COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Monday, July 13, 2015

Video contradicts account of lying Israeli SS IDF officer who killed Palestinian teenager

The shooting and street slaughter of Mohammad Kosba by the IDF commander of the Binyamin Brigade; B’Tselem 




GUARDIAN

New video footage has emerged of the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of a teenage stone thrower by a senior Israeli army officer, contradicting the soldier’s account of the killing.
Doubts about the account of Col Yisrael Shomer, a brigade commander in the occupied territories, began to emerge last week in witness accounts and medical evidence collected by the GuardianWashington Post and human rights groups.
They suggested that 17-year-old Mohammed Kasbeh was shot in the upper body by Shomer as the youth was fleeing, not in the midst of a life-threatening attack.
According to the Times of Israel, following the emergence of the video, Shomer was interviewed under caution by military police who were already investigating the shooting.
According to a Channel 2 TV report, Shomer continued to claim during questioning that he feared he was in imminent danger when his vehicle was attacked and that he operated according to army protocol. He consulted lawyers before the meeting with army investigators.
The footage – acquired by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem – was recorded by a security camera on a nearby petrol station and, although it does not show the moment of the lethal shooting itself, shows the preceding seconds.
In the grainy footage a figure believed to be Kasbeh can be seen among a group of youths running at the Israeli officer’s staff car as it passes and throwing a stone from close quarters.
As the car brakes suddenly to a halt, the youths scatter out of camera shot and two soldiers at first exit the vehicle and give chase.
The video appears to confirm multiple witness accounts supplied to investigating journalists and human rights works workers – including medical evidence – that Kasbeh, the third sibling in his family to be shot dead by the IDF in the past 15 years, was shot in the back.
Witnesses also claimed that after the shooting Shomer approached the dying teenager and kicked or pushed him with his foot. This is not apparent from the angle the video depicts.
It appears to strongly contradict Shomer’s claims that the lives of himself and the soldiers with him in the car were in immediate danger, allowing him to respond with lethal force.
In a statement released on Monday morning, B’Tselem said: “The claim that Kasbeh posed a mortal threat to the soldiers at the time of the shooting, having fled the scene, is unreasonable. 
“There is no doubt that the shattering of the jeep’s front window with a stone endangered the passengers when it happened. However, Kasbeh was shot in the back after the fact, when he was already running away and posing no ‘mortal threat’ to the soldiers. Feeling a sense of danger is not enough to justify any action.
“The IDF … also noted that Col Shomer carried out suspect-arrest procedure. Yet this claim contradicts both the first claim, that Kasbeh posed an immediate threat, and the facts of the case: military open-fire regulations permit shooting at the legs of a suspect in order to facilitate his arrest. They do not permit killing him by firing three shots at his upper body.
“The fact that the soldiers drove away without offering the injured youth any medical assistance runs counter to basic human morality. It is also a breach of military regulations, which require soldiers to ensure to the extent possible that persons injured by shooting receive medical assistance.”
The shooting of Kasbeh took place early in the morning on 3 July at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah after the teenager threw a stone at a military vehicle, breaking its windscreen but not injuring the occupants.
According to the initial account by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) – supported by several leading politicians who commended Shomer’s action – the soldiers driving the vehicle near the West Bank village of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, came under attack from a hail of stones and boulders that shattered their windshield during a sustained attack.
The case was unusual in that it involved such a senior officer and because political figures, including the rightwing education minister, Naftali Bennett, rushed to praise Shomer in the hours after the shooting.
The emergence of the video came as it was announced that another Israeli brigade commander, Lt Col Neria Yeshurun, is under investigation by the country’s military advocate general for his actions during last summer’s Gaza war.
Yeshurun – one of five senior officers reportedly under investigation from that conflict, according to Army Radio – ordered the shelling of a Palestinian medical centre allegedly in revenge for the killing of one of his officers by a sniper.
According to the Israeli media, he is expected to be questioned under caution by military police on Monday – becoming the first high-ranking IDF commander to undergo a serious criminal investigation for war crimes allegedly committed during the summer 2014 war.
The Israeli military advocate-general decided to order a full criminal investigation after hearing an audio recording of internal army communication during the incident, which included an address delivered by Yeshurun in which he ordered his soldiers to shell the medical centre saying it was to avenge the dead officer’s death – in breach of the law of armed conflict.
His lawyer has said it was a legitimate military target.

This is the IDF:

31 comments:

  1. The planned attack on the IDF by the palestinian was met with a bullet.

    So sorry the rock did not kill the Israeli as anticipated.

    If you attempt murder? You will be shot.

    So sorry.,

    Glad the violent, criminal who had premeditatedly planned to attack is dead.

    I hope that those that find fault with the IDF are they themselves ambushed by street thugs and treated the same way.

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    1. In America, the land of the free and home of the brave, if a criminal attacks a cop, there is no obligation for the cops NOT to fire if the violent criminal is retreating...

      One standard for all...

      :)

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    2. I wonder if anyone busted out an Iranian, Russian, Chinese or American cop's or border guard's windshield, would they simply let the perp run away? Or would they shoot him?

      crickets.... crickets.... crickets...

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Deuce, LOVE the way you call the IDF officer an "SS" member...

      Is that not what you claim us Israeli supporters do?

      You said we "Israeli firsters lie, exaggerate and play the victim"

      Is that not what you are doing defending a premeditated ATTACK on a IDF vehicle? By calling the IDF officer who shot and killed the attacker an "SS" member?

      What part of shooting an attacker, regardless if he was fleeing after his attack, makes him an SS member?

      If the IDF was like the SS, they would go to the village where the attacker was from and execute, in cold blood, 50 random villagers...

      Now the fact is clear, the IDF officer shot and killed the perp who actually attacked him...

      He should be given an award for cleaning the streets of scum. AKA Dirty Harry, an American hero.

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    5. If the IDF was like the SS, they would go to the village where the attacker was from and execute, in cold blood, 50 random villagers...

      The concept is called “group guilt”, practiced by the IDF.

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    6. Hardly, shooting the guy who assaults you aint "group" guilt, it's shooting the perp…

      The SS would kill groups of innocents on purpose to send a message…

      This IDF officer was attacked and responded, JUST like any other soldier in any army INCLUDING the USA

      But it's all academic…

      He's a martyr, and his family is celebrating his going to Allah so he can collect his 72 virgins…

      My my my what a wonderful society that sends it's kids out to smash out windshields…

      Deuce, you should get a job with the PLO, you'd make a great spokesperson..

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  2. . . . . .

    Hours after the announcement of the military operation, Iraq's Defense Ministry announced the arrival of four F-16 fighter jets from the United States to Balad air base north of Baghdad. They are part of 36 F-16s purchased by the Iraqi government.

    The new fighter jets will boost Iraq's Air Force, which depends only on several Russian-made secondhand Sukhoi jets. Last week, a Sukhoi fighter jet

    Jets arriving

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    1. "Many former Iraqi fighter pilots who flew sorties against Iran during the Iran-Iraq war were now on Iran's hit list (NOTE: According to [Name removed], Iran had already assassinated 180 Iraqi pilots. END NOTE)," the Dec. 14, 2009 confidential U.S. cable stated.

      The systematic elimination of Iraqi air force pilots by Iran was a little noticed vendetta amid the crossfire of ethnic fighting and urban combat that convulsed Iraq in the years after the U.S. invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.

      Iran used the chaos in the aftermath of the invasion to settle scores from the Iran-Iraq war, an eight-year slug fest from 1980 to 1988 in which an estimated 500,000 Iranians and Iraqis died. The war was largely a bloody standoff that resembled World War I at times with trench warfare, poison gas, human wave and bayonet attacks.

      Iran, however, has taken a special vengeance on the pilots of the Iraqi air force and the lawlessness that followed the collapse of Saddam's regime gave Iran its opportunity.

      In addition to the 182 pilots who have been hunted down and killed by Iranian agents, the assassination campaign prompted another 800 Iraqi pilots to flee the country, according to statistics released by the Iraqi Defense Ministry.

      The targeting of air force pilots began in Baghdad's largely Shiite neighborhood of Karradah and reached its peak in the holy month of Ramadan in 2005 when 36 pilots were gunned down in that neighborhood.

      Residents of Karradah refer to that killing season as the Black Ramadan.

      The Iranian fury was on display in the death of former pilot Sayyid Hussien, a Shiite who felt that he was relatively safe running a hardware store in the Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah. He was wrong. Shiite militia dressed all in black and wearing masks shot him dead in a daylight hit, emptying an entire magazine of 30 bullets into Hussien's head.

      During Hussien's funeral, his distraught mother Um Sayyid Hussien cried, "May Allah curse Iran. They took my son."

      Iran's Secret Revenge on Iraqi Pilots

      A pilot who has remained in Iraq told ABC News, "I took part in the Iraq-Iran war. We had many missions hitting targets inside Iran. It was war time."

      The pilot asked that his name be withheld out of concern for his safety and for his family's safety.

      "I had many of my fellow pilots get killed and the killer is not known, never been captured," he said. "I do not know why they are killing us. Just because we had to follow orders during war time?"

      By the time of the U.S. invasion in 2003, the Iraqi air force was already crippled. Its planes were prevented from taking off by constant patrols of U.S. fighter jets. In an attempt to save his jets from being bombed, Saddam buried many of them in the desert.

      "We felt like we had a broken wing," the pilot said. "We could not do a thing to defend or to show the ... pride we once had."

      Then came the killing of pilots and the former flyer said he had to repeatedly change his residence, gave up his home in the Sunni area of Dora and now lives only in what he calls an undisclosed location.

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    2. it may be a few years old but still worth repeating..

      Iraq's air force commander said on Sunday he hoped Iran would return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter plans that flew there ahead of the Gulf War in 1991, but conceded many of them were probably beyond repair.

      Lieutenant-General Kamal al-Barzanji is eyeing the aircraft, which were flown to Iran to escape destruction, as he slowly rebuilds Iraq's shattered air force with American help.

      "Until now we have not brought back any aircraft. This case belongs to the politicians," he told a news briefing in Baghdad.

      "But we hope we could bring back some of these aircraft to Iraq," he said, adding that only a few would be salvageable.

      Security information Web site GlobalSecurity.org estimates that half of the air force fled to Iran in 1991, just three years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, rather than confront Coalition planes.

      Delete
  3. Love the standard of proof, or lack thereof...

    "The footage – although it does not show the moment of the lethal shooting itself, shows the preceding seconds."

    Interesting.

    The video shows nothing of the shooting..

    Pallywood....

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  4. Meanwhile America bombs dozens of Iraqis a DAY....

    No imminent threat to the USA

    Headcutters being bombed...

    Go ahead Rufus, cheer the killings...

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  5. News from Gaza, a NEW statue is being unveiled by Hamas

    A replica of an IDF APC with a a fist holding the dog tags of Israel soldiers...

    Interesting that the Hamas has the resources to build statues and not to rebuild homes?

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    Replies
    1. During the three years ending in 2014, China produced more cement than did the U.S. during the entire 20th century.

      Delete
    2. During the 3 years ending in 2014, China buried more political prisoners in cement than the US did in the entire 20th Century

      Delete
    3. We're at Peak China. Saw this in 1990 with Peak Japan.

      Delete
    4. Peak China, Peak Japan, Peak Iran and Peak Arab Spring…

      Oh my..

      Delete
  6. When America drops bombs on ISIS in Iraq and Syria are they like the German Nazi's SS? Is it slaughter?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Solar Power For Low- & Moderate-Income Americans — Obama’s New Solar Initiative

    July 11th, 2015 by Zachary Shahan

    Originally published on Solar Love.

    Solar power costs have come down so much in recent years that going solar is a no-brainer money-maker for millions of people. That increasingly includes low- and moderate-income people as well as rich people. Affordable solar power seems as abundant and as popular as ice cream these days. However, there’s no denying it: rich people have an easier time borrowing money… in order to make or save even more money, while low- and even moderate-income people can struggle to get financing for large purchases like solar power systems.

    So, it makes a lot of sense that the Obama administration would help to get solar on more of these people’s homes. With strong intentions to help the less advantages, tackle global warming, and create good jobs in the USA (note that the solar energy industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the US economy in 2014), such a solar power initiative is a trifecta — a grand slam. But what exactly does this new solar initiative entail? Here are some details from the White House itself:

    ◾Launching a National Community Solar Partnership to unlock access to solar for the nearly 50% of households and business that are renters or do not have adequate roof space to install solar systems, including issuing a guide to Support States In Developing Community Solar Programs;

    ◾Setting a goal to install 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in federally subsidized housing and providing technical assistance to make it easier to install solar, including clarifying how to use Federal funding;

    ◾Housing authorities, rural electric co-ops, power companies, and organizations in more than 20 states across the country are committing to put in place more than 260 solar energy projects, including projects to help low- and moderate- income communities save on their energy bills and further community solar; and

    ◾More than $520 million in independent commitments from philanthropic and impact investors, states, and cities to advance community solar and scale up solar and energy efficiency for low- and moderate- income households.

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    1. Not content to just get the demand side rolling in a broader portion of society, the White House is also keen to get people jobs. Here are some more executive actions and private sector commitments on this front as well:

      ◾AmeriCorps funding to deploy solar and create jobs in underserved communities;

      ◾Expanding solar energy education and opportunities for job training; and

      ◾The solar industry is also setting its own, independent goal of becoming the most diverse sector of the US energy industry, and a number of companies are announcing that they are taking steps to build a more inclusive solar workforce.

      “These new actions build on President Obama’s goal to train 75,000 workers to enter the solar industry by 2020 and the Solar Ready Vets program that will train transitioning military personnel for careers in the solar industry at 10 military bases.”

      This is all pretty awesome . . . . . .

      Solar for low-moderate income Americans

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    2. "solar energy industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the US economy in 2014),"

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    3. .

      How many jobs are we talking total?

      .

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    4. 6 and 1/2 are illegals spraying to keep the weeds from growing around the installation.

      Delete
  8. Americans Approve Supreme Court Obamacare Subsidies Decision approx. 2 - 1.

    KFF.Org

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  9. Meanwhile, the Deficit continues to fall.

    Highlights

    The Treasury's budget came in at an expected surplus of $51.8 billion in June. Now nine months into the government's fiscal year, the budget deficit stands at $313.4 billion which is a very solid 14.3 percent below this time last year. Total receipts are up 8.3 percent year-to-date with tax receipts very strong, up 11.6 percent year-to-date for individual taxes and up 8.7 percent for corporate taxes. The spending side is up 5.1 year-to-date with Medicare up 8.0 percent and defense down 1.7 percent.

    Treas. Budget

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  10. Paul Krugman: The Laziness Dogma



    The economy is no longer providing "good jobs to ordinary workers". Jeb Bush thinks that means workers are lazy:

    The Laziness Dogma, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: Americans work longer hours than their counterparts in just about every other wealthy country... Not surprisingly, work-life balance is a big problem for many people.

    But Jeb Bush — who is still attempting to justify his ludicrous claim that he can double our rate of economic growth — says that Americans “need to work longer hours and through their productivity gain more income for their families.”

    Mr. Bush’s aides have tried to spin away his remark... It’s obvious from the context, however, that ... he was talking about ... the “nation of takers” dogma... — the insistence that a large number of Americans, white as well as black, are choosing not to work, because they can live lives of leisure thanks to government programs. ...

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  11. Where does Jeb Bush fit into this story? Well before his “longer hours” gaffe, he had professed himself a great admirer of the work of Charles Murray, a conservative social analyst most famous for his 1994 book “The Bell Curve,” which claimed that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. What Mr. Bush seems to admire most, however, is a more recent book, “Coming Apart,” which notes that over the past few decades working-class white families have been changing in much the same way that African-American families changed in the 1950s and 1960s, with declining rates of marriage and labor force participation.

    Some of us look at these changes and see them as consequences of an economy that no longer offers good jobs to ordinary workers. This happened to African-Americans first, as blue-collar jobs disappeared from inner cities, but has now become a much wider phenomenon thanks to soaring income inequality. Mr. Murray, however, sees the changes as the consequence of a mysterious decline in traditional values, enabled by government programs which mean that men no longer “need to work to survive.” And Mr. Bush presumably shares that view. ...

    There’s now an effective consensus among Democrats ... that workers need more help... Republicans, however, believe that American workers just aren’t trying hard enough..., and that the way to change that is to strip away the safety net while cutting taxes on wealthy “job creators.”

    And while Jeb Bush may sometimes sound like a moderate, he’s very much in line with the party consensus. If he makes it to the White House, the laziness dogma will rule public policy.

    Economist's View

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  12. U.S. steps up air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq:

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces stepped up air operations in Iraq against Islamic State positions, with 29 of 39 air strikes in the country on Sunday coming near the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the air operations said in a statement on Monday.

    There also were nine air strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State forces with bomber, fighter-attack and drone aircraft, seven coming near Al Hasakah and one each near Raqqah and Kobani, according to the statement.

    Iraqi troops and Shi'ite Muslim militia forces attacked Islamic State fighters on several fronts on Monday in Anbar province at the start of what is likely to be a long and fiercely contested offensive.

    The U.S. military statement said air strikes were conducted in Iraq on Sunday near seven cities using bomber, attack, fighter-attack and drone aircraft.

    Most came near Ramadi, according to the statement, targeting Islamic State staging areas, excavators, an armored personnel carrier and another vehicle. Other air strikes in Iraq came near Al Huwayjah, Habbaniyah, Hit, Makhmur, Sinjar and Tal Afar, the statement said.

    (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Eric Beech)

    Time to "Get Long" on Virgins

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    1. Was it a slaughter?

      Is the US guilty of being the new "SS"?

      Why is the IDF the new "SS" for shooting some who attacks them but America is OK to bomb targets 9000 miles from it's shores on folks that never did anything to America?

      Can someone explain the standard?

      Delete
  13. Deuce comments on the New SS, the IDF…

    So where are the death camps?

    To be called the New SS? you'd have to at least be equal to the OLD SS…

    The gaza strip? The arab occupied west bank? TEEMING with Palestinians…

    Millions and millions of them…

    In fact? Today there are MORE palestinians INSIDE Israel than existed in 1948 from the river to the sea… Hardly SS like…

    More devaluing of words….

    Calling the IDF the "SS" is like calling KFC Peta…..

    LOL

    Screeches from the Israel Lasters….

    Weak deuce, weak…

    So over the top you lose all credibility…

    A video that SHOWS nothing…

    Calling the IDF the "SS"

    LOL

    weak and pathetic…

    Trying to defend a criminal who assaults an IDF soldier…

    In America, you remember that place Deuce?

    If a dozen or so "kids" surrounded a cop car and started to stone it? The cop would certainly shoot at them…

    But all that is left is another worthless palestinian dead by his own stupidity….

    I wonder, are you proud of the palestinian resistance? Instead of learning how to BUILD a nation he's dead..

    or as rufus says…

    DAID….

    Another head cutter bites the dust...

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