Posted: 28 Nov 2014 08:06 AM PST
Two
more county governments in North Carolina will consider resolutions
opposing recent federal court decisions striking down the state's
anti-LGBT constitutional amendment on marriage.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
UN panel slams US for police brutality, torture, botched executions
UN panel slams US for police brutality, torture, botched executions
by aletho
RT | November 29, 2014
A UN report has condemned the United States for violating the terms of
an international anti-torture treaty. The panel took Washington to task
for police brutality, military interrogations, and capital punishment
protocols. “The Committee is concerned about numerous reports of police
brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement […]
Netanyahu’s nationality bill is at odds with the Hebrew Bible
Binyamin Netanyahu’s nationality bill is at odds with the Hebrew Bible
Giles Fraser--The scriptures insist that Jews and non-Jews are to be subject to the same laws. We need to heed this message dn
Giles Fraser--The scriptures insist that Jews and non-Jews are to be subject to the same laws. We need to heed this message dn
Egyptian Court Dismisses All Charges Against Mubarak
Egyptian Court Dismisses All Charges Against Mubarak
| An Egyptian court on Saturday dismissed all remaining criminal charges against former President Hosni Mubarak, raising the possibility that Mr. Mubarak could go free for the first time since he was removed from office in the 2011 uprising that defined the Arab Spring. |
| During earlier hearings in the various proceedings against Mr. Mubarak human rights lawyers demanded harsh punishment for his three decades of brutal autocracy, but Saturday’s court session was packed with Mubarak supporters who erupted in cheers at the verdict. |
| The 86-year-old former leader, who has been held at a military hospital and appeared in court on a stretcher, remained stone-faced as the chief judge, Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi, read the verdict. Only then did he allow himself a smile, and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, hugged and kissed him in celebration. Both were acquitted of corruption charges along with their father. |
READ MORE »http://www.nytimes.com/2014/ |
France to recognise Palestine if talks fail
France to recognise Palestine if talks fail
| ||
Foreign minister sets two-year deadline to break impasse as MPs debate motion to recognise Palestine.
Last updated: 28 Nov 2014 14:20
| ||
Hollande wants to host an international conference 'to find a solution' to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict [Reuters]
| ||
France
has warned that it would recognise a Palestinian state if a final
international effort to overcome the impasse between Israelis and
Palestinians failed, and proposed a two-year timeframe to end the
conflict through a UN-backed resolution.
"If
this final effort to reach a negotiated solution fails, then France
will have to do what it takes by recognising without delay the
Palestinian state. We are ready," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told
parliament on Friday.
His
statement came as French politicians debated a motion urging the
government to recognise Palestine as an independent state, amid growing
European frustration at the paralysed Middle East peace process.
The symbolic motion, being discussed on Friday, is expected to pass comfortably on December 2 when the lower house of parliament votes on the text proposed by the ruling Socialists.
The vote comes hot on the heels of a similar resolution approved by British legislators on October 13, Spanish MPs on November 18 and the formal recognition by Sweden on October 30.
The
text "invites the French government to use the recognition of the state
of Palestine as an instrument to gain a definitive resolution of the
conflict".
Hael al-Fahoum, head of the Palestinian Mission in France, attended the debate on Friday.
The
Socialist MP who drafted the text, Elisabeth Guigou, told AFP the aim
was to "reaffirm that the two-state solution is the best guarantee for
peace".
"If
we do not act now, there is a risk of entering into an irreversible
cycle of violence and transforming this territorial conflict into a
regional conflict," Guigou said.
Israeli warning
In
advance of the vote, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, warned
France it would be making a "grave mistake" if it recognised Palestine
as a state.
"Do
they have nothing better to do at a time of beheadings across the
Middle East, including that of a French citizen?" he said in Jerusalem
on November 23, referring to Herve Gourdel, a hiker, who was executed by
his captors in Algeria in September.
"Recognition of a Palestinian state by France would be a grave mistake."
On
the eve of the parliamentary debate, President Francois Hollande told
French media he wanted to host an international conference "to find a
solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He did not say when such a gathering might take place or who would be invited.
Many
in Europe are frustrated with the deadlock in peace talks, and with the
Israeli government's actions in Gaza and in supporting the growth of
Jewish settlements.
|
Marriage Equality Endangers 'Soul of America,' Says Huckabee
Posted: 26 Nov 2014 01:33 PM PST
Mike
Huckabee made the statement in a speech laced with Holocaust references
after leading a tour of concentration camps in Poland.read more
Why the Mississippi Marriage Win Is Our Most Important Yet
Posted: 26 Nov 2014 04:17 PM PST
A
federal judge overturned Mississippi's marriage ban this week, in a
ruling heavily influenced by DOMA-busting lawyer Robbie Kaplan.read more
6 Ways Same-Sex Married Couples Can Prepare for Tax Time
Posted: 28 Nov 2014 12:55 AM PST
This
is the first year that some same-sex couples will be able to file
federal taxes jointly. Here are a few ways to make sure you keep your
fair share.read more
Israeli soldiers shoot Italian in the stomach at Kafr Qaddum rally
Israeli soldiers shoot Italian in the stomach at Kafr Qaddum rally
Published yesterday (updated) 28/11/2014 20:38
Photograph allegedly shows Patrick Corsi (in yellow vest) prior to being
shot. (ISM)
shot. (ISM)
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- An Italian was critically injured along with 11 Palestinians on Friday afternoon after Israeli forces opened live fire on a protest march in the village of Kafr Qaddum west of Nablus.
Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad told Ma'an that Italian solidarity activist Patrick Corsi, 30, was injured after Israeli forces fired several bullets at him in the stomach and chest.
The minister said that Corsi was in "critical" condition as a result of the shooting, which took place during a protest march against the Israeli occupation.
Awwad said that "shooting live fire at the upper part of the bodies of protesters is directly targeting them and is a deliberate attempt at murder."
"Israel does not differentiate between foreign solidarity activists, Palestinians, or even journalists," he added.
The International Solidarity Movement, an activist group whose members frequently attend Palestinian protests to monitor the actions of Israeli soldiers, confirmed the shooting in a statement, adding that an 18-year-old Palestinian was also shot in the chest with live bullets.
"The Italian activist, known as Patrick, was wearing a yellow high visibility jacket when he was shot," the statement said.
"We were standing with a group of Palestinian demonstrators when Patrick was shot. The military had fired three rounds of tear gas, and then a shot rang out and Patrick stumbled back. There was between five and ten minutes from the last tear gas canister fired and the bullet that shot Patrick."
"He was just standing there, peacefully protesting, wearing a hi-viz jacket, he wasn’t doing anything and they just decided to shoot him," the statement quoted an ISM volunteer at the scene as saying.
The statement added that 10 Palestinian protesters were wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets at the protest in addition to 18-year-old Sami Jumma who was struck by live fire.
"The bullet entered Patrick's chest near a main blood vessel, but thankfully did not puncture it. If God forbid it had, the lengthened journey to the hospital because of the closed road could have cost Patrick his life," ISM media coordinator Ally Cohen was quoted in the statement as saying.
Due to an Israeli closure of Kafr Qaddum's main road to Nablus, the travel time to the nearest hospital is around 30 minutes instead of 10.
Palestinian Minister of Health Jawad Awwad told Ma'an that Italian solidarity activist Patrick Corsi, 30, was injured after Israeli forces fired several bullets at him in the stomach and chest.
The minister said that Corsi was in "critical" condition as a result of the shooting, which took place during a protest march against the Israeli occupation.
Awwad said that "shooting live fire at the upper part of the bodies of protesters is directly targeting them and is a deliberate attempt at murder."
"Israel does not differentiate between foreign solidarity activists, Palestinians, or even journalists," he added.
The International Solidarity Movement, an activist group whose members frequently attend Palestinian protests to monitor the actions of Israeli soldiers, confirmed the shooting in a statement, adding that an 18-year-old Palestinian was also shot in the chest with live bullets.
"The Italian activist, known as Patrick, was wearing a yellow high visibility jacket when he was shot," the statement said.
"We were standing with a group of Palestinian demonstrators when Patrick was shot. The military had fired three rounds of tear gas, and then a shot rang out and Patrick stumbled back. There was between five and ten minutes from the last tear gas canister fired and the bullet that shot Patrick."
"He was just standing there, peacefully protesting, wearing a hi-viz jacket, he wasn’t doing anything and they just decided to shoot him," the statement quoted an ISM volunteer at the scene as saying.
The statement added that 10 Palestinian protesters were wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets at the protest in addition to 18-year-old Sami Jumma who was struck by live fire.
"The bullet entered Patrick's chest near a main blood vessel, but thankfully did not puncture it. If God forbid it had, the lengthened journey to the hospital because of the closed road could have cost Patrick his life," ISM media coordinator Ally Cohen was quoted in the statement as saying.
Due to an Israeli closure of Kafr Qaddum's main road to Nablus, the travel time to the nearest hospital is around 30 minutes instead of 10.
(ISM)
Khaldoun Ishtewi, media coordinator for public campaigns in Kafr Qaddum, told Ma'an that the Italian national was taken to the Rafidia Public Hospital in Nablus for treatment.
Ishtewi added that several Palestinians suffered from excessive tear-gas inhalation as a result of canisters fired by Israeli soldiers during the clashes.
An Israeli military spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
Protests are held every Friday in Kafr Qaddum against Israel's closure of a main road linking the village to its nearest city, Nablus, as well as against the Israeli occupation more generally.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Civilians killed in US drone attacks
Civilians killed in US drone attacks: Rights group
by aletho
Press TV - November 28, 2014
A rights group says many civilians have been targeted and killed in US
drone attacks in Pakistan and other countries where such raids are
carried out, Press TV reports. The UK-based rights group Reprieve
revealed that civilians have been killed in Pakistan and other places
before militants were targeted […]
Senior Tory claims gay clergy will ‘weaken’ Church of Scotland
Senior Tory claims gay clergy will ‘weaken’ Church of Scotland |
|
|
A senior Tory MSP has claimed allowing congregations the discretion to appoint ministers in same-sex relationships “ultimately” weakens the Church of Scotland. |
Gay asylum seekers fear arrest for reporting rape in Papua New Guinea
Gay asylum seekers fear arrest for reporting rape in Papua New Guinea |
|
|
Gay asylum seekers to Australia fear reporting rape in case they are arrested for homosexuality. |
Finland’s Parliament just voted to move forward with same-sex marriage
Finland’s Parliament just voted to move forward with same-sex marriage |
|
|
The Finnish Parliament has just voted in support of changing the country's marriage laws to be more gender-neutral, to allow same-sex couples to marry. |
Swiss, French call to bring home gold reserves as Dutch move 122 tons out of US
Swiss, French call to bring home gold reserves as Dutch move 122 tons out of US
by aletho
RT | November 28, 2014
The financial crisis in Europe is prompting some nations to repatriate
their gold reserves to national vaults. The Netherlands has moved $5
billion worth of gold from New York, and some are calling for similar
action from France, Switzerland, and Germany. An unmatched pace of money
printing by major central […]
U.S. Judges Overturn Gay Marriage Bans In Arkansas And Mississippi
U.S. Judges Overturn Gay Marriage Bans In Arkansas And Mississippi
Reuters reports that U.S. district judges on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional same-sex marriage bans in Arkansas and Mississippi, separately overturning measures that voters approved a decade ago in socially conservative Southern states.Read the full story from Reuters
ISIS Executes Two Men For ‘Being Gay’ By Stoning Them
ISIS Executes Two Men For ‘Being Gay’ By Stoning Them In Deir Ezzor
The International Business Times reports that the Islamic State group reportedly executed two people in the Syrian province of Deir el-Zour on Tuesday, reportedly for being gay.Read the full story from the International Business Times
State Department Condemns Severe 'Aggravated Homosexuality' Law in Gambia
Commission decides Scotland to have more independent powers
Commission decides Scotland to have more independent powers
By Kimberly Bennett on Nov 27, 2014 09:16 am[JURIST] UK's commission on strengthening devolution, the Smith Commission [official website], concluded on Thursday that Scotland's parliament should have more independence in certain matters. The commission, which was set up [press release] by Prime Minister David Cameron [official website], recommended that Scotland's parliament should have the power to decide Scotland's income tax rates, the voting age, welfare payments and should have a consultative role in reviewing the BBC Charter. The announcement follows Scotland's vote against independence [JURIST report]. Though Scotland's... +read more
Sudan asks UN to close human rights office in Khartoum
Sudan asks UN to close human rights office in Khartoum
By Valerie Howell on Nov 27, 2014 02:59 pm[JURIST] The Sudanese government has made a formal request to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) [official website] to close their human rights office in Khartoum following accusations of worrying abuses and violations by their peacekeepers. This request [Guardian report] is believed to stem from the strained relationship between UNAMID and Sudan after accusations surfaced of a mass rape in a Darfur village said to have been perpetrated by Sudanese troops. Investigations made into the mass rape by... +read more
Did a Fortune Cookie Company Once Guess The Lottery Numbers Correctly?
A fortune cookie company was investigated for providing the winning lottery
numbers on a fortune cookie message.
A fortune cookie company once guessed the lottery numbers correctly in
2005. Across six different states in the US, 110 lottery winners used the
numbers they received from messages in fortune cookies. An average of four
winners were expected for the Powerball drawing, which led the lottery
organizers to open an investigation. It was suspected that a computer error
or scam was the reason behind the high number of lottery prize winners, who
received prizes from $100,000 US Dollars (USD) to $500,000 USD. However,
the investigation found that the winners all coincidentally had fortune
cookies from the same New York based fortune cookie company. The Powerball
lottery organizers ended up paying an additional $19 million USD in
unanticipated prizes.
Read More: http://www.wisegeek.com/did-a-
numbers on a fortune cookie message.
A fortune cookie company once guessed the lottery numbers correctly in
2005. Across six different states in the US, 110 lottery winners used the
numbers they received from messages in fortune cookies. An average of four
winners were expected for the Powerball drawing, which led the lottery
organizers to open an investigation. It was suspected that a computer error
or scam was the reason behind the high number of lottery prize winners, who
received prizes from $100,000 US Dollars (USD) to $500,000 USD. However,
the investigation found that the winners all coincidentally had fortune
cookies from the same New York based fortune cookie company. The Powerball
lottery organizers ended up paying an additional $19 million USD in
unanticipated prizes.
Read More: http://www.wisegeek.com/did-a-
Zionist Attorney-General Refuses to Answer Questions About “Anti-Terrorism” Laws
Zionist Attorney-General Refuses to Answer Questions About “Anti-Terrorism” Laws
by aletho
By
Joshua Blakeney | Non-Aligned Media | November 27, 2014 Recently
Israel’s department for her colonies of Australia and Canada dispatched
new “anti-terror” legislation which will make it illegal for Australian
and Canadian subjects of the Israeli Empire to “condone” so called
“terrorism”. In the above video Australia’s Zionist Attorney-General,
George Brandis, can be viewed enabling such […]
Nigel Farage fails to turn up for his own motion in European Parliament
UKIP leader Nigel Farage didn’t even bother turning up for his own European Parliament motion today — an attempt to censure European Commission president over his links to tax avoidance.
Jean-Claude Juncker is accused of presiding over industrial-scale avoidance by multinational companies during his tenure as president of Luxembourg. But even with support from the, errr, far-right French National Front, the motion went down to a 461 votes to 101 loss.
Could it be that hypocrite Farage had second thoughts on fronting up a motion on the issue?
In 2013 the UKIP leader was exposed for setting up an Isle of Man-based tax avoidance scheme, Farage Family Education Trust 1654, with the express intention of avoiding inheritance tax on his estate.
Former Mossad chief: For the first time, I fear for the future of Zionism
http://www.haaretz.com/
Haaretz Nov. 24, 2014
Former Mossad chief: For the first time, I fear for the future of Zionism
The nation of Israel is galloping blindly toward Bar Kochba's war on the Roman Empire. The result of that conflict was 2,000 years of exile.
By Shabtai Shavit
From the beginning of Zionism in the late 19th century, the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel has been growing stronger in terms of demography and territory, despite the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. We have succeeded in doing so because we have acted with wisdom and stratagem rather than engaging in a foolish attempt to convince our foes that we were in the right.
Today, for the first time since I began forming my own opinions, I am truly concerned about the future of the Zionist project. I am concerned about the critical mass of the threats against us on the one hand, and the government’s blindness and political and strategic paralysis on the other. Although the State of Israel is dependent upon the United States, the relationship between the two countries has reached an unprecedented low point. Europe, our biggest market, has grown tired of us and is heading toward imposing sanctions on us. For China, Israel is an attractive high-tech project, and we are selling them our national assets for the sake of profit. Russia is gradually turning against us and supporting and assisting our enemies.
Anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel have reached dimensions unknown since before World War II. Our public diplomacy and public relations have failed dismally, while those of the Palestinians have garnered many important accomplishments in the world. University campuses in the West, particularly in the U.S., are hothouses for the future leadership of their countries.
We are losing the fight for support for Israel in the academic world. An increasing number of Jewish students are turning away from Israel. The global BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel, which works for Israel’s delegitimization, has grown, and quite a few Jews are members.
In this age of asymmetrical warfare we are not using all our force, and this has a detrimental effect on our deterrent power.
The debate over the price of Milky pudding snacks and its centrality in public discourse demonstrate an erosion of the solidarity that is a necessary condition for our continued existence here. Israelis’ rush to acquire a foreign passport, based as it is on the yearning for foreign citizenship, indicates that people’s feeling of security has begun to crack.
I am concerned that for the first time, I am seeing haughtiness and arrogance, together with more than a bit of the messianic thinking that rushes to turn the conflict into a holy war. If this has been, so far, a local political conflict that two small nations have been waging over a small and defined piece of territory, major forces in the religious Zionist movement are foolishly doing everything they can to turn it into the most horrific of wars, in which the entire Muslim world will stand against us.
I also see, to the same extent, detachment and lack of understanding of international processes and their significance for us. This right wing, in its blindness and stupidity, is pushing the nation of Israel into the dishonorable position of “the nation shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9).
I am concerned because I see history repeating itself. The nation of Israel is galloping blindly in a time tunnel to the age of Bar Kochba and his war on the Roman Empire. The result of that conflict was several centuries of national existence in the Land of Israel followed by 2,000 years of exile.
I am concerned because as I understand matters, exile is truly frightening only to the state’s secular sector, whose world view is located on the political center and left. That is the sane and liberal sector that knows that for it, exile symbolizes the destruction of the Jewish people. The Haredi sector lives in Israel only for reasons of convenience. In terms of territory, Israel and Brooklyn are the same to them; they will continue living as Jews in exile, and wait patiently for the arrival of the Messiah.
The religious Zionist movement, by comparison, believes the Jews are “God’s chosen.” This movement, which sanctifies territory beyond any other value, is prepared to sacrifice everything, even at the price of failure and danger to the Third Commonwealth. If destruction should take place, they will explain it in terms of faith, saying that we failed because “We sinned against God.” Therefore, they will say, it is not the end of the world. We will go into exile, preserve our Judaism and wait patiently for the next opportunity.
I recall Menachem Begin, one of the fathers of the vision of Greater Israel. He fought all his life for the fulfillment of that dream. And then, when the gate opened for peace with Egypt, the greatest of our enemies, he gave up Sinai – Egyptian territory three times larger than Israel’s territory inside the Green Line – for the sake of peace. In other words, some values are more sacred than land. Peace, which is the life and soul of true democracy, is more important than land.
I am concerned that large segments of the nation of Israel have forgotten, or put aside, the original vision of Zionism: to establish a Jewish and democratic state for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. No borders were defined in that vision, and the current defiant policy is working against it.
What can and ought to be done? We need to create an Archimedean lever that will stop the current deterioration and reverse today’s reality at once. I propose creating that lever by using the Arab League’s proposal from 2002, which was partly created by Saudi Arabia. The government must make a decision that the proposal will be the basis of talks with the moderate Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The government should do three things as preparation for this announcement: 1) It should define a future negotiating strategy for itself, together with its position on each of the topics included in the Arab League’s proposal. 2) It should open a secret channel of dialogue with the United States to examine the idea, and agree in advance concerning our red lines and about the input that the U.S. will be willing to invest in such a process. 3) It should open a secret American-Israeli channel of dialogue with Saudi Arabia in order to reach agreements with it in advance on the boundaries of the topics that will be raised in the talks and coordinate expectations. Once the secret processes are completed, Israel will announce publicly that it is willing to begin talks on the basis of the Arab League’s document.
I have no doubt that the United States and Saudi Arabia, each for its own reasons, will respond positively to the Israeli initiative, and the initiative will be the lever that leads to a dramatic change in the situation. With all the criticism I have for the Oslo process, it cannot be denied that for the first time in the conflict’s history, immediately after the Oslo Accords were signed, almost every Arab country started talking with us, opened its gates to us and began engaging in unprecedented cooperative ventures in economic and other fields.
Although I am not so naïve as to think that such a process will bring the longed-for peace, I am certain that this kind of process, long and fatiguing as it will be, could yield confidence-building measures at first and, later on, security agreements that both sides in the conflict will be willing to live with. The progress of the talks will, of course, be conditional upon calm in the security sphere, which both sides will be committed to maintaining. It may happen that as things progress, both sides will agree to look into mutual compromises that will promote the idea of coexisting alongside one another. If mutual trust should develop – and the chances of that happening under American and Saudi Arabian auspices are fairly high – it will be possible to begin talks for the conflict’s full resolution as well.
An initiative of this kind requires true and courageous leadership, which is hard to identify at the moment. But if the prime minister should internalize the severity of the mass of threats against us at this time, the folly of the current policy, the fact that this policy’s creators are significant elements in the religious Zionist movement and on the far right, and its devastating results – up to the destruction of the Zionist vision – then perhaps he will find the courage and determination to carry out the proposed action.
I wrote the above statements because I feel that I owe them to my parents, who devoted their lives to the fulfillment of Zionism; to my children, my grandchildren and to the nation of Israel, which I served for decades.
The author is a former director general of the Mossad.
Haaretz Nov. 24, 2014
Former Mossad chief: For the first time, I fear for the future of Zionism
The nation of Israel is galloping blindly toward Bar Kochba's war on the Roman Empire. The result of that conflict was 2,000 years of exile.
By Shabtai Shavit
From the beginning of Zionism in the late 19th century, the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel has been growing stronger in terms of demography and territory, despite the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. We have succeeded in doing so because we have acted with wisdom and stratagem rather than engaging in a foolish attempt to convince our foes that we were in the right.
Today, for the first time since I began forming my own opinions, I am truly concerned about the future of the Zionist project. I am concerned about the critical mass of the threats against us on the one hand, and the government’s blindness and political and strategic paralysis on the other. Although the State of Israel is dependent upon the United States, the relationship between the two countries has reached an unprecedented low point. Europe, our biggest market, has grown tired of us and is heading toward imposing sanctions on us. For China, Israel is an attractive high-tech project, and we are selling them our national assets for the sake of profit. Russia is gradually turning against us and supporting and assisting our enemies.
Anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel have reached dimensions unknown since before World War II. Our public diplomacy and public relations have failed dismally, while those of the Palestinians have garnered many important accomplishments in the world. University campuses in the West, particularly in the U.S., are hothouses for the future leadership of their countries.
We are losing the fight for support for Israel in the academic world. An increasing number of Jewish students are turning away from Israel. The global BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel, which works for Israel’s delegitimization, has grown, and quite a few Jews are members.
In this age of asymmetrical warfare we are not using all our force, and this has a detrimental effect on our deterrent power.
The debate over the price of Milky pudding snacks and its centrality in public discourse demonstrate an erosion of the solidarity that is a necessary condition for our continued existence here. Israelis’ rush to acquire a foreign passport, based as it is on the yearning for foreign citizenship, indicates that people’s feeling of security has begun to crack.
I am concerned that for the first time, I am seeing haughtiness and arrogance, together with more than a bit of the messianic thinking that rushes to turn the conflict into a holy war. If this has been, so far, a local political conflict that two small nations have been waging over a small and defined piece of territory, major forces in the religious Zionist movement are foolishly doing everything they can to turn it into the most horrific of wars, in which the entire Muslim world will stand against us.
I also see, to the same extent, detachment and lack of understanding of international processes and their significance for us. This right wing, in its blindness and stupidity, is pushing the nation of Israel into the dishonorable position of “the nation shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9).
I am concerned because I see history repeating itself. The nation of Israel is galloping blindly in a time tunnel to the age of Bar Kochba and his war on the Roman Empire. The result of that conflict was several centuries of national existence in the Land of Israel followed by 2,000 years of exile.
I am concerned because as I understand matters, exile is truly frightening only to the state’s secular sector, whose world view is located on the political center and left. That is the sane and liberal sector that knows that for it, exile symbolizes the destruction of the Jewish people. The Haredi sector lives in Israel only for reasons of convenience. In terms of territory, Israel and Brooklyn are the same to them; they will continue living as Jews in exile, and wait patiently for the arrival of the Messiah.
The religious Zionist movement, by comparison, believes the Jews are “God’s chosen.” This movement, which sanctifies territory beyond any other value, is prepared to sacrifice everything, even at the price of failure and danger to the Third Commonwealth. If destruction should take place, they will explain it in terms of faith, saying that we failed because “We sinned against God.” Therefore, they will say, it is not the end of the world. We will go into exile, preserve our Judaism and wait patiently for the next opportunity.
I recall Menachem Begin, one of the fathers of the vision of Greater Israel. He fought all his life for the fulfillment of that dream. And then, when the gate opened for peace with Egypt, the greatest of our enemies, he gave up Sinai – Egyptian territory three times larger than Israel’s territory inside the Green Line – for the sake of peace. In other words, some values are more sacred than land. Peace, which is the life and soul of true democracy, is more important than land.
I am concerned that large segments of the nation of Israel have forgotten, or put aside, the original vision of Zionism: to establish a Jewish and democratic state for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. No borders were defined in that vision, and the current defiant policy is working against it.
What can and ought to be done? We need to create an Archimedean lever that will stop the current deterioration and reverse today’s reality at once. I propose creating that lever by using the Arab League’s proposal from 2002, which was partly created by Saudi Arabia. The government must make a decision that the proposal will be the basis of talks with the moderate Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The government should do three things as preparation for this announcement: 1) It should define a future negotiating strategy for itself, together with its position on each of the topics included in the Arab League’s proposal. 2) It should open a secret channel of dialogue with the United States to examine the idea, and agree in advance concerning our red lines and about the input that the U.S. will be willing to invest in such a process. 3) It should open a secret American-Israeli channel of dialogue with Saudi Arabia in order to reach agreements with it in advance on the boundaries of the topics that will be raised in the talks and coordinate expectations. Once the secret processes are completed, Israel will announce publicly that it is willing to begin talks on the basis of the Arab League’s document.
I have no doubt that the United States and Saudi Arabia, each for its own reasons, will respond positively to the Israeli initiative, and the initiative will be the lever that leads to a dramatic change in the situation. With all the criticism I have for the Oslo process, it cannot be denied that for the first time in the conflict’s history, immediately after the Oslo Accords were signed, almost every Arab country started talking with us, opened its gates to us and began engaging in unprecedented cooperative ventures in economic and other fields.
Although I am not so naïve as to think that such a process will bring the longed-for peace, I am certain that this kind of process, long and fatiguing as it will be, could yield confidence-building measures at first and, later on, security agreements that both sides in the conflict will be willing to live with. The progress of the talks will, of course, be conditional upon calm in the security sphere, which both sides will be committed to maintaining. It may happen that as things progress, both sides will agree to look into mutual compromises that will promote the idea of coexisting alongside one another. If mutual trust should develop – and the chances of that happening under American and Saudi Arabian auspices are fairly high – it will be possible to begin talks for the conflict’s full resolution as well.
An initiative of this kind requires true and courageous leadership, which is hard to identify at the moment. But if the prime minister should internalize the severity of the mass of threats against us at this time, the folly of the current policy, the fact that this policy’s creators are significant elements in the religious Zionist movement and on the far right, and its devastating results – up to the destruction of the Zionist vision – then perhaps he will find the courage and determination to carry out the proposed action.
I wrote the above statements because I feel that I owe them to my parents, who devoted their lives to the fulfillment of Zionism; to my children, my grandchildren and to the nation of Israel, which I served for decades.
The author is a former director general of the Mossad.
DEFEND PALESTINE SUPPORTERS FROM "ANTI-SEMITISM" SLANDER
To add your name, please go to: https://www.change.org/p/
--
This petition will be delivered to:
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
Jeremy Travis, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
Student Life Coordinator
John Leebens
DEFEND PALESTINE SUPPORTERS FROM "ANTI-SEMITISM" SLANDER
On 21 October, 2014, Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, issued a statement to the “John Jay College community” implying that the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter (SJP) is part of a world-wide "rise in anti-Semitism" (read his letter here).
The letter offers no evidence to support this charge. Rather, it alludes to “reports” that “instances on our campus” have left Jewish students feeling “intimidated and harassed.” Who filed these reports, on whose behalf, and the details of these “instances” -- not to mention why all this left the president “deeply troubled” -- are never explained.
It is clear, however, that the president was responding to an 8 October SJP “Die-In/Vigil from Ferguson to Gaza” protest, and it was John Jay Administration, not SJP, that harassed and intimidated.
Student Life Coordinator John Leebens attempted to censor the event in advance, then actively discouraged students from attending. In doing so, he denied SJP's constitutional right to free speech. For full details on the college’s violations -- defended on the basis that the protest might make others feel “uncomfortable” -- see this statement from Palestine Solidarity Legal Support and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism directed at Palestine supporters -- many of them Jewish -- are nothing new. Today, these attacks are a desperate response to escalating support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which demands an end to the 1967 Occupation, right of return for Palestinian refugees, and full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel. This campaign explicitly condemns all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism.
Those Jewish students who close their eyes to Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people will inevitably be made “uncomfortable” by such protests, no matter what form they take. Supporters of apartheid South Africa or Jim Crow no doubt felt the same when confronted by protest against those regimes. Indeed, the right to protest was attacked on similarly unconstitutional grounds during earlier civil rights, antiwar, and anti-apartheid movements.
We reject the administration's attempts to silence Students for Justice in Palestine, and call on President Travis to:
• Publicly retract his groundless accusations of anti-Semitism
• Stop violating student free speech rights
Signed,
Al Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Jews Say No!
Jewish Voice for Peace - NY
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
International Socialist Organization
Labor for Palestine
New York City Labor Against the War
NYC Solidarity With Palestine
Revolutionary Student Coordinating Committee
Students for Justice in Palestine at Brooklyn College
Students for Justice in Palestine at City College
Students for Justice in Palestine at College of Staten Island
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
Please sign on! To add your name, please go to: https://www.change.org/p/
On 21 October, 2014, Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, issued a statement to the “John Jay College community” implying that the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter (SJP) is part of a world-wide "rise in anti-Semitism" (read his letter here).
The letter offers no evidence to support this charge. Rather, it alludes to “reports” that “instances on our campus” have left Jewish students feeling “intimidated and harassed.” Who filed these reports, on whose behalf, and the details of these “instances” -- not to mention why all this left the president “deeply troubled” -- are never explained.
It is clear, however, that the president was responding to an 8 October SJP “Die-In/Vigil from Ferguson to Gaza” protest, and it was John Jay Administration, not SJP, that harassed and intimidated.
Student Life Coordinator John Leebens attempted to censor the event in advance, then actively discouraged students from attending. In doing so, he denied SJP's constitutional right to free speech. For full details on the college’s violations -- defended on the basis that the protest might make others feel “uncomfortable” -- see this statement from Palestine Solidarity Legal Support and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism directed at Palestine supporters -- many of them Jewish -- are nothing new. Today, these attacks are a desperate response to escalating support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which demands an end to the 1967 Occupation, right of return for Palestinian refugees, and full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel. This campaign explicitly condemns all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism.
Those Jewish students who close their eyes to Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people will inevitably be made “uncomfortable” by such protests, no matter what form they take. Supporters of apartheid South Africa or Jim Crow no doubt felt the same when confronted by protest against those regimes. Indeed, the right to protest was attacked on similarly unconstitutional grounds during earlier civil rights, antiwar, and anti-apartheid movements.
We reject the administration's attempts to silence Students for Justice in Palestine, and call on President Travis to:
• Publicly retract his groundless accusations of anti-Semitism
• Stop violating student free speech rights
Signed,
Al Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Jews Say No!
Jewish Voice for Peace - NY
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
International Socialist Organization
Labor for Palestine
New York City Labor Against the War
NYC Solidarity With Palestine
Revolutionary Student Coordinating Committee
Students for Justice in Palestine at Brooklyn College
Students for Justice in Palestine at City College
Students for Justice in Palestine at College of Staten Island
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
Please sign on! To add your name, please go to: https://www.change.org/p/
Thursday, November 27, 2014
US helping Israel boycott Geneva summit on occupied territories
US helping Israel boycott Geneva summit on occupied territories – diplomatic sources
by aletho
RT | November 27, 2014
Switzerland is under diplomatic pressure from Israel, the US, Canada
and Australia, which are trying to prevent an international conference
in Geneva from taking place in mid-December on Israel’s occupation of
Palestinian territories, Haaretz reports. Delegations from nearly 200
countries are expected to head to Geneva to discuss the situation […]
Fire Chief Suspended After Publishing Anti-Gay Comments
Fire Chief Suspended After Publishing Anti-Gay Comments
WXIA-TV reports that Atlanta’s fire chief is suspended without pay after publishing a book calling homosexuality “unclean”, “a sexual perversion”, “vulgar”, and “inappropriate”.Read the full story from WXIA-TV
Jennifer Gable, Transgender Woman, Presented As Man At Her Funeral
Jennifer Gable, Transgender Woman, Presented As Man At Her Funeral
The Huffington Post reports that in a depressing reminder of the times in which we live and how far we still have to go to reach equality for everyone in the GLBT community, an Idaho transgender woman was presented as male in an open-casket funeral service this week.Read the full story from the Huffington Post
Russia’s no arms in outer space initiative gains support
Russia’s no arms in outer space initiative gains support
by aletho
Dr
Alexander Yakovenko | RT | November 26, 2014 Preventing the deployment
of weapons in outer space remains one of the key objectives of Russian
diplomacy. We believe that space should be used solely for peaceful
scientific research purposes in the interest of development and progress
of the world. That is why Russia is eager […]
Batsman Phil Hughes dies in hospital
Batsman Phil Hughes dies in hospital
Australia Test batsman Phil Hughes dies, three days after being hit on the head by a ball
For more details, see the BBC News website
Supreme Court to rule on disability rights, EPA cases
Supreme Court to rule on disability rights, EPA cases
By William Helbling on Nov 26, 2014 10:24 amThe US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in four cases on Tuesday. In City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan [docket; cert. petition, PDF] the court has been asked to decide whether Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act [text] requires law enforcement to accommodate a mentally ill, violent and armed suspect when taken into custody. The court will also determine if it is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment [text] for law enforcement to... +read more
Utah reaches settlement over immigration law
Utah reaches settlement over immigration law
By Brittany Felder on Nov 26, 2014 12:24 pm[JURIST] The Utah Attorney General's Office [official website] reached a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] on Tuesday over a controversial immigration law [HB 497]. The "Utah Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act" was criticized as encouraging racial profiling as it allowed police officers to stop individuals to verify their legal status or arrest them without a warrant, "when the peace officer ha[d] reasonable cause to believe that the person [was] an alien." The proposed settlement [text, PDF]... +read more
Arkansas, Mississippi same-sex marriage bans struck down
Arkansas, Mississippi same-sex marriage bans struck down
By Ashley Hogan on Nov 26, 2014 05:49 pm[JURIST] Two federal judges on Tuesday struck down same-sex marriage bans in Arkansas and Mississippi [opinions, PDF]. The rulings overturned the voter-approved bans that had been in place for over a decade. US District Judge Carlton Wayne Reeves of Jackson placed his decision declaring the ban a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment on hold for two weeks to allow time for an appeal. In Arkansas, US District Judge Kristine Baker declared the ban unconstitutional for restricting the right for a... +read more
Russia throws rights accusations back at U.S. with Ferguson unrest
Russia throws rights accusations back at U.S. with Ferguson unrest Reuters - 1 hour 59 minutes ago
MOSCOW
(Reuters) - Russia pointed on Wednesday to rioting in Ferguson and
protests across the United States as evidence that its detractors in
Washington were hypocrites and in no position to lecture Moscow on human
rights. Issuing two statements on the unrest in just one day, the
Russian Foreign Ministry said the United States should "focus on
large-scale domestic problems with safeguarding human rights" rather
than preach to others. ... More »
Heart stent for Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, 81
Heart stent for Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, 81 Associated Press - 1 hour 47 minutes ago
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a heart stent
implanted on Wednesday, reviving talk about how long the 81-year-old
liberal jurist will be staying on the court. More »
Swiss firm to put Napoleon's DNA in watches
Swiss firm to put Napoleon's DNA in watches
AFP – Tue, Nov 25, 2014
Geneva
(AFP) - Napoleon's admirers will be able to carry his DNA on their
wrists after a Swiss company announced Tuesday its plans to sell watches
containing a fragment of the emperor's hair.
Half-millimetre
slices of his locks will be placed inside a limited series of some 500
watches that are to bear the likeness of Napoleon, said Viviane de Witt,
CEO of De Witt watchmakers, told AFP.They will sell for the price of around 8,000 euros ($10,000).
The first surgery-like operation to slice up the hair happened Tuesday in the presence of a bailiff at the De Witt factory in Geneva.
"Napoleon was already quite idolised while he was alive, when he got his hair cut people picked it up and kept it," De Witt said.
In this case the hair was part of a 1,000-piece trove of Napoleon memorabilia belonging to the royal family of Monaco, which fetched jaw-dropping prices during an auction in mid-November near Paris.
One of the most incredible sale prices was the 1.9 million euros ($2.4 million) a South Korean chicken mogul paid for a hat worn by Napoleon.
De Witt spent a whopping 29,600 euros ($36,900) for items containing Napoleon's hair at the sale, which had been expected to go for up to 7,000 euros ($8,700).
Viviane de Witt's husband, the company founder, is a direct descendant of Jerome Napoleon, the youngest brother of the early 19th-century French emperor.
De Witt makes about 1,500 watches per year with a staff of 60.Fashion
Texas judge approves execution of mentally ill man
Texas judge approves execution of mentally ill man Thu, Nov 20, 2014
A
Texas judge on Wednesday refused to postpone the scheduled execution of
a convicted killer who suffers from mental illness and is set to face
lethal injection on December 3. More »
Judge overturns death penalty for Wyoming inmate
Judge overturns death penalty for Wyoming inmate Thu, Nov 20, 2014
CHEYENNE,
Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday overturned the death sentence
of the lone inmate on Wyoming's death row, saying his trial lawyers had
failed to give jurors sufficient reason to spare his life. More »
Passengers get out and push plane in temps of -52C
Passengers had to get out and push their plane in temperatures of minus 52C after freezing weather brought it to a standstill.
Video has been posted online of the remarkable scene as a group of
travellers move the Tupolev plane on the snow-covered runway in Siberia.Passengers in thick winter coats are heard shouting "let's go" as they put their hands on the wings of the plane and shove it several metres.
"Everyone wants to go home," one man is heard saying.
Transport officials in western Siberia are investigating the incident, which took place in the town of Igarka on Tuesday.
The plane, which had 74 passengers on board, was being operated by Katekavia, a Siberian airline belonging to UTair group.
The airline's technical director, Vladimir Artmenko, told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily: "That morning it was minus 52C (minus 61F).
"The plane had stood on the runway for 24 hours and the pilots forgot to take off the parking brake.
"That caused the brake pads to freeze up."
Passengers pushed the aircraft until it was able to turn, and then the tow truck took over, Mr Artmenko said.
The passengers' actions have drawn admiration in Russia, including on social media and in newspapers.
"Siberians are so tough that for them pushing a frozen plane along a runway is a piece of cake," the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily said.
The flight eventually took off from Igarka, 1,750 miles (2,800km) northeast of Moscow, and arrived in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk without incident.
Two years ago, 29 people were killed when a UTair plane crashed in Siberia after the wings were not de-iced.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Dutch News II - november 25th 2014
Positive economic outlook for the Netherlands, according to the OECD
The Dutch economy is expected to grow by 1.4% in 2015 and by 1.6% in 2016, according to figures from... More >
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ING to cut 3,000 jobs by integrating IT systems
Financial services group ING is to reduce its workforce by nearly 3,000 over the next three years as it streamlines... More >
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