Red Hot France; Tepid Britain

A Tale of Two Nations

By TARIQ ALI
CounterPunch

"France is grinding to a standstill as millions of workers and students erupt in the streets at the government’s prposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Across the Channel, the new Tory Chancellor has announced savage cuts in public expenditures that will slice away more than a million jobs, drive workers out of south east England and doom the country to years of austerity (unequally imposed, bien sur.) Yet the response has been muted.....

There is growing bitterness and growing anger in England, too, but not much else so far. It could change. The French epidemic could spread, but nothing will happen from above. Young and old fought against Thatcher and lost. Her New Labor successors made sure that the defeats she inflicted were institutionalized....."

Obama Hires a Hustler

By Robert Scheer
Truthdig

"Behind the wonderfully engaging smile of this president there is the increasingly disturbing suggestion of a cynical power-grabbing politician whose swift rise in power reflects less the earnestness of his message and far more the skills of a traditional political hack....."

CONVOY FINALLY SETS SAIL FOR GAZA

"After a wait in Syria lasting sixteen days, the convoy of 150 vehicles and 370 people is just setting sail from Latakia, Syria, on the final leg of the epic journey to deliver aid to Gaza. The last formalities have been completed and the vehicles are on board.

Convoy members are jubilant that their objective of bringing medical aid to the besieged people of Gaza is finally in sight. Some 30 of the human rights activists, including survivors of the Mavi Marmara, will make the voyage to Al Arish in Egypt, passing the place at which the Mavi Marmara was attacked.

A memorial ceremony will be held at the exact spot where the massacre was carried out. The convoy will reach Al Arish tomorrow evening.

The bulk of the activists from Britain, Northern Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Malaysia and more than a dozen other countries will be reunited with their vehicles there, having flown the final leg of the journey into Egypt. Convoy leaders are now hopeful that the convoy will enter Gaza on Friday. "

Gag Tightens on Media Ahead of Elections

By Cam McGrath

"CAIRO, Oct 20, 2010 (IPS) - Media watchdogs see the "invisible hand" of the ruling party behind a string of firings and resignations that have removed some of Egypt's most prominent government critics from their soapboxes just weeks before parliamentary elections.

"Oblique threats and backroom deals that are not visibly linked to the government have started silencing some of Egypt's most critical independent voices," says Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists......"

Foreign Policy and the Midterms

The silence is deafening

by Justin Raimondo, October 20, 2010

"The United States is currently fighting two wars, and a third one in Pakistan that is as yet unacknowledged – and yet, with the midterm elections coming up in a matter of a few weeks, we don’t hear anything about this from the candidates. Why is that?

Three reasons, the first being the old adage, attributed to noted turncoat “isolationist”-cum-interventionist Arthur Vandenberg, that “politics stops at the water’s edge.” ......

As it is, however, politicians of both parties are content to give the military the lion’s share and dole out the crumbs to the rest of us, and get us to fighting among ourselves for the choicest morsels, like starving prisoners inveigling the warden for an extra portion of porridge.

The war question, however, isn’t going away. As the economic crisis puts everything on the table – after all, a bankrupt empire must either shrink, or go into foreclosure – the evasions of our “leaders” will prove insufficient. The laws of economics are the weapons of mass destruction that will get us in the end."

Why Bother with Sculpture?
Just Spray His Comatose Corpse with Thin Plaster of Paris.
It Will Harden Fast, and Voila!
It is a Lot Cheaper!

Lebanon – land of phantom oil deals, spies and political murder

Robert Fisk on the real story behind Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit

"....And the dark spectre of Iranian oil men drilling the Mediterranean seabed 70 miles north of the Israeli border is also illusory. French and Norwegian companies have done much of the drilling in Iran; the refining has been carried out by French and Italian companies. Now the Russians and Chinese are doing the same job in Iran. The idea that Tehran would furnish cash to pay Moscow and Peking to explore reserves off Lebanon is close to fantasy.

So why on earth did the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil sit down to sign those 17 agreements a week ago? Herein lies a tale. For it just so happens that Mr Bassil is the son-in-law of the Christian Maronite ex-general Michel Aoun whose political party long ago aligned itself with Syria and Iran. In Lebanon, its Christian supporters have thus found themselves an ally of Hizbollah and in opposition to the majority government of the Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

On the surface, this makes sense. Aoun is helping the Iranians to move into the Lebanese economy. But right now, the ex-general has a few other things on his mind. For a start, three of the team of alleged spies for Israel arrested by the Lebanese army over the past nine months have turned out to be working for Aoun's party. And this "spy ring" is supposed to have been involved in amassing data within the Lebanese communications system. Indeed, one of them was a senior official in Lebanon's largest mobile telephone network...."

Sarkozy came to power on a mission to change a nation. He has failed

By John Lichfield
The Independent

"President Nicolas Sarkozy came to power three years ago planning not just to reform France but to mess with, and change, the country's mind. Like Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980s, he set out to create a more enterprising, can-do country; less obsessed with acquired rights and traditions and prepared to unleash its own latent creativity and to "work harder to earn more".

Whatever the outcome of the present dispute, it seems that Mr Sarkozy has already lost this battle. Millions of people took to the French streets yesterday.....


Whose fault is that? Mostly it is Mr Sarkozy's fault. There was a mood for real change in the country after his election in May 2007. But this has been frittered away by the President on a series of half-hearted and disconnected reforms which have often seemed to favour the rich. Having promised the French a government that would be all about Vous, he has delivered a presidency which has often been about Moi.

Worse may be still to come. The more militant, or more mindless, protests have no coherent leadership, no realistic objectives and could yet spin out of control. Mr Sarkozy will not back down but he could decide to crack down – with unforeseeable consequences."

Who calls the shots in Iraq?

Reports on al-Maliki's visit to Tehran have overplayed the extent of Iran's regional influence

I disagree with Sami Ramadani about this article, but I am posting it anyway.

Sami Ramadani
The Guardian, Wednesday 20 October 2010

"....Second, there are other players, Iraqi and regional, who are keen on exaggerating Iran's influence in Iraq. Saddam loyalists, for example, who insist that Iran is a greater danger to Iraq than American occupation. Or the myriad Iraqi politicians who believe that hostility to Iran is their ticket to gaining US backing. Even the Islamic Supreme Council, a sectarian party led by the Shia cleric Ammar al-Hakim – whose forces were stationed in Iran before 2003 – have been drawn into the realities of US domination and been distancing themselves from the more anti-US Iranians, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iraqis are reminded daily that it is the US, not Iran, which is the foremost foreign influence in their country. They also know that, despite promises to the contrary, strategic interests are such that the US will endeavour to maintain its presence in Iraq beyond the deadline of 2011, by trying to secure a pro‑Washington regime in Baghdad.[and what is it exactly that Iran is trying to do by bullying everyone to back the puppet Maliki, Mr. Ramadani?]"

Israeli-Arabs fear for their future

Arab citizens say they feel increasingly unwelcome in Israel and fear forced transfer to a new Palestinian state

Rachel Shabi in Umm al-Fahm
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 19 October 2010

"Like other Arab citizens of Israel, Leyla Ahmoud is anxious about her future. A young mother of two girls with another on the way, Ahmoud says recent moves by the Israeli government are making it increasingly obvious that the Arabs are not welcome in their own country.

"I feel like my life is not in my hands," said 24-year-old Ahmoud, who lives in Umm al-Fahm, a mountain-ridge town of some 43,000 inhabitants in northern Israel. "The government decides how I live and where I live. We exist in fear, from one day to the next."

Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, famously referred to Arab citizens of Israel, who make up a fifth of the population, as a "demographic bomb" in 2003. His cabinet recently passed a new citizens bill that, if approved, will require all non-Jewish migrants to pledge loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state" – although, apparently in response to international pressure, the law may now be amended to apply to all new migrants, including Jews....."

UAE: Spousal Abuse Never a ‘Right’

"(Dubai) - A decision by the United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court upholding a husband's right to "chastise" his wife and children with physical abuse violates the right of the country's women and children to liberty, security, and equality in the family - and potentially their right to life, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling, citing the UAE penal code, sanctions beating and other forms of punishment or coercion providing the violence leaves no physical marks.

Human Rights Watch called on the government urgently to repeal all discriminatory laws, including any that sanction domestic violence.

"This ruling by the UAE's highest court is evidence that the authorities consider violence against women and children to be completely acceptable," said Nadya Khalife, Middle East women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Domestic violence should never be tolerated under any circumstances. These provisions are blatantly demeaning to women and pose serious risks to their well-being."......"

US: The dishonest broker

Despite high expectation for Barack Obama, the US president has not convinced Israel to cease settlement construction.

By Avi Shlaim
Al-Jazeera

"....There are many reasons for America’s failure to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians but the most fundamental one is that it is a dishonest broker. As a result of its palpable partiality towards Israel, America has lost all credibility in the eyes not only of the Palestinians but of the wider Arab and Muslim worlds.

The so-called peace process has been all process and no peace. Peace talks that go nowhere slowly provide Israel with just the cover it needs to pursue its expansionist agenda on the West Bank.

The asymmetry of power between Israel and the Palestinians is so great that only a third party can bridge the gap. In plain language, this means leaning on Israel to end the occupation and to permit the emergence of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In theory America is committed to a two-state solution to the conflict but in practise it has done very little to push Israel into such a settlement. It is not that America lacks the means to bring pressure to bear on Israel. On the contrary, Israel is crucially, and almost exclusively, dependent on America for military, diplomatic, and financial support.

America’s financial support amounts to three billion dollars a year. So the leverage is there.....

The American position is pusillanimous and feeble. Instead of taking a firm position on the side of the Palestinians and pressing the point of principle, they press the weaker party to make more and more concessions. Under these conditions, the prospects of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are close to zero.

There is no light at the end of the tunnel, only more illegal settlements, and consequently more strife, more violence, more bloodshed, and ultimately another war."

جريمة الاعتراف بيهودية الكيان الصهيوني

"....
ولهذا حين تعلن سلطة رام الله باسم رئيسها وناطقها الرسمي أن موضوع يهودية الدولة "شأن خاص لا يعنينا". ومن ثم "لماذا لا نعترف أو لا نعترف به؟"، أو عندما يطالب أمين سر اللجنة التنفيذية (المزعوم والمزعومة) لمنظمة التحرير ياسر عبد ربه بمقايضة دولة فلسطينية على حدود 1967 مقابل الاعتراف بالدولة اليهودية أو يهودية الدولة، فإن الأمر هنا يصل إلى حدّ الخيانة العظمى للقضية الفلسطينية ولحقوق الشعب الفلسطيني التاريخية والحالية ولأجزاء الشعب الفلسطينية التي تشكل أغلبيته سواء أولئك الذين بقوا في وطنهم تحت الدولة الصهيونية أم أولئك الذين هجّروا من الوطن في 1948-1949.

أما الذين يهوّنون من إضافة تعبير اليهودية هنا باعتبار أن لا جديد فيها فيرتكبون خطأ فادحا في إدراك محتواه وأبعاده وأخطاره المتعدّدة الأهداف والقاتلة للقضية والشعب والحقوق والثوابت.
"

I want to exercise my birth right as well...

Since Israel and Zionist are insisting on having the world and Arabs recognize Israel as a "Jewish State" or a State for "Jews only" or a "Jewish and Democratic" state.

This new twist in the negotiations has triggered debate and points of views that are very varied , some believe this insistence on the Jewishness will create an apartheid state where non-Jews will become seventh class citizens , and some fear Israel will proceed with an ethnic cleansing procedure of the 1.2 million Palestinian Arabs living in "Israel". Some see this as the only way "Israel" will survive some see this is the demise of "Israel". I was talking to one Jewish friend recently who told me that he did not feel he needed to exercise his birthright to go and live in "Israel" , because he preferred living in the USA more. Now I thought about it for a good two minutes... Here is a clean cut gentleman who never been to "Israel", does not speak Hebrew,  does not observe most Jewish holidays, does not go to the temple , does not keep Kosher and does not observe the sabbath, yet he has the BIRTH RIGHT to go and live in "Israel" as "Jew" since being Jewish has nothing to do with religion apparently and has to do with what your ancestors decided to worship. While most of my Palestinian friends can NEVER go back although their families have been living there for hundreds and hundreds of years and lost their land in 48 or 67 (a very well documented recent case of exile)

Yes I know I am not writing anything new here but an Idea came to me while hearing him talk about his birth right:

Why not have all the Palestinians convert to Judaism and then have them exercise their birth right and go back to their land. I mean they have a better claim to it than 95% of the Jews who are not native to Palestine , and invented the myth of exile and are using the murky line between culture/religion/nation to colonize Palestine. if Palestinians go through a mass conversion (we need a cool Sheik to allow it to happen on the Muslim side , and a cool rabbi to do mass conversions to help expedite the process) within a few years all

Palestinians who where kicked out of their land , can go back and claim it back , they can even live on stolen land in the west bank without anyone complaining , how cool is that ? This solves all the problems we are facing:

• Israel does not become an Apartheid state (since it is homogeneous now )
• No need to worry about any UN resolution since the refugees are now back and they can even colonize Jerusalem, even a cooler idea
• No need to worry about ethnic cleansing since the population inside Israel converted as well 
• Jewish and Democratic will allow the "new Jewish immigrants" to vote in the new Jewish party "Khamas" into power
• Through national democratic referendum  everyone votes on whether Zionism should be the allowed to exist and by a majority of  the new Jewish vote it will be defeated (no reason for it anymore)
• The new Jews can democratically change the name of their country since they are a majority now to Falasteen.

One consequence is that a number of Israelis of European descent will find Palestine too crowded with  "darker Jews who can dance and make better hummus than we do" and will decide to exercise their original birth right and go back to the truly democratic and secular European states they came from. I am starting the conversion process immediately , I am circumcised already (thank God) so it should be easy , I am contacting the local temple and started looking at real estate in Akka , birth right here I come !!

Obama expands his Islamophobia to include Sikhs as well

 

US President Barack Obama has has ruled out a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, sacred to Sikhs, because Obama does not want to wear the head-covering that is required as a sign of respect.

Obama's aides finally came up with the idea of a "modified" baseball cap. It would have to be modified because the Golden Temple does not permit a baseball cap instead of a headscarf. In fact, the temple authorities have no problems with skull caps.

As Giani Gurbachan Singh, head priest of the Golden Temple, puts it: "We have no problems if he wears a skull cap, the kind that Muslims wear to the mosque - or any other cap that is modified to something similar. But we don't allow baseball caps or Army hats."

It's hard to imagine anything more insulting to his hosts than this. But of course Obama had absolutely no qualms about wearing a religiously-mandated head-covering when he visited the Wailing Wail, holy to Jews, in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as part of his pandering to US Zionists and other racists when he was running for president, as the photo above from his July 2008 visit to Israel and occupied Jerusalem shows (The Guardian). 

Succession of Power in the Arab World: Inheritance; by Emad Hajjaj

Saudi prince convicted of murder

[ What is the  filthiest family name in Arabic ? "Al Saud " without a doubt ]

A Saudi prince has been convicted of murdering one of his servants in a frenzied attack in a British hotel.

A jury in London's Old Bailey criminal court on Tuesday found Prince Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud guilty of murdering Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz at the Landmark Hotel in London on February 15.

The 34-year-old prince, whose grandfather is a brother of the current Saudi king, faces a possible life term in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday.

The jury deliberated 95 minutes before returning its verdict.

Sexual abuse

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said the prince had abused his aide in the past, showing jurors a video shot in the Landmark's elevator which appears to show the prince, dressed in white, throwing his 32-year-old servant around and battering him.

Photographs of Abdulaziz stored on a mobile phone "plainly proved" that there was a "sexual element" to the abuse, Laidlaw said.

"Beneath the surface this was a deeply abusive relationship which the defendant exploited, as the assaults in the lift so graphically demonstrate, for sadistic reasons, for his own personal gratification," Laidlaw told the jury.  [Not surprised , look at the case in Abu Dhabi a few years ago where another prince tortured an afghan and recorded it and displayed on the big screen for his guests. Sick corrupt people can only give birth to sicker more corrupt children]

Al-Jazeera Video: Questions over US contractors role in war zones

"US troops numbers have increased since President Barrack Obama took office. But they are still outnumbered by private companies that have been hired to carry out some US operations. A recent US Senate report found many of these private contractors are funneling funds to Afghan warlords. Tom Ackerman reports on how the contractors themselves view their future."

Fearing Increased Wikileaks 'Credibility', Pentagon Asks Media Not to Use Leaked War Files

AP

"WASHINGTON - The Pentagon asked media organizations yesterday not to publish any classified war files released by the WikiLeaks website as the United States braces for the potential disclosure of hundreds of thousands of secret Iraq war documents.

In July, WikiLeaks obtained and released nearly 77,000 classified military reports from Afghanistan. Now, the Pentagon says the group has as many as 400,000 documents from a military database on operations in Iraq....."

"Reconciliation" of the Losers.....
Who Needs it?
If They "Reconcile" Then the Palestinians Better Watch Out!
They Simply Want to Divide the "Spoils."

Report: Barghouthi to be freed in Shalit deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to release Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouthi in a prisoner swap deal for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit when finalized, a Saudi Arabian newspaper reported Tuesday. 

According to Al-Madina, quoting sources, the German mediator told Hamas that Barghouthi would be freed but other prisoners on the Islamist movement's list would not. 

Barghouthi's wife Fadwa told a German anti-nuclear war delegation visiting Ramallah that she too had also received word that her husband would be released in the prisoner swap deal. 

Who Made Netanyahu the King of the Jews?

By Tony Karon

"(Israel’s) demand for recognition of “Jews as a people, indigenous to the region and endowed with the right to self-government” is problematic, not only for Palestinians, but also for many Jews. Israeli Jews may have constituted themselves as a nation with the right to security and self-determination, but the majority of the world’s Jews have not claimed a right to self-determination as Jews. On the contrary, we’re very happy that anti-Semitism in the West has been marginalised to the point that we can freely integrate ourselves into the democratic societies in which we’ve chosen to live.

Growing up as a Jewish anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, I was often told by white racists to “go back to Israel”. The idea that Jews don’t belong among non-Jews is the traditional language of anti-Semitism – and also of the modern ideology of Zionism that emerged in the late 19th century. Zionism’s founder, Theodore Herzl, believed that anti-Semitism of the sort I encountered was inevitable and even “natural” whenever Jews lived among gentiles. He effectively concurred with the anti-Semites’ remedy: that I should “go back to Israel”.

Apartheid, by the way, denied black people the rights of citizenship on the basis that their “national homelands” were in Bantustans such as Transkei and Kwazulu – bogus “states” in which they supposedly would exercise their right to self-determination.

Jews have certainly suffered for the right to live in security and safety, but the majority have chosen to exercise that right not in a separate Jewish nation state, but instead as Americans, Argentines, British or French…"

Video: Women and children treated like cattle

"EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON! Does this remind you of the Holocaust?? Residents of the West Bank have to go through the Qalandia checkpoint to get to El Aksa. On the Fridays during the Ramadan women over the age of 45 and men over the age of 50 are allowed through. Tens of thousands get to Qalandia hoping to get to the prayers on time, thousands go through and still thousands are left behind. This is what it looks like.

Filmed by Hadass Shuve and Merav Amir.
Editing: Hadass Shuve.
Translation from Arabic: Hasan Masri."

عن الانتفاضة الجديدة ومقدماتها وشروط نجاحها

"يستحق موضوع الانتفاضة الجديدة التي كثر الحديث عنها خلال العامين الماضيين وقفة مختلفة حتى توضع الأمور في نصابها، ويكون الطرح مجديا ويصب في مصلحة القضية.

ونحن هنا لسنا من القائلين بأن الانتفاضة صارت على الأبواب، في ذات الوقت الذي لا ننتمي فيه إلى المثبطين الذين ينشرون اليأس بين الناس، بل نسعى إلى دعوة الجميع إلى تحمل مسؤولياتهم، بحيث يمكن الحديث عن مرحلة جديدة في الصراع مع العدو تشبه انتفاضة الأقصى، في ذات الوقت الذي تتجاوز فيه أخطاءها ويمكنها تبعا لذلك تحقيق أهدافها في المواجهة مع الاحتلال وفرض وقائع جديدة عليه
....
لا شك أن عدم حسم قيادة السلطة ذاتها (عرفات تحديدا) لخيار المقاومة وطرحه مشروعا واضحا لها لا يقبل المساومة كما فعل حزب الله، فضلا عن ممارسات "الزعرنة" التي دأبت عليها عناصر في فتح، قد ساهمت بدورها في تخريب الموقف وتحويل الانتفاضة إلى عبء على الناس، تماما كما حصل مع الانتفاضة
الأولى نهاية العام87.

الآن تتركز المشكلة (مشكلة تغييب خيار الانتفاضة والمقاومة) في سيطرة فريق عباس، ليس على السلطة فحسب، بل على منظمة التحرير وحركة فتح أيضا. وعندما تقف هذه الأخيرة بكل قوتها في الضفة الغربية إلى جانب خيارات السلطة مهما كانت، فسيكون من الصعب الحديث عن انتفاضة جديدة، فضلا عن الأبعاد الأخرى العربية والدولية، والتي تقف جميعا ضد خيار من هذا النوع.
....
من المفيد الإشارة هنا في سياق الحديث عن البعد الشعبي إلى عمليات إعادة تشكيل الوعي في الضفة الغربية عبر التركيز على النمو الاقتصادي والاهتمام بالمصالح الشخصية، لكن ذلك لن يكون قادرا برأينا على شطب إرادة الشعب الفلسطيني، وإن تمكن من تغيير وعي بعض القابلين للبيع والشراء.
.....
لمواجهة هذا الوضع، ومن أجل التمهيد لانتفاضة جديدة مؤثرة وقادرة على تحقيق الإنجازات للشعب الفلسطيني، فإن المسار الوحيد المتاح هو الانقلاب على معادلة السلطة تحت الاحتلال (الأكذوبة بحسب تعبير عباس)، والمصممة لخدمته وتخليصه من الأعباء الأمنية والاقتصادية والسياسية، ورفض مشروع المصالحة المرتبط بهذا المسار.

وهنا يمكن لحماس والجهاد ومن معهما ومن وافق على المشروع أن يقلبوا الطاولة في وجه الجميع عبر طرح إدارة بالتوافق لقطاع غزة بوصفه منطقة شبه محررة، بينما تعلن انتفاضة حتى دحر الاحتلال من دون قيد أو شرط عن كل الأراضي المحتلة عام 67، وهو هدف ممكن التحقق، ولا يقيد الشعب الفلسطيني بأية تعهدات تهدد حقه فيما تبقى من أرضه وحقوقه، وسيكون بالطبع مقدمة لتفكيك المشروع الصهيوني برمته.
....
هذا هو الخيار المتاح أمام الشعب الفلسطيني، أما استمرار الحديث عن مصالحة على قاعدة الورقة المصرية التي لا عنوان لها سوى الانتخابات المصممة لوضع الجميع في معسكر رفض المقاومة، كما يدعو بعض قادة فصائل اليسار، فهو كلام سقيم لا يستبطن إلا موقفا سلبيا من حماس على حساب مصالح الشعب الفلسطيني، لأن سائر العقلاء يدركون أن المصالحة المطروحة هي محض جر للجميع إلى مربع السلطة تحت الاحتلال (دولة الأمر الواقع بحسب فياض)، والقبول باستحقاقاتها وليس شيئا آخر، وهو أمر فصلنا فيه مرارا في مقالات شتى نشرت في هذا الموقع وسواه.
"

Video: Egypt urged to let Viva Palestina Activists pass through to Gaza.

Press TV

Report Shows Drone Strikes Based on Scant Evidence

By Gareth Porter

"New information on the Central Intelligence Agency’s campaign of drone strikes in northwest Pakistan directly contradicts the image the Barack Obama administration and the CIA have sought to establish in the news media of a program based on highly accurate targeting that is effective in disrupting al-Qaeda’s terrorist plots against the United States.

A new report on civilian casualties in the war in Pakistan has revealed direct evidence that a house was targeted for a drone attack merely because it had been visited by a group of Taliban soldiers..... "

Israel's "law of citizenship" will have dire consequences

The definition of Israel as "Jewish and democratic" already means that the Palestinian minority are second-class citizens.

Posted by Ben White - 19 October 2010
The New Statesman

"....One of the reasons for the Palestinian rejection of this demand is the situation of the Palestinian minority in Israel (around 20 per cent). By coincidence, just two days before the cabinet vote, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a press release on the plight of Dahmash, an "unrecognised" Palestinian village 20km from Tel Aviv, sandwiched between Lod and Ramle. Here in microcosm is what Israel "as a Jewish state" has always meant for its Palestinian minority.

Dahmash has been inhabited since at least 1951, and its residents are Israeli citizens. Yet Israeli authorities "refuse to rezone the land as residential" -- despite doing so for land nearby -- and "refuse to provide basic services such as paved roads, sewage, health facilities, kindergartens, and schools". Moreover, "the authorities consider almost every one of the 70 houses 'illegal', and 13 are under threat of demolition".....

But it's not just a problem of land zoning for existing communities: as HRW describes, since 1948 "more than 900 Jewish villages and cities have been established in Israel, while the only new Arab towns allowed in 60 years have been seven towns that the government planned and constructed for Bedouin residents of the Negev". In a country that presents itself as the region's only democracy, the only new Arab towns in 60 years are half a dozen townships built as part of a "relocation" drive......"

Second child detained by Nazi police seen struck down by settler's car

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained a 12-year-old boy on Sunday who was seen on video being struck down by an Israeli settler organization leader in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on 8 October.

Omran Muhammad Mansour was taken to the Russian compound detention center in Jerusalem for questioning and was not allowed to be accompanied by his parents, Ma'an's correspondent said. 

Mansour was one of the two children seen being hit by Elad leader David Be'eri with his car as they threw stones at him during protests in the neighborhood during weeks of unrest following the killing of a Palestinian resident by an Israeli settler guard on 22 September. 

Abbas: Palestinian Statehood Means End to Claims Against Israel

Says Settlement Construction Must Halt for Talks

"Speaking today in an interview with Israeli TV, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated calls for the Israeli government to renew its settlement freeze for the purposes of negotiations. Then, in a significant statement, he said he believed a Palestinian state inside the 1967 borders would end all historic claims against the Israeli government.

The later announcement came as something of a surprise, as traditionally Palestinian officials have maintained that refugees would retain the right of return to lands seized during the founding of Israel as well. It is unclear if Abbas intended that this would be renounced in return for the 1967 borders, but it certainly appeared to be the case...."

Iran brokers behind-the-scenes deal for pro-Tehran government in Iraq

(Scroll down for more new posts)

Exclusive: Fears over Iran's influence after secret talks involving Syria, Hezbollah and the highest authorities in Shia Islam

Martin Chulov in Baghdad
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 October 2010

AN IMPORTANT PIECE

"Iran has brokered a critical deal with its regional neighbours that could see a pro-Tehran government installed in Iraq, a move that would shift the fragile country sharply away from a sphere of western influence.

The Guardian can reveal that the Islamic republic was instrumental in forming an alliance between Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki, who is vying for a second term as prime minister, and the country's powerful radical Shia cleric leader, Moqtada al-Sadr.

The deal – which involved Syria, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the highest authorities in Shia Islam – positions Maliki as a frontrunner to return as leader despite a seven-month stalemate between Iraq's feuding political blocs.

It also positions Iran as a potent buffer to US interests at a time when America is looking to change its relationship with Iraq from military overlords to civilian partners.

Senior officials in Iraq have given the Guardian details of the behind-the-scenes Iranian campaign which began in earnest in early September........

Within days of the withdrawal, Sadr, who lives in self-imposed exile in the Iranian city of Qom, was told by the Iranians to reconsider his position as a vehement opponent of Maliki. Sadr's party in Iraq had won more than 10% of the 325 seats in play at the election making him a powerbroker in the formation of any new government......

Days after the Iranian move, an Iraqi push followed. Throughout September Maliki sent his chief of staff to Qom along with a key leader in his Dawa party, Abdul Halim al-Zuhairi. They were, according to the Guardian's source, joined by a senior figure in Lebanese Hezbollah's politburo, Mohamed Kawtharani, as well as arch-US foe General Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Al-Quds Brigades, whose forces the US military blames for causing more than one quarter of its combat casualties in Iraq throughout almost eight years of war.....

...... In return, Assad visited Tehran the day after the Sadrist support for Maliki was announced. Two other Shia Islamic spiritual leaders, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Lebanese Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, are also believed to have endorsed the Sadrist move.

It is understood that the full withdrawal of all US troops after a security agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington at the end of 2011 was also sought by Sheikh Nasrallah......

Although that is the official US line, unofficially Washington expected to retain a force in Iraq after December 2011, as well as bases to protect oil interests, to buttress the Iraqi government in the event of a destabilising uprising and to help contain Iran.

Maliki will arrive in Tehran today for the talks with Ahmedinejad. He visited Syria late last week for a detente with Assad."

How Iran brokered a secret deal to put its ally in power in Iraq
Tehran's influence in Baghdad politics described by western official as 'nothing less than a strategic defeat' for US


".....According to Guardian sources, Maliki's renewed grasp on power and the Sadrists' elevation as influence brokers have been brought about by a consortium of the Middle East's most-powerful Shia Islamic players, whose power bases are rooted in the region's other main player, arch US foe Iran.

It has been spearheaded by the Islamic Dawa party, which opposed Saddam Hussein from a base in Tehran during the Ba'athist years, as well as by Maliki's adviser, Tareq Najim Abdullah. Sadr and Ayatollah Kazem al-Haeri, a key exiled figure, who has acted as Sadr's godfather, also led the way.

Qassem Suleimani, head of the al-Quds brigades, a division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and the head of Lebanese Hezbollah's politburo, Mohammed Kawtharani, also heavily influenced the process. Above them all, two Shia Islamic overlords, Grand Ayatollah Khameini, and Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah are understood to have been involved in getting Sadr onside.....

Suleimani has led the Quds force for the past 20 years. "He runs Iran's policy in Iraq," said a senior Iraqi official. "There is no dispute about this."

Suleimani is also a key link to Hezbollah in Lebanon and to Hamas in Gaza, supplying weapons, money and training to help oppose Israel.....

...He (Sadr) sought two of Shia Islam's highest authorities to ratify what was being put to him – Khameini and Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Sadr was won over, but Nasrallah's name came with a condition. According to the source, when Nasrallah, who remained in Beirut, was consulted, he asked for a return guarantee from Maliki that the US military would disappear completely from Iraq by the end of 2011.....

.....According to a senior Iraqi government official in the days afterwards, Assad told his advisers: "Our Iranian friends want Maliki, and Maliki it is.".....

Publicly, however, the Dawa party is maintaining a different line. "There is no contradiction between the Iranian point of view and the US view in forming a new government," said Zuhairi. "For example, the Americans have said this will be a Shia-led government. So, I say the Iraqi project is a reconciliation between Iran and the US."......"


COMMENT:

Needless to say, my respect for Sayyed Nasrallah has gone down another notch. While I was hoping that he would play a unifying and pro-Arab role in Iraq, he was playing a blatantly Sectarian and pro-Iran role. This is adding fuel to the fire and would only weaken support for Nasrallah throughout the Arab world.

As to the Rabbit, what can I say? Rabbits are known for their agility and for their ability to change direction and run fast.

"Our Iranian friends want Maliki, and Maliki it is" -- The Rabbit.
This says it all.

Al-Jazeera Video: Israeli siege affecting Gaza wheelchair maintenance

"The Gaza Strip has around 16,000 registered wheelchair users or one per cent of its population.

An aid delivery is the only way for electric wheelchairs to come in. But it's not enough, and the Israeli embargo also makes it hard to repair them.

Al Jazeera's Nadim Baba reports."

Sold to the Highest Bidder, by Mike Luckovich

The State of Blah-Blah-Blah

by Uri Avnery, October 18, 2010

"Will Germany enact a law that demands that every Turk aspiring to citizenship swear allegiance to the “German Federal Republic, the Nation-State of the German People”? Sounds like a ridiculous idea.

Will the U.S. Senate adopt a law that would compel every candidate for citizenship to swear allegiance to “The United States of America, the Nation State of the…” Of whom? “The American People”? “The Anglo-Saxon People”? “The Christian People”? An absurd idea.

But the Knesset is about to enact a law that demands from every non-Jew who desires Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to “The State of Israel, the Nation-State of the Jewish People.” It seems that our benighted lawmakers do not see anything questionable about this....."

The Odyssey of David Coleman Headley

From DEA informant to al-Qaeda terrorist

by Justin Raimondo, October 18, 2010

"When the city of Mumbai, India, was attacked by terrorists allegedly from the Lashkar-i- Taiba (LeT) group – a Muslim separatist organization fighting for independence for Kashmir from Indian occupiers – the CIA chief at the time, Gen. Michael Hayden, reportedly confronted his Pakistani counterpart, Lieutenant Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, and, according to Bob Woodward, said:

“’We’ve got to get to the bottom of this. This is a big deal.’ He urged Pasha to come clean and disclose all.”

With the revelation that David Coleman Headley, the “scout” who visited Mumbai and did reconnaissance work for LeT prior to the attack, was an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), one might say pretty much the same thing to Hayden and his successor: come clean and disclose all......

A known US spy turns up as an accomplice in the most dramatic and bloody terrorist attack since 9/11, and no one – not the US media, not a single member of Congress, not one prominent public figure – suspects there may be something to the Zardari-Karzai “conspiracy theory.” Is it something in the water, or are Americans so inured to the crimes of their government that they no longer care?"

UAE rules wife 'discipline' cannot leave marks

AP

"The UAE's highest judicial body says a man can beat his wife and young children as long as the beating leaves no physical marks.

The decision by the Federal Supreme Court shows the strong influence of Islamic law in the Emirates despite its international appeal in which foreign residents greatly outnumber the local population.

The court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who left cuts and bruises on his wife and adult daughter after a beating.

It says the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for "discipline" if no marks are left. It also says children who have reached "adulthood" — approximately puberty — cannot be struck [but the wife can still be struck!]....."

Peres Cancels Morocco Trip after King Denies Request to Meet

Al-Manar

"18/10/2010 Israeli President Shimon Peres has canceled his upcoming visit to Morocco after the king of the North African state rejected his request to meet during the trip, Israeli newspaper Haaretz indicated.

Peres had been invited to take part in the World Economic Forum in Morocco next week and had been scheduled to deliver an address to the event. But according to the policy of the President's Bureau, Peres is entitled to refuse a visit to any country in which he is not able to meet the head of state.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI wrote Peres last Friday that he would ordinarily be pleased to meet with him, but that such a rendezvous was impossible at the moment.

The President's Bureau believes that the king's refusal is based on protest of Israeli policy and thus decided to cancel Peres' trip."

Mike Leigh cancels Israel visit over loyalty oath bill

Director pulls out of Jerusalem teaching trip in protest against Israel's proposed loyalty oath for new citizens, saying the controversial policy was 'the last straw'

The Guardian

"....I cannot come, I do not want to come, and I am not coming.

"Eight weeks after our lunch, the Israeli attack on the flotilla took place. As I watched the world very properly condemn this atrocity, I almost cancelled. I now wish I had, and blame my cowardice for not having done so.

"Since then, your government has gone from bad to worse. I need not itemise all that has taken place ... I still had not faced up to the prospect of pulling out until a few weeks ago, but the resumption of the illegal building on the West Bank made me start to consider it seriously. And now we have the Loyalty Oath.

"This is the last straw – quite apart from the ongoing criminal blockade of Gaza, not to mention the endless shooting of innocent people there, including juveniles ..."....."

Video: Who Controls Iran's Fate ?

Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research TV

Israeli police launch drive to fill ranks with settlers

By Jonathan Cook
The National

"NAZARETH // As US-sponsored peace talks have stalled over the issue of settlements, Israel's national police force has revealed that it is turning to the very same illegal communities in its first-ever drive to recruit officers from among the settlers.

The special officer training course, which is chiefly aimed at discharged combat soldiers, includes seven months of religious studies in an extremist West Bank settlement.

The programme has provoked widespread concern among Israel's 1.3 million Palestinian citizens, a fifth of the population.

"The police have already repeatedly demonstrated their hostility to Palestinian citizens, but this move proves that the authorities want to extend and deepen our oppression," said Jafar Farah, the director of Mossawa, an advocacy centre for the Palestinian minority.

"Is it really credible that these religious extremists who have been educated to hate Palestinians in the West Bank are going to behave differently when they police our communities inside Israel?".....

Some Israeli observers have expressed concern that the settlers' greater influence on the police could also make implementing the dismantlement of West Bank settlements much harder in any future peace deal.

Mr Gorenberg said previous evacuations, including the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, had been handled chiefly by the police because so many army units were dominated by settlers. The police, he added, "could acquire the same weakness"."

خطيئة الإخوان

خطيئة الإخوان
عبد الحليم قنديل

"قرار قيادة الإخوان ـ مع كامل الاحترام لشخوصها ـ بالمشاركة في انتخابات النظام المصري عار أخلاقي وسياسي، وخطأ تراجيدي بحق الشعب المصري، وبحق تضحيات جماعة الإخوان ذاتها .
فعلى مفارق طرق المصير المصري، بدت قيادة الإخوان كأنها تعطي صوتها للنظام، وتسايره في ألعابه الأخيرة، وتخذل تيارات المعارضة الراديكالية، وعلى رأسها حركة 'كفاية ' والجمعية الوطنية للتغيير، التي دعت إلى المقاطعة ونزع الشرعية، والبدء في حملة مقاومة مدنية وعصيان سلمي.
ويعرف الإخوان ـ كما غيرهم ـ أن قصة الانتخابات انتهت في مصر، وبالذات منذ سريان تعديلات الانقلاب على الدستور، التي استفتي عليها صوريا في 26 آذار/مارس 2007.
قبل هذا التاريخ كانت هناك انتخابات يجري تزويرها، وبعد هذا التاريخ أصبح هناك تزوير يجري انتخابه، كانت انتخابات 2005 هي العشاء الأخير، وانتقلنا بعدها من التزوير المنهجي إلى المسخرة المنهجية، وتحولت الانتخابات إلى أفلام كارتون، وإلى تعيينات بالأمر المباشر، تحولنا إلى 'انتخابات افتراضية' بلا ناخبين تقريبا، تتأرجح فيها نسب التصويت الفعلي فوق حافة الصفر، ويعين فيها النظام معارضيه، تماما كما يعين مؤيديه، وقد توالت البروفات 'الانتخابية' تباعا، في التجديد النصفي لمجلس الشورى في نيسان/أبريل 2007، وإلى انتخابات المحليات في نيسان/ابريل 2008، وبينهما وبعدهما في انتخابات تكميلية جرت على مقاعد خلت أو تأخرت في مجلس الشعب، وإلى انتخابات التجديد النصفي مجددا لمجلس الشورى في حزيران/يونيو 2010، وقد شارك الإخوان ـ للأسف ـ في كل هذه الانتخابات المزورة بالكامل، وكانت نتائجهم صفرا كبيرا، ليس لأن الإخوان فقدوا شعبيتهم فجأة، أو أن الأرض انشقت فابتلعتهم، بل لأنه لم تكن هناك انتخابات من أصله، بل صور من التزييف والتزوير لم تشهد لها البشرية الحديثة مثيلا، صور من 'الانتخابات المشفرة' تنتهي دائما إلى النتائج ذاتها، المحفوظة في ألواح وأدراج مكاتب مباحث أمن الدولة، التي لا يمكن التوصل لطريقة صناعتها بغير اشتراك خاص، يتيح للمعنيين التقاط البث المباشر من المقر الرئيسي لمباحث أمن الدولة بميدان لاظوغلي بالقاهرة، أو من فروعها بالمحافظات، ثم يصبح البث مجانيا صباح يوم الانتخابات، وقبل بدء الإجراءات، وتعلن النتائج بمعرفة ضباط أمن الدولة، وفي صورة فوز كاريكاتوري تام لقوائم المؤيدين والمعارضين الممهورة بختم الرئاسة، وفي أعداد مهولة لناخبين لم يرهم أحد، وكأنهم يلبسون طاقية الإخفاء، أو يركبون بساط الريح، ولا يظهرون سوى في أرقام فلكية تعلنها السلطات، في حين يحجز للإخوان مقعد الصفر، وعلى طريقة 'لا إخواني بعد اليوم في أي مجلس تمثيلي'.
والغريب، أن نواب جماعة الإخوان عارضوا بشدة تعديلات الانقلاب على الدستور، التي أنهت الإشراف القضائي على الانتخابات عمليا، وأحلت محله إشرافا عمليا لضباط الشرطة، وقاطع نواب الإخوان مناقشات التعديل الانقلابي في البرلمان، وقاطعوا التصويت البرلماني على التعديلات، ودعوا الشعب لمقاطعة الاستفتاء على التعديلات ذاتها، وهي التعديلات التي جرت طبقا لها بروفات الانتخابات الافتراضية، وتجري طبقا لها انتخابات مجلس الشعب وانتخابات الرئاسة، والتناقض ظاهر فادح وفاضح، فكيف يصح لجماعة سياسية أن تدعو لمقاطعة في المبدأ، ثم تتورط بالمشاركة في تطبيقات المبدأ المرفوض ذاته، إنه التورط في العار الأخلاقي، أي أن تقول للناس كلاما، ثم تأتي عكسه، ثم تطلب منهم أن يصدقوك في الحالين، ولم يكن السلوك المعوج وقفا على الإخوان، بل ان نواب الأحزاب الرسمية طالبوا أيضا بمقاطعة الاستفتاء على التعديلات، ثم سارعوا بالمشاركة الآن، ثم يحدثونك ـ في براءة عبيطة ـ عن انصراف الناس عنهم، وعن المشاركة بالتصويت في انتخاباتهم، بينما انصراف الناس هو السلوك المنطقي الأخلاقي جدا، وسلوك هذه الأحزاب هو العار والشنار بعينه.
والأغرب ان قيادة الإخوان تحتج بأن هذه الإحزاب تشارك، وأنها تتأسى بها، وتمشي على هديها، في حين أن جماعة الإخوان تبدو في وضع مختلف جدا، فالأحزاب الرسمية جزء من النظام الأمني القائم، وهي جماعات من المأمورين، ليس لهم إلا أن يؤمروا فيصدعوا، يذهبون إلى حيث يذهب النظام، وينتهون إلى حيث ينتهي، وتوزع عليهم 'الحصص التمثيلية' في 'الانتخابات المشفرة' إياها، وليس بوسع أي منهم الحصول على مقعد برلماني نظيف في أي انتخابات حرة، فقد تحولت هذه الأحزاب إلى خيالات مآته، وإلى كائنات كاريكاتورية تسكن مقارها المظلمة، وتنتظر الإحسان بالتعيين من وراء قناع انتخابي، هذا ـ بالطبع ـ في ما يخص أحزابا رسمية قامت وماتت بالرخصة الأمنية، ولبعض قادتها صلة نسب قديمة متآكلة بمعنى السياسة، وهؤلاء يعدون على أصابع اليد الواحدة، أما باقي الأحزاب الرسمية فحدث عنها ولا حرج، إنها مجرد 'أكشاك سجائر'، وليست هذه حال جماعة الإخوان المحظورة رسميا، فلها قاعدة شعبية واسعة، ونفوذ هائل في أوساط الطبقة الوسطى، ولا يستجيب النظام ـ لأسباب فيزيائية ـ لرغبة بعض قادتهم في عقد صفقة الإخوان ليسوا في حاجة إليها، ورغم الاختلاف البين، فقد تساوت قيادة الإخوان في سلوكها مع سلوك الأحزاب إياها، وارتكبت الخطأ الفادح، وأوقعت الجماعة كلها في فخ الريبة، وتنكرت لأبسط معاني الاستقامة الخلقية والسياسية، وأسقطت دواعي المسؤولية الذاتية عن القرار، وأهدرت القاعدة الشرعية القائلة بأن 'كل طائره في عنقه'، وجعلت قرارها رهينا برغبات الآخرين المتذيلين للنظام الأمني، والذين وعدوا بتوزيع تركه الإخوان البرلمانية عليهم، وربما طمعا في أن يستبقي النظام للإخوان بعض مقاعدهم، وبأعداد تتخطى حاجز الصفر بقليل، وبعد أن كان لهم 88 نائبا في البرلمان المنقضية مدته.
والأخطر أن قيادة الإخوان بقرارها المشاركة في ما يسمى انتخابات مجلس الشعب، وبمعرفتها للملابسات والنتائج المقررة سلفا، فإنها تصوت ـ بلا مواربة - لصالح نظام مبارك، وتضفي بمشاركة الإخوان ـ وهم الجماعة ذات الثقل الشعبي ـ شرعية مصنوعة على عملية اغتصاب مباشر للسلطة، تضفي جدية مفتعلة على عملية هزلية، وتقدم غطاء يحتاجه النظام في انتخابات برلمانية افتراضية، يجري فيها توزيع الحصص على أسماء مختارة، ومقابل قيامها بأدوار 'الكومبارس' في انتخابات رئاسية افتراضية لاحقة، يتقدم لها مبارك الأب، أو من يخـــــتاره ابنا كان أو جنرالا، يعين نفسه رئيسا لفترة سادسة، أو يعـــــين من يختاره، ومن وراء قناع انتخابي تنكري، وطبقا لتعديلات الدستور، التي تصادر فرص الترشح الجدي لا الهزلي، وبغير ممانعة من قادة الإخوان الذين لا يحق الترشح لأحدهم، وهو ما يعني في المحصلة نتيجة تخزق العين، هي التأييد الصامت من قيادة الإخوان لمبارك أو من يختاره، وهو ذات 'الاختيار الرئاسي' الذي يؤيده الأمريكيون والإسرائيليون، وهكذا يؤيد الإخوان ـ بخطيئة المشاركة ـ مرشح الاستعمار الأمريكي الإسرائيلي لرئاسة مصر، وهذا جوهر ما نعنيه بالعار الأخلاقي والسياسي، فوق الخطأ التراجيدي بحق تضحيات قواعد الإخوان في الكفاح ضد إسرائيل ونظامها المصري.
وقرار قيادة الإخوان يضيف ـ للأسف ـ إلى دواعي إساءة الظن بجماعة الإخوان، فقد سربت قيادة الإخوان ـ قبل عام ـ مشروعا لعقد صفقة مع النظام، ونشر باسم أحد قياداتهم البرلمانية في صحيفة يومية مصرية، كانت الصفقة المعروضة من أربع نقاط، أولها: أن يتعهد الإخوان بالمشاركة في انتخابات البرلمان على نسبة من المقاعد أقل من النصف، وبهدف طمأنة النظام إلى أنهم لا يريدون الأغلبية، ولا يسعون إليها، وفي مدى زمني يتصل حتى عام 2020، وكان التعهد الثاني: ألا يقدم الإخوان مرشحا للرئاسة، ولا يدعمون أي مرشح معارض على الرئاسة، وخلال مدتين رئاسيتين بدءا من عام 2011 وحتى عام 2023، ومقابل التعهدين، تطلب جماعة الإخوان الاعتراف لها بحزب سياسي خلال الفترة الطويلة ذاتها، والاعتراف لها بجمعية دينية، وحين نشرت عناصر الصفقة المقترحة، تظاهرت قيادة الإخوان بالغضب، وصدرت عنها تصريحات نفي باهت، وقالت انها تحقق مع القيادي الإخواني ـ النائب محمد البلتاجي ـ الذي نشرت الصفقة باسمه، ثم تبين أنه لا تحقيق ولا يحزنون، وأن التزام قيادة الإخوان بتعهدات الصفقة بدا ساريا، ولو من طرف واحد، ولاحظ أن قرار مشاركة الإخوان جاء محصورا بنسبة 30 ' من المقاعد، وتحت شعار 'مشاركة لا مغالبة'.
لقد انزلقت قيادة الإخوان إلى خطيئة اللعب مع النظام، وبغير ثقة في استجابة النظام الذي يواصل اعتقالاته ودهسه لقواعد الإخوان بأحذية الأمن.
"

Crumbling America has a $2.2 trillion repair bill

Out of America: The US needs to update its roads, railways and airports – but recession and a shift to the right have put big infrastructure projects in jeopardy.

By Rupert Cornwell
The Independent

"....It's happening everywhere, from potholed interstate highways and grimy railways, to congested airports and a creaking air traffic control system that only adds to the increasingly third world experience of flying in the US. And hold your breath when you cross an American bridge: a 2005 study found that fully a quarter of them were structurally inadequate or obsolete.

Every now and then, the defects explode into the national consciousness – when breaches in scandalously neglected levees led to the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, or when the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed one sunny rush hour afternoon in August 2007, sending 13 people to their deaths as their cars plunged into the Mississippi river....."

US not interested in Afghan negotiations

Interview with investigative journalist Gareth Porter
Press TV

"....Press TV: Mr. Porter, what are they saying about the status of the war? Is NATO admitting that it is losing now one of the biggest indicators we've seen yet?

Porter: You could certainly draw an inference that there is a nuance of difference here between September/October of 2010 verses early 2010 where the US military very clearly stated that they were not going to allow a safe passage by Taliban leaders to come into Kabul to participate in any peace conference despite the fact that President Karzai himself had explicitly and publicly requested that. So there's no question that this represents a clear change in policy of the United States. Actually interpreting precisely what that means is more complicated I'm afraid.

This is because the United States government still takes the position that the United States is not prepared yet to sit down or even conduct some talks about the possibility of the peace agreement with the Taliban directly or indirectly and I wrote about this just in the last couple of weeks based on a very good source in Washington who is certainly familiar with the thinking of the Obama administration, who told me that the United States is talking to the Pakistanis about what they are hearing from the Taliban leadership and about the possibility of a settlement but not yet entering into any indirect negotiations or talks with them....."