As U.S. Continues Afghan, Iraq Occupations and Quashes Accountability for Gaza Assault, Critics Decry Awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to Obama

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman

DON'T MISS THIS SEGMENT!

"....President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Price, less than nine months after taking office. The chair of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, made the announcement today in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

The Nobel Committee specifically highlighted what it called Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. After the announcement, Jagland took questions from journalists.

President Obama took office less than two weeks before the nomination deadline. He is the third sitting American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize after Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919.

For more we are joined by two journalists: Jeremy Scahill is an award-winning reporter and Democracy Now! correspondent. He is author of the international bestseller, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.” His writing is available at RebelReports.com. He joins us via Democracy Now video stream. And joining us on the telephone is award-winning journalist and author, Naomi Klein. She is author of the books “The Shock Doctrine” and “No Logo.” She joins us on the line from her home in Toronto.

Just before the program we reached veteran journalist and activist Tariq Ali. He has written over a dozen books and is on the editorial board of the New Left Review. Democracy Now producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous asked Tariq Ali for his reaction to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize......."

Collapse of the Greenback? Will the Dollar get an “Arab Oil Shock”?

by F. William Engdahl
Global Research

".....
What is not clear is what the potential response of Germany and France, the two pivot powers within the EU will be. If they decide to cast their lot with oil producing and consuming countries, they open their doors to vast new trade and investment potentials from the countries of Eurasia. If they cringe from that and decide to remain with the British Pound and US dollar, they will inevitably sink along as the dollar Titanic sinks.

With that decline of the US dollar goes the lessening of the political power of the United States as sole economic and financial superpower. We face very turbulent waters ahead and gold not surprisingly is gaining in this uncertainty."

Gaza report seals Abbas' political fate

By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times

".....Desperate perhaps, or impatient because of old age and months left in his presidency, Abbas took the ill-fated decision to support the delay of the Goldstone Report. This effectively destroyed whatever credibility and legitimacy he had left on the Palestinian and Arab streets. That credibility - gained at a time when Fateh was lead by Arafat and enjoyed some world respect - is now history, because of Mahmud Abbas and his stance on the Goldstone Report.

No wonder an increasing number of voices are now calling on him to step down not only in the Palestinian territories but within the wider Arab and Muslim world as well. "

Habila to the Traitor Abbas: My Love for You Will Never Die; Just Say You Are Sorry, and All Will Be Forgiven!

دعا قيادة رام الله إلى السعي لاستعادة حيوية المصالحة

".....وفي الشأن الداخلي، طالب هنية قيادة السلطة في الضفة الغربية باتخاذ إجراءات سريعة وعاجلة من أجل استعادة حيوية المصالحة الوطنية التي تسعى مصر إلى تحقيقها.

وقال: "إن المصالحة قرار وطني وإستراتيجية لا رجعة عنها، ولكن ما حدث من تأجيل "تقرير غولدستون" حرك كل مشاعر الغضب على المستوى الحركي والشعبي، ولكن يجب على القيادة في رام الله أن تتخذ إجراءات سريعة حول هذا الموضوع".

وفيما يتعلق بتفويز الرئيس الأمريكي باراك أوباما بجائزة نوبل للسلام للعام 2009م، أعرب هنية عن أمله أن تكون لهذه الجائزة صداها في السياسة الأمريكية تجاه الشعب الفلسطيني والصراع مع المحتلين
......"

Now that is leadership we can believe in!

Are you brainwashed yet?

Look at this title in the Jerusalem Post :
'Iran will blow up the heart of Israel'

And here is what the bit of news is actually about:

"An aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that if the Islamic republic is attacked by the US or by Israel, Teheran would "blow up the heart" of the Jewish state, Reuters cited a report by the official Iranian news agency on Friday.
According to the report, Mojtaba Zolnour threatened that "Even if one American or Zionist missile hits our country, before the dust settles, Iranian missiles will blow up the heart of Israel."
-----------------
Of course there was no need to put the condiotional "if attacked" because we all know Iran is going to wipe Israel off the map anyway, so why bother with honest reporting?

EU backs UN Gaza report, disappointing Israel

STOCKHOLM — The European Union backed on Thursday a contentious UN report blasting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, praising its chief author and saying the document is "worthy of consideration."

Israel immediately expressed disappointment at the support from Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt -- whose country holds the EU presidency -- and said it showed that Bildt had either not read the report or misunderstood it.

"It is worthy of consideration needless to say, I think Mr Goldstone is a person of high credibility and high integrity and accordingly his report carries weight," Bildt told reporters in Stockholm.
--------------
Pardon me for being a bit impatient but, no calling the EU anti-Semites yet?

Syrian student ban on KAUST(King Abdullah University for Science and Technology)’s new supercomputer

"In an odd but somehow unsurprising turn of events it transpires that, according to Arabian Business 15 Syrian students at KAUST will be denied access to Peregrine at America’s behest because of their ongoing Syrian embargo. Such a clause was apparently inserted into the IBM-KAUST memorandum of understanding (MOU) taking the decision out of the hands of the University."

Real News Video: Beneath the hype: Is Iran close to nukes?

Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern speaks on disinformation, Iran, and "faith-based intelligence"

Code Yellow

The selling-out of the antiwar movement

by Justin Raimondo, October 09, 2009

(Graphic courtesy of Willyloman)

"Right on time for the somber eighth anniversary of the Afghanistan war and occupation, Code Pink founder and primary spokeswoman Medea Benjamin has announced that her organization – which made so many headlines and newscasts protesting "Bush’s war" – is now "rethinking" their position on Afghanistan. A piece in the Christian Science Monitor, which Code Pink is now strenuously trying to spin, reports that the famous antiwar group is seriously amending their position after listening to the views of Afghan women. On a recent trip to Afghanistan, the leaders of Code Pink met Afghan women who opposed the idea of a US withdrawal, and this somehow forced them into a reevaluation of their views.......

This sea-change in Code Pink’s view of the Afghan war calls for a more formal recognition of their new perspective. Perhaps a name-change: I propose "Code Yellow" – because a more brazen act of political cowardice hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Not since 1941, when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and Communist-controlled "peace" groups in the United States suddenly changed their "antiwar" tune. One Communist speaker in New York City’s Union Square, having been handed a note informing him of the invasion, is reputed to have changed his "line" in mid-speech – without missing a beat. This incident is famously replicated in George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-four, in which a government propagandist seamlessly segues into denouncing "Eastasia" when a few moments ago the object of his hatred was "Eurasia."

The title of an interview with Benjamin by our very own Scott Horton, "Is Medea Benjamin Naïve, Or Just Confused?" – in which she tries to wriggle out of the implications of her position, to no avail – is a question that begs an answer, and the answer is: neither. She’s just another opportunist, who has left the antiwar movement for greener pastures. Maybe she’ll be the new Van Jones."

The thieves of Baghdad

In the shadow of political inertia, powerful mafia groups are flourishing in the 'new' Iraq

James Denselow
guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 October 2009

"In the past month several high-profile incidents have highlighted what Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, the chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, described as the outbreak of "a frenzy of violent crime" in Iraq. Writing in the Times, Richard Kerbaj explained how "everyone is looking for a way to make a quick buck in Iraq, but none more so than the insurgents and gangsters". Indeed, present-day levels of crime in Iraq reflect the institutionalisation of criminality that may undermine the country's long-term development....."

COMMENT:

The funny thing is that the piece does not mention the chief Mafia figures: those representing the "government" in the Green Zone including the so-called MPs, a majority of them live overseas with the money they have looted out of the country. Literally billions are stolen directly from the country's oil revenue.

Netanyahu Mulling Gestures to Bolster Abbas

Al-Manar

"09/10/2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering goodwill gestures that would bolster the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The efforts represent an effort to help PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who suffered harsh criticism following a Palestinian decision not to press for the UN Human Rights Council's adoption of the Goldstone report on last winter's Israeli Gaza aggression.

Netanyahu is considering announcing a goodwill package during his meeting Friday with the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. A senior political source in Tel Aviv said Thursday that during the meeting of the "forum of seven" senior ministers, a number of ideas were raised on goodwill gestures that would boost Abbas.

The Prime Minister's Bureau did not deny the existence of such proposals and noted that "some ideas are in place, but there has been no decision on the matter."......."

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

(Cartoon by Carlos Latuff)

No, This is Not a Joke!

Who will win next?
Benjamin Netanyahu? Now that is a peace maker you can believe in.

Al-Jazeera

"Barack Obama, the US president, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, less than a year after taking office.

The announcement was made in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, recognising Obama's attempts to foster international peace and create a world without nuclear weapons......"

A Lesson in Doublespeak From Hamas: It is Necessary to Delay the Reconciliation Signing to Succeed in Reconciliation with Abbas!

COMMENT

By Tony Sayegh

Hamas is almost as embarrassed by the Abbas fiasco as Abbas himself.

Hamas had already agreed to a deal with the traitor and all that remains is the signing, and then the sh** hit the fan!

Now Hamas is in internal turmoil; you can easily see the paralysis. It is pleading with the Pharaoh's representatives to delay the signing. But Break-Their-Legs-Abul-Gheit said no! A deal is a deal! And he told them if Hamas reneges, then it proves that Hamas is not interested in "national unity" and is against the interests of the Palestinians.

Hamas is trying to hide behind the Palestinian anger in the streets. Its representatives are telling Egypt that this is not the time, and the people are angry.

Hamas, just like Abbas and USrael, are betting that the anger will die down with time. They know how to pacify the Arab public: with words and not deeds. Unfortunately, this works most of the time. The Arab public is emotional public and is not used to holding its "leaders" accountable. To the contrary, they are trained and raised to obey and fear the leader of the tribe.

Stay tuned, because this soap opera is getting interesting.

برهوم: "حماس" تناقش فعليًّا من مصر تأجيل موعد توقيع اتفاق المصالحة لصونه من الفشل

"غزة - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
أكدت حركة المقاومة الإسلامية "حماس" أنها تواصلت مع القيادة المصرية وناقشت معها بالفعل تأجيل موعد توقيع الاتفاق المعلن من قِبَل القاهرة، مبينةً أن ذلك جاء من أجل مصلحة الحوار وتحقيق مبدأ المصالحة والدفع باتجاه ضرورة إنجاح الجهد المصري وصون هذا الاتفاق من الفشل.

وقال فوزي برهوم المتحدث باسم الحركة في تصريحٍ خاصٍّ لـ"المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام" اليوم الخميس (8-10): "إن فعلة أبو مازن في "فضيحة غولدستون" سمَّمت هذه الأجواء وأوجدت سخطًا وغضبًا فلسطينيًّا؛ مما جعل هذه الأجواء حاليًّا غير ملائمة لهذا التوقيع".

وأشار برهوم إلى أن حركته ناقشت الأمر في أوساطها القيادية والداخلية، موضحًا أن الأمور لا تزال حتى الآن في طور النقاش والتشاور لحين بلورة مواقفها النهائية.

وأضاف: "بعد ذلك سنبلغ الجانب المصري قرارنا في ذلك، والذي سيكون وفقًا للمصلحة الوطنية وصون مصالح شعبنا الفلسطيني".

......"

CIA: Israel helped expose covert Iran nuclear facility

HAARETZ

"Israeli intelligence was involved in editing and creating the sanitized version of information about Iran's recently revealed secret uranium enrichment facility near Qom.

The revelation comes in an interview given by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta to TIME magazine.

Panetta said that the CIA had known about the facility for at least three years....."

CIA Knew About Iran's Secret Nuclear Plant Long Before Disclosure

TIME

".....In an interesting reversal of roles from the Bush era, the Europeans were pushing for the plant to be outed at once, while the U.S. was more cautious. "The Americans seem to have become more patient as their dossier on Iran has gotten fuller, while the Europeans are getting more anxious about taking care of this matter as they've learned more," says Jacquard.

From then on, the challenge was to keep the information secret. Panetta said he ordered the presentation to be readied "in the event that that information leaked out or that [the Obama Administration] wanted to present it to the International Atomic Energy Agency." British, French and Israeli intelligence agencies were involved in creating the presentation, he added......."

Why I Love Al Jazeera

[Although I am critical of AlJazeera it is still head and shoulders better than any other Arab or western news media station]

by Robert D. Kaplan

HAS ANYONE WATCHED the English-language version of Al Jazeera lately? The Qatar-based Arab TV channel’s eclectic internationalism—a feast of vivid, pathbreaking coverage from all continents—is a rebuke to the dire predictions about the end of foreign news as we know it. Indeed, if Al Jazeera were more widely available in the United States—on nationwide cable, for example, instead of only on the Web and several satellite stations and local cable channels—it would eat steadily into the viewership of The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer. Al Jazeera—not Lehrer—is what the internationally minded elite class really yearns for: a visually stunning, deeply reported description of developments in dozens upon dozens of countries simultaneously.

Over just a few days in late May, when I actively monitored Al Jazeera (although I watched it almost every evening during a month in Sri Lanka), I was treated to penetrating portraits ofEritrean and Ethiopian involvement in the Somali war, of the struggle of Niger River rebelsagainst the Nigerian government in the oil-rich south of the country, of the floods in Bangladesh, of problems with the South African economy, of the danger that desertification poses to Bedouin life in northern Sudan, of the environmental devastation around the Aral Sea, of Sikh violence in India after an attack on a temple in Austria, of foreign Islamic fightersin the southern Philippines, of microfinancing programs in Kenya, of rigged elections in South Ossetia, of human-rights demonstrations in Guatemala, and of much more. Al Jazeera covered the election campaigns in Lebanon and Iran in more detail than anyone else, as well as theSomali war and the Pakistani army offensive in the Swat Valley. There was, too, an unbiased one-hour documentary about the Gemayel family of Christian politicians and warlords in Lebanon, and a half-hour-long investigation of the displacement of the poor from India’s new economic zones.

Of course, Al Jazeera has some overt prejudices. In covering the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, for example, it is clearly on the Palestinian side. Tear-jerking features about the sufferings of the Palestinians are not matched with equal coverage of the Israeli human terrain

But I will continue watching Al Jazeera wherever I can, because I find it so riveting compared with other news channels. And if my politics crawl to the left as a result, that will be yet more evidence of just how insidious Al Jazeera’s influence is.

Following al-Aqsa clashes, Israel mulls banning Islamic movement

Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 8 October 2009

"The Israeli government announced yesterday it would consider banning Israel's Islamic Movement at the next cabinet meeting, in a significant escalation of tensions that have fueled a fortnight of bloody clashes in Jerusalem over access to the Haram al-Sharif compound of mosques......"

After Goldstone, Hamas faces fateful choice

An Important Piece

Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 October 2009

"The uproar over the Palestinian Authority's (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices......

Hamas too seems to have been taken by surprise at the strength of reaction. Hamas leaders were critical of Abbas' withdrawal of the Goldstone resolution, but initially this was notably muted. Early on, Khaled Meshal, the movement's overall leader, insisted that despite the Goldstone fiasco, Hamas would proceed with Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks with Fatah and smaller factions scheduled for later in the month, stating that reaching a power-sharing deal remained a "national interest."

As the tremors continued, however, Hamas leaders escalated their rhetoric -- seemingly following, not leading, public opinion........

All of this puts Hamas in a bind. Before the Goldstone report crisis, Hamas had signaled that it accepted the most recent Egyptian proposals for reconciliation.......

Despite the remaining gulf, Hamas wanted to sign a unity deal. Being part of a Western-recognized PA would be Hamas' ticket to the "peace process" -- something Meshal has made no secret that Hamas seeks, although on its own terms. Abbas was less keen on a unity deal, as he and his cronies still resist dealing with Hamas as a political force that has popular legitimacy. But after Goldstone, Abbas needs Hamas.

Hamas now cannot have it both ways: it cannot talk about "unity" and "reconciliation" with people that it -- and many Palestinians -- view as "traitors." To seek unity with such people is in effect to say that Hamas wishes to join a government of traitors. For the moment, Hamas is buying time and has asked Egypt to postpone the scheduled Cairo meeting later this month........

The more difficult question for Hamas will be, what comes next? Will it try to muddle through as it has, or will it rally the Palestinian public to oppose and resist Abbas until the collaborationist PA is dissolved? This would be an enormous strategic shift -- Hamas would likely have to drop the trappings of "government" it has taken up since it won the 2006 legislative elections and return to its roots as a social movement and a clandestine organization......

The political collapse underway offers all Palestinians -- including Hamas -- a new opportunity: to build a broad-based, internationally legitimate popular resistance movement that mobilizes all of Palestinian society as the first intifada did, and to reconnect with Palestinians inside Israel who face an existential threat from escalating Israeli racism........"

أخطار قيادات فلسطينية على فلسطين

A Good Analysis (Arabic)
By Professor Abdul-Sattar Qassem

عهد الحاج أمين الحسيني
عهد عرفات
في الضفة الغربية وغزة
عهد عباس
هم يصنعون قيادات لفلسطين
ماذا عن عباس؟

"هذا مقال سيكره بعض الناس قراءته إما لأنه يعريهم ويعري أعوانهم، وإما لأنه يقتحم قناعات لديهم فيتساءلون عن قدراتهم في الوصول إلى النتائج حول الظواهر السياسية. إنما والحال الفلسطيني قد انقشع بما لا يدع مجالا للشك بعد قرار السلطة الفلسطينية تأجيل التصويت على تقرير غولدستون، فإنني أرى ضرورة توضيح أخطار شكلتها قيادات فلسطينية على فلسطين، وهي أخطار تساهم في فهم لماذا قدم الشعب الفلسطيني كل هذه التضحيات الجسام على مدى مائة عام ليقف في النهاية بعض أبنائه حراسا على مملكة إسرائيل؟

هذا الفشل الذريع الذي مني به الشعب الفلسطيني نحو استعادة بعض حقوقه وتحقيق نوع من السيطرة على الذات، لم يكن صدفة ولا بفعل قوى خارجية فقط.

لا شك أن القوى الخارجية وعلى رأسها بريطانيا وقادة عرب، ومن ثم أميركا والعديد من الدول الغربية، ساهموا مساهمة مباشرة وفاعلة ولعينة في تشريد الشعب الفلسطيني واغتصاب فلسطين، وإعمال القتل والتعذيب والتنكيل بالفلسطينيين صغيرهم وكبيرهم، رجالهم ونسائهم.

لكن هذا لا يعفي قادة فلسطينيين من المسؤولية، أو من التآمر مع هذه القوى الخارجية لإركاع الشعب وتطويعه وتحويله إلى مجرد أفراد هائمين يبحثون عن لقمة الخبز، أو ينتظرون راتب آخر الشهر من أيدي أعدائهم. وهنا أوضح بعض الأمور بخصوص قيادات أو أشخاص لعبوا أو يلعبون دورا في إدارة شؤون القضية الفلسطينية
......
ووفق القضاء الثوري لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية والمعمول به حتى الآن، فإن العديد من القادة فلسطينيين يجب رميهم بالرصاص عدة مرات بسبب مخالفاتهم للميثاق الوطني الفلسطيني, كالاعتراف بإسرائيل وبقراري مجلس الأمن، وبإعلان دولة وفق قرار التقسيم عام 1988
.......
عباس وفياض حوّلا الضفة الغربية إلى أرض مستباحة لبغاة الغرب والصهاينة، وعملا على إلغاء الناس مقابل الحصول على المال أو على وعود كاذبة بتحقيق إنجازات، وحوّلا الحقوق الوطنية الثابتة للشعب الفلسطيني إلى راتب وسيارة ونزهة
........
يساعد الإسرائيليون والغربيون عملاءهم من العرب والفلسطينيين ماليا وإعلاميا، خاصة إذا كانوا من الماسونيين المتمرسين في الخيانة ويضغطون من أجل الصعود في سلم المسؤولية
........
عباس لن يستقيل من منصبه الآن بناء على دعوات فلسطينيين على مستوى أفراد وجماعات. الذي يقرر الاستقالة هو ذاك الذي يكسب منصبه بعرق جبينه، أما أولئك الذين يتلقون الدعم من الخارج، أو تتم صناعتهم من خارج صفوف الشعب لا يستقيلون. هؤلاء يُقالون أو يُقتلون من قبل من نصّبهم، لكنهم لا يملكون حرية الاستقالة.

تقديري أن إسرائيل وأميركا آسفتان للضجة التي تحصل الآن ضد عباس، وهما بالتأكيد تفكران في كيفية رأب الصدع، ولهذا أتوقع أمرا ما لكي تعود هيبة عباس على الأقل لدى جزء من الشعب الفلسطيني، وليعود هذا الجزء يدافع عنه.

فمثلا قد يطلق عباس تصريحا قويا لدعم المقاومة، فتتظاهر إسرائيل بالغضب، فيصدر نتنياهو أمرا بمنع عباس من السفر لمدة أسبوعين.

أو من المحتمل أن يتم تسريب وثيقة مزورة حول مخطط يقوم به عباس مع أجهزة من السلطة الفلسطينية لشن هجوم مفاجئ على إحدى المستوطنات، وتقرر إسرائيل بعد ذلك عدم تسليم السلطة أموال المقاصّة.. أو أي شيء مشابه آخر.. عندها سينسى الناس غولدستون وسيقلبون الموجة للتحدث عن بطولات عباس.
"

Palestinian Hamas bans motorbike rides for women

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Hamas government has banned motorcycle riders from carrying women on the back seat — the latest in the militants' virtue campaign in Gaza.

The ban was posted on Hamas Interior Ministry Web site on Tuesday.

It says the ban seeks "to preserve citizen safety and the stability of Palestinian society's customs and traditions."

Hamas wants to impose a strict interpretation of Islam. Its other efforts have included breaking up mixed couples on the beach and obliging female lawyers to wear headscarves in court.

The group insists compliance with the campaign is voluntary and reflects Gaza's conservative ways, but reports have surfaced of offenders being beaten or arrested.

Gazan women almost never drive motorcycles, and rarely even ride behind men.

Palestinian President Abbas Faces Uproar for Aiding U.S.-Israeli Derailment of UN Report on Gaza Assault

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman

"Palestinian outrage continues over the Palestinian Authority’s decision to back the postponement of a Human Rights Council vote on the Goldstone investigation into Israel’s assault on Gaza. The move reportedly came after heavy American and Israeli pressure. We speak with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi......"