UN says Israel, not Iran, North Korea or Syria worst violator of human rights

Fox News

By Anne Bayefsky

FILE -- March 12, 2014: Ben Emmerson, UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights speaks during a press conference about his annual report to the Human Rights Council on the use of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, in extraterritorial lethal counter-terrorism operations, at the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone,Martial Trezzini)

What country deserves more condemnation for violating human rights than any other nation on earth? According to the U.N.’s top human rights body, that would be Israel.

Last week, Israel was the U.N.’s number one women’s rights violator. This week it is the U.N.’s all-round human rights villain.

The U.N. Human Rights Council wrapped up its latest session in Geneva on Friday, March 27 by adopting four resolutions condemning Israel.  That’s four times more than any of the other 192 UN member states.

Playing at caring about human rights is the U.N. game. And no state does it better than Iran.

There were four resolutions on Israel. And one on North Korea -- a country that is home to government policies of torture, starvation, enslavement, rape, disappearances, and murder – to name just some of its crimes against humanity.

Four resolutions on Israel. And one on Syria. Where the death toll of four years of war is 100,000 civilians, ten million people are displaced, and barrel bombs containing chemical agents like chlorine gas are back in action.

Four resolutions on Israel. And one on Iran. Where there is no rule of law, no free elections, no freedom of speech, corruption is endemic, protestors are jailed and tortured, religious minorities are persecuted, and pedophilia is state-run.  At last count, in 2012 Iranian courts ordered more than 30,000 girls ages 14 and under to be “married.”

And what did that one resolution on Iran say? Co-sponsored by the United States, it was labelled a “short procedural text,” consisting of just three operative paragraphs that contained not a single condemnation of Iran.

The Israel resolutions, on the other hand, were full of “demands,” “condemns,” “expresses grave concern,” and “deplores” – along with orders to “cease immediately” a long list of alleged human rights violations.

Ninety percent of states – inhabited by 6.6 billion people – got no mention at all. Countries like China, Qatar, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.  For the UN, there was not one human rights violation worthy of mention by any of these human rights horror shows.

Why not? For starters, China, Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia are all members of the UN Human Rights Council. Actually protecting human rights is not a condition of being elected to the Council, and thereby transforming into a UN authority on what counts as a human rights violation.

As a result, what counts fast becomes unrecognizable. Subverting human rights principles for all turns out to be the other side of the coin from subverting human rights for Jews.

Thus at this session, “death to America” Iran sponsored a Council resolution called “Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights.” It was adopted by consensus – with U.S. blessing.  

The Cubans successfully engineered a Council resolution on protecting “cultural rights” – minus free expression.

The Palestinians – whose unity government includes the terrorist group Hamas – co-sponsored the resolution “effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights.”  

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation – representing states where converting to Christianity is subject to the death penalty – sponsored a resolution called “combating intolerance of persons based on religion or belief.”

Playing at caring about human rights is the U.N. game. And no state does it better than Iran.

Iran’s human rights record happened to come up at the March session in the context of what the Council calls a “universal periodic review” (UPR). Touted as its leading human rights innovation, the same process is applied to every state every four years.  

That means Iran and Syria get treated the same way as, say, the United States and Canada.  At the end of the UPR, a report is summarily adopted containing a bunch of recommendations that the former cast of characters summarily dismiss.  

It was suggested to Iran, for instance, that it stop peddling little girls as sex slaves for old men. The recommendation received this reply:  “in light of Islamic teachings, a person that has reached the age of maturity and is of sound mind has the possibility of marrying.”

The Council created a human rights investigator on Iran, but Iran has never let him into the country.  Recommendations made to Iran during the UPR that it cooperate, were simply ignored.  

On March 19, 2014, the U.S. representative mustered all her courage and countered with this: “we note with disappointment that Iran has not addressed the issue of allowing the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran to visit the country…”

There is an alternative conclusion. We note with disappointment that the United States legitimizes this travesty and empowers the real enemies of human rights.

---------------------
Anne Bayefsky is director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust.

FLORIDA Democrat Congressman, Joe Garcia, takes money from radical Muslim group

 

Bare Naked Islam's Weblog 

Emerge USA is a Florida-based organization whose unstated goal is to give radical Muslims a political voice in America. One way they do this is by getting their leaders placed in key positions of power. Another way is by making friends with thosealready in power. United States Representative from Florida, Joe Garcia, is one of those friends. He has accepted thousands of dollars from Emerge for his 2014 reelection bid, and he has returned the favor by helping the group raise more money.

Frontpage  (h/t Mike F) Earlier this month, Emerge held its annual fundraising dinner in Miami, at the DoubleTree Hotel and Airport Convention Center. Featured at the event was Sayed Ammar Nakshawani, an Islamic lecturer from England who is a devotee of Iran’s deceased terrorist leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and who has called for the destruction of Israel.

In a speech found on YouTube and the lecture section of his website, titled ‘Sayed Khomeini’s Quds Day,’ Nakshawani states, “The shame in this world is that, if we put ourselves down to a two-state solution, we would allow a country which has broken 60 UN resolutions to have their own freedom of peace. It is barbaric that this Zionist state is allowed to continue.”

Emerge advertised Nakshawani in an event flyer as well as an Emerge-produced video of Nakshawani telling people to attend.

Given Emerge’s past, having this man speak was no surprise. What was a surprise, though, was that a sitting U.S. Congressman, Joe Garcia, would also be speaking at the event, even after the leader of his political party, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, cancelled her keynote address in front of the same group just two years prior. One of the two co-chairmen of Emerge is South Florida attorney Khurrum Basir Wahid. According to his bio, Wahid specializes in defending “individuals charged with allegedly committing or conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.”

Prior to helping found Emerge, Wahid was a legal advisor for the national office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a director of CAIR’s Florida chapter. In 2007 and 2008, CAIR was named by the U.S. Justice Department as a co-conspirator to the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas. In 2011, Wahid himself was placed on a U.S. government terrorist watch list.

The other co-chairman of Emerge is Afaq J. Durrani. Durrani is the General Secretary of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH), a sizable community organization consisting of 19 area mosques. ISGH is a subsidiary of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which like CAIR, was named by the U.S. government a co-conspirator in the financing of Hamas.

Ten photos featuring Congressman Garcia at the fundraising banquet are found on the Emerge Facebook page, some showing him speaking at the podium, many with a huge smile on his face. One of the photos is of him playfully grabbing the arm of co-founder and former Emerge President Farooq Mith

Joe Garcia’s willingness to accept money from an organization such as Emerge is troubling to say the least, and his enthusiasm and eagerness to speak in front of the group is evidence that his acceptance of the money was no mistake.

This machine makes drinking water from thin air

CNN.com

Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) -- Water. A vital nutrient, yet one that is inaccessible to many worldwide.

The World Health Organization reports that 780 million people don't have access to clean water, and 3.4 million die each year due to water-borne diseases. But an Israeli company thinks it can play a part in alleviating the crisis by producing drinking water from thin air.

Water-Gen has developed an Atmospheric Water-Generation Units using its "GENius" heat exchanger to chill air and condense water vapor.

"The clean air enters our GENius heat exchanger system where it is dehumidified, the water is removed from the air and collected in a collection tank inside the unit," says co-CEO Arye Kohavi.

"From there the water is passed through an extensive water filtration system which cleans it from possible chemical and microbiological contaminations," he explains. "The clean purified water is stored in an internal water tank which is kept continuously preserved to keep it at high quality over time."

Several companies tried to extract water from the air ... But the issue is to do it very efficiently.
Arye Kohavi, co-CEO Water-Genius

Energy efficient

Capturing atmospheric humidity isn't a ground-breaking invention in itself -- other companies already sell atmospheric water generators for commercial and domestic use -- but Water-Gen says it has made its water generator more energy efficient than others by using the cooled air created by the unit to chill incoming air.

"Several companies tried to extract water from the air," says Kohavi. "It looks simple, because air conditioning is extracting water from air. But the issue is to do it very efficiently, to produce as much water as you can per kilowatt of power consumed."

He adds: "When you're very, very efficient, it brings us to the point that it is a real solution. Water from air became actually a solution for drinking water."

The system produces 250-800 liters (65-210 gallons) of potable water a day depending on temperature and humidity conditions and Kohavi says it uses two cents' worth of electricity to produce a liter of water.

Civilian uses

Developed primarily for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Water-Gen says it has already sold units to militaries in seven countries, but Kohavi is keen to stress that the general population can also benefit from the technology.

He explains: "We believe that the products can be sold to developing countries in different civilian applications. For example in India, [drinking] water for homes is not available and will also be rare in the future. The Atmospheric Water-Generation Unit can be built as a residential unit and serve as a perfect water supply solution for homes in India."

Kohavi says Water-Gen's units can produce a liter of water for 1.5 Rupees, as opposed to 15 Rupees for a liter of bottled water.

Dirty water

Another product Water-Gen has developed is a portable water purification system. It's a battery-operated water filtration unit called Spring. Spring is able to filter 180 liters (48 gallons) of water, and fits into a backpack -- enabling water filtration on the go.

"You can go to any lake, any place, any river, anything in the field, usually contaminated with industrial waste, or anything like that and actually filter it into the best drinking water that exists," says Kohavi.

This unit gives logistic independence for the forces and make us ensure that we provide the soldiers high quality water.
Major Alisa Zevin, head of the Facilities and Specialized Equipment, IDF

Major Alisa Zevin, head of the Facilities and Specialized Equipment Section for the IDF, says the unit is revolutionary for them.

"This unit gives logistic independence for the forces and make us ensure that we provide the soldiers high quality water," she says.

In 2013, the IDF took Spring to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the island country and left 4.2 million people affected by water scarcity. The system filtered what was undrinkable water into potable water, and that is what Water-Gen hopes to accomplish elsewhere where the technology is needed.

"It's something as a Westerner you cannot understand because you have a perfect water in the pipe, but people are dying from lack of water," says Kohavi.

Although Water-Gen's developments aren't a solution for the water crisis, Kohavi believes that the technology can do for countries that lack clean water, such as Haiti, what it has done for the Philippines. It can be the technology used to not only to filter water, but to save lives.

"They could actually bring solution, perfect solution, to the people over there," says Kohavi. "For the kids ... They can use the technology to filter water in the field. People are going days just to carry water. And all our solutions can be an alternative for that."

Ariel Sharon, 1928-2014

Moshe Dayan [r] y Ariel Sharon/ miblog-shomer.blogspot.com

breitbart

By Joel B. Pollak 

Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon has passed away at the age of 85. The former prime minister, defense minister, and general had been comatose since Jan. 2006, when he suffered a series of strokes that resulted in his permanent hospitalization. Sharon was among the last surviving members of the generation that founded, and fought for, the State of Israel in 1948. His ideological foe, President Shimon Peres, is another.

For much of his career, Sharon was known as a military and political hard-liner. He was a lieutenant in the 1948 war, which began after Palestinian Arabs and surrounding Arab states attacked the fledgling Jewish state rather than accept the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab countries. Sharon was seriously wounded at the Battle of Latrun--one of the Arab forces' few victories, thanks to Jordan's British-trained Arab Legion.

Following the armistice, Sharon led an elite Israeli guerrilla unit that conducted cross-border reprisals and raids to deter Palestinian fedayeen from carrying out terror attacks inside Israel. His aggressive tactics drew criticism from fellow Israeli leaders--and cultivated a fearsome reputation in the Arab world. He continued to cause controversy with his preference for offensive rather than defensive tactics in Israel's subsequent wars.

Sharon's vindication, both militarily and politically, came in the Yom Kippur War, when Israeli forces were taken by surprise by Egyptian and Syrian forces attacking on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar across the Suez Canal and in the Golan Heights, respectively. Israel's defensive strategy against Egypt had depended on a string of lightly-guarded forts along the canal, almost all of which fell within hours of the Egyptian assault.

As Israel's military leadership shuddered, and Prime Minister Golda Meir scrambled to secure U.S. arms, Sharon emerged from retirement to lead troops in the Sinai. He led a daring crossing of the Suez Canal, eventually penetrating behind Egyptian lines, encircling Egypt's entire Third Army and destroying the Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that had kept the overwhelming power of the Israel Air Force in check.

Soldiers hailed Sharon as a hero, and his performance--amplified by the fact that he had suffered a head wound during the war and kept fighting regradless--boosted his political ambitions within Israel's conservative Likud Party, which came to power in 1977 after 29 years of dominance by the left-wing Labor Party. Sharon served the government of Menachem Begin, first as Minister of Agriculture and then as Minister of Defense.

It was in the latter capacity that Sharon showed signs of being willing to make difficult sacrifices for peace. After Begin signed the Camp David Accords with Egypt, guaranteeing a return of the Sinai desert (captured in 1967) in exchange for peace and normalization of relations, Sharon took up the task of evacuating the settlement of Yamit, which Israel had established in the Sinai in anticipation of building a deep-water port.

Soon thereafter, Sharon also suffered his greatest political setback. When Palestinian guerrillas made life in the north of Israel difficult through repeated shelling and terror attacks, Israel responded by invading and ousting the Palestinian guerrilla strongholds in southern Lebanon. Yet Sharon, who had initially only sought approval for a limited invasion, soon led Israeli forces all the way to the capital city of Beirut itself.

One of the Christian militias with which Israel had aligned itself then conducted massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla, in retaliation for the assassination of the Lebanese president. Israeli forces provided cover for the militia until they finally intervened to stop the killing. A subsequent inquiry by Israel's Kahan commission found Sharon had failed to prevent the massacres, and he was forced to resign.

Sharon gradually found his way back to the political forefront as a critic of the Oslo peace accords, which were signed in 1993 after secret talks between the Israeli government and Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization. Under the agreement, Israeli forces withdrew from Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza, two territories taken by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. Yet Palestinian terror continued--and accelerated.

By 2000, after Prime Minister Ehud Barak had withdrawn the last Israeli soldiers from southern Lebanon and offered Arafat generous concessions in exchange for peace, Sharon emerged as the leader of the opposition. After Arafat rejected Barak's terms at the Camp David peace conference in July 2000, Palestinians began plans for a renewed intifada--one far more violent than the popular protest that had erupted in late 1987.

Palestinians used Sharon's controversial visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem--which falls under Israeli sovereignty, but remains a Muslim prayer site, despite its connection to the Jewish faith--as the pretext to launch the second intifada, which included brutal terror attacks and live exchanges between Palestinian police and Israeli forces. A disillusioned Israeli public elected Sharon to lead the government in January 2001.

Over the next several years, Sharon succeeded in defeating Palestinian terror through deft counter-insurgency warfare and the construction of a sophisticated barrier (mostly a fence, though a wall in some sections) along and partly within the West Bank. In the process, he resisted intense international pressure and criticism, including false accusations of a "massacre" in the Palestinian city of Jenin, among other exaggerated claims. 

Sharon gradually dismantled much of the government of Palestinian Authority chairman Arafat--physically, as well as politically. Arafat, whom Sharon considered a "murderer," won the support of U.S. President George W. Bush for a Palestinian state, a gesture Sharon openly compared to the appeasement of Munich. The Bush administration scaled back its Palestinian outreach after Arafat was caught smuggling weapons from Iran.

Aside from that disagreement, Bush and Sharon worked together well, especially as the U.S. confronted new terror threats of its own. After Arafat's death in 2004, Sharon indicated that he was more willing to work with his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected to lead the Palestinian Authority in January 2005. Peace talks continued, often under U.S. pressure, but did not advance significantly towards a final agreement.

It was then that Sharon carried out the most dramatic--and fateful--policy of his political career: the Gaza "disengagement," a unilateral withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from Gaza. Ironically, Sharon had campaigned for re-election against such a withdrawal, which had been the policy of his Labor Party opponent. Yet Sharon saw an opportunity to relieve the cost of occupation, and boost Israel's diplomatic position.

After several members of his own party resigned in protest, Sharon formed a new government, and eventually a new party, Kadima ("Forward") to support the withdrawal. In August 2005, Israeli soldiers evacuated the remaining settlers from Gaza, amidst tearful scenes of civil disobedience. Sharon's reward was official U.S. recognition of some Israeli territorial claims in the West Bank, and worldwide acclaim for his statesmanship.

In private conversations, Sharon stressed that he had decided on the disengagement policy because he believed it would be best for the long-term security of Israel and the Jewish people. Palestinian terror groups, however, had other ideas, destroying the infrastructure the settlers had left behind and accelerating rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in the towns and communities near the border--including Sharon's own farm.

In late 2005, on the eve of new Israeli elections, and in the midst of official investigations into a loan Sharon had received during his previous campaign, Sharon suffered a mild stroke. He suffered a far more serious one in January 2006. His most fanatical critics on the Israeli right, who had once seen him as a savior, called his illness divine retribution. His successor, Ehud Olmert, faced two wars from newly-emboldened terror groups.

Sharon, who is survived by two sons and their children, suffered many personal tragedies. His first wife died in a car accident, his second wife died of cancer, and a third son was accidentally shot by a friend. His legacy will remain controversial. He is remembered as a killer, traitor, and hero. At the core, he was a man obsessed with the security of the Jewish people--and he was willing to confront them, if necessary, to achieve it.

Israeli Documents Show Mossad Gave Mandela Weapons Training

breitbart

AP

JERUSALEM, Dec. 21 (UPI) --
Nelson Mandela received weapons training from Israel's secret service, the Mossad, in the early 1960s, documents in Israeli archives show.

Mandela was identified in the documents as David Mobsari, an alias, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday. He worked with staffers who were almost certainly Mossad agents at the Israeli Embassy in Ethiopia.

At the time, Mandela, already a leader in the African National Congress, was being hunted by the apartheid regime in South Africa, which used the code name "the Black Pimpernel." Not long after his encounter with Israel, Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

In the early 1960s, Israel was trying to cultivate newly independent states in Africa and supported groups trying to oust colonial or whites-only regimes, Haaretz said. After the 1967 Six-Day War and the occupation of the West Bank, many African leaders supported the Palestinians and Israel developed close ties with South Africa's apartheid government.

Israeli documents describe Mandela as expressing sympathy with Israel and interested in the tactics used against the British in the struggle for nationhood.

"He greeted our men with 'Shalom,' was familiar with the problems of Jewry and of Israel and gave the impression of being an intellectual," a staffer in the Ethiopian embassy and probably a Mossad agent, said in a letter to the Africa desk of the Israeli foreign office, the newspaper reported. "The staff tried to make him into a Zionist."

Cómo ha de proceder la policia en caso de un secuestro con rehenes? Aprender de la policia de Israel

NUEVA EUROPA- Nueva Eurabia

Por Augusto 

Un hombre alterado tiéne a su sobrina de rehen y amenaza con matarla. En lugar de enviar psicologos y negociar durante una semana la policía israelí va al grano:

Israeli attack destroys Russian missiles headed from Syria to Hezbollah

By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News

Israeli military forces destroyed a cache of Russian missiles that the Syrian government was reportedly prepared to deliver to the militant group Hezbollah, U.S. officials confirmed Thursday.

The officials stressed that the surface-to-surface Russian-made missiles were under Syrian military control in a stockpile at a port near the Russian naval base at Latakia.

The officials said this attack is expected to follow the usual pattern of several other Israeli strikes against Syrian missiles that were apparently on their way to Hezbollah – neither the Israelis, Syrians nor Hezbollah are likely to acknowledge the missiles ever existed or the strike ever occurred.

Hezbollah is believed to have an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles in Lebanon, much of the weapons coming through Syria. Hezbollah has controlled the Lebanese government for years and this spring joined the effort to defeat rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Hezbollah's presence in Syria is said to have been a key to turning back rebel advances in a two-year war that has left more than 100,000 people dead.

The Israeli Defense Ministry refused comment on the reports of the new attack, Reuters said, but Lebanon’s military reported that six Israeli jets flew over Lebanese territory on Wednesday.

Keep reading on  worldnews >>

CONFIRMED: Israel Launched Strikes On Syrian Missile Sites, Damascus

The targeted anti-aircraft missile site near Latakia

U.S. officials have confirmed that Israel struck Syrian missile sites in two different locations Thursday, reports CNN.

The sites, one in the port city of Latakia and another in Damascus, allegedly contained surface to air missile systems said to be slated for delivery to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The strikes took out SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles, The Times of Israel reports. The SA-8 system is a truck-mounted, and highly mobile, but with low-altitude and short range capabilities.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/syrian-air-base-destroyed-from-sea-2013-10#ixzz2jKn4ZowE

Israeli researchers walk the walk with gait analysis device

ReutersVideo

An Israeli company is developing an inexpensive gait analysis device it believes will help doctors diagnose previously undetected medical conditions. The study of a person's walking style can reveal much about their health, and the company says it can now done at a price that most people can afford.

Iran: The doomsday counter

EconomistMagazine

Will China mediate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

behindthewall

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Pool via EPA

China's President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 9.

By Ed Flanagan, Producer, NBC News

BEIJING – An official visit to Beijing by Israeli and Palestinian leaders last week has prompted speculation that China may finally be ready to claim its place as a world power by trying to negotiate an end to one of world's most caustic conflicts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Chinese President Xi Jinping within days of each other in Beijing – the two Middle Eastern leaders having arrived in the country within hours of each other.
"China's hosting of the two emphasized its active involvement in Mideast affairs and highlighted its role as a responsible power," declared an editorial by China's state news agency, Xinhua.
A more active role in Middle East diplomacy would be a dramatic break from China's long-held policy of non-intervention. With controversial business partners like Sudan, Libya and Iran, China has consistently ducked the political and regional strife of others to focus on natural resource extraction and trade.
To a long line of American leaders who have invested a great deal of political capital in the quest for peace in the region, a Chinese diplomatic shift could be a welcome development.
But some experts like Dan Blumenthal, director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, wonder how much China is willing to risk entering this particular political game.

Feng Li / Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, gestures to invite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to a welcoming ceremony held outside the Great Hall of the People on May 6 in Beijing.

"Right now China has the benefit of free-riding on U.S. security [and its] presence, so there is no incentive for them whatsoever to actually pay costs and take risks," Blumenthal said. "China has been fairly extractive in those areas and again for China to become a global power that exercises responsibility, you can't just reap the economic benefits."
Middle East experts in China have noted that the country has a fresh point of view unsullied by years of involvement in the region. It has a carefully crafted position of supporting the Palestinian cause -- dating back to 1965 when the Palestinian Liberation Organization setup an office in Beijing -- but also being a close friend of Israel, as its third-largest trading partner behind the U.S. and the European Union.
"The United States' slant toward Israel has long been regarded as a bias stance by Arabic countries, so this bias towards Israel is not helpful for President Obama when it comes to pushing forward current or future initiatives," said He Wenping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). "But China maintains good relations with both Israel and Palestine, so China's stance is viewed as more neutral than the United States."
Just how much political capital Beijing is willing to spend hammering out a deal that has eluded others remains a critical question – one that could be fraught with risk to China's relationship with the Muslim world. Would Beijing be willing to put its neutral position and substantial business partnerships in the region in jeopardy?
To be sure, Xi's meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas were modest at best in ambition. The two Middle Eastern leaders never met face-to-face. And Xi's "four-point plan" effectively parroted calls by the United States for an independent Palestinian state, supplemented with a firm call for the two countries' boundaries to be based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem serving as the new Palestinian state's capital.
"I don't think China has some magical power at hand that can make the Israeli-Palestinian process move more smoothly," said He of CASS. "It is significant that Israel and Palestine both recognized China's role because if they don't want China involved, [Netanyahu and Abbas] would have never come to China. This shows they wish for and they recognize China's role in the process."
Whether their involvement is desired or not, past Chinese diplomatic history suggests that given the options, China in the short-term would likely continue a nominal role rather than put trade relations at risk.
But a silver lining is the affirmation that while China and the U.S. continue to have major political differences on issues ranging from Iran to America's Asia "pivot," there is room for the two powers to cooperate and engage on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Decades-old stroke damage reversible with oxygen therapy, say researchers

ReutersVideo

Mysterious stone structure found beneath Sea of Galilee

science.nbcnews

Shmuel Marco

The circular structure was first detected in a sonar survey of part of the sea in the summer of 2003.

By Owen JarusLiveScience

A giant "monumental" stone structure discovered beneath the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Israel has archaeologists puzzled as to its purpose and even how long ago it was built.

The mysterious structure is cone shaped, made of "unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders," and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons, the researchers said. That makes it heavier than most modern-day warships.

Rising nearly 32 feet (10 meters) high, it has a diameter of about 230 feet (70 meters). To put that in perspective, the outer stone circle of Stonehenge has a diameter just half that with its tallest stones not reaching that height. [See Photos of the Mysterious Sea of Galilee Structure]

It appears to be a giant cairn, rocks piled on top of each other. Structures like this are known from elsewhere in the world and are sometimes used to mark burials. Researchers do not know if the newly discovered structure was used for this purpose.

The structure was first detected in the summer of 2003 during a sonar survey of the southwest portion of the sea. Divers have since been down to investigate, they write in the latest issue of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 

"Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 m (3.2 feet) long with no apparent construction pattern," the researchers write in their journal article. "The boulders have natural faces with no signs of cutting or chiselling. Similarly, we did not find any sign of arrangement or walls that delineate this structure." 

Diagram courtesy of Shmuel Marco

Putting all the data together researchers found that the structure is cone shaped, about 230 feet (70 meters) in diameter and nearly 32 feet (10 meters) tall. It weighs an estimated 60,000 tons.

They say it is definitely human-made and probably was built on land, only later to be covered by the Sea of Galilee as the water level rose. "The shape and composition of the submerged structure does not resemble any natural feature. We therefore conclude that it is man-made and might be termed a cairn," the researchers write.

More than 4,000 years old?Underwater archaeological excavation is needed so scientists can find associated artifacts and determine the structure's date and purpose, the researchers said.

Researcher Yitzhak Paz, of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University, believes it could date back more than 4,000 years. "The more logical possibility is that it belongs to the third millennium B.C., because there are other megalithic phenomena (from that time) that are found close by," Paz told LiveScience in an interview, noting that those sites are associated with fortified settlements. 

The researchers list several examples of megalithic structures found close to the Sea of Galilee that are more than 4,000 years-old. One example is the monumental site of Khirbet Beteiha, located some 19 miles (30 kilometers) north-east of the submerged stone structure, the researchers write. It "comprises three concentric stone circles, the largest of which is 56 m (184 feet) in diameter." [Gallery: Aerial Photos Reveal Mysterious Stone Structures]

An ancient cityIf the third-millennium B.C. date idea proves correct it would put the structure about a mile to the north of a city that researchers call "Bet Yerah" or "Khirbet Kerak."

During the third millennium B.C. the city was one of the biggest sites in the region, Paz said. "It's the most powerful and fortified town in this region and, as a matter of fact, in the whole of Israel."

Archaeologist Raphael Greenberg describes it in a chapter of the book "Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant" (Eisenbrauns, 2011) as being a heavily fortified 74-acre (30 hectares) site with up to 5,000 inhabitants.

With paved streets and towering defenses its people were clearly well organized. "They also indicate the existence of some kind of municipal authority able to maintain public structures," Greenberg writes.

The research team says that, like the leaders of Bet Yerah, whoever built the newly discovered Sea of Galilee structure needed sophisticated organization and planning skills to construct it. The "effort invested in such an enterprise is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability," they write in their journal paper.

Paz added that "in order to build such a structure, a lot of working hours were required" in an organized community effort.

Future explorationPaz said that he hopes soon that an underwater archaeological expedition will set out to excavate the structure. They can search for artifacts and try to determine its date with certainty.

He said that the Israel Antiquities Authority has a research branch capable of excavating it. "We will try to do it in the near future, I hope, but it depends on a lot of factors."

Bar Refaeli's naked exhibition

arsof1

Obama: Iran more than a year away from nuclear weapon

worldnews

By Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News

Iran is "over a year or so" away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to preventing that from happening, President Barack Obama told a reporter in an interview aired Thursday on Israeli television.

Obama told Channel 2 TV ahead of his first visit to Israel as president that a nuclear Iran continues to be a "red line" for the United States, but that there is still a window of opportunity — "not an infinite period of time" — to resolve the issue diplomatically. "Right now, we think that it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don't want to cut it too close, and what we're going to be doing is to continue to engage internationally with Iran," Obama said, adding that his communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the topic is ongoing. "So, what I'm consulting (on) with Bibi as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him is the same as before: If we can resolve it diplomatically, that's a more lasting solution, but if not I continue to keep all options on the table," Obama said. Iran has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy. While the U.S. has favored diplomacy and economic sanctions to pressure Iran to halt its nuclear development, Israel has threatened several times it would take military action if Iran got close to obtaining a bomb. In the interview, however, Obama sought to reassure that the two countries share the same goal. "Our goal here is to make sure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel or could trigger an arms race in the region that would be extraordinarily dangerous at a time when obviously there are already ... a lot of things going on," he said. Obama also emphasized that he and Netanyahu "have a terrific businesslike relationship" that keeps Israel's security and U.S. support at the forefront. Obama is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a three-day trip, which will be his third visit to the country but his first as president. The president said he intends to meet with political leaders inside Israel, including Netanyahu, but also with Palestinian officials such as Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority, and President Mahmoud Abbas. "My goal on this trip is to listen," Obama said, adding that it is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians to advance their peace process and a two-state solution. "It's going to involve the Palestinians actually feeling like they have got a land of their own, and autonomy and the capacity to govern and to set up businesses and to prosper, and that they have self-determination," he said. "And for the Israelis, it's going to require them having the confidence that that doesn't come at the price of Israeli security."

Ahmadinejad: We're Nuclear But Won't Harm Israel

newsmax

www.theblaze.com

By Cyrus Afzali

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that his nation now possesses nuclear technology, something that the international community has worked to prevent.

International sanctions have been in place against Iran since July 2006, as countries around the world have sought to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran has consistently maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, a claim that is treated with suspicion in the west.

"We¹re already an industrial and nuclear country, a country that has conquered space," Ahmadinejad told the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram on Wednesday referring to the country's recent claim that it launched a monkey into space.

Ahmadinejad is in Egypt for an Islamic summit, marking the first time since 1979 an Iranian leader has visited the country. He said his nation has no interest in attacking Israel. "They want to attack Iran, but we're not preparing any attack against them because the purpose of our program is defense," he said according to an English-language translation of his interview.

He told the Egyptian paper that while Israel might find it easy to launch missiles or attack the country using fighter jets, Iran's defense capabilities could withstand such an attack.

News of a potential Israeli attack on Iran first circulated in late 2012 when Martin Indyk, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, predicted a war between the two countries is likely in early 2013. Speaking on the issue in September 2012, Indyk said he thought Iran had at most six months to negotiate a solution to avoid war.

The Iranian leader said the country's economy is able to withstand the impact of sanctions currently in place, saying that domestic oil production has replaced imports. One of the most damaging effects of sanctions has been a decline in the value of Iranian oil. Speaking to The New York Times in January, Iran's oil minister conceded that the value of oil exports had declined by up to 40 percent in the past year.

Ahmadinejad said he wants the world to treat Iran as a nuclear country and that it "will not go back to what it was in the past."

"They assume we'll give in to pressure; such thoughts are misguided," he said.

"For years, we have been thinking about sending a human being into space and we will do that, with (God's) help. We must ensure development and growth and bring them to pass and the world must acknowledge our progress."

Ahmadinejad again used anti-Israel rhetoric when discussing the Palestinian situation.

"For us, supporting the Palestinian people is a matter of human importance in every sense. The Palestinians must receive their rights, and the Zionists are moving closer and closer toward the edge," he said.

Ahmadinejad also indicated a willingness to reach out to Egypt, which has historically been a rival, and was ready to offer aid.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ahmadinejad-nuclear-iran-israel/2013/02/06/id/489187#ixzz2K9Dcmt7d
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Starling murmuration: Rare phenomenon in the skies above Israel

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Christians Flock to Bethlehem; Pope Celebrates Christmas Mass at Vatican

In this photo taken on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 the Nativity Scene set up in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican that will be unveiled by Pope Benedict XVI Monday, Dec. 24. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (The Associated Press)

VATICAN CITY –  Despite the tension and violence that shook the Holy Land this year, Christians from around the world flocked to Manger Square in Bethlehem on Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient West Bank town where he was born.

Others traveled to Vatican City, where Pope Benedict XVI had lit a Christmas peace candle set on the windowsill of his private studio. Pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered below in St. Peter's Square for the inauguration Monday evening of a Nativity scene and cheered when the flame was lit.

The pope marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The service began at 10 p.m. local time, or 4 p.m. ET. The midnight start time was changed at the Vatican years ago to let the pontiff rest before a Christmas Day speech to be delivered from the basilica's central balcony.

In his homily, Benedict cited the Gospel account of Mary and Joseph finding no room at an inn and ending up in a stable which sheltered the baby Jesus. He urged people to reflect upon what they find time for in their busy, technology-driven lives.

"The great moral question of our attitude toward the homeless, toward refugees and migrants takes on a deeper dimension: Do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him?" the pope said.

"The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent," Benedict lamented.

The pope worried that "we are so 'full' of ourselves that there is no room left for God." He added, "that means there is no room for others either -- for children, for the poor, for the stranger."

The pontiff also prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq.

In Bethlehem, the Palestinian hosts were hopeful after a recent vote in favor of statehood in the United Nations, though the vote did little to bring them closer to independence.

In his annual pre-Christmas homily, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, said this year's festivities were doubly joyful.

"The path (to statehood) remains long, and will require a united effort," said Twal, a Palestinian citizen of Jordan, at the patriarchate's headquarters in Jerusalem's Old City.

Then he set off in a procession for the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Jesus' traditional birthplace. Twal had to enter the biblical town through a massive metal gate in the barrier of towering concrete slabs Israel built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings in the last decade. The Israeli military, which controls the crossing, said it significantly eased restrictions for the Christmas season.

Israel, backed by the United States, opposed the statehood bid, saying it was a Palestinian ploy to bypass negotiations. Talks stalled four years ago.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/24/pope-lights-christmas-peace-candle-on-windowsill-his-vatican-studio-as-pilgrims/#ixzz2G1CEh9Pp

Behind the Israel's Iron Dome

Wall Street Journal/ Charles Levinson & Adam Entous

TEL AVIV—Israel's Iron Dome rocket-defense system spent the past two weeks successfully blasting Hamas rockets out of the sky—many in dramatic nighttime explosions—helping to end the recent hostilities between Israel and Hamas in just seven days.

The battle to build Iron Dome, however, lasted years and provided fireworks of its own.

Before Wednesday's cease-fire, Iron Dome knocked down 421 rockets launched from Gaza and bound for Israeli cities, an 84% success rate, according to the Israeli military. The system limited Israeli casualties to six during the seven days of bombardment. As a result, there was markedly less political pressure.

Also a Preliminary Evaluation  Here >>