IDF deploys tanks near Egypt border, in violation of peace treaty

 

In an unusual move, the Israel Defense Forces deployed two tanks to a site near the Egyptian border on Monday morning, following a cross-border attack in which one Israeli was killed.

Deployment of tanks to the area is prohibited according to Israel's peace agreements with Egypt. According to the Camp David Accords, the area is to remain demilitarized, with Israel prohibited from deploying tanks, artillery or anti-tank missiles.

The tanks were deployed after assailants launched an attack along the border. Following the incident, the tanks were withdrawn from the area.

The IDF emphasized that it had no plans to deploy additional tanks to the area, noting that the tanks were sent as a result of the unusual incident. (1)

Very concerning. Hopefully the treaty holds and this just a footnote in the annuls of history books.

Note:

(1)  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-deploys-tanks-near-egypt-border-in-violation-of-peace-treaty.premium-1.437153

House Republicans Censor Photo, call it child porn

At a House hearing last week, witnesses were intending to focus on coal mining. Instead, a photo of a five year old child is getting all the attention.

Testifying in front of the House Natural Resources Commitee on the impact of coal mining, activist Maria Gunnoe intended to show a picture of a five year old child bathing in polluted water from mountaintop mining. But House Republicans censored the image, calling it child pornography.

The photo was taken by photojournalist Katie Falkenberg, who wrote this caption about the image:

Erica and Rully must bathe their daughter, age 5, in contaminated water that is the color of tea. Their water has been tested and contains high levels of arsenic…. The coal company that mines the land around their home has never admitted to causing this problem, but they do supply the family with bottled water for drinking and cooking. Contaminated and colored water has occurred in other coalfield communities as well where mountaintop mining is practiced.

Members of the committee were not able to see the informative image, because Republican committee staff barred Gunnoe from displaying the picture during her testimony.

Gunnoe complied with the request, but after the hearing was escorted into an empty room by Capitol Police and was questioned for 45 minutes about the photo at the request of an unnamed GOP senior committee staffer to Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). Gunnoe is a renowned activist against mountaintop coal mining, who has testified before the committee three other times.(1)

 Craven and venal. Typical US Republican deceit for corrupt reasons.

Note:
(1) http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/06/495861/house-republicans-censor-photo-showing-impacts-of-mountain-top-removal-calling-it-child-porn/

IDF soldier, Palestinian militant killed in Gaza Fight

An Israel Defense Forces soldier and a Palestinian militant were killed in an exchange of fire on the Israel-Gaza border on Friday morning.

The exchange of fire ensued after a militant breached the border fence into Israel in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

At approximately 5.30 A.M., the IDF spotted an armed person breaching the border, and sent soldiers from the Golani Brigade to the site. The soldiers opened fire toward the militant.

In a statement, the IDF said that "the killing of the terrorist prevented a terrorist attack in Israeli territory". The IDF also said the deceased soldier's family has been notified.

"The IDF will act against any entitity that operates against the State of Israel," the statement read. "The army views Hamas as responsible for all that occurs in the Gaza Strip."

Later on Friday, there were Palestinian reports of Israel Air Force activity and explosions in the Gaza Strip. The IDF later confirmed that the IAF had struck open fields in the Gaza Strip.(1)

My heart goes out to the families.

This sort of nonsense will continue, esp. since Israel hasn't ended the illegal blockade it was meant to end in 2008.

Note:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-soldier-palestinian-militant-killed-in-exchange-of-fire-on-gaza-border-1.433844

Scotland Yard will today be accused of misusing powers to prevent disruption to last year's royal wedding in a court case that could have major implications for police operations in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

A group of 20 anti-monarchist protesters, campaigners and environmentalists will claim at the High Court that police made a political decision to clear "undesirable" groups from London's streets while the world watched Prince William marry Kate Middleton.

More than 50 people were arrested on 29 April last year – some under powers introduced initially to combat football hooliganism – and more than 20 others were held during raids on squats on the eve of the ceremony.

Those taking legal action today include members of the "Charing Cross 10", a group arrested near the station as they prepared to join a day of anti-monarchist protest. Protester Daniel Randall, 25, said they were held for more than five hours at a police station on suspicion of a possible breach of the peace. The group was not released until the wedding ceremony had ended.

Mr Randall claimed that there was a policy to arrest anyone who might criticise the monarchy. "Police should not be allowed to act politically... to stifle the raising of voices which dissent from the official politics," he said.
Protesters dressed as zombies were arrested as they planned to stage some mock-executions of the Royal Family.

Two environmentalists lived in a camp near Heathrow airport which was raided on the eve of the wedding. They had no plans to travel to central London for the wedding, documents show. No-one was arrested but police obtained their search warrants for the Sipson camp based on claims that "left-wing extremists" were based there who might want to disrupt the wedding.

One environmentalist taking part in the action, Theodora Middleton, accused the police of harassment based on "crude political profiling".

"In this case it appears the police were determined to restrict or remove the sight of protest from central London during the royal wedding," said solicitor Sophie Priestley, who is acting for camp members. "The real strength of our heritage and tradition lies not in the spectacle and pageantry of events ... but rather in the rich history of our hard-won democratic freedoms which we should be showcasing to the world rather than threatening to suspend."

At the time of the protest, it was said officers reserved the right to take action "where there is a real perceived threat of public disorder taking place". The officer in charge of the operation, Lynne Owens – now head of the Surrey force – said it had been an "amazing success".

No decision in the judicial review is expected before the Bank Holiday next weekend to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Lawyers hope for a ruling before the Olympics. Police plan a huge security operation during the Games, with 12,500 officers on duty at peak periods.
A police spokesman told organisers of planned protests to contact them but said there is no ban on dissent. He declined to make any comment on the court case before the hearing, which is due to last for four to five days.(1)

Rather pathetic. These monarchists and the police are so confident they resort to petty repression to suppress opposition? This is where our taxes go, to help fund police that suppress political dissent.

Note:
(1) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-misused-powers-during-royal-wedding-protesters-claim-7792774.html

Tea Party Congressmen Accept Cash From Bailed-Out Bankers

"Tea Party favorites such as Stephen Fincher of Tennessee were swept into Congress on a wave of anger over government-funded bailouts of banks.

Now those incumbents are collecting thousands of dollars for re-election campaigns from the same Wall Street firms whose excesses they criticized. They have taken no significant steps to curb them or prevent future taxpayer-financed rescues.

Republican freshmen have made clear their disdain for expanding government, and openly opposed a financial regulatory overhaul enacted by Democrats in 2010 before the newcomers arrived in Washington. Their ranks include 10 Tea Party-backed freshmen on the House Financial Services Committee, part of a force that won election in a populist backlash to government spending that included emergency lending to major banks and bailout of firms including U.S. automakers.

Still, the lawmakers haven’t passed, considered or even introduced legislation to address concerns about “too-big-to- fail” banks voiced by members of both parties and such Federal Reserve bank presidents as Richard Fisher of Dallas and Jeffrey Lacker of Richmond, Virginia.

“I haven’t seen any of them putting forth legislation on breaking up the big banks or on other things that would genuinely prevent a bailout next time,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director of Americans for Financial Reform, a Washington- based umbrella group of organizations that supported the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and other financial regulations..."(1)

A real gem that helps highlight what rot those Tea Partyiers are. They can't even be consistent.

Footnote:
(1) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-30/tea-party-congressmen-accept-cash-from-bailed-out-bankers.html

Canadians Oppose Monarchy More Than Ever

For immediate release

Poll: Monarchy unpopular as ever, despite royal wedding PR

Toronto, May 18, 2012 – Less than one year after opinion polls  declared that 81 percent of Canadians believed "Prince William  and Catherine will help keep monarchy relevant to Canadians,"  a new poll indicates what republicans knew all along: the love affair  was with the glitz and glamour, not the institution. Released on May 3, the poll shows personal approval ratings for  the royal newlyweds remaining high. However, as expected,  only 33 percent have any interest in Canada remaining a monarchy. "Clearly, Canadians see the distinction," says Tom Freda, spokesperson  for Citizens for a Canadian Republic. "There's no denying the A-list  celebrity attraction of the young royal couple. On the other hand, Canadians  see that as a separate issue from the constitutional aspect of the  institution of the monarchy." The republican movement was equally reassured by data indicating  an overwhelming preference for Prince William over his father. A mere  17 percent of Canadians approve of Prince Charles succeeding the Queen. "Of course, anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of how monarchy  works, fully understands that personal preference and choice are  democratic and republican principles, not monarchical," points out Freda.  "This poll proves that Canadians are inherently committed to the idea of  choosing a head of state over having an unpopular foreign royal imposed on us. During the upcoming visit by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of  Cornwall, representatives of Citizens for a Canadian Republic will be  available to provide information on how Canada can easily become a republic  without compromising its parliamentary traditions, royal institutions, or  even the role of "The Crown" as the legal representation of  governance. Angus Reid opinion poll May 3, 2012 http://www.canadian-republic.ca/media_release_05-18-12.html

Israeli Institutions Accepting 1948 Ethnic Cleansing

"NEW YORK, NY May 17, 2012 –The contrasting explanations offered by Palestinians and Israeli Jews for the Palestinian exodus during the 1948 War are often cited as a central stumbling block to peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians have claimed they were expelled in 1948, while it has been widely assumed that most Israeli Jews subscribed to a Zionist narrative claiming that Palestinians left willingly due to fear and in response to calls by Arab and Palestinians leaders.

Now a Ph.D. dissertation written by Rafi Nets, a former pre-doctoral fellow at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, finds that most main Israeli-Jewish institutions acknowledge a balanced narrative: that the exodus was not entirely volitional, but was also caused by Jewish/Israeli expulsion. Nets, an Israeli Jew who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote his dissertation for the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, and received the 2012 award for best dissertation from the Association for Israel Studies. His findings have been published or accepted for publication in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Peace Research, The Middle East Journal, Peace Review, and Peace and Change.

In 2009, Nets and Daniel Bar-Tal, a faculty member at the School of Education at Tel Aviv University, published a representative public opinion survey they had conducted which found that 47 percent of Israeli Jews surveyed believed expulsion by Israel was among the factors leading to the exodus. Only 41 percent accepted the Zionist narrative. The survey was supported by a grant to Nets from the IPRA Foundation. Now, through the analysis of all the memoirs of 1948 war veterans, newspaper articles, publications of non-governmental organizations, and scholarly studies, Nets finds that the balanced narrative has in fact been widely endorsed by Israeli-Jewish societal institutions since the late 1970s (and especially since the late 1980s). In addition, since 2000, all history textbooks approved by Israel’s Ministry of Education have also included the balanced narrative.

Palestinians have long called for Israelis to acknowledge the expulsions of 1948.  The recent findings indicate that such acknowledgement has taken place widely for several decades."(1)

Good to see historical integrity being taken seriously in more and more nations.

Israeli institutions have much to be commended for.

Footnote:
(1) http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/new-study-finds-that-51-6-of-israelis-acknowledge-that-world-is-not-flat/