October 31, 2024

MASTER LIST of Articles for DWF NEWS 10/31/24

Here's how Israel owns the U.S. Congress

How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar.

Akela Lacy       The Intercept

Generating consent for genocide: The BBC's complicity in Israel's crimes in Palestine and Lebanon

Sharaiz Chaudhry    Mondoweiss

Can the United Nations Be Saved?   

Thant Myint-U     Foreign Affairs   [A review of a book "Liberating the United Nations: Realism with Hope" by Richard Falk & Hans Von Sponeck.]

Speech by President of the People's Republic of China at the 16th BRICS Summit - [October 23, 2014 - Kazan, Russia]

Xi Jinping          Resumen-english.org  

Waiting in the wings, ready to go 

The Trojan Horse Plan for United Nations Reform

Klaus Schlichtmann     TRANSCEND Media Service

The Earth Constitution Emerging in Surprising Ways 

Roger Kotila       DWF NEWS

Here's how Israel owns the U.S. Congress

How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar.

Akela Lacy       The Intercept

Editor's note: How could it be that the U.S. government is a guilty participant in Zionist Israel's genocide against the Palestinians? One answer is to look at who is in power with money and media? Rich Scheck, a veteran geopolitical analyst with credentials as a Harvard Law school graduate, offers this view:

"It is my contention that the Chabad Elite/VERY Deep State has captured the key institutions of power here in America including most obviously the US Congress (how many ovations?) and White House as well as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, the MSM (mainstream media), the Entertainment Industry and now Academia to a level of totalitarian control tantamount to what we saw in Russia and Germany in the last century and China today."

The Intercept's Akela Lacy's research on AIPAC adds some hard facts to Scheck's overall analysis. -- R. Kotila, PhD - DWF NEWS

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Here's how Israel owns the U.S. Congress

How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar.

Akela Lacy       The Intercept

The Intercept followed AIPAC’s money trail to reveal how its political spending impacts the balance of power in Congress.

EXCERPTS

FOR DECADES, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) had been an influential presence on Capitol Hill, working behind the scenes to lobby politicians and their staffers in support of Israel. But ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, AIPAC made a decision that would fundamentally alter its purpose and the contours of American politics. 

After 60 years of issues-based lobbying, AIPAC for the first time opted to spend directly on campaigns. Flush with millions of dollars from loyal donors, among them Republican billionaires and megadonors to former President Donald Trump, AIPAC embraced a new strategy. It would use its vast funds to oust progressive members of Congress who have criticized human rights abuses by Israel and the country’s receipt of billions of U.S. dollars in military funding. 

AIPAC has proven that it can direct huge sums of of money to oust insurgent members of Congress and candidates — removing from the halls of power politicians who aren’t merely critics of U.S. policy toward Israel, but are also supporters of economic, policing, health care, and labor policies that are at odds with the interests of the lobbying group’s wealthy donors. AIPAC has shown that it has the power to reach almost every seat in Congress — and when it takes a shot, it seldom misses. So what comes next? READ MORE

Generating consent for genocide: The BBC's complicity in Israel's crimes in Palestine and Lebanon

Sharaiz Chaudhry    Mondoweiss

The BBC is deceiving the British public and using its position to manufacture consent for Israel's genocidal assault in Palestine and Lebanon.

EXCERPTS

On Saturday, October 12, the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent, Lucy Williamson, joined the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on a tour of an unspecified village that they were occupying in southern Lebanon. Footage showed leveled civilian homes and infrastructure, a familiar image for those who have been following Israel’s trail of destruction across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon over the past year. 

Williamson gave the Israeli military, including one Colonel Yaniv Malka, who also fought in Israel’s failed 2006 invasion, free reign to make claims that provided the justification for their actions in Lebanon. They claimed to have found weapons, including mortars, anti-tank missiles, and mines, inside civilians’ homes; and a house’s garage that was used as an equipment warehouse – all for an alleged October 7-style cross-border operation that Hezbollah was planning.

In response, on Monday, seven BBC Arabic journalists suspended their work for the corporation in protest. Hezbollah also condemned the outlet for its violation of “Lebanese land, sovereignty and… law”, calling on the country’s Ministry of Information to take legal action against the BBC.

By obfuscating Israeli crimes, the BBC is deceiving the British public and using its position to manufacture consent for the ongoing status quo in the region, as well as the UK government’s continued support. By starting history on October 7 and failing to acknowledge over a century of Zionist settler colonialism and acknowledging the legitimacy of all forms of resistance, the BBC is able to portray Israel as the victims, fighting a necessary war (with some regrettable excesses) against its inherently hostile and intransigent neighbors. READ MORE 

https://mondoweiss.net/2024/10/generating-consent-for-genocide-the-bbcs-complicity-in-israels-crimes-in-palestine-and-lebanon/

Can the United Nations Be Saved?   

Thant Myint-U     Foreign Affairs   [A review of a book "Liberating the United Nations: Realism with Hope" by Richard Falk & Hans Von Sponeck.]

[CAN THE UNITED NATIONS BE SAVED?]

Liberating The United Nations: Realism with Hope, by Richard A. Falk and Hans von Sponeck, Stanford University Press, 2024.

22 Oct 2024 – A review of the recently published Liberating the United Nations: Realism with Hope appearing in Foreign Affairs, the most influential journal for mainstream foreign policy analysis. The book was written by Hans von Sponeck, former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, and myself, and published by Stanford University Press a few weeks ago. The title given to this generally positive review essay of our book is deeply misleading. It is not a matter of ‘saving the UN’ but of empowering the UN to fulfill its original missions of war prevention and global security, and overcoming those aspects of its identity that gave institutional hegemony to the winners of World War II; thus we would entitle a review ‘Can Humanity be Saved Through the UN’? - Richard Falk

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Can the United Nations Be Saved? The Case for Getting Back to Basics

Thant Myint-U,  Foreign Affairs

EXCERPTS

Nov/Dec 2024 – The quest to fix the United Nations is almost as old as the organization itself. Eighty years ago, Allied leaders imagined a postwar order in which the great powers would together safeguard a permanent peace. The Security Council, dominated by its five veto-wielding members—the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China—reflected the world as it was. Other, less hierarchical parts of the new UN system were meant to foster international cooperation across a host of issues: the global economy, public health, agriculture, education. The seeds of a future planetary government were evident from the start.

The American legal scholar Richard Falk and the former German diplomat Hans von Sponeck are clearly in the camp of those who would like to see a far stronger UN. In Liberating the United Nations, they make the case for an organization that can deal effectively with the slew of challenges facing the world today, from climate change to nuclear proliferation. They see no alternative. At the same time, they bemoan the UN’s current dysfunctional state and its increasing marginalization from the major issues of the day. The global body, they say, “is more needed than ever before and yet less relevant as a political actor than at any time since its establishment in 1945.”

There’s a deeper challenge still: the nature of the UN itself. Over the decades, the UN has developed its own culture, language, and ways of working—invaluable products of the only attempt ever to build an institution that involves all humanity. But it has long been addicted to process over outcome. The organization’s built-in need to reflect everyone’s views, in every paragraph of every text—in a staff circular as in a General Assembly resolution—too often strips away meaning and value from even its best-intentioned efforts. READ MORE

Speech by President of the People's Republic of China at the 16th BRICS Summit - [October 23, 2014 - Kazan, Russia]

Xi Jinping          Resumen-english.org 

October 23, 2024, Kazan Russia

Dear President Vladimir Putin,

Colleagues,

First of all, I would like to extend my warm congratulations on the successful opening of this summit, along with my thanks to President Putin and our host Russia for their thoughtful arrangements and warm hospitality.

I would like to take this opportunity to again welcome new members to our great BRICS family. The enlargement of BRICS is an important milestone in its history and a landmark event in the evolving international situation. At this summit, we have decided to invite many countries to become partner countries, which is another breakthrough in the development of BRICS. As the Chinese are wont to say, “A virtuous man regards righteousness as the highest interest.” We BRICS countries are brought together by the shared aspiration and prevailing trend of peace and development. We must take full advantage of this summit, maintain the momentum of BRICS development, and think about and design our strategy to address issues that have global impact, determine our future direction and have strategic significance. We must take advantage of this historic summit to set out anew and move forward with one heart and one mind.

Today, as the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, we are facing two fundamental choices: Should we allow the world to descend into the abyss of disorder and chaos, or should we strive to put it back on the path of peace and development? This reminds me of a novel by Russian author Nikolai Chernyshevsky entitled What Is To Be Done? The unwavering determination and passionate drive of the main character are exactly the kind of willpower we need today. The more tumultuous our age, the more reason we have to stand firm on the front lines. With unwavering tenacity, a pioneering spirit and a wisdom to adapt, we must make BRICS the main channel for fostering solidarity and cooperation among nations in the Global South and a vanguard for promoting global governance reform.

We shall build a BRICS committed to peace and act as advocates of common security. We human beings form an indivisible security community. Only by sticking to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security can we pave the way for universal security. The crisis in Ukraine still persists. China and Brazil, in collaboration with other countries in the Global South, have initiated a Friends for Peace group to resolve the Ukraine crisis, which aims to bring together more voices advocating peace. It is imperative for us to uphold the three key principles: non-expansion of the battlefields, non-escalation of hostility and non-firefighting, and to strive for the early de-escalation of the situation. While the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, the flames of war have been rekindled in Lebanon and conflicts between the parties involved are escalating. We must promote an immediate ceasefire and an end to the killing, and make relentless efforts for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question.

We must build a BRICS committed to innovation and act as pioneers of high-quality development. As the development of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, we must move in step with the times and cultivate new-quality productive forces. China has recently set up the China-BRICS Center for Artificial Intelligence Development and Cooperation, and is willing to deepen innovation cooperation with all BRICS countries to release AI dividends. China will establish the BRICS Center for International Research on Deepwater Resources, the China Center for Cooperation on Special Economic Zones in BRICS Countries, the China Center for BRICS Industrial Capabilities, and the BRICS Digital Ecosystem Cooperation Network. We welcome the active participation of all stakeholders to promote the high-quality upgrade of BRICS cooperation.

We shall build a BRICS committed to green development and act as practitioners of sustainable development. Green is the defining color of our time, so it is imperative that BRICS countries proactively adapt to the global mainstream of green and low-carbon transition. China’s high-quality productive capacity, as exemplified by electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, has provided important drivers for global green development. China is willing to leverage its own advantages to expand cooperation with other BRICS countries in green industries, clean energy and green mining, and contribute to green development in the entire industrial chain, with a view to increasing the “green coefficient” of our cooperation and improving the quality of our development.

We must build a BRICS committed to justice and act as a forerunner in reforming the global governance system. The correlation of international forces is evolving profoundly, but the reform of the global governance system has been lagging behind for a long time. We need to practice true multilateralism, adhere to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and orient global governance reform in the light of the principles of equity, fairness, openness and inclusiveness. We must adapt to the prevailing trend of the rise of the Global South, respond positively to the demands of various countries to join BRICS, and advance the process of expanding BRICS membership and establishing the partner country mechanism, enhancing the representativeness and voice of developing countries in global governance.

The current circumstances make the reform of the international financial architecture even more pressing. The BRICS countries must play a leading role in reform. We must deepen fiscal and financial cooperation, promote connectivity among our financial infrastructures, apply high standards of financial security, and expand and strengthen the New Development Bank, with a view to making the international financial system more effectively reflect changes in the global economic landscape.

We must build a BRICS committed to closer people-to-people exchanges and act as promoters of harmonious coexistence among all civilizations. The BRICS countries have a deep and brilliant historical and cultural heritage. We need to actively advocate inclusiveness and coexistence among civilizations, strengthen the exchange of experiences on country governance, and explore the potential for cooperation in areas such as education, sports and the arts, so that diverse civilizations can inspire each other and illuminate the way forward for BRICS. Last year, I proposed the BRICS Digital Education Cooperation Initiative, and I am pleased to note that it has become a reality. China will implement a BRICS digital education capacity building program. We will establish ten learning centers in other BRICS countries in the next five years, and provide training opportunities for 1,000 education administrators, teachers and students, thus deepening and strengthening BRICS people-to-people exchanges.

Colleagues,

China is willing to work together with all BRICS countries to open up a new horizon of the high-quality development of the expanded BRICS cooperation, and join hands with more countries in the Global South to build the community of humanity’s shared future.

Thank you very much.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, unofficial translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English

Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the 16th BRICS Summit | Resumen LatinoAmericano English

Waiting in the wings, ready to go

The Trojan Horse Plan for United Nations Reform

Klaus Schlichtmann     TRANSCEND Media Service

EXCERPTS

 I am one of the original signatories of the Earth Constitution, presented in Innsbruck, Austria in 1977. Proposed by the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA), the text can be downloaded: https://www.wcpa.global/text-of-the-earth-constitution.html/. The organisation at the time was run by Philip (1915-2012) and Margaret Isely (1921-1997). I knew both of them personally well. Presently Dr. Glen T. Martin, a Professor of Philosophy, leads the organisation. He is Executive Director of the Earth Constitution Institute (ECI) and President of the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA). ...

In 1985, the Second Session of the Provisional World Parliament was inaugurated at New Delhi, India, on March 17, with 900 people attending, and active participation of the Indian Government. Opening addresses were delivered by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Parliament), the Hon. Balram Jakhar, who accepted to serve as Honorary Speaker of the Provisional World Parliament, H. E. Zail Singh, the President of India, who applauded the aims of the Parliament, and many others. ...

Not only India, but perhaps China, too, would welcome such an initiative as suggested in this paper! China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Wang Yi, in a statement at the General Debate of the 79th Session of The United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 28, 2024 said:

“This institution, the United Nations, embodies the aspirations of people across the world for lasting peace and common prosperity, and bears witness to the glorious journey of the international community coming together in pursuit of progress. President Xi Jinping stressed on multiple occasions that the role of the U.N. should be strengthened, not weakened. ... (https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/wjbzhd/202409/t20240929_11499995.html)

The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, established in July 2021 in New York, composed of 18 Member States, too, could very well be willing to support the peaceful change proposed by the World Constitution and Parliament Association.

... the wide support for a peaceful world, the expanding ‘BRICS’ intergovernmental organisation, comprising nine members as of date, searching for ways toward creating a just international order, should be considered as a positive as well. 

Human beings face many planetary crises, beyond the climate emergency: the continuing threat of nuclear holocaust, global poverty and misery for 50% of humanity, the waste of trillions of dollars annually on worldwide militarism, and a spectrum of injustices. Addressing these threats will require not just cooperation and good will, but systematic agreements: an Earth Constitution. 

This Constitution exists—it’s ready to go! (Hank Stone)  READ MORE

https://www.transcend.org/tms/2024/10/the-trojan-horse-plan-for-un-reform-part-i/

The Earth Constitution Emerging in Surprising Ways 

Roger Kotila        DWF NEWS

Lately the Earth Constitution (EC) has been getting an unusual amount of attention - both good and "bad," omens of the EC's growing geopolitical importance as the United Nations continues to flounder, unable to prevent wars, unable to stop Zionist Israel's genocidal Gaza land grab by completely extinguishing all Palestinian people - men, women and children.   

The World Constitution & Parliament Association (WCPA), the EC's guardian angel, has been approached by an alleged billionaire indicating that Big Money is starting to take notice of the EC. Even rich people have families whom they (hopefully) want to protect from WWIII and a nuclear nightmare.

But surprisingly, there is now underway an attempted illicit takeover of WCPA to gain control of the EC movement and its Provisional World Parliament. This crude attempted coup d'etat apparently may include Big Money.

Is there worry that the Earth Constitution, if adopted by "we, the people" and/or by the UN itself, might actually be able to end wars, and thus pose a threat to the highly profitable War Business?

An article in DWF NEWS refers to the EC as "the Trojan Horse plan" for United Nations reform. It is true that WCPA's EC is quietly "waiting in the wings ready to go!" Thanks to the Center for UN Constitutional Research (CUNCR), the plan for UN Charter Review under Article 109 is gaining traction. Such a review of the Charter could open the door for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to take seriously the Earth Constitution as an inspiration to establish a "new UN," one which is democratic with enforceable global law.  

More and more world federalists are taking an interest in the EC. Meanwhile, WCPA has gained recognition in countries like India where there is strong popular support, and also has a foothold in Latin America, Africa and Asia.  

WCPA's two track Earth Constitution strategy includes: (1) Establishing 1000 Electoral Districts to represent the world's 7.6 billion people forming the House of Peoples (part of the Provisional World Parliament); and (2) supporting UN Charter Review to transform the UN General Assembly to the House of Nations thus giving all nations for the first time voting rights in a "new UN."  

There are 187 nations within the UN denied voting rights. WCPA urges these nations to compare the outdated UN Charter to the Earth Constitution to determine which governing model is best for dealing with global crises such as war, poverty, human rights and climate change. 

 -- Roger Kotila, PhD [Psychologist, ret.; President, Democratic World Federalists; Editor DWF NEWS; US Vice President WCPA. Website: earthfederation.info and dwfed.org]