Saturday, November 3, 2012

Egyptian Police Continue Beatings, Get Raises



"Nearly two years after Egypt’s revolution, the security officials responsible for widespread brutality have not been held accountable. Instead, they’ve been promoted. As Egyptians seek to reform their law enforcement agencies, they must reckon with both the violence of the present and the past......."

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر- تصريحات عباس للتلفزيون الإسرائيلي

Al-Jazeera Video: 'Heavy fighting' at Syria's Taftanaz airbase


"Rebels began a co-ordinated assault on the Taftanaz helicopter base in Idlib province. They've been firing on the site using homemade rockets and tanks. 

Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons reports from Antakiya."

Israeli soldiers arrest son of detained Palestinian activist at West Bank protest

Amnesty International

2 November 2012

"The 16-year-old son of Bassem Tamimi, a detained Palestinian rights activist in the occupied West Bank, was himself arrested by Israeli soldiers today during the regular weekly protest against the encroachment of Israeli settlers onto Palestinian land.

Wa’ed Tamimi was arrested along with four activists during the demonstration on Friday afternoon in the West Bank village of al-Nabi Saleh, 21km northwest of Ramallah.

"Today's arrest of Wa'ed Tamimi while he was walking peacefully in his village points to the continuing harassment of activist Bassem Tamimi, his family, and the community of al-Nabi Saleh by Israeli military forces," said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director. “This harassment must stop”.

"Wa'ed Tamimi and the four others arrested in al-Nabi Saleh today must be allowed access to lawyers and should be released immediately unless they are to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence. His father Bassem is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully protesting Israel's illegal settlement expansion, and must be released immediately and unconditionally."

Nariman Tamimi told Amnesty International how she witnessed her son's arrest: "I saw him being dragged violently by a soldier who immediately put him in a jeep," she said. "Right now I am very tired and worried, and I am not sure what to do."....."
See video in the post below: It shows the sister of Wa'ed Tamimi confronting heavily armed IOF goons.

Video: The "Brave" IDF Facing Palestinian Children!


طفلة فلسطينية تواجه جنود الاحتلال - النبي صالح


Courtesy of Arabs48.com

Link

"طفلة فلسطينية تلاحق جنود الاحتلال بعد ان اعتقلوا شقيقها الطفل وعد التميمي وهم ابناء الاسير باسم التميمي و الاسيرة المحررة ناريمان التميمي اليوم في قرية النبي صالح حيث اعتقلت قوات الاحتلال صحافيين5 أجانب بالاضافة الى الطفل وعد
"

Friday, November 2, 2012

Al-Jazeera Video: مقتل العشرات في غارة جوية على مسجد ببلدة حارم

Any unknown future would be better than Syria's agony

by Amal Hanano



As the violence increases on both sides - most lately the repeated breaking of the so-called "Eid truce" - the vast majority of war crimes (measured by scale, intensity, and sheer numbers) are being committed by regime forces and by their loyal shabiha gangs.

Even the Syria expert Joshua Landis, who has long criticised the opposition and often toed the Assad line, now says the regime no longer has anything but "senseless destruction" to offer.
Another popular question is "What is going on in Syria? Does anyone really know?"
Some journalists and politicians use this misleading question to complicate the narrative. If we don't know what's going on in Syria, how can we possibly stop or prevent certain events?
Landis and others argue about which weapons should be supplied to which group, which sections of society to support, and so on.

Mr Obama boasted in the debate that he had been able to prevent massacres in Libya. But in contrast, the latest US efforts in Syria entail finding out which non-violent activists deserve strictly non-lethal aid. Does anyone imagine that sending satellite phones and cameras at this stage will help the US find out what is "really going on" in Syria?
It is obvious what is going on. There has always been a clear, historically-proven precedent: Bashar Al Assad and his cronies, like his father and the same cronies, are willing to kill thousands and destroy Syria to stay in power.
The Syrian people have been telling the world for months, with their words, chants, songs, blood and lives, that they no longer fear their known enemy. But still the world obsesses about the unknowns, demanding alternatives in the midst of a political vacuum of the regime's making, complaining about a fractured, weak opposition, fearing that violent extremism is on the rise while "stable" secularism is in danger, as Assad's planes keep dropping bombs.

The documentary filmmaker and activist, Matthew Van Dyke, currently in Aleppo, points out the obvious: it is a moral problem to base one's analysis on hypotheticals but ignore facts. As the Syrian activist Amer Al Shami recently tweeted, "Would you choose a hopeful unknown or a dangerous known?"
After 19 months, with 30,000 dead, tens of thousands vanished, hundreds of thousands made refugees, and Assad's violence spilling into Turkey and Lebanon, what unknowns about this regime are left to be uncovered? The "red line" on chemical weapons that must never be crossed? Is it "leadership" to remain paralysed by that?
Washington sources predict a drawn-out civil war. While they analyse and watch, Syrians live a nightmarish waiting game, paying the price of what is known.

In Syria and in the US, we are a long way from hope and change, and a long way from yet another spring. Another cold winter is coming, and this year there will be less fuel, less electricity, less shelter, less food and fewer Syrians in Syria. Thousands of refugees will be huddling in their tents, shivering on the morning of November 7, wondering if the smiling, victorious face on TV will possess some kind of magical "leadership". But for Syrians, hope has become a burden. Even in their hopes, Syrians continue to doubt.

Al-Jazeera Video: الجيش الحر يسيطر على منطقة إستراتيجية بإدلب

Real News Video (with Transcript): US War Against IED's in Afghanistan a Strategic Failure


Garth Porter: US has been unable to limit the high casualties suffered as a result of a key Taliban strategy 

More at The Real News

Palestine's Abu Mazen rescinds his right of return on Israeli TV

Al-Akhbar

"Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas rescinded his internationally sanctioned right to return to his hometown of Safad, annexed by Israel in 1948, on Israeli TV Thursday night.
Pressed by Israeli Channel 2 TV about whether the Palestinian Authority considered towns in the Galilee to be part of Palestine, Abbas struck a deeply personal note in the Authority's latest efforts to placate Israeli concerns about Palestinian refugees.
"I want to see Safad. It's my right to see it. But not to live there," said an impassioned Abbas.....


Abu Mazen also touted himself as the protector of Israeli security in the Channel 2 interview, announcing that Israel would not see a third Palestinian armed uprising against its occupation.
"As far as I am here in this office, there will be no third armed intifada. Never. We don't want to use terror. We don't want to use forces. We don't want to use weapons. We want to use diplomacy. We want to use politics. We want to use negotiations. We want to use peaceful resistance. That's it.""

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


Who is to blame for the collapse of the Eid truce in Syria: The regime; the Free Syrian Army or both?

With over 500 responding, 76% said the regime; 10% said the FSA and 14% said both.

Assad forces flee Saraqeb

The Guardian

"....

Assad's forces have withdrawn the Saraqeb, the Idlib town where rebels were filmed executing government troops on Thursday, Reuters reports citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Right. 
Saraqeb straddles the junction of two main highways leading to Aleppo and the pullout will make it harder for government forces to reinforce or resupply Aleppo.
         The opposition Observatory said troops had retreated from Alwees, northwest of Saraqeb, leaving the            town and surrounding areas "completely outside the control of regime forces".
With areas of rural Aleppo and northern border crossings to Turkey now under rebel control after 19 months of conflict, the loss of Saraqeb would leave Aleppo city further isolated from Assad's southern strongholds......"

Kuwait's protests remind us of the Arab spring's true spirit


The ferment in Kuwait isn't about poverty or sectarianism – but democracy. Blaiming it on Egyptian Islamists is a risky strategy


guardian.co.uk,


"It cannot be called an uprising. Nor do demonstrators demand regime change. The dispute is narrowly about preventing a change in the electoral law that would disenfranchise voters. Nevertheless, the demonstrations taking place in Kuwait are real enough. Tens of thousands, a number unheard of in Kuwait, took part in a "march of dignity" and a further mass protest is planned for Sunday despite an announced ban on public gatherings of more than 20 people. The wave of demands for democratic change, which Saudi Arabia fervently hoped had come to a crashing halt with the civil war in Syria, is now lapping around the feet of the Gulf states.....


The emir is, however, going full-steam ahead with an election on 1 December on this basis, which the opposition has now said it will boycott. The ferment in the Gulf undermines the thesis that the movement known as the Arab spring is primarily about poverty. It defies too the prediction that it has run into the sands of sectarian divides between Sunni and Shia. The Gulf rulers thought they could buy immunity from this change but they have found that dignity is not something that even their unlimited quantity of petrodollars can buy. All eyes are now looking nervously on Kuwait."

A Gift with Lots of Baggage

by Sarah Leah Whitson 

"Earlier this month Mayor Rahm Emanuel celebrated the opening of the United Arab Emirates-Manchester City Field at Haas Park, praising the facilities paid for and named after the UAE and Manchester City FC, the English soccer club owned by its ruling family.  Chicagoans should not let theUAE’s very public association with a child and family-friendly project blind them to the realities of the UAE.

This a country where people who attempt to exercise their right to free speech and peaceful dissent are likely to find themselves in arbitrary detention, where lawyers are harassed and even deported for  their efforts to defend peaceful dissidents, and where migrant workers, who make up about 95 percent of the work force, face extraordinary exploitation.  In the last year the situation has deteriorated so significantly that on October 26 the European Parliament issued an urgent resolution calling on its strategic partner to call a halt to an ongoing campaign of repression and intimidation against its citizenry.

On October 13, two days after Mayor Emanuel praised the UAE’s contribution to Chicago, UAE State Security forces arrested Mansoor al-Ahmadi, vice-president of the UAE Student Union, bringing to 64 the total of peaceful activists locked up so far this year in this country with a population a lot smaller than metropolitan Chicago.  Worse, the whereabouts of 62 of them is unknown, an invitation to further abuse of their rights......."

Israeli authorities must release Palestinian prisoner of conscience in West Bank


"The Israeli military authorities must end their campaign of harassment, intimidation and arbitrary detention against a Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank, Amnesty International said.

Bassem Tamimi, who has been detained since his arrest at non-violent protest against the encroachment of Israeli settlers onto Palestinian land last week, faces a further prison sentence after appearing before the Ofer Military Court on Wednesday.

"Once again, Bassem Tamimi is being held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly. We believe he is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally," said Ann Harrison, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Tamimi was arrested on 24 October following a non-violent demonstration in a supermarket in Sha’ar Benjamin settlement north of Ramallah. More than 100 protesters had gathered to call for an end to the occupation and a boycott of all Israeli products.

He faces charges of assaulting a police officer, participation in an unlicensed demonstration, and activity against the public order.

If convicted of either of the latter two “offences”, he will also have to serve one or more suspended sentences from a previous trial: two months for participation in an unlicensed demonstration, and 17 months for “activity against the public order”...... "

Thursday, November 1, 2012

عباس: لا انتفاضة ثالثة ما دمت رئيسا


"تعهد الرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس بألا تكون هناك انتفاضة ثالثة ضد إسرائيل ما دام رئيسا للسلطة، كما نفى عن نفسه أي حق دائم في المطالبة بالعودة إلى بلدته في إسرائيل، في حين انتقدت حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) تصريحات عباس، واعتبرت أنه لا يعبر إلا عن نفسه فقط.
وقال عباس -في حديث للقناة الثانية الإسرائيلية أمس الخميس- إنه ما دام في السلطة "فلن تكون هناك أبدا انتفاضة مسلحة ثالثة" ضد إسرائيل، في تأكيد لسيطرته على الأمن في المناطق التي يديرها الفلسطينيون بالضفة الغربية.
وقال "لا نريد أن نستخدم الإرهاب، لا نريد أن نستخدم القوة، لا نريد أن نستخدم الأسلحة، نريد أن نستخدم الدبلوماسية، نريد أن نستخدم السياسة، نريد أن نستخدم المفاوضات، نريد أن نستخدم المقاومة السلمية".
وفي نفس المقابلة، قدم عباس تنازلا نادرا -وإن كان رمزيا- لإسرائيل عندما قال للقناة الثانية بالتلفزيون الإسرائيلي إنه ليس له حق دائم في المطالبة بالعودة إلى البلدة التي طرد منها وهو طفل أثناء حرب 1948 التي قامت في أعقاب إعلان تأسيس إسرائيل.
وعندما سئل عباس -الذي كان يتحدث بالإنجليزية من مدينة رام الله بالضفة الغربية إلى نشرة الأخبار بالتلفزيون الإسرائيلي التي تتمتع بأكبر نسبة مشاهدة- هل يريد أن يعيش في بلدة صفد التي عاش فيها طفولته في منطقة الجليل، قال "لقد زرت صفد مرة من قبل لكنني أريد أن أرى صفد، من حقي أن أراها لا أن أعيش فيها".
......
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian troops killed in rebel attacks on checkpoints


"Syrian rebels have killed at least 28 government soldiers in attacks on three army checkpoints on the main road from Damascus to the northern city of Aleppo, according to an activist group. Five rebels were also killed in the fighting near the northwest city of Saraqeb on Thursday, which became a key battleground after opposition forces seized the adjacent strategic town of Maaret al-Numan, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports."

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر- المقاتلات الحربية تقصف دمشق



Well Worth Watching!

Egypt’s Women Rebel Against Harassment

By Mel Frykberg

"Egyptian bullies who sexually harass women in the streets, often taking advantage of mob situations and the anonymity these provide, are getting a taste of their own medicine - and they don’t like it......."

The Bombs-Away Election

By Philip Giraldi

".....So there is a choice, of sorts. To my way of thinking, a Romney victory is a virtual guarantee that there will be war with Iran accompanied by the usual bellicose muscular interventionism that we have become accustomed to since 9/11. That sort of bluster will continue until the cash runs out, but Romney is also clearly willing to continue to borrow money so it can be given to the Pentagon, perhaps prolonging the process. Romney would also undoubtedly continue the odious policies relating to drones, kill lists, and assassination teams that he would inherit from his predecessor. Obama, on the other hand, will, if reelected, continue his Pilgrim’s Progress to become America’s most distinguished war criminal of the 21st century, even eclipsing the redoubtable George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in that regard. The choice for the voter comes down to how one prefers to see worldwide chaos and the death of the Constitution develop. It would be in heavy doses wrapped in the flag with Romney, while Obama would take pains to hide what he is doing as he marches down what is pretty much the same road. Some choice."

Al-Jazeera Video: Clinton's statements slammed as 'astounding' by SNC


AN IMPORTANT VIDEO

"Speaking to Al Jazeera's Darren Jordon, Louay Safia, member of the Syrian National Council, called recent comments by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, regarding the SNC "an astounding statement".

Though Safia admits the largely foreign-based opposition group has under-performed in some areas, he said "the secretrary will have to take some credit for that".

In response to Clinton's fears of "extremist" groups taking hold in the Syrian opposition, Safia says such groups are everywhere, but "in Syria they are very marginal".

Safia then went on to criticse US policy in Syria saying Washington is currently working on a deal with Moscow and that the Obama administration "would like to have quiet in Syria", even if that means Bashar al-Assad, Syrian president, retains some level of power."

Al-Jazeera Video: علي فرزات يحيي مجلة الدومري


"يعاود رسام الكاريكاتير السوري علي فرزات إطلاق مجلة الدومري من مصر، وذلك مرور بعد نحو عشرة أعوام على إغلاقها في سوريا بقرار أمني. والدومري كانت أول مجلة مستقلة تعطى ترخيصا في سوريا لتتناول الفساد السياسي والاقتصادي بطريقة ساخرة.
"

Real News Video (with Transcript): Spies, Lies and Whistle Blowers


PT2 Annie Machon (MI5 whistle blower): The culture of MI5 and MI6 is even worse since 9/11 

More at The Real News

Former Syrian PM named on new opposition council

Manufacturing a Syrian Karzai
The New Syrian Karzai?

The Guardian

"Syria’s former prime minister Riyad Hijab, who defected from the Assad regime in August, has been named on proposed opposition council that has been set up in consultation with the US government as a possible transition government.

The new 51 member 'National Initiative Council' is due to be unveiled in Doha next week, sources in the Syrian opposition revealed to the Guardian.

As Foreign Policy magazine reported they confirmed that the new body will have only 15 seats for the fractured Syrian National Council.

"The new council is definitely an attempt to undermine the SNC," an opposition source said.
He also revealed that the new body would include former prime minister Hijab, as well as three seats for the Kurdish National Council, and one for Haytham Manna, from the internal opposition group the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change.

The US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford has been closely involved in drawing up the new council. He is understood to be concerned about the lack of representation from minorities including Alawites, the Assad clan's Shia sect.

Despite these concerns there no Alawites have been named on the new council. But places have been reserved for at least six "national figures" which could a leading Alawite.

It is unclear where the council will be based, but Turkey has been ruled out because of Kurdish involvement in the group.

The Syrian National Council is due to announce its own restructuring ahead of the meeting. Leading members are sceptical about the proposed National Initiative Council.
One said: "Ultimately the goal the goal of this is to form a shadow government. But we are not at that stage, right now ending the deadlock in Syria should be the priority".
Another said: "I'm not sure if it [the NIC] is going to see the light. I’m not confident about it."....."

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Lousy Arab is Now Also an Expert on Buildings!


"When my mother first visited me in DC, and I lived in Arlington, Virginia near the two (former) USA Today high rises as they were being constructed.  She commented that building materials and structures in the US are not strong enough. She felt that they were like toy buildings She is right, I feel."

COMMENT

I am a structural engineer with over 40-years experience in the design of buildings, especially those designed to withstand strong earthquakes.

I can categorically say that the US building codes are the most stringent in the world, including Japan and Europe. They are constantly updated to reflect actual experience from strong earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.

If an earthquake such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake in California occurred  in the Middle East, fatalities would have been in the thousands.

For the Lousy Arab to make such a flippant comment about a subject he knows nothing about is revealing about his temperament and personality: he knows it all! Keep that in mind when you read his next political analysis.
Would You Buy a Used Car From This Tired Salesman??

Afghanistan: the Smell of Defeat

By Mike Whitney
CounterPunch

".....There’s a reason why the media won’t use the term defeat however applicable it may be. It’s because your average “Joe” understands defeat, the shame of defeat, the sting of defeat, the anger of defeat. Defeat is a repudiation of leadership, proof that we are ruled by fools and scoundrels. Defeat is also a powerful deterrent, the idea festers in people’s minds and turns them against foreign interventions, police actions and war. That’s why the Times won’t utter the word, because defeat is the antidote for aggression, and the Times doesn’t want that. None of the media do.

But the truth is, the United States was defeated in Afghanistan. If we can grasp that fact, then maybe can stop the next war before it gets started."

Video: After taking son, Israeli occupation forces humiliate, arrest mother who challenges them

By Ali Abunimah

"Obviously distraught, al-Shalaldeh stands up, with the chair attached to her and shouts at the soldiers, “Get away from me, I want to go to my house,” and begins to cry......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Foreign fighters look to aid Syria's rebels


"The international community says it is concerned about the presence of foreign fighters in Syria.
While opposition groups do not deny their existence, they insist their numbers are small.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, who met with members of a brigade led by a Libyan in Idlib province, has this exclusive report.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: توزيع المهام الأساسية على منازل في ريف إدلب


"يشكل عامة أفراد الشعب في سوريا، الحاضن الأساسي، وأهم مصادر دعم الثورة المستمرة منذ نحو عشرين شهرا، إذ تتوزع المهام الأساسية على منازل كل حي سكني يشارك في الثورة. فكبار السن يجتهدون لتنظيم وتأمين مستلزمات الثوار من أسلحة وعتاد، بينما تقوم ربات البيوت بدور مهم في تحضير ما يلزم الثوار من أطعمة. 
مراسلنا عبد الرحمن مطر تجول بين أزقة قرية في ريف إدلب
"

Real News Video with Transcript: From MI6 Al Qaeda Plot to Kill Gaddafi to Spying on Domestic Dissent: An MI5 Whistle Blowers Story


Annie Machon: British intelligence agencies considered themselves above the law 

More at The Real News

Real News Video with Transcript: Easy Ways to Steal an Election


Greg Palast, author of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps reveals vote stealing methodology 

More at The Real News

Syria rebels bring fight to pro-Assad Palestinians


"(Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Wednesday they had formed a brigade of sympathetic Palestinians in a Damascus district to fight armed Palestinians aligned with President Bashar al-Assad.
About 150,000 Palestinian refugees live in the Syrian capital's Yarmouk camp, a sprawling area of concrete apartment blocks, where some residents support the 19-month-old uprising against Assad and others fight alongside Syrian soldiers.

"We've been arming Palestinians who are willing to fight ... We have formed Liwa al-Asifah (Storm Brigade) which is made up of Palestinian fighters only," a rebel commander from the Suqour al-Golan (Golan Falcons) brigade told Reuters.

"Its task is to be in charge of the Yarmouk camp. We all support it and back it," he added.
Rebels said they and the new brigade will attack Yarmouk fighters loyal to Ahmed Jibril, head of the Syrian-sponsored Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), accusing Jibril's men of harassing camp residents and attacking Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters.

"Now they are targets for us, targets for all the FSA. All of them with no exceptions," said another Syrian rebel commander who asked not to be named.

Some PFLP-GC fighters had handed their weapons to the rebels, the commander said, calling on others to follow suit and threatening to assassinate pro-Assad figures....."

Bahrain must lift ban on all protests

Amnesty International

30 October 2012

"The Bahrain government's ban on all rallies and gatherings in the country violates the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and must be lifted immediately, said Amnesty International.

The Interior Minister announced the ban on Tuesday saying that rallies and gatherings were associated with violence, rioting and attacks on public and private property. He said that the ban would continue until "security is maintained" and has suggested that one of his main concerns is the fact the rallies express opposition to the government and ruling family.

Police have also been attacked during recent gatherings. On 19 October the authorities reported that a policeman had died and another had been seriously injured by an explosion in al-Eker village when their patrol was attacked by rioters. A week later, a second policeman died in hospital after having been injured in protests earlier in the year.

"Even in the event of sporadic or isolated violence once an assembly is underway, the authorities cannot simply declare a blanket prohibition on all protests. Such a sweeping measure amounts to nothing less than nullifying the rights to freedom of association, expression and assembly," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Programme Deputy Director at Amnesty International......"


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Al-Jazeera Video: Foreign campaigners protect Palestinian olive farmers


"Human rights campaigners say Israeli settlers have uprooted more than 7,000 Palestinian olive trees this year. That is down on last year, but farmers say they are still frequently attacked and harassed. In the Occupied West Bank, foreign volunteers are joining the harvest, hoping their presence will help protect farmers and their trees. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Biddo."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


Do you support continuing efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis through dialog after the violation of the Eid truce?

With about 500 responding, 79% said no.

Abbas and Netanyahu United, by Khalil Bendib


EU urged to re-think trade deals with Israeli settlements in West Bank


Report accuses EU of hypocrisy for condemning settlements as illegal while simultaneously buying vast quantities of exports

in Jerusalem
The Guardian,


"The European Union imports around 15 times more produce from Israeli settlements in the West Bank than Palestinian products, despite its consistent condemnation of Israel's settlement policy as illegal under international law, according to a report.

Based on figures supplied by Israel to the World Bank, the estimated value of settlement imports to the EU is $300m (£187m) a year. The comparative figure for Palestinian produce is less than $20m. "With more than 4 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in the occupied territory, this means the EU imports over 100 times more per settler than per Palestinian," says Trading Away Peace: How Europe Helps Sustain Illegal Israeli Settlements, published by a consortium of 22 organisations across Europe......"

Qatar: Revise Draft Media Law to Allow Criticism of Rulers


Drop Charges Against Poet Charged With Insulting Emir  


"(Beirut) ­– Qatar’s ruler should not approve a draft media law unless loosely worded provisions penalizing criticism of Qatar or neighboring governments are removed, Human Rights Watch said today. The draft law builds in a double standard on free expression that is inconsistent with Qatar’s claims to be a center for media freedom in the region.

The draft law, which the Shura Council, Qatar’s legislative body, approved in June 2012, would be the first change to the country’s media laws since Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani,set up the Doha Center for Media Freedom in 2008 to promote press freedom and quality journalism in Qatar and the region. Although the draft law calls for abolishing criminal penalties for media law violations, the broadly worded provisions of article 53 prohibit publishing or broadcasting information that would “throw relations between the state and the Arab and friendly states into confusion” or “abuse the regime or offend the ruling family or cause serious harm to the national or higher interests of the state.” Violators would face stiff financial penalties of up to 1 million Qatari Riyals (US$275,000).

“Qatar’s commitment to freedom of expression is only as good as its laws, which in this case do not meet the international standards it professes to support.” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of supporting press freedom, this draft media law is a commitment to censorship.”......"

Qatar: Detained ‘Jasmine uprising’ poet being tried in secret

Amnesty International

29 October 2012
Qatar's Amir with Former Israeli PM Livni

"A poet facing a secret trial in Qatar after being detained since last year is a possible prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally if he has been detained solely for his peaceful criticism, Amnesty International has urged as the one-year anniversary of his arrest approaches.

Mohammed al-Ajami – also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb – was arrested on 16 November 2011 in the capital Doha, and later reportedly charged with “inciting to overthrow the ruling system” and “insulting the Amir”.

The prosecution’s case against him is reportedly based on a poem he wrote in 2010 criticizing Qatar’s Amir, but Gulf activists have alleged the real reason for his arrest was his “Jasmine Poem”, written in 2011 in the context of unrest across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Mohammed al-Ajami has now spent almost a year behind bars in solitary confinement apparently solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. If that is the case, he would be considered a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and conditionally,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Al-Ajami’s “Jasmine Poem” broadly criticizes governments across the Gulf, stating that “we are all Tunisia in the face of the repressive elite”........"

اكد ان مشعل وهنية نصحا الحركة بعدم اقرار القانون.. واتهامات للحكام الجدد بازدواج الخطابات

اكد ان مشعل وهنية نصحا الحركة بعدم اقرار القانون.. واتهامات للحكام الجدد بازدواج الخطابات

قيادي بالنهضة التونسية: حماس نصحت بعدم التنصيص على تجريم التطبيع بدستور البلاد الجديد

"تونس ـ يو بي اي: قال قيادي في حركة النهضة الإسلامية التي تقود الإئتلاف الحاكم في تونس، إن حركة حماس الفلسطينية نصحت بعدم التنصيص على تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل في الدستور التونسي الجديد.
وأوضح الصحبي عتيق، الذي يرأس كتلة حركة النهضة الإسلامية في المجلس التأسيسي التونسي في تصريحات تلفزيونية، أن القياديين في حركة حماس الفلسطينية إسماعيل هنية وخالد مشعل، 'نصحانا أثناء زيارتهما لتونس بعدم التنصيص على تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل في الدستور التونسي الجديد'.
وزار إسماعيل هنية تونس في 5 كانون الثاني (يناير) الماضي، وقد أثارت زيارته في حينه ردود فعل متباينة، كما أثارت جدلاً سياسياً بسبب شعارات بقتل اليهود رفعها عدد من الإسلاميين أثناء استقباله في مطار تونس قرطاج الدولي، بينما زار خالد مشعل تونس في شهر تموز (يوليو) الماضي للمشاركة بأعمال المؤتمر التاسع لحركة النهضة الإسلامية التونسية.
وتأتي تصريحات القيادي في حركة النهضة الإسلامية فيما عادت مسألة 'تجريم التطبيع' لتطفو على السطح من جديد مع بدء أعضاء المجلس الوطني التأسيسي التونسي في مناقشة مسودة الدستور الجديد.
وتثير هذه المسألة جدلاً واسعاً بين القوى السياسية التونسية، حيث تسعى في الوقت نفسه غالبية القوى اليسارية والتقدمية وخاصة منها القومية إلى تضمين الدستور التونسي الجديد بندا واضحاً ينص على تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل، فيما ترى حركة النهضة الإسلامية وشريكها في الحكم التكتل الديمقراطي من أجل العمل والحريات أنه 'ليس هناك ما يدعو لتضمين الدستور مثل هذا البند باعتبار أن الشعب التونسي يرفض التطبيع'.
ويتناقض هذا الموقف الجديد لحركة النهضة الإسلامية التونسية مع موقف سابق لها كانت تدعو فيه إلى ضرورة التنصيص على 'تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل' في الدستور التونسي الجديد، كما يتناقض أيضا مع قرارات المؤتمر التاسع لحركة النهضة الذي أقر مبدأ تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل، حيث شدّد البيان الختامي للمؤتمر على ضرورة 'تحريم التطبيع مع الكيان الصهيوني'.
وربط مراقبون تبدّل موقف حركة النهضة الإسلامية إزاء مسألة التطبيع، وتبرير رفضها التنصيص على تجريمه في الدستور الجديد بـ'نصيحة' من قادة حركة حماس الفلسطينية بتغير موقف الحركة منذ اختيارها الاصطفاف مع المشروع القطري، وابتعادها عن سورية ومثلث المقاومة 'سورية ولبنان وإيران'.
ويبدو أن حركة النهضة الإسلامية التي لا تخفي علاقاتها الوطيدة بدولة قطر، 'لا تريد هي الأخرى الخروج من تحت هذه المظلة القطرية'، أو حتى إحراج قطر التي تخفي علاقاتها مع دولة إسرائيل بعملية تطبيع متواصلة منذ عدة سنوات.
ولعله لهذا السبب لم تُقنع تبريرات الصحبي عتيّق لموقف حركة النهضة إزاء هذه المسألة، حيث اعتبر في تصريحاته أن 'الخلاف ليس في تجريم التطبيع، وإنما في التنصيص عليه في الدستور ونحن (حركة النهضة) نطالب بإدراجه في قانون'.
وكانت مسألة تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل طفت على السطح من جديد إثر رفض لجنة التوطئة في المجلس التأسيسي التي ترأسها حركة النهضة، التنصيص على تجريم التطبيع مع إسرائيل.
ويُنتظر أن يتواصل الجدل حول هذا الموضوع أثناء الجلسة العامة للمجلس التأسيسي باعتبار أن حركة النهضة تتمسك بعدم تضمين توطئة الدستور نصاً واضحاً يُجرم التطبيع بحجة أن الدستور يهم الشأن الداخلي للبلاد، وأن تجريم التطبيع يجب أن يفرد بقانون خاص لا يرتقي لنص دستوري.
ويبدو أن حركة النهضة الإسلامية ماضية في التمسك بموقفها رغم تزايد حدة الإتهامات الموجهة لها بازدواجية الخطاب السياسي، وبسهولة التراجع عن موقفها، ما يعني أن مسألة 'تجريم التطبيع' ستبقى أحد أبرز العناوين السياسية التي سيتمحور حولها السجال السياسي في تونس خلال الأشهر المقبلة."

Monday, October 29, 2012

Al-Jazeera Video: The Latest Harebrained Idea From Morsi: Egypt imposes curfew to save funds


"Egypt's new government is introducing a curfew, which means all shops will now have to close by 10pm, with restaurants shutting by midnight.

Only those catering to tourists will be exempt.

The move is aimed at saving electricity, which will in turn save money. 

But many say it will cost Egypt billions of dollars in lost revenue. 

Mike Hanna reports from Cairo."

Déjà Vu: Fascism on the Rise


In Europe — and here?

By Justin Raimondo


"Here in America we have only just begun to feel the social and political effects of the worldwide economic crisis: rising unemployment, a wave of bankruptcies and foreclosures, and a general contraction in economic activity. State and local governments are imposing austerity measures, and the federal government faces a “fiscal cliff” that may be much steeper than anyone now imagines. In Europe, however, they are already halfway down into the abyss, with Greece falling faster and harder — and several southern European countries not too far behind.

The response of governments throughout the continent has been a regime of “austerity” designed to reduce deficits piled up as a result of many decades of extravagance: populations which have come to expect government subsidies as their just due are being subjected to draconian budget cuts, and the social and political structures built up since the end of the second world war are in danger of collapse. The decline and probable fall of the euro augurs worse to come, with the spillover effect threatening us here in the US.

The last worldwide economic depression led to the rise of national socialism in Germany, fascism in Italy, and ultimately to a devastating global conflict that killed millions: could it happen again?....."

Guardian Video: Mona Eltahawy: Egyptian women are sexually harassed at every section of society



                   
                   
                                    

"Whether rich or poor, religious or secular, men in Egyptian society routinely harass women – and the attacks are often violent and rarely punished, says Mona Eltahawy, a journalist and speaker on Arab and Muslim issues. She describes her own battle to win justice after an assault in Cairo, and calls for reform to Egyptian laws and attitudes to sexual harassment."

Israel is an apartheid state (no poll required)


A new Ha'aretz poll indicates a majority of Jewish Israelis favour apartheid - but that's nothing new.

By Ben White
Al-Jazeera

"A poll of Jewish Israelis published last week in Ha'aretz newspaper created headlines round the world with its findings of support among the public for discriminatory policies. Some greeted the survey's results as vindication of claims made by critics of the Jewish state; others pointed to what they said were flaws in the methodology and how the statistics were being presented.
There is, however, no need for such a poll in order to reach the conclusion that Israel is guilty of apartheid: The facts speak for themselves.
Firstly, a clarification about terminology. To talk about Israeli apartheid is not to suggest a precise equivalence with the policies of the historic regime in South Africa. Rather, apartheid is a crime under international law independent of any comparison (see here, here, here, and here). As former UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard put it in the foreword to my first book: "It is Israel's own version of a system that has been universally condemned."......


In March, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) described Israel's violations of the right to equality in unprecedented terms. Noting "segregation between Jewish and non-Jewish communities" and a lack of "equal access to land and property" inside Israel's pre-67 borders, CERD found a regime of "de facto segregation" in the West Bank severe enough to prompt a reminder of the "prohibition" of "apartheid".

Across the whole of historic Palestine - Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip - the State of Israel rules over around 12 million people whose rights and privileges are determined on a discriminatory basis. Millions more are excluded from the country all together (because they are Palestinian). It is a regime intended to maintain the domination of one group at the expense of another. It is apartheid."

الموقف الأخلاقي لمن يعنيهم الأمر!


"قبل 14 شهرا، كتبت مقالا بعنوان "هل سينتصر السوريون على نظامهم؟ الجواب لا يحدد موقفنا". يومها لم يكن ثمة سلاح ولا رصاص من طرف الثورة، بل مجرد مسيرات ونشاطات شعبية يخرج الناس خلالها بصدورهم العارية يواجهون رصاص الجيش واعتداءات الشبيحة وأجهزة الأمن.

كان شبيحة النظام في الخارج وأدعياء المقاومة والممانعة يناكفوننا بالقول إن فرصة تكرار النموذجين التونسي والمصري غير واردة في سوريا (لم يكن النموذج الليبي مطروحا يومها)، لأن النظام متماسك ويستند إلى أقلية تسيطر على الجيش والأجهزة الأمنية؛ مع أقليات أخرى، إلى جانب طبقة من الغالبية السنية لا ترى لها مصلحة في إسقاطه.
قلنا يومها إن السؤال إياه لا يؤثر في موقفنا، فنحن لسنا تجارا ولا مرتزقة نحدد موقفنا بناءً على سؤال من المنتصر ومن المهزوم، فالقيم والمبادئ هي التي تحدد الموقف قبل أي شيء آخر، وهذه تدعونا للانحياز للشعب السوري دون تردد، لأنه شعب خرج يطلب الحرية والكرامة.
بعد مضي كل هذا الوقت، وتحول الثورة في سوريا إلى ثورة مسلحة نستعيد ذات السؤال في ظل إصرار بعض "الشبيحة العرب" على القول إن النظام لن يسقط، وإنه باق "رغم أنف المؤامرة"، ما يعني أن دعم الثورة هو نوع من السلوك العبثي الذي يراهن على الحصان الخاسر.
قالوا ذلك أيضا بحق حماس التي انتصرت لأخلاقها وخرجت من سوريا ثم انحازت للثورة، معتبرين أنها خسرت حاضنة مهمة كلفتها التشتت في الأمصار، فيما ثمنوا بالطبع موقف حزب الله الذي انحاز لـ"للحصان الرابح"، في ذات الوقت الذي انحاز فيه لخيار المقاومة والممانعة الذي يتعرض لمؤامرة دولية.
.....

هم يعلمون تماما أن الناس لم يخرجوا إلى الشوارع بطلب من أحد، ولم تكن ثمة مؤامرة ولا من يتآمرون، بل شعب وجد في ربيع العرب فرصة للتخلص من إرث نظام دكتاتوري فاسد. بل إنه بثورته النبيلة كان مفاجأة الربيع العربي الذي اعتقد كثيرون أنه سيتجنب سوريا، فيما كنا متأكدين أنه سيشملها نظرا لاكتمال شروط اندلاع الثورة، لاسيما أن ملف السياسة الخارجية لم يكن السبب المباشر في ربيع العرب، وإن اختزنت الجماهير في وعيها مواقف الأنظمة الخارجية وارتهان قرارها السياسي للغرب.
إن مشكلة الأخلاق لدى جحافل الشبيحة من حزبيين وطائفيين ومذهبيين تتمثل في قدرتهم على إهانة شعب كامل من أجل تزكية نظام مجرم. وإذا قيل إن الشعب كله لم يخرج، فإن ذلك يُعد ضربا من الهراء، إذ لا توجد ثورة أخرجت الشعب بكامله إلى الشوارع، ويكفي أن تكون الغالبية مع الثورة وتمنحها الحاضنة الضرورية حتى يقال إن شروط الثورة مكتملة.
طوال شهور، ظلوا يرددون مقولة دمشق وحلب كدليل على أن الشعب ليس مع الثورة، وأنها ثورة أطراف وأرياف لا أكثر، ولما انخرطت المدينتان بالكامل في الثورة تناسوا ذلك، وأخذوا يكتفون بحكاية المؤامرة الخارجية والجماعات الإرهابية، وتجاهلوا حقيقة أن ذلك كان لاحقا على الثورة التي بدأت سلمية بالكامل.
......

هم يعلمون تماما أن المطلوب غربيا هو تدمير البلد وإشغاله بنفسه لعقود لحساب الكيان الصهيوني (التقت اللعبة مع حسابات إيران التي تريده مدمرا تنهشه الصراعات لكي لا يتمكن من التأثير على منجزاتها في العراق ولبنان)، ولكنهم لا يسمحون لأنفسهم بأن يقولوا إن خروج الأسد هو المصلحة الحقيقية لسوريا بدل تدميرها بالكامل، وإن الشعب السوري في ظل تعددية حقيقية سيكون أكثر وفاء للمقاومة والممانعة وفلسطين من النظام، بدليل أن "ثوار الناتو" في ليبيا كما أطلقوا عليهم لم يتحولوا إلى دمية بيد الغرب، بل راحوا يعبرون عن ضمير شعبهم. كما أنهم يسمعون كيف يتحدث الغرب عن الجماعات المسلحة في سوريا كسبب لمنع الدعم نظرا لمواقفها من الكيان الصهيوني وأميركا.
......."


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hizbollah debates dropping support for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad


Hizbollah has been one of the staunchest supporters of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, but now there are bitter arguments within its ranks about whether it is time to change course. 



The Telegraph

"....Now in Mr Assad’s time of need Lebanon’s Shias have mostly been loyal in return - providing logistical and moral support and even sending fighters into Syria’s civil war to kill his enemies.
But in Lebanon there are as many Christians and Sunni Muslims as there are Shia. Now, as doubts grow that Mr Assad will survive and Syria’s civil war begins to spread into Lebanon, The Sunday Telegraph has been told of secret arguments raging inside Hizbollah’s ranks about whether the time has come to stop backing Mr Assad......

If it looks as if he is in real danger, we will send thousands of our men into Syria. And if America or Nato is stupid enough to intervene, we will be there defending Arab lands.”.....

Since it was founded in the 1980s it has built a reputation as a formidably disciplined organisation, tolerating no public dissent. But a year ago the rival Palestinian militant organisation Hamas, which controls Gaza, abandoned its support for Mr Assad. Now, insiders say, Hizbollah is engaged in a fierce debate behind closed doors over whether to follow suit.....

They say it is now urgent to end their support for Mr Assad, so that a new relationship can be formed with whoever comes to power in Syria next.
“There is an awareness inside Iran and Hizbollah that they are going to have confrontation with the Sunnis, or are going to have to bridge the gap between them,” the source said. “The hardest topic is Syria. The future of Hizbollah and the Shia is directly related to the future of Syria. If Bashar is to be sacrificed, let’s sacrifice him and not Syria.”
The most dramatic sign of dissent within Hizbollah is the cancellation of a forthcoming party convention that is usually held every three years - the first time anybody can remember it being dropped. The official explanation is that it would be a security risk.....

Beyond Lebanon, Hizbollah’s prestige, once sky-high, now looks tarnished. Instead of being praised among Arabs for standing up to Israel, it is seen by many as the lackey of a bloodstained dictator.
When Hamas abandoned its support for Syria, under pressure from Palestinians appalled by the regime’s slaughter, Ismail Haniya, its leader in Gaza, dramatically announced it during Friday prayers in Cairo. “I salute the Syrian people who seek freedom, democracy and reform,” he said. There were calls of “No Hizbollah and no Iran” from the crowd.
For sticking with the Damascus regime, Hizbollah has been criticised by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Gulf States.
Its support for the Assad regime was “an obvious strategic mistake”, said Abdel-Halim Qandil, the co-founder of the new left-of-centre Egyptian political party Kefaya (Enough). “It would have been better to be neutral or to keep silent,” he said.
There is growing unease even among Hizbollah’s grass-roots supporters in its political heartlands of South Beirut, and speculation that it will lose out politically as well.
“My mother has always voted for Hizbollah, but she has seen the television pictures of dead children in Syria and she is horrified,” said one Hizbollah supporter. “Of course she is behind the resistance. But for the first time in her life I think she may not vote for them in the next election.”".

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Syria - Syrian ceasefire: Going up in smoke

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة/ انهيار هدنة العيد


"تسلط الحلقة الضوء على استمرار الاشتباكات بسوريا في عيد الأضحى برغم سريان الهدنة، وسط تبادل للاتهامات بين النظام والمعارضة بشأن المسؤول عن انهيار هدنة عيد الأضحى التي دعا إليها الأخضر الإبراهيمي، خاصة وأن الشبكة السورية لحقوق الإنسان أحصت 221 خرقا منذ بدء سريان الهدنة صباح أول أيام العيد."

Al-Jazeera Video: تعرض بلدة حيش في ريف إدلب لقصف شديد

Real News Video (with Transcript): Rally Calls for Release of "Holy Land Five"


Michael Ratner : Government incarceration of five leaders of a Muslim foundation that supported Palestinians is an affront to human rights 

More at The Real News

Real News Video (with Transcript): Both Candidates Misleading on Iran and Afghanistan


Gareth Porter: Obama and Romney debate a false narrative about US foreign policy
 
More at The Real News

Saudi Arabia: Stop Prosecuting Peaceful Protesters


Rights Activists Among Those Charged in New Case


"(Beirut) – Saudi authorities should stop using the courts to prosecute and punish people for peaceful protest.
On October 17, 2012, the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution charged 19 men with “instigating chaos and sedition” and “gathering illegally” after they participated in a peaceful protest on September 23 outside Turfiya prison, in Qassim province in central Saudi Arabia. They were seeking the release of family members, some of whom have been held for years without charge. On October 18, a criminal court sentenced 15 of the men to between 3 and 15 days in prison, along with suspended sentences of between 50 and 90 lashes and suspended jail terms of between two and five months. The trial of the remaining four is scheduled for November 4.
Instead of addressing the protesters’ concerns, the Saudi government has used the judicial system to punish them,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The sentences handed to these men are part of a wider effort to target and harass activists across the country.”......"