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January 27, 2007
Weekend-OT
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As long as we impose sanctions
But unlike other sanction regimes, Israel is setting conditions but not promising anything in return. Thus, even if Haniyeh starts wearing a skullcap and Khaled Meshal begins humming Hatikva, and even if Abbas makes it mandatory to teach the heroic story of Masada in Palestinian schools, Israel does not want and is unable to propose a diplomatic alternative that would lead to the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state. It does not want to – because any such proposal would mean a withdrawal from most of the territories and the dismantling of most of the settlements. It is unable to – because there is no government of Israel. After all, even when it appeared that there was a government in Israel, not a single measly illegal outpost was removed; this is a non-government that has transformed the disengagement from Gaza from a national trauma to a housing trauma; and in Hebron, or in Mount Hebron to be more precise, the sovereign provides free protection to a bunch of hooligans.
…
Israel is not only “celebrating” a year of sanctions now. It is also marking 40 years of occupation this year. The government of Israel, or at least the part of it that is not spending its time in investigators’ offices, cannot allow another year of sanctions to pass and thus establish the foundations for the fifth decade of the occupation. Because if this government is, in any case, unable to offer a diplomatic alternative, perhaps it would be best to at least allow the Palestinians to breathe a little, to work a bit, and thus help to prepare a slightly less devastated Palestinian public for peace negotiations with a future Israeli government.
@b
I have sent you an email. If you don’t get it, let me know.
Thanks
Posted by: Bea | Jan 28 2007 14:25 utc | 102
For the person who wanted more reports from Davos, here is a link to the Huffington Post page on this topic. It has many links. I don’t know much about this nor do I have time to evaluate right now, but I thought I would pass it along.
Posted by: Bea | Jan 28 2007 16:11 utc | 103
@annie et al,
Cover story of Newsweek has profiles of of the 12 soldiers killed in the helicopter that went down earlier this week.
Posted by: Bea | Jan 28 2007 16:23 utc | 104
This a very weird MAJOR fight: U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) – U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a senior Iraqi police officer said.
The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters, as tens of thousands of pilgrims converged on the nearby city of Kerbala for the climax of the Ashura commemorations.
A U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fighting,
Iraq security sources said. The U.S. military declined comment. A Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke.
Shi’ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi’ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani.
…
The governor of Najaf province said Iraqi troops fought a day-long battle with up to 200 Sunni gunmen, including foreign fighters, holed up in orchards on the northern outskirts of the city, seat of Iraq’s most powerful Shi’ite clerics.
Governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered a plot to kill some of the clerics on Monday, to coincide with the climax of Ashura.
“There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of Muharram,” Najaf governor Abu Gilel said, referring to the day of the Muslim calendar on Monday.
A Reuters reporter about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the fighting said he heard intense gunfire and saw U.S. helicopters rocket groves sheltering militants. He saw smoke trailing from one helicopter before it came down in the midst of the fighting.
200 gunmen but 250 killed???
Ahmed Hassani is part of the marja – he is a major Shia Ayatollah! We are two days away from the holiest shia holiday. Sunni’s would help him killing other shia clerics??? Is he getting set up.
Report from an Iraqi news site on the Najaf battle
I do not know how to evaluate this, and am only passing it on:
…Earlier, a security said Iraqi security forces clashed on Sunday at dawn with followers of an armed group called “Supporters of Ahmed al-Hassan” in the Shiite sacred city of Najaf.
The security source added “the assault was to arrest the group leader Ahmed al-Hassan but the strong resistance led the Iraqi forces to ask for support from the U.S. troops.”
According to the agreement that transferred the security responsibility to the Iraqi army in Najaf on December 25, the Iraqi security forces may ask for support from the U.S. forces.
He added “the U.S. forces immediately took part in the offensive while U.S. choppers and warplanes bombed the resistance pockets in the area.”
“The clashes left casualties from the two sides (the forces and the followers),” said the source but declined to give a specific figure.
“Ahmed al-Hassan Supporters” is an extremist Shiite armed group that sought leadership over other Shiite groups after its leader claimed to be a deputy of the Shiite twelfth Imam, the Awaited Mahdi.
Al-Zarga area, the stronghold of Ahmed al-Hassan Supporters, is a rural area that is located outside the Shiite sacred city of Najaf.
Only last week, Iraqi security forces launched a wide-scale campaign to stem this extremist group.
Later, Najaf governor said Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. choppers and warplanes, launched a pre-emptive offensive against a stronghold for 100-200 gunmen in northeast of Najaf, and arrested five fighters.
“Iraqi army and police forces, backed by U.S. choppers and warplanes, launched at 7:00 am Sunday a pre-emptive strike against sites of gunmen in al-Zarga area in the operation ( Ya Aba Abdullah-Oh father of Abdullah in reference to the Shiite third Imam),” governor Asaad Abu Killal told a news conference in Najaf Sunday afternoon.
The governor said “at the targeted area, there were 100-200 gunmen who clashed with the governmental forces using light, medium arms and mortars.”
The operation, the governor added, “ended with arresting five fighters, whom believed to be Afghan as their dress suggested.”
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said “a U.S. chopper went down today afternoon during the clashes between the forces and supporters of Ahmed al-Hassan in al-Zarga area.”
In these days, the Shiite Muslims commemorate the Taf battle where the Shiite third Imam and grandson of prophet Mohammed, Imam al-Hussein, was slain about 1350 years ago in Karbala.
Every year, thousands of Shiite pilgrims visit the two sacred cities of Najaf and Karbala to visit the shrines of Imam Hussein and his father Imam Ali during Ashura, 10th of Mauharam in the hegira calendar.
Posted by: Bea | Jan 28 2007 21:08 utc | 106
Today in Iraq website has a number of other links to additional reports on the events in Najaf.
The site also front pages a disturbing and sad photo of the scene in the aftermath of a bombing on a girls secondary school in Baghdad, in which five girls were killed.
Posted by: Bea | Jan 28 2007 21:14 utc | 107
Chevron holds talks with Iraq to build facility
Iraq is in negotiations with San Ramon-based Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. to build a new $3 billion petrochemical facility, and is in talks with several other Western companies over industrial projects.
In an interview Thursday, Fowzi Hariri, Iraq’s minister for industry and minerals, said the discussions with Chevron and Exxon began this week in Washington and are at an early stage.
Adel Abdel-Mohsen, adviser to the Minister of Industry, was shot
down by armed militants in Yarmouk district, western Baghdad. His two
daughters and three other accompanies were also killed.
Posted by: annie | Jan 29 2007 0:20 utc | 108
listen to falling up
rickie lee (i love her) has a new album out.
sermon on exposition blvd
‘This isn’t going to work for me,’ ” she told Cantelon and the album’s coproducer, Peter Atanasoff. Jones wanted to sing her part. She could use the book as a reference, improvising her own lyrics based on Jesus’ words. And she would do it right then and there. Cantelon suggested that she spend some time with the instrumental track, which had already been recorded, to get a feel for the melody and chord changes. Jones listened to 20 seconds of it, and said she was ready.
Book in hand, raw guitars coming through her headphones, Jones started to sing. “For a thousand years I lay upon Lake Victoria, I was winged and many-colored and nobody knew my name,” she began. Three and a half minutes later, the “Words” project had been turned upside down and Rickie Lee Jones had the opening track — recorded on a laptop computer and left untouched — for “The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard,” an album she had no idea she was going to make.
“We were stunned,” says Cantelon.
“It was thrilling,” says Jones,
an eight- minute -plus stream-of-consciousness improv set in Jerusalem and Hollywood —
Like her friend Cantelon — whose original purpose in publishing “The Words” was to present Jesus’ ideas outside the context of the church — Jones became taken with the prospect of “leveling the playing field a bit.”
“Christ’s message has been hijacked by politics and a kind of person that, in my humble opinion, uses Christianity as a club, as a conformity issue,” says Jones. “They don’t seem nearly as interested in forgiveness or enlightenment as they are in voting, and that drives a lot of smart, good-thinking people away. I’d like to encourage people on their own to see what the rabbi had to say.”
Posted by: annie | Jan 29 2007 2:16 utc | 111
New, weekly nonviolence events in Hebron
helena has 2 excellent new posts up.
On the 25th of January nearly 200 Palestinians and international peace activists, including CPTers Bill Baldwin, Bob Holmes and Dianne Roe, participated in an open-air conference beside the Israeli military checkpoint at the top of Shuhada Street in Hebron. The conference was the second event organized by Palestinian ISM in Hebron, calling for the Israeli military to open Shuhada Street, in accordance with an Israeli High Court decision in December 2006. (see http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/809722.html )
There was an almost carnival atmosphere about the peaceful event, as young and old, Palestinian and international, gathered together to listen to speeches and to chant, sing and dance. Everyone was united by the desire for freedom, justice and peace.
People held placards that called for freedom of movement, an end to the illegal Israeli occupation and an end to settler violence, as well as for the opening of Shuhada Street. Palestinian residents of Tel Rumeida, the community most severely affected by the closure, spoke eloquently about the harsh living conditions caused by the movement restrictions enforced by the Israeli military. A local school headmistress spoke about the difficulties her students face every day trying to get to and from school. A twelve-year-old boy from Tel Rumeida, spoke about his experiences of growing up in a land under military occupation.
Shuhada Street used to be one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The Israeli army has prevented Palestinians from using the street for the past six years, and has also enforced the closure of all the stops and stall on the street. This has had a profound, detrimental effect on the livelihood of thousands of Palestinian families.
there’s more, and check out the SADDAM post just prior to this one.
Posted by: annie | Jan 29 2007 2:25 utc | 112
Anybody catch the weirdness at Pat Langs blog? Yesterday, he posted a Wolf Blitzer interview where he (PL) stated that there were tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iranian agents working in Iraq. Interestingly, yesterday also, Juan Cole on the subject of Iranians — minimized their overall effect on things. Then PL deleated the interview post and all the comments. Then posted something on the demonstrations, then deleated that and posted a list of rules for comments — and then he deleated that post. Not to be gossipy, but kinda weird.
Posted by: Anonymous | Jan 29 2007 4:15 utc | 113
me again above, a.m. computer does’nt seem to remember the handle anymore.
Posted by: anna missed | Jan 29 2007 4:18 utc | 114
annie, “coincidence?
Yes, striking. I am hoping to see thoughts on this in the mainstream press, but won’t hold my breath. Such “coincidences” and revelations would convince any doubters that U.S. involvement – even for stability/security reasons – is a dead end. After so many U.S. errors and abuses, the game has been over for quite some time (probably from before the beginning), and Iraqi’s of any creed will not tolerate any unholy treason, especially the stealing of Iraq assets.
Posted by: Rick | Jan 29 2007 5:21 utc | 115
I check Col. Lang’s site every day and I was there this afternoon.I didn’t notice anything missing then.I just now went there and the Situation Room post and comments are up.The March post is up and there are no rules for comments listed. Who knows? Strange things happen on the interweb.Its all those tubes getting full sometimes.
Posted by: R.L. | Jan 29 2007 5:34 utc | 116
While you were sleeping (Bush took over the Government)
United States President stealthily took over the Federal Government last week through a new executive order last week that takes away all autonomy from Agencies, according to public interest organizations.
This move is right in line with the “Unitary Executive” theory beloved by this Administration and its supporters.
Now he wants to be censor In chief? It seems CCB, (Chief Clearing Brush) wants to take us back to the fifties. Back to state movie censorship boards and the like to keep subversive ideas away from the masses? Or is this one setting up for the take down of ‘Roe vs wade’, ‘the scopes monkey trial’ etc, etc…???
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 29 2007 6:33 utc | 117
well, I don’t know about articles going up, or coming down at Pat Lang’s site… but his piece on the demonstrations is pretty negative in my view… and his closing comments – ?:
“Hagel, Webb, John Warner, and ultimately John McCain, are examples of the men who are stricken to their core by the memory of that time and the vision of war without end that is the looming legacy of this administration. These are the men who will lead America out of the wasteland.”
Posted by: crone | Jan 29 2007 16:38 utc | 118
“Hagel, Webb, John Warner, and ultimately John McCain, are examples of the men who are stricken to their core by the memory of that time and the vision of war without end that is the looming legacy of this administration. These are the men who will lead America out of the wasteland.”
Lang got beaten for that an the whole view on the demonstrations in the comments in that threat – heavily beaten – even by his regular commentators – so he deleted the comments …
superb article for those of us who are ennui-filled about Barbara Erhenreich’s new book, Dancing in the Streets.
“Going back 10,000 years we find rock art depicting lines and circles of dancing people. There is evidence that this capacity for collective joy, especially through synchronized, rhythmic activity such as dance, is hardwired into humans. It’s part of our unique evolutionary heritage. Chimpanzees can get excited and jump up and down and wave their arms, but they’ve got no rhythm. They can’t dance. They can’t coordinate their emotions…
“The evolutionary scientists say it was probably this capacity that allowed humans to form groups larger than kinship groups -large groups that were essential for defense against predatory animals and eventually against bands of other humans. The techniques -the dance steps, the musical instruments, the costumes- are cultural, but the capacity for collective joy is innate. We are hardwired to be party animals…
“Why is there so little collective joy today? Why is our culture bereft of opportunity for this kind of thing? Mostly, we sit in cubicles at work and we sit in our cars. If you mention ‘ecstasy’ people think you’re talking about a drug. The cure for loneliness and isolation and despair is Prozac… The simple answer is: the ancient tradition of festivities and ecstatic rituals was deliberately suppressed by elites -people in power who associated this kind of frolicking with the lower classes and especially with women…
Posted by: Rowan | Jan 29 2007 20:15 utc | 120
haven’t checked out the erhenreich book yet, but group dance/music/ritual is an important element missing from our culture. many have pointed out how modern western music, for example, serves to isolate us (and not just b/c of our ipods & walkmen) from community & larger contexts. paul shepard aptly observed that “music symbolizes the way we socially submit to authoritarian regimes.” no longer participants in most of the music around us, we are largely consumers, non-participants. we let others speak for us. shaping our thoughts & feelings. (consider the detail attended to film scores to manipulate the emotions of the audience.) and somewhere i have noted some great thoughts on the importance of ritual from wole soyinka & octavio paz that i’ll have to dig up.
Posted by: b real | Jan 29 2007 21:03 utc | 121
b real, I’d love to see it. I’ve been thinking on music as a symbol of the vagabond technocrat class which America is becoming more and more based on. I had a somewhat dissonant experience last week at my job, which has been increasingly difficult to stand. After a week of extreme annoyance and listening to internet radio, I switched back to cds and “my” music. the result? I felt more able to continue my mind-numbing work. Am I pacified so easily? “Hi, my name is Rowan, and I’m addicted to post-riot grrl punk and socially conscious hip-hop.” The great irony here is that these are supposedly revolutionary, or at least revolution-based cultural phenomena. And I’m more likely than most people who tie their identity in with their music to examine myself in this fashion.
ah, the work-crappy-job-listen-to-Talib-Kweli-vote-for-Barack-Obama life.
Posted by: Rowan | Jan 29 2007 21:39 utc | 122
@Rowan, b real, et al… re: #’s 120 & 121
The Politics of Dance
I was very thick in the dance/rave culture back in the early to mid-ninties, before it went all Mtv aka commercial, aka gobbled up and shit back out by the market. It was about evolving, getting away from old baggage, old ways of thinking etc..
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 29 2007 21:45 utc | 123
Uncle,
Never got into rave culture, but I used to be part of the local soccer team’s cheering section. Not necessarily because I was so devoted to the team, but because it just feels good to bang on drums with your buddies.
Posted by: Rowan | Jan 29 2007 22:00 utc | 124
Lang got beaten for that an the whole view on the demonstrations in the comments in that threat – heavily beaten – even by his regular commentators – so he deleted the comments … sez b at 119,
If USofA were winning in Iraq, I would expect PL would be happy with the colonial exercise.
Posted by: Cloned Poster | Jan 29 2007 22:16 utc | 125
and lets not forget we still have not redeemed the Negroes, or did Katrina leave any doubt ?
perhaps maybe its the Negro at their limits. Or perhaps theres other limits.
somehing to think about – whose redeming who
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Feb 1 2007 3:28 utc | 126