Mitchell Says “Peace Talks” a Matter of Weeks

Al-Manar

"17/06/2009 The Obama administration's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, urged Israel and the Palestinians Tuesday to renew “peace negotiations” despite the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech that closed the doors behaind any future talks. Mitchell refused to set a timetable, but said he hoped negotiations will be resumed within weeks......"

COMMENT: Mitchell knows what he is talking about. I also believe that all the Arab sheep, after loudly protesting the Netanyahu speech, will obey the U.S. order and continue the "peace process" charade.

What will be their line in the face of Netanyahu giving them all the finger? They will say that, "the U.S. assured us that Netanyahu is only posturing and playing for his domestic audience (Israel is a democracy, you know, unlike all the Arab regimes who do not need to bother with such niceties.) and what he said in his speech is not his final position. Also, the U.S. assured us that it will continue to use its influence with Israel to reach a settlement base on the "two-state solution."

So the charade will continue; that I guarantee. There is nothing else for the bankrupt PA and the Arab regimes.

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

This new poll asks a timely question:

Do you believe that foreign intervention serves democracy in the region?

With about 900 responding so far, 85% said no.

Arab Apathy

What is taking place in Iran today (regardless of which side you support or if the opposition is truly reformist or not) only reaffirms how the Arab people (youth in particular) are the most impotent and spineless people in the middle east.
When was the last time that they defied government orders and went to the street by the tens of thousands to show their displeasure
with anything their government has done ? Arab regimes have mastered the art of oppression so well for generations that they have created a generation of Arab youth that is fully happy to sit down , play cards , smoke Hookah and dream about going to Dubai or
the west to work and make a lot of money. A generation of youth that cares more about meaningless danish cartoons humiliating
the prophet than their daily humiliation and oppression. You have youth movements active all around the world from Latin America
to Iran to Turkey where the young people are trying to take an active role in determining their future, but not in the Arab world.
Arab youth's indifference and apathy is a direct result of the massive failure of their parent's generation. It is sad that everyone in the 3rd world it seems is attempting to change their reality , except Arabs , where the same tyrants and their sons have been ruling them for decades and that does not seem to concern them at all.

The Lebanese Elections

A Box Office Success?

By KARIM MAKDISI
CounterPunch

".....In sum, while Lebanon’s June 2009 elections might have been internationally praised as ‘free and fair,’ it represented a step backwards in terms of long-term, socially progressive reform for the Lebanese themselves. On the one hand it has re-entrenched sectarianism, deepened rifts and mistrust between Sunnis and Shia’a communities, and brought out the chauvinist tendencies within the Christian elite. On the other hand, the elections returned to power politicians committed to crony capitalism and dependency on regional patrons. There are no socially progressive elements in either camp, and there is little hope that the newly elected parliament will address the inherent structural problems in Lebanon’s sectarian system that lead inexorably to conflict. Indeed, the truth is that the current mood of good will and apparent compromise between the election winners and losers is almost entirely a function of regional rapprochements between Syria and Saudi Arabia, and Iran and the US, rather than a collective realization among the newly elected politicians that things must change. This of course means that if and when regional tension returns, Lebanon will likely unravel once again. With the “peace process” train back on track, the Lebanese would be wise to fasten their seatbelts......"

Beating and Torturing Children

All in a Day's Work for the IDF

By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch

Nazareth.

"The rights of Palestinian children are routinely violated by Israel’s security forces, according to a new report that says beatings and torture are common. In addition, hundreds of Palestinian minors are prosecuted by Israel each year without a proper trial and are denied family visits.

The findings by Defence for Children International (DCI) come in the wake of revelations from Israeli soldiers and senior commanders that it is “normal procedure” in the West Bank to terrorise Palestinian civilians, including children......"

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Habila Meets with Carter.

Netanyahu Speaks; The Israel-Palestine Ball Remains in Obama's Court

The Israeli prime minister's speech responding to U.S. wishes for the region amounted to little more than rhetorical change.

by Phyllis Bennis
Common Dreams

"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu threw a rhetorical bone to President Obama in his much anticipated speech on June 14, when he used the term "Palestinian state." But he conceded nothing of substance, reiterating Israel's continuing rejection of real Palestinian statehood, independence, sovereignty, and self-determination. He demanded that the Palestinians recognize and accept Israel as the "national homeland of the Jewish People," not a state of all its citizens, thus requiring Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of Israel's discriminatory practices. And his speech continued Israel's escalation of threats against Iran......"

Real News Video with Pepe Escobar: Struggle within Iranian elite Pt.2

Pepe Escobar: Aggressive US and Israeli policy strengthens hand of Iran's Revolutionary Guard

International activists continue their protest at the Egyptian side of Rafah terminal

"International activists carrying medications, food and aid supplies to the Gaza Strip, continued their protest at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border terminal demanding to be allowed into the coastal region.

Egyptian peace activists accompanying the international supporters stated that an American supporter started a hunger strike.

Four French activists, three Americans, two Egyptian reporters and an Italian national started the protest on June 13.

A German woman married to a Palestinian living in Gaza, and her six children, also joined the protest, as they are demanding to be allowed into the coastal region.

A Palestinian-Belgian man carrying insulin to his diabetic daughter in Gaza joined the protest on Monday. The man has not been able to see his daughter since several years due to the siege.

Furthermore, a Palestinian-Swedish family; the father, mother and their seven children, also joined the protest demanding to enter Gaza.

Egyptian security officers tried to force the protestors away from the border area, and even threatened to evacuate them by force."

Afghanistan's Operation Phoenix

by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, June 17, 2009

"On June 15, AP reported that "Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a four-star American general with a long history in special operations, took charge of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan (today), a change in command the Pentagon hopes will turn the tide in an increasingly violent eight-year war."

McChrystal is a hired gun, an assassin, a man known for committing war crime atrocities as head of the Pentagon's infamous Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) - established in 1980 and comprised of the Army's Delta Force and Navy Seals, de facto death squads writer Seymour Hersh described post-9/11 as an "executive assassination wing" operating out of Dick Cheney's office......

By 1968, the program was expanded and called Intelligence Coordination and Exploitation (ICEX), then Phoenix. From General William Westmoreland and "Ambassador-for-pacification Robert Komer" on down, "neutralizing" the VC was top priority.

Westmoreland took charge. A Civil Operations and Rural Development Support (CORDS) organization was established, under which Phoenix was run. Cooper cited numerous problems for its failure and criticized experts sifting through them to get it right next time. He called the program a "gimmick" unable to "compensate for South Vietnam's" popular opposition to the war and concluded that no counterinsurgency can succeed under those circumstances.

Certainly not in Afghanistan and Iraq, two countries historically opposed to foreign occupations with a record of brave resistance to end them......"

Khamenei rides a storm in a tea cup

By M K Bhadrakumar
Asia Times

"Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in his meeting with the principal opposition candidate in the presidential election, Mir Hossein Mousavi, clearly spelled out where Mousavi's loyalties ought to lie in the face of "provocative actions" from Iran's enemies. And with re-elected President Mahmud Ahmadinejad finding the time to attend a summit in Russia, the signs are that the color revolution struggling to be born on the streets of Tehran has miscarried.....

The Obama administration faces difficult choices. The stir in Tehran is fast becoming a "Twitter revolution". No such thing has ever happened there, despite the best efforts of former US vice president Dick Cheney and his covert team for well over four years for triggering "regime change".

The US is sensing the potential of a "Twitter revolution" in Iran. Earlier, in Moldova, the potential of Twitter to trigger convulsions in popular moods was studied. The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday it had contacted Twitter to urge it to delay a planned upgrade that would have cut daytime service to Iranians...."

Netanyahu's "brilliant" peace plan

A Good Comment

By Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 17 June 2009

"....First, Netanyahu wants Palestinians to become committed Zionists. They can prove this by declaring, "We recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own in this land." As he pointed out, it is only the failure of Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular to commit themselves to the Zionist dream that has caused conflict....

Mere heartfelt commitment to Zionism will not be enough, however. For the Palestinians' conversion to have "practical meaning," Netanyahu explained, "there must also be a clear understanding that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside Israel's borders." In other words, Palestinians must agree to help Israel complete the ethnic cleansing it began in 1947-48.....

....Some recalcitrant Palestinians may not wish to become Zionists. Therefore, the newly pledged Zionist Palestinians would have to launch a civil war to defeat those who foolishly insist on resisting Zionism. Or as Netanyahu put it, the "Palestinian Authority will have to establish the rule of law in Gaza and overcome Hamas." (In fact, this civil war has already been underway for several years as the American and Israeli-backed Palestinian "security forces," led by US Lt. General Keith Dayton, have escalated their attacks on Hamas)......"

Israel's efforts to suppress Palestinian activities in Jerusalem

Marian Houk, The Electronic Intifada, 16 June 2009
(Marian Houk is a journalist currently working in Jerusalem with experience at the United Nations and in the region. Her blog is www.un-truth.com.)

"Israel is currently using provisions in the lengthy documents of the Oslo accords as the legal basis for intensifying efforts to suppress activities in Jerusalem that the state says are linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA).....

The Israeli government argues broadly that because the Oslo accords leaves the issue of Jerusalem unresolved until final status talks, it is forbidden to function in Jerusalem. Yet, just a month after the first of the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres promised in writing that Israel would not "hamper" -- and would instead "preserve" and "encourage" -- the activity of "all the Palestinian institutions of East Jerusalem.".....

The latest examples of this crackdown were closure orders delivered last month by armed Israeli police and border police at the opening and closing sessions of this year's annual Palestine Festival of Literature, which were scheduled to be held in East Jerusalem's Al-Hakawati Palestinian National Theater......."

Video: Nahr al-Bared, "A Sip of Coffee"

a-films, Electronic Lebanon, 16 June 2009

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



"In May 2007, the battle between the militant group Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army broke out in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Almost the entire camp was destroyed during the three months of heavy fighting and in the months following the battle when the the Lebanese army had complete control of the camp. Two years later, nearly all the rubble has been cleared from the "old camp," the core of Nahr al-Bared. However, though the displaced residents grow increasingly desperate, reconstruction has yet to begin.

Not only does the Lebanese army keep residents away from the old camp, it also controls movement in and out of the surrounding area known as the "new camp." Anyone entering the new camp requires a valid permit issued by the army. Refugees and non-governmental organizations working to revitalize the once robust economy of the camp face crippling isolation, as the marketplace of Nahr al-Bared is totally cut off from the surrounding villages. A flailing economy and soaring unemployment are only a few of the consequences of the destruction and ongoing siege of the camp.

This 26-minute film follows a father and his son as they attempt to deal with their unemployment. The two have been living in temporary metal shelters for more than a year, waiting to return to their camp. By documenting issues of reconstruction, temporary housing, economy, unemployment and despair, the film touches on the daily experience of life in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp."

Carter Speaks from Both Corners of his Mouth...First He Tells Israeli Colonists "..Their "settlement" Will Last Forever"....Now Tells Palestinians:

Seeking a Proud and Peaceful Future

Transcript of former US President Jimmy Carter's Address to the United Nations Relief Works Agency's Human Rights Graduation in Gaza, June 16, 2009.

By Jimmy Carter - Gaza

"....I have personally witnessed free and fair elections in Palestine when Yasir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas were elected president and when legislative members were chosen for your parliament. I hope to return next January [for probably a rigged "election" under the bayonets of the troops from the puppet Arab regimes, sent to Gaza to "guarantee" Palestinian "unity"] for a similar event that will unite all Palestinians as you seek a proud and peaceful future.

Ladies and gentlemen, children of Gaza, thank you for inviting me and for sharing this happy occasion with me. Congratulations for your achievements."

An Important Video: Haitham Amr, tortured to death (by the Dayton Thugs of the PA) in Hebron

An Important Short Video

آثار التعذيب على جسد الشهيد هيثم عمرو

US troops ask Syria to thwart al-Qa'ida offensive

Iraqi authorities say militants will launch attacks in order to claim credit for American military withdrawal

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad

"The Iraqi government expects al-Qa'ida and Baathist insurgent groups to launch a wave of attacks so they can take credit for compelling the US military to leave Iraqi cities by 30 June, according to a senior Iraqi minister.

An American military team was dispatched from Baghdad to Damascus at the weekend to demand that Syria help choke off a guerrilla offensive by imposing greater control over its border with Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari revealed in an interview with The Independent.

"I think the American rapprochement with the Syrians will be judged more by their co-operation, not in Lebanon, but in Iraq," said Mr Zebari. "This is a good moment for them to come clean." Although Syria has been more co-operative with Iraq than in the past, guerrilla fighters are still crossing over the border, he added......."

No peace from Netanyahu

Israel's prime minister called for talks without preconditions while imposing conditions that would make peace impossible

Laila El-Haddad
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 June 2009

".....Even after the so-called disengagement from Gaza, the landmark event that supposedly reigned freedom unto Gaza and its people, Israel continued to maintain effective control over Gaza's borders, her air, sea, sky, even the population registry; and continued to impose a longstanding siege. This despite warnings from experts about the dire consequences that would ensue by not guaranteeing movement and access to people and goods. Gaza faced poverty and unemployment unprecedented in 40 years since Israel's occupation as a result.

But by Netanyahu's estimates, this is peace. Gaza is the model – the vision – for what a so-called Palestinian state would look like......

Netanyahu talked idyllically of a peace in which a tourism-driven economy would draw millions to Nazareth and Bethlehem. He forgot to mention the caveat that tourists would first have to face an apartheid barrier twice the size of the Berlin wall, navigate a Kafkaesque matrix of Israeli administrative control and, if they carry the wrong colour ID, scale sewers if they desire to visit a family member across the way in East Jerusalem."

Are You Ready for War with a Demonized Iran?

Why the US Wants to Delegitimize the Iranian Elections

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
CounterPunch

"....The great macho superpower is eager to restore its hegemony over the Iranian people, thus settling the score with the ayatollahs who overthrew American rule of Iran in 1978.
That is the script. You are watching it every minute on U.S. television.

There is no end of “experts” to support the script. For one example among hundreds, we have Gary Sick, who formerly served on the National Security Council and currently teaches at Columbia University.....

The only hard information available is the poll referenced above. The poll found that Ahmadinejad was the favored candidate by a margin of two to one.

But as in everything else having to do with American hegemony over other peoples, facts and truth play no part. Lies and propaganda rule.

Consumed by its passion for hegemony, America is driven prevail over others, morality and justice be damned. This world-threatening script will play until America bankrupts itself and has so alienated the rest of the world that it is isolated and universally despised."

Blair welcomes the speech of Netanyahu, demands Hamas to change its policies

"Quartet’s special envoy for the Middle East, Tony Blair, welcomed the speech of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and considered it a step forward. He also called on Hamas to change its policies but did not mention the ongoing Israel siege on Gaza...."

Do it for Jimmy! Even Carter is Pushing for "Palestinian Unity!" Translation: Hamas Should Accept Control by Abbas, the Pharaoh and the Quartet!

كارتر يطالب الاحتلال برفع حصار غزة والسماح بإدخال المواد الأساسية لإعادة الإعمار

"أكد جيمي كارتر الرئيس الأمريكي الأسبق أن الطريق إلى إعادة بناء ما دمره الكيان الصهيوني في حربه الأخيرة على القطاع وإنهاء معاناة الشعب الفلسطيني ونشر السلام يمر بالوحدة الفلسطينية - الفلسطينية.
.....
وأضاف في مؤتمر صحفي عقده أمام المدرسة الأمريكية التي قصفت خلال الحرب الصهيونية الأخيرة على قطاع غزة، وفور وصوله إلى القطاع عبر معبر بيت حانون: "أحمل رسالة من عائلة الجندي غلعاد شاليط، وسألتقي قيادات من "حماس" في غزة، كما التقيت قيادات "حماس" في دمشق قبل أيام، وسأطلب منهم تسليم هذه الرسالة".

وأعرب كارتر عن أمله أن يصل الجميع إلى سلام عادل، وأن يتم وضع حدٍّ لمعاناة الفلسطينيين، معربًا في الوقت ذاته عن حزنه إزاء الأحداث الدائرة بين "حماس" و"فتح" في غزة الضفة خلال الفترة القليلة الماضية.
......"

Gaza frozen in time

Stephanie Westbrook writing from Rome, Italy, Live from Palestine, 16 June 2009

(Stephanie Westbrook is a founding member of US Citizens for Peace & Justice in Rome, Italy (http://www.peaceandjustice.it/) and currently serves on the group's coordinating committee. )

"....Gaza's landscape is dotted with piles of rubble of bombed out buildings, the twisted iron and aluminum of destroyed factories, once green fields reduced to sand and dirt by Israeli tanks, apartments with two-meter holes in the walls and toppled minarets of mosques turned to ruins. But as devastating as bearing witness to the destruction was, it was the absurdities of the total blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt that really affected me.

Gaza itself remains frozen in time. Israel will not allow concrete and steel into Gaza, and as a result, nearly five months after the ceasefire no post-war reconstruction has begun....

These are the absurdities that have become the norm in Gaza. But perhaps most absurd of all is how anyone can believe that Israel's severity in the closures, the destruction of the economy and social fabric of the Gaza Strip, will serve to convince Palestinians to place their trust in international law.

What we in the international community must do is to heed the call we heard repeatedly from the people of Gaza: work to break the siege so that they can take care of themselves."

Ahmadinejad won. Get over it

Contributed by LS

By FLYNT LEVERETT AND HILLARY MANN LEVERETT
Politico

"Without any evidence, many U.S. politicians and “Iran experts” have dismissed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection Friday, with 62.6 percent of the vote, as fraud.

They ignore the fact that Ahmadinejad’s 62.6 percent of the vote in this year’s election is essentially the same as the 61.69 percent he received in the final count of the 2005 presidential election, when he trounced former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The shock of the “Iran experts” over Friday’s results is entirely self-generated, based on their preferred assumptions and wishful thinking.....

The Islamic Republic is a system with multiple power centers; within that system, there is a strong and enduring consensus about core issues of national security and foreign policy, including Iran’s nuclear program and relations with the United States. Any of the four candidates in Friday’s election would have continued the nuclear program as Iran’s president; none would agree to its suspension.

Any of the four candidates would be interested in a diplomatic opening with the United States, but that opening would need to be comprehensive, respectful of Iran’s legitimate national security interests and regional importance, accepting of Iran’s right to develop and benefit from the full range of civil nuclear technology — including pursuit of the nuclear fuel cycle — and aimed at genuine rapprochement....."

What If Ahmadinejad Really Won?

By Robert Parry
June 15, 2009

"It’s fast congealing into conventional wisdom that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole re-election through fraud and that the so-called “green revolution” of Mir-Hossein Mousavi – which was based in the country’s intelligentsia and middle class – got robbed.

But a strong case can be made that the large turnout, which was estimated at about 85 percent, was the key to a genuine landslide for Ahmadinejad, who is viewed as a friend of more traditional Iranians from the working classes and among the rural peasants........"

(Click on cartoon by Dave Brown to enlarge)

Iran's day of destiny

Read at Your Own Risk!

By Robert Fisk

"....True, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader – how antiquated that title sounded yesterday – had agreed to enquire into the election results, perhaps to look over a polling statistic or two. But Ahmadinejad, despite his obtuseness and his unending smile, is a tough guy in a tough clerical environment. His glorious predecessor, Hojatolislam Mohamed Khatami, was somewhere down there amid the crowds, along with Mousavi and Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard, but they could not protect these people.

Government is not about good guys and bad guys. It is about power, state and political power – they are not the same – and unless those wanly smiling riot police move across to the opposition, the weapons of the Islamic Republic remain in the hands of Ahmadinejad's administration and his spiritual protectors. As, no doubt, we shall soon see."

Killing Israel's peace process

There was nothing surprising about Binyamin Netanyahu's speech, offering Palestinians a 'flag and currency' but little else

Ben White
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009

".....The Ha'aretz website's "live blogging" of the speech concluded with this wry summary of Netanyahu's policy towards the Palestinians: "It seemed to be no to dividing Jerusalem, no to the return of refugees or an independent state and no to a real settlement freeze. But you'll be well-off and taken care of." This is a recipe for a new intifada, not peace.

Ironically, Netanyahu concluded by citing from the Biblical prophet Isaiah, looking forward to a future when "nation will not take up sword against nation". Unfortunately for both Israelis and Palestinians, he missed a more appropriate verse; it is only "justice" that "will produce lasting peace and security"."

Skewed and in secret, this Iraq inquiry is a scandal

We badly need to learn from the most important foreign policy decision of the last decade. This tissue won't help us

Jonathan Steele
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009

"Gordon Brown's ­announcement of a secret inquiry into the runup to and conduct of Britain's invasion and occupation of Iraq (not the nouns he used, of course) is scandalous.....

The key issue is that the inquiry must be held in public. No doubt Brown is afraid that hearings on the Iraq war could damage Labour's chances in the runup to a general election. Labour's chances are slim at best but exposure of the government's decision-making before and after the Iraq war is not going to swing many votes. What might swing more votes to Labour would be evidence that the government is thinking about learning lessons for the future and inviting the public into the discussion. That would show real respect for democracy."

Another Whitehall whitewash

Given what we know already from leaks, the secrecy surrounding the Chilcot Iraq inquiry is as absurd as it is scandalous

Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009

"There really is no legitimate reason now for any of the inquiry into the invasion of Iraq to be held in private. Extremely sensitive information, intelligence material in particular, has already been disclosed, either here or in the US, by official inquiries or leaks...."

Gordon Brown's Iraq war inquiry 'whitewash'

By Steve Bell, The Guardian.

Rafsanjani: shark or kingmaker?

The former president remains unpopular with many Iranians, but he may yet be able to force a re-run of Friday's disputed poll

Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 June 2009

"The man accused by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of masterminding the opposition campaign to oust him from the presidency has dropped out of view since election day. But Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani remains a formidable figure in Iranian politics with a network of well-placed allies straddling the reformist and moderate conservative camps. If any one leader is able to force a re-run of last Friday's disputed poll, it may be the two-term former president nicknamed the "shark".......

If mobilised, his would comprise an elite coalition operating inside the hierarchy of the Islamic Republic, rather than from outside on the streets. It would not be a democratic movement; but it would be a dagger held to Khamenei's breast. Not for nothing is the Machiavellian Rafsanjani, pistachio nut millionaire, pragmatist and ruthless political survivor, known by yet another nickname: the "kingmaker". Iran awaits his next move."

Egypt, Syria increase pressure on Hamas to seal agreement with Fatah

AN IMPORTANT ARTICLE

"Egypt and Syria have upped their pressure on Hamas in recent days, in support of a reconciliation agreement with Fatah. The deal would include a multinational Arab force in the Gaza Strip that would operate in parallel to joint Fatah-Hamas security forces.

An Egyptian source told Haaretz that the American administration is aware of the plan's details and apparently special envoy George Mitchell has asked the Damascus government to use its influence over Hamas to push the plan and the Quartet conditions. The Americans promised the Syrians that if they take on a positive role in the Palestinian channel, the U.S. would act to resume negotiations in the Syrian track.

The Hamas-Fatah reconciliation plan includes the creation of a joint dozen-member committee, to be under Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' indirect authority. The committee, only authorized to act in Gaza, would be in charge of post-Operation Cast Lead reconstruction, government reforms, and preparations for the January 2010 presidential and legislative council elections. All factions would undertake to honor the election results and allow the elected government to rule in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Military forces from Egypt, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and other Arab countries would assist local forces in maintaining order until and throughout those elections.....

According to the source, the main obstacle to the plan is the refusal of Hamas' leadership to accept Abbas' authority. However, Egypt did announce a July 7 deadline for the deal. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who met last week in Damascus with Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, told Haaretz he believes Meshal is very interested in reaching a deal before the deadline......

Since U.S. President Barack Obama's Cairo speech earlier this month, Hamas has seemed more distressed and shown signs of a willingness for greater flexibility. Meshal praised Obama's speech, saying that Hamas would not constitute an obstacle to talks......."

مطالب بالتحقيق بوفاة عنصر حماس

الحركة تحمل عباس وفياض المسؤولية

"طالبت منظمات حقوقية فلسطينية السلطة الفلسطينية بالتحقيق في حادث وفاة أحد عناصر حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) أثناء اعتقاله لدى مخابرات السلطة في الخليل بالضفة الغربية. وقد حملت حماس الرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس ورئيس وزرائه سلام فياض مسؤولية مقتل عنصرها.

وقد أعرب المركز الفلسطيني لحقوق الإنسان في بيان تلقت الجزيرة نت نسخة منه عن قلقه العميق من "تكرار هذه الجرائم" في ضوء عدم إعلان السلطة الفلسطينية عن نتائج أي تحقيقات أجرتها أو اتخاذ إجراءات قانونية بحق الضالعين فيها.

من جانبها عبرت الهيئة الفلسطينية المستقلة لحقوق الإنسان عن قلقها من تكرار حالات الاحتجاز من قبل الأجهزة الأمنية على ذمة القضاء العسكري، وتلقيها عشرات الشكاوى بشأن تعرض أصحابها إلى التعذيب وسوء المعاملة.

وطالبت بتشكيل لجنة تحقيق محايدة ودارسة كافة البيانات المتوفرة وصولا إلى الحقيقة، ونشر نتائج التحقيق على الملأ

......."

The Netanyahu Speech

By Emad Hajjaj.

Obama and Netanyahu: Two Faces of the Same Coin.

Obama Lauds Netanyahu: Zero Israeli Concessions for More Arab Yielding

Al-Manar

"16/06/2009 Despite the gap between Barack Obama’s Cairo speech and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan speech, the US president praised what he said was "positive movement" in the Israeli Prime Minister paper setting conditions for a Palestinian state......

Obama’s comments give the impression that Washington and Tel Aviv have two roles for the same mutual interest: Putting an end to the Palestinian cause and no Palestinian pre-conditions for talks.
Netanyahu’s paper was more a belligerent speech than a “positive movement” as it opens the way for more instability and insecurity in the region. On the other hand, Obama – who stressed on many occasions that the US will never turn its back on Israel – has acquitted Netanyahu of the charge that he and his right wing government refuse to endorse the two-state solution. The American President is now demanding that Arabs take more steps and make more efforts to help solve the crisis; this means zero Israeli concessions for more Arab yielding.
Otherwise, how can Obama’s satisfaction at Netanyahu’s conditions be explained, especially that they contradict the Arab initiative of 2001? Netanyahu wants the Palestinians to recognize the Jewish character of Israel, a condition all Palestinians and Arabs reject, he will continue to build settlements, he will not give the Palestinians right to use their airspace, he want “the state of Palestine” demilitarized, he won’t give occupied Jerusalem or even part of it and he won’t let Palestinians refugees return home......

But the Israeli media quoted government sources in occupied Jerusalem as saying that the “U.S. administration is prepared to show flexibility on construction in West Bank settlements. They will apparently not demand a full freeze on construction, but will agree that projects now underway can be completed.” The source added the Americans understand that even if Netanyahu agreed to a full freeze, the government did not have the legal authority to force private construction companies to stop building......"

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Habila Meets with Carter.

رئيس الوزراء إسماعيل هنية يلتقي الرئيس الأمريكي الأسبق كارتر في غزة الثلاثاء

"غزة - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام

أكد المكتب الإعلامي الحكومي بوزارة الإعلام أن رئيس الوزراء الفلسطيني إسماعيل هنية سيلتقي غدًا الثلاثاء (16-6) الرئيس الأمريكي الأسبق جيمي كارتر؛ لمناقشة آخر التطورات السياسية والميدانية في الأراضي الفلسطينية، وخاصة قطاع غزة.
....."

Jimmy Carter to meet Hamas leaders after criticising Israeli PM

"The former US president Jimmy Carter will visit Gaza for a rare meeting with senior Hamas officials following his criticism of a key speech by Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on Sunday night.

Carter, who has been in Israel and the occupied West Bank over the past week, will be one of the most senior western figures to meet the Hamas leadership in Gaza in recent years. He is expected to meet, among other Hamas officials, Ismail Haniyeh, the former Palestinian prime minister......"

Sayyed Nasrallah: Netanyahu's Speech Blow to Arab Moderates

Al-Manar

"15/06/2009 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Monday that the speech made one day ago by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put the whole region in the middle of serious dangers and threats of settlement and displacement,.....

Commenting on Netanyahu's latest speech, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that Netanyahu came to tell Arabs the truth and to reveal early his vision for the region's future, noting that the speech put an end to all bets on the possibility of reaching a compromise in the region......

"First of all, Netanyahu's speech frustrated the hopes and bets of all Arabs, governments and all the so-called moderate Arabs. It put an end to the wishes of all those who were betting on the possibility to reach a compromise in the region, and mainly the success of the US administration headed by Barack Obama to achieve such compromise," his eminence noted. "But what did Arab moderates expect from Netanyahu? What did Arabs and mainly Palestinians expect from the Netanyahu-Lieberman government? Did they expect something else?" Sayyed Nasrallah wondered........

Sayyed Nasrallah also tackled the US administration's reaction over the speech. "What increased the moderates' frustration was the US administration's reaction. Actually, the whole US game of passing time was quickly uncovered just after they commented on the speech. They found it important and positive and furthermore, hailed it as a developed step. Is there anything positive in Netanyahu's speech?" ......"

Mother Palestine, by Carlos Latuff

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

The meaning of the Tehran spring

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has made his power play against challengers Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei fully supported him. As the aftermath unwinds, Mousavi and Rafsanjani need an urgent counterpunch, and their only possible play - given that no pacifying solution can be found within the institutional framework of the Islamic Republic - is to go after Khamenei....."

Real News Video with Pepe Escobar: Struggle within Iranian elite

Pepe Escobar: Two camps locked in fierce struggle, as Revolutionary Guard stages a successful "coup"

Real News Video with Phyllis Bennis: Netanyahu answers Obama

Netanyahu supports a "demilitarized" Palestinian state and won't stop existing settlement growth

Good Commentary by Phyllis Bennis


More at The Real News

The "Man of Peace" Carter tells West Bank settlers that he envisions their settlement to be in Israeli hands for ever

"Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter met with settler leaders from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc on Sunday and told them that he believed that their settlement is among the ones which should be able to remain under a final peace deal with the Palestinians.

"This particular settlement is not one that I envision ever being abandoned, or changed over into a Palestinian territory," Carter said. "This is part of the close settlements to the 1967 line that I think will be here forever."

Carter, normally known for his critical stance on Israel's policy regarding Palestinians, said that his visit to the settlements has given him a fresh perspective on the issue......"

Waltz With Bibi

By Gilad Atzmon
Palestine Think Tank

"An old Israeli Joke:
Rightwing Settler: Next summer we are going to expel all the Palis who are still on our land.

Leftwing Israeli: This is fine with us, but just make sure that you use air-conditioned busses.

Netanyahu’s speech today taught us once again that Jewish national political polarity is a myth. In reality, there is no such thing.

Once the Zionist political soup is ready to be served there is no real difference between Benyamin Netanyahu and the so-called 'Israeli left’.

They all say YES to a Palestinian state and NO to the Right of Return, for what they really want is the 'Jews only state'......

More than a while ago the Jewish state crossed into the no return zone, its disintegration is immanent. Even Barack Obama won’t be able to save it. "

The American Empire Is Bankrupt

By Chris Hedges

"This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful.....

The cost of daily living, from buying food to getting medical care, will become difficult for all but a few as the dollar plunges. States and cities will see their pension funds drained and finally shut down. The government will be forced to sell off infrastructure, including roads and transport, to private corporations. We will be increasingly charged by privatized utilities—think Enron—for what was once regulated and subsidized. Commercial and private real estate will be worth less than half its current value. The negative equity that already plagues 25 percent of American homes will expand to include nearly all property owners. It will be difficult to borrow and impossible to sell real estate unless we accept massive losses. There will be block after block of empty stores and boarded-up houses. Foreclosures will be epidemic. There will be long lines at soup kitchens and many, many homeless. Our corporate-controlled media, already banal and trivial, will work overtime to anesthetize us with useless gossip, spectacles, sex, gratuitous violence, fear and tawdry junk politics. America will be composed of a large dispossessed underclass and a tiny empowered oligarchy that will run a ruthless and brutal system of neo-feudalism from secure compounds. Those who resist will be silenced, many by force. We will pay a terrible price, and we will pay this price soon, for the gross malfeasance of our power elite. "

Netanyahu’s Kafkaesque vision of Palestinian statehood

A Good Piece

By Khalid Amayreh, Occupied East Jerusalem

"There is no doubt that Benyamin Netanyahu’s odious screed at Bar Ilan University Sunday night was a slap in the face to all those who gave the so-called “peace process” between the Palestinian people and Israel the benefit of the doubt.

First, it was a brazenly direct affront to President Obama who thought rather naively that nice words about peace would make the Israeli leadership change its fascistic mindset and reconsider it colonialist approach toward the Palestinian people......

Non the less, it is obvious that the biggest slap in the face went to the American-backed Palestinian regime in Ramallah, especially PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his de-facto prime minister Salam Fayyadh, the reputed darling of the former Bush administration.


We all know too well how this collaborationist regime did every thing in its power to demonstrate its total subservience to Israel, the Nazi-like occupier of our homeland.

The Ramallah Judenrat has been persecuting the Palestinian people to please Israel . It has rounded up thousands of Palestinian Islamic activists to demonstrate its “commitment” to the security understandings forged with the Israeli army. And more recently, it mercilessly and callously murdered resistance fighters in the northern West Bank , a feat that drew a lot of praise from the very people who had murdered Abu Jihad, Ahmed Yasin and may well have poisoned Yasser Arafat.

In fact, what Netanyahu was telling these petty collaborators last night is that no matter how much they cheapen themselves before Israel , even by killing their own people to safeguard the security of Israeli settlements, they will continue to be treated with the utter contempt they deserve.

Hence, Netanyahu and his cohorts are effectively demanding that the Palestinian people and their leadership solemnly acknowledge that Israel will have the right to ethnically cleanse its Palestinian citizens at a time of its choosing….because Israel is “the state of the Jewish people” and anyone whishing to be treated as an equal citizen, he or she would have to be a Jew or convert to Judaism......."

Belgian campaign forces financial group to cancel settlement loans

Press release, Israel colonizes, Dexia finances campaign, 15 June 2009

"The Belgian-French financial group Dexia has announced it will no longer finance Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through its Israeli branch, Dexia Israel. This is the result of a months-long campaign in Belgium, supported by non-governmental organizations, political parties, local authorities, trade unions and other organizations. Dexia's management has stated that financing Israeli settlements is indeed against the bank's code of ethics and thusly, it will stop giving loans for this activity....."

Veolia reportedly drops light rail project, but campaign goes on

Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada, 14 June 2009

"On 8 June the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz announced that French transport giant Veolia might abandon the light rail project that will connect Jerusalem with several illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land. Reports also indicate that Veolia wants to pull out of the 30-year contract to operate the train and is also reportedly trying to sell its five percent stake in the City Pass consortium to Israeli bus companies......

The "Derail Veolia and Alstom Campaign," carried out by activists in many countries, is pressuring the two French transport companies to quit the light rail project. In early June, the leading French newspaper Le Monde published an article summing up the successes of the campaign, reporting that the company is losing money because of the publicity of its role in a project that is in violation of international law. After pressuring the mayor of Tehran over Veolia's role in developing the city's transport system, the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission was informed two weeks ago of Tehran's decision to cancel Veolia's involvement in the transport system. To date, Veolia has steadfastly refused to provide information about its participation in the light rail project......"

Iran's Elections and the 'Obama Effect' Myth

By Rannie Amiri
Palestine Chronicle

"....The results indicate that either a groundswell of support for Ahmadinejad among his base of poor Iranians or those in rural areas where he is most popular was underreported in polls, or there was massive ballot fraud and vote-rigging. The writer will refrain from passing judgment on this until more facts are known, but evidence seems to be pointing to significant irregularities.

Of note was how the American media’s coverage of the race seemed to be continuously punctuated by mention of the “Obama Effect” and how it might influence its outcome....

No. There was never an “Obama Effect” and the mere suggestion of one is the epitome of arrogance and an insult to Iranian voters......

What will happen next in Tehran in the aftermath of the election remains unknown. But as for the candidacy of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his run for the presidency, credit should be given where credit is due. And none of it goes to President Obama. "

Iran’s Election: None of America’s Business

So far, we're staying out of it – but for how much longer?

by Justin Raimondo, June 15, 2009

".....Whenever there are election "irregularities" anywhere outside the U.S., American government officials have a bad habit of getting up on their high horses and lecturing the rest of the world on how best to conduct their own internal affairs. Never mind that the U.S. itself has only two officially recognized political parties, both of which are subsidized with tax dollars, and that any potential rivals must jump through a number of hoops to even get on the ballot. We’re a legend in our own minds – the world’s greatest "democracy" – and anyone who questions this dubious claim is immediately charged with "anti-Americanism."

Yet even if that were not the case – even if our democratic procedures were flawless – that still wouldn’t give the U.S. government any standing to pass judgment, because how Iran conducts its presidential elections is not a legitimate concern of the U.S. government. The idea that the occupant of the Oval Office must pass moral judgment on all events, including other countries’ elections, is a byproduct of America’s imperial pretensions and delusions of "world leadership."

The Israel lobby, which has been pushing for a U.S. confrontation with Iran, is revving up its engines even now to push harder for increased sanctions and other provocative moves by the U.S. Obama, I fear, will prove unable to resist all that pressure, though I’d love to be proven wrong. "

By Dave Brown, The Independent.

Hamas supporter dies of torture in Abbas's jails. But, the "Dialog" with the Murderers will Go On, and On,.....

"RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Hamas Movement asserted that the death of Haithem Omar, 28, in the prisons of former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's security apparatuses in the West Bank was due to severe torture.

Hamas sources in the West Bank told PIC correspondent that Haithem, a paramedic, was subjected to severe torture rounds for four days after his abduction from his home on 10/6/2009. He was carried to hospital where he was pronounced dead at dawn Monday.

Haithem, from Al-Khalil district, was a member of the Islamic charitable society's board of directors and worked as a paramedic in a health ministry clinic. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Haithem was previously held in Israeli occupation jails."

Wishful thinking from Tehran

Since the revolution, academics and pundits have predicted the collapse of the Iranian regime. This week, they did no better

Abbas Barzegar
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 13 June 2009

"......Perhaps from the start Mousavi was destined to fail as he hoped to combine the articulate energies of the liberal upper class with the business interests of the bazaar merchants. The Facebook campaigns and text-messaging were perfectly irrelevant for the rural and working classes who struggle to make a day's ends meet, much less have the time to review the week's blogs in an internet cafe. Although Mousavi tried to appeal to such classes by addressing the problems of inflation and poverty, they voted otherwise.

In the future, observers would do us a favour by taking a deeper look into Iranian society, giving us a more accurate picture of the very organic religious structures of the country, and dispensing with the narrative of liberal inevitability. It is the religious aspects of enigmatic Persia that helped put an 80-year-old exiled ascetic at the head of state 30 years ago, then the charismatic cleric Khatami in office 12 years ago, the honest son of a blacksmith – Ahmedinejad – four years ago, and the same yesterday."

Recognize Israel as Natural Jewish State & We’ll Give You ... a Ghetto

Al-Manar

"15/06/2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s awaited speech dealt a severe blow to Palestinians’ hopes and destroyed chances for “peace” especially after they heaved a deep sigh by US envoy George Mitchell’s visit to the region. Netanyahu’s speech indicated that Palestinians should acknowledge the “State of Israel” as a natural Jewish state with its security being guaranteed in order to accept the creation of a demilitarized, defenseless Palestinian state alongside the most terrorist entity ever. He even set conditions on any future peace negotiations: Palestinians, you’ll have a state without the least required standards for Palestine to be an independent state, you’ll have no access to your own airspace, your relatives in exodus will never return and you’ll give us more land whenever we want to build new settlements for “our growing population”, so come to the negotiating table right now, without pre-conditions!......"

صفعات نتنياهو

صفعات نتنياهو
عبد الباري عطوان

"قدم بنيامين نتنياهو هدية قيّمة الى العرب، والفلسطينيين منهم على وجه الخصوص، عندما اعاد التأكيد في خطابه الذي القاه أمس على ايديولوجيته العنصرية المتطرفة، ومنظوره للسلام والتعايش، وأولويات حكومته في المرحلة المقبلة.

نتنياهو وضع السلام في المرتبة الثالثة بعد التهديد الايراني، والأزمة الاقتصادية، وطالب الدول العربية بالتطبيع الفوري، واستثمار اموالهم في مشاريع سياحية واقتصادية في اسرائيل لخلق آلاف الوظائف للاسرائيليين وبعض العرب
.....
الاعتراف باسرائيل دولة يهودية الذي يصر عليه نتنياهو، وورد في خطابه اكثر من عشر مرات على الأقل، يعني طرد مليون ومئتي الف عربي، مسلم ومسيحي، من الجليل والمثلث والنقب والقدس، واعتبار هؤلاء 'لاجئين' في هذه الدولة، ويجب ان يوطنوا في الدول العربية مثلما جرى توطين اليهود العرب في اسرائيل.
....
رهانات السلطة في رام الله على العملية السلمية، والمبادرة العربية، ثبتت سذاجتها عملياً، وبات 'السلام' رديفاً للتسول، تسول الرواتب، وتسول العطف الدولي، وتسول تفهم الادارات الامريكية.
ورهانات حركة 'حماس' على المقاومة ايضاً بدأت تتآكل تدريجياً، فقد باتت التهدئة مرتبطة بلقمة الخبز، وبقاء الاوضاع الحالية المزرية على حالها، أو الحيلولة دون ازديادها سوءاً، فلا أحد يتحدث عن اعادة الإعمار، ولا مأساة المشردين المحاصرين، طالما ان هناك رغيف خبز يصل الى الجوعى، فهذا هو قمة المنى.

هذا الوضع الفلسطيني المخجل هو الذي يشجع نتنياهو على التغول في شروطه التعجيزية التي رأيناها تتوارد في خطابه، ولهذا لابد من السعي بسرعة للخروج منه، ووضع مشروع وطني جديد على أرضية المقاومة، تنخرط فيه كل فئات الشعب الفلسطيني في الوطن المحتل والمهجر، وليس فقط طرفا المعادلة الفلسطينية الحالية.
....
ختاماً، نقول وبأسف شديد: شكراً لنتنياهو الذي وضع النقاط على الحروب في خطابه الاخير، وهو الخطاب الذي من المفروض ان يُحدث مفعول الصدمة، ويوقظ النائمين الغارقين في احلام اليقظة حول نعيم السلام مع حكومات عنصرية ماضية قدماً في مشروعها الاستيطاني.
"

De-Dollarization: Dismantling America’s Financial-Military Empire

The Yekaterinburg Turning Point

by Prof. Michael Hudson
Global Research, June 13, 2009

"The city of Yakaterinburg, Russia’s largest east of the Urals, may become known not only as the death place of the tsars but of American hegemony too – and not only where US U-2 pilot Gary Powers was shot down in 1960, but where the US-centered international financial order was brought to ground......

Even without capital controls, the nations meeting at Yekaterinburg are taking steps to avoid being the unwilling recipients of yet more dollars. Seeing that US global hegemony cannot continue without spending power that they themselves supply, governments are attempting to hasten what Chalmers Johnson has called “the sorrows of empire” in his book by that name – the bankruptcy of the US financial-military world order. If China, Russia and their non-aligned allies have their way, the United States will no longer live off the savings of others (in the form of its own recycled dollars) nor have the money for unlimited military expenditures and adventures.

US officials wanted to attend the Yekaterinburg meeting as observers. They were told No. It is a word that Americans will hear much more in the future. "

Report: US, Syria Discuss Cooperation on Iraq

Al-Manar

"14/06/2009 A US military delegation has met officials in Syria to discuss ways of cooperating on the security situation in Iraq [COMMENT: part of the price Syria is more than willing to pay], a daily newspaper close to the government reported on Sunday.

Syrian daily Al-Watan said Friday's talks, the first of their kind since 2004, were held "at the request of the Americans" and focused on "ways to begin cooperation on security matters between the two parties in Iraq."

"Several similar requests in previous years were rejected by Syria because of the absence of the necessary political will for such cooperation," it said.

A US embassy official had told AFP on Saturday that an American military delegation had met officials in Damascus, saying they had "positive and constructive" talks but without mentioning Iraq.

Al-Watan said the meeting coincided with renewed political dialogue between Damascus and Washington, the visit by US President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell, and the planned nomination of a US ambassador to Syria......."

Obama fails to impress

Muslim world enjoys the oratory, but looks for meaningful action

By ERIC MARGOLIS
The Toronto Sun

".....However, the White House's recent actions belie the new president's promises.

Exhibit A: Obama unfortunately chose Egypt from which to deliver his message to Muslims of amity, democracy and human rights.

Egypt's U.S.-backed dictator, Husni Mubarak, has ruled for 37 years and is grooming his son to replace him. This leading Arab nation is run by a corrupt oligarchy, the military and secret police.

Torture

Egypt has become notorious for torture and human rights violations. Opponents of the regime are intimidated or arrested and tortured. Elections are crudely rigged.

Egypt is America's most important Muslim ally, along with Saudi Arabia. Are these repressive states what Obama means when he calls for democracy and human rights?....."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

This brand new poll asks:

Do you feel optimistic about the latest Western moves in the Arab area?

With about 200 responding so far (it is quite early), 81% said no.

Iran erupts as voters back 'the Democrator'

A smash in the face, a kick in the balls – that's how police deal with protesters after Iran's poll kept the hardliners in power

By Robert Fisk

".....Last night, all SMS calls were blocked. The Iranian news agency announced that, since there would be no second round of elections, there would be no extension of visas for foreign journalists – one can well see why – and so many of the people who were praised by the government for their patriotism in voting on Friday were assaulted by their own government on Saturday.

Last night, the Democrator was still silent, but his ever-grinning face turned up on the posters of his supporters. There were more baton charges, ever greater crowds running from them. Thus was the courage of Friday's Iranian elections turned into fratricidal battles on the streets of Tehran. "Any rallies," announced the Tehran police chief, General Ahmad Reza Radan, "will be dealt with according to the law." Well, we all know what that means. So does the Democrator."