April 16, 2025

Subject line: Does Israel Control the U.S. Government?

MASTER LIST of Articles for DWF NEWS 4/16/25

Beware of the hypnotic phrase "national security"

Expect Them to Lie About China Just Like They Lied About Gaza

Caitlin Johnstone

Does Israel Control the U.S. Government?

The Current Status of the Prosecution of Israel for Its War Crimes in Gaza

Eric Zuesse             The Duran

AIPAC'S Grip on Washington Exposed

AIPAC Leader Boasts of Special 'Access' to Top Trump Natsec Officials

Max Blumenthal The Grayzone

Jesus weeps for misguided right wing Christians

And then Jesus said, "America First"

Serene Jones  President of Union Theological Seminary   Salon

Mexico's President Unites the Nation Against Trump, While Facing Other Crises at Home

Mariana Hernandez Ampudia          PassBlue

A green Earth Constitution & new global alliances could reshape world power

BRICS' Climate Leadership Aims Hang on Healing Deep Divides

Virginia Furness       thejapantimes

WELCOME TO WORLD PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM

The phrase "national security" acts on the American public like a post hypnotic suggestion. When it is uttered by an authority figure, your critical thinking ability is subconsciously suspended, and you don't even know it. You become an easy target for bigger military budgets, for more weapons of mass destruction, for starting more wars, or even to justify using black sites with torture.

In addition to hypnotic suggestion, we are deluged with propaganda which makes it hard to find the truth (the "facts"), and use of FEAR.

We are warned that we have "enemies." Often these so-called enemies are invented, -- they are fake. But to prove to you there is danger, another dirty trick is used to block your critical thinking, the use of false flag operations - where you kill a bunch innocent people and falsely blame an "enemy." This is the real story of 9/11 wherein an inside job (possibly the Mossad & American right wingers) was falsely blamed on Arabs to launch the so-called "war on terror."

Beware of the hypnotic phrase "national security"

Expect Them to Lie About China Just Like They Lied About Gaza

Caitlin Johnstone

 As Washington’s cold war with China escalates, we can expect to see a massively reinvigorated anti-China propaganda campaign in the west.

EXCERPTS

If your eyes were newly opened by the Gaza holocaust, the most important thing to understand is that Gaza isn’t some unusual aberration in the behavior of the mass media and the western war machine. They’re always doing things like this. The empire is always inflicting horrific evils upon people in the global south, and the mass media always help them lie about it. Gaza is just more obvious because it’s history’s first live-streamed genocide. But you need to understand that the empire and its propaganda machine have been doing this sort of thing this whole time all around the world, and will continue to.

Aggressively question every new narrative that emerges about China, in the same way you’ve learned to aggressively question every new narrative Israel releases about Gaza and Hamas. Question everything you’ve ever been taught about China throughout your life, in the same way you’ve learned to question everything you were taught about Israel. If you are sincere and open to the possibility of proving yourself wrong, you will find that many of the beliefs you’ve been indoctrinated about regarding China were misinformed.            READ MORE

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/04/12/expect-them-to-lie-about-china-just-like-they-lied-about-gaza/

Does Israel Control the U.S. Government?

The Current Status of the Prosecution of Israel for Its War Crimes in Gaza

Eric Zuesse          The Duran

EXCERPTS

Many keen analysts of history and of international relations believe that Israel is actually the tail that wags the U.S.-Government dog, so that instead of the U.S. Government having imperialist-autonomy over the U.N. and most of the world, Israel does and is not — as is widely assumed — a colony of the U.S. (such as most people assume). Jeffrey Sachs has also come to this conclusion (that Israel controls America), and recently he expressed it again in the context of the U.S. Government’s long effort to replace in Syria the secular Government of Basar al-Assad, by the fundamentalist-Sunni al-Qaeda jihadist government that now rules there.

Drawing from over a decade of geopolitical developments, Sachs argued that the Syrian conflict and broader regional instability are not the results of internal strife alone, but of deliberate U.S.-led interventions, often shaped by Israeli strategic objectives. He challenged the moral and strategic legitimacy of American support for military campaigns in Syria and Gaza, framing them as obstacles to peace and enablers of ongoing violence. In a call for diplomatic realignment, Sachs urged the United States to abandon regime change strategies and instead support regional self-determination—a shift he believes could unlock peace across the Middle East. READ MORE

https://theduran.com/the-current-status-of-the-prosecution-of-israel-for-its-war-crimes-in-gaza/

AIPAC'S Grip on Washington Exposed

AIPAC Leader Boasts of Special 'Access' to Top Trump Natsec Officials

Max Blumenthal The Grayzone

The Grayzone has obtained audio of an off-the-record session from the 2025 Congressional Summit of AIPAC, the main US lobbying arm of the state of Israel. Recorded by an attendee of the panel discussion, the audio features AIPAC’s new CEO, Elliott Brandt, describing how his organization has cultivated influence with three top national security officials in the Trump administration – Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Director Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe – and how it believes it can gain “access” to their internal discussions.

The Congressional Summit was permeated with anxiety, as AIPAC leaders told rank-and-file members to hide their badges when they left the Marriott Hotel for fear they would be confronted by anti-genocide protesters. Other than a handful of sessions, such as a keynote address by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the conference was strictly off-the-record. 

With the cameras off, AIPAC leadership provided unusually candid details of their activities. In one revealing admission, Brandt explained how he and his lobbying organization groomed the future CIA director and other top Trump officials as pro-Israel assets.

Elliot Brandt was promoted to Executive Director of AIPAC in 2024, making him one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington. Though he is largely unknown to the American public, Brandt has spent around three decades building relationships on Capitol Hill. This was the key, he suggested, to cultivating the future leaders of America’s national security state as loyal servants of Israel. 

Referring to Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his National Security Director Mike Waltz, and Elise Stefanik, whose nomination to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations was suddenly withdrawn to preserve the GOP’s majority in the House of Representatives, Brandt explained to AIPAC members, “Those three people have something in common: they all served in Congress.” 

After relying heavily on pro-Israel donors to fuel their campaigns for office, “they all have relationships with key AIPAC leaders from their communities,” said the AIPAC CEO. “So the lines of communication are good should there be something questionable or curious, and we need access on the conversation.”

Brandt’s comments corroborate Representative Thomas Massie’s claim that each member of Congress is expected to answer to an “AIPAC person.”

Jesus weeps for misguided right wing Christians

And then Jesus said, "America First"

Serene Jones  President of Union Theological Seminary   Salon

Editor: Right wing evangelicals hijack faith to justify genocide and global cruelty. - Anonymous reader

EXCERPTS

How would Jesus have responded if one of the most powerful nations in the world decided to cut off aid?

Long before Jesus ever knew of the existence of America, as he wandered through different lands preaching the word of God, he proclaimed, “America First!”

At least, this is what right-wing Christian forces want you to believe. In one breath, they claim to be guided by their core faith values. But in the next breath, these same voices purport that we need to prioritize Americans and forget about people in other countries.  (Editor: Jesus taught that "we are all God's children.")

Now, this line of thinking is fueling some of the most abhorrent, unChristian policymaking this nation has ever seen. The hypocrisy is disgusting. And on top of that, these policies are also hurting Americans.

It’s painfully apparent that rightwing forces love to refer to Jesus when it supports their radical interests. They’ve constantly used a twisted version of Christianity to justify dismantling DEI policies, undermining LGBTQ+ rights, destroying women’s right to choose, and dismantling federal institutions that serve vulnerable communities. At the National Prayer Breakfast, for instance, President Trump proclaimed that we need to “bring God back into our lives.” READ MORE

Mexico's President Unites the Nation Against Trump, While Facing Other Crises at Home

Mariana Hernandez Ampudia          PassBlue

EXCERPTS 

Born to a chemist father and a biologist mother in Mexico City, Sheinbaum studied physics and earned a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Her scientific and academic background is evident in her data-driven approach to governing, which she prominently uses in her speeches and discussions, including those with Trump.

“I don’t think Trump expected to encounter such an authoritative figure,” said Fernando Bustos, a cultural analyst and professor of neuroeducation at the EdgeHub School of Innovation in Aguascalientes, Mexico. “She also doesn’t fit into the completely male-dominated power sphere, which puts Trump in direct confrontation with other leaders. In the face of someone like Claudia, all of that unravels.”

With her calm demeanor and academic background, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has quickly become one of the most talked-about political figures worldwide. Despite having no experience in foreign policy, over the past two months, she has impressed people inside her country and beyond with her handling of damning tariff threats from United States President Donald Trump, successfully delaying the impositions twice.

Still, Sheinbaum has turned these challenges into political victories for now. She has hosted “festivals” in Mexico City’s city center celebrating the tariff delays with thousands of people attending. According to national polls released on March 3, she has earned an 85 percent approval rating. The positive opinion makes her one of the most popular Mexican presidents in recent history since she was inaugurated as the country’s first woman leader on Oct. 1, 2024.          READ MORE

https://www.passblue.com/2025/03/26/mexicos-president-unites-the-nation-against-trump-while-facing-other-crises-at-home/

A green Earth Constitution & new global alliances could reshape world power

BRICS' Climate Leadership Aims Hang on Healing Deep Divides

Virginia Furness       the japan times

Editor's note: The World Constitution & Parliament Association has been discussing reaching out to BRICS to help launch the campaign for a "new UN" or Earth Constitution (EC) government --the EC is the first green world constitution. The need for a 109 Review of the obsolete UN Charter is gaining interest, but the US, EU and Israel will most likely initially oppose the needed democratic changes. It remains to be seen if China and Russia will join WCPA's mission to establish a Provisional World Parliament under the authority of the Earth Constitution. -- R. Kotila, PhD

EXCERPTS

 LONDON – Ambitions by the BRICS group to take on a greater climate leadership role, building on the success of last month's United Nations nature talks, depend on the countries overcoming fractious politics and entrenched disagreements over money.

As the United States has withdrawn from global efforts to combat climate change and, more generally, shifted its focus to promoting domestic interests, the countries known collectively as BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are well-placed to influence the outcomes of high-profile meetings this year.

They established their credentials by proposing a draft text that ensured agreement at the COP16 talks in February in Rome, a dozen sources said, potentially unlocking billions of dollars to help halt the destruction of ecosystems.

South Africa is boosting its profile as holder of the Group of 20 presidency this year, while another BRICS member, Brazil, prepares to host COP30 climate talks in November.

"BRICS can fill a space that needs to be filled at this moment in the multilateral negotiations," Brazil's chief negotiator at COP16, Maria Angelica Ikeda, said. READ MORE

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/03/10/climate-change/brics-climate-leadership-divides/