par Shraga Blum

Selon le quotidien libanais "Al-Akhbar", l'ONU va exiger d'Israël "d'endosser l'entière responsabilité des dégâts écologiques causés à des infrastructures lors de la Deuxième guerre du Liban, et payer 1 milliard de dollars de dommages et intérêts" au pays des Cèdres"!

Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-Moon va présenter un rapport en ce sens lors de la prochaine Assemblée générale des Nations Unies. Israël avait toujours prévenu qu'il considérait le pouvoir libanais comme responsable des agissements du Hezbollah à partit de son territoire, et qu'en cas d'agression, "des infrastructures économiques libanaises pourraient être visées par l'aviation israélienne". L'armée de l'air israélienne avait alors bombardé une installation productrice d'énergie à Beyrouth. Selon le rapport de l'ONU, corroboré par l'organisation écologiste "Greenpeace", cette attaque israélienne aurait provoqué des fuites de pétrole, entraînant une nappe de pollution sur les plages libanaises et syriennes. L'ONU avait mis en oeuvre un programme de nettoyage des côtes qui avait permis de résorber pratiquement tous les dégâts. Ban Ki-Moon prétend s'être adressé à Israël en 2007, mais sans recevoir de réponse. "Greenpeace" avait  qualifié cette pollution de "catastrophe environnementale"!! Le montant de 1 milliard de dollars a été évalué par la Banque mondiale, et recouvre encore d'autres dégâts "causés par Israël" lors de cette guerre.

Si Israël accède à la demande de l'ONU, hormis un précédent juridique dangereux et coûteux, la conclusion serait la suivante: dans cette guerre provoquée par le Hezbollah,qui disposait d'une neutralité bienveillante des autorités libanaises, tous les dégâts matériels subis par Israël auront été assumés par Israël... et les dégâts subis par le Liban, qui en était légalement responsable, seraient également pris en charge par Israël!!!

C'est la morale des Nations-Unies!

source : lessakele

الى ذلك ما زال كلام الرئيس السوري بشار الاسد عن اقتراح أسداه للرئيس سليمان بدخول لبنان المفاوضات مع اسرائيل عندما تتحوّل الى مفاوضات مباشرة بين سوريا والدولة العبرية، ونقلت صحيفة "الحياة" عن زوار رئيس الجمهورية عنه تأكيده أنه "لم يلتزم شيئا" مع الرئيس السوري في هذا الموضوع، الا ان زوار قصر بعبدا أشاروا الى أن العماد سليمان لا ينوي الردّ على تصريحات الرئيس الأسد أو توضيحها على رغم أنها تحرجه أمام الرأي العام اللبناني والحكومة والقوى السياسية اللبنانية.

We all know why he is so reluctant. If he speaks out, the pro-Syrians and Syria itself will quickly attack Suleiman for siding with March 14. At the that point, no one on the March 8 side will care that he is only clarifying an important policy point, namely that the government, which is the only one able to authorize talks with Israel, has not done so.

Of course, I would say that another point to clarify would be to let the Syrians know that its Lebanon's officials who are responsible for revealing whether they will take part in talks or not. Who gave Assad the right to make such positions available to the public.

Let me reiterate here that what is important in Assad's remarks is not that (according to him) Lebanon will participate in talks with Israel, but that they will do this on Syrian terms. This is what Hezbollah wants.

In the space of the last 30 days, Russia has violated the sovereignty of a democracy; made and then breached a solemn agreement, in a direct affront to the European Union; severely damaged its credibility and global standing; and undermined its own relations with the United States and other countries.

This chain of aggressive moves and diplomatic reversals has only intensified the concern that many have about Russia's larger objectives. For brutality against a neighbor is simply the latest in a succession of troublesome and unhelpful actions by the Russian government.

Haaretz reports that

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met with [Israel's] President Shimon Peres on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti forum on the edge of Italy's Lake Como on Saturday, telling the Israeli leader that Russia is selling arms to Damascus and Iran with the clear knowledge that they are being channeled to Hezbollah and terror groups in Iraq.

The American vice president later reiterated these remarks in his address at the economic conference, saying that "Russian arms dealing in the Middle East has endangered the prospects for peace and freedom in the region." He added that the Russian leaders view democracy as a direct threat to their regime. Russia crossed a clear line when it invaded Georgia and attacked democracy and the rights of innocent civilians, Cheney said.

Meanwhile, The BBC reports a senior Venezuelan naval officer as saying that four Russian ships will take part in joint naval exercises, which will also involve Venezuelan aircraft and submarines, to be held in Venezuelan territorial waters (i.e. the Caribbean) in November. This can perhaps be seen as Russia's response, flagged by Putin on September 2, to NATO's current presence in the Black Sea.

Live is suffering. For around 1.5 million people in Gaza Strip it’s not only a slogan. They have been living in suffer at least for the last fourteen months.

Israel blockaded in area of 380 square meters since mid of June last year because that region was controlled by Hamas, an Islamist movement which anti-Israel. All borders in sea, air, and ground have been closed, included the crossings of Erez and Sofia (Gaza-Israel), Rafah (Gaza-Egypt), and Karen Shalom (Gaza-Egypt-Israel). The passages of people, goods, and services have been so limited.

Therefore, it wasn’t surprisingly if Ramadan this year which began last Monday tortured Gazans. It was hard to get food to eat before sundown and to break their fast. “Israel has tried to limit our necessities for Ramadan,” Jamilah Abdallah Syamsi, 38 years old, who lives in Jabaliyah refugee camp told Tempo by phone last Thursday.

The goods price increasingly. As samples, the price of each kilogram of goat meat (US$10), rice (US$ 3), oil (US$ 5), and flour (US$ 1). Certainly, it was so complicated for Jamilah who must hold the life of his seven nephews after their parent killed caused by Israeli strike three years ago. But this unmarried woman has pushed her self to save US$ 500 monthly from her US$ 2,000 salary as a parliament member from Hamas.

The condition has become more difficult caused by influent water supply and without fixed schedule. Some times at night or early in the morning. “Supply of water just one hour in a day,” Jamilah said. Therefore, she put all braziers on in her house. She has also asked her nephews to fill the bath tube and all buckets while water flowed.

The same condition also felt by people in central Gaza City. The water supply runs for only a half day. In some areas, the water supply stops 1-2 days in a week. The supply of electricity had also problem. The regular blackouts become routine. “At my place, we get blackout four hours in a week,” said Kamlin Shaath, 57 years old, President of the Islamic University of Gaza.

Even though, Jamilah and Shaath’s family are still lucky. Their enough wages have made them can enjoy delicious food during this Ramadan. They can eat nagloda (rice with vegetables and meats), baqlawa (sweets), soup, and salad.

But not for Salim Abid, 46 years old, a father of nine children who has been unemployed for six years. He couldn’t also pay for his children’s study. His life was so depend on assistances from United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). “My kids have not eaten meat fro more than five months.”

Mahmud Mustafa Diri and his family have also the same conditions. There was no meat on the floor, where the gathering family broke their fast at sundown Only rice, bread, and small bowls of cabbage and tomato. The father of eight children has been fired from his job put down tile floors in Israel this year. But he doesn’t want to be a beggar. “Do you thinks it’s a life to turn into a beggar, taking money from here and there?” he said.

The people in Gaza were dying. Professor Muhammad Miqdad form the Gaza Islamic University has explained that seventy percents of Gazans were unemployed and ninety percents depended on humanitarian aids. “We lost everything,” he told Tempo.

Yhe Popular Committee Against Siege (PCAS) has mentioned that 185 patients died, 1,884 were dying, and 470 cancer patients waited for dead. The isolation has closed around 900 factories therefore more than 160,000 people unemployed. It has also made 3,000 fisherman can’t go to the sea, the US$ 370 million project was stalled, and 4,500 farmers of strawberry and flower lost US$ 14 million.

The difficulties have also happened in West Bank. Israeli military has not lifted up about 607 checkpoints and roadblocks throughout the area. Fadwa Barguti still need four hours to see her husband, Marwan Barghuti, in Hadarim prison, Nataniyah, about six kilometers from Tel Aviv. Whereas, the distance between Ramallah and Hadarim could be reached in an hour by car.

“The security measures are very tight. I hope we can be together again with dad,” said Qassam, an eldest son of Marwan Barghuti. He led two intifadah in 1985 and September 2000, and has been convicted for five times life sentenced.

Even live in difficulties, people in Gaza and West Bank have tried to conduct traditions in Ramadan, such as tarawih praying, reading Al-Quran, fasting break together, or walking out until the sunset. They have also committed more closer to Allah. “I want to complete reading Al-Quran twice in this Ramadan,” Mahmud Zahar, the founder and leader of Hamas in Gaza told Tempo.

But it couldn’t hide their sadness. “Most of people in Gaza have blame Hamas and Fatah for this catastrophe. We didn’t feel any happiness when Ramadan arrived,” said Radiyah, 42 years old, who lost her son in the bloody fight in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas last year.

Even sad, hopefully they would have been a part of group described in hadist of prophet Muhammad: “The persons who were happy to face incoming Ramadan, their bodies forbidden from the hell fire.

Statesman/Xinhua/Faisal Assegaf

Always brushed aside in Washington discussions is the reality that Pakistan still cares for 3.5-million Afghani refugees remaining from the earlier proxy war which the U.S. waged from 1980 to 1988 against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. And, with the U.S.-led conflict against the Taliban in Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, the problems continue to pour from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Moreover, as the U.S. intelligence community is well aware, this is a problem which is exacerbated not only by the Taliban alliance with the so-called al-Qaida movement, moving into Pakistan from Afghanistan, but also because of covert support by the Indian Government and its intelligence services — principally RAW, the Research & Analysis Wing — for the jihadist movement.

India’s involvement follows an historical geopolitical pattern, but much of it is institutionalized as ‘payback’ for Pakistani Government support for the Muslim separatist movement in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir over the past decades. At the same time, close U.S.-Indian intelligence ties at a formal level and within the Afghan battlespace mean that India is feeding a range of ‘tailored intelligence’ into the U.S. system which shapes U.S. political and intelligence perceptions of the situation, encouraging the belief that ‘Pakistan is the problem’ in resolving the counter-Taliban conflict in Afghanistan.

Gregory R. Copley - Read Full Article

How much more diplomacy with Iran before the Mad Mullahs slam Israel with a nuclear tipped missile? HUH?

Weston European nations including Great Britain, France, and Germany, are once again trying to “talk” Iran out of continuing to enrich uranium to weapons grade.  Once they have accomplished that, would anyone care to hazard a guess as to how long until they choose Israel as a target for a “test” fired missile?

The Mullahs are rather enjoying the “Jaw-Jaw” of the westerners.  It makes them feel important.  Much the same reason they feel it necessary to build nuclear weapons.  That have a gigantic inferiority complex and all the attention from the west strokes their HUGE egos into believing they are something more modern that a backwards 13^th century, third-world nation state.

I am beginning the think it is a “toss up” as to which nation is at the top of the hit list in the War on Terror.  Syria, or Iran. Surely we must hit one or the other, or both.  Both have a lot going for them as they vie for first place on that list. 

Syria, while a pain in the backside of the world, is not really threatening anybody outside of their immediate circle of Middle Eastern neighbors. 

Iran, on the other hand, is a different story.  Once they have mounted those nuclear warheads on the missiles they already have, they can strike far outside the Middle East and deep into Europe. I still feel their first target will be Israel, simply because they know the minute they light up the first nuclear missile, the US will blast them back into the Stone Age.  So they have to make that first shot count.  It may be their last.  Their deep-seated hatred for Israel will not allow them to chance losing an opportunity to visit death and destruction upon the Israelis.

Even more worrisome behavior, by Iran, is their rumored support of Hamas and Hezbollah in South America.  If true, that puts them clearly inside the US sphere of influence.  The presence of Hamas and Hezbollah in the “tri-border area” of South America (Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay) and, recently, in Venezuela have not gone unnoticed by US intelligence agencies.  The US may find it necessary to clean up around it’s own doorstep in the near future.  It is, indeed, an area that needs intense scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the Europeans seem to have learned nothing from two world wars, nothing.  They are still, to this day, attempting to placate their adversaries by bowing and scraping and diplomatically “kissing-up”.   They had better wake up and get a grasp on the situation.  You see, their perennial protector is sorta busy.  The US has its hands full, right now.  The US is, as they say, otherwise occupied. 

The point of all this rambling is to say simply, it’s time to stop talking with Iran and start doing.   Take out a few of their nuclear installations, their enrichment plants, and such.  That will get their attention.   They do not believe the West has “the stones” for it, so they simply disregard all the diplomatic blather and continue their menacing ways.  The quickest way to get them to the negotiating table is to slap them around a little.

It is trite to say, I know, but the Iranians understand power and the application of power.  Sad to say, our European cousins, apparently, do not.

We have said for a very long time now that the US is in Iraq to stay. They have constructed permanent military installations there and I do not see the US giving up this “forward” position for US ground troops in the Middle East. Besides, with our continued presence in Iraq, we have or friend (Israel) close… and our enemy (Iran) even closer!

J. D. Longstreet      

Hidup adalah penderitaan. Bagi sekitar 1,5 juta penduduk Jalur Gaza, kalimat itu bukan sekadar semboyan. Mereka sudah menderita setidaknya selama 14 bulan terakhir.

Tepatnya sejak Israel memblokade wilayah seluas 380 kilometer persegi itu pada pertengahan Juni lalu lantaran dikuasai oleh kelompok Hamas yang anti-Israel. Seluruh pintu perbatasan laut, udara, dan darat ditutup, termasuk perlintasan Erez dan Sofia (Gaza-Israel), Rafah (Gaza-Mesir), dan Karen Shalom (Gaza-Mesir-Israel). Lalu-lintas orang, barang, dan jasa sangat dibatasi.

Karena itu, tidaklah mengherankan jika Ramadhan tahun ini yang juga dimulai Senin lalu sangat menyiksa warga Gaza. Mereka kesulitan memenuhi kebutuhan pangan untuk sahur dan berbuka puasa. “Israel berusaha membatasi kebutuhan yang kami perlukan selama Ramadhan,” kata Jamilah Abdallah Syamsi yang tinggal di kamp pengungsi Jabaliyah kepada Tempo melalui telepon selulernya Kamis lalu.

Harga barang terus meroket. Sebagai contoh, harga masing-masing per kilogram daging kambing (US$ 10), beras (US$ 3), minyak goreng (US$ 5), dan tepung terigu (US$ 1). Tentu saja ini sangat menyulitkan Jamilah yang harus menanggung hidup tujuh keponakannya setelah orang tua mereka tewas akibat serangan Israel tiga tahun lalu. Namun perempuan 38 tahun yang belum menikah ini tetap memaksakan diri menabung US$ 500 per bulan dari gajinya US$ 2.000 sebagai anggota parlemen dari Hamas.

Kondisi makin diperparah oleh pasokan air yang tidak lancar. “Air hanya mengalir satu jam sehari, itu pun keluarnya sangat kecil,” ujar Jamilah. Jadwalnya pun tidak menentu, kadang malam atau shubuh. Sebab itu, seluruh keran selalu dalam keadaan terbuka. Ia pun menyuruh keponakannya bergantian jaga untuk mengisi seluruh ember dan bak mandi saat air mengalir.

Situasi serupa juga dirasakan oleh warga di pusat Kota Gaza. Air hanya mengalir setengah hari. Di beberapa kawasan, pasokan air dapat berhenti sama sekali 1-2 hari dalam sepekan. Listrik pun tidak kalah mengenaskan. Pemadaman bergilir menjadi pemandangan rutin. “Di tempat saya, kami mengalami mati lampu empat jam dalam seminggu,” ujar Kamlin Shaath, 57 tahun, Presiden Universitas Islam Gaza, saat dihubungi secara terpisah.

Meski begitu, Jamilah dan Shaath sekeluarga masih beruntung. Gaji yang mencukupi membuat mereka bisa terus menikmati makanan enak selama bulan puasa kali ini. Keduanya masih mampu menyajikan nagloda (nasi dengan sayur dan daging), baqlawa (manisan), sup, serta salad.

Tapi tidak buat Salim Abid, 46 tahun, bapak sembilan anak yang sudah enam tahun tidak bekerja. Ia juga sudah tidak mampu lagi menyekolahkan anak-anaknya. Hidupnya sangat bergantung pada bantuan dari Badan Pekerja dan Bantuan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (UNRWA). “Anak-anak saya tidak pernah lagi makan daging lebih dari lima bulan lalu,” katanya.

Keadaan keluarga Mahmud Mustafa Diri juga menyedihkan. Sahur pertama mereka hanya dengan nasi, roti, dan semangkuk kecil potongan tomat serta kol. Ayah delapan anak ini diberhentikan dari pekerjaanya sebagai pemasang ubin di Israel sejak tahun ini. Meski begitu, ia tidak mau mengemis. “Apakah itu yang dinamakan kehidupan, menjadi seorang pengemis yang minta ke sana ke mari?” ujarnya.

Warga Gaza memang sedang sekarat. Profesor Muhammad Miqdad dari Universitas Islam Gaza menjelaskan 70 persen warga Gaza menganggur dan 90 persen hanya menyandarkan hidup mereka pada bantuan kemanusiaan. “Kami kehilangan segalanya,” kata Ketua Jurusan Ekonomi ini kepada Tempo.

Komite Rakyat Menentang Pengepungan (PCAS) menyebutkan, hingga kini sudah 185 pasien meninggal, 1.884 sekarat, dan 470 penderita kanker menunggu maut. Isolasi juga telah menyebabkan sekitar 900 pabrik berhenti beroperasi sehingga lebih dari 160.000 pekerja menganggur. Penyanderaan ini juga membuat 3.000 nelayan tidak bisa melaut, proyek US$ 370 juta macet, dan 4.500 petani stroberi serta bunga rugi US$ 14 juta.

Kesulitan juga dialami warga Palestina di Tepi Barat. Sampai sekarang, Israel belum membongkar sekitar 607 pos pemeriksaan. Fadwa Barghuti masih membutuhkan empat jam untuk menjenguk suaminya, Marwan Barghuti di penjara Hadarim, Nataniyah, sekitar enam kilometer dari Ibu Kota Tel Aviv. Padahal dengan bermobil, jarak Ramallah-Hadarim bisa ditempuh satu jam.

“Pemeriksaan masih sangat ketat. Kami berharap bisa berkumpul lagi dengan ayah,” ujar Qassam, putra tertua Marwan Barghuti, pemimpin dua intifadah yang sedang menjalani hukuman lima kali seumur hidup.

Meski terhimpit kesulitan, warga Palestina di Gaza dan Tepi Barat berupaya menjalankan tradisi Ramadan, seperti shalat tarawih, tadarus, buka bersama, atau jalan-jalan sore sambil menunggu adzan maghrib. Mereka pun berupaya mendekatkan diri kepada Allah. “Saya ingin mengkhatam Al-Quran dua kali pada Ramadan tahun ini,” kata Mahmud Zahar pendiri sekaligus pemimpin Hamas di Gaza kepada Tempo.

Namun semua itu tidak dapat menutup kesedihan mereka. Sebagian besar warga Gaza menyalahkan Hamas dan Fatah atas penderitaan ini. “Kami tidak merasakan kegembiraan apapun ketika Ramadan tiba,” ujar Radiya, 42 tahun, yang kehilangan putranya saat konflik bersenjata Hamas dan Fatah meletus pertengahan tahun lalu.

Meski sedih, semoga saja mereka termasuk golongan yang disebutkan dalam sebuah hadis Nabi Muhammad: “Orang-orang yang gembira menyambut Ramadhan, Allah haramkan jasadnya dari api neraka.”

Statesman/Xinhua/Faisal Assegaf

Could it be that Jerusalem's happy tablet brigade have missed last night's dose?

Surely, for this morning Olmert and cabinet are to discuss the law proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon ...

That is the 'law' that would require Israel to compensate all the Zionists who agree voluntarily to leave .... wait for it ..... their illegally-built homes in the Palestinian West Bank!

I expect an even greater increase of squatters will now be pulling their caravans into the West Bank - like some insane gold rush.

But then I suppose that is the point. It's so sad that a people who should know better have become the Nazis of the 21st century.

For the past 5 - 6 years, the stats show an economy that has grown by over 30%. No wonder the OECD wants Israel as a member. As for 2008, only last week, unemployment fell to another low of 5.9%. Time lag until it rises back up? Maybe, but all the predictions still say growth this year will round off at about 4%.

Now compare that to other countries.

Evidently, there are some underlying strengths within the Israeli financial scene that over weigh short term international economic changes. I was talking last week to a senior planner in the Ministry of Trade. Currently, the forecast for 2009 is growth around the 3.5% mark, well beyond almost all of Israel's competitors.

WASHINGTON – Senator McCain's running mate in the US presidential election, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, met with the board of directors of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Wednesday and expressed her admiration for Israel. The meeting took place inside Palin's hotel, sources said.

A campaign official would not say who asked for the meeting, but said it was geared towards putting the American Jewish community at ease over her understanding of US-Middle East relations.

"That's obviously going to be an issue," the aide said. "It's not like being the senator from New York, obviously. But these aren't issues that are off her radar."

Palin, joined by Sen. Joe Lieberman, expressed her "heartfelt support for Israel" and spoke of the threats it faces from Iran and others, the campaign official said. She also claimed to have planned a visit to the country in November of 2007, but had to cancel when she was pregnant.

AIPAC spokesman Josh Block was pleased with the meeting. "We had a good productive discussion on the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, we were pleased that Gov. Palin expressed her deep, personal, and lifelong commitment to the safety and well-being of Israel," he said.

"Like Sen. McCain, the vice presidential nominee understands and believes in the special friendship between the two democracies and would work to expand and deepen the strategic partnership in a McCain/Palin Administration."

Palin has previously met with Israeli Foreign Ministry official David Akov, who served as Israel's Consul General for the Pacific Northwest Region. During the meeting the two discussed cooperation between Israel and Alaska on various issues, such as counter-terrorism efforts.

Akov invited Palin to visit Israel and the governor expressed her desire to do so. She also reportedly told Akov that Alaska's residents love Israel.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3591809,00.html

In the video here, Sarah Palin wants us to believe the Russians invaded Georgia because they are after the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and want to “divide and intimidate our European allies.”

No, Ms. Palin is not stupid, even if she has no idea why Russia went into Georgia — to put an end to the Georgian murder spree against the people of South Ossetia, a criminal act encouraged by the United States and Israel.

Palin is simply pushing the neocon line, even if it takes outrageous and absurdly transparent lies. Sarah Palin had her script written for her, same as McCain and Bush: they are all sock puppets for the neocons.

I hate to say it, but Paul Craig Roberts is right — we are headed for nuclear war. If the neocons have their way — and it looks like they will, especially if McCain is ushered into office — the United States will continue to push Russia in the corner by installing missile systems on their border.

Cheney went to Georgia and told the mental case Saakashvili his country will be part of NATO. “Cheney’s trip was intended as a signal that the United States will continue cultivating close ties with Georgia and its neighbors even after Russia showed it was willing to use military force against countries along its border,” reports the Associated Press.

Cheney shopped around the newly minted neocon line. “Speaking in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, following a meeting with Ilham Aliyev, the country’s president, Mr Cheney said energy security was an ‘increasingly urgent’ issue,” reports the Financial Times.

Palin’s speech at the RNC introduced this new talking point. As should be expected, the corporate media has received its script from the Pentagon. “There are concerns that the Kremlin might next squeeze Ukraine as it tries to reclaim dominance in the region. That strategically situated country of 46 million has pipelines that carry Russian gas to Europe.”

Russia does not want to reclaim its dominance. It wants the U.S. to stop trying to box it in with missile systems, tinhorn dictatorships clustered on its borders, and provocative, incendiary rhetoric.

I usually avoid the crystal ball, but I can’t help it in this instance. Obama will be defeated in November. The Rovian machine has something dirty on Barack Obama and if that does not work there are the voting machines. If you think another stolen election will be resisted, consider the second part of the above video — the police state unleashed in Minnesota was but a taste of things to come. Besides, the average American cannot be bothered, he does not really care if it is McCain or Obama, so long as there are sit-coms and football games like Roman bread and circuses.

For the neocons, war with Russia is a dream come true, never mind the radiation. In the millions of column inches and billions of bytes covering the neocons, we hear scant little about their philosophy. It’s said they are hawks, but this misses the point by a country mile.

For some reason Carl Schmitt, Nazi jurist and neocon swami, was not sent to the gallows like his compatriots.

The neocons are more than Straussian fanatics, they are students of the Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, who believed in a dictatorship of the executive and a state of perpetual emergency, Hitler’s Ausnahmezustand. Schmitt was in love with the “death machine,” that is to say pure acts of unspeakable violence in the name of the state, and so are his students, the neocons. If Russia nukes us, that will make us all the stronger, never mind we may all perish in the process.

Strauss taught the neocons they are princeling philosophers and the rest of us are fools and chumps in Plato’s cave staring at shadows on the wall. Remember, Karl Rove said the neocons make their own reality — and that reality, as envisioned by Schmitt, is a nihilistic dance with death. The legal opinions of John Yoo — torturing children, negating the Geneva Conventions, the NSA electronic surveillance and control grid, the unitary executive, etc. — are Carl Schmitt’s theories put into action.

As Gary Leupp points out, the neocons “have contempt for the masses, and feel utterly justified in wisely misleading those masses,” and suffering writ large is for the good, as defined by them.

“The ancient philosophers whom Strauss most cherished believed that the unwashed masses were not fit for either truth or liberty, and that giving them these sublime treasures would be like throwing pearls before swine,” the scholarly critic of Strauss, Shadia Drury, tells Danny Postel. “In contrast to modern political thinkers, the ancients denied that there is any natural right to liberty. Human beings are born neither free nor equal. The natural human condition, they held, is not one of freedom, but of subordination – and in Strauss’s estimation they were right in thinking so.”

The people will not be happy to learn that there is only one natural right – the right of the superior to rule over the inferior, the master over the slave, the husband over the wife, and the wise few over the vulgar many. In On Tyranny, Strauss refers to this natural right as the “tyrannical teaching” of his beloved ancients. It is tyrannical in the classic sense of rule above rule or in the absence of law.

Strauss, his Hegelian buddy Alexandre Kojève, and Carl Schmitt (who was Strauss’ mentor and patron) “were convinced that liberal economics would turn life into entertainment and destroy politics; all three understood politics as a conflict between mutually hostile groups willing to fight each other to the death. In short, they all thought that man’s humanity depended on his willingness to rush naked into battle and headlong to his death. Only perpetual war can overturn the modern project, with its emphasis on self-preservation and ‘creature comforts.’ Life can be politicized once more, and man’s humanity can be restored,” Drury explains. “The combination of religion and nationalism is the elixir that Strauss advocates as the way to turn natural, relaxed, hedonistic men into devout nationalists willing to fight and die for their God and country.”

In order to get there, the neocons want to go up against all comers, including Russia, bristling as it is with nukes. Such a confrontation, according to the lunatic neocons, will turn “hedonistic men into devout nationalists willing to fight and die for their God and country,” or for their mere survival, at any rate.

Of course, the Straussian utopia will never be realized, it will instead reduce the planet to a cauldron of radioactive death. It is not simply hubris that drives the neocons, it is a truly demented and evil philosophy.

Obama will not be allowed to stand in the way. He will be taken down before November or on the day Americans enter the polling places to play Russian roulette — please excuse the pun — with Diebold and company.

Now is the time for Americans to awaken from their slumber and march on Washington in their millions — that is if they don’t want to witness the slow murder of their children or, at best, become the sort of driven slaves Schmitt, Strauss, and crew imagine.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe the average American is up to the task. He likes his shadows in the cave — especially if the shadows and egineered illusions are projected on a 60 inch flat LCD screen.

Seorang Anggota Parlemen Palestina yang juga Ketua Popular Committee Against The Siege, Jamal al-Khudari mengirimkan press release mengenai hal tersebut. Da;am press releasenya, dinyatakan bahwa politik Israel menghalangi bahan mentah tersebut telah mengakibatkan tutupnya 3.900 pabrik di Jalur Gaza dan membuat 70.000 penduduk Gaza menganggur. Menurut al-Khudari, kerugian ditaksir 70 juta USD tiap bulan akibat peristiwa ini,

Politik Israel ini adalah bukti bahwa Israel hendak memperlemah pilar-pilar ekonomi Palestina sehingga bangsa Palestina tidak mampu memproduksi dan bergantung kepada uluran tangan internasional semata.

Menurut al-Khudari Israel berusaha dan telah berhasil mengubah Jalur Gaza menjadi penjara besar dan menghalangi usaha Gaza untuk mandiri dan untuk menciptakan lapangan p[ekerjaan bagi penduduknya. Perbuatan ini tentu melanggar hukum internasional dan Konvensi Jenewa. Al-Khudari mendesak Mesir yang selalu memaksa kelompok-kelompok perlawanan untuk berdamai dengan Israel agar juga mendesak Israel untuk menghentikan Politik Penghancuran Ekonomi Gaza ini. (riqa)

Berdsarakan kesaksian seorang anggota keluarga, Bilal Abu Rayyan, Tentara Pendudukan Zionis tersebut mencuri permata dan uang yang diperkirakan bernilai 3.000 Dinar Yordania atau setara dengan 4.300 USD. Pencurian terjadi saat mereka menyusur rumah-rumah di wilayah tersebut. Ia menambahkan bahwa Tentara Pendudukan menghancurkan tempat pandai besi milik keluarga tersebut sebelum meninggalkan rumah tersebut. Saksi mata lain menyatakan bahwa rumah tersebut betul-betul dirusak. (riqa)

It's amazing, the lengths to which the PNAC Platoon neocons and their friends in the Likud/Kadima government will go to attack Iran -- and thus ensure the closure of the Straits of Hormuz as well as an immediate end of the Shia truce with American forces in Iraq (this truce being the main reason Iraq isn't a total charnel house right now).

Saya percaya kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat mempunyai cita-cita murni untuk mencari dan mendapatkan sebuah kerajaan pemerintah yang adil, prihatin, berwawasan dan bijaksana. Saya percaya kepada pemimpin-pemimpin PKR, DAP dan PAS..

Pada saya, YB Lim Guan Eng dan DAP amat fokus kepada prinsip perjuangan 'Malaysian-Malaysia' dari dulu sampai sekarang.. DAP dan LGE membangkang kerajaan sejak era Dr Mahathir lagi. Begitu juga dengan PAS, yang fokus kepada 'Kepimpinan Ulama'.. dan mereka juga membangkang sejak era Tunku Abdul Rahman lagi..

Hairannya.. Amerika tidak menyokong mereka pun !!

Malahan, Lim Guan Eng dan anak kepada TG Nik Aziz juga pernah ditahan dibawah Akta ISA.. tetapi Amerika tidak pernah mengutuk dan mempersoalkan tindakan Kerajaan Malaysia tersebut..

Hairannya.. Kenapa Amerika beria-ria membela dan mempersoalkan kewajaran DS Anwar Ibrahim dikenakan tuduhan salahlaku oleh Kerajaan Malaysia.. Tahun 1998, Anwar disokong oleh Naib Presiden AS, Al-Gore .. Tahun 2008, Anwar disokong oleh Condolezza Rice..

Kenapa Amerika sahaja yang menyokong Anwar? .. dimana suara bantahan dari Rusia? .. dimana suara bantahan dari China? Kenapa hanya Amerika???.. padahal ekonomi Malaysia hanya berada pada tangga ke 16 sebagai rakan dagang AS.

Sebabnya.. DS Anwar adalah orang penting dalam organisasi Foundation of the Future .. Orang-orang yang pro-Anwar mestilah tahu dan sentiasa merujuk blog DS Anwar untuk berita-berita terkini, dan mereka sentiasa mendapat makluman terkini aktiviti DS Anwar dalam organisasi ini.. berikut adalah maklumat dalam Wikipedia..

^" In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation for the Future ^[13]. In this capacity, he signed the October 1, 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organization.^[14] He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding."

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Saya rasa.. semua orang sudah sedia maklum akan peranan 'disebalik tabir' Yahudi dalam pentadbiran Amerika, malahan calon Presiden mesti mendapat sokongan dan lobi Persatuan Yahudi Amerika untuk mencerahkan lagi peluang calon-calon tersebut.

Dan rakyat Malaysia pun sedar akan hal ini sudah sekian lamanya .. sejak DS Anwar berada dalam UMNO lagi..

Semasa Perang Dingin Amerika-Russia, terdapat satu penerimaan pemikiran kepada 'Teori Domino'.. dimana kepercayaan fahaman komunisme akan berjangkit kepada negara-negara yang berdekatan dengan kuasa besar Komunis seperti Rusia. Dari Rusia-China-Vietnam-Burma-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapura-dll. (seperti alat permainan blok Domino).

Kerana itu Amerika mengambil langkah pro-aktif dengan menyekat fahaman ini dari terus tersebar dengan memperkenalkan idea 'Demokrasi' sebagai alternatif kepada idea 'Komunisme'..

Bagaimanapun, setelah kejatuhan Rusia dibawah Mikhail Gorbachev.. Islam mula dilihat sebagai musuh utama kepada peradaban Amerika-Yahudi, oleh itu Amerika telah melancarkan pelbagai ideologi seperti 'Liberalisme', 'Globabalisme', 'Human Rights', 'Terrorisme' dan lain-lain untuk menyekat pengaruh Islamisasi dari terus berkembang..

Pentadbiran Amerika-Yahudi percaya.. Serangan melulu terhadap Islam akan menghasilkan lebih ramai pengganas baru dan bilangannya amat cepat berkembang sebelum mereka sempat membendungnya, kaedah menggunakan orang Islam sendiri sebagai 'neutralise' kepada umat Islam lebih praktikal dan berkesan walaupun memerlukan sedikit bantuan masa.

Seolah-olah anai-anai yang memakan kayu dari dalam.. akhirnya rumah tersebut akan roboh dengan sendirinya..

Dan inilah fungsi-fungsi utama Foundation For The Future, yang dibiayai oleh tabung Amerika untuk membantu NGO dan parti berhaluan kiri sesebuah kerajaan yang tidak sealiran dengan dasar Amerika.

Dan kenapa Foundation For The Future yang berpusat di Washington, dan dilancarkan oleh Condolezza Rice pada 12 November 2005 di Bahrain ini boleh menglibatkan DS Anwar bersama-sama mereka? Untuk mengetahui dengan lebih mendalam lagi hubungan Anwar-FFTF ini, anda boleh merujuk artikel AIDC dan Minda Cergas..

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Berbalik kepada politik Malaysia.. semasa era pemerintahan Dr Mahathir, orang-orang Yahudi tidak gemar kepada beliau kerana dasarnya yang tidak mengiktiraf Israel sebagai negara berdaulat hasil krisis Israel-Palestin, malahan Dr Mahathir juga menuduh Yahudi memainkan peranan dalam krisis ekonomi 1997 dan mendakwa Yahudi mengawal dunia ini melalui proksi-proksinya.

Usaha Israel untuk menjalinkan hubungan dengan Malaysia sebenarnya bermula dari tahun 1956 lagi, tetapi sentiasa menemui jalan buntu.. Semenjak dari zaman Tunku Abdul Rahman dan dua PM yang berikutnya, usaha Israel tidak berjaya dan ini diburukkan lagi dengan pendirian keras Dr Mahathir terhadap Yahudi.. sehingga dirinya digelar Anti-Yahudi.

Bagaimanapun, pada tahun 1994, Malaysia mula berlembut dengan Israel dengan memberi kelonggaran kepada rakyat Malaysia untuk berurusan dengan Israel atas hal-hal perniagaan. Pada tahun 1996, Timbalan Menteri Kewangan Malaysia telah memberi kebenaran kepada bank Malaysia untuk membuat kerjasama dengan bank Israel.

Pada tahun 1997, semasa krisis mata wang.. DS Anwar cenderung kepada pendekatan pasaran bebas, pelaburan asing dan liberalisasi perdagangan, manakala Dr Mahathir cenderung kepada pengawalan matawang dan pengawalan pelaburan asing, disamping menuduh Gerog Soros sebagai dalang krisis tersebut. Hal ini mencetuskan pertembungan pendapat sesama mereka..

Anehnya.. pada tahun 1998, DS Anwar telah dinobatkan 'Asian of the Year' oleh majalah Newsweek..

Anda boleh ikuti artikel "Jewish Political Studies Review-Malaysia : Anti-Semitism without Jews" untuk mengetahui sejarah politik Israel-Malaysia..

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Oleh itu.. berdasarkan kepada pembacaan dan kajian saya yang tidak seberapa ini, dapatlah saya merumuskan bahwa :

1.  Yahudi-Amerika mula memberi perhatian kepada Anwar, atas kapasitinya sebagai Menteri Kewangan pada Tahun 1994, .. membuka lembaran baru hubungan Israel-Malaysia dengan kelonggaran dasar Malaysia membenarkan hubungan dagang dengan Israel. Ianya seolah-olah menolong usaha Israel sejak tahun 1956 lagi untuk berurusan dengan Malaysia.

2.  Yahudi-Amerika semakin tertarik kepada Anwar semasa krisis mata-wang 1997 diatas kepercayaannya kepada prinsip pasaran bebas, pelaburan asing tanpa had, liberalisasi perdagangan .. yang lebih menepati cita-cita Yahudi-Amerika terhadap pasaran ekonomi dunia sejagat. Dan Amerika tidak suka kepada Dr-Mahathir yang dianggap ultra-Melayu, anti-semitik dan campur-tangan kerajaan dalam ekonomi.

3.  Prinsip demokrasi dan liberalisasi yang didokong oleh Anwar boleh menolong matlamat Yahudi-Amerika untuk meneutralkan orang-orang Islam yang ortodoks dan radikal, seterusnya .. menolong matlamat global Yahudi-Amerika untuk menyekat fahaman Islam yang radikal dari terus merebak.

4.  Dengan gabungan fahaman Islam yang liberal dan kepercayaan kepada pasaran bebas, DS Anwar dilihat sebagai seorang calon yang mempunyai pakej lengkap agenda globalisasi Yahudi-Amerika .. sejajar dengan penghormatan negara-negara Asia dan Arab terhadap reputasi baik Malaysia sebagai model negara membangun yang berjaya.

5.  Dengan memberi sokongan padu kepada DS Anwar, secara tidak langsung negara-negara Asia dan Arab yang kagum akan kejayaan Malaysia sebelum ini.. akan lebih menghormati DS Anwar dan mudah menerima buah fikiran beliau. Ini akan menolong mempercepatkan agenda Yahudi-Amerika untuk meneutralkan pemimpin-pemimpin negara lain.

Samada Anwar Ibrahim sememangnya proksi Amerika ..

atau beliau sedar tentangnya tetapi sengaja buat-buat tidak tahu ..

atau beliau tidak sedar bahawa dirinya dijadikan kuda tunggangan Yahudi-Amerika ..

terpulanglah kepada anda untuk menilainya.. Hanya Allah yang Maha Tahu.

]]> http://suaraqassam.wordpress.com/?p=83 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:33:43 +0000 rajulqassam http://suaraqassam.wordpress.com/?p=83 alQassam.ps – Dalam laporan terbarunya mengenai kegiatan teror Zionis terhadap warga Palestina, alQassam.ps melaporkan 15 pendudu Palestina terluka saat Tentara Pendudukan melakukan usaha pembubaran demonstrasi damai menentang Tembok Pembatas Israel.

Di Jalur Gaza, pada 1 September lalu, dilaporkan 2 nelayan Palestina terluka saat kapal mereka ditembaki kapal Tentara Pendudukan Zionis di sekitar Pantai Beit Laha di utara Gaza. Sementara itu di Tepi Barat, 16 warga Palestina, termasuk 9 anak, terluka akibat tembakan dari Tentara Pendudukan Zionis. Di tanggal yang sama, 1 September, seorang penduduk terluka akibat tembakan dari Tentara Pendudukan saat mereka merangsek ke rumahnya untuk menahan anaknya.

15 penduduk lainnya juga terluka saat Tentara Pendudukan membubarkan dengan paksa demonstrasi damai saat menentang pembangunan Tembok Pembatas Israel di desa N’elin dan Bal’ein, di barat Ramallah. Tentara Pendudukan juga menggunakan sejenis zat kimia berbau untuk membubarkan massa.

Tercatat Tentara Pendudukan telah melakukan 35 operasi militer terhadap penduduk di Tepi Barat. Tentara Pendudukan juga telah semakin membatasi gerak penduduk Palestina baik di Tepi Barat, termasuk di Jerussalam Timur yang diduduki mereka, maupun di Gaza. (riqa)

The liberal Jews (& not only the Jews) in the US often say the Israeli press is freer than the US MSM (mainstream media).


Anyway it is fair to say Israelis and Jews in general can probably smell when an article is propaganda or serious analysis.


If so, then why bother with the propaganda? Is it for export? Or does it still have an impact on the populations psyche?


Is being fed a lot of hogwash good or bad for the people? And indeed is it good for the nation?


In 73, the Druse and Syrians on the Golan expected that Israelis had horns coming out of their foreheads, and they lost the war.


Israel has had bad results in Georgia and in Lebanon. Were the Israelis starved of the truth as well?


The Western media is notorious for dumbing down its population. And the West appears to be in losing wars.


Lest you cast your eyes upon me, look at the last sentence of Uri Avneri's obituary for Abie Nathan:
"Better crazy for peace, than crazy for war!".


Here is todays lead article in the biggest selling newspaper in Israel:

Ynetnews > News Ronen Medzini Published: 09.06.08, 20:36 / Israel News

"Russian arms-dealing has
Peres with VP Cheney in Italy"

Cheney: Russian arms reaching Hizbullah

In 2006 it was Russian anti tank missiles that destroyed the Israeli land offensive. So what's new? Now they are getting even more sophisticated weapons.

Because Israelis trained Georgians on how to kill Russians. Right or wrong? It is obvious to everyone. Cause and effect.

Is there any public discussion on this? Or are only specialists allowed to discuss it?

US vice president meets with Israeli president on sidelines of Italian conference, accuses Moscow of selling weapons to Iran, Syria despite knowing they will reach hands of terrorists.

Does that mean its okay with Syria and Iran, but not with Hizbollah? Hizbollah is labeled as a terrorist organisation by Israel and its backers. Just like the PLO once was. And also the Irgun etc.

They are no more terrorists than any other armed group or nation. In fact they are reputable for being believable.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3592868,00.html

Tercatat dalam daftar orang yang diculik adalah Majda Fidda, seorang anggota pemerintahan Palestina. Fidda diculik dari rumahnya setelah Pasukan Pendudukan Zionis melakukan pencarian secara brutal.

Tadamun menyesalkan terjadinya peningkatan operasi penculikan dan penahanan terhadap penduduk Nablus. Tadamun menyerukan kepada komunitas internasional untuk melakukan sesuatu guna mengatasi kebrutalan Tentara Pendudukan Zionis ini.

Dalam lain kesempatan, seorang anak Palestina bernama Ismail Ulayan yang pernah diculik oleh Tentara Pendudukan Zionis pada 19 Juni 2008 lalu menyatakan bahwa ia dipukuli di atas jip yang mengangkutnya. Kemudian ia dilemparkan begitu saja dari atas jip tersebut. (riqa)

Di sisi lain, presiden Israel menganggap bahwa para pemimpin Arab belum memberikan inisiatif perdamaian langsung kepada Israel bahkan memberikannya kepada dunia transaksi penuh tanpa meninggalkan celah apapun untuk merundingkannya.

Ini menunjukkan ketidakdemokratisan Israel. Setelah mempraktekkan sejenis ideologi aphartheid kepada penduduk Yahudi Arab seperti tercermin dalam penurunan Presiden Israel keturunan Iran beberapa saat lalu, ide anti keadilan tersebut ingin diekspor ke Negara Palestina. (riqa)

By The Earl of Stirling

I have served as a consultant to three very high tech aerospace firms. My specialty is conceptualizing advanced warfare especially as it relates to new cutting edge advanced weapon systems. What I see unfolding with a war on Iran is the most frightening set of circumstances I have ever seen; and I have been involved in advanced theoretical weaponry strategy and design for over 20 years.

Sometime in the weeks to months ahead, there will be a war launched against Iran. The war may be started by Israel, or by the United States, or by a NATO/EU/US embargo, or by some ‘false flag’ attack. What matters is that it will begin; and where it will take the world.

Regardless if the war begins with a limited number of air strikes against Iranian military and nuclear targets, or if an all-out several thousand target attack begins from day one the probabilities of the war becoming a major regional war within 48 hours are 90% or higher.

The Iranians will simply not allow Israeli and/or American military forces to attack its territory without a major response. Any significant counter-attack on Israel and/or American regional bases will trigger a much greater counter-response.

The Iranians have equipped and paid for, and trained, a massive unguided rocket and guided missile force in Lebanon (the largest such force in human history). These missiles are in-place as a MAD force (a MAD ~ mutually assured destruction ~ force is one that is a doomsday force; established to prevent the use of overwhelming military force by allowing a return “punch” of overwhelming military destructive force upon one’s enemy). The total number of missiles and rockets in Lebanon are variously estimated at between 40,000 and 110,000. While many are unguided Katyusha rockets, many are longer ranged guided missiles. All are operated by Hezbollah Special Forces launch teams.

The Hezbollah Special Forces are in-effect a highly trained and well-equipped Iranian commando force of at least a Brigade in size. They man and protect a large number of mostly unguided and rather crude rockets, generally Katyusha 122mm artillery rockets with a 19 mile/30km range and capable of delivering approximately 66 pounds/30kg of warheads. Additionally, Hezbollah are known to possess a considerable number of more advanced and longer range missiles. During the 2006 war Hezbollah fired approximately 4,000 rockets (95% of which were Katyshas) all utilizing only “dumb” high explosive warheads. Some Iranian build and supplied Fajr-3 and Ra’ad 1 liquid-fueled missiles were also fired. It is believed that the larger and longer range missiles are directly under the control of Syrian and Iranian officers.

The combination of short to medium range rockets and guided missiles in Lebanon, and the longer range guided missiles in Syria, the smaller number of rockets and missiles in the West Bank and Gaza, and the longer range guided missiles in Iran present a massive throw weight of warheads aimed at Israel.

The 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War (called the Second Lebanon War in Israel) was an attempt by Israel at eliminating the MAD counter-force in Lebanon. It was an attempt that failed. The Syrians had purchased (and supplied to Hezbollah) a large number of very nasty, relatively low cost Russian AT-14 Kornet solid fuel anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and the Iranian trained Hezbollah commandos dug in massive numbers of concrete bunkers and firing positions. After over 50 Merkava main battle tanks were hit, and the high tech American made warplanes and pinpoint weapons proved ineffective, the handwriting was on the wall. Either use neutron bombs or lose a large number of Israeli solders to remove the Hez