Video: Dispatches: Inside Britain's Israel Lobby (48 min.)

"Dispatches investigates one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain, which is working in support of the interests of the State of Israel. This film contains scenes of the aftermath of war conflicts which some may find upsetting."

Interview with single-state and BDS activist Dr. Haidar Eid

Dialogue : A parallel is often drawn with South Africa . Yet, in South Africa, wasn’t it fear of a popular uprising, fear of a violent end to the apartheid regime that pushed the UN and largely the USA to demand reforms to save the essential, i.e. South African capitalism ? There are many South African activists who believe that the Kempton Park negotiations actually saved the economic power of the whites by putting some blacks in power. What is your view on this ?
Haidar Eid : I tend to agree with this analysis and I think that in South Africa we have witnessed an end to political Apartheid, but, unfortunately, we have not witnessed yet the end of economic Apartheid. I believe it is the task of conscious progressive powers in South Africa now to uphold the original principles defended by the Freedom Charter. Unfortunately, the struggle of the Black masses of South Africa had definitely been hijacked by Black fat cats. But, the agenda now is purely social. Whereas as the South African struggle has managed to bring Apartheid South Africa to an end, it has failed to come up with a new agenda that guarantees the socio-economic rights of the majority of Black masses of South Africa . In other words, yes South Africa has fallen within the trap of what Frantz Fanon calls the pitfalls of national (racial) consciousness, by prioritizing race over class.

Help Palestinian Refugees through Amazon

It is now very easy to help Palestinian refugees by making a simple purchase through the Refugee Support Wishlist on Amazon http://amzn.com/w/1E435VMMYK0FR. This list is constantly being updated based on need, and currently includes various basic items ranging from blankets for the winter to kitchen housewares. For as little as $10 you can make a purchase, and the items will be delivered directly to the families through Al-Awda. No donation is too small.

Cornered and Abandoned Rats....

You Can Run Around......
But You Can't Hide From Your Failure and Treason.

The Palestinians Hold You Responsible.

Israel's Two-Tiered Justice System

Judge Rules Arab Teens Need Protection from Israeli Justice

By JONATHAN COOK, in Nazareth
CounterPunch

"An Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed “protection” from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against Israel’s attack last winter on Gaza.

Prosecutors had demanded that the juvenile, a 17-year-old from Nazareth in northern Israel, be convicted of endangering a vehicle on the road, a charge that carries a punishment of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, as a way to deter other members of Israel’s Arab minority from committing similar offences.

But Judge Yuval Shadmi said discrimination in the Israeli legal system’s treatment of Jewish and Arab minors, particularly in cases of what he called “ideologically motivated” offences, was “common knowledge”.

In the verdict, he wrote: “I will say that the state is not authorised to caress with one hand the Jewish ‘ideological’ felons, and flog with its other hand the Arab ‘ideological’ felons.”

He referred in particular to the lenient treatment by the police and courts both of Jewish settler youths who have attacked soldiers in the West Bank and who violently resisted the disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and of religious extremists who have spent many months battling police to prevent the opening of a car park on the Sabbath in Jerusalem......"

US Politician Wants American Jews to Buy West Bank Homes

"An influential Jewish community leader and Democratic State Assemblyman from New York is currently heading a mission of about 50 Americans through the West Bank and East Jerusalem to promote home purchases in the area and to protest U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East policy.

"Our goal is to send a clear message to Washington and President Obama that Jews will continue to live in Judea and Samaria and the ultimate commitment American Jews can make is to actually come and buy property in these areas as this will ensure these communities' security and growth," said Dov Hikind, 59, who has been representing Brooklyn's 48th district since 1983.

"People buy properties in different places, and I can't think of any reason why people dedicated to the land of Israel shouldn't own something here, whether they will use it or use it as an opportunity for young families to live in that particular home," the politician told Haaretz yesterday in Elon Moreh, an Israeli settlement in the Samarian Hills...."

Lieberman: “P.A Asks Israel To Crush Hamas Then Complains To The International Community”

"Israeli Foreign Minister of the Yisrael Beiteinu fundamental party, Avigdor Lieberman, stated Monday that the Palestinian Authority seeks Israel’s support in fighting and countering Hamas, and at the same time files complaints to the international community.

Lieberman claimed that during the offensive against the Gaza Strip earlier this year, Abbas asked Israel to crush Hamas, and when the war was over, the Palestinians filed complaints to the International Criminal Court.

He also claimed that the Palestinian Authority encouraged thousands of complaints against Israel even before the report of Judge Richard Goldstone was published.

Referring to the statements of President Mahmoud Abbas regarding resorting to the international community to support a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood, Lieberman threatened that any unilateral step by the Palestinians would be met with Israeli unilateral moves.

He also said that such unilateral moves disregard past peace deals. Yet, Lieberman himself does not respect previously signed deals......"

Obama's Afghan Dilemma: Missing Security Forces

By Tony Karon
Time

".....Even if Karzai did a more effective job of governing, it's far from clear how many Afghans would be willing to fight their fellow Afghans in the Taliban. While poverty and corruption at the local level certainly fuel the resentment on which the Taliban capitalizes, it is not a protest movement against bad governance as much an insurgency rooted in Islamic and nationalist identities that challenges a political order installed and defended by foreign armies.

Rather than allowing himself to be drawn blindly into a quagmire, Obama is insisting on a clear-eyed view of the prospects for success and ultimately, withdrawal. And that's likely to confirm that even pursuing the most limited kind of success in Afghanistan might require an expanded troop commitment that goes well beyond the next U.S. presidential election."

Video: Norman Finkelstein Interviewed on Danish TV November 13 2009

"Norman Finkelstein interviewed on Danish public service TV by Jewish, and pro-Zionist host Adam Holm.

Adam Holm was corrected by his superiors from Danmarks Radio recently for having published a news paper article expressing his strong support for Israel.

On this occation a stoic Finkelstein manages to get Adam Holm off balance as Holm more and more desperately tries to counter Finkelsteins simple message: Uphold international law in connection with Israel as with any other state. Adam Holms clearly emotional approach says more than a thousand words."

Great and Exciting News! Habila Says, "Gaza welcomes private investment!"

"GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haneyya, told a delegation of Egyptian businessmen on Monday that there are no longer centres of political and economic power in Gaza making the atmosphere favourable for investment, stressing that his government does not interfere in private investment. [This is so surreal, that it is hard to find words to describe this Habila.]

He met with the delegation in the presence of his deputy and the Minister of economy Ziad al-Zaza, the general secretary of the council of ministers Muhammad Awad, the head of land authority, Faris Abu Muammar and the head of the government information office Hasan Abu Hashish.

He welcomed the delegation and expressed his appreciation for their efforts against the challenges facing the Palestinian people and said that his government provided all the necessary administrative, security and legal facilities to help investment companies succeed in their task.

Haneyya told the delegation that his government does not interfere in the private sector, nor acts as a partner to investors.

He welcomed all companies that want to work legally and responsibly to rebuild the Gaza Strip and promised that his government will facilitate their work......."

Militants change tack in Pakistan

By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times

"ISLAMABAD - After a month of operations against militants in the South Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan, Pakistan's military establishment realizes it is chasing shadows; the adversary has simply melted into the vastness of the inhospitable surrounding territory.

Unlike in previous operations in other troubled tribal areas, though, there is unlikely to be any peace agreement. The militants, headed by the Pakistani Taliban - the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - are bent on a long-term insurgency against the security apparatus, which they now see as heretic as the United States forces in Afghanistan.....

Militants are concerned over the close collaboration between the ISI and the US. The ISI has established a Counter-Terrorism (CT) cell, which works strictly in coordination with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The CT is completely segregated from the ISI's top hierarchy.

Background interviews with several detainees from ISI centers suggest they were interrogated in closed rooms by Pakistanis with headphones seemingly being guided in the questions they asked. Asia Times Online has been told that the recent attacks on ISI offices in Peshawar and Lahore were undertaken by militants who had been interrogated jointly by Americans and Pakistanis.

The Pakistan army is looking for familiar options under which it battles the militants in their strongholds of South Waziristan and North Waziristan, and then strikes ceasefire deals. This is no longer likely to work."

Gazans Brace for Cold, Bleak and Miserable Winter

By Mel Frykberg

"EZBT ABBED RABBO, Nov 16 (IPS) - Tens of thousands of Gazans living in tents and damaged homes face a wet, cold and miserable winter as Israel’s blockade of the coastal territory continues to prevent the importation of building and reconstruction material.....

"The humanitarian situation is going to deteriorate if something doesn’t give," Gaylard (U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Maxwell Gaylard) told IPS during a tour of the Ezbt Abbed Rabbo area of the northern Gaza strip.

"We are reaching out to the international community. We are appealing to the member countries of the U.N. on a regular basis about this continuing crisis… We are holding discussions with the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council. One would hope that the message would be getting out after the Goldstone report," said Gaylard.

"We are continuing talks with the Israeli government but pressure must be brought to bear on those responsible for keeping the border crossings closed," Gaylard told IPS......"

U.S. Takes Aim Over Jordan's Shoulder

An Important Report

By Jon Elmer

"MUWAQQAR, Jordan, Nov 17 (IPS) - In the bleak and seemingly endless desert expanse that unfolds east of Jordan's capital city, Amman, lies a crucial cog in the ambitious regional designs of the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.

Commonly known by its acronym JIPTC, the Jordan International Police Training Centre is ground-zero for the transformation of U.S.-allied security forces not only for the Kingdom of Jordan, but also for Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories.

Under the regime of King Abdullah II, this country of six million strategically located at the heart of the Middle East and bordered by Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the West Bank, has developed itself as something of a "Green Zone" in a tumultuous region.

As Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau in the U.S. said during a joint training mission and tour of Jordan late last month, the country has become "the lynchpin" in the efforts to create a "peaceful central command region."

JIPTC is staffed mostly by Jordanians, but the trainers are military and police officers from more than a dozen countries - primarily Canada, the United Kingdom and the U.S. - as well as private contractors, such as DynCorp......

Since graduating its first class in November 2003, JIPTC has trained more than 50,000 police officers bound for Iraq. More recently, the academy has trained four battalions of the Palestinian security forces, deployed under the auspices of United States security coordinator, Gen. Keith Dayton, to back the "caretaker" government of Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad in the West Bank.

With little fanfare, JIPTC has Jordan's regime playing a frontline role in the U.S. project to transform the Middle East.

"Jordan continues to be a key partner and to play a positive role in the region," Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander responsible for the region told a Senate Armed Service Committee meeting in April. "Jordan participates in many regional security initiatives and has placed itself at the forefront of police and military training for regional security forces."

Mouin Rabbani, an Amman-based analyst told IPS that such a link is also problematic. "Jordan is one of the leading U.S. allies in the region, and it suffers the consequences of U.S. policy, perhaps more than others, because it's situated literally between the two biggest American failures in the region: Iraq and Palestine."

Gen. Petraeus has explicitly linked JITPC to attempts to legitimise the failed peace process in the Israel-Palestine conflict. "These efforts will likely prove critical in the continued development of legitimate security forces in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories and, as a consequence, in the long-term viability of the peace process," he told the Senate committee.

According to Rabbani, Jordan's support for U.S. efforts in the failed peace process "raises questions about a strategy which is, for all intents and purposes, wholly and exclusively aligned with one external would-be mediator that's seen increasingly as irretrievably hostile to Palestinian and more general Arab national aspirations, and completely wedded to Israeli interests."

In Gen. Dayton's first substantial interview with an Israeli newspaper regarding his role in training the Palestinian forces, he was clear about his objectives. "I'm here to advance America's interests, but I'm also here because of the relationship between your country (Israel) and mine," he told Ha'aretz.

The Palestinian forces have an open agenda to target Hamas and other Palestinian factions. In May, six people were killed when Dayton's forces attacked Hamas activists in the West Bank town of Qalqilya, sparking a gun battle that lasted several hours and took place without Israel's interference. Hamas characterised the attack as "an awful crime" committed by "collaborators"; while Abbas declared that his forces would continue to strike opposition groups "with an iron fist."

Gen. Dayton, in his only major policy speech to date, told the stridently pro- Israel think tank, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), that JIPTC-trained Palestinian security forces had engaged in a series of violent raids that were "surprisingly well coordinated" with Israel. Dayton characterised the results as "electric."

"They have caught the attention of the Israeli defence establishment for their dedication, discipline, motivation, and results." Dayton added, "the Jordanian-trained guys are the key."

Staging security training in Jordan cuts to the heart of the problem with the credibility of these indigenous forces among their people. It is presumed that they cannot be trained in their local milieu because they lack political legitimacy.

To this end, Dayton told the WINEP audience: "You might ask, why Jordan? The answer is pretty simple. The Palestinians wanted to train in the region, but they wanted to be away from clan, family and political influences. The Israelis trust the Jordanians, and the Jordanians were anxious to help."

The JIPTC-trained forces find themselves at the centre of a bitter factional divide. Hamas won a decisive electoral victory in 2006, but has been forced underground in the West Bank since sweeping Israeli arrests of many of its elected members, and the subsequent takeover by Fayyad's regime in Ramallah.

The West Bank elected 52 of Hamas's 74 members of the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, while Fayyad's party, The Third Way, received less than three per cent of the popular vote, which translated into two seats. Abbas's Fatah party tallied 45 seats. However, since assuming power, Abbas and Fayyad's West Bank regime has been the beneficiary of more than 1.8-billion dollars in U.S.-encouraged international aid for a population of 2.5 million, while Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to a crippling boycott.

Upwards of 1,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Dayton's security forces, mostly Hamas members. Many of those arrested face dubious charges, if any, and the judicial process has been the source of significant criticism by Palestinian human rights groups.

All this has served to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Dayton's security project, while the Hamas-Fatah division has all but stricken the feasibility of holding presidential elections in the Palestinian Territories, now a year overdue.

Meanwhile, U.S President Barack Obama announced in June a 150 million dollar military aid increase to Jordan, bringing the annual total to more than 513 million dollars. The increase came on top of the Bush Administration's 2007, ten-year, 50 billion dollar military aid package to the region's allied regimes, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the pliant Gulf states. The deal included a 30 billion dollars weapons package to Israel through 2017."

Peres, not Goldstone, is the small man

By Gideon Levy
Haaretz

"President Shimon Peres considers Richard Goldstone a "small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence." Same to you, we used to say when we were kids. Indeed, it's amazing to see how aptly these harsh remarks describe Peres himself, a small man, devoid of any sense of justice....

Peres is our beautiful and misleading face. Equipped with the ability to delude, one of the founders of the settlement movement has turned into Israel's Mr. Peace. He travels the world, generating admiration for his physical stamina, scattering empty promises and slogans. He calls on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to resign, when he knows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contributed to this resignation by his rejectionist attitude. He calls on Bashar Assad to come to the negotiating table, knowing that the Syrian president is practically begging for peace. A call by the president for the prime minister to freeze settlements or respond to the Syrian challenge? Of course not. That might make someone angry. He only preaches morality to the whole world. A small man? Peres' words."

China Visit, by Dave Brown

Palestinians throw down challenge to Obama and UN

By Donald Macintyre
The Independent

(Left: A cartoon by Emad Hajjaj showing that the Palestinian "cause" has become just a game for Palestinian "leaders.")

"As so often in the Middle East, we have been here before. The latest suggestion – that a frustrated Palestinian leadership would unilaterally declare a state and invite international recognition for it – is not new. It was made a decade ago by Yasser Arafat when Benjamin Netanyahu, then as now, was Prime Minister. It was made again after the collapse of the Camp David talks a year later, when then Prime Minister Ehud Barak, like some of Mr Netanyahu's more hawkish ministers now, threatened to annex the most populous settlements in the West Bank in retaliation. And as the second intifada – and Israel's determined military response to it – gathered momentum, nothing came of it.

The conventional wisdom is that nothing will come of it this time either....."

"Israeli Ministries Funding the Rabbi who Endorses Killing Gentile Babies"

Al-Manar

"17/11/2009 Israeli daily Haaretz published a report on Tuesday in which it said that there are Israeli ministries funding Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, the rabbi who endorsed killing gentile babies.

The Haaretz repost says......

"For example, government ministries regularly transfer support and funding to a yeshiva whose rabbi determined that it is permissible to kill gentile babies "because their presence assists murder, and there is reason to harm children if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us ... it is permissible to harm the children of a leader in order to stop him from acting evilly ... we have seen in the Halakha that even babies of gentiles who do not violate the seven Noahide laws, there is cause to kill them because of the future threat that will be caused if they are raised to be wicked people like their parents."

Lior Yavne, who oversees research at the Yesh Din human rights organization, checked and found that in 2006-2007, the Ministry of Education department of Torah institutions transferred over a million shekels to the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in Yitzhar.

The Israeli Ministry of Social Affairs has allocated over 150,000 shekels to the yeshiva since 2007, scholarships for students with financial difficulties studying there. And what can they learn with the help of public funding from the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira? According to selected items published last week in the media, the boys can learn that Teitel is not only innocent, but also a real saint.”

“Their spiritual leader stated in his book, "Torat Hamelekh" that "a national decision is not necessary in order to permit the shedding of blood of an evil kingdom. Even individuals from the afflicted kingdom can attack them."....."

صفعة امريكية اخرى للسلطة

صفعة امريكية اخرى للسلطة
رأي القدس

"
وجهت الادارة الامريكية صفعة قوية اخرى امس الى السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية، عندما حسمت الجدل الدائر حول اللجوء الى مجلس الامن الدولي لاعلان قيام دولة فلسطينية مستقلة، عندما قالت على لسان متحدث باسمها 'ان التفاوض هو افضل وسيلة للحصول على دولة فلسطينية'.
الادارة الامريكية بمثل هذا الاعلان تكون قد رضخت للضغوط الاسرائيلية بالكامل، وافسدت على الفلسطينيين وسلطتهم في رام الله 'حلم يقظة' تشبثوا به للهروب الى الامام، واعتقدوا انهم يمكن ان يتحدوا الاسرائيليين ورفضهم لتجميد الاستيطان استجابة لشرط العودة الى المفاوضات.
الرسالة الامريكية واضحة، تقول للرئيس محمود عباس والمجموعة المحيطة به، بان عليهم العودة الى مائدة المفاوضات مجدداً دون شروط، واذا حاولوا الذهاب الى مجلس الامن فلن يجدوا غير 'الفيتو' الامريكي في انتظارهم.
ويبدو ان الرئيس عباس قد فهم هذه الرسالة ومضمونها جيداً، فقد اعلن دبلوماسي عربي في الامم المتحدة امس 'ان تقديم طلب الاعتراف بالدولة الفلسطينية الى مجلس الامن سيتم في الوقت المناسب'.
تعبير 'الوقت المناسب' يعني ان هذه الصفحة قد طويت، وان الحماس للذهاب الى مجلس الامن لاستصدار قرار باعلان الدولة قد فتر كليا، لان هذا الوقت المناسب لن يأتي ابدا في زماننا وزمان هذه الانظمة على الاقل.
وزراء الخارجية العرب هم الذين صعدوا آمال الفلسطينيين بطرح فكرة اللجوء الى مجلس الامن هذه، عندما توهم البعض منهم، ان السيدة هيلاري كلينتون وزيرة الخارجية الامريكية يمكن ان تؤيد تحركا في هذا الصدد كنوع من الضغط على حكومة بنيامين نتنياهو اليمينية المتطرفة.
التقديرات العربية هذه كانت خاطئة مثل جميع مثيلاتها الاخرى. فالادارة الامريكية لا يمكن ان تغضب الحكومة الاسرائيلية لارضاء انظمة عربية ليس لها اي وزن في المعادلات الدولية، وتستجدي الرضاء الامريكي.
هذا القرار الامريكي برفض ذهاب العرب الى مجلس الامن الدولي لاعلان الدولة الفلسطينية المستقلة يؤكد ان اللقاء المغلق الذي تم بين الرئيس باراك اوباما ورئيس الوزراء الاسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو لم يكن متوترا، مثلما صورته بعض الاوساط الامريكية، وانما حقق انسجاما كاملا بين الرجلين ظهرت اول ثماره في احباط هذا التحرك الدبلوماسي العربي في المنظمة الدولية.
السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه الان هو عما سيفعله الرئيس عباس والمجموعة المحيطة به والتي هددت باللجوء الى خيارات اخرى في حال فشل مشروع اعلان الدولة من قبل مجلس الامن؟
ادارة اوباما لم تسمح اساسا بوصول هذا المشروع الى مجلس الامن ناهيك عن استخدام 'الفيتو' ضده، فما هي خياراتكم الان؟
"

Egypt: Demand Dignity: Buried alive: Trapped by poverty and neglect in Cairo's informal settlements

Amnesty International

(A 55-page report (pdf))

"On 6 September 2008, over 100 residents of Ezbet Bekhit informal settlement were killed by a rockslide. One year on, the difficulties of finding affordable housing continue to force Egypt's poorest people to live in unsafe areas, threatening their rights to health and life. In this report Amnesty International calls on the Egyptian authorities to develop a comprehensive plan to protect the rights to life, health and adequate housing of communities living in unsafe areas....."

Italian women disappointed by Gaddafi 'party'

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in Rome for a UN food summit, spent several hours in the company of 200 Italian women recruited by an agency and tried to convert them to Islam, Italian media reported on Monday.

"Seeking 500 attractive girls between 18 and 35 years old, at least 1.70 meters (5 foot, 7 inches) tall, well-dressed but not in mini-skirts or low cut dresses," read the ad by the Hostessweb agency and quoted in Italy's Corriere dell Sera newspaper in its story.

Some 200 women showed up at a Rome villa, having been told they would receive 60 euros ($90) and "some Libyan gifts." Among them was an undercover reporter for Italian news agency ANSA, who took photos and described the evening's proceedings.

Most had expected to attend a party, according to ANSA, but instead were invited to wait in a large hall until the arrival of Gaddafi, who gave them a lesson on Libya and the role of women in Islam.

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Foreign intervention in Yemen - 15 Nov 09

"As Saudi Arabia mobilises its forces on the Yemeni border, Iran demands that outside forces stay out of the war between the government and Houthi fighters in Yemen. Is a local insurrection turning into a war between the region's strongest powers? Are we seeing the birth of another proxy war in the Middle East? and who is likely to come out on top? "

Real News Video: Gideon Levy on Israel's addiction

Levy: Israel is in a "coma" and needs outside help to get over its addiction to the occupation



"Gideon Levy, one of the most prominent Israeli journalists working with Ha'aretz speaks to The Real News' Lia Tarachansky about Israel's addiction to the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. He says there are two ways to deal with a drug addict, you can either help them get more drugs, and this may be perceived as care, but it is not friendship. A real friend helps the drug addict get over their addiction. Levy says the Jewish lobby has decided to take the former route, but he is hoping that the United States and the Obama Administration will take the latter."

Campus Watch copycats close in on Israeli professors

Right hopes to silence boycott call from academics

By Jonathan Cook
Znet

"(Nazareth) -- Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the "witch-hunt" tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn.

The watchdog groups IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor are believed to be stepping up their campaigns after the recent publication in a US newspaper of an Israeli professor's call to boycott Israel.....

Both IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor have been incensed by the support offered to Mr Gordon's call for a boycott of Israel by a small number of Israeli academics.

One such professor, Anat Matar, who teaches philosophy at Tel Aviv University, said the atmosphere both within the universities and more widely in Israeli society was changing rapidly and becoming increasingly "intolerant" of dissent. "We've become a little more fascistic as a society," she said.

Mr Plaut has been at the centre of a libel battle with Mr Gordon since 2002 after he called him a "Judenrat wannabe" - a reference to Jewish collaborators with the Nazis."

"Obama, Bush, and Latin American Coups"

By Immanuel Wallerstein
Znet

"Something strange is happening in Latin America. The Latin American right forces are poised to do better during the U.S. presidency of Barack Obama than they did during the eight years of George W. Bush. Bush led a far right regime that was totally out of sympathy with popular forces in Latin America. Obama, on the other hand, is leading a centrist regime that is trying to replicate the "good neighbor policy" which Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed as a way of signaling the end of direct U.S. military intervention in Latin America.....

Since Obama became president, there has been one successful coup, in Honduras. Despite Obama's condemnation of the coup, U.S. policy has been ambiguous, and the coup leaders are winning their bet of staying in power until the coming elections of a new president. In Paraguay, the left Catholic president, Fernando Lugo, has just averted a military coup. But his right-wing vice-president, Federico Franco, is maneuvering to obtain from a Lugo-hostile national parliament a coup in the form of an impeachment. And military teeth are sharpening in an array of other countries.

To understand this apparent anomaly, we must look at U.S. internal politics, and how it affects U.S. foreign policy.....

What the Latin American right is doing is taking advantage of Obama's internal political difficulties to force his hand. They see that he doesn't have the political energy available to thwart them. In addition, the world economic situation tends to redound against incumbent regimes. And in Latin America today, it is left-of-center parties that are the incumbents......"

Welcome, comrade Maobama

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"....
Dear comrade, you may have noticed that the Washington Consensus is for all purposes dead. What has emerged is what we might call the Beijing Consensus. China has shown the global South that "there is an alternative" - a "third way" of independent economic development and integration to the global order. We have shown that unlike the Washington Consensus "one-size-fits-all" package, economic development has to be "local" in every case. Our beloved Little Helmsman Deng Xiaoping would have called it "development with local characteristics".....

You may also have realized why China has consistently beaten hands down the elitist economic and financial institutions controlled by the North. After all, we offer countries all over the global South much better deals to access their natural resources. We have been engaged in vast, complex infrastructure projects that invariably end up costing less than half the price charged by countries in the North. Our loans are more carefully targeted; they are impervious to political misunderstandings; and they don't come with exorbitant consultant fees attached...... "

The New State Solution

By Chris Hedges

"....The two-state solution, long held up as the way out of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, flickered and died with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. No Israeli leader since, including Ehud Barack, has shown any interest in its implementation. Israeli governments have instead cynically used the promise of negotiations as a cover to steadily expand settlements, evict Palestinians from their homes, carry out egregious acts of violence and repression against Palestinians and steal huge swathes of the West Bank, including most of the aquifers.

The death of the two-state solution is not news to those of us who have spent years in the Middle East. What is news is the public acknowledgement by the Palestinian leadership. Mahmoud Abbas, the compliant and discredited president of the Palestinian Authority, who has announced he will not run for another term, has uncharacteristically blasted Israel for deceiving the Palestinians. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, who says that the effort to negotiate a solution to the conflict with Israel is dead, has called on Palestinians to declare statehood.

The disarray within the Palestinian Authority has led to the cancellation of the Palestinian elections in January, although the elections were already in jeopardy. The militant group Hamas, which took over Gaza in 2007 after thwarting a coup attempt led by Abbas’ Fatah party, said it would not allow the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza to vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is counting on the Obama administration to thwart a declaration of Palestinian independence, will have difficulty finding a Palestinian stooge as complaint as Abbas. Abbas’ time in office has been marked by repeated and humiliating concessions to Israel, including deferring, at Israel’s request, the vote at the United Nations on the Goldstone report, which documented human rights abuses during Israel’s offensive in Gaza last December and January. Israel has shown its appreciation by ignoring Abbas’ protests for a halt on settlements and dismissing his calls for negotiations. It is hard to imagine any Palestinian leader, at least one with a shred of credibility, agreeing to take Abbas’ place. The only alternative left to most Palestinians, unless an independent state is declared, will be endless war and an embrace of Islamic extremism....."

Clinton to Palestinians: US Policy on Settlements Has Changed

Al-Manar

"....Meanwhile, former US president Bill Clinton confirmed on Sunday that Washington is committed to Israel’s security. He added that Israel must also want the US president to be accepted by non-extremist Muslims in the world.

Clinton also urged the Palestinians to accept America's modification of its anti-settlement policy and return to the bargaining table. "Take where we are and the reformulation of the settlement issue and find a way [to move forward]," Clinton told a Jerusalem gathering of high level American and Israeli policy makers at the Saban Forum in occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinians, he warned, were more likely to get a good deal through negotiations. By refusing to talk with Israel, he said, they risked irking the international community, which might then blame them for the stalled peace process.

His words were consistent with the policy of Obama's administration, which has backed Israel's call to the Palestinians to open an immediate dialogue without preconditions.

That statement pleased Netanyahu, who opposes any freeze but angered many Arabs by appearing to reverse Obama’s commitment to a total freeze. It also put Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in an untenable position because he refuses to resume talks “…without a full cessation of settlement construction.”......"

Shining a Light on the Roots of Terrorism

by Ray McGovern, November 16, 2009

"....
The Goldstone Report

The rest of the world and most Americans opposed the Israeli strikes on Gaza last December and January that resulted in the killing of 1,400 Palestinians, with 13 Israelis also killed. And there was wide criticism of the silence not only of the Bush/Cheney administration, but also of President-elect Barack Obama.

The UN-authorized investigation by the widely respected South African jurist Richard Goldstone, himself a Jew, pointed to war crimes by both Israel and Hamas, although the inquiry’s harshest criticism landed on Israel for the staggering civilian death toll.

This finding led Israel’s Likud government to activate its powerful U.S. lobby, which pressed the House of Representatives to denounce the Goldstone report, which the House did on a 344-36 vote.

In a wondrous display of pot-and-kettle, House members branded the Goldstone report "irredeemably biased." Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the report "unbalanced and unfair and inaccurate."

These so-called "friends of Israel" either don’t know or don’t care that this sort of resolution only makes matters worse regarding American attempts to defuse the explosive anger building across the Middle East. It is a gift to al-Qaeda.

This U.S. pandering to the Likud Lobby – and the implicit suggestion that the lives of 1,400 Palestinians don’t much matter – also is bad for the people of Israel. Indeed, it may prove suicidal, by delaying the geopolitical imperative for Israel to make peace with its Arab neighbors and thus avert some future catastrophe.

Closer to home, by further identifying itself with – and justifying – Israeli repression of the Palestinians, the United States helps breed more Khalid Sheikh Mohammeds and Ramzi Yousefs, more young terrorists determined to make Washington and the American people pay a price.

It requires no logical leap to conclude that Likud-friendly lawmakers – the Steny Hoyers, the Howard Bermans, the Ileana Ros-Lehtinens of this world – could scarcely think up a better way to raise the threat level from terrorists who feed on festering sores like the calamity in Gaza."

The Trial of the Century and the Long Shadow of 9/11

We're about to undergo a discovery process that may include a few surprises

by Justin Raimondo, November 16, 2009

"A weird concatenation of events – the Ft. Hood shoot-up, the decision by the Obama administration to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other 9/11 plotters, and the seizure of a mosque and other properties said to be owned by a front for the Iranian government – has once again brought the question of domestic terrorism to center stage.......

The timing of all this is oddly coincidental and, in one case, probably not due entirely to chance, which brings us to the seizure of that supposedly Iranian-owned mosque (they also are said to be the real owners of the Piaget building in Manhattan) – with the clear implication this represents some sort of security risk. The question is, why now? Why, when the administration is trying to get the Iranians to make concessions at the negotiating table, is the Justice Department prosecuting alleged Iranian proxies in the U.S.? This only adds to the atmosphere of hysteria and suspicion heightened by the Ft. Hood incident and the upcoming 9/11 trial. One has to conclude the Obamaites are deliberately fanning the flames – but to what end?......"

في ندوة فكرية شهدت توقيع كتابين جديدين؛ د.عزمي بشارة: النظام العربي وريث الاستعمار

"قال المفكر د.عزمي بشارة إن الدولة العربية بشكلها الراهن ورثت الاستعمار الغربي، وقامت على الأسس نفسها التي سادت إبان الحقبة الاستعمارية. ورأى أن دولة الأمة يمكن أن تقوم مستقبلا عبر اتحاد يبدأ تدريجيا بقضايا التعليم وحرية التنقل وإقامة محكمة عربية.

جاء ذلك في ندوة نظمتها المؤسسة العربية الديمقراطية في الدوحة جرى فيها حفل توقيع لكتابي بشارة الصادرين في السنتين الماضيتين، وهما "في المسألة العربية: مقدمة لبيان ديمقراطي عربي" و"أن تكون عربيا في أيامنا".

وشارك في الندوة مدير المركز الأردني للأبحاث والدراسات طاهر كنعان والكاتب والناقد الفلسطيني فيصل دراج.

ولفت بشارة إلى أن الدولة القطرية أو الوطنية فشلت في المهمة التي تسبق خلق الديمقراطية، وهي عملية بناء الأمة عبر إنشاء المؤسسات والمواطنة، واعتبر أن الدول القائمة ورثت المعادلة السياسية الاستعمارية وعملت على أدلجتها حيث ارتكزت على "وشائج" مجتمعية مثل العائلة والقبيلة وهي تشكيلات دون مفهوم المجتمع أو الدولة.

وأكد المفكر العربي أن الدين لعب في أوروبا دورا في توسيع الديمقراطية الغربية، مشيرا إلى دور الكنيسة البريطانية التي رعت حزب العمال وكان له دور في توسيع دائرة الحقوق المطلبية الشعبية.

وأضاف أنه لا يستبعد أن تلعب الأحزاب الإسلامية دورا في هامش الديمقراطية العربية شرط الالتفات إلى الحوار وقوانين التطور ومتطلبات التغيير، مشيرا إلى أنه يعمل حاليا على بحث ذلك في كتبه الجديدة قيد التأليف

خطأ تاريخي
وشدد بشارة على أن الهوية العربية الحداثية لا تتطلب "نسخ" التجربة الغربية. وقال في هذا الصدد إنه يمكن الوصول إلى ديمقراطية تعددية يكون فيها التنافس قائما على مصلحة الأمة وليس من أجل الطوائف والعائلات.

واعتبر بشارة أن القومية العربية لم تحقق ذاتها دولة دستورية، وأن القوميين العرب وقعوا في خطأ تاريخي حين حولوا القومية إلى "منظومة أيديولوجية، وليس هوية الحداثة" التي تعطي المواطن فردانيته وتقيم علاقته مع الدولة عبر سيادة القانون.

وكانت الندوة قد شهدت حوارا مع الحضور حول أفكار بشارة وأطروحاته الفكرية، وسبق ذلك قراءات في كتابي بشارة ومشروعه الفكري قدمها مدير المركز الأردني للأبحاث والدراسات طاهر كنعان، والكاتب والناقد الفلسطيني فيصل دراج.

ووصف كنعان في مداخلته المفكر بشارة بأنه تعبير عن الفكر الجذري النابع من الممارسة الحية في النضال الواقعي تحت أصعب الظروف التي عاشها جراء الاحتلال الإسرائيلي في فلسطين المحتلة عام 1948. وأضاف أن هذا الفكر "يتمحور على التمرد على دوافع الانتماء للجماعات العضوية مثل العائلة والقبيلة والحزب السياسي بمفهومه الضيق".

بناء فكري
وأشار كنعان إلى أن اللبنة الأساسية في البناء الفكري عند بشارة تقوم على مسالة الفردانية التي هي أساس إحساس الفرد بالكرامة، وأوضح أن الحركة القومية عند بشارة هي "مشروع تغيير وإصلاح شامل وليست أيديولوجيا تجيب على كل الأسئلة كما كان الأمر عند الأحزاب القومية التقليدية".

من جهته وصف دراج المفكر بشارة بأنه "مفكر تجديدي متعدد حقول الكتابة، وفيلسوف لامع". وقدم قراءة في الكتابين الصادرين مؤخرا، فقال إن بشارة حاول فهم العجز العربي الراهن عبر العودة إلى دراسة المجتمع العربي منذ القرن التاسع عشر فوجد أن ثمة مراجع متعددة للمواطن العربي مثل العائلة والعشائرية والجهوية لكن مرجعية الوطن والمجتمع غائبة.

واعتبر دراج أن بشارة في كتابه "المسألة العربية" قد قدم إضافة نوعية للنظرية القومية، لكنه تساءل عن اتساق مفهومي الدين والقومية كما طرحمها بشارة. ووصفه بأنه يحاول مصالحة بين تنظير حديث للقومية ودوره محرضا ثوريا.

وقال دراج إن بشارة "يحاول أن يحرر الدين من التصورات المغلقة نحو مفاهيم أكثر ديمقراطية".
"

'Israel Should Annex Settlements if PA Declares Independence'

Al-Manar

"16/11/2009 Israeli Army Radio quoted senior right-wing ministers Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz as saying on Monday that Israel should respond to a possible unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence by annexing the West Bank settlement blocs.

"We must be clear and tell them that, if that's the route they choose to take, any unilateral declaration on their part will be countered by declaring our sovereignty on all 'C' Areas," Landau said, referring to those which, according to the Oslo Accord, are in full Israeli civilian and military control......."

'Canadian troops must withdraw from Afghanistan'

Press TV

"Afghan political activist Malalai Joya has said that Canadian troops must leave Afghanistan.

Joya just wrapped up a US tour, and began a two-week tour of Canada on Friday.

Canada must pull its soldiers out of Afghanistan and let the people of the war-torn nation overthrow the "corrupt Mafia system" that has been allowed to rule, she told The Times Colonist in a telephone conversation from Vancouver on November 14 that was published in the November 15 edition of the daily newspaper based in Victoria, British Columbia.

She called for the speedy exit of all international troops from her country, saying that is the only way Afghanistan can find peace......"

No Comment, by Emad Hajjaj

Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling Tories, film claims

50% of MPs in the shadow cabinet are Conservative Friends of Israel members, according to Channel 4's Dispatches

Ian Black, Middle East editor
The Guardian, Monday 16 November 2009

"Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today.

At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups"......."

Helena Cobban: 3800 Factories and workshops employing 130,000 workers destroyed in Gaza

We had a meeting with a local business leader, Wadih al-Masry, who told us that 3,800 factories and workshops, that previously employed 130,000 workers were destroyed during the invasion.
He was completely scathing about the Israelis’ claims that the assault/invasion had done anything to combat terrorism. Quite the opposite, he said.
(Fair Policy, Fair Discussion. Helena Cobban)

Video: Galloway War Crimes Speech

Part 1:



Part 2:



"Speech by George Galloway MP at the War Crimes Conference & Exhibition that took place at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on 28th October 2009."

عن التوريث وجماعة أمريكا

عن التوريث وجماعة أمريكا
عبد الحليم قنديل

"لماذا أعلنت حركة 'كفاية' خـــروجها رسميا مما يسمى 'الحملة المصرية ضد التوريث'؟، قد يثير الموقف تساؤلات بلا نهاية، وخصوصا لدى الذين قد تغيب عنهم تفاصيل خرائط المعارضة المصرية، وفي أعناقنا دين أن نشرح القصة كلها للرأي العام.
وقد لايتسع المقام لرواية تفاصيل بلا حصر، فقط نتوقف عند الإشارات الكبرى، فقد تلقيت ـ بصفتي المنسق العام لحركة كفاية ـ دعوة من أيمن نور المرشح الرئاسي السابق أوائل تشرين الأول (اكتوبر) 2009، كان العنوان: دعوة لإنشاء ما يسمى 'الجبهة المعارضة للتوريث'، بدت الدعوة بعناوينها مثيرة للريب، فأيمن نور ـ لأسباب كثيرة ـ شخص ملتبس، وعلاقاته الأمريكية بالذات مثار شبهات وتكهنات، ثم أن الدعوة لجبهة جديدة بدت غريبة، فكفاية ـ في ذاتها ـ نواة ائتلاف وطني جامع ضد التمديد والتوريث معا، ثم أن كفاية بادرت بالدعوة لإنشاء 'ائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير'، وهو جبهة واسعة تضم سبع حركات سياسية راديكالية مع قادة الغضب الاجتماعي ومئات الشخصيات العامة، وسبق لأيمن نور نفسه أن وقع على بيانها التأسيسي الذي أعلن في 4 نيسان (أبريل) 2009 ، وفي حوار لاحق بيننا جرى بناء على طلب وإلحاح نور، أبلغته رفض كفاية لتسمية 'الجبهة'، وبدواع مفهومة، فنحن لانريد تفتيت الجهد الائتلافي الذي جرى، ونعطي الأولوية للبناء عليه، ثم صارحته بمخاوف من تفتيت قضية التغيير بعد تفتيت التنظيم، وحصر الموضوع كله في معارضة توريث جمال مبارك، وكأننا نتغاضى ضمنا عن التمديد لرئاسة مبارك الأب، بينما خطر التوريث في وضع العرض لمرض التمديد، وكان اقتراحنا أن يتغير المسمى إلى 'الحملة المصرية ضد التوريث'، وأن تتضمن وثيقتها الأساسية رفضا للتمديد والتوريث معا، وأن يكون نشاطها في صورة حملة نوعية متصلة ببرامج عمل 'ائتلاف المصريين من أجل التغيير'، ووافق نور بحماس ظاهر، وجرت الدعوة ـ من جانبه ـ لاجتماع الأطراف المستعدة للمشاركة في 14 تشرين الأول (اكتوبر) الفائت، وهنا وقعت الصدمة الأولى، فقد ذهبت الأطراف ـ وبينها ممثل لجماعة الإخوان ـ إلى اجتماع تشاوري في مقر حزب 'الغد'، وفوجئت بنور، وقد أعد مؤتمرا صحافيا بدون مشورة أحد، وحول القصة كلها إلى حفل التقاط صور بدا فيه في صورة زعيم المعارضة، وهي صورة متلفزة تزيف الحقائق على الأرض، وبدت كطعنة مبكرة واختصار مخل يشوه القصة كلها .
وفي اجتماعات تشاورية لاحقة، بدا التوتر محمولا على أعناق الكلمات، وأصرت 'كفاية' على نقل الاجتماع من مقر 'حزب الغد' الذي يتزعمه نور، وهو ماتحقق، وتم إلغاء تعبير 'ما يحكمش' الذي اتخذه نور شعارا للحملة من طرف واحد، وبدواعي نقص لياقته اللفظية، فالتعبير دارج في أفلام السينما المصرية على شفاه الراقصات، وفي مواقف 'المتمنعات وهن الراغبات' (!)، ولا تصح مقارنته بشعار 'كفاية' التلقائي البليغ الناطق، واضطر نور للتراجع، وسحب الشعار الركيك، ثم تواترت دواعي الريبة في أصل القصة، فقد ثبت أن سعد الدين إبراهيم وجماعات لأقباط المهجر في أمريكا تلعب من وراء ستار، وكانت على صلة بمبادرة أيمن نور، وهنا أصرت 'كفاية' على قصر المشاركة في الحملة على المصريين في الداخل، وشددت على ربط العداء لنظام مبارك تمديدا وتوريثا بالعداء للمشروع الأمريكي الصهيوني وأدواته وإدارته الأمريكية، كانت دواعي الريبة تتكاثف، وكان الحرص زائدا على تضمين مبادئ كفاية في نص وثيقة 'رسالة الحملة'، ونجحنا في الحصول على إجماع الأطراف المشاركة مع تململ ظاهر لأيمن نور، وقبل أن يجف حبر الوثيقة تكشف المخبوء الأخطر، فقد جرى الإعلان عن سفر أيمن نور لأمريكا، وعن اللقاءات التي أعدت له هناك، وانفجر الصدام صاخبا في اجتماع عقد بمقر حزب الجبهة الديمقراطية الذي يترأسه د . أسامة الغزالي حرب، وهو حزب ليبرالي أشد ضعفا من حزب أيمن نور، ولم تكن الحكاية في السفر المزمع كطقوس وإجراءات، ولا في قرار النائب العام بمنع نور من السفر، فنحن ضد منع أي مواطن من السفر خارج أحكام القضاء، وحرية التنقل من الحريات المدنية الأساسية، لكن الأهم كان في وثائق الدعوات التي حصلنا عليها، والتي كانت موضوعا لمواجهة ساخنة أخيرة، وقررت كفاية بعدها ترك الحملة نهائيا، ولاعتراضات جوهرية على مبدأ الاتصال أو الحوار مع الإدارة الأمريكية وسفارة 'العم سام' بالقاهرة .
في الوثائق ـ الموجودة لدينا ـ دعوات لنور من أربع جهات، أولها 'ائتلاف المنظمات المصرية في أمريكا'، وهي جماعة لأمريكيين ذوي أصل مصري، والقوة الدافعة فيها لسعد الدين إبراهيم وكميل حليم من أقباط المهجر، وصلة إبراهيم بالإدارة الأمريكية مشهورة، فهو البوابة الكبرى لتوزيع تمويل بالملايين على جهات مصرية مقربة من أمريكا، ناهيك عن ارتباط جماعات من أقباط المهجر باللوبي الصهيوني في أمريكا، وجاءت الدعوتان الثانية والثالثة من مركز أبحاث 'كارنيجي' ومجلس العلاقات الخارجية، والجهتان من مراكز التفكير الوثيقة الصلات بالمؤسسة الأمريكية السياسية والأمنية، وفي الدعوة الرابعة يتكشف الارتباط المباشر بالإدارة الأمريكية، وبغير شك ولا التباس ولا تأويل، فقد وجهت الدعوة من الوقف القومي للديمقراطية n.i.d، وهذه هيئة تتبع الكونغرس الأمريكي، وتتلقى موازنتها السنوية الضخمة من موارد الخزانة الأمريكية مباشرة، وتعد واحدة من أخطر الأقنعة والواجهات التي تعمل المخابرات المركزية الأمريكية من خلالها، وفي خطاب الدعوة ـ تحت يدنا ـ تأكيد لحضور أعضاء كونغرس وممثلين عن الإدارة الأمريكية في اللقاء الذي كان معدا لنور، ثم أن خطاب الدعوة لايخفى ذقنه، ويشير إلى دعوة أيمن نور للحديث عن أولويات أمريكية خالصة للإصلاح الديمقراطي في العالم العربي، ولا يدعك الخطاب تخمن أو تفسر في شروح الإصلاح الذي يقصده، فهو يتحدث عن 'إصلاح' بانت بشائره وتوالت، وبالذات مع ما يسميه الخطاب 'هزيمة الإسلاميين في لبنان' والانتخابات العراقية الناجحة، أي أن الإصلاح الديمقراطي ـ في نظر الإدارة الأمريكية ـ هو هزيمة حزب الله انتخابيا ونجاح المالكي ودمى أمريكا في العراق، وحين قمنا بعرض الوثائق التي لم يجادل نور في صحتها، بدا نور وكأنه وقع في الحفرة، وقال أن 'إنكليزيته ضعيفة'، وإنه لو كان يعرف ما كان قبل الدعوة، وهنا توجهنا إلى د. حسن نافعة مدير الاجتماع، وقلنا له أن 'العذر بالجهل' وارد جدا، وطلبنا إليه أن يصدر ـ بصفته منسق الحملة ـ بيانا ينهي اللغط، ويؤكد على حظر اتصال أي طرف في الحملة بالإدارة الأمريكية في أي مستوى من مستوياتها، ومن البيت الأبيض إلى الكونغرس إلى منظمات التمويل إلى السفارة الأمريكية بالقاهرة، وبدا 'نافعة ' في حرج مربك، وكأننا نطلب منه أن يشرب السم، وقذف في وجوهنا بالمفاجأة الأسوأ، قال أنه هو نفسه لبى دعوات سابقة بالذهاب إلى السفارة الأمريكية بالقاهرة، وقد يلبي دعوات لاحقة، بينما انبرى أسامة الغزالي حرب الذي كان يجلس إلى جوار نافعة، وقال ـ مفاخرا ـ أنه عائد لتوه من السفارة الأمريكية، وهنا كدنا ننفجر من الضحك غيظا (!)، فقد وصلت الكوميديا السوداء إلى منتهاها، وبدا كأن المشهد العبثي قد يغرى بتقديم اقتراحات من ماركة نقل اجتماع حملة التوريث بدوره إلى السفارة الأمريكية.
هذه قصة خروجنا، ولها ملحق تفسير يتعلق بدواعي رفض كفاية لأي اتصال أو حوار مع الإدارة الأمريكية، ورفض العمل ـ جملة وتفصيلا ـ مع أطراف 'جماعة أمريكا' في مصر، فنحن نعتبر أن وجود أمريكا في مصر نوع من الاحتلال السياسي، ونعتبر أن السفارة الأمريكية ـ في غاردن سيتي ـ هي دار المندوب السامي الجديد، وأن نظام مبارك ـ بنسختي التمديد والتوريث ـ هو الوكيل المحلي للسياسة الأمريكية، وأن علاقة السفارة الأمريكية بقصر رئاسة مبارك أعادتنا إلى ما قبل ثورة 1952، وتماما كما كانت علاقة قصر الملك بدار المندوب السامي البريطاني، وهو ما يحدث فروقا واسعة في النظر إلى قضية التغيير في مصر، فكفاية تتبنى أجندة وطنية ديمقراطية اجتماعية بإمتياز، وتسعى لتحرير مصر من الهيمنة الأمريكية الإسرائيلية، تماما كما تسعى لخلع الديكتاتور، وتحرير المصريين من استبداد النظام الناهب الخادم للأمريكيين والإسرائيليين، وفي وثائق كفاية وائتلاف التغيير، يتجلى رباط 'العروة الوثقي' بين استعادة استقلالنا الوطني وكنس نظام الديكتاتور، فقد وضعت مصر في القيد بتداعيات معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية، والتي أدت مضاعفــــاتها إلى نزع سلاح غالب سيناء، ثم جاءت المعونة الأمريكية الضامنة لتــــنزع ســيادة قرار السياسة والاقتصاد في القاهرة، و مع تحول النظام من حكم الحزب الواحد إلى صيغة حكم العائلة الواحدة، توثقت صلات الرحم بين العائلة الحاكمة ودار السفارة الأمريكية، وصار على مبارك الأب أن يجدد أوراق الاعتماد الرئاسي ـ كل حين ـ من البيت الأبيض، وأن يدفع 'الجزية' لحساب إسرائيل طلبا لرضا 'الباب العالي' في واشنطن، تماما كما يفعل جمال مبارك كوريث محتمل، ويذهب في زيارات سرية وعلنية لتوثيق أوراق اعتماده بأختام الإدارة الأمريكية، ويكفى ـ بعد حقائق الهيمنة على السياسة والاقتصاد ـ أن نتأمل خرائط توزيع القوات الأمريكية في مصر، فالقوات المتعددة الجنسيات في شرق سيناء غالبها من الأمريكيين، والأمريكيون يديرون محطة الإنذار المبكر، أضف إلى ذلك ـ وهذا هو الأخطر ـ ما ورد في تقرير أخير للجنرال الاسرائيلي آفي ديختر، فقد كشف عن تواجد ما أسماه نقاطا لقوات المارينز في القاهرة نفسها، وأنها مستعدة للتحرك وقت الخطر، وبانتظار وصول الامدادات اللاحقة، والمحصلة: أن أمريكا ـ حتى بالمعنى العسكري المباشر ـ قوة دعم لديكتاتورية النظام المصري، فوق كونها قوة الاسناد الأولى لاسرائيل كأعظم خطر على الوجود المصري.
"

Al-Jazeera Video: Yemen conflict raises Gulf tensions - 15 Nov 09

"Saudi Arabia is continuing to attack a Shia rebel stronghold in northern Yemen by air, while Saudi troops and Houthi rebels have been engaged in bloody clashes for more than a week.

At least two Saudi soldiers have been killed in the latest fighting, and the conflict is further raising tensions in the region, with Iran warning Saudi Arabia not to interfere in Yemen's internal affairs.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said on Sunday: "The intervention of Saudi government in Yemen and repeated bombardment of unprotected Yemeni Muslims by Tornado and F-15 fighters is astounding.

"How has his Excellency, the servant of the two honourable shrines, allowed Muslims' blood be split in Yemen by means of its military devices? The news proves that the US government has been the accomplice and assistance in such suppressive measures."

The Iranian parliament also called on the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to intervene to stop the killing of Yemeni Muslims.

Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, where he's been gauging the fallout from this ongoing battle."

Breaking and Exciting News.....the "Reconciliation"...the "Reconciliation"...OOps....I Got That Wrong..."Reconciliation" is Dead!

Ynet: PLO Plans Gov't Reform to Phase out Hamas

An Important Piece

Al-Manar

(Left: The Palestinian Pinochet prepares his next move: "president" for life.)

"14/11/2009 Israeli electronic site Ynet reported on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority is currently putting the finishing touches on carrying out a revolution within the Palestinian government institutions, in order to put an end to the paralyzing division, and be rid of the legislative obstacles placed by Hamas.

PA sources told Ynet that according to the plan in formation, the role of Legislative Council, which has served as the parliament since the establishment of the PA and is currently ruled by Hamas, will be usurped by the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Central Council, which will become the supreme Palestinian legislative body. Hamas is not a member of the PLO, and it will have no foothold in the council.

According to the plan, which is slated to be put in action in January, Mahmoud Abbas' main role will be PLO head, meaning the current president, who recently announced he does not plan to run for another term in office, will remain in the same position he currently fills.

However, Abbas will also serve as the PA's temporary acting president, since general elections called for January 24 are likely to be postponed. A final decision on the new political structure is slated to be made during a National Palestinian Council session on December 22.

In fact, the PLO's plan is meant to nullify the results of the Palestinian election in 2006 which was democratically won by Hamas, without dismantling the Palestinian Authority. This move, even if met by Hamas resistance, will pull the rug out from under Hamas members, who say that in the absence of a PA president, this position should be filled by the chairman of the Legislative Council – Hamas' Aziz Duwaik.

Such a step would mean that the parliament that was elected almost four years ago would be irrelevant, and a Hamas parliament speaker would have no legal status in Palestinian politics. This would leave the reins solely in the hands of the PLO, its chairman and its Central Council......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Access restricted on Bagram 'tour' - 15 Nov 09

"Barack Obama, the US president, has pledged to close down Guantanamo Bay, the military prison in Cuba.

But in Afghanistan, hundreds of people are still detained without charge at a "secret" prison in Bagram airbase, the largest US military hub in the region.

The US authorities recently permitted journalists to see the updated and expanded facility, which cost nearly $60m.

James Bays joined the tour and sent this report. "

Fort Wood, by Khalil Bendib

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Interview: "My film makes you part of Gaza's reality"

Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada, 15 November 2009

"Directed by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rjuailah, To Shoot an Elephant is a documentary film that offers an eyewitness account from the Gaza Strip during Israel's assault last winter. During the attacks, when the Israeli military banned foreign journalists from entering the Strip, Arce managed to stay inside Gaza and filmed how medical teams and hospitals were targeted by Israeli forces while performing their duties. One day after receiving the Anna Lindh Journalist Award for conflict reporting for his articles on Gaza published by the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo, Arce won the Best Director prize at the Dei Popoli Film Festival in Florence on 7 November 2009. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof met with Arce and interviewed him about the motivation behind his film.

Adri Nieuwhof: Can you tell us who you are and why you wanted to make the film?

Alberto Arce: I am a 33-year-old journalist from Spain. I am inspired by the support we received from internationals to our struggle in 1936. [In July 1936 Spanish generals launched a military campaign to overthrow the young, democratically-elected Republican government.] George Orwell participated in the International Republican Brigades and at the same time reported our war. I try to follow Orwell's example. I followed the events in Palestine for five years and became aware of the media blackout in Gaza. I wanted to report on the collective punishment of the people in Gaza and decided to join the boat of the Free Gaza Movement [which set sail for Gaza] at the end December 2008. I wanted to break down the wall of censorship......"

Obama is haunted by Gorbachev's ghost

No invading army has ever 'won' in Afghanistan, and nothing unites the people more than infidel soldiers on their holy soil

By James Fergusson
The Independent

"It has become a pub bore's cliché to argue that we will never prevail in Afghanistan because no foreign power ever has: not even the Russians, whose nine-year occupation cost the lives of 14,000 of their soldiers and 35,500 wounded, and which ended in humiliating retreat in 1989. Those Cassandras irritate Western leaders, whose response is to insist that it is different this time.....

It sometimes feels like unfinished business for us as well. In 1929, the RAF's 39 Squadron was stationed at Risalpur in the border areas of Pakistan, from where it flew bombing missions over Waziristan against the elusive insurgent leader, the Fakir of Ipi. Today, 39 Squadron operates a dozen MQ-7 Reaper drones over the same area – albeit from computer screens on an airbase in Nevada – in a bid to kill or capture Osama bin Laden. Some analysts think that drones could turn the tide of this war, and even be part of the West's exit strategy by eventually allowing machines instead of men to police the border. But as the Russians and the British before them found to their cost, it is a mistake to put too much faith in weapons technology when fighting in a country like Afghanistan."

The art of manipulation: when people become mere pawns in a game

From Machiavelli to Mandelson and Simon Cowell, those who manoeuvre others to suit their own ends are irresistibly captivating

By A C Grayling
The Independent

(Cartoon by Carlos Latuff)

"Describe someone as Machiavellian and in that one word you describe him as devious, cunning, crafty, scheming – and above all, manipulative. By this we mean he achieves his ends by manoeuvring people in ways they do not quite understand, at least until it is too late. He does it by blandishments and flattery, or by tricks and sleight of hand; sometimes he does it by playing different interests off against each other, by pulling secret strings, by concealing his true aims with artifice and ruse, and always by misleading those whom he is getting to do what he wants. These were among the techniques that Niccolo Machiavelli advised a prince to adopt in ruling a populace.....

Manipulation is par excellence the using of people as means. If we do not mind being persuaded, it is because we are aware of what is happening. Discussion, argument, even bribery, which changes our minds or re-routes our actions, is a far cry from a process in which we find ourselves doing something or taking a position that we did not realise we were being steered into by activities we did not fully understand......"

Any Sign of a Strategy Yet? By Schrank

War in Afghanistan: Not in our name

71% of Britons back IoS call for withdrawal of forces within a year

By Jane Merrick and Brian Brady in London and Kim Sengupta in Kabul
The Independent

"Seven out of 10 Britons back The Independent on Sunday's call for a phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as a landmark report by Oxfam this week exposes the real human cost of the war.

The powerful dossier by the aid agency reveals how women and children in Afghanistan are bearing the brunt of the ongoing conflict, undermining the international community's claims that they are the very people being helped by the West's activities.

Its contents will add to mounting concerns among the public, and in some quarters of the military and the House of Commons, that the US and the UK are fighting an ill-conceived and ill-judged war that has left as many as 32,000 Afghans dead and 235,000 displaced....."

Yemen conflict widens, causing growing concerns

Press TV

"Humanitarian agencies voice deep concern over a worsening crisis in Saudi Arabia's southwest and in northern Yemen where Riyadh has been bombing villages.

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF expressed worries at the escalation of the conflict in northern Yemen, where the UN says 175,000 people have been displaced.

The UNICEF also said some 240 villages on the Saudi Arabian side of the border have been evacuated and the civilian residents have been forced to settle in refugee camps.

"Fighting has now spilled into Saudi Arabia, reportedly causing 240 villages to be evacuated and more than 50 schools to be closed," Sigrid Kaag, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

The UNICEF says deaths have been recorded among the displaced children inside the camps......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Gaza ambulance driver tells all

"Khaled Abu Sada, a Palestinian ambulance driver, has been helping to save lives in the Gaza Strip for over a decade. He was first interviewed by Al Jazeera three years ago.

Returning to the Palestinian enclave as Al Jazeera English celebrates its third anniversary, Khaled reports what has and has not changed over the last few years.

Facing difficulties such as the destruction of his house during Israel's war on Gaza and the loss of close friends, Khaled also comments on political issues that affect his life every single day."