#Pope Condemns #Vatican

Pope Francis to Curia: Merry Christmas, you power-hungry hypocrites!

Click Here For Referenced Story [Wall Street Journal]

We like this guy!

We do, however, fear for his life having seen several previous Popes succumb to untimely "illnesses" and abrupt deaths after they sought to reform the Church.

We walked away from the Catholic Church a number of years ago [having been an altar boy and a candidate for the seminary] when we saw far too much hypocrisy and greed.  The hypocrisy was evident with nuns who preached that segregation was God's way -- which they enforced by having segregated schools.  The greed was evident when we noted the arrival of the Bishop in an expensive limousine, wearing flowing robes which obviously were worth a fortune; and of course, the ultimate humiliation of the altar boy having to kneel before the Bishop and kiss his ornate gold ring.

If Christ had a savings account, he'd have banked here!

The Vatican is one of the richest nations in the world with enormous financial wealth and vast property holdings.  

There was a time when the Church was known for caring for the poor, operating hospitals, and sponsoring programs for the poor.

Some of that continues today, but we were appalled when we learned the volume of cash spent on settling lawsuits and criminal penalties as a result of sexual depravity by priests.  We were even more appalled as the stories leaked out of missionary journals of priests abusing the children in their care in African villages.  

Ultimately, we've never been able to come to terms with the royal stature and opulence of cardinals and bishops.   We've also never been able to erase the image of the Spanish Inquisition during which Church representatives conducted extraordinarily brutal interrogations of those whom they felt were heretics [i.e., those who believed the Church was the instrument of Satan].  In reviewing those heinous acts, we have to believe that the Church had indeed come under Satan's control -- and sometimes, given today's issues, we have to wonder if perhaps Satan is the greater influence in the Church.

Reviewing the life and teachings of Christ, we don't recall any reference to creating His Church to mimic royalty, to create a huge bureaucracy, nor to create vast wealth.  In fact, he abhorred greed to the extent that he took a whip to the greedy money-changers who set up shop in the Temple.  As we recall, Christ advocated temperance, moderate living, doing good for others, living the Golden Rule, forgiving those who committed crimes, and disdaining wealth -- precisely the opposite of the Church's leadership.

We suspect that the Pope, whose life and priesthood has essentially mirrored that of Christ, can restructure the Church to distribute its wealth to assuage the pain of world poverty; this of course causes great concern to the Vatican bankers and financial planners who have invested tens of billions of dollars in a variety of international corporations and hold hundreds of billions of dollars in the form of priceless real estate.

The danger is that past Popes with reform on their minds met untimely deaths, or shall we say "Breitbart Moments" involving "heart stoppage" from unknown [or undisclosed] sources.

So, we wish Pope Francis the best of luck as he takes on centuries of greed, avarice, lust, pride, wrath -- Oh, what the Hell, let's just give credit to the Vatican and the Church at large for their embrace of the Seven Deadly Sins and leave it at that.

Here's the big question.

If Christ were to appear on the world scene today, 

The Second Coming of Christ

would the Vatican find a way to kill Him?

Defenseless Israel

Israel Retaliates Against Hamas in Gaza - Not Quite a Surgical Strike

[Originally published August 4. 2014]

We'll preface our remarks by noting that we don't take sides with either Hamas or Israel in this conflict. We find the actions of both reprehensible.

Lest I be categorized as a neophyte in this discussion, please note that my reputation is based on my experience as an analyst and operative within the US Intelligence and Military communities in the Counter-Insurgency and the Counter-Terror arenas, including conducting a successful counter-insurgency campaign in Asia. I later accurately analyzed and assessed anti-government political movements in Eastern Europe and Latin America.  I spent time in the Middle East, meeting with IDF and Mossad officers, and with US Intelligence officers monitoring events in Israel and contributed to an NIE on Israeli intentions.  I have, for the last 20 years, consulted on global threats to US interests, and  created an academic course on Counter-Terrorism -- the basis of which is "Understanding the Terrorist and His Motives".  

All told, I have more than 40 years of hands-on experience in this field, and have been recognized and rewarded by the SSCI, the DCI, and the CJCS for my expertise and accomplishments.

---

I have now come under highly emotional attacks for posting my own and guest blogs about the Israel/Gaza conflict, some of which have been uncomplimentary to Israel; so, I'll state a few facts, with a few simple questions which may add context to the conflict for the uninformed.

ISRAEL HAS ADVANTAGES:

1) Technical Intelligence Programs

Israel has one of the most sophisticated Intelligence programs in the world:

a) Electronically, it has hacked into the US DoD Intelligence Information System [DODIIS]

b) It created the Stuxnet and Flame viruses which disrupted the Iranian nuclear research program [but, those viruses also managed to escape into the ether, posing a global IT threat].

2) Seismic Sensor Detection System

Israel also has one of the most sophisticated sound and seismic sensor detection systems in the world, which allows it to detect the construction of tunnels, and the pitter-patter of little feet -- and construction equipment, deep underground. These technologies have been around since the Vietnam War and were quite sophisticated then, and we used them quite effectively to monitor the VietCong and other insurgent movements.

-- It is unrealistic to think that Israel would ignore that technology in a hostile environment.

3) Mossad

Mossad is Israel's version of the CIA -- one of the most sophisticated HUMINT espionage programs which successfully targeted every ally and potential adversary in the world [to include the US -- Jonathan Pollard, a Mossad trained espionage agent, springs to mind].


It strains credulity to understand why Israel fears the impact of the tunnels Hamas has been building.  We wonder how Israel could have been unaware of the construction of the tunnels, to include their precise origins in Gaza and their precise entries into Israel's territory.  It would also seem obvious that Israel should have been fully aware of every threat against it in Gaza by Hamas, to include the sourcing, delivery, and placement of every rocket launching site.

And, with the Iron Dome detection and protective canopy, are we to believe that these rockets pose more than an ethereal threat?  Israel brags that with the Iron Dome, the threat is minimal, and we believe that statement, given the casualty figures.  The number of Israeli casualties from these rockets is three civilians; and 63 IDF soldiers have been killed in direct combat; in Gaza, more than 1,650 Palestinians -- mostly civilians -- women and children, have been killed by the Israeli assault.

So, with all that intelligence, why did Israel not simply manage their assault through these tunnels, and use smart bombs for surgical strikes on the storage bins.

Instead, there has been massive aerial and ground artillery bombardment of the entire area, supplemented by missiles and naval bombardment.  These assaults have been followed by tanks and armored vehicles rolling through Gaza, supplemented by snipers in a mop-up exercise.

The latest development is that Israel has called up 16,000 reservists to boost its total to 86,000.
Is it possible to squeeze any more troops into Gaza?

TO SUMMARIZE:

Israel has one of the most sophisticated intelligence programs in the world with:

1) superb electronic, sound and intrusion detection capabilities

2) the full resources of the NSA [which it successfully hacked long ago] and which NSA    openly shares with Israel 

3) the full resources of the DOD Intelligence Information System [which it hacked long ago]

4) the US satellite monitoring system
    [the detailed elements of which Jonathan Pollard provided to Mossad]

[The US Intelligence system was penetrated by Israel long ago by recruited agents with Dual US-Israeli Citizenship.  Ask these folks, and he or she will admit their allegiance is to Israel, not the US in time of war.  Pollard repeatedly condemned the US for not supporting Israel - and that was his rationalization for spying for Israel [and the KGB.  Pollard was trained and tasked by Mossad, and delivered massive amounts of highly classified data to both Mossad and to the KGB.  He was convicted and imprisoned for 30 years.  Released on parole with orders to not leave the US, Mossad immediately placed him on a plane and jetted him off to Israel where he was hailed as a hero.]

Pollard: Israeli Hero

Pollard was designated as the most destructive spy in US history by the US Intelligence Community, stealing and selling US HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT and documents and US satellite manuals and providing them to the KGB for a price; he rationalized that espionage [which caused the deaths of a number of US Intelligence personnel] by sharing these materials with Israel. 

After he had been monitored in his espionage activities by Military Intelligence and FBI counter-intelligence agents, his terminated security clearances would be miraculously restored, and the investigations would be called off [reportedly by US Military Intelligence Colonel (later Lt General) Sidney T Weinstein with whom he communicated between 1981 - 1984).

 

5) Ulitimately, Israel has the Iron Dome to detect and neutralize incoming rockets; a defense they have claimed for years as impenetrable.

---

Now, with all those resources, how are we to believe that a bunch of Hamas operatives, shooting off rockets toward Israel could not be detected ahead of time, and that Israel was incapable of locating, monitoring, and destroying the tunnels, supply systems, and the rocket launch sites.

Given those advantages, why would it be necessary for Israel to demolish all of Gaza, with the massive loss of life of close to 2,000 non-combatants, including women and children.  We wonder also at Israel's bombardment of schools and UN refugee safe-havens.  Were it any other country, the US Media would be screaming bloody murder -- and it is, literally, bloody murder.

3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese
men, women, and children died in this massacre

We recall the stated objective of the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, a general we admired for his extraordinary military accomplishments, to champion the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip -- displacing the Palestinians living there.  

Palestinians referred to him as The Butcher who routinely created confrontations with Palestinians which would justify his use of extreme force; these included the Qibya Massacre [1953] and the Shatila and Sabre Massacre [1982].  

Sharon remained immune from prosecution as his officers who volunteered to testify against him all suffered Breitbart Moments when their cars mysteriously exploded.

Some may recall the Palestinian's Second Intifada [uprising] which resulted from Sharon sending 1,000 of his troops into the most sacred Muslim al-Aqsa Mosque on the Noble Sanctuary [aka: the Dome of the Rock] in Jerusalem; this would be the equivalent of the Italian government sending 1,000 armed Carabinieri into Saint Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican.

[Notably, Israeli troops again stormed the Mosque in mid-July.]
Having riled up the Palestinians with this outrage, Sharon soundly defeated them and won political points with the Israelis for "protecting" them against the crazy, bloodthirsty Palestinians.

Israel has gradually consumed all but a small portion of what originally constituted Palestine

We refer again to the Israeli version of Manifest Destiny, in which the Palestinians are displaced to make room for Israeli settlers.  Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a brilliant general and architect of the Israeli Manifest Destiny program, created confrontations and battles with the Palestinians to justify driving Palestinians from their land so Israelis could settle there.  His proclaimed targets were the West Bank and Gaza where he projected the construction of Israeli settlements. 

But, as Prime Minister, Sharon orchestrated Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and planned to unilaterally clear of the the West Bank of Israelis.

For this widely hailed and very popular effort to create a peaceful solution to the chronic hostilities, Sharon was attacked by his own Party, the Likud, which he left to form his own Party, Kadima - a major threat to the Likud's power. 

Oddly, Sharon then met with a sudden Breitbart-Moment and suffered a stroke in 2006, which put him in a permanent vegetative state.  Conspiracy theorists say that Shimon Peres orchestrated the "stroke" to eliminate Sharon's consolidation of power with a new political Party, which could have forced the end of Israel's Manifest Destiny.

But, that's all internal politics for Israel, and we should leave them to their own destiny.

Now, we do take issue with Israel meddling in US politics, even when they target folks who we dislike.  

If the politician is a corrupt dirtbag, he is OUR dirtbag, and it is not acceptable for brother Netanyahu or AIPAC to decide the fate of our dirtbags -- or, our foreign policy.

As we have noticed, for a Member of Congress, or a US Senator to speak out against the Israeli actions, particularly the Manifest Destiny program, it is the political kiss of death.  Even the strongest and most embedded of US politicians cannot withstand the onslaught of AIPAC attacks and the unofficial Israel lobby.

Jim Moran, a popular Congressman [D] in Northern Virginia, once made the mistake of criticizing Israel's role in drawing the US into war with Iraq in 2003.  He was immediately pilloried as being anti-Semitic by the News Media, and even by his own Party.  

Already vulnerable following a series of behavioral issues, Moran found himself a major target of The Washington Post and local TV News commentaries which threatened to end his political career.  Thus, he embarked on a tour of synagogues throughout the area offering his mea culpas and swearing his allegiance to Israel.

Rumor has it that AIPAC gained control of Congress through our AID program, general and military, which has funneled roughly $60 billion into Israel over the last ten years.  

And, what becomes of all that cash?  Some say that Israel funnels it back to the US, into AIPAC and a broad range of Israeli lobbying groups, the folks who are always ready with a fistful of "facts", snide remarks, ridicule, and innuendo -- and of course, the ubiquitous sobriquets of "anti-Semitism" for non-Jewish critics.

But, all that money doesn't just go to fund attack groups; there's plenty left over to line the pockets of Congresspersons or Senators, particularly come campaign time.  So, recognizing that a vote for financial aid to Israel is a guarantee of financial aid (compliments of US Taxpayers) to the politician who "supports" Israel, savvy politicians [particularly poor ones] waddle up to that pork trough and guzzle it down, stopping only periodically to proclaim their loving support for Israel.

AIPAC: Is Stewart a "Self-Hating Jew"?

Meanwhile, for American [and Israeli] Jews who speak out against Israeli actions and policies, the designation is "self-hating Jew"! 

which of course caught Jon Stewart off-guard when he addressed Gaza recently without congratulating Israel on its destruction of Gaza.

[Stewart is the son of an Ashkenazi Jewish family; his actual name is Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz.

His parody of Israel and its rather specious rationale for razing Gaze in its hapless search for tunnels and evil-doers resulted in such a massive verbal onslaught that he was stunned, particularly when he was warned by the network hierarchy that his program was at risk should he again poke fun at Israel.  Pretty heavy stuff -- putting fear into an extremely popular TV host -- of all things, a comedy show.

So, we wish Gazans the best of luck in resisting Israeli bombers, bulldozers, and settlers.  Your elected Hamas leadership has been manipulated into creating the scenario by which Israel can justify its assault on Gaza, and that has, unfortunately for you, become a self-destructive cause.

Don't look to the US for sympathy or assistance. You just don't understand how to exploit American political corruption.  If you did, you'd be pulling in $60 billion in aid as well and bribing US politicians with it, vs taking a sharp stick in the eye and listening to European platitudes.

Palestinian Genocide in 10 Seconds

This post was originally published in July, 2014; 

do you see history repeating itself? 

- as Israel seeks to eliminate the Palestinians completely?  

And, our Media becomes the propaganda center to justify this.

Time-Line Expansion of Israel Through the Eradication of Palestinians [1917 - Present]

This is the latest in our series of guest posts. 

The author requested anonymity given the hostile backlash 

we witness on those who criticize, or simply mention Israel without praise.

The comparison is made between the American "Manifest Destiny" process in which the Native Americans, who initially welcomed the European settlers and offered them food, medicine, and hospitality, were gradually forced off their lands, labeled as "savages" [read "terrorists" in today's political climate], conquered and removed to "reservations." 

In the history of the Native American relationship with the US Government, the federal government violated virtually every treaty, confiscating land that had been guaranteed to the Native American, and frequently raiding peaceful settlements, driving them into lives of squalor and poverty.  

[That precedent has been followed by Israel, which has violated almost every "Peace" agreement with the Palestinians since 1947!]

We are reminded of Custer's Last Stand, in which he and his men were defeated and killed at Little Big Horn after Custer's 7th Cavalry, as part of the "Sioux Wars", rode through Indian villages which were devoid of adult males (as they attended a massive Pow Wow to consider the USG Peace Terms), and slaughtered the women and children. 

Retribution came in the form of the Battle of Little Big Horn, in which 268 US Cavalry troops were killed.  Eventually, however, technology and manpower of the Whites defeated the Native Americans, replacing them with White settlers and towns while the "savages" were forced to resettle into "reservations", many of which are no more than run-down slums.

History Repeats Itself

I am ashamed of the treatment of the American Indian since the colonization of the Americas, but I wasn't alive then.   I am, however, alive today and I very clearly see our history repeating itself -- by our "Ally".

What is now the USA was once a land belonging to a people who settled it thousands of years earlier. Colonists, pioneers, settlers, et al., used Guns, Germs & Steel to kill off millions of natives. It would appear, based on the similar settlement patterns in the below time/motion illustrations [.GIFS], that Palestinians are being wiped out just like the American Indian, although today Israelis are using missiles, jet fighters, bombers, and naval bombardment -- plus IDF ground troops.

The massacre of American Indians was justified by calling them savages, while the killing of Palestinians is justified by designating them "terrorists" or "cavemen" as the IDF calls them.  After all, both were designated as enemies -- after they had reached their breaking points by having their lands and rights taken away.

Native American Lands
Disappearing in Manifest Destiny

Look familiar?

National Security Adviser Susan Rice referred to the imbalanced Gaza death toll as "alarming" while Jonathan Topaz of breaks it down:

"[The] lopsided death toll in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has come under increased scrutiny as the conflict has worn on. The Associated Press reported Saturday night that 1,047 Palestinians had died since the conflict began, with more than 6,000 wounded, compared with fewer than 50 Israelis.

        "The United Nations estimated last week that 75 percent of those Palestinians 
          killed were civilians [most of whom were women and children]."

SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT CIVILIANS?!

And, recent Israeli air and ground attacks were directed at UN facilities in Gaza which housed non-combatant refugees attempting to escape bombardment of their homes.

Recent events:

1) Gaza market bombed during Israel army 'pause'
At least 17 killed and 200 injured in Shujayea, an area Israel said was not included in four-hour humanitarian window.

2) Israeli fire kills refugees in Gaza UN school
19 die in Jabaliya attack condemned by UN agency as "source of universal shame" that breaks international law.

3) Israeli bombs kill 100 Gazans in single day
Hundreds of attacks send toll soaring, while Gaza's only power station shuts down after being hit.

Let's call a spade a spade: what is happening in Gaza is a War Crime. It is called Ethnic Cleansing and it is a practice reminiscent of the purges in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Nazi Germany.  Seems the Israelis learned how this works from the Nazis, whose lead the Israelis are now emulating.  

Foreign Ministry of Israel, Institute of Historical Review, Reuters, Jewish Virtual Library

                                                                            Is there a pattern here?

                                                                       

                                                             Ethnic Cleansing?                    

                                                                   Genocide? 

 
Those terms have traditionally been regarded as War Crimes, and the UN intervened in some, to include the 1994 massacre of nearly one million Tutsis by Hutus in the Rwandan Genocide.  

Although Israel's attacks on Gaza have sparked condemnation around the world, with thousands of demonstrators calling attention to the situation, the US Media focuses almost exclusively on the scores of Israelis killed, and essentially ignores the more than one thousand Palestinians killed - most being civilian women and children.

                 Will the IDF banner be altered to resemble the swastika?

Criticize Israel at Your Own Peril

John Stewart, under fire, for criticizing Netanyahu and Israel

[Ed Note: 09Oct2023:

For those who believe I have no credibility in this discussion, these are my credentials

1) I was selected as the EXCEPTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ANALYST in the ENTIRE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, based on my exceptional interpretive analyses of major crisis situations on a global basis - to include the Faux Israel-Lebanese war in 1982, as well as Israeli false flags dating back to the 1970s.

2) I accurately assessed the insider assassination of Anwar Sadat - blamed on "Islamic Extremists", but in actuality was a palace coup by Hosni Mubarak [who shortly thereafter assassinated the senior Military and Defense staff with a staged 2-helicopter "accident" near the border of Libya.

3) I accurately assessed and reported the entire false flag attack on the Benghazi consulate - revealing that it was a cover-up for the Hillary/0bama mechanations.

Ed Note: 

I'm republishing this 2014 post since we are currently experiencing a replay of the 2014 nonsense [and earlier false flag attacks] created by Israel back then - complete with a "Hamas rocket attack"-- the purpose of which is to renew the flow of funds Israel had been receiving via the Ukraine Faux War.  

There comes a time when we have to stop bowing and scraping to Israel and acting as Israel's proxy in creating Middle East wars, and attacking our former allies [e.g., Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, et al.] 

As some of you may recall, my 1981 diplomatic mission [accompanying US journalists to Israel to assess the imminent Israeli war with Lebanon].  

When I questioned [as a combat Vet and MidEast analyst] the Israeli IDF briefings [pure propaganda] being fed to US journalists, I became [along with Pat Buchanan] the designated enemy.  Buchanan's materials and his typewriter were destroyed by a mysterious "Palestinian Terrorist Attack"which targeted one our hotel rooms.  

I was later designated a likely Terrorist (with diplomatic passport, registered with the Israeli government) and underwent an extensive hostile interrogation and intrusive body cavity search; when I asked my interrogators their purpose, their response was 

"Because we can!"

When I advised I'd be reporting this treatment to the US Congress, they replied:

"Go ahead!  We OWN your Congress" 

[The Assistant Secretary of Defense later confirmed to me they were correct - thus the Pentagon's deep distrust of Israel.]

What follows is my original blog post from 2014; compare it to today's events.

--------------

Now, when we ran our guest blog post featuring Jon Stewart's comedic criticism of Israel's overkill against Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas rocket attack on Israel, we were curious to see precisely how much criticism he would draw from the professional critics hired by AIPAC to roundly condemn him and accuse him of being anti-Semitic, a Jew-hater, a Self-Hating Jew, and an Enemy of Zion.

As it turns out, it didn't take long, and apparently since then, Stewart has undergone a withering assault by the Israeli Lobby and the rank and file Americans who are totally intolerant of any discussion of Israel unless it is fawning and complimentary.

Iran's WMD
Huma Abedin

Gawd help you if you should deride Netanyahu, who has spent his adult political life creating scenarios in which the US can be drawn into wars with Iraq, Syria, and Iran, Egypt, and the entire Middle East. 

Hmm, well, he did sucker us into a war with Iraq with bogus intelligence, and then led the Media attack on the US for going to war without sufficient evidence of WMDs.

So, let's give credit where credit is due!]

We've noted when we post here on the blog, or on our Social Media page, that if we should even allude to negativity towards Israel, we immediately come under virulent attack -- usually by crazed, profane illiterates who have difficulty assembling several words into a coherent sentence, although the jumbles they produce are filled with the usual
"Jew-Hater"
"Jew-Baiter"
"Anti-Semite"
"Coward"
"Traitor"
and, often as not, "NAZI"!

Now, poor Jon Stewart, who is Jewish himself, likely never expected to be labeled an anti-Semite, but legions of Israel supports leapt upon, and beat him with verbal cudgels, complaining to Network executives and to advertisers for his Daily Show that Stewart should be drawn and quartered, and have his contract canceled.

What is awkward these days is that, because of the near-universal condemnation of Israel's destruction and invasion of Gaza, complete with bulldozers to prepare their new land acquisition for settlers and vacation spas, Jews around the world, and Gawd forbid, even in Israel are condemning their homeland for its actions; some have even gone so far as to renounce their Israeli citizenship.

Why, at a personal level, even WE have been accused of being anti-Semitic Jew-haters.
One former FaceBook fan declared
"I can SMELL the anti-Semitism on you",
which prompted us to offer to bathe more often, and even to use a better brand of deodorant.

This little comedy skit, though tongue in cheek, is an excellent example of how the Israel Lobby works.

                                        [Video clip removed by Google]


Could the Obama tacticians have learned their tactics from AIPAC, explaining how they've created a teflon President?  Criticize Obama, and you're immediately labeled a Racist!

Should we look at AIPAC as being responsible for our Obama affliction?

Will we come under attack [again] for this posting?
Stay tuned, folks.