RELATED POST: Yediot column: Israel “the spineless jellyfish” has no will to stand up to lawless settlers

Settlers lay mock foundations

Zvi Singer and Itamar Eichner, Yediot, November 30 2009 [page 6]

Immediately after the prime minister announced a settlement construction freeze, settlers in a number of settlements rushed to lay fake foundations in areas that had been cleared for construction. Their goal was to make the sites in question appear in the aerial photographs to be taken by the Defense Ministry as if they contained buildings in mid-construction, the foundations of which were already fully laid.

The settlers, it appears, knew in advance about the Defense Ministry’s intention to take aerial photographs thanks to a document that fell into their hands, and they prepared in advance accordingly. The construction freeze orders stipulate the cancellation of construction permits that had already been issued for thousands of housing units because the foundations for those housing units were not laid.

Yedioth Ahronoth received inside information from the settlement Neria that the residents of the settlement were called, on Friday, to go to a section of the settlement where groundwork had been completed in advance of construction work in order to pour concrete on 20 plots that were earmarked for construction.

Peace Now monitoring teams yesterday toured settlements in Judea and Samaria and found newly-laid concrete in the settlements Neria, Modiin Illit, Elazar, Adam and Naale.

“The settlers are continuing to lie and to deceive the government and the Israeli public,” said Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer. “Now is Barak’s moment of truth and he bears responsibility for enforcing the law and must stand firm in the face of the people who refuse to accept the government’s sovereignty.”

Civil Administration officials last night said they were unaware of the reported phenomenon and told Yedioth Ahronoth that they would look into the matter.

Settlers Council officials last night also said they were unfamiliar with the information. “I don’t know anything about the subject,” said Settlers Council Chairman Danny Dayan to Yedioth Ahronoth. A leaked Defense Ministry document served to expedite the issuing of construction permits by the regional councils before the orders freezing construction were served. That is what happened in the Binyamin Regional Council. Council Chairman Avi Roeh admitted in a conversation he held with Yedioth Ahronoth: “We issue construction permits all the time. Of course in the past number of weeks the pace was higher because we knew about the intention to freeze. That’s why people ran in with their plans to have them approved.”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Defense Ministry to hire as quickly as possible new building inspectors so as to ensure that the settlement construction freeze decision was being implemented on the ground.

Currently, only 14 building inspectors work in Judea and Samaria. Acting on the defense minister’s orders, an additional 40 building inspectors are going to be hired in the course of the next two weeks or so.

The enforcement will be the joint task of the Israel Police, the Border Police and the Civil Administration, and it will be coordinated and overseen by the IDF.

On December 27, 2008, the Israel Defense Forces began their assault on the Gaza Strip in what they called Operation Cast Lead. 13 Israelis and as many as 1400 Palestinians were killed in the three weeks of fighting. The war enjoyed wide support among Israelis: according to the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, 94% of Jewish Israelis (76% of Israel’s population) supported the attack. Operation Cast Lead caused enormous suffering in Gaza and has been a thorn in the side of Israelis since its commencement. Numerous human rights organisations have issued reports on the conflict accusing both sides of war crimes, and the Israeli government has denied any but the noblest intentions. How did we get here?

This essay uses national role conception theory to explain how Israel’s political culture approved of Operation Cast Lead and permitted the latest brutal attack on the Palestinians. You can find it at the following link.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/23348184/Paving-the-Road-to-Gaza-Israel-s-National-Role-Conception-and-Operation-Cast-Lead

Che si sia ricchi vacanzieri, spensierati avventurieri o folli esploratori, tre sono gli accorgimenti di base che ogni viaggiatore deve tenere da conto prima di partire per qualsiasi impresa: documentazione in regola, onde evitare problemi alla frontiera, un luogo sicuro dove dormire e lasciare i propri bagagli, infine un contatto sul posto che aiuti a orientarsi nello sconosciuto luogo di destinazione. Lo sa bene Omar Mohammed, 23 anni, che mi avverte, entusiasta per la mia visita prossima nella sua città, «non dimenticare il passaporto,» sventolando il suo documento d’identificazione color verde su skype.

Omar Mohammed è un coachsurfer, dall’omonimo network couchsurfing.com che collega 1,3 milioni di viaggiatori provenienti da 231 paesi in cerca di ospitalità gratuita nelle più sperdute aree del globo. Un concetto molto semplice: oggi tu ospiti me, domani io ospiterò te. CouchSurfing non è una moda, non è un trend, non è uno stile di vita: rispetto ai network finalizzati alla costruzione di una realtà virtuale, è uno strumento contro-tendenza, che utilizza il web con il fine di ricongiungere e riaggregare l’uomo all’uomo, l’esperienza concreta alla realtà del vissuto quotidiano: «Con CouchSurfing,» racconta Zolthan, mio ospitante a Gerusalemme, «ho viaggiato ovunque: dalla Cina alla Colombia, dagli Stati Uniti all’Australia, ogni giorno un posto diverso, un amico in più e un arricchimento che nessuna Wikipedia mi potrà mai dare».

Benché a poco più di un’ora di distanza in auto, rispetto a Zolthan, Omar è un couchsurfer particolare. Vive in un lembo di terra lungo 45 e largo 6 km, dove è difficilissimo entrare, praticamente impossibile uscire: la Striscia di Gaza. Isolata lungo tutto il perimetro di confine da una barriera di separazione in filo spinato con pali, sensori, muri d’acciaio e calcestruzzo, sorvegliata ventiquattr’ore su ventiquattro dall’esercito israeliano, l’area è accessibile solo in due punti: dall’Egitto, tramite il valico di Rafah, che però è ormai quasi sempre chiuso, o tramite il checkpoint di Erez, in territorio israeliano, a pochi chilometri dalla città di Ashkelon, da dove l’ingresso è concesso solo a pochi giornalisti accreditati e a carghi che trasportano beni umanitari.

Omar è diplomato in infermieristica all’Università di Gaza e collabora come volontario presso alcune NGO – organizzazioni non governative – che operano sul territorio: la Gaza Community Mental Health Programme e la Union of Health Work Committes. Le NGO sono ormai l’unica fonte di sopravvivenza per il milione e mezzo di persone che popola la Striscia di Gaza: «Medicinali e beni di prima necessità scarseggiano e la maggior parte delle attività produttive o commerciali sono ferme per via delle restrizioni imposte dall’esercito israeliano,» spiega John Ging, direttore delle Agenzia delle Nazioni Unite per il Soccorso e l’Occupazione (UNRWA) in Gaza, «moltissimi  edifici portano ancora ben visibili i segni del conflitto del Gennaio scorso, ma qualsiasi lavoro di ristrutturazione, riparazione o ricostruzione è impossibile, dato che l’IDF – Israel Defense Forces – non consente l’entrata di materiale edile».

Se nell’immaginario occidentale la Striscia di Gaza è  l’ombelico del terrorismo di matrice islamica nel mondo, per Omar è semplicemente la terra dove è nato, il luogo che vorrebbe condividere con i viaggiatori di tutto il mondo e da lì forse un giorno partire per poter assaporare il brivido delle avventure che gli amici di CouchSurfing raccontano sulla propria bacheca informatica alla fine di ogni impresa: ma che cosa può far ancora rabbrividire un ragazzo cresciuto a suon di razzi katyusha, bombe antisommossa e fitte raffiche di proiettili che schizzano ovunque ad altezza uomo?

«Ho sentito parlare per la prima volta di CouchSurfing dagli amici europei giunti con i primi aiuti umanitari dopo la crisi di Gennaio. Alcuni di loro dormivano a casa mia, una delle poche rimaste illese nei bombardamenti e, ironizzando sulla mia disponibilità, mi dicevano: “Perché non t’iscrivi anche tu? Puoi conoscere un sacco di gente da tutto il mondo”».

«All’inizio pensavo che fosse una sorta di Facebook: contatti gli amici, scrivi qualche messaggio sul “muro”, commenti i post degli altri, giochi a “Who Has The Biggest Brain?”… Poi però mi sono accorto che grazie a questo portale, le persone s’incontravano veramente, andavano l’una a casa dell’altra, visitando paesi e luoghi che io conoscevo solo per sentito dire».

«Viaggiare è sempre stato il mio sogno: studiare, visitare l’Europa, gli Stati Uniti. La mia domanda di un visto per l’estero è già stata inoltrata da tempo, ma ancora non ho ricevuto risposta». Omar non demorde, continua a sperare ma sa che le frontiere sono controllate dall’autorità israeliana, certo non propensa a lasciar uscire un potenziale portavoce della miseria, della distruzione, delle tristi condizioni in cui vessa la popolazione di Gaza: «Non importa. Se io non posso andare da nessuna parte, nulla mi vieta d’invitare gli amici a casa mia. È diventata la mia missione. Non si può capire quello che succede qui se non lo si vive in prima persona, anche per un breve periodo, per una sola notte ed è per questo che tutti i giorni cerco contatti, nuovi amici, travelers da convincere a visitare questi luoghi:“Venite a Gaza, la città di Sansone,” è il motto. E non immagini quanti mi abbiamo risposto, ma, come ben sai, nessuno è riuscito ancora a entrare»

Ma che cosa può offrire Gaza a un couchsurfer? «Sessant’anni di guerra hanno distrutto ogni traccia della nostra storia: niente rimane del tempio in cui fu incatenato Sansone, delle mura costruite da Riccardo Cuor di Leone, della cittadella ottomana, della roccaforte napoleonica. Però c’è il mare, da dove si può ammirare la flotta israeliana che controlla le coste, il porto ormai in disuso, dato che i pescherecci sono costretti a navigare in zone poco proficue e sempre più spesso vengono attaccati dalle motovedette dell’IDF, poi il Barcelona Park, nel quartiere di Talet El Hawa, donato dall’amministrazione della città catalana e completamente distrutto durante le incursioni nel Gennaio di quest’anno. Inoltre, da non perdere, una visita nel posto dove lavoro, nel quartiere dove vivo, il Jabalia Camp, 110 mila rifugiati ammassati in 1,5 kmq, oltre agli altri sette campi profughi – per un totale di quasi 500 mila ospiti -: una possibilità unica per conoscere le nostre sofferenze, scalfite tra le rughe, le ferite, le storpiature, le menomazioni della nostra gente, dei nostri ragazzi, dei nostri bambini, le vere vittime di un conflitto che non sembra mai avere fine».

«Certo,» reagisce Zolthan, maglietta con l’immagine stilizzata del Che Guevara di Korda, mentre legge l’ultimo messaggio lasciato da Omar sulla mia “couchsurfer” bacheca, «quello che Israele, il mio paese, sta facendo a Gaza è orribile: ma chiedigli perché non smettono di lanciare missili contro le nostre città, di catturare e sequestrare i nostri militari al confine, di appoggiare gli estremisti che predicano la distruzione dello Stato d’Israele? E chiedigli un po’ degli attentati suicidi? Sai quanti amici ho perso per colpa di un ragazzino palestinese che si è fatto esplodere nel bar qui accanto?»

Il mio messaggio successivo suona un po’ perplesso: Omar, sei sicuro che non ci siano problemi nella tua terra per un visitatore straniero? «Anche tu pensi che siamo tutti quanti terroristi con il mitra in spalla, pronti a uccidere chiunque non sia musulmano? “Come on,” Gaza non è pericolosa, anzi. È una città povera, che soffre da infinito tempo i mali della guerra, ma che proprio per questo è umile, entusiasta e con la voglia di ricominciare a vivere, di ricostruire ancora una volta tutto da capo. Siamo esseri umani, amiamo la vita quanto voi e siamo stanchi della distruzione e della povertà che questo conflitto ci ha causato. Come potete giudicare senza mai essere stati qui?»

E se un giorno un couchsurfer israeliano chiedesse a te di essere ospitato? «Perché fai questa domanda? Non sono forse esseri umani anche loro? Certo, avrei qualche difficoltà se venisse in casa mia ad accusarmi di appartenere ad Al Qaeda o di voler sterminare tutti gli ebrei, ma perché in questo caso contraddirebbe la prima regola del couchsurfer, il rispetto dell’ospitalità: vale per loro, quanto per te, come per tutti gli altri. Anzi, sai che cosa ti dico? Se ci fosse veramente l’opportunità di ospitare anche solo un israeliano, se esistesse la speranza di mostrare a lui, al suo popolo, ai nostri vicini, la miseria in cui viviamo, non credi che forse qualche cosa cambierebbe?»

Il mio contatto con Omar finisce a Erez, l’ultimo avamposto israeliano prima della giurisdizione palestinese in Gaza: il gate è chiuso, l’accesso è concesso solo a pochi giornalisti, mentre io, una giornalista norvegese e un operatore sanitario, veniamo cacciati indietro. Apprendo nel pomeriggio che dall’altra parte della barriera la situazione è bollente: due miliziani d’Hamas sono stati uccisi durante un raid aereo. Omar mi aspetta a 10 km di distanza e non posso far altro che inviargli un messaggio per avvertire che il nostro incontro deve essere rimandato. La sua risposta non si fa attendere:«Caro amico, ti prego di provare, insistere e riprovare ancora a valicare il confine che ci divide. Ho bisogno di vederti, di conoscerti e di mostrarti come viviamo qui. Ho bisogno di sapere che esiste veramente un mondo aldilà di quella barriera che circonda la terra dove sono nato».

Oggi Omar è ancora là, di fronte al suo vecchio computer con connessione a 128kb, che attende il visto per poter conoscere il mondo e, nel frattempo, con dedizione, cerca couchsurfer da ospitare:«Venite, venite viaggiatori: venite tra le rovine del tempio distrutto da Sansone.»

Riccardo Valsecchi (pubblicato su Liberazione, 19/09/2009)

Lieberman: Barghouti Will Not be Released
Article: Israel National News

Speaking Thursday morning, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he could “guarantee” that arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti would not be released from prison in any deal to exchange terrorists for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. “We have no intention to free the head of the murderers, a person who has been sentenced to four life terms in prison. There are red lines, and this is one of them,” Lieberman said.

In response to U.S. demands that Israel free an additional 1,000-some terrorists as a “gesture” to Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, Lieberman said that previous releases of Fatah terrorists “have not proven themselves. The Olmert administration did this several times and it did not work, and we do not plan to allow it to happen,” Lieberman said.

Why can’t BHussein be smart enough to know that freeing RADICAL TERRORISTS does NOT PRODUCE POSITIVE RESULTS?! Oh. I guess “brotherhood” has a lot to do with it.

BHussein with Palestinian President Abu Mazen as he demands that Israel releases an additional 1,000 terrorists as a “gesture”to “moderate” “Palestinians”.

Ohhhhhhhhhh golly…

Israel pardons 92 Fatah members
Article: YnetNews

Israel has granted pardon to 92 wanted members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing. Some were awarded full pardon while others were granted partial pardon. The most prominent member on the list is a commander in the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the territories. (Ali Waked)

Yet; the Palestinian terrorists are holding one of Israel’s soldiers captive. Does BHussein Obama give a shit? The answer is NYET. He cares about himself… and his brothers in Allah.

Israel soldier swap talks on hold: Palestinian
Article: Breitbart

Indirect talks between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement over a prisoner exchange involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have been suspended until Tuesday, according to a Palestinian official .

“Negotiations on Shalit will resume after Eid al-Adha in Cairo on Tuesday,” the official told AFP on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The Hamas delegation, which visited the Syrian capital on Wednesday to meet the movement’s leadership in exile, returned to the Gaza Strip via Cairo, he added, while refusing to detail the content of the discussions.

Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants including Hamas in a cross-border raid from the Gaza Strip in 2006.

Hamas, which has controlled the territory since June 2007, is demanding that more than 450 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails be released in exchange for the soldier.

But Israel is refusing to release some of the detainees, blocking the chance of any agreement being reached, an official close to the talks said on Wednesday.

The same official said reports of an imminent prisoner exchange were “premature.”

Both Hamas and Israel earlier this week reported progress in the negotiations, which have been mediated by Egypt and Germany, but played down reports of a quick deal.

Hamas on Wednesday blamed the delay on Israel, which “has not yet answered the demands of the Palestinian factions,” senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya said.

So; even the terrorists who are holding the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit captive demand only 450 Palestinian terrorist prisoners that are being held in Israeli jails be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit; but BHussein seems to think that’s a pretty low number. “DUR… I HAZ A BETR IDEA! LETZ GO FOR A THOUSAND. THEY IS MY TERRORIZT BROTHERZ.” UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. Negotiations are on hold until after Eid al-Adha… I guess the terrorists must be shopping at Best Buy.

RELATED POST: Israel Harel, Zionist Strategist (on NGO Monitor’s fundamentalist allies)

Gerald Steinberg of NGO Monitor, and his associates in government, have entered a new phase in their campaign to suppress Israeli human rights NGOs. This morning (November 27 2009) Haaretz’s English edition ran an op-ed by Steinberg. No longer satisfied with de-legitimization, Israeli neoconservatives have begun taking concrete parliamentary action to silence internal dissent. Because of a sense that some of the remaining freedoms of Israeli democracy — expression and association for Israeli citizens – were under dangerous assault I agreed, for the first time in years,  to byline an op-ed addressing Steinberg’s (both op-eds, side-by-side, can be viewed here). Below is an annotated version of the op-ed, with comprehensive links to supporting documentation.

Bring on the transparency

Op-ed, Didi Remez, Haaretz, November 27 2009

The government of Israel is waging an aggressive campaign to suppress internal dissent. Most of its targets have been organizations operating in the occupied territories, and the campaigners would have us believe that they are acting in the interest of “national security.” However, a closer look indicates that they are motivated by a general disrespect for the role of civil society in a democracy. Any NGO in the government’s way seems to have become fair game; indeed, officials have even started calling refugee-aid groups a fifth column.

Civil servants are playing an increasingly active role in this effort. A notable example is Ron Dermer [bio at previous position], chief of policy planning in the Prime Minister’s Office, who led the charge this past summer to suppress any group that dared to advocate on behalf of Palestinian human rights or to question the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct during the Gaza campaign.

Dermer, whose legislative initiative to ban funding of Israeli human rights organizations by allied governments stalled in September, has now passed the ball to a political ally: Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor. This organization has now partnered with the Institute for Zionist Strategies, led by Israel Harel, a founder of the Gush Emunim settler movement.

Steinberg is savvier than Dermer. Instead of a ban, he advocates “funding transparency.” Next Tuesday, he is organizing a Knesset conference to “debate” the issue. Israel’s beleaguered human rights activists are bracing for yet another round of demonization and delegitimization.

In formulating a response, some have argued for an appeal to reason. They want to explain to Steinberg and his organization that the suppression campaign is ill-advised and destructive; that it threatens to put Israel in the same camp as Putin’s Russia and other autocracies; and that it may provoke a retaliatory call by a European public, already dangerously hostile, to cut critical funding to Israeli hospitals, universities and R&D projects.

This approach is commendable, but futile. NGO Monitor is not an objective watchdog: It is a partisan operation that suppresses its perceived ideological adversaries through the sophisticated use of McCarthyite techniques – blacklisting, guilt by association and selective filtering of facts.

If Steinberg really cares about “transparency,” why does he not begin in his own backyard? Breaking the Silence, a frequent subject of his organization’s wrath, has financial reports for 2006-2008 posted on its Web site. NGO Monitor’s site lists only one small U.S. charity as its current funder, providing no links for further information. The Institute for Zionist Strategies’ site says nothing about its funding.

Here is another example of NGO Monitor’s intellectual dishonesty: A central theme of its recent critiques has been of NGO “lawfare,” achieving “political” goals through the courts. There are at least three examples of pro-settler Israeli NGOs engaged in “lawfare,” as defined by NGO Monitor: the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, the Israel Law Center and Regavim, but you will not find even an acknowledgment of their existence among the hundreds of documents on its Web site.

We have another option. Steinberg’s and Dermer’s cynicism has created an opportunity to dismantle the power structure that forces Israelis to continue defending Palestinian human rights, 42 years after the “temporary” occupation of the West Bank and Gaza began.

If Israeli neoconservatives really want “transparency,” why not take them at their word? We could propose to NGO Monitor and its allies that we launch a bipartisan campaign to enact legislation mandating high standards of financial transparency for all local NGOs. This would entail listing all donations of, say, NIS 15,000 and above, prominently on the NGO’s Web site and in its publications, including full donor identity details and any tax exemptions that were applied. Israeli government funding would, of course, be listed as well.

Most of NGO Monitor’s Israeli targets already meet these standards. For the few that do not, compliance would be an easy task.

This is certainly not the case for the organizations fueling the settlement enterprise that is destroying our country. They depend on financial opacity for continued operations. Elad, for example, a prime mover of many controversial and provocative settlement adventures in East Jerusalem, has been cited by the Registrar of Associations for refusing to disclose its donor identities.

One can understand their reticence. What would the Israeli public say if the fact that Od Yosef Hai yeshiva, in Yitzhar, is the recipient of generous funding from the Israeli government [primary data here] had to be prominently displayed on the cover of its publications – which include “Baruch Hagever,” an ode to Tomb of the Patriarchs killer Baruch Goldstein, and the “Handbook for the Killing of Gentiles“? How long would the U.S. taxpayer put up with the tax-exempt status of Shuva Israel, a Christian Zionist fund, if they knew that it supports the expansion of settlement outposts, illegal even under Israeli law?

These examples are just the tip of an iceberg. Hundreds of millions of dollars in Israeli taxpayer money and U.S.tax exemptions, mostly hidden from public view, are the driving force of the settlement enterprise. The Steinberg Act would be applauded by progressive Israel and genuine “pro-Israelis” abroad. Transparency is the lifeblood of democracy and our society could use a lot more of it.

Does anyone seriously believe that Israel wants peace?

“Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered the IDF to issue a temporary freeze order, but at the same time allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements.” – Haaretz.com

عرض جميع نتائج البحث في الويب لـ صور الباك الإسلامي

UFO spotted in Kuwait?

Posted: 24-11-2009 , 13:51 GMT

Two men in Kuwait told local media that they spotted what they called a “flying saucer.”The UFO, one man said, first appeared on the 10th of November and resembled an illuminated halo. The second man, a government employee, spotted a UFO nine days later. After reading of the UFO account by the first man, he decided to report the incident to the police, saying it matched the description of the first man. The body carries the same attributes mentioned by Failakawi [the first identifier], it contains considerable light in the middle and is lined with small lights,” Kuwaiti daily Al Rai quoted the second man as saying.     The man also told reporters that the object flew horizontally before disappearing behind a condominium in the Sabah al Salem area.   Despite reports in Kuwaiti media, no photos or recordings have been provided as proof of the two citings. Nevertheless, the two men and several supporters have defended what the men saw, saying two identical descriptions by strangers cannot be a coincidence.   Others, however, have argued that the men merely witnessed solar reflections from small meteorites. © 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

سفير مصر بالجزائر يعود للقاهرة “للتشاور”

Triple impact and female kickboxing  

Search Results

نجلا الرئيس مبارك، علاء وجمال، كانا ضمن مشجعي المنتخب المصري بمباراة الخرطوم

القاهرة، مصر (CNN)– أعلنت وزارة الخارجية المصرية الأحد، أن سفير مصر لدى الجزائر عبد العزيز سيف النصر، عاد إلى القاهرة مساء السبت بعد استدعائه “للتشاور”،، وقدم تقريراً لوزير الخارجية أحمد أبو الغيط، حول “الاعتداءات” التي تعرض لها مصريون بالجزائر.

وقال المتحدث باسم وزارة الخارجية، حسام زكي، إن “التقرير أوضح ملابسات الاعتداءات التي تعرضت لها بعض المؤسسات والشركات المصرية بالجزائر، وما تعرض له عدد من المصريين هناك، من عمليات تخويف وترويع”، في أعقاب المواجهة بين منتخبي البلدين، ضمن التصفيات المؤهلة لكأس العالم.

ونقلت وكالة أنباء الشرق الأوسط أن السفير سيف النصر “تلقى عدة توجيهات في هذا الصدد، من وزير الخارجية”، مشيرة إلى أن الوزير وجه مجدداً بـ”تسخير كافة إمكانيات السفارة للتواصل بشكل مستمر مع أعضاء الجالية المصرية في كافة أنحاء الجزائر، بهدف معالجة أية مشكلات يتعرضون لها.”

وكانت الخارجية المصرية قد استدعت سفير الجزائر بالقاهرة عبد القادر حجار الخميس، لتقديم “احتجاج شديد اللهجة”، كما أبلغته “استياء مصر البالغ من الاعتداءات التي تعرض لها المواطنون المصريون الذين توجهوا إلى الخرطوم لتشجيع الفريق المصري على أيدي المشجعين الجزائريين.”

ووصفت القاهرة “الاعتداءات” على المشجعين المصريين لمنتخبهم الوطني لكرة القدم في السودان، وعلى المصالح المصرية في الجزائر، بـ”الوحشية.”

وكان الرئيس المصري حسني مبارك قد خصص غالبية خطابه أمام البرلمان السبت، للحديث عن “الاعتداءات” التي تعرض لها عدد من المصريين، قائلاً إن “مصر لن تتهاون مع من يسيء إلى أبنائها”، مؤكداً أن “حماية المصريين في الخارج هي مسؤولية الدولة.”

وفي وقت سابق، كلف مبارك الوزير أبو الغيط، باستدعاء سفير الجزائر بالقاهرة، حيث نقل إليه مطالبة مصر للجزائر بأن تتحمل مسؤولياتها في حماية المواطنين المصريين الموجودين على أراضيها، ومختلف المنشآت والمصالح المصرية بالجزائر.

وتأهل المنتخب الجزائري لبطولة كأس العالم “جنوب أفريقيا 2010″، بعد فوزه على نظيره المصري بهدف دون رد، في المباراة الفاصلة التي جمعتهما بالخرطوم الأربعاء الماضي، والتي جاءت بعد أيام على فوز منتخب مصر على نظيره الجزائري بهدفين نظيفين بالقاهرة، مما اضطر المنتخبين للجوء إلى مباراة فاصلة.

وشهد حي “الزمالك” الشهير بالقاهرة مظاهرات غاضبة مساء الخميس الماضي، أمام مقر السفارة الجزائرية، احتجاجاً على “الاعتداءات” التي تعرض لها مصريون في الخرطوم والجزائر.

Womens International

MuayThai

WIN Sandra Bastian
Decision

In a battle featuring two of the top female athletes in the world, Canada’s Sandra Heart Bastian squared off against Britain’s Anna The Ginger Warrior Zucchelli. Zucchelli was coming off winning the IFMA European Championships in Latvia in May. The bout opened with Zucchelli spending most of her time delivering probing low tiips at Bastian’s lead knee. Though none landed successfully, Zucchelli was to continue to attempt to apply pressure at the Canadian. During the first round Zuchelli was to throw long range kicks that appeared to have her holding back on her power. In the first clinch of the two athletes, Zuccelli managed to spin and dump Bastian to the canvas – only once during the match. At the end of the first round Bastian was to admit that she had seriously injured her shoulder, and after the fight it was confirmed to be a torn muscle grouping.

The remainder of the fight see-sawed back and forth between the two athletes. Zucchelli continued to try and move forward, and surprisingly it appeared her power did not increase in her kicks. Bastian did not have her usual pizzazz in this bout and spent most of her time counter striking. The opening of the bout appeared stronger for the British girl, while the last rounds appeared more successful for the Canadian. The decision went to Bastian.

“I do not mean to sound terrible, but both of the two athletes looked like they were ‘off’ on this day. Neither athlete appeared to carry power in their shots. The decision surprised me because personally, I felt that Zucchelli could have swung the bout had she come up with a heartier performance. However, the officials scored it differently. All of these officials have participated in judging seminars conducted by the UK’s Tony Myers, so they understand the scoring system as well. Mr. Judd protested the decision, and I feel that as a coach he did the right thing. Regardless of the outcome of the bout, these two athletes will have to meet again, as I am sure Zucchelli wants revenge and I know Sandra will want to redeem herself as well. Fullest respect to Anna Zucchelli and her coach Bill Judd”, said Bastian’s coach Mike Miles.

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Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about an imminent deal to release Gilad Schalit, the soldier who’s been in Hamas captivity for the last 1248 days. Everybody is trying to say something, without saying or admitting anything, while making the other side believe that they have said something which hopefully leads to more talk and leaks to the press.
The truth is there are maybe 3 people right now who really know what’s going on and they’re smart enough to shut up about it. All the reporters and foreign correspondents, and columnists, etc’ know diddly squat, but have editors breathing down their neck so they HAVE to say something.
How can anyone take a reporter seriously when the only solid piece of information he brings to the coffee table is what he read in the Hamas daily broschure?

And people gulp it all down.

The latest now is that the whole deal depends upon one name. One name of a terrorist whom Israel refuses to release. And it’s not that this one is worse than the other scumbags…
I don’t know what my opinion is, on this matter, to tell you the truth. I’m ambivalent to the point of schizophrenia – One part of me feels that there should be no negotiations with terrorists, nowhere, for anything and that soldiers here and their parents should know that they may be abducted, and not be brought back because the price is too high. Another part of me thinks that there’s really no reason to hold and feed these prisoners here, and it really doesn’t matter if they’re out, because it’s not like the Middle East is running out of terrorists, so what the hell?

I don’t know. 1248 days is a long time though.

But I sure wish I didn’t have an editor breathing down my neck either, so I wouldn’t have to put up pictures of nothing in the blog.

The medical professional radio series ‘Diabetes Discourse’ produced by our company in partnership with ReachMD SiriusXM 160 kicks off with incredible topics and guests during ‘Diabetes Month’ in November.  I had the privilege of working with president-elect of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Dr. Daniel Einhorn as he discussed the need for new practicing guidelines to match the growing opportunities in the new class of medications for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. He also shared some insight into healthcare reform for patients with chronic diseases emphasizing the need for change, discussion and cooperation across channels. I continued my ‘high on inspiration’ visiting with Sandra Bourdette, the Executive Director of Taking Control Of Your Diabetes as she shared her desire for continuing diabetes education for both the health care professional and patient. The non-profit organization does a tremendous job of reaching thousands of people living with diabetes across the nation with up-to-date information from leading health care professionals. And to top it off – I learned about the International Diabetes Federation’s global campaign to reach across the pond with new objectives for prevention and education from the Vice President of IDF, Anne-Marie Felton. She and our host, Dr. Steven Edelman have a lively conversation about how these large organizations work together to combat what the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon described as the epidemic of non-communicable disease as ‘posing a greater threat than infectious disease!’ Check out the series

And what could possibly go wrong with a military that is certain that God wants them to disobey their commanding officers because their orders go against their religious doctrine…

From Ha’aretz:

by Chaim Levinson

Dozens of religious Zionist rabbis held a secret meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday to discuss ways of bolstering the hesder yeshivas, the halachic argument for refusing to obey military orders to evacuate settlements, and the campaign against having the army evacuate Jews from their homes.

….The rabbis also expressed support for the Shimshon and Nachshon Battalion soldiers who raised banners stating they refused to evacuate settlements, and called them “heroes.” 

___________________________________________________________

So that two-state solution should be coming along any minute now.  Right after somebody’s messiah shows up.  Funny how many religions are waiting for their Messiah, and have been for quite a few years now.  You would think they would have caught on by this time, but no.

I swear that there is not one religious fundamentalist of ANY religion that was not an assh*le. 

Additional from UPI (Israel fears revolt by pro-settler troops)

שועל!

שם הטוב יודע לשלוח ברכה לכל אדם אשר דורש ברכה אפילו אם זה בבוקר של יום כיפור ואלוקים הקדוש ברוך בוא (אדושם) יושב בסלון שלו ולא מתאים לו להריץ דיבורים כי הוא מת לג’חנון ומחכה שהמקו הזה בז’בוטינסקי יפתח.

אלוקים אוהב פרנסה טובה, בריאות, נשמה, נשימה, מים, ים, אגם, אוכל, קמח, פסטרמה, מיכל ינאי, מי זה, אוכלים ונהנים, צ’יפופו, אולגה, רנו פסקל, יואב סגל, קוקו מאילת, אבו צ’יצ’ו, חומוס, הכל בסדר, כן, גידי גוב, ואפילו דברים טעימים שמצופים בשוקולד.

אלוקים אוהב את כל השועלים והשועות והחיות הקטנות ואפילו הרסק עגבניות הזה שהילדים שמים ליד המלאווח וליד הפתות ועל הצ’יפס, נו, הדבר האדום הזה שנראה כמו דם של ווסת, נראה לי קוראים לזה קיצ’יפ, קיטשיפ, קיטשופ?

יהיה בסדר, כי כולנו ילדים של החיים.

שועלות!

According to Haaretz, Israeli President Shimon Peres announced Yesterday (November 22 2009) after his meeting with Mubarak that once Israeli-Palestinian negotiations restart, Israel will freeze settlements. A closer look revealsthat he is promising something Israel is presently committed to — no new settlements, no land confiscation and evacuation of “outposts”. The headline may, however, may be indicative of a new Israeli messaging strategy — “we will freeze settlements but the Palestinians are refusing resume negotiations” — aimed at moving the ball to Palestinian court.

See this morning’s (November 23 2009) Yediot article below describing how the IDF is preparing for a settlement freeze “as part of Israel’s political preparations for a resumption of the talks with the Palestinians” and that this move “went hand in hand with President Shimon Peres’s statement yesterday in Cairo to the effect that Israel would cease all construction in the settlements upon the resumption of talks with the Palestinians.”

IDF prepares for construction freeze in settlements

Alex Fishman, Yediot, November 23 2009 [page 9]

The Defense Ministry’s legal counsel has recently finalized the preparation of military orders that enjoin a full moratorium on construction everywhere in Judea and Samaria.

The military orders were drafted in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office as part of Israel’s political preparations for a resumption of the talks with the Palestinians. The orders that were drafted by the Defense Ministry will become “orders by the OC Central Command,” who is the sovereign over the West Bank, immediately upon a decision by the Israeli political echelon to resume talks with the Palestinian Authority.

In the course of their most recent visit to the United States, the defense minister and prime minister apprised senior American officials with whom they met, including President Barack Obama and special US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, of the preparations Israel was making in advance of the possibility that talks with the Palestinians would be renewed. In the course of those meetings an Israeli commitment was made to impose a complete moratorium on construction in the settlements.

In the past number of months there has been an unprecedented boom of both legal and illegal construction across Judea and Samaria. The legal construction involves construction work on the basis of old permits that were not acted on, as well as the approximately 3,000 permits that were issued by the Defense Ministry legalizing the completion of buildings that were already in the process of being built. The settlers’ various settlement apparatuses had also prepared well in advance for the possibility of a construction freeze and for the past number of months have been making a concerted effort to build as much as possible before the OC Central Command’s order goes into effect.

Informed sources said that Israel was likely to find itself facing a strongly-worded American protest once the latter realized, by means of aerial photographs and inspections on the ground, that the actual scope of construction in Judea and Samaria exceeded the scope that had been authorized by the Israeli government as it had been reported to the them. Informed sources in the security establishment said that issuing orders enjoining a construction freeze upon the resumption of the political negotiations went hand in hand with President Shimon Peres’s statement yesterday in Cairo to the effect that Israel would cease all construction in the settlements upon the resumption of talks with the Palestinians.

Written by Sara Fryd / Illustrations by Emily Tran

“Papa, there’s a spider in the bathroom,” screamed the little boy!   I’m too little to catch it.   Come quick!  I can’t take a bath.  I’m too scared.”

Papa walked down the hall with a plastic container to fetch the spider and toss him out in the garden where he belonged.  He didn’t like spiders much; however, they were one of God’s creatures and had their place here on earth like everyone else.

“I don’t like spiders, although, I am very fond of crickets,” Papa said.  And Erez came running up the hall to the living room clearly jumping for

~ J   O   Y   !!!!

 He had heard Papa’s stories hundreds of times and couldn’t wait to hear them again.  “Papa tell me the story again”, Erez said while climbing into Papa’s lap chattering non-stop like most 5-year olds.  “Tell me the story again, please, please.  Another story about the Israeli Army where you guarded missiles, with bird names in the North.   Can I serve in the Israeli Army when I’m old enough?  Please, Papa please.” 

“That will depend on the Israeli Defense Forces,” Papa winked.

Sitting in his favorite big chair, Papa made a face while scratching his beard, “Okay, I’ll continue if you promise to go take your bath and climb into bed as soon as we are finished.   Mama is very tired after a long day at work, so we have to help out tonight.”

“Yes, yes,” Erez responded immediately.  His dark eyes lit up like fireflies in summer in the mid-western USA from where Papa had emigrated after high school with his family.   He bounced on Papa’s lap till he found that comfortable familiar place to curl up in.

“Me too, me too, giggled Libby.   How come he always gets to sit on your lap and hear stories and I don’t?   I’m almost 5, she smiled!   That radiant little girl smile that manages to throw darts at a father’s heart; usually getting little girls what they want every time.

“I don’t like spiders very much…although…I am very fond of crickets”, Papa began.  “And here’s why”, he continued.  “Wouldn’t you know the Israeli Army always sent me North in the winter and South in the summer, until I transferred to a research & development library in Tel Aviv.”

“Occasionally, I was assigned to guard a Hawk missile site near Safed. Every night a cricket would keep me company. He would chirp, chirp, chirp by rubbing his legs together.  And I would not feel so alone out there in the dark all by myself when I was only nineteen.”

“I named the cricket “Coincident.” For with all the creatures Hashem could have sent me to keep me company, why did he send me a noisy cricket to keep me up when I’d rather be taking a nap. After all, what on earth did I need a cricket for when I had an Uzi?” Papa winked.

Then wrinkling his brow for effect, with two enthralled children sitting in his lap, he continued, “One particularly dark, almost moon less night, I was on guard duty alone, when suddenly…(Papa’s voice got really low and both children jumped), my friend the especially noisy cricket “Coincident” stopped chirping.

I looked at the area on the far side of the cricket and saw a wild cat approaching me.  This cat was about the size of a Florida bobcat.  Almost the size of a small lion.  Big enough to eat me in one gulp!  I didn’t want to fire my Uzi at one of Hashem’s creatures, so I picked up a fist-sized rock and I threw it hard to the ground just left of the bobcat, which ran away very fast towards the Northeast.  Out of sight of the cricket and far away from Papa, Baruch Hashem (Bless God)!  And I’ve been fond of crickets ever since, though I still don’t like spiders very much.”

“Tell it again, tell it again,” the children shouted falling off of Papa’s lap. Libby grabbing the beard to keep from slipping too far.

“Maybe tomorrow night. Right now it’s bath time and there are no spiders in the bathroom, so no more excuses,” Papa explained detaching his beard from one little girl’s fingers and placing her on the floor with one deft hand.

 And two ecstatic children raced each other down the hall laughing till Papa could hear the water splashing; warmly watching while leaning against the wall with a smile that remembered, “The sounds of crickets still make me smile, though the sounds of my children…well, we’ll just have to save that for another bedtime story.”

All rights reserved.  ©2009 by Sara Fryd