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Émission de L’Autre Monde du 18 décembre 2008: Les plus grands rackets financiers de la planète: Madoff, Rubin, la Fed et la Cité de Londres
Pour écouter, simplement cliquer sur le lien ici:
L’Autre Monde 18 décembre 2008
60 min / Radio de l’UQAM, CHOQ FM
Pour télécharger, faite un clique droit puis “enregistrer la cible sous…
Cette semaine sur L’Autre Monde:
– Le NIST admet que le WTC7 s’est écroulé à la vitesse de la chute libre.
– Le journal The Financial Times annonce le projet d’un nouvel ordre mondial.
– Économie: Émeutes en Grèce qui se répandent à d’autres pays, banques nationalisées et fonds de pension qui vont disparaitre et l’écroulement des finances publiques.
– Nous complèterons avec un survol du Moyen-Orient, état policier, changements climatiques et autres.
Dernière émission de la saison automne; soyez au rendez-vous le jeudi à 11h sur les ondes de CHOQ FM!
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Diffusion en direct : Jeudi à 11:00h
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| Archives d’émission |
2008-12-18 2008-12-11 2008-12-04 2008-11-27 2008-11-20 2008-11-13 2008-11-06 2008-10-30 2008-10-23 2008-10-09 2008-10-02 2008-09-25 2008-09-18 2008-09-11 2008-09-04 2008-08-28 2008-08-21 2008-08-14 2008-08-07 2008-07-17 2008-07-10 2008-07-03 2008-06-26 2008-06-19 2008-06-12 2008-06-05 2008-05-29 2008-05-22 2008-05-15 2008-05-08 2008-04-17 2008-04-10 2008-04-03 2008-03-27 2008-03-20 2008-03-13 2008-03-06 2008-02-28 2008-02-21 2008-02-14 2008-02-07 2008-01-31 2008-01-24 2008-01-17 2008-01-08 2007-12-16 2007-12-09 2007-12-02 2007-11-25 2007-11-18 2007-11-11 2007-11-04 2007-10-28 2007-10-21 2007-10-14 2007-10-07 2007-09-30 2007-09-23 2007-09-16 2007-09-09 2007-09-02 2007-08-26 2007-08-12 2007-08-05 2007-07-29 2007-07-22 2007-07-15 2007-07-08 2007-07-01 2007-06-24 2007-06-17 2007-04-22 2007-04-15 2007-04-08 2007-04-01 2007-03-25 2007-03-18 2007-03-11 2007-03-04 2007-02-25 2007-02-18 2007-02-11 2007-02-04 2007-01-28
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***Hyperliens vers les sources des informations discutées sur l’émission d’aujourd’hui:
Mumbai:
Recent press reports on developments with regard to last month’s attacks in Mumbai, India indicate the role of Dawood Ibrahim, a wanted crime boss, terrorist, and drug trafficker, is being downplayed, possibly the result of a deal taking place behind the scenes between the governments of the US, Pakistan, and India, to have others involved in the Mumbai attacks turned over while quietly diverting attention from a man who some say could reveal embarrassing secrets about the CIA’s involvement in criminal enterprises.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
« Because we can’t think of anything else to do, THAT’S why! » — Official White Horse Souse
India has demanded that Pakistan hand over 40 people it believes were involved in attacks on Indian soil and other serious crimes, the Indian Foreign Minister announced today.
Pranab Mukherjee also called on Pakistan to follow up on its recent arrest of several militants by completely dismantling the facilities of terrorist groups operating on its territory.
However, Pakistan says it wants proof of their role in Mumbai and has categorically ruled out handing them to India, pledging to try them on its own territory if there is evidence against them.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
India had to know that this demand was a non-starter from the get-go.
Let us hope that Pakistan’s intention of investigating and trying these people on Pakistani soil is not used by India as a justification for targeted strikes in Pakistan.
That could well be the prelude to World War III. Remember: both countries have nukes.
Creating an « Arc of Crisis »: The Destabilization of the Middle East and Central Asia
The recent attacks in Mumbai, while largely blamed on Pakistan’s state-sponsored militant groups, represent the latest phase in a far more complex and long-term “strategy of tension” in the region; being employed by the Anglo-American-Israeli Axis to ultimately divide and conquer the Middle East and Central Asia. The aim is destabilization of the region, subversion and acquiescence of the region’s countries, and control of its economies, all in the name of preserving the West’s hegemony over the “Arc of Crisis.”
The USA has been the chief supporter of Pakistan for the past several decades. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the USA funneled vast amounts of war materiel to Afghanistan through Pakistan, and much of that war material was diverted, with US permission, to Pakistani Terrorism against India. The USA actually created Al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden worked as a CIA asset in Afghanistan and also in Kosovo.
General Hamid Gul, the former head of the Pakistani ISI, told CNN yesterday that both the Mumbai attacks and 9/11 were “inside jobs,” much to the chagrin of host and CFR luminary Fareed Zakaria, who told viewers that Gul’s opinions were “absolutely wrong and thoroughly discredited”.
The gunman captured in last month’s Mumbai attacks had originally intended to seize hostages and outline demands in a series of dramatic calls to the media, according to his confession obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab said he and his partner, who assaulted the city’s main train station, had planned a rooftop standoff, but they couldn’t find a suitable building, the statement to police says.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
BULL BISCUITS!
This operation was too well planned for them not to have had a suitable roof top of that was indeed what they wanted to do. We know that some of the operatives were on the ground in Mumbai as much as two weeks ahead of the attacks; plenty of time to pick high ground (not to mention the ease of using Google Earth to look at the city from above).
Highlighting action against Lashker-e-Toiba and detained Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar as evidence of Pakistan’s
commitment in fighting terror, president Asif Ali Zardari maintained that the Mumbai attacks were targeted at his government and blamed non-state actors for the security situation within Pakistan.
Pakistani F-16s were seen flying over the capital of Islamabad today as the air forces of both Pakistan and neighboring India were reportedly placed on high alert. The navies of both nations are also aggressively patrolling in the Arabian Sea.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Don’t forget the report from Wayne Madsen a few says back that Israeli bombers with Indian makings were prepared to bomb Pakistan.
A growing chorus of intelligence officials in the U.S. and in south Asia have pinned the Mumbai attacks on the Kashmir-based militants Lashkar-e-Taiba. But there’s been hardly any mention of the extremist group’s deep ties to American-based jihadists.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Yeah, we’re being « pre-sold » on who to blame for the next faked terror attack!
It now appears Indian intelligence played a large part in the terrorist attacks. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that a “counterinsurgency police officer who may have been on an undercover mission” was arrested for illegally buying mobile phone cards used by the gunmen.
Pakistan warned it is ready for war with India if it is attacked following the strike by the Mumbai terrorists.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Translation: We’re ready to invade!
Police arrested four Indian Muslims for alleged involvement in a planned attack on Mumbai as early as February, a senior police officer who handled the case told The Times yesterday.
One of them, Faheem Ahmed Ansari, was carrying a fake Pakistani passport and a list and maps of nine targets in southern Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal hotel and other sites attacked last week, the officer said.
« In a government of law, the existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. »
Justice Louis Brandeis
Is Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai attack in India? No.
Is India’s repression of its Muslim minority responsible? No.
The FBI is assisting Indian investigative agencies in collecting evidence in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the US attorney general has said as he insisted that his country has the jurisdiction to prosecute the terrorist captured during the deadly strikes.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Why the push to take control of the surviving « terrorist? »
Indian intelligence sources have confirmed to The?Hindu that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) delivered two warnings of an impending terror attack on Mumbai in September. The first one was delivered through the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) on September 18. The sources said the information was of a general nature, suggesting that the Lashkar-e-Taiba was planning to attack Mumbai.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Remember the month before 9-11, when ABCNNBBCBS were constantly barraging us all with stories about what a bad dude Osama Bin Laden was, and I pointed out in august 2001 that Osama hadn’t actually done anything to justify such media exposure, and thus the news stories were « selling » Osama to us all as a villain for something yet to occur.
These CIA warnings (which are just as vague as the Mossad 9-11 warnings) seem like they serve the same purpose; telling the intended victims who they should assume is behind the attacks ahead of time.
In sum, for 24 hours the two nuclear powers were a hair’s trigger away from war. The United States–having very close (and increasingly closer) ties to India was contacted by Zardari who informed the State Department about the increasingly dangerous situation. Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice contacted her Indian counterpart who informed her that no such call had been made.
The bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported earlier on Wednesday that if there was a WMD attack on the United States, it would originate in Pakistan.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
« Can we invade them now? Can we? Huh? Can we? »
A man pretending to be India’s foreign minister called Pakistan’s president and talked in a « threatening » manner during the Mumbai terror attacks, prompting Pakistan to put its air force on high alert, a security official and a news report said Saturday.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
And yet the US is still trying to claim that there is « irrefutable » evidence linking Pakistan to the Mumbai attacks.
The US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, is reported to have told Pakistan that there is ‘irrefutable evidence’ of involvement of elements in the country in the Mumbai attacks and that it needs to act urgently and effectively to avert a strong international response.
Contrary to the formal statements issued by Pakistani authorities and her own statement at the Chaklala Airbase before her departure, sources said she “pushed the Pakistani leaders to take care of perpetrators, otherwise the US will act”.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
What the hell doe it mean that Secretary Rice states that there is « …‘irrefutable evidence’ of involvement of elements in the country in the Mumbai attacks »?
and if such rock-solid ‘irrefutable evidence’ exists, why isn’t it being screamed from the rooftops so that the world knows precisely what Secretary Rice believes she has seen?
Memo to the Pakistani government: if you think you have been struggling to deal with the drone attacks on your borders to date, the US government and military may well be planning an even worse world of hurt for you and your people, with the Mumbai massacres used as the justification for even more attacks.
A prominent adviser to US president-elect Barack Obama said the Mumbai attack was an act by global jihad, and targeted what Osama bin Laden called the « Crusader-Zionist-Hindu » alliance.
One of the two men arrested for illegally buying mobile phone cards used by gunmen in the Mumbai attacks is a counter-insurgency police officer who may have been on an undercover mission, security officials said Saturday.
United States Senator John McCain has said there is enough evidence of the involvement of former Inter-Services Intelligence officers in the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks.
If Pakistan did not act swiftly to arrest the people involved, the Senator said, India would be left with no option but to conduct aerial operations against select targets in Pakistan.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
OK, look at the timing here. These two landed right on the heels of Secretary Rice’s visit, and their visit does not appear to be coordinated with her visit at all.
Yes, Lieberman is the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, and McCain is the ranking member and Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce; but why go to India and Pakistan now?!?!?
It’s almost as though these two, de facto, have told Pakistan that the excrement is about to hit the fan in terms of Indian strikes against Pakistan, unless they catch and arrest the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre. and the US is impotent to do anything to stop it.
The chance of these guys being found in Pakistan is just about as reasonable as that of pigs flying.
So, India has stepped up the timetable, indicating that Pakistan has only « ….a matter of days… » before some strikes will happen.
This is not going to help calm tensions down in any way here.
India is in something of a state of shock after learning from official sources that its first Hindu terror cell may have carried out a series of deadly bombings that were initially blamed on militant Muslims. The revelation is forcing the country to consider some difficult questions.
Irak:
Perino: We’re not occupiers in Iraq; we’re guests
« QUESTION: But he wasn’t a guest. We’re occupiers. »
« PERINO: No, we’re not. We are absolutely a guest. »
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Only a severely deluded fool, or a pathological, serial liar, would open their mouths and say such a thing, considering the current situation on the ground in Iraq.
I would encourage Ms. Perino to take a trip around Baghdad, completely unescorted, to see just how « welcomed » she would be, particularly in areas like Sadr city.
The US military may well be the guests of a US-appointed puppet regime, but it is not the guest of the Iraqi people, after what we have done to their country.
Top Analyst: Iraqi Political Outlook Grim
There is growing concern in the Iraqi political community that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is consolidating power and positioning himself as a future dictator, a leading Iraq analyst has told the Council on Foreign Relations.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
If in fact this is the case, then all the US has succeeded in doing in Iraq is exchanging one Sunni dictator for a Shiite dictator.
Of course, a truly democratic republic of Iraq was never in the cards from the beginning.
And the ultimate winner here, after all the blood and money spent?!?
Iran.
Afghanistan:
Families, country mourn deaths of three Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan
The West is indirectly funding the insurgency in Afghanistan thanks to a system of payoffs to Taleban commanders who charge protection money to allow convoys of military supplies to reach Nato bases in the south of the country.
The controversial payments were confirmed by several fuel importers, trucking and security company owners. None wanted to be identified because of the risk to their business and their lives. “We estimate that approximately 25 per cent of the money we pay for security to get the fuel in goes into the pockets of the Taleban,” said one fuel importer.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
25% of the money for security….goes into the pockets of the Taliban?!?!?
I’m sitting here, reading, and re-reading this statement, trying desperately to get my head around it before, as Lewis Black would say, « it EXPLODES!!«
Would some adults in the room in Washington and at the NATO HQ in Brussels please stick a fork in the occupation of
Afghanistan? It’s DONE!!
U.S. keeps silent as Afghan ally removes war crime evidence
Seven years ago, a convoy of container trucks rumbled across northern Afghanistan loaded with a human cargo of suspected Taliban and al Qaida members who’d surrendered to Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Afghan warlord and a key U.S. ally in ousting the Taliban regime.
When the trucks arrived at a prison in the town of Sheberghan, near Dostum’s headquarters, they were filled with corpses. Most of the prisoners had suffocated, and others had been killed by bullets that Dostum’s militiamen had fired into the metal containers.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
It has often been said that people can be judged by the company they keep; the same is true for the company nations keep.
Yes, General Abdul Dostum was a thug: but he was our thug!
I was still holding my grandson’s hand – the rest was gone’
« We were walking, I was holding my grandson’s hand, then there was a loud noise and everything went white. When I opened my eyes, everybody was screaming. I was lying metres from where I had been, I was still holding my grandson’s hand but the rest of him was gone. I looked around and saw pieces of bodies everywhere. I couldn’t make out which part was which. »
Webmaster’s Commentary:
The Afghanis do not hate us « …because we are free. »
They hate us because we are murdering their children, their brothers, their sisters, mothers, and friends in the name of Western oil pipelines.
And this continued aerial bombardment guarantees two things, and two things only.
First, there will be one hell of a lot of « collateral damage », i.e., killing infants, kids, women, the elderly, and the medically fragile who just want to live their lives.
Secondly, it will radicalize those left standing even further against the installed puppet government which the US is desperately attempting to prop up through the use of these airstrikes.
Someone in the Pentagon, the white house, or congress really should have remembered, when (allegedly) « planning » the Afghanistan campaign, that no country, in spite of its fire power, has ever been able to win what is essentially a ground war from the air.
That is precisely the situation in which the US and NATO find themselves Afghanistan.
It should remind you of a military conflict from which the US and NATO should have taken note, but didn’t. That conflict was the Viet Nam War.
Ignorance and stupidity, coupled with magical thinking, should be painful. It’s a damned shame it isn’t.
Pakistan:
Target Pakistan?
Faced with a dangerous situation the Americans are now intensifying their attacks inside Pakistan which tantamount to a declaration of war and which is also prompting the threat of reprisals. A fact that is already evident from the increase in attacks on supply convoys that pass through Pakistan to keep the American led campaign in the so-called war on terror.
With all that in mind one has to question why India is now beatings its drums of war after what was clearly a massive Indian Maritime and security failure to prevent a bunch of young men armed with AK 47 Assault rifles.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Whatever Pakistani military and civilian leadership may be, these people are not stupid enough to orchestrate an attack inside India at the time of transition to a new President in the US.
If the Khyber Pass gets captured by Afghani and/Pakistani militants, this war will come to a grinding pause, because that pass is the only way to get many supplies to the US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
‘Pakistan mulls downing US drones’
Pakistani officials are urging the incoming Obama administration to stop air attacks on Pakistani territory and are even hinting that they might shoot down US drones in its airspace, according to a report published in the Washington Times (WT).
Webmaster’s Commentary:
The moment the Pakistani military actually shoots down a US drone, Pakistan is potentially on the verge of being at war with the US.
But perhaps, if there is no tacit agreement between the US and Pakistan about the continuation of these attacks, that is precisely the outcome the US wants to see in order to justify going directly into Pakistan militarily.
Militants torch over 20 supplies trucks for Afghanistan-based coalition forces in NW Pakistan
It is the fifth attack on a Pakistani freight terminal near Peshawar within ten days, police and terminal authorities said, adding that the fresh attack raised the number of destroyed containers and oil tankers to around 325.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
You have to wonder just how long after the inauguration that our loyal « friend in the war on terror » Pakistan winds up as a member of the « axis of evil » as the justification to go in and really bomb the crap out of this country.
Unfortunately in the current geopolitical climate, with « friends » like the US, who needs enemies?!?!?!?
Bush Warns Pakistan as He Defends Military Strategy
President Bush on Tuesday defended his doctrine of military intervention to shut down potential national security threats before they mature, and he issued a pointed message to Pakistan that “we will do what is necessary to protect American troops and the American people.”
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Memo to the Lame Duck in Chief: protecting American troops means not putting them in harm’s way in wars for oil and pipelines based on a solid pack of lies!!
Pakistani Prime Minister Says US Strikes Will Stop Once Obama Takes Office
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday denied Islamabad has a secret deal with America allowing the attacks, as some analysts have speculated, and said he expected them to stop when President-elect Barack Obama takes over in January.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Memo to Pakistani Prime Minister Galani; were I you, I wouldn’t necessarily bet that these strikes will stop once Obama is in office.
President-elect Obama appears to have surrounded himself with a lot of people one could characterize as « very hawkish » on both Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and who feel that going to war in Iraq (on a pack of lies fed to the American people) was perfectly legitimate.
Jundullah reveals plan to attack US centre in Karachi
Pakistan on Tuesday stepped up security in Karachi following disclosure by a group of detained militants of a plot to attack the US Consulate and American military interests and other vital installations in this port city.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Yeah, « somebody » really wants a war in Pakistan!
Rice tells Pakistan to act ‘or US will’
The US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, is reported to have told Pakistan that there is ‘irrefutable evidence’ of involvement of elements in the country in the Mumbai attacks and that it needs to act urgently and effectively to avert a strong international response.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Rice is not acting like she will be out of a job in another month, is she?
JOHN McCAIN WHILE VISITING PAKISTAN DANGEROUSLY STIRS THE NUCLEAR SOUTH ASIAN POT.
John McCain on a visit to Pakistan together with Joe Lieberman seems determined to talk India into attacking targets in Pakistan if Pakistan continues to refuse to hand over the ‘terrorists’ that India demands.
McCain and Lieberman both know very well that the Pakistan government is no position to do any such thing since to do so would be an admission that their own intelligence service, the ISI, was complicit in the Mumbai attacks.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
In other words, all McCain and Lieberman are there to do is help sell the next war to the suckers back home.
India keeps up pressure, puts peace process with Pak on hold
India on Tuesday kept up the pressure on Pakistan with foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee stating that the composite dialogue process had been paused in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks even as Pakistani President Asif Zardari again ruled out handing over any terror suspects.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This is a tinderbox situation, which could inflame the entire region, and spiral out of control, very quickly.
Let us hope that there are some real adults in the halls of power in both Islamabad and New Delhi, so that this peace dialogue can begin again in earnest.
Pakistan, China agree to boost military ties
Pakistan and China on Monday signed an agreement for military co-operation with a view to taking their bilateral military ties to new heights.
Majid said Pakistan cherished the traditional friendship and co-operation with China and was ready to make concerted efforts with the PLA to strengthen military ties
Webmaster’s Commentary:
War with China, anyone?!?
Thought not.
Somalie:
NOBODY IS WATCHING’; America’s hidden war in Somalia
It is a policy time bomb that will be inherited by the incoming Obama administration: a little-known front in the global war on terrorism that Washington appears to be losing, if it hasn’t already been lost.
« Somalia is one of the great unrecognized U.S. policy failures since 9/11, » said Ken Menkhaus, a leading Somalia scholar at Davidson College in North Carolina. « By any rational metric, what we’ve ended up with there today is the opposite of what we wanted. »
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This is yet another one of Bush’s foreign policy « victories » which is about to explode in our faces like the proverbial bad trick cigar.
Somalia’s fractured government slides into chaos
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf named a new prime minister on Tuesday, snubbing a vote by parliament to reinstate sacked premier Nur Hassan Hussein and further deepening rifts in the fractured government.
The split at the top of the Western-backed government is blamed for stalling a U.N.-hosted peace process and threatens to tear the weak administration apart at a time Islamist insurgents are camped on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Somalia‘s current government is about to fall apart at the seams, and US intervention (through backing an Ethiopian occupation of Somalia) is very deeply at the heart of its current chaos.
This was never about « protecting » the Somali people; it was, and continues to be, about installing a government favorable to Western countries developing the vast, yet untapped, wealth of this country.
Allies seek power to pursue Somali pirates on land and sea
The United States is seeking international authorisation allowing foreign navies to pursue Somali pirates on land as well as at sea in an effort to curb the growing threat to international shipping lines.
A draft proposal granting nations that are combating piracy permission to “take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia” is being circulated among UN Security Council members before a key meeting on the crisis next week.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Are you kidding me?!?!
This is not about pirates.
from:
indexmundi.com/somalia/natural_resources.html
« Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves »
This is, ultimately, about who controls the disposition of the vast resource wealth of Somalia, and which foreign powers will get first dibs on carving that wealth up.
US to Propose UN Authorize Ground Raids into Somalia
A Bush administration proposal to allow foreign forces to go ashore into Somalia to hunt the country’s notorious pirates is getting a cool reception from U.S. military leaders, regional analysts and some Somali officials.
The proposal — which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to put forward Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council — is the boldest yet aimed at stopping the pirates, who’ve hijacked 55 ships this year, secured tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and kneecapped maritime trade between Europe and Asia.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Considering just how brilliantly the UN mandate in Iraq went, the UN would be collectively mad to approve of such a proposal.
Let us hope the « cool reception » extends to a permanent deep-freeze on this kind of cowboy, knee-jerk proposal on the part of the US government.
This is not about the piracy, or « protecting » the Somalis from an impending Islamic government (which hasn’t gone very well for the US-backed Ethiopian occupation, or the Somali people, thank you very much).
This is about getting a Somali government in place which is sympathetic to western development of the country’s vast untapped resources.
U.S. Will Push U.N. for Somalia Mission
Meanwhile, the commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, cast doubt on the wisdom of a separate U.S. plan to seek U.N. approval for commando raids against pirates on Somali soil, saying the possibility of inflicting civilian casualties « cannot be overestimated, » according to the Associated Press.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
In the next flipping administration, can we PLEASE HAVE SOME ADULTS IN THE ROOM REGARDING US FOREIGN POLICY?!?!?!?
Remember 3 weeks week ago when Somali pirates attacked that tanker, and US warships refused to intervene?!? Was that because the US needed the pirates to justify an invasion of Somalia??
I cannot begin to tell you what a refreshing change that would be from the last 8 years, although the jury is still very much out as to whether this will be the case.
But for the US government, at this late date, with a lame duck administration, to have the gall, the hubris, of trying to get a UN mandate about the US conducting « ….commando raids against pirates on Somali soil…. », it is very clear what is going on here.
The US backed Ethiopian forces have absolutely made a complete, abysmal mess of their attempt to occupy Somalia.
As reported in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/…
« »The testimony we received strongly suggests that war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity have been committed by all parties and no one is being held accountable, » said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty’s deputy director for Africa. »
These same troops are supposed to be exiting the country, and the Islamists are resurgent.
But this US request has nothing to do with the fact that Somalia is close to becoming an Islamist state, and that the US is concerned that it will be an « incubator for terror »; it has everything to do with having a governmental structure in place which will favor the West when it comes to divvying up the largely unexploited resources of this country.
I would far rather see this country invest in the vision, technical savvy, and drive of American entrepreneurs to come up with workable, affordable energy alternatives than invest in wars of conquest.
We are the first country which, with will, determination and imagination, put men on the moon. One would think that in the 21st century, we’d have better answers to getting resources than wars of conquest.
Situation in Somalia Seems About to Get Worse
The United States failed disastrously in its peacekeeping mission in the early 1990s. (Remember “Black Hawk Down”?) In 2005 and 2006, the C.I.A. paid some of Somalia’s most reviled warlords to fight the Islamists. That backfired. In the winter of 2006, the United States took a third approach, encouraging Ethiopia to invade and backing them with American airstrikes and intelligence.
“The Bush administration made a major miscalculation,” said Dan Connell, who teaches African politics at Simmons College in Boston.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Hey, it wouldn’t be Bush foreign policy without a « major miscalculation ».
Every foreign policy decision made by this administration has featured one – or more – « major miscalculation », ultimately exploding in its face like a really bad trick cigar.
Bush wants history to see him as a liberator of millions
George W. Bush hopes history will see him as a president who liberated millions of Iraqis and Afghans, who worked towards peace and who never sold his soul for political ends.
« I’d like to be a president (known) as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace, » Bush said in excerpts of a recent interview released by the White House Friday.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
If by “liberation”, the man means by enduring bombs, bullets, starvation, ethnic cleansing (as happened in Iraq), illness (from depleted uranium, water-borne diseases and other poisons), displacement leading to death, then, in that case, Bush’s statement is chillingly correct.
But a thinking person needs to look at that statement, shake their heads, and ask: is this man so far out of touch with reality that he has not a clue what he and his henchmen have done in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia??
History will render the final judgment on this man’s presidency, and that is apt to be justifiably condemnatory, if the whole truth is written about what he and his team have done.
Iran:
Outgoing US Intel Official: Iran Has Not Restarted Nuke Program
Iran ceased any efforts to design a nuclear warhead or covertly enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels in 2003 and has no current nuclear weapons program. Those were the conclusions of last year’s National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran.
ElBaradei says Iran’s nuclear program is legal: report
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in a telephone interview with Al Hayat newspaper has reaffirmed that Iran’s nuclear activities are “legal”.
Ahmadinejad blasts West
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday called for developing an alternative economy in the face of the “total failure” of socialism and capitalism.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
We no longer have a capitalist society. We are a Fascist economy, where profits are private and losses socialized, but are rapidly devolving into modern feudalism, where the state owns everything including the people.
Russia to boost staff at Iran’s nuclear power plant
The Russian state company building Iran’s first atomic power station said on Friday it would increase personnel at the plant by at least 25 percent as it readies to start up the nuclear reactor.
This new phase of the project — which involves readying the nuclear reactor for start up — requires that staff be increased to more than 2000 workers from the current 1600, it said.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
A small note to Israel and the US: create one Russian martyr by bombing the reactor site, and you are risking war with Russia.
Finishing this reactor, getting it started up, and expanding the Russian technical staff is sending a message: don’t mess with this.
Let us hope that some adults in the corridors of power in Tel Aviv and Washington are actually listening to what Russia is saying by this action.
Israël, hostilities envers l’Iran et la bande de Gaza:
‘Israeli Air Force is ready to attack Iran’
Israeli Air Force Commander General Ido Nehushtan claims his forces are ready to follow any order to thwart Iran’s nuclear programs.
He added, however, a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities “is a political decision” and has nothing to do with Israel’s military capabilities.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Memo to Israeli Air Force Commander General Ido Nehushtan; there is one factor neither you, nor the politicians in Israel want to discuss, and that’s the 6,0000 lb gorilla in the living room, sitting on the Steinway.
What will Russia do if one of its major trading partners gets attacked?
War with Russia, anyone?
Thought not.
Israel ‘prepared to attack’ Iran nuclear plants
“We could not risk an operation which would only partially succeed, » one defence official told The Times.
« That would leave us open to a nuclear attack from Iran’s remaining weapons stock. Israel would likely need the support, the backing, of forces from a Western ally to successfully carry out the operation,” he said.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Okay, let us back up here a moment and take a closer look.
Iran does not have any nuclear weapons. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which allows Iran to develop nuclear power stations and to make fuel for them. The United States is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which obligates it to assist Iran in building nuclear power stations. In exchange for this assistance, Iran agrees not to build nuclear weapons and allows inspectors to look over their shoulders to make sure they are playing by the rules. So far, the IAEA has not found any indications that Iran is doing anything other than building a power station.
The brouhaha over enrichment is simple. Uranium must be enriched to make it useful for either power stations or bombs.
Uranium has to be enriched to about 3% for power stations, but has to go up to 95% enrichment for weapons. The difference between the two levels of enrichment is not quite as trivial as the media likes to pretend it is.
Iran is enriching uranium to 3% for the power station Russia is helping them build. Again, the IAEA has found no indications of attempts to enrich to the 95% level required for weapons.
The claim that Iran’s enrichment for a power station represents a weapons program comes from Israel, which is known to actually be doing what it accuses other nations of; running a clandestine nuclear weapons factory underneath a supposedly peaceful nuclear power plant. Israel, it should be noted, is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and does not allow inspections of their nuclear facilities.
And, it must be noted, Israel has made this accusation before, accusing Iraq of hiding a weapons factory underneath a power station, and acting on this accusation, bombed Iraq’s Osirik power station. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, IAEA experts examined the ruins of the Osirik power station and found nothing to support the claims of covert weapons programs. So we have been down this path before with Israel.
Fool me once …
Report: US Asked Israel Not to Start Any Major Wars Until Obama Takes Office
Amid several bellicose comments about the possibility of an impending Israeli strike against Iran Israeli Defense Ministry officials say they have been contacted by US officials who have asked them to refrain from launching any attacks against Iran until after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Likewise, the officials reportedly have cautioned Israel not to launch its long-reported ground invasion of the Gaza Strip until after the inauguration.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Translation: make any new wars you start Obama’s problems, not our problems!!
Report: Obama to Offer Israel ‘Nuclear Umbrella’ Against Iran
U.S. president-elect will offer Israel a strategic pact designed to fend off any nuclear attack on the Jewish state by Iran, an Israeli newspaper reports.
FOXNews.com
Prospect of Israel war on Iran ’stronger’
Israeli sources told the Times on Friday that in the past few weeks Tel Aviv has witnessed an increase in the chances of launching an airborne attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
The bluster and bombast here is all over the place.
Israel knows that the window is limited for a strike against Iran before Obama becomes the president, as Obama is no where near as carnage-prone as Bush has been in the name of neutralizing Israel’s perceived enemies (and that includes almost all of its neighbors in the Middle East).
Olmert, in his meetings with Bush, is going to appeal for/demand that Bush agree to a strike against Iran, using Iraqi airspace to make it happen.
And Bush just might do it, but not because he sincerely believes that Iran is really a threat.
Putting the US at war against Iran right before the inauguration will thrust Obama into a truly nightmare scenario he won’t be able to back out of easily or gracefully.
Such a move would be insane, childish, and morally reprehensible in the extreme. Of course, that’s never stopped Bush or his minions before.
‘Kill Ahmadinejad, halt Iran’s N-drive’
A former Israeli commander says the West must consider assassinating Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to halt Tehran’s nuclear program.
Former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Moshe « Boogie » Ya’alon told the Australian daily The Sydney Morning Herald that the West should consider all options to stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear drive, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Sunday.
« We have to confront the Iranian revolution immediately, » Ya’alon said. « There is no way to stabilize the Middle East today without defeating the Iranian regime. The Iranian nuclear program must be stopped. »
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Yo « Boogie! »
Iran is building a nuclear power station. The IAEA is watching everything they do (something Israel will not allow at Dimona I might add) and so far there is zero evidence that Iran is doing anything other than building a nuclear power station. Or to put it another way, there is no evidence of a clandestine weapons lab underneath Iran’s power station (again, unlike Dimona).
Might I point out that Israel was making the same claims about Iraq just prior to bombing the Osirik reactor. Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 inspectors visited the ruins of the Iraqi power station and found … ruins of a power station. There was no clandestine weapons lab.
So you will forgive us if we view your statements in the context of yet one more effort by Israel to trick the US into killing people that Israel does not like whose land they covet.
Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack
A familiar coalition of hawks, hardliners and neo-cons expects Obama’s proposed talks with Iran to fail – and they’re already proposing an escalating set of measures instead. Some are meant to occur alongside any future talks. These include steps to enhance coordination with Israel, tougher sanctions against Iran, and a region-wide military buildup of US strike forces, including the prepositioning of military supplies within striking distance of that country.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Attention War Hawks:
Kindly stop jerking off to « Soldier of Fortune » magazine and take a good look at the United States economy and industrial base.
Our nation is not in a position to engage in any more wars of choice. We hover at the edge of ruin form the existing wars of choice.
Our industrial base is a thin shadow of the mighty factories that powered America through WWI and WWII. We cannot sustain the high rate of output of material required for a new war of choice. The two existing wars have drawn down existing stockpiles and years of use in hostile environmental conditions have worn out the current inventory of vehicles, ships, and aircraft.
PS Netflix called. They demand you return your copy of « Patton » as you have kept it was past the usual return-by date.
‘Halt Israeli Nuclear program’
A US research center on nuclear weapons has urged President-elect Barack Obama to press Israel to halt production of its nuclear weapons.
Revoking Israel’s UN Membership
The Gaza Strip is now the largest concentration camp in the world. The situation grows steadily more insufferable for the 1.5 million Palestinians who live there. Deliveries of food, medicine and fuel are made difficult or stopped altogether. Child malnutrition is increasing. Water supplies and drainage have ceased to function. Children die for lack of healthcare. Tunnels to Egypt, dug by hand, are the only breathing space. Journalists and diplomats are denied entry. Israel is planning more military efforts.
Barak: Israel will act in Gaza when time and place are right
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Wednesday to discuss the future of Israel’s policy on the Gaza Strip, after the ongoing cease-fire with Hamas comes to end next week.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
It’s just a matter of time before Israel mounts a full assault on Gaza; they’ve already « softened up » Gazan Palestinians with malnutrition and disease to the point where the IDF can go in for the « kill » anytime Israel pleases.
But I would again caution members of the current Israeli government to be careful what they wish for. Sometimes, immoral actions, and the creation of even more « collateral damage » (read: the killing of women, children, the old and the medically fragile) in Gaza may have rampant unexpected consequences.
And this time, there will be cameras running to film the carnage, so the world can see precisely what Israel considers to be « self defense ».
Israeli army awaiting order for ground offensive in Gaza
As the fragile Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, is ending in eight days, Israeli military leaders stated on Wednesday that the Army is ready to carry out any military offensive the political leaders order, Israeli Ynet News reported.
Military sources said that the army already submitted to the political leadership in Israel several scenarios of action that were in turn handed to the cabinet.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This must be Olmert’s parting shot – literally – to Gazan Palestinians.
One has to wonder how many innocent lives will be snuffed out in this next Israeli military offensive.
Livni calls of a large-scaled military offensive in Gaza
sraeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, stated on Wednesday that the Israeli army should carry a large-scaled military offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for what she described as « the violation of the truce ».
On the ground, Israel already violated the truce, carried offensives, killed, wounded and kidnapped Palestinians, and kept the border crossings sealed in spite that the truce states that Israel should open the border terminals.
Yet, Livni said that Israel must make it clear to Hamas that it is responsible for the deterioration of the situation.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Memo to Foreign Minister Livni:
You and your colleagues in the Israeli must be damned proud of yourselves. Gaza has been starved, medical attention has been denied to desperately ill Gazan Palestinians, and you folks have collectively done a grand job of « softening Gazan Palestinians up » for the Israeli military « kill ».
But understand this: you’re not going to be able to get away with this without full-blown reports of the carnage, mayhem, and destruction you will create getting out for a watching – and stunned – world to see.
Be careful what you wish for, Minister Livni: immoral actions have a way of not delivering quite the result you had anticipated. In fact, many times those actions have a way of producing the absolutely diametric opposite outcome to what you hoped to accomplish.
Vilnai: Israel nearing wide-scale Gaza op
Israel is nearing a wide-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Saturday, several hours after eight Israel Defense Forces soldiers were injured in a mortar shell attack on the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel.
« We must know that the only solution is reaching an understanding with the Palestinians. We must work with every element on the Palestinian side we can talk to, but in Gaza there’s no one to talk to and the only language there is military power. »
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Translation: this will be an annihilation of every man, woman, and kid still breathing in Gaza during this military assault.
This is what the siege of Gaza has been all about; literally « softening up » Palestinian Gazans with disease and malnutrition, for the Israeli « kill » of this on-coming assault.
Following a barrage of mortar shells and Qassam rockets that wounded 8 Israel Defense Forces soldiers near the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, a Likud MK proposed using Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners as human shields to deter future rocket attacks.
MK Gilad Erdan suggested Israel build an open-air, unprotected detention facility in the Western Negev, where the majority of rockets and mortars from Gaza land, and fill it with militants currently held in Israeli jails.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Ignoring the fact that it was Israel’s attack on November 5th that stirred things up.
LIVNI WANTS TO COMPLETE THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ISRAEL IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A RACIST STATE.
Tzipi Livni, Israel’s Foreign Minister and leader of the Kadima Party, has told students at a Tel Aviv high school that, once a Palestinian state has been created, Israeli Arabs should leave Israel to go and live in the new Palestinian state.
Confirming her racist credentials, she also told the students that: “The idea is to maintain two states for two peoples…”
NEW HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON ISRAELI APARTHEID SYSTEM
Basic human rights, such as health, a life of dignity, education, housing, equality, freedom from racism, freedom of expression, privacy and democracy are increasingly being violated in Israel, a human rights watchdog group warned Sunday.
UNHRC calls for more Israeli concessions
UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday called on Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported.
After two days of discussions, the council, which consists of 47 member states, passed a list of 99 ‘recommendations’ of gestures for Israel to make to ease Palestinian suffering, including freeing all prisoners.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This will happen….when pigs fly.
The only thing that will get the government of Israel’s attention is a concerted, united, and immediate withdrawal of all financial, military aid, and economic cooperation from the rest of the world to show Israel that the world will not stand by, and allow the catastrophe Israel has created in Gaza to continue.
Of course, that won’t happen, because world leaders have been completely brainwashed that everything Israel does « in self defense » (like preventing infants from getting desperately needed medical attention to save their lives, or causing malnutrition in kids by preventing food supplies in) is perfectly justifiable
UN agency warns of food shortage in Gaza due to Israeli blockade
Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman of the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza told reporters that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is mounting and food aids would run out within two days.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Memo to Adnan Abu Hasna and UNRWA: starvation of the Gazan people is precisely the outcome Israel wants.
Israel has been talking about a major military incursion into Gaza for some time now, and this is simply, and literally, « softening up » Gazan Palestinians for the kill.
What has to happen is two-fold: The UN must demand that emergency supplies be allowed through. If not, Israel must lose its member status in the UN.
Secondly, all foreign support of Israel, monetary and military, must come to a screeching halt until the above is accomplished.
That, the government of Israel will understand.
Unfortunately, the latter is about as likely to happen as pigs flying, because governmental leaders have been brainwashed to accept everything Israel does to Palestinians as « self-defense » (such as preventing sick infants from getting the medical care they need to live, and creating malnutrition in Palestinian kids).
That’s why we need many (and very brave)honest reporters up to the task alerting the world about the true conditions on the ground in Gaza.
Iran to send relief ship to Gaza
Iran‘s Red Crescent announced on Wednesday that it is sending a relief ship to the Gaza Strip, in the face of an Israeli blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
The official did not disclose the nationality of the ship, but said the cargo will include 500 tonnes of wheat, 200 tonnes of sugar, 200 tonnes of rice, 50 tonnes of cooking oil and 50 tonnes of medical supplies.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This could get ugly very quickly.
Let us hope that whatever happens to the ship and its cargo, that there are adults in the room in both Tehran and Tel Aviv as it approaches Gaza.
UN attacks Israeli rights ‘crimes’
Israel‘s policies against the Palestinians are tantamount to a « crime against humanity », the United Nations’ human rights rapporteur has said.
Richard Falk said in a statement on Tuesday that the UN must « implement the agreed norm of a responsibility to protect a civilian population being collectively punished by policies that amount to a crime against humanity ».
How Israel kills Palestinians with Remote Control Guns – shooting fish in a Barrel IDF style
This is no game and several of these systems have recently been installed and are in use , live, along the Israel-Gaza border. The video of the female operator is chilling – her unhurried , yet lethal operation, poise and perfect make up – ensures and maintains the disatnce from the blood and guts of actually blasting people to bits.
Israel blocks bid by Arab MPS to break Gaza Blockade
Israeli security forces boarded a boat in the port of Jaffa on Sunday to prevent a bid by Arab members of parliament to deliver aid to Gaza in defiance of a crippling blockade.
« We were preparing to set sail for the Gaza Strip to deliver hundreds of kilogrammes (pounds) of medicines and basic goods and the maritime police stopped us weighing anchor, » said Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Translation: Israel continues to « soften up » Palestinian Gazans with a combination of malnutrition, illness, and death for the military onslaught to come.
And I’m sure that the siege’s outcome of malnutrition in children and infants (as documented by the UN human rights commission) must give Israeli politicians a truly strong sense of accomplishment!
Tel Aviv police seize Israeli-Arab boat set to deliver aid to Gaza
Israeli police on Sunday foiled an attempt by Israeli Arabs to set off in a boat from Israel to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with a cargo of food and medical supplies.
Israel‘s blockade of the Gaza Strip has been stepped up in recent weeks amid a surge of violence along its frontier with the Palestinian territory.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Israel initiated renewed hostilities with their attack on November 5th, then starves the Palestinians, then claims they are to blame for it.
Israel prevents 15 medicine-laden trucks into Gaza
Israel on Sunday prevented 15 trucks loaded with different kinds of medicines from passing through one of Gaza Strip crossings, a Palestinian health ministry official said.
Mo’aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry, said in a statement that the Gaza Strip has been under a strict Israeli blockade for 13 days.
« The medical situation is worsening and we are living in a severe humanitarian crisis as Israel prevented the entrance of 15 trucks loaded with medicine from the West Bank into Gaza, » said Hassanein.
Dark days in Gaza: Residents worried about winter
The sound of generators on the sidewalks of Gaza on the weekend made it hard for pedestrians to hear one another. Even though only a few of the well-kept stores on Omar el-Mukhtar Street, one bank and two carpentries, used generators, the noise was still great. The power outage meant most stores were dark, but it did not matter much anyway: There were no shoppers on the street.
Traffic was also sparse, much less than what one might expect on a Saturday that is followed by a national holiday: 20 years since Yasser Arafat’s declaration of Palestinian independence.
Israel Bans International Media from Gaza, Arrests Human Rights Activists
Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza to cover the deteriorating humanitarian situation there as the country ‘s complete closure of the territory enters a third week.
Foreign Reporters’ Group Fights Israeli Prohibition on Entering Gaza
An association representing international news organizations is campaigning for an end to an unusual Israeli policy barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza that has lasted for almost two weeks.
Israeli forces destroy Palestinian greenhouses and farms in Gaza
Local sources report that a group of Israeli-armored bulldozers and tanks invaded the al-Fukhari neighborhood east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday morning, and bulldozed a number of farms.
According to eyewitnesses, the bulldozers crushed a number of Palestinian greenhouses and razed potato fields belonging to Palestinian farmers.
Feiglin’s missing manifesto: Israel should quit UN, cut off water to Palestinians
An extreme right-wing text by Likud member Moshe Feiglin disappeared on Tuesday from the Web site of his Jewish Leadership movement. In the piece written five years ago, Feiglin says Israel should cut off water and electricity service to the Palestinian territories, withdraw from the United Nations and boycott the Olympics.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
It’s pretty obvious: when it comes to the issues of Palestinian rights and statehood, this guy is unabashedly to the right of Attila the Hun!
But what is even more disturbing is the strong resonance so many Israelis have with his perspectives, as demonstrated by Tuesday’s elections.
Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border
AS a convoy of blue-and-white United Nations trucks loaded with food waited last night for Israeli permission to enter Gaza, Jindiya Abu Amra and her 12-year-old daughter went scrounging for the wild grass their family now lives on.
“We had one meal today – khobbeizeh,” said Abu Amra, 43, showing the leaves of a plant that grows along the streets of Gaza. “Every day, I wake up and start looking for wood and plastic to burn for fuel and I beg. When I find nothing, we eat this grass.”
Webmaster’s Commentary:
This starvation in Gaza is precisely one of the outcomes the Israeli government wants to have happen in this siege.
Between malnutrition and disease, Israel is « softening up » Palestinian Gazans for the « kill » of an IDF onslaught.
It may well not happen at the end of Olmert’s watch, but if Netanyahu is elected in February, I wouldn’t bet against it.
Kristallnacht in Hebron
Unconcerned about arrest by the police or prosecution by the Israeli justice system, fanatical Jewish settlers in the Palestinian town of Hebron (Al-Khalil) have been attacking Palestinians, damaging and ransacking their property, exactly like Nazi thugs did to Jewish-owned property in Germany 80 years ago.
The settlers, who claim to be acting in the name of true Judaism, espouse a messianic doctrine advocating violence and terror against non- Jews in Israel-Palestine for the purpose of creating a pure Jewish kingdom that would be ruled by Halacha, or Jewish religious law.
House torched in the Old City of Hebron
A Palestinian family of the Old City of Hebron had the top floor of their home torched by a mob of settlers early Saturday morning.
In addition to the fire the violent settlers also attacked the lower floors of the home, completely ransacking and ruining the Al-’Uweiwi family’s kitchen. During the attack Nidal Al-’Uweiwi, his wife and his nine children were all forced to barricade themselves inside a small room of the house so as to not be attacked by the settlers.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
So this is how the (illegal) settlers operate to claim more Palestinian territory: one torched Palestinian home at a time.
Memo to the Israeli government: You’ve got a PR catastrophe on your hands.
You cannot possibly talk with a straight face about « being the only true democracy in the Middle East » when you allow acts like this to continue to happen, and to continue to go unpunished.
World Bank warns Gaza banks may collapse
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund warned Saturday that Gaza’s severe cash shortage may cause local banks to collapse.
It was the most serious warning yet regarding the consequences of Israel’s continued refusal to allow new money infusions into banks in the Palestinian territory.
Israel has not allowed money to enter Gaza since October, barring Palestinian banks from transferring cash to their Gaza branches. It is part of a larger blockade imposed on Gaza in response to Palestinian rocket attacks from the territory controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
… or an unreasonable facsimile thereof.
Nobel laureate Maguire: UN should suspend Israel membership
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire said Thursday the United Nations should suspend or revoke Israel’s membership.
Maguire said Israel should be punished for ignoring a series of United Nations resolutions over the years.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
UN Resolutions Against Israel, 1955-1992
1. Resolution 106: « …‘condemns’ Israel for Gaza raid »
2. Resolution 111: « …‘condemns’ Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people »
3. Resolution 127: « …‘recommends’ Israel suspend its ‘no-man’s zone’ in Jerusalem »
4. Resolution 162: « …‘urges’ Israel to comply with UN decisions »
5. Resolution 171: « …determines flagrant violations’ by Israel in its attack on Syria »
6. Resolution 228: « …‘censures’ Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control »
7. Resolution 237: « …‘urges’ Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees »
8. Resolution 248: « …‘condemns’ Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan »
9. Resolution 250: « …‘calls’ on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem »
10. Resolution 251: « …‘deeply deplores’ Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in defiance of Resolution 250 »
11. Resolution 252: « …‘declares invalid’ Israel’s acts to unify Jerusalem as Jewish capital »
12. Resolution 256: « …‘condemns’ Israeli raids on Jordan as ‘flagrant violation »
13. Resolution 259: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation »
14. Resolution 262: « …‘condemns’ Israel for attack on Beirut airport »
15. Resolution 265: « …‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks for Salt in Jordan »
16. Resolution 267: « …‘censures’ Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem »
17. Resolution 270: « …‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon »
18. Resolution 271: « …‘condemns’ Israel’s failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem »
19. Resolution 279: « …‘demands’ withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon »
20. Resolution 280: « ….‘condemns’ Israeli’s attacks against Lebanon »
21. Resolution 285: « …‘demands’ immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon »
22. Resolution 298: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s changing of the status of Jerusalem »
23. Resolution 313: « …‘demands’ that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon »
24. Resolution 316: « …‘condemns’ Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon »
25. Resolution 317: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon »
26. Resolution 332: « …‘condemns’ Israel’s repeated attacks against Lebanon »
27. Resolution 337: « …‘condemns’ Israel for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty »
28. Resolution 347: « …‘condemns’ Israeli attacks on Lebanon »
29. Resolution 425: « …‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon »
30. Resolution 427: « …‘calls’ on Israel to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon’
31. Resolution 444: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces »
32. Resolution 446: « …‘determines’ that Israeli settlements are a ‘serious obstruction’ to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention »
33. Resolution 450: « …‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon »
34. Resolution 452: « …‘calls’ on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories »
35. Resolution 465: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s settlements and asks all member states not to assist Israel’s settlements program »
36. Resolution 467: « …‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s military intervention in Lebanon »
37. Resolution 468: « …‘calls’ on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return »
38. Resolution 469: « …‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s failure to observe the council’s order not to deport Palestinians »
39. Resolution 471: « …‘expresses deep concern’ at Israel’s failure to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention »
40. Resolution 476: « …‘reiterates’ that Israel’s claims to Jerusalem are ‘null and void’
41. Resolution 478: « …‘censures (Israel) in the strongest terms’ for its claim to Jerusalem in its ‘Basic Law’
42. Resolution 484: « …‘declares it imperative’ that Israel re-admit two deported Palestinian mayors »
43. Resolution 487: « …‘strongly condemns’ Israel for its attack on Iraq’s nuclear facility »
44. Resolution 497: « …‘decides’ that Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights is ‘null and void’ and demands that Israel rescind its decision forthwith »
45. Resolution 498: « …‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon »
46. Resolution 501: « …‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops »
47. Resolution 509: « …‘demands’ that Israel withdraw its forces forthwith and unconditionally from Lebanon »
48. Resolution 515: « …‘demands’ that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and allow food supplies to be brought in »
49. Resolution 517: « …‘censures’ Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon »
50. Resolution 518: « …‘demands’ that Israel cooperate fully with UN forces in Lebanon »
51. Resolution 520: « …‘condemns’ Israel’s attack into West Beirut »
52. Resolution 573: « …‘condemns’ Israel ‘vigorously’ for bombing Tunisia in attack on PLO headquarters
53. Resolution 587: « …‘takes note’ of previous calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and urges all parties to withdraw »
54. Resolution 592: « …‘strongly deplores’ the killing of Palestinian students at Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops »
55. Resolution 605: « …‘strongly deplores’ Israel’s policies and practices denying the human rights of Palestinians
56. Resolution 607: « …‘calls’ on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention
57. Resolution 608: « …‘deeply regrets’ that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians »
58. Resolution 636: « …‘deeply regrets’ Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians
59. Resolution 641: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s continuing deportation of Palestinians
60. Resolution 672: « …‘condemns’ Israel for violence against Palestinians at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount
61. Resolution 673: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the United Nations
62. Resolution 681: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s resumption of the deportation of Palestinians
63. Resolution 694: « …‘deplores’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return
64. Resolution 726: « …‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians
65. Resolution 799: « …‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of 413 Palestinians and calls for their immediate return.
Video: Torture Speaks – Israel / Palestine
Remember: every one of your tax dollars which supports Israel supports precisely this kind of Israeli behavior, for which no one is ever held accountable.
Notice that these men mention detention, but never trial and conviction.
These stories are chilling, and terribly disturbing, but need to be heard and shown to the world so that the world understand precisely how their support of Israel manifests in the torture of its prisoners.
U.S. spies on Israel nukes, govt–official history
The United States routinely spies on Israel to try to gather information on its assumed atomic arsenal and secret government deliberations, a new official history of Israel’s intelligence services says.
While espionage by allies on their friends is not uncommon, it is rare that state-sponsored publications acknowledge it. Israeli-U.S. ties have been especially touchy in this regard since a U.S. Navy analyst, Jonathan Pollard, was jailed for life for treason in 1987 for passing classified documents to Israel.
Report: Israeli mineral water company closes site due to Scottish boycott
A Gush Shalom report claims that European anger at Israeli companies producing goods beyond the Green Line is causing real harm to some companies, one of which is reportedly mineral water producer Mayanot Eden.
The report claims Mayanot Eden (coloquially known as « Mei Eden ») had to close its warehouse in the town of Loanhead, south of Edinburgh.
Hebron settlers desecrate mosque
Jewish settlers protesting against an official Israeli eviction order have desecrated Muslim buildings in the flashpoint West Bank town of Hebron.
They sprayed « Death to Arabs » and an insult to the Prophet Muhammad on a mosque wall and vandalised a cemetery.
PHOTO OF THE DAY ~~ JEWISH DEAD vs. MUSLIM DEAD
Ever hear the wails and screams of anti Semitism when a Jewish grave is vandalised in Eastern Europe? Did you hear ONE WORD ABOUT THIS INCIDENT?????
JEWISH PARENTS WANT ARABS OUT OF TEL AVIV SCHOOL
Parents in south Tel Aviv who are seeking to prevent two Arab girls from attending their children’s school are denying accusations of racism, saying they’re worried about academic standings.
Court frees settler seen shooting at Palestinians
A Jerusalem court on Wednesday freed a Jewish settler suspected of firing on Palestinians at point blank range in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron.
The judge ordered the immediate release of Braudeh and criticised Israeli police for failing to arrest any of the stone-throwing Palestinians.
« Police are treating the Palestinian behaviour in this incident extremely light-handedly, » the ruling said. « We can not take part in this blatant discrimination
Webmaster’s Commentary:
One has to wonder if this judge does not appreciate the heavy irony in his use of the term « blatant discrimination », considering how settlers routinely harass, beat up, and kill Palestinians, and destroy their houses and their olive groves.
Settler who shot a Palestinian in al-Khalil released
Israeli radio reported on Wednesday that an Israeli settler who shot a Palestinian in al-Khalil was set free by a magistrate who rebuked the IOF for not arresting the Palestinians who were throwing stones.
Malka Aviv, a judge at the magistrates court in Jerusalem, ordered the release of Ze’ev Brauda from « house arrest » after his lawyer claimed that Brauda acted in self defence and even claimed that the Palestinian who was shot got up again and started throwing stones.
Mossad role in Turkey coup plot revealed
Israel‘s national intelligence agency Mossad has been behind a failed coup in Turkey, the Turkish daily newspaper, Milliyet reports.
A secret investigation into detained Ergenekon group members and other studies outside Turkey indicate that Mossad orche
strated the coup plot against the Turkish government, the report says.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Something for the people in Mumbai to keep in mind.
Piracy in the Red Sea: Saudi points towards Israel
Not only do columnists and analysts openly accuse Israel of sponsoring acts of piracy that multiply off Somali waters, but they also do not hide their fears of an internationalization of security in the Red Sea, where Israel plays a decisive role.
“What is happening in the Horn of Africa is not a simple case of piracy. These acts of piracy raise various questions about the capabilities and equipment of simple outlaws who are seeking ransoms,” wrote Tuesday (November 25) Nawaf Al-Meshal Sabhan in the Saudi daily Al-Iqtissadia.
L’Union européenne capitule devant Israël
par Alain Gresh
Les ministres des affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne ont adopté, les 8 et 9 décembre, un texte intitulé « Council Conclusions Strengthening of the EU bilateral relations with its Mediterranean partners – upgrade with Israel ». Sous l’impulsion de la présidence française, le principe de rehausser les relations entre Israël et l’Union européenne a été accepté. Déjà, avant la tenue du sommet méditerranéen, Paris avait essayé de faire adopter cette mesure, mais avait dû reculer devant la levée de boucliers de certains régimes arabes, notamment l’Egypte (lire « Enquête sur le virage de la diplomatie française », Le Monde diplomatique, juin 2008).
Ce texte a été adopté après de nombreuses discussions. La première version présentée par la France faisait la part belle à Israël et a suscité des réserves chez certains des partenaires – notamment le Royaume-Uni et la Belgique – qui ont demandé un « rééquilibrage » du texte. Un comble, quand on pense qu’il y a quelques années encore, la France était accusée d’être pro-arabe.
Notons aussi que ce texte a été entériné le jour même où l’expert de l’ONU sur les droits humains dans les territoires palestiniens, Richard Falk, demandait la mise en oeuvre de « la norme reconnue de la « responsabilité de protéger » une population civile punie collectivement par des politiques qui s’assimilent à un crime contre l’humanité ». Dans le même sens, ajoutait-il, « il semble que c’est le mandat de la Cour pénale internationale d’enquêter sur la situation, et de déterminer si les dirigeants politiques israéliens et les chefs militaires responsables du siège de Gaza doivent être inculpés et poursuivis pour violations du droit pénal international ».
Finalement, le texte adopté par l’Union européenne intègre des références à la politique de voisinage européenne, au Maroc, à la Tunisie, et à presque tous les Etats arabes, références purement formelles qui permettent de faire passer l’essentiel : le point 9, qui affirme la détermination du Conseil à rehausser les relations avec Israël. Il est toutefois souligné que ce rehaussement doit avoir lieu dans le contexte de « nos intérêts communs », qui incluent la résolution du conflit israélo-palestinien sur la base de la coexistence de deux Etats.
Une longue annexe comprend les lignes directrices pour renforcer les structures du dialogue politique avec Israël.
D’abord, la tenue régulière de réunions des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de l’Union européenne et d’Israël, un privilège qui n’était accordé jusque-là qu’à quelques grands Etats, Chine, Russie, Inde, etc. La première réunion devrait avoir lieu sous la présidence de la République tchèque, pays qui, selon la formule d’un haut fonctionnaire à Bruxelles, « ne défend pas la politique du gouvernement israélien, mais celle du Likoud »(…)
Lire la suite de cet article d’Alain Gresh.
Europeans Seek to Revive Nuclear Weapons Ban
The European Union is trying to revive a movement to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, proposing a global ban on nuclear testing and a moratorium on the production of all fissile material, according to a letter from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, made public on Monday.
Webmaster’s Commentary:
Now, about Dimona…
LNI Média 
