Obama Flops Again?

After retracting what he said at the AIPAC conference back on June 6 regarding East Jerusalem, Obama once again says Jerusalem will not be the Palestinian capital:

Bethlehem – Ma'an - US democratic candidate Barak Obama said during a press conference on Wednesday in Sderot, a city in the south of Israel, that he does not support the idea of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

Obama made it clear that Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and that he would not see the city divided. He added that this position needed to be fixed through negotiations with the Palestinians.

Recent years have seen Obama's position on Israel/Palestine shift dramatically towards the Israeli side. He previously stated that the issue of Jerusalem should be on the table of any peace negotiation, but after criticism of his 'naïve' stance, Obama dropped this position.

The press conference was held with Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, who said, "Israel and the USA have a common understanding of what must happen in the region."

Earlier Obama met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, where he said that he would work hard to continue the peace process.

Obama stressed that if he takes office this fall he will not "start from zero" with the Palestinian peace process. Rather, he said, "we will continue peace process efforts." He also expressed the desire to show Palestinians that there was good reason to hope for a resolution.

Source: Ma'an News Agency: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30771

Spying on Americans

Tim Shorrock has written a new article on Salon.com about the Bush administration's historic abuse of power. Shorrock has detailed the extent of the current administration use of Main Core, a database that:

contains a vast amount of personal data on Americans, including NSA intercepts of bank and credit card transactions and the results of surveillance efforts by the FBI, the CIA, and other agencies.

The article also details plans inside the beltway of establishing a "Church Committee -style investigation" in hopes of implementing "government reforms aimed at preventing future abuses -- and perhaps to bring accountability for wrongdoing by Bush officials."

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Democracy Now! is reporting that Congress is introducing legislation to ban Iranian television channels:

A Republican lawmaker has introduced a measure to ban several Iranian television channels, including the news network Press TV. House Resolution 1308 would label each channel a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” Co-sponsor Gus Bilirakis says the networks broadcast “incitement to violence” against the United States.

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Ma'an News Agency is reporting that UN General Security Ban Ki-Moon has "called on Israel to immediately freeze settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

New Settlements...what peace?

The Associated Press is reporting that Israel is planning to expand their settlements in the West Bank by building a new settlement post. How will peace be achieved if the power broker in the deal, Israel, continues to build new settlements and expand old ones? Will the U.S. stand firm in their demands for Israel to halt their expansion?

I doubt it.

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NYTimes op-ed columnist, Nicholas Kristof, has written an interesting article this morning regarding the future of US policy in Israel.

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Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of Electronic Intifada (EI), details Obama's visit to Israel/Palestine and the disproportionate time he spent with Israeli officials compared to Palestinian officials. It's a good read.

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Democracy Now! has published the following headline regarding Obama's visit to the Middle East:

Obama Avoids Gaza Strip on Mideast Trip

Senator Barack Obama has wrapped up his Mideast tour. On Wednesday, Obama held a series of meetings with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem.

Senator Barack Obama: “I’m here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States, my abiding commitment to Israel’s security and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a United States senator or as a president in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region.”

Obama also visited Ramallah for a low-key visit with Palestinian officials. He did not visit the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently intensified its blockade. In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said Obama is offering no alternative to Bush administration policy in the region.

Sami Abu Zuhri: “These positions mean that there is no minimal hope to any change in the US foreign policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict. And this means that we are in front of one American policy, and the Palestinian people should depend on their own and on the Arab and Muslim world in facing this opposing American policy, which both the Democratic and Republican parties are adopting."

Castro Wishes Mandela a Happy Birthday

This post is late considering Mandela's birthday was last week but below I've posted Castro's birthday wish below. Also, I've uploaded a song in Mandela's honor- Special AKA's In The Studio.

MESSAGE TO NELSON MANDELA ON HIS 90TH ANNIVERSARY

GLORY to you, Nelson, who defended human dignity in the 25 years of solitary imprisonment you endured! Neither slander nor hatred could break your iron will. You held your ground and, unwittingly and unintentionally, you became a symbol of what is noblest in human nature. You shall live on in the memory of future generations, as will the Cubans who fell in defense of the freedom of their brothers in other lands of the world.

Source: http://www.granma.cu/INGLES/2008/julio/lun21/Reflections-21julio.html

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Special AKA's In The Studio:

Spinning Cubes

Spinning Cubes, originally uploaded by rabajoghli.

If you get a chance buy a holga camera. I've been tired of using a digital camera so I saved a mere $50 and bought a holga camera kit off of amazon.com.

You won't regret it...trust me!

B'Tselem-IDF Shooting

The video and text below are from B'Tselem, the Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied territories:
http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/20080721_Nilin_Shooting.asp

21 July '08: Following exposure by B'Tselem, Military Police investigate shooting of bound Palestinian

Yesterday (20 July), B'Tselem published footage it received of a soldier firing a rubber-coated steel bullet, from extremely short range, at a Palestinian detainee who was cuffed and blindfolded. The act occurred about two weeks ago in the presence of several security forces, among them the battalion commander, a lieutenant colonel, who held the Palestinian’s arm while the soldier fired.

According to press reports, the Military Police have opened an investigation and arrested the soldier who fired the shot. Apparently, until the video was aired, the army did not conduct a Military Police investigation, and settled for an operational debriefing. According to the reports, the debriefing reached the desk of the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) Division Commander, who failed to inform the Military Police or the Judge Advocate General’s Office, or to take any measures against the soldier or the battalion commander. Residents of Ni’lin stated that, the day after the incident, they saw the soldier still serving in his unit.

When questioned by investigators, the soldier stated, according to press reports, that the battalion commander had ordered him to shoot the detainee. The commander, however, admitted only that he had ordered the soldiers “to frighten” the bound Palestinian.

The incident took place on 7 July, in Ni’lin, a village in the West Bank. A Palestinian demonstrator, Ashraf Abu-Rahma, 27, was stopped by soldiers, who cuffed and blindfolded him for about thirty minutes, during which time, according to Abu-Rahma, they beat him. Afterwards, a group of soldiers and border policemen led him to an army jeep. The footage shows a soldier aim his weapon at the detainee’s legs, from about 1.5 meters away, and fire a rubber-coated steel bullet at him. Abu-Rahma stated that the bullet hit his left toe and that he received treatment from an army medic and was then released by the soldiers.

A young Palestinian girl from Ni’lin filmed the incident from her house in the village. B'Tselem received the tape yesterday and forwarded a copy to the Military Police Investigation Unit commander, with a demand that an immediate Military Police investigation be opened, if one hadn’t already been initiated, and that the soldier be brought to justice. B’Tselem also demanded an investigation into the involvement of the battalion commander, who held the detainee. B'Tselem stressed that members of the security forces are obligated to report unlawful acts and that a senior officer’s failure to do so is particularly grave.

Really?

What is exactly the Guardian trying to say with this photo that accompanied their exclusive breaking news on the Bush administration's plans to open an intersect office in Tehran? The media went crazy this past week over The New Yorker's cover- a cartoon ridiculing the Republican's attempt to portray Barack and Michelle Obama as a team of unpatriotic Americans- yet not a single word is uttered when photos such as the one on the left and on the bottom of this post is used. The heading of the article, US plans to station diplomats in Iran for first time since 1979, is followed by a mural depicting a burning American flag. The photo editors of the Guardian must not think highly of the intellect of Iranians and their readers. Photos and videos in news are suppose to supplement reports. They are not meant to cause readers to jump to far fetching conclusions. This photo can steer the reader to sway his or opinion regarding the article before ever reading a single word. This photo is a single frame that has been captured in a country with a population of over 70 million people. It does not reflect the realities of Iran. Scholars and experts on Iran have stated on many occasions that Iranians are the most pro-American people in the Middle East (disregarding the Islamic Republic's official stance towards the U.S.). However, with one look at this photo, Iran is being pigeon-holed into an un-American, flag burning country. Furthermore, this photo subtly hints that a U.S. Intersect Office in Tehran may be a dangerous situation for American diplomats.

It gets even better! Check out today's picture on the Guardian website. I'm interested to hear what other people have to say!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/17/usa.iran
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/18/iran.usforeignpolicy2

Detention of Drs. Arash & Kamiar Alaei --VOA Persian Service Report