Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر/ 20/7/2013

THE SAME OLD SHIT!
NOTHING CHANGES.


"أبعاد توصل الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين لاتفاق يضع أساسا لاستئناف محادثات السلام برعاية أميركية. تقديم: خديجة بن قنة. تاريخ البث: 20/7/2013. الضيوف: عبد الستار قاسم. عبد الله عبد الله. يحيى موسى.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story : The fight for Morsi

"We look at a divided Egypt as the ousted president's supporters remain defiant. Adrian Finigan discusses with guests: Khalil Anani, a scholar of Middle East politics at the University of Durham. He is also the author of The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt; Amr Darrag, a member of the executive board of the Freedom and Justice party. He was also a former cabinet minister under deposed president Mohamed Morsi; and Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University."

Uncle Sam’s Big, Big Ears

By Eric Margolis

"
We know that electronic spying has completely run amok when tiny Luxembourg’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, just  resigned over a nasty scandal involving his nation’s tiny intelligence service.
According to some reports,  Luxembourg’s ruler, Grand Duke Henri, was bugged by means of a Dick Tracy-style watch.   All this recalls the late comic Peter Sellers’s delightfully silly film, “The Mouse that Roared.”
Europe, however, is not laughing. Recent revelations of massive, ultra-intrusive US electronic spying in Europe by fugitive National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden have ignited a firestorm of outrage – and hypocrisy – across the European Union.
Germany, with sinister memories of the Gestapo and East German Stasi, is particularly incensed.  The magazine “Der Spiegel” says documents shown it by Snowden show that NSA read half a billion phone calls, emails, faxes and bank communications in Germany alone – in a month.  German officials called this spying “disgusting” and “intolerable.”

France’s foreign minister, Alain Juppé, denounced the US for spying on a close ally.   Russia and China rubbed their hands in glee over Washington’s acute embarrassment.....

Even so, Washington’s lame excuse “everyone does it” or blaming “terrorism” is clearly bogus.  No other nation mounts such an intensive worldwide electronic spying operation.  Spying on EU trade negotiators discussing banana quotas has nothing to do with so-called terrorism.
Bureaucrats and politicians hate whistleblowers. Not so much because these brave, public-spirited people reveal deep dark secrets of state, but because they cause sharp political embarrassment and identify all sorts of dirty business concealed from voters.   That’s why lynchings are planned for both US Army whistleblower Bradley Manning and Ed Snowdon.
The real “national security” issue involved here is the security of  hypocritical politicians and career bureaucrats."

مؤكدا على إطلاق سراح أسرى؛ شطاينتس: تجديد المحادثات لا يمس بشروط نتانياهو

عــ48ـرب

"في حديثه مع الإذاعة الإسرائيلية "ريشيت بيت"، اليوم السبت، أكد الوزير للشؤون الإستراتيجية والاستخبارات يوفال شطاينتس أنه تقرر في الاتفاق على بداء المفاوضات مع السلطة الفلسطينية إطلاق سراح عدد معين من الأسرى الفلسطينيين بينهم عدد من كبار الأسرى. وقال شطاينتس أن هؤلاء الأسرى المشار إليهم قضوا سنوات طويلة في السجون، وأن عملية إطلاق سراحهم ستكون تدريجية على "نبضات". كما أكد شطاينتس على أن إطلاق سراح الأسرى لا يمس بالمبادئ التي وضعها رئيس الحكومة الإسرائيلية بنيامين نتانياهو. وأشار في هذا السياق إلى أن قضية تجميد البناء الاستيطاني ليست على جدول الأعمال، كما أنه لا يوجد تصريحات مسبقة بشأن الحدود، وأن يلتزم الفلسطينيون بإجراء مفاوضات جدية لمدة تسعة شهور على الأقل، وعدم العمل ضد إسرائيل في الساحة الدولية خلال هذه الفترة. وقال أيضا إن رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية محمود عباس غير متحمس لتجديد المفاوضات، وأنه اقتيد إليها غصبا عنه. على حد تعبيره. وأضاف شطاينتس أن أداء عباس وحالته الموضوعية يثيران الشكوك بشأن قدرته على تقديم التنازلات المطلوبة للاتفاق. "

Real News Video: Semantics of Coup Splits Egyptians & World Leaders

Turkish PM Erdogan refuses meeting with Egypt VP ElBaradei, as liberal opposition remains silent over undemocratic practices of military rule 

Alas, Nobody Lives There Anymore

[This article was first published in Al-Shorouk newspaper in Egypt on the 16^th of July in Arabic. It was first translated at Bassem Youssef's request for Tahrir Squared. Credit for the translation goes to Nadine H. Hafez.]

By Bassem Youssef

".....
Take the leaders of the Brotherhood to court – and investigate the events at the Republican Guard. Ensure the autonomy of justice whether the victims are from your camp, or the other’s. Demand a clear framework within which all political parties are to operate, so that no party can ever spread such discriminatory, sectarian rhetoric again. Yes, the leaders of the Brotherhood must be tried just as the leaders of the National Democratic Party (NDP) were tried in the case of provision of enough evidence and within the limits of the law. But remember you will never be able to erase the existence of those thousands off the face of the Earth. You will not be able arrest those thousands and their families and children, and you will not be able to prevent them from winning syndicate elections. All you’re currently doing is repeating their past mistakes by turning a blind eye to those thousands, but you are only burying a living truth that will come back to hit you, or the coming generations in the face.

Kudos to those who have not allowed the victory high to rob them of their humanity; to those few who are currently isolated by everyone else and are not welcome in either camp unless they go with the current flow of hatred and gloating.

Humanity has now become an isolated island among wild waves of discrimination and extremism. On this island live those isolated few, their voices fading in the midst of the roaring cries for vengeance and murder. I’m not optimistic about a population increase on that island anytime soon. But maybe in the future people will migrate to it and try to get to know this thing called humanity that we’ve all been stripped of.

What I fear most is if a time comes when we pass by that island and cry in dismay: "Alas, nobody lives there anymore.""

Military-Business Alliances in Egypt Before and After 30 June: Interview with Wael Gamal

by Bassam Haddad
Jadaliyya

"I had the pleasure of conducting this interview with Wael Gamal, one of the more reliable and informed journalists who addresses critically political-economic variables in Egypt. In this interview, Wael addresses the less discussed dire social and economic situation that spurred the 30 June protests and the immediate aftermath, first under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and recently under an anti-Brotherhood loose coalition that is unfolding at the moment. Paramount in this interview is the role of military-business relations and prospects for change in social and economic policies in light of seemingly increasing influence of big capital.
The caveat that Wael repeatedly refers to involves the wider opportunity now available for various social forces to exert pressure on government and confront elitist economic policies. Yet, it is not a struggle whose outcome can be determined in advance. Wael addresses a number of indicators to watch for as the new government is formed, and as the battle for guiding Egypt's political economy unfolds in relation to economic policies, IMF loans and "packages," and the management of subsidies.
Wael recounts significant factors that augmented resentment against the Brotherhood during the two years after the ousting of Mubarak, and treats this resentment and opposition as a force that is likely to pressure whatever current government and alliances are formed in the direction of asserting the demands for social and economic rights for wide sectors of the population. He identifies significant and strategic relations between the military and big business in current potential ruling formulas, but does not discount the ability of the non-fuloul segments of the protest movement to push forth with its basic demands.

Wael Gamal is an Egyptian journalist at al-Shurouq newspaper in Cairo. He has written extensively on Egypt's politics and society, with an emphasis on political economy."

People, power, or propaganda? Unraveling the Egyptian opposition

by Max Blumenthal
Link

Uncorroborated turnout estimates of the June 30 protests have used to justify the actions of the military.

The debate over the legitimacy of Egypt's new, military-installed government has become a popularity battle, with some of the most vocal supporters of the coup claiming that the June 30 protests against President Mohammed Morsi represented the largest demonstrations in human history, a real-life Cecil B. DeMille production, with crowd sizes ranging anywhere between 14 to 33 million people - over one-third of the entire population of Egypt.

The importance of head counts to the military-installed government's international legitimacy was on display at a July 11press conference at the US State Department. Pressed by Matt Lee of the Associated Press on whether the Obama administration considered Morsi's ouster a coup, and if it would respond by canceling aid including a planned shipment of four F-16's to Egypt, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki countered by citing Tamarod's figures, declaring that the US could not reverse the will of the "22 million people who spoke out and had their voices heard."

Baseless claims born in an echo chamber

Among the first major Egyptian public figures to marvel at the historic size of the June 30 demonstrations was the billionaire tycoon Naguib Sawiris. On June 30, Sawiris informed his nearly one million Twitter followers that the BBC had just reported, "The number of people protesting today is the largest number in a political event in the history of mankind." Sawiris exhorted the protesters: "Keep impressing…Egypt."

Sawiris was not exactly a disinterested party. He had boasted of his support for Tamarod, lavishing the group with funding and providing them with office space. He also happened to be a stalwart of the old regime who had thrown his full weight behind the secular opposition to Morsi.

Two days after Sawiris' remarkable statement, BBC Arabic's lead anchor, Nour-Eddine Zorgui, respondedto a query about it on Twitter by stating, "seen nothing to this effect, beware, only report on this from Egypt itself." Sawiris seemed to have fabricated the riveting BBC dispatch from whole cloth.

Some Egyptian opponents to Morsi appear to have fabricated Western media reports to validate the crowd estimates. Jihan Mansour, a presenter for Dream TV, a private Egyptian network owned by the longtime Mubarak business associate Ahmad Bahgat, announced, "CNN says 33 million people were in the streets today. BBC says the biggest gathering in history."

There is no record of CNN or BBC reporting any such figure. But that did not stop a former Egyptian army general, Sameh Seif Elyazal, from declaring during a live CNN broadcast on July 3, just as the military seized power from Morsi, "This is not a military coup at all. It is the will of the Egyptians who are supported by the army. We haven't seen in the last -- even in modern history, any country in the world driving 33 million people in the street for four days asking the president for an early presidential election." CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Christian Amanpour did not question Elyazal's claim, or demand supporting evidence.

Three days later, Quartet's Middle East special envoy Tony Blair hyped a drastically different, but equally curious, crowd estimate. In an editorial for the Observer (reprinted by the Guardian), Blair stated, "Seventeen million people on the street is not the same as an election. But it is an awesome manifestation of people power." The former UK Prime Minister concluded that if a protest of a proportionate size occurred in his country, "the government wouldn't survive either."

From what source did the claim of 17 million demonstrators originate? Apparently, it was a single anonymous military official. One of the first Egyptian outlets to cite the number was the newspaperShorouk, which headlined its June 30 report, "Military source: The number of demonstrators is 17 million and increasing."

These Two Have Just Announced That They Will Continue Selling What is Left of Palestine. The Palestinian People? What Palestinian People? They Are in Deep Coma!

These Two Have Just Announced That They Will Continue Selling What is Left of Palestine...... 

The Palestinian People? 
What Palestinian People? They Are in Deep Coma!

Israel: Demolitions of Bedouin homes in the Negev desert must end immediately

"Israel must immediately halt all demolitions of Arab Bedouin homes in communities in the Negev/Naqab desert which the government has refused to recognize officially, Amnesty International said, following news that the village of al-'Araqib was once again razed by land authorities.
“The Israeli authorities must halt demolitions in these communities and change course completely to guarantee all citizens’ right to adequate housing,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“The Israeli government’s Prawer-Begin plan would lead to the forced eviction of tens of thousands of Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel. The plan is inherently discriminatory, flies in the face of Israel’s international obligations and cannot be accepted in any circumstances.”
Bulldozers from the Israel Land Administration, accompanied by a large and heavily-armed police force in more than 60 vehicles, arrived in al-‘Araqib early on Tuesday morning and began to destroy 15 shacks, effectively flattening the village and displacing 22 families.
The village, which has never been officially recognized by the Israeli authorities despite the residents’ longstanding claims to their lands, has been demolished more than 50 times in the past three years. Each time, residents have tried to rebuild their homes, constructing makeshift shelters on the same land.  
“We have the right to remain here; our struggle has continued for generations and we will persevere,” said Aziz al-Turi, a resident from the village. “Our grandfathers are buried on this land. We will continue to rebuild and demonstrate to defend our right to live here.”
The latest demolition came a day after mass protests were staged across Israel, the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, against the proposed “Law for Regularizing Bedouin Habitation in the Negev”. This law would provide for the forced eviction of more than 30,000 residents from 35 “unrecognized” Bedouin villages in the Negev desert. In some areas, including Be’er Sheva and Sakhnin, Israeli police used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators opposing the plan.
All construction in these villages is considered illegal by the Israeli authorities, and their 70,000 residents lack basic services, including water and electricity.
Amnesty International is urging the Israeli authorities to scrap the draft law, which is expected to lead to a massive increase in home demolitions in these communities....."

Watch: Ali Abunimah, Guardian’s Ian Black and Israeli settler debate EU settlement rule

By Ali Abunimah

"What will new EU guidelines that ban funding of Israeli institutions operating inside the occupied Palestinian territories really mean?
Ali Abunimah appeared on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story on 17 July to discuss the question along with the Guardian’s Ian Black and Yishai Fleisher, an Israeli settler living in an illegal colony in eastern occupied Jerusalem.
“The settlements are war crimes, people who aid and abet the settlements are and should be treated as war criminals. In that context, this European move is very small, very little and very late,” Abunimah said.
“When I listen to the settler speak about biblical claims, biblical justifications to steal other people’s land and property,” Abunimah said of Fleisher, “I’m reminded … that at one point in humanity’s dark history, white slave owners used the bible to justify owning other human beings.”
Black argued that the EU’s “clear intention is to say that there is a difference between the State of Israel and the territories it has occupied since June 1967.”
He added that the EU move was designed to “raise awareness … that internationally the situation is untenable” and that the cost of the status quo for Israel is rising.
Black emphasized that the EU move came partly as a response to “the call from below, from ordinary citizens” in Europe for settlement goods to be labeled and for “boycott, divestment and sanctions” on Israel. “I think we’re seeing the European Union respond to that.”
Fleisher, who admitted to living in an area of eastern occupied Jerusalem being actively ethnically cleansed by settlers, claimed that the decision “delegitimizes” the European Union."

At the second kneel of the prayers, the attack began

In the early hours of 8 July, 51 Muslim Brotherhood supporters camped outside the Republican Guard club in Cairo were killed by security forces. Egypt's military claimed the protesters had attempted to break into the compound with the aid of armed motorcyclists.

After examining video evidence and speaking to witnesses, medics and protesters, the Guardian finds a different story

Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
The Guardian, Thursday 18 July 2013



LIAR, LIAR......

"......The military has said the assault on the protesters was provoked by a terrorist attack. At about 4am, the army says, 15 armed motorcyclists approached the Republican Guard club's compound. The army said the motorcyclists fired shots, that people attempted to break into the compound, and that the soldiers then had no choice but to defend their property.

But a week-long investigation – including interviews with 31 witnesses, local people and medics, as well as video analysis – found no evidence of the motorcyclist attack and points to a very different narrative, in which the security forces launched a co-ordinated assault on a group of largely peaceful and unarmed civilians.

The army turned down four requests to interview soldiers who were at the scene. A spokesman did provide footage of at least three pro-Morsi supporters using some form of firearm some time after the start of the massacre. But the earliest act of provocation the army has been able to prove – a protester throwing stones – comes at 4.05am, more than half an hour after most witnesses agree the camp came under attack......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera talks to Amnesty about abuse claims in Egypt

"Mohamed Lotfy is a researcher at Amnesty International, who also contributed to the report that documented allefations of ill-treatment of detainees in Egypt's prisons."

Glenn Greenwald: Growing Backlash Against NSA Spying Shows Why U.S. Wants to Silence Edward Snowden

Democracy Now!

"As Congress holds its second major public hearing on the National Security Agency’s bulk spying, we speak with Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first published whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations. The NSA admitted their analysis of phone records and online behavior far exceeded what it had previously disclosed. "The fact that you now see members of both political parties increasingly angry over the fact that they were misled and lied to by top level Obama administration officials, that the laws that they enacted in the wake of 9/11 — as broad as they were — are being incredibly distorted by secret legal interpretations approved by secret courts, really indicates exactly that Snowden’s motives to come forward with these revelations, at the expense of his liberty and even his life, were valid and compelling," Greenwald says. "If you think about whistleblowing in terms of people who expose things the government is hiding that they shouldn’t be, in order to bring about reform, I think what you’re seeing is the fruits of classic whistleblowing."....."

Egypt May Not go the Algeria Way

Analysis by Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

"CAIRO, Jul 18 2013 (IPS) - The ouster of Egypt’s first freely elected president by the military has led some to warn of a possible Algeria-style civil war. Local analysts, however, dismiss the likelihood of the “Algeria scenario” occurring in Egypt.

“For one, Egypt’s Islamist current is much less extremist than Algeria’s was when civil war erupted in that country,” Cairo-based political analyst Tawfiq Ghanem told IPS.

Numerous comparisons have been drawn with Algeria, where in 1992 the army took over after cancelling elections that Islamist parties were poised to win. The move triggered a decade of fierce civil war between various Islamist groups and the army-backed government, in which tens of thousands of people are thought to have been killed.

Ghanem, however, dismissed the possibility of such a scenario playing out in Egypt. “Egypt’s Islamist current, including both the Muslim Brotherhood and the allied Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya (which formally renounced violence in 1997), are much more moderate in outlook than their Algerian counterparts were,” he said.

“What’s more, Egypt’s main Islamist factions are considerably more disciplined and have more control over their members than Algeria’s Islamic Salvation Front had at the time.”
Ghanem also pointed to Egyptians’ “historical antipathy to violence.”....."

Egypt's unrestrained democracy

The Egyptian revolution has paved the way for a democracy based on liberation from economic exploitation, political repression and ideological hegemony

By Wael Gamal , Wednesday 17 Jul 2013
Ahram Online

".........The Egyptian revolution opened the door for forces seeking the democracy of values even in Europe and the US. The struggle of the Egyptian people on the streets and the forces they created outside the traditional paradigms of power have inspired those who are today fighting for their livelihoods in Athens, Chicago, Dublin, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Time magazine is not opposed to a military coup or its risks, whose sole remedy is on the street that is now governing and has become the reference for everyone today. Instead, it is forcing on us Fukuyama’s "end of History" theory on the capitalist democracy model, in the hope of preventing Egypt’s fever from infecting the cradle of this teetering model in Europe and the US.

The Egyptian revolution and the street imposing its will in Cairo, Alexandria, Fayyoum, Suez, the Aluminium Complex in Nagaa Hamadi, Ceramica Cleopatra and Al-Sharqiya Tobacco are opening the doors of history to create a new democracy based on liberation from economic exploitation, political repression and ideological hegemony.

Behind the door lay in wait those who benefit from continuing the status quo, whether major world corporations, governments, military alliances, international financial institutions, regional powers, Muslim Brotherhood, businessmen, military and politicians in the corridors of power and guardians of former regimes. But their exertions will be unsuccessful in closing the doors; theirs is a wretched endeavour that is doomed to fail."

Bahrain, kingdom of Kafka

The absurd rules that suppress civil society activity

By Brian Whitaker

"The right of people to get together and organise themselves in pursuit of shared interests is one of the building blocks for a free and open society. It is also something that Arab regimes fear, since active citizenship undermines their authority.

Consequently, many of them have introduced laws creating arbitrary powers to restrict, control and otherwise manipulate the activities of civil society organisations.

Among Arab countries, association laws (as they are usually known) follow a general pattern that seems inspired more by the novels of Franz Kafka than sound principles of governance.

First, they require clubs, societies and other non-government organisations to register with the authorities while making it difficult, and in some cases almost impossible, for them to do so.

Organisations that succeed in registering then face of host of bureaucratic and mostly pointless rules for how they should conduct their affairs. These basically create an obstacle course to trip up the unwary and often also impose restrictions on fundraising.

Finally, the law usually gives the authorities power to close down or take control of an organisation if they disapprove of what it is doing.

One of the worst offenders in this respect is Bahrain. Although the kingdom's official media never tire of telling us about the "atmosphere of freedom and openness" created under the "wise leadership" of His Majesty King Hamad, Bahrain's associations law is probably the most restrictive among the Arab countries. 

A recent report from Human Rights Watch looks in detail at the workings of this law, along with others regulating political groups and trade unions. 

Bahrain's current law on associations dates back to 1989. Here are some of its key points......"

Al-Jazeera Video: End to Egypt energy crisis prompts questions

"Egypt has a new interim cabinet. But in the lead up to the June 30 rallies that brought down Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi the country was in the middle of a fuel crisis. There were also long electricity blackouts. But for now, both issues appear to be solved, and many people are asking how? Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Cairo."

Real News Video: Violent Clashes erupt between Police and Morsi Supporters

Hours after 7 people were killed in latest wave of violent street clashes in city's capitol, interim president Adli Mansour announces cabinet.

Fighting new Nakba in the Negev

Popular resistance against the Prawar plan has united Palestinians of all affiliations and origins.

By Ben White

Al-Jazeera

"From the refugees in 1949 looking over the Lebanese border at the land from which they were expelled, to the students in the Gaza banned by the Israeli Supreme Court from studying in the West Bank, Israeli colonisation has fragmented the Palestinian people over the decades with walls, fences, guns, bureaucracy and propaganda.

Overcoming that fragmentation has become further complicated in recent times on account of the moribund state of representative bodies like the Palestine Liberation Organisation, as well as the long-running split between Fatah and Hamas.
In the last few years, however, there have been moments when particular circumstances have prompted coordinated resistance, at least on a grassroots level, amongst Palestinians wherever they may be. One such example was the widespread protests prompted by the massacre in Gaza in 2008-9 (otherwise known as Operation Cast Lead). Another example is when Palestinians coalesced around the prisoners’ hunger strikes to launch solidarity activities from Haifa to Ramallah.

Now, Palestinians have united around opposition to a pending Israeli government plan to expel tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouin from communities in the Negev that await destruction in the name of ‘development’.
The Prawer plan, some years in the making, is part of a historical drive by the Israeli government to prioritise and privilege Jewish settlement in the Negev while forcing Bedouin citizens - those who weren’t expelled in the first decade of the state’s existence - to live in approved zones and shanty towns......."

Al-Jazeera Cartoon: Gullible Arabs and "Peace"

Egypt: Morsi supporters denied rights amid reports of arrests and beatings

"Hundreds of pro-Morsi supporters arrested by the Egyptian authorities have been denied their legal rights, said Amnesty International in a new briefing published today.

The organization has gathered testimonies from detainees who said that they were beaten upon arrest, subjected to electric shocks or hit with rifle butts.

The Egyptian authorities must respect the right to due process for those who have been rounded up and are facing accusations of inciting or participating in violence in the last two weeks. Allegations of ill-treatment must be investigated urgently.

“At this time of extreme polarization and division, it is more important than ever that the office of the Public Prosecutor demonstrates that it’s truly independent and not politicized,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International. “These cases risk being seen as mere retribution rather than justice.”.....

“Establishing trust in the justice system will be impossible if only supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood are targeted while security forces are absolved of responsibility for unlawful killings and their failure to protect protesters from violence,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International....."

As Expected, The Stooge Has Capitulated. تقدم في جهود كيري واعلان مرتقب لاستئناف المفاوضات مع إسرائيل

As Expected, The Stooge Has Capitulated

"رام الله- (ا ف ب) – اعلن مسؤول فلسطيني كبير الاربعاء عن حدوث تقدم في مباحثات وزير الخارجية الامريكي جون كيري مع الجانبين الفلسطيني والاسرائيلي مشيرا إلى أن كيري سيعلن استئناف عملية السلام قبيل مغادرته المنطقة الجمعة.

وقال المسؤول الذي طلب عدم الكشف عن اسمه لوكالة فرانس برس ان”وزير الخارجية الامريكي مصمم على أن يعلن قبل مغادرته الجمعة اعادة استئناف المفاوضات”، مؤكدا حصول “تقدم في اللقاءات مع كيري بعد ان قدم مبادرته امس للرئيس محمود عباس خلال اللقاء في عمان”.

واضاف المسؤول ان عباس “سيترأس غدا الخميس اجتماعا للقيادة الفلسطينية لمناقشة مبادرة كيري والرد عليها”، موضحا انه “يجري اليوم مناقشتها من قبل طاقم المفاوضات الفلسطيني لدراستها وادخال بعض التعديلات عليها”.

وبحسب المسؤول فان كيري “ابلغ الجانب الفلسطيني انه مصمم على اعلان استئناف المفاوضات قبل مغادرته المنطقة يوم الجمعة القادم”.

والتقى كيري بعباس لمدة خمس ساعات مساء الثلاثاء في فندق في العاصمة الاردنية على وجبة افطار.

......."

Playing Both Sides: Lebanese officials say CIA warned them of imminent al Qaida attack on Hezbollah

"BEIRUT — The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency warned Lebanese officials last week that al Qaida-linked groups are planning a campaign of bombings that will target Beirut’s Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs as well as other political targets associated with the group or its allies in Syria, Lebanese officials said Monday.
The unusual warning – U.S. government officials are barred from directly contacting Hezbollah, which the U.S. has designated an international terrorist organization – was passed from the CIA’s Beirut station chief to several Lebanese security and intelligence officials in a meeting late last week with the understanding that it would be passed to Hezbollah, Lebanese officials said.
Hezbollah officials acknowledged the warning and took steps to tighten security in the southern suburbs that are known locally as Dahiya.
“Yes, a warning came from the CIA,” said a Hezbollah internal security commander who spoke on the condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. “They passed us this information through the mukhabarat (military intelligence), but we had our own information about the bombs.”
One Lebanese official who was at the meeting said the CIA warning included evidence that was “very convincing and scary” because it was so specific. The evidence included phone intercepts and very detailed information on a number of cells operating along Lebanon’s border with Syria, as well as inside Beirut itself.
“They had transcripts of calls made from known al Qaida people in Lebanon to people in the Gulf that included detailed information about the attacks, including the amounts of explosives that had been smuggled into Lebanon,” said one Lebanese intelligence official who is barred from speaking openly to reporters. “We have already begun to make arrests.”......

Residents of the area said they were taken aback by reports that the CIA had warned Hezbollah of a planned attack.
“We all think that the (Syrian rebels) are al Qaida and backed by the CIA and Israel,” said Abu Ibrahim, a 53-year-old day laborer from Haret Hriek, which hosts Hezbollah’s main complex of offices and homes for officials. “So why would they help us?......"

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/15/196755/lebanese-officials-say-cia-warned.html#.UeZ2MYzn_ct#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/15/196755/lebanese-officials-say-cia-warned.html#.UeZ2MYzn_ct#storylink=cpy

Al-Jazeera Video: UN: 5,000 people die monthly in Syria

We've been left to die, say Syrian rebels

"Syria's top rebel commander accused Britain of betrayal last night after it abandoned plans to arm the Syrian opposition.
Gen Salim Idris, the head of the Free Syrian Army, said the decision would "leave us alone to be killed" by President Bashar al-Assad, and pave the way for al-Qa'ida to dominate the rebel ranks.
Mr Idris hit out after Downing Street confirmed that UK prime minister Cameron had ruled out arming the opposition on advice from the British military.

The government had previously hinted that it was strongly considering it, successfully lobbying two months ago for an end to the European Union arms embargo.

But military chiefs at the National Security Council are understood to have warned Downing Street that the conflict was now too advanced for basic weapons supplies to make much difference. They said that could only be achieved by a much larger-scale intervention, involving jet strikes on regime air defences and bases, which Britain has already ruled out. Instead, Britain will draw up plans to train moderate rebel units and continue supplying "non-lethal" items such as body armour and communications equipment [How about bandaids??].
The British change of heart was greeted with fury by Mr Idris, whose organisation is one of the main moderate rebel groups fighting Mr Assad. It has spent much of the last two years trying to persuade the West to give it military backing.
"The West promises and promises. This is a joke now," Mr Idris said, the anger clear in his voice. "I have not had the opportunity to ask David Cameron personally if he will leave us alone to be killed. On behalf of all the Syrians, thank you very much."
The move comes amid growing signs that the Syrian conflict is now turning in Mr Assad's favour. Yesterday, Syrian troops moved into the rebel-held Qaboun district of Damascus, stepping up efforts to drive the opposition from the capital.
Backed by fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Syrian forces have also captured a number of key towns from the rebels, who have complained that foreign weapons supplies have all but dried up.

"What are our friends in the West waiting for?" asked Mr Idris. "For Iran and Hezbollah to kill all the Syrian people?"(© Daily Telegraph, London)"

"The Jailers Should Be Jailed": Sharif Abdel Kouddous on the Embrace of Egypt’s Military Post-Morsi

Democracy Now!

"After a week of relative quiet, new clashes have erupted in Egypt in the ongoing conflict over the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. At least seven people were killed and more than 260 wounded in overnight violence after supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood blocked traffic and marched on a key square. The unrest came just as the Obama administration resumed efforts to engage in Egypt’s political divide. In the first visit by a U.S. official since Morsi’s ouster, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns held talks with military leaders and the interim government. We go to Cairo to speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous. "We’re seeing a resurgence of nationalism and national amnesia, almost, that is applauding the Army and the security forces to crack down with impunity and to lead the country’s transition," Sharif says. "We have to remember this is the same Army that really mismanaged the first transition, helped lead us to this political crisis in the first place, that is guilty of many crimes itself. The jailers themselves should be jailed."....."

Al-Jazeera Video:Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Cairo

Al-Jazeera Video: Empire : of Secrets: Secrets of surveillance

"As revelations of systemic snooping continue to hit the headlines, who is watching the watchers? Watch this additional footage about America's Empire of Secrets."

Egyptian brothers and sisters!

Internal divisions will hinder Egyptians and will compromise the their revolution, argues scholar Hamid Dabashi.

By Hamid Dabashi
Al-Jazeera

".....
Those of you who demonstrated for Morsi do not think of those who rallied against him as your enemies - they are not - just like you they are Egyptians, mostly Muslims, share your fate and dream your common dream for a free and democratic future. They were not asking for a military coup. They were exercising their democratic rights.
Overcome the nasty old colonial divide between the religious and the secular, and the equally pernicious divide between Sunni and the Shia, the Muslim and the Copt, the Jew, the agnostic, the atheist! They are all false divides. Look into each other’s eyes - see your brothers and sisters, with or without a beard, with or without a niqab. Arrange for joint rallies, hold each other’s hands - you are not each other’s enemies. The enemy is not personified - it is structural to the world we have inherited and your revolution has paved the way for us to change. 
Your magnificent revolution has taught us how to heal these enduring wounds. Those who come with billions to give you they are not the solution - they are part of the problem. Egypt does not need hand out, Egyptians do not need generosity - your magnificent revolution is the definition of generosity. With your industry, your hard work, your ingenuity, you will make Egypt a model for the rest of the world to follow and emulate.
What matters is not Morsi or another politician, Morsi or another president - what matters is the future of Egypt, the fate of millions of human beings and the hopes of even more millions watching Egypt and hoping and wondering and dreaming.
The world watches you with fear and hope, which way will you go - will false divisions destroy your hopes, our hopes, or will the dawn of a new generation of thinking, of solidarity, of purposefulness, deliver you and deliver us all to better days?
May the force of reason, may the light of sanity, and may the grace of your collective will be with you and guide your way! 
Your brother in faith, and in solidarity! "

رئيس أركان الجيش السوري الحر يتهم كاميرون بخيانة المعارضة السورية

اللواء سليم إدريس

The Syrian Revolution Deserves Much Better Leadership Than People Like This Man! 

He Trusts Britain?? He Trusts the US??

This is Really Pathetic!

لندن- (يو بي اي): اتهم رئيس أركان الجيش السوري الحر، اللواء سليم إدريس رئيس الوزراء البريطاني، ديفيد كاميرون، بخيانة المعارضة السورية بعد تخليه عن خطط تسليحها بأسلحة نوعية.

وحذّر من أن قرار كاميرون “سيترك جيشه عرضة للقتل من قبل قوات النظام السوري، ويمهّد الطريق أمام تنظيم القاعدة للسيطرة على صفوف المتمردين”.

وقال ادريس في مقابلة مع صحيفة (ديلي تلغراف) نشرت الثلاثاء “إن الوعود الغربية اصبحت طرفة الآن، ولم تتح لي الفرصة لسؤال كاميرون شخصياً ما إذا كان سيتركنا لوحدنا لكي نُقتل، وأنا أشكره شكراً جزيلاً بالنيابة عن جميع السوريين”.

وتساءل “ما الذي ينتظره أصدقاؤنا في الغرب؟ وهل ينتظرون قيام ايران وحزب الله بقتل الشعب السوري بأكمله”.

وأضاف ادريس “أن رفض الغرب تسليح العناصر الأكثر اعتدالاً في التمرد سيسلّم سوريا الثورة إلى الجماعات المتطرفة التي تملك أصلاً مداخل أفضل للأسلحة، ولن يكون هناك جيش سوري حر لتسليحه لأن الجماعات الاسلامية ستسيطر على كل شيء، وهذا لن يكون في مصلحة بريطانيا”.

وتأتي تصريحات ادريس بعد 24 ساعة على كشف الصحيفة نفسها عن أن كاميرون، تخلى عن تسليح من وصفتهم بالمتمردين السوريين، بعد أن حذّره قادة الجيش من أن الخطوة يمكن أن تورّط قواتهم في حرب شاملة.

وقالت الصحيفة إن القادة العسكريين البريطانيين ابلغوا كاميرون بأن ارسال أسلحة صغيرة وقذائف صاروخية لقوات المعارضة السورية لن يحدث فارقاً بعد أن تحول الزخم إلى جانب نظام الرئيس بشار الأسد، وستقوم بريطانيا بدلاً من ذلك بوضع خطط للمساعدة في تدريب العناصر المعتدلة من قوات المعارضة السورية وتقديم المشورة لها ومواصلة تزويدها بمعدات غير فتاكة، مثل الدروع ومعدات الاتصالات.

وكان ادريس (55 عاماً)، الذي انشق عن الجيش السوري في أيار/ مايو 2012 وتولى رئاسة المجلس العسكري الأعلى في كانون الأول/ ديسمبر الماضي، حذّر من فشل ما وصفها بالثورة ضد نظام الرئيس بشار الأسد ما لم يتم تزويد مقاتليه بالأسلحة من قبل بريطانيا ودول غربية أخرى.

Syrian refugees in Egypt swept up in turmoil after Mursi ouster

AP

"CAIRO: Egyptian officials turn back a planeload of Syrians at Cairo airport. A popular presenter on Egyptian television warns Syrians to steer clear of protests or face the consequences. An Egyptian state school refuses admission to Syrian children. Once welcomed with open arms, many of the tens of thousands of Syrians who took refuge in Egypt from the civil war at home now find themselves targets of hate speech and intimidation.
Their dramatic change in fortune is one of the unexpected consequences of the Egyptian military’s ouster of President Mohammad Mursi, whose Islamist-dominated government offered them favorable conditions.
The shift could have a profound impact on the lives of Syrians in Egypt as they currently find themselves in a sort of legal limbo, waiting to see where the political winds will drop them. In what many see as a hint of what lies ahead, Egypt’s new military-backed interim government already has imposed new travel restrictions.
That has spooked many Syrians who fear their current visas won’t be renewed and they could be forced to leave Egypt. Many have invested their savings in businesses or simply cannot return to their war-ravaged cities.
“Our biggest fear now is that we get deported,” said Azzam Ayed, a 32-year-old Syrian who refused to give his hometown out of fears for his security.
The backlash stems from support of the mainly Sunni Syrian opposition by Mursi during his year in office, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which offered cheap housing and food aid to Syrians who fled the civil war.
With the country divided, Mursi’s critics accused Syrians of joining the protests calling for him to be reinstated.
Human rights groups have urged Egypt to rescind the measures.
“Egypt may be going through tumultuous times, but it must not return anyone, including Syrians, to somewhere threatening their life or freedom,” Nadim Houry, the New York-based group’s deputy Middle East director, said in a statement last week. “[Egypt] simply should not strand Syrians this way, especially those who have fled such a devastating conflict at home.”
The U.N. says some 70,000 Syrians are registered in Egypt, although officials estimate the actual number may be twice that since many have opted not to register. That would make Egypt home to the fourth-largest community of Syrian refugees after Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.
Those who came to Egypt received a warm welcome. Mursi’s government supported the rebels’ cause, and kept in place a decades-old open-door policy that allowed Syrians to come and go without prior visas. They were eligible to receive medical care at state hospitals, while their children could enroll in government schools.
Over the past few months, Syrians redefined some parts of Cairo, opening their own restaurants and cafes in areas where many of them settled.
But the warm welcome quickly evaporated after the military toppled Mursi on July 3 after four days of mass protests calling for the Islamist leader’s removal.
Television networks critical of Mursi aired allegations that the Muslim Brotherhood was paying Syrian refugees to take part in pro-Mursi protests. The arrest of at least six Syrians taking part in violent street clashes only fanned the flames.
“Syrians are facing a defamation campaign,” said Syrian activist Salma Gazayerli. “Yes, some of the Syrians support Mursi, but how many? The majority ... know they are guests in Egypt and they behave accordingly.”
Gazayerli, co-founder of the nonprofit Union of Syrian Women, said the Brotherhood had “manipulated the needs of some Syrians,” offering them cheap housing from Islamic relief groups in return for participating in protests supporting Mursi.
Those who refused, she claimed, were cut off from the aid.
Senior Brotherhood official Saad Emara rejected the allegations. “There were millions in the streets. Can we give them all money?” he said after mass rallies Friday by Mursi supporters.
Mursi made supporting the Syrian opposition in its fight against President Bashar Assad a cornerstone of his foreign policy, and Cairo is the official headquarters of the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group.
He attended a June 15 rally organized by some of his hard-line allies in a show of solidarity with the Syrian rebellion. Some of the speakers at the rally called for jihad, or holy war, in Syria, and a senior official in Mursi’s office earlier said authorities would not prevent Egyptians from traveling to Syria to join the rebel cause.
Syrians say they noted a shift in the public mood against them following the speech, but that the honeymoon in Egypt ultimately came to an abrupt end when Mursi was swept aside.
Last week, popular TV presenter Youssef al-Husseini warned Syrians taking part in pro-Mursi protests they would be beaten with shoes if caught.
“If you are a man, you return to your country and solve your problem there,” he said on his night talk show on private ONTV. “If you interfere in Egypt, you will beaten by 30 shoes.”
His comments triggered uproar on social networking sites, prompting the network to apologize. But the damage was done.
“All of a sudden, Egyptians started hating us because of the media. Before June 30, they would welcome us on the streets and greet us as guests. Now Syrians are harassed on the streets with a tone of, ‘Why don’t you go back home?’” Gazayerli, the activist, said.
Alaa Soqair, a 45-year-old Syrian, said his four children had been refused admission to a state school. He declined to say where in Syria he was from because of fears for his security.
“They didn’t even as much as look at the documents,” he said. “They just said Syrians will not be admitted to state schools anymore.”
Five days after Mursi was pushed from office, Egyptian authorities implemented new entry rules for Syrians, requiring them to obtain a visa prior to arrival. Those already in the country with no valid visa or resident permit are at risk of arrest.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the measures were temporary and urged Syrians to stay away from protests by the Muslim Brotherhood against the new political order. The move, which exempted those with valid Egyptian visas, caught Syrians by surprise and, in one incident, an entire planeload of 200 passengers arriving from Syria was denied entry and sent back.
“We recognize the legitimate right of the country to put its own measures in place,” said Syrian activist Sima Diab, who is based in Egypt. “But what was shocking is that it all happened so quickly, in a blink of an eye.”"

Wave of attacks on Egypt Copts, state failing to act: NGO

AFP

"CAIRO: Egypt's Christians have been targeted in a wave of attacks since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, and the state is failing to protect them, an NGO said Monday.
Sectarian violence since the latest political upheaval in Egypt began has killed four Coptic Christians in Luxor governorate, with churches elsewhere torched and looted, said the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
A Coptic man was also found decapitated on Thursday, five days after being kidnapped in the restive Sinai, where gunmen killed a Coptic priest the week earlier.
"What is disturbing is the failure of the security apparatus to act -- which at times looks like collusion -- to protect citizens and their property who are being targeted on the basis of their religion," the EIPR's Ishak Ibrahim said in a statement.
"Copts are paying the price of the inflammatory rhetoric against them coming from some Islamist leaders and supporters of the former president, who accuse Coptic spiritual leaders of conspiring to foment army intervention to remove Dr Mursi," he added.
In the worst violence cited by the rights group, in the two day's after Mursi's ouster, revenge attacks over the killing of a Muslim man in Al-Dabaiya, a town west of Luxor, left four Copts dead and several homes torched and looted, the NGO said.
It accused the police of taking no action to protect them or escort them from their homes, which were surrounded, despite the fact they repeatedly calls the security services for help.
The EIPR said it was troubled by the "disregard" of state institutions for these incidents and called on the interim authorities to take swift action to protect Egyptians and "end inflammatory campaigns targeting citizens on the basis of religion".
Sectarian tensions in Egypt have risen since an Islamist came to power for the first time in 2012, following the country's first free elections.
Egypt's Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II accused Mursi of "negligence" over his response to clashes outside Cairo's Coptic cathedral in which two people died and many were wounded.
The funeral service was for four Christians killed in a gun battle with Muslims in a town north of Cairo in which one Muslim also died."

BECAUSE WORDS CAN KILL:
Members of Gamaat Islamiyya distributed leaflets inciting against Copts in Assiut.

Syria: Security Council Should Demand Humanitarian Access

Barring Humanitarian Groups Contributed to al-Qusayr Deaths

Human Rights Watch

"The United Nations Security Council, during its debate on July 16, 2013, should call for the Syrian government and armed opposition groups to grant humanitarian organizations access to civilians and wounded trapped by fighting in Syria. The government and opposition groups should ensure safe passage for civilians and medical treatment for all those wounded.
Denial of humanitarian access and safe passage to civilians trapped in fighting in violation of the laws of war has been a recurring issue during the Syrian armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said. A recent Human Rights Watch investigation into the government and Hezbollah attack on al-Qusayr, near Homs, found that the government’s refusal to allow humanitarian organizations access to the town appears to have contributed to several dozen deaths because no safe evacuation routes were available to civilians, and wounded people were denied adequate medical care.
“Many lives in al-Qusayr might have been saved if the Syrian government had allowed aid organizations to do their job,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “When people are dying every day, Security Council members should be calling for humanitarian access, not hiding behind political negotiations.”......"

Egypt: Investigate Police, Military Killings of 51

Accountability Essential to Break Cycle of Impunity

"(New York) – Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour should ensure impartial investigations of military officers and police for killings outside the Republican Guard headquarters on July 8, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today.
The investigations need to be conducted by the civilian judiciary, independent both institutionally and practically from the military chain of command.
Witnesses described a sequence of events on July 8, in which the military and police used unnecessary force, leading to the deaths of 51 protesters. Prosecutors have investigated only Muslim Brotherhood supporters and leaders for their alleged roles in the clashes, but not the military and police forces.
“The military has a track record of resorting quickly and excessively with lethal force to break up protests,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Witness after witness described the military shooting into the crowd, including at unarmed people. The government needs to find out who was responsible and ensure they are held accountable if it hopes to show it will respect basic rights during this interim period.”......."

A Revolutionary People

Among the most complex lessons Egyptians have learned from the momentous events of the past two-and-a-half years is that they are a revolutionary people, writing their own destiny

A GOOD PIECE

By Khaled Fahmy , Monday 15 Jul 2013
Ahram Online

"We were taught in schools that we were a patient and passive people, and for generations we accepted facile sayings about the genius of Egypt, its tranquil landscape, its gentle river and undemanding people. And yet here we are, proving to ourselves that we write our own history and that we can depose our rulers if they do not succumb to our will.

This realisation — the realisation that we shape our own destiny — does not come easily. Like Prometheus who found himself punished by the gods for stealing fire, practicing “people power” has serious consequences. It is therefore imperative to grapple with this realisation specifically by posing the following key questions: Why did we revolt? When will our revolution come to an end? And more specifically: Why did we rise up against a president we chose in an election that was in itself a product of the first phase of our revolution?......

This revolutionary people, who managed to overthrow Mubarak in the first round of its revolution, and to topple the Brotherhood in the second round, must hold the army in check in the third round. In the short-run, we need an independent investigation into the events of the Republican Guard club (and parallel events in Manial, Sidi Gaber and Bein El-Sarayat). In the long run, we need to insist on putting an end to military trials for civilians, subjecting the military budget to parliamentary supervision, and opening the door for having a civilian minister of defence. Only then — that is, only when we hold the army in check and subject it to our will — will this revolutionary people rest and realise that its revolution has achieved its goals."

Is the Egyptian Revolution Dead?

by Philip Rizk
Jadaliyya

".......The fear is that the forces that maintain hegemony over our society are using every means possible to prevent the further fruition of our revolution. This includes a dirty game of exploiting these recent events by purposefully deepening divisions within Egyptian society to make their rule unavoidable, more violent and even less accountable to the population at large. Since 30 June this has meant an unending stream of bloodshed amongst Brotherhood supporters and civilians either protesting them or caught in the crossfire or within sectarian battles. We are caught in a situation where a population is being held hostage and their death is being incited and capitalized on by almost all political elites vying for power: the military generals, the Brotherhood and the liberals.
Today we are still in the midst of the January 25 Revolution. We face a serious threat of its co-optation but until now the power still lies with the people. In order to fight on we must both remember the past as well as see our immediate situation in light of the global power constellation.
We are not alone.
Despite the different contexts across Brazil, Turkey, and Chile, as in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and the United States, people are taking to the street to stand in the way of the rule of local elites by the logic of the longevity of their power and the increase of a minority’s wealth. Seeing all these revolutionary moments within one frame means that with or without democracy, with or without elections, popular rule is moving to the street and out of institutions and government offices. As Max Weber wrote, representation is a “structure of domination,” and thus we maintain the revolution’s cry, “the people want the fall of the system.”
We are at a global turning point.
We must fight on."

Israel PM declines to comment on explosion

Assad Vowed to "Retaliate" at the "Appropriate Time and Place,"........
The Same Empty Threats of the Past 40 Years!


"LATAKIA, Syria, July 14 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu declined to comment Sunday on whether Israel was responsible for last week's explosions in Latakia, Syria.
"I am not in the habit of saying what we did do or didn't do," he told CBS' Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation."
Netanyahu did say that he stands by his policy of preventing the transfer of dangerous weapons to the Hezbollah and other terror groups.
His comments come after an Israeli Dolphin class submarine allegedly attacked a Syrian arms depot at the Latakia port July 5, unnamed sources told Britain's The Sunday Times.

Citing Middle East intelligence sources, the Times reported the alleged Israeli navy strike was closely coordinated with the United States. The aim of the strike was to destroy about 50 Russian-made, Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missiles stored at the base, the newspaper said. The missiles had been shipped to Syria earlier in the year.

The Times report contradicted a CNN report Friday in which unnamed U.S. officials told the American broadcaster Israeli fighter jets bombed the base. The officials told CNN Israel was concerned the Russian-made missiles posed a threat to its naval force......"

Real News Video: Palestinians in Gaza react to Morsi's ouster, closure of Rafah crossing

The Egyptian army's decision to close the Rafah crossing, Gaza's only terminal to the outside world, and the demolishing of the underground tunnels along the border added more hardships and suffering to Gazans  

Real News Video: New Egypt PM & Army Set To Keep Egypt on Neo-Liberal Track

Zeinab Abul Magd: With an Egyptian military that has strong ties to foreign investors and a newly appointed liberal economist PM, Egypt can expect more of the same Mubarak-era economics  

فيديو.. إخوان بلا عنف: شباب الإخوان انسحبوا من "رابعة" و"النهضة" إعمالًا للعقل

"أكد حسين عبد الرحمن، المتحدث الإعلامي باسم حركة "إخوان بلا عنف"، أن الكثير من شباب الإخوان والجماعة الإسلامية وحزب الأصالة يأسوا من سياسة قيادات الإخوان الفاشلة التي ستؤدي إلى انهيار الجماعة, وقرروا الانسحاب من ميدان رابعة العدوية وميدان النهضة, مؤكدًا أن البلتاجي يخرج علينا يوميًا ليؤكد أن الشرعية للرئيس مرسي, وأنهم أيضًا يعترفون بذلك ولكن يجب أن ينظروا للوضع بأفق أوسع من ذلك بدلًا من سياسة العناد وليرضخوا للوضع ولخروج الملايين ضدهم. وأضاف عبد الرحمن عبر مداخلة هاتفية مع برنامج صباح أون اليوم أن شباب الإخوان يرغبون دائمًا بتحقيق المصالحة الوطنية والتعاون بين كل القوى السياسية, مضيفًا أنهم كإخوان بلا عنف مستمرون بطلب سحب الثقة من أعضاء مكتب الإرشاد من المرشد العام محمد بديع وسيقومون بالتصعيد حالة الاستمرار في هذه السياسات.
وأكد عبد الرحمن أنهم تواصلوا مع التنظيم الدولي لجماعة الإخوان المسلمين لعمل اجتماع عاجل في الأردن، لمناقشة تلك الوضع خوفًا من انهيار الجماعة.

"

Aljazeera’s Conspiracy Theory about Obama and Egypt is Brainless Mush

By Juan Cole

"Aljazeera Arabic has long since lost a lot of its previous journalisic standards, once its head, Waddah Khanfar, was fired in favor a member of the royal family. Some 22 Egyptian journalists just resigned from Aljazeera in Cairo in protest against its Fox-News-like biases in reporting on recent events.
Aljazeera English usually still does a good job, having a different editorial line and generally good reporters, often former BBC or ABC reporters.
But their publication of a frankly brain dead op-ed feature article purporting to show US support for anti-Morsi political forces is sheer conspiracy theory and very bad, unbalanced journalism.
All the piece shows is that the US State Department program in ‘democracy assistance’ granted small amounts of funding to … Suprise! democracy activists in Egypt. Many of the instances of such grants that the article mentioned actually occurred in the Hosni Mubarak period, and Mubarak often punished the pro-democracy groups that received such funding.
The article isn’t pro-Morsi, it is pro-Mubarak.
We’ve known about this funding for years – it is all over wikileaks, and there are indications sometimes Brotherhood- linked groups were considered for it.
And if it weren’t for US mutual relations with youth groups like April 6, the 2011 revolution might have been opposed by Washington and Morsi would never have escaped Mubarak’s prison at Wadi Natroun in the first place.
The author commits the logical fallacy of suggesting that since the US assisted some of the groups that later called for Morsi’s overthrow, Washington funded Morsi’s overthrow.
The logical fallacy involved is post hoc ergo propter hoc. What comes after something isn’t necessary caused by that something. That the US gave a little money to these groups is not proved to be connected in any way to their favorable view of Morsi’s overthrow, where they have one.
Europe also gave some funding for democracy promotion.
Egypt’s elite, including both the army and the Muslim Brotherhood, is so xenophobic (i.e. hates foreigners) and so conspiracy-minded that they even passed a law against perfectly innocent foreign funding of non-governmental organizations and jailed people about it. Saad Eddin Ibrahim of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Human Rights got this treatment from Mubarak and went to jail on similar pretexts.
The author admits he doesn’t know about NED funding for 2011 to present, i.e. has no proof of anti-Morsi funding from that quarter at all.
Morsi was overthrown by the Rebellion or Tamarrud Movement, which was founded in late April by networked youth who had nothing to do with the United States.
US Ambassador Anne Patterson called on Rebellion to cancel their planned June 30 demonstration, and was denounced by the youth activists as pro-Muslim Brotherhood. The Obama administration lobbied Gen. al-Sisi not to make a coup, and argued for Morsi’s democratic legitimacy.
This article is muddled mush, and will be cited by the equally brainless as proof of something. It isn’t."

Israel targeted Russian-made missiles in Syria, US officials say. The Rabbit retaliated by......bombing Damascus, Homs, Aleppo,......

Reports suggest Israel attacked anti-ship cruise missiles sent to Assad regime near the port of Latakia

The Rabbit retaliated by......bombing Damascus, Homs, Aleppo,...... 

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 14 July 2013

"US officials say Israel targeted advanced anti-ship cruise missiles near Syria's principal port city, Latakia, in an air attack this month, the New York Times reported.

The officials say the attack on 5 July near Latakia targeted a type of Russian-made missile called the Yakhont that Russia had sold to the Syrian government, the paper's website reported. Russia is a key political ally and arms supplier of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The officials provided no details on the strike, including the extent of the damage and how many missiles were used. The Times reported that the officials declined to be identified because they were discussing intelligence reports.
Israel maintains it is not involved in Syria's two-year-old civil war except to stop weapons transfers. The strike near Latakia was the fourth known air strike in Syria by Israel this year, the newspaper reported.
The attack came to light after Syrian rebels said they were not behind the explosions in Latakia on 5 July, according to the Times. Neither US nor Israeli officials have commented publicly on the report.
Reports surfaced earlier this year that Russia had delivered an advanced version of its Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile to Assad's regime even though Russia had said it was committed to peace talks. Those reports prompted the US to complain in May about an "ill-timed" step by Russia.
Such weapons would help to upgrade significantly Syria's capacity to target manned planes, drones and incoming missiles and would complicate efforts to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria if the US and other nations were to initiate one."