It's the story America can't bear to hear: As newly released FBI files report civil rights champion Martin Luther King sexually harassed dozens of women, TOM LEONARD probes the troubling truth behind the shaming of an icon
By Tom Leonard
Daily Mail
May 30, 2019
Listening through headsets into the bugged hotel suite next door, the small group of FBI agents couldn’t quite believe the sordid events that were unfolding.
It was January 1964 and they were hearing what sounded like a pastor raping a female member of his congregation while his boss looked on, laughing and offering advice.
The voices of both men were familiar.
According to the agents sitting in the Willard Hotel, Washington DC, the rapist was an assistant to civil rights leader Martin Luther King. And his chortling companion was the anti-racism icon himself, the man whose ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, delivered a year earlier, continues to inspire activists to this day.
But King’s exalted status could be about to unravel. For, according to a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of King, newly released FBI files reveal that the binge-drinking preacher had affairs with 40 to 45 women, indulged in hotel room orgies and even fathered an illegitimate child. The documents also paint a violent picture of King, whose lust could soon turn to anger.
In May 1965, for example, one agent reported that the civil rights leader had gone to the home of one of his female staff and ‘torn her clothes off of her in an apparent attempt to attack her’.
In the era of today’s #MeToo movement, with its zero-tolerance approach to powerful men who commit sexual misconduct, one might think these shocking revelations would have rocked America’s conscience to its core. The nation even has an annual public holiday to celebrate King’s birthday.
The response, however, has been silence. When David Garrow, whose 1986 biography of King received international acclaim, first tried to publish his new findings, he was turned down by every great liberal publication, including the Washington Post and Atlantic magazine, both of which he has written for in the past.
Eventually, in despair, he gave his findings to a British magazine, Standpoint.
And as of yesterday, only the British media (though not the BBC, which usually has an insatiable appetite for Martin Luther King) had dared to follow up the Standpoint article.
This hesitancy to question the integrity of a man regarded as a saint is all the more astonishing, as these accusations hardly come out of the blue.
While nobody before has alleged that he egged on a rapist, King’s womanising reputation isn’t new. Even close friends admitted that he had a problem with staying faithful to his wife, Coretta Scott King.
The Rev Ralph Abernathy, who cradled King’s head as he lay dying from an assassin’s bullet in 1968 and who took over as the civil rights movement’s leader, confirmed long-standing rumours about his friend’s rapacious sexual appetite. King had a ‘weakness for women’, he said.
Even King acknowledged — without being too specific — that he was a ‘sinner’, regularly telling congregations that ‘there is a Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll in all of us . . . you don’t need to go out this morning saying that Martin Luther King is a saint’.
David Garrow, however, has been specific. With forensic precision, he has analysed a vast archive of FBI documents which expose the full extent of King’s misbehaviour as he and his entourage travelled across Sixties America campaigning against racial injustice.
The audio tapes and written transcripts of the FBI’s secret recordings won’t be publicly released until 2027, but Garrow found official summaries that U.S. officials have confirmed to be true and accurate.
While King was campaigning in the early Sixties, the FBI became increasingly concerned that he posed a national security risk — not only because they believed he was a communist, but because they were convinced his adultery made him vulnerable to blackmail.
And so Robert F. Kennedy, attorney general in his brother John’s administration, agreed to allow the FBI to bug King’s phone calls, his hotel rooms and a hideaway in Atlanta where he took his girlfriends.
According to Garrow’s research, the FBI planted transmitters in two lamps in the Willard Hotel room that King had booked for himself and his friends in January 1964.
When King arrived, his close friend, Logan Kearse, the pastor of a Baltimore Baptist church, invited King and his friends to meet women, ‘parishioners of his church’, he had brought to Washington with him.
What followed was a disturbing act of sexual violence.
‘The group met in his room and discussed which women among the parishioners would be suitable for natural or unnatural sex acts,’ said an FBI summary document based on the recordings made from the two adjacent rooms.
‘When one of the women protested, the Baptist minister immediately and forcibly raped her.’
It added: ‘King looked on, laughed and offered advice.’
The following evening, say the files, King and his friends ‘participated in a sex orgy’ involving 12 people at the hotel.
William Sullivan, then assistant director of the FBI, claimed it included ‘acts of degeneracy and depravity’ and that ‘when one of the women shied away from engaging in an unnatural act, King and several of the men discussed how she was to be taught and initiated’. He went on: ‘King told her that to perform such an act would “help your soul”.’
Later, King announced ‘that he had started the “International Association for the Advancement of Pussyy Eaters”’. Garrow writes that ‘anyone familiar with King’s often bawdy sense of humour would not doubt that quotation’.
And, in 1977, the Justice Department publicly attested that its own review of the tapes and transcripts revealed them to be genuine and accurate.
There can be no doubt of any duplicity or exaggeration, says Garrow (who wonders why the FBI didn’t intervene to stop the rape).
A few months later, a Las Vegas prostitute, Gail LaRue, told the FBI of her own tawdry tryst with King. Paid $100 by a Gospel singer named Clara Ward to care for a couple of visiting ‘friends’, LaRue and Ward went to King’s hotel room and began drinking. He summoned a male friend to join the trio for sex.
LaRue told an FBI agent that she was ‘getting scared as they were pretty drunk and using filthy language’, adding that it had been ‘the worst orgy I’ve ever gone through’.
The FBI also learned that, a few hours earlier, the apparently insatiable King had been with another lover — Dolores Castillo — in his hotel suite.
In late 1964 — almost a year after the Willard Hotel rape — FBI chiefs finally confronted King over his disturbing actions in an equally chilling manner.
They sent him a compromising tape of his hotel escapades with a letter calling him an ‘evil, abnormal beast’ and warning that ‘your adulterous acts, your sexual orgies’ would be revealed.
It went on: ‘King, there is only one thing left for you to do’, implying that he had to kill himself.
But David Garrow told me that King didn’t remotely rein in his behaviour when he discovered the FBI was on to him. ‘His attitude was one of defiance,’ he said.
In fact, according to Garrow, psychiatrists believed King suffered from bipolar disorder and that ‘the binge-drinking and compulsive sexuality are powerful evidence of mania’. By late 1967, the FBI documents reveal that King was dependent on sleeping pills and ‘frequently flew into a rage over relatively insignificant matters’.
At around that time, the files show that Don Newcombe, a baseball star, contacted President Lyndon Johnson to say he had information on King. Newcombe, who was related to one of King’s lovers, Dolores Evans, said an intoxicated King had once threatened to hurl himself out of a hotel room window unless she said she loved him.
More shockingly, Newcombe revealed that King had fathered a baby girl by Ms Evans and provided her with financial support. Garrow says that Ms Evans and her daughter, Chrystal, a clinical psychologist, had refused to talk to him about King.
Unsurprisingly, King’s conquests deeply upset his wife Coretta — whom he had married in 1953 and with whom he had four children. And, according to FBI chief Sullivan, when she told him he was ‘not fulfilling his marital responsibilities’, King simply ‘told her she should go out and have some sexual affairs of her own’. Not that King took much notice of his wife’s complaints.
According to his friend Ralph Abernathy, King spent the last night of his life with two lovers, followed by an encounter with a third woman whom he knocked sprawling across his motel-room bed after an argument.
Mr Abernathy, who was present, was roundly accused of lying, but stuck to his story until his death.
In his biography, Garrow related how King was warned by friends to control his ‘compulsive sexual athleticism’ but told a friend: ‘I’m away from home 25 to 27 days a month. Fucking’s a form of anxiety reduction.’
Some commentators have claimed that sleeping with female congregation members was the norm for preachers in the early civil rights movement. King himself admitted he didn’t know one black preacher who was chaste.
Another biographer, Taylor Branch, has revealed how — on his trip to Norway to collect the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize — members of King’s entourage were found running after naked prostitutes in their Oslo hotel.
On Monday the U.S. celebrated Memorial Day, when it commemorates its military heroes.
Clearly, there are some national heroes whose memory it is determined to keep preserved in aspic.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Clearly Garrow and Leonard must be agents of that evil Vladimir Putin. The Russians would have us replace MLK Day with APE* Day.
Besides all this, everyone knows that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover hated blacks in general and MLK in particular. Thus, Hoover’s FBI must have fabricated the tapes Leonard refers to. (Just kidding!)
And that is why you will not see this besmirching of MLK’s good name in America’s mainstream media.
*Advancement of Pussy Eaters
Friday, May 31, 2019
L.A. NOW CIRCLING THE DRAIN, AT LEAST AS FAR AS PUBLIC HEALTH GOES
by Bob Walsh
There is now one confirmed and two suspected cases of typhoid in L A. The confirmed case is a cop.
There was an epidemic of typhus last summer. They expect another one this summer.
L A is the only major city in the country without a rodent control plan in operation.
The public health people are actually EXPECTING an outbreak of plague this year, due to the large number of homeless people and undocumented democrats in the city.
Many parts of the city are now an open air latrine, not unlike San Francisco but without the charm.
If I got it right there has not been a typhoid outbreak in this country in eighty years. Until now.
There are now third-world shit hole cities that are objecting to being compared to Los Angeles.
With luck my friend Caroline who lives down there will come north and stay with her daughter in the East Bay for a while, at least until the end of summer.
There is now one confirmed and two suspected cases of typhoid in L A. The confirmed case is a cop.
There was an epidemic of typhus last summer. They expect another one this summer.
L A is the only major city in the country without a rodent control plan in operation.
The public health people are actually EXPECTING an outbreak of plague this year, due to the large number of homeless people and undocumented democrats in the city.
Many parts of the city are now an open air latrine, not unlike San Francisco but without the charm.
If I got it right there has not been a typhoid outbreak in this country in eighty years. Until now.
There are now third-world shit hole cities that are objecting to being compared to Los Angeles.
With luck my friend Caroline who lives down there will come north and stay with her daughter in the East Bay for a while, at least until the end of summer.
CONFIDENT OR CLUELESS ?
by Bob Walsh
People Magazine reports that Lori Laughlin is "confident" that she will in fact be found NOT GUILTY in her not-yet scheduled trial for money laundering and fraud for her and her husband's part in the notorious college entrance cheating scandal. She has admitted publicly that what she did was 'wrong" but denies it was illegal.
My own guess, for what that may be worth, is that a jury will have trouble with the notion that you pay $500,000 to tweak a system when you believe that tweaking to be legal.
I understand there is a TON of physical evidence, including a substantial paper trail and recordings as well as emails, etc. It will be pretty much impossible for her to deny that she did what she is accused of doing. That does not mean the jury will not buy her IT WAS WRONG BUT IT WASN'T ILLEGAL excuse. It is after all a perfectly valid position. Whether or not it will fly is another thing altogether.
I can't help but wonder if she is so caught up in the part that she is starting to believe her own publicity, to her detriment. That being said the rumor mill says she is absolutely freaked by the possibility of actually going to the slammer, even briefly, and will go to whatever lengths she thinks necessary to avoid this outcome.
She isn't OJ. I doubt that jury nullification will work for her, but then what the hell do I know?
People Magazine reports that Lori Laughlin is "confident" that she will in fact be found NOT GUILTY in her not-yet scheduled trial for money laundering and fraud for her and her husband's part in the notorious college entrance cheating scandal. She has admitted publicly that what she did was 'wrong" but denies it was illegal.
My own guess, for what that may be worth, is that a jury will have trouble with the notion that you pay $500,000 to tweak a system when you believe that tweaking to be legal.
I understand there is a TON of physical evidence, including a substantial paper trail and recordings as well as emails, etc. It will be pretty much impossible for her to deny that she did what she is accused of doing. That does not mean the jury will not buy her IT WAS WRONG BUT IT WASN'T ILLEGAL excuse. It is after all a perfectly valid position. Whether or not it will fly is another thing altogether.
I can't help but wonder if she is so caught up in the part that she is starting to believe her own publicity, to her detriment. That being said the rumor mill says she is absolutely freaked by the possibility of actually going to the slammer, even briefly, and will go to whatever lengths she thinks necessary to avoid this outcome.
She isn't OJ. I doubt that jury nullification will work for her, but then what the hell do I know?
MAYBE I WILL PUT IN FOR A RETIREMENT JOB
by Bob Walsh
The formerly great state of California is preparing to create a civil service job for professional killers. You will work to eliminate nutria, the large, non-native rodent that is starting to move into the area and damage levees. About 300 have been caught and killed so far and there is one environmental scientist who does this. I am not sure why you need a degree in environmental science to kill big rodents, but if you have one you can make $80k a year stomping thru the wet lands checking traps.
You can also get a job as an abandoned mine inspector. It is actually moderately dangerous. That pays $110,000 a year and besides being moderately dangerous is also frequently physically uncomfortable.
Also underwater bridge inspectors are in somewhat of a demand. There are about 800 bridges in CA that require regular inspection of the underwater sections of the bridges. Each bridge gets inspected once every five years. There are 12 people on the underwater staff roster. This only pays $72,000 per year and you occasionally find interesting stuff, like cars with bodies in them.
Check the CalPERS web site and see what you find. Personally I wouldn't mind sitting in a lawn chair on a levee with a .22 shooting giant rodents, and I would do it for less than $80k a year.
The formerly great state of California is preparing to create a civil service job for professional killers. You will work to eliminate nutria, the large, non-native rodent that is starting to move into the area and damage levees. About 300 have been caught and killed so far and there is one environmental scientist who does this. I am not sure why you need a degree in environmental science to kill big rodents, but if you have one you can make $80k a year stomping thru the wet lands checking traps.
You can also get a job as an abandoned mine inspector. It is actually moderately dangerous. That pays $110,000 a year and besides being moderately dangerous is also frequently physically uncomfortable.
Also underwater bridge inspectors are in somewhat of a demand. There are about 800 bridges in CA that require regular inspection of the underwater sections of the bridges. Each bridge gets inspected once every five years. There are 12 people on the underwater staff roster. This only pays $72,000 per year and you occasionally find interesting stuff, like cars with bodies in them.
Check the CalPERS web site and see what you find. Personally I wouldn't mind sitting in a lawn chair on a levee with a .22 shooting giant rodents, and I would do it for less than $80k a year.
STOCKTON PD ASKS FOR HELP FOR ROUTINE POLICING
by Bob Walsh
The Stockton P D has more or less acknowledged that they are overburdened and have asked the San Joaquin County S O and the C H P to assist in routine policing in the crime-ridden shit hole.
It is right now very difficult to get a cop unless you have a body on the ground. The police do not investigate hit-and-run accidents unless there is significant bodily injury. They do not investigate thefts with a value of less than $2,000. They pretend to investigate armed robberies, but I am not sure I would bet on that. It's not that they don't want to, its just that they are so busy covering homicides that they don't have much time to do anything else.
Eventually the pendulum will swing back. It may, however, take a long while. Damn shame. This used to be a respectable, hard-working blue collar town with a significant manufacturing and AG base and a school system that at least taught kids to read, write and do basic math.
Now if you get thru school without committing a violent felony on grounds during school hours you get a diploma which is useful primarily for ass-wipe. There are something like 47 languages spoken by students in the school district. If you are an average or slightly above average English-speaking student you are pretty well ignored. If you are personally motivated you can still get a basic education, but it will be largely on you.
Homeless people start fires under bridges, damaging bridges. They shit in doorways. Their dogs run loose.
It truly sucks.
The Stockton P D has more or less acknowledged that they are overburdened and have asked the San Joaquin County S O and the C H P to assist in routine policing in the crime-ridden shit hole.
It is right now very difficult to get a cop unless you have a body on the ground. The police do not investigate hit-and-run accidents unless there is significant bodily injury. They do not investigate thefts with a value of less than $2,000. They pretend to investigate armed robberies, but I am not sure I would bet on that. It's not that they don't want to, its just that they are so busy covering homicides that they don't have much time to do anything else.
Eventually the pendulum will swing back. It may, however, take a long while. Damn shame. This used to be a respectable, hard-working blue collar town with a significant manufacturing and AG base and a school system that at least taught kids to read, write and do basic math.
Now if you get thru school without committing a violent felony on grounds during school hours you get a diploma which is useful primarily for ass-wipe. There are something like 47 languages spoken by students in the school district. If you are an average or slightly above average English-speaking student you are pretty well ignored. If you are personally motivated you can still get a basic education, but it will be largely on you.
Homeless people start fires under bridges, damaging bridges. They shit in doorways. Their dogs run loose.
It truly sucks.
MORE NETTING AT MLB PARKS?
'As a father of two boys, I am at a loss for words': Emotional Chicago cubs outfielder Albert Almora calls for safety nets around stadiums after hitting a young girl with a foul ball
Daily Mail
May 30, 2019
In an emotional interview after the game, Almora, who has two sons, said he was 'speechless' when the stadium went silent after the girl was hit.
She has not yet been named and it is unclear what her condition is. She was seen crying as she was rushed out of the stadium in Houston, Texas, by her father in front of horrified fans.
Almora, who has two young sons with his wife Krystal, sobbed on the field and cried into his hands in the dugout after she was gone.
On Wednesday night, he said he ‘locked eyes’ on her immediately after hitting the ball. ‘With God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But, just prayers right now,' a visibly emotional Almora said in the locker room after the game.
He resumed play after being consoled by teammates but was visibly shaken.
Part of the stadium is covered with netting but not all of it.
The Cubs beat the Astros 2-1 in the end.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I went to a NHL ice hockey game in Atlanta between the Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames) and the Los Angeles Kings. During the game a puck traveling at around 90 mph sailed over one end of the rink all the way up into the nosebleed section where it struck a woman in the head. She was carted off to a hospital on a gurney by medics.
After several similar incidents occurred during other hockey games, the NHL mandated the installation of safety nets at all of its hockey venues.
Any seats at MLB stadiums that are in the possible path of a line drive should be shielded by netting!
Daily Mail
May 30, 2019
In an emotional interview after the game, Almora, who has two sons, said he was 'speechless' when the stadium went silent after the girl was hit.
She has not yet been named and it is unclear what her condition is. She was seen crying as she was rushed out of the stadium in Houston, Texas, by her father in front of horrified fans.
Almora, who has two young sons with his wife Krystal, sobbed on the field and cried into his hands in the dugout after she was gone.
On Wednesday night, he said he ‘locked eyes’ on her immediately after hitting the ball. ‘With God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But, just prayers right now,' a visibly emotional Almora said in the locker room after the game.
He resumed play after being consoled by teammates but was visibly shaken.
Part of the stadium is covered with netting but not all of it.
The Cubs beat the Astros 2-1 in the end.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I went to a NHL ice hockey game in Atlanta between the Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames) and the Los Angeles Kings. During the game a puck traveling at around 90 mph sailed over one end of the rink all the way up into the nosebleed section where it struck a woman in the head. She was carted off to a hospital on a gurney by medics.
After several similar incidents occurred during other hockey games, the NHL mandated the installation of safety nets at all of its hockey venues.
Any seats at MLB stadiums that are in the possible path of a line drive should be shielded by netting!
JUSSIE THE HOPHEAD
'It can't be them, they're black as sin': What Jussie Smollett told cops once Nigerian brothers were in custody as newly released police files reveal how he changed his story and asked them about 'good pills and molly' months before staged attack
Daily Mail
May 30, 2019
Newly released documents regarding Jussie Smollett's case have revealed text messages in which the Empire star texted the Nigerian brothers asking for drugs. The messages show Smollett asking either Abel and Ola Osundairo for help to acquire 'good pills' with nicknames revealed to be for cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana.
'Nigga you still got a molly connect?' one of his messages from September 27, 2018 reads. 'Imma need a good fo pills hahaha'. He then sends a verification code from Venmo, an online payment app.
One of the Nigerian brothers, although it remains unclear which, then replies: 'Got it'.
The messages were revealed in a mass of documents released by Chicago PD on Thursday. They included mugshots of the two brothers that have never before been made public.
Smollett was charged with filing a false police report for allegedly staging the hate attack in January. However, prosecutors dropped all the charges on him on March 26, with little explanation.
Ever since, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has been under intense scrutiny and has faced mounting questions over why Smollett was let off.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why was Smollett let off? ’Cause you had a nigga (to use Jussie’s term) prosecutor who personally favored a nigga criminal.
Daily Mail
May 30, 2019
Newly released documents regarding Jussie Smollett's case have revealed text messages in which the Empire star texted the Nigerian brothers asking for drugs. The messages show Smollett asking either Abel and Ola Osundairo for help to acquire 'good pills' with nicknames revealed to be for cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana.
'Nigga you still got a molly connect?' one of his messages from September 27, 2018 reads. 'Imma need a good fo pills hahaha'. He then sends a verification code from Venmo, an online payment app.
One of the Nigerian brothers, although it remains unclear which, then replies: 'Got it'.
The messages were revealed in a mass of documents released by Chicago PD on Thursday. They included mugshots of the two brothers that have never before been made public.
Smollett was charged with filing a false police report for allegedly staging the hate attack in January. However, prosecutors dropped all the charges on him on March 26, with little explanation.
Ever since, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has been under intense scrutiny and has faced mounting questions over why Smollett was let off.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why was Smollett let off? ’Cause you had a nigga (to use Jussie’s term) prosecutor who personally favored a nigga criminal.
HANG WHITE PEOPLE
Fury Over Rapper Calling to ‘Kill White People’, Singing ‘I Fuck, France’
Sputnik International
May 30, 2019
French self-produced rapper of Cameroonian origin Nick Conrad did not enjoy much interest before he entered the spotlight with a music video titled “Hang White People”; however, shortly after a trial over the notorious clip, he released another creation that featured him strangling a white woman, apparently representing France.
French rapper Nick Conrad, who has prompted outrage with his new release "Sweet Country" with the lyrics “I Fuck France until agony”, was questioned by Paris judicial police, but walked away free for the time being, French broadcaster LCI (La Chaîne Info) reports. Investigators summoned him due to a probe that was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office following a report by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.
At the end of his recently released music video, the rapper of Cameroonian origin acted out strangling a white woman. Throughout the song, he also repeated the chorus "I fuck France until agony” and “I burn France”, as well as voiced a wish to plant a "bomb under the Pantheon".
The clip has been condemned by French politicians, including Castaner, who filed an official complaint, as well as by Republican top candidate in the European elections François-Xavier Bellamy. At the same time, the president of the Volunteers Pour la France, General Antoine Martinez, launched a petition, demanding that the rapper be stripped of his French passport.
Netizens also slammed the rapper, as well as social media platforms for letting his video remain online.
There were also those who sided with Nick Conrad and condemned his critics.
However, the rapper played down his violent lyrics, noting that “the word ‘France’ here is meant to represent the French mentality, media, etc. who have decided to describe Nick Conrad in inaccurate terms rather than to open up thorny debates”. He also explained that his new song was an artistic work and defended himself against being called a "terrorist".
This new controversy surrounding the rapper comes shortly after him being convicted of incitement to murder, which in his case carried a suspended €5,000 fine for his creation titled “Hang White People”. In the song, released last year, he called for white babies to be killed and acted out a mock kidnapping, torture, and hanging of a white man as an example.
However, Conrad appealed the court decision and denied any racism towards whites and argued that the artistic purpose of the clip was to render listeners speechless by inverting roles.
Anti-racism groups butted in by saying that it was a pure incitement to violence, the charge brought against Conrad could have resulted in up to five years in prison, along with €45,000 in fines. However, prosecutors requested a softer punishment, remarking that he had "already to a certain extent paid the consequences" after losing his job as a hotel receptionist.
Sputnik International
May 30, 2019
French self-produced rapper of Cameroonian origin Nick Conrad did not enjoy much interest before he entered the spotlight with a music video titled “Hang White People”; however, shortly after a trial over the notorious clip, he released another creation that featured him strangling a white woman, apparently representing France.
French rapper Nick Conrad, who has prompted outrage with his new release "Sweet Country" with the lyrics “I Fuck France until agony”, was questioned by Paris judicial police, but walked away free for the time being, French broadcaster LCI (La Chaîne Info) reports. Investigators summoned him due to a probe that was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office following a report by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.
At the end of his recently released music video, the rapper of Cameroonian origin acted out strangling a white woman. Throughout the song, he also repeated the chorus "I fuck France until agony” and “I burn France”, as well as voiced a wish to plant a "bomb under the Pantheon".
The clip has been condemned by French politicians, including Castaner, who filed an official complaint, as well as by Republican top candidate in the European elections François-Xavier Bellamy. At the same time, the president of the Volunteers Pour la France, General Antoine Martinez, launched a petition, demanding that the rapper be stripped of his French passport.
Netizens also slammed the rapper, as well as social media platforms for letting his video remain online.
There were also those who sided with Nick Conrad and condemned his critics.
However, the rapper played down his violent lyrics, noting that “the word ‘France’ here is meant to represent the French mentality, media, etc. who have decided to describe Nick Conrad in inaccurate terms rather than to open up thorny debates”. He also explained that his new song was an artistic work and defended himself against being called a "terrorist".
This new controversy surrounding the rapper comes shortly after him being convicted of incitement to murder, which in his case carried a suspended €5,000 fine for his creation titled “Hang White People”. In the song, released last year, he called for white babies to be killed and acted out a mock kidnapping, torture, and hanging of a white man as an example.
However, Conrad appealed the court decision and denied any racism towards whites and argued that the artistic purpose of the clip was to render listeners speechless by inverting roles.
Anti-racism groups butted in by saying that it was a pure incitement to violence, the charge brought against Conrad could have resulted in up to five years in prison, along with €45,000 in fines. However, prosecutors requested a softer punishment, remarking that he had "already to a certain extent paid the consequences" after losing his job as a hotel receptionist.
HOLLYWOOD HATRED OF TRUMP ON DISPLAY
Cher Refuses to Apologize for Saying Trump Should Be Sexually Assaulted in Prison by Big Bubba
By Alfred Joyner
Newsweek
May 30, 2019
Singer and actor Cher has refused to apologize for a tweet she posted saying that she would like to see President Donald Trump sexually assaulted in prison.
In a now deleted tweet, the 73-year-old Oscar winner called for Trump to be impeached following Robert Mueller’s statement on Wednesday addressing his investigation into the president, before adding she’d like to see Trump in prison as the “toy boy of Big Bubba.”
She has since received a severe backlash, with TV host and journalist Piers Morgan labelling the remarks “disgusting.”
While Cher refused to apologize in a follow-up tweet posted on Thursday, she did admit she “Went 2 Far” and that the joke was “wrong.”
“This is Not Apology,It’s a Cher ‘wtf Moment’.Dont Usually Delete My Twts,But Sometimes I Need 2 Check Myself.What I Thought Of As Stupid Joke”On Paper”,Went 2 Far.Think trump Belongs In Jail,but Big Bubba Joke Was Wrong.If I Twt,I Have a Responsibility. THERES IS A LINE NOT 2 X,” she wrote.
While the “Big Bubba” tweet was deleted, a number of her other recent attacks against the president remain online.
In one tweet she says about Trump, “HE’S LIAR,RACIST,ANTI-SEMITE” adding “HE’S DICTATOR (IN-WAITING) WHO PULLED *plug* ON DEMOCRACY.”
In another, she calls on people to stop the president winning re-election in 2020. “MOBILIZE,&DEMAND PAPER BALLOTS,Or trump & His HERO ‘PUTIN’ WILL STEAL ELECTION AGAIN,” she says.
The singer has lashed out against Trump online in the past as well. In 2015 she posted, “Donald Trump's ego is So inflated, he might as well be the Hindenburg! In Dictionary next to ‘Obnoxious asshole’ See Photo of ‘THE DONALD’.”
The two were also engaged in a Twitter spat before Trump was elected president. In 2012, after discovering that Trump had business ties to retail giant Macy’s, she posted:
“I’ll NEVER GO TO MACY’S AGAIN ! I didnt know they sold Donald Trump’s Line!” Cher fumed. “If they don’t care that they sell products from a LOUDMOUTH RACIST CRETIN, WHO’D LIE LIKE ‘HIS RUG’ TO GET SOME CHEAP PRESS ! I CANT BELIEVE MACY’S THINKS HE’S THE RIGHT ‘MAN’ 2 REPRESENT THEIR NAME!”
In response, Trump said, “.@cher should spend more time focusing on her family and dying career!” before adding in another tweet, “--I don’t wear a “rug”—it’s mine. And I promise not to talk about your massive plastic surgeries that didn’t work.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Piers Morgan says “If she'd said it about Obama she would never work again.”
Big Bubba should take his big dick and ream out the 73-year-old bitch’s no-good fucking ass.
By Alfred Joyner
Newsweek
May 30, 2019
Singer and actor Cher has refused to apologize for a tweet she posted saying that she would like to see President Donald Trump sexually assaulted in prison.
In a now deleted tweet, the 73-year-old Oscar winner called for Trump to be impeached following Robert Mueller’s statement on Wednesday addressing his investigation into the president, before adding she’d like to see Trump in prison as the “toy boy of Big Bubba.”
She has since received a severe backlash, with TV host and journalist Piers Morgan labelling the remarks “disgusting.”
While Cher refused to apologize in a follow-up tweet posted on Thursday, she did admit she “Went 2 Far” and that the joke was “wrong.”
“This is Not Apology,It’s a Cher ‘wtf Moment’.Dont Usually Delete My Twts,But Sometimes I Need 2 Check Myself.What I Thought Of As Stupid Joke”On Paper”,Went 2 Far.Think trump Belongs In Jail,but Big Bubba Joke Was Wrong.If I Twt,I Have a Responsibility. THERES IS A LINE NOT 2 X,” she wrote.
While the “Big Bubba” tweet was deleted, a number of her other recent attacks against the president remain online.
In one tweet she says about Trump, “HE’S LIAR,RACIST,ANTI-SEMITE” adding “HE’S DICTATOR (IN-WAITING) WHO PULLED *plug* ON DEMOCRACY.”
In another, she calls on people to stop the president winning re-election in 2020. “MOBILIZE,&DEMAND PAPER BALLOTS,Or trump & His HERO ‘PUTIN’ WILL STEAL ELECTION AGAIN,” she says.
The singer has lashed out against Trump online in the past as well. In 2015 she posted, “Donald Trump's ego is So inflated, he might as well be the Hindenburg! In Dictionary next to ‘Obnoxious asshole’ See Photo of ‘THE DONALD’.”
The two were also engaged in a Twitter spat before Trump was elected president. In 2012, after discovering that Trump had business ties to retail giant Macy’s, she posted:
“I’ll NEVER GO TO MACY’S AGAIN ! I didnt know they sold Donald Trump’s Line!” Cher fumed. “If they don’t care that they sell products from a LOUDMOUTH RACIST CRETIN, WHO’D LIE LIKE ‘HIS RUG’ TO GET SOME CHEAP PRESS ! I CANT BELIEVE MACY’S THINKS HE’S THE RIGHT ‘MAN’ 2 REPRESENT THEIR NAME!”
In response, Trump said, “.@cher should spend more time focusing on her family and dying career!” before adding in another tweet, “--I don’t wear a “rug”—it’s mine. And I promise not to talk about your massive plastic surgeries that didn’t work.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Piers Morgan says “If she'd said it about Obama she would never work again.”
Big Bubba should take his big dick and ream out the 73-year-old bitch’s no-good fucking ass.
ONE FOR THE RIGHT TO LIFE FANATICS
A 13-year-old said she was constipated. Turns out she was pregnant and the father is 70, cops say
By Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
May 30, 2019
A 13-year-old girl showed up at a hospital last week complaining of constipation.
Turns out she was 14 weeks pregnant and she told an investigator the father is a 70-year-old Boca Raton man, according to a police report.
Renaud Jerome was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of impregnating a child. He was being held in a Palm Beach County Jail with no bond.
According to a Boca Raton police report, the girl arrived at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach before 11 a.m. Friday in pain.
After a medical exam, doctors determined she was pregnant and called the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The child told investigators that Jerome “would touch her and have sex with her” and was the father of the child, according to the report. The heavily redacted report does not identify the relationship between the girl and Jerome. It appears the two were living in the same Boca Raton home, but it is not clear who else lived there.
Boca Raton police were then called and responded to the hospital. An officer, with the help of a translator, spoke to Jerome, who only speaks Creole, police said. Jerome told police he cared for the girl at times.
“Jerome stated that within the last couple of months he has had consensual vaginal intercourse with [redacted] three times,” police said. “Jerome stated that [redacted] was interested in him more than he was interested in her and never forced her to do anything.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Louisiana this child would not be allowed to undergo an abortion. How crazy is that?
By Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
May 30, 2019
A 13-year-old girl showed up at a hospital last week complaining of constipation.
Turns out she was 14 weeks pregnant and she told an investigator the father is a 70-year-old Boca Raton man, according to a police report.
Renaud Jerome was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of impregnating a child. He was being held in a Palm Beach County Jail with no bond.
According to a Boca Raton police report, the girl arrived at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach before 11 a.m. Friday in pain.
After a medical exam, doctors determined she was pregnant and called the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The child told investigators that Jerome “would touch her and have sex with her” and was the father of the child, according to the report. The heavily redacted report does not identify the relationship between the girl and Jerome. It appears the two were living in the same Boca Raton home, but it is not clear who else lived there.
Boca Raton police were then called and responded to the hospital. An officer, with the help of a translator, spoke to Jerome, who only speaks Creole, police said. Jerome told police he cared for the girl at times.
“Jerome stated that within the last couple of months he has had consensual vaginal intercourse with [redacted] three times,” police said. “Jerome stated that [redacted] was interested in him more than he was interested in her and never forced her to do anything.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Louisiana this child would not be allowed to undergo an abortion. How crazy is that?
Thursday, May 30, 2019
CHIEF WALKING EAGLE
The name bestowed on Joe Biden by the Navajo Indians in recognition of his promises
Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden was invited to address a gathering of the Navajo Nation Council in Window Rock, Arizona.
Biden first slammed Trump, blaming him for the plight of the Navajos. Then he spoke at length about his plans for increasing the standard of living for all 300,000 Navajo tribe members by providing government grants for a free college education to every Navajo kid who graduated from high school, free health care for all, and replacement of sub-standard housing with new homes.
Biden added that he would pay reparations to each member of the tribe for the land stolen from the Navajos by the white man.
Biden also mentioned that he always supported Native American causes while he was a Senator and Vice President.
The former Vice President was vague about details for the funding of his plans, mumbling something about cancelling tax shelters for corporations and wealthy individuals. But he spoke eloquently about his ideas if he wins the White House in 2020. At the conclusion of his speech, Biden asked the Navajo leaders for their active support of his candidacy.
Before he left the council chamber, Navajo President Jonathan Nez presented Biden with a beautiful plaque on behalf of the Navajo Indians. The plaque was inscribed with Biden’s new Indian name, "Chief Walking Eagle."
A very proud Biden gratefully accepted the plaque and then returned to his home, convinced he had the Navajo vote in his pocket. He showed wife Jill the plaque and told her he was now officially an Indian chief. With a tear in his eye, he said, “Damn it Jill, I only wish Beau could be here to see this.”
NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz asked President Nez how the Navajos came to select the new name they had given to Biden.
Nez explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This reminds me of the time Hillary Clinton campaigned at an Indian reservation during her 2016 run for the presidency. Hillary appeared thrilled when the assembled Indians kept yelling “Hoya, hoya, hoya” every time she made a promise.
Hillary made exactly the same promises Joe Biden made to the Navajos. When she finished, the meeting hall literally shook with hoyas.
After her speech, Hillary took a tour of the reservation. As they entered a pasture, the chief said, “Be careful, don’t step in the hoya!”
Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden was invited to address a gathering of the Navajo Nation Council in Window Rock, Arizona.
Biden first slammed Trump, blaming him for the plight of the Navajos. Then he spoke at length about his plans for increasing the standard of living for all 300,000 Navajo tribe members by providing government grants for a free college education to every Navajo kid who graduated from high school, free health care for all, and replacement of sub-standard housing with new homes.
Biden added that he would pay reparations to each member of the tribe for the land stolen from the Navajos by the white man.
Biden also mentioned that he always supported Native American causes while he was a Senator and Vice President.
The former Vice President was vague about details for the funding of his plans, mumbling something about cancelling tax shelters for corporations and wealthy individuals. But he spoke eloquently about his ideas if he wins the White House in 2020. At the conclusion of his speech, Biden asked the Navajo leaders for their active support of his candidacy.
Before he left the council chamber, Navajo President Jonathan Nez presented Biden with a beautiful plaque on behalf of the Navajo Indians. The plaque was inscribed with Biden’s new Indian name, "Chief Walking Eagle."
A very proud Biden gratefully accepted the plaque and then returned to his home, convinced he had the Navajo vote in his pocket. He showed wife Jill the plaque and told her he was now officially an Indian chief. With a tear in his eye, he said, “Damn it Jill, I only wish Beau could be here to see this.”
NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz asked President Nez how the Navajos came to select the new name they had given to Biden.
Nez explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This reminds me of the time Hillary Clinton campaigned at an Indian reservation during her 2016 run for the presidency. Hillary appeared thrilled when the assembled Indians kept yelling “Hoya, hoya, hoya” every time she made a promise.
Hillary made exactly the same promises Joe Biden made to the Navajos. When she finished, the meeting hall literally shook with hoyas.
After her speech, Hillary took a tour of the reservation. As they entered a pasture, the chief said, “Be careful, don’t step in the hoya!”
SOME VISITS FROM THE FUCK-UP FAIRY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO RECOVER FROM
by Bob Walsh
On Sunday Jessica Richardson and her husband (who are black) were intending to enjoy a picnic with their pooch at the Oktibbeha County Lake near Starkville, Mississippi. The stopped at the office of the nearby KOA to inquire and were told that access to the lake was NOT limited to KOA guests. They were in fact not guests.
As they started hoofing towards the lake they were approached by a pick-up truck. A white woman got out. She was armed. She was wearing a KOA shirt. She ordered the couple to leave, citing the fact that they did NOT have a KOA reservation. Mrs. Richardson, who is obviously not stupid, had her camera running on video record. She posted the video on line.
The white woman, who has not been identified by name, is no longer employed by KOA.
On Sunday Jessica Richardson and her husband (who are black) were intending to enjoy a picnic with their pooch at the Oktibbeha County Lake near Starkville, Mississippi. The stopped at the office of the nearby KOA to inquire and were told that access to the lake was NOT limited to KOA guests. They were in fact not guests.
As they started hoofing towards the lake they were approached by a pick-up truck. A white woman got out. She was armed. She was wearing a KOA shirt. She ordered the couple to leave, citing the fact that they did NOT have a KOA reservation. Mrs. Richardson, who is obviously not stupid, had her camera running on video record. She posted the video on line.
The white woman, who has not been identified by name, is no longer employed by KOA.
IT MUST SUCK TO BE IN OKLAHOMA AND OHIO RIGHT NOW
Give me an earthquake every 20 years any time
by Bob Walsh
I guess the only parts of Oklahoma that are not under water are places where the tornadoes have scoured the water out. Night before last there were 11 of them that touched down in Ohio and there is a significant dam back there somewhere that is in danger of failure. Also the Mississippi is overflowing a few levee banks and more are in danger.
Give me an earthquake every 20 years any time.
by Bob Walsh
I guess the only parts of Oklahoma that are not under water are places where the tornadoes have scoured the water out. Night before last there were 11 of them that touched down in Ohio and there is a significant dam back there somewhere that is in danger of failure. Also the Mississippi is overflowing a few levee banks and more are in danger.
Give me an earthquake every 20 years any time.
STOCKTON STILL WORKING HARD AT IT
by Bob Walsh
The crime-ridden and gang-infested cesspool that is Stockton just had yet another homicide, this one on Wednesday morning on the freeway where I-5 and the Crosstown Freeway intersect. The road was closed down for a few hours. The CHP is handling the investigation even though it is inside Stockton city limits. I think right now the city has meter maids out investigating homicides there are so many in such a short period of time.
Maybe we need some MORE gun laws, like make it double-illegal to shoot people in cars, or from cars, or from cars while in cars, or only if you have 22 inch wheels on your ride, or something. Makes as much sense as the other bullshit out legislature is working on.
The crime-ridden and gang-infested cesspool that is Stockton just had yet another homicide, this one on Wednesday morning on the freeway where I-5 and the Crosstown Freeway intersect. The road was closed down for a few hours. The CHP is handling the investigation even though it is inside Stockton city limits. I think right now the city has meter maids out investigating homicides there are so many in such a short period of time.
Maybe we need some MORE gun laws, like make it double-illegal to shoot people in cars, or from cars, or from cars while in cars, or only if you have 22 inch wheels on your ride, or something. Makes as much sense as the other bullshit out legislature is working on.
MUELLER SAYS TRUMP WAS NOT IN THE CLEAR ON OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
Mueller says he could NOT charge Trump because it was unconstitutional and president could not get his day in court as special counsel breaks silence to say his work is over and he does NOT want to testify to Congress
Daily Mail
May 29, 2019
Robert Mueller ended a two-year silence in an eight-minute statement at the Department of Justice, resigning as special counsel with a dramatic intervention to say that Donald Trump was not charged with obstruction because it was ‘not an option.’
Mueller said his report ‘speaks for itself’ but for the first time went beyond its text to give his version of its findings. He said there was a ‘massive’ effort to disrupt the 2016 elections by Russians but ‘insufficient evidence’ to charge anyone with a ‘broader conspiracy’ – clearing Trump and his campaign of collusion.
But he said explicitly that Trump was not in the clear on obstruction of justice. ‘If there was confidence that the president did not commit a crime we would have said so,’ he said.
Department of Justice policy, he said, bans charging a sitting president, so his investigation never looked at whether Trump should be charged. “Under long standing department policy, a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office,” Mueller said. “That is unconstitutional.”
Mueller also said that if he is asked to testify in Congress he would not go beyond his report’s findings and analysis, a blow to Democrats who now have to consider their next move.
Mueller, 74, a Marine hero and former FBI director, said he is returning to private life.
Daily Mail
May 29, 2019
Robert Mueller ended a two-year silence in an eight-minute statement at the Department of Justice, resigning as special counsel with a dramatic intervention to say that Donald Trump was not charged with obstruction because it was ‘not an option.’
Mueller said his report ‘speaks for itself’ but for the first time went beyond its text to give his version of its findings. He said there was a ‘massive’ effort to disrupt the 2016 elections by Russians but ‘insufficient evidence’ to charge anyone with a ‘broader conspiracy’ – clearing Trump and his campaign of collusion.
But he said explicitly that Trump was not in the clear on obstruction of justice. ‘If there was confidence that the president did not commit a crime we would have said so,’ he said.
Department of Justice policy, he said, bans charging a sitting president, so his investigation never looked at whether Trump should be charged. “Under long standing department policy, a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office,” Mueller said. “That is unconstitutional.”
Mueller also said that if he is asked to testify in Congress he would not go beyond his report’s findings and analysis, a blow to Democrats who now have to consider their next move.
Mueller, 74, a Marine hero and former FBI director, said he is returning to private life.
BIG FUCKING DEAL … ‘WTF’ IS A COMMON EXPRESSION USED BY KIDS NOWADAYS
Florida teacher writes "WTF is this?" on student's homework assignment
By Katie Griffitts
WJHG/WECP
May 28, 2019
BAY COUNTY, Fla. -- A Rutherford High School teacher may have to face consequences after writing a slang term for a cuss word on top of a student's homework assignment.
Melinda Smith said she was shocked when her son handed her his science homework and "WTF is this? Absolutely no credit" was written across the top.
"Just seeing WTF what is this, you know, basically... is this there's no credit, it wasn't anything about not getting the credit, it was more so the language about what the writing to students, that was very inappropriate and not acceptable for a teacher whatsoever," said Smith.
And now she's calling for the teacher to account for her actions.
"I think for sure she needs to be reprimanded, I believe that something should be placed in her file," said Smith.
We're told the teacher in question does not want to respond publicly to the situation.
Rutherford Principal Coy Pilson said they are taking the necessary steps to deal with the incident, and does not want to release the teacher's name at this time.
"Once we were notified, I notified district officials and our HR has been involved and they're currently investigating the situation," said Pilson.
He said he has spoken with the teacher regarding appropriate classroom conduct.
"She was apologetic and it was a mistake on her part," said Pilson.
And he says he wants the community to know one thing about Rutherford, "All of the teachers at Rutherford High School are caring, loving teachers and we're also human and so, we make mistakes, but we understand that we are called to a high professional standard and when we make mistakes we try to correct those mistakes and move forward."
It's unclear if any action will be taken against the teacher at this time.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This would be hilarious except for the fact that the teacher may now be in deep shit.
By Katie Griffitts
WJHG/WECP
May 28, 2019
BAY COUNTY, Fla. -- A Rutherford High School teacher may have to face consequences after writing a slang term for a cuss word on top of a student's homework assignment.
Melinda Smith said she was shocked when her son handed her his science homework and "WTF is this? Absolutely no credit" was written across the top.
"Just seeing WTF what is this, you know, basically... is this there's no credit, it wasn't anything about not getting the credit, it was more so the language about what the writing to students, that was very inappropriate and not acceptable for a teacher whatsoever," said Smith.
And now she's calling for the teacher to account for her actions.
"I think for sure she needs to be reprimanded, I believe that something should be placed in her file," said Smith.
We're told the teacher in question does not want to respond publicly to the situation.
Rutherford Principal Coy Pilson said they are taking the necessary steps to deal with the incident, and does not want to release the teacher's name at this time.
"Once we were notified, I notified district officials and our HR has been involved and they're currently investigating the situation," said Pilson.
He said he has spoken with the teacher regarding appropriate classroom conduct.
"She was apologetic and it was a mistake on her part," said Pilson.
And he says he wants the community to know one thing about Rutherford, "All of the teachers at Rutherford High School are caring, loving teachers and we're also human and so, we make mistakes, but we understand that we are called to a high professional standard and when we make mistakes we try to correct those mistakes and move forward."
It's unclear if any action will be taken against the teacher at this time.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This would be hilarious except for the fact that the teacher may now be in deep shit.
THE DOG WAS OBVIOUSLY A FIERCE WHITE SUPREMACIST
Black Delta passenger, 44, whose face was mauled by veteran's emotional support dog sues the animal's owner and airline after suffering 'permanent injury'
Daily Mail
May 29, 2019
Marlin Jackson claims he was in a window seat when the 'chocolate lab pointer mix' suddenly attacked his face and pinned him against the window of the plane.
The attack, which took place in June 2017 before take-off of a flight from Atlanta to San Diego, left Jackson, 44, with a series of punctures and cuts to his face requiring 28 stitches, as well as permanent nerve damage and pain, the lawsuit states.
Jackson, who lives in Alabama, 'bled so profusely that the entire row of seats had to be removed from the airplane,' according to the complaint lodged against serviceman Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr.
The lawsuit also alleges Jackson still experiences 'severe physical pain and suffering,' emotional distress and mental anguish, loss of income or earning potential, and substantial medical bills.
Daily Mail
May 29, 2019
Marlin Jackson claims he was in a window seat when the 'chocolate lab pointer mix' suddenly attacked his face and pinned him against the window of the plane.
The attack, which took place in June 2017 before take-off of a flight from Atlanta to San Diego, left Jackson, 44, with a series of punctures and cuts to his face requiring 28 stitches, as well as permanent nerve damage and pain, the lawsuit states.
Jackson, who lives in Alabama, 'bled so profusely that the entire row of seats had to be removed from the airplane,' according to the complaint lodged against serviceman Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr.
The lawsuit also alleges Jackson still experiences 'severe physical pain and suffering,' emotional distress and mental anguish, loss of income or earning potential, and substantial medical bills.
WHAT IS BEIJING DOING IN HAIFA?
Chinese investment across the Holy Land threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship
By William A. Galston
The Wall Street Journal
May 29, 2019
JERUSALEM: Below the radar screens of all but a few experts, a dispute is brewing with the potential to disrupt defense cooperation between the U.S. and Israel and embroil the Jewish state in America’s increasingly intense trade conflict with China.
The story begins in 2015, when Israel’s Transportation Ministry accepted an offer from the Shanghai International Port Group to operate the port of Haifa for 25 years, starting in 2021, and invest $2 billion to expand the port into Israel’s largest harbor. Notably, this decision was taken without the formal involvement of either Israel’s security cabinet or its National Security Council .
As far as I can tell, this agreement went almost unnoticed for three years, until the transfer of part of the new port to Chinese control in the summer of 2018 sparked a furor in the Israeli media. But it took a meeting this past August between a delegation from the Washington-based Hudson Institute and Haifa University’s Research Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy to make this issue a matter of international concern. During this meeting, the U.S. delegation, which included retired Adm. Gary Roughead, former chief of naval operations, and ex-Pentagon official Douglas Feith, weighed in against the deal with a vehemence that reportedly stunned many Israeli participants.
Adm. Roughead noted that China’s presence in Haifa might force the U.S. Sixth Fleet to abandon the port and dock elsewhere. As he explained in remarks reported in the Jerusalem Post, “The Chinese port operators will be able to monitor closely U.S. ship movements, be aware of maintenance activity, and could have access to equipment moving to and from repair sites and interact freely with our crews over protracted periods.” He also expressed concern that the Chinese could use the new port’s information systems to conduct surveillance and threaten U.S. cybersecurity.
In the wake of the Haifa conference, other U.S. officials weighed in, as did defense-oriented Israelis, such as a former head of Mossad, Efraim Halevy. Articles in the Israeli and international press soon followed. By the end of the year, the Israeli government had launched a high-level review, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked a panel headed by National Economic Council Chairman Avi Simhon and national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to consider options for a new entity with the power to review and rule on foreign investments in Israel.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration was moving into high gear. In January White House national security adviser John Bolton raised Washington’s concerns directly with Mr. Netanyahu. On a subsequent visit to Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned government officials that if the Chinese deal continued, the U.S. might reduce its intelligence sharing with Israel. In March, according to a well-sourced Voice of America article, President Trump warned Israel’s prime minister that if his country’s ties with China continued to expand, U.S.-Israeli relations could suffer.
Despite intensifying pressure, the Netanyahu government hasn’t budged, at least not yet. According to recent press reports, the Simhon/Ben-Shabbat team has decided to recommend against the establishment of a statutory foreign-investment review council, although less-formal options are reportedly still under consideration. Many Israeli officials speak of the need to balance the benefits of their country’s economic relations with China against the imperative of a strong security relationship with the U.S. These officials favor a policy of constructive ambiguity and fear that an institutionalized review process would tip the scales against Chinese investment .
Underlying this dispute is the remarkable growth in recent years of economic ties between Israel and China, whose companies now own major Israeli businesses, including Tnuva, Israel’s biggest purveyor of dairy products. A Chinese firm won the bid to build a new Israeli port at Ashdod. Other Chinese firms operate major Israeli infrastructure projects. Chinese investment in Israel’s high-tech sector is soaring.
This trend enjoys the enthusiastic support of Mr. Netanyahu, who has visited Beijing several times and hosted senior Chinese officials in Israel. His efforts are bearing fruit. Israeli exports to China, including sophisticated technology, grew by 52% last year.
For China, overseas investment is part of a considered strategy to increase its diplomatic clout—and ultimately its military reach. The drive to operate ports is a key part of this strategy. China’s $1 billion investment in the Greek port of Piraeus has moved Athens toward pro-Chinese policies within the European Union. Another key goal of China’s overseas investment is the acquisition of advanced technology, and President Xi Jinping’s policy of “civil-military fusion” ensures that technological gains translate into military power.
Doing business with China is not the same as doing business with a democracy. Does Israel really want to enable China’s rise at the cost of weakening its relationship with its greatest ally? It’s not too late for Mr. Netanyahu to turn back, starting with the port of Haifa.
By William A. Galston
The Wall Street Journal
May 29, 2019
JERUSALEM: Below the radar screens of all but a few experts, a dispute is brewing with the potential to disrupt defense cooperation between the U.S. and Israel and embroil the Jewish state in America’s increasingly intense trade conflict with China.
The story begins in 2015, when Israel’s Transportation Ministry accepted an offer from the Shanghai International Port Group to operate the port of Haifa for 25 years, starting in 2021, and invest $2 billion to expand the port into Israel’s largest harbor. Notably, this decision was taken without the formal involvement of either Israel’s security cabinet or its National Security Council .
As far as I can tell, this agreement went almost unnoticed for three years, until the transfer of part of the new port to Chinese control in the summer of 2018 sparked a furor in the Israeli media. But it took a meeting this past August between a delegation from the Washington-based Hudson Institute and Haifa University’s Research Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy to make this issue a matter of international concern. During this meeting, the U.S. delegation, which included retired Adm. Gary Roughead, former chief of naval operations, and ex-Pentagon official Douglas Feith, weighed in against the deal with a vehemence that reportedly stunned many Israeli participants.
Adm. Roughead noted that China’s presence in Haifa might force the U.S. Sixth Fleet to abandon the port and dock elsewhere. As he explained in remarks reported in the Jerusalem Post, “The Chinese port operators will be able to monitor closely U.S. ship movements, be aware of maintenance activity, and could have access to equipment moving to and from repair sites and interact freely with our crews over protracted periods.” He also expressed concern that the Chinese could use the new port’s information systems to conduct surveillance and threaten U.S. cybersecurity.
In the wake of the Haifa conference, other U.S. officials weighed in, as did defense-oriented Israelis, such as a former head of Mossad, Efraim Halevy. Articles in the Israeli and international press soon followed. By the end of the year, the Israeli government had launched a high-level review, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked a panel headed by National Economic Council Chairman Avi Simhon and national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to consider options for a new entity with the power to review and rule on foreign investments in Israel.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration was moving into high gear. In January White House national security adviser John Bolton raised Washington’s concerns directly with Mr. Netanyahu. On a subsequent visit to Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned government officials that if the Chinese deal continued, the U.S. might reduce its intelligence sharing with Israel. In March, according to a well-sourced Voice of America article, President Trump warned Israel’s prime minister that if his country’s ties with China continued to expand, U.S.-Israeli relations could suffer.
Despite intensifying pressure, the Netanyahu government hasn’t budged, at least not yet. According to recent press reports, the Simhon/Ben-Shabbat team has decided to recommend against the establishment of a statutory foreign-investment review council, although less-formal options are reportedly still under consideration. Many Israeli officials speak of the need to balance the benefits of their country’s economic relations with China against the imperative of a strong security relationship with the U.S. These officials favor a policy of constructive ambiguity and fear that an institutionalized review process would tip the scales against Chinese investment .
Underlying this dispute is the remarkable growth in recent years of economic ties between Israel and China, whose companies now own major Israeli businesses, including Tnuva, Israel’s biggest purveyor of dairy products. A Chinese firm won the bid to build a new Israeli port at Ashdod. Other Chinese firms operate major Israeli infrastructure projects. Chinese investment in Israel’s high-tech sector is soaring.
This trend enjoys the enthusiastic support of Mr. Netanyahu, who has visited Beijing several times and hosted senior Chinese officials in Israel. His efforts are bearing fruit. Israeli exports to China, including sophisticated technology, grew by 52% last year.
For China, overseas investment is part of a considered strategy to increase its diplomatic clout—and ultimately its military reach. The drive to operate ports is a key part of this strategy. China’s $1 billion investment in the Greek port of Piraeus has moved Athens toward pro-Chinese policies within the European Union. Another key goal of China’s overseas investment is the acquisition of advanced technology, and President Xi Jinping’s policy of “civil-military fusion” ensures that technological gains translate into military power.
Doing business with China is not the same as doing business with a democracy. Does Israel really want to enable China’s rise at the cost of weakening its relationship with its greatest ally? It’s not too late for Mr. Netanyahu to turn back, starting with the port of Haifa.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
GRAND AYATOLLAHNADO
Alex Jones claims Iran is responsible for the large outbreak of tornadoes in the US
The Unconventional Gazette
May 29, 2019
Leading conspiracy theorist Alex Jones now claims that Iran has unleashed the 500 or so tornadoes reported across the US this month. Jones made his claim in response to a German intelligence report saying Iran is trying to expand its arsenal with weapons of mass destruction.
Jones, who once claimed no one was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, says that on the orders of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian scientists have developed a weapon of mass destruction dubbed the Grand Ayatollahnado.
When Khamenei ascended to his position as Grand Ayatollah in 1994, one of hid first edicts was for Iranian scientists to develop the ultimate weapon of mass destruction that could be unleashed on The Great Satan.
The scientists decided that if they could somehow unleash a torrent of deadly tornadoes on the US, that would satisfy Khamenei. Jones says the development of the Grand Ayatollah tornadoes and how they were deliveed to the US is a top Iranian secret.
When President Trump threatened Iran and sent the US aircraft carrier task force to the Persian Gulf, Khamenei told his scientists it was time to unleash the Grand Ayatollahnado on The Great Satan.
Jones says he does not know how Iran has been able to accomplish this, but he is convinced the Grand Ayatollahnadoes are for real. He also says that up to now, the Iranian scientists have been unable to direct the tornadoes to successfully hit a specific target, but he knows they are close to solving that problem.
According to Jones, the tornado that hit Jefferson City, Missouri was right on target, but the tornado that hit El Reno was actually supposed to hit the center of Oklahoma City.
When Trump returned to the White House from Japan, he was asked to comment on this latest theory by Jones. The President said: “More fake news. If for one minute I thought that was true, Iran would be a nuclear wasteland by now.”
The Unconventional Gazette
May 29, 2019
Leading conspiracy theorist Alex Jones now claims that Iran has unleashed the 500 or so tornadoes reported across the US this month. Jones made his claim in response to a German intelligence report saying Iran is trying to expand its arsenal with weapons of mass destruction.
Jones, who once claimed no one was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, says that on the orders of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian scientists have developed a weapon of mass destruction dubbed the Grand Ayatollahnado.
When Khamenei ascended to his position as Grand Ayatollah in 1994, one of hid first edicts was for Iranian scientists to develop the ultimate weapon of mass destruction that could be unleashed on The Great Satan.
The scientists decided that if they could somehow unleash a torrent of deadly tornadoes on the US, that would satisfy Khamenei. Jones says the development of the Grand Ayatollah tornadoes and how they were deliveed to the US is a top Iranian secret.
When President Trump threatened Iran and sent the US aircraft carrier task force to the Persian Gulf, Khamenei told his scientists it was time to unleash the Grand Ayatollahnado on The Great Satan.
Jones says he does not know how Iran has been able to accomplish this, but he is convinced the Grand Ayatollahnadoes are for real. He also says that up to now, the Iranian scientists have been unable to direct the tornadoes to successfully hit a specific target, but he knows they are close to solving that problem.
According to Jones, the tornado that hit Jefferson City, Missouri was right on target, but the tornado that hit El Reno was actually supposed to hit the center of Oklahoma City.
When Trump returned to the White House from Japan, he was asked to comment on this latest theory by Jones. The President said: “More fake news. If for one minute I thought that was true, Iran would be a nuclear wasteland by now.”
BREXIT PARTY WINS BIG
by Bob Walsh
The Brexit party, which had only been in existence for six weeks prior to the just completed E U Parliamentary election, knocked down 31.7% of the U K votes. Next was the Liberal Democrat party at a far distant 18.5%, followed by 14.1% for labor, 11.1% for Green, 8.7% for Conservative and 3.6% for UKIP.
There seem to be a LOT of people over there who STILL want the U K to get the hell out of the E. U. and are determined to have their way. Various nationalist parties in the other E U countries are doing very well in their E U Parliament elections. The trend, at least for now, seems to be swinging AWAY from globalism.
The Brexit party, which had only been in existence for six weeks prior to the just completed E U Parliamentary election, knocked down 31.7% of the U K votes. Next was the Liberal Democrat party at a far distant 18.5%, followed by 14.1% for labor, 11.1% for Green, 8.7% for Conservative and 3.6% for UKIP.
There seem to be a LOT of people over there who STILL want the U K to get the hell out of the E. U. and are determined to have their way. Various nationalist parties in the other E U countries are doing very well in their E U Parliament elections. The trend, at least for now, seems to be swinging AWAY from globalism.
STOCKTON MAKING A COMEBACK..... OF SORTS
by Bob Walsh
Three shootings in about two hours, with two dead and two critical along with a couple of minor injuries. Yes, Stockton is swinging back towards the ultraviolent, crime-ridden and gang-infested shit hole that we all know and love.
These make homicides #19 and #20 for Stockton for the year. The response from the locals, "We don't have nothing to say."
Two of the Sunday night - Monday morning shootings were at apartment complexes, though the victims were not residents of the complexes. In one of them a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and 22 expended cases was found. (Clearly that is wrong because everybody knows these magazines are illegal in CA and criminals obey guns laws, which is why we pass them, right?) One arrest was made at that scene.
The shootings are not believed to be random events, which suggested they are targeted and gang related, though the cops are not going quite that far yet.
Three shootings in about two hours, with two dead and two critical along with a couple of minor injuries. Yes, Stockton is swinging back towards the ultraviolent, crime-ridden and gang-infested shit hole that we all know and love.
These make homicides #19 and #20 for Stockton for the year. The response from the locals, "We don't have nothing to say."
Two of the Sunday night - Monday morning shootings were at apartment complexes, though the victims were not residents of the complexes. In one of them a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and 22 expended cases was found. (Clearly that is wrong because everybody knows these magazines are illegal in CA and criminals obey guns laws, which is why we pass them, right?) One arrest was made at that scene.
The shootings are not believed to be random events, which suggested they are targeted and gang related, though the cops are not going quite that far yet.
A MEDIOCRE IDEA MADE EVEN WORSE ??
by Bob Walsh
I remember being singularly unimpressed when Chrysler and Fiat merged. I can understand that Chrysler wanted (needed?) a cash infusion and Fiat wanted to make a significant inroad into the American market. I also understand that there was minimal duplication in the lines so they wouldn't be fighting each other but still.........(Jeeps made by Fiat. That just isn't right.)
Anyway, now they want to add yet another player to the pile, Renault. Yes, I realize that Renault is a decent-size manufacturer and this would make the group the third largest car maker in the world, but their cars are mostly EuroCrap. Renault is already associated with Nissan and Mitsubishi, but it is more of an alliance than a merger if I understand the structure correctly.
The deal would save the players about $5.5 billion in shared research costs and purchasing if nothing else. Maybe I am just a dinosaur and don't understand global economics and production. It still bothers me, and Renault cars are still mostly EuroCrap. Not completely, but mostly.
I remember being singularly unimpressed when Chrysler and Fiat merged. I can understand that Chrysler wanted (needed?) a cash infusion and Fiat wanted to make a significant inroad into the American market. I also understand that there was minimal duplication in the lines so they wouldn't be fighting each other but still.........(Jeeps made by Fiat. That just isn't right.)
Anyway, now they want to add yet another player to the pile, Renault. Yes, I realize that Renault is a decent-size manufacturer and this would make the group the third largest car maker in the world, but their cars are mostly EuroCrap. Renault is already associated with Nissan and Mitsubishi, but it is more of an alliance than a merger if I understand the structure correctly.
The deal would save the players about $5.5 billion in shared research costs and purchasing if nothing else. Maybe I am just a dinosaur and don't understand global economics and production. It still bothers me, and Renault cars are still mostly EuroCrap. Not completely, but mostly.
HOW TO GET RID OF FREE-LOADING RELATIVES
I had lunch with a friend on Tuesday. He told me about a relative of his back in Pennsylvania.
When the man’s wife passed away, he was left to live in a big house by himself.
One by one a number of his relatives (not including my friend) moved in with him. Of course, they failed to pay any rent. Nor did they pay for any groceries or anything else for that matter.
The man did not have the heart to throw the free-loaders out. Then he got an idea that worked like a charm.
He sold the house and moved into a small cottage.
He hasn’t been bothered by the free-loaders since.
When the man’s wife passed away, he was left to live in a big house by himself.
One by one a number of his relatives (not including my friend) moved in with him. Of course, they failed to pay any rent. Nor did they pay for any groceries or anything else for that matter.
The man did not have the heart to throw the free-loaders out. Then he got an idea that worked like a charm.
He sold the house and moved into a small cottage.
He hasn’t been bothered by the free-loaders since.
TALK ABOUT A SORE LOSER
Russian tycoon's 'maniac' 14-year-old son murders his friend by stabbing him 27 times after losing a computer game
By Will Stewart
Daily Mail
May 28, 2019
A tycoon's 14 year old son has been jailed for murdering his friend in a frenzied knife attack 'after losing a computer game'.
The boy, named in Ukraine as Vasya Turda, had been given new computer games by his rich father, a court was told.
He invited his friend named as Vasya Pop, 15, to his family's mansion to show off his new gaming system.
But several hours later Vasya Pop's neck was cut with a knife and had a total of 27 stab wounds at his house in Nizhnyaya Apsha, known as Ukraine's wealthiest village.
The boy's body was found by his friend's grandmother.
'He stabbed my son with a knife,' said Mikhail Pop, the victim's father.
'He had 27 stab wounds, his head almost severed, his neck cut from ear to ear. This was the first strike, the experts told me. Then he abused the corpse.'
The grieving father branded the attacker 'a maniac'.
A 'conflict' between the teenagers is believed to have arisen over the outcome of a computer game, said reports on the case citing law enforcement.
'Vasily Turda attacked his mate when they played on a console on the second floor (of the mansion),' said one account.
Vasya Pop fled with blood pouring from his his badly wounded neck. He ran down to the ground floor as Turda chased him wielding a knife.
Police pictures show a trail of blood was strewn through the large house.
Vasya Turda - whose father Vasily is a wealthy businessman - was convicted of 'murder committed in the heat of passion' as they played computer games.
He was sentenced to three and a half years by a Ukrainian court.
The court heard allegations that the victim had provoked the attacker with 'unlawful violence, systematic harassment or grievous insult'.
In an earlier dispute, it was claimed Vasya Pop had pulled down his friend's trousers in the presence of girls in a cafe.
But regional prosecutors are now demanding the sentence should be increased to 15 years, say reports.
The exact computer games the teenagers' were playing were not revealed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jailed for three and a half years? What would they have done if he had only stabbed the victim two or three times … honored him with the Ukrainian Peacemaker medal?
By Will Stewart
Daily Mail
May 28, 2019
A tycoon's 14 year old son has been jailed for murdering his friend in a frenzied knife attack 'after losing a computer game'.
The boy, named in Ukraine as Vasya Turda, had been given new computer games by his rich father, a court was told.
He invited his friend named as Vasya Pop, 15, to his family's mansion to show off his new gaming system.
But several hours later Vasya Pop's neck was cut with a knife and had a total of 27 stab wounds at his house in Nizhnyaya Apsha, known as Ukraine's wealthiest village.
The boy's body was found by his friend's grandmother.
'He stabbed my son with a knife,' said Mikhail Pop, the victim's father.
'He had 27 stab wounds, his head almost severed, his neck cut from ear to ear. This was the first strike, the experts told me. Then he abused the corpse.'
The grieving father branded the attacker 'a maniac'.
A 'conflict' between the teenagers is believed to have arisen over the outcome of a computer game, said reports on the case citing law enforcement.
'Vasily Turda attacked his mate when they played on a console on the second floor (of the mansion),' said one account.
Vasya Pop fled with blood pouring from his his badly wounded neck. He ran down to the ground floor as Turda chased him wielding a knife.
Police pictures show a trail of blood was strewn through the large house.
Vasya Turda - whose father Vasily is a wealthy businessman - was convicted of 'murder committed in the heat of passion' as they played computer games.
He was sentenced to three and a half years by a Ukrainian court.
The court heard allegations that the victim had provoked the attacker with 'unlawful violence, systematic harassment or grievous insult'.
In an earlier dispute, it was claimed Vasya Pop had pulled down his friend's trousers in the presence of girls in a cafe.
But regional prosecutors are now demanding the sentence should be increased to 15 years, say reports.
The exact computer games the teenagers' were playing were not revealed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jailed for three and a half years? What would they have done if he had only stabbed the victim two or three times … honored him with the Ukrainian Peacemaker medal?
FIRED HAND-JOB WORKER IS SURE AS HELL MOANING NOW
Nova Scotia arbitrator says company was right to fire union member masturbating on the job
By Brian Platt
National Post
May 24, 2019
A company is justified in firing a unionized employee for masturbating in a bathroom stall at work, a labour arbitrator in Nova Scotia has ruled.
The arbitrator concluded that the employer, an aerospace firm operating hangars at the Halifax airport, had just cause to terminate the employee because his colleagues could hear what he was doing, and it caused “embarrassment and distress” in the workplace. The employee had also been warned about his behaviour two years earlier.
The employee and Unifor, his union, tried various unsuccessful arguments in their grievance, including that he had a disability of sex addiction. They also argued he had not been properly warned because managers were too embarrassed to directly tell him what the complaints were about and instead spoke in euphemisms about “unusual noises.”
For privacy reasons the employee is not named in the ruling, which came down last week and is publicly posted in an online legal database.
It appears to be the first Canadian labour case on the subject. “Neither (the company) nor the union’s representative had been able to find any case dealing with masturbation in the workplace,” the ruling says.
Arbitrator Gus Richardson was asked to decide whether the act of loudly masturbating in a stall justified discipline and termination, and whether a bathroom stall is a sufficiently private place.
“On this point I accept that there is nothing illegal about masturbation,” he wrote. He said the problem is the employee violated the privacy and sense of personal decorum of his co-workers, and ignored warnings to stop. “He instead conducted an activity that he knew (and certainly ought to have known) would and did cause embarrassment and distress to his co-workers once they became aware that he was doing it in close proximity to them.”
The employee testified that he masturbated in one of four stalls in a hangar bathroom, but only when there was nobody in a stall next to him. He maintained that he never made noises and kept his phone on silent if he was watching videos, but the arbitrator rejected that claim.
“I do not accept the grievor’s testimony that he made no sounds while performing this activity,” Richardson wrote. “Obviously if that were true no one would have known that he was doing it. But people did know. They could only have known about it because they could hear it.”
Two technicians had approached their union shop steward with complaints, but the steward “didn’t want to entertain this issue.” Instead the technicians went to management, who met with the employee but avoided directly mentioning the issue. A manager told the employee there were complaints about noises in the bathroom, such as “breathing heavily, making erratic movements and moaning,” and said management was concerned for the employee’s well-being. They told him that if he had a serious medical issue, he should alert human resources.
Richardson ruled that this meeting, as well as a follow-up with the union, counted as sufficient warning.
“Masturbation is not a topic of conversation about which people feel comfortable discussing openly,” he wrote. “That, plus concerns about privacy, would make any attempt to discuss it personally embarrassing and likely to result in the use of euphemisms. Even if … discussion with the grievor was couched in terms of ‘unusual noises’ I am satisfied that both knew exactly what was being discussed — and that it was an activity that was causing concern amongst the grievor’s co-workers and ought to be stopped.”
But two years after that meeting, complaints about the employee’s behaviour reached a boiling point again, with one employee complaining to human resources that the masturbation had become “more frequent and brazen.” The company conducted an investigation, and the employee was eventually fired.
Richardson considered evidence that the employee has a disability in the form of a sex addiction that should mitigate the punishment. He accepted evidence from a therapist on sex addiction despite protests from the company that the therapist’s education was from an online university that was not accredited by any national psychological association.
“In short, even if there was a condition that could be called a ‘sex addiction’ — and I was not persuaded on the evidence that there was — and even if that was what the grievor suffered from — and again I was not persuaded that was the case — there was nothing to establish that it was disabling in any way,” he concluded.
“I am accordingly persuaded that the employer had just cause not only to discipline the grievor, but to terminate his employment. The grievance is dismissed.”
By Brian Platt
National Post
May 24, 2019
A company is justified in firing a unionized employee for masturbating in a bathroom stall at work, a labour arbitrator in Nova Scotia has ruled.
The arbitrator concluded that the employer, an aerospace firm operating hangars at the Halifax airport, had just cause to terminate the employee because his colleagues could hear what he was doing, and it caused “embarrassment and distress” in the workplace. The employee had also been warned about his behaviour two years earlier.
The employee and Unifor, his union, tried various unsuccessful arguments in their grievance, including that he had a disability of sex addiction. They also argued he had not been properly warned because managers were too embarrassed to directly tell him what the complaints were about and instead spoke in euphemisms about “unusual noises.”
For privacy reasons the employee is not named in the ruling, which came down last week and is publicly posted in an online legal database.
It appears to be the first Canadian labour case on the subject. “Neither (the company) nor the union’s representative had been able to find any case dealing with masturbation in the workplace,” the ruling says.
Arbitrator Gus Richardson was asked to decide whether the act of loudly masturbating in a stall justified discipline and termination, and whether a bathroom stall is a sufficiently private place.
“On this point I accept that there is nothing illegal about masturbation,” he wrote. He said the problem is the employee violated the privacy and sense of personal decorum of his co-workers, and ignored warnings to stop. “He instead conducted an activity that he knew (and certainly ought to have known) would and did cause embarrassment and distress to his co-workers once they became aware that he was doing it in close proximity to them.”
The employee testified that he masturbated in one of four stalls in a hangar bathroom, but only when there was nobody in a stall next to him. He maintained that he never made noises and kept his phone on silent if he was watching videos, but the arbitrator rejected that claim.
“I do not accept the grievor’s testimony that he made no sounds while performing this activity,” Richardson wrote. “Obviously if that were true no one would have known that he was doing it. But people did know. They could only have known about it because they could hear it.”
Two technicians had approached their union shop steward with complaints, but the steward “didn’t want to entertain this issue.” Instead the technicians went to management, who met with the employee but avoided directly mentioning the issue. A manager told the employee there were complaints about noises in the bathroom, such as “breathing heavily, making erratic movements and moaning,” and said management was concerned for the employee’s well-being. They told him that if he had a serious medical issue, he should alert human resources.
Richardson ruled that this meeting, as well as a follow-up with the union, counted as sufficient warning.
“Masturbation is not a topic of conversation about which people feel comfortable discussing openly,” he wrote. “That, plus concerns about privacy, would make any attempt to discuss it personally embarrassing and likely to result in the use of euphemisms. Even if … discussion with the grievor was couched in terms of ‘unusual noises’ I am satisfied that both knew exactly what was being discussed — and that it was an activity that was causing concern amongst the grievor’s co-workers and ought to be stopped.”
But two years after that meeting, complaints about the employee’s behaviour reached a boiling point again, with one employee complaining to human resources that the masturbation had become “more frequent and brazen.” The company conducted an investigation, and the employee was eventually fired.
Richardson considered evidence that the employee has a disability in the form of a sex addiction that should mitigate the punishment. He accepted evidence from a therapist on sex addiction despite protests from the company that the therapist’s education was from an online university that was not accredited by any national psychological association.
“In short, even if there was a condition that could be called a ‘sex addiction’ — and I was not persuaded on the evidence that there was — and even if that was what the grievor suffered from — and again I was not persuaded that was the case — there was nothing to establish that it was disabling in any way,” he concluded.
“I am accordingly persuaded that the employer had just cause not only to discipline the grievor, but to terminate his employment. The grievance is dismissed.”
DUE TO THE EXTRAORDINARY BLACK MAGIC OF ANTI-SEMITISM, ISRAEL’S MANY EXEMPLARY VIRTUES IN THIS ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE ARE TURNED INTO VICES AND THE DASTARDLY DEEDS OF ITS ENEMIES ARE REVERED
Israel's Enemies Create an Alternative Universe in Which the Palestinians Are Martyrs, Instead of Misfits
By Jim Sinkinson
Flame
May 28, 2019
Say one thing for the Israel haters: Over the 71 years since Israel's founding, its enemies and other haters have created the closest thing to an alternative universe.
In this perverse, upside-down world, what should be praised is widely disdained, especially by the anti-Semitic political left. That's an impressive accomplishment, especially considering Israel's amazing contributions to the world in its short, adversity-filled history—starting with Israel's miraculous birth and its extraordinary technological, medical, military and economic achievements.
Due to the extraordinary black magic of anti-Semitism, Israel's many exemplary virtues in this alternative universe are turned into vices—and the dastardly deeds of its enemies are revered.
A sterling recent example is provided by Marc Lamont Hill, the disgraced Temple University Professor who was fired from CNN for anti-Semitic comments.
Keynoting a leftist political dinner recently, Hill said, "We ain't got to walk around struttin', talking about two-state solutions . . . What about a world where everyone has freedom, justice, equality, safety and self-determination? One person, one vote? Getting rid of the settler-colonial project altogether?"
Given Hill's solid anti-Zionist bona fides, we can assume his reference to the "settler-colonial project," was an attempt to delegitimize Israel's existence and argue for its destruction. But a stranger to the upside-down world of anti-Israel rhetoric—or any rational person—might be forgiven for thinking Hill was in fact criticizing the Arabs.
After all, it's the Arabs (except those that live in Israel) who almost universally lack freedom, justice, equality and safety. It is the Arabs who have fought three major wars and launched murderous jihads against Israel in an effort to cleanse the Jewish people from their homeland and colonize their territory. What's more, today both Palestinian Arab factions are ruled by ruthless, anti-democratic dictators—both deny their people the vote and both oppose self-determination of Israeli Jews.
Another bizarre aspect of the upside-down alternative universe of anti-Zionist hate is the inexplicable support by Americans and other Westerners for the Palestinian people, who are cast as martyrs, instead of misfits.
In a sensical world, most Westerners would not even know who the Palestinians are, so indistinguishable are they from the general Arabic populace. After all, the Palestinians just starting calling themselves a people in the mid-Sixties.
In truth, as a stateless people, Palestinians are no more worthy of attention than Catalans in Spain, 1.5 million disenfranchised Rohingya in Myanmar or a million captive Uyghurs in China. Indeed, as a people, the Palestinians are virtually feature-less, save their most notable contribution to civilization—the technique of terrorist suicide bombing.
What's more, despite more than $40 billion dollars in international aid over the past 70 years, the Palestinians have achieved little more than creating two murderously feuding factions—one in Judea-Samaria (the West Bank), run by Mahmoud Abbas, and one in Gaza, run by the Islamist terror group Hamas. Both groups are corrupt, bankrupt, autocratic societies that stand for nothing more than the defeat of democratic Israel by terrorist means.
Yet unlike most dispossessed peoples, Palestinians—at least those in Judea-Samaria—are far from destitute. To the contrary: Due to a constant flow of international welfare payments and substantial infrastructure support from Israel (water, electricity, roads), they enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the region.
In a right-side-up world, Americans and the West—especially humanitarian-minded college activists—should be forming support groups for the resilient, democratically inclined and U.S.-allied Kurds, who number 40 million and have been oppressed by the autocrats of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey for decades. Or the six million Tibetans, whose beautiful, spiritual and peaceful land has been overrun, colonized and brutally oppressed by the Chinese since 1959.
Yet despite the supreme worthiness of the Kurds, Tibetans and dozens of other dispossessed peoples, support groups exist on campus only for the stateless Palestinians. Ironically, though, these groups' primary activity is not to support the Palestinians—such as raising funds for food, education, electricity—but to attack Israel, the world's one and only Jewish state.
Likewise, there are no members of Congress who actively advocate for other needy, dispossessed people the world over, as there are now for the Palestinians.
Indeed, the sole virtue of the Palestinian people—and the source of the passionate sympathy they enjoy from the left—would seem to be their good fortune in choosing Middle Eastern Jews as their enemy.
After all, the left's anti-Zionist obsession trumps all their other political values. The Palestinians can be misogynist (which they generally are), homophobic (which they usually are) and autocratic (which they inarguably are) and risk no loss of affection from their left-wing intersectional allies.
In truth, unfortunately, we are never likely to break the hateful spell of the radical left's anti-Zionist alternative universe. But we can hope to reach the vast majority of people in the center—those who are not ideologically driven and who may uncritically support the Palestinians for "humanitarian" reasons . . . or because so many media lie about the Jewish state.
After all, it's true that the Palestinians as a people are horribly exploited and oppressed by their leaders—they do indeed deserve our sympathy. Yet this is different from characterizing Israel's "occupation" as the cause of Palestinian suffering.
If the Arabs laid down their arms, there would be peace, but if Israel laid down its arms, there would be no Israel . . . because to this day the Palestinian Arabs have never accepted a Jewish state in the Holy Land.
Ironically, this seems also to be precisely why the Palestinians have attracted such extraordinary sympathy from anti-Semites.
As the Trump administration prepares to unveil its "peace deal" in Bahrain in June—a redevelopment proposal that seems more and more like a Marshall Plan for the Palestinian Arabs—it's useful to step back and offer a fresh perspective on why the U.S., Western Europe and the rest of the Arab world have devoted so much effort and treasure on the inauspicious Palestinians. Ultimately it seems to be borne more of dislike for Jews than any admiration for the Palestinians.
By Jim Sinkinson
Flame
May 28, 2019
Say one thing for the Israel haters: Over the 71 years since Israel's founding, its enemies and other haters have created the closest thing to an alternative universe.
In this perverse, upside-down world, what should be praised is widely disdained, especially by the anti-Semitic political left. That's an impressive accomplishment, especially considering Israel's amazing contributions to the world in its short, adversity-filled history—starting with Israel's miraculous birth and its extraordinary technological, medical, military and economic achievements.
Due to the extraordinary black magic of anti-Semitism, Israel's many exemplary virtues in this alternative universe are turned into vices—and the dastardly deeds of its enemies are revered.
A sterling recent example is provided by Marc Lamont Hill, the disgraced Temple University Professor who was fired from CNN for anti-Semitic comments.
Keynoting a leftist political dinner recently, Hill said, "We ain't got to walk around struttin', talking about two-state solutions . . . What about a world where everyone has freedom, justice, equality, safety and self-determination? One person, one vote? Getting rid of the settler-colonial project altogether?"
Given Hill's solid anti-Zionist bona fides, we can assume his reference to the "settler-colonial project," was an attempt to delegitimize Israel's existence and argue for its destruction. But a stranger to the upside-down world of anti-Israel rhetoric—or any rational person—might be forgiven for thinking Hill was in fact criticizing the Arabs.
After all, it's the Arabs (except those that live in Israel) who almost universally lack freedom, justice, equality and safety. It is the Arabs who have fought three major wars and launched murderous jihads against Israel in an effort to cleanse the Jewish people from their homeland and colonize their territory. What's more, today both Palestinian Arab factions are ruled by ruthless, anti-democratic dictators—both deny their people the vote and both oppose self-determination of Israeli Jews.
Another bizarre aspect of the upside-down alternative universe of anti-Zionist hate is the inexplicable support by Americans and other Westerners for the Palestinian people, who are cast as martyrs, instead of misfits.
In a sensical world, most Westerners would not even know who the Palestinians are, so indistinguishable are they from the general Arabic populace. After all, the Palestinians just starting calling themselves a people in the mid-Sixties.
In truth, as a stateless people, Palestinians are no more worthy of attention than Catalans in Spain, 1.5 million disenfranchised Rohingya in Myanmar or a million captive Uyghurs in China. Indeed, as a people, the Palestinians are virtually feature-less, save their most notable contribution to civilization—the technique of terrorist suicide bombing.
What's more, despite more than $40 billion dollars in international aid over the past 70 years, the Palestinians have achieved little more than creating two murderously feuding factions—one in Judea-Samaria (the West Bank), run by Mahmoud Abbas, and one in Gaza, run by the Islamist terror group Hamas. Both groups are corrupt, bankrupt, autocratic societies that stand for nothing more than the defeat of democratic Israel by terrorist means.
Yet unlike most dispossessed peoples, Palestinians—at least those in Judea-Samaria—are far from destitute. To the contrary: Due to a constant flow of international welfare payments and substantial infrastructure support from Israel (water, electricity, roads), they enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the region.
In a right-side-up world, Americans and the West—especially humanitarian-minded college activists—should be forming support groups for the resilient, democratically inclined and U.S.-allied Kurds, who number 40 million and have been oppressed by the autocrats of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey for decades. Or the six million Tibetans, whose beautiful, spiritual and peaceful land has been overrun, colonized and brutally oppressed by the Chinese since 1959.
Yet despite the supreme worthiness of the Kurds, Tibetans and dozens of other dispossessed peoples, support groups exist on campus only for the stateless Palestinians. Ironically, though, these groups' primary activity is not to support the Palestinians—such as raising funds for food, education, electricity—but to attack Israel, the world's one and only Jewish state.
Likewise, there are no members of Congress who actively advocate for other needy, dispossessed people the world over, as there are now for the Palestinians.
Indeed, the sole virtue of the Palestinian people—and the source of the passionate sympathy they enjoy from the left—would seem to be their good fortune in choosing Middle Eastern Jews as their enemy.
After all, the left's anti-Zionist obsession trumps all their other political values. The Palestinians can be misogynist (which they generally are), homophobic (which they usually are) and autocratic (which they inarguably are) and risk no loss of affection from their left-wing intersectional allies.
In truth, unfortunately, we are never likely to break the hateful spell of the radical left's anti-Zionist alternative universe. But we can hope to reach the vast majority of people in the center—those who are not ideologically driven and who may uncritically support the Palestinians for "humanitarian" reasons . . . or because so many media lie about the Jewish state.
After all, it's true that the Palestinians as a people are horribly exploited and oppressed by their leaders—they do indeed deserve our sympathy. Yet this is different from characterizing Israel's "occupation" as the cause of Palestinian suffering.
If the Arabs laid down their arms, there would be peace, but if Israel laid down its arms, there would be no Israel . . . because to this day the Palestinian Arabs have never accepted a Jewish state in the Holy Land.
Ironically, this seems also to be precisely why the Palestinians have attracted such extraordinary sympathy from anti-Semites.
As the Trump administration prepares to unveil its "peace deal" in Bahrain in June—a redevelopment proposal that seems more and more like a Marshall Plan for the Palestinian Arabs—it's useful to step back and offer a fresh perspective on why the U.S., Western Europe and the rest of the Arab world have devoted so much effort and treasure on the inauspicious Palestinians. Ultimately it seems to be borne more of dislike for Jews than any admiration for the Palestinians.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
ICE HOCKEY: THE GREATEST GOALIE OF ALL TIME
No pucks have ever gotten past Wally Walrus. Opposing players stay at least 10 feet away from Wally's flippers. And when he returns a puck with his flipper, players on both teams frantically try to skate out of the way.
THAT MONEY COULD DO SO MUCH GOOD OTHERWISE
While watching the Monaco Grand Prix, I saw row after row after row of multi-million dollar ocean-going luxury yachts
On Sunday I watched the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo. Depending on which part of the race course they showed, I could see row after row after row of multi-million dollar ocean-going luxury yachts moored alongside each other.
I got to thinking about what a waste of money that is. These yachts rarely venture onto the high seas. They stay moored in their berths so that the filthy rich can throw exorbitant parties on them.
When not using the yachts themselves, a lot of the owners rent them out for a day or two to other wealthy people who do not have such yachts.
Some of these yachts are no doubt owned by oil-rich Saudi princes, but most of these rich playboys or their families gained their wealth off of the backs of poor working people.
Just think of how much good could be done if the filthy rich would donate more of their wealth to good causes instead of wasting their money on yachts and other luxuries.
On Sunday I watched the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo. Depending on which part of the race course they showed, I could see row after row after row of multi-million dollar ocean-going luxury yachts moored alongside each other.
I got to thinking about what a waste of money that is. These yachts rarely venture onto the high seas. They stay moored in their berths so that the filthy rich can throw exorbitant parties on them.
When not using the yachts themselves, a lot of the owners rent them out for a day or two to other wealthy people who do not have such yachts.
Some of these yachts are no doubt owned by oil-rich Saudi princes, but most of these rich playboys or their families gained their wealth off of the backs of poor working people.
Just think of how much good could be done if the filthy rich would donate more of their wealth to good causes instead of wasting their money on yachts and other luxuries.
A CLEARLY FALSE NEWS REPORT
Everybody Knows Marijuana Users Are Non-Violent
by Bob Walsh
Ashley Perkins, 30, of Louisiana was visiting relatives in Florida along with her wife last week. Things did not go well after the other half of that couple ran their weed stash thru the washing machine. Perkins grabbed a bed post and beat the crap out of her wife for this serious offense against druggie ethics.
When the Santa Rosa County S O arrived Perkins at first denied inflicting the injures and said they were accidental, then claimed that the wife beat herself with the bed post.
Perkins is currently housed at the county hospitality center awaiting the posting of $25,000 bond.
by Bob Walsh
Ashley Perkins, 30, of Louisiana was visiting relatives in Florida along with her wife last week. Things did not go well after the other half of that couple ran their weed stash thru the washing machine. Perkins grabbed a bed post and beat the crap out of her wife for this serious offense against druggie ethics.
When the Santa Rosa County S O arrived Perkins at first denied inflicting the injures and said they were accidental, then claimed that the wife beat herself with the bed post.
Perkins is currently housed at the county hospitality center awaiting the posting of $25,000 bond.
KLAN RALLY IN DAYTON A HUGE HO-HUM
by Bob Walsh
A total of NINE Kluxers showed up for the rally, all but one of them masked. There were about 350 cops there to protect them and about 600 counter-demonstrators. The counter-demonstrators made LOTS of noise whenever one of the Klan Klowns tried to speak. I really don't approve of that. They had a valid permit. They should have been allowed to speak, and been totally ignored.
It cost the city about $650,000 in overtime and material costs. No arrests were reported.
Many of the demonstrators on both sides were armed. Nobody did anything stupid.
A total of NINE Kluxers showed up for the rally, all but one of them masked. There were about 350 cops there to protect them and about 600 counter-demonstrators. The counter-demonstrators made LOTS of noise whenever one of the Klan Klowns tried to speak. I really don't approve of that. They had a valid permit. They should have been allowed to speak, and been totally ignored.
It cost the city about $650,000 in overtime and material costs. No arrests were reported.
Many of the demonstrators on both sides were armed. Nobody did anything stupid.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY RATHER STRANGE, BUT NICE
by Bob Walsh
I went to a memorial on Sunday for my lady friend's nephew, Henry William Lane, who was shot to death a few weeks back in Red Bluff, CA. It was a nice gathering, a few family and some friends, maybe 24 people all together. The memorial was outside at a park. It had rained in the morning, but then cleared up.
The thing that struck me as strange was the park. There was NO graffiti anywhere. No broken beer bottles, discarded needles or condom wrappers. The bathroom were open and clean and functional. The BBQ pits had not been vandalized nor the metal grills stolen by scroungers. There were large piles of driftwood next to the creek and some piles of fire wood as well that nobody had attempted to set on fire.
The occasion was somber, but this was so noteworthy that I felt compelled to speak to it.
I went to a memorial on Sunday for my lady friend's nephew, Henry William Lane, who was shot to death a few weeks back in Red Bluff, CA. It was a nice gathering, a few family and some friends, maybe 24 people all together. The memorial was outside at a park. It had rained in the morning, but then cleared up.
The thing that struck me as strange was the park. There was NO graffiti anywhere. No broken beer bottles, discarded needles or condom wrappers. The bathroom were open and clean and functional. The BBQ pits had not been vandalized nor the metal grills stolen by scroungers. There were large piles of driftwood next to the creek and some piles of fire wood as well that nobody had attempted to set on fire.
The occasion was somber, but this was so noteworthy that I felt compelled to speak to it.
PAYING DRUG DEALERS AND GANG MEMBERS TO LEAVE HOUSTON WOULD BANKRUPT THE CITY
Mississippi mayor offers $10K for drug dealers, gang members and wannabe criminals to leave town
By: Tom Dees
Fox 13
May 20, 2019
CLARKSDALE, Miss. - Clarksdale’s mayor and police department unveiled a new five-point crime-fighting plan. The plan includes the mayor offering to pay criminals to relocate who don’t think they can turn their lives around in Clarksdale.
Mayor Chuck Espy offered to use his own money to pay for some criminals to leave. “We are talking directly to three groups of people. Drug dealers, gang members, and any wannabe criminals in the city of Clarksdale.”
Mayor Espy has a very clear message. If you are a criminal – leave Clarksdale.
If you don’t think you can turn your life around in the city, then he will help you move away. The moving fund is up to $10,000. That money is coming straight from the mayor’s pockets.
According to the mayor, the city’s crime-fighting has been working. Chief Sandra Williams spoke to other efforts.
“We have gone out and added additional people to our department. We hired someone from MBI who is a retired investigator, that person is responsible to look at all the felony cases.”
Reverend John Givins from Clarksdale also spoke with FOX13 about the issue. “We encouraged them to stay in our city and become great citizens. We will also be putting an etiquette class in place for these people. And we have skill sets to prepare them for jobs coming to the city of Clarksdale.”
The mayor also told FOX13 he’s asking for corporate help to help fund the moving expenses.
We reached out to a few civil rights organizations for comments on the mayor’s proposal to pay criminals to leave the city. We haven’t heard back.
In 2018, there were 12 homicides in Clarksdale.
The police chief told us the new efforts have the homicide count this year at just one.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Most of those criminals would shortly blow the $10K and then return to Clarksdale in a New York minute.
By: Tom Dees
Fox 13
May 20, 2019
CLARKSDALE, Miss. - Clarksdale’s mayor and police department unveiled a new five-point crime-fighting plan. The plan includes the mayor offering to pay criminals to relocate who don’t think they can turn their lives around in Clarksdale.
Mayor Chuck Espy offered to use his own money to pay for some criminals to leave. “We are talking directly to three groups of people. Drug dealers, gang members, and any wannabe criminals in the city of Clarksdale.”
Mayor Espy has a very clear message. If you are a criminal – leave Clarksdale.
If you don’t think you can turn your life around in the city, then he will help you move away. The moving fund is up to $10,000. That money is coming straight from the mayor’s pockets.
According to the mayor, the city’s crime-fighting has been working. Chief Sandra Williams spoke to other efforts.
“We have gone out and added additional people to our department. We hired someone from MBI who is a retired investigator, that person is responsible to look at all the felony cases.”
Reverend John Givins from Clarksdale also spoke with FOX13 about the issue. “We encouraged them to stay in our city and become great citizens. We will also be putting an etiquette class in place for these people. And we have skill sets to prepare them for jobs coming to the city of Clarksdale.”
The mayor also told FOX13 he’s asking for corporate help to help fund the moving expenses.
We reached out to a few civil rights organizations for comments on the mayor’s proposal to pay criminals to leave the city. We haven’t heard back.
In 2018, there were 12 homicides in Clarksdale.
The police chief told us the new efforts have the homicide count this year at just one.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Most of those criminals would shortly blow the $10K and then return to Clarksdale in a New York minute.
JUST A LITTLE SCHOOL BRAWL IN BOB WALSH’S HOMETOWN
Officer hit with trash can during brawl at California high school
KTXL/CNN
May 26, 2019
STOCKTON, Calif. -- A high school in California was on lockdown Friday after an all-out brawl among students, teachers and police.
The incident took place at Bear Creek High and was caught on video by many students.
The footage shows a garbage can being thrown by a student as responding officers tried to detain an unruly student who had been fighting with a staff member and resisting the officer’s commands.
"I didn't know it was that bad. I was thinking a few students, you know, had an altercation. But I did not know it was as bad as it was from that video," an unnamed parent said.
Police estimated 80 students played a role and said several of them tried the pull the officer off of the student being detained.
That's when things really got ugly.
According to investigators, during this detention, officers were struck by several students and a garbage can was thrown at officers and school staff.
"When you go to school, you're supposed to respect the authority that's trying to keep you safe while you're here on campus," former student Kira Elkins said.
Police did say no officers, students or staff suffered injuries during the incident, and the original disruptive student was cited for resisting arrest.
But after seeing the video, many are wondering what could happen to the others who were involved.
"I don't know what is going on with these kids,” the unknown parent said. “I don't know. Even with the authority there and they are still being too much. It's scary. It's dangerous."
It is unclear if any of the other students involved will be charged.
KTXL/CNN
May 26, 2019
STOCKTON, Calif. -- A high school in California was on lockdown Friday after an all-out brawl among students, teachers and police.
The incident took place at Bear Creek High and was caught on video by many students.
The footage shows a garbage can being thrown by a student as responding officers tried to detain an unruly student who had been fighting with a staff member and resisting the officer’s commands.
"I didn't know it was that bad. I was thinking a few students, you know, had an altercation. But I did not know it was as bad as it was from that video," an unnamed parent said.
Police estimated 80 students played a role and said several of them tried the pull the officer off of the student being detained.
That's when things really got ugly.
According to investigators, during this detention, officers were struck by several students and a garbage can was thrown at officers and school staff.
"When you go to school, you're supposed to respect the authority that's trying to keep you safe while you're here on campus," former student Kira Elkins said.
Police did say no officers, students or staff suffered injuries during the incident, and the original disruptive student was cited for resisting arrest.
But after seeing the video, many are wondering what could happen to the others who were involved.
"I don't know what is going on with these kids,” the unknown parent said. “I don't know. Even with the authority there and they are still being too much. It's scary. It's dangerous."
It is unclear if any of the other students involved will be charged.
THE SORE LOSERS IN ISRAEL’S ELRCTION MUST BE USING THE DEMOCRAT PLAYBOOK ON HOW TO DESTROY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN ATTEMPTING TO BRING NETANYAHU DOWN AT ANY COST
Bibi and the Most Important Demonstration of This Year
By Tsvi Sadan
Israel Today
May 27, 2019
In a viral YouTube video, Yair Lapid of the opposition "Blue and White" party is seen speaking on the phone, trying to persuade someone to attend last Saturday night's demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his alleged efforts to turn Israel into his own private little kingdom.
The conversation went like this: "I don't care how busy you are ... no, you don't leave your kids with your parents, you take your children and your parents ... because you're going to take part in the most important demonstration of the year."
Speaking at the demonstration in Tel Aviv, Blue and White head Benny Gantz described its purpose as halting the erosion of Israel's democracy by a selfish and corrupt prime minister and his cohorts.
"We will not allow you [Netanyahu] to turn Israel into the private domain of a ruling family," insisted Gantz. "We will not allow you to silence the media, damage cultural and academic institutions, bring down the police ... destroy the court of law. We won't allow you to use fanaticism [a reference to the ultra-Orthodox parties] to shake the foundations of Israeli society. Israel's values will not be racist values. When you and your racist family members will try to drive political bulldozers over democracy's foundation, we will be there..."
Gantz's speech was a concise review of the numerous accusations leveled against Netanyahu, which the prime minister's opponents believe beyond any shadow of doubt. So many Israelis have today been persuaded that Netanyahu is the root of all evil in Israel, that he is an unrepentant criminal, narcissist and racist. He is now routinely compared to repressive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a dictator-like leader who exploits Israel's democracy to bring down Israel's democracy, all for his own narrow personal benefit.
Given this, in the eyes of his opponents, ridding Israel of Netanyahu is akin to saving Israel, and the opposition is prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish this, including suspending democracy themselves.
Invited to speak at the anti-Netanyahu demonstration was former head of the now-defunct United Arab List, Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh. This is the same Ayman Odeh who supports Palestinian terrorist organizations, backs the anti-Israel BDS movement and wants to strip the state of its Jewish identity. His presence on the dais demonstrated just how far Netanyahu's opposition is willing to go.
Since I couldn't resist being at "the most important demonstration of the year," I joined those 20,000 or so demonstrators who genuinely believe that Israel is facing mortal danger under Netanyahu. The crowd, as I anticipated, was for the most part Ashkenazi, secular and well-behaved left-wingers. No shouting, no loudspeakers, no external expressions of passion and emotion. People came and left within an hour. I asked someone why he was leaving so soon. "Too hot, and my children want to go home," he told me. I asked another to explain why so many were already going. "Probably because it's too hot," he, too, speculated, though I thought the weather was quite pleasant.
Ayman Odeh was the last speaker to address the gathering, and as he spoke, some were seen cheering and clapping their hands, including a couple near me. So, I asked them why they were applauding this guy.
"We agree with what he says," they replied.
But, I noted, "he says a lot of things, including things against the Jewish State of Israel."
"That's what you say," they answered.
"No," I pointed out, "this is what Odeh says."
"Yes... but... Netanyahu is worse than Odeh..." they stammered.
For the life of me, I couldn't understand how some Israelis could cheer for people who want to do away with the Jewish state. But, this couple verified my suspicion that his opponents genuinely see Netanyahu as a worse threat to Israel than Israel's actual enemies. As such, I think Netanyahu's position might not be as secure as his supporters would like to imagine. Powerful forces are now working behind the scenes to bring Netanyahu down at any cost.
By Tsvi Sadan
Israel Today
May 27, 2019
In a viral YouTube video, Yair Lapid of the opposition "Blue and White" party is seen speaking on the phone, trying to persuade someone to attend last Saturday night's demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his alleged efforts to turn Israel into his own private little kingdom.
The conversation went like this: "I don't care how busy you are ... no, you don't leave your kids with your parents, you take your children and your parents ... because you're going to take part in the most important demonstration of the year."
Speaking at the demonstration in Tel Aviv, Blue and White head Benny Gantz described its purpose as halting the erosion of Israel's democracy by a selfish and corrupt prime minister and his cohorts.
"We will not allow you [Netanyahu] to turn Israel into the private domain of a ruling family," insisted Gantz. "We will not allow you to silence the media, damage cultural and academic institutions, bring down the police ... destroy the court of law. We won't allow you to use fanaticism [a reference to the ultra-Orthodox parties] to shake the foundations of Israeli society. Israel's values will not be racist values. When you and your racist family members will try to drive political bulldozers over democracy's foundation, we will be there..."
Gantz's speech was a concise review of the numerous accusations leveled against Netanyahu, which the prime minister's opponents believe beyond any shadow of doubt. So many Israelis have today been persuaded that Netanyahu is the root of all evil in Israel, that he is an unrepentant criminal, narcissist and racist. He is now routinely compared to repressive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a dictator-like leader who exploits Israel's democracy to bring down Israel's democracy, all for his own narrow personal benefit.
Given this, in the eyes of his opponents, ridding Israel of Netanyahu is akin to saving Israel, and the opposition is prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish this, including suspending democracy themselves.
Invited to speak at the anti-Netanyahu demonstration was former head of the now-defunct United Arab List, Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh. This is the same Ayman Odeh who supports Palestinian terrorist organizations, backs the anti-Israel BDS movement and wants to strip the state of its Jewish identity. His presence on the dais demonstrated just how far Netanyahu's opposition is willing to go.
Since I couldn't resist being at "the most important demonstration of the year," I joined those 20,000 or so demonstrators who genuinely believe that Israel is facing mortal danger under Netanyahu. The crowd, as I anticipated, was for the most part Ashkenazi, secular and well-behaved left-wingers. No shouting, no loudspeakers, no external expressions of passion and emotion. People came and left within an hour. I asked someone why he was leaving so soon. "Too hot, and my children want to go home," he told me. I asked another to explain why so many were already going. "Probably because it's too hot," he, too, speculated, though I thought the weather was quite pleasant.
Ayman Odeh was the last speaker to address the gathering, and as he spoke, some were seen cheering and clapping their hands, including a couple near me. So, I asked them why they were applauding this guy.
"We agree with what he says," they replied.
But, I noted, "he says a lot of things, including things against the Jewish State of Israel."
"That's what you say," they answered.
"No," I pointed out, "this is what Odeh says."
"Yes... but... Netanyahu is worse than Odeh..." they stammered.
For the life of me, I couldn't understand how some Israelis could cheer for people who want to do away with the Jewish state. But, this couple verified my suspicion that his opponents genuinely see Netanyahu as a worse threat to Israel than Israel's actual enemies. As such, I think Netanyahu's position might not be as secure as his supporters would like to imagine. Powerful forces are now working behind the scenes to bring Netanyahu down at any cost.
CRACKS IN THE (IRON) DOME?
One of the reasons advanced for the Iron Dome’s ostensibly diminished capacity was the intensity of the barrages fired at Israel concentrated within a short time period
by Martin Sherman
Israel Hayom
May 26, 2019
“ … the ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War,” circa 400 B.C.
Last week, both Israel and Hamas denied reports that they had reached an agreement on a six-month cease-fire. Irrespective of any credence one wishes to ascribe the denial, it underscored just how fragile the current lull in hostilities is and how easily they could reignite.
Although it has been barely two weeks since the violence in southern Israel subsided, public recollection of what transpired has faded rapidly with the intervening Israel Independence Day celebrations and the Eurovision hullaballoo helping to dull collective memory.
This is unfortunate … and disturbing.
For it is vital to recall that the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip raised troubling questions as to the soundness of the strategic rationale underpinning Israel’s air-defense system, particularly the much-vaunted “Iron Dome.”
Even before the heavy barrages that rained down on Israel in early May, doubts began to emerge as to its efficacy when projectiles launched from Gaza penetrated deep into Israel, hitting residences in the city of Beersheva and in Mishmeret, a village north of Tel Aviv, with two others landing close to Tel Aviv itself, fortunately causing no damage.
According to Israeli military sources, during the last flare-up, 690 rockets and mortars were fired towards Israeli targets from Gaza by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. About 90 failed to make it across the border. Of those that did, 240 were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, which assesses whether a rocket is likely to strike open ground or needs to be intercepted. The system reportedly had 87% accuracy on attempted interceptions, with 35 rockets striking urban areas. In the barrage, four Israelis were killed and more than 200 were treated in Israeli hospitals.
Depressingly, there appears to be wide consensus among pundits that another, probably broader and more intense round of fighting is merely a matter of time.
Significantly, the number of Israeli civilians killed in the two-day conflict was almost identical to that incurred during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, which lasted nearly two months, when the Gaza-based terror organizations launched more than 4,500 missiles, rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilian population centers.
Has the ‘Iron Dome’ become the ‘Iron Sieve’?
One of the reasons advanced for the Iron Dome’s ostensibly diminished capacity was the intensity of the barrages fired at Israel concentrated within a short time period. Seemingly affirming that this was a purposeful tactic, a spokesman for Hamas’s Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades proclaimed: “The Qassam Brigades, thanks to God, succeeded in overcoming the so-called Iron Dome by adopting the tactic of firing dozens of missiles in one single burst.”
These results prompted expressions of skepticism, even unfounded derision, as to the true ability of the Iron Dome system to effectively protect Israel’s civilian population, even prompting once source to claim (somewhat unfairly), “It’s not Iron Dome. It’s Iron Sieve.”
Of course, such censure may be excessively harsh. After all, the Iron Dome is an extraordinary technological achievement, which has in the past greatly reduced loss of life and physical damage that otherwise may have been inflicted on Israel.
Nonetheless, in light of its somewhat spotty performance of late, there certainly appears to be a strong case for critical re-examination of the strategic rationale underlying its use.
Indeed, it far from unreasonable to assert that the Iron Dome has, in effect, provided protection for Gazans no less – arguably more – than for Israelis. After all, if the bulk of the on-target rocket barrages had not been intercepted, and had inflicted large-scale damage on its cities and casualties among its civilians, Israel would have been compelled to retaliate with massive punitive measures to silence the fire. Inevitably, this would have caused extensive destruction and loss of life in the Gaza Strip—far beyond that which Israel was able to permit itself to inflict with its civilian population relatively protected.
Flawed strategic rationale
Indeed, the adoption of this kind of strategic passivity was confirmed – and endorsed – in a recent paper published by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), titled Long-Range Rocket Fire on Israel’s Depth: Lessons for Homefront Defense, authored by Meir Elran and Carmit Padan, who write approvingly: “The State of Israel has so far invested significant sums in passive defense and complementary technologies, with the lion’s share going to the “Gaza envelope.” The main lesson is that existing plans for improving public and private shelters should be implemented in other parts of Israel, as a fatal strike on the civilian space would generate pressure on any Israeli government and reduce its leeway in the face of Hamas … fire.”
But in the context of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs, there is a grave strategic flaw in this kind of reasoning.
For it is precisely because the Iron Dome and “passive defense” have given the Israeli government “leeway in the face of Hamas fire,” that the fire has continued.
Thus, paradoxically, because much of their projectiles have indeed been intercepted, the terror organizations have been left intact, enabling them to continue launching further attacks whenever they see fit – typically either when they feel strong enough to do so or too weak not to.
Defensive vs. offensive
The perverse situation is the result of the Iron Dome (and other missile-defense systems) being perceived as solely defensive. Indeed, it is precisely this defense oriented strategy that has led to hostilities with Gaza continuing with no end in sight.
The defining difference between defensive and offensive strategies is twofold:
(a) The element of surprise: The first is that relying heavily on defensive measures denies the defender the element of surprise in that, almost by definition, one cannot launch a surprise defense – in the sense that one can only defend against an attack once launched, often by surprise. So while it is possible that defense systems may comprise elements unexpected by the attacker, typically they can only be deployed against an ongoing attack.
(b) The damage inflicted: The second is that defensive measures cannot inflict greater losses than the resources any prospective aggressor is prepared to commit to an assault on his adversary. In the case of the Iron Dome, the maximum damage that can be inflicted is the destruction of the incoming missile, which the aggressor expected to lose anyway. Accordingly, missile-defense systems, including the Iron Dome, cannot deter attacks by threatening to wreak unacceptable costs on the attacker and thus dissuade him from any further aggression.
The combination of these two elements – the one allowing Hamas and its terror affiliates to choose the time and scope of any attack; the other, allowing Hamas et al. to determine the limits of the damage wrought on them – provide in large measure the reason why the hostilities in Gaza persist.
The pattern of violence in Gaza is almost monotonously repetitive. Time and again, the Gazan terrorists have developed some offensive tactic to assault Israel. In response, Israel devised some countermeasure to contend with it. But all these counter-measures were designed to thwart attacks, rather than prevent them being launched in the first place.
Thus, suicide attacks resulted in a security fence and secured crossings; which led to the development of enhanced rocket and missile capabilities; which lead to the development of the multimillion dollar Iron Dome; which led to the burrowing of an array of underground attack tunnels; which lead to the construction of a billion dollar subterranean barrier; which led to the use of incendiary kites and balloons that, last summer, reduced much of the rural south adjacent to the Gaza border, to blackened charcoal – and look likely to do so again in the coming months.
Indeed, Israel’s decade-long policy of ceasing fire whenever the other side ceases fire has allowed Hamas and its terror affiliates to launch repeated rounds of aggression, determining not only when they are launched and when they end, but also largely controlling the cost incurred for such aggression, ensuring it remains within the range of the “acceptable.”
Significantly, after each round of fighting, despite the damage inflicted by the IDF, the Gazan-based terror groups have typically emerged with vastly enhanced military capabilities and political standing.
Soon drones with biological/chemical payload?
This is clearly a recipe for unending and escalating violence and must be abandoned before it culminates in inevitable tragedy.
After all, the Gazan-based terror groups have shown consistently that they can transform everyday children’s playthings, such as kites, into instruments of extensive destruction, and forced Israel to develop hugely expensive defenses (such as Iron Dome interceptors) to deal will risibly cheap weapons of attack (such as mortar shells).
It is hardly beyond the limits of plausibility that Israel might soon have to face incoming missiles with multiple warheads, which disperse just before being intercepted, greatly challenging its missile defense capabilities. Or the development of some kind of anti-aircraft capabilities that could restrict, or at least hamper, – Israel’s present unlimited freedom of action over the skies of Gaza.
Or worse, will Israel have to contend with the specter of a swarm of drones, possibly armed with biological or chemical payloads, directed at nearby Israeli communities – rendering the billion dollar anti-tunnel barrier entirely moot? For those who might dismiss this as implausible scaremongering.
Indeed, adhering to a purely defensive/reactive strategy will virtually ensure that some kind of offensive measure will be developed to make it ineffective, at least partially.
The offensive imperative: Arabs in Gaza or Jews in Negev
Clearly then, there will be no end to the recurring rounds of violence and the escalating enhancement of the enemies’ aggressive capabilities unless Israel undertakes a dramatic change in strategy. Accordingly, instead of focusing on thwarting attacks and limited reprisals for them, Israel must strive to eliminate the ability to launch them.
Rather than employ systems such as the Iron Dome as a purely defensive measure, it should be incorporated as an auxiliary in offensive action – i.e., by minimizing danger and damage to the civilian sector while a large offensive is launched in order to take and hold the areas from which attacks were launched – preventing them from being used for future attacks.
This is the only sustainable long-term strategic rationale for a defense system which comprises launching very costly interceptor missiles at very cheap incoming ones.
The compelling imperative for this modus operandi is, of course, reinforced by the prospect of a coordinated attack by Hamas from the south and Hezbollah, with its even more formidable arsenal, from the north.
Clearly, the prospect of Israel retaking and holding the Gaza Strip raises the perennially irksome question of what is to be done regarding the Arab population of Gaza.
As I’ve pointed out on numerous previous occasions, in addressing this question Israel must face up to and internalize the unpalatable, but inevitable reality that in the long run, there will either be Arabs in Gaza or Jews in the Negev. Eventually, however, there will not be both.
Accordingly, then, to prevent the Jewish population being denuded by unabated Arab aggression – whether overhead missiles targeting kindergartens or underground tunnels targeting border communities; whether incendiary balloons or explosive kites or anti-tank rockets on cars buses and trains – the only policy is the evacuation of the Gazan population to third-party countries by means of a large-scale initiative of incentivized emigration.
Although the details of such an initiative are well beyond the scope of this essay, I have elaborated on them frequently in the past.
Marshalling the ideological commitment, the political legitimacy and international acceptance for such an initiative is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for Zionism today.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This brings into question the effectiveness of the US anti-missile defenses against a massive simultaneous missile attack, say by either Russia or China.
by Martin Sherman
Israel Hayom
May 26, 2019
“ … the ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War,” circa 400 B.C.
Last week, both Israel and Hamas denied reports that they had reached an agreement on a six-month cease-fire. Irrespective of any credence one wishes to ascribe the denial, it underscored just how fragile the current lull in hostilities is and how easily they could reignite.
Although it has been barely two weeks since the violence in southern Israel subsided, public recollection of what transpired has faded rapidly with the intervening Israel Independence Day celebrations and the Eurovision hullaballoo helping to dull collective memory.
This is unfortunate … and disturbing.
For it is vital to recall that the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip raised troubling questions as to the soundness of the strategic rationale underpinning Israel’s air-defense system, particularly the much-vaunted “Iron Dome.”
Even before the heavy barrages that rained down on Israel in early May, doubts began to emerge as to its efficacy when projectiles launched from Gaza penetrated deep into Israel, hitting residences in the city of Beersheva and in Mishmeret, a village north of Tel Aviv, with two others landing close to Tel Aviv itself, fortunately causing no damage.
According to Israeli military sources, during the last flare-up, 690 rockets and mortars were fired towards Israeli targets from Gaza by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. About 90 failed to make it across the border. Of those that did, 240 were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, which assesses whether a rocket is likely to strike open ground or needs to be intercepted. The system reportedly had 87% accuracy on attempted interceptions, with 35 rockets striking urban areas. In the barrage, four Israelis were killed and more than 200 were treated in Israeli hospitals.
Depressingly, there appears to be wide consensus among pundits that another, probably broader and more intense round of fighting is merely a matter of time.
Significantly, the number of Israeli civilians killed in the two-day conflict was almost identical to that incurred during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, which lasted nearly two months, when the Gaza-based terror organizations launched more than 4,500 missiles, rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilian population centers.
Has the ‘Iron Dome’ become the ‘Iron Sieve’?
One of the reasons advanced for the Iron Dome’s ostensibly diminished capacity was the intensity of the barrages fired at Israel concentrated within a short time period. Seemingly affirming that this was a purposeful tactic, a spokesman for Hamas’s Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades proclaimed: “The Qassam Brigades, thanks to God, succeeded in overcoming the so-called Iron Dome by adopting the tactic of firing dozens of missiles in one single burst.”
These results prompted expressions of skepticism, even unfounded derision, as to the true ability of the Iron Dome system to effectively protect Israel’s civilian population, even prompting once source to claim (somewhat unfairly), “It’s not Iron Dome. It’s Iron Sieve.”
Of course, such censure may be excessively harsh. After all, the Iron Dome is an extraordinary technological achievement, which has in the past greatly reduced loss of life and physical damage that otherwise may have been inflicted on Israel.
Nonetheless, in light of its somewhat spotty performance of late, there certainly appears to be a strong case for critical re-examination of the strategic rationale underlying its use.
Indeed, it far from unreasonable to assert that the Iron Dome has, in effect, provided protection for Gazans no less – arguably more – than for Israelis. After all, if the bulk of the on-target rocket barrages had not been intercepted, and had inflicted large-scale damage on its cities and casualties among its civilians, Israel would have been compelled to retaliate with massive punitive measures to silence the fire. Inevitably, this would have caused extensive destruction and loss of life in the Gaza Strip—far beyond that which Israel was able to permit itself to inflict with its civilian population relatively protected.
Flawed strategic rationale
Indeed, the adoption of this kind of strategic passivity was confirmed – and endorsed – in a recent paper published by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), titled Long-Range Rocket Fire on Israel’s Depth: Lessons for Homefront Defense, authored by Meir Elran and Carmit Padan, who write approvingly: “The State of Israel has so far invested significant sums in passive defense and complementary technologies, with the lion’s share going to the “Gaza envelope.” The main lesson is that existing plans for improving public and private shelters should be implemented in other parts of Israel, as a fatal strike on the civilian space would generate pressure on any Israeli government and reduce its leeway in the face of Hamas … fire.”
But in the context of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs, there is a grave strategic flaw in this kind of reasoning.
For it is precisely because the Iron Dome and “passive defense” have given the Israeli government “leeway in the face of Hamas fire,” that the fire has continued.
Thus, paradoxically, because much of their projectiles have indeed been intercepted, the terror organizations have been left intact, enabling them to continue launching further attacks whenever they see fit – typically either when they feel strong enough to do so or too weak not to.
Defensive vs. offensive
The perverse situation is the result of the Iron Dome (and other missile-defense systems) being perceived as solely defensive. Indeed, it is precisely this defense oriented strategy that has led to hostilities with Gaza continuing with no end in sight.
The defining difference between defensive and offensive strategies is twofold:
(a) The element of surprise: The first is that relying heavily on defensive measures denies the defender the element of surprise in that, almost by definition, one cannot launch a surprise defense – in the sense that one can only defend against an attack once launched, often by surprise. So while it is possible that defense systems may comprise elements unexpected by the attacker, typically they can only be deployed against an ongoing attack.
(b) The damage inflicted: The second is that defensive measures cannot inflict greater losses than the resources any prospective aggressor is prepared to commit to an assault on his adversary. In the case of the Iron Dome, the maximum damage that can be inflicted is the destruction of the incoming missile, which the aggressor expected to lose anyway. Accordingly, missile-defense systems, including the Iron Dome, cannot deter attacks by threatening to wreak unacceptable costs on the attacker and thus dissuade him from any further aggression.
The combination of these two elements – the one allowing Hamas and its terror affiliates to choose the time and scope of any attack; the other, allowing Hamas et al. to determine the limits of the damage wrought on them – provide in large measure the reason why the hostilities in Gaza persist.
The pattern of violence in Gaza is almost monotonously repetitive. Time and again, the Gazan terrorists have developed some offensive tactic to assault Israel. In response, Israel devised some countermeasure to contend with it. But all these counter-measures were designed to thwart attacks, rather than prevent them being launched in the first place.
Thus, suicide attacks resulted in a security fence and secured crossings; which led to the development of enhanced rocket and missile capabilities; which lead to the development of the multimillion dollar Iron Dome; which led to the burrowing of an array of underground attack tunnels; which lead to the construction of a billion dollar subterranean barrier; which led to the use of incendiary kites and balloons that, last summer, reduced much of the rural south adjacent to the Gaza border, to blackened charcoal – and look likely to do so again in the coming months.
Indeed, Israel’s decade-long policy of ceasing fire whenever the other side ceases fire has allowed Hamas and its terror affiliates to launch repeated rounds of aggression, determining not only when they are launched and when they end, but also largely controlling the cost incurred for such aggression, ensuring it remains within the range of the “acceptable.”
Significantly, after each round of fighting, despite the damage inflicted by the IDF, the Gazan-based terror groups have typically emerged with vastly enhanced military capabilities and political standing.
Soon drones with biological/chemical payload?
This is clearly a recipe for unending and escalating violence and must be abandoned before it culminates in inevitable tragedy.
After all, the Gazan-based terror groups have shown consistently that they can transform everyday children’s playthings, such as kites, into instruments of extensive destruction, and forced Israel to develop hugely expensive defenses (such as Iron Dome interceptors) to deal will risibly cheap weapons of attack (such as mortar shells).
It is hardly beyond the limits of plausibility that Israel might soon have to face incoming missiles with multiple warheads, which disperse just before being intercepted, greatly challenging its missile defense capabilities. Or the development of some kind of anti-aircraft capabilities that could restrict, or at least hamper, – Israel’s present unlimited freedom of action over the skies of Gaza.
Or worse, will Israel have to contend with the specter of a swarm of drones, possibly armed with biological or chemical payloads, directed at nearby Israeli communities – rendering the billion dollar anti-tunnel barrier entirely moot? For those who might dismiss this as implausible scaremongering.
Indeed, adhering to a purely defensive/reactive strategy will virtually ensure that some kind of offensive measure will be developed to make it ineffective, at least partially.
The offensive imperative: Arabs in Gaza or Jews in Negev
Clearly then, there will be no end to the recurring rounds of violence and the escalating enhancement of the enemies’ aggressive capabilities unless Israel undertakes a dramatic change in strategy. Accordingly, instead of focusing on thwarting attacks and limited reprisals for them, Israel must strive to eliminate the ability to launch them.
Rather than employ systems such as the Iron Dome as a purely defensive measure, it should be incorporated as an auxiliary in offensive action – i.e., by minimizing danger and damage to the civilian sector while a large offensive is launched in order to take and hold the areas from which attacks were launched – preventing them from being used for future attacks.
This is the only sustainable long-term strategic rationale for a defense system which comprises launching very costly interceptor missiles at very cheap incoming ones.
The compelling imperative for this modus operandi is, of course, reinforced by the prospect of a coordinated attack by Hamas from the south and Hezbollah, with its even more formidable arsenal, from the north.
Clearly, the prospect of Israel retaking and holding the Gaza Strip raises the perennially irksome question of what is to be done regarding the Arab population of Gaza.
As I’ve pointed out on numerous previous occasions, in addressing this question Israel must face up to and internalize the unpalatable, but inevitable reality that in the long run, there will either be Arabs in Gaza or Jews in the Negev. Eventually, however, there will not be both.
Accordingly, then, to prevent the Jewish population being denuded by unabated Arab aggression – whether overhead missiles targeting kindergartens or underground tunnels targeting border communities; whether incendiary balloons or explosive kites or anti-tank rockets on cars buses and trains – the only policy is the evacuation of the Gazan population to third-party countries by means of a large-scale initiative of incentivized emigration.
Although the details of such an initiative are well beyond the scope of this essay, I have elaborated on them frequently in the past.
Marshalling the ideological commitment, the political legitimacy and international acceptance for such an initiative is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for Zionism today.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This brings into question the effectiveness of the US anti-missile defenses against a massive simultaneous missile attack, say by either Russia or China.
Monday, May 27, 2019
RACIAL EQUITY IN DE BLASIO’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS CALLS FOR FUCKING THE WHITE STUDENTS
Teachers allegedly told to favor black students over whites in ‘racial equity’ training
By Susan Edelman
New York Post
May 25, 2019
In controversial “implicit bias” training, New York City’s public-school educators have been told to focus on black children over white ones — and one Jewish superintendent who described her family’s Holocaust tragedies was scolded and humiliated, according to firsthand accounts.
A consultant hired by the city Department of Education told administrators at a workshop that “racial equity” means favoring black children regardless of their socio-economic status, sources said.
“If I had a poor white male student and I had a middle-class black boy, I would actually put my equitable strategies and interventions into that middle class black boy because over the course of his lifetime he will have less access and less opportunities than that poor white boy,” the consultant, Darnisa Amante, is quoted as saying by those in the room.
“That’s what racial equity is,” Amante explained.
Mona Davids, president of the NYC Parents Union, was appalled.
“It’s completely absurd — they want to treat black students as victims and punish white students. That defeats the purpose of what bias awareness training should be,” said Davids, who is black.
DOE spokesman Will Mantell would not say whether Chancellor Richard Carranza supports Amante’s statement about favoring black children.
“Anti-bias and equity trainings are about creating high expectations and improving outcomes for all of our students,” Mantell said in a statement. “These trainings are used across the country because they help kids, and out-of-context quotes and anonymous allegations just distract from this important work.”
The DOE’s anti-bias training — a $23 million mandatory program for all DOE employees — has irked some administrators, teachers and parents who contend parts are ugly and divisive.
Four white female DOE executives demoted under Carranza’s new regime plan to sue the city for racial discrimination, claiming whiteness has become “toxic,” The Post revealed last week.
At a monthly superintendents meeting in the spring of 2018, shortly after Carranza’s arrival, members were asked to share answers to the question: “What lived experience inspires you as a leader to fight for equity?”
One Jewish superintendent shared stories about her grandmother Malka who told of bombs falling in Lodz, Poland, and running from the Nazis in the wee hours by packing up her four children and hiding in the forest, and her grandfather Naftali, who spent nearly six years in a labor and concentration camp, where he witnessed the brutal execution of his mother and sister.
“My grandparents taught me to understand the dangers of ‘targeted racism’ or the exclusion of any group, and the importance of equity for all people. This is my core value as an educator,” the superintendent told colleagues.
“At the break, I stood up and, to my surprise, I was verbally attacked by a black superintendent in front of my colleagues. She said ‘This is not about being Jewish! It’s about black and brown boys of color only. You better check yourself.’”
“I was traumatized,” the Jewish educator said. “ It was like 1939 all over again. I couldn’t believe this could happen to me in NYC!”
However, two other superintendents — one black and one Dominican — defended the Holocaust comments as valid and vouched for their colleague as one who fights to level the playing field for all students.
In Manhattan, a middle-school teacher with her own kids in public schools, said the DOE training “is a catalyst for hate and division.”
“I have colleagues who won’t participate during ‘Courageous Conversations’ (the DOE protocol for implicit-bias workshops) because they don’t feel safe.”
She cringes at training phrases like “replacement thinking” and the disdain for “whiteness.”
“My ancestors were enslaved and murdered because of their religion, I am now being forced to become ‘liberated’ from my whiteness. I am being persecuted because of the circumstances of my birth. I was not aware that I needed to be liberated from how God created me.”
Despite Carranza’s contention that those who complain about the training need it the most, she said, “I will never be brainwashed by Richard Carranza and his minions. I cannot support a schools chancellor who is implicitly biased against me and my children.”
Emboldened by his support, some of Carranza’s top managers openly use the expression “disrupt and dismantle” as a new battle cry for equity.
In her training session in February 2019, consultant Amante told DOE higher-ups to face the fact that issues of race, power and privilege will rise to the forefront and shake things up.
“Through this process of moving towards racial equity, we will have to pull layers back on who we are. You are going to have to talk about your power and your privilege. You will need to name your privilege,” Amante is quoted as saying.
She also warned that jobs in the new climate may be shaky.
“You are going to have to acknowledge that you will have to step back. You might fear losing your job. When we get to true racial equity you will have to define new institutional policies. This might feel dangerous because you are going to have to talk about race daily.”
Amante, a lecturer at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, is CEO of Disruptive Equity Education Project, or DEEP, a group aimed at “dismantling systemic oppression and racism,” it says. She did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The DOE’s Office of Equity and Access has contracted DEEP for $175,000. Another anti-bias consultant, Glenn Singleton, the author of “Courageous Conversations,” which includes a critique of the “white supremacy culture,” has a $775,000 contract.
Some parent leaders support Carranza’s campaign.
“We agree with the chancellor that those who do not see the value in this work are the ones who must look inward harder,” said Shino Tanikawa, a parent in Manhattan’s District 2 and member of Mayor de Blasio’s School Diversity Advisory Group.
“This work requires everyone, including people of color, to look inward and confront prejudices we all harbor. For some of us, this work also requires us to acknowledge the privilege bestowed upon us by the power structure. It creates a great deal of discomfort but that is the nature of the work. Disrupting the system is difficult and sometimes painful.”
By Susan Edelman
New York Post
May 25, 2019
In controversial “implicit bias” training, New York City’s public-school educators have been told to focus on black children over white ones — and one Jewish superintendent who described her family’s Holocaust tragedies was scolded and humiliated, according to firsthand accounts.
A consultant hired by the city Department of Education told administrators at a workshop that “racial equity” means favoring black children regardless of their socio-economic status, sources said.
“If I had a poor white male student and I had a middle-class black boy, I would actually put my equitable strategies and interventions into that middle class black boy because over the course of his lifetime he will have less access and less opportunities than that poor white boy,” the consultant, Darnisa Amante, is quoted as saying by those in the room.
“That’s what racial equity is,” Amante explained.
Mona Davids, president of the NYC Parents Union, was appalled.
“It’s completely absurd — they want to treat black students as victims and punish white students. That defeats the purpose of what bias awareness training should be,” said Davids, who is black.
DOE spokesman Will Mantell would not say whether Chancellor Richard Carranza supports Amante’s statement about favoring black children.
“Anti-bias and equity trainings are about creating high expectations and improving outcomes for all of our students,” Mantell said in a statement. “These trainings are used across the country because they help kids, and out-of-context quotes and anonymous allegations just distract from this important work.”
The DOE’s anti-bias training — a $23 million mandatory program for all DOE employees — has irked some administrators, teachers and parents who contend parts are ugly and divisive.
Four white female DOE executives demoted under Carranza’s new regime plan to sue the city for racial discrimination, claiming whiteness has become “toxic,” The Post revealed last week.
At a monthly superintendents meeting in the spring of 2018, shortly after Carranza’s arrival, members were asked to share answers to the question: “What lived experience inspires you as a leader to fight for equity?”
One Jewish superintendent shared stories about her grandmother Malka who told of bombs falling in Lodz, Poland, and running from the Nazis in the wee hours by packing up her four children and hiding in the forest, and her grandfather Naftali, who spent nearly six years in a labor and concentration camp, where he witnessed the brutal execution of his mother and sister.
“My grandparents taught me to understand the dangers of ‘targeted racism’ or the exclusion of any group, and the importance of equity for all people. This is my core value as an educator,” the superintendent told colleagues.
“At the break, I stood up and, to my surprise, I was verbally attacked by a black superintendent in front of my colleagues. She said ‘This is not about being Jewish! It’s about black and brown boys of color only. You better check yourself.’”
“I was traumatized,” the Jewish educator said. “ It was like 1939 all over again. I couldn’t believe this could happen to me in NYC!”
However, two other superintendents — one black and one Dominican — defended the Holocaust comments as valid and vouched for their colleague as one who fights to level the playing field for all students.
In Manhattan, a middle-school teacher with her own kids in public schools, said the DOE training “is a catalyst for hate and division.”
“I have colleagues who won’t participate during ‘Courageous Conversations’ (the DOE protocol for implicit-bias workshops) because they don’t feel safe.”
She cringes at training phrases like “replacement thinking” and the disdain for “whiteness.”
“My ancestors were enslaved and murdered because of their religion, I am now being forced to become ‘liberated’ from my whiteness. I am being persecuted because of the circumstances of my birth. I was not aware that I needed to be liberated from how God created me.”
Despite Carranza’s contention that those who complain about the training need it the most, she said, “I will never be brainwashed by Richard Carranza and his minions. I cannot support a schools chancellor who is implicitly biased against me and my children.”
Emboldened by his support, some of Carranza’s top managers openly use the expression “disrupt and dismantle” as a new battle cry for equity.
In her training session in February 2019, consultant Amante told DOE higher-ups to face the fact that issues of race, power and privilege will rise to the forefront and shake things up.
“Through this process of moving towards racial equity, we will have to pull layers back on who we are. You are going to have to talk about your power and your privilege. You will need to name your privilege,” Amante is quoted as saying.
She also warned that jobs in the new climate may be shaky.
“You are going to have to acknowledge that you will have to step back. You might fear losing your job. When we get to true racial equity you will have to define new institutional policies. This might feel dangerous because you are going to have to talk about race daily.”
Amante, a lecturer at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, is CEO of Disruptive Equity Education Project, or DEEP, a group aimed at “dismantling systemic oppression and racism,” it says. She did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The DOE’s Office of Equity and Access has contracted DEEP for $175,000. Another anti-bias consultant, Glenn Singleton, the author of “Courageous Conversations,” which includes a critique of the “white supremacy culture,” has a $775,000 contract.
Some parent leaders support Carranza’s campaign.
“We agree with the chancellor that those who do not see the value in this work are the ones who must look inward harder,” said Shino Tanikawa, a parent in Manhattan’s District 2 and member of Mayor de Blasio’s School Diversity Advisory Group.
“This work requires everyone, including people of color, to look inward and confront prejudices we all harbor. For some of us, this work also requires us to acknowledge the privilege bestowed upon us by the power structure. It creates a great deal of discomfort but that is the nature of the work. Disrupting the system is difficult and sometimes painful.”
BUTTIGIEG CONTINUES HIS ATTACK ON TRUMP’S 'BONE SPURS'
Trump's actions are an 'assault on the honor of this country,' Afghanistan vet Pete Buttigieg slams the president for 'slander against veterans'
Daily Mail
May 26, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Sunday charged President Donald Trump with committing an 'assault on the honor of this country' for 'taking advantage of his privileged status' to avoid serving in the Vietnam War and accused him of 'slander against veterans.'
Buttigieg, on Memorial Day weekend, did not hold back from criticizing Trump's lack of military service in Vietnam. 'To any reasonable observer that the president found a way to falsify a disabled status, taking advantage of his privileged status in order to avoid serving,' Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan, said on ABC's 'This Week.'
'You have somebody who thinks it's alright to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war, and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it,' he noted.
The mayor of South Bend, Ind., also slammed Trump for considering pardons for several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes.
'The idea that being sent to war turns you into a murderer is exactly the kind of thing that those of us who have served have been trying to beat back for more than a generation,' Buttigieg said.
'For a president, especially a president who never served, to say he's going to come in and overrule that system of military justice undermines the very foundations, legal and moral, of this country. Frankly, his idea, that being sent to fight makes you automatically into some kind of war criminal is a slander against veterans that could only come from somebody who never served,' he noted.
Daily Mail
May 26, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Sunday charged President Donald Trump with committing an 'assault on the honor of this country' for 'taking advantage of his privileged status' to avoid serving in the Vietnam War and accused him of 'slander against veterans.'
Buttigieg, on Memorial Day weekend, did not hold back from criticizing Trump's lack of military service in Vietnam. 'To any reasonable observer that the president found a way to falsify a disabled status, taking advantage of his privileged status in order to avoid serving,' Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan, said on ABC's 'This Week.'
'You have somebody who thinks it's alright to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war, and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it,' he noted.
The mayor of South Bend, Ind., also slammed Trump for considering pardons for several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes.
'The idea that being sent to war turns you into a murderer is exactly the kind of thing that those of us who have served have been trying to beat back for more than a generation,' Buttigieg said.
'For a president, especially a president who never served, to say he's going to come in and overrule that system of military justice undermines the very foundations, legal and moral, of this country. Frankly, his idea, that being sent to fight makes you automatically into some kind of war criminal is a slander against veterans that could only come from somebody who never served,' he noted.
THAT THAR VARMINT IS FROM NEW YORK … GIT A ROPE!
Renowned NYC artist Jeff Elrod accused of exposing, kissing woman’s breast in Texas
By Nancy Dillon
New York Daily News
May 26, 2019
A New York art world superstar is charged with grabbing a woman’s breast in the Texas town of Marfa – and his trial is looming amid a movement to overhaul sex assault laws in the Lone Star State.
Jeff Elrod, an abstract artist repped by Vito Schnabel who worked for years in Brooklyn and sells his pieces for six figures, is accused of attacking a friend on the night of Aug. 24, according to a police report obtained by the Daily News.
The report says the pair first ate dinner together at an upscale restaurant in the famed high-desert hub for avant-garde artists. Then they had a drink at the bar and were leaving through an alley when Elrod allegedly blurted out, “I have to kiss your breasts," the paperwork says.
The woman, whose name is being withheld by The News, told police Elrod stepped in front of her and “grabbed her breast.”
“He then pulled her breast out of her bra and shirt and put his mouth on her breast,” the police report based on the victim’s allegations states.
“Then he shoved her breast back into her bra and shirt,” the report says.
The victim told police she was stunned.
“It all happened so fast I went into a weird shock, like I went into a form of auto pilot, and I kept walking,” the victim said, according to the report.
She said they walked into Elrod’s nearby studio where the artist “began trying to touch her leg” before she got over her “feeling of shock” and walked out.
The woman told police she waited until Oct. 22 to file her report because “she feared retaliation.”
Elrod was charged with a simple assault on Nov. 14. The non-arrestable offense, which carries no jail time was the highest he could face under current Texas law.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of a $500 fine.
His lawyer highlighted the low-level charge in a short statement to The News.
“The Class C misdemeanor ‘offense’ alleged is the Texas equivalent of a speeding ticket. We believe this is nothing short of an extortion attempt by the claimant,” said attorney Liz Rogers.
Elrod’s accuser says that couldn’t be farther from the truth
“I’ve signed a legal statement relinquishing my rights to pursue civil action following the trial and that financial gain is of no interest to me in this matter,” the alleged victim told The News.
At the moment, Texas law does not consider forcible groping of someone’s breasts or genitals a sexual assault.
New bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed the Texas House on Wednesday seeks to change that. It would create a new criminal offense for “indecent assault."
Senate Bill 194, which unanimously passed the Texas Senate in March, would make touching someone’s breasts, anus or genitals without consent to “arouse or gratify” a sexual desire a Class A misdemeanor.
It would also make it a crime to expose or attempt to expose another person’s genitals, buttocks or woman’s nipples without consent.
Convictions under the new law would get up to a year in jail.
The bill goes back to the Senate for one more procedural vote before it heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature.
"Groping and a speeding ticket should not carry the same criminal penalty. Victims should know that the law stands behind them, and perpetrators should know that they could face jail time if they commit this terrible crime,” Texas Sen. Charles Perry, the bill’s primary sponsor, told The News.
“I am proud of the victims who came forward to support this bill, and I hope the stronger penalty sends a clear message we are not going to tolerate these assaults as a state,” he said.
Elrod was supposed to go to to trial Tuesday, but Marfa’s city attorney recused herself, and the new prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandy Stewart, had a conflict with a jury trial, a court clerk explained.
A trial is now expected to take place in late summer, the clerk said. The new bill, if signed, would only apply to future cases, so Elrod’s charge would not be affected.
Marfa’s chief of police declined to comment on the merits of the case against Elrod but said the victim reported she was “just friends” with Elrod and “found the advances very, very inappropriate.”
“She pressed charges, but unfortunately with Texas statutes as they are now, the alleged contact falls under a Class C misdemeanor, not sexual harassment,” Chief Estevan Marquez said. “Hopefully it changes. But as of right now, that’s where we’re at.”
By Nancy Dillon
New York Daily News
May 26, 2019
A New York art world superstar is charged with grabbing a woman’s breast in the Texas town of Marfa – and his trial is looming amid a movement to overhaul sex assault laws in the Lone Star State.
Jeff Elrod, an abstract artist repped by Vito Schnabel who worked for years in Brooklyn and sells his pieces for six figures, is accused of attacking a friend on the night of Aug. 24, according to a police report obtained by the Daily News.
The report says the pair first ate dinner together at an upscale restaurant in the famed high-desert hub for avant-garde artists. Then they had a drink at the bar and were leaving through an alley when Elrod allegedly blurted out, “I have to kiss your breasts," the paperwork says.
The woman, whose name is being withheld by The News, told police Elrod stepped in front of her and “grabbed her breast.”
“He then pulled her breast out of her bra and shirt and put his mouth on her breast,” the police report based on the victim’s allegations states.
“Then he shoved her breast back into her bra and shirt,” the report says.
The victim told police she was stunned.
“It all happened so fast I went into a weird shock, like I went into a form of auto pilot, and I kept walking,” the victim said, according to the report.
She said they walked into Elrod’s nearby studio where the artist “began trying to touch her leg” before she got over her “feeling of shock” and walked out.
The woman told police she waited until Oct. 22 to file her report because “she feared retaliation.”
Elrod was charged with a simple assault on Nov. 14. The non-arrestable offense, which carries no jail time was the highest he could face under current Texas law.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of a $500 fine.
His lawyer highlighted the low-level charge in a short statement to The News.
“The Class C misdemeanor ‘offense’ alleged is the Texas equivalent of a speeding ticket. We believe this is nothing short of an extortion attempt by the claimant,” said attorney Liz Rogers.
Elrod’s accuser says that couldn’t be farther from the truth
“I’ve signed a legal statement relinquishing my rights to pursue civil action following the trial and that financial gain is of no interest to me in this matter,” the alleged victim told The News.
At the moment, Texas law does not consider forcible groping of someone’s breasts or genitals a sexual assault.
New bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed the Texas House on Wednesday seeks to change that. It would create a new criminal offense for “indecent assault."
Senate Bill 194, which unanimously passed the Texas Senate in March, would make touching someone’s breasts, anus or genitals without consent to “arouse or gratify” a sexual desire a Class A misdemeanor.
It would also make it a crime to expose or attempt to expose another person’s genitals, buttocks or woman’s nipples without consent.
Convictions under the new law would get up to a year in jail.
The bill goes back to the Senate for one more procedural vote before it heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature.
"Groping and a speeding ticket should not carry the same criminal penalty. Victims should know that the law stands behind them, and perpetrators should know that they could face jail time if they commit this terrible crime,” Texas Sen. Charles Perry, the bill’s primary sponsor, told The News.
“I am proud of the victims who came forward to support this bill, and I hope the stronger penalty sends a clear message we are not going to tolerate these assaults as a state,” he said.
Elrod was supposed to go to to trial Tuesday, but Marfa’s city attorney recused herself, and the new prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandy Stewart, had a conflict with a jury trial, a court clerk explained.
A trial is now expected to take place in late summer, the clerk said. The new bill, if signed, would only apply to future cases, so Elrod’s charge would not be affected.
Marfa’s chief of police declined to comment on the merits of the case against Elrod but said the victim reported she was “just friends” with Elrod and “found the advances very, very inappropriate.”
“She pressed charges, but unfortunately with Texas statutes as they are now, the alleged contact falls under a Class C misdemeanor, not sexual harassment,” Chief Estevan Marquez said. “Hopefully it changes. But as of right now, that’s where we’re at.”
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