Obama to toughen stance on Syria with call for Assad's departure Syrian opposition and western diplomats say unconditional call for Assad to go would have far-reaching implications

The United States is poised to shift its position on Syria by calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down because of the violence he has inflicted on his own people and his failure to implement meaningful reforms for the last five months.

Barack Obama could issue the demand as early as Thursday in a speech that will mark a dramatic departure in the Syrian crisis. Until now US policy — echoed by Britain and its EU partners — has been that Assad must lead a transition or get out of the way. Now, for the first time, the US president will tell him bluntly to go.

In previous statements Washington has described Assad as "illegitimate" or "part of the past". The White House on Wednesday decried Assad's "heinous actions", and spokesman Jay Carney said: "We are all watching with horror what he is doing to his own people."

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Wednesday that Washington had evidence of "crimes" in Syria and was ready to use it to step up pressure on Assad.

"He has lost his legitimacy ... and Syria would be a better place without him," Rice said. "We are looking ... to lend support to the people of Syria who have the same aspirations for freedom and democracy that we have seen in so many other parts of the world."

Syrian opposition sources and western diplomats predicted that an unconditional call for his departure would have far-reaching implications, though it would likely be couched in terms of US support for the aspirations of the Syrian people.

The precise timing and content of a presidential statement was still under discussion — partly because the US wants a full account of Assad's six hours of talks on Tuesday with Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmed Davotoglu, officials said.

The British and French governments are considering their response amid doubts in Whitehall about the wisdom of the US move. It was unclear whether the US would also recognise a Syrian opposition government. Unlike in Libya, where the opposition is based in Benghazi, the Syrian rebels have no base inside the country and are divided on key issues.

US media have reported in recent days that the White House is more eager to make the announcement while the state department is more cautious about the ramifications in the likely event that Assad ignores Obama's call.

In continuing violence on Wednesday, 17 people were killed in raids in Homs, al-Jazeera reported. New attacks by security forces were also reported from the north-eastern city of Deir Ez-Zor. Citizen journalists working for Avaaz said there had been nine fatalities there and two near Deraa.

The Turkish ambassador to Syria visited Hama, scene of recent heavy civilian casualties, where his presence reportedly led to the cessation of attacks by security forces. The envoy reported that tanks and heavy weapons were being moved out, Davutoglu said in Ankara.

Saudi residents in Syria were reported to have been arrested in apparent retaliation for Riyadh's criticism of Assad, who King Abdullah described earlier this week as presiding over a "killing machine".

The US also imposed sanctions on Wednesday on the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, its Lebanon-based subsidiary and the largest mobile phone operator Syriatel. The US treasury said it was "taking aim at the financial infrastructure that is helping provide support to Assad and his regime's illicit activities".

Signs of a shift in US policy came from the state department on Tuesday. "The message from 2009 was if you are prepared to be a reformer, if you are prepared to work with us on Middle East peace and other issues we share, we can have a new and different kind of partnership," said spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. But "that is not the path that Assad chose."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/10/obama-syria-assad-departure

Israel's blockade of Gaza is cracking

Egypt has announced that it will open its border crossing with Gaza on a permanent basis, thereby reversing Egypt's collusion with Israel's blockade regime. The interim Foreign Minister, Nabil al-Arabi, has described support for the blockade by the previous Egyptian regime as "disgraceful". While Israeli officials have responded to this announcement with alarm, they have limited capacity to undermine the new Egyptian government's prerogative.

Since the capture of Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit in June 2006, the Rafah crossing has been closed to Palestinians in Gaza, except for "extraordinary humanitarian cases". In June 2007, after Hamas' ousting of Fatah, Israel imposed a naval blockade on Gaza and sealed its five border crossings with the territory. Egypt's closure of Rafah made the siege comprehensive, and effectively cut off the 360sq mile Strip from the rest of the world.

The devastating impact of the blockade on Gaza's 1.5million population, where food aid dependency has risen to 80 per cent, has been defined as a humanitarian crisis by a broad range of international human rights and humanitarian aid organisations - including Human Rights Watch, UNRWA, Amnesty International, and the World Health Organisation.

Under the presidency of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak, Egypt only opened the Rafah border in response to exceptional crises, including during Israel's Winter 2008/2009 offensive against Gaza and in the aftermath of Israel's fatal raid on the humanitarian flotilla in June 2010. Rafah's closure demonstrated Mubarak's shared interest with Israel in undermining Hamas' leadership.

Egypt's post-revolution government is eager to reverse this policy - as evidenced by its successful brokering of a unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas and, shortly thereafter, its announcement that it will end its closure of Rafah. Egypt's decision comports with enduring border-crossing agreements that have been suspended since 2007.

Egypt's decision is a resumption of the status quo ante

According to the Agreement on Movement and Access(AMA), brokered by the US and the European Union to facilitate the transfer of authority for crossings from the Government of Israel to the Palestinian Authority following Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza, Egypt is authorised to control the Rafah crossing on its side of the border, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.

Following internecine fighting in 2007, in which Hamas forces were routed from the West Bank but took control of the Gaza Strip, the border crossing agreement, along with Egyptian and EU participation was suspended -but not terminated.

The European Union's Border Assistance Mission to Rafah (EUBAM), deployed to support a smooth transfer of authority at the border, has conditioned its presence on cooperation with Mahmoud Abbas' Force 17, or the Presidential Guard. Since Fatah's ousting from the Strip the EUBAM has "maintained its operational capability and has remained on standby, awaiting a political solution and ready to re-engage".

The EUBAM has extended its mission four times since suspending it in 2007, indicating the EU's willingness to cooperate with the PA, should a political solution be reached between the rival Palestinian political parties. As recently as late March, the EUBAM Chief of Mission reaffirmed to Egypt's ambassador to Israel the mission's readiness to resume its tasks at Rafah.

Arguably, the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation removes impediments to EU and Egyptian cooperation at the Rafah crossing.

Vague though it may be, the agreement between Fatah and Hamas stipulates the rehabilitation of Palestinian security forces and a mandate to end the siege and blockade of Gaza. Although hostilities between the rival parties are ongoing, in theory, technical hurdles undermining the opening of the Rafah crossing have been overcome.

Accordingly, Egypt's decision to open the Rafah crossing is commensurate with existing agreements and signals a resumption of the status quo ante. Israel can do little to challenge this policy on legal grounds and it lacks the political credibility to maintain the comprehensive siege by force.

Israel lacks political credibility to maintain Gaza blockade

While 29 Democratic Senators have urged President Barack Obama to suspend US aid to the Palestinian Authority should Hamas join the PA government, European and international support for the unity government is robust.

On May 6, the EU announced that it will provide an additional US$85million in aid to support the PA in light of Israel's withholding of $105million of tax revenue belonging to the Palestinian Authority. Similarly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon - along with a coalition of donor nations - have urged Israel to release the Palestinian funds. Meanwhile, the United Nations' envoy to the Middle East, Robert Serry, has described the unity government as "overdue", demonstrating general international support for the unity government that includes Hamas.

Similar international support exists for ending the siege on Gaza. Especially since Israel's raid on the Gaza flotilla in May 2010, support for the debilitating siege has steadily dwindled. In the aftermath of the fatal attack in international waters, even the US described Israel's blockade as "untenable" and called on Israel to change its policy toward Gaza.

The White House not only supports an easing of the siege, but it also supports Egypt's post-revolution government. Shortly after Mubarak's departure, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Egypt to congratulate the new government - and promised it diplomatic support as well as economic aid. Although not impossible, it is unlikely that the US will challenge Egypt's decision, which reflects the US' blockade policy as well as the US-brokered AMA, and risk undermining the government's nascent development.

Finally, within Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lacks the political support necessary to take any significant risks. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni has accused Netanyahu of isolating Israel and stated that her Kadima party would not join a Netanyahu-led coalition even in the face of September’s "political tsunami". Livni also opposes the Palestinian unity government, but explains "there is a difference between defending Israel and aiding the survival of a prime minister that only damages the country".

In light of broad support for the Palestinian unity government, frustration with the ongoing blockade, enthusiasm for Egypt's new government, and Netanyahu's tenuous domestic standing, it is neither likely that Israel can mobilise significant political opposition to Egypt's new policy, nor use force to respond to opening of the Rafah crossing.

Buoyed by impunity, the cover afforded by turmoil in the region, and the desire to establish its qualitative military edge in the region, Israel may nevertheless employ a military option to respond to the reopened crossing. Even if it does not use force at Rafah, it may brandish its military prowess by targeting the forthcoming Gaza flotilla, which will set sail for Gaza's shores in late June. In light of the political balance, Israel's choice to use force without a tangible military threat will exacerbate its already waning legitimacy.

Escaping this political trapping leaves Israel with little other choice than to urge the US to act on its behalf. Although the US Congress has already demonstrated its willingness, the Obama administration has yet to show whether it will again intervene in this part of the fast-transforming Middle East – a region where US interests continue to hang in the balance.

Noura Erakat is a Palestinian human rights attorney and activist. She is currently an adjunct professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in Georgetown University. She is also a co-editor of Jadaliyya.com.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201159153020317825.html

Authors reject Goldstone retraction remarks

Three authors of a United Nations report which criticised Israel over its 2008-2009 offensive on Gaza have rejected calls for it to be retracted after its chief author, Richard Goldstone, expressed doubts over its conclusions.

They said in a statement to the UK's Guardian newspaper that they found it "necessary to dispel any impression that subsequent developments have rendered any part of the mission's report unsubstantiated.

"Aspersions cast on the findings of the report... cannot be left unchallenged," wrote Pakistani human rights lawyer Hina Jilani, Christine Chinvin, a professor of international law at the London School of Economics, and former Irish peacekeeper Desmond Travers.

"We concur in our view that there is no justification for any demand or expectation for reconsideration of the report as nothing of substance has appeared that would in anyway change the context, findings or conclusions of that report with respect to any of the parties to the Gaza conflict," they added.

Those who have made such calls, they say, "misrepresented facts in an attempt to delegitimise the findings and cast doubts on its credibility".

The three did not mention South African judge Goldstone, who gave his name to the report and said last week he had been wrong to conclude that Israel had targeted civilians during the 22-day conflict.

The report had accused both Israel and the Hamas rulers of Gaza of potential war crimes, setting the tone for widespread international condemnation of the Israeli assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza in which 1,400 people lost their lives, the vast majority of them Palestinians.

The three authors said in their statement to The Guardian: "We believe both parties held responsible in this respect have yet to establish a convincing basis for any claims that contradict the findings of the mission's report."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201141416491382747.html

Hero of Gaza: Vittorio Arrigoni, Kidnapped and Murdered

Ken O'Keefe on the left and Vittorio Arrigoni on right

I have seen my brother Vik's body and his death certificate, but Vik is not dead." -Ken O'Keefe
Vittorio Arrigoni
All photos of Vittorio Arrigoni provided by Ken O'Keefe

(SALEM / GAZA) - Italian Journalist Vittorio Arrigoni's body has reportedly been found in Gaza. He was killed by a small faction of religious radicals according to reports.

Gaza Youth Breaks Out (GYBO) wrote: "While Hamas forces were intensely searching Doghmosh area to find them, abductors tried to leave, when two of them were caught by Hamas. A third, who was with Vittorio, was given a signal to kill him. We lost a brother."

Al Jazeera reports that Hamas police stormed an apartment in Gaza City belonging to a member of the group that released a video of the activist. A police officer said four people were arrested in another location, in connection with the abduction.

Those on the ground in this embattled region of Palestine had held out hope along with the rest of us, that he would be returned alive.

The Hamas government had earlier made statements that led supporters to believe that Vik Arrigoni would be returned alive.

People in Gaza have a voice because of hard working dedicated peace activists like Vik Arrigoni. Beyond the overly religious fanatical Salafist radicals, the only detractors this man had were Israeli Zionists who wished for his death for years.

This a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and National Security with the Palestinian National Authority:

Explanatory statement issued by the Ministry of Interior on the circumstances of the "kidnapping and killing of Italian Solidarity Activist"
(Roughly translated from Arabic)

The Ministry of Interior said that since the arrival of the news of the abduction of Italian Solidarity Activist Vittorio, the security agency Balastnfar launched a full search and investigation.

This resulted in contact with one member of the group who disclosed the location where Vittorio was being held. She led the security services toward the place where he was being held where they found that the victim, Vittorio, had "been killed hours ago in an ugly way" (according to the forensic report).

Faced with this situation, we affirmed the following:

First: the Palestinian government condemns the heinous crime that does not reflect our values, our religion and our customs and traditions, and confirms that it will hunt down the rest of the members of the group and will implement the law against them.

Secondly: We emphasize that this crime does not reflect the true state of the atmosphere of security and order in the Gaza Strip, does not imply a retreat, and will remain the Government is keen to promote stability, security and safety as this incident is the first of its kind in years.

Third: The initial data indicate the intention of the kidnappers was Murder. As he was murdered shortly after he was kidnapped.

Four: The motives behind this crime, though it seems intellectually certain, but it demonstrates the hands are still plotting against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and want to undermine the security and steadfastness, and achieve a state of terror for the movement of people of the world's solidarity with the Gaza Strip, especially the enemy Zionist looking at ways to prevent the fleet of freedom that was after the second campaign of international solidarity and the impact of a role in loosening the embargo imposed five years ago.

Fifth: The Ministry emphasizes the brothers in the media must pay attention to any rumor or news that is not accurate with respect to this crime, and to rely on official information from the Ministry.

Ken O'Keefe and Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza

You will note in the video below that Ken O'Keefe, our writer and diehard activist friend in Gaza, does not believe or at least did not, that any Palestinian could be responsible for Vik's death.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine anyone doing this to a man who was so well loved and respected. It is exceedingly clear that everything is out of sync.

The perpetrators of this crime Ken suggests, were Zionist agents of Israel. This is the obvious relentless enemy of the Palestinian people, with frequent strikes on civilian targets in Gaza from U.S. made fighter jets and drones.

Juliano Mer-Khamis

Just a few days ago, on 4 April 2011, Filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis was Murdered in Jenin, the scene of severe fighting during the Second Intifada.

Juilano's mother Arna had famously provided a haven for the Palestinian youth in Jenin. She was Jewish, her husband, Juliano's father, was a Palestinian Christian.

Juliano was murdered in front of his wife by masked men who were immediately assumed to be Palestinian.

In the bigger picture, nothing was gained for Palestinians in any way by either man's death.

Legacy for Palestine

VIDEO BY KEN O'KEEFE, IN RESPONSE:

His life's work is his legacy. It surpassed all boundaries. Vittorio Arrigoni has helped an endless list of Palestinian people over the years and his work has led to a great deal of exposure of the treatment of Palestinians under the Israeli occupation.

As the world moves toward a real understanding of the reality of Gaza; Israeli snipers, constant fear and attacks on civilians from the Israeli military, Vittorio Arrigoni was a bright light. He was close to our friend and fellow writer Ken O'Keefe, and loved by thousands, perhaps millions. The idea that he was taken by a radical faction and killed in Gaza, if this is true, is simply horrifying. Never has a more grave mistake been made.

He was there when the first Freedom Flotilla boat reached Gaza. He has been an ally and key friend of the most successful humanitarian activists and his beliefs and words in action inspired many to become involved with the International Solidarity Movement which he started.

According to the Free Gaza Movement,

"He was aboard the siege-breaking voyage in 2008 with the Free Gaza Movement and was incarcerated in Israeli prisons several times. He was in Gaza throughout Israel’s brutal assault (Operation Cast Lead), assisting medics and reporting to the world what Israel was doing to the Palestinian people. He has been arrested numerous times by Israeli forces for his participation in Palestinian non-violent resistance in the West Bank and Gaza. His last arrest and deportation from the area was a result of the Israeli confiscation of Palestinian fishing vessels in Gazan territorial waters."

An earlier report from al-Arabiya stated that Vittorio's body was found in the al-Saftwai area.

Around 4:30 p.m. west coast time, it was tweeted that Vittorio in the al-Dughmoush family block in Gaza, and the Hamas police were surrounding the area. Several members of the al-Dughmoush family are said to be associated with Salafist.

This is a group that reportedly looks down on Hamas for not being sufficiently religious and they are known for a rejection of western influence. What they have done if this is true, is robbed the life of one of the greatest people dedicating his life to seeing Gaza become free.

I was in contact with a person who worked closely with Vittorio today and she told me the only word is 'anguish'. The only hope now is that people become all the more familiar with this great man who did so much for so many.

The world lost a great spokesman and activist today, but his message is not lost.


http://salem-news.com/articles/april142011/vittorio-arrigoni-tk.php

TEDxPSU - Sam Richards - A Radical Experiment in Empathy

Sam Richards is a sociologist and award-winning teacher who has been inspiring undergraduate students at Penn State since 1990. Every semester, 725 students register for his Race and Ethnic Relations course, one of the most popular classes at Penn State and the largest of its kind in the country. Through his natural ability of seeing a subject from many angles, Richards encourages students to engage more fully with the world and to think for themselves — something he did not do until his third year in college. Because of his passion for challenging students to open their minds, an interviewer recently referred to him as "an alarm clock for eighteen-year-olds."



His career began at the age of 24 when he was hired to teach a cybernetics course — just 15 minutes before the first class meeting. He remembers walking into the room without having had a moment to create a lesson plan and greeting his students, "Welcome to the course. I'm your instructor. And if you have no idea what cybernetics is, you're not alone — because I don't either." This characteristic willingness to be playfully transparent in the classroom, along with a talent for making complex ideas understandable and relevant, is the foundation of his success as a teacher.

Richards is also the co-director of the World in Conversation Project at Penn State (www.worldinconversation.org), whose mission is to create a kind of dialogue about social and cultural issues that invites the unexamined, politically incorrect thoughts of participants to the surface so that those thoughts can be submitted to conscious exploration and inquiry. The conversation topics span a range of cultural issues — from U.S. race relations to gender to drinking to relations with the Middle East. This year, nearly 7,000 University Park students will participate in one of more than 1,200 of these unscripted conversations.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

Brothers 'dug up corpse and made it into curry'

Police in Pakistan have arrested two men for allegedly digging up a newly buried corpse and eating its flesh in a curry.

The two brothers are said to have cut the legs from the body of a 24-year-old woman and cooked the flesh in a steel pot. Some of the gruesome dish had already been eaten when police raided the brothers' home in a remote part of Punjab province.

A senior police officer, Malik Abdul Rehman, told the Guardian the brothers had been eating corpses for at least a year, but some local media reports alleged that they had been human flesh eaters for a decade.

Rehman said that the brothers, Muhammad Arif, 40, and Farman Ali, 37, seemed to have taken up cannibalism as an act of "revenge" after their mother died and their wives left them.

"It became an addiction for them," Rehman claimed. They boiled the flesh first, then cooked it in a curry, he said.

The investigation that led to their arrest was launched after the family of a 24-year-old cancer victim, Saira Parveen, visited her tomb on Sunday, a day after her funeral, to find the grave dug up and her body missing.

A police probe led to the brothers' house, where they found the remains of Parveen's body in one room, along with shovels, knives and other equipment, and the macabre meal. Previous victims include the body of a four-year-old girl, also taken from a local graveyard, the investigation found.

One problem for police and prosecutors is that cannibalism is so unusual that there is no specific punishment under Pakistani law. The brothers will be charged with digging up and desecrating a grave, which carries a punishment of only six months.

Local TV footage showed the men being led away by police and the remains of the body, wrapped in a shroud, carried off on a bed to be re-buried. The men's sister was also initially arrested but she is not thought to be involved.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/pakistan/brothers-dug-up-corpse-and-made-it-into-curry-1.787520