4903개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
It seems that this year will be not
the year of the dog, it seems
that this year will be
the year of the LUNATICS!!
While the Palestinians, after the first democratic election in the entire arabic world, are starting to fight(kill) each other(more about it later, or not..), our lovely neighborhood in the North is going crazy too(wow, what a surprise!!)...
'로(노)동신문':
"Dark clouds of a nuclear war are hanging low over the Korean Peninsula..."
...North Korea warns of nuclear war
...but of course they can't reach the White House
so they must target the Blue House^^
ANYWAY..
새해 복 많이 받으세요
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
...OUR STRUGGLE MEANS PEACE
AND WE ARE FIGHTING AGAINST YOUR WARS...
..THE LAST BATTLE WE'll WIN!!
NEPAL: CLASHES BETWEEN THE DEMOCRATIC/LIBERATION FORCES
AND THE REGIME ARE INCREASING
While the entire(?) world is watching the developments in the Near East(Palestine/Israel) the situation in the Himalaya Kingdom Nepal is extreme worsening. Since more than one week nearly daily massive attacks of the forces of repression against the democratic movement were/are reported. At the same time the battles between the liberation forces - CPN(M), People's Liberation Army(PLA) and the revolutionary militia/guerilla - and the Royal Nepalese Army(RNA) are increasing. Meanwhile even in larger cities the battles are taking place.
For the coming week(it will be the first anniversary of King Gyanendra's seizure of power) the democratic forces are planning massive protests all across the country... But it might mean that "machine of repression" will come to full power... and perhaps without any notice in the world media(perhaps even not in the so-called 'alternative, independent' media)...
Please read more coverages about the coming and last protests here:
'Black day' in Nepal next week (Al-Jazeera)
Nepalese(bourgeois) media:
11 rebels, two security personnel killed in Bhojpur clashes
Maoists attack in Bhojpur; explosions in Nepalgunj
Maoists shot and injure two policemen in Mahendranagar
Maoists attack Nepalgunj again; clash in Bhojpur
Alliance unveils new protest programmes to disrupt municipal polls
..and so on, and so on...
Please see also
PALESTINIANS CHOOSE HAMAS
Ramallah's Virtual Reality
By Henryk M. Broder
A Middle Eastern disaster is in the making say the pundits. But at least now it's clear where the Palestinians stand. They are lost in visions of heroic victory and resistance. Israel, meanwhile, has moved on.
There's an old saying in Cologne: "Et kütt, wie et kütt" -- "What happens, happens." Cologne residents, it should be mentioned, are considered the philosophers among Germans.
What does that have to do with Thursday's Palestinian elections? Those folks from Cologne seem to know what they're talking about. The extremists from Hamas have emerged with a sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections -- an absolute majority even, with 76 seats to just 43 for the Fatah faction. It has happened. Hamas will now play a decisive role in the government of the Palestinian Authority.
And now it's time for the pundits. Some saw it coming, others act surprised, but everyone agrees that the cards have been reshuffled. The peace process, most agree, will be put on ice and that the Palestinians will have to decide what they want: a political solution to the conflict, as President Mahmoud Abbas has sought; or armed conflict, as militant groups ranging from Islamic Jihad to the Fatah Movement's own Al-Aqsa Brigades have waged. Or a little of this and a little of that -- a policy to suit whichever way the political winds happen to be blowing at the time.
But let's stick to the facts: free elections are always a risk. There's always the possibility that a vote can be won by a party that is fit neither for power nor for the opposition because its platform is a recipe for disaster in either case. The Israelis have put such experiences behind them; now it's the Palestinians' turn. But there is one fundamental difference between the two. It took the Israelis a long, long time to come to terms with reality, but they did. They finally realized that there is such a thing as a Palestinian people; that there is no such thing as a "good occupation" acceptable to those occupied; that Israel is not alone in the world; and that if they want to avoid being left behind by history, they'll have to negotiate peace one day.
Basking in the glow of candlelight
It was these realizations that led to the Oslo Accords -- fully 12 years ago. In hindsight, it looks as though the Israelis not only pulled Arafat out of exile, but also out of political irrelevance. It was perhaps a naïve assumption that he would not only be capable of achieving law and order in his realm, but would also be willing to cooperate with the Israelis. Everyone knew that Arafat was corrupt, but just how corrupt has only become clear in retrospect.
The last thing Arafat wanted was a free, independent, sovereign Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel. Why should a man who had accumulated $900 million in his various accounts -- and who could afford to send his wife $100,000 a month in Paris -- give up the role of the revolutionary and instead turn his attention to garbage collection in Ramallah, the sewage system in Gaza and providing meals to schoolchildren in Nablus? All that was too mundane for Arafat. His specialty was to keep on fighting until he had achieved victory.
And the Israelis were foolish enough to give him the opportunity to position himself as the untiring fighter, under siege in his compound in Ramallah, basking in the glow of candlelight, surrounded by guests and companions willing to suffer with him and die if necessary. Attaining heroism couldn't have been cheaper.
Arafat's greatest crime was that he never told his people the truth. Perhaps he really believed that the Palestinians had time on their side -- that they would have to sacrifice two or three generations to outlast the occupation. But if that was Arafat's belief, it was a miscalculation. Time isn't on the Palestinians' side. In fact, it's working against them.
If they had accepted the autonomy arrangement former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat negotiated in the first Camp David accords, a Palestinian state would probably exist by now. It would have limited sovereignty, be demilitarized and tied to Jordan, but it would be free of Israeli occupation. Instead, the Palestinians preferred to dance in the streets when "Sadat the traitor" was murdered.
Fundamental misunderstanding
Nowadays there is not a single Arab country -- not even Libya -- that wants to destroy Israel to help the Palestinians achieve justice. The almost daily terror combined with the deadly suicide bombings have not, as expected, demoralized Israel. Instead Israeli resolve to end the conflict unilaterally has strengthened: giving up Gaza; building the security fence; and perhaps even a gradual pullout from the West Bank, for which Gaza was merely a dress rehearsal.
Either the Palestinians haven't noticed any of this, or have fundamentally misunderstood it. Instead of confronting reality, they chose to stay in their virtual world -- a world in which every thought and every action was focused on the "right of return." Even armed with his good intentions, Mahmoud Abbas was unable to change that virtual world when he took over from Arafat.
That Hamas -- which has no interest in abandoning terrorism or backing down from its stated goal of destroying Israel -- won the election is hardly a disaster. Rather, it has established the necessary clarity. Israel will continue with its policy of unilateral action and will leave the Palestinians to their own devices.
The outcome of the election was likely also related to the dark fantasies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His outlandish comments may have inspired absurd hopes that Israel could somehow be convinced to destroy itself -- to give up its territory and return to Europe in order to sidestep a military defeat that would spell the end of the Jewish state.
But Ahmadinejad miscalculated. He made it brutally clear to the Israelis where the real danger lurks -- not in Hebron, Nablus or Bethlehem, but in Tehran. He also made it clear that the Israelis will be forced to end the occupation because they'll need all of their political strength and military resources to confront this threat.
On the other hand, few predictions made about the Middle East these days are likely to last more than a week. It's quite possible that the Hamas leaders will undergo a transformation similar to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's the minute they come into power. There are no indications that this is likely to happen, but it also isn't out of the question. In the best case, this kind of process could take 10 to 20 years. During this time, Israel will continue to act unilaterally. Meanwhile, the Palestinians will end up with less than they would have had in 1980, 1990 or 2000.
It's bitter, but it's reality. What happens, happens.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.27 Gaza. Fatah's protest, or celebration??
More about the issue here:
Haaretz
Fatah members urge PA to reject gov't with Hamas
Jerusalem Post
Fatah members protesting Hamas win storm Gaza streets
IHT/New York Times
Abbas will ask Hamas to form new government
A NEW F****** IDEA BY
朝鮮日報
The entire 'article' about this f.. bull sh.. you can(well, you must not..^^) read here:
The Chosun Ilbo Declares a Year of Germany
Chosun Ilbo: SHUT UP!
Germany: SHUT UP!
FOREVER!!
("Deutschland muss sterben, damit wir leben koennen"
"Germany must die, so that we can live", by Slime)
Islamic Resistance Movement(HAMAS) is the winner of the parliamentarian election in the Palestinian Territories
(Parhaps this is not a day for celebrations..)
Official results: Hamas takes 76 PLC seats to Fatah's 43
Violent clashes erupt in Ramallah; Hamas wins in every district except Kalkilya and Jericho, takes East Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post
Yedioth Ahronot/Ynet
Hamas wins 76 seats in 132-seat house, Fatah 43
Fatah will not join Hamas-led government
Haaretz
The Guardian
Hamas Wins Majority In Palestinian Elections
Washington Post
Al-Jazeera
...and so on, and so on...
Perhaps later more about it, but with more contents...
..ok, and here it comes:
Netanyahu: 'Hamastan' was created before our eyes
Iran says hopes Hamas victory will unite Palestinians
Haaretz
Hamas's charter: The martyrs' oath
Netanyahu warns of birth of Hamastan
A terrorist regime
Jerusalem Post
Hamas Election Victory: A Vote for Clarity
'The Electronic Intifada'
The Palestinian Authority(http://www.memri.org/palestinian.html), since 1.25,...nothing new...
Please check out also
The Palestinian Information Center (possibly Hamas... "But if you want to fight your enemy, you have to study him/her"
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/
Anyway, the 'future' is watching you...
The first official election results will be published at around 7/8pm, CET(1.27, 3/4am 'at home'). Be patience and don't go to bed!!^^
Jerusalem Post (Israeli rightwing daily)
IDF faces two-headed Hamas monster
Al-Jazeera
Palestinian PM quits after poll upset
The Guardian (UK)
Palestinian PM and cabinet quit
Haaretz ('left-liberal' daily in Israel)
Hamas wins absolute parliamentary majority
Abbas: We must honor the results of the elections
Arab world jubliant at 'earthquake' of Hamas victory
Ynet
The German magazine Der Spiegel published today following article:
PALESTINIAN VOTE
Election Uncertainty Continues, Palestinian Cabinet Resigns
By Yassin Musharbash in Ramallah
On Wednesday, Palestinians went to the polls to elect a new parliament. That night, the tension was almost unbearable. Would Fatah come out on top once again? Or would the radicals from Hamas take over? The Palestinian future is in the ballots.
They filled the evening with celebratory gunfire; they caused traffic jams as they took to the streets in cars draped with the flags of their parties; they chanted battle hymns. Palestinians had much to celebrate on Wednesday -- they voted for a parliament for the first time in 10 years without any major violent incidents. But a vote that left Palestinians celebrating could soon turn into a headache for Israelis, Americans and Europeans who oppose the rise of the radical extremist Hamas party. Hamas looks set to become one of the two largest parties in the Palestinian parliament.
Ballots are still being counted in the Palestinian Authority, but it appears clear that the radical Islamic Hamas party will have an important future in parliament. Exit polls showed a slight lead for the governing Fatah, but neither party appeared ready to concede to the other on Thursday morning. Nevertheless, given indications that Hamas may be nosing ahead, the entire Palestinian cabinet, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, resigned on Thursday morning.
The apprehension about the results of the election wasn't reserved for the Palestinians alone. Given the apparent electoral success of Hamas -- a group which has yet to back away from its call for the destruction of Israel -- the Israeli cabinet, led by acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is planning to meet later Thursday.
"Israel can't accept a situation in which Hamas, in its present form as a terror group calling for the destruction of Israel, will be part of the Palestinian Authority without disarming," said Olmert on Thursday. "I won't hold negotiations with a government that does not stick to its most basic obligation of fighting terror."
Others, too, indicated that Hamas must first renounce violence before the international community can work with them. In a comment intended for Hamas, US President George W. Bush said in a Wall Street Journal interview, "Not until you renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you."
Benita Ferrero-Walder, the European Union Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, echoed these sentiments. "We are in principle ready to work with any government of the Palestinians that would seek peace by peaceful means," she told Reuters.
A long night of self-hypnosis
In the Palestinian Authority, though, just how much power Hamas might end up with was the question of the night on Wednesday night. "God be willing, we will be able to confirm in the coming hours that we have a majority in parliament or that we at least have a stalemate," a spokesman for Hamas announced at 2 a.m. "At the very least, despite our losses, we will still be the largest party in parliament," a high-ranking Fatah politician also declared. And Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah declared his political movement the winner of the election. For political leaders from both sides, it was a long night of self-hypnosis.
But the truth is that nobody knows for certain who won and how many seats each party will get. The first official figures in the election are expected later Thursday. The two main adversaries in the poll -- the governing Fatah and Hamas, which has until now had no role in the government -- nevertheless celebrated what they considered to be victories.
Two exit polls published shortly after polling stations closed on Wednesday showed the governing Fatah with a slight lead over Hamas. But both suggested that a political earthquake had struck the Palestinian territories: Even with Fatah in the lead, Hamas would still, at the very least, become the strongest Palestinian opposition party. Fatah, meanwhile, appears to have lost the absolute majority it enjoyed in the 132-seat parliament.
A euphoric mood pervaded Hamas headquarters early Thursday. The vote represented a massive boost for a party whose militant arm has been condemned as a terrorist organization and international pariah by both the United States and the European Union. The militant wing of Hamas has been responsbile for killing countless Israeli citizens in terrorist attacks.
"Honestly, we hadn't even considered that we might win," one reserved voter said. Volunteers at party headquarters held as many as three cell phones to their ears as they sat at a conference table and punched results from the polling stations inito computers. "Hamas: 147 votes, Fatah, 123 votes." The Islamists aren't content to rely on forecasts and exit polls -- they want to count every single vote, as fast as they can. "It's possible that before this is all over, we're going to lead the Autonomous Authority," said Mahmud Ramahi, an incoming Hamas member of parliament, who is clearly surprised by the result.
Is there a party of national unity?
At the same time, Fatah youth were driving through the Ramallah city center, honking their horns and shooting into the sky. They weren't, it seemed, aware of just how close the results were. "We've won!" they sang. But the truth is, no matter what the final results look like, Fatah has lost influence. And they know it. Which makes their foray through the city more of a publicity stunt -- to delay the inevitability of admitting Fatah's weakened hold on Palestinian power.
"I would rather have a national unity government," said the 19-year-old student Lutfi. He's talking about a cabinet made up of ministers from all Palestinian parties -- including those smaller groups who will likely end up with less than 5 percent of the vote. The motivation for such a government is clear: A national unity government could be sold as a national project representing everybody -- and it would camouflage the fact that Hamas is now a major center of political power in the Palestinian Authority.
Lutfi isn't the only one. The idea of such an all-inclusive government is also one which many in the Hamas camp are partial to -- even in the case of an absolute majority for the radical group. Hamas, after all, doesn't want to repel Fatah supporters -- and Hamas is aware that many voters chose them out of frustration rather than political conviction. The electoral shift toward Hamas is far from indicative of a renunciation of the Fatah position, which contrary to Hamas continues to support negotiating with Israel. "We have to seriously reflect on exactly how we move ahead," warned the newly elected representative Ramahi.
The poker game gets underway
Given the uncertainty of exactly what the election results mean, it's hardly surprising that the emotions in the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday night were all over the map -- from giggling Hamas supporters to Fatah activists drowning their sorrows. But there were also Fatah voters celebrating victory, and Hamas members nervously chewing their nails in the realization that only a governing majority would be acceptable. They don't want to merely be a strong opposition party. Despite the raw emotions on display Wednesday night, however, there was no violence.
The first election results should be available on Thursday evening -- and when the numbers are published, the picture of who won and who lost will become clearer. Then, the Palestinians will begin putting together a government. And only then can the real poker game get started.
1.24, clashes in downtown Kathmandu
NepalNews
Fighting stops in Dhangadhi, No reports of casualties
Eight killed in Nepalgunj attack (news update)
eKantipur.com
Maoists, security forces clash in Nepalgunj, Dhangadi
Maoists bomb Dang district traffic police office
Deuba, Nepal call for election boycott
KATHMANDU , Jan 25
President of Nepali Congress-Democratic Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday separately requested the people not to cast their vote in the upcoming municipal elections and to participate in the mass movement launched by the seven-party alliance.Issuing a statement from detention, former prime minister Deuba today said the election..
Read More»
Deuba calls for boycott of municipal polls
Over 100 protesters arrested across country
Sorry that I use only this(mainstream, bourgeois) stuff, but there is no independent news updating about the current situation/developments in Nepal, but...
...finally it seems that the situation
in Nepal is, day by day, escalating.
IRAN TO ISRAEL: "C'MON, WE'LL F.. YOU!!"
AP/Jerusalem Post(1.25)
Were Israel to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran would respond so strongly that it would put the Jewish state into "an eternal coma" like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's, the Iranian defense minister said Wednesday.
"Zionists should know that if they do anything evil against Iran, the response of Iran's armed forces will be so firm that it will send them into eternal coma, like Sharon," Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said.
read the full article here:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1137605913647&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Haaretz
Poll: Fatah to take 43%, Hamas 32% in PA vote
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/674336.html
Ynet
Jerusalem Post
PA polls close: Initial results indicate Fatah victory
..Fatah won more than 42 percent of the vote and Hamas more than 34 percent, based on exit polling of 6,500 voters..
The German magazine Der Spiegel reported: Fatah 45% and Hamas 42%(according to Reuters, around 10:30pm CET)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier the election day(1.25) Western and Near/Middle East media reported this:
..Al-Jazeera
Large turnout marks Palestinian polls
Washington Post
Yedioth Ahronot/Ynet
Jerusalem Post
Abbas vows to negotiate with Israel even with Hamas in PA
The Guardian
PALESTINE: THE NEXT STEPS ON
THE ROAD TO 'DEMOCRACY'
(No fun, not at all!)
PEACE, PEACE...^=^
Palestinian kids on a Hamas pre-election event
Just few hours before the beginning of the parliamentarian election in the Palestinian territories following articles were published yesterday(1.24):
Fatah leader in West Bank shot dead
Associated Press(The Guardian)
Candidates were banned from campaigning today for a cooling-off period before the election.
But the murder raised doubts about the latest pledges by armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza not to commit violence during the vote.
Opinion polls have shown Fatah and Hamas in a close race ahead of the election and both sides have said they might form a coalition government.
The run-up to the voting has been marred by violence, including militants taking over government offices and threatening election workers. Much of the unrest has been carried out by gunmen linked to Fatah, apparently fearing losses to Hamas. Fatah has also been afflicted by internal divisions.
Today Fatah gunmen shot to death Abu Ahmed Hassouna, 44, a party leader in Nablus after he told them to stop shooting at campaign posters on his house, relatives said. It was the second politically motivated killing of the campaign. After today's murder, around 1,000 people marched to the main police station in Nablus to protest, giving the police chief a letter demanding an end to lawlessness.
"Enough, enough. We want the police to protect us," the crowd shouted. Dozens of gunmen later blocked a main road and shopkeepers shut down their stores in protest. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas candidate in northern Gaza, said the Islamist group expects to become the largest party in parliament. But it will not try to form a government alone, instead seeking a partnership with Fatah or other parties, he said.
Senior Hamas leaders recently spoke with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, to discuss the elections and their aftermath, Mr Masri said.
Meanwhile today, Mr Abbas called on all Palestinians to exercise their right to vote. "The election is a right and duty at the same time, and I hope that the results of this election will reflect honestly the Palestinian people's opinions," he said in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Thousands of Palestinian security personnel, who voted early, fanned out across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to protect the polling stations.
More than 1,700 Israeli border police are being deployed to ensure order and the free movement of voters in the Jerusalem area during election day, a Jerusalem police spokesman said.
In Tulkarem, in the north-west of the West Bank, about 40 militants from Islamic Jihad - which is boycotting the vote - marched along main road to demand the release of prisoners from Palestinian jails and to ask residents to boycott the election. Many of the militants wore fake explosive belts and carried wooden sticks.
Palestinian police, claiming one of the passing protesters shot at their station, opened fire on the group, scattering the masked men. No one was hurt.
The violence has cast doubts on the fragmented militant factions' promises to maintain calm on election day. About 25 masked gunmen from various factions held a joint press conference in Gaza City today to announce they would be unarmed during the balloting.
Abu Obeida, a Hamas spokesman, said: "Everyone agreed to keep the election process moving in a smooth, clean and honest way in order to create the fundamental basis for a political partnership."
Abu Adham, a spokesman for the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said all groups want the elections to succeed, "and we have to contribute to protect it".
Hamas, known for its suicide bombings and calls for Israel's destruction, has emerged as a formidable political force, attracting voters with calls for clean government and an end to Fatah's corruption, while pointing to its own popular social and education programmes.
Hamas has said that if it wins a majority, it would form a coalition and take only low profile, service-related cabinet posts and let Mr Abbas deal with Israel.
Israeli officials have said they will not deal with Hamas until it disarms and renounces violence, a vow that could complicate hopes for restarting peace talks.
In a statement clearly aimed at Hamas, the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said yesterday that Palestinian voters should bear in mind that terrorism is not a "pathway to peace".
"The United States won't change its policies toward Hamas," she said, implying the Bush administration would not work with a Palestinian government dominated by Hamas.
But she did not rule out cooperating with a government that had some Hamas ministers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1693938,00.html
The Israeli('left-liberal') daily Haaretz wrote following article:
IDF: No policy yet toward PA government including Hamas
Ynet(Yedioth Ahronot) this:
Washington Post reported this:
Palestinians Condemn U.S. Program
Today I will try to give as soon as possible updatings about the news from the 'battle field'...
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