Yes, Trump has done some good, but NOTHING can atone for the enabling of genocide and censoring of pro-Palestine speech
Yes, improved relations with Russia is a big plus. Yes, opposing wokeism is a big plus. BUT...
But as long as Trump rewards Israel for supporting his campaign by silencing pro-Palestine activism and enabling genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine, he gets ZERO points for anything positive he may achieve. Because, though Trump has claimed that he was a Christian, if that were true, and if he knew the New Testament, he would know Jesus' words:
It were better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck and that he be cast into the sea than that he harm one of these little ones.
These words could not but apply to the Israelis' slaughter of thousands of Palestinian children.
Thus you can't claim to be a Christian and endorse the atrocity crimes of Israel - though thousands, maybe millions, of Evangelicals do exactly that. I have heard many pastors proudly proclaim "I stand with Israel," as if supporting the Israeli crime syndicate were a courageous act and not an admission of Satanism!
It is still also morally wrong to accuse opponents of genocide of anti-Semitism.
After all, to claim that opposing genocide is anti-Semitic is to tacitly imply that genocide is a typically Jewish trait! And to say THAT is anti-Semitic itself. Judaism, is NOT inherently Zionist and Zionism is an affront to the Torah.
Leviticus 19:34 KJV The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
It is crystal clear that the God of Israel (not the divine donor of land but the giver of commandments to live by) commanded His people to treat each other and foreigners fairly. Modern "Israel" tramples all over the commandments!
Let's go deeper.
So-called "Christian" Zionist doctrine holds that Ezekiel 37, the prophecy of the dry bones, is the basis for the belief that the modern Israel, founded in 1948, is the resurrection of ancient Israel.
But a close examination of that text proves that Ezekiel was NOT talking here about modern Israel at all.
Speaking of the inhabitants of this resurrected Israel, Ezekiel says in verse 24:
And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Just the mere fact that modern Israel tramples on the commandment to love and treat equitably the foreigner, as quoted in Leviticus 34 above, disqualifies modern Israel from being the modern extension of ancient Israel in the “Christian” Zionist doctrine. Modern Israel is misnamed. It is not a modern version of ancient Israel at all. It is a fake. Which is why most Arab writers refrain from using the word "Israel," instead often calling it "the occupier" or "the temporary entity," or writing the word Israel in quotes.
In fact, as if to emphasize this, Revelation 2:9 condemns the "false Jews":
I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
So who was Ezekiel referring to as the resurrected Israel in this Chapter 37 of the book of Ezekiel?
I am not qualified to say, but let’s consider that Ezekiel himself was caught up in the Babylonian captivity, and the thought of freedom would certainly have been paramount in his mind. And how did the Babylonian captivity end?
It ended when the Persian King Cyrus II conquered Babylon and then freed the Judeans (ethnic Israelites), in about 539 BCE, about 30 years after Ezekiel's death.
No doubt if Ezekiel had lived to see the liberation of the Jews, he would have disclosed that this was the fulfillment of his dry bones prophecy.
Instead, he left the question open for shysters 2500 years later to usurp his prophecy and falsely claim THEY were the modern day Israelites he had prophesied.
...
Trumpism accuses pro-Palestinian doctors of anti-Semitism for telling the truth!
Silencing medics in US: 'You can’t talk about genocide' in Gaza
By
Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Intercept
20 Nov 2024 14:26
Expressing concerns about the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli military aggression comes with serious consequences at UCSF — one of the US's most prestigious medical institutions.
A detailed report by The Intercept sheds light on the experiences of medical professionals, particularly those who have treated patients in hospitals across Gaza and Lebanon over the past year, who courageously spoke out about the atrocities committed by Israeli occupation forces and the personal cost they paid for doing so.
The report reveals that expressing concerns about the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military aggression, at UCSF — one of the US's most prestigious medical institutions — came with serious consequences. These healthcare workers faced intense pressure and significant repercussions for expressing support for victims of the genocide, highlighting the personal and professional challenges involved in advocating for human rights amid Israeli aggression.
UCSF physician faces backlash after criticizing Zionism and Israeli military
Rupa Marya, an internal medicine physician and professor at UCSF, is among the most prominent and vocal figures facing backlash, as per the report.
In a series of social media posts in January, Marya, who is also an expert in decolonial theory, raised questions regarding the impact of Zionism, describing it as “a supremacist, racist ideology” in the context of healthcare. Her comments quickly drew criticism from pro-"Israel" colleagues and Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener.
In response, the university issued a statement on its social media platforms addressing the posts, though it did not mention Marya by name, condemning her remarks as “antisemitic attacks.” Wiener publicly expressed gratitude to UCSF for the statement. This triggered a wave of online harassment against Marya, including racist, sexist attacks, and threats of both death and sexual violence. Wiener has continued to target Marya on social media.
In September, Marya shared another social media post revealing concerns among UCSF students about a first-year student from "Israel", suspecting that the individual may have served in the Israeli military the previous year. She then raised the question, "How do we address this in our professional ranks?"
The following month, UCSF placed Marya on paid leave and suspended her medical practice while investigating her social media post. Although the university later reinstated her ability to provide clinical care, she remains banned from campus, including the hospital where she worked.
“I wanted to protect people who have lost family members,” Marya explained. “People are being murdered, doctors are being disappeared, hospitals are being bombed — you have this traumatized community in UCSF. I’ve been trying to give voice to the experience of the Muslim, Indigenous, Black, SWANA” — Southwest Asian and North African — “students who are afraid, like deeply afraid.”
[This is related to Trump’s loud pronouncement that he will not tolerate pro-Palestine protests and will have protesters investigated and if they are in the US on visas, he will deport them! In view of the HORRIBLE crimes committed constantly by Israel, as evidenced by the ICC’s decision, there is no excuse for this denial. It is time for Trump to grow up and stop playing stupid kiddy games. It is disgraceful for a US president to favor a foreign country simply because AIPAC gave millions to his campaign via its members. It is incontrovertible evidence that the American voter has ZERO control over elections. And there is no guarantee that eventually, the slumbering Americans will not wake up!]
The Center for Protest Law and Litigation, a First Amendment advocacy group, is helping Marya seek public records related to her social media posts, specifically any communications between UCSF, Senator Wiener, and the Helen Diller Family Foundation, UCSF’s largest donor, which has supported pro-"Israel" advocacy groups in the past. After nine months of unsuccessful requests, the center filed a lawsuit for the records, as the university claimed they were exempt from public records laws.
Wiener claimed as quoted by The Intercept that Marya’s posts “crossed a line,” accusing her of promoting “an antisemitic conspiracy theory targeting Jewish doctors” and an Israeli medical student. He noted that UCSF faculty and students brought the posts from January and October to his attention.
“I then called out those posts as antisemitic, just as I have called out homophobic, transphobic, racist, and Islamophobic statements by various individuals,” he added.
Wiener, a member of the legislature’s Jewish Caucus, had previously targeted K-12 school districts for teaching critical lessons on "Israel", dismissing them as “bigoted, inaccurate, discriminatory, and deeply offensive anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda,” according to a letter sent to state lawmakers in January. He also condemned the online threats against Marya, calling for an investigation.
UCSF faces backlash over crackdown on Pro-Palestine speech
The university’s crackdown has been sweeping, affecting professors, doctors, and medical staff, the report detailed.
Lectures by doctors that mentioned Gaza have been either removed from the internet or canceled entirely. These individuals have faced accusations of antisemitism and creating an unsafe work environment, with some even banned from lecturing altogether. Staff, nurses, and students have been suspended for acts of solidarity or even for displaying simple symbols like a watermelon pin or pro-Palestine signs in their offices. Many employees have criticized UCSF for its silence regarding the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, accusing the institution of showing favoritism toward pro-"Israel" perspectives.
Dan Siegel, a longtime Bay Area civil rights attorney representing several UCSF employees facing disciplinary action, called the situation unprecedented.
“This is really unprecedented where this university in particular has stepped in and taken such a strong stand in support of some speech and opposition to other speech,” Siegel said as quoted by The Intercept. “It’s really remarkable to me that there is so much content-based discrimination here.”
Siegel, who has represented UC system faculty and staff for 30 years, noted that he had never seen such a widespread effort to punish employees for speaking out about a particular issue prior to October 7.
He added, “Look, I don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable, but aren’t people made uncomfortable by 40,000 dead in Gaza?” Siegel, who is Jewish, also criticized what he called a manipulative effort to stifle debate.
“Among the supporters of the Israeli government, this is a cynical and manipulative effort to limit debate,” he said. “They’ve promoted an atmosphere where you’re a student at the university or a patient at the hospital, and it becomes perfectly normalized for you to say or for someone to champion your saying, ‘I feel uncomfortable as a Jew because of people saying these things.’”
Siegel emphasized the danger of censoring speech based on discomfort, asking, “Those things make me feel uncomfortable — so now we’re all going to be censoring each other’s speech because it makes us uncomfortable, and that really can’t be the criteria for limiting speech.”
In late July, ** a group of House Republicans, led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), informed UCSF that they would investigate allegations of antisemitism made by employees and patients. **
The lawmakers also threatened to withhold federal funding, including Medicare and Medicaid payments, from the university and its healthcare system. This investigation is part of a broader partisan initiative, spearheaded by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), targeting universities whose faculty and students have been outspoken critics of "Israel".
UCSF bans physicians from lecturing after discussing Gaza's health impact
Three UCSF physicians have been banned from giving lectures after discussing the health impacts of "Israel’s" war on Gaza or the apartheid healthcare system in the Occupied Territories, as per the report.
**
Regis Tremblay's Substack
War journalism round table
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Our thanks to WD for this:
Trump seems to be cracking down on "Wokeism" which we have been subjected to for too long. Appreciate all your articles. WD!
Me Thanks for your input, WD! Yes, Wokeism has done a lot of harm, especially to children who have been forced into undergoing "sex change" surgery.
**
Our thanks to AN for this:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/24/how-europe-is-trying-to-shield-ukraine-from-trump
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/24/why-are-israeli-tanks-in-the-occupied-west-bank
**
Richard Wolff: What's coming in the next 30 days is ugly and may destroy America
**
https://ria.ru/20250225/evropa-2001368256.html
Four years until civil war in Europe: Russia must support its own - RIA Novosti, 25.02.2025
08:00 25.02.2025 (updated: 08:05 25.02.2025)
Kirill Strelnikov
The second place of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the snap elections to the Bundestag and its total victory in the elections on the territory of the former GDR are harbingers of a future civil war in the very heart of Europe, which will forever change the history of the Old World - and perhaps even end it.
Like Assad in Syria, who until the last second did not believe that he was faced not with more riots, but with a coup d'état, the German bureaucratic elites also sat quite calmly, hoping for intimidation and law-abiding Germans and encouraging each other with fighting chants. The current winner Friedrich Merz loudly declared that "they want something completely different from us, so there will be no coexistence," and Angela Merkel shook her fist: "All democratic parties must work together to prevent the terrible attack of the AfD." Scholz echoed them: "We will never tolerate or accept this." The German political bigwigs, tenderly attached to their places of habit for decades, were sure that it would be enough to throw a papier-mâché hand of Moscow to the entrance to the AfD headquarters, turn off RT and threaten to ban the party - and everything would disappear.
It did not disappear.
If you look at the current political map of Germany, the Mariana Trench runs exactly along the historical dividing line of the FRG and the GDR. Absolutely no one who watched the concrete kiss of Brezhnev and Honecker fall could have imagined that exactly 35 years later the "ghost of the GDR" would rise in full growth over Germany. Indeed, it is absolutely impossible to attribute the stunning success of the AfD in this region only to some (it is clear which) enemy forces: here the party received almost twice as many votes as its closest rival, the CDU/CSU, which is practically impossible in Germany's "egalitarian" electoral system. Multibillionaire Trump's right hand and the head of one of the most powerful departments in the United States, Elon Musk, supported the assertion that a revolution is brewing in Europe and declared that by the next elections the AfD will become the "majority party". Praise and curses for the AfD are heard from all sides, but almost no one went beyond discussing the "political oddity" and explained that we have witnessed a real uprising of "forgotten Germany" and "forgotten Europe". But it may ultimately overshadow the uprising of the "forgotten white America", on the wave of which Donald Trump came to power in the USA. No matter how hard historians and architects of the New United Europe try to convince us that the reunification of the FRG and the GDR was inevitable and organic, and after that everyone lived happily and died on the same day, there has been an unhealed wound between the two Germanys all these years, and it has only widened over time. As often happens in Western history, the East Germans were promised a lot, and then deceived and safely forgotten. Brotherhood and a miracle did not happen: on the contrary, 35 years after the "successful reintegration", East Germans are actually second-class citizens in economic and socio-cultural terms. The average per capita income of residents of East Germany still does not exceed 73% of the income of residents of the former FRG, the territories of the former GDR suffer the most from deindustrialization, and even electricity prices are almost 20% higher than prices in the western part of Germany. It is not surprising that, according to polls, about 40% of East Germans consider their main threat not Russia, but NATO and the European Union, while 63% of residents of the former GDR believe that they have lost more from unification than they have gained.
The federal authorities, who at every opportunity shook the noose of state funding in front of the eastern lands and called their inhabitants "extremists", achieved the opposite: in Germany, which still remembers Ernst Thälmann and the attempted communist coup, a militant revolutionary core has once again formed, now strengthened by a platform of national identity and independence, which can be joined by similar forces in France, Italy and other countries of "old" Europe. Despite the accusations from the German and European elites that AfD supporters "promote peace on Russia's terms", refuse to finance a "democratic" Ukraine and want to again put Europe under Putin's energy subordination, the Euro-Atlanticists are afraid of their victory for a completely different reason. They are not even so concerned about the "destruction of the pan-European consensus" and the "threat to liberal democracy" - these are just words, behind which in fact hides an animal, mortal fear of losing the main thing: power, control and money. The current "united" Europe, bursting at the seams, is in fact a liberal colonial empire that receives rent at the expense of the European Mediterranean countries and the states of Eastern Europe, where labor is at least 30% cheaper, and keeps them in check by controlling the state debt. At the same time, all the pan-European superstructures are simply a legal cover for a shadow network of dynastic corporations and banks that have gained control over all financial flows in Europe, as well as over political power. If the AfD wins the next elections and begins to implement a nationally oriented economic and social policy (and returns German money from the pockets of supranational families to the country), this system will first collapse in Germany, and then the dominoes and houses of cards will begin to collapse all over Europe. Some experts believe that the creation of a pan-European army, promoted by the current Euro-leaders, is not aimed against Russia, but specifically at suppressing a future German revolution, which will inevitably lead to a large-scale civil war. Russia is interested in dismantling the colonial-Russophobic enclave that Europe has become, and is ready to repeat its proposal to create a single space of cooperation and security from Vladivostok to Lisbon. We once extended a hand to the German anti-fascist revolutionaries - and, if necessary, we will do it again.
**
Air strike update for feb 25, 2025
Translation
https://tsargrad.tv/dzen/horoshie-novosti-s-kurshhiny-rakety-i-drony-udarili-po-kievu-zhitomiru-i-dnepropetrovsku-svodka-s-frontov-svo_1166350
Feb 25, 2025 08:30
Good news from Kursk oblast. Missiles and drones hit Kyiv, Zhitomir and Dnepropetrovsk: Summary from the fronts of the SMO
Military bloggers report good news from Kursk oblast, and enemy resources report a massive missile and drone strike on Kyiv, Zhitomir and Dnepropetrovsk region. What is happening on the line of combat contact today, February 25?
According to the resources of the Ukrainian side, early in the morning, missiles were launched from Tu-95MS at targets in Kyiv, Zhitomir and Dnepropetrovsk oblast. Before that, at night, "Gerans" [Russian drones] worked in these same directions - explosions were heard in these areas at night.
In turn, the enemy also attempted to attack in several directions at once: during the past day, enemy drones were shot down over Crimea, the Black Sea, the territory of Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk, Belgorod oblasts.
Meanwhile, the Telegram channel Dva Mayora [Two Majors] reports good news from the Kursk oblast: there, the Sever [North] group of troops is building on the success of the Russian Armed Forces in Pogrebki and around the liberated Maryevka.
The fighting continues in Orlovka, Novaya Sorochina, Lebedevka. The Russian Armed Forces are also advancing in the vicinity of Kurilovka, implementing the plan to cut off supplies to the Sudzhan group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the report says.
The information is also confirmed by military correspondent Yevgeny Lisitsyn, specifying that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are suffering significant losses in the Pogrebki area. According to him, in Lebedevka, Russian paratroopers drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the northern part of the settlement and continue their offensive in the direction of Kazachya Loknya.
The enemy is trying to hold positions by transferring reserves, but our guys are confidently moving forward, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, in the Liman direction, in the Makeyevka area, our troops have advanced north of the settlement and have consolidated their positions in the village itself. Fierce fighting for control over strategically important positions continues.
In Belogorovka, in the Seversk direction, Russian troops have advanced for the first time since 2022.
It has been reported that the settlement has been captured and the flags of the Russian Federation have been raised. We are waiting for official confirmation from the Ministry of Defense, Lisitsyn reports.
In the Kramatorsk direction, in the city of Chasov Yar, fighting continues in the Desyataya and Novoseverny microdistricts, as well as in the central part of the city. South of Chasov Yar, in the Kleshcheyevka and Andreyevka areas, our troops have consolidated their positions in the "gray zone". In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian army soldiers continue their offensive on Pokrovsk, but their advance has slowed due to increased resistance from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the Velikaya Novosyolka area in the Novopavlovskoye direction, the Russian Armed Forces advanced north of Razdolnoye, southeast of Novodarovka and east of Olgovskoye.
In the Orekhovskoye direction, the enemy attempted to storm the positions of Russian troops in the Stepnoye area, but the attack was successfully repelled. The front line in this area remains unchanged.
Gulyai-Polye and Pridneprovskoye directions: no active combat operations have been recorded in these directions. The situation remains stable, the parties continue to strengthen their defensive positions, war correspondent Lisitsyn clarifies.
**
https://tass.com/politics/1918753
Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields in precision strike - Russian Politics & Diplomacy - TASS
IN ENGLISH
**
Translation from Arabic with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/politics/can-germany-reorient-itself-and-europe
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 08:10
In numbers and miscalculations: The cost of assassinating Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
In the history of major conflicts, assassination was not just a physical liquidation, but was always a strategic bet on changing the course of events, and an attempt to create a calculated shock, dismantle resistance systems, and reshape reality. However, over the decades, history has proven that assassinations were nothing but losing investments, and that their real bill was always much greater than the planners expected.
In a quick tour of the cost of political and resistance assassinations globally, one can understand how high the price was: When Washington decided to assassinate the revolutionary fighter Che Guevara, the man who became a global symbol of rebellion against hegemony, it was not just a security decision, but a precise military operation. This operation cost millions, as intelligence pursuit and information gathering operations were carried out, including funding for training and armament operations, to ensure the silencing of his voice. Although Guevara was killed in Bolivia in 1967, his ideas did not die, but rather became an icon that inspired generations in both Latin America and the Middle East. His philosophy of armed struggle and rebellion against injustice provided rich material for resistance parties, and his symbolism was linked to the slogans and demonstrations of revolutionaries in many countries.
Guevara left a profound impact on revolutionary movements in the region, as many young people adopted his ideas, believing that armed struggle is the only way to liberation. The experiences of revolutionaries in Cuba, Nicaragua, and other regions were inspired by his methods and ideas.
From Latin America to Africa, Guevara's experience was no exception. The assassination of Patrice Lumumba, who was killed by Belgian intelligence and with American complicity, was another example that the assassination of leaders does not cancel out their political impact, but rather establishes more stubborn stages of resistance. In South Africa, although Nelson Mandela was not assassinated, his long years of imprisonment were an attempt to stifle his movement; however, those years turned into a lever for the cause of liberation.
The assassination of Antoun Saadeh is another example of attempts to break the intellectual structure of liberation movements. He was executed in one night after a sham trial, but the party he founded continued for decades after him, and his ideas remained present despite all the blows.
In Palestine, the assassination of Ahmed Yassin was another lesson in the failure of bets. The crippled leader, who believed that his absence would break the back of the resistance, turned into a legendary symbol that mobilized new generations and re-engineered the conflict with the occupation.
When Israel decided to assassinate the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the martyr of the nation, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, it was not just a sniper operation or an explosive device placed on the side of the road. Rather, it was a massive strategic mobilization that required an intensive air strike amounting to 82 tons of American-made explosives. The operation used GBU-31 and GBU-39 smart bombs, manufactured by the American company Boeing. Let's break down the bill:
The GBU-31 JDAM costs about $25,000 each.
The GBU-39 SDB costs between $40,000 and $50,000.
This means that the total cost is no less than $5 to $10 million just for the bombs, not counting the cost of operating the aircraft, logistical support, and the costs of intelligence, surveillance, and planning operations, which alone may exceed tens of millions.
You might look among these numbers for the material cost of the assassination operation. And how many intelligence, security, and military units were recruited by Israel and America to achieve the goal. The seeker of answers might be overwhelmed by the huge numbers that are enough to build entire countries and save peoples from their ill-fated fates. But the reality of the strategic cost will be realized by Israeli and American officials very soon, starting on the day of the funeral.
Because they did not buy a victory, but rather invested in creating a new generation, more determined, more fierce and stubborn, and more convinced that the battle of this nation with the occupation will only be decided with blood and resistance. And every bomb that was dropped did not end the journey of a man, but was a new signature that the resistance project will be born every time with a larger size and broader legitimacy.
The issue goes beyond the material cost, it reflects a crisis on the other side, where real leaders are absent. Israel and the West today suffer from a political and intellectual vacuum, as there are no leaders who enjoy popular legitimacy, and no projects that carry visions that go beyond narrow interests. On the contrary, the funeral of a resistance leader will be like a referendum on legitimacy and the project. It is a moment that redefines the meanings of leadership, a moment that reveals the weakness of the opposite that lacks symbols that inspire its societies or establish a vision that goes beyond momentary calculations.
This entity that experienced the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, and realized the nature of the stage that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah created, is re-formulating its failures once again. The project, which derives its legitimacy from an incubator environment aware of the nature of the conflict, does not accept a vacuum, because it is not a political party that can be overtaken by decline, but rather an ongoing resistance with the continued existence of its causes and motives.
This bill, which the Israeli military establishment may discuss based on the need to compensate for its financial losses and the necessity of refilling its stores, will be a burden on the security establishment and the entire political system, because it has not yet been paid, and the day of the funeral will be the first installment on the account. The Secretary-General, as a martyr in his coffin, is more present and more powerful than the Master alive, because fighting the project is easier than eliminating legitimacy.
Writer:
Maryam Al-Sablani
-Writer at Al-Khanadeq website.
-Master of Political Science.
Trump has done some good?
In terms of the endless CIA/NSA global wars which are expanding toward China and bleeding America with Department of Offense spending going over $1 Trillion, it should be obvious that Trump is not in control.