Saturday, April 25, 2009
US interpreter who witnessed torture in Iraq shot herself with service rifle
It is possible that one of the victims of the United States' torture policy is a young, devout Mormon woman from Arizona called Alyssa Peterson. She was a soldier who not only saw the rough interrogation methods that the US military used on Iraqi prisoners, but was deeply troubled by them. Some weeks after formally protesting about them to her superiors, and asking to be reassigned, she took her gun and killed herself. The cause of her death was kept secret for two years, and the mystery of what Peterson witnessed, and the content of the notes she made, still goes on.
"...The Horrible Truth"
by Dahr Jamail
The US occupation of Iraq, which has become the full responsibility of President Barack Obama, is once again a bloodbath. Not that it had ceased to be violent, brutal and chaotic, for not one day has passed since the US invasion of Iraq was launched that hasn't found several Iraqis being senselessly slaughtered. But rather than talking about three Iraqis being killed today, or two dozen, we are again talking about several dozen, and over 100 wounded, as we are seeing recently. Each of these Iraqis have been killed as a direct result of the US occupation of Iraq - their blood splattered on the hands of President Obama, who, during a visit to Baghdad's airport on April 7, praised the US military for their "extraordinary achievement" in Iraq
Many Americans who voted for Barack Obama last November continue to believe he will do the right thing in Iraq. The reality is that, unless forced to do so from below, there will be none of the promised "change" in US foreign policy. Those on the receiving end of US policy in the Middle East, Iraq in particular, know this better than most Americans.
Maki, who is now a refugee in Amman, Jordan, continued, "Now I see it has all been lies. The Americans don't give a damn about democracy or human rights. They are worse than even Saddam."
The US occupation of Iraq, which has become the full responsibility of President Barack Obama, is once again a bloodbath. Not that it had ceased to be violent, brutal and chaotic, for not one day has passed since the US invasion of Iraq was launched that hasn't found several Iraqis being senselessly slaughtered. But rather than talking about three Iraqis being killed today, or two dozen, we are again talking about several dozen, and over 100 wounded, as we are seeing recently. Each of these Iraqis have been killed as a direct result of the US occupation of Iraq - their blood splattered on the hands of President Obama, who, during a visit to Baghdad's airport on April 7, praised the US military for their "extraordinary achievement" in Iraq
Many Americans who voted for Barack Obama last November continue to believe he will do the right thing in Iraq. The reality is that, unless forced to do so from below, there will be none of the promised "change" in US foreign policy. Those on the receiving end of US policy in the Middle East, Iraq in particular, know this better than most Americans.
Maki, who is now a refugee in Amman, Jordan, continued, "Now I see it has all been lies. The Americans don't give a damn about democracy or human rights. They are worse than even Saddam."
Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinians in Hebron complain of racism - 24 Apr 09
"In a controversial address at a recent UN conference on racism, Mahmoud Ahmadinajad, Iran's president, denounced Israel as a "cruel and repressive racist regime".
Al Jazeera's Clayton Swisher visits the West Bank city of Hebron and a nearby Jewish settlement, where Palestinians say racism is a daily reality. "
London Concert for Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Think Tank
"Benefit Concert NOT TO BE MISSED! Gilad Atzmon performs with his renowned quartet and with SPECIAL GUEST NIGEL KENNEDY. If that were not enough, someone we love and a true rising star, Sarah Gillespie will be showcasing her highly-acclaimed debut release. Add to the mix other original musicians and the exciting atmosphere of the 606 Club, and there are all the makings of a night to remember!
Thursday 30th April 2009 @ 606 Club 7.30 pm £15.00.
Call 0207 352 5953 to book a table for dinner........."
Thursday 30th April 2009 @ 606 Club 7.30 pm £15.00.
Call 0207 352 5953 to book a table for dinner........."
CROOKS to RICHES: EXCLUSIVE-US aid goes to Abbas-backed phone venture
Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:53am EDT
* U.S. aid goes to well-connected Palestinian telecom firm
* Supporters say Abbas-backed Wataniya had no other options
* Aid was meant for struggling small and mid-sized firms
By Adam Entous
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. aid in the form of loan guarantees meant for Palestinian farmers and other small to mid-sized businesses has been given to a mobile phone firm backed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Gulf investors.
The shift in U.S. taxpayer support to Wataniya Palestine, a joint venture between a Kuwaiti and Qatari telecoms group and a holding company for public assets, the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), has dismayed sponsors of small private enterprise.
Its supporters counter that help for Wataniya Palestine is good for jobs and free markets at a time when Washington is throwing its weight, and money, behind Abbas as a bulwark against Hamas Islamists in Gaza and as a partner in efforts to relaunch peace negotiations with Israel.
Among the firm's advocates is Middle East envoy Tony Blair, who pressed Israel to grant Wataniya Palestine radio frequencies so the company can challenge a monopoly long held by PalTel......."
* U.S. aid goes to well-connected Palestinian telecom firm
* Supporters say Abbas-backed Wataniya had no other options
* Aid was meant for struggling small and mid-sized firms
By Adam Entous
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. aid in the form of loan guarantees meant for Palestinian farmers and other small to mid-sized businesses has been given to a mobile phone firm backed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Gulf investors.
The shift in U.S. taxpayer support to Wataniya Palestine, a joint venture between a Kuwaiti and Qatari telecoms group and a holding company for public assets, the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), has dismayed sponsors of small private enterprise.
Its supporters counter that help for Wataniya Palestine is good for jobs and free markets at a time when Washington is throwing its weight, and money, behind Abbas as a bulwark against Hamas Islamists in Gaza and as a partner in efforts to relaunch peace negotiations with Israel.
Among the firm's advocates is Middle East envoy Tony Blair, who pressed Israel to grant Wataniya Palestine radio frequencies so the company can challenge a monopoly long held by PalTel......."
Gonzales and Harman’s ‘Completed Crimes’
by Scott Horton Interviews Jeff Stein, April 25, 2009
"Jeff Stein, Spy Talk columnist for Congressional Quarterly, discusses his breaking news story about the alleged NSA wiretap recording of Rep. Jane Harmon agreeing to intervene on behalf of two AIPAC employees accused of espionage in exchange for help getting appointed chair of the House Intelligence Committee and why then-Attorney General Gonzales intervened to close the case before it could really begin.
Interview conducted 4/22/09. Listen to the interview......."
"Jeff Stein, Spy Talk columnist for Congressional Quarterly, discusses his breaking news story about the alleged NSA wiretap recording of Rep. Jane Harmon agreeing to intervene on behalf of two AIPAC employees accused of espionage in exchange for help getting appointed chair of the House Intelligence Committee and why then-Attorney General Gonzales intervened to close the case before it could really begin.
Interview conducted 4/22/09. Listen to the interview......."
How well was the Iraq war reported?
The winner of the Orwell Prize for his coverage of the most fiercely debated conflict of modern times, reflects on the task he and his colleagues faced
By Patrick Cockburn
"......The worst coverage of the Iraq war was probably at the beginning and at the end of the conflict. At the beginning there was the uncritical acceptance that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. In the last two years Washington had equal success in selling the "surge", the limited reinforcement of US troops employing more aggressive tactics, as turning the tide in favour of the US. A danger now is that this myth will take on a life of its own leading to similar methods being employed in Afghanistan and the far right in the US blaming President Obama for withdrawing from Iraq just as victory was being won."
By Patrick Cockburn
"......The worst coverage of the Iraq war was probably at the beginning and at the end of the conflict. At the beginning there was the uncritical acceptance that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. In the last two years Washington had equal success in selling the "surge", the limited reinforcement of US troops employing more aggressive tactics, as turning the tide in favour of the US. A danger now is that this myth will take on a life of its own leading to similar methods being employed in Afghanistan and the far right in the US blaming President Obama for withdrawing from Iraq just as victory was being won."
Caught on tape
An extraordinary scoop exposes Democrat Jane Harman and the murky inner workings of Washington politics
Richard Silverstein
guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 April 2009
"Jeff Stein, a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, has broken an amazing scoop revealing that Democratic member of congress Jane Harman was caught red-handed on a National Security Agency wiretap colluding with an Israeli "agent" to get a reprieve for two alleged spies working for Aipac, the American-Israel public affairs committee. The quid pro quo for Harman - according to the CQ revelations - was that the agent would arrange for wealthy Democratic party donor Haim Saban to threaten the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with withdrawing funding unless Pelosi made Harman the chair of the House's powerful intelligence committee........
The shame is that because no one wants to touch this, Harman, Gonzales, Aipac and the alleged spies are not likely to face further investigation. In fact, announcing the end of the Aipac Two trial will be the best gift the Justice Department could offer Aipac on the eve of its national policy conference. The lobby and all its flacks and operatives will take this as a vindication of their tactics and mission. And a major opportunity to examine the inner workings of the Israel lobby's political machine will have been lost."
Richard Silverstein
guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 April 2009
"Jeff Stein, a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, has broken an amazing scoop revealing that Democratic member of congress Jane Harman was caught red-handed on a National Security Agency wiretap colluding with an Israeli "agent" to get a reprieve for two alleged spies working for Aipac, the American-Israel public affairs committee. The quid pro quo for Harman - according to the CQ revelations - was that the agent would arrange for wealthy Democratic party donor Haim Saban to threaten the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with withdrawing funding unless Pelosi made Harman the chair of the House's powerful intelligence committee........
The shame is that because no one wants to touch this, Harman, Gonzales, Aipac and the alleged spies are not likely to face further investigation. In fact, announcing the end of the Aipac Two trial will be the best gift the Justice Department could offer Aipac on the eve of its national policy conference. The lobby and all its flacks and operatives will take this as a vindication of their tactics and mission. And a major opportunity to examine the inner workings of the Israel lobby's political machine will have been lost."
إدارة أوباما.. هل تغير موقفها من حركة "حماس" (تقرير)
COMMENT:
There Are Still Many Idiots Within Hamas......
Who Are Still Counting on Obama, and a "Change" in American Policy!!
Hard to Believe....
After 61 Years of the Nakba, The Palestinians Still Can't Figure Out How the Game is Played.....
Illusions of American "Balance" and "Fairness" Still Exist in the Minds of Those Leading the Hapless Palestinians.....
What a Pity!
I Am Afraid That it is Late in the Day for the Palestinians to Develop the Needed Revolutionary Leadership to Lead Them......
There is No Evidence of That Taking Place.
مؤشرات على احتمال إعادة النظر في الموقف من الحركة
"واشنطن - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
رغم أن الموقف المعلن للإدارة الأمريكية الجديدة لم يطرأ عليه أي تغير يذكر إزاء التعامل مع حركة المقاومة الإسلامية "حماس" حتى الآن مقارنة بما كان عليه في عهد إدارة الرئيس السابق بوش، وظل ملتزمًا بعدم التعامل مع حكومة ترأسها أو تشترك فيها الحركة طالما أنها لم تعترف بما يسمى "الرباعية الدولية"، إلا أن هناك من المراقبين من يعتبر أن هذا الموقف ليس نهائيًّا، وربما تجري عليه بعض التغييرات في عهد الرئيس أوباما، بناء على توصيات من ساسة ودبلوماسيين أمريكيين وغربيين
......."
There Are Still Many Idiots Within Hamas......
Who Are Still Counting on Obama, and a "Change" in American Policy!!
Hard to Believe....
After 61 Years of the Nakba, The Palestinians Still Can't Figure Out How the Game is Played.....
Illusions of American "Balance" and "Fairness" Still Exist in the Minds of Those Leading the Hapless Palestinians.....
What a Pity!
I Am Afraid That it is Late in the Day for the Palestinians to Develop the Needed Revolutionary Leadership to Lead Them......
There is No Evidence of That Taking Place.
مؤشرات على احتمال إعادة النظر في الموقف من الحركة
"واشنطن - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
رغم أن الموقف المعلن للإدارة الأمريكية الجديدة لم يطرأ عليه أي تغير يذكر إزاء التعامل مع حركة المقاومة الإسلامية "حماس" حتى الآن مقارنة بما كان عليه في عهد إدارة الرئيس السابق بوش، وظل ملتزمًا بعدم التعامل مع حكومة ترأسها أو تشترك فيها الحركة طالما أنها لم تعترف بما يسمى "الرباعية الدولية"، إلا أن هناك من المراقبين من يعتبر أن هذا الموقف ليس نهائيًّا، وربما تجري عليه بعض التغييرات في عهد الرئيس أوباما، بناء على توصيات من ساسة ودبلوماسيين أمريكيين وغربيين
......."
Sayyed Khamenei Accuses US, Israel over Iraq Bombings
Al-Manar
"25/04/2009 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei blamed Israel and the United States on Saturday for persistent violence in Iraq after two suicide attacks left scores of Iranian pilgrims dead.
"The American and Israeli intelligence apparatuses are the number-one accused... for the spread of the poisonous seeds of terrorism in Iraq," Sayyed Khamenei said in a message of condolence to the victims' families broadcast on state television.
"Those evil brains and sinful hands that established this blind, unbridled terrorism in Iraq should know that this fire will end up burning them," the Iranian leader added......."
"25/04/2009 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei blamed Israel and the United States on Saturday for persistent violence in Iraq after two suicide attacks left scores of Iranian pilgrims dead.
"The American and Israeli intelligence apparatuses are the number-one accused... for the spread of the poisonous seeds of terrorism in Iraq," Sayyed Khamenei said in a message of condolence to the victims' families broadcast on state television.
"Those evil brains and sinful hands that established this blind, unbridled terrorism in Iraq should know that this fire will end up burning them," the Iranian leader added......."
Friday, April 24, 2009
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
This poll asks:
Do you see the Norwegian judiciary as being up to the task of trying Israelis for war crimes committed?
With about 900 responding so far, 75% said no.
Do you see the Norwegian judiciary as being up to the task of trying Israelis for war crimes committed?
With about 900 responding so far, 75% said no.
Al-Jazeera Video: Israel fishing for information in Gaza - 24 Apr 09
"Human rights groups say Israel is preying on the sick and vulnerable in Gaza to coerce them into spying.
Several fishermen tell Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin that they have been threatened with blackmail unless they agree to spy on Palestinian factions."
Real News Video: A brief history of torture
Skewer: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on White House tortured logic
Netanyahu: We will not freeze settlement construction
"Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated on Thursday that Israel does not intend to freeze the expansion and construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank........The Israeli PM said that this issue should be parallel, stating the “if the Israeli’s were barred from building in the West Bank, the Palestinians should refrain from building too”.
This position disregards the fact that settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under the international law and constitute a war crime.......
Netanyahu said that the “West Bank is a disputed territory” and that he does not intend to halt the construction and expansion of settlements.......
He slammed some European Legislators who are saying the EU should not upgrade its relations with Israel because of its violations against the Palestinians.
Netanyahu stated that relations with Israel should not be dependent on Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, and added that Israel will not accept preconditions.
The statements of Netanyahu come in direct contradiction to international law especially since Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are built on areas stolen from the Palestinian. "
This position disregards the fact that settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under the international law and constitute a war crime.......
Netanyahu said that the “West Bank is a disputed territory” and that he does not intend to halt the construction and expansion of settlements.......
He slammed some European Legislators who are saying the EU should not upgrade its relations with Israel because of its violations against the Palestinians.
Netanyahu stated that relations with Israel should not be dependent on Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, and added that Israel will not accept preconditions.
The statements of Netanyahu come in direct contradiction to international law especially since Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are built on areas stolen from the Palestinian. "
Middle East 'Spies': A New Front for Gaza's Conflict
A Good Piece
By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle
"......Now that Israel’s clear intentions in Gaza - discrediting Hamas and ultimately ousting them from their democratically elected position - resulted in utter failure, Israelis are hoping to exploit regional conflicts to rein in Hamas and other such organizations through alternative means.....
One has to wonder if these sudden discoveries are related to attempts aimed at undermining various Islamic opposition groups in the region. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, for example, is already on the defensive, trying to shield itself from what is considered Iran-Hezbollah’s designs to ‘destabilize’ Egypt. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abdul Munaim Abu al-Futuh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood group's guidance bureau stated, "We have no relations with any of those (arrested)." One can only expect the situation to worsen, and could only hope such regime-induced panic doesn’t destroy the small semblance of democracy that these nations still possess.
In Jordan, similar discoveries are also being made, Hamas members sentenced, others apprehended.
The timing of these crackdowns, the nature of the accusations and the war of words that ensued as a result makes one question the nature of these arrests, whether they are genuine security measures, or political dealings, a new symptom of the ongoing cold war in the region.
Following the war in Gaza, and earlier in Lebanon, the Middle East’s new conflict has been that of defining the new discourse which will ultimately dominate the region’s politics: that of resistance or ‘moderation’. The US, Israel and their ‘moderate’ allies in the region have clearly drawn lines in the sand, a notion that when reviewing recent developments simply cannot be denied. "
By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle
"......Now that Israel’s clear intentions in Gaza - discrediting Hamas and ultimately ousting them from their democratically elected position - resulted in utter failure, Israelis are hoping to exploit regional conflicts to rein in Hamas and other such organizations through alternative means.....
One has to wonder if these sudden discoveries are related to attempts aimed at undermining various Islamic opposition groups in the region. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, for example, is already on the defensive, trying to shield itself from what is considered Iran-Hezbollah’s designs to ‘destabilize’ Egypt. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abdul Munaim Abu al-Futuh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood group's guidance bureau stated, "We have no relations with any of those (arrested)." One can only expect the situation to worsen, and could only hope such regime-induced panic doesn’t destroy the small semblance of democracy that these nations still possess.
In Jordan, similar discoveries are also being made, Hamas members sentenced, others apprehended.
The timing of these crackdowns, the nature of the accusations and the war of words that ensued as a result makes one question the nature of these arrests, whether they are genuine security measures, or political dealings, a new symptom of the ongoing cold war in the region.
Following the war in Gaza, and earlier in Lebanon, the Middle East’s new conflict has been that of defining the new discourse which will ultimately dominate the region’s politics: that of resistance or ‘moderation’. The US, Israel and their ‘moderate’ allies in the region have clearly drawn lines in the sand, a notion that when reviewing recent developments simply cannot be denied. "
Mubarak's Expanding Enemies List
By Rannie Amiri
Palestine Chronicle
"A telltale sign of a dictator’s waning influence is increasing paranoia. And this is exactly what Egypt's U.S.-backed dictator, President Hosni Mubarak, is suffering from.
At a time when criticism over Egypt’s abetment of the Israeli siege and attack on Gaza is intensifying, and its traditional role as leader of the Arab world is being eclipsed, Mubarak’s standing and legitimacy in the eyes of his people has plummeted. His paranoia, conversely, has skyrocketed.
This was on display when the state-controlled Egyptian daily Al-Ahram published an article last Saturday accusing the following nations, people and organizations of attempting to destabilize the country, or in the words of the paper, to “ … bring Egypt to the brink of chaos and facilitate a coup”: Iran, Syria, Qatar, Hezbollah, Hamas, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas chief Khaled Meshal, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahdi Akef, and the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network. Lebanon also joined the ever-expanding list a few days later......."
Palestine Chronicle
"A telltale sign of a dictator’s waning influence is increasing paranoia. And this is exactly what Egypt's U.S.-backed dictator, President Hosni Mubarak, is suffering from.
At a time when criticism over Egypt’s abetment of the Israeli siege and attack on Gaza is intensifying, and its traditional role as leader of the Arab world is being eclipsed, Mubarak’s standing and legitimacy in the eyes of his people has plummeted. His paranoia, conversely, has skyrocketed.
This was on display when the state-controlled Egyptian daily Al-Ahram published an article last Saturday accusing the following nations, people and organizations of attempting to destabilize the country, or in the words of the paper, to “ … bring Egypt to the brink of chaos and facilitate a coup”: Iran, Syria, Qatar, Hezbollah, Hamas, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas chief Khaled Meshal, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahdi Akef, and the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network. Lebanon also joined the ever-expanding list a few days later......."
Gaza, remember?
By Gideon Levy
"......The world once again has to clean up Israel's mess. But Israel is setting more and more political conditions for providing emergency humanitarian aid ? empty excuses to leave Gaza in ruins and not offer aid that Gaza deserves and desperately needs. Gaza has once again been left to its own devices, the Abu-Aun family has been left in its tent, and when the hostilities resume we will be told once again about the cruelty and brutality of ... the Palestinians."
"......The world once again has to clean up Israel's mess. But Israel is setting more and more political conditions for providing emergency humanitarian aid ? empty excuses to leave Gaza in ruins and not offer aid that Gaza deserves and desperately needs. Gaza has once again been left to its own devices, the Abu-Aun family has been left in its tent, and when the hostilities resume we will be told once again about the cruelty and brutality of ... the Palestinians."
Rape, beatings and bribery: Iraqi police out of control
Times Online
"......She fails. The man, instructing the cameraman to shoot the scene with his mobile phone from various angles, rapes her.
That is not the only shocking aspect of the film, according to Jassim al-Bidawi, former Mayor of Fallujah and now a human rights activist. He has identified the rapist as an Iraqi police officer, and says that the cameraman is one, too. They are thought to have drugged the woman as she visited her husband in a detention centre in Ramadi. Since the rapist's uncle is a senior policeman in the city the attacker is all but untouchable, Mr al-Bidawi says......."
That is not the only shocking aspect of the film, according to Jassim al-Bidawi, former Mayor of Fallujah and now a human rights activist. He has identified the rapist as an Iraqi police officer, and says that the cameraman is one, too. They are thought to have drugged the woman as she visited her husband in a detention centre in Ramadi. Since the rapist's uncle is a senior policeman in the city the attacker is all but untouchable, Mr al-Bidawi says......."
The Shamelessness of Jane Harman
She should have the decency to step down
by Justin Raimondo, April 24, 2009
" Confronted with clear evidence that she tried to obstruct justice in the case of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman — two former top AIPAC officials slated to go on trial for espionage on June 2 — Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat, did what politicians usually do when forced to face unpleasant facts: she brazened it out. In a response to the Congressional Quarterly piece by Jeff Stein that has proved such an entertaining embarrassment, she brayed......
In a better world, a member of Congress caught on tape agreeing to obstruct justice at the request of an agent of a foreign power would have stepped down as soon as the news hit the headlines. In our shameless era, however, that isn’t likely to happen. Instead, the spies will get off, Israel will continue to steal us blind, and a trial that would have shocked the American people and portrayed Israel in a far more realistic light than our news media dares will never take place.
How’s that for change we can believe in?.....
The outlook of this shocking case doesn’t look too good at the moment, but that could change — if enough Americans are informed and angry enough to protest. The decision to drop the case, as of this writing, has yet to be made: it’s only that they’re considering dropping it. There’s just one way to lodge your protest, at this point, and that is to contact the US Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the case is being tried.
Remember, there are no doubt people in that office fighting to keep this case alive — so be polite. Briefly express your disappointment upon reading news reports that the case might be dropped, and your hope that this is not the case.
Call 703-299-3700 — and remember, be nice!
Or, better yet, write a letter, send a telegram, or whatever, and address it to:
US Attorney
Justin W. Williams United States Attorney’s Building
2100 Jamieson Ave
Alexandria, VA 22314 "
by Justin Raimondo, April 24, 2009
" Confronted with clear evidence that she tried to obstruct justice in the case of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman — two former top AIPAC officials slated to go on trial for espionage on June 2 — Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat, did what politicians usually do when forced to face unpleasant facts: she brazened it out. In a response to the Congressional Quarterly piece by Jeff Stein that has proved such an entertaining embarrassment, she brayed......
In a better world, a member of Congress caught on tape agreeing to obstruct justice at the request of an agent of a foreign power would have stepped down as soon as the news hit the headlines. In our shameless era, however, that isn’t likely to happen. Instead, the spies will get off, Israel will continue to steal us blind, and a trial that would have shocked the American people and portrayed Israel in a far more realistic light than our news media dares will never take place.
How’s that for change we can believe in?.....
The outlook of this shocking case doesn’t look too good at the moment, but that could change — if enough Americans are informed and angry enough to protest. The decision to drop the case, as of this writing, has yet to be made: it’s only that they’re considering dropping it. There’s just one way to lodge your protest, at this point, and that is to contact the US Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the case is being tried.
Remember, there are no doubt people in that office fighting to keep this case alive — so be polite. Briefly express your disappointment upon reading news reports that the case might be dropped, and your hope that this is not the case.
Call 703-299-3700 — and remember, be nice!
Or, better yet, write a letter, send a telegram, or whatever, and address it to:
US Attorney
Justin W. Williams United States Attorney’s Building
2100 Jamieson Ave
Alexandria, VA 22314 "
مصر تحارب نصر الله وتحتضن ليبرمان
مصر تحارب نصر الله وتحتضن ليبرمان
رأي القدس
"تواصل الحكومة المصرية تحديها لمشاعر شعبها اولا، والامتين العربية والاسلامية باتباع سياسات ذات طابع استجدائي للدولة العبرية، وحكومتها الحالية المتطرفة، تنعكس سلبا على مكانتها، وتؤكد تراجع دورها، اي مصر، كقوة اقليمية ذات شأن.
ففي الوقت الذي يحقق فيه الرئيس الايراني احمدي نجاد احتراما واسعا في العالم الاسلامي، ويستقبل استقبال الابطال في بلاده بعد فضحه للعنصرية الاسرائيلية في مؤتمر 'ديربان 2' المنعقد في جنيف، يذهب اللواء عمر سليمان رئيس الاستخبارات المصرية الى القدس المحتلة، ويلتقي بقادة حكومتها العنصرية المتطرفة، بمن في ذلك افيغدور ليبرمان وزير الخارجية الذي أهان مصر وزعيمها، وهدد بتدمير سدها العالي واغراق شعبها، وتوجيه دعوات رسمية له ولرئيس وزرائه لزيارة مصر رسميا.
لا نفهم لماذا هذا الارتماء الرسمي المصري تحت اقدام حكومة اسرائيلية ترفض الاعتراف بحل الدولتين، وعملية انابوليس للسلام، وتطالب العرب والفلسطينيين بالاعتراف باسرائيل كدولة يهودية خالصة كشرط لاي تفاوض معهم
....
امر مؤسف ان تهادن الحكومة المصرية ليبرمان، وتتودد اليه وهي تعرف من هو، وكيف تطاول عليها وعلى رئيسها، بينما تعلن حربا ضروسا ضد السيد حسن نصر الله زعيم حزب الله لانه يطالبها بكسر الحصار على قطاع غزة، ويحاول مساعدة رجال المقاومة الفلسطينية بالمال والسلاح للدفاع عن انفسهم وشعبهم في مواجهة المجازر الاسرائيلية المتواصلة.
لقاء اللواء سليمان بليبرمان أعطاه صك براءة من العنصرية والتطرف، ووفر على الاوروبيين حرج مقاطعته وعدم استقباله، وهذه خطيئة كبرى من الرجل وحكومته التي تؤكد كم هي قصيرة النظر، بل ومتواطئة مع سياسات الحصار والمجازر والاستيطان الاسرائيلية
......"
رأي القدس
"تواصل الحكومة المصرية تحديها لمشاعر شعبها اولا، والامتين العربية والاسلامية باتباع سياسات ذات طابع استجدائي للدولة العبرية، وحكومتها الحالية المتطرفة، تنعكس سلبا على مكانتها، وتؤكد تراجع دورها، اي مصر، كقوة اقليمية ذات شأن.
ففي الوقت الذي يحقق فيه الرئيس الايراني احمدي نجاد احتراما واسعا في العالم الاسلامي، ويستقبل استقبال الابطال في بلاده بعد فضحه للعنصرية الاسرائيلية في مؤتمر 'ديربان 2' المنعقد في جنيف، يذهب اللواء عمر سليمان رئيس الاستخبارات المصرية الى القدس المحتلة، ويلتقي بقادة حكومتها العنصرية المتطرفة، بمن في ذلك افيغدور ليبرمان وزير الخارجية الذي أهان مصر وزعيمها، وهدد بتدمير سدها العالي واغراق شعبها، وتوجيه دعوات رسمية له ولرئيس وزرائه لزيارة مصر رسميا.
لا نفهم لماذا هذا الارتماء الرسمي المصري تحت اقدام حكومة اسرائيلية ترفض الاعتراف بحل الدولتين، وعملية انابوليس للسلام، وتطالب العرب والفلسطينيين بالاعتراف باسرائيل كدولة يهودية خالصة كشرط لاي تفاوض معهم
....
امر مؤسف ان تهادن الحكومة المصرية ليبرمان، وتتودد اليه وهي تعرف من هو، وكيف تطاول عليها وعلى رئيسها، بينما تعلن حربا ضروسا ضد السيد حسن نصر الله زعيم حزب الله لانه يطالبها بكسر الحصار على قطاع غزة، ويحاول مساعدة رجال المقاومة الفلسطينية بالمال والسلاح للدفاع عن انفسهم وشعبهم في مواجهة المجازر الاسرائيلية المتواصلة.
لقاء اللواء سليمان بليبرمان أعطاه صك براءة من العنصرية والتطرف، ووفر على الاوروبيين حرج مقاطعته وعدم استقباله، وهذه خطيئة كبرى من الرجل وحكومته التي تؤكد كم هي قصيرة النظر، بل ومتواطئة مع سياسات الحصار والمجازر والاستيطان الاسرائيلية
......"
"World Must Drop 'Land for Peace, Right of Return' Slogans"
Al-Manar
"24/04/2009 The international community has to "stop speaking in slogans" if it really wants to help the new Israeli government work toward a solution to the Palestinian conflict and help bring stability to the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, in his first interview with an Israeli newspaper since taking the job.......
Slogans like these, and others Lieberman cited, such as "land for peace" and "two-state solution," were both overly simplistic and ignored the root causes of the ongoing conflict, he said....
Equally emphatically, he said no peace proposal that so much as entertained the notion of a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees could serve as a basis for negotiation. "It cannot be on the table. I'm not ready to even discuss the 'right of return' of even one refugee," he [the immigrant from Moldova] said.
Lieberman said the new Israeli government would have no dealings with Hamas, which needed to be "suffocated," and that the international community also had to maintain the long-standing Quartet preconditions for dealing with the Islamic resistance group.
LIEBERMAN HITS OUT AT IRAN, SYRIA
"24/04/2009 The international community has to "stop speaking in slogans" if it really wants to help the new Israeli government work toward a solution to the Palestinian conflict and help bring stability to the Middle East, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, in his first interview with an Israeli newspaper since taking the job.......
Slogans like these, and others Lieberman cited, such as "land for peace" and "two-state solution," were both overly simplistic and ignored the root causes of the ongoing conflict, he said....
Equally emphatically, he said no peace proposal that so much as entertained the notion of a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees could serve as a basis for negotiation. "It cannot be on the table. I'm not ready to even discuss the 'right of return' of even one refugee," he [the immigrant from Moldova] said.
Lieberman said the new Israeli government would have no dealings with Hamas, which needed to be "suffocated," and that the international community also had to maintain the long-standing Quartet preconditions for dealing with the Islamic resistance group.
LIEBERMAN HITS OUT AT IRAN, SYRIA
Lieberman also said Iran is a key obstacle to resolving the Middle East conflict and spoke out against resuming indirect talks with Syria.
The Israeli FM claimed that the biggest obstacle to any comprehensive solution, he said, "is not Israel. It is not the Palestinians. It's the Iranians. It would be impossible, to resolve any problem in our region without resolving the Iranian problem.".....
Noting what he called Syria's deepening ties with Iran, Lieberman said he saw no point whatsoever in resuming the indirect talks with Damascus conducted by the last government. "We don't see any good will from the Syrian side," he said.....
He said he believed his international colleagues "respect me, and that they understand that I say what I mean, and I mean every word that I say."....."
The Israeli FM claimed that the biggest obstacle to any comprehensive solution, he said, "is not Israel. It is not the Palestinians. It's the Iranians. It would be impossible, to resolve any problem in our region without resolving the Iranian problem.".....
Noting what he called Syria's deepening ties with Iran, Lieberman said he saw no point whatsoever in resuming the indirect talks with Damascus conducted by the last government. "We don't see any good will from the Syrian side," he said.....
He said he believed his international colleagues "respect me, and that they understand that I say what I mean, and I mean every word that I say."....."
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Video: ABC News Exclusive: Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh. This is an Example of the Thugs Ruling the Arab World
Police in Uniform Join In as Victim Is Whipped, Beaten, Electrocuted, Run Over by SUV
(Left) Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother to the President of the UAE and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
"A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.
A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV......."
Click Here to See Video
(Left) Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother to the President of the UAE and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
"A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.
A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV......."
Click Here to See Video
I am in love with Clare
By Gilad Atzmon
Palestine Think Tank
"Heroic ex Cabinet Minister Clare Short was criticised today over the Parliament’s invitation of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to address MPs and Peers via a video-link up. Needless to say, Short’s initiative is the right thing at the very right time.
However, Israel’s response must be noted. It is either pathetic or amusing. I let the reader decide......"
Palestine Think Tank
"Heroic ex Cabinet Minister Clare Short was criticised today over the Parliament’s invitation of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to address MPs and Peers via a video-link up. Needless to say, Short’s initiative is the right thing at the very right time.
However, Israel’s response must be noted. It is either pathetic or amusing. I let the reader decide......"
Signs of worsening malnutrition among children
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 22 April 2009
(Left) A six-month-old girl diagnosed as underweight, whose father was a medic killed during the recent attacks on Gaza.
"GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Rising poverty, unemployment and food insecurity in Gaza, compounded by the recent 23-day Israeli offensive, have increased the threat of child malnutrition, say UN agencies, health ministry officials and healthcare non-governmental organizations in Gaza.
UN World Health Organization (WHO) officials are concerned by the warning signs, including rising malnutrition indicators -- like increased cases of stunting, wasting and underweight children -- and continuing high rates of anemia among children and pregnant women......."
(Left) A six-month-old girl diagnosed as underweight, whose father was a medic killed during the recent attacks on Gaza.
"GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Rising poverty, unemployment and food insecurity in Gaza, compounded by the recent 23-day Israeli offensive, have increased the threat of child malnutrition, say UN agencies, health ministry officials and healthcare non-governmental organizations in Gaza.
UN World Health Organization (WHO) officials are concerned by the warning signs, including rising malnutrition indicators -- like increased cases of stunting, wasting and underweight children -- and continuing high rates of anemia among children and pregnant women......."
Shooting of an emergency medical worker on Jan. 7th
Written by One Of
The Free Gaza Movement
"From December 27th to January 18, Israel waged a bloody war on Gaza, killing over 1400 Palestinians and sparing no one: not women, not children, not the elderly, not medics. "One Of" reveals the shooting of an emergency medical worker on January 7th, during the period which Israel declared a 'cease-fire' period. The medics were subject to no less than 15 shots while they attempted to evacuate the body of a man already sniped by Israeli soldiers. "One Of" poses the question: how would you feel if your loved one died because ambulances were prevented from reaching the wounded."
The Free Gaza Movement
"From December 27th to January 18, Israel waged a bloody war on Gaza, killing over 1400 Palestinians and sparing no one: not women, not children, not the elderly, not medics. "One Of" reveals the shooting of an emergency medical worker on January 7th, during the period which Israel declared a 'cease-fire' period. The medics were subject to no less than 15 shots while they attempted to evacuate the body of a man already sniped by Israeli soldiers. "One Of" poses the question: how would you feel if your loved one died because ambulances were prevented from reaching the wounded."
Eye witness Gaza 2009
The Free Gaza Movement
"Our two Free Gaza co-ordinators in Gaza are planning a speaking tour in a number of European and Middle East countries over the next few weeks.
"Our two Free Gaza co-ordinators in Gaza are planning a speaking tour in a number of European and Middle East countries over the next few weeks.
Caoimhe Butterly and Ewa Jasiewicz, who both originally travelled to Gaza on siege breaking Free Gaza boats (the second and fourth voyages respectively) have been working closely with partners on the ground in Gaza over the last few months. Ewa was in Gaza throughout the December - January massacres and Caoimhe managed to return to Gaza during the war. They will be speaking about Israeli war crimes and working with paramedics, journalist and farmers under fire in Gaza before, during and after the 2009 war.........."
On Torture, the Pressure Builds
By Ray McGovern
"With the flood of disclosures about the Bush administration's torture policies, President Obama and his legal advisers are under growing pressure to authorize a criminal investigation.....
Well, well. The New York Times has finally put a story together on the key role that two controversial psychologists played in devising the Bush administration's torture policies. Guess we should be thankful for small favors......"
"With the flood of disclosures about the Bush administration's torture policies, President Obama and his legal advisers are under growing pressure to authorize a criminal investigation.....
Well, well. The New York Times has finally put a story together on the key role that two controversial psychologists played in devising the Bush administration's torture policies. Guess we should be thankful for small favors......"
Moving Beyond Two States
By Miko Peled
Palestine Chronicle
"United States envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, kicked off a visit to Israel restating the US commitment to the Road Map and the Two State Solution. However, both of these options have become irrelevant and it is time for the administration to seriously study the possibility of the two nations living together within a single democratic state......
The Two State Solution and the Road Map are the latest in a series of failed attempts to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict through partition and segregation. The best one can expect from pursuing these options is a dangerously volatile status quo. But the good news is that Israelis and Palestinians discuss the possibility of a single state openly at academic and political forums. Now that the President has announced that he will visit Israel this summer, it is time for the US to join this conversation."
Palestine Chronicle
"United States envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, kicked off a visit to Israel restating the US commitment to the Road Map and the Two State Solution. However, both of these options have become irrelevant and it is time for the administration to seriously study the possibility of the two nations living together within a single democratic state......
The Two State Solution and the Road Map are the latest in a series of failed attempts to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict through partition and segregation. The best one can expect from pursuing these options is a dangerously volatile status quo. But the good news is that Israelis and Palestinians discuss the possibility of a single state openly at academic and political forums. Now that the President has announced that he will visit Israel this summer, it is time for the US to join this conversation."
Walking out on Ahmadinejad was just plain childish
What are we trying to say? That any mention of Israel is now barred?
By Adrian Hamilton
The Independent
"....Read Ahmadinejad's address at the UN conference on racism in Geneva this week and there is little to surprise and a certain amount to be agreed with. His accusations against the imperial powers for what they did with colonial rule and the business of slavery is pretty much part of the school curriculum now....
Just how you can accuse a man of anti-Semitisim when you haven't stayed to hear him talk is one of those questions which the Foreign Office no doubt trains its diplomats to explain. But what basically was our representative trying to say here? That any mention of the word Israel is barred from international discussions? That the mere mention of it is enough to have the Western governments combine to still it? In fact, Ahmadinejad's speech was not anti-Semitic, not in the strict sense of the word......
....There are now books by Western academics arguing that the pro-Israeli lobby wields an influence in the US out of all proportion to its numbers. If the Western walkout in Geneva did nothing else, it rather proved the point.
Nor is it far-fetched to charge Israel with being a racist state. As the only country in the world that defines itself and its immigrants on racial grounds, it could be regarded as fair comment. And if you doubt that this founding principle leads Israel into racist attitudes to non-Israelis, then you only have to read the comments of its new Foreign Secretary, Avigdor Lieberman, to disabuse you......."
By Adrian Hamilton
The Independent
"....Read Ahmadinejad's address at the UN conference on racism in Geneva this week and there is little to surprise and a certain amount to be agreed with. His accusations against the imperial powers for what they did with colonial rule and the business of slavery is pretty much part of the school curriculum now....
Just how you can accuse a man of anti-Semitisim when you haven't stayed to hear him talk is one of those questions which the Foreign Office no doubt trains its diplomats to explain. But what basically was our representative trying to say here? That any mention of the word Israel is barred from international discussions? That the mere mention of it is enough to have the Western governments combine to still it? In fact, Ahmadinejad's speech was not anti-Semitic, not in the strict sense of the word......
....There are now books by Western academics arguing that the pro-Israeli lobby wields an influence in the US out of all proportion to its numbers. If the Western walkout in Geneva did nothing else, it rather proved the point.
Nor is it far-fetched to charge Israel with being a racist state. As the only country in the world that defines itself and its immigrants on racial grounds, it could be regarded as fair comment. And if you doubt that this founding principle leads Israel into racist attitudes to non-Israelis, then you only have to read the comments of its new Foreign Secretary, Avigdor Lieberman, to disabuse you......."
What credibility is there in Geneva's all-white boycott?
Seumas Milne
The Guardian, Thursday 23 April 2009
"What do the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy and Israel have in common? They are all either European or European-settler states. And they all decided to boycott this week's UN conference against racism in Geneva – even before Monday's incendiary speech by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which triggered a further white-flight walkout by representatives of another 23 European states.
In international forums, it's almost unprecedented to have such an undiluted racial divide of whites-versus-the-rest. And for that to happen in a global meeting called to combat racial hatred doesn't exactly augur well for future international understanding at a time when the worst economic crisis since the war is ramping up racism and xenophobia across the world......
Israel's supporters often complain that, whatever its faults, it is singled out for attack while the crimes of other states and conflicts are ignored. To the extent that that's true in forums such as the UN, it's partly because Israel is seen as the unfinished business of European colonialism, along with the Middle East conflict's other special mix of multiple toxins. The Geneva boycotters, fresh from standing behind Israel's carnage in Gaza, are in denial about their own racism – and their continuing role in the tragedy of the Middle East."
The Guardian, Thursday 23 April 2009
"What do the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy and Israel have in common? They are all either European or European-settler states. And they all decided to boycott this week's UN conference against racism in Geneva – even before Monday's incendiary speech by the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which triggered a further white-flight walkout by representatives of another 23 European states.
In international forums, it's almost unprecedented to have such an undiluted racial divide of whites-versus-the-rest. And for that to happen in a global meeting called to combat racial hatred doesn't exactly augur well for future international understanding at a time when the worst economic crisis since the war is ramping up racism and xenophobia across the world......
Israel's supporters often complain that, whatever its faults, it is singled out for attack while the crimes of other states and conflicts are ignored. To the extent that that's true in forums such as the UN, it's partly because Israel is seen as the unfinished business of European colonialism, along with the Middle East conflict's other special mix of multiple toxins. The Geneva boycotters, fresh from standing behind Israel's carnage in Gaza, are in denial about their own racism – and their continuing role in the tragedy of the Middle East."
Suleiman Meets with Israeli Leaders; Invites Lieberman to Egypt
Al-Manar
"23/04/2009 For Egypt, it’s always a different approach when it comes to Israel. Cairo is seeking to thaw tensions with Israel which erupted after Avigdor Lieberman was appointed top diplomat in the Zionist government.
Observers say that the Egyptian regime should have saved face by, at least, not taking the initiative and rush to mend fences with Tel Aviv, especially that Lieberman has called for destroying Aswan’s High Dam if Egypt deployed its military in the Sinai and his extremist party Israel Beitunu believes that Arabs should either be killed or thrown in deserts and seas.
On Wednesday evening, the new Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman met in occupied Jerusalem with visiting Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. Lieberman held "an important and constructive meeting" with Suleiman "in a friendly atmosphere," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The low-key meeting took place a week after Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit declared Lieberman would "not set foot on Egyptian soil."........"
"23/04/2009 For Egypt, it’s always a different approach when it comes to Israel. Cairo is seeking to thaw tensions with Israel which erupted after Avigdor Lieberman was appointed top diplomat in the Zionist government.
Observers say that the Egyptian regime should have saved face by, at least, not taking the initiative and rush to mend fences with Tel Aviv, especially that Lieberman has called for destroying Aswan’s High Dam if Egypt deployed its military in the Sinai and his extremist party Israel Beitunu believes that Arabs should either be killed or thrown in deserts and seas.
On Wednesday evening, the new Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman met in occupied Jerusalem with visiting Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. Lieberman held "an important and constructive meeting" with Suleiman "in a friendly atmosphere," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The low-key meeting took place a week after Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit declared Lieberman would "not set foot on Egyptian soil."........"
عزمي بشارة يكتب: هل هي مصالحة؟
عزمي بشارة
"منذ القمة الطارئة التي دعي إليها في الدوحة تحت عنوان "قمة غزة" والقمة العربية الثانية العادية في الدوحة وبينهما قمة الكويت، وقعت تطورات سياسية لافتة جرى التعبير عنها بصيغ مثل "المصالحة العربية".
.....
اعتاد الشارع العربي التوتر والانفراج في العلاقات العربية يصاحبه بعد شخصي يكاد يكون تهريجيا، على طريقة خلط أمزجة الحكام وقضايا الأسر الحاكمة بقضايا الدول والخلافات السياسية
.....
ليس ما يجري عربيا في النصف الأول من العام 2009 مصالحة حقيقية بل هو تعبير عن البنية المأزمة للنظام العربي الذي نعرفه منذ حرب الكويت, وهو تكريس لأوضاع الأسر العربية الحاكمة كما عرفها العرب
.....
لدى العالم العربي جاران منخرطان في مشاريع وطنية هما إيران وتركيا, وقد انتقل كلاهما بدرجات متفاوتة من موقف العداء الكامل للعرب إلى موقع التعاون معهم وتطوير أجندات وطنية خاصة بهما
.....
في المنطقة مشاريع دول ثلاثة: تركيا إيران وحتى إسرائيل, أما الدول العربية فتكتفي بمشاريع أنظمة لا يتوفر لديها مفهوم لأمن قومي ولا مشروع بناء اقتصاد وطني، ولا أدوات للتعبير الشرعي عن الرأي العام المحلي ولا قنوات لتنظيم تأثيره على السياسات
.....
لا ينشأ في هذا الواقع العربي القائم حتى مشروع تعاون لبلورة مفاهيم للأمن القومي المشترك، أو المصالح المشتركة ناهيك باتحاد أو وحدة عربية. كما لم يتم حتى الآن الانطلاق من حقيقة هامة هي أنه سوف يكون على العرب أن يعيشوا مع الجيران الأتراك والإيرانيين الذين لن يذهبوا إلى أي مكان. ومن الأفضل أن تكون هذه العلاقة علاقة صداقة وتعاون وليس علاقة عداء.
ليس هذا واقعا سياسيا مأزوما فحسب، بل هو واقع اجتماعي وسياسي وأخلاقي وحضاري لا يمكن في ظله الحديث عن مشاريع مثل التنمية الاقتصادية والديمقراطية وغيرهما.
وفي ظل هذا الواقع أيضا يطرح السؤالُ: كيف يمكن في مثل هذه الظروف إدارة مفاوضات سياسية جدية مع خصم مثل إسرائيل بعد التخلي عن دعم المقاومة ضده، وعن محاربته؟
"
"منذ القمة الطارئة التي دعي إليها في الدوحة تحت عنوان "قمة غزة" والقمة العربية الثانية العادية في الدوحة وبينهما قمة الكويت، وقعت تطورات سياسية لافتة جرى التعبير عنها بصيغ مثل "المصالحة العربية".
.....
اعتاد الشارع العربي التوتر والانفراج في العلاقات العربية يصاحبه بعد شخصي يكاد يكون تهريجيا، على طريقة خلط أمزجة الحكام وقضايا الأسر الحاكمة بقضايا الدول والخلافات السياسية
.....
ليس ما يجري عربيا في النصف الأول من العام 2009 مصالحة حقيقية بل هو تعبير عن البنية المأزمة للنظام العربي الذي نعرفه منذ حرب الكويت, وهو تكريس لأوضاع الأسر العربية الحاكمة كما عرفها العرب
.....
لدى العالم العربي جاران منخرطان في مشاريع وطنية هما إيران وتركيا, وقد انتقل كلاهما بدرجات متفاوتة من موقف العداء الكامل للعرب إلى موقع التعاون معهم وتطوير أجندات وطنية خاصة بهما
.....
في المنطقة مشاريع دول ثلاثة: تركيا إيران وحتى إسرائيل, أما الدول العربية فتكتفي بمشاريع أنظمة لا يتوفر لديها مفهوم لأمن قومي ولا مشروع بناء اقتصاد وطني، ولا أدوات للتعبير الشرعي عن الرأي العام المحلي ولا قنوات لتنظيم تأثيره على السياسات
.....
لا ينشأ في هذا الواقع العربي القائم حتى مشروع تعاون لبلورة مفاهيم للأمن القومي المشترك، أو المصالح المشتركة ناهيك باتحاد أو وحدة عربية. كما لم يتم حتى الآن الانطلاق من حقيقة هامة هي أنه سوف يكون على العرب أن يعيشوا مع الجيران الأتراك والإيرانيين الذين لن يذهبوا إلى أي مكان. ومن الأفضل أن تكون هذه العلاقة علاقة صداقة وتعاون وليس علاقة عداء.
ليس هذا واقعا سياسيا مأزوما فحسب، بل هو واقع اجتماعي وسياسي وأخلاقي وحضاري لا يمكن في ظله الحديث عن مشاريع مثل التنمية الاقتصادية والديمقراطية وغيرهما.
وفي ظل هذا الواقع أيضا يطرح السؤالُ: كيف يمكن في مثل هذه الظروف إدارة مفاوضات سياسية جدية مع خصم مثل إسرائيل بعد التخلي عن دعم المقاومة ضده، وعن محاربته؟
"
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Suleiman invites Lieberman to visit Egypt
"Israeli sources reported Wednesday that Egypt’s Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman, who is also in charge of indirect prisoner-swap and ceasefire talks with Hamas, invited Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman to visit Egypt.
Visiting Israel, Suleiman met with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak.
Suleiman met Lieberman for fifty minutes and invited him to visit Cairo. The invitation holds great significance to Israel as Egypt initially said it will not be dealing with Lieberman for publically insulting the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.
The meeting took place at the office of the Israeli Prime Minister in order to avoid the press and maintain discretion, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported. After the meeting, the two officials issued a joint press release in which they stated that they agreed to work together as, according to the two officials, Israeli-Egyptian relations are very important for achieving peace in the region.
The office of Lieberman issued a statement describing the meeting as friendly, and that Lieberman expressed appreciation and respect to the Egyptian leadership and its role in the area. Lieberman, who said last year that the Egyptian president “can go to hell”, said that he has personal respect for Hosni Mubarak and Omar Suleiman."
Visiting Israel, Suleiman met with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak.
Suleiman met Lieberman for fifty minutes and invited him to visit Cairo. The invitation holds great significance to Israel as Egypt initially said it will not be dealing with Lieberman for publically insulting the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.
The meeting took place at the office of the Israeli Prime Minister in order to avoid the press and maintain discretion, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported. After the meeting, the two officials issued a joint press release in which they stated that they agreed to work together as, according to the two officials, Israeli-Egyptian relations are very important for achieving peace in the region.
The office of Lieberman issued a statement describing the meeting as friendly, and that Lieberman expressed appreciation and respect to the Egyptian leadership and its role in the area. Lieberman, who said last year that the Egyptian president “can go to hell”, said that he has personal respect for Hosni Mubarak and Omar Suleiman."
[COMMENT: Remember that old saying about "still respecting you the morning after"?]
EXCLUSIVE-Firms run by President Abbas's sons get U.S. contracts
CROOKS to RICHES!
Reuters
"RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Firms run by sons of President Mahmoud Abbas won U.S. government aid contracts to repair roads -- and America's image -- in the Palestinian territories, previously undisclosed documents show.
A review by Reuters of internal U.S. government records about aid programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip found that construction and public relations firms managed by Tarek Abbas and Yasser Mahmoud Abbas received over $2 million in contracts and subcontracts since 2005, when their father became president.
Other ventures backed by President Abbas's allies have received loan guarantees, grants and agricultural assistance, the review showed......."
FACTBOX-USAID contracts with firms headed by Abbas's sons
"April 22 (Reuters) - Among the business dealings of companies headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's sons are previously undisclosed U.S. government-funded contracts to repair America's image and the West Bank's roads.
Here are the details about the contacts:
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
Records show USAID's prime contract with Tarek Abbas's Sky Advertising took effect on May 5, 2006, following Hamas's victory in a Palestinian parliamentary election that January......
CONSTRUCTION:
Yasser Mahmoud Abbas's Falcon Electro Mechanical Contracting Company signed a $1.89 million contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in May 2005, five months after his father became president, to build a sewage treatment facility for the southern West Bank city of Hebron......"
"RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Firms run by sons of President Mahmoud Abbas won U.S. government aid contracts to repair roads -- and America's image -- in the Palestinian territories, previously undisclosed documents show.
A review by Reuters of internal U.S. government records about aid programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip found that construction and public relations firms managed by Tarek Abbas and Yasser Mahmoud Abbas received over $2 million in contracts and subcontracts since 2005, when their father became president.
Other ventures backed by President Abbas's allies have received loan guarantees, grants and agricultural assistance, the review showed......."
FACTBOX-USAID contracts with firms headed by Abbas's sons
"April 22 (Reuters) - Among the business dealings of companies headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's sons are previously undisclosed U.S. government-funded contracts to repair America's image and the West Bank's roads.
Here are the details about the contacts:
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
Records show USAID's prime contract with Tarek Abbas's Sky Advertising took effect on May 5, 2006, following Hamas's victory in a Palestinian parliamentary election that January......
CONSTRUCTION:
Yasser Mahmoud Abbas's Falcon Electro Mechanical Contracting Company signed a $1.89 million contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in May 2005, five months after his father became president, to build a sewage treatment facility for the southern West Bank city of Hebron......"
Internal contradictions
Fatah remains rife with discord, its leaders stumbling along the road of the Palestinian cause
By Khaled Amayreh in Israeli-occupied Ramallah
Al-Ahram Weekly
"Despite numerous promises and assurances for political reform within the Fatah movement, the mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is still unable to hold its long overdue Sixth Congress.
The last time the supposedly annual Fatah convention was held was in Algiers in 1988 when Yasser Arafat declared the "independence of Palestine"......."
By Khaled Amayreh in Israeli-occupied Ramallah
Al-Ahram Weekly
"Despite numerous promises and assurances for political reform within the Fatah movement, the mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is still unable to hold its long overdue Sixth Congress.
The last time the supposedly annual Fatah convention was held was in Algiers in 1988 when Yasser Arafat declared the "independence of Palestine"......."
Nobel Laureate Accuses Israel of 'Ethnic Cleansing'
Published on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Agence France Presse
"Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire on Tuesday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" policies in annexed east Jerusalem, where the municipality plans to tear down almost 90 Arab homes.
"I believe the Israeli government is carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians here in east Jerusalem," said Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel prize for her efforts at reaching a peaceful solution to the violence in Northern Ireland.
"I believe the Israeli government policies are against international law, against human rights, against the dignity of the Palestinian people," she said at a news conference.
It was held in a protest tent erected by residents of east Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood where 88 Arab homes are under demolition orders......"
"Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire on Tuesday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" policies in annexed east Jerusalem, where the municipality plans to tear down almost 90 Arab homes.
"I believe the Israeli government is carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians here in east Jerusalem," said Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel prize for her efforts at reaching a peaceful solution to the violence in Northern Ireland.
"I believe the Israeli government policies are against international law, against human rights, against the dignity of the Palestinian people," she said at a news conference.
It was held in a protest tent erected by residents of east Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood where 88 Arab homes are under demolition orders......"
U.S. Lacks Capacity to Win Over Afghans
The Airwar and Rising Civilian Casualties
By GARETH PORTER
CounterPunch
"President Barack Obama and other top officials in his administration have made it clear that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan, and that the non-military efforts to win over the Afghan population will be central to its chances of success.
The reality, however, is that U.S. military and civilian agencies lack the skills and training as well as the institutional framework necessary to carry out culturally and politically sensitive socio-economic programmes at the local level in Afghanistan, or even to avoid further alienation of the population.
In fact, the U.S. government does not even have a minimum corps of people capable of speaking Pashto, the language of the 14 million ethnic Pashtuns who represent about 42 per cent of the population of Afghanistan. It is in the Pashtun southern and eastern regions of the country that the complex insurgency that has come to be called the Taliban has been able to organise and often effectively govern at the village level in recent years....."
By GARETH PORTER
CounterPunch
"President Barack Obama and other top officials in his administration have made it clear that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan, and that the non-military efforts to win over the Afghan population will be central to its chances of success.
The reality, however, is that U.S. military and civilian agencies lack the skills and training as well as the institutional framework necessary to carry out culturally and politically sensitive socio-economic programmes at the local level in Afghanistan, or even to avoid further alienation of the population.
In fact, the U.S. government does not even have a minimum corps of people capable of speaking Pashto, the language of the 14 million ethnic Pashtuns who represent about 42 per cent of the population of Afghanistan. It is in the Pashtun southern and eastern regions of the country that the complex insurgency that has come to be called the Taliban has been able to organise and often effectively govern at the village level in recent years....."
Al-Jazeera: Video diary: Palestinian family resists eviction - 21 Apr 09
[COMMENT: Please see related article by Dr. Marcy Newman, two posts below.]
"Members of a Palestinian family who have been served an eviction notice to leave their home in the Sheik Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem are taking it in turns to stay awake in case Israeli authorities come to force them out.
Rami Hannoun, one of the family members, said: "The Israelis say they own this land, that they own it since a long time ago. But we also have papers that say we own this land". "
Real News Video with Pepe Escobar: American torture
There can be no "exceptionalism" when the rule of law is broken
"The release of some of the Bush administration torture memos now presents the Obama administration with a crucial dilemma. President Obama at first exonerated CIA officials responsible for the euphemistic "enhanced interrogation" techniques. The White House has even expunged the word "torture" from its vocabulary. The bulk of corporate media favors a whitewash. Pepe Escobar argues the question is not that the memos should have been kept secret - as the CIA and former Vice-President Dick Cheney wanted. The question is that those who broke the rule of law must be held accountable. Responding to growing public outrage, the White House shifted gears and is now leaving the door open for the work of a Special Prosecutor."
"The release of some of the Bush administration torture memos now presents the Obama administration with a crucial dilemma. President Obama at first exonerated CIA officials responsible for the euphemistic "enhanced interrogation" techniques. The White House has even expunged the word "torture" from its vocabulary. The bulk of corporate media favors a whitewash. Pepe Escobar argues the question is not that the memos should have been kept secret - as the CIA and former Vice-President Dick Cheney wanted. The question is that those who broke the rule of law must be held accountable. Responding to growing public outrage, the White House shifted gears and is now leaving the door open for the work of a Special Prosecutor."
Ethnic cleansing, one home at a time
Marcy Newman writing from occupied East Jerusalem, Live from Palestine, 21 April 2009
"......What is significant about the Jaber family's battle for their home is the way this fight is emblematic of the twin processes Israel has been using to Judaize the land: creeping annexation and delaying negotiations. Since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip (as well as other Arab territories), the ethnic cleansing has been steady but slow, unlike the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in both 1948 and 1967. One house or neighborhood at a time, Palestinians are removed from their land. And just as the Jaber family finds the court continually delaying its decision about their home, for the last 16 years Palestinians have experienced the realities of the Oslo process as a delay process. Although to much of the world Oslo signifies a "peace process," for Palestinians Oslo has meant an escalation of land confiscation among other things. Under Oslo Israel has continually delayed negotiating the core issues that would lead to a just solution, particularly regarding the right of return for Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem. Palestinians in the Sadiyya neighborhood know all too well that delay means that Israeli colonists use that process to establish further "facts on the ground." But the residents of Sadiyya vow to continue their resistance to support their neighbors because they know this is not only a battle for the Jabers, but also for their city, and their country."
"......What is significant about the Jaber family's battle for their home is the way this fight is emblematic of the twin processes Israel has been using to Judaize the land: creeping annexation and delaying negotiations. Since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip (as well as other Arab territories), the ethnic cleansing has been steady but slow, unlike the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in both 1948 and 1967. One house or neighborhood at a time, Palestinians are removed from their land. And just as the Jaber family finds the court continually delaying its decision about their home, for the last 16 years Palestinians have experienced the realities of the Oslo process as a delay process. Although to much of the world Oslo signifies a "peace process," for Palestinians Oslo has meant an escalation of land confiscation among other things. Under Oslo Israel has continually delayed negotiating the core issues that would lead to a just solution, particularly regarding the right of return for Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem. Palestinians in the Sadiyya neighborhood know all too well that delay means that Israeli colonists use that process to establish further "facts on the ground." But the residents of Sadiyya vow to continue their resistance to support their neighbors because they know this is not only a battle for the Jabers, but also for their city, and their country."
Another muted scream
Sayed Mohamed Dhansay, The Electronic Intifada, 21 April 2009
(Sayed Mohamed Dhansay is a South African who volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank in 2006-07.)
"He stands on a small sandy hilltop wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, cigarette in hand. He is calling out to the soldiers on the other side of the fence "Do not shoot, do not shoot. There are children and internationals here, do not shoot." Thin white wisps of tear gas linger in the gentle breeze, a moment of calm in the confrontation.
Suddenly a tear gas canister whizzes past the camera making an audible "clunk" as it hits something to the right. He tries to let out a scream, but all he manages is a stifled yelp. One can almost hear his breath being cut short as the projectile punctures his chest. Another muted scream of pain. He falls to the ground then jumps up quickly, running a few steps before collapsing again......
For now, the resilience of Bilin lives on. The next day, hundreds turned out for Basem's funeral. His body, draped in the Palestinian flag, Basem was held aloft by mourners as they chanted, "The martyr is beloved by God," eventually bringing him to the final resting place where so many have been taken before.
And while Palestine waits patiently for the international community to stand by its side, the fearless people of Bilin will be out again this Friday. Ready to sacrifice their blood and their souls for something very simple -- just to have returned what has, and always will rightfully be theirs."
(Sayed Mohamed Dhansay is a South African who volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank in 2006-07.)
"He stands on a small sandy hilltop wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, cigarette in hand. He is calling out to the soldiers on the other side of the fence "Do not shoot, do not shoot. There are children and internationals here, do not shoot." Thin white wisps of tear gas linger in the gentle breeze, a moment of calm in the confrontation.
Suddenly a tear gas canister whizzes past the camera making an audible "clunk" as it hits something to the right. He tries to let out a scream, but all he manages is a stifled yelp. One can almost hear his breath being cut short as the projectile punctures his chest. Another muted scream of pain. He falls to the ground then jumps up quickly, running a few steps before collapsing again......
For now, the resilience of Bilin lives on. The next day, hundreds turned out for Basem's funeral. His body, draped in the Palestinian flag, Basem was held aloft by mourners as they chanted, "The martyr is beloved by God," eventually bringing him to the final resting place where so many have been taken before.
And while Palestine waits patiently for the international community to stand by its side, the fearless people of Bilin will be out again this Friday. Ready to sacrifice their blood and their souls for something very simple -- just to have returned what has, and always will rightfully be theirs."
Video: Shapiro Speaks at Gaza Massacre Rally
"Adam Shapiro reads a statement from Huwaida Arraf of the Free Gaza movement to tens of thousands rallying in NYC on Jan, 3, 2009 "
Speech at the Durban Review Conference on Racism
The following is the speech of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review Conference on racism in Geneva on April 20, 2009.
Palestine Chronicle
".....Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering and they sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in occupied Palestine. And, in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.
The Security Council helped stabilize the occupying regime and supported it in the past 60 years giving them a free hand to commit all sorts of atrocities. It is all the more regrettable that a number of Western governments and the United States have committed themselves to defending those racist perpetrators of genocide while the awakened-conscience and free-minded people of the world condemn aggression, brutalities and the bombardment of civilians in Gaza. The supporters of Israel have always been either supportive or silent against the crimes.
Dear friends, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. What are the root causes of the US attacks against Iraq or the invasion of Afghanistan?......."
Palestine Chronicle
".....Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering and they sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in occupied Palestine. And, in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.
The Security Council helped stabilize the occupying regime and supported it in the past 60 years giving them a free hand to commit all sorts of atrocities. It is all the more regrettable that a number of Western governments and the United States have committed themselves to defending those racist perpetrators of genocide while the awakened-conscience and free-minded people of the world condemn aggression, brutalities and the bombardment of civilians in Gaza. The supporters of Israel have always been either supportive or silent against the crimes.
Dear friends, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. What are the root causes of the US attacks against Iraq or the invasion of Afghanistan?......."
Harmanic Convergence
Jane Harman, AIPAC, and the Rosen-Weissman spy case
by Justin Raimondo, April 22, 2009
"Quite aside from the wonderful irony of Jane Harman’s transformation from prominent Democratic defender of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping into a civil libertarian par excellence – which has been definitively celebrated by Glenn Greenwald over at Salon – the story of how this leading "national security Democrat" sold out her nation’s security on behalf of a foreign power underscores the all-pervasive and corrupting influence of Israel’s lobby in the U.S. Harman was caught on tape with a "suspected Israeli agent," according to Congressional Quarterly, agreeing to intervene with the U.S. Justice Department and the White House to get the espionage charges against two AIPAC employees reduced. In return, the Israeli agent promised AIPAC would put pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get Harman appointed head of the House intelligence committee. This pressure included having Haim Saban – whose largesse underwrites the Saban Center at Brookings, as well as a number of Democratic Party organizations – threatening to cut off the funding unless Pelosi caved.......
by Justin Raimondo, April 22, 2009
"Quite aside from the wonderful irony of Jane Harman’s transformation from prominent Democratic defender of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping into a civil libertarian par excellence – which has been definitively celebrated by Glenn Greenwald over at Salon – the story of how this leading "national security Democrat" sold out her nation’s security on behalf of a foreign power underscores the all-pervasive and corrupting influence of Israel’s lobby in the U.S. Harman was caught on tape with a "suspected Israeli agent," according to Congressional Quarterly, agreeing to intervene with the U.S. Justice Department and the White House to get the espionage charges against two AIPAC employees reduced. In return, the Israeli agent promised AIPAC would put pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get Harman appointed head of the House intelligence committee. This pressure included having Haim Saban – whose largesse underwrites the Saban Center at Brookings, as well as a number of Democratic Party organizations – threatening to cut off the funding unless Pelosi caved.......
What’s significant about the Harman case is that all the elements that have given the Israel Lobby such power in Washington – political heft, lots of money, and the exception-making requirements of the "special relationship" – have come together in a kind of Harmanic convergence, if you will, to illustrate why and how the Lobby’s influence is corrupting.
The sooner the public gets this message, the sooner our lawmakers will respond. And the proper response, to start with, is to make AIPAC do what every foreign lobbyist has to do, and that is comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act by registering as an agent of a foreign power. This would put legal restrictions in place that would cut the Lobby down to its proper size and help correct the Israel-centric distortion of American foreign policy, which has been so skewed in the wrong direction for so long chiefly because of domestic political pressures. It’s long past time to cut off that pressure at its source."
Free the torturers – and the rapists too!
If Dick Cheney can trumpet the 'success' of his torture policies without fear of retribution, why can't us ordinary criminals?
A Killer, aka Terry Jones
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 April 2009
"I am over the moon about President Obama's recent publication of the Bush administration's torture memos. They come as a breath of fresh air for those of us banged up in Cook County Jail.
Obama's announcement that "nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past" is the most reassuring news most of us here have heard in a long time.
Speaking as a multiple rapist and serial killer, I welcome the president's clear view that "this is a time for reflection, not retribution". Absolutely. We have indeed been "through a dark and painful chapter in our history" (in my case 17 years in the super-secure lockdown facility).
Now people may say that it is not safe to let me out, especially as I have never expressed any remorse for my actions and indeed have every intention of reoffending as soon as I possibly can......."
نجاد يفضح الهوان العربي
نجاد يفضح الهوان العربي
عبد الباري عطوان
"كنت اتمنى شخصياً، لو ان زعيماً عربياً، من دول الاعتدال او الممانعة، لا فرق، هو الذي اعتلى منبر المؤتمر الدولي لمكافحة العنصرية في مقر الامم المتحدة في جنيف، وفضح الدولة العبرية، واماط اللثام عن وجهها العنصري القبيح، ولكن الرئيس الايراني محمود احمدي نجاد قام بالمهمة على اكمل وجه، وحقق ما لم يحققه زعماء اثنتين وعشرين دولة عربية، بل والرئيس الفلسطيني نفسه الذي تغيب كلياً عن المؤتمر لاسباب ما زلنا نجهلها حتى هذه اللحظة.
عبد الباري عطوان
"كنت اتمنى شخصياً، لو ان زعيماً عربياً، من دول الاعتدال او الممانعة، لا فرق، هو الذي اعتلى منبر المؤتمر الدولي لمكافحة العنصرية في مقر الامم المتحدة في جنيف، وفضح الدولة العبرية، واماط اللثام عن وجهها العنصري القبيح، ولكن الرئيس الايراني محمود احمدي نجاد قام بالمهمة على اكمل وجه، وحقق ما لم يحققه زعماء اثنتين وعشرين دولة عربية، بل والرئيس الفلسطيني نفسه الذي تغيب كلياً عن المؤتمر لاسباب ما زلنا نجهلها حتى هذه اللحظة.
ففي الوقت الذي ينشغل فيه قادة عرب، من دول الاعتدال خاصة، في تحريض فرق 'الردح الاعلامي' ضد ايران و'حزب الله'، وخلق فتنة مذهبية بين ابناء العقيدة الواحدة، يذهب الرئيس الايراني الى جنيف، ويعتلي منبر الامم المتحدة، ويتمسك بالمواقف التي تخلى عنها العرب، ويشرح للعالم بأسره مدى الظلم الذي وقع على شعب عربي مسلم على ايدي الصهيونية والغرب الداعم لها
.....
ان هذا الانسحاب هو دليل اضافي على استمرار هذه الدول وقيادتها في دعم العنصرية وتعميق جذورها، خاصة في هذا الوقت الذي تحكم فيه اسرائيل بحكومة تضم عتاة العنصريين اليهود، تشترط اعتراف العرب بالطابع اليهودي الصرف لدولتهم، مما يعني طرد مليون ومئتي ألف مسيحي ومسلم عربي لأنهم من ديانات اخرى
......
نشعر بالحزن والاحباط لان الوفود العربية الرسمية المشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف مارست دورا 'تخريبيا' لمصلحة اسرائيل، عندما خضعت للابتزاز الامريكي الاسرائيلي، وازالت جميع الفقرات التي تبناها مؤتمر ديربان الاول، والتي اشارت الى اسرائيل بالاسم كدولة عنصرية، من مشروع البيان الختامي.
وما يحزننا اكثر ان الوفد الفلسطيني، وبأوامر من السلطة في رام الله، هو الذي قاد الترويج والضغط من اجل الرضوخ لهذا الابتزاز على امل رفع 'الفيتو' الامريكي ـ الاسرائيلي عن المؤتمر، وهو ما لم يحدث في نهاية المطاف، وذهبت هذه التنازلات هباء منثورا، وكررت موقفاً عربياً تاريخياً في تقديم التنازلات مجانا ودون مقابل للطرف الآخر.
نحمد الله كثيرا، ان الوفود العربية المشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف لم تنسحب تضامنا مع نظيراتها الاوروبية احتجاجا على كلمة نجاد، وخيبت ظننا ببقائها في مقاعدها، لان بعض الدول العربية باتت تعتبر ايران هي العدو الاكبر وليس اسرائيل.
ففي زمن الهوان العربي الذي نعيشه حاليا، كل شيء ممكن وجائز، ولم يعد يفاجئنا اي تصرف من اي طرف عربي، خاصة ما يسمى بمحور الاعتدال، بما في ذلك ان نرى ليبرمان يستقبل بالاحضان كوزير خارجية في اكثر من عاصمة عربية.
"
.....
ان هذا الانسحاب هو دليل اضافي على استمرار هذه الدول وقيادتها في دعم العنصرية وتعميق جذورها، خاصة في هذا الوقت الذي تحكم فيه اسرائيل بحكومة تضم عتاة العنصريين اليهود، تشترط اعتراف العرب بالطابع اليهودي الصرف لدولتهم، مما يعني طرد مليون ومئتي ألف مسيحي ومسلم عربي لأنهم من ديانات اخرى
......
نشعر بالحزن والاحباط لان الوفود العربية الرسمية المشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف مارست دورا 'تخريبيا' لمصلحة اسرائيل، عندما خضعت للابتزاز الامريكي الاسرائيلي، وازالت جميع الفقرات التي تبناها مؤتمر ديربان الاول، والتي اشارت الى اسرائيل بالاسم كدولة عنصرية، من مشروع البيان الختامي.
وما يحزننا اكثر ان الوفد الفلسطيني، وبأوامر من السلطة في رام الله، هو الذي قاد الترويج والضغط من اجل الرضوخ لهذا الابتزاز على امل رفع 'الفيتو' الامريكي ـ الاسرائيلي عن المؤتمر، وهو ما لم يحدث في نهاية المطاف، وذهبت هذه التنازلات هباء منثورا، وكررت موقفاً عربياً تاريخياً في تقديم التنازلات مجانا ودون مقابل للطرف الآخر.
نحمد الله كثيرا، ان الوفود العربية المشاركة في مؤتمر جنيف لم تنسحب تضامنا مع نظيراتها الاوروبية احتجاجا على كلمة نجاد، وخيبت ظننا ببقائها في مقاعدها، لان بعض الدول العربية باتت تعتبر ايران هي العدو الاكبر وليس اسرائيل.
ففي زمن الهوان العربي الذي نعيشه حاليا، كل شيء ممكن وجائز، ولم يعد يفاجئنا اي تصرف من اي طرف عربي، خاصة ما يسمى بمحور الاعتدال، بما في ذلك ان نرى ليبرمان يستقبل بالاحضان كوزير خارجية في اكثر من عاصمة عربية.
"
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Prosecutors Considering Dropping Espionage Charges Against Former AIPAC Lobbyists
Review Comes Amid Reports That Rep. Harman Was Overheard on Wiretaps Agreeing to Seek Lenient Treatment for Them
Washington Post
"Federal prosecutors are considering whether to drop the charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of violating the Espionage Act, law enforcement sources and lawyers close to the case said today.
The review comes amid reports that Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) was overheard on federal wiretaps allegedly promising to intervene with the Bush administration on behalf of the two lobbyists. The sources said the prospect of dropping the charges is unrelated to the disclosures about Harman's alleged role......."
Washington Post
"Federal prosecutors are considering whether to drop the charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of violating the Espionage Act, law enforcement sources and lawyers close to the case said today.
The review comes amid reports that Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) was overheard on federal wiretaps allegedly promising to intervene with the Bush administration on behalf of the two lobbyists. The sources said the prospect of dropping the charges is unrelated to the disclosures about Harman's alleged role......."
Lieberman tells Russian newspaper: U.S. will accept any Israeli decision
HAARETZ
"The Obama Administration will put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office.
"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets......
During the interview, Lieberman said Iran is not Israel's biggest strategic threat; rather, Afghanistan and Pakistan are. This comes after years of Lieberman warning about the growing Iranian threat. Now, he has dropped Tehran to number two, with Iraq coming third....."
"The Obama Administration will put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office.
"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets......
During the interview, Lieberman said Iran is not Israel's biggest strategic threat; rather, Afghanistan and Pakistan are. This comes after years of Lieberman warning about the growing Iranian threat. Now, he has dropped Tehran to number two, with Iraq coming third....."
The success of surge ?
Saul Landau
Zent
The increased number of U.S. soldiers did allow U.S. forces to disarm some Sunnis in Baghdad. Then, the U.S. occupiers invited Shiite militias to invade Sunni neighborhoods and ethnically cleanse them. By mid 2007, Baghdad, once about 65% Sunni, emerged as a predominantly Shiite city. Indeed, leader of the multinational armies in Iraq General David Petraeus, now in charge of Central Command, purposely or inadvertently encouraged Shiites to drive Sunnis from their homes. Many went to Syria. (George Hunsinger, Common Dreams.org, October 23, 2008)
In other words, Bush was paying unknown quantities of U.S. taxpayers' money to Iraqis in return for them not attacking U.S. forces. So, while the infusion of more U.S. troops played some role in cutting down violence, it didn't compete with the part played by death squads. Bob Woodward in The War Within (Simon & Schuster, 2008) suggests that by creating Iraqi "Death Squads" the Pentagon also helped reduce fighting in Iraq. A "Top Secret" memo, according to Woodward, implies that U.S. forces targeted certain Sunni groups for systematic assassination. This operation, like the CIA's Phoenix Program in Vietnam, called for killing those who refused to "reconcile" to U.S. reason; they wouldn't even take bribes.
Thus far, thousands of Iraqi professors, scientists, and doctors have been assassinated. Bush's rescue of Iraq also cost the lives of some 350 journalists. Tens of thousands of prisoners remain in detention camps and, according to a UN report, "the detention of children in adult detention centers violates U.S. obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as accepted international human rights norms." (AP, May 19, 2008)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)