Articles

A State of Palestine: The Case for UN Recognition and Membership
May 31, 2011
Palestine Affairs
NOVANEWS Politics   al-shabaka policy brief 27 May 2011 Victor Kattan Overview Is the strategy of seeking international recognition from and ...Read more
Saudi Arabia: Will the Saudi Women Drive on 17 June?
May 31, 2011
Saudi Arabia
NOVANEWS nb:  Manal Al-Sherif has been released about 6 hours ago!  I have chosen not to change the post below ...Read more
A. Loewenstein Online Newsletter
May 31, 2011
Middle East
NOVANEWS CNN’s Fareed Zakaria says Netanyahu likes indefinite apartheid Gaza flotilla 2 set to sail and Australians are involved Don’t ...Read more
I am IsraHell
May 30, 2011
ZIO-NAZI
NOVANEWS   The Real Identity of IsraHell I am IsraHell. I came to a land without a people for a ...Read more
Justice for Bahrain
May 30, 2011
Bahrain
NOVANEWS Bahraini comrades sent me this:  "As you may know the oppressors in Bahrain are targeting professional women arresting from ...Read more
THIS IS TRUE NAZI'S
May 30, 2011
ZIO-NAZI
NOVANEWS "Jerusalem Zio-Nazi policemen arrested a Palestinian seven-year-old child, relatives said on Sunday, claiming that the boy was battered by ...Read more
Egyptian Military summons comrade Hossam
May 30, 2011
Egypt
NOVANEWS   "Blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy and television host Reem Maged were given a summons on Monday to appear before military ...Read more
We assumed that Western powers never intervene in internal affairs of Arab countries
May 30, 2011
Libya
NOVANEWS   Oh, really? We did not know that. How surprising. We assumed that Western powers never intervene in internal ...Read more
UK acadmics' union rejects EUMC bogus definition of Anti-Semitism
May 30, 2011
Politics
NOVANEWS The congress of the Universities and Colleges Union has just voted to support motion 70, copied here from the ...Read more
Another Anti-Semitic Outburst
May 30, 2011
Politics
NOVANEWS   by Jeff Davis   These anti-Semitic outbursts on the part of celebrities are becoming an epidemic. Now a ...Read more
Remember U.S.S. Liberty and Crew this Memorial Day
May 30, 2011
USA
NOVANEWS   by Bob Johnson On June 8, 1967 the terrorist Jewish state of Israel launched attacks against the U.S.S. Liberty which killed ...Read more
Waging The Battle for Reality
May 30, 2011
USA
NOVANEWS   One of the biggest lies of 9/11 involves the all-purpose boogeyman known as al-Qaeda. A Review Essay on ...Read more

A State of Palestine: The Case for UN Recognition and Membership

NOVANEWS

Politics

 

al-shabaka policy brief
27 May 2011

Overview

Is the strategy of seeking international recognition from and membership of the United Nations (UN) this September for the State of Palestine a meaningful move or just a gimmick? What benefits would UN membership bring given that Israel may still retain de facto control over the occupied Palestinian territories? What would the impact be on the growing movement for a one-state solution? In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Victor Kattan tackles these and other questions below and finds that on balance UN membership for a State of Palestine would be a strategic asset to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, although there are risks involved.

The Strategy in Question

Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian National Authority (PA), affirmed in the New York Times on 17 May 2011 that “this September, at the United Nations General Assembly, we will request international recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 border and that our state be admitted as a full member of the United Nations.”1
Although this announcement has provoked a storm of indignation amongst certain constituencies in the United States, it will not come as a complete surprise to those who have been following developments closely. In the past six months several Latin American countries have recognized the state of Palestine, bringing the total number of countries to have done so since 1988 to over 100.2 In addition, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom have upgraded the Palestine General Delegations in their capitals to diplomatic missions and embassies—a status normally reserved for states.
From Abbas’s op-ed it would appear that there are two prongs to this strategy: international recognition of Palestine as a state, and membership of the UN.3

Recognition

Although the Palestinian strategy has not been fully articulated, it appears that the PLO hopes to use the opening plenary of the UN General Assembly in September as a forum to call upon other states to recognize it. In other words it will seek collective recognition.
According to Riyad al-Maliki, the PA Foreign Minister, some 150 countries have said that they will recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in September.4 If this number is achieved it could be significant, especially if it includes recognition from some of the countries in the European Union (EU.) This is because if recognition of a Palestinian state is viewed as constitutive (the argument that statehood is a matter of recognition only) then the number and quality of states that recognize Palestine is important. If, however, recognition of a Palestinian state is viewed as declaratory (the argument that recognition alone cannot confer statehood but must be accompanied by other factors, independence being particularly important) then there is of course a problem if Israel retains control over the occupied territories.

Source: Al Shabaka

Saudi Arabia: Will the Saudi Women Drive on 17 June?

NOVANEWS


nb:  Manal Al-Sherif has been released about 6 hours ago!  I have chosen not to change the post below which was written before Al-Sherif’s release although I (happily) did not predict her fate accurately.  Al-Sherif did issue a public apology and stated she would not attempt to drive again.   Issuing such words was likely a condition for her release (in my personal view).

The blog of Saudiwoman gives an excellent account and understanding on the plight of Saudi national Manal Al-Sherif and the impact resulting from her orchestrated plan that 17 June will be the day Saudi women go behind the wheel.  The initial campaign, initiated on a now defunct Facebook page, encouraged Saudi women who were in favor of gaining the right for women to drive in the Kingdom to peacefully start driving on 17 June.  These women were not planning a driving convoy by any means across the Kingdom but rather women would start driving themselves to conduct common errands such as transporting children to school or going grocery shopping.  As the campaign gained momentum some Saudi women, including Manal Al-Sherif, began driving ahead of the official date of 17 June.  Some of these women, including Manal Al-Sherif, posted videos on youtube of their epic journey on the public roadways.  Since her incarceration in a Saudi prison, the Saudi government applied leverage and Manal Al-Sherif’s video was removed from youtube.  However more videos of women driving in Saudi Arabia continue to appear on youtube in support of Manal Al-Sherif and for women to gain the right to drive.

The following video is of a woman driving in Jeddah during the daytime hours. She goes about her business without incident.

watch?v=dkTGr2Dhzh0

The next video is a young woman in Qatif.  She chose to take to the roadways under the cover of darkness. She drives for a longer duration than the first video but seems to carefully avoid well lit intersections and traffic lights.

watch?v=26FYZjMEslg&NR=1

However as Saudiwoman illustrates and explains so well on her blog Manal Al-Sherif’s initiative and the video which was taken while she drove has resounded with ripples just  like a stone being skipped across the water.  Some Sheiks and Imams are now speaking out in mosques and to newspapers about women driving and using their positions to influence men that women behind the wheel is evil and against Islam.

Will 17 June still be the day when Saudi women demonstrate their desire to have the right to drive?  Or will it be like the “Day of Rage” that never happened?  It seems to me that the strategy of the Saudi government is to keep Manal Al-Sherif imprisoned until 17 June has passed.  In the meantime the religious clerics have free rein to speak on the evils of Manal Al-Sherif and any women who would attempt to drive in the Kingdom.  They also address the honor and respect a family loses within the tribe and the society to consider or allow a female relative to drive.  Not all clerics oppose the right of women to drive and publicly voice support for Manal Al-Sherif.  However in my view the Saudi government is not going to allow or tolerate any attempts of women driving in the Kingdom.  On 17 June policeman and religious police will likely be out in large numbers prepared to apprehend any female seen behind the wheel of a vehicle.

A. Loewenstein Online Newsletter

NOVANEWS

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria says Netanyahu likes indefinite apartheid

Posted: 30 May 2011

 

Gaza flotilla 2 set to sail and Australians are involved

Posted: 30 May 2011

 
The following statement was released yesterday:

On the eve of first anniversary of the deadly Israeli attack on the 2010 international Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza, Australian participants reiterated their determination to join the second Flotilla, which will set sail for Gaza at the end of June.
“We welcome Egyptian moves to partially lift the siege by opening the Raffah crossing,” said former Greens MLC Sylvia Hale, “but in itself this will not substantially alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza.
“Despite the easing of the siege, men under 40 are not permitted to cross, making it impossible for them to find jobs outside Gaza. The refusal to permit raw materials to enter Gaza or exports to leave it, means widespread unemployment will continue.
“Gaza will not be free  so long as the Israeli siege destroys the territory’s economy,” said Ms Hale.
“The Australian delegation is determined to join the second international Flotilla to break the siege,” said Vivienne Porzsolt of Jews Against the Occupation.
“The world witnessed the brutality of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara 12 months ago, when nine activists were killed and many others injured and illegally detained,” Ms Porzsolt said.
“Such aggression must not go unchallenged. By participating in the Flotilla, we are opposing Israel’s acts of piracy in international waters and its illegal blockade of Gaza..
“We are committed to peace and non-violence and will offer no provocation or resistance to any action by the Israeli forces. Should any of us be injured, it will be the responsibility of the Israeli Government,” said Ms Porzsolt.

Don’t allow any country to sever web connections to our planet

Posted: 30 May 2011

 
The Arab Spring hasn’t been kind to countless Middle East dictatorships. Internet censorship has been a key plank of trying to maintain order in the face of a massive popular uprising. At least in Egypt we’ve now seen former Mubarak ministers and the former President himself being fined for daring to cut internet connections and mobile phone services during the revolution.
But a new kind of war is underway:

For weeks, Syrian democracy activists have used Facebook and Twitter to promote a wave of bold demonstrations. Now, the Syrian government and its supporters are striking back — not just with bullets, but with their own social-media offensive.
Mysterious intruders have scrawled pro-government messages on dissidents’ Facebook pages. Facebook pages have popped up offering cyber tools to attack the opposition. The Twitter #Syria hashtag — which had carried accounts of the protests — has been deluged with automated messages bearing scenes of nature and old sports scores.
“There is a war itself going on in cyberspace,” said Wissam Tarif, head of the Middle East human rights organization Insan, whose Web site has been attacked.
Syria offers just one example of the online backlash in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes. Although social media sites have been lionized for their role in the Arab Spring protests, governments are increasingly turning the technology against the activists.

One of the most ominous signs is in Iran, where the brutish government seemingly wants to cut itself off from the world. This could be the response of many autocratic states aiming to hold onto power, no matter what. It must be resisted:

Iran is taking steps toward an aggressive new form of censorship: a so-called national Internet that could, in effect, disconnect Iranian cyberspace from the rest of the world.
The leadership in Iran sees the project as a way to end the fight for control of the Internet, according to observers of Iranian policy inside and outside the country. Iran, already among the most sophisticated nations in online censoring, also promotes its national Internet as a cost-saving measure for consumers and as a way to uphold Islamic moral codes.
In February, as pro-democracy protests spread rapidly across the Middle East and North Africa, Reza Bagheri Asl, director of the telecommunication ministry’s research institute, told an Iranian news agency that soon 60% of the nation’s homes and businesses would be on the new, internal network. Within two years it would extend to the entire country, he said.
The unusual initiative appears part of a broader effort to confront what the regime now considers a major threat: an online invasion of Western ideas, culture and influence, primarily originating from the U.S. In recent speeches, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials have called this emerging conflict the “soft war.”
On Friday, new reports emerged in the local press that Iran also intends to roll out its own computer operating system in coming months to replace Microsoft Corp.’s Windows. The development, which couldn’t be independently confirmed, was attributed to Reza Taghipour, Iran’s communication minister.
Iran’s national Internet will be “a genuinely halal network, aimed at Muslims on an ethical and moral level,” Ali Aghamohammadi, Iran’s head of economic affairs, said recently according to a state-run news service. Halal means compliant with Islamic law.

Feeling hatred in Israel and the world looks away

Posted: 30 May 2011

 
One month ago, David Sheen, an Israeli journalist with Haaretz, filmed an anti-immigrant rally in Tel Aviv and found widespread hatred against anybody who didn’t look white. Racism, pure and simple.
Now Sheen has returned to the same place to see what’s changed, if anything:
 

Of course Palestine needs to be part of the Arab revolutions

Posted: 29 May 2011 10:48 PM PDT

 
Robert Fisk writes:

 
I went to see Munib Masri in his Beirut hospital bed yesterday morning.
He is part of the Arab revolution, although he doesn’t see it that way. He looked in pain – he was in pain – with a drip in his right arm, a fever, and the fearful wounds caused by an Israeli 5.56mm bullet that hit his arm. Yes, an Israeli bullet – because Munib was one of thousands of young and unarmed Palestinians and Lebanese who stood in their thousands in front of the Israeli army’s live fire two weeks ago on the very border of the land they call “Palestine”.
“I was angry, mad – I’d just seen a small child hit by the Israelis,” Munib said to me. “I walked nearer the border fence. The Israelis were shooting so many people. When I got hit, I was paralysed. My legs gave way. Then I realised what had happened. My friends carried me away.” I asked Munib if he thought he was part of the Arab Spring. No, he said, he was just protesting at the loss of his land. “I liked what happened to Egypt and Tunisia. I am glad I went to the Lebanese border, but I also regret it.”
Which is not surprising. More than 100 unarmed protesters were wounded in the Palestinian-Lebanese demonstration to mark the 1948 expulsion and exodus of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in Mandate Palestine – six were killed – and among the youngest of those hit by bullets were two little girls. One was six, the other eight. More targets of Israel’s “war on terror”, I suppose, although the bullet that hit Munib, a 22-year old geology student at the American University of Beirut, did awful damage. It penetrated his side, cut through his kidney, hit his spleen and then broke up in his spine. I held the bullet in my hand yesterday, three sparkling pieces of brown metal that had shattered inside Munib’s body. He is, of course, lucky to be alive.
And I guess lucky to be an American citizen, much good did it do him. The US embassy sent a female diplomat to see his parents at the hospital, Munib’s mother Mouna told me. “I am devastated, sad, angry – and I don’t wish this to happen to any Israeli mother. The American diplomats came here to the hospital and I explained the situation of Munib. I said: ‘I would like you to give a message to your government – to put pressure on them to change their policies here. If this had happened to an Israeli mother, the world would have gone upside down.’ But she said to me: ‘I’m not here to discuss politics. We’re here for social support, to evacuate you if you want, to help with payments.’ I said that I don’t need any of these things – I need you to explain the situation.”
Any US diplomat is free to pass on a citizen’s views to the American government but this woman’s response was all too familiar. Munib, though an American, had been hit by the wrong sort of bullet. Not a Syrian bullet or an Egyptian bullet but an Israeli bullet, a bad kind to discuss, certainly the wrong kind to persuade an American diplomat to do anything about it. After all, when Benjamin Netanyahu gets 55 ovations in Congress – more than the average Baath party congress in Damascus – why should Munib’s government care about him?

Britain happy to train Saudi thugs for crowd control

Posted: 29 May 2011 10:22 PM PDT

 
The real face of London’s foreign policy posture:

 
Britain is training Saudi Arabia‘s national guard – the elite security force deployed during the recent protests in Bahrain– in public order enforcement measures and the use of sniper rifles. The revelation has outraged human rights groups, which point out that the Foreign Office recognises that the kingdom’s human rights record is “a major concern”.
In response to questions made under the Freedom of Information Act, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that British personnel regularly run courses for the national guard in “weapons, fieldcraft and general military skills training, as well as incident handling, bomb disposal, search, public order and sniper training”. The courses are organised through the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, an obscure unit that consists of 11 British army personnel under the command of a brigadier.
The MoD response, obtained yesterday by the Observer, reveals that Britain sends up to 20 training teams to the kingdom a year. Saudi Arabia pays for “all BMM personnel, as well as support costs such as accommodation and transport”.
Bahrain’s royal family used 1,200 Saudi troops to help put down demonstrations in March. At the time the British government said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of human rights abuses being perpetrated by the troops.
“Britain’s important role in training the Saudi Arabian national guard in internal security over many years has enabled them to develop tactics to help suppress the popular uprising in Bahrain,” said Nicholas Gilby of the Campaign Against Arms Trade.
Analysts believe the Saudi royal family is desperate to shore up its position in the region by preserving existing regimes in the Gulf that will help check the increasing power of Iran.

Dancing in the US is illegal

Posted: 29 May 2011

 
Sorry what?

A flashmob in Washington has felt the full force of the law, by being forcibly arrested by police – for dancing in public. They’d gathered at the Jefferson Memorial in defiance of a ban on dancing at the monument.

I am IsraHell

The Real Identity of IsraHell

I am IsraHell. I came to a land without a people for a people without a land. Those people who happened to be here, had no right to be here, and my people showed them they had to leave or die, razing 480 Palestinian villages to the ground, erasing their history.
I am IsraHell. Some of my people committed massacres and later became Prime Ministers to represent me. In 1948, Menachem Begin was in charge of the unit that slaughtered the inhabitants of Deir Yassin, including 100 men, women, and children. In 1953, Ariel Sharon led the slaughter of the inhabitants ofQibya, and in 1982 arranged for our allies to butcher around 2,000 in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.
I am IsraHell. Carved in 1948 out of 78% of the land of Palestine, dispossessing its inhabitants and replacing them with Jews from Europe and other parts of the world. While the natives whose families lived on this land for thousands of years are not allowed to return, Jews from all over the world are welcome to instant citizenship.
I am IsraHell. In 1967, I swallowed the remaining lands of Palestine – the West Bank and Gaza – and placed their inhabitants under an oppressive military rule, controlling and humiliating every aspect of their daily lives. Eventually, they should get the message that they are not welcome to stay, and join the millions of Palestinian refugees in the shanty camps of Lebanon and Jordan.
I am IsraHell. I have the power to control American policy. My American Israel Public Affairs Committee can make or break any politician of its choosing, and as you see, they all compete to please me. All the forces of the world are powerless against me, including the UN as I have the American veto to block any condemnation of my war crimes. As Sharon so eloquently phrased it, “We control America”.
I am IsraHell. I influence American mainstream media too, and you will always find the news tailored to my favor. I have invested millions of dollars into PR representation, and CNN, New York Times, and others have been doing an excellent job of promoting my propaganda. Look at other international news sources and you will see the difference.
I am IsraHell. You Palestinians want to negotiate “peace!?” But you are not as smart as me; I will negotiate, but will only let you have your municipalities while I control your borders, your water, your airspace and anything else of importance. While we “negotiate,” I will swallow your hilltops and fill them with settlements, populated by the most extremist of my extremists, armed to the teeth. These settlements will be connected with roads you cannot use, and you will be imprisoned in your little Bantustans between them, surrounded by checkpoints in every direction.
I am IsraHell. I have the fourth strongest army in the world, possessing nuclear weapons. How dare your children confront my oppression with stones, don’t you know my soldiers won’t hesitate to blow their heads off? In 17 months, I have killed 900 of you and injured 17,000, mostly civilians, and have the mandate to continue since the international community remains silent. Ignore, as I do, the hundreds of Israeli reserve officers who are now refusing to carry out my control over your lands and people; their voices of conscience will not protect you.
I am IsraHell. You want freedom? I have bullets, tanks, missiles, Apaches and F-16s to obliterate you. I have placed your towns under siege, confiscated your lands, uprooted your trees, demolished your homes, and you still demand freedom? Don’t you get the message? You will never have peace
or freedom, because I am IsraHell.


Justice for Bahrain

NOVANEWS

Bahraini comrades sent me this:  “As you may know the oppressors in Bahrain are targeting professional women arresting from their places of work or study. Many have disappeared into military style prisons and have not had access to lawyers or their families. The few who have been released report sexual attacks, verbal and physical insults and threats and other forms of torture. I attach for your attention a spreadsheet with the names of only 55 of these detainess.

You will note that one of those arrested is a pregnant woman who happens to be the wife of an activist.  Many others are young women in their early 20’s. One of these young ladies is a poet and a student teacher who was arrested after 4 of her brothers were threatened at gunpoint to turn their sister in.

No other Arabic regime has used torture and arrest against women to crush protests in this systematic and brutal manner.

Yet media outlets in the west and Aljazeera Arabic are largely silent on these abuses in stark and shameful contrast to the coverage given to other protests.  I ask you to urge the young women who read your blog to do whatever they can to call for the release of these detainees.”

Visit here for the “Justice for Bahrain” campaign.

 

THIS IS TRUE NAZI'S

NOVANEWS

“Jerusalem Zio-Nazi policemen arrested a Palestinian seven-year-old child, relatives said on Sunday, claiming that the boy was battered by Nazi police officers during his arrest”

Can you imagine the uproar if a Muslim country held a seven-year-old Jewish child?

Can you imagine the international condemnations?

Can you imagine how conferences and fora would be held to discuss the affair?

Can you image the debates at the UN Security Council?

Police detain 7-year-old Palestinian boy and accost relatives, family members say

According to relatives’ account, the boy was arrested by border policemen in East Jerusalem village of Silwan; police: We acted in accordance with the law.

 
By Nir Hasson

Jerusalem policemen arrested a Palestinian seven-year-old child, relatives said on Sunday, claiming that the boy was battered by police officers during his arrest.
The boy’s parents, residents of the East Jerusalem village of Silwan, said they searched for their son for two hours at several police stations, without the police providing any information as to his whereabouts.
 

Palestinian boy arrested by police - Tomer Appelbaum Palestinian boy who arrested by police in Silwan, May 29, 2011.
Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum
According to family members, the second grader was arrested during play. His father, who noticed policemen arresting his son, attempted to intervene, and in the ensuing scuffle was sprayed in his face with pepper spray and was evacuated to receive medical care.

The boy’s aunt was also injured, later treated for what appeared to be wounds related to an anti-demonstration projectile. According to the police account, the boy had been hurling stones and after he had attempted to escape, he was apprehended in a house along with two adults who were also suspected of hurling stones.
Family members searched for the child from the moment of his arrest, with the boy’s uncle driving to Jerusalem’s Shalem and Russian Compound police stations, in both of which police officers said they did not have any information concerning the boy.
The family’s lawyer, Leah Tzemel said that she arrived “at the Russian Compound [police station] and they told me they didn’t know anything. So I forced my way in and had a sitting strike. They told me that if I didn’t go out I’d be detained myself, and I said that I would be honored to be detained for that.”
“I have a seven-year-old granddaughter and he looked younger than that,” she added.
Finally, the boy was found by his mother waiting in a Israel Border Police vehicle near Silwan. He arrived at a police station after being held up in the police car for two hours, where he was investigated with his mother present on suspicion he had hurled stones. He was eventually released about four-and-a-half hours after his arrest.
Jerusalem police said in response that “as a result of repeated incidents in which stones were hurled at police officers two suspects were arrested, who forcibly resisted arrest, which necessitated the use of pepper spray.”
“A minor of about eight ran to his house, with officers taking both him and his mother to questioning at the minorities’ unit. The boy was released at the end of his investigation and was put in the care of social services,” the police said.
The police also said that the arrest of children in Silwan was “done according to the law. Any questioning or investigation of minors takes place in the presence of his parents, as regulations stipulate. The police will continue to enforce the law without any discrimination.”

Egyptian Military summons comrade Hossam

NOVANEWS

 

“Blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy and television host Reem Maged were given a summons on Monday to appear before military prosecution after Maged screened on her show on Thursday Hamalawy criticising the role of military police, holding the head of the military police responsible for torturing activist.”

Egyptian journalists to be questioned tomorrow by military for denouncing the torture of activists
Tomorrow blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy and TV présenter Rim Maged will be interrogated by the military prosecution for criticising Egypt’s ruling military on air; protests are expected
Salma Shukrallah, Monday 30 May 2011

Hamalawy

Blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy in Reem Maged’s TV show

Blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy and television host Reem Maged were given a summons on Monday to appear before military prosecution after Maged screened on her show on Thursday Hamalawy criticising the role of military police, holding the head of the military police responsible for torturing activists.
The questioning will start tomorrow at 11am, and there has already been a call for demonstrations in front of the military prosecutor’s building.
Journalist Nabil Sharaf El-Din was also summoned on the same day after he criticised on OnTV Friday the way the military was handling the transition period.
Sharaf El-Din claims that the military’s approach makes many suspect that there is a transfer-of-power deal with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The same programme aired a very critical phone call with Mamdouh Shahin, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who attacked both OnTV and Sharaf El-Din.
The SCAF has criticised what it calls “irresponsible media,” arguing that it is creating a national split between the military and the people. The SCAF has decided to hold a forum 5 June to discuss the Egyptian media with the country’s various political forces.

We assumed that Western powers never intervene in internal affairs of Arab countries

NOVANEWS

 

Oh, really? We did not know that. How surprising. We assumed that Western powers never intervene in internal affairs of Arab countries

“An al-Jazeera report appears to show western special forces on the frontline in Libya, in what the TV channel said was “evidence for the first time of allied boots on the ground”.

Al-Jazeera footage captures ‘western troops on the ground’ in Libya

Five of Gaddafi’s generals are among latest defectors to rebels as South African president seeks to broker ceasefir.

Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with rebels near Misrata in the first apparent confirmation that foreign special forces are playing an active role in the Libyan conflict.

A group of six westerners are clearly visible in a report by al-Jazeerafrom Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves.

The sixth, apparently the most senior of the group, was carrying no visible weapon and wore a pink, short-sleeve shirt. He may be an intelligence officer. The group is seen talking to rebels and then quickly leaving on being spotted by the television crew.

The footage emerged as South Africa‘s president, Jacob Zuma, arrived in Tripoli in an attempt to broker a ceasefire. He described reports that he would ask Muammar Gaddafi to step down as “misleading”, and said he would instead focus on humanitarian measures and ways to implement a plan concocted by the African Union for Libya make a transition to democratic rule but not seek Gaddafi’s exile.

The westerners were seen by al-Jazeera on rebel lines late last week, days before British and French attack helicopters are due to join the Nato campaign. They are likely to be deployed on the outskirts of Misrata, from where pro-Gaddafi forces continue to shell rebel positions to the east.

There have been numerous reports in the British press that SAS soldiers are acting as spotters in Libya to help Nato warplanes target pro-Gaddafi forces. In March, six special forces soldiers and two MI6 officers were detained by rebel fighters when they landed on an abortive mission to meet rebel leaders in Benghazi, in an embarrassing episode for the SAS.

The group was withdrawn soon afterwards and a new “liaison team” sent in its place. Asked for comment on Monday, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “We don’t have any forces out there.”

The subject is sensitive as the UN security council resolution in March authorising the use of force in Libya specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”.

Despite more than two months of bombing by Nato, rebels have remained unable to advance west of Misrata, or west of Brega, 300 miles to the east. The capital, Tripoli, also remains in the grip of Gaddafi, who has defied all attempts to force him to leave.

However, a fresh blow to his position came yesterday as eight Libyan army officers appeared in Rome, saying they were part of a group of as many as 120 military officials and soldiers who had defected from Gaddafi’s side in recent days.

The eight officers – five generals, two colonels and a major – spoke at a news conference organised by the Italian government. The officers said they had defected in protest at Gaddafi’s actions against his own people, citing killings of civilians and violence against women. They claimed that Gaddafi’s campaign against the rebels was rapidly weakening.

Air force pilots landed in Italy and defected earlier in the rebellion. Under-trained and under-manned rebel forces have been encouraging defections as a way to whittle away support for Gaddafi in the absence of a ground army sent to assist them.

The latest group are reported to have been spurred largely by tensions arising from the appointment newcomers to senior positions in the security services.

The behaviour of these men, many of them relatively youthful Gaddafi loyalists in their mid-30s, are throught to have stirred anger and dismay among the army’s officer ranks.

In April, William Hague announced that an expanded military liaison team would be dispatched to work with the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, which is positioning itself as a democratic alternative to Gaddafi’s rule.

The foreign secretary said the team would help the rebels improve “organisational structures, communications and logistics” but stressed: “Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition’s fighting forces, nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the [transitional council’s] military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice.”

There were unconfirmed reports at the time that Britain was planning to send former SAS members and other experienced soldiers to Libya under the cover of private security companies, paid for by Arab states, to train the anti-government forces.

 

UK acadmics' union rejects EUMC bogus definition of Anti-Semitism

NOVANEWS

The congress of the Universities and Colleges Union has just voted to support motion 70, copied here from the Engage website together with David Hirsh’s report of the actual proceedings: 

70 EUMC working definition of anti-semitism – National Executive Committee

Congress notes with concern that the so-called ‘EUMC working definition of antisemitism’, while not adopted by the EU or the UK government and having no official status, is being used by bodies such as the NUS and local student unions in relation to activities on campus.
Congress believes that the EUMC definition confuses criticism of Israeli government policy and actions with genuine antisemitism, and is being used to silence debate about Israel and Palestine on campus.
Congress resolves:
  1. that UCU will make no use of the EUMC definition (e.g. in educating members or dealing with internal complaints)
  2. that UCU will dissociate itself from the EUMC definition in any public discussion on the matter in which UCU is involved
  3. that UCU will campaign for open debate on campus concerning Israel’s past history and current policy, while continuing to combat all forms of racial or religious discrimination
1443. proposal to change the rules to allow Conference Business Committee to co-opt members between Congresses
1445.  Business of the equality committee.  Chair of the committee to move.
1448. Marion Hersh argues for Motion 66, which says that the union should be in favour of institutions carrying out equality impact assessments.  This means that things such as cuts imposed by universities shouldn’t impact on one ‘equality’ group more than another.
But there is no call that the union itself should undergo a quality impact assessment about how its policies on Israel impacts on minorities within the union.
1458.  Motion 67.  From Black members standing commitee.  Another motion about impact assessment.  remitted.
1500.  Motion 68.  Every branch should have a properly resourced Equalities Officer.
1503.  Motion 69. “defend multiculturalism”.  conratulate UAF for its opposition to the EDl.  Work with UAF and Hope Not Hate against fascism.  Defend the values of multiculturalism.
1504.  The atmosphere in conference is calm, quiet relaxed.  Nobody is cheering or booing.  Just doing business in a normal kind of way.    See if the atmosphere changes for motion 70 on the EUMC defiinition?
1505.  Ammendment: give United Against Fascism (UAF) £1000.
1509.  another speech about how the EDL’s “flash mob” tactics make it necessary for the union to give £1000 to UAF.
1511.  vote on the motion.  Surprisingly, Sally Hunt is on the platform.
1512.  Sue Blackwell to propose the motion against the EUMC.  definition adopted by NUS, parliamentary inquiry, US State Department.  In Jan 2010 Denis Mcshane tried to have Azzam Tammimi banned from speaking.  [Tammimi is Hamas’s guy in London – DH]  Blackwell goes on,McShane argued that an external speaker should be rejected if they have a history of antisemitic language in line with the EUMC…”   EUMC comes from the American Jewish Committee, European Jewish Congress, self confessed lobby groups for Israel.  Ken Stern, author of EUMC is deeply concerned about “politically based antisemitism” otherwise known as antizionism which treats Israel as the classic Jew….  antisemites seek to qualify israel from membership of the community of nations.”  In other words, if you are for a boycott, you are an antisemite.  These influences are evidenced by American spellings in the document.  Definition is not fit for finding Real antisemitism but is ideal for those who want to blur boundaries between antisemitism and antizionism.
1515.  Mike Cushman, LSE.  Opponents of this motion have been filling the internet with insults against this union.  Lets see how EUMC definition is used.
One example:  a member wrote “no compromise with Zionists or university closures”.  Claimed to be antisemitic.  Linking the international with the local is part of our politics.  Not racist.  By making Israel a special case the proponents of EUMC are being antisemitic.
Cushman goes on: David Hirsh that “expert” on antisemitism says “Israel murders children is antisemitic”   Not its not, its pro children.  Antisemitism must never never  be normalized.  Puts jews at risk  Crying wolf puts the sheep and the shepherd at hazard.
Support this motion because the EUMC definition is dangerous to Jews.
1517.   Ronnie Fraser (I had this text already):
I, a Jewish member of this union, am telling you, that I feel an antisemitic mood in this union and even in this room.
I would feel your refusal to engage with the EUMC definition of antisemitism, if you pass this motion, as a racist act.
Many Jews have resigned from this union citing their experience of antisemitsim.   Only yesterday a delegate here said ‘they are an expansionist people”. It is difficult to think that the people in question are anything other than the Jews.
You may disagree with me.
You may disagree with all the other Jewish members who have said similar things.
You may think we are mistaken but you have a duty to listen seriously.
Instead of being listened to, I am routinely told that anyone who raises the issue of antisemitism is doing so in bad faith.
Congress, Imagine how it feels when you say that you are experiencing racism, and your union responds: stop lying, stop trying to play the antisemitism card.
You, a group of mainly white, non-Jewish trade unionists, do not the right to tell me, a Jew, what feels like antisemitism and what does not.
Macpherson tells us that when somebody says they have been a victim of racism, then institutions should begin by believing them. This motion mandates the union to do the opposite.
Until this union takes complaints of antisemitsim seriously the UCU will continue to be labelled as an institutionally antisemitic organisation.
It’s true that anti-Zionist Jews may perceive things differently.  But the overwhelming majority of Jews feel that there is something wrong in this union. They understand that it is legitimate to criticise Israel in a way that is, quoting from the definition, “similar to that levelled to any other country’ but they make a distinction between criticism and the kind of demonisation that is considered acceptable in this union
Ronnie met with stoney silence.
1519.  Speech against.  Pete Radcliffe, (AWL).  No definition of any form of racism can prevent misuse.  each time an accusation of racism is made it should be assessed by the specifics.
The fact that defs may have been misused is no argument that they are wrong.
What does it say?
Look at what is written.
The most controversial is where it says those who claim that the existence of the israeli state are antisemitic.  Consider the peaceniks and the Israeli peace movement.  The def says that to call such people racist – because they are Israelis – is antisemitic.  They are Israelis who aren’t racist.
Congress we should be endorsing this definition, not condemning it.
We are going to have a general secretary election.  We need to take care.  OUr union is never more in the public eye.  do we want to make this a bit issue?
Des Freedman, Goldsmiths.  “As a Jewish member of this union I urge you to support.”
By conflating justificed criticism of Israel with antisemitism it restricts our ability to make justified criticism.
One example:  the NEC of NUS recently passed a motion calling for freedom for Palestine.  The reaction by the outgoing president was to promise to campaign against it and referred to it as a form of hate speech.  The point of something like that which was much debated, reflecting on the events for example in gAza, over a thousand people who were killed – adopting the EUMC definition unnecessarily curtails our ability to intervene, to call for justice, to call for freedom for Palestinians.
We shouled be firm in opposition to a-s.  EUMC prevents us from doing that.  I urge support.
1526.  Another speech.  This union should not be challenging antisemitism by rejecting a definition.  We should propose our own definition if we want to speak on this.
EUMC does not use the definition.
1527.  Sean Wallis.  Definitions include things and exclude things.  Read the definition and you’ll see how we need to be clear.  My branch defines antisemitism as a form of racism and so we oppose it.  The only way of doing this concretely is in concrete circumstances.  This elaborate extensive definition is unhelpful.    I was libelled 2 years ago.  There are people in this room who participated in this libel.  As a jew I find it offensive that the term antisemitism should be used in this way.  Throw it out .  It is not a definition. It is not working.
Ronnie Fraser point of information.
The EUMC definition itself.  It is used by law enforcement authorities throughout the world for guidance to recognise antisemitic statements and acts.  It is recommended to be used in academic and the unions by the Parliamentary Conference of 2009.
Sue Blackwell:  I think Ronnie just made a speech in favour of the m0tion – that’s why we should be worried about it.
EUMC has been replaced.  successor organisation have no plans for any further development of it.  the latest publication doesn’t mention the definition.  They’ve dumped it because it is not fit for purpose.
Whether we need an alternative definition.  I recommend Brian Klug’s “hostility towards Jews as Jews”.
Quoting richard Kuper: the strong fight back by israel and its supporters has been sometimes crude… the EUMC has been effective.  inadequate, yet it is increasingly presented as THE definition of antisemitism, it cannot bear this weight.
The vote was overwhelmingly carried.  4 people, I think, voted against.
After the vote, Ronnie was very upset.  “I feel physically sick and so upset because of their racism,” he told me.  He was close to tears.

Another Anti-Semitic Outburst

NOVANEWS

 

by Jeff Davis
 

These anti-Semitic outbursts on the part of celebrities are becoming an epidemic. Now a famous Danish film director has spoken out.

A Reuters article reports: “The Cannes film festival expelled Danish director Lars Von Trier on Thursday for jokingly calling himself a Nazi and Hitler sympathizer, leaving the world’s biggest cinema showcase in a state of shock. The expulsion, the first in 64 years, followed a hastily convened meeting of its board of directors … Von Trier told Reuters in a telephone interview that he was shocked by the decision, which he believed stemmed from the fact that his meaning had been misunderstood. Von Trier’s comments on Wednesday angered Jewish groups and caused U.S. actress Kirsten Dunst to squirm with embarrassment beside him at a press conference, as he launched into a bizarre monologue about his Jewish and German heritage.”

Wait a minute, so this guy is a Jew as well, and they’re still throwing him out? Oy, gevalt!

More Reuters: “The famously provocative film maker, formerly a darling in Cannes who won the top Palme d’Or award in 2000, quickly apologized in a statement but it proved too little too late. Jewish groups welcomed Cannes’ decision to ban him.”

First of all, how could these people take his comments about being a Nazi seriously if he’s of Jewish ancestry?

Secondly, the Jews waged a campaign to stop the outing of Communists during the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. Senator Joe McCarthy was concerned that a large number of Communists had infiltrated the movie industry and he found quite a few Communists during hearings on the matter. The Jews of course have almost zero tolerance for the right wing. Republicans are a persecuted minority in Hollywood. Anyone further right than the Republicans is certain to be black-listed by the Jews.

The article continues “During Wednesday’s press conference, Von Trier joked that he was a Nazi and that he sympathized with Adolf Hitler. ‘I think I understand the man (Hitler),’ Von Trier said. ‘He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews. I am of course very much for Jews. No, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass. But still, how can I get out of this sentence?”

Lars is about to find out just how open-minded and forgiving his fellow Jews are. It’s a pity Lars didn’t have a conversation with this producer from Bollywood, who can be heard here.

Remember U.S.S. Liberty and Crew this Memorial Day

NOVANEWS

 

by Bob Johnson

On June 8, 1967 the terrorist Jewish state of Israel launched attacks against the U.S.S. Liberty which killed 34 U.S. sailors and Marines. The U.S. government ordered pilots flying American fighter jets that were on their way to rescue their fellow Americans from this vicious attack of Biblical ferocity to return to their carriers and let their fellow American sailors and Marines die. The politicians did this for the benefit of their own political careers.

This Memorial Day we need to take stock of this very disgusting, cowardly and revealing act of Israeli aggression and murder. We need to make certain we all learn the real lessons this war crime is teaching us. If we don’t, we’re letting those 34 Americans die in vain and we will allow Israel to continue its destruction of the United States via sacrificing our troops in Israel promoted wars and draining our finances through billion dollar hand outs the politicians give them.

The key lesson is Israel has far too much power over American politicians. Political whores in both parties sell-out American military personnel and America herself to please their string-pulling Israeli overlords to selfishly promote their own political careers. If they refuse, the Israel lobby will do all they can to see to it that they will lose in the next election.

This is why Congress and the White House are unAmerican and kosher. This is why American sailors, airmen, soldiers and Marines are being sent off to wars for the benefit if the Jewish state of Israel. This is why one Jewish “U.S.” Senator, Chuck Schumer, actually believes and openly said that he’s on a mission from God to be Israel’s protector in the U.S. Senate! Not one “journalist” questioned him about his priority of Israel, not America, first.

To help seal the fear of Israel they use the Bible. The Bible teaches all sorts of Jewish superiority. One fear based Bible threat is found at Isaiah 60:12 which plainly teaches that God said, “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” Another is found at Genesis 12:3which has God saying to Abram, aka Abraham, which is taken to apply to Israel, too, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This is  nothing but psychological warfare plain and simple.

And U.S. politicians appear to fall for it! U.S. Representative Michelle Bachmann recently said to the Republican Jewish Coalition, “I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States. . . [We] have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play. And my husband and I are both Christians, and we believe very strongly the verse from Genesis, we believe very strongly that nations also receive blessings as they bless Israel. It is a strong an beautiful principle.” Do we really need politicians who believe in curses and hexes???

The only thing that will help free us of the deep rooted Hebrew/Jewish superstitions found in the Bible which are causing so much misery and suffering in the world is our God-given reason. Our God-given reason teaches us to reject such deadly nonsense. God-given reason united with belief in God is Deism. And as the Deist Benjamin Franklin warned, “Hear Reason or she’ll make you feel her.”

The Main Battle Dressing Station on the USS Liberty was described as a “bloody scene reminiscent of the American Civil War.” The Israeli torpedo and machine guns took a terrible toll on the Liberty’s crew, killing 34 and wounding 172.

Waging The Battle for Reality

NOVANEWS

 

One of the biggest lies of 9/11 involves the all-purpose boogeyman known as al-Qaeda.

A Review Essay on a Propagandist’s Journey in Search of the ‘Conspiracist Underground’ by Anthony J. Hall Professor of Globalization Studies University of Lethbridge.


by Dr. Anthony J. Hall


Professor Anthony Hall is one of the world’s most esteemed writers in the area of 11 September 2001 history.

(ALBERTA) – Jonathan Kay’s Among the Truthers was written to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the contested events of 9/11. Its contents vividly illustrate the strategic geopolitical importance of the public’s changing perception of the hit on the Pentagon and the pulverization of the three World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001.

Most of Kay’s core arguments in the text are undermined by the author’s self-confessed decision not to address directly the empirically-verifiable proof pertaining to what did or did not happen on 9/11. Kay’s zeal to avert any hard reckoning with the complex body of evidence underlying his radical conclusions helps to shed light on the culture of cover-up and propaganda necessary to keep the sacred myth of 9/11 alive in the public’s imagination.

One of the biggest lies of 9/11 involves the all-purpose boogeyman known as al-Qaeda. The claim is often advanced either explicitly or implicitly that this caricatured embodiment of Islamic evil somehow extricated itself from the CIA and the other related agencies that founded the anti-communist proxy army of Islamic jihadists who in the 1980s overturned with US backing the Soviet-backed puppet regime in Afghanistan. Kay simply goes along with the prevalent public mythology constructed to present al-Qaeda as a credible replacement for the now-defunct Soviet enemy in order to justify the further expansion, empowerment and privatization of the world’s most formidable and expensive military-industrial complex.

A very detailed interpretation of al-Qaeda as the primary villain of 9/11 was fed into the echo chambers of the mainstream media from the first hours following the attacks until the present day. This interpretation has had the predictable outcome of driving a wedge between Islam and those adhering to a narrowed construction of the so-called West.

The sacred myth of 9/11 depends on planting diabolical stereotypes of Islamic terrorists in popular imagination

The sacred myth of 9/11 depends on planting diabolical stereotypes of Islamic terrorists in popular imagination<.

It injects new impulses of distrust between the worldwide ummah of Muslims and those encouraged to situate their heritage within the Judeo-Christian stream of history.

This development helps block wider appreciation in Europe and North America of the historic and continuing importance of Islam in the genesis of Western civilization, global civilization. The sacred myth of 9/11 helps renew the old imperial ploy of divide and conquer. By highlighting issues of religion and ethnicity as the primary cause of, and justification for, global conflict, the sacred myth of 9/11 diverts attention away from the huge and growing gap between rich and poor.

The sacred myth of 9/11 helps to raise walls of separation that hold back the wretched of the earth from the riches of capitalism’s blood-diamond elite.  It is the vast disparities of material entitlement, not some engineered and trumped-up conflict of civilizations, that requires our most urgent attention. The perpetuation of the sacred myth of 9/11 helps divert attention from places where it is really needed such as post-Fukushima Japan.[i]

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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