Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Israel's Negev 'frontier'
By Ben White
Al-Jazeera
"......Excluded from discourse
Western media coverage of the structural discrimination and discriminatory land and housing policies experienced by Palestinian Bedouins has generally been poor.
In a discourse shaped by Zionist and Orientalist tropes, the Negev is a vast, wild, desert; a frontier to be civilised. The 'Bedouin', meanwhile, are either invisible or exotic savages, objects of benevolent philanthropy.
Furthermore, the international 'peace process' has meant that the question of Palestine has become the story of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian citizens of Israel have been left out, a situation exacerbated by the media mentality of 'if it bleeds it leads'. Core issues facing Palestinian Bedouins - land control, zoning, bureaucratic and physical boundaries of exclusion - are not considered suitable fare.
This nonexistent or weak coverage is regrettable, particularly as Israel's policies in the Negev towards the Palestinian Bedouin minority are highly illuminating for understanding the state's position vis-à-vis the Palestinians in a more general sense.
Moreover, tension is building in the Negev over Israel's continued apartheid-like policies. Palestinian Bedouins continue to resist the strategies of the Israeli state and Zionist agencies, through legal battles, and grassroots organisation, like the Regional Council for the Unrecognised Villages.
Perhaps one of the main kinds of resistance being offered by the Palestinians in the Negev is their determination to stay. This steadfastness is a direct refusal of a strategy of home demolitions, dispossession and Judaisation.
The recent protest in al-Araqib could only be a foretaste of things to come, as Palestinian Bedouins demand equality from a state seemingly unwilling to change."
Al-Jazeera
"......Excluded from discourse
Western media coverage of the structural discrimination and discriminatory land and housing policies experienced by Palestinian Bedouins has generally been poor.
In a discourse shaped by Zionist and Orientalist tropes, the Negev is a vast, wild, desert; a frontier to be civilised. The 'Bedouin', meanwhile, are either invisible or exotic savages, objects of benevolent philanthropy.
Furthermore, the international 'peace process' has meant that the question of Palestine has become the story of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian citizens of Israel have been left out, a situation exacerbated by the media mentality of 'if it bleeds it leads'. Core issues facing Palestinian Bedouins - land control, zoning, bureaucratic and physical boundaries of exclusion - are not considered suitable fare.
This nonexistent or weak coverage is regrettable, particularly as Israel's policies in the Negev towards the Palestinian Bedouin minority are highly illuminating for understanding the state's position vis-à-vis the Palestinians in a more general sense.
Moreover, tension is building in the Negev over Israel's continued apartheid-like policies. Palestinian Bedouins continue to resist the strategies of the Israeli state and Zionist agencies, through legal battles, and grassroots organisation, like the Regional Council for the Unrecognised Villages.
Perhaps one of the main kinds of resistance being offered by the Palestinians in the Negev is their determination to stay. This steadfastness is a direct refusal of a strategy of home demolitions, dispossession and Judaisation.
The recent protest in al-Araqib could only be a foretaste of things to come, as Palestinian Bedouins demand equality from a state seemingly unwilling to change."
Major Jewish American Organizations Defend Israel's Humiliation of America
As Usual, A Great Piece!
By James Petras
"....Conclusion
Israel had to openly humiliate the US as a show of its power. Given Israel's strategic domination of the US political system and the ZPC control over mass media and their enormous wealth, a Zionist-controlled administration, like Obama's, would have to capitulate. Israeli and US Zionist pressure forced the American leaders to subordinate their international image and national self-respect and accept the unlimited expansion of Jews-only settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, no matter how this might undermine US standing in the region and jeopardize US troops. By 'whipping' the Obama Administration into line, Israel has set the stage for the launching of its top priority: Forcing a direct US military confrontation with Iran in Israel's strategic interests. It is clear that the entire ZPC will stand with Israel as it promotes its militarist agenda against Iran, regardless of the consequences to the United States.
It has been proven beyond a doubt by the recent events, that the ZPC has the ultimate say with the Obama Administration, against the advice of top US military officials and against the basic interests of the American people. In plain English, we are a people colonized and directed by a small, extremist and militarist 'ally' which operates through domestic proxies, who, under any other circumstance, would be openly denounced as traitors.....
Fissures in the Zionist monolith are beginning to appear. These would deepen if and when the American public realizes that Israel's' dispossession of Palestinians is raising havoc with American lives and with American interests in a vital part of the world populated by 1.5 billion Muslim. As more issues arise, the critical choice between following the lead of the ZPC in pledging unconditional allegiance to Israel and enduring its provocations and humiliations, or standing up for the dignity, basic interests and integrity of America, will have to be made. More fissures will appear and the AIPAC and other members of the ZPC will be seen for what they are: Swaggering bullies acting on behalf of a foreign power."
By James Petras
"....Conclusion
Israel had to openly humiliate the US as a show of its power. Given Israel's strategic domination of the US political system and the ZPC control over mass media and their enormous wealth, a Zionist-controlled administration, like Obama's, would have to capitulate. Israeli and US Zionist pressure forced the American leaders to subordinate their international image and national self-respect and accept the unlimited expansion of Jews-only settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, no matter how this might undermine US standing in the region and jeopardize US troops. By 'whipping' the Obama Administration into line, Israel has set the stage for the launching of its top priority: Forcing a direct US military confrontation with Iran in Israel's strategic interests. It is clear that the entire ZPC will stand with Israel as it promotes its militarist agenda against Iran, regardless of the consequences to the United States.
It has been proven beyond a doubt by the recent events, that the ZPC has the ultimate say with the Obama Administration, against the advice of top US military officials and against the basic interests of the American people. In plain English, we are a people colonized and directed by a small, extremist and militarist 'ally' which operates through domestic proxies, who, under any other circumstance, would be openly denounced as traitors.....
Fissures in the Zionist monolith are beginning to appear. These would deepen if and when the American public realizes that Israel's' dispossession of Palestinians is raising havoc with American lives and with American interests in a vital part of the world populated by 1.5 billion Muslim. As more issues arise, the critical choice between following the lead of the ZPC in pledging unconditional allegiance to Israel and enduring its provocations and humiliations, or standing up for the dignity, basic interests and integrity of America, will have to be made. More fissures will appear and the AIPAC and other members of the ZPC will be seen for what they are: Swaggering bullies acting on behalf of a foreign power."
Emad Hajjaj's Latest Cartoon
Collateral Murder in Iraq
By Amy Goodman
TruthDig
".....The U.S. military inquiry into the killings cleared the soldiers of any wrongdoing, and Reuters’ Freedom of Information requests for the video were denied. Despite the Pentagon’s whitewash, the attack was brutal and might have involved a war crime, since those removing the wounded are protected by the Geneva Conventions. WikiLeaks says it obtained the video “from a number of military whistle-blowers.” Wikileaks.org, founded in late 2006 as a secure site for whistle-blowers to safely release documents, has come under attack from the U.S. and other governments.
WikiLeaks has broken numerous stories and has received awards. It and members of the Icelandic Parliament are working together to make Iceland a world center of investigative journalism, putting solid free speech and privacy protections into law. The words of legendary journalist I.F. Stone still hold true: “Governments lie.” Because of that, we need courageous journalists and media workers, like Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, and we need whistle-blowers and news organizations that will carefully protect whistle-blowers’ identities while bringing their exposés to public scrutiny."
TruthDig
".....The U.S. military inquiry into the killings cleared the soldiers of any wrongdoing, and Reuters’ Freedom of Information requests for the video were denied. Despite the Pentagon’s whitewash, the attack was brutal and might have involved a war crime, since those removing the wounded are protected by the Geneva Conventions. WikiLeaks says it obtained the video “from a number of military whistle-blowers.” Wikileaks.org, founded in late 2006 as a secure site for whistle-blowers to safely release documents, has come under attack from the U.S. and other governments.
WikiLeaks has broken numerous stories and has received awards. It and members of the Icelandic Parliament are working together to make Iceland a world center of investigative journalism, putting solid free speech and privacy protections into law. The words of legendary journalist I.F. Stone still hold true: “Governments lie.” Because of that, we need courageous journalists and media workers, like Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, and we need whistle-blowers and news organizations that will carefully protect whistle-blowers’ identities while bringing their exposés to public scrutiny."
Finally, The "Arab Street" Exploding?
No, Just a Late April Fools' Joke!
Thai PM declares state of emergency
Violent protests engulf Kyrgyzstan
Thai PM declares state of emergency
Violent protests engulf Kyrgyzstan
Exclusive: Images reveal devastation in Yemen’s hidden conflict in the north
Amnesty International
(Left: A destroyed house with graffiti reading: “This is the help Yemen gets from America”)
"The scale of the devastation caused by Yemeni and Saudi Arabian aerial bombardments of the northern Yemeni region of Sa’dah has been revealed in hundreds of images obtained by Amnesty International.
The pictures, given to Amnesty International by an independent source and taken in March 2010 in and around the town of al-Nadir, show buildings destroyed between August 2009 and February 2010 during the latest in a series of clashes between Yemeni forces and supporters of a Shi’a cleric.
Among the damaged or destroyed civilian buildings photographed are market places, mosques, petrol stations, small businesses, a primary school, a power plant, a health centre – and dozens of houses and residential buildings.....
Government restrictions on access to the region combined with landmines and other security concerns mean that no independent observers or media are believed to have visited the area in recent months.
The pictures are consistent with testimony given by many witnesses who had fled Sa’dah to Amnesty International delegates in Yemen earlier this month. These witnesses, interviewed separately, repeatedly said that Saudi Arabian air strikes, which began in November and were clearly different from earlier Yemeni military attacks, were of an intensity and power not experienced before.
They also said the strikes went on around the clock in the days leading up to their flight and the ceasefire in February 2010.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said in March that about 250,000 people from Sa’dah had fled the conflict, around 10 per cent of them ending up in camps. The rest are living with relatives or in derelict or half-completed buildings in the capital Sana’a and elsewhere in the country.
Unlike with previous rounds of fighting, families from Sa’dah fled further afield and ,most say they are not planning to return because their homes have been destroyed and they fear the conflict will resume......."
(Left: A destroyed house with graffiti reading: “This is the help Yemen gets from America”)
"The scale of the devastation caused by Yemeni and Saudi Arabian aerial bombardments of the northern Yemeni region of Sa’dah has been revealed in hundreds of images obtained by Amnesty International.
The pictures, given to Amnesty International by an independent source and taken in March 2010 in and around the town of al-Nadir, show buildings destroyed between August 2009 and February 2010 during the latest in a series of clashes between Yemeni forces and supporters of a Shi’a cleric.
Among the damaged or destroyed civilian buildings photographed are market places, mosques, petrol stations, small businesses, a primary school, a power plant, a health centre – and dozens of houses and residential buildings.....
Government restrictions on access to the region combined with landmines and other security concerns mean that no independent observers or media are believed to have visited the area in recent months.
The pictures are consistent with testimony given by many witnesses who had fled Sa’dah to Amnesty International delegates in Yemen earlier this month. These witnesses, interviewed separately, repeatedly said that Saudi Arabian air strikes, which began in November and were clearly different from earlier Yemeni military attacks, were of an intensity and power not experienced before.
They also said the strikes went on around the clock in the days leading up to their flight and the ceasefire in February 2010.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said in March that about 250,000 people from Sa’dah had fled the conflict, around 10 per cent of them ending up in camps. The rest are living with relatives or in derelict or half-completed buildings in the capital Sana’a and elsewhere in the country.
Unlike with previous rounds of fighting, families from Sa’dah fled further afield and ,most say they are not planning to return because their homes have been destroyed and they fear the conflict will resume......."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
This poll asks:
Do you believe the charges that the Maliki government is behind the latest bombings in Iraq?
With over 800 responding so far, 85% said yes.
Do you believe the charges that the Maliki government is behind the latest bombings in Iraq?
With over 800 responding so far, 85% said yes.
Al-Jazeera Video: 'US attack' investigations raise more questions
"The Pentagon has not said if it will launch a new investigation into the US military shooting of civilians in Baghdad, following the release of video showing the attack.
The video, released by WikiLeaks, a website that publishes anonymously sourced documents, showed a US military helicopter firing at unarmed civilians in the 2007incident.
Al Jazeera has obtained a copy of the US military's first two investigations, which cleared the soldiers of wrongdoing.
Patty Culhane reports that they contain inconsistencies that the military has not addressed (07 April 2010). "
Sinan Antoon: "I think of myself as a global citizen"
Dina Omar, The Electronic Intifada, 7 April 2010
"Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi-born poet, novelist, filmmaker and assistant professor at New York University. His novel I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody and his collection of poems The Baghdad Blues are written with great sophistication and a haunting sense of irony. Similarly, his 2003 documentary About Baghdad captured the terror and exhilaration of Iraqis after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime and the early months of the US occupation. The Electronic Intifada contributor Dina Omar interviewed Sinan Antoon about his work and experiences....."
"Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi-born poet, novelist, filmmaker and assistant professor at New York University. His novel I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody and his collection of poems The Baghdad Blues are written with great sophistication and a haunting sense of irony. Similarly, his 2003 documentary About Baghdad captured the terror and exhilaration of Iraqis after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime and the early months of the US occupation. The Electronic Intifada contributor Dina Omar interviewed Sinan Antoon about his work and experiences....."
EGYPT: Looking Away From the Disabled
By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, Apr 7, 2010 (IPS) - Egyptians find it hard to see past Mahrousa Salem's wheelchair, so they look away.
The veiled Egyptian woman is one of more than a million Egyptians with physical or mental disabilities living in the shadows of society. They are excluded from the education system, overlooked by employers, and invisible to city planners.
"We're not beggars and we don't want people's pity," says Salem. "We just want the basic rights for which we are entitled."......"
"CAIRO, Apr 7, 2010 (IPS) - Egyptians find it hard to see past Mahrousa Salem's wheelchair, so they look away.
The veiled Egyptian woman is one of more than a million Egyptians with physical or mental disabilities living in the shadows of society. They are excluded from the education system, overlooked by employers, and invisible to city planners.
"We're not beggars and we don't want people's pity," says Salem. "We just want the basic rights for which we are entitled."......"
'The Worst Diplomatic Crisis in Decades'?
By Sayed Dhansay
(Sayed Dhansay is based in South Africa)
Palestine Chronicle
".....The Obama administration has a tough task trying to reign in the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, while also attempting to maintain the pretense of a genuine peace process. The delicate act of balancing these considerations with its own interests is bound to agitate the US occasionally. To consider this squabble as anything more significant however is simply wishful thinking."
(Sayed Dhansay is based in South Africa)
Palestine Chronicle
".....The Obama administration has a tough task trying to reign in the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, while also attempting to maintain the pretense of a genuine peace process. The delicate act of balancing these considerations with its own interests is bound to agitate the US occasionally. To consider this squabble as anything more significant however is simply wishful thinking."
Just Another Atrocity
Mass murder as routine
by Justin Raimondo, April 07, 2010
"The video released by Wikileaks showing US fighter planes picking off civilians as our airmen chortle with glee is shocking everyone. Everyone but me, that is.
Perhaps I’m suffering from some sort of moral exhaustion: I’ve just about gone numb after living through and constantly writing about the past decade of American war crimes. Abu Ghraib, Haditha, this, or any of a number of other atrocities – this one seems little different from the others. The bloodthirstiness of our "boys," chillingly eager to start shooting; the requisite cover-up, the denials, the expressions of "well that’s what war is" from defenders of US foreign policy. In the end it all boils down to a prosaic routine: another day, another atrocity. The only difference here being that it isn’t being done in the dark, but in the media spotlight for the world to see. As Glenn Greenwald points out, this kind of behavior by our glorious troops is not unusual: it’s the norm. It’s what war and occupation are all about: "collateral damage," dead children, error, malice, and tragedy all rolled into one messy package and marketed as our righteous (and endless) "war on terrorism."......."
by Justin Raimondo, April 07, 2010
"The video released by Wikileaks showing US fighter planes picking off civilians as our airmen chortle with glee is shocking everyone. Everyone but me, that is.
Perhaps I’m suffering from some sort of moral exhaustion: I’ve just about gone numb after living through and constantly writing about the past decade of American war crimes. Abu Ghraib, Haditha, this, or any of a number of other atrocities – this one seems little different from the others. The bloodthirstiness of our "boys," chillingly eager to start shooting; the requisite cover-up, the denials, the expressions of "well that’s what war is" from defenders of US foreign policy. In the end it all boils down to a prosaic routine: another day, another atrocity. The only difference here being that it isn’t being done in the dark, but in the media spotlight for the world to see. As Glenn Greenwald points out, this kind of behavior by our glorious troops is not unusual: it’s the norm. It’s what war and occupation are all about: "collateral damage," dead children, error, malice, and tragedy all rolled into one messy package and marketed as our righteous (and endless) "war on terrorism."......."
Wikileaks founder on MSNBC: We have more tapes, including killing of 97 civilians in Afghanistan, will release soon
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
The pictures that prove US helicopter gunships opened fire on Iraqi civilians
Air crews heard laughing on leaked footage that shows attack on 12 'insurgents' carrying cameras and phones
By Kim Sengupta, Defence Correspondent
The Independent
"......Smoking gun: Extracts from the tape
The two Apaches are given permission to attack the group:
- Light 'em all up.
- Come on, fire!
- Keep shooting, keep shooting...
- All right, ha ha ha, I hit 'em.
One wounded man, believed to be the photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, tries to crawl away from the scene of the attack:
- He's getting up.
- Maybe he has a weapon in his hand?
- No, I haven't seen one yet...
- Come on, buddy.
- All you gotta do is pick up a weapon.
The crews learn that children were among the group attacked:
- Roger, I've got, uh, 11 Iraqi KIAs. One small child wounded. Over.
- Roger. Ah damn. Oh well ...
- Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle.
- That's right."
By Kim Sengupta, Defence Correspondent
The Independent
"......Smoking gun: Extracts from the tape
The two Apaches are given permission to attack the group:
- Light 'em all up.
- Come on, fire!
- Keep shooting, keep shooting...
- All right, ha ha ha, I hit 'em.
One wounded man, believed to be the photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, tries to crawl away from the scene of the attack:
- He's getting up.
- Maybe he has a weapon in his hand?
- No, I haven't seen one yet...
- Come on, buddy.
- All you gotta do is pick up a weapon.
The crews learn that children were among the group attacked:
- Roger, I've got, uh, 11 Iraqi KIAs. One small child wounded. Over.
- Roger. Ah damn. Oh well ...
- Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle.
- That's right."
IFJ demands investigation into killing of Reuters media pair
"The International Federation of Journalists has called on President Barack Obama to open a fresh investigation into the actions of the US army, which has been implicated in killings of journalists in Iraq.
This follows the release of a shocking video film - which can be seen here - of a 2007 helicopter gunship attack on civilians, including two media staff.
"This is evidence of calculated, cold-blooded and horrifying violence," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ's president. "The United States cannot ignore this atrocity and the killings of unarmed civilians. We insist on a completely new review of these and all the killings of journalists and media staff in the Iraq conflict."
The incident was filmed from an Apache helicopter by soldiers and shows an attack carried out in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad in July 2007.
Reuters has been trying unsuccessfully to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act because two of its employees - photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh – were among the victims.
The controversial film was released by Wikileaks and reignites the controversy over US army attacks on journalists during the conflict, which were highlighted on 8 April 2003 when three journalists were killed after US forces fired on Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, killing two journalists."
Egypt riot police break up pro-democracy rally
Baton-wielding Egyptian police have broken up a pro-democracy demonstration in Cairo.
Riot police beat and dragged protestors away from outside the upper house of Parliament, put them in trucks and took dozens away.
Demonstrations are illegal under Egypt's stern "emergency laws", which have been in place for 30 years.
The protesters were calling for a change to the constitution that they say would make elections more fair.
The demonstration was called by the 6 April youth movement, which backs the presidential candidacy of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.
BBC
Riot police beat and dragged protestors away from outside the upper house of Parliament, put them in trucks and took dozens away.
Demonstrations are illegal under Egypt's stern "emergency laws", which have been in place for 30 years.
The protesters were calling for a change to the constitution that they say would make elections more fair.
The demonstration was called by the 6 April youth movement, which backs the presidential candidacy of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.
BBC
Ahmadinejad Warns of “Tooth-Breaking Response” to Obama
Al-Manar
"07/04/2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday warned his US counterpart Barack Obama of a "tooth-breaking" response, as he condemned Washington's new nuclear policy.
"I hope these published comments are not true... he (Obama) has threatened with nuclear and chemical weapons those nations which do not submit to the greed of the United States," Ahmadinejad said in speech broadcast live on state television. "Be careful. If you set step in Mr. (George W.) Bush's path, the nations' response would be the same tooth-breaking one as they gave Bush," he said....."
"07/04/2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday warned his US counterpart Barack Obama of a "tooth-breaking" response, as he condemned Washington's new nuclear policy.
"I hope these published comments are not true... he (Obama) has threatened with nuclear and chemical weapons those nations which do not submit to the greed of the United States," Ahmadinejad said in speech broadcast live on state television. "Be careful. If you set step in Mr. (George W.) Bush's path, the nations' response would be the same tooth-breaking one as they gave Bush," he said....."
Amnesty reveals Saudi strikes on Yemeni civilians
Press TV
"Amnesty International sheds light on the suffering inflicted upon civilians in northern Yemen during the joint Saudi-Yemeni offensive against the country's Houthis.
Photos taken last month by independent sources in and around the town of al-Nadir show the devastation civilian communities in the Sa'ada region went through during Saudi airstrikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen.
"This is a largely invisible conflict that has been waged behind closed doors. These images reveal the true scale and ferocity of the bombing and the impact it had on the civilians caught up in it," Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program said on Tuesday.
"This information has only now come to light through Yemenis who fled the conflict and have reached other parts of the country," he added....."
"Amnesty International sheds light on the suffering inflicted upon civilians in northern Yemen during the joint Saudi-Yemeni offensive against the country's Houthis.
Photos taken last month by independent sources in and around the town of al-Nadir show the devastation civilian communities in the Sa'ada region went through during Saudi airstrikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen.
"This is a largely invisible conflict that has been waged behind closed doors. These images reveal the true scale and ferocity of the bombing and the impact it had on the civilians caught up in it," Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program said on Tuesday.
"This information has only now come to light through Yemenis who fled the conflict and have reached other parts of the country," he added....."
Iraq outrage over US killing video
Al-Jazeera
"Families of Iraqi civilians, seen being shot and killed by US forces in a leaked video, are seeking justice for their deaths.
Earlier this week Wikileaks, a whistleblower website that publishes anonymously sourced documents, broadcast a video showing the US military firing at a group of civilians in Baghdad three years ago.
The shooting left 12 people dead, including two employees of the Reuters news agency.....
According to Pentagon investigations into the affair, the air crew had reason to believe the people seen in the video were anti-government fighters.
'Case for war crimes'
But Mark Taylor an international law expert and a director at the Fafo Institute for International Studies in Norway, told Al Jazeera the evidence so far "indicated that there's a case to be made that a war crime may have been committed".
"It's the American authorities, the US military that has to take a closer look at this investigation.....""
"Families of Iraqi civilians, seen being shot and killed by US forces in a leaked video, are seeking justice for their deaths.
Earlier this week Wikileaks, a whistleblower website that publishes anonymously sourced documents, broadcast a video showing the US military firing at a group of civilians in Baghdad three years ago.
The shooting left 12 people dead, including two employees of the Reuters news agency.....
According to Pentagon investigations into the affair, the air crew had reason to believe the people seen in the video were anti-government fighters.
'Case for war crimes'
But Mark Taylor an international law expert and a director at the Fafo Institute for International Studies in Norway, told Al Jazeera the evidence so far "indicated that there's a case to be made that a war crime may have been committed".
"It's the American authorities, the US military that has to take a closer look at this investigation.....""
Netanyahu's nephew, Jonathan Ben-Artzi, writes an incredible piece in the Christian Monitor
Peace for Israelis and Palestinians? Not without America's tough love.
*An Israeli student explains why the US should act on moral outrage over Israel’s discriminatory policies before it’s too late.
"One example is segregation on roads in the West Bank, where settlers travel on roads that are for Jews only, while Palestinians are stopped at checkpoints, and a 10-mile commute might take seven hours.
Another example is discrimination in water supply: Israel pumps drinking water from occupied territory (in violation of international law). Israelis use as much as four times more water than Palestinians, while Palestinians are not allowed to dig their own wells and must rely on Israeli supply.
Civil freedom is no better: In an effort to break the spirit of Palestinians, Israel conducts sporadic arrests and detentions with no judicial supervision. According to one prisoner support and human rights association, roughly 4 in 10 Palestinian males have spent some time in Israeli prisons. That’s 40 percent of all Palestinian males!
And finally, perhaps one of the greatest injustices takes place in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is collectively punishing more than 1.5 million Palestinians by sealing them off in the largest open-air prison on earth.
*Jonathan Ben-Artzi was one of the spokespeople for the Hadash party in the Israeli general elections in 2006. His parents are professors in Israel, and his extended family includes uncle Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Ben-Artzi is a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
*An Israeli student explains why the US should act on moral outrage over Israel’s discriminatory policies before it’s too late.
"One example is segregation on roads in the West Bank, where settlers travel on roads that are for Jews only, while Palestinians are stopped at checkpoints, and a 10-mile commute might take seven hours.
Another example is discrimination in water supply: Israel pumps drinking water from occupied territory (in violation of international law). Israelis use as much as four times more water than Palestinians, while Palestinians are not allowed to dig their own wells and must rely on Israeli supply.
Civil freedom is no better: In an effort to break the spirit of Palestinians, Israel conducts sporadic arrests and detentions with no judicial supervision. According to one prisoner support and human rights association, roughly 4 in 10 Palestinian males have spent some time in Israeli prisons. That’s 40 percent of all Palestinian males!
And finally, perhaps one of the greatest injustices takes place in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is collectively punishing more than 1.5 million Palestinians by sealing them off in the largest open-air prison on earth.
*Jonathan Ben-Artzi was one of the spokespeople for the Hadash party in the Israeli general elections in 2006. His parents are professors in Israel, and his extended family includes uncle Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Ben-Artzi is a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
A poignant, painful story recounted on Mondoweiss
The ‘Beita’ incident of 1988 shines lasting light on a cruel Occupation and its halfhearted coverage
By David Samel
"Today marks the 22nd anniversary of just one of the innumerable tragic events in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is worth revisiting because it typifies the racism, cruelty, injustice, even insanity of the Occupation. A succession of New York Times articles captures the chronology of events and just as importantly, how those events were revealed and discussed by the newspaper of record.
The incident occurred on April 6, 1988 in and around the West Bank village of Beita. The intifada had begun several months earlier, and the death toll stood at122 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, which had lost a single soldier. In addition to the Palestinian fatalities, there had been untold numbers of arrests, routine torture of detainees, and broken bones deliberately inflicted by IDF troops pursuant to the openly-stated policy of the Defense Minister, the future Nobel peacemaker Yitzhak Rabin.
What landed this incident on front page of the Times was the fact that Israel had lost its first civilian, a teenage girl named Tirza Porat. In an article entitled “Israeli Girl Killed by Rocks in Melee,” John Kifner reported that Tirza had been “stoned to death by Palestinian villagers” while hiking with friends on a “holiday outing.” The body of the article revealed that two Palestinians also had been killed, but the headline left no doubt as to whose life was of more significance.
The Israeli hikers reported that their group of 18, two of whom were armed guards, had been confronted outside Beita by Palestinian youths throwing stones, and that “pandemonium broke out . . when a woman rushed out and slammed a big rock down on the head of one of the Israeli guards.” Military officials stated that Tirza’s “skull was crushed by repeated blows, apparently from stones.” According to Gen. Amram Mitzna, commander of the West Bank: ”Many stones were thrown at the children, who were also beaten. As a result, the girl was killed and two or three of the teen-age hikers were seriously injured.”
-------------------
If you don't feel rage after reading the full account, then go and check to a doctor. You may be already dead!
By David Samel
"Today marks the 22nd anniversary of just one of the innumerable tragic events in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is worth revisiting because it typifies the racism, cruelty, injustice, even insanity of the Occupation. A succession of New York Times articles captures the chronology of events and just as importantly, how those events were revealed and discussed by the newspaper of record.
The incident occurred on April 6, 1988 in and around the West Bank village of Beita. The intifada had begun several months earlier, and the death toll stood at122 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, which had lost a single soldier. In addition to the Palestinian fatalities, there had been untold numbers of arrests, routine torture of detainees, and broken bones deliberately inflicted by IDF troops pursuant to the openly-stated policy of the Defense Minister, the future Nobel peacemaker Yitzhak Rabin.
What landed this incident on front page of the Times was the fact that Israel had lost its first civilian, a teenage girl named Tirza Porat. In an article entitled “Israeli Girl Killed by Rocks in Melee,” John Kifner reported that Tirza had been “stoned to death by Palestinian villagers” while hiking with friends on a “holiday outing.” The body of the article revealed that two Palestinians also had been killed, but the headline left no doubt as to whose life was of more significance.
The Israeli hikers reported that their group of 18, two of whom were armed guards, had been confronted outside Beita by Palestinian youths throwing stones, and that “pandemonium broke out . . when a woman rushed out and slammed a big rock down on the head of one of the Israeli guards.” Military officials stated that Tirza’s “skull was crushed by repeated blows, apparently from stones.” According to Gen. Amram Mitzna, commander of the West Bank: ”Many stones were thrown at the children, who were also beaten. As a result, the girl was killed and two or three of the teen-age hikers were seriously injured.”
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If you don't feel rage after reading the full account, then go and check to a doctor. You may be already dead!
الانتفاضة الثالثة خيار وحيد
An Excellent Comment (Arabic)
From Al-Quds Al-Arabi
الانتفاضة الثالثة خيار وحيد
رشاد أبوشاور
"هل بقي بصيص أمل بمنح شعبنا دولة فلسطينيّة في الضفّة والقطاع، عاصمتها القدس الشرقيّة؟!
يمكن أن نوضّح السؤال الذي لا يحتاج لتوضيح، لأن الوقائع لا تدع مجالاً للتساؤل، فنعيد طرحه بالصيغة التالية: هل بقي للفلسطينيين أدنى أمل بأن يحصلوا على دولة فلسطينيّة، بعد أن نهبت أرض الضفّة، وابتلعت القدس بالمستوطنات حولها، والأحياء التي غرست في قلبها وبدّلت معالمها، وبعد إمعان الاحتلال في سياسة الترانسفير لأهل القدس، بهدم البيوت على رؤوسهم، وحفر الأرض تحتهم، وتضييق سبل العيش عليهم؟!
هل هناك رهان على صحوة ضمير لدى السلطة في رام الله، وتحملها لمسؤوليتها أمام الشعب الفلسطيني، وإعلان فشل رهاناتها ووعودها، وخطيئة تقديمها التنازلات عن حق الشعب الفلسطيني في وطنه، والقبول بـ22 ' من أرض فلسطين الجغرافيّة التاريخيّة والتنازل عن 78' للكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني؟!
لا أمل في تراجع من يكررون يوميّا بأن المفاوضات خيارهم الوحيد، رغم تواصل عمليات نهب القدس، وتغيير معالمها...
هؤلاء يرون ما يقترفه الاحتلال، ولكنهم باتوا أسرى مصالحهم وعجزهم، وأيضا استهتارهم بشعبنا الفلسطيني.
المشهد في غزّة هو الوجه الثاني لرام الله، فهناك حكومة (مقالة)، ووزراء، وسعي للحوار مع أوروبا، والإدارة الأمريكيّة، وغزل من طرف واحد مع نظام مبارك الذي لا يطرب لهذا الغزل، بدليل مواصلته تعميق الجدار، ورفعه أبراج المراقبة عاليا.
منذ فوز حماس بانتخابات التشريعي، أخذت تتصرف وكأنها سيدة السلطة، مديرة الظهر لمن منحوها أصواتهم، رهانا منهم على أنها حركة مقاومة هدفها تحرير كامل التراب الفلسطيني، الذي طالما وصفته بأنه (وقف إسلامي) حرام التفريط به!
طرفان يضعان القضية الفلسطينيّة، والنضال الفلسطيني، في مأزق، ويغلقان الطريق، وكل منهما يراهن على سقوط الآخر، و..لا مانع من ذبحه عسكريا، أو سياسيّا، لتكريس واحديته، بحيث يتبوّأ وحده سدّة قيادة شعب فلسطين، وتمثيله..ليس في الميدان، ولكن لدى الأطراف التي ستكرّس سيادته في (دولة) فلسطينيّة، ليس فيها شرط من شروط الدولة!
هل نذكّر بأن الدولة الفلسطينيّة لم تعد واردة، فلا إمكانيّة لتحقيقها لسبب بسيط وهو أنه لم تعد هناك أرض لتنشأ عليها!
الدكتور سلام فيّاض، وهو حاليا أقوى من حركة فتح في (السلطة) بما يتلقاه من دعم، وهذا يتجلّى في تحكمه بالأجهزة الأمنيّة التي يتولى الإشراف على إعدادها وتمويلها.. يعد بدولة في غضون سنتين..أين؟ على أية أرض؟ بالعقل: هذا الوعد وهم غير قابل للتحقق، لأنه ببساطة معلّق في الفراغ، وهو يعلن التنازل عن حق العودة مقدما، إرضاءً للإدارة الأمريكيّة.
لا تراجع من أي من الطرفين: سلطة رام الله، و.. سلطة غزّة، فكل منهما ينتظر.. ماذا؟ أن يسقط الآخر، ويتسيّد هو، والإثنان محشوران، مأزومان اعترفا أو أنكرا، والقضية الفلسطينيّة تخسر يوميّا، وشعبنا يعاني في هذا المأزق الخانق المهين.. فما العمل؟!
خيار واحد لا خيار غيره أمام شعبنا: أن يتسلّم زمام أموره بيده، متجاوزا حالة الاستعصاء، والطرفين المعوقين ضيقي الأفق، اللذين لا يريدان أن يريا ما يفعله الاحتلال الاستيطاني، لأنهما تعبا نضاليا، ويريدان جني المكاسب!
موضوعيا وذاتيا، الخيار هو الانتفاضة الثالثة، وهي عودة لجوهر الصراع، فما دامت مسيرة سلام أوسلو قد فشلت فلسطينيّا، وما عاد هناك وهم بقيام دولة، فلا بدّ من العودة إلى أصل الصراع: إمّا نحن أو هذا الكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني الذي لن تتغيّر طبيعته بالمفاوضات!
بالعقل والمنطق: لا يمكن تحييد الولايات المتحدة في الصراع، فهي منحازة بحكم مصالحها، وخيارها السياسي، وحتى العقيدي، لذا لا رهان على حيادها في الصراع.
شعبنا بلا قيادة حقيقيّة، والأخطر أن قياداته الراهنة هي سبب رئيس في المأزق الراهن، وهذا دافع ملح لتجاوزها، هي التي ما عادت المقاومة واردة عندها، سواء منها من يطرح خيار المفاوضات الذي لا خيار غيره، أو الذي يطرح دولة في حدود الـ67، ويُفلسف منع إطلاق الصواريخ من قطاع غزّة بأنه مصلحة وطنيّة!.. سابقا لم يكن كذلك!
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي انتفاضة وعي، وعودة إلى جوهر الصراع، يعني هي رفض لكل أطروحات (التسوية) وأوهام (السلام). هي تحديد للهدف الرئيس: فلسطين عربية والصراع صراع وجود لا صراع حدود، وقضيّة فلسطين قضيّة الأمّة..وفي هذا الخطاب عودة بالقضيّة إلى أهلها، وجوهرها، فالصراع هو عربي - صهيوني، وفي هذا الصراع لا حياد لأي عربي فردا كان أم.. (دولة)، وبهذا سيكون الفرز بين من يؤمن بعروبة فلسطين، ومن يتآمر عليها ويتواطأ مع مغتصبيها، ومن يدعمهم.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي إنهاء لحقبة الاختلاط، والتيه، والضياع وراء السراب.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي عودة للميثاق الوطني الفلسطيني، وجوهره عروبة فلسطين.
ما يمنح هذا الخطاب مصداقية، هو ممارسات الكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني، حكومة بعد حكومة، بنهج واحد مستمر، بهدف تهويد فلسطين وطرد أهلها، واستكمال حرب الـ48 التي بنظره لم تحقق أهدافها بعد.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي تصحيح للانتفاضتين السابقتين، ولحمايتها لا بد من قراءة ووعي أسباب فشلهما، وأوّل الدروس: لا تنازل عن الهدف، فقضيتنا ليست لعبة، وليست حقل تجارب، ولا هي مسرح للشهرة والوجاهة، ولا هي تجارة للربح الشخصي.. وهذا الهدف: فلسطين عربيّة، وطننا الذي لا شريك لنا فيه.
وثانيها: لا لتحكم أي فرد، أو مجموعة، أو فصيل، بالانتفاضة، فالقيادة ليست استعراضا، وفهلوة، وشطارة، وارتجالا، ولكنها وعي، وتضحية، والتزام، ومشاركة.
وثالثها: سيادة روح التآخي والتكافل والتضامن بين أبناء شعبنا، وهذه القيم سادت في الانتفاضتين، وشوهها الاستعراض، والزعرنة، وإبراز أشخاص غير أكفاء، وجعل السلاح وسيلة تخويف لأبناء شعبنا لا للعدو، ونشر الفوضى.
كل هذه الأمراض المفتعلة يفترض أن تواجه بفضحها منذ البداية، وقبل انفجار الانتفاضة التي نراها آتية لا ريب فيها.
أعداء شعبنا ليسوا غافلين، فهم يرسمون الخطط، ويدبرون عمليات التخريب، ويعدوّن لإحباط روح شعبنا المقاوم، ولذا علينا أن نتوقع كل ما يبرمون، وما يدبرون، بوضع الخطط الكفيلة بإفشالهم.. وهذا هو الإبداع الذي يُنتظر من القيادات القادمة، ومن المثقفين الثوريين الجذريين الذين مهمتهم تبصير جماهيرنا بما ينتظرها، وتحصينها من الاختراقات والسلوكيات الخاطئة الضارة التي يروجها العدو وأتباعه المرتزقة.
لقد وجد من انحرف بالانتفاضتين، ومن ساوم عليهما، ومن ضلل شعبنا وأدخله في النفق المظلم، مستغلاً ثقة شعبنا، فكان أن دفعنا الثمن!
العفوية لا تصنع ثورات، ولا انتفاضات منتصرة.. يجب أن لا يغيب هذا الدرس عن عقولنا.
التشبث بالهدف رغم التكلفة، والوعي، والتخطيط، وتحديد معسكر الأعداء و.. معسكر الأصدقاء، الاستفادة من دروس الانتفاضتين المغدورتين، عدم تقديس الأفراد والرهان على قائد، أو قيادة، ومبايعته، أو مبايعتها، فالشعوب لا تنتصر بالغفلة وطيبة القلب، والثقة العمياء.
لم يكن صدفة أن ظهر قادة لا هم لهم سوى الصراع على الكراسي، والمال، والوجاهة، والقبول لدى الأمريكان، وقادة العدو، والحكّام العرب المتآمرين على فلسطين.
الانتفاضة الثالثة المنتظرة ستكون فعلاً شعبيّا فلسطينيّا شاملاً، في الداخل والشتات، بحيث تكون حالة نهوض فلسطيني عام، رغم أن شرارتها ستندلع من الضفّة، وهذا ما سيضع الهدف عاليا: شعب فلسطين له وطن واحد، وفلسطين: قضية عربيّة وجوديّة.
لكل هذا نرى بأن الانتفاضة الثالثة خيار لا خيار غيره.
"
From Al-Quds Al-Arabi
الانتفاضة الثالثة خيار وحيد
رشاد أبوشاور
"هل بقي بصيص أمل بمنح شعبنا دولة فلسطينيّة في الضفّة والقطاع، عاصمتها القدس الشرقيّة؟!
يمكن أن نوضّح السؤال الذي لا يحتاج لتوضيح، لأن الوقائع لا تدع مجالاً للتساؤل، فنعيد طرحه بالصيغة التالية: هل بقي للفلسطينيين أدنى أمل بأن يحصلوا على دولة فلسطينيّة، بعد أن نهبت أرض الضفّة، وابتلعت القدس بالمستوطنات حولها، والأحياء التي غرست في قلبها وبدّلت معالمها، وبعد إمعان الاحتلال في سياسة الترانسفير لأهل القدس، بهدم البيوت على رؤوسهم، وحفر الأرض تحتهم، وتضييق سبل العيش عليهم؟!
هل هناك رهان على صحوة ضمير لدى السلطة في رام الله، وتحملها لمسؤوليتها أمام الشعب الفلسطيني، وإعلان فشل رهاناتها ووعودها، وخطيئة تقديمها التنازلات عن حق الشعب الفلسطيني في وطنه، والقبول بـ22 ' من أرض فلسطين الجغرافيّة التاريخيّة والتنازل عن 78' للكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني؟!
لا أمل في تراجع من يكررون يوميّا بأن المفاوضات خيارهم الوحيد، رغم تواصل عمليات نهب القدس، وتغيير معالمها...
هؤلاء يرون ما يقترفه الاحتلال، ولكنهم باتوا أسرى مصالحهم وعجزهم، وأيضا استهتارهم بشعبنا الفلسطيني.
المشهد في غزّة هو الوجه الثاني لرام الله، فهناك حكومة (مقالة)، ووزراء، وسعي للحوار مع أوروبا، والإدارة الأمريكيّة، وغزل من طرف واحد مع نظام مبارك الذي لا يطرب لهذا الغزل، بدليل مواصلته تعميق الجدار، ورفعه أبراج المراقبة عاليا.
منذ فوز حماس بانتخابات التشريعي، أخذت تتصرف وكأنها سيدة السلطة، مديرة الظهر لمن منحوها أصواتهم، رهانا منهم على أنها حركة مقاومة هدفها تحرير كامل التراب الفلسطيني، الذي طالما وصفته بأنه (وقف إسلامي) حرام التفريط به!
طرفان يضعان القضية الفلسطينيّة، والنضال الفلسطيني، في مأزق، ويغلقان الطريق، وكل منهما يراهن على سقوط الآخر، و..لا مانع من ذبحه عسكريا، أو سياسيّا، لتكريس واحديته، بحيث يتبوّأ وحده سدّة قيادة شعب فلسطين، وتمثيله..ليس في الميدان، ولكن لدى الأطراف التي ستكرّس سيادته في (دولة) فلسطينيّة، ليس فيها شرط من شروط الدولة!
هل نذكّر بأن الدولة الفلسطينيّة لم تعد واردة، فلا إمكانيّة لتحقيقها لسبب بسيط وهو أنه لم تعد هناك أرض لتنشأ عليها!
الدكتور سلام فيّاض، وهو حاليا أقوى من حركة فتح في (السلطة) بما يتلقاه من دعم، وهذا يتجلّى في تحكمه بالأجهزة الأمنيّة التي يتولى الإشراف على إعدادها وتمويلها.. يعد بدولة في غضون سنتين..أين؟ على أية أرض؟ بالعقل: هذا الوعد وهم غير قابل للتحقق، لأنه ببساطة معلّق في الفراغ، وهو يعلن التنازل عن حق العودة مقدما، إرضاءً للإدارة الأمريكيّة.
لا تراجع من أي من الطرفين: سلطة رام الله، و.. سلطة غزّة، فكل منهما ينتظر.. ماذا؟ أن يسقط الآخر، ويتسيّد هو، والإثنان محشوران، مأزومان اعترفا أو أنكرا، والقضية الفلسطينيّة تخسر يوميّا، وشعبنا يعاني في هذا المأزق الخانق المهين.. فما العمل؟!
خيار واحد لا خيار غيره أمام شعبنا: أن يتسلّم زمام أموره بيده، متجاوزا حالة الاستعصاء، والطرفين المعوقين ضيقي الأفق، اللذين لا يريدان أن يريا ما يفعله الاحتلال الاستيطاني، لأنهما تعبا نضاليا، ويريدان جني المكاسب!
موضوعيا وذاتيا، الخيار هو الانتفاضة الثالثة، وهي عودة لجوهر الصراع، فما دامت مسيرة سلام أوسلو قد فشلت فلسطينيّا، وما عاد هناك وهم بقيام دولة، فلا بدّ من العودة إلى أصل الصراع: إمّا نحن أو هذا الكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني الذي لن تتغيّر طبيعته بالمفاوضات!
بالعقل والمنطق: لا يمكن تحييد الولايات المتحدة في الصراع، فهي منحازة بحكم مصالحها، وخيارها السياسي، وحتى العقيدي، لذا لا رهان على حيادها في الصراع.
شعبنا بلا قيادة حقيقيّة، والأخطر أن قياداته الراهنة هي سبب رئيس في المأزق الراهن، وهذا دافع ملح لتجاوزها، هي التي ما عادت المقاومة واردة عندها، سواء منها من يطرح خيار المفاوضات الذي لا خيار غيره، أو الذي يطرح دولة في حدود الـ67، ويُفلسف منع إطلاق الصواريخ من قطاع غزّة بأنه مصلحة وطنيّة!.. سابقا لم يكن كذلك!
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي انتفاضة وعي، وعودة إلى جوهر الصراع، يعني هي رفض لكل أطروحات (التسوية) وأوهام (السلام). هي تحديد للهدف الرئيس: فلسطين عربية والصراع صراع وجود لا صراع حدود، وقضيّة فلسطين قضيّة الأمّة..وفي هذا الخطاب عودة بالقضيّة إلى أهلها، وجوهرها، فالصراع هو عربي - صهيوني، وفي هذا الصراع لا حياد لأي عربي فردا كان أم.. (دولة)، وبهذا سيكون الفرز بين من يؤمن بعروبة فلسطين، ومن يتآمر عليها ويتواطأ مع مغتصبيها، ومن يدعمهم.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي إنهاء لحقبة الاختلاط، والتيه، والضياع وراء السراب.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي عودة للميثاق الوطني الفلسطيني، وجوهره عروبة فلسطين.
ما يمنح هذا الخطاب مصداقية، هو ممارسات الكيان الصهيوني الاستيطاني، حكومة بعد حكومة، بنهج واحد مستمر، بهدف تهويد فلسطين وطرد أهلها، واستكمال حرب الـ48 التي بنظره لم تحقق أهدافها بعد.
الانتفاضة الثالثة هي تصحيح للانتفاضتين السابقتين، ولحمايتها لا بد من قراءة ووعي أسباب فشلهما، وأوّل الدروس: لا تنازل عن الهدف، فقضيتنا ليست لعبة، وليست حقل تجارب، ولا هي مسرح للشهرة والوجاهة، ولا هي تجارة للربح الشخصي.. وهذا الهدف: فلسطين عربيّة، وطننا الذي لا شريك لنا فيه.
وثانيها: لا لتحكم أي فرد، أو مجموعة، أو فصيل، بالانتفاضة، فالقيادة ليست استعراضا، وفهلوة، وشطارة، وارتجالا، ولكنها وعي، وتضحية، والتزام، ومشاركة.
وثالثها: سيادة روح التآخي والتكافل والتضامن بين أبناء شعبنا، وهذه القيم سادت في الانتفاضتين، وشوهها الاستعراض، والزعرنة، وإبراز أشخاص غير أكفاء، وجعل السلاح وسيلة تخويف لأبناء شعبنا لا للعدو، ونشر الفوضى.
كل هذه الأمراض المفتعلة يفترض أن تواجه بفضحها منذ البداية، وقبل انفجار الانتفاضة التي نراها آتية لا ريب فيها.
أعداء شعبنا ليسوا غافلين، فهم يرسمون الخطط، ويدبرون عمليات التخريب، ويعدوّن لإحباط روح شعبنا المقاوم، ولذا علينا أن نتوقع كل ما يبرمون، وما يدبرون، بوضع الخطط الكفيلة بإفشالهم.. وهذا هو الإبداع الذي يُنتظر من القيادات القادمة، ومن المثقفين الثوريين الجذريين الذين مهمتهم تبصير جماهيرنا بما ينتظرها، وتحصينها من الاختراقات والسلوكيات الخاطئة الضارة التي يروجها العدو وأتباعه المرتزقة.
لقد وجد من انحرف بالانتفاضتين، ومن ساوم عليهما، ومن ضلل شعبنا وأدخله في النفق المظلم، مستغلاً ثقة شعبنا، فكان أن دفعنا الثمن!
العفوية لا تصنع ثورات، ولا انتفاضات منتصرة.. يجب أن لا يغيب هذا الدرس عن عقولنا.
التشبث بالهدف رغم التكلفة، والوعي، والتخطيط، وتحديد معسكر الأعداء و.. معسكر الأصدقاء، الاستفادة من دروس الانتفاضتين المغدورتين، عدم تقديس الأفراد والرهان على قائد، أو قيادة، ومبايعته، أو مبايعتها، فالشعوب لا تنتصر بالغفلة وطيبة القلب، والثقة العمياء.
لم يكن صدفة أن ظهر قادة لا هم لهم سوى الصراع على الكراسي، والمال، والوجاهة، والقبول لدى الأمريكان، وقادة العدو، والحكّام العرب المتآمرين على فلسطين.
الانتفاضة الثالثة المنتظرة ستكون فعلاً شعبيّا فلسطينيّا شاملاً، في الداخل والشتات، بحيث تكون حالة نهوض فلسطيني عام، رغم أن شرارتها ستندلع من الضفّة، وهذا ما سيضع الهدف عاليا: شعب فلسطين له وطن واحد، وفلسطين: قضية عربيّة وجوديّة.
لكل هذا نرى بأن الانتفاضة الثالثة خيار لا خيار غيره.
"
Why There Are No 'Israelis' in the Jewish State
By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth
Palestine Chronicle
"A group of Jews and Arabs are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognised as 'Israelis', a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state.
Israel refused to recognise an Israeli nationality at the country’s establishment in 1948, making an unusual distinction between “citizenship” and “nationality”. Although all Israelis qualify as “citizens of Israel”, the state is defined as belonging to the “Jewish nation”, meaning not only the 5.6 million Israeli Jews but also more than seven million Jews in the diaspora.
Critics say the special status of Jewish nationality has been a way to undermine the citizenship rights of non-Jews in Israel, especially the fifth of the population who are Arab. Some 30 laws in Israel specifically privilege Jews, including in the areas of immigration rights, naturalisation, access to land and employment......"
Palestine Chronicle
"A group of Jews and Arabs are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognised as 'Israelis', a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state.
Israel refused to recognise an Israeli nationality at the country’s establishment in 1948, making an unusual distinction between “citizenship” and “nationality”. Although all Israelis qualify as “citizens of Israel”, the state is defined as belonging to the “Jewish nation”, meaning not only the 5.6 million Israeli Jews but also more than seven million Jews in the diaspora.
Critics say the special status of Jewish nationality has been a way to undermine the citizenship rights of non-Jews in Israel, especially the fifth of the population who are Arab. Some 30 laws in Israel specifically privilege Jews, including in the areas of immigration rights, naturalisation, access to land and employment......"
Proximity Talks, by Khalil Bendib
Collateral Pentagon
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
".....'Look at those dead bastards'
The direct connection between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the prevailing "shoot an amazing number of people" rules of engagement in both, has just been provided by the small, independent Wikileaks website.
This Monday, Wikileaks released an up-to-now secret, decrypted air strike video of a massacre of civilians in the southeastern suburb of New Baghdad on July 12, 2007, conducted by the 30mm cannon fire of Apache helicopters. The website said the video and supporting documents were offered by "military whistleblowers".
Wikileaks calls it "Collateral Murder" (see the video at www.collateralmurder.com) . This is definitely not Academy Award winner The Hurt Locker - where American soldiers are selfless heroes and Iraqis are faceless ghosts. This is real life - with American soldiers as video game killers and Iraqis as corpses. These are the kind of heroes who mistake a telephoto lens for an rocket-propelled grenade.
The video speaks for itself. Among those gunned down from above were Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40 (both shot dead), as well as two Baghdad kids (both seriously wounded).
Reuters had been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act since 2007. David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters news, released a statement on Monday saying, "The video ... is graphic evidence of the dangers involved in war journalism and the tragedies that can result." No criticism of the Pentagon, not even when all the signs point to a Pentagon-orchestrated cover-up. "There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bleichwehl said at the time.
As a document of the tragedy and absurdity of the continuum Afghanistan-Iraq - and of a series of Pentagon-sanctioned war crimes - this video tells it like it is, louder than any anti-war manifesto published or broadcast since 2001. And no - it will not be running for Best Documentary Short in the 2011 Oscars.
"Oh, yeah, look at those dead bastards."
"Nice."
"Good shoot'n."
"Thank you." "
Asia Times
".....'Look at those dead bastards'
The direct connection between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the prevailing "shoot an amazing number of people" rules of engagement in both, has just been provided by the small, independent Wikileaks website.
This Monday, Wikileaks released an up-to-now secret, decrypted air strike video of a massacre of civilians in the southeastern suburb of New Baghdad on July 12, 2007, conducted by the 30mm cannon fire of Apache helicopters. The website said the video and supporting documents were offered by "military whistleblowers".
Wikileaks calls it "Collateral Murder" (see the video at www.collateralmurder.com) . This is definitely not Academy Award winner The Hurt Locker - where American soldiers are selfless heroes and Iraqis are faceless ghosts. This is real life - with American soldiers as video game killers and Iraqis as corpses. These are the kind of heroes who mistake a telephoto lens for an rocket-propelled grenade.
The video speaks for itself. Among those gunned down from above were Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40 (both shot dead), as well as two Baghdad kids (both seriously wounded).
Reuters had been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act since 2007. David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters news, released a statement on Monday saying, "The video ... is graphic evidence of the dangers involved in war journalism and the tragedies that can result." No criticism of the Pentagon, not even when all the signs point to a Pentagon-orchestrated cover-up. "There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bleichwehl said at the time.
As a document of the tragedy and absurdity of the continuum Afghanistan-Iraq - and of a series of Pentagon-sanctioned war crimes - this video tells it like it is, louder than any anti-war manifesto published or broadcast since 2001. And no - it will not be running for Best Documentary Short in the 2011 Oscars.
"Oh, yeah, look at those dead bastards."
"Nice."
"Good shoot'n."
"Thank you." "
Massacre Caught on Tape: U.S. Military Confirms Authenticity of Their Own Chilling Video Showing Killing of Journalists
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"The U.S. military has confirmed the authenticity of newly-released video showing U.S. forces indiscriminately firing on Iraqi civilians. On Monday, the website WikiLeaks.org posted footage taken from a U.S. military helicopter in July 2007 as it killed twelve people and wounded two children. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh. We speak with WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange and Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald....."
With Amy Goodman
"The U.S. military has confirmed the authenticity of newly-released video showing U.S. forces indiscriminately firing on Iraqi civilians. On Monday, the website WikiLeaks.org posted footage taken from a U.S. military helicopter in July 2007 as it killed twelve people and wounded two children. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh. We speak with WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange and Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald....."
After First Denying Involvement, U.S. Forces Admit Killing Two Pregnant Afghan Women & Teenager
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"US-led forces have admitted for the first time to killing two pregnant Afghan women and a teenage girl, during a nighttime raid in eastern Afghanistan on February 12th. NATO officials initially denied any involvement but were later forced to admit to the killings after the Times of London and other news outlets published accounts of survivors who described how the atrocity was carried out by US-led forces. We speak with Jerome Starkey, theTimes of London correspondent in Afghanistan who broke the story....."
With Amy Goodman
"US-led forces have admitted for the first time to killing two pregnant Afghan women and a teenage girl, during a nighttime raid in eastern Afghanistan on February 12th. NATO officials initially denied any involvement but were later forced to admit to the killings after the Times of London and other news outlets published accounts of survivors who described how the atrocity was carried out by US-led forces. We speak with Jerome Starkey, theTimes of London correspondent in Afghanistan who broke the story....."
Al-Jazeera Video: Making the most of Gaza's woes
"Since the Israeli-imposed blockade of Gaza almost three years ago, the economy in the Palestinian territory has all but collapsed.
Supplies are tight and that's meant the cost of buying a car or house is beyond the reach of the ordinary buyer.
But amid the gloom, there are a few short term winners. Used car dealers are doing brisk business since new cars are no more available and residents are buying second-hand cars to use them as taxis. Real estate prices have also escalated after many Palestinians lost their homes during Israel's war on the territory last year.
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports. "
Al-Jazeera Video: Slain photographer's brother denounces 'criminal' US military
"WikiLeaks, a website that publishes anonymously-sourced confidential documents, has published a previously unseen footage showing a US helicopter firing at civilians in Iraq, killing a dozen of them.
Among the dead were two journalists, Namir Nour El Deen, a photographer, and Saeed Chmagh, a driver, both employees of the Reuters news agency.
Namir's brother, Nabil Nour El Deen, tells Al Jazeera after watching the footage that it is clearly a crime committed by the US military. (Apr 6, 2010) "
Al-Jazeera Video: Video of US attack in Iraq 'genuine'
"The editor of one of the internet's biggest sources of classified government information says there is strong evidence to suggest that video footage of an alleged US attack on Iraqi civilians is genuine.
Julian Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks.org, told Al Jazeera that the footage, released on Sunday, corroborates witness testimony.
The video is believed to show a US helicopter firing at civilians in Iraq in 2007, during an attack in which 12 civilians were killed, the website said. "
Real News Video with Transcript: On the border Pt.2
Report from the Middle East: What happened to the Israeli peace movement?
Karzai and Obama: Biting the hand that feeds
By Eric Walberg
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Apr 6, 2010
"....An editorial in the New York Times goes as far as to suggest that Karzai is losing his marbles with his latest “rambling speech” full of “delusional criticism,” that at times he seemed to be having a conversation with himself, saying that he needed to let go of his anger over the election, but was unable: “We have a knot in our heart; our dignity and bravery has been damaged and stepped on.” Karzai apparently thinks “that American lives are being sacrificed simply to keep him in power. It’s hard to think of a better way to doom Afghanistan’s future, as well as his own.”
Fighting words, those. Has Karzai read his Vietnam history and the fate of nationalist premier Ngo Dinh Diem, who was murdered in a coup sponsored by the CIA in 1963? Closer to his heart -- and neck and other appendages -- is the gruesome fate of his predecessor Mohammad Najibullah. By openly criticising the occupiers and reaching out to his old friends, like Allawi he is desperately refashioning himself as the grand compromiser, hoping to strike a deal with enough of the Taliban to bring the insurgency under control. No matter how much he badmouths his patrons, he still figures it is less likely he will die at their hands than at the hands of the Taliban. Karzai is right to think that “after me the deluge,” that the US has no one else remotely credible to take over. Waiting in the wings is runner-up in last year’s presidential election, the mysterious Abdullah Abdullah, a native Tajik from the Northern Alliance, unswerving foe of the Pashtun-majority Taliban, who will incite outright civil war......"
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Apr 6, 2010
"....An editorial in the New York Times goes as far as to suggest that Karzai is losing his marbles with his latest “rambling speech” full of “delusional criticism,” that at times he seemed to be having a conversation with himself, saying that he needed to let go of his anger over the election, but was unable: “We have a knot in our heart; our dignity and bravery has been damaged and stepped on.” Karzai apparently thinks “that American lives are being sacrificed simply to keep him in power. It’s hard to think of a better way to doom Afghanistan’s future, as well as his own.”
Fighting words, those. Has Karzai read his Vietnam history and the fate of nationalist premier Ngo Dinh Diem, who was murdered in a coup sponsored by the CIA in 1963? Closer to his heart -- and neck and other appendages -- is the gruesome fate of his predecessor Mohammad Najibullah. By openly criticising the occupiers and reaching out to his old friends, like Allawi he is desperately refashioning himself as the grand compromiser, hoping to strike a deal with enough of the Taliban to bring the insurgency under control. No matter how much he badmouths his patrons, he still figures it is less likely he will die at their hands than at the hands of the Taliban. Karzai is right to think that “after me the deluge,” that the US has no one else remotely credible to take over. Waiting in the wings is runner-up in last year’s presidential election, the mysterious Abdullah Abdullah, a native Tajik from the Northern Alliance, unswerving foe of the Pashtun-majority Taliban, who will incite outright civil war......"
Gandhi’s Grandson Visits Hebron, Israel Tries To Obstruct His Tour
"As Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Indian human rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, and his wife Usha visited Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank on Sunday, Israeli soldiers tried to obstruct the visit.
Local sources in Hebron reported that as Gandhi and his wife, tried to visit an illegal settlement outpost installed near the Ibrahimi Mosque, Israeli soldiers tried to prevent them from crossing and installed additional roadblocks.
Palestinian legislator, former presidential candidate, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, accompanied Gandhi and his wife.
Israeli soldiers also detained a number of journalists and prevented them from reaching the areas.
After touring the Old City of Hebron, Gandhi stated that the Palestinian people must have their freedom and independence, and added that the electronic gates installed by Israel in front of the Ibrahimi Mosque are an insult to humanity.
He said that the Israeli violations in Hebron, the confiscation of homes and lands, and the constant attacks against the residents must be halted, and expressed his support to the Palestinian popular struggle for liberation and independence. Gandhi further stated that the International Community must act and should be actively involved in ending the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks."
Local sources in Hebron reported that as Gandhi and his wife, tried to visit an illegal settlement outpost installed near the Ibrahimi Mosque, Israeli soldiers tried to prevent them from crossing and installed additional roadblocks.
Palestinian legislator, former presidential candidate, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, accompanied Gandhi and his wife.
Israeli soldiers also detained a number of journalists and prevented them from reaching the areas.
After touring the Old City of Hebron, Gandhi stated that the Palestinian people must have their freedom and independence, and added that the electronic gates installed by Israel in front of the Ibrahimi Mosque are an insult to humanity.
He said that the Israeli violations in Hebron, the confiscation of homes and lands, and the constant attacks against the residents must be halted, and expressed his support to the Palestinian popular struggle for liberation and independence. Gandhi further stated that the International Community must act and should be actively involved in ending the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks."
Obama Reproduces Bush’s Iran Failure
By Tony Karon
"Iran diplomacy in Washington these days consists principally of coaxing the likes of Russia and China to support new sanctions – and persuading gullible journalists that Moscow and Beijing are “on board”.
On Friday, the US president Barack Obama told CBS television that Iran is trying to get the “capacity to develop nuclear weapons”, and that he and his allies “are going to ratchet up the pressure … with a unified international community”. Nobody sets much store by such talk, of course, because President George W Bush had been saying the same thing since 2006 with little effect....."
"Iran diplomacy in Washington these days consists principally of coaxing the likes of Russia and China to support new sanctions – and persuading gullible journalists that Moscow and Beijing are “on board”.
On Friday, the US president Barack Obama told CBS television that Iran is trying to get the “capacity to develop nuclear weapons”, and that he and his allies “are going to ratchet up the pressure … with a unified international community”. Nobody sets much store by such talk, of course, because President George W Bush had been saying the same thing since 2006 with little effect....."
Why Karzai Won’t Do as He’s Told
By Tony Karon
"To some it may seem as if President Hamid Karzai has a death wish. The Afghan leader has lately begun sticking it to the U.S. and its Western allies — the only force protecting him from a surging Taliban, which hanged the last foreign-backed President when it reached Kabul in 1996. But Karzai is doing it not just because he can get away with it, knowing he’s the only game in town for Washington, but also because he must if he’s to survive in the Afghan political environment once the U.S. leaves....."
"To some it may seem as if President Hamid Karzai has a death wish. The Afghan leader has lately begun sticking it to the U.S. and its Western allies — the only force protecting him from a surging Taliban, which hanged the last foreign-backed President when it reached Kabul in 1996. But Karzai is doing it not just because he can get away with it, knowing he’s the only game in town for Washington, but also because he must if he’s to survive in the Afghan political environment once the U.S. leaves....."
The Full (39 minutes) Video of the Slaughter of Iraqi Civilians, Including 2 Reuters Reporters
Under the beautiful valley
Danny Felsteiner writing from Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, Live from Palestine, 6 April 2010
(Left: A sketch of the proposed layout for the al-Bustan neighborhood that will replace Palestinian homes)
"....While the world's eyes are riveted to the political arguments between the Obama Administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the ground Israel is covertly tightening its grip on Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan neighborhoods in Silwan in a literally underground fashion. Mega-funded by settler organizations and fully backed by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipality, the Israel Antiquity Authority is conducting excavations in tunnels under the neighborhood's houses and lands. The Authority did not initially inform the residents, nor did it seek their consent. Apart from being ethically wrong according to international archaeological standards and academically challenged worldwide, these excavations pose an immediate threat to the residents' present safety and future existence, and contribute immensely to the overall instability of the area.
Two years ago, locals felt tiny and oddly-timed earthquakes beneath their feet. Some thought they were losing their sanity because of the voices echoing from under the floors. Cracks appeared in sturdy walls, and droplets that made their way through fractures in ceilings spattered on children in their sleep. This led to the discovery of the clandestine underground operation. A lengthy legal struggle ended with the Israeli high court approving the continuation of the excavation work....
According to municipal and state plans, Wadi Hilweh might soon become verdant and attractive again, as in its glory days. Roads will be closed off to traffic and become lovely promenades, ivy-coated trees will be happily planted in every corner, and extinct biblical birds will be genetically resurrected and forced to nest in strategic tourist locations. Pilgrims with heavy wallets will be heartily welcomed in inns and chain restaurants. They will once again be able to wash their pedicured feet in the spa bubbling waters, and guzzle down cold margaritas with a wonderful view of Jerusalem's Old City. Line 43 will convert into an open double-decker site-seeing tour bus and will never be empty again!
But the highlight of the new pilgrims' visit will surely be the magnificent underground network of tunnels and roads. Above them, there won't be a single Palestinian living anymore, because the plan also directly includes the demolition of dozens if not hundreds of Palestinian houses and confiscation of Palestinian lands, and subsequently brings to the expelling and relocation of Palestinian residents. The municipality is trying to sell the plan by promising the Palestinian residents to retroactively legalize some houses and even to issue several permits for construction of second and third floors. They promise green parks, economical growth and eternal sunshine. But the residents are no fools, and neither are the children of Silwan who have lived a childhood of discrimination and neglect under Israeli occupation and know the bitter truth: Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan will be plasticized, commercialized and ethnically cleansed......"
(Left: A sketch of the proposed layout for the al-Bustan neighborhood that will replace Palestinian homes)
"....While the world's eyes are riveted to the political arguments between the Obama Administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the ground Israel is covertly tightening its grip on Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan neighborhoods in Silwan in a literally underground fashion. Mega-funded by settler organizations and fully backed by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipality, the Israel Antiquity Authority is conducting excavations in tunnels under the neighborhood's houses and lands. The Authority did not initially inform the residents, nor did it seek their consent. Apart from being ethically wrong according to international archaeological standards and academically challenged worldwide, these excavations pose an immediate threat to the residents' present safety and future existence, and contribute immensely to the overall instability of the area.
Two years ago, locals felt tiny and oddly-timed earthquakes beneath their feet. Some thought they were losing their sanity because of the voices echoing from under the floors. Cracks appeared in sturdy walls, and droplets that made their way through fractures in ceilings spattered on children in their sleep. This led to the discovery of the clandestine underground operation. A lengthy legal struggle ended with the Israeli high court approving the continuation of the excavation work....
According to municipal and state plans, Wadi Hilweh might soon become verdant and attractive again, as in its glory days. Roads will be closed off to traffic and become lovely promenades, ivy-coated trees will be happily planted in every corner, and extinct biblical birds will be genetically resurrected and forced to nest in strategic tourist locations. Pilgrims with heavy wallets will be heartily welcomed in inns and chain restaurants. They will once again be able to wash their pedicured feet in the spa bubbling waters, and guzzle down cold margaritas with a wonderful view of Jerusalem's Old City. Line 43 will convert into an open double-decker site-seeing tour bus and will never be empty again!
But the highlight of the new pilgrims' visit will surely be the magnificent underground network of tunnels and roads. Above them, there won't be a single Palestinian living anymore, because the plan also directly includes the demolition of dozens if not hundreds of Palestinian houses and confiscation of Palestinian lands, and subsequently brings to the expelling and relocation of Palestinian residents. The municipality is trying to sell the plan by promising the Palestinian residents to retroactively legalize some houses and even to issue several permits for construction of second and third floors. They promise green parks, economical growth and eternal sunshine. But the residents are no fools, and neither are the children of Silwan who have lived a childhood of discrimination and neglect under Israeli occupation and know the bitter truth: Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan will be plasticized, commercialized and ethnically cleansed......"
Monday, April 05, 2010
Video: Collateral Murder
AN IMPORTANT VIDEO
Contributed by Abdul
"Overview
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured.
After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".
Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before, during, and after the killings.
WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to both versions from the radio transmissions.
WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident.
WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work."
RELATED STORIES:
Website 'shows video of US attack'
Al-Jazeera
"....Witnesses corroborated
Julian Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks.org, said there is strong evidence to suggest that the video is genuine.
"There was a Washington Post reporter who was with that US military unit on the ground on that day," Assange told Al Jazeera, referring to David Finkel, a journalist who was embedded with the US military in July 2007.
"He wrote a chapter in a book, which was published last year, called The Good Soldiers, which correlates directly to the material in that video.
"Also, Reuters conducted a number of investigations and interviewed two ground witnesses at the time.
"That story wasn't really taken seriously, [with] nothing to back up the witnesses, but now we have the video that shows that those witnesses were correct."
WikiLeaks set up a separate website with detailed information on the video, which it said it obtained from a number of "military whistleblowers".
"WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives," the website read.
"We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident."......"
Contributed by Abdul
"Overview
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured.
After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".
Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before, during, and after the killings.
WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to both versions from the radio transmissions.
WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident.
WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work."
RELATED STORIES:
Website 'shows video of US attack'
Al-Jazeera
"....Witnesses corroborated
Julian Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks.org, said there is strong evidence to suggest that the video is genuine.
"There was a Washington Post reporter who was with that US military unit on the ground on that day," Assange told Al Jazeera, referring to David Finkel, a journalist who was embedded with the US military in July 2007.
"He wrote a chapter in a book, which was published last year, called The Good Soldiers, which correlates directly to the material in that video.
"Also, Reuters conducted a number of investigations and interviewed two ground witnesses at the time.
"That story wasn't really taken seriously, [with] nothing to back up the witnesses, but now we have the video that shows that those witnesses were correct."
WikiLeaks set up a separate website with detailed information on the video, which it said it obtained from a number of "military whistleblowers".
"WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives," the website read.
"We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident."......"
إصلاحيون وراديكاليون وجنرالات
**
إصلاحيون وراديكاليون وجنرالات
عبد الحليم قنديل
**
"نخشى أن تخسر الحركة الإصلاحية فى مصر أهدافها، وربما بسبب 'إصلاحيتها' بالذات.
من أول نظرة، يبدو الأسلوب هو نفسه، وكأن أحدا لا يتعلم أو يتذكر، مجرد بيان يجرى جمع تواقيع عليه، وكنوع من تحصيل قوى معنوية ضاغطة، ومؤتمرات أو ندوات تعقد هنا أو هناك، في فنادق الخمس نجوم على طريقة أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية، أو في مقار أحزاب أو نقابات شاخت بأهلها، وفي المضمون: مطالبات متكررة أقرب إلى معنى التسول السياسي، والمطالب هي ذاتها، في وثيقة الأحزاب، وفي بيان الإخوان، وحتى في بيان البرادعي ذي النقاط السبع، مطالبة بوقف سريان حالة الطوارئ والأحكام العرفية الممتدة منذ ثلاثين سنة، وطلب الإشراف القضائي الكامل على الانتخابات، والتصويت بالرقم القومي، والرقابة المدنية والدولية، وإجراء تعديلات في المواد 76 و77 و88 من الدستور، وبهدف ضمان الحد الأدنى من نزاهة الانتخابات، وإطلاق حق الترشح على موقع الرئاسة، وهذه المطالب ـ وغيرها ـ صارت من فولكلور الوقت، بل من فولكلور السياسة المصرية على مدى 35 سنة خلت، وهي مطالب محقة فى ذاتها، غير أنها لا تقبل التحقق بطريقة الإصلاحيين البكائين على المنابر وفي البيانات، فقد مد الحكم قانون الطوارئ لسنتين جديدتين، ومد ـ من قبل ومن بعد ـ تفويض السلاح وصفقاته، وحجز أسرارها وملياراتها للرئيس وحده على مدى 36 سنة مضت، وزادت إلى الأربعين سنة بتفويض جديد، وعلى ظن أن كل شيء سيبقى على حاله، فالرئيس العجوز ـ المرهق صحيا ـ يتطلع لرئاسة سادسة، ولن يجري أي تعديلات جديدة على الدستور، ولن يستجيب لطلب واحد من مطالب نزاهة الانتخابات.
وكل ذلك يبدو سلوكا طبيعيا جدا، فليس من خطر حال يخشاه النظام، وهو الذي حول قانون الطوارئ إلى دستور دائم للبلاد، وجعل من الدستور منشفة حمام عائلي، وحول الانتخابات إلى 'مسخرة منهجية' وأفلام كارتون، ويحكم بالقوة الأمنية الباطشة، ولا يضيره في شيء أن يصدر الإصلاحيون بياناتهم، فكلها من لزوم ما يلزم للديكور الديمقراطي البائس، وهو يعرف أنهم في النهاية من بقية أهله، ويعرف السقف الأعلى لتصرفاتهم، ويعرف أنهم هاربون منه إليه، وسيشاركون في الانتخابات بشروطه التي وضعها، وبنتائجها المعروفة سلفا، ويقبلون بالقسمة والنصيب المقدور أمنيا، ثم يتفرغون للشكوى، وإصدار البيانات، وطلب الرحمة التي تأخرت أقدارها كما تراخت مواعيد عزرائيل.
وأذكر أنني ـ بصفتي المنسق العام لحركة كفاية ـ ذهبت إلى قيادات الإخوان وأحزاب المعارضة الرسمية في تشرين الأول (أكتوبر) 2009، وفي معية وفد ممثل لائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير الذي بادرت كفاية لتكوينه، وعرضنا وثيقة شاملة عن انتخابات البرلمان 2010 وانتخابات الرئاسة 2011، تتضمن عشرة شروط جوهرية لضمان الحد الأدنى من نزاهة الانتخابات، وتطالب بمقاطعة الانتخابات إن لم تتحقق هذه الشروط، وأكدت الوثيقة أنها لن تتحقق، وأن مقاطعة هذه الانتخابات واجب أخلاقي ووطني وديمقراطي، وفوجئنا بأن الكل يوافق على ما ذهبنا إليه من عوار اللعبة، لكنهم لا يوافقون على المقاطعة، بدت المفارقة مفزعة، وبدت التفاسير المعلنة على قدر عظيم من التهافت، ومن نوع أن المشاركة تفضح النظام، وكأن النظام يخشى الفضيحة، أو كأن المقاطعة في ذاتها ليست أعلى درجات الفضح والتعرية، وكان لا بد من سؤال في العمق، وسألنا قادة الإخوان: هل ستشاركون في الانتخابات حتى لو لم تتوافر لها شروط نزاهة؟، وكان الجواب: نعم، ولم يختلف جواب أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية، وبدا التفسير صادما في لحظة صدق نادر، فقد قال رئيس أشهر أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية قولته الجهيرة، والتي قطعت قول كل خطيب، قال الرجل لنا ببساطة 'أحزاب المعارضة ملف أمني'، وهنا جفت الأقلام وطويت الصحف وسكت الكلام المباح.
هل هناك حل آخر؟، نعم وبالفم الملآن، قالتها حركة 'كفاية' في البيان التأسيسي لإطلاق ائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير، ووضعت تصورا كاملا لفترة انتقالية لمدة سنتين، تنتهي بإقامة دستور جديد لمصر عبر جمعية تأسيسية منتخبة، وتبدأ عقب الإنهاء السلمي لحكم مبارك، وأكدت كفاية أن المقاومة المدنية والعصيان السلمي هو السبيل المفتوح للتغيير، ووضعت تصورا يبدأ بمقاطعة السيناريو الرسمى لانتخابات 2010 و2011، وإفساح المجال لسيناريو شعبي من ثلاث خطوات متداخلة، تبدأ بتكوين جمعية وطنية للشعب المصري، تضم الشخصيات العامة الراديكالية، وقادة جماعات وحركات التغيير، وقادة الإضرابات والاعتصامات الاجتماعية، ثم ـ وهذا هو الأهم ـ نواب المعارضة الحاليين والسابقين على مدى ثلاثين سنة خلت، والمحصلة: هيئة وطنية تمثل ما يزيد فعليا عن نصف مجموع الشعب المصري، ثم تأتي الخطوة الثانية، وهي أن تختار هذه الجمعية بديلا رئاسيا وليس مرشحا رئاسيا، وفي صورة 'رئيس مواز' أو 'مجلس رئاسي مواز'، وبهدف بلورة قيادة مشخصنة لمقاومة مدنية وعصيان سلمي، وفي حملة متصلة ـ هي الخطوة الثالثة ـ تحت شعار تغيير الدستور وتنحية مبارك، وتتنوع صورها من التوكيلات الشعبية إلى الإضرابات والاعتصامات السياسية وتوجيه خطابات التنحي، وقد يبدو التصور الراديكالي ـ لأول وهلة ـ مجازفا، وهذه حقيقة، فهو يقيم فكرة المنازعة بدلا عن المعارضة، ويشعل أزمة في الشارع تنطوي على فرصة حقيقية للتغيير، وعلى طريقة ما جرى في السنوات الأخيرة، فلم يتحقق إنجاز دون مجازفة وعصيان، وقد كسبت المجازفة ـ قبل كفاية وبها ـ حق نقد الرئيس، وكسبت ـ مع كفاية وأخواتها ـ حق الوقفات الاحتجاجية والإضراب والاعتصام السلمي لملايين من المصريين، وبطريق العصيان والمجازفة، وكسر التحكمات القانونية والإدارية القائمة، وليس بطريق القراءة الخاملة لتوازن القوى الموهوم، فنحن بصدد سلطة فقدت معنى السلطة، وبصدد معارضة تقليدية جرى تهميشها وتكييفها، وبصدد مجتمع تحول إلى غبار بشري، وبصدد حالة احتجاز وانحطاط تاريخي، وبصدد وضع سيكولوجي يائس، وبصدد وضع يستحيل فيه الإصلاح والترقيع الجزئي، ويصح فيه فعل المخاطرة والاختراق والمجازفة.
وبين الإصلاحيين والراديكاليين، تبدو ظواهر قلق أخرى على السطح المصري، لعل أهمها جمعية البرادعي المعروفة باسم 'الجمعية الوطنية للتغيير'، وهي دائرة إلى الآن في فلك الإصلاحيين وعلى طريقتهم، وتتنكب عن طريق الراديكاليين، وإن كان الأمل في تطويرها لم ينقطع تماما، فيما تبدو الترتيبات على جانب النظام جارية، ولا علاقة لها بقصص الدستور والانتخابات والقوانين، فهذه كلها مظاهر لا جواهر، وحفلات تنكرية تتخفى بما يجري من وراء ستار، وهو البحث فى خلافة مبارك، وخاصة بعد تراجع سيناريو التوريث، والعوارض الصحية المتفاقمة لحالة مبارك الأب، ومقدرته المتداعية على مواصلة الشوط، واستدعاء دور لجنرالات متأهبين لأدوار رئاسية، وتلك قصة أخرى محجوزة عن النشر الآن، وربما حتى إشعار آخر.
"
إصلاحيون وراديكاليون وجنرالات
عبد الحليم قنديل
**
"نخشى أن تخسر الحركة الإصلاحية فى مصر أهدافها، وربما بسبب 'إصلاحيتها' بالذات.
من أول نظرة، يبدو الأسلوب هو نفسه، وكأن أحدا لا يتعلم أو يتذكر، مجرد بيان يجرى جمع تواقيع عليه، وكنوع من تحصيل قوى معنوية ضاغطة، ومؤتمرات أو ندوات تعقد هنا أو هناك، في فنادق الخمس نجوم على طريقة أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية، أو في مقار أحزاب أو نقابات شاخت بأهلها، وفي المضمون: مطالبات متكررة أقرب إلى معنى التسول السياسي، والمطالب هي ذاتها، في وثيقة الأحزاب، وفي بيان الإخوان، وحتى في بيان البرادعي ذي النقاط السبع، مطالبة بوقف سريان حالة الطوارئ والأحكام العرفية الممتدة منذ ثلاثين سنة، وطلب الإشراف القضائي الكامل على الانتخابات، والتصويت بالرقم القومي، والرقابة المدنية والدولية، وإجراء تعديلات في المواد 76 و77 و88 من الدستور، وبهدف ضمان الحد الأدنى من نزاهة الانتخابات، وإطلاق حق الترشح على موقع الرئاسة، وهذه المطالب ـ وغيرها ـ صارت من فولكلور الوقت، بل من فولكلور السياسة المصرية على مدى 35 سنة خلت، وهي مطالب محقة فى ذاتها، غير أنها لا تقبل التحقق بطريقة الإصلاحيين البكائين على المنابر وفي البيانات، فقد مد الحكم قانون الطوارئ لسنتين جديدتين، ومد ـ من قبل ومن بعد ـ تفويض السلاح وصفقاته، وحجز أسرارها وملياراتها للرئيس وحده على مدى 36 سنة مضت، وزادت إلى الأربعين سنة بتفويض جديد، وعلى ظن أن كل شيء سيبقى على حاله، فالرئيس العجوز ـ المرهق صحيا ـ يتطلع لرئاسة سادسة، ولن يجري أي تعديلات جديدة على الدستور، ولن يستجيب لطلب واحد من مطالب نزاهة الانتخابات.
وكل ذلك يبدو سلوكا طبيعيا جدا، فليس من خطر حال يخشاه النظام، وهو الذي حول قانون الطوارئ إلى دستور دائم للبلاد، وجعل من الدستور منشفة حمام عائلي، وحول الانتخابات إلى 'مسخرة منهجية' وأفلام كارتون، ويحكم بالقوة الأمنية الباطشة، ولا يضيره في شيء أن يصدر الإصلاحيون بياناتهم، فكلها من لزوم ما يلزم للديكور الديمقراطي البائس، وهو يعرف أنهم في النهاية من بقية أهله، ويعرف السقف الأعلى لتصرفاتهم، ويعرف أنهم هاربون منه إليه، وسيشاركون في الانتخابات بشروطه التي وضعها، وبنتائجها المعروفة سلفا، ويقبلون بالقسمة والنصيب المقدور أمنيا، ثم يتفرغون للشكوى، وإصدار البيانات، وطلب الرحمة التي تأخرت أقدارها كما تراخت مواعيد عزرائيل.
وأذكر أنني ـ بصفتي المنسق العام لحركة كفاية ـ ذهبت إلى قيادات الإخوان وأحزاب المعارضة الرسمية في تشرين الأول (أكتوبر) 2009، وفي معية وفد ممثل لائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير الذي بادرت كفاية لتكوينه، وعرضنا وثيقة شاملة عن انتخابات البرلمان 2010 وانتخابات الرئاسة 2011، تتضمن عشرة شروط جوهرية لضمان الحد الأدنى من نزاهة الانتخابات، وتطالب بمقاطعة الانتخابات إن لم تتحقق هذه الشروط، وأكدت الوثيقة أنها لن تتحقق، وأن مقاطعة هذه الانتخابات واجب أخلاقي ووطني وديمقراطي، وفوجئنا بأن الكل يوافق على ما ذهبنا إليه من عوار اللعبة، لكنهم لا يوافقون على المقاطعة، بدت المفارقة مفزعة، وبدت التفاسير المعلنة على قدر عظيم من التهافت، ومن نوع أن المشاركة تفضح النظام، وكأن النظام يخشى الفضيحة، أو كأن المقاطعة في ذاتها ليست أعلى درجات الفضح والتعرية، وكان لا بد من سؤال في العمق، وسألنا قادة الإخوان: هل ستشاركون في الانتخابات حتى لو لم تتوافر لها شروط نزاهة؟، وكان الجواب: نعم، ولم يختلف جواب أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية، وبدا التفسير صادما في لحظة صدق نادر، فقد قال رئيس أشهر أحزاب المعارضة الرسمية قولته الجهيرة، والتي قطعت قول كل خطيب، قال الرجل لنا ببساطة 'أحزاب المعارضة ملف أمني'، وهنا جفت الأقلام وطويت الصحف وسكت الكلام المباح.
هل هناك حل آخر؟، نعم وبالفم الملآن، قالتها حركة 'كفاية' في البيان التأسيسي لإطلاق ائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير، ووضعت تصورا كاملا لفترة انتقالية لمدة سنتين، تنتهي بإقامة دستور جديد لمصر عبر جمعية تأسيسية منتخبة، وتبدأ عقب الإنهاء السلمي لحكم مبارك، وأكدت كفاية أن المقاومة المدنية والعصيان السلمي هو السبيل المفتوح للتغيير، ووضعت تصورا يبدأ بمقاطعة السيناريو الرسمى لانتخابات 2010 و2011، وإفساح المجال لسيناريو شعبي من ثلاث خطوات متداخلة، تبدأ بتكوين جمعية وطنية للشعب المصري، تضم الشخصيات العامة الراديكالية، وقادة جماعات وحركات التغيير، وقادة الإضرابات والاعتصامات الاجتماعية، ثم ـ وهذا هو الأهم ـ نواب المعارضة الحاليين والسابقين على مدى ثلاثين سنة خلت، والمحصلة: هيئة وطنية تمثل ما يزيد فعليا عن نصف مجموع الشعب المصري، ثم تأتي الخطوة الثانية، وهي أن تختار هذه الجمعية بديلا رئاسيا وليس مرشحا رئاسيا، وفي صورة 'رئيس مواز' أو 'مجلس رئاسي مواز'، وبهدف بلورة قيادة مشخصنة لمقاومة مدنية وعصيان سلمي، وفي حملة متصلة ـ هي الخطوة الثالثة ـ تحت شعار تغيير الدستور وتنحية مبارك، وتتنوع صورها من التوكيلات الشعبية إلى الإضرابات والاعتصامات السياسية وتوجيه خطابات التنحي، وقد يبدو التصور الراديكالي ـ لأول وهلة ـ مجازفا، وهذه حقيقة، فهو يقيم فكرة المنازعة بدلا عن المعارضة، ويشعل أزمة في الشارع تنطوي على فرصة حقيقية للتغيير، وعلى طريقة ما جرى في السنوات الأخيرة، فلم يتحقق إنجاز دون مجازفة وعصيان، وقد كسبت المجازفة ـ قبل كفاية وبها ـ حق نقد الرئيس، وكسبت ـ مع كفاية وأخواتها ـ حق الوقفات الاحتجاجية والإضراب والاعتصام السلمي لملايين من المصريين، وبطريق العصيان والمجازفة، وكسر التحكمات القانونية والإدارية القائمة، وليس بطريق القراءة الخاملة لتوازن القوى الموهوم، فنحن بصدد سلطة فقدت معنى السلطة، وبصدد معارضة تقليدية جرى تهميشها وتكييفها، وبصدد مجتمع تحول إلى غبار بشري، وبصدد حالة احتجاز وانحطاط تاريخي، وبصدد وضع سيكولوجي يائس، وبصدد وضع يستحيل فيه الإصلاح والترقيع الجزئي، ويصح فيه فعل المخاطرة والاختراق والمجازفة.
وبين الإصلاحيين والراديكاليين، تبدو ظواهر قلق أخرى على السطح المصري، لعل أهمها جمعية البرادعي المعروفة باسم 'الجمعية الوطنية للتغيير'، وهي دائرة إلى الآن في فلك الإصلاحيين وعلى طريقتهم، وتتنكب عن طريق الراديكاليين، وإن كان الأمل في تطويرها لم ينقطع تماما، فيما تبدو الترتيبات على جانب النظام جارية، ولا علاقة لها بقصص الدستور والانتخابات والقوانين، فهذه كلها مظاهر لا جواهر، وحفلات تنكرية تتخفى بما يجري من وراء ستار، وهو البحث فى خلافة مبارك، وخاصة بعد تراجع سيناريو التوريث، والعوارض الصحية المتفاقمة لحالة مبارك الأب، ومقدرته المتداعية على مواصلة الشوط، واستدعاء دور لجنرالات متأهبين لأدوار رئاسية، وتلك قصة أخرى محجوزة عن النشر الآن، وربما حتى إشعار آخر.
"
Apartheid, by Carlos Latuff
Richard Falk: The Palestinians are winning the legitimacy war: will it matter?
Richard Falk argues that a Palestinian victory in the legitimacy war with Israel would not necessarily produce the desired political results and that it is vital that the Palestinians exercise "patience, resolve, leadership and vision, as well as sufficient pressure" if they are to win their just rights.
In recent years, especially beginning with the brutal experience of the Lebanon war of 2006 and even more dramatically in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2008-09 (27 December 2008-18 January 2009), there has been a notable change of emphasis in Palestinian strategy. The new strategy has been to initiate what might be described as a second war, “a legitimacy war” that is essentially based on the reliance on a variety of non-violent tactics of resistance. Armed resistance has not been renounced by the Palestinians, but it has been displaced by this emphasis on non-violent tactics.
The essence of this legitimacy war is to cast doubt on several dimensions of Israeli legitimacy: its status as a moral and law abiding actor, as an occupying power in relation to the Palestinian people, and with respect to its willingness to respect the United Nations and abide by international law. Those that wage such a legitimacy war seek to seize the high moral ground in relation to the underlying conflict, and on this basis, gain support for a variety of coercive, but non-violent initiatives designed to put pressure on Israel, on governments throughout the world and on the United Nations to deny normal participatory rights to Israel as a member of international society.
In recent years, especially beginning with the brutal experience of the Lebanon war of 2006 and even more dramatically in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2008-09 (27 December 2008-18 January 2009), there has been a notable change of emphasis in Palestinian strategy. The new strategy has been to initiate what might be described as a second war, “a legitimacy war” that is essentially based on the reliance on a variety of non-violent tactics of resistance. Armed resistance has not been renounced by the Palestinians, but it has been displaced by this emphasis on non-violent tactics.
The essence of this legitimacy war is to cast doubt on several dimensions of Israeli legitimacy: its status as a moral and law abiding actor, as an occupying power in relation to the Palestinian people, and with respect to its willingness to respect the United Nations and abide by international law. Those that wage such a legitimacy war seek to seize the high moral ground in relation to the underlying conflict, and on this basis, gain support for a variety of coercive, but non-violent initiatives designed to put pressure on Israel, on governments throughout the world and on the United Nations to deny normal participatory rights to Israel as a member of international society.
Triple Suicide Bombing Targets Foreign Embassies in Iraq
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"At least 41 people were killed and 237 wounded Sunday in three coordinated suicide car bombings targeting the Iranian and German embassies and the Egyptian Consulate in Iraq. The attacks have occurred at a time of political uncertainty in Iraq following the March 7th parliamentary elections. We speak with Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar....."
With Amy Goodman
"At least 41 people were killed and 237 wounded Sunday in three coordinated suicide car bombings targeting the Iranian and German embassies and the Egyptian Consulate in Iraq. The attacks have occurred at a time of political uncertainty in Iraq following the March 7th parliamentary elections. We speak with Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar....."
Al-Jazeera Video: Songs from a Lost Homeland
"For many Palestinians music is a means of safeguarding and promoting national identity. "
Real News Video: On the border Pt.1
Report from the Middle East: M. Warschawski on growing up in Jerusalem
How the Corporations Broke Ralph Nader and America, Too
By Chris Hedges
"Ralph Nader’s descent from being one of the most respected and powerful men in the country to being a pariah illustrates the totality of the corporate coup. Nader’s marginalization was not accidental. It was orchestrated to thwart the legislation that Nader and his allies—who once consisted of many in the Democratic Party—enacted to prevent corporate abuse, fraud and control. He was targeted to be destroyed. And by the time he was shut out of the political process with the election of Ronald Reagan, the government was in the hands of corporations. Nader’s fate mirrors our own.....
“The real tragedy is that citizens’ movements should not have to rely on the commercial media, and public television and radio are disgraceful—if anything they are worse,” Nader said. “In 30-some years [Bill] Moyers has had me on [only] twice. We can’t rely on the public media. We do what we can with Amy [Goodman] on “Democracy Now!” and Pacifica stations. When I go to local areas I get very good press, TV and newspapers, but that doesn’t have the impact, even locally. The national press has enormous impact on the issues. It is not pleasant having to say this. You don’t want to telegraph that you have been blacked out, but on the other hand you can’t keep it quiet. The right wing has won through intimidation.” "
"Ralph Nader’s descent from being one of the most respected and powerful men in the country to being a pariah illustrates the totality of the corporate coup. Nader’s marginalization was not accidental. It was orchestrated to thwart the legislation that Nader and his allies—who once consisted of many in the Democratic Party—enacted to prevent corporate abuse, fraud and control. He was targeted to be destroyed. And by the time he was shut out of the political process with the election of Ronald Reagan, the government was in the hands of corporations. Nader’s fate mirrors our own.....
“The real tragedy is that citizens’ movements should not have to rely on the commercial media, and public television and radio are disgraceful—if anything they are worse,” Nader said. “In 30-some years [Bill] Moyers has had me on [only] twice. We can’t rely on the public media. We do what we can with Amy [Goodman] on “Democracy Now!” and Pacifica stations. When I go to local areas I get very good press, TV and newspapers, but that doesn’t have the impact, even locally. The national press has enormous impact on the issues. It is not pleasant having to say this. You don’t want to telegraph that you have been blacked out, but on the other hand you can’t keep it quiet. The right wing has won through intimidation.” "
Abu Mazen's Bantustan: Will Fatah Challenge Israel's Ghetto Policies?
By Iqbal Jassat
(Iqbal Jassat is chairperson of the Media Review Network (MRN), an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa)
Palestine Chronicle
"How do you define a geographic location whose borders, security, natural resources, public planning, public works and infrastructure, trade, industrial development, air and cyberspace are not in its own control?
To name it a “Bantustan” would be being polite to those who retain effective or empirical authority over all these matters.
For in the South African context the concept of “Homelands” which resulted in ethnic autonomous zones known as “Bantustans”, while having many parallels with the Israeli model of a Palestinian “state”, is somewhat tame!
Indeed, the Zionist scheme for a Palestinian ghetto is far worse.
It is in fact far removed from basic characteristics that define sovereignty.
It thus astonishes one that the Palestinian Authority [PA] fails to comprehend what many first year students of political science would grasp with ease: a ghetto is a ghetto is a ghetto!......"
(Iqbal Jassat is chairperson of the Media Review Network (MRN), an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa)
Palestine Chronicle
"How do you define a geographic location whose borders, security, natural resources, public planning, public works and infrastructure, trade, industrial development, air and cyberspace are not in its own control?
To name it a “Bantustan” would be being polite to those who retain effective or empirical authority over all these matters.
For in the South African context the concept of “Homelands” which resulted in ethnic autonomous zones known as “Bantustans”, while having many parallels with the Israeli model of a Palestinian “state”, is somewhat tame!
Indeed, the Zionist scheme for a Palestinian ghetto is far worse.
It is in fact far removed from basic characteristics that define sovereignty.
It thus astonishes one that the Palestinian Authority [PA] fails to comprehend what many first year students of political science would grasp with ease: a ghetto is a ghetto is a ghetto!......"
Israeli Ambassador: Israel Protects US Troops Serving Abroad
Al-Manar
"05/04/2010 Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren said Sunday that the relations between the US and Israel were protecting the lives of American soldiers serving abroad, as Israel supplies Washington with intelligence and equipment necessary for their wellbeing.
Oren was responding to a statement to Congress made by the commander of the US Central Command, General David Patraeus, who spoke about the Arab nations' response to the close ties between the two countries.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, Oren claimed that if Israel did not exist, “extremists” in the region would join Al-Qaeda in its anti-American sentiment. "The US is much safer thanks to Israeli-American cooperation," he said.
The ambassador said Israel supplies the US with intelligence and equipment its troops use to fight what he called “terrorists”.
He defined the countries' relationship as "excellent"........"
"05/04/2010 Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren said Sunday that the relations between the US and Israel were protecting the lives of American soldiers serving abroad, as Israel supplies Washington with intelligence and equipment necessary for their wellbeing.
Oren was responding to a statement to Congress made by the commander of the US Central Command, General David Patraeus, who spoke about the Arab nations' response to the close ties between the two countries.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, Oren claimed that if Israel did not exist, “extremists” in the region would join Al-Qaeda in its anti-American sentiment. "The US is much safer thanks to Israeli-American cooperation," he said.
The ambassador said Israel supplies the US with intelligence and equipment its troops use to fight what he called “terrorists”.
He defined the countries' relationship as "excellent"........"
Sunday, April 04, 2010
I wish By Ahmad Fuad Najim
نفســي
أحمد فؤاد نجم
نفسى فى صنف حشيش
ينمل الدماغ وينضف النخاشيش
علشان انسى طابور العيش
واخش فى الغيبوبه وانسى مشكلة الانبوبه
وانسى بلدنا المنهوبه
وانسى اللى بيجهزوه علشان يبقى رئيس للمخروبه
وابقى مسطول
وانسى اى مسئول
من اللى سابوا الناس فى السيول
وانسى ان نظيف اتجوز وبقى بيعول
وانسى مجلس الشعب وفتحى سرور
وانسى البرادعى وايمن نور
وانسى شوبير ومرتضى منصور
وانسى تعديل الدستور
وانسى اللى ساكنين فى القبور
وانسى انفلونزا الطيور
وانسى مشاريعنا الفاشله
فى توشكى وابو طرطور
واخش فى الاستهبال
وانسى علاء وجمال
وانسى التوريث
و النيل اللى نازلين فيه تلويث
وانسى ان منتخبنا كويس زى ماقال الريس
وانسى تصدير الغاز
واحنا عندنا ازمة بوتاجاز
وانسى الاضهاد واللى بيحصل للاقباط
وانسى قطر العياط
وانسى قطر الصعيد
وانسى احمد عز واحتكار الحديد
وانسى زحمة المواصلات
وانسى الانتخابات
وانسى فتاوى الفضائيات
وانسى العشوائيات
وانسى فشل التعليم
وانسى هشام طلعت وسوزان تميم
وانسى الاهرام وانسى الاخبار
وانسى ثروة الريس ال40 مليار
اللى مش بالجنيه المعفن لا بالدولار
وانسى انه خلى بلدنا افقر من زنزبار
وانسى المعارضه وانسى الاحزاب
وانسى تامر حسنى وعمر دياب
وانسى مشكلة النقاب
وانسى ارضاع الكبير وشرب بول البعير
وانسى انفلونزا الخنازير
وانسى اوربا وامريكا وانسى الصين
المتقدمين عننا بسنين
وانسى البيت بيتك وتامر امين
وانسى ان كيلو اللحمه بقى بتمانين
وانسى اننا فى الزباله غرقانين
وانسى الماده سته وسبعين
والماده سبعه وسبعين
وانسى فريق الساجدين
وانسى الزمالك والاهلى
وانسى اليسا وهيفاء وهبى
وانسى الفول والطعميه
وازهى عصور الديموقراطيه
وجامعة الدول العربيه
والجماهيريه الليبيه
والكفيل فى السعوديه
وانسى بطرس غالى والضريبه العقاريه
وانسى الطلعه الاولى الجويه
والمصالحه الفلسطينيه
وانسى فتح وانسى حماس
وانسى هنيه ومحمود عباس
وانسى العراق وافغانستان
وانسى ايران وانسى باكستان
وانسى ماما سوزان
وانسى الاخوان
وانسى محمد ابراهيم سليمان
وانسى ان حد من 0900 يطلع كسبان
وانسى انى مديون
وانسى ان كل واحد بيعتدى على كنيسه
بيطلعوه مجنون
وانسى كل ممثله حيزبون
بتاخد فى المسلسل كام مليون
وانسى ايامنا السوده
واحضان طنطاوى والبابا شنوده
وانسى القذافى والبشير
وانسى كل ملك وكل امير
اللى حاكمين من سنين
من غير تغيير
وعلشان اعرف ان الصنف كويس
لازم ارشح نفسى وابقى الريس
