Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Bloomberg Defied a Flight Ban to Show Support for Israel, Defended the Country Shelling a School and Killing Sleeping Children
Bloomberg: "Unfortunately, if there are innocents getting killed at the same time it’s not Israel’s fault."
Michael Arria
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/02/17/bloomberg-defied-flight-ban-show-support-israel-defended-country-shelling-school
In July 2014, Israel launched a series airstrikes on Gaza, kicking off a 51-day war that left thousands dead. According to the United Nations, at least 2,104 Palestinian were killed, including 1,462 civilians. 495 were children and 253 were women. Over 17,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged as a result of the attacks.
At the end of that month, the US Federal Aviation Administration briefly banned flights to Israel over security concerns. Former New York City Mayor, and presidential hopeful, Michael Bloomberg flew to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel-Aviv to protest the ban and show support for the Israeli government.
“Safely landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv – here to show support for Israel’s right to defend itself,” he tweeted after arriving in the country.
Bloomberg later penned an op-ed (for the media company he owns) explaining the reasons for his trip in more detail and pledging his full-support for the Israel’s actions:
During my brief time in Israel, I met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. I thanked them for standing with us after the Sept. 11 attacks and offered my strong support for their actions in response to the attacks by Hamas. Every country has a right to defend its borders from enemies, and Israel was entirely justified in crossing into Gaza to destroy the tunnels and rockets that threaten its sovereignty. I know what I would want my government to do if the U.S. was attacked by a rocket from above or via a tunnel from below; I think most Americans do, too.
In a Face the Nation appearance that August, Bloomberg was asked specifically about Israel shelling a United Nations school. The act was regarded as so callous that even the Obama administration put out a statement calling it “totally indefensible.” When asked if Israel had gone too far by host Norah O’Donnell, Bloomberg was clear in his response:
NORAH O’DONNELL: It’s difficult to watch the images that we air on our network and other networks. This week a school attack that had thousands in there. It was described as bloody mattresses. Children killed who were sleeping next to their parents. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday, “Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children.” Did Israel go too far?
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: Israel cannot have a proportional response if people are firing rockets at their citizens. Can you imagine if one of the contiguous countries to America were firing rockets at America, the same people who are criticizing the Israelis would be going crazy demanding the President does more. Unfortunately, if Hamas hides among the innocent, the innocent are going to get killed because Israel just does not have any choice but to stop people firing– Hamas firing rockets at their citizens. They have a right to defend themselves and America would do exactly the same thing.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Doesn’t the Geneva Conventions lay out that you cannot attack schools or hospitals?
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: Nobody is attacking schools or hospitals. We are attacking Hamas. But Hamas is standing in the middle of a hospital. If they had– standing in the middle of a hospital and firing rockets at your kids, what would you expect us to do? Would you really want us to not try to stop them?
NORAH O’DONNELL: Mm-Hm.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: And, unfortunately, if there are innocents getting killed at the same time it’s not Israel’s fault.
Bloomberg’s support for Israel has been consistently unequivocal. In 2015, he pushed back on the Obama administration’s efforts to generate Democratic support for the Iran Deal. In 2013, Bloomberg marched alongside Danny Danon, the former deputy minister of Defense in the Netanyahu government, during New York City’s Israel Day Parade. Danon is a vocal advocate for annexation: “The Jewish people are not settlers in the West Bank, but Israel will make the Palestinians settlers and Jordan will be the one taking control over Palestinians and that’s it,” he once told an Israeli TV station.
More Than 2,000 Former US Department of Justice Officials Tell William Barr: Resign Now!
'Barr’s actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words'
Common Dreams staff
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/16/more-2000-former-us-department-justice-officials-tell-william-barr-resign-now?
More than 1,100 (UPDATE: Now over 2,000) former US Department of Justice officials called on Attorney General William P. Barr on Sunday to step down after he intervened last week to lower the Justice Department’s sentencing recommendation for President Trump’s longtime friend and political crony Roger J. Stone Jr.
“It is unheard of for the Department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the President, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case,” wrote the former Justice Department attorneys in their Sunday letter. “It is even more outrageous for the Attorney General to intervene as he did here — after the President publicly condemned the sentencing recommendation that line prosecutors had already filed in court.”
“Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice,” the bipartisan former Justice Department lawyers wrote in their open letter on Sunday. Those actions, they said, “require Mr. Barr to resign.”
Stone was convicted last November on seven counts of witness tampering and lying to Congress during the investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Federal prosecutors on Monday recommended that Stone receive a prison sentence of seven to nine years for his crimes. Early Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted his disapproval of the recommended sentence, calling it "horrible and very unfair."
Just hours after Trump's tweet, Barr's Justice Department said it was "shocked" by the recommended sentence and announced plans to reduce it, leading all four prosecutors handling the Stone case to immediately withdraw in protest. In a tweet Wednesday morning, Trump applauded his Attorney General for intervening.
"Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought," Trump wrote.
Here is the full text of the letter:
DOJ Alumni Statement on the Events Surrounding the Sentencing of Roger Stone
We, the undersigned, are alumni of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) who have collectively served both Republican and Democratic administrations. Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice.
As former DOJ officials, we each proudly took an oath to support and defend our Constitution and faithfully execute the duties of our offices. The very first of these duties is to apply the law equally to all Americans. This obligation flows directly from the Constitution, and it is embedded in countless rules and laws governing the conduct of DOJ lawyers. The Justice Manual — the DOJ’s rulebook for its lawyers — states that “the rule of law depends on the evenhanded administration of justice”; that the Department’s legal decisions “must be impartial and insulated from political influence”; and that the Department’s prosecutorial powers, in particular, must be “exercised free from partisan consideration.”
All DOJ lawyers are well-versed in these rules, regulations, and constitutional commands. They stand for the proposition that political interference in the conduct of a criminal prosecution is anathema to the Department’s core mission and to its sacred obligation to ensure equal justice under the law.
And yet, President Trump and Attorney General Barr have openly and repeatedly flouted this fundamental principle, most recently in connection with the sentencing of President Trump’s close associate, Roger Stone, who was convicted of serious crimes. The Department has a long-standing practice in which political appointees set broad policies that line prosecutors apply to individual cases. That practice exists to animate the constitutional principles regarding the even-handed application of the law. Although there are times when political leadership appropriately weighs in on individual prosecutions, it is unheard of for the Department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the President, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case. It is even more outrageous for the Attorney General to intervene as he did here — after the President publicly condemned the sentencing recommendation that line prosecutors had already filed in court.
Such behavior is a grave threat to the fair administration of justice. In this nation, we are all equal before the law. A person should not be given special treatment in a criminal prosecution because they are a close political ally of the President. Governments that use the enormous power of law enforcement to punish their enemies and reward their allies are not constitutional republics; they are autocracies.
We welcome Attorney General Barr’s belated acknowledgment that the DOJ’s law enforcement decisions must be independent of politics; that it is wrong for the President to interfere in specific enforcement matters, either to punish his opponents or to help his friends; and that the President’s public comments on DOJ matters have gravely damaged the Department’s credibility. But Mr. Barr’s actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words. Those actions, and the damage they have done to the Department of Justice’s reputation for integrity and the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign. But because we have little expectation he will do so, it falls to the Department’s career officials to take appropriate action to uphold their oaths of office and defend nonpartisan, apolitical justice.
For these reasons, we support and commend the four career prosecutors who upheld their oaths and stood up for the Department’s independence by withdrawing from the Stone case and/or resigning from the Department. Our simple message to them is that we — and millions of other Americans — stand with them. And we call on every DOJ employee to follow their heroic example and be prepared to report future abuses to the Inspector General, the Office of Professional Responsibility, and Congress; to refuse to carry out directives that are inconsistent with their oaths of office; to withdraw from cases that involve such directives or other misconduct; and, if necessary, to resign and report publicly — in a manner consistent with professional ethics — to the American people the reasons for their resignation. We likewise call on the other branches of government to protect from retaliation those employees who uphold their oaths in the face of unlawful directives. The rule of law and the survival of our Republic demand nothing less.
If you are a former DOJ employee and would like to add your name, click here. Protect Democracy will update this list daily with new signatories.
UN Condemns 'Shocking' and 'Terrible' US-Backed Saudi Coalition Bombing That Killed 31 Yemeni Civilians
"Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today's all too common."
Jake Johnson, staff writer
8 Comments
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/17/un-condemns-shocking-and-terrible-us-backed-saudi-coalition-bombing-killed-31-yemeni?
The United Nations and humanitarian aid groups condemned the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition for carrying out airstrikes Saturday that killed 31 civilians and wounded dozens more, including women and children, in Yemen's Al-Jawf province.
"We share our deep condolences with the families of those killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of everyone who has been injured in these terrible strikes," Lise Grande, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement. "So many people are being killed in Yemen—it's a tragedy and it's unjustified. Under international humanitarian law parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians."
Xavier Joubert, director of aid group Save the Children Yemen, demanded an investigation into the airstrikes and said nations providing the weaponry for such attacks must share the blame. The United States is the largest supplier of weapons to the Saudi regime, whose years-long assault on Yemen has helped create the world's worst humanitarian crisis."Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility," added Grande. "It's shocking."
"The war shows no signs of slowing down. Yemen is a hellish place for children," said Joubert. "The reports of today indicate that once more explosive weapons make no distinction between fighters and civilians. This latest attack must be urgently and independently investigated, and perpetrators held to account."
"We call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international laws and standards, and to protect children on the ground," Joubert continued. "Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today's all too common."
The Saudi airstrikes came after Houthi rebels claimed to have shot down a Saudi Tornado jet Friday in Al-Jawf province.
Following its bombing campaign Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition issued a statement acknowledging the "possibility of collateral damage"—a common euphemism for civilian deaths.
Eighty percent of Yemen's population—over 24 million people—are in dire need of humanitarian aid and 14 million are on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.
In a 2018 report, Save the Children estimated that 85,000 Yemeni children under the age of five have died from malnutrition since 2015 as the Saudi-led coalition has bombed the country—often hitting schools and hospitals—and restricted the flow of food and medicine.
Last April, as Common Dreams reported, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a measure that would have ended American military support for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who helped lead the push for the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives last year, warned at the time that Trump's veto would risk "the lives of millions of Yemeni civilians to famine, deadly airstrikes, and the war crimes of the Saudi regime."
'When the 99% Stand Together, We Can Transform Society': More Than 11,000 Rally for Sanders in Colorado
"This is a campaign by the working class, of the working class, and for the working class," Sanders told the crowd in Denver.
Jake Johnson, staff writer
94 Comments
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/17/when-99-stand-together-we-can-transform-society-more-11000-rally-sanders-colorado
Nearly 11,500 people gathered inside the Colorado Convention Center in Denver Sunday night to hear Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders make the case for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, a $15 federal minimum wage, and systemic reforms to end "a corrupt political system in which billionaires buy elections."
"At the end of the day, the top 1% may have enormous wealth and power, but they are just the 1%. When the 99% stand together, we can transform society."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders
"We don't go to billionaires' homes to raise money. We don't have a super PAC," Sanders told the massive crowd. "This is a campaign by the working class, of the working class, and for the working class."
Sanders' Denver rally was the largest any presidential candidate has held in Colorado in the 2020 election cycle so far, according to the Vermont senator's campaign.
"Our campaign has grassroots support across Colorado, we are doing the hard work of organizing to ensure we win here on Super Tuesday," Pilar Chapa, Sanders' Colorado state director, said in a statement, referring to the March 3 primary.
"Our supporters and our volunteers are going to use the momentum from tonight to expand the electorate," added Chapa, "and bring more people than ever into the political process."
During his 30-minute speech, Sanders took aim at President Donald Trump—"a pathological liar who is running a corrupt administration"—as well as billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, a latecomer to the 2020 Democratic presidential race who has spent $350 million on advertising in an effort to compete in Super Tuesday states like Colorado.
"Democracy to me means one person, one vote," Sanders said. "Not Bloomberg or anybody else spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to buy an election. And that is why we are going to overturn this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, and why we are going to move toward public funding of elections."
According to Denver Post reporter Alex Burness, "perhaps the loudest cheers of the night" came after Sanders remarked, "The Democratic establishment is getting a little nervous."
Kelly Canfield, a 57-year-old business analyst from Denver who attended the rally Sunday, told Burness he is heartened that Sanders' progressive agenda has gone mainstream despite continued efforts to paint the senator's candidacy and policy proposals as fringe.
"It's about time," Canfield said. "None of it is radical. To me, if the Democratic Party picks Bernie, it's more like going home, to FDR, instead of running to the right like they have been. This is as American as apple pie."
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