31 December 2008
CAIRO (IPS) - As the Palestinian death toll approaches
400, much of popular anger throughout the Arab world has
been directed at Egypt -- seen by many as complicit in the
Israeli campaign. "Israel would not have hit Gaza like
this without a green light from Egypt," Hamdi Hassan, MP
for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition
movement, told IPS. "The Egyptian government allowed this
assault on Gaza in hopes of finishing off Hamas."
1 de enero de 2009
THE CIVILIAN TARGETS OF ISRAEL'S BOMBING
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has continued its
military operation in the Gaza Strip for the fifth day.
Today, it targeted an ambulance and its medical crew with
a missile, killing a doctor and an orderly and critically
injuring its driver. According to Al Mezan Center's
monitoring, the number of Palestinian casualties since the
start of Israel's Operation Cast Lead at 11:30am on 27
December 2008 has risen to 315, of whom 41 were children
and nine women.
military operation in the Gaza Strip for the fifth day.
Today, it targeted an ambulance and its medical crew with
a missile, killing a doctor and an orderly and critically
injuring its driver. According to Al Mezan Center's
monitoring, the number of Palestinian casualties since the
start of Israel's Operation Cast Lead at 11:30am on 27
December 2008 has risen to 315, of whom 41 were children
and nine women.
27 de diciembre de 2008
GAZA - Israel bombardeó este sábado objetivos de Hamas en la franja de Gaza y causó más de 200 muertos y de 300 heridos, en represalia a los disparos de cohetes desde este territorio palestino controlado por el movimiento islamista.
Esta operación, uno de los ataques más sangrientos lanzados por Israel contra los palestinos desde hace décadas, comenzó a las 11H30 (09H30 GMT) cuando unos sesenta aparatos israelíes bombardearon unos 50 blancos del movimientos islamista, principalmente el cuartel general de la policía en Gaza y varios campamentos de entrenamiento.
La mayoría de las víctimas son policías de Hamas, aseguraron fuentes hospitalarias y policiales palestinas.
"Al menos 205 palestinos murieron y unos 300 resultaron heridos", dijo el doctor Moawiya Hassanein, jefe de los servicios de emergencia de Gaza.
Con anterioridad diversos responsables palestinos dieron cuenta de 195 muertos y más de 300 heridos.
El balance es provisorio porque los ataques aéreos continuaban de forma esporádica.
Esta operación, uno de los ataques más sangrientos lanzados por Israel contra los palestinos desde hace décadas, comenzó a las 11H30 (09H30 GMT) cuando unos sesenta aparatos israelíes bombardearon unos 50 blancos del movimientos islamista, principalmente el cuartel general de la policía en Gaza y varios campamentos de entrenamiento.
La mayoría de las víctimas son policías de Hamas, aseguraron fuentes hospitalarias y policiales palestinas.
"Al menos 205 palestinos murieron y unos 300 resultaron heridos", dijo el doctor Moawiya Hassanein, jefe de los servicios de emergencia de Gaza.
Con anterioridad diversos responsables palestinos dieron cuenta de 195 muertos y más de 300 heridos.
El balance es provisorio porque los ataques aéreos continuaban de forma esporádica.
25 de diciembre de 2008
Transcripciones de Kissinger en el Archivo de Seguridad Nacional / National Security Archive’s Kissinger Transcripts
Nixon a Kissinger: “simplemente inundarlos de bombas”
Y el Archivo de Seguridad Nacional publicó en Internet transcripciones de aproximadamente 15 mil llamadas realizadas por el ex secretario de Estado Henry Kissinger. Las transcripciones cubren el período entre 1969 y 1977. Kissinger desempeñó un papel central en la escalada del ataque estadounidense a Vietnam; el bombardeo de Camboya y Laos; el respaldo a la invasión genocida llevada a cabo por Indonesia en Timor Oriental; y el derrocamiento del gobierno chileno democráticamente electo del Presidente Salvador Allende. En una transcripción recientemente publicada que data de 1972, Kissinger informaba al Presidente Richard Nixon que Estados Unidos había lanzado “un millón de libras en bombas” en Vietnam del Norte. Nixon respondió: “Este tratamiento de shock los está resquebrajando. Lo que hay que hacer es bombardear en todos los lugares que se pueda… simplemente inundarlos de bombas”. En una aparente referencia al sentimiento antibélico en Estados Unidos, Kissinger decía que en última instancia el país alcanzaría sus objetivos en Vietnam: “Si como país mantenemos nuestro coraje, lo lograremos”. Transcripciones previamente publicadas revelaron que Kissinger fue responsable de dar órdenes que sus críticos han calificado de genocidas. En 1970, Kissinger transmitió la orden de Nixon de ampliar el bombardeo de Camboya, diciendo: “Una campaña de bombardeo masivo en Camboya. Todo lo que vuele sobre todo lo que se mueva”.
Nixon to Kissinger: “Just Bomb the Hell Out of Them”
And the National Security Archive has released an online volume of transcripts from some 15,000 phone calls made by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The transcripts date from 1969 to 1977. Kissinger played a pivotal role in the escalation of the US attack on Vietnam, the bombing of Cambodia and Laos, the backing of the genocidal Indonesian invasion of East Timor, and the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Chilean President Salvador Allende. In a newly released transcript from 1972, Kissinger informs President Richard Nixon the US has dropped “a million pounds of bombs” on North Vietnam. Nixon responds, “That shock treatment [is] cracking them. I tell you the thing to do is pour it in there every place we can…just bomb the hell out of them." In an apparent reference to antiwar sentiment in the US, Kissinger says the US will ultimately achieve its objectives in Vietnam, saying, “If as a country we keep our nerves, we are going to make it.” Previously released transcripts have revealed Kissinger was responsible for giving orders that critics have called genocidal. In 1970, Kissinger relayed Nixon’s order to expand the bombing of Cambodia, saying, “A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves.”
Y el Archivo de Seguridad Nacional publicó en Internet transcripciones de aproximadamente 15 mil llamadas realizadas por el ex secretario de Estado Henry Kissinger. Las transcripciones cubren el período entre 1969 y 1977. Kissinger desempeñó un papel central en la escalada del ataque estadounidense a Vietnam; el bombardeo de Camboya y Laos; el respaldo a la invasión genocida llevada a cabo por Indonesia en Timor Oriental; y el derrocamiento del gobierno chileno democráticamente electo del Presidente Salvador Allende. En una transcripción recientemente publicada que data de 1972, Kissinger informaba al Presidente Richard Nixon que Estados Unidos había lanzado “un millón de libras en bombas” en Vietnam del Norte. Nixon respondió: “Este tratamiento de shock los está resquebrajando. Lo que hay que hacer es bombardear en todos los lugares que se pueda… simplemente inundarlos de bombas”. En una aparente referencia al sentimiento antibélico en Estados Unidos, Kissinger decía que en última instancia el país alcanzaría sus objetivos en Vietnam: “Si como país mantenemos nuestro coraje, lo lograremos”. Transcripciones previamente publicadas revelaron que Kissinger fue responsable de dar órdenes que sus críticos han calificado de genocidas. En 1970, Kissinger transmitió la orden de Nixon de ampliar el bombardeo de Camboya, diciendo: “Una campaña de bombardeo masivo en Camboya. Todo lo que vuele sobre todo lo que se mueva”.
Nixon to Kissinger: “Just Bomb the Hell Out of Them”
And the National Security Archive has released an online volume of transcripts from some 15,000 phone calls made by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The transcripts date from 1969 to 1977. Kissinger played a pivotal role in the escalation of the US attack on Vietnam, the bombing of Cambodia and Laos, the backing of the genocidal Indonesian invasion of East Timor, and the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Chilean President Salvador Allende. In a newly released transcript from 1972, Kissinger informs President Richard Nixon the US has dropped “a million pounds of bombs” on North Vietnam. Nixon responds, “That shock treatment [is] cracking them. I tell you the thing to do is pour it in there every place we can…just bomb the hell out of them." In an apparent reference to antiwar sentiment in the US, Kissinger says the US will ultimately achieve its objectives in Vietnam, saying, “If as a country we keep our nerves, we are going to make it.” Previously released transcripts have revealed Kissinger was responsible for giving orders that critics have called genocidal. In 1970, Kissinger relayed Nixon’s order to expand the bombing of Cambodia, saying, “A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves.”
22 de diciembre de 2008
Israel amenaza con atacar Gaza
Agence France Press informa que Israel lanzó una campaña diplomática para reunir apoyo internacional para llevar a cabo una gran ofensiva contra Gaza, que se encuentra bajo el mando de Hamas. En una carta al Secretario General de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon, la enviada de Israel ante la Organización de las Naciones Unidas Gabriela Shalev dijo que el estado judío respondería a los incesantes ataques con cohetes. El Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores Tzipi Livni le ordenó a los embajadores israelíes de todo el mundo que hagan énfasis en el hecho de que Israel “no dudará en utilizar la fuerza militar de ser necesario” para proteger a sus ciudadanos. Livni, quién se postuló a Primer Ministro, dijo: “Israel debe derrocar al gobierno de Hamas en Gaza y eso sería exactamente lo que haría un gobierno dirigido por mí”. Esta iniciativa de relaciones públicas tuvo lugar un día después de que Israel amenazó con llevar a cabo una gran ofensiva contra Gaza. El viernes, Hamas dijo que no renovaría una tregua de seis meses con Israel.
Jefe de Inteligencia elegido por Obama respaldó ocupación indonesia de Timor Oriental
Obama eligió al almirante Dennis Blair para el cargo más alto de la inteligencia del país. Como Director de Inteligencia Nacional, Blair supervisaría las dieciséis agencias de inteligencia del gobierno estadounidense. La elección de Blair despertó polémica debido principalmente a su papel en el respaldo hacia la ocupación indonesia de Timor Oriental en la década del 90. Blair dio apoyo clave al Ejército indonesio cuando comandaba las fuerzas militares de Estados Unidos en el Pacífico. En una carta, la organización “East Timor and Indonesian Action Network” (Red de Acción de Timor Oriental e Indonesia) dijo: “Blair buscó la restauración más rápida posible de la ayuda militar, a pesar de que la retirada de Indonesia fue altamente destructiva y de que no se haya podido hasta hoy enjuiciar a los oficiales superiores que supervisaron la violencia. Esta falta de preocupación por los derechos humanos muestra que es poco probable que se convierta en un campeón de la reforma”.
EEUU acusado por nuevas muertes de civiles en Afganistán
Se acusa al Ejército de Estados Unidos de otro ataque mortal a civiles inocentes en Afganistán. Funcionarios afganos afirman que tres miembros de una familia fueron asesinados y otros dos resultaron heridos, cuando soldados de Estados Unidos allanaron su casa en la aldea de Kundi, cerca de la frontera de Afganistán con Pakistán. Los soldados hirieron de muerte al padre y a la madre de la familia, y a un pariente de sexo masculino. Además, un niño de cuatro años fue mordido por un perro de ataque del Ejército estadounidense.
18 de diciembre de 2008
Dick Cheney's fantasy world
In yet another attempt at revisionist history by the outgoing Bush administration, vice-president Dick Cheney, in an exclusive interview with ABC News, took exception to former presidential adviser Karl Rove's contention that the US would not have gone to war if available intelligence before the invasion had shown Iraq not to possess weapons of mass destruction. Cheney noted that the only thing the US got wrong on Iraq was that there were no stockpiles of WMD at the time of the 2003 invasion. "What they found was that Saddam Hussein still had the capability to produce weapons of mass destruction. He had the technology, he had the people, he had the basic feed stock."
The vice-president should re-check both his history and his facts. Just prior to President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, the UN had teams of weapons inspectors operating inside Iraq, blanketing the totality of Iraq's industrial infrastructure. They found no evidence of either retained WMD, or efforts undertaken by Iraq to reconstitute a WMD manufacturing capability. Whatever dual-use industrial capability that did exist (so-called because the industrial processes involved to produce legitimate civilian or military items could, if modified, be used to produce materials associated with WMD) had been so degraded as a result of economic sanctions and war that any meaningful WMD production was almost moot. To say that Saddam had the capability or the technology to produce WMD at the time of the US invasion is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
The vice-president should re-check both his history and his facts. Just prior to President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, the UN had teams of weapons inspectors operating inside Iraq, blanketing the totality of Iraq's industrial infrastructure. They found no evidence of either retained WMD, or efforts undertaken by Iraq to reconstitute a WMD manufacturing capability. Whatever dual-use industrial capability that did exist (so-called because the industrial processes involved to produce legitimate civilian or military items could, if modified, be used to produce materials associated with WMD) had been so degraded as a result of economic sanctions and war that any meaningful WMD production was almost moot. To say that Saddam had the capability or the technology to produce WMD at the time of the US invasion is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
Amnesty: 334 Taser Deaths Since 2001
Amnesty International is calling for new limits on the use of taser stun guns by law enforcement officials in the U.S.
In a new report, Amnesty says 334 people have been killed by taser weapons since 2001. 90 percent of the victims were unarmed and did not appear to present a serious threat. Some of the people to be shocked by taser weapons include schoolchildren, pregnant women and an elderly person with dementia.
Amnesty International is calling for new limits on the use of taser stun guns by law enforcement officials in the U.S.
In a new report, Amnesty says 334 people have been killed by taser weapons since 2001. 90 percent of the victims were unarmed and did not appear to present a serious threat. Some of the people to be shocked by taser weapons include schoolchildren, pregnant women and an elderly person with dementia.
13 de diciembre de 2008
Forty ways in which the federal government failed to perform under the administration of George W. Bush, 2001-2008:
• 45 million Americans without health care
• 60 percent of EPA scientists report political interference with their work
• 1,273 whistleblower complaints filed from 2002-2008; 1,256 were dismissed
• 190,000 U.S.-supplied weapons missing in Iraq
• $212.3 million in overcharges by Halliburton for Iraq oil reconstruction work
• $455 billion deficit for fiscal year 2008; estimated to reach up to $1 trillion in 2009
• $9.91 billion for government secrecy in 2007 — a record
• 809 government laptops with sensitive information lost by FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• 30 million pounds of beef recalled in 2007
• $300 billion over budget for Department of Defense weapons acquisitions
• Less than 3 percent of U.S. electricity needs met by alternative energy
• 2,145 troops killed and 21,000 injured in Iraq from March 2003 through November 1, 2008, by IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and other explosives — many while awaiting body armor. Additionally, tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the conflict
• 34.8 percent of oil used in America imported during Nixon administration; 42.2 percent during first Gulf War; 59.9 percent in 2006
• $100 million for failed FBI computer network
• $100 billion in federal tax revenues lost annually to corporations using off-shore tax shelters
• 163 million airline passengers delayed 320 million hours; cost to U.S. economy: more than $41 billion in 2007
• $60 billion stolen in Medicare fraud each year
• 2.5 million toxic toys recalled in summer of 2007
• $12.5 billion for defective National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System
• $4 billion to upgrade National Security Agency computers that often crash, have trouble talking to each other, and lose key intelligence
• 60,000 flights made by 46 Southwest Airline jets in violation of FAA safety directives due to lax FAA enforcement
• 12.8 percent job turnover at Department of Homeland Security in 2006 — double that of any other cabinet-level agency
• 730,000 backlogged patent applications
• 148,000 troops not enough to secure Iraq, enabling insurgency to take root
• $1 billion, six-year “Reading First” program called ineffective by Department of Education Inspector General
• 20,000 U.S. deaths annually from lack of pollution controls on diesel vehicles and power plants
• 60,000 newborns a year at risk for neurological problems due to mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants
• Two-thirds fewer clean ups of EPA Superfund toxic waste sites during 2001-2006 than in previous six years
• 935 demonstrably false statements in lead-up to Iraq war by President Bush and seven members of his administration
• At least $500 million for FEMA trailers contaminated by formaldehyde occupied by thousands displaced after Hurricane Katrina
• 558 detainees at Guantanamo detention facility reduced to 255 after court-ordered case reviews
• 26 percent of corporations holding at least $250 million in assets audited in 2006; percent audited in 1990: more than 70 percent. IRS audit staff slashed by 30 percent
• $431.5 billion spent on Medicare in 2007, double amount in 2001
• 47 dead in mining accidents in 2006 blamed on lax oversight
• $9 billion in federal oil and gas royalties mismanaged by agency linked to drug-and-sex scandal
• 275 largest U.S. corporations pay, on average, about 17 percent in taxes in 2007, half the standard corporate tax rate
• $45 trillion in credit-default swaps, without federal oversight, in 2007
• 760,800 disability claims backlogged, awaiting hearings at Social Security Administration as of October 2008
• 806,000 Veterans Affairs disability claims in 2006, up 39 percent since 2000; backlog reached 400,000 claims by February 2007
• 2,640 days Osama bin Laden at large since September 11, 2001 (as of December 10, 2008)
• 60 percent of EPA scientists report political interference with their work
• 1,273 whistleblower complaints filed from 2002-2008; 1,256 were dismissed
• 190,000 U.S.-supplied weapons missing in Iraq
• $212.3 million in overcharges by Halliburton for Iraq oil reconstruction work
• $455 billion deficit for fiscal year 2008; estimated to reach up to $1 trillion in 2009
• $9.91 billion for government secrecy in 2007 — a record
• 809 government laptops with sensitive information lost by FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• 30 million pounds of beef recalled in 2007
• $300 billion over budget for Department of Defense weapons acquisitions
• Less than 3 percent of U.S. electricity needs met by alternative energy
• 2,145 troops killed and 21,000 injured in Iraq from March 2003 through November 1, 2008, by IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and other explosives — many while awaiting body armor. Additionally, tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the conflict
• 34.8 percent of oil used in America imported during Nixon administration; 42.2 percent during first Gulf War; 59.9 percent in 2006
• $100 million for failed FBI computer network
• $100 billion in federal tax revenues lost annually to corporations using off-shore tax shelters
• 163 million airline passengers delayed 320 million hours; cost to U.S. economy: more than $41 billion in 2007
• $60 billion stolen in Medicare fraud each year
• 2.5 million toxic toys recalled in summer of 2007
• $12.5 billion for defective National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System
• $4 billion to upgrade National Security Agency computers that often crash, have trouble talking to each other, and lose key intelligence
• 60,000 flights made by 46 Southwest Airline jets in violation of FAA safety directives due to lax FAA enforcement
• 12.8 percent job turnover at Department of Homeland Security in 2006 — double that of any other cabinet-level agency
• 730,000 backlogged patent applications
• 148,000 troops not enough to secure Iraq, enabling insurgency to take root
• $1 billion, six-year “Reading First” program called ineffective by Department of Education Inspector General
• 20,000 U.S. deaths annually from lack of pollution controls on diesel vehicles and power plants
• 60,000 newborns a year at risk for neurological problems due to mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants
• Two-thirds fewer clean ups of EPA Superfund toxic waste sites during 2001-2006 than in previous six years
• 935 demonstrably false statements in lead-up to Iraq war by President Bush and seven members of his administration
• At least $500 million for FEMA trailers contaminated by formaldehyde occupied by thousands displaced after Hurricane Katrina
• 558 detainees at Guantanamo detention facility reduced to 255 after court-ordered case reviews
• 26 percent of corporations holding at least $250 million in assets audited in 2006; percent audited in 1990: more than 70 percent. IRS audit staff slashed by 30 percent
• $431.5 billion spent on Medicare in 2007, double amount in 2001
• 47 dead in mining accidents in 2006 blamed on lax oversight
• $9 billion in federal oil and gas royalties mismanaged by agency linked to drug-and-sex scandal
• 275 largest U.S. corporations pay, on average, about 17 percent in taxes in 2007, half the standard corporate tax rate
• $45 trillion in credit-default swaps, without federal oversight, in 2007
• 760,800 disability claims backlogged, awaiting hearings at Social Security Administration as of October 2008
• 806,000 Veterans Affairs disability claims in 2006, up 39 percent since 2000; backlog reached 400,000 claims by February 2007
• 2,640 days Osama bin Laden at large since September 11, 2001 (as of December 10, 2008)
Russia, Argentina tout world without US domination
The presidents of Russia and Argentina called for a world not dominated by the United States as the two countries signed deals Wednesday to cooperate in energy, agriculture and science and other areas.
"The domination of one state, even the biggest, most powerful or most successful one, is unacceptable in any case," Medvedev said.
After the signing, Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez expanded on the theme, complaining how "powerful states" had forced economic and security policies onto others.
"We see the results of such policy — the whole planet is paying for it," she said.
"The domination of one state, even the biggest, most powerful or most successful one, is unacceptable in any case," Medvedev said.
After the signing, Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez expanded on the theme, complaining how "powerful states" had forced economic and security policies onto others.
"We see the results of such policy — the whole planet is paying for it," she said.
12 de diciembre de 2008
The CIA destroyed videotapes showing its agents subjecting "high-level al-Qaeda" detainees to waterboarding after the agency's inspector general issued a classified report in the spring of 2004 that concluded the interrogation methods used on the prisoners "appeared to constitute cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, as defined by the International Convention Against Torture."
10 de diciembre de 2008
Naciones Unidas: la ocupación israelí es un “crimen contra la humanidad”
Un alto funcionario de derechos humanos de las Naciones Unidas dice que las políticas de Israel hacia los palestinos representan un “crimen contra la humanidad”, y que debería ponérseles fin a través de la acción internacional. El relator de derechos humanos Richard Falk hizo comentarios sobre un informe remitido al Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas. Falk instó a las Naciones Unidas a invocar “la norma acordada de la responsabilidad de proteger a la población civil que está siendo castigada en forma colectiva”. También solicitó una investigación de la Corte Penal Internacional de las Fuerzas Armadas israelíes y de funcionarios civiles, con vistas a un eventual enjuiciamiento.
1 de diciembre de 2008
2011, qué es esto?
Las Fuerzas Armadas estadounidenses desplegarán 20.000 soldados para asistir en la seguridad nacional
El Washington Post informa que las Fuerzas Armadas estadounidenses desplegarían 20.000 soldados uniformados en Estados Unidos antes del año 2011 para ayudar a las autoridades estatales y municipales a responder a incidentes de seguridad nacional. El plan del Pentágono busca establecer tres fuerzas de respuesta rápida que estén preparadas para ayudar en caso de emergencia antes de septiembre de 2011. La primera unidad de 4.700 miembros, creada en base a una brigada de combate activa de Fort Stewart, Georgia, ya está lista para ser desplegada dentro del territorio nacional.
El Washington Post informa que las Fuerzas Armadas estadounidenses desplegarían 20.000 soldados uniformados en Estados Unidos antes del año 2011 para ayudar a las autoridades estatales y municipales a responder a incidentes de seguridad nacional. El plan del Pentágono busca establecer tres fuerzas de respuesta rápida que estén preparadas para ayudar en caso de emergencia antes de septiembre de 2011. La primera unidad de 4.700 miembros, creada en base a una brigada de combate activa de Fort Stewart, Georgia, ya está lista para ser desplegada dentro del territorio nacional.
26 de noviembre de 2008
The slow death of Gaza
(by Andrea Becker)
It has been two weeks since Israel imposed a complete closure of Gaza, after months when its crossings have been open only for the most minimal of humanitarian supplies. Now it is even worse: two weeks without United Nations food trucks for the 80% of the population entirely dependent on food aid, and no medical supplies or drugs for Gaza's ailing hospitals. No fuel (paid for by the EU) for Gaza's electricity plant, and no fuel for the generators during the long blackouts. Last Monday morning, 33 trucks of food for UN distribution were finally let in – a few days of few supplies for very few, but as the UN asks, then what?
Israel's official explanation for blocking even minimal humanitarian aid, according to IDF spokesperson Major Peter Lerner, was "continued rocket fire and security threats at the crossings". Israel's blockade, in force since Hamas seized control of Gaza in mid-2007, can be described as an intensification of policies designed to isolate the population of Gaza, cripple its economy, and incentivise the population against Hamas by harsh – and illegal – measures of collective punishment. However, these actions are not all new: the blockade is but the terminal end of Israel's closure policy, in place since 1991, which in turn builds on Israel's policies as occupier since 1967.
In practice, Israel's blockade means the denial of a broad range of items – food, industrial, educational, medical – deemed "non-essential" for a population largely unable to be self-sufficient at the end of decades of occupation. It means that industrial, cooking and diesel fuel, normally scarce, are virtually absent now. There are no queues at petrol stations; they are simply shut. The lack of fuel in turn means that sewage and treatment stations cannot function properly, resulting in decreased potable water and tens of millions of litres of untreated or partly treated sewage being dumped into the sea every day. Electricity cuts – previously around eight hours a day, now up to 16 hours a day in many areas – affect all homes and hospitals. Those lucky enough to have generators struggle to find the fuel to make them work, or spare parts to repair them when they break from overuse. Even candles are running out.
There can be no dispute that measures of collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are illegal under international humanitarian law. Fuel and food cannot be withheld or wielded as reward or punishment. But international law was tossed aside long ago. The blockade has been presented as punishment for the democratic election of Hamas, punishment for its subsequent takeover of Gaza, and punishment for militant attacks on Israeli civilians. The civilians of Gaza, from the maths teacher in a United Nations refugee camp to the premature baby in an incubator, properly punished for actions over which they have no control, will rise up and get rid of Hamas. Or so it goes.
And so what of these civilian agents of political change?
For all its complexities and tragedies, the over-arching effect of Israel's blockade has been to reduce the entire population to survival mode. Individuals are reduced to the daily detail of survival, and its exhaustions.
Consider Gaza's hospital staff. In hospitals, the blockade is as seemingly benign as doctors not having paper upon which to write diagnostic results or prescriptions, and as sinister as those seconds – between power cut and generator start – when a child on life support doesn't have the oxygen of a mechanical ventilator. A nurse on a neo-natal ward rushes between patients, battling the random schedule of power cuts. A hospital worker tries to keep a few kidney dialysis machines from breaking down, by farming spare parts from those that already have. The surgeon operates without a bulb in the surgery lamp, across from the anaesthetist who can no longer prevent patient pain. The hospital administrator updates lists of essential drugs and medical supplies that have run out, which vaccines from medical fridges are now unusable because they can't be kept cold, and which procedures must be cancelled altogether. The ambulance driver decides whether to respond to an emergency call, based on dwindling petrol in the tank.
By reducing the population to survival mode, the blockade robs people of the time and essence to do anything but negotiate the minutiae of what is and isn't possible in their personal and professional lives. Whether any flour will be available to make bread, where it might be found, how much it now costs. Rich or poor, taxi drivers, human rights defenders, and teachers alike spend hours speculating about where a canister of cooking gas might be found. Exhaustion is gripping hold of all in Gaza. Survival leaves little if no room for political engagement – and beyond exhaustion, anger and frustration are all that is left.
It has been two weeks since Israel imposed a complete closure of Gaza, after months when its crossings have been open only for the most minimal of humanitarian supplies. Now it is even worse: two weeks without United Nations food trucks for the 80% of the population entirely dependent on food aid, and no medical supplies or drugs for Gaza's ailing hospitals. No fuel (paid for by the EU) for Gaza's electricity plant, and no fuel for the generators during the long blackouts. Last Monday morning, 33 trucks of food for UN distribution were finally let in – a few days of few supplies for very few, but as the UN asks, then what?
Israel's official explanation for blocking even minimal humanitarian aid, according to IDF spokesperson Major Peter Lerner, was "continued rocket fire and security threats at the crossings". Israel's blockade, in force since Hamas seized control of Gaza in mid-2007, can be described as an intensification of policies designed to isolate the population of Gaza, cripple its economy, and incentivise the population against Hamas by harsh – and illegal – measures of collective punishment. However, these actions are not all new: the blockade is but the terminal end of Israel's closure policy, in place since 1991, which in turn builds on Israel's policies as occupier since 1967.
In practice, Israel's blockade means the denial of a broad range of items – food, industrial, educational, medical – deemed "non-essential" for a population largely unable to be self-sufficient at the end of decades of occupation. It means that industrial, cooking and diesel fuel, normally scarce, are virtually absent now. There are no queues at petrol stations; they are simply shut. The lack of fuel in turn means that sewage and treatment stations cannot function properly, resulting in decreased potable water and tens of millions of litres of untreated or partly treated sewage being dumped into the sea every day. Electricity cuts – previously around eight hours a day, now up to 16 hours a day in many areas – affect all homes and hospitals. Those lucky enough to have generators struggle to find the fuel to make them work, or spare parts to repair them when they break from overuse. Even candles are running out.
There can be no dispute that measures of collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are illegal under international humanitarian law. Fuel and food cannot be withheld or wielded as reward or punishment. But international law was tossed aside long ago. The blockade has been presented as punishment for the democratic election of Hamas, punishment for its subsequent takeover of Gaza, and punishment for militant attacks on Israeli civilians. The civilians of Gaza, from the maths teacher in a United Nations refugee camp to the premature baby in an incubator, properly punished for actions over which they have no control, will rise up and get rid of Hamas. Or so it goes.
And so what of these civilian agents of political change?
For all its complexities and tragedies, the over-arching effect of Israel's blockade has been to reduce the entire population to survival mode. Individuals are reduced to the daily detail of survival, and its exhaustions.
Consider Gaza's hospital staff. In hospitals, the blockade is as seemingly benign as doctors not having paper upon which to write diagnostic results or prescriptions, and as sinister as those seconds – between power cut and generator start – when a child on life support doesn't have the oxygen of a mechanical ventilator. A nurse on a neo-natal ward rushes between patients, battling the random schedule of power cuts. A hospital worker tries to keep a few kidney dialysis machines from breaking down, by farming spare parts from those that already have. The surgeon operates without a bulb in the surgery lamp, across from the anaesthetist who can no longer prevent patient pain. The hospital administrator updates lists of essential drugs and medical supplies that have run out, which vaccines from medical fridges are now unusable because they can't be kept cold, and which procedures must be cancelled altogether. The ambulance driver decides whether to respond to an emergency call, based on dwindling petrol in the tank.
By reducing the population to survival mode, the blockade robs people of the time and essence to do anything but negotiate the minutiae of what is and isn't possible in their personal and professional lives. Whether any flour will be available to make bread, where it might be found, how much it now costs. Rich or poor, taxi drivers, human rights defenders, and teachers alike spend hours speculating about where a canister of cooking gas might be found. Exhaustion is gripping hold of all in Gaza. Survival leaves little if no room for political engagement – and beyond exhaustion, anger and frustration are all that is left.
25 de noviembre de 2008
Corporate Giants Force Obama to Drop Campaign Promises
During the 2008 presidential election cycle, President-elect Barack Obama made two key campaign promises which would have directed billions of dollars into the middle class economy. With the election behind him, it seems that President-elect Barack Obama has now broken his promise to enact a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry which would have provided a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to American families, as well as his promise to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.
Prior to his election, President-elect Obama made a promise to initiate a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to fund a $1000 tax rebate for families. The promise was displayed prominently at the top of the economy section of Obama's campaign website. That same information was transferred to Obama's transition website, www.change.gov, but was recently removed in an unceremonious and abrupt manner. (Pre-change, http://www.asbl.com/documents/Economy_Change.pdf ; Post-change, http://change.gov/agenda/economy_agenda/ )
In February, President-elect Obama said, "Small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy and we must protect this great resource. It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
Since 2003, a series of more than a dozen federal investigations have found that every year billions of dollars in federal small business contracts are diverted to some of the largest corporations in the United States and Europe. Investigative stories by ABC, CBS, and CNN (http://www.asbl.com/media2.php) have all found that billions of dollars in government small business contracts actually went to firms such as Dell, Home Depot, John Deere, Xerox, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GTSI, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Titan Industries, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace (BAE).
Obama's pledge to end the diversion of small business contracts to corporate giants has now been completely eliminated from the change.gov website.
The sudden elimination of these two issues from change.gov would seem to indicate that large corporations are already flexing their muscles with the Obama Administration and demonstrating their ability to control presidential policy over the will of the American people.
"He hasn't been inaugurated yet and we are already witnessing the elimination of policies that would have greatly benefited the middle class economy in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in our lifetimes," President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman said. "I endorsed him, I voted for him, and I supported him and now I feel betrayed. He is obviously already going back on campaign promises. I think all small business owners should be concerned. Based upon the extremely low priority that Obama has placed upon small business issues, it would not surprise me if he tried to completely close the Small Business Administration by combining it with the United States Department of Commerce."
Prior to his election, President-elect Obama made a promise to initiate a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry to fund a $1000 tax rebate for families. The promise was displayed prominently at the top of the economy section of Obama's campaign website. That same information was transferred to Obama's transition website, www.change.gov, but was recently removed in an unceremonious and abrupt manner. (Pre-change, http://www.asbl.com/documents/Economy_Change.pdf ; Post-change, http://change.gov/agenda/economy_agenda/ )
In February, President-elect Obama said, "Small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy and we must protect this great resource. It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
Since 2003, a series of more than a dozen federal investigations have found that every year billions of dollars in federal small business contracts are diverted to some of the largest corporations in the United States and Europe. Investigative stories by ABC, CBS, and CNN (http://www.asbl.com/media2.php) have all found that billions of dollars in government small business contracts actually went to firms such as Dell, Home Depot, John Deere, Xerox, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GTSI, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Titan Industries, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace (BAE).
Obama's pledge to end the diversion of small business contracts to corporate giants has now been completely eliminated from the change.gov website.
The sudden elimination of these two issues from change.gov would seem to indicate that large corporations are already flexing their muscles with the Obama Administration and demonstrating their ability to control presidential policy over the will of the American people.
"He hasn't been inaugurated yet and we are already witnessing the elimination of policies that would have greatly benefited the middle class economy in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in our lifetimes," President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman said. "I endorsed him, I voted for him, and I supported him and now I feel betrayed. He is obviously already going back on campaign promises. I think all small business owners should be concerned. Based upon the extremely low priority that Obama has placed upon small business issues, it would not surprise me if he tried to completely close the Small Business Administration by combining it with the United States Department of Commerce."
12 de noviembre de 2008
Haniyeh: Hamas Would Accept 1967 Borders
Israel’s fuel blockade comes just days after Haniyeh said Hamas would accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. A 1967-based solution would mean Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israel continues to build settlements. Haniyeh made the comments at a meeting with European lawmakers who had sailed from Cyprus to protest Israel’s Gaza blockade.
Bush autorizó ataques estadounidenses en cualquier parte del mundo
El New York Times reveló que las Fuerzas Armadas estadounidenses han llevado a cabo casi una docena de ataques secretos en Siria, Pakistán y otros países desde el año 2004. Estos ataques fueron aprobados por una orden clasificada firmada por el Secretario de Defensa Donald Rumsfeld y autorizada por el Presidente Bush. Esta orden autoriza los ataques militares estadounidenses en cualquier parte del mundo si pueden ser relacionados con un blanco de Al-Qaeda. El ataque estadounidense del mes pasado contra Siria aparentemente fue el último caso conocido de esta política. Siria dice que ocho civiles murieron. Estos ataques generalmente fueron llevados a cabo con la colaboración de la CIA.
Estados Unidos admite haber matado a 37 afganos en ataque durante una boda
En Afganistán, Estados Unidos admitió que mató a 37 civiles e hirió a docenas más en un ataque militar la semana pasada. Las víctimas fueron bombardeadas durante una fiesta de casamiento en las afueras de la ciudad de Kandahar. El Pentágono dice que Estados Unidos bombardeó el área tras ser atacado por militantes. Esta fue la vez que el Pentágono reconoció más rápidamente una matanza de civiles afganos hasta la fecha. Estados Unidos demoró casi dos meses en admitir que había matado a noventa civiles en un ataque similar que tuvo lugar en agosto.
6 de noviembre de 2008
Israel Attacks Gaza
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, fighting has reignited between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Earlier today, Palestinians fired a barrage of rockets after the Israeli military attacked areas inside Gaza. At least six Palestinians were killed, including one civilian. It was the first major Israeli air strike on Gaza since June.
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)