Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 28, 2008 ~

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 28, 2008 ~

Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 20-26 Nov 2008
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7LSFAN?OpenDocument

PCHR Weekly Report: 7 Palestinians injured, 32 abducted by Israeli forces; 2 dead due to occupation
In its weekly summary of Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of November 20-26, 2008, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights has reported a number of human rights violations. An elderly Palestinian man died of a heart attack when Israeli forces forced him from his home. A patient in Gaza died after being denied exit from the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, because he refused to act as an informant for the Israeli military.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57835

Exceptions in the prosecution of Israeli occupation soldiers. Prosecution of IDF soldiers during and after the Second Intifada, 2000-2007 Full text.
http://www.yesh-din.org/sys/images/File/Exceptions%5BEng%5D%5B1%5D.pdf

Israeli troops wound three in Gaza: medics
Three Palestinians were wounded when Israeli troops backed by tanks mounted an incursion into the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, shelling suspected militants, medics and witnesses said. "The three wounded were evacuated," said Muawiya Hassanein, who heads the emergency services in Gaza.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9vW7rs5kfD8MHonde1qzfa2T5ZA

Four Palestinians injured at Ni'lin anti-wall demonstration
Four Palestinians were reportedly shot by Israeli forces at an anti-wall march in the West Bank village of Ni'lin, near Ramallah, on Friday. After Friday prayers, demonstrators gathered near lands threatened with confiscation, shouting slogans and demanding help for 120 families whose lands are to be confiscated. As protesters neared the construction site, Israeli forces opened fire "from close range" with tear-gas canisters "fired directly at protesters," as well as rubber-coated bullets, according to a statement received by Ma'an. Four injured Palestinians were taken to a hospital in Ramallah, the statement added. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33577

International, local and Israeli activists tear-gassed in Bil'in demonstration
Israeli soldiers fired teargas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs at a group of Bil'in residents, Israeli and international activists on Friday as the group marched to the site of the separation wall in an anti-occupation protest. The protesters raised Palestinian flags and banners calling for the guarantee of Palestinian's right to Jerusalem, the right of return, Palestinian controlled borders, access to water, the release of all Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons and the removal of the separation wall and Israeli settlements from the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33579

Two Palestinians injured by Israeli soldiers during Jayous anti-wall demonstration
Two Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets shot by Israeli soldiers as they participated in the peaceful demonstration against the wall in the village of Jayous west of Qalqiliya on Friday. Those injured were identified as Muhamad Abdel Walid Salim and Muhamad Abdel Rahman Salim. Villagers demonstrated with activists and toured the streets of the village calling for the end of settlement construction. When the group reached what has been designated a military area Israeli troops prevented their progress and clashes ignited. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33575

Israel attempts to avoid court challenge by returning stolen Palestinian fishing boats
Three Palestinian trawling vessels confiscated by Israeli naval forces were returned today almost immediately following yesterdays announcement that three Human Rights Groups had filed an appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli navy. The vessels were stolen from Gazan waters on 18th November while fishing in Palestinian territorial water.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/11/27/israel-attempts-to-avoid-court-challenge-by-returning-
stolen-palestinian-fishing-boats/

Palestinian Journalists Bloc condemns PA arrest of reporter
The Palestinian Journalists Bloc condemned on Thursday the arrest by Palestinian security forces of Nae'l Nakhlah, a reporter for the Al-Quds newspaper in the West Bank town of Al-Bireh. The organization noted an "increase of the number of journalists arrested in the West Bank to nine in addition to three who were arrested in the Gaza Strip."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33562

Palestinian Water Authority pressed Israel to ship water purification chemicals to Gaza
The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) said on Thursday that it succeeded in pressuring Israel to allow chemicals used to purify water into the blockaded Gaza Strip. The deputy director of the PWA, Rebhi Ash-Sheikh, said Israel had blocked delivery of 100 cubic meters of Chlorine and dozens of tons of acids used to purify water for over a year. He said the authority was concerned that shortages of these chemicals would threaten the health of Gaza residents.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33561

Al-Khudari predicts Gaza power plant to shut down before midnight; fuel supplies exhausted
Gaza's power plant will shut-down again Friday night after the area exhausts the limited fuel transferred in on Wednesday. The black-out prediction was announced by Head of the popular committee against the siege in Gaza, Jamal Al-Khudari at a press conference in Gaza City.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33580

Israeli administration continues to ban imports to Gaza Strip
ImageGaza /PNN – The occupying Israeli authority claims it they had intended to lift the ban on 45 trucks of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Thursday, but reneged because of the launch of two projectiles at Sderot. However, no armed resistance faction claimed responsibility for any such launching and no damages were reported. The truckloads were said to include chlorine to disinfect the water supply which is contaminated. The fuel necessary to run the power plant, which in turn feeds the water and sewage treatment facilities, is also banned.
http://english.pnn.ps/index. php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4088&Itemid=28

Israel resumes starvation of Gaza after rocket attack
Israel on Thursday again prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid to the impoverished Gaza Strip in what the Jewish state said was a response to a rocket attack by Palestinian militants. The rocket hit an empty field in southern Israel and caused no injuries or damage, police said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10& categ_id=2&article_id=98074

Another Arab ship from Qatar to sail from Cyprus to Gaza in the coming days
Palestinian legislator, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, Jamal El Khodary, stated on Thursday that a new Arab ship from Qatar will sail from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip in the coming days.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57830

Qatari relief vessel to sail to Gaza soon; Libyan vessel to arrive Gaza Monday
The chairman of the Popular Committee against the Siege on Gaza MP Jamal Al-Khudari has declared the start of the "vessel peaceful uprising" to break the unjust siege on Gaza.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Gaza's death throes, and no one's listening
Palestinians wait to fix their old portable "primus" stoves which burn diesel fuel at a shop in the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, 25 November 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)
What kind of government in the 21st century can deny another people basic human rights--that is, the right to food, water, shelter, security and dignity? What kind of government imposes draconian sanctions on another people for democratically electing a government not to its liking? What kind of government seals a heavily populated territory of 1.5 million people so that no person can enter or leave without permission, fishermen cannot fish in their own waters, and world food aid cannot be delivered to the starving population?
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9997.shtml

Gaza: Salvation in a News Broadcast
When Gaza's electricity is in working order, most Palestinians in the impoverished and overcrowded Strip huddle around their television screens. It's neither "American Idol" nor "Dancing with the Stars" that brings them together. It's the news.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14427

Gaza: A Human Tragedy under Siege
The Gaza Strip has been living under an Israeli 16-month-old despicable siege, which is now reaching its most harshly shocking pinnacle. In addition to blocking the flow of food, medical supplies, and basic needs, Israel has recently barred the fuel supplies from reaching the impoverished strip.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14426

Hamas rips Arab League for backing Abbas
The Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza rejected Thursday a call by Arab states for Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in office until unity has been restored, insisting this is a decision for Palestinian voters. "Legitimacy does not flow from any outside party but comes from the ballot box in accordance with the law.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10& categ_id=2&article_id=98050

Hamas to Arab States: Keep Out of Row over Abbas
The Hamas movement rejected on Thursday a call by Arab states for Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas to stay in office until unity has been restored, insisting this is a decision for Palestinian voters. "Legitimacy does not flow from any outside party but comes from the ballot box in accordance with the law and with the constitution," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=65441&language=en

Abbas says Israeli should seize Arab world's rare peace offer
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The Palestinian president says Israel should seize the Arab world's peace initiative as a rare opportunity. The 2002 plan offers Israel full Arab recognition if it withdraws from all the lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast War, including east Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hDgGmW_wF8J-WLBChV1uBrj87-Hg

Israeli court rebukes state over illegal outposts
The Christian Science Monitor-An Israeli government effort to make good on a five-year-old commitment to the US and Palestinians to rein in settlement expansion in the West Bank is coming under legal fire at home.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20081128/wl_csm/ooutposts

Gaza dispute may cancel pilgrimage procedures
Egypt gave permission Thursday for Palestinians to exit the Gaza Strip into Egypt to perform the annual pilgrimage in Mecca but it was unclear whether they would be able to because of registration disputes between the rival Fatah and Hamas factions. The Palestinian embassy in Cairo said it was informed by the General Egyptian Intelligence (GEI) of the government's plans to open the Rafah crossing to allow pilgrims to enter Egypt, proceed to Jordan and finally enter Saudi Arabia.
https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#drafts/11de173748acf7f7

Egypt to reopen Rafah for Palestinian pilgrims
Egypt will reopen the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip for three days from Saturday to allow Palestinians to leave the blockaded territory for the Muslim hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca. "Egypt has announced the reopening of the Rafah border for three days from Saturday... to allow the passage of some 3,000 Palestinian pilgrims who hold visas for Saudi Arabia," the official said on Friday.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/11/28/60994.html

Death of Annapolis Defines Bush Failure
The imminent departure of America's leader from the White House, signals the end of eight disastrous years under the Bush administration. As biographers and others prepare to document a comprehensive list of the failures of George W Bush, they certainly will not be able to ignore his Middle East policies.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14425

A new role for Mohamad Dahlan
"...a new role for Mohammad Dahlan, or his rehabilitation so that he enters the front lines of Fatah, after his exit from Gaza. Dahlan has fervent supporters, just as he has equally ardent opponents and rivals. There are Arab and non-Arab states that support him. He is bold and intelligent and personally I do not rule out Abbas getting angry one day and resigning, leaving a vacuum...."
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-role-for-mohamad-dahlan.html

Lebanon to establish ties with 'Palestine'
Lebanon has decided for the first time to establish diplomatic relations with the "state of Palestine," and has approved the opening of an embassy in Beirut. "The cabinet has approved the establishment of diplomatic relations with the state of Palestine," Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following a cabinet meeting late on Thursday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i40Qp3j0K_U0EIYXi_ f62M86CbKg

Norwegian ex-premier counters anti-Semitism accusations, slams Israel
Ex-Norwegian prime minister Kåre Willoch spoke out Thursday against Israel and a group of Israeli scholars who earlier this week held a symposium in Jerusalem devoted to accusing the Scandinavian countries of racism, anti-Semitism and Israel-hatred. "It's a traditional deflection tactic aimed at diverting attention from the real problem, which is Israel's well-documented and incontestable abuse of Palestinians," Willoch, who presided as Norway's prime minister in the 1980s, told a Norwegian daily. Willoch, a long-time critic of Israel, was reacting to accusations leveled at an event hosted on Tuesday by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, which, as reported by Haaretz, is described by the organizers as "probably Israel's first comprehensive discussion into Scandinavia's approach to the Jewish people and state."
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1041724.html

Trapped in Gaza with a Fulbright scholarship
University students in the Gaza Strip who want to study abroad have been facing severe restrictions since Israel imposed a blockade on the territory two years ago. Israel took the measure after the militant Hamas movement won elections in Gaza and took over control of the territory. Listen to the storyEvery year, one thousand or so Gazan students are accepted by foreign universities. But since the blockade was imposed, fewer than half of them have been able to go study abroad. One of them is Zohair Abu Shahan. This is his story.
http://www.radionetherlands. nl/thestatewerein/otherstates/081129-tswi-student-Gaza

For Gazans, one abundant resource: ingenuity
Coping with lengthy power cuts has become one of the biggest challenges for 1.4 million Gaza residents as Israel's tight blockade of the territory enters its fourth week. The closure, imposed Nov. 5 to force Gaza's Hamas rulers to halt rocket fire on Israeli border communities, comes after 19 months of sharply restricted access to the territory. The isolation has taken its toll, causing rolling blackouts and shortages of fuel and cooking gas.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzBAjH9S_ 7l7BdaawqwoB8cwqFtwD94NTTDO1

Olive harvest suffers under the blockade
Oxfam's Mohammed Ali Abu Najela reports on the impact of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip on the territory's olive oil industry.
The agricultural sector in Gaza has been severely affected by the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in 2000, 112,000 olive trees have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip by the conflict and Israeli military incursions. Also, one third of agricultural land-thousands of dunums (1 dunum=.25 acre) along the border with Israel-has been inaccessible to Palestinian farmers since Israeli settlements were dismantled in 2005. Israel then carved out a security zone that included valuable Gazan farming land. Farmers have been killed and injured trying to access and cultivate these lands.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7LTN8E?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Gaza is Having it, its Way
In apparent shift in strategy, the Israeli government today issued two permits for new franchises in the Gaza Strip. Some are questioning whether this indicates the end of Israel's crushing embargo, or is just another generous humanitarian move by Israel. In response to greater international calls for more aid and assistance to Gazans, many of whom suffer from mal nutrition, Israel granted two popular food chains, Krispy Kreme doughnuts (KKD) and Burger King (BKC), permission to open franchises in the Gaza Strip. This move was warmly received by the teenagers, prospective Big and Tall shop owners, cardiologists and dermatologists of Gaza. On the same day, the Israelis denied three trucks of fresh produce at the Rafah crossing. An Israeli statement linked the two as acts of solidarity with Gaza's children.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2008/11/gaza-is-having-it-its-way.html

Zionism in Leeds University Campus
Leeds University Union to vote on a motion to referendum which will label anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism and silence pro-Palestinian groups on campus. For immediate release: Leeds University Union agreed last week, by a vote of 12 to 11, to send a motion to referendum which will label anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism and silence pro-Palestinian groups on campus. The motion, shrouded in the language of combating anti-Semitism, is a reversal of a motion passed 2 years ago which gave Palestinian activists at Leeds University the rights enjoyed by their counterparts throughout the country. If passed, organisations which have an anti-Zionist platform, such as the Socialist Workers Party and the Palestine Solidarity Group will be prevented from receiving funding from the union and prevented from holding many of their events.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2008/11/28/zionism-in-leeds-university-campus/

Cartoon: Gaza Ghetto by Carlos Latuff
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ ZxKAf8oOwtI/SS7SQuDHLJI/AAAAAAAARNA/IwfD-JHkB1s/s1600-h/carlos.jpg

Thursday: 8 Iraqis Killed; 43 Wounded
Excerpt: Updated at 6:55 p.m. EST, Nov. 27, 2008 Parliament today approved a contentious U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that will allow U.S. troops to stay in the country for three more years. Meanwhile, at least eight Iraqis were killed and 43 more were wounded in the latest violence. Also, the European Union has promised to take-in 10,000 Iraqis. No Coaltion deaths were reported, but a U.S. soldier who deserted his unit has applied for asylum in Germany. He had served in Iraq but refused to return, calling the war illegal.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13825

Suicide bomber kills 12 in Iraqi Shi'ite mosque
A suicide bomber wearing an explosives-packed vest killed 12 people and wounded 17 others inside a Shi'ite mosque south of Baghdad at prayer time on Friday, police said. The U.S. military said initial reports indicated a suicide bomber killed seven worshippers and wounded 30. The attack took place a day after Iraq's parliament passed a security pact with Washington that allows U.S. troops to remain for another three years and puts them under the control of the Baghdad government from 2009.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LS523567.htm

Iraqi Parliament approves 'historic' security pact with US
Iraq's Parliament on Thursday approved a landmark military pact that will see all US troops withdraw by the end of 2011, eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and plunged the country into chaos. After 11 months of negotiations with Washington and a flurry of domestic political horse-trading leading up to the vote.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10& categ_id=2&article_id=98073

US hails approval of Iraq accord, but referendum looms
AFP-The United States on Thursday hailed the Iraqi parliament's approval of a landmark accord for US troops to leave the country in three years, but a referendum on the deal next year could complicate withdrawal plans for the next US president.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081127/pl_afp/usiraqmilitary

With Iraqi parliament approving pact, Maliki's stature grows
BAGHDAD _ In a country where agreements are hard to reach, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki built a broad political coalition to muscle through a divisive U.S.-Iraq security pact that could set his place in his nation's history as the man who ended the American occupation.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/56610.html

We respect those who opposed the pact – PM
BAGHDAD /Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday said that he respects those who opposed the Iraqi-U.S. security pact, passed earlier today by Iraq's Parliament, noting that the pact is a step on the way to giving sovereignty back to Iraq. "We respect those who opposed the pact on a [...]
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=103815

Iraq: from SOFA to resistance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwseJPac-oA

Sofa so disastrous
The status of forces agreement has been hailed as the end of the neocon dream in Iraq. If only that were true.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/28/iraq-middleeast

Iraq: Cleric al-Sadr calls for peaceful protests
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has called for peaceful protests after the passage of a security pact that will let U.S. forces stay in Iraq through 2011. The cleric's spokesman says al-Sadr also wants his followers to close his offices and affiliated institutions for three days "to show the tragedy that has befallen us."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/28/news/ML-Iraq-Al-Sadr.php

Sadr orders to raise black flags in mourning for signing agreement
NAJAF /Aswat al-Iraq: Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday ordered his followers to raise black flags of mourning and to close his offices for three days throughout Iraq because of approving the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement, two Sadrist officials said. Sheikh Muhanad al-Gharawi said at a press conference, attended by Lewaa Smiesim, "Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr [...]
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=103822

Security agreement puts 16,000 Iraqi detainees at risk of torture
Thousands of Iraqis detained by US forces are at risk of torture or even execution, following the ratification of a security agreement between the US and Iraqi governments. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which will take effect on 31 December, around 16,000 prisoners held by the US will be transferred to Iraqi custody. Those at particular risk include former Ba'ath party officials or those who held posts under Saddam Hussain's government.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/security-agreement-puts-16000-iraqi-detainees
-risk-torture-20081128

EU countries to accept 10,000 Iraqi refugees
In Brussels, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble said European Union countries agreed to accept 10,000 Iraqi refugees of whom Berlin was ready to accept 2,500. On the sidelines of European Union Interior Ministers meeting, the German Minister said no conditions will be imposed on European countries in this concern. "This has to be done on a voluntary basis and in light of the reception capacities of member states," he said. The decision has been made by EU interior ministers on Thursday and includes Iraqis inside the Union's countries.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-25056-EU-countries-to-accept-10%2C000-Iraqi-refugees.html

Winter Soldier on the Hill: War Vets Testify Before Congress
War veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan came to Capitol Hill earlier this year to testify before Congress and give an eyewitness account about the horrors of war. Like the Winter Soldier hearings in March, when more than 200 service members gathered for four days in Silver Spring, Maryland to give their eyewitness accounts of the injustices occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan, "Winter Soldier on the Hill" was designed to drive home the human cost of the war and occupation—this time, to the very people in charge of doing something about it. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/28/winter_soldier_on_ the_hill_war

US Jews urge Obama to move embassy to Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) — A group of American Jews urged president-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which the international community does not recognise as the capital of the Jewish state.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4jGf3zi7RLEmJJM9b2XyeI1kQxA

--
www.TheHeadlines.org

Palestinian expert says Israeli torture of Palestinian prisoners is ‘routine’

Palestinian expert says Israeli torture of Palestinian prisoners is ‘routine’

Written by www.daily.pk

Sunday, 23 November 2008 21:16

It came as no surprise to Abdun-Nasser Farawna when the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot published a report about a "top secret" Israeli intelligence document authorizing the use of torture against Palestinian prisoners.
Farawna, a former prisoner and an expert in prisoners’ affairs, said torture "began in 1967 as a policy which later got legal coverage and judicial immunity. It aims at destroying Palestinian and Arab prisoners both physically and psychologically."

To Farawna, Israel’s use of torture is neither secret nor new.

Farawna said the legalization of torture in Israel dates back at least to the report of a government commission headed by Supreme Court President Moshe Landau in 1987. Landau was charged with examining government interrogation techniques. His committee came up with a two-part report. One half of the report was kept secret and contained a list of permissible interrogation tactics.

According to Farawna, the Landau document protected Israeli intelligence officers from prosecution for torturing Palestinian prisoners. The recommendations in the document were approved by the Israeli Knesset, and have been amended since.

The central conclusion of the report, that "the exertion of a moderate degree of physical pressure cannot be avoided," has not been changed.

Farwana explains that the newly revealed Israeli document allows interrogators to use non-traditional techniques of physical and psychological torture, including slapping, violent shaking, hunger, sleep deprivation and forcing prisoners to stand for long periods.

According to the document, officers can also exert psychological pressure by accusing the prisoner of collaboration in front of other prisoners, or revealing confidential information about him. Interrogators can also arrest family members, including women, to place further pressure, or they can threaten to demolish his family home or deport him.

Farwana asserted that Israeli interrogators are still torturing Palestinian prisoners "on a daily basis."

According to Farawna’s own research, 95% of Palestinians who have been imprisoned in Israel have been beaten; 89% were deprived of sleep for long times; 82% were forced to stand in difficult positions for long periods; 55% were subjected to extreme hot and cold temperatures; 50% had pressure applied to their testicles.

Furthermore, Farawna said that since 1967, 70 prisoners have died in Israeli custody as a result of torture.

Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo

November 21, 2008
Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo
By WILLIAM GLABERSON

In the first hearing on the government’s justification for holding detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, a federal judge ruled Thursday that five Algerian men were held unlawfully for nearly seven years and ordered their release.

The judge, Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court in Washington, also ruled that a sixth Algerian man was being lawfully detained because he had provided support to the terrorist group Al Qaeda.

The case was an important test of the Bush administration’s detention policies, which critics have long argued swept up innocent men and low-level foot soldiers along with high-level and hardened terrorists.

The six men are among a group of Guantánamo inmates who won a Supreme Court ruling that the detainees have constitutional rights and can seek release in federal court. The 5-4 decision said a 2006 law unconstitutionally stripped the prisoners of their right to contest their imprisonment in habeas corpus lawsuits.

The hearings for the Algerian men, in which all of the evidence was heard in proceedings that were closed to the public, were the first in which the Justice Department presented its full justification for holding specific detainees since the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Judge Leon, in a ruling from the bench, said that the information gathered on the men had been sufficient to hold them for intelligence purposes, but was not strong enough in court.

“To rest on so thin a reed would be inconsistent with this court’s obligation,” he said. He directed that the five men be released “forthwith” and urged the government not to appeal.

Judge Leon, who was appointed by President Bush, had been expected to be sympathetic to the government. In 2005, he ruled that the men had no habeas corpus rights.

Lawyers said the decision was likely to be seen as a repudiation of the Bush administration’s effort to use the detention center at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as a way to avoid scrutiny by American judges. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to close the prison.

“The decision by Judge Leon lays bare the scandalous basis on which Guantánamo has been based — slim evidence of dubious quality,” said Zachary Katznelson, legal director at Reprieve, a British legal group that represents many of the detainees. “This is a tough, no-nonsense judge.”

Because of the Bush administration’s claims that most of the evidence against the men was classified, Judge Leon ordered the entire case to be heard in a closed courtroom after brief opening statements on Nov. 5.

The government argued that the six Algerians, who were residents of Bosnia when they were first detained in 2001, were planning to go to Afghanistan to fight the United States and that one of them was a member of Al Qaeda.

The five men who were ordered freed on Thursday include Lakhdar Boumediene, for whom the landmark Supreme Court ruling in June was named. The one detainee Judge Leon found to be lawfully held, Bensayah Belkacem, has been described by intelligence agencies as a leading Al Qaeda operative in Bosnia.

It was not immediately clear whether the government would appeal, but some lawyers said they considered an appeal likely.

The case has become an example of the Bush administration’s pattern of changing strategy in its long legal war over Guantánamo as the courts have scrutinized the government’s justification for its detention policies in general and its reasons for holding individual detainees.

In 2002, President Bush made the government’s allegations against the men a showcase of his administration’s approach to dealing with terrorists. He said in his State of the Union address that the six men had been planning a bomb attack on the United States Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Last month, however, Justice Department lawyers said they were no longer relying on those accusations to justify the men’s detention.

The habeas corpus cases have moved slowly despite the Supreme Court decision that directed federal judges in Washington to act quickly after nearly seven years of detention for many of the 250 men still held in Guantánamo.

Detainees’ lawyers said Thursday’s ruling by Judge Leon would be a signal to other judges that they should be skeptical of the government’s efforts to delay hearings.

P. Sabin Willett, a lawyer for the Uighurs, said that Judge Leon’s decision “sends a powerful message to all the other judges to get these cases moving.”

J. Wells Dixon, a detainees’ lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the ruling made clear that Guantánamo Bay had failed. But, he said, “Justice comes too late for these five men.”

Earlier this week, the Justice Department filed legal motions seeking to stop more than 100 of the other Guantánamo habeas corpus cases from proceeding, a move that lawyers for detainees said was a government effort to avoid further court scrutiny.

The Justice Department lawyers argued in motions filed Tuesday that there were flaws in the ground rules of other judges for the Guantánamo cases that would require the government to reveal classified evidence.

Last month, another district court judge in Washington, Ricardo M. Urbina, ordered the release of 17 other detainees, all ethnic Uighurs from western China. The judge did not hold a hearing on the evidence in that case because the government conceded that the men were not enemy combatants.

The Justice Department won a stay of Judge Urbina’s release order and is appealing. Arguments are scheduled for Monday in the United States Courts of Appeals in Washington.
Bernie Becker contributed reporting from Washington.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/21guantanamo.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 20, 2008 ~

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 20, 2008 ~



Israeli forces raid north Tulkarem, storm Palestinian home
Israeli forces raided the neighborhood of Qaffin in northern Tulkarem at dawn on Thursday, according to witnesses. Local sources reported that 15 military vehicles stormed the northern West Bank village, an operation conducted under "intensive shooting of bullets and sound bombs."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33366

Israeli forces seize two Tamoun residents
Israeli military forces detained two residents of the West Bank town of Tamoun early on Thursday morning, according to witnesses.
Local Palestinian sources told Ma'an that "Israeli troops invaded the town at dawn, broke into several homes and arrested Akram Bani A'udah and Ahmad Bsharat."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33378

Palestinian forces arrest 12 Hamas members in West Bank
Security forces loyalty to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrested 12 Hamas members in West Bank during a crackdown against the Islamic movement, Hamas said Thursday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/20/content_ 10388172.htm

Israeli army detains several Palestinians in the West Bank
Israeli military detained late on Wednesday night more than 20 Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank, as it dismantled a sit-in tent in the occupied east Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57732

Israeli prosecutors charge Islamic leader over Syrian flag
Israeli prosecutors charged the head of an Islamic organization in Israel over his waving of a Syrian flag at a demonstration in Jerusalem on Thursday, according to a news release from the Islamic Movement. Israeli prosecutors charged Sheikh Raed Salah, who is the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, with "lifting the Syrian flag" at a Jerusalem march, the organization said. The Israeli prosecution reportedly upheld the charge on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33373

Evicted settlers vandalise West Bank mosque
A group of Jewish settlers have graffitied messages insulting the prophet Mohammed on a mosque in the West Bank. Recently around 150 settlers were ordered to leave a fortified building in Hebron where they had been living since last year.
http://www.euronews.net/en/article/20/11/2008/evicted-settlers-vandalise-west-bank-mosque/

Dichter: Disputed Hebron house will be evacuated
In meeting with senior police, Shin Bet and IDF officials, internal security minister says High Court's decision to evacuate disputed Hebron House will be carried out in full. IDF soldiers spent morning painting over anti-Muslim graffiti sprayed by settlers on Hebron mosque.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3626098,00. html

Settlers spray inflammatory graffiti on mosque
AP-Jewish settlers on Thursday spray-painted graffiti on a mosque slurring the Prophet Muhammad and defaced a Muslim cemetery, Israeli military officials said, threatening to worsen tensions in this volatile West Bank city.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ settler_standoff

Hebron: Rightists injure soldier, desecrate graves
Tensions surrounding disputed Hebron house continue to run high as settlers clash with local Palestinians, pour turpentine on soldier, spray 'Muhammad the pig' graffiti on mosque.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625869,00. html

Report on Israeli settlement in the occupied territories Nov-Dec 2008
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-7LJ56L?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

Another Palestinian family expelled from their home in East Jerusalem and hundreds of houses demolished. Israel's colonial policies kill any chance for a peace process!
Israeli police recently expelled the Al–Kurd family from its house, in the dark of night, in the Sheikh Jarrah area in East Jerusalem. The family includes Umm Kamal, the mother, her husband – who is partially paralysed and suffering from chronic heart disease – and their 5 children. Already refugees in 1948, when they were displaced from West Jerusalem, the family has once again been dispossessed of its home, where it has been living since 1956.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/11/19/another-palestinian-family-expelled-from-their-home-in-east-
jerusalem-and-hundreds-of-houses-demolished-israels-colonial-policies-kill-any-chance-for-a-peace-process/

IOA demolishes sit-in tent pitched by owners of usurped home
Large numbers of Israeli occupation policemen on Wednesday tore down the tent pitched by an old Palestinian couple who were evicted from their home by force in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Insult added to injury as Israelis tear down tent of family evicted from Jerusalem home
Israeli security forces on Wednesday tore down a tent in which an Occupied Jerusalem Palestinian family had been living since being evicted from their nearby house earlier this month. The tent housed Fawzia al-Kurd and her ailing husband since their November 9 expulsion from their home of 52 years.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10& categ_id=2&article_id=97825

'Gaza closure has no effect on Hamas'
Israel's decision to keep the crossings into Gaza closed will remain in effect until the end of the week, defense officials said Wednesday, despite an official IDF assessment submitted to Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the restriction is not having an effect on Hamas.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404781584& pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull

Essential health facilities at the Al Shifa medical center stopped functioning
Dr. Hussein Ashour, head of the Al Shifa medical center in Gaza, one of the biggest medical centers in the Gaza Strip, stated that main facilities at the center stopped functioning due to the lack of fundamental equipment and tools.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57725

Gaza: Responding to urgent medical needs of choked-off Strip
As a result of the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip since 5 November, medical facilities are once more running out of essential supplies. This has dire consequences for the health of the Palestinian population. Katharina Ritz, the ICRC's head of mission for the occupied Palestinian territories, talks about the humanitarian situation and the organization's efforts to respond to the most urgent needs.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EDIS-7LJLNU?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

Health ministry: Dozens of patients may die in case of a power outage
The health ministry warned that dozens of Palestinian patients might die within half an hour if there was any power outage in the units of intensive care, heart and preterm infants in Gaza hospitals.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

UNRWA suspends financial assistance to refugees in Gaza
UNRWA has announced that it would be forced to suspend its financial assistance to refugees in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of Israeli currency in Gaza banks.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Holmes: Gaza situation desperate, unacceptable, presents collective punishment
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said Wednesday that the situation in Gaza is desperate, unacceptable and the Israeli blockade is continuing, a scene which was described before as a collective punishment.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1954474&Language=en

Hamas's agriculture ministry warns of a nutrition crisis due to the Israeli blockade
The Hamas-run agriculture ministry warned today of a nutrition setback in the coastal Strip, unless the commercial crossings are reopened.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57731

Gazans cook on wood fires because of power cuts
AP-While an Israeli cutoff in fuel shipments has closed down a dozen of his competitors, baker Khalil Awad stays in business thanks to a little creativity and dirty black oil drained from car engines. The cutoff in fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip's sole power plant started a week ago in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_ palestinians_gaza_notebook

European campaign warns of Israeli attempts to dupe the world on Gaza
The European campaign to lift the siege on Gaza has warned of an Israeli attempt to draw the world's attention away from the oppressive siege imposed on the Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Palestinian rights group warns of humanitarian disaster in Gaza
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) warned in a report on Thursday that the Gaza Strip is facing "disaster" as a result of the "endless siege." PCHR also blamed Israel for the ongoing clashes in Gaza. According to the center's weekly report, Israeli troops made 30 incursions into the West Bank and Gaza, where 44 Palestinians were seized. Among them were two children from the West Bank, 15 fisherman off the coast of Gaza and three solidarity activists onboard a ship, the center claimed.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33376

Gaza voices
Palestinians describe life under the Israeli blockade.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/7735852.stm

Barghouthi: IOA measures against Gaza war crime
MP Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi has charged that IOA measures against Gaza constituted a war crime and a blatant violation of the international laws and the Geneva Convention.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Free Gaza Organisation meets Dr Mustapha Bargouti
So is Abbass just a tool of the Israelis? The Free Gaza Organisation meets Dr Mustapha Bargouti.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=dd066910361233d04c9fab24f1ce92 17&offset=

Al Hindy: Hamas will declare a new president after January 9
Senior Islamic Jihad leader, Mohammad Al Hindy stated in an interview with the Maan News Agency that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, will most likely declare a new Palestinian president replacing Mahmoud Abbas after January 9 of 2009 which marks the end of Abbas' term in office.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57727

Hamas slams PA marketing of the "Arab initiative" minus "the right of return"
Hamas strongly denounced the PA in Ramallah for intending to publish advertisements in Israeli newspapers in order to market the Arab peace initiative without mentioning the right of return.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Abbas mad at head of Arab League, decides to boycott foreign ministers' meeting
Official Fatah sources revealed that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas was indignant at the Arab League secretary-general because of his refrainment from holding Hamas responsible for thwarting the dialog.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Iner-Palestinian dialogue to resume next month
Well-informed Palestinian sources revealed on Wednesday that Egypt would invite the Palestinian factions, including rival Fatah and Hamas, to Cairo on early December to resume the national dialogue.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/19/content_ 10382743.htm

Prospects of Palestinian reconciliation 'darker than ever'
Palestinian resistance factions were roundly blamed in the mainstream media for their last-minute decision to boycott last week's Egypt-sponsored "comprehensive dialogue" summit, ostensibly aimed at Palestinian national reconciliation. But some independent commentators say the move, led by Gaza-based resistance faction Hamas, was justified.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10& categ_id=2&article_id=97839

Sources: Arabs tending to find a mediator other than Egypt
Palestinian political sources revealed a tendency among Arab political leaders active in the Palestinian issue to find an alternative mediator in the inter-Palestinian dialog instead of Egypt.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

ANALYSIS /Which peace initiative will Obama back?
So who's right, Netanyahu or Peres?Apparently neither. Obama was here in July, when winning the election seemed very far away and his main goal was not to screw up or ire anyone. Presumably he was polite, and told his hosts their proposals were "very interesting"-they leave satisfied and he hasn't promised a thing.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038959.html

Obama Tells Abbas He'll Work for Peace
JERUSALEM — The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has received a courtesy phone call from President-elect Barack Obama, who confirmed that he would work for peace, a Palestinian official said Wednesday. The conversation took place Tuesday. The official, Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said Mr. Obama had thanked Mr. Abbas for the congratulations he had extended after the Nov. 4 election. Mr. Erekat added that the two men had "reiterated their commitment to continue to work" for an Israeli-Palestinian peace based on a two-state solution.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/middleeast/20mideast.html?ref=world

Abdullah holds secret summit with Olmert, Barak
King Abdullah summons Israeli PM, defense minister to his palace in Amman, implores them not to launch operation in Gaza, stresses peace between Israel, Palestinians also a strategic interest of Jordan.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625818,00. html

Israeli leaders make secret journey to Jordan
AP-Israeli leaders made a secret journey to neighboring Jordan earlier this week, listening to pleas from King Abdullah II to avert a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Jordan officials confirmed Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ jordan

Poll indicates Likud Party preference among Israeli voters
If general elections were held today, the Israeli Likud Party would win 32 Knesset seats, while Kadima would gain just 26, according to a survey published in the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33368

Israel calls UK stance on settlements "painful"
Israel accused Britain of a "painful attitude" on Wednesday for urging the European Union to make sure that goods made in Jewish settlements are not allowed into the bloc on preferential terms.
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4AI5D1.html

Hamas' armed wing will 'blow up the truce' if Israel kills leaders
The armed wing of Hamas threatened on Wednesday to "blow up" the truce agreement with Israel if it kills Hamas leaders has threatened by certain Israeli leaders. Abu Ubaidah the spokesperson of Al-Qassam Brigades said: "Israeli threats and calls to carry out wide-scale aggressive operations in Gaza Strip are nothing but an attempt to console themselves after the projectile attacks they received from resistance factions especially Al-Qassam."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33350

Gazans say denied right to make pilgrimage
RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Hundreds of Palestinians protested at the Gaza-Egypt border Wednesday, saying they've been denied the right to go to Mecca for the upcoming Muslim pilgrimage. Led by seven men in the white robes worn by Muslim pilgrims, they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners reading in Arabic, "We want to perform our religious duty away from politics. The pilgrimage must not be the subject of conflict."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/19/news/ML-Palestinians-Pilgrims-Protest. php

Gaza pilgrims rally at Rafah crossing, call for allowing them to travel to Makka
Hundreds of Gaza pilgrims marched to the Rafah crossing to demand the Arab countries to expedite the opening of the crossing and facilitate the procedures necessary to perform the pilgrimage rituals.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Waqf minister calls on Hamas to respect Hajj pilgrimage
Sheikh Jamal Bawatneh, the Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs within the Palestinian Authority (PA), said on Thursday that the ministry hopes to overcome obstacles related to the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The minister called for Hamas to "return under the umbrella of Palestinian legitimacy," adding that the pilgrimage "should be respected."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33371

Peres: Settlement evacuation may lead to civil war
LONDON-President Shimon Peres told members of the British Parliament Wednesday that Israel would have difficulty dismantling West Bank settlements without causing a civil war in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038961.html

Global media executives protest Gaza press ban
Leaders of the world's biggest media organizations filed a protest with Israel's prime minister Wednesday criticizing the government's decision to ban journalists from entering the Gaza Strip for the last two weeks. The protest was the latest in a chorus of international criticism of Israel's Gaza closure, tightened after a five-month truce began unraveling about two weeks ago in a flurry of Israeli airstrikes against militants and Palestinian rocket barrages targeting Israeli towns.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-aRJnbPLC5ZcAuDIM5RBX-tX42wD94I84T83

Jordanian protesters urge Israel to end blockade against Gaza
Hundreds of Jordanians have held a demonstration in the capital Amman in protest against Israel's blockade of Gaza, urging for an end to the worsening humanitarian conditions in the coastal enclave, daily The Jordan Times reported on Thursday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/20/content_ 10387352.htm

The price of resisting the occupation in Israel: "leftists aren't allowed..."
The level of repression against activists in Israel is multi-faceted, violent, and effective. There are so many examples that it is hard to choose only a few, but consider just a handful of examples from recent months.
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_1140.shtml

Activist opposes Gaza deportation
A human rights activist who was arrested while accompanying Palestinian fishermen on a trip is appealing against his deportation from Israel.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ news/scotland/highlands_and_ islands/7738179.stm

Free Gaza Movement call for aiding Gaza through the sea
The Free Gaza Movement issued on Wednesday this open letter to all organizations delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57721

Albawaba: Despite Ban, Leviev to Sell Jewelry at Grand Opening of Atlantis Hotel in Duba
Adalah NY has learned that the jewelry of Israeli billionaire and settlement-builder Lev Leviev will be on sale at this week's gala opening of the luxury hotel Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. Despite Leviev's on-going construction of Israeli settlements and claims by United Arab Emirates officials that Leviev would receive no license to sell his jewelry there, the New York-based human rights coalition Adalah-NY has confirmed that Leviev's jewelry will be on sale at the Atlantis branch of the Levant Jewelry chain on the fabled Palm Jumeirah island.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/11/20/albawaba-despite-ban-leviev-to-sell-jewelry-at-grand-opening
-of-atlantis-hotel-in-dubai/

Second Saudi food aid shipment arrives in Gaza Strip
A convoy of food aid donated by the Saudi Arabian monarchy arrived in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, loaded with hundreds of tons of rice. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) received a previous convoy of flour last week, also from the Saudis.
UNRWA's director of aid programs, Kathy Heward, praised Saudi Arabia's role in delivering aid, particularly "its continued efforts to alleviate poverty among the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33374

Who Will Stop the Settlers?
The middle-of-the-night eviction last week of an elderly Palestinian couple from their home in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers is a demonstration of Israeli intent towards a future peace deal with the Palestinians. Mohammed and Fawziya Khurd are now on the street, living in a tent, after Israeli police enforced a court order issued in July to expel them.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook11192008.html

Peres at Oxford
http://www.thejc.com/node/8345

Gaza: a Dire Life Zone Still Clings to Hope
Gaza Strip, 20, Nov, 2008-Following Israeli raids that killed around 15 Palestinians within one week, many rockets were fired into Israel in a reprisal of Israeli's provocation. As usual Israel started to blame Palestinians despite it was the one who initiated with violence again. The Israeli assault was an obvious breach of an agreed calm held with Palestinian fighting groups 5 months ago. It has provoked some Palestinians to fire some light rockets into Israel. Afterwards, Israel started a new phase of collective punishment and began more violent prevocational measures against 1.5 million people.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/11/20/sameh-habeeb-gaza-a-dire-life-zone-still-clings-to-hope/

Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media
The Foreign Ministry has launched a YouTube channel in Arabic which is meant to bypass Arab media and give Israel's version of current events directly to Arab viewers, Haaretz has learned.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038936.html

PA to publish first-ever ads in Hebrew explaining Arab peace plan
The Palestinian Authority is publishing for the first time on Thursday advertisements in the Hebrew-language Israeli press that present the details of the Arab peace plan.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038963.html

Another Showdown in Gaza?
Gaza is bracing itself for a harsh winter. Less than a week has passed since Israel slammed shut doors to all land crossings, leaving a million-and-half hapless Palestinians to a miserable fate. We have seen the images before; long queues at petrol stations, Gaza city engulfed in an eerie darkness, children huddled together around a kitchen table doing their homework and trying to make use of little light from a burning candle.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14403

Issuance of building licenses down 0.2% in West Bank
The total number of building licenses issued in the West Bank decreased by 0.2 percent in the third quarter 2008 compared to the second quarter, according to a report released Thursday by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). But the total number of licensed dwellings increased 3.8 percent, compared with the second quarter 2008, when total licensed areas decreased by 14.9 percent, again compared to the second quarter, PCBS reported.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33370

Ben White: Economy first in Palestine?
Ben White: For some, reviving the Palestinian economiy is the route to peace. For others, it's the route to fragmentation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/20/israelandthepalestinians-middleeast

The Shooting of Brian Avery, and the Israeli Cover Up
While the Israeli military's investigation into the 2003 shooting of the American human rights worker Brian Avery did little to nothing in actually investigating the near-fatal injury, it was highly effective in covering up Israeli soldiers' involvement, thereby sheltering them from criminal charges. That became clear some time ago when, in a Jerusalem court, none other than the soldier who pulled the trigger and his commander severely incriminated the official account of the shooting on critical points.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14404

The Israeli Left: Yesterday's Traitors
In the crucial battle over the national consciousness, we are experiencing great success. Let us pause to recall: In the aftermath of the 1948 war, when we said there is a Palestinian people and that peace should be made with it, there were not 100 people in Israel and the entire world who agreed. When we said a Palestinian state should be established alongside Israel, we were deemed national enemies.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14406

Palestinians to hand over wanted militant to LAF
Palestinian officials and Islamist figures in the southern city of Sidon reportedly started efforts on Wednesday aimed at handing over six wanted militants to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Among the wanted is Abdel al-Rahman Awad, who is believed the successor of the militant group Fatah al-Islam's leader Shaker al-Abssi.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1& categ_id=2&article_id=97849

Interview: Palestinians in Europe
On November 16, delegations representing Palestinian communities in EU countries gathered in Stockholm, Sweden to pave the way for a conference to be held in a European capital in May 2009. Zaid Tayem, the head of the cultural division of the Union of Palestinian Minorities in Europe and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), says the May meeting will solidify Palestinian ranks and push for political representation in European parliaments.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2008/11/200811191638980749.html

Palestinian Oscar hope
Take the sexiest man of the year, team him up with a statuesque Palestinian-American spoken word muse, add a fiery filmmaker who sets out to make her first feature movie and you end up with "Salt of This Sea," this year's official Palestinian Academy Award entry.
http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/899314.html

In Gaza coffee shops, men and women break strict taboos
GAZA CITY-A womens association celebrating the end of a management course, combined with a party for the 20th anniversary of the Palestinian declaration of independence is no big deal in itself.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039082.html

US to lower Israeli airport's safety ranking
FAA issues report listing various security defects in Ben Gurion International Airport, Transportation Ministry says Mofaz has been attempting to repair dangerous situation for a year.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625774,00. html

Israel to hold talks with UN over IDF pullout from northern border town
Israel will commence negotiations with the United Nations over a withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the northern section of the village of Ghajar, which sits along the border with Lebanon, the government decided on Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038930.html

Ghajar residents irate over possible IDF pullout
Residents of divided village outraged over Jerusalem's decision to launch talks on ceding control of its northern section to UNIFIL. 'We will not accept any decision that will separate families and violate our rights,' council secretary says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625697,00. html

Wednesday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 17 Wounded
Excerpt: At least nine Iraqis were killed and another 17 were wounded in today's attacks. Also, the Iraqi governent reported that they had discovered a mass grave three months ago near Najaf. The grave contained 150 bodies killed during the Saddam era. Meanwhile, debate in parliament over a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement turned hostile and was postponed until tomorrow. Elsewhere in Baghdad, U.S. and Turkish officials joined the Iraqis for talks on the situation with Kurdistan Workers Party rebels.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13787

U.S. military: 8 bodies found in Baghdad
The U.S. military says the remains of at least eight people have been unearthed in a mass grave in a mainly Shiite area in Baghdad.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-11-19-iraq-bodies_N.htm

US will withdraw troops if Iraq does not sign security deal
The US will withdraw its troops from Iraq if the security pact between the two governments is not signed, Iraqi media quoted a senior United States official as saying Wednesday.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1443803.php

Iraqi parliament's debate on US pact disrupted
Lawmakers loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday disrupted a parliamentary debate ahead of a Nov. 24 vote on a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani adjourned the session until Thursday after Sadrist lawmaker Ahmed al-Massoudi aggressively approached a lawmaker from the ruling coalition who was reading aloud the text of the agreement. Al-Massoudi appeared to be on the verge of grabbing the document as lawmaker Hassan al-Sineid read it. Personal guards of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, seated next to al-Sineid, stopped al-Massoudi from reaching the bench.
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/2008/11/iraqi-parliaments-debate-on-us-pact-disrupted

Hardline Iraqi MPs shout down US pact in parliament
BAGHDAD (AFP) – Lawmakers loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shouted down the Iraqi parliament's second reading on Wednesday of a military pact allowing US troops to remain in Iraq until the end of 2011. The agreement, approved by the cabinet on Sunday, has been fiercely criticised by the Sadrists, who oppose any deal with the US "occupier" and have vowed to derail it with legislative manoeuvres and mass demonstrations.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081119/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusmilitaryparliament

Iraqi Lawmakers Brawl Over Security Pact
A session of Iraq's Parliament collapsed in chaos on Wednesday, as a discussion among lawmakers about a three-year security agreement with the Americans boiled over into shouting and physical confrontation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/middleeast/20iraq. html?ref=world

Defense officials highly critical of U.S.-Iraq troop accord
McClatchy Newspapers-WASHINGTON — Although the Pentagon officially has welcomed the new accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, senior military officials are privately criticizing President Bush for giving Iraq more control over U.S. military operations for the next three years than the U.S. had ever contemplated.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20081120/wl_mcclatchy/3105096

Mosul Christians Reluctant to Return
Christians from Mosul are hesitant about returning home despite cash offerings and pledges of stronger security in and around the volatile northern city. The Iraqi government has boosted the number of security forces and troops in Mosul to 35,000 and is offering displaced Christian families up to 1.5 million Iraqi dinars (1,300 US dollars) to return to their homes. Iraqi president Jalal Talabani also earlier this month pledged 900,000 dollars to support and protect the community. An estimated 2,000 families – approximately half of Mosul's Christian population – fled Mosul and its surrounding areas following the killings of Christians there last month.
http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=hen&s=o&o=l=EN&p=icr&s=f&o=347913

Iraq world's third most corrupt country
Iraq is perceived as being the world's third most corrupt country, with only failed state Somalia and Myanmar's military junta below it, according to the Transparency International index measuring perceptions of graft in 180 nations.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-24809-Iraq-world% 27s-third-most-corrupt-country.html

Iraq's 'Mulla Omars'
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan wants to bring peace to his war-torn country. For the peace to become a reality he will need to come to terms with the fugitive Talaban leader Mulla Omar. Karzai is reported to be holding serious negotiation with Mulla Omar to persuade him to lay down arms in return for safety and other so far undeclared privileges.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\ 2008-11-19\kurd.htm

Iranians urged to increase investments in Iraq
Iran is holding a trade fair in Baghdad, exhibiting its latest industries in a bid to increase volume of its exports to the country. It is the second running exhibition in the country. The Iranians are holding another fair in the northern Kurdish Province of Dahouk, which has traditionally relied on Turkish imports.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\ 2008-11-20\kurd.htm

Jennifer Utz: From Baghdad to Brooklyn: My Journey with an Iraqi Refugee
"That one sounds like mortar fire," Mohamed said to me. "And that was definitely a sniper." My Iraqi friend and I were in Coney Island for the Friday night summer fireworks. Listening to the thunderous explosions over the water as we rode the Wonder Wheel, memories of life in war-torn Iraq inevitably came to mind. I wondered what else must be going through his head. Just two weeks ago, he had been a refugee living in the slums of Damascus, Syria.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-utz/from-baghdad-to-brooklyn_b_145062.html

Lawmaker accuses Bush of secrecy over Iraq deal
The U.S. government is refusing to make public the security pact it has signed with Iraq, even though it has already been published in full in an Iraqi newspaper, a congressional hearing was told on Wednesday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were holding a closed briefing for U.S. House of Representatives members on the pact signed on Monday that sets a 2011 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AI8OT20081119

Docs: US relied on faulty assurance before shipping prisoners to countries with history of torture
Hundreds of pages of documents released this week show the US government relied on dubious assurances before shipping detainees to countries with a history of torture. The documents reveal for the first time the contents of a "diplomatic assurance" exchanged between the US and a foreign government. Such assurances are issued when the US is asked to extradite an individual charged with a crime to a country that has a history of torturing prisoners. The requesting country essentially promises that it will not torture the extradited individual.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Docs_US_relied_on_faulty_ assurance_1119.html

Why Would Obama Proffer State Gig to Clinton?
"Her top, top, top advisers told me, 'Steve, she will animate things in the Middle East—she will deliver a Palestinian state. Gold-plated,'" said Steven Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington. Mr. Clemons also noted the irony that Mrs. Clinton potentially would be tasked with preparing the road for the direct negotiations with antagonistic foreign leaders that she excoriated Mr. Obama over during the primary. "She criticized him so much for going to meet foreign leaders without preconditions; now she is the one who is going to have to go and get all the preconditions sorted out."
http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/why-did-obama-proffer-state-gig-clinton

The limits of American racism, and the Arab exception
The electoral silly season is over and it is time for a serious discussion removed from partisan passions and manipulation. Racism, the 800-pound gorilla in the American living room, has shrunk and is now no bigger than a jackass. In his eloquent endorsement of Barack Obama, another African-American statesman, Colin Powell, took direct aim at racism and pulled the trigger: "It is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is?" He went on to describe a photo of a Muslim American mother grieving at the tomb of her soldier son at Arlington Cemetery.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1& categ_id=5&article_id=97846

Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales Indicted in Private Prison Case in Texas
A Texas judge has set an arraignment date for Friday for Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. They were indicted this week by a Texas grand jury on state charges accusing them of responsibility for prisoner abuse in a privately-run federal jail. We speak with Willacy County district attorney Juan Angel Guerra.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/20/dick_cheney_and_ alberto_gonzales_indicted

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www.TheHeadlines.org

30, 000 signatures for gay marriage

30, 000 signatures for gay marriage
Written by Rachel Cook



The National Union of Students (NUS) will rally in Melbourne this Saturday in support of same-sex marriage.

The rally, which takes place at 1pm at the State Library, will culminate in the handing over of signatures, collected as part of the NUS petition supporting gay marriage, to Greens’ Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Hanson-Young will take the petition to Canberra, where they will be tabled in the Senate.

The petition, Equal Rights for All: Support Same Sex Marriage, End Legal Discrimination, has attracted over 30,000 signatures since January.

James Vigus, queer male officer with the NUS, told MCV support for same-sex marriage covers a wide demographic.

“The signatures show that it’s not just a narrow range that supports same-sex marriage. To get so many signatures from so many different places, whether it was regional or inner city, shows that there is a large sentiment for equal rights beyond the gay ghettoes.

“We have signatures collected from as far away as Townsville.”

Vigus said the response to the petition was in line with opinion polls that have shown the majority of Australians support the right for same-sex couples to marry.

In May this year, 79 per cent of respondents to The Age readers poll, ‘Should gay couples be allowed to marry?’ said yes, while only 21 per cent said no.

Last week before the Senate the Greens asked the Liberal and Labor parties to permit their senators to exercise a conscience vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.

The vote was not granted, with the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny Wong, once again stating that the Labor Party stance on marriage is that it is between a man and woman.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Labor and the Liberals had both “trumpeted” their commitment to removing discrimination against same-sex couples in Commonwealth law.

“However, the Marriage Act has been a glaring omission from the suite of bills that will bring us into a new age of equality for same-sex couples.

“[The Greens] are hopeful that, with a conscience vote, the issue will be debated fully, and party lines will be overridden by the understanding that true equality in law for same-sex couples includes the right to marry.”

Halley Conway, co-convenor of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, is one of the speakers at this weekend’s rally. She told MCV the NUS petition sends a strong message to politicians.

“If people are willing to put their name and contact details on a petition it shows elected officials that this is something they believe in,” Conway said.

“Petitions are an effective way of communicating what people think en masse and NUS has done this particularly well.”

Conway said she will be addressing the issue of future strategies needed to push legalising same-sex marriage.

“I will be talking about where we go from here, why there is a need for concerted and multi-pronged activities across the board to see change.”

In related news, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill, which will allow for lesbians and single women to access fertility treatments and broaden surrogacy laws, last week passed a second reading in the state’s Upper House.

The bill has now been referred to the seven-member Legislative Committee, which will report back to the Upper House on December 2.

http://mcv.e-p.net.au/news/30-000-signatures-for-gay-marriage-4512.html

TUC Calls for End to Discrimination Against Transgender People

TUC Calls for End to Discrimination Against Transgender People
Brendan Barber speaks out on International Trans Memorial Day

LONDON, November 20, 2008 – The TUC is today calling on employers to stop discriminating against transgender people in the workplace on International Trans Memorial Day.

Violent attacks on gay men and women because of their sexuality are well documented – much less well known are the murderous assaults committed against transgender people.

In September 2008, at least 25 transgender people were murdered across the world, for no other reason than the fact that they were different. (source: ILGA)

International Trans Memorial Day will remember ‘trans’ people across the world who have been the victims of such crimes, and aims to bring them to public attention.

In Britain the trans community continues to face violent physical attacks, alongside prejudice and discrimination in communities and at work.

The TUC has worked with transgender union members and with representatives of the trans community to campaign for Britain’s equality laws to provide comprehensive protection from discrimination for trans people.

Although there have been improvements to the law, there remain gaps and widespread exemptions that leave trans people without full protection.

“Discrimination, hatred and violence are part of the daily lives of far too many in Britain, and employers need to make sure all their employees are working in safe environments free from discrimination.,” TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said last night.

“Unions need to step up campaigning for equality for trans people in the UK.

“We will shortly have a new Equality Act and the TUC will be pressing for complete protection for those people who identify with the opposite gender to the one that they were born.

“The murderous attacks on trans people worldwide – and the assaults we know take place in Britain – show that this community faces prejudice and bigotry.

“If Britain is to be a truly equal and inclusive society we need to understand the issues facing trans people, and develop practical steps to end discrimination in workplaces, and in society at large.”

http://ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Nov/2002.htm

Belarusians More Tolerant to Sexual Minorities than Russians?

Belarusians More Tolerant to Sexual Minorities than Russians?
Slavic Gay Pride movement opens public discussion on the rights of gays and lesbians in Belarus

MOSCOW, November 20, 2008 (GayRussia.ru) – The ‘unification seminar’ between Russian and Belarusian gay activists in Minsk last weekend – and the announcement of the creation of the Slavic Gay Pride movement with its first march on May 16 next year in Moscow – has provoked reaction not only in Russia but also in Belarus.

And the support for rights for gay men and women appears to be stronger than in Russia.

According to the website Gay.By, the Belarusian Internet radio TUT has shown interest in the concept of the Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow on Eurovision Song Contest final day.

A reporter from TUT went into the streets for some vox pops with ordinary people, asking about their attitude towards homosexual people.

The replies they go – and broadcast – were mixed, but generally supportive of gay rights. They include:

Let them marry, of course, let them have children, if they can. If they have conditions then let them do it.

● Yes, really, they should be given liberty probably
● Just that they do not propagate this massively and the issue of children should be thought out…
● Same-sex marriages? This should be thought out…
● The response to gays is the following. Kill yourself, faggots…
● If they are trying, let them try…
● Same-sex marriages are too much for our country.
● Gays are the same humans as all.
● After all they are a minority, let them gather and go to Holland, to create something together there but not here. We are rooted Slavic people and we are not destined to be gays.
● We should deal with it in a more tolerant way.
● We should have the same attitude here as in all open world.
● I think our head of state does not respond to all letters, and to this specially will not. I think they don't have big chances… Let them write letters…

TUT.By radio reported that “Belarusian gays demand equality. They decided to send a letter to President Alexander Lukashenko, trying to attract attention to the problems of sexual minorities in this country. Moreover, Belarusian gays are going to unite in the fight for their rights with Russian gays and stage Slavic Gay Pride in Moscow during Eurovision final.”

The results of the poll conducted on TUT.By site show that around 13% have positive attitude towards homosexual people, around 25% are neutral. 38% expressed their negative attitude to gays and lesbians while 24% chose the answer “I have no connection with them”.

At the end of the radio news report the journalist suggested that “as we can see out of the responses that we got, everything is not so bad in our country.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by the responses of Belarusian respondents during the poll on the streets,” chief organiser of Moscow Pride, Nikolai Alekseev, said last night.

“They showed higher tolerance towards sexual minorities in the society. But I am glad that the movement of Slavic Gay Pride that we created less than a week ago has already lead to the start of the discussions in the society – and the media – about the rights of gays and lesbians in Belarus. This is only the beginning but it is a foundation.”

http://ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Nov/2001.htm

UrukNet - Daily Information from Occupied Iraq - newsletter 18 Nov 2008

UrukNet - Daily Information from Occupied Iraq - newsletter 18 Nov 2008

Will The Slaughter Of Iraqis By The US Military Ever Be Reported?
Michael Schwartz
Will The US Government And Media Finally Report The Slaughter Of Iraqis By The US Military? I recently received a set of questions from Le Monde Diplomatique reporter Kim Bredesen about the 2007 Project Censored story about 1,000,000 Iraqi deaths due to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The questions and answers are, I think, useful in framing both the untold story of the slaughter in Iraq and the failure of the U.S. media to report on its extent or on U.S. culpability for the deaths of 4% of the Iraqi population....


Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48874
"Iraq out of Iraq" and other Mousetraps...
Layla Anwar, An Arab Woman Blues
...I was watching with Mom - God bless her - Al Jazeera program "Itijah al Muakess" - Opposite Directions or Views. One of the guests was an "Iraqi" Kurd, the other a Lebanese. Why on earth did Al-Jazeera feel the need to bring in a Lebanese to talk about SOFA when there are plenty of Iraqis who are opposed to the DUAL occupation ? The Kurd dismissed the question when asked about the persecution of the Iraqi Christians and literally ducked it. When grilled about American detention camps - he said " The AMERICANS NEVER ARREST ANYONE". Kamel and Omar, my close relatives are STILL IN DETENTION. As for Omar, we are not quite sure if he is alive or not. And Kamel is over 67 years old. If he ever makes out alive, that in itself would be a miracle. They are both detained by the Americans with NO CHARGES. At that point, Mom who was busy cleaning the Bamia - Okra or Ladies Fingers-said in her typical Iraqi fashion, "Nchab, kalb ibn al kalb." - Shut up, dog son of a dog. My Mom is polite...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48870
"From them the sin, and from them the forgiveness. From them the killing, and the tears. From them the massacres, and the justice of the courts."
AL-AWDA, via Annie's letters
Below is a letter from one of the young women attacked by on the Berkeley campus while standing in silent protest (because of anti-Arab sentiments expressed at a concert) with a Palestinian flag. The way the incident has been addressed by the university is perpetuating the racism experienced by these Palestinian students. Please support these students & help the authorities on the campus figure out who the 'bad guys' were in this incident. We will not stand by while those attacked are revictimized by being blamed for taking a (legal) stand against the dehumanization of Palestinians & all Arabs. This was handled badly by the school administration & we can't let this go by without response. Please send an email to the Chancellor & student affairs...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48878
James Zogby and the Politics of Perception
Remi Kanazi
James Zogby isn't just an Arab American with an opinion. He is the president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a well known writer, and an esteemed leader within the Arab American community. Many non-Arab Americans highly regard his analysis and look to his articles as a resource to understand the Middle East. This is precisely why his latest article, "Rahm Emanuel and Arab Perceptions" is so disturbing. In the piece, Zogby tries to calm the fears of Arab Americans about Barack Obama's first appointment, Rahm Emanuel, to White House Chief of Staff. Zogby expressed shock and dismay that his constituency, once euphoric over the election of Obama, was now sending him angry and cynical letters. Zogby described the emails and calls to his office as "troubled and troubling—because much of the reaction was based on misinformation and because of what the entire episode reveals about the larger political dynamic."...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48879
Obama advisers: Harsh interrogators will walk
Stephen C. Webster
Even as President-elect Obama vowed "to regain America's moral stature in the world" during Sunday's 60 Minutes appearance, two of his senior advisers confessed there is no intent to pursue those in the Bush administration who engaged in torture. Speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, the advisers said that the plan is to put a stop to current interrogation methods and to "look forward" as opposed to focusing on prior transgressions....

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48884
Methinks they do protest too much
William Bowles
- I’m coming across quite a few essays by lefties bemoaning the fact that Barack Obama has somehow 'let us down’. For example there’s a piece by Dave Lindorff 'Obama's First Big Mistake on the Job - Rescuing Joe Lieberman’. Mistake? There is no mistake. The gist of the piece is about the "treacherous" Joe Lieberman, former Dem, who when he lost the race for nomination as Democratic Senator for Connecticut, turned around and joined the Republicans and got elected. Okay, the guy is as Lindorff says, "…a wretched example of a man without principle—a back-stabbing slimeball of a politician whose only allegi[a]nce, apparently, besides to himself, is to Israel", something else I object to in Lindorff’s piece is his qualification of his reference to Lieberman’s Zionist 'credentials’, "Now I don’t want anyone to think I’m some rabid anti-semite. My wife and kids are Jewish, we have good friends who are Israeli, and no, I don’t think the Jews run the media or the country. I do, however, think that Joe Lieberman thinks more about what, in his warped and shriveled worldview, is good for Israel, than about what is good for America." Come on Dave, 'some of my best friends are Jews’? There’s no need to apologize for attacking Zionism, you’ll be branded as an anti-semite no matter how much you protest that you ain’t. Get used to it...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48881
Iran and the US-Iraq SOFA
Reza Fiyouzat, Revolutionary Flowerpot Society
... Some have argued with some justification that the Iranians are sending a signal to the president-elect Barak Obama by persuading their Iraqi brethren to go along with the SOFA deal, while others have called the SOFA deal a defeat for the Iranians. Personally, I agree somewhat with the first take, while I think the SOFA agreement in and of itself is neither a threat to the Iranians nor a boon. What the Iranians want in the region is a recognized role assigned to them by the Americans as an indispensable 'partner' in the workings of the major issues concerning the long-term fate of the region. And in playing a key role in the Iraqi regime signing onto the SOFA deal, they have made a showcase of their 'indispensable' role to the Americans. This in turn should gain them some favor in other areas of their dealings with the Americans. This, again, should show to the U.S. Leftists who think the Iranian regime has some deep-seated anti-imperialist bent that no such thing will be exhibited by the Iranian state in its current setup. They want regional hegemony and the only power that can guarantee them such a status is the U.S...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48862
The Era of Magical Thinking: SOFA Smokescreens and Presidential Power
Chris Floyd
The American media is by and large swallowing the propaganda line that the Iraqi cabinet's acquiescence to a "Status of Forces Agreement" (SOFA) with the U.S. occupation force means that the Iraq War will be over in 2011. This will further cement the conventional wisdom that the suppurating war crime in Iraq is now behind us, and the topic will be moved even further off the radar of public scrutiny. But as usual, there is a wide, yawning abyss between the packaged, freeze-dried pabulum for public consumption and the gritty, blood-flecked truth on the ground. As Jason Ditz reports at Antiwar.com, the so-called "deadline" in 2011 for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces remains, as ever, an "aspiration," not an iron-clad guarantee....

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48868
Video: Taliban's increasing clout in Kandahar
AlJazeeraEnglish
The Canadians have lost a higher percentage of their troops killed in action in Afghanistan than any other country in the multinational force. Meanwhile, as Al Jazeera's David Chater reports, the Taliban are in full control again in many areas of Kandahar, where the group was born....

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48864
UN human rights chief calls for end to Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip
UN News Centre
The top United Nations human rights official called today for an immediate end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which she said contravened international law and had deprived those living there of their most basic human rights for months. "By function of this blockade, 1.5 million Palestinian men, women and children have been forcibly deprived of their most basic human rights for months," said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. "This is in direct contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law. It must end now," she said....

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48875
Caught in Bed with Evil
Gilad Atzmon, Palestine Think Tank
Crossing points into Gaza have been shut down for almost two weeks, forcing the only power plant there to stop functioning, due to the lack of fuel. Last week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ran out of food and stopped rations’ deliveries to 750,000 residents of Gaza. Though the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now immanent, Western media refrains from reporting about the emerging disaster. Apparently, there are far more interesting things to write about, much more interesting than millions of Palestinians who are being starved by the Jewish state. However the press was kind enough to report that British foreign minister David Miliband spent some time in Israel this week....

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48872
Rendered homeless, East Jerusalem's Al Kurd family now targeted in tent
Maisa Abu Ghazaleh, PNN
Director of the Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights, Ziad Hammouri told PNN today that Israeli forces have demolished 51 houses in East Jerusalem since the beginning of 2008. He said, "The delivery of demolition orders, the destruction or confiscation of houses and the construction of settlements are all being conducted frantically by the Israelis before any solution on the issue of Jerusalem can be implemented." Hammouri added, "The new realities on the ground will be imposed de facto." This year’s demolitions are focused on East Jerusalem's Silwan and Beit Hanina. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's advisor is referring to an "open battle on Jerusalem."...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48877
From Kurdistan to K Street
Inside Washington's covert foreign policy apparatus, middlemen like Shlomi Michaels are key.
Laura Rozen, Mother Jones
The routine of Washington foreign policymaking is straightforward and, well, a little boring. Presidents and secretaries of state issue pronouncements in speeches. Diplomats have discussions in ornate ceremonial rooms. That's the official version, anyhow, and even if we're well aware that reality departs from the C-Span, Foreign Affairs version of things, the rhythm, pomp, and ceremony shape our understanding of how countries relate to each other. This is a story of the other world, the one whose real power players never show up in the CNN headline crawl...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48883
Index on Past, Present and Future
Sarah Meyer, Index Research
Heimat means 'Homeland.' A boxed edition of Edgar Reitz's 1982 film, Heimat, just arrived. 6 disks (english subtitles) with an introductory booklet by David Parkinson. I would like to share Edgar Reitz's outline in his press notes on Heimat, quoted by Mr. Parkinson in "Reactions and Responses." Why? Because what seemed relevant in Germany then is now also relevant to the United States today, as the U.S. president and his retinue are getting ready to leave the White House. Hopefully there will be no more home-made disasters before this becomes an actuality...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48871
Will It Prove to be Obama's Cambodia?
Perils of Pakistan
GEORGE C. WILSON
President-elect Obama has committed himself to stepping up the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is not an overstatement to say that he will risk his whole presidency, and perhaps even unwittingly put nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists who might use them to attack the United States, if he leaps too far into neighboring Pakistan in pursuit of elusive victory. The rub, as the Vietnam and Iraq wars showed us all, is unintended consequences. Our military leaders can, and almost certainly will, make a strong case to Obama that there is no way to defeat the Taliban and their allied tribes in Afghanistan without cleaning out their sanctuaries just over the Afghan border in Pakistan...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48869
President-elect Obama and the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace
for Israeli-Palestinian peace
United States President-elect Barack Obama's election victory has revived hopes that stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations could finally lead to a two-state solution. Few new presidents have been greeted with such optimism and associated high expectations. However, the chances for progress depend on more than a new American president. There are several interrelated factors: US engagement, the availability of a viable peace agreement, Israeli and Palestinian internal politics and the broader international situation. An examination of these factors indicates that the optimism is unjustified...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48867
URGENT: Kidnapped by the Israeli Navy
FreeGaza.org
Fifteen Palestinian fishermen along with three internationals have been kidnapped in Palestinian waters by the Israeli Navy. They were fishing seven miles off the coast of Deir Al Balah, clearly in Gaza fishing waters and well within the fishing limit detailed in the Oslo Accords of 1994. The fishermen and the human right's observers were transferred from 3 separate boats to the Israeli warships. Other Palestinian fishermen reported that the 3 boats were seen being taken north by the Israeli Navy...


Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48866
Obama’s “seamless transition” to endless war
Bill Van Auken
President-elect Barack Obama appeared Sunday on the CBS program "60 Minutes" for his first televised interview since his November 4 election victory. He covered a wide range of subjects with a lack of specificity and a placid tone that suggested someone who had read through stacks of briefing books, but had few defined positions of his own and was above all anxious to offend no one. When asked what he had been "concentrating on" in the past week, however, his answer was unhesitating: "Number one, I think it’s important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack. We want to make sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible."...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48863
Israeli military invades Rafah city in southern Gaza
Rami Almeghari - IMEMC
Israeli military bulldozers, backed by armored vehicles, swept early on Tuesday morning into the eastern borders of Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that the Israeli bulldozers began razing farm lands just 50 to 100 meters depth into Palestinian areas, mainly in the Alnahda neighborhood. Witnesses added that the Israeli armored vehicles moved towards the Gaza international airport, and that they also razed farm lands in the area...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48865
Democrats Cover Up Bush Era War Crimes
George Washington's Blog
The Associated Press writes: "Two Obama advisers said there's little—if any—chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage." And when Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy was asked if Bush officials could face war crimes, he responded: "In the United States, no. These things are not going to happen." This is not entirely surprising, given that Democratic congress members Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman and John D. Rockefeller were secretly briefed on torture many, many years ago, and yet did nothing to stop those unlawful programs...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48873
Iraqi Sunnis Push for Referendum on Security Pact
Democracy Now!
In Iraq, the head of the Accordance Front, Iraq’s largest Sunni Arab bloc, said on Monday that the Sunni bloc still has reservations about a security pact that would let US troops stay in Iraq for another three years. Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni bloc, told reporters that the Sunnis wanted a referendum on the pact which has yet to be approved by parliament...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=48876


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