Archive for November 2012
Finally, the Palestinians got their seat in the UN as Observers, a preliminary step toward acknowledging a Statehood that was denied last year.
Mind you that the Palestinians are already a member of the UNESCO.
In 1947, the UN partitioned Palestine into two entities. Implicitly, the UN agreed on a Palestinian State in 1947, but only Israel was granted this status in 1948.
It has taken 65 years for the Palestinians to be part of the UN, after hundred of thousands of martyrs who fell under the apartheid and theocratic State of Israel, and are still suffering from all kinds of brutal and humiliating indignities every single day.
Last week, 170 Palestinians died following 1,500 jet attacks by Israel on Gaza, most of them babies and civilians, and over 1,500 injured.
Israel knew that this time around, even the US cannot be of help, and it tried hard to downgrade the significance of this new Palestinian status, saying that nothing will change on the ground…
Let’s first listen to what Michael Tomasky has to say before we comment.
Michael Tomasky posted in the daily Beast on Nov 19, 2012 “Why the Palestinians Will Never Win”
This is from a CNN poll finding today:
According to the survey, nearly six in ten say their sympathies are with the Israelis, with 13% saying they side more with the Palestinians and 11% saying their sympathies are with neither side in the conflict.
“That’s nothing new,” added Holland. “The number of Americans who sympathize more with the Palestinians has never been higher than 18% since the question was first asked in 1988. Sympathies for Israel have sometimes dipped below 50%, but have been over that mark for the past eight years.”
Well, to me, that about sums the Palestinian problem up.
I’ve written this many times, and it hasn’t always gone down well with my readers, particularly at the Guardian, as you might imagine.
But this is a fact.
The Palestinian leadership, with a couple of happy new exceptions like Fayyad PM in the occupied West Bank, is just pathetic or worse.
The Palestinians are among the world’s most scorned and dispossessed people, but they’ve been saddled with the worst liberation movement in the history of liberation movements.
First and foremost, if they’d been a nonviolent movement, they’d have had their state 20 years ago. No understanding at all of either the Jewish or the American conscience, which resists “resistance” at all costs but melts at the first sight of a person standing before a tank holding a rose.
Second, the PA was until recently just hideously corrupt. Arafat and his cronies got away with stealing so much money from those poor people. Completely unconscionable.
Third, they appear to have no understanding of why they’re really losing. They’re losing because American public opinion will never be on their side. Americans will always back the Jews.
To Americans, Jews are nice, successful people. They’re funny. Jerry Seinfeld. Who’s gonna be against Jerry Seinfeld’s people?
You may think this is silly, but trust me, it’s anything but.
Roosevelt toyed with the idea of interning Italian-Americans in camps along with Japanese-Americans. You know why he dropped it? Because people around him told him that there is no way on Earth you can put Joe DiMaggio’s mother in a work camp.
In other words, and put more seriously, even as there was much religious bigotry afoot against Catholics in that America, middle Americans nevertheless had fellow feelings for Italians, just as they do for Jews today.
Palestinians? Yes, as Bill Clinton said, the only Palestinians he knows are college professors and doctors. In Clinton’s experience and in my more limited one, Palestinian Americans are a high-achieving and very warm people.
But all most Americans know is, they’re a bunch of terrorists. Palestinian leadership needs to take that seriously and change it.
None of this is meant as a defense of Israeli leadership. They’re schmucks, too, or worse.
So I don’t really like either side very much, in terms of their leaders, which is why I don’t write about this very often.
But I do know that if Palestinians moved to nonviolence and undertook a smart campaign to improve their image here, they’d turn things around on a dime.
Israel will ultimately do what America tells it to do, and America will become more sympathetic to the Palestinians when the Palestinians become more sympathetic.
Joanna Choukeir Hojeily shared OBaider Manasrah‘s photo.
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Newsweek/Daily Beast special correspondent Michael Tomasky is also editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. Follow Michael Tomasky on Twitter at @mtomasky.
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Michelle has hope for Lebanon: Sort of 5 reasons…
“Since the Syrian revolution began over 20 months ago, the headlines around the world concerning Lebanon have all had the same tone – “Lebanon on the brink”, “Tensions in a divided Lebanon run high”…
And since last May, we have seen what appears to be a breakdown of Lebanon’s social fabric. Fighting in Tripoli between Bab el Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, tire burning around the country, the so-called “military wing” of the clan Moqdad family kidnapping of Gulf nationals, Syrians…and blocking the road to the airport.
A travel ban for the nationals of UAE, Qatar and Bahrain crippled Lebanon’s tourism over the summer.
And a month ago, the car bomb that ripped through Beirut’s bustling Ashrafieh district that claimed 3 lives, including that of Brigadier General Wissam al Hassan, his bodyguard, and an innocent woman walking in the area. In the days that followed, protestors stormed the Grand Serail, (the PM administration) and gunfights erupted in several areas around Beirut.
International media basically had a field day predicting the next civil war in Lebanon, and elaborating on the oversimplified narrative of Syria’s conflict “spilling over” and Lebanon’s sectarian divides continuing to “widen” as change rocks the region. What happened instead?
Millions of Lebanese woke up in the morning, got in their cars and faced mind-numbing traffic to get to work for completely unfair salaries. For that, I respect them and their resilience immensely.
Schools, bars, restaurants, and malls remained open despite shooting in several areas of Beirut. In the days that followed, life here largely returned to normal, and the media’s eye shifted away from Lebanon. Basically, over the space of two days, columnists and foreign correspondants from around the world predicted a major breakdown of social and political institutions in this country.
And that may yet happen. But instead of breaking down worst case scenarios, let’s take a look at the reality of the past month in Beirut.
1. Beirut White March
A week after the blast in Ashrafieh, around a thousand Lebanese gathered in Martyr’s Square dressed in white, and marched peacefully to Sassine Square (the location of the blast) to show solidarity for the victims, and to express frustration with the March 8/14 rift that characterizes Lebanese politics. “March against March” and “5losna Ba2a” signs were held up, along with hundreds of Lebanese flags.
The mood was positive, despite the grim events of the week before. I overheard two photographers jockying for position joke to each other “In peaceful protests, the photographers are the ones who fight.”
No violence.
2. Ashrafieh for All
Again, immediately after the bombing, a group of young Lebanese began the “Ashrafieh for All” initiative. Spread through Facebook, the group description simply read: “[We are] a group of young people looking to help the people of Ashrafieh out. This is in no way political. Anyone willing to help can join.”
Over the following weeks, hundreds of volunteers, including youth groups such as les Scouts du Liban, collected food, water, clothes, medicine and money for those whose homes had been destroyed in the explosion. Major Lebanese brands including Zaatar w Zeit, Roadsters Diner and many more also contributed to the efforts.
3. Beirut Marathon
On November 11th, in the pouring rain, over a thousand Lebanese gathered to complete a 10 km run, or a full marathon, throughout Beirut. Thousands of Lebanese of different faiths gathered together in a massive crowd, while jogging, under a torrential downpour – sound like a perfect recipe for conflict. But no – the event was a great success.
4. Seculars in AUB election
Student elections at the American University of Beirut are closely watched, as they are known for representing Lebanon’s political divides. Unlike typical student elections, which are either popularity contests or based on campaigns pertaining to student life, AUB’s are highly politicized. Competing student parties openly endorse the March 8 and March 14 camps that divide national Lebanese politics, and have a history of high tensions, and even outbursts of violence.
Given the events of the past few months, many expected this year’s election season to be particularly inflammatory. Though the elections were highly politicized as usual, with political chants and quite a bit of booing taking place as results were announced, there were no fights. And in an interesting turn of events, AUB’s very own Secular Club, supporting candidates running independently of any politically affiliated organizations, performed particularly well this year.
For a soundbite I compiled featuring interviews with AUB students regarding their view of the influence of Lebanese politics on student elections, click here: www.beirutnewsnetwork.com/michelle. You may be surprised by what you hear. While some cited the inevitability of Lebanese politics spilling into AUB, others expressed major disappointment with this – despite the fact that they had won because they ran with politically-backed parties.
5. TEDxBeirut
TEDxBeirut, a full-day conference that took place November 17th at Beirut’s UNESCO Palace, brought together Lebanese speakers, activists, innovators, leaders, and regular citizens with “ideas worth sharing” as a part of the larger TED talks global movement. A TEDx conference even took place in Tripoli, despite the strife that has marked the city since this summer.
What does all this mean?
Lebanese people are far from war-hungry sectarian-driven individuals. The above events show that Lebanese do want to live together, and enjoy normal, happy lives. And that’s what gives me hope in Lebanon this independence day.
As summarized by Bernard Pivot:
“Les Libanais sont sûrs qu’il y aura un autre attentat. Puis, plus tard, un autre. Ils ne vivent cependant pas dans la crainte. Ils vivent.” (The Lebanese are sure another car blast is being readied, and another… They don’t live in fear. They live.)
On top of that, JLO carried a Lebanese flag on stage while performing in Dubai. I mean what more do you really need? End of article
If the reader has noticed, almost all of these events are set in Beirut, where about a third of the population live and work. Outside of Beirut, in this tiny country, life is controlled and administered by the communities: The pseudo-State (government, institutions, and deputies…) exists just in Greater Beirut. A few sectors in Beirut get high priority in potable water, 24/24 electricity, and all the amenities that other sections in Beirut don’t enjoy…
Apparently, the rate of hope is “measured” on how people living and commuting to Beirut behave and have fun…
Spain to ease Naturalization of Sephardi Jews: Expelled 5 centuries ago?
Posted on: November 27, 2012
Spain to ease naturalization of Sephardic Jews, who were expelled in the 16th century?
Spain has announced that it will ease the naturalization of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were expelled 500 years ago.
And all the “Arabs” who dominated Spain and were expelled by the same Catholic monarchs and Church? Is their turn very soon for the easing up on their naturalization?
Sephardic Jews already benefit from a preferential naturalization procedure that requires them to live in Spain for only two years before claiming citizenship.
But the change, which was announced on Thursday, means that Jews will have to present only a certificate confirming their ancestry to claim a Spanish passport. (Like what kind of certificates? And who is qualified to confirm the validity of certificates going 500 years back in history?)
The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Spain, an umbrella body, congratulated the government for “recognition of a right which does not depend on any government decree.” (Does this means that the Spanish Catholic monarchs and the Church violated recognition of rights?)
In its statement, the organization added that the announcement needs to “culminate in a legal text that will specify the conditions to be met to assume nationality.”
The government did not say how many Jews it expected to apply for citizenship, but it noted that a large number of Sephardic Jews lived in Turkey and across Latin America. (How many descendants in 500 years? Are we talking of 10 million who are still alive?)
While estimates differ, the number of Jews living in Spain – 25,000 to 45,000 people out of a total population of 47 million – is only a fraction of the number who lived in the country before 1492, when Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or go into exile.
If you can read ancient Spanish and decipher its calligraphy read “The Alhambra Decree that ordered the expulsion of Jews from Spain”
Why US Cancels Mid East Conference on Nuke-Free Zone? Israel refused to attend?
Posted on: November 27, 2012
Why US Cancels Mid East Conference on Nuke-Free Zone?
The US blamed regional turmoil for Canceling Mid East Conference on Nuke-Free Zone.
It was Israel’s refusal to attend that prompted cancelation…
And can’t this conference be of benefit if Israel is not present? Is it not worthwhile sitting and discussing without the negative presence of Israel in any conference in the Mid East region?
The US has called off a major international conference on establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East, claiming turmoil in the region prevents action on the issue.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement released Friday that the US supports the goal of banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East, but that conflict in Israel-Palestine and, ironically, Iran’s supposed defiance on the nuclear issue, required it be canceled.
The real reason that the US canceled the conference is because Israel – the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons – refuses to give up its regional monopoly on nukes.
A diplomat involved in the conference told the Associated Press that “Israel had decided not to attend,” and, “Key sponsors had said that the meeting was possible only if all countries, especially Israel, would participate.”
Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has publicly pledged its opposition to nuclear weapons development, has subjected itself to thorough international inspections, and in fact has exactly zero nuclear weapons.
However, Israel has done none of the above and has approximately 200 nuclear warheads.
Iran is being severely punished and threatened with attack, Israel is supported with unparalleled economic, military, and diplomatic support.
If Israel agreed to dismantling its vast stockpiles of nuclear weapons and to a deal enforcing a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East – a deal Iran and Israel’s Arab neighbors have repeatedly proposed – the supposed threats Israel faces in the region would disappear.
But Israel refuses to give up its nuclear monopoly, insistent on maintaining its excuse to build up its military and distract from the Palestinian issue.
As former CIA Middle East analyst Paul Pillar has written,
“The Iran issue provides a distraction from international attention to the Palestinians’ lack of popular sovereignty.”
People Power vs Big Oil spills: Can African masses win?
Experts say that every year, Big Oil spills as much crude into the Niger Delta as the size of an Exxon Valdez catastrophe, but as it is Africa, it gets little media play…
Finally, Big Oil is having to pay for the wasteland and violence that they’ve created.
President Jonathan of Nigeria supports the Shell fine, $5 billion fine against giant oil polluter Shell for a spill that devastated the lives of millions of people, and pass a law to hold all oil companies to account for polluting and plundering.and progressive Senators are pushing for strong regulations, but oil companies are slick, and without huge international support MPs could buckle under the pressure.
Pascal V. of Avaaz.org posted on Nov. 6, 2012:
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This is a watershed moment, but unless we all speak out, oil giants will crush it.
After a leak occurred at Shell’s Bonga oil facility last December, millions of gallons poured into the ocean and washed up on the densely populated coast — resulting in one of the largest African oil spills ever. The fine and bill on the table are a once in a lifetime chance to stand up to Big Oil.
Oil companies have made $600 billion in the last 50 years in Nigeria, but locals don’t see the benefits. Their land, drinking water and fishing grounds are ruined.
And Shell has spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year on security forces, repressing protest against its harmful practices.
The oil industry is crucial to the economy, but companies have never been held to account for the devastation of drilling.
Now, the Nigerian President and a few brave MPs are speaking out and they could finally slam the oil giants with tough fines and give fair pay outs to the victims. If we show MPs that the world supports these crucial steps, we can literally change the lives of millions.
Politicians are deciding their positions right now, when we hit a million signers we’ll bring our unprecedented global call to the steps of Nigeria’s Parliament:
Click here http://www.avaaz.org/en/make_shell_pay_b/?bFAfecb&v=19096
Avaazers have stood up to Big Oil all over the world, from Chevron in Ecuador, to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, to ending fossil fuel subsidies at the Rio Summit. Now let’s do it for Nigeria too.
Make sure the politicians send a message to Big Oil: your days of impunity are over.
With hope and determination,
Pascal, Patricia, Alex, Ricken, David, Rewan, and the Avaaz team
Shell Faces $5 Billion Nigeria Fine (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303933704577532723563488122.html
Shell urged to pay Nigeria $5bn over Bonga oil spill (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18875731
Shell’s grip on Nigerian state revealed (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-cables-shell-nigeria-spying
U.N. slams Shell as Nigeria needs biggest ever oil clean-up (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/04/us-nigeria-ogoniland-idUSTRE7734MQ20110804
Nigeria: Oil spill investigations ‘a fiasco’ in the Niger Delta (Amnesty International)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/nigeria-oil-spill-investigations-fiasco-niger-delta-2012-08-02
Martyrs of Gaza: Finally, names posted
I Expect the martyrs to have faces and age too. Listen to Rafeef Ziadah on Youtube at end of post.
It is no longer acceptable that apartheid regimes destroy lives, as if they were never born and vanished in thin air, simply because the US governments hate to name victims of aggression, occupation and apartheid behavior…
If the UN or any international organization make it a habit to list the names and faces of victims in mass murder scheme, anywhere around the world and under any political regime, maybe violence with take more frequent breaks.
Growing up in Gaza, Free Palestine‘s photo
1– Ahmed Jabari
2 – Ranan Yousef Jalal Arafat
3 – Mohammed Hamed al-Hams
5 – Mahmoud Hamad Abu Soawin
6 – Omar Mashharawi
7 – Haneen Khaled Tafesh
8 – Habis Hassan Msmah
9 – Wael Haider Ghalban
10 – Hesham Mohamed Ghalban
11 – Mohamed Hani Al-kaseeh
12 – Essam Mahmoud Abu Al-Maaza
13 – Khaled Abou Nasr
14 – Rani Hammad
15 – Marwan Abdel Rahman Abu Qomsan
16 – Walid Mahmoud Abadleh
17 – Odai Jamal Nasser
18 – Faris Ahmed Bassiouni
19 – Mohammed Iyad Saadallah
20 – Ayman Abed Abu Warda
21 – Tahreer Ziad Salman
22 – Ismail Khatab Qandil
23 – Younis Kamel Tafesh
24 – Mohammed Talal Salman
25 – Hassan Salem Alhela
26 – Ziad Farhan Abu Jalal
27 – Ahmed Mohammed Jadou Abu Jalal
28 – Amjad Mohammed Jadou Abu Jalal
29 – Khaled Khalil Al-shaaer
30 – Ayman Rafiq Salim
31 – Ahmed Osama Mohammed Al-Atrash
32 – Mohammed Saleh Ashitoa Alloulihy
33 – Awad Hamdi Hassan Al-Nahal
34 – Abdulrahman Salem al-Masri
35 – Moukhlis Mahmoud Adwan
36 – Osama Mousa Abdel Gawad
37 – Ali Abdel Halim Ali Mana’ma
38 – Ashraf Hassan Darwish
39 – Mohamed Mahmoud Yassin
40 – Osama Youssef Mansour Al-Qadi
41- Ahmed Salim Said
42 – Hani Abdel Meguid Ibraam
43 – Ali Hassan bin Saeed
44 – Samantha Khalil Mahmoud Qudaih
45 – Mohammed Sabri Aydat
46 – Tamer Khaled Al Hamri
47 Saadia Mohammed Dib
48 Jamal Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou
49 Abdullah Mohammed Ramadan Alumzenr
50 Suhaila Mahmoud Yassin Al-Dalou
51 Samah Abdul Hamid Yitzhak Al-Dalou
52 Tahani Hassouna Ahmed Al-Dalou
53 Ibrahim Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou
54 Yusuf Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou
55 Amina Hassan Mattar Alumzenr
56 Sami Imad Subhi Al-Ghafeer
57 Mohammed Bakr Aghaff
58 Sara Mohamed Al-Dalou
59 Sohail Ashour Hamada
60 Mou’men Suhail Hamada
61 Atiyah Abd al-Mubarak
62 Hossam Hussein Abu Shawish
63 Jumana Salama Ibrahim Abu Seifan
64 Tamer Salama Ibrahim Abu Seifan
65 Nawal Faraj Mahmoud Abdel Aal
66 Iyad Yousef Abu Khoussa
67 Musa Mahmoud Juma Sumairi
68 Ahmed Essam Sami Al-Nahal
69 Tasneem Zuhair Mahmoud Al-Nahal
70 Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Abuamrh
71 Nabil Ahmed Odeh Aauamrh
72 Mohammed Iyad Fouad Abozzor
73 Sahar Fadi Asad Abozzor
74 Mohammed Salameh Saadi Jondia
75 A’hed Hamdi Alqtati
76 Nismah Helmi Salem Abozzor
77 Amin Zuhdi Ibrahim Bashir
78 Tamer Rushdie Mohammad Bashir
79 Rashid Alyan Atiya Abu Amra
80 Ibrahim Mohammed al-Astal
81 Omar Mahmoud Mohammed al-Astal
82 Jalal Mohammed Nasr
83 Hussein Jalal Nasr
84 Abed Mohammed Attar
85 Saifuddin Sadeq
86 Husamettin Zein
87 Mahmoud Said Abu Khater
88 Abdullah Salem Harb Abu Khater
89 Mohammed Riad Khamlkh
90 Ramadan Ahmed Mahmoud
91 Rama Al-Shadni
92 Mohammed Al-Qasser
93 Raneen Jammal Aldel
94 Ramiz Najib Musa Harb
95 A’aed Sabri Radi
96 Amin Ramadan Al-Malahi
97 Husam Fayez Abdel Gawad
98 Salem Pouls Sweilem
99 Mohamed Zidan Tubail
100 Ibrahim Mahmoud Hawajri
101 Arkan Harbi in Abu Kamil
102 Osama Walid Shehadeh
103 Khalil Ibrahim Shehadeh
104 Suhaib Fouad Hijazi
105 Mohamed Fouad Hijazi
106 Fouad Khalil Hijazi
107 Ahmed Tawfik Nasasrh
108 Mohammed Tawfiq Nasasrh
109 Bilal Jihad Barrawi
110 Yahya Akram Ma’rouf
111 Yahya Mohamed Awad
112 Abdul Rahman Hamad
113 Mohammed Abed Rabbo Badr
114 Ahmed Khaled Dughmush
115 Mahmoud Rizk Salman al-Zahar
116 Musab Mahmood Dughmush
117 Suloh Nimer Muhammad Dughmush
118 Subhi Nimer Mohammed Dughmush
119 Ahmed Jamil Doghmush
120 Mahmoud Ali Komi
121 Yousara Basil Shawwa
122 Mahmoud Mohamed Al-Zouhri
123 Tariq Azni Hadjilh
124 Saqr Yusuf Bulbul
125 Mahmoud Rizk Ashour
126 Amin Mahmoud Alddh
127 Hossam Mohammed Salameh
128 Ayman Tawfiq Abu Rashid
129 Mohammed Abu Eisha
130 Ahmed Abu Moor
131 Khaled Abu Moor
132 Hassan Yousef Al-Ostaz
133 Salem Ayesh Abu Sitta
134 Mohammed Ahmed Abu Sitta
135 Shawki Abu Snema
136 Ibrahim Ahmed Hamad
137 Mahmoud Khalil Arja
138 Mustafa Abu Hmeidan
139 Ahmed Abu Alian
140 Fares Asbitan
141 Ibrahim Nasr
142 Ameera Nasr
143 Mubarak Abu Ghoula
144 Mohammed Attia Abu Khussa
145 Abdul Rahman Naim
146 Mohammed Bakr
147 Mubarak Abu Ghoula
148 Ibrahim Muheisen
149 Reham Nabahin
148 Muhammad Muhammad Bakr
150 Ibrahim Shehadeh
151 Rami Obeid
152 Mohammed Abu Oa’tawi
153 Saadi Abu Kamil
154 Nidal Hassan
155 Talal Al-Esali
156 Ayman Al-Esali
157 Hadeel Al-Esali
158 Mohammed Ashkar
159 Ahmed Abu Kamil
160 Abdullah Hussein
161 Mohammed Abu Adwan
162 Nader Abu M_khasab
163 Mohammed Ayesh
164 Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou
Follow foulexpress…http://www.foulexpress.com/2012/11/gaza-les-morts-ont-un-nom/
Hot Post this week (Nov. 23/2012)
- Stop the Killing in Gaza: From Alice in avaaz.org
- Are having trouble with “volunteers”? Finding them, coaxing them or making them deliver on promises…?
- Secular Lebanese young girls: Initiators of suicide bombing against Israeli occupation
- A Timeline on Gaza tragedy: From IMEU and The Electronic Intifada
- Palestinian Family Trapped Under Rubble: Thrilled To Hear ‘Gaza’ Trending On Twitter
- “These are my memories of University of Oklahoma at Norman…”: From another person recollection
- This charlatan magician that is life
- “Brief history of U.S. imperialism…”. US governments: Trust me, these are inaccuracies…
- Facebook attempts: To shut down the Voice of Uprising Women in the Arab World?
Adonis Diaries 