The world must get over its hysteria. The next US leader has Russia to deal with, and could face his own Cuban missile crisis
Simon Jenkins
guardian.co.uk, Friday November 7 2008
".....The most overheard media cliche is that "America will never be the same again". Yes it will, as it was when it last elected a Democratic president. Only if we break from the crypto-racist mindset that sees Obama as a black man first and all else far behind can the odds on a successful presidency be assessed......
Obama's 52% of the vote was not a landslide. It was the distortions of an electoral college system that served (as in the House of Commons) to turn an unexceptional four-point swing into an apparently overwhelming victory......
....The victory speech contained not one reference to his racial background. That ageing American icon, Jesse Jackson, hated Obama until Tuesday night. He was no son of slavery. Indeed the fascination of his memoir lies in the search by a member of an all-white family for an explanation of the colour of his skin.....
Dare he stop torture, accept the Geneva conventions, get tough with Israel, change policy on Russia, make peace with Iran? He has promised to get out of Iraq and fast. But he must also unleash a ferocious pragmatism as "war creep" envelopes Afghanistan, and stop making puerile pledges to invade Pakistan and bomb border villages....
Afghanistan could yet be to Obama what Vietnam was to the last great civil rights champion in the White House, Lyndon Johnson. All Democratic presidents eager for re-election find it easiest to buy popularity and a macho image by acting belligerently abroad. Obama has yet to indicate that he is an exception to the rule.....
The exhilaration of the past week has been palpable. I have lost count of the Americans who have said with relief: "I am tired with being hated everywhere I go. Suddenly I am loved." The moment is Rooseveltian. At a time of seeming ubiquitous misery, America not for the first time has pulled an iron from the fire. It has found a messiah......"
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Get Ready for "Real Change We Can Believe in!": Get Ready for Endless War!
Obama's chief of staff choice favors compulsory universal service
"Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, President-Elect Barack Obama's choice for chief of staff in his incoming administration, is co-author of a book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America, that calls for, among other things, compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25. The following excerpt is from pages 61-62 of the 2006 book......
As chief of staff, Emanuel will not be in a position to directly introduce public policy, but his enthusiasm for compulsory service, combined with Barack Obama's own plan to require high school students to perform 50 hours of government-approved service, suggest an unfortunate direction for the new administration."
"Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, President-Elect Barack Obama's choice for chief of staff in his incoming administration, is co-author of a book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America, that calls for, among other things, compulsory service for all Americans ages 18 to 25. The following excerpt is from pages 61-62 of the 2006 book......
As chief of staff, Emanuel will not be in a position to directly introduce public policy, but his enthusiasm for compulsory service, combined with Barack Obama's own plan to require high school students to perform 50 hours of government-approved service, suggest an unfortunate direction for the new administration."
Real Change Depends on Stopping the Bailout Profiteers
By Naomi Klein
".........Readers of The Shock Doctrine know that terrible thefts have a habit of taking place during periods of dramatic political transition. When societies are changing quickly, the media and the people are naturally focused on big "P" politics - who gets the top appointments, what was said in the most recent speech. Meanwhile, safe from public scrutiny, far reaching pro-corporate policies are locked into place, dramatically restricting future possibilities for real change.
It's not too late to halt the robbery in progress, but it cannot wait until inauguration. Several great initiatives to shift the nature of the bailout are already underway, including bailoutmainstreet.com. I added my name to the "Call to Action: Time for a 21st Century Green America" and invite you to do the same.
Stopping the bailout profiteers is about more than money. It is about democracy. Specifically, it is about whether Americans will be able to afford the change they have just voted for so conclusively."
".........Readers of The Shock Doctrine know that terrible thefts have a habit of taking place during periods of dramatic political transition. When societies are changing quickly, the media and the people are naturally focused on big "P" politics - who gets the top appointments, what was said in the most recent speech. Meanwhile, safe from public scrutiny, far reaching pro-corporate policies are locked into place, dramatically restricting future possibilities for real change.
It's not too late to halt the robbery in progress, but it cannot wait until inauguration. Several great initiatives to shift the nature of the bailout are already underway, including bailoutmainstreet.com. I added my name to the "Call to Action: Time for a 21st Century Green America" and invite you to do the same.
Stopping the bailout profiteers is about more than money. It is about democracy. Specifically, it is about whether Americans will be able to afford the change they have just voted for so conclusively."
The Arabs' Wealth, by Nizar Outhman
(Click on cartoon to enlarge)
The Bucket is Labeled: IMF; The Milking Cow is Labeled: Arab Wealth; and Of Course Gordon Brown is Doing the Milking!
President-Elect Obama and the Future of US Foreign Policy: A Roundtable Discussion
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
With Amy Goodman
Don't Miss This Discussion!
"Congratulations pour in from around the world for President-elect Barack Obama after his historic victory Tuesday night. But what are Obama’s foreign policy positions, and what are the concerns for those living in countries at the target end of US foreign policy? We host a roundtable discussion with filmmaker and investigative journalist John Pilger in Britiain, Columbia University professor and Africa scholar Mahmood Mamdani, Laura Carlsen of the Center for International Policy in Mexico City, Iraqi analyst Raed Jarrar, Pakistani author Tariq Ali, and Palestinian American Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada......."Abu Hussein's invitation to Damascus
Read this piece to see the thinking of the pathetic regime of the Rabbit windbag.
By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times
"Syrians affectionately call Barack Hussein Obama "Abu Hussein" (father of Hussein), even though he has no son, and look forward to him visiting the country. First, though, Obama will have to repair the damage done by the George W Bush administration, such as by sending an ambassador to Syria and recognizing that some problems in the Middle East can only be solved with Damascus' cooperation...."
By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times
"Syrians affectionately call Barack Hussein Obama "Abu Hussein" (father of Hussein), even though he has no son, and look forward to him visiting the country. First, though, Obama will have to repair the damage done by the George W Bush administration, such as by sending an ambassador to Syria and recognizing that some problems in the Middle East can only be solved with Damascus' cooperation...."
One year after Annapolis
Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, 5 November 2008
".....Although the summit was never intended to produce an agreement in itself, it was supposed to signal that the US and all the other countries would put their full weight in order to achieve a comprehensive agreement by the end of Bush's presidency.
Only a fool, or an "enemy of peace" would have dared at the time express doubt about the credibility of the effort or the commitment of those who stood behind it. For many it seemed hard to believe that the world's only superpower would once again set off on the perilous path of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking unless this time it was prepared to go all the way.....
I admit that I was one of the few skeptics (a fool perhaps, but never an enemy of peace) who had not the tiniest amount of hope that any such thing would happen. And there was no need to wait long to be proven right -- even though there is no satisfaction in that......
There is no reason to believe that any of this is going to change in the short term, no matter who is elected president in Washington or who comes to power in Israel. Nor are there many signs that Europe, which rarely wanted to distance its Middle East policy from that of Washington, even when there are serious misgivings and disastrous results, is about to change course. On the contrary, after Bush, Europe will be only too eager to make amends to Washington, and it is likely that Palestinians will be among the victims of such a rapprochement.
Nor is there yet any sign the peace process sponsors will allow Palestinians to freely chose leaders who serve Palestinian, rather than Israeli interests. Nevertheless, Palestinians must continue their efforts to represent themselves and their cause despite the obstacles placed in their way.
One should therefore not submit to the concept that the peace process is on temporary hold and will resume on its successful and inevitable path once new leaders are in place. That will never happen in the absence of a plan whose goal is to restore Palestinian rights, implement international law and seek justice for all. Above all, those who continue to invest their efforts in the peace process will have to demonstrate something they never have: the political will and determination to stand up to Israeli rejectionism, colonialism "
".....Although the summit was never intended to produce an agreement in itself, it was supposed to signal that the US and all the other countries would put their full weight in order to achieve a comprehensive agreement by the end of Bush's presidency.
Only a fool, or an "enemy of peace" would have dared at the time express doubt about the credibility of the effort or the commitment of those who stood behind it. For many it seemed hard to believe that the world's only superpower would once again set off on the perilous path of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking unless this time it was prepared to go all the way.....
I admit that I was one of the few skeptics (a fool perhaps, but never an enemy of peace) who had not the tiniest amount of hope that any such thing would happen. And there was no need to wait long to be proven right -- even though there is no satisfaction in that......
There is no reason to believe that any of this is going to change in the short term, no matter who is elected president in Washington or who comes to power in Israel. Nor are there many signs that Europe, which rarely wanted to distance its Middle East policy from that of Washington, even when there are serious misgivings and disastrous results, is about to change course. On the contrary, after Bush, Europe will be only too eager to make amends to Washington, and it is likely that Palestinians will be among the victims of such a rapprochement.
Nor is there yet any sign the peace process sponsors will allow Palestinians to freely chose leaders who serve Palestinian, rather than Israeli interests. Nevertheless, Palestinians must continue their efforts to represent themselves and their cause despite the obstacles placed in their way.
One should therefore not submit to the concept that the peace process is on temporary hold and will resume on its successful and inevitable path once new leaders are in place. That will never happen in the absence of a plan whose goal is to restore Palestinian rights, implement international law and seek justice for all. Above all, those who continue to invest their efforts in the peace process will have to demonstrate something they never have: the political will and determination to stand up to Israeli rejectionism, colonialism "
Obama picks pro-Israel hardliner for top post
A Good Piece
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 5 November 2008
"During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel......
Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the son of Benjamin Emanuel, a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun, the Zionist militia of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, in the 1940s. The Irgun carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians including the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946.
Emanuel continued his father's tradition of active support for Israel; during the 1991 Gulf War he volunteered to help maintain Israeli army vehicles near the Lebanon border when southern Lebanon was still occupied by Israeli forces......
One of the most influential politicians and fundraisers in his party, Emanuel accompanied Obama to a meeting of AIPAC's executive board just after the Illinois senator had addressed the pro-Israel lobby's conference last June.
In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "We were deeply dismayed to hear your criticism of Israel for fighting acts of terror," Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders "was clearly justified as an application of Israel's right to self-defense" ("Pelosi supports Israel's attacks on Hamas group," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2003).
In July 2006, Emanuel was one of several members who called for the cancellation of a speech to Congress by visiting Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki because al-Maliki had criticized Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Emanuel called the Lebanese and Palestinian governments "totalitarian entities with militias and terrorists acting as democracies" in a 19 July 2006 speech supporting a House resolution backing Israel's bombing of both countries that caused thousands of civilian victims......
Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told Fox News that picking Emanuel is "just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that Obama would somehow appoint the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the US-Israel relationship ... that was never true."
Over the course of the campaign, Obama publicly distanced himself from friends and advisers suspected or accused of having "pro-Palestinian" sympathies. There are no early indications of a more balanced course."
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 5 November 2008
"During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel......
Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the son of Benjamin Emanuel, a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun, the Zionist militia of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, in the 1940s. The Irgun carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians including the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946.
Emanuel continued his father's tradition of active support for Israel; during the 1991 Gulf War he volunteered to help maintain Israeli army vehicles near the Lebanon border when southern Lebanon was still occupied by Israeli forces......
One of the most influential politicians and fundraisers in his party, Emanuel accompanied Obama to a meeting of AIPAC's executive board just after the Illinois senator had addressed the pro-Israel lobby's conference last June.
In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "We were deeply dismayed to hear your criticism of Israel for fighting acts of terror," Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders "was clearly justified as an application of Israel's right to self-defense" ("Pelosi supports Israel's attacks on Hamas group," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2003).
In July 2006, Emanuel was one of several members who called for the cancellation of a speech to Congress by visiting Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki because al-Maliki had criticized Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Emanuel called the Lebanese and Palestinian governments "totalitarian entities with militias and terrorists acting as democracies" in a 19 July 2006 speech supporting a House resolution backing Israel's bombing of both countries that caused thousands of civilian victims......
Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told Fox News that picking Emanuel is "just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that Obama would somehow appoint the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the US-Israel relationship ... that was never true."
Over the course of the campaign, Obama publicly distanced himself from friends and advisers suspected or accused of having "pro-Palestinian" sympathies. There are no early indications of a more balanced course."
Last Minute Heist: Olmert Heads to D.C. to Wrangle Last Favors from Bush
Al-Manar
"06/11/2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit President George W. Bush in Washington later this month in an attempt to reach last minute agreements and extract a number of promises before both leaders step down. Olmert is looking for commitments from Bush on the peace process with the Palestinians, U.S. military aid and various arms deals......"
"06/11/2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit President George W. Bush in Washington later this month in an attempt to reach last minute agreements and extract a number of promises before both leaders step down. Olmert is looking for commitments from Bush on the peace process with the Palestinians, U.S. military aid and various arms deals......"
"Change You Can Believe in": Obama kick-starts transition, picks Israeli Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff
"A day after winning an historic election to become the first black American president, Barack Obama on Wednesday stepped into the role of president-elect, inviting Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) to join his administration as his White House chief of staff, Democratic officials.
If Emanuel accepts, which sources say he is likely to do, he will return to the White House where he served as a political and policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. Emanuel is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives as the Democratic Caucus Chair.
Emanuel is the son of a Jerusalem-born pediatrician who was a member of the Irgun (Etzel or IZL), a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948......."
If Emanuel accepts, which sources say he is likely to do, he will return to the White House where he served as a political and policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. Emanuel is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives as the Democratic Caucus Chair.
Emanuel is the son of a Jerusalem-born pediatrician who was a member of the Irgun (Etzel or IZL), a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948......."
For Peace, the U.S. Will Have to Change
Analysis by Cherrie Heywood
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 5 (IPS) - Barack Obama has been elected U.S. President at a time when the number of extremists has risen dramatically since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, going by the resistance to Western forces in the region. The U.S.-led 'war on terror' has itself now become a threat to peace.
A combination of despotic Arab regimes propped up by the West, neo-colonialism, religious intolerance, educational stagnation, a clash of cultures and religious ideology, and a U.S. foreign policy biased in favour of Israel has further helped build this situation.
Given the possibility of an attack on Iran, the near future appears even more ominous. But all hope is not lost, according to both an Israeli and a Palestinian analyst.
"There is still a possibility for the relationship between the U.S. and the Middle East to be repaired, but it will require a quantum change in the attitude of the U.S. administration towards Arabs and Muslims if this is to occur," Dr Ahmed Yousef, political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told IPS from his office in Gaza city......"
"RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 5 (IPS) - Barack Obama has been elected U.S. President at a time when the number of extremists has risen dramatically since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, going by the resistance to Western forces in the region. The U.S.-led 'war on terror' has itself now become a threat to peace.
A combination of despotic Arab regimes propped up by the West, neo-colonialism, religious intolerance, educational stagnation, a clash of cultures and religious ideology, and a U.S. foreign policy biased in favour of Israel has further helped build this situation.
Given the possibility of an attack on Iran, the near future appears even more ominous. But all hope is not lost, according to both an Israeli and a Palestinian analyst.
"There is still a possibility for the relationship between the U.S. and the Middle East to be repaired, but it will require a quantum change in the attitude of the U.S. administration towards Arabs and Muslims if this is to occur," Dr Ahmed Yousef, political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told IPS from his office in Gaza city......"
Travesty of Tolerance on Display in Jerusalem
Museum lays waste to ancient Muslim cemetery
by Jonathan Cook
"Israel seems to have little time for the irony that a modern Jewish shrine to "coexistence and tolerance" is being built on the graves of the city's Muslim forefathers.
The Israeli Supreme Court's approval last week of the building of a Jewish Museum of Tolerance over an ancient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem is the latest in a series of legal and physical assaults on Islamic holy places since Israel's founding in 1948.....
What makes the latest fight over the Mamilla cemetery different is that in the past decade a new breed of Muslim leader has emerged in Israel to overshadow the Islamic trusts. In particular the struggle over the fate of the holy places has been taken up by the leader of the Islamic Movement inside Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah.
Last week he warned: "We will mobilize in the Arab and Muslim world so that it puts pressure to halt the project."
Tolerance, after all, has its limits."
by Jonathan Cook
"Israel seems to have little time for the irony that a modern Jewish shrine to "coexistence and tolerance" is being built on the graves of the city's Muslim forefathers.
The Israeli Supreme Court's approval last week of the building of a Jewish Museum of Tolerance over an ancient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem is the latest in a series of legal and physical assaults on Islamic holy places since Israel's founding in 1948.....
What makes the latest fight over the Mamilla cemetery different is that in the past decade a new breed of Muslim leader has emerged in Israel to overshadow the Islamic trusts. In particular the struggle over the fate of the holy places has been taken up by the leader of the Islamic Movement inside Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah.
Last week he warned: "We will mobilize in the Arab and Muslim world so that it puts pressure to halt the project."
Tolerance, after all, has its limits."
A new false dawn
Obama won four in every five Jewish votes as Israel's invasion of Gaza continued overnight. Does his victory change anything?
Seth Freedman
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
".....What is clear is that the aftermath of the election, during which time all eyes will be firmly on the US as the dust settles, provides Israel with another opportunity to drag its heels even further in terms of the peace process.
Last night's invasion of Gaza was carried out at a perfect time to bury bad news; further delays and distractions from the Road Map can be put down to a lack of global political stability during the transition from Bush's outgoing administration to Obama's incumbent government.
"The new president will take some time to get ready," an Israeli diplomatic official told the Jerusalem Post. "And it is unlikely he will do anything here until we are ready, which probably won't be until after Pesach [next April, once Israel's own elections have occurred]."
With that in mind, anyone under the illusion that the new dawn in America would bring an immediate ray of light shining down upon the Middle East would do well to sit back and play the waiting game. Because, despite all of the positive signs now that Obama's been installed in the White House, the knock-on effect of his election could take a long time to filter halfway round the world to the eternally-troubled Holy Land."
Seth Freedman
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
".....What is clear is that the aftermath of the election, during which time all eyes will be firmly on the US as the dust settles, provides Israel with another opportunity to drag its heels even further in terms of the peace process.
Last night's invasion of Gaza was carried out at a perfect time to bury bad news; further delays and distractions from the Road Map can be put down to a lack of global political stability during the transition from Bush's outgoing administration to Obama's incumbent government.
"The new president will take some time to get ready," an Israeli diplomatic official told the Jerusalem Post. "And it is unlikely he will do anything here until we are ready, which probably won't be until after Pesach [next April, once Israel's own elections have occurred]."
With that in mind, anyone under the illusion that the new dawn in America would bring an immediate ray of light shining down upon the Middle East would do well to sit back and play the waiting game. Because, despite all of the positive signs now that Obama's been installed in the White House, the knock-on effect of his election could take a long time to filter halfway round the world to the eternally-troubled Holy Land."
Now he must declare that the war on terror is over
Obama's preference for diplomacy can help to forge new, individual relationships with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan
Jonathan Steele
The Guardian, Thursday November 6 2008
".....In spite of his preference for dialogue, Obama refers to Iran's government as a "regime", and calls it "a threat to all of us". He also favours sanctions as long as Iran fails to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. Nor has he ruled out military action. But Iranians say the basis for compromise exists. The challenge for Obama is to show the world whether he is ready to offer Tehran a grand bargain rather than a big bang."
Jonathan Steele
The Guardian, Thursday November 6 2008
".....In spite of his preference for dialogue, Obama refers to Iran's government as a "regime", and calls it "a threat to all of us". He also favours sanctions as long as Iran fails to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. Nor has he ruled out military action. But Iranians say the basis for compromise exists. The challenge for Obama is to show the world whether he is ready to offer Tehran a grand bargain rather than a big bang."
Great expectations
The weight of the past, present and future will add drag to Obama's ascent to the White House
Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
"......It is an awful time to be elected president, but it is also a challenge, and Franklin Roosevelt accepted such a challenge in the 1930s by imposing a social-democratic regime of regulation, public works and an imaginative approach to popular culture. He was helped by the existence of a strong labour movement and the American left: the Reagan-Clinton-Bush years helped to destroy the legacy of the New Deal. It is a new economy, heavily dependent on global finance and a deindustrialised America.
Does Obama have the vision or the strength to turn this clock back and forward at the same time? In the realm of foreign policy, the Obama/Biden approach has not been too different from that of Bush or McCain. A New Deal for the rest of the world would require a rapid exit from Iraq and Afghanistan and no further adventures in these regions or elsewhere. Biden has virtually committed himself to a Balkanisation of Iraq, which now appears less likely since the rest of the country as well as Iran and Turkey are opposed, for different reasons, to the creation of an Israeli-American protectorate in Northern Iraq with permanent US bases. Obama would be best advised to announce a rapid and complete withdrawal. Apart from all else, the costs are now prohibitive.
And sending troops based in Iraq to Afghanistan would only recreate the mess elsewhere. As numerous British diplomatic, military and intelligence experts have warned, the war in South Asia is lost. Washington is certainly aware of this fact. Hence the panic-induced negotiations with the neo-Taliban. One can only hope that Obama's foreign policy advisers will force a retreat on this front as well.
What of South America? Surely Obama should mimic Nixon's trip to Beijing and fly to Havana, ending the economic and diplomatic embargo of Cuba. Even Colin Powell acknowledged that the regime had done a great deal for its people. It will be difficult for Obama to preach the virtues of the free-market, but the Cubans could certainly help him in establishing a proper healthcare system in the United States. This would be change that most Americans would be happy to believe in. Other lessons are also on offer from other South American countries that foresaw the crisis of neoliberal capitalism and began to restructure their economies over a decade ago.
If change means that nothing changes then those who have put Obama in the White House might decide after a few years have passed that a progressive party in the United States has become a necessity."
Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
"......It is an awful time to be elected president, but it is also a challenge, and Franklin Roosevelt accepted such a challenge in the 1930s by imposing a social-democratic regime of regulation, public works and an imaginative approach to popular culture. He was helped by the existence of a strong labour movement and the American left: the Reagan-Clinton-Bush years helped to destroy the legacy of the New Deal. It is a new economy, heavily dependent on global finance and a deindustrialised America.
Does Obama have the vision or the strength to turn this clock back and forward at the same time? In the realm of foreign policy, the Obama/Biden approach has not been too different from that of Bush or McCain. A New Deal for the rest of the world would require a rapid exit from Iraq and Afghanistan and no further adventures in these regions or elsewhere. Biden has virtually committed himself to a Balkanisation of Iraq, which now appears less likely since the rest of the country as well as Iran and Turkey are opposed, for different reasons, to the creation of an Israeli-American protectorate in Northern Iraq with permanent US bases. Obama would be best advised to announce a rapid and complete withdrawal. Apart from all else, the costs are now prohibitive.
And sending troops based in Iraq to Afghanistan would only recreate the mess elsewhere. As numerous British diplomatic, military and intelligence experts have warned, the war in South Asia is lost. Washington is certainly aware of this fact. Hence the panic-induced negotiations with the neo-Taliban. One can only hope that Obama's foreign policy advisers will force a retreat on this front as well.
What of South America? Surely Obama should mimic Nixon's trip to Beijing and fly to Havana, ending the economic and diplomatic embargo of Cuba. Even Colin Powell acknowledged that the regime had done a great deal for its people. It will be difficult for Obama to preach the virtues of the free-market, but the Cubans could certainly help him in establishing a proper healthcare system in the United States. This would be change that most Americans would be happy to believe in. Other lessons are also on offer from other South American countries that foresaw the crisis of neoliberal capitalism and began to restructure their economies over a decade ago.
If change means that nothing changes then those who have put Obama in the White House might decide after a few years have passed that a progressive party in the United States has become a necessity."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama Starts Shaping His Team, Offers Rahm Emanuel Top Spot
Contributed by Zarathustra
"......Obama offered the job of chief of staff to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, ABC News' Jake Tapper reported today.
"......Obama offered the job of chief of staff to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, ABC News' Jake Tapper reported today.
Emanuel, a veteran of President Clinton's administration and a close political ally of Obama's from Chicago, hasn't immediately given his answer.
Obama likes that Emanuel knows policy, knows politics and knows Capitol Hill and has told associates that he knows Emanuel will "have his back," ABC News' chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said of the offer........"
On the Sea Again
The Free Gaza Movement
"For Immediate Release Date : 11-03-2008
On Friday, November 7, the SS DIGNITY leaves at 5:00 pm from Larnaca to Gaza. This time, thirteen members of the European Parliament from England, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Wales, Switzerland, and Scotland are on board.
After two successful voyages, one in August and one last week, members of the Free Gaza Movement are pleased to bring yet another delegation to Gaza to see for themselves the devastation Israel has meted out to 1.5 million Palestinians.
"Our dream two years ago was to bring people to Gaza to witness what Israel is doing. This time, we are honored to have Parliamentarians from the world community coming with us," said Mary Hughes Thompson, one of the original Free Gaza Movement organizers.
The Free Gaza Movement and the European Campaign to End the Siege have organized this voyage because Egypt refused 53 international Parliamentarians who were holding a conference in Gaza from November 8 – 11 from entering. Now, several of them are going to meet with their counterparts and assess the humanitarian situation there.
"Egypt did not allow us to enter Gaza via the Rafah terminal, but this will not stop us from visiting the area," Lord Nazir Ahmad, head of the European delegates stated, "We will sail to Gaza, we are determined to break the siege."
Ms Clare Short UK MP emphasized, "The Egyptian refusal to grant us access through Rafah Crossing is insulting to all of us, and Egypt should open the crossing now."
The parliamentarians will visit hospitals and deliver a ton of medical supplies brought over by the DIGNITY. Hopefully they will be able to meet with many of the 700 students who have been denied the right to leave Gaza and study at universities that have already admitted them.
Dr. Arafat Shoukri of the European Campaign to End the Siege added, "We intend to deliver the medical supplies to the most vulnerable of the stricken population in the occupied territory".
"This journey will send a strong message to the world and is a direct challenge to the Israeli political siege on Palestine. We hope this trip of Parliamentarians will be one of many to follow," said Osama Qashoo, another Free Gaza Movement organizer......."
"For Immediate Release Date : 11-03-2008
On Friday, November 7, the SS DIGNITY leaves at 5:00 pm from Larnaca to Gaza. This time, thirteen members of the European Parliament from England, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Wales, Switzerland, and Scotland are on board.
After two successful voyages, one in August and one last week, members of the Free Gaza Movement are pleased to bring yet another delegation to Gaza to see for themselves the devastation Israel has meted out to 1.5 million Palestinians.
"Our dream two years ago was to bring people to Gaza to witness what Israel is doing. This time, we are honored to have Parliamentarians from the world community coming with us," said Mary Hughes Thompson, one of the original Free Gaza Movement organizers.
The Free Gaza Movement and the European Campaign to End the Siege have organized this voyage because Egypt refused 53 international Parliamentarians who were holding a conference in Gaza from November 8 – 11 from entering. Now, several of them are going to meet with their counterparts and assess the humanitarian situation there.
"Egypt did not allow us to enter Gaza via the Rafah terminal, but this will not stop us from visiting the area," Lord Nazir Ahmad, head of the European delegates stated, "We will sail to Gaza, we are determined to break the siege."
Ms Clare Short UK MP emphasized, "The Egyptian refusal to grant us access through Rafah Crossing is insulting to all of us, and Egypt should open the crossing now."
The parliamentarians will visit hospitals and deliver a ton of medical supplies brought over by the DIGNITY. Hopefully they will be able to meet with many of the 700 students who have been denied the right to leave Gaza and study at universities that have already admitted them.
Dr. Arafat Shoukri of the European Campaign to End the Siege added, "We intend to deliver the medical supplies to the most vulnerable of the stricken population in the occupied territory".
"This journey will send a strong message to the world and is a direct challenge to the Israeli political siege on Palestine. We hope this trip of Parliamentarians will be one of many to follow," said Osama Qashoo, another Free Gaza Movement organizer......."
LEBANON: Life set to get harder for Nahr al-Bared refugees
“Buried under these thousands of tonnes of rubble are the dreams and achievements of a people who have waited 60 years for a just solution to their plight,” said UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Filipo Grandi at a press conference in Nahr al-Bared to launch the rubble removal on 29 October.
“Money is the most difficult challenge we face… I am very confident donors from west and east will deliver much-needed funds. What is at stake is the stability of the region and the well-being and future of 30,000 people. That is too important to ignore or forget.”
“Money is the most difficult challenge we face… I am very confident donors from west and east will deliver much-needed funds. What is at stake is the stability of the region and the well-being and future of 30,000 people. That is too important to ignore or forget.”
Remember me: Obama bashing begins here
By As'ad Abu Khalil (Angry Arab)
"......Remember me when Obama will endorse an Israeli war on a refugee camp and on a Lebanese village, and he will call that justified self-defense. Remember me when Obama will mourn the deaths of Israelis and will celebrate the deaths of Arabs and Muslims. Remember me when he orders his first bombing campaign on some remote area of Pakistan. Remember me when he betrays the poor in favor of Wall Street. Remember me when he will betray the aspirations of black people in favor of the white middle class that is now the headline of the Democratic Party. Remember me when Obama will not fight for his health reform plan, and will he not deliver on many of his promises. Remember me when Obama will stick to his campaign promise of opposing gay marriage. Remember me when when Obama will continue to blame the failure of the American occupation of Iraq on the Iraqi people themselves. On Angry Arab: the Obama bashing has just begun and will continue unabated. "
"......Remember me when Obama will endorse an Israeli war on a refugee camp and on a Lebanese village, and he will call that justified self-defense. Remember me when Obama will mourn the deaths of Israelis and will celebrate the deaths of Arabs and Muslims. Remember me when he orders his first bombing campaign on some remote area of Pakistan. Remember me when he betrays the poor in favor of Wall Street. Remember me when he will betray the aspirations of black people in favor of the white middle class that is now the headline of the Democratic Party. Remember me when Obama will not fight for his health reform plan, and will he not deliver on many of his promises. Remember me when Obama will stick to his campaign promise of opposing gay marriage. Remember me when when Obama will continue to blame the failure of the American occupation of Iraq on the Iraqi people themselves. On Angry Arab: the Obama bashing has just begun and will continue unabated. "
Why McCain Lost
The Fundamentals of the Campaign were Unsound
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
and JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
CounterPunch
"....Seldom has economic caastrophe come so propitiously for a candidate. But though crisis helped him, Obama did not rise to the occasion. He actually got less inspiring as the weeks pass. On September 23, he stated on NBC that the crisis and prospect of a huge bailout required bipartisan action and meant he likely would have to delay expansive spending programs, outlined during his campaign for the White House. Thus did he surrender power even before he gained it.....
In terms of political change one can invoke 1932 and 1964, but the strongest parallel here is really with 1960 and John Kennedy, respository of so many youthful hopes. Of course it wasn’t long before reality caught up with the hopes, and overtook them, with deepening involvement in Vietnam and the disaster of the Bay of Pigs. There will be similar bruising engagements with reality in the months ahead, and with America in a weaker condition. But for the moment of triumph for Obama and his supporters is unalloyed. "
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
and JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
CounterPunch
"....Seldom has economic caastrophe come so propitiously for a candidate. But though crisis helped him, Obama did not rise to the occasion. He actually got less inspiring as the weeks pass. On September 23, he stated on NBC that the crisis and prospect of a huge bailout required bipartisan action and meant he likely would have to delay expansive spending programs, outlined during his campaign for the White House. Thus did he surrender power even before he gained it.....
In terms of political change one can invoke 1932 and 1964, but the strongest parallel here is really with 1960 and John Kennedy, respository of so many youthful hopes. Of course it wasn’t long before reality caught up with the hopes, and overtook them, with deepening involvement in Vietnam and the disaster of the Bay of Pigs. There will be similar bruising engagements with reality in the months ahead, and with America in a weaker condition. But for the moment of triumph for Obama and his supporters is unalloyed. "
Children In The Crosshairs
Media Silent On Evidence Of Israeli Targeting Of Youngsters
By David Cromwell
Znet
"On the afternoon of Thursday 28 February, 2008, a group of Palestinian boys were playing football on some open ground near their homes in the Gaza Strip. At around 3.20pm, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the boys, killing four of them instantly and seriously injuring another three. The four dead boys were Omar Hussein Dardouna, aged 14, Dardouna Deib Dardouna, aged 12, Mohammed Na'im Hammouda, aged 9, and Ali Munir Dardouna who was just 8.
Palestinian human rights fieldworkers investigated the circumstances of this attack by Israeli forces. They concluded there was no Palestinian resistance in the area at the time and that the boys "must have been clearly visible to the [Israeli] aircraft that fired the missile."
Similar cases abound. A new study by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reports that 68 children died in Gaza between June 2007 - June 2008........."
By David Cromwell
Znet
"On the afternoon of Thursday 28 February, 2008, a group of Palestinian boys were playing football on some open ground near their homes in the Gaza Strip. At around 3.20pm, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the boys, killing four of them instantly and seriously injuring another three. The four dead boys were Omar Hussein Dardouna, aged 14, Dardouna Deib Dardouna, aged 12, Mohammed Na'im Hammouda, aged 9, and Ali Munir Dardouna who was just 8.
Palestinian human rights fieldworkers investigated the circumstances of this attack by Israeli forces. They concluded there was no Palestinian resistance in the area at the time and that the boys "must have been clearly visible to the [Israeli] aircraft that fired the missile."
Similar cases abound. A new study by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reports that 68 children died in Gaza between June 2007 - June 2008........."
IOF troops violate calm, kill six Qassam fighters in Gaza
"GAZA, (PIC)-- Six fighters affiliated with the Qassam Brigades were killed at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces in central and southern Gaza at a late hour on Tuesday while a number of others were wounded.
Sources in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement, said that IOF troops reinforced by tanks and armored vehicles advanced into central Gaza and fired at Palestinian homes in central Gaza prompting resistance fighters to retaliate to the source of fire.
They said that a Qassam field commander was martyred in the incursion while four other resistance fighters and civilians were wounded.
PIC reporter in the area said that the IOF tanks opened intensive fire at the civilian neighborhoods in the central district of Gaza Strip.
Field sources said that the Qassam fighters engaged the invading forces in fierce battles using machineguns and mortar shells........"
Bilbao initiative: declaration and action plan
Declaration, Bilbao Initiative, 4 November 2008
The following declaration was issued on 31 October 2008 following a gathering of Palestinian, progressive Israeli and international organizations and social movements in Bilbao, Spain:
".....During the Bilbao Initiative gathering, we, Palestinian, progressive Israeli and international organizations and social movements discussed and embraced the latest Palestinian in-depth examination of Israel's legal and political regime over the Palestinian people. This analysis exposes Israel as a state which is built on the massive ethnic cleansing of 1948 and which for six decades has systematically committed injustices against all segments of the Palestinian people -- refugees in exile, citizens of Israel and those in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) -- on grounds of their national identity, in order to prevent Palestinian self-determination and to cement colonization and domination via racist laws, including promoting exclusively Jewish immigration while barring the Palestinians' right to return. From a legal perspective, this study has concluded that Israel's regime is a system that uniquely combines apartheid, settler-colonialism, and belligerent occupation......
Action plan
Assembled in Bilbao on 31 October 2008, we hereby call upon civil society organizations, political parties, networks and conscientious individuals....."
The following declaration was issued on 31 October 2008 following a gathering of Palestinian, progressive Israeli and international organizations and social movements in Bilbao, Spain:
".....During the Bilbao Initiative gathering, we, Palestinian, progressive Israeli and international organizations and social movements discussed and embraced the latest Palestinian in-depth examination of Israel's legal and political regime over the Palestinian people. This analysis exposes Israel as a state which is built on the massive ethnic cleansing of 1948 and which for six decades has systematically committed injustices against all segments of the Palestinian people -- refugees in exile, citizens of Israel and those in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) -- on grounds of their national identity, in order to prevent Palestinian self-determination and to cement colonization and domination via racist laws, including promoting exclusively Jewish immigration while barring the Palestinians' right to return. From a legal perspective, this study has concluded that Israel's regime is a system that uniquely combines apartheid, settler-colonialism, and belligerent occupation......
Action plan
Assembled in Bilbao on 31 October 2008, we hereby call upon civil society organizations, political parties, networks and conscientious individuals....."
More Normalization.....for Free! Peres to join Saudi King on interfaith panel for first time
"President Shimon Peres has been invited to take part in a United Nations interfaith conference initiated by Saudi King Abdullah in Washington next week.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to accompany Peres to the conference, which will mark the first time Peres will participate in a panel alongside the Saudi ruler......."
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to accompany Peres to the conference, which will mark the first time Peres will participate in a panel alongside the Saudi ruler......." A Mandate to End the War
Not a mandate for more wars
by Justin Raimondo
"........The Obama campaign was supposedly born as a grassroots movement, an online phenomenon that went viral and created a new majority. This myth is belied, of course, by the huge amount of corporate dollars that went into the campaign. McCain was outspent by an incredible margin. The Money Power is heavily invested in Obama, and they fully expect their generosity to be repaid – with interest.
In the international arena, this means the protection of corporate interests abroad, with the U.S. military being used as a private police force to protect American business interests – you know, the sort of enterprises that are "too big to fail" and have to be succored by the U.S. Treasury. Obama, like McCain, signed onto the Wall Street bailout, and he'll be just as willing to send in the Marines to secure their interests abroad.
The more years I accumulate observing American policymakers in action, the more I'm struck by the essential continuity of U.S. foreign policy. Since the end of World War II, our course has been set: straight for the same mausoleum that houses the remains of the British, the Soviet, the Roman, and all other would-be global empires of the past. It will take more than mere "change" to turn this around. It will take a Herculean effort, one that is now possible – but only if we remain vigilant, and relentless in our exertions. "
by Justin Raimondo
"........The Obama campaign was supposedly born as a grassroots movement, an online phenomenon that went viral and created a new majority. This myth is belied, of course, by the huge amount of corporate dollars that went into the campaign. McCain was outspent by an incredible margin. The Money Power is heavily invested in Obama, and they fully expect their generosity to be repaid – with interest.
In the international arena, this means the protection of corporate interests abroad, with the U.S. military being used as a private police force to protect American business interests – you know, the sort of enterprises that are "too big to fail" and have to be succored by the U.S. Treasury. Obama, like McCain, signed onto the Wall Street bailout, and he'll be just as willing to send in the Marines to secure their interests abroad.
The more years I accumulate observing American policymakers in action, the more I'm struck by the essential continuity of U.S. foreign policy. Since the end of World War II, our course has been set: straight for the same mausoleum that houses the remains of the British, the Soviet, the Roman, and all other would-be global empires of the past. It will take more than mere "change" to turn this around. It will take a Herculean effort, one that is now possible – but only if we remain vigilant, and relentless in our exertions. "
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
The question is:
Will Obama's win change Washington's Middle East policy for the better?
With over 4,000 responding so far, 46% said yes.
Will Obama's win change Washington's Middle East policy for the better?
With over 4,000 responding so far, 46% said yes.
Hegemony with a happy face
Let's be realistic: there is no reason to expect a radical break in US foreign policy – and Obama faces formidable challenges
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
"Expectations that Barack Obama will radically alter America's approach to the world are overblown. On many key foreign policy issues, the Democratic president-elect is part of the Washington consensus, not an opponent of it. No mould-breaker he. That fact sits uncomfortably with Obama's trademark promise of change.....
The latter case may be moving towards a solution. But Iran stands out as a formidable challenge and on this subject, Obama's stance is dismayingly hawkish. Obama says he wants to talk to "rogue" leaderships such as that in Tehran. But Iran is not likely to soften its approach just because the gun held to its head is in Obama's hand rather than Bush's. At the same time, Israel will be pushing hard for a firm line (meaning possible military action). These elections have not changed the awesome power of Israel's Washington lobbying machine........"
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008
"Expectations that Barack Obama will radically alter America's approach to the world are overblown. On many key foreign policy issues, the Democratic president-elect is part of the Washington consensus, not an opponent of it. No mould-breaker he. That fact sits uncomfortably with Obama's trademark promise of change.....
The latter case may be moving towards a solution. But Iran stands out as a formidable challenge and on this subject, Obama's stance is dismayingly hawkish. Obama says he wants to talk to "rogue" leaderships such as that in Tehran. But Iran is not likely to soften its approach just because the gun held to its head is in Obama's hand rather than Bush's. At the same time, Israel will be pushing hard for a firm line (meaning possible military action). These elections have not changed the awesome power of Israel's Washington lobbying machine........"
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
How McCain Could Win
by Greg Palast
Global Research, November 3, 2008
"It's November 5 and the nation is in shock. Media blame it on the "Bradley effect": Americans supposedly turned into Klansmen inside the voting booth, and Barack Obama turned up with 6 million votes less than calculated from the exit polls. Florida came in for McCain and so did Indiana. Colorado, despite the Democrats' Rocky Mountain high after the Denver convention, stayed surprisingly Red. New Mexico, a state where Anglos are a minority, went McCain by 300 votes, as did Virginia.
That's the nightmare. Here's the cold reality.....
The Ugly Secret
Here's an ugly little secret about American democracy: We don't count all the votes. In 2004, based on the data from the US Elections Assistance Commission, 3,006,080 votes were not counted: "spoiled," unreadable and blank ballots; "provisional" ballots rejected; mail-in ballots disqualified.
This Tuesday, it will be worse. Much worse.....
How to Steal an Election in Five Easy Steps
Here's how they can pull off the steal. Take out your calculator and add it up......"
Global Research, November 3, 2008
"It's November 5 and the nation is in shock. Media blame it on the "Bradley effect": Americans supposedly turned into Klansmen inside the voting booth, and Barack Obama turned up with 6 million votes less than calculated from the exit polls. Florida came in for McCain and so did Indiana. Colorado, despite the Democrats' Rocky Mountain high after the Denver convention, stayed surprisingly Red. New Mexico, a state where Anglos are a minority, went McCain by 300 votes, as did Virginia.
That's the nightmare. Here's the cold reality.....
The Ugly Secret
Here's an ugly little secret about American democracy: We don't count all the votes. In 2004, based on the data from the US Elections Assistance Commission, 3,006,080 votes were not counted: "spoiled," unreadable and blank ballots; "provisional" ballots rejected; mail-in ballots disqualified.
This Tuesday, it will be worse. Much worse.....
How to Steal an Election in Five Easy Steps
Here's how they can pull off the steal. Take out your calculator and add it up......"
Liars
By Khalid Amayreh
"Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and spokesmen have been lying through their teeth lately about their increasingly vile treatment of the Palestinian people.
These people have been claiming, nearly on a daily basis, that their American-paid and trained forces are not arresting political activists and that only “criminals” and “terrorist elements” are being hounded and arrested.
Well, we who live here in the West Bank, don’t have to be presumptive about what is happening in our neighborhoods, streets, towns and villages these days. We see the daily arrests with our own eyes, we know the detainees, we know their families and their friends. Hence, we don’t even have to compare and contrast various accounts of the disgraceful onslaught by the PA against the Palestinian masses. Things are simply too plain to be controversial.
Hence, it is our responsibility as journalists to communicate the truth and facts concerning this unmitigated wave of repression by the Ramallah regime against its perceived political opponents.
And the truth of the matter is that the PA is working in broad day light and in concert with the Israeli occupation army to repress, humiliate and torment Palestinians Israel considers “subversive elements.”........"
"Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and spokesmen have been lying through their teeth lately about their increasingly vile treatment of the Palestinian people.
These people have been claiming, nearly on a daily basis, that their American-paid and trained forces are not arresting political activists and that only “criminals” and “terrorist elements” are being hounded and arrested.
Well, we who live here in the West Bank, don’t have to be presumptive about what is happening in our neighborhoods, streets, towns and villages these days. We see the daily arrests with our own eyes, we know the detainees, we know their families and their friends. Hence, we don’t even have to compare and contrast various accounts of the disgraceful onslaught by the PA against the Palestinian masses. Things are simply too plain to be controversial.
Hence, it is our responsibility as journalists to communicate the truth and facts concerning this unmitigated wave of repression by the Ramallah regime against its perceived political opponents.
And the truth of the matter is that the PA is working in broad day light and in concert with the Israeli occupation army to repress, humiliate and torment Palestinians Israel considers “subversive elements.”........"
Obama's Neocon in Residence
"The grip that the Israeli lobby has over both political parties means that any real shift in U.S. Middle Eastern policy is unlikely, whoever is elected president today. It might also be argued that no change in policy outside the Middle East is likely either, except that Obama might talk before he bombs. Given Joe Biden's warning that Obama will respond decisively to a foreign policy test in his first six months, it might even be suggested that a new regime could prove more trigger-happy than the current one......
But what is really scary about a possible Obama administration is Dennis Ross......
Ross has most recently been in the news for his participation on a task force organized by the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center, headed by ex-senators George Mitchell, Daniel Coats, and Charles Robb. In this case, bipartisan most definitely does not mean objective. The task force included Ross; Steve Rademaker, husband of Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI); Michael Rubin, also of AEI; Kenneth Weinstein of the Hudson Institute; Kenneth Katzmann of the Congressional Research Service; as well as two generals, an admiral, two former Defense Department officials who worked for Paul Wolfowitz and Doug Feith, and a Lehman Brothers economist. Rubin drafted the report assisted by the project director Michael Makovsky, who is the brother of David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israeli think-tank that was founded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). No one on the task force was an independent expert on Iran who might have been willing or able to express Iran's concerns or point of view. Indeed, apart from Rubin, no one on the task force knew anything about Iran at all, except possibly that it was part of the axis of evil........."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
For what it is worth, the current poll asks:
Who do you prefer as a U.S. president? Only the two choices were given.
With about 1,500 responding, 88% chose Obama and 12% chose McCain.
Who do you prefer as a U.S. president? Only the two choices were given.
With about 1,500 responding, 88% chose Obama and 12% chose McCain.
الجزائر: بوتفليقة رئيسا مدى الحياة
الجزائر: بوتفليقة رئيسا مدى الحياة
رأي القدس
04/11/2008
"تتجه الجزائر بسرعة لتبني النموذج العربي في تعديل الدساتير بحيث يتمكن رئيسها من تمديد فترة ولايته طوال وجوده على قيد الحياة اسوة بالغالبية الساحقة من الرؤساء العرب الآخرين الذين حولوا الجمهوريات الى ملكيات.
بالامس اعلن مجلس الوزراء الجزائري ان تعديلا قادما للدستور الجزائري عبر البرلمان سيلغي القيود على عدد الولايات الرئاسية المتعاقبة بما يمهد السبيل امام ترشيح الرئيس عبد العزيز بوتفليقة لولاية رئاسية ثالثة.
الرئيس بوتفليقة امضى ولايتين رئاسيتين حتى الآن، والدستور الجزائري يمنعه من الترشح لولاية ثالثة، ولهذا جاء التعديل المقترح للمادة 74 من الدستور بما يزيل هذا المنع بصفة نهائية، وبما يمكن الرئيس من الترشح لولاية ثالثة او رابعة او خامسة
....
....
عزاؤنا الوحيد، ونحن نرى الدستور الجزائري على ابواب التعديل، بحيث يصبح الرئيس بوتفليقة رئيسا مدى الحياة اسوة بزعماء عرب آخرين، انه يختلف عنهم، اي الزعماء العرب، في نقطة جوهرية اساسية، وهي انه لن يورث الحكم لأولاده، لأنه لم يتزوج ولم ينجب اولاداً بالتالي."
رأي القدس
04/11/2008
"تتجه الجزائر بسرعة لتبني النموذج العربي في تعديل الدساتير بحيث يتمكن رئيسها من تمديد فترة ولايته طوال وجوده على قيد الحياة اسوة بالغالبية الساحقة من الرؤساء العرب الآخرين الذين حولوا الجمهوريات الى ملكيات.
بالامس اعلن مجلس الوزراء الجزائري ان تعديلا قادما للدستور الجزائري عبر البرلمان سيلغي القيود على عدد الولايات الرئاسية المتعاقبة بما يمهد السبيل امام ترشيح الرئيس عبد العزيز بوتفليقة لولاية رئاسية ثالثة.
الرئيس بوتفليقة امضى ولايتين رئاسيتين حتى الآن، والدستور الجزائري يمنعه من الترشح لولاية ثالثة، ولهذا جاء التعديل المقترح للمادة 74 من الدستور بما يزيل هذا المنع بصفة نهائية، وبما يمكن الرئيس من الترشح لولاية ثالثة او رابعة او خامسة
....
....
عزاؤنا الوحيد، ونحن نرى الدستور الجزائري على ابواب التعديل، بحيث يصبح الرئيس بوتفليقة رئيسا مدى الحياة اسوة بزعماء عرب آخرين، انه يختلف عنهم، اي الزعماء العرب، في نقطة جوهرية اساسية، وهي انه لن يورث الحكم لأولاده، لأنه لم يتزوج ولم ينجب اولاداً بالتالي."
Real News Video: Reality asserts itself
Solutions to the economic crisis will be found when we cut through the propaganda and spin
"PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: There are times when reality just asserts itself. In spite of the haze created by television news and entertainment, sometimes crisis rips a tear in the fabric of myth and propaganda. Now a profound economic crisis has ripped asunder the American dream itself, millions of people losing jobs and homes. They lack proper health care and any real sense of security. Since 2001, workers' wages have fallen or remain stagnant, even though worker productivity has risen almost 33 percent. By 2006, the top 1 percent of households were receiving 23 percent of all pre-tax income, more than double of what it was in the 1970s. It's the greatest concentration of income since 1928......."
Please help build The Real News!
"PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: There are times when reality just asserts itself. In spite of the haze created by television news and entertainment, sometimes crisis rips a tear in the fabric of myth and propaganda. Now a profound economic crisis has ripped asunder the American dream itself, millions of people losing jobs and homes. They lack proper health care and any real sense of security. Since 2001, workers' wages have fallen or remain stagnant, even though worker productivity has risen almost 33 percent. By 2006, the top 1 percent of households were receiving 23 percent of all pre-tax income, more than double of what it was in the 1970s. It's the greatest concentration of income since 1928......."
Please help build The Real News!
Breaking the West Bank
Israel's security barrier continues to divide and seize Palestinian land, yet Britain and the EU fail to take action
Chris Davies
(Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West)
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday November 04 2008
"We were expecting it, but the deafening noise of the first sound bomb still came as a shock. The cry went up, "gas, gas", and blue-white smoke hissed out from a tear gas grenade.
"No violence. No violence," someone shouted. "Hold your hands in the air." But the gesture was not reciprocated. The grenades kept coming, perhaps 20 in all. Fortunately the wind carried most of the gas away across the fields.........
These events took place last Friday, close to Bil'in, about 15 miles from Jerusalem. Israeli peace activists join each week with Palestinian villagers to demonstrate against the building of the so-called separation fence. It is a massive land grabbing exercise to create still more Jewish settlements, in this case even in defiance of an Israeli Supreme Court judgement.
Palestine, after 40 years of Israeli military occupation, is being coldly and cynically dismembered. The European Commission reports that the population of the settlements has grown by 5% since January alone. Military fortifications, impassable fences, and new connecting roads are separating Palestinian communities and turning them into bantustans (but even white South Africans never forbade blacks from using the roads). A Soviet-style system of identity passes restricts movement and prevents families from meeting...... "
Chris Davies
(Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West)
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday November 04 2008
"We were expecting it, but the deafening noise of the first sound bomb still came as a shock. The cry went up, "gas, gas", and blue-white smoke hissed out from a tear gas grenade.
"No violence. No violence," someone shouted. "Hold your hands in the air." But the gesture was not reciprocated. The grenades kept coming, perhaps 20 in all. Fortunately the wind carried most of the gas away across the fields.........
These events took place last Friday, close to Bil'in, about 15 miles from Jerusalem. Israeli peace activists join each week with Palestinian villagers to demonstrate against the building of the so-called separation fence. It is a massive land grabbing exercise to create still more Jewish settlements, in this case even in defiance of an Israeli Supreme Court judgement.
Palestine, after 40 years of Israeli military occupation, is being coldly and cynically dismembered. The European Commission reports that the population of the settlements has grown by 5% since January alone. Military fortifications, impassable fences, and new connecting roads are separating Palestinian communities and turning them into bantustans (but even white South Africans never forbade blacks from using the roads). A Soviet-style system of identity passes restricts movement and prevents families from meeting...... "
Monday, November 3, 2008
Talabani: Iran has has helped Baghdad in its fight against "insurgents"
Press TV
Via Uruknet.info
"The Iraqi President says Iran plays an important role in bringing stability to Iraq and has helped Baghdad in its fight against insurgents.
When asked by the Iraqi state television on Sunday about US claims of Iran trying to insecure Iraq, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani referred to his meeting with the US President during which he told George Bush that Iraq has good relations with Iran and Syria and that "these two countries help Baghdad to secure Iraq."
Speaking on the controversial issue of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) security pact, he said that Iraq is a unified country and no one has the right to object the Iraqi government's decision, should it refuse the security deal......
"All attempts are going on right now to sign the pact, but if the pact is not signed and if the US asks to keep its troops in Kurdistan, I think the parliament, the people and government of Kurdistan will welcome this warmly," Barzani, was quoted by a local Iraqi newspaper as saying on Sunday. "
Via Uruknet.info
"The Iraqi President says Iran plays an important role in bringing stability to Iraq and has helped Baghdad in its fight against insurgents.
When asked by the Iraqi state television on Sunday about US claims of Iran trying to insecure Iraq, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani referred to his meeting with the US President during which he told George Bush that Iraq has good relations with Iran and Syria and that "these two countries help Baghdad to secure Iraq."
Speaking on the controversial issue of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) security pact, he said that Iraq is a unified country and no one has the right to object the Iraqi government's decision, should it refuse the security deal......
"All attempts are going on right now to sign the pact, but if the pact is not signed and if the US asks to keep its troops in Kurdistan, I think the parliament, the people and government of Kurdistan will welcome this warmly," Barzani, was quoted by a local Iraqi newspaper as saying on Sunday. "
Call Me Ishmael…
By Tony Karon
"......McCain regularly repeats the preposterous mantra that the struggle against Islamist radicalism is the “transcendent challenge of the 21st century,” but make no mistake, Barack Obama falls victim to the same flawed logic when he proclaims Afghanistan “the right war” and promises to get out of Iraq in order to free up more troops to send to “stamp out the Taliban”, as he put it one of the presidential debates......"
"......McCain regularly repeats the preposterous mantra that the struggle against Islamist radicalism is the “transcendent challenge of the 21st century,” but make no mistake, Barack Obama falls victim to the same flawed logic when he proclaims Afghanistan “the right war” and promises to get out of Iraq in order to free up more troops to send to “stamp out the Taliban”, as he put it one of the presidential debates......"
Only Nader Is Right on the Issues
By Chris Hedges
"Tomorrow I will go to a polling station in Princeton, N.J., and vote for Ralph Nader. I know the tired arguments against a Nader vote. He can’t win. A vote for Nader is a vote for McCain. He threw the election to George W. Bush in 2000. He is an egomaniac.
.....War, with all its euphemisms about surges and the escalation of troops and collateral damage, is not an abstraction to me. I am haunted by hundreds of memories of violence and trauma. I have abandoned, because I no longer cover these conflicts, many I care about. They live in Gaza, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Beirut, Kabul and Tehran. They cannot vote in our election. They will, however, bear the consequences of our decision. Some, if the wars continue, may be injured or killed. The quest for justice is not about being practical. It is required by the bonds we share. They would do no less for me. "
"Tomorrow I will go to a polling station in Princeton, N.J., and vote for Ralph Nader. I know the tired arguments against a Nader vote. He can’t win. A vote for Nader is a vote for McCain. He threw the election to George W. Bush in 2000. He is an egomaniac.
.....War, with all its euphemisms about surges and the escalation of troops and collateral damage, is not an abstraction to me. I am haunted by hundreds of memories of violence and trauma. I have abandoned, because I no longer cover these conflicts, many I care about. They live in Gaza, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Beirut, Kabul and Tehran. They cannot vote in our election. They will, however, bear the consequences of our decision. Some, if the wars continue, may be injured or killed. The quest for justice is not about being practical. It is required by the bonds we share. They would do no less for me. "
How Israel helps eavesdrop on US citizens
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 3 November 2008
"After the 11 September 2001 attacks, the United States government launched a massive program to spy on millions of its own citizens. Through the top secret National Security Agency (NSA), it has pursued "access to billions of private hard-line, cell, and wireless telephone conversations; text, e-mail and instant Internet messages; Web-page histories, faxes, and computer hard drives." In his new book, The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America author James Bamford casts light on this effort, including a detailed account of how spying on American citizens has been outsourced to several companies closely linked to Israel's intelligence services. Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada......"
"After the 11 September 2001 attacks, the United States government launched a massive program to spy on millions of its own citizens. Through the top secret National Security Agency (NSA), it has pursued "access to billions of private hard-line, cell, and wireless telephone conversations; text, e-mail and instant Internet messages; Web-page histories, faxes, and computer hard drives." In his new book, The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America author James Bamford casts light on this effort, including a detailed account of how spying on American citizens has been outsourced to several companies closely linked to Israel's intelligence services. Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada......"
Joke of the Day: Syria response to US will be 'painful'
Press TV
"Damascus has warned that it will carry out 'painful' measures if the US fails to explain its recent cross-border raid into Syria......"
Ha Ha Ha! Tell us some more; like, "Assad will "liberate" the Golan!"
What a laughingstock!
"Damascus has warned that it will carry out 'painful' measures if the US fails to explain its recent cross-border raid into Syria......"
Ha Ha Ha! Tell us some more; like, "Assad will "liberate" the Golan!"
What a laughingstock!
On visit, ex-U.S. envoy Martin Indyk makes case for Obama to Israeli public
"Former U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk has taken the opportunity to declare to the Israeli public his support for U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
Indyk, who was born to a Jewish family in England but grew up primarily in Australia, has made a career of Middle East diplomacy and support for Israel. Among other entries on an impressive resume, he has worked at AIPAC, founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and served two stints as U.S. envoy to Israel......"
Indyk, who was born to a Jewish family in England but grew up primarily in Australia, has made a career of Middle East diplomacy and support for Israel. Among other entries on an impressive resume, he has worked at AIPAC, founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and served two stints as U.S. envoy to Israel......"
Yesh Din report: Only 8% of Palestinian complaints against settlers result in indictment
"The human rights group Yesh Din on Monday slammed the government for its "faulty" methods of dealing with settlers violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Only 8 percent of Palestinian complaints of settler violence results in indictment, according to the report, which was released on Monday.
The report charges that the Appeals Department of the State Prosecution's office tends to "sweepingly accept the decisions of the police and district attorneys to close cases." Often cases are discounted due to lack of reliable evidence, said the report......"
Only 8 percent of Palestinian complaints of settler violence results in indictment, according to the report, which was released on Monday.
The report charges that the Appeals Department of the State Prosecution's office tends to "sweepingly accept the decisions of the police and district attorneys to close cases." Often cases are discounted due to lack of reliable evidence, said the report......"
Top Obama Advisor Has Long Ties to Neocons
Analysis by Michael Flynn
"GENEVA, Nov 2 (IPS) - With the 2008 presidential campaign at its end, pundits have begun to discuss in earnest what expected winner Barack Obama's administration might look like. An important piece of evidence is Obama's campaign team, which largely escaped the harsh scrutiny that his opponent's lobbyist-laden team received.
Because of Obama's relative inexperience on foreign policy, it is this part of his team that is getting much of the attention, and one adviser in particular -- Dennis Ross, Bill Clinton's Mideast envoy whose record includes supporting the pro-Iraq War advocacy campaigns of the Project for the New American Century and serving as a consultant to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a bastion of Israel-centric policy thinking in Washington......"
"GENEVA, Nov 2 (IPS) - With the 2008 presidential campaign at its end, pundits have begun to discuss in earnest what expected winner Barack Obama's administration might look like. An important piece of evidence is Obama's campaign team, which largely escaped the harsh scrutiny that his opponent's lobbyist-laden team received.
Because of Obama's relative inexperience on foreign policy, it is this part of his team that is getting much of the attention, and one adviser in particular -- Dennis Ross, Bill Clinton's Mideast envoy whose record includes supporting the pro-Iraq War advocacy campaigns of the Project for the New American Century and serving as a consultant to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a bastion of Israel-centric policy thinking in Washington......"
Friends like these
America doesn’t know how alone it is in Iraq
By Patrick Cockburn
"Over the past five years, America and its Iraqi allies have pointed triumphantly at a series of spurious milestones meant to mark turning points on the road to stability and security. But the ongoing stalemate over a new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which the Iraqi government refuses to sign despite intense American pressure, marks a true turning point in the conflict: it is a clear sign that American political influence in Iraq is weaker than ever.
It is the first time that an Iraqi government has rebuffed the US on a crucial issue since the invasion of 2003. The agreement, the subject of prolonged and divisive negotiations since March, was rejected by the Iraqi cabinet and is unlikely to be submitted to parliament in its present form. The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, who could not have obtained nor held his job without American backing, says he will not sign it as it is......
The Kurds say privately that Maliki is overconfident. This may be so, but he has a strong hand. It is too late for the Americans to try replace him. He owes his greatest triumph – facing down the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al Sadr in Basra, Sadr City and Amara earlier this year – as much to Iranian restraint of the Sadrists as to American military support. It would be dangerous for him to make an enemy of Iran by signing a deal to which they are vehemently and openly opposed........
The danger in Iraq is that neither McCain nor Obama seem to understand how far the US position in Iraq has weakened this year or why Iraq refuses to sign the security accord. The overselling of the surge as a great victory means that few Americans see that they are increasingly without allies in Iraq. The US no longer makes the political weather there. No matter who inherits the White House, American military retreat is now inevitable. The only question that remains is who will hold power in Baghdad after they have gone."
By Patrick Cockburn
"Over the past five years, America and its Iraqi allies have pointed triumphantly at a series of spurious milestones meant to mark turning points on the road to stability and security. But the ongoing stalemate over a new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which the Iraqi government refuses to sign despite intense American pressure, marks a true turning point in the conflict: it is a clear sign that American political influence in Iraq is weaker than ever.
It is the first time that an Iraqi government has rebuffed the US on a crucial issue since the invasion of 2003. The agreement, the subject of prolonged and divisive negotiations since March, was rejected by the Iraqi cabinet and is unlikely to be submitted to parliament in its present form. The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, who could not have obtained nor held his job without American backing, says he will not sign it as it is......
The Kurds say privately that Maliki is overconfident. This may be so, but he has a strong hand. It is too late for the Americans to try replace him. He owes his greatest triumph – facing down the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al Sadr in Basra, Sadr City and Amara earlier this year – as much to Iranian restraint of the Sadrists as to American military support. It would be dangerous for him to make an enemy of Iran by signing a deal to which they are vehemently and openly opposed........
The danger in Iraq is that neither McCain nor Obama seem to understand how far the US position in Iraq has weakened this year or why Iraq refuses to sign the security accord. The overselling of the surge as a great victory means that few Americans see that they are increasingly without allies in Iraq. The US no longer makes the political weather there. No matter who inherits the White House, American military retreat is now inevitable. The only question that remains is who will hold power in Baghdad after they have gone."
The Limits of Change
What to expect from the Obama administration on the foreign policy front
Dennis Ross photo
By Justin Raimondo
".....The president's national security adviser, the one with direct access to the king, became the key player. Condi Rice, with her personal friendship with Bush II, was perfect for this role, and the next national security adviser is liable to play a similarly important part in shaping Obama's decisions.
The most troubling possibility here is Dennis Ross, a career foreign policy bureaucrat who was instrumental in shaping America's Israel-centric policy in the Middle East under George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is a longtime associate of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the scholarly adjunct of AIPAC, Israel's powerful lobbying organization in the U.S., which he co-founded........
Ross recently signed on to a plan, being pushed by something called the Bipartisan Policy Center, that is nothing but a roadmap to war with Tehran. The report, written in the form of recommendations to an incoming president, says he must begin a military buildup directed at Iran from "the first day [he] enters office."......
.... If that's the amount of change you want in American foreign policy, then you'll be happy with the Obama administration – even as they escalate the conflict in Afghanistan, spread it to Pakistan, and prepare for war with Iran."
Dennis Ross photo
By Justin Raimondo
".....The president's national security adviser, the one with direct access to the king, became the key player. Condi Rice, with her personal friendship with Bush II, was perfect for this role, and the next national security adviser is liable to play a similarly important part in shaping Obama's decisions.
The most troubling possibility here is Dennis Ross, a career foreign policy bureaucrat who was instrumental in shaping America's Israel-centric policy in the Middle East under George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is a longtime associate of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the scholarly adjunct of AIPAC, Israel's powerful lobbying organization in the U.S., which he co-founded........
Ross recently signed on to a plan, being pushed by something called the Bipartisan Policy Center, that is nothing but a roadmap to war with Tehran. The report, written in the form of recommendations to an incoming president, says he must begin a military buildup directed at Iran from "the first day [he] enters office."......
.... If that's the amount of change you want in American foreign policy, then you'll be happy with the Obama administration – even as they escalate the conflict in Afghanistan, spread it to Pakistan, and prepare for war with Iran."
The other election circus
The "Jewish lobby" scuttles yet another political leader
By Khaled Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
Al-Ahram Weekly
".....It looks like the right-wing camp, with its secular and religious wings, has the edge. This could mean bad news for the Palestinians in general and the "peace process" since a government whose premier is Benyamin Netanyahu would be very parsimonious in terms of the occupied territories it is willing to cede, whether in the West Bank or in the Golan Heights.
Al-Ahram Weekly asked veteran Israeli journalist Roni Shakaid if he thought the post-election Israeli government would be "bad news for peace with the Palestinians." "I am afraid it will be. The very least I can say is that the ethos of the conflict with the Palestinians will remain unchanged. In other words, if the overall situation doesn't get worse, it won't get better."
This week, Fatah leader and leading PA peace negotiator Ahmed Qurei said he hoped Livni would be Israel's next prime minister. While his hopes may be well-placed and shared by many, it is highly doubtful that Livni stands to gain much from an Arab appearing to publicly supporting her. One Israeli commentator pointed out that Qurei's remarks "will eventually be perceived as a liability, not an asset, for Livni."
Israeli Jewish society is too racist and too anti-Arab even to tolerate a mayor who is supported by Arabs, let alone a would-be prime minister. Indeed, Livni's refusal to contact any of Israel's Arab parties during her ill- fated efforts to form a coalition government testifies to the real situation in the Jewish state. "
By Khaled Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
Al-Ahram Weekly
".....It looks like the right-wing camp, with its secular and religious wings, has the edge. This could mean bad news for the Palestinians in general and the "peace process" since a government whose premier is Benyamin Netanyahu would be very parsimonious in terms of the occupied territories it is willing to cede, whether in the West Bank or in the Golan Heights.
Al-Ahram Weekly asked veteran Israeli journalist Roni Shakaid if he thought the post-election Israeli government would be "bad news for peace with the Palestinians." "I am afraid it will be. The very least I can say is that the ethos of the conflict with the Palestinians will remain unchanged. In other words, if the overall situation doesn't get worse, it won't get better."
This week, Fatah leader and leading PA peace negotiator Ahmed Qurei said he hoped Livni would be Israel's next prime minister. While his hopes may be well-placed and shared by many, it is highly doubtful that Livni stands to gain much from an Arab appearing to publicly supporting her. One Israeli commentator pointed out that Qurei's remarks "will eventually be perceived as a liability, not an asset, for Livni."
Israeli Jewish society is too racist and too anti-Arab even to tolerate a mayor who is supported by Arabs, let alone a would-be prime minister. Indeed, Livni's refusal to contact any of Israel's Arab parties during her ill- fated efforts to form a coalition government testifies to the real situation in the Jewish state. "
Two observations
National unity among Palestinians should serve the national project of resistance and liberation, not set the stage for meaningless, parochial power sharing
By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly
"1. If there's national unity, why have elections?
If Palestinian national reconciliation can be achieved through restructuring and reactivating the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and through the creation of a national reconciliation government, what is the point of holding elections? In view of the fact that the Palestinians do not even have a state yet, it seems that the purpose of any national unity government and restructured PLO is to oversee the process of reconstruction and resistance. A framework for national unity, not elections or power struggles, is the more sophisticated form national liberation movements should take under conditions of occupation and against the occupation, even in their primary phases.......
2. On dealing with Israel and the Arab peace initiative.
There were two main dangers in the Arab peace initiative. The first was that it would not improve Saudi Arabia's image in the West and US public opinion (which was the real aim after 11 September). The second was that it would sacrifice major principles in the Arab position without receiving anything from Israel in return. There is no need to dwell on the first danger. With regard to the second, Israel reacted in two ways. The first was expressed by Shimon Perez's "Bravo! Encore! That's the way to behave. Now let's see some more concessions!" The more practical response was Sharon's incursion into Ramallah and siege of Arafat's compound......."
By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly
"1. If there's national unity, why have elections?
If Palestinian national reconciliation can be achieved through restructuring and reactivating the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and through the creation of a national reconciliation government, what is the point of holding elections? In view of the fact that the Palestinians do not even have a state yet, it seems that the purpose of any national unity government and restructured PLO is to oversee the process of reconstruction and resistance. A framework for national unity, not elections or power struggles, is the more sophisticated form national liberation movements should take under conditions of occupation and against the occupation, even in their primary phases.......
2. On dealing with Israel and the Arab peace initiative.
There were two main dangers in the Arab peace initiative. The first was that it would not improve Saudi Arabia's image in the West and US public opinion (which was the real aim after 11 September). The second was that it would sacrifice major principles in the Arab position without receiving anything from Israel in return. There is no need to dwell on the first danger. With regard to the second, Israel reacted in two ways. The first was expressed by Shimon Perez's "Bravo! Encore! That's the way to behave. Now let's see some more concessions!" The more practical response was Sharon's incursion into Ramallah and siege of Arafat's compound......."
Egypt fails on free speech
Along with arresting newspaper editors, the state security apparatus is restricting access to websites, and the internet itself
Ibrahim El Houdaiby
guardian.co.uk, Monday November 03 2008
"The crackdown on freedom of speech is mounting in Egypt as the failed social and economic policies of the regime cause the state security apparatus to gain more power. A few days ago I sent out an email to my distribution list, with a link to a piece I've written for Ikhwanonline.net, the Muslim Brotherhood's official Arabic website. A few minutes later, a friend of mine who works for Al-Ahram, Egypt's largest public-owned newspaper, responded by email telling me she could not read the article as the access to the website is restricted.....
Ibrahim El Houdaiby
guardian.co.uk, Monday November 03 2008
"The crackdown on freedom of speech is mounting in Egypt as the failed social and economic policies of the regime cause the state security apparatus to gain more power. A few days ago I sent out an email to my distribution list, with a link to a piece I've written for Ikhwanonline.net, the Muslim Brotherhood's official Arabic website. A few minutes later, a friend of mine who works for Al-Ahram, Egypt's largest public-owned newspaper, responded by email telling me she could not read the article as the access to the website is restricted.....
And whereas the assault on free press may lower the complaining and criticising voices in Egypt, it does absolutely nothing to resolve the epidemic social, economic and political illnesses of the country, which will eventually burst into something no one wants to see."
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Nicholas von Hoffman on Kevin Phillips’ ‘Bad Money’
Book Review
By Nicholas von Hoffman
"Americans, rich or poor, have consciously or otherwise bought into the master-nation proposition that really bad things do not happen to the USA. We might suffer setbacks and commit a blunder once in a while, but we are too big, too rich, too smart, too powerful and too blessed to be visited by a national catastrophe. That the whole goddamn economy could melt right out from under our feet is an unimaginable event, an occurrence out of history when crackly voiced recordings captured President Franklin Roosevelt talking to the Okies.
Such disasters may overtake Argentines or Malaysians or Bulgarians or Russians or even, occasionally, the English, but not the red, white and blue über-nation. Yet in the space of a year the U.S. has gone from über-nation to under-nation, or at least a nation under water as hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs, been tossed out of their homes and seen the savings of a lifetime decimated......
Beyond Wall Street’s suffering for Wall Street’s crimes, Phillips describes the American descent into a debt-dependent economy in which the most important activities have been building subdivisions and erecting malls with money borrowed from abroad. The middle-class masses drive home to the houses they cannot afford and zoom off to overly hypothecated malls, using oil they have no means to pay for, in order to incur additional debt on their credit cards......
“Bad Money” was finished before Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination, but the points Phillips makes about the connection between Wall Street and the Democratic Party are still germane. Robert Rubin, an oft mentioned Obama adviser, was Bill Clinton’s secretary of the treasury and is an ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs and presently in top management at Citigroup.....
This is not the message of rebirth and hope of the Obama campaign, but Phillips has a long track record and a good one. He is no man to ignore. "
They are safe
Greta Berlin
The Free Gaza Movement
Date : 11-02-2008
"The SS DIGNITY arrived at 6:30 this morning in Larnaca, Cyprus, as the sun was just splitting the waters of the Mediterranean. I watched the boat come around the corner of the quay, its Palestinian flag flying from one of the masts. Waiting up most of the night worrying about whether they were OK and answering worried callers had made the night long and tiring.
All of that anxiety disappeared as the boat landed and the passengers spilled out, talking all at once and waiting for the immigrating authorities to clear them to leave. As we walked out of the port, we were met by 50 members of the Palestinian refugee community from Iraq, all with keys and names of the villages in Palestine, waving flags and welcoming everyone back from Gaza.
The Palestinians from the West Bank, the Palestinians from Gaza, and the Palestinians from the diaspora were able to hug each other and forget for just a few minutes that their country has been torn apart.
What a lovely morning. What a lovely homecoming. "
The Free Gaza Movement
Date : 11-02-2008
"The SS DIGNITY arrived at 6:30 this morning in Larnaca, Cyprus, as the sun was just splitting the waters of the Mediterranean. I watched the boat come around the corner of the quay, its Palestinian flag flying from one of the masts. Waiting up most of the night worrying about whether they were OK and answering worried callers had made the night long and tiring.
All of that anxiety disappeared as the boat landed and the passengers spilled out, talking all at once and waiting for the immigrating authorities to clear them to leave. As we walked out of the port, we were met by 50 members of the Palestinian refugee community from Iraq, all with keys and names of the villages in Palestine, waving flags and welcoming everyone back from Gaza.
The Palestinians from the West Bank, the Palestinians from Gaza, and the Palestinians from the diaspora were able to hug each other and forget for just a few minutes that their country has been torn apart.
What a lovely morning. What a lovely homecoming. "
Two, Three, Many Grand Bargains?
Analysis by Jim Lobe
"WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (IPS) - As the United States waded ever deeper into the Indochinese quagmire in the early 1960s, the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara called for "two, three, many Vietnams" to bog down the superpower in unwinnable Third World conflicts that would drain its treasury and overstretch its military.
While today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not quite as costly -- at least as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) -- as then, Guevara's vision, echoed nearly 40 years later by Osama bin Laden, of an increasingly stressed hyperpower which now confronts its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression must weigh heavily on whichever candidate moves into the White House Jan. 20.
Indeed, even as both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama talk about the urgency of sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan to cope with the growing Taliban threat -- potentially magnified manifold by the ongoing insurgency across the border in the tribal territories of nuclear-armed Pakistan -- the transition set to begin next Tuesday next Tuesday will offer the president-elect a critical window to contemplate possible exit strategies not only in southwest Asia, but westward to the Mediterranean, as well......"
"WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (IPS) - As the United States waded ever deeper into the Indochinese quagmire in the early 1960s, the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara called for "two, three, many Vietnams" to bog down the superpower in unwinnable Third World conflicts that would drain its treasury and overstretch its military.
While today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not quite as costly -- at least as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) -- as then, Guevara's vision, echoed nearly 40 years later by Osama bin Laden, of an increasingly stressed hyperpower which now confronts its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression must weigh heavily on whichever candidate moves into the White House Jan. 20.
Indeed, even as both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama talk about the urgency of sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan to cope with the growing Taliban threat -- potentially magnified manifold by the ongoing insurgency across the border in the tribal territories of nuclear-armed Pakistan -- the transition set to begin next Tuesday next Tuesday will offer the president-elect a critical window to contemplate possible exit strategies not only in southwest Asia, but westward to the Mediterranean, as well......"
America Looks Beyond the Bush Warriors
By Erich Follath
Der Spiegel
"In his two terms in the White House, US President George W. Bush has presided over a precipitous fall in America's reputation around the world. History is likely to judge him a failure. Now, his successor will have to dig the US out of a deep hole......"
Der Spiegel
"In his two terms in the White House, US President George W. Bush has presided over a precipitous fall in America's reputation around the world. History is likely to judge him a failure. Now, his successor will have to dig the US out of a deep hole......"
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