Saturday 16 February 2013

WHAT THE SYRIAN DEATH TOLL REALLY TELLS US


Posted on February 15, 2013 by
Unreliable data can incite and escalate a conflict – the latest UN-sponsored figure of 60,000 should not be reported as fact
Civilian casualties in Aleppo
The body of an unknown man, killed by Syrian army artillery shelling, in the Aleppo cementery. ‘It’s essential the media ask questions about reported deaths.’ Photograph: Maysun/EPA
 
Less than two months after the UN announced “shocking” new casualty figures in Syria, its high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay estimates that deaths are “probably now approaching 70,000″. But two years into a Syrian conflict marked by daily death tolls, the question arises as to whether these kinds of statistics are helpful in any way? Have they helped save Syrian lives? Have they shamed intransigent foes into seeking a political solution? Or might they have they contributed to the escalation of the crisis by pointing fingers and deepening divisions?

Casualty counts during modern wars have become a highly politicised business. On one hand, they can help alert the outside world to the scale of violence and suffering, and the risks of conflict spreading both within a country’s borders and beyond them. On the other, as in Syria, Iraq, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, death tolls have routinely been manipulated, inflated or downplayed – a tool for the advancement of political interests.
 
As if to underline the point, Libya’s new government recently announced that death tolls had been exaggerated during the 2011 Libyan civil war; that there had been around 5,000 deaths on either side – a long way from the reported tens of thousands of casualties that set the scene for Nato’s “humanitarian” intervention, or the 30-50,000 deaths claimed by opponents of this intervention.
While physically present in Iraq, the US and British governments were unable to provide estimates of the numbers of deaths unleashed by their own invasion, yet in Syria, the same governments frequently quote detailed figures, despite lacking essential access.

Syria’s death toll leapt from 45,000 to 60,000 earlier this year, a figure gathered by a UN-sponsored project to integrate data from seven separate lists. The new numbers are routinely cited by politicians and media as fact, and used to call for foreign intervention in the conflict.
 
But Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), whose casualty data are part of this count, calls the UN’s effort “political” and the results “propaganda”.

Abdulrahman, whose daily death toll releases are widely quoted in the western media, argues that many of the UN’s casualties don’t exist. “Yesterday in Qahtaniyah, I had a video of 21 people killed, but 19 names only. Other groups said 40 were killed – where are the 40? Tell them to provide me with only 21 names,” he demands, frustrated.

When I interviewed the UN spokesman Rupert Colville in January, he conceded: “We can’t prove most of these people have died.”

And Megan Price, lead author of the UN’s casualty analysis project, whose firm, Benetech, is part-funded by the US state department, explained to me: “We were not asked to do verification of whether the casualties are real.” Benetech’s task was mainly a data collation effort: working from seven separate UN-identified lists, the firm discarded duplicates and victims without names, place and date of death to arrive at the highly-publicised 60,000 number.
 
But questions about the accuracy of casualty numbers is only part of the story. Dig deeper, and it’s clear that this data also offers an insight into the Syrian conflict at odds with the story that this is essentially about a brutal regime killing peaceful civilians.

With the proviso that the data may itself prove unreliable, Benetech’s research nevertheless offers some useful clues about the makeup of the recorded death toll. Only 7.5% are female, making the casualties in Syria overwhelmingly male. Second, the largest segment of the 30% of victims whose ages are included in the records are between the ages of 20 and 30 – who might be classified as males of “military age”.

The SOHR’s statistics confirm this picture. On 27 December, Abdulrahman cited 148 violent deaths in Syria for that day: 49 rebels, 42 soldiers, three defectors, and the remaining 54 likely to be a mix of noncombatant civilians and unidentified rebels: “It isn’t easy to count rebels because nobody on the ground says ‘this is a rebel’. Everybody hides it.”

According to Abdulrahman’s conservative estimates, at least two thirds of the dead are armed men – an appreciatively different take on the perception of “civilian slaughter” in Syria created by reporting of the UN’s and other unverified casualty numbers. And the UN itself points out that “the analysis was not able to differentiate clearly between combatants and noncombatants”.

Even the civilian death toll is nuanced. There are civilians targeted by the regime through shelling and air strikes, civilians targeted by rebels via mortars, IEDs and urban bombings, and civilians caught in crossfire (not targeted). Further to that, there have been reports of sectarian and political killings by supporters of both sides.

While bald casualty numbers taken out of context have clearly failed to explain what now looks closer to a parity in violence inside Syria, the UN is not wrong that body counts can be valuable indicators in a crisis.
 
The problem is that, increasingly, death tolls are used as political tools to scene-set for western-backed “humanitarian interventions” in the Middle East and north Africa and – more broadly – against the kinds of negotiated political settlements that could actually reduce or stop the killing.
It’s time to stop headlining unreliable and easily politicised casualty counts, and use them only as one of several background measures of a conflict. It’s essential too that the media help us avoid such manipulation by asking questions about reported deaths: how were these deaths verified? Are they combatants? Who killed them? How do we know this? Who benefits from these deaths? Was this a violent death or one caused by displacement? How is it even possible to count all these dead in the midst of raging conflict?

Numbers without context or solid foundations can incite and escalate a conflict, leading to even more carnage. Contemporary casualty data have been inaccurate in so many recent conflicts that it’s time to retire these numbers from the telling of the story.

Sharmine Narwani is a political analyst and commentator on Mideast geopolitics and a senior associate at St Antony’s College, Oxford University. Follow her on Twitter @snarwani
 
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Will Washington grasp the hand being offered by the Iranian people?

Will Washington grasp the hand being offered by the Iranian people?



Franklin Lamb

Tehran

Truth be told, this American observer has attended his share of international conferences and has traveled in more than 70 countries. But never has he visited such a complex, evolving, striving and energized society, populated by idealistic people of great warmth, sense of humor and caring for those in need as he has experienced in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Except when traveling in his own country.

Being in Iran during these tense times is to experience an epiphany. Which is that Iranians and Americans have so very many needs and interests in common -- yes even in our religious beliefs -- that both peoples should immediately repair our countries relations and return to the days when 60,000 Iranian students studied in the US and thousands of Americans lived and worked in Iran -- all in singular harmony and with myriad mutual benefits.


 
The deep connection among Muslims and Christians from the seventh century sacrifice at Karbala by Hussein bin Ali and the first century sacrifice at Calvary by Jesus Christ, established forever a claimed divine principle of sacrifice of one’s self to resist injustice for the greater good of the community.

This bond underpins and connects the two religions and their followers inextricably.There is probably no country more misunderstood in America than Iran. And it's due almost entirely to politically motivated demonizations and misrepresentations, including what President Ahmadinejad really said in his speeches, especially those relating to the US and Israel, the historical imperative to liberate occupied Palestine, and every country’s right to develop peaceful nuclear energy and to live independently and free of US-led western hegemony. Most Americans' perceptions of Iran are limited to propagandistic images of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad delivering anti-American and anti-Israel speeches.





One example, reporting on last Saturday's celebration of the 34th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, the BBC and most other western media reported that the crowds were “frenzied and chanting death to America.” I was there and this report is for the most part rubbish. I did hear from time to time a few chants but these were mixed in with revolutionary songs, religious exhortations, and people just plain having fun. Offering water and helping older citizens or kids was the motif of the day. People were happy, not angry, and they could not have been more friendly or curious about the few Americans they came upon.

One does not have to look further than the morning newspapers for examples to find the likes of Zionist apologist, Iranophobe and Islamophobe Jennifer Rubin. In her Washington Post screed on Valentine’s Day, Ms. Rubin had only poisonous invective for any American who would dare express any remotely objective idea about Iran. Rubin, a former AIPAC volunteer, lambasted Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, former US Senator Chuck Hagel, as did nearly all 52 Zionist organizations in America this past month, because he advocates mutual respect and friendship with Iran. Hagel’s unforgivable sins include his words on the subject of US-led sanctions against Iran and Syria and the need to build trust and normalize relations through dialogue.

Said Hagel about U.S.-Iran relations: “





We shouldn’t be putting conditions on talks or putting all other issues to the side except one issue that we will ‘dictate’ to Iran.” As far back as 2007, Hagel stated that “In the Middle East of the 21st century, Iran will be a key center of gravity… a significant regional power. The United States cannot change that reality. America’s strategic 21st-century regional policy for the Middle East must acknowledge the role of Iran today and over the next 25 years.” Hagel continued: “On Afghanistan, the United States and Iran found common interests -- defeating the Taliban and Islamic radicals, stabilizing Afghanistan, stopping the opium production and the flow of opium coming into Iran. From these common interests emerged common actions working toward a common purpose. It was in the interests of Iran to work with the U.S. in Afghanistan. It was not a matter of helping America or strengthening America’s presence in Central Asia. It was a clear-eyed and self-serving action for Iran.”
 
Hagel may have erred a bit on Afghanistan and the Taliban, but Rubin found Hagel’s point of view treasonous and joined in the Israel Lobby's call for a witch-hunt when she asks her readers: “Why would the president select someone so deferential toward the Islamic revolutionary government? ...

During the Congressional recess, the Senate should think about that. And it might be interesting to find out who was helping him with these intensely pro-Tehran speeches." [emphasis added]

In Iran today one does not hear Rubinesque hate speech or lectures about the 1953 US-UK overthrow of Iranian leader Mohammad Mossedeg, or the shooting down on July 3, 1988 of the commercial passenger Iran Air Flight 655, or the US giving chemical weapons to Iraq during its US-backed aggression against Iran, or even the recent assassination of Iranian scientists.


Much more often, conversations are likely to turn to the need to improve relations between the US and Iran, or friendly questions about what this foreigner is experiencing in Iran, and if they need assistance or information about their country. Iranians are as open as Americans are by their very nature and unlike many other countries no subject for discussion is taboo.

For this observer it included topics such as the “morality police” execution of drug dealers and homosexuals, the “stoning” of women, attacks on the Bahá'i Faith, the country's second-largest religion after Islam, the 2009 “Green Revolution” and any other subject that came to mine, including drinking alcohol and public dating.

One hilarious conversation this observer had with four early-20s female students during a Conference last week was about the number of Chador-wearing women who openly wear makeup these days (more than 60%), how Iranian society is changing rapidly, and the amount of hair some women expose in public.


 Iran Abyana villiger selling honey- by Alex 2010
Tourist guide - Tehran
By Alex 2010
I wondered if this was not prohibited by Fatwa and how they deal with it. Their responses were immediate and nearly all at once. No one had even seen one of the Western-hyped “morality police” for a long time. Apparently they are few and far between.
One young lady explained that it's true she wears her hijab two-thirds the way back on her head and “if one of those guys dares to say something I will either tell him to mind his own business or if I am in a good mood I will act really, really surprised, shrug my shoulders, wink at him and say something like, “Oh so very sorry, really I am!. It was a big gust of wind that must have blown it back on my head without me noticing! Even if there had not even been so much as a soft breeze in days."


Tourist guide - Sheraz
-near Quran Gate
 By Alex 2010
Iranian women are smart, strong willed-even a bit pushy at times and naturally alluring. Who would want to join some “morality police” unit?

The ladies explained that if one comes up to you on the street and if you are really rude to him and tell him to get lost, or worse, you might get a ticket and your parents would have to come to the police station and sign a pledge that you would try to do better about trying to observe some modesty in public. Again rather different from what the MSM tells us in the West.

And it’s clear whether attending an international conference on Hollywoodism at the Azadi (freedom) Hotel, formerly the pre-Revolution Hyatt, traveling on the Tehran subway (far cleaner than New Yorks!), exploring street souks, visiting the Holy Defense Museum (explaining the 8-year Iran-Iraq war) or visiting the home of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini who led the 1979 Revolution and was Iran’s leader until his death on June 3rd, 1989, or walking for miles among the nearly two million people marching to Azadi Square to commemorate the anniversary of the overthrow of the American agent, Shah Reza Palavi, that the Iranian people are as kind as they are gifted.

Masjid Sheykh Lotfollah - Asfahan
By Alex 2010
When I got on the crowded Tehran subway, two young men immediately stood up to offer this observer their seats. We engaged in a very interesting, animated conversation. One of them, Hamzeh, remarked, “You know, we feel like we understand America and we should be friends. Both of our countries are culturally unique somehow. Your country evolved from European culture but moved in very distinct direction. In our history Islam arrived via the Arabs but as you have been seeing I am sure, our identity is completely different from Arab countries."

Mahmoud joined in: "Our society is also made up of many minorities, but we have a single Iranian identity and are very proud of our culture. We're also familiar with Western ways. For the last 200 years, we were open to the Western world and influenced by European culture, even if some of the ideas, like democracy, have never had a chance to really develop properly, but we will continue trying. But we also know what it's like to be a superpower. For us it was a long time ago, but we played an important role in this part of the world for many centuries so we can never see ourselves as subject to western or eastern hegemony.”

No experience impressed a group of Americans visiting Iran, including this one, more than the home of Imam Kohmeini and learning from his neighbors and students about the man, scholar and revolutionary.

Visiting his home and Hassineyeh which have been kept just as they were the day he died, one neighbor recounted how Khomeini’s wife Khadije Saghafi, who passed away in 2009, told her friends that she had only one wish her whole life that the Imam never granted to her. And that was that she wished for him to ask her for a glass of water at least once. He did not want even the wind to visit his family’s faces too harshly or for himself to impose on them.
 
Another neighbor told us, “When we visited his home we often found the Imam washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, and helping in other household chores.

According to others who knew him well, the Imam led a life of utmost piety and spirituality. In the severe winters of Qom, the he would wake up each night, perform ablution (the act of washing oneself for ritual purification) with ice water, and offer his night prayers. His Mafatih (prayer almanac) had to be rebound every few weeks because of how much he used it. Before he began lecturing his students on political activism, he emphasized to them the importance of spirituality and attaining the nearness of Allah. The simplicity of life style and the modesty of Iran’s revolutionary leader, Imam Khomeini, has universal appeal, including to Americans.

There is every reason for Washington’s new administration to reach out to Iran, not just with words but with actions. The Iranian people, and many Americans, fervently want this and it will inestimably benefit both societies.

The solution to the current straightened Iran-US relations includes contact, visitations, and open discussions. From this both peoples can pressure their governments to leave the past behind and develop bonds of friendship.

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com

He is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter-Century of Israel’s Use of American Weapons Against Civilians in Lebanon.
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Syria's Muslim Brotherhood Propped Up by US Since 2007 Under Bush

 
Source

January 24, 2013 (LD - Tony Cartalucci) - In 2007, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, "To Check Syria, U.S. Explores Bond With Muslim Brothers." And even then, it was noted that the Brotherhood held close links with groups the US recognizes and lists as terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Al Qaeda.

The report gives a disturbing foreshadowing of US support that would eventually see the Muslim Brotherhood rise as both a political and terroristic power across the Arab World, after decades of hard-fought attempts to crush the sectarian extremist organization everywhere from Tunisia to Syria, from Egypt to Libya, to Jordan, and beyond. In fact, the 2007 Wall Street Journal article specifically noted that the US partnership could "destabilize governments in Jordan and Egypt, two US allies where the Brotherhood is a growing opposition force."

Egypt is now run by a sectarian-extremist Muslim Brotherhood dictatorship, after the US incited unrest there in 2011, while Jordan is seeing increasing unrest led by the Jordanian arm of the Brotherhood.

What is also disturbing about the 2007 report, is that it shows how allegedly "Bush-era" policies transcended the 2000-2008 administration and continued in earnest under President Obama.

The report, written by Jay Solomon, echoes similar foreshadowing of the coming violent sectarian bloodbath now engulfing Syria, found in Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh's New Yorker piece titled, "The Redireciton: Is the Administration’s new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?"

Solomon begins by stating: 
On a humid afternoon in late May, about 100 supporters of Syria's largest exile opposition group, the National Salvation Front, gathered outside Damascus's embassy here to protest Syrian President Bashar Assad's rule. The participants shouted anti-Assad slogans and raised banners proclaiming: "Change the Regime Now."
Later in the article, it would be revealed that the National Salvation Front (NSF) was in contact with the US State Department and that a Washington-based consulting firm in fact assisted the NSF in organizing the rally:
In the weeks before the presidential election, the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative, which promotes regional democracy, and NSF members met to talk about publicizing Syria's lack of democracy and low voter turnout, participants say. A Washington-based consulting firm, C&O Resources Inc., assisted the NSF in its planning for the May 26 anti-Assad rally at the Syrian embassy, providing media and political contacts. State Department officials stress they provided no financial or technical support to the protestors.
Just like the Arab Spring, what was in fact foreign-backed sedition, was peddled publicly by professional PR firms with the help of a bought-off, complicit corporate media, as a "pro-democracy" uprising. 

And while the Wall Street Journal then, just as the US State Department and the Western media houses are now portraying the Syrian opposition as representing a wide range of interests across Syrian society, it was admitted then, just as it is plainly obvious now, that the sectarian extremist Muslim Brotherhood was in fact at the very center of the "uprising:"
One of the NSF's most influential members is the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood -- the decades-old political movement active across the Middle East whose leaders have inspired the terrorist groups Hamas and al Qaeda. Its Syrian offshoot says it has renounced armed struggle in favor of democratic reform.
The article would describe a fractured, disorganized opposition, must like the 2011 "National Syrian Council" (NSC) and its more recent US-Qatari contrived reincarnation, the "National Coalition," whose only common denominator and prevailing ideology was and still is the sectarian extremism practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood. Similarly, the current "National Coalition" is headed by Moaz al-Khatib who, on Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera, openly admitted his aspirations of establishing an "Islamic State" in place of Syria's current secular society. Al-Khatib also vigorously protested the US' listing of Al Qaeda terrorist franchisee, Al Nusra, who is openly fighting as part of Al-Khatib's "National Coalition."

These are the "freedom fighters" then and now, that the US has been supporting, funding, and in fact arming. The most recent accusation of the US arming known-terrorists came from retired US Army General and former Special Forces Commander, William G. Boykin, who claimed the US is not only arming terrorists in Syria, but they are doing so by running guns through the terror emirate of Benghazi, Libya.

From the pan-Arab logistical networks NATO is using to flood Syria with weapons and terrorists, to the current leadership of the so-called opposition, and with documented evidence from 2007 of a US conspiracy to prop up the Muslim Brotherhood and other known, violent extremist groups in Syria to overthrow the government, it is clear that every aspect of the US', UK's, NATO's, and even the UN's narrative regarding the conflict in Syria is an intentional fabrication. Furthermore, it indicates a much wider deception - one involving the misconception that presidential elections bring in both new leadership, and new policies. The wars engineered under Bush, are being carried out under Obama, by the same policy makers from the very same corporate-funded think-tanks that handed Bush his agenda years ago.

With French, British, and now US troops becoming increasingly involved in Mali, allegedly fighting terrorists with direct connections to the fighters armed, funded, and given diplomatic recognition by the West in Libya, and with the conflict already spilling over the borders with Algeria, one must recognize that an agenda is being carried out contra to both the will of the people and their best interests. Identifying the corporate-financier interests involved in this agenda, and both boycotting and replacing them with local alternatives is our only recourse. Clearly - as illustrated in the case with the non-transition, continuity of agenda between "right-wing" Republican Bush and "left-wing" Democrat Obama - elections don't count. As proven with the "Arab Spring" and the US underwritten protests of the NSF - protests don't either.
 
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Syria: Turkey Hinders Crisis-Solving Process

Local Editor
 
Syrian FM Walid al-MoallemSyrian Foreign Ministry has accused Turkey of hindering the Syrian political process put forward recently to solve the long-standing crisis, the state media reported Friday.

The ministry's remarks came in a letter sent to the United Nations about Turkey's "destructive role" in the Syrian crisis, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

The ministry stressed that "Turkey has escalated its aggressive stances toward Syria by placing hurdles in the face of the political program aimed to solve the crisis."

It charged that the Turkish government had practiced pressures on the Syrian opposition in exile to reject the political vision outlined by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month.

"Turkey has also turned its territories into centers for training, harboring, arming and funding armed terrorist groups, including al-Qaida network," it said.

It called on the international community to shoulder the responsibilities in putting an end to the Turkish government's actions that run counter to the international charters.
Source: Agencies
15-02-2013 - 19:59 Last updated 15-02-2013 - 19:59
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Nasir Qandil: War on Syria and the Brotherhoods "Spring"




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Egypt: A terrorist cell arreseted with a hit list of 100 Egyptian puplic figure

بالأسماء: خلية إرهابية في مصر تضع على قائمة اغتيالاتها 100 شخصية مصرية




‏السبت‏، 16‏ شباط‏، 2013


أوقات الشام

عامان ونصف العام مروا على الثورة المصرية ضد نظام حسني مبارك الذي كان يعده البعض نظاماً كبت للحريات والقمع ليأتي بعده نظام تلاعب بعقول الناس للوصول إلى السلطة ويُمارس دورا أكبر في القمع والتمسك بكرسي الرئاسة رغم كل المظاهرات المطالبة بتنحيه عن السلطة. وكل يوم تتكشف حقائق جديدة عن انتهاكات يرتكبها النظام الحالي بمصر. عدا عن ذلك ما أفرزه المجتمع المصري من جماعات متطرفة نتيجة هذه العنجهية بالسلطة ومنها وثيقة ضبطتها أجهزة الأمن عقب إلقاء القبض على خلية وصفت بالإرهابية، تتضمن هذه الوثيقة قائمة تضم 100 شخصية سياسية، وإعلامية، ودينية وفنية، ضمن مخطط واسع لاغتيالهم على يد الخلية، في طول البلاد وعرضها. وتضمنت جميع تفاصيل العملية، وأسماء الشخصيات المقرر اغتيالها، بالكامل، وأسماء ذويهم وأبنائهم، ومقرات إقامتهم، داخل القاهرة وخارجها، وأماكن عملهم، بالإضافة إلى صورهم، حتى يتعرف عليهم أعضاء الخلية، حتى لا يحدث خطأ في الاغتيالات.

وشملت الوثيقة تعريفاً كاملاً بالمطلوبين، واعتبرتهم أشد خطراً على الإسلام والمسلمين حسب الوثيقة، بالإضافة إلى أن عمليات التفجير يجب أن تشمل مقار الصحف الخاصة والمستقلة والحزبية، ومنها «الوطن، والمصري اليوم، واليوم السابع، والتحرير، والفجر، والشروق، والصباح»، فضلا عن القنوات الفضائية، خصوصاً الموجودة في مدينة الإنتاج الإعلامي، مع محاولة معرفة مصادر تمويلها، من أجل قتل أصحابها، وتجفيف المنابع.

وشددت الوثيقة على ضرورة إنجاز الاغتيالات بكفاءة «قتالية ونارية» عالية، باستخدام السيارات المفخخة، على مداخل الصحف، والفضائيات المستهدفة، أو عن طريق إطلاق صواريخ بعيدة المدى، من سيارات متحركة، كتلك التي يستخدمها المجاهدون في سيناء، خلال عملياتهم «المباركة» بحسب وصف الوثيقة.

وفيما يخص الشخصيات الإعلامية التي ذكرتها الوثيقة، ورصدتهم الخلية، من واقع الصور التي حصلت عليها «الوطن» لأوراق تحقيقات القضية، والأدلة الجنائية:

1- مجدي الجلاد، وأسرته

2- إبراهيم عيسى، وأسرته

3- عادل حمودة، وأسرته

4- جمال فهمي

5- سمير رجب

6- عبدالحليم قنديل

7- ممتاز القط

8- عبدالله كمال

9- محمد الباز

10- حمدى رزق

11- رولا خرسا

12- ياسر رزق

13- عمرو خفاجة

14- عماد الدين حسين

15- مصطفى بكرى

16- خالد صلاح

17- ممدوح الولى

18- ضياء رشوان

19- مكرم محمد أحمد

20- عمار على حسن

21- ريم ماجد

22- دينا عبدالرحمن

23- محمود سعد

24- معتز الدمرداش

25- عماد الدين أديب

26- شريف عامر

27- خيرى رمضان

28- لميس الحديدى

29- جابر القرموطى

30- وائل الإبراشى

31- ألبير شفيق

32- يسرى فودة

33- منى الشاذلى

34- هالة سرحان

35- توفيق عكاشة

36- عمرو الليثى

37- أحمد شوبير

38- مدحت شلبى

39- خالد الغندور

40- د.خالد منتصر

41- علاء الأسوانى

42- بلال فضل.

ومن أبرز الشخصيات السياسية:

1- الدكتور محمد البرادعى

2- حمدين صباحى

3- د.مصطفى الفقى

4- عمرو موسى

5- محمد أبوحامد

6- منير فخرى عبدالنور

7- صفوت الشريف

8- فتحى سرور

9- أنس الفقى

10- د.سعد الكتاتنى

11- أحمد عز.

ومن الشخصيات العسكرية:

1- المشير محمد حسين طنطاوى

2- الفريق عبدالفتاح السيسى

3- الفريق سامى عنان

4- اللواء العصار

5- أعضاء المجلس العسكري

ومن الشخصيات الدينية:

1- الدكتور أحمد الطيب، شيخ الأزهر

2- الأنبا باخوميوس، قائم مقام البابا «وقت كتابة الوثيقة»


3- الدكتور على جمعة، مفتى الديار المصرية

4- وزير الأوقاف

5- أعضاء مجمع البحوث الإسلامية

6- د.عبدالهادى القصبى، شيخ مشايخ الطرق الصوفية

7- مشايخ الطرق الصوفية.

ومن رجال الأعمال:

1- نجيب ساويرس

2- محمد أبوالعينين

3- أحمد بهجت

4- محمد الأمين

5- إبراهيم المعلم.

ومن الشخصيات الفنية:

1- يحيى الفخرانى

2- صلاح عبدالله

3- خالد يوسف

4- عادل إمام.

وشددت الوثيقة في تكليفاتها لعناصر الخلية بشأن الاغتيالات، على ضرورة رصد ومتابعة هذه العناصر، ومراقبة محال إقامتهم، وتحركاتهم اليومية، لمدة معينة، من أجل تصفيتهم جميعاً، على أن يجرى تحديدهم في كشوف خاصة، توضح مهام كل عنصر في الاغتيالات، لاحقاً.

وعن عمليات تفجير القنوات الفضائية، أكدت الوثيقة، على ضرورة رصد ثغرات تلك القنوات الفضائية، وكذلك الصحف الخاصة، مع إمكانية استئجار بعض الشقق فى العمارات والمباني المطلة عليها، أو القريبة من مقارها، لمراقبتها، وضربها بصواريخ بعيدة المدى، أو من خلال سيارات مفخخة يجرى تفجيرها عن بُعد.

وعن مدينة الإنتاج الإعلامي، أشارت الوثيقة إلى ضرورة استهدافها لأنها «مدينة الشيطان والشياطين»، عن طريق كثافة نارية عالية، وباستخدام بعض السيارات المفخخة على مداخلها، فضلا عن الصواريخ بعيدة المدى، من سيارات متحركة، كالتي يستخدمها المجاهدون في سيناء. الوطن المصرية


"Do not return to Kufr, killing one another, after I am gone."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Gilad in Palestine!

 


Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 4:36PM

Gilad Atzmon

GA:
Dear friends, after 20 years away, I am returning to Palestine to launch my new book, though only in a cyber form.


You are cordially invited to A conversation with Gilad Atzmon,

author of The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics

Sunday, 17 February 2013

18h00

Presented via Skype

Pasha Room, American Colony Hotel-Jerusalem


The Bookshop
at the American Colony Hotel-Jerusalem
Tel: 02- 627 9731
http://facebook.com/Bookshop1

About The Wandering Who?


Jewish identity is tied up with some of today's most difficult and contentious issues. The purpose of The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics, is to open up many of these issues for discussion. It examines Jewish identity politics and Jewish contemporary ideology using both popular culture and scholarly texts. Since Israel defines itself openly as the "Jewish State", we should ask what the notions of Judaism, Jewishness, Jewish culture and Jewish ideology stand for. Atzmon analyses secular Jewish political and cultural discourse, both Zionist and anti Zionist. He looks at the Jewish political attitude towards history and time, the role of the holocaust, anti-gentile ideologies, Jewish pressure groups, Zionist lobbying and more.

About the author


Gilad Atzmon is an internationally-acclaimed jazz saxophonist and composer, a member of the English rock and roll band The Blockheads, and fronts the Orient House Ensemble. His two novels, A Guide to the Perplexed and My One and Only Love, as well as his political and cultural essays, are published widely in many languages. The Wandering Who? has been translated into ten languages. Atzmon lives in London.

Praise for The Wandering Who?

"Fascinating and provocative." Professor John J. Mearsheimer

"In his inimitable deadpan style, Atzmon identifies the abscess in the Jewish wisdom tooth ' exilic tribalism' and pulls it out. Ouch!"‌ Eric Walberg, Al Aharam Weekly

"Gilad Atzmon decided to open Pandora's Box, and ignite a debate that has been frustratingly dormant for too long. His experiences are most authentic, views are hard-hitting, and, at times, provocative. It must be read and discussed."‌ Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle

"A transformative story told with unflinching integrity that all (especially Jews) who care about real peace, as well as their own identity, should not only read, but reflect upon and discuss widely." Professor Richard Falk

"Gilad Atzmon's book, The Wandering Who? is as witty and thought-provoking as its title. But it is also an important book, presenting conclusions about Jews, Jewishness and Judaism which some will find shocking but which are essential to an understanding of Jewish identity politics and the role they play on the world stage." Karl Sabbagh

"Gilad's book constitutes an excellent critique of Identity Politics in general and Jewish Identity Politics in particular from a humanistic perspective. These hysterical attacks upon Gilad only reveal the weaknesses, insecurities, double-standards and hidden agendas of those who attack him. Gilad's humanism and plea for humanism shine through every page of this book" obviously influenced by his Jazz. A Love Supreme!â€‌ Professor Francis A. Boyle

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Bahrain / Revolution and Occupation

bah

The Bahrainis celebrated yesterday the second birthday of their uprising , as usual the celebration was met with bullets and repression .The armed forces uses against demonstrators bullets destined to hunt animals , this is how authorities treat the population by chasing them and firing at them . This is how Bahraini authorities treat their people , they treat them as beasts and this is not restricted to Bahrainis but is true for most Gulf people .The Bahrainis are not just facing a local police , they are facing the gulf imperialist rulers and behind them the world order .

We salute and support our brothers of the peaceful Bahraini Revolution , this Revolution or rather uprising - unlike the Arab spring that has removed so called dictators in favor of chaotic situations – does not seek a regime change; it seeks rather real participation in the rule which is something totally alien to gulf authorities in general . For the Gulf kings and princes people are inexistent , they are subjects rather than citizens with rights , in some cases they are less than subjects even . The Bahraini people have thus undertaken an impossible task that of proving that they exist- as people- with duties and rights and are seeking to implement these rights despite the unbearable repression they are suffering at all levels.

For a small country whose population is a little bit over half a million , this is a huge task and a giant endeavor , but Bahrainis are determined to pursue their goal despite all the suppressive measures they have been subject to . The world order did not bother to support the Bahraini uprising as it supported other Arab uprisings by providing them with full media coverage and full support through Arab league and providing them with funding of various sources and arranging for their meetings and conferences . The Bahraini uprising was not to the taste of the world order that is why it was ignored , as was ignored the invasion of the country by Saudi and Qatari tanks that came to support the monarch .The whole of the Arab spring has been thus denounced by the invasion of Bahrain as it was denounced by the sectarian attack on Syria , for how to cater to democracy, freedom and civil rights by way of invasion and bloody events?

Also this uprising was not also to the taste of the world international activists who did not give the Bahrainis their due in terms of support or campaigns or demonstrations. The Bahrainis were thus left alone to face - without arms- the fiercest enemy supported by the world order who will oppose any peaceful settlement of the problem and any concessions given to the opposition.

The demands of the Bahraini opposition are clear , definite and well defined , and they are in no way linked to a sect or a religious group . The goal is not to overthrow the ruler which cannot constitute a policy by itself . The opposition movement that has started in year 2002 had succeeded in giving the Bahrainis political representation , but then the monarch turned against the people and brought all the political institutions under his jurisdiction putting himself above the law . This was probably inspired by the world order policies regarding gulf people. Thus, the Bahrainis found themselves again at the starting point and their main concern now is to have an elected government . This elemental legitimate and legal demand of an elected representative government has been considered a crime by the gulf authorities and has been sanctioned by the monarch and not endorsed by the International community that pretends to stand fully against - so called -dictatorships..

While Bahrainis have been offering the highest sacrifices on daily basis , the authorities are not responding but are wasting time waiting for the Bahrainis to grow tiresome and less willing to sacrifice which is very unlikely to happen . On the other hand , the authorities, who cannot pursue this policy of repression without repercussions on the local and international levels , are trying to bring the opposition to the table of negotiations . But because the opposition will not fall again in the trap of fruitless negotiations, it opted for conditional negotiations that will come up with decisions rather than recommendations . These decisions are binding to the different parties and expected to be implemented in a limited time . This way the opposition hopes to protect itself and protect its achievements on the ground that were very costly life wise, security wise and freedom wise. Still the Bahraini officials are not responding and think they can get away with mere repressive measures that are supposed to quiet the opposition . But this opposition is more determined than ever in pursuing its goals . It is a life and death matter , either the Bahrainis prove that they exist or they die while trying to prove so.

Our hearts stand with our Bahraini brothers and sisters, and we salute the prisoners and freedom fighters, as we salute the more than two thousands martyrs who fell victims of the repression and we tell them that they are really the pioneers who are preparing for the gulf countries an altogether different future other than blind affiliation to foreign abusive powers and subjugation to unjust rulers . A bright, promising, dignified future - we want- for our deserving Bahraini brothers and sisters . May God the Almighty help them and support them in this honorable endeavor .


River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

WOMEN SYRIAN DEFENSE FORCES TRAINING TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY


Posted on February 14, 2013 by Libya 360°


National Defense Forces are groups of men and women forced to train on using arms to defend their country after the west decided to democratize their Syria using NATO’s Al Qaeda Wahhabi Jihadists.
A report in Homs with the NDF women training in their center and then on the streets.
The report done by Juhaina News, an independent Syrian based news agency.


Syrian women had no choice but to carry weapons and train on using them to support the Syrian Army in protecting themselves, their families and their country from the Wahhabi Sex Jihadists infesting their country.


After their country was subjected to the worst aggressive ‘war for terror’ supported by a collection of countries that each has a bad enough reputation in brutality, war crimes, oppression and long history of blood spilling, and after the Wahhabi religion clerics issued fatwas for ‘Sex Jihad’ in their country, the Syrian women saw no other choice but to learn and train on defending themselves, their families and their country.

Welcome to the world of Syrian Lionesses.


River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

US Tested New Weapon, No Meteor in Chelyabinsk: Russian Politician

Local Editor
Russia: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the head of the Russian Liberal-Democratic Party, said Friday that no meteor fell in the Urals – the US “has tested a new weapon” over the region, he claimed.

“You’re like some primitive tribe. What meteorite?” he said, adding that space is a “universe that has its own laws... When something falls – it’s man-made,” Russia Today news website quotes him as explaining.
Earlier in the week, US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly tried and failed to reach Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by telephone for two consecutive days. The State Department said that Kerry wanted to discuss the recent North Korean nuclear test, as well as the conflict in Syria.

MeteorHowever, Zhirinovsky claimed that the top US diplomat “wanted to warn Lavrov about the provocation and that it may affect Russia,” RIA Novosti reported.

On Thursday, Moscow confirmed that on February 12 it had received Washington’s request to organize an urgent phone conversation between Kerry and Lavrov. The Foreign Ministry said, however, that State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland was “inaccurate with her statements” regarding their inability to get in touch with Lavrov for two days.
“Unfortunately, the conversation could not be held because of the intensive schedule of the Russian foreign minister and his working tour to African countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashenko said.
Source: Websites
15-02-2013 - 18:56 Last updated 15-02-2013 - 19:00

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!