This is either profoundly cynical or hopelessly out of touch with reality. What Trump did today won’t advance “the peace process.” There may not be much of a process to be advanced in any case, but this definitely snuffs it out for the foreseeable future. There will be no “work towards a lasting agreement” when a major power unilaterally decides to break with its existing policy and severely disadvantages one of the parties in any future negotiations. If one wanted to destroy confidence and trust in the U.S., this is the sort of thing one would do.

Trump describes what he did as proof of his “fresh thinking,” but there is nothing more stale and tired than having our government fully taking the Israeli side in this conflict. He can insist all he likes that the decision “is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement,” but the action proves that there is no such commitment. It will be interpreted as proof of our government’s bias and bad faith, and it is ridiculous to expect other nations to interpret it any other way.

The best that can be said about Trump’s remarks is that he has to be delusional if he thinks that today’s announcement is compatible with making progress in securing a negotiated settlement. Any goodwill the Trump administration might have enjoyed with the Palestinians has been squandered for no reason, and Trump has now made it politically impossible for any Palestinian leader to be seen cooperating with the U.S.

Read more:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/trumps-ridiculous-announc...

President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is not only a clear violation of international law, but a moral outrage when it comes to its contempt for and violation of the rights of the Palestinian people.

Under the stewardship of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has embraced with unfailing ardor a rejectionist stance on Palestinian statehood. He knows peace, a viable peace, cannot exist and will never exist unless justice for the Palestinians is placed at its heart.

Hitherto the Israeli prime minister stood isolated in his obduracy, but now with Trump in the White House his greatest dream has come true in the form of a willing partner in his refusal to depart as much as an inch from his embrace of Israeli exceptionalism and belief Israel's right to the land of Palestine is inviolate. In service to this position Netanyahu has made clear there no price should not be paid, up to and including war, when it comes to asserting this right.

Of course, Israel had no such right to Palestinian land and never has — unless, that is, religious and biblical obscurantism is the kernel of international law and diplomacy in the 21st century.

Jerusalem is unequivocally and indisputably a part of occupied Palestine, and adjudged such by both the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations. It also constitutes a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, specifically Article 49 concerning forced transfer and deportations of civilians out of an occupied territory, and transfer of its own civilians into said occupied territory.

So the violation of international law reflected in the assumption of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is clear and inarguable, just as it has been over its decades-long occupation of Palestinian land. What has been lacking, and grievously, throughout this time is the requisite will on the part of the international community to take serious measures by which to compel Israel to conform to its obligations under international law as a UN member state.

The only reason Israel has been able to continue to flout those obligations is its longstanding alliance with the US, providing it with unparalleled military, financial, and military support. The bond which the political establishments of both countries share is long and, in the inimitable words of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama, "unbreakable."

The point surely though is no one is asking or expecting it to be broken. All people who are of goodwill expect, and are entitled to expect, is Washington — with the extirpation of its own indigenous population as part of its history in mind — stand on the side of international law (the operative word here being ‘international') instead of being complicit in its breach, as it has been and continues to be when it comes to its support for Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Trump's recklessness and disregard for the craft of diplomacy has once again thrown a metaphoric hand grenade into the midst of an issue and region needing another incendiary development like a malnourished man needs a diet. Does the current US president think this is a game? Does he understand he's supposed to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world and not starring in an episode of The Sopranos?

The barrage of criticism directed at this development from across the world tells its own story. It is a development which constitutes, undeniably, the final nail in the coffin of the Middle East  peace process, pushing the Palestinians down the path towards physical resistance in the form of a third intifada as a consequence.

Who could possibly blame them? Decades spent existing under the brute heel of occupation in the West Bank — where Jewish only settlements, again entirely illegal, have expanded and continue to spread, where hundreds of checkpoints are a daily reminder of their subjugation and degradation, occupied land the natural resources of which have and continue to be expropriated — can only but leave a sour taste.

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201712061059763751-trump-israel-jerusalem-outrage/

I was here first:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/sirius-not-stadiums-needs-a-sporting-chance-20171206-h009c5.html

I love the plumber's crack in Trump's butt...! Very Trump...

The biggest story of the year — is suddenly not very big any more. It's been quite hilarious to see pundits who were getting terribly excited about the 'smoking gun' that Flynn's indictment would reveal lose their interest in the story as it took a dramatic 'wrong' turn — and implicated the 'wrong' country. Embarrassingly, it's a country that almost the entire US media and political elite are strong supporters of.

Flynn's phone call was revelatory alright but not in the ways the Russophobes had hoped for.

The General first of all urged the Russian Ambassador not to retaliate for the new sanctions that the outgoing Obama administration had imposed on Russia. In the words of Max Blumenthal — "Flynn was caught trying to influence Russia, not the other way around." The Russians did not escalate the situation.

Flynn then proposed greater US-Russian co-operation in fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria. Again, what was so scandalous about that?

But what was certainly controversial: the equivalent of Naked Gun's exploding firework factory, was Flynn's lobbying of Russia to use its veto to block the passing of a UNSC Resolution condemning the growth of Israel's settlements.

"On or about 22nd December 2016, Flynn contacted the Russian Ambassador about the pending vote. Flynn informed the Russian Ambassador about the incoming administration's opposition to the resolution, and requested that Russia vote against or delay the resolution'… on or about December 23rd 2016, Flynn again spoke with the Russian Ambassador, who informed Flynn that if it came to a vote Russia would not  vote against the resolution…" theStatement of Offense against Flynn declares.

Flynn made his request about the UN vote at the behest of Trump's son-in-law and top advisor Jared Kushner, who has strong links to Israel — links which investigative journalist Max Blumenthal documents here.

Russiagate has morphed into Israelgate. The New York Times reported on 1st December: 

"Mr. Mueller's investigators have learned through witnesses and documents that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asked the Trump transition team to lobby other countries to help Israel, according to two people briefed on the inquiry. Investigators have learned that Mr. Flynn and Mr. Kushner took the lead in those efforts….Mr. Mueller's team has emails that show Mr. Flynn saying he would work to kill the vote, the people briefed on the matter said."

Furthermore, the Guardian reported, how on 23rd December 2016, the day after Flynn talked to the Russian Ambassador, an unnamed Israeli official had told CNN that his country did 'reach out' to President-elect Trump about the vote.  

Trump did indeed speak out to condemn the UN vote.

The revelations should have made front page across the world. But guess what — they haven't. We can only imagine the furor if the 'reaching out' country had been Russia — and if Flynn had called other countries to kill a UN vote on Russia's behalf. 

READ MORE: Analyst: Trump Team Colluded with Israel, Not Russia, in Flynn-Kislyak Talks

Given how accommodating he's been towards Israel — even before officially taking office — some are now asking the question: Did Israel work to get Donald Trump elected?

The truth is that in the 2016 Presidential election — as in previous elections — it couldn't really lose because of the strength of the pro-Israel lobby in both Republican and Democratic camps.

The New York Times tells us that Trump's announcement that the US would move its embassy to Jerusalem "was extremely popular with evangelicals and pro-Israel backers, including the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who donated $25 million to a political action committee supporting Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign." The paper also tells us that Adelson "expressed anger when Mr Trump signed the waiver to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv."

But if you think it's all a right-wing Republican plot, then consider too that Democrat Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, said he advised the President to declare Jerusalem the 'undivided' capital of Israel.

Moreover, Trump's beaten opponent in last year's Presidential race, Hillary Clinton, had been calling for Jerusalem to be recognized as Israel's undivided capital since as far back as 1999.

Then she had declared: "If I am chosen by New Yorkers to be their senator, or in whatever position I find myself in the years to come, you can be sure that I will be an active, committed advocate for a strong and secure Israel, able to live in peace with its neighbors, with the United States Embassy located in its capital, Jerusalem."

In fact, there is a strong argument for her saying that. Hillary — because of her more hawkish line on 'regime change' in Syria — would have been a 'better' President for Israel supporters than Trump, which could explain why so many leading neocons and committed Zionists supported her and opposed the Donald.

read more:

https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201712081059828413-us-israel-politics...

As 2018 approaches, many people remember the famous French seer Nostradamus who "has predicted" a world war and the disappearance of Israel for 2018. According to the site Liban 24, which publishes some of the prophecies, expect terrible events that can change the world.

"There will be natural disasters and many nations of the world will face change," the site said, adding that Nostradamus' prophecies already "refered to Trump's coming to power, his immigration policy and his relationship to the destruction of Israel".

According to the author of the article, published in the Nostradamus portal, "a big city republic" - interpreted as the United States - will be involved in major military operations, which could explain what has happened (and will happen) in Syria.

World War and Earthquakes

The French seer apparently predicts the beginning of World War III, revealing that a great conflict will be unleashed in and around 2018. He wrote of a major war that would cause an immense number of deaths, crimes and damages, but announced that this pestilence would end in 2025.

Nostradamus also predicts unusual floods and earthquakes, which will affect several regions of the world, including China. "Natural disasters, storms and cyclones will happen in China, Japan and Australia and Russia will face earthquakes," the website announces.

Nostradamus also foresees problems in the world economy and may have already warned about the problem of the destruction of forests and holes in the ozone layer saying that "the sun's rays will burn the Earth, the sky will open and fields will be burned."

Read more:

http://cassilandiaurgente.com.br/2017/11/24/profecias-de-nostradamus-par...

Translation by Jose Jamon

Read from top... but what about CO2 and global warming?

Top conservative evangelical leaders prayed with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office again on Monday afternoon and also presented him with a "Friends of Zion" award after his decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Evangelical leaders who have been involved in advising the Trump administration participated in an end-of-the-year briefing that included comments from Vice President Mike Pence, White House advisor Jared Kushner and Trump's daughter, Ivanka, a participant in the meeting told The Christian Post.

Evangelical figures such as Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, James Dobson of Family Talk Radio, televangelist Paula White, Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, African-American pastor Harry Jackson and former Southern Baptist Convention president Jack Graham joined other evangelical leaders for what has been described as a "working lunch" in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

read more:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelical-leaders-pray-trump-oval-o...

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/34144#comment-39829

Leg Cramps at Night?...

And any good articles (they're all good) on this site...

Israel’s all-too-successful efforts to swallow the West Bank have been marked by a patient application of incremental decisions over half a century—marked by the administrative fixes that have flown largely under the diplomatic radar. Even as the controversy over discussion with the Americans topped the headlines, another milestone in this policy of “creeping annexation” was reached— the seemingly innocuous passage of a law placing Israeli colleges and universities in West Bank settlements (yes, there are such places) under the authority of the Council for Higher Education.

Notwithstanding the domestic political pressure in favor of annexation, Israel’s leadership can be counted upon to show greater discipline and strategic planning than the White House as Israel doggedly pursues its ever-tightening grip over the West Bank. Netanyahu will no doubt be distracted by his growing legal and political troubles, but he can be expected to champion—more effectively than impatient wannabe successors—the realization of Greater Israel and the consolidation of “one state two systems.”

Read more:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/netanyahus-israel-west-b...

Read from top... It will be "one State — One sytem". Don't be fooled.