| Norman Finkelstein slams BDS, ISM movements Posted: 14 Feb 2012 12:39 PM PST Norman Finkelstein is a legendarily anti-Israel professor. He has made a name for himself by disparaging what he calls the " Holocaust industry" and his research methods for his anti-Israel writings are sloppy and often deceptive. Benny Morris describes him "a notorious distorter of facts and of my work, not a serious or honest historian." I showed some of his own dishonesty in an essay that helped make him famous. In other words, Finkelstein is no poster child for truth and fairness about Israel. But in this remarkable video, Finkelstein rips apart the people to his left - the BDS and "Palestine Solidatity" movements. He exposes their obvious goal of destroying Israel as they try to pretend that they are only fighting for "rights;" he accurately accuses them of belonging to a "cult" whose arguments cannot possibly survive the real world; he shows that they are not nearly as influential as they pretend to be; and he effectively tells them that they are a big waste of time that accomplish nothing towards their stated goals of providing any justice or peace for Palestinian Arabs. These groups play games to hide their goals, Finkelstein wants no part of it. Finkelstein is completely wrong about international law and about Israel, quoting General Assembly resolutions and an advisory opinion of the ICJ as if they are international law. But it is worthwhile to watch him expose the pure hate and deceptiveness of those who are even more extreme than he is. The interviewer - a BDS proponent and hardcore hater of Israel - cringes under Finkelstein's assault as he tries to defend the indefensible. If only Finkelstein had said this at PennBDS, where every attendee and speaker had bought into the myth of their own importance, a few hundred people would have actually learned something about their own movement. The video is a half-hour long but worth watching. Finkelstein is relentless in attacking the BDS and "solidarity" movements. (h/t HuffPo Monitor & Zach N) 
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| PA music video longs for day when there is no Israel Posted: 14 Feb 2012 11:35 AM PST From Palestinian Media Watch: I wish I could enter my country with no borders...
I will go about in Bethlehem and in Al-Aqsa [Mosque], which is held captive
I will eat lunch in Nazareth and eat dinner in Beit Sahour...
I do not forget Jenin nor Nablus, and the Galilee
I do not forget you, Jaffa, your long sea [shore]
I will never forget the olives of the Galilee
Even if our path has grown long, one day we will return:
To Jerusalem, to Gaza, to Acre, to Haifa, oh Lord.
To Jerusalem, to Ramle, to Acre, to Haifa, oh Lord...
I wish I could enter my country with no borders."
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 30 and Feb. 9, 2012] This doesn't exactly sound like a two-state solution, does it? (Note also the subtle dig at Hamas, by saying he wants to freely enter Gaza as well.) 
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| Gaza blackouts intensify - so they blame Israel Posted: 14 Feb 2012 10:05 AM PST From Egypt Independent: The Gaza Strip's sole electricity station has become inoperative because Egypt has begun to crack down on fuel smuggling activities through their shared border, a Palestinian energy official in Gaza said Tuesday.
Gaza Energy Authority official Ahmed Abul Amreen said in a press conference that the authority cannot meet electricity demands for hospitals, educational facilities, and water and sewage stations. He said the amount of electricity Gaza receives from an Israeli company fulfills only 35 percent of the population's needs.
Palestinian news agency Maan quoted Abul Amreen as saying that the power plant's inactivity has brought the strip's primary electricity source to a halt, noting that Gaza already suffers a great shortage in wattage supplies.
The official held Israel responsible for the crisis. He also called upon the Egyptian Parliament to back Palestinians and continue to support them with the necessary fuel supplies.
For nearly two weeks, Gaza has been undergoing a worsening fuel crisis caused by a halt in supplies smuggled through underground tunnels traversing its border with Egypt. The conundrum has rendered 90 percent of local oil stations idle.
Israel supplies Gaza with about 120 megawatts of electricity a day, while the strip's only power plant produces 60 megawatts. But since Gaza needs at least 270 megawatts, the strip suffers daily blackouts that can last for eight hours. Ma'an adds: While limited amounts of gas, mainly used by individual households, are purchased from Israeli suppliers and permitted to enter the besieged strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, most of Gaza's energy is brought unofficially from Egypt using underground tunnels.
Egyptian supplies are cheaper than the Israeli companies, which themselves purchase gas from Egypt, a Ma'an correspondent said.
But with Egypt beset by continuing domestic unrest after throwing out Hosni Mubarak a year ago, agreement has yet to be reached on stable fuel deliveries to Gaza, he added. Here is what the latest weekly COGAT report, on goods that transverse the crossings, has to say: Israel is providing exactly the same amount of electricity to Gaza it always has. As we see above, "Palestinians" instructed the Israelis not to provide the Strip with heavy-duty diesel because they could get the fuel - reportedly cheaper - from Egypt. But as far as I can tell, not a single official - from the PA, the electric utility or from Hamas - has explicitly called for Gaza to resume purchasing fuel from Israel to alleviate this crisis, something that COGAT seems more than willing to facilitate. Assuming that the money for the fuel could be found, the question that must be asked is - why no calls to buy fuel from Israeli suppliers? Why are people's lives being put at risk unnecessarily? Why are we seeing headlines about a energy crisis in Gaza when the solution is so simple? I asked the IDF asking them who made the decision not to accept Israeli fuel, Hamas or the PA? Here is what they answered: The decision to buy heavy-duty diesel from Egypt and not Israel was made by Hamas. Over the last year, the government in Gaza has gradually stopped buying diesel from Israel and increased its purchases from Egypt. This is also the source of the recent power problems in the Strip, including the local power plant shutting down.
There is no Israeli decision to purposefully stop selling diesel to Gaza; the decision came from the Hamas, and again, the situation isn't black and white--if you look at previous reports from the last months, there are still small amounts of diesel entering Gaza from Israel. If and when the demand returns, Israel is fully willing to supply, as it did in the past. Is Hamas' refusal to buy the needed fuel from Israel a matter of principle, pride - or propaganda? 
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| Hamas breaks up anti-Assad rally in Gaza Posted: 14 Feb 2012 08:45 AM PST This didn't get much coverage even in the Arab press: Hamas police on Sunday prevented dozens of activists from demonstrating in solidarity with Syrian people in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said.
The policemen peacefully stopped the protest shortly after it started in front of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City. The demonstrators, numbering about 30, waved Palestinian and Syrian flags, with banners supporting the Syrian antigovernment protesters. While lots of blowhards pretend that a "Palestinian Spring" threatens Israel, we can see who is really threatened by even the hint of protests. (h/t Ian) 
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| Springtime! Libya goes on homophobic rant at UNHRC Posted: 14 Feb 2012 07:28 AM PST From UN Watch: Gays threaten the continuation of the human race, Libya's delegate told a planning meeting of the UN Human Rights Council today, reported the Geneva-based UN Watch monitoring group. It was the first appearance in the 47-nation body by the post-Gaddafi government, whose membership was restored in November following Libya's suspension in March.
Protesting the council's first panel discussion on discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation, scheduled for March 7th, Libya's representative told the gathering of ambassadors today that LGBT topics "affect religion and the continuation and reproduction of the human race." He added that, were it not for their suspension, Libya would have opposed the council's June 2011 resolution on the topic.
In response, council president Laura Dupuy Lasserre said that "the Human Rights Council is here to defend human rights and prevent discrimination."
The Libyan outburst prompted questions by human rights activists about Libya's reinstatement on the council.
"We were happy to see the Gaddafi regime finally suspended last year," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, which in 2010 led a campaign of 70 human rights groups to expel the Libyan dictator.
"Yet today's shocking homophobic outburst by the new Libyan government, together with the routine abuse of prisoners, underscores the serious questions we have about whether the new regime is genuinely committed to improving on the dark record of its predecessor, or to pandering to some of the hardline Islamists amidst its ranks," said Neuer. Libya's new draft constitution says that Sharia is the principle source for legislation. It also says that "the State shall also protect and encourage marriage." 
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| More evidence of Iran being behind embassy attacks Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:07 AM PST From The Times of India: Investigators got a crucial clue to the assailant in the footage from two CCTV cameras installed at industrialist Analjit Singh's 15, Aurangzeb Road residence. The bomber, in brown jacket on a motor cycle, is seen tailing the embassy car at 3.10 pm at a distance of 2-3 seconds. The cameras could not capture the registration number of the bike.
...Speaking on the condition of anonymity, Indian intelligence sources suspected an Iranian connection to the magnetic bomb attack which they feel could be a retaliation against the covert attempts to thwart the Shiite regime's relentless pursuit of a nuclear programme which the West as well as Sunni Muslim countries are convinced is meant to equip the theocracy with nuclear weapons.
Sources also said Israel had recently confided in Indians their fears of Israeli targets coming under attack from Iranian sympathizers. Sources in Delhi Police did not rule out the possibility of Iranian sympathizers enlisting the modules of Lashkar, who despite their loathing of Shias, are unremitting in their animosity towards Israel. From Al Arabiya: Officials investigating the bomb that shattered an Israeli embassy car in India on Monday have found that the explosive was the first of its kind in the country and could have been made by "foreign experts," a senior police official said.
"The bomb was perfectly made and we have never seen such a bomb in Delhi. Maybe, it was made by foreign experts," the official told the Times of India.
Israeli missions worldwide are on alert and coordinating with Indian security forces, IBN Live reported, as a forensic lab report detailing the exact nature of the explosives used in the blasts is expected within the next 24 to 48 hours.
"A sophisticated incendiary device was used in the blast, a first in its kind for a terror attack in India. This has been giving officials cause for concern," the news channel reported.
Sources say the Home Ministry is expecting a detailed report from Delhi Police on its preliminary investigations by Tuesday evening. From YNet: A man thought to be Iranian was seriously wounded in Bangkok on Tuesday when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew one of his legs off, police and a government spokeswoman said.
Police said at least five people including a foreigner were injured in three series blasts in the Thai capital Bangkok.
"There were three explosions, but no dead," Police Major General Wichai Sungprapai told AFP.
Several Thai television stations reported the wounded man was carrying explosives at the time. They said an identification card found in a satchel nearby indicated he may be of Iranian descent. Other Thai media fill in the details: Foreign Ministry is assigned to talk to Iran as a suspect seriously injured in the blast was believed to be an Iranian.
Pol Maj Gen Wichai Sangprapai, deputy metropolitan commissioner was quoted as saying the suspect and two other Iranians rented a house in Soi Pridi Panomyong 31 for months.
The house was suspected to where the bombs were made. However the explosives went off this morning in the house, sending to the three to flee.
Two of them managed to escape while the suspect followed them.
A taxi refused to pick up the suspect who was covered with blood from the blast, so he threw a bomb at the driver, damaging the vehicle. The suspect then walked away and threw the bomb at a police officer who tried to stop him.
However the bomb fell to the ground and went off, mutilating his legs.
Police are now hunting for the fleeing two Iranians. He said three foreigners were living at the house but two had fled. I don't know if it was luck or a poorly-made bomb that stopped the New Delhi bomb from exploding the gas tank. My guess is that it was home-built according to Iranian specifications, as it is probably easier to build a rudimentary magnetic bomb than to smuggle one in from Iran. It would be interesting to see the types of bombs that the suspects in the Thai blasts were building. (h/t Philtheman) 
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| Saudi Vice, episode 34: Too much of a good thing Posted: 14 Feb 2012 03:27 AM PST From Saudi Gazette: A Hai'a security inspector has been fined SR3,000, six weeks in prison and 120 lashes for marrying more than four women and breaking residency laws.
The Hai'a is the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
He married three Saudi women, who are on his identity card, two non-Saudi women who don't have Iqamas [Saudi residency cards - EoZ] and a non-Saudi who has an Iqama, reported Al-Madina Arabic daily on Monday.
It is against Islamic law for a Muslim man to have more than four wives at one time.
The Control and Investigation Board (CIB) accused the Hai'a employee of unethical behavior and abusing his position. The Administrative Court at the Jizan Board of Grievances in Uhud Al-Masariha gave him 120 lashes for marrying more than four wives.
The Administrative Committee at Jizan Passport Administration fined the Hai'a employee SR3,000 and sentenced him to six weeks in prison for covering up for two women who didn't have Iqamas.
 | | Hasn't he been punished enough? | The case of the employee was discovered three years ago. He was arrested by the police and the Hai'a at a furnished apartment.
He was also ordered to memorize certain chapters of the Holy Qur'an and study their interpretation. He was also banned from traveling abroad for five years, delivering a speech in the mosque and leading prayers in the mosque. 
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| Iran's Internet blocking experiment ends for now Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:04 AM PST Last Friday I noted that Iran was blocking all SSL (secure encrypted) Internet connections to the outside world. It appears that the experiment has run its course - for now: Most computer users in Iran were blocked from accessing email, social networking and other services in recent days, US-based internet experts said on Monday, raising fears the government is extending the reach of its surveillance to ordinary citizens.
Internet service providers presumed to be acting at the Iranian government's behest began blocking the most common form of secure connections on Friday, according to the outside experts and Iranian bloggers. Traffic rebounded to normal levels on Monday.
The cutoff apparently affected all encrypted international websites outside of Iran that depend on the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, which display addresses beginning with https, according to Earl Zmijewski of Renesys, a US company that tracks internet traffic worldwide.
Google, which uses SSL for its Gmail service, reported that traffic from Iran to its email system fell precipitously.
Gmail use, which typically drops by about 80 percent at night, dropped by roughly 95 percent Friday and remained that low during daylight hours through the weekend before recovering Monday, according to Google's publicly posted access statistics.
Tor, a system for hiding the location of internet users, saw a similar falloff first in the Iranian capital of Tehran and then throughout the country, said Tor Executive Director Andrew Lewman.
Though other countries, including Belarus and Myanmar, have blocked SSL access before, Iran is the largest country to have tried it, Lewman said. Egypt turned off the internet completely a year ago during the uprising there, and China has done that in some regions.
It was unclear why the blocking stopped. Some Iranian politicians complained and businesses might have objected, but most tracking the situation said it was likely that the experiment had run its course.
"The government is testing different tools," said Hamed Behravan, who reports on Iranian technology issues for the US government-funded Voice of America. "They might have wanted to see the public reaction."
Behravan said Iranian sites using SSL remained available, including banking sites.
Tor has been developing a version of its program that is encrypted but does not need an SSL connection, and it distributed that over the weekend to people inside Iran who reported that it worked well, Lewman said.
Iranian officials have said they do not intend to block all connections to the outside world from a new national system they are developing. But direct links could be made to run very slowly, Behravan said.
The new network could help Iran ward off spying or attacks from other countries and keep a closer eye on domestic activities.
The country already has built up one of the most sophisticated infrastructures for monitoring and controlling internet content, with the ability to dig deep into communications and change various protocols.
During political protests in the past, Iran reduced bandwidth so that posting videos took hours.
With the SSL shutoff and recent remarks by officials, Behravan said the new network could launch within a month.
"I will not be surprised if it happens tomorrow," said Iranian computer scientist Arash Abadpour of Toronto, who blogs under the name Kamangir. Blocking SSL is not a good way to stop cyber-attacks, so this seems to be done purely to stop Iranians from getting to the Web and using social networking sites. In the wake of the events in the Middle East over the past year, it seems to reveal far more about Iran's fear of an internal revolution than anything else. Technology and freedom have a way of winning these battles. Just as Tor was able to get around the SSL restrictions within a day, it should be possible to write programs to consolidate a dozen or so "slow" connections to create a fast one for critical communications like video uploads (which have been key in Syria's revolution.) It would essentially be a reverse BitTorrent where videos are uploaded in pieces from different client PCs at once. Any data can be transmitted through any protocol, and any data can be encrypted. (Being 100% anonymous while doing this is a little harder, unfortunately, but one can make it difficult to be found.) As long as there are any Internet connections from Iran to the rest of the world it will be possible to get critical information out. 
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