Baithak World Apr 12: Robert Fisk, Iran Trade, George Soros, Israel's Vainnu, Bill Maher, Sexism, Ahmed Alaidy, Torture Drawings, Da Vinci, Cairo,Jong

After his latest shenanigans, I've come to the conclusion that George Bush is the first US president to march backwards. First we had weapons of mass destruction. Then, when they proved to be a myth, Bush told us we had stopped Saddam's "programmes" for weapons of mass destruction (which happened to be another lie). Now he's gone a stage further. After announcing victory in Iraq in 2003 and "mission accomplished" and telling us how this enormous achievement would lead the 21st century into a "shining age of human liberty", George Bush told us this week that "thanks to the surge, we've renewed and revived the prospect of success". Now let's take a look at this piece of chicanery and subject it to a little linguistic analysis. Five years ago, it was victory – ie success – but this has now been transmogrified into a mere "prospect" of success. And not a "prospect", mark you, that has even been glimpsed. No, we have "renewed" and "revived" this prospect. "Revived", as in "brought back from the dead". Am I the only one to be sickened by this obscene semantics? How on earth can you "renew" a "prospect", let alone a prospect that continues to be bathed in Iraqi blood, a subject Bush wisely chose to avoid? Robert Fisk: Semantics can't mask Bush's chicanery

The $30 billion deal between the Swiss utility EGL and the Iran's national gas company is part of a truly multinational effort. EGL and Norway's StatoilHydro are building a new pipeline that will ship Iranian gas taken from Turkey, through Greece, and Albania, under the Adriatic and into Italy, where the gas will fuel power plants that generate electricity transmitted across the Swiss border. Iran is open for business, and western countries are lining up to secure resources for their energy security. Other US allies, such as Turkey, India, and Pakistan, long ago dispensed with any pretense of humoring White House attempts to freeze out foreign investment in Iran's resources. (See Money Talks. It says: "We like Iran!".) Money Talks. It says: "We Like Iran!" (Part 2)

George Soros will not go quietly. At the age of 77, Mr. Soros, one the world’s most successful investors and richest men, leapt out of retirement last summer to safeguard his fortune and legacy. Alarmed by the unfolding crisis in the financial markets, he once again began trading for his giant hedge fund — and won big while so many others lost. Mr. Soros has always been a controversial figure. But he is becoming more so with a new, dire forecast for the world economy. Last week he rushed out a book, his 10th, warning that the financial pain has only just begun. “I consider this the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime,” Mr. Soros said during an interview Monday in his office overlooking Central Park. A “superbubble” that has been swelling for a quarter of a century is finally bursting, he said. George Soros

He was released from prison in 2004 but has not been allowed to leave Israel. In 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating the terms of his parole. The Norwegian daily Dagsavisen on Friday cited an Israeli diplomat as saying that giving Vanunu asylum would be considered interference in Israel's internal affairs and a "sign of the generally anti-Israeli sentiment in Norway." Israel neither confirms nor denies having the Middle East's only nuclear weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity." Declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, Vanunu has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is granted annually in Oslo. He was nominated in 2004 by Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan. Vanunu renewed his application to Norway after reports in Norwegian media said that the minister of local government in the previous center-right government overrode the immigration authority in 2004 to reject his application. Minister of Labor and Social Inclusion Bjoern Haakon Hanssen said on Thursday that asylum cannot be granted to someone who does not reside in Norway and it was "not timely" to consider him for refugee status since he cannot leave Israel. "This government has on repeated occasions taken up the Vanunu case in international connections, among others, at the foreign minister level," Hanssen said in a statement. "The government has said that we expect Vanunu to be treated with respect for human rights and not subject to violations." The University of Tromsoe in north Norway granted Vanunu an honorary doctorate in 2000 and its rector said on Thursday he would be willing to give Vanunu a job. Israeli nuclear whistleblower Vanunu seeks asylum in Norway
Related articles:
Nuclear whistleblower Vanunu appeals jail term for foreign ties
Vanunu to return to prison for violating the terms of his parole
Vanunu convicted of violating order barring foreign contacts
Vanunu mania

Look, no one is doubting Petraeus' skill as a general. Seems to be the best guy we've got. He's the man. He's Zeus. We all agree. And maybe things would be much better now if he'd been in charge from the start. But if we need to suspend troop withdrawals because the surge strategy is working, as John McCain would have us believe, why did violence spike the instant Sadr dropped his ceasefire pledge, then relax when he told his fighters to stand down, then jump up again after that broke down, etc? Let's face it: the amount of violence is more dependent on the Sadr ceasefire, as well as the agreement we've got with the Sunni tribes (who we're paying off), than it is on our surge-tastic troop levels. (Insert mandatory statement about how our troops are the best in the world and how this isn't to take anything away from the job they're doing here. Forget Petraeus, Bring Sadr to Washington Bill Maher

While I applaud Sen. Barack Obama's speech about racism in America, I wonder if I will ever see someone tackle sexism publicly with the same seriousness. Please understand I do NOT minimize the human tragedy of racism by longing for a national dialogue about misogyny and gender-driven limits. I am well-aware that I am an educated and privileged white American woman and I am grateful for all of my advantages. (I'd be homicidal if I were a poor woman of color and had to deal with the triple whammy of classism, racism AND sexism.) As it is, as a privileged white woman I constantly have to temper my rage over the lethal "trifecta" of the "isms" by working to point out blatant examples of all of them, often packaged together. The "isms" are also tricky because as South African anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko said, "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Believe me; I'm well aware that some of the worst sexists of all are women themselves. Tricky business indeed, when the "oppressed" are in league with the "oppressors." To rebut the abolitionists, there were slave owners who showcased the slaves who "witnessed" for the preservation of slavery. When Are We Going to Talk About Sexism? By Ellen Snortland,

Despite all the political and economic problems Egypt is going through, independent publishing houses are experiencing a real awakening, which began six years ago with the publication of The Yacoubian Building. The success of Alaa al-Aswany's novel started a new era which can't be ignored, either by those who loved the novel or by those who hated it, as it disproved claims that Arabs aren't great readers and that young people are attracted by media other than books. The success of publishing houses such as Sharqiat, and subsequently Merit, in reaching these readers has encouraged a lot of young investors. Al Dar, Al Ain, Malamih and others are betting on the authors who are now such celebrities that you regularly see their pictures on Facebook. This has led to unorthodox methods (for Egypt) of promoting books, such as individual publishers creating Facebook groups, possibly without them fully understanding that word-of-mouth marketing really depends on readers spreading the word themselves. One thousand and one delights - Ahmed Alaidy

Sami al-Haj is a journalist, but one unlike any other. For over six years since December 15, 2001 -- when he was seized by Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border while on assignment as a cameraman for the Qatar-based broadcaster al-Jazeera -- he has been in a disturbing but unique position: a trained journalist held as an "enemy combatant" on the frontline of the Bush administration's "War on Terror," first in Afghanistan, and then in Guantánamo. The outline of Sami's story should be familiar to readers; last summer AlterNet published a detailed article by Rachel Morris: "Prisoner 345: An Arab Journalist's Five Years in Guantánamo," which made clear how Sami was seized because of the erroneous claim that he had interviewed Osama bin Laden, and the disturbing fact that his many interrogations in Guantánamo have focused solely on the administration's attempts to turn him into an informant against al-Jazeera, to "prove" a connection between the broadcaster and Osama bin Laden that does not exist. As his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith of the legal action charity Reprieve, noted bluntly and accurately in his book Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side: Seeking Justice in Guantánamo Bay, "Sami was a prisoner in the Bush Administration's assault on al-Jazeera." The Torture Drawings the Pentagon Doesn't Want You to See

The seemingly far-fetched theory that Leonardo da Vinci was of Arab descent has been given new backing in a study, published this week, that suggests his mother was a slave. It is known that Da Vinci's parents were not married and that his father was a Florentine notary, Ser Piero. In a tax record dating from 1457, five years after the Italian polymath's birth, his mother is described as one Caterina, who by then was married to a man from the Tuscan town of Vinci. It was assumed she was a local woman. But, according to Francesco Cianchi, the author of the study, "There is no Caterina in Vinci or nearby villages who can be linked to Ser Piero. The only Caterina in Piero's life seems to be a slave girl who lived in the house of his wealthy friend, Vanni di Niccolo di Ser Vann." Da Vinci's mother was a slave, Italian study claims - John Hooper

Bahaa Taher: One of the most respected living writers in the Arab world. Photograph: EPA/Mohamed Omar

The latest Booker prizewinner is tucking into seafood risotto beside the calm waters of the Arabian Gulf, weighing up a sometimes turbulent career. Bahaa Taher was sacked as a radio journalist in Egypt in the 1970s and driven into exile. Yet he says now, "I was freed, not fired." As the Man Booker prize turns 40 this year, the foundation behind it has backed a new award, for the best novel of the year written in Arabic. Taher picked up the first $60,000 International Prize for Arabic Fiction last month in Abu Dhabi. The award was announced during the international book fair there, now a joint venture with Frankfurt, aimed at stimulating publishing in the region, with zero tolerance of rampant book piracy. Few Arabic novelists can earn a living from their books. Cairo's greatest literary secret

It's an artifice of journalism to choose a given year and pretend that year "changed everything". We constantly hear in the United States that 9/11 "changed everything", yet - for most of humanity - life is still as nasty, brutish and short in 2008 as it was in 1008 or 2008 BC. If it is so for man, it is doubly so for woman - since women and children are the main victims of war - if we go by numbers. But can numbers measure pain? Probably not. It is a good time for me to be thinking about feminism over the past 40 years, as this week I am in Rome with other writers, thinkers and artists (including Bernardo Bertolucci, Joschka Fischer and Slavoj Zizek) for a festival of philosophy to mark the anniversary of 1968. In 1968, there was a great feeling of hope that things might change, that women might escape from beatings and rape and malnutrition in the developing world, and that, in our supposedly civilised world, they might find law degrees, medical degrees, political advancement and economic parity with their brothers and fathers. Not to mention their husbands. Don't Forget the F-word - Erica Jong

The fundaments of Zionism were laid down by Moses Hess, called the communist rabbi. He was one of Germany’s earliest renowned socialists and Karl Marx’s mentor in his search for socialism. He is considered by Zionists as the first Zionist and wrote the book “Rome and Jerusalem” (1862). In the book Hess emphasises the Jewish “race” as superior and chosen, and the Jewish religion as the best guarantee for Jewish nationality. Theodor Hertzl is usually considered to be Zionism’s founder. Later on, he referred to Hess’s book as the one that says everything worth saying about Zionism. Hertzl presented a plan for the colonisation of Palestine in his book “The Jewish State” (1896), which was affirmed at the first Zionist congress in 1897. The Jewish “race” is seen as a people with a right to their own state in Palestine, the location of Mount Zion. The goal is a Socialist Utopia – a model state - with “light” similar to that of Communism.

The Zionist Project was further developed by Ber Beorochov who argued “territorial concentration” as a solution to the Jewish question. He founded Poale Zion, the Marxist Zionist Party which supported the Russian Revolution in 1917. Ben Gurion, one of the Party members and Israel´s founder, came to Palestine at the beginning of the twentieth century. He considered himself a Bolshevik and was in favour of the dictatorship of the proletariat in all countries, except Palestine where he favoured the dictatorship of Zionism. What, then, are the practical politics of Zionism? Forum for Living History: This Story Should Be Told

***

Mother and child waiting for permission from Israeli soldiers to cross a checkpoint on their way to a medical clinic in Nablus, West Bank (Photo: Barbara Grover)

Of what was originally Palestine, 85 percent has been stolen or annexed, and the rest is occupied. In 1948, 800,000 Palestinians were driven off or fled the country, and are denied their right to return, a right laid down by the UN. The Palestinians call this the catastrophe - Al Nakba. The West Bank consists of walled-in enclaves which are controlled by hundreds of checkpoints and Gaza has become the largest open-air prison/ghetto in the world, blockaded and suffering starvation. About 10,000 Palestinians, many of them children, are in Israeli jails without trials or judgements. Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians amount to what is formally named genocide. Forum for Living History: This Story Should Be Told

The price of coarse rice, the staple food of poor Bangladeshis, has more than doubled in a year [EP The International Monetary Fund has said that rising food prices threaten to undermine gains made in cutting poverty and further strain a global economy already hit by a financial crisis. The warning comes after riots related to increasing food prices rocked Haiti and Egypt. The increases are caused, in part, by drought in Australia and in central Europe, and more demand for food in increasingly Asian countries, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing director, said on Thursday. Strauss-Kahn's comments came on the eve of a meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of Seven industrial countries in Washington DC. Food prices stir poverty concern

On the corner of Dundas and Chestnut Sts., Ahmed dumps a handful of pennies and quarters on the sidewalk, and begins counting his day's earnings. "Asalamu alakum, can you spare some change?" he shyly asks two men as they rush past him and into Masjid Toronto, a downtown mosque. A former teacher, Ahmed left war-torn Iraq five years ago for Canada. "I came here but couldn't find a job, couldn't make money," he said. "Now I am homeless. I live in a shelter."
The exact number of Muslims in Toronto who live below Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off, the country's unofficial poverty line, is difficult to determine, as socio-economic data is rarely gathered through the lens of religion. For Muslim poor, a shameful admission - Noor Javed

Paul Jay presents RealNews

US airstrikes pound Sadr City Death toll mounts as US, Iraqi troops fight Mahdi army view

Ex-CIA analyst on Petraeus and Cheney Ray McGovern: Was Cheney behind Iraqi army's failed Basra offensive? view

ew

Bush halts Iraq troop withdrawals White House passes problem of exit strategy to next US president view