The EU statement, issued in Brussels after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Friday, declared that a “return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option.”
Israel is pleased with the EU’s call for disarming Hamas. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, “Israel welcomes the [EU] ministers’ repeated calls for the terrorist organizations in Gaza to disarm.”
“A commitment to the principle of demilitarization, which will be implemented by an effective monitoring mechanism, will ensure that the situation changes fundamentally,” Palmor added.
On the other hand, the two top US Administration officials – President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry – have made it clear that disarming Gaza is not a priority. Asked if the Obama Administration endorses the Israeli demand to disarm Hamas, a top National Security official said only that “one would hope” that “some form of demilitarization” would be a result of a ceasefire. And Kerry didn’t even go that far; all he said was, “All of the issues of Gaza would be on the table.”
The Senate, on the other hand, has been outspoken about the need to disarm Hamas. It has not passed any formal resolutions to this effect, but many Senators have gone on record in favor of making this an integral feature of any ceasefire.
On Thursday, the day before the EU statement, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf spent several long minutes attempting to reconcile the Administration’s “review” of munitions deliveries to Israel and the “no change” in the general policy towards Israel. Specifically, she said, “Given the crisis in Gaza, it’s natural that agencies take additional care to review deliveries as part of an interagency process. That is by no means unusual and, again, does not indicate any change in policy.”
She then said this was not actually a “review,” but rather “taking a second look.”
Challenged as to the purpose of a “second look” if there was no policy change, she again called it a review, then later changed it to “looking again,” etc.
Back and forth the point was belabored; one reporter asked, “If you’re undertaking a review with a lowercase ‘r’, or a second look or – again, whatever you want to call it – that that would stand to reason that perhaps at the end of that look that you might make some kind of policy change.”
Harf negated this, and so on and so forth, until finally one impatient correspondent asked, “Can we go to Ukraine, please?”
@ yamit82:
Sugar darlin, if I lived in Israel I would gladly put heath in their [ The Nation of Israel] care. But I don’t live in Israel .
Israel health care times of Israelhoneybee Said:
@ bernard ross:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ranks-4th-globally-in-health-care-efficiency/
Israel ranks 4th globally in health care efficiency
Asian countries claim top three spots; US places 46th; Israelis have longest life span in Middle East and Africa
@ yamit82:
Good to see that you alive and posting, Sugar !!!!!!!!!!!
@ bernard ross:
TX has busted himself up often and each time receive good medical care. If a Dr. makes money, I have no problem.
bernard ross Said:
Just because you think, say or write something doesn’t make it true, Darlin. When you say small town what is the population size ?
bernard ross Said:
Cheap shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yankee boy
bernard ross Said:
And look how great public education has become ??????????
@ bernard ross:
Explains Much!!!! 🙂
Israel Nears Gas Sales to Egypt as Mideast Unrest Flares
Egypt and Israel are negotiating deals that may mean the sale of $60 billion in Israeli natural gas to liquefaction plants in Egypt.
Historical context:
War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields
Who Owns the Gas Fields
I disagree with the conclusions that Gaza off shore Gas belongs to Palestine. Legally Palestine is not a legal sovereign recognized country and until it is it belongs to Israel.
honeybee Said:
yes, all the time. you did not read or think about my post. The “low price” of Walmart is fake because you need to add on the costs associated with the predictable dislocation to the US economy and the ultimate real costs in higher individual taxation, welfare, unemployment ins, lost jobs, lost industries, etc. The difference between the so called low prices is being paid by the taxpayer while walmart has taken most of their profits to their foreign subsidaries as payments for goods and other services. All that money they took out is lost to our economy and paid for by us, but not walmart and the US and foreign corps who keep touting the fake free market ideology and con. the benefiting country of our “free market” con was the centrally planned import controlled communist nation of China. DUH???
honeybee Said:
do you have medicare, social security, pay taxes, etc. Perhaps you are more dependent than you think?
I dont care about these ideologies of depending on gov beaurocrats as we depend on others for most of what we get: food, medicine, clothing, housing, finance, etc. It make no difference to me whether it is a gov beauraucrat or a deceptive business; I am interested in my bottom line.
I have had medical experience in the USA, Europe and the 3rd world. In fact recently I had 2 major surgeries in a european country and 2 in the USA. IN evaluating things in the euro situation I never considered the idea that someone might be just trying to sell me something that I didnt need which is a constant concern in the USA. I was got my euro surgeries as part of their national health program for free and I liked the experience a lot. I preferred it to my private experience in the US. When I returned to the US the first time in the 80’s from a 3rd world country going socialist I had an orthopedic problem of a snapped tendon . I lived in a decent area of Coral Gables Fl. and went to a local wlll known specialist and paid cash. I was shocked to find that I had to wait in a crowded waiting room, was put in a cubicle and had a 2 minute brief run in and out by the specialist who had no time to deal with any of my quesitons. the visit reflected everything I had heard about socialized medicine but was in fact the epitome of private medicine. In my view the US medical system is driven primarily by making profits, this is my first hand experience. In the 10 years prior in the 3rd world I had a slight flu and the doc came to my house took a sample of sputum had it analysed in a lab and sent me a hand written letter reporting on the results in great detail. On my 2 surgeries in europe I received on discharge on each 2x 200 page reports which detailed every day of my hospital stay and the ensuing 3 weeks of rehabilitation, every lab test, every prosthetic detail. When I deal in the US it appears to be all about liabilities, insurance, legalities, etc and the health aspects are last on the list. The country was NOT one of the wealthy euro nations.
I dont listen to the BS of those trying on the basis of ideologies to sell something. I have enough experience of all the scenarios to make a valid judgement. I much prefer to have a system driven by health concerns than by money, insurance, big pharma, etc. There is a lot of BS in the arguments. I would like to see the US come out of the 18th century, I am afraid of the bogey of gov control through NSA and technology but not of gov operating of some sort of common sense national health system. I have see it work and I have seen the attitudes of those in it from patient, doctor,etc.
It makes no sense that we have public education and not public health except when it is realized that public education was likely a way for business to get training costs put onto the citizenry rather than pay themselves.
Also, I even had experience of cuban trained doctors in other caribbean countries which was oK too. I undertand that people fly to Cuba to get treatment in their health system and cuba is poverty stricken but put their resources to health and education. I am not for communism but for common sense and get sick and tired of ideological BS.
BTW sorry for the spelling errors but I know you will understand.
@ honeybee:
you got what you wanted and everything else that came with the fake low cost. the same people that gave you walmarts are giving you immigration to create a cheap labor pool. the same scenario has naturally resulted in internal conflict. Like I said, one solution is simply to put i more police to keep down the rising unemployed, low paid, etc.
and yes I live in a small town with a big walmarts that pays no property taxes and emplyys few people at exceedingly low wages. all the young leave.
Max Said:
I was, of course, referring to the economy experienced by the majority of citzens
Max Said:
I thought the “two” economies populate one balance sheet, unless you are waxing poetic?
Max Said:
thank you for clearing up my cloud of confusion
Max Said:
I dont disagree with much of what you said although your perspective appears to me to contain some poetic license….we agree on a similar prognosis….However, I believe it is not just North America but a global scenario.
Max Said:
the advent of serious robotics should lower the cost and the population. Also, robot policing eliminates the risk of the police sympathizing with the population it controls.
Max Said:
Is this a conspiracy? Perhaps it has something to do with this:
https://screen.yahoo.com/did-aliens-force-pope-benedict-095044771.html
🙂
bernard ross Said:
Do you live in a small town? Have you ever tried shopping at a high priced, low stocked ” mom & pop” store. I would prefer to drive what ever how many miles to a Wal-Mart where I can have a choice of item to purchase. And the produce is fresh.
bernard ross Said:
I do not wish to allow my life and health to be dependent on the ” good will” of govt. bureacrates.
bernard ross Said:
Good. good, good. the whole idea of the USA was freedom from ” old world” class & religious restraints.
bernard ross Said:
Yes, hoodwinked but you are confused as to how.
“Taxpayers” don’t bear costs and the elite don’t bear anything. All the money – salaries etc comes from the elite, it’s their money, as virtually all money is theirs as they own the profit generating enterprises – the elite is giving the money for taxes (as part of salaries) which is simply maintenance costs for the elite to keep the population alive in order to service the elite. The people have to pay their cost of living from what the elite are willing to part with – the elite deliberately simply doesn’t give them enough.
There is no downward spiraling economy. The economy of the elite who own 95 percent of the wealth is triumphant and prosperous -check the bank and corporations quarterly statements.
As for the imports,the public gets the debt and the elite gets the profit.
To stop being confused, understand that there are two economies just as there are two Americas – there is the economy of the rich and the economy of the people – the elite have the capital and capitalism – the people have servitude The people exist for the purpose of servicing the rich and servicing the economy of the rich. The economy of the people is actually a “cost of business” debit line in the ledger books of America Inc.
The media is deceptive – through the media , the elite pretend that the economy of the 99 percent is the total economy when it is actually the fake 5 percent.
It’s all smoke and mirrors.
The denial of wealth and prosperity creates power over other humans beings. North America is all about the growing increase of elite consortium power and the rise of total economic fascism.
Bernard, I just answered your commentary and must have rushed to post it. It disappeared. Again I lost it. Will be back tomorrow.
@ bernard ross
Bernard, the EU has eight week vacaton for their employees have many benefits the American worker does not have. I was talking about the Unions. Their excesses plus the destruction of our industries I agree with you abut our politicians looking the other way when our industries have been destroyed. I still buy only American and in the last four years I buy everything I can from Israel. Including items I do not need and end up giving them away. A pair or children shoes made in China were more expensive than a pair of shoes made in America. How does that save money to the consumer? I understand what has happened in our markets but the corruption of the union bosses is also to blame. We would have not lost so much to the foreign markets without their cooperation. I mention about Japan that whilst they have all the benefit yoou mention they have a very discipline society. It is a society that train their population to act for the benefit of the community and not for the self. It is a homogeneous society where a discipline workforce allows them to succeed in their production goals and marketplace. They also came to Virginia and bought the only crystal factory we had in the US. They closed it. With no other competition they applied to the government for a license to import their crystal into the US. Where was our government. Our unions?
While I agree with most of what you are saying there is the other factors at work. The clean and shining unions of the past are gone. Many of them wheeling and dealing with the corporations and screwing the workers.
mar55 Said:
It appears that the USA is the only highly developed nation that does not have medical security.
We won the war but they think more of their citizens
mar55 Said:
The RR legacy and allowing the world unfettered and unrestricted access to our buying market made our workers compete with chinese workers and chinese slave labor. Therefore the jobs production and capital left. Only a fool shoots himself in the foot but when one hand is getting rich by shooting others in the foot that what happens. its the so called free market when everyone has freedom to do business and sell in the states but those countries have barriers.
In a society that allows a unbridled free market to the world the only way to distribute gains to everyone is through taxation, wages, or welfare benefits but in our case the money left the country and the big cost left behind. Duties are a way that the REAL costs to the entire nation of imported goods is accounted for.
One alternative is to employ a half of the nation as police to keep the other half who will fall into poverty in line. It appears that is the way we are going.
mar55 Said:
Perhaps wall street managers are not as valuable as thought, for the nation as a whole.
mar55 Said:
In a downward spiralling economy where jobs of value have been shipped out towns and cities cannot afford, but in such scenarios copaies like walmart pay no property tax to already almost bankrupt towns on they basi that they bring a few low paying jobs. Meanwhile the walmarts have bankrupted all the small mom and pop stores in small towns. Its a false economy where a low price is not really a low cost. You spoke of things like depreciation etc as a cost that is ignored but another cost ignored is the cost of the loss of jobs in a job based economy; therfre the low price is an illusion because it does not take into account the extra costs that the taxpayers and citizens bear as a nation while the US and foreign companies keep their profits abroad and create jobs abroad with OUR consumption.
we have been hoodwinked.
mar55 Said:
When you compare Japan you must consider all aspects. My understanding is that the Japanese have a strong culture of things like loyalty, etc whereas in america it is every man for himself.
mar55 Said:
This should be so as the Eu worker has many more benefits on top of his salary that the US worker does not get like free medical care. I believe he also takes home less salary as a result of taxes for benefits.
Before competing in the worlds market we should be securing OUR workers and OUR ocnsumers as opposed to securing OUR companies who are competing in the world market selling goods in the US but providing few jobs and getting big discounts on their propety taxes like walmart. May jobs in america today have wages so low they have to get food stamps and housing help with it. I see no reason for giving breaks to US and foreign companies that dont provide the requisite jobs in the US for the privilege of doing business in the US. competing in the world market is not a valuable goal to achieve IMHO as opposed to using our technology to lift the standard of living of all the citizens and not just the shareholders of corps.
mar55 Said:
along with corruption, bail outs etc, our political leaders and our business leaders have concocted a situation where they have allowed everyone free access to sell in the US market without considering the impact of that open leg policy on the bulk of the citizens and consumers. they told us goods would be cheaper but like every economist knows the price of the dislocation of the economy was left behind for the taxpayers and citizens to bare while even US companies kept their profits from their US markets outside the US. for 30 years the jobs, production and capital of the USA has been exported by those entrusted with operating our economic system. We are not in a low business cycle, our economy has been dislocated by allowing a free for all. there is no reason for us to care about competing with the world before we make sure that we are supplying our own needs adequately. The gains of the massive advancement of our society have not accrued to the the majority of the population.
If you have exported your jobs production and capital and still allow unbridled access to our consumption engine there cannot be a retooling of industry in an industrially dying economy. Our consumption engine has built the world while bankrupting america. Under the current system we will only start to rebound when our standard of living is below the world. We produce nothing that the world cant make themselves except food and energy and the world has free unfettered access to our consumption engine. You talk about brazil but it is the euro and US consumption engine that built brazil at our expense. Its kinda dumb.
I remember I was all for RR getting rid of the air traffic comptrollers but I think we have gone too far in that direction and dealt the nation much harm.
The actual unions have been infiltrated by reds or socialists and new elements who care only for themselves. They buy our politicians to vote not with what is best for the country but what is best for them. The hell with America. With the advent of the new emigration the quality of our workers has declined. Many workers do not have the same skills as in the past but come with the idea that they can teach the American something. So accordingly we should learn from them. Where else in the world the do union bosses become millionaires? Why union organizing has failed in so many companies they have tried to unionize? We still have in NYC Chinatown sweatshops that have their employees working 12 or in some cases even 18 hours a day with their doors and windows locked. When they know an inspector is coming to check the place they unlock their doorsMany of these people have families who have paid someone thousand of dollars to bring them to this country illegally. They must work at whatever wages they offer them in order to pay their families the money they paid for bringing them to this country. If the fire department raids the places where they live (several to a small room) taking turns to sleep in the same bed at different times. They are left homeless. What we need more than unions is honest politicians. To finish, one more example of what the new emigration means. Fallowing is a true story.
In a Philadelphia hospital, a surgeon from Egypt had been left with a patient who had brain surgery. Surgery of the brain produces lot of bleeding. The surgeon who had done the surgery left him with the patient with specific instructions to administer a drug to stop the bleeding and saw him up.
When the surgeon came back he found the patient in pain and still bleeding. He also found he had been sawed up with silk thread. Naturally he was furious. He asked the Egyptian why he had not administered the medicine to stop the bleeding and why he had sawed the patient with silk thread. To be continued…
Take for example Japan. The Japanese have the factories for the parts used in their cars vey close to the production line. Not only saves time in shipping costs but it also saves money by keeping their inventories closer to what it will be needed in the assembly. Not everything is due to the American Unions. The American industry does not renew their plants with the latest technology. Innovation and building modern plants with the most efficient use of resources takes money. Reserving the amount of money for the depreciation and replacement of plant and equipment will take management discipline and labor discipline also. So the industry keeps on giving increased dividends to the stock holders, larger bonuses for their management; let the unions get their benefits that the union bosses will continue having larger incomes than many Wall Street managers. The employees go on strike for several weeks and the increases in some cases do not match the loss of income during the strike. All of these while the politicians get their cut under the table or in contributions to their political campaigns.
Have you read about cities being bankrupted by their unions benefits. They blackmail the cities with their work stoppage and demands. The cities give inn causing people to move under the burden of added taxes. When the time comes to pay for the retirement benefits many of them have to declare bankruptcy. Would not it be better to negotiate for benefits that the town or city can afford and keep the cities functioning? The union bosses retire very comfortably. In many cases millionaires. Do you consider that equitable and just?
Years ago as you mentioned the unions were open only to the brotherhood. This system was beneficial to industry and labor because for the most part kept the workers skills at a higher more uniform level. The same happens in a homogeneous society as in Japan or any other country where the workforce is homogeneous and has similar work habits. America is a heterogeneous workforce. To be continued….
@ yamit82:
Yamit82: At the beginning of last century the unions were absolutely necessary. The management abuses in many of the large companies was incredible. I know in NYC a man who every year they have a remembrance service for the employees of a garment factory where all the workers died in a fire. The owners of the factory had locked all the door and windows to prevent the employees from leaving the premises even for small break. When a fire broke out they were trapped. Everyone in the building perished including his own mother and sister. He is in his 80’s and would not let anyone forget. This happened in Queens, NY.
It is indisputable that the unions were a major force in increasing the standard of living for the American workforce and many of the benefits we today take from granted started at the unions negotiations when a new contract was signed.
About 25 years ago, things started to change in the unions. Little by little the reds and other elements have gained control of many unions. Many remain clean. However, the unions are largely responsible for the demise of many American companies.
Our workers in many instances receive salaries and benefits larger than the workers of the EU and if you keep raising the product’s prices to compensate for the unions increased salaries and benefits you cannot compete in the world’s market. The demand for your products will fall. Think about innovation. Have you seen the auto factories in Brazil? They are integrated as to efficiently produce and assemble a car in significantly less time than other manufacturers. It ships from start to finish faster than it would take an American factory. Do you think that we could have a similar plant in the US? Dream about it. The unions oppose any efficiency that would decrease its membership.
To be continued….
yamit82 Said:
They need to demilitarize Hamas in the USA.
@ yamit82:
Darlin, its Oakland, CA, by now the whole pack of them is off to Fergusson, Mo. ” Work is the curse of the demonstrating class”, to Para phase W.C. Fields. I am busy right now frying chicken to raise money for the defense of Gov. Perry and Johnny Manziel.
@ mar55:
@ honeybee:
Anti-Israel BDS nuttery at the port of Oakland
Read more at http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/08/19/anti-israel-nuttery-port-oakland/#iqWETH088gbBJxWO.99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daeCCf5bSZI
yamit82 Said:
My on going shttp://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/08/19/Oakland-Protests-Against-Israeli-Ship-Continue-for-2nd-Dayervice to you to keep you informed:
Ted, please can you recuperate my answer to yamit?
@ yamit82:
yamit82. I answered your comment and it has disappeared. It would not accept the correct number. when I wet later to see it I had to re-register again. Do you think Ted will be able to recoup my answer?
@ yamit82:
Well, what do you know, Yamit. My father was also an IBEW electrician. Your father didn’t happen to be in Local 3 in NYC, was he?
yamit82 Said:
With the Holidays coming mar55 and I have better thing to do then keep you informed.
yamit82 Said:
WHO, I ask, WHO has not tried to screw you [ or vice versa ] . TX is a retired Teamster !!!! He say the union screw him more then I did !!!!! Speaking financially, of course!!
Perhaps this ongoing and strange “war” is geared to bringing those numbers down where Israelis will accept anything for quiet including whatever behind the scenes plans BB has agreed. In the past the longer things go on the more Israelis want it over at any cost. How else would Israelis accept that they fought a war to give away more security to the pals?
@ yamit82:
Does this sound familiar to you?
honeybee Said:
I should have checked other sources.
mar55 Said:
Hi Mar, thanks for the update. I once worked for General Electric and caused a 2 week strike shutting down the whole plant because the company tried to screw me and I put in a complaint.
My dad was a journeyman electrician who made barely enough to put food on our table till my aunt who was secretary to the president of IBEW got him into the Union. He began making 10 times more as a Union electrician working on huge projects and on holidays and Saturdays and Sundays x 3 his normal wage. The Union sent my day to college and he got an engineering degree. That gave him an even higher wage level and pushed him up the ladder in skills responsibilities and wages. Great health care and pension. To the best of my knowledge the Union is or was clean and only accepted very few from outside of the brotherhood, in other words you almost had to be born into that union. Labor Unions have been the major factor of raising the standard of living of all of the American workforce and the unions forced non union employers to match many of the wages and benefits fought for and won by organized labor. The Unions are not communism but the main reason communism never caught on in North America. They proved the communist theory in error and that organized workers can curb the power of greedy exploitative capitalists.
So you are against workman’s compensation,unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,subsidies of college education, subsidies for eligible low-wage workers?
yamit82 Said:
You need better ” news sources”.
@ yamit82:
yamit82, the latest news, they were not successful. I do not remember where in order to give you a link but the protesters were not more than 300 people and, the police was there waiting for them. The union did not back them and by now I think the Zim might have been unloaded. Go to Pamela Geller. I think that is where I read the news last night.
We are all idealists and for social justice and pro-union when we are young. That works until we get older and get bitten by reality. I’m anti union and anti anything that smells like communism.
yamit82 Said:
Once again I must follow my mission in life to edumacate you. http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/08/17/Oakland-Protestors-Try-to-Block-Israeli-Shipping-Union-Not-Interested
I used to be pro Labor (Unions) Now I say Fuck EM and break em down to their sorry Jew Hating cores.
Pro-Palestinians block Israeli cargo ship in California
Zim vessel prevented from unloading in protest against Israeli policies in West Bank and Gaza
Picket line my ass they are terrorist supporters and antisemites and not a recognized union to have picket lines honored.
Peace in our time???? Who caved to whom????
‘Breakthrough’ Reported in Cairo Talks; Deal ‘Initialed’
Arab newspaper says ceasefire may be extended before it expires at midnight. Netanyahu threatens harsh retaliation against Hamas.
Friends for Israel in Sydney.
Australia – where the police are pro-actively working against the terrorist protestors.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/nsw-police-try-to-stop-pro-palestinian-protest-at-israeli-film-festival
The Real Britain
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727266/Sainsbury-s-strips-kosher-food-shelves-fear-attacks-anti-Israeli-protesters.html
the real EU
the euros want to get the PA installed so that they can continue to pressure for their peace plans.
EU pronouncements only count when the intent is to exterminate Jews. Those are the only pronouncements they really mean.
The Nazi bigots of the EU are NEVER to be trusted. Never.