7/12/07

The war of Uranium, the ignored war
Ernesto Carmona
Nuclear war has started with the Trojan horse of the bombs and projectiles of uranium used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The effects of the uranium war came home in the bodies of the veterans that participated in the fist war of Golf, who transmitted to their women the destructives genetic effects in the “ardent sperm” and the women passed it to her children that were born with no arms and other mutations.
Tons of uranium has fallen over Iraq and Afghanistan. The effects of the metal powder deployed on the winds, the sand storms, the water, the soil and the living creatures affect also a big region that is breathing particles of uranium in Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel. The United States launched experimental mini atomic bombs in the surroundings of Kabul, without anybody knowing, except the victims. Since a decade children with no eyes no encephalon and with other horrendous genetic malformations are being born. The government of Washington and the big media maintain this tragedy in the darkness of secret. A handful of scientists, family of veterans of war and people of press struggles desperately to contain the proliferation of the radioactive contamination in Asian Europe. Cancer increases in more than 1.000 percent…

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Video: Gaza Calling
Sabbah’s blog

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A Prayer to Maryam.
Layla Anwar, An Arab Woman Blues
There is a sacred spot outside of Damascus called Sednaya. It is a very old monastery run by nuns, on top of a steep hill, overlooking the whole of Damascus and its surrounding areas… Inside this monastery, there is a tiny worship place, a sanctuary (…) The main wall is adorned with golden icons, and in the middle, there is a small niche, glowing with light, and this is where Mother is. Our Lady Maryam, had appeared in Sednaya and has healed many… Pilgrims flock from all over the Middle East, Christians and Muslims alike, invoking Mother, supplicating her, asking for favors, for healing, for blessings… I was there too. As I usually do, I pray first for my family, my friends and those who are close to me in mind and heart, those I care about. Then my prayer extends to all the departed ones all the way to my ancestors. Then, I pray for Iraq. All of its people, its women, its men, its children. I have a special prayer for the orphans and the widows, the sick and the homeless… Then I pray for the people of the Middle East, in particular the Palestinians. From there my prayer extends to everyone in need regardless of their nationality or religion. Then I pray for the earth and all that is on it. Then I pray for my enemies… This last one is the most difficult one. That day I asked Mother to help me with this last prayer. And this is what I said to her….

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Iran, Iraq and that gay-hunt the Left keeps ignoring
Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat’s Dream
…The horror Amerika brought to New Iraq has outshined the Third Reich’s. This is true for all Iraqis and particularly for Iraqi homosexuals, the most vulnerable and targeted community in New Iraq. “The U.S, and other allied forces are doing nothing to stop the massacres of any ordinary Iraqi, not to mention the homosexuals, the most unpopular portion of Iraqi society under the new evil regime” recently said Ali Hili, a 34-year-old Iraqi exile now living in London. Hili, who launched Iraqi LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] in late 2005 “after hearing about the killing of so many of my friends”, also said: “Homosexuality was generally tolerated under Saddam. There certainly was no danger of gay people being assassinated in the street by police. Since his overthrow, the violent persecution of gays and lesbians is commonplace. Life in Iraq now is hell for all LGBT people; no one can be openly gay and alive.”…

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Green zone green light
Salah Hemeid
… Reliable Iraqi sources say that US military bases already constructed, or under construction, are large enough to accommodate some 100,000 American soldiers if the US command decides to keep them in Iraq. Sources say that the bases, mostly expansions of bases of the former Iraqi army, are buffered by broad swathes of land, fortified with heavy weaponry and remote-controlled electronic devices. The primary function of these bases will be to suppress internal opposition to the Iraqi government, but US air strength and special forces in these bases will also have rapid deployment capabilities for reaching points outside Iraq at need….

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Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 48/2007 ( 29 Nov. – 05 Dec. 2007 )
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
* 20 Palestinians, including one civilian, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
* 18 of the victims are members of the military wing of Hamas and were killed by missiles and tanks shells.
* 22 Palestinians, including a woman, were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
* IOF conducted 19 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 2 ones into the Gaza Strip.
* IOF arrested 56 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in the West Bank and 3 others in the Gaza Strip.
* IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
* IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and a humanitarian crisis has emerged.
* The number of patients who died due to the denial of their access to medical treatment increased to 13.
* The Gaza Strip is suffering a serious shortage of fuels.

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Herbs replace drugs in Gaza amid suffocating siege
Stop The Siege on Gaza
Walking out of a spice shop with difficulty, 51 year old Um Muhammad Oreif carried parcels of herbs which she wishes can alleviate her increasing pains due to rheumatism. “I’m not quite sure if these herbs will give the sought results, but what else should I do? I’m running out of money and prices of medicines at pharmacies are sky rocketing,” Um Muhammad complained. The old lady, who never parallels natural herbs to a medication, has to turn to herbs now because of the deteriorating domestic economy. “In such conditions like ours, in which we can hardly provide our children with the least they need, I have to buy the cheap herbs, instead of the extravagant medicines,” she said helplessly…

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Castles in the air
Mustafa al-Barghouti, Al-Ahram Weekly
With all due respect to all the speeches that were delivered in Annapolis, the only document that emerged from that meeting was the “Joint Understanding” between Israel and the Palestinian delegation. In this one-page, vague and loosely worded text another document was mentioned six times: the “roadmap”. This is the same roadmap that ran against the stumbling block for four years because it exacts upon the Palestinians an unfeasible task, which is to provide security and protection to their occupiers. Israel is the fourth largest arms exporter in the world. It has the most powerful military force in the region, a nuclear arsenal larger than that of France, and an air force stronger than the UK’s. Such is the might of the occupying power that the governing authority of a people oppressed by that power’s occupation is being told to protect, even though that authority does not possess the means to protect its own people. Surely this is a historical precedent….

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Israel considering strike on Iran despite US intelligence report
Rory McCarthy, The Guardian
Senior Israeli officials warned today they were still considering the option of a military strike against Iran, despite a fresh US intelligence report that concluded Tehran was no longer developing nuclear weapons. Although Israel argues that it wants to see strong diplomatic pressure put on Iran, it is reluctant to rule out the threat of a unilateral military attack. Matan Vilnai, Israel’s deputy defence minister, told Army Radio today: “No option needs to be off the table.”…

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Repercussions of the American Establishment’s Decision to “Coexist” with Iran
Raghida Dergham Al-Hayat
…In other words, it’s still not clear if the truce between the US and Iran has launched similar moves by Arab countries toward Iran and Israel, to start a qualitatively new chapter in the entire Middle East. The smell of deals is getting stronger and the timing is intriguing, especially in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon – three issues that distinguish regional and international relations. The preparations are underway to create a US military base in Iraq, by virtue of the understanding and agreement governing bilateral US-Iraqi ties, and this requires an understanding with Iran, according to the analysts. Thus, the history of “failure” in the Iraq war has perhaps led to the intelligence agencies working to regain their dignity and reputation, which suffered in the justifications and pretexts for the Iraq war. Thus, we are talking about the future of these common interests, as represented in the need by the US and Iran to avoid a war and work instead on arranging the division of influence in Iraq and using a new strategic partnership for influence of another kind in the Middle East. All of this could be overturned by surprises..

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Empty heads and full pockets
Khaled Amayreh
Just back from Annapolis, and with no tangible achievements to present to, let alone impress, a people long disillusioned with American-sponsored “peace conferences”, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have been trying desperately to convince the Palestinians that “this time it is going to be serious.” Former but still influential negotiator Saeb Ereikat has described upcoming negotiations with Israel as “a real battle” with the same ferocity of a military confrontation and with similar tactics, except that it is fought at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield. But if battle it is, it is nearly certain that Palestinian negotiators are marching to it unprepared, and with a vague strategy and inadequate tactics….

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Apartheid: Israeli school segregates, totally isolates, 4 black Jewish/Ethiopian students
Sabbah’s blog
If you thought racism is unacceptable by the Apartheid Israel against Palestinians because they are Arab (Muslims and Christians), then what do you call racism within so called “Jewish citizens”? and where… a Jewish religious school!!! A religious school in Petah Tikva may be more suited to the American South of the 1950s than to 21st century Israel. It was recently discovered that four Ethiopian girls enrolled in Lamerchav Elementary School are learning in complete isolation from their peers. They study in separate classrooms, have their own recess time and are even reportedly given daily cab fare so as not to ride home on the bus with other students. …

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Sadr Militia Moves To Clean House
Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
….The local U.S. commander, Lt. Col. Patrick Frank, has praised the Mahdi Army’s moderate elements for seeking stability in the Jihad neighborhood. Last month, a gang that no longer answered to Sadr marched through Jihad brandishing heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, so the Sadr office sent a delegation to ask them to drop their weapons, but they refused. “So the good Mahdi Army started chasing them. They arrested four of the bad Mahdi Army and turned them over to the Iraqi army with their weapons,” said Jihad’s local council chief, Malhan Abu Jalal. “Now everybody believes that there is no benefit from fighting and they should support the political process. There is cooperation between the Sadr office, Iraqi forces and U.S. forces”…

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Iraq Ambassador: Iran Aided the Surge
Newsmax
Iraq’s United Nations Ambassador Hamid al-Bayati admits that help from Iran played a key role in calming insurgent activity in and around Baghdad. “Yes, they have been helpful. It has been a combination of the American surge and Iranian cooperation that has led to a decrease in attacks,” explained al-Bayati in an exclusive interview with Newsmax….

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Occupation forces steal Anbar’s reconstruction Funds
Roads to Iraq
…Members of Anbar governing council expressed their concern yesterday saying that the American forces are stealing Anbar’s reconstruction funds, and write false reports to their supervisors about several progress and reconstruction projects in Anbar. Anonymous source said that most of these reports are false and success-stories fabrication, do not exist on the ground, these projects mentioned are only on papers. Another source said that he read the financial report submitted by the occupation forces reconstruction Committee and found it full of lies…

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Video: Gaza Calling
Sabbah’s blog

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Medical ethical violations in Gaza
Medical Report, via Axis of Logic
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) has issued an emergency appeal for medical supplies for Gaza1 after the virtual closing of the border by Israel. 44 patients have died since June, 2007, because of denial or delay in access to medical care, and 85 types of medicine defined by WHO as essential are out of stock. The threatened disruption to electricity would cripple the running of hospitals, including haemodialysis machines and ventilators. All these actions are war crimes, and PHRI has been petitioning the Israeli High Court of Justice (without success to date). PHRI is also highlighting the coercion being applied to patients by the Israeli General Security Service to inform on others if they want permission to exit Gaza for medical treatment….

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The surge is a sideshow. Only total US pullout can succeed
Jonathan Steele, Guardian
…A few weeks earlier I spoke to one of the spiritual fathers of the Sunni insurgency, Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, now in exile in Amman. The head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, he argued that the Awakening movement only represented a small proportion of Sunni tribal leaders. “The situation in Anbar is very bad, and many are out of work and impoverished. Some will work with anyone who pays them, whether it is al-Qaida or the US army. I agree the attacks on US forces in Anbar have gone down, but in a few months they may go up again. The US is building its hopes on a small trend. It doesn’t follow it will continue,” he said. His remarks chimed with a poll conducted in mid-August for the BBC and ABC news. It found Anbar was still the strongest bastion of hostile anti-US opinion in Iraq…

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Saddam’s top aide escapes Iraqi security raid
Sify, India
Iraq’s former vice-president Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a top aide of executed president Saddam Hussein, escaped an overnight raid on him in Salahudin province, a senior provincial official said on Friday. Al-Douri, who figures on the US’ list of 55 most wanted Saddam officials, escaped an overnight raid on his hideout in a village east of Tikrit city, about 170 km north of Baghdad, the official said…

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Support Grows for Baqa’a Camp
Hussein Al-alak, Welcome to Baqa’a Refugee Camp
We are pleased to inform you that Welcome to Baqa’a Refugee Camp, has been given further public support with the following letter which was posted on The Cowley Street Bedouins website earlier this week. “Whilst surfing the net I came across a site. The site ‘Welcome to Baqa’a Refugee Camp’ is a collection of blogs from Palestinians. It makes for interesting reading….

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Analysis: Big Oil to sign Iraq deals soon
BEN LANDO, UPI Energy Editor
Big Oil’s big dreams are close to coming true as Iraq’s Oil Ministry prepares deals for the country’s largest oil fields with terms that aren’t necessarily what companies were hoping for but considered a foot in the door of the world’s most promising oil sector. Iraq’s proven oil reserves are only smaller than those in Saudi Arabia and Iran — and the country is only about 30 percent explored. Iraq produces about 2.4 million barrels per day, a recent increase from the 2 million bpd post-invasion average, but far below what its reserves could handle….

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