The Random Truth

Saddam's cruelty

2009-07-03T11:02:00.001-07:00

Photographs: Mass Graves and Documentary Evidence of Crimes from Saddam Hussein's Regime

Victims of Saddam's Regime

Iraqi mass graves bear witness to terror

IRAQ Systematic torture of political prisoners

VIDEOS showing the brutality of Saddam's regime *graphic*

Babies found in Iraqi mass grave
Wednesday, 13 October, 2004
A mass grave being excavated in a north Iraqi village has yielded evidence that Iraqi forces executed women and children under Saddam Hussein.

The skeletons of unborn babies and toddlers clutching toys are being unearthed, the investigators said.

The body of one woman was found still clutching a baby. The infant had been shot in the back of the head and the woman in the face.

Hundreds found in Iraq mass grave
Saturday, 30 April, 2005
Experts have examined a mass grave containing what are believed to be the bodies of some 1,500 Kurds, mostly women and children, in southern Iraq.

Of 113 bodies taken out of the ground so far, all but five are women and children. They have been identified as Kurds from their distinctive clothing. Investigators said they were wrapped in many layers, which suggested they knew they were being moved somewhere.

At least one is believed to have been an old woman. There are false teeth in the skull.

Another skeleton is thought to belong to a teenage girl, still carrying a bag of possessions.

Mass graves 'hold 300,000 Iraqis'
Saturday, 8 November, 2003
US officials say there may be as many as 260 mass graves in Iraq, containing the bodies of at least 300,000 people.

Iraq mass grave plea
Sunday, 1 June, 2003
Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq on human rights has called on US-led forces in the country to protect suspected mass-grave sites.

'Mass grave' found near Iraq city
Monday, 22 December, 2003
Iraqi police say they have uncovered up to 60 bodies in a mass grave outside the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

The bodies are thought to be those of Shia Muslims killed after an uprising in 1991 was brutally crushed by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Bundles of decomposing clothes and bones were found, along with wire used to bind victims' hands, police said.

US officials say Iraq may have up to 260 mass graves containing as many as 300,000 bodies.

Bahrainis missing in Iraq 'dead'
Monday, 4 August, 2003
They are believed to have been killed when Saddam Hussein's forces put down a failed Shia revolt.

New mass grave found in Iraq
Saturday, 7 June, 2003
Another mass grave has been discovered in Iraq at Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad, in the grounds of what used to be a sprawling military complex.

Mass graves found in Iraq
Friday, 9 May, 2003
A number of mass graves have been found by human rights workers in Iraq - containing what appears to be the bodies of up 100 civilians

'Mass grave' found in Iraq
Thursday, 17 April, 2003
Kurdish officials say they have found a series of mostly unmarked graves that contain about 2,000 bodies outside the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. They say the area was used by the Iraqi army to bury Kurds they killed in the late 1980s.

Mass grave found near Basra
Monday, 12 May, 2003
A new mass grave has been unearthed in Iraq, near the southern city of Basra.

Mass grave found near Babylon
Saturday, 3 May, 2003
A mass grave has been uncovered near the Iraqi city of Babylon which appears to date back to a failed 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein.

US marines at the site said the bones included those of children aged between 10 and 12.

Saddam's mass graves
Monday, 22 September, 2003

Mass grave unearthed in Iraq city
Tuesday, 27 December 2005
A mass grave has been discovered in the predominantly Shia city of Karbala south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

The Shia revolt was crushed and as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them buried in mass graves.

Several mass graves containing thousands of bodies have been uncovered since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, notably in the Shia south and Kurdish north.

Mass grave found in northern Iraq
Monday, 11 February, 2002

Halapja: A Crime Against Humanity

Mass Graves of Iraq: Uncovering Atrocities

Saddam's Chemical Weapons Campaign: Halabja, March 16, 1988

Moonbattery: Saddam's Mass Graves

Saddam’s Mass Graves.

Saddam Hussein

Chaos in Iran

2009-06-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Kabobfest Anti-Americanism

2009-05-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Below is a screen capture from the Kabobfest website, where a frequent poster calling himself "Will" often writes... he has exposed his true motivations with a post insulting Americans and pontificating about America's collapse:

SCREENSHOT HERE

Good News!

2009-05-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

Roxana Saberi is free!

Torture

2009-05-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

As the U.S. grapples with whether or not waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques amount to torture, a video coming out of the United Arab Emirates showing real torture is making news...

Royal Torture Video 'To Be Investigated'

Officials in the United Arab Emirates may investigate a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family over a videotape showing a member apparently torturing another man.

The widely circulated footage is threatening to derail a multi-billion dollar nuclear deal between the US and the Gulf state.

The video appears to show Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahayan - brother of UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan - mercilessly beating a man in the desert. The man, said to be an Afghan trader accused of overcharging Sheikh Issa in a grain deal, is seen being beaten with a wooden panel with nails stuck in it. He is assaulted with a cattle prod and his genitals are set on fire before a 4x4 drives over his legs, apparently breaking them. A man in police uniform assists with the torture.

Torture Tape Implicates UAE Royal Sheikh

A video tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates shows a member of the country's royal family mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails.

A man in a UAE police uniform is seen on the tape tying the victim's arms and legs, and later holding him down as the Sheikh pours salt on the man's wounds and then drives over him with his Mercedes SUV.

Muslim Nazis

2009-04-13T16:30:00.001-07:00

Nazis ‘shipped arms to Palestinians’
British National Archives unveil presence of Nazi S.S. agents in Mandatory Palestine, working closely with Palestinian leaders

Nazis planned Palestine subversion
British secret intelligence files have been released in London...
The Germans planned - with the support of the Grand Mufti - to arm Palestinian villagers and incite them to rise up against the Jews.

The Grand Mufti Of Jerusalem, Amin Al Husseini, meeting with Hitler to pledge support of the Arab-Islamic Ummah to the Nazi regime and to discuss the progress of the Muslim Nazi [Handschar] divisions, and to arrange the creation of death camps in the Arab world which would be his tools for the extermination of Middle East Jews.

In addition to meeting with Hitler, he sat down with Adolf Eichmann and sabotaged a plan to transfer Jewish children from Eastern Europe to Palestine.

Husseini (Husayni) was appointed mufti of Jerusalem in 1921. The title recognized his position as the major religious and political authority among the Palestinian Arabs.

189?
Amin Muhammed al-Husayni is born in Jerusalem.

November 2, 1917
The British Foreign Secretary issues the Balfour Declaration, announcing the British intention to permit the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine.

1918
British troops occupy Palestine.

February-April 1920
Al-Husayni and others organize demonstrations in Jerusalem, calling for Arab independence and union with Syria. After the demonstrations become violent, al-Husayni flees to Syria. In April, a British tribunal convicts him in absentia for incitement to revolt.

Autumn 1920
Pardoned by the British High Commissioner Lord Herbert Samuel, al-Husayni returns to Jerusalem.

May 8, 1921
High Commissioner Samuel appoints al-Husayni Mufti of Jerusalem. In 1922, al-Husyani becomes president of the Supreme Muslim Council and the administrator of the waqf (funds for repair and improvement of religious sites and institutions).

1922
Great Britain formally establishes the British Mandate in Palestine.

August 1929
Arab crowds enter the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem and initiate a wave of violence over access of Jews to the Western Wall for purposes of worship. Al-Husayni uses the incident to awaken general interest in the Arab world for events in Palestine and to promote his own position as a spiritual leader defending the holy sites of Islam against Jewish incursion. The violence leaves 133 Jews and 116 Arabs dead, and 339 Jews and 232 Arabs injured.

September 26, 1937
Arab insurgents murder the British District Commissioner of the Galilee. British authorities strip al-Husayni of his positions as Mufti of Jerusalem, president of the Supreme Muslim Council, and Administrator of the waqf. Al-Husayni flees to Lebanon in October.

September 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland, starting World War II. Increased French surveillance forces al-Husayni to leave Lebanon for Baghdad, Iraq, in October.

January 1941
Al-Husayni asks Hitler for a statement recognizing: 1) the independence of the Arab states from British and French colonial rule; 2) the right of the independent Arab states to form a union; and 3) the right of the independent Arab authorities in Palestine to eliminate the proposed Jewish homeland there.

April 1, 1941
Al-Husayni participates in a pro-Axis coup in Iraq. The new government, under Rashid 'Ali al-Kailani, deploys al-Husayni as the key contact to the Axis powers.

May 1941
Germany begins to supply al-Husayni, now in Baghdad, with payments to foment an uprising in Palestine.

May 9, 1941
Al-Husayni issues a fatwa in a radio speech from Baghdad, calling Muslims to engage in a holy war against Great Britain.

May 29, 1941
As British troops approach Baghdad, al-Husayni flees across the border to Iran.

June 1-2, 1941
As pro-British Iraqi troops enter Baghdad, Iraqi civilians perpetrate a pogrom, known as the Farhud, on the Jewish citizens of Baghdad. After 128 Jews are killed and 210 injured, British troops restore order.

July 1941
The German Abwehr establishes a German-Arab Training Department at a base near Athens, Greece, to train Arab volunteers for service as auxiliaries in the German Wehrmacht.

August 1941
Great Britain and the Soviet Union occupy Iran.

October 1941
Italian diplomats smuggle al-Husayni out of Iran to Italy.

October 27, 1941
Al-Husayni meets with Benito Mussolini, the Duce (Leader) of Fascist Italy. Mussolini agrees to a joint Axis statement along the lines of al-Husayni's proposal to Hitler.

November 28, 1941
Adolf Hitler receives al-Husayni in Berlin, a meeting covered by the German press. The Führer declines to issue any public declaration or conclude an agreement with al-Husayni regarding his January 1941 requests.

Early 1942
In collaboration with the Axis powers, al-Husayni begins developing themes for radio and print propaganda directed primarily at the Arab and Muslim world.

July 1942
Al-Husayni proposes a pan-Arab center in newly occupied Egypt to produce and disseminate propaganda, to carry out sabotage operations and incite rebellions behind British lines, and to train Arab regulars as the core of a liberating Arab army under al-Husayni's control. The Germans and the Italians reject this concept.

Late September 1942
Al-Husayni again proposes a pan-Arab center, this time in Tunis, to direct propaganda in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The Axis powers reject the plan.

November 8, 1942
In Operation Torch, Anglo-American troops land at Casablanca in Morocco and at Oran and Algiers in Algeria. Vichy French forces surrender.

December 18, 1942
At the opening of the Central Islamic Institute in Berlin, Al-Husayni denounces the Jews as the bitterest enemies of Islam. He accuses the Jews of provoking nations against each other and unleashing World War II. He calls on Muslims to liberate themselves from enemy persecution. Nazi propagandists provide major coverage of the opening and of al-Husayni's remarks. His speech is broadcast from Germany to the Middle East on December 23, 1942.

February 13, 1943
Hitler agrees to create the 13th Waffen-SS Mountain Division, later also known as "Handschar." Reichsführer-SS (SS chief) Heinrich Himmler authorizes recruitment of Bosnian Muslims for the division. In March and April, the SS Main Office sends al-Husayni to assist in recruitment efforts.

May 13, 1943
German and Italian forces surrender near Tunis, ending the war in North Africa.

May-June 1943
Al-Husayni writes to the Bulgarian, German, Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian governments, demanding they not participate in British efforts to transfer Jewish children from Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria to Palestine. He suggests the children be sent to Poland. The Germans had already taken steps to halt the transports in March and April of 1943.

July 1943
The SS establish an Imam training school to prepare chaplains for the 13th Waffen-SS Mountain Division. Al-Husayni tells the trainees that Muslims would "never have a better or more loyal ally than the Greater German Reich."

February 1944
The Germans deploy the 13th Waffen-SS Mountain Division, now also known as the "Handschar" Division, in western Croatia and northeastern Bosnia.

June 6, 1944
Allied forces land on the Normandy coast of France (D-Day).

September-October 1944
Nearly 3,000 soldiers of the 13th Waffen-SS Mountain Division desert. Most of the rest mutiny in mid-October, refusing to transfer to Hungary to fight Soviet troops. Himmler dissolves the division.

November 2, 1944
At al-Husayni's suggestion, the German Foreign Office announces the formation of an Arab-Muslim army (to be composed of Arab and Muslim volunteers and Muslim and Arab soldiers serving in Axis forces) to counter the Jewish Brigade Group in the British army.

May 7, 1945
Al-Husayni flees by plane to Bern, Switzerland. Swiss authorities deny him asylum and turn him over to French authorities.

May 8, 1945
V-E Day, end of World War II in Europe.

May 29, 1946
Al-Husayni escapes house arrest near Paris and flies to Cairo, Egypt.

November 29, 1947
The U.N. General Assembly adopts the partition plan for Palestine, which terminates the British Mandate and facilitates the creation of two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Al-Husayni rejects this plan.

May 14, 1948
The State of Israel is established, a goal against which al-Husayni had worked his entire life.

August 1959
Al-Husayni leaves Egypt for Beirut, Lebanon.

November 1959
Al-Husayni addresses a secret memorandum to the leaders of all Arab states advocating Arab unity against "Jewish aggression and imperialism" and denouncing the partition of Palestine.

July 4, 1974
Al-Husayni dies in Beirut, Lebanon.

PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS

Iraq 1941

In 1941 there was a pro-Nazi coup attempt in Iraq. In May 1941, British forces were fighting to keep Iraq in Allied hands.

One of the Iraqi coup plotters was Gen. Tufah Khariallah. Tufah Khariallah is the uncle and mentor who raised SADDAM HUSSEIN.

The Battle for Habbaniya - The forgotten war

Rashid Ali and the Golden Square at War

THE SIEGE & BATTLE OF HABBANIYA IN 1941

Iraqi Coup

ARAB/NAZI COLLABORATION IN WWII

"Our fundamental condition for cooperating with Germany was a free hand to eradicate every last Jew from Palestine and the Arab world. I asked Hitler for an explicit undertaking to allow us to solve the Jewish problem in a manner befitting our national and racial aspirations and according to the scientific methods innovated by Germany in the handling of its Jews. The answer I got was: The Jews are yours."

Former Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini in his post-World War II memoirs.

"The Mufti was one of the initiators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry and had been a collaborator and adviser of Eichmann and Himmler in the execution of this plan... He was one of Eichmann's best friends and had constantly incited him to accelerate the extermination measures."

Adolf Eichmann`s deputy Dieter Wisliceny in his Nuremberg Trials testimony.

Hitler and the Mufti Of Jerusalem/Nazi-Muslim Connection

Grand Mufti Haj Amin Al Husseini [Hitler's Mufti]

The Israel Palestine Conflict Pt2 Palestine and the Ottomans

Haj Amin al-Husseini and the Nazis

Islam and the Nazis

Iran

2009-04-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Free Roxana Saberi

For Esha's return

U.S. student arrested in Tehran while working on thesis project

Help Bob Levinson

Bob Levinson disappeared on March 9, 2007 in Kish Island, Iran. He was last seen checking out of the Hotel Maryam. If you have any information that can help bring Bob home, please email his family at info@helpboblevinson.com.

Country profile: Iran
Iran became a unique Islamic republic in 1979, when the monarchy was overthrown and religious clerics assumed political control under supreme leader Ayatollah Khomenei.

2009-03-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

European Parliament speech of 26/03/09

BLOG: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/Daniel_Hannan

Rush Limbaugh Speech

2009-03-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part 6

part 7

part 8

part 9

part 10

leaks

2009-02-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

http://liveleak.com/

http://wikileaks.org/

Geert Wilders

2009-02-12T10:02:00.001-08:00

Profile: Geert Wilders
http://geertwilders.nl/

The controversial film "Fitna"

Iraq

2009-01-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

Yahoo: Full Coverage: Iraq

BBC News: The struggle for Iraq

FOX News: NEWS ON IRAQ

Official Website of Multi-National Force - Iraq

Guide: Armed groups in Iraq

Operation Iraqi Children

What Did The Democrats Say About Iraq's WMD

Who are the insurgents in Iraq?

Captured Iraqi Terrorist Ramzi Hashem Abed

Former Al-Qaeda Official in Charge of Training in Iraq Jawhar Shehada Talks from Lebanon about His Activity and Declares: Yes, I Am a Terrorist

Persian BBC

2009-01-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

BBC launches Persian TV channel
The BBC's newest satellite TV channel has gone on air, a Farsi language service for viewers mainly in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

BBC awaits response to Persian TV
The launch of BBC Persian television is part of the BBC's strategy for - in the words of the head of the World Service, Nigel Chapman - "having the right services in the right media for each part of the world".

War in Gaza

2009-01-08T12:26:00.001-08:00

"Israel withdrew from Gaza, but Gaza later became the scene of a power struggle between the Palestinian Authority, representing the old guard of the secular PLO, and the newer Islamic-inspired forces of Hamas. Hamas prevailed." -BBC

Hamas violently took over Gaza.

Gaza: Armed Palestinian Groups Commit Grave Crimes | Human Rights Watch

Hostilities continued between Israel and Hamas. Hamas launched lots of rockets into Israel

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Sderot longs for end to rockets

Israel stopped attacking to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Hamas raided the aid trucks and sold the contents to the highest bidders.
Hamas raids aid trucks, sells supplies

From BBC:
Gaza crisis: key maps and timeline

Gaza crisis spills onto the web

Profile: Gaza Strip
Q&A: Gaza conflict
Who are Hamas?
Middle East conflict: History in maps

Language of Hamas
Gaza offensive - in maps
In pictures: Conflict continues

Hamas police 'seize aid for Gaza'

San Francisco, Jan 10, 2009.

Vile anti-Semitism has been openly expressed during recent pro-Hamas rallies in places like Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Columbus, and San Francisco.

An attack on supply trucks in Gaza.

Israelis watch Israel's offensive in Gaza from a hill near the southern town of Sderot January 17, 2009.

Raed Jarrar

2009-01-06T16:58:00.001-08:00

Trouble-maker Raed Jarrar has hit the jackpot.

U.S. resident Raed Jarrar was boarding a JetBlue flight from New York to Oakland, California, when he was told to remove his shirt, which had Arabic writing on it. Below the Arabic and written in English: "We will not be silent." He was told other passengers felt uncomfortable, but of course this meant nothing to him.

Why would you try to board an airplane wearing something that disturbs people or makes them afraid? If you really didn't know, when approached about it why wouldn't you politely and quickly turn the shirt inside out or put something else on, instead of making a big stink? Why would you disturb people and cause trouble?

The ACLU was happy to file a lawsuit.

240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt

Payout for Arabic shirt passenger
An air passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded a payout of $240,000 (£163,000), his lawyers say.

JetBlue, TSA Officials Pay $240G in Damages Over Arab T-Shirt Flap
Jarrar was approached by security officials who told him to remove his T-shirt with the words "We will not be silent" as he waited near the front of a JetBlue flight at JFK Airport because it apparently made other passengers feel uncomfortable.

Jarrar, a U.S. resident, eventually agreed to cover his shirt with one provided by the airline and was subsequently allowed aboard the aircraft, the AFP reported. His seat, however, was changed from the front to the back of the jet.

From the ACLU: TSA Officials and JetBlue Deliver Settlement in Discrimination Lawsuit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Raed Jarrar

The shirt does appear a bit ominous or menacing. It seems meant to be cautionary or even intimidatory.

"We will not be silent". Who is "we"? Since the shirt features Arabic writing presumably it means Arabs. What will Arabs not be silent about?The U.S. is currently at war in two Arab countries, has been attacked by Arab terrorists, has STOPPED MANY ATTACKS by Arab terrorists, and is constantly being threatened by Arab terrorists.

But at the end of the day, the buffoon Jarrar got the attention he wanted and even some cash. But he will undoubtedly continue his two-faced advocating for pro-terrorist ideas in the Middle East.

You have only to read Jarrar's blog to see that he is interested in criticizing the U.S. and U.S. leadership. He is against the Iraq war, and for several years has advocated the complete withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq - so leaving Iraqis at the mercy of criminals and extremists seems like a good idea to him. He seems to be against the new Iraqi government, so does an overthrow by radicals, a failed state where terrorists can thrive, seem like a good idea to him? He has constantly advocated "leaving Iraq to Iraqis". Why is he not as critical of acts of terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere as he is the U.S.?

Raed's motivations are questionable at best.

Raed closed the comment section of his blog because his propaganda and anti-Americanism were being challenged. And it was becoming clear that those who agreed with him were Islamists, America-haters, and hard-leftists. He claimed he closed his comments because he was afraid of being held legally responsible for what was written by other people in the comments, he even mentioned fearing the U.S. government and being sent to Guantanamo which is just silly. Interestly, his comments were closed a short time after I myself made a comment questioning the purpose of having a PayPal account for donations on the blog.

Raed and his girlfriend Niki, who also blogs, are both very anti-Israel.

RAED'S AMUSING SPECULATION
I wonder if Raed still thinks that U.S. forces blew up the al-Askari shrine?

Is he really just a poor misguided fool, or something more sinister?

UN adopts Middle East resolution

2008-12-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

UN adopts Middle East resolution
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution aimed at giving fresh momentum to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

UN Security Council Resolutions 2008

S/RES/1850 (2008)

Credit crisis

2008-12-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Timeline: Global credit crunch

Finance crisis: In graphics

The layman's finance crisis glossary

Palestinians

2008-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

The Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank have been at the centre of more than half a century of dispute over the legality of the occupation of neighbouring land by the state of Israel. Gaza also has a border with Egypt, while Jordan shares a border with the West Bank.

Eastern Jerusalem is claimed as the capital city of the Palestinian territories but the seat of the Palestinian Authority is in Ramalla, and for day-to-day purposes this is the administrative capital.

Fateh Net
Official website (Arabic)

Ynet News
Israeli news site

Palestinefacts.org
History of Fatah

Ma’an News Agency
Independent Palestinian news agency (English version)

BBC coverage

From the Council on Foreign Relations:
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Crisis Guide

Toward the Brink in Gaza
Hamas backgrounder

CIA - The World Factbook: Gaza Strip

CIA - The World Factbook: West Bank

Morning swim, Gaza
courtesy of arabianEye.com

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005.

Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region.

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip became distinct geographical units as a result of the 1949 armistice that divided the new Jewish state of Israel from other parts of Mandate Palestine.

From 1948 to 1967, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was ruled by Jordan. During this period, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian military administration.

In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel took control of the western part of Jerusalem, while Jordan took the eastern part, including the old walled city containing important Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious sites.

The hostilities that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 led to the flight of some 750,000 refugees from Palestine. Most of these refugees fled to the West Bank, then held by Jordan, to the Gaza Strip, held by Egypt, and to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and even further afield. The Arab-Israeli war of 1967 led to yet another displacement, this time of more than 500,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom were refugees uprooted for a second time.

West Bank: refugees (country of origin): 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)

Gaza Strip: refugees (country of origin): 1.017 million (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)

More: Israel / Palestine

If Americans Knew

2008-11-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

From the if Americans knew propaganda website:

The standard Zionist position is that they showed up in Palestine in the late 19th century to reclaim their ancestral homeland. Jews bought land and started building up the Jewish community there. They were met with increasingly violent opposition from the Palestinian Arabs, presumably stemming from the Arabs' inherent anti-Semitism. The Zionists were then forced to defend themselves and, in one form or another, this same situation continues up to today.

The problem with this explanation is that it is simply not true, as the documentary evidence in this booklet will show. What really happened was that the Zionist movement, from the beginning, looked forward to a practically complete dispossession of the indigenous Arab population so that Israel could be a wholly Jewish state, or as much as was possible.

Actually, the Arabs were displaced mostly as a result of wars.

As independence was declared, Arab forces from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan (later Jordan), Lebanon, and Iraq invaded Israel.
The 1948 hostilities witnessed thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes in Palestine to take refuge in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and neighbouring Arab countries. The hostilities that accompanied the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 led to the flight of some 750,000 refugees from Palestine. Most of these refugees fled to the West Bank, then held by Jordan, to the Gaza Strip, held by Egypt, and to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and even further afield.

The Arab-Israeli war of 1967 led to yet another displacement, this time of more than 500,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom were refugees uprooted for a second time." source

Land bought by the Jewish National Fund was held in the name of the Jewish people and could never be sold or even leased back to Arabs (a situation which continues to the present).

Jewish National Fund -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Jewish National Fund: History

The Arab community, as it became increasingly aware of the Zionists' intentions, strenuously opposed further Jewish immigration and land buying because it posed a real and imminent danger to the very existence of Arab society in Palestine. Because of this opposition, the entire Zionist project never could have been realized without the military backing of the British.

In World War I the British, with Arab aid, gained control of Palestine. In the Balfour Declaration (1917) the British promised Zionist leaders to aid the establishment of a Jewish “national home” in Palestine, with due regard for the rights of non-Jewish Palestinians. However, the British had also promised Arab leaders to support the creation of independent Arab states. The Arabs believed Palestine was to be among these, an intention that the British later denied. source

The vast majority of the population of Palestine, by the way, had been Arabic since the seventh century A.D. (Over 1200 years)

The Arabs from Arabia conquered Palestine in 638 AD from the Byzantines. So from that time on there was indeed an Arab population in Palestine.
Underground chambers and tunnels used during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago have been uncovered in northern Israel. Archaeologists find ancient Israel tunnels
The Jewish revolt against Roman rule ended in A.D. 70, when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. The original settlement, which dates from the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., is also a new discovery. Archaeologists Find Ancient Israel Tunnels
Before that time, the Israelites had their kingdom in Palestine - in the 12th and 13th centuries B.C.

The last Jewish kingdom won control of the land from the Hellenistic Greeks during the Maccabean rebellion from 168 to 140 B.C. The state lasted until 63 B.C., when Pompey conquered Palestine for Rome. When the Jews revolted in A.D. 66, the Romans destroyed the Temple (A.D. 70). Another revolt between A.D. 132 and 135 was also suppressed (see Bar Kokba, Simon), Jericho and Bethlehem were destroyed, and the Jews were barred from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was never the capital of any state but Israel.

"At this time (during the Umayyad rule), the importance of Palestine as a holy place for Muslims was emphasized, and in 691 the Dome of the Rock was erected on the site of the Temple of Solomon, which is claimed by Muslims to have been the halting station of Muhammad on his journey to heaven. Close to the Dome, the Aqsa mosque was built. In 750, Palestine passed to the Abbasid caliphate, and this period was marked by unrest between factions that favored the Umayyads and those who preferred the new rulers." source

In short, Zionism was based on a faulty, colonialist world view that the rights of the indigenous inhabitants didn't matter.

in·dig·e·nous
adj. Originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native.

Who were the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine?

co·lo·ni·al·ist
n. A believer in colonialism

co·lo·ni·al·ism
n. A policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies.

col·o·ni·za·tion
n. The act or process of establishing a colony or colonies.

col·o·ny
n. A group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation.
Any group of individuals having similar interests, occupations, etc., usually living in a particular locality; community: a colony of artists.
The district, quarter, or dwellings inhabited by any such number or group: The Greek island is now an artists' colony.

Is Israel a colony, or an independant nation?

"At the start of the Zionist colonization of Palestine in the late 19th cent., the rural people were Arab peasants (fellahin). Most of the population were Muslims, but in the urban areas there were sizable groups of Arab Christians (at Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem) and of Jews (at Zefat, Tiberias, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Hebron)." source

The Arabs colonized Palestine. The attempt to tie the Arab Palestinians to the first known inhabitants of Palestine, the Canaanites, is incorrect and a desperate attempt at propaganda.

That the Arab invaders who arrived in Palestine are somehow considered more indigenous than the Jews is baffling. Remember that the Arabs from Arabia conquered Palestine in 638 AD from the Byzantines.

Saladin conquered Palestine in 1187 from the European Christian Crusaders. The European Christian Crusaders conquered Palestine in 1099 from the Seljuk Turks, who ruled in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, which in 750 took over of the entire Near East from the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus, which had inherited control of the Islamic lands in 661 from the Arabs from Arabia. The Arabs from Arabia conquered Palestine in 638 AD from the Byzantines in the first flush of Islamic expansion.

The United Nations General Assembly decided in 1947 on the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem to be an international city. The plan, which was rejected by the Palestinians [Arabs], was never implemented.
Anti-Semitism was rife in Palestine before and during the British Mandate Period.
Arab violence toward Jews is well documented:

The Haycraft Commission of Inquiry

TheShaw Report

The Hope Simpson Report

The Peel Commission of 1936, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission

aljazeera: The history of Palestinian revolts

During the leadership of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the local Arabs rebelled against the British, and attacked the growing Jewish population repeatedly. These sporadic attacks began with the riots in Palestine of 1920 and Jaffa riots (or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the riots in Palestine of 1929, 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron, and the survivors were driven out.
During WWII, the Grand Mufti Haj Muhammed Amin al-Hussayni wanted to annihilate Jews in Palestine.

The Arab states have gone to war with Israel. They even tried to divert water from Israel.

Don't forget about Yasser Arafat.

Palestinian support for suicide bombers

Palestinian groups that support and carry out acts of political violence include Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Abu Nidal Organization.

One further point: being Jewish ourselves, the position we present here is critical of Zionism but is in no way anti-Semitic. We do not believe that the Jews acted worse than any other group might have acted in their situation. The Zionists (who were a distinct minority of the Jewish people until after WWII) had an understandable desire to establish a place where Jews could be masters of their own fate, given the bleak history of Jewish oppression. Especially as the danger to European Jewry crystalized in the late 1930's and after, the actions of the Zionists were propelled by real desperation.

Desperation? Palestinian support for suicide bombers

Saying that the Zionists were a distinct minority of Jewish people is a pecualiar thing to say.

Zion was a hill in Jerusalem, on which the Temple was built (used to symbolize the city itself, esp. as a religious or spiritual center).

Zi·on -
n. The historic land of Israel as a symbol of the Jewish people. The Jewish people; Israel.

Zi·on·ism - Origin: 1895–1900
n. A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to growing anti-Semitism and sought to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the support and development of the state of Israel.

So modern Zionism is concerned with the support and development of the state of Israel. This means that anyone who is not a modern Zionist does not support Israel or is against Israel. Being against the existing state of Israel, or anti-Israel, would describe many modern Arabs. Most other modern non-Arab people are not particularly anti-Israel, except perhaps neo-Nazi groups and other fringe elements. Perhaps some modern people do not care about the support of Israel any more than they care about the support of any other foreign country. But the Arabs are fairly unique in their desire to remove Israel.

Truth: Israel / Palestine

Also from if Americans knew:

Early History of the Region

Before the Hebrews first migrated there around 1800 B.C., the land of Canaan was occupied by Canaanites.

“Between 3000 and 1100 B.C., Canaanite civilization covered what is today Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and much of Syria and Jordan...Those who remained in the Jerusalem hills after the Romans expelled the Jews [in the second century A.D.] were a potpourri: farmers and vineyard growers, pagans and converts to Christianity, descendants of the Arabs, Persians, Samaritans, Greeks and old Canaanite tribes.” Marcia Kunstel and Joseph Albright, “Their Promised Land.”

There is absolutely no evidence that Canaanite tribes remained in the Jerusalem hills. The Jews arrived in Palestine before the Arabs, and conquered the Canaanites - probably assimilating with them. This was many centuries before the Arabs arrived.

This is a desperate attempt to tie the Palestinian Arabs, who arrived in Palestine after the Jews, to the only known peoples who inhabited Palestine before the Jews.

The present-day Palestinians’ ancestral heritage

“But all these [different peoples who had come to Canaan] were additions, sprigs grafted onto the parent tree...And that parent tree was Canaanite...[The Arab invaders of the 7th century A.D.] made Moslem converts of the natives, settled down as residents, and intermarried with them, with the result that all are now so completely Arabized that we cannot tell where the Canaanites leave off and the Arabs begin.” Illene Beatty, “Arab and Jew in the Land of Canaan.”

There is absolutely no evidence that the Moslem converts were Caananites, in fact historical evidence suggests otherwise. That "we cannot tell where the Canaanites leave off and the Arabs begin" is propaganda: "we" cannot tell anything at all about Canaanites.

The Jewish kingdoms were only one of many periods in ancient Palestine

“The extended kingdoms of David and Solomon, on which the Zionists base their territorial demands, endured for only about 73 years...Then it fell apart...[Even] if we allow independence to the entire life of the ancient Jewish kingdoms, from David’s conquest of Canaan in 1000 B.C. to the wiping out of Judah in 586 B.C., we arrive at [only] a 414 year Jewish rule.” Illene Beatty, “Arab and Jew in the Land of Canaan.”

More on Canaanite civilization

“Recent archeological digs have provided evidence that Jerusalem was a big and fortified city already in 1800 BCE...Findings show that the sophisticated water system heretofor attributed to the conquering Israelites pre-dated them by eight centuries and was even more sophisticated than imagined...Dr. Ronny Reich, who directed the excavation along with Eli Shuikrun, said the entire system was built as a single complex by Canaanites in the Middle Bronze Period, around 1800 BCE.” The Jewish Bulletin, July 31st, 1998.

How long has Palestine been a specifically Arab country?

“Palestine became a predominately Arab and Islamic country by the end of the seventh century. Almost immediately thereafter its boundaries and its characteristics — including its name in Arabic, Filastin — became known to the entire Islamic world, as much for its fertility and beauty as for its religious significance...In 1516, Palestine became a province of the Ottoman Empire, but this made it no less fertile, no less Arab or Islamic...Sixty percent of the population was in agriculture; the balance was divided between townspeople and a relatively small nomadic group. All these people believed themselves to belong in a land called Palestine, despite their feelings that they were also members of a large Arab nation...Despite the steady arrival in Palestine of Jewish colonists after 1882, it is important to realize that not until the few weeks immediately preceding the establishment of Israel in the spring of 1948 was there ever anything other than a huge Arab majority. For example, the Jewish population in 1931 was 174,606 against a total of 1,033,314.” Edward Said, “The Question of Palestine.”

There is really no connection between the Palestinians and the Canaanites. The Canaanites were conquered by the Israelites centuries before the Arabs arrived on the scene. The Israelites had their kingdom in Palestine in the 12th and 13th centuries B.C. The Arabs from Arabia conquered Palestine in 638 AD from the Byzantines. You do the math.
Edward Said is a dubious source to quote, to say the least.
[Becoming Palestinian:] A Good Career Move

Commentary: The False Prophet of Palestine

Columnist Charles Krauthammer

2008-11-24T12:41:00.001-08:00

Columnist Charles Krauthammer

Help Bob Levinson

2008-11-22T15:13:00.001-08:00

Help Bob Levinson

Bob Levinson disappeared on March 9, 2007 in Kish Island, Iran. He was last seen checking out of the Hotel Maryam. If you have any information that can help bring Bob home, please email his family at info@helpboblevinson.com.

Islamic Rage Boy

2008-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Islamic Rage Boy Parody Roundup

Laughing at Islamic Rage Boy

Islamic Rage Boy is back!

Islamic Rage Boy Debuts New Music Video For “Baby What A Pack of Lies”

illegal immigration

2008-05-05T16:32:00.001-07:00

Immigration Prosecutions Hit New High
Federal law enforcement agencies have increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators to record levels, in part by filing minor charges against virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to new U.S. data.

US economy at a glance

2008-05-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7373158.stm

Call to Arabs on Palestinian aid

2008-05-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7379328.stm

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani

2008-04-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

US charges embassy bomb suspect
The US has charged a Guantanamo Bay detainee with war crimes for the 1998 al-Qaeda attack on the US embassy in Tanzania, which left 11 people dead.

The FBI wanted poster for Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in a file image. The Pentagon on Monday sought murder and terrorism charges against a suspect in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Tanzania, and will seek the death penalty if the man is convicted.
(FBI/Handout/Reuters)

muslimmatters.org

2008-03-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

There is a funny little racist rant here: Literacy Tests for White Voters

It is not easy to change the trajectory of a society simply by granting equal rights to historically oppressed minority groups. There must be compensatory measures.

Who would be compensated? If everyone is to be on an equal playing field, how can certain races be given preferencial treatment? By the way, this speaks to the issue of Affirmative Action in the U.S. What are you telling minorities when you tell them that they can have lower test scores than others for getting into colleges? You are telling them that they are not as smart, not as good.

And while black voters and politicians have helped to bring sanity and a sense of social justice to American society, white voters have remained numerous enough to consistently jeopardize and often disgrace the nation.

That statement is iteself a very racist statement. "White voters" have remained numerous enough to... this says that as a group white voters have some stereotypical quality that makes them all the same. And they have consistently jeopardized and often disgraced the nation? How has this strange race, these white people, jeopardized and disgraced the nation? These strange white people couldn't possibly be related to the white people who founded this nation and set its design, could they? And they couldn't be related to the white people who decided this nation would be a melting pot of all people?

And while black voters and politicians have helped to bring sanity and a sense of social justice to American society...

Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell are truly great Americans. Let's look at some other black leaders:

Al Sharpton's finances target of federal probe

Jesse Jackson admits love child

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) Indicted on Fraud, Bribery Counts

Rev Jeremiah Wright lands Barack Obama in trouble again

D.C. Mayor Marion Barry Arrested on Cocaine Charges in Undercover FBI, Police Operation

I do think that literacy tests are a good idea. Maybe they should include some questions from this or this, or maybe even this.

Hillary Clinton

2008-03-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

global warming

2008-03-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE

What happened to global warming?

Government monopsony distorts climate science, says SPPI

Weather Channel Founder Blasts Network; Claims It Is 'Telling Us What to Think'

Global Warming Censored

Global warming? Next decade could be cooler, says study

Next decade 'may see no warming'

Global warming may 'stop', scientists predict

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age

GLOBAL WARMING? IT’S THE COLDEST WINTER IN DECADES

Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling

The Sun Also Sets

GLOBAL COOLING?

Are Global Warmists Pulling a Cool Fast One?

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

2008-02-19T19:24:00.001-08:00

http://www.defenselink.mil/

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/

All about security

2008-02-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

First Line of Defense

Cindy Sheehan in Egypt for Islamists

2008-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

Cindy Sheehan in Egypt for Islamists

Chelsea Clinton

2008-02-14T10:34:00.001-08:00

phx.gbl

2008-02-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum11/3101.htm

http://artific.com/articles/2005/12/27/a_practically_u/

Sharia law in the UK

2008-02-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Sharia law and the British legal system

Q&A: Sharia law explained

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is a fool.

Divisions of the world in Islam

2008-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divisions_of_the_world_in_Islam

Islamists planned attacks across Europe

2008-01-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

Islamists planned attacks across Europe: report

Australia vows Afghan commitment

2007-12-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Australia vows Afghan commitment
Australian PM Kevin Rudd has told Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a visit to Kabul he is committed to the "long haul" in Afghanistan.

Israel

2007-12-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Palestine, region, Asia
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Ancient Palestine
The earliest known inhabitants of Palestine were of the same group as the Neanderthal inhabitants of Europe. By the 4th millennium B.C. Palestine was inhabited by herders and farmers. It was in the 3d millennium that most of the towns known in historical times came into existence. They became centers of trade for Egyptian and Babylonian goods. During the 2d millennium, Palestine was ruled by the Hyksos and by the Egyptians. Toward the end of this period Moses led the Hebrew people (see Jews) out of Egypt, across the Sinai, and into Palestine.
Around 1200 B.C., the Philistines (“Sea Peoples”) invaded the southern coastland and established a powerful kingdom (see Philistia). The Hebrews were subject to the Philistines until c.1000 B.C., when an independent Hebrew kingdom was established under Saul, who was succeeded by David and then by Solomon. After the expansionist reign of Solomon (c.950 B.C.), the kingdom broke up into two states, Israel, with its capital at Samaria, and Judah, under the house of David, with its capital at Jerusalem. The two kingdoms were later conquered by expanding Mesopotamian states, Israel by Assyria (c.720 B.C.) and Judah by Babylonia (586 B.C.).
In 539 B.C. the Persians conquered the Babylonians. The Jewish Temple, destroyed by the Babylonians, was rebuilt (516 B.C.). Under Persian rule Palestine enjoyed considerable autonomy. Alexander the Great of Macedon, conquered Palestine in 333 B.C. His successors, the Ptolemies and Seleucids, contested for Palestine. The attempt of the Seleucid Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes) to impose Hellenism brought a Jewish revolt under the Maccabees, who set up a new Jewish state in 142 B.C. The state lasted until 63 B.C., when Pompey conquered Palestine for Rome.

Christianity and Islam
Palestine at the time of Jesus was ruled by puppet kings of the Romans, the Herods (see Herod). When the Jews revolted in A.D. 66, the Romans destroyed the Temple (A.D. 70). Another revolt between A.D. 132 and 135 was also suppressed (see Bar Kokba, Simon), Jericho and Bethlehem were destroyed, and the Jews were barred from Jerusalem. When Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity (312), Palestine became a center of Christian pilgrimage, and many Jews left the region. Palestine over the next few centuries generally enjoyed peace and prosperity until it was conquered in 614 by the Persians. It was recovered briefly by the Byzantine Romans, but fell to the Muslim Arabs under caliph Umar by the year 640.
At this time (during the Umayyad rule), the importance of Palestine as a holy place for Muslims was emphasized, and in 691 the Dome of the Rock was erected on the site of the Temple of Solomon, which is claimed by Muslims to have been the halting station of Muhammad on his journey to heaven. Close to the Dome, the Aqsa mosque was built. In 750, Palestine passed to the Abbasid caliphate, and this period was marked by unrest between factions that favored the Umayyads and those who preferred the new rulers.
In the 9th cent., Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid dynasty, which had risen to power in North Africa. The Fatimids had many enemies—the Seljuks, Karmatians, Byzantines, and Bedouins—and Palestine became a battlefield. Under the Fatimid caliph al Hakim (996–1021), the Christians and Jews were harshly suppressed, and many churches were destroyed. In 1099, Palestine was captured by the Crusaders (see Crusades), who established the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusaders were defeated by Saladin at the battle of Hittin (1187), and the Latin Kingdom was ended; they were finally driven out of Palestine by the Mamluks in 1291. Under Mamluk rule Palestine declined.

Turkish Rule
In 1516 the Mamluks were defeated by the Ottoman Turks. The first three centuries of Ottoman rule isolated Palestine from outside influence. In 1831, Muhammad Ali, the Egyptian viceroy nominally subject to the Ottoman sultan, occupied Palestine. Under him and his son the region was opened to European influence. Ottoman control was reasserted in 1840, but Western influence continued. Among the many European settlements established, the most significant in the long run were those of Jews, Russian Jews being the first to come (1882).

Conflict between Arabs and Zionists
In the late 19th cent. the Zionist movement was founded (see Zionism) with the goal of establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and dozens of Zionist colonies were founded there. At the start of the Zionist colonization of Palestine in the late 19th cent., the rural people were Arab peasants (fellahin). Most of the population were Muslims, but in the urban areas there were sizable groups of Arab Christians (at Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem) and of Jews (at Zefat, Tiberias, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Hebron).
At the same time Arab nationalism was developing in the Middle East in opposition to Turkish rule. In World War I the British, with Arab aid, gained control of Palestine. In the Balfour Declaration (1917) the British promised Zionist leaders to aid the establishment of a Jewish “national home” in Palestine, with due regard for the rights of non-Jewish Palestinians. However, the British had also promised Arab leaders to support the creation of independent Arab states. The Arabs believed Palestine was to be among these, an intention that the British later denied.
In 1919 there were about 568,000 Muslims, 74,000 Christians, and 58,000 Jews in Palestine. The first Arab anti-Zionist riots occurred in Palestine in 1920. The League of Nations approved the British mandate in 1922, although the actual administration of the area had begun in 1920. As part of the mandate Britain was given the responsibility for aiding the Jewish homeland and fostering Jewish immigration there. The British stressed that their policy to aid the homeland did not include making all Palestine the homeland, but rather that such a home should exist within Palestine and that there were economic limits on how many immigrants should be admitted (1922 White Paper).
In the 1920s, Jewish immigration was slight, but the Jewish communities made great economic progress. In 1929 there was serious Jewish-Arab violence occasioned by a clash at the Western, or Wailing, Wall in Jerusalem. A British report found that Arabs feared the economic and political consequences of continued Jewish immigration with its attendant land purchases. Zionists were angered when a new White Paper (1930) urged limiting immigration, but they were placated by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (1931).
The rise of Nazism in Europe during the 1930s led to a great increase in immigration. Whereas there were about 5,000 immigrants authorized in 1932, about 62,000 were authorized in 1935. Arabs conducted strikes and boycotts; a general strike in 1936, organized by Haj Amin al Husayni, mufti of Jerusalem, lasted six months. Some Arabs acquired weapons and formed a guerrilla force. The Peel commission (1937), finding British promises to Zionists and Arabs irreconcilable, declared the mandate unworkable and recommended the partition of Palestine into Jewish, Arab, and British (largely the holy places) mandatory states. The Zionists reluctantly approved partition, but the Arabs rejected it, objecting particularly to the proposal that the Arab population be forcibly transferred out of the proposed Jewish state.
The British dropped the partition idea and announced a new policy (1939 White Paper). Fifteen thousand Jews a year would be allowed to immigrate for the next five years, after which Jewish immigration would be subject to Arab acquiescence; Jewish land purchases were to be restricted; and within 10 years an independent, binational Palestine would be established. The Zionists were shocked by what they considered a betrayal of the Balfour Declaration. The Arabs also rejected the plan, demanding instead the immediate creation of an Arab Palestine, the prohibition of further immigration, and a review of the status of all Jewish immigrants since 1918.
The outbreak of World War II prevented the implementation of the plan, except for the restriction on land transfers. The Zionists and most Arabs supported Britain in the war (although Haj Amin al Husayni was in Germany and negotiated Palestine’s future with Hitler), but tension inside Palestine increased. The Haganah, a secret armed group organized by the Jewish Agency, and the Irgun and the Stern Gang, terrorist groups, were active. British officials were killed by the terrorists. The horrible plight of European Jewry led influential forces in the United States to lobby for support of an independent Jewish state, and President Truman requested that Britain permit the admission of 100,000 Jews. Illegal immigration, often involving survivors of Hitler’s death camps, took place on a large scale. The independent Arab states organized the Arab League to exert internationally what pressure they could against the Zionists.
An Anglo-American commission recommended (1946) that Britain continue administering Palestine, rescind the land-transfer restrictions, and admit 100,000 Jews, and that the underground Jewish armed groups be disbanded. A plan for autonomy for Jews and Arabs within Palestine was discussed at a London conference (1947) of British, Arabs, and Zionists, but no agreement could be reached. The British, declaring their mandate unworkable and despairing of finding a solution, turned the Palestine problem over to the United Nations (Feb., 1947). At that time there were about 1,091,000 Muslims, 614,000 Jews, and 146,000 Christians in Palestine.

Resolution for the establishment of an independent Jewish State in Palestine

Declaration of Israel's Independence 1948

Question of Palestine at the United Nations

The Question of Palestine & the United Nations

Documents relating to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Israelites had their kingdom in Palestine in the 12th and 13th centuries B.C.

The last Jewish kingdom won control of the land from the Hellenistic Greeks during the Maccabean rebellion from 168 to 140 B.C.

In 70 A.D. the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple and declared the land of Israel would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as Palestine. The name was derived from the Philistines, a Goliathian people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, but that had even less staying power.

[It should be remembered that] In 1918, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France were handed 5,000,000 square miles to divvy up and 99% was given to the Arabs to create countries that did not exist previously. 1% was given as a Mandate for the re-establishment of a state for the Jews on both banks of the Jordan River. In 1921, to once again appease the Arabs, another three quarters of that 1% was given to a fictitious state called Trans-Jordan.

Between 1950 and 1967 when Jordan and Egypt annexed the West Bank and Gaza, they flooded the area with more Arabs. Even today most Arabs in the West Bank, etc. hold Jordanian passports and Jordanian citizenship. After 1967 Jordan/Egypt relinquished claims to the area then started to scream for a second Palestinian state in addition to the first Palestinian State of Jordan. Before that, they claimed Palestine meant land of the Jews.

Palestine has never existed -- before or since -- as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.

Jerusalem was never the capital of any state but Israel.

In the Six-Day War, Israel captured Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. But they didn't capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured them from Jordan's King Hussein. Why did all these Palestinians suddenly discover their national identity after Israel won the war?

Archaeologists find ancient Israel tunnels
JERUSALEM — Underground chambers and tunnels used during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago have been uncovered in northern Israel, archaeologists said

Archaeologists Find Ancient Israel Tunnels
The Jews laid in supplies and were preparing to hide from the Romans during their revolt in A.D. 66-70, the experts said. The pits, which are linked by short tunnels, would have served as a concealed subterranean home.

The underground chambers at the Israeli Arab village of Kfar Kana, north of Nazareth, were built from housing materials common at the time and hidden directly beneath the floors of aboveground homes—giving families direct access to the hideouts. Other refuges found from the time of the revolt are hewn out of rock.

The Jewish revolt against Roman rule ended in A.D. 70, when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple.

The original settlement, which dates from the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., is also a new discovery.

King Herod's ancient tomb 'found'
An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the tomb of King Herod, the ruler of Judea while it was under Roman administration in the first century BC.

Tomb Of King Herod Discovered At Herodium
Herod was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37 to 4 BCE, who was renowned for his many monumental building projects, including the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the palace at Masada, as well as the complex at Herodium, 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem. .

Jerusalem's Holy Sites

Turkish soldiers cross into Iraq

2007-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Iraq Kurds warn Turkey over raids
The president of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq has warned Turkey to halt its strikes against rebel Kurdish positions in the border area.

Massoud Barzani said he "vehemently condemned" the bombardments, which he said had killed innocent people.

MOUNTING BORDER TENSION

7 Oct PKK rebels kill 13 Turkish troops near Iraqi border

17 Oct - Turkish MPs allow military operations in Iraq

21 Oct - 12 Turkish troops die in PKK ambush near Iraqi border

30 Nov - Turkish cabinet backs PKK pursuits in Iraq

13 Nov - Turkey shells PKK targets in Iraq, Baghdad says

1 Dec - Turkish army targets rebels in Iraq, inflicting "heavy losses"

16 Dec - Turkish jets bomb PKK targets in Iraq for the first time

18 Dec - Some 300 Turkish troops cross over into northern Iraq

22 Dec - Turkish jets bomb PKK targets in Iraq a second time

23 Dec - Turkish planes strike for a third time

Turkey in fresh Iraq air strikes
Turkey has launched fresh air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, the Turkish military says.

Turkish air strikes earlier this month were followed by an incursion involving several hundred Turkish soldiers across the border into Iraq.

Turkey says the PKK is using bases in Iraq to launch attacks on Turkey.

Turkish planes hit Kurds in Iraq again
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkish warplanes bombed separatist Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Saturday, a statement posted on the military's Web site said.

The military vowed to continue operations on both sides of Turkish-Iraqi border "no matter how the conditions are."

*

Turkish soldiers cross into Iraq
About 300 Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq in a raid against Kurdish rebels, Iraqi officials say.

U.S. Helps Turkey Hit Rebel Kurds In Iraq
The United States is providing Turkey with real-time intelligence that has helped the Turkish military target a series of attacks this month against Kurdish separatists holed up in northern Iraq, including a large airstrike on Sunday, according to Pentagon officials.

Turkish Army Sends Soldiers Across Border Into Northern Iraq
BAGHDAD — The Turkish army sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern Iraq in an overnight operation on Tuesday, Kurdish officials said. A Turkish official said the troops seeking Kurdish rebels were still in Iraq by midmorning.

US military not told of Turkey bomb plan
WASHINGTON - U.S. military commanders in Iraq didn't know Turkey was sending warplanes to bomb in northern Iraq until the planes had already crossed the border, said defense and diplomatic officials, who were angered about being left in the dark.

Americans have been providing Turkey with intelligence to go after Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. And a "coordination center" has been set up in Ankara so Turks, Iraqis and Americans can share information, two officials said Tuesday.

But defense and diplomatic officials in Washington and Baghdad told The Associated Press that U.S. commanders in Iraq knew nothing about Sunday's attack until it was already under way.

In Iraq, Rice Urges Turkish, Iraqi Leaders to Cooperate
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, making an unannounced visit to Iraq, urged Turkish and Iraqi leaders today to cooperate in dealing with Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq and warned Turkey against actions that cause civilian casualties or destabilize the region.

After a stop in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, about 120 miles south of an area where Turkish troops mounted an incursion early today, Rice told reporters in Baghdad that "we need an overall comprehensive approach" to the problem of armed Kurdistan Workers Party militants, who have been accused of killing more than 50 Turkish security personnel and civilians in recent months in cross-border raids. She said the United States, Turkey and Iraq have a common interest in "stopping the activities of the PKK," as the separatist group is known.

*

Turkish planes strike northern Iraq: Kurd official

There was no immediate comment from the Turkish military, which said on Saturday it planned to continue its operations against separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas inside Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq.

Turkey says it has the right to use force to combat the PKK, which uses the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq as a launchpad to mount attacks in which they have killed dozens of Turkish troops in recent months.

Al Sharpton's finances target of federal probe

2007-12-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Subpoenas for Al Sharpton's aides

The FBI and IRS are investigating whether Sharpton improperly misstated the amount of money he raised during his 2004 White House run to illegally obtain federal matching funds, a source familiar with the probe said.

Sharpton, although forced to return $100,000 in matching taxpayer funds after an investigation two years ago, denied any wrongdoing at the time.

The feds are also looking into allegations of tax fraud, including whether Sharpton commingled funds from his nonprofit National Action Network with several of his for-profit ventures, the source said.

Treasury freezes assets of 7 people

2007-12-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Treasury freezes assets of 7 people
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration on Thursday took steps to clamp down financially on seven people, most of them in Syria, suspected of having ties to the Iraqi insurgency or the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

The Treasury Department's action means any assets found in the United States belonging to the designated individuals must be frozen. Americans also are forbidden from doing business with them.

Fawzi Mutlaq al-Rawi was added to the United States' asset-blocking list under an executive order that allows the government to go after people suspected of helping to bankroll terrorist acts or providing other support for them.

"The United States is acting today against former regime elements and others supporting the Iraqi insurgency out of Syria," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "Syria must take action to deny safe haven to those supporting violence from within its borders," he added.

The department accused al-Rawi of facilitating the provision of $300,000 to members of al-Qaida in Iraq in November 2005. He provided members of the group with "improvised explosive devices, rifles and suicide bombers," the department alleged. He also attended meetings where there were discussions of, among other things, "conducting airborne improvised explosive device attacks against the U.S. embassy and concentrating attacks against the international zone," the department alleged.

The other six individuals named Thursday were designated under a different executive order that targets senior officials of Iraq's former regime or their immediate family members. They are: Hasan Hashim Khalaf al-Dulaymi; Ahmed Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti; Ahmad Muhammad Yunis al-Ahmad; Sa'ad Muhammad Yunis al-Ahmad; Thabet al-Duri; and Hatem Hamdan al-Azawi.

Treasury freezes assets of 7 people

All Things Beautiful

2007-12-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

All Things Beautiful

Countries and Territories

2007-12-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

Countries and Territories
Click the name of a country or territory on this page to view recent and archival news about that country from The News York Times.

Basra's murderous militias tell Christian women to cover up or face death

2007-12-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Basra's murderous militias tell Christian women to cover up or face death

Lashing Justice
Muslims who wonder why non-Muslims are often baffled, angered, even frightened by some governments’ interpretation of Islamic law need only look to the cases of two women in Saudi Arabia and Sudan threatened with barbaric lashings.

Islam’s Silent Moderates

2007-12-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Islam’s Silent Moderates
IN the last few weeks, in three widely publicized episodes, we have seen Islamic justice enacted in ways that should make Muslim moderates rise up in horror.

Iraqi bloggers at home and abroad

2007-12-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

Iraqi bloggers at home and abroad

Dr. Watson

2007-10-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Nobel Prize-winning DNA pioneer James Watson has been suspended by his research institution in the US.

White Phosphorus

2007-10-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

White phosphorus is highly flammable and ignites on contact with oxygen. Also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete, white phosphorus is used in munitions, to mark enemy targets and to produce smoke for concealing troop movements.

It can also be used as an incendiary device to firebomb enemy positions.

White phosphorus is covered by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, which prohibits its use as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations or in air attacks against enemy forces in civilian areas.

The US is not a signatory to Protocol III.

The use of white phosphorus in incendiary devices dates back to World War I and beyond.
It was used in World War II predominantly for smoke screens, marker shells, incendiaries, hand grenades and tracer bullets.

Swiss People's Party

2007-10-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Far-right Swiss party divides nation on immigrant issue

Immigration Dominates Swiss Vote

stupid

2007-09-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

AP Interview: Clinton on health care

Iraq

2007-08-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yahoo News: Full Coverage: Iraq

BBC News: The struggle for Iraq

FOX News: NEWS ON IRAQ

Guide: Armed groups in Iraq

Official Website of Multi-National Force - Iraq

See Who's Editing Wikipedia

2007-08-16T13:16:00.001-07:00

http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker
Wikipedia Scanner -- the brainchild of Cal Tech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith -- offers users a searchable database that ties millions of anonymous Wikipedia edits to organizations where those edits apparently originated, by cross-referencing the edits with data on who owns the associated block of internet IP addresses.

Wikipedia Scanner

Wikipedia Scanner exposes self-edits in online encyclopedia
San Francisco (IDGNS) - A word of caution about editing entries "anonymously" in Wikipedia: a tool has been developed that can show who made the changes.

Virgil Griffith

Hilarious

2007-08-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

This is so ridiculous that it's funny:

http://hodertemp.blogspot.com/2007/08/accounts-and-billing-hosting-matters.html

"Hossein" writes here:
"Then they threatened me not to reveal anything about what they had done or they would sue me!"

Well, that is not correct. He was told:
"If we find a single one of these types of claims, or any other that we deem factually incorrect, in any public arena or disseminated to any third party, our attorney will be directed to immediately draw up papers for service. As there is no possible way for you to show that any of your petulant comments have any shred of fact in them, there is no doubt whatsoever that we would prevail in such a case. We would also seek the full extent of damages available to us, including punitive damages."

ahMADinejad

2007-06-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

Foreign Policy

2007-06-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

American Foreign Policy Council

Foreign Policy: magazine of global politics, economics, and ideas

Eagle

2007-06-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

BBC

2007-06-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

BBC report finds bias within corporation
The BBC has failed to promote proper debate on major political issues because of the inherent liberal culture of its staff, a report commissioned by the corporation has concluded.

war game

2007-06-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Australia, US launch massive war game

Australia and the United States launched a massive war game Monday aimed at honing their ability to act together against threats to Asia-Pacific security, commanders said.

More than 20,000 US troops and 12,000 Australians, backed by a total of 30 ships and 125 aircraft, will be involved in "Operation Talisman Sabre 2007" on the northeast coast until July 2.

foiled attacks

2007-06-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the dozens of terrorist attacks that were stopped:

9/11-Style Attacks Foiled by Patriot Act

Terrorist Watch: 23 Plots Foiled Since 9/11

US al-Qaeda plot suspects

Pakistani female scientist guilty of US murder attempt

US lists 10 foiled terror plots The White House has given details of 10 major terror plots that President Bush says have been foiled by the US and its allies since the 11 September attacks.

Profile: Key US terror suspects
Fourteen key US terror suspects previously held in secret CIA prisons have been sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

'Shoe bomber' jailed for life
A US federal judge has sentenced "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to life in prison for trying to blow up a Paris-Miami flight with 197 people on board.

Jordan convicts militant plotters
A military court in Jordan has found eight Islamist militants guilty of plotting to kill US troops in Iraq and Americans and Jews in Jordan.

Australia foils 'terror attack'
Australian police say they have foiled a terrorist attack in the final stages of its preparation, after 16 people were arrested in Sydney and Melbourne.

US 'foils terror attack'
The United States authorities say they have thwarted a plot by al-Qaeda to attack the country by detonating a bomb containing radioactive material.
US Attorney General John Ashcroft said a US citizen, Abdullah al-Mujahir, had been arrested on 8 May at Chicago airport after arriving from Pakistan.

Foiled al-Qaeda-linked plot to kill thousands in the UK and US

Somali man sentenced in terror plot

3 Muslims arrested in US

Terrorists caught

Foiled terror attack on Kennedy Airport

3 Terror Suspects Arrested in Germany

Holy Land verdict could be boost for Obama's war on terror

Dhiren Barot

Terrorist Sentenced

Hezbollah ally sentenced

Islamists planned attacks across Europe: report

Muslims

Palestinian aid 2005

2007-06-15T14:37:00.001-07:00

From BBC News:

Dhiren Barot

2007-06-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

UK al-Qaeda cell members jailed
Seven men have been jailed for up to 26 years over an al-Qaeda-linked plot to kill thousands in the UK and US.

Dirty bomb plotters caged
SEVEN members of a terror cell run by al-Qaeda "general" Dhiren Barot were jailed for a total of 136 years today.

Britons jailed over al Qaeda plot to bomb NYSE
LONDON (Reuters) - Seven Britons linked to a plot to blow up U.S. financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, and stage a series of attacks in Britain were jailed for a total of 136 years by a London court on Friday.

Seven accomplices of dirty bomb plotter jailed for 136 years
LONDON (AFP) - Seven members of a terrorist cell led by convicted Al-Qaeda "dirty" bomb plotter Dhiren Barot were jailed for a total of 136 years on Friday.

Saddam's cruelty

2007-06-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Photographs: Mass Graves and Documentary Evidence of Crimes from Saddam Hussein's Regime

Victims of Saddam's Regime

Iraqi mass graves bear witness to terror

IRAQ Systematic torture of political prisoners

Videos showing the brutality of Saddam's regime

Babies found in Iraqi mass grave
Wednesday, 13 October, 2004
A mass grave being excavated in a north Iraqi village has yielded evidence that Iraqi forces executed women and children under Saddam Hussein.

The skeletons of unborn babies and toddlers clutching toys are being unearthed, the investigators said.

The body of one woman was found still clutching a baby. The infant had been shot in the back of the head and the woman in the face.

Hundreds found in Iraq mass grave
Saturday, 30 April, 2005
Experts have examined a mass grave containing what are believed to be the bodies of some 1,500 Kurds, mostly women and children, in southern Iraq.

Of 113 bodies taken out of the ground so far, all but five are women and children. They have been identified as Kurds from their distinctive clothing. Investigators said they were wrapped in many layers, which suggested they knew they were being moved somewhere.

At least one is believed to have been an old woman. There are false teeth in the skull.

Another skeleton is thought to belong to a teenage girl, still carrying a bag of possessions.

Mass graves 'hold 300,000 Iraqis'
Saturday, 8 November, 2003
US officials say there may be as many as 260 mass graves in Iraq, containing the bodies of at least 300,000 people.

Iraq mass grave plea
Sunday, 1 June, 2003
Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq on human rights has called on US-led forces in the country to protect suspected mass-grave sites.

'Mass grave' found near Iraq city
Monday, 22 December, 2003
Iraqi police say they have uncovered up to 60 bodies in a mass grave outside the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

The bodies are thought to be those of Shia Muslims killed after an uprising in 1991 was brutally crushed by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Bundles of decomposing clothes and bones were found, along with wire used to bind victims' hands, police said.

US officials say Iraq may have up to 260 mass graves containing as many as 300,000 bodies.

Bahrainis missing in Iraq 'dead'
Monday, 4 August, 2003
They are believed to have been killed when Saddam Hussein's forces put down a failed Shia revolt.

New mass grave found in Iraq
Saturday, 7 June, 2003
Another mass grave has been discovered in Iraq at Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad, in the grounds of what used to be a sprawling military complex.

Mass graves found in Iraq
Friday, 9 May, 2003
A number of mass graves have been found by human rights workers in Iraq - containing what appears to be the bodies of up 100 civilians

'Mass grave' found in Iraq
Thursday, 17 April, 2003
Kurdish officials say they have found a series of mostly unmarked graves that contain about 2,000 bodies outside the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. They say the area was used by the Iraqi army to bury Kurds they killed in the late 1980s.

Mass grave found near Basra
Monday, 12 May, 2003
A new mass grave has been unearthed in Iraq, near the southern city of Basra.

Mass grave found near Babylon
Saturday, 3 May, 2003
A mass grave has been uncovered near the Iraqi city of Babylon which appears to date back to a failed 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein.

US marines at the site said the bones included those of children aged between 10 and 12.

Saddam's mass graves
Monday, 22 September, 2003

Mass grave unearthed in Iraq city
Tuesday, 27 December 2005
A mass grave has been discovered in the predominantly Shia city of Karbala south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

The Shia revolt was crushed and as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them buried in mass graves.

Several mass graves containing thousands of bodies have been uncovered since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, notably in the Shia south and Kurdish north.

Mass grave found in northern Iraq
Monday, 11 February, 2002

Halapja: A Crime Against Humanity

Mass Graves of Iraq: Uncovering Atrocities

Saddam's Chemical Weapons Campaign: Halabja, March 16, 1988

Iran

2007-06-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

UN condemns Ahmadinejad comments
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he was "shocked and dismayed" at recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel.

Iran's official news agency reported Mr Ahmadinejad saying that the world would soon see Israel's destruction.

He said the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 showed for the first time Israel's weakness.

The Iranian leader is a trenchant critic of Israel and has said the Holocaust of European Jewry is a myth.

Iran denies minister's comments on 'uranium stockpile'

Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi was quoted by the ISNA student news agency as saying Iran had enriched and stored more than 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of enriched uranium.

EU and Iran to meet over Tehran's nuclear programme

Allies consider partial Iran nuke freeze

VIENNA, Austria - Key U.S. allies have begun debating whether to tolerate Iran's only partially freezing its uranium enrichment program — a stance that could put them at odds with Washington, officials said Friday.

G8 threatens Iran over nuclear ambitions
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (AFP) - The Group of Eight powers on Friday threatened to take new measures against Iran if the Islamic republic continues to ignore UN demands to halt its uranium enrichment.

US 'Iran attack plans' revealed
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned.

It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres.

Details of Iran government's crackdown

A look at Iran's recent crackdown on perceived internal threats

Crackdown on Dissent Is Under Way in Iran
Iran is in the throes of one of its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years, with the government focusing on labor leaders, universities, the press, women’s rights advocates, a former nuclear negotiator and Iranian-Americans, three of whom have been in prison for more than six weeks.

The shift is occurring against the backdrop of an economy so stressed that although Iran is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, it is on the verge of rationing gasoline. At the same time, the nuclear standoff with the West threatens to bring new sanctions.

Iranian students report crackdown
Iranian students and professors say an unprecedented number of disciplinary cases have been brought against students in the last month.

US warns firms trading with Iran

Full Coverage: Iran

nuke

2007-06-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Russia warns U.S. about missile system

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could take "retaliatory steps" if Washington proceeds with plans to build a missile defense system for Europe, including possibly aiming nuclear weapons at targets on the continent.

Putin assailed the White House plan to place a radar system in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland. Washington says the system is needed to counter a potential threat from Iran.

Iran ready to resist on nuclear standoff, Khamenei warns West

Iran calls U.S. missile interceptor plan a "joke"

Iran continues nuclear defiance

Iran president sees "countdown" to Israel's end
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president said on Sunday the Lebanese and the Palestinians had pressed a "countdown button" to bring an end to Israel.

US to Press Ahead With Anti-Missile Plan

Bunkers in vogue as cold war fears rise
With fears of terrorism, natural disasters and a cold war revival on the rise, a German company has tapped into the climate of insecurity and produced the continent's first ready-made fallout shelter.

What happens when two nations battle with nukes?
A regional nuclear war would have long-lasting effects on the planet.

United Nations University

2007-06-04T08:28:00.001-07:00

http://www.unu.edu/

Middle East news reports and timelines

2007-06-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/themes/conflict_and_war/middle_east/default.stm

Rosie

2007-05-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

2007-05-31T13:13:00.001-07:00

Patents and Innovation

Technology

Political Cartoons

2007-05-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Daryle Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index

Political Cartoons of Michael Ramirez

Ripoff Report

2007-05-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ripoff Report

news

2007-05-31T08:10:00.001-07:00

FOX News: NEWS ON IRAQ

Yahoo: Full Coverage: Iraq

Yahoo: Full Coverage: Mideast Conflict

UN News

2007-05-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

UN NEWS CENTRE

News Focus

2007-05-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Bush salutes troops

"From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, brave men and women have given up their own futures so that others might have a future of freedom," he said. "Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. And wherever these patriots rest, we offer them the respect and gratitude of our nation."

Bush signs Iraq war spending bill

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a bill Friday to pay for military operations in Iraq after a bitter struggle with Democrats in Congress who sought unsuccessfully to tie the money to U.S. troop withdrawals.

Profile: Fatah al-Islam

2007-05-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Profile: Fatah al-Islam

Split from Palestinian group Fatah al-Intifada in late 2006
Believed to have 150-200 armed men, based in Nahr al-Bared camp
Denies al-Qaeda links but says it endorses its ideas
Has links with Syrian intelligence, Lebanon says
Leader is Shaker al-Abssi

In pictures: Lebanon battles

Lebanon army: 'Fatah al-Islam using civilians as human shields'

'Fath Al-Islam' Military Commander: We Are 'Ready To Blow Up Every Place In Lebanon'

Some Lebanon gunmen 'surrender'
A commander of the Palestinian Fatah party in Lebanon says seven militants who were fighting the Lebanese army have now surrendered to his group.

Militants threaten to expand Lebanon camp war
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-inspired militants in north Lebanon threatened on Wednesday to take their fight to other parts of the country and beyond if the Lebanese army did not stop attacking a Palestinian refugee camp.

Politically Uncorrect

2007-05-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

quiz

2007-05-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

A Middle East Quiz

2007-05-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Agenda-driven pseudo-news

"Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community"

about CommonDreams.org

Common Dreams is a national non-profit citizens' organization working to bring progressive Americans together to promote progressive visions for America's future.

We are committed to being on the cutting-edge of using the internet as a political organizing tool - and creating new models for internet activism.

An eclectic mix of politics, issues and breaking news with an emphasis on progressive perspectives that are increasingly hard to find with our corporate-dominated media.

"The Raw Story is an alternative news nexus"

about therawstory.com

We draw upon a panoply of news sources and select those stories we think most intriguing to a audience seeking news underplayed by the mainstream media.

The Raw Story was founded in January 2004 to provide an online alternative for news, politics, and arts, providing a nexus of links to stories of the day as well as our own reporting. We aim to be relevant to a young-minded audience...

"Ours is muckraking with a radical attitude"

about CounterPunch

...and nothing makes us happier than when CounterPunch readers write in to say how useful they've found our newsletter in their battles against the war machine, big business and the rapers of nature.

2007-05-22T12:22:00.001-07:00

Michael Kamber for The New York Times
For the average Iraqi, the tradeoff for relative safety is living with a certain level of extortion, political corruption and religious militancy. Above, children competed in an impromptu foot race put on by U.S. soldiers. The winner got a soccer ball.

US troops kill Iraq raid 'leader'

2007-05-22T12:15:00.001-07:00

US troops kill Iraq raid 'leader'

Lebanon

2007-05-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Lebanese crisis explained
Lebanon is the most politically complex and religiously divided country in the Middle East, which is what makes it such a potentially explosive factor in an unstable region.

Aid convoy under fire in Lebanon

Thousands said fleeing Lebanese camp

U.S. mulls military funding plea from Lebanon

UNSCR 1701 which passed in August 2006, called for the disarmament of Hizballah.

Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. UNSCR 1559called for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs.

On November 13, 2006, Hezbollah-Amal-backed ministers resigned from Siniora's cabinet to protest the establishment of the international tribunal investigating the assassination of PM Rafiq Hariri in 2005, which the Siniora government, as well as the United States, have accused the Syrian intelligence service of involvement in, a charge denied by Syria.With the resignation of these cabinet ministers, and under Lebanon's constitution the Siniora government no longer legitimately holds power, as the constitution requires all Lebanese ethno-religious groups to be represented in the cabinet. They demand an increase in opposition representation in the cabinet, sufficient to hold veto power over decision making, as their requirement for returning. The government sees this as a Syrian-orchestrated move to block the establishment of the Hariri tribunal.

From The World Factbook:

Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French
forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out
a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A
lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made
progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord -
the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more
equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in
the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the
government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful
elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a
radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the
Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering
about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus
justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests
and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the
constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern
Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that
Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October
2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its
interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to
Syria's presence in Lebanon. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq
HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut
against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"). Syria finally withdrew the
remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. In May-June 2005,
Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free
of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the
slain prime minister's son. Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July
2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. UNSCR 1701, which passed in
August 2006, called for the disarmament of Hizballah.

history

2007-05-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

589 - 632 : Koran revealed to Muhammad; it shares stories with Judeo-Christian texts.

711 - 718 : Arabs conquer Spain, which becomes center of commerce and culture.

1096 - 1291 : Christian Europe launches the Crusades against Islam.

1453 : Ottoman Turks take constantinople, capital of Orthodox Christianity.

1493 : King Ferdinand drives the Moors from Spain and next expels the Jews.

1683 : The Ottoman siege of Vienna fails, marking the end of its Islamic expansion.

1965 : Nostra Aetate

2001 : Pope John Paul II is first Pontiff to visit a mosque, in Damascus, Syria.

Sept. 2006 : Pope Benedict XVI links Islam to violence, igniting debate and protest.

Internet censorship

2007-05-19T14:46:00.001-07:00

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/57472.html?welcome=1210023389

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Internet-censorship-grows-worldwide-study/2007/05/19/1179497293880.html

International Public Opinion Says Government Should Not Limit Internet Access
All Nations Polled Support Principle of Press Freedom, and Half Want More Freedom
But Many Muslims and Russians Accept Press Restrictions to Preserve Political Stability