Land theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
A physician was called to the sit-in tent at the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in East Jerusalem on Sunday, after a Palestinian lawmaker, threatened with deportation, suffered a sudden decrease in blood pressure ... Meanwhile, a UK House of Lords delegation held a news conference at the ICRC headquarters after meeting with the lawmakers facing deportation, denouncing Israel's decision.
...this week the demonstrators demanded to enter the Simeon the Just compound that police normally cordon off to everyone except settlers. Their intention was to highlight the unfairness of not only the right of settlers to throw Palestinian families out of homes they had lived in for 60 years, but to expose the police's discriminatory practice of blocking the neighborhood off to supposedly protect the settlers. The police practice is eerily reminiscent of the Israeli Army's apartheid policies in the West Bank city of Hebron, where access to Shuhada Street is forbidden to everyone except the radical settlers who have occupied the surrounding areas...
Mahmoud Alami, a Jerusalem taxi driver, knows the city like the back of his hand. He knows the neighbourhoods, the streets. And he knows the stop lights. There is one in particular that troubles him not professionally but personally. It stands between Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighbourhood, and Pisgaat Zeev, a Jewish settlement. "It stays green for [settlers] for five minutes. But to go in and out of Beit Hanina? Only two or three cars can pass," Alami says. "It's too short. It causes a lot of traffic jams." Al Jazeera found that stoplights that lead to Jewish settlements and neighbourhoods stay green for an average of a minute and a half. In Palestinian areas, it's 20 seconds.
Part 1: The ethnic cleansing of Silwan 4 July 2010 (the audio quality is bad at the beginning, gets better later)
Israel Police on Sunday arrested a resident of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a Palestinian teenager whose body was found near Ramallah two months ago. The 37-year-old suspect was released without restrictions a few hours after he was detained. Police are currently verifying his version of the story.
An 85-year-old Palestinian farmer from the Al-Khadr village near Bethlehem was struck down by an Israeli settler in his car on Sunday morning, medics said. Mahmoud Judah Sbeih was heading to tend to his land near the illegal Israel settlement of Efrat on his donkey on the bypass road near Al-Khadr when the car hit him, Palestinian Red Crescent Society medics told Ma'an.
please watch the video below that Adam posted here before of a Palestinian woman who lives in central Hebron and whose door has been welded shut by rightwing Zionists with the support of the Israeli gov't. It is shocking to watch her hunkering down ladders to leave her house, it is happening right here and now without a peep from the U.S. gov't, and yes she reminds me of my grandmother, or images of Jews in central Europe.
Settlers take anger over freeze out on Druze soldiers. Israel Defense Forces elements say settlers have recently been verbally assaulting and humiliating junior officers and soldiers from the Druze community who are enforcing the construction moratorium in the West Bank. "We also heard things like, 'They should be sent back in trains'. It was shameful," one military source said. After the train remark, the source said, "I told that person that a Jew would never make a comment using a Holocaust reference..."
Internal security minister appeals to police commissioner following military complaints reported by Ynet. Yesha Council condemns acts, settlers call accusations 'a blood libel'
Incursions
...According to locals, the soldiers say they believe a resident of Kafr Thulth, near Qalqiliya, is hiding the alleged hyena. The residents have emphatically denied the allegations. Nevertheless, military liaison officials threatened to raid the village if the hyena is not returned, villagers said, expressing astonishment at the escalation and the prospect of the army taking over the town to look for a wild animal.
Hebron, July 11, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli patrols raided before dawn today several suburbs and neighborhoods within the city of Hebron in the West Bank without any reported arrests ... The same sources added that militant Israeli patrols roamed the neighborhoods and suburban main streets and pulled out in late hours of the morning.
Activism / Solidarity / Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions
Six Palestinians sustained bruises Sunday afternoon as Israeli forces dispersed an anti-wall rally near Bethlehem ... Confrontations erupted as demonstrators threw stones and empty bottles at the soldiers, who fired tear-gas canisters and stun grenades hitting three Palestinians. Soldiers assaulted demonstrators with clubs and rifle butts in face-to-face clashes, activist leader Imad Abu Nassar said.
Al-Ma`sara: tearing down the wall; Bil`in: the scales of justice; An Nabi Saleh: the struggle continues; Ni`lin: army repression fails to deter protest
...The demonstrators condemned the intention of the Jerusalem Municipality to demolish houses in Silwan in order to build a biblical garden which will be linked to the settlement City of David tourist site in the village. The demonstrators instead sarcastically demanded that Barakat’s house should be demolished and a biblical park built upon it.
From Friday to Sunday, ten locations of persistent joint struggles and demonstrations in Palestinian villages and cities. The Israeli radical left that was mainly involved with "humanistic" help to Palestinians adopt more and more the stile of the anarchists against the wall direct actions and nonviolent confrontations with the Israeli state forces - both in the occupied west bank and within Israel.
On the second day of their fact-finding mission to Jerusalem and the Occupied West Bank the British parliamentary delegation met with the Change and Reform bloc (Hamas) legislators in their Ramallah headquarters. Lord Nazir Ahmad, Lord Raymond Hylton and Baroness Jenny Tonge held lengthy discussions with the Speaker of the Palestinian parliament Dr Aziz Dweik, Dr Mahmoud Al Ramahi, Dr Umar Abdur Razzaq and the former Minister of Finance, Abdur Rahman Zaydan. The visiting delegation was also taken on a tour of Hebron city to witness first-hand the harsh living conditions imposed on Palestinian residents by the Israeli Occupation and its settler population.
That was the heading on the leaflet distributed at the Iper Coop in Rome, Italy on July 9, 2010, marking the fifth anniversary of the launch campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. While the systematic demolition of Palestinian homes by Israel continues, the Italian hypermarket instead sells colorful and cheerful plastic toy houses, in addition to children’s chairs, tables and slides, produced by the Israeli company Keter and marketed in Italy by Giochi Preziosi and Grand Soleil.
A children’s educational movement has voted to boycott Israel at their annual gathering in Sussex [England]. The Morning Star reported that the Woodcraft Folk, which runs weekly sessions for children including singing, dancing, craft and eco-projects, voted for the boycott at their conference in Ashdown Forest, west Sussex.
Occupied Palestine, 9 July 2010 – On the fifth anniversary of the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights,[1] the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) warmly salutes all our local and international partners and supporters, individuals and organizations, who have contributed to the establishment and spectacular growth of what is now a truly global movement for accountability and upholding international law. We call upon all people of conscience to respond to continued Israeli impunity by joining the movement and taking visible and effective BDS actions... [list of successes follows]
(video interview) Boycott from Within is a group of Israeli citizens that supports the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). The AIC sat down with Israeli activist Ofer Neiman to discuss the Boycott from Within movement, its goals, and what impact he thinks it will have on ending the Israeli occupation.
SEPANG, July 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) humanitarian aid mission to Gaza left Saturday night bringing hope to some 4,000 Palestine children. Mission leader Datuk Dr Bahari Mansor said the humanitarian aid mission left with RM1.7 million donated by Malaysians. He said the aid include artificial limbs, medicine, equipments for operation theatre and school equipments.
Egypt, July 11, (Pal Telegraph) The Union of Arab Volunteer youth and the Environment is organizing their first environmental volunteering convoy for the Gaza Strip under the auspices of League participation of all environmental bodies and civil research and the private sector and governmental sectors in Arab countries. The deadline of the convoy would be during the vacation of Eid Al Fitr where they will start moving to enter Gaza.
Siege (Gaza and West Bank) / Restrictions on movement / Humanitarian issues
A syndicate of Palestinian journalists denounced on Saturday the Gaza government’s decision to ban journalist Tamim Mu’mar from traveling via the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border. Mu’mar, of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was trying to cross the border to continue his Masters degree, a statement by the syndicate said.
Israel's separation barrier makes it difficult for Palestinians living in the West Bank to obtain proper health care, according to a new report from the United Nations. The report, prepared by the Office of the Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, found that thousands of Palestinians have limited access to East Jerusalem hospitals because of the barrier. Ambulances are routinely delayed at checkpoints, and Palestinian vehicles are not allowed to pass through barrier checkpoints, forcing sick or elderly patients to walk.
Liaison official Raed Fattouh said the Kerem Shalom crossing, in southern Gaza, would be temporarily opened for the transfer of between 130 to 140 truckloads of aid and commercial goods. Limited quantities of domestic-use gas and industrial diesel are also expected to be pumped through the same crossing, he added.
New aid ships
Executive director of charity sending aid to Strip denies reports vessel diverting to Egypt, says organization doesn't 'want to cause provocations.' Chairman of Popular Committee Against Siege: Crew will not surrender to Zionist threats ... says the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea is currently near the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.
Barak calls Libyan ship's voyage 'unnecessary provocation'; suggests it dock in Ashdod or 'sail directly to Egypt.' Activist: Our job is to help people in need
Al-Jazeera reporter accompanying Libyan aid vessel says it is headed for Hamas-ruled territory, but shipping company official says, 'If they don't let us reach Gaza we will head to El Arish harbor in Egypt'
SINAI, Egypt, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A senior official said Saturday that Egyptian authorities have not yet received any request for access of a Libyan Gaza-bound aid ship to the port of el-Arish in northern Sinai ... Meanwhile, the Egyptian official said el-Arish port is ready to receive any aid ship on the condition of getting necessary approvals prior and meeting the requirements of docking at the port.
DUBAI // Huwaida Arraf, a key member of the Free Gaza Movement, said the group is raising money and organising for another and hopefully bigger flotilla that would cross the Mediterranean to Gaza. “When we’re ready to announce, people will know about it,” she said. “But for sure it is going to be an escalation. I would love to see a boat from the UAE next time. We really want to see the Gulf, and I really would like to see the Emirates, get more involved.”
War crimes / Flotilla fallout
10 July - As we get ready to challenge Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza once more, we would ask you to remember the nine men murdered in cold blood by Israeli commandos, who came down from helicopters firing live ammunition. The official autopsy reports will be released in the next couple of weeks, but preliminary reports say the nine men were shot over 31 times, most through the face and the top of the head. If you have not seen their photos or read who they are, we have now uploaded their information as well as how they were killed onto our FLICKR site. Please take a moment to pay your respects and maybe, add a comment. http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza/?saved=1
Day before IDF committee files report on flotilla raid, former officers agree Navy to blame for failed operation. 'Not under any circumstance do you drop soldiers on to a crowded deck,' former senior Navy officer says
In meeting with Ban Ki-moon, PM Netanyahu fails to win promise to prevent General Assembly session on Israeli attack on Gaza-bound convoy.
Politics / Diplomacy
Under the proposed deal, Clinton would visit Gaza and meet with senior Hamas leaders in a bid to finalize a prisoner swap to exchange Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners ... Hamas officials have recently said the movement is prepared to re-enter indirect talks with Israel over finalizing a prisoner swap, shortly after reports surfaced that Egypt will resume its role as mediator in the negotiations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to embark on a series of meetings with the forum of seven senior ministers in an effort to agree on a package of confidence-building measures aimed at convincing Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to agree to direct negotiations with Israel. Among the measures being considered, following U.S. and Palestinian requests, will be an end to IDF operations in a number of Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
(AP) The Palestinian president, who is under U.S. pressure to resume direct talks with Israel, said that doing so under current circumstances would be pointless. The remarks by Mahmoud Abbas underline his determination not to return to the table unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commits to an internationally mandated settlement freeze and agrees to pick up talks where they left off under the Israeli leader’s predecessor in Dec. 2008.
Prime Minister tells cabinet that he will head to Egypt on Tuesday to meet with Mubarak on move toward direct talks with Palestinians.
Irish government retaliates over use of forged Irish passports by alleged Mossad spies in Dubai assassination -- Ireland is seeking to stop a European Union initiative that would enable Israel to receive sensitive information about European citizens, due to concerns about the use that Israel would make of this information, the Irish minister for justice said over the weekend.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to appoint the former ambassador to Damascus, Jean-Claude Cousseran, as a mediator in charge of handling any future negotiations between Israel and Syria, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat reported Sunday.
Other news
As the 60 day period offered by Hamas for collaborators with Israel to give themselves up without consequences, Hamas officials announced that a number of collaborators had given themselves up, and are being “dealt with in closed circles so as not to harm their reputations”.
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have reported that 100,000 passport applications submitted to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have yet to be processed – although it is unclear whether the delay lies with the Fateh-run Palestinian Authority or with the Israeli officials who require approval of each passport issued to Palestinians.
The Palestinian Bar Association (PBA) together with EUPOL COPPS have finished the implementation of the first specialization course for Palestinian criminal defence lawyers in forensics that commenced last 21 June and ended today, 10 July, with a graduation ceremony at the Ramallah PBA premises.
Palestinians and activists choreographed a video of themselves in response, showing two kaffiyeh-clad men searched, handcuffed and arrested as Lady Gaga's Poker Face plays in the background.
Gazan tells Ynet, 'Price we are demanding for kidnapped soldier well-known.' Top Hamas figure says movement managed to hold Shalit for years despite Israeli attempts to retrieve him
The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs on Sunday approved the "Bishara law", named after former Knesset Member Azmi Bishara (Balad), who was questioned on suspicion of aiding Hezbollah but fled the country and continued to receive his pension from the Knesset.
An academic backlash has erupted in Israel over proposed new laws, backed by the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, to criminalise a handful of Israeli professors who openly support a campaign against the continuing occupation of the West Bank.
265 of Israel’s best soldiers may have been smart enough to serve at a top-secret base, but they weren’t smart enough to keep it off of Facebook. What did they do? They created a private Facebook group for their top-secret military base… and then started approving strangers, including a newspaper reporter, for membership:
Settlers in Nokdim, home to Russian-born FM, fear new residents not classified as Jewish by halakhic law could corrupt local morals.
A new type of religious certification has been launched in Sderot: A modesty standard. Businesses that commit to ensure modest dress and modest advertisements are to be granted a "modesty certification" after religious inspectors from the Ma'amakim organization examine the business's premises and certify that it upholds the standard during periodic visits.
MK Gafni joins hundreds of ultra-Orthodox in protest against construction at site where Jewish graves located ... During Thursday's demonstration, haredi protestors chanted "Death to Zionists" and "Seculars are a miserable and heinous people". They also called police "Hitler's officers".
A new bill could force ultra-Orthodox schools that enjoy government funding to teach core subjects such as math, sciences, English, civics and others. The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely and Kadima MK Meir Sheetrit, suggests that the government refrain from funding institutions that fail to comply with the core curriculum.
Washington – A new campaign launched by two Israeli designers has created a new image for the West Bank city of Hebron, visually uniting both the city’s Islamic past and its corporate potentials. A report on the project appeared on the FastCoDesign blog Tuesday ... The branding campaign, which adorns everything from mugs to t-shirts, aims to give a modern brand to the city, taking its Arab name for the tagline: “The new Al-Khaleil.”
Opinion / Analysis / Human interest
"Our position is clear: When Israel returns the entire Golan Heights, of course we will sign a peace agreement with it .... What's the point of peace if the embassy is surrounded by security, if there is no trade and tourism between the two countries? That's not peace. That's a permanent cease-fire agreement. This is what I say to whoever comes to us to talk about the Syrian track: We are interested in a comprehensive peace, i.e., normal relations." Who said this to whom? Syrian President Bashar Assad to the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir last week. These astounding things were said to Arab, not Western ears, and they went virtually unnoticed here ... This leads to only one conclusion: Israel does not want peace with Syria. Period. It prefers the Golan over peace with one of its biggest and most dangerous enemies.
JL: The single most important reason why Israel and Syria have not been able to achieve peace is that Syria is too weak. Israel does not believe it will achieve sufficient security, economic, or diplomatic gains by giving back the Golan. Syria is not a major threat to Israel even with a beefed up Hizbullah and new friend in Turkey. So long as Washington remains resolutely on Israel’s side, preserving Israel’s military edge, sanctioning Syria, and thwarting diplomatic efforts to hinder Israel’s expansion into neighbors’ land, Jerusalem has little incentive to withdraw from the Golan. Only very heavy pressure will convince Israelis to make the difficult decision to repatriate its 20,000 settlers and allow the 100,000 inhabitants of the Golan who were expelled in 1967 to return to their land and homes.
NN: Two years is a very long time so I would say we are at the higher edge of probability of another war in that time frame (I personally think it will be hard for Israel to go to war before the Iron Dome is fully operational by the end of this year, thanks to the Obama emergency appropriation of $200 million last month). The only thing I see stopping this is some bold moves by the Obama administration in the next year because absent that, the other actors seem far less able and/or willing to take the necessary risks to prevent conflict. What could spark it off? Its not worth speculating on specifics simply because there are, right now, so many different ways another conflict could be sparked off.
Hamas is leveling for influence, and Egypt is getting fed up. Amid the broader regional issues, this shaky relationship has a trajectory of its own.
This seems to be one of the rare instances where the open collusion/consultation between AIPAC and the Israeli government is so clearly stated. From Ynet:
The argument the Israeli prime minister is presenting in Washington is not the only one going -- Three brigadiers general in the reserves met secretly last week with a retired American general in Rome. This was at the Defense College of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Americans warned that should this became known, they would deny it and refrain from additional such meetings. A similar warning accompanied the strategic talks held in Israel at the end of June by teams headed by U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Michele Flournoy and Udi Shani, Defense Ministry director general.
After his remarkable speech in Cairo, I believed that this President understood the need to address the price paid by decades of neglecting Arab opinion ... Listening to President Obama's press conference following his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, gave me pause and a bad case of whiplash. I had fair warning that this visit would be different than the last, reportedly testy, encounter between these two leaders. And so I should have been prepared for the fact that tough love would be replaced by just plain love. I just wasn't prepared for how much love. And so I confess that I found the apparent public pass Netanyahu received on settlements, the U.S. threat to boycott a summit on Middle East non-proliferation, and all the "unwaverings" and "unbreakables" to be a bit too much to ingest. In this, I was not alone.
It’s been a long time since American Jewry has been as shaken as it was by Peter Beinart’s article in the New York Review last month -- More than anything else, Peter Beinart’s message to Israelis is that something has happened to Americans, and Israelis don’t seem to get it. Something has happened to Americans in general and to American Jews in particular. And if Israel goes on not understanding what is going on in the United States, the outcome will be grave.
Budrus is a film that challenges everyone’s preconceptions -- Jew, Arab, other -- and aims to pry open space in reluctant hearts. Five years ago, the village of Budrus successfully averted the construction of the security barrier from cutting a majority of their farming livelihood and through their cemetery. The film follows Ayed Morrar, Fatah activist turned community organizer, as he unites with local Hamas leadership, the town’s women led by his daughter, alongside Israeli activists. It heals doubts across multiple themes: the divide between Israelis and Palestinians, the rivalry between Fatah and Hamas, the place of women in Palestinian society, and the use of violence. A more inspiring combination couldn’t possibly be more remarkable to see, nor to witness its raccous support by the people of Ramallah.
JOHANNESBURG // Deep in Alexandra Township, amid the dust and dirt that swirls around the ramshackle shanty homes, where shaven-headed children kick stones in the street, lies a makeshift stadium that Fifa built to promote social development and bring an end to discrimination ... The Peace Team, eight young Palestinians and Israelis, between them speak Hebrew, Arabic and a little English. Their common language, however, is football.
Iraq
Excerpt: At least five Iraqis were killed and 10 were wounded in light violence. Turkish warplanes were to blame for injuries to one Iraqi. Meanwhile, U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff, Gen. George Casey, suggested that the United States could be involved in Iraq and Afghanistan for another decade.
Today July 6th of 2010 is the day that Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan Entesar Ariabi released their epidemiological study on the health problems the people of Fallujah are suffering from. The full study can be downloaded here, free of charge ... As the full study mentions, when we only look at 2009, and the first two months of 2010, we find that the infant mortality rate now is not at a level of 80 children out of 1000 that die within a year, but at a horrific rate of 136 per 1,000 births.
One of Saddam Hussein's greatest acts of ecological destruction – the draining of the Mesopotamian marshes – has been reversed as birds and rivers return to the region ... About half the original marshland has been restored - even more had been reinstated, but there was a setback last year because of a drought.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – An Iraqi court ordered the arrest of 39 members of an exiled Iranian opposition group, accusing them of crimes against humanity in helping Saddam Hussein to crush a revolt almost two decades ago, a judge said Sunday. The 39 are members of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran(PMOI), a guerrilla movement opposed to the Iranian government.
BAGHDAD – Teams of veterinarians and police shooters have killed some 58,000 stray dogs in and around the Iraqi capital over the past three months as part of a campaign to curb an increasing number of strays blamed for attacks on residents.
Lebanon
...For more than 50 years, he worked at 'modernizing' the Shari`a and rendering it accessible to modern day youth, addressing their concerns, expectations and fears in a fast-changing world. He was truly the Mufti of the youth and of women, their guide who never oppressed their dreams and always simplified rulings. He was available for questions regarding the most taboo of social and political subjects. He was also the enemy of stalemate and a rejecter of tradition in its inflexible sense. He insisted on subjecting all ideas to discussions, debates and reassessments and was much more interested in human beings than doctrines.Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah had a widespread reputation for piety and scholarship through his teaching and the more than 40 books and treatises he wrote. He established religious schools and foundations, clinics and libraries as part of the charitable Al Marrarat Foundation.
A Shia cleric dies in Lebanon and a CNN journalist gets fired for her tweet praising him while a British ambassador is made to apologise for eulogising him on her blog. It could be yet another story about the pitfalls of new media but it is really about the complexity of Middle Eastern politics, the passion it stirs and the nuances that get lost in the debate.
(AP) Militant group responds to Israeli release of maps and aerial photographs of what it described as a network of Hezbollah weapons depots and command centers in south Lebanon.
BEIRUT (AFP) – Four years after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN forces keeping them apart in southern Lebanon are under mounting strain amid fears of a fresh conflict and hostility from villagers. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is in a delicate position "between two armed parties preparing for a possible new conflict," Paul Salem, who heads the Beirut-based CarnegieMiddle East Centre, told AFP.
Other Mideast
Yemen has arrested eight suspected al-Qaeda fighters, including a Saudi fugitive, accused of plotting attacks on security installations in Yemen, the defence ministry has said.
The Group organizers dressed in black included members and activists from the Coordinating Committee for Youth National Assembly for change, the youth movement for justice and freedom, and the April 6 movement. The protest called for the elimination of the 'emergency law' which has been imposed for over 30 years and claimed many victims the latest being Khaled Saeed. A security cordon was set up encircling the protestors as forces arrested 20.
Lawyers Without Shackles seeks to delete salacious passages from contemporary literature and cherished classics. Its campaign against 'The Arabian Nights' is part of a growing religious conservatism ... Mohamed Salmawy, president of the Egyptian Writers Union, counters that it is cultural sacrilege to fiddle with an epic that was generations in the making ... "The Islamist movement's real target is to get back at intellectuals," Salmawy said.
AL-QAEDA, Yemen (AFP) – Surrounded by mountains and weighed down by poverty, a Yemeni town bears the dubious honour of carrying the same name as Al-Qaeda. The residents of Al-Qaeda, 220 kilometres (135 miles) northwest of the capital Sanaa, say the name has brought shame on the town. Al-Qaeda (Arabic for 'the base') was once a commercial hub where custom duties on trade between north and south Yemen were collected decades ago, according to older residents.
U.S. news
Last month, the Supreme Court exposed Americans to jail sentences of up to 15 years just for giving advice to groups the U.S. government considers untouchable ... In this article I’ll demonstrate just how easy it is to violate the Patriot Act by giving some peaceful advice to a few of the 45 groups the State Department has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
...defenders of the First Amendment would point to the Court's ruling two weeks ago in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project. The Humanitarian Law Project case involved peace and human rights activists who sought an injunction that would allow them to advise and train militant groups to use lawful means to achieve political ends ... The Court found that the government's compelling interest in preventing terrorism outweighed the plaintiffs' free speech rights.
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www.TheHeadlines.org
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