Mitt Romney: Richer Means Superior: Information Clearing House: ICH
Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist
By The Associated Press
July 30, 2012 "AP" -- JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch.
``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist: Information Clearing House: ICH
Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist: Information Clearing House: ICH
Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist
By The Associated Press
July 30, 2012 "AP" -- JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch.
``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.
Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist
By The Associated Press
July 30, 2012 "AP" -- JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch.
``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.
Monday, 30 July 2012
'Don't tell my mother that I am blind': Muhammad Brash grasps for light in the darkness of Israeli jail
'Don't tell my mother that I am blind': Muhammad Brash grasps for light in the darkness of Israeli jail
Muhammad Brash (right), and his brother Ramzy are both imprisoned by Israel (Facebook)
Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by the Palestinian resistance from his tank and held for five years, is known worldwide as a “victim” of the “terrorist” Palestinians.
But seeing how little the world knows of our Palestinian political prisoners infuriates me. There is not only one. Nearly five thousand Palestinians are behind Israeli bars, which are more like “a grave for the living.” as my dad ad, who spent 15 years in Israel’s prisons, frequently describes his detention.
Last night, while following the latest news on political prisoners, I saw a headline reading, “The medical situation of the detainee Muhammad Brash is deteriorating.” I’m certain few have read that name before.
Muhammad Brash, like every Palestinian hero locked up in Israel’s jails, has his own story, a human and heroic story that would touch any heart. I didn’t know him before I coincidentally – and tearfully – read his letter, “Don’t tell my mother that I have become blind.”
I want to introduce you 32-year-old Muhammad Brash to you in depth. But I’ll let his own poetic words first tell you who he is. Here is my translation of his letter:
Don’t tell my mother that I can no longer see. She can see me, but I can’t see. I fake my smiles when she shows me the photographs of my siblings, friends, and neighbors, as she doesn’t know that I have become blind after illness spread in my eyes until the darkness filled me.
Don’t tell her that I waited several years to have a cornea transplant surgery. But the Israeli Prison Service kept procrastinating and procrastinating, giving my eyes every reason to leave me.
Don’t tell her that the last thing I remember from the sweet days when I could see was a small child, running toward me, waving the Palestinian flag, and yelling, ‘A martyr, a martyr.’
Don’t tell my mother that the shrapnel of the bombs which managed to hit me is still settling in my body, and that my left leg was mutilated and replaced with a plastic one. Don’t tell her that the other leg rotted and dried of blood and life.
Don’t tell my mother that the prisoner survives a lifeless existence and is treated as subhuman. He is sentenced to see only ashes and iron, darkness and hopelessness.
Tell her I am alive and safe. Tell her I can see, walk, run, play, jump, write, and read. Don’t tell her I shoulder my pains on a walking stick, and can see every martyr as a moon, soaring in the sky and calling me with the power of lightning, thunder, and clouds.
Don’t tell her I suffer from sleepless nights, and that I live under the mercy of painkillers until they drug my body. Don’t tell her that I keep losing my things, and I barge into the iron beds or another prisoner sleeping close to me, to wake him to help me reach the bathroom. Don’t tell her that wakefulness always hurts me and sleep never visits me.
Don’t tell her that Israel, a country in the 21st century, has turned its prisons into places where diseases are planted and bodies slowly ruined.
Don’t tell her that I have learned the names of horrible illnesses and strange medications, along with all types of painkillers, while watching my friend Zakariyya fall into a coma, with an ending unknown to me.
Don’t tell my mother about the sick prisoners whose diseases launched fierce wars against their bodies: Ahmad Abu Errab, Khaled Ashawish, Ahmad al-Najjar, Mansour Mowqeda, Akram Mansour, Ahmad Samara, Wafaa al-Bis, Reema Daraghma, Tareq Asi, Mutasim Radad, Riyad al-Amour, Yasir Nazzal, Ashraf Abu-Thare, Jihad Abu-Haniyye. The merciless Israeli prisons slaughter them; there is an illness and a carelessness in a country that enjoys slow death sentences and funerals for others.
Tell her that I never stop dreaming of being wrapped in her tender arms. My nostalgia for her is great, and her soul never leaves me. Tell her that I have kept her gifts: my Arab tongue, my purity, my symbols stuck on the wall, all of which soothe my pain every time the light disappears around me.
Tell her that I always embrace her holy prayers, to survive the dark cloud that surrounds me after the pain has spread in my body and tortured me. I might return to her or I might not, but I leave the answer to this question open, although I’ve chosen to be spiritually close to her heart. Tell her I am sorry I have no control over my future.
Tell her I am not too far from her, and I get closer every time a bird flies and a fire burns in my eye, and barbed wires wound me, carrying me to her arms.
Learning about Muhammad
This letter began my spiritual relationship with Muhammad Brash’s persona. He became a new source of inspiration in my life and deepened my faith in the cause of the Palestinian political prisoners.
Muhammad somehow managed to smuggle his moving letter from Eshel prison during the campaign of disobedience, the 22-day mass hunger strike launched at the end of September 2011. He shared his own experience of medical neglect, attempting to shed some light on the Israel Prison Service’s inhumane practices against him and his comrades. Quality medical care always tops the list of our detainees’ demands whenever they start a mass hunger strike.
Eager to know Muhammad Brash in depth, I searched every possible source for more information on him. I wished I could visit his family and listen to their story first-hand. Sadly Israel’s apartheid made it impossible for someone from Gaza to meet another from West Bank, even though it’s only a couple of hours away.
A message from Muhammad’s brother
After a long search, I found a Facebook page called The Detainees Muhammad and Ramzy Brash. Only then I realized that Ramzy Brash was Muhammad’s brother, who shares his prison cell and is also sentenced to life-long detention. I left a post on their page saying how moved I was by Muhammad’s letter. Shortly after that, I received a message from his 22-year-old brother, Hamza Brash, saying he was ready to tell me all about Muhammad.
Muhammad’s family is originally from Abu Shosha village, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948. His grandparents fled to al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, where they still live.
Brother killed by Israeli soldiers, Muhammad wounded by a bomb
At the start of the second Intifada – which began in September 2000 – Israeli occupation forces invaded al-Amari, massacred people, and demolished their houses. An armed soldier shot Muhammad’s 15-year-old brother Subri, cutting his life short while he was throwing a stone. This moved Muhammad to join the resistance and defend his people’s dignity and sense of security.
At the same time, Muhammad worked as a policeman. In 2001, he had a night shift, guarding a Palestinian police station 50 meters from an Israeli checkpoint. As he entered his car to return home, it exploded. Later he learned there had been a bomb inside it. There was suspicion over who had done it, but his brother responded, “We have only one enemy: Israel! The rest of the story will prove to you that their denial of the responsibility for this crime is a lie.”
“Muhammad was found quite far from the explosion,” Hamza told me during a phone call. “People thought they had found a martyr. But thankfully the bomb didn’t kill him. It only left him blind with one leg.”
Muhammad was carried to a governmental hospital. But even while he was half dead, he was attacked again. “A masked man entered his room and stuck his fingers in Muhammad’s eyes, already blinded from the bomb,” Hamza said angrily. “After that, he was sent to a private hospital and was never left alone without guards.”
Arrested in 2003
“But how did he end up in prison?” I asked. “On 17 February 2003, the Israeli army besieged Al-Amarai preparing for a detention campaign,” Hamza replied. “We never expected that Muhammad would be the target. After his disability, how could he threaten Israel’s security?”
“A huge force of Israeli soldiers raided our house,” he said. “They found Mahmoud leaning against a wall, trying to stand. They attacked him and started shackling and blindfolding him, as if he could see or run away. The soldiers started harassing him because of his disability.” Hamza told me that he heard the head soldier telling Muhammad, “We wanted you dead, but when we heard that you were alive, we thought you should be our guest.”
Mohammed didn’t fear them. Hamza heard Muhammad telling the head soldier, “I’m sorry for you, you coward!” The head soldier laughed at him wondering “How come?” Then Muhammad answered him with pride and slight smile, “If you weren’t a coward, you wouldn’t come besiege the whole camp with thousands of soldiers to arrest a disabled man like me!”
At first, the Israeli court sentenced Muhammad to seven lifetimes. But then it was reduced to three life sentences plus 35 years in light of his health condition. “As if this merciless court made a difference! ” Hamza said angrily. “A life sentence was enough to make Israel’s prison his grave.”
Muhammad has served ten years of his sentence, and no one knows if he will ever be released. Ever since his arrest, he has suffered from medical neglect every day. It’s this that left Muhammad in two forms of darkness: His blind eyes that see no colors but black, and his dark cell where he dies every day and may spend the last day of his life.
More than 50 prisoners are either physically or mentally disabled. And as Dad said, recalling his imprisonment, “Being detained by the merciless jailers of the Israel Prison Service is enough to threaten your psychological health.”
Most of Israel’s shameful crimes, which offend any sense of propriety in any heart with any shred of conscience, were committed in the name of security. But how can they justify them in Muhammad’s case where he can hardly endanger their safety?
Muhammad Brash (right), and his brother Ramzy are both imprisoned by Israel (Facebook)
Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by the Palestinian resistance from his tank and held for five years, is known worldwide as a “victim” of the “terrorist” Palestinians.
But seeing how little the world knows of our Palestinian political prisoners infuriates me. There is not only one. Nearly five thousand Palestinians are behind Israeli bars, which are more like “a grave for the living.” as my dad ad, who spent 15 years in Israel’s prisons, frequently describes his detention.
Last night, while following the latest news on political prisoners, I saw a headline reading, “The medical situation of the detainee Muhammad Brash is deteriorating.” I’m certain few have read that name before.
Muhammad Brash, like every Palestinian hero locked up in Israel’s jails, has his own story, a human and heroic story that would touch any heart. I didn’t know him before I coincidentally – and tearfully – read his letter, “Don’t tell my mother that I have become blind.”
I want to introduce you 32-year-old Muhammad Brash to you in depth. But I’ll let his own poetic words first tell you who he is. Here is my translation of his letter:
Don’t tell my mother that I can no longer see. She can see me, but I can’t see. I fake my smiles when she shows me the photographs of my siblings, friends, and neighbors, as she doesn’t know that I have become blind after illness spread in my eyes until the darkness filled me.
Don’t tell her that I waited several years to have a cornea transplant surgery. But the Israeli Prison Service kept procrastinating and procrastinating, giving my eyes every reason to leave me.
Don’t tell her that the last thing I remember from the sweet days when I could see was a small child, running toward me, waving the Palestinian flag, and yelling, ‘A martyr, a martyr.’
Don’t tell my mother that the shrapnel of the bombs which managed to hit me is still settling in my body, and that my left leg was mutilated and replaced with a plastic one. Don’t tell her that the other leg rotted and dried of blood and life.
Don’t tell my mother that the prisoner survives a lifeless existence and is treated as subhuman. He is sentenced to see only ashes and iron, darkness and hopelessness.
Tell her I am alive and safe. Tell her I can see, walk, run, play, jump, write, and read. Don’t tell her I shoulder my pains on a walking stick, and can see every martyr as a moon, soaring in the sky and calling me with the power of lightning, thunder, and clouds.
Don’t tell her I suffer from sleepless nights, and that I live under the mercy of painkillers until they drug my body. Don’t tell her that I keep losing my things, and I barge into the iron beds or another prisoner sleeping close to me, to wake him to help me reach the bathroom. Don’t tell her that wakefulness always hurts me and sleep never visits me.
Don’t tell her that Israel, a country in the 21st century, has turned its prisons into places where diseases are planted and bodies slowly ruined.
Don’t tell her that I have learned the names of horrible illnesses and strange medications, along with all types of painkillers, while watching my friend Zakariyya fall into a coma, with an ending unknown to me.
Don’t tell my mother about the sick prisoners whose diseases launched fierce wars against their bodies: Ahmad Abu Errab, Khaled Ashawish, Ahmad al-Najjar, Mansour Mowqeda, Akram Mansour, Ahmad Samara, Wafaa al-Bis, Reema Daraghma, Tareq Asi, Mutasim Radad, Riyad al-Amour, Yasir Nazzal, Ashraf Abu-Thare, Jihad Abu-Haniyye. The merciless Israeli prisons slaughter them; there is an illness and a carelessness in a country that enjoys slow death sentences and funerals for others.
Tell her that I never stop dreaming of being wrapped in her tender arms. My nostalgia for her is great, and her soul never leaves me. Tell her that I have kept her gifts: my Arab tongue, my purity, my symbols stuck on the wall, all of which soothe my pain every time the light disappears around me.
Tell her that I always embrace her holy prayers, to survive the dark cloud that surrounds me after the pain has spread in my body and tortured me. I might return to her or I might not, but I leave the answer to this question open, although I’ve chosen to be spiritually close to her heart. Tell her I am sorry I have no control over my future.
Tell her I am not too far from her, and I get closer every time a bird flies and a fire burns in my eye, and barbed wires wound me, carrying me to her arms.
Learning about Muhammad
This letter began my spiritual relationship with Muhammad Brash’s persona. He became a new source of inspiration in my life and deepened my faith in the cause of the Palestinian political prisoners.
Muhammad somehow managed to smuggle his moving letter from Eshel prison during the campaign of disobedience, the 22-day mass hunger strike launched at the end of September 2011. He shared his own experience of medical neglect, attempting to shed some light on the Israel Prison Service’s inhumane practices against him and his comrades. Quality medical care always tops the list of our detainees’ demands whenever they start a mass hunger strike.
Eager to know Muhammad Brash in depth, I searched every possible source for more information on him. I wished I could visit his family and listen to their story first-hand. Sadly Israel’s apartheid made it impossible for someone from Gaza to meet another from West Bank, even though it’s only a couple of hours away.
A message from Muhammad’s brother
After a long search, I found a Facebook page called The Detainees Muhammad and Ramzy Brash. Only then I realized that Ramzy Brash was Muhammad’s brother, who shares his prison cell and is also sentenced to life-long detention. I left a post on their page saying how moved I was by Muhammad’s letter. Shortly after that, I received a message from his 22-year-old brother, Hamza Brash, saying he was ready to tell me all about Muhammad.
Muhammad’s family is originally from Abu Shosha village, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948. His grandparents fled to al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, where they still live.
Brother killed by Israeli soldiers, Muhammad wounded by a bomb
At the start of the second Intifada – which began in September 2000 – Israeli occupation forces invaded al-Amari, massacred people, and demolished their houses. An armed soldier shot Muhammad’s 15-year-old brother Subri, cutting his life short while he was throwing a stone. This moved Muhammad to join the resistance and defend his people’s dignity and sense of security.
At the same time, Muhammad worked as a policeman. In 2001, he had a night shift, guarding a Palestinian police station 50 meters from an Israeli checkpoint. As he entered his car to return home, it exploded. Later he learned there had been a bomb inside it. There was suspicion over who had done it, but his brother responded, “We have only one enemy: Israel! The rest of the story will prove to you that their denial of the responsibility for this crime is a lie.”
“Muhammad was found quite far from the explosion,” Hamza told me during a phone call. “People thought they had found a martyr. But thankfully the bomb didn’t kill him. It only left him blind with one leg.”
Muhammad was carried to a governmental hospital. But even while he was half dead, he was attacked again. “A masked man entered his room and stuck his fingers in Muhammad’s eyes, already blinded from the bomb,” Hamza said angrily. “After that, he was sent to a private hospital and was never left alone without guards.”
Arrested in 2003
“But how did he end up in prison?” I asked. “On 17 February 2003, the Israeli army besieged Al-Amarai preparing for a detention campaign,” Hamza replied. “We never expected that Muhammad would be the target. After his disability, how could he threaten Israel’s security?”
“A huge force of Israeli soldiers raided our house,” he said. “They found Mahmoud leaning against a wall, trying to stand. They attacked him and started shackling and blindfolding him, as if he could see or run away. The soldiers started harassing him because of his disability.” Hamza told me that he heard the head soldier telling Muhammad, “We wanted you dead, but when we heard that you were alive, we thought you should be our guest.”
Mohammed didn’t fear them. Hamza heard Muhammad telling the head soldier, “I’m sorry for you, you coward!” The head soldier laughed at him wondering “How come?” Then Muhammad answered him with pride and slight smile, “If you weren’t a coward, you wouldn’t come besiege the whole camp with thousands of soldiers to arrest a disabled man like me!”
At first, the Israeli court sentenced Muhammad to seven lifetimes. But then it was reduced to three life sentences plus 35 years in light of his health condition. “As if this merciless court made a difference! ” Hamza said angrily. “A life sentence was enough to make Israel’s prison his grave.”
Muhammad has served ten years of his sentence, and no one knows if he will ever be released. Ever since his arrest, he has suffered from medical neglect every day. It’s this that left Muhammad in two forms of darkness: His blind eyes that see no colors but black, and his dark cell where he dies every day and may spend the last day of his life.
More than 50 prisoners are either physically or mentally disabled. And as Dad said, recalling his imprisonment, “Being detained by the merciless jailers of the Israel Prison Service is enough to threaten your psychological health.”
Most of Israel’s shameful crimes, which offend any sense of propriety in any heart with any shred of conscience, were committed in the name of security. But how can they justify them in Muhammad’s case where he can hardly endanger their safety?
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif Information Clearing House: ICH
Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif Information Clearing House: ICH
Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif
Video By RT -July 28, 2012
Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters.
Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters. Officers fired live rounds at demonstrators who carried posters of those injured and arrested earlier this month.
Spokesmen for the Saudi Interior Ministry said several people were burning tires during the protests, and several arrests were made.
Among those arrested today was Mohammed al-Shakhuri, who is on a list of the country’s 23 most-wanted people, Al-Manar News reported. Witnesses said Shakhuri was taken to a military hospital with bullet wounds in his back and neck.
“There were no casualties,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Clashes between police and protesters have increased in recent days, following the deaths of two protesters earlier this month.
Protests began in Saudi Arabia last March, when a Shia uprising in neighbouring Bahrain was crushed by Gulf troops, led by Saudi Arabia.
Demonstrations escalated earlier this month, after a prominent Shia cleric was arrested for being what the interior ministry deemed an “instigator of sedition.”His detainment has been the source of widespread demonstrations demanding an end to sectarian discrimination in the region.
Shia Muslims have long complained of marginalization at the hands of Saudi Arabia’s Sunni ruling family. They were demanding greater rights and an end to what they believe is discrimination by the rulers.
Political analyst Dr. Mohsen Saleh explains that the protests are taking place in the country’s major oil-producing region, where, at the same time, the poorest people live.
“The eastern part in Saudi Arabia has been agonizing for a long time, for centuries…They have been deprived of their basic rights,” he told RT. “When the peaceful [protests] started in Bahrain, the Saudis thought [the same may happen in their country] – and they were right in thinking so, because they are discriminating against an essential part of their people in the east.
“And it’s an irony that all kinds of [carbohydrates – oil] and gas are produced there. [And still], these people are the poorest in their country. That’s why the [Saudi rulers] fear that the agony of these people might be a mark of a great revolution in Saudi Arabia. And that’s what the United States and the Saudis are really afraid of,” he concluded.
The latest events in Saudi Arabia follow the eight latest arrests that were made Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, where the government announced an investigation into groups plotting crimes against the state.
Similar crackdowns have earlier taken place in Bahrain.
Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif
Video By RT -July 28, 2012
Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters.
Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters. Officers fired live rounds at demonstrators who carried posters of those injured and arrested earlier this month.
Spokesmen for the Saudi Interior Ministry said several people were burning tires during the protests, and several arrests were made.
Among those arrested today was Mohammed al-Shakhuri, who is on a list of the country’s 23 most-wanted people, Al-Manar News reported. Witnesses said Shakhuri was taken to a military hospital with bullet wounds in his back and neck.
“There were no casualties,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Clashes between police and protesters have increased in recent days, following the deaths of two protesters earlier this month.
Protests began in Saudi Arabia last March, when a Shia uprising in neighbouring Bahrain was crushed by Gulf troops, led by Saudi Arabia.
Demonstrations escalated earlier this month, after a prominent Shia cleric was arrested for being what the interior ministry deemed an “instigator of sedition.”His detainment has been the source of widespread demonstrations demanding an end to sectarian discrimination in the region.
Shia Muslims have long complained of marginalization at the hands of Saudi Arabia’s Sunni ruling family. They were demanding greater rights and an end to what they believe is discrimination by the rulers.
Political analyst Dr. Mohsen Saleh explains that the protests are taking place in the country’s major oil-producing region, where, at the same time, the poorest people live.
“The eastern part in Saudi Arabia has been agonizing for a long time, for centuries…They have been deprived of their basic rights,” he told RT. “When the peaceful [protests] started in Bahrain, the Saudis thought [the same may happen in their country] – and they were right in thinking so, because they are discriminating against an essential part of their people in the east.
“And it’s an irony that all kinds of [carbohydrates – oil] and gas are produced there. [And still], these people are the poorest in their country. That’s why the [Saudi rulers] fear that the agony of these people might be a mark of a great revolution in Saudi Arabia. And that’s what the United States and the Saudis are really afraid of,” he concluded.
The latest events in Saudi Arabia follow the eight latest arrests that were made Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, where the government announced an investigation into groups plotting crimes against the state.
Similar crackdowns have earlier taken place in Bahrain.
The Value of Tom Friedman? Information Clearing House: ICH
The Value of Tom Friedman? Information Clearing House: ICH
The Value of Tom Friedman
His status among American elites is the single most potent fact for understanding the nation's imperial decline
By Glenn Greenwald
July 28, 2012 "Salon" - - Tom Friedman argues that the only thing that could save Syria is if that country is lucky enough to have the U.S. do to it what the U.S. did to Iraq, and in the process, says this:
And, for me, the lesson of Iraq is quite simple: You can’t go from Saddam to Switzerland without getting stuck in Hobbes — a war of all against all — unless you have a well-armed external midwife, whom everyone on the ground both fears and trusts to manage the transition. In Iraq, that was America.
The Value of Tom Friedman
His status among American elites is the single most potent fact for understanding the nation's imperial decline
By Glenn Greenwald
July 28, 2012 "Salon" - - Tom Friedman argues that the only thing that could save Syria is if that country is lucky enough to have the U.S. do to it what the U.S. did to Iraq, and in the process, says this:
And, for me, the lesson of Iraq is quite simple: You can’t go from Saddam to Switzerland without getting stuck in Hobbes — a war of all against all — unless you have a well-armed external midwife, whom everyone on the ground both fears and trusts to manage the transition. In Iraq, that was America.
Israel denied me entry on the basis of my skin color and religion
Israel denied me entry on the basis of my skin color and religion
Israel attempts to portray itself as a vibrant, liberal country that promotes pluralism and diversity, the only democracy in a region filled with tyrants and despots, a young energetic start-up advocating inclusiveness. So why the need for barefaced racial discrimination at its airports?
Israel attempts to portray itself as a vibrant, liberal country that promotes pluralism and diversity, the only democracy in a region filled with tyrants and despots, a young energetic start-up advocating inclusiveness. So why the need for barefaced racial discrimination at its airports?
Friday, 27 July 2012
Brothers jailed by US and expelled to Gaza speak out
Brothers jailed by US and expelled to Gaza speak out
When Basman Elashi reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, Texas on 9 July, he expected nothing unusual. He had visited the federal agency regularly since his release from its custody in March 2009.
“At first I was only reporting every six months,” he said over tea in his family’s Gaza home. “Then they reduced it to three months. Then, the last time, they asked me to report the following month.”
When Basman Elashi reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, Texas on 9 July, he expected nothing unusual. He had visited the federal agency regularly since his release from its custody in March 2009.
“At first I was only reporting every six months,” he said over tea in his family’s Gaza home. “Then they reduced it to three months. Then, the last time, they asked me to report the following month.”
Syria Tightens the Noose Around Its Own Neck Information Clearing House: ICH
Syria Tightens the Noose Around Its Own Neck Information Clearing House: ICH
The US, France, Turkey and Israel have all finalized their contingency plans for attacking Syria. The biggest winner in such a scenario would be Israel, as it was in the US war against Iraq. Sending Syria into turmoil would eliminate the most important supporter of the Palestinians resistance, cut off Hezbullah, leave it vulnerable to a final assault, and isolate Iran.
The US, France, Turkey and Israel have all finalized their contingency plans for attacking Syria. The biggest winner in such a scenario would be Israel, as it was in the US war against Iraq. Sending Syria into turmoil would eliminate the most important supporter of the Palestinians resistance, cut off Hezbullah, leave it vulnerable to a final assault, and isolate Iran.
Pepe Escobar: Syrian Blood Etches a New Line in the Sand
Pepe Escobar: Syrian Blood Etches a New Line in the Sand
A foreign policy that privileges Sunni jihadis formerly known as terrorists to create a “democratic” state in the Middle East seems to have been conjured by Bane — the Hannibal Lecter meets Darth Vader bad guy in The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter of the Batman trilogy. And yes, we are his creators. While the best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity, a masked Sunni jihadi superman is slouching towards Damascus to be born.
A foreign policy that privileges Sunni jihadis formerly known as terrorists to create a “democratic” state in the Middle East seems to have been conjured by Bane — the Hannibal Lecter meets Darth Vader bad guy in The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter of the Batman trilogy. And yes, we are his creators. While the best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity, a masked Sunni jihadi superman is slouching towards Damascus to be born.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Africans as "flood," Palestinians as "demographic threat": Ruth Marcus' vulgar racism in Washington Post
Africans as "flood," Palestinians as "demographic threat": Ruth Marcus' vulgar racism in Washington Post
BLOGS » ALI ABUNIMAH'S BLOG
Africans as "flood," Palestinians as "demographic threat": Ruth Marcus’ vulgar racism in Washington Post
Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Wed, 07/25/2012 - 12:35
Only when it comes to Israel do “mainstream” American commentators permit themselves to indulge in the kind of racism Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus treats us to when she writes:
Israel faces a demographic threat to the Jewish state from its fast-growing Arab population, even without a deluge of African refugees with no religious ties or political loyalties to the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that “60,000 infiltrators are liable to become 600,000 and lead to the eradication of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
BLOGS » ALI ABUNIMAH'S BLOG
Africans as "flood," Palestinians as "demographic threat": Ruth Marcus’ vulgar racism in Washington Post
Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Wed, 07/25/2012 - 12:35
Only when it comes to Israel do “mainstream” American commentators permit themselves to indulge in the kind of racism Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus treats us to when she writes:
Israel faces a demographic threat to the Jewish state from its fast-growing Arab population, even without a deluge of African refugees with no religious ties or political loyalties to the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that “60,000 infiltrators are liable to become 600,000 and lead to the eradication of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
Apartment Manager Uncovered NYPD’s Illegal Spying Ring -- News from Antiwar.com
Apartment Manager Uncovered NYPD’s Illegal Spying Ring -- News from Antiwar.com
A New Brunswick, N.J. 911 audiotape reveals the manner through which one of the NYPD’s illegal out of town surveillance operations was uncovered, as the superintendent of an apartment complex called to report an inspection revealed a “suspicious” dwelling which turned out to be a police safehouse.
A New Brunswick, N.J. 911 audiotape reveals the manner through which one of the NYPD’s illegal out of town surveillance operations was uncovered, as the superintendent of an apartment complex called to report an inspection revealed a “suspicious” dwelling which turned out to be a police safehouse.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
German Intelligence: "al-Qaeda" All Over Syria
German Intelligence: "al-Qaeda" All Over Syria
July 24, 2012 "Asia Times" -- German intelligence estimates that "around 90" terror attacks that "can be attributed to organizations that are close to al-Qaeda or jihadist groups" were carried out in Syria between the end of December and the beginning of July, as reported by the German daily Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). This was revealed by the German government in a response to a parliamentary question.
In response to the same question, the German government admitted that it had received several reports from the German foreign intelligence service, the BND, on the May 25 massacre in the Syrian town of Houla. But it noted that the content of these reports was to remain classified "by reason of national interest", Like many other Western governments, Germany expelled Syria's ambassador in the immediate aftermath of the massacre, holding the Syrian government responsible for the violence.
July 24, 2012 "Asia Times" -- German intelligence estimates that "around 90" terror attacks that "can be attributed to organizations that are close to al-Qaeda or jihadist groups" were carried out in Syria between the end of December and the beginning of July, as reported by the German daily Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). This was revealed by the German government in a response to a parliamentary question.
In response to the same question, the German government admitted that it had received several reports from the German foreign intelligence service, the BND, on the May 25 massacre in the Syrian town of Houla. But it noted that the content of these reports was to remain classified "by reason of national interest", Like many other Western governments, Germany expelled Syria's ambassador in the immediate aftermath of the massacre, holding the Syrian government responsible for the violence.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Why I tried to arrest Avigdor Lieberman (again)
Why I tried to arrest Avigdor Lieberman (again)
For the second time in as many years, I tried to arrest Avigdor Lieberman today.
As soon as I saw the Israeli foreign minister enter a room where he was scheduled to give a press conference in Brussels, I stood up and shouted: “Mr Lieberman, this is a citizen’s arrest. You are charged with the crime of apartheid.”
For the second time in as many years, I tried to arrest Avigdor Lieberman today.
As soon as I saw the Israeli foreign minister enter a room where he was scheduled to give a press conference in Brussels, I stood up and shouted: “Mr Lieberman, this is a citizen’s arrest. You are charged with the crime of apartheid.”
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Jewish voices call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine
Jewish voices call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine
Jewish voices in calling for a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, say that first and foremost this requires an end to the occupation.
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Jewish Voice for Peace
19 July 2012
THE ISRAELI government often claims to act in the name and interests of all the Jews in the world. However, their actions do not reflect our Jewish values and beliefs.
We hold to Rabbi Hillel’s ancient precept: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” We support non-violent efforts that pressure the Israeli government to end its oppressive policies:
to remove the illegal settlements, the ‘separation wall,’ and the checkpoints it has built in the West Bank;
to end its inhuman siege of Gaza;
to respect the full equality of non-Jewish citizens of Israel;
to embrace a resolution of the conflict that is based on justice and that respects the common humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.
We condemn all acts of violence against civilians, be they Palestinian, Israeli, or others. We believe that one-sided US political, military, and financial (taxpayer) support of Israel has harmed both Israelis and Palestinians. It has not served the interests of peace or the American people. We call on Americans to demand an end to US enabling of Israel’s illegal and immoral acts.
Criticism of Israeli Actions and Policies is not Anti-Semitic
There is a difference between the government of Israel and the world Jewry. Criticism of Israeli governmental actions is not an attack on either Jews or Judaism. Both Jews and non-Jews have a right—and a responsibility—to speak out against the injustices that are being perpetrated by the Israeli government and supported by the US government.
The incredible shrinking Palestine: a brief history
In 1947, the United Nations granted the Jewish immigrants in Palestine 55% of the Palestinians’ homeland, even though they then represented less than 1/3 of the population and had purchased less that 5% of the land. This partition left the Palestinians with only 45%.
The Jewish Agency, which was the provisional government before Israel declared statehood in 1948, immediately began to execute its strategic plan to cleanse its partition of the indigenous Arab population. This plan, developed over the previous decade, was called Plan Dalet. By the time that Israel declared its independence, on May 14, 1948, the majority of the Palestinians living within Israel had been forcibly expelled from their homes by Israeli regular and irregular military forces.
During the war of 1948, Israel not only continued this campaign of ethnic cleansing, but captured an additional 23% of historic Palestine, thereby leaving the Palestinians with only 22% of their ancestral land. By the end of 1949, Israel had expelled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land and destroyed over 400 villages. The Palestinians who were allowed to remain were placed under a direct military dictatorship for the next 16 years. In violation of international law, those who were expelled have never been allowed to return.
In 1967, Israel captured the remaining 22%: the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Israel has placed these Occupied Palestinian Territories under a brutal military occupation and has illegally transferred almost half a million of its own citizens there. This colonization of occupied territory is strictly prohibited by international law, as is the acquisition of territory through war.
To this day, Israel continues its strategic pattern of ethnic cleansing while constructing more illegal Jewish settlements and Jewish-only roads. It demolishes Palestinian homes and has built walls that concentrate Palestinians into small, isolated regions.
Israel maintains hundreds of military checkpoints (the Hebrew term translates as “obstacles”), which inhibit free travel. Because Israel controls all borders, air space, and natural resources, the Palestinian economy is thwarted at every turn. All this—together known as the Occupation—has produced poverty, hatred, and conflict.
In our view, a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, requires, first and foremost, an end to this Occupation.
Jewish voices in calling for a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, say that first and foremost this requires an end to the occupation.
More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on blogger Share on facebook
Jewish Voice for Peace
19 July 2012
THE ISRAELI government often claims to act in the name and interests of all the Jews in the world. However, their actions do not reflect our Jewish values and beliefs.
We hold to Rabbi Hillel’s ancient precept: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” We support non-violent efforts that pressure the Israeli government to end its oppressive policies:
to remove the illegal settlements, the ‘separation wall,’ and the checkpoints it has built in the West Bank;
to end its inhuman siege of Gaza;
to respect the full equality of non-Jewish citizens of Israel;
to embrace a resolution of the conflict that is based on justice and that respects the common humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.
We condemn all acts of violence against civilians, be they Palestinian, Israeli, or others. We believe that one-sided US political, military, and financial (taxpayer) support of Israel has harmed both Israelis and Palestinians. It has not served the interests of peace or the American people. We call on Americans to demand an end to US enabling of Israel’s illegal and immoral acts.
Criticism of Israeli Actions and Policies is not Anti-Semitic
There is a difference between the government of Israel and the world Jewry. Criticism of Israeli governmental actions is not an attack on either Jews or Judaism. Both Jews and non-Jews have a right—and a responsibility—to speak out against the injustices that are being perpetrated by the Israeli government and supported by the US government.
The incredible shrinking Palestine: a brief history
In 1947, the United Nations granted the Jewish immigrants in Palestine 55% of the Palestinians’ homeland, even though they then represented less than 1/3 of the population and had purchased less that 5% of the land. This partition left the Palestinians with only 45%.
The Jewish Agency, which was the provisional government before Israel declared statehood in 1948, immediately began to execute its strategic plan to cleanse its partition of the indigenous Arab population. This plan, developed over the previous decade, was called Plan Dalet. By the time that Israel declared its independence, on May 14, 1948, the majority of the Palestinians living within Israel had been forcibly expelled from their homes by Israeli regular and irregular military forces.
During the war of 1948, Israel not only continued this campaign of ethnic cleansing, but captured an additional 23% of historic Palestine, thereby leaving the Palestinians with only 22% of their ancestral land. By the end of 1949, Israel had expelled over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land and destroyed over 400 villages. The Palestinians who were allowed to remain were placed under a direct military dictatorship for the next 16 years. In violation of international law, those who were expelled have never been allowed to return.
In 1967, Israel captured the remaining 22%: the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Israel has placed these Occupied Palestinian Territories under a brutal military occupation and has illegally transferred almost half a million of its own citizens there. This colonization of occupied territory is strictly prohibited by international law, as is the acquisition of territory through war.
To this day, Israel continues its strategic pattern of ethnic cleansing while constructing more illegal Jewish settlements and Jewish-only roads. It demolishes Palestinian homes and has built walls that concentrate Palestinians into small, isolated regions.
Israel maintains hundreds of military checkpoints (the Hebrew term translates as “obstacles”), which inhibit free travel. Because Israel controls all borders, air space, and natural resources, the Palestinian economy is thwarted at every turn. All this—together known as the Occupation—has produced poverty, hatred, and conflict.
In our view, a just and lasting peace, which would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, requires, first and foremost, an end to this Occupation.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Local News :: Saudi court sentences Lebanese to year in jail, 200 lashes
THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Local News :: Saudi court sentences Lebanese to year in jail, 200 lashes
BEIRUT: A court in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah sentenced an unidentified Lebanese man to one year in prison and 200 lashes after he was convicted of drawing tattoos on the bodies of Saudi women and being a women’s hairdresser, a Saudi newspaper said Tuesday.
Al-Madina newspaper reported that the district court also fined the man.
The article said the Lebanese man, known as "The King of Tattoos" was arrested when a member of the Squad for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice pretended to be a driver for one of his female clients.
The squad confiscated a bag in his possession which contained several lotions, some for weight loss, others for eliminating skin discoloration from the knees, and yet others for breast lifting, massage and enhancement. They also confiscated artificial eye lashes and products for hair coloring.
The Saudi paper also said that when the man was arrested, he told the squad that he used these products as part of his work in Lebanon as a hairdresser, denying that he used them on Saudi women.
During the subsequent investigation, police found text messages on his cellular phone from women indicating that he had tattooed their bodies at their residence. They also found pictures of tattooed women.
The squad also found business cards he distributed to female clients.
According to the paper, the investigation revealed that the Lebanese man had been working as a hairdresser and tattoo artist for nine years by entering the country on commercial visas.
He reportedly received women in an apartment he rented but later began going to the women's houses as he thought this would be safer.
BEIRUT: A court in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah sentenced an unidentified Lebanese man to one year in prison and 200 lashes after he was convicted of drawing tattoos on the bodies of Saudi women and being a women’s hairdresser, a Saudi newspaper said Tuesday.
Al-Madina newspaper reported that the district court also fined the man.
The article said the Lebanese man, known as "The King of Tattoos" was arrested when a member of the Squad for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice pretended to be a driver for one of his female clients.
The squad confiscated a bag in his possession which contained several lotions, some for weight loss, others for eliminating skin discoloration from the knees, and yet others for breast lifting, massage and enhancement. They also confiscated artificial eye lashes and products for hair coloring.
The Saudi paper also said that when the man was arrested, he told the squad that he used these products as part of his work in Lebanon as a hairdresser, denying that he used them on Saudi women.
During the subsequent investigation, police found text messages on his cellular phone from women indicating that he had tattooed their bodies at their residence. They also found pictures of tattooed women.
The squad also found business cards he distributed to female clients.
According to the paper, the investigation revealed that the Lebanese man had been working as a hairdresser and tattoo artist for nine years by entering the country on commercial visas.
He reportedly received women in an apartment he rented but later began going to the women's houses as he thought this would be safer.
Russia Criticizes Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record
Russia Criticizes Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record
Hilarity Ensues as Russia Criticizes Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record
By Mark Adomanis
July 17, 2012 "Forbes" -- If you want to find proof of the rank hypocrisy and double standards that underlie international relations in general and the argument over Syria in particular, you could do an awful lot worse than to examine the recent spat between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saudi Arabia, despite it’s recent embrace of the cause of democracy and freedom in Syria, is and has been for the past 80 odd years one of the most violently repressive and backwards societies in the world: an absolute dictatorship replete with “morality police” and various other kinds of religious totalitarians.*
Hilarity Ensues as Russia Criticizes Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record
By Mark Adomanis
July 17, 2012 "Forbes" -- If you want to find proof of the rank hypocrisy and double standards that underlie international relations in general and the argument over Syria in particular, you could do an awful lot worse than to examine the recent spat between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saudi Arabia, despite it’s recent embrace of the cause of democracy and freedom in Syria, is and has been for the past 80 odd years one of the most violently repressive and backwards societies in the world: an absolute dictatorship replete with “morality police” and various other kinds of religious totalitarians.*
Monday, 16 July 2012
China Gave Nuclear Weapons to Saudi Arabia :CIA Contractor
China Gave Nuclear Weapons to Saudi Arabia :CIA Contractor
Scherck's self-published book, "Patriot Lost," claims China gave nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia during George W. Bush's presidency, according to an excerpt from the book available on the Amazon.com Internet page this morning. The book contains other harsh criticisms of the G.W. Bush presidency.
Federal prosecutors say in their complaint that Scherck signed secrecy agreements with the CIA in 2004 and 2007, and agreed to let the agency review any materials he planned to publish, including works of fiction, which mention intelligence activities.
Scherck submitted the manuscript for "Patriot Lost" to the CIA for review in 2010, and the CIA did not approve its publication, but Scherck published it online a few months later, according to the complaint.
Scherck's self-published book, "Patriot Lost," claims China gave nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia during George W. Bush's presidency, according to an excerpt from the book available on the Amazon.com Internet page this morning. The book contains other harsh criticisms of the G.W. Bush presidency.
Federal prosecutors say in their complaint that Scherck signed secrecy agreements with the CIA in 2004 and 2007, and agreed to let the agency review any materials he planned to publish, including works of fiction, which mention intelligence activities.
Scherck submitted the manuscript for "Patriot Lost" to the CIA for review in 2010, and the CIA did not approve its publication, but Scherck published it online a few months later, according to the complaint.
Defected Syrian Ambassador Admits Role in Killing US Troops
Defected Syrian Ambassador Admits Role in Killing US Troops
July 15, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- Confessed terrorist Nawaf Fares has now called for "foreign military intervention," in his latest interview, this time with CNN. During this interview, Fares repeated his farcical claims that the Syrian government was working with, not fighting against, "Al Qaeda," but was more careful not to repeat admissions that he had a role in dealing with them. Fares' role for the West is very simple, repeat even the most absurd claims made by the West against Syria, hoping that with his background, an "appeal to authority" can lend these narratives the credibility they factually lack.
July 14, 2012 - Nawaf Fares, former Syrian Ambassador to Iraq who just recently defected and is now harbored in Qatar, admitted in an interview with the London Telegraph that he personally organized "Jihadi units" to fight US troops in Iraq. Fares maintains that he did so under orders by the Syrian government, and that a recent string of bombings in Syria were carried out by "Al Qaeda" in coordination with Syrian security forces.
July 15, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- Confessed terrorist Nawaf Fares has now called for "foreign military intervention," in his latest interview, this time with CNN. During this interview, Fares repeated his farcical claims that the Syrian government was working with, not fighting against, "Al Qaeda," but was more careful not to repeat admissions that he had a role in dealing with them. Fares' role for the West is very simple, repeat even the most absurd claims made by the West against Syria, hoping that with his background, an "appeal to authority" can lend these narratives the credibility they factually lack.
July 14, 2012 - Nawaf Fares, former Syrian Ambassador to Iraq who just recently defected and is now harbored in Qatar, admitted in an interview with the London Telegraph that he personally organized "Jihadi units" to fight US troops in Iraq. Fares maintains that he did so under orders by the Syrian government, and that a recent string of bombings in Syria were carried out by "Al Qaeda" in coordination with Syrian security forces.
Meeting Mahmoud Sarsak: "It's not my victory, it's yours"
Meeting Mahmoud Sarsak: "It's not my victory, it's yours"
Ever since we heard that Mahmoud Sarsak would be freed, people in Gaza waited eagerly for that day, a day that will be commemorated in the history of Palestine.
Sarsak would finally be coming home after three years of detention without charge or trial by Israel, and three months of an epic hunger strike. His hunger for freedom had pushed his life to the edge of death. Finally, on 10 July he returned to Gaza, and on Friday, I met and spoke to him...............
Ever since we heard that Mahmoud Sarsak would be freed, people in Gaza waited eagerly for that day, a day that will be commemorated in the history of Palestine.
Sarsak would finally be coming home after three years of detention without charge or trial by Israel, and three months of an epic hunger strike. His hunger for freedom had pushed his life to the edge of death. Finally, on 10 July he returned to Gaza, and on Friday, I met and spoke to him...............
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Exclusive: Romney to Host Fundraiser in Jerusalem:
Exclusive: Romney to Host Fundraiser in Jerusalem:
July 13, 2012 "Jerusalem Post" -- Presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will host a fundraising event in Jerusalem at $60,000 or more per plate on July 29, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.
Delegates are set to fly in from the US for the event, which a Republican source said would be “a small meeting, but a big fundraiser.”
Immediately after the fundraising meeting, Romney will host a conference in Jerusalem, where he will lay out his Middle East policy.
Romney plans to visit the UK for two days, attending the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on July 27, before flying to Israel...........
July 13, 2012 "Jerusalem Post" -- Presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will host a fundraising event in Jerusalem at $60,000 or more per plate on July 29, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.
Delegates are set to fly in from the US for the event, which a Republican source said would be “a small meeting, but a big fundraiser.”
Immediately after the fundraising meeting, Romney will host a conference in Jerusalem, where he will lay out his Middle East policy.
Romney plans to visit the UK for two days, attending the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on July 27, before flying to Israel...........
Friday, 6 July 2012
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/no-easy-victories-presbyterian-church-usa-divestment-measure-loses-only?utm_source=EI readers&utm_campaign=89ffe3e99f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
“Tell no lies; claim no easy victories,” said the West African anti-colonial revolutionary Amilcar Cabral in 1965. These words ring true for those of us dedicated to helping end the US-funded Israeli military occupation, and working towards the fulfillment of the full rights of the Palestinian people. We know that the struggle to justice is an uphill one. But after a measure to divest approximately $17 million of the Presbyterian Church USA’s funds from corporations profitting from the Israeli occupation was defeated by only two votes in Pittsburgh tonight, “no easy victories” is just as true for groups who wield much more power and boast far greater resources than the Palestine solidarity movement.
Sunday, 1 July 2012
NATO Proxies Turkey and Saudi Arabia Move to War Footing on Eve of Syrian ‘Peace Summit’ : Information Clearing House
NATO Proxies Turkey and Saudi Arabia Move to War Footing on Eve of Syrian ‘Peace Summit’ : Information Clearing House
June 29, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- The NATO-backed covert aggression against Syria could be reaching a tipping point for all-out war involving state forces. That should be no surprise. For the past 16 months, NATO and its regional proxies have been steadily increasing the violence and turmoil inside and outside Syria, while the Western corporate-controlled media maintain the ridiculous fiction that the bloody chaos is largely due to the government forces of President Bashar Al Assad cracking down on “peaceful protesters”.
June 29, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- The NATO-backed covert aggression against Syria could be reaching a tipping point for all-out war involving state forces. That should be no surprise. For the past 16 months, NATO and its regional proxies have been steadily increasing the violence and turmoil inside and outside Syria, while the Western corporate-controlled media maintain the ridiculous fiction that the bloody chaos is largely due to the government forces of President Bashar Al Assad cracking down on “peaceful protesters”.
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