mintpressnews--2020-03-31--Remembering Theresa Halsa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance

Amman , Jordan — “ I didn ’ t join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering , I joined out of a sense of patriotism , ” Theresa Halsa , a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an interview in 2009 .
Halsa died in Amman on March 28 , 2020 , after succumbing to cancer .
She was 65 years old .
In 1972 , Halsa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv .
The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , less than 24 hours after landing in Tel-Aviv , Israeli commandos stormed the plane dressed as technicians .
They immediately killed two of the hijackers and captured the other two , Halsa among them .
Two of the commanders that led the raid were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu .
Netanyahu was slightly injured in the arm by a bullet during the raid .
Israel claims it was from friendly fire , the Palestinians claim it was Halsa who caused the injury .
Either way , it was no more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was born in Palestine in 1954 , not far from Akka in the beautiful town of Al-Rameh in the Upper Galilee .
She studied nursing in Nazareth , and as a student , she joined Maki , the Israeli Communist Party which at that time was the political home to many activist Palestinian citizens of Israel .
“ I received my patriotism from my father , ” she says repeatedly .
“ We did not suffer , suffering was not the cause for my joining the struggle , it was the sense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I had a romantic notion that I would find the resistance in the streets , but that ’ s not where it was .
There was no resistance in the streets , ” Halsa says , “ I had to go to Lebanon , ” which at the time was the center of the Palestinian resistance .
“ I made the decision to leave for Lebanon in January , 1971 , ” she said .
Halsa left home without telling her family .
She proceeded north towards Kiryat Shmona , an Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Matala , ( the Israeli colony of Metula ) and from there she crossed the border into Lebanon .
“ The trip , which would normally take an hour and a half , took me three nights and two days.
” She arrived in Marj Ayun hungry and exhausted and from there she was led to a Fateh camp where she was questioned for several days .
“ I had a few months of training with weapons and explosives and then had to swallow the news that I was selected for an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ali Hasan Salame who headed the Palestinian “ Black September ” group .
Halsa never regretted participating in the highjacking , even though it came at great cost to her and her comrades .
Two Palestinians were killed and she was injured .
Furthermore , she and another female hijacker , Rima Tanous , were tried by an Israeli military court , convicted and sentenced to several lifetimes in prison .
Both women would eventually be released in prisoner exchanges .
Halsa ended up serving twelve years in an Israeli prison after which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is hard to say for sure what type of training she and the others received before embarking on this operation , but based on her testimony , it only lasted a few months .
One can assume they learned how to operate small arms , machine guns , and hand grenades , and how to make explosives .
One thing of which we can be sure is that the resources the Palestinian resistance had were not enough to prepare her and her comrades to face the Israeli army , much less an elite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will go through many months of grueling basic training , after which the real work of learning to be a professional soldier begins .
The resources Israel has are far superior and its soldiers are far better trained , equipped and even better fed than anything the Palestinian resistance could ever have hoped for .
Consequently , when the Palestinian resistance fighters faced the Israeli commandos or even regular soldiers , the saga always ended swiftly with the Palestinians paying the heavier price .
Israel made sure that its military was always superior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Since Palestinians have never had more than armed guerrilla forces , which can not compare to a regular army , Israel always had the upper hand .
In an interview with Aljazeera , Halsa said she believed that Palestine will only be returned to its people by the force of resistance , a claim that Israel has proven to be true over and over again .
What this resistance will look like is , of course , another question .
Israel has purposely made it impossible to resolve the Palestine question peaceably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go by , the oppression , the killing , and the dispossession of Palestinian have become more entrenched .
Palestinian efforts at armed resistance and at negotiating have cost the Palestinians dearly and yielded no positive results .
The only option left is to pursue dedicated , uncompromising campaigns of boycotts , divestment and sanctions .
Israel must be isolated , its ambassadors must be sent home and all countries must call their ambassadors back from Tel-Aviv .
The campaign must also demand an end to Israeli participation in the Olympic Games , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultural , sporting events must be closed to Israel .
Theresa Halsa did not live to see her homeland liberated .
She stepped up and was willing to pay the price and indeed she paid a price for her patriotism , but the ultimate goal was not achieved .
One hopes that she will be remembered and that the lessons of her experience will be shared widely so that all of us who are alive today will see her dream of a free Palestine become a reality .
Feature photo | An Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her arm wounded when Israeli troops attacked the Sabena jet held captive by Palestinian guerrillas at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv , Israel on May 9 , 1972 .
Photo | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem .
He is the author of “ The General ’ s Son .
Journey of an Israeli in Palestine , ” and “ Injustice , the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five .
”

Amman, Jordan — “I didn’t join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering, I joined out of a sense of patriotism,” Theresa Halasa, a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an interview in 2009. Halasa died in Amman on March 28, 2020, after succumbing to cancer. She was 65 years old.
In 1972, Halasa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv. The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed to release Palestinians held in Israel prisons. However, less than 24 hours after landing in Tel-Aviv, Israeli commandos stormed the plane dressed as technicians. They immediately killed two of the hijackers and captured the other two, Halasaamong them. Two of the commanders that led the raid were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu was slightly injured in the arm by a bullet during the raid. Israel claims it was from friendly fire, the Palestinians claim it was Halasa who caused the injury. Either way, it was no more than a flesh wound.
A Palestinian Patriot
Theresa Halasa was born in Palestine in 1954, not far from Akka in the beautiful town of Al-Rameh in the Upper Galilee. She studied nursing in Nazareth, and as a student, she joined Maki, the Israeli Communist Party which at that time was the political home to many activist Palestinian citizens of Israel. “I received my patriotism from my father,” she says repeatedly. “We did not suffer, suffering was not the cause for my joining the struggle, it was the sense of patriotism I received from my father.”
“I had a romantic notion that I would find the resistance in the streets, but that’s not where it was. There was no resistance in the streets,” Halasa says, “I had to go to Lebanon,” which at the time was the center of the Palestinian resistance. “I made the decision to leave for Lebanon in January, 1971,” she said.
Halasa left home without telling her family. She proceeded north towards Kiryat Shmona, an Israeli city near the Lebanese border, then to Matala, (the Israeli colony of Metula) and from there she crossed the border into Lebanon. “The trip, which would normally take an hour and a half, took me three nights and two days.” She arrived in Marj Ayun hungry and exhausted and from there she was led to a Fateh camp where she was questioned for several days.
“I had a few months of training with weapons and explosives and then had to swallow the news that I was selected for an operation.” The hijacking was planned by Ali Hasan Salame who headed the Palestinian “Black September” group.
Armed Resistance
Halasa never regretted participating in the highjacking, even though it came at great cost to her and her comrades. Two Palestinians were killed and she was injured. Furthermore, she and another female hijacker, Rima Tanous, were tried by an Israeli military court, convicted and sentenced to several lifetimes in prison. Both women would eventually be released in prisoner exchanges. Halasa ended up serving twelve years in an Israeli prison after which she was exiled to Jordan.
It is hard to say for sure what type of training she and the others received before embarking on this operation, but based on her testimony, it only lasted a few months. One can assume they learned how to operate small arms, machine guns, and hand grenades, and how to make explosives. One thing of which we can be sure is that the resources the Palestinian resistance had were not enough to prepare her and her comrades to face the Israeli army, much less an elite commando unit.
An Israeli combat soldier will go through many months of grueling basic training, after which the real work of learning to be a professional soldier begins. The resources Israel has are far superior and its soldiers are far better trained, equipped and even better fed than anything the Palestinian resistance could ever have hoped for. Consequently, when the Palestinian resistance fighters faced the Israeli commandos or even regular soldiers, the saga always ended swiftly with the Palestinians paying the heavier price.
Israel made sure that its military was always superior to any other military in the region. Since Palestinians have never had more than armed guerrilla forces, which cannot compare to a regular army, Israel always had the upper hand.
Israeli Oppression
In an interview with Aljazeera, Halasa said she believed that Palestine will only be returned to its people by the force of resistance, a claim that Israel has proven to be true over and over again. What this resistance will look like is, of course, another question. Israel has purposely made it impossible to resolve the Palestine question peaceably and without confrontation. As the years go by, the oppression, the killing, and the dispossession of Palestinian have become more entrenched.
Palestinian efforts at armed resistance and at negotiating have cost the Palestinians dearly and yielded no positive results. The only option left is to pursue dedicated, uncompromising campaigns of boycotts, divestment and sanctions. Israel must be isolated, its ambassadors must be sent home and all countries must call their ambassadors back from Tel-Aviv. The campaign must also demand an end to Israeli participation in the Olympic Games, the World Cup, all academic, cultural, sporting events must be closed to Israel.
Theresa Halasa did not live to see her homeland liberated. She stepped up and was willing to pay the price and indeed she paid a price for her patriotism, but the ultimate goal was not achieved. One hopes that she will be remembered and that the lessons of her experience will be shared widely so that all of us who are alive today will see her dream of a free Palestine become a reality.
Feature photo | An Israeli grabs the arm of Theresa Halasa, her arm wounded when Israeli troops attacked the Sabena jet held captive by Palestinian guerrillas at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 9, 1972. Photo | AP
Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem. He is the author of “The General’s Son. Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”


mintpressnews--2020-03-30--Biden’s Foreign Policy Team Hints at War with China, Conflict with Russia

After closely conversing with senior foreign policy experts on Joe Biden ’ s team , Thomas Wright , Director of the Center on the United States and Europe for the influential think-tank the Brookings Institute , penned an unintentionally hair-raising article on what a Biden presidency would look like for the rest of the world .
He explains to his elite audience of Washington insiders that Biden ’ s prospective staff are “ worried about rising authoritarianism and see the world as a more geopolitically competitive place , particularly in U.S.-China relations , ” and see war and conflict with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden ’ s team believes the U.S. ’ entire industrial policy should be designed around how to “ compete with China.
” Their “ top priorities , ” Wright notes , are “ dealing with authoritarian governments include defending democracy and tackling corruption , as well as understanding how these challenges intersect with new technologies , such as 5G , artificial intelligence , quantum computing , and synthetic biology.
” Described by The Economist as “ American ’ s most prestigious think tank , ” the Brookings Institute is a non-partisan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D.C with massive operating revenue of over $ 117 million .
It is , in other words , likely to have extremely good information on the Biden team ’ s priorities , which , according to Wright , are working closely with Europe to quash the “ China challenge ” and to “ reform the global economy.
” He does note that there is some debate within the Democratic elite on China .
For instance , “ what level of sanctions should the United States impose ” on Beijing and “ how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for granted , it seems , is that that some level is necessary .
The questions of whether any sanctions are necessary , or even if they are legal , appear beyond doubt .
The People ’ s Republic is constantly denounced in Washington for its response to the Hong Kong protests , treatment of Uighurs and its supposed mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak .
The article presents President Obama ’ s “ pivot to Asia ” policy that saw China encircled with American military bases as half-hearted .
Biden Democrats consider “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threats a “ top priority.
” However , as media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting noted , “ modernization ” has long been a euphemism for “ massive military buildup.
” Therefore , it appears that China is well and truly in the crosshairs of a Biden presidency .
An increase in hostilities with Russia is also described as a near certainty .
Top Democrats claim that the likelihood is that President Biden will take office “ after significant Russian interference in the election , and therefore may need to impose tough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gone from charging Putin for their loss in 2016 to pre-emptively blaming him in 2020 .
“ Democrats have also learned some lessons from Trump , ” Wright says .
Chief among them was that Trump arming Ukrainian forces – including Neo-Nazis – went reasonably well , which suggests more aggressive provocations against Moscow will be in order .
Indeed , a surprising amount of the article is devoted to praising Trump , claiming that “ catastrophe also did not strike ” when he bombed Syria , “ killing large numbers of Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , saw Trump ’ s strong-arming as a successful tactic and believe Democrats could do the same to “ prevent further erosion of democracy ” and to “ deter aggression.
” Pulling out of the Middle East Perhaps the most surprising prediction is that Biden ’ s team will consider the Middle East a far less important region than administrations that came before it .
It is an open question , apparently , whether the U.S. will maintain such a strong presence in the area , preferring to redeploy resources to China and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has anything to do with fracking bringing energy independence to America or the gradual shift away from fossil fuels .
Regardless of the reasoning , Biden ’ s team ’ s vision for 2021 closely mirrors the Pentagon ’ s .
As MintPress News reported last month , the Pentagon ’ s $ 705 billion budget request indicates “ a shifting focus from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a greater emphasis on the types of weapons that could be used to confront nuclear giants like Russia and China.
” The Pentagon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is trying to acquire “ more advanced high-end weapon systems , which provide increased standoff , enhanced lethality and autonomous targeting for employment against near-peer threats in a more contested environment.
” Biden is currently the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nomination .
However , cognitive decline , a distinct lack of popular policy proposals and a new rape allegation against the former vice-president threaten to stop his momentum .
Enthusiasm , even among his supporters , is extremely low ; a new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 53 percent of Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about him , with only 24 percent of Biden supporters said the same .
Worse still for the former Delaware senator , 15 percent of Bernie Sanders voters told pollsters they would vote for Trump if Biden was the nominee .
This news might come as some relief to Chinese or Russians who do not wish to be bombed like people across the Middle East were when Biden was vice-president .
However , American foreign policy is notoriously bi-partisan , indicating that those countries will likely be in the crosshairs whichever party wins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Joe Biden , center , stands as an Army carry team moves the body of a US soldier killed in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base , Del , Nov. 15 , 2016 .
Steve Ruark | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

After closely conversing with senior foreign policy experts on Joe Biden’s team, Thomas Wright, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe for the influential think-tank the Brookings Institute, penned an unintentionally hair-raising article on what a Biden presidency would look like for the rest of the world. He explains to his elite audience of Washington insiders that Biden’s prospective staff are “worried about rising authoritarianism and see the world as a more geopolitically competitive place, particularly in U.S.-China relations,” and see war and conflict with Beijing and Moscow as close to inevitable.
War with Beijing
Biden’s team believes the U.S.’ entire industrial policy should be designed around how to “compete with China.” Their “top priorities,” Wright notes, are “dealing with authoritarian governments include defending democracy and tackling corruption, as well as understanding how these challenges intersect with new technologies, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and synthetic biology.”
Described by The Economist as “American’s most prestigious think tank,” the Brookings Institute is a non-partisan, centrist behemoth at the heart of Washington, D.C with massive operating revenue of over $117 million. It is, in other words, likely to have extremely good information on the Biden team’s priorities, which, according to Wright, are working closely with Europe to quash the “China challenge” and to “reform the global economy.”
He does note that there is some debate within the Democratic elite on China. For instance, “what level of sanctions should the United States impose” on Beijing and “how far the U.S. should go.” Taken for granted, it seems, is that that some level is necessary. The questions of whether any sanctions are necessary, or even if they are legal, appear beyond doubt. The People’s Republic is constantly denounced in Washington for its response to the Hong Kong protests, treatment of Uighurs and its supposed mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The article presents President Obama’s “pivot to Asia” policy that saw China encircled with American military bases as half-hearted. Biden Democrats consider “modernizing the military” to reflect new threats a “top priority.” However, as media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting noted, “modernization” has long been a euphemism for “massive military buildup.” Therefore, it appears that China is well and truly in the crosshairs of a Biden presidency.
Cold War 2.0
An increase in hostilities with Russia is also described as a near certainty. Top Democrats claim that the likelihood is that President Biden will take office “after significant Russian interference in the election, and therefore may need to impose tough new sanctions.” Thus, Democrats have gone from charging Putin for their loss in 2016 to pre-emptively blaming him in 2020. “Democrats have also learned some lessons from Trump,” Wright says. Chief among them was that Trump arming Ukrainian forces – including Neo-Nazis – went reasonably well, which suggests more aggressive provocations against Moscow will be in order.
Indeed, a surprising amount of the article is devoted to praising Trump, claiming that “catastrophe also did not strike” when he bombed Syria, “killing large numbers of Russian mercenaries.” Policy thinkers, he claims, saw Trump’s strong-arming as a successful tactic and believe Democrats could do the same to “prevent further erosion of democracy” and to “deter aggression.”
Pulling out of the Middle East
Perhaps the most surprising prediction is that Biden’s team will consider the Middle East a far less important region than administrations that came before it. It is an open question, apparently, whether the U.S. will maintain such a strong presence in the area, preferring to redeploy resources to China and Russia. Unstated is whether this decision has anything to do with fracking bringing energy independence to America or the gradual shift away from fossil fuels.
Regardless of the reasoning, Biden’s team’s vision for 2021 closely mirrors the Pentagon’s. As MintPress News reported last month, the Pentagon’s $705 billion budget request indicates “a shifting focus from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a greater emphasis on the types of weapons that could be used to confront nuclear giants like Russia and China.” The Pentagon’s precise wording notes that it is trying to acquire “more advanced high-end weapon systems, which provide increased standoff, enhanced lethality and autonomous targeting for employment against near-peer threats in a more contested environment.”
Biden is currently the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nomination. However, cognitive decline, a distinct lack of popular policy proposals and a new rape allegation against the former vice-president threaten to stop his momentum. Enthusiasm, even among his supporters, is extremely low; a new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 53 percent of Trump’s backers are “very enthusiastic” about him, with only 24 percent of Biden supporters said the same. Worse still for the former Delaware senator, 15 percent of Bernie Sanders voters told pollsters they would vote for Trump if Biden was the nominee. This news might come as some relief to Chinese or Russians who do not wish to be bombed like people across the Middle East were when Biden was vice-president. However, American foreign policy is notoriously bi-partisan, indicating that those countries will likely be in the crosshairs whichever party wins in November.
Feature photo | Vice President Joe Biden, center, stands as an Army carry team moves the body of a US soldier killed in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base, Del, Nov. 15, 2016. Steve Ruark | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-04-01--Coronavirus Aid for Regime Change: Washington’s 13 Point Plan for Venezuela

The State Department released what it called its “ democratic transition framework for Venezuela ” yesterday ; a 13-point plan for the removal of Nicolas Maduro and a radical overhaul of the country ’ s political system .
The principal and most fundamental change Washington proposes is to “ restore all powers to the National Assembly , ” the one branch of government the right-wing pro-U.S. opposition coalition currently holds .
This would place the entire country under the control of political groups that have not won a general election in Venezuela since 1993 .
In point number three , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign security forces depart immediately.
” Here , they are presumably not speaking about the U.S.-linked far-right Colombian death squads that have been known to penetrate the countries ’ long and porous border , but about Cuban security advisors and medical personnel .
The United States is currently waging a silent war against the Caribbean island , pressuring countries to refuse its medical aid during the coronavirus pandemic .
U.S.-backed regimes in Brazil and Bolivia both expelled Cuban doctors from their countries upon coming to power , with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who were there to “ create guerilla cells and indoctrinate people.
” Brazil ’ s Health Ministry is now asking them to return even as its president continues to deny COVID-19 is a serious problem .
According to the State Department ’ s transition plan , all political offices in Venezuela will be liquidated and their positions filled with people chosen by the National Assembly – i.e .
the Venezuelan opposition .
This includes the National Electoral Council , the Supreme Court , the Council of State and the presidency .
The National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled it was in contempt of court .
During the previous elections , a few new members of the National Assembly were tried for vote buying , but the institution refused to recognize the Supreme Court , instead demanding all power be given to it , hence the three-year-long constitutional crisis .
Only after the National Assembly has handpicked the new Council of State , who , in turn , choose the president , will the U.S. begin to lift sanctions , the State Department claims .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and Inter-American Development Bank ( all institutions that have attempted to overthrow the socialist government ) will be there to flood the country with foreign loans .
The IMF recently refused an emergency COVID–19 loan to Venezuela unless Maduro stepped down .
The American proposal is unlikely to attract interest from Venezuela .
“ It ’ s a little hard to see how this is going to be convincing to the major players in the government , ” said David Smilde , an anti-Maduro academic at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Ellner , a government-sympathetic professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz , suggested that the IMF ’ s actions would only “ add to resentment against Washington ” worldwide , also noting that many in the opposition coalition actually favor dialogue and working with the government during the pandemic .
The American proposal has not attracted interest from the Venezuelan government , President Maduro dismissing it outright .
While Maduro holds very low approval ratings , he was democratically elected in 2013 and 2018 in some of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Around 150 foreign observers , including three teams of seasoned election officials who produced reports , watched the 2018 vote .
Among them was former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero , who said , “ I do not have any doubt about the voting process .
It is an advanced automatic voting system.
” Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa agreed , praising its “ impeccable ” organization .
In 2012 former president Jimmy Carter described Venezuela ’ s system as “ the best in the world.
” Nevertheless , the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposing sanctions on the country .
An American Special Rapporteur for the U.N. , Alfred de Zayas , visited Venezuela and denounced them , accusing Trump of “ crimes against humanity ” and estimating that they were responsible for over 100,000 deaths .
The international community has called for all U.S. sanctions to be halted .
After a series of secret negotiations , the U.S. government immediately backed self-declared president Juan Guaidó ’ s audacious coup attempts last year .
Guaidó , head of the National Assembly , insisted that Maduro was illegitimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While he was lauded in Washington , even receiving a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats at Trump ’ s state of the union address , his attempts were largely rejected by the Venezuelan public .
The most recent poll showed him with a 10 percent approval rate and a 68.5 disapproval rating among his country folk .
He was unceremoniously removed from his position as National Assembly chair by his own coalition in January .
The State Department ’ s most recent announcement is another in a long line of efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party – a chain of attempts going back to at least 2002 .
This was made explicit by special Venezuela representative Elliott Abrams : “ The plan is not so much an effort to change Nicolas Maduro ’ s mind as it is to appeal to everyone else in Venezuela to change his mind for him , ” he told a briefing .
However , it is far from clear whether it will have this effect .
Steve Ellner , a government-sympathetic professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ add to resentment against Washington ” worldwide , also noting that many in the opposition coalition actually favor dialogue and working with the government during the pandemic .
Like Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo ’ s previous calls for the military to rebel and overthrow Maduro , the State Department ’ s transition plan will likely be ignored inside Venezuela .
With a global pandemic threatening to hit the country , Venezuelans likely have more important things to think about .
Feature photo | Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams , right , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , left , speaks at a news conference , March 31 , 2020 , in Washington .
Andrew Harnik | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune @ @ @ @

The State Department released what it called its “democratic transition framework for Venezuela” yesterday; a 13-point plan for the removal of Nicolas Maduro and a radical overhaul of the country’s political system. The principal and most fundamental change Washington proposes is to “restore all powers to the National Assembly,” the one branch of government the right-wing pro-U.S. opposition coalition currently holds. This would place the entire country under the control of political groups that have not won a general election in Venezuela since 1993.
In point number three, the U.S. also demands that “all foreign security forces depart immediately.” Here, they are presumably not speaking about the U.S.-linked far-right Colombian death squads that have been known to penetrate the countries’ long and porous border, but about Cuban security advisors and medical personnel. The United States is currently waging a silent war against the Caribbean island, pressuring countries to refuse its medical aid during the coronavirus pandemic. U.S.-backed regimes in Brazil and Bolivia both expelled Cuban doctors from their countries upon coming to power, with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro claiming that they were “costumed doctors” who were there to “create guerilla cells and indoctrinate people.” Brazil’s Health Ministry is now asking them to return even as its president continues to deny COVID-19 is a serious problem.
According to the State Department’s transition plan, all political offices in Venezuela will be liquidated and their positions filled with people chosen by the National Assembly – i.e. the Venezuelan opposition. This includes the National Electoral Council, the Supreme Court, the Council of State and the presidency. The National Assembly has been in limbo ever since 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled it was in contempt of court. During the previous elections, a few new members of the National Assembly were tried for vote buying, but the institution refused to recognize the Supreme Court, instead demanding all power be given to it, hence the three-year-long constitutional crisis. Only after the National Assembly has handpicked the new Council of State, who, in turn, choose the president, will the U.S. begin to lift sanctions, the State Department claims. However, it promises, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Inter-American Development Bank (all institutions that have attempted to overthrow the socialist government) will be there to flood the country with foreign loans. The IMF recently refused an emergency COVID–19 loan to Venezuela unless Maduro stepped down.
The American proposal is unlikely to attract interest from Venezuela. “It’s a little hard to see how this is going to be convincing to the major players in the government,” said David Smilde, an anti-Maduro academic at the Washington Office for Latin America. Steve Ellner, a government-sympathetic professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, suggested that the IMF’s actions would only “add to resentment against Washington” worldwide, also noting that many in the opposition coalition actually favor dialogue and working with the government during the pandemic.
The American proposal has not attracted interest from the Venezuelan government, President Maduro dismissing it outright. While Maduro holds very low approval ratings, he was democratically elected in 2013 and 2018 in some of the most internationally monitored elections in the world. Around 150 foreign observers, including three teams of seasoned election officials who produced reports, watched the 2018 vote. Among them was former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who said, “I do not have any doubt about the voting process. It is an advanced automatic voting system.” Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa agreed, praising its “impeccable” organization. In 2012 former president Jimmy Carter described Venezuela’s system as “the best in the world.”
Nevertheless, the U.S. government refused to recognize the results, imposing sanctions on the country. An American Special Rapporteur for the U.N., Alfred de Zayas, visited Venezuela and denounced them, accusing Trump of “crimes against humanity” and estimating that they were responsible for over 100,000 deaths. The international community has called for all U.S. sanctions to be halted.
After a series of secret negotiations, the U.S. government immediately backed self-declared president Juan Guaidó’s audacious coup attempts last year. Guaidó, head of the National Assembly, insisted that Maduro was illegitimate and he should be made president. While he was lauded in Washington, even receiving a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats at Trump’s state of the union address, his attempts were largely rejected by the Venezuelan public. The most recent poll showed him with a 10 percent approval rate and a 68.5 disapproval rating among his country folk. He was unceremoniously removed from his position as National Assembly chair by his own coalition in January.
The State Department’s most recent announcement is another in a long line of efforts by Washington to unseat the ruling socialist party – a chain of attempts going back to at least 2002. This was made explicit by special Venezuela representative Elliott Abrams: “The plan is not so much an effort to change Nicolas Maduro’s mind as it is to appeal to everyone else in Venezuela to change his mind for him,” he told a briefing. However, it is far from clear whether it will have this effect. Steve Ellner, a government-sympathetic professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, suggested that recent actions would only “add to resentment against Washington” worldwide, also noting that many in the opposition coalition actually favor dialogue and working with the government during the pandemic. Like Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo’s previous calls for the military to rebel and overthrow Maduro, the State Department’s transition plan will likely be ignored inside Venezuela. With a global pandemic threatening to hit the country, Venezuelans likely have more important things to think about.
Feature photo | Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams, right, accompanied by State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, left, speaks at a news conference, March 31, 2020, in Washington. Andrew Harnik | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-04-01--New York Mobilizes Rikers Island Prisoners To Dig Mass Graves for Coronavirus Victims

One month ago , MintPress News reported that , in the case of a particularly bad COVID-19 ( coronavirus ) epidemic in New York City , authorities had drawn up contingency plans to dump the bodies in mass graves on Hart Island , a small island just off the Bronx in the Long Island Sound .
The plans had been drawn up by former New York Mayor Micheal Bloomberg during his time in office .
The article might have appeared alarmist at the time , considering that the city had only one confirmed coronavirus case and patient zero was self-isolating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month later , things are bad .
Really bad .
City authorities have confirmed 41,771 cases of the novel coronavirus as of March 31 , with nearly 1,100 deaths .
Yesterday The Intercept ’ s Ryan Grim confirmed that what we reported last month had indeed come to pass and that prisoners from the notorious Rikers Island jail are now being made to dig graves .
Inmates have been promised the princely sum of $ 6 per hour to risk their lives disposing of the disease-ridden victims , with authorities insisting that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a dubious claim considering that hospital workers in the city have had to improvise , wearing plastic trash bags as shields against the deadly virus .
Bizarrely , a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio ’ s office said the offer was not related to coronavirus .
This is hard to believe ; inmates already conduct burials for thousands of poor , homeless or unidentified people on the island and , until yesterday , were paid only $ 0.50 for the work .
Why New York City would suddenly be offering prisoners a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic collapse that has seen even frontline doctors and nurses having their pay drastically slashed , if not due to the desperately urgent need for more labor , is unclear .
The job is being presented as a voluntary service .
But in reality , prisoners have little choice .
American jails are an expensive place to be , with prisoners charged exorbitant fees for phone and video calls , food and other basic necessities .
Furthermore , it is not clear whether those on Hart Island will actually be putting themselves at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While New York City is one of the global epicenters of the crisis , the prison has an ( official ) coronavirus infection rate seven times higher , and the situation inside the walls has reached near-collapse .
An attorney from Brooklyn Defenders shared information she had received from inmates and their desperate relatives .
3,200 people are incarcerated , mostly in cramped dorms of 40-50 people , less than two feet apart from one another .
Some have no bed and must sleep on dirty floors .
The word “ shit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actual feces and has not been washed off for days because guards have stopped cleaning , essentially abandoning them to their fate .
Many have stopped coming to work , displaying symptoms of the coronavirus themselves .
Over 300 inmates and staff have tested positive already , and the number is rapidly rising .
When inmates ask for cleaning products , they are denied .
There are no medical appointments because clinics are full .
After sharing these stories , she ended by saying “ I ’ m begging you [ Governor Cuomo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this moment , which is shattering so many of our norms , to demand humanity for them.
” It may now be too late .
Hart Island has a particularly grizzly past .
In the 1860s it was used as a training ground for Union troops and a prison camp for Confederate soldiers .
It was also the site of a notorious psychiatric institution , a tuberculosis sanatorium and a quarantine zone for those who caught typhoid .
Today , nobody who goes to the island leaves , except those doing the burials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or unknown New Yorkers have been interred there , none of whom have a tombstone .
In the 1980s the first victims of the AIDS crisis were buried in special , extra-deep graves by authorities who were ignorant of how the disease spread .
In the past month , Governor Cuomo has emerged as a hero of the centrist wing of the Democrats for his supposedly responsible leadership in a time of crisis .
He was lauded in the press for his announcement that prisoners would be making hand sanitizer to fight the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk that the party ’ s higher ups want him to replace Joe Biden as their candidate for the November election .
In a bizarre and extremely tetchy interview with his brother , CNN anchor Chris Cuomo , he denied he had any intention to run for president .
Yet Andrew himself presided over sustained and widespread attacks on the public health system .
As The Nation stated , “ Cutting Medicaid has been a priority of Cuomo ’ s since he took office in 2011.
” Furthermore , it transpired that inmates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Cuomo having bought it in from abroad to score a publicity coup .
Thus , it appears likely that , because of the governor ’ s inactions , Rikers Island prisoners will likely be burying some of their cellmates very soon .
It is doubtful the $ 6 will be much comfort .
Feature photo | Rikers Island inmates line up for a work shift in New York .
Bebeto Matthews | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

One month ago, MintPress News reported that, in the case of a particularly bad COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic in New York City, authorities had drawn up contingency plans to dump the bodies in mass graves on Hart Island, a small island just off the Bronx in the Long Island Sound. The plans had been drawn up by former New York Mayor Micheal Bloomberg during his time in office.
The article might have appeared alarmist at the time, considering that the city had only one confirmed coronavirus case and patient zero was self-isolating in her Manhattan home. But one month later, things are bad. Really bad. City authorities have confirmed 41,771 cases of the novel coronavirus as of March 31, with nearly 1,100 deaths.
Yesterday The Intercept’s Ryan Grim confirmed that what we reported last month had indeed come to pass and that prisoners from the notorious Rikers Island jail are now being made to dig graves. Inmates have been promised the princely sum of $6 per hour to risk their lives disposing of the disease-ridden victims, with authorities insisting that they will be given adequate personal protective equipment, a dubious claim considering that hospital workers in the city have had to improvise, wearing plastic trash bags as shields against the deadly virus.
Bizarrely, a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio’s office said the offer was not related to coronavirus. This is hard to believe; inmates already conduct burials for thousands of poor, homeless or unidentified people on the island and, until yesterday, were paid only $0.50 for the work. Why New York City would suddenly be offering prisoners a 1,200 percent pay rise during a nationwide economic collapse that has seen even frontline doctors and nurses having their pay drastically slashed, if not due to the desperately urgent need for more labor, is unclear.
The job is being presented as a voluntary service. But in reality, prisoners have little choice. American jails are an expensive place to be, with prisoners charged exorbitant fees for phone and video calls, food and other basic necessities. Furthermore, it is not clear whether those on Hart Island will actually be putting themselves at more risk than those staying inside Rikers.
While New York City is one of the global epicenters of the crisis, the prison has an (official) coronavirus infection rate seven times higher, and the situation inside the walls has reached near-collapse. An attorney from Brooklyn Defenders shared information she had received from inmates and their desperate relatives. 3,200 people are incarcerated, mostly in cramped dorms of 40-50 people, less than two feet apart from one another. Some have no bed and must sleep on dirty floors. The word “shit” was daubed on the wall with actual feces and has not been washed off for days because guards have stopped cleaning, essentially abandoning them to their fate. Many have stopped coming to work, displaying symptoms of the coronavirus themselves. Over 300 inmates and staff have tested positive already, and the number is rapidly rising. When inmates ask for cleaning products, they are denied. There are no medical appointments because clinics are full. After sharing these stories, she ended by saying “I’m begging you [Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio] to use this moment, which is shattering so many of our norms, to demand humanity for them.” It may now be too late.
Hart Island has a particularly grizzly past. In the 1860s it was used as a training ground for Union troops and a prison camp for Confederate soldiers. It was also the site of a notorious psychiatric institution, a tuberculosis sanatorium and a quarantine zone for those who caught typhoid. Today, nobody who goes to the island leaves, except those doing the burials. Over one million poor, homeless or unknown New Yorkers have been interred there, none of whom have a tombstone. In the 1980s the first victims of the AIDS crisis were buried in special, extra-deep graves by authorities who were ignorant of how the disease spread.
https://twitter.com/alx/status/1244798481266618368
In the past month, Governor Cuomo has emerged as a hero of the centrist wing of the Democrats for his supposedly responsible leadership in a time of crisis. He was lauded in the press for his announcement that prisoners would be making hand sanitizer to fight the virus. Whispers have turned to open talk that the party’s higher ups want him to replace Joe Biden as their candidate for the November election. In a bizarre and extremely tetchy interview with his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, he denied he had any intention to run for president. Yet Andrew himself presided over sustained and widespread attacks on the public health system. As The Nation stated, “Cutting Medicaid has been a priority of Cuomo’s since he took office in 2011.” Furthermore, it transpired that inmates were not making hand sanitizer at all; Cuomo having bought it in from abroad to score a publicity coup. Thus, it appears likely that, because of the governor’s inactions, Rikers Island prisoners will likely be burying some of their cellmates very soon. It is doubtful the $6 will be much comfort.
Feature photo | Rikers Island inmates line up for a work shift in New York. Bebeto Matthews | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-04-02--John Whitehead: The Attack on Civil Liberties in the Age of COVID-19

You can always count on the government to take advantage of a crisis , legitimate or manufactured .
This coronavirus pandemic is no exception .
Not only are the federal and state governments unraveling the constitutional fabric of the nation with lockdown mandates that are sending the economy into a tailspin and wreaking havoc with our liberties , but they are also rendering the citizenry fully dependent on the government for financial handouts , medical intervention , protection and sustenance .
Unless we find some way to rein in the government ’ s power grabs , the fall-out will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for years—government overreach , invasive surveillance , martial law , abuse of powers , militarized police , weaponized technology used to track and control the citizenry , and so on—has coalesced into this present moment .
The government ’ s shameless exploitation of past national emergencies for its own nefarious purposes pales in comparison to what is presently unfolding .
Deploying the same strategy it used with 9/11 to acquire greater powers under the USA Patriot Act , the police state—a.k.a .
the shadow government , a.k.a .
the Deep State—has been anticipating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a wish list of lockdown powers that could be trotted out and approved at a moment ’ s notice .
It should surprise no one , then , that the Trump Administration has asked Congress to allow it to suspend parts of the Constitution whenever it deems it necessary during this coronavirus pandemic and “ other ” emergencies .
It ’ s that “ other ” emergencies part that should particularly give you pause , if not spur you to immediate action ( by action , I mean a loud and vocal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apolitical , nonpartisan resistance ) .
In fact , the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) has been quietly trotting out and testing a long laundry list of terrifying powers that override the Constitution .
We ’ re talking about lockdown powers ( at both the federal and state level ) : the ability to suspend the Constitution , indefinitely detain American citizens , bypass the courts , quarantine whole communities or segments of the population , override the First Amendment by outlawing religious gatherings and assemblies of more than a few people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy , muzzle dissidents , “ stop and seize any plane , train or automobile to stymie the spread of contagious disease , ” reshape financial markets , create a digital currency ( and thus further restrict the use of cash ) , determine who should live or die… You ’ re getting the picture now , right ?
These are powers the police state would desperately like to make permanent .
Bear in mind , however , that these powers the Trump Administration , acting on orders from the police state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and authorize barely scratch the surface of the far-reaching powers the government has already unilaterally claimed for itself .
Unofficially , the police state has been riding roughshod over the rule of law for years now without any pretense of being reined in or restricted in its power grabs by Congress , the courts or the citizenry .
This current pandemic is a test to see whether the Constitution—and our commitment to the principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights—can survive a national crisis and true state of emergency .
Here ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat to the nation—whether it ’ s civil unrest , school shootings , alleged acts of terrorism , or the threat of a global pandemic in the case of COVID-19—the government has a tendency to capitalize on the nation ’ s heightened emotions , confusion and fear as a means of extending the reach of the police state .
This coronavirus epidemic , which has brought China ’ s Orwellian surveillance out of the shadows and caused Italy to declare a nationwide lockdown threatens to bring the American Police State out into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not seen before .
Every day brings a drastic new set of restrictions by government bodies ( most have been delivered by way of executive orders ) at the local , state and federal level that are eager to flex their muscles for the so-called “ good ” of the populace .
This is where we run the risk of this whole fly-by-night operation going completely off the rails .
It ’ s one thing to attempt an experiment in social distancing in order to flatten the curve of this virus because we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospitals and exposing the most vulnerable in the nation to unavoidable loss of life scenarios .
However , there ’ s a fine line between strongly worded suggestions for citizens to voluntarily stay at home and strong-armed house arrest orders with penalties in place for non-compliance .
More than three-quarters of all Americans have now been ordered to stay at home and that number is growing as more states fall in line .
Schools have canceled physical classes , many for the remainder of the academic year .
Many of the states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
At least three states ( Nevada , North Carolina , and Pennsylvania ) have ordered non-essential businesses to close .
In Washington , DC , residents face 90 days in jail and a $ 5,000 fine if they leave their homes during the coronavirus outbreak .
Residents of Maryland , Hawaii and Washington state also risk severe penalties of up to a year in prison and a $ 5,000 fine for violating the stay-at-home orders .
Violators in Alaska could face jail time and up to $ 25,000 in fines .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state , with a few exceptions .
New York City , the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. , is offering its Rikers Island prisoners $ 6 an hour to help dig mass graves .
In San Francisco , cannabis dispensaries were included among the essential businesses allowed to keep operating during the city-wide lockdown .
New Jersey ’ s governor canceled gatherings of any number , including parties , weddings and religious ceremonies , and warned the restrictions could continue for weeks or months .
One city actually threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the virus .
Oregon banned all nonessential social and recreational gatherings , regardless of size .
Rhode Island has given police the go-ahead to pull over anyone with New York license plates to record their contact information and order them to self-quarantine for 14 days .
South Carolina ’ s police have been empowered to break up any public gatherings of more than three people .
Of course , there are exceptions to all of these stay-at-home orders ( in more than 30 states and counting ) , the longest of which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( doctors , firefighters , police and grocery store workers ) can go to work .
Everyone else will have to fit themselves into a variety of exceptions in order to leave their homes : for grocery runs , doctor visits , to get exercise , to visit a family member , etc .
Throughout the country , more than 14,000 “ Citizen-Soldiers ” of the National Guard have been mobilized to support the states and the federal government in their fight against the coronavirus .
Thus far , we have not breached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ martial law has yet to be overtly imposed ( although an argument could be made to the contrary given the militarized nature of the American police state ) .
It ’ s just a matter of time before all hell breaks loose .
If this is not the defining point at which we cross over into all-out totalitarianism , then it is at a minimum a test to see how easily we will surrender .
Generally , the government has to show a compelling state interest before it can override certain critical rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press , search and seizure , etc .
Most of the time , it lacks that compelling state interest , but it still manages to violate those rights , setting itself up for legal battles further down the road .
These lockdown measures—on the right of the people to peaceably assemble , to travel , to engage in commerce , etc.—unquestionably restrict fundamental constitutional rights , which might pass muster for a short period of time , but can it be sustained for longer stretches legally ?
That ’ s the challenge before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days and weeks potentially stretch into months-long quarantines .
At the moment , the government believes it has a compelling interest—albeit a temporary one—in restricting gatherings , assemblies and movement in public in order to minimize the spread of this virus .
The key point is this : while we may tolerate these restrictions on our liberties in the short term , we should never fail to be on guard lest these one-time constraints become a slippery slope to a total lockdown mindset .
What we must guard against , more than ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so accustomed to our prison walls—these lockdowns , authoritarian dictates , and police state tactics justified as necessary for national security—that we allow the government to keep having its way in all things , without any civic resistance or objections being raised .
Most of all , don ’ t be naïve : the government will use this crisis to expand its powers far beyond the reach of the Constitution .
Travel too far down that slippery slope , and there will be no turning back .
As I make clear in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the American People , ” if you wait to speak out—stand up—and resist until the government ’ s lockdowns impact your freedoms personally , it could be too late .
Just because we ’ re fighting an unseen enemy in the form of a virus doesn ’ t mean we have to relinquish every shred of our humanity , our common sense , or our freedoms to a nanny state that thinks it can do a better job of keeping us safe .
Whatever we give up willingly now—whether it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manage our private affairs , the right to have a say in how the government navigates this crisis , or the few rights still left to us that haven ’ t been disemboweled in recent years by a power-hungry police state—we won ’ t get back so easily once this crisis is past .
Neither should we .
Feature Photo | A member of the Maryland National Guard in a Humvee outside a COVID-19 testing facility in a parking lot of FedEx Field , March 30 , 2020 , in Landover , Md @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whitehead is a constitutional attorney , author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute .
His book “ Battlefield America : The War on the American People ” is available online at www.amazon.com .
Whitehead can be contacted at johnw @ rutherford.org .
Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org .

You can always count on the government to take advantage of a crisis, legitimate or manufactured.
This coronavirus pandemic is no exception.
Not only are the federal and state governments unraveling the constitutional fabric of the nation with lockdown mandates that are sending the economy into a tailspin and wreaking havoc with our liberties, but they are also rendering the citizenry fully dependent on the government for financial handouts, medical intervention, protection and sustenance.
Unless we find some way to rein in the government’s power grabs, the fall-out will be epic.
Everything I have warned about for years—government overreach, invasive surveillance, martial law, abuse of powers, militarized police, weaponized technology used to track and control the citizenry, and so on—has coalesced into this present moment.
The government’s shameless exploitation of past national emergencies for its own nefarious purposes pales in comparison to what is presently unfolding.
Deploying the same strategy it used with 9/11 to acquire greater powers under the USA Patriot Act, the police state—a.k.a. the shadow government, a.k.a. the Deep State—has been anticipating this moment for years, quietly assembling a wish list of lockdown powers that could be trotted out and approved at a moment’s notice.
It should surprise no one, then, that the Trump Administration has asked Congress to allow it to suspend parts of the Constitution whenever it deems it necessary during this coronavirus pandemic and “other” emergencies.
It’s that “other” emergencies part that should particularly give you pause, if not spur you to immediate action (by action, I mean a loud and vocal, apolitical, nonpartisan outcry and sustained, apolitical, nonpartisan resistance).
In fact, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been quietly trotting out and testing a long laundry list of terrifying powers that override the Constitution.
We’re talking about lockdown powers (at both the federal and state level): the ability to suspend the Constitution, indefinitely detain American citizens, bypass the courts, quarantine whole communities or segments of the population, override the First Amendment by outlawing religious gatherings and assemblies of more than a few people, shut down entire industries and manipulate the economy, muzzle dissidents, “stop and seize any plane, train or automobile to stymie the spread of contagious disease,” reshape financial markets, create a digital currency (and thus further restrict the use of cash), determine who should live or die…
You’re getting the picture now, right?
These are powers the police state would desperately like to make permanent.
Bear in mind, however, that these powers the Trump Administration, acting on orders from the police state, are officially asking Congress to recognize and authorize barely scratch the surface of the far-reaching powers the government has already unilaterally claimed for itself.
Unofficially, the police state has been riding roughshod over the rule of law for years now without any pretense of being reined in or restricted in its power grabs by Congress, the courts or the citizenry.
This current pandemic is a test to see whether the Constitution—and our commitment to the principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights—can survive a national crisis and true state of emergency.
Here’s what we know: whatever the so-called threat to the nation—whether it’s civil unrest, school shootings, alleged acts of terrorism, or the threat of a global pandemic in the case of COVID-19—the government has a tendency to capitalize on the nation’s heightened emotions, confusion and fear as a means of extending the reach of the police state.
This coronavirus epidemic, which has brought China’s Orwellian surveillance out of the shadows and caused Italy to declare a nationwide lockdown threatens to bring the American Police State out into the open on a scale we’ve not seen before.
Every day brings a drastic new set of restrictions by government bodies (most have been delivered by way of executive orders) at the local, state and federal level that are eager to flex their muscles for the so-called “good” of the populace.
This is where we run the risk of this whole fly-by-night operation going completely off the rails.
It’s one thing to attempt an experiment in social distancing in order to flatten the curve of this virus because we can’t afford to risk overwhelming the hospitals and exposing the most vulnerable in the nation to unavoidable loss of life scenarios. However, there’s a fine line between strongly worded suggestions for citizens to voluntarily stay at home and strong-armed house arrest orders with penalties in place for non-compliance.
More than three-quarters of all Americans have now been ordered to stay at home and that number is growing as more states fall in line.
Schools have canceled physical classes, many for the remainder of the academic year.
Many of the states have banned gatherings of more than 10 people.
At least three states (Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) have ordered non-essential businesses to close.
In Washington, DC, residents face 90 days in jail and a $5,000 fine if they leave their homes during the coronavirus outbreak. Residents of Maryland, Hawaii and Washington state also risk severe penalties of up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine for violating the stay-at-home orders. Violators in Alaska could face jail time and up to $25,000 in fines.
Kentucky residents are prohibited from traveling outside the state, with a few exceptions.
New York City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., is offering its Rikers Island prisoners $6 an hour to help dig mass graves.
In San Francisco, cannabis dispensaries were included among the essential businesses allowed to keep operating during the city-wide lockdown.
New Jersey’s governor canceled gatherings of any number, including parties, weddings and religious ceremonies, and warned the restrictions could continue for weeks or months. One city actually threatened to prosecute residents who spread false information about the virus.
Oregon banned all nonessential social and recreational gatherings, regardless of size.
Rhode Island has given police the go-ahead to pull over anyone with New York license plates to record their contact information and order them to self-quarantine for 14 days.
South Carolina’s police have been empowered to break up any public gatherings of more than three people.
Of course, there are exceptions to all of these stay-at-home orders (in more than 30 states and counting), the longest of which runs until June 10. Essential workers (doctors, firefighters, police and grocery store workers) can go to work. Everyone else will have to fit themselves into a variety of exceptions in order to leave their homes: for grocery runs, doctor visits, to get exercise, to visit a family member, etc.
Throughout the country, more than 14,000 “Citizen-Soldiers” of the National Guard have been mobilized to support the states and the federal government in their fight against the coronavirus.
Thus far, we have not breached the Constitution’s crisis point: martial law has yet to be overtly imposed (although an argument could be made to the contrary given the militarized nature of the American police state).
It’s just a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.
If this is not the defining point at which we cross over into all-out totalitarianism, then it is at a minimum a test to see how easily we will surrender.
Generally, the government has to show a compelling state interest before it can override certain critical rights such as free speech, assembly, press, search and seizure, etc. Most of the time, it lacks that compelling state interest, but it still manages to violate those rights, setting itself up for legal battles further down the road.
These lockdown measures—on the right of the people to peaceably assemble, to travel, to engage in commerce, etc.—unquestionably restrict fundamental constitutional rights, which might pass muster for a short period of time, but can it be sustained for longer stretches legally?
That’s the challenge before us, of course, if these days and weeks potentially stretch into months-long quarantines.
At the moment, the government believes it has a compelling interest—albeit a temporary one—in restricting gatherings, assemblies and movement in public in order to minimize the spread of this virus.
The key point is this: while we may tolerate these restrictions on our liberties in the short term, we should never fail to be on guard lest these one-time constraints become a slippery slope to a total lockdown mindset.
What we must guard against, more than ever before, is the tendency to become so accustomed to our prison walls—these lockdowns, authoritarian dictates, and police state tactics justified as necessary for national security—that we allow the government to keep having its way in all things, without any civic resistance or objections being raised.
Most of all, don’t be naïve: the government will use this crisis to expand its powers far beyond the reach of the Constitution.
That’s how it starts.
Travel too far down that slippery slope, and there will be no turning back.
As I make clear in my book “Battlefield America: The War on the American People,” if you wait to speak out—stand up—and resist until the government’s lockdowns impact your freedoms personally, it could be too late.
Just because we’re fighting an unseen enemy in the form of a virus doesn’t mean we have to relinquish every shred of our humanity, our common sense, or our freedoms to a nanny state that thinks it can do a better job of keeping us safe.
Whatever we give up willingly now—whether it’s basic human decency, the ability to manage our private affairs, the right to have a say in how the government navigates this crisis, or the few rights still left to us that haven’t been disemboweled in recent years by a power-hungry police state—we won’t get back so easily once this crisis is past.
The government never cedes power willingly.
Neither should we.
Feature Photo | A member of the Maryland National Guard in a Humvee outside a COVID-19 testing facility in a parking lot of FedEx Field, March 30, 2020, in Landover, Md. Andrew Harnik | AP
John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney, author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His book “Battlefield America: The War on the American People” is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected]. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.


mintpressnews--2020-04-02--New Reports Place Israel Among World’s 25 “Declining Democracies”

Tunisia is the Middle East ’ s greatest success story , according to the findings of the V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019 .
One of the world ’ s most regarded annual reports on democracy and good governance , the V-Dem Report is produced by the V-Dem ( Varieties of Democracy ) Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden .
While Tunisians can be proud of the prospect of democracy in their country , Israelis have little to be proud of .
A country that has long prided itself , however misleadingly , of being ‘ the only democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost the title to Tunisia , a small North-African Arab nation of just over 11 million people .
Understandably , Tunisians might find their overall ranking ahead of well-established democracies less meaningful , considering that the politically unstable country is still undergoing a painful democratic transition .
However , considering that the country has registered a sizable improvement in every democratic aspect examined by the V-Dem Report , Tunisia truly deserves the title of “ the star pupil of democratization of the past ten years.
” Israel , however , has been , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democracy .
Since it was established atop the ruins of the Palestinian homeland , Israel has relentlessly touted its democratic virtues while excluding millions of Palestinian Arabs from any form of democratic participation .
There are 5 million Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in East Jerusalem , the West Bank and the Gaza Strip .
Not only are they denied the right to exercise any form of real democracy , they are also denied their very freedom of speech , expression , and movement .
Meanwhile , 2 million Palestinian Arabs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treated as second or third-class citizens , subjected to numerous discriminatory laws that aim at curtailing their political , cultural , and economic aspirations and rights In fact , the institutional racism and fear-mongering against Arab minorities in Israel has been the rallying cry among most of Israel ’ s political parties , whether of the right , center or left .
No wonder , then , that Israel has recently received its worst rating ever in the Freedom House ’ s ‘ Freedom in the World 2020 ’ report .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world ’ s 25 “ declining democracies ” , which , unsurprisingly , included the United States .
In its report , Freedom House had many harsh words for right-wing Israeli Prime Minister , Benjamin Netanyahu , described as “ at the vanguard of nationalistic and chauvinistic populism.
” “ Netanyahu has taken increasingly drastic steps to maintain the loyalty of far-right groups , entrenching and expanding West Bank settlements at the expense of the moribund Palestinian peace process , banning foreign activists based on their opposition to such policies , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right of self-determination in Israel to the Jewish people , ” the report stated .
This partly explains the significant drop in Israel ’ s score of six points in the democracy index since 2009 , seen by Freedom House as “ an unusually large decline for an established democracy ” .
Here , one is left to ponder why the belated acknowledgment in Israel ’ s undemocratic credentials , despite the fact that Israel would have scored poorly in all indexes of democratic standards at any point in the past .
Certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israeli claim to true democracy , thanks to his government ’ s assault on civil liberties and freedoms even within Israel ’ s Jewish constituencies .
But was it fair that Israel was still classified as a ‘ liberal democracy ’ when millions of Palestinian Arabs and other minority groups were the main and perhaps only victims of Israel ’ s institutional racism and discrimination ?
In other words , it seems that Israel began losing its democratic accolades when Netanyahu dared upset the socio-political equilibrium among Israel ’ s Jewish , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may , the jig is up .
If the Freedom House report was not clear enough regarding Israel ’ s failed democracy , the V-Dem Report is more damning and detailed .
According to the Swedish report ’ s ‘ Political Corruption Index ’ , Israel is the 35th most politically corrupt country , followed immediately by Botswana in Southern Africa .
Interestingly , the United Arab Emirates is six spots ahead of Israel in that category , and one spot ahead of the United States .
If that score was not bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s best performance in all other indexes : Israel occupied the 51st spot on the ‘ Liberal Democracy Index ’ , 53rd in the ‘ Egalitarian Component Index ’ , 55th in the ‘ Electoral Democracy Index ’ , 57th in the ‘ Liberal Component Index ’ and 76th in the ‘ Deliberative Component Index ’ .
It gets worse .
Particularly revealing is Israel ’ s score in the ‘ Participatory Component Index ’ , where Israel claimed the 80th position , lagging behind Congo , Zambia , Somaliland and Myanmar – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international attention over its massacres and ethnic cleansing campaigns of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian country .
This is not in the least surprising as Israel has long perceived its Palestinian Arab population , in fact all Palestinians , as a ‘ demographic bomb ’ , whose diffusion can only happen through exclusion , marginalization or outright ethnic cleansing .
The Nation-State Law of 2018 was not an innocent attempt of a country eager to define itself ( oddly enough , seven decades after its founding ) , but a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a prolonged system of apartheid .
Netanyahu has summed up this sentiment perfectly when he exclaimed , prior to the March 2015 general elections that “ the right-wing government is in danger .
Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.
” In Netanyahu ’ s mind , in fact , by the calculation of mainstream Israeli politicians , the participation of Arabs in the democratic process is a threat that must be eliminated , exactly as their increasing numbers are also a demographic threat that has to be thwarted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neither the Freedom House nor the V-Dem Institute are conveying new information regarding Israel ’ s democratic status .
Israel never deserved the badge of democracy , which it used to rationalize all of its wars , sieges , and mistreatment of Palestinians , in the first place .
Now , even that false pretense of democracy is lost , likely forever .
According to the very democracy standards created by Western institutions , Tunisia is now the only democracy in the Middle East .
More important than badges and titles , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now be exposed for its crimes against Palestinians without such long-overdue criticism having to be filtered through Israel ’ s false democracy discourse .
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle .
He is the author of five books .
His latest is “ These Chains Will Be Broken : Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons ” ( Clarity Press , Atlanta ) .
Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs ( CIGA ) , Istanbul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ website is www.ramzybaroud.net

Tunisia is the Middle East’s greatest success story, according to the findings of the V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019. One of the world’s most regarded annual reports on democracy and good governance, the V-Dem Report is produced by the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
While Tunisians can be proud of the prospect of democracy in their country, Israelis have little to be proud of. A country that has long prided itself, however misleadingly, of being ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’, has lost the title to Tunisia, a small North-African Arab nation of just over 11 million people.
Understandably, Tunisians might find their overall ranking ahead of well-established democracies less meaningful, considering that the politically unstable country is still undergoing a painful democratic transition. However, considering that the country has registered a sizable improvement in every democratic aspect examined by the V-Dem Report, Tunisia truly deserves the title of “the star pupil of democratization of the past ten years.”
Israel, however, has been, once more, exposed for its charade democracy. Since it was established atop the ruins of the Palestinian homeland, Israel has relentlessly touted its democratic virtues while excluding millions of Palestinian Arabs from any form of democratic participation.
There are 5 million Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Not only are they denied the right to exercise any form of real democracy, they are also denied their very freedom of speech, expression, and movement.
Meanwhile, 2 million Palestinian Arabs, who are citizens of Israel, are treated as second or third-class citizens, subjected to numerous discriminatory laws that aim at curtailing their political, cultural, and economic aspirations and rights
In fact, the institutional racism and fear-mongering against Arab minorities in Israel has been the rallying cry among most of Israel’s political parties, whether of the right, center or left. No wonder, then, that Israel has recently received its worst rating ever in the Freedom House’s ‘Freedom in the World 2020’ report.
According to the report, Israel was classified among the world’s 25 “declining democracies”, which, unsurprisingly, included the United States.
In its report, Freedom House had many harsh words for right-wing Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described as “at the vanguard of nationalistic and chauvinistic populism.”
“Netanyahu has taken increasingly drastic steps to maintain the loyalty of far-right groups, entrenching and expanding West Bank settlements at the expense of the moribund Palestinian peace process, banning foreign activists based on their opposition to such policies, and enacting a discriminatory law that reserved the right of self-determination in Israel to the Jewish people,” the report stated.
This partly explains the significant drop in Israel’s score of six points in the democracy index since 2009, seen by Freedom House as “an unusually large decline for an established democracy”.
Here, one is left to ponder why the belated acknowledgment in Israel’s undemocratic credentials, despite the fact that Israel would have scored poorly in all indexes of democratic standards at any point in the past.
Certainly, Netanyahu has managed to decimate any Israeli claim to true democracy, thanks to his government’s assault on civil liberties and freedoms even within Israel’s Jewish constituencies. But was it fair that Israel was still classified as a ‘liberal democracy’ when millions of Palestinian Arabs and other minority groups were the main and perhaps only victims of Israel’s institutional racism and discrimination?
In other words, it seems that Israel began losing its democratic accolades when Netanyahu dared upset the socio-political equilibrium among Israel’s Jewish, not Arab population.
Be that as it may, the jig is up. If the Freedom House report was not clear enough regarding Israel’s failed democracy, the V-Dem Report is more damning and detailed.
According to the Swedish report’s ‘Political Corruption Index’, Israel is the 35th most politically corrupt country, followed immediately by Botswana in Southern Africa. Interestingly, the United Arab Emirates is six spots ahead of Israel in that category, and one spot ahead of the United States.
If that score was not bad enough, it was actually Israel’s best performance in all other indexes: Israel occupied the 51st spot on the ‘Liberal Democracy Index’, 53rd in the ‘Egalitarian Component Index’, 55th in the ‘Electoral Democracy Index’, 57th in the ‘Liberal Component Index’ and 76th in the ‘Deliberative Component Index’. It gets worse.
Particularly revealing is Israel’s score in the ‘Participatory Component Index’, where Israel claimed the 80th position, lagging behind Congo, Zambia, Somaliland and Myanmar – the latter being the focal point of international attention over its massacres and ethnic cleansing campaigns of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian country.
This is not in the least surprising as Israel has long perceived its Palestinian Arab population, in fact all Palestinians, as a ‘demographic bomb’, whose diffusion can only happen through exclusion, marginalization or outright ethnic cleansing.
The Nation-State Law of 2018 was not an innocent attempt of a country eager to define itself (oddly enough, seven decades after its founding), but a deliberate attempt at laying the legal ground for a prolonged system of apartheid.
Netanyahu has summed up this sentiment perfectly when he exclaimed, prior to the March 2015 general elections that “the right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.”
In Netanyahu’s mind, in fact, by the calculation of mainstream Israeli politicians, the participation of Arabs in the democratic process is a threat that must be eliminated, exactly as their increasing numbers are also a demographic threat that has to be thwarted at any cost.
In truth, neither the Freedom House nor the V-Dem Institute are conveying new information regarding Israel’s democratic status. Israel never deserved the badge of democracy, which it used to rationalize all of its wars, sieges, and mistreatment of Palestinians, in the first place.
Now, even that false pretense of democracy is lost, likely forever. According to the very democracy standards created by Western institutions, Tunisia is now the only democracy in the Middle East.
More important than badges and titles, however, is the fact that Israel should now be exposed for its crimes against Palestinians without such long-overdue criticism having to be filtered through Israel’s false democracy discourse.
Feature photo | Israeli police frisk a Palestinian man in Jerusalem, Jan 29, 2020. Mahmoud Illean | AP
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net


mintpressnews--2020-03-31--Remembering Theresa Halasa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance

Amman , Jordan — “ I didn ’ t join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering , I joined out of a sense of patriotism , ” Theresa Halasa , a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an interview in 2009 .
Halasa died in Amman on March 28 , 2020 , after succumbing to cancer .
She was 65 years old .
In 1972 , Halasa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv .
The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , less than 24 hours after landing in Tel-Aviv , Israeli commandos stormed the plane dressed as technicians .
They immediately killed two of the hijackers and captured the other two , Halasaamong them .
Two of the commanders that led the raid were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu .
Netanyahu was slightly injured in the arm by a bullet during the raid .
Israel claims it was from friendly fire , the Palestinians claim it was Halasa who caused the injury .
Either way , it was no more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ born in Palestine in 1954 , not far from Akka in the beautiful town of Al-Rameh in the Upper Galilee .
She studied nursing in Nazareth , and as a student , she joined Maki , the Israeli Communist Party which at that time was the political home to many activist Palestinian citizens of Israel .
“ I received my patriotism from my father , ” she says repeatedly .
“ We did not suffer , suffering was not the cause for my joining the struggle , it was the sense of patriotism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had a romantic notion that I would find the resistance in the streets , but that ’ s not where it was .
There was no resistance in the streets , ” Halasa says , “ I had to go to Lebanon , ” which at the time was the center of the Palestinian resistance .
“ I made the decision to leave for Lebanon in January , 1971 , ” she said .
Halasa left home without telling her family .
She proceeded north towards Kiryat Shmona , an Israeli city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matala , ( the Israeli colony of Metula ) and from there she crossed the border into Lebanon .
“ The trip , which would normally take an hour and a half , took me three nights and two days.
” She arrived in Marj Ayun hungry and exhausted and from there she was led to a Fateh camp where she was questioned for several days .
“ I had a few months of training with weapons and explosives and then had to swallow the news that I was selected for an operation.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hasan Salame who headed the Palestinian “ Black September ” group .
Halasa never regretted participating in the highjacking , even though it came at great cost to her and her comrades .
Two Palestinians were killed and she was injured .
Furthermore , she and another female hijacker , Rima Tanous , were tried by an Israeli military court , convicted and sentenced to several lifetimes in prison .
Both women would eventually be released in prisoner exchanges .
Halasa ended up serving twelve years in an Israeli prison after which she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to say for sure what type of training she and the others received before embarking on this operation , but based on her testimony , it only lasted a few months .
One can assume they learned how to operate small arms , machine guns , and hand grenades , and how to make explosives .
One thing of which we can be sure is that the resources the Palestinian resistance had were not enough to prepare her and her comrades to face the Israeli army , much less an elite commando @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go through many months of grueling basic training , after which the real work of learning to be a professional soldier begins .
The resources Israel has are far superior and its soldiers are far better trained , equipped and even better fed than anything the Palestinian resistance could ever have hoped for .
Consequently , when the Palestinian resistance fighters faced the Israeli commandos or even regular soldiers , the saga always ended swiftly with the Palestinians paying the heavier price .
Israel made sure that its military was always superior to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Since Palestinians have never had more than armed guerrilla forces , which can not compare to a regular army , Israel always had the upper hand .
In an interview with Aljazeera , Halasa said she believed that Palestine will only be returned to its people by the force of resistance , a claim that Israel has proven to be true over and over again .
What this resistance will look like is , of course , another question .
Israel has purposely made it impossible to resolve the Palestine question peaceably and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by , the oppression , the killing , and the dispossession of Palestinian have become more entrenched .
Palestinian efforts at armed resistance and at negotiating have cost the Palestinians dearly and yielded no positive results .
The only option left is to pursue dedicated , uncompromising campaigns of boycotts , divestment and sanctions .
Israel must be isolated , its ambassadors must be sent home and all countries must call their ambassadors back from Tel-Aviv .
The campaign must also demand an end to Israeli participation in the Olympic Games , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sporting events must be closed to Israel .
Theresa Halasa did not live to see her homeland liberated .
She stepped up and was willing to pay the price and indeed she paid a price for her patriotism , but the ultimate goal was not achieved .
One hopes that she will be remembered and that the lessons of her experience will be shared widely so that all of us who are alive today will see her dream of a free Palestine become a reality .
Feature photo | An Israeli grabs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arm wounded when Israeli troops attacked the Sabena jet held captive by Palestinian guerrillas at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv , Israel on May 9 , 1972 .
Photo | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem .
He is the author of “ The General ’ s Son .
Journey of an Israeli in Palestine , ” and “ Injustice , the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five .
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