More stupid shit. To his supporters, Trump is a martyred messiah, resurrected after crucifixion This article is more than 4 months old Sidney Blumenthal His near assassination transformed Trump’s theology, giving the decidedly earthly ex-president a powerful spiritual sheen Donald Trump has transformed the theology of Trump. He has long portrayed himself as an innocent lamb falsely accused, the target of slings and arrows to bear the suffering of believers. Now the bullet and the blood of Butler, Pennsylvania, have sanctified him for the faithful and brought forth a new gospel. Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee endorsed the party platform, a document that contained a plank pledging to create a new federal agency to defend Christian nationalism: “To protect Religious Liberty, Republicans support a new Federal Task Force on Fighting Anti-Christian Bias that will investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in America.” The document casts Christians as though they are a sect still persecuted by the Romans, about to be dragged into the Colosseum to face ferocious beasts. But after the shooting, there was no mention of a platform. There was no reference to the political party. Trump had not simply survived crucifixion. He was not only resurrected. He became his own second coming. He was washed in his own blood. Divine intervention proved he was destined to return. All that is required from followers are declarations of faith. The return is a restoration of the grand course of events that was unjustly detoured by a stolen election. Trump is now a martyr, resurrected and the second coming all at once. All power is invested in the messiah on day one.
It seems, while there has been a global falling away from christianity, in America it's gaining ground, and especially in its politics.
Everything I don't like is anti-semitic. International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu By Abbas Al Lawati, Nadeen Ebrahim, Dana Karni and Tim Lister, CNN 7 minute read Updated 11:04 AM EST, Thu November 21, 2024 The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a senior Hamas official, accusing them of war crimes during and after the October 7 attacks on Israel last year. In a statement on Thursday, the Netherlands-based court said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for war crimes including “starvation as a method of warfare” and “the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.” The warrants mark a historic first, making Netanyahu the first Israeli leader summoned by an international court for alleged actions against Palestinians in the 76-year conflict. While ICC warrants don’t guarantee arrests, they could significantly restrict Netanyahu’s ability to travel to ICC member states. The prime minister’s office dismissed the warrants as “absurd and antisemitic.” https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/midd...nt-for-israeli-prime-minister-intl/index.html
U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 17, 2024. (Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images) Trump National Security Advisor Pick Threatens ICC Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Republican Rep. Mike Waltz declared that the International Criminal Court, which is recognized by more than 120 nations including major U.S. allies, "has no credibility." Jake Johnson Nov 21, 2024 https://www.commondreams.org/news/mike-waltz-icc U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor on Thursday threatened the International Criminal Court with "a strong response" after the body formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former defense minister, and Hamas' military chief, accusing the three of grave war crimes. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a vocal supporter of Israel's assault on Gaza, wrote on social media that the ICC "has no credibility," even though the court is recognized by 124 countries around the world—including Germany, the United Kingdom, and other major U.S. allies. Waltz added that the ICC's "allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government," alluding to the Biden administration's widely rejected assessment that Israel's conduct in Gaza has been lawful. "Israel has lawfully defended its people and borders from genocidal terrorists," Waltz wrote, vowing that the Trump administration would take action against supposed "antisemitic bias" at the ICC and United Nations. Waltz's response to the arrest warrants offered a glimpse of the hostile approach the incoming Trump administration and the Republican Congress intend to take toward international efforts to hold the Israeli government to account for war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip—many of which have been carried out with U.S. weaponry. "It is reasonable to expect that once Trump comes in, he will go after the ICC and the [International Court of Justice] in ways that profoundly damage the multilateral system," said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. "It is important to remember, however, that so did Biden," Parsi added. After the ICC's chief prosecutor filed his applications for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and members of Hamas' leadership in May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of the requests and reiterating the administration's view that the court "has no jurisdiction over this matter." Blinken earlier this year also signaled support for potential sanctions against the ICC, a punitive step that Republicans—including the incoming leader of the GOP Senate majority, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)—have demanded. Neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the ICC, but the court has said it has jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Gaza given that Palestine is an ICC member. The Biden administration has been accused of hypocrisy on the issue of ICC jurisdiction given that it welcomed the court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. As of this writing, the U.S. State Department has not responded to the ICC warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri. The department canceled its daily press briefing for Thursday. "The European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff." Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a statement Thursday that the ICC's arrest warrants "are a milestone for justice and accountability, and just about the only thing that stands a chance of saving international law at a moment of U.S.-backed genocidal Israeli impunity." "Every member state of the International Criminal Court—and even its erstwhile champions like the U.S.—has a duty to swiftly arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant at the first opportunity they get," said Whitson. Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director of research for Israel-Palestine, added that "in light of the threats already made by President-elect Trump and existing U.S. legislation known as the ' Hague Invasion Act,' the European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff." The ICC has no police force of its own, making it reliant on member states to execute arrest warrants. Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, said Thursday that the ICC's warrants must "be respected and implemented." "This decision is a binding decision on all state parties of the court, which includes all members of the European Union," Borrell added.
Merkel: I mistook Trump for ‘someone completely normal’ Deborah Cole Fri, 22 November 2024 Angela Merkel: ‘Politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits had him in their thrall.’Photograph: Hendrik Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images Angela Merkel’s first mistake with Donald Trump, she says in her keenly awaited new memoir, was treating him as if he were “completely normal”, but she quickly learned of his “emotional” nature and soft spot for authoritarians and tyrants. In extracts from her more than 700-page tome, Freedom, published in the German weekly Die Zeit, the former German chancellor says she initially misread Trump during their first meeting in 2017 in the Oval Office, where he attempted to humiliate her by refusing to shake her hand before the cameras. “Instead of stoically bearing it, I whispered to him that we should shake hands again,” she writes. “As soon as the words left my mouth, I shook my head at myself. How could I forget that Trump knew precisely what he was doing … He wanted to give people something to talk about with his behaviour, while I had acted as though I were having a conversation with someone completely normal.” The book, which Merkel has been working on since she left office in 2021, has been kept under close wraps ahead of its publication date next Tuesday. It covers her upbringing in communist East Germany, her unlikely rise within the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and her 16 years in power in which she became known as the queen of Europe and “leader of the free world” – a label once used exclusively for US presidents. Now unbound by diplomatic niceties, Merkel sizes up Trump as “emotional” and driven by grievance and neediness, in contrast to her “factual” approach. “It seemed that his main aim was to make the person he was talking to feel guilty … At the same time I had the impression … that he also wanted the person he was talking with to like him.” Rather than trying to build bridges with traditional allies, Merkel writes, “Trump was apparently fascinated with the Russian president”, and she notes that “politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits had him in their thrall”. On the flight home after their first talks, a deflated Merkel concluded that Trump “looked at everything like the real estate developer he was before he entered politics” – as a zero-sum game. “For him, all countries were rivals in which the success of one meant the failure of another. He didn’t think that prosperity could be increased for all through cooperation.” Only weeks later, Trump informed her that the US would leave the Paris climate accord – a crushing setback on which she sought the advice of Pope Francis. “Without naming names, I asked him how he would approach fundamentally opposed opinions within a group of important personalities,” she writes. “He understood immediately and said simply: ‘Bend, bend, bend, but make sure it doesn’t break.’ I like this image.” The contentious relationship with Merkel seems to have haunted Trump, who was still speaking about her on the campaign trail three years after she left office. “They [the Germans] didn’t love me because I said you gotta pay,” he told a rally in Pennsylvania this month, apparently referring to defence spending within Nato. “I said to Angela: Angela, you haven’t paid.” Merkel notes that Trump targeted her and Germany in his successful 2016 campaign, claiming that her welcoming in of more than 1 million refugees in 2015 and 2016 had “ruined” the country and accusing Berlin of unfair trade policies and free-riding on US military investment. In what she admits will be a belated endorsement, written before this month’s US election, Merkel declares: “I wish with all my heart that Kamala Harris … defeats her competitor and becomes president.”
Gaza ‘graveyard’ for Palestinian children: UN agency chief Children ‘are being killed, injured, forced to flee & deprived of safety, learning and play,’ UNRWA chief says as he marks World Children’s Day Yakoota Al Ahmad | 20.11.2024 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/gaza-graveyard-for-palestinian-children-un-agency-chief/3399273 ISTANBUL The Gaza Strip has become a “graveyard” for children amid relentless Israeli attacks on the enclave, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday. Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing nearly 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000. “Gaza has become a graveyard for children,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement marking World Children’s Day. “They are being killed, injured, forced to flee & deprived of safety, learning and play,” he said. “They have been robbed of their childhood and are on the verge of becoming a lost generation as they lose another school year.” Lazzarini said the world made a commitment to respect and uphold children’s rights by adopting the Convention on the Rights of the Child three decades ago. “Today, the rights of Palestinian children are violated day in, day out,” he added. His post was accompanied by a photo of two visibly weary children in Gaza wearing tattered clothing. The image, taken at a UNRWA-run school converted into a shelter for displaced families, symbolizes the deprivation Palestinian children face as their education and safety are disrupted by the Israeli war. The UNRWA chief said Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank also live in fear and anxiety. “Since October last year, more than 170 were killed there while others are losing their childhood in Israeli detention centers,” he added. “The occupied Palestinian territory is no place for children,” Lazzarini continued. “They deserve better, they deserve peace, justice and a better future.” The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn increasing international recognition, with figures and institutions labeling the events as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza. *Writing by Mohammad Sio
What is the ICC, which has issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders? By Reuters November 21, 2024 An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo THE HAGUE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Here are some background facts on the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. * The court was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 124 member states. Its budget for 2024 is about 187 million euros. * The ICC is conducting investigations, ranging from Ukraine and African states such as Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya to Venezuela in Latin America and Asian nations such as Myanmar and the Philippines, according to its website. * Its website says there have so far been 32 cases before the court, with some cases having more than one suspect. ICC judges have issued at least 56 arrest warrants. * Twenty-one people have been held in the ICC detention centre and have appeared before the court. At least 20 people remain at large. Charges have been dropped against seven people due to their deaths. The judges have issued 11 convictions and four acquittals. * Of those 11 convictions only six have been for the court's core crimes of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the others were for crimes like witness tampering. The six convicted men were all African militia leaders from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Uganda. Terms range from nine to 30 years in prison. The maximum possible term is life imprisonment. * A prominent fugitive is Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023. The Kremlin said the move was meaningless. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its invasion of its neighbour. * Although the court is supported by many United Nations members and the European Union, other powers such as the United States, China and Russia are not members, arguing the ICC could be used for politically motivated prosecutions. * Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognise its jurisdiction, but the Palestinian territories were admitted as a member state in 2015. In 2021 the ICC opened an official investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the occupied Palestinian territories. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in October last year the court had jurisdiction over any potential war crimes carried out by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip. * In May, the ICC prosecutor's office requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and also for three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel and Palestinian leaders have dismissed allegations of war crimes, and representatives for both sides have criticised Khan's decision to seek warrants.