Clipmarks | righthand's clips

Leaked Saudi View. 'Border dispute' Existing UN Resolutions Solution

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:47:47 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Prince Saud al-Faisal has been the discreet voice of Saudi Arabian diplomacy for more than 30 years, and he spoke with unchallenged authority at the recent meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers, giving what turned out to be a bleak assessment of the current negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The situation was "dire", he told the assembled dignitaries, including Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair and Ban Ki-moon. "Many dangers loom. It seems we have reached a stage that I can only describe as a morass."

Such pessimism is not big news, though Saud's gloomy remarks were made, characteristically, behind closed doors at London's Lancaster House. It is certainly hard to find anyone who harbours much hope that there is a way out of the current impasse.
... Guardian

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Realism from Riyadh

Leaked notes provide rare insight into Saudi Arabia's trenchant but pragmatic approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Clip Source: roberthand48is.blogspot.com

Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal

"Many dangers loom. It seems we have reached a stage that I can only describe as a morass."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

the dispute could be resolved in a straightforward way on the basis of existing UN resolutions

the principle of the inadmissibility of acquiring land by force

"many unrelated and superfluous elements" have been injected into the search for a solution

conflict was a "border dispute", a remarkably low-key description.

An "honest and serious" approach could remove most of the "current complexity,"

He refrained from directly accusing the US and EU of backing Israel in its attempt to isolate Hamas, but made it clear that Palestinian unity was a prerequisite for peace

also attacked "continued efforts to divide the Palestinians rather than work assiduously towards uniting them behind the peace process"

motivated

by irritation at

Tags: saudi, un, israel, palestian, conflict

Usual Whitewash of IDF coloured this time.

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:58:43 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: When Israel first investigated the incident in March 2005 it concluded there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges. The commander of the unit faced disciplinary proceedings but was exonerated.

The usual whitewash didn't work this time.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Israel's £1.8m for family of Briton killed in Gaza

· Offer pre-empts civil action over cameraman's death
· Next of kin may accept despite reservations

The family of a British cameraman shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza five years ago said yesterday they may accept a compensation offer of £1.8m despite their grave concerns that the move was a "ruse" to delay a civil action over the shooting

Miller was killed while filming a documentary in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. The journalist who accompanied him, Abdurahman Abdallah, said he was shot as he tried to leave a house while holding a white flag

Israeli officials told the daily paper Ha'aretz that the legal aspects of the case "had been settled" as part of the deal

British government will end its action to extradite the Israeli soldiers for trial in the UK

ballistic tests ordered by the family showed he was killed by the army

He was carrying a white flag illuminated by a torch

group shouted that they were British journalists.

Tags: israel, uk, journalist, gaza, death, idf, media

Silent

Sun, 11 May 2008 17:57:26 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Nuala O'Faolain (1940 – 9 May 2008) was an Irish journalist, TV producer, book reviewer, teacher and author. She became internationally well-known for her two volumes of memoir,
Are You Somebody? and
Almost There, a novel,
My Dream of You, and a history with commentary,
The Story of Chicago May. The first three were all featured on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Clip Source: books.guardian.co.uk

The late author Nuala O' Faolain in Paris

Extraordinary final odyssey ends for Ireland's finest woman writer

When Nuala O'Faolain was diagnosed with cancer eight weeks ago, she refused treatment and embarked on a last visit to her favourite cultural landmarks. Yesterday her journey ended

wanted to bid farewell, one by one, to some of her favourite pleasures

was one of the leading figures in modern Irish culture

author of the best-selling 1996 memoir Are You Somebody?, embarked on an extraordinary European odyssey

This unconventional response to her illness transfixed listeners who first learnt of it in an intimate radio interview she gave with the prominent Irish broadcaster Marian Finucane

Full of memorable and telling phrases, the interview has been hailed as a testament to the late writer's talent as a communicator

Because as soon as I knew I was going to die soon, the goodness went out of life.'

Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Sicily

confessional memoir exposed the private truths

lived in New York

‘Air Tree’ Structures in Madrid produce Oxygen and Energy

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:56:55 GMT

clipped by: thedoorway
clipper's remarks: Solutions to our problems are available, but it takes willingness to try new things to find them.

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

The city of Madrid soon plans to add a striking new structure that will “climatically transform” its urban architecture. Designed by Urban Ecosystems, the Air Tree pavilion is to be built from recycled materials and will be 100% energy self-sufficient. Using photovoltaic cells, the Air Tree produces a substantial amount of energy, which is then sold back to the local electric companies, the profits being used for maintenance of the structure. The second byproduct is of course oxygen - hence the name ‘Air Tree’!

The surrounding environment near the air tree will be naturally conditioned, reducing the heat island effect found in most city centers. The air trees will be implemented city wide in the coming years.

Furthermore, the structure, made from lightweight recycled materials, can be easily disassembled and moved to another site when needed.

The trees will cool the surrounding environments and as a bonus generate clean electricity.

Tags: trees, environment, energy, madrid, spain, air tree, science, urban ecosystems, cities

When will they ever Learn, when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn

Sat, 10 May 2008 12:59:49 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Previously, I've offered the Bush gang some undeserved advice. It was simple and even more obvious with time. Whatever instinct they have to do something, then don't. Do the opposite or do nothing. Everything they touch turns to dust. Just a few: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, waterboarding, rendition, POWs, Dollar, Oil, Economy, Hamas, Gaza, West Bank, Katrina, civil rights, prisons, racism, FEAR.

Only one state has prospered and at the US expense. It's economy roars ahead based on false security and terrorism. Iraq's government partly rules Baghdad's Green Zone. Now Lebanon's government may in time rule a Beirut Green Zone. Only Israel benefits.

Bush ignored the democratically elected Hamas in Gaza. Then the US provoked a Hamas military takeover. Why? So Israel could practice judicial assassination and Hamas wouldn't talk peace? Never. And when Hamas through Carter offered the peace to the Zionists? The lamest excuse ever?

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Fisk: Hizbollah rules west Beirut in Iran's proxy war with US

A Shia gunman from the Amal group, which is allied to Hizbollah

Another American humiliation

the elected government of Lebanon has lost

And it has

The national army still patrols the streets, but solely to prevent sectarian killings or massacres

Far from dismantling the pro-Iranian Hizbollah's secret telecommunications system – and disarming the Hizbollah itself – the cabinet of Fouad Siniora sits in the old Turkish serail in Beirut, denouncing violence with the same authority as the Iraqi government in Baghdad's green zone

As a Tehran versus Washington conflict, Iran has won

Jumblatt, the Druze leader and MP and a pro-American supporter

is isolated in his home

The same applies to Saad Hariri

unable to move without Hizbollah's approval

When Hamas became part of the Palestinian government, the West rejected it. So Hamas took over Gaza

Americans rejected it. Now Hizbollah has taken over

Hamas won a convincing electoral victory

"new era"

Tags: israel, usa, hizbollah, lebanon, iran, hamas

"To Hell or to Connaught" Ethnic Cleansing 17th Century style

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:47:41 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: The Irish recognise modern day ethnic cleansing because we have a long tradition of real ethnic cleansing like as practices by the Zionist on the modern Irish, the Palestinians. Ours is no false myth either. Like our Famine, detailed records are there for all to see. We were dragged into the English Civil War. Being neutral was as guilty as being on the King's side. We were required to give up our faith to have ant chance of retaining residence.

This is not to rehash history or beat up on the bad Brits as most good Brits have Irish blood somewhere. It's to indicated that the 'victim' race have by no means a right to their beloved victimhood. We Irish have risen from the equal of black slaves to our present elevated position when we gave up the begging bowl and stood tall.

60 years of independence has made the Zionists the least loved nation on earth. Only what Bush did with the World's goodwill for the USA post 9/11 is on a par with what Israel has achieved with its reputation i

Clip Source: www.irish-society.org

"To Hell or to Connaught"

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and Act of Settlement in 1652, Irish Catholics had most of their lands confiscated and were banned from living in towns for a short period

As many as 100,000 Irish men, women and children were forcibly taken to the colonies in the West Indies and North America as indentured servants or slaves

four fifths of Ireland's population was removed or killed and that whole counties were empty

The remaining native Irish were confined to Connaught only and were immediately killed if found east of the River Shannon

The death toll could have been over 1 million

Clip Source: www.irish-society.org

The reputation of Irish troops as fierce fighting men made them desirable recruits for armies in continental Europe

Between 1651 and 1655, 40,000 young Irish men left their homeland never to return

Their lands were forfeited

land which Cromwell needed to settle Ireland was taken from landowners who “... had not manifested constant good affection to the interest ... of England .”

USSR poster

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:54:52 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii
clipper's remarks: One of my favorite site , every time I went back I see something from the same poster. Check it out.

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Tags: art

The reality of Palestinian-Israeli History

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:56:05 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: And we wonder why Palestinians fight Israel.

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

Sands of Sorrow - 1950

[Video]

A people made homeless (1950)

There is an astonishing amount of ignorance about the basic facts of the so-called Arab-Israeli conflict.

This footage was shot in the late 1940s to educate the public about the plight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been made homeless as a result of the violence and intimidation that accompanied the founding of the state of Israel.

What most Palestinians thought would be a temporary dislocation lasting only a few weeks at most became permanent. Homeless with just the clothes on their backs, they were left in the desert without food, water, and medical care to die.

Humanist: Historical Memories by a New York Jew.

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:52:10 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: roberthand48is.blogspot.com

Memories of a promised land

Mike Marqusee

describes himself as a "deracinated New York Marxist Jew"

For many years Zionists claimed that the Palestinians had left voluntarily, at the behest of Arab leaders

That myth has been repeatedly disproved: there’s no evidence of so much as a single broadcast or leaflet telling people to abandon their homes

Zionists used the war to alter the demographic facts

Clip Source: newhumanist.org.uk

the notion that the State of Israel could be both “Jewish” and “democratic” was unsustainable

anti-Zionism was a Jewish ideology long before it was anything else

The roots of that crisis lay in the refusal of the US, Britain and other countries to admit large numbers of displaced persons

The right of refuge is a universal right

Western powers

demanding that a people who bore no responsibility for the Holocaust make way for its victims

The Jewish state remains incompatible with Palestinian rights

Zionism will not tolerate any meaningful form of Palestinian independence

expansionist claims

are commonplace

Tags: 1948, history, israel, holocaust, arab, zionism

Firefox add-on has a malicious trojan in its code

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:54:08 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: One can never be too careful.

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Mozilla, the maker of the open source Firefox browser, is redoubling its efforts to check user created add-ons for viruses and Trojans after it discovered that a language pack on its official add-on page had been infected for months with rogue code

The virus's signature was unknown at the time, and thus passed Mozilla's testing of add-ons

In response to the later discovery of the latent Trojan code by anti-virus software, Mozilla pulled the language pack and announced it would begin scanning all add-ons whenever they update their virus signatures, not just when add-ons are originally posted, according to a entry on the Mozilla security blog

The add-on's author is not suspected of intentionally booby-trapping the file, but instead had his own system infected. That Trojan inserted a banner-ad displaying script into any html file on his system, which included the help files for the language pack

anti-virus programs detected the Xorer Trojan inside the add-on

24 hours in pictures - May 06-07

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:57:28 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bulgaria: A 1,800-year-old bronze helmet on display at the Museum of History

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pakistan: Young men dive into a canal

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hong Kong girl guides practice for a parade

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

China: A policeman on guard duty

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

American sculptor Richard Serra poses beside one of his sculptures

Paris

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Palestinians wait in line to fill gas canisters

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Amazonas: A rescue team searches for survivors and bodies

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bolivia:

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

El Salvador: A shrine to the Virgin Mary

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Steam and ash continues to pour from the Chaiten volcano

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tokyo

Members of performance group Medaman-Medaman

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India: A worker sorts packets of cut roses for auction

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

China: A child cries

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

tulips

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Belarus: Women embrace in a cemetry

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India: Labourers carry a basket

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

USA: A storm lights up the night sky

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

China: Needles are used to ensure correct posture during a paramiltary training session

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Afghanistan: An opium addict shows the opium

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India

Kashmiri farmer takes a break from ploughing his rice field

24 hours in pictures - May 08

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:44:42 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Senegal

Armed men cut off the left ears of 16

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander opens the water-stock and nature development area Noordwaard

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

London,

image of soldiers is projected onto St Paul's Cathedral

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Afghanistan: A US Marine lies on a stretcher behind his vehicle as he tries to take shelter from a sandstorm

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Russia: Second world war veterans take part in a commemoration ceremony

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Spain

Pilgrims take part in the annual El Rocio pilgrimage

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Seville

training session

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Schaffhausen, Switzerland: A couple walks through a staircase at Munot Fortress

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK: Oilseed rape plants

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lisbon

Orient museum dedicated to Asian cultures and religions

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Nicaragua: A baby sleeps inside a basket at the market

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Iran

farmer drags bundles of rice seedlings for workers to plant on his field

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

La Garita, Costa Rica: Flight feathers begin to emerge on a three-week-old scarlet macaw chick that is part of a breeding program at the ZooAve Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sri Lanka: A boy sleeps in a hammock

Jimmy Carter Speaks Direct of Human Rights Crime

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:23:22 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A human rights crime

The world must stop standing idle while the people of Gaza are treated with such cruelty

The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where a million and a half human beings are being imprisoned with almost no access to the outside world. An entire population is being brutally punished

This gross mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza was escalated dramatically by Israel, with United States backing, after political candidates representing Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority parliament in 2006. The election was unanimously judged to be honest and fair by all international observers

Israel and the US refused to accept the right of Palestinians to form a unity government with Hamas and Fatah and now, after internal strife, Hamas alone controls Gaza

Forty-one of the 43 victorious Hamas candidates who lived in the West Bank have been imprisoned by Israel, plus an additional 10 who assumed positions in the short-lived coalition cabi

'bizarre mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality'

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:15:04 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: The fact that the animal has five X and five Y chromosomes is "the weirdest thing about a very weird animal," said Ewan Birney, a co-author on the paper, based at the European Bioinformatics Institute, near Cambridge. "In theory it means there are 25 possible sexes, though in practice that doesn't happen."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A DNA study found the creatures to be a mix of mammal, bird and reptile with, even more strangely, 10 sex chromosomes

Platypus proves even odder than scientists thought

At first dismissed as a prank, and later cited as proof that God has a sense of humour, the duck-billed platypus has finally given up its evolutionary secrets

The creature, considered one of the strangest mammals in the world, has become the latest to have its genetic code sequenced, revealing it to be a bizarre mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality. While humans have two sex chromosomes, the X and Y, the platypus has 10, with five of each kind

An international team of scientists extracted DNA from a female platypus, named Glennie, reading all 2.2bn pairs of her genetic "letters". Thought to have begun to diverge from other mammals 170m years ago, the platypus has been regarded as the nearest thing biologists have to a missing link between the earliest reptiles and mammals

Armed America - Why do you own a gun?

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:42 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Interesting, hard-hitting & debatable...

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Armed America:
Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KYLE CASSIDY
208 pages, hardback. In bookstores everywhere & at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jerry and Colin and their Browning Citori's.

Jerry: We are our own last line of defense. I haven't seen a compelling argument from the anti's as to why law abiding citizens shouldn't have guns

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jessica with her Kahr P9 and Samantha

Jessica: I'm just one little girl in the world.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jean and Fleming and his Winchester .410 model 42

Fleming: I was born and raised 12 miles down the road from where Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed -- this was in 1935.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Beth, Paul, Gavin and Emma
AK-47, Bersa .380, Ruger P345

Paul: My family had guns the whole time I was a kid. then i went off and joined the army and went away and come back. I

Tags: arms, ammunition, guns, gun laws, usa