Thursday, June 30, 2011

Moby! Don't be a d*ck! Don't go to Israel!

Campaign asks Moby not to perform in Israel

BEIRUT: The U.S. campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel has asked American singer Moby to cancel his concert in Israel which is scheduled for July 12, urging him to denounce war and only make love.

“Come to Lebanon on July 5, but, please, in honor of Herman Melville’s recognition of the rights of and respect for the indigenous, and in honor of the 2005 call from Palestinian Civil Society … please do not go to Israel on July 12,” the open letter posted on the organization’s website said.

The letter asked Moby to come to Lebanon and witness the oppression Lebanese had endured from Israel and to “unlearn the myths Israel propagates.”

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Palestinian sports groups challenge UEFA on Israeli hosting of 2013 Under-21 tournament

As UEFA’s 2011 under-21 finals draw to a close in Denmark, the Palestinian sports community is demanding UEFA reverse its recent decision to stage the 2013 tournament in Israel.

In a letter to UEFA President Michel Platini, football clubs, managers, players and other Palestinian sporting figures based in Gaza urge UEFA not to “reward Israel for its violent repression of Palestinian rights”.

The letter reminds Platini that footballers Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshate were among over 1,400 victims of the Israeli assault on Gaza in winter 2008-09, when whole districts and the Rafah National Stadium were levelled. The UN fact finding mission into the assault accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and committing war crimes.

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BDS: Danish activists demand UEFA move 2013 under-21 tournament out of Israel

Boykot Israel Denmark held a demonstration in Copenhagen on Friday to mark the launch of the Red Card Israeli Apartheid campaign, the day before the final of the 2011 competition was held in the country.

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BDS! Let's bring the pariah state to its knees!

Will Britain recognise Palestine?

Will Britain recognise Palestine as a state if, as planned, the matter comes to a vote at the UN General Assembly in September? Right now, the government says it has not decided. But if France were to push, the likelihood is that William Hague will order British diplomats either to accept or abstain from the vote.

The strategic rationale for a Yes vote is obvious: at a time when Britain is waging war in Libya and rallying support against Syria and Iran, it would be disadvantageous to be seen by Middle Easterners as blocking Palestinian aspirations. And having accepted the case for Palestinian statehood in principle why not support it in practice?

Read more-The Spectator blog

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Campaign to ban Shakira from entering Egypt after visit to Israel

Shakira warmly greeting Israeli President
Shakira warmly greeting Israeli President
A group of Egyptians have launched a campaign over the internet calling to prevent famous Lebanese/Columbian singer Shakira from entering Egypt, and cancel her scheduled concert in Cairo in the month of November, in response to her recent visit to Israel a week ago.

Many people denounced Shakira's visit to the Israel, and visiting Israeli children in a school in Jerusalem rather than visiting Palestinian children who are suffering from the Israeli occupation.

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Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cancels Israel appearance in a slam-dunk for BDS

Kareem5

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, legendary basketball player who, during his 20-year career as an NBA all-star made more points, blocked more shots, and won more MVP awards than any other player in history until his retirement in 1989, has canceled his upcoming appearance in Israel due to “concerns arising from Nakba day violence.”

According to the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Abdul-Jabbar was slated to show his new documentary film about racial segregation in basketball, On the Shoulders of Giants, to an Israeli audience in a visit promoted by the Israeli foreign ministry and the Israeli consulate of New York. He was also due to compete for the “Spirit of Freedom Award” at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

The US Campaign reported today:

In private correspondence, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has confirmed that the former Los Angeles Lakers star has decided not to visit Israel, due to concerns arising “after the Nakba Day violence.” This year’s commemoration of the Nakba left 12 unarmed Palestinians dead after Israeli forces opened fire on refugees attempting to exercise their internationally recognized right of return.

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Libya, Amnesty questions the Hague‘s findings: Are the rebels making up claims of mass rape?

Libya, Amnesty questions the Hague‘s findings: Are the rebels making up claims of mass rape?

An investigation by Amnesty International has failed to find evidence for these human rights violations and in many cases has discredited or cast doubt on them. It also found indications that on several occasions the rebels in Benghazi appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.

The findings by the investigators appear to be at odds with the views of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who two weeks ago told a press conference that "we have information that there was a policy to rape in Libya those who were against the government. Apparently he [Colonel Gaddafi] used it to punish people."

Following the ICC findings, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week said she was "deeply concerned" that Gaddafi's troops were participating in widespread rape in Libya. "Rape, physical intimidation, sexual harassment, and even so-called 'virginity tests' have taken place in countries throughout the region," she said.

Read moreLink

A culture of theft and aproppriation! An Israeli chef claims inventing the traditional Arab/Turkish dish Baba Ghannouj!!!

NPR: Israeli Chef invents Baba Ghannouj!
[Dish that Chef Yoram Ottlenghi calls [Dish that Chef Yoram Ottlenghi calls "Burnt Eggplant With Tahini"

In news that stunned millions of listeners, NPR confirmed that the dish once known as "Baba ghannouj" (or "Spoiled Papa") is actually the recent creation of the inventive Israeli chef Yoram Ottolenghi who, in his new book, prefers to call it "Burnt Eggplant with Tahini." In an exclusive interview with NPR's Senior Levantine Food Correspondent Susan Stamberg, Ottolenghi also admitted to using pomegranate and even cilantro in his unique culinary creations, a choice that he says puts him at odds with Italians who, in contrast to the other swarthy peoples of the region, do not like to use the herb. But doubtless, it is Ottolenghi's comments on eggplant that will surely bring him attention. "The secret to the eggplant dish," he says, "is fire," since it creates a smoky flavor. Revealing all the details of this once top-secret recipe, "it's just a matter of mixing the smoky flesh with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, vegetables, plus a old-school trick that ... is becoming more popular: pomegranate molasses."

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Israeli Video Blog Exposed as a Hoax! Actor hired to impersonate a gay rights activist slamming the flotilla organisers

A YouTube video featuring a man who presented himself as an American gay rights activist disillusioned with the latest Gaza flotilla campaign has been exposed as a hoax.

The man in the video, who introduced himself to viewers as Marc and claimed that the organizers of the latest flotilla of ships bound for Gaza had rejected his offer to mobilize a network of gay activists in support of their cause, was identified as Omer Gershon, a Tel Aviv actor involved in marketing, by the Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian Web site.

Read more-The New York Times

Monday, June 27, 2011

Cynthia McKinney US lawmakers forced to sign support of Israel


Former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney says every candidate for Congress has to sign a pledge to vote for supporting the military superiority of Israel.

"Every candidate for Congress at that time had a pledge. They were given a pledge to sign ... that had Jerusalem as the capital city,"

"You make a commitment that you would vote to support the military superiority of Israel that the economic assistant that Israel wants that you would vote to provide that," she added.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Hassan Nasrallah: Hezbollah men 'spied for CIA'

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he delivers a message broadcast on 24 June, 2011 Hassan Nasrallah said the US embassy in Beirut was used as a spy recruitment centre for Israel

The head of Hezbollah has said two of the Lebanese Islamist group's members have confessed to working for the CIA.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said a third man was under investigation, accused of spying for the US intelligence agency.

The three men, who have been detained, had not compromised Hezbollah or its military capabilities, he said.

The US, which lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, insisted there was no truth in Sheikh Nasrallah's claims.

Read moreLink

What the Arab revolts leave unanswered

Rami Khoury-The Daily Star :: Lebanon News
"Another threat that some audience members raised was related to the potential break-up of some countries into smaller units that could be more easily controlled by regional or foreign powers. The first Arab revolt against the Ottomans around a century ago occurred simultaneously with the Sykes-Picot accord, by which France and Great Britain carved up the Arab east into smaller units that were put under the rule of locally chosen leaders whom the Europeans knew they could trust. It is possible that the current transformations might result in security vacuums that local parties or foreign powers could exploit to fragment some Arab states into smaller units that would then be more reliant on foreign support or protection."

Hillary Clinton gives green light for Israeli attack on Gaza flotilla

In comments yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to lay the ground – indeed almost provide a green light – for an Israeli military attack on the upcoming Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which will include the US Boat to Gaza.

Among the passengers aboard the American boat will be 87-year old Kindertransport survivor Hedy Epstein, and author and poet Alice Walker. In all it is expected that about 10 ships, carrying 1000 people from over 20 countries will take part.

Here’s what Clinton said in remarks at the State Department on 23 June:

Well, we do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. Just this week, the Israeli Government approved a significant commitment to housing in Gaza. There will be construction materials entering Gaza and we think that it’s not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.

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Ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley

"Now it’s all gone": Women cope with siege in Jordan Valley
24 June 2011

Israel’s destruction of Palestinian property in the occupied Jordan Valley has particularly impacted women residents.

Israeli military forces have demolished 27 houses in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank over the last two weeks. More than 140 Palestinians have been rendered homeless by the demolitions, while Israeli settlement expansion continues to threaten more land and restrict water access — affecting the vitality of dozens of Palestinian villages in the area.

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MJ Rosenberg: It's Netanyahu who is delegitimising Israel

Israel's way of "changing the subject" from its illegal occupation of Palestine is to label any criticism as an attack.
Israel's reaction to any protest against the occupation is often violent and overly defensive

The "pro-Israel" lobby's latest hobbyhorse is "delegitimisation". Those who criticise Israeli policies are accused of trying to "delegitimise" Israel, which supposedly means denying Israel's right to exist.

Even President Obama has gotten into the act, stating in his May 19 speech that "for the Palestinians, efforts to delegitimise Israel will end in failure".

Obama seemed to be referring to the Palestinians' plan to seek recognition of their state at the United Nations this autumn, although it's hard to imagine just how that would delegitimise Israel.

After all, the Palestinians are not seeking statehood in Israeli territory, but in territory that the whole world (including Israel) recognises as having been occupied by Israel only after the 1967 war. Rather than seeking Israel's elimination, the Palestinians who intend to go to the United Nations are seeking establishment of a state alongside Israel. That state would encompass 22 per cent of Mandate Palestine, with Israel possessing 78 per cent.
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Flotilla organizers say Israel pressuring Greek gov't

[MaanImages/Hatem Omar]

ATHENS, Greece (Ma'an) -- Organizers of the US Boat to Gaza say that the Greek government has come under intense pressure from Israel. The Israeli government is allegedly using trade agreements with the Greeks as leverage.

Spokesman of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gregory Delavekouras confirmed that Israel had contacted Greece about the US Boat to Gaza, which organizers have leased from Greek owners, as well as the flotilla in general.
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The dirty tricks of the lobby exposed by no other than one of them. Actually the head himself!

Israel lobby group outlines dirty tricks against campus Palestine activists

Jeff Haynes

What is the best way to smear Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists and get away with it?

That is the question David Bernstein, Executive Director of the pro-Israel propaganda group, The David Project, asks in a surprisingly frank article titled “How to ‘Name-And-Shame’ Without Looking Like a Jerk” posted on Israel Campus Beat, a website sponsored by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Bernstein writes:

One of the more controversial tactics in a growing effort to counter the delegitimization of Israel is to “name-and-shame” - to go after those who actively delegitimize Israel and seek to delegitimize them.

There are even those, such as British journalist Melanie Phillips, who argue that our entire strategy should be to relentlessly attack the other side and to cease “defending” Israel.

While name-and-shame tactics can be put to positive effect, they can also easily backfire and do more harm than good. We need to learn the art of being disagreeable in the most agreeable possible fashion.

More niceties here:

  • Start every critique with supportive words for peace or free discourse or both.
  • Don’t accuse anti-Israel forces of anti-Semitism unless they openly vilify Jews; accuse them of being anti-peace for opposing Israel’s right to exist.
  • On campuses and other places where anti-Israel groups act in a disruptive manner, write and promulgate civility petitions calling on all parties to engage in a respectful discussion. If the anti-Israel groups sign it, then they constrain their future actions; if they don’t, they can be accused of being uncivil.
  • In taking on an anti-Israel professor on campus, don’t focus on the substantive arguments they make. That will make you look like you’re trying to stifle discourse. Instead, accuse them, in the words of Professor Gil Troy, of “academic malpractice” for propagandizing the classroom.
  • When someone on campus justifies Hamas or Hezbollah, call them out by asking a question: Do you really support the Hamas charter’s call for killing Jews? Can that ever be justified?
  • Avoid indictments against all Muslims or Islam; preface any criticism of a Muslim radical group with an acknowledgement of peaceful Muslims.

Read more

Friday, June 24, 2011

Netanyahu agrees to return to 1967 borders if Palestinians recognise a Jewish state

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 June -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly agreed to peace talks based on 1967 borders on the condition that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state and solve the Palestinian refugee issue outside of Israel's borders, Israeli daily Maariv reported today. Netanyahu announced the position to US presidential Middle East adviser Dennis Ross, and acting envoy for the Middle East David Hale, both of whom Netanyahu met with last week, the Israeli paper said.
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Israel policy myth #2: Separation between Arabs and Jews is not racist

Roi Maor
972mag 23 June -- ...Outright racism against Palestinians and Arabs is quite common and widespread in Israel, and it goes beyond animosity generated by the century-long conflict between the two groups. Three-quarters of Israeli Jewish high school students believe that Arabs are not cultured, uneducated, unclean and violent. 69 percent believe they are not smart. Sadly, these beliefs are at least tolerated by the Israeli Jewish establishment. Racist comments by public officials may be condemned by prominent figures, but the racists remain on the state payroll. These attitudes have not resulted in separate lunch counters or water fountains ... Nonetheless, Palestinians and Jews in the territories under Israel’s control live largely separate lives, this separation is maintained through official polices, it is invariably discriminatory towards Palestinians (usually grossly so) and in many cases, feeble excuses notwithstanding, their motivation and intent is clearly racist.
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Jordan Valley families left homeless

JERICHO (Ma‘an) 23 June -- "The big soldier wouldn’t speak to me. He just said ‘This is my job, sit down and shut up’," the newly homeless Ralia Darraghmeh, a diabetes sufferer in her sixties, said of the one of the crew who had come to demolish her home Tuesday morning. She was sitting alone, crying, in Khirbet Yarza, a tiny Bedouin hamlet, as her tin home was taken down by order of Israel's Civil Administration, which governs planning and permit issuing in the 60 percent of the West Bank categorized as Area C under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
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Jerusalem Palestinians denied the right to build!

Jerusalem Arab housing plan blocked by political right
IMEMC 23 June -- A plan to build 2,500 Arab housing units in East Jerusalem was stopped by right-wing pressure groups and Haredi city council members on the grounds that it was "politically dangerous" and "poorly conceived." Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat had proposed a construction plan for 2,500 houses on private land in southern East Jerusalem. The vote was canceled on Monday because it was clear that it had no chance of passing.
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Climate Change: It's bad and getting worse

Severe weather events are wracking the planet, and experts warn of even greater consequences to come.
Flooding in China is currently affecting approximately five million people
The rate of ice loss in two of Greenland's largest glaciers has increased so much in the last 10 years that the amount of melted water would be enough to completely fill Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes in North America.

West Texas is currently undergoing its worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, leaving wheat and cotton crops in the state in an extremely dire situation due to lack of soil moisture, as wildfires continue to burn.

Central China recently experienced its worst drought in more than 50 years. Regional authorities have declared more than 1,300 lakes "dead", meaning they are out of use for both irrigation and drinking water supply.

Floods have struck Eastern and Southern China, killing at least 52 and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands, followed by severe flooding that again hit Eastern China, displacing or otherwise affecting five million people.
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Aleppo: Syria's sleeping giant stirs

As the uprising enters its fourth month, Syria's second city is becoming increasingly unsettled.
The streets in towns and cities across Syria have been filled with demonstrators every Friday since mid-March
On the surface, all seems calm in Syria's second city.

Traffic and tourists might not be bustling along Aleppo's ancient thoroughfares in the abundance they once did, but to a casual observer there appears little sign that the turmoil of Syria's four-month old uprising has made much of an impact on its largest city.

But talk to shopkeepers, hotel managers and traders in Aleppo's famous covered souk and one soon finds grumblings of dissent.

For in the Syrian capital of commerce, no one is making money anymore, threatening to undermine the key pillar of a long established pact between Aleppo's Sunni merchant class and the imposed stability of the Alawite-led regime.
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EU expands sanctions against Syria

European Union leaders add three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard to list of people whose assets are frozen.

The European Union has extended its sanctions against Syria to include the names of three commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused of supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on dissent.

The list, published in the EU's Official Journal on Friday, also includes a Syrian property firm, an investment fund and two other enterprises accused of funding Assad's government.

Read moreLink

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Israel’s future weapons unveiled in Paris

David Cronin
It is surely obscene that the display of weapons that may well be used to kill Palestinians and attack other countries in the future elicits no criticism in the press. How can journalists specialising in “defense” really know so little about the realities of war that they faithfully regurgitate the canard that Israel’s weapons are designed to minimise “collateral damage”? When was avoiding harm to civilians ever on Israel’s agenda?
Read moreLink

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Syria coverage from the Angry Arab

The Western (and Saudi-Qatari) coverage of Syria is way too sensational and propagandistic. That is how they cover: they take their clues (conscientiously or subconsciously) from the statement and rhetoric of Western governments. They did with Libya and still are doing it. We saw the success of NATO bombings that were supposed to deliver the Libyan people to freedom. Instead, dictator is still in place, and a monstrous Islamist council of crooks and semi-crooks (and unkowns) has been set up to represent the aspirations of Western oil companies and of Western Zionists. I talked about Asad speech the other day: about how it is frustrating. That he keeps talking in excruciating details about the promises of committees and more committees without offering concrete changes and not even questioning the the right of his family to rule Syria presumably for ever. In the speech he compared conspiracies to "germs", and in the Western coverage--certainly in British newspapers since I am in London this week--immediately claimed that he called Syrian protesters "germs". Robert Fisk (what a joke this man has become), gave a cartoonish analysis and even mocked the presence of conspiracies in the Middle East (here Fisk is on the same wavelength with Daniel Pipes in one of his books). But how can anyone take Fisk seriously anymore: Fisk after supported wholeheartedly the Bush-House of Saud conspiracy in Lebanon for the last few years. So it is now new at all for him. Now Anthony Shadid is a serious American correspondent whose writings I have consistently praised over the years, and unlike other Western media he covered the obvious: that there were tens of thousands of Syrians who demonstrated in support of the regime. That can't be denied. But Shadid added that those demonstrations were "orchestrated". But Anthony: is it not obvious that ALL demonstrations are "orchestrated", including protests by the opposition. Many Syrians yesterday emailed me to note to me that I was wrong if I suggested that all Syrians want Asad out. I know from my communications from Syrians and other visitors to Syria that many do in fact support the regime, while many Syrians want the downfall of the regime. I dont know the percentages of course. But it is obvious that the pro-regime demonstrations were not covered. Can one deny that those pro-Syrian regime demonstrations are far bigger than the protests that have been promoted from Youtube by Syrian Muslim Brotherhood opposition, and which headlines coverage of Syria. Comrade Bassam said it best here: "When genuine, the rallies Tuesday demonstrated sentiments that had “less to do with support for Bashar and more to do with not wanting to descend into the unknown,” said Bassam S. Haddad, director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Mason University. “There’s a lot of orchestrating going on, but it’s not all orchestration.”" What is it difficult for people in the Western press and academic to express opinions and offer explanations and analysis that don't fully conform with the Orientations of Western governments? That is what Chomsky called "manufacturing consent." I really believe that Aljazeera's over-the-top propaganda helped the Syrian regime because it was so devoid of balance and even facts. The supply of Islamists Syrian dissidents that has been paraded on Aljazeera screen may have alarmed secular Syrians (not that the so-called secularism of the regime is to my liking as I don't consider any Arab regime to be appropriately secular--they all use religion, and US is not secular by my standard of the neutrality of the state on matters of religious preference.). The BBC the other day featured a Syrian officer who a week ago was lionized in Time magazine when he said that he defected with some 30 of his soldiers. That was featured on Aljazeera and every other network. BBC yesterday revisited the guy and admitted that he lied and that he defected on his own. Yet, the report praised his lies and said that this his lies were responsible for delaying the advances of Syrian troops in Jisr Ash-Shughur. So lies on behalf of Western agenda (and the Muslim Brotherhood agenda is part of the Western political agenda--certainly in Syria) are now warmly welcome. The more the better.

angryarab

Despite Israeli Pressure, Apple Approves “Third Intifada” App

The giant Apple Company decided to allow the publishing of a new App for the IPhone carrying the name “Third Intifada” despite Israeli pressures on the company to ban the app.

3rd_intifada.jpg

The new app is currently operational on the IPhone and can be downloaded from the App Store. It contains a variety of news items about Palestine and the Israeli occupation, pictures of Palestinians killed by the Israel, specialized news items about Jerusalem and more.

The app also has music and videos in addition to documentaries about the history of Palestine, including the Nabka of 1948.
The app also has a well-design archive and an easy navigation system to brows its different sections of items, videos, audio archives and different sections.
Read more

Hezbollah and the Arab revolution

The group's leader keeps his ear close to the ground, bonding with the dispossessed and speaking their language.
Heralded by millions of fans as 'the mastermind of the resistance' - and demonised by the US and Israel as a 'terrorist', Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah's rhetoric towards Syria is equally divisive

Is there something amiss within Hezbollah?

It rose from the ignominy of oblivion, feudal exploitation, sectarian bias, and overall marginalisation to occupy political centre stage. In fewer than thirty years it converted Shia socio-political weightlessness into a counterbalancing political gravity.

It stood up against the Israeli Goliath. It survived the "incendiaries" dropped on it by Arab politicians arrayed against it from Amman to Cairo. It outclassed its enemies within and outside of Lebanon, with imaginative political guile and fine calculation against all odds.

But resisting the Goliath of Tel Aviv while embracing the lion of Damascus risks a decreasing commitment to Arab revolution within "the Party of God" - and to its own revolutionary standing.
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Alice Walker: Why I'm sailing to Gaza

tzleft.alice.walker.jpgLink

Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: What else would I do? I am in my sixty-seventh year, having lived already a long and fruitful life, one with which I am content.
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They were plotting for democracy!

Eight activists jailed for life for allegedly plotting coup during protests earlier this year, according to state news.
Bahrain's government says it has only tried a small number of those involved in recent mass protests

Life sentences for Bahrain activists

Eight prominent activists accused of plotting a coup in Bahrain during protests earlier this year have been sentenced to life in prison, according to the country's state news agency.

The court on Wednesday also sentenced other defendants, from among the 21 suspects on trial, to between two and 15 years in jail.

The Bahrain News Agency said the life sentences were issued against a prominent Shia political leader, Hassan Mushaima; activists Abdulhady al-Khawaja, Abduljalil al-Singace and five others.

Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that many people were unhappy about the sentences.

The end of monarchical exceptionalism

The idea that Arab monarchies enjoy greater legitimacy and stability than their neighbours should finally be put to rest
The monarchs are clearly panicking, as they should be. The Gulf Cooperation Council (of Sunni monarchies) is seeking to expand its membership to the non-Gulf monarchies of Morocco and Jordan

The idea that Arab monarchies enjoy greater legitimacy and stability than their republican neighbours should finally be put to rest. Protests in Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain may not have yet reached the scale of those in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Syria, but the weekly gatherings have persisted for months and promise to not go away any time soon. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman have also seen protests and are likely to see more in the coming months

Read more

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A partial victory for the villagers of Bil'in against the thug state of Israel. 435 acres still to be recovered

Israeli army begins dismantling the Wall in Bil‘in
Pop Struggle 21 June -- This morning army bulldozers began work to dismantle the fence in Bil‘in. As early as 2007, after two years of weekly protests in the village and following a petition filed by the residents, Israeli high court declared the path of the Barrier illegal. The court ruled that the route was not devised according to security standards, but rather for the purpose of settlement expansion. Despite the high court's ruling four more years of struggle had to elapse for the army to begin dismantlement. During these years two people were killed in the course of the weekly protests and many others injured. Yet even according to the new path, sanctioned by the high court, 435 acres of village land will remain on the "Israeli" side of the Barrier. [and presumably the land taken for the 'old' fence is already ruined, trees destroyed, etc., while more land will be ruined for the new one]
Read more

Monday, June 20, 2011

Supporters of Morocco’s king attack demonstration by activists opposing constitutional reforms

RABAT, Morocco — Pro-government demonstrators in Morocco on Sunday attacked democracy activists protesting constitutional reforms recently unveiled by the king.

Hundreds of youths pledging their support to King Mohammed VI scattered the pro-reform demonstrations taking place in a lower-income neighborhood in Rabat, hunting them through the narrow streets.

After pro-democracy protests swept Morocco in February, the monarch unveiled a series of constitutional reforms Friday. Activists have said, however, they are insufficient and pledged to keep up their weekly demonstrations.

Read more


Will Israel Kill Americans Again?

by Ray McGovern, June 20, 2011

Stuffing my backpack before setting out to board The Audacity of Hope, the U.S. boat to Gaza, I got a familiar-sounding call from yet another puzzled friend, who said as gently as the words allow, “You know you can get killed, don’t you?”

I recognize this caution as an expression of genuine concern from friends. From some others—who don’t much care about Gaza’s plight and/or who do not wish us well—the words are phrased somewhat differently: “Aren’t you just asking for it?”

That was the obligatory question/accusation at the end of a recent interview of me that was taped for a BBC-TV special scheduled to air this coming week as we try to break—or at least draw attention to—Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and the suffering it inflicts on the people there.

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One year jail for Tamimi for organising protests!

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) 19 June -- The Ofer Israeli military court sentenced popular protest coordinator Naji At-Tamimi to one year of imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 shekels ($2,914), his colleagues said. Naji and Basem At-Tamimi were taken by Israeli forces from their homes in April and held without charge. Naji was charged with inciting and participating in rallies and organizing demonstrations against Israeli land confiscation and settlement building. Israel has declared such demonstrations illegal.
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Gideon Levy: Israel has no right to stop Gaza aid flotillas

Haaretz 19 June -- Israel cannot be hurt by any imaginary danger the ships pose. Here from Sweden comes a final appeal to those who would block the flotilla: Please, just once, act with prudence, and abide by international law and simple justice.
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Iraq to chase missing billions

Iraq's parliament has asked the United Nations for help to track down about $18bn of Iraqi oil money it says was stolen after the 2003 US-led invasion.

In a letter to the UN office in Baghdad last month, parliament's Integrity Committee asked for help to find and
recover the oil money taken from the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI) in 2004 and lost in the chaos that followed the invasion.

In 2004, the Bush administration flew billions of dollars in cash into Iraq. The money came from the sale of Iraqi oil, surplus funds from the UN oil-for-food programme and seized Iraqi assets.

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Tunisia's Ben Ali goes on trial in absentia

Ben Ali 's lawyers have rejected the charges, saying the trial has 'no goal but to accuse yesterday's president'

The legal team of the ousted Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has gone on trial in Tunis, intends to request a postponement to prepare his defence, according to one of his lawyers.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 in the face of a popular uprising against his 23-year rule and is being tried in absentia by a criminal court over scores of cases against him and his entourage.

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Don't call it genocide! Where are the gas chambers?!


Nablus village months without water
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 19 June -- With both the Palestinian Authority and Israel's Civil Administration abdicating responsibility, local officials say parts of a Nablus-area village have been without water for months. While drought is common in the mid-summer, many of the residents of Salem village have been purchasing high-priced water from local companies, or carrying buckets from municipal wells since the end of April ...
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Israeli undercover agents boast of killing Palestinians on TV


JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 19 June -- Undercover Israeli intelligence officers appeared on national television Saturday to talk about assassinating Palestinians in a program broadcast on Israel's Channel 10. Oren Beaton presented a photo album of Palestinians he killed during his time as a commander of an undercover Israeli unit operating in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
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Building for peace the Israeli way! More theft and settlements

Israel approves expansion of 2,000 settler homes
JERUSALEM (AFP) 19 June -- Israel's Jerusalem municipality approved the expansion of 2,000 homes in the settlement district of Ramat Shlomo in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, allowing each Israeli home to add an additional room, a council press statement said. The announcement of new settlement activity came as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told France 24 television that, "there is no real way to announce an end to construction. There's half a million people living there." Palestinian Authority officials were quick to condemn the statement.

U.S. Flotilla to Obama: Protect Us From Israel

Ira Glunts for Mondoweiss

The United States flotilla group, US to Gaza, reacting to Israeli threats of violence, sent a letter to President Barack Obama informing him that:

As U.S. citizens we expect our country and its leaders to help ensure the Flotilla’s safe passage to Gaza – as our country should support our humanitarian demand that the Gaza blockade be lifted. This should begin by notifying the Israeli government in clear and certain terms that it may not physically interfere with the upcoming Flotilla of which the U.S. boat—The Audacity of Hope — is part.

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Israeli Jews and the one-state solution

10 November 2009

At the height of the global anti-apartheid movement, in 1989, a bus in London displays a message calling for boycott of South Africa.

Anyone who rejects the two-state solution, won’t bring a one-state solution. They will instead bring one war, not one state. A bloody war with no end. — Israeli President Shimon Peres, 7 November 2009.

One of the most commonly voiced objections to a one-state solution for Palestine/Israel stems from the accurate observation that the vast majority of Israeli Jews reject it, and fear being “swamped” by a Palestinian majority. Across the political spectrum, Israeli Jews insist on maintaining a separate Jewish-majority state.

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

A Space Opera


ESO VLT Space Opera.

Starring: Helix Nebula, Gliese 667, stellar cluster NGC 2467, R Coronae Austrinae, protostar HH34 (Orion), Chamaeleon I complex, Eagle Nebula, Lagoon Nebula, southern Milky Way band, Trifid Nebula, the first image of an exoplanet (2M1207 system).

Experts Fear Israeli Design to Balkanise Arab States

Developments in Libya have raised fears among Egyptian analysts and political figures of the possible break-up of the North African nation into two warring halves. To support the assertion, they point to longstanding Israeli designs - supported by the western powers - to balkanise the Arab states of the region.
"The Zionist plan to politically fragment the Arab Middle East so as to keep Arab states in a perpetual state of instability and weakness has been well known for the last three decades," Gamal Mazloum, retired Egyptian major-general and expert on defence issues, told IPS.

While the Yinon document does not devote much space to Libya, it talks in detail about the need to divide Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon into small, ineffectual statelets.

"The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unique areas… is Israel's primary target on the eastern front in the long run," the author writes. For Yinon, oil-rich and ethnically-diverse Iraq - which he describes as "the greatest threat to Israel" - constitutes a chief target.
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Interview: Alice Walker on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the struggle for justice

17 June 2011

Alice Walker speaks in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Celebrated American author and poet Alice Walker will later this month be among 38 people aboard the Audacity of Hope, the ship sponsored by US Boat to Gaza as part of an international effort to break Israel’s maritime siege of Gaza.

In a conversation with Ali Abunimah, Walker speaks about her thoughts on the eve of the trip and the parallels between the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the Freedom Rides during the US Civil Rights movement when black and white Americans boarded interstate buses together to break the laws requiring racial segregation. The Freedom Riders were met with extreme violence — including bus burnings, attempted lynchings, jail and torture.

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Women driven to confusion in Saudi Arabia

The current situation of gender discrimination against who can and cannot drive is unsustainable
Saudi women board a taxi in Riyadh
Saudi women hail a taxi in Riyadh, a more traditional method of getting around than driving themselves.

On 11 March, when Saudi protesters' "day of rage" did not materialise, Fouad al-Farhan, a human rights activist, tweeted:

"My fear is that the ceiling of our reformist demands will be lowered to women driving for some and combating westernisation for others."

Two months later, his fears became a reality. A campaign to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia was started on Facebook. Currently this issue has overtaken all others online, in the press and on the ground.

The movement particularly caught fire when a face for it emerged. A Saudi woman, Manal al-Sharif, came forward and posted a Youtube video advising how to go about the campaign. The plan was that starting from 17 June, Saudi women with international driving licences would begin driving their own cars rather than letting a male driver do it for them.

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Egypt haunts Saudi Arabia again

By propping up the Arab monarchies, Saudi Arabia is reverting to its old anti-revolutionary role
Saudi border guards
Saudi border guards demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony near Riyadh last month.

Little did Riyadh know that the most severe strategic blow to its regional influence would come not from Tehran, or Tehran's agents in Baghdad – but Cairo, its closest Arab friend. The ousting of Mubarak did not only mean the loss of a strong ally, but the collapse of the old balance of power. The region could no longer be divided on a Riyadh-Cairo v Tehran-Damascus axis. Revolutions have struck in both camps: in "moderate" Egypt and Tunisia, as in "hardline" Damascus and Tripoli. The principal challenge for the Saudi regime is no longer the influence of Syria, Iran or Hezbollah, but the contagion of revolutions.

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Friday, June 17, 2011

Mossad agent captured in Egypt was involved in pipeline blast



According to intelligence sources, Goren/Grapel/Grappelli had participated in the perpetration heinous massacres, war crimes against Lebanese villagers in southern Lebanon. They also published some of his pictures with military uniform during the second Lebanon war.

The Mossad spy admitted that he was assigned to a variety of roles in Egypt in order to generate trouble and that he had paid money to some elements in Egypt so that they would assist him in the implementation of the plan, which was about causing strife and chaos in the country and repeating rumors that would prevent the stabilization of the situation in Egypt. He also admitted that he had paid some elements for the dissemination of rumors and for exploding the pipeline which provides Israel and Jordan with gas.


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bahrain: A year in jail for a poem

On Sunday a court in Bahrain sentenced Ayat Al Qurmazi, a 20-year-old education student, to a year in prison for insulting the king and inciting hatred. Al Qurmazi became famous after reciting poetry Pearl Square that includes the lines such as:

We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery
We are the people who will destroy the foundation of injustice
Don't you hear their cries, don't you hear their screams

Read more-The ArabistLink

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

UN report debunks Israel’s Naksa propaganda

Immediately after the Israeli military reportedly killed a number of unarmed demonstrators in the occupied-Golan Heights on June 5, Israel’s propaganda machine went into high gear. Newly-released details from a United Nations report authored by the Secretary General clearly show that the Israeli spin on the Naksa protests was just that: spin.
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Robert Fisk: I saw these brave doctors trying to save lives – these charges are a pack of lies

Eyewitness: Bahrain didn't invite the Saudis to send their troops; the Saudis invaded and received a post-dated invitation
Has the Khalifa family gone mad? Yesterday, the Bahraini royal family started an utterly fraudulent trial of 48 surgeons, doctors, paramedics and nurses, accusing them of trying to topple the tin-pot monarchy of this Sunni minority emirate. The defendants in this flagrantly unfair military court are, of course, members of the majority Shia people of Bahrain. And since I was a witness to their heroic efforts to save lives in February, I can say – let us speak with a frankness that the Bahraini rulers would normally demand – that the charges are a pack of lies.
Link

Doctors I saw, drenched in their patients' blood, desperately trying to staunch the bullet wounds of pro-democracy demonstrators shot in cold blood by Bahraini soldiers and police, are now on trial. I watched armed policemen refusing to allow ambulances to collect the wounded from the roads where they had been cut down.

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Turkey feels racial tensions as flood of Syrian refugees goes on

As incomers from different backgrounds flee across the border, trouble is brewing

By Kim Sengupta and Justin Vela in Guvecci
Syrian refugees arrive at a makeshift camp in northern TurkeyLink

Syrian refugees arrive at a makeshift camp in northern Turkey

The demonstration was vocal, about rights and Syria – a familiar sight. The difference, however, was that this was taking place in Turkey and the slogans were in support of Bashar al-Assad and against those defying his regime. The rally, at the town of Samandag in Hatay province, was predominantly by members of the Turkish Alevi community, a Shia offshoot with links to the ruling Alawites in Syria. They were protesting against allowing refugees, who are overwhelmingly Sunni, being allowed to come into Turkey.
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Israeli spies target Egypt

Israeli spies target Egypt

It is incumbent upon us to alert the world that the Israelis are playing a major role in the counter-revolution in Egypt.

Abdel Bari Atwan
The Egyptian revolution launched from Tahrir Square in Cairo surprised the world not only with its victory and the efforts and patience of the youth, but also in the changes it brought to the political landscape of Egypt. It has altered the balance of power and allies in the Arab world and, more importantly, is starting to reshape the relationship with Israel.

Hence, it would be naive not to expect many parties to conspire against the revolution to take it off track. Top of the list of suspects would be Israel alongside those Arab regimes which oppose democratic change and wish to see Egypt remain subject to US domination.

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Monday, June 13, 2011

From the Angry Arab: Not all uprisings are alike

I don't support all uprisings and I don't support all movements against dictatorships. Don't get me wrong: I want an end to all dictatorships (Arab or Iranian) but I don't necessarily associate with or endorse the dominant opposition movements. Some opposition movements guarantee that the future government will be as lousy as the current dictatorships. The Libyan Tansitional Council, the Green Revolution, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (and its lousy affiliates like Rif`at or Khaddam or Humsi or the various liberals in DC) all are part of the Saudi-Qatari-sponsored Counter-revolution and should be fought early on. I worry that any support for the brothers by leftists would repeat the tragic blunders of Tudeh when they supported Khumeini. Supporting a true revolution require that we should speak out against opposition movements and trends that sabotage real revolution.
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The Angry Arab: Who is behind the violence in Syria?

"Now this is the key question. I have been asking and talking and thinking and here are my conclusions: 1) The regime is the major and primary culprit of violence in Syria. There is no question about it. The notion that there are "criminal gangs" roaming the country and killing protesters and soldiers alike is a clear fabrication. It does not even make sense. Why would they do that? Who are they, and how did the regime allow them go grow and spread? There are civilians who are shooting and killing but they belong to the people. But the regime bears double responsibility for all the killing in Syria: this oppressive regime drew its legitimacy from its bragging about its ability to provide security to the people of Syria, and thus they are responsible for killing by opponents of the regime (if they are directed at the people as regime propaganda claims) too. 2) Why do you assume that the Muslim Brotherhood is a peaceful organization? The rebellion of the Brothers back in the late 70s and early 80s was not peaceful and I dont expect them to have stumbled on the theories of the funny guy, Gene Sharp (who the New York Times believes inspired the Arab uprisings), and decided to suddenly shun violence. The Jordanian regime admitted in the early 80s that they have armed the Brothers and they also got weapons from Israel (through the Phalanges). Back then, the Brothers not only targeted regime armed men, but they went indiscriminate on innocent `Alawites. Their sectarian violent campaign only solidified `Alawite ranks and turned even those `Alawites who were opposed to the regime in its favor. 3) There are from what I am hearing Wahhabi and Salafite groups with money and weapons who have been active in Syria. I won't be surprised if the Harirites are involved too. I find it very likely, in the service of Hariri agenda. A reliable informant of this blog in Syria tells me (I am translating from Arabic): "Yes, there are professional, trained, and organized gangs which are controlled by clerics who all have lived in Saudi Arabia, like `Adnan Al-`Ar`ur, and they kill and use violence against other sects...In Latakia, there are professional elements which used to live a normal life like sleeper cells and they perpetrated acts of sabotage and sectarian sedition and I saw that myself as i was there then...In Tell Kalakh, there are splinter groups from Fath-Islam which are moved by Hariri money, and not Hariri men as spread by Syrian media. In Banyas, it is said that there are officers from Saudi Arabia and UAE and a Mossad element who are now in custody of the security service. There were booby traps there because it has a generator and an oil refinery and a pipe line from Iraq. In Homs, there are extremist pockets from prior to Ba`th and it has been reactivated and is still strong with Saudi money. Now Idlib is all in flame and Turkey is supplying all with weapons and with fighters. Army is facing difficulty advancing because all passages and bridges have been booby trapped." This last passage is from my informant and I have no way of verifying the information. And as they used to end books of Islamic theology, I say: And Karl Marx is the all-knowing.

PS Nir Rosen added this: "there is also the iraq and zarqawi factor syria was a key staging area for zarqawi types, they had safe houses in damascus and allepo, they had a network of facilitators, as the americans like to say and i'd love to know whats happening in the border area with iraq's anbar where families have close ties on both sides and where zarqawi people had safe houses. the town of abu kamal for example, which borders the iraqi town of husseiba in al qaim. the americans raided abu kamal a couple of years ago and killed some key al qaeda guy. abu kamal had an uprising against the regime a couple of weeks ago. i think the zarqawi factor is an important one. these people always spoke about how the final battle will be in Sham"."

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Syrian lesbian blogger is revealed conclusively to be a married man

Tom MacMaster's wife has confirmed in an email to the Guardian that he is the real identity behind the Gay Girl in Damascus blog
Tom Mcmaster
Syrian lesbian blogger has been revealed to be Tom MacMaster, an American based in Scotland. Public domain

The mysterious identity of a young Arab lesbian blogger who was apparently kidnapped last week in Syria has been revealed conclusively to be a hoax. The blogs were written by not by a gay girl in Damascus, but a middle-aged American man based in Scotland.

Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old Middle East activist studying for a masters at Edinburgh University, posted an update declaring that, rather than a 35-year-old feminist and lesbian called Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari, he was "the sole author of all posts on this blog".

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Jailed Iran activist Hoda Saber 'dies on hunger strike'

Hoda Saber - file photo
Mr Saber had already served several jail terms since 2000

A jailed Iranian journalist, Hoda Saber, has died after going on hunger strike, an opposition website says.

Kaleme.com said he died of a heart attack after being transferred from Tehran's Evin prison to a hospital.

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5 WikiLeaks Hits of 2011 That Are Turning the World on Its Head -- And That the Media Are Ignoring

Is 2011 capable of exceeding 2010's revelations? And what discoveries in 2011 has WikiLeaks unearthed thus far?

Between Collateral Murder, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, and Cablegate, it appeared as though 2010 would go down in history as the most shocking year in WikiLeaks revelations. Americans discovered that trigger-happy soldiers who have been trained to kill are likely to shoot innocent civilians, including journalists and children. They learned that the US military handed over detainees they knew would be tortured to the Iraqis, and as a matter of policy, failed to investigate the hundreds of reported torture and abuse by Iraqi police and military. The Afghanistan logs showed many more civilians killed than previously known, along with once-secret US assassination missions against insurgents. And Cablegate shed light on a US foreign policy that values self-interest over democracy and human rights at all costs, perpetuating anti-American sentiment in the process.
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US activists prepare to break Israel's blockade on Gaza

Alex Kane
EI 10 June -- Recent weeks have seen renewed attention on the blockade of Gaza as international activists’ efforts to break Israel’s blockade with a flotilla come to a head. The Israeli government has begun to ramp up its propaganda efforts, claiming the flotilla has ties to terrorism. The United States government has warned activists working against the blockade, with a State Department spokesman telling reporters earlier this month that “groups and individuals who seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions” (State Department press briefing, 1 June 2011). But while the flotilla is only beginning to make headlines now, it’s been a long time in the works. The organizing for an American boat to join the flotilla began a year ago.
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Ministry: Surgeries canceled in Gaza due to shortages

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 June -- Doctors in Gaza have been forced to cancel surgeries due to critical shortages of medicine and supplies, a health ministry official said Friday. Ministry undersecretary Hasen Khalef said eye surgeries, and operations on blood vessels and nerves were among those canceled due to the lack of medication. Gaza Health Minister Bassem Naem said prescheduled surgeries -- including children's operations, cardiac catheterization, laparoscopic surgery and bone and nerve operations -- would be stopped ... Khalef said dental clinics and general practice clinics would be forced to close soon, and that health centers would reduce their hours because of the shortages.
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Saturday, June 11, 2011

"We demand the same rights our Israeli friends enjoy"

wedemand1wedemand2wedemand3

Read more-Mondoweiss

USS Liberty (sunk by Israel) hero dies without seeing justice

WASHINGTON: Forty-four years ago, on June 8, 1967, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attacked a US intelligence ship, the USS Liberty, with gunfire, napalm and torpedoes in international waters for more than two hours.

My friend, John Hrankowski, was on board.

During the assault, hours before Israel’s invasion of the Golan Heights during the six-day war, Israel destroyed the ship’s antennas and jammed its radios.

Finally, the crew managed to send a distress call to the USS America, which sent two fighter aircraft to save the ship.

But then US Defense Secretary, Robert McNamara, and then President, Lyndon Johnson, recalled the planes — giving Israel time to fire torpedoes.

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White House waiting for Netanyahu to accept Obama’s peace talk principles

New National Security Council official briefs U.S. Jewish leaders on Washington's positions.
There is a chance to avert the UN General Assembly vote in September on the recognition of the Palestinian state, said the White House official in a conference call with U.S. Jewish leaders. The Palestinians have been “fairly forthcoming on this score,” he stressed, and now the ball is in Netanyahu’s court.

Steven Simon, a new National Security Council head of the Middle East and North Africa department, replaced Dan Shapiro, who was approved as the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel. In a conference call Friday with U.S. Jewish leaders – something Shapiro used to hold quite frequently – Simon said:
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Why your tax dollars are going to Israel ? Don't ask!


A pro Israeli advocate knocked a camera out of the hands of Alison Weir, President of the Council for the National Interest Foundation. The group just finished their press conference on what they call unjustifiable US Aid to Israel.

Shab Abed (A real discovery and a huge surprise)


Shab Abed sings (in Arabic) the loss of his homeland
(Thanks Abu Zuhair)

Palestinian Shab Abed sings (in Enhlish) Rachel (Corrie)


A very beautiful emotion ridden voice and lyrics.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Land in occupied territories for sale for Americans and French.

Turning peace and justice into worthless commodities / Louis Frankenthaler
978mag 8 June -- It never ceases to amaze me how in everyday life seemingly innocent and benign artifacts actually indicate the insidious. For instance, the simple navigation of the streets of Jerusalem brings one in direct contact with an advert glaring down at you from the back of an Egged Bus (Egged recently won a lucrative public transport contract in Amsterdam). Drive through the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim and see all the “for sale” signs posted by international real estate agencies. Occupied territory is up for sale while peace gets put on the auction block for the lowest bidder. Maybe the Americans will buy, maybe the French. What is clear is that there is a price tag on peace and justice and the only ones paying the exorbitant costs are Palestinians.
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Watch how this dangerous axe wielding mass murderer American Jew is neutralised by valiant Israeli police!

You'd think they're neutralising an axe wielding mass murderer !!

Haaretz exclusive: Secret cables show Israel's battle plan over Palestinian state recognition by the UN

Foreign Ministry documents outline instructions to envoys to thwart international recognition of Palestinian state.
"The goal we have set is to have the maximum number of countries oppose the process of having the UN recognize a Palestinian state," Barak wrote to Israel's ambassadors in his cable, which was sent June 2. "The Palestinian effort must be referred to as a process that erodes the legitimacy of the State of Israel...

"The primary argument is that by pursuing this process in the UN, the Palestinians are trying to achieve their aims in a manner other than negotiations with Israel, and this violates the principle that the only route to resolving the conflict is through bilateral negotiations."
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Londoner says missing Syrian blogger stole her identity

Image: JELENA LECIC……… NOT AMINA ABDALLAH
JELENA LECIC
Londoner Jelena Lecic provided this photo of herself via publicist Julius Just. She says this and other photos of her have been mistakenly identified as being of missing Syrian blogger Amina Arraf.

The reported disappearance of a gay Syrian-American blogger has attracted skepticism after a London woman claimed the photos published by news organizations worldwide are of her, not of the blogger, and that the blogger stole her identity a year ago.

Amina Arraf, known for her criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad and her open posts about sexuality on a blog called "A Gay Girl in Damascus," was last seen Monday evening being forced into a car in Syria's capital, her cousin, Rania Ismail, said. News sites, including msnbc.com , reported the 35-year-old writer's disappearance on Tuesday, along with a photo of her.

On Wednesday, a London publicist said photos circulating are actually of Jelena Lecic, a Croatian woman who works as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Lecic believes her identity has been used before by Arraf.
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Palestinian non-violence ( The Angry Arab)

The notion that Palestinians should stick to non-violent struggle has been a Zionist trick from the very beginning. Palestinians have every right to resort to all forms of struggle against Israel, and ruling out one method or another is not up to Israel or to its liberal supporters in the West. For Zionists, as we saw from coverage of the border murders by Israeli terrorists, all forms of struggle by Palestinians would be met with terrorism from the Zionist state. You can quote me on this.
(The Angry Arab)

What is happening in Yarmuk Camp near Damascus?

The Angry Arab:
I have been receiving live updates from friends and comrades about the developments in Yarmuk Camp. The latest is that the Syrian Army is surrounding the camp. Some say that it all started when people protested outside the office of the PFLP-GC in the camp: some parents of murdered children and men (murdered by the fire of the terrorist Zionist regime in occupied Palestine) were protesting against the role of the PFLP-GC in the protests in Majdal Shams. But an eyewitness at the protests told me that the Palestinian organizations were not present in the protests: that the Syrian regime did not want the Palestinian organizations to mobilize for fear of a big massive protests, although Syrian TV was present. But some were not happy about the role of the PFLP-GC, and some indicated that some fighters at the office in Yarmuk fired at the protesters. Apparently, that resulted in an armed clash and that gun fire can still be heard at this hour. The Syrian Army is surrounding the camp but others are saying that the Army was called in for help by the PFLP-GC but that Army is not intervening to support the organization for some suspicious reasons. All seems murky at this hour. The Syrian Army is busing killing Syrian people but may have time to kill some Palestinians too.

PS No matter what, the responsibility for yesterday's terrorist crimes against civilian protesters should be squarely blamed on the terrorist Israeli army. No question about that.

PSS Eyewitnesses in Syria complained to me about the role of the Syrian army and security forces. How they stood idly by while the Israeli terrorist soldiers were committing their crimes. The Syrian Army is very much like the cowardly Lebanese Army in that regard. These are armies that are only heroic against civilians (in fairness to the Lebanese Army, it is also afraid of civilians).
(The Angry Arab)