January 6, 2025

San Francisco

Master List of Articles DWF NEWS 1/6/25

Israel's world crimes: Nobody has any right to claim they "do not know"

Helena Cobban

Mass Murder or Misguided Policy? Congress Faces Legal Heat

Why Congress Members Face a Lawsuit for Funding Israel's War on Gaza

Norman Solomon        CounterPunch

The ugly face of genocide

Israeli lawmakers demand military destroy all food and energy resources in Gaza

Jonathan Ofir       Mondoweiss

Is Germany complicit in global atrocities?

Open letter addressed to the federal government of Germany: Must stop the annihilation of Palestinians

reprinted in Mondoweiss

Human Rights or Hidden Agendas? The Industry Exposed

How the Human Rights Industry Manufactures Consent for "Regime Change"  

John Perry        CovertActionMagazine

A blueprint for the future: The Earth Constitution in Action

The Earth Constitution and A New Economic & Financial System 

Leopoldo A. Cook

Israel's world crimes: Nobody has any right to claim they "do not know"

Helena Cobban

"Nobody, anywhere in the world, has any right to claim they "do not know" what the Israeli military, with the full and generous support of the U.S. government and it close allies, has been doing to the Palestinians of Gaza for the past 15 months."

EXCERPTS

On Monday, the Electronic Intifada livestream was able to connect with their frequent contributor from Gaza, Abubakr Abed. You can catch the 20-minute convo the EI hosts had with him here.

Here's a part of what he reported:

"I went and visited some families and they are just trapped in very, very flimsy and leaky tents with absolutely nothing at all, they have just one mattress or a couple of mattresses and they are a family of eight members. And most of the families are children. And they just share two blankets and two mattresses... And at the same time, it's not about the freezing temperatures. During the night hours when it rains and it pours, people's tents are flooded. And it's not only flooded by the rains, it's also flooded by the sewage surrounding them because they are living under the sewage and the litter and the stagnant pools of garbage... "

 ... No-one, as I said, can today say that they "do not know" what the tax dollars (or pounds) and the strong military/political support that our Western governments give to Israel are doing to the Palestinians of Gaza.

But Israel's defiance of the "rules-based" international order goes even further than just violating humanitarian norms with impunity. Increasingly in recent months, Israel has also been attacking UN bodies head-on.

The body at greatest risk today is the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA. Back in Fall, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation to ban UNRWA completely from operating in territory under Israeli control. That is, primarily Gaza and the West Bank, regions where the needs of Palestinian refugees are, as we know, extremely intense. That legislation is due to come into effect later this month.      READ MORE

https://mailchi.mp/justworldeducational.org/bleak-january?e=ba2836d2c5

Mass Murder or Misguided Policy? Congress Faces Legal Heat

Why Congress Members Face a Lawsuit for Funding Israel's War on Gaza

Norman Solomon        CounterPunch

EXCERPTS

On the last day of 2024, the deputy general counsel for the House of Representatives formally accepted delivery of a civil summons for two congress members from Northern California. More than 600 constituents of Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson have signed on as plaintiffs in a class action accusing them of helping to arm the Israeli military in violation of “international and federal law that prohibits complicity in genocide.”

Responding to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Thompson said that “achieving peace and securing the safety of civilians won’t be accomplished by filing a lawsuit.” But for well over a year, to no avail, the plaintiffs and many other constituents have been urging him and Huffman to help protect civilians by ending their support for the U.S. pipeline of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

Enabled by that pipeline, the slaughter has continued in Gaza while the appropriators on Capitol Hill work in a kind of bubble. Letters, emails, phone calls, office visits, protests and more have not pierced that bubble. The lawsuit is an effort to break through the routine of indifference.

Organizing together under the name Taxpayers Against Genocide, constituents served notice that no amount of rhetoric could make funding of genocide anything other than repugnant. Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson are the first members of Congress to face such a lawsuit. They won’t be the last.

In recent days, people from many parts of the United States have contacted Taxpayers Against Genocide (via classactionagainstgenocide@proton.me) to see the full lawsuit and learn about how they can file one against their own member of Congress.   READ MORE

[Lawsuit filed on December 19, 2024

By: _/s/Dean Royer____________________________

DEAN ROYER, ESQ.

GINA SZETO-WONG, ESQ.

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

Szeto-Wong Law Firm]

The ugly face of genocide

Israeli lawmakers demand military destroy all food and energy resources in Gaza

Jonathan Ofir       Mondoweiss

EXCERPTS

Israeli lawmakers are urging the military to intensify the genocide in Gaza by destroying any possible sources of energy, food, and water in the territory.

On December 31, eight Israeli government coalition lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee sent a letter to Defense Minister Israel Katz, urging him to intensify the siege of Gaza – not just in the north, but across the territory.

They demand three basic points of action, after the “encirclement and evacuation of the population:” 

1. Remote elimination of all energy sources, that is fuel, solar panels and any relevant means (pipes, cables, generators etc.)
2. Elimination of all food sources including warehouses, water and all relevant means (water pumps etc.)
3. Remote elimination of anyone who moves in the area and does not exit with a white flag during the days of the effective siege. 

The “remote elimination” apparently means the usage of aerial bombings without a physical presence on the ground. 

The letter was sent by Amit Halevy [Likud], Nissim Vaturi [Likud], Ariel Kellner [Likud], Osher Shekalim [Likud], Zvi Sukkot [Religious Zionism], Ohad Tal [Religious Zionism], ...  READ MORE

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/israeli-lawmakers-demand-military-destroy-all-food-and-energy-resources-in-gaza/

Is Germany complicit in global atrocities?

Open letter addressed to the federal government of Germany: Must stop the annihilation of Palestinians

Reprinted in MONDOWEISS

EXCERPTS

 "With utmost horror we see the unfolding genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. We are deeply unsettled. We feel pain and are outraged in the face of this blatant disregard for life – a disregard this German government expects us to accept as necessary and normal. For over one year, the German government has been actively participating in the killing and dehumanization of Palestinians by providing political, financial, military, and legal support to Israel. Germany’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities must stop."

We, the undersigned, demand the German government to stand unwaveringly on the side of justice and international law; to exert pressure on Israel to immediately end the killing, maiming, and destruction of Palestinian life; and to comprehensively re-evaluate its stance and political activities, considering Germany’s state institutions, political parties and politicians have, for the most part, supported the atrocities committed by the Israeli army.

Israel’s atrocity crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are well documented by the UN and major human rights organizations. ... READ MORE

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/open-letter-germany-must-stop-supporting-the-annihilation-of-palestinians/

Human Rights or Hidden Agendas? The Industry Exposed

How the Human Rights Industry Manufactures Consent for "Regime Change"  

John Perry        CovertActionMagazine

 EXCERPTS

 In the words of the United Nations, “human rights” range from “the most fundamental—the right to life—to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.” These rights are supposed to be “inherent to us all.” But this lofty ambition has become distorted, not only by the UN itself but by the whole of what Alfred de Zayas calls the “Human Rights Industry.” 

In part, this industry still attempts to defend real human rights—the most topical example being the remarkable work of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese. But, take almost any other country as an example—such as the much less publicized case of Nicaragua—and the real purpose of most of the human rights industry is exposed.This purpose ... is what Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in their 1988 book described as “manufacturing consent,” that is, promoting people’s acceptance of government policies on the basis of a partial picture of issues (in this case, human rights), denying them access to alternative views which would lead them to oppose such policies. The relevant U.S. government policy here is regime change.

In Nicaragua’s case, U.S. regime-change attempts have a long history. Most recently, the country was the subject of a U.S.-funded coup attempt in 2018. Since then it has also suffered U.S. sanctions, which have cost it an estimated $2.5-3.5 billion in lost aid for poverty-reduction projects.

In The Human Rights Industry, de Zayas makes the point that the real purpose behind such expert groups or commissions is “to denigrate and destabilize the targeted government to facilitate undemocratic ‘regime change’...

They are part of the “hybrid war arsenal” which such countries employ. He goes on to refer specifically to the GHREN’s report on Nicaragua, labeling it a “political pamphlet” and saying that its accusations of crimes against humanity are undeserving of detailed comment...  READ MORE

Editor's note: Earth Constitution activists have been thinking "outside the box" regarding international currency and credit. Proposed world laws drafted by Provisional World Parliament Sessions are intended to serve "we, the people" instead of private bankers.  -- R. Kotila, PhD 

A blueprint for the future: The Earth Constitution in Action

The Earth Constitution and A New Economic & Financial System 

Leopoldo A. Cook 

The Constitution for the Federation of the Earth (aka Earth Constitution) contemplates, among the general functions of the Federation of the Earth (article 1), regulating, among other things, currencies. Likewise, among the specific powers of the World Government (article 4.17) is to establish and operate world financial, banking, credit and insurance institutions, designed to serve human needs; establish, issue and regulate the world currency, credit and exchange.

Planetary Monetary & Credit System

The World Financial Administration is further required (article 8.7.1.5), to establish and operate a Planetary Banking System, making the transition to a common global currency, under the terms of the specific legislation passed by the World Parliament. It is proposed (8.7.1.6) to establish and implement the procedures of a Planetary Monetary and Credit System based upon useful productive capacity and performance, both in goods and services. Such monetary and credit system shall be designated for use within the Planetary Banking System for the financing of the activities and projects of the World Government, and for all other financial purposes approved by the World Parliament, without requiring the payment of interest on bonds, investments or other claim to property or financial ownership or debt. It also contemplates (8.7.1.7) establishing criteria for the extension of financial credit based upon considerations such as people available to work, usefulness, cost/benefit accounting, human and social values, environmental health and esthetics, minimizing disparities, integrity, competent management, appropriate technology, potential production and performance.

In World Law No. 22 (2004) on the Promotion of Economic Equity, a world standard for wages and salaries is established. It mandates the use of Net Gross Domestic Product (discounting destructive elements), not GDP. Each year, this value will be divided by the total hours worked to obtain the average wage. The minimum wage will also be set, as well as the maximum (4 times the minimum). Any income above this must be returned as taxes, donated or reinvested. Equal pay for equal work and a wage scale are established. The currency will be tied to this value, so it will not fluctuate, which will eliminate inflation. Free education, healthcare and social security will be provided. Each year, the full work day will be calculated, which will be lowered based on the unemployment rate to bring it to 0%. The general objective is to increase both wages and quality of life, as well as to reduce the work day and make it less intensive, thanks to technology.

Universal Guaranteed Annual Income 

World Law 42 (2007) creates the Universal Guaranteed Annual Income. It defines the rules and parameters for a guaranteed annual income for all adults within the Earth Federation in relation to income, job loss, age, etc.

World Law 51 denounces that the system called “neoliberal economic globalization” promoted by the World Bank, the IMF, the United States and the World Trade Organization, has led to a planetary economic disaster in which poor countries continue to export their resources to pay unsustainable international debts and offer their cheap labor for products that are not available to their own populations.

Among other measures, it calls to promote a fair and balanced financial and economic system, a single currency is created for humanity based on an hour of work and a basket of essential products, a single currency based on the Central Bank of the Federation of the Earth, making monetary units for all nations of equal value.

Banking converted to a public service 

That Law also contemplates a timetable determined by the World Parliament, which will turn banking on Earth into a public service. Public banks will democratically operate local, regional, national and planetary banking in the service of the peoples of the Earth and their universal prosperity. Banking is clearly the most fundamental of all public service enterprises used in the service of equitable planetary development. There is no good reason for profit-oriented private banking.

Formerly private banks will continue to operate locally in communities around the world and will be staffed largely by the same people who previously worked in private banks. Local banks know local citizens better and can better assess their credit and financial needs.

The planet needs the ratification of the Earth Constitution.

Leopoldo A. Cook A.         +58424-273.8997

Vice Presidente América Latina y el Caribe

Constitución Mundial