Europe

NOVANEWS By Ziad El-Hady Ziad El-Hady argues that although superficially Western societies are free, in reality people in the West are enslaved to debt through a relationship with financial institutions that “mirrors many of the attributes of an oppressive master-slave relationship: ownership, obedience, burden and severe punishment”. There is a call for “freedom” in the Middle East, both from citizens within its troubled borders and from people in the West. Although this call is well intentioned, it is remarkably simplistic. There is no doubt that political freedom in the Middle East is miserably limited. But are people in the West really as free as they think they are? The philosophy of freedom In a civilized society freedom is constrained by the imperative to do no harm to others. For e...

NOVANEWS Palestinian workers passing through checkpoints... The imprisonment and collective punishment inflicted on the civilian population in the overcrowded enclave of Gaza continues without let-up.   by Stuart Littlewood   Murder, stonewalling and strangulation For example, those whose children were killed or maimed by Israel’s murderous blitzkrieg 3 years ago (Operation Cast Lead), and whose homes were destroyed, have received no response to the criminal complaints submitted on their behalf by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Not only that. They are still subjected to air-strikes, shelling or sniper fire on an almost daily basis, and live in constant fear. 1,419 Palestinians were killed during Operation Cast Lead, 82 percent civilians. A further 5,300 were injured....

NOVANEWS Malmo Murder Scene How Soon We Forget   By Richard Cottrell   In the course of just six weeks, five people have been shot dead in execution-style murders in Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city.  Each seems to be an act of shooting carefully pre-selected targets, for which the police have so far produced no explanation beyond a vague suggestion of “gangland violence.” This explanation is scarcely convincing. Policemen are usually aware of the activities of criminals on their respective manors. Gun laws are tight in Sweden. That being so, the examination of spent cartridges, bullet wounds and so forth should point very quickly to the type of weapon used. Yet we hear nothing concerning this important ballistic evidence. It appears that in Malmo, the forces of law and orde...

Israel's foreign ministry denied that Israeli settlers were taking water resources from the West Bank  Donald Macintyre Thursday, 12 January 2012  The Palestinian presence in the largest part of the occupied West Bank – has been, "continuously undermined" by Israel in ways that are "closing the window" on a two-state solution, according to an internal EU report seen by The Independent.  The report, approved by top Brussels officials, argues that EU support, including for a wide range of building projects, is now needed to protect the rights of "ever more isolated" Palestinians in "Area C", a sector that includes all 124 Jewish settlements – illegal in international law – and which is under direct Israeli control. It comprises 62 per cent of the West Bank, including the "most fertile and re...

NOVANEWS An open letter to Mullah Omar Dear Mullah Omar, As-salaamu alaikum and a top o’ the marnin’ to ye! (That’s a traditional Irish Muslim greeting – I don’t imagine you use it much in Afghanistan.) Anyway, I thought I’d write to ask how you were getting along, and whether you might be able to take some time off from your busy jihad-ing in Afghanistan to invade, occupy, and liberate Europe. Europe needs liberating a lot more than Afghanistan ever did. Here are some of the reasons: *Europe is a failed state. The Euro is crashing and the EU will soon follow. If Europe breaks up into a bunch of feuding mini-states, it could cause serious global instability – possibly even a world war.  In fact, I think I remember that already happening once or twice. *Europe is harboring terrorists. T...