Common Dreams
Some articles at Common Dreams
22 Years, 4 Presidents, and Just 1 Conviction Later, Dozens Still Jailed at Guantánamo
Watch New Zealand MP’s ‘Absolutely Brilliant’ 80-Second Takedown of GDP
South African lawyer’s speech accusing Israel of genocide at ICJ
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-genocidal-statements-2666930604
South African attorney Tembeka Ngcukaitobi on Thursday used the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials to make the case to the International Court of Justice—and to the world—that Israel’s military is acting with clear genocidal intent in the Gaza Strip.
“Let the prime minister’s words speak for themselves,” said Ngcukaitobi, pointing to Netanyahu’s November remarks urging Israelis to “remember what Amalek has done to you. Netanyahu has repeatedly likened Gazans to the Amalekites, whom the Old Testament God orders King Saul to massacre.
Ngcukaitobi went on to cite the deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset, who called on Israel’s military to “burn Gaza” to the ground—a statement he reiterated ahead of Thursday’s hearing at the United Nations’ highest court.
“There is an extraordinary feature in this case: that Israel’s political leaders, military commanders, and persons holding official positions have systematically and in explicit terms declared their genocidal intent,” said Ngcukaitobi. “And these statements are then repeated by soldiers on the ground in Gaza as they engage in the destruction of Palestinians and the physical infrastructure of Gaza.”
The South African attorney played video footage of Israeli soldiers dancing and chanting that there are “no uninvolved civilians” in Gaza—a precursor to the war crime of collective punishment.
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https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-genocidal-statements-2666930604
Rishi Sunak on stopping Rosebank
It is very likely that fossil fuel exploitation is unviable without fossil fuel subsidies.
https://www.statista.com/chart/31016/volume-of-global-fossil-fuel-subsidies-timeline/
According to calculations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), seven trillion U.S. dollars were spent on direct and indirect subsidies for fossil fuels in 2022. The war in Ukraine and the resulting rise in energy prices are partly responsible for the significant increase in the previous year.
But even before that, the trend was already upwards, as this infographic illustrates. Subsidies are also likely to increase in the future. According to analysts, the reason for this is the economic growth of the Global South and the resulting increase in the consumption of coal, oil and gas.
Government support for fossil fuels is equivalent to just over seven percent of the planet’s economic output. A direct comparison with another important government budget item, for example, shows how enormous this sum is. Education spending by all countries combined accounts for 4.3 percent of global gross domestic product.
Countering fossil fuel subsidies, according to the IMF, would not only offer a chance to put humanity back on track to meet its climate goals, but could also prevent 1.6 million premature deaths per year and increase government revenues by $4.4 trillion.
South Africa’s Genocide Presentation Against Israel Called ‘Overwhelming and Devastating’
Original article by BRETT WILKINS republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Whatever the outcome, we are witnessing an amazing moment of rule of international law history,” said Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard.
Human rights defenders and legal experts on Thursday lauded what many called South Africa’s “compelling” opening presentation at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in a case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the embattled Gaza Strip.
In a bid to obtain an ICJ emergency order for the suspension of Israel’s relentless 97-day assault on Gaza, South African jurists including Justice Minister Ronald Lamola argued that Israel is violating four articles of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, commonly called the Genocide Convention. The landmark 1948 treaty—enacted, ironically, the same year as the modern state of Israel was born, largely through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine’s Arabs—defines genocide as acts intended “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.”
South African lawyers detailed Israel’s conduct in the war, including the killing and wounding of more than 80,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, forcibly displacing over 85% of the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people, and inflicting conditions leading to widespread starvation and disease. They also cited at length statements by Israeli officials calling for the destruction and even nuclear annihilation of Gaza in their presentations, which eschewed graphic imagery in favor of arguing “clear legal rights.”
“In its opening argument thus far, South Africa has made a compelling case showing how the genocidal statements by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and other senior officials were interpreted as official orders by Israeli forces in their attacks against Gaza,” U.S. investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill said on social media.
“Beyond the citations of the vast civilian deaths and injuries caused by Israel in Gaza, [South Africa’s] lawyers argued effectively that Israel’s ‘evacuation’ orders were in and of themselves genocidal, demanding the immediate flight of a million people, including patients in hospitals,” Scahill continued.
“What becomes crystal clear listening to the openly genocidal words of Netanyahu and other Israeli officials is that they know exactly what they are saying,” he added. “And they are comfortable saying these things publicly because they know the U.S. will shield them from accountability.”
Left-wing author and activist and former South African parliamentarian Andrew Feinstein said that “South Africa’s presentation to the ICJ thus far has been exceptional, overwhelming, and devastating,” opining that “the only way the ICJ doesn’t impose interim measures is if the judges are open to pressure from ‘the West.'”
“South Africa’s lawyers have done the nonracial, post-apartheid country proud,” he added.
Legal scholar Nimer Sultany, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, called South Africa’s presentation “compellingly argued and powerfully presented.”
“Given the court’s case law, and given the lower threshold required for issuing provisional measures, it will be very surprising if the court does not issue provisional measures against Israel,” Sultany asserted.
“This also should prompt reflection amongst all those governments and media outlets who supported [Israel’s war,] because they have been supporting a genocide,” he added.
Sultany and numerous other observers said the most powerful presentation of the day was made by Irish lawyer and case adviser Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, who delivered South Africa’s closing statement.
Israel—some of whose officials have condemned South Africa’s case as a meritless “blood libel”—is scheduled to present its defense on Friday. Israeli jurists are expected to focus heavily on the atrocities committed by Hamas-led attackers who killed more than 1,100 Israelis and took around 240 others hostage on October 7. They will likely argue that the country has a right to defend itself, and that it is seeking to eliminate Hamas, not the Palestinian people.
While an emergency order from the World Court would not be enforceable, it would represent a major international embarrassment for Israel, which is increasingly isolated on the world stage. A growing number of nations including Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Venezuela, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Jordan, and Bangladesh are supporting South Africa’s case, as are the Arab League, more than 1,250 international human rights and civil society group, and progressive U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
“Whatever the outcome, we are witnessing an amazing moment of rule of international law history,” said Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard.
Original article by BRETT WILKINS republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
- ‘No One Is Spared’: South Africa Presents Genocide Case Against Israel at ICJ
- Omar Leads Nearly 400 Global Lawmakers in Demanding Gaza Cease-Fire
- ‘There Must Be Accountability’: Tlaib, Bush Back ICJ Case Against Israel
- Nations Urged to Back ICJ Case Against Israel After Experts Confirm Genocide Underway
- As US Backs Gaza Genocide, ‘Grassroots Diplomats’ Rally Support For South Africa Case ›
- South Africa Initiates Case Against Israel At International Court Of Justice ›
- Rights Campaigners Urge World To Watch Gaza Genocide Trial Live. Here’s How You Can ›
- To Defend Israel As ‘Moral Society,’ Knesset Member Backs South Africa’s ICJ Genocide Case ›
- 800+ Global Groups Back South Africa’s Genocide Case As ICJ Prepares For Hearing ›
Coming soon
I expect to do a few copies of Rishi Sunak £3BILLION subsidy to foreigners to take UK’s oil image with extra comments. First seen in this post, there’s a copy here with an empty speech bubble so that the you can have a go too. I use gimp, the Gnu Image Manipulation Program which is free. Don’t forget to upload it somewhere to be seen ;)
