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IAEA rejects Arab call to discuss Israel

The UN atomic watchdog has unanimously called for a nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East but rejected an Arab call to denounce Israel as a nuclear threat.

The IAEA conference rejected discussion of “Israeli nuclear capabilities and threat,” as proposed in a resolution by Oman, despite a strong push for this by 15 Arab states plus Palestine.

I think this is total hypocrisy!
The IAEA, the US and Europe go on and on and on about Iran and how it could be trying to build nuclear weapons even though they’ve been assured millions of times they’re not, yet Israel that is known to already have a stockpile of nuclear weapons and which rejects to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty isn’t even pressured one little bit about it.
I can’t find anything else to call it but hypocrisy!
This is why the UN, IAEA, US, EU don’t have any credibility with the people of the world!

Ties With Israel

While going through the daily news, I came across this article on the english website of Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth about Turkish and Tunisian ties with Israel.

The article talks about an interview the prime ministers from both countries had with the London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, which reported on the visit of both prime ministers to Abu Dhabi, where they spoke about relations with Israel.

Both prime ministers say that their countries’ ties with Israel serve the Palestinian cause and are aimed at finding a solution to the conflict.

The article goes on to say that Tunisian prime minister, Mr. Mohamed El Ghannoushi said that there was no direct conflict between Tunisia and Israel, and that his country was fully ready to recognize Israel and normalize ties, but added that this would

MideastWire

While there are now more than 500 Arabic and Persian news outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable means for English speakers to gain access to much of this content. As a result, the overwhelming majority of English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.

Mideastwire.com, is a new news website, that aims to close this gap by offering a daily email newsletter of concise, translated briefs covering some of the key political, cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries, Iran and the Arab Diaspora.

Mideast Wire was started by four journalists associated with the Daily Star in Beirut; two Americans, Nicholas Noe and Seth Walls, and two Lebanese, Majdoline Hatoum and Maha al-Azar.

They wish to play a critical role in addressing at least one element of a global disconnect that continues to threaten a wide spectrum of socio-political and economic relationships, both here in the region and beyond.

I think this is a really great idea, although it’s a shame it’s not free, as making it a paid service limits it’s reach.
I understand that they need to make money to be profitable and keep on existing, but I think they should’ve gone for free content and built their business around smart advertising solutions.

Anyways, I wish them a lot of luck.
The Arab opinion must reach the whole world, and this is one great way to make it possible.

[Via: Thysdrus]

Taysir Alluni Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail

A Spanish judge sentenced Al-Jazeera’s correspondent Taysir Alluni to seven years in prison for what they called “collaborating with al-Qaida”.

Alluni, who has insisted on his innocence throughout Europe’s biggest al-Qaida trial, interviewed the group’s leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.

Accused of acting as a financial courier to the group while in Afghanistan, Alluni, who had faced a maximum nine-year term, said in testimony he was only doing his job as a journalist.

A spokesman for the Arab Human Rights Committee confirmed that heavy political pressures were imposed on the court to issue such a sentence and said “There is no single evidence that may lead to such a sentence.”

I think this is totally absurd!
The guy was doing his job as a good journalist who got a chance to interview one of the hottest personalities on earth at that time.
Where is the freedom of press that the West pride themselves of?
Would we have seen the same sentence given out against Christian Amanpour from CNN for example?! I really doubt it!!

An Islamist threat like the Nazis?!!

In the September 19th edition of The Washington Times, an article by Tony Blankley, the editorial page editor of, and a weekly columnist for, The Washington Times, claims that the threat of Islam is like that of the Nazis.

He writes:

The threat of the radical Islamists taking over Europe is every bit as great to the United States as was the threat of the Nazis taking over Europe in the 1940s.

Beyond the growing number of Muslims committed to terrorism is the threat from the Islamic diaspora’s growing cultural and religious assertiveness — particularly in largely secular Europe, where Muslim cultural assimilation has not occurred.

…the overwhelming political fact deriving from the ferment in Islam is that, to some degree, some percentage of Muslims are prepared to murder — and are murdering — great numbers in what they feel is their religious duty.

Many more Muslims are, to some degree, supportive or protective of these killers. Even more Muslims, while not supportive of such tactics, share many of the terrorists’ religious convictions and perceptions.

The articles goes on painting muslims as murderers, likening muslims to nazis, and stressing their threat to the US and Europe, then urging Europeans to struggle for survival against Islam even in vigilante ways.

This is totally wrong, unacceptable and racist!
This man should not be allowed to ever write again and should be prosecuted for this article.

Is this the solution the “land of the free”, “the land of democracy, civilization and human rights”, has in mind?
Fight Islam, exterminate all muslims and get rid of them?!
Liken them to nazis and then commit another holocaust against them?! Who’s the nazi then?
And then who’s next, as Mohsan wonders, the Chinese?

[Via: Je Blog]
[Article: ‘An Islamist threat like the Nazis’]

Bahrain Ends Israel Trade Boycott

Bahrain took the decision to end the boycott of Israeli goods because it is one of the conditions of the free trade agreement with the United States.

Bahrain, which hosts the base of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, signed the free trade deal with the United States last year, becoming the first Gulf state to do so.

The move makes Bahrain the first of the six Arab states of the Gulf to abolish its trade boycott of Israel, although others, such as Qatar and Oman, have taken limited steps in that direction.

The repeal coincides with signs of a thaw in relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim states following its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

I personally think it’s too early for Arab countries to rush into lifting trade boycotts, building diplomatic relations and being friendly with Israel just because it withdrawed from Gaza.

Things are still not clear enough and a process towards a lasting solution isn’t on track yet.
Until that happens, I think it’s still premature to take any steps towards full normalization with Israel by the Arab countries.

Yahoo! Helped Jail Chinese Journalist

According to Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), Information supplied by Yahoo! helped Chinese journalist Shi Tao get 10 years in prison.

Shi, a former journalist for the financial publication Contemporary Business News, was sentenced in April to 10 years in prison for illegally providing state secrets to foreigners.

It shows that Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd provided China

Hurricane Katrina, The Aftermath

Over the past week, like everyone else, I’ve been watching a lot of the news and the devastation that hurricane Katrina has left behind it.

Lives, buildings, houses, businesses, lands and the long list of casualties goes on, have been lost and wrecked.

Nature hits the hardest I guess, and when it does there’s nothing to be done about it but wish for the best and try to get ready for what comes after it in relief and rebuilding.

It’s a shame to see that not enough is being done, and that not enough aid is reaching these areas.
It’s a shame that at a time like this, when people should come together and unite to try and help each other out, we see that the poor African Americans of New Orleans have been left behind to suffer in the streets and shelters.
More has to be done by the US government and the world.

Our deepest condolences and sympathies to the people of the US who have lost their loved ones or have been affected by this tragedy in one way or another.

Babies On U.S. No-Fly List

Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the United States because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists on the government’s “no-fly list.”

The government’s lists of people who are either barred from flying or require extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedly since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn’t provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security sweep if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists.
That can happen even if the person happens to be an infant.

Now, I totally understand the reason such a list and others like it exist, but turning back an infant because their name is similar to a suspect’s name is just plain stupid no matter how you look at it!

The government should provide more information and the security people should be a bit more intelligent.

[Source: CNN]

Masturbation Cuts Cancer Risk

Men could reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer through regular masturbation, researchers suggest.

They say cancer-causing chemicals could build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly.

And they say sexual intercourse may not have the same protective effect because of the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which could increase men’s cancer risk.

Australian researchers questioned over 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer and 1,250 who had not about their sexual habits.

Men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life.

Hmmm, interesting…

[Source: BBC News]