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This from a dear friend and fellow memo reader:
5:55 PM (2 hours ago) | |||
Syria's Assad gasses hospital then bars those responding to his barbaric act. I seriously doubt he will be condemned as I Israel for defending its Gaza borders from attacking hordes who want to create a scenario so they can blame Israel.
The world is full of hypocrisy and it will never end because man is flawed but those who care need to stand up, to respond and not let heinous acts go unpunished.
Trump must attack Assad and wipe him out and send Russia/Putin a simple message that we will no longer draw lines in the sand aka Obama and will not tolerate your behaviour.
Also, Trump was correct to criticize Obama for broadcasting his intent regarding military moves but he is equally stupid to do the same regarding his intention vis a vis Syria. (See 1, 1a and 1b below.)
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Satirical look at Bolton's first day on the job. (See 2 below.)
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I have come upon a new site that lists and discusses new things being discovered and accomplished in Israel. I am posting the recent publication so you can ascertain what it features and the link to it is: MichaelgoodnewsIsrael (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1) US: Assad regime must be ‘held accountable’ for suspected chlorine attack
Washington blasts Moscow over support for Syrian president as 70 killed in Douma; medics say poisonous gas used on civilians
Today
The United States strongly condemned an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta late Saturday, saying Russia bore some responsibility due to its “unwavering support” for the regime.
Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta, was pounded by renewed airstrikes that killed 70 civilians in around 24 hours — while 11 people also suffered breathing problems.
First responders have accused forces loyal to President Bashar Assad of using poisonous chlorine gas.
“The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
“Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks.”
Nauert repeated the US’s previous assertions that Moscow had “breached its commitments to the United Nations as a framework guarantor” and questioned the Kremlin’s commitment to ending the crisis.
“Russia’s protection of the Assad regime and failure to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria calls into question its commitment to resolving the overall crisis and to larger non-proliferation priorities,” she said, calling upon Moscow to join international efforts to prevent further attacks.
The Syrian regime has been repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons, with the United Nations among those blaming government forces for a deadly sarin gas attack on the opposition-held village of Khan Sheikhun in April 2017.
Since February 18, the regime’s Ghouta offensive has killed more than 1,600 civilians.
1a)What The New York Times Isn’t Telling You About Israel’s Gaza ‘Blockade’
Nearly every New York Times dispatch about the recent violent pre-planned riots in Gaza has used the word “blockade” to describe Israel’s treatment of the territory.
“While Gaza was poor and crowded to begin with, the 11-year-old blockade by Israel and Egypt has driven it into crisis,” reports a “news analysis” by Times Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger that appears in the April 8 Times.
A news article in the April 7 Times reported, “The protests are aimed at Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which began after Hamas seized control in 2007.”
A news article in the April 6 Times referred to “the second round of protests against Israel’s longstanding blockade of Gaza.”
An article on page one of the March 31 Timesreported that the Palestinians “were protesting against Israel’s longstanding blockade of the territory and in support of their claims to return to homes in what is now Israel.”
Leave aside the inconsistencies. Some Timesaccounts mention Egypt’s participation in the “blockade,” while others omit it. Some Timesaccounts describe the riots — sorry, “protests”— as only against the “blockade,” while others also mention the “claims to return.” Let’s focus for now on the unifying thread, that term “blockade.”
My authoritative Webster’s Second Unabridged dictionary defines a blockade as “a shutting off of a place or region by hostile troops or ships in order to prevent passage” or “any blocking action designed to isolate an enemy and cut off communication and commerce with him.”
Using that word overstates it to describe Israel’s treatment of Gaza. Israel’s Defense Ministry reports that in one week in March of 2018, 2,728 trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Israel, carrying 74,202 tons of supplies, including 87 tons of medical supplies, 15 tons of agricultural products, 1,506 tons of food supplies, and 51,044 tons of building supplies. Another week this year, the Defense Ministry reported 1,712 trucks entering Gaza, carrying 49,166 tons of supplies, including 43 tons of medical supplies, 92 tons of agricultural products, 5,426 tons of food supplies, and 31,356 tons of building supplies. In one single day in February, 11,485 tons of goods, in 379 trucks, entered Gaza through Israel, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. On another February day, 12,295 tons of goods in 431 trucks entered Gaza through Israel, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.
In addition, Israel supplies electricity to Gaza via ten power lines. And Israel supplies water to Gaza via two pipelines.
Some “blockade.”
You won’t read about all those trucks of supplies in the New York Times, alas.
Now, it is true that Israel maintains control over its border with Gaza, as does Egypt. But nearly all countries do the same thing on their own borders.
I drove across the border to Canada from the United States through Vermont earlier this month. Some Canadian border guard stopped the car and looked inside before letting us in. A friend’s parents were visiting the US from Canada for Passover. An American border guard stopped their car and inspected its contents, right down to opening up a cooler full of Passover food. Does that mean that the United States is “blockading” Canada or that Canada is “blockading” the United States? No.
And of course, the Israel-Gaza situation is different than the US Canada one, in part because Gaza is controlled by a terrorist organization, Hamas, that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and that has a proven record of using imported supplies to build tunnels and rockets for deadly attacks on Israeli Jews.
Accusing Israel of a “blockade” of Gaza when in fact Israel is allowing food, medicine, building supplies, electricity, and water into the territory is inaccurate. It gives Times readers a false impression of what is actually happening, uncritically echoing Palestinian propaganda. That’s not to say that the situation in Gaza is a picnic. But the blame for it lies with the Hamas terrorist organization, not with Israel or some “blockade” imagined by Times journalists.
1b)Honest Reporting:
The Gaza Clashes: What’s Really Happening
Since March 30, there have been intermittent protests, riots, and even armed attacks at the Gaza border.
Much of the media coverage has been so poorly informed or even outright misleading, that it can be almost impossible to understand what’s really happening. Israel has, in many cases, been made out to be a violent aggressor intentionally killing peaceful protesters.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
That’s why HonestReporting will be actively monitoring, analyzing and communicating throughout these events.
Here, for your use and information, is what we’ve seen so far:
Re-cap of events
- On April 1, we posted this explanation and analysis of the events up to that date. It was immediately clear that the “protests” also included molotov cocktails, burning tires, rock throwing, and in one case even live gunfire at the IDF. There were ongoing attempts by rioters to breach the border fence and enter Israel.
- Of the 30,000 Palestinians present, 16 were reportedly killed by IDF sniper fire. The figure later increased to 19.
- It was well known since April 1 that at least ten of the casualties had clear affiliations to terror groups, including Hamas. An analysis of open-source information from Palestinian media brought that number up to 15, and HonestReporting was the first to publish that new information on April 5.
- Another protest/riot on April 6 brought 20,000 people and new violence: including the burning of what may have been 10,000 tires, and further attempts to both attack IDF soldiers and to infiltrate Israel under the resulting smokescreen. Meanwhile, and this is not a joke, Hamas is now blaming Israel for what it claims is a “shortage” of tires in Gaza. Seriously. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried.
- A number of Palestinians criticized Hamas for publicizing the deaths of its members, including holding military funerals and rallies. The main objection can be summarized as follows: by revealing that so many of the deaths were actually terrorists, Hamas undermines the PR illusion that this was a “peaceful protest.”
- As of yesterday morning, Haaretz put the total number of Palestinian casualties at 29, while a slightly later AP story puts the number at 32. One casualty was Palestinian photojournalist Yaser Murtaja. Though the not all the facts are known yet, this story is making some strong waves in the press. The IDF says it is investigating and that it does not deliberately target journalists. Most of the information known so far is from the Hamas controlled Gaza Ministry of Health or from Hamas itself.
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2)
John Bolton’s Diary: Day One as Nat’l Security Advisor
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton assumes the position of U.S. national security advisor today replacing General H.R. McMaster. He hits the floor running after his boss, President Donald Trump, threatened a U.S. response to the latest chemical attack in Syria, which Trump blamed on the “animal Assad” (Syria’s dictator). Here’s Clarion Project’s (at times satirical) look at Bolton’s personal diary for day one on the job:
9 am: Chair Meeting of National Security Council re: Syrian Chemical Attack
Figure out what Donald meant by saying there would be a “big price to pay” for the snuffing out of women and children in Syria with chemical weapons. How low can that butcher in Syria go? He is truly an “animal.” Note to participants: any response will have to punish Russia and Iran, too. Donald named them also responsible.
11 am: Brief Statement to the Press
Stave off the media re what we decided in above meeting till after it’s done. (If it doesn’t go well, we can always deny). Stand by Pentagon’s denial of U.S. missile attack on Syrian air base between Homs and Palmyra. Whoever did it, I hope it knocked out a good amount of Syria’s and Russia’s fighter planes. (Get the Israelis on the phone.)
11:30 am: IRAN!
Check when next opportunity comes up for the boss to get out of this awful agreement. If Mr. Supreme Leader thinks his “enemies” were behind the latest “unprecedented onslaught” condemning him and his totalitarian regime, he hasn’t seen anything yet. He thinks his country is a “rising power?” Not when I get done with it. That tyrant’s gotta go. Convince Donald that regime change is the only way. And while we’re talking about regime change, it’ll work well in the next meeting, too.
1 pm: Meet with Mike Pompeo at CIA re: North Korea
Get up to speed with Mike on the secret talks already underway (love the government’s idea of a secret – I found out about this on CNN). Coordinate strategy to get the nukes away from that madman Kim — that’ll also help with Iran. Everybody knows these guys share everything. Only have two months max ’til the summit. Note: Tough talk by U.S. administration has worked so far.
3 pm: Break for Lunch. Call head of Germany’s FBI
Give kudos to head of the BKA for nabbing those six terrorists planning to attack Berlin’s half-marathon. See if he has authority to talk some sense in his boss Merkel to get a handle on migrant crime and stop the flow of returning ISIS jihadis to Western Europe.
3:15 pm: Nikki Haley – Punish Hamas
The International Criminal Court says Israel may have committed war crimes staving off those Islamist monsters trying to push through Israel’s borders? Gimme a break! Nikki’s doing a great job holding off the vultures at the U.N., that worthless organization. Now we gotta figure out how we can remind the world that (a) Hamas is a terrorist organization and (b) that already in 2005, Israel pulled out of its “territory” (which Hamas took over illegally from the Palestinian Authority). Even the PA is accusing them of sending civilians to die for media coverage.
5 pm: Ring Nigeria
Time difference should work. Call pres to thank him for freeing kidnapped Americans. Glad they were found in good shape. Give congrats as well for rescuing latest batch of abducted schoolgirls. Boko Haram – what monsters! Tell pres to set up appointment with my secretary for more American help. This terror org must be destroyed for good.
5:30 pm: Make Up for Missing MBS on his U.S. Tour
Get to know Mohammed bin Salman – he’ll be king of Saudi Arabia in no time. Good time to catch him on his plane on the way back from the U.S. Make sure he understands that his American charm offensive means nothing if it isn’t backed up by follow through on his promises to end extremism in the kingdom and give women equal rights. While we’re at it, how about human rights for everyone there.
7 pm: Dinner with Donald and Melania
Bring my last book, Surrender Is Not an Option – POTUS will like it and it will help him get a handle on Syria, North Korea and Iran. Clear rest of evening. Never know how these things go.
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3) Good News From Israel
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