Friday, November 11, 2011

عن الممانعة والاعتدال ومشهد المنطقة المركب



A VERY GOOD PIECE

"دعونا نعترف أننا إزاء مشهد مركب تعيشه منطقتنا العربية والشرق الأوسط عموما، وهو يحتمل الخلاف بهذا القدر أو ذاك، وإن اعتمد الأمر على طبيعة النوايا، إذ يتوزع من يأخذون هذا الموقف أو ذاك بين من يجتهدون لما يرونه مصلحة الأمة، ومن يتخذون المواقف لاعتبارات قطرية أو طائفية أو مذهبية أو إقليمية أو حزبية لا صلة لها بالقيم ولا بالمبادئ التي يرفعونها تبريرا لمواقفهم.
.....
باندلاع الثورة السورية أخذ الجدل يحتدم أكثر فأكثر، فالشارع العربي الذي وقف إلى جانب معسكر المقاومة والممانعة رغم محاولات ثنيه عن ذلك عبر إثارة الحساسيات الطائفية، لم يجد بدا من مساندة إخوانه السوريين في تطلعهم للحرية، تماما كما فعل مع إخوانه المصريين والتونسيين واليمنيين والليبيين، لكن انحراف الوضع نحو الخطاب الطائفي كان طبيعيا إلى حد كبير، ليس فقط لأن أصابع السياسة كانت واضحة في سياق الحشد، وبالطبع لأن هناك دولا عربية تبدو معنية بذلك من أجل التخويف من إيران ومن الشيعة حتى يكف مواطنها عن المطالبة بالإصلاح السياسي، وإنما أيضا لأن ردة فعل النظام كانت عنيفة ودموية إلى حد كبير.

طبعا كانت رعونة إيران، وكثير من القوى الشيعية في علاج ملف البحرين واضحة (عبر جعله أولوية كبرى رغم ضعف الحراك الذي لا يخفي عدالة الكثير من مطالبه)، وساهمت بقوة في الحشد المذهبي، والسبب أن عاقلا لا يمكنه التبشير بإمكانية إسقاط النظام في البحرين (بشكل مباشر أو غير مباشر) في ظل المعادلة الخليجية والإقليمية القائمة (دعك من الدولية ووجود الأسطول السادس)، وكان بالإمكان تأجيل هذا الملف لبعض الوقت، أو التعامل معه بمنطق مختلف ريثما تتغير الأوضاع عربيا نحو معادلة مستقرة تعلي من شأن المواطنة والتعددية بعيدا عن الحساسيات المذهبية. واللافت هنا أن جمعية الوفاق التي تقود حركة الاحتجاج الشيعي في البحرين كانت أكثر عقلانية في خطابها من إيران والقوى الشيعية في الخارج.

ومع استمرار الحشد الطائفي جاء الموقف الإيراني المناهض لثورة الشعب السوري، ومعه موقف حزب الله، وتاليا موقف الحكومة العراقية الواقعة تحت هيمنة القوى التابعة لإيران من الناحية العملية ليزيد في أجواء الحشد الطائفي، وليلقي بمقولات المقاومة والممانعة في مؤخرة العقل الجمعي للجماهير، بينما كانت تركيا تسجل اختراقا كبيرا في المنطقة بخطاب أردوغان القوي حيال الكيان الصهيوني بعد قصة سفينة مرمرة، وقد حدث ذلك رغم أننا إزاء دولة عضو في الحلف الأطلسي وتقيم علاقات سياسية وأمنية وعسكرية مع دولة العدو (قطعت الأمنية والعسكرية). وجاء موقف الحكومة التركية من الملف السوري ليزيد في الحضور التركي في الأوساط الشعبية مقابل خسائر كبيرة لإيران وحزب الله وحشد طائفي يتصاعد بالتدريج.

اليوم، وفي مقابل موقف تركي محسوم من النظام السوري، مع تردد عربي وآخر غربي لم يذهب بعيدا في مطاردة النظام، يحضر الموقف الإيراني الداعم له (بلا حدود) بالمال والسلاح، إلى جانب آخر عراقي يقدم المدد اللافت، لاسيما بعد سيطرة الحكومة العراقية على الأجواء، فضلا عن سيطرة حزب الله العملية على الحكومة اللبنانية.

في ضوء ذلك كله لا يشعر نظام الأسد بقرب النهاية، لا سيما أن إستراتيجيته في القتل والاعتقال بالتقسيط، مع الانتشار الكثيف للجيش والأجهزة الأمنية، لا زالت تؤتي أكلها في تخويف الناس والحيلولة دون المسيرات الضخمة (هنا يكمن سر فشل المبادرة العربية لأن توقف آلة القتل سيخرج الناس بالملايين إلى الشوارع ما يدحرج الموقف نحو إسقاط النظام)، فضلا عن حقيقة أن الحشد الطائفي قد منحه تأييد كتلة كبيرة من السكان الخائفين من البديل، بخاصة العلويين والدروز والمسيحيين.

ضمن هذه الأجواء انقسم الناس، ومالت الغالبية الساحقة من الجماهير العربية إلى تأييد الثورة في سوريا رغم وقوفها السابق مع تيار المقاومة والممانعة، ليس فقط بسبب ميلها الفطري لمطالب الحرية والتعددية بعد زمن طويل من القمع، بل أيضا بسبب السمة الطائفية للجزء الأكبر من حالة التأييد للنظام السوري، معطوفا على تأييد أقليات أخرى (مواقف الجنرال عون والبطريرك الماروني مثالا).

هنا أخذ مؤيدو النظام يصرخون بأن محور المقاومة والممانعة في خطر وأنه يتعرض لمؤامرة، فيما رأى الآخرون أن سقوطه سيوفر الأجواء لاستمرار الثورات العربية، وصولا إلى وضع يسيطر فيه المزاج الشعبي المنحاز ضد الإمبريالية الأميركية والغطرسة الصهيونية على المنطقة، الأمر الذي سيغير ميزان الصراع برمته، مستدلين على ذلك بالذعر الذي يجتاح الأوساط الصهيونية، فضلا عن حقيقة أن محور المقاومة لم يكن يتقدم كثيرا في صراعه مع العدو بسبب وجود المحور الآخر، وبسبب حسابات أنظمته الكثيرة والمعقدة.
صحيح أن الوضع الجديد سيحتاج بعض الوقت حتى يتبلور. وصحيح أن بعض قوى المعارضة المنخرطة في الربيع العربي تمارس بعض الغزل مع أميركا والغرب (لم يعد الموقف الغربي موحدا، كما لم تعد أميركا بقوتها القديمة)، لكن الثورات العربية لن تفرز في نهاية المطاف غير قوىً تطلب ود الشارع الذي يثق المخلصون ببوصلته الصائبة في رفض الإملاءات الخارجية، والأهم بتصديه للعدوان الأجنبي، خاصة الصهيوني على الأمة.

المعادلة هي إذن بين من يثقون بأن الجماهير التي فجرت هذه الثورات بروحية المقاومة التي استلهمتها من فلسطين والعراق ولبنان، لن تكون في معسكر غير معسكر الوحدة والمقاومة للغطرسة الخارجية، ولن تسمح بسرقة ربيعها مهما كان الثمن، وبين الفريق الآخر الذي يثق في نظام بشار الأسد الدكتاتوري الفاسد ومؤيديه على أسس طائفية، ومعهم الحالمون بالتمدد والنفوذ كما هو حال إيران، ويعد هم الأكثرين حرصا على فلسطين وقضايا الأمة، ومن هؤلاء فريق تعشش فيه روح المؤامرة ويرى أن أميركا هي رب الكون الذي يحركه كيف يشاء.

نحن مع الفريق الأول من دون تردد، وبالطبع لأن نثق بالروح الجمعية للأمة أكثر من أي نظام مهما كان، كما نثق بقدرة الشعوب على الفعل وإفشال مخططات الأعداء، ولكل بعد ذلك أن يختار معسكره ويحدد موقفه في ظل اختلاط المواقف وارتباك الرؤى وتعقيدات المشهد
."

The West's tragedy of capital




While Rome burns citizens should not fiddle, but believe another world may be possible and work together for that world.

By Pepe Escobar

Al-Jazeera

"Here's a crash course on global finance 2.0. The debt is in the Atlanticist, wealthy North. The resources are in the global South. And the (reluctant) supreme banker of the last resort is the Middle Kingdom, as personified by the Almighty Hu (Jintao). The name of the game - Marx revisited by Occupy the World - is class struggle. It's casino capitalism, aka finance turbo-neoliberalism, as practiced by a liquid modernity elite of one per cent, versus the have-a-little-something, have-nots and have-nothing, aka the 99 per cent.There could not be a more graphic demonstration than last week's Greek tragedy takeover of the Cannes debt festival of Slavoj Zizek's thesis that the marriage of capitalism and democracy is over. ....

For the "irresponsible citizenship", the "exercise of political rights is just a ceremony of renouncing political will, and will to govern, to place it in the hands of a new caste of private proprietors of politics, which attribute to themselves the knowledge of sophisticated and impenetrable techniques of ruling and governing".

So the crucial fight is against these "private proprietors of politics" - and their one per cent masters, be it in Cairo or Manhattan, Madrid or Lahore. G20? Forget it; it's more like G7 billion. If we are truly indignados towards a system that must be toppled, we are all responsible."

Nuclear Israel revisited



To have or not to have nuclear weapons is a question of human security and not European privilege.

Joseph Massad
Al-Jazeera

".....The racist policies of the United States as to who should get to possess nuclear weapons and who should not (according to racial criteria of whether they are European or of European stock or not) aside, it must be made clear that the extent to which there is a nuclear race in the Middle East, it is one fostered by Israel’s warmongering and its possession of such weapons of mass destruction. If the Middle East is to be a nuclear-free zone, then the international effort to rid it of such weapons must begin with Israel, which is the only country in the region that possesses these weapons, and not with Iran who may or may not be developing them.

The racism of the Obama administration against Arabs and Muslims clearly knows no limits
, but for the people of the Middle East (Arabs, Turks, and Iranians), Obama’s racist criteria are not terribly persuasive. To have or not to have nuclear weapons is a question of human security, as far as the people of the region are concerned, and not one of European racial privilege. While the US may not fear Israeli nukes, Israel’s neighbouring countries and their civilian populations have for decades been (and continue to be) terrorised by them; and for good reason. Once Obama learns this lesson, the people of the region will reconsider US credibility about its alleged concern about nuclear proliferation."

UAE: Activists Planning Hunger Strike



Five Held Since April, Accused of ‘Publicly Insulting’ Officials

November 11, 2011

"(Abu Dhabi) – Five activists jailed seven months ago for “publicly insulting” United Arab Emirates officials plan to begin a hunger strike on November 13, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. The activists said the hunger strike will continue until authorities release them unconditionally and end all judicial proceedings against them.

In a joint statement on November 11, they detailed violations of their basic rights by judiciary, prosecution, and prison officials, including their prolonged detention on politically motivated charges and a patently unfair trial....."

HRW Video: Homs, Syria - Update

November 10, 2011

"Human Rights Watch's Nadim Houry says Homs, Syria, has emerged as a center of opposition to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. A new report from Human Rights Watch focuses on violations by Syrian security forces, including the deaths of at least 587 civilians, the highest number of casualties for any single governorate in Syria...."

Syria: Crimes Against Humanity in Homs



Arab League Should Suspend Syria

November 11, 2011

"(New York) – The systematic nature of abuses against civilians in Homs by Syrian government forces, including torture and unlawful killings, indicate that crimes against humanity have been committed, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch urged the Arab League, meeting in Cairo on November 12, 2011, to suspend Syria’s membership in the League and to ask the United Nations Security Council to impose an arms embargo and sanctions against individuals responsible for the violations, and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.

The 63-page report, “‘We Live as in War’: Crackdown on Protesters in the Governorate of Homs,” is based on more than 110 interviews with victims and witnesses from Homs, both the city and the surrounding governorate of the same name. The area has emerged as a center of opposition to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The report focuses on violations by Syrian security forces from mid-April to the end of August, during which time security forces killed at least 587 civilians, the highest number of casualties for any single governorate.Security forces have killed at least another 104 people in Homs since November 2, when the Syrian government agreed to the Arab League initiative for a political solution. Arab foreign ministers will meet in an emergency session on November 12 to discuss Syria’s failure to comply with the Arab League initiative.

“Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government’s brutality,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating their agreement has consequences, and that it now supports Security Council action to end the carnage.”

Homs has emerged as the most restive governorate in Syria since anti-government protests erupted in mid-March. Human Rights Watch documented dozens of incidents in which security forces and government-supported militias violently attacked and dispersed overwhelmingly peaceful protests. A woman who participated with her 3-year-old son in a protest in the Homs neighborhood of Bab Dreib on August 15 described how they came under attack....."

Download the full report (PDF, 790.94 KB)

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll



Do you support freezing Syria's membership in the organizations and committees of the Arab League?

With about 600 responding so far, 85% said yes.

An All-American Nightmare: This Is What Defeat Looks Like

Tom Engelhardt ( TomDispatch )

"Bush’s American Dream was a kind of apotheosis of this country’s global power as well as its crowning catastrophe, thanks to a crew of mad visionaries who mistook military might for global strength and acted accordingly. What they and their neocon allies had was the magic formula for turning the slow landing of a declining but still immensely powerful imperial state into a self-inflicted rout, even if who the victors are is less than clear.

Despite our panoply of bases around the world, despite an arsenal of weaponry beyond anything ever seen (and with more on its way), despite a national security budget the size of the Ritz, it’s not too early to start etching something appropriately sepulchral onto the gravestone that will someday stand over the pretensions of the leaders of this country when they thought that they might truly rule the world."

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Video: COURAGE in Palestine

Contributed by Abed

Al-Jazeera Video: Empire - A revolution for all seasons

With Marwan Bishara



"Empire asks what has become of the Arab revolutions after the initial euphoria "

Al-Jazeera Video: Defected Syrian soldiers side with protesters



"The Syrian government has been using its military to crush an uprising that began in March.

However, Al Jazeera has evidence the army itself is split over the tactics being used against civilians.

The defected soldiers say they are now trying to protect peaceful protesters from the government forces and that they are determined to bring down the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports."

Real News Video: Congress for Sale

Tom Ferguson: Congressional committee seats and Chairs appointed based on dollars raised, not seniority


More at The Real News

The Obama Doctrine: Making a Virtue of Necessity


By James Petras

"After nearly 3 years in deep pursuit of the colonial wars initiated by ex-President Bush, the Obama regime has finally recognized the catastrophic domestic and foreign consequences. As a result the “reality principle” has taken hold; the maintenance of the US Empire requires modification of tactics and strategies, to cut political, military and diplomatic losses[1].....

Conclusion: The “Obama Doctrine”

Reactive, improvised policies, with no overarching strategic framework, the so-called “Obama doctrine” shows few signs of reversing the decline of the US Empire. The deterioration of US “forward positions” in the Arab heartland is not linear nor without tactical advances, especially in light of the Obama regimes’ co-optation of several Islamic leaders in Libya, Syria and Tunisia and the recycling of Mubarak era generals in Egypt.....

Ultimately the “Obama doctrine” is doomed to failure as it is incapable of recognizing that the problem of decline is not simply a problem of ‘tactics’ but a basic systemic breakdown of empire building: the cracks and fissures abroad have ignited revolts at home."

Washington Loses on Own-Goal Hat Trick



by Philip Giraldi, November 10, 2011

".....The domination of Washington by a postage stamp–sized country in the Middle East never ceases to astonish. No matter what Tel Aviv does, Washington will always side with Israel. And there should be no question but that blind support of Israel has severely damaged other national interests in the Middle East region and has trashed the international reputation of the United States of America. Now Washington will be crippling itself with a series of self-inflicted wounds before withdrawing into a bunker because it is unable to get its way in terms of how the rest of the world should regard Israel and its policies. It is mind-numbing to contemplate, and every American should be shamed by the spectacle that is taking place, particularly given the issue that is behind most of the sound and fury — statehood and some measure of dignity for a people that has been sorely abused and all but destroyed through Israeli cruelty and American indifference. What does Ambassador Shapiro think when he exits from a session in which he has to first apologize before crawling in front of a puffed-up Israeli government minister? What do Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland really think when they defend the indefensible? Do they care about the damage that they are doing to the United States, its interests, and its people? I fear they do not, but this seemingly endless parade of those in public life prostrating themselves before Israel cannot end until we the people demand that it should be so. May that come soon."

Do the bomb Iran shuffle

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"Hardcore neo-con practitioners of the Full Spectrum Dominance doctrine are hyperventilating at the possibility of a successful attack on Iran reshuffling all the cards in the "arc of instability" from the Middle East to Central Asia. As the warmongers leer at the targets in the pack, Iran is too enticing. All they have to do is convince President Barack Obama he won't be the joker if he fights another war...."

Egypt: Military ‘Virginity Test’ Investigation a Sham


----------------------------Chief Virginity Tester-----------------------------

Impunity Highlights Lack of Independence of Justice System

Human Rights Watch

November 9, 2011

"(New York) – The Egyptian military has not investigated or prosecuted anyone for the sexual assault of seven women by military officers on March 10, 2011, in the military prison in Hikestep under the guise of “virginity tests,” Human Rights Watch said today. More than seven months later, military prosecutors also have failed to investigate adequately the other documented incidents of torture of those women and 13 others and of up to 170 men on March 9 on the grounds of the Egyptian Museum.

Samira Ibrahim, the only one among the seven women who filed a formal sexual assault complaint with the military prosecutor, told Human Rights Watch that she has received threatening anonymous phone calls. During the presidency of Hosni Mubarak, security forces often used such threats to intimidate victims or witnesses in connection with abuse complaints.

“Egypt’s military rulers are trying to cover up one of the most terrible abuses their forces committed this year,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “After the trauma of sexual assault, these women have been denied the protection of the law.”....."

Blasts hit gas pipeline between Egypt, Jordan, Israel

Al-Masry Al-Youm

"Saboteurs blew up the gas pipeline between Egypt, Israel and Jordan on Thursday in Northern Sinai using remote controlled bombs, forcing it to shut down, Egyptian security sources said.

The first blast, the sixth since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and the seventh this year, was near Mazar area, 30 km (18 miles) west of the town of Arish, security sources and witnesses said.

Witnesses saw a second, smaller explosion west of Arish near a pumping station, state news agency MENA reported. The report said it was not clear whether any damage was done. The explosions are the first since pumping resumed on 24 October.

"Primary examination showed that Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were put under the pipeline and were detonated from a distance," a security source told Reuters.

"The attackers used two trucks and extended wires were found at the scene," he added....."

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Enough black Jews !!


Although the cabinet decided a year ago to bring the last of the Falashmura from Ethiopia to Israel at a rate of 200 a month, an interministerial committee with responsibility for the operation has decided to reduce the rate to 110 a month.
There are currently more than 4,500 Falashmura - descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity - who have registered to immigrate to Israel and are waiting in a refugee camp in Ethiopia's Gondar province. According to a report by a parliamentary delegation from Israel that visited the camp in September, conditions for the prospective immigrants are harsh.
Haaretz has learned, however, that the Jewish Agency, which operates the absorption centers in Israel, currently has available space for about 800 immigrants. Several absorption centers are closed completely. The Finance Ministry, for its part, said the committee decision to curtail the immigration was unanimous and that incentives have been provided to help Falashmura currently in absorption centers to find permanent housing and thereby free space in the absorption centers.

Why do the US media believe the worst about Iran?

In their eagerness to recycle flimsy scare stories about Iran, the US media have failed to absorb the lessons of Iraq and WMD

Brian Whitaker

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 November 2011

""One of the oldest tricks in the run-up to a war is to spread terrifying stories of things that the enemy may be about to do. Government officials plant these tales, journalists water them and the public, for the most part, swallow them." I wrote this paragraph in December 2002, some three months before the US launched its invasion of Iraq, but it seems just as applicable today in relation to Iran.....

Of course, these are extremely murky waters and I'm not at all sure who to believe. There is probably a lot of deception taking place on both sides. But what seems to me extraordinary is the reluctance of journalists – especially in the US mainstream – to acknowledge the uncertainties and their willingness to accept what, as far as Iran is concerned, are the most incriminating interpretations."

Palestinians braced for fresh setback in UN statehood bid



European nations set to back US opposition to move, meaning Washington does not have to exercise its security council veto

Chris McGreal in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 November 2011

"The Palestinian attempt to claim a moral victory in its bid for UN security council recognition of a Palestinian state appears on the brink of collapse as European nations look likely to back Washington's opposition to the move.

The security council is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider the Palestinian request in September to be admitted to the UN as a full member state. There is no chance of the request being approved, because the US has said it will veto any move.

But the Palestinians had hoped to claim a moral victory by garnering the support of nine of the 15 security council members they need to receive admission. Washington would then have been placed in the embarrassing position of having to kill the request.

However, diplomatic sources at the UN say the prospect of a vote is diminishing because the Palestinians appear able to muster the backing of only eight countries on the security council....."

المسعى الفلسطيني: الاكتفاء بمكانة دولة مراقبة بدون عضوية

عــ48ـرب

"نقلت الوكالة الفرنسية للأنباء عن مسؤولين فلسطينيين قولهم، اليوم الأربعاء، إنهم "يعترفون بالهزيمة في محاولة الحصول على دعم مجلس الأمن في الحصول على العضوية الكاملة لفلسطين في الأمم المتحدة"، وأنه سيتم الانتقال إلى الخطة التالية (ب).

وبحسب المسؤولين، الذين رفضوا ذكر أسمائهم، فإن السلطة الفلسطينية سوف تطلب رفع مكانة فلسطين في الجمعية العامة بما يتيح لها الوصول إلى منظمات دولية مركزية.

وبحسب الوكالة الفرنسية فإن السلطة الفلسطينية تنوي الاكتفاء برفع مكانة تمثيل منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية من مراقب دائم في الأمم المتحدة إلى "دولة مراقبة غير عضوة"، بشكل مماثل للفاتيكان
.....
في المقابل، نقلت "هآرتس" عن وزير الخارجية الفلسطينية اعترافه يوم أمس بفشل الجهود الفلسطينية في تجنيد غالبية في مجلس الأمن للاعتراف بالدولة الفلسطينية، وأن السلطة لا تنوي الطلب من المجلس إجراء التصويت.

في المقابل، نقل عن رئيس طاقم المفاوضات الفلسطيني صائب عريقات قوله إن المسألة لم تنته بعد، وأن السلطة الفلسطينية تدرس خطواتها، وأنها ستكرر المحاولة مرارا
."

Occupy Wall Street, Not Palestine

"End the Wars, Tax the Rich!"

by PHYLLIS BENNIS

CounterPunch

"....
Amazing Times

The Occupy movement is bringing new energy, new activists, new ideas, new strategies into our movements for peace, justice and equality. One of the chants I heard last week, from folks at Brooklyn for Peace where I was speaking, seemed to capture the moment particularly well:
“How do we end the deficit? End the wars and tax the rich!”
It’s good advice. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get there."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Israel's warning from Russia



"In the midst of rising tension and saber rattling between Tehran and the West; could this be a new phase in the confrontation with Iran? And is the IAEA totally free from external influence?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Al Jazeera talks to a Syrian activist in Hama

Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian MP speaks to Al Jazeera



"At least 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since major protests first broke out across the country in March, according to the latest UN estimates.

The government appears to have ignored an Arab League agreement on Wednesday, to pull troops and soldiers off the streets.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Anas Shami, a Syrian Member of Parliament, says the troops remained in cities to keep the peace[the peace of the grave??]."

Real News Video: The flotilla and the siege of Gaza

Israeli blockade continues to strangle Gaza as Israeli Navy intercepts latest flotilla


More at The Real News

Using Fake Intelligence to Justify War on Iran



by Michel Chossudovsky



"Washington is in the process of concocting a new string of lies pertaining to Iran's nuclear program with a view to justifying the implementation of punitive bombings. Threats directed against Iran have been ongoing for the last eight years. Fake intelligence has been used to justify these threats. There are indications, however, that this time the Western military alliance is not "crying wolf". In the wake of the war on Libya, the implementation of an air campaign against Iran is currently on the drawingboard of the Pentagon. The operation, were it to be carried out, would involve the active participation of Britain and Israel. The criminal process of fabricating lies to justify a military agenda must be understood. Without the lie, the US-NATO Israel military alliance has no leg to stand on. Iran does not constitute a threat to Global Security or to the security of Israel. The antiwar movement must forcefully address the role of these lies and fabrications. Without the Lie, the military agenda has no legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. The following text on the role of fake intelligence was written in November 2010. For the complete text click below:

The Mysterious "Laptop Documents". Using Fake Intelligence to Justify a Pre-emptive Nuclear War on Iran"

Freedom Waves will Reach Gaza

By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle

".....Writing in the Huffington Post, Just Foreign Policy Director Robert Naiman claimed, “In practice, the issue of the Gaza blockade has been entangled with the issue of the captivity of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.” He cited a Washington Post article stating: “The blockade was widely seen as a punitive measure driven in large part by the outrage that Shalit's abduction in 2006 generated in Israel” (October 26).

Now that Shalit is free, Israel is clearly uninterested in ending its 'collective punishment' of Gaza. The latest act of piracy is the latest indication that the blockade will remain in place, under an array of pretexts and justifications.

Thanks to Tahrir and MV Saoirse, we know that the siege as a response to Shalit's capture was a ruse, and that Israel has no immediate plans to end the perpetual captivity of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

But we also know with equal certainty that the Freedom Waves will continue. “Despite this Israeli aggression, we will keep coming, wave after wave, by air, sea, and land, to challenge Israel's illegal policies towards Gaza and all of Palestine,” said Huwaida Arraf, a spokeswoman for the activists. “Our movement will not stop or be stopped until Palestine is free.”"

Iran: Five Minutes to Zero Hour



Tehran in the crosshairs

by , November 09, 2011

"If you wade through the International Atomic Energy Agency’s much-awaited report [.pdf] on Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons technology – a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone – what you’ll find is a studious ambiguity. “May,” “might,” and “could” are words that modify practically every assertion of Iranian perfidy.....

What jumps out at the careful reader of the IAEA report is that there is nothing concrete involved in this nefarious plot: only hearsay descriptions of blueprints and computer models, including various publicly available scientific studies authored by Iranian scientists. According to Khan, what was transferred to the Iranians was know-how: theoretical knowledge and contacts with suppliers. Yet throughout the IAEA report, although there are plenty of instances where Iran is alleged to have sought this or that dual use component, we are never told if they actually succeeded in procuring the item. While the report attributes its information to “Member States,” why will I not be surprised if this “intelligence” comes from the same folks who brought us the Niger uranium forgeries?

Although there is no smoking gun, the injection of the A.Q. Khan network into the propaganda mix at this level is a relatively new development, one that links the latest Enemy of the Moment (Pakistan) with longtime-favorite Iran. Why not kill two birds with one stone? .....

In the context of the long propaganda war the neocons have been faithfully waging over the past decade or so, we’re five minutes to zero hour.

The key to understanding the fraud at the heart of the IAEA report is the first paragraph of the summary:

“While the Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at the nuclear facilities and LOFs declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement, as Iran is not providing the necessary cooperation, including by not implementing its Additional Protocol, the Agency is unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

Translation: the Iranians have no suitably enriched fissile material – but because they won’t surrender their sovereignty and allow us to occupy their nuclear facilities at will, there is no “credible assurance” of this. Iran is guilty, and must prove its innocence: that’s what the justice of the West means in the context of its relations with Iran."

A bad case of nuclear Iranophobia

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

".....
Dodgy intel

The IAEA insists is relying on "credible" intelligence - over 1,000 pages of documentation - from more than 10 countries, and has drawn on eight years of "evidence".

Yet the IAEA has no independent means to confirm the enormous mass of information - and disinformation - it receives from mostly Western powers. Mohammad ElBaradei - who was the predecessor of the Japanese Yukya Amano as the head of the IAEA - said so, explicitly, many times. And he always disputed what passes for "Iran intelligence" - knowing it was politicized to the extreme, and trespassed by waves of rumor and speculation.

No wonder ultra-conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan had reason to ask whether that was a IAEA report or an American diktat to the meek, easily pressured Amano....

Predictably, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel will keep barking to deafening levels, while trying by all ruses necessary to wag the (American) dog.

The same Netanyahu that neither US President Barack Obama nor French President Nicolas Sarkozy can stand anymore has a single-minded strategy; to draw Washington and a few minions, from the Brits to the House of Saud - and this has nothing to do with "international community" - to exercise maximum pressure on Tehran. Otherwise, Israel will attack.....

So what's left is the possibility of even more sanctions. Four rounds of harsh UN Security Council sanctions already target Iran's imports and banking and finance. But that's the end of the line..... "

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Iran's nuclear programme: the IAEA report (pdf)




Read the November 2011 IAEA report warning that Iran appears to be on a structured path to building a nuclear weapon

(25 pages)

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 November 2011

Israel Deports Democracy Now! Correspondent Jihan Hafiz; Most Gaza Flotilla Activists Still Detained

Democracy Now!

A MUST WATCH SEGMENT



"The Israeli government continues to detain a number of passengers seized in international waters Friday while trying to challenge the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza. The passengers were on two boats — one from Canada and the other from Ireland — as part of the “Freedom Waves to Gaza” flotilla — which aimed to port in Gaza. According to flotilla organizers, some 20 activists are believed to remain in custody after refusing to sign statements asserting they had entered Israel illegally. Flotilla organizers have accused the Israeli military of abusing the activists, with allegations of physical assault and the use of tasers. Democracy Now! correspondent Jihan Hafiz was among those detained in the Israeli interception of the Gaza-bound ships despite her press credentials. While jailed, Hafiz says an Israeli official told her, “the Israeli government does not see my reporting, or Democracy Now!’s, as reporting, as journalism. It’s to them activism. They said that this form of journalism is actually activism.” Hafiz had been filing daily reports for Democracy Now! from the Canadian ship named “Tahrir.” She spent three nights behind bars, where she was strip-searched and denied phone calls to relatives for 48 hours. She was finally deported Monday night and arrived in New York City just hours ago. Israel has not returned her $20,000 worth of equipment or footage. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Hafiz joins us in studio to describe what took place on Friday and her detention. “All of the [Israeli] commandos on all of these boats were heavily armed. They did not look like they were taking two much smaller boats, filled with unarmed people, with activists and civilians. They looked like they were taking on an army of a foreign country,” says Hafiz, noting the soldiers pointed their guns at the heads of those on board....."

There’s Nothing Idealistic About the One-State Solution

Response to Michael Neumann

By Jonathan Cook
CounterPunch

"This is at least the third time in the past four years that philosophy professor Michael Neumann has used these pages to lambast the supporters of a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. On each occasion he has offered a little more insight into why he so vehemently objects to what he terms the “delusions” of those who oppose – or, at least, gave up on – the two-state solution.
In his most recent essay, Neumann suggests that his previous reluctance to be more forthright was motivated by “politeness”. Well, I for one wish the professor had been franker from the outset. It might have saved us a lot of time and effort.
Even though I have identified myself as a supporter of the one-state solution, I find much to agree with in what Neumann writes on this occasion. Like him, I do not believe that a particular solution, or resolution, will occur simply because the Palestinians or their wellwishers make a good moral case for it. Success for the Palestinians will come when a wide array of regional developments force Israel to conclude that its current behaviour is untenable.....

Ordinary Palestinians have no power, as Neumann notes, to force Israel to establish a state for them. But they do have the power to demand from Israel a say in their future, and press for it through civil disobedience, campaigns for voting rights, and the establishment of an anti-apartheid movement. Such a struggle will take place within – and implicitly accept – the one-state reality already created by Israel. If Palestinians march for the vote, it will be for a vote in Knesset elections.

None of this will win them either a state or the vote, of course. But the repression needed from Israel to contain these forces will serve to rapidly erode whatever international sympathy remains and to further galvanise the regional forces lining up against Israel into action.

In short, however one assesses it, the promotion of a one-state solution can serve only to hasten the demise of the Israeli elites who oppress the Palestinians. So why waste so much breath opposing it?"

Al-Jazeera Video: Activists deface Syrian official websites



"Despite an apparent agreement negotiated by the Arab League to bring an end to the Syrian government's violent crackdown on protests, fighting still continues in some of the country's major cities.

At least 110 people have died in Homs, where armed opposition elements centred in the Bab Amr area have fought back against security forces, while at least four people were injured in Hama on Tuesday.

One well-known Syrian celebrity, activist Fadwa Suleiman, also lent her voice to the demonstrators, saying children were being killed in the crackdown. The United Nations says 3,500 people have died since protests began in March.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reports."

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll



Do you believe that the Syrian regime's acceptance of the Arab initiative is a ploy to gain time?

With about 800 responding, 89% said yes.

Video: Mass walkout at Wayne State leaves "IDF" spokesman lecturing to empty room

By Ali Abunimah




"Students at Wayne State University in Detroit staged a silent protest and mass walk-out that left Israel Army reserve spokesman and Jerusalem Post correspondent Gil Hoffman lecturing to a virtually empty auditorium on November 1.
A video of the event just posted on YouTube shows Hoffman lecturing to hundreds of students. Many of them have their mouths symbolically covered in red tape, or have signs pinned to them protesting Israeli war crimes and calling to hold Israel accountable.
At a certain point, the students walk out of the large auditorium en masse leaving only a handful of people listening to the speaker.
Hillel, the national pro-Israel advocacy organization which sponsored Hoffman’s talk, billed him as “Chief Political Correspondent and Analyst for the Jerusalem Post.”
But Hoffman’s personal website identifies him as “A reserve soldier in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.” Perhaps only in Israel can someone be taken seriously as an objective journalist reporting on military and political affairs while at the same time acting as an official mouthpiece for the army."

Bracing for the Iran Nuclear Report: Will 'Military Action' Rhetoric Develop its Own Momentum?



By Tony Karon

"If the proverbial "drumbeat" for war with Iran has grown more insistent in recent weeks, it's about to turn into something akin to the opening bars of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". That's because the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected, in a report on Iran's nuclear program due for release early this week, to suggest that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program may include a "possible military dimension", giving Tehran the means -- possibly with the help of foreign scientists -- to relatively quickly build nuclear weapons should it choose to do so.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to publish some evidence -- long ago shared among key international players -- suggesting that Iran may have in recent years conducted theoretical work on warhead design, and experiments on high-explosive triggering systems that don't appear to have any purpose outside of nuclear weapons development.......

It has, of course, become par for the course over the past five years for Israel and its allies to imply that war is imminent whenever the international community's schedule turns to Iran. With Obama Administration officials, speaking anonymously, hyping the IAEA report as a "gotcha" moment that will leave little doubt of Iran's intentions, the saber-rattling fits a familiar pattern of seeking to scare reluctant international players into adopting tougher sanctions on Iran as the lesser evil necessary if only to restrain Israel from launching a war that could set the Middle East ablaze......"

بيروت وكلام الحرية!



بيروت وكلام الحرية!
الياس خوري

"لم تكن الكلمات فارغة من معانيها مثلما هي اليوم. بيروت، وسط ربيع العرب الدموي، تتهاوى كمدينة وكمشروع ثقافي. كلمة حرية التي كانت محور لقاءات معرض الكتاب الفرنكوفوني السنوي في 'البيال'، جاءت ناشفة وبلا معنى.
شيء يثير السخرية والقرف في آن معاً. على بعد امتار قليلة من قاعة 'البيال'، قامت بلدية ضاحية برج حمود بما يشبه التطهير العرقي للعمال الأكراد المقيمين فيها. بؤس العمالة الأجنبية امتزج بالعنصرية، كي نشهد وصول الوقاحة الى ذروتها.
وفي شوارع المدينة وازقتها، تجري عمليات خطف لمواطنين سوريين، وتقوم اجهزة حزبية بالطلب من السوريين تعبئة استمارات، كي يكونوا تحت القبضة الأمنية. واخيرا لا آخرا وصلت الأمور الى حد اعتقال معارضين سوريين في مطار بيروت.
وعلى بعد كيلومترات قليلة تدور المجزرة الأكثر وحشية في تاريخ سورية. ومع ذلك تصمت المدينة، وتتدثّر بالخوف. والخوف في الحقيقة ليس من شبيحة النظام السوري او بعض الأحزاب الفاشية، فهؤلاء لا يخيفون احدا. بيروت تخاف من نفسها، لذا تتقوقع وتستسلم لزعماء الطوائف اللبنانية الذين يشبهون الرسوم الكاريكاتورية، بعضهم يغلّف حقده الدفين وعنصريته ضد الشعب السوري بمعزوفة خوف الأقليات، وبعضهم الآخر ينتظر سقوط النظام السوري كي يصفي حساباته الطائفية الداخلية. لا احد يرى او هو على استعداد لأن يرى حقيقة الانتفاضة السورية بوصفها ثورة ضد كل الممارسات الاستبدادية، ودعوة الى الانعتاق، لذا لا تستطيع ان تكون جزءا من برنامج طائفي عنصري تافه.
نجح النظام الطائفي اللبناني في ان يبرهن انه نظام استبدادي وان استبداد الطوائف هو اكثر انواع الاستبداد قدرة على تجريد الانسان من روحه وتحويله الى كائن عنصري.
السلطة اللبنانية تعلن انحيازها الكامل الى جانب الديكتاتور ضد الشعب. امن اللاجئين السوريين في لبنان رهينة 'اصدقاء' سورية، حيث يقود حزب الله الأمن، تاركاً لحليفه الجنرال عون تقديم التغطية الايديولوجية والسياسية لذلك.
اما على المستوى الاعلامي، فان الثورة السورية اعلنت موت الاعلام اللبناني. ففي ظل انحياز صحيفتين كبريين للنظام السوري، وضمورالصحيفة الثالثة التي دخلت ما يشبه الموت السريري المهني، نستطيع القول ان هناك ازمة حقيقية في الاعلام اللبناني المكتوب، وان الصحافة اللبنانية تواجه تراجعا لم تشهده في تاريخها.
اما محطات التلفزيون اللبنانية فهي خارج الصورة بشكل غرائبي. بعضها لا يملّ من ترداد معزوفات النظام السوري، فيما يعاني بعضها الآخر تخشباً يرده البعض الى ازمة سيولة مالية، لكنه يعبّر في الواقع عن ازمة سيولة فكرية وابداعية ضربت القطاع الاعلامي برمته.
يستطيع الاعلام التلفزيوني اللبناني ان يتذرع بعجزه المادي عن منافسة الاعلام الفضائي الخليجي، وهو محق في ذلك، لكنه نسي انه يملك رأسمالاً رمزياً كبيراً هو الحرية، قام بالتخلي عنه طوعا، عندما صارت القنوات اللبنانية اداة سياسية في ايدي الطوائف وجنرالاتها، وبذا فقدت حريتها، وتحولت الى ابواق دعائية.
اما الثقافة اللبنانية فهي شبه غائبة، فباستثناء تجمع كبير يتيم دعا اليه بعض المثقفين وبيانات متفرقة صدرت هنا وهناك، ، فان مساهمات المثقفين اللبنانيين تنحصر في كتابة مقالات صحافية، والتعبير من خلال وسائل الاتصال الاجتماعية.
وباستثناء تجمعين ثقافيين- فنيين نظما في مسرح 'دوّار الشمس'، الذي يديره روجيه عسّاف، فان اصوات الفنانين والمثقفين اللبنانيين تكاد لا تُسمع. والطريف ان تقنيات الفن المفهومي والعرض (البرفورمانس)، التي كانت سمة خروج الفنانين الللبنانيين الشباب الى عوالم ما بعد الحداثة، تتحول اليوم الى ادوات رئيسية يستخدمها شابات وشبان الثورة السورية، بينما يغيب الفنانون اللبنانيون الما بعد حداثيين لاهثين خلف تجاربهم العالمية!
صورة انهيار بيروت الثقافي والاخلاقي مروّعة وتثير الخوف والقلق، لأنها تهدد بطي صفحة كبرى في تاريخ الثقافة اللبنانية بدأت فصولها مع النهضويين الكبار وامتدت على مساحة المناخ الثقافي اللبناني الذي استقبل الثقافة العربية الهاربة من القمع وتفاعل معها، وصولا الى 'شقاء العرب'، كما كتبه الشهيد سمير قصير.
من الصعب القبول بهذا الخمول الثقافي والسياسي والأخلاقي الذي لا اجد له تفسيراً سوى في مناخات الخيبة التي اعقبت فشل انتفاضة الاستقلال التي استولى عليها الطائفيون، معلنين عجز البنى الطائفية عن بناء افق يوحد الاستقلال بمقاومة الاحتلال الاسرائيلي، ما يعني بقاء الوطن مؤجلا لأن الطائفية في جوهرها نزعة عنصرية، وبنية لا وطن لها سوى مصالحها الضيقة.
الغريب ان الثورات العربية التي تعلن ولادة وطنيات مختلفة بأفق عربي، تعلن في الوقت عينه افول الوطنية اللبنانية وانحلالها الأخلاقي، وتحولها الى اطر للكراهية العنصرية، تبرر الدفاع عن الاستبداد الأسدي بخواف الأقليات وضرورة تحالفها مع الطغاة!
عقلية زمن المتصرفية تجتاح لبنان، وتحيله الى المكان الأكثر خمولا في المشرق العربي اليوم، وهذه نهاية لا تليق بأحفاد احمد فارس الشدياق، ولا علاقة لها بالصورة التي رسمتها بيروت لنفسها، حين كانت عاصمة الحرية والمقاومة.
المأسوي ان اغلبية الناس لا يشعرون بالمأساة. صارت المدينة مجرد مكان لفولكلور ثقافي يبدأ من عجائب الدنيا السبع وينتهي في ازقة الحمرا حيث يعُتدى بالضرب على كل من تسوّل له نفسه اطلاق هتاف مؤيد للثورة السورية، ويخطف سوريون على مرأى من رجال الأمن او بواسطة الأمن اللبناني المولج بحماية سفير النظام السوري، ويرتفع الصراخ العنصري، الذي يحظى ببركة بعض المراجع الدينية، ويعطينا 'سيد المقاومة' دروساً في ممانعة لا تجد لها حليفا سوى في مافيات النهب والقتل في سورية.
انه البؤس.
والبؤس لا يتحول الى حقيقة الا اذا رضي البائسون ببؤسهم، وتأقلموا معه وحولوه الى نمط حياة.
البؤس ليس قدرا ايها الرفاق.
هنا يقع دور المثقفين والشباب، فعليهم تقع مسؤولية انقاذ بيروت من نفسها ومن انتحارها.
وهذه مسؤولية نبيلة تنتظر من يتصدّى لها قبل فوات الاوان.
"

Why is no one protecting Saudi Arabia's child brides?



The support of the Saudi monarchy and its apologists in the west means the barbaric practice of child marriage is unchallenged

Ali al-Ahmed
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 November 2011

"Atgaa, 10, and her sister Reemya, 8, are about to be married to men in their 60s. Atgaa will be her husband's fourth wife. Their wedding celebrations are scheduled for this week and will take place in the town of Fayaadah Abban in Qasim, Saudi Arabia.
The girls are getting married because their financially struggling father needs the money that their dowries will provide: young girls of this age can fetch as much as $40,000 each.
Many readers might be shocked at this news. How can it be legal? The answer is that Saudi Arabia has no minimum age for marriage, and it is perfectly legal to marry even an hour-old child.....

So far, no UN body, such as Unicef or the human rights council, has issued a single statement condemning child marriages in Saudi Arabia. In fact, not one country has made a statement in the human rights council on this issue, and not a single western government has asked the Saudi monarchy to stop the practice. The ugly tradition of child marriage thus continues with the help of the monarchy and its apologists in the west.

If any governments, especially in the west, are seriously concerned with this barbaric and medieval practice, they should ban the heads of Saudi justice, interior and health ministries from entering their countries. If this action were taken against government leaders facilitating crimes against children we would soon see a resolution of this issue.

Saudi Arabia must be pressured to set a minimum age for marriage and save children like Atgaa and Reemya."

Monday, November 7, 2011

Sarkozy calls Netanyahu a liar


Microphones accidently left on after G20 meeting pick up private conversation between US, French presidents. Sarkozy admits he 'can't stand' Israeli premier. Obama: You're fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US PresidentBarack Obama that he could not "stand" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier "is a liar."

Islamists on Probation

The Ghosts of the "Islamic Menace"

By Ramzy Baroud
CounterPunch

"Following Tunisia’s first fair and free elections on 27 October, the Western media responded with a characteristic sense of fear and alarm. For many, it seemed that the ghost of the Islamic menace was back to haunt Western Values throughout the Arab world. The narrative employed by media outlets was no more than cleverly disguised Islamophobia, masquerading as genuine concern for democracy and the welfare of women and minority groups.

The victory of the Al-Nahda (Renaissance) Party was all but predictable. Official results showed that the party won more than 41 per cent of the vote, providing it with 90 seats in the 217-member new Constituent Assembly, or parliament......

The Middle East “really worries me”, said Congressman Dan Burton. He asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton what the Obama administration “plans to do make sure that we don’t have a radical government taking over those places”.

“I think a lot of the leaders are saying the right things and some are saying things that do give pause to us,” she said. “We’re going to do all that we can within our power to basically try to influence outcomes.”

Is any further comment necessary?"

Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Flotilla; Dozens Detained Including Democracy Now! Correspondent

Democracy Now!



"Israeli forces intercepted two Gaza-bound boats in international waters on Friday to prevent the boats from breaking the naval blockade of Gaza. The Canadian and Irish boats made up the "Freedom Waves to Gaza" flotilla. Israel detained the 27 activists on board, as well as all of the journalists — including Democracy Now! correspondent Jihan Hafiz. According to flotilla organizers, 21 people remain in Israeli custody, including Hafiz. The flotilla marked the latest failed attempt by international activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. We speak to journalist Lina Attalah, who was on the Canadian boat named "Tahrir" in the flotilla and was deported to Egypt yesterday. She is the managing editor of Al-Masry Al-Youm, English edition, an independent news website. The Israeli navy "cornered our boats from all sides... We were all equally put at gunpoint. Even before they boarded our boat, everyone was put at gunpoint from Israeli ships," Attalah says. "Although we were clearly showing that we are journalists, Jihan Hafiz, for example, who is a Democracy Now! journalist, had her press card out and clear, but she was one of the first people asked to kneel on her knees and to raise her hands." Attalah said some passengers were tasered...."

Egypt’s Military Widens Crackdown As Prominent Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah Remains Imprisoned

Democracy Now!



"
The mother of prominent Egyptian political activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah began a hunger strike yesterday protesting her son’s detention by the country’s military council. Abdel Fattah was arrested last week after being accused of instigating clashes between military forces and Coptic Christians nearly a month ago at the state television building, Maspeero. At least 28 people were killed in the incident. As calls among activists grow for limiting U.S. military assistance to Egypt, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that the United States is not in favour of imposing any conditions on American aid. Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat is in Cairo and filed this report. Special thanks to Jacquie Soohen of Big Noise Films and Mosireen for foot...."

حنين زعبي تنهي تقديم شهادتها أمام محكمة راسل: "نحن لسنا أمام سياسة عنصرية، وإنما أمام نظام عنصريّ"



"النائبة زعبي تنهي تقديم شهادتها أمام "محكمة راسل" في جنوب أفريقيا:

- "نحن لسنا أمام سياسة عنصرية، بل نحن أمام نظام عنصري".

- "في الوقت الذي يقوم العالم فيه في الكشف عن إسرائيل كدولة عنصرية، تقوم فيها إسرائيل بمطالبة العالم الإعتراف بها كدولة يهودية".
- "إسرائيل تطالب العالم بالاعتراف بحقها في أن تكون عنصرية".
- هيئة القضاة والطاقم القانوني للمحكمة أعلن عن دعمه للنائبة زعبي.

- تقرير خاص بعرب 48 -

....
إسرائيل لم تكتف بسرقة الأرض كما الأبرتهايد، إنما تسرق وطننا أيضا عبر التهويد

وأكملت زعبي قائلة: "الأبرتهايد سرق الأرض من السود، أما إسرائيل فتحاول سرقة الوطن منا، هي تحاول مصادرة علاقتنا مع الوطن، فتمحو الأسماء العربية من فضاء الوطن، وتعبرن الشوارع والمفارق، وتمحو أي إشارة للقرى والمدن العربية، وتهود المكان برمته."

وأضافت: "يريدون أن يسرقوا منا وطنا وليس فقط أرضا"، وتابعت "أكثر من هذا، في الكنيست وفي بعض قرارات المحكمة، يبررون مصادرة الأرض بأننا غزاة للأرض، وليس أصحابها الأصليين. كما أن جنوب أفريقيا لم تقم بهندسة هويات، ولم تحاول تشكيل أو محو هوية السكان الأفارقة، السود أو الملونين، ولم تنكر عليهم هويتهم، ولم تحاول خلق هوية جديدة مشوهة، وتختلف طبيعة الصراع على مستوى الهويات التي تتقاطع بشكل مركب في أفريقيا، أما السياسات الاسرائيلية، فقد قامت بشكل عنيف وهمجي بتشكيل هوية <صهيونية>، وفي الوقت نفسه تحارب الهوية الفلسطينية، وتمنع تدريس كل ما يتعلق بها، وتحاول تشويهها، وتشكيل ما يعرف بـ <عرب-إسرائيل>".

سياسات الولاء والهوية

وأوضحت النائبة زعبي أن سياسات الولاء هذه "تطورت" بدرجات، وتم تقنينها بما أصبح يعرف بقوانين الولاء، إذ أن إسرائيل هي الدولة الوحيدة في العالم التي تطالب مواطنيها بالولاء لأيديولوجية الدولة، وليس فقط احترام قوانينها، وتابعت: "إسرائيل تريد أن تكون عنصرية تجاهي، وتطالبني بأن أقتنع بأن هذا جزء من قناعاتي الخاصة أيضا!"
....."

Finding Freedom in Handcuffs




Posted on Nov 7, 2011

"Editor’s note: Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges, an activist, an author and a member of a reporting team that won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize, wrote this article after he was released from custody following his arrest last Thursday. He and about 15 other participants in the Occupy Wall Street movement were detained as they protested outside the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs in lower Manhattan.

Faces appeared to me moments before the New York City police arrested us Thursday in front of Goldman Sachs. They were not the faces of the smug Goldman Sachs employees, who peered at us through the revolving glass doors and lobby windows, a pathetic collection of middle-aged fraternity and sorority members. They were not the faces of the blue-uniformed police with their dangling cords of white and black plastic handcuffs, or the thuggish Goldman Sachs security personnel, whose buzz cuts and dead eyes reminded me of the East German secret police, the Stasi. They were not the faces of the demonstrators around me, the ones with massive student debts and no jobs, the ones whose broken dreams weigh them down like a cross, the ones whose anger and betrayal triggered the street demonstrations and occupations for justice. They were not the faces of the onlookers—the construction workers, who seemed cheered by the march on Goldman Sachs, or the suited businessmen who did not. They were faraway faces. They were the faces of children dying. They were tiny, confused, bewildered faces I had seen in the southern Sudan, Gaza and the slums of Brazzaville, Nairobi, Cairo and Delhi and the wars I covered. They were faces with large, glassy eyes, above bloated bellies. They were the small faces of children convulsed by the ravages of starvation and disease.
I carry these faces. They do not leave me. I look at my own children and cannot forget them, these other children who never had a chance. War brings with it a host of horrors, including famine, but the worst is always the human detritus that war and famine leave behind, the small, frail bodies whose tangled limbs and vacant eyes condemn us all. The wealthy and the powerful, the ones behind the glass at Goldman Sachs, laughed and snapped pictures of us as if we were a brief and odd lunchtime diversion from commodities trading, from hoarding and profit, from this collective sickness of money worship, as if we were creatures in a cage, which in fact we soon were...."

Mr Amano goes to Washington



By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Asia Times


"The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, is in Washington ahead of a new report on Iran's nuclear program that is being released into the less-than-rarefied air of disinformation. Not since 2002-2003, when United States officials willingly lied to the world community about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, has there been such a deafening noise surrounding an IAEA country report....

According to a well-placed source in Washington, who didn't want to be identified, Israel's real intention is not war, but rather to accelerate the Iran sanctions, particularly by the US Congress, which is mulling energy sanctions and the like. If so, Israel is doing a good job, even though its bluff may backfire next time around, especially with the Iranians having warned Israel of very dire consequences if it were to attack Iran.

To be successful, an Israeli strike at Iran has to target dozens of sites, some in or around populated areas, which simply means a strong likelihood of high civilian casualties. That would trigger a tsunami of Iranian popular anger that would in turn impel the political leaders to try to respond as hard as possible at Israeli and US interests. It is a sure bet that the conflict would spread to the Persian Gulf and adversely affect the flow of oil from the region....."

War and the Word Cloud

Why the usual war propaganda won’t save the American empire

by , November 07, 2011

"An alleged “nuclear weapons” site in Syria has been revealed to be a textile factory – and another of the War Party’s tall tales is debunked. To those of a skeptical mindset – i.e., nearly anyone outside of Washington – this throws fresh doubt on the claim that the Israeli raid on a supposed Syrian nuclear weapons facility at Deir ez Zour, in 2007, destroyed anything more dangerous than an empty warehouse.
The War Party doesn’t give up quite so easily, however: now we are being told that the International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, has a new report coming out with satellite photos of a supposed nuclear facility in Iran – just as in the case of the two Syrian sites.
Get out your bullshit detector, press the “on” button, and watch it light up like a fourth of July fireworks display......

This is not something to be celebrated. Empires can fall gracefully, with minimum damage to the imperial power – but only if they are dismantled quite deliberately, rather than simply lost. Because losing implies a fight to retain it, a battle that slowly (or rapidly) drains the very lifeblood out of us. The political class has no intentions of relinquishing its vaunted role as the World’s Sole Superpower, and so what we are in for is a ruinous and protracted implosion that pulverizes the social order and flattens longstanding political institutions. What’s left is a void, an enormous vacuum waiting to be filled – but with what?........"

Reports: Israel, Saudis United in Desire to See Attack on Iran



Saudis, GCC Members Seen as 'Cornerstone' for US Moves Against Iran


by Jason Ditz, November 06, 2011


"Though Israel’s traditional rhetoric suggests any Arab nation is automatically at odds with their position, media reports tonight are marveling at the growing unity between Israel and the Saudi leader GCC nations in their desires to see Iran attacked.

Both Israel and the Saudis are long time enemies of the Iranian government, and even if they both came by this in very different ways it should come as no surprise that the Sunni-dominated regimes of the Gulf nations are fine with Israel attacking a major Shi’ite nation.

Of course the Israeli preference remains seeing the US starting the war, but increasingly Israel’s current far-right government is mulling attacking unilaterally. Either way, Gulf officials seem to hope starting a war with Iran will quiet their respective Shi’ite populaces, which they are convinced are being roused to protest primarily by Iran...."

Over 200 Killed Since Syria Agreed to Stop Crackdown

Arab League to hold emergency meeting

by Jason Ditz, November 06, 2011

"Early last week the Syrian government agreed to an Arab League plan that would have them removing all troops and tanks from cities and releasing thousands of political prisoners detained for participating in pro-democracy rallies.

Today, the Arab League is calling an “emergency meeting” on Syria, as the crackdown in the nation has continued and even escalated, with over 200 slain just since the regime agreed to the Arab League’s plan.

The violence continued again today, as protesters took to the streets along with many others to celebrate the festival Eid al-Adha, and troops killed at least 16 of the celebrants. After Eid prayers many of the worshipers launched new protests against Assad....."

Syria's rebuff threatens the Arab League with relegation



The Assad regime's disdain for the Arab League's peace initiative is another blow to the organisation's credibility

Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 November 2011

"The Syrian regime's refusal even to pretend to implement last week's peace "road map" has provoked a portentous response from the deal's diplomatically challenged progenitors, the Arab League. "The failure of the Arab solution will have disastrous consequences in Syria and the region," the 22-nation organisation's secretary general, Nabil el-Araby, warned. What Araby did not say is that the apparent collapse of the initiative, only days after its launch in Cairo last week, is a potential catastrophe for the league, which was forced to call an emergency meeting after further deaths on Sunday.....

The Arab League faces a momentous, possibly make-or-break decision. To avoid a big split involving the likes of Iraq, it either goes on pretending a peace process is in place and the regime is genuinely engaged – at the risk of destroying what little credibility it has left. Or it takes the courageous step of expelling Syria, one of the league's six founding members in 1945, imposing additional, punitive sanctions – and in effect sending a message to the west that Arabs cannot manage Arab problems.

There is a third option, of course: collective Arab military intervention to bring Assad to book. Sadly, this sort of Lawrence of Arabia fantasy is out of fashion."

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Al-Jazeera Video: Rula Amin reports on ongoing Syrian violence

Real News Video: Denying Civil Rights is a Crime

Paul Jay on austerity, mass protests and mass arrests (TRNN Replay)


More at The Real News

The globalisation of protest



Protesters around the world say they are part of a generation that played by the rules but has no hope for the future.

Joseph E Stiglitz
Al-Jazeera

"The protest movement that began in Tunisia in January, subsequently spreading to Egypt and then to Spain, has now become global - with the protests engulfing Wall Street and cities across America. Globalisation and modern technology now enables social movements to transcend borders as rapidly as ideas can.

And social protest has found fertile ground everywhere: A sense that the "system" has failed, and the conviction that even in a democracy, the electoral process will not set things right - at least not without strong pressure from the street.

In May, I went to the site of the Tunisian protests; in July, I talked to Spain's indignados; from there, I went to meet the young Egyptian revolutionaries in Cairo's Tahrir Square; and, a few weeks ago, I talked with Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York. There is a common theme, expressed by the OWS movement in a simple phrase: "We are the 99%.".....

On one level, today's protesters are asking for little: A chance to use their skills, the right to decent work at decent pay, a fairer economy and society. Their hope is evolutionary, not revolutionary. But, on another level, they are asking for a great deal: A democracy where people, not dollars, matter, and a market economy that delivers on what it is supposed to do.

The two are related: As we have seen, unfettered markets lead to economic and political crises. Markets work the way they should only when they operate within a framework of appropriate government regulations; and that framework can be erected only in a democracy that reflects the general interest - not the interests of the 1%. The best government that money can buy is no longer good enough."

Empire: A revolution for all seasons

Empire asks what has become of the Arab revolutions after the initial euphoria has passed.

"The winds of change have swept the Arab world, with uneven results. Progress in places like Tunisia and Egypt, repression in Syria, bloody stalemate in Yemen, and unfinished business in Libya: the Arab Spring is at a crucial stage.

The impressive achievements since January have also highlighted new challenges. Islamist movements, long banned during decades of repression, are out in the open and face new types of political challenges and responsibilities. Will political changes in the region pass the test of national unity in the likes of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya?

Whilst the Syrian regime attempts to crush the growing opposition, killing thousands from Homs to Dar'a, the Syrian people continue their marches calling for change and democracy. As the Arab League enters the fray and Syria asks for international protection, where is the country heading? Militarisation of the revolution and growing sectarianism is threatening the unity of the country.

Meanwhile, as Libya emerges from NATO's aerial bombardment and Muammar Gaddafi's death, much work has to be done to avoid anarchy and civil war.

As the contest between democracy and dictatorships continues apace, what has become of the Arab revolutions after the initial euphoria?"

GUESTS ON THIS MONTH'S SHOW

Nir Rosen, author, Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World
Seumas Milne, associate editor, The Guardian
Professor Nadje Al-Ali, Gender Studies, SOAS
Dr Radwan Ziadeh, Human Rights Center, Harvard University.