2009 Afganistan- Afghan girls ill in third school poisoning

Reuters: Scores of Afghan girls ill in third school poisoning From Mona

Scores of Afghan girls ill in third school poisoning
Tue May 12, 2009 7:38am EDT facebooked by Mona

By Hamid Shalizi

AFTA BACHI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Five young girls slipped briefly into comas and nearly 100 were taken to hospital after a gas attack on their school on Tuesday, the third in a series of such incidents north of Kabul, Afghan officials said.

The early morning mass-poisoning at Qazaaq school was likely the work of Taliban sympathizers hostile to girls' education, the head of security for Kapisa province told Reuters.

"We don't think that the Taliban have done this, but the people who collaborate with and support the Taliban have done this," said Afghan Colonel Sha Agha, who is in charge of security for the second district of Kapisa, where the school is located.

"We have taken security measures to prevent such incidents happening again, and by doing more patrols, I am checking on schools during the night," he added.

The symptoms were the same as those shown by victims of suspected attacks on two girls' schools in nearby Charikar town. One poisoning took place on Monday and another on April 26. Scores of pupils were taken ill in each case.

In the latest attack more than 130 people were affected, with 98 students and 6 teachers admitted to hospital, said doctor and provincial public health head Wahid Rahim. He said five had slipped into comas but all had been revived.

Patients were vomiting, dizzy and some lost consciousness.

"There was a very bad smell in my classroom this morning and the teacher immediately told us to evacuate, but we couldn't walk to get out of the school, we were very weak, sick and dizzy. When I opened my eyes we were in hospital," said 12 year-old Leda.

"I am so sad, what went wrong with our school? I want to study," the sixth-grader said from her hospital bed in a ward of around 20 pale girls, most with drips in their arms.

"We knew about the incident in Charikar, but we didn't think such incidents would happen in our school. Right now we are very scared to continue with our education, to learn," said Aara Gul, 15, waiting for medication.

EDUCATION UNDER ATTACK

Unusually, the three incidents took place in a part of the country that was never under the firm control of the hardline Taliban and kept its girls' schools open while the austere Islamists ruled most of the country.

"Whoever has done this is against peace and security and improvement for women in the country. Surely it will have a negative impact on education, but we will never close the doors of schools for girls," said health chief Rahim.

There have been no clues as to what the gas was in either case or where it came from. Blood samples from the Charikar attacks have been sent to the nearby U.S. Bagram airbase but results have not yet come back.

Attacks on girls schools have increased in the past year, particularly in the Taliban's eastern and southern heartlands, as an insurgency has gathered strength. When the Taliban were in power in Kabul they banned women from work and schools.

Last year a group of schoolgirls in Kandahar had acid thrown in their faces by men who objected to them attending school.

(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin and Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Alex Richardson)

2009 Jerusalem Netanyahu's Government

From Al Ahram Weekly: 1st April 2009
I illustrated the racist ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) Party as a hideous monster with menacing eyes that glare in hatred as he spews insults and threats against Arabs and Palestinians. His thick beard marks him out as a fanatic. His protruding lips full of venom. He points his index finger to his head as if to stress that he is determined to carry out the evil thoughts in his mind. It is astounding that he was chosen for the foreign affairs portfolio. His popping eyes see red.

2009 Jaffa Ceasefire

Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman gets Prizes
About Lebanon 1 war Animated.
I finally Saw the Movie 19th Feb 2009.

I was not at Demontration here in Yaffo.
http://yuditilany.blogspot.com/2009/01/thsouands-marched-through-jaffa-against.html
as Reported by yudit here.
I can not keep up with the rate of events here.
Unilateral ceasefire tonight at 2am. But this is only a step in complicated situation.

_{Last update - 23:45 17/01/2009 haaretz}

Israel to begin unilateral Gaza cease-fire at 2 A.M.

_{By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press}

Prime Minster Ehud Olmert on Saturday night announced that Israel's security cabinet has voted in favor of a unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which will come into effect at 2 A.M.

The announcement comes after three weeks of fighting in the coastal strip, as Israel launched a massive military offensive aimed at halting years of daily rocket fire on its southern communities. Palestinian sources say that more than 1,100 Gazans have been killed since the offensive began on December 27. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israel Defense Forces have been killed during that period.

The decision to launch the cease-fire was approved during a lengthy security cabinet meeting which began after sundown in Tel Aviv. Two ministers were against the move, and another abstained.

"Our fight is not with the people of Gaza," Olmert said at the Tel Aviv press conference following the cabinet meeting. "We left Gaza in 2005 with the intention of never returning," he said, referring to Israel's unilateral withdrawal of troops and settlers from the territory under former prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Olmert warned that Iran, through its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas, was trying to establish its own hegemony in the region. He said that Hamas had underestimated Israel's decisiveness, had been "surprised" by the launch of the offensive, and was still not fully aware of how badly it had been damaged.

Olmert said that "if Hamas entirely ends its rocket fire on Israel, Israel will consider an IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip." If that did not occur, he said, "The IDF will continue to operate in order to protect our citizens."

Most rocket launching areas are now controlled by IDF, he said.

A strong hint at the impending cease-fire announcement came earlier Saturday, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel was very close to meeting the objectives of its 22-day-old offensive in Gaza.

"After three weeks of Operation Cast Lead, we are very close to reaching the goals and securing them through diplomatic agreements," Barak said during a visit to the south of the country, according to a statement from his office.

The decision means Israel has put an end to Operation Cast Lead without an agreement with Hamas, relying instead on the support of the United States and Egypt in battling arms smuggling into Gaza.
Israel's Channel 10 earlier Saturday quoted IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as saying he is in favor of bringing the IDF Gaza operation to a close.

A government source emphasized that there has been great progress with Egypt in reaching an agreement on fighting arms smuggling. The deal would require the combined use of technological measures on the border between Gaza and Egypt, operations against smugglers in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and the use of international experts to identify smuggling tunnels on the border.

The deal would also call for cooperation between Israel and Egypt on matters relating to the Gaza Strip in which they have shared interests, without the interference of Hamas.

Egypt is at the moment considering whether to organize a summit in the near future in Cairo between Olmert, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Egypt's state-run news agency MENA reported on Saturday that Mubarak has invited French President Nicholas Sarzoky and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks on how to end the Gaza offensive.

The Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that Abbas and Sarkozy are set to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Muabark on Sunday.

The United States and Israel signed an agreement on Friday aimed at stopping the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

The deal includes measures meant to fight arms smuggling from Iran to Gaza, with the policing to take place throughout the route by which the arms reach Gaza, including patrols of the Persian Gulf, Sudan and neighboring states.

The two-and-a-half page document outlines a framework under which the United States will provide military and intelligence assets, including detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and other nations in the region. The equipment and training would be used for monitoring Gaza's land and sea borders.

The document also calls for the U.S. to expand work with its NATO partners in the effort, particularly in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and eastern Africa, according to a text.

It also commits Washington to use relevant components of the U.S. military to assist Mideast governments in preventing weapons and explosives flows to Gaza that originate in or transit their territories.

Although signed by the Bush administration, the agreement is binding on the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama and Rice and State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said both Obama and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton had been briefed on the details.

_{Last update - 11:26 01/01/2009 haaretz}

JEWISH WORLD / Pro-Israel camp would be wise to heed Muslim cries for peace

_{By Roi Ben-Yehuda}

As technology advances and televisions get flatter, bigger, and clearer, one subject will always be broadcast to the world in black and white: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The recent events in Gaza have engendered a predictable world reaction: polarization, anger, hatred, and fear. The left screams "massacre," while the right wants to get tougher.

Watching the mass protest and reading about strident calls for Israel's dissolution, we Jews can't help but get that lonely feeling in the pits of our stomachs: The world is against us. Call it a Pavlovian response conditioned by persecution on a mass scale.


But the pro-Israel camp would be wise to pay attention not only to the bellicose cries coming from the mosques and streets, but also to the Muslim voices courageously speaking out against Hamas.

The Muslim Canadian Congress, for example, has issued a statement holding Hamas responsible for precipitating the recent conflict in Gaza.
The statement begins by condemning the recent Israeli attacks in Gaza as "disproportionate," but quickly turns its attention to censuring Hamas. According to the congress, Hamas is responsible for using the Palestinian people as "human bait," in an effort to kindle an all-out war in Gaza.

In words that would have made Alan Dershowitz blush, the statement asserts that: "No other national liberation movement in modern history has offered martyrdom as a substitute to freedom and statehood. Hamas has set back the clock for the Palestinians and it is time for all Palestinians to recognize that Hamas offers only death, destruction and a place in Paradise, not a Palestinian State."

The columnist Mona Eltahawy, to give another example, who writes for Egypt's Al Masry Al Youm and Qatar's Al Arab, published a piece in which she lambasts Hamas and the Arab world for their self-destructive addiction to Israel.

"It is difficult to criticize Palestinians when so many have died this weekend," she writes, "but the Hamas rulers of Gaza are just the latest of their leaders to fail them. For those of us who long to separate religion from politics, Hamas has given the truth to the fear that Islamists care more about facing down Israel than taking care of their people. The Palestinians of Gaza are victims equally of Hamas and Israel."

Eltahawy originally published her article on Facebook, where bashing Israel is a full-time occupation. But even on the popular social networking site, a quick glance at some threads reveals that Muslim are far from intellectually monolithic on the operations in Gaza.

"Israel is no angel among nations," writes a man who identifies himself as a secular Muslim, "but Hamas is a disgrace to the freedom struggles of countless peoples - offering its own people to die so that it can serve some sick allegiance to Iran."

And putting the matter succinctly and evenly, one young Palestinian writes, "I've never felt so angry the way I do now? F%#K HAMAS, F%#K ISRAEL."

So what can we make of all this? Why are more Muslims publicly voicing their opposition to Hamas? Is this an example of buyer's remorse? Has Hamas' gross blundering of an occupation-free Gaza finally cost them the privilege of representing the Palestinian cause?

"The simple reason we see Muslims speaking out against Hamas," says the Muslim activist and writer, Raquel Evita Saraswati, "is that the organization has proved itself to be terrorist by nature and function; and while the larger Muslim community has always stated its rejection of terrorism, we see the pressing need to make our voices louder in these especially contentious times."

Many pro-Israel readers will see this statement, along with the ones above, and feel vindicated. But that would be a mistake. These letters should not be seen as an endorsement of Israel?s Spartan policies - which most of the writers correctly see as futile and morally abhorrent - but rather as a type of self-reckoning; a kind of honest awareness that is necessary for peace to flourish.

That said, the recognition that Israel is not always the problem and that occupation is not the only reason Palestinians fight is of no small significance. It is imperative, therefore, that we do what is in our power to ensure these voices are front and center competing in the great suk (market) of ideas, because once an idea is out there, it can never be un-thought.

2009 USA My American Friend Lornet on Gaza and Obama. Shlomo Avineri:

_{Last update - 01:40 16/04/2009}

From the bottom up. Up and Down with my Professor Shlomo Avineri.

_{By Shlomo Avineri Haaretz}

Former senator George Mitchell does not need much advice; he's an experienced statesman whose greatest achievement is the agreement between the Protestant majority and Catholic minority in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, the U.S. president's special envoy to the Middle East would be well-advised to pay closer attention to certain distinguishing features of the local conflict.

The Irish conflict was basically a religious one, fought between two communities speaking the same language and sharing a common history. Here we have a struggle between two national movements with some religious aspects. While no one in Northern Ireland casts doubt over Britain's right to exist, many on the Palestinian side question the legitimacy of the Jewish state, and some Israelis doubt the right of the Palestinian nationality to exist.

Despite this, some lessons can be learned from Northern Ireland. There, the decommissioning of militias' weapons was a precondition to elections. The Palestinian Authority's elections failed in part because the movements running in themwere essentially armed militias. To end the Palestinian civil war, and to ensure democracy, there must be no compromise: Decommissioning all militias should be a precondition for elections.

Mitchell, meanwhile, faces the challenge of achieving an effective truce between Israel and Hamas, rebuilding the Gaza Strip and opening the crossings. His mission is liable to disintegrate; instead of dealing with the peace process, he might be sucked into resolving local crises. It will be important to think creatively.

Even those who supported the Oslo Accords cannot deny that the process failed for reasons beyond the obstacles put up by both parties. Oslo was an attempt to build the institutions of a Palestinian nation state from the top down; this fell through because Palestinian society did not produce the instruments for building a structure for the state.

In the last two years, the Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair and U.S. Security Coordinator Keith Dayton have made some successful attempts to build Palestinian institutions from the bottom up. This has included building up municipal and regional institutions, strengthening infrastructure and creating functioning security apparatuses. Their efforts have achieved impressive results in Jenin, Bethlehem and even Hebron.

These actions are not at all similar to Benjamin Netanyahu's "economic peace," intended to serve as an alternative to a Palestinian state. On the contrary, they are the only successful attempts so far to create infrastructure for a state. True, this process is gradual and bound to take time, but the other process - the top-down one - failed, and it was time to admit it.

One last comment, on the Syrian front. An obstacle here is the gap between the Israeli position, focusing on the borders between Syria and Mandatory Palestine, and the Syrian position, focusing on the borders of June 4, 1967. Mitchell should look into a sensitive issue at his next meeting with the Syrians: Does their position stem from merely trying to maintain their occupation of land in 1948, or is it something deeper - a nonrecognition of the Middle East's borders, claiming they were set by Western imperialism after World War I? This is not merely a theoretical question, because it can help explain Syria's approach to Lebanon and other regional issues.
From Lornet:
But Obama has made statements about other world events during this time _ the Mumbai attacks, for example _ and he's fully interfering in the economic issues here, although that's a mess he needs to start dealing with now.
Most Americans who understand the politics of that region know that he's not said anything because it would not be politically wise. You don't want to begin your presidency having pissed off either Israel or the Arab world. So you take the safe path and say that its not your place to speak about it and hope people buy it.
That's why many people believe that Israel decided to act now when Bush was still in office, but a lameduck president, and when no one was really watching. Because there's still that question: why now?
I always thought the Israeli Arabs were somewhat frustrated with their cousins in the West Bank and Gaza, frustrated that they weren't doing more in a non-violent way to help themselves.
I've had an ongoing argument with a Pakistani source who believes that the Palestinian/Israeli issue has a one-state solution. That regardless of what you want to call the country, it should be run as one, with equal representation by Jews, Arabs and Christians.
I told him that wouldn't work on so many levels, not the least of which is that the Palestinian birth rate far outpaces that of the Israelis and the representation issue would be out of whack such that the Israelis would never buy it. Not that they would buy it anyway. He said the birth rate of Orthodox and poor Israelis were also equally as high. (I said that didn't matter, that the overall rates of arabs would far outpace the overall rate of Jews.)
Do you know what the current birth rate is for both and is the number of people making aliya pretty high these days?

Lornet

2009 Jaffa Operation- War?!

I am getting tired of Facebook style "WAR"
Gaza Operation not like Lebanon 2 2006.
I have my own Problems - Few Care.
Headlines 12th January Haaretz

16:17	Jordan`s King Abdullah backs Egypt`s initiative for immediate Gaza truce (DPA)
16:01	UN Human Rights Council condemns Israel over Gaza offensive (Reuters)
15:45	Boat with peace activists and medical supplies leaves Cyprus for Gaza (DPA)
15:38	Lebanese and Palestinian students protest Gaza op at demonstration in Sidon (AP)
15:37	IAF attacks Gaza mosque, ground troops uncover mass pile of weaponry (Haaretz)
15:13	Palestinian death toll from Gaza operation rises to 905 (AP)
14:58	As of April, all planes flying into Israel must be equipped with secret code (Haaretz)
14:13	Tehran: Iranian aid ship nearing Gaza (Reuters)
14:12	Peres: Israel has never had a better trained army than today (AP)
13:49	Firemen quell fire raging in cleaning supply factory in north (Haaretz)
13:43	Blair after meeting Mubarak: Foundation has been laid for Gaza truce (Haaretz)
13:43	Some 13 Gaza rockets fired at southern Israel since Monday morning (Haaretz)
12:56	Vandals hurl firebombs at synagogue north of Paris (AP)
12:55	Gaza rockets strike near Be`er Sheva and Sderot (Haaretz)
12:35	Immigration officials: Gaza op hasn`t deterred migrants from infiltrating (Haaretz)
12:30	Tehran warns Obama: Don`t repeat Bush`s `false charges` against Iran (Reuters)
12:29	Two rockets strike open fields near Ofakim; no casualties (Haaretz)
12:23	Nearly 700 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since start of IDF offensive (Haaretz)
11:50	Rocket fired from Gaza strikes home in Ashkelon; no report of casualties (Haaretz)
11:37	Livni: I won`t negotiate with Hamas - their words are meaningless (Army Radio)
11:35	State decides to compensate public companies for damages of Gaza war (Haaretz)
11:16	Mideast envoy Blair: Elements are in place for Gaza cease-fire (AP)
11:07	Report: Hamas rebuffs proposal for long cease-fire in Gaza (Haaretz)
10:47	Two rockets strike open fields in Sha`ar Hanegev, Eshol region (Haaretz)
10:46	France urges European observers to monitor Gaza (AP)
10:38	Foreign Minister Livni: Israel, Egypt on same page over Gaza fighting (Army Radio)
10:35	Livni: I will not negotiate with Hamas under any circumstance (Army Radio)
10:24	National Union-NRP: Cut Israeli Arab party from Knesset over its Syrian ties (Haaretz)
10:21	Gaza radio station: IDF breaking our signals to blame Hamas for Gaza war (AP)
10:11	German foreign minister says hopeful of Gaza cease-fire (AP)
09:51	Grad rocket strikes open field near Kiryat Gat (Haaretz)
09:28	Bombs aimed at Iraqi security forces kill 5 in Baghdad (AP)
09:05	Israel to allow `humanitarian cease-fire` in Gaza between 10 A.M.-1 P.M. (Channel 10)
08:31	U.S. Army: Probe of alleged Israel spy had nothing to do with his religion (AP)
08:27	Livni: IDF offensive in Gaza has restored Israel`s deterrence (Army Radio)
08:25	N.Y. court to rule Monday whether to release Wall Street financier Madoff on bail (AP)
08:10	Palestinians: IAF, Israel Navy attack Gaza City and northern Strip (Israel Radio)
08:05	15-year-old allegedly stabs and kills sister, 20, citing `family honor` (Haaretz)
07:47	Lebanon UN force finds explosives in truck outside base (Reuters)
07:20	Barak to meet later Monday with NATO secretary general (Haaretz)
06:30	Int`l law expert: Army actions must be proportional to provocation (Haaretz)
05:56	IDF clips of Gaza offensive are fourth biggest hit on YouTube (Haaretz)
05:03	Venezuela to send medical aid to Gaza Strip by way of Egypt (Israel Radio)
05:02	Barak, Livni disagree with Olmert, push for quick end to Gaza fighting (Haaretz)
04:21	`Waltz with Bashir` wins Golden Globe for best foreign film (Haaretz)
03:15	Dead Sea makes candidate list for `seven natural wonders` (Haaretz)
02:57	Sources: Hamas leaders hiding in Israel-built Shifa Hospital basement (Haaretz)
02:21	700 people arrested so far in protests against Gaza IDF op (Haaretz)
01:06	Madonna receives death threats from Muslim extremists (Haaretz)
01:01	Significant drop in deadly auto accidents since start of Gaza op (Army Radio)
23:34	Egypt reports progress in truce talks with Hamas (AP)
22:47	10,000 turn out for pro-Israel rally in front of Israeli consulate in N.Y. (Haaretz)
22:36	Palestinians: 60 Gazans die Sunday from Gaza op, including 17 wounded Saturday (AP)
22:33	Number of road accident victims down since beginning of Gaza offensive (Haaretz)
21:52	MK Lieberman: Balad and Hamas have same goal - to destroy Israel (Haaretz)
21:23	Joe the Plumber: Israel should have acted sooner against rocket strikes (AP)
21:07	IDF troops uncover booby-trapped school in Gaza, next to zoo (Haaretz)
20:30	IDF: 40 Palestinian militants killed or hurt in Gaza op since Satuday (Haaretz)
20:18	NATO: We have no plans for a peacekeeping force to supervise a Gaza cease-fire (AP)
20:15	IDF begins sending reserve units into the Gaza Strip (AP)
20:03	Rights group: Israel using bombs packed with white phosphorus in Gaza attacks (AP)
20:01	Italian Defense Minister: Anti-Israel protesters must quit `provocations` (Reuters)
19:59	Peres: Gaza offensive likely to continue for at least few more days (Haaretz)
19:52	Knesset legal adviser: Gaza offensive no reason to cancel elections (Haaretz)
19:49	Kadima supports disqualifying Israeli-Arab Balad party from election race (Haaretz)
19:35	Kadima: Likud is trying to destroy unity of Israeli public (Channel 10)
19:35	German FM Steinmeier hails Obama stance on Iran (Reuters)
19:28	At least 22 rockets hit Negev by Sunday evening (Channel 10)
19:23	Anti-Israel protesters try to attack U.S. consulate in Pakistan (AP)
19:22	Sources: Two Egyptian children, two officers hurt by IAF strike near Rafah (Reuters)
18:58	Report: Several Egyptian troops wounded in IAF bombings in Rafah (DPA)
18:48	Tel Aviv club holds solidarity event for Negev merchants to sell their goods (Haaretz)
18:40	B-G University in Be`er Sheva to hold classes this week for select programs (Haaretz)
18:35	Hamas leader Meshal: No cease-fire in Gaza until Israel ends assault (Reuters)
18:17	Egyptian police arrest 18 activists after demonstration against Gaza op (DPA)
18:15	Turkey arrests 12 more people for ties to alleged secularist coup plot (AP)
18:15	Palestinians: At least 20 Gazans killed during battles with IDF on Sunday (AP)
17:51	Fatah-affiliated Web site: Senior Hamas military commanders flee to Egypt (Haaretz)
17:45	IAF bombs dozens of smuggling tunnels along Philadelphi Route (Channel 10)
17:39	Obama: Gaza conflict underscores need for immediate Mideast solution (Reuters)
17:12	Witnesses: IAF planes flying low over Egypt, with eye on Gaza targets (Reuters)
17:12	Singer Ahinoam `Noa` Nini to represent Israel at annual Eurovision contest (Haaretz)
16:55	Israeli workers come under fire near border with Syria (Channel 2)
16:34	Palestinian medical officials: Gaza death toll stands at 869 (AP)
16:28	Qassam rocket strikes home of Sderot mayor (Channel 10)
16:05	Gaza rocket hits yard of Ashdod school; a number people treated for shock (Haaretz)
15:45	Livni: Gaza battle isn`t one-time conflict that will end in an agreement (Haaretz)
15:40	Livni: We`ll continue military offensive against Hamas (Haaretz)
15:38	Livni: Israel launched Gaza op in order to change balance of power (Haaretz)
15:36	Report: Madonna targeted by Muslim fanatics over Israel`s Gaza offensive (Agencies)
15:35	Livni: We are working with Egypt to combat Gaza arms smuggling (Haaretz)
15:07	Color Red early warning system sounded in Sderot (Channel 2)
14:43	Sources: Hamas has used anti-aircraft missiles against IAF (Haaretz)
14:36	Cabinet secretary: Israel has no plan to reduce pressure on Hamas (Haaretz)
14:35	Cabinet Secretary: Hamas is making cynical use of its population (Haaretz)