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Israel excluded as model UN meets in Gaza The opening ceremony of the model United Nations in Gaza City. (Majdi Fathi / APA images) There were three items on the agenda when the United Nations Security Council held an extraordinary meeting in Gaza City last weekend: the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank; the siege of Gaza; and the status of East Jerusalem. Israel was prevented from having any input into the discussions because it does not recognize Palestine. As you may have gathered, the exclusion of Israel was not officially approved by Ban Ki-moon or others in the UN hierarchy. Rather, it was a decision taken by the Model United Nations, a forum set up by Gaza youth. “We have not included Israel mainly because of the fact that Israel does not recognize us and works tirelessly to prevent any possible move at the UN to recognize Palestine as a member state,” said Yasmine Khader, Palestine’s “representative” and “observer” at the mock Security Council meeting. ...

  Hate-Speech Hypocrites  :   Information Clearing House: ICH October 01, 2012 "Information Clearing House" - Jews have too much influence over U.S. foreign policy. Gay men are too promiscuous. Muslims commit too much terrorism. Blacks commit too much crime. Each of those claims is poorly stated. Each, in its clumsy way, addresses a real problem or concern. And each violates laws against hate speech. In much of what we call the free world, for writing that paragraph, I could be jailed. Libertarians, cultural conservatives, and racists have complained about these laws for years. But now the problem has turned global. Islamic governments, angered by an anti-Muslim video that provoked protests and riots in their countries, are demanding to know why insulting the Prophet Mohammed is free speech but vilifying Jews and denying the Holocaust isn’t. And we don’t have a good answer. If we’re going to preach freedom of expression around the world, we have to practice it...

Video: Tel Aviv exhibit features testimony by Nakba perpetrators

Dumb and Hateful: The Consequences of US Islamophobia      :   Information Clearing House: ICH Consider the case of Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin. While still on active duty in 2002, this highly decorated Army officer spoke in uniform at a series of some 30 church gatherings during which he offered his own response to President Bush’s famous question: “Why do they hate us?” The general’s perspective differed markedly from his commander-in-chief’s: “The answer to that is because we're a Christian nation. We are hated because we are a nation of believers.” On another such occasion, the general recalled his encounter with a Somali warlord who claimed to enjoy Allah’s protection. The warlord was deluding himself, Boykin declared, and was sure to get his comeuppance: “I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol.” As a Christian nation, Boykin insisted, the United States would succ...

On outskirts of Kabul, 'Warlordistan' may be glimpse of Afghan future - News - Stripes “He’s a murderer, he’s a thief and he has two more years of ruling out there,” one high-ranking police commander said of Gul, saying he hopes the people will choose a new member of parliament when Gul’s term is up. Gul and Mohammadi have steadfastly denied the accusations.

Study: ‘Counterproductive’ Drone War ‘Terrorizes’ Civilians in Pakistan -- News from Antiwar.com A new report by researchers at the Stanford and NYU schools of law has found that the drone program is “terrorizing” the people of Pakistan and that it is having “counterproductive” effects.

New Mexico church pulled offer to host Palestine conference due to pro-Israel group’s “interfaith bullying” On Friday, I wrote about the bullying and smear tactics of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico and its director Sam Sokolove, against the upcoming Friends of Sabeel-North America conference in Albuquerque on September 28-29 – tactics that I had experienced personally before a previous visit to New Mexico two years ago.