What Israel should have done

Thomas Friedman: 'What could Israel have done? The Palestinian Authority, which has made concrete strides in the past five years at building the institutions and security forces of a state in the West Bank — making life there quieter than ever for Israel — finally said to itself: “Our state-building has not prompted Israel to halt settlements or engage in steps to separate, so all we’re doing is sustaining Israel’s occupation. Let’s go to the U.N., get recognized as a state within the 1967 borders and fight Israel that way.” Once this was clear, Israel should have either put out its own peace plan or tried to shape the U.N. diplomacy with its own resolution that reaffirmed the right of both the Palestinian and the Jewish people to a state in historic Palestine and reignited negotiations.

Mr. Netanyahu did neither. Now the U.S. is scrambling to defuse the crisis, so the U.S. does not have to cast a U.N. veto on a Palestinian state, which could be disastrous in an Arab world increasingly moving toward more popular self-rule.'

Zanga Zanga!

In celebration of Qadhafi's downfall.

Most Arabs remain in denial about 9/11

"Ten years on from 9/11, the Arab world remains in denial. A recent Pew study shows the majorities in all Muslim states think that Arabs were not responsible for the attacks of September the 11th. Three out of four Egyptians hold that belief, for example."

"New evidence links Saudi Arabia to 9/11 hijackers"

New evidence? LOL. Many Americans still don't know, maybe don't care, how many Saudis were involved in the hijackings on 9/11/01.

"Weeks after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, FBI agents swarmed into a Sarasota gated community to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy young Saudi couple who apparently had ties to some of the hijackers.

The couple and their two children abandoned their home abruptly, just a week or so before Sept. 11, leaving behind cars, furniture and food on countertops.

According to one published report, the FBI discovered phone calls between the house and at least two of the hijackers and several other terrorism suspects stretching back a year.

Yet until a Fort Lauderdale website reported the news this week, no mention of the couple has ever appeared publicly — not in the Sept. 11 commission report, nor in FBI briefings to congressional investigators, former Florida Sen. Bob Graham said Friday."

But wow. It took 10 years for authorities to start investigating this link.

Usama bin Ladin's Al Qaeda did 9/11

This morning when I checked my facebook page I read a post by "Global Liberation Network":

'Some people don't believe Bin Laden and his al-Qaida group were behind the Sept 11 coordinated attacks on the US. Some even go so far as to believing the towers fell due to blasts on the ground level. Let's be rational. Bin Laden himself has stated the attacks were al-Qaida's work, and that he helped organize them. He has also stated their motives.'

I agreed and liked the post, and then I read the comments. I was surprised to see so many "truthers" who believe that 9/11 was an inside job, and I was really surprised by the number of westerners (with western names, at least) who liked the comments by the truthers.

One of the administrators posted this recording of bin Laden claiming responsibility for the attack, and explaining why it was done:



"May peace be on those who follow the light of guidance" he says. How ironic that he would mix peace with mass murder.

One truther, whose profile pic is "9/11 Truth", wrote "CIA has been caught making the bin laden tapes.FBI doesn't mention 9/11 in connection with bin laden's FBI most wanted list because they state themselves that there is NO evidence linking him to it. Don't mislead the sheep..."

CIA made the tapes? Don't mislead the sheep? Really? 10 people liked his comment, and they all have western names!

The only comment I left was a link to the Popular Mechanics article that debunks the conspiracy theories. Nobody responded to that.

The GLN admin posted this video later in the day.

It is amazing how many people think 9/11 was not done by Arab terrorists.

Journalist who criticized Iraqi govt is murdered

'Iraqi authorities should conduct an immediate, full, and transparent investigation into the September 8, 2011 killing of Hadi al-Mahdi, a popular radio journalist often critical of the government, at his home in Baghdad, and prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today.

“The killing of Hadi al-Mahdi sadly highlights that journalism in Iraq remains a deadly profession,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “After more than six years of democratic rule, Iraqis who publicly express their views still do so at great peril.”

Witnesses at the crime scene told Human Rights Watch that they saw no evidence of a struggle or theft, suggesting that the killing was deliberate. Al-Mahdi’s cell phone, laptop, and other valuables were left in the house untouched.

Al-Mahdi, a freelance journalist and theater director, had been openly critical of government corruption and social inequality in Iraq. His popular talk radio program, “To Whoever Listens,” ran three times a week in Baghdad before he left the show two months ago. The program’s appeal was al-Mahdi’s fearless and scathing voice, laced with a sense of humor, Human Rights Watch said. Leading up to the country’s “Day of Anger” mass pro-democracy and anti-corruption demonstrations on February 25, he became increasingly involved as a vocal organizer of Iraq’s new protest movement in Baghdad.'

12,284 civilians killed in suicide bombings in Iraq 2003 - 2010

"While sophisticated roadside bombs have taken a heavy toll on American troops over the course of the war here, suicide bombings have largely been a hallmark of sectarian warfare. Independent researchers have now tried to quantify their damage, poring through data compiled from death reports to conclude that more than 12,000 Iraqis have been killed in at least 1,000 suicide attacks since the American-led invasion.

...According to the paper, from March 20, 2003, to the end of 2010, suicide bombers killed 12,284 Iraqi civilians and wounded 30,644 others. The attacks killed 200 coalition troops, including 175 from the United States."

Thanks idit for posting.

According to this Wikipedia article, there were 1,759 suicide bombings in Iraq between 2003 and 2010.