February 01, 2008
Last week, when Barack Obama became the first major candidate to break the silence on the situation in Gaza, he didn't criticize Israel, whose blockade of a civilian population has been roundly condemned by human rights organizations, nor did he call for restraint from the United States' top ally in the Mideast. Instead, he fired off a letter to U.N. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad with a resounding message—one that could have been mistaken for words straight from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) website. "The Security Council should clearly and unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks against Israel.… If it cannot...I urge you to ensure that it does not speak at all," Obama wrote, adding he understood why Israel was "forced" to shut down Gaza's border crossings.The letter was notable not only because Obama had distinguished himself from the rest of the field (John McCain later sent a similar letter to Condoleezza Rice), but also because it was a far cry from the Obama of last March, who let slip a rare expression of compassion for Palestinians by an American politician: "Nobody's suffering more than the Palestinian people" he famously said at a small gathering in Iowa. What ensued in the 10 months between then and now is an object lesson in the intense pressure under which presidential candidates stake out ground on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the extraordinary effectiveness of the self-styled "pro-Israel" movement. This high-pressured atmosphere goes a long way to explaining why the candidate with the most liberal foreign policy views went out of his way to take a hard line on Gaza.
Obama's shuffle with the pro-Israel lobby follows in a long tradition of Democratic candidates facing a litmus test on the issue. Hillary Clinton, for her part, has enjoyed wide support among pro-Israel advocates, having made her peace with them back in 1999 after a controversy involving the lobby hurt her Senate campaign. And as Super Tuesday approaches—the day when many Jewish Democrats vote, in states like New York and California (where respectively 17 and 6 percent of primary voters identified themselves as Jewish in 2004)—Obama has aggressively moved to shore up his pro-Israel credentials, dispatching Jewish supporters to drum up support and hosting a lengthy conference call with Jewish reporters Monday. In part, the call was to counter chain e-mails, which have intensified in recent weeks, painting Obama as a "secret Muslim," but he also used a chunk of the time to make it known that he was a friend of Israel: "I want to make sure that we continue to strengthen the enduring ties between our people and pledge to give real meaning to the words 'never again,'" he said.
SIRATYST (Stuff I Read and Thought You Should Too) -- “To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.” (Calgacus, as quoted by Tacitus, Agricola 30-31)"
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Obama's Israel Shuffle--Mother Jones
Hillary's Insurance Company Welfare Plan
Hillary wants you to subsidize the insurance companies!
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Campaign-Rdp.html?pagewanted=printWASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to have workers' wages garnisheed if they refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed during a television interview, she said: ''I think there are a number of mechanisms'' that are possible, including ''going after people's wages, automatic enrollment.''
Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. Under her plan, she said, health care ''will be affordable for everyone'' because she would limit premium payments ''to a low percent of your income.''
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Financial Times on the Siege of Gaza
Portion below; whole thing here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/559caf6e-cab5-11dc-a960-000077b07658.html
This siege is not only wrong; it is almost wholly counterproductive.
First, Israel’s tactic of “collective punishment” is illegal. Targeting a civilian population is prohibited by international law: there is no debate to be had about it.
Second, however, two decades of using this tactic, in the occupied ter- ritories and in Lebanon, should have taught Israel that it does not work. It actually strengthens organisations such as Hamas and Hizbollah.
Indeed, this siege is visibly increasing Gazans’ dependence on Hamas as the only source of the means of subsistence.
It is time that Israel, its Arab neighbours such as Jordan and Egypt, the US and the Fatah nationalists they are all backing against Hamas rethought their position.
Their attempt to isolate and topple Hamas after its 2006 election victory – which included arming Fatah warlords in Gaza – has failed.
Arab and international mediators should immediately seek an armistice from Hamas and an end to the Gaza blockade from Israel.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
U.S. Sez Cluster Bombs Aren't So Bad
GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Cluster bombs, which nearly 100 countries are seeking to ban, should not be considered bad as long as states involved in conflicts use them responsibly, a senior United States official said on Wednesday.
The official, who declined to be identified, also told a background briefing that Washington was planning to create a "quick reaction force", or QRF, to handle threats to civilians from remnants of war, like cluster bombs.
The official's remarks, which could not be quoted directly, clearly confirmed that Washington -- like Russia, China and some other powers -- remained opposed to banning the weapon.
He spoke as negotiators on updating a 1981 international agreement on especially dangerous conventional weapons (CCW) met in Geneva to prepare for "expert discussions" on cluster weapons next year under the United Nations umbrella.
Cluster munitions include a variety of weapons that can spread up to hundreds of bomblets over a target area. Up to 30 percent fail to explode, posing a threat to civilians for many years after a conflict.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says some 400 million people in countries and regions like Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Russia's Chechnya live in effective minefields, under daily threat of maiming from cluster bombs.
Other campaigners say at least 13,000 civilians are known to have been killed or injured by the bombs -- used heavily most recently by Israel in its 2006 war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon -- in recent years.
Zionism Defined
"For those who asked me for a definition: THIS IS ZIONISM. (AFP)"From Angry Arab Newservice
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
19 Palestinians Die in Bloody Gaza Violence [by Guess Who]
Portion below--with my comments; whole thing here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004126291_webgaza15.html
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli tanks and helicopters raided Gaza on Tuesday, killing the son of the territory's most powerful leader and 18 other Palestinians in the bloodiest day of fighting since Hamas seized [after being duly elected] the coastal strip in June.
Palestinian sniper fire across the border killed a 19-year-old volunteer from Ecuador [hmmm 1 vs 19--each gets a paragraph] at an Israeli communal farm.
That death, and the killing of Hussam Zahar, 24, the son of hardline [yeah, all the Israelis shooting at them and bombing them and bulldozing their houses are "softline"] Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, threatened to fuel the violence at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are trying to move peacemaking into high gear.
At the morgue at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Mahmoud Zahar held his lifeless son's bloodied head in his hands and closed his eyes, then kissed him three times on the forehead and recited verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
Zahar's eldest son was killed in a botched Israeli assassination attempt against the Hamas leader in 2003. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio that Hussam Zahar, who is survived by a brother and four sisters, was not targeted by Israeli forces.
Hamas, Zahar vowed, will respond to Tuesday's raid "in the appropriate way. We will defend ourselves by all means." Zahar is widely viewed as the mastermind of Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza, in which vastly outnumbered fighters from the Islamic group routed Fatah security forces.
Hamas immediately stepped up its involvement in the daily barrage of rocket and mortar fire on southern Israel, claiming to have fired 17 mortars at two small border crossings with Israel and three rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot. Israel said two rockets were fired at the town, a frequent target.
Four people were lightly injured in the attacks, including a 7-year-old girl and her mother, Israeli rescue officials said.
Zahar accused the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah movement, of complicity in his son's death for negotiating with Israel.
"This is the hope of Abu Mazen and his colleagues, the collaborators with Israel and the spies of America," Zahar said, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
Abbas, who has no influence in Gaza [because he is a collaborator maybe???], condemned the Israeli raid: "It is impossible to bring peace under these circumstances."
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Dozens Injured and Arrested in Anti-Bush Demo in Ramallah
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded and at least ten arrested in Ramallah when Palestinian police attempted to disperse a demonstration opposing the visit of the US President George Bush on Thursday morning.
Eyewitnesses reported that around 1000 protesters, mainly Palestinians, took to the streets in Ramallah to protest Bush’s visit to the area. The demonstration was organized by Palestinian political factions
Mohammad Al-Khatib, a member of the popular committee against the wall and settlements, was among those who were detained, in addition to a cameraman who works for the Ma’an News Agency.
Meanwhile, Palestinian security forces are on high alert in Bethlehem which will be the second Palestinian city that Bush will visit. Bush is scheduled to stay in Bethlehem for less than one hour. His visit will include a stop at the Church of the Nativity.
People are not allowed to drive on the road which Bush is supposed to use on his way to the Nativity Church. The high security alert has resulted in preventing most shop owners from going to their businesses, and schools have been closed as well.
On Wednesday President Bush started his visit to Israel where he met with the Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Bush has emphasized his support for Israel as a Jewish State.
Thursday morning Bush arrived in Ramallah and was welcomed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a number of Palestinian officials.
The two men held a news conference in Ramallah where Abbas valued Bush’s visit and described it as historic. Meanwhile, Bush stressed the need to establish an independent Palestinian State to live side by side with Israel.
“Do you want a democratic Palestinian State or the status quo?” Bush asked in the news conference. He, however, failed to mention anything regarding the border and the nature of this state.
He also failed to mention any of the core issues that Palestinians strive to solve, such as borders, refugees, Jerusalem, prisoners and the wall, but instead focused on fighting “terrorism.”
Bush's "Vision" Is Palestine's Nightmare--Sam Bahour
US President George W. Bush landed in Israel yesterday on his first presidential trip to the country. He participated in a press conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, what both men termed a "historic" and "monumental" occasion. After listening to both so-called leaders make their opening comments and fielding questions from journalists, the only groundbreaking revelation I could register was that Bush's naivete, either real or feigned, only served the agenda of one party in the region -- Hamas. The radical Islamists at Hamas could not find a better recruiter for their movement if they tried.
My opinion may be extreme, but then again, I live in extreme limbo under Israeli military occupation, shaped by a policy both men continuously refuse to call by its true name -- state terror.
My opinion is certainly subjective but I started my day by reading a communique from the real world: a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that the background of the issue: on 28 June 2006 the Israeli Air Force bombed the power plant in the Gaza Strip, destroying all six transformers and cutting 43 percent of Gaza's total power capacity. The report states, "households in the Gaza Strip are now experiencing regular power cuts" and notes that "the irregular [electricity] supply causes additional problems. Running water in Gaza is only available in most households for around eight hours per day. If there is no power when water is available, it cannot be pumped above ground level, reducing the availability of running water to between four and six hours per day." The result of this single punitive measure, as stated in this report, is that if Gaza's Coastal Municipalities Water Utility "cannot provide its own emergency power supply because of its own fuel shortages, it has to pump raw sewage into the sea which damages the coastline in Gaza, southern Israel and Egypt."
In another report, released the same day, the World Food Programme spokesperson Kirstie Campbell finds that 70 percent of the population of Gaza has to choose between putting food on the table or a roof over their heads.
A Simple Truth in Gaza
Palestinians carried 62 coffins through the streets of Gaza City to represent people who have died since the borders were closed [EPA]Gaza City, January 9, 2008
The day before the US president arrived in the region, a crowd of thousands gathered in the Gaza City rain – preceded by a truck loaded with speakers they slowly proceeded through the city, carrying a total of 62 coffins, all of them empty.
Each symbolised one of the people that Palestinians say died since Israel sealed the borders because they could not get out of Gaza to receive medical treatment.
Each of the coffins were carried by mourning family members of the person who died.
The ongoing Israeli closure of the area is not an abstract here, it is a physical containment of one and a half million people in what they regard as a giant prison, and people die because of it.
Salah el Din Street runs from north to south through the region, bisecting Gaza City. It is a road pitted with potholes, at places flooded with sewerage overflowing from a plumbing system that just cannot cope.
It is on this street that the Joah family live, their three-roomed house is particularly crowded at the moment because two of Mahmoud Joah's married daughters are staying for a while.
He has eight children, all daughters, one of them is Amira who is 15 years old.
Facing death
This sweet–faced, well-spoken teenager is literally facing death because of the closure. She is suffering from an advanced disease of liver and spleen.
Before the closure she would travel to an Egyptian hospital regularly to receive treatment that would slow down the progression of the disease, and ease the pain.
Before the closure she was on a regime of eight different drugs and vitamins each day.
In recent months the prescription drugs she needs have run out in Gaza, one of them in particular (a brand called Ursogall) is absolutely critical if she is not to suffer total failure of her liver.
The needs of a sick young teenager are not necessarily a priority to the aid organisations that struggle to alleviate the situation, negotiating continuously with Israeli authorities about what can be transported into Gaza and when.
Amira has been without Ursogal for weeks, and her condition is deteriorating daily, her skin growing more and more yellow as the diseased cells in her liver multiply, the protection offered by Ursogall no longer there.
Amira believes that no one outside Gaza cares.
"If they did, I would not be in this terrible situation," she says.
Her father agrees. "This is the reality of the Israeli siege that President Bush just ignores," he says.
Amira's elder sister looks on and weeps, her sister has done nothing wrong she says. "She suffers simply because she's a Palestinian," she says.
In this house on Salah el Din street, such a statement it is not a political position, it is a simple truth.
"Suspected" Militants (Anyone on the Ground) Bombed by U.S.
"U.S. Drops 40,000 pounds of bombs on suspected militant hideouts..."BAGHDAD — American bombers and fighter aircraft dropped 40,000 pounds of bombs on suspected militant hide-outs in a southern suburb of Baghdad on Thursday, the military said.
In one of the largest air raids in recent months, which was accompanied by assaults by ground forces, the B-1 and F-16 aircraft dropped 38 bombs within 10 minutes on the Arab Jabour district south of Baghdad.
Arab Jabour is a densely foliated area, blanketed with tall grasses and palm trees, beside the Tigris River. United States military officials have identified it as a known haven for militants linked to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the largely homegrown Sunni insurgent group that American intelligence says is foreign-led and now represents the principal threat to stability in Iraq. The air attacks hit more than 40 targets in Arab Jabour, the military said.
According to Abu Amna, a tribal chief who lives near the area, the bombing mission started several miles outside of Arab Jabour on Thursday morning.
“There was a big sound of explosions,” he said in a phone interview. “People began to flee the area after the air bombing because joint forces launched a comprehensive raid after the bombing.”
"Monday, January 07, 2008
Two Palestinian Villages Ask Susan Sarandon to Repudiate Leviev
We felt sorrow when we learned that you accepted Lev Leviev's invitation to attend the opening night event for his new jewelry store in New York City on 13 November while our friends protested outside, because we respect you for your support for human rights, your courage in speaking since 2002 against the US war on Iraq, and for your many other honorable public positions.
Lev Leviev is building Israeli settlements on Bil'in and Jayyous' land, and is also building in the settlements of Har Homa and Maale Adumim around Jerusalem, in violation of international law. Leviev is destroying the olive groves and farms that have sustained our villages for centuries, and is profiting from human rights abuses.
We were reassured to learn from our colleagues in New York City that you expressed interest in learning more about these issues. We hope that you will speak in support of peace and justice in Palestine. We invite you and would be very pleased to welcome you to visit Palestine, specifically Jayyous and Bil'in, in order to witness what Leviev's settlements are doing to our communities.
Arab-Israelis Hold mass Protest in Nazareth Calling for End to Israel's Gaza Siege
A mass demonstration was held in Nazareth, in northern Israel, on Saturday, to protest the ongoing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. At least 10,000 Arab-Israelis marched through the streets chanting and carrying signs.Jamal Zahalka, an Arab-Israeli Member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) said that “those responsible for war crimes against the Palestinian people must be brought to justice in an international court of law…Killing civilians, starving them and denying them medical care are bonafide war crimes, and those responsible should be held accountable to international law.”
The protest brought together various Arab-Israeli factions and political parties in a united front to call for an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories.
Arab-Israelis are Palestinians who remained in their homes in what is now Israel when the state of Israel was created in 1948. Arab-Israelis make up 20% of the Israeli population – most are connected via family ties to Palestinians who fled to refugee camps in the two Palestinian territories, the West Bank and Gaza. But because the Palestinians who remain inside Israel hold Israeli ID cards, they are unable to go to the Palestinian territories, and Palestinians living inside the territories are forbidden by Israeli authorities from entering Israel.
At the rally Saturday, Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement inside Israel, stated, “In spite of this festive holiday atmosphere our hearts are burdened, and will remain so until the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
The protesters called for an end to the siege on Gaza, in which Israel has closed all borders of the Gaza Strip since May, preventing the entire population of Gaza from going in or out, and preventing all imports and exports into and out of Gaza. This has led to an unemployment rate of 90%, malnutrition rates of up to 40% of children in Gaza, and severely impoverished and stressed conditions inside what Gazans call 'the largest open-air prison on earth'. The Gaza Strip is one of the most crowded places on earth, home to 1.3 million Palestinians, many of them refugees from what is now Israel.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Christmas Under Hamas Rule--from Angry Arab Newservice
On one of the walls hang huge photos of what the irreverent might be tempted to describe as the Gazan Catholic's Holy Trinity - the Pope, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the (Muslim) Palestinian president.
I found a group of 10-year-olds on stage, rehearsing their Nativity play, watched, with great enthusiasm, by a group of their Muslim friends.
Mary and Joseph squatted on stage. The girl playing Mary, clasped a tube of scrunched-up brown paper wrapped in a scarf, which, for rehearsal purposes, was posing as baby Jesus.
"You see," Fr Musallam told me, as he gazed indulgently at the goings-on on stage. "Our identity is a multi-layered one."
"Of course, I am a Christian believer, but politically I am a Palestinian Muslim. I resist Israel's military occupation, obviously not with weapons.
"The Jihad can never be mine but with my words, my sermons, I am a Palestinian priest."
Ridiculous! Atheists Can't Adopt in New Jersey???
After six years of childless marriage, John and Cynthia Burke of Newark decided to adopt a baby boy through a state agency. Since the Burkes were young, scandal-free and solvent, they had no trouble with the New Jersey Bureau of Children's Services—until investigators came to the line on the application that asked for the couple's religious affiliation.
John Burke, an atheist, and his wife, a pantheist, had left the line blank. As a result, the bureau denied the Burkes' application. After the couple began court action, however, the bureau changed its regulations, and the couple was able to adopt a baby boy from the Children's Aid and Adoption Society in East Orange.
Last year the Burkes presented their adopted son, David, now 31, with a baby sister, Eleanor Katherine, now 17 months, whom they acquired from the same East Orange agency. Since the agency endorsed the adoption, the required final approval by a judge was expected to be pro forma. Instead, Superior Court Judge William Camarata raised the religious issue.
Inestimable Privilege. In an extraordinary decision, Judge Camarata denied the Burkes' right to the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being. Despite the Burkes' "high moral and ethical standards," he said, the New Jersey state constitution declares that "no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience." Despite Eleanor Katherine's tender years, he continued, "the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being."
The Burkes are now living in Carterville, Ill., near Southern Illinois University, where John Burke has worked for the past year as a speech pathologist. Nevertheless, Judge Camarata ordered the parents to send David's sister back to the New Jersey adoption agency. Two weeks ago, aided by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Burkes appealed directly to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. If they fail in their appeal, Eleanor Katherine may have to leave the only family she has ever known and await adoption by another couple whose religious convictions satisfy the State of New Jersey.
Israeli Army Continue to Attack Nablus City, 33 Injured Among Them Four Critical
the Israeli army searching Palestinians in Nablus - File 2007Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Killing Civilian Iraqis Doesn't Count As Murder
Sgt Frank Wuterich, 27, will stand trial for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, dereliction of duty and other charges, officials said.
The decision was made by Lt Gen Samuel Helland, who is overseeing the case.
Sgt Wuterich is the last of four marines to have the murder charge against him dropped.
Another marine, 1st Lt Andrew Grayson, was ordered to face court-martial for making false official statements and other charges.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Israel assassinates eight Palestinians
GAZA CITY - Seven Palestinian fighters, one of them a senior commander, were killed and 16 other people wounded in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in four Israeli raids on the Hamas-run territory, medics and witnesses said.
In the first Gaza raid three men -- two of them from the Islamic Jihad group and a third from the armed wing of Hamas -- were killed around the southern town of Khan Yunis. Six people were also wounded.
The Israeli army said that infantry units backed by air power carried out a "routine operation" targeting gunmen who were firing rockets and mortars into Israel.
"Units that entered several kilometres (miles) into the Gaza Strip were fired at by an anti-tank shell. They responded and hit three armed men," said a spokesman.
Shortly afterwards, two Islamic Jihad fighters were killed and two wounded in an air raid in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.
"The military carried out an air raid in the central Gaza Strip against a vehicle loaded with weapons," an Israeli spokesman said.
"The vehicle was hit."
A third Israeli raid, which witnesses said was carried out by either helicopters or drones, killed an Islamic Jihad fighter and wounded two more south of Gaza City, medical sources said.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
And so this is Christmas....
A Palestinian protester dressed as Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, tries to block an Israeli soldier from arresting another demonstrator at a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the village of Umm Salamona, near the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday. Israel says the barrier is necessary for security, while Palestinians call it a land grab. The man was not injured in the incident. Getty Images (December 21, 2007)
A man sits in a wheelchair next to his demolished house, in Beijing, Friday. With soaring housing prices, some urban residents say they are being evicted to make way for new development without being paid enough compensation to buy new homes. Getty Images (December 21, 2007)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Palestinian Refugees from Iraq Stranded in Desert Camp
CAIRO, Egypt —Hundreds of Palestinian refugees who've been forced out of their homes in Iraq are stranded in a remote stretch of the Syrian desert, where they're living in tents that offer little shelter against blinding sandstorms and the biting cold of winter nights, according to humanitarian aid workers and refugees. Syrian authorities have barred the Palestinians from leaving the Tanaf refugee camp near the border with Iraq. Journalists aren't allowed to visit.
But United Nations officials and camp residents reached by phone described deteriorating health conditions, with an increase in illnesses related to contaminated water and skin afflictions caused by unhygienic conditions. Many children have lice, the Palestinians said, and the elderly suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure. They survive solely through handouts from the U.N. and Arab humanitarian groups.
"We die a thousand times a day," said Wafaa Mazhar, 37, a mother of five who said that her 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia six months ago at Tanaf. "We Palestinians are leading miserable lives. We're helpless, and no one feels our pain."
The fate of the 500 or so Palestinians at the Tanaf camp has been largely overlooked as governments and humanitarian groups focus on the 2.5 million Iraqi refugees who've flocked to urban hubs in Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Across from Tanaf, on the Iraqi side of the border, 1,900 Palestinians from Baghdad live in the squalid Walid camp, aid workers said.
The refugees' future is complicated by their status during the regime of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Many have known no home outside Baghdad — they're the offspring of parents who settled in Iraq in 1948 after being driven from Haifa as when Israel became an independent nation. In Iraq, Saddam promised them free housing and education in a bid to promote himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause. The refugees said that the dictator's promises rarely materialized and that they were never granted Iraqi citizenship.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Barbed Wire: Another Layer of Border Genocide
Just another reminder that our old neighbor, Boeing, is making money off of our ownseparation wall. From the Censored website, here: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/12/barbed-wire-another-layer-of-border.html
THE GATE, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION (Arizona) -- Another layer of genocide, a barbed wire fence just added at the border wall under construction by Boeing and the National Guard, on the Tohono O'odham Nation. The barbed wire will be detrimental to endangered species, including the Sonoran pronghorn and jaguar. Homeland Security has voided all federal laws, including federal laws that protect endangered species, and dug up the graves of the O'odham ancestors, to build the border wall on Tohono O'odham land. While traditional ceremonial O'odham oppose the wall, the Tohono O'odham Nation elected government is working with Homeland Security and supports the border wall. The border wall will be a physical barrier for the O'odham's annual ceremonial route.
Although the Tohono O'odham Nation refers to this as a "vehicle barrier" instead of a "border wall," traditional O'odham say it has the same effect, since it is a barrier to the annual ceremonial route and has already resulted in the digging up of O'odham ancestors' remains. Photo Brenda Norrell
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Red Cross: Israel Worsening Palestinian Humanitarian Crisis
"In a statement issued on Thursday, the humanitarian agency called on Israel to "lift the retaliatory measures which are paralyzing life in Gaza" and urged Palestinian factions to stop targeting civilian areas and putting lives at risk.
"'The measures imposed by Israel come at an enormous humanitarian cost, leaving the people living under occupation with just enough to survive, but not enough to live a normal and dignified life," said Beatrice Megevand Roggo, the ICRC's head of operations for the Middle East and North Africa. The Palestinian population has "effectively become a hostage to the conflict," she said.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Omar Barghouti: No State Has the Right to Exist as a Racist State
http://www.voltairenet.org/article153536.html
Silvia Cattori: What did you think of the Annapolis conference that was held in the U.S. in November 2007?
Omar Barghouti: By insisting that Palestinian "negotiators" must recognize Israel as a "Jewish State," Israel has really kicked the sleeping lion in the ribs, to borrow the metaphor used by Uri Avnery — whom I completely disagree with, otherwise. Barak’s "unwise" and stubborn insistence during Camp David II in 2000 that Arafat must drop the right of return for Palestinian refugees led to a real awakening of the refugee community, leading to massive mobilization and concerted pressure on Arafat not to budge. Indeed, he was killed without surrendering that right.
This time around, there were two lions that Israel kicked in the rib when it demanded Palestinian official acceptance of its right to exist as a Jewish state: the same huge lion representing refugees and a smaller, usually far-milder lion, representing the Palestinian community inside Israel, almost 1.5 million indigenous Palestinian citizens of Israel who have hitherto been completely marginalized and disenfranchised in all "negotiations" concerning ending this colonial conflict.
Luckily, Olmert and the current political elite in Israel proved, in preparing for Annapolis, to be as obtuse as their predecessors. This is the price Israel must pay, apparently, for being the world leader in recycling leaders! Each Israeli leader who rises to power (with the exception of those who die or are assassinated by Israeli right-wing settlers) is soon discredited and embroiled in scandals of all sorts: sexual, financial, war crimes, etc. They then slide down into oblivion, only to be reincarnated and reinvented a few years later as embodying a new "hope" for a nation gone astray — and they miraculously get re-elected by respectable margins! Israelis do not only suffer from selective amnesia; they are truly bankrupt at the leadership level. Not just Palestinians are, it seems.
Another important point about Annapolis is that Mahmoud Abbas has no mandate to give up anything significant. He is no Arafat. He lacks the historical record of struggle against Israel. His popularity, while higher than Olmert’s pathetic 3%, is still quite dismal. He has a severe deficiency in vision, in my opinion. Hamas controls Gaza; and this weakens him further. In short, he is not a leader who can do "business" and deliver the "goods" dictated by Israel and the US. He will talk and smile a lot; travel even more; try to appear courageous; but it will all falter, I think. With Arafat’s departure, Israel lost its final opportunity to push for a two-state solution — an unjust and immoral solution, at any rate. No regret.
The one-state alternative, the moral alternative, is no longer seen as a utopian idea; it is increasingly being researched and presented as a serious possibility looming in the air above all those "negotiators." Just look at Olmert’s recent warning in Ha’aretz that, if the Annapolis process fails, Israel will head in the apartheid direction (as if it hasn’t already!). Annapolis cannot but fail. It does not deal with the root causes of the conflict, and does not promise justice or equality.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Why the Council on Foreign Relations Hates Putin
Mike Whitney on why we get treated to such a jaundiced view of Putin from the mainstream media. Portion below; whole thing here: http://counterpunch.com/whitney12052007.html
"On Sunday, Putin's party, United Russia, stormed to victory in the country's parliamentary elections with 63 per cent of the vote. It was a romp. United Russia now controls 306 of the 450 seats in the Duma, an overwhelming majority. The balloting was a referendum on Putin's leadership and it passed in a landslide. Now it's certain, that even if Putin steps down as president next year as expected, he will be the dominant player in Russian politics for the foreseeable future.
"Vladamir Putin is arguably the most popular leader in Russian history, although you'd never know it by reading the western media. According to a recent survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, Putin's personal approval rating in November 2007 was 85 per cent, making him the most popular head of state in the world today. Putin's popularity derives from many factors. He is personally clever and charismatic. He is fiercely nationalistic and has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of ordinary Russians and restore the country to its former greatness. He has raised over 20 million Russians out of grinding poverty, improved education, health care and the pension system, (partially) nationalized critical industries, lowered unemployment, increased manufacturing and exports, invigorated Russian markets, strengthened the ruble, raised the overall standard of living, reduced government corruption, jailed or exiled the venal oligarchs, and amassed capital reserves of $450 billion.
"Russia is no longer up for grabs like it was after the fall of the Soviet Union. Putin put an end to all of that. He reasserted control over the country's vast resources and he's using them to improve the lives of his own people. This is a real departure from the 1990s, when the drunken Yeltsin steered Russia into economic disaster by following Washington's neoliberal edicts and by selling Russia's Crown Jewels to the vulturous oligarchs. Putin put Russia's house back in order; stabilized the ruble, strengthened economic/military alliances in the region, and removed the corporate gangsters who had stolen Russia's national assets for pennies on the dollar. The oligarchs are now all either in jail or have fled the country. Russia is no longer for sale.
"Russia is, once again, a major world power and a vital source of hydrocarbons. It's star is steadily rising just as America's has begun to wane. This may explain why Putin is loathed by the West. Freud might call it petroleum envy, but it's deeper than that. Putin has charted a course for social change that conflicts with basic tenets of neoliberalism, which are the principles which govern US foreign policy. He is not a member of the corporate-banking brotherhood which believes the wealth of the world should be divided among themselves regardless of the suffering or destruction it may cause. Putin's primary focus is Russia; Russia's welfare, Russia's sovereignty and Russia's place in the world. He is not a globalist.
Castles in the Air
"Israel succeeded putting a stop to even the efforts of the US to kick-start negotiations in Washington in order to give the impression of a third party's sponsorship. Olmert insisted that negotiations had to take place solely between the two parties, in Israel or the occupied territories and nowhere else. His purpose was to offset the possibility of outside interference, even by the staunchly pro-Israel United States. He got his way.
"After all that, we have little cause to wonder at the smug jubilation of the Israeli delegation, or at the bitterness that must have overcome some Arab delegates whose speeches and pictures were not even transmitted by most of the media, or at the depression that might have gripped some members of the international community, if they still have the ability to feel anything, after having been so rudely and offhandedly excluded and snubbed.
"Our sole hope is that it will not be long until Palestinian officials of all stripes will wake up to the fact that the Israeli vision accomplished its headway through the breach in Palestinian ranks and the Palestinians' lack of a strategic vision and unified national leadership.
"Israel has gained the time it wanted and that it hopes to turn to its best advantage. However, it has not won the contest. The outcome of that will be determined by events on the ground. It will be determined by the unfolding progress of the peaceful Palestinian grassroots struggle, backed by the mounting international movement of solidarity with their cause, which are exposing the true nature of the Israeli regime and of those who cooperate with it.
"This is something that has Olmert worried, because the name of Israel has begun to become synonymous with apartheid. It is a worry he will not be able to allay by gaining control over the so-called peace process and turning into something that has no bearing on the actual struggle on the ground, which cannot be halted by administrative decrees.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
From Lynne Stewart: A Call for Support for the San Francisco 8
"To capsulize the case “the state has accused 8 men, all with Black Panther, or other activist ties in the past, almost 40 years after the event. For all of them except Herman and Jalil, they have lived public lives for nearly all of that time. The crucial point, I believe, is that the state's proof consists of confessions made under torture which were disallowed as coerced and unreliable in legal proceedings in the 1970s. Now, with repression ever looming, they are resurrecting this case to feed the salacious police state, the racism that is flourishing unabated AND, most importantly, to legitimize torture on the home front. I am assuming your support of the San Francisco 8 and I am asking you to go one step further. We all know how to demonstrate and leaflet and hold events. This is a call from me to all of you, who are able, to act above and beyond by committing your Property and to stand as surety for this bail or to help with the expenses to secure property commitments from others.
"It is a tremendous advantage to be free on bail during trial. It enables one to live in a positive, healthy manner and to ORGANIZE. It communicates to the jury and the public that they have nothing to fear and should do absolute justice.
"I have spoken with members of the Defense Committee and I can assure you that there is virtually no risk involved. (Indeed, even the Judge so stated when he set the amounts). All of the 6 men have deep family and community roots. Your property will be pledged without any cost to you and minimal hassle. While smaller properties can be used and put together as a package, the Committee's best hope is for California progressives who invested wisely (!) back in the day to come forward. I can tell you that my husband, Ralph Poynter, has offered the equity ($100,000) in the country house and property he owns in upstate NY. As for me, as Judge Koeltl said at sentencing, I am "destitute"�but only financially. I still have the energy and the will to try to organize, and yes, guilt trip everyone into taking a deep breath and doing something concrete, to demonstrate commitment.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Palestinian And Zionist Land Ownership Per District as of 1945
"As of 1947, Jews in Palestine owned UNDER 7% of the Palestine's lands, and after the 1948 war 80% of the Palestinian people were DISPOSSESSED of their homes, farms, and businesses. Scroll below for the source and tabular break down of land ownership."
From Palestinian Pundit
IOF Killed 32 Palestinians (including 2 children) in November
Text from this site: http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7qGwKwvomsjSjvIWX3436eh0MmCIu3mCt4ifMdTMT45zppyTimGnoCiVGY0w5H3GgUp12wYJHJppOua3mAE5bLyeSWgFXSYkr%2fSKA0ZDf9NA%3dGAZA, (PIC)-- The IOF troops killed last November 32 Palestinians including two children during air raids, incursions or assassinations, thus increasing the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of this year to 348 victims.
According to a statistical report issued by the Quds Press, the number of Palestinians killed during Israeli military escalations against the Gaza Strip has risen to 30 victims; whereas two were killed in the West Bank.
Another statistical report prepared by the international solidarity foundation for human rights said that the IOF troops escalated their kidnapping campaign against Palestinians last November, where they abducted more than 600 Palestinian citizens, including a number of MPs and members of municipal councils.
The Israeli kidnapping campaigns included more than 38 children and six women, in addition to more than 200 Palestinian workers at the pretext of entering the Palestinian lands occupied in 1948 without permits.
The foundation called on the IOA to be serious in dealing with the issue of Palestinian prisoners and to release immediately thousands of prisoners rather than releasing dozens in an attempt to embellish its image before the world.
It also called on the IOA to stop immediately its policy of daily arrests against the Palestinian people and to release hundreds of patients, women and children imprisoned in its jails.
The foundation called on the international community and organizations concerned with human rights and prisoners to shoulder their responsibilities in this regard and to pressure Israel to respect the conventions and treaties on the protection of civilians under occupation.
The Perfect Christmas Gift
http://www.amostrust.org/resources/index.php?pageNo=596&parent=88Text from above site:
A nativity set with a difference - this year the wise men won't get to the stable.
The Campaigners Christmas gift:- poignant, ironic and made in Bethlehem.
Available in two sizes
£12.00- smaller version (featured)- 15 cm (long)x 9 cm(wide) x 9 cm(high). (There is an additional charge of £2.50 for postage and packing)
£50.00 - larger version - perfect for a church - complete with a detachable separation barrier that can be replaced by a more traditional stable. (There is an additional charge of £7.00 for postage and packing)
Order now before stocks disappear. Call 0207 588 2661 or e mail Sarah at the Amos office.
Friday, November 30, 2007
How Dare They!
A pile of dead Palestinians stalling the peace process byinsensitively mocking the Jewish monopoly on agony.
The One State Declaration--On Palestine and Israel
Portion below; whole statement here:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9134.shtml
"The two-state solution entrenches and formalizes a policy of unequal
separation on a land that has become ever more integrated
territorially and economically. All the international efforts to
implement a two-state solution cannot conceal the fact that a
Palestinian state is not viable, and that Palestinian and Israeli
Jewish independence in separate states cannot resolve fundamental
injustices, the acknowledgment and redress of which are at the core
of any just solution.
"In light of these stark realities, we affirm our commitment to a
democratic solution that will offer a just, and thus enduring, peace
in a single state based on the following principles:
- The historic land of Palestine belongs to all who live in it and
to those who were expelled or exiled from it since 1948, regardless
of religion, ethnicity, national origin or current citizenship
status;
-Any system of government must be founded on the principle of
equality in civil, political, social and cultural rights for all
citizens. Power must be exercised with rigorous impartiality on
behalf of all people in the diversity of their identities;
- There must be just redress for the devastating effects of decades
of Zionist colonization in the pre- and post-state period, including
the abrogation of all laws, and ending all policies, practices and
systems of military and civil control that oppress and discriminate
on the basis of ethnicity, religion or national origin;
-The recognition of the diverse character of the society,
encompassing distinct religious, linguistic and cultural traditions,
and national experiences;
-The creation of a non-sectarian state that does not privilege the
rights of one ethnic or religious group over another and that
respects the separation of state from all organized religion;
-The implementation of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees
in accordance with UN Resolution 194 is a fundamental requirement
for justice, and a benchmark of the respect for equality.
-The creation of a transparent and nondiscriminatory immigration
policy;
- The recognition of the historic connections between the diverse
communities inside the new, democratic state and their respective
fellow communities outside;
-In articulating the specific contours of such a solution, those who
have been historically excluded from decision-making -- especially
the Palestinian Diaspora and its refugees, and Palestinians inside
Israel -- must play a central role;
-The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks for justice
and reconciliation.
The struggle for justice and liberation must be accompanied by a
clear, compelling and moral vision of the destination – a solution
in which all people who share a belief in equality can see a future
for themselves and others. We call for the widest possible
discussion, research and action to advance a unitary, democratic
solution and bring it to fruition.
Madrid and London, 2007
Signed:
Ali Abunimah
Naseer Aruri
Omar Barghouti
Oren Ben-Dor
George Bisharat
Haim Bresheeth
Jonathan Cook
Ghazi Falah
Leila Farsakh
Islah Jad
Joseph Massad
Ilan Pappe
Carlos Prieto del Campo
Nadim Rouhana
The London One State Group
The Wall
As street artist Filippo Minelli hits the West Bank partition, National Geographic offers a pre-Christmas reflection on the route into Bethlehem Mary and Joseph couldn't make were they around to try it in 2007 (see first pic above).Found on Cursor.org, whole article is at http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com/2007/11/wall.html
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Nooses Making a Comeback--NYTimes: Geography of Hate
Go to linked article (below) to see an enlargement of this amazing graphic.FROM the 1880s to the 1960s, at least 4,700 men and women were lynched in this country. The noose remains a terrifying symbol, and continues to be used by racists to intimidate African-Americans (who made up more than 70 percent of lynching victims).
In the past decade or so, only about a dozen noose incidents a year came to the attention of civil rights groups. But since the huge Sept. 20 rally in Jena, La., where tens of thousands protested what they saw as racism in the prosecution of six black youths known as the “Jena 6,” this country has seen a rash of as many as 50 to 60 noose incidents. Last Tuesday, for example, a city employee in Slidell, La., was fired after being accused of hanging a noose at a job site a few days earlier.
These incidents are worrying, but even more so is the social reality they reflect. The level of hate crimes in the United States is astoundingly high — more than 190,000 incidents per year, according to a 2005 Department of Justice study.
And the number of hate groups, according to the annual count by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has shot up 40 percent in recent years, from 602 groups in 2000 to 844 in 2006.
It seems that the September rally in Jena — much as it was seen by many civil rights activists as the beginning of a new social movement — signaled not a renewed march toward racial and social justice, but a surprisingly broad and deep white backlash against the gains of black America.
The graphic, above, shows some of the reported sightings of nooses in the past two years.
Associated Press Defends Photographer
NEW YORK — A series of accusations raised by the U.S. military against an Associated Press photographer detained for 19 months in Iraq are false or meaningless, according to an intensive AP investigation of the case made public Wednesday.
Evidence and testimony collected by the AP shows no support for allegations that Bilal Hussein took part in insurgent activities or bomb-making, and few of the images he provided dealt directly with Iraqi insurgents.
“Despite the fact that Hussein has not been interrogated since May 2006, allegations have been dropped or modified over time, and new claims added, all without any explanation,” said the 48-page report compiled by lawyer and former federal prosecutor Paul Gardephe.
The report, along with copious exhibits and other findings, were provided to U.S. and Iraqi officials last August but have never been publicly released by the AP.
“The best evidence of how Hussein conducted himself as a journalist working for AP is the extensive photographic record,” Gardephe wrote. “There is no evidence — in nearly a thousand photographs taken over the 20-month period — that his activities ever strayed from those of a legitimate journalist.”
The U.S. military notified the AP last weekend that it intended to submit a complaint against Hussein that would bring the case into the Iraqi justice system as early as next Thursday. Under Iraqi codes, an investigative magistrate will decide whether there are grounds to try Hussein, who was seized in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on April 12, 2006.
Military officials have alleged that Hussein, 36, had links to terrorist groups but are refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Iraqi Children Bear the Burden of an Uncalled-for War
Portion below; to read more (if you can bear it): http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/340665_iraqikids23.html?source=mypi
NEW YORK -- Looking at photos of Iraqi children maimed by the war makes the conflict unforgettable. Reflecting on the causes that led to that war makes it unforgivable. Slowly but steadily new information is coming out on the effects of the war on children, and how it has affected not only their health but also their quality of life and prospects for the future.
One child dies every five minutes because of the war, and many more are left with severe injuries. Of the estimated 4 million Iraqis who have been displaced in Iraq or left the country, 1.5 million are children. For the most part, they don't have access to basic health care, education, shelter or water and sanitation. They carry on their shoulders the tragic consequences of an uncalled for war.
"Sick or injured children, who could otherwise be treated by simple means, are left to die in the hundreds because they don't have access to basic medicines or other resources. Children who have lost hands, feet and limb are left without prostheses. Children with grave psychological distress are left untreated." That is the assessment of 100 British and Iraqi doctors.
Never mind that according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483, the U.S. and Great Britain are recognized as Iraq's occupation powers and as such are bound by The Hague and Geneva Conventions that demand that occupying powers are responsible not only for maintaining order but also for responding to the medical needs of the population. Tragedies like that don't have parents.
In the meantime, malnutrition levels among children continue to increase, and they are now more than double what they were before the U.S.-led invasion. Iraq malnutrition rates are now on a par with Burundi, a central African country torn by a brutal civil war, and higher than Uganda and Haiti. The number of Iraqi children who are born underweight or suffer from malnutrition continues to rise, and is now higher than before the invasion, according to a report by OXFAM and 80 other aid agencies.
Almost a third of the population -- 8 million people -- needs emergency aid, and more than 4 million Iraqis depend on food assistance. The collapse of basic services affects the whole population. For example, 70 percent of Iraqis lack access to adequate water supplies and 80 percent lack effective sanitation, both conditions breeding grounds for a parallel increase in intestinal and respiratory infections that predominantly affect children.
"Children are dying every day because of lack of essential medical support. The bad sewage system and lack of purified water, particularly in suburbs, has been a serious problem which might take years to solve," warns Ahmed Obeid, an official at the Ministry of Health.
Annapolis, As Seen from Gaza--Laila Haddad
While politicians press their suits, the siege on Gaza continues: A relative of Fatah activist Ahid al-Biyari cries during his funeral in the town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, 15 November 2007. Al-Biyari and two other activists from the Fatah movement were killed and three other Palestinians were wounded after an Israeli air strike on Beit Hanoun, medical sources said. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)Even in the worst of times, there's one thing we're never short of in our troubled part of the world: another conference, meeting, declaration, summit, agreement. Something to save the day, to "steer" us back to whatever predetermined path it is we are or were meant to be on. And to help us navigate that path.
Never mind the arguable shortcomings of this path, or the discontent it may have generated, for we all know what happens to people who question that; the important thing is to move forward, full steam ahead.
Enter Annapolis. I've been there a couple of times. Beautiful port city, great crabs, quaint antique shops. And of course, the US Navy.
So what exactly is different this time around? Well, if you believe some of the newspaper headlines, lots. Like the fact that Ehud Olmert has promised not to build new settlements or expropriate land.
And yet, as recently as September, Israel expropriated 1,100 dunams (272 acres) of Palestinian land in the West Bank to facilitate the development of E-1, a five-square-mile area in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem where Israel plans to build 3,500 houses, a hotel and an industrial park, completing the encirclement of Jerusalem with Jewish colonies, and cutting it off from the rest of the West Bank.
The conference simply generates new and ever-more superfluous and intricate promises which Israeli leaders can commit to and yet somehow evade. An exercise in legal obfuscation at its best: we won't build new settlements, we'll just expropriate more land and expand to account for their "natural growth," until they resemble towns, not colonies, and have them legitimized by a US administration looking for some way to save face. And then we'll promise to raze outposts.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Problem in Pakistan--Tony Karon
Tony Karon (Rootless Cosmopolitan) explains the Pakistan problem (portion below);
whole thing here: http://tonykaron.com/2007/11/21/the-problem-in-pakistan/
(found on Uruknet initially), in which he explains that ties to the U.S. GWOT
are the culprit.
"The rather silly media narrative in which Washington supposedly suddenly faces a dilemma between backing the decrepit dictatorship of General Musharraf, or the Jeanne D’Arc pretensions (Winnie Mandela may be a closer analogy) of the kleptocratic Benazir Bhutto, has mercifully been laid to rest. That narrative’s connection to reality has always been somewhat tenuous, and the visit last weekend of Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Negroponte — the man you send when there’s fixing to be done among unsavory clients in the troubled provinces, as his track record in Central America reminds us — made clear that business will continue as usual in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, notwithstanding some ritual scolding of Musharraf for the limits he sets on civilian participation in government.
"The absurdity of the dictatorship vs. democracy-and-rule of law script was laid bare earlier this week when Musharraf’s hand-picked Supreme Court struck down most of the challenges to his reelection as president. Was that a setback for democracy and the rule of law? Perhaps. But it was a setback that fit with the U.S. design for getting Musharraf reelected, and then having him share power with Benazir Bhutto in order to broaden the base of the "war on terror" in Pakistan. (And let’s not forget that if Musharraf hadn’t gotten rid of the independent judiciary, Benazir herself would still be facing corruption charges.)
"Negroponte delivered the perfunctory exhortation for Musharraf to lift his emergency rule — and, of course, Washington would certainly like to see him cede more power to Benazir, the civilian politician it has deemed "reliable" — as opposed to, say, Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister overthrown by Musharraf and now in exile in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear U.S. officials excoriating Musharraf for sending Nawaz unceremoniously back to Saudi Arabia when he tried to return from exile, last month. (Musharraf, of course, being the cynical sort, has now flown off to Riyadh where he is expected to reach out to Nawaz and bring him on board, now that Benazir is refusing to play. The great unwritten story of this whole "crisis" is the Saudi outlook, because Riyadh wields considerable influence in Islamabad, particularly with the military, as it has done since General Zia took power in 1977. The great journalistic question that needs answering, right now, I think, is what does Saudi Arabia want to happen in Pakistan.)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Hearts and Minds
Hi. We came to win your hearts, minds, and livers. Smile, damn it.Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Port of Olympia Protests--Brave, Brave People Resisting War
From a Seattle Times articleFROM THE NOV. 14 SEATTLE TIMES (PORTION BELOW); WHOLE THING HERE: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004013379_webdemonstrators14m.html
At a Port Commission meeting Tuesday, protesters asked for an end to military shipments through Olympia but were told by two of the three commissioners that demonstrators had gone too far.
Patti Grant, spokeswoman for the port, said that for security reasons she could not say whether any additional equipment would be unloaded Wednesday. She said that the port has suffered minimal damage, but was disappointed with the behavior of the protesters.
"The port respects the right of people to protest against the war. Lawful, peaceful demonstrations is what our society is all about," she said. "Unfortunately, the demonstrators here in Olympia have chosen tactics that break the law."
Protester Sandy Mayes said that the group did not condone the damage that was done downtown, but noted that most of the protesters "have been engaging in peaceful, nonviolent resistance."
"These brave, brave people keep standing up to block these convoys to make a statement, knowing they will take abuse," she said.