What went down in 1956?

What went down in 1956? Image Source:  Google News On the very day this article was hinting at the West 'reluctantly' arming Israel: July 4 – The first Lockheed U-2 spy plane flight over the Soviet Union. [Wikipedia] Image Source:  projectswordtoys.blogspot.com July 30, some weeks ahead of 'The Ten Commandments' (October 5th) première, pious USA claims 'god' and godliness as their own: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a Congress resolution, authorizing "In God we trust" as the national motto. Judging by the American stockpile of nuclear weapons, the motto should be:  "In Nukes We Trust."  While trusting in this nukes 'god', the Americans were nonetheless spying on 'the Reds' and innocently batting their eyes, feigning disinterest in the supply of weapons to Israel or promoting an arms race in the Middle East.  Source - Wikipedia Yet the 1955 figure for nuclear weapons stockpiles shows that the Americans were already running a crazy nukes arms race of their own  . . .  so what do you suppose might have been the real the likelihood of the Yanks and their Western allies shying away from a Middle Eastern arms race, particularly when they considered their ruling elite's interests were threatened, as in 1956? The Herald-Journal article above, just doesn't ring true when you consider the events of the day. C'mon, the West would have been arming Israel without any qualms (and whoever else may have served the interests of Western elites in the region), yet the West is portrayed as 'reluctant', while the scare of 'Red weapons' in Egypt (and the spectre of the 'official enemy') is raised as the focal point, taking the glare off the real agenda:  preservation of Western imperialist interests. The following is a cool list of 1956 events pulled (selectively) from the Wikipedia entry: January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. Between 1899 & 1956 Egyptian-British rule, but in practice British rule. January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming are killed for trespassing by the Waodani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them. January 16 – Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser vows to reconquer Palestine. February 11 – British spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean resurface in the Soviet Union after being missing for 5 years. CAMBRIDGE FIVE February 24 – Doris Day records her most famous song: Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) February 25 – Nikita Khrushchev attacks the veneration of Joseph Stalin as a "cult of personality". May 8 – The constitutional union between Indonesia and the Netherlands is dissolved. June 5 – Elvis Presley performs "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements. June 23 – Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the 2nd president of Egypt. July 4 – The first Lockheed U-2 spy plane flight over the Soviet Union. July 10 – The British House of Lords defeats the abolition of the death penalty. July 26 – Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation. September 13 – The hard disk drive is invented by an IBM team led by Reynold B. Johnson. September 16 – Television broadcasting commences in Australia. September 25 – The submarine transatlantic telephone cable opens. October 5 – Cecil B. DeMille's epic film The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses, is released in the United States. It will be in the top ten of the worldwide list of highest-grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation. October 17 - The world's first commercial nuclear power plant is opened at Calder Hall in England. October 22 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom, France, and Israel secretly meet in and make plans to invade Egypt. October 23 – Hungarian Revolution breaks out against the pro-Soviet government, originating as a student demonstration in Budapest. Hungary attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact. October 26 – Red Army troops invade Hungary. October 29 – Suez Crisis: Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and pushes Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal. October 31 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal. November 4 – 1956 Hungarian Revolution: More Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a revolt that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country. November 7 – Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly [UNGA] adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France, and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately. November 13 – The United States Supreme Court declares illegal the state and municipal laws requiring segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott. November 14 – Fighting ends in Hungary. November 18 – At the reception of the Polish embassy in Moscow Nikita Khrushchev uttered his famous phrase "We will bury you". November 22 – The 1956 Summer Olympics begin in Melbourne, Australia. Dun Dun Dun! Here's the BIG ONE.  About 3 weeks after the Herald-Journal article is published, we have this, surely anticipated, bombshell: July 26 – Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation. [Wikipedia] Call me cynical, but I don't reckon this invasion of Egypt was a last minute surprise put upon an unprepared West. ....................................................................... Some lead-up to the Suez Crisis: Nasser's neutralist policies during the Cold War led to tense relations with Western powers, which withdrew funding for the planned Aswan Dam. Nasser's retaliatory move to nationalize the Suez Canal Company in 1956 was acclaimed within Egypt and the Arab world. Consequently the United Kingdom and France occupied the Suez Canal zone, while Israel invaded the Sinai Peninsula. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser Initially, both the US and the USSR were interested in the development of the dam, but this occurred in the midst of the Cold War, as well as growing intra-Arab rivalries. In 1955 Nasser was trying to portray himself as the leader of Arab nationalism, in opposition to the traditional monarchies, especially Hashemite Iraq following its signing of the 1955 Baghdad Pact. At that time the US feared that communism would spread to the Middle East and saw Nasser as a natural leader of an anti-communist Arab league. The US and Britain offered to help finance construction of the high dam, with a loan of US$270 million, in return for Nasser's leadership in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. While opposed both to communism and imperialism, Nasser presented himself as a tactical neutralist, and sought to work with both the US and the USSR for Egyptian and Arab benefit.  After a particularly criticized raid by Israel against Egyptian forces in Gaza in 1955, Nasser realized that he could not legitimately portray himself as the leader of pan-Arab nationalism if he could not defend his country militarily against Israel. In addition to his development plans, he looked to quickly modernize his military, and turned first to the US. *ISRAEL -  Operation Black Arrow* US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and US President Dwight Eisenhower told Nasser that the US would supply him with weapons only if they were used for defensive purposes and accompanied by US military personnel for supervision and training. Nasser did not accept these conditions and then looked to the Soviet Union for support.  Although Dulles believed that Nasser was only bluffing and that the USSR would not aid Nasser, he was wrong—the USSR promised Nasser a quantity of arms in exchange for a deferred payment of Egyptian grain and cotton.  On 27 September 1955, Nasser announced an arms deal, with Czechoslovakia acting as a middleman for the Soviet support.  Instead of retaliating against Nasser for turning to the Soviets, Dulles sought to improve relations with him. This explains the later offer of December 1955, in which the US and UK pledged $56 and $14 million respectively towards the construction of the dam.   Though the Czech arms deal actually increased US willingness to invest in Aswan, the British cited the deal as a reason for withdrawing their funding. What angered Dulles much more was Nasser's recognition of communist China, which was in direct conflict with Dulles's policy of containment. There are several other reasons why the US decided to withdraw the offer of funding. Dulles believed that the Soviet Union would not fulfill its commitment to help the Egyptians. He was also irritated by Nasser's neutrality and attempts to play both sides of the Cold War. At the time, other western allies in the Middle East, including Turkey and Iraq, were irritated that Egypt, a persistently neutral country, was being offered so much aid. In June 1956 the Soviets offered Nasser $1.12 billion at 2% interest for the construction of the dam. On 19 July the US State Department announced that American financial assistance for the High Dam was "not feasible in present circumstances." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Dam So ... this is just a bit of interesting background to the 1956 Herald-Journal article.

UAE-Funded Canada to train Egyptian police

Canada to train Egyptian police #EgyptTurmoil As part of new agreement, Canada will be directly supporting the same ministry detaining Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohammed Fahmy Tom Stevenson Monday 26 January 2015 18:58 GMT Last update: Friday 30 January 2015 1:00 GMT CAIRO - On 14 and 15 January, Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird visited Egypt with the intention of securing the release of imprisoned Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Fahmy, a dual Canadian-Egyptian national. The minister's team was unsure its effort would be successful, but remained cautiously optimistic, Baird's officials told Canadian journalists in the days leading up to the trip. In the end, they were unsuccessful: Baird sat down with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for talks he described as “fruitful”, but his planned meeting with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was cancelled and Fahmy remains in jail. While in Cairo, however, the minister announced a set of new co-operation agreements between Canada and the Egyptian government, which Baird's officials told journalists were designed to “support stability and prosperity in Egypt”. The plans ranged from training for Egyptian diplomats to funding for local small-to-medium sized businesses, but one of the agreements stood out. With funding from the United Arab Emirates, Canada has agreed to send a team of Canadian police officers to Egypt to train their Egyptian counterparts, and to receive Egyptian police officers for training at the Canadian Police College in the capital, Ottawa. This “trilateral initiative to support the professionalization and skills development of the Egyptian police”, as Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development described the project, means that Canada will be directly supporting staff from Egypt's Interior Ministry, the same ministry that is currently responsible for detaining Fahmy. Adam Hodge, Baird's press secretary, told Middle East Eye this week that initiatives like the Canada-UAE-Egypt police collaboration programmes "will help to encourage stability, security and economic growth in the country". [Ignore the cheer squad] "Minister Baird’s most recent visit to Egypt allowed him to advance Canadian foreign policy interests and support social and economic development, while providing the opportunity to again raise consular issues, particularly concerning the journalist Mohamed Fahmy," Hodge said. [Ignore the cheer squad] Fahmy has been held for over a year, alongside Al Jazeera colleagues Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed. He and Greste were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years. The three will face retrial later this year. In a statement released while Baird was in Cairo, Fahmy criticised the Canadian government's approach to securing his release. “I do believe that Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper could do more to obtain my release if he were to directly intervene in our case,” Fahmy said. Baird finally met with Sisi at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, where he “raised the topic [of Fahmy's detention] over dinner”, Canada's CTV reported.  [Placing considerable political pressure on Sisi?  LOL] Fahmy's family members had expressed hope that he might be included on the list of 584 prisoners expected to be pardoned on the four-year anniversary of Egypt's 25 January revolution. Those pardons have yet to be issued, however, and Fahmy remains behind bars. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/canada-train-egyptian-police-1589938575 COMMENT Canadian politicians have to be the most brazenly disgusting of the whole bunch.  Completely shameless. Only dirtbags go to Davos, I've decided. Politicians don't care about journalists. Everything they do centres around the desires of corporate masters. UAE is certainly in the thick of things. The Sisi government must be a USA, Israeli, Saudi Arabian & UAE backed government. And Baird, he's selling his snake oil all over the Middle East.

Netanyahu on Iran

NETANYAHU ON IRAN Israel PM Netanyahu's stated position on Iran nuclear: The red highlights are mine. Looks like he sees Iran nukes deal as a threat to Israel. Don't know about Iran having 'taken over' Syria and Lebanon.  Think they are friendly, co-operate and share the same beliefs (ie, I think they're Shia Muslims). An 'active front' in Golan Heights and in Southern Lebanon could maybe be a possibility.  The other day there was an Israeli bombing around Golan Heights. Source:  BBC Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 'Israel strike' kills Hezbollah men in Syria's Golan Heights An Israeli air strike has killed six members of Hezbollah in the Syrian sector of the Golan Heights, the Lebanese militant movement says. Among those reported dead were the son of a late military leader, a current commander, and at least one Iranian. Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said they were killed in Quneitra province "during a field reconnaissance mission". Israel said it would not comment, though unnamed sources confirmed an Israeli helicopter strike. They claimed those targeted were conducting reconnaissance for a Hezbollah attack. Those who died include Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of a top military commander killed in 2008, and Mohammed Issa, a Hezbollah field commander, Hezbollah officials said. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - BBC.  --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hezbollah in message to Israelis after Syria strike: Prepare your bomb shelters Thousands of mourners cried 'Death to Israel!' at funeral for Jihad Mughniyeh Hezbollah activists launched a propaganda campaign on social media Monday directed toward Israelis under the slogan: "In two words - prepare your bomb shelters."   EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - i24News ............... The news source, i24News, is Israeli:  headquarters in Tel Aviv, broadcasts in English, French and Arabic and has a $50-million annual budget, according to this French Wikipedia entry. The retaliation referred to in social media probably doesn't mean much; it's social media, people say crap, and anyone can be behind the online posts. Of more concern would be the Hezbollah official response: Initial Hezbollah reaction was muted, with only one warning that it could prove costly for Israel, which is widely believed to have carried out the attack. But a retired senior Israeli general, who is running for the Knesset, suggested the missile attack was linked to the upcoming March 17 elections. The reference to the March 17 election surprised me.  The Israel election came to mind.  Not so much in relation to this incident, but just in terms of the strong Iran position PM may be taking.  But I dismissed thought of elections, only to have the elections pop up again. If I'm reading that right, the Israeli news source is saying that a retired Israeli general is suggesting the Golan missile attack by Israel is linked to the March elections? That's quite some statement to make.    The article goes on to say: Jihad Mughniyeh, 25, commanded a Hezbollah group fighting rebels trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. Unnamed Western intelligence officials cited by Israeli media said that Mughniyeh "plotted large-scale terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, including soldiers, citizens and whole residential areas, in the Golan Heights.” That's surprising.  Thought that Hezbollah was friendly with the Assad government.  But I'm new to looking at this stuff, so I probably had it wrong. Don't know about the merits of information from 'unnamed Western intelligence officials'.  Haaretz reported: The son of slain Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh ... Jihad Mughniyeh and the four others were killed when their convoy was hit. His father, who was on the United States’ most wanted list for attacks on Israeli and Western targets, was assassinated in Damascus in 2008. It is widely assumed that Israel planted the car bomb that killed him; Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied this.  What is interesting (given the current news on the Alberto Nisman investigation, sensational allegations against members of the Argentine government and Nisman's sudden death) is that there is an Argentina association here, in that the father of Jihad Mughniyeh, Imad Mughniyeh, is said to have been responsible for the Israel embassy bombing in Argentina 1992, as well as the AMIA bombing 1994.   Wikipedia on Imad Mughniyeh: Senior member of Hezbollah & Islamic Jihad Organisation ... indicted in Argentina for his alleged role in the 1992 Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires. ... was included in the European Union's list of wanted terrorists and had a US$5 million bounty on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Mughniyeh was formally charged by Argentina for his alleged involvement in the 17 March 1992 bombings of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 and the AMIA cultural building in July 1994, killing 85 people.  In March 2007, the Interpol issued "red notices" for his and others' alleged roles in the attack. [Most Wanted] Later the reward was increased to $25 million. Mugniyeh had been informed that he was at the top of a US military and CIA assassination list. For this reason, he was said to avoid certain areas of Beirut for fear of being killed by CIA operators. ... killed on 12 February 2008 by a car bomb that detonated as he passed by on foot, around 11:00 pm local time in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood of Damascus, Syria. According to The Sunday Times, Mughniyeh was at a reception marking the 29th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution hosted by the Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hojatoleslam Ahmad Musavi. Mughniyeh left the party shortly after 10:30 pm and walked to his Mitsubishi Pajero. The driver seat headrest had been replaced by one with a high-explosive, which detonated when Mughniyah entered the vehicle. The blast completely destroyed the car, left minimum damage on nearby buildings, and killed only Mughniyeh. A Syrian government investigation found that he was killed by a car bomb parked nearby and detonated by remote. Imad's younger son, Jihad Mughniyeh, was killed in an alleged Israeli air strike in the Syrian Golan sector, on January 18, 2015. Five other Hezbollah members and an Iranian Quds Force general were also killed in the attack. Mughniyeh senior was also accused of so many other things that it made him sound like a super villain, which makes you wonder about the accusations. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like Rafah border may be closed for another 3 months:  #BreakingNews: Egyptian sources say curfew extended in northern #Sinai for three months [al Arabiya] Not entirely sure, as I still don't have my bearings in this region.  Know Rafah has been closed and they were looking at reopening (but only for student crossings, I think it was). The following article probably explains why the extension of closure: Egypt: 6 Shot Bodies Found in Arish - Sources North Sinai — North Sinai's al-Arish residents found on Saturday morning six unidentified bodies shot dead, security sources said. The deceased were shot in the head and body, the sources said, adding that they were taken to the Arish General Hospital. The number of security personnel and civilians killed in armed attacks by militants in North Sinai significantly surged during the past few months. Residents of the Sheikh Zuweid region found on August 20, 2014 the decapitated bodies of four civilians. In a video allegedly released in August by the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's deadliest militant group, the group claimed responsibility for the beheading of the four civilians, accusing them of providing intelligence to Israel. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE - allafrica. Online check of maps indicates Rafah in the Northern Sinai area, so I'd wager Rafah's closed: Map attributed to:  Mike King (on this site: http://www.sciy.org/?p=8669) Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 In Sinai: The Uprising of the Bedouin Gaza and Sinai had had the same overlords. Even in recent times—from 1917 until 1982—the British, Egypt, and finally Israel ... Source:  http://www.sciy.org/?p=8669 Really good article I've stumbled across.  Worth reading.  Very interesting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that's just a bit of info on the Middle East that I found interesting. This is probably about as much as I want to know about for this moment. Not sure what to make of it all.

Egypt - Owned by Foreign Oil Companies - $6 BILLION DEBT

EGYPT ----------------------------------------   WOW!!! >> #Germany #Canada #Italy, Tunisian & ors (?) -- oil & gas exploration deals @ $187m signed by #EGYPT >> http://goo.gl/I8pV39 >"Egypt has started repaying ... debt to foreign oil companies, which had reached more than $6 BILLION" -- So Egypt pays THEM! ----------------------------------------    COMMENT Found this snippet interesting. It looks like Egypt's paying the money out instead of the other way around, which I would have expected. Check out the debt to foreign oil companies!  Egypt sounds like it's owned. This info tells you who is particularly cosy with Egypt, I'm guessing.

USA - NSA, NATO, POLITICIANS, PR & EXPLOITATION OF CAUSES

U.S.A.  CIA #USA John Brennan #CIA vs US Senate>>under media glare >> improper access .. http://goo.gl/R6kRC3  >Adm Michael Rogers is new #NSA director Hey, Rogers = Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) dude as well. Bunch of others follow US eg., GCHQ to set up cyber centres. ----------------------------------------   NATO #NATO "the military alliance of the imperialist countries of Europe and North America" [Roger Annis] #NATO >>> " ... capitalism’s ongoing economic and financial instability requires new sources of investment and plunder." [Roger Annis] The imperialists expect #Russia to act like #Egypt’s military rulers, who faithfully police #Palestinian rebellion. [fm Roger Annis] #NATO #NATO >> Intense propaganda drive by NATO ..irrationally demonises #Russia & aims 2 win backing for economic & military aggression [Annis] >Left & liberal in world is CEDING 2 NATO drive, agreeing that, yes, there really is a “problem” with Russia. >Consequences Contrary to Snyder, problem is not a #Russian push to the west, but American drive 2 east that has only intensified since Euromaidan/ Lazare ----------------------------------------   'It's On Us' - Political Exploitation "White House: ‘It’s On Us’ campaign targets culture of sexual assault on campus " >http://goo.gl/dhU1dO >> Biden & Obama kicking off campaign. So what's this about really? Is USA that uncivilised? And if so, why? RT> "Obama: "You don't want 2 be..guy who stops a friend from taking a woman home…It's not just ok to intervene, it's your responsibility." >> Hard to imagine #Putin coming out with this. Guess because they don't stoop to female exploitation for PR in Russia. Somebody needs to tweet Barack #Obama 2 ask WHY sexual violence is so prevalent in land of the brave & the free etc - A land of rapists? ----------------------------------------   COMMENT Just quickly posting the data I looked at.   Will have to come back to expand on it.

Summary

SUMMARY USA #USA>"US, student loan debt now totals roughly $1.2 trillion, surpassing the amount owed through credit card debt" >> http://on.rt.com/xbssud #USA "grim consequences of allowing higher education 2 be used as a vehicle for private profit" StrikeDebt Press Rel/ http://strikedebt.org/debtbuy4/ ----------------------------------------- EGYPT #Surveillance #Egypt - Deep Packet Inspection surveillance system/ 'See Egypt' affiliate to US-based cyber-security firm Blue Coat involved. Unprecedented access soc. media - penetrate WhatsApp, Viber, Skype + more - http://goo.gl/zSWiYx  - al arabiya article >> "Blue Coat detected in Iran, Sudan" + Syria / - http://goo.gl/TQUDS2  - Washington Post article #Egypt monitoring homosexual ppl's content on social media - al arabiya article (France 24 witness reference) ----------------------------------------- UKRAINE   US puppet Yatsy >1 million civil servants>new PURGE LAW - incl/ whole cabinet mins., interior min., intell services, prosecutor's office !!  [BBC] ----------------------------------------- KOSOVO  /  ALBANIA   #Albania #Kosovo CRIME CENTRAL - heroin trade / organ harvesting! - http://goo.gl/ZnER1w - ex-KLA criminal activity role / PM Hashim Thaçi >> Stand by for REPORT from Dick Marty - Paris on Thursday - wiki on Marty = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Marty >> PM Hashim Thaçi - aka 'The Snake' - wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashim_Tha%C3%A7i … - Nice photo w George W Bush .. thanks USA! --- West's "voice of reason" within the KLA" -- !! This is remarkably like all other West meddling! ----------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA   #Auspol >>> Kinky Liberal's - 150 shades of Grey - Is this the WORST Aussie govt in history? >>> http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/george-brandis-new-antiterror-law-allows-asio-to-torture-20140917-10i9hv.html … Basically, the govt’s proposed legislation enables lawful torture! #Auspol -- Is Abbott justifying M/E military action by exploiting blanket media coverage 'terrorist threat' raids? http://goo.gl/3J1ic8 “..danger of terrorism will be shamelessly invoked to divert from ..social inequality & halt opposition 2 US-AU militarism " >>>> Preventative detention powers -- to be expanded? Re:  article above / Australian raid – (https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/18/raid-s18.html) ----------------------------------------- COMMENT The amount of higher education debt in the US shocked me.   As it indicates, it's more than credit card debt!  The Strike Debt article is well worth a read for those in the US. Ukraine's a complete mess.  Amazed IMF advanced any money.  Amazed the US has sunk $5 billion. But I guess they're hoping to get a return in due course. Kosovo & Albania appear to be lawless.  The region's beyond me.  No understanding of what goes on.  However, there is a report due out on Thursday on the human rights abuse allegations, so that should be interesting. The goings on in Australia are shocking.  Crazy budget and crazy proposed laws. The Liberal government sounds incompetent. Massive raid on 'domestic terrorists' or something like that.  Huge operation. Sounds like a media stunt and case of fanning domestic fear to justify sending troops to the Middle East (and maybe distract from the crap budget and whatever else may be going on).   Also worthwhile noting is the issue of mass surveillance, data retention, NSA Five Eye spying on the Australian public, secret court order suppression, laws seeking to extend the of powers to those that appear to have already abused those powers, likely incursions on civil liberties given various new laws (the usual national security angle governments use), the hacking program used by NSW (ie state) police ... on and on it goes. I'm not big on anything that infringes liberties, so moves to grant intelligence organisations even more powers sounds super creepy and undesirable. Not impressed that some guy that got raided and arrested was also subjected to police brutality.   The arresting authorities aren't there to judge anyone or mete out punishment; they're there to perform a function.  In this case, it was to arrest suspects.  So what are they doing belting people? Oh, and there's more:  Australia's drafting laws where it's legal to TORTURE people! What kind of crazy is that? The government will probably get away with pushing through all these crazy laws because nobody cares.  The average person is apathetic, I'd say. The world's gone mad and I want to get off this ride.

HAMAS - COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS OVERVIEW

Council on Foreign Relations HAMAS Hamas is a Palestinian militant movement ... one of the territories' two major political parties. A nationalist-Islamist spinoff of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas was founded in 1987, during the first intifada [uprising], and later emerged at the forefront of armed resistance to Israel. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Its rival party, Fatah, which dominates the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has renounced violence. The support Hamas garners among Palestinians largely owes to the foil it plays to Fatah, which many see as having grown corrupted by power while delivering little through its peaceful cooperation and negotiation with Israel. Hamas candidates won Palestinian elections in 2006, but their government was dismissed in 2007, resulting in the political bifurcation [splitting in two] of the West Bank and Gaza. While Fatah reasserted its authority in the West Bank, Hamas has exercised de facto rule over the Gaza Strip in the years since. Funding As a designated terrorist entity, Hamas is cut off from official assistance that the United States and European Union provide to the PLO in the West Bank. Historically, much of its funding came from Palestinian expatriates and private donors in the Gulf. In addition, some Islamic charities in the West have channeled money to Hamas-backed social service groups, prompting asset freezes by the U.S. Treasury. Egypt and Israel largely closed their borders with Gaza in 2006–2007, restricting the movement of goods and people into and out of the territory. Israel also maintains a maritime blockade. Until recently, a sophisticated network of more than a thousand tunnels circumvented the Egyptian crossing, allowing staples such as food, medicine, and cheap gas for electricity production into the territory, as well as construction materials, cash, and arms. The illicit trade provided some material relief for Gazans, while Hamas levied a tax on the traffic, a major source of its revenue. Changing regional circumstances have not only isolated Hamas politically but also put severe strains on its coffers. With the ascension of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's military-backed government in 2013–14, Cairo is hostile to Hamas, which it sees as an extension of its chief domestic rival, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian army has shut down most of the tunnels entering into its territory in the course of waging a counterinsurgency campaign on its side of the border, in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas distanced itself from Iran, its primary benefactor, due to Tehran's support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his regime's repression of antigovernment activists beginning in 2011. Iran reportedly cut funding to Hamas in the fallout, and sought to bolster its ties to other resistance groups in the region, such as Islamic Jihad. Qatar's financial support largely dried up as well, collateral damage of the Gulf country's efforts to mend ties with its neighbors, with whom it had fallen out in part for backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The cumulative effect of these financial pressures helped push Hamas toward a reconciliation deal with Fatah in April 2014. Yet despite the deal, the Palestinian Authority has not provided salaries for the more than forty thousand Gazan public servants hired by Hamas, which many analysts believe was a contributing factor to the latest outbreak of violence. As Governing Party Hamas' primary base of operation is in the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave of 1.7 million Palestinians, where it has remained the de facto authority since shortly after Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005. The following year, Hamas surprised Western observers by winning a majority of seats by a narrow margin and forming a government. It may have earned votes as a protest movement and for the social services it provided, but the win was likely more a rejection of the incumbent Fatah, which was widely perceived as having grown corrupt at the helm of the PLO and delivering little to Palestinians with its program of negotiation. The outcome was unacceptable to the PLO, which ousted Hamas from power in the West Bank. In Gaza, Hamas routed Fatah's militias in a week of internecine fighting, resulting in a political schism between the two Palestinian territories. As it took over the remnants of PA institutions in the strip, it established such governmental structures as a judiciary and put in place authoritarian institutions. Hamas restricts the Gazan media, the political opposition, and nongovernmental organizations, leaving few mechanisms of accountability. Meanwhile, most Gazans receive social services from UN agencies and humanitarian organizations. "Hamas remains more hard-line than the public it seeks to lead," says Nathan Brown, a scholar of political Islam. The group suffers from relatively low support among Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank. Palestinian pollsters found in early 2014 that in hypothetical legislative elections, Hamas would fall far short of the majority it won in 2006, including among its Gazan base. Fatah garners only marginally greater support. Both parties suffer from the absence of political legitimacy, says CFR's Robert Danin. Rather than a common political agenda, they entered into the reconciliation deal to facilitate new Palestinian elections and break the stagnation in Palestinian politics, he says. Palestinians have not voted for a president since 2008, nor a legislature since 2006, and the political bifurcation [splitting in two] between the West Bank and Gaza is widely unpopular. As Armed Resistance The second intifada [uprising] ended in early 2005 as Israeli security forces grew more successful at thwarting suicide attacks and moved against militant groups in the West Bank. Though Hamas gave up suicide bombing, it remained committed to armed resistance, and as it entrenched in the Gaza Strip, it took to launching rockets and mortars into Israeli territory. The crude weapons are by nature indiscriminate, but also ineffective; ten Israeli civilians were killed between January 2009 and May 2014, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem. It has also attempted incursions into Israeli territory, most famously kidnapping Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. Five years later, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to secure Shalit's release. Yet as Hamas consolidated its authority in Gaza, Israel came to rely on it to contain more radical resistance groups, such as Islamic Jihad. Since Operation Cast Lead, Israel's twenty-two day invasion in the winter of 2008–2009, long periods of détente [relaxation]  between Hamas and Israel have been the norm, a state of mutual deterrence the Israeli government has described as "quiet for quiet." But that state of deterrence is a fragile one, punctuated by intermittent volleys of rockets fired by Gazan militants into Israel and retaliatory Israeli air strikes to degrade their arsenals, a cycle Israelis have come to know as "mowing the lawn." Periods of quiet allowed Hamas and other militant groups to expand and modernize their arsenals of rockets. Egypt brokered a ceasefire that ended a round of fighting in March 2012. Israel effectively delegated to Hamas responsibility for enforcing it by withholding rocket fire and restraining more radical groups in Gaza. In 2013, sixty-three rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza, compared to 2,327 the year prior, according to the Shin Bet, Israel's security agency. In the West Bank, meanwhile, Hamas has been driven underground. Its social and military infrastructure has been dismantled, and many of its members arrested by PA and Israeli security forces. Many Palestinians saw Fatah's security cooperation as a cynical maneuver to crush its rivals. Negotiations between Israel and the PA have generally assumed Hamas would act as a spoiler. Not only would a final-status agreement likely violate its founding principles, but it would also marginalize the movement while vindicating its chief rival, Fatah. A Way Forward? The United States and European Union provisionally recognized the Palestinian reconciliation government [what is that?], which the U.S. State Department characterized as "technocratic," and said did "not include ministers affiliated with Hamas." A government including ministers from Hamas would have triggered a foreign aid cut-off, as Hamas has not recognized the three principles insisted on by the Quartet (the United States, EU, UN, and Russia): renunciation of violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of prior international agreements. Hamas entered into the arrangement politically and economically weak. But in the weeks since, public support for Abbas and the PA has withered due to the collapse of nine months of intensive negotiations aiming to achieve a final-status agreement—the long-sought two-state solution—and the PA's security cooperation during the events that precipitated the current round of violence. In June 2014, Netanyahu accused Hamas of kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teens in the West Bank. Israeli security forces rearrested some of the Palestinian ex-convicts released in the Shalit deal, accusing them of recidivism. Indications that a rogue cell carried out the abductions highlighted that the movement's leadership is unable to control all those affiliated with it, analysts said. Israel responded militarily to the volley of rockets from Gaza that followed. Netanyahu has said he seeks to degrade Hamas' military capacities and restory calm, while politicians on his right flank have called for a broader ground operation that might decisively defeat Hamas, but could result in Israel once again occupying Gaza. Meanwhile, negotiations that would vindicate Abbas' approach over that of Hamas are not in the offing. The most plausible off-ramp, some analysts say, is a deal in which Hamas would disarm in exchange for economic relief for Gaza. But Israeli security concerns have been heightened by revelations of a tunnel infrastructure under the Gaza-Israel border. Israel, then, is even less likely to permit transfers of the construction materials that are necessary to rebuild Gaza. It is unclear whether the reconciliation government can survive this round of violence, particularly if Hamas emerges from it politically empowered. If it survives, some argue, elections can integrate Gaza into Palestinian politics and provide the underpinnings of a more robust cease-fire. A terrorist designation precludes the United States and European Union from speaking directly with Hamas, but Washington has turned to Turkey and Qatar as interlocutors. Additional Resources The Economist's Nicolas Pelham discusses the economics of Gaza's illicit tunnel trade and the emergence of a Hamas-led bureaucracy regulating it. Isolating Gaza has counterproductively entrenched Hamas, writes CFR's Robert Danin, who calls for Gaza's integration in the Palestinian economy and political institutions to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. [...] Leadership Hamas has a host of leadership bodies that perform various political, military, and social functions. According to the U.S. State Department, general policy is set by an overarching consultative body, often referred to as its politburo, which operates in exile.  Local committees manage grassroots issues in Gaza and the West Bank. Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Khaled Meshaal has served as political chief since 1996. The former teacher has been based in Doha [Qatar] since Hamas fell out with Meshaal's previous host, Syria, as Palestinian refugees joined predominantly Sunni protestors in calling for reforms beginning in 2011, prompting a violent government backlash, and eventually, civil war. He is Hamas' most frequent interlocutor with the PA and regional governments. Gaza's de facto prime minister is Ismail Haniyeh, who served as PA prime minister during the brief period between the 2006 legislative elections and his dismissal by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas the following year. Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif command Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Israeli forces assassinated the militia's founder, Salah Shehadeh, in a 2002 airstrike. Fifteen civilians were killed in the attack, focusing Israeli and international scrutiny on such tactics. Yassin, Hamas' founder, was assassinated in 2004. Salah al-Arouri is believed to direct Hamas' armed activities in the West Bank from overseas. http://www.cfr.org/israel/hamas/p8968

Recapping my undertanding:

• Hamas has de facto government status in Gaza because it is up against US and EU non-recognition.  What's EU got to do with it?  
• Presumably because US has decided Israel falls within their 'Eucom' miltary controls, even though it is in the Middle East.
• Hamas designated a terrorist organisation because Hamas stands by armed resistance.
• Previously suicide bombings; but have stopped.
• Hamas cut off from direct communications with US and with EU, because of the US and EU terrorist designation.
• Hamas also cut off from 'official assistance' from US and EU (but it's rival Fatah in West Bank get assistance because they're playing by Israel, US and EU rules? -- or because US and EU don't deal directly with Hamas, so it is down to Fatah to distribute the money?]
• In 2011, Israel had 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
• The Palestinians are blocked off on a sliver of land.
• Israel also maintains a sea blockade.
• Israel appears to have had some kind of accord and periods of truce with Hamas, as long as Hamas contained extreme groups?

The Gaza Palestinians are virtual prisoners and they dig tunnels:

network of more than a thousand tunnels circumvented the Egyptian crossing, allowing staples such as food, medicine, and cheap gas for electricity production into the territory, as well as construction materials, cash, and arms.

The main issue (I think) is that Hamas/Gaza will not:

1. Disarm / renounce violent resistance.
2. Recognise Israel.
3. Accept prior Agreements (see Oslo I Accords - here).  

I've not read the accords info in its entirety.

But gist is:  Fatah signed the Oslo accords - Hamas objected.
So why would Hamas now decide it wants the accord?

Then there is this interesting aside:

In a 2001 video, Netanyahu, reportedly unaware he was being recorded, said: "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]... I said I would, but [that] I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."  Netanyahu then explained how he conditioned his signing of the 1997 Hebron agreement on American consent that there be no withdrawals from "specified military locations", and insisted he be allowed to specify which areas constituted a "military location"—such as the whole of the Jordan Valley. "Why is that important? Because from that moment on I stopped the Oslo Accords", Netanyahu affirmed. [wikipedia]

I'm not 100% clear on what Netanyahu's getting at, but I gather the Oslo accords agreement is worthless if you're a Palestinian wanting to reclaim land pursuant to 1967 borders?

Under the circumstances, it's not surprising there's resistance.

When there is resistance, it's ineffectual (crude weapons; 2009-2014 - ten (10) dead Israeli civilians versus something like 3,000 Palestinians dead). 

Compare also Operation Protective Edge - 3 weeks and 1,800+ Palestinians killed and many thousands wounded + the levelling of homes, infrastructure etc - while the world stood by and kept maintaining in parrot fashion 'Israel has the right to defend itself'.  

Below is a chart of Palestinian and Israeli deaths caused by violence (does not include 8 July 2014 - Operation Protective Edge figures):

Source - IFAMERICANSKNEW - here.  

[Their cited source:  B'Tselem Israel Centre for Human Rights in Occupied Territories]

What was also interesting on the site is the Israeli soldier deaths for 2005:

Causes of Deaths of Israeli Soldiers - 2005

Committed Suicide	30
Illness	14
Accidents	26
Terror Incidents	6

What recently happened to the Israeli boys is deplorable and the retaliatory attack on the Palestinian boy is equally deplorable.

But when I look at the overall statistics (which don't even take into account the 1,800+ recent civilian Palestinian deaths etc, I don't see Israel under any significant threat.

Israel itself refers to quelling Palestinian crude, ineffectual missile lobbing, in periodic resistance, as 'mowing the lawn'.  So it's not exactly a scenario that's proportionate to threat, I would think.

Oddly, Turkey and Qatar are the intermediaries.  But both have close ties to the US.

Fatah has a vested interest, yet it is in a position where it appears to have power over the elected government of Gaza (if I understand correctly).

Forty thousand public servants in Gaza haven't been paid by the Palestinian National Authority, who (pursuant to the Oslo accord) claims 'authority over all the Palestinian areas' -- but, in fact, Hamas has control of Gaza -- minus control of the money:

The PA has received financial assistance from the European Union and the United States (approximately USD 1 bln. combined in 2005). All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006 as a result of the Hamas victory in parliamentary elections.  Shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.  Conflict between Hamas and Fatah later in 2006 resulted in Hamas taking exclusive control over the administration of all PA institutions in the Gaza Strip. Since 9 January 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas' term as President was supposed to have ended and elections were to have been called, Hamas supporters and many in the Gaza Strip have withdrawn recognition for his Presidency and instead consider Aziz Dweik, who served as the speaker of the house in the Palestinian Legislative Council, to be the acting President until new elections can be held.  No Western financial assistance is given to the PA authorities in Gaza and Western governments do not recognize anyone but Abbas to be the President. [wikipedia]

I'm not clear on whether Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) in the West Bank is supposed to channel some of that money to Gaza or not.  Wikipedia on Abbas is - here - see corruption/embezzlement allegations.

Anyway, this has satisfied my curiosity to a degree regarding Hamas.

It would seem that if Hamas would give in, accept the Oslo accords, disarm and recognise Israel, they would suddenly be legitimised by the US and EU?  But, failing that, they are denied recognition, denied funding, denied diplomatic relations (I gather) and blocked from trade (I gather).

Noticed Russia was among 'the quartet' who insist on the 3 points.

Uncertain what Russia has to do with it, apart from being in the UN, I guess.

I think Russia's friendly with Syria and the Palestinians appear to be opposed to Syria, but I'm not sure why.

Could be that Hamas are Sunni Muslim.  But Syria is about 60% Sunni Muslim.  Although the President (Assad) is not - he is Shia (13% of the Syrian population).  Yes, Shia (Alawite), but described 'secular government'.  Not sure.  This is stuff is out of my league. 

Anyway, it looks like Israel is bent on four things:

1. incapacitate Hamas ability to resist (deplete weapons etc), 
2. maintain blockade,
3. get rid of tunnels (incoming weapons, money etc),
4. maintain territory claimed in wars with Palestinians (I think).

But if you pull away and look at the whole picture (how things are split off, how the cards are stacked against the Palestinians in the form of these various organisations (including the European designation for the region), how they've been kept down economically etc), I think there is so much in this that really disempowers (and is maybe designed to disempower?) the Palestinian people in a big way.

So that's Hamas, I think.

No abuse, please, because I'm on my political L-Plates.  LOL.

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Bit of additional info (got curious re EU):

ISRAEL and ECONOMIC UNION

Israel is an associated state of the European Union. The relations between the two are framed in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and the Union for the Mediterranean.

The main legal ties between Israel and the EU are set by the 1995 Association Agreement. Several other agreement cover sectoral issues.

Relations between Israel and the European Union are generally positive on the economic level, though affected by the Israeli–Palestinian conflict on the political level.

EU membership for Israel

Although Israel is not in Europe, it considers itself culturally part thereof.  Israel thus is a member in many European transnational federations and frameworks and takes part in many European sporting events. Various Israeli ministers have expressed that they would like to see Israel in the EU. ... The European Union's former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, stated in 2009 that Israel had a very significant relationship with the EU, amounting almost to full cooperation through participation in the EU's programmes. In 2014, former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar said Israel is needed by the European Union, in an address in a room hired by the Henry Jackson Society in the British House of Commons. Aznar said his report recommends that due to its Western culture and the benefits it brings the European Union, Israel should become a full member of the EU without pre-conditions.  Moreover, like most western European countries, Israel is a member of the OECD and from an economic perspective matches the European Union extremely well, with essentially every significant economic indicator (GDP per capita, government deficit, public debt level, current account surplus, inflation level, etc.) closely matching the overall EU average. Israel is however not included among the nine countries that are part of the EU agenda for future enlargement of the European Union. [wikipedia]

Looks like Israel knows how to network. 

Don't get how countries can elect what they 'consider' themselves as, despite their geographic location.  Hey, I might consider myself a Martian, but that doesn't make me an eligible alien from Mars.  LOL

That Spanish dude founded 'Friends of Israel Initiative' - purpose:  to counter attempts to 'de-legitimatise the State of Israel.'  

Check out the Friends of Israel Initiative.  First point:

The Friends of Israel are based on the following principles:

Israel is a modern, flourishing Western country

Oh, get fucked!  It's in the Middle East.  It's not a 'Western country' by any stretch.

This is hilarious.

Slogan:   "Stand for Israel, Stand for the West"

The 'right to self defence' is in there -- and the bogeyman of Iran nuclear weapons and Islam/Jihadists and Israel the saviour of the WESTERN WORLD (of which Israel is a part) ...   LOL.

It's like something out of one of those NGO's that push an agenda, which is probably what it is.  Doh.

Well, I just checked the wiki on Israel and Israel is still located in the Middle East.

Another way of looking at the EU involvement etc, would be as a strategy to further 'legitimise' Israel, by entrenching it in various organisations, institutions etc. 

In my view, the EU is just another way for Israel to pull the strings.

This is what the Palestinians are up against and they haven't a hope.

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POSTSCRIPT

CHECK THIS OUT:

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/08/07/if-a-genocide-falls-in-the-forest/