Behind Beirut’s Sport City
Electronic Intifada - 13 May 2008
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rNajwa cleans the houses of the rich in Beirut. She lives with her son in the limbo spreading between the Stadium (Cite Sportive) and the Sabra Palestinian camp. Sociologists often refer to the Palestinian camps in Lebanon as a “space of exclusion”: the laws governing life in the camps are different from those governing life in the rest of Lebanon. Najwa’s neighborhood is an exclusion from the exclusion: no laws apply there. Rami Zurayk writes from Beirut.

A case of split infinitives
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 13 May 2008
Summary: ... when Senator Clinton wishes to obliterate Iranians totally, the thuggish demeanour that underlies her sophomoric command of the English language would not come through if she were properly to say “to obliterate them (Iranians) totally,” for example, instead. By hurriedly inserting that ominous “totally” between her imperial “to” and our humble humanity waiting to be “obliterate”-ed she means immediately to emphasise how serious she is about her task of mobilising the ever-watchful Zionist constituency she has been r source: Al-Ahramread more

US misses Iran opportunity
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 13 May 2008
Summary: The US should not mortgage its foreign policy into the hands of other players in the region and should “show more sensitivity toward Iran”, to echo the sentiments of the director general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad ElBaradei. source: Asia Times Onlineread more

US laying foundation for Iraq colonization
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 13 May 2008
Summary: ‘Selling Iraq to the US’ is what best describes a secret security accord between the Bush administration and the government of Iraq. source: Press TVread more

Iran says to sue U.S., Britain over mosque blast
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 13 May 2008
Summary: Shiraz BombingIran’s judiciary said on Monday it would file international lawsuits against the United States and Britain, accusing them of providing financial support to those behind a blast in a mosque that killed 14 people. source: Reutersread more

Bush Tour Diminished by Hezbollah Show of Force
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 13 May 2008
Summary: ... some analysts believe the weekend’s events may add to the gradually growing clamor by hawks in and outside the administration to take military action ? if only, for now, limited strikes on weapons factories and training sites inside Iran allegedly used by the Revolutionary Guard to train “terrorists” in Iraq, Lebanon, and the PT ? to “put Iran in its place.” source: AntiWar.com read more

DEMOCRACY NOW! EXCLUSIVE: Fmr. Military Intelligence Sgt. Reveals US Listed Palestine Hotel in Baghdad as Target Prior to Killing of Two Journalists in 2003
Democracy Now - 13 May 2008
Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the US military shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. The attack killed two journalists: Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network Telecinco. The Pentagon has called the killings accidental, but in this broadcast exclusive Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) reveals she saw secret US military documents that listed the hotel as a possible target. Kinne also discloses that she was personally ordered to eavesdrop on Americans working for news organizations and NGOs in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 13, 2008
Democracy Now - 13 May 2008
Over 12,000 Killed in Chinese Earthquake, Clinton Expected to Win in WV; Obama Looks to November, McCain Outlines Plans to Address Global Warming, Former Republican Bob Barr to Run as Libertarian, Up to 700 Arrested in Immigration Raid in Iowa, Report: 83 Immigrants Have Died in US Custody, Bush Vows to Help Arm Lebanese Army, Bush Accuses Iran of Arming Militias in Iran, US Admits Some “Iranian-Supplied” Arms Aren’t from Iran, Iran to Sue US and UK for Backing Group Behind Mosque Bombing, Ban Ki-moon Presses Burmese Junta to Accept Aid, Inglewood, California Police Shoot Dead Unarmed Teenager, Rep. John Conyers Holds Forum In NYC On Sean Bell Case, South African Apartheid Suit to Proceed, Nawaz Sharif’s Party Pulls Out Of Coalition Government, Pentagon Drops Charges Against Alleged 20th Hijacker

Bush tour diminished by Hizballah show of force
Electronic Intifada - 13 May 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON, 12 May (IPS) – While this week’s trip by US President George W. Bush to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt was never conceived as a triumphant “victory lap” around the region, the swift rout of US-backed forces by Lebanon’s Hizballah Friday has provided yet another vivid illustration of the rapid decline in Washington’s influence in the Middle East during his tenure.

Lebanon violence moves outside of Beirut
Electronic Intifada - 13 May 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT, 12 May (IRIN) – Sporadic clashes between pro- and anti-government forces continued on 12 May in areas around the northern port city of Tripoli and the eastern Bekaa Valley as the Arab League announced mediators would arrive in Beirut on 14 May. A security official reported Shia Hizballah gunmen had clashed with supporters of the government around Masnaa, the main border crossing into Syria in the Bekaa valley.

Remembering 1948 and looking to the future
Electronic Intifada - 13 May 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis month Israel marks the 60th anniversary of its founding. But amidst the festivities including visits by international celebrities and politicians there is deep unease—Israel has skeletons in its closet that it has tried hard to hide, and anxieties about an uncertain future which make many Israelis question whether the state will celebrate an 80th birthday. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah comments.

Veteran Suicides Continue to Rise
AlterNet: War on Iraq - 13 May 2008
As a national crisis grows and Congress starts to pay attention, small town newspapers remain the only sources for information on veteran suicides

Gaza residents queue overnight for cooking gas
Electronic Intifada - 13 May 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGaza’s 1.5 million residents need at least 300 to 350 tons of cooking gas on a daily basis, yet according to al-Khozendar, Israel is important less than half the necessary fuel. The shortage of gas has further restricted the movement of Palestinians in Gaza throughout the region, causing motorists to improvise their means of fuel and paralyzing the transportation sector. Late January of this year Israeli Prime Minister stated that “We will not let the residents of Gaza lead a comfortable and pleasant life” so long as rockets are fired from the Strip, EI correspondent Rami Almeghari writes from Gaza.