OUT AND ABOUT IN NORTH AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

Good morning! As the news from Libya seems to be quite sparse at present, your Roving Reporter has decided on bringing to you items from around the same area.

As a starter, it would appear that Imadinnerjacket of Iran is in the doodoo again:

Iran parliament to question Ahmadinejad

President summoned to assembly for questioning over $2.6bn fraud case involving top government officials. 31 Oct 2011 10:20

Iran's parliament has summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to face questioning over the biggest banking fraud in the country's history.

The parliament announced on Sunday that it had found Ahmadinejad's finance minister guilty in relation to the $2.6bn fraud case involving top government officials.

The announcement came after at least 73 parliament members signed a petition calling for Ahmadinejad to be questioned in the latest economic misconduct case targeting an ally of the president.

"The petition to question the president has reached the minimum of signatures required. It was handed over to the presiding council," Hossein Sobhaninia, one of the legislators, said.

Ahmadinejad is expected to appear before the assembly within the next 10 days, marking the first time the president would have to face direct questioning by politicians.

Forged documents

The fraud case involved the use of forged documents to obtain credit from at least two Iranian state banks to purchase state-owned companies.

Iranian businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, has been accused of masterminding the scam, news of which broke in September.

Ahmadinejad has been wrestling with the parliament and the country's religious leaders in the run-up to parliamentary elections in March and a presidential election in 2013.

He has come under increasing attacks in recent months from the same people who brought him to power and dozens of his political backers have been arrested or hounded out of the public eye in recent months.

However, Foad Izadi, a professor of political communication at Tehran University, said the latest case does not represent a major embarrassment for Ahmadinejad.

"From the beginning, he has said he is going to fully co-operate with the judicial system to address the problem," Izadi told Al Jazeera.

"None of the people who are actually his opponents are implicating him in this scandal. His name is cleared, more or less.

"It's a question of neglect, not a question of being involved in the scandal. The question that the parliament has is, 'Why didn't you do your job properly in terms of watching the banking system?'"

Excellent idea, LL - there is certainly a lot going on.

Arab League hands Syria plan to end unrest
Plan involves talks between authorities and the opposition to end the uprising against President Assad's rule.
Last Modified: 31 Oct 2011 03:43

The Arab League has handed Syrian officials a plan for ending seven months of increasingly violent unrest against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

The Arab League committee put its plan, involving talks in Cairo between the Syrian authorities and their opponents, to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and Bouthaina Shaaban, a political adviser to Assad, on Sunday in Qatar.

The League had previously set a two-week deadline for the start of such talks, which expired on Sunday. The committee said it hoped for a Syrian response to its plan by Monday.

"More important than a dialogue is action... This committee has given a very strong response to the recent killings," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, whose country presides over the committee, told reporters in Doha.

Syrian objections to holding a meeting regarding what they consider domestic affairs outside Syria was one of the points of disagreement between the two sides.

Assad told Russian television on Sunday that he would co-operate with the opposition even as he had earlier warned in another interview of an "earthquake" if the West intervenes in his country.

In an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Assad said international involvement risked transforming Syria into "another Afghanistan".

He also stressed that Syria was key to keeping the peace in the region.

"Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans? Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region," he said.

'Not the stereotypical Arab dictator'

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Andrew Gilligan, the Telegraph journalist who met Assad, said the Syrian president seemed "reasonably relaxed, and quite personable" during their interview.

"He is not the stereotypical Arab dictator," said Gilligan. "He is not blustering, or aggressive." [see video at end of this report]

Louay Safi, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, said Assad has to understand that he is "inviting an intervention".

"There's only so much the world can bear in terms of force against unarmed civilians," he told Al Jazeera. "If he continues on the same path, then he will be responsible for inviting an invention."

Assad has drawn repeated condemnation from the United Nations, Arab League and Western governments for the violent manner in which he has attempted to crush the uprising.

As Arab ministers met in Qatar, Assad told Russian television that he was willing to talk to the opposition.

"We will co-operate with all political powers, both those who had existed before the crisis, and those who arose during it," he said. "We believe interacting with these powers is extremely important."

Also on Sunday, China's Middle East envoy called on the Syrian government to speed up reforms it has promised in response to popular demands, saying the situation was dangerous and the bloodshed could not continue.

Speaking in Cairo after a visit to Syria, Wu Sike told reporters that Assad's government must take "palpable steps" to end the violence.

"There must be respect and response to the aspirations ... of the Syrian people."

He said he had met Syria's deputy president and foreign minister and members of the opposition movement while in the Syrian capital Damascus, and insisted that China was neutral in the conflict.

"I emphasised to top officials the danger of the situation in Syria and that the situation cannot continue," he said.

In the latest reports of bloodshed, opposition sources said 61 civilians and 30 soldiers had been killed in clashes over the previous three days, many of them in the city of Homs.

The UN estimates that more than 3,000 people, including nearly 200 children, have been killed in the unrest. Since the start of protests in March, Syrian authorities have blamed the violence on gunmen they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.

Syria has barred most international media, making it hard to verify accounts from activists and authorities.

UNESCO/Palestine:

UNESCO approves Palestinian membership bid

UN cultural body admits Palestine as member despite US threat to cut off tens of millions of dollars in funding.
Last Modified: 31 Oct 2011

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) voted on Monday to admit Palestine as a member, a move which will likely cause the US government to cut off tens of millions of dollars in annual funding.

The Palestinian bid received 107 "yes" votes during a UNESCO meeting in Paris, with 14 countries voting against and 52 abstaining. The decision grants full membership to Palestine.

It is a symbolic victory for the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which filed a bid last month for full membership at the United Nations. The bid has been stalled for weeks at the UN Security Council.

"What they're doing is developing leverage over the Americans, the Europeans, the Israelis, so these parties begin to take them more seriously," said Mouin Rabbani, an analyst at the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Amman.

UNESCO's vote will almost certainly trigger a US law, passed in 1990, which bars the US from funding any United Nations agency "which accords the Palestine Liberation Organisation the same standing as member states." The US provides about $80 million per year, or 22 per cent of the agency's total budget.

The president can often override such laws with a so-called "national security waiver"; these waivers allow the PLO to maintain a mission in Washington, for example, despite a 1987 law barring it.

But the 1990 law on UN funding, and a similar measure passed in 1994, do not provide the option of a waiver.

Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the State Department, would not say whether the US was pressuring Congress to issue such a waiver.

"We are not going to create a Palestinian state at UNESCO," Nuland said last week. "There are consequences if UNESCO votes in this direction."

The European Union tried to stop the PLO bid by offering them limited membership on UNESCO's executive committee, and funds to renovate the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

I wish I could make sense of whether this is good or not, LL. My first thought was that it was good, the start of Palestine coming in from the cold, but maybe not

bb1 wrote:I wish I could make sense of whether this is good or not, LL. My first thought was that it was good, the start of Palestine coming in from the cold, but maybe not

For me this is a very emotive subject bonny, I feel very strongly on it. No country should be allowed to dictate how another country should exist. No so-called 'superpower' should be able to dictate what the United Nations chooses to do, and if UNESCO decides to recognise Palestine and with a large majority in favour then the USA should bow to that obvious sign of democracy and not imagine that the threat of withdrawal of funds will get UNESCO to toe the line. There are other UN powers with lots of cash who would like to give the US a poke in the eye.. A Jewish friend, who's family moved from the UK to Israel, once described the Gaza and West Bank as ghettoes. After 10 years the family returned to the UK and my friend vowed he would never go back, even for a visit, But the USA is Israel-driven over this. I better not say any more as I could get very angry. Lamplighter

A story is just coming through on Sky breaking news; apparently, the Israeli PM has ordered the building of 2,000 new housing units, mainly in East Jerusalem.

Somehow, I don't think that is going to help the situation.

bb1 wrote:A story is just coming through on Sky breaking news; apparently, the Israeli PM has ordered the building of 2,000 new housing units, mainly in East Jerusalem.

Somehow, I don't think that is going to help the situation.

It won't, bonny, it will just make things worse. LL

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16101552

Israel Considers Pre-Emptive Attack On Iran

1:15pm UK, Wednesday November 02, 2011
Emma Hurd, Middle East correspondent
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally support in his cabinet for an attack on Iran, according to government sources.

The country's defence minister Ehud Barak and the foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman are said to be among those backing a pre-emptive strike to neutralise Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But a narrow majority of ministers currently oppose the move, which could trigger a wave of regional retaliation.
The debate over possible Israeli military action has reached fever pitch in recent days with newspaper leader columns discussing the benefits and dangers of hitting Iran.
Mr Lieberman responded to the reports of a push to gain cabinet approval by saying that "Iran poses the most dangerous threat to world order."
But he said Israel's military options should not be a matter for public discussion.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to report on the state of Iran’s nuclear capabilities on November 8, and that assessment is likely to influence Israel’s decision.
Western intelligence officials estimate that Iran is still at least two to three years away from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Israel has long made it clear that it will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear capability that could threaten the Jewish State.
Publicly it is pushing for a diplomatic offensive against Iran - including the imposition of sanctions - rather than a military strike.
But prime minister Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that all options are on the table.
Israel's former defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Haraatez newspaper that he feared a "horror scenario" if Israel attacked Iran.
Washington is also strongly opposed to Israel taking unilateral action.
Any strike on Iran could trigger retaliation from Iran and across the region.
Syria, a close ally of Tehran, could also launch attacks, along with the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia in Lebanon.


Words fail me.

Netanyahu is a thug, a cold, calculating fascist pig. Lamplighter

2 November 2011 Last updated at 10:28
Israeli army tests rocket system

Israel has tested a rocket propulsion system from a military base in the centre of the country, the defence ministry said.

Israeli media reports said a ballistic missile had been fired.

The test came amid speculation in Israel that the government could be preparing a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The defence ministry said the test had long been planned. Israel successfully tested a ballistic missile in 2008.

"Israel today carried out the test of a rocket propulsion system from the Palmachim base," near Rishon LeZion, a military statement said.

"This had been planned by the defence establishment a long time ago and was carried out as scheduled".

The statement gave no details on what type of rocket had been tested, but Israel's Haaretz newspaper said a new type of ballistic missile was being tested.

A trail of white smoke could be seen across large areas of central Israel, newspapers reported.

Haaretz reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been trying to persuade his cabinet to back military action against Iran.

Israel and Western powers say Iran has been trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Comment: With the USA in the process of pre-President election fever, this a very good time for the Israelis to up the ante. Obama cannot, at this stage in the presidential race, afford to upset Netanyahu or the pro-Israel lobby in the USA. If anyone is going to set the Middle East alight it will be the Israelis. And, despite their refusal to admit or deny, they almost certainly have nuclear capabilities. LL

Madness; they are liable to find themselves isolated if they carry on like this, and I suspect the US will take fright if they keep this up - not everyone in the US is a hawk.

bb1 wrote:Madness; they are liable to find themselves isolated if they carry on like this, and I suspect the US will take fright if they keep this up - not everyone in the US is a hawk.

No, but the pro-Israel lobby is huge and wields great power. LL

Will it still wield power if Israel decides to start a unilateral nuclear war? That is the act of a madman.

bb1 wrote:Will it still wield power if Israel decides to start a unilateral nuclear war? That is the act of a madman.

That is a riddle no-one can solve, bonny, but if they do start a nuclear war then we probably won't be around to hold a post-mortem. LL

It's the reasoning of the madhouse, LL - by current Israeli logic, Iran - or anyone - would be justified in dropping a bomb on THEM to prevent a war.

The Telegraph:

Israel punishes Palestinians for Unesco move

Israel last night announced that it would accelerate settlement construction and withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority to punish it for joining the UN's cultural arm.

By Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem8:00PM GMT 01 Nov 2011

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, convened his inner cabinet yesterday to study proposals to sanction the Palestinian leadership after it won overwhelming international support on Monday for its bid to join UNESCO.

While some kind of punitive action was expected, the severity of Israel's response suggested that Mr Netanyahu had bowed to pressure from right-wing ministers intent on exacting the heaviest penalty possible for what they saw as an act of Palestinian effrontery.

An Israeli government official defended the measures, saying that Mr Netanyahu had been left with no choice but to respond robustly to Palestinian "unilateralism" in its pursuit of UN membership and by what he claimed was the growing radicalism of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

"You cannot demand that Israel continues to show restraint when the Palestinian leadership continues to slam the door in our face," he said. By withholding Palestinian customs revenues, Mr Netanyahu has taken a step that his defence establishment has countenanced against for fear that it could cause the collapse of the moderate Palestinian Authority.

The PA relies heavily on the revenues to meet its budget expenditure and some observers have questioned whether it can survive without them. Israeli generals say the PA has played a vital role in reining in terrorism and that its collapse could jeopardise the years of comparative calm Israel has enjoyed since 2005.

So far US and Israeli policy has moved in tandem in response to Unesco's decision to admit the Palestinian Authority, which was backed by 10 EU members, including France. Washington announced on Monday that it would suspend its funding of Unesco, depriving the body of nearly £50 million – 22 per cent of its budget.
Israel and the United States have both argued that the PA's admission undermines the peace process by encouraging the Palestinians to believe they can be rewarded without having to come to the negotiating table.

The PA has announced its intention to seek membership of a number of UN bodies. At the same time, its most controversial initiative – an application to be recognised as a sovereign and independent state – has been submitted to the Security Council, although Washington has announced it will wield its veto to prevent the move.
Amid the recriminations, the Palestinian Authority reported that telephone and internet services across the West Bank and Gaza were badly disrupted yesterday after a sustained attack by computer hackers.

Officials claimed that the "distributed denial-of-service" attack was so sophisticated it can only have been organised by a foreign state, but they stopped short of blaming Israel and said they did not know if it was connected to their bid to join Unesco.

Am I missing something? Is there some reason why Palestine shouldn't be a member of the UN?

bb1 wrote:Am I missing something? Is there some reason why Palestine shouldn't be a member of the UN?

Quite simple, because Israel doesn't want it to be a true country. Because of the land they have stolen from the Palestinians. LL

Seriously, what is wrong with Israel? They seem determined to alienate every friend they ever had in the wider world; while I can see the US backing them over things like this, announcing they are thinking of nuking Iran puts them very close to pariah state status.

The following list shows how many countries do not recognise Israel - many of those listed voted for Palestine to join UNESCO. LL

Israel does not have diplomatic relations with 34 countries out of the nearly 200 countries of the world. Some are quite obvious; they are hostile neighboring or other Muslim countries that go so far as to suggest that Israel be "wiped off the map." Others are not so obvious but stubbornly refuse to recognize Israel. The following countries do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Afghanistan (in 2005 it was reported that Afghanistan would establish relations with Israel)
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh (Islam is the official state religion)
Bhutan (has relations with only about two dozen countries)
Brunei
Chad
Comoros
Cuba (severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973)
Djibouti
Guinea
Indonesia (conducts its foreign relations with Israel through Singapore)
Iran (would like to wipe Israel off the map)
Iraq (while the U.S. encourages relations, Iraq refuses to recognize Israel)
Kosovo (Israel appears to be holding off recognition of Kosovo)
Kuwait
Lebanon (considers itself at war with Israel)
Libya (considers Israel "fictitious")
Malaysia (refuses to recognize Israel)
Maldives
Mali
Morocco (recalled chief of Tel Aviv liaison bureau in 2000)
Niger (suspended relations with Israel in 2000)
North Korea
Oman (suspended relations with Israel in 2000)
Pakistan (in 2005 Pakistan accepted Israeli aid following a devastating earthquake)
Saudi Arabia (actively participates in an economic boycott of Israel)
Somalia (has no recognizable form of government)
Sudan
Syria (considers itself at war with Israel)
Taiwan (like many other countries, there is a unofficial trade office in Taipei)
Tunisia (suspended relations with Israel in 2000)
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

extremley over-simplified I know......but from what I can work out:

Jews were given land that "god" had promised them 2000 years ago after WWII, and the Palestinians were thrown out of their houses, off their land etc----------in other words the Jews treated the Palestinians the same way the Nazis treated them.

Are there any Israeli citizens living in slums, camps etc? Or is it just the Palestinians?

.... the Jews treated the Palestinians the same way the Nazis treated them YES and still are - witness the attempts to breach the embargo on goods reaching Gaza by sea, and the civilians who died on that relief ship.

Are there any Israeli citizens living in slums, camps etc? NO The settlements are being built so anyone can get housing, so long as they are Jews.

Or is it just the Palestinians? YES in ghettos called Gaza and the West Bank.

LL

Quote.

Iran (would like to wipe Israel off the map)

That's a bit telling, isn't it?

Sabot wrote:
Quote.

Iran (would like to wipe Israel off the map)

That's a bit telling, isn't it?

They have never hidden what they thought and what they want. LL