And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Israel razes Negev village again
Witness talks of "unnecessary force" in demolition of Bedouin homes.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108108292506226.html
Israelis Bulldoze Village, Again
In the early morning light of 5 August, two bulldozers, about twenty military jeeps, two border police and three civil police cars came to the village of Al-Farisiya in the north eastern corner of the West Bank in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli Authorities convoy cleared out the villagers and then destroyed their 27 of their homes, leaving 91 homeless.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1506
Foundation says hundreds more tombstones disinterred
Ma`an News Agency – Israeli bulldozers entered the Mamilla (Ma`man Allah) cemetery in West Jerusalem on Monday night, and began taking down headstones from Muslim graves, a statement from the Jerusalem-based Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said. The destruction of graves was the third in just over a week, with Israeli officials telling Ma`an that the graves were destroyed because they were "built illegally with the aim to take over the plot."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=306844
Homeless Take On Israeli Forces, Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH, Aug 10, 2010 (IPS) – A bruising battle of will is taking place between Israeli security forces and Palestinians recently made homeless after two Palestinian villages were razed and hundreds left homeless.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52439
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Two Arrested During Nabi Saleh Demonstration
Residents of Nabi Saleh defied the army and the unbearable heat in another week of resilient resistance to the occupation and the theft of their lands. No less than a hundred people took to the black asphalt streets of Nabi Saleh in the blazing heat of an August high noon after the midday prayer, marching down to Ein alQous, the water spring that settlers have been trying to take over. As the villagers and their Israeli and international supporters marched down the main street, soldiers have already took positions at a junction inside the village, stopping all traffic in and out of the village, and the three other villages that depend on the junction. The village’s children were the first to get to the soldiers and taunted the force’s commander. Eventually, clashes ensued with tear-gas, concussion grenades and rubber bullets-coated from the army’s direction and stones from the village’s youth.
http://josephdana.com/2010/08/two-arrested-during-nabi-saleh-demonstration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=two-arrested-during-nabi-saleh-demonstration
Hebron, Iraq Burin, Beit Ommar rise up
On Saturday August 7th Palestinians were joined by Israeli and international protesters to demonstrate against the settlements and to demand the opening of Shuhada Street. About 60 people gathered to march to the gate closing off Shuhada Street. There they were met by soldiers and border police, but no arrests or injuries were made. The demonstration lasted for about one hour. After the demonstration 6 soldiers chased three boys around the age of 10, accusing them of throwing stones, but the boys managed to escape.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/08/13707/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Kelab Putera 1Malaysia Team Reach Gaza Border
RAFAH, Aug 9 (Bernama) — The Kelab Putera 1Malaysia humanitarian mission has reached this town bordering the Gaza strip and is scheduled cross into the Palestinian territory later this evening (Egyptian time). A total of 67 volunteers led by the club’s president Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim left Cairo at 8am (Egyptian time) and arrived here seven hours later in an overland journey. The convoy of two buses, three cars and a lorry laden with medicine, clothes and food weighing a total of 11 tonnes, did not have any problems clearing 18 checkpoints along the way as it was accompanied by Egyptian police outriders. An official from the Malaysian embassy in Cairo is also accompanying the mission.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=520123
Gaza: An Open Letter to Chick Corea
We are a group of students from Gaza, and our only fault is being Palestinians. For that, Mr. Corea, we are imprisoned with our families and loved ones in what major Human Rights Organizations call the largest open air prison in modern history. The state you are planning to entertain, committed a process of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous people in 1948. And now it is engaged in, what the Israeli academic Ilan Pappe calls, “slow motion genocide” against the 1.5 million population of Gaza.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7695
Fadi Elsalameen: Where is Palestine’s green fund? Eco-resistance in the West Bank
Can you imagine defending your land and resisting occupation with windmills, solar panels, and recycled car tires? If you live in Palestine, this is not an eco-Utopian dream – it is the reality of a few West Bank communities squeezed by settlements and occupation. The Israeli occupation uses force and unjust policies to intimidate and drive out Palestinians from their land. The land is then taken and annexed to nearby Israeli illegal settlements or outposts. To drive out the local Palestinian populations in the West Bank, the occupation denies Palestinians water and electricity, and destroys any effort to build schools, clinics or homes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fadi-elsalameen/where-is-palestines-green_b_675809.html
Week 69 – Happy Birthday Haifa, Jody Mcintyre
The fact that we managed to smuggle a Palestinian girl from Ramallah through an Israeli check-point proves an important point; the Wall that they have built around the West Bank is not for security, and never has been. It is purely a symbol of the system of apartheid that Israel is imposing on the Palestinians. The fact that she was pretending to be my brother, and “pushing” me in my wheelchair, may have also helped.
http://jodymcintyre.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/week-69-happy-birthday-haifa/
New guide puts Palestine history, debates in activists’ hands
The Veritas Handbook, published free online this month, seeks to provide a comprehensive, accessible guide to Palestine’s history and key issues involved activism. Produced independently by activists and students, the book aims to meet a long neglected need.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11450.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Anti
Words without Borders "dialogue" violates Palestinian boycott call
An initiative recently launched by the prestigious online literature magazine Words without Borders entitled "Cross-Cultural-Dialogues in the Middle East," rings alarm bells in light of the Palestinian civil society call for boycott divestment and sanctions on Israel. Haidar Eid comments.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11452.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Is the Israeli academy facing a McCarthyite era?
Political interference could put freedom of speech in universities at stake, says Matthew Reisz .When it comes to the Israeli academy, said David S. Katz, director of the Lessing Institute for European History at Tel Aviv University, “we are entering a McCarthyite phase – and I do not exaggerate”. “There is legislation being discussed that would limit freedom of expression in universities,” he said. “The education minister [Gideon Sa’ar] has expressed satisfaction with a report that looks at the course content of professors, sniffing out ‘anti-Zionist’ ideology. The Knesset Education Committee is behind this initiative as well. It is very bad indeed, and the universities have done little to reject this, apart from the rector of Haifa University [Yossi Ben-Artzi], who was very forthcoming.”
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=412910&c=1
The Elders of Anti-Zion, Uri Avnery
I WAS shaking with fear. A well-groomed gentleman appeared on TV. He was identified as the chief of an association called Re’uth (“Sight”), whose aim is to monitor the groups which deny the legitimacy of the State of Israel. What they have uncovered is indeed frightful. The enemies of Israel, we were told, no longer believe that they can destroy Israel by force of arms. Instead, they have adopted a new strategy: to bring about the collapse of Israel by denying its very legitimacy.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1281216042
Detainees
Israel detains Palestinian in Dorah
Hebron, August 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces detained today a Palestinian after raiding his house in Dorah, in the south of Hebron city, in the West Bank. Israeli occupation forces raided the house of Taher Al-Switi, 21, and then detained him, eyewitnesses said.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6734:israel-detains-palestinian-in-dorah&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Israel detains 3 Palestinians in WB
West Bank, August 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces detained today three Palestinians from Tulkarem and Nablus cities in the West Bank. Israeli occupation forces took the detainees for questioning. Israeli forces raids the West Bank on a daily basis under the pretext of searching for what they call “wanted Palestinians”.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6731:israel-detains-3-palestinians-in-wb&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
4320 Palestinian arrested in 2010 so far
The Prisoners’ Studies Center said Israeli authorities have recently stepped up arrests and night raids in city outskirts and villages around the West Bank.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Dweik lashes out at preventive security for summoning female MP
Dr. Aziz Dweik and Hamas PLC members on Monday lashed out at the preventive security apparatus in the West Bank for summoning former minister and MP Amal Siyam.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian and Human Rights/Restriction of Movement
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – July 11 – Aug 7
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/08/goods-%e2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%e2%80%93-july-11-%e2%80%93-aug-7/
Industrial Fuel – Needs Vs. Supply – July 11 – Aug 7
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/08/industrial-fuel-%e2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%e2%80%93-july-11-%e2%80%93-aug-7/
Israel to restrict Palestinians’ entry to Jerusalem in Ramadan
RAMALLAH: Israeli police announced Monday that it will restrict the entry of Palestinian worshipers from the West Bank into Jerusalem for Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this week.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article98497.ece
PA: Israel detains media delegation in Qalqiliya
QALQILIYA (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a diplomatic and media delegation in Qalqiliya on Monday, the Information Ministry reported. The ministry organized a tour of the city, which is surrounded on all sides by the separation wall, to show the delegation of foreign diplomats the effect of the wall on residents’ lives.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=306713
Al Mezan Condemns the Cuts and Calls Ramallah and Gaza Governments to Palestinians’ Interests First
During the past two days, long electricity cuts in Gaza have been renewed as a heat wave strikes the Strip. Before this new crisis, electricity cut-offs lasted for eight hours every day on average. Now, the cut-offs last twelve hours, followed by six hours supply; i.e. for two thirds of the time. The cut-offs have spread in all of Gaza’s five districts. The Gaza Power Plant announced yesterday that its production would halt as it has run out of fuel because the Ramallah Government has stopped sending adequate amounts of fuel for the Plant. The Ramallah Government says that the suspension of fuel supplies is related to a significant decline in the value of the financial revenues sent to it by the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, which renders the Government unable to purchase the needed fuel.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-885JEV?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Gaddafi foundation donates 50 million dollars for Gaza homes
The donation is intended to finance the rebuilding of 1,250 homes in the Gaza Strip; UNRWA official says pace of Israeli approval for UN projects would have to increase for money to be fully utilized.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/gaddafi-foundation-donates-50-million-dollars-for-gaza-homes-1.307005
Family to receive remains after 34 years-
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A small victory was declared by the Palestinian National Campaign for the Release of Martyrs Bodies on Tuesday, when the remains of a Palestinian fighter killed in 1976 were delivered to his family., Thousands gathered in the town of Birzeit after Israeli officials barred the reception at the Rantis checkpoint, north of Ramallah, where the transfer of custody was made.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=306849
Political/Flotila Developments
PA official denies reports of Cabinet reshuffle
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority Cabinet’s secretary-general denied on Monday that a government reshuffle was imminent. Speaking to Ma’an radio, Na’im Abu Al-Hummus said Prime Minister Salam Fayyad informed the Cabinet that it was not the right time to form a new government Monday’s weekly meeting in Ramallah. The remarks followed Fatah’s parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad’s announcement Sunday that a new Cabinet would be formed within two weeks. Reports of a reshuffle first surfaced in February, and were confirmed by President Mahmoud Abbas until May.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=306819
Israel-Palestinian direct talks may restart: Abbas (Reuters)
Reuters – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he might end an impasse in peace talks with Israel and resume direct talks with the Jewish State for the first time in almost two years.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100809/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_negotiations
Mitchell due for talks with Netanyahu, Abbas (AFP)
AFP – US envoy George Mitchell is due to arrive Monday in Tel Aviv for talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders aimed at reviving direct peace negotiations.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100809/pl_afp/mideasttalkspalestiniansisrael
Turkey: Israel solely responsible for convoy deaths
In apparent response to comments made by Netanyahu that Ankara ignored repeated warnings to halt Gaza-bound flotilla, Turkish foreign minister says ‘no one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933467,00.html
Ban: UN panel may question IDF officers
UN chief denies any deal made with Israel blocking team probing flotilla raid from questioning officers.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3932927,00.html
Israel: UN won’t question IDF soldiers in Gaza flotilla probe
UN Chief Ban denies having agreed to keep Israel’s military personnel out of inquiry.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-un-won-t-question-idf-soldiers-in-gaza-flotilla-probe-1.307020?localLinksEnabled=false
Netanyahu fuels fears of flotilla inquiry whitewash
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday defended as lawful a deadly assault on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla amid concerns that a domestic commission of inquiry will whitewash Israel’s conduct.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/netanyahu-fuels-fears-of-flotilla-inquiry-whitewash-2048126.html
Israel threatens ‘pull out’ from UN flotilla probe (AFP)
AFP – Israel will pull out of a UN probe into a deadly May 31 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla if the panel insists on grilling its soldiers, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100810/wl_afp/israelconflictgazaprobeunnetanyahu
Other News
‘Not enough evidence to convict suspected Jewish terrorist Pearlman’
Court demands that police conclude in two days investigation of Chaim Pearlman, suspected of having killed four Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/not-enough-evidence-to-convict-suspected-jewish-terrorist-pearlman-1.306988?localLinksEnabled=false
Suspected Israeli spy may be set free in Germany (Reuters)
Reuters – A German judge will decide the future of a suspected Israeli spy, linked to the killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai, after his extradition from Poland, German state prosecutors said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100810/wl_nm/us_germany_israel
Jewish hardliners crack down on fun in Israel
It is the time of the year when school is out for Israel’s ultraorthodox students. But this year, a Jewish morality police is patrolling in force to make sure they do not have too much fun.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jewish-hardliners-crack-down-on-fun-in-israel-2047322.html
Israel accuses US of bias over State Department caution
Israel has accused the United States of bias and rewarding terrorism after the State Department urged Americans visiting Eilat to exercise caution following a rocket attack on the Red Sea resort.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/7933016/Israel-accuses-US-of-bias-over-State-Department-caution.html
Gaza: Death penalty on table for drug crimes
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza’s Attorney General said drug offenses in the Strip would come under the death penalty starting this year, saying "just as drugs will be destroyed, drug dealers will also be hanged." The announcement came as police with the Gaza government destroyed large quantities of hashish, ecstasy pills, prescription-strength pain relievers and alcohol, which officials said had been seized in recent weeks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=307019
PA lowers volume on mosques near settlements
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority has reportedly agreed to an Israeli request to lower the volume on mosque loudspeakers in Palestinian villages surrounded by settlements.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=306736
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
The Tears of Gaza Must Be Our Tears, Chris Hedges
You may have the bulldozers, planes and helicopters that smash houses to rubble, the commandos who descend from ropes on ships and kill unarmed civilians on the high seas as well as in Gaza, the vast power of the state behind you. We have only our hands and our hearts and our voices. But note this. Note this well. It is you who are afraid of us.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_tears_of_gaza_must_be_our_tears_20100809/
One year in, the Sheikh Jarrah movement faces its biggest challenge – Zionism, Joseph Dana
Last Friday marked exactly one year since the beginning of the protests against the eviction of Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood Sheikh Jarrah. The protest has grown from a handful of Israelis and some international activists to hundreds of Israelis that attend weekly Friday demonstrations. Unlike one year ago, key Israeli political and cultural personalities associated with the Zionist establishment such as Avraham Burg and David Grossman now make weekly appearances addressing the crowd with passionate speeches about the future of the Israeli left. Going into its first year, the movement in Sheikh Jarrah now faces its biggest challenge – Zionism.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/one-year-in-the-sheikh-jarrah-movement-faces-it%E2%80%99s-biggest-challenge-zionism.html
Shalala has good reason not to say anything to embarrass Israel, Philip Weiss
It’s no wonder that University of Miami president Donna Shalala has brushed off her "humiliation" at the Ben-Gurion airport (on account of her last name, which is Arab-American). Shalala is dependent on conservative Jews for programs at the University of Miami, notably including the Miller medical school, whose expansion to Israel was a big reason for Shalala’s trip.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/shalala-has-good-reason-not-to-say-anything-to-embarrass-israel.html
When The ADL Gave White Nationalism A Free Pass, Did “Pro-Israel” Politics Play A Role?, Max Blumenthal
In a virtually unknown and unreported event in 1999, the ADL pointedly refused to condemn Richard Quinn, a leading white nationalist publisher who had come under fire for his history of promoting racist screeds before taking a job as a consultant for John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign. Though the ADL initially expressed concern about Quinn’s role on the McCain campaign, it backed off for reasons that appeared to relate to the calculated “pro-Israel” line of Quinn’s magazine.
http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/08/when-the-adl-gave-white-nationalism-a-free-pass-did-pro-israel-considerations-come-into-play/
Ahmed Moor: Israel Cannot be Both Jewish and Democratic
Israel continues to lurch and stagger in the darkened bog of tribal chauvinism. The Jewish state’s further descent into the bellicose murk is being felt by the country’s minorities. Home destructions and deportations are portentous of a bleaker future for non-Jews in Israel. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have lived under an Israeli apartheid regime for decades now. Over the years, Israel has demolished homes, kidnapped thousands of political prisoners, transferred 500,000 settler-colonists onto the West Bank, conducted massive military operations in civilian areas, hoarded the vast majority of Palestinian water, and committed a host of other crimes under the apartheid banner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ahmed-moor/israel-cannot-be-both-jew_b_671548.html
Lebanon
[Press TV News] Summary of Sayyed Nasrallah Press Conference – Israeli Hand In Hariri Killing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2i4r9wISMc
Sayyed Nasrallah: “Israel” Behind PM Hariri’s Assassination
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held an exceptional press conference via video link in which he revealed documents on assassinated former PM Rafiq Hariri. Sayyed Nasrallah’s press conference, which was set to open new horizons that the court could pick up and build on "if it wanted to be impartial" took place in Beirut’s Southern Suburb in Shahed Hall, in presence of Media editors in chief and top journalists who attended the press conference including Talal Salman, Jean Aziz, Charles Ayoub, Ghassan Ben Jeddo, and former Minister Michel Samaha.
http://www.jnoubiyeh.com/2010/08/sayyed-nasrallah-israel-behind-pm.html
Hezbollah unveils ‘Israeli footage’ of Hariri murder site (AFP)
AFP – Hezbollah’s chief on Monday unveiled footage allegedly intercepted from Israeli surveillance planes of the site of the 2005 murder of ex-Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri prior to his assassination.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100809/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonuntribunalharirihezbollahisrael
Nasrallah describes 1997 ambush
Hezbollah chief claims group intercepted Israeli drone transmissions, used footage to set up ambush for commando troops which killed 12. In same speech Nasrallah also accuses Israel of involvement in Hariri murder plot.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3932886,00.html
Lebanon charges politician with spying for Israel (Reuters)
Reuters – A Lebanese military prosecutor charged on Tuesday a Christian party member who was formerly an army general with spying for Israel, the first politician to be charged in a widening espionage case.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100810/wl_nm/us_lebanon_israel_spy
Lebanon compiles long list of spy cases
BEIRUT: Lebanon has compiled a list of 150 cases of espionage, intended to be filed as a complaint against Israel to the UN Security Council, Arab media sources have reported.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article98499.ece
Politicians: Death sentence for Israel spies ‘will set example’
BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians called on Monday to hand down the death sentence as punishment for suspected spies to set an example for potential future Israeli collaborators. While government officials and Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that spies bear personal responsibility for their actions regardless of their political and religious affiliations, a Hizbullah official warned against domestic political rhetoric that encouraged spies. “Collaborators do not belong to any religious community,” Berri said, adding that “since the situation of spying networks surpassed limits which threatens Lebanon, all spies should be punished.”
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=118042#axzz0w9aRygoe
Top US Middle East diplomat arrives in Lebanon for talks
BEIRUT: Top US Middle East diplomat, Frederic Hof, arrived Monday in Beirut, where he held talks with government officials regarding the Lebanese role in securing comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. Although the exact purpose of the talks has not been disclosed, it is expected that last week’s clashes which took place between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli Army, and the resumption of direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks will feature prominently on the agenda. Hof is the US Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs and the senior adviser to the US envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=118047#axzz0w9aYxH00
US military aid to Lebanon put on hold (AP)
AP – The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Monday he has suspended U.S. military aid to Lebanon’s army amid growing concern in Congress that American-supplied weapons could threaten Israel.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100809/ap_on_go_co/us_us_lebanon
Iran plans help to Lebanon army, as U.S. blocks aid (Reuters)
Reuters – Iran has offered support to Lebanon’s army, a week after a deadly cross-border clash between Lebanon and Israel which prompted U.S. lawmakers to block funding to the Lebanese military.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100810/wl_nm/us_lebanon_army_iran
Lebanon criticizes US for suspending military aid (AP)
AP – Lebanon criticized on Tuesday a U.S. Congressman’s decision to suspend $100 million of military aid over concerns that Iranian-backed Hezbollah may have influence over the Arab country’s army and American-supplied weapons could be used to threaten neighboring Israel.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100810/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_us
IDF changes approach to Lebanon army
Following last week’s deadly exchange of fire on northern border, IDF says incident was just straw that broke camel’s back after series of aggressions, orders forces to respond firmly to any violation of calm by ‘treacherous’ Lebanese army.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933392,00.html
Hezbollah’s Hariri accusations ‘ridiculous’: Israel (AFP)
AFP – Israel on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" Hezbollah claims to have acquired Israeli footage implicating the Jewish state in the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100810/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonuntribunalharirihezbollahisrael
Nasrallah’s press conference
In Arab political culture, this press conference will be regarded as a great political show. Nasrallah ended the conference by admitting that he did not present an evidence. Indeed, he has not. He presented circumstantial evidence to lobby the Hariri court to at least investigate the Israeli possibility. But that is not the matter here: personally, as you all know: I don’t give a damn about who killed Rafiq Hariri and don’t believe that Lebanon should spend a penny to find out. Israeli has a history of killing Lebanese and Palestinians in Lebanon and I would rather investigate other Israeli murders in Lebanon. I don’t want Hariri to be more valuable than other victims. But Hizbullah did something entirely different in this press conference: it recaptured Arab political opinion. It was great TV: the production was so well-done: with images, and visual effects and background music and graphics. The most important revelation is that Hizbullah was able to intercept the footage of Israeli spy planes. That is an incredible coup for Hizbullah. This will most impress Arab audiences worldwide. A leftist secular atheist friend wrote during the press conference that he now will call himself "Abu Hadi" (after Nasrallah). The expectations were high for hte speech: in Lebanon, Hizbulalh’s enemies did not want anything less than pictures of Israelis pulling the triggers on Hariri. That was not provided. But I think that Nasrallah was not aiming at Lebanon: this was aimed at Arabs and Aljazeera carried the 2 hours live. Dumb mini-Hariri is now in a more difficult situation: but he is too dumb to notice. I don’t think he actually thinks. A person who met him recently told me: that you talk him, and his adviser, Hani Hammud, answers. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/08/nasrallahs-press-conference_09.html
Hariri’s Next Move
Saad al-Hariri has yet to issue a statement about last night’s press conference, since he is apparently out of the country (where he always seems to be whenever Nasrallah issues one of his earth-shaking statements about the tribunal.) Until he returns and provides some indication as to how his government is going to respond to Hizbullah’s accusations against Israel, I’m going to give him some unsolicited advice: Thank Nasrallah for his efforts and immediately call for the creation of a Lebanese commission to look into Hizbullah’s “material evidence,” just as the party is demanding. If Nasrallah is bluffing, Hariri should call him on it. If he’s not, Hariri loses nothing by agreeing to take a closer look at the evidence. However, if Hariri simply ignores Nasrallah or dismisses his demands, he will be increasing the likelihood that this government will not last the year, throwing the fate of the STL itself into question. Why would this be the case? Let’s play out the most likely scenarios.
http://qifanabki.com/2010/08/10/best-defense/
"The decision by the LAF to engage the IDF, suggests that the LAF will actively oppose Israeli operations in Lebanon…"
"… For internal Lebanese political reasons and in response to concerns about potential Israeli military action, Hizballah normally chooses not to exert or display its capabilities. Hizballah forces occupy positions in villages and in what the IDF calls "nature reserves" (areas of rugged and fortified terrain). Some of these positions are located very close to the Israeli border….. Israel believes that some of the LAF elements in the south, including the 11th Brigade, which was involved in the incident, are under the influence of Hizballah…
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2010/08/decision-by-laf-to-engage-idf-suggests.html
U.S. Aid to Lebanon by Carlos Latuff
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZxKAf8oOwtI/TGE19VY-uMI/AAAAAAAAkhY/VzcbN0vJOSw/s1600/qana2.jpg
Iraq
Monday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 26 Wounded
After a bloody couple of days, violence subsided somewhat, but at least six Iraqis were killed and 26 were wounded in the latest attacks. Ramadan will likely begin for Sunnis tomorrow night and on Wednesday night for Shi’ite Muslims, depending on the sighting of the moon. The holiday should prompt tightening of security across the country.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/08/09/monday-6-iraqis-killed-26-wounded/
Iraq attacks likely to increase during Ramadan, says US (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor – The US expects attacks in Iraq to continue to spike as the holy month of Ramadan begins this week, a top American general warned on Monday after explosions in the southern city of Basra resulted in one of the deadliest weekends in months.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100809/wl_csm/318698
Barazani:No red line on Maliki for 2nd term
In a joint press conference with Al Maliki, Barazani affirmed that there is no red line on appointing Al Maliki for a second term. Al Maliki’s visit was not aimed at forming a new alliance but rather at enhancing an old lasting alliance, Kurdistan leader said. Talks were positive based on Iraq’s interest, Barazani added. Iraqi PM and Kurdistan leader agreed on a road map to end the political crisis in Iraq. Al Maliki for his part affirmed that his visit to Barazani is historic and essential during this volatile phase. Talks were positive and strategic, Al Maliki said noting that US Forces withdrawal is on track.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-52845-Barazani%3ANo-red-line-on-Maliki-for-2nd-term.html
The Suffering of Fallujah
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fallujah . . . . Along with whatever else we did to Fallujah — we also, apparently, nuked the city, leaving a legacy of cancer, leukemia, infant mortality and genetic abnormality.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-koehler/the-suffering-of-fallujah_b_663545.html
How Many Iraqis Did We "Liberate" From Life on Earth?, Robert Naiman
Is there a man or woman in America today who is willing to stand at noon in the public square and claim that demands to bomb, invade, and occupy other people’s countries have anything to do with human liberation?
http://www.truth-out.org/how-many-iraqis-did-we-liberate-from-life-earth62112
Iran
Iran to remove US dollar, euro from reserves
TEHRAN: Iran aims to reduce the dollars and euros in its foreign currency reserves, first Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said on Monday. “We are after withdrawing the dollar and euro from the foreign exchange basket and replacing them with the [Iranian] rial or the currency of any other country that would cooperate with us,” he said at an Education Ministry conference. “Since we regard these currencies as untouchable, we will not be selling our oil in dollars or euros,” Rahimi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. Tehran does not disclose the size of its reserves or the proportions of the currencies in it. For several years its stated policy has been to move away from the dollar. – Reuters
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=118019#axzz0w9fBsWQi
Iran ready for fuel swap talks
Salehi: He went on to say the meeting with the Vienna group — the US, Russia, France, and the IAEA — would likely take place within the next two weeks and could become a “prelude to building mutual trust.”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138018§ionid=351020104
Iran ready for talks with Washington, says Khamenei aide
"While we do not have any faith in the American government… Iran is ready for talks on its nuclear programme," Ali Akbar Velayati told reporters at a news conference in the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100809/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearsyriausdiplomacy
Push for confrontation with Iran (sometimes) bears a Jewish stamp, Philip Weiss
This is at the Council for the National Interest blog under the heading, "Full-page ad in New York Times in April demonstrates who is pushing for war against Iran." I wish I could say it’s a canard. But I can’t. Couldn’t they have gotten some non-Jewish groups aboard? Oh and yes the organizers say they’re actuated by fears of climate change, but why the Netanyahu quote and the emphasis on missiles?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/push-for-confrontation-with-iran-sometimes-bears-a-jewish-stamp.html
Neocons are happy with Obama’s Iran briefing, Philip Weiss
I dropped the ball on this. Last week Obama held a special briefing/seduction on Iran with a few influential columnists, among them Jeffrey Goldberg, in which he was typically vague, but offered hawkish hints, no further diplomacy, nothing off the table.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/neocons-are-happy-with-obamas-iran-briefing.html
U.S. and Other World News
George Galloway slams West for ‘double standards’
Galloway said Iran has been loyal to international regulations, while Israel is not a NPT signatory, having hundreds of missiles. He said despite its many violations of international law, Israel is not subject to sanctions. He called the UN Security Council’s sanctions against Iran “unjust and illogical.”
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/043212b2-75c7-4119-bb71-a05558b83fd3.aspx
Khadr ‘torture’ confession upheld
The confessions of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen charged with terrorism, can be used as evidence in his trial, even though they may have been obtained through torture, a US military judge has ruled. Lawyers for Khadr claimed statements to military interrogators were illegally obtained through torture and asked a US war crimes court to throw them out. That request was denied on Monday by a military judge at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/201089205529630903.html
Afghan ‘human cost’ soars
The number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan has reportedly soared to 31 per cent in the first six months of this year. More than 1,200 Afghans were killed and almost 2,000 injured in the first six months of the year, according to the latest United Nations Assistance Mission report. "The human cost of this conflict is unfortunately rising," Staffan De Mistura, the UN special envoy in Afghanistan said while releasing the report. Taliban and other anti-government elements were held responsible to more than three quarters of all civilian casualties, while 12 per cent were attributed to pro-government forces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_pbPLaW_-0&feature=youtube_gdata
Detective who found weapons expert David Kelly’s body raises questions over his death
The mystery surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly deepened yesterday after the detective who found his body claimed he didn’t see ‘much blood’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1301210/Detective-Dr-David-Kellys-body-raises-questions-death.html
Inside Story – Guantanamo: Obama’s promise
The first trial of a Guantanamo detainee under the Obama administration is about to get under way. One has already pleaded guilty. But Barack Obama, the US president, promised to close Guantanamo detention. What’s the legality of the so-called military commissions? And who is really calling the shots here, the president,or the Pentagon?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUK-mcn73Ws&feature=youtube_gdata
NY bus ad showing mosque, burning Twin Towers OK’d
After being sued by organization opposing construction of mosque near ground zero, Metropolitan Transportation Authority accepts ad.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933041,00.html
Nagasaki remembers atomic victims
Thousands of people gathered in the Japanese city of Nagasaki on Monday to mark 65 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city during the Second World War. In 1945, the nuclear bomb hit Nagasaki three days after Japan’s city of Hiroshima was struck by another US atomic bomb. Collectively, they killed about 80,000 people. The death toll from the bombings is updated each year by the Japanese government, as residents continue to suffer from their after-effects, including detrimental levels of radiation. After a minute’s silence to honour the dead, Japan’s prime minister Naoto Kan, who attended the gathering, spoke of the country’s self-imposed ban on the possession and production of nuclear arms. Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay reports. [August 9, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6Zwcfv3l4&feature=youtube_gdata
Syrian economy to exceed that of Lebanon, Jordan by 2015 – official
BEIRUT: Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdullah al-Dardari said that the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of Syria is expected to double that of Lebanon and Jordan by 2015, reported the Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Monday. “It will get closer to the Israeli GDP per capita and Syria’s economy will become the strongest in the Middle East region, whereby the per-capita share will reach $3,000 of GDP yearly,” he said while participating in a conference in Halab. He added that the strategy adopted was able to face the big deficit in the balance of payments, and noted that the government was planning to focus on human development, which guarantees an economic growth that can help the impoverished in the country.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=118027#axzz0w9ahW47Y
