Political Analysis, Comments, Articles and Opinions on Palestine and the Arab World

When Benjamin Netanyahu launched his election campaign this week he taunted the world community and cocked a snook at international law with a defiant pledge to build more settlements in occupied Jerusalem. The move was universally condemned. Recognising that this was more than electoral demagogy, though, no one was prepared to risk the consequences of any response more substantial. For better or worse, Jerusalem's future is now set to determine the course of international relations.

  
Israel's surge of settlement activity in Jerusalem seeks, above all, to perpetuate its self-proclaimed "basic law" on Jerusalem. Passed in July 1980, this legal construct envisaged an "integral and united Jerusalem" as the capital of Israel. Since then, the occupied city has become the seat of the Israeli president, the Knesset (parliament), the cabinet and the Supreme Court. The move was, however, censured by the UN Security Council, which affirmed its opposition to the acquisition of territory by force. More importantly, it determined that all Israeli measures taken in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in particular its "basic law", are null and void.

In an attempt to gain legitimacy for their actions, successive Israeli governments have attempted to alter the demographic balance in the city. Jerusalem's current Mayor, Nir Barkat, has made this objective his life-long ambition. Today, he is much closer to achieving it. At the end of 2011, there were about 293,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli Central Bureau for Statistics; there are around 200,000 Israelis residing in illegal settlements in the city.

Barkat enjoys the full backing of the Israeli political establishment. Like Netanyahu, he is also seeking re-election in 2013. For every housing unit built on his watch, he gains political capital. However, in the grand scheme of things, they have no real value if they do not stem Palestinian growth. Thus, 35 per cent of land in East Jerusalem has been confiscated for Israeli settlement use; only 13 per cent of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian construction. The prospects for any further building have been quashed by the denial of permits, almost exclusively to Palestinians. In addition, at least 93,100 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are currently at risk of displacement. An end of the year report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (OCHA) confirmed that at least 33 per cent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack Israeli-issued building permits. The mere fact that a permit for a 120 sq metre flat costs $40,000 is enough to prohibit any Palestinian construction.

With the notorious exceptions of Burma and Syria, nowhere else in the world are civilians driven maliciously from their homes. Perhaps the only difference is that whereas in Burma government thugs and paramilitaries burn houses, in Jerusalem the Israeli government thugs use bulldozers. Nonetheless, the consequences are the same.  Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem alone. In 2012, a total of 581 homes were demolished, displacing 1,049 men, women and children. Several hundred more are at risk of forced expulsion, particularly in the Old City, Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.

The growth of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories and Jerusalem in particular has been a long-standing problem for Israelis. It threatens to ruin their expansionist designs. They are now racing against time to complete the ring of settlements around Jerusalem and incorporate them into the self-styled "Greater Jerusalem", so off-setting the population short-fall.  By offering cheap housing apartments to attract young couples, Netanyahu's government hopes to realise its objectives of having a majority of Jews in the city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have no secure legal residency status. Between 1967 and mid-2010, around 14,000 Palestinians had their Jerusalem residency revoked by the Israeli authorities. The Christian community has not been spared the ravages of Israel's blatant ethnic cleansing. In 1948 there were 175,000 Christians in Jerusalem; by 1967 the number had shrunk to an estimated 25,000; today there are just 10,000 Christians there, or 4 per cent of the total Arab population. This pattern contrasts markedly with the West Bank where the numbers of Christians in Bethlehem, Bait Sahoor, Bayt Jala and Ramallah have not witnessed a corresponding decrease.

If indeed ever it was the case, Israel is no longer constrained by any sense of shame or guilt; it has become immune to verbal criticism. Nor does it mind the unique distinction of being labelled an occupying power or pariah state. As long as its obedient allies are content to do no more than issue statements of condemnation, it will carry on implementing its illegal and inhuman polices with impunity.

The malevolence towards Palestinians in Jerusalem has nothing to do with Israel's strength. It is a consequence of the collective failure by the world community to uphold the rule of law and universal human rights. Can things get any worse? After this week's inflammatory pledge to build more settlements in Jerusalem, 2013 promises to be another year of instability and unrest. Amid all the expectant turmoil, however, one fact will remain unchanged. As long as there is a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, it will not be conquered, by Israel or anyone else. Netanyahu and his cronies know this very well; hence the ethnic cleansing.
(Middle East Monitor)

When Benjamin Netanyahu launched his election campaign this week he taunted the world community and cocked a snook at international law with a defiant pledge to build more settlements in occupied Jerusalem. The move was universally condemned. Recognising that this was more than electoral demagogy, though, no one was prepared to risk the consequences of any response more substantial. For better or worse, Jerusalem’s future is now set to determine the course of international relations.

Israel’s surge of settlement activity in Jerusalem seeks, above all, to perpetuate its self-proclaimed “basic law” on Jerusalem. Passed in July 1980, this legal construct envisaged an “integral and united Jerusalem” as the capital of Israel. Since then, the occupied city has become the seat of the Israeli president, the Knesset (parliament), the cabinet and the Supreme Court. The move was, however, censured by the UN Security Council, which affirmed its opposition to the acquisition of territory by force. More importantly, it determined that all Israeli measures taken in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in particular its “basic law”, are null and void.

In an attempt to gain legitimacy for their actions, successive Israeli governments have attempted to alter the demographic balance in the city. Jerusalem’s current Mayor, Nir Barkat, has made this objective his life-long ambition. Today, he is much closer to achieving it. At the end of 2011, there were about 293,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli Central Bureau for Statistics; there are around 200,000 Israelis residing in illegal settlements in the city.

Barkat enjoys the full backing of the Israeli political establishment. Like Netanyahu, he is also seeking re-election in 2013. For every housing unit built on his watch, he gains political capital. However, in the grand scheme of things, they have no real value if they do not stem Palestinian growth. Thus, 35 per cent of land in East Jerusalem has been confiscated for Israeli settlement use; only 13 per cent of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian construction. The prospects for any further building have been quashed by the denial of permits, almost exclusively to Palestinians. In addition, at least 93,100 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are currently at risk of displacement. An end of the year report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (OCHA) confirmed that at least 33 per cent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack Israeli-issued building permits. The mere fact that a permit for a 120 sq metre flat costs $40,000 is enough to prohibit any Palestinian construction.

With the notorious exceptions of Burma and Syria, nowhere else in the world are civilians driven maliciously from their homes. Perhaps the only difference is that whereas in Burma government thugs and paramilitaries burn houses, in Jerusalem the Israeli government thugs use bulldozers. Nonetheless, the consequences are the same. Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished some 2,000 houses in East Jerusalem alone. In 2012, a total of 581 homes were demolished, displacing 1,049 men, women and children. Several hundred more are at risk of forced expulsion, particularly in the Old City, Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.

The growth of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories and Jerusalem in particular has been a long-standing problem for Israelis. It threatens to ruin their expansionist designs. They are now racing against time to complete the ring of settlements around Jerusalem and incorporate them into the self-styled “Greater Jerusalem”, so off-setting the population short-fall. By offering cheap housing apartments to attract young couples, Netanyahu’s government hopes to realise its objectives of having a majority of Jews in the city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have no secure legal residency status. Between 1967 and mid-2010, around 14,000 Palestinians had their Jerusalem residency revoked by the Israeli authorities. The Christian community has not been spared the ravages of Israel’s blatant ethnic cleansing. In 1948 there were 175,000 Christians in Jerusalem; by 1967 the number had shrunk to an estimated 25,000; today there are just 10,000 Christians there, or 4 per cent of the total Arab population. This pattern contrasts markedly with the West Bank where the numbers of Christians in Bethlehem, Bait Sahoor, Bayt Jala and Ramallah have not witnessed a corresponding decrease.

If indeed ever it was the case, Israel is no longer constrained by any sense of shame or guilt; it has become immune to verbal criticism. Nor does it mind the unique distinction of being labelled an occupying power or pariah state. As long as its obedient allies are content to do no more than issue statements of condemnation, it will carry on implementing its illegal and inhuman polices with impunity.

The malevolence towards Palestinians in Jerusalem has nothing to do with Israel’s strength. It is a consequence of the collective failure by the world community to uphold the rule of law and universal human rights. Can things get any worse? After this week’s inflammatory pledge to build more settlements in Jerusalem, 2013 promises to be another year of instability and unrest. Amid all the expectant turmoil, however, one fact will remain unchanged. As long as there is a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, it will not be conquered, by Israel or anyone else. Netanyahu and his cronies know this very well; hence the ethnic cleansing.

(Middle East Monitor)

 

The ministry noted that 67 women, 11 elected parliamentarians, nine former prisoners freed in the latest swap deal between Palestinians and Israelis, and dozens of academics, journalists, teachers and community and political leaders have been arrested by Israel this year. The average detention rate per month was 321, breaking down to 11 Palestinians detained every day.

"The monthly detention rate in 2012, according to the statistic, was 321 prisoners. That means that 11 Palestinians were detained every day.Official statistics issued by the Palestinian Ministry for Detainees and ex-Detainees have revealed that almost 4,000 Palestinian men, women and children have been detained by the Israelis in 2012. The total number was 3,850, including 880 children. 
The monthly detention rate in 2012, according to the statistic, was 321 prisoners. That means that 11 Palestinians were detained every day."

Denying that the arrests were made for "security" reasons, as the Israelis claim, the ministry insisted that most are carried out in retaliation for real or imagined acts by Palestinians.

The statistics showed that the detention rate increased in the occupied West Bank after the Israeli war on Gaza in November, when Israeli forces detained 535 Palestinians; 455 have been detained in December so far.
(Middle East Monitor)

n December 31, as Americans celebrate New Year’s Eve and Israelis lift a glass to “Sylvester,” a Palestinian family will be evicted from their East Jerusalem home to make way for Jewish settlers.

The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that the Shamasneh family must leave the house they have been living in 1964—three years before Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem began—by 2:00 PM on Monday afternoon. Ten people currently live in the home, including six children.

The court has granted ownership to the Israeli Custodian for Absentee Property, which was represented by lawyers who also represent settlers’ organizations, including the Israel Land Fund.

According to the Israel Land Fund’s website, the organization’s goals include “acquiring all the land of Israel for the Jewish people.” The ILF “strives to ensure that Jewish land is… reclaimed and in Jewish hands” rather than “hostile, non-Jewish, and enemy sources.”

The ILF has been behind a number of different settlement projects in East Jerusalem. Activists believe that the Shamasnehs’ home will be handed over to Jewish settlers after the family is evicted.

The Jerusalem District Court’s decision breaks a three year lull in such evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. The al-Kurd family was evicted from their house in Sheikh Jarrah in 2008 and were left homeless; two more families were dispossessed in 2009. Jewish settlers now occupy all of the houses.

The wave of evictions led to weekly protests in Sheikh Jarrah that were, for some time, popular with Jewish Israeli activists.

In the below letter, Ayoub Shamasneh, asks the international community to help him and his family. He also points out that Jews the world over can claim properties in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories based on previous ownership–however tenuous those claims–while Palestinians are not allowed to reclaim the properties they were forced to leave during the 1947-1948 conflict.

"To whom it may concern,

My name is Ayoub Shamasneh and I live in Um Haroun, Sheikh Jarrah. My wife and I are living here with our son, Mohammed, his wife Amaal, and their six children ranging from the ages of 11 to 22 years old. We have lived in this house since 1964, it is where we built our family and raised our children.  In 2009, after decades of living in our home, the Israeli General Custodian’s Office informed us that our rental’s agreement will not be renewed. They have now sued us in order to take ownership of the property via individuals whom they claim are the descendants of the original Jewish owners pre-1948. Our case has been reviewed by an Israeli court in two separate hearings and judges have refused to accept evidence we have submitted to show proof of our residence in our home since 1964. Therefore, they are claiming that we are not eligible for protected tenant status. Consequently we have been ordered to evacuate the property by 2pm on December 31st, 2012.  As far as we know, the property will be handed over to a right wing settler organization that has previously taken over properties in the neighbourhood.

Now more than ever we are aware of the double standard of the Israeli law that does not lend Palestinian refugees or their children a claim to property they owned before 1948, yet allows children of Jewish Israelis to sue and evict Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for decades. As a result of this discriminatory double standard of the Israeli law we are about to lose our home and be thrown out onto the street.  

Forced eviction from our home will not only be a human tragedy but also a political maneuver which aims to strengthen and expedite the settlement project in East Jerusalem, specifically in Sheikh Jarrah.  Israeli Jewish settlement takeover in Sheikh Jarrah serves to interrupt the presence of a continuous and connected Palestinian community in East Jerusalem. Numerous families have already lost their homes and 30 more are living, day-to-day, under the eminent threat of eviction. Our case will set yet another precedent that will play directly into the hands of the settlement project and will be another nail in the coffin of a viable East Jerusalem.

We are turning to you, as writers, activists, public figures, artists and concerned citizens of the world, to do all that you can to call on the Israeli government to instruct the General Custodian not to evict our family from our home and thereby facilitate the agenda of extremist settlers who are destroying all chances for a peaceful and just future in Jerusalem".

Sincerely,

Ayoub Shamasneh
(+972 Magazine)

Michael Rivero One of peace activists in the U.S. and the moderator of What really happened website (whatreallyhappened.com).

I read the updated news and articles almost daily in what really happened website (Twitter: @WRH_Mike_Rivero).Because the Imperialist governments insist always to hide the truth and play the 'democratic games' which has only the name 'democracy', Facebook suspended Michael's account.

Michael Rivero @WRH_Mike_Rivero

#Facebook Now Suspending Accounts Which Question Mainstream Media Reporting ow.ly/gnRuJ PLEASE RETWEET

28 Dec 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite

What really happened website respects and defends human rights and human mentality with no racist nor offensive contents.The Main Stream Media (MSM) is owned by liberal capitalists who care to increase their wealth with no regards to human rights and nations interests, that's why they consider the others opinions as hostility in many terms like: racism, anti-semitism, offensiveness or terrorism. What really happened website exposes the truth, at least, through non-traditional way and support the  people through out the world with no regard to the profits and business.It's also pro-Palestine website and exposes the US administration's bias toward Israel and toward dictatorships around the world in order to maintain their world's control. This Weblog (The Arab World 360) is already blocked in Saudi Arabia which is a strong ally for the US administration since it is Freelance, uncensored and exposes the news agenda from the middle of the Arab world, so I build a website (www.arabworld360.co.nf) to bypass search engines and major social media networks from banning it. I also strongly recommend to navigate The Angry Arab News Agency (www.angryarab.blogspot.com) which is moderated by Professor As'ad Abu-Khalil, and exposes things as should be exposed with no regard to 'political money' nor sponsors policies.The Angry Arab News blog has a unique way by some 'sarcastic comments', i.e, (black irony which draws a smile on the corrupted governments' behaviors  and what-so-called 'national figures').

By Chris Hedges |

Over the past year I and other plaintiffs including Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg have pressed a lawsuit in the federal courts to nullify Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This egregious section, which permits the government to use the military to detain U.S. citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military detention centers, could have been easily fixed by Congress. The Senate and House had the opportunity this month to include in the 2013 version of the NDAA an unequivocal statement that all U.S. citizens would be exempt from 1021(b)(2), leaving the section to apply only to foreigners. But restoring due process for citizens was something the Republicans and the Democrats, along with the White House, refused to do. The fate of some of our most basic and important rights—ones enshrined in the Bill of Rights as well as the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution—will be decided in the next few months in the courts. If the courts fail us, a gulag state will be cemented into place.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pushed through the Senate an amendment to the 2013 version of the NDAA. The amendment, although deeply flawed, at least made a symbolic attempt to restore the right to due process and trial by jury. A House-Senate conference committee led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., however, removed the amendment from the bill last week.

“I was saddened and disappointed that we could not take a step forward to ensure at the very least American citizens and legal residents could not be held in detention without charge or trial,” Feinstein said in a statement issued by her office. “To me that was a no-brainer.”

The House approved the $633 billion NDAA for 2013 in a 315-107 vote late Thursday night. It will now go before the Senate. Several opponents of the NDAA in the House, including Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., cited Congress’ refusal to guarantee due process and trial by jury to all citizens as his reason for voting against the bill. He wrote in a statement after the vote that “American citizens may fear being arrested and indefinitely detained by the military without knowing what they have done wrong.”

The Feinstein-Lee amendment was woefully inadequate. It was probably proposed mainly for its public relations value, but nonetheless it resisted the concerted assault on our rights and sought to calm nervous voters objecting to the destruction of the rule of law. The amendment failed to emphatically state that citizens could never be placed in military custody. Rather, it said citizens could not be placed in indefinite military custody without “trial.” But this could have been a trial by military tribunals. Citizens, under the amendment, could have been barred from receiving due process in a civil court. Still, it was better than nothing. And now we have nothing.

“Congressional moves concerning the NDAA make it clear that Congress as a whole has no stomach for the protection of civil liberties,” said attorney Bruce Afran, who along with attorney Carl Mayer has brought the lawsuit against President Obama in which we are attempting to block Section 1021(b)(2).

The only hero so far in this story is U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District Court of New York. Forrest in September accepted all of our challenges to the law. She issued a permanent injunction invalidating Section 1021(b)(2). Government lawyers asked Forrest for a “stay pending appeal”—meaning the law would go back into effect until the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a ruling in the case. She refused. The government then went directly to the Court of Appeals and asked it for a temporary stay while promising not to detain the plaintiffs or other U.S. citizens under the provision. The Court of Appeals, which will hear oral arguments in January, granted the government’s request for a temporary stay. The law went back into effect. If the Court of Appeals upholds Forrest’s ruling, the case will most likely be before the Supreme Court within weeks.

“President Obama should never have appealed this watershed civil rights ruling,” Mayer said. “But now that he has, the fight may well go all the way to the Supreme Court. At stake is whether America will slide more toward authoritarianism or whether the judicial branch of government will stem the decade-long erosion of our civil liberties. Since 9/11 Americans have been systematically stripped of their freedoms: Their phone calls are monitored under [George W.] Bush and Obama’s warrantless wiretapping program, they are videotaped relentlessly in public places, there are drones over American soil and the police control protesters and dissenters with paramilitary gear and tactics. As long as Obama and the leadership of both parties want the military to police our streets, we will fight. This is unacceptable, un-American and unconstitutional.”
We knew the government would appeal, but we did not expect it to act so aggressively. This means, we suspect, that the provision is already being used, most likely to hold people with U.S. and Pakistani dual citizenship or U.S. and Afghan dual citizenship in military detention sites such as Bagram. If the injunction were allowed to stand during the appeal and U.S. citizens were being held by the military without due process, the government would be in contempt of court.

Judge Forrest’s 112-page opinion is a stark explication and condemnation of the frightening erosion of the separation of powers. In her opinion she referred to the Supreme Court ruling Korematsu v. United States, which declared constitutional the government’s internment of 110,000 Japanese-Americans without due process during World War II. The 2013 NDAA, like the old versions of the act, allows similar indefinite detentions—of Muslim Americans, dissidents and other citizens.

Section 1021(b)(2) defines a “covered person”—one subject to detention—as “a person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.”

The section, however, does not define the terms “substantially supported,” “directly supported” or “associated forces.” The vagueness of the language means that the plaintiffs, including those who as journalists have contact with individuals or groups deemed by the State Department to be part of terrorist organizations, could along with others find themselves seized and detained under the provision.

The corporate state knows that the steady deterioration of the economy and the increasingly savage effects of climate change will create widespread social instability. It knows that rage will mount as the elites squander diminishing resources while the poor, as well as the working and middle classes, are driven into destitution. It wants to have the legal measures to keep us cowed, afraid and under control. It does not, I suspect, trust the police to maintain order. And this is why, contravening two centuries of domestic law, it has seized for itself the authority to place the military on city streets and citizens in military detention centers, where they cannot find redress in the courts. The shredding of our liberties is being done in the name of national security and the fight against terrorism. But the NDAA is not about protecting us. It is about protecting the state from us. That is why no one in the executive or legislative branch is going to restore our rights. The new version of the NDAA, like the old ones, provides our masters with the legal shackles to make our resistance impossible. And that is their intention.
(truth dig)

President Morsi claims the opposition is an anti-Islamist elite. In fact, he is losing support because of his economic policies

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have tried to frame the current crisis in religious terms, casting opposition to their speedily drafted constitution as the petulance of an anti-Islamist, liberal elite. Media analysis has often replicated this theme: in one corner stands Brotherhood-propelled President Mohamed Morsi who has the supposed blessings of a religious population. And in the other corner, the “secular” opposition, banging on about small details of a constitution that isn’t that bad. Such wrongheaded analysis prompted Egypt expert Dr HA Hellyer from the Brookings Institution to politely request that western media “knock it off“.

But the result of Egypt’s first referendum on the constitution (a second referendum takes place this Saturday, in districts that have yet to vote) has exposed some of the real sticking points. The referendum had to be split into two stages because so few Egyptian judges agreed to supervise it. And for all its legendary mobilising powers, of the votes cast the Brotherhood wasn’t able to get more than 57% for its constitution. Not long ago, the Brotherhood could rely on voter support reaching over 70%. And less than a third of the electorate turned out – though that might be because of the long queues and the difficulty in voting. In an atmosphere of mistrust and mismanagement, allegations of vote-rigging are rife.

But if Egyptians are, as results indicate, losing faith in the Brotherhood, it isn’t because the organisation is Islamist, but because it has so far been rubbish at ruling. Many believe the Brotherhood has kept its promises to power, but not to the people. Crucially, President Morsi’s economic policy has deepened the neo-liberalism that brought so much misery during the Mubarak era and was a key component of the uprising against him.

This economic stamp is all over Morsi’s policies, both before and as a part of the proposed constitution – which was completed in a one-day marathon, by an Islamist-dominated assembly, after Christian, liberal and female members walked out. In early December he announced an end to fuel subsidies – so household bills for gas cylinders and electricity, for example, are set to spike.

Meanwhile, an IMF loan of $4.8bn currently being negotiated is conditioned on what has been described as the biggest wave of austerity cuts since 1977 – when subsidies on staple foods were removed in one crippling hit, prompting the “bread riots”. Today the plan is to reduce public spending, cut subsidies, increase tax on basic goods, and devalue the Egyptian pound. This package was delayed because of the current turmoil. But why should Egyptians swallow such a Shock Doctrine-style deal, when one of the key tenets of the revolution was a call for social justice?

Meanwhile, the proposed constitution reveals more of the Brotherhood’s conservative economics. It has a clause that pegs wages to productivity. It stipulates that only “peaceful” strikes (whatever that means) are allowed. It keeps military interests intact and invisible to public scrutiny – in a country where the army is thought to own anything from 10% to 45% of the national economy (nobody knows for sure because it’s all so secret). It is all more evidence that Morsi is not, as he claims, trying to “protect the revolution”, but wants to protect the interests of an entrenched elite at the expense of everyone else. Indeed, this year a Bloomberg report referred to the wealthy, controlling echelons of this Islamist group as the “Brothers of the 1%“.

Small wonder, then, that the factory-dense city of Mahalla declared itself an independent state, in protest at Morsi’s anti-union laws. Since he came to power there has been a wave of strikes; not just factory stoppages but also health worker strikes and consumer protests at eroding public services. And Egypt’s rapidly growing independent unions have been mobilising nationally against the constitution, using its trampling of social justices as the hook.

All these concerns have come on top of the constitution-driven attempts to erode personal freedoms, especially for women and minorities, and give religious clerics the final say over legal rulings – all through a process that disdains plurality and vital consensus-building. This, rather than any knee-jerk hostility to Islamists in power, is what prompted such large and widespread protest across Egypt. But while his economic policy makes Morsi unpopular on the streets, it is precisely what makes him acceptable to the west: power-serving economics coupled with a foreign policy that doesn’t rock any regional boats, crucially with Israel. Using standard paternalistic filters, the US is banking on the idea that the Brotherhood’s religious credibility will underwrite its reactionary politics, thereby maintaining the status quo. In this sense, the American administration doesn’t really care if it’s a Mubarak or a Morsi in power, as long as these interests are preserved.

It is true, of course, that the Brotherhood still won majority support in the first referendum – although that might be as much about public desire to put an end to this constitutional crisis.

But the drop in support for the Islamist group shows that Egyptians won’t be fobbed off any more – and therein lies the power of the revolution. Post-uprising polls reveal that Egyptians are more concerned with work, housing, health, security and public services than with the pantomime identity politics of Muslim Brotherhood versus the liberals.

The results of the referendum show that the opposition, as it grows more focused and more organised, might be able turn popular concern for these issues into real political mobilisation, which could gain momentum in the parliamentary elections slated for early next year. Then the Brotherhood might find out that with such disregard for the Egyptian people, its credibility, garnered during those hard, repressive years in opposition, can easily be squandered.

(The Guardian)

By Mohammad Tomazy
"Government of Kuwait announced that the NATO has been awarded Kuwaiti land for military exercises according to the NATO Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, in 2004",  Al-Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper said today.

Turkey has played a major role in supporting the Syrian rebels since it not only maintains starting bases for the Syrian rebels, but also a router for the military supplies and a shelter.

The Qatari royal family has also played a major role in the overthrowing of Gaddafi regime in Libya and the Anti-Assad rebels in Syria.

 Annahda Islamic Party  gained the largest parliamentary bloc after the first democratic post-uprising elections in Tunisia and they allied with the secular Tunisian president to form  the first Tunisian government after the uprising.
One of the participants in the NATO workshops for the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative is the current  Tunisian foreign minister, Rafiq Abdul-Salam who occupied the head of AlJazeera center for studies in Doha at that time (Feb. 8, 2010).

[ Arabic pdf file: Rafiq Abul-Salam is participant (#35) in Doha workshop for the NATO Istanbul Cooperation Initiative]

Is it a coincidence?!
1. Turkey, one of the NATO members and ruled by Islamic party supports the Syrian armed rebels?
2. The ex-head of Aljazeera center for studies in Doha became the "post-revolution"  prime minister in Tunisia.
3. The NATO alliance between Autocratic ruling families in rich arabian monarchies and Islamic parties in the region?

The Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped, since the beginning of this month until Tuesday December 18, 173 Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
The center said that most of the arrests took place in Hebron district, in the southern part of the West Bank, as the soldiers kidnapped 45 Palestinians, in addition to 32 in Nablus, 24 in Bethlehem, 22 in Ramallah, 10 in Qalqilia, 9 in Tulkarem, 7 in Tubas and 4 in Jericho.
The Center further reported that Israeli soldiers have escalated their assaults and violations against nonviolent protests held in solidarity with hunger striking detainees in Israeli prisons, especially protests in solidarity with Ayman Sharawna and Samer Al-Eesawy.

It said that Israel is trying to silence and stop all protests that highlight the suffering of Palestinian political prisoners held by the occupation, and is ongoing with its escalation against the detainees and their families.

The Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association (Ad-Dameer) reported that by the beginning of this month, the number of Palestinians held by Israel arrived to 4656.

Ad-Dameer said that there are 178 detainees, including 7 elected members of parliament, are currently held under illegal Administrative Detention orders without charges, and that Israel is currently holding captive 11 women, 177 children, and 13 legislators.

There are 191 detainees who are from historic Palestine (the 1948 territory), and 439 from the Gaza Strip.
Also, there are 529 detainees serving life sentences, 456 detainees serving a sentence above 20 years, 23 who have been imprisoned for more than 25 years, 72 for more than 20 years, and 111 detainees who have been imprisoned before the first Oslo Agreement was signed in 1993.
(IMEMC)

On Tuesday 18th December, Israeli forces assaulted the Palestinian hunger striker Samer al-Issawi during a court hearing.

Lawyer of the Palestinian prisoners society, Jawad Boulos, said that the guards from the Alnhacon unit beat al-Issawi when he tried to greet his family in the Jerusalem court, noting that the prisoner's hands and feet were cuffed.

Al-Issawi has been on hunger strike for 140 days in Israel's Ramleh prison and was briefly hospitalized when his heart dropped to 36 beats per minute.

Boulos also said he asked the judge to adjourn the hearing as al-Issawi needed urgent medical treatment for chest pains but the judge refused and continued the hearing for 30 minutes.
The court of Issawi has been postponed to 27/12/2012, and the judge asked the guards to take Samer to doctors for treatment.

"The guards and Israeli forces have also assaulted Issawi when he tried to address the media. He felt on ground and was dragged from his hands and feet to the detention room in the court," Added Boulos.



Head of the prisoners society, Qadura Fares, called on the world to immediately intervene to stop the suffering of the prisoners especially the hunger strikers Samer al-Issawi and Ayman al-Sharawneh.

It's worth mentioning that today, the Israeli forces raided al-Issawya village north of Jerusalem, broke into the house of prisoner al-Issawi and arrested his sister, Shireen.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Media Center the moment of her arrest, Shireen said, "They detained me with no charges except spreading the plight of my brother. I will keep defending him until he returns to Jerusalem and you too should stand by him before it's too late."
(PNN)

By Margaret Griffis
Dec. 18, 2012
A day after Kirkuk saw escalated attacks, violence expanded into surrounding areas and Baghdad. At least 92 people were killed and 227 more were wounded. Among them were fourteen Iranian pilgrims who were wounded in one attack and a Lebanese visitor who was killed in the west. Several of the attacks were within a region of northern Iraq that is claimed by Kurdistan. Kurds and other Iraqi minorities were targets in other violence.

Bombs at a Shi’ite religious building in Tuz Khormato left seven dead and 24 wounded. A later bombing near a hospital left four dead and 21 wounded.

In Baghdad, a bomb at a car dealership killed 11 and wounded 40 more. One person was killed and four people were wounded in a separate bombing in the Karrada neighborhood.

Seven people were killed and 14 more were wounded when a bomb exploded in the Shabak village of Tahir-Awa. Most of the victims were women or children. Two bombs blew up in nearby villages, but no casualties were reported.

In Qara Tabba last night, three people were killed when gunmen stormed a home belonging to a tribal sheikh. His son, grandson and a woman were killed. The next morning a bomb at their funeral tent left three dead and 10 wounded.

Six people were killed and eighteen more were wounded during a bomb in Balad.

In Bartella, a blast killed seven people and wounded 14 more.

Gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Tikrit. As they fled they blew up a car bomb. In total, they killed five policemen and wounded five more.

In Khaldiya, a car bomb killed four people and wounded seven more.

Two people were killed and nine more were wounded when mortars struck Rutbah.

In Dujail, a bomb killed three people and wounded 14 Iranian pilgrims.

In Baquba three bombs and a shooting left three dead and four wounded.

Three policemen were killed and three more were wounded in a shooting and bomb attack in Abu Saida.

The bodies of three kidnapping victims from Hawija were discovered in a waterway.

A bomb killed three soldiers in al-Buslaibi.

In Mosul, checkpoint attacks killed three soldiers. A Shabak civilian was also shot dead. A man was wounded during a home invasion. A judge escaped an assassination attempt.

A sticky bomb killed two Kurds in Balad Ruz.

A woman was shot dead in Buhriz.

Gunmen killed a Sahwa member at a checkpoint near Kirkuk. Two charred bodies belonging to torture victims were discovered. A sticky bomb killed a policeman.

Two soldiers were killed during an attack in Eyadhia.

A bomb in Falluja killed a soldier and wounded another.

In Yathrib, gunmen killed a police lieutenant colonel.

A bomb wounded five people, including two civilians, in Madaen.

Five people were wounded when a bomb exploded outside a Baiji radio station.

A bomb near a Muqdadiya hospital wounded four people.

In Samarra, a bomb targeting police wounded three civilians. A policeman was killed and two others were wounded in a separate blast. Another bomb was defused.

Three Kurds were wounded during a shooting in Jalawla.

A bomb in Tarmiya wounded three policemen.

Three were wounded in Udhaim when a bomb exploded.

A blast in Bani Saad wounded two people.

Three soldiers were wounded by a blast in Duluiya.

A bomb wounded an employee of Iskandariya.

A Lebanese man was killed and several people were wounded in an attack in western Iraq.

In Taza, mortar fire wounded four Turkmen.

No casualties were reported at a farm in Neel after mortar fire.

A car bombing was stopped in Ramadi.
(Antiwar.com)

Various Western, Arab and Israeli media reports have been claiming for over a month now that Israeli special forces are on the ground in Syria in an effort to keep tabs on its chemical weapons stockpile. 
Those reports mesh well with news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited neighboring Jordan this week to discuss with King Abdullah a possible air strike on the bulk of Syria’s weapons of mass destruction. Such an air strike would require targeting groups to be on the ground.
On Thursday, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon said that American forces were also gearing up for possible intervention in Syria should the embattled regime of dictator Bashar Assad employ chemical weapons against rebels.

(What really happened)

 

The United Staes has acknowledged for the first time it carried out a September drone strike that killed 11 people in Yemen. The victims were packed into a truck on a desert road in the town of Radda when they were struck by a missile. The dead included three children. The Washington Post reports the Yemeni government tried to hide U.S. responsibility for the attack by taking credit for carrying it out. The Yemeni government also initially claimed that only militants were killed in the strike, but were forced to withdraw that claim after mourners tried to bring the dead bodies to the gates of the presidential residence. According to the Washington Post, the attack has devastated the community in Radda and militants in surrounding areas have gained more recruits for their fight against the U.S.-backed Yemeni government since it occurred. Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in 2010 show the United States and Yemen have repeatedly covered up the use of U.S. warplanes to bomb Yemen. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, covert U.S. operations have killed up to 171 civilians, including 35 children, in Yemen over the past decade.
(Democracy Now!)

Special forces of the US army raided houses of villagers and separated the men and women of 15 families living in this village. They then raped a number of these women. According to a report in the political section of the Afghanpaper, authentic reports given by the people state that special US forces raped a number of women in a village of Afghanistan, after attacking it. US Special forces based in Afghanistan, raided a village in Chahar Bolak area of Balkh province at night, some days back (we apologize for not naming the village for certain reasons), and committed a horrendous crime. They raided houses of villagers and separated the men and women of 15 families living in this village. They then raped a number of these women. The commander of the US soldiers warned the people of the village that this crime will be repeated should they complain to the authorities. Since the occupation of our country by US forces in 2001, reports of the raping of Afghan women and girls by US soldiers has been reported by the media several times, but unfortunately no legal action has been taken by the government in any of the cases. Some time back it was revealed that in several isolated provinces, forces under US supervision, mainly the US soldiers, took the money and belongings of the people without reason or explanation. Till now, several reports have been sent about foreign forces forcefully taking away the money and personal belongings of Afghan residents with no explanation, and no one is ready to stand up to them. Many of these people faced violations and complained to government organizations, but the officials have refrained from taking any action against the US soldiers and NATO forces. Indifference of authorities, bullying and rogue acts of foreign soldiers on the one hand, and the invasion of privacy by the Taliban on the other, has led to the deterioration of security in this isolated province and extremely worried the people. What has the government done about these heinous acts? Like always, nothing! Most of the media outlets do not dare to report these crimes from fear of judicial officials and hunt by foreigners. However, this hardly comes as a surprise from a government supported by the west, which is sitting silently in the face of raping and bullying by US forces and its creations, the Taliban.… Now you decide: these innocent suffering people are raped by foreign forces, what is sacred to them is insulted, they are bullied, they are threatened by the Taliban as well, and they see no good from the government, what should they do? (rawa)

 by TOM MCNAMARA

Rennes, France.

Once more tragedy befalls America. But this time the tragedy is even more bitter due to the fact that such a large number of young children were involved. A gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people, 20 of them children – all between the ages of 5 and 10 – at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on the 14th of December. The attack ended with the gunman committing suicide. It was the Nation’s second deadliest school shooting.

Most people can’t imagine the evil and insanity needed to drive a person to commit such a heinous act. The murder of innocent people is reprehensible, but it is even more so when carried out on the most vulnerable elements of our society, children. Most disturbing of all is the well planned, deliberate and determined manner in which the murders appear to have been carried out. Early reports state that the gunman was highly accurate, leaving only one wounded survivor alive at the school.

President Obama, reading a prepared statement, was overcome with emotion. “Our hearts are broken,” he said. The victims were “beautiful little kids. They had their entire lives ahead of them: birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.” It was at this moment that the President reached up to the corner of one eye, touching an apparent tear.

On April 3rd, 1991, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 687, imposing sanctions on Iraq as a result of its invasion of Kuwait. This resulted in Iraq being economically isolated from the rest of the world community. But by the end of 1995 there were reports that the sanctions were having a devastating effect on the populace. A study in The Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association, reported that up to 576,000 Iraqi children may have died since the end of the first Gulf War as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Security Council. UNICEF, in 1999, estimated that at least 500,000 children died who would have otherwise normally lived had it not been for the sanctions in place. The Security Council, led by the United States, rejected numerous appeals by Iraq to lift the sanctions.

In 2003 the US invaded Iraq for a second time. The second Gulf War was a bloody and brutal affair, costing the lives of over 4,400 US soldiers, with almost 32,000 wounded. But these figures pale in comparison to the suffering experienced (once more) by the Iraqi people. A study released in 2006 found that there were 655,000 more deaths in Iraq than normally would have been expected had coalition forces not invaded in March 2003. This figure was more than 20 times higher than a figure that then President George Bush was using. The study found that most victims were between the ages of 15 and 44.

Nowhere was the fighting more intense in Iraq than at the battle of Fallujah (I & II). The American attack was in response to the murder of 4 Blackwater contractors, who also happened to be ex-special forces. The first battle lasted from April 5 to April 30, 2004, and was primarily a Marine operation. It was some of the most intense fighting that US soldiers had seen since the battle of Hue City in Vietnam. A local Iraqi official reported that at least 600 civilians were killed, with 1,250 more wounded.

The second attack on Fallujah involved seven Marine battalions, plus two Army battalions, and was a multi-phased affair. Combat operations started on November 7, 2004, with fighting lasting until the end of December that same year. An estimated 3,000 insurgents were killed or captured, with 70 US soldiers killed in action (a total of 151 US soldiers died in both battles).

But disturbing revelations came out after the fact. There were reports that the US had used chemical weapons, a war crime. A documentary by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, entitled “Fallujah: the Hidden Massacre” provided troubling evidence to support these claims.

Photographs, videos and interviews with US soldiers who were part of the attack on Fallujah purported to show that phosphorus bombs were used on the city. There were also accusations that incendiary bombs known as Mark 77, a type of napalm, were also used. One US soldier is quoted as saying, “I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone … I saw the burned bodies of women and children.”

More damning was an article in the March – April 2005 edition of Field Artillery Magazine. In it, officers of the 2nd Infantry’s fire support team reported that “White phosphorous [WP] proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE [high explosive]. We fired ‘shake and bake’ missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out.” A reporter with California’s North County Times, who was embedded with the Marines during the Battle of Fallujah in April 2004, reported seeing the same thing.

There were also reports that Coalition forces relied heavily on rounds comprised of depleted uranium (DU). DU is a by-product of the process used to manufacture enriched uranium for nuclear reactors and weapons. DU has 40 percent less radioactivity than natural uranium, but it has the same chemical toxicity and contains ionising radiation.

A medical study conducted on Fallujah after the battles (Busby et al 2010) confirmed anecdotal reports of an increase in infant mortality, birth defects and childhood cancer rates. It found that Fallujah had almost 11 times as many major birth defects in newborns than world averages. A prime suspect in all of this is what the report calls “the use of novel weapons,” possibly those containing “depleted uranium.” The increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in Fallujah are greater than those reported in the survivors of the US atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The US has now been fighting in Afghanistan for over 11 years (longer than the Soviet Union). A key component of US strategy in the Afghanistan / Pakistan theatre, or “AfPak” as the region is commonly known, is targeted drone strikes. America’s drone policy has reportedly killed between 474 and 881 civilians in the region, including 176 children. But apparently the targeted killing of children is now accepted military practice. Army Lt. Col. Marion Carrington of 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and who is assisting the Afghan police, is quoted as saying, “It kind of opens our aperture. In addition to looking for military-age males, it’s looking for children with potential hostile intent.”

We watch the horrible images of pain and suffering coming out of a small town in Connecticut where 20 children were murdered less than 2 weeks before Christmas. We have no choice but to collectively mourn and take part in the families’ grief. That someone would engage in the systematic and premeditated murder of children is unfathomable and an abomination against everything it means to be human.

But the misery and torment that befell Newton can be multiplied a thousand fold across the Arab world. American policy and actions have resulted in the deaths (i.e. murder) of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent children. The deaths of these children can be considered as war crimes and a crime against humanity of the highest order. They should shock and outrage us, compelling us to demand an immediate change in American foreign policy. But in order for that to happen one must first believe that Arabs cry for their children too.
Tom McNamara is an Assistant Professor at the ESC Rennes School of Business, France, and a Visiting Lecturer at the French National Military Academy at Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, France.
(Source) 

Israeli soldiers, and personnel of the Jerusalem City Council, distributed Sunday new orders against a number of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that the army invaded As-Sowwana neighborhood, near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, and imposed a tight siege on the area before posting the warrants on the doors of several homes under the pretext that they were built without construction permits.

Last month, Israel demolished two Palestinian homes, a barn and two wells, and handed demolition orders against four more homes, in the villages of Ad-Deerat and Al-Jawaya, south of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
Israel demolished since the beginning of this year 581 structures and 182 houses leading to the displacement of more than 1049 Palestinians.

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) reported a few months ago that, in 2011, the army demolished 222 homes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and 22 homes in occupied East Jerusalem. (The number of displaced Palestinians exceeded 1094).

During the three-week war on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, Israeli missiles and shells led to the destruction of 4.455 homes, displacing more than 20.000 Palestinians.

ICAHD added that since Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem following the six-day war in June 1967, the army destroyed more than 25.000 Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip alone leading to the displacement of more than 160.000 Palestinians.

The Israeli policy of home demolition is a policy of collective punishment that violates international law.
(IMEMG)

By Mohammad Tomazy
There is almost no reliable reports on Medications manufacturing companies, especially by investigative journalism.
The process of drug manufacturing is kind of  corruption by itself, other than the hidden medical hazards for the 'new product' and the corrupted deals between governments and Pharmaceutical companies.

Initially, engaging the human's health status directly with trade companies is corruption, so how can the commercial company care about the health of poor people?
 No wonder because this is one manifestation of Capitalism, to apply the common proverb "Healthy and Wealthy", but what about the right of poor people to be equally treated like rich.

The ill 'customer' should pay (per box) for the researcher (in form of Patent fees), for the company's employee and for  profits which might be officially registered in Stock market like Wall street and Frankfurt.
 From other hand, many Pharmaceutical companies are accused of hiding some serious adverse effects of the drug which may be lethal or teratogenic.

For instance, Thalidomide was a drug, which after years of extensive animal tests, was first marketed as an over-the-counter sedative: it came to be used by pregnant women in many countries during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a treatment for morning sickness.

This year, the German manufacturing company has officially admitted Thalidomide catastrophic side effect in form of teratogenic effect (i.e,  many babies were born with no limbs or deformed one or more limbs), whereas it was introduced to the 'market' in 1950s.
 Other children also received Thalidomide in the same high dosage. One child had a circulatory collapse, one died from a congenital heart defect, a three-month-old baby died from heart failure, a twentyone-month-old baby temporarily lost her vision. The doctor responsible stopped using the drug when he heard that his medical colleagues had similar experiences with Thalidomide (Although twelve years would elapse before Thalidomide was withdrawn from the market).
 "In 1955, one year before the commencement of the marketing of Thalidomide in its various formulae, three physicians, along with a Professor Kloos, took part in a symposium arranged by Chemie Grünenthal at which they reported to the company unsatisfactory experiences with Thalidomide. However, these were ignored".

Few years ago, WHO warned of new influenza virus outbreaks causes Avian Flu (Birds Flu), few years later another viral outbreaks cause (Swine Flu) has been appeared.
Pharmaceutical companies found it an opportunity for 'doubling profits', and so they engaged a commercial competition to introduce their new 'product'  which is the Vaccination in a different 'shapes' and techniques.



The vaccine manufacturing company Novartis has recently made the news this time with the recall of 160,000 dosages of the Aggripal influenza flu vaccination in both the United Kingdom and Italy. The recall was due to ‘particles seen floating in the vials’ the particles were later determined to be protein aggregates. When researching protein aggregates we soon find that they are not only dangers misfolded proteins but they are also toxic and linked to amyloidal diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Pion’s. These 160,000 doses of Aggripal were so saturated with protein aggregates that they were visible to the naked eye as floating particulate matter.

 Dec. 20, 2012
Syrian abductors of two Russian citizens and an Italian national demanded a ransom of over $700,000 for their release, Kommersant daily said on Thursday.
Two Russians and an Italian national were abducted on December 17 near the western Syrian port city of Latakia as they were travelling along the Tartus-Homs highway.

“A diplomatic source in Moscow told Kommersant that the sum at the issue is 50 million Syrian pounds (over $700,000),” the daily said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement identifying the Russians as V. Gorelov and Abdessattar Khassun, who also holds a Syrian passport, and confirmed that Italian Mario Belluomo was abducted with them.

All three work for the Hmisho steel company’s plant near Homs, the statement confirms, adding that the company had received a telephone demand from unidentified individuals for payment as a condition for their release.
According to Kommersant, the hostages were abducted by one of the Syrian opposition groups.

On Wednesday, Haitham al-Maleh, a prominent leader of the Syrian opposition abroad, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Russians are a “legitimate” target for Syrian militants as Russia supports President Bashar al-Assad.
(RIA Novosti)

Pro-Israel groups have tried to derail a possible plan for the White House to appoint a former Republican senator as the next US secretary of defence, saying his comments on Jewish influence in American politics "border on anti-Semitism".
Hagel and ObamaCritics said Chuck Hagel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, had failed to support Israel in the US Senate, had voted against sanctions on Iran and seized on his use of the phrase "Jewish lobby" in a 2008 interview.

Barack Obama has not formally nominated Mr Hagel to take over at the Pentagon but he is understood to be a front-runner and the White House is carefully gauging the level of opposition before making an announcement.

The 66-year-old struck a more sceptical note on Israel than most Republicans during his two terms in the Senate and refused to support the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006.

Mr Hagel voted against some sanctions on Iran and was one of a handful of senators who did not join an effort to pressure the EU into designating Hizbollah as a terrorist organisation.

In a 2008 interview about the strength of pro-Israel groups in US politics, he said: "The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here".

Abraham Fox, the national director of the Anti-defamation League, said the comments "border on anti-Semitism" and urged Mr Obama not to tap him for the defence post.

"His record relating to Israel and the US-Israel relationship is, at best, disturbing, and at worst, very troubling," Mr Fox told the Washington Post.

The more conservative Republican Jewish Coalition said that his appointment would be a "slap in the face for every American who is concerned about the safety of Israel".

Mr Hagel would be expected to clear a Senate vote on his nomination but the pre-emptive criticism may be enough to dissuade the White House from selecting him.

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, declined to address the comments by pro-Israel groups but said the President "thinks very highly" of Mr Hagel.

Mr Hagel could not be reached for comment through the Atlantic Council, the foreign policy think tank he chairs.
(The Telegraph)

Videos Expose Anti Syrian Government Propaganda The Syrian crisis has been plagued by disinformation, especially when it comes to the Mainstream Media (MSM) and its lies about the Syrian conflict to suit their governments' agendas.
Hayat Yousef, Eye-witness
In most cases, irresponsible reporting from what were once considered as "prestigious" news organizations has relied heavily on "Syrian activists", who happen to be almost entirely pro-FSA and anti-Syrian government. Massacres conducted by the Islamist "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) against unarmed Syrian civilians were casually attributed by those activists as crimes of the "Assad regime" against a defenseless population in order to delegitimize the Syrian government. The FSA would then display dead children that they just massacred as "victims of Assad's Shabbiha", a militia loyal to the Syrian government.


Alex Thomson Report (from inside Syria)

A recent episode took place in Aqrab (Hama countryside), where over 200 civilians were reportedly massacred by the Shabbiha. Most news organizations went with that narrative. However, a closer investigation that entails talking to the parents and relatives of these victims shows a completely different story. This video has two parts.

Part 1 (starts at 0:30) shows British Channel 4 report on the story directly from Aqrab.
Part 2 (starts at 6:25) shows Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV report on the story.

Yet, it's the Syrian government that is continuously portrayed as the one conducting these massacres, whereas it has been shown, in each case, that it's no entity other than the FSA that is conducting them, be it in al-Houla, Darayya, Karm al-Zeitoun, or any other similar massacre.





Sources:
Information Clearing House
Salem-news