Saturday, December 19, 2009

The Drums of War Against Iran Are Getting Louder....Fabrication of USraeli Propaganda in Full Swing....


Iraq masses troops on Iran border amid oil well row

AP

"Iraqi troops massed Saturday near an oil well on the border in a standoff with Iranian forces that seized control of the site in a sudden flare up of tension between the two uneasy neighbors.

Iranian forces earlier this week crossed into Iraq, seizing an oil well just over the border in the southern Maysan province. The takeover - which included planting an Iranian flag on the well - was met by protests from Baghdad....."

Video: U.S. Kills 63 Civilians, 28 Children in Yemen Airstrikes

Press TV



"Saudi and U.S. Forces have been carrying out strikes on Yemeni suspected Al-Qaeda positions, which have killed many people over the last 6 months of conflict. This is a conflict rarely mentioned on news networks. Watch Press TV for more on U.S. and Saudi strikes on Yemen.Here is a link to Press TV live:http://www.Presstv.com/llnw "

Al-Jazeera Video: Israel floods settlements with subsidies - 19 Dec 09



"Israel has announced a partial moratorium on settlement construction. Yet, at the same time, it has invested in those already established in a bid to solidify their existence.

In the Jordan Valley there are 22 settlements viewed as illegal under international law.

But, as Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports, they benefit from a system of Israeli funding specifically focused on kick-starting settler economies. "

Al-Jazeera Video: 'US aided' deadly Yemen raids - 19 Dec 09



"The US provided firepower and intelligence to help the Yemeni government launch a series of deadly raids against suspected al-Qaeda bases in the country, the New York Times has reported.

Barack Obama, the US president approved the military and intelligence support after receiving a request from the Yemeni government, the newspaper reported late on Friday, citing officials familiar with the operations.

Al Jazeera's Muhammad Vall travels to Yemen to see what Yemenis think of the development."

Break-Their-Legs-Abul-Gheit Justifies Gaza Border Barrier: It's Our Right!


Al-Manar

"19/12/2009 Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit implicitly confirmed on Saturday that his country was building an underground barrier with the Gaza Strip, claiming it was Cairo's right to protect itself.

"Be it a wall or detection hardware, the important thing is that Egypt's territory must be protected; it must not be violated in any way[Israeli fighter jets which routinely cross into Egypt to bomb the Egyptian side at Rafah are always welcome, of course!]," Abul Gheit told the government weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi.

The weekly was questioning him about "reports concerning the construction by Egypt of a steel barrier along the border with Gaza and the deployment in the border area of American equipment to detect tunnels" used by smugglers moving goods into the Palestinian enclave.

It was the closest confirmation so far that Egypt is building the barrier to stem smuggling into Gaza through underground tunnels, since a report Thursday in the government paper Al-Gomhuria......"

US Attacking Yemen After All



Cruise Missiles Hit Multiple Sites in Concert With Yemeni Govt

by Jason Ditz, December 18, 2009
Antiwar.com

"Just one day after a very public denial that American forces were in the process of attacking sites in Northern Yemen, President Barack Obama ordered multiple cruise missile attacks on sites across the tiny, coastal nation.

The air strikes were coordinated with the government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh and the attacks left 120 killed, many of them civilians according to witnesses. President Obama called Saleh after the attack to “congratulate” him on the killings.

The Yemeni government denied any US role in the attacks, despite American officials’ admissions. This is largely in keeping with the Saleh government’s policy, as they angrily denied reports of Saudi attacks in the north as a myth even as the Saudi government was giving a press conference detailing the attack.


One Yemeni official however claimed that a local al-Qaeda “deputy” named Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Ali Al-Kazemi was slain, and that “scores” of al-Qaeda members were killed in the assorted attacks......."

If you think we can ignore these linguistic crimes, think again

My favourite is 'any', as in 'any passengers who may have been inconvenienced'

By Robert Fisk

".....And so I move on to the phrase which is now becoming a cliché: anti-Semitism. It is not a cliché – it was certainly never intended to be – but those who use this phrase to assault any decent person who dares to criticise Israel are turning it into one. They are making anti-Semitism respectable – and shame upon them for it.

The latest idiot to assist the anti-Semites is Labour MP Denis MacShane who last month condemned Channel 4's Dispatches programme on Britain's Israel lobby with the words: "anti-Semitic politics is back". I should perhaps add that this is the same man who, as Minister for Europe, defended Blair's criminal intention to go to war in Iraq with the admonition to fellow European politicians that sometimes people were in need of "a guide". He had obviously forgotten that the German for "guide" is Führer......"

Nobama's Ark, by Dave Brown


(click on cartoon to enlarge)

قصف للجدار المصري وعباس يؤيده



COMMENT

This bastard, Abbas, who was described by 'Arafat as the Palestinian Karzai, is actually much worse than Karzai. At least Karzai does not openly and blatantly support the total siege and starvation to death of 1.5 millions of his people!

When are the Palestinians going to make this traitor pay the price for this unprecedented treason? No Palestinian in the entire long Palestinian struggle has gone this far in his treason. Lack of firm and serious response from the Palestinian people has enabled him and the gang around him to go farther and farther in their collaboration and treason.

This has to be stopped and soon. All this talk of "reconciliation" is like opium to the people and Abbas is enjoying it, while continuing and escalating the sellout.

"تعرضت الوحدة الهندسية التابعة لتركيب الجدار الفولاذي على الحدود المصرية مع قطاع غزة أمس لإطلاق نار كثيف من قبل مسلحين من الجانب الفلسطيني من الحدود. وأوضحت المصادر الأمنية المصرية أن الحادث لم يسفر عن وقوع إصابات بشرية لكنه ألحق أضرارا بإحدى معدات الحفر.

يأتي ذلك في وقت أعرب الرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس عن دعمه للإجراءات التي تتخذها مصر على حدودها مع قطاع غزة، وفي تصريحات صحفية نشرت اليوم السبت اعتبر الرئيس عباس الجدار الفولاذي الذي تبنيه مصر على حدودها مع غزة أمرا سياديا، متهما بعض الأطراف بمحاولة نصب فخ للقيادة المصرية بهدف صرف الأنظار عن الأسباب الحقيقية التي أدت إلى العدوان الإسرائيلي الأخير على القطاع واتخاذ معبر رفح سببا للهجوم على القاهرة.

وكان عباس يرد على سؤال حول ما نشر من تقارير تفيد بأن السلطات المصرية تبني سياجا معدنيا بطول 10 كيلومترات وعمق 30 مترا تحت سطح الأرض لمنع التهريب عبر الأنفاق إلى قطاع غزة الذي يواجه حصارا إسرائيليا منذ عامين ونصف العام.
.....
"

Gaza must be rebuilt now


We can wait no longer to restart the peace process. The human suffering demands urgent relief

Jimmy Carter
The Guardian, Saturday 19 December 2009

"....In summary: UN resolutions, Geneva conventions, previous agreements between Israelis and Palestinians, the Arab peace initiative, and official policies of the US and other nations are all being ignored. In the meantime, the demolition of Arab houses, expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and Palestinian recalcitrance threaten any real prospect for peace.

Of more immediate concern, those under siege in Gaza face another winter of intense personal suffering. I visited Gaza after the devastating January war and observed homeless people huddling in makeshift tents, under plastic sheets, or in caves dug into the debris of their former homes. Despite offers by Palestinian leaders and international agencies to guarantee no use of imported materials for even defensive military purposes, cement, lumber, and panes of glass are not being permitted to pass entry points into Gaza. The US and other nations have accepted this abhorrent situation without forceful corrective action.....Donors point out that they have provided enormous aid funds to build schools, hospitals and factories, only to see them destroyed in a few hours by precision bombs and missiles. Without international guarantees, why risk similar losses in the future?....

Without ascribing blame to any of the disputing parties, the Quartet also should begin rebuilding Gaza by organising relief efforts under the supervision of an active special envoy, overseeing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and mediating an opening of the crossings. The cries of homeless and freezing people demand immediate relief.

This is a time for bold action, and the season for forgiveness, reconciliation and peace."

Obama ordered deadly blitz on Yemen: US media


Press TV

"US Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Barack Obama has signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, have been killed, a report says.

Upon the orders of Obama, the military warplanes on Thursday blanketed two camps in the North of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, claiming there were "an imminent attack against a US asset was being planned," ABC News quoted anonymous administration officials as saying on Friday.

The US air raids were then followed by a Yemeni ground forces attack.

The operation led to the death of around 120 people of whom many were civilians, including children, the report quoted Yemeni opposition as saying.

Obama also contacted Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, after the blitz in order to "congratulate" him on his efforts against 'al-Qaeda,' the US news outlet quoted White House officials as telling reporters earlier......"

Friday, December 18, 2009

CIA working with Palestinian security agents

US agency co-operating with Palestinian counterparts who allegedly torture Hamas supporters in West Bank

Ian Cobain in Ramallah
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009

AN IMPORTANT REPORT

"Palestinian security agents who have been detaining and allegedly torturing supporters of the Islamist organisation Hamas in the West Bank have been working closely with the CIA, the Guardian has learned.


Less than a year after Barack Obama signed an executive order that prohibited torture and provided for the lawful interrogation of detainees in US custody, evidence is emerging the CIA is co-operating with security agents whose continuing use of torture has been widely documented by human rights groups.

The relationship between the CIA and the two Palestinian agencies involved – Preventive Security Organisation (PSO) and General Intelligence Service (GI) – is said by some western diplomats and other officials in the region to be so close that the American agency appears to be supervising the Palestinians' work.



One senior western official said: "The [Central Intelligence] Agency consider them as their property, those two Palestinian services." A diplomatic source added that US influence over the agencies was so great they could be considered "an advanced arm of the war on terror"........

Some of the mistreatment has been so severe that at least three detainees have died in custody this year. The most recent was Haitham Amr, a 33-year-old nurse and Hamas supporter from Hebron who died four days after he was detained by GI officials last June. Extensive bruising around his kidneys suggested he had been beaten to death.


Among those who died in GI custody last year was Majid al-Barghuti, 42, an imam at a village near Ramallah See: Human Rights Watch: Palestinian Authority: Punish Imam’s Death in Custody. Posted on Palestinian Pundit. .....













At the heart of the international effort is the creation of the Palestinian national security force, a 7,500-strong gendarmerie trained by US, British, Canadian and Turkish army officers under the command of a US general, Keith Dayton. Many Palestinians blame Dayton for the mistreatment of Hamas sympathisers, although the general's remit does not extend to either of the intelligence agencies responsible.

Some in Dayton's team are said to have been warned by senior CIA officers that they should not attempt to interfere in the work of the PSO or GI. Privately, some of them are said to fear that the mistreatment of detainees, and the anger this is arousing among the population, may undermine their mission. One source said: "I know that Dayton and his crew are very concerned about what is happening in those detention centres because they know it can jeopardise their work""

Year 1431: Off to a Rocky Start

Mideast Flashpoints

By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch

"Today, Friday Dec. 18, is the first day of the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar; 1 Muharram, 1431 A.H. Unfortunately, the New Year shows all signs of being another troubled one in the Middle East, with multiple hot spots unlikely to cool anytime soon. A brief overview:

Gaza....

Iran....

Israel-Lebanon border....

Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province....

Yemen

Although the conflict between the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh and Yemen’s Zaidis in Saada province has received a bit more attention, it sadly has not been from the international community but from intervening countries, notably Saudi Arabia. As their jets pound the area and Yemen’s army continues to maintain its siege, there are now reports from Houthi rebels that the U.S. has joined in the airstrikes. Geopolitical implications aside, it is the humanitarian disaster in Saada that puts Yemen high on the list of flashpoint countries. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has increased the number of internally displaced persons once again, now numbering 200,000 since the onset of hostilities in 2004. Growing child malnutrition and overflowing refugee camps only add to the human misery of north Yemen.

With secessionist unrest in the south, Yemen is set for a turbulent year ahead. As relations deteriorate between Arab countries and Iran, and Israeli expansionism continues unchecked, this is likely to be true for the entire Middle East as well."

Stunning Statistics About the War That Everyone Should Know

The US Currently Has 189,000 Personnel in Afghanistan

By JEREMY SCAHILL
CounterPunch

"A hearing in Sen. Claire McCaskill’s Contract Oversightsubcommittee on contracting in Afghanistan has highlighted some important statistics that provide a window into the extent to which the Obama administration has picked up the Bush-era war privatization baton and sprinted with it. Overall, contractors now comprise a whopping 69% of the Department of Defense’s total workforce, “the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel in US history.” That’s not in one war zone—that’s the Pentagon in its entirety.

In Afghanistan, the Obama administration blows the Bush administration out of the privatized water....."

Demolitions spark clashes in Egypt - 17 Dec 09



"In the Egyptian capital, Cairo, residents of poorer areas are resisting government efforts to demolish their homes.

Tensions are high after residents clashed with police.

As Rawya Rageh reports, the confrontation highlights the long running struggle involving illegally built slums which are home to many Egyptians."

Wish List, by Mr. Fish


EUROPE: Cosy With Israel, Despite the Headlines

Analysis by David Cronin

"BRUSSELS, Dec 18 (IPS) - Israel's relations with the European Union were tense for most of 2009 - if newspaper headlines are to be believed. In the past week, a British court drew fierce criticism from Israeli politicians after it issued an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, the former Israeli foreign minister, following a complaint that she had authorised war crimes in Gaza......

In reality, however, the tension has been superficial. While there may have been the occasional angry word exchanged on the diplomatic front, the EU's political and economic ties with Israel have been strengthened over the past few years to such an extent that Javier Solana, who stepped down as the Union's foreign policy chief in late November, has remarked that Israel is an EU member state in all but name......."

Elliott Abrams and 'Neocon-ing' Obama


By Robert Parry
December 18, 2009

(Left: Abrams and Olmert)

"For the eight years of the Bush-II administration, a key behind-the-scenes architect of U.S. strategy in the Middle East was Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative whose devotion to Israel is hard to overstate – and who is now engaged in what looks like a PR campaign to bend Barack Obama’s Mideast policies in the direction favored by Israel’s hard-line Likud government.

However, unlike many neocons, Abrams has been surprisingly frank about his devotion to Israel as a Jewish state. He has even expressed resentment toward Christians who hold nuanced views about Israel or who show sympathy for the Palestinians uprooted from their ancestral homes.

In 1997, Abrams published a book entitled, Fear or Faith: How Jews Can Survive in a Christian America, which explained his strong commitment to Zionism; chastised Jews who marry Christians; and lashed out at American Christians for what he regarded as their insufficient support for Israel......."

Telling Lies about Sheikh Jarrah


By Kim Bullimore
Palestine Chronicle
(Kim Bullimore is currently living in the Occupied West Bank, where she is a human rights volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service (http://www.iwps.info/). )

"In June 2008, I wrote an article called 'Telling Lies about Bil'in' in which I outlined how the Israeli military, assisted by Israel's corporate Zionist media lied about a peaceful non-violent demonstration in the Palestinian village of Bil'in, depicting it as 'violent' in order to justify the Israeli Occupation Forces use of unrestrained violence against the peaceful demonstrators. After 42 years of attempting to justify its brutal occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the Israeli Occupation Forces lies have become a matter of course. This week the Israeli Occupation Forces and the Israeli police once again engaged in the violent suppression of a non-violent demonstration and then lied about their actions. The only difference this time around was that it took place in Sheikh Jarrah in Occupied East Jerusalem, rather than in Bil'in in the Occupied West Bank.....

In Occupied East Jerusalem, just as in the Occupied West Bank, the Israeli police and military serve the illegal settlers, assisting them to carryout their illegal activity, doing little to stop their rampages and assaults on Palestinians, whose land and homes they have stolen. There are, however, other Israelis: courageous, determined and outspoken, who actively oppose the reign of the settlers and the apartheid policy of their state. Each week they stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and stand up for human rights and freedom. Despite the brutality of their government and their police force and "security" forces, they will be, once again, next week at Sheikh Jarrah to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian families who remain "sumoud" (steadfast) and continued to struggle for their human rights and freedom. "

Calling Dr. Pangloss

We never had it so good – right?

by Justin Raimondo, December 18, 2009

"I thought it might – just might – be a parody, a spoof, a weak attempt at irony. But no, it turns out that Nick Gillespie, the former editor of Reason magazine, and now chief honcho over at something called "ReasonTV," is absolutely and incredibly serious about his contention that We Never Had It So Good. And why, pray tell, are we supposedly so blessed? Well, it seems that nerdy geeky-looking white kids now have some really really cool computer games to play, while their parents make the rounds looking for work during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. And – hey look! – we have Netflix, not to mention all those hundreds of new television stations: the vast wasteland has assumed continental proportions. Hurrah! And computers are here, they’re inexpensive, and the government can spy on us oh so much more efficiently now than ever before. Isn’t progress wonderful? I’m sure Dr. Pangloss would agree. ....

Yes, "change" is surely in the air, but decline, too, is change. So get out those video games, turn on the television, and contemplate the prospect of a long and vacuous existence – because you’re going to need all the diversions you can get.

We are in the midst of – or, really, at the doorstep of – one of the most volatile, and potentially destructive periods in our history as a nation. That anyone can even think of peddling some Panglossian vision of unlimited "progress" and smug complacency at such a moment is proof positive that no idea is so absurd that it cannot inspire adherents."

When is a dictator not a dictator?


Bashar al-Assad leads an authoritarian regime, but the workings of power in a country such as Syria are surprisingly complex

Brian Whitaker


guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 December 2009

".....This was echoed by a foreign official who has worked closely with the regime and is quoted in the ICG report as saying:

In dealing with Syria we always need to ask ourselves, 'Are they reluctant to do this or simply can't they do it?' … We should not take any promise as a given, if only because many are beyond their capacity. This is a systemic problem. Syria is an authoritarian system of a particular kind, in which the ruler isn't necessarily obeyed. Besides, the system is largely inefficient. People step on each other's toes; institutions lack capacity; and things are disorganised.

And even when the president speaks, it's difficult to know whether he's telling people what he really thinks or what he thinks they want to hear. A Turkish official interviewed by the ICG said: "Bashar has two lines of speech, one for the region and one for the west. He doesn't say the same thing on BBC and al-Jazeera. It's double-talk. Here [in the Middle East] it is acceptable. His interlocutors must understand this is not unusual in the region. Americans might think it devious. He sees it as being polite"."

Better to have no deal at Copenhagen than one that spells catastrophe


The only offer on the table in Copenhagen would condemn the developing world to poverty and suffering in perpetuity

Naomi Klein
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009

"On the ninth day of the Copenhagen climate summit, Africa was sacrificed. The position of the G77 negotiating bloc, including African states, had been clear: a 2C increase in average global temperatures translates into a 3–3.5C increase in Africa. That means, according to the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, "an additional 55 million people could be at risk from hunger", and "water stress could affect between 350 and 600 million more people".

Archbishop Desmond Tutu puts it like this: "We are facing impending disaster on a monstrous scale … A global goal of about 2C is to condemn Africa to incineration and no modern development."........

At the start of these negotiations the mere notion of delay was environmental heresy. But now many are seeing the value of slowing down and getting it right. Most significant, after describing what 2C would mean for Africa, Archbishop Tutu pronounced that it is "better to have no deal than to have a bad deal". That may well be the best we can hope for in Copenhagen. It would be a political disaster for some heads of state – but it could be one last chance to avert the real disaster for everyone else."

Getting away with murder


Settler attacks on Palestinians escalate while Israel does nothing to apprehend the culprits


By Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

Al-Ahram Weekly

".....The Palestinian Authority (PA) must be worried that the escalation of settler attacks on Palestinians -- especially mosques -- might generate a popular reaction that could assume Intifada-like proportions. The PA is already embarrassed as many Palestinians are wondering why the estimated 70,000 Palestinian security forces, trained by the US, don't make any effort to protect Palestinian civilians from settler terror. The answer appears clear. The raison d'être of PA forces in the West Bank is to fight Hamas, not Israel."

Chavez to Obama: Give back Nobel Prize


Press TV

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his American counterpart Barack Obama should give his Nobel Peace Prize back as he is sending more soldiers to war-weary Afghanistan.

"He [Obama] got the Nobel Peace Prize almost the same day as he sent 30,000 soldiers to kill innocent people in Afghanistan," he said during a speech at a climate change conference in Denmark.

"Obama should give back the prize," Chavez added on Thursday.

The Venezuelan president also suggested that Bolivian President Evo Morales would have been a better choice for the award......"

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Video (Arabic) of Sayyed Nasrallah's Speech Made on December 17, 2009 ('Ashura Day).

17/12/2009 السيد حسن نصر الله
الليلة الأولى من محرم


(57 Minutes)

الاستخبارات الامريكية تسأل شخصيات سياسية: ما هو رايكم بكونفدرالية الاراضي المقدسة؟

AN IMPORTANT PIECE

الاستخبارات الامريكية تسأل شخصيات سياسية: ما هو رايكم بكونفدرالية الاراضي المقدسة؟

"عمان ـ القدس العربي ـ من بسام البدارين ـ طرح مسؤولون امريكيون على نخبة مغلقة ومحدودة العدد من الشخصيات السياسية المستقلة في بعض عواصم الشرق الاوسط اسئلة استفهامية ترتبط بالتعليق على حيثيات "ورقة مهمة" تقدمت بها الاستخبارات الامريكية بهدف الدراسة والتقييم وتحصيل اجابات.
وتتضمن- اي الورقة - افكارا طازجة تماما حول حل جذري ونهائي للصراع الفلسطيني ـ الاسرائيلي على مستوى مشروع اقليمي جديد يطرح لاول مرة بصورة تفصيلية.

وتمكنت "القدس العربي" من الاطلاع على حيثيات الورقة ومراجعة مضمونها وهو يتعلق بمشروع جديد لحل الصراع يحمل اسم "كونفدرالية الاراضي المقدسة" ويتحدث عن اقامة علاقة اتحادية كونفدرالية بين ثلاث دول في المنطقة هي المملكة الاردنية الهاشمية واسرائيل والدولة الفلسطينية في حال قيامها.

وشملت هذه الورقة التي عرضها مستشارون يعملون مع الاستخبارات الامريكية بالتنسيق مع فرع الدراسات التابع للـ"سي .آي.ايه" في محطة الاستخبارات الامريكية التابعة لسفارة الولايات المتحدة في بيروت على تفاصيل خاصة جدا للمشروع الجديد سمع بها المستطلعون لاول مرة.

وتستطيع "القدس العربي" ان تؤكد ان هذه الورقة وزعت على نطاق ضيق تماما على شخصيات سياسية مستقلة ومعتدلة من حيث المزاج السياسي وصديقة او يمكن ان تكون صديقة لعلمية السلام وهي شخصيات فلسطينية واردنية واسرائيلية وكذلك لبنانية ومصرية في نطاق اضيق.

وكتبت الورقة الامريكية الجديدة باللغة الانكليزية وقوامها ثلاث صفحات نشرت بطباعة "غير انيقة" ولم تتضمن الورقة اي اختام رسمية او "ترويسات" ويتم عرضها بلقاء مباشر بين الشخصية التي يوجه لها السؤال وبين المسؤول الامريكي الذي تجول فيها وهو كريستوفر هالينج، الذي يعتقد انه من اهم اركان الدبلوماسية الامريكية في المنطقة وأحد ابرز المستشارين الامنيين ومقر عمله الاساسي في العاصمة اللبنانية بيروت.

وفي كل لقاء طلب من الشخصية التي تسأل قراءة الورقة ثم التعليق عليها لاحقا وتقييم فرص نجاح المشروع الذي تتضمنه وكذلك مخاطر طرح الموضوع برأي المعلقين الذين تم اختيارهم بعناية وضمن مواصفات خاصة جدا وعلى اساس "عينة منتخبة" وليست عشوائية.

ومن المرجح ان المسؤول الامريكي الذي طرح هذه الورقة للنقاش في مجالسات فردية ومغلقة طلب من الذين قابلهم عدم التطرق للموضوع الا بعد اسبوعين على الاقل من تاريخ اطلاعهم على المضامين حيث تجول مسؤولون امريكيون بهذه الافكار في اكثر من عاصمة عربية مع بداية مطلع الشهر الحالي.

والتفصيلات التي اطلعت عليها "القدس العربي" مباشرة تتضمن التفكير باقامة مشروع سياسي ـ اقليمي في المنطقة يطلق عليه "كونفدرالية الاراضي المقدسة" وهي عبارة عن اتحاد سياسي كونفدرالي عاصمته مدينة القدس ويضم ثلاث دول هي الاردن وعاصمتها عمان وفلسطين وعاصمتها رام الله واسرائيل وعاصمتها تل ابيب على ان تبقى القدس ممثلة للاتحاد الثلاثي الكونفدرالي وعنوانا يمثل الاديان الثلاثة ومحجا لسياحة دينية عالمية تدعمها الولايات المتحدة واوروبا.

واستنسخت هذه الافكار التي طرحت في وقت قريب جدا افكارا سابقة طرحها شمعون بيريس عام 82 لكن مع تعديلات وتطويرات مهمة جدا كما قالت دوائر امريكية لشخصيات عربية، وهي تشير الى ان المأزق الاساسي امام حل الصراع هو مدينة القدس ثم ملف عودة اللاجئين وهو مأزق لا يمكن معالجته الا في اطار علاقة كونفدرالية من هذا النوع تنهي تماما الصراع في المنطقة من جذوره.

وبين التفاصيل تشكيل اربع هيئات عليا على الاقل تمثل كونفدرالية الاراضي المقدسة وتقام مكاتبها ومقراتها جميعا في مدينة القدس وهي الهيئة العليا لادامة الكونفدرالية ومراقبة الالتزام ببنودها، والهيئة العليا للتنسيق الاقتصادي، والهيئة الكونفدرالية العليا للامن الثلاثي اما الهيئة الرابعة فهي مختصة بالتمثيل الدبلوماسي.

وتنص التفاصيل على ان الحدود في الدولة الثلاثية الجديدة ستكون مفتوحة تماما بين الاطراف الثلاثة مع الاحتفاظ بالسيادة الداخلية عند كل طرف على ان يصبح الاقتصاد كليا وثلاثيا وكذلك السياحة والامن.

وتقترح الورقة الامريكية ان تتولى الاطر الامنية والعسكرية المستحدثة في السياق حراسة الحدود الثلاثية على ان تحتفظ كل دولة بقوانينها المحلية ونظامها السياسي وحتى ممثليها الدبلوماسيين اذا ارادت خصوصا في بعض البلدان والاماكن.

كما تقترح ان تتولى القوات الكونفدرالية التي يمكن ان يتم خلطها في بعض المناطق المنتخبة بقوات اممية او تحمل لافتة القوات الدولية حماية المعابر والحدود البرية والجوية والبحرية مع الضمان الكامل لحرية التنقل بين الدول الثلاث لجميع المواطنين والسكان وفقا لنمط دول الاتحاد الاوروبي.
وتفيد مصادر "القدس العربي" ان بعض بنود ومقترحات هذا المشروع قديمة وسبق ان طرحت في دوائر تفكير وبحث امريكية لكن جرى تطويرها مؤخرا قياسا بالحالة الراهنة، فيما يبدو ان الخطوة الجديدة تتمثل في تعهد مؤسسات امريكية مهمة مثل الاستخبارات بدراستها وتسويقها واستطلاع الرأي حولها خصوصا وان الورقة التي نفض الغبار عن بعض افكارها القديمة تتضمن اشارة واضحة لتفاصيل كثيرة ومعقدة يمكن بحثها لاحقا.

وتتحدث الورقة صراحة عن مشروع مالي ودولي ضخم على نمط مارشال لدعم الاتحاد الكونفدرالي الجديد وتحقيق الاسترخاء والتنمية في فلسطين والاردن وتنص صراحة على امكانية عودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين للاردن او فلسطين فقط وليس لاسرائيل في باطن المقترحات.

والمثير ان المقترحات عرضت على الشخصيات التي سئلت مع هوامش محددة من بينها القول بان هذا المشروع هو الوحيد المنطقي الذي يمكن ان يحقق التنمية في المنطقة وينهي الصراع ويحل مشكلة القدس، ويضع اطارا معقولا ومقبولا للعودة مع الرخاء الاقتصادي للجميع، والأهم القول بأن هذا الاطار هو وحده الذي يمكن ان يتكفل بتحقيق "امن اسرائيل" وحتى يهودية كيانها كما نقل عن المسؤول الامريكي.
"

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


This poll asks:

Do you believe the information about Egypt building a separation wall with Gaza?

With about 1,300 responding so far, 86% said yes.

حول القدس بإيجاز شديد


"....
لا بد من مراجعة عمليات التأريخ بين فترة وأخرى، ليس لمجرد اكتشاف وقائع جديدة أو الكشف عنها، ولا لمجرد اجتراح وسائل جديدة في النقد والبحث والتفكيك والتركيب، بل أيضا لأن خطابا سياسيا سائدا هُزِمَ حملتُه، أو ضعف داخليا وبات أكثر عرضة للنقد
......
من الإجراءات التي اتبعتها إسرائيل في عملية تهويد القدس, اختراع مفهوم القدس غير القابلة
للتفاوض, وإعادة تسمية الأماكن بأسماء توراتية, وتوسيع حدود المدينة, ومصادرة الأرض من العرب, وتقليل عدد السكان العرب, وفصل المدينة عن بقية الضفة الغربية

واجه سكان القدس العرب, بدون مؤسسات حقيقية, شبكة من المؤسسات القوية الغنية والطويلة
النفس, وبقيت لجنة القدس التي أقامتها منظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي بعد الاعتداء على المسجد الأقصى بالحرق منصة للخطابات والبيانات وحتى هذه شحت في الآونة الأخيرة
....
ولكن مع عملية التسجيل بالطابو حوّلت الأملاك المصادرة إلى ملكية خاصة للسكان اليهود كأفراد، وذلك في سابقة تتكرر حاليا في عملية خصخصة أملاك الغائبين، أي أملاك اللاجئين داخل المناطق التي احتلت عام 1948، وذلك في تصفية قضية اللاجئين والقدس حتى من الناحية الشكلية. إذ إن إسرائيل تقوم ببعثرتها إلى قضية ملكيات خاصة لأفراد مواطنين، بعد أن كانت أراضي دولة تعار لمواطنيها اليهود إعارة ولو لمدد 49 و99 عاما.
ولكن هذه الخصخصة تتم بحماية الدولة وبتخطيطها. هذه الخصخصة هي مشروع عام لتصفية ما هو عالق مثل قضية أملاك اللاجئين ومصير القدس الشرقية.
ولكن الخصخصة التي تقوم بها الأنظمة العربية هي ترك فلسطين للفلسطينيين، وما تقوم به السلطة الفلسطينية هو ترك القدس للمقدسيين ليصبحوا كالأيتام على موائد اللئام.

ومن هنا لا بد من قلب المعادلة، لكي تصبح كل القدس هي حرم شريف وكل فلسطين هي قدس، ولكي تكون القدس وفلسطين قضايا الأمة بأكملها وليس قضية الفلسطينيين وحدهم.

يصبح المنزل المعرض للهدم قضية كل المقدسيين إذا كانت القدس قضية الفلسطينيين، وقضية فلسطين هي قضية العرب، وهو النهج نفسه الذي لا يترك الفقر للفقراء ولا المرض للمرضى ولا التعليم للأهل وحدهم، إنه النهج نفسه الذي يبني أمما وشعوبا. تكتسب قضية القدس هنا رمزية من نوع آخر تماما.
"

Video: Israeli police arrest Palestinians marking Arab Cultural Year


Bolivian President Evo Morales on Climate Debt, Capitalism, Why He Wants a Tribunal for Climate Justice and Much More

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman



"Bolivian President Evo Morales joins us in Copenhagen to talk about the UN climate talks, capitalism, climate debt and much more. “Policies of unlimited industrialization are what destroys the environment,” Morales says. “And that irrational industrialization is capitalism.”....."

“A Naked Form Of Blackmail”: Naomi Klein On Secretary of State Clinton’s Proposal to Set Up $100 Billion Climate Aid Fund For Developing Countries

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman



"Secretary Clinton said the U.S. would consider contributing to an international $100 billion dollar annual climate aid fund for poorer nations beginning in 2020 if the Copenhagen talks resulted in a comprehensive deal. It is unclear how much money the U.S. would give to the fund. Aid groups say the $100 billion would be insufficient. We speak with journalist Naomi Klein...."

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - War criminal? - 16 Dec 09



"Will that latest revoked arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni affect the justice system in the UK."

Al-Jazeera Video: Talk to al Jazeera - Ismail Haniyeh - 16 Dec 09

Part 1:



Part 2:

Dancing the revolution away


By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"The ballet Red Detachment of Women, popular with Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, is now playing again in Beijing, complete with capitalist roaders, psychedelic cartoon sets and girls with guns......

Sooner rather than later, the NBC may even contemplate an updated version of Red Detachment of Women; instead of guns, girls in Pradas, Guccis and Jimmy Choos, sipping champagne and juxtaposed against steel and glass sets, enthusiastically driving their Lamborghinis and dancing many revolutions away, unifying heaven and earth towards ever-more auspicious wealth. "

Iran blasts off ahead of countdown


By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Asia Times

"The "smoking gun" that accuses Iran of experimenting with a nuclear trigger device may well be a fake. Far more real are the threatened sanctions making their way through the United States Congress, and the end-December deadline for Tehran to respond to international demands on the nuclear issue. Test-firing a ballistic missile is not the kind of response expected....."

Houthis slam UN inaction over Yemen crisis


Press TV

"A Houthi leader has slammed the United Nation for what he has described as the international body's lack of action aimed at ending the "siege on civilians in northern Yemen."

Yahya al-Houthi told Press TV on Thursday that the UN's approach to the war is as if the body did not exist at all.

Al-Houthi said the civilians in the warzone were in dire need of food aid as the US and Saudi forces were effectively responsible for shutting off the region from the outside world.

He also strongly criticized international media for their coverage of the war in Yemen....."

The Lobby Within


By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle

".....This is a continuation of a terrible legacy that goes back decades. The reason such a redundant policy is being highlighted now — as it should be — is because Obama promised change and pledged to lead a new decisive course, led by a gentler, kinder and more sensible America. In the Middle East, this is hardly being realized.

Why? Shouldn’t the US, in desperately trying to maintain its role as a world leader, and to preserve its economic and strategic interests in the Middle East, embark on the frequently promised new course — not for the sake of Palestine and the Arabs, but its own?

Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggests an answer, one that many of us have already recognized long prior to Obama’s presidency, or even his involvement in politics altogether. “In the case of Obama’s government in particular, every criticism against Israel made by a potential government appointee has become a catalyst for debate about whether appointing ‘another leftist’ offers proof that Obama does not truly support Israel,” wrote Natasha Mozgovaya on December 4.

Haaretz highlighted several cases in point, amongst them the intense war lead by the pro-Israel lobby in Washington against Chas Freeman, a widely respected US official nominated by the Obama administration months ago to chair the National Intelligence Council. He dared voice guarded critique of US foreign policy in the Middle East and became a victim of the worst possible vilification campaign, forcing him to concede the nomination....."

No-Fault Espionage


by Philip Giraldi, December 17, 2009

"It is interesting to note what happens to espionage cases in the United States. If you spy for China, or Cuba, or Iran you will be exposed, excoriated in the media, locked up and denied bail, convicted, and sentenced to many years in a federal prison. Spying is serious business and the harsh punishment most often fits the crime because when spies steal highly sensitive defense and policy information they are not only betraying their fellow citizens, they are also making all Americans less secure. And the spying is only slightly less serious when American technology is being targeted. When spies acting for a foreign country steal sensitive technology with commercial applications that is developed at great cost either by the US government or private companies, their betrayal is also taking away the livelihoods of thousands of American workers who rely on the competitive edge of US technology to keep their jobs.

Spies are traitors in every sense of the word, unless, of course, if one is spying for Israel. Israel aggressively spies on the US both to influence policy and steal high technology, but getting caught only very rarely has any consequences. Leading neoconservatives like Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and Stephen Bryen have all been detected in flagrante providing classified information to Israel but the investigations were halted and their security clearances were godfathered so they could continue to hold high office......"

The impunity of Israel and its allies will carry a price


Outrage over Tzipi Livni's arrest warrant would be better directed to the suffering of Gaza and the risks of a new eruption

Seumas Milne
The Guardian, Thursday 17 December 2009

"When evidence of war crimes is produced, you might expect states that claim to defend the rule of law to want those crimes investigated and the perpetrators held to account. Not a bit of it. The decision by a London judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of Israel's former foreign minister Tzipi Livni over evidence of serious breaches of the laws of war in Gaza has sparked official outrage in Britain.

The court's behaviour was "insufferable", foreign secretary David Miliband declared. The Times called it "repugnant". Gordon Brown yesterday assured Livni that action would be taken to ensure no such thing ever happens again.

As it turned out, Livni had cancelled her visit and the warrant was withdrawn. But for the British government, it seems, it isn't the compendious evidence of war crimes during the Gaza bloodletting – including the killing of civilians waving white flags, the use of human shields and white phosphorus attacks on schools – that is insufferable. It's the attempt to use the principle of universal jurisdiction Britain claims to uphold to bring to book the politicians who ordered the onslaught.....

There is talk of another intifada if the present drift continues. As has been demonstrated this week, Israel is treated with impunity by its western allies, and neither is going to shift course unless the price gets significantly higher. There's no point in western handwringing when the next upheaval comes – or crying foul if it spills over beyond the Middle East."

Outcry over plan to give attorney general veto on war crimes warrants

• Brown 'totally opposed' to attempted arrest of Israeli
• Lawyers reject 'safeguards' for visiting foreign leaders


Afua Hirsch and Ian Black
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 December 2009


(Click on cartoon by Carlos Latuff to enlarge)

"The attorney general will be asked to approve warrants before suspected war criminals can be arrested in future under a plan being negotiated by the Foreign Office in response to the row over attempts to arrest Israel's former foreign minister.

The Guardian has learned that discussions have begun in Whitehall on creating "safeguards" in criminal cases against visiting foreign leaders – not just those from Israel. Lawyers involved said they were outraged by the proposed change.

Gordon Brown today threw his weight behind moves to change the law and telephoned Tzipi Livni, leader of the Israeli opposition, to say he "completely opposed" the warrant issued by a London magistrates court for her arrest for alleged crimes in relation to the war in Gaza. The warrant was withdrawn when it transpired that Livni was not in the UK, but triggered a huge diplomatic spat in which politics clashed head-on with the law......."

Childhood in ruins

Last December, Israel began a 23-day bombardment of Gaza, killing around 1,400 people. One year on, a generation of children is growing up amid the wreckage of that attack, traumatised – and radicalised – by the experience

Guardian foreign editor Harriet Sherwood
The Guardian, Thursday 17 December 2009


"......The attack was one of countless assaults during Israel's 23 days of war on Gaza – Operation Cast Lead – that began on 27 December. But it was also one of the most notorious because Ghiada's uncle – Aya's father – was a doctor who worked in Israeli hospitals and was well known to Israeli viewers for advocating peace and reconciliation. All through the conflict, Dr Izzeldin abu Elaish gave regular eyewitness accounts by phone in fluent Hebrew to Israeli television. Within minutes of the attack on his own family, he was back on the phone to a journalist in a Tel Aviv studio, weeping and begging for help as Israeli viewers listened: "My daughters have been killed."

Indeed, they had: Bissan, 20, Miar, 15, and Aya, 14, were dead, along with another cousin, 17-year-old Nour. Ghiada was in a critical condition; another of the doctor's daughters was also wounded......

The shelling of the Abu Elaish family was unusual in that it caught the attention of the Israeli public, but what Ghiada continues to endure 12 months on is shared by many of Gaza's 750,000 children – half of its population........

Some children no longer look on their homes as a place of safety, security and comfort. Others don't even have a home to go to. The Israeli bombardment damaged or destroyed more than 20,000 houses, forcing some families into tents and others into crowding in with relatives. Hamas distributed money to displaced families to rebuild their homes but the Israeli blockade has created a desperate shortage of materials. Almost one year later, some children still have no roof over their head......"

Haaretz exclusive: Olmert's plan for peace



(Click on map to enlarge)

"Former prime minister Ehud Olmert proposed giving the Palestinians land from communities bordering the Gaza Strip and from the Judean Desert nature reserve in exchange for settlement blocs in the West Bank.

According to the map proposed by Olmert, which is being made public here for the first time, the future border between Israel and the Gaza Strip would be adjacent to kibbutzim and moshavim such as Be'eri, Kissufim and Nir Oz, whose fields would be given to the Palestinians.....
Olmert wanted to annex 6.3 percent of the West Bank to Israel, areas that are home to 75 percent of the Jewish population of the territories........"

Deja Vu All Over Again; Just As in the Preparations for the Invasion of Iraq: Obama Told China: I Can't Stop Israel Strike on Iran Indefinitely


Al-Manar

"17/12/2009 U.S. President Barack Obama has warned his Chinese counterpart that the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer, senior officials in Tel Avivi told Haaretz.

They said Obama warned President Hu Jintao during the American's visit to Beijing a month ago as part of the U.S. attempt to convince the Chinese to support strict sanctions on Tehran if it does not accept Western proposals for its nuclear program.

The Israeli officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the United States had informed Israel on Obama's meetings in Beijing on Iran. They claimed Obama made it clear to Hu that at some point the United States would no longer be able to prevent Israel from acting as it saw fit in response to “the perceived Iranian threat”......"

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Video: Viva Palestina Convoy arrives in Turkey




War is Peace.....
Ignorance is Strength....


And....Bernanke is Time's Person of the Year!

سليمان ينتقد حماس ويتهمها بالمماطلة


Al-Jazeera

COMMENT: This CIA asset, Omar Suleiman, is there to serve Israel, period. Even Egypt's interests are to be sacrificed in the process.

I hope that Hamas never had any illusions about him or who his masters are.

"كشفت مصادر فلسطينية مطلعة أن رئيس جهاز المخابرات المصرية اللواء عمر سليمان بدا أثناء لقائه مع الشخصيات الفلسطينية المستقلة في السابع من الشهر الجاري بالقاهرة، متوتراً وغاضبا على حركة المقاومة الإسلامية (حماس) ورئيس مكتبها السياسي خالد مشعل.

وأضافت المصادر أن سليمان اتهم حماس بنقض كل الاتفاقات التي أبرمت معها، وأنه بات محرجاً من هذا التصرف، وعبر عن الملل مما وصفه بمماطلتها، وأن الحركة بهذا السلوك أضرت بكرامة مصر وثقلها على حد ما نقلته المصادر.

وتساءل سليمان أمام الوفد "ماذا تريد حماس؟ هل تريدنا أن نركع تحت أقدامها لتركب على قفانا، إحنا ما منشتغلش عند حماس ولا عند خالد مشعل".

وأضاف أن مصر "لن تتراجع عن الورقة التي قدمتها للمصالحة بين فتح وحماس، وليس أمام حماس إلا التوقيع"، واتهمها بالارتباط بأجندات خارجية وتنفيذ مصالح لا علاقة لها بقطاع غزة ولا بالقضية الفلسطينية.

وقال "أنا أعرف أن ضمن هذا الوفد شخصيات مرتبطة بحركة حماس، وأنا أريد منهم أن يقولوا لحماس أنه لا يوجد بوابة أخرى غير بوابة مصر، وأن حركة حماس غير قادرة على لي ذراعنا، ونحن لن نكون رهينة لحماس وخالد مشعل".

غير قابل للنشر
وأضاف سليمان "قلنا لهم إن ملاحظاتهم على الورقة مرحب بها، ولكن بعد التوقيع على الورقة والمباشرة بتنفيذها، علماً أننا نعتبر هذه الملاحظات تافهة وكلام فارغ، فالورقة لن تفتح للتعديل، وإذا حدث هذا فإنني سأستقيل من منصبي".

وأشارت المصادر إلى أن رئيس وفد الشخصيات إياد السراج ناشد سليمان الاستماع إلى ملاحظات حركة حماس، لكن سليمان انفعل وطلب أن لا تتم مناشدته هو بل مناشدة حركة حماس "فنحن لا نعرف ماذا يريدون وماذا يفكرون، فهم غير راغبين في إنهاء حالة الانقسام، وقد استمرؤوا السلطة الوهمية في قطاع غزة ويريدون السيطرة على الضفة الغربية".

حينها سأل عضو الوفد مأمون أبو شهلا "لماذا لا تعلنون إذا أن حركة حماس هي المسؤولة عن فشل المصالحة فرد سليمان أن هذا الإعلان سيكون "السهم الأخير".

ولفتت المصادر إلى أن سليمان اعتبر أنه يجب أن تتوفر نوايا حسنة، لأن الورقة المصرية لا قيمة لها بدون هذه النوايا، وأن مصر تريد من حماس والفصائل الفلسطينية الأخرى التوقيع على الورقة لإرسال رسالة إلى العالم أن الانقسام انتهى وأن الاتفاق تم.

وأكد أن مصر لا تمانع الحوار بين حركتي فتح وحماس "لكننا لا نريد حوار طرشان، وأن يتم استغلال الحوار لتضييع الوقت، ونحن بصراحة لن نقبل أن نكون رهائن عند خالد مشعل
"."

Disarm Hizbullah Now! No, This is Not Just an USraeli Demand, it is a Saudi Demand Too!


Saudi FM: Lebanon Denied Sovereignty Due to Hezbollah Arms

Al-Manar

"16/12/2009 Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal claimed on Wednesday that Lebanon would be denied true sovereignty as long as Hezbollah "owns more arms than the military forces of the country."

Speaking in an interview with the International Herald Tribune, Faisal also said he was "suspicious" of Iranian claims its nuclear program is peaceful. He pointed out that Tehran should never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons......"

Steel walls cannot contain the struggle for freedom


Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, 16 December 2009

"As if the siege of Gaza were not already bad enough, Israel and Egypt are working even harder to tighten the prison which holds Gaza's 1.5 million people.

Egypt is building a steel wall along its 10-kilometer-long border with the Gaza Strip, according to recent media reports. This wall apparently extends not only above ground, but deep into the ground in an attempt to prevent Palestinians digging the tunnels that have become a lifeline for the territory....

Should people in Gaza just sit still and watch their children starve? Is it not a moral duty and existential necessity for all people to fight for their dignity and survival? Why should only the Palestinians be denied this right?

If it is true that Egypt is building the steel wall -- Egypt has denied it despite repeated claims otherwise -- it will indeed be a shameful measure intended to acquiesce to American and Israeli pressures.

To stop "smuggling" into Gaza there is a cheaper and an easier way than building more cruel and futile walls: open the Rafah crossing for food and domestic needs, building materials and energy supplies -- not for rockets -- and insist that Israel open the crossings on its side connecting Gaza to the rest of the country.

The excuses for Gaza may be rockets or tunnels, but in fact the tightening of the Gaza siege is part of a total effort by Israel to besiege the entire Palestinian population in the occupied territories. For more than 40 years, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been living under a tightening siege. First, their freedom to move in and out of the occupied territory has been severely curtailed and later -- especially during the years of the so-called "peace process" -- the occupier imposed internal barriers that have made it virtually impossible to pass from one town to the other without encountering one of the hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints that have rendered the West Bank a series of ghettos surrounded by expanding settlements. Finally there is the illegal apartheid wall -- which brave, heroic Palestinians recently breached in several places demonstrating that no amount of concrete and steel can suppress the human desire for liberation."

Global Warming, by Carlos Latuff

Obama talks tough but kowtows to bankers

By Peter Morici
Online Journal Contributing Writer

"....The bankers, after causing the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression, are rewarded with six times the growth accomplished so far in the much heralded “economic recovery.”

Meanwhile, 7 million families face foreclosure and 25 million Americans can’t find full time work.

White House economist Christina Romer says we are still suffering the fallout of the recession, but with those bonuses, it will be tough to find pain on Wall Street this holiday season.

In Britain, the Prime Minister is imposing a special one-time claw back tax that will take 50 percent of bankers’ bonuses.

In America, the bankers get a scolding from President Obama.

It is no accident that these same bankers are among the largest contributors to Democratic congressional and presidential campaigns.

Hey, the bankers know how to invest, and the president knows how to take care of his friends."

Abu Zeid Confirms Egypt Installing Wall Along Gaza Border


"Commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), Karen Abu Zeid, confirmed reports stating that Egypt is installing an iron barrier along its border with the Gaza Strip, and added that the United States is financing the project.

Speaking at a forum organized by the American University in Cairo, Abu Zeid said that the barrier was made in the United States, and that it is more secure that the Bar Lev Line, built by Israel along the eastern coast of the Suez Canal after it captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt during the 1967 Six-Day War.

She added that the installation is an implementation to an agreement reached between the former U.S. president, George Bush, and the Israeli government. The agreement was signed by Bush hours before he left the oval office.

Abu Zeid said that such “infamous” statements and decision only serve the occupation and could have a future effect on Egypt’s security should Israel decide to attack Gaza again....."

US silent on Taliban's al-Qaeda offer

By Gareth Porter
Asia Times

"The administration of United States President Barack Obama has made no official response to an offer from the Taliban that they would give "legal guarantees" not to allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries by outsiders - namely, al-Qaeda - in exchange for the withdrawal of all foreign forces. This silence leaves the door open for Washington to still negotiate a deal....."

US fighters pound Sa'ada, kill 120


Press TV

"At least 120 Houthis have lost lives and 44 others sustained injuries as US fighter jets took part in air strikes in the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa'ada.

"The US air force perpetrated an appalling massacre against citizens in the north of Yemen as it launched air raids on various populated areas, markets, refugee camps and villages along with Saudi warplanes," the northern Yemen-based Houthi Shia fighters said.

They added, "The savage crime committed by the US air force shows the real face of the United States. It cancels out much touted American claims of human rights protection, promotion of freedoms of citizens as well as democracy."

The US military continues its air raids on Yemen's northern beleaguered regions of Amran, Hajjah and Sa'ada which have already been the target of joint Saudi-Yemen offensive against the Houthi fighters......"

Is Joe Lieberman Protecting Israel?


By Robert Parry
December 15, 2009

(Left: Lieberman and Lieberman; both working for Israel.)

"Sen. Joe Lieberman’s latest threat to scuttle health-care reform – vowing to join a Republican filibuster to block an over-55 buy-in to Medicare, a proposal that he has long championed – is raising questions about his motives. But no one is mentioning the unmentionable, the cause that has come to define Lieberman’s career: Israel.

Is it possible that Lieberman’s obstructionist behavior doesn’t relate to Connecticut’s insurance industry or to his political ego – the two most cited explanations – but rather to a calculation that he can use his leverage on health care to limit the pressure that President Barack Obama can put on Israel to make concessions on a Mideast peace plan?

After all, the more common explanations of Lieberman’s behavior have holes in their logic........"

Be careful what you wish for: Would ‘regime change’ help Iran?


By Stephen M. Walt
Foreign Policy

"....In particular, bear in mind that a key goal of U.S. grand strategy has been to prevent any single power from dominating the oil-rich Persian Gulf. In other words, the United States has sought to maintain a balance of power in the region and make sure that there is no "regional hegemon" there. By contrast, Iran would undoubtedly prefer an imbalance of power in its favor, which is precisely the sort of situation the United States opposes.

This is not to say that American-Iranian rivalry is inevitable no matter who is in power in Tehran (or Washington), or that Obama's efforts to reopen dialogue with Iran's current government is misplaced. It is rather to suggest that reform (or even revolution) in Iran is not a magic bullet that will suddenly cause all sources of friction to disappear, and to raise the possibility that a smarter and more capable Iran might turn out to be more of a challenge than the government we are dealing with today.

So be careful what you wish for. (Now there's a good realist precept!) The triumph of the "Green Movement" in Iran might be desirable on purely moral grounds, but there is little reason to suppose that it would solve all (or even most) of our problems in the region. And that's all the more reason to resist the temptation to interfere within Iran itself: haven't recent events taught us that toppling foreign governments can lead to lots of unintended and undesirable consequences? "

Israel furious at Livni arrest warrant


Netanyahu condemns British plan to apprehend former foreign minister

By Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem
The Independent

"....The issuing of the warrant against Ms Livni comes two months after a lawyer attempted to have a warrant issued against the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, as he visited Britain. Other Israeli officials have faced similar action in the past.

"By a very small change of legislation, the issue could be at least controlled if not totally wiped off the map," the Israeli information minister, Yuli Edelstein, told AP. An Israeli foreign ministry statement warned that Britain could not "fulfil an active role in the peace process" if Israeli leaders are unable to visit Britain.

Last night the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, reassured Israel that it was "a strategic partner and a close friend of the UK" whose leaders "must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British Government". He added that London was "looking urgently" at ways in which the "UK system might be changed in order to avoid this sort of situation arising again"......"

True lies

By Ayman Mohyeldin
Al-Jazeera

"....What's surprising is that instead of standing up and defending its own legal system the British government is distancing itself from the issue and allowing Israel to clearly interfere in influencing its domestic affairs and governing system.

In a statement, the UK says it is determined to be "a strategic partner of Israel ... and that it is looking urgently at the implications of this case".

I would have expected the British government to say these are the laws of our land and we stand by them, but it is not the first time the government seems to have caved to public pressure from Israel.

Back in 2005, then British foreign secretary Jack Straw apologised to his Israeli counterpart for a stand-off at Heathrow airport when an Israeli official wanted for alleged war crimes refused to get off a plane fearing he would have been arrested.

British security officials refused to arrest him on the plane fearing a confrontation with Israeli security agents would have led to a shoot out.

Let me see if I get this straight, the British foreign minister apologised that his government didn't actually enforce a standing order from its own judicial system?

But there could be a more interesting irony in all of this.

Israeli media have been carrying reactions from various politicians. One official put it this way: "British officials could find themselves in a similar situation due to airstrikes by British crews on population centres in Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan"

Interesting? I wonder if the UK is more concerned with appeasing Israel or afraid of its own laundry being aired publicly if its officials start facing arrest warrants abroad."

ليفني وابتزاز بريطانيا


ليفني وابتزاز بريطانيا
عبد الباري عطوان

"من سخريات هذا الزمن الرديء ان تهدد اسرائيل بريطانيا بعدم إشراكها في 'عملية السلام' اذا لم تتخذ اجراءات لمنع ملاحقة مسؤولين اسرائيليين امام محاكمها، بتهمة ارتكاب جرائم حرب ضد الفلسطينيين والعرب عموما في الاراضي المحتلة ولبنان، وكأن عملية السلام تسير على قدم وساق، وكأن بريطانيا ستصبح جمهورية موز اذا نفذت اسرائيل تهديداتها.
فاسرائيل التي تدين بوجودها واستمرارها الى التواطؤ البريطاني باتت تتطاول على اليد التي اطعمتها وانشأتها، وتفرض عليها ما يجب، او ما لا يجب ان تفعله، وتتدخل بصلافة في نظامها القضائي واحكامه، وهي الخاسر الأكبر من حملة الابتزاز التي تشنها حاليا ضد بريطانيا، فوجود الاخيرة طرفا في عملية السلام كان دائما لمصلحة اسرائيل وضد العرب. كما أنها المستفيد الاكبر اقتصاديا من العلاقة معها، لانها تعتبر واحدة من أكبر أسواق بضائعها.
تسيبي ليفني وزيرة الخارجية الاسرائيلية السابقة وزعيمة حزب كاديما ارتكبت جرائم حرب ضد الانسانية في قطاع غزة، واذنت لجيشها باستخدام قنابل الفوسفور الابيض، وافتى حاخام الجيش الاسرائيلي بقتل العرب دون اي رحمة او شفقة.
ادانة ليفني وجميع جنرالاتها وكل مسؤول اسرائيلي شارك في العدوان على قطاع غزة، جاءت في تقرير ريتشارد غولدستون القاضي اليهودي الجنوب افريقي، الذي كان في اعتقادنا رحيما بالدولة العبرية ومجرميها، وكان يجب ان يكون اكثر شدة في اتهاماته لهم بارتكاب جرائم حرب، فقد شاهد العالم بأسره الاجرام الاسرائيلي في ابشع صوره بالصوت والصورة عبر شاشات التلفزة العالمية.
القوانين البريطانية التي استند اليها القاضي البريطاني اثناء اصداره مذكرة اعتقال في حق ليفني اصدرها اليهود انفسهم، وفرضوها على جميع الدول الاوروبية بعد الحرب العالمية لحماية بني جلدتهم، ولملاحقة مجرمي الحرب النازيين الذين شاركوا في المحرقة (الهولوكوست) والانتقام منهم.
لم يخطر في بال هؤلاء وقادة الدولة الاسرائيلية انهم سيشربون من الكأس نفسه، ويواجهون العدالة نفسها، وبالتهم نفسها، وفي الدول نفسها، لانهم ارتكبوا جرائم وحشية، ترتقي الى مستوى جرائم النازية في حق اناس ابرياء عزل، سرقوا ارضهم وشردوهم في المنافي ومخيمات اللجوء، ثم لاحقوهم بقنابل الفوسفور الابيض، بعد ان فرضوا عليهم حصارا تجويعيا بموافقة 'العالم المتحضر' ومساندته.
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الخارجية الاسرائيلية، التي تمثل الدولة الديمقراطية الوحيدة في المنطقة، حسب تصنيفات الحكومة البريطانية ونظيراتها الاوروبية، استدعت السفير البريطاني في تل ابيب للاحتجاج على اجراء قانوني صرف، واصدرت بيانا قالت فيه انها ترفض الاجراءات القضائية 'المغرضة' التي اتخذتها محكمة بريطانية ضد تسيبي ليفني بمبادرة من عناصر 'متطرفة'.
سبحان الله.. هذه الخارجية التي تمثل دولة خارجة على القانون، لا يزيد عمرها عن ستين عاما، تشكك بقانون بريطاني تمتد جذوره الى اكثر من ستمئة عام على الاقل، وترفض الالتزام بأحكامه، وهي التي استفادت منه ومن اجراءاته حتى قبل قيامها.
والاكثر من ذلك ان متحدثا باسم الخارجية الاسرائيلية استغرب هذه الاجراءات القانونية البريطانية، لان الدولتين، اي بريطانيا واسرائيل، تخوضان حربا مشتركة ضد الارهاب، ولا نعرف ارهابا اكثر شراسة ودموية من الارهاب الاسرائيلي، وحتى لو كان قول المتحدث الاسرائيلي صحيحا، فهل هذا يعني ان تعطل الحكومة البريطانية جميع دساتيرها وقوانيها واعرافها من اجل سلامة مجرمي الحرب الاسرائيليين؟
الاسرائيليون، مجرمي حرب كانوا او اناسا عاديين، يعتقدون انهم من نسل الآلهة، يتصرفون وكأنهم فوق جميع القوانين الوضعية والسماوية، يقتلون ويدمرون ويستوطنون ويستخدمون الاسلحة المحرمة دوليا، وهم مطمئنون الى الدعم الغربي غير المحدود لهم، وهذا وضع يجب ان يتوقف، لان الكيل قد طفح خطرا وارهابا وتهديا لمصالح الغرب الاقتصادية والامنية، علاوة على كونه موقفا غير اخلاقي.
الجنرالات الاسرائيليون الذين تزدحم صدورهم بالنياشين والأوسمة التي حصلوا عليها بفضل قتل الابرياء والعزل، واستخدام الاطفال والشيوخ كدروع بشرية في مقدمة دباباتهم، باتوا في حال رعب، لا يستطيعون ان يتجولوا في العواصم الاوروبية بحرية وأمن، والفضل في ذلك يعود الى مجموعة من النشطاء العرب والمسلمين الذين قرروا ان يتعاملوا مع الغرب بلغته وقوانينه، وبعيدا عن مساعدة الانظمة العربية الفاسدة والدكتاتورية.
فإذا كان من حق اليهود والاسرائيليين ان يقيموا 'مركز روزنتال' لمطاردة مجرمي الحرب النازيين ويقدموهم الى العدالة، وينفذوا فيهم احكاما بالشنق (ايخمان عام 1961) حتى لو تجاوز بعضهم الثمانين عاما (جون ديمانيوك الذي يحاكم حاليا في المانيا)، فانه من حق العرب والمسلمين، وكل انصار العدالة في العالم ان يطاردوا مجرمي الحرب الاسرائيليين، سياسيين كانوا او جنرالات، وتقديمهم الى العدالة، وتلقي جزاء شرورهم وجرائمهم.
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نعترف ان مصيبتنا في حكوماتنا، فبينما يستطيع النشطاء المناصرون للعدالة وحقوق الانسان رفع دعاوى ضد ليفني وباراك وموفاز امام محاكم اوروبية، فإنهم لا يستطيعون فعل الشيء نفسه في عواصم عربية، ليس لان معظمها يفتقد الى النظام القضائي المستقل، وتحكم من قبل قوانين الطوارئ، وانما لان هذه الحكومات تخاف من ليفني وشركائها اكثر مما تخاف ضميرها او خالقها او شعوبها.
فبينما يرفض اللاعب المغربي مروان الشماخ مشاركة فريقه في مباراة ضد فريق اسرائيلي في حيفا،
ويقول انه انسان مسلم لا يطاوعه ضميره ان يلعب في بلد يقتل جيشها اشقاءه الفلسطينيين، نشاهد ابن وزير خارجية بلاده يدعو تسيبي ليفني للمشاركة في ندوة سياسية في طنجة، ويفرش لها السجاد الاحمر. والاكثر من ذلك ان الدكتور رفيق الحسيني مدير مكتب الرئيس محمود عباس في رام الله، المشارك في الندوة نفسها، يعانقها بحرارة شديدة امام عدسات الصحافيين والمشاركين الآخرين دون خجل او حياء.
اللوبي الاسرائيلي سيحرك كل اسلحته ضد الحكومة البريطانية، من اجل تعديل النظام القضائي، ووقف مطاردة مجرمي الحرب الاسرائيليين واعتقالهم، وهذا التعديل يتطلب موافقة مجلس العموم اولا، ومجلس اللوردات ثانيا، مما يعني اننا امام معركة سياسية قضائية طويلة ومعقدة، تتطلب تحركا مضادا من قبل العرب والمسلمين وكل انصار حقوق الانسان في العالم.
أملنا الكبير في ابناء الجاليات العربية والاسلامية، والخبرات الوطنية والانسانية العريقة في اوساطها، للتصدي لهذا اللوبي الاسرائيلي، مثلما تصدوا له في الجامعات البريطانية، حيث نجحوا في فرض المقاطعة الاكاديمية للجامعات الاسرائيلية، ومثلما نجحوا في فرض مقاطعة أشد على بضائع المستوطنات الاسرائيلية وفي عدم اعفائها من اي تسهيلات ضريبية.
في جميع الاحوال، يمكن القول، وباطمئنان شديد، ان حملات التضليل والخداع الاسرائيلية للرأي العام الغربي لم تعد تحقق النجاحات الآلية، مثلما كان عليه الحال في السابق، ليس بسبب الاجيال الجديدة من المهاجرين من ذوي العقليات المنفتحة والعلمية، وانما ايضا بسبب ادراك الغرب للخطر الذي تشكله اسرائيل على أمنه واستقراره، بفعل جرائمها في حق الانسانية، وجره الى حروب لا يمكن كسبها، علاوة على تكاليفها الباهظة ماديا وبشريا.
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