Jordanians demonstrate against Israeli measures in Jerusalem

Amman - About 3,000 Jordanians demonstrated in Amman on Friday to protest what they called an Israeli conspiracy against al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, which the Jewish (Zionist) state seized from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. The rally, organized by the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement and its political arm the Islamic Action Front (IAF), was held under the slogan "al-Aqsa in Danger".

Participants condemned Arab and Muslim governments for their failure to challenge Israeli attempts to "Judaize" East Jerusalem.

The protesters also claimed that Israel would attempt eventually to demolish al-Aqsa Mosque to rebuild the biblical Solomon's temple in its place.

Speakers during the rally called on the Jordanian government to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and urged Arab countries to back "resistance" against Israeli occupation.

The Jordanian government concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, but the Islamic-led opposition parties and the country's 14 trade unions are still against the peace pact and the normalization of ties with Israel.

Under the provisions of the pact, Israel acknowledged Amman's right to look after all Islamic and Christian holy shrines in East Jerusalem.

A series of raids into al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli troops over the past months prompted the Jordanian government to accuse Israel of failing to honor its commitments under international law as an occupation power.

Researcher says text proves Shroud of Turin real

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer

ROME – A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.

The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery.

Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud.

She asserts the words include the name "Jesus Nazarene" in Greek, proving the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have labeled Jesus a Nazarene without referring to his divinity.

The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping out of nailed hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen fibers at the time of his resurrection.

The fragile artifact, owned by the Vatican, is kept locked in a special protective chamber in Turin's cathedral and is rarely shown.

Skeptics point out that radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 determined it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

While faint letters scattered around the face on the shroud were seen decades ago, serious researchers dismissed them due to the test's results, Frale told The Associated Press.

But when she cut out the words from photos of the shroud and showed them to experts they concurred the writing style was typical of the Middle East in the first century — Jesus' time.

She believes the text was written on a document by a clerk and glued to the shroud over the face so the body could be identified by relatives and buried properly. Metals in the ink used at the time may have allowed the writing to transfer to the linen, Frale claimed.

Frale claimed the text also partially confirms the Gospels' account of Jesus' final moments. A fragment in Greek that can be read as "removed at the ninth hour" may refer to Christ's time of death reported in the holy texts, she said.

On an enhanced image studied by Frale, at least seven words can be seen, fragmented and scattered on and around Jesus' face, crisscrossing the cloth vertically and horizontally. One short sequence of Aramaic letters has not been translated. Another Latin fragment — "iber" — may refer to Emperor Tiberius, who reigned at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Frale said.

"I tried to be objective and leave religious issue aside," Frale told The AP. "What I studied was an ancient document that certifies the execution of a man, in a specific time and place."

Frale is noted in Italy for her research on the medieval order of the Knights Templar and her discovery of unpublished documents on the group in the Vatican's archives.

Earlier this year she published a study claiming the Templars at one time had the shroud in their possession. That raised eyebrows because the order was abolished in the early 14th century and the shroud is first recorded in history around 1360 in the hands of a French knight.

But her latest book, titled "The Shroud of Jesus Nazarene" in Italian, raised even doubts among some experts.

"People work on grainy photos and think they see things," said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian who has written books about the shroud. "It's all the result of imagination and computer software."

Lombatti said that artifacts bearing Greek and Aramaic texts were found in Jewish burials from the first century, but the use of Latin is unheard of.

He also rejected the idea that authorities would officially return the body of a crucified man to relatives after filling out some paperwork. Victims of the most cruel punishment used by the Romans would usually be left on the cross or were disposed of in a dump to add to the execution's deterring effect.

Lombatti said "the message was that you won't even have a tomb to cry over."

Unusual sightings in the shroud are common and are often proved false, said Luigi Garlaschelli, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pavia.

Garlaschelli recently led a team of experts that reproduced the shroud using materials and methods that were available in the 14th century, proof, they said, that it could have been made by a human hand in the Middle Ages.

Decades ago entire studies were published on coins that were purportedly seen on Jesus' closed eyes, but when high-definition images were taken during a 2002 restoration the artifacts were nowhere to be seen and the theory was dropped, Garlaschelli said.

He said any theory about ink and metals would have to checked by analysis of the shroud itself.

Egyptians clash with police at Algeria's Cairo embassy

CAIRO - Protesters hurled stones and firebombs at police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday, wounding 11 officers as anger mounted over attacks on Egyptians after the countries' World Cup qualifier.

The interior ministry said 11 officers were hurt and 15 cars were damaged in the violence. Four store fronts were also destroyed, the ministry said in a statement.

The protest started on Thursday night on a street leading to the embassy, where riot police repeatedly turned back an angry crowd.

The several hundred demonstrators chanted anti-Algerian slogans and sang their national anthem, burning Algerian flags.

"We should treat Algeria like any country that has declared war on us," said Amr Higazi, a university student holding a placard calling for the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

The demonstrators were enraged by reports of attacks against Egyptian fans in Khartoum on Wednesday after a World Cup qualification decider with Algeria, and demanded the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

Egyptian fans told AFP that stones were thrown at their bus as they made their way back to Khartoum airport after the 1-0 defeat, which followed a 2-0 victory for the Pharoahs in Cairo on Saturday that led to the play-off.

Egypt's Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said 21 Egyptians were lightly wounded in the attacks, a number disputed by Sudanese police, which said four Egyptians were wounded.

Sudan summoned Egypt's envoy in Khartoum to protest Egyptian media reports of security lapses in Khartoum that allowed Algerians to attack Egyptian fans.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algeria on Thursday for consultations and summoned the Algerian envoy in Cairo to protest the attacks.

It was the second summons in a week for Ambassador Abdelkader Hadjar, who was called to the foreign ministry last week after Algerian fans attacked Egyptian businesses and homes in Algiers.

Before the match in Cairo, several Algerian footballers were hurt after the team bus was stoned on the way from the airport to the team hotel. Buses carrying Algerian fans were stoned after the game in Cairo.

World football governing body FIFA said on Thursday it had begun disciplinary proceedings against the Egyptian Football Association over the attack on the Algerian team, which Egyptian security officials insisted was staged by the Algerians.

"Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Egyptian Football Association. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will decide on the case," the organization said in a statement on its website.

People took to the streets in Algiers after the match in Cairo, attacking 15 offices belonging to a local subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom and twice ransacking the Algiers offices of Egypt Air.

The attacks prompted Orascom to pull out 25 Egyptian employees and their families.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Friday called for calm in the row between Algeria and Egypt.

"I call for a return to calm and reason on the Arab street. The affair must be restored to its true proportions, after all the Egyptians like the Algerians are Arabs," he told AFP.

"What has happened is deplorable. This outburst of anger in these two great Arab countries must stop," said Mussa, who was in Dubai for a forum organized by the World Economic Conference.

US to examine feasibility of 9/11 defense system

The US intends to conduct a top-down assessment of the air defense system it has operated since after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil to examine its viability.

A Friday report by The New York Times suggested that the main aim of the current assessment is to see whether it is necessary to keep on alert the costly defense system, which includes an array of military planes and hundreds of air crews, or to dismantle it.

"The fighter force is extremely expensive, so you always have to ask yourself the question 'How much is enough?'" said Major General Pierre Forgues, a Canadian who is currently in charge of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, commonly known as Norad.

The review by the US military officials due to be completed by next spring, is going to look into the possibility of a potential air attack on US and Canadian soils by terrorists hijacking planes or using their own small aircraft.

Forgues said that with enhanced security measures in place, including airport screening, passenger tracking and secured airliner cockpits, terrorists can barely succeed in launching a 9/11-like attack.

"The ability of terrorists to do what they did on 9/11 has been greatly curtailed," Forgues told the Times.

This is while, many maintain that the 9/11 attacks would have been impossible without inside help from individuals or groups from the US government.

The review does not necessarily dismantle the defense program, rather if deemed necessary, it may be kept at current level or even be upgraded, said the top brass.

The September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil left more than 3,000 people dead.

Houthis release new footage of Saudi blitz

The Houthi fighters have released new footage, which they say depict Saudi aircraft targeting civilians in northern Yemeni villages near the border.

The videos released on Friday picture Saudi artillery fire and Saudi fighter jets flying over northern Yemen and bombarding spots, which the Houthis maintain to be civilian positions on the Yemeni soil.

Saudi Arabia's army has been pounding Houthi positions for over two weeks, charging that the fighters had attacked one of its border checkpoints.

The Houthis, however, have firmly rejected the allegations, saying that they are fighting other battlefields and are not interested in opening another front.

Saudi airstrikes and land incursions coincide with Yemen's stepped-up crackdown on the Houthis, who are fighting against the government's political, religious and economic marginalization of the country's Shia minority.

The Saudi-Yemeni offensive against the Shia fighters has been clouded with claims and counter-claims, with the armies announcing victories against the Houthi fighters, who deny the claims arguing that their positions are not prone to easy identification.

The Saudi army has suffered several losses in its cross-border clashes with the Houthi fighters.

The international community, meanwhile, says that the massive military action has driven hundreds of thousands of civilians out of their homes in and around the battle zone in the north.

Since the beginning of the new military offensive in early August, the Houthi fighters have been accusing Sana'a of seeking help from the Riyadh to eradicate the Shia movement.

Earlier footage released by the Houthis showed Saudi warplanes targeting villages deep inside the Yemeni territory, dropping banned white phosphorus bombs.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111762§ionid=351020206.

Iraq Supreme Court rejects VP veto attempt

Baghdad rejects Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's veto of the new election law as divisions over parliamentary seat distribution might jeopardize the key vote scheduled for January.

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court threw out on Thursday an attempted veto by Hashimi who protested the approval of the country's long-awaited new electoral law for not considering seats for almost two million Iraqis living abroad.

The Supreme Court, however, blocked the move, arguing that election organizers, and not the law, decided how many seats should be allocated to Iraqi nationals living outside the country.

The crucial national poll, the second since the US-led invasion of 2003, is due in mid-January but cannot go ahead until the law governing it receives presidential approval.

This is while Iraq's presidential council - made up of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and two vice presidents, Sunni Arab Hashimi and Shia Adel Abdul Mehdi - has demanded a greater say in the election for minorities and Iraqi refugees.

Iraqi lawmakers, who are expected to decide on the veto on Saturday, have expressed their commitment to holding the elections as scheduled in January, and stressed that the veto is 'unconstitutional'.

The veto attempt, denounced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a threat to the country's 'political process and democracy', also received a chilly welcome from Talabani.

The president distanced himself from the decision, saying the Sunni vice president had been under pressure from his allies to use the veto.

"I am afraid that there will be a new delay to the election…That is why I decided not to oppose the electoral law," Talabani told France 24 television, warning that the postponement of the elections would lead to 'a power vacuum' in Iraq.

Recent challenges on way to reach a new election law has given rise to concerns over a delay in the voting and, thus, a derailment of a US plan to ramp up its withdrawal from Iraq following the poll.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111767§ionid=351020201.

Syrian president vows to deepen bilateral ties with China

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday his country will deepen the relations of mutual benefit and cooperation with China so as to push the bilateral ties to a new height.

Assad made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu in Damascus on Thursday.

The Syrian president appreciated the deepening cooperation between the two countries in various fields, stressing that Syria and China have shared political mutual trust and cooperated in the economic field for a long time.

Assad highlighted that Syria attaches great importance to the Syria-China relations as China is a friend of Syria and the Arab world.

The president also reiterated Syria's firm and consistent position on the one-China policy.

For his part, Hui said as one of the earliest Arab countries which established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, Syria and China have enjoyed a sound and stable relationship for more than five decades.

He pointed out that the two countries have broad prospects of cooperation as both of them are developing countries and face the same challenges of developing economy and improving people's livelihood.

The vice premier also voiced China's willingness, along with Syria, to strengthen coordination and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in a bid to deepen bilateral ties.

China suggests that the two countries should maintain contacts of all levels, enhance mutual understanding and friendship, share experience of reform and development to learn from each other, and expand trade, investment and technical cooperation in an effort to bring concrete benefits to both Chinese and Syrian people, he said.

Hui arrived in Damascus on Wednesday afternoon for a three-day official visit to Syria at the invitation of Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah al-Dardari.

Syria and China inked Wednesday an agreement on economic and technical cooperation, in which China offers to grant Syria a financial assistance of 20 million yuan (2.93 million U.S. dollars).

Austrians Mute Israeli Anthem at Fencing Tourney

by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) Young female athletes from Israel's fencing team swept top medals at a 28-nation European tournament held in Mödling, Austria last week – but faced an additional challenge when they stood on the winners' podium to receive their medals: the organizers did not play the recording of the Israeli national anthem, and the Israeli winners had to sing the anthem on their own, a capella style. The Israeli team's staff has no doubt that the incident was intentional.

Israel's Dana Strelnikov, 14, won the gold medal and Alona Kamarov won the bronze at the tournament, which hosted 120 fencers aged up to 17. Both Israeli medalists hail from the northern Israeli town of Ma'alot, whose fencing club has produced many of Israel's best young fencers. But as they stood on the podium and awaited the opening sounds of national anthem HaTikvah – they heard only silence. The girls and their trainers quickly understood what was happening and proceeded to sing the entire anthem on their own, with some scattered support from voices in the spectators' bleachers.

The Israeli national team's coach, Yaakov Friedman, told Arutz Sheva that the Israeli team faces constant political challenges on the international circuit. At a tournament in Göteborg, Sweden, in January this year, Israel won the silver medal and when the medalists were already on the podium the organizers informed Friedman that they do not have a recording of the Israeli anthem. The team sang the anthem without the help of the recording. It was understood by everyone, Friedman said, that the reason was Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which had just ended.

'We only have the old anthem'
In the Mödling incident, Friedman said, the organizers approached him when the winners were on the podium and told him that “we do not have a recording of the new Israeli anthem, just the old one.” Friedman informed them that to the best of his knowledge, Israel has only had one anthem – HaTikvah – since it was founded, but this did not change anything, and the team had to sing a capella again. While the anthem was missing, the Israeli flag still hung proudly, he said – because tournament rules specifically require the presence of the national flags.

The head of the Israel Fencing Association, Yossi Harari, told The Forward that in the next tournaments Israel participates in, the team and every single one of the athletes will be equipped with recordings of the anthem, so that organizers will at least no longer be able to use the same excuses when refusing to play HaTikvah.

Friedman said that Jews have been prominent in the modern sport of fencing because it requires “character and brains,” besides certain physical qualities. “Like chess,” he explained, “decisions need to be made very quickly and that is why there are many Jews who excel in the sport.”

Somalia: Lawmakers Call On President to Resign

18 November 2009

Some lawmakers have called on the embattled President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to resign over incompetence and making several foreign trips since his election.

The MPs who met in Mogadishu, accused the president of failing to stabilize the war-torn country, urging him to pave the way for the election of a new leader who can serve his people better.

"The president has went loggerheads with Puntland, the only state that is supporting his government and Ahlu-Sunnah group which backs him," said Dahir Abdikadir Irro, one of Somali MPs.

Somalia's president has recently refused to sign an accord, which his government entered with Puntland, after holding talks with Puntland President Abdirahman Mohammed Farole in Nairobi, Kenya.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke and President Farole inked the first phase of the accord on August 23 in central Somali town of Galkayo, which both agreed to share the resources in the country.

The first phase of the accord was reached on August 22 in Galkayo town where Somali government led by Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke met with Puntland government officials.

"If Sheikh Sharif fails to fulfill his duties, we think its best for him to step aside before parliament revokes his position," said the lawmakers.

Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa, a pro-government Islamic group that control large swathes of central and southern region, has on Tuesday threatened to take unspecified action against the Somali government over remarks made by President Sharif.

In an interview with BBC Somali Service, President Ahmed described the group as any another armed militia fighting in his war-torn country.

It is first time that Somali lawmakers have called on the embattled president to hand over the leadership.

Since his election in February in neighboring Djibouti, President Sharif and other top government officials have been traveling across the globe, attending several high level meetings to discuss the situation in the war-torn but spend few weeks inside Somalia.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200911190059.html.

Egypt recalls Algiers envoy after soccer loss

By Yasmine Saleh

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algiers for consultations on Thursday after Egypt's soccer team lost to rival Algeria in a play-off to reach the World Cup finals, accusing its fans of post-match thuggery in Sudan.

The move is the latest in a tit-for-tat spat between the North African countries about minor violence surrounding World Cup qualifying matches played on Saturday and Wednesday.

Egypt's state-run EGYNews website said Cairo was recalling its ambassador over violence against Egyptians after Wednesday's match that Egypt has blamed on Algerian fans.

Scores of protesters, many of them waving flags, scuffled with security forces in front of the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Thursday.

Egypt won Saturday's game 2-0 in Cairo, scoring their second goal deep into stoppage time, to leave the two teams level at the top of African qualifying Group C.

That set up Wednesday's playoff in Khartoum, selected by Egypt when they won a draw to choose the venue.

Algeria won 1-0 to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa next year -- their first appearance at the finals since 1986.

Even before the Sudan playoff, Egypt had complained when Algerian fans trashed the Algiers headquarters of Egypt-based Orascom Telecom's Djezzy mobile subsidiary.

Egypt was further angered when Algerian tax authorities hit Djezzy with a $596.6 million bill for outstanding taxes.

Before that, Algeria was irked after Egyptian fans pelted the Algerian team's bus with stones and some fans were hurt in scuffles on game-day in the Cairo qualifier.

FIFA INVESTIGATIONS

Soccer's world governing body, FIFA, said it was investigating the incidents.

"Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Egyptian Football Association," FIFA said in a statement.

"According to the official reports received by FIFA, on Nov. 12 there were incidents affecting the Algerian team on their way from the airport to the hotel."

Egypt complained of Algerian violence against its fans on Wednesday and summoned the Algerian ambassador in Cairo to demand that his government protect Egyptian citizens and assets in the country.

President Hosni Mubarak asked his foreign minister to summon the Algerian envoy to demand that Algiers "bear its responsibility to protect Egyptian citizens present on its territory as well as its institutions and interests", state news agency MENA said.

Frustrated by accusations it had not looked after fans, Sudan also summoned the Egyptian ambassador in Khartoum in protest. "We really disagree with what was said in the media," Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Instead of showing a little bit of appreciation to Sudan for accommodating more than 25,000 fans of the two teams at very short notice, the Egyptian media took a minor and isolated incident and used it as a chance to attack Sudan in a very unacceptable way," it added.

Bad feeling between Egypt and Algeria stretches back to a World Cup qualifier 20 years ago in Cairo, when Egypt won 1-0 to guarantee a place at the World Cup in Italy.

Players clashed on the field after the game and the Egyptian team doctor was partially blinded during the trouble.

Egypt then threatened to pull out of the following year's African Nations Cup in Algeria. They eventually sent a B team and lost all three group games.

Holocaust denier says he’s ‘unbroken’ after prison

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) -- A Holocaust denier released from an Australian jail after publishing material offensive to Jews says he is "unbroken" and "unrepentant."

Dr. Fredrick Toben, the founder of the Adelaide Institute, emerged from three months in a South Australia prison on Nov. 12.

The Federal Court had found him in breach of a 2002 court order to remove all offensive material from his institute’s Web site.

Toben's site this week carried a message saying that he is “unbroken and unrepentant,” and appears “refreshed and relaxed” after his “little holiday.”

The site features three links to video clips on YouTube during which Toben, 65, vows to continue his work “demolishing the Holocaust.” It also carries a banner saying that “The days are numbered for the greatest lie in the history of mankind.”

Toben also spent two months in Wandsworth Prison last year as German authorities tried unsuccessfully to extradite him on a European Arrest Warrant for publishing Holocaust denial material -- a crime in Germany. Toben was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his way to Dubai from America.

He had spent several months in prison in Germany in 1999 for denying the Holocaust.

Russian president fires top adviser

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired one of his top advisers for abuse of office in one of the biggest changes to his Kremlin administration since taking power, media reported on Thursday.

Mikhail Lesin, media adviser to Medvedev, "was relieved of his duties at his own request", the Kremlin said in a statement posted in its website without giving further details.

But a source in the presidential administration told the Interfax news agency that Lesin had departed his job due to "failure to observe the rules and ethical behavior of state service".

He had also used his "official position for solving questions not connected with official duties," the source added.

Since taking over from Vladimir Putin as president in May last year, Medvedev has repeatedly vowed to cut corruption in Russia and end abuses of power by officials.

However he has yet to make major changes to the administration he inherited from Putin and some analysts have criticized the president for not following his rhetoric with actions.

Business daily Vedomosti said that the sacking has been initiated by Medvedev himself because Lesin's extensive business interests in the media had caused a conflict of interest.

The daily Kommersant described Lesin's departure as the "first serious resignation from the administration of President Dmitry Medvedev."

"It is also the first time in a decade that a high-ranking official is fired with such a harsh statement," it added.

Lesin, who took up the post in 2004 under the Putin presidency and had also held top positions under former president Boris Yeltsin, is seen as a man close to the current strongman prime minister Putin, Vedomosti said.

Medvedev's rise to power sparked hopes he would adopt a more liberal stance than Putin but analysts have struggled to detect a major difference between the two men.

Some commentators are now arguing that the president is taking a more independent line, particularly after a state-of-the nation address last week in which he called for wholesale reform of the Russian economy.

Aspirin kills 400% more people than H1N1 swine flu

(NaturalNews) The CDC now reports that nearly 4,000 Americans have been killed by H1N1 swine flu. This number is supposed to sound big and scary, motivating millions of people to go out and pay good money to be injected with untested, unproven H1N1 vaccines. But let's put the number in perspective: Did you know that more than four times as many people are killed each year by common NSAID painkillers like aspirin?

The July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine explains it as follows:

"Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone." (Singh Gurkirpal, MD, “Recent Considerations in Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Gastropathy”, The American Journal of Medicine, July 27, 1998, p. 31S)

So for every person the CDC claims was killed by H1N1 swine flu this year, common painkillers like aspirin have killed four! Yet you don't see the CDC, FDA, WHO or mainstream media running around screaming about the extreme dangers of aspirin, do you? All those deaths apparently don't matter. Only swine flu deaths lead to hysteria.

Understanding risk
According to death statistics tables available on the 'net, you are ten times more likely to die in a car accident this year than be killed by swine flu.

Nearly 100,000 Americans die every year from adverse reactions to FDA-approved prescription drugs. That's twenty-five times the number of people killed by H1N1 swine flu (even if you believe the CDC's numbers). So where's the big warning about the dangers of prescription drugs? Why isn't the CDC warning Americans about an "epidemic of dangerous drugs" that poses a far greater threat to your health?

The answer, of course, is that health authorities want to push people to buy vaccines that are about to become worthless (they're only good before swine flu fizzles out). And the only way to sell more vaccines to people who don't need them is to hype up a bunch of scare stories by citing bold statistics that make H1N1 swine flu seem really, really dangerous.

But the flu is no more dangerous than aspirin. In fact, H1N1 swine flu may be safer than aspirin.

Here's another quote from the New England Journal of Medicine:

"It has been estimated conservatively that 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur among patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis every year in the United States. This figure is similar to the number of deaths from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and considerably greater than the number of deaths from multiple myeloma, asthma, cervical cancer, or Hodgkin’s disease. If deaths from gastrointestinal toxic effects from NSAIDs were tabulated separately in the National Vital Statistics reports, these effects would constitute the 15th most common cause of death in the United States. Yet these toxic effects remain mainly a “silent epidemic,” with many physicians and most patients unaware of the magnitude of the problem. Furthermore the mortality statistics do not include deaths ascribed to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS." (Wolfe M. MD, Lichtenstein D. MD, and Singh Gurkirpal, MD, “Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs”, The New England Journal of Medicine, June 17, 1999, Vol. 340, No. 24, pp. 1888-1889.)

Did you catch that? The 16,500 figure for deaths each year doesn't even include over-the-counter painkiller drugs! If you add in those numbers, you're probably looking at something closer to 40,000 Americans kills each year by these drugs. And that makes these drugs 1000% more deadly than swine flu (because 40,000 is ten times greater than 4,000).

Swine flu vs. seasonal flu
Also according to CDC statistics, swine flu is only approximately one-tenth as dangerous as regular seasonal flu. That's because the CDC maintains that seasonal flu kills 36,000 Americans each year (a figure that I've already pointed out is highly suspect, but that's what they claim).

But even seasonal flu is nothing to get all worked up over. Unless you're in a state of terrible health with a compromised immune system, obesity and asthma, beating seasonal flu is a no-brainer: Just nourish your body with vitamin D, zinc, superfoods and natural health supplements and let your built-in immune technology do its job. Your immune system has already saved your life countless times. It knows how to do it if you give it the right nutrition.

There are lots of things that are far more dangerous than swine flu and yet are openly sold to consumers. Over 400,000 Americans die each year from smoking and yet you can buy cigarettes at Walgreens, Wal-Mart and CVS pharmacies. That means statistically, these pharmacies knowingly sell a product that kills 400 times as many people as swine flu has this year. Where's the alarm about the epidemic of tobacco-related deaths? Nowhere. Not a word from the CDC or WHO.

Also, if pharmacies really cared about your health, why do they openly sell a product that causes cancer and heart disease? Think about it...

They're just trying to sell you something that will harm you
The fact is, pharmacies will sell anything that makes money: Tobacco, processed junk food, and of course H1N1 vaccines. If they could make money selling influenza, they'd sell that, too. To the pharmaceutical retailers, it doesn't matter how many people die from the products they sell. They're just in business to sell anything that turns a profit, regardless of the consequences to public health.

And the vaccine industry is similarly motivated to sell you false ideas that make money. By selling you on the concept that swine flu is extremely dangerous, they can manipulate you into buying yet more harmful stuff they're hawking at pharmacies... like H1N1 vaccines. And they're counting on the fact that the American people won't do the math (or can't).

Most people have a very poor understanding of risk, and the vaccine industry is counting on precisely that risk assessment ineptitude to push its dangerous vaccines. If people knew that they are 40 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to have their life saved by a swine flu vaccine, very few would line up to be injected with one. But they don't grasp the difference between numbers that are very far apart such as 10^2 versus 10^5. To many people, those factors are "about the same" and it's worth getting injected with a vaccine "just in case."

That's why I've always stated a simple truth that still holds true today: People who seek out vaccine shots are the same kind of people who regularly play the lotto. Both decisions demonstrate a complete lack of understanding risk vs. reward. In fact, if you get a swine flu vaccine injection on the same day you buy a lotto ticket, you have a greater chance of buying a winning lotto ticket than being saved by the swine flu vaccine.

Playing the lotto is actually smarter than getting a swine flu vaccine shot. Plus, the lotto ticket won't potentially cause neurological damage that puts you in a coma or causes the spontaneous abortion of your baby -- both of which have been happening to people after receiving H1N1 vaccine shots.

EU rejects Palestinian state plan

November 17, 2009

The European Union has rejected a plan to push for recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN Security Council, saying the move was "premature".

Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the bloc was discussing other steps to demonstrate its support for Palestinian aspirations.

"I would hope that we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state, but there has to be one first, so I think that is somewhat premature," he said on Tuesday.

His comments come a day after Palestinian officials launched an appeal to EU countries to back their plan to secure international support for an independent state at the UN Security Council, without the consent of Israel.

The plan, backed by the Arab League, has also been rejected by Washington, which along with the EU backs a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

'Difficult situation'

The Israeli government has threatened to nullify past accords with the Palestinians if they take any unilateral action.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, said any Palestinian move on independence "will be countered by a unilateral move on our part".

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's external relations commissioner, said the bloc's foreign ministers were discussing ways to involve the US in helping to push Palestinians and Israelis to back peace talks.

"The most important thing until now is to really help the Americans bring both sides to the table," she said.

Bildt said he could understand why the Palestinians were suggesting such a move, as a way to break the current deadlock.

"It is clearly an act borne by a difficult situation where they don't see any road ahead and I can understand that," he said.

He reiterated EU calls that Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, move to freeze all Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, a key
Palestinian demand to resume negotiations.

Netanyahu, who refuses to halt settlement construction, has repeatedly urged the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table without conditions.

Indonesia's military send 1,125 personnel to Lebanon

JAKARTA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian military sent 1,125 personnel to Lebanon on Thursday to replace the Garuda Contingent that had joined the United Nations' Peace Mission in South Lebanon, Kompas online news reported here.

The soldiers were discharged in a military ceremony presided by the National Military Chief General Djoko Santoso at its headquarters in the capital city of Jakarta on Thursday.

Djoko said that various tasks in the UN's peace mission is a tradition in a long devotion of Indonesian military for the world's peace and human rights so that people could live free from fear, secured and peacefully.

"In the history of the UN's peace mission, Indonesian soldiers always show bright achievements that could be proud of by the nation. Joining the UN's troops is an honor and pride for every Indonesian soldier," he said.

Therefore, he said, task as the peace mission personnel should be conducted devotedly and loyally with high professionalism.

Indonesia is the country with the third most military personnel sent to Lebanon in the mission after France and Italy.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/19/content_12491491.htm.

Algerians celebrate victory over Egypt

By Aomar Ouali, Associated Press Writer

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria partied hard after its 1-0 victory Wednesday over Egypt in a playoff match that takes it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for the first time in more than 20 years.

Women and children joined men in the streets to celebrate a famous victory over its bitter rival.

Security was stepped up preceding the match near the Egyptian Embassy in the capital, Algiers, but there were no signs of violence. The streets of Algiers quickly filled with celebrating fans, some setting off fireworks. Traffic came to a standstill in the center of town.

Women in hijabs, or veils, were seen brandishing the Algerian flag, a rare site in this North African nation.

The jubilant atmosphere crossed the Mediterranean as Algerians in Marseille and Paris, where there are large Algerian populations. Youths hanging from cars, honking horns and brandishing the Algerian flag made victory laps down Paris' Champs-Elysees.

Violence erupted following Algeria's 2-0 loss to Egypt over the weekend that forced the playoff match in Khartoum, Sudan. The embassy and high profile Egyptian businesses were attacked.

Several Algerian players had been injured before the match in Cairo as Egypt fans pelted Algeria's team bus with rocks.

Vietnam users annoyed as government blocks Facebook

Hanoi - Employees at Vietnamese internet providers confirmed Thursday that the government had ordered their companies to block the social networking site Facebook. Vietnamese Facebook users had complained of being unable to access the site for days, but officials refused to confirm it had been blocked. Deputy Minister of Information and Telecommunications Do Quy Doan said Tuesday his ministry had not blocked the site.

But employees at two Vietnamese internet providers, FPT and VNPT, told the German Press Agency.

Round-the-world Australian teen crosses the equator

Sydney - Australian teenager Jessica Watson has crossed the equator and set a course south for Cape Horn in her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. "We are just so pleased," mother Julie Watson said in a statement Thursday. "Jessica has reached her first big milestone."

Watson, 16, set sail from Sydney a month ago for what she hopes will be an eight-month voyage and a place in the record books.

The Queenslander has yet to face any challenging weather and is ahead of schedule.

Watson hopes to beat a record set 10 years ago by fellow Australian Jesse Martin, who at 18 circumnavigated the globe on his own and unaided.

Her route across the Pacific and to the Atlantic tracks that of fellow Australian Kay Cottee, who became the first woman to sail solo and unassisted round the world 21 years ago.

Russian court issues capital punishment ban beyond January 1

Moscow - Russia's constitutional court ruled Thursday that no death sentences may be carried out even after a moratorium on capital punishment expires January 1, the Interfax agency reported. The St. Petersburg-based court's chief judge Valery Sorkin noted that Russia is party to several international agreements so that the country's justice system may not carry out the death sentence. One example he cited was Russia's membership in the European Council.

Russia in 1999 had set a 10-year moratorium on death sentences, which is due to expire on January 1, 2010.

Public opinion surveys in Russia show the majority of people in favor of the death sentence.

PROFILE: Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's tainted president

Kabul (Earth Times - dpa) - Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in for a second term in office on Thursday, still has the chance to go down as a great Afghan leader. However, as things stand now, Karzai's legacy will most likely be defined by August's fraud-marred elections, his unwillingness to address the widespread fraud and his failure to clean up his corruption-riddled cabinet.

International election monitors said that up to one quarter of the votes cast in the August 20 elections had been manipulated, the vast majority in Karzai's favor. A UN-backed investigation discounted about 1 million ballots, or one-third of Karzai's votes, forcing him into a runoff.

Much to the dismay and frustration of his Western backers, Karzai initially refused to acknowledge that any vote rigging had taken place.

After Karzai refused to replace officials of the Independent Election Commission, who were widely regarded to be heavily biased towards the incumbent, his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the scheduled runoff, leading to Karzai to be declared the winner.

Back in December 2001, following the ouster of the Taliban regime, Karzai was regarded a beacon of hope.

The Pashtun politician had just been chosen - in absentia - to serve as Afghanistan's interim president at an international conference held in Germany.

At that time, Karzai was in southern Afghanistan, negotiating with the Taliban, who had ruled the country since 1996, to relinquish their last stronghold in Kandahar.

In 2004, in the first free presidential poll in the country, he was confirmed in office by a landslide.

Despite several assassination attempts, and also growing discontent with his government among the Afghan people, who were faced with the resurgence of the Taliban and endemic government corruption, Karzai ran for another term.

His victory seemed assured largely because Karzai could firmly count on many votes from the Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, but Abdullah put in a stronger showing than many expected.

Karzai has not laid out any grand vision on how to solve Afghanistan's most pressing problems. During his inauguration ceremony, he vowed again to fight corruption, but did not single out any clear means. Instead Karzai lashed out at international media for exaggerating the problem of graft in his government.

"Since some time, the world media has widely reported on corruption in our country's offices and administration. Whatever the truth may be, these allegations have given the Afghan administration a very bad reputation," he said.

"Corruption and bribery constitute a very dangerous problem. We want to follow this issue seriously. We consider combating this difficulty our duty," he said.

He also said that he wanted to call a grand tribal assembly, or loya jirga, to find a way to reconcile with the resurgent Taliban. "We welcome all those countrymen, who are not linked to international terrorist networks, and who want to have a peaceful life in the light of our constitution."

Karzai has grown increasingly critical of western forces in the country, yet without the foreign soldiers protecting his unstable government, he would have lost power a long time ago. Despite the troops, his influence is limited, in particular in the insurgency-ridden provinces in the south and east.

The 53-year-old president mostly stays put in the presidential palace in Kabul, and is largely isolated from the Afghan people.

The international community is growing increasingly critical of Karzai, who was once viewed as Afghanistan's hope.

His detractors regard him as a puppet of the US government, but relations with Washington have cooled considerably since US president George W Bush left office.

A recent US government white paper on US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan summed up the crux of the issue: "The overall legitimacy of the Afghan government is also undermined by rampant corruption and a failure to provide basic services to much of the population over the past seven years."

When congratulating him after he was declared election winner, US President Barack Obama urged Karzai to get serious about improving the government and fighting corruption.

Yet for a long time, Karzai was regarded as the West's best hope. Although Western-oriented, he is also steeped in the traditions of his country and is able to converse easily in English as well as his native Pashtun and Dari, the country's second official language.

However, Karzai has far from fulfilled the expectations of him. Both in Afghanistan and the West, people increasingly wonder whether this president is not the hoped-for solution for Afghanistan but rather part of the problem.

Army withdrawing from Zimbabwe diamond field, says investor

Harare (Earth Times - dpa) - Zimbabwe's military has begun to withdraw from a contentious diamond field as private investors move in, the head of a South African mining company investing in the area was quoted Thursday as saying. The state-controlled daily Herald newspaper cited David Kassel, chief executive of Johannesburg-based New Reclamation, as saying that his company had hired 200 private security guards to replace the military around the field in eastern Chiadzwa, which has controlled the 60,000-hectare site since last year.

The military is alleged to have killed several people in a violent crackdown last year on wildcat diamond diggers operating in the fields, which the government seized from British-owned African Consolidated Resources (ACR) in 2006. The government denies there were any killings.

Zimbabwe narrowly escaped having its Chiadzwa diamonds banned from certified world trade earlier this month.

A team of inspectors from the Kimberley Process (KP), the international body of governments that screens diamonds for "blood diamonds", recommended that Zimbabwe be suspended from the diamond trade after visiting the area in July and receiving reports of killings, rape, torture and forced labor by soldiers.

The KP at a meeting in Namibia decided to stay Zimbabwe's suspension on several conditions, including that the military pull out of the area.

"We are taking control of all areas that we have claimed but still working with state security agents in areas where we are still exploring," Kassel was quoted as saying. "But they will move as soon as we have secured those areas."

New Reclamation, a major scrap metal company in which South African insurance giant Old Mutual has a small shareholding, is one of two companies who have entered into a joint venture agreement with the Zimbabwean government to exploit the field.

The controversy over the fields was compounded by a High Court decision in September declaring the government's seizure of the Chaidzwa claim as illegal. The court declared African Consolidated Resources the legal owner.

ACR chief executive Andrew Chadwick has warned that anyone buying Chiadzwa diamonds is buying stolen property.

Abbas launches South American tour in Brazil

Salvador, Brazil - The president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, launched Thursday in Brazil a South American tour that is also to take him to Argentina and Chile. Abbas arrived Thursday in the northeastern Brazilian city of Salvador, one of the country's most historic, and was to have dinner with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later Thursday.

Abbas' official visit had been announced for Friday, and it was not clear if the dinner was a last minute official addition or if the meeting was of a personal nature.

Abbas' visit is particularly significant in the effort to secure peace in the Middle East, since Brazil hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres last week and is set to host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Monday.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is part of Abbas' team in Brazil, said the trip was part of the PNA's efforts to seek international support for the creation of a Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Lula has made it clear that he would like to turn Brazil into a major player in peace talks for the Middle East.

Some Brazilian media have even said that Brazil might take on a role similar to that played by Norway in the early 1990s, at the time of the Oslo Accords - a failed effort towards the resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

In recent days, after Peres' visit to Brazil, Israel announced plans to build 900 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem, with critics saying the project complicated plans to relaunch Israel- Palestinian peace talks.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim anticipated that Lula might try to convince Abbas to stay at the helm of the PNA, despite his announcement that he will not contest the January presidential election.

Abbas is scheduled to stay in Salvador till early Saturday, before moving on to the southern city of Porto Alegre, which holds a large proportion of Brazil's Palestinian community.

From Brazil, Abbas is set to travel to Chile, the site of the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab world, with about 300,000 people. In Santiago, he is scheduled to meet with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, before heading to Buenos Aires.

US bases under mortar attacks in Iraq

A number of mortar shells have targeted the sprawling US military bases on the outskirts of Tikrit in Iraq's northern province of Salah al-Din.

A local police source told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency that multiple mortar rounds landed Thursday morning inside Camp Anaconda, which is located in the Yathrib district on the southern outskirts of Tikrit.

There has been no word on the number of casualties.

The assault followed an earlier attack on the US military base in Salah al-Din province.

"A mortar shell hit Anaconda base at Yathrib district in southern part of Tikrit early on Wednesday. However, there were no casualties reported," a police official seeking anonymity said.

Camp Anaconda, located about 40 miles (64 km) north of Baghdad, is the main logistics hub for all US bases in war-battered Iraq. The camp is spread over 15 square miles and can house 28,000 military personnel.

Meanwhile, two Katyusha rockets landed Tuesday on Camp Speicher in northern Tikrit, but caused little structural damage.

Camp Speicher is located near Tikrit in northern Iraq and approximately 105 miles (170 km) north of Baghdad. It is named after F/A-18 pilot Michael Scott Speicher who was shot down during the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111754§ionid=351020201.

'EU with president stronger partner to US'

The White House says the appointment of the European Union's first president would make Europe a stronger partner for Washington.

The appointment "will strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States," the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, EU leaders selected Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the European Council's first president.

Von Rompuy promised to move step by step to help Europe out of "exceptionally difficult times, a period of anxiety, uncertainty and lack of confidence".

Britain's Catherine Ashton, who was former EU trade commissioner, was named as high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

The White House also rejected that US-EU relations will become less important as China rises and perceptions linger of Europe as a divided continent.

"The United States has no stronger partner than Europe in advancing security and prosperity around the world," the White House said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a separate statement hailed the appointments as a milestone for Europe and its role in the world.

The role of president of the council of EU leaders was created under the Lisbon treaty, which takes effect on Dec. 1 and creates a diplomatic corps to be headed by Ashton. She replaces Spaniard Javier Solana.

Japan wants US military base out of Okinawa

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says he will devise a plan to relocate the US military airfield based in Okinawa as soon as possible.

Hatoyama made the remarks after a meeting with his foreign and defense ministers.

His government has called for the US to move its troops off the island, and even Japan altogether.

The new administration in Tokyo has also ordered an investigation into secret US-Japan deals ratified by previous governments.

Washington has about 47,000 troops based in Japan, more than half of which are on Okinawa.

US troops have been continuously stationed on the island since 1945.

Local residents have been angered by crimes committed by US service personnel.

In 1995 the rape of a schoolgirl by three US servicemen infuriated residents of Okinawa.

Japan's Defense ministry proposes the transfer of some F-15 fighter jet drills out of Okinawa as a condition for implementing the 2006 accord with the US.

Meanwhile, a junior partner in Japan's coalition government says the airbase should be moved off southern Okinawa to a more remote islet or to US territory in Guam.

The base is also unpopular because of aircraft noise and the risk of accidents and is due to be moved from an urban to a coastal area by 2014.

Demands to close the base on safety grounds grew when, in 2004, a US helicopter crashed in the grounds of a local university.

Tokyo and Washington have been at loggerheads with each other over the presence of US military forces in the country since the new Japanese government took the reigns of power in September.

Thousands of people held rallies against the American military presence during US President Barack Obama's recent visit to Tokyo.

Documentary: UK's pro-Israeli lobby 'owns Tories'

A British documentary argues that UK's pro-Israeli lobby has grown so powerful to the extent that it would inescapably influence any future Conservative government in the country.

Channel 4's Dispatches program entitled 'Inside Britain's Israel Lobby,' which aired earlier this week, said that at least half of the Conservative shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), one of a number of pro-Israeli lobby organizations in Britain.

The program maintained that despite forming "one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain," information on the roots of these organizations and individuals associated with them is scarcely attainable.

The Conservative Party (Tories) is believed to have received £10mn ($16.8mn) in donations from CFI members and their businesses over the past eight years, including tens of thousands of pounds allegedly donated to William Hague since his appointment as the shadow foreign secretary in 2005.

The documentary alleges that Hague was seriously reprimanded by Lord Kalm, a CFI member and significant donor to the Conservatives, for stating that Israel had used "disproportionate" force during its war in Lebanon in 2006.

Tory Leader David Cameron has also been allegedly forced to make promises that such criticisms would not be repeated.

Cameron, whose party has also been stained in the recent parliamentary expenses scandal, criticized Gordon Brown on Thursday for failing to mention the expenses row in his Queen's Speech.

This is while, interest in the details of his party's donation income from pro-Israeli lobbies has sparked a debate.

The Guardian daily has cited the documentary as reporting that Cameron himself received a £15,000 ($25,000) donation from Poju Zabludowicz, a Finnish billionaire who also donated another £50,000 ($84,000) to the Conservative Central Office.

The film suggests that Zabludowicz has business interests in an illegal West Bank settlement.

The figures stirred a quick denial from CFI's director, Stuart Polak, who said "CFI as an organization has donated only £30,000 [$50,000] since 2005. Each of these donations has been made transparently and publicly registered."

He did not however rule out the possibility of 'additional' donations that "supporters have also chosen, separately, to donate to the party as individuals.”

Iran to launch Mesbah 2 satellite in 2011

Iran is to launch another research satellite, the Mesbah 2, in 2011 as part of the country's effort for an independent space program.

"We have developed our capability to launch satellites," Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Reza Taqipour, told the Fars news agency on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Iran announced that it had scheduled the launch of a semi-domestic research satellite, the Mesbah, in 2011.

"We hope to launch a new satellite similar to the Mesbah by 2011," Taqipour added.

"The Mesbah 2 is currently under construction and we hope Iran will carry out the launch successfully in 2011," he further explained.

Mesbah, which means "Lantern," has a lifespan of three years. It is equipped with a store and forward communications receiver that can gather information from various parts of the planet and transmit it back to earth.

Mesbah will weigh 63.5 kilograms, more than twice the mass of Omid, which was placed into orbit via two carrier rockets in February.

The design and construction of Mesbah had been initiated 32 years ago, but was later put on hold. After a 19-year delay, in 1996, the project was resumed and is scheduled to bear fruit in 2011.

Iran's first research satellite, Omid, was designed for gathering information and testing equipment. After orbiting for three months, Omid successfully completed its mission without any mishaps.

Austria: Israel undermining any peace process

Austria has condemned Israel's decision to expand its settlements in occupied Palestinian lands, saying such a decision is a deliberate move to block peace efforts.

"Israel's ongoing settlement policy is increasingly becoming a targeted effort to undermine any peace process," AFP quoted Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger as saying in a statement on Thursday.

"The growing Israeli settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and the blockade, are destroying any trust in a political process and thereby hindering economic and social developments in the Palestinian territories," he added.

Israel on Wednesday declared that it plans to build 900 new homes in east Jerusalem Al-Quds.

"Israel must put an end to this one-sided policy on Palestinian territory," Spindelegger stated.

"We are currently lacking the readiness and the courage for an honest negotiating process," he concluded.

Brazil steps up role in ME peace

Brazil, which has stepped up its peacemaking role in the Middle East, is hosting Palestinian Authority's Acting chief Mahmoud Abbas.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday welcomed Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a two-day visit to Brazil, in the historic city of Salvador.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim anticipated that Lula might try to convince Abbas to stay at the helm of the PNA (Palestinian National Authority), despite his announcement that he will not compete in the upcoming January presidential election.

Brazil last week hosted Israel's President Shimon Peres, who was on a four-day visit to the country, as hundreds of demonstrators labeling him "Shimon Hitler", voiced strong disapproval of his visit to Sao Paulo.

Mahmoud Abbas launched a South American tour on Thursday beginning with Brazil, that will also to take him to Argentina and Chile. He also paid a short visit to Morocco on his way to Brazil.

In prison interview, Barghouti urges unity

Jailed Palestinian politician and activist, Marwan Barghouti, calls on Palestinians to unite and to embark on popular and diplomatic campaigns to achieve their goals.

In a written message passed from prison through his lawyer, he said, "Betting on negotiations alone was never our choice. I have always called for a constructive mix of negotiation, resistance, political, diplomatic and popular action."

Responding in writing from his prison cell to questions sent by the Reuters news agency, the 50-year-old Barghouti said that with the peace process at a standstill, it was time for Fatah and Hamas to sign a reconciliation accord (with Egyptian mediation) so that legislative and presidential elections could be held.

The elections are set for January 24. The acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas had announced last month that he would not partake in the election. This leaves the door open for Barghouti, if released from jail, to replace Abbas.

Calling for a national unity and popular campaign against settlements, Bargouthi cited Israeli policies in Jerusalem Al-Quds, the Gaza blockade, land expropriation and Israel's "racist" West Bank separation wall as indications that talks would achieve little, Reuters, in an interview published on Thursday, said.

Asked if he would run for president, Barghouti replied that "when national reconciliation is accomplished and there is agreement on holding elections, I will take the appropriate decision."

Bargouthi was sentenced in 2004 to five life terms for the killings of four Israelis and a Greek monk during the second intifada, which broke out in 2000. He has denied the charges.

He could be released if Hamas and Israel come to an agreement over the fate of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

German mediators are continuing to broker efforts to produce a prisoner swap, senior Hamas leader Usama Al-Muzeini told Ma'an on Wednesday. He said talks were "ongoing with German mediation and are overcoming obstacles."

Churches call for 'resistance' against Israel

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has called for "resistance" against Israel's decision to expand its settlements in east Jerusalem Al-Quds.

WCC declared that the expansion of the Israeli settlements "may destroy any chance for peace", AFP reported.

Secretary General Reverend Samuel Kobia called on organizations related to the Council "to act with resolve, in concert ... to reverse this decision of the Israeli government and the settlement program it represents."

Israel on Wednesday announced that it will build 900 new homes in east Jerusalem Al-Quds, which it occupied in 1967.

Expressing "great disappointment", Kobia said the leading council of Christian and Orthodox churches "strongly condemns the decision ... to expand the illegal Gilo settlement as we believe that this decision will hinder attempts now in process to restart the peace negotiations."

"If settlements continue to expand and proliferate, they will further complicate negotiations and may destroy any chance for peace" Kobia said in a statement.

The WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches representing about 560 million Christians in 110 countries.

Moroccans protest former Israeli FM's visit

Fri Nov 20, 2009

Hundreds of people demonstrate in Morocco's northern city of Tangiers calling for the cancellation of Israel's former foreign minister's participation in a "MEDays" forum.

The international forum "MEDays", taking place in the country from November 19-21, is organized by a Moroccan think-tank. The president of the international forum, Brahim Fassi-Fihri, at a press conference on Thursday said that Tzipi Livni is attending the forum.

The demonstrators, 250 according to police, 1,000 according to the organizers, condemned Israel's policies in the Palestinian territories and accused Livni of having committed war crimes in Gaza.

Livni was foreign minister during Israel's December-January assault on Gaza in which over 1,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed.

Her Kadima party lost the elections in February.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/111726.html.

Israeli High Court rules that private prisons harm inmates' rights

Jerusalem - In a ground-breaking decision, Israel's High Court ruled Thursday against the privatization of prisons, overturning a 2004 amendment to the law that allowed prisons to be privately-run and operated. Expressing the majority opinion of the nine-judge panel, Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote that the introduction of the profit motive into prisons would harm the inmates' dignity and civil rights.

Justice Edmond Levy, who expressed a minority opinion, wrote that it was too early to determine the effects of the amendment, since the first intended privately-run prison was not yet operational.

The petition against prison privatization, which took four years to decide, was submitted by a human rights group, a former prison warder, and a former prisoner.

It was unclear what would happen to the prison built near the city of Beersheba, which had been intended to be privately-operated.

3 new ancient crocodile species fossils found

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON – A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of fangs — like wild boar tusks — roamed parts of northern Africa millions of years ago, researchers reported Thursday. While this fearsome creature hunted meat, not far away another newly found type of croc with a wide, flat snout like a pancake was fishing for food.

And a smaller, 3-foot-long relative with buckteeth was chomping plants and grubs in the same region.

The three new species, along with new examples of two previously known ancient crocodiles, were detailed Thursday by researchers Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and Hans Larsson of McGill University in Montreal. They spoke at a news conference organized by the National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research.

"These species open a window on a croc world completely foreign to what was living on northern continents," Sereno said of the unusual animals that lived 100 million years ago on the southern continent known as Gondwana.

Hans Dieter Sues of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History said the discovery revises the ideas of what crocodile-type reptiles were like.

"It's a joy for anyone who is interested in ancient life to see," said Sues, an editor at ZooKeys, which published the findings.

The researchers suggest that these crocs could gallop across the landscape chasing prey and yet dive into water and swim.

"My African crocs appeared to have had both upright, agile legs for bounding overland and a versatile tail for paddling in water," Sereno wrote in an article for National Geographic magazine. "Their amphibious talents in the past may be the key to understanding how they flourished in, and ultimately survived, the dinosaur era."

They weren't racehorses, Sereno said, but they could move quickly. Freshwater crocs in Australia manage to eat a few people every year and these would have been able to do as well, he said. However, there were no people around at the time.

The newly discovered species are:

• Kaprosuchus saharicus, nicknamed "BoarCroc," found in Niger. BoarCroc was a 20-foot-long meat-eater with an armored snout for ramming and three sets of dagger-shaped fangs for slicing. The tusks stuck out above and below the jaw like a modern warthog, said Larsson. "This has never been seen before on any crocodile."

• Araripesuchus rattoides, which the researchers call "RatCroc," found in Morocco. This 3-foot-long croc was a plant- and grub-eater with a pair of buckteeth in the lower jaw it used to dig for food.

• Laganosuchus thaumastos, or "PancakeCroc," found in Niger and Morocco. Also 20 feet long, it was a squat fish-eater with a 3-foot pancake-flat head and spike-shaped teeth on slender jaws. Sereno said it probably remained motionless for hours, its jaws open and waiting for prey.

In addition the researchers found new fossils of two previously named species:

• Anatosuchus minor, "DuckCroc," found in Niger, a 3-foot-long fish-, frog- and grub-eater with a broad snout and Pinocchio-like nose. Special sensory areas on the snout end allowed it to root around on the shore and in shallow water for prey. Its closest relative is in Madagascar.

• Araripesuchus wegeneri, or "DogCroc," found in Niger, a 3-foot-long plant- and grub-eater with a soft, doglike nose pointing forward.

Sereno has focused since 2000 on fossils in the Sahara Desert, his first find being Sarcosuchus imperator, a 40-foot-long creature that would have weighed 8 tons and which he called "SuperCroc."

The new findings are detailed in the journal ZooKeys as well as National Geographic magazine and a documentary scheduled for Saturday on the National Geographic Channel.

NATO to fund new landmine education project

20 November 2009

Jordan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday signed an agreement to launch a new trust fund to execute an education programme on landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Under the accord, signed during a ceremony held at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) will establish a new facility for ammunition demilitarization in Zarqa, according to a NATO statement received by The Jordan Times.

Jordan's Ambassador to Brussels Ahmad Masaadeh signed the deal with Italy's Permanent Representative to NATO Stefano Stefanini, as Italy is the sponsoring country for the project.

They were joined by NAMSA General Manager Karl-Heinz Münzner.

The education programme will be conducted by the Jordanian National Committee for De-mining and Rehabilitation in the governorates of Jerash, Ajloun and Zarqa, the statement said.

In December 2007, Jordan and NATO signed an agreement under which the alliance financed a two-year programme to locate and destroy explosive remnants of war through a 3.4 million euros trust fund.

Masaadeh said in his speech that the success of the first project has led to the launch of the new trust fund even before the first one is through, saying it is a solid proof of the seriousness, credibility and commitment that Jordan upholds in its partnership and cooperative relationship with NATO.

He added that the new initiative is a solid proof of commitment and desire within NATO members to further improve cooperation and partnership with Jordan.

"This project is not only about changing the life of local communities in the impacted area, but also about opening new opportunities for wider areas of development to the country in the fields of tourism and agriculture" the envoy explained.

The ceremony was attended by a number of ambassadors to the alliance and a delegation of Jordanian media representatives currently visiting NATO.

© Jordan Times 2009

Report unveils the use of Palestinian detainees for Israeli medical texting

Middle East Monitor , November 17, 2009

A Palestinian report unveiled that Israel exploited Palestinian prisoners as laboratory samples to test new drugs - produced in the laboratories of the Israeli Ministry of Health. Several years ago a number of medical organizations as well as health and humanitarian institutions warned of the abuse of Palestinian prisoners through the conduct of such tests on them.

The Palestinian Ministry of prisoners' affairs reported that, "As this issue is coming to the surface again, it raises many serious concerns among the Palestinian prisoners and their families, who are worried about their children's future and their health status in Israel jails."

The report explained that the fear now is not due to the medical negligence, lack of medicines, malnutrition and the poor medical care provided to the prisoners - despite the importance of all these - but to the Israeli medical departments' failure to observe humanitarian standards. The report also highlighted that this situation is incompatible with the fundamental ethics of the medical profession which can be summarized mainly in the fact that the purpose of a doctor's mission is saving the life of the patient and relieving any pain that can affect his health psychologically and physically.

In a special research carried out by the International Solidarity Foundation (ISF) on this issue, the Israeli physicians' role in occupation jails was summarized in three main duties that contradict the profession's ethics notably by extracting confessions from prisoners by use of force.

The physician's first duty is to prepare a special form on the detainee's condition, called physical fitness form, where the doctor identifies the initial physical weaknesses in a Palestinian detainee's body after conducting some preliminary tests. Then he informs the investigatory department about the results which would then be used to pressure the captive and force him to confess.

The second duty is to hide the effects of torture and abuse in the detainee's body before any submission to the court or any visit by human rights and/or humanitarian organizations.

As for the third role, it is to extort the detainee and use the prison medical centre to connect clients with the prison administration for transferring information about detainees through these clinics. The most serious task carried out by those physicians, which was stressed upon by ISF, is using the Palestinian prisoners for testing the Israeli medicines and medical ingredients.

The paper reported that these trials and tests are not conducted by the prison and investigation services, but mediated by the Israeli Ministry of Health that is engaged with supervising, monitoring, and preparing scientific studies on the detainees' response to medicines, pharmaceuticals, syringes and chemicals that they are offered.

Israel Ministry of Health operates such acts within the normal organizational Israeli chain, like the usage of laboratory animals in its labs, since it considers these as a legitimate scientific act that violates human dignity and poses a threat to their lives.

According to the ISF report, the Israeli Parliament Member and Chair of the Parliamentary Reform Commission of Science, Dalia Isaac, had revealed earlier, in a Knesset session facts about the running of 1,000 tests of unofficial medical drugs on Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.

Foreign and Western magazines revealed that most of these experiments are usually carried out on Palestinian and Arab prisoners who are ignored by their governments and those not regularly visited by human rights organizations or parents during their detention. This ensures the confidentiality of such testing and enables the Israelis to avoid accusations of maltreatment.

Bargouthi dismisses 'ridiculous' threats

November 17, 2009

Ramallah – Ma'an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's threat to take unilateral action against Palestinians were they to declare statehood is "ridiculous," according to Mustafa Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative.

"There aren't any Palestinian territories left to threaten - they're all occupied," Barghouthi said in a statement on Monday.

Regarding other threats to halt transfers of money collected in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, Barghouthi said taking such a step would require Palestinians first cancel the Paris economic accord.

He urged the PLO Central Committee to move forward with its proposal, as well as seek international sanctions on Israel until it fulfills its obligations to remove or reroute the separation barrier as per the International Court of Justice's 2004 ruling on the wall's illegality. Once that decision is implemented, Barghouthi said, Palestinians should declare their state on the 1967 borders, which include Jerusalem.

But seeking recognition of an independent state on the 1967 borders is completely different from unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday.

"The PLO is not suggesting we unilaterally declare statehood," Erekat explained, speaking with US and EU lawmakers in Ramallah. He affirmed that seeking UN Security Council recognition was aimed at protecting the two-state solution, which the PLO still prefers.

With regard to Israel's threats to annex areas in response, Erekat said Israeli procedures were often made unilaterally. "Settlement activities, the separation wall, and displacing Palestinians in Jerusalem and elsewhere are clear examples of Israel's unilateralism," he said.

According to caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Palestinians are determined to build state institutions despite Israel's concerns.

"They're talking about unilateralism, to which we reply - yes, building state institutions is our responsibility and we embrace it," Fayyad said. "A Palestinian state will be established, so long as Palestinians want it, which they do, as it is their natural right to live in a homeland."

Prior to his remarks, Fayyad briefed US officials, including members of its Congress, on his plan for building a state within two years. But he said "Israeli stubbornness" was getting in the way, and urged the country to "stop settlements and abide by international law."

"The international community must emphasize Palestinian rights, at the top of which is ending the occupation, and ensure the right to determine our own future, rather than relying on the occupying power to carry out its wishes," he said.

Will Palestine Be Declared A State?

Will Palestine Be Declared A State?
Crossing the Rubicon
By Khalid Amayreh

IOL, November 17, 2009

Frustrated by a chronically deadlocked peace process, under its rubric Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Al-Quds, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is now seriously considering unilaterally declaring statehood on territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 war.

Earlier this month, PA Chairman Mahmud Abbas announced that he would not seek a second term in office as a president of the self-rule authority.

Citing Israel’s adamant refusal to freeze Jewish settlement expansion, and the American failure to pressure Israel in this regard, Abbas said he would take a number of unspecified measures to save the vital interests of the Palestinian people.

Last week, Abbas’ aide, Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa’eb Erakat, declared that 18 years of protracted negotiations with Israel produced no results.

Erakat said the Palestinians have been fed up with Israeli prevarications and stalling tactics.

"We have reached a decision to go to the UN Security Council to ask for recognition of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital within June-1967 borders," Erakat said.

"We are going to seek support from EU countries, Russia and other countries."

Persistent Despair

Recently, the Palestinian propensity to seek formal international recognition of a Palestinian state on the basis of the armistice lines of June 4, 1967, has become more pronounced after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Israeli settlement policy.

During her visit to occupied Palestine two weeks ago, Clinton described Israeli "concessions" pertaining to settlements as unprecedented. She also added that a total stoppage of settlement construction was never a sine-qua-non for the continuation of the peace process.

Her remarks infuriated Palestinians, including the normally calm Abbas, who responded by declaring his intention not to take part in the upcoming elections of 2010.

A number of Abbas’ aides went as far as saying that Abbas might order the dismantling of the PA itself.

The challenges facing the PA are further complicated by the difficulty of holding elections, due to Hamas’ opposition.

Hamas, which won a landslide victory in the 2006 elections, said it would not allow elections to take place in the Gaza Strip, arguing that organizing elections in the absence of national reconciliation would be a prescription for a national disaster.

Hamas has been accusing the Fateh-controlled PA of seeking to utilize the planned elections to destroy Hamas politically, probably in collusion with the United States and certain Arab regimes.

The Muslim group, which Israel has been trying to eliminate by military, economic, and other means, argued that it would be virtually impossible to hold free and fair elections under the police-state atmosphere now in place in the West Bank.

Along the same lines, the independent elections committee in Ramallah, which had been instructed to prepare for the ballots, declared last week that it would not be able to carry out its task due to Hamas’ opposition and also to Israel’s refusal to hold elections in Al-Quds, which the Jewish state considers part of its "eternal and undivided capital."

Several Obstacles

Palestinian officials have indicated that the PA would not be too hasty in their steps toward a declaration of statehood.

In 1988, the PLO declared statehood, but the decision remained a largely symbolic feat with little effect, if any, on the ground as Israel moved to block and scuttle any expression of Palestinian sovereignty.

"We are going to prepare for this well, and to hold political and diplomatic talks. We want the UN Security Council to discuss this matter only after we have been given assurances," said Nimr Hammad, chief political adviser to Abbas.

However, no matter how cautious and meticulous the PA will be in seeking UN endorsement of a Palestinian state, it seems that the mission will be an arduous uphill battle.

Indeed, in the absence of massive international backing, including vigorous and meaningful Arab and Muslim support, the goal of enlisting Western, especially American backing for the statehood scheme, may prove to be very illusive.

More to the point, in the absence of true Palestinian national unity, the continued showdown between Hamas and Fateh could corrode any real prospects toward achieving Palestinian statehood and ending the Israeli military occupation that started in 1967.

Israel and, to a lesser extent, the Obama administration have already reacted negatively to Palestinian plans to unilaterally declare statehood.

The extremist Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has already threatened to take "unilateral steps if the PA took unilateral ones".

Israel’s Actions

"Any unilateral attempts by the PA will unravel the existing agreements between us, and could entail unilateral steps by Israel," Netanyahu told a high-level gathering of Israeli and American policy makers at the Saban Forum in occupied Al-Quds on November 15.

True to character, Netanyahu resorted to red-herring tactics, alluding to the Iranian "threat" and saying that economic development would expedite peace with Palestinians.

The Israeli premier, who a few months ago indicated in a speech in Tel Aviv that any prospective Palestinian entity would have to be effectively controlled by Israel, did not spell out what steps and countermeasures he would take in response to a unilateral statehood declaration by the PA leadership.

However, Israeli commentators have pointed out that Israel could take "draconian measures" to foil the prospective Palestinian plan.

Israel could scuttle the PA financially by blocking money transfer, especially from donor countries.

Israel could assert its control of area "C" which encompasses nearly two thirds of the West Bank, enforce more Judaizing measures in Al-Quds, and assert its "divine and historical right to all of the land of Israel" — Mandate Palestine which extends from the Mediterranean to the River Jordan.

Israel could also embark on a massive campaign of home demolitions and land seizure in the West Bank and East Al-Quds, as well as disarming Palestinian security forces trained and funded by the United States.

Eventually, Israel might also re-impose its direct military occupation of all towns and population centers run by the PA, and reinstitute the erstwhile direct military regime known as "the civil administration".

Palestinian leaders seem to be well aware of potential Israeli reactions.

Muhammed Dahlan, a member of the Fateh’s executive committee, said that the PA leadership had a "bank of ideas" as to how to outmaneuver Israelis.

In any case, it is highly unlikely that even a successful statehood declaration, enjoyed by strong international backing, would allow the Palestinians to retrieve their legitimate rights from Israel’s extremely parsimonious hands.

One Palestinian official in Ramallah, who opted for anonymity, termed the contemplated statehood declaration as merely "the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end".

The cardinal issues of Al-Quds, refugees, and settlements, along with other important issues such as the control over water resources, would require a long and painful struggle that might last for decades.

"Hence, the statehood declaration would only be a station on the long road to freedom and independence. It will not be a consummation of anything," The source added.

Hamas, too, is giving the cold shoulder.

Salah Al-Bardawell, a Hamas official based in the Gaza Strip, described the contemplated statehood declaration as "a desperate reaction by Fateh to the faltering peace process".

"This move is not a meaningful declaration. It simply aims at escaping the benefits of resistance against the occupation," he said.

"Instead of threatening to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state to be established in the air, we should work on liberating the occupied territories and end the current internal [Palestinian] division," He added.

Declaring a state "in the air on 20 per cent of the Palestinian land, which would be rejected by the world, is not the solution," he argued.

"Rather, Palestinians should focus on liberating their country first and then establish statehood."

The Help of Allah (SwT)

Afghan Resistance Statement
The Help of Allah(SwT)
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

November 17, 2009

The current Jihad against the American occupation of Afghanistan proves that oppressed Muslim people can, with the help of Allah, overcome the most advanced and huge army of the world. Look at the facts and figures. There are 40,000 troops from 43 countries of the world, both NATO members and others. America has 68,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The puppet regime of Kabul has 80,000 police force and almost the same number army. In addition to this, Pentagon has formed tens of thousands of local militias and armed former warlords who escort their logistical convoys from one province to another and launch joint operations. All these fight against a minuscule number of Mujahideen. But they have failed to prevent the Mujaheddin's constant victories who now control 80% of Afghanistan soil. No doubt, this is a sign of the help of Allah (SwT) as indicated in the Holy Quran that a small band of people who stand by truth can defeat a large force of evils. We should also bear in mind that the police force, the army and the intelligence agencies of the neighboring countries and of the world are at the disposal of the American invaders who help them with all their might.

Initially, the enemy being arrogant and banking on its military arsenal thought that it would easily wipe out the Mujahideen and spread its tentacles over the world. By cashing in on the opportunity provided by the 9/11, the British neo-colonialists jumped to the field. They had planned that they would work as brain because of their past experience and America as arm in this new adventure to colonize Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. They knew there was no other super power in the world except America and this had created an opening which they wanted to use for their own benefit by implementing their global expansionist goals.

Under the empty slogans of democracy and fight against terrorism, they killed hundreds of thousand of innocent Muslim people in Afghanistan and Iraq. They committed the most blatant human rights violations in Bagram, Kandahar, Abu Gharib and Guantanamo jails. Many detainees who later proved to be innocent common people were tortured by CIA and its hired private interrogators. Even some of them were kept in unknown CIA cells in foreign countries which were notoriously reputed for human rights violations. The detainees were forced to stand naked for hours; they were beaten and water boarded. Even American soldiers desecrated holy literature including the Holy Quran. Those released say, such blasphemous incidents occurred in Kandahar airport and Guantanamo jails.

But all these wrongdoing and injustice could neither wipe out the resistance nor suffocate them. Contrarily, these atrocities created new enemies for the invaders and bolstered the spirit of resistance among people.

Recently, they are resorting to some other devilish tactics, like detonating bombs and mines in congested places where common people are shopping. This is a heinous effort by CIA-related agencies like Blackwater in order to create hatred among the common people against Mujahideen. Blackwater was renamed Xe after its flagrant human rights violations in Iraq. Now it is killing innocent Muslims in Afghanistan and neighboring countries through mysterious bomb explosions. In Iraq, these foreign agencies destroyed Mosques and Shiite shrines in order to flare up sectarian violence. Some times, they succeeded in their wicked aims. In addition to this, they destroy bridges, schools and then accuse Mujahideen of doing that.

The occupying troops as partners of the intelligence agencies turn schools into military outposts to provoke Mujahideen to attack them. Then they show on TV that the Mujaheddin have destroyed the schools and that they are against knowledge and education. However, it is a crime in the first place to use educational facilities like school buildings for military purposes. When the enemy turns clinics and schools into security outposts and open fire on Mujaheddin from these places, they no more remain school buildings but automatically become military targets.

The Mujahideen Regulation about the code of conduct strictly requires them to avoid damaging public properties like schools and other common facilities. According to this Regulation, the first aim of Jihad is to ensure sovereignty and safety of honor, property and life of common people. However, these facts are not reported in the media because they report what the colonialists and the invaders want them to do. When we want to unveil the truth and reach our voice to the public of the world, the so-called protectors of democracy and freedom of speech block our websites and spread lies against us. The world should know what the so-called protectors of human rights are doing is not democracy but terrorism under the guise of civilization. They efface the values that the humanity has achieved after a long struggle.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60176&s2=20.

U.S. Mars explorer begins attempt to escape sand trap on red planet

NASA's stuck Mars rover on Thursday successfully completed the first step of a two-part attempt to extract the explorer from a sand trap on the red planet.

NASA announced that after spinning its wheels forward, the rover Spirit advanced slightly.

However, NASA said the movement was too slight to establish any immediate trends for hopes of freeing the stalled rover, which landed on Mars in 2004 with its twin Opportunity and has far surpassed its expected three months of usefulness.

Spirit was moving backward in April when its wheels broke through Mars' soft surface and became stuck in a patch of talcum-like dirt. The rover tried to maneuver its way out of the sand trap but its wheels sunk deeper.

The plan calls for Spirit to drive forward and retrace its steps in an effort to free itself.

Spirit landed on Mars with six working wheels but soon lost movement in its right front wheel. The rover since has been exploring the planet dragging its broken wheel along.

Attempts to free the rover will continue until at least February. If Spirit is not free by then, NASA may decide whether it's worth it to keep trying, said Doug McCuistion, who heads the Mars exploration program at NASA headquarters.

Belgian PM Rompuy becomes first EU president

EU leaders chose on Thursday Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy to be the first president of the European Union and Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton as new EU foreign policy chief, diplomats said.

The leaders of the EU's 27 countries met in Brussels on Thursday evening to decide who would become the bloc's first president. The post is officially entitled Permanent President of the European Council.

The president will have the role of a figurehead, without executive powers. Under the Lisbon Treaty on EU reform, the president will "take on the work currently assigned to rotating Presidencies."

He will also "facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council."

Van Rompuy, whose term runs for two-and-a-half years, was elected after Britain agreed to drop its demand that former prime minister Tony Blair should be given the job.