Émission de L’Autre Monde du 13 mars 2008: Économie, Pétrole, Moyen-Orient, Rareté de la nourriture, Espace
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L’Autre Monde 13 mars 2008
60 min / Radio de l’UQAM, CHOQ FM
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– Dans notre tour de monde avec Les Nouvelles Internationales, nous avons le Kosovo, le Moyen-Orient et Israël/Palestine et on parle d’une nouvelle course pour l’espace ainsi que la rareté de la nourriture et l’augmentation des prix partout de celle-ci.
Hyperliens vers les sources des informations discutées sur l’émission d’aujourd’hui:
Changements climatiques et réserves de nourriture et sa grandissante rareté
2008: The year of global food crisis
IT IS the new face of hunger. A perfect storm of food scarcity, global warming, rocketing oil prices and the world population explosion is plunging humanity into the biggest crisis of the 21st century by pushing up food prices and spreading hunger and poverty from rural areas into cities.
The problem is that the global warming cultists have created this food crisis with this lame-brained idea that we could divert farm lands from food production into making fuel for our cars and that this would be carbon-neutral on the theory that the plants absorb as much carbon as burning the fuel produces.
This is, of course, not true. The promises of carbon-neutrality fail to take into account the emissions created by the processing used to convert the plant material into ethanol. But then the purveyors of panic seldom really thing these things all the way through, and as this last winter’s temperatures showed, the claim that the Earth faces catastrophic global warming lacks real scientific foundation. Yes, it is true that the scientists rich on grants to study global warming for the most part see a problem, but grant-driven science has created some notorious scarecrows in recent decades, including the Y2K bug (it didn’t happen), Bird Flu Pandemic (also not happening), and the loss of the Ozone Layer (turns out that hole over Antarctica has been there all along).
These fashionable « scientific emergencies » are a great way for government to keep the public from looking at real issues, like how we got lied into a war, or whether our voting system is really honest. And for those in a position to exploit these pseudo-science public relations campaigns, a great deal of money can be made in a very short time. Right now there are warehouses filled with Bird Flu vaccine, purchased at taxpayer expense, which will most likely never be used (a good thing when you consider the problems with vaccines these days), and will sit there until they rot and get dumped into the landfills (and into the water supply). But the vaccine maker got their money, so who cares, right?
Human-caused Global Warming is not science. It is a hoax, perpetuated by government that wants to give people something to fret about that does not endanger the oligarchy. along the way, GW ™ is used to justify greater control over the private lives of people, not to mention yet more taxes. GW is also loved by corporations eager to sell more products, many of which, like ethanol, actually give you LESS value while costing more money.
And now the GW cult has brought about a disruption in the food supply. Not their problem, of course; they were only out to save the Earth, and those pesky useless eaters just get in the way with their cars and light bulbs and oth8ert icky human stuff! The globe is just much better off without them (or so says this « Aftermath » program on TV, which lauds how wonderful nature will come back after humans vanish).
And again, this illustrates how the Global Warming Cult (industry) really wasn’t thinking globally. The goal was to sell ethanol, so that businessmen who don’t actually own oil wells can get into the fuel industry. Lobbying resulted in a mandated ethanol fuel and literally out of nothing, a whole new business was created out of thin air for the politically connected to leap into. Yet these people who claim to care so much about the Earth were oblivious to the fact that Earth is finite. That includes farmlands. In order to grow corn for fuel they must STOP growing corn for food. That doesn’t seem very globally aware thinking to me. But then again, maybe they just don;t really care. Because after all, the end result is that they are selling us a less powerful fuel for far more money. and that seems to be the American way of doing business these days.
So, the ethanol gets sold, more emissions get poured into the air than before, and since ethanol contains less chemical energy than gas, you have to buy and burn MORE of it to go the same distance. And food shortages result, which drives up food prices, but hey, that’s someone ELSE’S problem; we’re just here to sell ethanol and get our chunk of the fuel economy pie!
More than 73 million people in 78 countries that depend on food handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are facing reduced rations this year. The increasing scarcity of food is the biggest crisis looming for the world », according to WFP officials.
At the same time, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that rising prices have triggered a food crisis in 36 countries
The bank points out that global food prices have risen by 75% since 2000, while wheat prices have increased by 200%. The cost of other staples such as rice and soya bean have also hit record highs, while corn is at its most expensive in 12 years.
In India last year, more than 25,000 farmers took their own lives, driven to despair by grain shortages and farming debts.
The increasing cost of grains is also pushing up the price of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. And there is every likelihood prices will continue their relentless rise, according to expert predictions by the UN and developed countries.
High prices have already prompted a string of food protests around the world, with tortilla riots in Mexico, disputes over food rationing in West Bengal and protests over grain prices in Senegal, Mauritania and other parts of Africa. In Yemen, children have marched to highlight their hunger, while in London last week hundreds of pig farmers protested outside Downing Street.
Already we have riots, hoarding, panic: the sign of things to come?
The spectre of food shortages is casting a shadow across the globe, causing riots in Africa, consumer protests in Europe and panic in food-importing countries. In a world of increasing affluence, the hoarding of rice and wheat has begun. The President of the Philippines made an unprecedented call last week to the Vietnamese Prime Minister, requesting that he promise to supply a quantity of rice.
Macy’s Grocery Store: Wheat Shortage is Here
During our department meeting at our local Macey’s grocery store, the director gave us a copy of this letter and said that wheat prices will be doubling in the next three weeks and the stores will be limited in what they will be able to get from the warehouse. Wheat bread will be about $4.00 a loaf soon. I have noticed in just a week the price of wheat has gone up $7.00.
Tons of food aid rotting in Haiti ports
While millions of Haitians go hungry, containers full of food are stacking up in the nation’s ports because of government red tape — leaving tons of beans, rice and other staples to rot under a sweltering sun or be devoured by vermin.
We constantly hear about food shortages, yet here in the United States, we still waste half of the food produced. With a bit more care and awareness, we could feed almost twice as many people with no increase in actual harvests.
Bend over and spread ’em, Canadians.
Ottawa approves the Carbon Tax even as Canadians dig out from record snowfalls.
New Proposals To Fight Global Warming Would End Civilization, Kill Billions
stone age man at least was able to make use of fire – that too would presumably be banned under the measures being proposed.
« I know! We can save Earth by killing off all those icky human beings! » — Official White Horse Souse
CO2 & Temperature
(also see Temperature Record)
The ice-core data is frequently cited as principal evidence to argue that CO2 is the earth’s main climate driver. It is, in a way, the jewel in the crown of the theory of man made global warming. But the ice-core data does not show that CO2 drives climate. It shows, very clearly, that variations in temperature precede rises in atmospheric CO2 – not the other way round. The two phenomena are divided by a time lag of several hundred years.
There is no evidence that CO2 has ever ‘driven’ the climate in the past, nor is there any compelling evidence that it is doing so now.
Économie
International experts foresee collapse of U.S. economy
Harry Koza in the Globe and Mail quotes Bernard Connelly, the global strategist at Banque AIG in London, who claims that the likelihood of a Great Depression is growing by the day.
Martin Wolf, celebrated columnist of the U.K.-based Financial Times, cites Dr. Nouriel Roubini of the New York University’s Stern School of Business, who, in 12 steps, outlines how the losses of the American financial system will grow to more than $1 trillion – that’s one million times $1 million. That amount is equal to all the assets of all American banks.
Every day now, thousands of people all over the U.S. and Great Britain are walking away from their homes – simply mailing their house keys to the banks – as housing bailout plans fail.
Derivatives the new ‘ticking bomb’
Buffett and Gross warn: $516 trillion bubble is a disaster waiting to happen
Derivatives bubble explodes five times bigger in five years
Wall Street didn’t listen to Buffett. Derivatives grew into a massive bubble, from about $100 trillion to $516 trillion by 2007. The new derivatives bubble was fueled by five key economic and political trends:
To grasp how significant this five-fold bubble increase is, let’s put that $516 trillion in the context of some other domestic and international monetary data:
- U.S. annual gross domestic product is about $15 trillion
- U.S. money supply is also about $15 trillion
- Current proposed U.S. federal budget is $3 trillion
- U.S. government’s maximum legal debt is $9 trillion
- U.S. mutual fund companies manage about $12 trillion
- World’s GDPs for all nations is approximately $50 trillion
- Unfunded Social Security and Medicare benefits $50 trillion to $65 trillion
- Total value of the world’s real estate is estimated at about $75 trillion
- Total value of world’s stock and bond markets is more than $100 trillion
- BIS valuation of world’s derivatives back in 2002 was about $100 trillion
- BIS 2007 valuation of the world’s derivatives is now a whopping $516 trillion
Oil spike to last through 2008: OPEC president
Oil prices will stay at current high levels for the rest of this year due to speculation and geopolitical tensions, Algerian state media on Monday reported OPEC President Chakib Khelil as saying.
Prices could retreat in 2009 with a recovery of the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange markets following the election of a new U.S. president, and as fundamentals reassert themselves as major market forces, he was reported as saying by government newspaper El Moudjahid and state news agency APS.
Oil stay above $US105 dollars
OIL prices stayed above $US105 in Asian trade today but were off last week’s record levels amid fresh concerns over the US economy, the world’s biggest energy user, dealers said.
New ‘super-spike’ might mean $200 a barrel oil
With $100-a-barrel here for now, Goldman Sachs says $200 a barrel could be a reality in the not-too-distant future in the case of a « major disruption. »
Translation: « Oil will explode in price when we start bombing Iran. »
See next article down.
WARNING!!! THE G-BOYS ARE BACK!
When asked about the reasons for the investigation and the frivolous use of taxpayer money, their response was:
1. That the Liberty Dollar is flirting with counterfeit laws
2. That the Liberty Dollar is not regulated by the government
3. That widespread use of the Liberty Dollar would further weaken the already weak US government issued dollar
« You WILL use our paper fiat money, and you will LIKE IT!!!!! » — Official White Horse Souse
Consumer Debt Grows to $2.52 Trillion
That is about what the Pentagon announced they had « misplaced » back on September 10th, 2001. If we could just find that missing money and return it to the rightful owners (the taxpayers), we could erase that consumer debt. In fact, since the Pentagon misplaced all our money, let’s just send them our credit card bills and tell them it’s their problem to solve.
TIPS’ Yields Show Fed Has Lost Control of Inflation
Bond investors have never been so sure that the Federal Reserve will lose control of inflation. They’re so convinced that they’re giving up yields just to buy debt securities that protect against rising consumer prices.
Mysterious Charge Shows Up On Omaha Man’s Bank Statement
A mysterious charge is showing up on some bank statements across the country, and bankers said a consumer’s best protection is early detection.
Dimiter Todorov said his wife found a charge for $9.85 on their February bank statement for a company listed as Ich Services.
Credit thieves no longer empty the cards they steal, because that calls attention to their activity. Given that identities are stolen by the tens of thousands via carelessly secured government laptops, criminals now « ping » each account for just a few dollars knowing that in 99% of the cases, the extra charge will never be noticed and no complaint will be filed.
Kosovo
World would back Palestine independence
Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Kosovo’s Western-backed declaration of independence from Serbia one week ago could spur Palestinians into following suit.
« At present there are already some Palestinian politicians who say it is futile to follow up negotiations with Israel and that these negotiations will not yield anything, » Lavrov said on the Vesti 24 television channel.
If politicians in the West heaved a collective sigh of relief that the only bad thing, so far, coming from the declaration of Independence of Kosovo was the torching of the US Embassy in Belgrade, they got it terribly wrong.
That they did not see a movement for Palestine unilaterally declaring its independence as a response to Kosovo having done so shows a truly amazing lack of both foresight and judgment. – M. R.
The Real Story Behind Kosovo’s Independence
By Jeremy Scahill, AlterNet. Posted February 23, 2008.
All of a sudden, DC establishment figures care about « international law » when it suits their interests in Kosovo.
News Flash: The Bush administration acknowledges there is a such thing as international law.
But, predictably, it is not being invoked to address the US prison camps at Guantanamo, the wide use of torture, the invasion and occupation of sovereign countries, the extraordinary rendition program. No, it is being thrown out forcefully as a condemnation of the Serbian government in the wake of Thursday’s attack by protesters on the US embassy in Belgrade following the Bush administration’s swift recognition of the declaration of independence by the southern Serbian province of Kosovo. Some 1,000 protesters broke away from a largely non-violent mass demonstration in downtown Belgrade and targeted the embassy. Some protesters actually made it into the compound, setting a fire and tearing down the American flag.
« I’m outraged by the mob attack against the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, » fumed Zalmay Khalilzad,the US Ambassador to the United Nations. « The embassy is sovereign US territory. The government of Serbia has a responsibility under international law to protect diplomatic facilities, particularly embassies. » His comments were echoed by a virtual who’s who of the Bill Clinton administration. People like Jamie Rubin, then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s deputy, one of the main architects of US policy toward Serbia. « It is sovereign territory of the United States under international law, » Rubin declared. « For Serbia to allow these protesters to break windows, break into the American Embassy, is a pretty dramatic sign. » Hillary Clinton, whose husband orchestrated and ran the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, said, « I would be moving very aggressively to hold the Serbian government responsible with their security forces to protect our embassy. Under international law they should be doing that. »
There are two major issues here. One is the situation in Kosovo itself (which we’ll get to in a moment), but the other is the attack on the US embassy. Yes, the Serbian government had an obligation to prevent the embassy from being torched and ransacked. If there was complicity by the Serbian police or authorities in allowing it to be attacked, that is a serious issue. But the US has little moral authority not just in invoking international law (which it only does when it benefits Washington’s agenda) but in invoking international law when speaking about attacks on embassies in Belgrade.
Perhaps the greatest crime against any embassy in the history of Yugoslavia was committed not by evil Serb protesters, but by the United States military.
On May 7, 1999, at the height of the 78 day US-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the US bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese citizens, two of them journalists, and wounding 20 others. The Clinton administration later said that the bombing was the result of faulty maps provided by the CIA (Sound familiar?). Beijing rejected that explanation and alleged it was deliberate. Eventually, under strong pressure from China, the US apologized and paid $28 million in compensation to the victims’ families. If the US was serious about international law and the protection of embassies, those responsible for that bombing would have been tried at the Hague along with other alleged war criminals. But « war criminal » is a designation for the losers of US-fueled wars, not bombers sent by Washington to drop humanitarian munitions on « sovereign territory. »
Another Kosovo lie exposed: NATO used doctored video to justify bombing of passenger train
Fresh evidence that NATO’s bombing of Chinese embassy in Belgrade was deliberate
The Oil factor in Kosovo independence
Kosovo does not have oil but its location is strategic as the trans-Balkan pipeline – known as AMBO pipeline after its builder and operator the US-registered Albanian Macedonian Bulgarian Oil Corporation – will pass through it.
The pipeline will pump Caspian oil from the Bulgarian port of Burgas via Macedonia to the Albanian port of Vlora, for transport to European countries and the United States. Specifically, the 1.1 billion dollar AMBO pipeline will permit oil companies operating in the Caspian Sea to ship their oil to Rotterdam and the East Coast of the USA at substantially less cost than they are experiencing today.
Russia could use force in Kosovo
Russia’s ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, has warned that Russia could use military force if the Kosovo independence dispute escalates.
« If the EU develops a unified position or if Nato exceeds its mandate set by the UN, then these organisations will be in conflict with the UN, » he said.
In that case Russia would « proceed on the basis that in order to be respected we need to use brute force », he said.
Anyone who couldn’t imagine that the declaration of Kosovo’s independence wouldn’t possibly come to this is both not terribly bright, and also unencumbered with any appreciation of the history of this region.
This includes the policy wonks wonks at the EU and NATO and the US (who should absolutely have known better, but obviously didn’t).
Serb official blames U.S. for violence
In a sign that Serbia is fast drifting away from the West and toward Russia, which is backing its fierce resistance of Kosovo’s secession, hard-line Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica condemned anew the U.S. and other nations that have recognized Kosovo as an independent state.
Notice how Putin and Russia are cast in the role of the « heavies » and bad guys in this article.
What the US, the EU, and NATO have done here is to declare that any part of any country can, unilaterally and pre-emptively, declare its independence (if we say so), even though it may have been part of another country for centuries.
This would be like Texas, or, let’s say, New Hampshire, declaring their independence from the US.
Would the government of the US say, « Gee, that’s great: goodbye. »?.
Or would every available military person be sent immediately to to the capitals of those states to bring them back into the fold of the Republic?
You know exactly what the answer here would be.
And from this precedent, Palestine may be ready to unilaterally declare their independence from Israel.
And at this point, after the US having supported the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, it’s going to be rather hard to explain why Kosovo’s independence is good, but Palestine declaring independence from Israel is wrong, bad, and impossible.
The question is, how far Serbia and Russia are prepared to go to bring Kosovo back to Serbia.
Serbian settlers plan partition of Kosovo
The mostly Serb-populated northern region around the divided town of Mitrovica, next to the Serbian border, has begun preparing a de facto secession from the newborn country that Serb officials consider « illegal ».
Serbia ruling coalition collapses
Serbia‘s Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has said his coalition has collapsed and is calling for elections.
Israël, Palestine et la bande de Gaza
After meeting Condi, Israeli officials start planning for a forced mass evacuation of Palestinians from northern Gaza: Israeli TV
Some reports in English have noted that the Israeli Security Cabinet yesterday decided against any more attempted « partial stoppages » of the rocket attacks, in favor of a « complete stoppage », but they don’t explain what that means.
With a nice little staged « terror » attack to justify it all, of course.
Zionist rabbis says Torah permits killing Palestinian civilians
The association of rabbis for the people and land of Israel headed by extremist rabbi Dov Lior issued on Wednesday a religious ruling legitimizing the shelling of Palestinian civilian gatherings by IOF troops at the pretext of responding to the rocket attacks carried out by the Palestinians.
The new « Osama » shows up…
Popular Resistance Committee? That last word screams « We made this up at a New York public relations firm. »
At least 8 killed at Israeli seminary
I am watching this on TV and all I can think of is that last week Israel killed over 100 people in Palestine, most of whom were not combatants, and we hardly heard about it. 8 people get shot, and it’s the non-stop headline news all day long.
This reeks of a false-flag attack to justify a new aggression by Israel.
SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENTS IS NOT THE ROAD TO PEACE
At a time when Israel is looking for any excuse to justify it’s operations of genocide in both Gaza and the West Bank, one was literally handed to them on silver platter this evening in Jerusalem.
… which is why I am suspicious. Cui Bono? Who gets what they need at this critical time?
Bush tells Olmert US ‘firmly with Israel’ after attack
US President George W. Bush on Thursday assured Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the United States stands with Israel after the « barbaric and vicious attack » on a school in west Jerusalem.
Folks, the false-flag just does not get any more obvious than this. Israel was losing in the court of world opinion. They were looking for an excuse to get back into Gaza and right when they needed it, one shows up.
At least 7 killed at Israeli seminary
A gunman infiltrated a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire in a library Thursday night in an attack that left at least seven dead and more wounded, officials said.
Israel has its excuse to go back into Palestine. How wonderful for them that someone carries out an attack like this EXACTLY when Israel most needed it to deflect world opinion away from what Israel was doing in Palestine.
Fake Al Qaeda
Relinked in light of today’s « terror » attack that gives Israel the excuse they have been wanting to go back into Gaza.
Escape from Gaza or Voluntary Transfer?
“MK (Israeli Knesset member) Aryeh Eldad is hailing the Arab exodus to Egypt as proof that voluntary transfer is indeed an option.”
Remember when Ariel Sharon offered to get out of Gaza if we would just allow Israel to build more est bank settlements? And I predicted that as soon as the settlements were built Israel would manufacture an excuse (like those toy rockets hitting empty lots) to renege on the deal. And here we are,with Israel firmly planted in the West Bank, and Gaza to be emptied to make was for Israel.
And off the coast of Gaza are recently discovered oil and gas fields, which would economically aid Gaza … if Israel would allow the importation of the necessary equipment. But if the Palestinians are « voluntarily transferred », Israel gets that oil and gas.
BTW, « Voluntary transfer » is what Hitler originally planned to do with the Jews in Germany, sending them to Africa or Madagascar, but Zionist leaders demanded Palestine and refused « voluntary transfer. »
But what was not acceptable to the Zionists in Europe (and which then resulted in millions of deaths from typhus in the closing months of the war), is now apparently quite acceptable in Gaza.
Israeli troops loot food, clothes, furniture, equipment from orphanage
Hundreds of Israeli occupation troops stormed a Palestinian orphanage and a boarding school in the southern West Bank City of Hebron early Thursday, looting large amounts of frozen food, dairy products, clothes, shoes, refrigerators and kitchen equipments, local officials and eyewitnesses said.
The World Will Never Accept A Nation of Baby Killers
Appeal to the Outside World: – Israeli Electric Outrage Inflict Serious Damage on Gaza Strip Hospitals
A Qatari Red Crescent official, Mr. Rashid Al-Hindi currently visiting Cairo, is quoted as saying that Gaza Strip Hospitals is calling the world for relief, Al-Hindi also emphasized the importance of sanitation maintenance in homes of the many needy and poverty-stricken Gaza Strip Palestinians.
Even though the translation from Arabic into English is a little rusty, the picture at the head of this article speaks volumes.
Imagine, for one second, the man getting treated is your dad, your uncle, your cousin, or your son.
He may die because common standards of medical care are not available to him, and the hospital is blacked out due to power cuts by Israel.
Would you blame Hamas for your loved one’s condition?
No, you would blame Israel.
The eyes of the world need to be fixed on the humanitarian disaster created by Israeli policy, and find very concrete ways of letting its government know that this is unacceptable.
The death of a medically fragile person (or child) because they couldn’t get treatment they desperately needed has nothing to do with Israel’s right to « self defense »; it has everything to do with Israeli government’s institutionalized sadism in pursuing these policies.
Abbas’ aide reiterates declaring statehood unilaterally if talks faile
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated on Thursday that the Palestinians can declare their statehood unilaterally if talks with Israel fail.
If there was any administration in the history of this country which deserves an industrial-strength booby prize for the unintended consequences of its foreign policy, it’s Bush’s, hands down.
Because if was OK for Kosovo to declare its independence from Serbia, why now is it not OK for Palestine to unilaterally declare ITS independence?
And while w’re at it, why not Hawaii?
This administration will be tying itself in knots to begin to explain why this is OK for Kosovo, but not for other parts of the planet.
If Kosovo, why not Palestine?
In American and EU eyes, a Kosovar declaration of independence from Serbian sovereignty should be recognised, even if Serbia does not agree. However, their attitude was radically different when Palestine declared independence from Israeli occupation on 15 November 1988. Then the US and EU countries (which, in their own eyes, constitute the « international community », to the exclusion of most of mankind) were conspicuously absent as over 100 countries recognised the new State of Palestine, and their non-recognition made this declaration of independence « symbolic », unfortunately for most Palestinians as well.
KOSOVO SPARKS THE STRUGGLE FOR A FREE PALESTINE
The United States cannot justify supporting a free Kosovo at the same time it supports Israel’s continued occupation and enslavement of the Palestinians.
Abbas: PNA to resort to Arab countries if talks with Israel fail/a> Abbas: PNA to resort to Arab countries if talks with Israel fail
Costa Rica recognizes ‘Palestine’
Israel has postponed a planned meeting with Costa Rican officials over the Central American nation’s decision to formally recognize a Palestinian state.
Earlier reports quoted a member of the Palestinian negotiation team as saying that the Palestinians will declare their statehood unilaterally if the talks with Israel continued to achieve no progress.
Looks like Palestine is right on the verge of pulling a Kosovo.
But if this is the case, they had better have their ducks in a row in terms of regional and international support, which, of course, Israel will condemn with every bit of firepower they have.
Israel prepares to commit mass extermination in Gaza
Gaza forced to pump more raw sewage into sea
As temperatures rise after the winter, more people in Israel and the Gaza Strip will head for the seaside but they should beware: Gaza is being forced to dump much more raw sewage into the Mediterranean than before, environmentalists told IRIN.
According to Monther Shoblak, head of the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, before the Israeli-imposed restrictions on fuel imports, the utility was dumping about 20,000 cubic metres of raw sewage into the sea daily. This was due to the outdated treatment plants in the enclave being too small to handle the amount of waste produced by the growing population.
Israel knew full well, during this siege of Gaza, that inadequate power supplies to already inadequate water treatment stations would lead to raw sewage being dumped in the the Mediterranean.
An invention called ‘the Jewish people’
Israel‘s Declaration of Independence states that the Jewish people arose in the Land of Israel and was exiled from its homeland. Every Israeli schoolchild is taught that this happened during the period of Roman rule, in 70 CE. The nation remained loyal to its land, to which it began to return after two millennia of exile. Wrong, says the historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened – hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It’s all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts.
My ancestors (Rivero is a Sephardic name) were among those who split from Judea in 70AD and moved to Spain, became noble, became rich, fought in the crusades, then were forcibly converted to Catholicism in the 1490s.
In contrast, most of the Jewish people living in Israel are Ashkenazi, who have no genetic link to the Biblical Hebrews at all. But they like to claim they do, as part of what Shlomo Zand correctly describes as the justification for the existance of Israel (on land stolen from the Palestinians, who actually ARE the genetic descendants of the Biblical Hebrews.
Israelis know this. They have actively suppressed scientific evidence that shows Palestinians and ARAB Jews are the descendants of Biblical Hebrews.
The irony here is how these converted Khazars, who are not actually descendants of the Semites, call me, an actual genetic descendant of the Biblical Hebrews, « Anti-Semitic »! 🙂
Abdullah Offers to Rebuild All Gaza Homes
« The king has ordered the reconstruction of Palestinian houses at the expense of the Saudi government, » Al-Jazirah Arabic daily quoted the minister as saying. Al-Manie did not say how many Palestinian homes would be rebuilt under the program.
Israeli State Terror is O.K.
This took place yesterday in the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip when an Israeli missile leveled a three-story house and damaged several houses next to it. Eight were murdered, including a brother and a sister aged 5 and 6. Over 50 were injured, including 17 children.
Any protests from the U.S.? From the E.U.? From the U.N.? Of course not.
Keep this in mind if a suicide bombing takes place in Israel.
DOUBLE STANDARDS APPLY TO TERRORISTS IN ISRAEL
Remember the name Baruch Goldstein? Fourteen years ago he charged into one of Palestine’s most sacred mosques, situated in the building that houses the Tomb of Abraham our Father, and gunned down 30 Muslims at prayer. He was killed before he could continue with his shooting spree…
There was no world outrage that the attack took place in a House of Prayer, that the victims were at prayer. There was no world outrage that the number of victims was 30…. they were Muslims, it just didn’t matter to them.
Remember the name Baruch Goldstein? Fourteen years ago he charged into one of Palestine’s most sacred mosques, situated in the building that houses the Tomb of Abraham our Father, and gunned down 30 Muslims at prayer. He was killed before he could continue with his shooting spree…
Israel is holding 365 Palestinian children captive in its prisons
The Palestinian Center for Detainees’ Studies issued a press release on Monday revealing that Israel is currently holding more than 365 Palestinian children captive in its prisons, including 100 children who are 13-15 years old.
300 Palestinians, including 32 children, kidnapped by the Israeli army since the beginning of February
It also said that the 32 kidnapped children were transferred to interrogation and detention centers in direct violation to the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The ages of the kidnapped children are between 14 and 18.
Israeli Sniper Takes 12-Year-Old Girl’s Life
« I put my hand on her chest to stop the streaming blood. She told me that she could not breathe, her body trembled and she closed her eyes, » said Ra’d Abu Saif of his 12-year-old daughter Safa’s last moments after she was shot by an Israeli sniper last Saturday.
And tell us all just what military necessity was served by shooting this girl.
Two Palestinian patients die due to the Israeli siege on Gaza
With the deaths of Owdah and Obeed, the number of Palestinians who have died due to the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since June 2007 now stands at 88.
This is Israel’s « final solution » for sick Gazans.
And of course, « Abbas, as usual, is completely impotent to make any positive impact on the situation.
1000 Christian refugees being kicked out of Israel
Christian-Zionists please take note.
How Israeli Troops Invade Homes in Gaza, Brutalize, Smash and Steal
SAFA ABU SEIF, 12, was fatally wounded as she stood in an upstairs room of her home in the Gaza City district of Jabaliya 10 days ago.
She was one of 27 children identified by United Nations staff among the 107 Palestinians who were killed in five days last week. Another 25 dead, including five women, were identified as unarmed non-combatants. The status of 13 more dead victims could not be determined. At least three of the children were reportedly shot in their homes by Israeli small arms or sniper fire.
The IDF indulges in this kind of behavior all the time: they just hate like hell getting caught at it.
Japanese shot in eye by Israeli troops may lose sight
Army Radio said on Friday that the army had denied firing any rubber-coated bullets on that day.
The IDF does this all the time, then denies it ever happened.
They just hate like hell getting caught at it.
Shot with a rubber bullet
Shanbo Heinemann, a pro-Palestinian activist from San Francisco, California, sits on the ground after being shot in the head with a rubber bullet fired by Israeli troops during a violent protest against Israel’s security fence in the West Bank village of Bilin, February 22, 2008.
SAVING THE COWS, WHILE KILLING THE HUMANS
Farm animals get better care than the Palestinians!
Newsweek: 64% of Israelis Want Talks With Hamas NOW!
The numbers are a reflection of the Israeli public’s growing frustration at what they see as a failing Gaza policy. Since the Islamists won power in parliamentary elections two years ago, Israel and the United States have enforced a punishing embargo on the coastal strip, hoping support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his moderate West Bank allies could help turn public opinion against Hamas.
The US tried the same tactic on Cuba. It didn’t work there. They tried the same tactic on Chile. It didn’t work there. The US has tried this same tactic, of putting in a puppet regime and covertly waging war against the government the people want, and in the long run it has NEVER worked.
Apparently, the US government is incapable of learning from its mistakes.
REAL PEACE AGREEMENT REACHED IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Rabbi Menachem Froman of the West Bank settlement of Tekoa has for years been involved in interfaith dialogue toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.
After a series of interfaith meetings, Rabbi Froman and Hamas-allied friend Khaled Amayreh succeeded in drafting a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The two submitted the document, which covers the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, to the cabinet and to the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
According to them, Hamas leaders have agreed to the deal’s terms, but Israel has rejected them.
‘IDF should wipe out parts of Gaza’
Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told The Jerusalem Post that during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, he had called on the IDF to « take off its gloves, » head into Gaza with armored tractors and raze an entire neighborhood from which rockets have been launched, and then withdraw. The residents of that neighborhood would be warned in advance to flee, he said.
Memo to Israeli Interior Minister Sheetrit; sir, to where can these Gazan Palestinians flee, if you raze certain sections of Gaza?
Gaza is flanked on all sides by Israeli and Egyptian-manned borders through which they cannot escape.
So just where are these people, the majority of whom have never harmed Israelis, supposed to go?
IDF Ready for Large Operation in Gaza, Waiting for the Order
The Israeli government is waiting for the exact moment when world attention will be turned elsewhere to order the strike.
« We must take a neighborhood in Gaza and wipe it off the map. »
Cabinet Minister Meir Sheetrit took the murderous statements a step further: « We must take a neighborhood in Gaza and wipe it off the map. »
But, but, but, you said ‘wiping off the face of the map’ was a BAD thing!!!!
Liban
Israeli FM heads to US
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni leaves on a three-day visit to the United States on Sunday amid efforts to advance faltering peace talks with the Palestinians.
Livni will meet Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice along with other senior officials, her office said in a statement.
Looks as though Bush, Cheney, Rice, et all, will get their « marching orders » on Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran during this visit.
And whatever is said, you can be absolutely certain that the words are crafted to give the impression of wanting peace.
However, Israel’s actions, past, present, and – most probably future – tell en entirely different story.
FM to U.S. envoy: Conditions not ripe for forming Palestinian state
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday told visiting U.S. envoy James Jones that that the creation of a Palestinian state amid the current situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing attacks on Israelis was not in line with Israel’s security demands.
Translation: there will never be a time when conditions are « …ripe for forming a Palestinian state. »
And the way Israel is gobbling up bits and pieces of the West Bank, by the time their is a Palestinian state (if that is ever allowed to happen), the physical territory won’t be much larger than a postage stamp.
Two Israeli warplanes fly over Beirut in violation of Resolution 1701
« Two Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace and flew over Beirut briefly before leaving the area, » a senior Lebanese security official said.
Israeli forces cross boarder line in south Lebanon
BEIRUT, March 6 (Xinhua) — Israeli forces on Thursday penetrated the border line in south Lebanon towards the Ghajar area overseeing Wazani river, but did not cross the « Blue Line, » Future TV reported.
Previous report said that Israeli troops crossed the border line towards Wazani River and inched six km, but did not cross the « Blue Line, » but Future TV said later that it advanced only one km.
Israel ‘planning another Lebanon war’
The Lebanese Premier says the Winograd Report on the 2006 war against Lebanon confirms that Israel plans to attack his country again.
US warship leaves Lebanon for Gulf
A US warship deployed off the coast of Lebanon has passed through the Suez Canal and is heading for the Gulf, an official with the canal authority told AFP.
« The USS Cole has crossed the Suez Canal and is making its way to the Gulf, » the official said.
This explains why it was replaced off the coast of Lebanon yesterday. One has to wonder: for what reason has the USS Cole been ordered into the Persian Gulf??
US: Lebanon vote delay ‘unacceptable’
The White House on Monday condemned delays in Lebanon’s presidential vote as « unacceptable » and urged outside forces to stop meddling in the deadlocked political process there.
So that’s why we have that huge bunch of military naval hardware in the Mediterranean?
And just what are we going todo, start shelling the place to demonstrate our displeasure at their delay?
US Navy strike group responds to increasing Lebanon, Syria tension
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Nassau group would operate in the region « for a while » and that the deployment signals the navy « is engaged » in « a very important part of the world ».
You don’t send this kind of naval fire-power off the coast of the Eastern Mediteranian without understanding that you are going to use it, at some point in the not too distant future.
Israelis Killed ‘Hundreds Of Children’ In Lebanon 2006
Based on its on-the-ground research and analysis of the conduct of hostilities in 2006, Amnesty International concluded that the Lebanese civilian population paid the heaviest price for the Israel Defense Force attacks.
Of some 1,190 people killed, the vast majority were civilians not involved in the hostilities, among them hundreds of children. The overwhelming majority of homes, properties and infrastructure targeted in air strikes and artillery attacks were likewise civilian. »
Let that sink in for a moment: « hundreds of children ».
Israel admits war crimes
Israel must consider whether it wants to consider using cluster bombs in the future, because its current manner of employing them does not conform to international law. The Winograd Committee made this recommendation in its report on Israel’s conduct in the Second Lebanon War as it relates to international law.
Israel continues to refuse to tell international sappers where it dropped its illegal cluster bombs on Lebanon.
« Just walk around; you’ll find ’em! » !!!!!!!
UN officer reported Israeli war crimes before deadly bombing: widow
A United Nations military observer sent e-mails home to Canada reporting that Israel was bombing schools and waging « a campaign of terror against the Lebanese people » shortly before he was killed by an Israeli bomb in Lebanon, said his widow.
Israel: We Are Ready For Iran, Syria, Hezbollah
As the Israel Foreign Ministry protests to the UN repeated statements by Iran to « wipe Israel off the map » security analysts in Israel say that the Jewish democratic nation is more than ready for any aggression by Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.
Translation: look for some kind of false flag operation, courtesy of Israel, to trip off the next war in the Middle East.
And remember: Bush has promised to support Israel militarily, no matter whether or not it starts a confilct.
Pakistan
Don’t sack Musharraf, US and UK warn election victors
In a strategy some Western diplomats admit could badly backfire, the Bush administration has made clear it wishes to continue to support Mr Musharraf even after Monday’s election in which the Pakistani public delivered a resounding rejection of his policies.
« Hey, remember what we did after HAMAS won in Palestine! » — Official White Horse Souse
Iran
The Man Between War and Peace
As head of U. S. Central Command, Admiral William « Fox » Fallon is in charge of American military strategy for the most troubled parts of the world. Now, as the White House has been escalating the war of words with Iran, and seeming ever more determined to strike militarily before the end of this presidency, the admiral has urged restraint and diplomacy. Who will prevail, the president or the admiral?
I guess we just found out!
If Fallon is leaving, it means Bush will have his war with Iran. All he needs is a contrived excuse.
It’s the « Oh Shit! » Moment on Iran
Well, we just got our « Oh Shit! » moment with the just-announced resignation of Admiral William J. Fallon, the military commander of US Middle East operations.
6 Signs the U.S. May Be Headed for War in Iran
The resignation of the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East is setting off alarms that the Bush administration is intent on using military force to stop Iran’s moves toward gaining nuclear weapons. In announcing his sudden resignation today following a report on his views in Esquire, Adm. William Fallon didn’t directly deny that he differs with President Bush over at least some aspects of the president’s policy on Iran. For his part, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it is « ridiculous » to think that the departure of Fallon — whose Central Command has been working on contingency plans for strikes on Iran as well as overseeing Iraq — signals that the United States is planning to go to war with Iran.
Iran: UN must investigate Israel’s nukes
Israel is always the first to accuse other nations of having nuclear weapons, and the UN acts on the assumption that Israel’s accusations are true, as we saw just a few days ago with the passing of yet more sanctions against Iran.
Isn’t it time that the UN took a look at Israel’s arsenal? Isn’t it time the UN dealt with REAL nuclear weapons?
Fallon resigns as Mideast military chief
The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East resigned Tuesday amid speculation about a rift over U.S. policy in Iran.
Fallon’s resignation is frightening.
« The current issue of Esquire Magazine portrays Fallon as the one person in the military or Pentagon standing between the White House and war with Iran. The article credits Fallon with « brazenly challenging his commander in chief » over a possible war with Iran, which Fallon called an « ill-advised action, » and implies Fallon would resign rather than go to war against Iran. »
Rice, Gates to head to Russia: White House
The White House announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates would travel to Russia next week for talks on issues including a controversial US missile shield.
What part of « Nyet! » are Rice and Gates having a hard time with?
In fact, I would almost bet that the real subject of conversation will be Iran, and what kind of a deal Russia can expect after a US/Israeli-led invasion, compared with what they are getting at present.
US not seeking war with Iran: White House
The White House said Wednesday that « there is no one » inside the US government who wants war with Iran, even though US President George W. Bush has not ruled out any options.
Please remember: this was precisely the same kind of rhetoric we got right before the invasion of Iraq.
Turquie-Iraq
Turkey says military operation in Iraq might last a year
Turkey’s military operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatists could finish in as short a time as one day or take up to year, Turkish Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukyanit said on Thursday.
It appears that Turkish Chief of General Staff Buyukanit is taking great pleasure in « rubbing salt into the wound » of US SecDef Gate’s complete impotence to do anything about the Turkish invasion of Iraq.
And the longer Turkey stays and fights, the more destabilized the region is apt to become.
Iraqi Kurd rulers OK force if Turks go near civilians / Incursions to battle rebels have raised tensions in area
Lawmakers in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region authorized their military Tuesday to intervene if Turkish forces pursuing anti-government rebels bring their battle into civilian areas.
The move heightened fears that the conflict could draw in Iraqi Kurdish forces and destabilize the one region of Iraq that has been relatively peaceful since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.
So if we start to see civilian casualties in the Kurdish region, and the Kurds go after the Turks, whose side are we on??
Until the aftermath of the next election, we are, unfortunately, going to have to endure the continuation of a foreign policy crew which absolutely never saw this coming.
Are geopolitical myopia, catastrophic lack of imagination, and ignorance of history the core prerequisites to getting hired to develop foreign policy for this administration?
The Turkish invasion could destroy a unified Iraq
Iraq is disintegrating faster than ever. The Turkish army invaded the north of the country last week and is still there. Iraqi Kurdistan is becoming like Gaza where Israel can send in its tanks and helicopters at will.
What the Turkish incursion is doing is weakening the Kurdistan Regional Government, the autonomous Kurdish zone, the creation of which is one of the few concrete achievements of the US and British invasion of Iraq five years ago.
The Turkish invasion should have given the government in Baghdad a chance to defend Iraq’s territorial integrity and burnish its patriotic credentials. Instead the prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has chosen this moment to have his regular medical check up in London, a visit which his colleagues say is simply an excuse to escape Baghdad. Behind him he has left a country which is visibly falling apart.
When US General Shinseki told Rumsfeld that we would need 300,000 troops to succeed in the occupation of Iraq, he was handed his hat, and laughed out of the room.
I don’t think there’s much laughter in the Pentagon now at how badly Rumsfeld missed the mark on his estimate of what it would take to really handle the occupation of Iraq.
At Shinseki’s suggested troop level, we would possibly have had enough troops to secure Iraq’s northern border with Turkey.
The last two Bush administrations aptly deserve a booby prize for how the catastrophic unintended consequences of their foreign policy (if one can call it that) have played out.
Turkey Launches Ground Operation in Iraq
It is the first confirmed ground operation by the Turkish military into Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. It also raised concerns that it could trigger a wider conflict with the U.S.-backed Iraqi Kurds, despite Turkey’s assurances that its only target was the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
And all the US can do is stand back, watch what happens, and do… absolutely nothing.
Escalation of Turkey operations feared
Analysts point out that escalation in the conflict can take place if there is fighting between the Turkish troops and the Peshmerga units — the combatants loyal to the regional Kurdish authorities in Iraq.
Welcome, yet again to the wonderful world of the Bush Administration’s unintended consequences in Iraq.
Let’s see, now how this laundry-list shakes out:
1. The Iraqi people are much worse off than they ever were under Hussein. In much of the country, there is no electricity, and no clean water.
This has lead to outbreaks of water-borne diseases, such as cholera.
Also, the use of depleted uranium has sickened and killed countless Iraqis, and our vets and their kids are suffering the consequences of exposure as well.
2. Because we never had enough boots on the ground to do the job, the US can barely hold on to the green zone, forget the other borders of the country. This means that the Turks can do whatever they want, for as long as they like, because they understand that the US can do nothing to stop them.
3. The US invasion and occupation has put Iraq even more firmly into the orbit and embrace of their Shiite neighbor, Iran, a country which is still making Bush’s « rogue country list », and one which many elements in the US and elsewhere (read: Israel) are looking to clobber.
Yet, ironically, Iran is assisting with the stabilizing of Iraq.
The two Bush terms have to be characterized as the « Never Saw It Coming » US administrations. – M. R.
Turkish Army to set up security corridor in northern Iraq after ground operation :
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will create temporary security bases in northern Iraq after troops wrap up an ongoing ground offensive in the region against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), security sources told Today’s Zaman.
The army plans to establish 11 temporary bases south of the border with Iraq to prevent the PKK ever again using this territory to launch attacks on Turkey, after pulling out the bulk of the troops currently taking part in the cross-border offensive.
Looks like Iraq’s borders are about to be re-shaped.
And don’t look for these 11 « temporary » Turkish bases to shut down anytime soon.
Afrique
US bombs Islamist town in Somalia
A US military official in Washington told Associated Press it had been « a deliberate, precise strike against a known terrorist and his associates ».
The Pentagon’s ambitious plan to bring peace to Africa
The White House scramble for Africa came to an end this week – symbolically, at least. During his tour of the continent, President Bush seized every opportunity to boast of his innovative approaches to African health and development issues. But he kept strangely silent about what may be his administration’s most enduring legacy for Africa: AFRICOM, the most significant U.S. foreign and military policy innovation you’ve probably never heard of.
Considering how magnificently the Pentagon has done in Afghanistan and Iraq, who can blame them for their enthusiasm about what they can bring to the table in Africa??
L’espace
China plans first spacewalk
NASA Wary of Relying on Russia
For NASA, however, the launch of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) also highlights a stark reality: In 2 1/2 years, just as the station gets fully assembled, the United States will no longer have any spacecraft of its own capable of carrying astronauts and cargo to the station, in which roughly $100 billion is being invested. The three space shuttles will be retired by then, because of their high cost and questionable safety, and NASA will have nothing ready to replace them until 2015 at the earliest.
Kind of a poor image of « The Right Stuff » to see them by the side of the highway with their thumbs out at the passing traffic.
Mankind’s secrets kept in lunar ark
IF civilisation is wiped out on Earth, salvation may come from space. Plans are being drawn up for a « Doomsday ark » on the moon containing the essentials of life and civilisation, to be activated in the event of earth being devastated by a giant asteroid or nuclear war.
Cassini to make audacious flyby
Such is the interest in Enceladus that Nasa has directed its Cassini spacecraft to pass just 50km from the Saturnian moon on Wednesday.
LNI Média 