Thursday, October 8, 2009
Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian niqab row after campus ban - 08 Sept 09
"An Egyptian lawmaker is calling for the head of the most prestigious centre of religious learning to resign. This follows the decision by Al-Azhar University to ban female students from wearing the face-veil or niqab on parts of the campus. Al Jazeera's Jamal El-Shayyal has this report from Cairo."
Is McChrystal dovish on Iran?
By Stephen M. Walt
"I've blogged a lot about Iran and Afghanistan over the past few months, but I've been remiss in not highlighting an important connection between the two issues. As Spencer Ackerman noted a few days ago, U.S. Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal offered this intriguing comment during his remarks at IISS headquarters in London last week:
"I've blogged a lot about Iran and Afghanistan over the past few months, but I've been remiss in not highlighting an important connection between the two issues. As Spencer Ackerman noted a few days ago, U.S. Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal offered this intriguing comment during his remarks at IISS headquarters in London last week:
"Iran, of course, being, you know, in such proximity to Afghanistan and having significant influence inside Afghanistan, is a big player. They, in my view, they have a lot of very positive influence inside Afghanistan, some of it cultural, some of it financial, just things that any neighbor would have to try to build the stability. I think that if Iran takes a very mature look at a stable Afghanistan and support the government of Afghanistan, then we'll be -- we'll be in good shape. If they were to choose not to do that, and they were to choose to support insurgents, I think that would be a significant miscalculation."
I don't think this comment was an idle remark by McChrystal. What he's telling us is that Iran could be a positive influence in Afghanistan, and that it could also be a real hindrance to our efforts. And that means that an attack on Iran would make our situation in Afghanistan even worse than it is already, because Iran would have both the capacity and the incentive to retaliate.
There's no love lost between Iran and the Taliban, in part because the Taliban murdered ten Iranian diplomats in Mazari Sharif back in 1998. But Iran does retain some influence there -- as McChystal points out --and they would undoubtedly be looking for some way to pay us back if we were foolish enough to strike them....."
There's no love lost between Iran and the Taliban, in part because the Taliban murdered ten Iranian diplomats in Mazari Sharif back in 1998. But Iran does retain some influence there -- as McChystal points out --and they would undoubtedly be looking for some way to pay us back if we were foolish enough to strike them....."
Is Medea Benjamin Naive or Just Confused?
Code Pink rethinks Afghan withdrawal
by Scott Horton, October 08, 2009
by Scott Horton, October 08, 2009
" When I heard that there would be antiwar protests across the country on October 7, 2009, mourning the 8th anniversary of the start of the invasion of Afghanistan, I immediately picked up the phone to get one of the great anti-warrior women of Code Pink to join me on Antiwar Radio for the occasion.
Imagine my shock at seeing this story in the Christian Science Monitor describing the new, post-trip-to-Afghanistan-position of Code Pink’s co-founder and most famous leader, Medea Benjamin.......
Interview recorded October 7, 2009. Listen to the interview........
Benjamin: Well I think it’s just full of distortions, because what we say is we want a responsible pulling out of U.S. troops and we certainly are against what McChrystal is calling for. We’re against sending in more troops, we’re against troops being visibly present in the villages because we think their presence is more of a threat to people there and puts them at risk. And we want our troops to pull out. We just want to do it in a way that is not going to lead to a Taliban takeover that will put women back inside the home......."
Genocide forgotten: Armenians horrified by treaty with Turkey
A new trade deal is set to gloss over the murder of 1.5 million people
By Robert Fisk
".....In Beirut yesterday, outside Mr Sarkissian's hotel, thousands of Armenians protested against this trade-for-denial treaty. "We will not forget," their banners read. "Armenian history is not for sale." They called the President a traitor. "Why should our million and a half martyrs be put up for sale?" one of them asked. "And what about our Armenian lands in Turkey, the homes our grandparents left behind? Sarkissian is selling them too."
The sad truth is that the 5.7 million Armenian diaspora, scattered across Russia, the US, France, Lebanon and many other countries, are the descendants of the western Armenians who bore the brunt of Turkish Ottoman brutality in 1915......."
By Robert Fisk
".....In Beirut yesterday, outside Mr Sarkissian's hotel, thousands of Armenians protested against this trade-for-denial treaty. "We will not forget," their banners read. "Armenian history is not for sale." They called the President a traitor. "Why should our million and a half martyrs be put up for sale?" one of them asked. "And what about our Armenian lands in Turkey, the homes our grandparents left behind? Sarkissian is selling them too."
The sad truth is that the 5.7 million Armenian diaspora, scattered across Russia, the US, France, Lebanon and many other countries, are the descendants of the western Armenians who bore the brunt of Turkish Ottoman brutality in 1915......."
العزل هو الرد المنتظر
العزل هو الرد المنتظر
رأي القدس
"ان يعترف السيد ياسر عبدربه امين سر اللجنة التنفيذية في منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، واحد ابرز المقربين من السيد محمود عباس رئيس السلطة في رام الله، بان القيادة الفلسطينية اخطأت في قرارها سحب تقرير القاضي غولدستون من جدول اعمال مجلس حقوق الانسان في جنيف، فهذا الاعتراف يلغي عمليا قرارات سابقة بتشكيل لجنة تحقيق صدرت عن السيد عباس، بعد ان تأكدت الجريمة وتحددت هوية مرتكبيها.
السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه الآن، وبقوة، هو عن الخطوات التي يجب ان تعقب هذا الاعتراف، سواء من قبل السلطة ومؤسساتها او من قبل حركة 'فتح' عمودها الفقري، او حتى الشعب الفلسطيني نفسه المتضرر الاكبر من هذه الجريمة.
العرف المتبع يقول ان من يرتكب خطأ، يجب ان يحاسب عليه، وان يكون العقاب في حجم الضرر المترتب على هذا الخطأ. هكذا تفعل الامم المتحضرة او المتخلفة على حد سواء.
الرئيس الراحل جمال عبدالناصر تحمل مسؤولية هزيمة عام 1967، وقرر الاستقالة من جميع مهامه، والشيء نفسه فعله شارل ديغول بعد مظاهرات الطلاب احتجاجا على سياساته، والامثلة كثيرة في هذا المضمار.
صحيح ان الرئيس محمود عباس ليس في حجم الرئيس جمال عبدالناصر، ولا هو في مستوى شارل ديغول، فالمقارنة هنا غير ممكنة بحكم الزمان والمكان واختلاف الظروف، والمواصفات الشخصية والقيادية، ولكن المسألة هي مسألة القدرة على تحمل المسؤولية وكل ما يترتب عليها من تبعات.
الرئيس عباس لا يريد الاستقالة من منصبه الهزيل الفاقد ادنى مقومات السيادة او الرئاسة، ومصر على البقاء وممارسة مهامه رغم كل الانتقادات الشرسة الموجهة اليه من ابناء شعبه، مما يؤكد مجددا انه يحتقر هذا الشعب، ومشاعره الوطنية، ويتعامل معه كقطيع من الغنم.
ومن المفارقة انه يصر على البقاء في موقعه هذا رغم ان صلاحيته كرئيس انتهت منذ عشرة اشهر تقريبا، وحتى الفتاوى التي اصدرها له بعض فقهاء السلطة وتعطيه غطاء شرعيا مزورا حتى نهاية هذا العام لم تعد توفر الضمانة لاستمراره اكثر من شهرين فقط.
لقد احسنت السلطات الليبية، ومندوبها في الامم المتحدة السيد عبدالرحمن شلقم صنعا، عندما طالبت بعقد جلسة طارئة لمجلس الامن الدولي لمناقشة تقرير غولدستون حول جرائم الحرب الاسرائيلية في غزة، واحالته الى محكمة جرائم الحرب في لاهاي، فهي بذلك 'عربت' هذه القضية التي تنطوي على درجة كبيرة من الاهمية، وسحبتها من يد سلطة غير مؤتمنة عليها بتنكرها للحد الادنى من الكرامة، والانتصار بالتالي لدماء الشهداء وضحايا المجازر الاسرائيلية.
الرئيس عباس قرر ايفاد وزير خارجيته السيد رياض المالكي الى نيويورك لمساعدة الاشقاء الليبيين في ادارة هذه المسألة في مجلس الامن الدولي، وكأنه اي الرئيس عباس انسان بريء لم يرتكب اي اثم، ولذلك فاننا نقترح على السلطات الليبية ان لا تتعامل مع السيد المالكي، خشية ان تؤدي تدخلاته الى مصيبة اخرى على غرار ما فعله سفيره في جنيف من كوارث. وربما يفيد التذكير بان مشاركة السيد المالكي نفسه في مؤتمر (ديربان 2) الاممي المناهض للعنصرية الذي انعقد في جنيف نفسها في الصيف الماضي، اعطت نتائج سلبية للغاية، حيث لعب الوفد الفلسطيني دورا كبيرا في تعديل مشروع القرار النهائي الذي يدين العنصرية الاسرائيلية، ويجدد قرارات مؤتمر ديربان الاول قبل عدة اعوام.
جريمة جنيف الاخيرة يجب ان لا تمر دون محاسبة جميع المسؤولين عنها، وعلى رأسهم الرئيس عباس، وجميع مستشاريه الآخرين، وعزلهم من مواقعهم بالسرعة الممكنة، فهؤلاء تنكروا لضحايا المجازر الاسرائيلية، واخرجوا اسرائيل من اخطر ازمة اخلاقية وقانونية وسياسية تواجهها منذ تأسيسها على حساب الشعب الفلسطيني، والامة العربية والاسلامية.
اننا نطالب حركة 'فتح' ولجنتها المركزية بالقيام بمهمة المحاسبة هذه، لان الرئيس عباس يقترف كل هذه الجرائم والخطايا باسمها، وان تعقد محكمتها الحركية، وتصدر قرارها بالعزل وفقا للوائح المرعية.
"
رأي القدس
"ان يعترف السيد ياسر عبدربه امين سر اللجنة التنفيذية في منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، واحد ابرز المقربين من السيد محمود عباس رئيس السلطة في رام الله، بان القيادة الفلسطينية اخطأت في قرارها سحب تقرير القاضي غولدستون من جدول اعمال مجلس حقوق الانسان في جنيف، فهذا الاعتراف يلغي عمليا قرارات سابقة بتشكيل لجنة تحقيق صدرت عن السيد عباس، بعد ان تأكدت الجريمة وتحددت هوية مرتكبيها.
السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه الآن، وبقوة، هو عن الخطوات التي يجب ان تعقب هذا الاعتراف، سواء من قبل السلطة ومؤسساتها او من قبل حركة 'فتح' عمودها الفقري، او حتى الشعب الفلسطيني نفسه المتضرر الاكبر من هذه الجريمة.
العرف المتبع يقول ان من يرتكب خطأ، يجب ان يحاسب عليه، وان يكون العقاب في حجم الضرر المترتب على هذا الخطأ. هكذا تفعل الامم المتحضرة او المتخلفة على حد سواء.
الرئيس الراحل جمال عبدالناصر تحمل مسؤولية هزيمة عام 1967، وقرر الاستقالة من جميع مهامه، والشيء نفسه فعله شارل ديغول بعد مظاهرات الطلاب احتجاجا على سياساته، والامثلة كثيرة في هذا المضمار.
صحيح ان الرئيس محمود عباس ليس في حجم الرئيس جمال عبدالناصر، ولا هو في مستوى شارل ديغول، فالمقارنة هنا غير ممكنة بحكم الزمان والمكان واختلاف الظروف، والمواصفات الشخصية والقيادية، ولكن المسألة هي مسألة القدرة على تحمل المسؤولية وكل ما يترتب عليها من تبعات.
الرئيس عباس لا يريد الاستقالة من منصبه الهزيل الفاقد ادنى مقومات السيادة او الرئاسة، ومصر على البقاء وممارسة مهامه رغم كل الانتقادات الشرسة الموجهة اليه من ابناء شعبه، مما يؤكد مجددا انه يحتقر هذا الشعب، ومشاعره الوطنية، ويتعامل معه كقطيع من الغنم.
ومن المفارقة انه يصر على البقاء في موقعه هذا رغم ان صلاحيته كرئيس انتهت منذ عشرة اشهر تقريبا، وحتى الفتاوى التي اصدرها له بعض فقهاء السلطة وتعطيه غطاء شرعيا مزورا حتى نهاية هذا العام لم تعد توفر الضمانة لاستمراره اكثر من شهرين فقط.
لقد احسنت السلطات الليبية، ومندوبها في الامم المتحدة السيد عبدالرحمن شلقم صنعا، عندما طالبت بعقد جلسة طارئة لمجلس الامن الدولي لمناقشة تقرير غولدستون حول جرائم الحرب الاسرائيلية في غزة، واحالته الى محكمة جرائم الحرب في لاهاي، فهي بذلك 'عربت' هذه القضية التي تنطوي على درجة كبيرة من الاهمية، وسحبتها من يد سلطة غير مؤتمنة عليها بتنكرها للحد الادنى من الكرامة، والانتصار بالتالي لدماء الشهداء وضحايا المجازر الاسرائيلية.
الرئيس عباس قرر ايفاد وزير خارجيته السيد رياض المالكي الى نيويورك لمساعدة الاشقاء الليبيين في ادارة هذه المسألة في مجلس الامن الدولي، وكأنه اي الرئيس عباس انسان بريء لم يرتكب اي اثم، ولذلك فاننا نقترح على السلطات الليبية ان لا تتعامل مع السيد المالكي، خشية ان تؤدي تدخلاته الى مصيبة اخرى على غرار ما فعله سفيره في جنيف من كوارث. وربما يفيد التذكير بان مشاركة السيد المالكي نفسه في مؤتمر (ديربان 2) الاممي المناهض للعنصرية الذي انعقد في جنيف نفسها في الصيف الماضي، اعطت نتائج سلبية للغاية، حيث لعب الوفد الفلسطيني دورا كبيرا في تعديل مشروع القرار النهائي الذي يدين العنصرية الاسرائيلية، ويجدد قرارات مؤتمر ديربان الاول قبل عدة اعوام.
جريمة جنيف الاخيرة يجب ان لا تمر دون محاسبة جميع المسؤولين عنها، وعلى رأسهم الرئيس عباس، وجميع مستشاريه الآخرين، وعزلهم من مواقعهم بالسرعة الممكنة، فهؤلاء تنكروا لضحايا المجازر الاسرائيلية، واخرجوا اسرائيل من اخطر ازمة اخلاقية وقانونية وسياسية تواجهها منذ تأسيسها على حساب الشعب الفلسطيني، والامة العربية والاسلامية.
اننا نطالب حركة 'فتح' ولجنتها المركزية بالقيام بمهمة المحاسبة هذه، لان الرئيس عباس يقترف كل هذه الجرائم والخطايا باسمها، وان تعقد محكمتها الحركية، وتصدر قرارها بالعزل وفقا للوائح المرعية.
"
Goldstone Row Causes Unprecedented Fury against Abbas
Al-Manar
"08/10/2009 While furor against Mahmoud Abbas may come as no surprise in Hamas-controlled Gaza, there has also been outrage in his own West Bank territory. Abbas is accused of betrayal for bowing to US pressure over voting on a key report criticizing Israel’s offensive in Gaza. A vote that would have been one of many steps to bring Israel before a war crimes tribunal, something many people longs for.......
“The level of public protest is unprecedented,” said Ghassan Khatib, director of the Palestinian Authority’s media center. “I do not remember any situation before when the leadership was so unpopular,” he said, speaking by telephone from Ramallah in the West Bank. Khatib said there was a feeling among Palestinian leaders that “they have to reconsider” their approach.
In Gaza, posters appeared on walls on Wednesday calling Abbas a traitor and saying he should be consigned to “the trash heap of history.” A protester said Abbas had abandoned the cause and deserved shoes being thrown in anger at street posters showing his face. Many of them had taken off their shoes and slapped the posters of the Palestinian president.
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Ramallah on Tuesday against the leadership’s conduct and called on Abbas and other officials to resign.
PRESS OUTCRY AGAINST ABBAS
In the Palestinian press, Abbas's intervention to persuade the UN to put off its response has been greeted with fury, even in papers normally loyal to the president's Fatah faction......."
"08/10/2009 While furor against Mahmoud Abbas may come as no surprise in Hamas-controlled Gaza, there has also been outrage in his own West Bank territory. Abbas is accused of betrayal for bowing to US pressure over voting on a key report criticizing Israel’s offensive in Gaza. A vote that would have been one of many steps to bring Israel before a war crimes tribunal, something many people longs for.......
“The level of public protest is unprecedented,” said Ghassan Khatib, director of the Palestinian Authority’s media center. “I do not remember any situation before when the leadership was so unpopular,” he said, speaking by telephone from Ramallah in the West Bank. Khatib said there was a feeling among Palestinian leaders that “they have to reconsider” their approach.
In Gaza, posters appeared on walls on Wednesday calling Abbas a traitor and saying he should be consigned to “the trash heap of history.” A protester said Abbas had abandoned the cause and deserved shoes being thrown in anger at street posters showing his face. Many of them had taken off their shoes and slapped the posters of the Palestinian president.
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Ramallah on Tuesday against the leadership’s conduct and called on Abbas and other officials to resign.
PRESS OUTCRY AGAINST ABBAS
In the Palestinian press, Abbas's intervention to persuade the UN to put off its response has been greeted with fury, even in papers normally loyal to the president's Fatah faction......."
Libya war report request denied
Al-Jazeera
"The UN Security Council has rejected Libya's request to hold a special session on the Goldstone report but agreed to advance a periodical meeting to address the issues it raises.
Published at the end of September, the UN-sanctioned Goldstone report identifies war crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza between last December and January.
At a closed door session, the UN Security Council decided against an emergency session, but voted to bring forward its monthly meeting on the Middle East by six days, to October 14....."
"The UN Security Council has rejected Libya's request to hold a special session on the Goldstone report but agreed to advance a periodical meeting to address the issues it raises.
Published at the end of September, the UN-sanctioned Goldstone report identifies war crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza between last December and January.
At a closed door session, the UN Security Council decided against an emergency session, but voted to bring forward its monthly meeting on the Middle East by six days, to October 14....."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Will the real people of the West Bank please stand up, please stand up
"Will the people of the West Bank please stand up*. I know you had a demonstration yesterday with anywhere from 500-1000 people. I’m sorry, but that’s not enough. Please put the shisha down, stop cracking bizir seeds for five minutes and remember, even though you are a bit better off than your brothers and sisters in Gaza you are still under occupation. Your land in the West Bank is still being stolen on a daily basis, your brothers and sisters are still being arrested on a daily basis, your movement is still being restricted on a daily basis and you have shamefully decided to pretend that you are a separate entity, different than Gazans who are living in worse than sub-Saharan African conditions."
Mondoweiss
Mondoweiss
Package deal! Arab puppet dictators made in USA
eBAY
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They will:
- sell national resources for nothing,
- buy for billions in useless US military hardware and other WMD, thus helping the military-industrial complex,
- give access to bases for wars of aggression against independent countries or resistance groups (the so-called "bad guys")
- give green light to any US agency for regional hegemony, control of oil, gas and minerals,
- repress with an absolute brutality their people aspiration for true freedom, national Independence, social justice, dignity, control of the economy and foreign policy, military defense capabilities...
- They will respond in real time 24/7 to any order from the DoD or the White House.
- They respond very well to CNN and other tools of imperial propaganda
- They are well domesticated, they exhibit various postures, they walk on your side, they sleep in their own cute little box
- Warning: some of the US gov. supported puppet dictators are training or financing real sectarian of fanatical groups in order to keep alive the imperial doctrine: “divide and rule”
Special bonus !!! All benefits for the average Joe and the average Mohammed ! Buying them will help the Arab people in their quest for freedom and justice, it will end the petro-dollar recycling system and it will end the inhuman, barbaric wars waged by the US empire against poor people and small resistance groups, it will defuse all extremism, it will force a profound change in the economy, giving resources back for the real economy, for life, for social and human development in north America and in the middle-east and not for greedy war makers, weapon sellers and mercenary firms. Buy your puppet dictator full kit now !
In the name of hundreds of millions of Arab citizens and in the name of a billion Muslim men women and children, thank you in advance. We will be very happy to send them anywhere in the US (or elsewhere, even Antarctica) with FREE shipping ! Don't miss the opportunity. We may even pay you to get them in a package deal."
"Package deal! Arab puppet dictators made in USA, cheap, servile, resourceful, 100% unelected, "moderate" label, "New Middle Beast" certification, "New World Disorder" 90001, among the useful function's of your "Arab puppet dictators full kit":
They will:
- sell national resources for nothing,
- buy for billions in useless US military hardware and other WMD, thus helping the military-industrial complex,
- give access to bases for wars of aggression against independent countries or resistance groups (the so-called "bad guys")
- give green light to any US agency for regional hegemony, control of oil, gas and minerals,
- repress with an absolute brutality their people aspiration for true freedom, national Independence, social justice, dignity, control of the economy and foreign policy, military defense capabilities...
- They will respond in real time 24/7 to any order from the DoD or the White House.
- They respond very well to CNN and other tools of imperial propaganda
- They are well domesticated, they exhibit various postures, they walk on your side, they sleep in their own cute little box
- Warning: some of the US gov. supported puppet dictators are training or financing real sectarian of fanatical groups in order to keep alive the imperial doctrine: “divide and rule”
Special bonus !!! All benefits for the average Joe and the average Mohammed ! Buying them will help the Arab people in their quest for freedom and justice, it will end the petro-dollar recycling system and it will end the inhuman, barbaric wars waged by the US empire against poor people and small resistance groups, it will defuse all extremism, it will force a profound change in the economy, giving resources back for the real economy, for life, for social and human development in north America and in the middle-east and not for greedy war makers, weapon sellers and mercenary firms. Buy your puppet dictator full kit now !
In the name of hundreds of millions of Arab citizens and in the name of a billion Muslim men women and children, thank you in advance. We will be very happy to send them anywhere in the US (or elsewhere, even Antarctica) with FREE shipping ! Don't miss the opportunity. We may even pay you to get them in a package deal."
Abbas Investigating Himself
This is a funny cartoon by Emad Hajjaj.
It is about the so-called commission the traitor Abbas has formed to determine who was responsible for deciding to delay the voting on the Goldstone report.
It shows the traitor sitting in front of a make-believe commission (the mirror). The "commission" asks, "where were you, Abbas, when the crime took place?"
A poverty of leadership
Osamah Khalil, The Electronic Intifada, 7 October 2009
".....Palestinians globally and across the political spectrum have rightfully been outraged at what is not only an unbelievable act of cowardice and ineptitude, but a betrayal of the highest order. Indeed, anywhere else in the world it would be considered tantamount to treason. Sadly and unsurprisingly, it is what passes for leadership from Mahmoud Abbas......
Judging by their fumbling and inconsistent responses over the past several days, Abbas and his cronies were clearly caught off guard by the reaction to the postponement. After making the ludicrous announcement that he would empower an investigation into what happened at the UNHRC, Abbas dispatched the PA's "foreign minister," Riyad al-Maliki, to New York to participate in an emergency session of the UN Security Council called at the request of Libya to discuss the Goldstone report. Regardless of what happens at the Security Council, any rational observer must ask, exactly what kind of "president" is Mahmoud Abbas and who does he represent?.......
Whether or not the clumsy attempt to shelve the report is the tipping point for Abbas's rule, the succession process has been underway for several years. However, it is being coordinated by the US and Israel and is no reflection of the wishes and desires of the Palestinian people. Abbas's likely successor is Fayyad, who somehow manages to be an even more uninspiring and unpopular character......"
".....Palestinians globally and across the political spectrum have rightfully been outraged at what is not only an unbelievable act of cowardice and ineptitude, but a betrayal of the highest order. Indeed, anywhere else in the world it would be considered tantamount to treason. Sadly and unsurprisingly, it is what passes for leadership from Mahmoud Abbas......
Judging by their fumbling and inconsistent responses over the past several days, Abbas and his cronies were clearly caught off guard by the reaction to the postponement. After making the ludicrous announcement that he would empower an investigation into what happened at the UNHRC, Abbas dispatched the PA's "foreign minister," Riyad al-Maliki, to New York to participate in an emergency session of the UN Security Council called at the request of Libya to discuss the Goldstone report. Regardless of what happens at the Security Council, any rational observer must ask, exactly what kind of "president" is Mahmoud Abbas and who does he represent?.......
Whether or not the clumsy attempt to shelve the report is the tipping point for Abbas's rule, the succession process has been underway for several years. However, it is being coordinated by the US and Israel and is no reflection of the wishes and desires of the Palestinian people. Abbas's likely successor is Fayyad, who somehow manages to be an even more uninspiring and unpopular character......"
Reconcile.....Reconcile Not......Reconcile....Reconcile Not.....
Hamas Asks Egypt to Delay Reconciliation Deal
Al-Manar
"07/10/2009 Hamas has asked Egypt to delay the signing of a Palestinian reconciliation deal that Cairo had announced for later this month, a source within the Resistance group declared on Wednesday.
Hamas "asked Egypt to postpone the session for the signature of the agreement," the source told AFP, asking not to be named.
The delay was requested because of the controversial decision by the Palestinian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council to drop its backing for an immediate vote on a report on the Gaza war, he said........"
Al-Manar
"07/10/2009 Hamas has asked Egypt to delay the signing of a Palestinian reconciliation deal that Cairo had announced for later this month, a source within the Resistance group declared on Wednesday.
Hamas "asked Egypt to postpone the session for the signature of the agreement," the source told AFP, asking not to be named.
The delay was requested because of the controversial decision by the Palestinian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council to drop its backing for an immediate vote on a report on the Gaza war, he said........"
Now that is leadership you can believe in!
حماس تطلب من مصر تأجيل توقيع اتفاق المصالحة مع فتح
"غزة ـ القاهرة ـ قال مصدر قريب من حركة حماس الاربعاء ان الحركة طلبت من مصر تأجيل جلسة الحوار الفلسطيني التي من المقرر عقدها في 25 تشرين الاول (اكتوبر) لتوقيع اتفاق المصالحة بين حماس وفتح، وذلك بسبب سحب تقرير غولدستون من المناقشات.
فيما رد وزير الخارجية المصري احمد ابو الغيط الاربعاء بقوله ان اي طرف فلسطيني يحاول تأجيل اتفاق المصالحة الوطنية لا يعمل "لمصلحة الثورة الفلسطينية" او "العمل الوطني الفلسطيني"، في اشارة واضحة الى حركة المقاومة الاسلامية.
وردا على اسئلة الصحافيين حول ما اذا كان تأجيل بحث تقرير غولدستون يمكن ان يؤدي الى ارجاء توقيع اتفاق المصالحة الفلسطينية، قال ابو الغيط "لا ينبغى ان نجعل المناورة والتكتيك يؤثران على الاستراتيجية".
واضاف "لا اتصور ان من سيقوم بأي محاولة للتأجيل يسعى فعلا للحفاظ على وحدة العمل الوطني الفلسطيني والحفاظ على الثورة الفلسطينية لان العمل الوطني الفلسطيني يجب ان يتحقق من خلال الوحدة وليس من خلال التفرقة".
......"
The Gaza War's Effect on Women
"I Have No Hope, No Future"
By STEPHEN LENDMAN
CounterPunch
"The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) new report, titled "Through Women's Eyes," highlights "the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead" and the ongoing siege, including 12 case study examples "through the victims' words." Several are discussed below.
In patriarchal Palestinian society, women traditionally are caregivers while men typically head households and are the main breadwinners. As a result, when widows are thrust into this role, they're often victimized by cultural, social and economic discrimination and marginalization. In Gaza today, it's hard for women to get by alone, so widows must either live with family members or remarry. The alternative is a hard struggle alone, something most Palestinian women try to avoid, but post-conflict many have no choice......."
By STEPHEN LENDMAN
CounterPunch
"The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) new report, titled "Through Women's Eyes," highlights "the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead" and the ongoing siege, including 12 case study examples "through the victims' words." Several are discussed below.
In patriarchal Palestinian society, women traditionally are caregivers while men typically head households and are the main breadwinners. As a result, when widows are thrust into this role, they're often victimized by cultural, social and economic discrimination and marginalization. In Gaza today, it's hard for women to get by alone, so widows must either live with family members or remarry. The alternative is a hard struggle alone, something most Palestinian women try to avoid, but post-conflict many have no choice......."
Arab Unity
Lovely.......
"REJECTIONIST" SYRIA, SOLIDIFYING "ARAB UNITY".......
CELEBRATE "UNITY" NOW!......
OR ELSE!
Banned from Al Aqsa
Jonathan Cook,
The National
October 07. 2009
"NAZARETH // Tension over control of the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second intifada nine years ago.
Ten days of intermittently bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem culminated yesterday in warnings by Palestinian officials that Israel was “sparking a fire” in the city. Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper similarly wondered whether a third intifada was imminent.
Israel deployed 20,000 police to safeguard the annual Jerusalem march, which was reported to have attracted a crowd of 70,000 passing through sensitive Palestinian neighbourhoods close to the Old City......
Palestinian concerns are not without foundation. Israel’s religious and secular leaders have been staking an ever-stronger claim to sovereignty over the compound since the occupation began, despite an original agreement to leave control with Islamic authorities.
The rabbinical consensus since the Middle Ages has been that Jews are forbidden from entering the compound for fear of desecrating the site of the temple’s inner sanctum, whose location is unknown.
But even as the Israeli army captured the Old City in 1967, its chief rabbi, Shlomo Goren, rushed to the Haram to read from the Bible and blow a ram’s horn, as the ancient temple priests had once done......
It was precisely rumours that Jewish extremists had entered the compound on the eve of Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur, that provided the spark triggering the latest round of clashes.
A growing number of settler rabbis want the injunction against Jews praying there lifted, adding to Palestinian fears that Israeli officials, rabbis, settlers and fundamentalists are conspiring to engineer a final takeover of the Haram al Sharif. [COMMENT: BUT THIS IS NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE DANISH CARTOONS; HENCE THE MUSLIM "UMMA" IS FAST ASLEEP.] "
The National
October 07. 2009
"NAZARETH // Tension over control of the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second intifada nine years ago.
Ten days of intermittently bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem culminated yesterday in warnings by Palestinian officials that Israel was “sparking a fire” in the city. Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper similarly wondered whether a third intifada was imminent.
Israel deployed 20,000 police to safeguard the annual Jerusalem march, which was reported to have attracted a crowd of 70,000 passing through sensitive Palestinian neighbourhoods close to the Old City......
Palestinian concerns are not without foundation. Israel’s religious and secular leaders have been staking an ever-stronger claim to sovereignty over the compound since the occupation began, despite an original agreement to leave control with Islamic authorities.
The rabbinical consensus since the Middle Ages has been that Jews are forbidden from entering the compound for fear of desecrating the site of the temple’s inner sanctum, whose location is unknown.
But even as the Israeli army captured the Old City in 1967, its chief rabbi, Shlomo Goren, rushed to the Haram to read from the Bible and blow a ram’s horn, as the ancient temple priests had once done......
It was precisely rumours that Jewish extremists had entered the compound on the eve of Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur, that provided the spark triggering the latest round of clashes.
A growing number of settler rabbis want the injunction against Jews praying there lifted, adding to Palestinian fears that Israeli officials, rabbis, settlers and fundamentalists are conspiring to engineer a final takeover of the Haram al Sharif. [COMMENT: BUT THIS IS NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE DANISH CARTOONS; HENCE THE MUSLIM "UMMA" IS FAST ASLEEP.] "
Al-Jazeera Video: Domestic workers abused in the Gulf - 07 Oct 09
"Every year thousands of women arrive in the Gulf to take up jobs as domestic workers.
The majority of them leave behind their families on a huge financial gamble to try to earn enough in remittances.
But behind closed doors, in the homes of their employers, some find themselves trapped in a cycle of horrific abuse.
Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford spoke to one housemaid, Mary, who suffered two years of abuse in the United Arab Emirates."
Al-Jazeera Video: Robert Fisk on the Gulf 'ditching the dollar' in oil trade
"Gulf states have held secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the US dollar with a basket of currencies in the trade of oil, the UK's Independent newspaper says.
The report by Robert Fisk, the newspaper's Middle East correspondent, was published on Tuesday and cited unidentified sources in Gulf Arab states and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong.
Al Jazeera has this exclusive interview with Robert Fisk and Steven King, chief economist from the HSBC Group."
Voices from Afghanistan: Afghan Women’s Activist Zoya Speaks Out on Eight Years of Occupation
Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman
"We turn now to a voice from Afghanistan. Zoya is a member of the radical underground organization called Rawa, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She was a child during the Soviet invasion of her country. As a teenager, the mujahideen or warlords killed her activist parents. She fled with her grandmother to a refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan but later returned to her country to document life under Taliban rule. She has been an outspoken critic of the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan.
Zoya is on a national tour of the United States this month and is speaking at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York today. For her own security inside Afghanistan, she goes by the pseudonym Zoya and does not appear on camera. Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat asked Zoya over the telephone Tuesday for her thoughts on this eighth anniversary of the US-led bombing of Afghanistan......"
With Amy Goodman
"We turn now to a voice from Afghanistan. Zoya is a member of the radical underground organization called Rawa, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She was a child during the Soviet invasion of her country. As a teenager, the mujahideen or warlords killed her activist parents. She fled with her grandmother to a refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan but later returned to her country to document life under Taliban rule. She has been an outspoken critic of the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan.
Zoya is on a national tour of the United States this month and is speaking at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York today. For her own security inside Afghanistan, she goes by the pseudonym Zoya and does not appear on camera. Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat asked Zoya over the telephone Tuesday for her thoughts on this eighth anniversary of the US-led bombing of Afghanistan......"
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