Monday, April 6, 2009

I hope Israelis have a Terrible Passover

Jewish holiday time to make the Palestinians suffer................ And no they do not put up a Sign that says we will CLOSE at ______ time!!!!

Israeli forces close Qalqilia checkpoint, stranding hundreds
Qalqilia – Ma'an – Israeli forces closed a military checkpoint east of the West Bank city of Qalqilia on Monday afternoon, stranding hundreds of Palestinians on both sides. Witnesses told Ma’an that the DCO checkpoint has been closed, denying all access into or out of Qalqilia. No reason has been given for the closure.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36920

Israel imposes closure on West Bank ahead of Jewish holiday
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) implemented on Monday night a general closure in the West Bank cities, prior to the traditional Jewish holiday of Passover. The closure will begin on Monday night and will be lifted at the night of April 18. The lifting of the closure will be carried out in accordance with security assessments, IDF said in a statement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/07/content_11140268.htm

Allenby Bridge to close on Wednesday
Jericho – Ma’an – The Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan will be closed for 24 hours starting at 10am on Wednesday on account of an Israeli holiday. The Bridge will reopen at 10am on Thursday, according to the Palestinian police in Jericho.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36931

Not just a siege on Gazza

Israel bans medical workers, supplies from Jerusalem
Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Israeli military barred all medical personnel and a large shipment of medical equipment from the West Bank from entering Jerusalem on Monday. http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=36919

Criminal

US Senate moves to fully fund Israel aid
The US Senate included a measure to restore full funding for foreign aid to the budget it approved late Thursday, increasing chances that the pool of money including assistance for Israel wouldn't be cut.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562906554&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

"They [the US delegation] did meet up with some armed guards froma a local outpost," she said of the incident.

Armed settlers confront US Consulate delegation near Nablus

Nablus - Ma'an - Armed Israeli settlers prevented a delegation from the US Consulate from approaching a settlement near Nablus on Monday, according to diplomatic officials.

In a telephone call to Ma'an, a spokesperson for the US Consulate to Jerusalem said that officials were near the Hioval settlement, close to the Nablus-area village of Qaryut, when armed settler guards stopped the delegation.

According to the American officials, the visit was a routine and periodic trip to areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and the visit was previously scheduled.

Ghassan Doghlus, the head of the village's local council, told Ma'an that settlement guards stopped the American delegation from entering the area.

"The guards prevented the delegation from getting close to the settlement and the nearby lands that were confiscated; the guards pointed their arms at the delegation, forcing them to leave the area," he said.

Another spokesperson for the US Consulate in Jerusalem, Michaela Sweitzer-Blum, confirmed that armed Israeli settlers did confront an officer from the US Consulate back from the edge of the settlement.

"They [the US delegation] did meet up with some armed guards froma a local outpost," she said of the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36929

I got a lot of thoughts on the American reaction but I decided to try to be subtle today.

Nazis having fun

Israeli soldiers force Palestinians to strip naked at checkpoint
Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian teenagers to strip naked in full view of other Palestinians waiting at a military checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday afternoon. Witnesses told Ma’an that three soldiers forced the youths to remove their clothes, and were verbally mocking them.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36930

Ever wanted to scrawl graffiti onto the West Bank separation wall? Indirectly, now you can.

A team of Palestinian peace activists are taking orders through their website, where for a small fee they will spray-paint any message you desire on the eastern, Palestinian side of the 620km structure. Project coordinator Faris Asouri, 27, talks of his delight at being able to vent his opposition to the wall in such a creative way.

Newish Middle Eastern Arts magazine

that I like

Palestinians have Shalit and Israelis took in one week.....

Israeli Navy abducts 8 Gazan fishermen 100 meters off the coast
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/5884


IOF detains 7 Palestinians in West Bank

http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40159


IOF detains a Palestinian in West Bank

http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40152


Israeli forces seize five civilians near Hebron

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36909


Israeli forces arrest Palestinian Intelligence officer near Qalqiliya
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36866


Soldiers kidnap a security officer in Tulkarem, three residents in Bethlehem

http://www.imemc.org/article/59735

Israeli army detains 4 Palestinians in West Bank
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40130

IOF soldiers round up 27 Palestinians including 11 from one village

Report: 101 Hebronites taken by Israeli troops during March; 361 since Jan 1
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36854

Israeli forces arrests 4 Palestinians in Ramallah

http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40142

IOA kidnaps jurist in charge of file of female prisoners in Israeli jails

http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=414:ioa-kidnaps-jurist-in-charge-of-file-of
-female-prisoners-in-israeli-jails&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=183


Soldiers kidnap 18 Palestinians in the West Bank
http://www.imemc.org/article/59710

Israeli forces seize university student near Tulkarem
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36802


Eight youths detained in Um Al Fahim
http://www.imemc.org/article/59693

Israeli forces detain young man, 39-year-old woman from Jenin
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36789

Fatah member held in Gaza after attending university summit
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36779

Two Palestinians seized in Qalqiliya-area village
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36767

Israeli army arrests 4 Palestinian teens in Ramallah
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40111


Three residents injured, two international activists detained in Hebron
http://imemc.org/article/59654

Soldiers detain teenager at Nablus checkpoint
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36744

Four Palestinians seized near Ramallah

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36743

Israeli military patrols storm Tulkarem 'to buy a hookah'

Israeli soldiers stormed the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem in three vehicles on Sunday, firing gunshots and tear gas before they besieged a café and forced everybody inside to lie on the ground. Palestinian youth who were inside Za’im Café had assumed the mission was, as usual, aimed at detaining someone. However, they were surprised when the soldiers examined hookahs and one asked for the owner. Still lying on the floor, the owner, Thaer Al-Jaroun, answered. The soldier asked him how much he should pay for the hookah, then he took the hookah he selected and paid 230 Israeli shekels as the owner of the café requested. After the soldiers left, youth pelted them with stones and confrontations erupted
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36894

1346 children lost one or both parents during Israel's war on Gaza

The Islamic Relief Organization in the Gaza Strip reported that 1346 Palestinian children lost one parent or both during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.Mohammad Abu Darraz, head of the Child Center at the organization, reported that in most cases orphaned children lost their fathers. Darraz stated that there are 5200 orphans in the Gaza Strip, and added that the organization received so far 500 forms asking for sponsorships for orphaned children, but the organization only managed to approve 200.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59779

Sunday, April 5, 2009

As`ad Debate

Settlers attack homes in Hebron

Local sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, reported on Sunday that nearly 150 armed settlers attacked dozens of Palestinian homes in Jaber, Wadi Al Nasarah, Wadi Al Hasseen, and Al Ras neighborhoods, in addition to attacking homes near the Keryat Arba’ settlement, northeast of Hebron.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59795
Obama crap
"US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that the new US administration wants to rejoin the sometimes troubled UN Human Rights Council, to – among other things – "battle the anti-Israel crap."" (thanks Olivia)
Posted by As'ad at 10:16 AM

Settlers attack homes, residents in East Jerusalem

A group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked on Sunday evening several residents and homes in Al Sa’diyya neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, and occupied the home of Nasser Jaber for the second time, as they claim purchasing it.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59797

Israeli high court rules in favor of further home demolitions in Jerusalem

Just a few days after ruling to force Palestinian homeowner Darwish Hijazi off his land to allow Israeli expansion in his home and property, the Israeli high court has issued a ruling on the cases of two more families who challenged the Israeli demolition orders placed on their homes.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59794

Masked settlers beat three Palestinian children, shoot at Palestinian shepherds for the second time in ten days

5 April, 2009
Juwayya, South Hebron Hills, West Bank

[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]

At 4:00 pm, Israeli soldiers and the Ma’on settlement security guard took three Palestinian boys, ages 10, 11, and 14, and transported them Ma’on settlement. Soldiers delivered the children to six masked settlers who beat the children, kicking and punching them. At 4:45, the children arrived back in their village, after the settlers allowed them to leave to walk home through the hills alone.

Earlier the same day settlers shot at a teenage Palestinian shepherd as he grazed his sheep near Juwayya. This is the second time settlers have shot at Juwayya residents over the last ten days. On 25 March, twenty Israeli settlers left the settlement of Ma’on and shot at Palestinian shepherd grazing their sheep on land belonging to the village of Juwayya. During the incident, four Israeli soldiers and the security guard of the Ma’on settlement were present and did not interfere with the settlers. The shepherds refused to leave their land, despite the danger.

“Feel my heart beat,” the mother of the children said to a Christian Peacemaker Teams volunteer. ”Really, we are afraid of the settlers.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/5873

Iraq child trafficking case study: 'He handed the boy over for £300'

When Mariam Muhammad got home from work to find that her husband had sold her baby, she finally gave in. The family had already lost most of what they owned - driven from their home during the sectarian violence of 2006, robbed of what little money they had by insurgents.
Her husband had lost his job as a salesman; what little income they had depended on her work as a housekeeper in Baghdad.
They argued long and hard about selling their youngest to put food on the table for their other two children - Mariam objected, threatened divorce; he was undeterred and while she was out, he handed the nine-month-old boy over to traffickers for a fee of £300. Mariam swallowed a bottle of pesticide and died.
"She was a very dedicated mother to her children but couldn't stand the idea of having a child gone because of her husband's inability to get a job," said a close friend.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/06/iraq-child-trafficking-case-study

Six gay men killed in Iraq

Six gay Iraqis were shot to death by tribal members in a pair of incidents in the past 10 days, a government source says.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/05/Six-gay-men-killed-in-Iraq/UPI-24891238969620/

Iraqi babies for sale: people trafficking crisis grows as gangs exploit poor families and corrupt system

• At least 150 children a year sold for £200 to £4,000
• Some bartered youngsters become sex abuse victims

Corruption, weak law enforcement and porous borders are compounding a growing child trafficking crisis in Iraq, according to officials and aid agencies, with scores of children abducted each year and sold internally or abroad.
Criminal gangs are profiting from the cheap cost of buying infants and the bureaucratic muddle that makes it relatively easy to move them overseas. Accurate figures are difficult to obtain because there is no centralised counting procedure, but aid agencies and police say they believe numbers have increased by a third since 2005 to at least 150 children a year.
One senior police officer said at least 15 Iraqi children were sold every month, some overseas, some internally, some for adoption, some for sexual abuse. Officials believe at least 12 gangs are operating in Iraq, offering between £200 and £4,000 per child, depending on its background and health. The main countries in which they are sold are Jordan, Turkey, Syria and some European countries including Switzerland, Ireland, the UK, Portugal and Sweden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/06/child-trafficking-iraq

Iraq pledges to protect its Palestinian residents

BAGHDAD — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won assurances Sunday that Iraqi leaders will protect Palestinians living in Iraq — including thousands stranded in desert refugee camps — during his first visit to the country since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

The visit marked a major step in improving ties between the Shiite-led government of Iraq and the Palestinian leadership, which had warm relations with the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/middle_east/view.bg?articleid=1163614&srvc=rss

........I wish Iraq took the position of some (one) Gulf state and would have said to Abbas that he is not welcome for being collaborator. But it is impossible for the countries that are so close to the USA (Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, KSA) to break free and have a different thought.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Photos from Gaza by Sameh Habeeb, from the show Victim's Victims at the Dadabase Gallery

To see more images: http://dadabase.ca/victim_habee_00.php













American Taliban

I wanted to make a post today about the American Taliban but I dont have time to look for news of all those diseased Republican Christian men at this time because I need to go find some stupid shoes for my son that have wheels on the bottom. He is insisting that his life can not be normal in this country if he does not have those shoes.
Imagine some time ago he was wondering when the passages will open so he can get food and now his life will not be normal with out "Healies" ???
Both extremes are very disgusting if you ask me.
My principles tell me to explain to my son that his desires are based very much out of ignorance but I dont want him to feel different at school and unfortunately in this culture they make you feel very different if you dont have all those things.
I think I would prefer to spend every Sunday after noon steam cleaning the carpet than at "The Mall".
My wife makes me steam the carpets twice a month, they put new carpet in before she came but she thinks that this is a filthy way to live because you cant throw some hot water and soap and disinfect it every day.

Student Merna Foils Israeli Bid to Wreck Family’s Education Hopes



................Their latest includes the heart-rending story of a young
girl, Merna, an honors student in her final year majoring in English. For most
people studying for a degree is tough enough, but this youngster also has to
battle against armed intruders who invade her home and have systematically
destroyed her family life.
Merna is described by the Brothers as “a joyful
and engaging person, full of life and love”. The tragedy is that Israeli
soldiers frequently rampage through her refugee camp in the middle of the night
and have taken away her loved ones, one by one. From childhood Merna remembers
the constant night raids and soldiers randomly searching Palestinian homes,
ransacking their contents and arbitrarily arresting residents. She remembers,
too, her home being bombarded with missiles fired from Gilo, an illegal Israeli
settlement outside Bethlehem.
Merna’s family, like thousands of others, became refugees when their village was attacked by Jewish terrorist forces in 1948. The villagers were forced to flee to a camp in Bethlehem where they remain to this day, unable to return to their old homes.
In 2003 her 14-year-old cousin and best friend was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while sitting outside her family home during a curfew.
In 2004, the Israelis arrested her eldest brother, a 22 year-old artist who designed posters and banners for university student groups. They accused him of taking part in student political activities, which can mean anything from running for student council to organizing speaking events, and for this he spent 4 years in prison.
In 2007, they came back for Merna’s 18-year-old brother. He is still incarcerated under ‘administrative detention’, which means he hasn’t been charged or sentenced for any crime because the Israeli military claims to have secret evidence, which only a military judge can see. The Israelis use this device to lock up Palestinians — mostly students — for up to 6 months, to be renewed if the mood takes them. Merna’s 19 year-old cousin is also in prison waiting to be charged with a ‘crime’.
Then a few months ago the military came again, this time to take her youngest brother. Merna was in despair. He had only just turned 16. “As he was being taken away, he told us to take care of ourselves,” said Merna, her eyes brimming with tears. “He’s my little brother! He is the one who needs taking care of. What is he doing in an awful prison cell and how are his spirits?”

Read it all

http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/04/student-merna-foils-israeli-bid-to-wreck-family%E2%80%99s-education-hopes/

Tgia was there mentor I am sure


Australia, April 4, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - University campuses across Australia have seen a new and vibrant student movement for Palestine taking shape in the wake of Israel’s destruction of Gaza at the beginning of the year. These past two weeks have produced a flurry of films, talks, exhibitions, stalls and cultural events solely on Palestine not seen to that extent since the 1970s.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450:students-for-palestine-put-their-mark-on-australian-campuses&catid=60:palestinian-refugees&Itemid=184

Israeli Occupation Soldiers Assault Mustafa Al-Barghouthi During Protest Against Apartheid Wall in Al-Ma'asara Village


BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- The IOF troops on Friday assaulted Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the national initiative party, and hundreds of protesters during a weekly anti-wall march in the village of Al-Ma'sara in Bethlehem.
Dozens of the national initiative members, citizens, and foreign activists participated in the weekly march to protest the apartheid policy pursued by Israel.
During the protest, Dr. Barghouthi said that whoever believes in the Palestinians' right to return to their land must impose sanctions on the Israeli government to force it to end its settlement expansion and the apartheid system.
The Palestinian partisan leader added that the agreements which some parties talk about were torn up and dumped in a wastebasket by the Israeli occupation, so the fighting over the Palestinian authority is useless especially when the new Israeli premier declares that he will never allow any Palestinian entity to have sovereignty or control over borders, resources, waters and airspace.
If you want to read more

From the Hamas site: which is the original reporter in English - reported in Arabic vby other groups:
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7H5V77%2bAxeAXR5cU0BItxquC5sce2Y8Ty2LJo1MvvzusJ%2b3PQa5czcN1lrtGHAkHptcWCPuxjiTAhkKHuqwCi6BmvSW2IzEB9AIhk1Alehys%3d

And for the people that dont want to click the Hamas site the text can also be found on another site called Aljazeera which is not the normal Aljazeera but some very old news group trying to be deceptive by going with the same name:
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/April/4%20n/Israeli%20Occupation%20Soldiers%20Assault%20Mustafa%20Al-Barghouthi%20During%20Protest%20Against%20Apartheid%20Wall%20in%20Al-Ma%27asara%20Village.htm

Chasing down Iraqi gays

Well because the media like to focus on all the "Islamic" things in the Middle east I can see that there is a lot of barbarian "Islamic" news these days. This is not Islam for the American readers that looking at this and are looking for more and more excuses to attack Muslims you should be with full knowledge and awareness that in the majority of the Muslim world nobody is looking to chase the gays down and kill them.
I think it is very interesting to note that in most of the places that come to the top of my head in the Arab world where they do the most offensive things to humanity like killing gays (Iraq at the request of Sistani and Sadr and I am not clear what Malikis position is in regards to the gay issue) having discrimination against women (KSA) and the other police states (Egypt, Jordan) these are the countries in the Arab world with more friendship to the USA than the other countries.
Do you think that even in Gazza with Hamas power that Hamas is running through all the camps and looking to execute gay people or even to arrest them? Do you think those things are happening in Syria? In the south of Lebanon? If they did happen once they are not a policy but an isolated incident and I can guaranty to you that those killers would be viewed as animals by the public. I traveled to many Arab countries and the places that are most "hated" in the USA for some reason are the most safe places for me as a Palestinian to be and to feel safe for the women in my family that they can go out and have a normal life and not be thrown in jail for showing there ankle or chatting with the men who sells them cucumber at the market.
I think I mentioned my Iraqi friend before, he got asylum in the USA last week, he was very terrified before his interview because he thought if he gets rejected they will send him to Iraq again. He got chased out of his home town because they found him in a relationship with another man. Well Sistani gave some speeches about gays and said that they should get killed and thats what Sistanis mafia followers tried to do and its a miracle my friend got out of Iraq alive. Maybe I will ask him to write down his Terrible Experiences so that I can post them on this blog.
Ialso credit my friend for giving a "face" to gays for me. I never had a gay freind before and to be honest I always felt Very Uncomfortable around them but he turned out to be the most honorable person I met when I came to USA with the best intentions for every person.

Iraqi police: 2 gay men killed in Baghdad slum

BAGHDAD – The bodies of two gay men have been found in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City after a leading cleric repeatedly condemned homosexuality, an Iraqi police official said Saturday. The killings come after Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat repeatedly condemned homosexuality during recent Friday prayers, saying Islam prohibits homosexuality.
Homosexual acts are punishable by up to seven years in prison in Iraq.
The two men were believed killed Thursday by relatives who were shamed by their behavior, said the official.
The killings come weeks after Iraqi police found four bodies in late March buried near Sadr City with the words "pervert" and "puppies" written on their chests, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The official said puppy is a derogatory word used by residents in Sadr City to refer to homosexuals.
Sadr City, a slum of about two million people, is home to a large majority of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. Al-Sadr ordered most of his followers to lay down their arms following a cease fire.
"When the Mahdi army was in control, such practices were banned, and homosexuals were afraid of declaring their tendencies," the official said. But since the Mahdi Army militia cease fire took hold, the official said people have begun to take more liberties. The official said some have gone so far as to claim a coffee shop in Sadr City has become a hangout for gay men. Police said they believe the most recent killings were at the hands of a family members because no one has claimed the bodies or called for an investigation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Friday, April 3, 2009

Jewish Taliban

"Now you see the women in the Israeli cabinet – and now you don't"

The original photograph of the Israeli cabinet, top, and the digitally altered image that appeared in the ultra orthodox newspaper Yated Neeman


Two female ministers in Israel's new right-wing government have already lost their cabinet posts – at least in certain ultra-orthodox Jewish newspapers.
In the most recent issues of Yated Neeman and Shaa Tova, the inaugural cabinet photograph has been doctored to erase ministers Limor Livnat and Sofa Landver. Ultra-orthodox newspapers consider it a violation of the core religious principle of modesty to print pictures of women, so that they are left out of, or deleted from, photographs and advertisements.
Yated Neeman moved two male ministers into the places occupied by the women. Shaa Tova simply blacked out Ms Livnat from Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Ms Landver from the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beytenu party.
Menachem Kenig, a hardline ultra-orthodox activist, said that the tampering did not reflect any specific animosity towards either minister. "You will never find pictures of women in ultra-orthodox newspapers, even if they are the most righteous spouses of rabbis in the world," he said. During the election campaign, posters featuring Kadima's candidate Tzipi Livni were defaced near ultra-orthodox neighbourhoods, while posters of male rivals were left untouched.
Israel's new cabinet has 30 ministers – one for every four MPs. The size reflects the deals Mr Netanyahu needed to cut with coalition partners and promises made to his own party stalwarts, but it has been criticised for being bloated and inefficient.

Military court rules in favor of extremist settlers who occupied Palestinian lands

An Israeli military court decided on Friday that it is “illegal” to evacuate Israeli settlers from Palestinian lands they illegal annexed in the northern part of the West Bank more than three years ago, implanted them and installed their outposts there.
What this decision means is that the army would not evacuate settlers from outposts that the army itself ordered their evacuation.
In March 2005, the government of Israel adopted the opinion it had commissioned from Attorney Talia Sasson, former head of the Special Tasks Department in the State Attorney's Office, regarding unauthorized outposts.
In doing so, it set, for the first time, detailed criteria for examining the legality of Israeli communities in the West Bank according to local law.
But the new ruling of the military court comes to neglect the Sasson report and therefore providing the settlers with the opportunity to claim that they took over privately owned Palestinian lands in order to plant them for a period of time.
But usually, Israel legalizes most of the illegal outposts once the settlers inhibit them and once they are connected with power and water.
The ruling was made by two out of a three-judge panel. It came after an appeal was filed by a settler from Qidumim settlement who occupied Palestinian lands and planted them with trees. In 2007, the settlers fenced the land and connected it with water.
The villagers filed an appeal against the annexation of their lands, which they planted for generations, and the Civil Administration Office, which is under the control of the Israeli military, ordered the settler to leave the land.
It is worth mentioning that the settler did not claim ownership of the land, and just said that he has been using the land since several years.
Meanwhile, Israeli military judges issued several orders to facilitate the illegal land grab and authorized the usage of small pieces of Palestinian lands for agricultural purposes.
The decisions of different military judges, and the recent decision, violate the Sasson report issued by their own government, and are only made to enable the settlers occupy more Palestinian lands.
This is besides that simple fact which states that all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, not only the random outposts, are illegal under the international law and constitute a war crime.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59771

Can you imagine that the USA will talk to the Taliban but not to Hamas?

Video Showing Beating Of Girl Shakes Pakistan Peace Accord

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities ordered inquiries Friday into a video showing the public flogging of a screaming woman in a northwestern valley where officials have yielded to Taliban demands for Islamic law.
A militant spokesman defended the punishment, fueling a furor that cast more doubt on a creaking peace deal in the Swat valley that U.S. officials fear has created another haven for allies of al-Qaida.Officials vowed to impose Islamic law, or Shariah, in Swat in February to halt 18 months of terror and bloody fighting between militants and security forces that killed hundreds of people.
Shariah has not yet formally been introduced and provincial officials say that, in any case, they would not condone such whippings or the harsh brand of Islamic law practiced under Afghanistan's former Taliban rule. But the video provided a reminder of how hard-liners in control of much of valley interpret Islamic strictures.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/03/video-showing-beating-of-_n_183084.html

Muslims still don't like al-Qaeda or the U.S.

The survey was carried out between July and September 2008 in eight countries, including Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories. The main findings should not be surprising: Muslims overwhelmingly oppose attacks on American civilians (and thus reject al-Qaeda's tactics) but overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. military presence in Muslim countries and have deep suspicions about American intentions towards the Muslim world. Despite what so many people in Washington seem to believe, most Arabs and Muslims don't seem to see the "war of ideas" as being a choice between the U.S. and al-Qaeda -- they seem perfectly capable of disapproving of both, while continuing to hold to their own fairly well-established political convictions.
What other country would appoint a money launderer foreign minister?

The police suspect Mr. Lieberman of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust, although he has never been charged. But many commentators here say the police attention will only help Mr. Lieberman, a perennial suspect.

Is it well known that he lives in a settlement? Well, okay the whole country is a settlement, but you know what I mean.

Hindu fascists love Jewish fascists.......

Or maybe those Indians are not fascists they are just ignorant? You can trick them all day long with stupid Bollywood videos and with Israeli Nazi propaganda. No wonder Anand is so damn stupid!!!!!!!!! What is very interresting is the amount of time that this stupid piece of kharra Anand spends leaving his ignorant trail of comments all over the internet giving ignorant advise to Arabs but this stupid piece of kharra cant be bothered to go lecture the Indians that support criminals that drop bombs on women and babies. GO EDUCATE YOUR OWN FOOLISH PEOPLE. IT IS CRIMINAL TO SUPPORT MURDERERS AND APARTHIED AND IT SHOWS THAT YOUR FOOLISH PEOPLE DID NOT LEARN ONE THING ABOUT THERE OWN HISTORY! WHY DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS LECTURING THE ARABS WHEN YOUR PEOPLE SUPPORT BABY KILLERS?

From India with love


Study on behalf of Foreign Ministry ranks India, US as most pro-Israel countries
Published: 04.03.09, 23:18 / Israel News

Videos make a difference
As part of the study, participants were asked a series of questions and were instructed to grade their level of sympathy of Israel on a 1-10 scale. Later, participants were presented with several branding videos on Israel, before being asked more questions in order to see whether their opinions changed after watching the clips.

The videos showed many aspects of life in Israel, including the beaches, landscape, culture, food, technology, and religious sites.

After watching the videos, a total of 51% of all respondents said their views on Israel changed for the better. The percentage of respondents who perceived Israel as an aggressive state subsequently dropped from 35% to 21%. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who perceived Israel as a creative country rose from 24% to 40% after watching the clips.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3696887,00.html

Lieberman and Wiping Countries off the face of the Map

Avigdor Lieberman, the Moldovan night club bouncer, is now foreign minister of Israel. The world has had a lot of fun laughing at the pronouncements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who stands falsely accused of threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the map. But Ahmadinejad has protested that it would be wrong to kill large numbers of civilians.In contrast, Lieberman has threatened to wipe at least two countries, Egypt and Palestine, off the map. Monstrously, he suggested bombing the Aswan Dam, which would have the effect of murdering all 80 million Egyptians and sweeping them into the Mediterranean in a vast continental African tsunami.
http://www.juancole.com/2009/04/lieberman-and-wiping-countries-off-face.html
Molly

Israel gone by 2015

Look this judge is a Jewish person and I am not anti-semetic because I am a semetic person and because I know that all Jewish people dont support the Criminal state of the usurping entity but I want to know how come it is allowed that the judge will be a Jew? Do you think that the Israelis will allow the judge to be a Muslim?????

South African judge to head UN inquiry into Gaza war crimes
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1076259.html

Yasmina, quite your job and work for this group.

The National Lawyers Guild has issued its report following its delegation's trip to Gaza
You will find overwhelming evidence that Israel showed a complete disregard for civilian life. The snipings of the elderly, the white phosphorus in neighborhoods and schools, the prevention of ambulances from getting to anybody... it's all here. Also: the assertion that Israel has violated U.S. law. The Arms Control Act, governing its uses of munitions made here. And the Foreign Assistance Act--no aid to countries with gross human-rights violations. The Lawyers Guild has called for several U.S. investigations of same and for Congress to end military aid now till a determination is made.
http://www.nlg.org/NLGGazaDelegationReport.pdf

Israel’s war crimes
Israel blamed its earlier wars on the threat to its security, even that against Lebanon in 1982. However, its assault on Gaza was not justified and there are international calls for an investigation. But is there the political will to make Israel account for its war crimes?http://www.caiaweb.org/node/1279

Israeli military cloaks abuses
The Israeli army's Advocate General has summarily closed an internal investigation into allegations stemming from accounts by soldiers of abuses against Palestinian civilians committed during Israel's recent war on Hamas in Gaza. It took the military investigators just half the duration of the 22-day war in Gaza to bulldoze the accounts and to dismiss completely the serious allegations made by soldiers who had themselves taken part in the fighting.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10443.shtml

Miss. Lawyer (Yasmina)

In the USA can I say that I hope Nasralla retaliates for this?? Because I do hope that he will retaliate for this... Criminal, cowardly Israelis are terrorising the Lebanese people with there war games over Lebanese soil. Well we know that this is all those animals can do, fly there planes from up above over Lebanese land because the Lebanese Lions Hezballah (I am channelling Anand) beat there asses over and over. I wonder what kind of inferiority complexes those Israeli criminals feel that Hezbollah beat one of the most powerful military powers in the world. Like Abraham says, "Israel gone by 2025... or maybe 2015" !!!!!

Israel says it will continue violating Lebanese airspace
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=100608

Palestinian Gandis

Six injured one seriously in Nil'in weekly protest
Scores of villagers from Nil'in, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, along with their international supporters held their weekly protest on Friday midday against the illegal Israeli wall being built on village land.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59766

Two Journalists injured at the weekly Bil'in demonstration
The residents of Bil'in village, located near the central west Bank city of Ramallah, marched towards the wall today after Friday prayers. The protest was joined by Israeli and international activists.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59767

1 dead colonist versus 3 dead Palestinians, 8 injured Palestinians, 27 kidnapped Palestinians

PCHR Weekly Report: 3 Palestinians dead, 8 injured, 27 abducted this week
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 26 March- 01 April 2009, two members of the Palestinian resistance were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian woman died of injuries sustained during the recent Israeli forces offensive on the Gaza Strip. 8 Palestinian civilians, including a PCHR field worker, were injured by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59757

The colonist that was injured yesterday

Did you know...

Yair Gamliel, the seven-year-old boy whose skull was fractured by an ax-wielding terrorist in the settlement of Bat Ayin on Thursday, is the son of Ofer Gamliel, one of three men convicted in 2003 and sent to prison for 15 years for a failed bomb plot against a Arab girls school in east Jerusalem.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562897298&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Thursday, April 2, 2009

'Chastity squad' man charged with attacking computer store clerks....'Chastity squad' man charged with attacking computer store clerks

Shmuel Weisfish accused of threatening to murder employees of Jerusalem computer store for selling 'non-kosher' MP4 players
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3696590,00.html

................Jewish Taliban

Arguing with criminals like C.H.

I dont know why any person will waste there time arguing with that clown and criminal that calls himself C.H. the last time I paid a visit to Iraqi Mojos blog that guy C.H. was leaving comments saying that he has more respect for Benjamin Netanyahu than for Barack Obama,, remember this criminal C.H. has a blog that is called United World for Peace??? Well you can only imagine what "world peace" looks like for this criminal if he thinks Netanyahu deserves more respect than Obama.
One interesting thing that I did notice from Mojos blog is that there are many Americans that visit that place that attack all the people that say something negative about USA but not one of them complained because the criminal C.H. says he supports Netanyahu more than Obama,,,,, those Americans that pretend they are patriotic really are just 100 percent criminals they dont believe in anything execpt what makes political sense for them on a daily basis. Suddenly there is "freedom of speech" and reasons why America is so great because C.H. can choose to support Israel more than his own country! Criminals!
Thats this guys mentality and I see that down stairs he said Arabs should be ashamed for how Asad Angry Abu Khalil made a clown of that damned Zionist yesterday
Wala I want to give that guy 1 mil Banana pies to send him congradulations.....its good to see some Arabs still have dignity and wont bow down to pressure to normalize realtions with criminals like the representative for the "usurping entity" I think Nasralla first started calling Israel that.
I wonder if that Israeli pig that he debated yesterday went home and felt ashamed that somebody exposed his lies and the lies of the usurping entity and he did not have one dignified response to answer with??? Or he went home and got drunk and watched ignorant television and pretended like nothing happened? Well I hope this is the treatment that the representatives for the usurping entity get each time they go some place to spread there lies and Nazi propaganda.
****for Moyhabin I went back and deleted my exccessive comma use for you.
****Tgia for you I made the links smaller downstairs
****My wife has better English than me, she read my posts today and she said I sounded like one big Majnoon because of my grammer so I am making small efforts!
Waiting for the video to come out but in the meantime eat this for a snack instead of Tormus which will give you one big stomach ache....

My Debate with that guy

So I had a long day yesterday. I woke up late, but I had a deep sleep. During the day, I was preserving my voice. I had these Halls drops and would avoid talking on the phone. The few times I spoke on the phone, I had to say that I was preserving my voice for the debate. And at one point yesterday, Amer asked me about preparation. I had to say: that this is a job that I have been preparing for all my life. Two days ago, I jotted down some notes here in bed, and I had to throw the notebook after a few minutes because I got mad. Usually, when I have to deal with a debate of this kind, I remind myself of the massacres that Israel committed against our people: one after the other. I know the sources and the facts, so I only write down an outline of what I am about to say. I arrive there and I get pissed early on--which is a good thing for my debate performance. I learned there that originally one professor was going to invite the Israeli Consul General by himself, until somebody else suggested that maybe somebody else with a different point of view should be invited. I go there and I notice heavy security and police presence. I then meet the professor who was going to moderate the debate. We go to the hall and I notice that there are two chairs and two name signs: for me and for him (the Israeli representative of the usurping entity). I did not like the arrangement. So I tell her: I don't want to sit next to him. I would like you as a moderator to sit between us. She asked me whether I was kidding. I said: do you see me in a joking mode? Do you see me kidding with you? You think that this is a joking matter for me? She realized--let me just say--that Angry Arab was not kidding. She said that she was planning to make her remarks and sit in the audience. I said: that is easy: instead of sitting here, we can move your chair to separate between me and him. I also was told that she (or the university) was planning to host a reception for the two guests before somebody who knew about me told them: I can assure you that As`ad will not agree to a reception with the Israeli diplomat. So the reception was scrapped. I then told the host that I will not be recognizing or talking with the Israeli guest. She looked baffled but nervous. She asked me why do I have these positions? I said you will understand after you hear my remarks. She was getting more nervous, I could tell, by the minute. She then upset me more by saying something about "academic" environment or collegiality and then added something about "us" getting along. I was more angry at that. I got more angry (but that was a good preparation for my debate) and said: this is no joke or a game or schtick for me. This is about killing 400 Palestinian children in Gaza in three weeks. I don't "get along" and I don't want to "get along." The security and the police only got more visible and more extensive. The moderator then remarked that the security was required for "his safety" in reference to the Israeli speaker. I was here more pissed (all that getting angry before the debate was preparation as far as I was concerned). I said: what about my safety? Did that enter into the picture? or do Arabs don't deserve safety? They were searching backpacks and I was told that he notified police and various security agencies. I sat there and I was happy before the debate to see my students from California State University, Stanislaus. I had to warn them: You will see a different side to me from the one you see in the classroom, I said. I then met a Palestinain student from the University of San Francisco: probably the only one on campus. I also saw a student of mine from 7 years ago or more. While I was seated in my place (with the moderator now seated in the middle), I see the shadow of a man (because I made a point of not looking) come in front of me and extend his hand and say: Nice to meet you, professor. Hi Professor. I kept looking straight, as if there was no one in front of me. He repeated that a few times: and I kept totally ignoring him completely. He then gave up (finally) and took his seat. I can really tell you that I debated a man yesterday but I don't know what he looked like. I did not look at him or address him once. I have no idea what he looked like. And during the talk, he at one point asked me to look him, but I of course ignored him. He then looked at the audience and said that I have not looked at him and that I didn't shake his hands and that I refuse to humanize him. I muttered into the microphone: that I see them the way they see the children of Gaza. During dinner with Amer and Riad both commented to me that they would have had difficulting ignoring him the way I did but Amer added that me being so lacking in shyness, timidity, or the need to be polite helps me in those situations. It is so easy for me to be socially rude, when I want to. I had to tell them: are you kidding? These are my favorite moments when I ignore an Israeli who is trying to greet me or shake my hand. The president of the University came personally to greet...the Israeli guest. One university administrator noticed that and expressed his displeasure to me. The moderator did not even flip a coin or ask about who would speak first, but simply gave him the opporutnity to speak first. Of course, she did not know that I always prefer to go second because I get to say what I want and then respond to what was said before me. We also had five minutes to respond after the presentations. Now here you must understand that I cant evaluate my own performance or say how I did. I will leave that to witnesses or your own opinions when you watch it on video. Yes, I am told it was taped and will provide you with further information. As soon as it was my turn, I felt a rush. My voice was back in full force and I could sing Fayruz at that point. There was a woman who came with the diplomat and she was sitting in the front raw and after two minutes of my talk, I could see her squirm and look with sympathy at her Israeli colleague. I could not read her face but felt that she was telling him that "we did not expect this would happen." But it happened, and As`ad was on a roll. I can't tell you how I did but I can tell you that I really enjoyed the task and would do it at the drop of a hat, and would waive my speaking fee for it. When I came to the US and I used to watch debates between Israeli and Arab speakers, and I always found myself being critical of style and substance. I had no excuse: when I am debating, I can say what I want. So I can do it my way, and I did it my way last night. I explained to the audience about my policy: I said that I want you all to know that my pariticpation was at the invitation of the University of San Francisco and that I strictly adhere to the boycott of Israel and I call on them all to boycott Israel at all levels. I told them that I met I(armed) Israelis first under occuapation in South Lebanon in 1982, and I resolved then that I would meet them only on my terms. I explained to them that I am strict against terrorists and terrorism: that I am opposed to any deal or negotiations with Al-Qa`idah or with Bin Laden and accordingly, I am opposed to any deal or compromise with the state that pioneered the practice of terrorism in the region. And I went on. The moderator was clearly nervous. I told her that later: she was getting nervous as soon as I spoke. She told me that she never gets nervous. I said: well, I saw you nervous many times today. The audience was largely sympathetic to the Palestinian view and most were very knowledgeable of the issues and many had been to Palestine which put the Israeli speaker in a difficult position--not that I felt sorry for him. There was a British visiting professor at Stanford (who has a teaching job in France) who kept yelling at the Israeli speaker. He was so furious. Amer, and Riad and I later commented that it is rare to see an American professor venting such anger at an Israeli speaker. By the time I finished my first 20 minutes presentation, I was relieved. I felt that I did my job although I said more later. But I felt that I was pleased with how things went. I will let you know when the video will be uploaded (I am told that the first 20 minutes (the presentation of the Israeli speakr) is mysterisly missing from the university taping. Oh, and during the talk, I did criticize the moderator. At one point in the Q and A, I was making a point, and the moderator started to interrupt me. I said: look. I can tell that you have been nervous regarding my attitude since I started talking. I said that it was clear that you were not expecting this: it is clear that you were expecing an Arab who would hold hands with the Isareli speaker, and that I was disappionting you but that I would say what I want and in my own way. On the way driving back at night, they called me from AlJazeera Arabic to offer some remarks about US reactions to Lieberman's remarks. I agreed: they called me and I started yelling in my cellphone but my voice was weak by that point. It was a long day: statisfying (for me) but long. But lest we lose sight of the realities, I told Amer and Riad that no matter who won the debate, they still occupy the lands and they still kill our people.

The disgusting Israeli criminals never get tired from stealing,,,,

Israelis are so busy this week!!!! Poor guys,,,, they must be so tired to keep stealing land,,,, illegally arresting all the people,,,, killing people,,,,, swearing in racist nazis like Netanyahu and Liberman,,,, and they still had the time to keep stealing our land!!!! Maybe Anand can come tell us how much the Indian people "admire hard working Israeli people" Do you like it when I make the second link sml???

Israeli authorities confiscate land from Deir Sharaf to build new checkpoint
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/04/5769



Report: Israel demolished 19,000 Palestinian homes since 1967
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36827


Israel decides to annex 1000 Dunams near Nablus

http://www.imemc.org/article/59739


Israeli extremists confiscate 4 Palestinian stores in Hebron

http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40138

Israeli extremists seize a Palestinian house in Jerusalem
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40136

Report: Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem illegal

http://www.imemc.org/article/59731

Occupation expels Palestinian families from Hebron
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=390:the-occupation-expelled-
palestinian-families-living-behind-the-apartheid-wall-at-the-occupied-west-bank&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=183


Israeli troops fencing northern area of Azzun village; preventing access

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36795


Israeli court rejects Palestinian petition to save Jerusalem land from settlers

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36803


Israel's Illegal Annexation of East Jerusalem
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12988


Israeli judge rules to continue home demolitions in East Jerusalem

http://www.imemc.org/article/59730

Jewish Settlers to Build Road on Palestinians’ Lands
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=393:jewish-settlers-to-build-road-on-palestinians-lands&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=183


Israeli troops fencing northern area of Azzun village; preventing access

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36795


Settlers using government transition to step up construction
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1074541.html

Increased reports that next Israeli gov't to advance West Bank settlement construction in E1
http://www.alternativenews.org/content/view/1666/381/

Video: a Beit Safafa demolition
http://www.alternativenews.org/component/option,com_news_portal/Itemid,471/

They can't take that away from me: 'settlers' stealing Palestinian land from under our feet
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/03/28/reham-alhelsi-they-cant-take-that-away-from-me
-settlers-stealing-palestinian-land-from-under-our-feet/

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

By persisting in slagging Norway, 'Jerusalem Post' drains the meaning from the word, 'anti-Semitism'
"Norwegian Jews disagree with The Jerusalem Post," blazed the headline of the Norwegian paper Dagbladet in its most commented-upon article today. For the third day the Norwegian media provided ongoing coverage of an Israeli-Norwegian spat. Surveying the wreckage, one wonders if the famed Israeli Hasbara Machine needs an overhaul.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/norwegian-jews-disagree-with-the-jerusalem-post-blazed-the-headline-of-the-norwegian-paper-dagbladet-in-its-most-commented.html
US Envoy Writes of Israeli Threats
"The ambassador, John Gunther Dean, writes that over the years he not only came under pressure from pro-Israeli groups and officials in Washington but also was the target of an Israeli-inspired assassination attempt in 1980 in Lebanon, where he had opened links to the Palestine Liberation Organization."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/crossette

Reason for double linking

I probably will not have time to make any posts tomorrow because I have meetings for the whole damn day,,,, but here are some things for people to read. Tgia in the post a few below you asked why did I put links twice in the title and then below the post,,,, I wrote an explanation downstairs but I will post it here to in case that other people might be wondering:


Tgia I post the whole link because sometimes I like to
put links from Israeli publications,,,, there are some people who boycott every
thing about Israel and they think even one mouse click to an Israeli website
might benefit Israelis somehow,,,, I know it seems stupid to have the
links 2 xs but thats the reason why I am doing it.
I wish I can enforce total boycott but its good to see what those criminals are saying!

"..Support for Israel's actions has become so enmeshed in Washington that Israel has more leverage over us ..than we have over it..."

"....So, we're now in a position where if the Israeli government does what Netanyahu is hinting it might do, the Obama Administration will have to either be blamed by association and throw its whole Middle Eastern agenda to the dogs, or publicly and severely sanction Israel and open up a political s%&! storm in Washington that could derail any number of other projects. Support for Israel's actions has become so enmeshed within Washington's political culture that Israel, I would argue, has more leverage over us on key strategic issues than we have over it.That's not how it's supposed to work when you're a superpower."
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2009/04/support-for-israels-actions-has-become.html

The little Zionist that cried wolf

Anatomy of an anti-Semitic falsehood: 'Jerusalem Post' said Norway's Finance Minister led chant, 'Death to the Jews!'
Halvo Bruce Wolman of Bethesda, MD, lived in Norway for more than 20 years. He reads the Norwegian press in Norwegian and offers the following exclusive report:According to NTB, the Norwegian wire service, Norway's Finance Minister and Socialist Left party leader, Kristin Halvorsen (left) was described as a Jew-hater in an article released on the net issue of the Jerusalem Post Monday morning and later withdrawn. The article purported to describe the rising hatred of Jews in Norway. Reporter Maya Spitzer wrote: "Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment has exploded in Norway - driven by the Norwegian media and intellectual elite - due to Operation Cast Lead, according to Norwegian Jewish leaders. http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/03/heres-a-story-im-sure-nobody-else-has-given-you------according-to-ntb-the-norwegian-wire-service-norways-finance-minist.html

Egyptian Collaborators

Egypt destroys Gaza smuggling tunnels: report (AFP)
AFP - The Egyptian authorities have destroyed six tunnels used to smuggle contraband fuel and food to the Gaza Strip, the official MENA news agency reported on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090331/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazaegypttunnels

Cairo's American uni denies links with Pentagon
The American University in Cairo and the American embassy in Egypt denied Monday allegations that the university was receiving secret funding from the Pentagon after an Egyptian paper exploded the controversy in a press.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/03/31/69634.html

Arab Irrelevance
"...Meanwhile, Hosni Mubarak has now skipped two summits in a row, without even bothering to provide an official explanation (even if his efforts to convince others to stay away failed miserably). Jordan's King Abdullah reportedly went home early because he was upset that he wasn't met by the Emir at the airport (of such stuff is high politics made in the Arab world). Much of the summit was overshadowed by the pyrotechnics between Moammar Qaddafi and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, and the Qatari Emir's efforts to smooth over the public spat. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seems to have gone home empty-handed after the Saudi King refused to meet with him, nobody agreed to cancel debt, and the vacuous official statement declined to include boilerplate praise for improved Iraqi security or democracy. Hamas issued a statement complaining that the Summit did nothing for the Palestinians and ignored the threat posed by Netanyahu. (And that's not even getting into the support for Omar Bashir, which I'll write more about later.)
Above all, the Doha summit simply punted on all of the major issues facing the region. No effort was made to deal with Palestinian divisions, as Hamas was kept away. No effort was made to deal with disagreements over Iran, as Ahmedenejad was kept away out of deference to Saudi and other Gulf sensibilities and Iranian issues were kept out of the final statement. No real effort was made to overcome the persistent gap between the moderate and resistance camps, despite all of those efforts for the last two months. Perhaps the problem, as one Palestinian columnist argued, was that the Summit tried to get reconciliation without addressing the substantive differences... leading to inevitable failure. But what's more telling than the failure is the lack of evidence that there was even much effort.
It's unlikely that Arab summits will actually be abolished, of course. They play a symbolic role and are well-institutionalized. But at the same time, their significance and relevance may well be in steep decline. The wider Arab public is simply disgusted with the whole affair, and takes the summit's failure as just one more example of the irrelevance and impotence of the official Arab order. Qatar itself shifted smoothly from the desultory one-day Arab summit to a festive Arab-Latin American summit featuring Hugo Chavez. The growing role of non-Arab powers in the region -- especially Iran and Turkey, along with Israel and the U.S. -- along with the chronic inability of the Arabs to unify their ranks contributes to a sense of Arab irrelevance..."
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2009/04/arab-irrelevance.html

The only reason I want Iran to have nukes is because Israel has them... I prefer the Iranian messianic cult to the Israeli one......

Netanyahu: We don't want messianic cult controlling nukes
In an interview conducted shortly before being sworn in, new prime minister says Iranian threat constitutes a global threat, Israel expects Obama administration to stop Tehran from acquiring atomic bomb. 'How you achieve this goal is less important than achieving it,' he states.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3695385,00.html