| October 27, 2009 | |||||
| | |||||
Arkadi Gaydamak, a Russian-born Israeli businessman and Pierre Falcone, his French associate, have been sentenced to six-year jail terms for organising the illegal trafficking of weapons to Angola. Charles Pasqua, France's former interior minister, was handed a one-year jail term on Tuesday for his involvement in the case dubbed "Angola-gate". Al Jazeera's David Chater, reporting from the court in Paris, said many people do not believe that justice has been carried out. Falcone, who holds French, Canadian and Angolan citizenship, and was Angola's ambassador to the UN cultural body Unesco, had claimed diplomatic immunity in the case, but this was overturned by the judge.
Prosecutors argued that the shipment was in itself illegal, although the main defendants disputed this, and claim that millions of dollars were skimmed off the contract to pay bribes to senior French and Angolan figures. Although no Angolan officials have been indicted, court papers allege that Dos Santos and his inner circle received millions of dollars in kickbacks. Several defendants have also said the trade was carried out in full view of the French authorities, but that the government kept quiet to protect an important source of oil. Angola pushed to have the trial abandoned as relations soured between the countries. In 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy, the president, visited Angola in an effort to mend ties strained by the case. | |||||
|
October 28, 2009
Jail terms for 'Angola-gate' guilty
Curry, new anti-cancer treatment
Press TV - October 28, 2009 13:40:15 GMT
Curry had long been thought to have healing powers in certain cultures; a new study finds that the bright yellow curry spice, turmeric, can also kill off cancer cells.
While many studies are assessing the effects of curcumin -- a compound commonly found in curry -- in treating arthritis and dementia; the study published in the British Journal of Cancer reported that the extract can start killing cancer cells within 24 hours.
It, however, loses its anti-cancer properties as soon as it is digested.
Faulty cells normally die through apoptosis or programmed suicide when proteins known as caspases are switched on in these cell; curcumin, however, is believed to use an alternative cell signaling system to make these cells digest themselves.
The extract has shown promising results in killing esophageal cancer cells — one of the leading cancers in the modern world linked to rising rates of obesity, alcohol intake and reflux disease — in the laboratory.
Scientists are optimistic that their findings will help develop new methods to treat cancer.
While many studies are assessing the effects of curcumin -- a compound commonly found in curry -- in treating arthritis and dementia; the study published in the British Journal of Cancer reported that the extract can start killing cancer cells within 24 hours.
It, however, loses its anti-cancer properties as soon as it is digested.
Faulty cells normally die through apoptosis or programmed suicide when proteins known as caspases are switched on in these cell; curcumin, however, is believed to use an alternative cell signaling system to make these cells digest themselves.
The extract has shown promising results in killing esophageal cancer cells — one of the leading cancers in the modern world linked to rising rates of obesity, alcohol intake and reflux disease — in the laboratory.
Scientists are optimistic that their findings will help develop new methods to treat cancer.
Report from J-street
Doing the math at J Street: Nine is more than four
October 27 2009 by Sydney LevyThe most difficult moment for me at the J Street came this morning. I was listening to a panel called Messaging Pro-Israel Pro-Peace.
Jim Gerstein, the first panelist presented good polling data about the attitude of American Jews towards Israel and the US role in the region. Lots of good numbers here, the kind of numbers that AIPAC prefers to ignore.
The survey shows that 7 out of 10 American Jews support US policies that help Israelis and Palestinians resolve their conflict–and this includes the US publicly disagreeing with both sides as well as exerting pressure on both sides (in other words, disagreeing also with Israel and exerting pressure also on Israel).
You can find all the survey info here:
http://www.jstreet.org/page/media-advisory-new-survey-american-jewish-community
Matt Dorf, the next panelist talked about communications and messaging: what we say matters a lot, he said.
Keep this in mind as we move to the third panelist, Dr. Calvin Goldscheider. Here comes demography to help us say what we need to say about being pro-Israel pro-peace.
Dr. Goldscheider did a rapid survey in no more than a few minutes about the changing ratio of Jews to Arabs in what is now Israel. In a few seconds, we heard about the role of Jewish immigration, the Russians (not all of them are Jewish), the temporary workers from Asia (now numbering a quarter of a million) and so forth. Not a word about the Nakba, isn’t that a bit odd?
But let’s focus on the present. The question on the table, Is there a demographic threat?
The good news, says Dr. Goldscheider, is that in the context of the State of Israel, Arab minorities present no demographic threat unless we include the occupied territories and give the inhabitants there equal rights. Inclusion without equal rights leads to the end of democracy. Inclusion with equal rights leads to the end of the Jewish majority in the state. And that is why a two-state solution is a must: to preserve Jewish democracy.
The Palestinians are of course non-players in this Jewish democratic drama. At most, they are a threat just for being there. At best, they are a minority that we must keep under demographic control.
Oh, but the Palestinians are playing their part well. You see, in the 1960’s Palestinians had an average of nine children per family. Now they only have four. (Phew).
Four children is a lot, but nine is a lot more, explains the kind demographer in case we cold not do the math. Audience laughs.
Now, I am Jewish and I am also a Latino man living in California–a state where we have a pluralistic demographic composition: not one group, not even non-Latino whites, amount to 50% of the population. If I were to hear white people bemoaning the demographic threat that the rise of people of color in the state represents, I would call it like it is, and that is racism, pure and simple. I have no use for the phrase demographic threat. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a sharp pain in my gut.
What we say matters a lot; that’s what we were told in this workshop. If we need to use racism to message ourselves as Pro-Israel pro-peace, there is something very wrong here.
Is this the best J Street can come up with?
To be clear, I am not talking now about one-state, two-states, or three. I am talking about saying dayenu to this demographic threat mentality. I am talking about understanding fully and completely that you cannot save Israel’s democracy one bit when you celebrate the fact that 20% of its citizens has an increasingly lower birth rate (yeay!) so that their proportion in the population will not grow (double yeay!). If this is what you believe, don’t waste your time on avoiding the threat; you’ve lost the democratic values a long time ago.
My only consolation is that at least I can bring these issues to the public’s attention — even to the attention of the J Street conference participants.
Were I to be in Israel this very week, I would be furiously fighting against a bill advancing in the Knesset that would bar the Israeli government from providing funding to activities that deny Israel’s definition as a Jewish or democratic state.
– Sydney Levy
UN approves nuclear free resolution
Press TV - October 28, 2009 07:58:58 GMT
 |
The UN General Assembly |
The United Nations has approved a draft resolution proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran on destruction of nuclear weapons under international supervision.
The resolution was ratified at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly despite the opposition of the United States and its allies.
Based on the resolution, the UN General Assembly calls upon all nuclear countries to comply fully with all commitments made regarding nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and not to act in any way that might compromise either cause or lead to a new nuclear arms race.
It also asks member states to take the necessary measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects and to promote nuclear disarmament, with the objective of eliminating nuclear weapons.
The assembly stressed that Israel join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and allow its nuclear installations to come under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The United State, France, United Kingdom and Israel voted against the resolution.
The resolution was ratified at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly despite the opposition of the United States and its allies.
Based on the resolution, the UN General Assembly calls upon all nuclear countries to comply fully with all commitments made regarding nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and not to act in any way that might compromise either cause or lead to a new nuclear arms race.
It also asks member states to take the necessary measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects and to promote nuclear disarmament, with the objective of eliminating nuclear weapons.
The assembly stressed that Israel join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and allow its nuclear installations to come under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The United State, France, United Kingdom and Israel voted against the resolution.
October 27, 2009
Sugar: The Bitter Truth
The processed foods industry knew that their products would cause an epidemic of obesity among their customers, but they also realized that their bottom line would see a huge boost. The FDA and USDA provided all the cover needed and then some by pointing the finger in the wrong direction. The "low fat" foods fad was a complete hoax.
Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public.
Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public.
Israeli minister's speech disrupted at London university
Press release, LSE SU Palestine Society, 27 October 2009
The following press release was issued by the London School of Economics Student Union Palestine Society on 26 October 2009:
Students protested and disrupted a lecture tonight at the London School of Economics (LSE) by Daniel Ayalon, the controversial Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel.
More than 50 students and activists greeted Ayalon outside of the lecture on LSE's campus with placards and banners, while inside audience members heckled the controversial minister as a "racist" and "murderer" in relation to the illegal occupation and violence carried out by the Israeli state.
Ayalon was in the UK to meet British government officials and speaking at the LSE ahead of these talks in a lecture titled "The Middle East: The View From Israel." Security at the university was tight, with private security and police officers keeping a close watch on protesters. The minister began and ended his lecture amid boos and chants of "Free, Free, Palestine" while his speech was interrupted relentlessly throughout with audience members questioning Israel's atrocities.
The action was organized by the LSE Students' Union Palestine Society and the Palestine Solidarity Initiative. The London School of Economics Students' Union is officially twinned with An-Najah University [West Bank] and has previously voted to divest funds from those companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The motion also called on LSE to respect human rights and follow suit in embracing a divestment agenda with regards to such companies.
Mira Hammad who attended the lecture and is the Chair of the LSE SU Palestine Society said after the protest, "The Palestine Society at LSE has grown in support since the atrocities committed in Gaza which explains the huge turnout tonight. We will continue to support the growing international resistance against the occupation of Palestine until a just peace is achieved."
Merna Al Azzeh, a Palestinian masters student who was in the audience, added, "As an LSE student, I find it disgusting that LSE could invite a Minister to speak from a racist government that has been committing war crimes for the last 60 years."
"The recent Goldstone Report overwhelmingly condemns the genocide waged against Gazan civilians last winter and as a Palestinian I am reassured by the growing international resistance to Israeli apartheid."
Source
The following press release was issued by the London School of Economics Student Union Palestine Society on 26 October 2009:
Students protested and disrupted a lecture tonight at the London School of Economics (LSE) by Daniel Ayalon, the controversial Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel.
More than 50 students and activists greeted Ayalon outside of the lecture on LSE's campus with placards and banners, while inside audience members heckled the controversial minister as a "racist" and "murderer" in relation to the illegal occupation and violence carried out by the Israeli state.
Ayalon was in the UK to meet British government officials and speaking at the LSE ahead of these talks in a lecture titled "The Middle East: The View From Israel." Security at the university was tight, with private security and police officers keeping a close watch on protesters. The minister began and ended his lecture amid boos and chants of "Free, Free, Palestine" while his speech was interrupted relentlessly throughout with audience members questioning Israel's atrocities.
The action was organized by the LSE Students' Union Palestine Society and the Palestine Solidarity Initiative. The London School of Economics Students' Union is officially twinned with An-Najah University [West Bank] and has previously voted to divest funds from those companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The motion also called on LSE to respect human rights and follow suit in embracing a divestment agenda with regards to such companies.
Mira Hammad who attended the lecture and is the Chair of the LSE SU Palestine Society said after the protest, "The Palestine Society at LSE has grown in support since the atrocities committed in Gaza which explains the huge turnout tonight. We will continue to support the growing international resistance against the occupation of Palestine until a just peace is achieved."
Merna Al Azzeh, a Palestinian masters student who was in the audience, added, "As an LSE student, I find it disgusting that LSE could invite a Minister to speak from a racist government that has been committing war crimes for the last 60 years."
"The recent Goldstone Report overwhelmingly condemns the genocide waged against Gazan civilians last winter and as a Palestinian I am reassured by the growing international resistance to Israeli apartheid."
Source
Power Plays in Florida
Rate Increases, Nukes and Deception
By ALAN FARAGO - October 27, 2009
Today President Obama takes the bully pulpit for a new energy future to a rural, conservative town in Florida; Arcadia where Florida Power and Light is building the largest solar energy facility in the nation. But in its home state, Florida Power and Light in mired in controversy unlikely to be publicly noted by the president. However politically deft today's visit may be, President Obama should reflect that Shakespeare used Arcadia in his dramas: it was place where no one ages and nothing decays, where time stands still; in other words perfectly suited for humankind's ambient atmosphere-- deception.
The state's most powerful electric utility has been fending off a raft of bad news lately: its quest for a 30 percent base rate increase is opposed by Governor Charlie Crist and recession-weary Floridians. In the meantime, an ugly episode boiled up: FPL sought to unduly influence the Public Service Commission by allowing its lobbyists to converse with agency staff through untraceable Blackberry messaging.
Within governmental schematics regulating Florida's utilities, FPL has been one of the power players that keeps conservation of energy as a low priority in comparison to many other states. Yes, Florida Power and Light is one of the nation's biggest producers of electricity from wind and solar, but in Florida the corporation is accustomed to getting its own way and has throttled progressive regulation to maximize conservation. Then, there are the local problems.
The main part of public opposition to FPL turns on permitting for new power plants; near the Everglades, the corporation sought to buy off local county commissions and suppress public opposition to a new coal-fired plant. That plan sunk of its own weight. Today, the public is increasingly restive against plans for two new nuclear reactors on the edge of Biscayne National Park in South Florida.
Turkey Point reactor
Its existing reactors at Turkey Point in Homestead, Florida were highly controversial when they were built nearly forty years ago. The corporation was forced through extensive civic protest and litigation to build miles and miles of cooling canals instead of ejecting cooling water directly into Biscayne National Park. Today, those cooling canals are not performing as planned and permitted. With nuclear in the ground, there is no turning back the clock on environmental damage.
Public concerns about nuclear safety at Turkey Point have been amplified by bad news on several fronts: salt water intrusion toward drinking water wellfields, and FPL's ham-fisted attempts to obstruct the use by state agencies to monitor that intrusion through a radioactive isotope, tritium, commonly used as a chemical marker to trace the movement of water. Long-term questions about radioactivity--such as those raised by the Tooth Fairy Project that measured background levels of Strontium 90 in infant's teeth in South Florida-- raise doubts that the state is adequately monitoring public health. Serious breaches in plant safety at Turkey Point and questions about upper level management at FPL caused the Turkey Point plant manager to resign last summer.
Additionally, there are environmental and public health concerns about the new FPL reactors; from controversial permitting at the local level, that eases the way for FPL over the objections of residents to use of recycled municipal wastewater as the primary coolant for the new units, new high voltage overhead transmission lines through heavily populated areas, threats of additional rock mining to Biscayne Bay wetlands in order to elevate a multi- hundred acre site dozens of feet above sea level, new roadway infrastructure through those same wetlands--protected by environmental laws, and the indignity that ratepayers are already paying for permitting costs related to the new reactors as a separate add-on charge approved by the state.
In many ways, the worst possible location for new nuclear power in the United States is at Turkey Point; at sea level and surrounded by fragile wetlands protected by federal law and national parks, including the Everglades-- subject of a multi-billion dollar restoration project embraced by a strong bipartisan majority according to recent polling by The Everglades Foundation. One senses that the reasoning behind FPL's aggressive tactics in South Florida is that if new nuclear can be permitted at Turkey Point, it can be permitted anywhere.
But no where will that cynicism be on display today; in Arcadia, dancing around FPL's maypole, it is all about delight.
Alan Farago lives in south Florida. He can be reached at: afarago@bellsouth.net
By ALAN FARAGO - October 27, 2009
Today President Obama takes the bully pulpit for a new energy future to a rural, conservative town in Florida; Arcadia where Florida Power and Light is building the largest solar energy facility in the nation. But in its home state, Florida Power and Light in mired in controversy unlikely to be publicly noted by the president. However politically deft today's visit may be, President Obama should reflect that Shakespeare used Arcadia in his dramas: it was place where no one ages and nothing decays, where time stands still; in other words perfectly suited for humankind's ambient atmosphere-- deception.
The state's most powerful electric utility has been fending off a raft of bad news lately: its quest for a 30 percent base rate increase is opposed by Governor Charlie Crist and recession-weary Floridians. In the meantime, an ugly episode boiled up: FPL sought to unduly influence the Public Service Commission by allowing its lobbyists to converse with agency staff through untraceable Blackberry messaging.
Within governmental schematics regulating Florida's utilities, FPL has been one of the power players that keeps conservation of energy as a low priority in comparison to many other states. Yes, Florida Power and Light is one of the nation's biggest producers of electricity from wind and solar, but in Florida the corporation is accustomed to getting its own way and has throttled progressive regulation to maximize conservation. Then, there are the local problems.
The main part of public opposition to FPL turns on permitting for new power plants; near the Everglades, the corporation sought to buy off local county commissions and suppress public opposition to a new coal-fired plant. That plan sunk of its own weight. Today, the public is increasingly restive against plans for two new nuclear reactors on the edge of Biscayne National Park in South Florida.
Turkey Point reactorIts existing reactors at Turkey Point in Homestead, Florida were highly controversial when they were built nearly forty years ago. The corporation was forced through extensive civic protest and litigation to build miles and miles of cooling canals instead of ejecting cooling water directly into Biscayne National Park. Today, those cooling canals are not performing as planned and permitted. With nuclear in the ground, there is no turning back the clock on environmental damage.
Public concerns about nuclear safety at Turkey Point have been amplified by bad news on several fronts: salt water intrusion toward drinking water wellfields, and FPL's ham-fisted attempts to obstruct the use by state agencies to monitor that intrusion through a radioactive isotope, tritium, commonly used as a chemical marker to trace the movement of water. Long-term questions about radioactivity--such as those raised by the Tooth Fairy Project that measured background levels of Strontium 90 in infant's teeth in South Florida-- raise doubts that the state is adequately monitoring public health. Serious breaches in plant safety at Turkey Point and questions about upper level management at FPL caused the Turkey Point plant manager to resign last summer.
Additionally, there are environmental and public health concerns about the new FPL reactors; from controversial permitting at the local level, that eases the way for FPL over the objections of residents to use of recycled municipal wastewater as the primary coolant for the new units, new high voltage overhead transmission lines through heavily populated areas, threats of additional rock mining to Biscayne Bay wetlands in order to elevate a multi- hundred acre site dozens of feet above sea level, new roadway infrastructure through those same wetlands--protected by environmental laws, and the indignity that ratepayers are already paying for permitting costs related to the new reactors as a separate add-on charge approved by the state.
In many ways, the worst possible location for new nuclear power in the United States is at Turkey Point; at sea level and surrounded by fragile wetlands protected by federal law and national parks, including the Everglades-- subject of a multi-billion dollar restoration project embraced by a strong bipartisan majority according to recent polling by The Everglades Foundation. One senses that the reasoning behind FPL's aggressive tactics in South Florida is that if new nuclear can be permitted at Turkey Point, it can be permitted anywhere.
But no where will that cynicism be on display today; in Arcadia, dancing around FPL's maypole, it is all about delight.
Alan Farago lives in south Florida. He can be reached at: afarago@bellsouth.net
Israelis Targeting Grassroots Activists
By Mel FrykbergEAST JERUSALEM, Oct 27, 2009 (IPS) - Israeli authorities are increasingly targeting and intimidating non-violent Palestinian grassroots activists involved in anti-occupation activities who are drawing increased support from the international community.
Several weeks ago masked Israeli soldiers stormed the home of Ehab Jallad from The Jerusalem Popular Committee for the Celebration of Jerusalem as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2009.
"Around 3am the soldiers started kicking and banging on the door and threatened to break it down if I didn't open immediately. My young daughters were terrified as they didn't know what was happening," recalls Jallad, a young Palestinian architect from Jerusalem.
"The soldiers then proceeded to ransack my home before confiscating my laptop, several computers, files with my contacts and my ipod. When I asked them why they were doing this and told them I wanted to call my lawyer, they told me to shut up and threatened to beat me up," Jallad told IPS.
This is just the latest incident in which the Israeli authorities have arrested and taken Jallad in for questioning over his organisation of cultural events marking East Jerusalem as the capital of Arab culture. Jallad has also been monitoring the protests outside Al-Aqsa Mosque during the last few weeks.
"The Israeli officer questioning me said he knew I was in contact with the media but stated this would not help. He further warned me that I was being monitored, and if I continued with my activities my family and I would be subjected to further raids and harassment," said Jallad.
The same morning that Jallad was arrested Israeli security forces raided a warehouse used by Jerusalem community groups and cultural events organisers.
"They vandalised material we use for cultural events and confiscated other material," Jallad told IPS.
To date Jallad has not been charged with anything. But a war between Palestinians and Israeli continues unabated over Israel's continued Judaisation of East Jerusalem.
This has involved the expulsion of Palestinian residents from their homes in the eastern sector of the city and the expropriation thereof to make way for Israeli settlers.
A number of Palestinian families continue to live in tents pitched on streets outside their former homes as they watch Israeli settlers go about their daily business in their former homes.
Periodic violence between the two groups has broken out during the last few weeks with the Israeli police selectively arresting only Palestinians.
The Jerusalem Municipality has deliberately limited building permits for East Jerusalemites despite a chronic housing shortage, while the settlement of Israeli settlers in the area has been actively encouraged. Palestinian homes built without permits are regularly destroyed.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) envisions East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Under international law East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian occupied West Bank.
The PA has tried to counter Israel's Judaisation efforts by asserting its presence in the contested part of the city. Organising cultural events has been part of the effort.
Hatem Abdul Qader, a PA official for Jerusalem Affairs, has been arrested by Israeli security forces several times over the last few months. He has also been banned from the city for several weeks on a number of occasions.
Muhammad OthmanMeanwhile, Muhammad Othman, 33, from the northern West Bank village Jayyous continues to languish in solitary confinement in a dirty Israel prison cell devoid of natural light or windows.
Othman has been labelled a "security threat" by the Israelis ever since his arrest on Sep. 22 as he crossed into the West Bank from Jordan. Othman had returned from a trip to Norway where he met with senior officials to discuss human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Norwegian government has divested its funds from Elbit, an Israeli company which supplies drones and other military technology.
During his incarceration Othman has been subjected to hours of interrogation, handcuffed, seated in stress positions and denied sleep. Like Jallad he has had no involvement in military activities which could constitute a security threat to the Jewish state. He too, has not been charged with any infringement of the law.
But Othman, a political activist, has been joining the Stop the Wall Campaign against the illegal Zufim settlement built by Russian billionaire Lev Leviev. The Stop the Wall Campaign is fighting against Israel's construction of a separation barrier which separates Israel proper from the West Bank.
The wall cuts through swathes of Palestinian territory dividing Palestinians from their agricultural fields, and trapping some Palestinian communities in pockets of territory between Israel and the West Bank.
The wall was ruled illegal by the International Court at the Hague, and several years ago an Israeli high court ordered the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to reroute parts of the wall, arguing that is compromised the livelihoods of Palestinian farmers.
Othman is also involved in the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign which has been drawing increased international support.
Othmans supporters believe his main "crimes" are his activities on behalf of the BDS which wants to see a boycott of Israel along the lines of the former boycott against apartheid South Africa.
"I think Israel is worried about its reputation amongst the international community now that more people are waking up to the human rights abuses and injustices being committed here," Jallad told IPS.
"I think in some ways we are perceived as more of a threat than an armed cell of Hamas fighters precisely because we are non-violent and what we are fighting for is reasonable."
Honduran Coup Myths Dispelled
New Reports Demolish Justifications for Ouster of Zelaya
By STEWART J. LAWRENCE - October 27, 2009
Two new reports dealing with the June 28 military coup in Honduras have demolished the arguments of the current de facto government and its foreign apologists that the coup was consistent with the Honduran constitution and that most Hondurans welcomed the illegal ouster of the country’s democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya.
In a recent commentary published on the Forbes Magazine web site, two veteran human rights lawyers, Juan Mendez and Viviana Krsticevic, take to task the authors of a recent analysis prepared for the US Congress that suggested that the Honduran constitution allowed the Honduran Congress to remove Zelaya from office. In fact, the Honduran Congress has no formal impeachment power and the vote to remove Zelaya was merely a legislative decree that was of dubious legality, the authors note. In 2003, the Honduran Supreme Court had struck down the efforts of the Honduran legislature to assert its independent authority – but according to the authors, that didn’t keep the legislature from invoking this same authority to try – wrongly - to justify legal action against Zelaya..
The Honduran Supreme Court was also complicit in violating the Honduran Constitution, Mendez and Krsticevic note. Most notably, the Court ordered the armed forces to capture Zelaya and search the presidential residence, despite the fact that article 293 of the Constitution explicitly establishes that the national police, not the army, execute all legal decisions and resolutions, in accordance with the principle of civilian rule. There were also due process violations that occurred throughout the criminal proceedings against Zelaya. Zelaya was never read his rights, informed of the charges against him, or provided access to his lawyers while being detained, then forcibly expelled from the country.
And then there is the matter of the expulsion itself, which as Mendez and Krsticevic note, has no grounding whatsoever in Honduran law. In theory, Zelaya should have been held for trial, or arrested and then released, pending trial. Amazingly, the Supreme Court cited the threat of a “flight risk” to justify an indefinite detention of Zelaya – as if Zelaya had any interest in leaving office, much less the country.
The only “flight” that occurred, in fact, was the airplane trip that Zelaya took into exile courtesy of the armed forces. They rousted him at night in his pajamas and at the point of a bayonet, demanded that he leave – or else. Some “democracy.”
The aftermath of the coup has also given rise to speculation, and charges, that whatever the legality of Zelaya’s ouster, most Hondurans were fed up with his rule, and were happy to see him go. Conservatives have noted that protests on Zelaya’s behalf have been fairly limited, while Zelaya’s supporters, and international human rights observers, have pointed to post-coup military repression, including extra-judicial killings, and other military abuses, as the primary reason for cautious popular protest.
Now, a recent polling survey conducted by the highly respected polling firm Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner thoroughly debunks the latest conservative propaganda. According to the poll, conducted just two weeks ago, 60% of Hondurans still oppose Zelaya’s ouster, and just 38% support it. 19% say Zelaya had performed “excellently” in office while 48% say his performance was “good” (a total of 67%).
By contrast, by a margin of 2-1, Hondurans say they have a negative opinion of the coup plotter who supplanted Zelaya, Roberto Micheletti, the current de facto president.
The survey also found that contrary to conservative propaganda, most Hondurans (by a 53% to 43% margin) support amending the country’s Constitution to allow the president to be re-elected – the very issue that became the pretext for Zelaya’s illegal ouster. Zelaya, of course, never actually tried to stand for re-election. He was accused of “high treason” and overthrown merely for suggesting that ordinary Hondurans be polled on the matter in a strictly non-binding referendum.
Therefore, the pollsters at Greenberg, Rosner and Quinlan polling should probably consider themselves lucky. In the US, clients sometimes fire you when a poll brings them bad news. In Honduras, they throw you in jail, tear gas you – or worse.
Stewart Lawrence is a recognized specialist in Latino and Latin American affairs, and author of numerous policy reports and publications. He can be reached at stewlaw2009@gmail.com
Source
By STEWART J. LAWRENCE - October 27, 2009
Two new reports dealing with the June 28 military coup in Honduras have demolished the arguments of the current de facto government and its foreign apologists that the coup was consistent with the Honduran constitution and that most Hondurans welcomed the illegal ouster of the country’s democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya.
In a recent commentary published on the Forbes Magazine web site, two veteran human rights lawyers, Juan Mendez and Viviana Krsticevic, take to task the authors of a recent analysis prepared for the US Congress that suggested that the Honduran constitution allowed the Honduran Congress to remove Zelaya from office. In fact, the Honduran Congress has no formal impeachment power and the vote to remove Zelaya was merely a legislative decree that was of dubious legality, the authors note. In 2003, the Honduran Supreme Court had struck down the efforts of the Honduran legislature to assert its independent authority – but according to the authors, that didn’t keep the legislature from invoking this same authority to try – wrongly - to justify legal action against Zelaya..
The Honduran Supreme Court was also complicit in violating the Honduran Constitution, Mendez and Krsticevic note. Most notably, the Court ordered the armed forces to capture Zelaya and search the presidential residence, despite the fact that article 293 of the Constitution explicitly establishes that the national police, not the army, execute all legal decisions and resolutions, in accordance with the principle of civilian rule. There were also due process violations that occurred throughout the criminal proceedings against Zelaya. Zelaya was never read his rights, informed of the charges against him, or provided access to his lawyers while being detained, then forcibly expelled from the country.
And then there is the matter of the expulsion itself, which as Mendez and Krsticevic note, has no grounding whatsoever in Honduran law. In theory, Zelaya should have been held for trial, or arrested and then released, pending trial. Amazingly, the Supreme Court cited the threat of a “flight risk” to justify an indefinite detention of Zelaya – as if Zelaya had any interest in leaving office, much less the country.
The only “flight” that occurred, in fact, was the airplane trip that Zelaya took into exile courtesy of the armed forces. They rousted him at night in his pajamas and at the point of a bayonet, demanded that he leave – or else. Some “democracy.”
The aftermath of the coup has also given rise to speculation, and charges, that whatever the legality of Zelaya’s ouster, most Hondurans were fed up with his rule, and were happy to see him go. Conservatives have noted that protests on Zelaya’s behalf have been fairly limited, while Zelaya’s supporters, and international human rights observers, have pointed to post-coup military repression, including extra-judicial killings, and other military abuses, as the primary reason for cautious popular protest.
Now, a recent polling survey conducted by the highly respected polling firm Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner thoroughly debunks the latest conservative propaganda. According to the poll, conducted just two weeks ago, 60% of Hondurans still oppose Zelaya’s ouster, and just 38% support it. 19% say Zelaya had performed “excellently” in office while 48% say his performance was “good” (a total of 67%).
By contrast, by a margin of 2-1, Hondurans say they have a negative opinion of the coup plotter who supplanted Zelaya, Roberto Micheletti, the current de facto president.
The survey also found that contrary to conservative propaganda, most Hondurans (by a 53% to 43% margin) support amending the country’s Constitution to allow the president to be re-elected – the very issue that became the pretext for Zelaya’s illegal ouster. Zelaya, of course, never actually tried to stand for re-election. He was accused of “high treason” and overthrown merely for suggesting that ordinary Hondurans be polled on the matter in a strictly non-binding referendum.
Therefore, the pollsters at Greenberg, Rosner and Quinlan polling should probably consider themselves lucky. In the US, clients sometimes fire you when a poll brings them bad news. In Honduras, they throw you in jail, tear gas you – or worse.
Stewart Lawrence is a recognized specialist in Latino and Latin American affairs, and author of numerous policy reports and publications. He can be reached at stewlaw2009@gmail.com
Source
Nine injured as settlers rampage through olive harvest
October 27, 2009Nablus – Ma’an – Nine Palestinians were injured and one was detained on Tuesday when dozens of Israeli settlers attacked farmers were harvesting olives in the West Bank village of Qaryout, south of Nablus, according to witnesses, local officials, and medics.
According to sources in the village, the incident began when dozens of Israeli settlers assaulted farmers working near the Israeli settlement of Shavout Rachel.
After the initial attack, both soldiers and settlers stormed the village, clashing with Palestinian residents who defended the area by throwing stones at the marauding groups. Soldiers fired bullets and tear gas, residents said.
Medics identified some of the injured people as: 21-year-old Isra’ Badawi, who was hit in the eye; 50-year-old Hani Kassab, the village council’s accountant; 30-year-old Jawad Badawi; 70-year-old Muhammad Muqbil; 46-year-old Abdullah Badawi; and 31-year-old Mu’taz Ghassan.
Qaryout’s Mayor, Abd An-Nasser Al-Qaryouti, told Ma’an the farmers obtained permission to enter their own fields from the Israeli army through the Palestinian Authority’s liaison office. Part way through the olive harvest season, Israeli authorities implemented a mandatory registration and permission process for farmers who wished to access agricultural land in the West Bank for the harvest.
Despite this prior coordination, the mayor said, settlers arrived in more than 70 cars. He said the settlers initiated the fight by hurling stones at the farmers. Israeli forces were present, and they did not attempt to stop the settlers, he added.
Ongoing violence
Later, dozens of Israeli settlers surrounded a Palestinian house in the village of Asira Al-Qibliya, also south of Nablus, according to a Palestinian Authority official.
Gassan Douglas, an official monitoring settler activity in the northern West Bank, said that dozens of settlers from the Yizhar settlement surrounded a house owned by resident Jamal Yousef and threw stones at him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
