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The Filibuster: A Platform for Prima Donnas

wattree — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:41:21 +0000

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Filibuster: A Platform for Prima Donnas to Obstruct Democracy

It’s time to get rid of the filibuster in the United States Senate. The filibuster is a senate rule where if there is less than sixty votes on any issue, any one senator can hold up the people’s business by blocking the issue from coming to a vote before the full senate.

The movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” with Jimmy Stewart, portrays the practice in its most charitable light. There, Jimmy Stewart’s character uses the filibuster to prevent legislation from being enacted against the people by a corrupt political machine. But in reality, the filibuster is virtually always used to obstruct legislation beneficial to the people in favor of a corrupt or malevolent status quo.

In 1957 Sen. Strum Thurmond (Sen., S.C.) filibustered to obstruct the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Then in 1964 a group of Southern senators mounted a filibuster in an attempt to obstruct a vote on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which included anti lynching legislation. And just recently Sen. Joe Lieberman threatened to filibuster to prevent healthcare legislation from coming to a vote in order to protect the greed of the insurance industry – and that was in spite of the fact that a full 68% of the people who voted him into office stood firmly in favor of healthcare reform.

The filibuster is symbolic of the many ways that Americans are being manipulated by the encroachment of an increasingly insidious class system. Thus, the time has long since past for the American people to rediscover the necessity of keeping tight reins on governmental power.

It is absolutely incumbent upon us to strip individual politicians of the tools to hold badly needed legislation hostage for their own personal interest. Not only is it undemocratic to allow one senator to override the will of the people and the majority of the senate, but recent history has clearly demonstrated that politicians are much too self-serving, irresponsible, and corrupt to be vested with such tremendous power.

In an article in Slate.com, it was pointed out that Joe Lieberman’s opposition to healthcare reform came only one day after the insurance lobby released a report attacking it. Slate also pointed out that Lieberman’s home state of “Connecticut is home to 72 insurance companies, including Aetna, a major player in the health-insurance industry whose PAC and employees have this year given Lieberman $65,200.” As a result, Lieberman didn’t blink an eye before throwing his constituents under the bus.

So while Joe Lieberman didn’t follow through with his threat to filibuster healthcare legislation, it certainly wasn’t because he prayed over the issue and suddenly found God. Lieberman didn’t follow through with his threat for the very same reason that seems to generally motivate his machinations – self-interest. First, he wants to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee in the senate, which the Democrats allowed him to keep even after he turned on them in the 2008 election. And secondly, the pressure for him to fall into line became much too intense for his cowardly heart to take. His threat to filibuster the legislation was designed to pull other Democrats onboard, but when he failed to do so, he lacked the character to stand alone.

President Eisenhower pointed out in his speech on the military/industrial complex that “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together [emphasis added].” That also applies to every other area of American governance. But due to the under funding and concerted attack on our educational system, we’re rapidly losing that essential characteristic, which is absolutely necessary to maintain the viable democracy that was established by this nation’s founders.

Over the years America has become increasingly hostile toward education and the pursuit of knowledge in general. In fact, many of our politicians have started to actively demonize education in much the same way that they demonized the term “liberal” in the sixties. The educated members of our society are now often referred to as “elitist.” The hostility of our politicians toward education stems from the fact that the demagoguery of control and manipulation cannot thrive in a knowledgeable society. A knowledgeable society would immediately recognize that one man should not be able to obstruct public policy.

So they’ve mounted a brutal attack on our educational system by trying to starve it to death. Those who are entrusted with the nation’s most valuable asset – the intellectual development of our nation’s youth – are denigrated, paid like paupers, and relegated to among the lowest tiers of our society, when they should be at the top. And while other countries are guaranteeing a higher education to all who are qualified, the children of the poor and middle class in the United States are being arrested for demonstrating against college tuition being raised far beyond their ability to pay.

This is not by accident. Our educational system is being purposely undermined so the American people can be easily trained, like Pavlov’s dog, to respond to emotional cues rather than rational thought. In that way, corporate manipulators like Joe Lieberman, Fox News, and the Republican Party are left to define, for the people, what’s in their best interest. It allows the likes of Rush Limbaugh or a Glen Beck to instruct them in when it’s appropriate to become outraged.

That leaves the nation in a very precarious position, because now, instead of loving America, and American ideals, the people have been conditioned to vest their love and loyalty in individuals. We currently see the effect of that in the people’s response to Sarah Palin on the right, and President Obama on the left. While certaintly not equating the president with Sarah Palin, the point is, many people have confused their love for individuals with patriotism, and the character of that “patriotism” is determined by the character of the individual. That’s extremely dangerous, especially since these people lack the education to reflect back on WWII.

The problem is, in order for American citizens to truly love America, they have to know what it is about America that’s worth loving. But due to the attack on our educational system, we’ve spawned a generation of Americans who know absolutely nothing about American traditions, nor ideals. That’s why they so easily accept torture, and the invasion of privacy as though it’s business as usual. That’s also why they so casually accept the fact that there’s a class of people who are obviously above the law. That’s what they see in American life, and they have no other frame of reference or educational background to inform them that having a class above the law is un-American. As a result, we have a constant chipping away of American values.

While part of President Eisenhower’s warning was “make no assumptions,” those of us who do have a knowledge of American ideals have made the false assumption that a knowledge of America’s traditions are so fundamental that it’s common to all Americans. But the fact is, it’s not. There’s a large segment of our population who don’t know what it means to be an American. Thus, it’s not necessary for corporate controllers to take away our rights, we’ve become so ignorant as a people that we’re fighting one another to give them away – and don’t make the mistake of thinking that applies to only the least of us.

Our military personnel all get a crash course in what it means to be an American, but what of the corporate and political class? The politicians tell us that we’re at war. That used to mean that the entire country pulled together to sacrificed equally to defeat the enemy. But how many sons and daughters of the political or corporate class have died in this war? That’s right – not one.

Yeah, I know. We have a volunteer army. But if America is in such a life and death struggle, why aren’t the rich and political class urging their children to volunteer in the name of patriotism? I’ll tell you why – because the pride of the founding fathers has become so remote that the rich and powerful now sees patriotism as pedestrian. These people have learned from their parents – Dick Cheney, for example – that the pride of patriotism is nothing more than a tool to manipulate the masses.

Why isn’t the super-patriotic Liz Cheney driving a truck in Iraq? The simple answer is, because she sees it as beneath her station. She feels that there are “little people” to do that sort of thing. Her job is to be a cheerleader.

Thus, we’ve become the victims of our own ignorance, and it’s time to set that straight before it’s too late. And the only way that we can restore ourselves as “we the people,” is by reasserting ourselves over the lofty and arrogant by stripping then of their political power. And the very first step in that process should be regaining control of congress, and stripping these prima donnas of the right to filibuster the will of the American people.

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.

Israeli ambassador welcomed with eggs in Turkey

agaahipk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:34:42 +0000

PressTv

Israel’s ambassador to Ankara has been pelted with eggs during a visit to a Turkish university in the coastal city of Trabzon.

Angry Turkish students threw eggs at Gabi Levy as he arrived at Karadeniz Teknik university on Wednesday.

The students protesting against Tel Aviv’s policies regarding the Palestinians, including the issues of illegal settlement activity in the West bank and the war on the Gaza Strip.

Police detained a group of 20 students and the Israeli ambassador left without getting out of his vehicle, Anatolia reported.

The embarrassing incident came only one day after Gabi Levy, who is on a tour of the region, faced harsh criticism in the nearby city of Rize, where local officials condemned Israel’s “policies of expansion and occupation” and said that the so-called “self-defense” should not involve “killing children.”

Ankara-Tel Aviv re relations deteriorated after Israel’s deadly military offensive in Gaza that killed over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, at the turn of the year.

The two side’s bilateral relations further deteriorated last month, after Ankara excluded Israel from an international air force exercise in protest at “the humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza and called for an immediate lifting of Gaza siege, which has put the region’s 1.5 million population in desperate need of basic necessities.

OIC calls for UNSC emergency meeting on Al-Aqsa

agaahipk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:49:02 +0000

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has called for an urgent meeting on Israel’s frequent violations against the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the occupied East Jerusalem Al-Quds.

The world’s largest Islamic organization urged UN Security Council and Russia “to request an emergency meeting on Israeli violations of international law in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) … and aggressions against the holy places,” AFP reported on Sunday.

The Organization has already cautioned Israel of ‘dangerous consequences’ for acts of sacrilege in the holy compound emphasizing that any damage to the mosque could lead to “unpredictable consequences” for international peace and security.

The 57-member body condemned Israeli sporadic violations against the holy site which started on September 27 after it closed the compound and deployed thousands of police forces to secure a Jewish religious ceremony in the masque.

Clashes renewed in the holy site last week after Israeli police closed down the site.

Security forces fired stun grenades to disperse crowds of hundreds of Palestinian protesters. Twenty-four Palestinians have been wounded in the clashes in and around the holy compound.

Insurance Stocks Plunged As Reid Announced Public Option, Spiked After Lierberman Vowed to Filibuster It

audiegrl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:34:08 +0000

Posted by Audiegrl

ThinkProgress/Zaid Jilani—Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that he would be including a version of the public option (with a state opt-out provision) in the Senate’s final health care bill. Although all of the details of the public plan are yet to be determined, progressives cheered the move. As Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) admitted, without all the pressure that progressives in and out of Congress put on legislators, it is unlikely there would have been a public option included in Reid’s final bill.

Yet this afternoon, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) broke with the Democratic caucus that he is a member of and vowed to join a Republican-led filibuster if the public option is not removed from the bill. In response, insurance company stocks — which plummeted Monday as Reid made his announcement — shot up after Lieberman made his announcement around 1:30 pm

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Top 15 Lieberman Betrayals: Joe’s Worst Double-Crosses

Israelis to boycott Turkish resorts and coffee

agaahipk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:51:03 +0000

by: Daily.Pk

As most of ‘political aware’ persons know – Zionist regime is well-known for its self-denial – even if the truth about its Zionazi policies comes from respected Jewish individulas, such as South African Jewish judge, Goldstone.

In response to Ankara’s non-stop rubbing of Zionist noses (read it as ‘anti-Semitism’) – Israel’s national airline EIAI has decided to stop subsiding its employees visiting Turkey during the Passover holidays – during which over 80,000 Israeli Jews visit Turkey and spread their immoral culture.

Israel’s major coffee shop chain, IIan, too has decided to join the boycott, according to its director of marketing, Michael Steg, saying: “We have for the time being to stop selling ‘Istambul Coffee’ – our Turkish coffee blend, and we shall keep doing it until matters improve – the airing of Turkish TV drama Ayrilik (Farewell) showing Israeli soldiers as child-killers during Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’ against 1.5 million Palestinians trapped inside Gaza Strip.

Ankara’s recent actions against its old ally – which Zionist-controlled media keeps ignoring – has nothing to do with the so-called ‘anti-Semitism’. It’s as Professor Ephraim Inbar (Bar-IIan University) put it: “Someone has decided to teach Israel a lesson”. Recently, Tel Aviv turned down Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s request to visit Gaza strip and meet Hamas government leaders to negotiate a sort of fair deal between Israeli government and Hamas. Earlier, the reason why the Turkish PM Erdogan blasted Israeli president Shimon Peres at Davos conference – was that Israeli PM Ehud Olmert met Erdogan in Istanbul a few days before Israeli attack on Gaza in December 2008 – and “betrayed” Erdogan, who was conveying messages on phone between Olmer and Damascus (Turkey, then, was playing the part of a negotiator on Israeli request). Israel also infuriated Turkish generals by delaying the delivery of the pre-paid Heron unmanned aviation vehicles (UAV) – and 2008 failed coup against Erdogan government.

“Things have changed. In Davutoglu’s idealogical framework, Israel soesn’t play a central role,” – Ofra Bengio, an expert on Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.

According to Israeli daily Ha’aretz, Turkey is the most popular foreign destination for Israel tourists representing 13% of all departures and generating US$300 million in annual revenue. More than 500,000 Israeli Jews visit Turkey each year for beaches and cheap shopping. Yossi Fattal, head of Israel Tourist and Travel Agent Association, said that travellers’ boycott is unprecedented in Israel (since Peres’ outbusrt against Erdogan at Davos). He believes, however, that the impact will not be as severe as it appears now. “Israeli memory isn’t very long – half a year is like an ice age and the memory will fade.”

Now, how much impact the Israeli (population 7 million) boycott would have on Turkey (70 million) – would be interesting to watch. Turkey is home to over 26,000 Jews (second largest Jewish community in a Muslim-majority country – after Islamic Iran). Turkish Jews are (96% Sephardic, and the rest Ashkenazi and Kurds. However, they have carried immense power in the secular Turkey since WW I – as Christopher Jon Bjerknes wrote:

“Long before the ‘cultural revolution’ of communist china, and starting before the Bolshevik Jews of Russia destroyed Christianity and Christians in the Slavik World, the Doenmeh (the secret Jews of Turkey) and especially Mustafa Kemal (Attaturk), tried very hard to strip Turkey of its religion and its culture. It’s vital to World Jewry to prevent the Muslims of Turkey from taking back their nation and their faith and aligning themselves with their Muslim neighbours.

Israeli war on Gaza killed peace perspective in ME’

agaahipk — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:13:09 +0000

Turkey tells Israel to end Gaza tragedy Children in Gaza have no schools to go to: Turk FM

By: The News International

ANKARA: Turkey urged Israel on Friday to end the “humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza, saying ties between the two allies cannot recover if Palestinian suffering continues and peace talks remain dead in the Middle East.

“Ending the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, reviving peace efforts — both on the Palestinian and Syrian track, and most importantly — reinstating a prevailing spirit of peace in the region… this is what we want,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters.

“When there is a return to the track of peace, these relations of trust (with Israel) will be re-established on the same level as before,” he said.

Israel’s ties with its chief regional ally took a sharp downturn last week when Ankara excluded the Jewish state from annual joint military exercises, prompting a rebuke from the United States.

The row flared Thursday as Israel summoned the Turkish envoy to protest a Turkish state television series which it condemned as “inciting hatred against Israel” and “not worthy of being broadcast even in an enemy state.”

Davutoglu said that Israel’s war on Gaza at the turn of the year “killed the peace perspective” in the Middle East and that ongoing turmoil in the devastated Palestinian enclave was at the core of the bilateral chill.

He made it clear Ankara was still bitter that the war also disrupted indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria that Turkey had mediated “with so much effort.”

“As long as the human tragedy in Gaza continues, no one should expect us to be part of a military picture” with Israel, he said, referring to the scrapped military drills.

“Although no single rocket has been fired on Israel from Gaza over the past eight months, children in Gaza have no schools to go to, people have no homes to take shelter in,” he said.

Davutoglu rejected suggestions that his government, the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist party, was becoming anti-Israeli.

“The humanitarian situation (in Gaza) should be improved in the shortest possible time.

How can wanting this amount to being anti-Israeli? This is a humanitarian attitude,” he said.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the television series that infuriated Israel had no political motive but conceded the plot might be “a bit exaggerated,” Anatolia news agency reported.

“Relations between Turkey and Israel have always been strong. We have full confidence that they will always remain strong,” he said.

The first episode, aired Tuesday, showed Israeli forces shooting a little girl and a newborn baby, and portrayed them as insulting and ridiculing Palestinians. Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday the latest developments “raised the question: what direction is Turkish policy taking? We hope it is toward strengthening peace and not extremists.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been at the forefront of international criticism of the Gaza offensive.

In an unprecedented outburst, he stormed out from a debate at the World Economic Forum in January, accusing Israel of “barbarian” acts and telling Israeli President Shimon Peres, sitting next to him, that “you know well how to kill people.”

The Palestinians struggle for statehood enjoys widespread support in Turkey, both among Islamists and leftists.

In contrast to its souring ties with Israel, Erdogan’s government has markedly improved ties with Syria and sought closer relations with Iran, an arch-enemy of the Jewish state.

Television series fuels Turkish-Israeli tensions

agaahipk — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:53:59 +0000

By Sibel Utku Bila

A new series on Turkish state television about the plight of the Palestinians fuelled tensions on Thursday with Israel, a long-time regional ally with whom ties have steadily been worsening.

The TV series, called “Separation: Palestine In Love and In War”, went on air on Tuesday. The first episode portrayed Israeli forces shooting Palestinian civilians, insulting and ridiculing them.

In one scene, an Israeli soldier shoots a smiling girl in the street, while another shows an elderly Palestinian killed at an Israeli checkpoint while on his way to pilgrimage in Makkah. Soldiers are also shown killing a newborn baby.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday Turkey’s envoy would be summoned over the series which “incites hatred against Israel” and “is not worthy of being broadcast even in an enemy state.” The Turkish foreign ministry declined to comment on the new spat, saying it would wait for Israel to officially convey its protests to the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv. The row erupted even before another dispute — over Israel’s exclusion from joint military drills in Turkey last week — had subsided.

Once-flourishing bilateral ties took a sharp downturn in January after Turkish government launched an unprecedented barrage of criticism against Israel over its devastating war on Gaza, in which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed. Officials from Turkey’s public TRT broadcaster were not available for comment. According to media research company ABG Nielsen, the first episode only attracted a marginal audience of 0.6 per cent, making it the 97th most watched programme of the day. The political consultant of the production company defended the programme.

“How come the scenes of massacre are exaggerated? Aren’t we speaking about a state which commits massacres… without discrimination of age and gender?” Hakan Albayrak said on the CNN Turk channel. “If they (Israelis) are ashamed by what is shown, then they should stop doing it,” he said.

Tensions were already high between the two allies since last week when Ankara excluded Israel from international air exercises in Turkey and then scrapped them.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended the decision on Wednesday, saying that “we have taken the conscience of our people into consideration.”

Erdogan has been at the forefront of international criticism of Israel’s Gaza offensive at the turn of the year.

In an unprecedented outburst, he stormed out from a debate on the Gaza war in Davos, Switzerland on January 29 after accusing Israel of barbarian acts and telling Israeli President Shimon Peres, sitting next to him, that “you know well how to kill people.”

The Gaza offensive also led to the disruption of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria that Turkey had mediated since May 2008.

In contrast to its souring relations with Israel, Erdogan’s government has markedly improved ties with Syria and sought closer relations with Iran, an arch-enemy of the Jewish state.

Mainly Muslim non-Arab Turkey has been Israel’s chief regional ally since the two signed a military cooperation deal in 1996.

Ankara however has close ties also with the Palestinians, whose struggle for statehood enjoys widespread support among both Islamists and leftists in Turkey.

Chávez ataca Israel como parte de su “política de antisemitismo”

israelhaiom — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:04:00 +0000

El Centro Simon Wiesenthal cargó duro contra el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, al afirmar que todas las acusaciones y críticas contra el Estado de Israel son parte de la “política de antisemitismo” de su gobierno.
Así lo sostuvo el representante para América Latina del Centro Wiesenthal, Sergio Widder, quien en declaraciones a la Agencia Judía de Noticias (AJN), consideró que la controversia generada entre Venezuela y Estados Unidos, al acusarla de pretender convertir a Colombia en la Israel de Latinoamérica, forma parte de la política de “antisemitismo” de Chávez.
Widder sostuvo que las declaraciones del presidente de Venezuela deben ser leídas “en un contexto más amplio de una política de antisemitismo promovida por el gobierno” chavista.
El dirigente indicó que el Centro Wiesenthal ya había alertado hace más de un año sobre la intención de Chávez de incluir el antisemitismo a su agenda política.
Widder afirmó que todo esfuerzo del gobierno de Chávez por tratar de demostrar que en Venezuela no hay antisemitismo es “una mascara para tratar de encubrir un profundo antijudaísmo”.

En este sentido, el cazador de nazis recordó que desde el allanamiento a la sede de Hebraica hasta los ataques a las sinagogas de Caracas son “hechos tolerados o promovidos desde el Estado venezolano”.
Respecto de las declaraciones realizadas contra el canciller Avigdor Lieberman, a quien Chávez acusó de “mafioso”, Widder dijo que el presidente venezolano “no tiene autoridad moral”.
“Con qué autoridad moral trata de patotero a un canciller de un gobierno democrático cuando Chávez increpó a la comunidad judía venezolana para que condenara y criticara al gobierno de Israel” durante la ofensiva israelí a la Franja de Gaza, dijo el representante del Centro Wiesenthal.
En cuanto a la relación con la comunidad judía, Widder dijo que el presidente venezolano “bien podría tener relaciones con sus ciudadanos judíos aún si toma distancia o no coincide con las políticas del un gobierno israelí”.
“Lo que está pasando en Venezuela más allá de la visita de (Nicolás) Maduro a la sinagoga de la Asociación Israelita de Caracas, las agresiones contra la comunidad no se detienen y continúan con el visto bueno del gobierno venezolano”, subrayó.
Widder consideró que “son importantes los gestos de Maduro pero no se puede terminar en una visita guiada”.
El directivo también defendió la política de la Cancillería israelí al afirmar que durante su visita a Buenos Aires, Lieberman dijo “concretamente que está abierto al diálogo sin precondiciones” para resolver el conflicto con los palestinos en Medio Oriente.
Por eso consideró, que Chávez “falta a la verdad” cuando sostiene que Israel no está dispuesto a un acuerdo de paz.
Respecto de la posibilidad de que se normalice la relación entre Israel y Venezuela, Widder sostuvo que “va a ser difícil” en la medida que Chávez siga siendo “amigo” del presidente de Irán, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Aspiro a que Venezuela tenga relaciones maduras con Israel. No necesariamente tienen que estar de acuerdo en todo pero en la medid qu el mejor amigo de Chávez sea Ahmadinejad va a ser difícil que se establezca maduras entre ambos estados”, concluyó.

Israel le exige a Hugo Chávez pedir disculpas y cambiar sus políticas

israelhaiom — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:01:00 +0000

El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Avigdor Lieberman (foto), aseguró que su país no ve ninguna razón para hablar con el presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, y lo exhortó a pedir disculpas y cambiar sus política.

El canciller señaló, en declaraciones a diferentes medios colombianos, que por el momento no existe ninguna agenda ni relaciones con el Gobierno venezolano. “Hoy no vemos ninguna razón para hablar con el señor Chávez, cuando observamos sus relaciones con Irán, con Hezbollah, con Hamás”, afirmó.

“Creo que él debe primero pedirnos disculpas, luego cambiar su política y después sí podremos empezar a hablar”, dijo Lieberman.

ministro insistió en la “cercanía” de Chávez con Irán. “No voy a hablar de información de Inteligencia, pero tenemos suficiente para preocuparnos por la colaboración entre las ramas radicales del Islam y Hugo Chávez”, denunció.

Asimismo, recordó que el Gobierno no tenía ningún problema con Venezuela y que fue decisión de Chávez “cortar relaciones diplomáticas”, al indicar que Caracas trata “sistemáticamente” de acusar a Israel de “muchas cosas” que no son ciertas.

Venezuela rompió relaciones con Israel en enero pasado a raíz del operativo militar contra Hamás en Gaza.

Lieberman agregó además que ha decidido no hablar más de Venezuela, después de enterarse de que Chávez congeló las relaciones diplomáticas y comerciales con Colombia. “No es buen momento para hablar más acerca de Venezuela. Lo que quería decir, ya lo dije. Es suficiente”, subrayó.

El diplomático resaltó además que, a pesar de que con Caracas no hay relaciones, existe “una agenda grande con otros países de la región, como Colombia, Perú, Argentina y Brasil”. EFE y fuentes propias

Presidente de Perú recibe a Canciller de Israel Avigdor Lieberman

israelhaiom — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:45:00 +0000

Las democracias en Sudamerica se fortalecen en la misma medida en que los
seguidores del cerdo del palacio de Miraflores ajusta la mordaza. Esta visita es
un buen indicador de las intenciones de Israel para con las democracias
sudamericanas y sus opositores, los hijos abortivos de Hugo-rila Chavez.

El presidente de Perú, Alan García Pérez, recibió esta tarde, en Palacio de Pizarro, al canciller de Israel, Avigdor Lieberman., quien cumple una gira oficial por países de América del Sur, y cuya presencia representa la primera visita de un canciller israelí al Perú.

El encuentro se inició a las 16:15 horas y concluyó a las 17:00 horas. También participaron el canciller peruano José Antonio García Belaúnde, y el embajador de Israel en Lima, Walid Mansour.

Avigdor Lieberman se encuentra de gira desde el lunes por América del Sur. primero visitó Brasil, luego Argentina, hoy el Perú, para proseguir posteriormente con Colombia.

El canciller Lieberman se encuentra en funciones desde marzo de este año, en que fue designado por su gobierno como Vice Primer Ministro y Ministro de de Relaciones Exteriores de Israel.

Nacido en 1958 en Moldova, migró a Israel en 1978, donde sirvió en las Fuerzas de Defensa. Tiene grado académico en Relaciones Internacionales en Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalem.

Se ha desempeñado como Director General del Movimiento Likud y luego como Director General de la Oficina del Primer Ministro.

En 1999 fundó y lideró el Partido Beiteinu Yisrael. Ese mismo año fue elegido representantes del Congreso de Israel. Posteriormente, en el año 2001, fue designado Ministro de Infraestructura Nacional.

Avigdor Lieberman también ha desempeñado los cargos de Ministro de Transportes, Vice Primer Ministro y Ministro de Asuntos Estratégicos en su país.

Chanceler israelense destaca influência do Irã

Ariel — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:22:24 +0000

Após sua visita em diversos países da America Latina o chanceler israelense, Avigdor Lieberman, destacou em uma entrevista divulgada pela imprensa peruana a grande e perigosa influencia que alguns países latinos sofrem por parte do Irã. Lieberman usou como exemplo a Venezuela e seu presidente Hugo Chávez que tem estreitos laços com Mahmoud Ahmadinejd. O chanceler israelense também afirmou que Chávez influencia demais países da América Latina como, por exemplo, a Bolívia. Avigdor Lieberman visitou o Peru na ultima segunda-feira e esta foi a ultima escala de sua viagem política a América Latina, que teve passagem por Brasil, Argentina e Colômbia. O chanceler deixou claro que não viajou para Venezuela, Bolívia nem para o Equador porque estes dois primeiros países cortaram suas relações diplomáticas com Israel, e o terceiro porque o ministro de infra-estrutura do Irã visitará o Equador em breve. Esta visita demonstra a importância que Israel vê na America Latina, disponibilizando seu chanceler para realizar conversações políticas, mas esta visita também demonstra a preocupação que os israelenses têm com a abertura do leque de influencias do Irã sobre diversos países do mundo, e é neste fator que devemos nos atentar porque querendo ou não em breve deveremos receber o presidente deste país aqui no Brasil e devemos pressionar nossos políticos para que não aconteça aqui o que vem acontecendo na Venezuela e Bolívia.

A Day in the Life of Israeli Extremists

factsindia — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:29:00 +0000

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Source: MWCNEWS

A Day in the Life of Israeli Extremists
As Washington demurely casts its eyes to the side, Israel’s campaign of violence against the Palestinians is intensifying. Whether or not Israel’s barbarism constitutes a model of Washington’s overall attitude toward the world’s Muslim people is a question Americans need to start contemplating.
Israeli Violence
Military Terrorism. Today, June 30, Israeli naval vessels again fired on Palestinian fishing boats. Despite the diplomatic efforts of Hamas to reach an accommodation with the Israeli occupiers, Israel continues to punish the population of Gaza by denying it food; the penalty for defying Israel’s limitations is military attack.
Piracy. In a particularly egregious move that at once served to humiliate the U.S. by its disrespect toward a former U.S. congresswoman and to slap the world community in the face by showing its utter contempt for humanitarian concerns, Israeli naval vessels highjacked the “Spirit of Humanity” on its way to provide desperately needed supplies to Gaza, reportedly in international waters. This import of this event, carefully downplayed by biased American media, goes far beyond the token supplies of food and medicine being withheld from needy Gazans. Once more, the extremists of the region have been taught that in the end, neither principles of human decency nor concerns for international law count in the eyes of Washington , a dangerous lesson, given the rising power of Iran ’s military-intelligence elite and of the Taliban.
Israeli Terrorism. The settler-led and Israeli Army-protected campaign of terror against Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank continued with another attack also on June 30. If the definition of terrorism is actions against non-combattants that inspire terror, this was terrorism for sure.
Israel Insults Washington
Israel has not only rejected Obama’s pleas to halt illegal settlements but has taken new steps to enhance its illegal campaign to populate the conquered territories exactly at the moment Defense Minister Barak visits the U.S.—in a calculated insult to apparently helpless Obama. Washington has not explained why it would countenance even discussing this issue of international law with the Israeli minister of war, rather than a qualified legal team.
Israeli media have made no bones about the crux of the disagreement between Israel and the West, noting that extremists in the regime see no point in interfering with settlement in land that Israel plans to steal from the Palestinians anyway:

Lieberman, together with ministers Benny Begin and Moshe Ya’alon of the Likud, said Israel should not compromise the future of settlements destined to remain within its borders.

Indeed!

Israel não atacará o Irã

Ariel — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:42:17 +0000

O Ministro das Relações Exteriores de Israel, Avigdor Liberman, afirmou nesta quarta-feira que Israel não tem planos de atacar o Irã.

O governo israelense tem colocado o “caso Irã nuclear” no topo de sua agenda. Netanyahu enxerga no programa nuclear iraniano uma ameaça real a Israel, e é exatamente essa prioridade colocada pelo governo que gera boatos de um possível ataque de Israel as instalações nucleares do Irã, como ação de defesa. Entretanto o primeiro ministro afirmou não existir esta necessidade porque “Israel é um pais forte que tem capacidade de se defender sozinho”.

Liberman também afirmou que este não é apenas um problema de Israel, mas sim do mundo todo porque uma vez que o Irã entrar para o clube dos “países nucleares” desencadeara uma corrida armamenticia na região do Oriente Médio que se tornará uma ameaça para o mundo todo.

Em visita a Rússia o ministro das relações exteriores solicitou ao presidente Dmitri Medvedev que repensasse o fornecimento de armamentos a Teerã e que este usasse de sua influencia política sobre o país para frear o programa nuclear iraniano. O presidente russo se comprometeu em revisar os acordos militares e de solicitar ao Irã que utilizasse seu programa nuclear apenas para fins civis como, por exemplo, a construção de usinas elétricas.

Medvedev também elogiou a nova posição política dos EUA que se dispuseram a reabrir as conversações com Teerã, afirmando que esta atitude poderá evitar futuros conflitos e que toda esta problemática poderá ser resolvida de forma pacifica e diplomática.

De fato os Estado Unidos tem demonstrado uma maior abertura para negociar, mas muita pouca coisa deve mudar se o governo de Teerã continuar divulgando acusações sobre Israel e EUA. Estes avanços dependem também das eleições para a presidência do Irã que acontecem neste mês. Desta forma o cenário deverá permanecer o mesmo ao longo destes próximos dias, com boatos sobre possíveis ataques israelenses e sobre os possíveis usos do programa nuclear iraniano.

'Israel is Isolated Though Its Radical Position'

Editors — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:44:47 +0000

25 May 09 | RT, FT and AJE Moscow should maintain contact with Hamas, especially now that the group

The Disease of Permanent War

sakerfa — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:47:05 +0000

The embrace by any society of permanent war is a parasite that devours the heart and soul of a natio

Lieberman: Give Iran Three-Month Deadline, Limit Dialogue

Editors — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:39:46 +0000

5 May 09 | RT, PTV and JPo As Israel prepares to hold the largest military exercises in its history,

Abu Mazen: No aceptamos a Israel como Estado Judío

israelhaiom — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:44:00 +0000

El Presidente de la Autoridad Palestina Mahmoud Abbas declaró que no acepta a Israel como un Estado Judío tal como había demandado el Primer Ministro Biniamin Netaniahu y el Ministro del Exterior Avigdor Liberman.

“Un estado judío que significa?…pueden llamarse a uds. mismos como quieran, pero no lo acepto y lo digo publicamente¨ dijo.

“Todo lo que se es que hay un Estado de Israel en las fronteras de 1967 ni un centímetro más ni un centímetro menos, todo lo demas no lo acepto” culminó diciendo el líder palestino.

Desde la asunción del nuevo gobierno israelí que lidera el Primer Ministro Netaniahu cambiaron algunas posturas israelíes que habían tomado el Primer Ministro Olmert y otros, ya que se puso en duda la creación de un estado palestino independiente al lado de Israel y los acuerdos de Wye.

Algunos analistas creen que la nueva posición israelí chocará con la posición del gobierno norteamericano de Barack Obama.

Lieberman: Right of Return Makes Arab Plan Unacceptable

Editors — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:03:33 +0000

22 Apr 09 | Ha’aretz Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday his opposition to an Ar

Borderline Outcast?

Editors — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:17:13 +0000

Analysis by Tobias Buck and Roula Khalaf 12 Apr 09 | FT It has been a tough few months for Israel’s

Israel Will Pay Heavy Price for Lieberman's Mistakes

Editors — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:30:40 +0000

3 Apr 09 | Ha’ aretz Anyone who expected that being made foreign minister would refine Avigdor

Livni: Israel No Longer After Peace

Editors — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:12:23 +0000

2 Apr 09 | PTV Former foreign minister Tzipi Livni says that her successor’s recent remarks me

Assad: By War or Peace, We Will Liberate the Golan

Editors — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:48:01 +0000

2 Apr 09 | Ha’aretz Syrian President Bashar Assad is escalating his rhetoric against Israel, v

Israel Beiteinu warns it may leave gov't

beyondtheborder — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:50:11 +0000

Israel Beiteinu on Tuesday denied reports that Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman had agreed that if the latter is charged with any crime and forced to leave the Foreign Ministry, the portfolio would go to the Likud, warning that if that were to happen, the party would leave the government.

For full article, visit http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238423647847&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Size Does Matter!

bigmo63 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:32:33 +0000

Nearly six weeks after national elections, Israel finally has a government. It boasts a cabinet of 2