Saturday, October 10, 2009

Breaking News.....As The Stomach Turns....The Dialog.....How to Embrace a Traitor Without Appearing to....


The Latest in the Hamas Soap, "As the Stomach Turns"

Cairo made a proposal to postpone the signing of the deal, already agreed upon, between Hamas and the Traitor Abbas. Hamas is studying Cairo's proposal and will respond, after measuring the direction and the speed of the political wind blowing in the Palestinian street.

"مؤسسات الحركة تدرس المقترح الجديد وسترد عليه"
"حماس": القاهرة تفهمت طلبت تأجيل جلسة الحوار وتقدمت بمقترح جديد لتجاوز الأزمة


Hamas: Egypt understood our call for delaying dialog session

"CAIRO, (PIC)-- Egypt has expressed understanding of Hamas Movement's motive for demanding the postponement of the Palestinian national dialog session in Cairo, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said on Saturday.

He told the PIC that a delegation of the Movement grouping Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy political bureau chairman, and Mohammed Nasr, a political bureau member, concluded talks with Egyptian officials on Saturday evening.

The delegates, who arrived in Cairo on Friday night, consulted with Egyptian officials on deferring the dialog session because of the Ramallah authority's position regarding the Goldstone report, he elaborated.

Abu Zuhri said that Cairo offered a proposal to overcome the crisis that occurred after the Fatah-dominated Ramallah authority requested a delay in the voting on the Goldstone report at the UN human rights council, which created an "unfavorable" atmosphere for the reconciliation agreement.

The spokesman said that the Egyptian proposal would be discussed within the Movement's institutions and talks would be held later on the issue."

Al-Jazeera Video: Refugee crisis looms in Yemen - 09 Oct 09



"John Holmes, a senior United Nations humanitarian official, has been visiting refugees in Yemen left homeless by the fighting between government troops and Houthi fighters.

"We can't assess just how serious the situation in the Saada governorate is because we don't have access there for the main international organisations, although there are, of course, non-governmental organisations like the Islamic Relief and we are able to provide some form of assistance," Holmes told Al Jazeera.

"This is precisely what I am here to discuss and assess to do the best we can in the circumstances."

The Yemeni government is concerned that the battle could become a prolonged conflict forcing it to seek international assistance for the internally displaced people.

Since early September, 30,000 internally displaced persons have been in refugee camps and 120,000 more are in need of aid, according to the UN.

Calls for a ceasefire by international aid agencies have been rejected by both sides.

The conflict between the Houthi fighters, who belong to the Shia Zaidi sect, and government forces first broke out in 2004, but last month the fighting intensified as the group pushed to topple the government.

Hashem Ahelbarra reports from the al-Mazraq camp in Hajjah, north of the country."

Real News Video: Israel's nukes and Iran

Beneath the hype Pt.3: McGovern & Thielmann on consequences of US silence on Israel's nuclear weapons


More at The Real News


"Intelligence experts Ray McGovern and Greg Thielmann respond to a question from the floor on the significance of Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal in the discussion of Iran. McGovern notes that "an unpardonable mistake in US politics is to mention the Israeli arsenal as a motivation for Iran." Adding that, "by acknowledging the Israeli nukes, one realizes that Iran is surrounded on all sides by nuclear powers. Russia to the North, Pakistan to the East, Israel to the West, and US ships in the Persian Gulf to the South.

Thielmann cautions US figures on the danger of ignoring the fact that, "between Iran and Israel, only one of these two states is currently under existential threat, and that is Iran.""

ديمومة الأنظمة: بحث في أسباب المحنة العربيّة

A Good Analysis by As'ad Abu Khalil (Angry Arab), in Arabic, of the Longevity of the Arab Regimes and the Mass Stagnation and Stasis in the Arab World.

أسعد أبو خليل

"يحلم زعماء العرب بالخلود. ينفقون الغالي والرخيص بحثاً عن عقاقير وأعشاب، ويستعينون بالمشعوذين للحصول على سرّ الخلود. كان مستشار أنور السادات، حسن التهامي (ذو الدور المشؤوم في العلاقة المبكرة مع إسرائيل)، يحضّر الأرواح ويشير على السادات للوقاية من الشرّ. وبعض منجمّي لبنان بنى قصوراً مقابل «تنبؤات» لهذا الحاكم أو ذاك. حياة واحدة من قمع شعوبهم لا تكفي، فيزيدون عليها بسلالات لتخلّد اسمهم. بعضهم حكمنا لعقود، والبعض الآخر لقرون من الزمن
......
أما أسباب الاستمرار فهي متعدِّدة، ومنها:
أولاً، نهاية الحرب الباردة
......
ثانياً، إن الولايات المتحدة راضية تمام الرضى عن الأنظمة السائدة في العالم العربي، وهي تعتبر أن بقاء الأنظمة يساهم في الحفاظ على مصالحها
.......
ثالثاً، هذا النمو الهائل في البنية الاستخباراتيّة ــــ العسكريّة القمعيّة ساعد الأنظمة العربيّة في الاستمرار
.......
رابعاً، السيطرة العائليّة وعدم الوثوق إلا بأفراد العائلة ساعد في توطيد الحكم. أصبحوا كلّهم نموذجاً للحكم الشخبوطي: الأب يقود، والإخوة والأبناء يسيطرون على أجهزة الحكم
......
خامساً، تمرّس الحكّام في الحكم، وتمرّسوا في منع الانقلابات. وهذا يعود إلى دعم خارجي،
......
سادساً، خوف العامّة من المجهول. لا يركن الشعب اليوم إلى وعود التغيير: الخيبات تراكمت،
.......
سابعاً، التخويف الفقهي التقليدي من الفتنة
.......
ثامناً، عائدات النفط والمساعدات الخارجيّة قللت من ضرورة الاستعانة بـ«القدرة الاستخراجيّة»
.......
تاسعاً، مزاج من اليأس والخوف قلّل من إمكان المعارضة المسلّحة. فقد الشعب العربي الكثير من آماله ورغباته عبر عقود من الهزائم والخيبات والمؤامرات والقمع والأحلام المُبدّدة
.......
عاشراً، معادلة «سي رايت ملز» في كتابه «نخبة السلطة» عن وصفة «التسلية والخداع والثناء» للبقاء في الحكم، تنطبق على العالم العربي
........
حادي عشر، سيادة الحقبة السعوديّة والحفاظ على الأنظمة الموالية لها (بالاتفاق مع أميركا وإسرائيل).
.......
ثاني عشر، العنف المستشري والاستعانة بالمجازر للتخويف ولتقويض قوى المعارضة
.......
ثالث عشر، فعالية تنسيق القمع العربي. يمكن اعتبار اجتماع وزراء الداخليّة العرب من أهم الاجتماعات العربيّة الجامعة على الإطلاق. والأنظمة العربيّة تعارض كل مساعي التوحّد والاندماج لكنها تتعاون بفعالية أكيدة في مجال القمع العربي المشترك
........
ويمكن أن نضيف أن النموذج العراقي في التغيير ساهم على عكس ما روّج المُستعمر الأميركي في تدعيم أنظمة التسلّط العربيّة، لأن نموذج التغيير بات مرتبطاً في الأذهان الشعبيّة بالعنف والفتنة والسيطرة الأجنبيّة والفساد وسيادة الميليشيات المسلّحة والرجوع القهقرى تاريخيّاً واجتماعيّاً من ناحية تقوية الروابط العشائريّة والسيطرة الإكليريكيّة
......
يجب عدم النظر إلى ما ورد من تحليل كدعوة للمزيد من اليأس. على العكس، فإن تفنيد النظريّات الاستشراقيّة يجب أن يعوّل على قدرة التغلّب على عوامل سياسيّة واقتصاديّة مؤثِّرة في القمع العربي. أي إن قوة الضعفاء أهم من (انتظار) ضعف الأقوياء، على قول ماركس
"

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, by Mr. Fish




COMMENT

One of the silliest rationalizations for awarding the prize was to say yes, Obama has not had the chance yet to "produce peace" in the world. By giving him the award now, this should give him a bigger incentive to redouble his efforts towards that goal.

Using this as a template, I can say that I am working to solve the mystery of the origin of the universe. As an incentive to me, I should be given the Nobel Prize in physics and astronomy, as an incentive to me to speed up my research.

Makes sense!

Free Gaza Ireland to send “Irish boat” to Gaza


The Free Gaza Movement

"......
Free Gaza Ireland is working closely with the international Free Gaza Movement to acquire an “Irish boat” to sail to Gaza as part of an international flotilla challenging Israel’s brutal siege. Since August 2008, international volunteers in the Free Gaza Movement have been sailing to Gaza, suceeding 5 times to break the siege. Ours remain the only ships to reach Gaza since 1967. More than simple charity, the Palestinian people need our solidarity and political action. They need us to challenge the policies that leave them in need of humanitarian aid......."

Abbas to Mitchell: We'll Demand UN Vote on Goldstone Report. Mitchell Laughed his Head Off!


Al-Manar

"Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. envoy George Mitchell that he intends on appealing to the United Nations Human Rights Council again in order to vote on the Goldstone report in the UN Security Council, a Palestinian daily reported on Saturday. Though it is worth to mention that Abbas must have known that by demanding to vote on Goldstone report in the UNSC, the United States would use its right to veto any decision .........."

Sayyed Nasrallah, Jumblatt Meet, Hail Damascus Summit


Al-Manar

"… And they met again!

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah received on Friday overnight the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt accompanied by his son Taymour as well as his parliamentary bloc's member MP Akram Chehayeb......

According to a joint statement, Sayyed Nasrallah and Jumblatt stressed the positivity of the two-day meeting between Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad. They also stressed the importance of Arab-Arab openness and the need to overcome crises in the Arab and Islamic world [dream on!]......"

Hamas Team Seeks New Date for Palestinian Unity Deal


Al-Manar

"10/10/2009 A Hamas delegation is to meet Egyptian officials in Cairo on Saturday to try to set a new date for the signing of a Palestinian unity deal, a spokesman for the Islamic resistance movement said.

The team led by exiled senior political leader Mussa Abu Marzuk is to hold talks with Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on "a new, appropriate date for the new session of inter-Palestinian dialogue," Sami Abu-Zuhri told AFP. "The atmosphere is not right for the signing of an accord," he said.

Hamas has asked Egypt to delay the signing of the deal which Cairo as mediator had announced for later this month, a source within the Islamist group said on Wednesday.

Egypt had announced at the start of the week that bitter rivals Hamas and the mainstream Fatah party of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas would travel to Cairo to sign the long-delayed reconciliation deal on October 25-26.

The postponement was requested because of the controversial decision by the Palestinian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council to drop its backing for an immediate vote on a damning report on the Gaza war, the Hamas source said........"

Unrest Rising Over Goldstone Report

Analysis by Mel Frykberg

"RAMALLAH, Oct 9 (IPS) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) is trying desperately to contain the political fallout following its decision to withdraw support for a UN report into war crimes committed in Gaza in December and January......

However, Palestinian anger and shock continues to mount in light of the fact that there was a strong possibility that the report could have reached the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, and a number of Israeli officers put on trial, bringing some justice for Gaza's victims......


PA President Mahmoud Abbas and central Fatah figure Mahmoud Dahlan, despite supposedly being key figures behind the withdrawal, announced that they would establish a commission to investigate why PA support for Goldstone's report had been withdrawn.

"Somebody in the PA is going to be made a scapegoat and forced to pay a big price politically," Dr Samir Awad from Birzeit University near Ramallah told IPS. "It is clear that despite his denials PA President Abbas was behind the decision to withdraw support for the report, but he will never admit to it," Awad told IPS.......

Israeli Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi also conditioned his support for the establishment of Wataniya, the second telephone company, on PA withdrawal of support for the Goldstone report and a possible UN resolution.

Ashkenazi has been heavily involved in defensive action against the threat of Israeli officers being brought before an international court......"

US Strategy in Doubt as Abbas Loses Popular Support


by Helena Cobban, October 10, 2009

".....But a series of events in recent weeks has sent Abbas’s level of support from his people into a nosedive. The most serious has been the reaction among Palestinians to a decision Abbas or someone close to him made to postpone any further U.N. action on the recommendations of the Goldstone Report into the atrocities committed during last winter’s Israel-Gaza war........

Oren and Netanyahu might be feeling good about fending off this "danger". But the hardball way they – and apparently also U.S. officials – treated Abbas over this affair have considerably complicated the diplomatic game-plan that the Obama administration previously seemed to be following, which relied strongly on building up Abbas’s and Fatah’s political weight relative to that of Hamas.

It is that political balance that has now been tipped – perhaps decisively.......

Abbas’s standing has been reduced not only by the decisions he most recently made regarding Goldstone, but also by the compete stasis in Washington’s peace diplomacy, Washington’s failure to win a settlement freeze from Netanyahu, as it had promised to do – and by the humiliating way Abbas was forced to engage in a "three-way" meeting with Netanyahu and Obama at the U.N. General Assembly in late September.........

Meantime, there is increasing talk amongst both Palestinians and many Israelis of the possibility of a new intifada. If this does occur, it is most likely to be sparked by the massive wave of colonization and linked activities the Israeli authorities have been undertaking in East Jerusalem.

Senior diplomats from neighboring Arab states have warned that, given Jerusalem’s intense significance for Arabs and Muslims everywhere, the effects of a new, Jerusalem-focused intifada could be felt far beyond Palestine."

Bizarro Peace Prize Awarded to Obama

By Justin Raimondo

"Let’s say you’re the President of the United States — okay? And you’re on the brink of escalating what promises to be a wider, more intense war than that which George W. Bush launched in Iraq. You’ve already sent in reinforcements, but you’re undecided about just how many more troops you’re going to send to Afghanistan – could be 20,000, could be 40,000, or even 60,000. But, in any case, you’ve ruled out withdrawal and diplomacy: the only option you have left is more war........

On top of that, you’ve just told the Palestinians that they must live with Israeli “settlements” and forced the UN to ignore an official report detailing the killing of thousands of innocent men, women, and children by IDF forces armed by the US..........

So, naturally, as a reward for all your strenuous efforts on behalf of keeping the world a place that is less safe, less stable, and less worth living in than at any time since the outbreak of World War II, you are bestowed with – yes, that’s right, the Nobel Peace Prize. This, however, isn’t just any Nobel Peace Prize – oh no It’s a Bizarro Peace Prize – the natural result of us having slipped through a crack in the space-time continuum, and landed in a world where up is down, right is left, and war is peace – Bizarro World!........"

War and peace prizes


The dismaying gift of the Nobel prize puts Barack Obama on the list of its winners who promised peace but prosecuted war

Howard Zinn
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 10 October 2009

"I was dismayed when I heard Barack Obama was given the Nobel peace prize. A shock, really, to think that a president carrying on two wars would be given a peace prize. Until I recalled that Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry Kissinger had all received Nobel peace prizes. The Nobel committee is famous for its superficial estimates, won over by rhetoric and by empty gestures, and ignoring blatant violations of world peace........

Oh yes, the committee saw fit to give a peace prize to Henry Kissinger, because he signed the final peace agreement ending the war in Vietnam, of which he had been one of the architects. Kissinger, who obsequiously went along with Nixon's expansion of the war, with the bombing of peasant villages in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Kissinger, who matches the definition of a war criminal very accurately, is given a peace prize!.........

The Nobel peace committee should retire, and turn over its huge funds to some international peace organization which is not awed by stardom and rhetoric, and which has some understanding of history."

Friday, October 9, 2009

Abbas Shoes, by Khalil Bendib


(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

حماس: مصالحة وانتخابات، أم مقاومة؟!

An Important Comment (Arabic)

حماس: مصالحة وانتخابات، أم مقاومة؟!
رشاد أبوشاور

"تصاعدت نبرة التفاؤل بالمصالحة بين حماس والسلطة (فتح)، ومن أشاعها هم أبرز قادة حماس يتقدمهم رئيس المكتب السياسي السيّد خالد مشعل، الذي يبدو شديد الانفتاح والوّد مع راعي المصالحة المصري.
على ماذا ستتم المصالحة بين حماس والسلطة (فتح)؟ ما البرنامج الوطني الذي سيلتقي حوله الطرفان لإخراج الوضع الفلسطيني من حالة الانقسام والضعف، والانتقال به إلى حالة (الوحدة) و(القوّة)؟!
كل ما نسمعه لا يعدو أن يكون عبارات إنشائيّة (حنونة) تقطر أخوةً وحرصا وتفجعا، وكأن ما أدى للاقتتال كان ناجما عن (عين) أو (عمل) عملته جهات حسودة شريرة لا تُحب رؤية (الأخوين) الودودين في حالة انسجام وتناغم وتناسق تام، ومسيرة فلسطينيّة لا هابيل ولا قابيل فيها!
منذ وقت طويل نسبيّا ونحن نؤكّد على أن حماس نهجت خيارا غير خيار المقاومة، وهو ما تكشّف لنا بعد أن دخلت الانتخابات التشريعيّة، وما عادت تخفي منافستها على تقاسم الدور في مسار التسوية، بل لعلها في لحظة ما توهمّت بأنها ستكون العنوان المقصود الوحيد للحوار معه، انطلاقا من الانتصار في الانتخابات التشريعيّة والدعم الشعبي الفلسطيني الذي صبّ في صناديق الاقتراع!
من يعد لمقالات سابقة نشرت لي في 'القدس العربي'، سيجد أنني دعوت مبكرا لخروج حماس من المأزق الذي أدخلت نفسها فيه، بعد حسمها العسكري العنيف والشرس للسيطرة على قطاع غزة.
اقترحت في أكثر من مقالة ان تسعى حماس لتشكيل قيادة وطنيّة تضّم الفصائل والشخصيات الوطنيّة المستقلّة المحترمة، تكون مهمتها إدارة حياة الناس في القطاع، وضمان أمن حياتهم داخليّا، والتفرّغ للمقاومة وإدارة الظهر للصراع على السلطة، وإنهاء مرحلة الحكومة واستفراد أجهزة الأمن الحمساويّة، مع العمل.على نقل التوجّه إلى الضفّة، لأن خيار مغادرة حالة الصراع على السلطة والعودة إلى خيار المقاومة سيفتح الطريق أمام الصراع بين نهجين، وما يعزز نهج المقاومة هو استشراء جرائم الاحتلال، وانهيار مسيرة أوسلو، وعجز السلطة وفسادها، وانحياز أمريكا التام للكيان الصهيوني.
الأستاذ ياسر الزعاترة أحد أبرز الكتّاب الإسلاميين بدأ يطرح نفس ما كنّا نقترحه ونتعرّض بسببه للشتم في رسائل كثيرة وردت على موقع 'القدس العربي' من محازبي حماس، وهو تخطئة مشاركة حماس في الانتخابات التشريعيّة، والنصح بتشكيل قيادة وطنيّة تضّم كافة الأطراف المشغولة بالهّم الوطني، والعودة لخيار المقاومة.
في برنامج الاتجاه المعاكس الذي بُث يوم الثلاثاء 6 تشرين الجاري 2009، أعاد الأستاذ زعاترة التأكيد على وجهة نظره التي وردت عدّة مرات في مقالاته التي تنشر على صفحات الدستور الأردنيّة.
لم يطرح الزعاترة وجهة نظره، ونصحه، من موقع العداء لحماس، فهو قريب منها، ومحسوب على الأخوان المسلمين، ولكنه انطلق في وجهة نظره حرصا على حماس وما مثلته، وعلى خروجها من المأزق الذي حشرت نفسها فيه في قطاع غزّة، وعلى مصير القضيّة الفلسطينيّة المطروحة للتصفية.
لم تصغ حماس لكّل النصائح، ولم تناقش الأفكار النزيهة التي تطرح انطلاقا من الحرص على القضيّة الفلسطينيّة، وتجاهلتها بلا مبالاة، وأمعنت في التبشير بالمصالحة، والتقرّب من السلطة المصريّة- علما أن عداء تلك السلطة يعود إلى صراعها مع حركة الأخوان المسلمين الذين ترى فيهم الخطر الداهم على استقرارها ومصالحها، وترى في حماس عنصر قوّة لهم متوهمة بأنها ستكسب الطرف المصري الرسمي بتطمينه إلى نواياها الطيبة تجاهه، وجاهزيتها لإيجاد نقاط التقاء معه تجعلها في موقع الأفضليّة مقارنة بالسلطة ومراوغاتها وعدم جديتها في العلاقة مع مصر الرسميّة.
مع تفجّر فضيحة دور السلطة من تقرير غولدستون، يبدو أن قيادة حماس تتعامل مع الأمر من منظور الاستفادة من فضيحة رئيس السلطة وقيادتها، ومأزقها الشعبي الفلسطيني والعربي والدولي، ولكنها لم تغيّر خطابها التصالحي الاعلامي، وإن بدأت تميل لتأجيل موعد التوقيع على اتفاق المصالحة بالرعاية المصريّة، مع كيل الاتهامات لرئيس السلطة والمجموعة المحيطة به بالتفريط، وأبعد من التفريط!
تريد حماس أن تخرج من المأزق، من تحمّل عبء حياة مليون ونصف مليون فلسطيني في القطاع، وأن تبقى شريكا سياسيّا لا ينبذ ولا يستفرد به إذا ما استؤنفت المسيرة وبدأت ملامح الحّل النهائي!
تخشى حماس من أن يُجري رئيس السلطة انتخابات في الضفّة، ويمضي في التفاوض والتفاوض، بالترافق مع عزل قطاع غزة والحكومة المقالة، وأن تزداد الأعباء ثقلاً على رأس حماس، فالقطاع سيعاني من تفاقم الحصار إذا ما جرت الانتخابات في الضفّة طبعا بالدعم الأمريكي، والرضى الرسمي العربي، وتسهيلات الاحتلال، وبالاستفراد بشعبنا في الضفّة- وقد يصل الأمر حدّ تجدد الحرب على القطاع للانتهاء من حماس وكسر شوكة أهلنا في غزّة!
تُفاصل قيادة حماس على كيفية إجراء الانتخابات، وكأن الخروج من المأزق يكون بانتخابات نزيهة لن تتحقق، فمن خسر في التشريعي لن يلدغ من صناديق الاقتراع مرتين، ولذا ستكون صناديقه مضمونة تماما.
واضح أن حماس عازفة عن مراجعة مشاركتها في انتخابات التشريعي، والالتفاف الذي جرى على نتائج تلك الانتخابات!
حماس وهي تحاول تأجيل موعد التوقيع على المصالحة بالرعاية المصريّة لن تخرج من المأزق، فعليها أن تحدد بالضبط ما الذي تريده: العودة لنهج المقاومة، أم التنافس والصراع على السلطة؟!
لا خيار وسط بعد الآن فلسطينيا، فاما مع السلطة التي تقف ضد شعبنا وتبرّيء العدو الصهيوني من دم أهلنا،من تضييع وتبديد دم مخيم جنين وبطولته، مرورا بتمييع قرار محكمة العدل الدولية الذي أدان الجدار والكيان الصهيوني، و..وصولاً إلى فضيحة (غولدستون)..أم مع خيار المقاومة الذي تعود رياحه لتهّب من أرض وسماء القدس، وقبّة الصخرة، وأبهاء الأقصى؟!
حماس تستطيع إن هي حسمت خيارها، وانتقلت بجديّة ومسؤوليّة وطنيّة لتشكيل قيادة وطنيّة دون تسلّط واستفراد فقد ملّ شعبنا من التسلّط والاستفراد والفرديّة أن تنقذ نفسها، وتنقذ المسيرة الفلسطينيّة الوطنيّة المقاومة .
لا بدّ أن تحسم حماس مغادرة الصراع على السلطة، وتترك السلطة لتغرق في أوهام سلام خيار التــــفاوض الذي اخــتارته في (أوسلو)، والذي يدفنه ونتنياهو وليبرمن تحت جنازير الجرافات التي تدمر بيوت المقدسيين، وزحف الاستيطان الذي يلتهم سريعا وفي سباق محموم لكسب الوقت والأرض وفرض الأمر الواقع لحّل ينهي أي أمل بدولة فلسطينيّة عاصمتها القدس (الشرقيّة) !
إذا ظنّت قيادة حماس أن غرق السلطة ورئيسها والحفنة التي تقودها، يمنحها الفرصة للخروج من المأزق، ويمنحها التفوّق بالنقاط ، فهذا رهان خاسر ومضيعة للوقت، وإضاعة للفرصة الثمينة المناسبة لتقديم حل فلسطيني جذري يضع الفلسطينيين أمام أحد الخيارين، لأنه لا يوجد خيار ثالث في صراعنا مع الكيان الصهيوني، فإمّا مقاومة وإمّا استسلام .
حماس تٌغمغم ولا تفصح، ومن يطمح في قيادة شعب، أو المشاركة الأكيدة في قيادة شعب، لا بدّ أن يقدّم برنامجه للناس، وأن يبرهن عليه ميدانيّا بتقدّم الصفوف لا باللعب السياسي ، ومطالبة الناس أن يضحّوا دون أن يروا أفقا، الناس الذين ضحّوا وهم يقاومون لحريّة وطنهم ، وليس لإعلاء شأن هذا الفصيل او ذاك، أو للفوز في انتخابات تحت الاحتلال وبرضاه لأن مثل هذه الانتخابات ستصّب في مصلحة احتلاله مهما كانت النتيجة!.
أبوعمّار كان أكثر براعة من حماس، وانتهى مقتولاً بالسّم، وعبّاس وقيادة السلطة يقدمون أكثر بكثير مما تستطيعون وتجرأون على التفكير في تقديمه، ومع ذلك انظروا كيف تعاملهم حكومات العدو التي تسلمهم واحدتها للأخرى.لتبتزها وتعصرها من جديد !.
انظروا إلى نتنياهو الذي طلبت منه الإدارة الأمريكيّة مساعدة عبّاس على الخروج من مأزقه بسبب سحب الدعم للتصويت على تقرير غولدستون. لقد أعلنت حكومة نتينياهو عن تدشين مستوطنة جديدة على قمّة جبل المكبّر- جبل سيدنا عمر بن الخطّاب - مع وصول المبعوث الأمريكي ميتشل!
عندما يختلط الأمر على شعب تقوده قوى سياسية، بحيث لا يمكن التمييز بين برامجها، فإن الرابح سيكون الطرف الحريص على مصالحه وامتيازاته، وعلى الرضى بما يقسمه الاحتلال.
حماس تستطيع أن تنقذ نفسها، وتتجدد في نار المقاومة، وتنقذ المسيرة الفلسطينيّة ، لذا فمسؤوليتها كبيرة كبيرة ، وتزداد كلمّا أضاعت المزيد من الوقت في التفاوض على شروط المصالحة، وكيفية إجراء الانتخابات.
"

War and Peace

CounterPunch Diary

By ALEXANDER COCKBURN

"I suppose we should not begrudge Barack Obama his Nobel Peace Prize, though it represents a radical break in tradition, since he's only had slightly less than nine months to discharge his imperial duties, most concretely through the agency of high explosives in the Hindu Kush whereas as laureates like Henry Kissinger had been diligently slaughtering people across the world for years.

Woodrow Wilson, the liberal imperialist with whom Obama bears some marked affinities, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, having brought America into the carnage of the First World War. The peace laureate president who preceded him was Teddy Roosevelt, who got the prize in 1906 as reward for sponsorship of the Spanish-American war and ardent bloodletting in the Philippines......."

Al-Walajah, a symbol of Israeli ethnic cleansing


Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, 9 October 2009

"While American officials continue to claim that the mission of US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell is by no means over, and that he will still pursue his efforts to convince the Israeli government to agree to some sort of settlement freeze, Israeli plans for further colonization of Palestinian land continue undisturbed. The latest Israeli plans call for the destruction of the West Bank village of al-Walajah for the second time in six decades......"

From boycotts to Bilin: An interview with Jonathan Cook


Jeff Gore, The Electronic Intifada, 9 October 2009

"Jonathan Cook is a British journalist based in Nazareth, the largest Palestinian city in Israel, whose work is regularly published by The Electronic Intifada. His latest book, Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair, was published by Zed Books last October. He recently sat with Jeff Gore to discuss his work and his analysis of the current situation on the ground......"

Ahmed Rashid's War


Karzai's Scribe

By TARIQ ALI
CounterPunch

".......
Some of us have been arguing for many years that more troops and more Afghan deaths is totally counter-productive. An exit strategy that involves Iran, Russia and China as well as Pakistan and a national coalition in Afghanistan is the only medium-term solution. Washington has been negotiating privately with the Pashtun resistance and the neo-Taliban have made it clear that once a NATO withdrawal began they would work with other groups and participate in a national government.

Meanwhile the war continues and Afghans and NATO soldiers continue to die. All one can offer them is Kipling’s advice to British soldiers (including Winston Churchill) who were battling the Pashtuns in the late 19th century:

When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come to cut out what remains,
Just roll to your rifle, and blow out your brains.
And go to your God like a soldier
."

Warmonger Wins Peace Prize


Upside Down World

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
CounterPunch

"It took 25 years longer than George Orwell thought for the slogans of 1984 to become reality.

“War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength.”

I would add, “Lie is Truth.”

The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2009 Peace Prize to President Obama, the person who started a new war in Pakistan, upped the war in Afghanistan, and continues to threaten Iran with attack unless Iran does what the US government demands and relinquishes its rights as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.

The Nobel committee chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland said, “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.”

Obama, the committee gushed, has created “a new climate in international politics.”

Tell that to the 2 million displaced Pakistanis and the unknown numbers of dead ones that Obama has racked up in his few months in office. Tell that to the Afghans where civilian deaths continue to mount as Obama’s “war of necessity” drones on indeterminably......."

As U.S. Continues Afghan, Iraq Occupations and Quashes Accountability for Gaza Assault, Critics Decry Awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to Obama


Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman


DON'T MISS THIS SEGMENT!

"....President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Price, less than nine months after taking office. The chair of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, made the announcement today in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

The Nobel Committee specifically highlighted what it called Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. After the announcement, Jagland took questions from journalists.

President Obama took office less than two weeks before the nomination deadline. He is the third sitting American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize after Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919.

For more we are joined by two journalists: Jeremy Scahill is an award-winning reporter and Democracy Now! correspondent. He is author of the international bestseller, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.” His writing is available at RebelReports.com. He joins us via Democracy Now video stream. And joining us on the telephone is award-winning journalist and author, Naomi Klein. She is author of the books “The Shock Doctrine” and “No Logo.” She joins us on the line from her home in Toronto.

Just before the program we reached veteran journalist and activist Tariq Ali. He has written over a dozen books and is on the editorial board of the New Left Review. Democracy Now producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous asked Tariq Ali for his reaction to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize......."

Collapse of the Greenback? Will the Dollar get an “Arab Oil Shock”?


by F. William Engdahl
Global Research

".....
What is not clear is what the potential response of Germany and France, the two pivot powers within the EU will be. If they decide to cast their lot with oil producing and consuming countries, they open their doors to vast new trade and investment potentials from the countries of Eurasia. If they cringe from that and decide to remain with the British Pound and US dollar, they will inevitably sink along as the dollar Titanic sinks.

With that decline of the US dollar goes the lessening of the political power of the United States as sole economic and financial superpower. We face very turbulent waters ahead and gold not surprisingly is gaining in this uncertainty."

Gaza report seals Abbas' political fate

By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times

".....Desperate perhaps, or impatient because of old age and months left in his presidency, Abbas took the ill-fated decision to support the delay of the Goldstone Report. This effectively destroyed whatever credibility and legitimacy he had left on the Palestinian and Arab streets. That credibility - gained at a time when Fateh was lead by Arafat and enjoyed some world respect - is now history, because of Mahmud Abbas and his stance on the Goldstone Report.

No wonder an increasing number of voices are now calling on him to step down not only in the Palestinian territories but within the wider Arab and Muslim world as well. "

Habila to the Traitor Abbas: My Love for You Will Never Die; Just Say You Are Sorry, and All Will Be Forgiven!


دعا قيادة رام الله إلى السعي لاستعادة حيوية المصالحة

".....وفي الشأن الداخلي، طالب هنية قيادة السلطة في الضفة الغربية باتخاذ إجراءات سريعة وعاجلة من أجل استعادة حيوية المصالحة الوطنية التي تسعى مصر إلى تحقيقها.

وقال: "إن المصالحة قرار وطني وإستراتيجية لا رجعة عنها، ولكن ما حدث من تأجيل "تقرير غولدستون" حرك كل مشاعر الغضب على المستوى الحركي والشعبي، ولكن يجب على القيادة في رام الله أن تتخذ إجراءات سريعة حول هذا الموضوع".

وفيما يتعلق بتفويز الرئيس الأمريكي باراك أوباما بجائزة نوبل للسلام للعام 2009م، أعرب هنية عن أمله أن تكون لهذه الجائزة صداها في السياسة الأمريكية تجاه الشعب الفلسطيني والصراع مع المحتلين
......"

Now that is leadership we can believe in!

Are you brainwashed yet?

Look at this title in the Jerusalem Post :
'Iran will blow up the heart of Israel'

And here is what the bit of news is actually about:

"An aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that if the Islamic republic is attacked by the US or by Israel, Teheran would "blow up the heart" of the Jewish state, Reuters cited a report by the official Iranian news agency on Friday.
According to the report, Mojtaba Zolnour threatened that "Even if one American or Zionist missile hits our country, before the dust settles, Iranian missiles will blow up the heart of Israel."
-----------------
Of course there was no need to put the condiotional "if attacked" because we all know Iran is going to wipe Israel off the map anyway, so why bother with honest reporting?

EU backs UN Gaza report, disappointing Israel

STOCKHOLM — The European Union backed on Thursday a contentious UN report blasting Israel's military offensive in Gaza, praising its chief author and saying the document is "worthy of consideration."

Israel immediately expressed disappointment at the support from Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt -- whose country holds the EU presidency -- and said it showed that Bildt had either not read the report or misunderstood it.

"It is worthy of consideration needless to say, I think Mr Goldstone is a person of high credibility and high integrity and accordingly his report carries weight," Bildt told reporters in Stockholm.
--------------
Pardon me for being a bit impatient but, no calling the EU anti-Semites yet?

Syrian student ban on KAUST(King Abdullah University for Science and Technology)’s new supercomputer

"In an odd but somehow unsurprising turn of events it transpires that, according to Arabian Business 15 Syrian students at KAUST will be denied access to Peregrine at America’s behest because of their ongoing Syrian embargo. Such a clause was apparently inserted into the IBM-KAUST memorandum of understanding (MOU) taking the decision out of the hands of the University."

Real News Video: Beneath the hype: Is Iran close to nukes?

Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern speaks on disinformation, Iran, and "faith-based intelligence"


More at The Real News

Code Yellow


The selling-out of the antiwar movement

by Justin Raimondo, October 09, 2009

(Graphic courtesy of Willyloman)

"Right on time for the somber eighth anniversary of the Afghanistan war and occupation, Code Pink founder and primary spokeswoman Medea Benjamin has announced that her organization – which made so many headlines and newscasts protesting "Bush’s war" – is now "rethinking" their position on Afghanistan. A piece in the Christian Science Monitor, which Code Pink is now strenuously trying to spin, reports that the famous antiwar group is seriously amending their position after listening to the views of Afghan women. On a recent trip to Afghanistan, the leaders of Code Pink met Afghan women who opposed the idea of a US withdrawal, and this somehow forced them into a reevaluation of their views.......

This sea-change in Code Pink’s view of the Afghan war calls for a more formal recognition of their new perspective. Perhaps a name-change: I propose "Code Yellow" – because a more brazen act of political cowardice hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Not since 1941, when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and Communist-controlled "peace" groups in the United States suddenly changed their "antiwar" tune. One Communist speaker in New York City’s Union Square, having been handed a note informing him of the invasion, is reputed to have changed his "line" in mid-speech – without missing a beat. This incident is famously replicated in George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-four, in which a government propagandist seamlessly segues into denouncing "Eastasia" when a few moments ago the object of his hatred was "Eurasia."

The title of an interview with Benjamin by our very own Scott Horton, "Is Medea Benjamin Naïve, Or Just Confused?" – in which she tries to wriggle out of the implications of her position, to no avail – is a question that begs an answer, and the answer is: neither. She’s just another opportunist, who has left the antiwar movement for greener pastures. Maybe she’ll be the new Van Jones."

The thieves of Baghdad

In the shadow of political inertia, powerful mafia groups are flourishing in the 'new' Iraq

James Denselow
guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 October 2009

"In the past month several high-profile incidents have highlighted what Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, the chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, described as the outbreak of "a frenzy of violent crime" in Iraq. Writing in the Times, Richard Kerbaj explained how "everyone is looking for a way to make a quick buck in Iraq, but none more so than the insurgents and gangsters". Indeed, present-day levels of crime in Iraq reflect the institutionalisation of criminality that may undermine the country's long-term development....."

COMMENT:

The funny thing is that the piece does not mention the chief Mafia figures: those representing the "government" in the Green Zone including the so-called MPs, a majority of them live overseas with the money they have looted out of the country. Literally billions are stolen directly from the country's oil revenue.

Netanyahu Mulling Gestures to Bolster Abbas


Al-Manar

"09/10/2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering goodwill gestures that would bolster the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The efforts represent an effort to help PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who suffered harsh criticism following a Palestinian decision not to press for the UN Human Rights Council's adoption of the Goldstone report on last winter's Israeli Gaza aggression.

Netanyahu is considering announcing a goodwill package during his meeting Friday with the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. A senior political source in Tel Aviv said Thursday that during the meeting of the "forum of seven" senior ministers, a number of ideas were raised on goodwill gestures that would boost Abbas.

The Prime Minister's Bureau did not deny the existence of such proposals and noted that "some ideas are in place, but there has been no decision on the matter."......."

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize


(Cartoon by Carlos Latuff)

No, This is Not a Joke!

Who will win next?
Benjamin Netanyahu? Now that is a peace maker you can believe in.

Al-Jazeera

"Barack Obama, the US president, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, less than a year after taking office.

The announcement was made in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, recognising Obama's attempts to foster international peace and create a world without nuclear weapons......"

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Lesson in Doublespeak From Hamas: It is Necessary to Delay the Reconciliation Signing to Succeed in Reconciliation with Abbas!


COMMENT

By Tony Sayegh

Hamas is almost as embarrassed by the Abbas fiasco as Abbas himself.

Hamas had already agreed to a deal with the traitor and all that remains is the signing, and then the sh** hit the fan!

Now Hamas is in internal turmoil; you can easily see the paralysis. It is pleading with the Pharaoh's representatives to delay the signing. But Break-Their-Legs-Abul-Gheit said no! A deal is a deal! And he told them if Hamas reneges, then it proves that Hamas is not interested in "national unity" and is against the interests of the Palestinians.

Hamas is trying to hide behind the Palestinian anger in the streets. Its representatives are telling Egypt that this is not the time, and the people are angry.

Hamas, just like Abbas and USrael, are betting that the anger will die down with time. They know how to pacify the Arab public: with words and not deeds. Unfortunately, this works most of the time. The Arab public is emotional public and is not used to holding its "leaders" accountable. To the contrary, they are trained and raised to obey and fear the leader of the tribe.

Stay tuned, because this soap opera is getting interesting.

برهوم: "حماس" تناقش فعليًّا من مصر تأجيل موعد توقيع اتفاق المصالحة لصونه من الفشل

"غزة - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
أكدت حركة المقاومة الإسلامية "حماس" أنها تواصلت مع القيادة المصرية وناقشت معها بالفعل تأجيل موعد توقيع الاتفاق المعلن من قِبَل القاهرة، مبينةً أن ذلك جاء من أجل مصلحة الحوار وتحقيق مبدأ المصالحة والدفع باتجاه ضرورة إنجاح الجهد المصري وصون هذا الاتفاق من الفشل.

وقال فوزي برهوم المتحدث باسم الحركة في تصريحٍ خاصٍّ لـ"المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام" اليوم الخميس (8-10): "إن فعلة أبو مازن في "فضيحة غولدستون" سمَّمت هذه الأجواء وأوجدت سخطًا وغضبًا فلسطينيًّا؛ مما جعل هذه الأجواء حاليًّا غير ملائمة لهذا التوقيع".

وأشار برهوم إلى أن حركته ناقشت الأمر في أوساطها القيادية والداخلية، موضحًا أن الأمور لا تزال حتى الآن في طور النقاش والتشاور لحين بلورة مواقفها النهائية.

وأضاف: "بعد ذلك سنبلغ الجانب المصري قرارنا في ذلك، والذي سيكون وفقًا للمصلحة الوطنية وصون مصالح شعبنا الفلسطيني".

......"

CIA: Israel helped expose covert Iran nuclear facility

HAARETZ

"Israeli intelligence was involved in editing and creating the sanitized version of information about Iran's recently revealed secret uranium enrichment facility near Qom.

The revelation comes in an interview given by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta to TIME magazine.

Panetta said that the CIA had known about the facility for at least three years....."

CIA Knew About Iran's Secret Nuclear Plant Long Before Disclosure

TIME

".....In an interesting reversal of roles from the Bush era, the Europeans were pushing for the plant to be outed at once, while the U.S. was more cautious. "The Americans seem to have become more patient as their dossier on Iran has gotten fuller, while the Europeans are getting more anxious about taking care of this matter as they've learned more," says Jacquard.

From then on, the challenge was to keep the information secret. Panetta said he ordered the presentation to be readied "in the event that that information leaked out or that [the Obama Administration] wanted to present it to the International Atomic Energy Agency." British, French and Israeli intelligence agencies were involved in creating the presentation, he added......."

Why I Love Al Jazeera

[Although I am critical of AlJazeera it is still head and shoulders better than any other Arab or western news media station]


HAS ANYONE WATCHED the English-language version of Al Jazeera lately? The Qatar-based Arab TV channel’s eclectic internationalism—a feast of vivid, pathbreaking coverage from all continents—is a rebuke to the dire predictions about the end of foreign news as we know it. Indeed, if Al Jazeera were more widely available in the United States—on nationwide cable, for example, instead of only on the Web and several satellite stations and local cable channels—it would eat steadily into the viewership of The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer. Al Jazeera—not Lehrer—is what the internationally minded elite class really yearns for: a visually stunning, deeply reported description of developments in dozens upon dozens of countries simultaneously.

Over just a few days in late May, when I actively monitored Al Jazeera (although I watched it almost every evening during a month in Sri Lanka), I was treated to penetrating portraits ofEritrean and Ethiopian involvement in the Somali war, of the struggle of Niger River rebelsagainst the Nigerian government in the oil-rich south of the country, of the floods in Bangladesh, of problems with the South African economy, of the danger that desertification poses to Bedouin life in northern Sudan, of the environmental devastation around the Aral Sea, of Sikh violence in India after an attack on a temple in Austria, of foreign Islamic fightersin the southern Philippines, of microfinancing programs in Kenya, of rigged elections in South Ossetia, of human-rights demonstrations in Guatemala, and of much more. Al Jazeera covered the election campaigns in Lebanon and Iran in more detail than anyone else, as well as theSomali war and the Pakistani army offensive in the Swat Valley. There was, too, an unbiased one-hour documentary about the Gemayel family of Christian politicians and warlords in Lebanon, and a half-hour-long investigation of the displacement of the poor from India’s new economic zones.

Of course, Al Jazeera has some overt prejudices. In covering the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, for example, it is clearly on the Palestinian side. Tear-jerking features about the sufferings of the Palestinians are not matched with equal coverage of the Israeli human terrain

But I will continue watching Al Jazeera wherever I can, because I find it so riveting compared with other news channels. And if my politics crawl to the left as a result, that will be yet more evidence of just how insidious Al Jazeera’s influence is.


Following al-Aqsa clashes, Israel mulls banning Islamic movement

Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 8 October 2009

"The Israeli government announced yesterday it would consider banning Israel's Islamic Movement at the next cabinet meeting, in a significant escalation of tensions that have fueled a fortnight of bloody clashes in Jerusalem over access to the Haram al-Sharif compound of mosques......"

After Goldstone, Hamas faces fateful choice

An Important Piece

Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 October 2009

"The uproar over the Palestinian Authority's (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices......

Hamas too seems to have been taken by surprise at the strength of reaction. Hamas leaders were critical of Abbas' withdrawal of the Goldstone resolution, but initially this was notably muted. Early on, Khaled Meshal, the movement's overall leader, insisted that despite the Goldstone fiasco, Hamas would proceed with Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks with Fatah and smaller factions scheduled for later in the month, stating that reaching a power-sharing deal remained a "national interest."

As the tremors continued, however, Hamas leaders escalated their rhetoric -- seemingly following, not leading, public opinion........

All of this puts Hamas in a bind. Before the Goldstone report crisis, Hamas had signaled that it accepted the most recent Egyptian proposals for reconciliation.......

Despite the remaining gulf, Hamas wanted to sign a unity deal. Being part of a Western-recognized PA would be Hamas' ticket to the "peace process" -- something Meshal has made no secret that Hamas seeks, although on its own terms. Abbas was less keen on a unity deal, as he and his cronies still resist dealing with Hamas as a political force that has popular legitimacy. But after Goldstone, Abbas needs Hamas.

Hamas now cannot have it both ways: it cannot talk about "unity" and "reconciliation" with people that it -- and many Palestinians -- view as "traitors." To seek unity with such people is in effect to say that Hamas wishes to join a government of traitors. For the moment, Hamas is buying time and has asked Egypt to postpone the scheduled Cairo meeting later this month........

The more difficult question for Hamas will be, what comes next? Will it try to muddle through as it has, or will it rally the Palestinian public to oppose and resist Abbas until the collaborationist PA is dissolved? This would be an enormous strategic shift -- Hamas would likely have to drop the trappings of "government" it has taken up since it won the 2006 legislative elections and return to its roots as a social movement and a clandestine organization......

The political collapse underway offers all Palestinians -- including Hamas -- a new opportunity: to build a broad-based, internationally legitimate popular resistance movement that mobilizes all of Palestinian society as the first intifada did, and to reconnect with Palestinians inside Israel who face an existential threat from escalating Israeli racism........"

أخطار قيادات فلسطينية على فلسطين


A Good Analysis (Arabic)
By Professor Abdul-Sattar Qassem

عهد الحاج أمين الحسيني
عهد عرفات
في الضفة الغربية وغزة
عهد عباس
هم يصنعون قيادات لفلسطين
ماذا عن عباس؟

"هذا مقال سيكره بعض الناس قراءته إما لأنه يعريهم ويعري أعوانهم، وإما لأنه يقتحم قناعات لديهم فيتساءلون عن قدراتهم في الوصول إلى النتائج حول الظواهر السياسية. إنما والحال الفلسطيني قد انقشع بما لا يدع مجالا للشك بعد قرار السلطة الفلسطينية تأجيل التصويت على تقرير غولدستون، فإنني أرى ضرورة توضيح أخطار شكلتها قيادات فلسطينية على فلسطين، وهي أخطار تساهم في فهم لماذا قدم الشعب الفلسطيني كل هذه التضحيات الجسام على مدى مائة عام ليقف في النهاية بعض أبنائه حراسا على مملكة إسرائيل؟

هذا الفشل الذريع الذي مني به الشعب الفلسطيني نحو استعادة بعض حقوقه وتحقيق نوع من السيطرة على الذات، لم يكن صدفة ولا بفعل قوى خارجية فقط.

لا شك أن القوى الخارجية وعلى رأسها بريطانيا وقادة عرب، ومن ثم أميركا والعديد من الدول الغربية، ساهموا مساهمة مباشرة وفاعلة ولعينة في تشريد الشعب الفلسطيني واغتصاب فلسطين، وإعمال القتل والتعذيب والتنكيل بالفلسطينيين صغيرهم وكبيرهم، رجالهم ونسائهم.

لكن هذا لا يعفي قادة فلسطينيين من المسؤولية، أو من التآمر مع هذه القوى الخارجية لإركاع الشعب وتطويعه وتحويله إلى مجرد أفراد هائمين يبحثون عن لقمة الخبز، أو ينتظرون راتب آخر الشهر من أيدي أعدائهم. وهنا أوضح بعض الأمور بخصوص قيادات أو أشخاص لعبوا أو يلعبون دورا في إدارة شؤون القضية الفلسطينية
......
ووفق القضاء الثوري لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية والمعمول به حتى الآن، فإن العديد من القادة فلسطينيين يجب رميهم بالرصاص عدة مرات بسبب مخالفاتهم للميثاق الوطني الفلسطيني, كالاعتراف بإسرائيل وبقراري مجلس الأمن، وبإعلان دولة وفق قرار التقسيم عام 1988
.......
عباس وفياض حوّلا الضفة الغربية إلى أرض مستباحة لبغاة الغرب والصهاينة، وعملا على إلغاء الناس مقابل الحصول على المال أو على وعود كاذبة بتحقيق إنجازات، وحوّلا الحقوق الوطنية الثابتة للشعب الفلسطيني إلى راتب وسيارة ونزهة
........
يساعد الإسرائيليون والغربيون عملاءهم من العرب والفلسطينيين ماليا وإعلاميا، خاصة إذا كانوا من الماسونيين المتمرسين في الخيانة ويضغطون من أجل الصعود في سلم المسؤولية
........
عباس لن يستقيل من منصبه الآن بناء على دعوات فلسطينيين على مستوى أفراد وجماعات. الذي يقرر الاستقالة هو ذاك الذي يكسب منصبه بعرق جبينه، أما أولئك الذين يتلقون الدعم من الخارج، أو تتم صناعتهم من خارج صفوف الشعب لا يستقيلون. هؤلاء يُقالون أو يُقتلون من قبل من نصّبهم، لكنهم لا يملكون حرية الاستقالة.

تقديري أن إسرائيل وأميركا آسفتان للضجة التي تحصل الآن ضد عباس، وهما بالتأكيد تفكران في كيفية رأب الصدع، ولهذا أتوقع أمرا ما لكي تعود هيبة عباس على الأقل لدى جزء من الشعب الفلسطيني، وليعود هذا الجزء يدافع عنه.

فمثلا قد يطلق عباس تصريحا قويا لدعم المقاومة، فتتظاهر إسرائيل بالغضب، فيصدر نتنياهو أمرا بمنع عباس من السفر لمدة أسبوعين.

أو من المحتمل أن يتم تسريب وثيقة مزورة حول مخطط يقوم به عباس مع أجهزة من السلطة الفلسطينية لشن هجوم مفاجئ على إحدى المستوطنات، وتقرر إسرائيل بعد ذلك عدم تسليم السلطة أموال المقاصّة.. أو أي شيء مشابه آخر.. عندها سينسى الناس غولدستون وسيقلبون الموجة للتحدث عن بطولات عباس.
"

Palestinian Hamas bans motorbike rides for women



GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Hamas government has banned motorcycle riders from carrying women on the back seat — the latest in the militants' virtue campaign in Gaza.


The ban was posted on Hamas Interior Ministry Web site on Tuesday.


It says the ban seeks "to preserve citizen safety and the stability of Palestinian society's customs and traditions."


Hamas wants to impose a strict interpretation of Islam. Its other efforts have included breaking up mixed couples on the beach and obliging female lawyers to wear headscarves in court.


The group insists compliance with the campaign is voluntary and reflects Gaza's conservative ways, but reports have surfaced of offenders being beaten or arrested.


Gazan women almost never drive motorcycles, and rarely even ride behind men.

Palestinian President Abbas Faces Uproar for Aiding U.S.-Israeli Derailment of UN Report on Gaza Assault


Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman

"Palestinian outrage continues over the Palestinian Authority’s decision to back the postponement of a Human Rights Council vote on the Goldstone investigation into Israel’s assault on Gaza. The move reportedly came after heavy American and Israeli pressure. We speak with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Egyptian niqab row after campus ban - 08 Sept 09



"An Egyptian lawmaker is calling for the head of the most prestigious centre of religious learning to resign. This follows the decision by Al-Azhar University to ban female students from wearing the face-veil or niqab on parts of the campus. Al Jazeera's Jamal El-Shayyal has this report from Cairo."

Video: Khalid Amayreh: One state or endless conflict

Is McChrystal dovish on Iran?


By Stephen M. Walt

"I've blogged a lot about Iran and Afghanistan over the past few months, but I've been remiss in not highlighting an important connection between the two issues. As Spencer Ackerman noted a few days ago, U.S. Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal offered this intriguing comment during his remarks at IISS headquarters in London last week:

"Iran, of course, being, you know, in such proximity to Afghanistan and having significant influence inside Afghanistan, is a big player. They, in my view, they have a lot of very positive influence inside Afghanistan, some of it cultural, some of it financial, just things that any neighbor would have to try to build the stability. I think that if Iran takes a very mature look at a stable Afghanistan and support the government of Afghanistan, then we'll be -- we'll be in good shape. If they were to choose not to do that, and they were to choose to support insurgents, I think that would be a significant miscalculation."

I don't think this comment was an idle remark by McChrystal. What he's telling us is that Iran could be a positive influence in Afghanistan, and that it could also be a real hindrance to our efforts. And that means that an attack on Iran would make our situation in Afghanistan even worse than it is already, because Iran would have both the capacity and the incentive to retaliate.
There's no love lost between Iran and the Taliban, in part because the Taliban murdered ten Iranian diplomats in Mazari Sharif back in 1998. But Iran does retain some influence there -- as McChystal points out --and they would undoubtedly be looking for some way to pay us back if we were foolish enough to strike them....."

Is Medea Benjamin Naive or Just Confused?


Code Pink rethinks Afghan withdrawal

by Scott Horton, October 08, 2009

" When I heard that there would be antiwar protests across the country on October 7, 2009, mourning the 8th anniversary of the start of the invasion of Afghanistan, I immediately picked up the phone to get one of the great anti-warrior women of Code Pink to join me on Antiwar Radio for the occasion.

Imagine my shock at seeing this story in the Christian Science Monitor describing the new, post-trip-to-Afghanistan-position of Code Pink’s co-founder and most famous leader, Medea Benjamin.......

Interview recorded October 7, 2009. Listen to the interview........

Benjamin: Well I think it’s just full of distortions, because what we say is we want a responsible pulling out of U.S. troops and we certainly are against what McChrystal is calling for. We’re against sending in more troops, we’re against troops being visibly present in the villages because we think their presence is more of a threat to people there and puts them at risk. And we want our troops to pull out. We just want to do it in a way that is not going to lead to a Taliban takeover that will put women back inside the home......."