I wrote a post today about the Iranian deal and the fact that Israel would do all possible to piss on the parade……so far there has not been much comment from Israel at all….and that seems odd to me…..they, Israel, has been saying that Iran is only months away from a bomb….and that has been going on since about 1980…..so why the silence now?
A good question and then I read this piece the the Global Post……..
Israel hates the Iran nuclear deal. So why’s it being so quiet? | GlobalPost.
Inkwell Institute
Subject: Middle East
Part of my studies was the Middle East and thanx to that course of learning I got to work in the region in my younger days……I got to see so much and learn so much more…..the Middle East is NOTHING like the crap that we are fed by the media….I found the Arabic people friendly, generous and a great sense of humor….but alas that was in the days before the AQ debacle that has everyone on edge…….
I post a lot on the plight of the Palestinians because they are virtually ignored in the West or seen as all terrorists….nothing could be further from the truth…..they have the same hopes and desires as us Westerners, especially for their children…..and for another reason is that I owe it to a co-worker and close friend that was killed when visiting his parents on the West Bank…his name was Rafiq…..he was killed while trying to protect his father’s olive trees from an Israeli bulldozer…….he was shot without warning or explanation to why his father’s orchard was being destroyed…….I gave my word to his mother that I would do what I could to explain the plight of the Palestinian people in her son’s memory……..that was 30 years ago and I am still trying to do as I promised.
I shared that piece of my life so that people would understand why I spend time on the situation in the Middle East…hope that answered any questions my reader may have.
On to the meat of the post……the Western media only seems to report when a Palestinian does something atrocious to an Israeli….but believe me there is more violence directed toward Palestinians than vice versa…..
I read Arabic newspapers daily and their take on the situation is no where near what we in the West read……but that is what the MSM does….drive any conversation.
While reading today I came across this piece and I will explain why I post this later…..
This report from AJE
The number of attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has increased every year for the past eight years, according to figures from the United Nations.
About 2,100 attacks have been launched by Israelis since 2006 and annual totals are up from 115 that year to 399 in 2013, according to the UN, which started counting such assaults in 2006.
More than 17,000 Palestinians, 342 settlers and 37 soldiers have been injured and 10 Palestinians and 29 settlers killed in attacks in the West Bank.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs relayed its report to the Associated Press news agency.
Most recently, Jewish settlers have been suspected of setting fire to a mosque’s entrance and of writing “Arabs out” and “Revenge for blood spilled in Qusra” in Hebrew on its exterior walls.
Israeli settlers have damaged hundreds of trees, killed 18 sheep and set six cars alight in dozens of attacks in Qusra in what is called the “price tag” campaign, according to Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi. The village has also lost half of its lands to settlements.
I know what you are thinking….of course the Arab press would treat the Jews unkindly….what can we expect….am I right?
I bet my reader is sitting there shake their head. They see the Palestinians as just pissed that Israel exists and will do anything whatever it takes to change that…….am I right?
But I believe that if things like this were happening to them or any of their family they would also be a bit pissed……
Adalah, an advocacy group for Arab minority rights, wants to overturn the military order barring West Bank Palestinians from appealing the confiscation of their property in a military court.
The order was signed on December 25 by the head of the military’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon.
The order “is designed to harm the Palestinians and restrict their rights, without any legitimate justification,” Adalah wrote to the attorney general, defense minister and Alon. If the order is not revoked, the group will appeal to the Supreme Court, Adalah said.
The military commander in the West Bank is authorized to confiscate property or money implicated in illegal or security-related activity. This clause lets the military and police seize funds believed to belong to terror groups. The authorities can also confiscate vehicles used to illegally transport laborers and equipment into Israel.
Until December 25, Palestinians could appeal confiscations in West Bank military courts, which were authorized to consider such issues based on a 2010 decision by the Military Court of Appeals. In that decision, the court ordered the return of a pneumatic drill to a Palestinian after the police had confiscated it.
Their land can be confiscated and they, the Palestinians, will have no right to appeal such action…….would you tolerate it?
Okay that point made….. why was this story not more important?
More than a dozen Israelis, the youngest 14, were trapped in a half-built house by a crowd of angry Palestinians. They were later rescued by other Palestinians from the same community.
It happened in a valley between Esh Kodesh, a small community of Jewish families that was built without the approval of the Israeli government, and the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the central West Bank.
Ziad Oday is a religious leader in Qusra and sits on the village council. He and other leaders rushed over when they heard what was going on. He said there was still some fighting when he arrived, but soon all the Israelis were under Palestinian control.
Qusra village council head Abdel Wadi is the first person locals call when they are in confrontations with settlers. He arrived around the same time as Oday, and says he and other Palestinian authorities put themselves physically between the cornered settlers and the angry crowd. He says despite the fury of his fellow villagers, he did not want this to turn into a tragedy.
You read it right….Palestinians protected Jewish settlers from an angry Palestinian mob…….
You will not see this in any major news organization….they want to drive the BS that Palestinians are all terrorists and thugs…..total BS and anyone that believes that line of crap is a MORON!
The government has had its panties in a wad since the new Iranian negotiations have been going on……for over a month now. They have tried everything to scuttle the agreement that was made……even to the point of using a lot of politicians from the Northeast states that get a sizable amount of cash from AIPAC….make ’em earn all those donations………
But after all their attempts the unthinkable is about to happen…….
A preliminary nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is now in effect. “In line with the implementation of the Geneva joint plan of action, Iran suspended the production of 20% enriched uranium in the presence of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors” at two sites, an Iranian atomic energy official told Iranian news, per AFP. UN authorities have confirmed the news, diplomats tell the BBC. The agreement allows the country to continue enriching uranium to 5%. As for the other side of the deal, “the sanctions iceberg against Iran is melting,” says Iran’s nuclear head. Assuming the EU is satisfied with the enrichment cuts, Iran should today be allowed to restart petrochemical exports as well as trade in gold, meaning billions of dollars for its economy, the BBC notes. Under the deal, Iran is also required to convert half of its existing 20% enriched uranium to oxide; the other half must be diluted to 5% enrichment, CBS News reports. In exchange for the dilution, Iran will gain access to some of its frozen foreign assets worth as much as $4.2 billion, the New York Times reports.
Like I stated….more bad news for Israel. But it will not stop there…..in the near future there will be stories about the violations of the agreement…….most likely they, Israel, will roll out their old reliable….Dan Senor to spread the manure.
The problem is the first steps of the deal are going as smooth as possible…….
Iran has ceased enriching uranium above five percent concentration, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors confirmed on Monday, as an historic interim deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers over its controversial nuclear program officially began.
The assumption of the Joint Plan of Action is an important milestone for modern Iran, as well as for those concerned about its nuclear ambitions. Developments on Monday marked the first time in over a decade that Iran’s leaders willingly paused, and even began rolling back, aspects of its nuclear work.
Additionally, Iran disabled its centrifuge cascades built to enrich uranium to higher grades, and has begun diluting its stockpile of uranium already enriched to near- 20% concentration.
I am not saying that all will be gravy…there will be false starts and some violations but each one will be magnified 100 times over by the media, especially the right wing media…..no stop will be overlooked to scuttle this agreement. It is what Israel wants and we know that they almost always get what they want……why would this time be any different?
In these times when it seems like governments are doing everything they can to keep women “in their place”…….but……..
There are brave women who reach out and take the world by the wanker and demand their place in a democratic society……and then there are women that go above and beyond for the sake of their place in society……..my first thought is for that Pakistani young woman who was attacked and damn near killed by the Taleban because she wanted an education and now she is an international spokesperson for women’s rights…….she was snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize which was an oversight by the committee….if anyone deserved it it was this young lady…..
And then I read a story about an Afghan woman that has assumed her place as a chief of police in the country that beat women and forced them to marry, stoned them and all around did everything they could to keep women “in their place”………
Kabul’s District 1 has a new police chief—and the Taliban has a new target. Col. Jamila Bayaz has become the first Afghan policewoman to run an entire district, and she says she is ready to face the challenge despite the threat from militants, the AP reports. “I work day and night,” says the 50-year-old, a mother of five who joined the police force more than 30 years ago. “I am ready to serve, I am not scared nor am I afraid.” Afghan policewoman are often targeted by the Taliban, whose brutal 5-year rule forced Bayaz to stay home instead of doing her job. “I was a housewife taking care of my family,” she says. “Women are part of society and since they left, more and more are getting involved and they need to join the police.” She hopes her high-profile job will encourage more women to join the police force, which now has 1,551 policewomen out of 53,400 personnel, up from just 180 in 2005.
This woman is aware of what the Taleban thinks of women and she will do her duty….the sad part is that some random drunken of a mayor will get more press than this lady…truly sad what Americans find as ‘news’……….
Now this is a women with cajones! She knows that there will be attempts on her life and that her life expectancy is short….but she saw what she thinks is her duty and went for it……my hat goes off to her and I wish her lots of luck and long life…….
All Middle East……All day!
I bet you are asking……which one? The Afghan or the Iraqi surge? Am I right?
For the sake of this post I am speaking of the Iraqi surge……the one that made Patreus a household name. The one that was really more about the Sunni tribal members that sided with the US forces in the west and north of the country in the battle against militants……how about now?
The ‘surge’ was a complete success….at least that was story line that the media and the admin wanted to be told…….regardless, we are looking at another incident where the Sunnis are being asked to contribute to the security of the country of Iraq………
As Iraqi forces struggle to retake Anbar from al-Qaeda affiliated militants, the government is turning to the same tactic the US used to end the Iraq war: Allying itself with local Sunni tribal militias. The US is urging Nouri al-Maliki to pass the guns it’s shipping him to the militants, and Maliki is obliging, while promising the militias permanent jobs, pensions, and death benefits for their trouble, the New York Times reports. But the militias say the US made the same promises, only to have Maliki’s government abandon them, and Sunni cooperation in general. They say they’re fighting because they feel obligated to drive al-Qaeda from their cities. “This is our war,” one tribal leader says, “and we don’t want to be accused of working for the government.” Tribesmen also tell the Washington Post that weapons shipments have been sluggish. “If the government was serious about wanting to support the tribes, they could clean up in three days,” said one government official. “All [the tribes] need is fuel, ammunition, and medium-sized weapons.”
Funny how when all starts going to shit the powers that be always turn to the Sunni tribes for help. But the Sunnis are not a happy group especially with the PM al-Maliki……..
……………we’re supporting the Shiite dictator in Baghdad, Nouri al-Maliki, as he tries desperately to crush a lingering insurgency and al-Qaeda’s creeping hold on portions of southern Iraq. This foolishly ignores the fact that Maliki bears considerable responsibility for Iraq’s continuing descent into chaos. The Sunni-Shia violence in Iraq, as the International Crisis Group (ICG) explained months ago, is “as acute and explosive as ever” primarily because “Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has implemented a divide-and-conquer strategy that has neutered any credible Sunni Arab leadership.” Additionally, many ordinary Sunnis have been radicalized into militants after years of being denied basic rights.
This time the Sunnis will not be ignored after they do their part and as normal are pushed back into obscurity…..the Sunnis will demand more and if not treated properly all progress will be for naught….
Deja vu….all over again!