Israeli human rights groups condemn Sharon government’s Gaza policies
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The report also critically examined Israel’s claim that its status as an occupying power in Gaza will end with the pending withdrawal of settlers and military installations within the territory. B’tselem and HaMoked pointed to a number of legal experts’ opinions, as well as precedents in international law, which made clear that Israel will remain an occupying power after the completion of the “unilateral disengagement” plan in Gaza, and will still have all the humanitarian and legal obligations that accompany this status.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
The Orange Revolution
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Last autumn, Ukraine imprinted itself on the political consciousness of the world for the first time in its history. In what was christened the "orange revolution," vast crowds wearing orange scarves gathered in subzero temperatures in Kyiv's Independence Square to demand a fair election for president. They won. Under its new president, Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine can move toward what he and his allies hope will be a working democracy and market economy under the rule of law, and toward membership in the European Union.
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Last autumn, Ukraine imprinted itself on the political consciousness of the world for the first time in its history. In what was christened the "orange revolution," vast crowds wearing orange scarves gathered in subzero temperatures in Kyiv's Independence Square to demand a fair election for president. They won. Under its new president, Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine can move toward what he and his allies hope will be a working democracy and market economy under the rule of law, and toward membership in the European Union.
Outraged Palestinians demand end to evictions
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Palestinians are urging the international community to stop the evictions of 58 people from their farms in Al-Khader in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian officials regard the demolition of their homes - which could begin as early as next week if court action fails - as further evidence that settlement-related activity is continuing unabated in the West Bank while the Israeli government prepares to withdraw 8,000 settlers from Gaza... The Israeli military has issued final demolition orders on three outbuildings and seven homes belonging to an extended Palestinian family which for more than 200 years has owned and farmed the adjacent vineyards and orchards in the Um Rukba South neighbourhood of this town west of Bethlehem.
Gaza violence jeopardises truce
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Israeli soldiers have shot dead three Palestinian teenagers on the edge of a refugee camp in southern Gaza. Witnesses say they were killed trying to retrieve a football in a no-go area near the Egypt border; the Israeli army says it is investigating the report. It is the most serious such incident since Israeli and Palestinian leaders declared a ceasefire in February.
What would these soldiers think if in future their own children would be killed for playing football? You have to be quite a monster to shoot children to death, even if they go to get their football from "a forbidden area".
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Israeli soldiers have shot dead three Palestinian teenagers on the edge of a refugee camp in southern Gaza. Witnesses say they were killed trying to retrieve a football in a no-go area near the Egypt border; the Israeli army says it is investigating the report. It is the most serious such incident since Israeli and Palestinian leaders declared a ceasefire in February.
What would these soldiers think if in future their own children would be killed for playing football? You have to be quite a monster to shoot children to death, even if they go to get their football from "a forbidden area".
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Pope John Paul II: a political obituary
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John Paul II was a charismatic figure, who was able to somewhat offset the protracted decline in mass support for the Church and hold the institution together. His departure will intensify the internal and external pressures on this ancient, sclerotic and reactionary institution. The absurd lengths to which the media is going to use John Paul II’s death to promote the Church is itself a contradictory expression of the crisis of that institution, and the bourgeois order which it defends.
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John Paul II was a charismatic figure, who was able to somewhat offset the protracted decline in mass support for the Church and hold the institution together. His departure will intensify the internal and external pressures on this ancient, sclerotic and reactionary institution. The absurd lengths to which the media is going to use John Paul II’s death to promote the Church is itself a contradictory expression of the crisis of that institution, and the bourgeois order which it defends.
Talabani leads renaissance of Iraqi Kurds
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The new President is a burly, mercurial figure who has shown great ability to survive numerous setbacks and defeats in the past. He is expected to live in the mansion in Baghdad formerly occupied by Barzan al-Tikriti, the half-brother of Saddam Hussein who is now in prison. Mr Talabani is believed to have brought 3,000 peshmerga, elite Kurdish soldiers who are now members of the Iraqi army, as his bodyguard in Baghdad. Mr Talabani is likely to play a far more powerful role than his predecessor, Ghazi al-Yawer, who will be one of his deputies. He already has the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a powerful political and military organization, under his command. Since the Gulf War in 1991 he has ruled half of Kurdistan and in 1993 his forces attacked and captured the oil city of Kirkuk. He rose to influence as a lieutenant of Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the founding father of Kurdish nationalism in Iraq. He joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party at the age of 13, trained as a lawyer and by 1958, when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown, he was in the inner circle of the party. At the time of the great Kurdish defeat in 1975 - after the Kurds were treacherously abandoned by the US and the Shah of Iran - Mr Talabani broke away to form his own party called the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. For years he competed with Massoud Barzani, the present leader of the KDP, a rivalry which periodically led to heavy fighting and, in the 1990s, to civil war in Kurdistan.
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The new President is a burly, mercurial figure who has shown great ability to survive numerous setbacks and defeats in the past. He is expected to live in the mansion in Baghdad formerly occupied by Barzan al-Tikriti, the half-brother of Saddam Hussein who is now in prison. Mr Talabani is believed to have brought 3,000 peshmerga, elite Kurdish soldiers who are now members of the Iraqi army, as his bodyguard in Baghdad. Mr Talabani is likely to play a far more powerful role than his predecessor, Ghazi al-Yawer, who will be one of his deputies. He already has the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a powerful political and military organization, under his command. Since the Gulf War in 1991 he has ruled half of Kurdistan and in 1993 his forces attacked and captured the oil city of Kirkuk. He rose to influence as a lieutenant of Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the founding father of Kurdish nationalism in Iraq. He joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party at the age of 13, trained as a lawyer and by 1958, when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown, he was in the inner circle of the party. At the time of the great Kurdish defeat in 1975 - after the Kurds were treacherously abandoned by the US and the Shah of Iran - Mr Talabani broke away to form his own party called the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. For years he competed with Massoud Barzani, the present leader of the KDP, a rivalry which periodically led to heavy fighting and, in the 1990s, to civil war in Kurdistan.
UN review paints gloomy picture of 2004 economy in occupied Palestinian territory
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Throughout 2004, violence continued, particularly in the Gaza Strip, and the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis alike were dramatically affected. In 2004, 118 Israelis and 881 Palestinians were killed including eight Israeli and 160 Palestinian children; a total of 602 Israelis and 4,009 Palestinians were injured. In 2004, 1,443 Palestinian buildings were demolished in the Gaza Strip resulting in the dispossession of 13,510 Palestinians... The humanitarian situation in 2004 remained vulnerable. Around half of the Palestinian population was living below the official poverty line of US $2.10 per day (compared to just 22% in 2000). Furthermore, 16% of Palestinians (approximately 560,000 people) were in deep poverty.6 Unemployment increased as well. Palestinians continued to face problems reaching their places of work, schools and hospitals, and standards of health and education continued to deteriorate. In some parts of the territory, Palestinians' needs for additional humanitarian assistance rose sharply as a consequence.
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Throughout 2004, violence continued, particularly in the Gaza Strip, and the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis alike were dramatically affected. In 2004, 118 Israelis and 881 Palestinians were killed including eight Israeli and 160 Palestinian children; a total of 602 Israelis and 4,009 Palestinians were injured. In 2004, 1,443 Palestinian buildings were demolished in the Gaza Strip resulting in the dispossession of 13,510 Palestinians... The humanitarian situation in 2004 remained vulnerable. Around half of the Palestinian population was living below the official poverty line of US $2.10 per day (compared to just 22% in 2000). Furthermore, 16% of Palestinians (approximately 560,000 people) were in deep poverty.6 Unemployment increased as well. Palestinians continued to face problems reaching their places of work, schools and hospitals, and standards of health and education continued to deteriorate. In some parts of the territory, Palestinians' needs for additional humanitarian assistance rose sharply as a consequence.
Report claims evidence of Mugabe rigging
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A Zimbabwean pro-democracy movement Sokwanele, whose name translates as "enough is enough", said official figures showed massive ballot stuffing started half an hour after the polls closed at 7pm when sample counts showed a victory for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. In the most extreme cases, the group claims that Zanu-PF more than doubled its support in some constituencies from 6,000 to 16,000 votes in the hours between the polls closing on March 31 and a result being declared early the next morning. "The fraud is out, and for all to see," the report said. "There can be no denying that Zanu-PF have been caught red-handed." Sokwanele said the fraud was revealed when the turnout figures as of 7.30pm for 72 out of Zimbabwe's 120 constituencies were mistakenly read out on state television and radio by officials from the electoral commission. That meant the group could compare the original turnout figures with the much higher number of votes reported in the later results. Assuming Zanu-PF would not use "ghost voter" ballots to increase the opposition share of the vote, the difference would be the extra votes the party gave to itself. In the Goromonzi constituency in Mashonaland East province, the electoral commission put turnout at 15,661 at 7.30pm but the declared results read out several hours later added up to 26,123 votes: Zanu-PF recorded 16,782 - more than the announced number of voters - the MDC took 8,578 and 763 ballot papers were spoiled. Subtracting the 10,462 excess votes from the declared Zanu-PF total, Sokwanele puts the ruling party behind the MDC on 6320 votes in Goromonzi.
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A Zimbabwean pro-democracy movement Sokwanele, whose name translates as "enough is enough", said official figures showed massive ballot stuffing started half an hour after the polls closed at 7pm when sample counts showed a victory for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. In the most extreme cases, the group claims that Zanu-PF more than doubled its support in some constituencies from 6,000 to 16,000 votes in the hours between the polls closing on March 31 and a result being declared early the next morning. "The fraud is out, and for all to see," the report said. "There can be no denying that Zanu-PF have been caught red-handed." Sokwanele said the fraud was revealed when the turnout figures as of 7.30pm for 72 out of Zimbabwe's 120 constituencies were mistakenly read out on state television and radio by officials from the electoral commission. That meant the group could compare the original turnout figures with the much higher number of votes reported in the later results. Assuming Zanu-PF would not use "ghost voter" ballots to increase the opposition share of the vote, the difference would be the extra votes the party gave to itself. In the Goromonzi constituency in Mashonaland East province, the electoral commission put turnout at 15,661 at 7.30pm but the declared results read out several hours later added up to 26,123 votes: Zanu-PF recorded 16,782 - more than the announced number of voters - the MDC took 8,578 and 763 ballot papers were spoiled. Subtracting the 10,462 excess votes from the declared Zanu-PF total, Sokwanele puts the ruling party behind the MDC on 6320 votes in Goromonzi.
Facelift seals standing of oldest hominid
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The new teeth samples verify that Toumaï had small canines, alongside large molars and premolars that had thick enamel. Such a pattern is similar to that of later members of the human family. The virtual reconstruction, led by Brunet's colleague Christoph Zollikofer at the University of Zürich-Irchel in Switzerland, uses a high-resolution computed tomography, or CT, scan to show what the fossil would look like without its cracks and other distortions. The reconstruction shows that the opening in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes, called the foramen magnum, is oriented so that the neck points downwards. But in apes, such as gorillas, the neck point backwards, explains Dan Lieberman, a palaeoanthropologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of Brunet's team. This means that Toumaï's head balanced on top of its spine, suggesting an upright walking stance. "The evidence certainly suggests that Toumaï was a biped," says Lieberman... [who] ...points out that all of the earliest known bipeds, such as the hominid Australopithecus afarensis, which is about half as old as Toumaï, had large neck muscles. "This work confirms that Toumaï is the earliest and most complete hominid, and suggests that the earliest hominids were bipedal," claims Lieberman. "And that's big news."
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The new teeth samples verify that Toumaï had small canines, alongside large molars and premolars that had thick enamel. Such a pattern is similar to that of later members of the human family. The virtual reconstruction, led by Brunet's colleague Christoph Zollikofer at the University of Zürich-Irchel in Switzerland, uses a high-resolution computed tomography, or CT, scan to show what the fossil would look like without its cracks and other distortions. The reconstruction shows that the opening in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes, called the foramen magnum, is oriented so that the neck points downwards. But in apes, such as gorillas, the neck point backwards, explains Dan Lieberman, a palaeoanthropologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of Brunet's team. This means that Toumaï's head balanced on top of its spine, suggesting an upright walking stance. "The evidence certainly suggests that Toumaï was a biped," says Lieberman... [who] ...points out that all of the earliest known bipeds, such as the hominid Australopithecus afarensis, which is about half as old as Toumaï, had large neck muscles. "This work confirms that Toumaï is the earliest and most complete hominid, and suggests that the earliest hominids were bipedal," claims Lieberman. "And that's big news."
The controversial Dmanisi hominids - that some researchers want to make a new species, Homo georgicus - cared for their old, as a 1,77 million year old fossil skull shows. The reason for keeping alive a toothless over 40-year old member of their community is of course almost impossible to find out.
Saul Bellow, the Canadian born US author and winner of the 1976 Nobel prize of literature, has died at the age of 89.
I have read only six of his novels: The Victim(1947), Seize the Day(1956), Mr. Sammler´s Planet(1970), A Theft(1989), The Bellarosa Connection(1989) and Something to Remember Me By(1991). Quite enjoyable, but his longer works were less easily approachable to me, they were works that didn´t seem to go anywhere, and... well, they stalled, and I haven´t finished any of them that I have started to read. And that´s my shame.
I have read only six of his novels: The Victim(1947), Seize the Day(1956), Mr. Sammler´s Planet(1970), A Theft(1989), The Bellarosa Connection(1989) and Something to Remember Me By(1991). Quite enjoyable, but his longer works were less easily approachable to me, they were works that didn´t seem to go anywhere, and... well, they stalled, and I haven´t finished any of them that I have started to read. And that´s my shame.
'Extra votes gave Mugabe victory'
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Zimbabwe's main opposition party has alleged that the ruling Zanu-PF party won last week's election through the widespread stuffing of ballot boxes. The Movement for Democratic Change says that in at least 11 areas, the number of votes cast was boosted after the polls closed, handing Zanu-PF victory. The MDC further says that it has been unable to obtain full results from the election commission in several areas.
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Zimbabwe's main opposition party has alleged that the ruling Zanu-PF party won last week's election through the widespread stuffing of ballot boxes. The Movement for Democratic Change says that in at least 11 areas, the number of votes cast was boosted after the polls closed, handing Zanu-PF victory. The MDC further says that it has been unable to obtain full results from the election commission in several areas.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Mugabe's party sweeps to victory
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So far the party has taken 62 of 120 contested seats, official results show - enough to guarantee Mr Mugabe's party control of the legislature. The opposition, which has 35 seats so far, said "disgusting, massive fraud" had been committed in Thursday's polls. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that he was "over the moon" about his party's victory. All Zanu-PF's hard work had paid off and the result was a vindication of the party's good policies, he said... "These were the most free and fair elections in the world," he said.
So the collapse of Zimbabwe can continue. If there will not be a revolution that would save the country.
Dark Days for Dark Energy?
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Dark energy has become widely accepted as the main ingredient in today's cosmic soup. Arguing that "there is no dark energy," as Kolb says, is as heretical today as was advocating for its existence (in the form of Albert Einstein's cosmological constant) a decade ago. Thus it's no surprise that weblogs and university hallways are buzzing with the news of dark energy's possible demise... To most astronomers, the too-faint supernovae demonstrate that the universe's expansion is accelerating, as if it were stepping on the gas pedal after applying the brakes for billions of years. Kolb and his colleagues don't take issue with that interpretation. But when it comes to what's in the gas tank, they stand apart from the crowd. They attribute the universe's accelerating expansion not to dark energy, but to ripples in the fabric of space and time that dwarf the entire visible universe.
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Dark energy has become widely accepted as the main ingredient in today's cosmic soup. Arguing that "there is no dark energy," as Kolb says, is as heretical today as was advocating for its existence (in the form of Albert Einstein's cosmological constant) a decade ago. Thus it's no surprise that weblogs and university hallways are buzzing with the news of dark energy's possible demise... To most astronomers, the too-faint supernovae demonstrate that the universe's expansion is accelerating, as if it were stepping on the gas pedal after applying the brakes for billions of years. Kolb and his colleagues don't take issue with that interpretation. But when it comes to what's in the gas tank, they stand apart from the crowd. They attribute the universe's accelerating expansion not to dark energy, but to ripples in the fabric of space and time that dwarf the entire visible universe.
Friday, April 01, 2005
U.S. Soldier Convicted of Killing Iraqi Walks Free
Finding him guilty of manslaughter and then letting him go free. American "justice" at it´s "best".
Certainly this ingenious way of distributing "justice" would solve the US problem of ballooning prison populations, if applied to civilian courts.
Finding him guilty of manslaughter and then letting him go free. American "justice" at it´s "best".
Certainly this ingenious way of distributing "justice" would solve the US problem of ballooning prison populations, if applied to civilian courts.
Astronomers capture photo of extrasolar planet around a normal, Sun-like star. Earlier both VLT and Hubble imagined a likely planet orbiting a brown dwarf.
Great extinction came in phases
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A joint UK-Chinese team tell Nature magazine the disaster that befell the planet 250 million years ago must have happened in phases. Their conclusion is based on the abundance of "organic fossils" found in rocks at Meishan in southern China. These suggest there were at least two episodes to the mass die-off that saw up to 95% of lifeforms disappear... The new data from China supports this view. It is based on the traces left in rocks by cyanobacteria. These photosynthetic, mostly single-celled organisms existed in vast blooms in the Permian oceans. They are one of the major groups of phytoplankton, which form the basis of the marine food chain. However, the phytoplankton not eaten by higher organisms would have fallen to the seafloor over time to be incorporated into the sedimentary rocks we see today. And chemical components in their cell membranes have left telltale signs of their past existence. Specifically, a lipid molecule, known as 2-methylhopane, has left ring structures in the Meishan rock. "These ring structures are the 'hydrocarbon skeleton' - that is how we would refer to them - and they can be preserved for a very long time," explained Dr Pancost. The research team sees two peaks of abundance in the Chinese rocks which are believed to indicate periods immediately following biotic crises in the oceans - times when the collapse of higher marine lifeforms allowed the cyanobacteria populations to boom. "What we think happened was that the grazing pressure changed," explained Dr Pancost. "A lot of the fauna that went extinct went through larval stages that would have fed on the phytoplankton. "Changes in the faunal assemblages would have changed predation patterns, and this led to the phytoplankton prospering."
Pope's condition worsens
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The Pope's condition worsened this evening as his breathing became more shallow and his kidneys deteriorated, the Vatican said... Despite the serious decline in his health, the 84-year-old pontiff appointed 17 new bishops and archbishops and accept the resignation of six others today. It is unusual for such a large number of appointments and resignations to happen in one day.
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The Pope's condition worsened this evening as his breathing became more shallow and his kidneys deteriorated, the Vatican said... Despite the serious decline in his health, the 84-year-old pontiff appointed 17 new bishops and archbishops and accept the resignation of six others today. It is unusual for such a large number of appointments and resignations to happen in one day.
The final hours approach for a tough, dynamic communicator
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After one of the most extraordinary careers in the Catholic church's history the Polish Pope, known as "the Great Communicator", is finally running out of road.
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After one of the most extraordinary careers in the Catholic church's history the Polish Pope, known as "the Great Communicator", is finally running out of road.
His last hours appear to be upon him. The Vatican did not confirm last night that John Paul II had received the last rites but church sources said it was "likely", given the precarious state of his health. A top conservative cardinal in Vienna said the Pope was "approaching the end of his life". A priest in the Vatican said the only hope was a miracle.
Ecuador pressured to save Galapagos wildlife
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Ecuador is facing pressure to act against the fishermen who are threatening the ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands, the archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. As revealed by The Independent, the Ecuadorean government is being lobbied by the fishing industry to legalise long-line fishing inside the marine reserve at the Galapagos, despite its potentially catastrophic impact on the rare marine life there. Long-lining in pursuit of tuna and swordfish also indiscriminately kills other marine life such as turtles, seals and penguins in by-catch.
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Ecuador is facing pressure to act against the fishermen who are threatening the ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands, the archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. As revealed by The Independent, the Ecuadorean government is being lobbied by the fishing industry to legalise long-line fishing inside the marine reserve at the Galapagos, despite its potentially catastrophic impact on the rare marine life there. Long-lining in pursuit of tuna and swordfish also indiscriminately kills other marine life such as turtles, seals and penguins in by-catch.
Zimbabwe election fraudulent, says MDC leader
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The Zimbabwean parliament's 120 seats are at stake, and a further 30 are appointed by Mr Mugabe, giving Zanu-PF a head start over the MDC. Voter turnout, estimated from official figures, was around 42%, compared to 48% at the last parliamentary election in 2000. Electoral officials said around 10% of voters had been turned away from polling stations in six of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, either for lacking proper identity documents or being at the wrong voting centre. An independent poll monitoring group put the number of voters turned away at as high as 25%.
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The Zimbabwean parliament's 120 seats are at stake, and a further 30 are appointed by Mr Mugabe, giving Zanu-PF a head start over the MDC. Voter turnout, estimated from official figures, was around 42%, compared to 48% at the last parliamentary election in 2000. Electoral officials said around 10% of voters had been turned away from polling stations in six of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, either for lacking proper identity documents or being at the wrong voting centre. An independent poll monitoring group put the number of voters turned away at as high as 25%.
Zimbabwe election 'being rigged'
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Zimbabwe's opposition leader has accused the ruling party of trying to steal Thursday's elections. Morgan Tsvangirai said "disgusting, massive fraud" had been committed and said Zimbabweans should "defend their vote", without elaborating. Average turnout was below 50%, chief elections officer Lovemore Sekeramai said. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has some 6,000 observers in the 8,000 polling stations, says that some 10% of would-be voters were turned away, either because their names were not on the electoral roll, they did not have the right identity papers, or they were in the wrong constituency. One man told the BBC News website that his name had been taken off the register since the last election and yet the name of his aunt was still there, although she had died six years ago. Human rights groups say that hundreds of thousands of "ghost voters" appear on the electoral roll of some 5.8m. They fear these entries could be used to record fraudulent votes.
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Zimbabwe's opposition leader has accused the ruling party of trying to steal Thursday's elections. Morgan Tsvangirai said "disgusting, massive fraud" had been committed and said Zimbabweans should "defend their vote", without elaborating. Average turnout was below 50%, chief elections officer Lovemore Sekeramai said. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has some 6,000 observers in the 8,000 polling stations, says that some 10% of would-be voters were turned away, either because their names were not on the electoral roll, they did not have the right identity papers, or they were in the wrong constituency. One man told the BBC News website that his name had been taken off the register since the last election and yet the name of his aunt was still there, although she had died six years ago. Human rights groups say that hundreds of thousands of "ghost voters" appear on the electoral roll of some 5.8m. They fear these entries could be used to record fraudulent votes.
After his health deteriorated last evening and continued to do so during the last night, pope John Paul II is most likely now living his last days, if not his last hours. He is in a stable, but grave condition and seems to have accepted his fate, as he wants to remain in his apartment in Vatican, and not to be transferred in a hospital.
His legacy will be mixed, as he did and achieved good things during his pontificate, but he did also wrong decisions - mainly because of his conservative views - and so caused also bad things to happen.
His legacy will be mixed, as he did and achieved good things during his pontificate, but he did also wrong decisions - mainly because of his conservative views - and so caused also bad things to happen.
US intelligence on Iraq chaotic and incompetent, says Bush commission
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A presidential commission investigating the intelligence debacle that preceded the Iraq invasion reported yesterday that the damage done to US credibility would "take years to undo". American intelligence was described by the report as being in chaos, often paralysed by the rivalry of 15 different spy agencies and affected by unchallenged assumptions about Baghdad's supposed weapons of mass destruction.
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A presidential commission investigating the intelligence debacle that preceded the Iraq invasion reported yesterday that the damage done to US credibility would "take years to undo". American intelligence was described by the report as being in chaos, often paralysed by the rivalry of 15 different spy agencies and affected by unchallenged assumptions about Baghdad's supposed weapons of mass destruction.
Hutu rebels apologise for Rwanda genocide
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A Rwandan Hutu rebel group offered an unprecedented apology yesterday for the 1994 genocide, announcing that it would lay down its weapons before peacefully returning home. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the main Hutu rebel group, includes the Interahamwe militia who participated in the mass murder of 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus during 100 days of violence. About 2 million Hutus fled Rwanda in the last days of the genocide, as Tutsi-led forces swept across the country. The presence of the rebel militias prompted Rwanda to invade its huge neighbour in 1996, to drive home the refugees. Large numbers of former Interahamwe, their families and other refugees fled deeper into the rainforest, vowing to keep up a guerrilla war. That led to a second Rwandan invasion in 1998, triggering a wider war which sucked in several neighbouring countries and cost an estimated 3 million lives.
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A Rwandan Hutu rebel group offered an unprecedented apology yesterday for the 1994 genocide, announcing that it would lay down its weapons before peacefully returning home. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the main Hutu rebel group, includes the Interahamwe militia who participated in the mass murder of 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus during 100 days of violence. About 2 million Hutus fled Rwanda in the last days of the genocide, as Tutsi-led forces swept across the country. The presence of the rebel militias prompted Rwanda to invade its huge neighbour in 1996, to drive home the refugees. Large numbers of former Interahamwe, their families and other refugees fled deeper into the rainforest, vowing to keep up a guerrilla war. That led to a second Rwandan invasion in 1998, triggering a wider war which sucked in several neighbouring countries and cost an estimated 3 million lives.
Rather simplified account; Tutsi controlled Ruanda wanted also to get the natural resources of eastern DR of Congo in it´s control. The Hutu rebels became largely an excuse for continued interference in DR of Congo.
Carbon dioxide continues its rise
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The atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide has reached a new high, say US researchers. The figures - 378 parts per million (ppm) - were gathered by a Hawaiian lab regarded by experts as one of the most reliable in climate research. The rise in the past year is smaller than it was in the previous two years. But the trend remains upwards, as it has for every year since measurements began on top of the Mauna Loa volcano nearly half a century ago. The research was carried out by the US government's Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
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The atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide has reached a new high, say US researchers. The figures - 378 parts per million (ppm) - were gathered by a Hawaiian lab regarded by experts as one of the most reliable in climate research. The rise in the past year is smaller than it was in the previous two years. But the trend remains upwards, as it has for every year since measurements began on top of the Mauna Loa volcano nearly half a century ago. The research was carried out by the US government's Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
US spies 'dead wrong' on Iraq WMD
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US spy agencies were "dead wrong" in "almost all" of their pre-war judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability, a commission appointed by the US president said in a final report today. The damning report described the failures as "major" and also revealed that US intelligence still knew "disturbingly little" about the weapons programmes in other potentially dangerous nations.
And yet the US is starting to feed to the world - and especially it´s own bad excuse of citizenry - same garbage about Iran´s nuclear program.
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US spy agencies were "dead wrong" in "almost all" of their pre-war judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability, a commission appointed by the US president said in a final report today. The damning report described the failures as "major" and also revealed that US intelligence still knew "disturbingly little" about the weapons programmes in other potentially dangerous nations.
And yet the US is starting to feed to the world - and especially it´s own bad excuse of citizenry - same garbage about Iran´s nuclear program.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
In Florida, US Republicans are following the footsteps of Chairman Mao and are trying to start their very own Cultural Revolution, where students could decide what the teachers teach - or sue them, if they don´t obey the young GOP Guards:
In the Florida legislature, House Republicans, on the Choice and Innovation Committee, recently voted to pass a bill that threatens to restrain academic scholars. The law would allow students to sue teachers for beliefs that do not concur with conservative perspectives. If, for example, professors argue that evolution is a scientific fact instead of a theory, and if they don’t devote equal time to creationism, under this bill, initiated by conservative David Horowitz’s campaign, students can sue the professor for being biased.
In the Florida legislature, House Republicans, on the Choice and Innovation Committee, recently voted to pass a bill that threatens to restrain academic scholars. The law would allow students to sue teachers for beliefs that do not concur with conservative perspectives. If, for example, professors argue that evolution is a scientific fact instead of a theory, and if they don’t devote equal time to creationism, under this bill, initiated by conservative David Horowitz’s campaign, students can sue the professor for being biased.
Dying stars could make frozen planets habitable
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...when the star begins to burn its hydrogen in a shell around a growing helium core, it brightens and expands and becomes a "sub-giant". The habitable zone sweeps outward, extending from 2 to 9 AU. The inner edge of this zone remains habitable for several billion years while the outer extreme, where Saturn currently orbits, is habitable for a few hundred million years. The star then fluctuates in brightness for about 20 million years as it switches to burning helium almost exclusively, before becoming a red giant and swelling to 10 times the diameter of the Sun. For about a billion years afterwards, the habitable zone around the red giant extends from 7 to 22 AU, the outer edge of which lies beyond the orbit of Uranus.
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...when the star begins to burn its hydrogen in a shell around a growing helium core, it brightens and expands and becomes a "sub-giant". The habitable zone sweeps outward, extending from 2 to 9 AU. The inner edge of this zone remains habitable for several billion years while the outer extreme, where Saturn currently orbits, is habitable for a few hundred million years. The star then fluctuates in brightness for about 20 million years as it switches to burning helium almost exclusively, before becoming a red giant and swelling to 10 times the diameter of the Sun. For about a billion years afterwards, the habitable zone around the red giant extends from 7 to 22 AU, the outer edge of which lies beyond the orbit of Uranus.
New documents confirm widespread US abuse of Iraqi prisoners, implicate top general
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A new series of documents released over the weekend provides fresh evidence of the pervasive US military abuse of prisoners in Iraq. The documents were released by the Pentagon in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights and other organizations. “These documents provide further evidence that the torture of detainees was much more widespread than the government has acknowledged,” said Jameel Jaffer, attorney for the ACLU. The actions revealed in the documents are all clear and direct violations of international law on the treatment of prisoners of war. More.
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A new series of documents released over the weekend provides fresh evidence of the pervasive US military abuse of prisoners in Iraq. The documents were released by the Pentagon in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights and other organizations. “These documents provide further evidence that the torture of detainees was much more widespread than the government has acknowledged,” said Jameel Jaffer, attorney for the ACLU. The actions revealed in the documents are all clear and direct violations of international law on the treatment of prisoners of war. More.
Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem sells Palestinian East Jerusalem to Greater Israel, piece by piece.
Aid struggles to reach Indonesia
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The UN has confirmed 518 were killed in the 8.7-magnitude tremor, but it is thought up to 1,000 may have died.
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The UN has confirmed 518 were killed in the 8.7-magnitude tremor, but it is thought up to 1,000 may have died.
E-1: the end of a viable Palestinian state
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And since the Palestinians will never agree to this, Israel must “create facts on the ground” that prejudice negotiations even before they begin. Last week's announcement that Israel is constructing 3500 housing units in E-1, a corridor connecting Jerusalem to the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, seals the fate of the Palestinian state. As a key element of an Israeli “Greater Jerusalem,” the E-1 plan removes any viability from a Palestinian state. It cuts the West Bank in half, allowing Israel to control Palestinian movement from one part of their country to another, while isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territory. Since 40% of the Palestinian economy revolves around Jerusalem and its tourist-based economy, the E-1 plan effectively cuts the economic heart out of any Palestinian state, rendering it nothing more than a set of non-viable Indian reservations. If there is any silver lining in the E-1 plan, it is that it has highlighted American complicity in Israel's settlement expansion. The Bush Administration, while calling the E-1 plan “unhelpful,” nevertheless formally recognized the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement bloc, together with E-1, in last year's agreement between Bush and Sharon - a fundamental American policy change that was ratified almost unanimously by Congress. This puts the US in the very uncomfortable position of undermining its own Road Map initiative, which stems from the “Bush vision” of an Israeli-Palestinian peace. It also neutralizes completely America's role as an honest broker, and pits it against the other three members of the Road Map Quartet - Europe, the UN and Russia - who deplore the change in American policy. Most tragically, American support for Sharon's settlement project destroys forever the possibility of a viable Palestinian state, dooming the peoples of Israel-Palestine to perpetual conflict. How this squares with American interests in a stable Middle East is anybody's guess.
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And since the Palestinians will never agree to this, Israel must “create facts on the ground” that prejudice negotiations even before they begin. Last week's announcement that Israel is constructing 3500 housing units in E-1, a corridor connecting Jerusalem to the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, seals the fate of the Palestinian state. As a key element of an Israeli “Greater Jerusalem,” the E-1 plan removes any viability from a Palestinian state. It cuts the West Bank in half, allowing Israel to control Palestinian movement from one part of their country to another, while isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territory. Since 40% of the Palestinian economy revolves around Jerusalem and its tourist-based economy, the E-1 plan effectively cuts the economic heart out of any Palestinian state, rendering it nothing more than a set of non-viable Indian reservations. If there is any silver lining in the E-1 plan, it is that it has highlighted American complicity in Israel's settlement expansion. The Bush Administration, while calling the E-1 plan “unhelpful,” nevertheless formally recognized the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement bloc, together with E-1, in last year's agreement between Bush and Sharon - a fundamental American policy change that was ratified almost unanimously by Congress. This puts the US in the very uncomfortable position of undermining its own Road Map initiative, which stems from the “Bush vision” of an Israeli-Palestinian peace. It also neutralizes completely America's role as an honest broker, and pits it against the other three members of the Road Map Quartet - Europe, the UN and Russia - who deplore the change in American policy. Most tragically, American support for Sharon's settlement project destroys forever the possibility of a viable Palestinian state, dooming the peoples of Israel-Palestine to perpetual conflict. How this squares with American interests in a stable Middle East is anybody's guess.
Israeli settlers threaten violent resistance to withdrawal pullout
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...the Yesha Council, the umbrella body representing both Gaza and West Bank settlers, underlined its determination to stop the pullout: "He who believes it is possible to implement the destruction of communities and the expulsion of families is deluding himself," a Council statement said... Arieh Yitzhaki, a resident of the Kfar Yam settlement on Gaza's Mediterranean coast... said settlers were "building the Jewish army" to foil the withdrawal.
Hopefully the settlers make true of their threats; Israeli politicians, soldiers and police officers killed by the settlers could wake up the majority of the Israeli population to sanity.
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...the Yesha Council, the umbrella body representing both Gaza and West Bank settlers, underlined its determination to stop the pullout: "He who believes it is possible to implement the destruction of communities and the expulsion of families is deluding himself," a Council statement said... Arieh Yitzhaki, a resident of the Kfar Yam settlement on Gaza's Mediterranean coast... said settlers were "building the Jewish army" to foil the withdrawal.
Hopefully the settlers make true of their threats; Israeli politicians, soldiers and police officers killed by the settlers could wake up the majority of the Israeli population to sanity.
The state of the world? It is on the brink of disaster
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Planet Earth stands on the cusp of disaster and people should no longer take it for granted that their children and grandchildren will survive in the environmentally degraded world of the 21st century. This is not the doom-laden talk of green activists but the considered opinion of 1,300 leading scientists from 95 countries who will today publish a detailed assessment of the state of the world at the start of the new millennium. More.
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Planet Earth stands on the cusp of disaster and people should no longer take it for granted that their children and grandchildren will survive in the environmentally degraded world of the 21st century. This is not the doom-laden talk of green activists but the considered opinion of 1,300 leading scientists from 95 countries who will today publish a detailed assessment of the state of the world at the start of the new millennium. More.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
The bulldozer won
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On April 11, Ariel Sharon will go to a victory party at U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. There is nothing politicians enjoy more than to gloat, and Sharon has a lot of reasons for celebrating... But more than anything in Texas, Sharon will celebrate the victory of the bulldozer. At the heart of his conversation with the president will be strengthening the understandings regarding Israel preserving for itself the settlement blocs in the West Bank. Bush already accepted the principle last year. Now Sharon wants to make sure the American promise for an annexation of the blocs in the future is turned into permission to build, in exchange for the evacuation of settlers from Gaza and northern Samaria... Those who thought Sharon had turned into a leftist and began worrying about "the rights of the Palestinians" were very wrong. Sharon still believes the bulldozer and the housing units will set the border, with America's support and backing. The upcoming meeting in Crawford is meant to grant him further strength.
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On April 11, Ariel Sharon will go to a victory party at U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. There is nothing politicians enjoy more than to gloat, and Sharon has a lot of reasons for celebrating... But more than anything in Texas, Sharon will celebrate the victory of the bulldozer. At the heart of his conversation with the president will be strengthening the understandings regarding Israel preserving for itself the settlement blocs in the West Bank. Bush already accepted the principle last year. Now Sharon wants to make sure the American promise for an annexation of the blocs in the future is turned into permission to build, in exchange for the evacuation of settlers from Gaza and northern Samaria... Those who thought Sharon had turned into a leftist and began worrying about "the rights of the Palestinians" were very wrong. Sharon still believes the bulldozer and the housing units will set the border, with America's support and backing. The upcoming meeting in Crawford is meant to grant him further strength.
Provocation in Ma'aleh Adumim
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But no matter how strong the desire to support Ariel Sharon at this stage and to postpone debate over the future of the settlements to a later stage, it is difficult to accept the revelation that the government plans to build another 3,500 housing units in the area known as E-1, between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim, and thus obstruct the territorial contiguity needed for a Palestinian state, something Sharon has already agreed on... The question whether the Americans are winking their agreement or deliberately ignoring Israel's new expansionist intentions is not the point. A demonstration of some sensitivity toward the Palestinians at this fragile state of the relationship is far more important than adding any new territories.
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But no matter how strong the desire to support Ariel Sharon at this stage and to postpone debate over the future of the settlements to a later stage, it is difficult to accept the revelation that the government plans to build another 3,500 housing units in the area known as E-1, between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim, and thus obstruct the territorial contiguity needed for a Palestinian state, something Sharon has already agreed on... The question whether the Americans are winking their agreement or deliberately ignoring Israel's new expansionist intentions is not the point. A demonstration of some sensitivity toward the Palestinians at this fragile state of the relationship is far more important than adding any new territories.
In the end, if we humans don´t succeed in destroying ourselves (of course), all current states will cease to exist, all current ethnic and religious groups will be replaced by new ones and all that people are now killing and dying for will be ancient history, known by few, as new passions will give humans new excuses to indulgence themselves.
Doom in Hebron
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Hebron is a city in the south of the West Bank inhabited by approximately 150 000 Palestinians. In addition, there are some 400-500 illegal Israeli settlers who have settled in the Old City, in the heart of Hebron. The settlers are protected by approximately 700 Israeli soldiers and many of them are manning the 12 permanent checkpoints which form an iron ring around the Old City. The whole situation resembles a war zone where soldiers sneak along house walls and are posted on numerous roof tops in the Old City.
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Hebron is a city in the south of the West Bank inhabited by approximately 150 000 Palestinians. In addition, there are some 400-500 illegal Israeli settlers who have settled in the Old City, in the heart of Hebron. The settlers are protected by approximately 700 Israeli soldiers and many of them are manning the 12 permanent checkpoints which form an iron ring around the Old City. The whole situation resembles a war zone where soldiers sneak along house walls and are posted on numerous roof tops in the Old City.
The familiar mood of despair
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The Israeli mindset of the continuation of the occupation and the expansion of the Jewish settlements is not changing. Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service are wrangling endlessly with them about the fate of one roadblock in Jericho and about the control of a village and a half in the Tul Karm district. Most of the roadblocks have remained in place. In the villages in Samaria, there have been increasingly violent confrontations over the separation fence that is taking away their lands and livelihood, and in Jerusalem the authorities are completing the wall and preparing new restrictions on movement... To the project of the thousands of dwelling units in Ma'aleh Adumim and to the incidents involving the separation fence and the walls in Jerusalem has been added in recent days the tempest surrounding the deal by the Greek Orthodox Church, which has sold "hotels and shops that are Arab assets to extremist Jewish settlers" (in a Palestinian formulation). For them, of course, this is another step in Israel's moves to crush the Arab presence in Jerusalem and to judaize the city, to which are added reports of Jewish threats to the Al-Aqsa mosque. All of these are bringing back to the Palestinian street and leadership the old familiar mood of despair and bitterness that presages a new wave of bloody conflict.
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The Israeli mindset of the continuation of the occupation and the expansion of the Jewish settlements is not changing. Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service are wrangling endlessly with them about the fate of one roadblock in Jericho and about the control of a village and a half in the Tul Karm district. Most of the roadblocks have remained in place. In the villages in Samaria, there have been increasingly violent confrontations over the separation fence that is taking away their lands and livelihood, and in Jerusalem the authorities are completing the wall and preparing new restrictions on movement... To the project of the thousands of dwelling units in Ma'aleh Adumim and to the incidents involving the separation fence and the walls in Jerusalem has been added in recent days the tempest surrounding the deal by the Greek Orthodox Church, which has sold "hotels and shops that are Arab assets to extremist Jewish settlers" (in a Palestinian formulation). For them, of course, this is another step in Israel's moves to crush the Arab presence in Jerusalem and to judaize the city, to which are added reports of Jewish threats to the Al-Aqsa mosque. All of these are bringing back to the Palestinian street and leadership the old familiar mood of despair and bitterness that presages a new wave of bloody conflict.
Who's in favor of a Hamas victory
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Somebody up there, in the new building in the Kirya in Tel Aviv, should have explained that the Palestinian street is becoming convinced that Arafat was the excuse, not the reason, for the freezing of the peace process and the thawing of the construction in the Jewish settlements in the territories... When everyone is talking about how the chief of staff has been sent home because of his reservations about the disengagement plan, it is no wonder that no military source is about to risk saying anything that is liable to be interpreted as criticism of the head of the disengagement government. Let someone else deal with the question of whose hands the decision to establish a new city between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem is playing into, construction that will complete the suffocation that the fence is inflicting on the Arabs of East Jerusalem. By the time there is a commission of inquiry into the fall of the Palestinian Authority and an investigation of the events of the third intifada - the generals will already be directors general or activists in peace organizations.
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Somebody up there, in the new building in the Kirya in Tel Aviv, should have explained that the Palestinian street is becoming convinced that Arafat was the excuse, not the reason, for the freezing of the peace process and the thawing of the construction in the Jewish settlements in the territories... When everyone is talking about how the chief of staff has been sent home because of his reservations about the disengagement plan, it is no wonder that no military source is about to risk saying anything that is liable to be interpreted as criticism of the head of the disengagement government. Let someone else deal with the question of whose hands the decision to establish a new city between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem is playing into, construction that will complete the suffocation that the fence is inflicting on the Arabs of East Jerusalem. By the time there is a commission of inquiry into the fall of the Palestinian Authority and an investigation of the events of the third intifada - the generals will already be directors general or activists in peace organizations.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Huge quake hits Indonesian coast
8,2 on the Richter scale, 200 kilometers from the coast of Sumatra. Hopefully no tsunami.
8,2 on the Richter scale, 200 kilometers from the coast of Sumatra. Hopefully no tsunami.
Poisoning the Well: The False Equation of Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism
It´s a sad thing this equation of anti-zionism with anti-semitism, and these people who make this false equation are either totally ignorant, fanatics or ass lickers. Usually their "logic" is as twisted as that of real anti-semites. In many ways anti-semitism and this modern filo-semitism spring from the same fountain - from the unability to see Jews as normal human beings and the self-proclaimed Jewish state of Israel constrained by the same laws as other states. Where anti-semites have their Jewish conspiracies and other nonsense, the filo-semites have as ludicrous claims of Jewish superiority and special privileges of both Jews and Israel. Usually it seems that the claims of anti-semites have just been turned upside down. Where the Nazis believed that they had the right to murder innocent people because these people happened to be Jews, the filo-semites believe that the state of Israel and it´s representatives have the right to murder innocent people and steal their land because Israel calls itself a Jewish state.
Anyway, if one believes that the history of Jews should give Israel free hand to commit ethnic cleansings and other atrocities, then one also has to believe that because of the death of tens of millions of Chinese and Russians during the last century as a consequence of violence and oppression, China and Russia must have a free hand to do whatever they wish in Tibet, Xinjiang and Chechnya. Because if we believe that past sufferings give some group of people the right to make other people - innocent to their past suffering - to suffer, then we have to conclude that all other groups who have suffered must too have a right to commit atrocities.
The fact that Jews endured a genocide 60 years ago doesn´t give Israel any kind of special privilege to broke international laws or to forget basic human decency. Claiming otherwise is either pure stupidity or evilness. And when all sane people can see the truth about Israel and it´s actions, that it isn´t a poor, innocent little victim of a state, that it is a rogue state if anything, then it doesn´t do any good to Jews to make these kinds of claims of special rights of Jews and Israel. The mantle of a victim doesn´t fit Israel.
It´s a sad thing this equation of anti-zionism with anti-semitism, and these people who make this false equation are either totally ignorant, fanatics or ass lickers. Usually their "logic" is as twisted as that of real anti-semites. In many ways anti-semitism and this modern filo-semitism spring from the same fountain - from the unability to see Jews as normal human beings and the self-proclaimed Jewish state of Israel constrained by the same laws as other states. Where anti-semites have their Jewish conspiracies and other nonsense, the filo-semites have as ludicrous claims of Jewish superiority and special privileges of both Jews and Israel. Usually it seems that the claims of anti-semites have just been turned upside down. Where the Nazis believed that they had the right to murder innocent people because these people happened to be Jews, the filo-semites believe that the state of Israel and it´s representatives have the right to murder innocent people and steal their land because Israel calls itself a Jewish state.
Anyway, if one believes that the history of Jews should give Israel free hand to commit ethnic cleansings and other atrocities, then one also has to believe that because of the death of tens of millions of Chinese and Russians during the last century as a consequence of violence and oppression, China and Russia must have a free hand to do whatever they wish in Tibet, Xinjiang and Chechnya. Because if we believe that past sufferings give some group of people the right to make other people - innocent to their past suffering - to suffer, then we have to conclude that all other groups who have suffered must too have a right to commit atrocities.
The fact that Jews endured a genocide 60 years ago doesn´t give Israel any kind of special privilege to broke international laws or to forget basic human decency. Claiming otherwise is either pure stupidity or evilness. And when all sane people can see the truth about Israel and it´s actions, that it isn´t a poor, innocent little victim of a state, that it is a rogue state if anything, then it doesn´t do any good to Jews to make these kinds of claims of special rights of Jews and Israel. The mantle of a victim doesn´t fit Israel.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Paved with bad intentions
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We are now at the beginning of a civil war. We cannot know whether or not blood will be spilled. But even if there will be no killed and wounded, this war will determine the future of Israel. This will be a struggle between the majority, which is mostly secular, mostly liberal and mostly democratic, against a fanatic minority that is mostly very nationalistic, very religious, messianic and, basically, anti-democratic, preferring the decrees of their rabbis to the laws of the Knesset. The results will not only decide whether we shall move towards peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world, but also what will be the character of the State of Israel itself.
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We are now at the beginning of a civil war. We cannot know whether or not blood will be spilled. But even if there will be no killed and wounded, this war will determine the future of Israel. This will be a struggle between the majority, which is mostly secular, mostly liberal and mostly democratic, against a fanatic minority that is mostly very nationalistic, very religious, messianic and, basically, anti-democratic, preferring the decrees of their rabbis to the laws of the Knesset. The results will not only decide whether we shall move towards peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world, but also what will be the character of the State of Israel itself.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Britain: government refuses to release information on Israeli killing of UN worker
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The Blair government has turned down a request from the British Broadcasting Corporation to release official information on the death of Iain Hook. A British United Nations worker, Hook was shot and killed by the Israeli military on November 22, 2002. No one has been held accountable for his murder, which was one of a series of attacks on aid workers, peace activists and journalists by the Israeli army at the time. The BBC reports that the government rejected its application for the classified material under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that “releasing information on the death could damage its relations with another state.”
Death in the afternoon
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What really happened on the historical Good Friday? To most people, the story of the Passion seems unproblematic; 2,000 years of church tradition have produced a unified popular image with villainous Jewish priests, a hostile Jewish crowd, cowardly apostles and a well-intentioned but feeble Pontius Pilate. Their cooperation brought about the crucifixion of the Son of God. This is believed to be gospel truth. But is it? The New Testament account is neither unified, nor coherent.
"Historical Good Friday" is a problematic claim really; for example, what is known from contemporary sources about the main characters wouldn´t fill many pages. So we can hardly make claims to know what they would or wouldn´t have done. And there´s no necessity to believe that what the Gospels say about the way public in Jerusalem behaved towards Jesus before his arrest would be more accurate than the scene where the people choose Barabbas to be saved. If the picture of Jesus in the Gospels is relatively accurate and the Gospels portray his final days somewhat correctly, there´s really no reason to believe that there couldn´t have been in Jerusalem both significant support for him and also significant support for his execution.
Anyway, the Gospels don´t depict a historical person objectively. They portray Jesus as people who believed in him 40-70 years after his death saw him, his life and what they believed to have happened to him. There´s no reason to suggest that there was any kind of clear picture among his followers what exactly had happened during that night; much what were read from the Gospels about the actions of Jewish and Roman leaders must be in it´s nature more gossip and guesses than inside information.
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What really happened on the historical Good Friday? To most people, the story of the Passion seems unproblematic; 2,000 years of church tradition have produced a unified popular image with villainous Jewish priests, a hostile Jewish crowd, cowardly apostles and a well-intentioned but feeble Pontius Pilate. Their cooperation brought about the crucifixion of the Son of God. This is believed to be gospel truth. But is it? The New Testament account is neither unified, nor coherent.
"Historical Good Friday" is a problematic claim really; for example, what is known from contemporary sources about the main characters wouldn´t fill many pages. So we can hardly make claims to know what they would or wouldn´t have done. And there´s no necessity to believe that what the Gospels say about the way public in Jerusalem behaved towards Jesus before his arrest would be more accurate than the scene where the people choose Barabbas to be saved. If the picture of Jesus in the Gospels is relatively accurate and the Gospels portray his final days somewhat correctly, there´s really no reason to believe that there couldn´t have been in Jerusalem both significant support for him and also significant support for his execution.
Anyway, the Gospels don´t depict a historical person objectively. They portray Jesus as people who believed in him 40-70 years after his death saw him, his life and what they believed to have happened to him. There´s no reason to suggest that there was any kind of clear picture among his followers what exactly had happened during that night; much what were read from the Gospels about the actions of Jewish and Roman leaders must be in it´s nature more gossip and guesses than inside information.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Israel´s enlargement of colonies in the West Bank and continued building of the wall ensures the strenghtening of Hamas (and Jihad) in the coming parlamentary elections, by showing that the non-violent policies of Abbas don´t work and the only way to get Israel out of the West Bank is the same as it was in Gaza: Violence.
United States´ ambassador to Israel claims US support for annexation of large parts of West Bank by Israel. According to him, illegal settlements on the West Bank are "major Israeli population settlements". Both countries should go to hell.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
US Frees Iraqi Kidnappers to Become Spies
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US intelligence and military police officers in Iraq are routinely freeing dangerous criminals in return for a promise to spy on insurgents.
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US intelligence and military police officers in Iraq are routinely freeing dangerous criminals in return for a promise to spy on insurgents.
Even fewer at the next demonstration
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The final authorization for the construction of thousands of housing units and industrial and commercial zones between Ma'aleh Adumim and the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem is a decisive step in determining the future of the Palestinian state. Connecting Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem creates one urban space, which covers a huge area inside the West Bank, from the watershed area to the plains of Jericho. It finally cuts off the northern West Bank from the southern part, and turns the Arab neighborhoods and villages of Jerusalem into isolated islands. Sharon and Mofaz know exactly what the plan they authorized means, and understand that there is no way to make it fit into the road map or any other political process. But they are counting on the American administration, for whom the illusion of the "political process" is much more important than the facts on the ground. The minute the administration in Washington accepts the Israeli claim that the construction freeze does not cover "planning procedures," it will accept the argument when the planning is over that the construction in Ma'aleh Adumim is only meant "to strengthen the Jewish settlement blocs," as President Bush has already affirmed. The Labor Party will not be able to raise any appeals because the plan was originally approved in principle by Yitzhak Rabin's government, though never implemented, and, in general, "Ma'aleh Adumim is in the consensus." Nobody will pay any attention to the protests from the Palestinians. What do they want? Didn't they get Gaza and the Palestinian cities? And maybe, just maybe, "if the terror is eradicated," they'll get half the West Bank, patched together with bridges and tunnels "that create contiguity, but that's not a matter for right away," as Sharon has said. Since no serious Palestinian will accept a plan for a state without territorial contiguity, it is clear that the plan to link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem will torpedo any chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state as laid out by the road map.
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The final authorization for the construction of thousands of housing units and industrial and commercial zones between Ma'aleh Adumim and the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem is a decisive step in determining the future of the Palestinian state. Connecting Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem creates one urban space, which covers a huge area inside the West Bank, from the watershed area to the plains of Jericho. It finally cuts off the northern West Bank from the southern part, and turns the Arab neighborhoods and villages of Jerusalem into isolated islands. Sharon and Mofaz know exactly what the plan they authorized means, and understand that there is no way to make it fit into the road map or any other political process. But they are counting on the American administration, for whom the illusion of the "political process" is much more important than the facts on the ground. The minute the administration in Washington accepts the Israeli claim that the construction freeze does not cover "planning procedures," it will accept the argument when the planning is over that the construction in Ma'aleh Adumim is only meant "to strengthen the Jewish settlement blocs," as President Bush has already affirmed. The Labor Party will not be able to raise any appeals because the plan was originally approved in principle by Yitzhak Rabin's government, though never implemented, and, in general, "Ma'aleh Adumim is in the consensus." Nobody will pay any attention to the protests from the Palestinians. What do they want? Didn't they get Gaza and the Palestinian cities? And maybe, just maybe, "if the terror is eradicated," they'll get half the West Bank, patched together with bridges and tunnels "that create contiguity, but that's not a matter for right away," as Sharon has said. Since no serious Palestinian will accept a plan for a state without territorial contiguity, it is clear that the plan to link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem will torpedo any chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state as laid out by the road map.
Succesful revolution in Kyrgysztan, where president Askar Akayev resigned and fled the country in a Russian helicopter. He couldn´t really be called a dictator - compared to the leaders of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan he´s a saint - but he had an authoritarian streak and was something of a nepotist - and the parliamentary elections, which caused the revolution, were at least partly fixed. More.
One Step Back in the Mideast
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Maybe Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel doesn't quite get it yet, but this new era of hope in the Middle East means he needs to restrain his instincts for settlement building. On Monday, Israel publicly confirmed plans to expand the already large settlement a few miles east of Jerusalem called Maale Adumim. In a community already housing 30,000 residents - not to mention a Blockbuster Video, Ace Hardware and other shops - Israel plans to build an additional 3,500 new housing units. The Palestinians have rightly criticized this as a major obstacle to ever resolving one of the most emotional and intractable issues between the two: the final borders of Israel and eventually Palestine, and the dividing up of Jerusalem... Israel can't simply exchange Gaza for more settlements in the West Bank. There is no realistic substitute for a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and such a pact will never happen without Israeli withdrawal of most of its settlements. That's withdrawal, not expansion. The Maale Adumim expansion is also a slap in the face of the new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas, at his own political peril, has gone further in three months toward making peace with Israel than Yasir Arafat ever did. But the Palestinian people must have confidence that their new leader can eventually get them a fair deal; that their growing willingness to lay down their arms will one day win for them an independent Palestine with enough land in the West Bank and Gaza to make a viable country. How is Mr. Abbas supposed to make that case when Mr. Sharon is building more settlements?
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Maybe Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel doesn't quite get it yet, but this new era of hope in the Middle East means he needs to restrain his instincts for settlement building. On Monday, Israel publicly confirmed plans to expand the already large settlement a few miles east of Jerusalem called Maale Adumim. In a community already housing 30,000 residents - not to mention a Blockbuster Video, Ace Hardware and other shops - Israel plans to build an additional 3,500 new housing units. The Palestinians have rightly criticized this as a major obstacle to ever resolving one of the most emotional and intractable issues between the two: the final borders of Israel and eventually Palestine, and the dividing up of Jerusalem... Israel can't simply exchange Gaza for more settlements in the West Bank. There is no realistic substitute for a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and such a pact will never happen without Israeli withdrawal of most of its settlements. That's withdrawal, not expansion. The Maale Adumim expansion is also a slap in the face of the new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas, at his own political peril, has gone further in three months toward making peace with Israel than Yasir Arafat ever did. But the Palestinian people must have confidence that their new leader can eventually get them a fair deal; that their growing willingness to lay down their arms will one day win for them an independent Palestine with enough land in the West Bank and Gaza to make a viable country. How is Mr. Abbas supposed to make that case when Mr. Sharon is building more settlements?
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
New settlements will close door to peace, warn Palestinians
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Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, has written to Tony Blair and 95 other world leaders urging them to stop Israel building 3,500 homes between the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim and Arab east Jerusalem. If they are built, he told The Independent, it would "close the door to peace" ...The question he posed for President George Bush and Mr Blair was: "If the issue of Jerusalem, the issue of borders, the issue of water and the issue of settlements are determined by the Israeli wall and settlements, what is left for negotiation? How do you translate President Bush's two-state solution to a realistic political track, while the land that's supposed to constitute a Palestinian state is eaten up by settlements and walls?"
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Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, has written to Tony Blair and 95 other world leaders urging them to stop Israel building 3,500 homes between the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim and Arab east Jerusalem. If they are built, he told The Independent, it would "close the door to peace" ...The question he posed for President George Bush and Mr Blair was: "If the issue of Jerusalem, the issue of borders, the issue of water and the issue of settlements are determined by the Israeli wall and settlements, what is left for negotiation? How do you translate President Bush's two-state solution to a realistic political track, while the land that's supposed to constitute a Palestinian state is eaten up by settlements and walls?"
Monday, March 21, 2005
Israel confirms settlement growth
Approximately 3,500 homes are planned for Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem. The settlements at Ariel in the northern West Bank, and Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, are also expected to be expanded. Israeli officials confirmed that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has approved the construction of the new homes in Maale Adumim... An official from the prime minister's office is reported as saying that building would continue in two other large settlements, because these settlements would never be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Peace negoatiations in Israeli way:Speak about peace as you pour gasoline on the floor
and then light a match.
Approximately 3,500 homes are planned for Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem. The settlements at Ariel in the northern West Bank, and Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, are also expected to be expanded. Israeli officials confirmed that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has approved the construction of the new homes in Maale Adumim... An official from the prime minister's office is reported as saying that building would continue in two other large settlements, because these settlements would never be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Peace negoatiations in Israeli way:Speak about peace as you pour gasoline on the floor
and then light a match.
Who will prevent the pogrom?
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The lenient attitudes shown by the army and police allow the settlers to conclude that the state either cannot or will not deal with them. If a handful of rioters from Nahliel and Hebron get off scot-free after what the army itself defined as an attempted lynching, the next pogrom is virtually inevitable. The extreme right will stop at nothing to put a spoke in the wheels of disengagement, and the current clashes are merely an omen of what is to come... Sasson expressed shock over the fact that settlers cut down thousands of Palestinian olive trees under the eyes of watching IDF soldiers and spoke of "the spirit of the commander" in the territories, from which the soldiers understood that they should not intervene, as everything the settlers do is for the sake of Zionism. The unhindered violence of the past few days indicates that this spirit is still active.
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The lenient attitudes shown by the army and police allow the settlers to conclude that the state either cannot or will not deal with them. If a handful of rioters from Nahliel and Hebron get off scot-free after what the army itself defined as an attempted lynching, the next pogrom is virtually inevitable. The extreme right will stop at nothing to put a spoke in the wheels of disengagement, and the current clashes are merely an omen of what is to come... Sasson expressed shock over the fact that settlers cut down thousands of Palestinian olive trees under the eyes of watching IDF soldiers and spoke of "the spirit of the commander" in the territories, from which the soldiers understood that they should not intervene, as everything the settlers do is for the sake of Zionism. The unhindered violence of the past few days indicates that this spirit is still active.
Photos reveal Israeli West Bank expansion
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Aerial photographs by Israel's defence ministry have provided fresh evidence that the government is continuing its rapid expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite public statements to the contrary. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday reported that the pictures, taken last summer and again this year, show extensive construction on settlements, confirming Palestinian fears that Ariel Sharon is using the upheaval around the removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip as cover to grab control of more of the West Bank. The continued construction is also in breach of Israel's commitments under the US-led road map peace initiative which requires a complete freeze on settlement expansion.
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Aerial photographs by Israel's defence ministry have provided fresh evidence that the government is continuing its rapid expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite public statements to the contrary. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday reported that the pictures, taken last summer and again this year, show extensive construction on settlements, confirming Palestinian fears that Ariel Sharon is using the upheaval around the removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip as cover to grab control of more of the West Bank. The continued construction is also in breach of Israel's commitments under the US-led road map peace initiative which requires a complete freeze on settlement expansion.
Dissing Democracy in Asia
Quote:Meeting with Pakistani leaders last week, Secretary Rice did say she looked forward to "the evolution of a democratic path toward elections in 2007." But she neither asked for nor received any sort of guarantees about elections, human rights or freedom of the press. She did bring up nuclear proliferation, but only in a perfunctory way. Likewise, President Bush had General Musharraf as a guest at Camp David in 2003, apparently without ever mentioning the administration's democracy program. This all makes a mockery of President Bush's inaugural speech in January, and is a prime example of the sort of dictator-coddling that, eventually, always comes back to haunt us.
Conveniently forgotten by the writer, India also has huge problems with human rights. In Kashmir, it´s troops have been no less eager to kill civilians than the Pakistani supported guerillas have been, and the fact that major Indian politicians have been linked with religious violence - mass murder, simply put - should be mentioned. Democracy itself is a just way of electing the people who run the country. It has itself nothing to do with the policies the country then adopts. Democratic states can be - and have often been - as ruthless as dictatorships in violeting human rights.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
I went and bought last week Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic II:The Sith Lords even when I knew I shouldn´t have; I have an art history exam next Saturday and 7 books to read, but the lure of the dark side was too strong to resist, as the first Knights of the Old Republic is one of my favourite games. After playing the second game through the first time I can say that the second is too one of my favourites, even when it´s a deeply flawed game that´s in a need of a big update. It´s simply unfinished torso of a game and many of the subplots of the game are not resolved at the end. But after the rather lame beginning of KOTOR2, 2/3 of the game is truly an addictive experience. At worst I stayed awake 32 hours without sleep, playing it (and watching Championship League games from the TV). Big part in my liking of these games is the rich background that the Star Wars universe has; if these games would be situated in some scifi or fantasy world invented for just them, I probably wouldn´t be as enthusiastic about them.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Killing of Chechen leader may empower hard-liners
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"Things will get worse," says Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent security expert. "Maskhadov was a force for moderation." ... Maskhadov's death "would change the equation in favor of Basayev," says Vitaly Naumkin, director of the independent Institute for Political and Strategic Studies in Moscow. "Basayev is a hard-core terrorist, but he is a national hero in Chechnya and the only other figure capable of leading the Chechen rebel bands. "Maskhadov's death doesn't mean a final victory for the regime. The war will continue, but power will shift to the more extreme wing of the Chechen rebel movement. "It will be more difficult now to have negotiations, since there will be no figure of Maskhadov's stature to act as a negotiating partner," says Mr. Naumkin... In what may be his last official statement, dated March 4, Maskhadov said the Chechen independence struggle will continue as long as the Kremlin refuses to negotiate, but claimed that the war could be ended "in a 30-minute meeting" between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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"Things will get worse," says Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent security expert. "Maskhadov was a force for moderation." ... Maskhadov's death "would change the equation in favor of Basayev," says Vitaly Naumkin, director of the independent Institute for Political and Strategic Studies in Moscow. "Basayev is a hard-core terrorist, but he is a national hero in Chechnya and the only other figure capable of leading the Chechen rebel bands. "Maskhadov's death doesn't mean a final victory for the regime. The war will continue, but power will shift to the more extreme wing of the Chechen rebel movement. "It will be more difficult now to have negotiations, since there will be no figure of Maskhadov's stature to act as a negotiating partner," says Mr. Naumkin... In what may be his last official statement, dated March 4, Maskhadov said the Chechen independence struggle will continue as long as the Kremlin refuses to negotiate, but claimed that the war could be ended "in a 30-minute meeting" between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
King Tut 'died from broken leg'
I have been little baffled by the fact that no attempt to extract DNA from Tutankhamen´s mummy - or more precisely, the remains of his mummy, as Howard Carter and his assistants in their eagerness literally hacked it to pieces - hasn´t been approved. Of course there probably are practical reasons, but then Tutankhamen´s likely mother Kija may have been a princess from the Hurrian state of Mitanni in what is now Syria and parts of Iraq, and if that´s true, then one can wonder what kind of claims the popular press could have made based on Tutankhamen´s DNA. After all, the hapless Wall Street Journal claimed some years ago, that a scheduled DNA test was not made because - according to astoundingly ignorant newspaper journalist - "the test could have proven that the Hebrews built the Pyramids". One may try, but one can never underestimate the ignoracy of the Americans.
I have been little baffled by the fact that no attempt to extract DNA from Tutankhamen´s mummy - or more precisely, the remains of his mummy, as Howard Carter and his assistants in their eagerness literally hacked it to pieces - hasn´t been approved. Of course there probably are practical reasons, but then Tutankhamen´s likely mother Kija may have been a princess from the Hurrian state of Mitanni in what is now Syria and parts of Iraq, and if that´s true, then one can wonder what kind of claims the popular press could have made based on Tutankhamen´s DNA. After all, the hapless Wall Street Journal claimed some years ago, that a scheduled DNA test was not made because - according to astoundingly ignorant newspaper journalist - "the test could have proven that the Hebrews built the Pyramids". One may try, but one can never underestimate the ignoracy of the Americans.
In Mari the oppression of the indigenous population continues as the Russian president and his supporters use violence against the indigenous opposition.
Russia claims that it has killed Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov in Chechnya. If it is true - and it almost certainly is - it´s sad in many ways. After all, he represented the moderate independence fighters in Chechnya. And if the moderates will be destroyed, there will be left just the warlords like Shamil Basayev who use all means possible to win the war, and the corrupted and violent pet Chechens of the Russians. And it´s hard to believe that there could be any compromise then.
Russia didn´t win the first war when they killed Dudayev, and they won´t win this war either.
Russia didn´t win the first war when they killed Dudayev, and they won´t win this war either.
Monday, March 07, 2005
An Ocean Apart
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Jeffrey Cimbalo, a private lawyer writing in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs, advises the United States to “end its uncritical support of European integration.” As in the Iraq War, the United States should aim to “divide and conquer” Europe by forcing a stark choice between the EU and NATO. The United States, Cimbalo contends, should publicly encourage populations in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Denmark to reject the new European constitution pending renegotiation of its security clauses to permit a permanent “opt out.” Once that is in place, the United States should eject any participants in the EU arrangements from NATO, or seek “bilateral or multilateral strategic arrangements … to replicate NATO’s core of close supporters.”
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Jeffrey Cimbalo, a private lawyer writing in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs, advises the United States to “end its uncritical support of European integration.” As in the Iraq War, the United States should aim to “divide and conquer” Europe by forcing a stark choice between the EU and NATO. The United States, Cimbalo contends, should publicly encourage populations in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Denmark to reject the new European constitution pending renegotiation of its security clauses to permit a permanent “opt out.” Once that is in place, the United States should eject any participants in the EU arrangements from NATO, or seek “bilateral or multilateral strategic arrangements … to replicate NATO’s core of close supporters.”
Shootings by U.S. at Iraq Checkpoints Questioned
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U.S. soldiers have fired on the occupants of many cars approaching their positions over the past year and a half, only to discover that the people they killed were not suicide bombers or attackers but Iraqi civilians. They did so while operating under rules of engagement that the military has classified and under a legal doctrine that grants U.S. troops immunity from civil liability for misjudgment.
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U.S. soldiers have fired on the occupants of many cars approaching their positions over the past year and a half, only to discover that the people they killed were not suicide bombers or attackers but Iraqi civilians. They did so while operating under rules of engagement that the military has classified and under a legal doctrine that grants U.S. troops immunity from civil liability for misjudgment.
Victims of a Stalled Revolution
The success of Burmese dictatorship - the country, now called Myanmar by the junta, has been ruled by the military since 1962 - probably lies in the fact that no other country will much benefit if it falls and that it isn´t much of a threat to it´s neighbours. When you are threat only to the people you rule over, it seems that you can do pretty much everything you want to. And now China´s growing influence in Burma probably guarantees the junta´s survival for some time - nowadays nobody wants to step on China´s toes. More.
The success of Burmese dictatorship - the country, now called Myanmar by the junta, has been ruled by the military since 1962 - probably lies in the fact that no other country will much benefit if it falls and that it isn´t much of a threat to it´s neighbours. When you are threat only to the people you rule over, it seems that you can do pretty much everything you want to. And now China´s growing influence in Burma probably guarantees the junta´s survival for some time - nowadays nobody wants to step on China´s toes. More.
To the Washington Post he was a Giant of the 2oth Century Physics, to the MSNBC he was an Atom Bomb designer. Nobel prize winner Hans Bethe, the man who in 1939 found out how the Sun creates it´s energy, has died at the age of 98. One of the creators of today´s world.
Palestinian Political Child Prisoners in Israeli Prisons
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310 children are still in jail including 11 girls
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4% of children without charges (administrative detention)
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2% of child prisoners are girls
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56% of child prisoners pending trial
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65% of the children are held within Israeli proper
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25% of child prisoners are sick
Since the outbreak of Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, about 3,000 Palestinian children have been arrested. During 2004, the Israeli forces arrested 451 Palestinian children. Up to now, there are 321 Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and detention facilities. 65% of them are held within the Israeli proper far from their place of residency.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Millions of babies' lives could be saved
Quote:Simple, inexpensive treatments could prevent the deaths of three million babies every year, doctors and child advocates have announced. According to studies published in the medical journal The Lancet, each year four million babies under a month old die, and three-quarters of them die in the first week of life. But the research shows that most could be saved through 16 basic interventions, such as encouraging mothers to breast-feed and providing antibiotics for sick babies... The research shows that the majority of these babies die from infections, premature birth, or problems during the birth itself, says Paul, and that most of the preventive measures are very cheap and simple. For instance, 500,000 babies die every year from tetanus infections. But these deaths could be prevented if their mothers received tetanus vaccinations, which only cost 20 US cents per shot. And most premature babies simply need extra warmth, feeding and prompt treatment of infections, which requires proper training of midwives, mothers-to-be and their families.
An Open Letter to UNESCO
Double Standards on South Africa and Israel
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PACBI's call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel is specifically premised upon Israel's systematic and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people which takes three basic forms: its illegal occupation of Palestinians territories; its system of racial discrimination against its own Palestinian citizens; and its denial of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties, in contravention of UN resolutions.
Double Standards on South Africa and Israel
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PACBI's call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel is specifically premised upon Israel's systematic and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people which takes three basic forms: its illegal occupation of Palestinians territories; its system of racial discrimination against its own Palestinian citizens; and its denial of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties, in contravention of UN resolutions.
Niger cancels 'free-slave' event
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The government of Niger has cancelled at the last minute a special ceremony during which at least 7,000 slaves were to be granted their freedom. A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said this was because slavery did not exist. It is not clear why the government, which was also a co-sponsor of the ceremony, changed its position. At least 43,000 people across Niger are thought to be in slavery.
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The government of Niger has cancelled at the last minute a special ceremony during which at least 7,000 slaves were to be granted their freedom. A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said this was because slavery did not exist. It is not clear why the government, which was also a co-sponsor of the ceremony, changed its position. At least 43,000 people across Niger are thought to be in slavery.
Lost Treasures from Iraq. New pictures by Joanne Farchakh.
The cultural price of the war.
I just hope that one day the cultural heritage - what little there is - of US will be vandalized in the same manner.
The cultural price of the war.
I just hope that one day the cultural heritage - what little there is - of US will be vandalized in the same manner.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
If Syria Is Expected To Withdraw from Lebanon, Shouldn’t Israel Withdraw From the Occupied Territories?
According to the US, Syria is an evil occupier in Lebanon, whereas Israel is just "protecting itself" with the occupation of West Bank and Gaza. Those 450 000 Jewish settlers in the occupied areas are there just to protect the poor suffering Jews of Israel. Etc.
So, the cruel occupation, ethnic cleansing and stealing of land by Israel is portrayed in US as a brave fight for it´s own survival, whereas Syria´s interference in Lebanon and it´s attempts to control country through it´s proxies - a tactic often used by the US itself - is then portrayed as a worser thing.
According to the US, Syria is an evil occupier in Lebanon, whereas Israel is just "protecting itself" with the occupation of West Bank and Gaza. Those 450 000 Jewish settlers in the occupied areas are there just to protect the poor suffering Jews of Israel. Etc.
So, the cruel occupation, ethnic cleansing and stealing of land by Israel is portrayed in US as a brave fight for it´s own survival, whereas Syria´s interference in Lebanon and it´s attempts to control country through it´s proxies - a tactic often used by the US itself - is then portrayed as a worser thing.
Freed Italy hostage arrives home. More.
True to the their nature, the Americans claim that it was all the fault of the Italians and that their "brave" soldiers just did they duty. What they did was that they thought they were "just" killing a few Iraqis for fun, and if there would have been Iraqis instead of Italians in the car, this would have just been a very minor incident in the western press. Hopefully that CNN reporter will himself get the same treatment.
True to the their nature, the Americans claim that it was all the fault of the Italians and that their "brave" soldiers just did they duty. What they did was that they thought they were "just" killing a few Iraqis for fun, and if there would have been Iraqis instead of Italians in the car, this would have just been a very minor incident in the western press. Hopefully that CNN reporter will himself get the same treatment.
Scientists unearth world's oldest biped skeleton. More.
Of course, several earlier hominid species were most likely bipedal, but this seems to be the best proof of early bipedalism so far - at least according to the team that found the new skeleton. I have to admit though, that the quickness of the announcement of the finding surprises me. A scientific description is unlikely to come quickly, as the whole remains of the skeleton are yet to be excavated.
Of course, several earlier hominid species were most likely bipedal, but this seems to be the best proof of early bipedalism so far - at least according to the team that found the new skeleton. I have to admit though, that the quickness of the announcement of the finding surprises me. A scientific description is unlikely to come quickly, as the whole remains of the skeleton are yet to be excavated.
Friday, March 04, 2005
US, UK, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia etc are screaming that Syria must withdraw from Lebanon. If we now leave aside the obvious case of Palestine and the double standards there, we can ask, why are these countries so eager to end the Syrian interference in Lebanon and so unwilling to say and do anything similar about Western Sahara? Why are they not demanding Moroccan withdrawal from Western Sahara? Why aren´t the media filled with demands and threats from Bush, Blair, Chirac, Straw etc to Moroccan government&king declaring that Morocco will become "a pariah state" if they don´t withdraw and that the "whole world is against them"?
Unilateral Give, Unilateral Take
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On that festive Sunday, few wanted to be reminded that after approving disengagement - practically in the same breath - the government decided to build its notorious "separation barrier" on a line that will unilaterally annex, in effect, 7% of the West Bank. The principle of unilateral action, Sharon demonstrates, can work in two directions. But this was not just another of his notorious tricks. The Labor Party is a full partner to the decision on the barrier, which annexes to Israel the large urban settlement of Maaleh Adumim and the Etzion Bloc.
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On that festive Sunday, few wanted to be reminded that after approving disengagement - practically in the same breath - the government decided to build its notorious "separation barrier" on a line that will unilaterally annex, in effect, 7% of the West Bank. The principle of unilateral action, Sharon demonstrates, can work in two directions. But this was not just another of his notorious tricks. The Labor Party is a full partner to the decision on the barrier, which annexes to Israel the large urban settlement of Maaleh Adumim and the Etzion Bloc.
Hopping mad over 'hobbit'. Scientists fight over fossil skull and bones of humanlike creature
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Morwood insisted Thursday that Jacob and his colleagues have not only destroyed some of the bone specimens, but had even glued one broken bone together to hide the damage. "We are disgusted with some of the material that has now been returned," Morwood said. "It's appalling -- severely and irreparably damaged. Some has been washed and dissolved in acetone to make it impossible to extract any DNA for analysis."
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Morwood insisted Thursday that Jacob and his colleagues have not only destroyed some of the bone specimens, but had even glued one broken bone together to hide the damage. "We are disgusted with some of the material that has now been returned," Morwood said. "It's appalling -- severely and irreparably damaged. Some has been washed and dissolved in acetone to make it impossible to extract any DNA for analysis."
Jews have become a minority in Israel and the Occupied Territories. That should make Israeli Jews more eager to support withdrawal from West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Hopefully.
The best example of Homo floresiensis wasn´t a a sick Homo sapiens, but a member of maybe a surprisingly intelligent species, having quite advanced features in it´s small brain, according to a new study of the skull. More.
Maximum pain is aim of new US weapon
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The US military is funding development of a weapon that delivers a bout of excruciating pain from up to 2 kilometres away. Intended for use against rioters, it is meant to leave victims unharmed. But pain researchers are furious that work aimed at controlling pain has been used to develop a weapon. And they fear that the technology will be used for torture.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Face up to the facts on the ground
Britain and Europe are funding Israel's occupation and expansion
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Donors (mostly European states) now pretty much accept they have done the reverse of helping the Palestinian people achieve their independence. The facts on the ground created by Israel - and the international community's refusal to tackle them politically - have turned their engagement into one of funding the occupation. The World Bank, EU, UN, international agencies and donor countries have all come to the same conclusion. Their diplomats wander around international meetings, dispirited and bullied, with a profound awareness of their complicity, but no understanding of how to get out of it - or, as in the British case, aligning themselves entirely with the US and Israeli position. The unwillingness to tackle the facts on the ground now manifests itself in a public event that conceals the donor states' responsibility for creating and perpetuating this political disaster. The aim is to mask direct political assistance to Israel by offering economic assistance to the Palestinians.
Britain and Europe are funding Israel's occupation and expansion
Quote:
Donors (mostly European states) now pretty much accept they have done the reverse of helping the Palestinian people achieve their independence. The facts on the ground created by Israel - and the international community's refusal to tackle them politically - have turned their engagement into one of funding the occupation. The World Bank, EU, UN, international agencies and donor countries have all come to the same conclusion. Their diplomats wander around international meetings, dispirited and bullied, with a profound awareness of their complicity, but no understanding of how to get out of it - or, as in the British case, aligning themselves entirely with the US and Israeli position. The unwillingness to tackle the facts on the ground now manifests itself in a public event that conceals the donor states' responsibility for creating and perpetuating this political disaster. The aim is to mask direct political assistance to Israel by offering economic assistance to the Palestinians.
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