Vladimr Putin's has sent a message to the USA, and that is that he can play the game of neighborhood interference. He has come bearing gifts to Cuba, forgiving 90% of its, $32 billion Soviet era debt...$28.8 billion. He will also go to Brazil and Argentina and will be accompanying his "buddy" Angela to the World Cup Finals.
     Merkel is still smarting from the eavesdropping on her cell phone calls and has recently sent the station head of the CIA in Germany, packing, for spying activities. Brazil's president is also mad at the eavesdropping on her cell phone by NSA. 
     Actions have consequences and Putin has reacted, on the Ukraine gambit by the EU ( getting it to sign a trade agreement and moving away from Russia) and the criticism and sanctions on Russia and some of its officials. He first made a visit to China and signed an energy agreement (this in response to Europe's futile and useless threat to cut off Russian supply ). He then threw a "spanner" into Europe's unity, by getting many south European countries, to agree to a Southern pipeline. Comfort before scnctions.
     Putin is clearly relishing this. It makes him stronger in the eyes of his people and he gets to ,poke some fingers in the eyes of America and Europe. 
     Maybe he will go barechested to the beaches of Rio; ride a seadoo and play some beach football.    

Netanyahu has one single-minded plan, and that is to re-occupy Gaza. It will be done under the guise of destroying the tunnels and destroying Hamas' ability to operate , but this is not the real reason.  As a deputy speaker of the Knesst, Moishe Feiglin has stated in a recently published op-ed in Arutz Sheva, the land of  Gaza will be conquered, the residents " cleansed" and the land will be used  "to ease the housing crisis in Israel". 
     The former head of Mossad who had initially opposed the war,has now concluded that Israel will have to stay years in Gaza to achieve their goal of neutralising Hamas. The war continue to expand and more and more Gazans, mostly civilians are killed and wounded. Nowhere is safe, not UN facilities; not schools; not the beach; not the market place and most certainly not homes. All are targeted. None is spared not even little babies.
 There is another "hidden and unstated" reason for wanting to re-occupy Gaz. It is the gas fields off-shore ( which the Gazans were not allowed to develop). Israel has always decried the fact that " God" did not give them any oil and gas. Here is a solution to that " oversight".
So Gaza will move from the largest " open-air prison" to an "occupied open-air prison", where the Gazans will be under a new and more degrading oppression. They will not be cowed, thesE Gazans. They will continue to resist and Israel will pay a huge price for "Netanyahu's Folly".

Once again Gaza has been turned into a killing field. Three times in the last six years, Israel on the grounds of "security" and the "threat" posed by rockets fired by the militant Palestinian group, Hamas, has launched a series of air stikes. Once again, civilians are the major casualties,with nearly 100 killed and over 1000 injured, mostly women and children ( at least 23 children have been killed so far). No Israeli has been killed by the rockets, but a gas station was hit, and a few Israelis were injured, while running for shelter.  Houses are being targeted, (340 so far), on the grounds that they belonged to known Hamas fighters. A short warning, either from phone calls or a "non-armed" bomb dropped nearby, is reputedly given, before the target home is obliterated, with much "collateral damage"....that is what it is called when innocent women and children are killed or wounded. 
     So far no ground offensive has been launched, but over 30,000 Israeli reserves have been called up and are massing at the border. In 2008-9, the Israeli ground offensive resulted in more than 1000 Palestinian deaths and 13 Israeli ones. In 2012, there was no ground offensive but airstikes killed 100 Palestinians ( 6 Israelis died). And now this. 
     The reason given by Netanyahu was the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers (June 12) and the firing of rockets ( after hundreds of arrests, humialiating treatments, beatings by border guards and the killing of a Palestinian teenager (six Israelis fro an extremist group have been arrested)  , allegedly by Hamas, though it could have been a break away group, the Islamic Jihad. The Israeli government knew the three boys were dead within hours of their kidnapping, yet the public was not told and Netanyahu went on a air to rouse the public. The Israeli intelligence knew the identities of the kidnappers by June 13, but this information was also kept secret, while Netanyahu continued to rant and rave and threaten. It was evident that Netanyahu wanted an excuse to attack Hamas, even though it it was clear that they had nothing to do with the kidnapping and they said so. 
     Why would Hamas commit   an act of terrorism that would jeopardise the just completed coalition agreement with Fatah? Hamas has been severely weakened by the previous Israeli attacks. They had been forced to leave Syria, because of their support for anti Assad rebels. They had lost their $24 million a month funding from Iran for this . The Saudis had also put pressure on the Qataris to stop funding them and the election of el Sisi in Egypt has seen the supply routes to Gaza limited.  They were in dire straits and that is why they turmed to Fatah, which under Abbas had pursued a policy of non-violence, cooperation and co-existence and were rewarded with $400 million aid yearly from the USA and the EU had given them $3.4 billion between 2008-2011. Cash -strapped, Hamas had no reason to start a war with Israel.
     Why did Netanyahu hold back evidence from the Israelis? Obviously, he wanted to use it to rouse the population and that he did, and the support to launch an attack grew with each passing day. He was also concerned by the criticism from Lieberman, who threatened to leave the coalition government over Nertanyahu's handling of Gaza. He was concerned about losing the support of the right wing, the nationalists ( Bennett) and the extremist settlers and he was concernerd about the Fatah/Hamas coalition. Thus his decision to go to war. He has always played the "security" card and he has always been more interested in staying in power. That is why he has, time and again sabotaged the peace process ( don't forget his joy at the assissination of Rabin, who had negotiated Oslo with Arafat). Hamas can be weakened but  it cannot be defeated. It is an idea that has taken root firmly in the soil of occupation, continued daily humiliation and degradation.
     No country can maintain military control over another people indefinitely. To do so is wrong and immoral and it is a drain on human dignity and economic resources. It creates resentment, hatred and instability. It dehumanises the occupier and the occupied. This dance of futility must end.   
     July, 28,...Israeli police have confirmed that Hamas did not kidnap the three, but that it was done by a "lone" cell. Netanyahu lied and used the outrage to launch this war. On July 15, a deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Moishe Feiglin, wrote an op-ed titled "My Outline for a Solution in Gaza.....Clear and Concise steps toward achieving Quiet in Gaza" in Arutz Sheva calling for the "ethnic cleansing" of Gaza.  The seven steps are ...Ultimum; Attack; Defense; CONQUER....after the IDF completes the "softening" of the targets with firepower, the IDF will conquer the entire Gaza with all the means necessary to minimize any harm to our soldiers, with no other consideration; ELIMINATION......the General Security Service and the IDF will thoroughly ELIMINATE all armed enemies from Gaza. T he enemy population that is innocent of wrongdoing and separated itself from the armed terrorists will be treated in accordance with international law and will be allowed to leave. Israel will generously aid those who wish to leave; SOVEREIGNTY.....Gaza is part of our land and we will remain there forever. Liberation of parts of our land forever is the only thing that justifies endangering our soldiers in battle to capture land. Subsequent to elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. This will also to ease the housing crisis in Israel. The coastal train line will be extended to reach the entire length of Gaza. This is the plan by no other than a deputy Speaker of the Knesset...cleanse Gaza of the Palestinians and use it to ease the housing crisis in Israel
.     Nationalism; tribalism; expansionism; manifest destiny and chauvinism. You can read the other details in the article written by Kate Halper in Raw Story.   
     One more quote from Netanyahu.... no relinquishing of security control of the territory west of the Jordan river; and the Dahiya Doctrine, to treat villages as military bases and destroy them. Israel is well on its way to achieve this goal of ethnic cleansing, while the world looks on in 'conspirational silence".