Middle East

NOVANEWS The beauty of Bali The curious relationship between Wikileaks and everybody else Just the kind of person to be working with David Cameron Dershowitz in Sydney calls for quick little bombing run of Iran How the Ubud Writers Festival bridges the cultural divide The beauty of Bali 04 Oct 2010   The curious relationship between Wikileaks and everybody else 04 Oct 2010 What a story: Where do you draw the line between free speech and national security? At what point do issues of justice trump potential threats to soldiers, translators and informants? Last Thursday, Julian Assange answered these questions and more in a debate pitting him against the Times columnist David Aaronovitch at London’s City University that was sold out within hours, with TV crews and photogra...

NOVANEWS  Dear Friends,   The 5 items below are but a few from many that I decided not to send.  A few of you have complained about the load that I have lately been distributing.  So I will try to do less, at least for the time being, unless events will demand more information.   The first item is a press release about a book that I have not yet read but definitely will.  The subject is one that is close to the hearts of every New Profiler, and should be of interest to all.  Please do check out Professor Barry’s website.  The link to it is at the bottom of the Press Release.   Items 2 and 3 are brief reports about incidents that occurred, recently (item 2) and yesterday (item 3).  Item 2 is about a 13 year old Palestinian youngster thrown in jail and then placed under house arrest (please ...

NOVANEWS Grass-reports populism backed by hard-right ideologues Telling Obama to shove his wars where the sun don’t shine The massive threat of a non-violent peace activist Outsourcing detention centres open to mental and physical abuse On my way to Indonesia Blackwater powers on (and leaves dead bodies way behind) Roll up for handy tips about the Israel project Meeting Alan Dershowitz in Sydney Grass-reports populism backed by hard-right ideologues 03 Oct 2010 Frank Rich in the New York Times on the billionaires running the Tea Party movement: Election Day is now only a month away. The demoralized Democrats are held hostage by the unemployment numbers. And along comes this marvelous gift out of nowhere, Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party everywoman, who just may be the final...

NOVANEWS October 3, 2010 by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat   The exodus of the Palestinians from Palestine is the Israeli idea of an everlasting peace. By Dr. Ashraf Ezzat FM Clinton at an opening session of the Mid-East talks.  I don’t really believe that a lot of people will be surprised to find out that the current Palestinian-Israeli peace talks has come to a dead end once again. Israel’s decision not to extend a ban on West Bank settlement building has nearly called off the peace talks that America was trying hard to boost. The unwillingness of the Israeli side to freeze the construction of new settlements on the occupied Palestinian west bank has instead frozen the yet to start peace negotiations. The USA – as usual- said that it was “disappointed” by Israel’s decision not to extend a ban on West...

NOVANEWS   Gaza is far from its relatives and close to its enemies, because whenever Gaza explodes, it becomes an island and it never stops exploding. It scratched the enemy's face, broke his dreams and stopped his satisfaction with time. Because in Gaza time is something different. Because in Gaza time is not a neutral element. It does not compel people to cool contemplation, but rather to explosion and a collision with reality. Time there does not take children from childhood to old age, but rather makes them men in their first confrontation with the enemy. Time in Gaza is not relaxation, but storming the burning noon. Because in Gaza values are different, different, different. The only value for the occupied is the extent of his resistance to occupation. That is the only competition th...

NOVANEWS How to source more drones for killing is a full time job What Gaza is suffering far too often How sensitive is Google to alternative thinking? How to source more drones for killing is a full time job 02 Oct 2010 What’s the best way the US can worsen its image in the Muslim world, kill more civilians and utterly condemn itself to further defeats against a rag-tag army of Taliban fighters? More murder from the air: The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA’s campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens. The shift in strategic focus reflects the U.S. view that, with Pakistan’s military unable or unwilling to do the job, more U.S. force against terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan is ...

NOVANEWS 10/03/2010 Israeli forces toss gas bomb on protester near Hebron, causing ’severe burns to the entire body of Mohammed Jamal Abu Hashim, 14′ The NYT is wrong again on settlement legality Jewish identi-kit(h) Palestinian children betrayed by aid agencies Yonatan Shapira, a moral giant Notes on my racism, part 3: ‘My people’ Israeli forces toss gas bomb on protester near Hebron, causing ’severe burns to the entire body of Mohammed Jamal Abu Hashim, 14′ Oct 02, 2010 Kate  * And other news from Today in Palestine: Land and property theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing Settlers burn 10 dunums of farmlands south of Nablus NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli settlers from the Itamar settlement in south Nablus burned on Friday at least ten dunums of land cultivated with olive tr...

NOVANEWS     Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 10/02/2010 Enter the Israel Project’s ‘Best Shots of Israel’ contest Sanchez’s first mistake Jewish boat’s captain says IDF used ‘considerable, unprovoked and dangerous violence’ ‘Commentary’: legitimacy issues, Palestinian resistance and U.S. opportunities are rotting Israel’s purpose Videos from Silwan Where is the ‘center’ of American Zionism? Israeli forces use tear gas and sound bombs to attack protests in Bil’in and Nabi Saleh Farewelling two-state-solution, ‘FP’ authors suggest permanent residency status in Israel for refugees No wonder Americans are ignorant. . . Robert Wright, like others, coming to understand the one state reality Enter the Is...

NOVANEWS speaking of that broken Israeli culture 6,000 Israeli Arabs marched today amidst a call for a general strike in commemoration of 13 boys who Israeli police officers murdered in October 2000. They marched from a town in the Galilee, Kfar Kanna. MK Ahmed Tibi said that "Failure to put the criminals on trial is like making sure the victims are really dead," and added that Israeli racism has mounted since October 2000: it has now reached what he calls "frightening levels"--structural and cultural racism has practically suffused Israeli society, while the left is mostly silent, in retreat and disarray. A few weeks ago, I had some unkind words for Bernard Avishai's polemic against Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. I think extended intellectual disquisitions arguing against BDS should ...

NOVANEWS   Blogging in Syria is difficult beyond our comprehension in the West, as the New York Times reports: "Most of the Syrian media is still owned by the state. Privately owned media outlets became legal in 2001, as the socialist economy slowly began to liberalize following the accession of President Bashar al-Assad. But much of the sector is owned by members of the Syrian “oligarchy” — relatives of Mr. Assad and other top government officials. All of it is subject to intimidation and heavy-handed control. “The first level is censorship,” said Ayman Abdel Nour, the founder of All4Syria.info, the independent Web site where Mr. Ekhetyar works. “The second level is when they send you statements and force you to publish them.” Like many other journalists and dissidents, Mr. Abde...