And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Lieberman: Settlement building should restart in September
No reason why construction should not resume in major West Bank settlements when 10-month freeze ends on September 26, foreign minister says.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lieberman-settlement-building-should-restart-in-september-1.310143?localLinksEnabled=false
Likud hawks convene against freeze
While Netanyahu is abroad, his party’s rightist camp launch campaign against continuation of West Bank settlement building moratorium.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943386,00.html
Israeli settlers warn PM could face ‘day of judgment’ (AFP)
AFP – Israeli settlers warned on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face his "day of judgment" if he caves in to pressure to further limit settlement construction in the West Bank.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100825/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianstalkssettler
Report: Settlers plan rallies to ensure construction resumes
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The settler regional council has begun planning a large rally celebrating the end of the Israeli government’s settlement building moratorium on 26 September, Israeli media reported Wednesday. According to Israeli daily Ma’ariv, several Likud party members were expected to attend what has been coined a "bulldozer event," after which construction on homes and private structures will begin immediately.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310686
Education Ministry approves new private school in West Bank settlement
Earlier this year, controversy erupted after a West Bank girls’ school allowed separate classes to be held for Ashkenazi and Sephardi students.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/education-ministry-approves-new-private-school-in-west-bank-settlement-1.310181?localLinksEnabled=false
Palestinians vow to rebuild demolished mosques
The Israeli Army said it demolished the mosques under the pretext that they were built in the area C and without the necessary licences being obtained.
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/palestinians-vow-to-rebuild-demolished-mosques-1.672713
Izbet Tabib under threat
In the small village of Ezbet at Tabib near Qalqiliya in the north of the West Bank, 27 of the 55 houses have received eviction orders from Israeli authorities. Located in Area C (following the Oslo Accords making it Israeli civilian and militarily controlled), the village has an extremely hard time getting building permits. Furthermore as it is situated near both the annexation wall and several illegal settlements, villagers experiences daily harassment and constant tension.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/08/13996/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Children’s group concerned about house demolitions
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Since the beginning of 2010, there has been a sharp increase in house demolitions in Area C, Defense for Children – Palestine said in a report expressing concern about the effects such actions have on children. Displacement has an acute negative psychological impact on children, the group said in a statement issued Saturday. It called on Israel to "cease these demolitions and to respect the rights of Palestinian children to an adequate standard of living."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310365
Jordan Valley Demolitions: a History of Ongoing Silent Deportation
Ahmad Jaradat & Maria Chiara Rioli- Alternative Information Center – Israel has recently recommenced a policy of demolishing houses and even entire villages in the northern valleys of West Bank. In the beginning of August, Israeli bulldozers came in the morning and demolished 23 small houses, structures and shacks in the Bedouin village of al-Farsiya.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8695&Itemid=63
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
EU says convicted Bilin man ‘human rights defender’
Following conviction of Abdallah Abu Rahmah on charges of organizing demonstrations against West Bank security wall, European Union’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton issues statement saying ‘illegal’ barrier built on ‘Palestinian land’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943847,00.html
Ashton ‘concerned’ by anti-wall leader’s conviction
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — EU foreign affairs and security chief Catherine Ashton said Tuesday she was concerned by the conviction of a Palestinian anti-wall campaign leader by an Israeli military court on charges of incitement and organizing demonstrations. "The EU considers Abdallah Abu Rahmah to be a Human Rights Defender committed to non violent protest against the route of the Israeli separation barrier through his West Bank village of Bil’in," Ashton said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310523
Israel proscribes Free Speech: Anti-Wall activist sentenced
August 25th, 2010– After more than thirty hearings, on Tuesday the Israeli military court convicted Palestinian human rights defender Abdullah Abu Rahma of participating, organizing and incitement at Bil’in’s protests.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2353.shtml
Criminalizing peaceful protest: Act up for Abdallah Abu Rahmah
Help us send the message that Abdallah Abu Rahmah and the other prisoners of the popular struggle must be protected. Abu Rahmah did not find himself behind bars because he is a dangerous man. Abdallah, who is amongst the leaders of the Palestinian village of Bil’in, is viewed as a threat for his work in the five-year unarmed struggle to save the village’s land from Israel’s wall and expanding settlements. As a member of the Popular Committee and its coordinator since it was formed in 2004, Abdallah has represented the village of Bil’in around the world. In June 2009, he attended the village’s precedent-setting legal case in Montreal against two Canadian companies illegally building settlements on Bil’in’s land; in December of 2008, he participated in a speaking tour in France, and on 10 December 2008, exactly a year before his arrest, Abdallah received the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal for Outstanding Service in the Realization of Basic Human Rights, awarded by the International League for Human Rights in Berlin.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/08/14001/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Protester Arrested In Chicago While Challenging Israeli Segregation
In a demonstration organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago on 23 August, more than two dozen activists converged on downtown Millennium Park to call on city leaders to sever ties with Israel and drop Petach Tikva, Israel from the Chicago Sister Cities program. During the annual Chicago Sister Cities’ International Festival, protesters rallied outside — and later, inside — the venue. One activist was arrested and released later that day.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59326
Comprehensive list of items to boycott
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/
Global boycott movement claims victories, arrests
Palestinians and solidarity activists claimed a major victory as the Norwegian government divested from two Israeli companies involved in settlement construction. Meanwhile, a Chicago activist was arrested days after charges were dropped against UK activists arrested during a boycott action.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11485.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Norwegian gov’t pension fund excludes more Israeli companies
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) has divested from two Israeli companies, Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus, over their involvement in construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11484.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Israeli ships not welcome in Vancouver
Vancouver – Locally-based activists, called out by the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Coalition (BIAC), are mounting a picket line at the Port of Vancouver’s Delta Port facility at Roberts Bank, south of Vancouver, as part of a mounting international campaign to put pressure on the government of Israel. The Israeli ship Djibouti, owned by Zim, one of the ten largest shipping companies in the world, is scheduled to land at Delta Port at 7:00 a.m. this morning.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7822
Viva Palestina prepares for next Gaza convoy
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — British MP George Galloway’s charity Viva Palestina will send "the largest convoy to date" to Gaza with aid on 18 September, the group said Tuesday. The land convoy, named the Viva Palestina Global Lifeline To Gaza, will travel through Europe and the Middle East expecting to arrive in Gaza in early October. Two other convoys from Doha and Morocco will also join the group, organizers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310349
Waging Peace from Afar: U.S. Movement Uses Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions Against Israeli Occupation
Phyllis Bennis, a member of our steering committee and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, gives a compelling overview of the grassroots movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), its origin and present form, and prospects for redirecting US policy away from a foreign military buildup that is wasteful, harmful and illegal. Followed by critical reader comments.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/waging-peace-from-afar-us-movement-uses.html
The BDS Movement: Now with Plasma TV’s
Sue Fisckoff writes in the JTA about the off season preparations of Team Israel, aka Hillel, the Jewish student organization. The article highlights the very real panic the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement has caused and its automatic equation with anti-Semitism in the minds of some.
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2010/08/24/the-bds-movement-now-with-plasma-tvs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+%28MuzzleWatch%29
On Local Boycott and Deception; Is the PA sincere in calling for boycott of ‘settlements’ products?, Khalil Nakhleh
Like many thousands of Palestinians in Ramallah, I feel utterly confused by the dishonesty of being railroaded concerning local boycott of ‘settlements’ products. Because we—my wife and I—are committed to the principle and act of boycott, as a means of resistance, I decided to clarify the primary issues involved, in order to minimize, as much as possible, daily contradictions. I embarked on sorting out, systematically, methodically and with clarity, related major issues.
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16221
Waging Peace from Afar: Divestment and Israeli Occupation
A growing grassroots movement is using the techniques of the anti-apartheid movement to challenge U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/waging-peace-from-afar-divestment-and-israeli-occupation
BUST ELBIT: Stop bankrolling Israeli wars and ghettos
The call to divest from Elbit Systems Ltd. has become a key element of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement aimed at ending Israeli occupation, colonialism and apartheid against the Palestinian people. One and a half years after Stop the Wall Campaign initiated campaigning efforts within the framework of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) to pressure international investors and public authorities across the world to divest from the Israeli corporation, victories for the Bust Elbit campaign are beginning to mount rapidly. The Bust Elbit campaign is part of the wider BDS efforts which seek to hold Israel and its supporters accountable by pressuring Israel on all fronts – politically, culturally, and economically.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2352.shtml
Greece: A role in Middle East peace or in Israeli wars?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right to describe his visit this Monday to Greece as of ‘historic importance’. Just like the visit of his Greek counterpart to Israel in July this year, Netanyahu’s visit was the first ever official visit at this level. Perhaps more significantly, this apparent strengthening of ties comes at a time when foreign ministries all over the world are reconsidering, even downgrading, their relationship with Israel.
http://stopthewall.org/analysisandfeatures/2349.shtml
Israel’s Arab Helpers
The PA Police Attack Leftists Rally In Ramallah
Ramallah – PNN – the Palestinian police suppressed on Wednesday a rally organized by leftists groups in the central West Bank city of Ramallah to protest the direct talks slated for next month. Leftists groups were organizing a press conference after the march that was attacked by the police in downtown Ramallah. During the attack police officers attack three journalists working for WATAN local TV and took their taps and cameras. Rowhi Maluh, Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told PNN that his group and other leftists groups wanted to show their rejection to the new round of Palestinian-Israeli direct talks hosted by Washington slated for the 1st and 2nd of September.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8697
Hamas: PA forces detain 60 party members
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas said Tuesday that Palestinian Authority security services recently detained 60 party affiliates in the West Bank. Ismail Al-Ashqar, a member of the Legislative Council, said that the PA’s arrest campaign "comes in the context of a religious war being waged against Islam in the West Bank."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310406
Hamas lawmaker slams PA arrest campaign
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The parliament speaker and Hamas leader Ahmad Bahar on Tuesday condemned the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority’s recent escalation against Hamas officials. PA security services recently detained 60 party affiliates in the West Bank, Hamas said Tuesday. Ismail Al-Ashqar, a member of the Legislative Council, said that the PA’s arrest campaign "comes in the context of a religious war being waged against Islam in the West Bank."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310448
Hamas: The new arrest campaign in W. Bank a requirement for Washington talks
Hamas slammed the PA’s security militias for kidnapping dozens of its cadres and senior officials in the West Bank, considering this campaign an urgent requirement for the peace talks in Washington.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian/Restriction of Movement/Human Rights/Racism
Israel erects military checkpoints in Hebron, Bethlehem
Hebron, August 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) erected today military checkpoints at the north of Hebron city, in the West Bank. Local sources said that Israeli soldiers stopped citizens’ cars for hours. They searched them carefully and verified their ID cards. In addition to, IOF raided Bait Omer and Yonis area in Hebron, the sources added. In Bethlehem, IOF erected a military checkpoint at the entrance of Al-Jba village where they stopped the citizens for hours. Israel erects more than 500 military checkpoints in the West Bank where they used to stop the citizens and verify their ID cars searching for what they call “wanted Palestinians”.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6847:israel-erects-military-checkpoints-in-hebron-bethlehem&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Gaza homeless charge Hamas broke its pledge
GAZA CITY — Thousands of homeless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have begun to resist the Hamas regime. Palestinian sources said homeless Gazan families have sought to seize property and buildings in an attempt to return to permanent dwellings. They said the families have blamed Hamas for failing to re-settle the families made homeless by the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip in January 2009. "It’s been nearly two years and Hamas has done very little, although it received lots of money," a Palestinian source familiar with the Hamas government said.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/me_hamas0814_08_24.asp
Agreement could reverse Gaza fuel crisis
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced plans Tuesday to introduce increased amounts of fuel into the Gaza Strip. After the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company transferred $2 million to the account of the Ramallah-based power authority, the supplier company agreed to transfer 320,000 liters of diesel per day for five days starting Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310415
Supporting blood banking in the Gaza Strip
Merlin is supporting blood banking services in the Gaza Strip, helping bring vital services to the conflict-affected population.As a result of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, blood banks play a hugely important role in the area. The blockade of Gaza has severely hampered these services, which lack qualified health workers, supplies, equipment and even regular electricity. To support the blood bank service, Merlin is providing equipment, training and emergency planning.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218926/5ae46b1cd0d94ba1aefca6207ad5a6a5.htm
"Like living in a big factory" in Gaza
"Uff, uff, uff, you can never get time to rest or sleep quietly and you can’t even work. Wherever you are, you hear sound of power generators which makes it seem we are all living in a big factory," Ahmad al-Bar explained, expressing the frustration of many Palestinians in Gaza at the electricity crisis there, now going on three years.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11481.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Gaza Mall Seeks to Make Statement of Resolve, Ethan Bronner
The Gaza Mall may seek to evoke such places, but it is not one of them. At 1,000 square meters, or a quarter of an acre, it is the size of a suburban residential lot in the United States and would fit in its entirety into a corner of any J. C. Penney. The stairs do not move. The piped-in music is Islamic. There are no appliances or electronics for sale, no movie screens, and exactly one fried-food restaurant. Its first floor is almost entirely taken up by a supermarket, a rarity in Gaza.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/middleeast/23gaza.html?_r=2
Violence/Provocations
Israeli army escorts 500 Jewish Israelis into controversial settlement near Nablus
500 Israeli citizens, escorted by dozens of military vehicles, drove by bus deep into the West Bank on Wednesday in a provocative visit to a West Bank settlement. The settlement has been the home of a number of violent attackers of local Palestinians, and many incidents of violence originated from the settlement.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59325
Petition: Probe troops who killed Palestinians
Yesh Din human rights group asks High Court to launch criminal investigation into incident described by army as thwarted terror attack. Two cousins shot and killed in incident after allegedly attacking soldiers with broken bottle, pitchfork.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943772,00.html
Detainees
Islamic Jihad: Gaza forces raid party office, detain 4
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Islamic Jihad accused Gaza internal security forces of detaining four affiliates on Wednesday after breaking into one of the movement’s offices in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, an official said. The Islamic Jihad official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Gaza forces beat the party’s supporters before detaining them. Forces confiscated several documents and ransacked the office, the official added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310611
Palestinian prisoners "tortured" during Ramadan
The Israeli prison service "deliberately tortures" Palestinian prisoners during the fasting month of Ramadan, it has been claimed. Reports from "Free", the Centre for the Study of Prisoners and Human Rights, describe prisoners in transit being forced to break their fast while handcuffed so tightly that some were unable to move properly. The accusations have been made against the Alnhacon Unit responsible for transporting prisoners between prisons. According to the Director of the Centre, Fouad Khuffash, the Alnhacon Unit is known for its harsh treatment of prisoners and the wide latitude it is given to mistreat them, often for the most trivial of reasons.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/1442-palestinian-prisoners-qtorturedq-during-ramadan
Political/Flotilla Developments
Hamas: Talks with Israel fatal
Exiled Hamas leader says negotiations with Israel are a blow to Palestinian cause.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010824202513336792.html
Hamas: Direct Israeli-Palestinian talks illegitimate, coerced by U.S.
Hamas politburo chief urges Egypt’s Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah not to take part in Washington-backed peace negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-direct-israeli-palestinian-talks-illegitimate-coerced-by-u-s-1.310013?localLinksEnabled=false
Hamas urges Jordan, Egypt to boycott Mideast talks launch (AFP)
AFP – Exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal urged the Egyptian and Jordanian leaders on Tuesday to boycott the resumption early next month of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks to be hosted by Washington.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100824/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianstalkshamas
Gaza will be the ghost at Mideast talks banquet (Reuters)
Reuters – It’s the proverbial elephant in the room, the ghost at the banquet, the specter no one wants to acknowledge.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100825/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel
U.S. warns Israel, Palestinians: Refrain from harming peace talks
Senior American official says U.S. views Israeli construction in West Bank settlements as illegitimate.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-warns-israel-palestinians-refrain-from-harming-peace-talks-1.310001?localLinksEnabled=false
US official: We want full peace deal in 1 year
Washington expects Israel, Palestinians to use timeframe given for negotiations to overcome difficulties, strike comprehensive peace, US official tells reports in Jerusalem. America won’t accept partial deal, he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943318,00.html
Israeli FM says peace deal in one year unlikely (AFP)
AFP – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday that renewed peace talks with the Palestinians were unlikely to get anywhere within the one-year time frame set by the United States.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100825/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianstalkslieberman
Barak says peace talks will need ‘brave decisions’ (AFP)
AFP – Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that Israel’s direct peace talks with the Palestinians due to resume in Washington on September 2 will require concessions from both sides.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100824/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianstalksbarak
Turkey sees 90% decline in Israeli tourism
Israelis have stayed away in droves ever since the Gaza flotilla incident.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/travel/turkey-sees-90-decline-in-israeli-tourism-1.310060?localLinksEnabled=false
Other News
Gaza police say weapons found in PA officer’s home
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza intelligence forces reportedly confiscated ammunition and weapons from the home of a Palestinian Authority officer in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. Jabaliya police chief Sa’eed Sha’aban said the intelligence department received information that the PA officer, identified only by the initials FSH, was storing weapons and ammunition in his home.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310599
Gaza Surf Club gets delivery of 23 new surfboards
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 August, 2010 : – – U.S.-Based non-profit Explore Corps and Surfing 4 Peace successfully delivered 23 surfboards to the members of the Gaza Surf Club, a community-based surfing project in the Gaza Strip. Since 2008, Explore Corps and the Surfing 4 Peace community have negotiated with the Israeli Border Authority for permission to enter the boards into Gaza.
http://www.globalsurfnews.com/news.asp?Id_news=48311
Focus U.S.A. / A quest to coax Israel out of the nuclear closet
Acclaimed researcher Avner Cohen says Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity is past its sell-by date.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/focus-u-s-a-a-quest-to-coax-israel-out-of-the-nuclear-closet-1.310136?localLinksEnabled=false
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Riz Khan – Gideon Levy on Middle East peace
The controversial Israeli columnist and author discusses the ‘peace talks’ that are set to resume between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBnlMVYQ4&feature=youtube_gdata
Akiva Eldar / Both peace and war pose massive challenges for new IDF chief
The next IDF chief will have to deal with the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian talks, overseeing either a historic agreement – or the next war.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/akiva-eldar-both-peace-and-war-pose-massive-challenges-for-new-idf-chief-1.309866?localLinksEnabled=false
Iraq pullout makes Israeli-Palestinian peace crucial for U.S.
Timing is crucial as Obama convenes as many Arab leaders as he possibly can and gambles on a diplomatic breakthrough.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/iraq-pullout-makes-israeli-palestinian-peace-crucial-for-u-s-1.310038
The Light Rail Racist? Of Course it is, Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
My two kids, especially my son, just love catching a glimpse of the shiny new trains being tested these days in Jerusalem. On our way to Ramallah, if you are "lucky" you can see the trains on a test drive along the main road, moving up to the beginning part of Shufat. In any other country, this would be a wonderful development – a necessary and efficient public service for all. However, this is not any other country, this is Israel and occupied Jerusalem, and my kids’ childlike enthusiasm would be short lived if they understood the racist ramifications of Jerusalem’s light rail.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22495&CategoryId=13
Farid Marjai, "Photos, Representation, and the ‘Banality of Oppression’"
Pictures of former Israeli soldier Eden Abargil posing in front of blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian prisoners have caused some controversies in the media. Abargil did not think she had done anything wrong by posting her photos to her Facebook site; she was genuinely surprised by the "fuss" over the photos. Clearly her indifference is a cultural product of military rule over occupied territories, the colonial mentality that arises from subjugation of a displaced and dispossessed people. It is the de-humanization of the victims of colonial force. Yishai Menuchim of the Israeli Committee Against Torture said, "this reflects an attitude which has become the norm and consists in treating the Palestinians like objects, not human beings." Abargil’s Facebook photos represent the banality of oppression. The transformation of oppressed into oppressor is nothing new in history, so why do we find her Facebook photos so disturbing? The same question struck me even more forcefully when I first saw Abu Ghraib pictures of women guards posing with Iraqi prisoner victims, in porno-sadistic settings used as a mechanism of domination (putting leashes on naked men prisoners and so forth).
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/marjai240810.html
A People That Shall Dwell Alone – Israel’s Attack On The Gaza Flotilla
At approximately 4am on May 31st 2010, a group of vessels attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza were attacked by the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of the occupied Palestinian territories. Nine civilians aboard the largest vessel, the Mavi Marmara, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers and dozens more were wounded. The Israeli government claimed it was exercising its right to self defence. Flotilla members, and much of the international community, saw it as an act of piracy and murder on the high seas that has exposed deep flaws in the Israeli mentality and further alienated it from the rest of the world.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/08/25/a-people-that-shall-dwell-alone-israels-attack-on-the-gaza-flotilla/
Obama Exploits US Strength, Abbas’s Weakness, James Gundun – Washington, D.C.
You may be surprised to know that direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have commenced. PA President Mahmoud Abbas was. Multiple sources told reporters Monday that Abbas became “enraged” after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly announced an invitation for direct talks without informing him beforehand. Abbas received four calls from the State Department after rumor spread that he would decline, ultimately talking him into agreement.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16220
Where these negotiations could be useful – Yossi Alpher
The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that is projected for 2 September in Washington serves a number of useful purposes. Sadly, none of them is directly connected to the effort to "resolve all final status issues" trumpeted last Friday in statements by the Quartet and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=310395
Why does this peace process not excite?, Rami G. Khouri
It is hard to be excited or optimistic about the prospects for resumed direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations next week, because all the important factors comprising the diplomatic process are either politically anemic or totally absent.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=118567
Four Reasons Why Americans Should Oppose Zionism
Zionism, by virtue of its exclusionary outlook and ethnocentric model of citizenship, is on its own a purveyor of fundamental violence.
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/08/23/four-reasons-why-americans-should-oppose-zionism/
Yale conference on anti-Semitism targets Palestinian identity, ’self-hating’ Jews, and anyone who criticizes Israel, Philip Weiss
This is disturbing. A Yale University center that purports to study anti-Semitism is holding a three-day conference on "the crisis" of global anti-Semitism (ending tomorrow) that is dedicated to the idea that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic. The flotilla raid, anti-Semitic. Helen Thomas, anti-Semitic. The very idea of Palestinian identity, anti-Semitic.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/yale-conference-on-anti-semitism-targets-palestinian-identity-self-hating-jews-and-anyone-who-criticizes-israel.html
Arab-American candidate for California state assembly claims he’s Swedish
It’s too bad the vast majority of Arab-Americans will never hear about this story or the characters involved. It unfolds against the backdrop of a state Assembly race in central Orange County, California. The race for the 68th assembly district pits Costa Mesa Republican Mayor Allan Mansoor against Democratic candidate Phu Nguyen. Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American, but Mansoor’s background is not so clear cut and has apparently been causing him some personal anguish. The district includes the city of Anaheim, home of the Disneyland resort and adventure Park, and the Arab-Americans involved in this local squabble can be escapees straight out of Disneyland’s popular Fantasyland attractions. The Arab-American candidate claims to be Swedish while one of his local detractors is another Arab-American who used to claim to be Greek, which is an often believable, and always less ambitious metamorphosis.
http://ikhras.com/2010/08/arab-american-candidate-for-california-state-assembly-claims-he%e2%80%99s-swedish/
Lebanon
Nasrallah: Lebanon must build nuclear reactor
Hezbollah head says reactor similar to Iran’s Bushehr solution to country’s electricity crisis.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943417,00.html
Iran prepared to arm Lebanon ‘if it seeks military assistance’
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his Iranian-backed group could help secure aid for Lebanon’s poorly equipped army.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iran-prepared-to-arm-lebanon-if-it-seeks-military-assistance-1.310188?localLinksEnabled=false
Hezbollah: Iran can equip Lebanese army (AP)
AP – The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group says authorities should formally ask Iran to help equip the country’s military.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100824/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_hezbollah_army
Clashes erupt in Lebanon’s capital
Two people killed in "personal fight" between supporters of different political factions.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/08/2010824181740529220.html
Senior Hezbollah member killed in Beirut clashes (Reuters)
Reuters – Two Lebanese men, including a senior member of Hezbollah, were killed in Beirut on Tuesday in clashes between supporters of the Shi’ite militant group and a Sunni faction, security sources said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100824/wl_nm/us_lebanon_clash
Hezbollah data on Hariri murder ‘incomplete’: UN (AFP)
AFP – The UN tribunal probing the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri said on Tuesday evidence Hezbollah provided allegedly implicating Israel was incomplete and called for the remaining material to be submitted "without delay."
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100824/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonuntribunalhezbollahisrael
Police grill new suspected ‘spy’ at Telecom Ministry
BEIRUT: Lebanese police probing an Israeli spy ring are quizzing an employee of the Telecommunications Ministry, more than two weeks after another employee was charged with spying for Mossad, a security source said Tuesday. “An employee at the Telecommunications Ministry is currently under interrogation by the police intelligence unit on suspicion of spying for Israel,” the source told AFP.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=118586#axzz0xZc5rNRW
Ahmadinejad to visit Lebanon on September 11-12 – reports
BEIRUT: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will pay a two-day visit to Lebanon on September 11-12, As-Safir newspaper said on Tuesday. As-Safir said Ahmadinejad is expected to meet Lebanon’s top officials and an array of Lebanese political figures.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=118589
Sayyed Nasrallah: Our Freedom, Sovereignty Depend On Our Elements of Power
24/08/2010 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed freedom and sovereignty can only be achieved if Lebanon possessed the elements of power. “In this country, we face may difficulties, both internal and external, and our responsibility is to surmount the difficulties, not to fear them or to surrender to them. No one can elude this responsibility,” Sayyed Nasrallah said Tuesday during an iftar banquet organized by the Islamic Resistance Support Organization in Beirut. The Hezbollah S.G. addressed the urging issue of arming the Lebanese army, which is also agreed upon by the different parties in Lebanon, particularly after the Odaisse incident in south Lebanon last month, in which two Lebanese army soldiers and a reporter were martyred and an Israeli colonel was killed. “What happened in Odaisse revealed that the Americans and the weapons they have been giving to our army are not meant to fight Israel but for internal purposes they call ‘fighting terrorism.’ Have the weapons grants stopped or not? some Congress members even demanded an inquiry to learn whether these weapons used by the Lebanese army against the Israeli army were American weapons or not!”
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=151574&language=en
Mired in poverty: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon see little hope in new law
Some employment rights have been granted to Palestinian refugees, but they will still be unable to work in many key professions, no matter what their qualifications
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/24/palestinian-refugees-lebanon-rights
Iraq
41 killed in string of attacks across Iraq: officials (AFP)
AFP – At least 41 people were killed and almost 200 others wounded in a series of apparently coordinated car bombings and other attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, security officials told AFP.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100825/ts_afp/iraqunresttoll
Tuesday: 21 Iraqis Killed, 52 Iraqis Wounded
At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 52 more were wounded in various attacks across the country. The U.S. military said the number of U.S. troops in Iraq now numbers around 49,700 and will stay that way until next year’s actual withdrawal. This completes the removal of "combat troops" from the country.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/08/24/tuesday-21-iraqis-killed-52-iraqis-wounded/
Iraq unrest kills six (AFP)
AFP – A suicide bomber killed two policemen and a civilian at a checkpoint in central Iraq on Tuesday, while three other people died from violence elsewhere in the country, security officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100824/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest
Seven workers killed in Iraq oil refinery raid
Seven employees of the Baiji oil refinery were shot dead and some 750 million dinars (640,000 dollars) in salary payments were stolen from them, Iraqi media reported Tuesday.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1579680.php/Seven-workers-killed-in-Iraq-oil-refinery-raid
Two Iraq judges killed in violence claimed by Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda says avenging death sentences being handed down to Sunnis in Shiite prisons.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=40825
Muqtada al-Sadr mulls relocating to Beirut – report
BEIRUT: Prominent Iraqi cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr is considering moving to Beirut to escape Iranian pressures to endorse a second-term for incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, pan Arab-daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat has reported in the last few days. Iraqi sources told the Saudi-owned daily that Sadr has refused all offers and suggestions by Iranian officials to accept a second term for Maliki, adding that Sadr was “seriously considering moving to Lebanon and settling in Beirut.”
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=118574#axzz0xZcAeHez
A Kurdish Village Governed by None
In a village run by Kurdish rebels, you see a life different from elsewhere in Iraq.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e391443174491e3c91b145d6d6a8ee6d
US trains Iraqi Police
As U.S. forces draw down from Iraq, the nation’s security will be in the hands of its homegrown forces. But are the Iraqi police competent enough to handle the multiple security challenges? The U.S state department is spending millions of dollars helping them prepare. Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad’s Police training college.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Nuasv3CIg&feature=youtube_gdata
Obama to make major Iraq speech on Aug 31: W.House (Reuters)
Reuters – President Barack Obama will make a major address on Iraq on August 31, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100824/pl_nm/us_usa_iraq_obama
White House: Troop cut ‘remarkable achievement’ (AP)
AP – The U.S. troop drawdown in Iraq is a "truly remarkable achievement" and demonstrates President Barack Obama’s commitment to responsibly ending the drawn-out conflict, the White House said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100824/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq
Power shortages in Iraq tell story of a ruined country, a failed superpower
One best signal of how ruinous the U.S. occupation of Iraq has been is the story of electricity. The same signal can be used to assess the ruinous policies and practices of the political factions the U.S. has helped to rule the country. Practically, there is little or no electricity in Iraq while prior to 2003 major cities used to enjoy minimum 12 hours of non-interrupted supplies from the national grid. Conditions were supposed to have improved. The former regime was under punitive U.N. trade sanctions; nonetheless, its electricity commission was on its way to reduce outages to the minimum.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-08-25\kurd.htm
Beirut in Baghdad: Is the ‘Lebanonization’ of Iraq complete?
Four years after a flurry of predictions about the "Lebanonization" of Iraq, they may be coming true. "Lebanonization" was a derogatory term, a hint at imminent civil war, political deadlock, Iran’s hand in local militias and on many domestic levers. The columns and commentary on Iraq’s "Lebanonization" issued a collective "uh oh," warning the state would fall apart like Lebanon did from 1975-1991.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/08/24/beirut_in_baghdad_is_the_lebanonization_of_iraq_complete
Iran
Kuwait assured by Iran, Russia on Bushehr plant: FM
KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Kuwait has received assurances from Iran and Russia that technology used in Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor is of high level and that its safety is ensured, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Salem al-Sabah said. Iran and Russia started on Saturday to load fuel rods to the reactor at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/25/c_13462432.htm
Bushehr: Iran’s strike against sanctions
Iran’s uploading of nuclear fuel at the much-delayed Bushehr power plant is tantamount to a torpedo effect on the international sanctions regime. Achieving the goals of getting the plant operational after a 12-year delay and replenishing fuel for a Tehran reactor would represent nothing short of milestones and warrant fresh thinking on the thorny subject of dialogue with Washington. – Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Aug 23, ’10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LH24Ak04.html
Afghan base expansion aimed at Iran?
One of the airbases is situated just north of the Afghan capital Kabul, while another airfield and a US marine base is to be set up in the southern province of Helmand.
http://presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=139876§ionid=351020403
Jailed Iranian sues Nokia Siemens
An Iranian journalist imprisoned since 2009 is suing telecommunications giant Nokia Siemens in the United States. Isa Saharkhiz says the company sold surveillance equipment to the Iranian government , and that’s what led to his capture. Tom Ackerman reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF_V53v0U10&feature=youtube_gdata
Goldberg’s Bogus ‘Ticking Clock’ on Iran, Tony Karon
America’s march to a disastrous war in Iraq began in the media, where an unprovoked U.S. invasion of an Arab country was introduced as a legitimate policy option, then debated as a prudent and necessary one. Now, a similarly flawed media conversation on Iran is gaining momentum. Last month, TIME’s Joe Klein warned that Obama administration sources had told him bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities was “back on the table.” In an interview with CNN, former CIA director Admiral Mike Hayden next spoke of an “inexorable” dynamic toward confrontation, claiming that bombing was a more viable option for the Obama administration than it had been for George W. Bush. The pièce de résistance in the most recent drum roll of bomb-Iran alerts, however, came from Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic Monthly. A journalist influential in U.S. pro-Israeli circles, he also has access to Israel’s corridors of power. Because sanctions were unlikely to force Iran to back down on its uranium enrichment project, Goldberg invited readers to believe that there was a more than even chance Israel would launch a military strike on the country by next summer.
http://tonykaron.com/2010/08/24/goldbergs-bogus-ticking-clock-on-iran/
U.S. and Other World News
US Military ‘Overwhelmed’ by Mental Health Problems of Soldiers
About every fourth soldier here, where 48,000 troops and their families are based, has been in counseling during the past year, according to the service’s medical statistics. And the number of soldiers seeking help for combat stress, substance abuse, broken marriages or other emotional problems keeps increasing.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-08-23-1Aforthood23_CV_N.htm
Force-feedings At Guantánamo
The guards strap hunger striker detainees into the force-feeding chair at night.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/24/1788938/ramadan-at-guantanamo-bay-includes.html
US admits human rights shortcomings in UN report
Those areas include inhumane prison conditions, racial disparities in death penalty cases, and abuses in the immigration detention system.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jgMs44Zx6Cdg1sZrqNY_gFQrc8OQD9HPF6E80
Blackwater Pays To Avoid Punishment: State Department details Blackwater violations of U.S. laws
The alleged violations were spelled out in documents released Monday by the State Department as part of a $42 million settlement with Blackwater that will allow the company, now known as Xe Services LLC, to continue receiving U.S. government contracts.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/23/99561/state-department-details-blackwater.html
US Attack Kills 20 People In Pakistan
Four women and three children were also among the dead.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/23/AR2010082305107.html
Afghanistan: Occupation forces kill 8 civilians
The district chief said that about a dozen other people, “all of them civilians,” were injured in the raids, which he said had lasted for “hours”.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/14-nato-soldier-eight-civilians-killed-in-afghan-violence-zj-05
One killed as US troops fire shots to disperse Afghan protesters
NATO said about 300 people surrounded a patrol and attacked vehicles with rocks and iron bars outside the massive coalition air base at Bagram, in Parwan province.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9HPMPCO0
More Reasons Why Our Afghan Adventure is Misguided, Stephen M. Walt
If you’re looking for another realistic counter to the official optimism about Afghanistan, check out Christopher Layne’s op-ed from two days ago in the Chicago Tribune. In a handful of sharp, short paragraphs, Layne reminds us that 1) the "surge" in Iraq (the approach now being adapted to Afghanistan) didn’t work, 2) the current emphasis on counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare misdiagnoses the origins of our troubles in the Middle East and Central Asia, and 3) our current fascination with COIN "sets exactly the wrong strategic priorities for the United States."
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/08/24/another_realistic_view_of_afghanistan
Tony Blair’s new book ‘is like a love letter to George Bush
The former prime minister is wheeling out his wife Cherie and their four children to publicise the book, entitled A Journey, across the Atlantic.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1305264/Tony-Blairs-new-book-like-love-letter-George-Bush.html
The New Yorker: Billionaire Brothers Charles & David Koch Have Quietly Given More Than $100 Million to Right-Wing Causes
An article in the latest issue of The New Yorker Magazine by Jane Mayer profiles billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, two of the richest men in America who have quietly given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes. Mayer writes, "The [Koch] brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies–from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program–that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus."
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/25/the_new_yorker___billionaire
Tunisia is backtracking on women’s rights | Kamel Labidi
Tunisia’s historical commitment to women’s rights is being used by Ben Ali as a smokescreen for the persecution they now suffer. Tunisia’s adoption – 54 years ago this month – of the most protective women’s rights legislation in the Arab world is increasingly used by President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali as a veil to hide his declining human rights record.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/aug/25/tunisia-backtracking-womens-rights
Islam in America
Poll: Americans believe Islam no more prone to violence than other faiths
Non-partisan Pew Research Center poll finds, however, that overall view of Islam has worsened over the past five years.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/poll-americans-believe-islam-no-more-prone-to-violence-than-other-faiths-1.310032?localLinksEnabled=false
Republicans Twice As Likely To Voice Negative Views About Muslims (POLL)
WASHINGTON — Americans doubt that Islam is likelier than other faiths to encourage violence, but their overall view of the religion has worsened over the past five years, a poll said Tuesday. In a survey that underlined the complex views people have about Muslims, 51 percent agreed that a Muslim center should not be built near the former site of New York’s World Trade Center, compared to 34 percent who said it should be permitted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/republicans-muslims-poll_n_693142.html
Zaytuna College, First Muslim College In U.S., Opens In California
BERKELEY, Calif. (RNS) Faatimah Knight’s college decision came down to eight schools where she would have majored in English, or Zaytuna College, where she could study Islamic classical teachings in an environment that embraces all aspects of her Muslim faith. The Brooklyn native is part of the inaugural class of what Zaytuna’s founders hope will be the country’s first accredited, four-year Muslim liberal arts college — a flagship of higher learning with an Islamic identity yet open to all faiths. Knight, 18, chose Zaytuna, she said, because she wants to grow in her faith, learn more about the religion that inspired her parents to convert from Christianity and be able to defend Islam during a time of stepped-up suspicion. Four years of college, Knight said, "has to bring me more than book smarts."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/zaytuna-college-first-mus_1_n_693070.html
Disney Hijab Controversy: Muslim Hostess Suspended Without Pay
ANAHEIM (KTLA)– A Muslim woman who is fighting for the right to wear her religious scarf to her hostess job at Disneyland has been taken off the schedule. Disney officials say they stopped putting Imane Boudlal on the schedule during the ongoing issue. The hotel workers’ union claims that Boudlal, a restaurant hostess at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, was suspended without pay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/disney-hijab-controversy-_0_n_693362.html
Yellow Cab Will Stop Running Anti-Islam Ads
Earlier this summer, the leader of the group "Stop the Islamization of America" took out ads on 25 Chicago taxi cabs–and as of Tuesday, all of them will be removed. Pamela Geller, who has been dubbed the "Queen of Muslim Bashers" and leads the "Stop the Islamization of America" movement, claimed the ads were directed toward Muslim women wanting to leave Islam–but ended up offending both cab drivers and passengers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/yellow-cab-will-stop-runn_n_693375.html
Man Mistaken for Muslim Harassed at NY Anti-Mosque Rally
An African-American man who was mistakenly thought to be Muslim was harassed at an anti-mosque rally yesterday in New York City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpZ_VpBHBuA&feature=player_embedded
Chris Matthews Challenges Rick Lazio Over Mosque, Imam Ad (VIDEO)
Chris Matthews played hardball Tuesday with New York Republican Rick Lazio, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for governor. In a recent controversial ad, Lazio came out against the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero, calling the Imam behind the center a "terrorist sympathizer" who called American "an accessory to 9/11." Matthews challenged Lazio on the ad, saying it was an overtly political ad indicative of Lazio’s poor standing in the polls against his presumed opponent, Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. And he took Lazio to task for taking Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s comments out of context.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/chris-matthews-challenges_n_693869.html
The Mosque and the Muslim Vote, STEWART J. LAWRENCE
In recent weeks, Republicans have expressed surprisingly muted criticism of President Obama’s handling of the Ground Zero mosque controversy. Some GOP leaders – everyone from anti-Zionist Pat Buchanan to libertarian Grover Norquist – have gone so far as to warn the party that it would be a "mistake" to “overdo” their attacks on the current administration. It’s true, Obama did just hand the GOP a major unexpected “opening” on national security that he’d largely managed to close with his bellicose policies in Afghanistan. And there may not be much more Republicans can do to make the President look even more inept and indecisive than he already has thus far.
http://www.counterpunch.com/lawrence08252010.html
“If they build a mosque at ground zero, fly a plane into it”
While much the country is focused on whether or not the organizers of Park51 will change their minds and move or whether or not jihadis are in a tizzy over the debate, some real home-grown extremism has been cropping up, and not of the Islamic variety.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/08/if-they-build-a-mosque-at-ground-zero-someone-should-fly-a-plane-into-it.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
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