ESI - European Stability Initiative

In a few minutes I’m heading to the Senate floor to force a vote - tonight - to end the war in Iran. If Republicans won’t hold a debate and vote on this illegal, incompletely run war, then Democrats will. I will be joined on the floor by my Senate allies in this fight.

Jake Sullivan on Iran: When it comes to Iran, what Israel would like to do under this particular government is just break Iran—cause chaos. Because as far as they’re concerned, a broken Iran is less of a threat to Israel. Now, the United States of America cannot think about it that way. Because a broken Iran means a broken global economy, as they continue to threaten the Straits of Hormuz. It means a potential refugee flow, like we saw after the war in Syria into Europe. It means a lot else besides. So I do believe that when it comes to this war in Iran, there is a real divergence between Israel’s ultimate aims and the United States’ ultimate aims.

Trump's special envoy to Belarus John Coale tells some boozy tales of drinking with Alexander Lukashenko and how he had the authoritarian "in my hand" by bashing the EU on his visit to Minsk: "The State Department told me [Lukashenko] likes to yuck it up, so we yucked it up. About a half hour, 45 minutes into it... he starts complaining about the Europeans – Europeans this, Europeans that. So – and this is kind of crude and I'm sorry for the language – but I said to him, 'Yeah, they're a bunch of pussies.' So, I had him in my hand from then on. He loves to cuss, so you cuss back. And we got along fine. He did five hours he talked. Then we had lunch for two hours... He gets up and toasts President Trump... So I get up and toast him..."

Zemlja u kojoj osuđeni ratni zločinac gostuje na RTS-u na dan početka bombardovanja, a čiji je uzrok i on, nema mnogo čemu da se nada. Nikola Šainović je pravosnažno osuđen pred Međunarodnim krivičnim tribunalom za bivšu Jugoslaviju u predmetu broj IT-05-87-A (Žalbeno veće, presuda od 23. januara 2014). Sud je utvrdio da je bio deo zajedničkog zločinačkog poduhvata čiji je cilj bio prisilno i trajno uklanjanje većine kosovskih Albanaca sa Kosova tokom 1999. godine. Kao visoki državni funkcioner i politički koordinator između vojske, policije i državnog vrha, imao je značajnu ulogu u planiranju i sprovođenju kampanje nasilja nad civilnim stanovništvom. Proglašen je krivim za zločine protiv čovečnosti i kršenja zakona i običaja ratovanja, uključujući deportaciju, prisilno premeštanje, progon (koji je obuhvatao ubistva i druga nehumana dela). Osuđen je za zločine koje su snage SRJ i Srbije sistematski sprovodile nad kosovskim Albancima kroz široko rasprostranjene i koordinisane akcije: sela i gradovi su granatirani i paljeni, civili ubijani ili premlaćivani, stanovništvo zastrašivano i primoravano da napusti svoje domove, uz pljačku i uništavanje imovine i verskih objekata, dok su kolone ljudi pod prisilom usmeravane ka granicama i proterivane van Kosova; sud je utvrdio da ovi obrasci nisu bili izolovani incidenti već deo organizovane politike progona koja je obuhvatala deportacije, prisilna premeštanja, ubistva i druga nehumana dela nad civilnim stanovništvom. Žalbeno veće je potvrdilo njegovu odgovornost za učešće u tim zločinima, ali je kaznu smanjilo sa 22 na 18 godina zatvora, uz obrazloženje delimičnog preinačenja pravne kvalifikacije u pojedinim tačkama, ali bez menjanja ključnog zaključka o njegovoj krivici i ulozi u zločinima. U zatvoru u Švedskoj, proveo je samo 12 godina, danas seiri na televiziji s nacionalnom frekvencijom koju mi svi plaćamo. Sram.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told people that we are only one war with Iran away from full ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Knowing it was foreseeable doesn’t make it any less horrific.

Hard to believe this isn't a Monty Python sketch

BREAKING: Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, head of Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa, visited Khirbet Humsa in the West Bank following a settler pogrom in which a 29-year-old Palestinian farmer was sexually assaulted, his family was beaten, and hundreds of his sheep were stolen. Below is his full statement, translated from Hebrew: Letter from the Head of the Yeshiva, Rabbi Yehuda Gilad With God’s help, Rosh Chodesh Nisan — “a time of atonement for all their generations” Yesterday I went through a very difficult and deeply disturbing experience. I visited Khirbet Humsa (about a 30-minute drive from our yeshiva), where a pogrom carried out by hilltop youth took place about a week ago. I heard the details of what happened there from several sources, including Ruti — a woman I have known for years and trust completely. It turns out that in the early hours of the night, a group of rioters (around 30–40 people) arrived, equipped with sticks and many zip ties. They bound the men (and apparently also two foreign volunteers, though I am not certain of this), and then beat them all over their bodies with fists and clubs. We saw many remnants of the zip ties on the ground. The men required treatment at the hospital in Afula for injuries of varying severity. At the same time, the attackers stole the entire herd — about 300 head — belonging to the few families living there, under unimaginable conditions of poverty. At first, I heard that there had also been sexual violence, and I did not believe it… Yesterday we arrived at the site with Ruti, a friend of mine who is well known to them. When they saw us — Rabbi Avidan Friedman and myself — they visibly recoiled in terror and anxiously pointed to the kippot on our heads. Ruti tried to calm them, explaining that we were not among the attackers. Even so, at the beginning of the meeting, they were hesitant and afraid. I heard directly from a young man — a firsthand witness — what had happened there. From his face, the blue bruise in his eye, and his sorrowful expression, it was clear he was telling the truth. In that same conversation (with the help of a translator), he described in detail the prolonged abuse they endured while bound. Then, with deep shame, he told us something I had previously found impossible to believe. I find it difficult — my hands tremble as I write this about Jews — and yet I will write it, because I am convinced it indeed happened. Yes, these wicked individuals bound his genitals in an extremely painful way — not to mention the humiliation involved. These events recall the pogroms our ancestors endured in various diasporas. Have we become like the worst of the nations? I want to turn to the question: what should be done? But I feel that I am still at the stage of crying out. Alas — what has become of us!