Shadi Fadda brings us today's headlines relating to Palestine and other news from around the internet.Land and Property Theft and Destruction
Halaiqa: Netanyahu’s decision to annex the Ibrahimi Mosque a war declaration
MP Samira Al-Halaiqa warned that Netanyahu’s decision to annex the Ibrahimi Mosque and Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque to the list of Jewish religious sites is a declaration of war on Muslims.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Riots over Israeli heritage sites in the West Bank
Israeli soldiers have clashed with protesters in the West Bank town of Hebron after two disputed shrines were listed as Israeli heritage sites.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Israel Releases New Plans to Build 550 Settler Homes in Jerusalem
Israeli settlers organization announced, Monday, a plan by the Israeli controlled Jerusalem Municipality to construct 550 new settlers homes in Jerusalem’s east city.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Confronting Settlement Expansion in East Jerusalem
"Be’eri, a former officer in an Israel army unit which specialized in impersonating Arabs, came to Wadi Hilwa in 1986 and, posing as a tour guide, befriended one of the residents, Musa ‘Abbasi. ‘Abbasi unwittingly helped Be’eri collect information on the legal status of houses in the village and which owners were living abroad. Be’eri used this information to petition the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property to have these buildings declared “absentee property.” In October 1991 Be’eri took possession of ‘Abbasi’s house."
http://www.merip.org/mero/
West Bank village under threat
An Israeli court will soon decide on the demolition order of Khan Al Ahmar, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank - so that Israeli homes can be built in its place. Regavim, A right wing Israeli settler group, is lobbying for the move, which would make about about 100 families homeless. Israeli authorities have already given orders to knock down a school and many shacks in the village. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Khan Al Ahmar, one of the many Palestinian communities under threat. [February 22, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Otherwise occupied / As far away as the moon, Amira Hass
Blocked roads and asphalt that has been ripped open like a zipper can be seen everywhere in Ramallah these days. And whether or not the municipality bothers posting explanatory signs, people know what is being done - a new road, sewage pipes, a sidewalk. But seven or ten kilometers away, at the Qalandiyah and Jaba checkpoints, which together form the southern border of the Ramallah enclave, it is not clear what is happening. This area, which is completely under Israeli control, is also the scene of intensive construction. But nothing is known about this work other than rumors about Israel's intentions.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israel prevents farmers from tilling land in Qalqilia
February 22, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces prevented Palestinian farmers on Monday morning from reaching their fields in Qalqilia, in the northwest of the West Bank., Abdul Rahman Abu Saleem, a Palestinian farmer, said that he was heading to his tractor with another farmer to cultivate the land they own near the Jewish settlement of Qadumim, but 2 Israeli military jeeps stopped them and prevented them from reaching their land.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
In pictures: Life in the shadow of Israeli settlements
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Bil’in tears down the Wall as protests spread across the West Bank
February 21st, 2010-- Protests were held across the West Bank on Friday, with the biggest taking place in Bil’in where more than 1,000 demonstrators marked 5 years of resistance in the village by tearing down the Wall. Weekly anti-Wall protests were also held in al-Ma’sara and Ni’lin, where soldiers attacked demonstrations with tear gas and rubber bullets. Protests also continued in Nabi Saleh, where villagers have rallied against the Halamish settlement.
http://stopthewall.org/
Two Months Since My Husbands Arrest
It has been two months since my husband, Abdullah Abu Rahmah was arrested. We miss him more every day. This letter from was conveyed from his prison cell by his lawyers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Israeli Apartheid Week - Beirut
http://beirut.apartheidweek.
Al Haq vs The UK Secretary of State – BE THERE!
On the 25th February 2010, at the Court of Appeal, Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, London, a hearing is going to take place of Al Haq vs The Secretary of state for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs. The Al Haq case is lead by Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), a UK based lawyer specialising in international and national issues concerning environmental and human rights law.
Al Haq is an independent Palestinian human rights organisation founded in 1979. It monitors and documents human rights violations by all parties in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, issuing reports on it's findings and producing detailed legal studies. The Al Haq case consists of a claim for judicial review before the high court of England & Wales challenging the government of the UK over its failure to fulfil its obligations under international law with respect to Israel's activities in the Occupied Palestinian territories.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Israel’s new ‘attack on freedom of speech’, Jonathan Cook
NAZARETH // The Israeli government and its right-wing supporters have been waging a “McCarthyite” campaign against human-rights groups by blaming them for the barrage of international criticism that followed Israel’s attack on Gaza a year ago, critics say.
In a sign of the growing backlash against the human-rights community, the cabinet backed a bill last week that, if passed, will jail senior officials from the country’s peace-related organisations should they fail to meet tough new registration conditions. The measure is a response to claims by right-wing lobbyists that Israel’s human-rights advocates supplied much of the damaging evidence of war crimes cited by Judge Richard Goldstone in his UN-commissioned report into Israel’s Operation Cast Lead.
http://www.jkcook.net/
No Tutu Is Big Enough To Cover Israel's War Crimes
Last week, American and Israeli human rights activists interrupted a performance by the Israel Ballet at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, Vermont, holding banners which read "Sponsored by Apartheid Israel" and "No tutu is big enough to cover War Crimes".
http://www.palestinemonitor.
Violence
2 African migrants killed on Egypt border
An Egyptian security official says border guards have shot and killed two African migrants and injured three others trying to cross the border into Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Witnesses: Israel navy fires on Gaza fishermen
Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli naval forces opened fire at fishermen off the coast of Gaza on Monday, locals said, forcing them to return to shore. No injuries were reported, but the purported witnesses said the fire has become an almost daily occurrence. An Israeli military spokeswoman said there was no such activity in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Settlers and Soldiers Attack Protesters in Hebron
One Palestinian youth sustained moderate wounds in Hebron City, southern West Bank, as scores suffered tear gas inhalation during clashes that broke between local residents and Israeli soldiers.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Troops attack Sunday Mass with tear gas in Beit Sahour
Israeli troops fired tear gas and concussion grenades on Sunday midday at a Mass held by residents of Beit Sahour, a city in the southern West Bank. Residents from Beit Sahour, along with international supporters, gathered at the evacuated Israeli military base of Ush Ghrab east of the city. People held banners demanding the halt of the recently renewed Israeli construction at the site, and called for the end of settlement activity around their city.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Cars & Drivers Near Nablus
Right-wing Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars near Nablus, breaking several windshields and wounding a Palestinian doctor on Sunday.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
One child injured, another suffocates during Israeli attacks in Al-Khalil
One Palestinian child was injured and another suffered tear gas suffocation during different attacks by Israeli settlers and troops on Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil city on Saturday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Jews force way into Jericho to pray at old synagogue: army (AFP)
AFP - A group of Jewish faithful forced their way past an army checkpoint and into the West Bank town of Jericho on Sunday to pray at an ancient synagogue and were later arrested, the army and an AFP correspondent said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Detainees
Hamas: PA arrested 10 supporters across West Bank
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Hamas accused Palestinian Authority Preventative Security Services of detaining ten of the movement's affiliates across the West Bank on Monday. The Islamist movement said that those detained were arrested in Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Salfit, a statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
IOF troops detain 5 Palestinians, shell resistance fighters
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up five Palestinian citizens in West Bank districts at dawn Monday at the pretext they were "wanted", a Hebrew daily said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
While the world talks about Shalit, thousands of Palestinians remain in prison
Gaza, February 19, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Pam Bailey) - "Gilad Shalit" is virtually a household name for anyone who follows Middle Eastern politics even somewhat cursorily. Shalit is an Israeli soldier of French nationality who was captured by members of the Palestinian Resistance Committees (various political factions, all resisting the Israeli occupation) on June 25, 2006, while he was serving in a combat mission near the border with the Gaza Strip.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Humanitarian Issues/Siege
Turkey vows to launch Berlin airlift
20 ships headed to Gaza in 2 months, from Turkey, bearing cargo blocked by the blockade… If and when Turkey does it the Israelis will have a serious problem on their hands because this will attract the kind of international attention that those from the US didn’t have. But the Free Gaza Movement paved the way.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
A Reading into the Conditions of Arab Women in Israel
Since the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948, Israel has exercised racist policies against minorities living within its borders. This naturally contravenes the democratic principles it claims to pursue and uphold as a way of life. Nevertheless, it continues to consider itself the only democratic state in the Middle East. This self-portrait is wholly inaccurate, particularly given the detailed evidence of its somewhat characteristic discriminatory treatment of entire ethnic groups within its population. The Arab minority forms one such group in Israel.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.
Israel accused of "tax theft"
Israel is being accused of effectively stealing more than $2.5bn in taxes from Palestinian workers. A recent report by an Israeli NGO says money was deducted from the salaries of Palestinians who were working in Israel. The tax funds were transferred to the government to provide social services and benefits to the Israeli people. But many Palestinians had to pay without being qualified to receive any of the benefits, prompting the NGO to accuse the government of "theft". Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from occupied Jerusalem. [February 21, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Witness - Mother Courage/Encounter Point
A fresh perspective from those who know best: mothers. These Israeli women risk their lives monitoring life at the checkpoints in the West Bank. We see them learn to get to grips with their core beliefs, true motivations and fears, in a bold insight into the troubled Middle East.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Zionist killers/thieves
"There is also the issue of rights: When they say on the conference site that "Indigenous landrace (Baladi) foodcrops have been selected by generations of traditional farmers ..." one must realize that we are talking here about Palestinian farmers, as Israel is less than 60 years old, and the vast majority of its inhabitants came from outside Israel. This genetic material is the property of the Palestinian farmers, who have been forcibly evicted from their lands, turned into refugees, oppressed, cornered into a tiny apartheid zone, who are prevented from harvesting their crops by settlers, and who now have to share their indigenous knowledge "as equal partners" with the perpetrators."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
The lives of others
Ilana Hammerman - Haaretz - "They come from Yatta, Sussia, Hebron, Halhul, Bani Na`im, Tekoa, Husan, Batir. Those from Yatta set out at 2 A.M. and arrived here at 3:30, to get a place at the head of the line. The Hebronites left home at 3 A.M. Those from Husan and Batir, which are closer, started out at 3:30. More and more taxis and panel vans pull up and unload dozens of people into the dark of the night. By 5 A.M. around 2,000 to 2,500 people have already gathered here"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
War Criminals
Barak to visit U.S. in bid to nix Goldstone Gaza report
Defense Minister Ehud Barak will travel Tuesday to the United States for meetings with high-ranking U.S. and UN officials.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Arab Collaborators
Breaking the blockade / Security ties between Israel, PA keep West Bank tempers in check
Contrary to the accounts of right-wing activists who forcibly entered Jericho yesterday, it is not particularly difficult for Jews to pray at the ancient Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue, the final destination of the group that entered Palestinian-controlled city. The synagogue was the target of an arson attack nine and a half years ago, at the beginning of the second intifada, but has since been restored by the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Political Developments/Diplomacy
France considers recognizing Palestinian state before talks
FM Kouchner says 'tempted' by idea of international recognition of Palestinian state before borders negotiated; PM Fillon says proposal aimed at 'accelerating peace process'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel rejects recognition of Palestinian state (AFP)
AFP - Israel on Sunday rejected the idea of foreign countries recognising a Palestinian state without a negotiated peace agreement, after France's foreign minister hinted at such a scenario.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Israel's obstinacy is holding back peace, PA official says
Member of Fatah's Central Committee Nabil Sha'ath applauded a reported EU initiative to declare a Palestinian state within two years, saying the plan was a result of Israel's stubbornness and it continuing construction in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported on Sunday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Gaza cabinet chief: Hamas ready for reconciliation
Gaza – Ma'an – Mohammad Awad, secretary-general of the de facto government's cabinet in Gaza, said on Sunday that Hamas is undertaking great efforts to reach a unity agreement. "We have delivered many clear speeches and messages to many states noting our support for conciliation, because we are convinced that division is affecting the hopes and future of the Palestinian people and threatening their existence," he told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Ami Kaufman: Everyone (Except Obama) Knows Netanyahu is Weak
The U.S. administration has played it all wrong with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. After one year with both Netanyahu and Obama in office, the only "success" America has chalked up is a "freeze" on settlement building in the West Bank which is actually only a temporary freeze, and isn't really enforced to begin with.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Extra-Judicial Assassination
Dubai assassination squad carried diplomatic passports
Police in Dubai said that some of the assassins involved in last month’s killing of a Hamas commander had entered the emirate carrying diplomatic passports.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Killed Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh betrayed by associate, says Dubai police chief
Two more fraudulent Irish passports linked to Palestinian's killing, officials say. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas official assassinated in Dubai, was betrayed by a close associate, the emirate's police chief claimed as it emerged today that the Palestinian's murderers used more fake Irish passports. Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim described whoever leaked details of Mahbouh's arrival to his assassins as "the real killer", Abu Dhabi's al-Khalij newspaper reported. Tamim said last week he was 99% certain Israel's Mossad secret service was responsible.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Resheq: Hamas wants to participate in Dubai investigation
Izzat Al-Resheq said that his Movement is still trying to urge Dubai authorities to involve it in the investigation conducted on the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Dubai police: Soon we’ll have proof against Mossad
Dubai police officials claimed on Saturday they expected to soon announce they have firm evidence that the Mossad was involved in the killing last month of Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Records of credit card payments and cellphone calls made by members of the 11-person hit squad that entered Dubai on European passports would provide the details needed to tie the assassination of Mabhouh to the Mossad, the police said.
http://www.jpost.com/
Israel sees no crisis with Europe over Hamas man's murder (AFP)
AFP - Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon insisted on Saturday that he foresaw no crisis in Israel's relations with Europe over the use of foreign passports in the murder of a Hamas commander as it had nothing to do with it.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
The top QC, his vanished sister and the mystery of Mossad's first British hitwoman
To her neighbours in the nearby Rue Verdun, Penelope was just another eccentric foreigner living her life as best she could in the heart of war-torn west Beirut. The attractive 30-year-old Englishwoman passed her days seemingly doing nothing more than looking after stray cats and sketching from her window. Then came January 22, 1979. At 3.35pm the street was rocked by a huge explosion as a 100lb car bomb was detonated. Nine people lost their lives in the blast but it was the death of Ali Hassan Salameh, ripped apart in the back of his Chevrolet station wagon, that would send shockwaves around the world. Dubbed the Red Prince, he had been the chief planner for the terrorist organisation Black September and was behind the raid at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Frost over the World - Yuli Edelstein
Last month, someone - and fingers have been pointed at Israel's security service, Mossad - stole the identities and faked the British passports of at least six members of the Israeli diaspora who had returned to Israel only to wake up this week to find themselves accused of an assassination in Dubai. Israel's cabinet minister for the diaspora, Yuli Edelstein talks to Sir David.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
More questions about Mossad's Dubai debacle
Israeli military analyst Ronen Bergman had an interesting contribution in yesterday's WSJ about the almost-certainly-Mossad killing of Hamas operative Muhammad al-Mabhuh in Dubai, Tuesday. (HT: Phil Weiss.) It's true, Bergman seemed clearly to be condoning the concept of Israeli hit squads roaming the earth, killing whomsoever they please in a completely lawless (= extra-judicial) way.
http://justworldnews.org/
Israeli named in Dubai probe disappears: report (AFP)
AFP - An Israeli who shares the name of an alleged member of the death squad that killed a top Hamas militant in Dubai has disappeared, an Israeli newspaper reported on Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Other News
PCBS: Unemployment Rate Highest in Hebron, Khan Younis
RAMALLAH, February 21, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported on Labour Force Survey that unemployment rate registered the highest in Hebron governorate among the West Bank Governorates, while Khan Younis Governorate registered the highest among Gaza Strip governorates.
http://english.wafa.ps/?
Huh– only about half of U.S. Democrats have favorable view of Israel
New Gallup poll on Americans’ view of other countries. Canada the most popular, god only knows why. And Israel comes in 5th at 67 percent favorable rating. But when the #s are broken down, 80 percent of Republicans have a favorable view, but only 53 percent of Dems!! And the lower in age you go, the lower Israel’s favorability.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Kahanist MK supports Ayalon on J Street congressional delegation boycott: “An anti-Semitic lobby”
Throughout the scandal over Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon’s “boycott” of the J Street sponsored congressional delegation to Israel (a good wrap here,) not one Israeli official, politician or public opinion maker came out in public support of Ayalon. Except that is, MK Michael Ben Ari, a self-proclaimed Kahanist with connections to the JDL, who was recently denied entry into the US. This short interview with the settler news service Arutz 7, is worth reading in full for an understanding of some of the forces supporting Israel’s current foreign policy.
http://coteret.com/2010/02/21/
Al Jazeera documentary on Gaza wins award at Berlin film forum
Nicolas Wadimoff, producer and director of Aisheen — Still Alive in Gaza, receives the award in Berlin. DOHA: Berlinale Forum 2010 honoured Aisheen — Still Alive in Gaza produced by Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), co-produced and directed by Nicolas Wadimoff. The documentary was awarded the Forum prize of the Ecumenical Jury; in their decision, the jury members emphasised the film’s “open and unbiased view of the perseverance of a people - like a dandelion breaking through the asphalt.”
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.
God Dammit, I was Spat on by The Chosen People
Just as I thought things were finally settling down, I saw pure hatred engulf the tiny bit of holiness that I hoped was still before me. Out in the streets the young boys were now spitting on the ground towards the feet of the Muslim men. It was a hideous sight. Typically, children cannot be completely blamed for their actions or beliefs. As is often the case in hatred, these young boys received praise through jolly high fives from their teen brothers and older men for each and every act of defiance they showed. With each spit spat, another hug and high-five. I was mortified.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Scientists irate after top education official questions evolution
The Education Ministry's chief scientist sparked a furor among environmental activists and scholars Saturday with remarks questioning the reliability of evolution and global warming theory. The comments from Dr. Gavriel Avital, the latest in a series of written and oral statements casting doubts on the fundamental tenets of modern science, led several environmentalists to call for his dismissal.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/
Bronner Watch
NYT declines to talk to Al Jazeera for story on Bronner question
Al Jazeera English has a piece all about the Ethan Bronner story, questioning the Times point of view. Reporter Richard Ginzberg says AJ contacted the Times twice seeking an interview with Bronner or his editor. "We received no response." Remember that Bill Keller, Times executive editor, talked to NPR about the story; and was the only one quoted. American media are so much more reliable!
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Rebranding the ‘New York Times’
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Analysis/Opinion
Is conservative nod to Ron Paul an indication that Republicans will divide on The issue?, Philip Weiss
Note the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll giving Texas Rep Ron Paul a clear lead for the group’s presidential endorsement over Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin. And note Mike Huckabee ripping the straw poll, and the group for being libertarian. Huckabee has spent a lot of time in Israel. Ron Paul is one of the most assertive critics in the Congress of US policy in the Middle East, and has an isolationist streak. Is it possible the issue will finally be debated openly, inside the Republican Party, and maybe even tear the party’s presidential primary process apart?
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Nader/Zinn– It’s time for Palestinians to participate in power, Philip Weiss
I just heard Ralph Nader on C-Span, speaking at Howard Zinn’s memorial service in D.C. Nader said that, scarred by his own experience of dropping napalm on French civilians during WW2, Howard Zinn denounced injustice wherever he saw it, and did not pick and choose. And lest we had any doubt what Nader meant, he singled out Matthew Rothschild’s statement on the Progressive site, "Thank you, Howard Zinn, for being a Jew who dared to criticize Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians, early on." Yet another sign that the reign of being Progressive Except for Palestine is coming to an end. Later in his eulogy Nader said that he and Zinn shared the same definition of freedom, from Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power." And I reflected that Palestinians have never been trusted with power; and their grievance never goes away.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Elton John and gays in the Middle East, As`ad
AZ sent me this (I cite with his permission): Regarding that Elton John statement about gay women in ME being 'as good as dead'. While There are certain social problems for gay women, I have not heard if a single violent incident against them. In fact, Abu Dhabi TV had a talk show recently discussing women homosexuality (link below) and the guests, who had their faces covered to protect their identity, didn't face any derision or mocking or even criticism from either the crowd or the participants in the discussion. The psychologist in the show, while we may disagree with him vehemently, was categorical in his rejection of any coercive measures to 'correct the deviations' of these women, and he recommended only counseling (something akin to church-based groups recommending therapy to gay kids of religious American parents in the US south)."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Jenin Jenin
Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Leveling the Playing Field
In the last few years, both Zionism and the occupation have been criticized, if not to death, as fully as possible. America's pro-Israel loudmouths should deceive no one: most of the world has taken the criticisms to heart. Even Israel's supposed undying allies know the occupation has to end; so do a majority of Israelis.Though some of the preachier critics love to think otherwise, the US government - meaning the executive branch - has known this for some time. Its official position has always been that the occupation has to end. As for the massive aid accorded to Israel, two points should be borne in mind. First, the US gives at least as much aid, including military aid, to the Arab states and Pakistan - and sells advanced weapons to the Gulf States. Second, the aid is largely part of a pathetic attempt to bribe Israel into something like a reasonable accommodation with the Arab world.
http://www.counterpunch.com/
Israel's smiling PR drive | Seth Freedman
Israel's latest conscripts in the fight to improve the country's image have been unveiled: ordinary Israeli citizens. Armed only with a government-issued hasbara pamphlet and a winning smile, they will be sent to wage war with their detractors, in an effort to present Israel as a benign, democratic utopia whose only achilles heel is poor public relations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Iraq
Gunmen slaughter two Iraqi families (AFP)
AFP - Gunmen murdered two Iraqi families, mostly children, beheading some of the victims and killing 12 people on Monday, as a spate of brutal attacks hit the country less than two weeks before elections.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Eight hurt in Baghdad Green Zone attack: police (Reuters)
Reuters - Two mortar bombs landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic area on Monday, wounding five people, Iraqi police said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Sunday: 2 US Pilots, 10 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:34 p.m. EST, Feb. 21, 2010 At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in various attacks across Iraq. Two U.S. helicopter pilots were killed during a hard landing at a base in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, analysts wonder what the withdrawal of a key Sunni group from March elections will mean for Iraq, and whether it will re-ignite the sectarian bloodshed.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Inside Iraq - Human rights concerns in Iraq
A look at the poor human rights conditions in Iraq.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Five Iraqi policemen killed in bomb blast (Reuters)
Reuters - Five police officers were killed and one was wounded on Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded in a volatile northeastern area of Iraq that is claimed by Arabs and Kurds, police said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Wounds are healing, but the fear remains
An Iraqi reporter was injured by flying glass when a bomb went off at the Hamra hotel. Weeks later, he wonders how many others share his lingering terror and whether he'll ever be the same. Whenever I walk past a window I feel a stab of fear. Traffic scares me because I think that any one of the cars could blow up. Sudden sounds terrify me.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/
Open letter to Iraq's political leaders
Amnesty International is appealing to the Iraq's political leaders to ensure that both the election campaign and the vote on 7 March are conducted peacefully. As Iraq prepares to hold new parliamentary elections amid continuing controversy over the eligibility of many candidates, Amnesty International is appealing to the country’s political leaders to ensure that both the election campaign and the vote on 7 March are conducted peacefully and fully conform with Iraq’s obligations under international human rights law.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/
Lebanon
Sayyed Nasrallah's Speech on Martyr Leaders' Day - Full Text
http://almanar.com.lb/
Hezbollah: Resistance Prevents Enemy of Thinking of Attack
21/02/2010 "Palestine remains the central cause and the peoples are suffering because of Israeli occupation," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem declared on Sunday while receiving a delegation from the General Nassiri Conference headed by its Secretary General Salah Dsouki. Sheikh Qassem stressed during the meeting the necessity to strengthen and consolidate unity in the face of sedition, adding that our main strength resides in the fact that we are the owners of the land and the right and therefore, there's no justification to be scared from anybody in this world.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Hariri says Israel just 'looking for excuses' to launch another war on Lebanon
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Sunday that Israel's repeated threats to wage war on all of Lebanon because of Hizbullah's participation in Cabinet were just a pretext to launch an aggression against Lebanon. "Hizbullah participated in the government in 2007, 2008 and 2009 so why now [is Israel] raising the issue? Because Israel is looking for excuses for war," Hariri said in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Hezbollah warns of terrorist tourists after Dubai hit
The Lebanese resistance movement's Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem urged vigilance against the terrorists who would attempt to clear the Lebanese customs using forged European passports.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Trial of Hizbullah members in Egypt plot postponed
BEIRUT: The trial of 26 suspected Hizbullah members accused of planning attacks in Egypt was postponed until further notice on Saturday, as defense lawyers called for charges to be dropped. Defense attorney to Lebanese suspect Mohammad Mansur, Emile Rahmeh, told judges that any plans his client and two other suspects may have had were motivated by resistance to Israel.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Women more likely to vote in spite of poor representation
BEIRUT: Women in Lebanon may not seek out political leadership positions as often as men but they are potentially more likely to vote in elections, a new study has found. Results from "The Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa Project" were released on Wednesday and Thursday to non-governmental organizations and academics.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Hummus, another cause for war in the Middle East
Israelis have usurped several Lebanese and oriental products. About ten years ago, they sold 80 tonnes of water-logged cucumbers produced in Gaza greenhouses to the city of Detroit, and called them “Kahale cucumbers”. Kahale is the name of a village in Mount Lebanon which produces a special, non-irrigated sort of cucumber on mountain soil. Extreme vigilance and judicial procedures at an international level are needed to halt these illegal proceedings, which are nothing less than the plunder of a country’s cultural heritage.
http://org-observers.france24.
Egypt
Inside Story - Mohamed El Baradei for the Egyptian presidency?
Mohamed El Baradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has returned to his native Egypt saying he wants to serve the country. Could he become the next president of Egypt? Can he overcome the current political and constitutional restrictions to be elected president? And in a country where the vast majority of the population do not vote and many do not trust the ballot box, will Egyptians see El Baradei as a long-awaited for saviour?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
A death in Egyptian police custody
An Egyptian family is left looking for answers, and accountability, after a young waiter dies in prison, his body bearing the marks of beatings and torture. The odds are against them. They come every day, the dead. Some die in accidents, others from natural causes, but the body washer knew something scary had happened when the sheet was lifted off Farouk Sayed.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/
The Egyptian state, As`ad
I know that you are sleeping but have you been noticing that the Mubarak regime is falling before your eyes? I mean that. How did I think about that? Several indicators. I first watched footage of the trial of the Hizbullah cell in the Egyptian Court of the Security of the State-Emergency (that is the actual name of that Orwellian court--kid you not). And I noticed that in the session yesterday, the lawyers took over the court. (This is like me when I once clashed with a cop in court in Berkeley and the judge accused me of "taking over the court room--but that is another story). I feel that the agencies and apparatuses of government in Egypt are now acting on the assumption that the regime of Mubarak is no more. So I then went to see the Al-Ahbarm newspaper, and I felt the stooges of Mubarak are not even trying to do their job like before in defending the regime. It surprised me that the Al-Ahram had on the first page a headline that a US member of congress called for an end of the siege of Gaza. Husni, Jamal, and `Ala' Mubarak: no one will miss you. Just pack and go away. You have overstayed your welcome by decades of corrupt and oppressive rule.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Sad Day in Egypt, As'ad
It is a sad day in Egypt when Muhammad Al-Baradi`i (or Baradeh as it is pronounced in US media) is considered a hope for Egypt. This is a man who served as a puppet for the Bush administration and who was silent about Israeli nuclear weapons. Are we that desperate? This is like when the PLO men of Arafat used to celebrate the victory of the Labor Party in Israel. I was most disappointed to see Egyptian journalist, Hamdi Qandil, waiting at the airport for the arrival of Al-Baradi`i. Al-Baradi`i was a great friend of Israel in his job in Vienna.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
U.S. and other world news
Report: Bush Lawyer Said President Could Order Civilians to Be 'Massacred'
The chief author of the Bush administration's "torture memo" told Justice Department investigators that the president's war-making authority was so broad that he had the constitutional power to order a village to be "massacred," according to a report released Friday night by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
http://blog.newsweek.com/
US compensates Afghans for death, damage from war
The death of a child or adult is worth $1,500-$2,500, loss of limb and other injuries $600-$1,500, a damaged or destroyed vehicle $500-$2,500, and damage to a farmer's fields $50-$250.
http://www.philly.com/philly/
Juan Cole: Top Russian General: An American Attack on Iran would lead to US Collapse
"The consequences of such an attack will be terrible not only for the region but also for us. Iran is our neighbor and we are very carefully following this situation."
http://www.juancole.com/2010/
US Muslim group calls IRS plane attack terrorism
A major US Muslim group has decried officials' "double standard" in refusing to label Texas suicide plane crash as an act of terrorism.
http://www.
Clinton ducked my nuclear question: Saudi student
RIYADH: A Saudi student Sunday blasted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for skirting her question on Israel's nuclear arsenal during a "town hall" meeting at a Jeddah college. "I did not get a straight answer," Mariyam Alavi said in a letter published in Arab News on her question to Clinton last Tuesday. "My question was simple and direct enough," she wrote, but Clinton's response "was very unsatisfying."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Ron Paul!
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which has been going on for many years, is a bellwether of where the action is on the right side of the political spectrum – and the news from the latest gathering has both the traditional Buckley-style right and the Obama-ite liberal-left in shock. The CPAC presidential polls are a conference tradition, and the winner is often hailed as not only the up-and-coming champion of the Republican "hard" right but also a serious presidential contender. The winner of the previous three CPAC polls, Mitt Romney, was accorded such status early on in part because of his CPAC victories, but this time he was left in the dust by congressman Ron Paul.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Malcolm X: "By Any Means Necessary"
We end today’s show with the words of Malcolm X. Sunday marked the 45th anniversary of his death. He was assassinated February 21, 1965, as he spoke before a packed audience in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. He was just 39 years old. This May 19th would’ve been his 85th birthday. This is an excerpt of a speech Malcolm X gave at the Audubon Ballroom about half a year earlier. It’s called “By Any Means Necessary.”
http://www.democracynow.org/
Iran is regional superpower even without nukes
We can say a lot of things about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but we cannot deny his chivalry. "By chance" he ran into his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, during his visit to Moscow and was quick to warn him that one of the dangers behind Iran's nuclear program is "a Middle Eastern nuclear arms race, where countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will seek to acquire nuclear weapons." The threat to Greece, Netanyahu hinted, lies in the possibility that Muslim Turkey would acquire nuclear weapons.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israel demands embargo on Iran oil, even without UN okay
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Monday for an immediate embargo on Iran's energy sector, saying the United Nations Security Council should be sidestepped if it cannot agree on the move.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Fears of humanitarian crisis in Marjah
More than a week into the Nato-Afghan military offensive against the Taliban in the southern Helmand province town of Marjah, warnings of a humanitarian crisis are growing. Members of a fleeing family tell Al Jazeera they fled the fighting because they could stop neither the Taliban nor US soldiers from entering their homes. James Bays reports (22 Feb 2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
France to aid Jordan in realizing 'nuclear ambitions'
Visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Sunday his country will help Jordan realize its nuclear ambitions with the signing of an agreement Sunday to mine its uranium reserves.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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