Thinking Outside of the Secular Box -Gilad Atzmon

The Left and Islam
"As tragic as it may sound to some, we are not as free as we believe ourselves to be. We are not exactly the author of most of our thoughts and realizations. Our human conditions are imposed on us; we are a product of our culture, language ideological indoctrination and in many cases, victims of our intellectual laziness. Like the semi-fictional American female activist above, in most cases we are trapped within our preconceived ideas and that stops us from seeing things for what they really are. Accordingly, we tend to interpret and in most cases misinterpret remote cultures employing our own value system and moral code."
(Counterpunch, thanks v)

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to 'self-hating Jews' Emanuel and Axelrod

"Netanyahu appears to be suffering from confusion and paranoia. He is convinced that the media are after him, that his aides are leaking information against him and that the American administration wants him out of office. Two months after his visit to Washington, he is still finding it difficult to communication normally with the White House. To appreciate the depth of his paranoia, it is enough to hear how he refers to Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, Obama's senior aides: as "self-hating Jews."
(Haaretz)

Which smear has greater effect--self-hating Jew or anti-Semite?

Helena Cobban asked in an email yesterday-- apropos of the report that Netanyahu has called powerful Jewish aides to Obama "self-hating Jews"--which is worse: to be called an anti-Semite or a self-hating Jew? Which calumny is more effective in preventing criticism of Israel? I say: to be called an anti-Semite. My reasoning:
(Mondoweiss)
And here's Helena Cobban's article
(Justworldnews)

Excuse me! Did you pay a market price for this?

A pollster's recommendations on how to sell Americans on the idea of Israeli settlements.

Chosen Words
"How do you sell the American public on the idea that Israel has the right to maintain or even expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank? Be positive. Turn the issue away from settlements and toward peace. Invoke ethnic cleansing.

Those are three of the recommendations made by Frank Luntz, a political consultant and pollster, in an internal study he wrote for the Washington-based group The Israel Project (TIP) on effective ways to talk to Americans about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The 117-page study, titled The Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary, was commissioned by the nonprofit group, which aims to promote Israel's side of the story, and leaked to NEWSWEEK. It includes chapters with such titles as "How to Talk About Palestinian Self Government and Prosperity" and "The Language of Tackling a Nuclear Iran."
(Newsweek)

'Newsweek' is namby-pamby on the Israel lobby

Yesterday we gave Newsweek a wet kiss for publishing the Israel Project's sickmaking recommendations on how to sell settlements to the American public--the idea that removing them is "ethnic cleansing." Well I'm having weird feelings the morning after, cause here's Newsweek's article accompanying the scoop, by Dan Ephron. Best thing about it is the title: "Chosen Words," a beautiful play on the Chosen People. After that it's all downhill.
(Mondoweiss)

Tarik Ali on Obama, Pakistan and the empire

(Thanks v)

Elegance wasn't meant to make one look like a mafioso! Or a dork! Or a jerk!

Only fashion was!..


BTW, it reminds me, I need a haircut, thanks Padre...

(Taken From the Sartorialist, a site that I visit now and then for a reason that I ignore ( maybe I'm masochistic after all, lol.) because I really hate everything (almost) about it especially, ESPECIALLY the thousands of INSANE fashionistas who comment there!! They seem to pass away in admiration of the slightest voile shirt or cutt-off tuxedo pants! Shudder!)
NB* Hang on! Is that guy wearing a bracelet? Is HE?!! HE IS!!


( It's Sunday, ok??!! We're entitled to a bit of fun, Comrades!)

Cynthia McKinney talks about her experience

Cynthia McKinney is a former US Representative who served from 1993-2003 and from 2005-2008 . She was the 2008 Green Party presidential nominee and has been an active member of the Free Gaza Movement. In 2004, The Backbone Campaign awarded her the fifth annual Backbone Award "because she was willing to challenge the Bush administration and called for an investigation into 9/11 when few others dared to air their criticism and questions." Here, Ishmahil Blagrove, Jr. talks to McKinney about her experience with the situation in Gaza and her views on today’s political landscape.

Israeli Barrier: Security or Apartheid? - Jeff Halper

Jeff Halper, co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, explains why he believes Israel's "separation barrier" enforces apartheid between Israelis and Palestinians. He compares the Israeli West-Bank barrier to the Berlin Wall.

*The full video is here:Jeff Halper: Countdown to Apartheid in Israel

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Btw, I was waiting for this video for quite a while since I attended the lecture but missed the first 30 min. A must!

Mourn on the 4th of July

John Pilger for the Newstatesman
"Liberals say that the United States is once again a “nation of moral ideals”, but behind the façade little has changed. With his government of warmongers, Wall Street cronies and polluters from the Bush and Clinton eras, Barack Obama is merely upholding the myths of a divine America"
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Yes fleming ..Finally you can lash out at Pilger and insult "mullah tgia"! But could you at least respect my rank and call me RAHATULLAH tgia? Please!

Obama’s War: Thousands of Marines Battle in Helmand in Major U.S. Offensive

In Afghanistan, a powerful truck bomb killed at least 25 people today, including up to 16 schoolchildren, in a province just south of Kabul. The latest bloodshed coincided with a major American military offensive in Helmand province in the south. US forces last week launched what’s being described as the largest Marine offensive since the Vietnam War. Some 4,000 Marines and hundreds of Afghan troops are targeting areas in the Helmand River Valley to wrest it from Taliban control. We go to Kabul to speak with Wall Street Journal journalist, Anand Gopal.

World Leaders, Protesters Gather in Italy for G-8; Global Financial Crisis & Climate Change Top Agenda

President Obama arrived in Italy from Moscow this morning where leaders from eight of the world’s richest nations are gathering in the town of L’Aquila, for the annual Group of Eight summit. The three-day meeting is expected see high-level talks on the global economic crisis, climate change, food security and Iran. Protesters are also gathering for the G-8. We speak with Loretta Napoleoni, author of “Rogue Economics: Capitalism’s New Reality.”

Zelaya's rare broadcast!

In Rare U.S. Broadcast, Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Discusses Coup, Costa Rica Talks, U.S. Role
"Talks between the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the leaders of last week’s military coup begin today in Costa Rica. Shortly before leaving Washington DC for Costa Rica, Zelaya sat down with us for a rare U.S. television interview. He discusses how military coup forces forced him out, the upcoming talks in Costa Rica, his domestic policies in Honduras, the role of the United States and more."
Democracy now

Happy (third) Birthday to the Palestinian Pundit!

Guess What? It is Palestinian Pundit's Third Anniversary!
By Tony Sayegh

"It is hard to believe, but three years have passed by since the start of P.P. The first post on July 9, 2006 dealt with Gaza and was titled, “No, This Is Not a Warsaw Ghetto, This is Gaza Now!” Three years later, Gaza is in a much worse shape, thanks to the total, medieval, siege imposed and enforced jointly by the IOF and their new ally, the Pharaoh of Egypt."
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Happy birthday brothers!

After Honduras coup outburst, Chavez works in wings

CARACAS (Reuters) - When the army ousted Honduras' president, his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez at first let loose with typical ire by blaming Washington and threatening military action.

But then he went uncharacteristically quiet.

French tourists seen as world's worst: survey

"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday."
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Apart from the language barrier issue, from what I've experienced myself over 30 years living there, if they're as impolite abroad as they are at home, then it's no wonder! I can attribute 90% of the reasons that made me, finally, leave that country( Paris to be accurate) to the general culture of rudeness and uncivility! Too much accumulated hurt!..On the other hand and to be fair, I do hear many Australians who have visited the country say that it wasn't their experience at all. I tend to attribute that to the fact that they especially like Australians..Can't say as much about the Americans though!

U.S. mortgage fraud 'rampant' and growing

SAN FRANCISCO, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage fraud reports jumped 36 percent last year as desperate homeowners and industry professionals tried to maintain their standard of living from the boom years, the FBI said on Tuesday.

Suspicious activity reports rose to 63,713 in fiscal year 2008, which ended last September, from 46,717 the year before. California and Florida, centers of the housing bust, had the highest numbers of suspicious reports as foreclosures jumped, the stock market dropped and credit dried up.

Suicide attacks kill dozens in northern Iraq

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 on Thursday, police said, just over a week after U.S. troops handed security in city centers to local forces.
Reuters

Boycott of Israel--always .

The council of Egyptian writers renewed its position on strict boycott of the Zionist usurping entity.
Via the Angry Arab
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Sorry but it's in Arabic..

FOX News calls Amsterdam an atheist, drug smoking, child killing hell hole.

Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace

Mapping Models of Statehood Conference at York Univ
The purpose of this conference is to explore which state models offer promising paths to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, respecting the rights to self-determination of both Israelis/Jews and Palestinians. Mindful of the fraught context in which debates relating to Israel/Palestine unfold, the conference aims to open up measured and thoughtful conversations on the range of possible paths out of the current impasse.
Participants:
* Ali Abunimah
* Omar Barghouti
* Efrat Ben-Ze'ev
* Meron Benvenisti
* George E. Bisharat
* Uri Davis
* Marc H. Ellis
* Jeff Halper
* Jeff Handmaker
* David Kretzmer
* Smadar Lavie
* Ian Lustick
* Michael Mandel
* Mazen Masri
* Mazin B. Qumsiyeh
* Dan Rabinowitz
* Yakov M. Rabkin
* Nadim N. Rouhana
* Gershon Shafir
* Nimer Sultany
* Rafeef Ziadah

Zionist Betar thugs(Jewish Defense League) vandalize the Resistances bookstore in Paris

Thousands of books drenched in cooking oil – that is the latest exploit of the Zionist fanatics who regularly attack property and people in Paris and get away with it.
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I'm familiar with their actions! An ultra nationalistic, fascistic, extremely violent gang!!

Is this valid for Honduras as well?

Heaven or hell?

Another day at an Israeli Checkpoint

A queue at Qalandya checkpoint,

"This is the scene that 30 year old May B and here two children plunge into every morning as they make their trek to work and school. For May it is the same routine every day; first she drops her husband off at work in the city centre at about 8 am then she makes her way to her children’s kindergarten and finally she arrives at her East Jerusalem office sometime after 9.30."
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Once there was checkpoint Charlie, now there's checkpoint Shlomo!

Sorry no more posts today, I'm kind of exhausted..Especially the eyes! They're really hurting..need to see an Ophtalmologist...Again! Well, your own links are as good as anything,I think...Actually I'm pretty sure! Have a nice day.

Michael Parenti: The Honduras Coup: Is Obama Innocent?

By Michael Parenti
Is President Obama innocent of the events occurring in Honduras, specifically the coup launched by the Honduran military resulting in the abduction and forced deportation of democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya? Obama has denounced the coup and demanded that the rules of democracy be honored. Still, several troubling questions remain.

First, almost all the senior Honduran military officers active in the coup are graduates of the Pentagon's School of the Americas (known to many of us as "School of the Assassins"). The Honduran military is trained, advised, equipped, indoctrinated, and financed by the United States national security state. The generals would never have dared to move without tacit consent from the White House or the Pentagon and CIA.

Second, if Obama was not directly involved, then he should be faulted for having no firm command over those US operatives who were. The US military must have known about the plot and US military intelligence must have known and must have reported it back to Washington. Why did Obama's people who had communicated with the coup leaders fail to blow the whistle on them? Why did they not expose and denounce the plot, thereby possibly foiling the entire venture? Instead the US kept quiet about it, a silence that in effect, even if not in intent, served as an act of complicity.

Third, immediately after the coup, Obama stated that he was against using violence to effect change and that it was up to the various parties in Honduras to resolve their differences. His remarks were a rather tepid and muted response to a gangster putsch.

Fourth, Obama never expected there would be an enormous uproar over the Honduras coup. He hastily joined the outcry against the perpetrators only when it became evident that opposition to the putschists was nearly universal throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world.

Fifth, Obama still has had nothing to say about the many other acts of repression attendant with the coup perpetrated by Honduran military and police: kidnappings, beatings, disappearances, attacks on demonstrators, shutting down the internet and suppressing the few small critical media outlets that exist in Honduras.

Sixth, as James Petras reminded me, Obama has refused to meet with President Zelaya. He dislikes Zelaya mostly for his close and unexpected affiliation with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. And because of his egalitarian reformist efforts Zelaya is hated by the Honduran oligarchs, the same oligarchs who for many years have been close to and splendidly served by the US empire builders.

Seventh, under a law passed by the US Congress, any democratic government that is the victim of a military takeover is to be denied US military and economic aid. Obama still has not cut off the economic and military aid to Honduras as he is required to do under this law. This is perhaps the most telling datum regarding whose side he is on.

As president, Obama has considerable influence and immense resources that might well have thwarted the perpetrators and perhaps could still be applied against them with real effect. As of now his stance on Honduras is too little too late, as is the case with too many other things he does.
Znet

The Angry Arab redux

The dumbest analysis of Middle East affairs

"I have said before that Jeffrey Goldberg is--how do I put it delicately--the least intelligent writer on Middle East affairs these days. Here is his latest: "President Obama’s skills and charisma just might bring Sunni Arabs and Israeli Jews together, but he will be helped inestimably if he considers that the road to peace runs not through Jerusalem but through Karbala. Consider the possibility of a grand, if necessarily implicit, Jewish-Sunni alliance as a gift to Obama from his predecessor." This is rather amusing. That they think that the King of Jordan or Husni Mubarak's alliance with Israel represent the public mood of average Sunnis in the Arab world. I am sure that my (Sunni Beiruti) mother would not be amused to learn that she is now aligned with Israel. In fact, my mother (an Arab nationalist at heart) was just telling me last night: that she was quite unhappy with my article agaisnt the Iranian regime this week. She told me that she nows supports Iran against the Arab governments."

The Angry Arab on the US conspiracy on Iran

"The US conspiracy in Iran
I am now more convinced than ever that the US and Western governments were far more involved in Iranian affairs during the demonstrations than was assumed by many. Let us make it clear: the US, Western, and Saudi intervention in Iranian affairs does not necessarily implicate the Iranian protesters themselves. And even if some of them were involved in those conspiracies, I do believe that the majority of Iranian protesters were motivated by domestic issues and legitimate grievances against an oppressive government. But I was just looking at US and Western media coverage of Honduras: where the situation is rather analogous and you can't escape the conclusion that the US media were involved with the US government of a conspiracy the details of which will be revealed years from now. I mean, there is twitter in Honduras and there is internet there and yet the situation is not getting eve 5% of the wall-to-wall coverage that the Iranian demonstrations were getting. Just as the Iranian Supreme Leader is wrong to assume that all the upheaval in Iran was orchestrated by the outside, other are wrong when they assume that the upheavals were not in any way linked to outside conspiracies against the regime. Read the book All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer one more time to know what I mean. (thanks Dale)

The Honduran Drama

Justin Raimondo
"The irony here is that the Honduran militarists, and their American supporters, are claiming the new regime is a bulwark against the evil influence of the socialist Hugo Chavez, from whose clutches the army saved Honduras. So what about Lopez’s private property – or has the Micheletti regime gone socialist?"

Cynthia McKinney and the Kidnapping of the Spirit of Humanity

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney returned home today after 6 days being held by the government of Israel while attempting with 21 colleagues to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza on the vessel, the Spirit of Humanity.

“Don’t sign Miss Cynthia don’t sign!” So chanted a boisterous group of Palestinian teens and pre-teens in Beirut’s Shatila Refugee Camp demonstrating support for the Freegaza Humanity boat abductees on the 4th of July.
Counterpunch

Israel Calls on Ultra-Orthodox Jews to Stop "Arab Takeover"

Jonathan Cook from Nazareth
"Israel’s housing minister called for strict segregation between the country’s Jewish and Arab populations last week as he unveiled plans to move large numbers of fundamentalist religious Jews to Israel’s north to prevent what he described as an “Arab takeover” of the region.

Ariel Atias said he considered it a “national mission” to bring ultra-Orthodox Jews -- or Haredim, distinctive for their formal black and white clothing -- into Arab areas, and announced that he would also create the north’s first exclusively Haredi town.

John Pilger on Honduras, Iran, Gaza, the Corporate Media, Obama’s Wars and Resisting the American Empire

"Award-winning investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker, John Pilger, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on on Honduras, Iran, Gaza, the media, health care, and Obama’s wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pilger has has written close to a dozen books and made over 50 documentaries on a range of subjects including struggles around the world for a more just and peaceful society and against Western military and economic intervention."
Democracy Now

A bug in the system

As I told you last week I had emailed the support at JS-Kit to advise them that it was not possible to use the feature ban/unban anymore. They came back to me this morning:

"Yes, unfortunately I should confirm that you have pointed us to a bug in our system. I've forwarded this issue to our development team and I hope the solution will be available soon."

So there, fleming (huffing and puffing in the 'blocked' department and calling me a "mullah, intolerant to honest and dissenting views").

Honduras ousted from alliance as Zelaya heads home

THE Organisation of American States has expelled Honduras in reaction to last week's military coup, which ousted the president, Manuel Zelaya.

Mr Zelaya, who was exiled by the coup leaders, expressed his intention to return to his home country yesterday.

Peaceful, green Costa Rica rated world's happiest country

Costa Rica is the happiest place on Earth, and one of the most environmentally friendly, while Australia comes third, a survey has found.
The British group the New Economics Foundation looked at 143 countries that are home to 99 per cent of the world's population and devised an equation that weighs life expectancy and people's happiness against their environmental impact.

Latin American countries did well in the survey, occupying nine of the top 10 spots.

The Sydney Morning Herald
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I could understand that Moyhabin and Mara are citizens? Could be wrong though.

How to deal with America’s empire of bases

Along with postcards of cowboys riding jackalopes and giant berries on flatcars, there's a brand new entry in the American gigantism sweepstakes: an embassy complex to be built in Islamabad, Pakistan, for -- if you assume the normal cost overruns on such projects -- what's likely to be close to a billion dollars. If that doesn't make the U.S. number one in the imperial hubris footrace for all eternity, what will? The question is: with its projected "large military and intelligence contingent," and its "surge" of diplomats, will that embassy also issue the largest visas on the planet?

Clerical Leaders Defy Ayatollah on Iran Election

An important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

Saudis give nod to Israeli raid on Iran

The Israeli press has already carried unconfirmed reports that high-ranking officials, including Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, held meetings with Saudi colleagues. The reports were denied by Saudi officials.

“The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of both Israel and Saudi Arabia,” a diplomatic source said last week.
The Times

Gideon Levy: Our IDF

"Combat is the best, my brother, as the famous bumper sticker reads. It's a good thing we have Shayetet 13. Operating at the crack of dawn - or was it before nightfall? - the daring naval commandos fearlessly took control of a rusty, rickety, unarmed boat bobbing in the middle of the sea. That's exactly why we have a naval commando force - to take control of ships offering humanitarian aid."
Haaretz
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And the fake "angry Arab, As'ad"' continue untroubled on Haaretz' comments section!

Has Barack Obama become the bane of Israeli Jews?

He swept to power with the support of 78% of American Jews. But has Barack Obama become the bane of Israeli Jews?

A gulf between American and Israeli Jews was evident even before Obama moved into the White House. Just a third of Israelis would have endorsed him had they been allowed to vote, polling indicated, while almost half would have chosen John McCain.

Lieberman has become irrelevant

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's critical remarks about Israel's hawkish foreign minister, during his recent meeting with Netanyahu, are just the tip of the iceberg. Many diplomats who have met Lieberman got the feeling that there was no one to talk to and that he has no influence over the Israeli decision-making process.

The fact that Lieberman has left a bad impression is evident from a story he himself told Moscow's Jewish community about his meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Lieberman told his counterpart that the "natural growth" of West Bank settlements required continued construction, citing the shortage of kindergartens in his hometown of Nokdim as an example. Kouchner cynically retorted that faced with a shortage, the children of Nokdim could always attend Palestinian kindergartens. "I'm not sure they have kindergartens," was what Lieberman told his Moscow audience he replied. "And even if they did, our kids wouldn't make it back alive."

Nobel peace laureate jailed in Israel for Gaza activism

A Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former U.S. congresswoman are among eight people to be released today and expelled after having sailed on a protest ship heading to Gaza from Cyprus, the Israeli Interior Ministry says.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her peace campaign in Northern Ireland, has been in prison in Israel since Tuesday after being removed from the ship.

Tom Roberts, Australian.(Charles Darwin exhibition)

Aboriginal head - Charlie Turner 1892

Exhibition: Charles Darwin in Australia-art and evolution
Url: http://www.art-museum.unimelb.edu.au
Exhibition coming up at Ian Potter Museum of Art in Flinders Lane precinct, Victoria, Australia
From Wednesday 12 August 2009 To Sunday 01 November 2009

Charles Darwin in Australia: art and evolution is a major exhibition of more than 120 items dedicated to exploring the lasting legacy of Charles Darwin in art, science and culture in australia.
This exhibition offers an artistic, cultural and philosophic review of the ramifications of Darwin’s 1831–36 visit to Australian shores. This exhibition offers the only thorough examination of Darwin’s influence on the artistic and cultural life of Melbourne and stands apart for the rare, original and unique works it brings together in honour of this momentous year.

Thornton Walker - contemporary Australian artist

Doubts of One Kind and Another (I), 2007

Walker has something for bowls! For many years they were his exclusive subject matter. Don't laugh, the work is quite unique and one look at any of his painting hints to a deeper philosophical concerns than merely representing kitchen ware. Actually he had stated them many times. Eastern philosophy and Zen are at the center of his entire work.
Btw, as previously discussed in relation to the golden mean or golden ratio, notice where Thornton has placed his bowl and where he placed the limit of the black stripe ..I strongly doubt it's just a coincidence.

Morning Sun- Edward Hopper 1952

Sunday, art day...
I was thinking of writing something about this painting but changed my mind. What is there to say which is not obvious?
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While I was reading about Hopper and his early formative years, I came across this advice given to him by one of his teachers artist Robert Henri: "Forget about art and paint what interests you in life"....This must be the most valuable advice I've ever heard in my whole life. I just wish I had come across this one well before.

Bil'in . Anti violence capital of the world.... 26-6-09

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Bon, je vais maintenant vous l'avouer, j'ai un petit faible pour elle!:)

More good news from the BDS front..

Dexia Bank decides to stop financing Israeli settlements
The Belgian-French financial group, Dexia, has declared that it is stopping all financial support to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, through its Israel Branch.
(Via the Palestinian Pundit)

More "G-d" fearing pogromists at work!

Business as usual for Hebron thugs

You gotta love the scum!

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Please meet the lady. She's from South Africa. She's saying the land is hers. "G-d" gave it to her or some other shit to that effect..

Occupation 101 new trailer

(thanks v)

Raising Kids Without Religion

"My husband and I are the ONLY parents I know raising our children without any religion or even religious identity (as in claiming to be part of a culture without studying its practices). We are both devout atheists. We don't believe in any gods, or even the possibility of one. We are not agnostic. We believe awareness begins at conception and ends at death. There is no such thing as a soul. No heaven or hell, no rebirth, second chances or higher plains await us. Life is all there is."
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Working fine here too. He's got more ethical concerns than any believer of his age around. Vegetarian and wouldn't step on an ant or hurt a fly! Shows concern that the Nikes we might purchase for him were manufactured in sweatshops in Benbladesh! Hates the idea of competition and doesn't want to do sports where it's involved!!! Perfect?!! Hell no!! He hates the idea of inheriting my collection of high quality, Trad/classical(eventually hand made) shoes and prefer comfy and cheap shit-squashers!!!

Great quote!

"The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion."
— Arthur C. Clarke

Saddam Hussein Talks to the FBI:

Fingerprints of Saddam Hussein
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Twenty Interviews and Five Conversations with "High Value Detainee # 1" in 2004

"Saddam denied any connections to the "zealot" Osama bin Laden, cited North Korea as his most likely ally in a crunch, and shared President George W. Bush's hostility towards the "fanatic" Iranian mullahs, according to the FBI records of conversations from February through June 2004 between Saddam and Arabic-speaking agents in his detention cell at Baghdad International Airport.
He takes personal responsibility for ordering the launching of SCUD missiles against Israeli targets during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, because he blamed Israel and its influence in the U.S. for “all the problems of the Arabs”, but denies that his purpose was to draw that country into the conflict and to divide Washington from its Arab allies. He provides details on the lead-up to the war, reporting that during a January 1991 meeting former Secretary of State James Baker told Saddam’s foreign minister that if Iraq did not comply with U.S. conditions “we’ll take you back to the pre-industrial stage.”
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I know this might sound strange to you but I find the picture above to have very nice compositional elements for a drawing/painting! It actually works well as a piece of art!

When Ezra Nawi "assaulted" an Israeli soldier!!

Notice the poor Nazi soldiers' deep suffering caused by Ezra Nawi!!

Mondoweiss:'I think this is the most emotional event I've ever done' (Naomi Klein in Ramallah)

Yesterday Naomi Klein gave a great talk at the Friends School in Ramallah. It was a short addendum to her January piece in The Nation supporting the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement against Israel. I recorded it in video, but it came out too shaky, so here's the audio in mp3, 35 min long.

One dead and three injured as war-damaged house collapses in Gaza

A house in Eastern Gaza, that had been damaged by shelling during Israel’s offensive in Gaza in the beginning of this year, collapsed on Monday killing one Palestinian and injuring three others.
(Desertpeace, a great blog I just discovered)

Israel's Man of Conscience

My name is Ezra Nawi. I am a Jewish citizen of Israel.

I will be sentenced on the first of July after being found guilty of assaulting two police officers in 2007 while struggling against the demolition of a Palestinian house in Um El Hir, located in the southern part of the West Bank.

Of course the policemen who accused me of assaulting them are lying. Indeed, lying has become common within the Israeli police force, military and among the Jewish settlers.

After all, was I the one who poisoned and destroyed Palestinian water wells?

Was I the one who beat young Palestinian children?

Did I hit the elderly?

Did I poison the Palestinian residents’ sheep?

Did I demolish homes and destroy tractors?

Did I block roads and restrict movement?

Was I the one who prevented people from connecting their homes to running water and electricity?

Did I forbid Palestinians from building homes?

The Media's Premature Celebration of US Withdrawal From Iraq

"It has been widely reported that Iraqis are celebrating the withdrawal of US forces from their country. But what the media has failed to emphasize is that 130,000 residual forces will still be operating inside of Iraq, and that President Obama intends to keep as many as 50,000 troops stationed in Iraq until 2011, though that date might change, and that there is no withdrawal timeline for thousands of private contractors.
The Huffington Post

Iraq's "National Sovereignty Day" is U.S.-Style Hallmark Hype

"The puppet government in Iraq has named June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day," and--without mentioning the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis maimed, killed, tortured or made refugees by the U.S. invasion and occupation--thanked the occupiers for placing them in power. "President" Jalal Talabani termed today "a glorious day." "
Jeremy Scahill,Journalist, author, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army"

Bloodsuckers and the World of Michael Jackson

"In the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, I found myself in a surreal situation that gave me a glimpse into the dark side of bloodsuckers, media and celebrity."

Max Blumenthal : Neda in Palestine, Sentenced to Die Alone

For over a week, major American news outlets have broadcast on a virtual loop the video of the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, an unarmed 26-year-old Iranian woman, by Iranian security services. The poignant footage of Neda dying before a throng of grief-stricken bystanders crystallized the vulnerability experienced by the millions of demonstrators who have filled cities across Iran to confront authoritarian forces determined to suppress their voice through brutal means. When the mainstream American press chose to broadcast the graphic video -- as moving as the footage is, it is difficult to watch -- it made a commendable decision that nonetheless highlighted its hypocritical attitude towards Palestinians who resist Israeli occupation on a daily basis, and who often meet the same fate as Neda.
Max Blumenthal for the Huffington Post

Mondoweiss:Mainstream journalist Ashraf Khalil explains why stories about the Palestinian experience are rarely told

"Before going to Cairo last month, I made it a point to seek out Ashraf Khalil, whose journalism on the conflict in the LA Times earned him a wide reputation for fairness. A man of large spirit, Khalil (left) introduced me to other journalists, brought me to a place I could actually get a beer, and made me feel completely at home. Last week we picked up a piece by Mohammed Omer, the Palestinian journalist who was tortured by Israeli border security on returning to Gaza from England last year after winning the Martha Gellhorn prize. Omer referred to Khalil's coverage of the episode-- in fact the best piece to appear in American mainstream media-- though he criticized Khalil for including an Israeli explanation of certain injuries. I asked Ashraf if he had anything to say. He writes:"

Deceit on Haaretz comments section

I posted a comment on Haaretz site in relation to the article posted here by Gideon Levy warning that the fellow who posts using the moniker "the Angry Arab, As'ad" is a fraud and that Yishai Kohen (who's a regular poster there) is familiar with those deceitful tactics on pro Palestinian blogs, but guess what? They didn't post it!

Good demonstrators versus bad demonstrators

Just look at how demonstrators (in Honduras) are portrayed when they don't fit the foreign policy agenda of the US empire: "Hundreds of pro-Zelaya protesters, some of them masked and wielding sticks, set up barricades in the center of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and sealed off road access to the presidential palace." This is a popular movement that wishes to preserve democracy. Why is'it not getting the twitter and attention? And the demonstrators in Honduras are not chanting Allahu Akbar and are not calling for the return to the teachings of Khomeini.
(the Angry Arab)

The Angry Arab: "To Zionist hoodlums: Hear ye, hear ye"

To Zionist hoodlums everywhere: hear ye, hear ye, year ye. Joseph Massad has indeed obtained tenure and it is all official and the Board of Trustees at Columbia University has voted already. I have known this for weeks but wanted to wait before I inform Zionist hoodlums everywhere--again. I know that I did alert readers to that early on: when the decision was first taken, but wish to rub it in again. In fact, when I saw Joseph recently in Oslo, I told him that the campaign of his enemies have been good for him, and that his Prada shoes looked even shinier. Read this article (although it is full of errors and mistakes) just to get a sense of Zionist anger and insanity. And of course, you will note that the author did not understand a word that Joseph has said.
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Note that the title of the article is "The Israel Basher" and not "The Jew Hater" as he would have been labeled not long time ago!

From the Angry Arab: Ayatullah repression

"The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world. Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said." (thanks Laleh)

Sarkozy urges Netanyahu: Get rid of Lieberman

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "get rid" of hard-line Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Channel Two reported on Monday.