استعدادات مكثفة في مصر لتجديد الثورة يوم 25 يناير، والمطالبة برحيل العسكري

عــ48ــرب

"أطلق ناشطون وسياسيون ومثقفون مصريون، استعدادات مكثفة لمظاهرات حاشدة في الذكرى الأولى للثورة، التي توافق الخامس والعشرين من يناير/كانون الثاني الجاري، وذلك للمطالبة برحيل المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، الذي يتولى إدارة البلاد منذ تنحي الرئيس المخلوع حسني مبارك، وللمطالبة كذلك بتسليم الحكم لسلطة مدنية.

وأعاد الناشطون نشر مقاطع فيديو على شبكة الإنترنت تظهر انتهاكات المجلس العسكري بحق المواطنين المصريين، والمتظاهرين السلميين منذ سقوط مبارك، والتي تتضمن سقوط عدد كبير من القتلى والجرحى.

كما نشرت ملصقات ورسومات جرافيتية في عدة أماكن مختلفة من البلاد ضمن حملة "عسكر كاذبون"، في إشارة إلى قيادات المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، مطالبين برحيلهم فورا عن السلطة وعودة الجيش إلى ثكناته، ومؤكدين على سلمية الثورة.

ويوافق يوم الأربعاء المقبل، الذكرى السنوية الأولى لبدء موجة من الاحتجاجات استمرت 18 يوما، وأطاحت بالرئيس السابق حسني مبارك (83 عاما)، الذي يخضع الآن للمحاكمة.

ملصقات ومناشير ورسومات جرافيتية

كما أكدت "الجبهة الحرة للتغيير السلمى"، على لسان منسقها العام، عصام الشريف، أنها سوف تقوم بطباعة وتوزيع نصف مليون منشور، بالاشتراك مع حركة شباب من أجل العدالة والحرية، وأنه سيتم توزيعها بميادين القاهرة وعدد من المحافظات للحشد من أجل يوم 25 يناير.

وواصلت حركة 6 أبريل كذلك نشاطها لتحفيز الشعب المصري للنزول للتظاهر يوم 25 يناير، وكشفت إنجي حمدي، عضو المكتب السياسي للحركة عن توزيع 750 ألف منشور لحملة "حافظوا على الجيش المصري"، لدعوة المواطنين للمشاركة يوم 25 يناير القادم، بجميع محافظات الجمهورية، لتحقيق مطلب واحد، وهو تسليم السلطة لمجلس الشعب المنتخب وعودة الجيش إلى ثكناته.

وأشارت إنجي إلى أن الحركة تستعد لتوزيع 100 ألف "بوستر" للمطالبة بتسليم السلطة، حتى لا يستغل الجيش في أي صراع سياسي.

المثقفون يشاركون في التظاهرات

ومن بين المثقفين الذين أعلنوا مشاركتهم في مظاهرات 25 يناير تأكيدا على استمرار الثورة، الشاعر عبد المنعم رمضان، والكاتبة سلوى بكر، والناقد الدكتور هيثم الحاج علي، والروائيين الدكتورين علاء الأسواني وبهاء عبد المجيد، والروائي طارئق إمام، وغيرهم.

وقال الإمام إنه سيشارك فى هذا اليوم لاستعادة الثورة لكي تنهض من جديد، خاصة بعد المحاولات التي استمرت طيلة الشهور الماضية لإجهاضها، واقترح إمام أن تستمر مظاهرات هذا اليوم حتى بعد انتهائه، حتى لا يقتصر الأمر على يوم واحد فقط، ولإجبار المجلس العسكري على تنفيذ مطالب الثورة.

"جمعة الحداد على الشهداء"

وشهد أمس الجمعة تظاهر مئات المصريين في ميدان التحرير بوسط القاهرة، تحت شعار "جمعة الحداد للشهداء"، في إطار الاستعدادات لإحياء الذكرى الأولى للثورة، وهتف المتظاهرون مطالبين باستكمال تحقيق مطالب الثورة، والقصاص لضحاياها، كما طالبوا بتسليم السلطة للمدنيين، ووقف المحاكمات العسكرية، وعبروا عن رفضهم بقاء المجلس العسكري في السلطة، وشددوا على إصرارهم على مواصلة التظاهر والاعتصام إلى حين تحقيق كافة مطالب الثورة.

ويقول النشطاء إنه رغم مرور عام كامل على الثورة المصرية، فإنه لا يوجد تغيير ملموس على الصعيدين السياسي والاقتصادي، لكنهم يواجهون تحديات لإيصال أهدافهم من الثورة الثانية إلى عامة المصريين، الذين سئموا من كثرة الاضطرابات والمظاهرات التي تقول الحكومة إنها تعطل عجلة الإنتاج، وتؤثر بشكل سلبي على اقتصاد البلاد.

رفض الاحتفال "بثورة غير مكتملة"

وتعهد المجلس العسكري في أكثر من مرة بتسليم الحكم لسلطة مدنية منتخبة، في موعد أقصاه نهاية يونيو/حزيران المقبل، كما أجريت انتخابات مجلس الشعب على ثلاث مراحل خلال شهرين، وحقق فيها الإسلاميون انتصارا كبيرا.

وأعلن المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة، الخامس والعشرين من يناير/كانون الثاني، عطلة رسمية للاحتفال بذكرى الثورة، الذي سيتضمن عروضا جوية وتوزيع هدايا، في وقت يرفض فيه شباب الثورة الاحتفال بما يصفونها بـ"ثورة غير مكتملة"، ويطالبون بمحاكمة كل من شارك في قتل المتظاهرين خلال الفترة التي تولى فيها المجلس إدارة أمور البلاد.

ويقول المجلس العسكري، برئاسة المشير محمد حسين طنطاوي، الذ كان وزيرا للدفاع في عهد مبارك، إنه ساند الثورة ضد النظام السابق، ويرى أن الثورة حققت الكثير من أهدافها بسقوط النظام ومحاكمة رموزه، وأن الوقت قد حان ليحظى المصريون بالاستقرار والأمن.

100 متظاهر قتلوا منذ سقوط مبارك وتم تحويل 12 ألف للمحاكمات العسكريّة

وفي المقابل، يقول منتقدو المجلس العسكري، إنه يحاول الحفاظ على الوضع الراهن، مع إجراء تعديلات حكومية طفيفة، فيما تستمر الانتهاكات على أيدي قوات الأمن، ويقولون إن ما يقارب 100 متظاهر قتلوا منذ سقوط مبارك، بعضهم دُهس بعربات مدرعة تابعة للجيش، فيما تم تحويل نحو 12000 من المدنيين للمحاكمة أمام المحاكم العسكرية، وتعرضت متظاهرات لاختبارات العذرية.

ورغم أن الداعين إلى ثورة جديدة متفقون على ضرورة رحيل المجلس العسكري عن الحكم، فإنهم لا يزالون منقسمين بشأن ما إذا كان يجب تسليم السلطة لمجلس الشعب، أم إلى رئيس مدني منتخب، ويخشى البعض من أن تسليم السلطة إلى مجلس الشعب سيعزز سيطرة جماعة الإخوان المسلمين التي حظيت، من خلال حزب الحرية والعدالة المنبثق عنها، بالنصيب الأكبر من مقاعد المجلس في الانتخابات الأخيرة، مقابل إخفاق للتيارات والأحزاب الليبرالية.

جماعة الإخوان المسلمين انضمت إلى العسكري في الدعوة للاحتفالات

وانضمت جماعة الإخوان المسلمين إلى المجلس العسكري في الدعوة إلى احتفالات بمناسبة الذكرى الأولى للثورة، ما جعلهما على مسار تصادمي مع الحركات الشبابية التي تريد أن تجعل هذا اليوم مناسبة لاحتجاجات حاشدة.

ويخشى بعض المحللين من أن الجيش لن يترك الساحة السياسية بالكامل، ما لم تقدم جماعة الإخوان المسلمين وغيرها من الأحزاب السياسية البارزة ضمانات بأنه لن يواجه محاسبة قانونية بشأن قتل محتجين.

ومن جانبها، تقول جماعة الإخوان المسلمين إن الحكام العسكريين سيحاسبون بعد تسليمهم السلطة لمدنيين عن أي أخطاء ارتكبت خلال الفترة التي تولوا فيها السلطة.

وقال المرشد العام للجماعة محمد بديع، في مقابلة تلفزيونية قبل أيام قليلة من أول جلسة لمجلس الشعب الجديد، إن ميزانية الجيش ستخضع لإشراف برلماني.

وتظهر جماعة الإخوان المسلمين تعاونا مع المجلس العسكري في الوقت الراهن، مما أثار شكوكا في احتمال موافقتها على اتفاق لتقاسم السلطة، لكن الجماعة ملتزمة في العلن بالإصلاحات الديمقراطية.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports on Idlib clashes

"Army defectors and regular troops have clashed in Syria's Idlib province. Authorities and the opposition are blaming each other for an attack on a police vehicle carrying prisoners.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr is following events from Lebanon."

Following in the Footsteps of Arafat and Fatah: "Talk to us," says Hamas in rare visit to Europe

Adri Nieuwhof
The Electronic Intifada
20 January 2012

"Three Hamas politicians made a rare visit to Europe this week.
A delegation of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) travelled to Switzerland to attend a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). It was the first time since the 2006 PLC elections that Hamas members undertook an official visit to a European country.

The delegation — led by PLC member and Hamas spokesperson Mushir al-Masri — left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, and continued their journey via Egypt. Al-Masri also heads an international committee for the defense of the PLC members who are held in Israeli jails......"

In scandalous new campaign video, Obama takes Israel pandering to dangerous levels

By Ali Abunimah


"Is Barack Obama running for reelection as President of the United States or Prime Minister of Israel? A new Obama campaign video makes it increasingly hard to tell, and even more ominously ratchets further the Israelization of US politics.

False hopes of change
....
Putting Israel first

The themes of the video touch all the familiar messaging of extreme Zionist groups that Obama has used from his early AIPAC speeches: There is a focus on the Holocaust, Hamas rockets, Israeli children suffering, and Iran, Iran, Iran.

Who can now doubt that US Iran policy is largely about appeasing Israel lobbyists, when Obama is heard boasting in a campaign video that his administration has imposed “the hardest hitting sanctions the Iranian regime has ever faced”? Confrontation if not outright war with Iran is a key message of the Israel lobby these days.

Of course there’s no word about Israel’s war crimes, occupation, routine murder and imprisonment of Palestinian civilians and children, the siege of Gaza or the ongoing theft of Palestinian land in the West Bank for Jews-only colonies.

On the contrary, Obama boasts in the video about how he helped stymie justice and torpedo the Goldstone report, and pulled the US out of participation in the UN Durban conference on racism.

The video also reassures viewers that:

* Under Obama, US military aid to Israel increased to “unprecedented levels”
* “Obama 2012 budget has rise in US aid to Israel”
* “We are making our most advanced technologies available to our Israeli allies.”

While Obama boasts of his willingness to cut the federal budget – even as services for Americans are being slashed – he obviously feels politically safe increasing foreign aid, as long as the recipient is Israel......."

In the line of fire: Tom Hurndall

The photographs and journal entries of the young activist Tom Hurndall – who was killed at the age of 21 by a sniper – are a visceral portrait of the conflict in the Middle East

By Robert Fisk
Saturday 21 January 2012

"....Hurndall was trying to save Palestinian homes and infrastructure but frequently came under Israeli fire and seemed to have lost his fear of death. "While approaching the area, they (the Israelis) continually fired one- to two-second bursts from what I could see was a Bradley fighting vehicle... It was strange that as we approached and the guns were firing, it sent shivers down my spine, but nothing more than that. We walked down the middle of the street, wearing bright orange, and one of us shouted through a loudspeaker, 'We are international volunteers. Don't shoot!'. That was followed by another volley of fire, though I can't be sure where from..."

Tom Hurndall had stayed in Rafah. He was only 21 when – in his mother's words – he lost his life through a single, selfless, human act.

"Tom was shot in the head as he carried a single Palestinian child out of the range of an Israeli army sniper." He was a brave man who stood alone and showed more courage than most of us have dreamed of. Forget tree huggers. Hurndall was one good man and true."

Obama's only way out of Afghanistan is to talk

The Afghan conflict has reached a stalemate. The US knows the Taliban are its route to withdrawal

Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 January 2012

"....So, lithium reserves notwithstanding, it has become more and more difficult to sustain the Nato presence in the country. The 42 countries engaged in the occupation can no longer help the embarrassing marionette in Kabul to dance a good show. And a quick-fix election organised at high cost by western PR firms, essentially for the benefit of western public opinion, no longer does the trick.

In essence both sides confront a stalemate. The insurgents cannot win militarily, but they have made a Nato victory impossible. The US could only win the "just war" by destroying the country and wiping out a million or two Afghans – but that is politically unfeasible. Negotiations are the only possible route to a settlement and US withdrawal from the country.

What we are witnessing is the end of a disastrous occupation that achieved even less than the Russian version did during the 1980s. Within the United States, realist critics of imperial adventures have been warning of hubris for some time. John Mearsheimer, avoiding euphemisms of every sort, pointed out acutely in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics that the foreign policy of his country was devoted not to good governance or liberal values, let alone peace – but to the defence of US interests against those of other states. And it was this fact that would determine the politics of the 21st century......"

The problem with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is not sharia

Western media simplistically cast the divide between revolutionaries and the Brotherhood in secular-Islamist terms

Sara Khorshid
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 21 January 2012

".....My cause is Egypt, the revolution, and seeing my country become a true democracy. My fear is the prolongation of military rule, of transformation to a system that gives the military special status above civil institutions, or one that grants the army and its budget immunity against parliamentary accountability.

The Brotherhood's priorities are different from mine, and their objectives have occasionally conflicted with those of the revolutionaries.

There were striking examples of that in November and December. As revolutionaries were asserting their demands and thwarting the violent attack on their sit-ins by the army and interior ministry, official press releases from the Brotherhood and the party called for stability, expressing concern that such violence could hinder the electoral process.

Stability is the antithesis of revolution, and Egypt's revolution has not ended. Not as long as thousands of civilians are being tried in military courts and the emergency law is still in place. The murderers of the revolution's martyrs have not been sentenced.

The interior ministry, which has a history of using torture and brutality against citizens, has not been restructured. Protesters continue to be beaten, tortured and killed.

The "social justice" measures that the revolution called for have not been enforced. The assets of Hosni Mubarak's family and their associates have not been restored to the country's budget. Governmental bodies have not been cleansed of corrupt leadership affiliated to Mubarak's time.

Above all, the revolution must continue as long as the military and its leaders (who were part of Mubarak's regime) still enjoy authority over civilian leaders and have their economic assets shrouded in secrecy.

In their pursuit of "stability", the Brothers have occasionally sided with the ruling military council – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) – in defiance of the demands from Tahrir and other squares in Egypt. They say stability will benefit the revolution, and holding elections will lead to peaceful transition of power to civilians.

But revolutionaries disagree, on the grounds that the regime's remnants – many of whom are still in power across the hierarchies of governmental bodies (including the army and Scaf) – will not relinquish their power easily and peacefully. Elections are not a magical solution when it comes to making powerful, corrupt figures let go of advantages they have enjoyed for decades and instead face justice.

In the midst of their conflicting and vague statements, the Brothers have given some disturbing signals. Last November, for instance, during the Mohamed Mahmoud street battle, in which tens of protesters were killed and hundreds injured after the army and interior ministry attempted to forcefully disperse a sit-in, the Brotherhood said it would stay neutral. Yet, some of its leaders made statements against the protesters and their demands.

Brotherhood spokesperson Mahmoud Ghozlan rejected the protesters' demand that Scaf steps down: if Scaf leaves, chaos will prevail, he said. Even more shockingly, on 3 January Ghozlan said his group might agree to granting members of Scaf immunity from prosecution

in return for the peaceful transition of power, and families of martyrs could be compensated financially instead of seeing their sons' murderers being brought to justice. Widespread uproar at this caused him to pull back his statements later.

Having seen the Brotherhood make a series of compromising stances over the past year, I can't trust it to be capable of achieving the revolution's objectives...... "

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the problems of power

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Egyptian activists have a shorthand way to help Americans understand party politics here:

“Just think of the Salafi [ultra-conservative Islamists] as your Tea Party—they’re not so interested in government as a way to solve Egypt’s problems as a tool to enforce their morality”—and then they’re absolutists to the point of being fascists, says political activist Abdel Rahman Ayyash.

“The Muslim Brotherhood, though, are more like your Republicans—also interested in pushing their social views, just not as crazy,” adds the computer engineer, and as a former young Muslim Brother, creator of the blog: IkhwanoPhobia.com.

“And our liberals are like your liberals—focused on freedoms, human rights and government as fixer of problems.

There are other political forces of course here in Egypt at the moment—women, Coptic Christians, Tahrir Square protestors and most prominently the army—but the only ones who really matter are the Muslim Brotherhood who, with 46 percent of the seats in the new Parliament, are so close to an outright majority, they won’t need much muscle to what they want.

It will be their agenda that will drive Egypt’s future. The only brake on their power may come from the street, from the voices of these other interest groups, from reaction in the press, from the international community and, of course in a different way, from the military.

As Tahrir Square activists claim, the democratic goals of the revolution have yet to be met. The revolution overthrew one dictator only to face the dictatorship of the old regime’s military. And now the diversity of Egypt faces the disciplined vision of one group of Islamists.

But Egypt itself is a formidable opponent. The country’s economy is in shambles; crime has skyrocketed; air and water pollution are bad enough to impact life expectancy; the streets of Cairo are more parking lots than roadways; corruption haunts business deals large and small; thirty percent of the population is illiterate; and these are just a few of the country’s structural and institutional problems.

Meanwhile leaders from the Salafi party talk about alcohol and bikinis, about returning the country to Islamic law circa 700 where adultery is punished by stoning and thieves lose a hand. Liberals ask about protections for the rights of religious minorities as well as the rights of women who won only one percent of the seats in Parliament. And the army is claiming they will not submit to civilian rule.

There is still a constitution to write and a president to elect. Both of which involve a battle with the ruling council of generals who seek a constitution that preserves their independence of civilian oversight and an army-sympathetic president more powerful than Parliament.

In pursuit of these aims, they claim the privilege of appointing the constitution-writing committee as well as in deciding the balance of power between president and Parliament.

Navigating all this will not be easy for a Muslim Brotherhood whose single focus at this point is just their long-term ability to stay in power......"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you believe that the Egyptian revolution is on its way to accomplish its objectives?

With less than 200 responding (it is early), 57% said yes.

Al-Jazeera Video: Human Rights Watch's Nadim Houry speaks to Al Jazeera

"Nadim Houry, a senior researcher on Syria at rights body Human Rights Watch, speaks to Al Jazeera.

He says human rights are still being violated in Syria, despite the presence of Arab League monitors."

The CIA’s Cassandras

Paid to be Ignored

by GABRIEL KOLKO
CounterPunch

".....The problem is that the U.S. government and the people who run it refuse to confront the limits of their own power realistically. That is another aspect of the official culture. Optimism is part of the national ethos since the U. S. was founded, and it does not like to hear bad news; bad news is unwelcome, and assessments that warrant much more caution on its part are not accepted, including those from the CIA. But it pays a branch of the CIA, gathered mainly around the National Intelligence Council, to produce objective assessments, and when the Council does so it consistently refuses to accept the logic of the action or analysis that follows. This expensive practice, paying people to whom one pays scant attention, is merely an overhead charge of the essential hypocrisy which is an integral part of American life and a dimension of its ethos.

Were the leaders of the American Government more realistic and less ideological and compulsive, they would cut their losses and attempt far less. It would live within its means rather than go into over 15 trillion dollars in debt and reconcile itself to the fact that it is not the hegemonic superpower that can do anything it chooses to. They would certainly take their own analysts seriously. The essential dilemma is that truth can hurt, proving that futile policies that involve great commitments are both wrong morally as well as impractical. The existing regimes in Washington have immense contradictions to resolve, and so far have not done so. They are unlikely to."

Tariq Ali: Obama’s Expansion of Af-Pak War "Has Blown Up in His Face"

"Amid ongoing U.S.-Pakistani tensions and fears of a military coup in Pakistan, we are joined by British-Pakistani political commentator, historian, activist, filmmaker and novelist Tariq Ali. Ali discusses Pakistan’s internal turmoil, as well as Pakistani attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy, the GOP presidential contest, and the prospect of a military strike against Iran. "[Pakistanis] are basically suffering because Obama, arrogantly, escalated the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and thought he could get away with it. That has now blown up in his face," Ali says...."

Hamas: The Growing Distance from Damascus

By: Husam Kanafani, Qais Safadi, Sanaa Kamel
Al-Akhbar

"The possible exit of Khaled Meshal from Hamas' leadership may be the official sign that the Palestinian movement has moved away from Damascus and cast its lot with the Islamic movements rising to power across the Arab world.....

Regardless of whether the Meshal controversy stems from regional pressure, internal differences, or organizational regulations, indications are that Hamas is about to enter a new political stage where its future is far from clear."

The Return of the Smear Bund

Phony charges of "anti-Semitism" are nothing new

by Justin Raimondo, January 20, 2012

" The tale of the DC Five – the five Beltway bloggers at two prominent Democratic Washington thinktanks who have been smacked down (and one fired) for being insufficiently pro-Israel – is hardly a shock to those who know their history. But before we get into that, a few details on what is only the latest chapter in the story of how the War Party operates in this country.
The DC Five are Matt Duss, Ali Gharib, Eli Clifton and Zaid Jilani, bloggers at the Center for American Progress group blog, ThinkProgress, and former AIPAC employee MJ Rosenberg who currently writes for Media Matters. The Washington Post details the charges against them:
“The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank closely aligned with the White House, is embroiled in a dispute with several major Jewish organizations over statements on Israel and charges that some center staffers have used anti-Semitic language to attack pro-Israel Americans. ....

Israel’s lobby in the US is reflexively defensive, and covertly authoritarian: they can’t afford to have an open discussion of our “special relationship” with Israel — and Israel’s sick relationship with its Arab helots – and so must resort to silencing their opponents. The case of the DC Five is meant to sow fear among the policy analysts and thinktankers who inhabit the Washington Beltway: “do not cross the line,” they are telling them – and the closer we get to war with Iran, the faster the boundaries of the impermissible are growing. There is a method to this madness: it is a preemptive strike aimed at opponents of US intervention, and on the left as well as the right it is turning out to be quite effective."

The World War on Democracy

A VERY GOOD PIECE
by John Pilger, January 20, 2012

"....America is now a land of epidemic poverty and barbaric prisons: the consequence of a "market" extremism which, under Obama, has prompted the transfer of $14 trillion in public money to criminal enterprises in Wall Street. The victims are mostly young jobless, homeless, incarcerated African-Americans, betrayed by the first black president. The historic corollary of a perpetual war state, this is not fascism, not yet, but neither is it democracy in any recognizable form, regardless of the placebo politics that will consume the news until November. The presidential campaign, says the Washington Post, will "feature a clash of philosophies rooted in distinctly different views of the economy." This is patently false. The circumscribed task of journalism on both sides of the Atlantic is to create the pretence of political choice where there is none....."

The U.S.: Still the protector of Mideast strongmen

By Mark LeVine
L.A. Times

".....I have spent the last year regularly meeting with grass-roots activists across the Arab world. In almost a dozen trips, the most consistent message I have heard from activists is not that the United States is in retreat but rather that it remains too supportive of the system many have died protesting. Wherever I've traveled, the goal has been the same, as symbolized by perhaps the most famous chant of the Arab Spring: "The people want the downfall of the system!" ("Ash-sha'ab, yurid, isqat an-nizzam!")

Needless to say, the Obama administration has not listened to such pleas. It has consistently told activists that the U.S. will not abandon longtime military and political allies or a system that has served American interests so well for the sake of human rights and real democracy.

Sadly, this policy, and not the supposed "erosion" of U.S. power and credibility, as Hannah describes it, constitutes the real tragedy of Obama's Mideast policy. If the president doesn't change course soon, it will also be among his most ignoble legacies."

Hamas attack on Gaza Shiites may indicate its political shift

The National

"BEIT LAHIA // When they later recalled the siege by Hamas security forces, it was not its ferocity that astonished the residents of Beit Lahiya. It was the target - Shiite Muslims gathered in the building to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson.

Up to 100 policemen and masked men in civilian clothes stormed an apartment building in the Gaza enclave late on Saturday.

Minutes later, they emerged dragging 15 men, whom they then beat with truncheons and denounced as infidels. Neighbourhood residents drawn to the commotion said they were shocked.

"The police showed everyone black Shiite headbands and were yelling to the crowds, 'Look at these kafirs [unbelievers]!'," said Yasser Ziada, 23. "It was like they were putting on a show for us, beating them in front of everyone. No questions - just beatings."

The onlookers had not known that Shiites lived among them.

If they occasionally referred to Hamas as "Shiites", it was because the rulers of the Gaza Strip received money from predominantly Shiite Iran.

Everyone knew, though, that members of Hamas - like every other Muslim in the Gaza Strip - were Sunni. Or so they thought.

For others in the Gaza Strip, Saturday's anti-Shiite crackdown was an epiphany for another reason.

The main allies of Hamas, Iran and the Lebanese movement Hizbollah, are predominantly Shiite, or in the case of Syria's Alawites, an offshoot of Shiism.

For years they have formed an axis of revolutionary Islam that has concerned the predominantly Sunni governments of the Middle East and their allies in the West.

Saturday's crackdown on Shiites - occurring as Hamas dismantles its headquarters in Damascus amid Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's political troubles - is an obvious affront to its long-time patron and may be a sign that one strut of that axis is rickety.

It also may be an indication that the tectonic political shifts underway since the Arab Spring erupted last year may be affecting the Gaza Strip......"

Guardian Video: Syrian troops pull out of mountain town Zabadani

Local residents in Zabadani, an embattled mountain town near Damascus, say government troops have pulled out after two days of fighting. This footage, which cannot be independently verified, shows tanks carrying the government flag. The wirthdrawal came after the month-long mission by Arab League peace monitors in Syria came to an end


guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 January 2012

Arab League: Report Publicly on Syria Mission

With Daily Reports of Abuses, Urge Security Council to Impose Targeted Sanctions

January 20, 2012

"(New York) – The Arab League should publicly release its Syria monitoring mission’s final report in full and urge the United Nations Security Council to impose targeted sanctions to halt the ongoing killings, Human Rights Watch said today in a public letterto the Arab League and Arab foreign ministers. They will meet to discuss Syria on January 22, 2012. Human Rights Watch has documented ongoing daily violations by security forces against protesters and steps by the Syrian government to interfere with the work of the mission, including the detention of a wounded protester on January 1, 2012.

According to local activists, security forces have killed 506 civilians since the Arab League monitors began their mission in Syria on December 26, 2011. Attacks against security forces have also intensified in certain parts of the country. The mission’s credibility has been clouded since its inception by its lack of transparency and independence, Human Rights Watch said.The criteria for selecting the monitors have not been made available nor has any information about their monitoring experience. The mission has relied on the Syrian government for security and to transport monitors around the country, compromising the mission’s ability to access victims and witnesses safely. The mission’s interim report on January 8 has not been made public, and the Arab League has not shared information about the mission’s methodology.

“The Arab League should make its monitors’ report public to address increasing concerns that its monitoring mission is being manipulated by the Syrian authorities,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Only a transparent assessment of the monitoring mission can determine whether the monitors should stay in the country.”....."

Jordan: Drop Charges for ‘Undermining Royal Dignity’

Message to all Jordanians: Please insult the "dignity" of the clown king. Burn his posters, spit on them, throw your shoes at them, but do it collectively. It is strength in numbers.

Have a special, "Insult the Dignity of the Clown King Friday!"

State Security Court Charges Youth Who Burned Poster of King

Human Rights Watch
January 19, 2012

"(Beirut) – Jordan’s military prosecutor should drop charges of “undermining his majesty’s dignity” against a youth who burned the king’s image on January 11, 2012, Human Rights Watch said today. Although prosecutions for general criminal damage of other people's property may be permissible, criminalizing insults against a head of state is not compatible with international human rights standards protecting the right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said.

‘Uday Abu ‘Isa, an 18-year-old activist from Madaba, 40 kilometers south of Amman, and a member of the Youth Movement for Reform, ignited a large banner showing King Abdullah II that was hanging on the municipal building in Madaba, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. Such images adorn nearly every official building and office in Jordan. Security forces immediately arrested Abu ‘Isa, who is already on trial on similar charges for shouting slogans in December. The prosecutor also charged him with burning property.

“Burning a royal’s image as a political statement should not be criminally prosecuted,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “To prosecute this act would send a chilling message that criticizing the king is off limits.”

Abu ‘Isa’s father and fellow activists said on January 12 that they did not know his whereabouts, but media reports later that day said the military prosecutor at the State Security Court had charged Abu ‘Isa with “undermining his majesty’s dignity.” The charge is among several acts of lèse majesté, or insulting the king, for which article 195 of Jordan’s penal code imposes sentences of between one and three years in prison....."

Video: حديث الثورة - سورية وحركات المقاومة

A GOOD PROGRAM



"الضيوف
عريب الرنتاوي
كريم بقردوني
هادي الأمين
ياسر زعاترة
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Moroccans burn selves in unemployment protest

"Five Moroccan protesters set themselves on fire on Thursday in Rabat during a protest over the country's high unemployment rate, which has hit young people and college graduates particularly hard.

Three of the protesters had to be hospitalized, two with serious burns. They had been occupying a government building and reportedly vowed to set themselves on fire if authorities continued to block supporters from bringing food and water."

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian tanks pull back from rebel town

"Syrian forces have pulled back from a rebel-held town under a local ceasefire, residents say, but there was no sign of an overall easing of violence as a month-long mandate for Arab peace monitors in Syria expired.

At least 19 people were reported killed elsewhere, adding to a death toll of more than 600 since the monitors arrived in Syria, where an uprising is hardening against President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule.

Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon."

طلاب يطردون عبد الحفيظ غوقة من جامعة بنغازي ويصفونه بــ'المتسلق' والمجلس الانتقالي يندد بالاعتداء

Left: عبد الحفيظ غوقة

طلاب يطردون عبد الحفيظ غوقة من جامعة بنغازي ويصفونه بــ'المتسلق' والمجلس الانتقالي يندد بالاعتداء

اتهامات لحلف 'الناتو' بارتكاب جرائم حرب واستهداف المدنيين في ليبيا

"...
من جهة اخرى احتج طلاب كلية العلوم بجامعة بنغازي امس الخميس على زيارة نائب رئيس المجلس الوطني الانتقالي عبد الحفيظ غوقة، ومنعوه من دخول الكلية، وقام أحد حراسه بإطلاق رصاصتين في الهواء من مسدسه الشخصي أمام موقف السيارات بالكلية، في محاولة لتفريق الجموع الغاضبة.
وهاجم طلاب غاضبون غوقة واتهموه بانه 'متسلق' على ما افاد شهود لـ'فرانس برس'.
وقد انتقل غوقة الى جامعة غار يونس في محاولة لتهدئة طلاب متظاهرين لعدة اسباب وفق الشهود، لكنه تعرض لهجوم واضطر لمغادرة الجامعة بسرعة بدون ان يصاب.
واتهم غوقة وهو ايضا ناطق باسم المجلس الوطني الانتقالي بأنه 'متسلق' اي انتهازي، وبأنه تعاون في الماضي مع نظام العقيد معمر المقذافي.
وتعرض المجلس الانتقالي مؤخرا الى انتقادات غير معهودة منذ سقوط القذافي وما زال اعتصام في بنغازي، مهد الثورة على القذافي في شرق ليبيا، يطالب بمزيد من الشفافية واقصاء الذين كانوا في النظام السابق.
وتجمع عدد كبير من طلاب الكلية لدى سماعهم بزيارة غوقة لحضور حفل تكريم الشهداء من الكلية، وقاموا بمنعه من الدخول وتعرض غوقة للمضايقات من قبل الطلاب الغاضبين من الزيارة.
وقال الطلاب في حديثهم لصحيفة 'قورينا الجديدة' الليبية إنهم يستنكرون زيارة غوقة للكلية، باعتباره أحد أزلام النظام السابق، وأنه غير مرغوب فيه بين الطلاب الجامعة، وأنه كان يمجد النظام السابق، ولم ير الطلاب منه سوى 'الوعود الزائفة' على حد تعبيرهم.
وأضاف الطلاب 'فوجئنا بوجود انتشار أمني كثيف داخل حرم الكلية، وبوجود تشكيل أمني يؤمن المكان، فكيف يعقل بوجود تشكيل داخل الحرم الجامعي، فأين هيبة الحرم الجامعي، فنحن لا نريد دكتاتورا جديدا'.
وأكد الطلاب أنهم لم يعتدوا على غوقة، وأنه أثناء الازدحام خرج الطلاب جميــعهم من أجل طرد غوقة من داخل حرم الكلية، مما أضطر أحد حراسه الشخصيين لإطلاق رصاصتين في الهواء لإخافة الطلاب الغاضبين الذين كانوا مصممين على مغادرة غوقة للكلية.
...."

Egyptian frustration as tourists stay away

Tourism sees 32% drop in visitors as ongoing street violence hits vital industry

Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 January 2012

COMMENT:

What else do the Salafists want? Blow up the Sphinx and the pyramids? How about all the ancient Egyptian treasures in the museums? How about all those ancient Egyptian temples and statues?

Will the Salafists follow the example of the Taliban and blow up all these treasures because "they are un-Islamic?"

I would not put it past them. They don't want tourists, they want darkness, backwardness and ignorance.

"....It is not just security problems that have got tour operators worried, not to mention the millions of Egyptians whose incomes depend indirectly on tourist money. The first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections have swept political Islamists into office with an overwhelming majority; 70% of seats in the legislature look set to be occupied by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist al-Nour party. The latter has mooted the possibility of new restrictions on alcohol sales and bikinis on beaches, a move which many believe would deal an irrecoverable blow to Egypt's reputation as a major tourist destination...."

Syria and the 'Assad poll'

Posted by Brian Whitaker
(via Uruknet.info)

"Another insidious myth is doing the rounds: that 55% of Syrians support president Assad. The figure was cited by Aisling Byrne in an article which I critiqued recently. Now, it has surfaced again in an article by Jonathan Steele for the Guardian.
While it is undoubtedly true that the Assad regime still has a measure of support within Syria, no one can sensibly put a figure on it or claim that Assad's supporters form a majority.
The 55% figure comes from an internet survey by YouGov Siraj for al-Jazeera's Doha Debates. Just over 1,000 people across the Arab countries were asked their opinion of Assad and an overwhelming majority – 81% – thought he should step down.
However, al-Jazeera says the picture inside Syria is different: "Syrians are more supportive of their president with 55% not wanting him to resign."
What is the basis for this statement? A look at the methodology of the survey shows that 211 of the respondents were in Levantine countries and that 46% of those were in Syria. In other words, the finding is based on a sample of just 97 internet users in Syria among a population of more than 20 million. It's not a meaningful result and certainly not adequate grounds for such sweeping conclusions about national opinion in Syria."

Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian activists in information war

"Egyptian activists say they are fighting an information war with the country's military rulers.

They say state media has not been reporting truthfully about what they call the army's brutal handling of protests.

To counter the official narrative, a grassroots campaign called Kazeboon, or Liars, has now been launched.

By setting up screenings in streets and squares across Egypt, activists say they want their message to be heard in every home.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Cairo."

The Syrian Cup is Overflowing, by Emad Hajjaj

Waging liberation in and outside Israel’s prison walls

Ameer Makhoul
The Electronic Intifada
Gilboa Prison
18 January 2012

"The official Palestinian position on the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails serves to undermine their cause, which is a central component of the Palestinian people’s liberation struggle, comments Ameer Makhoul from Gilboa prison....."

Islamist Parties to Abide by Camp David – For Now

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

"CAIRO, Jan 19, 2012 (IPS) - The Islamist landslide in recently concluded parliamentary polls has led to fears in some quarters of an impending paradigm shift in Egyptian foreign policy. Most local analysts, however, dismiss the likelihood of any sea changes, especially when it comes to the sensitive issues of Palestine and the Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

"An Islamist-led parliament is unlikely to make any major foreign policy realignments, especially in terms of the Palestine/Israel file," Gamal Fahmi, political analyst and managing editor of Egyptian opposition weekly Al-Arabi Al-Nassiri told IPS.....

Hindi believes that Salafist parties, too, despite their ultraconservative outlook and hard-line reputation, are unlikely to take any steps - at least in the short term - that might threaten the status quo in terms of Egypt-Israel relations.

"The Islamic scholars (ulema) that lead the Salafist movement are closely linked to the ruling dynasties of the Gulf, particularly the Saudis, who are themselves close allies of Washington," said Hindi. "And since Israeli regional ascendancy represents a priority for Washington, I doubt the Saudi-backed Salafist parties would do anything to dramatically impact Egypt's relations with Israel."

Indeed, late last month, Nour Party spokesman Yosri Hammad declared the party's intention to respect the treaty. "We do not object to the treaty; we believe Egypt is committed to all treaties signed by former governments," he said. He added, however, that the party would use all legal means to amend "unfair clauses" in the agreement......"

Time to quieten the war drums with Iran

By Rami G. Khouri
The Daily Star

"The number of events and tensions revolving around Iran and its multifaceted relations with its immediate neighbors and its antagonists further afield in the U.S., Israel and some Western countries is becoming numerous and complex.

Indeed, two things are becoming quite clear. First, the chances are much greater that we might witness an unintended misstep that triggers an armed confrontation, a regional Armageddon-type conflict, and a global energy and economic catastrophe. And second, those same reasons suggest that the many elements in the political arena could easily provide entry into some kind of negotiated agreement that calms things down for many years to come....."

Israel may have taken a step back from bombing Iran – but for how long?

The chair of the US joint chiefs of staff who is in Israel to discuss Iran will warn of the dire consequences of a military strike

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 January 2012

"....In his brief visit, Dempsey will attempt to identify Israel's true intentions as well as delivering a strong message. Meanwhile, the US is stepping up practical contingency plans against the possibility of war, according to the Wall Street Journal. And, in the interview in which Barak said a decision was "very far off", he also said that Washington and Israel "respect one another's freedom of decision". The implications of that will not be reassuring to American ears."

Gaza / West Bank: Investigate Attacks on Rights Defenders

Mahmud Abu Rahma Stabbed in Gaza; Yazan Sawafta Beaten in West Bank

AN IMPORTANT ARTICLE

January 19, 2012

"(Jerusalem) – Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) should investigate recent brutal attacks against human rights defenders in Gaza and the West Bank and hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said today.

In Gaza, Mahmud Abu Rahma, the international relations director for Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Palestinian rights group, was stabbed repeatedly on the night of January 13, 2012, by masked assailants, after being beaten by a group of unidentified men on January 3. The attacks followed his public criticism of Hamas and the impunity of armed groups in Gaza. Al Mezan had previously informed Hamas of death threats against him.

In the West Bank, a member of the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security agency beat Yazan Sawafta, a lawyer and researcher for the Independent Commission for Human Rights on January 9, according to a statement by the group. Sawafta had been covering a demonstration by relatives of prisoners detained by the PA.

“Hamas and the Palestinian Authority should not sit idly by while human rights defenders are being stabbed and beaten in the streets, in some cases by these groups’ own officials,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Palestinian leaders should ensure that Abu Rahma and Sawafta are not victims of the very impunity that these two men have courageously documented.”

Abu Rahma, who has worked on human rights issues in Gaza for 15 years, told Human Rights Watch that he was returning home from his office at around 11:15 p.m. on January 13 when three men wearing masks accosted him on the ground floor of his apartment building in Tel el-Hawa, in southern Gaza City, and began to stab him. He suffered four knife wounds in his right leg, two in his left shoulder and left hand, two in the back, and bruises where his clothes had prevented other knife cuts.

“They called me an atheist and a collaborator while they were attacking me,” Abu Rahma told Human Rights Watch. He could not identify his attackers. His family called a doctor who treated him at home at around 3 a.m. “The doctor wanted me to go to the hospital, but we felt it wasn’t safe to leave,” he said......"

Hamas authorities must guarantee safety of human rights activist

Amnesty International
18 January 2012

AN IMPORTANT ARTICLE

"The Hamas de facto administration in Gaza must ensure that the investigation launched into multiple attacks on a human rights activist in Gaza who had written an article critical of the Hamas administration and armed groups is independent and impartial, Amnesty International said today.

Mahmoud Abu Rahma of the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights was repeatedly stabbed in his back, shoulder and legs by masked men outside his home in southern Gaza city on Friday night, his organization said on Tuesday.

The attack came only ten days after a group of masked men assaulted him in the street and punched him.

“These attempts to silence a human rights defender are another attack on freedom of expression in Gaza, and send a chilling message to activists” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Interim Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa.

“The authorities in Gaza must ensure the safety of Mahmoud Abu Rahma and that an independent and impartial investigation into this assault is completed as soon as possible. The perpetrators must be brought to justice.”

The activist, who has previously received several death threats on his mobile and email, told Amnesty International today: “The men who stabbed me called me a traitor, a heretic, but regardless of the accusations and attacks I am determined to continue my work defending human rights in Palestine.”

Mahmoud Abu Rahma published an article earlier this month calling for justice for people arbitrarily detained and tortured by Hamas officials, and for the authorities to investigate violations committed by Palestinian armed groups.

The article also highlighted the fact that there is no accountability for the killings and injuries of Gazans sustained as a result of the operations of Palestinian armed groups against Israel......"

Muslim Brotherhood to US Ambassador in Egypt: Sharia Law ensures personal freedoms

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: A statement issued by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said that US Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson met with the group’s Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie on Wednesday, and reportedly told her that Sharia law, or Islamic law, “ensures personal freedoms for all.”

The MB’s statement explained that Patterson expressed her gratitude for the meeting and congratulated the group for their political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), victory in the recent parliamentary elections, and stressed that the United States is looking forward to cooperate with “whoever is chosen by the Egyptian people and a democratic government.”

The statement pointed out that Badie also thanked the ambassador for her congratulations, and said the elections “made Egyptians proud,” adding that the results of elections are a “victory” for the democratic alliance led by FJP, which includes a number of other parties.

The Supreme Guide criticized the successive US administrations and accused them of “controlling people through their support to the dictators,” which made the popularity of the United States decline across the region.

“The current era is the era of the people and we want to see deeds not words by the United States to recover its credibility among Arabs and Muslims, and in particular with regard to the Palestinian issue [You are betting on the US, Brother??], which is the most important cause for Arabs and Muslims.”

Badie explained that the principles of Islamic Sharia law is the m”ain source of legislation and the biggest guarantee of public and private freedoms, as it ensures the freedom of belief, religion and personal rights to all citizens equally.”[Really??]......"

Egypt youth: SCAF is plotting against the revolution

Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Egypt’s Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution has accused the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of “weaving a new plot” to disrupt the revolution, with the same style and methods of the former regime led by the ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Coalition said the arrests and trials of the youth of the revolution have “no basis in reality and the smear campaigns led against them, are all a natural result of the SCAF`s scheme.”

It said that it is scheduled to organize a conference on Thursday at the headquarters of the al-Ghad Party, to reveal “more details related to the scheme against the revolution and how to confront it in the coming period.”

The group said it would also announce plans of the coalitions for demonstrations set to take place on January 25, which marks the first anniversary of the revolution.

The statement of the coalition said that the SCAF “is walking in the path of the disruption of the revolution with the same approach as Mubarak`s regime, which did not fall so far,” accusing the military junta of supporting corruption and keeping it in place, and of using it’s “corrupt divisive media and its tools of oppression, and continuous statements talking about foreign plots, to depict the rebels and innocent citizens as a group of thugs and outlaws, agents and traitors.”

The statement said that the SCAF refers those who brought it into power to military trials and “deliberately starved the people, and now is trying to intimidate Egyptians before the demonstrations of January 25.”....."

Dictatorship, military intervention and false binaries in Syria

Any external military intervention would destabilise Syria due to intended and unintended consequences, writes scholar.

A VERY GOOD ANALYSIS
Bassam Haddad
Al-Jazeera

"Washington DC - After almost five decades, when the time came to publicly oppose authoritarian rule in Syria, one would have thought that it was the rational and decent thing to do. And it is. More than that, it is incumbent on anyone who cares about Syrians (let us leave "Syria" alone for a moment) to struggle for the establishment of a political system that is free(r) of all forms of oppression. So, what is the problem?

Why fighting dictatorship is, well, intuitive

It is easy, rational and just to adopt unequivocal opposition to the decades-long history of the Syrian regime's authoritarian rule. It is equally easy, rational, and just to severely condemn and oppose the regime's 10-month crushing of independent protesters. Regime supporters and some in the anti-imperialist camp retort that some of these protesters are agents of external forces or armed gangs.

While there may be a grain of truth in this argument, it is empty. It is, in fact an insult to the intelligence of any Syria observer. It overlooks the regime's brutality in the last 10 months of uprising. It baldly erases the decades of oppression, detention, imprisonment, silencing, excommunication and torture that the regime has dealt to the mere hint of opposition. That regime which turns 50 next year.

Indeed, it is only Saddam Hussein's relentless authoritarianism in Iraq that has surpassed the legacy of the Syrian regime's repression. This is not a secret. It is not a controversial description. It is true despite Syria's relative stability until March 2011....

The prisoners' fault was not that they were conspirators. It was that they opposed the regime. Their imprisonment and torture highlighted the fact that anti-imperialism has never been nor will never be the regime's priority. Clearly, the Syrian National Council (SNC) will not be any better on this count - in fact, it is already much worse when it comes to related matters of autonomy from external actors.....

It is one thing for analysts living outside Syria to oppose and condemn foreign intervention (which this author does unequivocally). It is another to assume that all those calling for it in Syria under the current conditions are part of a conspiracy.

Again, it is the Syrian regime's brutality since March 2011 and before that has created the conditions for the street's increasing support for foreign intervention to stop the killing. Certainly, some may have had ulterior motives, connections or designs and supported intervention all along. But the majority of those calling for intervention have been brutalised into doing so. They are not thinking in terms of supporting or opposing imperialism at this time....

The "resistance" camp seems to want or expect hunted and gunned down individuals and families on Syrian streets to prioritise the regime's anti-imperialist rhetoric over the instinct of self-preservation and their fight for freedom from authoritarism. Again, the fact that some inside Syria are abusing this dynamic to call for the kind of external intervention that the regime's regional and international enemies have long dreamed of does not negate that fight....

In other words, Syria is being used by various powers, including the United States and Saudi Arabia and their chorus, as an occasion to accomplish their own objectives in the region - reactionary ones, to be sure, in terms of the interests of most people in the region as the decades behind us attest, and as the current uprisings against the "fruits" of such objectives make clearer even to some skeptics. That does not mean, that we should withdraw our opposition and halt the struggle against dictatorship in Syria. It only serves to remind us how not to do it.....

In unity, there's strength! Whether one supports the Syrian regime or not, the fall of the Syrian regime is more than the fall of the Syrian regime. That does not mean that it should not be opposed or overthrown by domestic means. I have argued elsewhere (1, 2) that Syria's past or potential regional role should not be an excuse for supporting its sustenance. Conversely, supporting the demise of the Syrian regime by any means, including external military intervention, is extremely reckless if the objective is to save Syrian lives or set the stage for a post-regime path of self-determination.....

One can be moved by the urgency of saving Syrian lives today, but if this is the ultimate purpose, and if Syrians' self-determination is the desired outcome, one can easily see the perils of military intervention....

Finally, as the venerable Kissinger used to say in the 1980s (I'm paraphrasing), let the Iranians and Iraqis kill each other into impotence, for it facilitates things for the United States thereafter. Thus, some would like the Syrians to continue killing each other for a while longer. They would be happy to see Syria weakening even further its institutions and infrastructure while exacerbating social/political divisions and undercutting possibilities of collective action for a long time to come.

Syria's long-term trajectory after the Baath had fallen is an unknown quantity regarding the question of resistance, anti-imperialism and the struggle for restoring the Golan. So, from their perspective, why not wait for Syria and Syrians to disempower themselves further instead of having a swift conclusion? If one, or a government, supports the safety of the Apartheid state of Israel, what else would be better than a protracted killing field in Syria?

So, for the moment, external military intervention is not seriously on the table yet. But the discursive conflicts on this question continue. "

Gulf Allies Expressed ‘Great Reservation And Caution’ About Attacking Iran

"Returning from a congressional trip to France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, Deputy House Whip Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) is bringing back two clear messages from the U.S.’s Gulf allies. In an interview with the Bennington Banner, Welch emphasized that they support strong sanctions “to try and change Iranian behavior” and there is “broad apprehension in those countries about military action” and serious questions about whether a military strike could stop Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program.

Appearing on Fox News this afternoon, Welch pushed back against hawkish calls for military action against Iran:"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

Do you support the return to peace talks with Israel?

With over 1,100 responding, 90% said no.

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian army 'agrees to ceasefire' in Zabadani

"The Syrian army has reportedly agreed to a ceasefire with opposition fighters in the town of Zabadani, near the capital.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari reports."

Al-Jazeera Video: Websites 'blackout' over anti-piracy bill

Al-Jazeera Video: Mubarak trial divides protesters, and courtroom

"Demonstrators gathered outside of Cairo's Police Academy on Tuesday to mark another hearing in the murder and conspiracy trial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Separated by riot police were supporters of the ailing, octogenarian former leader and those who want to see him executed, a penalty that prosecuting attorneys have asked the presiding judge to impose.

Inside the courtroom, defence and plaintiffs attorneys chanted and yelled at one another, while lead Mubarak lawyer Farid el-Deeb claimed that Mubarak never gave the order to attack protesters.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo."

Piss Talks with the Taliban, by Khalil Bendib

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Lending to Repression, Again

By Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Jan 18, 2012 (IPS) - For three decades Western governments and lending institutions bankrolled a corrupt regime in Egypt that trampled human rights and stifled democracy. Now they appear ready to do it again, say critics of the military council that has ruled since removing president Hosni Mubarak last February.

"Foreign aid should not be used to support a repressive regime," says Amr Adly, political economist at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). "It’s in nobody’s interest to throw Egypt’s economy into a deeper crisis, but international creditors have to be quite strict when it comes to transparency."

Western governments and development banks provided billions of dollars in loans and grants to Egypt during Mubarak’s 30-year rule while paying lip service to the financial corruption and human rights abuses attributed to his regime. Watchdog groups say a large portion of this aid lined the pockets of regime cronies or funded economic and development programmes that stripped the country of its resources and drove disenfranchised Egyptians deeper into poverty....

The generals have authorised Fayza Aboul Naga, the Mubarak-appointed minister of planning and international cooperation, to resume negotiations with the IMF on a 3.2 billion dollar loan facility. An IMF delegation was in Cairo this week to discuss the terms.

Many Egyptians are deeply concerned about the impact foreign lending will have on the country’s heavy debt servicing burden. Central bank records show that Egypt must pay nearly 3.4 billion dollars a year just to cover the interest on the 35 billion dollars in external debt run up during Mubarak’s rule. ...."

Israel as World's First Bunker State

Room for Jews only in Israel’s ‘villa in the jungle’

By Jonathan Cook
CommonDreams

"The wheel is turning full circle. Last week the Israeli parliament updated a 59-year-old law originally intended to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from returning to the homes and lands from which they had been expelled as Israel was established.

The purpose of the draconian 1954 Prevention of Infiltration Law was to lock up any Palestinian who managed to slip past the snipers guarding the new state's borders. Israel believed only savage punishment and deterrence could ensure it maintained the overwhelming Jewish majority it had recently created through a campaign of ethnic cleansing......

In the face of the legislative assault, Israel's Supreme Court has grown ever more complicit. Last week, it sullied its reputation by upholding a law that tears apart families by denying tens of thousands of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship the right to live with their Palestinian spouse in Israel - "ethnic cleansing" by other means, as leading Israeli commentator Gideon Levy noted.

Back in the early 1950s, the Israeli army shot dead thousands of unarmed Palestinians as they tried to reclaim property that had been stolen from them. These many years later, Israel appears no less determined to keep non-Jews out of its precious villa.

The bunker state is almost finished, and with it the dream of Israel's founders is about to be realised."

EU report calls for action over Israeli settlement growth

Diplomats in Jerusalem say states should consider law to discourage 'financial transactions in support of settlement activity'

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 January 2012

"...."Successive Israeli governments have pursued a policy of transferring Jewish population into the oPt [occupied Palestinian territory] in violation of the fourth Geneva convention and international humanitarian law," the report says. The EU says East Jerusalem is occupied territory and was illegally annexed.

It says Israel is "actively perpetuating its annexation by systematically undermining the Palestinian presence in the city" by imposing planning regulations in Palestinian neighbourhoods, house demolitions, evictions, archaeological activity in the "historic basin" around the Old City, the revoking of Palestinian residency rights, separate bypass roads for Israelis and Palestinians and the construction of the separation barrier.

The report says Israel uses different methods to gain control of Palestinian land and property, including the recent designation of privately-owned land for a new national park at Mount Scopus. The plan would halt any expansion of Palestinian neighbourhoods.

The difficulties of obtaining permission to build, or obstructions to expansion, force Palestinian families to choose between leaving Jerusalem or building illegally and risking demolition orders, it says....."