The Shias are now taking to the streets in protests against the US SOFA. In the meanwhile, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer says Israel is planning to attack Iran in the near future over its nuclear program. Is anybody paying attention to all this?!?! Looking at the blogosphere I get the feeling that nobody is paying any attention at all…
Many thanks to Toufic for this very interesting contribution – VS The brightest and best of the presidential hopefuls seeks to extend a cruel, immoral Cuba blockade By Fidel Castro It would be dishonest of me to remain silent after hearing Barack Obama’s speech delivered at the Cuban American National Foundation last Friday. I feel no resentment towards him, for he is not responsible for the crimes perpetrated against Cuba
That’s it. Moqtada al-Sadr and Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani are demanding a popular referendum on the SOFA the US is trying to impose on Iraq. By demanding a referendum the Shias are achieving three results: a) they are completely by-passing the National Assemblyb) they are making the SOFA an election issuec) any referendum on the SOFA will be a de-facto referendum on the US presence in Iraq The Imperial Command is
Following the lead of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani and Moqtada al-Sadr, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Badr Organization, has now voiced his opposition to the US SOFA. This means that every major Shia faction in the country is now openly opposed to the US proposal. The USA wanted up at least 13 permanent military bases in Iraq and it demanded that US citizens be granted immunity from legal prosecution. It will
Press TV reports: ‘US bribing Iraqi MPs to sign deal’ The US has offered bribes to Iraqi MPs to lure them into endorsing a security deal that critics believe would make Iraq a US colony. Sources in Iraq’s parliament told Press TV on Thursday that Washington has offered three-million dollars in bribe to the lawmakers who sign the “framework accord.” Under the agreement, the US would be allowed to set
One can love or hate Gary Brecher, a.k.a. the “War Nerd” for his style or the the magazine he usually writes for (the eXile in Russia). But I would argue that he has far more common sense that most of the talking heads on the TV, including the generals and so-called “specialists” of the Middle-East. Funny that a magazine like the eXile would have a better military analyst than, say,
First of all, a great greeting is paid to every pure spirit of the resistance and homeland martyrs; especially that of the leader of Resistance martyrs Sayyid Abbas Al Mousawi, the sheikh of the resistance martyrs’ Raghib Hareb, and the dear brother whom we miss today the leader Al Haj Imad Moughniyah. You are mostly welcome in the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day. Here you are filling
Press TV has just published a short article saying that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has granted an audience to Hamas’ political leader Khaled Meshaal. The AFP provides some more details about the meeting and its context: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday told the visiting political supremo of Hamas to keep up the resistance against Israel, warning that abandoning the struggle would lead to
By Muhammad Cohen for the Asia Times NEW YORK – The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the
On this Memorial Day in the USA one could rightly feel that those who deserve remembrance are not only the American soldiers who died while in uniform, but the uncounted millions of people all over the world who died at the hands of American soldiers. Sadly, this list is too long to be ever made and the names of the victims all too often forgotten. How can we who oppose
Dear friends, On May 25th Lebanon, at least that part of Lebanon which cares about its freedom, marks “Liberation and Resistance Day”: the day when Hezbollah defeated Israel after a brutal 22 year long occupation and expelled the Zionists out of Lebanon. This day, however, should be celebrated by all those who believe “that resistance is life and life is resistance” because what happened 8 years ago was the first
Press TV reports: Iraq’s most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has strongly objected to a ‘security accord’ between the US and Iraq. The Grand Ayatollah has reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with “the US occupiers” as long as he was alive, a source close to Ayatollah Sistani said. The source added the Grand Ayatollah had voiced his strong objection to the
Note: I believe that the AP story to which RNN is referring is this one.
Jerusalem – The US political author and critic of Israel Norman Finkelstein was denied entry to the Jewish state on Friday, his lawyer said. Finkelstein landed at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv in the early morning and was told by a representative of the ministry of interior that he would not be allowed into the country on ‘security’ grounds, attorney Michael Sfard told dpa. ‘This usually means a
First, a senior Iranian cleric says that signing a SOFA agreement with the occupation forces would be a betrayal of Islam (so much for the alleged Iranian support of the occupation or the Maliki regime). Second, a top US military commanders says that Iran’s role in the Middle-East is “analogous to al-Qaeda’s” (which sadly goes to prove that with the departure of Adm. Fallon all that’s left in the Pentagon
Press TV reports: Venezuela has declared that it is establishing a common bank with Iran to finance economic development projects in the two countries. The bank, to be based in Tehran, will have an initial capital base of 1.2 billion dollars, with each nation providing half of the funds, AFP reported on Tuesday. It follows up on a March 2007 agreement the two countries signed. The relations between the two
A deal has finally been reached in Doha. The BBC reports that the Western-backed government and the pro-Syrian opposition arrived at the deal after days of talks in Qatar. Under the deal, the opposition – led by the Hezbollah political and militant group – will have the power of veto in a new cabinet of national unity. It also paves the way for parliament to elect a new president. The
Ha’aretz reports: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proposed in discussions Monday with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, that a naval blockade be imposed on Iran as one of several ways to pressure Iran into stopping its uranium enrichment program. Although the White House denied a published report that U.S. President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term in January, the
