Palestinians' Musical Chairs: Replacing One Mohammed with Another Mohammed - Khaled Abu Toameh

 

by Khaled Abu Toameh

This just shows that Abbas's real objective is to play the Americans for fools by creating the impression that the new prime minister will be different than his predecessor.

 

• The assumption that a new Palestinian government headed by Mustafa (or any other figure selected by Abbas) would be different than the one headed by Shtayyeh is deadly mistaken. The cabinet shake-up is an insignificant cosmetic change.

• If the Shtayyeh government was already working on a plan to revamp the Palestinian Authority (as the US administration is demanding), why is he being asked to be replaced with another Abbas loyalist? Is the new government headed by Mustafa going to come up with a different plan for reforming the PA? This just shows that Abbas's real objective is to play the Americans for fools by creating the impression that the new prime minister will be different than his predecessor.

• Abbas is well aware that it is safer for him to live under Israeli security control than under the rule of Hamas, whose members killed dozens of his supporters during the 2007 Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority.

• Besides, Abbas knows that assuming control of the Gaza Strip in the post-war era would mean taking upon himself the almost impossible task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip and preventing Hamas and other terror groups from reasserting their power.

• So, to appease the US administration, Abbas is once again playing the musical chairs game of the prime ministers. Abbas wants the Americans to believe that he is serious about revitalizing the Palestinian Authority and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Abbas is hoping that his latest musical chair ploy will incentivize the international community to continue pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of the PA leadership.

To appease the US administration, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is once again playing the musical chairs game with PA prime ministers. Abbas wants the Americans to believe that he is serious about revitalizing the PA and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Abbas is hoping that his latest ploy will incentivize the international community to continue pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of the PA leadership. Pictured: PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh at a cabinet meeting, during which he announced his government's resignation, in Ramallah on February 26, 2024. (Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)

On February 26, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced his resignation, paving the way for the formation of a new Palestinian government. The resignation came in response to pressure from the US administration on the Palestinian leadership to "revitalize" the Palestinian Authority (PA) so that it could assume control over the Gaza Strip after Hamas is removed from power.

Shtayyeh, who was appointed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas in 2019, is a veteran member of the ruling Fatah faction. The government he headed consisted of ministers affiliated with a number of political factions, as well as others known as independent technocrats.

Abbas is reportedly considering replacing the outgoing prime minister with Mohammed Mustafa, a senior PLO official who previously served as PA deputy prime minister and minister of economy. Mustafa, in addition, also served for many years as economic advisor to the PA president.

Both Shtayyeh and Mustafa have long been closely associated with the Palestinian Authority president. They have both held senior jobs in various PA political and economic institutions, as well as Fatah and the PLO.

As far as most Palestinians are concerned, there is no real difference between the two Mohammeds: Shtayyeh and Mustafa. They both belong to the same PA leadership that has been governing the Palestinians since the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO more than three decades ago.

By replacing one loyalist with another, Abbas is again playing musical chairs in an effort to appease the US administration and persuade it that he is serious about revamping the Palestinian Authority.

The assumption that a new Palestinian government headed by Mustafa (or any other figure selected by Abbas) would be different than the one headed by Shtayyeh is deadly mistaken. The cabinet shake-up is an insignificant cosmetic change.

The Palestinians do not need cosmetic changes in governance. Instead, they need new leaders who care about the interests of the people in addition to their own interests. Such potential leaders do exist, but they have no role to play because Abbas and his cronies in the West Bank have long been blocking the emergence of such leaders, whom they see as a threat to their authority. The same applies to the Iran-backed Hamas terror group that has for many years cracked down on political activists, journalists, and human rights advocates in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians need a serious and comprehensive plan for political, economic, and administrative reforms in all the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. At the end of January, to that end, the Shtayyeh government unveiled a new plan for "judicial, administrative, security and financial reforms." Just a month later, he and his entire cabinet submitted their resignations to Abbas. This means that the plan is unlikely to materialize.

If the Shtayyeh government was already working on a plan to revamp the Palestinian Authority (as the US administration is demanding), why is he being asked to be replaced with another Abbas loyalist? Is the new government headed by Mustafa going to come up with a different plan for reforming the PA? This just shows that Abbas's real objective is to play the Americans for fools by creating the impression that the new prime minister will be different than his predecessor.

Crucially, Palestinians need to get rid of all the incompetent and corrupt leaders and officials – whether from Fatah or Hamas – who have failed to bring them democracy, freedom of speech, the rule of law, good governance, or a decent economy.

As long as Abbas is the one who has the power to appoint and fire the prime minister and set the policy of the cabinet, it is unrealistic to expect real change when a new government is formed. If appointed, Mustafa, like his predecessors, will be a puppet in the hands of his master, Abbas.

The last three cabinets that served under Abbas were also described as "technocratic" and independent. One was headed by Salam Fayyad, a former World Bank official and minister of finance.

Fayyad was not affiliated with any Palestinian political faction. He headed an electoral list called Third Way, which won only two seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council election in 2006. Fayyad's "problem" was that he never spent a day in an Israeli prison and did not carry out an attack against Israel. In the world of the Palestinians, it is more important if one graduates from an Israeli prison than from the University of Texas in Austin.

Fayyad may have been a reformist, but that is not how one gains popularity among Palestinians. Instead, Palestinians prefer someone who was part of the Palestinian "resistance" against Israel. That is why senior Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in a number of deadly armed attacks against Israelis two decades ago, is the Palestinians' favorite candidate to succeed Abbas, according to Palestinian public opinion polls.

The two prime ministers who came after Fayyad – Rami Hamdallah and Shtayyeh – were also selected by the Palestinian Authority president. Hamdallah and Shtayyeh were known to be even more loyal to Abbas than Fayyad, who moved to the US a few years ago after reportedly falling out with the PA president. Despite their loyalty, Hamdallah and Shtayyeh were eventually forced by Abbas to step down.

No Palestinian Authority prime minister can make comprehensive changes in the political and economic structure of the PA without the backing of Abbas and his inner circle. For now, it is clear that neither Abbas nor the handful of officials in his close circle is interested in bringing about substantial changes to the PA. That is because they are comfortable with the status quo, whereby they are the sole rulers and decision-makers, while the prime minister and the government are stooges in their hands.

The 88-year-old Abbas, who is in the 19^th year of a four-year term in office, has until now proven that he cares more about his own survival than good governance. He will get rid of any prime minister or senior official who dares to challenge him or speak out against his autocratic rule. That is why he turned against Fayyad a decade ago and drove him away -- not only from the position of prime minister, but into exile abroad. That is also why Abbas was quick to expel senior and veteran Fatah officials Mohammed Dahlan and Nasser al-Qidwa for criticizing him and the Palestinian leadership in public.

Abbas may be publicly stating that he is ready and wants to return to the Gaza Strip, from where he and his Palestinian Authority were expelled by Hamas in 2007. Those who believe that Abbas really wants to go back to the Gaza Strip are living under an illusion. Abbas had many chances to return to the Gaza Strip over the past 15 years, but he preferred to stay in the comfort of his home and office in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians in the West Bank. No one prevented Abbas from heading to the Gaza Strip.

Abbas is well aware that it is safer for him to live under Israeli security control than under the rule of Hamas, whose members killed dozens of his supporters during the 2007 Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority.

Besides, Abbas knows that assuming control of the Gaza Strip in the post-war era would mean taking upon himself the almost impossible task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip and preventing Hamas and other terror groups from reasserting their power.

So, to appease the US administration, Abbas is once again playing the musical chairs game of the prime ministers. Abbas wants the Americans to believe that he is serious about revitalizing the Palestinian Authority and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Abbas is hoping that his latest musical chair ploy will incentivize the international community to continue pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of the PA leadership.

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Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20439/palestinians-musical-chairs

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Is Trump's Mega-Fine Unconstitutional? - Alan M. Dershowitz

 

by Alan M. Dershowitz

The courts should focus on the reality of this fine and find it unconstitutionally excessive.

 

• The civil case against Donald Trump was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a prosecutor who campaigned for her elected office on a pledge to get Trump. By bringing a civil case rather than a criminal prosecution, James denied Trump a jury trial, which he could not have gotten on this kind of case; a requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and other constitutional safeguards. Now she seeks to deny him the protection of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against excessive fines.

The civil case against Donald Trump was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a prosecutor who campaigned for her elected office on a pledge to get Trump. By bringing a civil case rather than a criminal prosecution, James denied Trump a jury trial, which he could not have gotten on this kind of case; a requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and other constitutional safeguards. Now she seeks to deny him the protection of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against excessive fines. Pictured: James arrives at Trump's civil trial on October 2, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Arthur Engoron, the New York Supreme Court judge in the real estate case brought against Donald Trump by the state attorney general, has fined Trump and members of his family $464 million. This raises the question of whether the fine – which does not reflect damages actually done – is "excessive" under the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which reads as follows: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

The court also ordered Trump to pay $111,ooo per day in interest, and that he "be barred from serving as an officer or director of a New York corporation or other legal entities in the state for three years, and cannot apply for loans from any financial institution registered in the state for three years..."

In addition, the court fined his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, $4 million each, and banned them from serving as executives at the Trump Organization for two years.

Although the Eighth Amendment is not explicitly limited to criminal cases, its three subjects— bail, fines and punishments — all relate generally to criminal cases. Trump's fine was imposed in what was denominated a civil case. But it was not a traditional civil case between private parties, because no private parties were allegedly damaged by Trump. It was a case brought by the State of New York, which would receive the fine. Moreover, the fine was intended to deter the kind of conduct of which Trump was accused.

These factors make the fine seem closer to the usual attributes of a public criminal case than of a private civil case. A functional analysis of the fine in this case could well conclude that it is really criminal in nature and should be covered by the Eighth Amendment.

Trump's lawyers will certainly argue at this point, though they are unlikely to succeed on the initial appeal. They will then almost certainly seek certiorari, a review by the Supreme Court of the United States, by alleging a violation of the Eighth Amendment. If the Supreme Court were to grant review, it would have to consider two issues: the first is whether this state-imposed fine and others like it are covered by the Eighth Amendment; if so, the second issue would be whether the fine of $464 million is excessive.

The answer to the second question is easier than the first. The fine is clearly excessive by any reasonable standard. It does not reflect actual damages inflicted on others by Trump's alleged overstatement of the value of his assets. Nor does it reasonably reflect profits Trump actually made by allegedly overstating these assets.

As to the first question, there were not even any allegations of damage caused to the giant banking institutions from which Trump borrowed. They lost no money, claimed no losses and were anxious to do business with the real estate developer who paid back his loans with interest.

Nor can it reasonably be concluded that Trump profited by his alleged over-valuations, by receiving a lower rate of interest. Rates of interest in real estate loans are negotiated based largely on supply and demand. The banks were eager for Trump's business, and had they tried to raise the interest rate, he could easily have gone elsewhere and negotiated the rate he actually received. The fine imposed in this case was clearly punitive in intent, in effect and in reality. This leads to the more fundamental constitutional issue of whether this excessive fine is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

States have a long history of seeking to evade the strictures of the Eighth Amendment by designating sanctions as civil rather than criminal. But courts sometimes recognize that when it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. This particular duck has all the elements of a criminal fine, imposed by the state, as punishment, in order to deter future misconduct.

The civil case against Trump was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a prosecutor who campaigned for her elected office on a pledge to get Trump. By bringing a civil case rather than a criminal prosecution, James denied Trump a jury trial, which he could not have gotten on this kind of case; a requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and other constitutional safeguards. Now she seeks to deny him the protection of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against excessive fines.

The courts should focus on the reality of this fine and find it unconstitutionally excessive.

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Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute, and is also the host of "The Dershow" podcast.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20438/trump-fine-unconstitutional

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad calls for Ramadan to be 'month of terror’ - Seth J. Frantzman

 

by Seth J. Frantzman

The PIJ comments are also linked to comments by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who has called for escalation during Ramadan.

 

Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists participate in an anti-Israel military parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City, October 4, 2023.

(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is calling for the holy month of Ramadan to be a “month of terror” and seeks to escalate attacks in the West Bank and Gaza, a spokesperson for the group said. Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also said he wants Arab countries in the region and pro-Iran groups to continue to “unify” various arenas and fronts against Israel.

The speech is the latest indication that terrorist groups will seek escalation over the next month. The statement by Abu Hamza was published by Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran and frequently highlights Hamas and Hezbollah attacks. This comes amid some hope for a hostage, prisoner, and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The US is pushing for such a deal. However, Hamas has continued to make it difficult by refusing to hand over a list of names of the living hostages.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a proxy of Iran. It has armed men in Gaza and the West Bank and its leaders often reside in Damascus which they sometimes leave to meet with their Iranian handlers in Tehran or to coordinate with Hamas and Hezbollah.

'Unity of the battlefields'

The terminology used by PIJ ahead of Ramadan is part of the terminology Iran has used over the last years to describe its strategy against Israel. This includes reference to “unity of the battlefields,” which is a term for “unity of the arenas” or “unity of the fronts.”

HAMAS LEADER Ismail Haniyeh (right) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad al-Nakhalah attend a meeting of Palestinian factions, in Beirut, in 2020. (credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS)

These arenas include Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Iran has sought to surround Israel with threats that now exist along an arc of 5,000 miles, from Lebanon all the way via Syria and Iraq to the Red Sea and then back to Gaza. These are at least seven different “fronts” according to Iran. Israeli officials have also mentioned these fronts. Iran wants to “unify” them. This means using the Hamas attack on October 7 to increase attacks from Hezbollah and Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq.

PIJ is one of the smallest of the Iranian proxies. However it is a menace. It has carried out attacks in Gaza and during the pause in fighting in late November, its members played a role in the hostage releases. It has held hostages in Gaza. The group has stockpiled thousands of rockets in the past in Gaza. In the West Bank PIJ stockpiles M-16 style rifles, many of them stolen and trafficked in recent years.  

PIJ is now calling on groups in Arab countries to not “lag behind in the battle led by the heroes of the resistance in the Gaza Strip, on behalf of the Islamic nation, especially those who possess armies, planes and cannons.” It’s not clear what countries he thinks would now join and back Hamas. However he is trying shame the neighboring states. “Isn’t it time for you to raise your guns like the free people in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq? Isn’t it time for you to take off the garment of slavery and humiliation to America, the Great Satan, and follow the example of the honorable,” the PIJ spokesperson said.

PIJ has praised the Palestinian terrorists continuing to fight in Gaza. He said in recent days PIJ members carried out attacks in the Zaytun neighborhood near Gaza City. The IDF has been operating in that area over the last two weeks, seeking to clear it of terrorists.

The spokesman for PIJ also called for attacks on “the occupation’s military checkpoints and cut off the road to the settlers.” He said the first day of Ramadan should become an international day to support Gaza and “mobilize” in “all the arenas.” This appears to indicate that Iran is plotting to escalate during Ramadan. The West wants a ceasefire during the holy month, however, historically the month has been used by terrorists and extremists as an excuse to increase attacks.  “We are certain that the single body of the nation will do the impossible, and will make the month of Ramadan historic days to wash away shame and threaten the existence of the Israeli enemy entity and global arrogance,” the PIJ spokesperson said.

The PIJ comments are also linked to comments by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who has called for escalation during Ramadan. 

Seth J. Frantzman

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-789938

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Majority killed by stampede in Gaza aid convoy catastrophe, IDF probe finds - Danielle Greyman-Kennard

 

by Danielle Greyman-Kennard

Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy,” the IDF published in a statement.

 

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. March 3, 2024.

(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The IDF confirmed on Sunday morning that it had completed its review and found that no drone strike had occurred during an incident last week where Palestinians were trampled to death while attempting to charge an aid convoy.

“The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy. Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy,” the IDF published in a statement. 

IDF Spokesperson Rear-Admiral. Daniel Hagari gave a press briefing in which he confirmed that Israel had been involved in the facilitation of the aid convoy in northern Gaza on Thursday. 

The operation, aimed at ensuring Palestinians received access to humanitarian aid, was on the 4th night of operation when the trampling incident occurred.

“The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy. Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy.”

Watch the full… pic.twitter.com/vrkC4nvYnI

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 3, 2024

“We want humanitarian aid to reach Gazan civilians in need,” Hagari asserted. “...Our war is not against the people of Gaza. Our war is against Hamas…It is Hamas who have caused immense suffering to civilians on both sides of the border,” Hagari said.

Describing the incident as “unfortunate,” Hagari reiterated that no strike was carried out on the aid convoy and that the majority of Palestinian casualties had been trampled to death by the stampede. 

Hagari also claimed that the IDF had fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the stampede and that IDF troops had begun retreating from the scene when looters began posing an immediate threat to the forces present. Hagari explained that it was due to this threat that IDF soldiers were forced to respond.

“As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly,” Hagari reassured. “We have opened an inquiry to examine the incident further, which will help reduce the risk of such a tragic incident from occurring again during one of our humanitarian operations.

“The incident will be examined in the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism, an independent, professional and expert body. For the sake of transparency, we will share our updates as our examination develops, hopefully in the coming days.” 

Hagari insisted “We will continue expanding our humanitarian efforts to the civilian population in Gaza while we fulfill our goals of freeing our hostages from Hamas and freeing Gaza from Hamas.”

Hagari concluded by listing the humanitarian efforts made by Israel in hopes of “alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza” during the war against Hamas. He said that humanitarian efforts made by Israel would continue to expand with the help of international partners.

The IDF also confirmed that on Saturday, the US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza.

Additionally, over the past few weeks, in cooperation and coordination with several countries; Jordan, France, the UAE and Egypt, more than 450 packages of food and medical aid were distributed through 21 airdrops to the Gaza Strip.

Concern from international bodies

Only a day prior to the review publication, the United States blocked consideration of a United Nations Security Council resolution blaming Israel for the deaths that occurred during the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations Security Council expressed its “deep concern” on Saturday over last week's aid distribution disaster in Gaza in which over 100 people were killed, the Jerusalem Post reported, as they urged improved access to basic necessities in the enclave including food.

“They [the UNSC] express grave concern over the estimation from the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) that all 2.2 million people in Gaza would face alarming levels of acute food insecurity,” the 15-member body said.

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.

 

Danielle Greyman-Kennard

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-789947

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Hamas’ Sadistic Sex Crimes - Hugh Fitzgerald

 

by Hugh Fitzgerald

Imagine the very worst, and they did it that day.

 

On October 7, Hamas not only murdered 1,200 people. Its operatives raped women and girls, in every conceivable way. Hamas men took turns raping the same victims over and over again. They mutilated their bodies, especially their genitals, sometimes pushing knives and guns into their vaginas, sometimes cutting off their sexual organs, sometimes shooting them in their vaginas, and watched them bleed to death. They sliced off their breasts and played catch with them. They filmed one another committing these acts – they were proud of themselves. What fun to torment the yahudim. They made sure that the girls and women were raped in front of their husbands, fathers, children, who were forced to watch. Imagine the very worst, and they did it that day.

More on the sadistic depravity of Hamas “fighters” on October 7 can be found here: “Hamas’s ‘sadistic sex crimes’ on October 7 revealed in new report,” The JC, February 21, 2024:

The systematic nature of the “sadistic sex crimes” committed during the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on Oct. 7 has been revealed for the first time, in a report published by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel.

Furthermore, the document has been translated into English and sent to decision-makers in the United Nations to leave “no room for denial or disregard.”

The report, authored by Dr. Carmit Keller-Halamish and Nega Berger, analyses public and confidential testimonies about the sexual violence, eyewitness accounts and interviews with victims and first responders.

“The terrorist organization Hamas has chosen to injure the State of Israel with two clear strategies—taking civilians captive, and sadistic sex crimes,” said Orit Soliciano, CEO of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers.

“It is no longer possible to remain silent—we expect the international organizations to take a clear position, it is impossible to stand on the sidelines. Standing on the other side will be remembered as a historic stain on all those who chose to remain silent and deny the sexual crimes committed by Hamas,” Soliciano added….

According to the report, sexual violence took place everywhere the terrorists invaded, including at the Supernova music festival, kibbutzim, cities, towns and IDF bases. The hostages in Gaza continue to be victimised….

Hamas terrorists carried out a hunting expedition to catch young men and women who attempted to escape the carnage at the music festival, dragging them by the hair screaming. The sexual violence targeted men, women and girls and included binding their bodies, mutilating genitals and the bodies of both males and females with knives and in some cases inserting weapons inside the genitals.

For the girls and women, after the Hamas rapists had had their fill, they cut off their victims’ breasts, stabbed or shot into their vaginas, sometimes cut off their labia, stuck knives inside them, before they finally murdered them. For men, they gouged out their eyes, and cut off their genitals, before killing them.

In most cases, the victims were executed either during the rape or after.

One can well imagine what is being done to some of the female captives still held in Gaza.

Will the UN, that has proved so indifferent to the anguish of Israel, with a Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who during the Gaza War has tried in every way he can to protect Hamas from the relentless assault by the IDF, by calling continually for a permanent “ceasefire” that if instituted at this point would constitute a victory for Hamas and a defeat for Israel, agree to discuss this report on the extreme depravity of Hamas, the systematic nature of its operatives’ sex crimes, and the need to make sure that both the group’s leaders, and all those who took direct part in those atrocities, are put on trial before an international tribunal where every bit of the evidence, exhaustively compiled by Israeli investigators, is presented? Or will the UN, staying true to its anti-Israel animus, ignore what Israelis endured on October 7 and focus instead on what some call the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza that the Jewish state is accused of causing?

Hugh Fitzgerald

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/hamas-sadistic-sex-crimes/

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Biden Administration Not Stopping Iran, Russia, China, the Houthis - Majid Rafizadeh

 

by Majid Rafizadeh

By refraining from targeting Houthi leaders, the United States has inadvertently emboldened the group and allowed them to act with impunity.

 

• What is essential to remember is that the Houthis and other proxies of Iran are in all likelihood deeply apprehensive about the prospect of their senior leadership being targeted. By refraining from targeting Houthi leaders, the United States has inadvertently emboldened the group and allowed them to act with impunity.

Pictured: Houthi gunmen trample a US flag in Sanaa, Yemen on February 21, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images)

In recent months, the Red Sea has become a battleground for attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen, with the Biden administration facing mounting criticism for its failure to quell the escalating violence. As the Houthi group continues to build its weapons stockpile in Yemen, supported by the Iranian regime, the urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. It is critical that the United States reevaluate its military strategy to effectively address this growing threat.

The current approach, adopted by the Biden administration, is characterized by a reluctance to directly target Houthi leadership. The administration has opted instead to focus solely on destroying weapons and equipment.

This approach, however, has proven ineffective in deterring the Houthis from launching further attacks. What is essential to remember is that the Houthis and other proxies of Iran are in all likelihood deeply apprehensive about the prospect of their senior leadership being targeted. By refraining from targeting Houthi leaders, the United States has inadvertently emboldened the group and allowed them to act with impunity.

A former US military official, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity, pointed out that the current campaign against the Houthis is similar to previous failed endeavors:

"The US campaign against the Houthis appears to bear the hallmarks of many of these highly circumscribed, scrubbed campaigns of the past where we seek to avoid causing them actual pain."

The Trump administration's targeted killing of Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for instance, resulted in cessation of Iranian harassment of the US as long Trump was in office. If one wants to induce meaningful change in the behavior of the Houthis, unfortunately decisive blows will be necessary.

Sadly, the reliance on cosmetic strikes to destroy Houthi drones and missiles is both financially unsustainable and strategically futile. Continuously expending resources on missiles, worth multi-millions dollars each, to counter far less expensive Houthi weaponry is not a dazzling long-term solution. The Biden administration would be better served targeting Houthi weapons depots and missile launchers to disrupt their military capabilities in a significant way.

Merely intensifying attacks on Houthi infrastructure, however, will not suffice. Without substantially degrading Houthi military capabilities, the recently redesignated terrorist group will continue to pose a significant threat. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt a multifaceted approach that also targets the source of the problem – Iran's regime.

Recent incidents, such as the seizure of advanced conventional weapons bound for Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from an Iranian vessel in the Arabian Sea, underscore Iran's arming of the Houthis. To send a clear message to Iran and compel them to cease supporting the Houthi insurgency, the United States should target Iran's critical oil infrastructure or military bases.

By targeting Iran's military capabilities or oil industry, the United States can at least stand a chance of pressuring the Iranian regime to stop providing weapons to the Houthis. That, in turn, will compel Iran to pressure the Houthis to cease their destabilizing activities in the region.

The continued support of the Houthi terrorist group by Iran also exacerbates the suffering of the Yemeni people. By targeting the source of the problem – the Iranian regime – the United States will not only protect its own interests but also alleviate Yemen's humanitarian crisis.

Iran's support for the Houthis is just part of its broader strategy to expand its influence and drive the US from the region. Failure to effectively address the Houthi threat not only emboldens Iran but also undermines US credibility and influence in the Middle East, China, Russia, North Korea and South America. The Biden administration needs seriously to demonstrate resolve and leadership in confronting Iran's destabilizing activities and its nuclear weapons program, to protect the security of US partners and allies in the region.

This applies equally to Russia and China. It is unlikely that Russia will be deterred by sanctions. Putin is now threatening the US, not "just" Ukraine, with nuclear weapons.

As for Chinese Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping, the Biden administration still has not held them accountable for killing more than 100,000 Americans with fentanyl in the last three years; or for the spy balloon, the illegal police stations, the Confucius Institutes, massive espionage, or buying up US farmland, especially near military bases. There also has been not even inquiry as to surge of more than 24,000 Chinese -- many of whom are unaccompanied men of military age -- across the US southern border.

The Biden administration's failure to effectively counter all these threats is quickly approaching a crisis. A strategic reassessment of the current US military strategy is urgently needed. By shifting US focus to target Houthi leadership, and even more, the IRGC leadership, attack weapons depots, and especially targeting the Iranian regime, the United States can disrupt the violence by the Houthis and safeguard stability in the region.

It is high time for bold and decisive action to protect the security and interests of the United States and its allies in the region. The consequences of inaction are potentially catastrophic, not just for the security of the Middle East and the global maritime trade passing through the Red Sea, but to prevent all who are planning to displace the United States as the world's leading superpower from nurturing the thought.

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Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20440/biden-not-stopping-iran-houthis

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Meta’s AI Achieves the Left’s Dream - Robert Spencer

 

by Robert Spencer

And makes Trump disappear.

 

[Make sure to read Robert Spencer’s contributions in Jamie Glazov’s new book: Barack Obama’s True Legacy: How He Transformed America.]

Everyone knows that Donald Trump was the 45th president of the United States, but if Meta, the sinister and malevolent megacorporation formerly known as Facebook, gets its way, that fact will soon go down to the memory hole. The inconvenient little speed bump of 2017 to 2021, delaying our arrival at the socialist internationalist paradise our moral superiors envision for us, will be entirely forgotten as if it had never existed at all.

We see this in a small but glaring fact: Meta’s AI lists Old Joe Biden as the 45th president, omitting mention of Donald Trump as president altogether. Donald Trump? He does not exist and never existed. You are suffering from delusions, comrade!

Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok noted the omission on her X account. In the image she supplies, the Meta bot announces: “My name is Meta AI. Think of me like an assistant who’s here to help you learn, plan, and connect. What can I help you with today?” It is given the prompt: “Can you list all the U.S. presidents?” and cheerfully responds: “Yes I can! Here is a list of all 45 Presidents of the United States, in chronological order.”

There then follows an ordinary list of our nation’s chief executives, entirely ordinary, with Grover Cleveland’s nonconsecutive second term helpfully marked “(again),” just in case you might think the repetition of his name was a mistake in the list.

The real mistake, although it was certainly no unintentional error, doesn’t occur until the end of the list, when we see “44. Barack Obama 45. Joe Biden.” Then Meta AI chirps: “Let us know if you have any other questions!”

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do: where’s Trump? Why is Bad Orange Man omitted, vanished without a trace, with the 46th president listed as the 45th so that the unwary might not notice the omission? Was Trump deep-sixed and left off Meta AI’s list because he was not part of the elite group of leftists who despise him and aspire to crush him and the movement he represents?

The answers to those questions couldn’t be clearer. Trump is off the list because the left hates him and wants to program Americans, whom it intends to make increasingly dependent upon AI for basic information, to forget that his presidency ever happened at all.

America First? Oh, that will never do. As America’s managed decline continues, the ruling class and the social media giants want us to forget that there were ever any alternatives to our steadily increasing impoverishment and misery. This is the way it is. This is the way it always has been. Don’t let yourself get caught committing wrongthink or spreading “disinformation.”

This is just how totalitarian regimes operate. The rewriting of history to suit the programs and policies of the ruling elites is one of the central preoccupations of what has apparently become the left’s how-to book on governance, George Orwell’s “1984.” The novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith, works in the Ministry of Truth (you know, like Old Joe Biden’s abortive but to-be-continued Disinformation Governance Board), erasing unwanted information from old newspapers and revising them in accord with the regime’s current stance. The inconvenient facts are sent down the “memory hole” to be incinerated, just as Meta AI has done with Trump’s presidency.

If AI really does become the primary source of information for people in the near future, there will be a great deal more of this sort of thing. Rather than having to explain away Trump’s presidency and detail why there was resistance to the socialist internationalist open borders program of Obama, Biden, and their henchmen, the portals of information will simply pretend that there never was a Trump administration. Then they will go on to erase other aspects of American history that don’t fit with their agenda until finally, we end up with a list of presidents made up entirely of transgender “persons of color.”

It’s no joke. It has already been widely publicized over the last week or so that it is nearly impossible to compel some AI mechanisms to provide a picture of a white person, even people who were known to be white beyond any dispute. If Meta and the other social media giants get their way, before too long there will be an entire generation of young people who never knew anything else, never imagined that there were any heroic or courageous or noble people who weren’t brown or black, and never realized that there could be another way of thinking beyond the way they’ve been programmed.

That’s the totalitarian goal: total control over human thought. The Meta AI presidents list is just one small step toward that goal. There will be much more of this.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of 27 books including many bestsellers, such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad and The History of Jihad. His latest books are The Critical Qur’an and Empire Of God. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/metas-ai-achieves-the-lefts-dream/

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Pro-Palestinian protesters block NYPD from addressing bomb threat, official claims - Danielle Greyman-Kennard

 

by Danielle Greyman-Kennard

An Uber driver discovered a grenade in the back of his car, but NYPD were unable to quickly arrive at the scene due to pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the streets.

 

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in Times Square on the second day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., October 8, 2023

(photo credit: JEENAH MOON/REUTERS)

The New York Police Department struggled to attend to a grenade left abandoned at the back of an Uber on Saturday night due to anti-Israel protesters blocking the roads, the New York Post reported. 

The Uber driver had allegedly discovered the grenade after dropping a passenger off at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.

Police were eventually able to cordon off the Uber, later telling the NYP that the grenade had been inert. 

Several of the protesters, who were heading toward Times Square, were arrested, according to the report. They were detained for blocking the emergency police transport attempting to reach the grenade.

An anti-Israel protester holds up a sign during a demonstration in Times Square in New York City. (credit: CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS)

Official comments on the incident

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry criticized the protesters, writing on X, "Happy Saturday to all! Except the people who thought it was a good idea to block an NYPD ESU vehicle on the way to a bomb threat call. They will be spending their Saturday where they belong - in jail!"

Happy Saturday to all! Except the people who thought it was a good idea to block an NYPD ESU vehicle on the way to a bomb threat call. They will be spending their Saturday where they belong - in jail! pic.twitter.com/C0adj5waUj

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) March 2, 2024

Danielle Greyman-Kennard

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-789913

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Election lawsuits from both left and right are shaping the 2024 presidential election - Natalia Mittelstadt

 

by Natalia Mittelstadt

A Delaware court has ruled that state laws allowing for permanent absentee voting and early voting violate the state constitution. Lawfare has become a nationwide political tactic.

 

A recent Delaware court decision shows that election lawsuits being brought by plaintiffs on both the left and right sides of the political aisle will have significant impact on the 2024 presidential election in November.

Several cases are going before courts this year regarding election statutes, procedures, and candidates as advocates across the political spectrum seek to shape the rules that guide elections. While one such case was decided last week, several others are still ongoing.

The Delaware Superior Court ruled Friday that a 2019 law passed by the state legislature, which allows early voting up to 10 days before "election day," violates the state constitution. The court held that the General Election is to be held on one day.

The court also found that the state's Permanent Absentee Voting Statute violates state law by allowing voters to be placed on a permanent absentee voting list where ballots would automatically be sent to them for each election. The voting laws were challenged in court by the Public Interest Legal Foundation.

The group initially brought the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of Michael Mennella, an inspector of elections for the Delaware Department of Elections.

The court’s decision directly impacts the November general election, which is less than nine months away. By invalidating the election statutes, the court prohibited both the 10 days of early voting for the general election and placing voters who are eligible to vote in the general election on a permanent absentee voter list.

“This decision invalidated Delaware laws that allowed for early and permanent absentee voting," PILF President J. Christian Adams said Monday. "States cannot pass election laws that conflict with their state constitution. This decision is a win for the rule of law.”

The ruling was similar to a 2022 victory for PILF, which won a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court on behalf of Mennella regarding a state law allowing same-day voter registration and universal vote-by-mail. The state's high court ruled that the law violated the state's constitution just before the November general election.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, whose office defended the state laws in court, said Tuesday during a press conference that she has "directed the [Delaware] Department of Justice to take all necessary steps to appeal the Superior Court’s ruling. We will file our appeal quickly and intend to request a decision from the Delaware Supreme Court.”

Both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature have said that they’re looking to propose and pass constitutional amendments to allow for early voting.

Following the Delaware court’s decision, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., wrote in a statement on Saturday that this “is another reminder of where we are at this moment — no matter where you live in our country, Republican extremists will stop at nothing to attack our access to the ballot box.” She added that the ruling is an “urgent reminder that we need federal voting rights protections.”

At the same time, Democrats and left-leaning groups are also engaged in election lawsuits regarding candidates and state election procedures in order to obtain an advantage.

In Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP v. Chapman, the plaintiff sued the then-acting secretary of the commonwealth in 2022 regarding Pennsylvania’s decision to void mail-in ballots that are either missing a date on the outer return envelopes or have an incorrect date.

Pennsylvania counties were ordered by a lower court following a Republican lawsuit in 2022 to reject undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots. However, the issue is still being litigated and has reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

The NAACP argues that the mail-in ballots are valid – regardless of the incorrect or missing date – and should be counted. 

Criminal lawsuits are also part of the tactic. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged former President Donald Trump and 18 others as co-conspirators under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, among other Georgia state counts, for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of Trump.

Three former Trump attorneys, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as Republican poll watcher Scott Hall, have all pleaded guilty in the case, while everyone else who was charged has pleaded not guilty.

Willis is currently facing potential disqualification from the case against Trump because of a romantic relationship between her and her special prosecutor. Willis has also been accused of giving her paramour special treatment in terms of hiring and pay.

In 2020, there were as many as 400 lawsuits brought by both Republicans and Democrats regarding election procedures and laws as election administration was quickly changed during the COVID-19 lockdowns leading up to the presidential election.

This year, new election lawsuits are focusing on candidate eligibility, various changes in election law, and alleged violations of election laws. These lawsuits may greatly impact how the 2024 presidential election will be conducted. 

According to an election integrity watchdog, some election lawsuits can disrupt election administration. Jason Snead, Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project, said last month that “One of the biggest threats that we’re gonna face between now and November is gonna be just a torrent of left-wing litigation.” He said “We saw the chaos, we saw the confusion, we saw the rules changes that [Marc] Elias and his operation were able to impose on states through the litigation process of 2020. And they’re already starting that up again this year.” 

“I think litigation is gonna be one of the big, big threats because you can go into the November election with the best laws on the books, but if those laws are gutted in your courts, if those laws are gutted through consent agreements between a Democrat suing a Democrat, then that law is not worth the paper that it’s written on,” Snead said.  

The Honest Elections Project recommended in an election reform report that states “Ensure that elected lawmakers write election laws,” rather than courts. 

The reform report states that “Legislatures should protect their constitutional authority to regulate elections by barring executive agencies from agreeing to legal settlements or consent decrees that substantively alter or weaken election laws. States should prohibit sue-and-settle litigation, in which activists and partisans sue officials to secure an agreement to ignore or effectively rewrite election law.”  

Natalia Mittelstadt

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/election-lawsuits-both-left-and-right-are-shaping-2024-presidential

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Analysts say tax credits to jump start wind industry drive incentives that cost consumers more - Kevin Killough

 

by Kevin Killough

The production tax credit was meant to jump start the new wind industry. It's now 30 years old, and two analysts say it's driving irrational incentives that are costing taxpayers and energy consumers more money.

 

In a recent article in the Des Moines Register, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, celebrated the 30-year-old Wind Energy Incentives Act, which he authored in 1993. The law created the first-ever wind energy production tax credit (PTC), and the Iowa senator is considered the “father” of American Wind energy because of it.

In his article, Grassley praised the law for boosting Iowa’s wind energy industry, providing an income to farmers through wind leasing, who are dealing with recent drought conditions.

When it was created, the PTC was meant to boost the nascent wind industry. Once this new industry matured and became self-sufficient, supporters claimed, this temporary federal program would be suspended. Instead, over its 30-year life, it’s been renewed more than a dozen times.

As Mitch Rolling and Isaac Orr, policy fellows for the Center of the American Experiment, say on their “Energy Bad Boys” Substack, this ongoing program embodies the Milton Friedman statement that “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”

“If they’re the cheapest sources of energy around, why do they need subsidies perpetually going into the future? That’s because it’s simply not true,” Rolling told Just The News.

Ongoing support

The PTC’s latest extension was embedded in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. While it’s commonly said that the renewable tax credits are only extended through 2032, according to an analysis by Wood MacKenzie, they will likely be extended for as much as 40 years, unless the act is repealed. This is because they’re only phased out when emissions are equal to or below 25% of 2022 levels.

By 2049, the Wood MacKenzie analysis shows, these tax credits for all forms of renewable energy, including energy storage systems, will cost taxpayers cumulatively $2.5 trillion.

Besides being costly, Rolling explains, the PTC creates a number of irrational incentives that are driving up utility bills and undermining grid reliability. For the past few years, seasonal and long-term reliability assessments by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit international regulatory authority tasked with overseeing the North American grid, have found increasing risks of blackouts in most parts of the U.S. during periods of high demand.

According to the assessments, this is due to overreliance on intermittent wind and solar farms and the early retirement of coal plants. This has left the grid more reliant on natural gas-fired generation to back up unreliable wind and solar. During times of extreme cold weather, gas is diverted to heating homes, which leaves less for running electricity generators.

Rolling said that, with the lucrative payments that the PTCs provide to renewable energy developments, there’s little incentive to build more reliable power plants. Capital investments are instead flowing to renewable energy projects.

The subsidy also undercuts coal, nuclear and natural gas plants’ electricity on the wholesale market.

The PTC, Rolling and Orr explain, pays wind projects $27.50 per megawatt hour of electricity produced, whether or not that power is needed. For comparison, the average American home consumes 875,000 watt hours per month.

In some cases, wind energy is producing more power than is needed on the grid, so wholesale prices fall to negatives, meaning generators are paid to produce electricity that isn’t being used. With the PTC, a wind farm can produce power and still turn a profit at negative wholesale prices. According to Orr and Rolling, when prices are negative, coal and nuclear plants are forced to pay other people to take their power because their generators aren’t easily ramped up and ramped down. These plants often find it easier to just exit the market.

“They simply can’t compete with the generators that earn the subsidy anymore. So it impacts future additions to the grid, but it also impacts the existing thermal [nuclear, coal and natural gas plants] generators that are on the grid,” Rolling said.

Investment incentives

It’s also profitable to build more wind farms, Rolling said, even if the transmission capacity isn’t available to move the electricity being produced.

“These are areas where the wind resources are pretty good, but everyone wants to build their wind farms there. So there’s already transmission congestion in those areas,” Rolling said.

Lawrence Berkeley Labs has a tool that maps out the frequency of negative pricing, and the Great Plains down the center of the U.S. — an area of heavy wind farm development — is covered with the highest frequency rates.

The production tax credit expires after the first ten years of a project’s life. If companies want to extend the credit, they can “repower,” which involves replacing aging turbines or components. Wind farms are said to last 25 years, but the reality is their power output begins to decline within a decade.

An analysis by Enverus Intelligence Research found that companies can weather the economic challenges that the wind industry is facing as a result of rising capital costs by investing in repowering. As a result of developers chasing this profit option, the analysis estimates that half of all new wind capacity in 2024 will come from repowering wind projects.

This is driving the effort to build out more transmission lines, but the projects cost as much as $2.5 million per mile and take decades to permit and construct.

The cost of these tax credits, as well as the cost of the investments being made that chase those credits, eventually end up costing taxpayers, either through higher taxes or higher utility bills.

Rolling and Orr analyzed eight of the largest recent rate increases that utilities have requested from public service commissions in the U.S. “Every single one of them uses renewable investment as a primary justification for increasing prices on their customers,” Rolling said.

The two analysts argue that it’s time to bring the PTC to its end.

“The PTC is older than I am. The question is, how much more of a jumpstart does it [the wind industry] need? It's over 12% of the installed capacity on the grid. Some would say that that's pretty mature,” Rolling said.

 
Kevin Killough

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/analysts-say-tax-credits-meant-jump-start-wind-industry-drive-incentives

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