A US State Department official, travelling with Secretary of State John Kerry on a trip to Amman, confirmed there would be a cut.“The decision to reduce assistance to the Palestinian Authority was made this past spring,” he told reporters.“There were several factors contributing to this decision, including unhelpful actions taken by the Palestinians and constraints on our global assistance budget.”
Category Archives: Fail!
After the fire, a familiar Irish story: we treat our Travellers as outcasts | Joe Joyce | Comment is free | The Guardian


We Irish like to see ourselves as a touch more moral than other nationalities, an odd legacy of the popular policy of neutrality during the second world war married to an older belief that we are more spiritual and empathetic than the crass materialists to our west and east.We tut-tut about American police shootings of poor African-Americans, Israel’s heavy-handed treatment of Palestinians, Hungary’s inhumane attitude towards Serbian refugees, and get misty-eyed about three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s body lying on a Turkish holiday beach.But Tom Connors is not an African-American, a Palestinian, or a Syrian refugee; he’s not someone else’s problem. And we don’t really give enough of a tut about him to face down the visceral hatreds in our midst and treat our own outcasts with decency.
I’m “bien”, says French journalist beaten by Jewish thugs | PNN

A FRENCH journalist assaulted by masked far-right Israeli nationalists has reported he is safe and well.David Perrotin, who works for Buzzfeed, was viciously attacked outside the Paris offices of the Agence France Presse news agency on Thursday.Dozens of activists from the Jewish Defense League hit him on the head and back with batons after one of the group recognised him and pointed him out to the others.Earlier, they had tried to storm the building, thrown eggs, and waved Israeli flags, chanting: “We’re coming to get you”. Riot police used tear gas to break up the protest.But the respected correspondent, who has written about the extremist group in the past, told fans on Twitter last night (Friday) that all was “bien”.
Source: I’m “bien”, says French journalist beaten by Jewish thugs | PNN
Source: SPIEGEL ONLINE
Then there was the man who called Dorothea Moesch, a local SPD politician in Dortmund, late in the evening on June 30. “We’re going to get you,” he threatened. “We’re at your door.”
Another local SPD politician in Hesse, district administrator Erich Pipa, has been similarly threatened. “We can have you taken out at any time,” he was informed in a letter.
And in Bernau in the eastern state of Brandenburg, graffiti scrawled on the wall of a warehouse namechecking the local mayor reads, “First Henriette Reker (the mayoral candidate stabbed in Cologne last weekend), next André Stahl.”
These are but a few examples — four politicians who have taken a stand, and, if the threats are to be taken seriously, may now need to fear for their lives. Kutschaty fell into the crosshairs for saying, “Pegida is not about protecting the Western world, it’s about its demise.” Moesch, for her part, attracted ire because she organized a protest against right-wing extremism. Pipa became the target of hatred because he was recently awarded a Federal Cross of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian honor, for his longtime lobbying work on behalf of refugees. Finally, Stahl was the subject of denigration because of his public declaration that he wants refugees to feel welcome in his city.
So far, none of them have scaled back their political work. They all still say it’s more important than ever. But since the knife attack against Reker last Saturday on the eve of her election as mayor of Cologne, they can no longer feel entirely safe. District administrator Pipa is wondering whether he should take police advice and wear a bullet-proof vest.
Portugal’s Socialists reject new minority government


The Socialist Party has urged its members to withhold support for the center-right’s attempt at minority rule. A new vote and a growing divide over austerity policy are expected amid Portugal’s postelection confusion.
Source: Portugal’s Socialists reject new minority government
′Every dark skin in Israel is now a target′ | Middle East | DW.COM | 23.10.2015


a recent study has found that about 40 percent of the imprisoned minors in the country are Ethiopians, despite their small part in the total population – only 1.6 percent. This is perhaps not a shocking revelation; however, in a country which is already a patchwork of so many different ethnic origins, this is a very disturbing escalation.Smaller attacks, resulting in light injuries, hardly make it into the mainstream news, and thus dozens of racial incidents remain within the social media sphere, or at the very best appear as a short sentence on news tickers.Two weeks ago, a 22-year-old Israeli Jew from the northern town of Kiryat Ata stabbed another Israeli because he thought his victim was an Arab. Unlike the times when the assailant was Palestinian, this time Haifa Magistrate’s Court placed a gag order on revealing the attacker’s name and other identifiers at the request of his attorney.
Source: ′Every dark skin in Israel is now a target′ | Middle East | DW.COM | 23.10.2015
A Whiff of Intrigue as Vatican Disputes ‘Unfounded’ Report on Pope Francis’ Health – The New York Times
Francis, who has appeared determined to shake up the church, has faced resistance from some bishops, 13 of whom signed a letter to him, leaked last week, saying that he was trying to manipulate the synod’s outcome in his favor. The timing of the report, on the heels of the leaked letter, has given rise to theories that opponents of Francis’ agenda are working to undermine his papacy by sowing doubt about his health.Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Thursday that he feared that the article was part of a well-planned “apocalyptic strategy” against Francis by conservatives who want to “discredit the one who holds the power” and “destabilize him.” Archbishop Fernández, a close friend of Francis’ from Argentina, was among the bishops chosen by Francis to attend the synod.The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, has issued three rebuttals since the tumor article was published, calling the reports “gravely irresponsible and unworthy of attention.”
Court by Court, Lawyers Fight Policies That Fall Heavily on the Poor – The New York Times
There are many more Clantons among the nation’s 15,000 trial courts, civil rights lawyers say, and the key to broad change lies with state and local governments. So courthouse by courthouse, groups as small as Equal Justice Under Law, founded by Mr. Karakatsanis and a fellow Harvard Law School graduate, Phil Telfeyan, and as large as the American Civil Liberties Union are waging a guerrilla campaign to reverse what they consider unconstitutional but widespread practices that penalize the poor. These include jail time for failure to pay fines, cash and property seizure in the absence of criminal charges, and the failure to provide competent lawyers.
Source: Court by Court, Lawyers Fight Policies That Fall Heavily on the Poor – The New York Times
Donald Trump Kicks Univision Out of Florida Rally, Campaign Confirms – Hollywood Reporter
Donald Trump had a Univision crew attempting to cover his Florida rally removed from the event on Friday, his campaign confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Mr. Trump is suing Univision for $500 million and until that is resolved it is a conflict of interest,” Hope Hicks, spokeswoman for the Trump campaign said in an email. No additional information was offered.
Source: Donald Trump Kicks Univision Out of Florida Rally, Campaign Confirms – Hollywood Reporter
The renewed blood pact between Israeli, Palestinian extremists – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
The chief rabbi of the town of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, was especially impressive when he told followers at his weekly lesson last week, “I heard that in cases like this, and in other cases, policemen were afraid to shoot the male or female terrorist out of compassion and pity. I don’t understand this. What’s the meaning of not shooting a terrorist? Empty your magazine at her! That’s what needs to be done. … A policeman who kills a terrorist should get a bouquet of flowers, gifts and money.” This public servant, who also serves as the head of the rabbinical council of the national emergency medical service Magen David Adom, claimed that Jewish law permits medical staff to kill wounded terrorists. “If they cannot be killed,” he added, “make it so that in the end they will die. Feed them spoiled food, so that they get a stomach upset and end up dying. That’s what one should learn at MDA.”
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