“Israel and the U.S. are desperate to draw Arab countries into a direct confrontation with Iran to deplete those same countries and get Muslims to destroy each other (especially Gulf countries that have been competing with the West in attracting capital, talent and investments). This way Israel would emerge on top as the region’s uncontested hegemon and thug.“

In a new fact sheet, the Institute for Policy Studies explains that the war with Iran is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. “Daily operations in and around Iran for these major military systems are costing… an estimated $59.3 million per day. That [money] could instead cover the daily costs of Medicaid for more than 4 million Americans, or SNAP (food stamps) for more than 9.5 million Americans. Both programs were subject to significant cuts under last year’s H.R. 1, with millions of Americans at risk of going hungry and without healthcare as a result.” HANNA HOMESTEAD; [email protected]     Homestead…

“Nearly 60,000 people have been displaced over the previous 24 hours alone, according to Lebanon’s state-run media outlet, the National News Agency, adding to the tens of thousands who have already fled their homes since Monday.”

“The UN Security Council is paralyzed because the United States will veto any resolution condemning its own actions. …. The Hague Group [which has announced an emergency meeting], or any member state, should introduce a UN General Assembly resolution declaring the U.S.-Israel assault on Iran a violation of the UN Charter and a war of aggression and call for it to immediately end.”

The United States has bombed seven countries in the past 12 months: Venezuela, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. Asad Abukhalil notes: “Israel bombed eight countries: Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt ‘by mistake’ and Iran.” Drop Site News reports: “Black smoke was seen rising from inside the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City following a wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes. … “At least 35 civilians have been killed across Pakistan after protests erupted denouncing the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on neighboring Iran that also killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. … Several reports suggest US forces, likely Marines, killed the protestors in…

“A murderous bombing campaign in Iran, continuing genocide in Palestine, serial aggression abroad, belligerent occupation of several countries, acts of transnational terrorism, repression at home, schemes to profit from murder and colonization, systematic coverup of the Mossad-Epstein operations, massive corruption of the public and private sectors across the West, sanctions against human rights defenders and international courts, attacks on international institutions, the dismantling of international law, mass surveillance of the rest of us, and a growing trail of blood and destruction around the globe.”

The Friends of the Hague Group has released a sign-on letter which urges members of The Hague Group “to rectify their previous failure to support co-chair Colombian President Petro’s commitment to introduce a Uniting for Peace resolution at the UNGA to ensure protection for Palestinians. Multinational protection through the United Nations is the primary demand of Palestinian civil society as represented by its largest collective voice, the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), and has been endorsed by nearly all Palestinian factions and forces.

“The Israeli government installed security equipment and controlled access to a Manhattan apartment building managed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a set of emails recently released by the Department of Justice. The equipment was installed starting in early 2016 at 301 E. 66th Street — the residence where former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak frequently stayed for stretches at a time.”

Robert Borosage writes in an obituary of the Reverend Jesse Jackson that in both 1984 and 1988, Jackson faced a “skeptical, often hostile press, with little money for paid advertising, [and] Jackson relied on generating free media and drawing big crowds.” Yet Borosage argues that Jackson’s “brilliance and his greatest legacy [are] that the mission, strategy, message, and agenda of [his] campaigns remain directly relevant four decades later… We would be wise to follow the path he forged.”

He writes of the group which openly targeted facilities in Britain making weapons for Israel: “A panel of judges found on Friday that the ban resulted in ‘very significant interference with the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom of assembly.’