Monday, September 07, 2009
Sudanese woman fined over trousers
Al-Jazeera
"A Sudanese woman arrested for wearing trousers has been found guilty of flouting Sudan's decency laws, but spared the expected punishment of 40 lashes.
Sudanese officials on Monday instead ordered Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein to pay a fine of about $200 following a court hearing in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
As al-Hussein made her way to the courtroom, scores of female supporters, some of them wearing trousers, rallied around her, some shouting: "Freedom, freedom!" Police rounded many of them up and marched them away.
Asked about the verdict, al-Hussein said that she would refuse to pay the fine.
"I won't pay. I'd rather go to prison," al-Hussein told the AFP news agency by telephone following the trial.
Witnesses who attended the trial said the court had ruled she should be jailed for a month if she failed to pay. Her lawyers said they would try to persuade her......"
LATEST: Lubna refused to pay the fine and said she would rather go to prison. One month in prison for wearing pants! Welcome to the Middle Ages in the Arab world.
Sudanese officials on Monday instead ordered Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein to pay a fine of about $200 following a court hearing in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
As al-Hussein made her way to the courtroom, scores of female supporters, some of them wearing trousers, rallied around her, some shouting: "Freedom, freedom!" Police rounded many of them up and marched them away.
Asked about the verdict, al-Hussein said that she would refuse to pay the fine.
"I won't pay. I'd rather go to prison," al-Hussein told the AFP news agency by telephone following the trial.
Witnesses who attended the trial said the court had ruled she should be jailed for a month if she failed to pay. Her lawyers said they would try to persuade her......"
LATEST: Lubna refused to pay the fine and said she would rather go to prison. One month in prison for wearing pants! Welcome to the Middle Ages in the Arab world.
Palestinian camps protest Nahr al-Bared delay
The Daily Star
"SIDON: Palestinian factions staged protests in refugee camps all across the country on Friday to condemn the ongoing delay in reconstructing the battered northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. Demonstrations were held in Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern coastal city of Sidon, al-Buss, near the port city of Tyre, and Chatila on the outskirts of the capital, to express solidarity with the refugees of Nahr al-Bared, who have yet to return home two years after the end of the battles between the Lebanese Army and the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militant group......"
"SIDON: Palestinian factions staged protests in refugee camps all across the country on Friday to condemn the ongoing delay in reconstructing the battered northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. Demonstrations were held in Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern coastal city of Sidon, al-Buss, near the port city of Tyre, and Chatila on the outskirts of the capital, to express solidarity with the refugees of Nahr al-Bared, who have yet to return home two years after the end of the battles between the Lebanese Army and the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militant group......"
Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Iraq-Syria ties shaken - 6 Sept 09
"Inside Story discusses the growing tension between Iraq and Syria as Nouri al-Maliki is ratcheting up his rethoric against Damascus over last month's deadly attacks in Baghdad. Other than fighting so-called terrorism, what are the other reasons behind Iraq's verbal assault on Damascus? And does it have to do with the political rivalries in Iraq itself?"
Al-Jazeera Video: Cairo comic book author to face court - 06 Sept 09
"The first comic book for adults to be published in Egypt, a graphic novel about a man robbing a bank, has been removed from sale by the vice squad. The author Magdy el-Shafee's is now facing a two-year prison sentence, accused of publishing indecent material. Al Jazeera's Amr El Kahky reports from Cairo. "
شرط التوحيد الفلسطيني
A Good Article (in Arabic) by Egyptian Journalist and Opposition Leader Abdul-Halim Qandil
شرط التوحيد الفلسطيني
عبد الحليم قنديل
"ربما لا تكون من قيمة ـ كبيرة أو صغيرة ـ لجولات الحوار الفلسطيني المؤجلة والمعجلة في القاهرة، فمواقف حماس ـ كما مواقف فتح ـ هي هي، وموضوعات التداول عقيمة، والفرز متصل إلى جناحين لا يكاد يفرق بينهما غير الولاء القبلي لعباس أو لقيادة حماس .
عباس ضمن قيادة موالية في لجنة فتح المركزية، وسد الثقوب في إطار تذكاري متآكل لمنظمة التحرير، وعقد مجلسا وطنيا شكلانيا انتهى إلى استكمال عضوية اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير، وطوى معارضة فاروق القدومي بالضغط المالي والإداري، بينما تستند حماس إلى ثقلها الذاتي، وحكمها المنفرد لغزة، وتحالفها الثابت مع حركة الجهاد الإسلامي، ومع 'تحالف القوى الفلسطينية' التي تقيم أغلب قياداتها في دمشق .
وكلا الطرفين في أزمة مقيمة ومخيمة، فقد يستطيع عباس تجاهل ما يجري كله، والاستناد إلى دعم محسوس من الأمريكيين والإسرائيليين واللجنة الرباعية الدولية، والمجازفة بتجاهل وجود حماس من أصله، والدعوة لانتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية تجرى مبكرة في أواخر العام الحالي، أو في أوائل العام المقبل، ولايعنيه من يقاطع، ويحصر سلطته في حكم إداري محدود بنفوذ رام الله، ويسقط غزة من الحساب، فهو يعرف أنه لا فرصة لإجراء الإنتخابات في غزة دون موافقة حماس، والأخيرة تملك ورقة الإعاقة، وتنسج خيوط تواصل تخصها مع الأطراف المعنية، وتدير مفاوضات غير مباشرة مع نتنياهو مقابل مفاوضات عباس المباشرة، ومن حول موضوعات تملك حماس وحدها فرصة البت فيها دون عباس، ومن نوع الوضع في غزة، وقصص المعابر، وملف جلعاد شاليط الذي دخلت المخابرات الألمانية على خط التفاوض فيه، وبعد تعثر وساطات القاهرة المأزومة داخليا، والمشغولة بأولوية خدمة إسرائيل على سبيل المقايضة ـ لدى واشنطن ـ مع تسهيل سيناريو توريث الرئاسة لابن مبارك، أو تجديد بطاقة الاعتماد للأب الموغل في عقده التاسع .
والمحصلة: أن انسدادا انتهت إليه مفاوضات عباس وحماس، وربما لم تتبق غير المناكفات، ومن نوع تأكيد السيطرة على إمارة رام الله أو إمارة غزة، وتبادل الاتهامات حول الاعتقالات والاحتجازات، والسباق إلى إثبات جدارة التفاوض مع الإسرائيليين، ومع علم الطرفين ـ الأكيد ـ بأنه لا فرصة لتسويات ذات بال، فالوسيط الأمريكي بلغ حد الإنهاك، وباراك أوباما ينزل من فوق الشجرة، ويطوي ملف الضغط على الإسرائيليين لوقف الاستيطان.
ويتنازل عن فكرة تحقيق اختراق عاجل، ويترك الوقائع على الأرض تجري على ما هي عليه، ومع تدخل محدود بهدف التهدئة لا التسوية، والتحكم في رد الفعل الفلسطيني، وهكذا تظل إسرائيل تأكل ـ بالتهويد ـ ما تبقى من عروبة القدس، وبتوحش الاستيطان في الضفة، والضغط على سلطة عباس لتحسين دورها كوكيل أمني، وإدارة عملية تفاوض لمجرد التفاوض وكسب الوقت، ولفت النظر عما يجري في فلسطين بإشعال خطوط التماس مع حزب الله ومع إيران، بينما تتصل حلقات خنق غزة، وتظل نشرات الأخبار على ما هي عليه، خبر عن قصف أو توغل إسرائيلي هنا أو هناك، وردم أنفاق الحياة، وفتح معبر رفح بالقطارة، وإدامة عذاب الشعب الفلسطيني في غزة، ودفعه لمقارنة وضعه المعيشي البائس مع يسر أحوال نسبي في الضفة الغربية، وبهدف تقويض سلطة حماس بالحصار بعد أن استعصي تقويضها بالحرب .
المحصلة ـ مرة ثانية ـ أن لا أحد بوسعه التعاطف الخالص مع عباس أو مع حماس في هذه اللحظة على الأقل، فقد ضاقت الفروق في الممارسة العلمية إلى حد التلاشي، نعم .. يعمل عباس وسلطته بتنسيق تام مع الإسرائيليين والأمريكيين، فيما لم تتورط حماس ـ بعد ـ في الخطيئة، وتبدي صلابة في التفاوض غير المباشر، ثم أن النقاء الأخلاقي لقياداتها ميزة عظيمة مقارنة بسوء سيرة وذمة رجال عباس، هذا كله صحيح، ويضيف مصداقية وإقناعية أكبر لصورة حماس العامة، لكن الصحيح ـ أيضا ـ أن الصور اختلطت إلى حد بعيد، فقد تبدو الفروق ظاهرة في النظر عن قرب، فيما لا تبدو كذلك من بعيد، وإلى حد تعذر التمييز في المدى الجماهيري العام .
فلا 'فتح' تقاتل الإسرائيليين، ولا أحد يزعم أنها تفعل، ولا حماس تفعل الآن، بينما قتال الإسرائيليين وحده هو الذي يستعيد الحيوية للقضية الفلسطينية، وليس التفاوض بصورة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة، فالاحتلال قائم نسبيا في غزة بوسائل الخنق والحصار، والاحتلال هو سلطة الزمن الممتد في الضفة والقدس وباقي فلسطين، وهذه هي الحقيقة الصلبة، والتي لا تفيد في مواجهتها مراوغات أو التفات عن الموضوع، وإرجاء المقاومة تهربا من واجب الوقت، أو الاكتفاء بترديد مواقف مبدئية دون ممارسة تشفع وتصدق، وقد لا يكون خطاب كهذا مما يصح توجيهه لعباس، فموقف الرجل قاطع ضد المقاومة بالسلاح أو بالسياسة، وإن كانت فتح ـ في قواعدها بالذات ـ أكبر وأعظم من أن تخضع لنفوذ 'جماعة إسرائيل ' في قيادتها، وقد نتفق على أن فتح ـ في ظرفها الملتبس الراهن ـ لا تصلح كمركز قيادة لتجديد نداء المقاومة وبعثه فعليا، لكن حماس ـ فيما نظن ـ لها أن تقوم بالدور، وربما لا يكون لها من دور غيره يستحق الأولوية، وربما تحتاجه لنفض الغبار عن صورتها، فقد كسبت حماس شرعية فعلية بدواعي صمودها المجيد في حرب غزة الأخيرة.
وليس بدواعي الانتخابات الرئاسية والتشريعية التي تبدو بلا قيمة، والتي تنتهي إلى سلطات وهمية هي مجرد قبضة هواء، ولم تضف إلى قيمة حماس قدر ما أضاف إليها صمود جيشها وتضحيات قياداتها وعذاب أسراها ودم شهدائها، وهنا ـ بالذات ـ مكمن قوة حماس الذي يعطيها جدارة واستحقاق الدور، فبوسع حماس ـ الآن ـ أن تدعو إلى وحدة سلاح الفصائل في جيش حرب عصابات حقيقي، بوسع حماس أن تدعو إلى إطار تنظيمي يتجاوز منظمة التحرير المتهالكة وتحالف القوى الفلسطينية .. محدود الأثر، بوسع حماس أن تدعو الجميع ـ دون استثناء فتح ـ إلى قيادة سياسية وعسكرية مشتركة، وأن تصوغ هدفا مباشرا في استكمال تحرير غزة وإشعال انتفاضة ثالثة في الضفة والقدس، ولا أحد يستهين بالمصاعب الميدانية الراهنة في الضفة والقدس بالذات، وحيث تتعاون سلطة عباس مع سلطة الاحتلال في مطاردة واعتقال وتصفية المقاومين، لكن صياغة سلطة ميدانية لانتفاضة ثالثة، وتنويع أساليب المقاومة في الضفة والقدس، وإعطاء ثقل أكبر للتحركات السياسية والجماهيرية، وإستعادة عظات انتفاضة الحجارة الأولى، ووضع الفصائل كلها أمام اختيار الانحياز لسلطة مقاومة على حساب سلطات التفاوض البائس، وتعظيم الاستفادة من فرصة إفلاس خط التسوية، والاستناد إلى 'مرجعية أخلاقية' من قيادات الأسرى الفلسطينيين من كافة الفصائل في المعتقلات الإسرائيلية، كل ذلك ـ وغيره ـ له أن يضيف لممكنات بعث مشروع مقاومة وانتفاضة مؤثرة تغير الموازين، ويعوض ـ إلى حد معقول ـ ما جرى من تفكيك وإنهاك للجهاز التنظيمي السري في الضفة والقدس بالذات .
والمحصلة ـ مرة أخيرة ـ أن الأوراق اختلطت، وأن سبيل التوحيد الفلسطيني ليس بحوارات القاهرة، بل في بعث المقاومة والانتفاض بالسلاح وبالسياسة، وفي ميادين القتال الفعلي للاحتلال على أرض فلسطين المقدسة .
"
عبد الحليم قنديل
"ربما لا تكون من قيمة ـ كبيرة أو صغيرة ـ لجولات الحوار الفلسطيني المؤجلة والمعجلة في القاهرة، فمواقف حماس ـ كما مواقف فتح ـ هي هي، وموضوعات التداول عقيمة، والفرز متصل إلى جناحين لا يكاد يفرق بينهما غير الولاء القبلي لعباس أو لقيادة حماس .
عباس ضمن قيادة موالية في لجنة فتح المركزية، وسد الثقوب في إطار تذكاري متآكل لمنظمة التحرير، وعقد مجلسا وطنيا شكلانيا انتهى إلى استكمال عضوية اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير، وطوى معارضة فاروق القدومي بالضغط المالي والإداري، بينما تستند حماس إلى ثقلها الذاتي، وحكمها المنفرد لغزة، وتحالفها الثابت مع حركة الجهاد الإسلامي، ومع 'تحالف القوى الفلسطينية' التي تقيم أغلب قياداتها في دمشق .
وكلا الطرفين في أزمة مقيمة ومخيمة، فقد يستطيع عباس تجاهل ما يجري كله، والاستناد إلى دعم محسوس من الأمريكيين والإسرائيليين واللجنة الرباعية الدولية، والمجازفة بتجاهل وجود حماس من أصله، والدعوة لانتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية تجرى مبكرة في أواخر العام الحالي، أو في أوائل العام المقبل، ولايعنيه من يقاطع، ويحصر سلطته في حكم إداري محدود بنفوذ رام الله، ويسقط غزة من الحساب، فهو يعرف أنه لا فرصة لإجراء الإنتخابات في غزة دون موافقة حماس، والأخيرة تملك ورقة الإعاقة، وتنسج خيوط تواصل تخصها مع الأطراف المعنية، وتدير مفاوضات غير مباشرة مع نتنياهو مقابل مفاوضات عباس المباشرة، ومن حول موضوعات تملك حماس وحدها فرصة البت فيها دون عباس، ومن نوع الوضع في غزة، وقصص المعابر، وملف جلعاد شاليط الذي دخلت المخابرات الألمانية على خط التفاوض فيه، وبعد تعثر وساطات القاهرة المأزومة داخليا، والمشغولة بأولوية خدمة إسرائيل على سبيل المقايضة ـ لدى واشنطن ـ مع تسهيل سيناريو توريث الرئاسة لابن مبارك، أو تجديد بطاقة الاعتماد للأب الموغل في عقده التاسع .
والمحصلة: أن انسدادا انتهت إليه مفاوضات عباس وحماس، وربما لم تتبق غير المناكفات، ومن نوع تأكيد السيطرة على إمارة رام الله أو إمارة غزة، وتبادل الاتهامات حول الاعتقالات والاحتجازات، والسباق إلى إثبات جدارة التفاوض مع الإسرائيليين، ومع علم الطرفين ـ الأكيد ـ بأنه لا فرصة لتسويات ذات بال، فالوسيط الأمريكي بلغ حد الإنهاك، وباراك أوباما ينزل من فوق الشجرة، ويطوي ملف الضغط على الإسرائيليين لوقف الاستيطان.
ويتنازل عن فكرة تحقيق اختراق عاجل، ويترك الوقائع على الأرض تجري على ما هي عليه، ومع تدخل محدود بهدف التهدئة لا التسوية، والتحكم في رد الفعل الفلسطيني، وهكذا تظل إسرائيل تأكل ـ بالتهويد ـ ما تبقى من عروبة القدس، وبتوحش الاستيطان في الضفة، والضغط على سلطة عباس لتحسين دورها كوكيل أمني، وإدارة عملية تفاوض لمجرد التفاوض وكسب الوقت، ولفت النظر عما يجري في فلسطين بإشعال خطوط التماس مع حزب الله ومع إيران، بينما تتصل حلقات خنق غزة، وتظل نشرات الأخبار على ما هي عليه، خبر عن قصف أو توغل إسرائيلي هنا أو هناك، وردم أنفاق الحياة، وفتح معبر رفح بالقطارة، وإدامة عذاب الشعب الفلسطيني في غزة، ودفعه لمقارنة وضعه المعيشي البائس مع يسر أحوال نسبي في الضفة الغربية، وبهدف تقويض سلطة حماس بالحصار بعد أن استعصي تقويضها بالحرب .
المحصلة ـ مرة ثانية ـ أن لا أحد بوسعه التعاطف الخالص مع عباس أو مع حماس في هذه اللحظة على الأقل، فقد ضاقت الفروق في الممارسة العلمية إلى حد التلاشي، نعم .. يعمل عباس وسلطته بتنسيق تام مع الإسرائيليين والأمريكيين، فيما لم تتورط حماس ـ بعد ـ في الخطيئة، وتبدي صلابة في التفاوض غير المباشر، ثم أن النقاء الأخلاقي لقياداتها ميزة عظيمة مقارنة بسوء سيرة وذمة رجال عباس، هذا كله صحيح، ويضيف مصداقية وإقناعية أكبر لصورة حماس العامة، لكن الصحيح ـ أيضا ـ أن الصور اختلطت إلى حد بعيد، فقد تبدو الفروق ظاهرة في النظر عن قرب، فيما لا تبدو كذلك من بعيد، وإلى حد تعذر التمييز في المدى الجماهيري العام .
فلا 'فتح' تقاتل الإسرائيليين، ولا أحد يزعم أنها تفعل، ولا حماس تفعل الآن، بينما قتال الإسرائيليين وحده هو الذي يستعيد الحيوية للقضية الفلسطينية، وليس التفاوض بصورة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة، فالاحتلال قائم نسبيا في غزة بوسائل الخنق والحصار، والاحتلال هو سلطة الزمن الممتد في الضفة والقدس وباقي فلسطين، وهذه هي الحقيقة الصلبة، والتي لا تفيد في مواجهتها مراوغات أو التفات عن الموضوع، وإرجاء المقاومة تهربا من واجب الوقت، أو الاكتفاء بترديد مواقف مبدئية دون ممارسة تشفع وتصدق، وقد لا يكون خطاب كهذا مما يصح توجيهه لعباس، فموقف الرجل قاطع ضد المقاومة بالسلاح أو بالسياسة، وإن كانت فتح ـ في قواعدها بالذات ـ أكبر وأعظم من أن تخضع لنفوذ 'جماعة إسرائيل ' في قيادتها، وقد نتفق على أن فتح ـ في ظرفها الملتبس الراهن ـ لا تصلح كمركز قيادة لتجديد نداء المقاومة وبعثه فعليا، لكن حماس ـ فيما نظن ـ لها أن تقوم بالدور، وربما لا يكون لها من دور غيره يستحق الأولوية، وربما تحتاجه لنفض الغبار عن صورتها، فقد كسبت حماس شرعية فعلية بدواعي صمودها المجيد في حرب غزة الأخيرة.
وليس بدواعي الانتخابات الرئاسية والتشريعية التي تبدو بلا قيمة، والتي تنتهي إلى سلطات وهمية هي مجرد قبضة هواء، ولم تضف إلى قيمة حماس قدر ما أضاف إليها صمود جيشها وتضحيات قياداتها وعذاب أسراها ودم شهدائها، وهنا ـ بالذات ـ مكمن قوة حماس الذي يعطيها جدارة واستحقاق الدور، فبوسع حماس ـ الآن ـ أن تدعو إلى وحدة سلاح الفصائل في جيش حرب عصابات حقيقي، بوسع حماس أن تدعو إلى إطار تنظيمي يتجاوز منظمة التحرير المتهالكة وتحالف القوى الفلسطينية .. محدود الأثر، بوسع حماس أن تدعو الجميع ـ دون استثناء فتح ـ إلى قيادة سياسية وعسكرية مشتركة، وأن تصوغ هدفا مباشرا في استكمال تحرير غزة وإشعال انتفاضة ثالثة في الضفة والقدس، ولا أحد يستهين بالمصاعب الميدانية الراهنة في الضفة والقدس بالذات، وحيث تتعاون سلطة عباس مع سلطة الاحتلال في مطاردة واعتقال وتصفية المقاومين، لكن صياغة سلطة ميدانية لانتفاضة ثالثة، وتنويع أساليب المقاومة في الضفة والقدس، وإعطاء ثقل أكبر للتحركات السياسية والجماهيرية، وإستعادة عظات انتفاضة الحجارة الأولى، ووضع الفصائل كلها أمام اختيار الانحياز لسلطة مقاومة على حساب سلطات التفاوض البائس، وتعظيم الاستفادة من فرصة إفلاس خط التسوية، والاستناد إلى 'مرجعية أخلاقية' من قيادات الأسرى الفلسطينيين من كافة الفصائل في المعتقلات الإسرائيلية، كل ذلك ـ وغيره ـ له أن يضيف لممكنات بعث مشروع مقاومة وانتفاضة مؤثرة تغير الموازين، ويعوض ـ إلى حد معقول ـ ما جرى من تفكيك وإنهاك للجهاز التنظيمي السري في الضفة والقدس بالذات .
والمحصلة ـ مرة أخيرة ـ أن الأوراق اختلطت، وأن سبيل التوحيد الفلسطيني ليس بحوارات القاهرة، بل في بعث المقاومة والانتفاض بالسلاح وبالسياسة، وفي ميادين القتال الفعلي للاحتلال على أرض فلسطين المقدسة .
"
Racism Unto The Nations.....
Israeli Ads Warn Against Marrying Non-Jews
"Lost" American Youth Urged to Come to Israel
By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch
Nazareth
"The Israeli government has launched a television and internet advertising campaign urging Israelis to inform on Jewish friends and relatives abroad who may be in danger of marrying non-Jews.
The advertisements, employing what the Israeli media described as “scare tactics”, are designed to stop assimilation through intermarriage among young diaspora Jews by encouraging their move to Israel........
The Israeli government and various organisations subsidize the immigration of diaspora Jews to Israel.
Last year the Jewish Agency handed over responsibility for locating new immigrants to Nefesh B’Nefesh, a private organization that promotes a dozen settlements in the West Bank on its website, including hardline communities such as Kedumim, near Nablus, and Efrat, near Bethlehem.
“Last week Israeli TV showed a group of immigrants arriving in Israel to go to Efrat,” said Mr Keller. “They were shown being greeted at the airport by a large clapping crowds of Israelis waving flags in support.”"
"Lost" American Youth Urged to Come to Israel
By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch
Nazareth
"The Israeli government has launched a television and internet advertising campaign urging Israelis to inform on Jewish friends and relatives abroad who may be in danger of marrying non-Jews.
The advertisements, employing what the Israeli media described as “scare tactics”, are designed to stop assimilation through intermarriage among young diaspora Jews by encouraging their move to Israel........
The Israeli government and various organisations subsidize the immigration of diaspora Jews to Israel.
Last year the Jewish Agency handed over responsibility for locating new immigrants to Nefesh B’Nefesh, a private organization that promotes a dozen settlements in the West Bank on its website, including hardline communities such as Kedumim, near Nablus, and Efrat, near Bethlehem.
“Last week Israeli TV showed a group of immigrants arriving in Israel to go to Efrat,” said Mr Keller. “They were shown being greeted at the airport by a large clapping crowds of Israelis waving flags in support.”"
In Praise of Admiral Mullen
By BOUTHAINA SHAABAN
(Bouthaina Shaaban is Political and Media Advisor at the Syrian Presidency, and former Minister of Expatriates. She was the spokesperson for Syria.)
CounterPunch
"........Mullen, in his article about Afghanistan, writes that it is only through the common understanding of peoples’ culture, needs and aspirations for the future that we can hope to change the narrative of extremism.......
(Bouthaina Shaaban is Political and Media Advisor at the Syrian Presidency, and former Minister of Expatriates. She was the spokesperson for Syria.)
CounterPunch
"........Mullen, in his article about Afghanistan, writes that it is only through the common understanding of peoples’ culture, needs and aspirations for the future that we can hope to change the narrative of extremism.......
......The peoples of the world are no longer deceived by the trappings of labels and rhetorical devices; and the crack in the wall of arrogance is getting wider thanks to the outspokenness and courage of an increasing number of individuals. Today I add to my list of such individuals the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Michael Mullen. So, would those who have the illusion of being able to identify the right and wrong times and places, the needs and aspirations of people, have some modesty and start listening to the real voices of people instead of carrying on with their drab homilies which can no longer deceive anyone?"
Israel Authorises 455 New Settlement Units
AFP
"JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has authorised the construction of more than 450 new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, his ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"Defence Minister Ehud Barak has authorised the construction of 455 housing units in settlement blocs" in the occupied West Bank, it said after an earlier statement that he had approved 366 and would later approve more units to bring the total to 450......"
"JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has authorised the construction of more than 450 new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, his ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"Defence Minister Ehud Barak has authorised the construction of 455 housing units in settlement blocs" in the occupied West Bank, it said after an earlier statement that he had approved 366 and would later approve more units to bring the total to 450......"
US Hypocrisy Astonishes the World
by Paul Craig Roberts, September 07, 2009
"......Isn’t this passing the buck? The Marine lost his life not because of the Associated Press and a photographer, but because of the war criminals – Gates, Bush, Cheney, Obama, and the U.S. Congress that supports wars of naked aggression that serve no American purpose, but which keep campaign coffers filled with contributions from the armaments companies.
Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard is dead because the U.S. government and a significant percentage of the U.S. population believe that the U.S. has the right to invade, bomb, and occupy other peoples who have raised no hand against us but are demonized with lies and propaganda......."
The Boycott Revisited
by Uri Avnery, September 07, 2009
".....This time I feel that I owe it to my readers to clear up some of the points I was trying to make and answer some of the objections. So here we go......
What really disturbs me about this is that almost nobody in the West comes out and says clearly: Israel must be abolished. Some of the proposals, like those for a "One State" solution, sound like euphemisms. If one believes that the state of Israel should be abolished and replaced by a state of Palestine or a state of Happiness, why not say so openly?.......
We must laud the Norwegian decision, this week, to divest from the Israeli Elbit company because of their involvement with the "Separation Fence" that is being built on Palestinian land and whose main purpose is to annex occupied territories to Israel. This is a splendid example: a focused action against a specific target, based on a ruling of the International Court.......
I have been asked about the Palestinian reaction to the boycott idea. At present, Palestinians do not boycott even the settlements; indeed, it is Palestinian workers who are building almost all the houses there, out of economic necessity......
To remove any misconceptions about myself, let me state as clearly as possible where I stand:
I am an Israeli.
I am an Israeli patriot.
I want my state to be democratic, secular, and liberal, ending the occupation and living at peace both with the free and sovereign state of Palestine that will come into being next to it, and with the entire Arab world.
I want Israel to be a state belonging to all its citizens, without distinction of ethnic origin, gender, religion, or language; with completely equal rights for all; a state in which the Hebrew-speaking majority will retain its close ties with the Jewish communities around the world, and the Arab-speaking citizens will be free to cherish their close ties with their Palestinian brothers and sisters and the Arab world at large.
If this is racism, Zionism, or worse, so be it."
".....This time I feel that I owe it to my readers to clear up some of the points I was trying to make and answer some of the objections. So here we go......
What really disturbs me about this is that almost nobody in the West comes out and says clearly: Israel must be abolished. Some of the proposals, like those for a "One State" solution, sound like euphemisms. If one believes that the state of Israel should be abolished and replaced by a state of Palestine or a state of Happiness, why not say so openly?.......
We must laud the Norwegian decision, this week, to divest from the Israeli Elbit company because of their involvement with the "Separation Fence" that is being built on Palestinian land and whose main purpose is to annex occupied territories to Israel. This is a splendid example: a focused action against a specific target, based on a ruling of the International Court.......
I have been asked about the Palestinian reaction to the boycott idea. At present, Palestinians do not boycott even the settlements; indeed, it is Palestinian workers who are building almost all the houses there, out of economic necessity......
To remove any misconceptions about myself, let me state as clearly as possible where I stand:
I am an Israeli.
I am an Israeli patriot.
I want my state to be democratic, secular, and liberal, ending the occupation and living at peace both with the free and sovereign state of Palestine that will come into being next to it, and with the entire Arab world.
I want Israel to be a state belonging to all its citizens, without distinction of ethnic origin, gender, religion, or language; with completely equal rights for all; a state in which the Hebrew-speaking majority will retain its close ties with the Jewish communities around the world, and the Arab-speaking citizens will be free to cherish their close ties with their Palestinian brothers and sisters and the Arab world at large.
If this is racism, Zionism, or worse, so be it."
The Snip
Video Clip: Michael Moore: 'Americans now think more like me'
The Guardian
"If anyone assumed that the election of Barack Obama precluded the need for Michael Moore, they clearly forgot to tell the man himself. The Oscar-winning American director rolled into the Venice film festival like a conquering hero with his latest work, Capitalism: A Love Story – a film that spotlights the causes behind last year's government bailout of the US banking system........."
US Sources: Many Arab States Pledging Normalization with Israel
Al-Manar
"07/09/2009 U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell has managed to obtain "pledges" from many Arab states for various steps toward normalization with Israel, some more significant and some less so, senior U.S. government officials told Haaretz on Sunday.
That is one of the main questions to which Israel is hoping to receive an answer when Mitchell arrives later this week or early next: “what steps toward normalization the Arab states have agreed to take in exchange for a partial freeze [Is this like being partially pregnant?] in West Bank settlements.”
Sources in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry all said that Israel still does not have a clear picture of what quid pro quos Mitchell has managed to obtain in his talks with these states.......
According to the U.S. officials, some Arab states have agreed to let Israel open offices in their territory, others have agreed to grant visas to Israeli businessmen and tourists, and still others have offered to allow direct telephone connections between Israel and their countries. A few Arab countries have agreed to hold high-level public meetings with senior Israeli officials, and others have agreed to let Israeli planes fly through their air space or even land at their airports........"
"07/09/2009 U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell has managed to obtain "pledges" from many Arab states for various steps toward normalization with Israel, some more significant and some less so, senior U.S. government officials told Haaretz on Sunday.
That is one of the main questions to which Israel is hoping to receive an answer when Mitchell arrives later this week or early next: “what steps toward normalization the Arab states have agreed to take in exchange for a partial freeze [Is this like being partially pregnant?] in West Bank settlements.”
Sources in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry all said that Israel still does not have a clear picture of what quid pro quos Mitchell has managed to obtain in his talks with these states.......
According to the U.S. officials, some Arab states have agreed to let Israel open offices in their territory, others have agreed to grant visas to Israeli businessmen and tourists, and still others have offered to allow direct telephone connections between Israel and their countries. A few Arab countries have agreed to hold high-level public meetings with senior Israeli officials, and others have agreed to let Israeli planes fly through their air space or even land at their airports........"
US Mayor Explodes Anti-Islam Sentiment over Stamps
Al-Manar
"07/09/2009 American Muslims and non-Muslims are reacting angrily to an anti-Semite e-mail by Tennessee Mayor Johnny Piper protesting the issuance of stamps commemorating two Muslim feasts.
"The e-mail represents appalling ignorance of what Islam is, and who Muslims are,” Ahmed Joudah, president of the Islamic Center of Clarksville, Tennessee, told the Leaf-Chronicle last week.
In an e-mail circulated nationwide, Piper urged whom he called "patriotic Americans" to protest a US Postal Service stamp marking `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid Al-Adha. “I was surprised at a stamp being developed, and would have thought others would be, too,” he said.
The stamp features the phrase ‘Eid mubarak or blessed feast in Islamic calligraphy. It was first issued in 2001, and was reissued in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Stereotyping the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, Piper said the Americans should not commemorate the holidays of those who attacked them, calling for a national boycott of the stamp which he described as a "slap in the face" to Americans......."
"07/09/2009 American Muslims and non-Muslims are reacting angrily to an anti-Semite e-mail by Tennessee Mayor Johnny Piper protesting the issuance of stamps commemorating two Muslim feasts.
"The e-mail represents appalling ignorance of what Islam is, and who Muslims are,” Ahmed Joudah, president of the Islamic Center of Clarksville, Tennessee, told the Leaf-Chronicle last week.
In an e-mail circulated nationwide, Piper urged whom he called "patriotic Americans" to protest a US Postal Service stamp marking `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid Al-Adha. “I was surprised at a stamp being developed, and would have thought others would be, too,” he said.
The stamp features the phrase ‘Eid mubarak or blessed feast in Islamic calligraphy. It was first issued in 2001, and was reissued in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Stereotyping the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, Piper said the Americans should not commemorate the holidays of those who attacked them, calling for a national boycott of the stamp which he described as a "slap in the face" to Americans......."
Arab states world's top arms buyers
Press TV
"The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been ranked as the top arms buyers in the world helping the US increase its share to more than 68.4% of all foreign armaments deals during global recession.
The UAE signed $9.7 billion in arms deals and Saudi Arabia signed $8.7 billion in weapons agreements, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
According to a new congressional study, Washington signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4% of all business in the global arms bazaar, up from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before........"
"The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been ranked as the top arms buyers in the world helping the US increase its share to more than 68.4% of all foreign armaments deals during global recession.
The UAE signed $9.7 billion in arms deals and Saudi Arabia signed $8.7 billion in weapons agreements, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
According to a new congressional study, Washington signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4% of all business in the global arms bazaar, up from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before........"
Sunday, September 06, 2009
العودة الى الأب
يسجّل النظام السوري منذ فترة محاولة عودة في سياسته الخارجية الى أسلوبه القديم والى بحثه عن أدوار متوازية كان يلعبها على مدى ثلاثة عقود خلت.
فبعد عامين عصيبين عليه في ال2005 وال2006 إثر اغتيال الرئيس الحريري واضطراره لسحب جيشه من لبنان وبدء التحقيق الدولي عمله، تنفّس نظام دمشق الصعداء تدريجياً ابتداء من العام 2007 مستفيداً من تفاقم المأزق الاميركي في العراق وحاجة الأميركيين الى تنسيق حدودي معه، ومن الرغبة الاسرائيلية في استقراره خوفاً من البديل المجهول على حدود الكيان العبري الشمالية، ومن الدعم التركي له الهادف الى إبقاء أكراد سوريا بعيدين عن أكراد العراق والمحافظة على جار جنوبي موالٍ ومريح. كما استفاد من حربي تموز 2006 في الجنوب اللبناني ثم كانون 2009 في غزة وما رافقهما وتلاهما من ارتباك دول ما يسمّى بمحور الإعتدال العربي ومصالحة بعضها له، ومن الانفتاح الأوروبي عليه والفرنسي تحديداً مع وصول ساركوزي، ثم من نهاية ولاية جورج بوش وعودة السياسة الأميركية الى البراغماتية بعد مرحلة إيديولوجية طويلة، فقرّر بدوره العودة الى أسلوب العمل الذي كان الرئيس الأسد الأب كرّسه طيلة سنوات حكمه.
ما هو هذا الأسلوب؟
يمكن تعريفه بوصفه تموضعات يسعى النظام السوري من خلالها الى إيجاد الحاجة الدولية لدور له في التوّسط لحلحلة مشاكل إقليمية (يتسبّب هو نفسه بخلق بعضها) بهدف قبض ثمن الحلحلة أو مقايضة الثمن المذكور بأمور أخرى تضمن للنظام إكسيره.
وللمراقب أن يتذكّر أن الأسد الأب كان صديقاً للاتحاد السوفياتي وساعياً في نفس الوقت الى فتح كل الخطوط مع الأميركيين، ثم حليفاً رئيسياً لإيران في حربها مع العراق وركناً من أركان “الثلاثي العربي” (الذي ضمّه الى السعودية ومصر، بعد مروره في “جبهة الصمود والتصدي”). وكان نظامه مساهماً في نشر الفوضى في لبنان ووسيطاً لتهدئة الأمور فيه، ومسهّلاً لخطف الأجانب في بيروت ثم مرسالاً بين دولهم والخاطفين.
واليوم، بعد ما يبدو انتهاءً لسنوات عزلة بدأت أميركية عام 2003 ثم صارت دولية وخليجية ومصرية بعد عام 2005، عاد النظام الى قديمه.
يتيح انتخاب رئيس جمهورية في لبنان بعد تعطيله الأمر لأشهر طويلة مقابل التطبيع معه، يدّعي القدرة على ضبط حزب الله وحماس واصطحابهما الى طاولة المفاوضات ويؤّمن الدعم اللوجستي والعسكري لهما، يترك الغرب يراهن على إمكانية فك ارتباطه بإيران شرط ضمان مستقبل حكمه ثم يؤكد ثبات تحالفه مع الجمهورية الإسلامية وقدرته على التأثير إيجاباً فيها وإفادة الغرب نفسه من تحالفه هذا (ولعلّ وساطته للإفراج عن الموظفة في السفارة الفرنسية في طهران والمدرّسة الفرنسية في إصفهان رسالة أراد توجيهها في هذا الاتجاه وحصل على شكر فرنسي حار لقاءها!)
والأهم، يدعو لحلف إيراني تركي سوري عراقي، ولا يمانع من حلف مواز مع السعودية ودول الخليج.
لكن هل سينجح هذه المرة في استعادة قديمه وتجديده؟ وهل ثمة حاجة اليوم الى “قطر ثانية” في المنطقة؟ وهل الخدمات “الصغيرة” (حتى الآن) تعني الدول الكبرى؟
Abu Mahjoob's Cartoon
The Arab Eunuchs to Netanyahu:
"There is No Escape; We Are Not Leaving You!
Give Yourself Up; You Are Surrounded!"
By Emad Hajjaj.
The Elders' View Of the Middle East
By Jimmy Carter
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Washington Post
"......Late last month I traveled to the region with a group of "Elders," including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and Mary Robinson of Ireland, former prime minister Gro Brundtland of Norway and women's activist Ela Bhatt of India. Three of us had previously visited Gaza, which is now a walled-in ghetto inhabited by 1.6 million Palestinians, 1.1 million of whom are refugees from Israel and the West Bank and receive basic humanitarian assistance from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Israel prevents any cement, lumber, seeds, fertilizer and hundreds of other needed materials from entering through Gaza's gates. Some additional goods from Egypt reach Gaza through underground tunnels. Gazans cannot produce their own food nor repair schools, hospitals, business establishments or the 50,000 homes that were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel's assault last January.
We found a growing sense of concern and despair among those who observe, as we did, that settlement expansion is continuing apace, rapidly encroaching into Palestinian villages, hilltops, grazing lands, farming areas and olive groves. There are more than 200 of these settlements in the West Bank.
An even more disturbing expansion is taking place in Palestinian East Jerusalem. Three months ago I visited a family who had lived for four generations in their small, recently condemned home. They were laboring to destroy it themselves to avoid much higher costs if Israeli contractors carried out the demolition order. On Aug. 27, we Elders took a gift of food to 18 members of the Hanoun family, recently evicted from their home of 65 years. The Hanouns, including six children, are living on the street, while Israeli settlers have moved into their confiscated dwelling........"
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Washington Post
"......Late last month I traveled to the region with a group of "Elders," including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and Mary Robinson of Ireland, former prime minister Gro Brundtland of Norway and women's activist Ela Bhatt of India. Three of us had previously visited Gaza, which is now a walled-in ghetto inhabited by 1.6 million Palestinians, 1.1 million of whom are refugees from Israel and the West Bank and receive basic humanitarian assistance from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Israel prevents any cement, lumber, seeds, fertilizer and hundreds of other needed materials from entering through Gaza's gates. Some additional goods from Egypt reach Gaza through underground tunnels. Gazans cannot produce their own food nor repair schools, hospitals, business establishments or the 50,000 homes that were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel's assault last January.
We found a growing sense of concern and despair among those who observe, as we did, that settlement expansion is continuing apace, rapidly encroaching into Palestinian villages, hilltops, grazing lands, farming areas and olive groves. There are more than 200 of these settlements in the West Bank.
An even more disturbing expansion is taking place in Palestinian East Jerusalem. Three months ago I visited a family who had lived for four generations in their small, recently condemned home. They were laboring to destroy it themselves to avoid much higher costs if Israeli contractors carried out the demolition order. On Aug. 27, we Elders took a gift of food to 18 members of the Hanoun family, recently evicted from their home of 65 years. The Hanouns, including six children, are living on the street, while Israeli settlers have moved into their confiscated dwelling........"
Haya: Egypt to table proposal resolving all pending issues
COMMENT: The Idiots of Hamas Are Still Counting on the Pharaoh?
He is the Strongest Ally of Israel in the Middle East, for God's Sake!
Why not Ask Netanyahu to Mediate with Fatah? You Might Get Better Results; He Tells the Pharaoh What is Acceptable to USrael.
"GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Khalil Al-Haya, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said on Sunday that Cairo would table within a few days a new proposal ending all pending issues in the Palestinian dialog. He added in a statement to Safa news agency that in the event the proposal was endorsed then the Palestinian factions would be invited early next month to Cairo for a serious and in-depth dialog.
The ball is now in Fatah's court if it really wanted reconciliation and an end to division, Haya said, adding that Fatah should not resort to "unrealistic pretexts".
The Hamas leader denied knowledge of the content of the Egyptian proposal [COMMENT: This guy is both an idiot and a liar. If he does not know the content of the proposal, how does he know that it is acceptable to Hamas? Or, is Hamas giving the Pharaoh a blank check and is telling him that it is so desperate, it would sign any deal "mediated" by the Pharaoh?] but said it would certainly build on what was agreed upon in previous rounds of national dialog.
He said that his Movement was keen on success of the national reconciliation and was confident of the Egyptian determination to reach an agreement ending the internal Palestinian rift.
A senior level Hamas delegation led by its political bureau chairman Khaled Mishaal is currently visiting Cairo for talks on the Palestinian national dialog."
He is the Strongest Ally of Israel in the Middle East, for God's Sake!
Why not Ask Netanyahu to Mediate with Fatah? You Might Get Better Results; He Tells the Pharaoh What is Acceptable to USrael.
"GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Khalil Al-Haya, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said on Sunday that Cairo would table within a few days a new proposal ending all pending issues in the Palestinian dialog. He added in a statement to Safa news agency that in the event the proposal was endorsed then the Palestinian factions would be invited early next month to Cairo for a serious and in-depth dialog.
The ball is now in Fatah's court if it really wanted reconciliation and an end to division, Haya said, adding that Fatah should not resort to "unrealistic pretexts".
The Hamas leader denied knowledge of the content of the Egyptian proposal [COMMENT: This guy is both an idiot and a liar. If he does not know the content of the proposal, how does he know that it is acceptable to Hamas? Or, is Hamas giving the Pharaoh a blank check and is telling him that it is so desperate, it would sign any deal "mediated" by the Pharaoh?] but said it would certainly build on what was agreed upon in previous rounds of national dialog.
He said that his Movement was keen on success of the national reconciliation and was confident of the Egyptian determination to reach an agreement ending the internal Palestinian rift.
A senior level Hamas delegation led by its political bureau chairman Khaled Mishaal is currently visiting Cairo for talks on the Palestinian national dialog."
Progressives Pay the Price for Confusing a Party With a Movement
By David Sirota
TruthDig
"The difference between parties and movements is simple: Parties are loyal to their own power regardless of policy agenda; movements are loyal to their own policy agenda regardless of which party champions it. This is one of the few enduring political axioms, and it explains why the organizations purporting to lead an American progressive “movement” have yet to build a real movement, much less a successful one.
Though the 2006 and 2008 elections were billed as progressive movement successes, the story behind them highlights a longer-term failure. During those contests, most leaders of Washington’s major labor, environmental, anti-war and anti-poverty groups spent millions of dollars on a party endeavor—specifically, on electing a Democratic president and Democratic Congress. In the process, many groups subverted their own movement agendas in the name of electoral unity......."
TruthDig
"The difference between parties and movements is simple: Parties are loyal to their own power regardless of policy agenda; movements are loyal to their own policy agenda regardless of which party champions it. This is one of the few enduring political axioms, and it explains why the organizations purporting to lead an American progressive “movement” have yet to build a real movement, much less a successful one.
Though the 2006 and 2008 elections were billed as progressive movement successes, the story behind them highlights a longer-term failure. During those contests, most leaders of Washington’s major labor, environmental, anti-war and anti-poverty groups spent millions of dollars on a party endeavor—specifically, on electing a Democratic president and Democratic Congress. In the process, many groups subverted their own movement agendas in the name of electoral unity......."
حكومة حماس تلغي قرارا بإلزام المحاميات في غزة بارتداء الجلباب والمنديل
حكومة حماس تلغي قرارا بإلزام المحاميات في غزة بارتداء الجلباب والمنديل
"غزة- ألغى مجلس العدل الأعلى التابع للسلطة القضائية في الحكومة الفلسطينية المقالة التي تديرها حركة حماس قرار إلزام المحاميات بارتداء الزي الشرعي (الجلباب والمنديل) أثناء مثولهن أمام المحاكم النظامية في قطاع غزة والذي كان أثار جدلا واسعا.
وقالت مصادر فلسطينية إن رئيس المجلس عبد الرؤوف الحلبي الذي أصدر القرار في التاسع من تموز/ يوليو الماضي ألغاه شفهيا.
وقال الحلبي في بيان صحفي إن قراره كان للصالح العام وباجتهاد شخصي منه وذلك من منطلق الحفاظ على هيبة المحاكم والشكل العام للمحامين أمامها لكن ما تم هو تأويل القرار لأغراض وغايات لا تريد الصالح العام وفي جميع الأحوال لا يوجد أي خروج من قبل المحامين والمحاميات عن الأصول.
وأشار إلى أنه كانت هناك حالات فردية قليلة غير ملتزمة بكسوة المحامين إلا أنها عادت والتزمت بالقرار وبالقانون، ولا يوجد الآن أية إشكالية في ذلك، لأن المهم والأساس في الموضوع كله هو الالتزام بروب المحاماة مع أن يكون المظهر العام مقبولا وفيه احترام لهيئة المحكمة.
وكان هذا القرار قد أثار في حينه جدلا واسعا في أوساط المحامين ونقابتهم ومؤسسات حقوق الإنسان التي تداعت إلى عقد اجتماعات موسعة، خاصة أنهم اعتبروه تجنيا على القانون الأساسي المعدل ومواده لأن تفسيرها لا يعني بالمطلق التعدي على الحريات الشخصية للمواطنين بشكل عام والمحاميات بشكل خاص.
وكانت نقابة المحامين الفلسطينيين هددت قبل ثلاثة أيام بالإضراب العام واتخاذ إجراءات تصعيدية بمقاطعة المحاكم التي تديرها الحكومة المقالة في حال طبق قرار فرض ارتداء الحجاب على المحاميات خلال مرافعتهن أمام القضاء.
"
"غزة- ألغى مجلس العدل الأعلى التابع للسلطة القضائية في الحكومة الفلسطينية المقالة التي تديرها حركة حماس قرار إلزام المحاميات بارتداء الزي الشرعي (الجلباب والمنديل) أثناء مثولهن أمام المحاكم النظامية في قطاع غزة والذي كان أثار جدلا واسعا.
وقالت مصادر فلسطينية إن رئيس المجلس عبد الرؤوف الحلبي الذي أصدر القرار في التاسع من تموز/ يوليو الماضي ألغاه شفهيا.
وقال الحلبي في بيان صحفي إن قراره كان للصالح العام وباجتهاد شخصي منه وذلك من منطلق الحفاظ على هيبة المحاكم والشكل العام للمحامين أمامها لكن ما تم هو تأويل القرار لأغراض وغايات لا تريد الصالح العام وفي جميع الأحوال لا يوجد أي خروج من قبل المحامين والمحاميات عن الأصول.
وأشار إلى أنه كانت هناك حالات فردية قليلة غير ملتزمة بكسوة المحامين إلا أنها عادت والتزمت بالقرار وبالقانون، ولا يوجد الآن أية إشكالية في ذلك، لأن المهم والأساس في الموضوع كله هو الالتزام بروب المحاماة مع أن يكون المظهر العام مقبولا وفيه احترام لهيئة المحكمة.
وكان هذا القرار قد أثار في حينه جدلا واسعا في أوساط المحامين ونقابتهم ومؤسسات حقوق الإنسان التي تداعت إلى عقد اجتماعات موسعة، خاصة أنهم اعتبروه تجنيا على القانون الأساسي المعدل ومواده لأن تفسيرها لا يعني بالمطلق التعدي على الحريات الشخصية للمواطنين بشكل عام والمحاميات بشكل خاص.
وكانت نقابة المحامين الفلسطينيين هددت قبل ثلاثة أيام بالإضراب العام واتخاذ إجراءات تصعيدية بمقاطعة المحاكم التي تديرها الحكومة المقالة في حال طبق قرار فرض ارتداء الحجاب على المحاميات خلال مرافعتهن أمام القضاء.
"
Revealed: Blair's role in Megrahi release
MPs want to know what deal was struck over the Lockerbie bomber at a meeting in a London club in 2003 – long before either the Scottish government or Gordon Brown was involved
By Jane Merrick
The Independent
"Tony Blair will be thrust into the controversy over the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi with questions in Parliament over a secret meeting the then Prime Minister orchestrated that brought Libya in from the cold.
MPs are set to demand the minutes of an extraordinary cloak-and-dagger summit in London between British, American and Libyan spies held three days before Mr Blair announced that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was surrendering his weapons of mass destruction programme.
At the time of the secret meeting in December 2003 at the private Travellers Club in Pall Mall, London – for decades the favourite haunt of spies – Libyan officials were pressing for negotiations on the status of Megrahi, who was nearly three years into his life sentence at a Scottish jail......"
By Jane Merrick
The Independent
"Tony Blair will be thrust into the controversy over the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi with questions in Parliament over a secret meeting the then Prime Minister orchestrated that brought Libya in from the cold.
MPs are set to demand the minutes of an extraordinary cloak-and-dagger summit in London between British, American and Libyan spies held three days before Mr Blair announced that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was surrendering his weapons of mass destruction programme.
At the time of the secret meeting in December 2003 at the private Travellers Club in Pall Mall, London – for decades the favourite haunt of spies – Libyan officials were pressing for negotiations on the status of Megrahi, who was nearly three years into his life sentence at a Scottish jail......"
Swedish FM cancels his visit to Israel
Press TV
"Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has canceled his visit to Israel, in the face of continuing tension stemmed from an article in a Swedish newspaper.
Bildt has declared that the visit which was scheduled for September 11 has been canceled because of "bad timing", considering the ongoing talks between the US and Israel on the Middle East peace process.
However a source in the Sweden Foreign Ministry, according to Haaretz, linked the cancellation of the trip to the recent political crisis between Tel Aviv and Stockholm.
In August, an article published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet unveiled an organ-theft scandal in Israel......."
"Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has canceled his visit to Israel, in the face of continuing tension stemmed from an article in a Swedish newspaper.
Bildt has declared that the visit which was scheduled for September 11 has been canceled because of "bad timing", considering the ongoing talks between the US and Israel on the Middle East peace process.
However a source in the Sweden Foreign Ministry, according to Haaretz, linked the cancellation of the trip to the recent political crisis between Tel Aviv and Stockholm.
In August, an article published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet unveiled an organ-theft scandal in Israel......."
Interview: Palestine's storyteller
Al-Jazeera
"On August 29, 1987, Naji al-Ali, one of the Arab World's most renown political cartoonists, was shot dead in London by unknown assailants. The murder case has never been solved.
Al-Ali, who was born in Palestine in 1938 and became a refugee when Israel was created 10 years later, is perhaps best remembered for his iconic cartoon character of Handala, a ten year-old shoe-less urchin who bears witness to the grim realities of a region torn by war, corruption, inequality and cynicism.
A Child in Palestine, a new book of his cartoons translated in English, was recently published to commemorate the life and works of the artist who came to symbolise public Arab opinion.
Al Jazeera's Awad Joumaa interviewed his son, Khalid al-Ali, on the artist's legacy. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Al Jazeera: The Guardian newspaper once described Naji al-Ali as "the nearest thing there is to an Arab public opinion". Does that adequately describe your father?......."
A Sample of Naji al-Ali's Cartoons
"On August 29, 1987, Naji al-Ali, one of the Arab World's most renown political cartoonists, was shot dead in London by unknown assailants. The murder case has never been solved.
Al-Ali, who was born in Palestine in 1938 and became a refugee when Israel was created 10 years later, is perhaps best remembered for his iconic cartoon character of Handala, a ten year-old shoe-less urchin who bears witness to the grim realities of a region torn by war, corruption, inequality and cynicism.
A Child in Palestine, a new book of his cartoons translated in English, was recently published to commemorate the life and works of the artist who came to symbolise public Arab opinion.
Al Jazeera's Awad Joumaa interviewed his son, Khalid al-Ali, on the artist's legacy. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Al Jazeera: The Guardian newspaper once described Naji al-Ali as "the nearest thing there is to an Arab public opinion". Does that adequately describe your father?......."
A Sample of Naji al-Ali's Cartoons
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Al-Jazeera Video: Victims of Lebanon's 'Ponzi scheme' speak out - 04 Sept 09
"Salah Ezzedine, a Shia from southern Lebanon who has been dubbed the "Bernard Madoff" of his country, was arrested earlier this week when he filed for bankruptcy.
The Lebanese businessman accused of defrauding investors in a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme is under investigation after turning himself in to authorities.
Reports surfaced that he had squandered more than $1.5 billion of his clients' money, offerring interest rates as high as 55 per cent and that part of his clientele was from the oil-rich Gulf region.
Al Jazeera's Amal Hamdan reports on the story of Mohammad Shour, one of Ezzedine's clients who decided to invest his family's savings but lost everything. "
A Related Article (in Arabic) From the Lebanese Paper Al-Akhbar:
قضيّة صلاح عز الدين: إنذار مبكر لبيئة المقاومة
ابراهيم الأمين
"لن يكون بمقدور أحد تبرير ما حصل في قضية صلاح عز الدين، لكن حكايته يجب أن تمثل جرس الإنذار الأكبر للوسط الاجتماعي الذي يمثله الرجل في عاداته وحساباته، وهو الوسيط اللصيق بحزب الله، وليس القريب منه فقط، باعتبار أن غالبية المودعين عند الرجل، هم من عائلات الحزب وأنصاره ومؤيديه، حتى إن كثيرين تعاملوا معه بثقة كبيرة مع نتيجة أشياء عدة، أبرزها ما أشيع عن أنه «شريك الحزب».
......"
Real News Video: Prosecuting Israel for war crimes
Deputy Prosecutor of Int'l Criminal Court discusses the Palestinian Authority appeal to join the court.
"Lia Tarachansky speaks to Fatou Bensouda, the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) about the Palestinian Authority's appeal to join the group of nations over which the court has jurisdiction. Bensouda says that before the ICC can investigate the perpetration of war crimes during Israel's recent attack on Gaza, the court would have to rule on whether it has jurisdiction in the Palestinian Territories. For that, there would have to be clear borders identified, a task the UN would have to take on. Once the court rules on jurisdiction it would be able to prosecute anyone who committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide within the territory, even if (such as in the case of Israel) the perpetrator is not part of the International Court."
"Lia Tarachansky speaks to Fatou Bensouda, the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) about the Palestinian Authority's appeal to join the group of nations over which the court has jurisdiction. Bensouda says that before the ICC can investigate the perpetration of war crimes during Israel's recent attack on Gaza, the court would have to rule on whether it has jurisdiction in the Palestinian Territories. For that, there would have to be clear borders identified, a task the UN would have to take on. Once the court rules on jurisdiction it would be able to prosecute anyone who committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide within the territory, even if (such as in the case of Israel) the perpetrator is not part of the International Court."
Al-Jazeera Cartoon
Why I resigned from the Gaza Freedom March coalition:
By Norman Finkelstein
"The original consensus of the International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza was that we would limit our statement to a pair of uncontroversial, basic and complementary principles that would have the broadest possible appeal: the march to break the siege would be nonviolent and anchored in international law. I agreed with this approach and consequent statement and decided to remove myself from the steering committee in order to invest my full energies in mobilizing for the march. During the week beginning August 30, 2009 and in a matter of days an entirely new sectarian agenda dubbed "the political context" was foisted on those who originally signed on and worked tirelessly for three months. Because it drags in contentious issues that--however precious to different constituencies--are wholly extraneous to the narrow but critical goal of breaking the siege this new agenda is gratuitously divisive and it is almost certain that it will drastically reduce the potential reach of our original appeal. It should perhaps be stressed that the point of dispute was not whether one personally supported a particular Palestinian right or strategy to end the occupation. It was whether inclusion in the coalition's statement of a particular right or strategy was necessary if it was both unrelated to the immediate objective of breaking the siege and dimmed the prospect of a truly mass demonstration......."
"The original consensus of the International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza was that we would limit our statement to a pair of uncontroversial, basic and complementary principles that would have the broadest possible appeal: the march to break the siege would be nonviolent and anchored in international law. I agreed with this approach and consequent statement and decided to remove myself from the steering committee in order to invest my full energies in mobilizing for the march. During the week beginning August 30, 2009 and in a matter of days an entirely new sectarian agenda dubbed "the political context" was foisted on those who originally signed on and worked tirelessly for three months. Because it drags in contentious issues that--however precious to different constituencies--are wholly extraneous to the narrow but critical goal of breaking the siege this new agenda is gratuitously divisive and it is almost certain that it will drastically reduce the potential reach of our original appeal. It should perhaps be stressed that the point of dispute was not whether one personally supported a particular Palestinian right or strategy to end the occupation. It was whether inclusion in the coalition's statement of a particular right or strategy was necessary if it was both unrelated to the immediate objective of breaking the siege and dimmed the prospect of a truly mass demonstration......."
"Sense of duty": interview with Bilin journalist
Jody McIntyre, The Electronic Intifada, 4 September 2009
"Haitham al-Katib is a journalist living in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin. During the last few months, village residents have been the victims of constant night invasions by the Israeli military. The goal of these raids is to crush the village's campaign of nonviolent resistance to the confiscation of their land. Al-Katib films the night raids, as well as the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the wall, and has become a well-known figure for his brave attempts to document the struggle. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre, currently based in Bilin, interviewed him about his work........."
"Haitham al-Katib is a journalist living in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin. During the last few months, village residents have been the victims of constant night invasions by the Israeli military. The goal of these raids is to crush the village's campaign of nonviolent resistance to the confiscation of their land. Al-Katib films the night raids, as well as the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the wall, and has become a well-known figure for his brave attempts to document the struggle. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre, currently based in Bilin, interviewed him about his work........."
How Thomas Friedman Gets Palestine Entirely Wrong
By Toufic Haddad
For years Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman has traipsed around the Middle East with a golf bag on his shoulder and a moustache full of witty catechisms about the region’s problems and their solutions. Two recent op-eds continue this trend, inspired by a recent trip to the West Bank that apparently impressed Friedman greatly.
“Green Shoots in Palestine” parts one and two, (attempt to) shed light on transformations in the West Bank that apparently buck the miserable trends that characterize Palestine and the Arab world at large - from poverty and underdevelopment, to illiteracy and authoritarianism.
Instead Friedman sees some “good cheer” coming from the West Bank - security, fiscal transparency, and solid economic growth - trends he encourages the U.S. to “nurture”, presumably to allow these “shoots” to mature and bear more fruit.
In order to expose Friedman’s arguments, it’s necessary to first provide an overview of them. Taken at face value, they may appear to some as perfectly sound. But, it is the context that Freidman fails to provide, which is so damaging and deceptive.
For years Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman has traipsed around the Middle East with a golf bag on his shoulder and a moustache full of witty catechisms about the region’s problems and their solutions. Two recent op-eds continue this trend, inspired by a recent trip to the West Bank that apparently impressed Friedman greatly.
“Green Shoots in Palestine” parts one and two, (attempt to) shed light on transformations in the West Bank that apparently buck the miserable trends that characterize Palestine and the Arab world at large - from poverty and underdevelopment, to illiteracy and authoritarianism.
Instead Friedman sees some “good cheer” coming from the West Bank - security, fiscal transparency, and solid economic growth - trends he encourages the U.S. to “nurture”, presumably to allow these “shoots” to mature and bear more fruit.
In order to expose Friedman’s arguments, it’s necessary to first provide an overview of them. Taken at face value, they may appear to some as perfectly sound. But, it is the context that Freidman fails to provide, which is so damaging and deceptive.
Saudi women fight for autonomy
In Saudi Arabia, women aren't allowed to travel without the say-so of a male relative. Will they put up with it for much longer?
Nesrine Malik
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 September 2009
Nesrine Malik
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 September 2009
COMMENT: This is becoming increasingly the case in Gaza under Hamas.
"When living in Saudi Arabia, every time I wanted to travel outside the kingdom I had to produce a piece of paper from my male guardian authorising my movements in order to be granted an exit visa. This process became more difficult when my father passed away, after which my sisters and I were left scrambling for the closest male relative to sanction our travel......
The wali, or guardian, is the practical underwriter of a woman's existence in Saudi Arabia. These mahrams (male relatives whom it is haram – forbidden – to wed) sit in a pyramid of patronage with the father and husband at the pinnacle, descending through uncles (paternal uncles higher up the scale, naturally) and bottoming out with brothers......
To counter this liberal activism, a conservative campaign – under the slogan "My Guardian Knows the Best for Me" – was recently launched to oppose dismantling of the guardianship system. The movement, launched by Rawdah el-Yousif (although ironically, she is in dispute with a man over who can claim the credit for the campaign) is a vehicle for, in Rawdah's words, expressing "dismay at the efforts of some who have liberal demands that do not comply with Islamic law or with the kingdom's traditions and customs".
In an overwhelmingly patriarchal and segregated society, where there is little accommodation of women in official circles, it is not surprising that men should be able to conduct affairs on behalf of their female relatives. For a female without a mahram, carrying out even the most basic transactions in places staffed entirely by ogling, dismissive, men is excruciating. But to legally hand the reins entirely to men signs over the fate of half the population to those who are potentially capricious, overbearing and misogynistic in a deeply traditional society.......
Nobody is stopping women from deferring to their guardians' authority in their private lives, but insisting that this authority applies across the board shows a shocking disregard for other women not privileged enough to have guardians who "know what's best for them"."
The wali, or guardian, is the practical underwriter of a woman's existence in Saudi Arabia. These mahrams (male relatives whom it is haram – forbidden – to wed) sit in a pyramid of patronage with the father and husband at the pinnacle, descending through uncles (paternal uncles higher up the scale, naturally) and bottoming out with brothers......
To counter this liberal activism, a conservative campaign – under the slogan "My Guardian Knows the Best for Me" – was recently launched to oppose dismantling of the guardianship system. The movement, launched by Rawdah el-Yousif (although ironically, she is in dispute with a man over who can claim the credit for the campaign) is a vehicle for, in Rawdah's words, expressing "dismay at the efforts of some who have liberal demands that do not comply with Islamic law or with the kingdom's traditions and customs".
In an overwhelmingly patriarchal and segregated society, where there is little accommodation of women in official circles, it is not surprising that men should be able to conduct affairs on behalf of their female relatives. For a female without a mahram, carrying out even the most basic transactions in places staffed entirely by ogling, dismissive, men is excruciating. But to legally hand the reins entirely to men signs over the fate of half the population to those who are potentially capricious, overbearing and misogynistic in a deeply traditional society.......
Nobody is stopping women from deferring to their guardians' authority in their private lives, but insisting that this authority applies across the board shows a shocking disregard for other women not privileged enough to have guardians who "know what's best for them"."
Libya: Middle class are all smiles as retail therapy entices Gaddafi's people
Leader's revolution anniversary celebrations pull the crowds - but so do the bargains offered at Marks & Spencer and BHS
Ian Black in Tripoli
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 September 2009
"...... Marks & Spencer, on Girgash Road in the opulent west of the Libyan capital, heaves until four in the morning with women – in chadors or western dress – inspecting lingerie and swimwear watched by irritable husbands and children expecting presents for the Eid........
"Shops are just the beginning,"[COMMENT: This is how you keep the "Umma" busy. Jerusalem....What Jerusalem? Al-Aqsa Mosque....What Al-Aqsa? Palestine.....What Palestine?......Attention Marks & Spencer shoppers......Our Sale Ends......] said engineer Bashir Gelidy, leaving BHS with his social worker wife Hanna, and their daughter Lujian, eight and pouting in pink sparkly T-shirt and matching pedal-pushers. "This is about opening Libya up to the world. It's about investment and creating jobs and developing this country. You can see the change happening here.".........
No one can object to more consumer choice for Libyans. But British business in Muammar Gaddafi's Jamahiriya ("state of the masses") is in the news because of suspicions that the controversial release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked to trade and oil deals with a country that has been transformed from terrorist-sponsoring pariah to a mecca for western investors. With spending on infrastructure projects scheduled to reach $50bn (£30.5bn) over the next three years, Libya is encouraging bids from UK firms. "Investing at home, investing abroad" was the title of a conference that brought senior Libyan and British officials and businesspeople together at a country retreat in Sussex just as Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary, was considering Abdel-baset al-Megrahi's release........."
Read About Marks and Spencer's support for Israel and Zionism Here
Ian Black in Tripoli
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 September 2009
"...... Marks & Spencer, on Girgash Road in the opulent west of the Libyan capital, heaves until four in the morning with women – in chadors or western dress – inspecting lingerie and swimwear watched by irritable husbands and children expecting presents for the Eid........
"Shops are just the beginning,"[COMMENT: This is how you keep the "Umma" busy. Jerusalem....What Jerusalem? Al-Aqsa Mosque....What Al-Aqsa? Palestine.....What Palestine?......Attention Marks & Spencer shoppers......Our Sale Ends......] said engineer Bashir Gelidy, leaving BHS with his social worker wife Hanna, and their daughter Lujian, eight and pouting in pink sparkly T-shirt and matching pedal-pushers. "This is about opening Libya up to the world. It's about investment and creating jobs and developing this country. You can see the change happening here.".........
No one can object to more consumer choice for Libyans. But British business in Muammar Gaddafi's Jamahiriya ("state of the masses") is in the news because of suspicions that the controversial release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked to trade and oil deals with a country that has been transformed from terrorist-sponsoring pariah to a mecca for western investors. With spending on infrastructure projects scheduled to reach $50bn (£30.5bn) over the next three years, Libya is encouraging bids from UK firms. "Investing at home, investing abroad" was the title of a conference that brought senior Libyan and British officials and businesspeople together at a country retreat in Sussex just as Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary, was considering Abdel-baset al-Megrahi's release........."
Read About Marks and Spencer's support for Israel and Zionism Here A big thank you
By Ilan Pappe, The Electronic Intifada, 4 September 2009
"......Tomorrow we all will go back to the dismal reality in which Palestinian students are imprisoned daily without trial in Nablus, Palestinian children are killed near Ramallah, as also happened today. We will return to the reality of house demolitions as occurred two weeks ago in Jerusalem, of the continued strangulation of the Gaza Strip and the overall dispossession of Palestinians, wherever they are. But today of all days, those of us who happened to be here on the ground saw a light, a very powerful light, illuminating for a very short moment, the horizon of a different reality of peace and reconciliation.
And it was all due to the decision of the Norwegian government to withdraw its investments in the Israeli hi-tech company Elbit (due to the latter's involvement in the construction and maintenance of the apartheid wall). We have to keep a proportional view on this: only one section of Elbit, Elbit Systems, was affected. But the significance is not about who was targeted, but rather who took the decision: the Norwegian ministry of finance through its ethical council. No less important was the manner in which it was taken: the minister herself announced the move in a press conference. This is what transformed for a short while the media scene in the Zionist state.........
"......Tomorrow we all will go back to the dismal reality in which Palestinian students are imprisoned daily without trial in Nablus, Palestinian children are killed near Ramallah, as also happened today. We will return to the reality of house demolitions as occurred two weeks ago in Jerusalem, of the continued strangulation of the Gaza Strip and the overall dispossession of Palestinians, wherever they are. But today of all days, those of us who happened to be here on the ground saw a light, a very powerful light, illuminating for a very short moment, the horizon of a different reality of peace and reconciliation.
And it was all due to the decision of the Norwegian government to withdraw its investments in the Israeli hi-tech company Elbit (due to the latter's involvement in the construction and maintenance of the apartheid wall). We have to keep a proportional view on this: only one section of Elbit, Elbit Systems, was affected. But the significance is not about who was targeted, but rather who took the decision: the Norwegian ministry of finance through its ethical council. No less important was the manner in which it was taken: the minister herself announced the move in a press conference. This is what transformed for a short while the media scene in the Zionist state.........
This is a clear message for all the good people in the West looking for ways of helping the Palestinians in their moment of nadir. They want to march and sail peacefully to Gaza, they wish to facilitate more meetings between Israelis and Palestinians and are adamant despite all the hurdles to volunteer in the occupied territories. These are all noble actions but changing the public opinion in the West, is what people in the West can do best. And if one government has already shifted significantly the name and the rules of the game -- be it in a very minor decision that may still be revised under the tidal Zionist reaction, others will surely follow. For the time being all we can say is a huge thank you to a brave politician that will enter the pages of history as someone who paved the way to a better future for everyone in Israel and Palestine."
Flash!.......Flash!.......Exciting News......Dialog About the Dialog......Read All About it.....
Mashaal Arrives in Cairo for Talks on Shalit, Palestinian Unity
Al-Manar
"05/09/2009 Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal arrived in Cairo Saturday to discuss a prisoner exchange deal with the Israeli government, according to Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha. Mashaal was set to meet Egyptian intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman.
Taha added that Mashaal will also discuss restarting Palestinian reconciliation talks during his time in Egypt. [Celebrate now, or else!]
On Thursday, Taha said that there was nothing new regarding the case of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit. "The only new development is the intervention of the Germans in the mediation efforts," he said. "Other than that, I can't say that there's anything new regarding this case."......"
Al-Manar
"05/09/2009 Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal arrived in Cairo Saturday to discuss a prisoner exchange deal with the Israeli government, according to Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha. Mashaal was set to meet Egyptian intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman.
Taha added that Mashaal will also discuss restarting Palestinian reconciliation talks during his time in Egypt. [Celebrate now, or else!]
On Thursday, Taha said that there was nothing new regarding the case of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit. "The only new development is the intervention of the Germans in the mediation efforts," he said. "Other than that, I can't say that there's anything new regarding this case."......"
Friday, September 04, 2009
The Autopsy Surgeon Aftonbladet Forgot
The Missing Link in Israeli Organ Theft?
AN EXCELLENT PIECE!
By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch
Nazareth
".....I have no idea whether the story is true. Like most journalists working in Israel and Palestine, I have heard such rumours before. Until Bostrom wrote his piece, no Western journalist, as far as I know, had investigated them. After so many years, the assumption by journalists was that there was little hope of finding evidence -- apart from literally by digging up the corpses. Doubtless, the inevitable charge of anti-semitism such reports attract acted as a powerful deterrent too......
They muddied the waters by trying to make a tenuous connection between the Palestinian families’ allegations about organ theft during unauthorized autopsies and the entirely separate revelations this month that a group of US Jews had been arrested for money-laundering and trading in body parts. [3]
In making that connection, Bostrom and Aftonbladet suggested that the problem of organ theft is a current one when they have produced only examples of such concern from the early 1990s......The Swedish reporter should instead have concentrated on the valid question raised by the families about why the Israeli army, by its own admission, took away the bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed by its soldiers, allowed autopsies to be performed on them without the families’ permission and then returned the bodies for burial in ceremonies held under tight security......
A justifiable question from the families relayed by Bostrom is: why did the army want the autopsies carried out? Unless it can be shown that the army intended to conduct investigations into the deaths -- and there is apparently no suggestion that it did -- the autopsies were unnecessary......
Of even greater concern for the Palestinian families is the fact that at around the time the bodies of their loved ones were whisked off by the army for autopsy, the only institute in Israel that conducts such autopsies, Abu Kabir, near Tel Aviv, was almost certainly at the centre of a trade in organs that later became a scandal inside Israel.
Equally disturbing, the doctor behind the plunder of body parts, Prof Yehuda Hiss, appointed director of the Abu Kabir institute in the late 1980s, has never been jailed despite admitting to the organ theft and he continues to be the state’s chief pathologist at the institute.
Hiss was in charge of the autopsies of Palestinians when Bostrom was listening to the families’ claims in 1992. Hiss was subsequently investigated twice, in 2002 and 2005, over the theft of body parts on a large scale......
Hiss did not deny the plunder of organs, admitting that the body parts belonged to soldiers killed in action and had been passed to medical institutes and hospitals in the interests of advancing research. Understandably, however, the Palestinian families are unlikely to be satisfied with Hiss’ explanation. If the wishes of a soldier’s familiy were disregarded by Hiss, why not Palestinian families’ wishes too?......
Given the facts that are known, there must be at least a very strong suspicion that Hiss removed organs without authorisation from some Palestinians he autopsied. Both this issue, and the army’s possible role in supplying him with corpses, needs investigation.......
Similarly, when Israeli politicians are able to cry “blood libel” or “anti-semitism” when they are criticised, damaging the reputations of those they accuse, what incentive do they have to initiate inquiries that may harm them or the institutions they oversee? What reason do they have to be honest when they can bludgeon a critic into silence, at no cost to themselves?
This is the meaning of the phrase “Power corrupts”, and Israeli politicians and soldiers, as well as at least one pathologist, demonstrably have far too much power -- most especially over Palestinians under occupation."
AN EXCELLENT PIECE!
By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch
Nazareth
".....I have no idea whether the story is true. Like most journalists working in Israel and Palestine, I have heard such rumours before. Until Bostrom wrote his piece, no Western journalist, as far as I know, had investigated them. After so many years, the assumption by journalists was that there was little hope of finding evidence -- apart from literally by digging up the corpses. Doubtless, the inevitable charge of anti-semitism such reports attract acted as a powerful deterrent too......
They muddied the waters by trying to make a tenuous connection between the Palestinian families’ allegations about organ theft during unauthorized autopsies and the entirely separate revelations this month that a group of US Jews had been arrested for money-laundering and trading in body parts. [3]
In making that connection, Bostrom and Aftonbladet suggested that the problem of organ theft is a current one when they have produced only examples of such concern from the early 1990s......The Swedish reporter should instead have concentrated on the valid question raised by the families about why the Israeli army, by its own admission, took away the bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed by its soldiers, allowed autopsies to be performed on them without the families’ permission and then returned the bodies for burial in ceremonies held under tight security......
A justifiable question from the families relayed by Bostrom is: why did the army want the autopsies carried out? Unless it can be shown that the army intended to conduct investigations into the deaths -- and there is apparently no suggestion that it did -- the autopsies were unnecessary......
Of even greater concern for the Palestinian families is the fact that at around the time the bodies of their loved ones were whisked off by the army for autopsy, the only institute in Israel that conducts such autopsies, Abu Kabir, near Tel Aviv, was almost certainly at the centre of a trade in organs that later became a scandal inside Israel.
Equally disturbing, the doctor behind the plunder of body parts, Prof Yehuda Hiss, appointed director of the Abu Kabir institute in the late 1980s, has never been jailed despite admitting to the organ theft and he continues to be the state’s chief pathologist at the institute.
Hiss was in charge of the autopsies of Palestinians when Bostrom was listening to the families’ claims in 1992. Hiss was subsequently investigated twice, in 2002 and 2005, over the theft of body parts on a large scale......
Hiss did not deny the plunder of organs, admitting that the body parts belonged to soldiers killed in action and had been passed to medical institutes and hospitals in the interests of advancing research. Understandably, however, the Palestinian families are unlikely to be satisfied with Hiss’ explanation. If the wishes of a soldier’s familiy were disregarded by Hiss, why not Palestinian families’ wishes too?......
Given the facts that are known, there must be at least a very strong suspicion that Hiss removed organs without authorisation from some Palestinians he autopsied. Both this issue, and the army’s possible role in supplying him with corpses, needs investigation.......
Similarly, when Israeli politicians are able to cry “blood libel” or “anti-semitism” when they are criticised, damaging the reputations of those they accuse, what incentive do they have to initiate inquiries that may harm them or the institutions they oversee? What reason do they have to be honest when they can bludgeon a critic into silence, at no cost to themselves?
This is the meaning of the phrase “Power corrupts”, and Israeli politicians and soldiers, as well as at least one pathologist, demonstrably have far too much power -- most especially over Palestinians under occupation."
BBC Video: Airborne rabbis fight off swine flu
Click Here to Watch This Bizarre Video
"A group of rabbis and Jewish mystics have taken to the skies over Israel, praying and blowing ceremonial trumpets to ward off swine flu.
About 50 religious leaders circled over the country on Monday, chanting prayers and blowing the horns called "shofars".
The flight's aim was "to stop the pandemic so people will stop dying from it," Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri was quoted as saying in Yedioth Aharanot newspaper.
The flu is often referred to as H1N1 in Israel, where pigs are seen as unclean."
"A group of rabbis and Jewish mystics have taken to the skies over Israel, praying and blowing ceremonial trumpets to ward off swine flu.
About 50 religious leaders circled over the country on Monday, chanting prayers and blowing the horns called "shofars".
The flight's aim was "to stop the pandemic so people will stop dying from it," Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri was quoted as saying in Yedioth Aharanot newspaper.
The flu is often referred to as H1N1 in Israel, where pigs are seen as unclean."
Norway divests from an Israeli security company
"The Norwegian Government decided on Thursday to divest from the Elbit Israeli security and military industry company as it supplies security and surveillance equipment for the illegal Annexation Wall in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The decision was officially made public on Thursday by the Norwegian Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen.
Elbit Systems, an optics and electronics manufacturer was dropped from the Norwegian pension fund, which invests in 40 other Israeli companies. The fund, managed by the Central Bank in Norway, is worth $333 million.
The International Court of Justice at the Hague had officially declared the Wall as illegal in its advisory ruling of 2004.
Halvorsen stated that the Norwegian government is not willing to fund companies that directly or indirectly contribute to violation of the international humanitarian law......"
The decision was officially made public on Thursday by the Norwegian Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen.
Elbit Systems, an optics and electronics manufacturer was dropped from the Norwegian pension fund, which invests in 40 other Israeli companies. The fund, managed by the Central Bank in Norway, is worth $333 million.
The International Court of Justice at the Hague had officially declared the Wall as illegal in its advisory ruling of 2004.
Halvorsen stated that the Norwegian government is not willing to fund companies that directly or indirectly contribute to violation of the international humanitarian law......"
The Middle East Firestorm Ahead
by Immanuel Wallerstein
"There is a firestorm ahead in the Middle East for which neither the US government nor the US public is prepared. They seem scarcely aware how close it is on the horizon or how ferocious it will be. The US government (and therefore almost inevitably the US public) is deluding itself massively about its capacity to handle the situation in terms of its stated objectives. The storm will go from Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Israel/Palestine, and in the classic expression "it will spread like wildfire.".....
So then comes stage four of the firestorm -- Israel/Palestine. The Arab world will observe the collapse of US projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The US project in Israel/Palestine is a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Israelis are not going to budge an inch. But neither now, and especially after the rest of the firestorm, are the Palestinians. The one consequence will be the enormous pressure that other Arab states will put upon Fatah and Hamas to join forces. This will be over Mahmoud Abbas's dead body -- which might literally be the case.
The whole Obama program will have gone up in flames. And the Republicans will make hay with it. They will call US defeat in the Middle East "betrayal" and it is obvious now that there is a large group inside the United States very receptive to such a theme.
One either anticipates firestorms and does something useful, or one gets swept up in them. "
Al-Jazeera Video: Israeli soldiers fire on Al Jazeera correspondent - 04 Sep 09
"Israeli soldiers have fired tear gas on Palestinians protesting against the Israeli separation barrier which cuts through their West Bank village.
The soldiers also fired tear gas at Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent who was covering the event live from near the village of Bilin. "
Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinian villagers protest land seizure - 04 Sep 09
"Hundreds of Palestinian villagers have made a short but symbolic march to the separation wall that Israel has built on their land, a non-violent protests that they regularly undertake.
Equally, the protesters, marching from the village of Bilin, are regularly met with a violent response from the Israeli army.
"The village of Bilin is literally on the frontline of Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land and the construction of its separation barrier," Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from the village, said.
"Later today the villagers of Bilin will protest the fact that not only they, but also five neighbouring villages, have lost their land which has been seized to build an Israeli settlement.
"This huge settlement will result in 40,000 Jewish settlers living on occupied land here in the West Bank and as Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu is planning to give the go ahead for even more of these settlement homes to be built," she said.
Netanyahu is set to approve plans to build hundreds of new homes on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, before considering US demands for a construction freeze."
CIA used Blackwater-linked mercenaries as journalists
By Wayne Madsen
Online Journal Contributing Writer
"(WMR) -- The CIA used credentialed journalists to engage in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism operations from 2003 to 2005......."
Online Journal Contributing Writer
"(WMR) -- The CIA used credentialed journalists to engage in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism operations from 2003 to 2005......."
Taliban's bombs came from US, not Iran
By Gareth Porter
Asia Times
"The roadside bombs killing and maiming Western soldiers in Afghanistan are not Iranian, as a top United States intelligence agency has claimed. The devices are crude but devastating re-adaptations of Italian anti-tank mines given to the anti-Soviet mujahideen in the 1980s by the US Central Intelligence Agency....."
Asia Times
"The roadside bombs killing and maiming Western soldiers in Afghanistan are not Iranian, as a top United States intelligence agency has claimed. The devices are crude but devastating re-adaptations of Italian anti-tank mines given to the anti-Soviet mujahideen in the 1980s by the US Central Intelligence Agency....."
Good Old Days!
Nazis of Our Time: Israelis Target Medical Teams
By Mel Frykberg
"JELAZON, West Bank, Sep 3 (IPS) - Fourteen-year-old Muhammad Nayif's mother broke down as she spoke to IPS. Nayif died after being shot three times in the chest by Israeli soldiers Monday night.
Palestinian medical personnel who tried to reach the critically injured boy near the Jelazon refugee camp north of Ramallah were threatened at gunpoint by Israeli soldiers and shot at.
"We were sure that the boy was seriously wounded and needed urgent medical attention," said Sameh Barghouti a medic in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance which tried to evacuate the youngster.
"But the soldiers pointed their guns at us and told us to go back. When we asked to speak to their captain they shot rubber coated metal bullets and teargas canisters at the ambulance, but fortunately missed," Barghouti told IPS........."
"JELAZON, West Bank, Sep 3 (IPS) - Fourteen-year-old Muhammad Nayif's mother broke down as she spoke to IPS. Nayif died after being shot three times in the chest by Israeli soldiers Monday night.
Palestinian medical personnel who tried to reach the critically injured boy near the Jelazon refugee camp north of Ramallah were threatened at gunpoint by Israeli soldiers and shot at.
"We were sure that the boy was seriously wounded and needed urgent medical attention," said Sameh Barghouti a medic in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance which tried to evacuate the youngster.
"But the soldiers pointed their guns at us and told us to go back. When we asked to speak to their captain they shot rubber coated metal bullets and teargas canisters at the ambulance, but fortunately missed," Barghouti told IPS........."
Taking Desperate Measures to Educate Gaza's Youth
By Najwa Sheikh - Gaza
Palestine Chronicle
The month of Ramadan has come this year to the people of Gaza along with the new school year reminding them of the hard living conditions they have endured with the crushing blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza for the third year; A blockade that does not allow even for the basic needs such as medications, flour, building materials, papers, books and stationary for the new school year.......
Due to the continuous Israeli policy of not allowing any of the basic needs including building materials in to Gaza, UNRWA faced a great challenge with the increasing number of students on its schools. With no other alternative, the agency opened a school of cargo containers in Nuseirat Camp, called Nuseirat elementary boys School, on a piece if land of 3.800sq.m donated by the local community. This school includes 19 classrooms of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades only.
The classrooms are containers with a capacity of 36 students only; the wall surrounding the school is a blue plastic pavilion, and with the current regular power cut, the situation is unbearable for both the students and the teachers on this hot weather.......
Despite this difficult situation in the boys school, the students and the teacher’s resilience continues. This is a spark of hope that the blockade will never put out."
The month of Ramadan has come this year to the people of Gaza along with the new school year reminding them of the hard living conditions they have endured with the crushing blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza for the third year; A blockade that does not allow even for the basic needs such as medications, flour, building materials, papers, books and stationary for the new school year.......
Due to the continuous Israeli policy of not allowing any of the basic needs including building materials in to Gaza, UNRWA faced a great challenge with the increasing number of students on its schools. With no other alternative, the agency opened a school of cargo containers in Nuseirat Camp, called Nuseirat elementary boys School, on a piece if land of 3.800sq.m donated by the local community. This school includes 19 classrooms of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades only.
The classrooms are containers with a capacity of 36 students only; the wall surrounding the school is a blue plastic pavilion, and with the current regular power cut, the situation is unbearable for both the students and the teachers on this hot weather.......
Despite this difficult situation in the boys school, the students and the teacher’s resilience continues. This is a spark of hope that the blockade will never put out."
Lockerbie: Megrahi Was Framed
by John Pilger, September 04, 2009
"The hysteria over the release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber reveals much about the political and media class on both sides of the Atlantic, especially Britain. From Gordon Brown’s "repulsion" to Barack Obama’s "outrage," the theater of lies and hypocrisy is dutifully attended by those who call themselves journalists. "But what if Megrahi lives longer than three months?" whined a BBC reporter to the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond. "What will you say to your constituents, then?"........
The American satirist Larry David once addressed a voluble crony as "a babbling brook of bullsh*t." Such eloquence summarizes the circus of Megrahi’s release.......
In 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred Megrahi’s case for appeal. "The commission is of the view," said its chairman, Dr. Graham Forbes, "that based upon our lengthy investigations, the new evidence we have found and other evidence which was not before the trial court, that the applicant may have suffered a miscarriage of justice."
The words "miscarriage of justice" are missing entirely from the current furor, with Kenny MacAskill reassuring the baying mob that the scapegoat will soon face justice from that "higher power." What a disgrace."
"The hysteria over the release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber reveals much about the political and media class on both sides of the Atlantic, especially Britain. From Gordon Brown’s "repulsion" to Barack Obama’s "outrage," the theater of lies and hypocrisy is dutifully attended by those who call themselves journalists. "But what if Megrahi lives longer than three months?" whined a BBC reporter to the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond. "What will you say to your constituents, then?"........
The American satirist Larry David once addressed a voluble crony as "a babbling brook of bullsh*t." Such eloquence summarizes the circus of Megrahi’s release.......
In 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred Megrahi’s case for appeal. "The commission is of the view," said its chairman, Dr. Graham Forbes, "that based upon our lengthy investigations, the new evidence we have found and other evidence which was not before the trial court, that the applicant may have suffered a miscarriage of justice."
The words "miscarriage of justice" are missing entirely from the current furor, with Kenny MacAskill reassuring the baying mob that the scapegoat will soon face justice from that "higher power." What a disgrace."
Israelis Destroy Boats, and Lives
by Eva Bartlett, September 04, 2009
"GAZA CITY – Until Monday, Omar and Khaled Al-Habil were the owners of a 20m fishing trawler staffed by five or six fishermen at a time, but employing around 18 in cycles. But that morning the vessel came under heavy Israeli navy machine-gun fire, and then shelling. The trawler caught fire.
"It’s destroyed, completely destroyed," says Al-Habil......
Khaled Al-Habil is just one among many Palestinian fishers whose livelihoods have been wrecked. The father of 13 children lives with his family in a cramped 40 square meter apartment. His only source of income has been destroyed.
"I want a good lawyer," he says, "and I want to take this to court." [COMMENT: This is "liberation" through the courts; Palestinian style!]"
"GAZA CITY – Until Monday, Omar and Khaled Al-Habil were the owners of a 20m fishing trawler staffed by five or six fishermen at a time, but employing around 18 in cycles. But that morning the vessel came under heavy Israeli navy machine-gun fire, and then shelling. The trawler caught fire.
"It’s destroyed, completely destroyed," says Al-Habil......
Khaled Al-Habil is just one among many Palestinian fishers whose livelihoods have been wrecked. The father of 13 children lives with his family in a cramped 40 square meter apartment. His only source of income has been destroyed.
"I want a good lawyer," he says, "and I want to take this to court." [COMMENT: This is "liberation" through the courts; Palestinian style!]"
The colonel's labyrinth
Muammar Gaddafi's revolution, voiding Libya of western powers, has been compromised by his recent appeasement of the west
Raza Naeem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 3 September 2009
"........Libya under Gaddafi is well on its way to becoming a family-owned dictatorship, with his playboy son Seif al-Islam as the heir apparent – and itching to privatise everything his father had nationalised on coming to power in 1969.
Raza Naeem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 3 September 2009
"........Libya under Gaddafi is well on its way to becoming a family-owned dictatorship, with his playboy son Seif al-Islam as the heir apparent – and itching to privatise everything his father had nationalised on coming to power in 1969.
It need not have been like this had Gaddafi listened more keenly to his hero, Nasser, who once declared: "I rather like Gaddafi. He reminds me of myself when I was that age."
He could still have been a hero to Libyans as well as thousands of Arabs. But not Muammar Gaddafi. As he relishes 40 years as the Great Leader, he must know that he is now Washington's favorite dictator in the Arab world after Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine el Abidine ben Ali in Tunisia. He is certainly the last of the generation of Arab nationalists who believed in Arab nationalism as a genuinely progressive ideology and a realistic project, giving hope to millions and freedom from the oppression of pashas, emirs and colonels like himself......."
When I think of my trial, I pray my fight won't be in vain
For wearing trousers, I face 40 lashes. This is the brutal reality of Sudan: we live in fear of those who should protect us
Lubna Hussein
The Guardian, Friday 4 September 2009
"Next week I will stand trial in a Sudanese court, charged along with 12 other women with committing an "indecent act" – wearing trousers in a public place. I will face up to 40 lashes and an unlimited fine if I am convicted of breaching Article 152 of Sudanese law, which prohibits dressing indecently in public. As an employee of the UN I was offered immunity, and the chance to escape trial, but I chose to resign from the UN so that I could face the Sudanese authorities and make them show to the world what they consider justice to be.........
When I think of my trial, I pray that my daughters will never live in fear of these "police of security of society". We will only be secure once the police protect us and these laws are repealed. I also pray that the next generation will see we had the courage to fight for their future before it was too late. We need Arab, African, American and European leaders to stand with us and help us make sure that the next chapter of our history is less bloody and brutal than the last. This will require conviction and boldness from their side. I hope they will display the qualities of those Sudanese men and women I most admire."
Lubna Hussein
The Guardian, Friday 4 September 2009
"Next week I will stand trial in a Sudanese court, charged along with 12 other women with committing an "indecent act" – wearing trousers in a public place. I will face up to 40 lashes and an unlimited fine if I am convicted of breaching Article 152 of Sudanese law, which prohibits dressing indecently in public. As an employee of the UN I was offered immunity, and the chance to escape trial, but I chose to resign from the UN so that I could face the Sudanese authorities and make them show to the world what they consider justice to be.........
When I think of my trial, I pray that my daughters will never live in fear of these "police of security of society". We will only be secure once the police protect us and these laws are repealed. I also pray that the next generation will see we had the courage to fight for their future before it was too late. We need Arab, African, American and European leaders to stand with us and help us make sure that the next chapter of our history is less bloody and brutal than the last. This will require conviction and boldness from their side. I hope they will display the qualities of those Sudanese men and women I most admire."
Chavez Blasts Israel while in Syria
Al-Manar
"04/09/2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attacked Israel Thursday during his visit to Syria, calling it an imperialist nation that annihilates other people.
Chavez comments came during a news conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad after a one-hour meeting at the hilltop presidential palace.
"Israel has become a country that annihilates people and is hostile to peace," he said, according to the Arabic translation of his remarks to reporters.
In comments carried by Venezuelan state television, he also accused Israel of being part of imperialist efforts to divide the Middle East.
"The entire world knows it. Why was the state of Israel created? ... To divide. To impede the unity of the Arab world. To assure the presence of the North American empire in all these lands," he said.
Chavez is on an 11-day trip to Libya, Algeria, Syria, Iran, Belarus and Russia in his bid to build a multi-polar world and decrease US influence in the region.
"I believe it is a fateful battle. It's either now or never in order to liberate the world from imperialism and change the world from a uni-polar into a multi-polar world," Chavez told reporters in Damascus......."
"04/09/2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attacked Israel Thursday during his visit to Syria, calling it an imperialist nation that annihilates other people.
Chavez comments came during a news conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad after a one-hour meeting at the hilltop presidential palace.
"Israel has become a country that annihilates people and is hostile to peace," he said, according to the Arabic translation of his remarks to reporters.
In comments carried by Venezuelan state television, he also accused Israel of being part of imperialist efforts to divide the Middle East.
"The entire world knows it. Why was the state of Israel created? ... To divide. To impede the unity of the Arab world. To assure the presence of the North American empire in all these lands," he said.
Chavez is on an 11-day trip to Libya, Algeria, Syria, Iran, Belarus and Russia in his bid to build a multi-polar world and decrease US influence in the region.
"I believe it is a fateful battle. It's either now or never in order to liberate the world from imperialism and change the world from a uni-polar into a multi-polar world," Chavez told reporters in Damascus......."
Denied Dignity
Systematic Discrimination and Hostility toward Saudi Shia Citizens
Human Rights Watch
September 3, 2009
Human Rights Watch
September 3, 2009
"This 32-page report documents the sharpest sectarian tensions in the kingdom in years, set off by clashes between Shia pilgrims and religious police in Medina in February 2009, followed by arbitrary arrests of Shia protesters in the Eastern Province in March. The closing of private Shia halls for communal prayer in Khobar, which began in July 2008 and the arrests of Shia religious and community leaders in Ahsa' in 2009 also have contributed to the tensions......."
Download report (PDF, 180.86 KB)
Download report (PDF, 180.86 KB)
ليبرمان يطوق مصر أفريقياً
ليبرمان يطوق مصر أفريقياً
عبد الباري عطوان
"لم يكن من قبيل الصدفة ان يبدأ افيغدور ليبرمان وزير الخارجية الاسرائيلي جولته الافريقية بزيارة اديس ابابا، العاصمة الاثيوبية، ولم تكن صدفة ايضا ان تشمل هذه الجولة دولتين أخريين تشكلان مع اثيوبيا المصدر الاساسي لمياه نهر النيل، وهما اوغندا وكينيا.
اسرائيل بدأت تدرك جيدا ان هناك حالة من التذمر في اوساط دول المنبع الافريقي لهيمنة دولتين عربيتين على الغالبية الساحقة من مياه النيل، هما مصر (55.5 مليار متر مكعب) والسودان (18.5 مليار متر مكعب)، اما ما تبقى، اي عشرة مليارات متر مكعب، فسيذهب الى ست دول افريقية على الاقل. وشهدت الاعوام الاخيرة مطالبات علنية بتعديل اتفاقيتي 1929 و1959 لتوزيع مياه النيل، خاصة الشق المتعلق منهما باعطاء مصر (دولة المصب) حق الفيتو على اي مشاريع سدود في اي من دول المنبع.
التركيز الاسرائيلي على اثيوبيا مهم لانها تقود التمرد على الاتفاقيتين المذكورتين اولا، ولان 86' من مياه النيل تأتي من مرتفعاتها، والاهم من كل ذلك الوجود العسكري الاسرائيلي المتعاظم في هذه الدولة التي باتت 'مخلب القط' الامريكي في القرن الافريقي، وتجلى ذلك واضحا في الفترة الاخيرة بارسالها قوات الى الصومال واحتلاله فعليا.
مياه النيل مسألة تشكل 'حياة او موتاً' بالنسبة الى مصر على مدى العصور، حتى ان حكومة محمد علي باشا (القرن التاسع عشر) وضعت خطة طوارئ للتدخل عسكريا ضد اي دولة يمكن ان تشكل اي خطر على تدفق مياه النيل، بينما دعا الرئيس الراحل محمد انور السادات خبراءه العسكريين لوضع خطة طوارئ عام 1979 عندما اعلنت اثيوبيا عن نواياها باقامة سد لري 90 الف هكتار في حوض النيل الازرق، وهدد بتدمير هذا السد، وعقد بالفعل اجتماعا طارئا لقيادة هيئة اركان جيشه لبحث هذه المسألة.
الاحصاءات الرسمية تقول انه في عام 2017 لن يكون لدى مصر الماء الكافي لمواجهة احتياجات مواطنيها المتفاقمة، حيث ستبلغ هذه الاحتياجات 86 مليار متر مكعب سنويا، بينما لن تتعدى جميع مصادرها 71 مليار متر مكعب، اي انها ستواجه عجزا مقداره 15 مليار متر مكعب.
الصورة ربما تبدو مأساوية بشكل اكبر اذا مضت اثيوبيا قدما في نواياها في اقامة سد على النيل الازرق، مصدر معظم مياه النيل، ويبدو انها مصممة على ذلك، واعلن وزير الري فيها انه لا توجد قوة في العالم تحول دون اقدامها على ذلك، فالمياه مياهها، ولا حق لأحد بان يملك 'الفيتو' ضد مشاريعها، وهدد بالانسحاب من معاهدة 1929 المذكورة.
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انها 'حرب المياه' الزاحفة علينا كعرب، بينما نحن نغط في نعيم المسلسلات الرمضانية وننشغل بتغطية موائد الرحمن، وتشكيل الحكومة اللبنانية، وجولات السناتور ميتشل، والخلافات بين حركتي 'فتح' و'حماس'، وكيفية ترتيب انتقال سهل لـ'التوريث' في مصر بمباركة امريكية ـ اسرائيلية مشتركة.
ليبرمان الذي هدد بقصف السد العالي واغراق الشعب المصري، يذهب الى القارة الافريقية على رأس وفد اسرائيلي كبير يضم ممثلين عن اكبر عشر شركات اسلحة اسرائيلية، علاوة على خبراء آخرين في شؤون المياه والاقتصاد وحرب العصابات.
بمعنى آخر يريد ان يعرض ليبرلمان على هذه الدول خدمات بلاده العسكرية لتعزيز قواتها المسلحة للتصدي لاي حرب يمكن ان تشنها مصر في المستقبل في حال اقدام هذه البلدان وخاصة اثيوبيا، على مشاريع لتحويل مياه النيل.
الدكتور بطرس غالي وزير الدولة المصري للشؤون الخارجية والمسؤول المباشر عن انحسار نفوذ بلاده في القارة الافريقية، تنبأ عام 1985 بأن الحرب القادمة في المنطقة ستكون حول مياه النيل، ولكن نبوءته هذه لم تصدق في حينها، لان ثلاث حروب اندلعت في المنطقة اولاها حرب الخليج الثانية (الكويت)، ثم الحرب في افغانستان، واخيرا حرب احتلال العراق، وكانت الحروب الثلاث تصب في خدمة اسرائيل، واضعاف العرب في المقابل، ربما تمهيدا لحرب المياه. وعلى اي حال كوفئ الدكتور غالي على نبوءاته هذه، وتخريبه للعلاقات العربية ـ الافريقية، جزئيا او كليا، بتولي الامانة العامة للامم المتحدة لاحقا.
السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه بقوة هو عن رد الفعل العربي على هذا التغلغل الاستراتيجي الاسرائيلي في قارة كانت حتى نصف قرن مضى تعتبر بحيرة نفوذ عربية، ومصرية على وجه التحديد، تعتمد اعتمادا مباشرا على المنح الدراسية والخبراء الزراعيين والدعاة المصريين؟
الاجابة على هذا السؤال مخيبة للآمال، فتاريخ العرب الحديث في القارة الافريقية يتلخص في سلسلة من الكوارث الاستراتيجية، ابتداء من ازمة حلايب المفتعلة مع السودان (لماذا لم نسمع عنها بالمناسبة؟)، ومرورا بترك الصومال لمصيره الدموي، وانتهاء بالانشغال بدارفور عن اكبر مؤامرة تستهدف تفكيك السودان وطمس عروبته بل وهويته الاسلامية.
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الزعيم الليبي معمر القذافي الذي استثمر المليارات في افريقيا على امل ان يصبح زعيما لها انتابته حالة من الصحوة اخيرا، واعلن اثناء احتفالاته بالذكرى الاربعين لوصوله الى سدة الحكم ان اسرائيل تقف خلف جميع الصراعات في افريقيا، وطالب بقطع العلاقات الدبلوماسية معها.
ومن المفارقة ان دعوة الزعيم الليبي الغريبة هذه تأتي في وقت تستعد فيه دول عربية عديدة لاستئناف العلاقات الدبلوماسية والتجارية مع اسرائيل بطلب امريكي مكافأة لها، اي لاسرائيل، على تجميدها الجزئي والمؤقت للاستيطان في الضفة الغربية.
التغلغل الاسرائيلي في افريقيا يستهدف مصر ومستقبل اجيالها، وضربها في خاصرتها الموجعة، اي مياه نيلها، ولكن المحيّر ان الحكومة المصرية منشغلة بمعبر رفح، وخلية حزب الله، والخطر الايراني المزعوم.
الرئيس حسني مبارك، الذي من المفترض ان يقود تحركا معاكسا لتطويق هذا المخطط الاسرائيلي، تغيّب عن القمة الافريقية الطارئة التي انعقدت في طرابلس لبحث النزاعات الافريقية، ولم يشارك ليبيا احتفالاتها بالتالي لاسباب ما زالت مجهولة، فهناك من يقول انها اسباب مرضية، وهناك من يذهب الى ما هو ابعد من ذلك، ويؤكد انه قاطع القمة والاحتفالات التي تلتها حتى لا يصافح امير دولة قطر. فأين قطر الصغرى من مصر العظمى، وماذا لو صافح اميرها او حتى لم يصافحه، فمصالح مصر الاستراتيجية من المفترض ان تتقدم على كل الصغائر.
المحللون الافارقة يقولون ان اسرائيل تعرض عليهم خبرات زراعية، ووعوداً بمساعدتهم للحصول على منح مالية امريكية واوروبية لما لها من نفوذ كبير هناك، وفوق هذا وذاك اسلحة حديثة ومتطورة وخبراء يتولون تدريب جيوشهم على حروب العصابات، فماذا عند العرب لكي يقدموه غير الفساد والتخلف والهزائم؟
الرد على ذلك بسيط، وهو ان الخبرات الزراعية والعسكرية يمكن الحصول عليها من مصادر اخرى غير اسرائيل، ولكن الشق الثاني صحيح، وهو اننا كعرب لم يعد لدينا ما نقدمه غير الخبرات العريقة في اهدار الثروات النفطية الهائلة، والخنوع للأعداء، والتآمر على بعضنا البعض.
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