The Christmas Day “terrorist” is the latest in a series of staged incidents meant to make The Clash of Civilizations appear plausible and “the war on terrorism” rational.
The storyline does not hold together. Not even a little bit. As usual, the source of this media-fueled fear campaign traces directly to Tel Aviv—with a supporting role by the FBI.
How did a young Nigerian Muslim without a passport “slip through” security at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport? Not only did his itinerary feature an illogical travel route, he paid cash for a high-priced last-minute ticket and boarded without checked baggage. How?
40-year deception exposed
By Jonathan Cook in Jerusalem
Over the past four decades Israel has defrauded Palestinians working inside Israel of more than $2 billion by deducting from their salaries contributions for welfare benefits to which they were never entitled, Israeli economists have revealed.
A new report, “State Robbery”, to be published later this month, says the “theft” continued even after the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 and part of the money was supposed to be transferred to a special fund on behalf of the workers.
“I have pleasure in nominating Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. I am inspired by the life and work of Dr. Barghouthi whose commitment to nonviolence, in his personal and public life, is truly in the Ghandian spirit", stated in her letter to the Nobel Committe, Maired Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Co-founder of the Peace People (Northern Ireland). Mairead Maguire today announced her nomination of Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
"For the Nobel Committee to give their 2010 Award to Dr. Barghouthi would be a recognition of not only his great spirit of peace and nonviolence, but also the Palestinian Nonviolent Movement, which gives us all hope for the future of Palestine, Israel and the Middle East Community.
Jonathan Cook in Nazareth
Leaders of the Arab minority in Israel warned this week that they were facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution, backed by the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, designed to stop their political activities.
The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago.
In recent weeks legal sanctions have been invoked against two other Arab political leaders, following clashes with the Israeli security forces at demonstrations against the occupation, and pressure is growing for two more MPs to be investigated.
Stuart Littlewood
Tony Blair, the poodle of the White House and darling of the Israel lobby, met the pussy-cats of the Iraq Inquiry on Friday, tickled their tummies and was purred to throughout. It was more like a cosy fireside chat, with the inquisitors falling over backwards to be polite and not probe too much.
And that was in public. If it had been in private, as originally planned, it is easy to imagine them all playing with a ball of wool on the sofa.
Many people hoping for the Inquiry to deal firmly with those who had a hand in this disgraceful episode in Britain’s history, provide a degree of ‘closure’ and establish grounds for prosecution, were alarmed to read at the outset that at least two of the four panellists are Jews and probably pro-Zionist. Sir Martin Gilbert and Sir Lawrence Freedman are reported to have supported the invasion of Iraq. Gilbert, a historian, seems obsessed with the Holocaust and has written at least 10 books on the subject.
Settlers seek to recruit Indian immigrants
Jonathan Cook in Nazareth
The Israeli government is reported to have quietly approved the fast-track immigration of 7,000 members of a supposedly “lost Jewish” tribe, known as the Bnei Menashe, currently living in a remote area of India.
Under the plan, the “lost Jews” would be brought to Israel over the next two years by right-wing and religious organisations who, critics are concerned, will seek to place them in West Bank settlements in a bid to foil Israel’s partial agreement to a temporary freeze of settlement growth.
A previous attempt to bring the Bnei Menashe to Israel was halted in 2003 by Avraham Poraz, the interior minister at the time, after it became clear that most of the 1,500 who had arrived were being sent to extremist settlements, including in the Gaza Strip and next to Hebron, the large Palestinian city in the West Bank.
[Doctor Howard Zinn died of a heart attack on January 27, at the age of 87. A well-beloved figure, the author, historian, educator, and social-activist was best known for his tome, A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. The telling of American history begins with vivid descriptions of the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the gruesome abuses they inflicted upon Native peoples. Skipping the well-known tales of American destiny, Zinn focused instead on the lesser-known epochs, the stories of the everyday people who struggled to build and mould their country.(Reference: The Examiner.com)]
By Harvey Wasserman
Howard Zinn was above all a gentleman of unflagging grace, humility and compassion.
No American historian has left a more lasting positive legacy on our understanding of the true nature of our country, mainly because his books reflect a soul possessed of limitless depth.
Howard’s PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES will not be surpassed. As time goes on new chapters will be written in its spirit to extend its reach.
Palestine Monitor
28 January 2010
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Mohammed Khatib of the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee was arrested in his Bi’lin home. In the latest in a series of similar arrests, Israeli soldiers stormed the house and took Khatib on charges of incitement. ‘Incitement materials’ were taken from his home.
Khatib is the 35th resident of Bi’lin to be arrested in the past seven months on charges relating to the popular protests held there each Friday. Another prominent committee member, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, has been detained since December 10th 2009 . It continues a pattern of new hard-line tactics employed by the military against protestors, with 94 arrested in the neighbouring village of Nilin over the past 18 months and 17 Israelis taken in a Sheikh Jarrah demonstration last week. The charge of incitement, defined under Israeli military law as "an attempt, whether verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order," is being increasingly used to intimidate activists.
Jonathan Cook in Nazareth
An Arab member of the Israeli parliament has sparked controversy among Jews and Arabs in Israel over his decision to join an official Israeli delegation commemorating International Holocaust Day today at a Nazi death camp in Poland.
Mohammed Barakeh will be the only Arab in a contingent of Israeli parliamentarians and government ministers, including Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, at Auschwitz to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.
Mr Barakeh has reported receiving a spate of hate mail, including a death threat, since he was invited to the remembrance service by the speaker of the parliament, or Knesset, over the opposition of many right-wing politicians.
By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth
Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, approved last week the upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine Palestinian confidence in the peace process.
The decision, authorising the first Israeli university in Palestinian territory, is expected to entitle the college to significant extra funding, allowing it to expand its student population.
About 11,000 students, most from inside Israel, already attend the college in Ariel, studying amid a population of 18,000 settlers.
Stephen Lendman
Established in 1989, the MA'AN Development Center is "an independent Palestinian development and training institution....work(ing) towards sustainable human development in Palestine" through its various programs. On October 31, it released a publication on the Palestinian BDS campaign titled, "Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions: Lessons learned in effective solidarity."
It's another of the many BDS initiatives multiplying to support Palestine. In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global movement for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestine, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.
Stuart Littlewood
Its mission statement says: “Trust is the foundation of the BBC: we are independent, impartial and honest.”
However, people are complaining bitterly to the BBC about its pro-Israel stance when reporting on the situation in the Holy Land.
Once renowned as the benchmark for fairness and accuracy, the BBC nowadays is careless with the truth when handling news from the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel - the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
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