(Click on cartoon to enlarge)
By Dave Brown, The Independent
Friday, September 26, 2008
A target too far
Editorial
The Guardian, Friday September 26 2008
"The report in today's Guardian that an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear sites was vetoed by George Bush in a meeting with Ehud Olmert adds an important piece of information to the jigsaw of our knowledge about how close we have come to igniting a fresh firestorm in the Middle East.....
For once Mr Bush took the right advice. The two factors that weighed with him were concern over Iranian retaliation and anxiety that Israel would not succeed in disabling Iran's nuclear programme in a single assault. The most important argument against a military strike was not mentioned, namely that it would turn the probability that Iran would acquire the bomb into a certainty. But the two factors mentioned during the Bush-Olmert meeting are important enough....."
The Guardian, Friday September 26 2008
"The report in today's Guardian that an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear sites was vetoed by George Bush in a meeting with Ehud Olmert adds an important piece of information to the jigsaw of our knowledge about how close we have come to igniting a fresh firestorm in the Middle East.....
For once Mr Bush took the right advice. The two factors that weighed with him were concern over Iranian retaliation and anxiety that Israel would not succeed in disabling Iran's nuclear programme in a single assault. The most important argument against a military strike was not mentioned, namely that it would turn the probability that Iran would acquire the bomb into a certainty. But the two factors mentioned during the Bush-Olmert meeting are important enough....."
Thank you, George Bush
Against his background of military blunders, the US president's sobriety on the use of force against Iran stands out as remarkable
Jonathan Steele
guardian.co.uk, Friday September 26 2008
"The disclosure (in today's Guardian) that George Bush vetoed an Israeli plan to attack Iran's nuclear sites earlier this year may turn out to be the best decision in his eight-year term. It is easy to deride this president and there is much to deride him for, but when he does the right thing it deserves to be applauded....."
Jonathan Steele
guardian.co.uk, Friday September 26 2008
"The disclosure (in today's Guardian) that George Bush vetoed an Israeli plan to attack Iran's nuclear sites earlier this year may turn out to be the best decision in his eight-year term. It is easy to deride this president and there is much to deride him for, but when he does the right thing it deserves to be applauded....."
Israel asked US for green light to bomb nuclear sites in Iran
US president told Israeli prime minister he would not back attack on Iran, senior European diplomatic sources tell Guardian
Jonathan Steele
guardian.co.uk, Thursday September 25 2008
"Israel gave serious thought this spring to launching a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites but was told by President George W Bush that he would not support it and did not expect to revise that view for the rest of his presidency, senior European diplomatic sources have told the Guardian.
The then prime minister, Ehud Olmert, used the occasion of Bush's trip to Israel for the 60th anniversary of the state's founding to raise the issue in a one-on-one meeting on May 14, the sources said. "He took it [the refusal of a US green light] as where they were at the moment, and that the US position was unlikely to change as long as Bush was in office", they added......
The US announced two weeks ago that it would sell Israel 1,000 bunker-busting bombs. The move was interpreted by some analysts as a consolation prize for Israel after Bush told Olmert of his opposition to an attack on Iran. But it could also enhance Israel's attack options in case the next US president revives the military option....."
Qassem: Broadcast of ugly scenes never happened in Gaza is a misleading act
"RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Dr. Abdelsattar Qassem, a Palestinian writer and professor of political science, stated Wednesday that the ugly scenes from Iraq which the PA-affiliated Palestine TV broadcast claiming that they took place in the Gaza Strip are a manipulation of the Palestinian people's feelings and a misleading act.
In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Qassem warned that the PA is working on tarnishing the image of Hamas and mobilizing the public opinion against it, adding that the PA in Ramallah deliberately and greatly exaggerates events when it comes to Gaza.
The writer underlined that the professional integrity of the PA media outlets is totally absent, pointing out that the PA media had been broadcasting lies and misinformation since their inception.
Regarding the broadcast of such scenes while there is anticipation of national dialog, the writer said that talk about national dialog is a lie used by the PA for local consumption and is not likely to take place, but if it ever happens, it will not be serious.
In a press statement received by the PIC, the Palestinian police in Gaza decided to file a lawsuit against the Palestine TV for broadcasting ugly scenes from Iraq and claiming they happened in the Strip.
The Palestinian police called on the Palestine TV to refrain from belittling the citizen's mindset and from dealing with the Palestinian people as ignorant people."
COMMENT: Related to this story, please see the video posted just below this post. That video contains scenes shown on Mahmoud Abbas' TV in Ramallah, which it claimed illustrated the crimes and brutality of Hamas. In the video, bound prisoners are dropped from the top of a three-story building. Abbas' TV said that those dropped were from the Hillis family in Gaza as punishment for their role in the sabotage campaign a couple of months ago, in Gaza.
Trouble is, those scenes shown by Abbas' TV were actually from a video by CNN and it came not from Gaza but from Iraq! The attempt to frame Hamas and to defame it has backfired badly on Abbas and his US media handlers. His media outlets have degenerated to even lower than their already low standards.
In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Qassem warned that the PA is working on tarnishing the image of Hamas and mobilizing the public opinion against it, adding that the PA in Ramallah deliberately and greatly exaggerates events when it comes to Gaza.
The writer underlined that the professional integrity of the PA media outlets is totally absent, pointing out that the PA media had been broadcasting lies and misinformation since their inception.
Regarding the broadcast of such scenes while there is anticipation of national dialog, the writer said that talk about national dialog is a lie used by the PA for local consumption and is not likely to take place, but if it ever happens, it will not be serious.
In a press statement received by the PIC, the Palestinian police in Gaza decided to file a lawsuit against the Palestine TV for broadcasting ugly scenes from Iraq and claiming they happened in the Strip.
The Palestinian police called on the Palestine TV to refrain from belittling the citizen's mindset and from dealing with the Palestinian people as ignorant people."
COMMENT: Related to this story, please see the video posted just below this post. That video contains scenes shown on Mahmoud Abbas' TV in Ramallah, which it claimed illustrated the crimes and brutality of Hamas. In the video, bound prisoners are dropped from the top of a three-story building. Abbas' TV said that those dropped were from the Hillis family in Gaza as punishment for their role in the sabotage campaign a couple of months ago, in Gaza.
Trouble is, those scenes shown by Abbas' TV were actually from a video by CNN and it came not from Gaza but from Iraq! The attempt to frame Hamas and to defame it has backfired badly on Abbas and his US media handlers. His media outlets have degenerated to even lower than their already low standards.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
اللاجئون الفلسطينيون من العراق .. شهود على نكبتين (تقرير)
صادق يروي مأساة عائلته من العراق إلى مخيم التنف
"مخيم التنف – المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
يبكي دون أن يعرف السبب، وأصوات شهقاته تتعالى أيضاً لا لشيء إلا لأن الجميع مِن حولِه يبكون، تلك كانت حال الطفل "حسين صادق" عندما أخرج مع عائلته من بلد الشيخ قضاء حيفا عام 1948، بفعل احتلالها من قبل عصابات الإجرام الصهيونية وذهبوا إلى العراق باحثين عن خيط أمنٍ وأمل يمسك ما بقي لديهم من إرادة حياة.
لم يبرح "حسين صادق" العراق منذ عام احتلال فلسطين وحتى احتلال بغداد، غير أن تياراً غريبَ الفكر بدأ بالظهور قد يدفع الآلاف من العرب بشكلٍ عام والفلسطينيين بشكل خاص إلى مغادرة العراق، ملخّص فكر هذا التيار أنّ "العراق للعراقيين وحدهم" والكلام لصادق، وبالتالي صار العربي بشكل عام ملاحقاً ومضطهداً وغير مرغوب فيه.
خنجر الوطن السليب
أمام هذه الحالة عاد كل مواطن عربي إلى بلده الأصلية، وخنجر الوطن السليب عاد ليتحرّك مجدّداً ويحرّك الأوجاع في أكباد أبناء الشعب الفلسطيني؛ إذ ليس لهم مكان يلجئون إليه، ولا وطن يعودون إليه، ليس أمامهم إّلا مواجهة الموت.
باستطراد أكبر، وارتياح بدأ يظهر شيئاً فشيئاً على محيّاه، أكمل "حسين صادق" سرد شهادته على المأساة، متحدّثاً لـ "المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام" أثناء الزيارة التي قام بها مراسلنا إلى المخيم الحدودي العراقي السوري.
التهديدات التي تدفع عائلة صادق إلى الخروج من العرق ازدادت يوماً بعد يوم، ومصادر هذه التهديدات حسب صادق كانت جهاتٍ وفق أجندةٍ "طائفية عنصرية لا يمكنها قبول الأخر بل لا يمكنها إلّا طرده من بيته وممتلكاته"، حتّى ولو كان ثمن هذا الطرد دماً"!.
ضرب لنا "حسين صادق" أمثلة على بعض التهديدات، وقال "ذات مرّة ضربوا علينا قنبلة صوتية ذات تأثير كبير، هدم منها باب المنزل وكلّ زجاج البيت، بعد ذلك توجّهوا إلى محل الحلاقة الذي عمل به ولدي فكسروه وهدّدوا بقتل الولد إن لم نترك العراق".
تلك الممارسات لم تدع أمام العائلة خياراً إلا الخروج من العراق، بحثاً عن مكان يحمي حياتهم ويكفيهم شرّ الموت الذي يلاحقهم في كل مكان هنا.
بطرقٍ شرعية أو غير شرعية، - لا فرق فالمسألة مسألة حياة أو موت- غادرت عائلة "صادق" العراق قاصدة إحدى دول جوار العراق، وبعد 35 يوماً قضتها في تلك الدولة كانت النتيجة أن أعيدت العائلة إلى العراق وإلى مواجهة المصير ذاته.
تهديد انتهى بإعدام ولديه
رجعت العائلة إلى بيتهم الذي يملكونه والذي تركوه قبل المغادرة، وقبل أن ينتهوا من ترتيب أثاثهم من جديد وصل التهديد، ولكن هذه المرّة برصاصة ملفوفة بورقة كتب عليها "الموت لكم"!.
الأمور لم تقف عند هذا الحد؛ حيث خرج ابنه "محمد" من المنزل في فترة العصر خروجاً طبيعياً، وعندما بدأت الشمس تغرب لم يعد استمرار غياب "محمد" أمراً طبيعياً، فالجديد المتعارف عليه عند الفلسطينيين في العراق أن الغياب إلى ما بعد غروب الشمس يعني بالضرورة أن مكروهاً قد حصل، ومع هذه الظنون بدأت قلوب العائلة تلهج بالدعاء ودموع عيونهم لم تغب عن المشهد.
اتّصال هاتفي فجر اليوم التالي لغياب محمد، قال المتكلّم "ابنكم مشنوق وهو الآن تحت جسر الخط السريع"، وما زاد المأساة لوعةً أنّ الأسرة لا تستطيع استلام جثّة "محمد" من "الطب العدلي" في المنطقة، والسبب أنّ "محمد" فلسطيني، وبالتالي فإن والده الذي سيأتي لاستلام جثّته أيضاً فلسطينيّ، وهذا السبب وحده كفيل بأن يقتَل الأب أيضاً.
مرّة أخرى غادرت العائلة بيتها، غير أن نفاد المال وغلاء الإيجارات أجبرهم على العودة إليه، وبعد 15 يوماً من رجوعهم إلى المنزل يقول صادق "خرجنا إلى السوق، وعدنا لنجد البيت وكأنّ زلزالاً حل به"، غير أن الزلزال الأكبر الذي هزّ العائلة من جديد هو ما وجوده أثناء قيامهم بترتيب ما عاث به المخرّبون فساداً، جثّة ابنه الثاني، بعدما أعدم رمياً بالرصاص.
مغادرة إلى غير رجعة
حملت العائلة ما استطاعت حمله من الأمتعة وغادرت العراق إلى غير رجعة، ودخلت إحدى دول الجوار، وهناك عمل صادق في إحدى "البقالات" براتب شهري لا يكفي لسدّ حاجة شخص واحدٍ، فكيف به وهو المعيل لأسرته وأخته الضريرة؟!.
أمام هذا الوضع لم يجد الرجل بدّاً من التوجّه إلى "أخف الضررين"، وبالفعل؛ ذهب مع عائلته ليقيم في مخيم التنف للاجئين الفلسطينيين من العراق على الحدود العراقية السورية، علّه يجد هناك من يؤمّن لهم الطعام والشراب.
الشيخ "حسين صادق" هو مؤذّن وإمام وخطيب مسجد مخيم التنف الصحراوي، والمسجد هناك عبارة عن خيمة كبيرةٍ نسبياً كتبت عليها كلمة "مسجد".
بكى الشيخ حسين مرة أخرى في نهاية حديثنا معه، وبكاؤه كان في خيمةٍ تشبه الخيمة التي الذي بكى فيها طفلاً عام 1948م، وسبب البكاء كان سؤال مراسلنا عن الحل الذي ينشده، حينها أجاب قائلاً "كل الدول أغلقت أبوابها في وجهنا، والحل هو عودتنا إلى فلسطين". "
"مخيم التنف – المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
يبكي دون أن يعرف السبب، وأصوات شهقاته تتعالى أيضاً لا لشيء إلا لأن الجميع مِن حولِه يبكون، تلك كانت حال الطفل "حسين صادق" عندما أخرج مع عائلته من بلد الشيخ قضاء حيفا عام 1948، بفعل احتلالها من قبل عصابات الإجرام الصهيونية وذهبوا إلى العراق باحثين عن خيط أمنٍ وأمل يمسك ما بقي لديهم من إرادة حياة.
لم يبرح "حسين صادق" العراق منذ عام احتلال فلسطين وحتى احتلال بغداد، غير أن تياراً غريبَ الفكر بدأ بالظهور قد يدفع الآلاف من العرب بشكلٍ عام والفلسطينيين بشكل خاص إلى مغادرة العراق، ملخّص فكر هذا التيار أنّ "العراق للعراقيين وحدهم" والكلام لصادق، وبالتالي صار العربي بشكل عام ملاحقاً ومضطهداً وغير مرغوب فيه.
خنجر الوطن السليب
أمام هذه الحالة عاد كل مواطن عربي إلى بلده الأصلية، وخنجر الوطن السليب عاد ليتحرّك مجدّداً ويحرّك الأوجاع في أكباد أبناء الشعب الفلسطيني؛ إذ ليس لهم مكان يلجئون إليه، ولا وطن يعودون إليه، ليس أمامهم إّلا مواجهة الموت.
باستطراد أكبر، وارتياح بدأ يظهر شيئاً فشيئاً على محيّاه، أكمل "حسين صادق" سرد شهادته على المأساة، متحدّثاً لـ "المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام" أثناء الزيارة التي قام بها مراسلنا إلى المخيم الحدودي العراقي السوري.
التهديدات التي تدفع عائلة صادق إلى الخروج من العرق ازدادت يوماً بعد يوم، ومصادر هذه التهديدات حسب صادق كانت جهاتٍ وفق أجندةٍ "طائفية عنصرية لا يمكنها قبول الأخر بل لا يمكنها إلّا طرده من بيته وممتلكاته"، حتّى ولو كان ثمن هذا الطرد دماً"!.
ضرب لنا "حسين صادق" أمثلة على بعض التهديدات، وقال "ذات مرّة ضربوا علينا قنبلة صوتية ذات تأثير كبير، هدم منها باب المنزل وكلّ زجاج البيت، بعد ذلك توجّهوا إلى محل الحلاقة الذي عمل به ولدي فكسروه وهدّدوا بقتل الولد إن لم نترك العراق".
تلك الممارسات لم تدع أمام العائلة خياراً إلا الخروج من العراق، بحثاً عن مكان يحمي حياتهم ويكفيهم شرّ الموت الذي يلاحقهم في كل مكان هنا.
بطرقٍ شرعية أو غير شرعية، - لا فرق فالمسألة مسألة حياة أو موت- غادرت عائلة "صادق" العراق قاصدة إحدى دول جوار العراق، وبعد 35 يوماً قضتها في تلك الدولة كانت النتيجة أن أعيدت العائلة إلى العراق وإلى مواجهة المصير ذاته.
تهديد انتهى بإعدام ولديه
رجعت العائلة إلى بيتهم الذي يملكونه والذي تركوه قبل المغادرة، وقبل أن ينتهوا من ترتيب أثاثهم من جديد وصل التهديد، ولكن هذه المرّة برصاصة ملفوفة بورقة كتب عليها "الموت لكم"!.
الأمور لم تقف عند هذا الحد؛ حيث خرج ابنه "محمد" من المنزل في فترة العصر خروجاً طبيعياً، وعندما بدأت الشمس تغرب لم يعد استمرار غياب "محمد" أمراً طبيعياً، فالجديد المتعارف عليه عند الفلسطينيين في العراق أن الغياب إلى ما بعد غروب الشمس يعني بالضرورة أن مكروهاً قد حصل، ومع هذه الظنون بدأت قلوب العائلة تلهج بالدعاء ودموع عيونهم لم تغب عن المشهد.
اتّصال هاتفي فجر اليوم التالي لغياب محمد، قال المتكلّم "ابنكم مشنوق وهو الآن تحت جسر الخط السريع"، وما زاد المأساة لوعةً أنّ الأسرة لا تستطيع استلام جثّة "محمد" من "الطب العدلي" في المنطقة، والسبب أنّ "محمد" فلسطيني، وبالتالي فإن والده الذي سيأتي لاستلام جثّته أيضاً فلسطينيّ، وهذا السبب وحده كفيل بأن يقتَل الأب أيضاً.
مرّة أخرى غادرت العائلة بيتها، غير أن نفاد المال وغلاء الإيجارات أجبرهم على العودة إليه، وبعد 15 يوماً من رجوعهم إلى المنزل يقول صادق "خرجنا إلى السوق، وعدنا لنجد البيت وكأنّ زلزالاً حل به"، غير أن الزلزال الأكبر الذي هزّ العائلة من جديد هو ما وجوده أثناء قيامهم بترتيب ما عاث به المخرّبون فساداً، جثّة ابنه الثاني، بعدما أعدم رمياً بالرصاص.
مغادرة إلى غير رجعة
حملت العائلة ما استطاعت حمله من الأمتعة وغادرت العراق إلى غير رجعة، ودخلت إحدى دول الجوار، وهناك عمل صادق في إحدى "البقالات" براتب شهري لا يكفي لسدّ حاجة شخص واحدٍ، فكيف به وهو المعيل لأسرته وأخته الضريرة؟!.
أمام هذا الوضع لم يجد الرجل بدّاً من التوجّه إلى "أخف الضررين"، وبالفعل؛ ذهب مع عائلته ليقيم في مخيم التنف للاجئين الفلسطينيين من العراق على الحدود العراقية السورية، علّه يجد هناك من يؤمّن لهم الطعام والشراب.
الشيخ "حسين صادق" هو مؤذّن وإمام وخطيب مسجد مخيم التنف الصحراوي، والمسجد هناك عبارة عن خيمة كبيرةٍ نسبياً كتبت عليها كلمة "مسجد".
بكى الشيخ حسين مرة أخرى في نهاية حديثنا معه، وبكاؤه كان في خيمةٍ تشبه الخيمة التي الذي بكى فيها طفلاً عام 1948م، وسبب البكاء كان سؤال مراسلنا عن الحل الذي ينشده، حينها أجاب قائلاً "كل الدول أغلقت أبوابها في وجهنا، والحل هو عودتنا إلى فلسطين". "
COMMENT: I will post the English version of this heart rending story of the Palestinians in Iraq and the horror they faced at the hands of the sectarian Shiite thugs there, when it is available.
Lucia: This story is real and from very reliable sources (Palestine Information Center). Take this story and multiply it by hundreds of thousands, then you get an idea about the horror that those sectarian thugs have spread in Iraq. You can't hide from the facts; Iran could have ordered them not to proceed with this carnage, but it did not. I do not trust what Iran says from one corner of the mouth about supposedly supporting Palestine when its surrogates have decimated thousands of destitute Palestinian refugees, for no reason except being Palestinians and non-Shiite.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of U.S. Attack, and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a U.S. attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran...."
With Amy Goodman
"In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a U.S. attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran...."
The Insanity of the $700 Billion Giveaway
The Big Bank Job
By MICHAEL HUDSON
CounterPunch
".....What it can do is provide a one-time transfer of wealth to insiders who already have been playing the debt-credit system and siphoning off its predatory financial proceeds to themselves. The Wall Street bankers, brokers and fund managers to whom I’ve been speaking for many decades all know this. That is why they pay themselves such large annual bonuses and large salaries each year. The idea is to take as much as you can. As the saying goes: “You only have to make a fortune once in a lifetime.” They have been salting away their fortunes year after year, mainly in hard assets: real estate (free of mortgages), fine furniture, boats and trophy art. One last $700 billion heist and they can make their getaway."
By MICHAEL HUDSON
CounterPunch
".....What it can do is provide a one-time transfer of wealth to insiders who already have been playing the debt-credit system and siphoning off its predatory financial proceeds to themselves. The Wall Street bankers, brokers and fund managers to whom I’ve been speaking for many decades all know this. That is why they pay themselves such large annual bonuses and large salaries each year. The idea is to take as much as you can. As the saying goes: “You only have to make a fortune once in a lifetime.” They have been salting away their fortunes year after year, mainly in hard assets: real estate (free of mortgages), fine furniture, boats and trophy art. One last $700 billion heist and they can make their getaway."
The New World War ---- The Silence Is A Lie
By John Pilger
"......None of this is as potentially dangerous, or more distorted in permitted public discussion, than the war on Russia. Two years ago, Stephen Cohen, professor of Russian Studies at New York University, wrote a landmark essay in the Nation which has now been reprinted in Britain.* He warns of "the gravest threats [posed] by the undeclared Cold War Washington has waged, under both parties, against post-communist Russia during the past 15 years". He describes a catastrophic "relentless winner-take-all of Russia's post-1991 weakness", with two-thirds of the population forced into poverty and life expectancy barely at 59. With most of us in the West unaware, Russia is being encircled by US and Nato bases and missiles in violation of a pledge by the United States not to expand Nato "one inch to the east". The result, writes Cohen, "is a US-built reverse iron curtain [and] a US denial that Russia has any legitimate national interests outside its own territory, even in ethnically akin former republics such as Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. [There is even] a presumption that Russia does not have fully sovereignty within its own borders, as expressed by constant US interventions in Moscow's internal affairs since 1992 . . . the United States is attempting to acquire the nuclear responsibility it could not achieve during the Soviet era."
This danger has grown rapidly as the American media again presents US-Russian relations as "a duel to the death - perhaps literally". The liberal Washington Post, says Cohen, "reads like a bygone Pravda on the Potomac". The same is true in Britain, with the regurgitation of propaganda that Russia was wholly responsible for the war in the Caucasus and must therefore be a "pariah". Sarah Palin, who may end up US president, says she is ready to attack Russia. The steady beat of this drum has seen Moscow return to its old nuclear alerts. Remember the 1980s, writes Cohen, "when the world faced exceedingly grave Cold War perils, and Mikhail Gorbachev unexpectedly emerged to offer a heretical way out. Is there an American leader today ready to retrieve that missed opportunity?" It is an urgent question that must be asked all over the world by those of us still unafraid to break the lethal silence. "
"......None of this is as potentially dangerous, or more distorted in permitted public discussion, than the war on Russia. Two years ago, Stephen Cohen, professor of Russian Studies at New York University, wrote a landmark essay in the Nation which has now been reprinted in Britain.* He warns of "the gravest threats [posed] by the undeclared Cold War Washington has waged, under both parties, against post-communist Russia during the past 15 years". He describes a catastrophic "relentless winner-take-all of Russia's post-1991 weakness", with two-thirds of the population forced into poverty and life expectancy barely at 59. With most of us in the West unaware, Russia is being encircled by US and Nato bases and missiles in violation of a pledge by the United States not to expand Nato "one inch to the east". The result, writes Cohen, "is a US-built reverse iron curtain [and] a US denial that Russia has any legitimate national interests outside its own territory, even in ethnically akin former republics such as Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. [There is even] a presumption that Russia does not have fully sovereignty within its own borders, as expressed by constant US interventions in Moscow's internal affairs since 1992 . . . the United States is attempting to acquire the nuclear responsibility it could not achieve during the Soviet era."
This danger has grown rapidly as the American media again presents US-Russian relations as "a duel to the death - perhaps literally". The liberal Washington Post, says Cohen, "reads like a bygone Pravda on the Potomac". The same is true in Britain, with the regurgitation of propaganda that Russia was wholly responsible for the war in the Caucasus and must therefore be a "pariah". Sarah Palin, who may end up US president, says she is ready to attack Russia. The steady beat of this drum has seen Moscow return to its old nuclear alerts. Remember the 1980s, writes Cohen, "when the world faced exceedingly grave Cold War perils, and Mikhail Gorbachev unexpectedly emerged to offer a heretical way out. Is there an American leader today ready to retrieve that missed opportunity?" It is an urgent question that must be asked all over the world by those of us still unafraid to break the lethal silence. "
The Rabbit is Running Scared......
Damascus fears deviation on peace road
By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times
"As Israeli premier-in-waiting Tzipi Livni battles to form a government, Syria is preparing for the possibility she will call off the indirect talks with Damascus. The Syrians remember Golda Meir, Israel's first women prime minister, for her role in the October War of 1973. And when Syria is worried, it heads for countries such as Russia, and organizations like Hamas in Palestine....."
Asia Times
"As Israeli premier-in-waiting Tzipi Livni battles to form a government, Syria is preparing for the possibility she will call off the indirect talks with Damascus. The Syrians remember Golda Meir, Israel's first women prime minister, for her role in the October War of 1973. And when Syria is worried, it heads for countries such as Russia, and organizations like Hamas in Palestine....."
A bailout and a new world
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"While the US is trying to implement its US$700 billion financial bail-out plan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy talks of "rebuilding" capitalism. In the corridors of the United Nations, there is talk of another kind of rebuilding, of a new multipolar world that would get rid of imperialism and colonialism. Call it the revenge of the developing world....."
Asia Times
"While the US is trying to implement its US$700 billion financial bail-out plan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy talks of "rebuilding" capitalism. In the corridors of the United Nations, there is talk of another kind of rebuilding, of a new multipolar world that would get rid of imperialism and colonialism. Call it the revenge of the developing world....."
Peres: U.S. has no choice but to save world from Ahmadinejad. How Nice of Peres to Give us No Choice!
"The United States has no choice but to save the world by stopping Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Shimon Peres told Israel Radio on Thursday......"
Mideast Peace-Making Quartet Gets Flunking Grade
By Ali Gharib
"WASHINGTON, Sep 25 (IPS) - A new report from several international aid organisations blasts the Quartet, an international group assembled to facilitate the Middle East peace process, for failing to meet their goals in advancing a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians....
"WASHINGTON, Sep 25 (IPS) - A new report from several international aid organisations blasts the Quartet, an international group assembled to facilitate the Middle East peace process, for failing to meet their goals in advancing a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians....
"Unless the Quartet's words are matched by more sustained pressure and decisive action, the situation will deteriorate still further," said David Mepham, the director of policy for Save the Children UK, in a statement. "Time is fast running out. The Quartet needs to radically revise its existing approach and show the people of the region that it can help make a difference."
One of the stickiest issues addressed by the report, perhaps because it deals with a condemnation of Israel rather than an opportunity to advance Palestinian society, is the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in violation of the road map agreements, international law, and sometimes even Israeli law itself......"
America Pays the Piper, Big Time
By Robert Parry
September 24, 2008
"After a 28-year binge of drunken optimism and blind nationalism – often punctuated by chants of “USA, USA!” and “We’re No. 1!” – Americans are waking up with a painful hangover, facing a grim “morning in America,” not the happy vision that Ronald Reagan famously sold them on......
But the future remains unclear. One might think that the American people would now be wide awake, having learned their lessons and eager to throw out both the neocons, who engineered the foreign policy debacles abroad, and the anti-regulators, who precipitated the economic catastrophe at home.
Yet the perception managers appear to have at least one more trick up their sleeves. They are turning John McCain, the self-proclaimed foot soldier of the Reagan revolution who championed the neocon cause overseas and the deregulators’ schemes in the domestic economy, into a reformer who can change the system. If recent opinion polls are to be believed, tens of millions of Americans still want to believe."
September 24, 2008
"After a 28-year binge of drunken optimism and blind nationalism – often punctuated by chants of “USA, USA!” and “We’re No. 1!” – Americans are waking up with a painful hangover, facing a grim “morning in America,” not the happy vision that Ronald Reagan famously sold them on......
But the future remains unclear. One might think that the American people would now be wide awake, having learned their lessons and eager to throw out both the neocons, who engineered the foreign policy debacles abroad, and the anti-regulators, who precipitated the economic catastrophe at home.
Yet the perception managers appear to have at least one more trick up their sleeves. They are turning John McCain, the self-proclaimed foot soldier of the Reagan revolution who championed the neocon cause overseas and the deregulators’ schemes in the domestic economy, into a reformer who can change the system. If recent opinion polls are to be believed, tens of millions of Americans still want to believe."
Real News Video with Pepe Escobar: The UN, cash for trash and the multi-polar world
Pepe Escobar: World leaders speak at the UN about economic crisis, war and the multi-polar world
"World leaders met at the UN general assembly on Tuesday. They spoke about the global financial crisis and the need for sweeping reforms of multilateral institutions. The Real News Network analyst Pepe Escobar comments on the emergence of new global realities."
"World leaders met at the UN general assembly on Tuesday. They spoke about the global financial crisis and the need for sweeping reforms of multilateral institutions. The Real News Network analyst Pepe Escobar comments on the emergence of new global realities."
Six years in Guantanamo
Sami al-Haj, an Al Jazeera cameraman, was beaten, abused and humiliated in the name of the war on terror. He tells our correspondent about his struggle to rebuild a shattered life
By Robert Fisk
"Sami al-Haj walks with pain on his steel crutch; almost six years in the nightmare of Guantanamo have taken their toll on the Al Jazeera journalist and, now in the safety of a hotel in the small Norwegian town of Lillehammer, he is a figure of both dignity and shame. The Americans told him they were sorry when they eventually freed him this year – after the beatings he says he suffered, and the force-feeding, the humiliations and interrogations by British, American and Canadian intelligence officers – and now he hopes one day he'll be able to walk without his stick.
The TV cameraman, 38, was never charged with any crime, nor was he put on trial; his testimony makes it clear that he was held in three prisons for six-and-a-half years – repeatedly beaten and force-fed – not because he was a suspected "terrorist" but because he refused to become an American spy......"
By Robert Fisk
"Sami al-Haj walks with pain on his steel crutch; almost six years in the nightmare of Guantanamo have taken their toll on the Al Jazeera journalist and, now in the safety of a hotel in the small Norwegian town of Lillehammer, he is a figure of both dignity and shame. The Americans told him they were sorry when they eventually freed him this year – after the beatings he says he suffered, and the force-feeding, the humiliations and interrogations by British, American and Canadian intelligence officers – and now he hopes one day he'll be able to walk without his stick.
The TV cameraman, 38, was never charged with any crime, nor was he put on trial; his testimony makes it clear that he was held in three prisons for six-and-a-half years – repeatedly beaten and force-fed – not because he was a suspected "terrorist" but because he refused to become an American spy......"
Quartet 'creating power vacuum' in Middle East
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Thursday, 25 September 2008
(Cartoon courtesy of Latuff)
"The international community is "losing its grip" on the Middle East peace process and failing to improve the appalling living conditions for Palestinians, a group of leading NGOs charges today.
The international Quartet – consisting of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia – is accused of creating a "vacuum of leadership" as the aid agencies complain that "visible progress" in the Middle East has "failed to materialise"......
On settlements it says there has been a "marked failure to hold the Israeli authorities to their obligation under the [internationally agreed] road map and international law". It urges the Quartet to go "beyond rhetoric" and take "concrete steps" in the face of a "marked acceleration" in settlement building since Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were kick-started by the Annapolis summit last year......."
"The international community is "losing its grip" on the Middle East peace process and failing to improve the appalling living conditions for Palestinians, a group of leading NGOs charges today.
The international Quartet – consisting of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia – is accused of creating a "vacuum of leadership" as the aid agencies complain that "visible progress" in the Middle East has "failed to materialise"......
On settlements it says there has been a "marked failure to hold the Israeli authorities to their obligation under the [internationally agreed] road map and international law". It urges the Quartet to go "beyond rhetoric" and take "concrete steps" in the face of a "marked acceleration" in settlement building since Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were kick-started by the Annapolis summit last year......."
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