be just

90% of Gaza water "unsafe for drinking," says UN UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - After a fact-finding tour of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip — and following hearings in Jordan and Egypt — a three-member United Nations committee has lambasted Israel for the harsh treatment of Palestinian children held in custody.

Mitt Romney: Richer Means Superior:         Information Clearing House: ICH Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist By The Associated Press July 30, 2012 "AP" --   JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch. ``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.

Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist:       Information Clearing House: ICH Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist By The Associated Press July 30, 2012 "AP" --   JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch. ``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.

'Don't tell my mother that I am blind': Muhammad Brash grasps for light in the darkness of Israeli jail Muhammad Brash (right), and his brother Ramzy are both imprisoned by Israel (Facebook) Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by the Palestinian resistance from his tank and held for five years, is known worldwide as a “victim” of the “terrorist” Palestinians. But seeing how little the world knows of our Palestinian political prisoners infuriates me. There is not only one. Nearly five thousand Palestinians are behind Israeli bars, which are more like “a grave for the living.” as my dad ad, who spent 15 years in Israel’s prisons, frequently describes his detention. Last night, while following the latest news on political prisoners, I saw a headline reading, “The medical situation of the detainee Muhammad Brash is deteriorating.” I’m certain few have read that name before. Muhammad Brash, like every Palestinian hero locked up in Israel’s jails, has his own stor...

Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif        Information Clearing House: ICH Saudi Police Fire Live Rounds On Protesters in Qatif Video By RT -July 28, 2012 Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters. Several demonstrators have been wounded in Saudi Arabia’s eastern district of Qatif after security forces opened fire on protesters. Officers fired live rounds at demonstrators who carried posters of those injured and arrested earlier this month. Spokesmen for the Saudi Interior Ministry said several people were burning tires during the protests, and several arrests were made. Among those arrested today was Mohammed al-Shakhuri, who is on a list of the country’s 23 most-wanted people, Al-Manar News reported. Witnesses said Shakhuri was taken to a military hospital with bullet wounds in his back and neck. “There were no casualties,” the Interior Ministry said in a state...

The Value of Tom Friedman?        Information Clearing House: ICH The Value of Tom Friedman His status among American elites is the single most potent fact for understanding the nation's imperial decline By Glenn Greenwald July 28, 2012 "Salon" - -  Tom Friedman argues that the only thing that could save Syria is if that country is lucky enough to have the U.S. do to it what the U.S. did to Iraq, and in the process, says this: And, for me, the lesson of Iraq is quite simple: You can’t go from Saddam to Switzerland without getting stuck in Hobbes — a war of all against all — unless you have a well-armed external midwife, whom everyone on the ground both fears and trusts to manage the transition. In Iraq, that was America. 

Israel denied me entry on the basis of my skin color and religion Israel attempts to portray itself as a vibrant, liberal country that promotes pluralism and diversity, the only democracy in a region filled with tyrants and despots, a young energetic start-up advocating inclusiveness. So why the need for barefaced racial discrimination at its airports?