Peace Now: W. Bank building nearly doubled this year
More than 2,600 housing units are under construction in West Bank settlements, including in more than 1,000 new buildings, Peace Now contends in its semi-annual report. Basing its conclusions on aerial photographs and field visits, the organization says that slightly more than half of the new structures are going up east of the separation fence, and in several places construction is encroaching on the boundaries of Palestinian towns, such as Ramallah and Bethlehem.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015162.html

Peace Now: Israel expanding settlements, erasing Green Line
A report released on Tuesday shows that Israel is obliterating the Green Line and creating a territorial link to settlements deep in the heart of the West Bank.  The report by the Israeli group Peace Now's Settlement Watch Team shows that Israel is building 1,000 new buildings, a total of 2,600 new units of housing in illegal settlements in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31537

Israel settlement surge draws Rice criticism
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Israel on Tuesday not to undermine peace talks with the Palestinians after a report found it had nearly doubled Jewish settlement construction.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LQ176652.htm

Extra-judicial executions as Israeli government policy
Israel's policy of extra-judicially executing Palestinians allegedly involved in armed resistance against the Israeli occupation of Palestine has been meticulously documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The continuing silence of the international community, including High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, has actively encouraged Israel to act as though it is above the law and to continue committing gross human rights violations against the Palestinian people, including hundreds of extra-judicial executions.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/FBUO-7HVG2E?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Israel's weapon of house demolitions
The four-story building in Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighborhood a few miles north of East Jerusalem, was clearly home to wealth. As our carload of internationals pulled up the small street leading to Abu Majed Eisha's house at around midnight I noticed several BMWs parked along the way. From what I had learned during my brief time in the West Bank, Palestine, I knew already that this was not going to be an ordinary house demolition. Jill Shaw writes from Beit Hanina.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9778.shtml

Gaza Under siege: Al Jazeera Video
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in June 2007, when Hamas took control of the territory by force.Since then, Israel has allowed in little more than basic humanitarian aid as a means of isolating Hamas and persuading militant groups to stop firing rockets into Israel. Inside Story asks: Is this another failed attempt or the beginning of a process to end the siege?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUPA0z2zRHQ

Israeli siege on Gaza Sea hardens Palestinian fishing
Palestinian fisherman Abu Mohammed al-Hissi, 52, was called by his friends "the Sindibad of Gaza" for his great adventures and baldness to sail out tens of miles off Gaza Sea, chasing swarms of fish and sardines.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/26/content_9709887.htm

Rafah Terminal to be closed on Tuesday
Ayman Taha, a senior political leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, reported on Monday that the Rafah border terminal between Gaza and Egypt will be closed on Tuesday as informed by the Egyptian Authorities.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56719

11-year-old girl killed as balcony collapses during prisoner's welcome
An 11-year-old girl was killed and 16 others wounded when a balcony collapsed during a welcome party for a newly freed Palestinian prisoner in the West Bank town of Yamoun, near Jenin, on Monday. Imad Abahreh, the mayor of Yamoun told Ma'an that dozens of people were standing on the old balcony of a house when it collapsed. The 11-year-old was killed instantly by a head injury. Ambulances transported the injured to the public hospital in Jenin. Most were only slightly hurt. Israel released 198 Palestinian prisoners on Monday morning.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31530

Israeli army invades Bethlehem and Jenin
The Israeli army troops invaded the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Jenin on Tuesday morning, local sources reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56721

Israeli settlers assault Palestinians and foregin owrkers in Hebron
A group of Israeli settlers, some of them armed, harrased Palestinian civilians in the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday morning, local sources reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56723

Hamas sources: P.A Security forces arrested eight members of Hamas in the West Bank
Hamas media sources reported on Monday that Palestinian security forces, loyal to president Mahmoud Abbas, arrested eight members and supporters of the movement in the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56717

Seven Palestinians arrested for playing cops in Jerusalem
Seven Palestinians from the Shuafat refugee camp in north-eastern Jerusalem were arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of operating a Palestinian police unit in the capital.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015165.html

Ramallah radio station protests PA closure order
An educational radio station in the West Bank city of Ramallah claimed on Monday that a Palestinian Authority (PA) decision to shut down the station was arbitrary and groundless. Palestinian police closed the station Al-Bayan At-Tarbawi (Educational Manifesto) on the grounds that the station was not licensed by the Palestinian Information Ministry.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31523

Mohammed Deif back in spotlight
Leader of Hamas military wing, who disappeared from public eye after Israeli attempt on his life, vows victory over Israel in forward to new book released by Islamist group.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3587998,00.html

The Israeli Bar Association: Many Palestinian detainees are in solitary confinement since 5 years
The Israeli Bar Association issued a report on the Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and revealed that there several detainees who spent many years in solitary confinement without any legal status or charges.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56716

Report: Israeli Guards regularly abuse prisoners
Investigation conducted by Israeli Bar finds prison wardens regularly subject inmates to inhumane conditions including unleashing of dogs, debasement. Prisoners also complain of delay in medical treatment to point of death.
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3587084,00.html

A hero's welcome for longest-held Palestinian prisoner Sa'id Al-Atabeh in Nablus
Thousands of cheering Palestinians welcomed Sa'id Al-Atabeh, formerly the longest-held Palestinian prisoner, as he returned to his hometown of Nablus on Monday after 32 years in jail.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31532

Free at last: Israel releases 198 Palestinian prisoners
Israel released 198 Palestinian prisoners yesterday, including the longest-serving inmate, in a "goodwill gesture" to encourage diplomatic negotiations. The prisoners were greeted with noisy celebrations when they crossed through the first checkpoint into the occupied West Bank and again at the presidential compound in Ramallah. But there was little sign that this third prisoner release since the latest peace talks began a year ago heralded any progress in negotiations to end the conflict. It came on the same day that the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, arrived in Jerusalem for talks with both sides.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/26/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

Israel frees jailed Palestinians
Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners today amid scenes of jubilation in the West Bank as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew in to try and salvage a stagnating peace process. Unusually, among those released were two men accused by the Israelis of having "blood on their hands", Said al-Atabeh, the longest serving inmate in custody, and Mohammed Abu Ali, the second longest serving, who had been elected as a Fatah MP while behind bars.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-frees-jailed-palestinians-908090.html

Prisoners freed in gesture to Abbas
Israel on Monday freed 198 Palestinian prisoners out of an estimated 9,000 held in Israeli jails, hours before the US secretary of state was to arrive to boost faltering peace talks.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aa43e058-72c3-11dd-983b-0000779fd18c.html

Abbas: No peace agreement until all detainees are freed
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said during a welcome ceremony to 199 Palestinians who were freed by Israel on Monday, that there will be no peace deal with Israel until all Palestinian detainees are freed from Israeli prisons and detention centers, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/56718

Barghouti: We Hope Talks Lead to Release All Detainees
Among the many Palestinians who greeted the 198 released detainees on Monday was Fadwa Barghouti, wife of the former Tanzim leader in the West Bank, Marwan Barghouti. Her husband was arrested in April 2002 and is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for the murder of five Israelis.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=54571&language=en

Defense Minister Barak heads to Egypt to receive update on talks to free Shalit
Defense Minister Ehud Barak headed to Egypt Tuesday morning for a working visit whose agenda will include the Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas on a prisoner exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015160.html

Abbas to Meet Olmert, Bush in September: Palestinians
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week and US President George W. Bush in September, a top official said on Tuesday.  "President Abbas will hold talks with Prime Minister Olmert next week and he will meet President Bush in New York in September," senior Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qorei said after a meeting between Abbas and visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  Qorei did not provide exact dates but the meeting between Abbas and Bush was expected to take place on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=54716&language=en

Official: Israel to increase cooking gas into Gaza
Palestinian Petroleum Agency (PPA) said Monday that shipments of cooking gas into Gaza will witnesses a major increase. PPA director Mujahed Salama said the amount of the cooking gas which Israel sends to Gaza may reach 300 tons per day after the increase is applied this week.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6486455.html

Taha: Egypt promised to open crossing before Ramadan for humanitarian cases
Egypt has promised to open the Rafah border terminal between the Gaza Strip and Egypt before the holy month of Ramadan for a limited period before humanitarian cases, Ayman Taha, a Hamas leader said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75kW%2bBw53BpDz2QNwgeeSK7fZUoYI5%2bteMMr7YvOIdaB01gdQJfrwriy%2bhMiYz42QVCrCVAxnkN0CtFurlPlfh7Wchf8dmm%2f86QT4nbkfke0%3d

Palestinian factions reject deploying Arab security forces in Gaza
The proposal to redeploy Arab security forces in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has been widely rejected by most of the Palestinian factions, which was even compared to a new occupation of Gaza similar to the one Israel ended in September 2005. Leaders of the Palestinian factions, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) strongly rejected the proposal which was welcomed by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/26/content_9716411.htm

Hamas reopens 70 civil organizations in Gaza
Hamas authorities in Gaza on Monday opened 70 civil organizations and charities they closed last month during a crackdown on the rival Fatah movement. The Hamas-controlled interior ministry said it was proved that the 70 organizations were working according to the law and "their papers were legal."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/25/content_9708053.htm

58% of PA budget goes to a Gaza it does not control, says cabinet
More than 58% of the Palestinian Authority's budget is spent on services in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank-based Palestinian caretaker cabinet said on Monday. In a statement issued following the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah, the government said is spends 402 million shekels in Gaza every month, part of what it said was an attempt not to discriminate between Palestinians in the West Bank and those in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31528

Palestinian political tensions impacting education sector
The General Secretariat of General Union of Palestinian Teachers, which is aligned with the Fatah movement, declared a five-day strike at public schools throughout the Gaza Strip to be launched on 24 August, the first day of the new school year, in protest to what it described as "arbitrary decisions" taken by the Ministry of Education of the Gaza government.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9782.shtml

With the opening of the school year many families dream of buying book bags
Umm Khalid does embroidery in Jenin Refugee Camp.  Her eyesight is failing so she must work with glasses to bring in some income. Her husband is unemployed due to the closures. As the new school year starts, they have found that there is no money to buy supplies for their children.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3412&Itemid=1

Jimmy Carter shunted to sidelines at Democratic Convention
On a night that belonged to Jimmy Carter's old political rival Edward Kennedy, the outspoken former president was shunted to the sidelines during the opening of the Democratic National Convention, in apparent concern over past Carter comments.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015412.html

So Sen. Biden. Tell me: how do you feel about Israel?
Sen. Joe Biden on Shalom TV
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZmO80dLfE

As convention kicks off, Democrats say U.S. Jews will overcome fears of Obama
His support for Israel is widely known. Any skepticism that Obama won't support Israel is wrong, because no president can ignore Israel, it's too important. And the best thing for Israel is a strong America.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015039.html

The Day Joe Biden Threatened to Kick My Ass, by Rannie Amiri
Many, many years later, the memory of a campus speech delivered by Senator—now vice presidential candidate—Joseph Biden of Delaware remains especially vivid. Although the topic was predictably foreign policy, on which he is an alleged expert, the reason for attending was not to hear the verbose senator sanctimoniously expound on international relations. Rather, it was in anticipation of the question and answer session that would follow. At the time, Israel was in the throws of the first intifada.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14106

Khaled Diab: Palestinians and their Israeli allies should concentrate on civil rights
Khaled Diab: With neither a two-state or bi-national solution imminent, Palestinians and their Israeli allies should attend to civil rights.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/26/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

No justice for murdered journalist
The Israeli military advocate-general stated in a 12 August letter to the Reuters news agency that it had found Israeli soldiers had acted properly in the April killing Fadel Shana'a, a 23-year-old Palestinian journalist in Gaza working as a cameraman for the Reuters news agency. On 16 April Shana'a was killed by a shell fired from an Israeli tank while filming near the Juhor al-Dik village in the central Gaza Strip where there had been Israeli attacks earlier that day.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article606

Border control / Caution: There is no partner II
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) learned to like Ehud Olmert. The Palestinian president especially appreciated the prime minister's discretion. He even had a feeling that Olmert understood that Palestinian politicians, too, operate according to political constraints. Since Olmert announced his decision to resign following Kadima's primary next month, however, the romance between the two has been on the wane. In Abu Mazen's camp, they have the impression that Olmert's serious approach toward everything related to the final-status arrangement has suddenly become careless. The Israeli prime minister seems to have lost patience for the "little details," such as the connection between the border of the West Bank and the border of Jerusalem.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015197.html

Israeli Outposts Seal Death of Palestinian State
Yehudit Genud hardly feels she is on the frontier of Israel's settlement project, although the huddle of mobile homes on a wind-swept West Bank hilltop she calls home is controversial even by Israeli standards. Despite the size and isolation of Migron, a settlement of about 45 religious families on a ridge next to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Mrs Genud's job as a social worker in West Jerusalem is a 25-minute drive away on a well-paved road.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook08252008.html

Spanish solidarity delegation visits Nablus
A solidarity delegation from Spain on Tuesday visited Nablus in the northern West Bank and met with the city's mayor, Adli Ya'eish.
The delegation included 24 Spaniards and was accompanied by the coordinator of the Spanish organization Peace Now, Sayf Abu Kushuk, and director of the Dialogue Center of Askar refugee camp, Nayif Abu Kushuk. The mayor gave the visitors a detailed presentation about the situation in the city.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=31546

Message from Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire
Dear Friends of Gaza, Many thanks for your information and great news that the Free Gaza Boats have arrived safely in Gaza. How wonderful - this is truly magnificent news. Congratulations and thanks to all those who participated in the breaking of the Seige of Gaza, and went by Boat to support the People of Gaza. You truly all represent the Great spirit of people and show what can be done when ordinary people believe in and have a passion for justice and truth. You have taken great risks for peace and your actions will bring closer the day of freedom for the People of Gaza. continued.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=1912c8ceec334dc9929902451a5d67ef&offset=

Boat activists tour Gaza Strip
Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists from 17 countries toured the Gaza Strip on Sunday after their two fishing boats were allowed in despite an Israeli naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C25%5Cstory_25-8-2008_pg4_4

Voyage of the 'Little People' Shames West
A small band of brave, humanitarian-minded volunteers in a couple of hired boats have done, in the name of human decency, what the leaders of the US, Britain and the EU, with their mighty navies, were too spineless to do in the name of justice.  I'm delighted the Free Gaza boats got through, and thoroughly ashamed to be ruled by a western mafia that connives with the Middle East's racial supremacists to blockade and crush the innocent people of Gaza.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14103

Israel Unable To Stop Liberty
Gaza-- I was too overwhelmed yesterday to put pen to paper after the magnificent welcome I and my fellow peace activists from SS Liberty and SS Free Gaza received as we entered the port of Gaza ... the first ships to sail in since 1967. But I really want to make one thing very clear to you here and now. Israel did not give us permission to enter Gaza - the reality is they could NOT STOP us even if they tried. And believe me some of the tactics to scupper our historic voyage were unbelievable.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20610.htm

Sailing Into Gaza
On Saturday, after 32 hours on the high seas, I sailed into the port of Gaza City with 45 other citizens from around the world in defiance of Israel's blockade. We traveled from Cyprus with humanitarian provisions for Palestinians living under siege. My family in Michigan was worried sick. They are not naïve. They knew that Israel could have attacked us — as Israeli forces did in 2003, killing nonviolent American witness Rachel Corrie (Editor's note: Corrie, also of the International Solidarity Movement, was run over by a bulldozer operated by Israeli Defense Forces during a protest against the destruction of Palestinian homes; an Israeli military investigation ruled the death accidental) and Brit Tom Hurndall (an ISM representative who died nine months after being was shot in the head in Gaza by an IDF sniper; the sniper was convicted of manslaughter) as well as thousands of unarmed Palestinian civilians over the years.
http://www.counterpunch.com/arraf08262008.html

Let them stay in Palestine. . .
The decisive test that awaits those looking to lead the country is their willingness to meet head-on a small minority that makes up less than 1 percent of the total population and for whom settlement is the be-all and end-all. At a seminar that took place last December in Tel Aviv, the head of the Alfei Menashe settlement council, Hesdai Eliezer, estimated that at least 70 percent of those living outside of "settlement blocs" would happily accept compensation (why not an immigrant absorption basket?) and come on aliya.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1014952.html

My Palestinian Wife
The recurring Palestinian wife rumor, I believe, is a result of some people finding it impossible to believe that an American would have any sympathy for the Palestinian people without an ulterior motive. That is a credit to the effectiveness of the Israeli propaganda machine, which has, for more than 50 years, stereotyped Palestinians as a wild, violent people.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese492.html

Poetry, Hip-Hop and the Palestinian Experience
In 1948, my grandmother was expelled from Palestine. Like many of the 780,000 evicted that year, she never saw her birthplace again. But she always dreamed of a dignified return to Yaffa, her home city, a place of warmth and beauty; to her house, which in her heart, towered higher than the hills of Lebanon; and to an unfettered life, which no apology or compensation could ever replace. My grandmother passed on her story to inspire and galvanize—to insure that her children and grandchildren, and all those they encountered, would never forget Palestine.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14104

Is Georgia Different from Lebanon and Palestine?
The pro-US President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia ordered the bombardment of the Russian-majority South Ossetia province. This gave the Russians the justification to invade Georgia on August 8, 2008 and occupy South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, just as the abduction of two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 by Hizbullah gave Israel a convenient cover to invade Lebanon. The brief Georgian war ignited a barrage of condemnation of Moscow by the West. President Bush described the Russian action as "disproportionate and unacceptable" and demanded immediate ceasefire and withdrawal from Georgian territory. Condoleeza Rice was shown standing next to Saakashvili demanding from Russia immediate implementation of a ceasefire agreement that had been negotiated by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy. And NATO allies met in emergency session in Belgium and demanded Russia fulfill its promise to withdraw.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14105

Iraq Announces No Foreign Troops after 2011; US Denies
The White House said Monday there was no final accord with Baghdad on the future of US occupation forces in Iraq, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced a deal to pull all US forces out by 2011.  "These discussions continue, as we have not yet finalized an agreement," spokesman Tony Fratto said as US President George W. Bush was on his annual August vacation on his Texas ranch.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=54601&language=en

US out of Iraq by ... "2011"
The United States is moving towards ending its military control of Iraq by agreeing to withdraw combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns by June next year and from the rest of Iraq by 2011, according Iraqi and American negotiators. The withdrawal of US troops to bases outside the cities, towns and villages would make the Iraqi government, whose security forces number half a million men, the predominant military power in Iraq for the first time since the US-led invasion of 2003.
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick08252008.html

Suicide blast in Jalawlaa leaves 70 casualties
Twenty-five people were killed and 45 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vehicle in northeastern Jalawlaa, Diala province, on Tuesday, the district administrator said.
http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=90781&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1

Dozens killed at Iraqi checkpoint
Twenty-eight dead in Diyala attack, while another four die in Tikrit car bomb.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/08/200882695539760454.html

Kurds warn of "violent reaction" if Iraqi army enters their areas
A senior Kurdish leader says Kurdish militia or peshmerga will confront Iraqi army units attempting to enter Kurdish areas. Mahmoud Sinkawi said if Iraqi troops moved into Kurdish towns and villages in order to evacuate government buildings occupied by Kurdish factions and peshmerga they will be met with a "violent reaction."   The threats signal a growing row between the Kurds who control three provinces in northern Iraq and the central government.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2008-08-25\kurd.htm

Dazed Iraqi teen suicide bomber says she didn't want to die
BAQOUBA, Iraq — The 15-year-old girl had the chubby cheeks of a child who hadn't lost her baby fat when she was arrested Sunday by an alert policeman. Around her chest was a vest packed with explosives. The policeman chained her to the bars of a window, stripped off her dress, found the vest and deactivated the bomb. Had he not intervened, Rania would have been this year's 31st suicide bomber in Iraq.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/50681.html

Iraqi refugee children head back to packed public schools in Jordan
Tens of thousands of children who have enrolled in Jordan's public education system since King Abdullah II opened it up a year ago to all Iraqi students, regardless of their legal status. With the encouragement of the UN refugee agency and its partners, many Iraqi children have been leaving costly private institutions and joining public schools - like the one in Amman's Marka district that Laila attends. It is essential, says UNHCR, that all refugees continue to receive an education, which was not possible for the neediest before the king's decree.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/aiddevelopment/Iraqi_refugee_children_head_back_to_packed_public_schools_in_Jordan-3337.shtml

Baghdad's misguided crackdown on the Sons of Iraq
There is a gathering storm on Iraq's horizon. Over the last several weeks, its central government has embarked on what appears to be an effort to arrest, drive away or otherwise intimidate tens of thousands of Sunni security volunteers -- the so-called Sons of Iraq -- whose contributions have been crucial to recent security gains. After returning from a trip to Iraq last month at the invitation of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, we are convinced that if Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and his advisors persist in this sectarian agenda, the country may spiral back into chaos.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-brimley26-2008aug26,0,4646204.story

After 5 years of war, Iraqis desperate for water
Nearly a billion liters of raw sewage is dumped into Baghdad waterways each day -- enough to fill 370 Olympic-sized pool, that's according to a Reuter's report published today. It's an incredible story--and one rarely reported and one with tremendous public health consequences. The report tells of families living on the top floors of apartment buildings--their morning ritual is to carry jugs to a communal tap at street level and haul the day's water back up the stairs.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/war-every-day-blog/After_5_years_of_war_Iraqis_desperate_for_water-3336.shtml

The Past Destroyed: Five Years Later
In the five years since the initial looting and pillaging of the Iraqi capital, thieves have stolen at least 32,000 items from some 12,000 archaeological sites across Iraq with no interference whatsoever from the occupying power. No funds have been appropriated by the American or Iraqi governments to protect the most valuable and vulnerable historical sites on Earth, even though experience has shown that just a daily helicopter overflight usually scares off looters. In 2006, the World Monuments Fund took the unprecedented step of putting the entire country of Iraq on its list of the most endangered sites.
http://electroniciraq.net/news/newsanalysis/The_Past_Destroyed_Five_Years_Later-3335.shtml

Iraq War's Environmental Impact
A fascinating report by Oil Change International calculates greenhouse gas emissions of the Iraq War and a snapshot of the opportunities lost involved in fighting war rather than climate change. Some of the findings of the report...
http://current.com/items/89237814_iraq_war_s_environmental_impact

Baghdad gets half its needs of drinking water, official says
Baghdad's nearly six million people have access to half their needs of drinking water, said Sadeq al-Shammari head of Baghdad's Water Authority.  Shammari said practically more than three million people in Baghdad have no access to running water.  The shortage comes amid soaring temperatures which at this time of the year may brush 50 degrees centigrade.  The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, has criticized the Iraqi authorities for spending too little on public amenities at a time government coffers are brimming with hard cash from oil sales.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2008-08-26\kurd.htm

The Guantánamo Suicide Report
Two years and two months after three prisoners at Guantánamo died, apparently as the result of a coordinated suicide pact, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), which has been investigating the deaths ever since the three long-term hunger strikers were found dead in their cells on June 10, 2006, issued a 934-word statement on Friday that purported to draw a line under the whole sordid affair.
http://www.counterpunch.com/worthington08262008.html

www.TheHeadlines.org

Recent Activity