Saturday, October 31, 2009

Upping the ante at Al-Aqsa


Despite Arab government denials, Muslim officials on the ground confirm Jewish extremists are escalating plans to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

Al-Ahram Weekly

"Government-backed Jewish religious extremists have stepped up their efforts to seize a foothold at Al-Aqsa Mosque esplanade in East Jerusalem, ostensibly in order to erect there a Jewish temple.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the three holiest Islamic sanctuaries. The other two are the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet Mohamed's Mosque in Medina in Saudi Arabia.....

Meanwhile, the religious Zionist camp in Israel, which spearheads anti-Islam provocations at Al-Aqsa esplanade, held a meeting in West Jerusalem during which Jews were urged to descend to the Islamic holy place and wrest it from the hands of the "goyem" (a derogatory epithet for non-Jews). The meeting was attended by several prominent rabbis affiliated with the settler movement, as well as several Knesset members and other extremist leaders. Following the meeting, a statement issued called on Jews to maintain a presence at the "Temple Mount" to prevent Arabs from turning the site into "a theatre of violence".....

Muslims never accepted the partitioning, stressing that the mosque was an Islamic site of worship for more than 1,300 years.

On Al-Aqsa, demonstrations have taken place in several Muslim countries, calling on Muslim governments to take proactive steps against Israel, including severing diplomatic ties. However, it is highly doubtful that token protests by Muslims will deter Israel and stop extremist Jewish groups from pursuing their designs against the main symbol of Islam in occupied Palestine and the Levant region.

Indeed, it is quite likely that this crisis, which is a ticking bomb, will reach a critical point. One foreign observer in Ramallah remarked that "the peace process is nearly dead even without this powder keg surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque. All I can say is that I foresee a lot of trouble and violence ahead.""

الجزيرة ترفع مستوى الوعي العربي


ثورة الجزيرة

النقمة على الجزيرة

تبني القضايا العربية

قطر مأخذ على الجزيرة

مآخذ على الجزيرة

الجمهور الأوسع



طالما عشنا غرباء في هذا الوطن العربي الكبير لأننا لم نكن نعلم إلا النزر اليسير حول ما يجري على الأرض العربية، ذلك لأن وسائل الإعلام العربية كانت تشبعنا كذبا وتضليلا، حتى ظننا أن الأمة في ظل الأنظمة العربية القائمة قوية وناهضة وعظيمة ومهابة الجانب، ولم تصدمنا الحقيقة إلا بعدما خبرنا بأنفسنا الهزائم المتكررة في مختلف الميادين، ورأينا الأمم تتقدم ونحن نلهث خلفها والهوة بيننا وبينها تتسع وتتعمق. لقد أشبعتنا وسائل الإعلام العربية تمجيدا بالقادة والزعماء، وأشبعتنا أوهاما حول انتصارات كبيرة وكثيرة في مجالات الثقافة والعلم والاجتماع والاقتصاد.....
الجزيرة تفصح عن سياسات الأنظمة العربية بطريقة أكثر وضوحا من كل القنوات العربية، وتضع الحكام العرب في كثير من الحرج, وتاريخيا، تعتبر حركة الوعي خطيرة جدا على المستبدين والفاسدين
.....
أكره أن أرى على شاشة الجزيرة صهيونيا أو إسرائيليا لأن ذلك من التطبيع, التطبيع مع إسرائيل عبارة عن قضية قومية هامة، ومن المطلوب ألا تشارك الجزيرة بها
......
الجمهور الأوسع
....
قد تفوق بعض البرامج في قنوات أخرى قناة الجزيرة جماهيريا, لكن تبقى برامجها التثقيفية التي تحكي المعاناة العربية ذات قدرة استقطابية واسعة
.....
تبين الإحصائيات أن الجزيرة تتمتع بأكبر جمهور عربي، واستطاعت أن تكسب ثقة أغلب الناس في الوطن العربي، وأن تكون قناتهم الأولى بخاصة فيما يتعلق بالأخبار. هناك قنوات قد تفوقها من ناحية الجمهور في برامج معينة مثل برامج السوبر ستار وستار أكاديمي على الشاشات اللبنانية، أو مثل مسلسل باب الحارة على MBC، أو مسلسل نور ومهند التركي، لكن تبقى برامجها التثقيفية التي تحكي المعاناة العربية ذات قدرة استقطابية واسعة.

وقد حاولت بعض المحطات منافسة الجزيرة وأخذ دورها، لكن هذا لم يتكلل بالنجاح بسبب ممالأة هذه القنوات للحكام العرب. كن مع الحكام العرب إذا أردت أن يكرهك حوالي 90% من الناس.

هناك انطباع جماهيري بأن الجزيرة ناقدة للوضع العربي، وتأتي بمثقفين وأكاديميين يتحدثون بصراحة حول أوضاع الأمة، وبما أن الجمهور العربي غير مرتاح للسياسات الرسمية العربية فإن وقته لن يقضيه في مشاهدة تلفاز رسمي عربي يغني لقائد أو ينشد لزوجته. وتقديري أن الجزيرة تستطيع أن تعزز من جمهورها بالمزيد إذا راجعت نفسها باستمرار، وعملت على تقييم أدائها بصورة دورية.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Egypt food subsidies face criticism - 31 Oct 09



"For 50 years, Egypt's government has subsidised basic food items for the poor.

Today, 65 million Egyptians benefit from the subsidies.

But there is growing criticism that the government is not doing enough to guarantee that the cheap food rations are distributed to those who really need them.

Critics say even some rich people can buy subsidised food and that some of it is sold on the black market.

Al Jazeera's Amr El-Kahky reports from Egypt."

Al-Jazeera Video: Gaza widows struggle for survival - 31 Oct 09



"Ten months after Israels war on the Gaza Strip, the effects of the deadly offensive are still being deeply felt.

Hundreds of Palestinian women lost their husbands in the war and have had to step into their husbands' roles as the main breadwinners in their families.

Al Jazeera's Barbra Serra reports from Gaza, where women traditionally used to stay at home to take care of their children.

Now, many widows are struggling to find work. "

Elections under siege


Abbas's acceptance of the Egyptian-mediated reconciliation deal with Hamas is only because that deal presents new ways for him to destroy his opponents

A Very Good Comment
By Azmi Bishara
From Al-Ahram Weekly

Note: I posted the Arabic version of this article here.

"If the Palestinian resistance factions are to agree to the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement, the Quartet (the US, Russia, EU and UN) must pledge to respect the results of elections regardless of who wins and not to subject the Palestinian people to another blockade if the winner is Hamas. This condition is not directed at Egypt. Nor does it suggest that the proposed agreement should be reopened for discussion. It simply means that unless the relevant international parties abide by it the agreement will amount to nothing but an attempt to eliminate the resistance with its own approval.

Even if the Palestinian people overlooked the question of the elections being held under occupation as a way to marginalise the struggle for independence and divert energies into an internal battle, it is still their right to demand an international commitment to the abovementioned condition. After all, they have held internationally monitored elections before and were collectively punished for the results. On top of this, the next elections will be held under the conditions of an economic blockade and a refusal to reconstruct what was damaged during the Israeli war on Gaza; which is to say under threat.........

The Palestinian case offers a classic instance of an electoral victory won by an Islamist movement and of the loser refusing to recognise that victory. In this case, outside powers intervened to overthrow the winner and to prevent him from rising again. Meanwhile, the government in Ramallah, which enjoys Arab and international recognition, is not an elected government. It is an appointed one, with US and Israeli approval and facilitation. The people in that government have quite a bit of nerve to claim that the Islamist resistance will use the elections to reach power then overthrow the electoral process when none of them were even voted into power to begin with. Rather, they took over power with the aid of foreign intervention after an electoral process that was internationally recognised as free and fair, but whose results were not to their liking."

U.S. combat injuries rise sharply


Three-month total in Afghanistan surpasses 1,000

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 31, 2009

(Cartoon by Carlos Latuff)

"More than 1,000 American troops have been wounded in battle over the past three months in Afghanistan, accounting for one-fourth of those injured in combat since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The dramatic increase in amputees and other seriously injured service members comes as October marks the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Expanded military operations, a near-doubling of the number of troops since the beginning of the year and a Taliban offensive that has included a proliferation of roadside bombings have led to the great increase in casualties......."

Kipling Haunts Obama’s Afghan War

by Ray McGovern, October 31, 2009

"The White Man’s Burden, a phrase immortalized by English poet Rudyard Kipling as an excuse for European-American imperialism, was front and center Thursday morning at a RAND-sponsored discussion of Afghanistan in the Russell Senate Office Building.

The agenda was top-heavy with RAND speakers, and the thinking was decidedly "inside the box" — so much so, that I found myself repeating a verse from Kipling, who recognized the dangers of imperialism, to remind me of the real world:

It is not wise for the Christian white
To hustle the Asian brown;
For the Christian riles
And the Asian smiles
And weareth the Christian down.

At the end of the fight
Lies a tombstone white
With the name of the late deceased;

And the epitaph drear,
A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East.
....."

Al-Jazeera Cartoon


The Goldstone Report is Going to Hurt the "Peace Process"....

He Needs the Hand of the Empire to Steady Him.....
Until the Next Puppet (Dahlan) is Anointed.

The truth about the Middle East is buried beneath the headlines

News bureau chiefs in Cairo know who their local spies are but can’t dismiss them

A Good Comment

By Robert Fisk

"Amira Hass was spot on when she said last week that her lifetime women's award was an award for failure. The West Bank correspondent of the Israeli paper Haaretz eloquently explained herself on al-Jazeera's English channel. She received an award for failure, she said, because despite all the facts that she and her journalistic colleagues had explained about Israeli occupation in Palestine, the world still did not understand what occupation meant and still used words like "terror" and "war on terror". Amira was absolutely correct. Most of our Western press and television are as gutless as ever when they have to participate in what Noam Chomsky described as "the manufacture of consent".

Once government and editors and television management have decided on the "story", you can be sure that an Israeli "wall" will become a "security barrier" or a "fence", a pro-Western Arab dictator a "strongman" and "occupied" Israeli territory will become "disputed"; the unjustly treated will thus become generically violent, brutality softened and occupation legalised. Fred Halliday of the LSE is coming out next June with a book called Shocked and Awed about the artillery and minefields used in the battlefield of language......


...Years ago, a Time magazine reporter in Cairo packed his note-book with facts about the routine Egyptian police torture of prisoners. But the US ambassador in Cairo persuaded the bureau chief to hold off because he understood that Mubarak was going to "crack down" on such abuses. Ho ho! Time didn't run the story and, of course, the abuses got worse. Shortly afterwards, jail guards were forcing Egyptian prisoners to rape each other.

And nothing has changed. The big Western news agencies which have headquartered their Middle East offices in Cairo are as loath to touch these stories today as they were more than a decade ago. It's just the same in that other friendly Muslim ally of ours, Turkey.....

Can you imagine the uproar if Reuters referred to the "mass killing" of Jews by Germans with the words: "Jews say it was a genocide, a term right-wing Germans and neo-Nazis reject." Or if AP were to report that "Israel and many historians say German Nazis committed genocide against Jews in the Second World War, a charge (sic) German right-wingers, etc, deny". It would be an outrage. But no one, of course, is going to close the Reuters or AP bureaux in Berlin. In Ankara and Istanbul bureaux, however, it's clearly another matter.....

No, Chomsky was wrong. It's not about consent. It's about the manufacture of social, political and historical denial. The motto is familiar and simple: always give in to the bully."

The Berlin wall had to fall, but today's world is no fairer


Twenty years after that shameful symbol of division was torn down, ultra-liberal capitalism needs its own perestroika

Mikhail Gorbachev
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009

"....The first optimistic observation to be made is that the announced "end of history" has not come about, though many claimed it had. But neither has the world that many politicians of my generation trusted and sincerely believed in: one in which, with the end of the cold war, humankind could finally forget the absurdity of the arms race, dangerous regional conflicts, and sterile ideological disputes, and enter a golden century of collective security, the rational use of material resources, the end of poverty and inequality, and restored harmony with nature......

Clear proof of the irrational behaviour and irresponsibility of the new generation of politicians is the fact that defence spending by numerous countries, large and small alike, is now greater than during the cold war, and strong-arm tactics are once again the standard way of dealing with conflicts and are a common feature of international relations.

Alas, over the last few decades, the world has not become a fairer place: disparities between the rich and the poor either remained or increased, not only between the north and the developing south but also within developed countries themselves. The social problems in Russia, as in other post-communist countries, are proof that simply abandoning the flawed model of a centralised economy and bureaucratic planning is not enough, and guarantees neither a country's global competitiveness nor respect for the principles of social justice or a dignified standard of living for the population......

But it was soon very clear that western capitalism, too, deprived of its old adversary and imagining itself the undisputed victor and incarnation of global progress, is at risk of leading western society and the rest of the world down another historical blind alley.

Today's global economic crisis was needed to reveal the organic defects of the present model of western development that was imposed on the rest of the world as the only one possible; it also revealed that not only bureaucratic socialism but also ultra-liberal capitalism are in need of profound democratic reform – their own kind of perestroika.

Today, as we sit among the ruins of the old order, we can think of ourselves as active participants in the process of creating a new world. Many truths and postulates once considered indisputable, in both the east and the west, have ceased to be so, including the blind faith in the all-powerful market and, above all, its democratic nature. There was an ingrained belief that the western model of democracy could be spread mechanically to other societies with different historical experience and cultural traditions. In the present situation, even a concept like social progress, which seems to be shared by everyone, needs to be defined, and examined, more precisely."

'Hariri Seeking to Form Cabinet on His Father's Birthday'. Isn't This Sweet?


Al-Manar

""Prime Minister-Designate accomplished his job and is seeking to offer it to his father on this birthday on Sunday"…

This is the last "rumor" in Beirut… A "rumor" claiming that the much-awaited cabinet will finally say light in a very "precious" day for its head Saad Hariri, his father's birthday

According to the rumor, Saad Hariri is ready for concluding his mission and declare his first-ever government on Sunday so that his father, the late former PM's birthday turns to be a "national celebration" par excellence......"

COMMENT: What other Guinness Book's record is Lebanon preparing to break for this celebration? It already has the records for Hummus and Tabouleh.

Hey I have got it: Why not wait a bit longer, and then Lebanon would have the record for time taken to form a "government." Let the celebrations begin!

Friday, October 30, 2009

A Jewish focus won’t end a more-than-Jewish problem

Ahmad Noor, Mondoweiss
"Something special is happening to the discourse about Palestine and Israel in the United States. New spaces are opening up where none existed before. For instance, some Palestinians, Israelis and Jews are talking openly about a one-state solution to the heretofore-intractable conflict. A greater number of Jewish people talk about being post-, or anti-Zionist and they’re talking about it within their communities. On the Palestinian side, more people are coming to the realization that there will never be a Palestinian state – although Palestinian elites have been slow to publicly admit the reality. A number of factors have contributed to the changing and splintering of the conversation, most notably, amongst Jewish groups in the United States."

Ahmed Moor is a 25-year-old Palestinian-American from the Rafah refugee camp. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Beirut.

------------
I should add that the comments on articles on Mondoweiss are also, generally speaking, worth the read..

Rights Groups Condemn Bid to Quash Goldstone Report

By Eli Clifton

"WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (IPS) - International human rights groups have raised concern over a proposed non-binding resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives which would call on the White House to oppose any future endorsement or consideration of Judge Richard Goldstone's "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict"..........

The Israeli government and right-wing Christian and Jewish Zionist groups have vocally denounced the report as unfairly critical of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) actions and heavily biased in favour of Hamas.

"We agree with the Obama administration, which has clearly said the biased and flawed Goldstone Report is based on an anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council mandate, makes unacceptable recommendations and undermines the peace process," said Josh Block, spokesperson for the right-leaning American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"In echoing the administration's condemnation and calling for concrete action, Congress will be sending the strong message that the United States will not stand for turning the victim into the perpetrator," Block went on to say.

The pending congressional resolution would, "[call] on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the 'Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' in multilateral fora," which stands in contrast to the State Department's position on the report.

"We have serious concerns about the Goldstone Report and its unbalanced focus on Israel and its sweeping conclusions of law," a State Department spokesperson told IPS. "We believe the report should be handled within the U.N. Human Rights Council and we disagree with many of its recommendations including that it should be taken up by the U.N. Security Council."

The resolution's recommendation that the Obama administration oppose any consideration of the report in the "multilateral fora" struck human rights NGOs and church lobbies as a hypocritical approach to international law......"

Astounding Insight From Habila...Outbreak of World Peace is Just a Smoke Away...He Makes Me So Proud...


Haniyya: “There Is No Harm In Holding Dialogue With America”

".....
He said that his government was elected by the people, and that it has no issues with the American government.

“We have no problem with the American people, the Americans can create peace and stability everywhere”, Haniyya stated, “Should the Americans make the right move, stability could be achieved all over the world”."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


This new poll asks the question:

Do you believe that the warming up of Arab-Turkish relations serves Arab interests?

With about 1,500 responding so far, 92% said yes.

The Spooks of Beirut


All Tricks, No Treats

By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch

".......As each of above scenarios illustrate, to blame are entrenched, feudal lord politicians and their patrons, who are incapable of moving past personal agendas and egos to address the country’s pressing needs.

They include Saad Hariri (who despite his youth, has failed to usher in any fresh thinking), Jumblatt, Aoun, and parliament speaker and Amal leader Nabih Berri. The latter’s 17 long years at the post will now be extended another four. At least Sayyid Nasrallah’s Hezbollah movement has invested in essential social welfare services and programs to aid those historically neglected by the state, not to mention having to continuously worry about the threat of Israeli aggression—and convince others in the government the reality of it.

Such politicians and their pettiness, belonging to both of the two main political camps, represent nothing more than intransigence; habitually shifting from one fleeting set of conveniences, opportunities, or alliances, to another.

This Halloween these spooks of Beirut will haunt the city, doling out tricks, but not much else.[ How about a little of the world's largest Tabouleh? Now that is a treat!]"

Deal Reached in Honduran Coup Crisis; Zelaya Restoration Would Depend on Vote by Honduran Congress

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman


"The Honduran coup regime and representatives of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya reached an agreement late Thursday that would pave the way for Congress to restore Zelaya to office and allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term. We go to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa to speak with Andrés Conteris, who has been holed up at the embassy since Zelaya took refuge there last month..."

WHO: “Israel Prevented Entry Of Medical Equipment Into Gaza”


"The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that Israel had prevented, for the fourth time, the transfer of medical supplies and equipment to the besieged Gaza Strip....."

Take Me Back to Constantinople

An Interesting Piece
BY EDWARD LUTTWAK
Foreign Policy
Via Angry Arab

"....Fortunately, the Byzantines are far easier to learn from than the Romans, who left virtually no written legacy of their strategy and tactics, just textual fragments and one bookish compilation by Vegetius, who knew little about statecraft or war. The Byzantines, however, wrote it all down -- their techniques of persuasion, intelligence gathering, strategic thinking, tactical doctrines, and operational methods. All of this is laid out clearly in a series of surviving Byzantine military manuals and a major guidebook on statecraft.

I've spent the past two decades poring over these texts to compile a study of Byzantine grand strategy. The United States would do well to heed the following seven lessons if it wishes to remain a great power:

I. Avoid war by every possible means, in all possible circumstances, but always act as if war might start at any time. Train intensively and be ready for battle at all times -- but do not be eager to fight. The highest purpose of combat readiness is to reduce the probability of having to fight.

II. Gather intelligence on the enemy and his mentality, and monitor his actions continuously. Efforts to do so by all possible means might not be very productive, but they are seldom wasted.

III. Campaign vigorously, both offensively and defensively, but avoid battles, especially large-scale battles, except in very favorable circumstances. Don't think like the Romans, who viewed persuasion as just an adjunct to force. Instead, employ force in the smallest possible doses to help persuade the persuadable and harm those not yet amenable to persuasion.

IV. Replace the battle of attrition and occupation of countries with maneuver warfare -- lightning strikes and offensive raids to disrupt enemies, followed by rapid withdrawals. The object is not to destroy your enemies, because they can become tomorrow's allies. A multiplicity of enemies can be less of a threat than just one, so long as they can be persuaded to attack one another.

V. Strive to end wars successfully by recruiting allies to change the balance of power. Diplomacy is even more important during war than peace. Reject, as the Byzantines did, the foolish aphorism that when the guns speak, diplomats fall silent. The most useful allies are those nearest to the enemy, for they know how best to fight his forces.

VI. Subversion is the cheapest path to victory. So cheap, in fact, as compared with the costs and risks of battle, that it must always be attempted, even with the most seemingly irreconcilable enemies. Remember: Even religious fanatics can be bribed, as the Byzantines were some of the first to discover, because zealots can be quite creative in inventing religious justifications for betraying their own cause ("since the ultimate victory of Islam is inevitable anyway …").

VII. When diplomacy and subversion are not enough and fighting is unavoidable, use methods and tactics that exploit enemy weaknesses, avoid consuming combat forces, and patiently whittle down the enemy's strength. This might require much time. But there is no urgency because as soon as one enemy is no more, another will surely take his place. All is constantly changing as rulers and nations rise and fall. Only the empire is eternal -- if, that is, it does not exhaust itself."

Preview of Ramzy Baroud's 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter'


by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, October 30, 2009

"........Ramzy is Mohammed Baroud's son, a heroic "freedom fighter, (and himself) a gifted writer (who) eloquently unearthed the recent history of Beit Daras" village, chronicled his family's struggle in exile, and recounted their determination to survive and endure under siege and assaults that continue to this day.

Many books covered the early years, but most were in Arabic. Baroud's is one of the few in English "about the life, depopulation and (literal) struggle for survival of the people of a Palestinian village in southern Palestine." In spanning over seven decades of history and survivor recollections, "it stands out as an unblemished depiction of their plight" as only those who experienced it can describe.

As a freedom fighter's son, Baroud's book is proof of a people's persistence to survive, endure, and ultimately prevail in their historic quest for liberation, because of heroic men like father and son Baroud who'll accept no less. Nor should anyone wanting everyone to be free, especially the long-suffering Palestinians and oppressed peoples everywhere........."

NATO forces turn to warlords

By Gareth Porter
Asia Times

"Afghan warlords are earning millions of dollars from North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces to guard forward operating bases and supply convoys. Their ruthless private armies are reviled by much of the public, and are likely to turn their rifles on NATO forces should the protection money dry up....."

Ill winds over Iran's nuclear draft


By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Asia Times

"......Adding to the Iranian distrust is an escalation in Iran-bashing, such as by some US lawmakers. They are targeting Iran's dependence on imported petroleum, which, if subjected to sanctions by the Obama administration, would amount to a declaration of economic warfare against Iran, to paraphrase the Tehran professor. He wonders whether Obama has been eclipsed by an avalanche of "Iranphobic pressures, or whether he can still demonstrate that there is a real change in US foreign policy?"

The latest initiatives in the US Congress have a similar air to the period before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, when whipped-up fears of Iraq's (non-existent) weapons of mass destruction prevailed over reason and fueled a disastrous war.

Undoubtedly, the joint US-Israel missile test conducted this week is meant as a warning shot to Iran, to take the threat of a military strike seriously. "Obama must prepare for a new Middle East war," the headline of a Washington Times editorial read on Thursday. This as if Obama is like a global godfather who can make an offer that others can't refuse without risking their survival......."

McChrystal Doesn’t Get It—Does Obama?


By Scott Ritter

"President Obama may have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but if he allows himself to be bullied into supporting Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s foray into Afghanistan, he will reveal himself as the worst kind of warmonger.....

There is a curious phenomenon taking place in the American media at the moment: the lionization of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the American military commander in Afghanistan. Although he has taken a few lumps for playing politics with the White House, McChrystal has generally been sold to the American public as a “Zen warrior,” a counterinsurgency genius who, if simply left to his own devices, will be able to radically transform the ongoing debacle that is Afghanistan into a noble victory that will rank as one of the greatest political and military triumphs of modern history......."

Defying Israel With Aid


Khaleej Times

"The Palestinians need humanitarian aid because of the situation created by Israel, but more than this, Israel needs to be confronted politically, argues Huwaida Arraf, leader of the Free Gaza Movement and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement.

In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Huwaida and Adam Shapiro, a human rights activist and documentary filmmaker, spoke at length about their mission, that is aimed at helping the besieged Palestinians and defying the Israeli siege of Gaza until it is lifted......

The Free Gaza Movement, which started in 2006 as a protest against the siege of Gaza, epitomises political defiance with non-violent but powerful means. With the involvement of high profile people and media in previous expeditions, it has so far carried out eight humanitarian missions by sea—five of which were successful in reaching Gaza—from Cyprus carrying medicines and toys for Palestinian children.

Huwaida said, “Palestinian people need humanitarian aid directly because of Israeli policies, but, the people should realise that giving aid is not enough; they have to invest in confronting 
policies.”.....

The aim is to alleviate the terrible humanitarian suffering in the Strip, especially for the women and children of Gaza as warned by the UN humanitarian organisation. Forced to live amid the rubble of their homes, the people of Gaza have to brave the fast approaching cold months due to lack of construction material. The Free Gaza Movement has received considerable international support in terms of volunteers but is in urgent need for funding its next expedition. Excerpts from the interview:
......"

Harvesting in Death Zone, With a Song


By Eva Bartlett

"BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Oct 30 (IPS) - On a quiet October morning, Fida Zaneen, 19, sings a traditional love song as she pulls olives from trees in Beit Hanoun's border region during the annual olive harvest.

"My grandmother taught me the folk songs. They were popular all over Palestine many decades ago."

Saber Zaneen, 44, and Khalil Nassir, 45, alternately belt out traditional harvest songs as they, too, strip the limbs of the green and black fruit in the northern Gaza region.

Keeping Palestinian culture alive is one of the mandates of Local Initiative, a Beit Hanoun-based volunteer group comprising many youths and women, and of which Fida Zaneen is a member. At group events, participants often sport traditional robes and Palestinian kuffiyehs, and dance dabke to hand-drums and singing from the group.

Formed in September 2007, Local Initiative has a number of other mandates: promoting volunteerism; reaching out to marginalised families living in the regions along the Green Line border between Israel and Gaza; giving psycho- social support to children scarred by Israeli military attacks and shooting; financially assisting children with martyred parents; and improving the role of women and youth in society.

Saber Zaneen, one of the original seven founders and now the general coordinator, elaborates on the group's objectives......."

Why Obama’s Iran Policy Will Fail

Dilip Hiro and Tom Engelhardt, October 30, 2009

".....Most important, the Obama administration is ignoring the altered international order that has emerged in the wake of the global financial crisis triggered by Wall Street’s excesses. While its stimulus package, funded by taxpayers and foreign borrowing, has arrested the decline in the nation’s gross domestic product, Washington has done little to pull the world economy out of the doldrums. That task — performed by the U.S. in recent recessions — has fallen willy-nilly to China. History repeatedly shows that such economic clout sooner or later translates into diplomatic power.

Backed by more than $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the state-owned Chinese oil corporations have been locking up hydrocarbon resources as far away as Brazil. Not surprisingly, Iran, with the second largest oil as well as gas reserves in the world, looms large in the strategic plans of Beijing. The Chinese want to import Iran’s petroleum and natural gas through pipelines across Central Asia, thus circumventing sea routes vulnerable to U.S. naval interdiction. As this is an integral part of China’s energy security policy, little wonder that Chinese oil companies have committed an estimated $120 billion dollars — so far — to Iran’s energy industry.....

Iran’s leaders know that during his second term in office — as Seymour Hersh revealed in the New Yorker — Bush authorized a clandestine CIA program with a budget of $400 million to destabilize the Iranian regime. They are also aware that the CIA has focused on stoking disaffection among Sunni ethnic minorities in Shiite-ruled Iran. These include ethnic Arabs in the oil-rich province of Khuzistan adjoining Iraq, and ethnic Baluchis in Sistan-Baluchistan Province abutting the Pakistani province of Baluchistan.

Little wonder that Tehran pointed an accusing finger at the U.S. for the recent assassination of six commanders of its Revolutionary Guard Corps in Sistan-Baluchistan by two suicide bombers belonging to Jundallah (the Army of Allah), an extremist Sunni organization. As yet, there is no sign, overt or covert, that President Obama has canceled or repudiated his predecessor’s program to destabilize the Iranian regime.

Insecure regimes seek security in nuclear arms. History shows that joining the nuclear club has, in fact, proven an effective strategy for survival. Israel and North Korea provide striking examples of this......"

Karzai as Diem

Afghanistan as Vietnam

by Justin Raimondo, October 30, 2009

"The parallels between our stinging defeat in Vietnam and our coming defeat in Afghanistan get eerier by the moment. Just as Matthew Hoh, a top-ranking US official and Marine officer in Zabul province resigns in protest over the war – writing that it "reminds me horribly of our involvement with South Vietnam; an unpopular and corrupt government we backed at the expense of our Nation’s own internal peace" – it looks like Karzai is getting the Diem treatment from his American patrons. Or, rather, Diem-lite – since they (probably) have no intention of offing him, but just want to get rid of him as quickly and painlessly as possible. And the way to do that is to "out" him as a CIA asset – which they have done, courtesy of the New York Times.......

What the Americans seek, above all, is a "legitimate" puppet government, one they can sell to Congress and the American people over the next decade or so as they engage in a gigantic "nation-building" counterinsurgency sure to spill over the border into Pakistan. This project will dwarf the invasion of Iraq in terms of its sheer scale and utter impossibility: the cost in lives, and taxpayer dollars, is going to be enormous. With an ineffectual and unreliable puppet and his drug-dealing brother at the helm of the Afghan "government," Washington despairs of ever making its case to the American people – and so, one way or another, Karzai’s career is on the wane. Perhaps, like Diem, he’ll experience an "accident" from which he may not recover, or maybe he’ll flee to the US, where his friends in the fashion industry might deign to help him start a second career as the Afghan Versace.



In any case, let this serve as a lesson to aspiring would-be American sock puppets everywhere, who see a lucrative future in fronting for Washington:
when you stumble, they’ll just kick you away and find another ambitious quisling to take your place
faster than you can say "Ngo Dinh Diem." "

Student expelled to Gaza Strip by force


Palestinian's involuntary return is the sixth in 10 days, says human rights group

By Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem
The Independent

"A Palestinian student has been handcuffed, blindfolded and forcibly expelled to the Gaza Strip by Israeli troops just two months before she was due to graduate from university......

It was the sixth known forced return to Gaza of Palestinians stopped at the "Container" checkpoint – which is between Bethlehem and Abu Dis – in 10 days, according to the Israeli human rights group Gisha. Israel has also been preventing family reunifications in the West Bank for Palestinians with relatives living in Gaza, in effect forcing people to relocate to the Strip.

The steps are part of an Israeli policy of treating Gaza and the West Bank as two separate entities, thereby undermining the coherence of Palestinian claims for a state encompassing both territories. The 1993 Oslo agreement stipulates that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are to be treated as one territorial unit......"

Whitewashing war crimes with stale lies


By Khalid Amayreh

".....In fact, Israel has been knowingly and deliberately making these “mistakes” since time immemorial, so much that we can, without a bit of exaggeration, speak of a consistent modus operandi.

Besides, when mistakes occur and are repeated numerous times, it means they are “the” outstanding “policy.” After all, Israel can’t consistently murder civilians as a matter of policy and then claim the atrocities were committed by “mistake.”

More to the point, when the number of victims is so high and disproportionate to any conceivable provocation, even intention becomes irrelevant.

Hence, the claim that the Nazi-like crimes committed by Israel against the helpless and unprotected Palestinian civilians were mere mistakes should be treated as nothing short of pornographic lies, a sort of fornication with language.

The supremacist Zionist activist, who thinks Jews are not capable of doing evil, quoted Yair Lapid, from Yediot Ahronot, who argued in a recent article that the international community had failed to understand that Israel is an “enlightened western democracy that struggles for its existence in the wild East.”

Well, this is another pornographic lie. In fact, the distance between the Judeo-Nazi entity and true enlightenment is so enormous that the two can be perceived as an odious oxymoron. This is so because Israel represents the ultimate antithesis of human civility, and vice versa.

A few years ago, a Jewish intellectual and member of British Parliament lamented the fact that “ Israel has made the Star of David Look like the Swastika of Hitler.” That was before the barbarian blitzkrieg against Gaza. I wonder how he would describe the evil state now....."

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Israeli military gives settlers free rein


The IDF is offering ever more support to settlers as its influence by religious-nationalist politics increases

Seth Freedman
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 October 2009

".....Furthermore, a Guardian interview with army judge Adrian Agassi reveals in even more detail the influence of religious-nationalist politics on the IDF when it comes to the military's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Agassi, who has a long history of supporting land confiscations from Palestinian owners, declared that the ancient land of Israel was "given to us by the Bible, not by some United Nations", and that "if we would have named it the State of Jews [rather than the State of Israel], the Arabs would have understood that this land belongs to the Jews". In his eyes, implanting Jewish settlers across the West Bank is more important than all other biblical commandments, and only when it is done can they have "a promised land and a promised life". With lawyers and judges such as himself at the helm of the military legislature, settler leaders are unlikely to be losing much sleep over the prospect of any serious threat to their wave of illegal construction and land-grabs, despite the slaps on the wrist for the two banner-wielding Shimshon soldiers.

While the rest of Israel fiddles, the West Bank continues to burn – both literally, in the scores of cases of settlers setting fire to the crops and homes of Palestinian farmers, and metaphorically, as the prospects for peaceful resolution go up in smoke the longer the settlers are given free rein to thumb their noses at the law and run riot in the area. On ground level, as well as in the political arena, the authorities seem perfectly content to offer the occasional fig leaf to international pressure to clamp down on the settlers, while never implementing concrete measures to end the overall injustice. Who this charade is fooling is anyone's guess, but the longer it continues, the more certain it becomes that the state's kowtowing to the settlers is driving yet another nail into the peace process's coffin."

Iran's conditions push nuclear deal close to collapse

• Tehran wants to hand over uranium only in batches
• Move represents blow to US policy of engagement


Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 October 2009

"Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough over Iran's nuclear programme were dwindling tonight after Tehran demanded changes to a uranium exchange deal that European diplomats described as "unacceptable".........

Iran's response, delivered after a week's delay to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was not made public, but according to diplomats familiar with the details, Tehran demanded two big changes. They would only ship their uranium out in batches, and only hand it over at the same time the French-made fuel rods were delivered. That would remove the element of the deal that made it attractive to the west: the temporary removal of most of Iran's enriched uranium, which is currently enough to make a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

"This is completely unacceptable," said a European diplomat, who said discussions were under way in Brussels tonight to formulate a common response. "They want to keep all the gains, and give nothing away themselves," another diplomat said....."

Al-Jazeera Video: Palestinians homeless again after eviction - 29 Oct 09



"The United Nations is calling on Israel to immediately stop demolishing Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

The UN says 60,000 Palestinians may be at risk of being forcibly evicted.

Israel says the houses are built without construction permits, which Palestinians say are almost impossible to obtain.

Our correspondent Jacky Rowland is in Sheikh Jarrah where Israeli police dismantled a tent set up by a Palestinian family already evicted by Israeli orders in August. "

Tipping the balance in East Jerusalem



By Jacky Rowland
Al-Jazeera

".....Finding themselves homeless, the Ghawi family had set up a tent on the pavement opposite their old house. This flimsy structure, containing a few foam mattresses and plastic chairs, was the target of the latest Israeli demolition order.

The police acted with swift, brutal efficiency. Within minutes they had torn down the tent and loaded it, along with its contents, onto the back of a couple of pick-up trucks.


“I will sit on a chair in the street!” shouted Maysoun Al Ghawi, her voice shaking with anger and distress. “With my children, without a tent. Without anything. I will stand opposite my house. I have a right to live here with my children. They stole the house from me by force!”......

What we are witnessing in Sheikh Jarrah is part of a systematic effort by Jewish settlers – backed up by the courts, the municipality and the police – to tip the demographic balance in East Jerusalem. They are working slowly and patiently, house by house, family by family, to replace Palestinians by Jews.

This happens in broad daylight. The international community knows full well what is going on. Indeed, this particular incident was witnessed by elected representatives of the people of Europe. Yet the Israeli evictions and demolitions in East Jerusalem continue unchecked."

Demolishing Hope for Peace


by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler

"SUR BAHER, Occupied East Jerusalem - "We knew something bad was about to happen when we saw the roadblocks being thrown up, and police everywhere. It soon came down the grapevine - the Israelis were demolishing more houses." .......

In addition to the building squeeze, Palestinian families who move outside the city's municipal boundaries risk losing their Jerusalem identity cards, and with that, the right to live in the city, and keep their access to it.

UNWRA officials estimate that "as many as 60,000 of the city's quarter million Palestinians are at risk from forced eviction, demolitions and displacement." Many others face mounting pressure to leave the city due to extensive legal and administrative restrictions that affect many aspects of their daily lives.

"If it goes on like this, over and above the current tension over Israeli intentions to erode our links to our own holy sites, they're simply laying the cornerstone for a new Intifadah (uprising)," warns Mohammad......"

Real News Video: UK/USA made use of Uzbek torture

Former Brit ambsdr Craig Murray says UK and USA sent prisoners to Uzbek to be tortured

"Craig Murray is a British political activist, former ambassador to Uzbekistan and current Rector of the University of Dundee."

War Criminal Ya’alon: “To Ensure The Army’s Freedom To Act, I Will Not Travel To Europe”


"Israeli Vice Prime Minister, Moshe Ya’alon, had to cancel a trip to Europe due to fears that he would be apprehended for committing war crimes against the Palestinians during his service as the Israeli Army Chief of Staff.

He said that he is willing to skip trips to Europe to ensure that the Israeli Army has the freedom to act.

In 2002, Ya’alon ordered the assassination of Salaah Shihada, one of the leaders of Hamas’ armed wing. The army shelled the residential building where Shihada lived and killed fourteen civilians, including children.

Ya’alon was recently planning to travel to Britain, but had to cancel the trip, and said that cancelling the trip is not a “big loss”, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

Attorney Daniel Makover, one of the lawyers filing lawsuits against Israeli leaders for committing war crimes against the Palestinians, called for the arrest of Ya’alon the moment he lands in any European country.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry is now acting in order to convince European countries not to allow lawsuits against its officials.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Daniel Ayalon, plans to visit London soon, and the Israeli Embassy plans to increase his security detail during his visit."

Solana Urges Israel To End Home Demolitions In Jerusalem


"Javier Solana, European Union Foreign Policy Chief, urged Israel on Wednesday evening to end the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.

The Ramattan News Agency reported that Solana stated that this policy is racist, and stressed on the necessity to avoid any escalation in the Holy City.

He said that he is concerned about the recent reports of home demolitions in Jerusalem, and added that such violations threaten the efforts of the International Community to restart comprehensive and credible peace talks that would lead to a lasting and comprehensive peace deal.

The statements of Solana came while Israel is ongoing with the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. On Wednesday, Israel demolished nine homes after claiming that they were built without construction permits. "

Great Cartoon by Carlos Latuff: Israel curbing water




(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

6 Signs That the American Empire Is Coming to an Early End

The day of America's global pre-eminence is over. We must face the new global realities.
Memo to the CIA: You may not be prepared for time-travel, but welcome to 2025 anyway! Your rooms may be a little small, your ability to demand better accommodations may have gone out the window, and the amenities may not be to your taste, but get used to it. It's going to be your reality from now on.
AlterNet

Abu Zuhri family reject Egyptian report on death of Yousef



"GAZA, (PIC)-- The Abu Zuhri family refused to accept the Egyptian general prosecution's report on the death of Yousef Abu Zuhri in Egyptian jails that said he died of natural causes.

Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman and the victim's brother, said in a statement on Wednesday on behalf of his family that the report lied about according treatment to his brother in Alexandria university hospital, explaining that he (Yousef) was refused admission into that hospital two days before his death.

Abu Zuhri held the Egyptian state security responsible for the death of Yousef for its medical neglect, charging that the report only covered up for the criminals who tortured Yousef to death.

The spokesman said that the report would not close the case of his brother's death, adding that his family were preparing for filing a lawsuit before the Egyptian courts in cooperation with human rights groups.

For its part, the committee formed in solidarity with Ayman Nofal, who is held captive in Egyptian jails, expressed dismay at the Egyptian report.

The committee in a statement asked the Egyptian judiciary to prosecute those responsible for the crime and for the continued detention of Palestinians in Egyptian jails without trial topped by Nofal who has completed his third year in Egyptian jails."


And this, from Al-Jazeera (Arabic):

أبو زهري: جثة أخي وصلتنا ناقصة

"قال الناطق باسم حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) سامي أبو زهري إن جثة أخيه يوسف الذي توفي منذ نحو أسبوعين في سجن مصري، وصلت العائلة غير كاملة، مما يثبت في نظره أنه توفي نتيجة التعذيب.

ورفض أبو زهري –في تصريح للجزيرة- نتائج تقرير الطب الشرعي الذي حكم على أساسه القضاء المصري أول أمس بأن شقيقه توفي وفاة طبيعية وليس بسبب التعذيب.

وقال أبو زهري إن "هذا التقرير مرفوض، ونحن نؤكد مجددا أن الوفاة ناتجة عن آثار التعذيب، ونعلن لأول مرة أمرا لم نشأ أن نعلنه من قبل حتى نعطي العدالة فرصتها، وهو أن جسد الشهيد وصلنا وقد نقص وأخذت منه بعض الأجزاء".

وأضاف أن غياب أجزاء من الجثة "يؤكد أن هناك قصدا لإخفاء شبهة الجريمة" واعتبر أن تقرير الطب الشرعي المصري "محاولة للتستر على الجناة" مطالبا بـ"تقديم المجرمين للعدالة وليس التستر عليهم بهذه الطريقة".
....."


It appears, according to the Al-Jazeera report, that the Pharaoh is in the business of selling body parts. The body of Yousef was missing parts, apparently removed by Egyptian "Intelligence" in a pathetic attempt to cover up evidence of severe torture. The Abu Zuhri family has not released this fact until this report came out.

Save the Wails, by Mr. Fish

The Shape of Things to Come: War before Peace in the Mideast


By Leon T. Hadar

"....

By launching the 1973 War, the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat challenged the status-quo and helped transform Israeli strategic calculations. The Palestinian uprising had also shaken-up the status-quo and demonstrated to the Israelis that the long-term occupation of the Palestinian territories ceased to be a realistic proposition.

Hence, expect the current status-quo in the Middle East to be disturbed -- sooner rather than later. Another Palestinian uprising, a new Israeli-Hizbollah war, a confrontation between Israel and Iran -- or a combination of all the above -- would then create the conditions for the next round of Middle East diplomacy. I do hope that Obama will prove me wrong. But I'm afraid that once again, experience is going to triumph over hope."

My Problem with J Street


by Philip Giraldi, October 29, 2009

"....
J Street might well be sincere in its efforts and if they help bring about something equating to a peace settlement in the Middle East, I wish them success. But it appears to me that J Street’s positions are just a variation on the usual Israel-first policies that have been dominant in Washington for so long. Since its founding, J Street has been drifting closer to the Israeli government positions that it once seemed to criticize and, since I am naturally cynical, I might wonder if that was the intention right from the beginning. One might well question in any event why there should exist a lobby operating in Washington consisting of American citizens promoting the interests of a foreign country — but we live in strange times. The founding fathers might have considered such a schizophrenic world view inappropriate for ostensibly loyal American citizens, a view that I share."

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

PALESTINE: THIRSTING FOR JUSTICE A Forum Featuring Omar Barghouti

PALESTINE: THIRSTING FOR JUSTICE
A Forum Featuring Omar Barghouti

Sunday, Nov. 1, 4pm
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street, Los Angeles 90015

Join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for a special forum on howIsrael uses water as a tool of apartheid and a means of ethnic cleansing. The forum will feature Omar Barghouti, an independent Palestinian researcher and human rights activist. Mr. Barghouti is a founding member of PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

ANSWER encourages its members and supporters to attend this important event.

Organized by the BDS-LA Coalition: bdsinla@gmail.com.
Or contact ANSWER at 213-251-1025 or
answerla@answerla.org.

Video and Text: Azmi Bishara's Speech at University of Damascus (Arabic)


محاضرة د.عزمي بشارة حول «القدس والوضع السياسي الراهن» في جامعة دمشق

"في محاضرته في جامعة دمشق، أكد المفكر د.عزمي بشارة على أن الدفاع عن الأقصى هو مهمة وطنية، وأن الصراع على الأقصى هو صراع بين المحتل وبين الواقع تحت الاحتلال على السيادة السياسية. كما أكد على أن كل القدس أقصى وما ينطبق على الأقصى ينطبق على فلسطين. وتناول في محاضرته عملية تهويد القدس والتطهير العرقي للفلسطينيين فيها فور احتلالها عام 1967. مطالبة إسرائيل في السنوات الأخيرة بالاعتراف بها كدولة يهودية، وورقة المصالحة المصرية باعتبارها ليست ورقة وحدة وطنية، وإنما ورقة للتوجه إلى الانتخابات. وأكد في نهاية محاضرته على أن قضية فلسطين هي قضية عربية وليست قضية الفلسطينيين، وبالتالي فهي قضية الأمة العربية
....
وفي ختام محاضرته قال د.بشارة: "قيادة تحترم نفسها بالحد الأدنى تقول إنه تريد ضمانات من الرباعية؛ الولايات المتحدة وروسيا والاتحاد الأوروبي والأمم المتحدة، وتشترط أن تعترف بنتائج الانتخابات مهما كانت". لافتا إلى أنه من غير المعقول أن الشعب الفلسطيني لا يريد حق العودة والقدس. وأكد بالتالي على أن الالتزام يجب أن يكون بالوحدة الوطنية وليس الذهاب إلى الانتخابات.

وخلص إلى أن "ما نعيشه هو تحصيل حاصل لوضع الأمة العربية، قضية فلسطين هي قضية عربية وليست قضية الفلسطينيين، وبدون أن تكون قضية فلسطين عربية لا تكون قضية فلسطين، وتكون قضية الفلسطينيين..ففلسطين هي القضية، وليست القدس فقط، العقلية التي تقول أن القضية الفلسطينية هي قضية الفلسطينيين هي نفس العقلية الحاكمة في الدول العربية، والتي تقول أن الفقر هو قضية الفقراء، والصحة قضية المرضى، هذه العقلية لا يمكنها بناء أمة
"

Coordinated Attacks Kill 6 UN Workers as US Troops Suffer Deadliest Month of 8-Year Afghan War


Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman

"At least six international United Nations workers were killed in Afghanistan today when a team of gunmen and bombers raided their private guest house in Kabul. About an hour later, a rocket struck the luxury Serena Hotel located near the presidential palace. The attacks come one day after eight US soldiers were killed, making October the deadliest month for the US in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion. The New York Times meanwhile reports the debate in the White House is no longer over whether to send more troops, but over how many more will be needed. We go to Kabul to speak with investigative journalist Pratap Chatterjee. He was staying at the Serena Hotel last night when the hotel came under attack....."

“A Woman Among Warlords”: Afghan Democracy Activist Malalai Joya Defies Threats to Challenge US Occupation, Local Warlords


Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman

"To talk more about Afghanistan, we are joined by Malalai Joya, one of Afghanistan’s leading democracy activists. In 2005, she became the youngest person ever elected to the Afghan parliament. She was suspended in 2007 for her denunciation of warlords and their cronies in government. She has just written her memoir, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Woman Who Dared to Speak Out......"

Al-Jazeera Video: The Middle East's water war - 27 Oct 09



"Amnesty International, the human rights organisation, is accusing Israel of deliberately denying Palestinians fair access to water. But the Israeli government has called Amnesty's report "preposterous," and says Palestinians have failed to develop their own water infrastructure. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports on how Israeli rules make life difficult for Palestinians."

Al-Jazeera Video: Israel demolishes Palestinian homes - 28 Oct 09



"Israeli authorities have demolished five Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, saying they were built illegally without permits.

But Palestinians say Israeli authorities have made it nearly impossible to obtain such permits.

Human rights groups have accused Israel of using the demolitions to tighten its hold on the occupied territory, despite international calls to halt the practice."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Palestine water shortage - 27 Oct 09



"We discuss the effect of Israel cutting water to Palestine and the political impact in the possible peace process in the region. "

Al-Jazeera Video: Talk to Jazeera - Judge Richard Goldstone - 22 Oct 09

Part 1:



Part 2:



"Al Jazeera's Shihab Rattansi talks to Judge Richard Goldstone about the investigation into the Gaza war. He travelled to the United Nations in New York to find out if the war on Gaza has transformed Richard Goldstone from a sober jurist into a man on a mission to discredit Israel on an international stage."

Real News Video: Will the empire end with good leadership or blood?

Larry Wilkerson: The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex Part 3

"Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired United States Army soldier and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Wilkerson is an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary where he teaches courses on US national security. He also instructs a senior seminar in the Honors Department at the George Washington University entitled "National Security Decision Making.""

Sabeel Organizes Christian-Muslim Conference In Bethlehem To Counter Christian Zionism


"The Sabeel ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement is organizing a conference in Beit Sahour city, near Bethlehem, bringing together Muslim and Christian intellectuals to discuss Christian Zionism, an issue of concern to many Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.

Sabeel said that this gathering is intended to be an attempt to break down the walls of suspicion, and building bridges of understanding.

Sabeel added that restoring peace in the Middle East is a vital issue, and that its members and supporters peace would be restored to the Haram Al Sharif and Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The group added that fundamentalist groups in Israel are ongoing their violations by entering restricted areas, and Muslim Holy places, and issue which caused clashes in the Old City.

It added that these violations and the Israeli provocations such as home demolitions and evictions are issues that increase tension in Jerusalem and the West Bank......"

Video: What really happened in Gaza w/ Dr. Norman Finkelstein 2009 Trailer



"A teaser trailer for the upcoming event held by SJP and other PSU organizations. Monday November 2, 2009 in 117 HUB/Auditorium. Dr. Finkelstein will be part of a discussion panel discussing aspects of the Palestine/Israel conflict and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East.

61 years of illegal occupation. 61 years of statelessness. 61 years of systematic ethnic cleansing. The Palestinians have lost thousands of lives and millions of have been displaced from their homes. Despite all of this, their resolve remains steadfast, their resistance enduring, their fire unflinching. However, though Israel continues to violate international law and inflict these injustices, Palestinian blood stains our hands, too. We as taxpaying American citizens directly contribute to Israels perpetual dehumanization of the Palestinians, as United States tax dollars directly fund Israeli military operations and sustain Israel, the largest recipient of US foreign aid annually. We invite you to attend these events dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinians, and to explore the potential for changing this situation through our efforts."

Taliban take over Afghan province


By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times

"ISLAMABAD - The United States has withdrawn its troops from its four key bases in Nuristan, on the border with Pakistan, leaving the northeastern province as a safe haven for the Taliban-led insurgency to orchestrate its regional battles.

The US has retained some forces in Nuristan's capital, Parun, to provide security for the governor and government facilities. The American position concerning the withdrawal is that due to winter conditions, supply arteries are choked, making it difficult to keep forces in remote areas. The US has pulled out from some areas in the past, but never from all four main bases.

The move by the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChystal, follows the death on October 3 of eight US soldiers as well as a number of Afghan National Army forces when their outpost in Kamdesh was attacked by more than 300 militants. On July 13, 2008, nine American soldiers were killed when their outpost in Wanat was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Nuristan is strategically located in the Hindu Kush mountains....."

The War Condolences Obama Hasn’t Sent


By Amy Goodman
Truthdig

"U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Chancellor Keesling died in Iraq on June 19, 2009, from “a non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon. Keesling had killed himself. He was just one in what is turning out to be a record year for suicides in the U.S. military.

In August, President Barack Obama addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, saying, “[T]here is nothing more sobering than signing a letter of condolence to the family of [a] serviceman or -woman who has given their life for our country.” To their surprise, Jannett and Gregg Keesling, Chance’s parents, won’t be getting such a letter. Obama does not write condolence letters to loved ones of those who commit suicide in the theater of combat. [After making inquiries, the Keeslings discovered that this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding U.S. policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who take their own lives.]......

The United States is engaged in two intractable, massive military occupations, with no end in sight. Obama should certainly write letters of condolence to the Keeslings and to others whose loved ones have found that the only sure way to end the living hell of war, or to escape the horror of its aftermath, is to kill themselves. But an immediate withdrawal from the wars Obama inherited is the only way to stem the bleeding."