Notice that the dreaded phrase “disproportionate force” has finally appeared in the news stories about the airstrikes on Gaza. I don’t know what took it so long — it’s been two days now…Thanks to Abu Elvis, Diana West, Gaia, JCPA, JD, KGS, Nilk, PB, RRW, Scott SA, Srdja Trifkovic, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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“Clash of Civilizations” Author Huntington Dies at 81
Influential U.S. political scientist and “Clash of Civilizations” author Samuel Huntington has died at the age of 81, Harvard University announced Saturday on its website.
Huntington, who retired from active teaching at Harvard in 2007,died on Dec. 24 in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the university said. It did not give the cause of his death.
Huntington was best known for his theory on the so-called clash of civilizations. He believed that post-Cold War violent conflicts would come from cultural and religious differences rather than ideological rifts between nation states.
He first made the argument in a 1993 article for the Foreign Affairs journal and then expanded it in his 1996 book “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” which has been translated into 39 languages.
“The Clash of Civilizations” theory has been hotly debated by academics and the general public especially after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
“Sam was the kind of scholar that made Harvard a great university,” Huntington’s long-time friend, economist Henry Rosovsky, was quoted by the website as saying.
“People all over the world studied and debated his ideas. I believe that he is clearly one of the most influential political scientists of the last 50 years,” Rosovsky said.
Huntington was the author, co-author, or editor of 17 books and over 90 scholarly articles. His principal areas of research and teaching were American government, democratization, military politics, strategy and civil-military relations, comparative politics and political development.
A life-long Democrat, Huntington served in the White House under President Jimmy Carter in the National Security Council in 1977 and 1978.
Born in New York City on April 18, 1927, Huntington received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1946, served in the U.S. Army, then earned a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1948. He obtained his doctorate in 1951 from Harvard, where he had taught nearly without a break since 1950.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Nancy Arkelyan Huntington, and two sons.
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Amateur Crimefighters Surge in US
For Mr Invisible, the first and last blow to his burgeoning career as a superhero was an unexpected punch that flattened his nose.
“After months of designing my costume, getting my street moves just right, it was my first week out as a Real Life Superhero — and probably my last. This tiny girl did not like me trying to calm down her screaming boyfriend. She blindsided me, I’m still bruised. It’s dangerous out there,” said the deflated would-be crime fighter last week.
Mr Invisible is cheered that at least his grey one-piece “invisibility suit” works, proven when a drunk urinated on him in an alley. But he is weary of lurking in Los Angeles after dark.
There are, according to the recently launched World Superhero Registry, more than 200 men and a few women who are willing to dress up as comic book heroes and patrol the urban streets in search of, if not super-villains, then pickpockets and bullies.
They may look wacky, but the superhero community was born in the embers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when ordinary people wanted to do something short of enlisting. They were boosted by a glut of Hollywood superhero movies. The rules are simple. They must stand for unambiguous good.
They must create their own Spandex and rubber costumes without infringing Marvel or DC Comics copyrights, but match them with exotic names — Green Scorpion in Arizona, Terrifica in New York, Mr Xtreme in San Diego and Mr Silent in Indianapolis.
They must shun guns or knives to avoid being arrested as vigilantes, even if their nemeses may be armed. Their best weapon is not muscle but the internet — an essential tool in their war on crime is a homepage stating the message of doom for super-villains.
Utah cops appreciate Ghost, a 33-year-old concrete worker, and his colourfully costumed cohorts Insignis, Oni, Ha! and Silver Dragon. But other police departments recall that America’s most feared gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, were also born as idealistic “community defenders”.
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Culture Barriers Stall Search for Girl
Police say suspicion of outsiders among Bengali immigrants a factor in hunt for missing toddler.
HAMTRAMCK — Nearly three months after 2-year-old Tangena Hussain disappeared, police acknowledge thorny cultural differences are complicating their investigation.
The probe involves immigrants from Bangladesh, who police say are close-knit and often suspicious of outsiders.
“A lot of times, the only people we can interview are children, because they’re the only ones in the family who speak English,” said Hamtramck Detective George Voight, a 21-year veteran. “And when you’re dealing with people from Bangladesh, or others who are Muslims, a lot of times the women won’t talk to the police, because a lot of times women in Muslim communities aren’t allowed to talk to men.”
Tangena, whose mother is a Bengali immigrant, was reported missing in Detroit on Oct. 2 by her mother’s boyfriend, Jamrul Hussain, who shares the girl’s last name but is not related. Hussain, 27, is also from Bangladesh.
Shortly after the disappearance was reported, Detroit Police and FBI investigators enlisted the aid of the Wayne State International Student Affairs Department to help understand the Bengali culture, said Wayne State Police Chief Tony Holt.
“They wanted to get the lay of the land, so some students from Bangladesh gave the detectives some tips on dealing with people from that culture,” Holt said.
The same day Hussain reported Tangena missing, he was arrested in an eight-month-old kidnapping and rape case involving a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutors dropped the charges after the girl admitted she lied about being kidnapped. Instead, prosecutors charged Hussain with criminal sexual conduct
Hussain’s attorney, Shawn Patrick Smith, insisted from the start that his client hadn’t kidnapped the girl, but instead was involved in a romantic relationship with her.
“There’s nothing unusual in Bengali culture for a 27-year-old man to have a relationship with a 15-year-old girl,” Smith said. “What is frowned upon in that culture is having premarital sex, which is why the girl lied; she had to say it was a kidnapping because it’s taboo to have sex before marriage in their Islamic culture.”…
| — Hat tip: RRW | [Return to headlines] |
Parody on Obama Splits Republicans
The chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) said on Saturday he was “shocked and appalled” that one of his potential
successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro.”
In spite of RNC chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan’s sharply negative reaction, former Tennessee Republican Chip Saltsman said party leaders should stand up to criticism over distributing the song. He earlier defended the tune as one of several “lighthearted political parodies” that have aired on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show.
Saltsman, who managed former Arkansas Gov Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign, is seeking the RNC chairmanship. During the presidential campaign, Republicans officials denounced efforts by those in the party who criticised or mocked Democratic nominee Barack Obama along racial lines. Obama was vying to be the nation’s first black president.
The ditty by conservative comedian Paul Shanklin refers to a March 2007 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein titled ‘Obama the ‘Magic Negro.’ Ehrenstein argued that voting for Obama helped white voters alleviate guilt over racial wrongs in the past. “Barack the Magic Negro” calls into question Obama’s racial identity. Born to a black father and white mother, the president-elect was raised primarily by his white grandparents.
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Cash-strapped US states may sell roads, airport
Minnesota is deep in the hole financially, but the state still owns a premier golf resort, a sprawling amateur sports complex,
a big airport, a major zoo and land holdings the size of the Central American country of Belize.
Valuables like these are in for a closer look as 44 states cope with deficits.
Like families pawning the silver to get through a tight spot, states such as Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are thinking of selling or leasing toll roads, parks, lotteries and other assets to raise desperately needed cash.
Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has hinted that his January budget proposal will include proposals to privatize some of what the state owns. The Republican is looking for cash to help close a $5.27 billion deficit without raising taxes.
GOP lawmakers are pushing to privatize the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport and the state lottery. Both steps require a higher authority — federal legislation in the case of the airport, a voter-approved constitutional amendment for the lottery. But one lawmaker estimated an airport deal could bring in at least $2.5 billion, and the lottery $500 million.
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering putting the Massachusetts Turnpike in private hands. That could bring in upfront money to help with a $1.4 billion deficit, while also saving on highway operating costs. In New York, governor David Paterson appointed a commission to look into leasing state assets, including the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City, the lottery, golf courses, toll roads, parks and beaches. Recommendations are expected next month.
Selling or leasing public assets can produce an immediate infusion of cash for the state, while foisting the tough decisions, such as raising tolls, onto private operators instead of the politicians.
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States Consider Selling Off Roads, Parks to Confront Financial Meltdown
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota is deep in the hole financially, but the state still owns a premier golf resort, a sprawling amateur sports complex, a big airport, a major zoo and land holdings the size of the Central American country of Belize.
Valuables like these are in for a closer look as 44 states cope with deficits.
Like families pawning the silver to get through a tight spot, states such as Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are thinking of selling or leasing toll roads, parks, lotteries and other assets to raise desperately needed cash.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has hinted that his January budget proposal will include proposals to privatize some of what the state owns or does. The Republican is looking for cash to help close a $5.27 billion deficit without raising taxes.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
How Sahar Daftary’s Death Fall Exposed Polygamy in Britain
Muslim marriage rules ‘leave women at risk’
The death of a model who learnt that her husband was already married has shone a light into the murky world of Muslim polygamy in Britain.
Sahar Daftary, 23, fell 150ft from the twelfth storey of a block of flats where she had gone to collect her belongings at the home of a businessman whom she had married in a religious ceremony last year.
Her husband, Rashid Jamil, 33, was arrested on suspicion of murder but bailed by police after they found no evidence that the death was anything other than an accident or suicide.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the head of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, told The Times: “This story is very common, unfortunately. We have tried to plug some of the holes in the whole system, but unfortunately our clerics do not live on this planet.
“They don’t understand. For them, controlling the sexuality of the woman is far more important than justice, so we have this problem.”
Ms Daftary, a Sunni Muslim from London whose family comes from Afghanistan, was crowned Miss Face of Asia in a beauty contest last year. She was found critically injured by the apartment block in Salford Quays near the Manchester United football ground on Saturday. She had been helping with make-up at a fashion show in the city but left early to collect clothes from Mr Jamil’s home.
Ms Daftary also wanted to arrange an Islamic divorce from him. She had undergone a Muslim wedding ceremony in Brentford, West London, only to learn later that her husband already had a wife.
Her sister, Mariya Massumi, a hairdresser, said: “A few months after they got married we had a phone call from Narissa Amjad, and she said she was Rashid’s wife. We were very shocked and we confronted him.” Relatives learnt that Ms Amjad, 29, a marketing executive, was expecting a second child by Mr Jamil.
Islam traditionally allows husbands to take up to four wives at a time. A confrontation took place at Mr Jamil’s detached house in Altrincham, Manchester, where Ms Amjad lived.
Ms Massumi said: “When we arrived he was very calm. He said to Sahar he was not happy with his wife. He said in front of his wife he wanted to live with Sahar. His wife Narissa was also very calm and said that was OK. We were all so shocked. Rashid told Sahar he loved her.”
Mr Jamil also had a former wife, Sebina Malik, a lawyer. They had a daughter but were formally divorced. According to relatives, Mr Jamil had also undergone an arranged marriage in Pakistan that ended in divorce.
Dr Siddiqui said some British Muslim clerics performed polygamous marriages. The ceremonies are unrecog-nised by law. Clerics let husbands end marriages by saying “I divorce you” three times. Ex-wives have no rights.
Ahmad Thomson, a barrister and founder of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said that polygamous marriages could work in Britain if all parties were open and in agreement. But he added: “Sometimes the husband has tried to keep the earlier marriage secret. When the second or third wife finds out, it’s devastating.”…
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Iceland “Like Chernobyl” as Meltdown Shows Anger Can Boil Over
Unrest following the end of a five-year economic boom is overshadowing the holidays in a country of 320,000 near the Arctic Circle, where the folklore is filled with magic, trolls and elves. Expansion ended with the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. The fallout in Iceland may presage civil disruptions elsewhere, as job losses multiply and credit bills come due. Few nations can count themselves safe, says Ian Bremmer, president of the New York-based Eurasia Group, which analyzes political risk for businesses.
[…]
Hauksdottir, the owner of a Reykjavik witchcraft shop, says over a cup of thyme and juniper tea that only civil disobedience can force banks to stop collecting debts that people can’t pay.
“We’ll use our voices, and then if we have to we’ll use our hands, and maybe axes,” Hauksdottir says.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Media Ignores ‘Mafia War’
Internationally acclaimed author and journalist Roberto Saviano has told hundreds of young Italians a war is being fought by the Mafia in southern Italy every day. Speaking at Rome Tre University in the Italian capital late Wednesday, Saviano, author of the top-selling book ‘Gomorrah’, also said many of the victims of organised crime in Italy were under the age of 35.
“We should remind ourselves that the criminal organisations such as the Camorra, the ‘Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra, are the organisations that have killed the most people in Europe, much more than those caused by Islamic fundamentalism, which at present appears to be the daily obsession of the security of every country,” Saviano said.
Saviano, who was surrounded by five bodyguards during his visit, showed a packed hall of 700 students and faculty members shocking photographs of young victims who had been killed by the Mafia in the southern city of Naples.
“This is a silent war, that the media rarely talks about. Most of the victims that you will see are not over 35 years old, they are all very young,” he said.
The 28-year-old author, who lives in hiding under a 24-hour police escort, spoke to the students after the screening of the film ‘Gomorra’ based on his book and now nominated for an Academy Award. It was the first time he had ever been invited to address a university in Italy.
The students were shocked and silent as he showed them more than 20 grisly colour photos of young men most of whom had been shot to death by the Mafia.
“I will show you pictures that are terrible. They are about a war that is being fought everyday in southern Italy, a war that has killed 4,000 people in my territory since I was born,” said Saviano. “This is in Naples, Italy, Europe.”
The author also spoke about all the industries that the Mafia had infiltrated, such as garbage collection, textiles, restaurant business, petrol, discotheques and more recently, bakeries.
Saviano’s international best-seller ‘Gomorra’ exposed the activities of Naples’ ruthless Camorra crime syndicate. The book has been translated into 42 languages.
The journalist carried out his own research for the documentary-style book, which denounces the activities of the Camorra and reveals how and where it operates.
The film ‘Gomorra’ won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie was recently named Italy’s entry for next year’s Oscars, reportedly further incensing the Camorra.
Saviano appealed to students to choose different leaders regardless of their political affiliation to stop the spread of the Mafia.
“Voters from the Left or the Right must once and for all, regardless of their political views, choose different people to represent them,” he said.
Saviano stressed Italy’s southern regions of Calabria and Campania were the easiest places for the Mafia to operate and even though they had had Centre-Left governments for the past 10 years it made no difference to stopping their expansion.
He also said that the Italian capital Rome, was one of the Mafia’s favourite places to operate.
“Rome is one of the favourite places for the Mafia cartels to infiltrate and operate,” said Saviano…
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Bosnia, Hillary’s Playground
by Srdja Trifkovic
At a time when the U.S. power and authority are increasingly challenged around the world, the incoming team sees the Balkans as the last geopolitically significant area where they can assert their “credibility” by postulating a maximalist set of objectives as the only outcome acceptable to the United States, and duly insisting on their fulfilment. We have already seen this pattern with Kosovo, and it is to be expected that we’ll see its replay in Bosnia under the new team.
Now that intervention is “an American tradition,” Hillary Clinton is getting ready to practice some more in the Balkans — as if her husband’s contribution in the 1990s had not brought sufficient misery to the former Yugoslavia. She wants to place the Balkans, and specifically Bosnia, near the top of her list of foreign priorities. Barack Obama’s foreign policy and national security team includes a number of influential figures, and notably Vice-President-elect Joseph Biden, who are committed to the establishment of a centralized, unitary Bosnian state dominated by Muslims. Mrs. Clinton’s commitment to that goal is of an altogether different order of magnitude, however.
There have been strong pressures from the West, ever since the signing of the Dayton Accords 13 years ago, to reduce the authority of the Republika Srpska, to question its legitimacy and to label it a “genocidal creation” unworthy of existence. Prime Minister Milorad Dodik was able to weather the latest storm — caused by the pro-Muslim slant of the “international high representative” (i.e. unelected governor, jointly appointed by Brussels and Washington) Miroslav Lajcak and his crew — but the political momentum in Washington has taken an alarming turn for the Serbs in general and for the Republika Srpska (RS) in particular.
Her “framework for peace” in the Balkans is the same as her husband’s and that applied by her friend and role-model, Dr. Albight: unqualified U.S. support for Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo against their Christian neighbors. During the primaries Mrs. Clinton listed a number of fact-free, Balkan-related foreign-policy “accomplishments” based on her husband’s legacy. Among them she repeatedly invoked her embelished mmories of a “dangerous” trip to Bosnia in 1996, when she was supposedly threatened by Serb sniper fire at uzla airport — although the Bosnian war had ended six months earlier, and video footage shows smiling schoolchildren greeting her in Tuzla. Her exact reasons for wanting to abolish the Bosnian Serb Republic are likely personal and psychological rather than rational, but her motives are less important than the fact that this is indeed what she wants…
| — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Al-Qaeda Leader to be Tried on Terror Charges
The leader of North Africa’s Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Abdelmalek Droukdel, is to be tried in absentia with 56 others accused of terrorism and other crimes. According to Algerian daily, El-Khabar, the suspects linked to the militant Islamic group — including 40 who are now in prison — is scheduled to take place from the end of December to February.
The defendants face several charges, including belonging to terror group, committing premeditated murder and being murder accomplices.
Meanwhile, the Algerian media is reporting serious divisions have emerged inside the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb recently.
According to the Arab daily, al-Hayat, Droukedel and the Al-Qaeda leader in the Sahara region, Yahya Jawadi, known as Abu Amar.
Abu Amar has reportedly expressed his desire for a truce with Algerian armed forces.
The decision is believed to have been taken after former leader of Al-Qaeda in the Sahara, Mukhtar Belmukhtar, distanced himself from Droukedel’s group and recently abandoned armed conflict and sought refuge with several tribes in northern Mali.
According to Algerian security services, Droukedel brought the issue to the attention of the Sharia Council called to assess Jawadi’s behaviour which could move distance him from the group if he is found to be untrustworthy.
Jawadi appears to have proposed a truce in exchange for an end to attacks on his men in Algeria and Mauritania. Several government mediators are reported to have met during November in the village of Minaka in northern Mali to discuss a national reconciliation proposal.
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A Year’s Intel Gathering Yields ‘Alpha Hits’
A year of information-gathering by Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) paved the way Saturday for Operation Cast Lead.
At 11:30 a.m., more than 50 fighter jets and attack helicopters swept into Gazan airspace and dropped more than 100 bombs on 50 targets. The planes reported “alpha hits,” IAF lingo for direct hits on the targets, which included Hamas bases, training camps, headquarters and offices.
Thirty minutes later, a second wave of 60 jets and helicopters struck at 60 targets, including underground Kassam launchers — placed inside bunkers and missile silos — that had been fitted with timers.
Their locations were discovered in an intensive intelligence operation. The goal: to strike at Hamas’s ability to fire rockets into Israel.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Analysis / IAF Strike on Gaza is Israel’s Version of ‘Shock and Awe’
The events along the southern front which commenced at 11:30 on Saturday morning are the closest thing there is to a war between Israel and Hamas. It is difficult to ascertain (geographically) where and for how long the violence will reach before international intervention forces a halt to the hostilities. However, Israel’s opening salvo is not merely another “surgical” operation or pinpoint strike. This is the harshest IDF assault on Gaza since the territory was captured during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Palestinian sources in Gaza report that 40 targets were destroyed in a span of three to five minutes. This was a massive attack much along the lines of what the Americans termed “shock and awe” during their invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Simultaneous, heavy bombardment of a number of targets on which Israel spent months gathering intelligence. The military “target bank” includes dozens of additional targets linked to Hamas, some of which will certainly come under attack in the coming days.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Did Israel Use “Disproportionate Force” in Gaza?
by Dore Gold
[…]
Israeli Population Centers Under Rocket Attack
There are good reasons why initial criticism of Israel has been muted. After all, Israeli population centers in southern Israel have been the target of over 4,000 rockets, as well as thousands of mortar shells, fired by Hamas and other organizations since 2001.1 The majority of those attacks were launched after Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in August 2005. Indeed, rocket attacks increased by 500 percent (from 179 to 946) from 2005 to 2006.
Moreover, lately Hamas has been extending the range of its striking capability even further with new rockets supplied by Iran.
[…]
Proportionality and International Law: The Protection of Innocent Civilians
The charge that Israel uses disproportionate force keeps resurfacing whenever it has to defend its citizens from non-state terrorist organizations and the rocket attacks they perpetuate. From a purely legal perspective, Israel’s current military actions in Gaza are on solid ground. According to international law, Israel is not required to calibrate its use of force precisely according to the size and range of the weaponry used against it (Israel is not expected to make Kassam rockets and lob them back into Gaza).
When international legal experts use the term “disproportionate use of force,” they have a very precise meaning in mind. As the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Rosalyn Higgins, has noted, proportionality “cannot be in relation to any specific prior injury — it has to be in relation to the overall legitimate objective of ending the aggression.”8 In other words, if a state, like Israel, is facing aggression, then proportionality addresses whether force was specifically used by Israel to bring an end to the armed attack against it. By implication, force becomes excessive if it is employed for another purpose, like causing unnecessary harm to civilians. The pivotal factor determining whether force is excessive is the intent of the military commander. In particular, one has to assess what was the commander’s intent regarding collateral civilian damage…
| — Hat tip: JCPA | [Return to headlines] |
Friends and Enemies
by Diana West
It’s quite simple, really: Israel strikes back at jihad, finally, and the world takes sides. So far, the sides looks like this: On Israel’s side in its strike against jihad are the US and Australia (here); against Israel’s strike on jihad are, well, just about everyone else, from France to Iran, from Russia to the UN, from Iraq (hat tip Andrew Bostom) to Afghanistan.
Hey—aren’t Iraq and Afghanistan, after all that American blood and billions spent “democratizing” them, supposed to be allies in the “war on terror”? And isn’t Hamas a terror organization? So, wouldn’t that make Iraq and Afghanistan opponents of the Hamas jihad on Israel? (Insert hysterical peals of laughter here.)
Answer: Not if the teachings of Islam on jihad and dhimmitude have anything to do with it. And they do, despite the West’s cowardice to face these politically incorrect, politically inconvenient, politicially demanding facts.
For the record, here’s what the Foreign Ministry of what President Bush styles as the “young democracy” of Afghanistan said:
The Afghan Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday strongly condemning Israel’s air raids on the Gaza Strip of Palestine that left hundreds of civilians dead and injured, Xinhua reported.
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is following the recent attacks by Israel on the innocent people of Palestine with great concern and strongly condemns these attacks,” the statement said.
The statement noted that “the bombardment and killing of civilians cannot be justified with the policies of Hamas.”
That’s just great. Really glad to know the incoming Obama administration will be sending thousands of American troops to Afghanistan to attempt to shore up this stalwart Afghan “ally” in global war on terror, or whatever they’re calling it now. And how different would a Taliban statement on Gaza be from the Afghan government’s? Never mind…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Operation Day 2: Israel Calls Up 6,500 Reservists
Hamas steps up long-range rocket attacks
The Israeli cabinet Sunday, Dec. 28, approved call-up orders for 6,500 reservists the day after Israel’s devastating assault on hundreds of Hamas military sites in Gaza, in which 282 Palestinians, 90 percent in uniform, w= ere killed. Two thousand were recruited Saturday. Hamas activated its Iran-made improved Grad Katyusha unit, sending rockets winging as far as Moshav Bnei Ayish near Yavne to the northeast and the big port city of Ashdod to the north, both nearly 40 km from the Gaza Strip. One fell in the yard of an Ashdod home. Four landed in Ashkelon, injuring three people.
[…]
Israel launched its massive air attack Saturday eight days after Hamas terminated the agreed six-month Gaza ceasefire by showering missiles and mortar rounds on 250,000 Israeli civilians day after day. They kept on fall= ing even as Israel opened the crossings to allow 90 trucks of food and medicines to cross into the Gaza Strip. A further 30 trucks of assistance required by international aid agencies went through from Israel Sunday.
Since Israel evacuated the enclave in 2005, Palestinian factions have fired 6,000 missiles.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Hizbullah Will Not Join Hamas in Fighting Israel’
Hizbullah will not join Hamas in fighting Israel and will not open a second front against it in the current conflict, London-based newspaper Al-Hayat quoted a source in the organization as saying Sunday.
The source explained that Hizbullah was not interested in a conflict with Israel at this time.
| — Hat tip: Abu Elvis | [Return to headlines] |
How Israel Led Hamas Into False Sense of Security
Carefully calculated maneuvers utilized by cabinet lulled Islamist group into arrogant calm ahead of airstrike offensive in bid to maintain element of surprise. Primary aim of operation is to stop rocket attacks on Israel’s south, rebuild deterrence.
Maneuvering the enemy: The Israel government reportedly employed several measures in order to lead Hamas into a false sense of security and ensure the operation against the Islamist group would take the organization by complete surprise.
The tactic called for Defense Minister Ehud Barak to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the Gaza, despite the ongoing rocket fire on the western Negev.
Last Sunday afternoon saw Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Barak reportedly agree on launching a wide-scale military offensive in Gaza. Then on Wednesday the National Security Cabinet approved the proposed operation, with the 11 ministers comprising the forum lodging a unanimous yea vote.
However leaks to the media prompted Hamas officials to go underground in anticipation of the operation, forcing Israel to rethink its strategy and attempt a three-stage deception maneuver.
- Stage one called for the press to learn that the cabinet was only briefed on the situation in Gaza, but that no operational decisions were made.
- Stage two called for Barak to announce that humanitarian aid would be let into the Strip on Friday.
- Stage three had the media learn that the “kitchenette” ?” the narrow forum comprised of Olmert, Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ?” would be meeting on Sunday to discuss future options.
These steps, said political sources, bore fruit.
“Hamas pulled its people out of hiding and resumed normal operations,” said the sources. “It would seem that Hamas believes the Israeli media, and thought it had a few more days before Israel launched an operation? once the tactical opportunity presented itself, the prime minister called Barak and Livni to his home on Friday night and they made the decision.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
IDF Releases Photos of Hamas Targets, Terror Training Facilities
(IsraelNN.com) The IDF on Saturday night released aerial photos of Hamas facilities targeted by IAF fighter pilots on Saturday in Operation ‘Cast Lead.’
The photos show the military training facilities Hamas has developed in Gaza, from where Israel forcibly evicted close to 10,000 of its Jewish citizens in August 2005 in hopes of establishing peace with its Palestinian Authority Arab neighbors.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
PA Leader ‘Begged’ Israel to Hit Hamas
To world, however, Abbas condemns Gaza strikes as ‘barbaric,’ ‘unnecessary’
JAFFA, Israel — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his office today slammed as “barbaric” and “unnecessary” Israel’s air strikes in Gaza, but according to top diplomatic sources in Jerusalem, Abbas for months now has been petitioning Israel to launch a massive military raid against his Hamas rivals in Gaza.
The sources, speaking to WND on condition of anonymity, said Abbas and his top representatives have waged a quiet campaign for months asking the Israeli government to target Hamas in Gaza just before his term in office is scheduled to expire on Jan. 9.
Hamas leaders have repeatedly warned they will not recognize Abbas after the 9th, and that they will launch a major campaign to delegitimize the PA president and install their own figures to lead the Palestinian government.
Abbas hopes a large-scale Israeli military campaign in Gaza would distract Hamas from attempting to undermine his rule, the diplomatic sources told WND.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
PA ‘Ready’ to Take Gaza if Hamas Ousted
Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah said Saturday that they were prepared to assume control over the Gaza Strip if Israel succeeds in overthrowing the Hamas government.
“Yes, we are fully prepared to return to the Gaza Strip,” a top PA official told The Jerusalem Post. “We believe the people there are fed up with Hamas and want to see a new government.”
Another PA official said Fatah had instructed all its members in the Gaza Strip to be prepared for the possibility of returning to power.
“We have enough men in the Gaza Strip who are ready to fill the vacuum,” he said. “But of course all this depends on whether Israel manages to get rid of the Hamas regime.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wapo: Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Strip Imperil Obama’s Peace Chances
Likely Escalation Complicates Already-Delicate Diplomacy
Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza yesterday, in retaliation for a nonstop barrage of rocket attacks from Hamas fighters, raised the prospect of an escalation of violence that could scuttle any hopes the incoming Obama administration harbored of forging an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
“If the casualty reports are accurate, Hamas is going to respond. And this isn’t a two- or three-day deal in which the genie is put back in the bottle,” said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and author of “The Much Too Promised Land.” “This takes the already slim chance of an early, active and successful Obama engagement on Israel-Palestinian peace and lowers it to about zero.”
| — Hat tip: PB | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait Cancels $17 Bn Deal With Dow Chemical
Kuwait decided on Sunday to scrap a deal to form a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint venture with US company Dow Chemical, state news agency KUNA said.
The cancellation of the deal, which had met opposition in Kuwait’s parliament, is a blow to the largest US chemicals company that had planned to use the proceeds to repay a large part of $13 billion in debt it will have to shoulder once its acquisition of rival Rohm & Haas closes in early 2009.
The Supreme Petroleum Council, at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah, “arrived at the decision to cancel the contract,” KUNA said.
State-run Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) signed a deal earlier this month with Dow to launch the joint venture, K-Dow Petrochemicals, and was due to pay $7.5 billion. The deal was part of Dow’s strategy to reduce its exposure to the cyclical nature of the commodity chemicals business.
The deal had angered some Kuwaiti parliamentarians who said the project was not economically viable in light of the global financial crisis and slumping petrochemical sales.
A cabinet statement said the global crisis had prompted the cabinet to ask the council “to take the necessary measures to cancel the contract … within a sound legal framework while safeguarding the state’s rights and interests,” KUNA reported.
Four liberal MPs had threatened to question the prime minister, a senior member of the ruling family, unless the deal was scrapped.
[…]
Dow and other chemical makers around the globe face one of the worst slumps ever in chemical demand, due to recessions in most developed countries and a sharp slowdown in emerging economies.
Earlier this month, Dow said it would close 20 facilities, divest several businesses and cut 5,000 jobs, or 11 percent, of its workforce. It also plans to temporarily idle about 180 plants.
[…]
The new company had been due to market petrochemicals and plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate, used in products ranging from plastic bottles and compact disks to computers and agricultural compounds. In July, Dow said it would acquire Rohm & Haas for $15.3 billion in a move to broaden its specialty product offerings.
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Suicide Bomber Hits Anti-Israel Protest
MOSUL — A suicide bomber on a bicycle in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul targeted a protest condemning Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, killing one civilian and wounding 16, police said.
“One civilian was killed and 16 were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up when he rode his bicycle into the middle of an anti-Israeli demonstration in the city,” local police Major Wael Rasheed told AFP.
The protest against Israeli air raids on the impoverished Gaza Strip that have killed at least 280 in the past 24 hours was sponsored by the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP).
“The suicide bomber attacked a demonstration in which most participants were prominent members of the IIP,” Nineveh province politician Yahya Abed Mahjoub told AFP.
The Baghdad government on Saturday condemned the Israeli air raids, saying they left behind “many victims — innocent people and children.”
Mosul, the country’s second largest city, is believed to be the last urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has been behind hundreds of bombings since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
| — Hat tip: Abu Elvis | [Return to headlines] |
Dictator Stalin Strong Contender for Most Popular Russian
MOSCOW (Reuters) — Soviet dictator Josef Stalin remains one of Russia’s most popular historical figures despite the purges that marked his rule, according to the latest results in a nationwide poll.
The Georgian-born Stalin is in third place in the poll of most popular Russians run by Rossiya state television channel and which will close on Sunday night with a final vote.
Millions of Soviet citizens perished from famine during forced collectivization, were executed as “enemies of the people” or died in Gulag hard labor camps during Stalin’s rule which lasted for almost 30 years until his death in 1953.
But he still won an 11.5 percent share of the voting so far.
The 12 finalists are led by 13th century prince Alexander Nevsky, who defeated German invaders, with 11.7 percent. He is followed by Pyotr Stolypin, a prime minister in the early 20th century known for agrarian reforms and a clampdown on leftist revolutionaries, with 11.6 percent…
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Pak Says Evidence Gathered by US, UK Won’t Stand in Court
Pakistan has rejected evidence provided by the US and UK on involvement of its citizens in the Mumbai attacks. It has said the information provided would not stand scrutiny in any court.
The evidence includes a confession by arrested terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab but Pakistani officials have contended that since it had been obtained by Indians under duress, this could not be admissible in court.
Meanwhile, India kept up the pressure on Pakistan. Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday that India had not served any ultimatum to Pakistan to take action on terrorists or terror camps. However, India insisted thatPakistan eliminate all terrorist groups from its territory as it had promised.
Addressing a group in Jharkhand, Mukherjee said Pakistan should admit that terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks came from there. “If all these things are done, then there is no problem at all,” he said. “Not once, but twice Pakistan had made a commitment. Once by Musharraf and now by President Zardari. Where is the commitment? Where is the action against terrorists,” he added.
Telephone numbers of LeT commanders like Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah had been given, reports from Pakistan said, as well as call logs and intercepts. Both US and UK have told Pakistan that India’s allegation that the LeT had masterminded the operation was correct.
Officials said US and UK came armed with a much more evidence of Pakistan’s complicity than even India had access to. Thanks to their superior tech-int, they gathered more evidence against Pakistan, which, incidentally they did not share with India.
Pakistan’s excuse now is that if it’s expected to use all this evidence to put people like Lakhvi and Shah on trial, it would need testimonies from Indian witnesses, and all the mobile phones and satphones that were used for evidence.
Evidently, this is a dead end-road. If and when India gives up its own information to Pakistan, it would be met with exactly the same kind of belligerence, say officials.
Within India, though, as more information becomes available, officials are coming round to the view that there was substantial involvement of the army-ISI complex.
“We have evidence and gave the names, not once but ten times. Pakistan had earlier accepted that the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks emanated from there. But now they are contradicting it,” Mukherjee said. However, on the Mumbai attacks, he said India would give all information to Pakistan after the investigations were over.
Meanwhile, Mukherjee regretted that Pakistan had gone back on its statement that Maulana Masood Azhar had been detained. He said, “The Pakistani defence minister had earlier said that the Jaish chief was under house arrest. Now some others say he is not in Pakistan. Who is telling the truth? It is Pakistan which has to tell that.”
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Don’t Force US Into Ghettoes: Trad
LOCAL councils around Australia have been warned they risk imposing a “ghetto mentality” on the Islamic community if they continue to oppose religious projects such as the controversial proposals to build Islamic schools at Camden and Bass Hill.
The warning was issued yesterday by the founder of the Islamic Friendship Society, Keysar Trad, as he opened a prayer centre at St Marys.
Mr Trad said the centre, which took 31/2 years to be approved by Penrith City Council, will participate in a number of multi-faith and community events, such as Clean Up Australia Day.
Asked about recent controversies surrounding other developments — such as a proposal for a Muslim school at Camden and a stalled project by sportsmen Anthony Mundine and Hazem El Masri to convert a church into a mosque in Canterbury — he said their rejection would hurt his community.
“As long as we’re able to establish centres like this one [in St Marys], then we’re able to keep safe from the ghetto mentality,” he said. “Islam is not about ghettoes, Islam is about being part of society and contributing to every aspect of society. As long as we’re able to do that, it’s great. When we’re not able to do that in some places, where the approach is unfairly delayed and unreasonably delayed, then it’s forcing people to go to one particular area, even though they don’t live in that particular area.
“Historically, we have been very resistant to ghettoisation. We have always been a part of our wider communities and we want to always contribute.”
Mr Trad said that wrangling with local councils has meant that Muslim residents in remote parts of Sydney face barriers to settling into their communities, and other challenges such as an increased travel burden.
He also said there was a wider psychological impact of being rejected. Using the example of an attempt by Mr El Masri, a prominent Canterbury Bulldogs footballer, to convert a church in Ludgate Street, Roselands, he said some councils and residents were focusing on trivial planning issues to sink projects that would have an otherwise broad appeal…
| — Hat tip: Nilk | [Return to headlines] |
United Nations Cuts Aid to Zimbabweans
THE United Nations food aid agency has cut the amount of food it hands out to hungry Zimbabweans as it lacks the cash to keep up with the worsening crisis, it said on Tuesday.
The World Food Programme (WFP) fed 2 million people in October, the first month of a large-scale aid project.
That will double this month and rise to 5.1 million — almost half the population — by early 2009.
[…]
A harvest the WFP described as “disastrous” has pushed millions of people into hunger.
WFP said it had cut cereal rations per person to 10kg per month from 12kg and cut the pulse ration to 1kg from 1.8kg.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with food shortages since 2001.
Opponents of President Robert Mugabe say his policy of forcing white farmers off their land has exacerbated the problem in a country where hyper-inflation has crippled the economy.
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Zimbabwe to Prosecute 140 White Farmers
ZIMBABWE will prosecute 140 white landowners on charges of failing to vacate their farms under the country’s controversial 2000 land reform program, state media has reported.
“A total of 140 farmers are to be prosecuted for failing to vacate farms after being issued with eviction notices,’’ The Sunday Mail said, citing a report presented at the ruling ZANU-PF party’s national conference.
[…]
Under President Robert Mugabe’s program, at least 4000 properties formerly run by white farmers have been seized for redistribution to blacks, the majority of whom lacked the skills and means to farm.
The chatoic program is held largely responsible for the country’s economic crisis, which has saddled Zimbabwe with the world’s highest inflation rate and left nearly half the population in need of aid.
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2008 Was the Year Man-Made Global Warming Was Disproved
Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph.
The first, on May 21, headed “Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts” , reported that the entire Alpine “winter sports industry” could soon “grind to a halt for lack of snow”. The second, on December 19, headed “The Alps have best snow conditions in a generation” , reported that this winter’s Alpine snowfalls “look set to beat all records by New Year’s Day”.
Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects…
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Interpal Bank Closure Delayed Until New Year
Lloyds TSB has reportedly agreed to postpone the closure of Interpal’s bank account from 8 December until 30 January 2009 after representations from the charity’s bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB).
The delay gives the UK-based Palestinian charity…a few extra weeks breathing space but still gives it just two months, with Christmas and new year in the middle, to find a new bank.
Interpal was told on 11 November that Lloyds TSB, as one of the four big clearing banks, planned to stop clearing the IBB’s cheques unless it closed down Interpal’s account. While Lloyds has refused to comment on the situation, it is understood to have been influenced by the US sanctions on Interpal and pressure from other groups concerned that Interpal has links with terrorists associated with Hamas.
The IBB is powerless to obstruct Lloyds, even though Interpal believes it does not want to close its account.
Interpal claims that support has been growing for its case, with various groups taking the initiative and encouraging supporter action. A spokeswoman for Interpal said the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign staged a demonstration outside Lloyds TSB in Edinburgh’s Hanover Street on Saturday, and Islamic student group FOSIS had launched a petition that had so far attracted 700 signatures.
Mpac, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, has also covered the story on its website, urging Muslims to write or telephone Lloyds TSB’s chief executive to complain about Interpal’s treatment.
The spokeswoman added that while the IBB had informed Interpal that the closure had been delayed until the end of January, the charity had had no official notification from Lloyds. The bank has refused to meet with the charity despite requests to discuss the case.
As a result, Interpal is still trying to make alternative arrangements just in case it cannot access its IBB account on 8 December.
Lloyds TSB refuses to comment, citing client confidentiality.
Interpal claims that support has been growing for its case, with various groups taking the initiative and encouraging supporter action. A spokeswoman for Interpal said the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign staged a demonstration outside Lloyds TSB in Edinburgh’s Hanover Street on Saturday, and Islamic student group FOSIS had launched a petition that had so far attracted 700 signatures.
Mpac, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, has also covered the story on its website, urging Muslims to write or telephone Lloyds TSB’s chief executive to complain about Interpal’s treatment.
The spokeswoman added that while the IBB had informed Interpal that the closure had been delayed until the end of January, the charity had had no official notification from Lloyds. The bank has refused to meet with the charity despite requests to discuss the case.
As a result, Interpal is still trying to make alternative arrangements just in case it cannot access its IBB account on 8 December.
Lloyds TSB refuses to comment, citing client confidentiality.
| — Hat tip: Scott SA | [Return to headlines] |
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