| Alternate reality: Syria congratulates Iran on anniversary Posted: 10 Feb 2013 07:09 PM PST From Syria's SANA news agency: President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday sent a congratulatory cable to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on the anniversary of the Victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution.
In his cable, President al-Assad expressed, on behalf of the Syrian people and on his own behalf, heartfelt and best wishes to President Ahmadinejad and the friendly people of Iran.
Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Fayssal Mikdad said that the Iranian revolution was a great event in the region.
The remarks came during the celebration of the victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution held in the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.
The event was attended by the Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi, Speaker of the People's Assembly Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham, in addition to ministers and partisan figures.
Mikdad stressed that the Iranian revolution converted all equations in the region as the USA and other countries were trying to make it a servant to Israel and the Shah of Iran.
He stressed that the bright image of the Iranian revolution is embodied in its support to the Arab issues, hailing the Iranian political and economic support to Syria.
He said that Syria is fighting a war on behalf of all honest Muslims against the enemies of Arabism and Islam.
Dr. Mikdad highlighted that the Syrian-Iranian relations will remain strong despite all plots, stressing that the political program symbolize the ambition of the Syrian leadership to reach a solution to the crisis in Syria through dialogue and reconciliation.
For his part, Iranian Ambassador in Damascus Mohammad Riza Shebani stressed that Syria's enemies were broken in front of the resistant Syria.
He stressed that solving the crisis in Syria can be achieved only through ending violence and preventing gunmen from receiving funds and weapons. This must be what reading Pravda was like in the 1970s.  |
| Latest horror: Israel provides too many high quality goods to Gaza! Posted: 10 Feb 2013 03:23 PM PST First, everyone used to complain about that "siege" that Israel supposedly had on Gaza? And how somehow Gazans managed to still get lots of consumer items anyway? And how the media tried to spin it? Then they moved the goalposts, saying that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that had been a media meme since at least 1993 was not really a humanitarian crisis per se, but more a crisis of "dignity." Now that Gaza has far more consumer goods, exports are going up dramatically and the tunnel trade has been hurting because of the amount of aid coming from Israel, the Israel-haters need to find another theme - another reason to hate Israel. After all, we all know Israel is evil, so they must be guilty of something. Al Monitor uncovers the latest nefarious Israeli crime: Walking into a supermarket in Gaza might come as a great surprise for a person visiting the coastal enclave for the first time. At first glance, the visitor would be amazed by the level to which the shelves are packed with all kinds of products, ranging from basic food supplies to expensive chocolates and Coca-Cola. A father pushing a heaped stroller, or a toddler restlessly pulling her mother's hand and pointing at a lollipop, are scenes one is likely to encounter.
A closer look into the shelves, however, reveals a paradox that finds a manifestation in almost every aspect of life in Gaza. On the surface, everyone seems to be normally going about their daily lives, but even purchasing behaviors are controlled by Israel. The Israeli government brags about the truckloads it allows into the Strip through the Karem Abu Salem commercial crossing point, but it always forgets, deliberately or not, to mention that the products that enter the Strip through this very crossing are mostly marked with 729, the made-in-Israel barcode.
First-time visitors are usually lured by this façade of normalcy. Many wonder how a territory under siege can have all that it has, and the supermarket example is often cited to prove that the blockade is not as bad as is often publicized in the media.
This simplistic view of the terms "siege" and "occupation" make it necessary to clear out some of the common misrepresentations of what it means to force a population of 1.6 million to live under a military siege and occupation for more than five and sixty years respectively.
First, it is important to note that life under siege does not mean that the population in question is necessarily starving. However, it necessarily means that this population constitutes a huge consumer market to its jailer — Israel in this case.
The Palestinian people in Gaza are forced to import and buy Israeli goods. With Israel's restrictions on local production and its more-than-once bombardment of Palestinian factories, it has become almost impossible for the besieged population to use available resources for local production.
Prior to Israel's deadly assault on the Turkish aid flotilla in late May 2010, Israeli products barely reached the Strip. But after a massive wave of criticism that was hailed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he vowed to "ease" the blockade. Netanyahu fulfilled his promises. What followed was a tremendous inflow of Israeli goods that continues to be pumped in to this day.
The problem associated with consuming the goods of the occupying authority has two faces at least. Israeli products are high-priced, and, with few alternatives in place, Palestinians are forced to pay more for products that could be much cheaper if produced locally....
This means that 38.8% of Gazan people cannot afford the prices charged for the goods. [Yes, the author, a student of Business Administration in Gaza, claims that people classified as "poor" in Gaza cannot afford Coke. - EoZ] For them, the siege is more than whether the supermarket shelves are crammed; it is the fact that it makes them poor and causes difficult life conditions.
Due to the higher quality of Israel's exports to Gaza, combined with restrictions on domestic production, local businesses can hardly compete and rapidly lose market share to their Israeli counterparts. With limited amounts of money going for domestic production, Palestinian factory owners do little to enhance the quality of their output. Notice the theme of Israel somehow restricting local Gaza businesses from producing locally sourced products. How exactly Israel controls local Gaza businesses is unexplained. The more complex face of the problem lies in that Palestinians not only boost Israel's economy, but also make the occupation less costly. Israel, which denies the Palestinian people in the occupied territories the right to vote in the country's elections, controls what they eat and how they furnish their houses. Palestinians are made to fund the illegal settlements in the West Bank and deadly assaults such as that waged against Gaza in November, to name only two. Gaza has a number of furniture factories that have, this season, exported goods. which means they are in business. Which means that they are selling in Gaza as well. Which means that the author is, simply, lying. Living under siege does not result in a famine such as that in Somalia and other parts in Africa. It results in deteriorated living conditions and forced consumerism of the besieged population. Today's Gaza crisis: is now "forced consumerism." Not quite as sexy as "starvation" but when you hate Israel, you take what you can get. This is similar to the laughable argument that Noam Sheizaf of 972 once made about a post of mine noting Israeli goods in Gaza markets, saying that Gazans were "forced" to buy them. I wondered if that included Chanukah coins, ice cream and snacks that were prominently displayed in these supermarkets, complete with Hebrew signage. Somehow, people who are "forced" to buy Israeli - whom Sheizaf claimed demanded that the world boycotts Israeli goods - couldn't find it in themselves to boycott non-essential snacks. He never answered, of course. By the way, outside of the flooding, nothing is stopping the tunnel trade from resuming and bringing quality, low cost Egyptian goods into Gaza to tap that huge market of people who cannot afford the expensive Israeli items. The free market is a powerful force, and the tunnel trade proved that Gazans can get what they want despite Israeli restrictions. The entire article is a jumbled set of pseudo-facts intended to push the "Israel is bad" theme, without making a coherent argument. Of course, the fact that Gaza is run by a government sworn to utterly destroy Israel remains unmentioned in this nonsensical screed demanding, well, I'm not sure what. Cheaper potato chips? Unlimited imports and exports through Israel without any charge? Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, is also remarkably absent in this article. And no wonder. The writer is also a contributor to Electronic Intifada, where truth is a far lower priority than anti-Israel propaganda. (h/t Arnold)  |
| Sunday links Posted: 10 Feb 2013 12:45 PM PST From Ian:
Missing Peace: Report: Arab countries withheld donor money because of PA refusal to negotiate with Israel "According to Palestinian media, several 'heavyweight' Arab countries have been pressuring PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to step down because of his firm stances towards negotiations with Israel.
Abbas and other PA officials have criticized Arab countries who pledged to donate $ 100.000.000 a month to alleviate the severe financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority. Until now that money has not arrived.
Palestinian sources now reveal that the refusal to transfer these funds to the PA is connected to Abbas' refusal to enter negotiations with Israel." US may up Iran pressure in return for progress with Palestinians White House said open to deal being worked out by Netanyahu aides ahead of Obama visit next month, Sunday Times reports
US President Barack Obama will reportedly offer to up pressure on Iran in exchange for Israeli concessions toward the Palestinians when he visits Israel next month. Hamas blames Abbas after unity talks falter By Khaled Abu Toameh Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas member, holds Abbas responsible for the failure of the Egyptian-sponsored Cairo reconciliation talks.
"Hanna Amireh, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that differences erupted between Hamas and Fatah as soon as they started talking about the details regarding the formation of a unity government and holding new presidential and legislative elections. He said the two sides also failed to reach agreement on holding new elections for the PLO's parliamentin- exile, the Palestine National Council." Ayalon: J'lem should recognize Palestine at UN Outgoing deputy FM: Israel should give Palestinians sovereignty, for recognition of Israel as Jewish home, security arrangements. "Israel will give the Palestinians sovereignty and independence and in return, they will recognize Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people and will guarantee security arrangements," he said.
Ayalon called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to say to the Palestinians: "I am prepared to recognize you, but you have to recognize me."
Ayalon also said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas must state in Arabic - rather than in Hebrew or English - that he recognizes Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. He opined that such a statement would have a huge impact on generations to come. Liberman says peace with Palestinians impossible Ahead of Obama's visit, former foreign minister says "tsunami" shaking Arab world makes solving conflict "impossible." "Liberman ticked off in a Channel 2 interview the assassination last week of the opposition leader in Tunisia, the terrorist murder last week of dozens of people in Iraq, and the killing of 117 people in Syria on Friday, and said it was not realistic to think it possible in this environment to reach a comprehensive peace accord with the Palestinians.
"Anyone who thinks that in the center of the diplomatic, political and social tsunami that is shaking the Arab world it is possible to get a magical solution of comprehensive peace with the Palestinians does not understand," he said." Preachers of hate who spread their violent word on British TV channels Muslim fundamentalists have used British television channels to preach in favour of violent crime and killing "apostates". "The communications watchdog, Ofcom, has made a series of rulings against channels which allowed "inflammatory" material to be broadcast in breach of rules which forbid extreme opinions gaining a platform on British television.
The cases, disclosed today, include examples of an imam telling viewers that those who disrespect the prophet Mohammed should be killed, and another broadcaster saying homosexuals should be beaten and tortured." "Message from Saddam" shoes hurled at US diplomat in UK Parliament US diplomat Paul Bremer was pelted with shoes at a meeting in the British Parliament this week - exclusive footage "As the shoe-thrower was bundled out of the room, Mr. Bremer insisted, "If he had done that while Saddam Hussein was alive, he would be a dead man by now," a statement which was met by a large round of applause." BBC Watch: 'Hardtalk' presenter gets reality check from Khaled Masha'al On February 7th and 8th 2013, BBC Two and BBC News broadcast an edition of the flagship interview show 'Hardtalk' from Doha with Khaled Masha'al as its guest. At 04:31 Sackur interjects:
"But I just want to nail down what your current position is on the question of a two state solution to provide a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The Saudi newspaper Al Sharq reported just the other day that you are now prepared to accept a two state solution. You have told this, according to the newspaper, to King Abdullah and you've asked King Abdullah to…of Jordan…to relay this message to President Obama. Is that true?"Masha'al replies unequivocally:
"This is not true." Karnei Shomron Residents Demonstrate Against Arab Attacks Dozens of residents of the Samaria community of Karnei Shomron protest against ongoing rock-throwing and firebomb attacks. "Dozens of residents of the Shomron (Samaria) community of Karnei Shomron protested at the entrance to their community on Saturday night.
The residents were demonstrating against the ongoing rock-throwing and firebomb attacks on nearby Highway 55." Cairo court orders YouTube banned for a month Egypt blocks video-sharing website for 30 days for showing parts of controversial amateur film denigrating Muhammad "Judge Hassouna Tawfiq ordered YouTube blocked for carrying the film, which he described as "offensive to Islam and the Prophet (Muhammad)." He made the ruling in the Egyptian capital where the first protests against the film erupted last September before spreading to more than 20 countries, killing more than 50 people.
The ruling, however, can be appealed and, based on precedent, might not be enforced." Yemen's interior minister says seized weapons were exported from Iran, headed to insurgents "Yemen's interior minister said Saturday that his country was disappointed to find that a large and diverse cache of weapons seized on a ship last month had been exported from Iran, a finding Washington said underscores Tehran's ongoing evasion of U.N. resolutions.
Speaking in a press conference in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, Interior Minister Abdel-Qader Kahtan said a Yemeni investigation found that the weapons were destined for armed insurgents. He did not elaborate, saying only that an investigation is ongoing." Rockets Kill 5 Iranian Dissidents in Iraq A report whose credibility is unclear says Iranian forces will enter Iraq to suppress rebellion, take over U.S. embassy. "There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on the transit camp, a former American military base known as Camp Liberty, adjacent to Baghdad's international airport.
"At 5:30am around 18 Katyusha rockets landed in the camp, west of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 42," an Iraqi policeman at the base said, speaking to AL Jazeera on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for the interior ministry, however, said only one person had been killed.
Meanwhile, a story that appears on an Iraqi web portal titled "Voice of Iraq" claims that Iraqi and Iranian leaders have agreed that Iranian Basij forces will enter Iran and suppress riots there. The plan reportedly includes the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad." Iran says its English channel dropped by satellite Galaxy 19, which serves US and Canadian audiences, accused of dumping news station Press TV as part of sanctions imposed on Iran Iran reportedly to recall ambassador to Bulgaria Tehran mulling downgrade of ties in wake of report on Burgas bombing that fingered Hezbollah Waldorf in Israel Shows Hotel Investors Defying Security Threats "In downtown Jerusalem, a new hotel managed by Hilton International under its premiere Waldorf Astoria brand is finishing construction just months after air raid sirens warned residents of rocket attacks from Gaza." Let them eat hummus, with a Hebrew U breakthrough More lutein, less need for irrigation makes for a chickpea that may help feed millions better "Now, a breakthrough in chickpea breeding by Hebrew University Professor Shahal Abbo and his team promises to raise chickpea crop yields, lengthen their growing season, make more land available to farmers for crops, and even produce a more nutritious pea.
And unlike many crops improvements today, the Hebrew U breakthrough did not use genetic manipulation to create a better chickpea."  |
| Poster: Abbas will negotiate with some people... Posted: 10 Feb 2013 10:30 AM PST Not sure why I'm in so much of a mood for graphics today....  |
| Pro- and anti-Syrian journalists almost fight on Hezbollah TV Posted: 10 Feb 2013 08:30 AM PST Al Arabiya reports: A political talk show about the crisis in Syria on Hezbollah's television channel turned into an exchange of insults, profanities and almost developed into a fist fight on Friday.
The show brought together two men, each of whom holds starkly different opinions, to debate the Syrian crisis. The result is a nasty verbal fight that highlights the bitter divisions in Lebanon as a whole when it comes to neighboring Syria.
Salem Zahran, Director of the Media Focal Center (Irtikaz) is one of the guests. He is an avid supporter of the Syrian regime. The other guest is Asaad Bishara, a political writer and journalist for Lebanon's al-Joumhouria newspaper. Bishara supports the Syrian revolution and insists that Bashar al-Assad must be removed from power.
The debate began to heat up when Zahran accused Bishara of working as a "spy" for Israel and called him a "foul."
Bishara hit back with profanities against Zahran and his family. This was live on the screen of the radical Islamist group Hezbollah.
Deeply provoked and unable to take it, Zahran lashed out against Bishrara with insults and splashed a glass of water at him.
Imad Mirmil, the show host, held Bishara to protect him from the furious Zahran. Seconds later, al-Manar TV suspended the broadcast.
However, the show was back on the screen minutes later and the discussion resumed, this time in a respected manner. The show host apologized, and the two "enemies" shook hands at the end. MEMRI has the video:  |
| Egyptian homeless children are also being raped Posted: 10 Feb 2013 06:30 AM PST Unreal. From Egypt Independent: I read the papers and online testimonials of group attacks on women in the streets. If I had not read the titles, I would have thought the authors had suddenly taken an interest in the daily lives of street children. I would have assumed they had become avid observers who had taken to the street to highlight this prevalence, and its normality in the street culture that very young children live every night.
But no. The titles indicate these testimonials are about younger and older "welaad naas" women of the middle class — because, remember, street kids are the excluded class. These articles are written because "citizens" have been struck, "citizens'" honor has been violated, and "citizens'" human rights have been wronged.
But street children? They aren't citizens — they don't even hold IDs. When they arrive, raped, shot or dead in front of the shelter doors, there hasn't been a crime because a citizen hasn't been involved. So, no, this flood of articles about harassment, sexual attacks and gang rape on the streets is not about street kids.
But this is the everyday reality for these children, and I have come to know these streets in the way that they have been recently discovered by others. So I thought that maybe by writing this, I could shed a different light — a look from a different angle — on a phenomenon that so many are horrified by and so unfamiliar with.
I am arguing here that this is just one of the ugly faces of the street, just as each human, each friend, has an ugly face, which you get to see, know and get scorned by once you have spent a long enough time with it. Its reality and its crudeness cannot hide forever. The euphoria of the imagined utopia of solidarity that the street brings during revolutionary times begins to crack, and the street and all its non-citizen inhabitants become a reality that you cannot escape.
Talking about scarring — a lot of attention and horror has been expressed following the attack in which a blade was used on one victim of these assaults. I wonder about the irony of the timing of this. Just last month, I took one of my street girls to a generous plastic surgeon who had offered my girls free reconstructive surgery for the scars they suffered during such attacks on the street.
The scarring is part of the street rape culture; any boy or girl who has been raped on the street will be "marked." This mark, usually a curve under the eye of the victim, will mean they are no longer virgins. Subsequent sexual attacks — and there will be many — will lead to smaller marks anywhere else on the body.
One girl, who none of us at the shelter will ever forget, was lucky. She escaped the scarring on the face but needed 16 stitches on her lower back, where she was knifed as she escaped her rapists.
I am not an expert in conspiracy theories, but I am a consultant on street kids and the risks of the street. And so, when I read the musings that the National Democratic Party, the Muslim Brotherhood or someone else is organizing these mob sex attacks, my better judgment makes me tentative.
I remember that no one paid the four men in their 30s and 40s to gang rape 7-year-old Maya who had been living in the street for just four days before that. The younger the child, the attackers think, the smaller the risk of contracting HIV.  |
| True Suha Confessions: "I married a terrorist and couldn't divorce him!" Posted: 10 Feb 2013 04:07 AM PST  Awwww. Nine years have lapsed since the death of former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and his widow revealed that she attempted to divorce him over 100 times, but that he prevented her from doing so.
"I loved Arafat, but the marriage to him was a big mistake on my part," said Suha Arafat to the Sabah Turkish newspaper.
"I know there were a lot of women that wanted to marry Arafat. However, it was my fate," said 49-year-old Suha who married Arafat in 1990 when she was 27, and he, 61.
"I was engaged to a French attorney and then I met Arafat. I secretly married him in Tunisia, I didn't even wear a wedding dress then. My mother was against the marriage and later, I understood why. Had I known what I would endure, I clearly wouldn't have married him. True, he was a huge leader, but I was lonely," said Suha.
She revealed that in their 14 years of matrimony, until his 2004 death, she tried leaving him time and again – but to no avail. "I tried to leave him hundreds of times, but he wouldn't let me."
She described herself as as a "weak link" and claimed that her husband's war with Israel led to the gossip.
"It (gossip) actually all began due to the uprising (intifada) against Israel. Yasser was fighting against the strongest lobby, media and nation, in other words Israel. I was the weakest link," she said.  |
Awwww.
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