “In
a brief interview, West expressed ambivalence about Republican efforts
to help him, which Democrats fear could benefit Donald Trump by
siphoning away left-leaning voters who would probably support the
Democratic nominee otherwise. ‘So much of American politics is highly
gangster-like activity,’ West told The Associated Press on Monday. ‘I
have no knowledge of who they are or anything — none whatsoever. We just
want to get on that ballot. And that’s the difficult thing.’ The work
by the GOP attorneys appears to be part of a broader effort by
conservative activists and Republican-aligned operatives across the
country to push West’s candidacy and subvert the integrity of the ballot
in the months leading up to November’s presidential election.”
Friday, September 6, 2024. Conditions become worse in Gaza, Amnesty International documents War Crimes, Junior's campaign's in debt but he's putting it further in debt as he promotes Donald Trump's campaign, Jill Stein remains a predator, and much more.
Let's start in the US with the presidential election.
Oh, look, it's an advert: BRONZER, HOW NOT TO USE IT.
It's as though they're four-year-old little girls playing in Mommy's make up for the first time.
But who's paying for it?
Robert Kennedy Junior, you may remember, wanted to run for president. Even going so far as to run as an 'independent.'
Who's paying the bills right now? Because my understanding is that Junior's campaign had huge debts. So where did the money come from for yesterday evening's e-mail "Who Bobby wants you to vote for"?
That's what the picture's from. That e-mail. Who's paying to produce this stuff?
I don't think it's legal for Junior to use money donated to his campaign to pimp another person's campaign. If people wanted to donate to Trump, they would have done that. I don't understand the legality of someone already in debt on their campaign using resources to go further in debt in order to promote another candidate.
I don't understand it and I'm not the only one confused here. Junior finally got a response yesterday from various actual small donors who'd started the journey with him. And they replied back to the shock of the campaign which had no idea just how many people who gave money to Junior now hate him. Actively loathe him. "F**k you" is how 42% of the e-mails basically started.
Junior apparently did not realize how many people now hate him. Not casual election observers, mind you, but people who donated to his campaign. They feel betrayed -- and they should.
Speaking of betrayals, Jill Stein.
Karen Hunter offers her take in the above. That's her take. I've offered mine on this issue. I will add though that AOC is correct that Jill Stein is a "predator."
She waits every four years and shows up to prey on people, to lie to them and mislead them -- that is predator. AOC is correct. Not a Ted Glick fan but we'll note this from his ZNET column:
In 2004 there were about 225 GP members who were in elected office,
almost all of them low-level offices like school board, water board,
etc. Today Jill Stein says there are 144. There are no GP members who
have been elected to a state house or senate seat and, of course, none
to Congress. It’s a pretty dismal record for 20 years of existence.
Those of us who took the “safe states” position were in a decided
minority then, and today, I am sure, anyone who advocated for it would
be very unpopular. The GP has become a narrow, tiny party of true
believers, destined to get at most 1% or so of the vote. Of course, that
would triple the vote total of their Presidential candidate, Howie
Hawkins, in 2020.
I remember when it was that I decided I had had it with the GP. I was
at a national People’s Summit conference in Chicago in the summer of
2016 organized by National Nurses United and many other progressive
groups and individuals who had come together after active involvement in
the historic Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign. I was one of those
people. On the second day of this event, attended by thousands, I looked
up onto a screen that was projecting tweets about the convention that
were being posted. I was shocked to see one from Jill Stein explicitly
calling out this event and those who organized it as being “sheepdogs
for the duopoly.” These supporters of independent socialist Bernie
Sanders were all about corralling progressives into the Democratic
Party, Stein was saying.
The GP, and others supporting them, don’t get it on mass politics.
They believe in ideological purty before anything else. Unless you’re
ideologically pure, they would say, you will never be able to bring
about the transformational, revolutionary changes needed. Purity comes
before anything else.
Twenty years of this approach have made it clear this is a losing
strategy. The national US Green Party is a failure because of its rigid
and narrow electoral approach.
The Democratic Party sent out a mailing yesterday.
The first early vote ballots will drop in the mail this week.
This is not a drill.
People are
voting not just for president, but in critical races that will impact
control of the House, the Senate, and races further down the ballot as
well.
That is why we are asking you to donate $3 to the Democratic Party today.
$3 because a donation today will go further than at any point later in the cycle.
$3 because control of the White House, Senate, House, and down-ballot races are on the line.
$3 because
the DNC is the best organization to ensure we have the infrastructure
and resources in the places that will matter most.
We know
you didn't wake up and think, “Today is the day I am donating to the
DNC,” but just think about the people about to fill out their ballots
and the impact your donation can make in reaching persuadable voters
before they do.
The election is in 59 days. People need to be watching registration deadlines if they aren't already registered to vote. On that, we're noting this from THIRD's "Roundtable" again:
I'm not a TYT fan but they did cover what's going on in Texas so I'm noting their video today.
Turning to Gaza, THE NATIONAL reports, "At least six Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Friday morning. The bodies were taken to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, the Wafa news agency reported."the United Nations notes:
Víctor Aguayo, UNICEF Director of Child Nutrition, described the situation for children affected by severe malnutrition.
Briefing journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York, he described the situation in Gaza as one of the most severe food and nutrition crises in history.
“The nutrition situation in Gaza is one of the most severe that we have ever seen…it is important to remember that the nearly half of Gaza’s population suffering from this devastation are children,” he said.
Having
returned from the enclave last week, he said that the impact of the war
and severe restrictions on humanitarian response have led to a
“complete collapse” of food, health and protection systems, with
catastrophic consequences.
“The fact is that the diets of children in Gaza are extremely poor. It is estimated that over 90 per cent of children are eating at best two types of food per day for weeks or months, in the context of very severe…lack of access to safe water and sanitation,” he said.
Estimates
suggest that more than 50,000 children need immediate treatment for
acute malnutrition, requiring medical professionals and nutrition
workers.
“I walked through markets and neighborhoods, or what is left of markets and neighborhoods…there is no doubt in my mind there is a famine and a large-scale nutrition crisis,” he emphasized, calling for an immediate ceasefire and sustained humanitarian access.
This
weekend, Israeli soldiers in Gaza discovered the bodies of six hostages
executed by Hamas. The response was an outpouring of protests: Israelis
flooding the streets to call for a ceasefire that would bring all
hostages back and end the war, a demand that a majority of Israelis support. The Histadrut, Israel’s national labor union, called a (swiftly ended) general strike.
The
response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to double down on
war. In a Monday night press conference, he insisted that any ceasefire
would depend on Israeli control
over a stretch of territory in southwestern Gaza called the Philadelphi
Corridor — something Hamas is not prepared to give. Netanyahu’s presser
was so belligerent, in fact, that it may have single-handedly torpedoed ongoing ceasefire talks.
It’s clear that the Israeli public has no faith in Netanyahu’s handling of the war: Roughly 70 percent believe he should resign his position. Yet despite ongoing protests, it’s equally clear that the prime minister will not be changing course voluntarily.
And it looks like he’ll likely get away with it, at least for now.
His
government has weathered dismal polling on its war effort, as well as
sporadic protests, since the war began last October. And yet, as with
past demonstration flare-ups, there has been no evidence that this
weekend’s events have brought his government to the brink of collapse.
How can this be?
The
answer is brute power politics. The 2022 election gave right-wing
parties a clear majority in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), allowing
Netanyahu to build the most far-right government in Israeli history.
Though this coalition has since become extremely unpopular, there’s no
way for voters to kick it out on their own.
The government could only collapse if it faces defections from inside
the governing coalition. But at present, the greatest threat to
Netanyahu’s coalition comes from his extreme right flank, which wants
him to continue the war at all costs. And for that reason, he seems
intent on doing so.
International humanitarian law, which applies in situations of armed
conflict, including during military occupation, is comprised of rules
whose central purpose is to limit, to the maximum extent feasible, human
suffering in times of armed conflict.
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional
Protocols of 1977 are the principal instruments of international
humanitarian law. Many of these treaties’ rules are considered customary
international law, meaning that they bind all parties to an armed
conflict regardless of whether they have ratified particular treaties
and whether they are a state forces or a non-state armed group.
According to this customary norm, “the destruction or seizure of the
property of an adversary is prohibited, unless required by imperative
military necessity”. In addition, according to article 53 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention, which regulates the actions of Israel as the
occupying power in Gaza: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real
or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private
persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social
or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such
destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
According to article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “extensive
destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a grave breach of
the Convention, and thus a war crime.
Where such destruction is carried out as collective punishment, it
also violates article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which provides:
“No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not
personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of
intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”
Civilian property in armed conflict is also protected by the
principle of distinction, which requires that parties to the conflict at
all times, distinguish between “civilian objects” and “military
objectives” and direct their attacks only at military objectives.
According to customary international humanitarian law, civilian
objects are all objects which are not “military objectives”; and
military objectives are “limited to those objects which by their nature,
location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military
action and whose partial or total destruction, capture or
neutralisation, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a
definite military advantage”. Civilian objects are protected against
attack, unless and for such time as they become military objectives when
all of the criteria for a military objective are temporarily fulfilled
Protocol I requires that, in cases of doubt, parties to a conflict
should presume that the structure retains its civilian nature.
Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects is a war crime.
It's a lengthy press release which is why we linked to the release itself (normally on Amnesty, CCR, etc, we link to home page of the organization). Brett Wilkins (COMMON DREAMS) reports:
Amnesty International said Thursday that the Israeli military
should be investigated for the "war crimes of wanton destruction and of
collective punishment" over its destruction of entire communities along
Gaza's border with Israel.
"Using bulldozers and manually laid explosives, the Israeli military
has unlawfully destroyed agricultural land and civilian buildings,
razing entire neighborhoods, including homes, schools, and mosques," the
London-based rights group
said in a new investigation.
Amnesty analyzed satellite imagery, as well as photos and videos posted
online by invading Israel Defense Forces troops between October and
May, and found that the IDF has cleared wide swathes of land up to 1.2
miles (1.8 km) wide along Gaza's eastern border.
"In some videos, Israeli soldiers are seen posing for pictures or
toasting in celebration as buildings are demolished in the background,"
the report states.
[. . .]
In the 335 days since October 7, Israeli forces have killed or maimed
more than 145,000 Palestinians in Gaza while forcibly displacing almost
all of the embattled strip's 2.3 million people and destroying hundreds
of thousands of homes and other structures, according to Palestinian and
international officials. Rebuilding after Israel's obliteration of
Gaza's civilian infrastructure is
expected to cost over $18.5 billion, or nearly Palestine's entire annual gross domestic product.
Israel is currently
on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Meanwhile, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has applied
for warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders for alleged war
crimes including extermination.
"International humanitarian law, which applies in situations of armed
conflict, including during military occupation, is comprised of rules
whose central purpose is to limit, to the maximum extent feasible, human
suffering in times of armed conflict," Amnesty explained Thursday.
The group noted that under the Fourth Geneva Convention, "extensive
destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly," is a war crime.
Additionally, the treaty bans collective punishment of civilians,
stating that "no protected person may be punished for an offense he or
she has not personally committed."
According to an analysis by Amnesty International released Thursday,
Israel has cleared a strip of land ranging between 1 km and 1.8 km
wide. The buffer zone encompasses nearly the entirety of the Gaza side
of its border with Israel, covering 58 square kilometers, or about 22
square miles.
Satellite imagery from May shows that over 90 percent of the
buildings in this zone have been destroyed or severely damaged, the
rights group found, while the majority of agricultural land there is
also damaged.
Investigation by Amnesty International finds that Israeli forces
created the buffer zone merely because of its proximity to the border
fence, and for no supposed military necessity or tactical purpose.
Anything in the zone appears to have been eligible for destruction:
homes, schools, farms, mosques and cemeteries were all demolished.
“Around my family home we had a three dunam (0.7 acre)
orchard full of fruit trees. They were all destroyed. Only an apple tree
and a rose were left. I had bees and produced honey. All of it is gone
now,” Salem Qudeih told Amnesty International. Qudeih lived in Khuza’a,
situated near the border in Khan Yunis, which Israeli forces raided and nearly totally destroyed in December and January.
Again, this is reality. It's not the deranged fantasy that a bunch of self-deceiving idiots keep promoting to justify (and argue for it to continue) the genocide. Devi Sridhar (GUARDIAN) notes:
The discovery of polio in Gaza reminds us that
it’s becoming increasingly difficult to assess the true cost of the war.
We don’t have a sense of how widespread disease and starvation are – so
called “indirect deaths” – and we are in the dark in terms of total
number of deaths. Usually, data is collected from hospitals and morgues,
which certify each death and notify the health ministry. Yet these
civil registration systems have broken down in Gaza, meaning there is no
accurate data on how many deaths have occurred. The health ministry has
been trying to put together figures using media reports, which isn’t a
reliable way to capture the full picture. It is estimated
that there are more than 10,000 bodies buried under rubble still
(meaning they can’t be counted), as well as a rising number of
unidentifiable bodies.
Gaza remains under assault. Day 335 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza
by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.
But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge
for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel,
the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover
for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.
Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily
basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to
school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe
Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom
believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The
slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US
Congressional Research Service. THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll rises to 40,861, with 94,398 injured." Early on, Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) pointed out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned
the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." Months ago, United Nations Women noted,
"More than
1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza --
have
been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million
women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million
people -- are in crisis levels of of acute food insecurity or worse." Months
ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained
on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000
Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of
their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe
Lazzarini Tweeted:
April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as
killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000
Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has
estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into
Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."
AMYGOODMAN: I want to bring into this conversation another professor, Natasha Lennard, columnist at The Intercept,
associate director of the Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism
Program at The New School, not far from Columbia University. Her most
recent piece,
“College Administrators Spent Summer Break Dreaming Up Ways to Squash
Gaza Protests.” Can you put Professor Thrasher and Professor Franke’s
experience in a broader context of the universities from here in New
York, NYU, to other universities around the country?
NATASHALENNARD:
Absolutely. And thank you. It’s lovely to be back. And I firstly want
to say thank you to Professor Franke and Professor Thrasher for being
among the professors who refuse to be silenced in this moment of what is
widely being called a “new McCarthyism.” And I think that’s an accurate
description.
Their cases are not unusual, and it is indeed sad, and it is indeed
disappointing, indeed no less than ghoulish. We are having, both de
facto and through policy, both in terms of new regulations and student
conduct guides coming through for this semester, as well as punitive
actions against students and professors, a real reification of the claim
that Israel critical speech and pro-Palestinian speech should count
under violations of Title VI nondiscrimination law and regulations and
policy in universities. What that does is align university policy with
the right-wing agenda of Congress and right-wing lawmakers who follow in
the footsteps of a right-wing Israeli-U.S. consensus.
And I think if a university is not a place where that can be
critically challenged, especially at a time of genocide, when there are
no universities left standing in Gaza — which we cannot forget — and the
concerns of our academy is the speech of professors speaking out for
academic freedom and speaking out for the liberation of an occupied
people, we’re in very dark times indeed.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Natasha Lennard, you write in your piece in The Intercept that, quote, “Tucked into a document purportedly offering clarification on school policy, the new NYU”
— New York University — “guidelines introduce an unprecedented
expansion of protected classes to include 'Zionists' and ’Zionism’”?
NATASHALENNARD: Yes, this is a very exemplary, in the worst of ways, document that was just released by the administration at NYU.
It is a new updated guide of student conduct about nondiscrimination
and harassment. It goes further than any document I have seen in
asserting that Zionism, when used critically, should or at least readily
can be understood as — and I quote the document — a “code word.” It
doesn’t say that occasionally by antisemites that Zionism is used as a
code word. It takes that as a given.
So, that is — to clarify, that is a student conduct guide, very
poorly written, very open to misuse, that is asserting that the
political ideology founded in the 19th century of the ethnostate of
Israel being a Zionist project, that that should be considered part of
the protected class of Jewish identity, religion and ethnic and shared
ancestry. That is what we’re seeing in attempts of statehouses
nationwide to attach Zionism, the political ideology, to the protected
class of Jewish identity. It’s extremely dangerous. It performs de facto
apologia for Israel. And to have that put into writing by a university
so clearly is just open for further abuses and an escalation of the sort
of repression we’ve already seen.
AMYGOODMAN: Professor Franke?
KATHERINEFRANKE:
Well, I teach a class on citizenship and nationality in Israel and
Palestine. And we begin with a critical look at the concept of Zionism.
Of course, it was advanced as a place, as an idea, about the safety of
the Jewish people being located in Mandate Palestine, but there were
plenty of Jewish people at the time who said, “This is actually a
horrible idea from the perspective of the safety of Jewish people,
because what it says is the Jews all belong in Israel and nowhere else,
not in Europe, not in the United States, nowhere else. And so this will
lead to more violence, more expulsions, more antisemitic pogroms, if we
lean in too much to the idea that Jews belong primarily and especially
in Israel.” And those were critiques coming from Jews, again,
themselves.
So, if we are not allowed to talk about that anymore in universities,
what we’ve done is surrendered the very idea of the university itself.
And that is so much what troubled us about Minouche Shafik, our
president — former president of Columbia’s testimony in Congress, and
some of those other presidents who came, who were called before
Congress, is they not only did not put up a robust defense of the idea
of a university where we teach students how to be critical thinkers in
such a critical time, but they actually joined in to the criticism of
the university. My president did not stand up for any one of us, nor did
Professor Thrasher’s at Northwestern.
And this is part of what concerns me, is that our universities are
places now where we could not have a protest and say things that are now
being said in Tel Aviv by Israelis. The protests that are happening
there this week, if they took place on Columbia’s campus, our students
would be expelled or charged with very serious disciplinary violations.
This is where we’ve come. It’s impossible to talk about the kinds of
things that, Amy, in your setup, of the just horrible things that are
happening right this week in Jenin, in Gaza — we can’t talk about that
at Columbia. That’s part of what concerns me is, is that we don’t know
our history, and these new policies are keeping us from learning it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And,
Natasha Lennard, we just have about 30 seconds, but you’ve noted that
universities are not only facing attacks from Congress, they’re also
being subjected to lawsuits all around the country. Could you talk about
that briefly?
NATASHALENNARD: Yes, we’ve seen a series of litigation, including at NYU, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA,
brought by often unnamed students and faculty, often very frivolous
suits that universities are forced to answer to nonetheless, and then,
through settlements and often nonpublic agreements, are then forced to
change policy, often leading to the conflation of anti-Zionism and
antisemitism.
AMYGOODMAN: We’re going to have to leave it there, but we’re going to continue this discussion over time. We’ll link your piece,
Natasha Lennard, “College Administrators Spent Summer Break Dreaming Up
Ways to Squash Gaza Protests.” She’s at The New School. Columbia Law
professor Katherine Franke, Kathleen Peratis, civil rights lawyer, and
Steven Thrasher. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
Towering piles
of rubbish, widespread destruction and tents spread out as far as the
eye could see greeted UN workers and medical teams as they arrived at Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis for the second stage of a polio vaccination campaign.
The scale of destruction after several Israeli assaults, and the squalid conditions thousands of Palestinians
are living in, shocked even local Gazans such as Dr Fady Abed, from the
US-based NGO MedGlobal. He was among those who travelled from the
central areas of the enclave to carry out the southern phase of the
campaign.
"I saw kids playing among piles of garbage taller than the bus we were in," Dr Abed told The National on Friday.
