Gaza's sewage system in crisis
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- Written by IRIN IRIN
- Published: 26 March 2008 26 March 2008
- Hits: 4917 4917
The result is the pumping of partially treated or untreated sewage directly into the sea, and the seepage of dirty water into the ground and groundwater.
"The environmental situation in Gaza is bad and getting worse," an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expert on water and sanitation said in an interview with IRIN.
While exact statistics are unavailable, 30,000-50,000 cubic meters of partially treated waste water and 20,000 cubic meters of raw sewage end up in rivers and the Mediterranean Sea. Some 10,000-30,000 cubic meters of partially treated sewage end up in the ground, in some cases reaching the aquifer, polluting Gaza's already poor drinking water supply.
Land Day convoy to the unrecognized village Dar ElHanoun – Saturday, 29 March
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- Written by Mustafa Mustafa
- Published: 26 March 2008 26 March 2008
- Hits: 3297 3297
[Example of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists at work]
Protest land discrimination in Wadi Ara! On Saturday, 29 March, as part of Land Day events, there will be a car convoy from Um Elfahm to the unrecognized village of Dar ElHanoun in Wadi Ara.
The convoy will leave Um ElFahm (on the Wadi Ara road) at 11am and will reach Dar ElHanoun at 11:30. In Dar ElHanoun there will be a presentation about the current situation in the village, which dates back to the 1920s.
From Dar ElHanoun the convoy will continue to Mitzpe Ilan, the new Jewish settlement near Dar ElHanoun, which has only recently been approved in a government decision.
Read more: Land Day convoy to the unrecognized village Dar ElHanoun – Saturday, 29 March
TWO AMERICAS
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- Written by Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom
- Published: 24 March 2008 24 March 2008
- Hits: 3010 3010
The US is now the only super-power on earth. It will remain so for quite some time to come. The decisions of the President of the United States affect every human being on this planet.
Unfortunately, the citizens of the world have no part in these elections. But they may, at least, voice an opinion.
{josquote}I am longing for an American president who will have the courage and the honesty to tell our [Israeli] leaders: Dear friends, you are drunk with power! You are speeding along a highway that leads to an abyss!
{/josquote}
Availing myself of this right I say: I am for Barack Obama.
FIRST OF ALL I must confess: my attitude towards the US is one of unrequited love. In my youth I was a great admirer. Like many others of my generation, I grew up on the legend of the new, idealistic country of pioneers, the world's torch of freedom. I admired Abe Lincoln, who freed the slaves, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who hastened to the rescue of besieged Britain, when it stood alone against the Nazi monster, and who entered World War II at the decisive moment. I grew up on Wild West movies.
Gradually, I lost my illusions. Joe McCarthy helped me along the way. I learned that with depressing regularity, the US is seized by some hysteria or other. But every time, just before the brink of the abyss, it draws back.
11 hours in Israeli custody: Greetings from the House of Fair Trade Newsletter Addendum
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- Written by Drew Drew
- Published: 23 March 2008 23 March 2008
- Hits: 3000 3000
Dear all,
I just wanted to tell the story of what happened when I left Palestine. I hope you find it interesting.
As you know, I left Palestine in late February. To be exact, I arrived at Al-Jelamaa checkpoint at 6:09am on February 28. For some reason, I still remember the digital clock read-out on the taxi driver's dashboard. I arrived early because if you cross with the Palestinians with work permits, you can save money by getting shared transport with them to Besan (aka Beit She'an) and this is near the Jordanian border where I was headed to get my flight back to the States. Well, I kind of "missed the bus." I stumbled out of the checkpoint 11 hours later, being told that I would never be permitted back into Israel, or, at the very least, that I would have "big problems" if I intended to return.
Things began normally, I was quickly whisked into secondary inspection like any foreigner crossing Al-Jelamaa. But when I thought I was being let go just a minute later, a checkpoint employee came and took my baggage and led me down a maze-like series of indoor walkways to a small, blast-proof cell. There were three hydraulically-operated doors. One of them led to the hallway, another to a room I would later put my belongings in, and another to a small room which had a few soldiers in it watching screens of the video monitors in my cell. There was a small window on this door with the thickest bullet-proof glass I have ever seen. They looked at me through this window, and communicated to me through loudspeakers. First, there was the inevitable, "Take your weapons from your bag and place them where we can see them." So I took my pocket-knife which is my weapon of choice for cutting tomatoes on picnics and put it in plain sight. Next came the expected strip-search. I was told to remove my articles of clothing, which they named one by one and then, once I was completely naked, was told to wrap myself in a filthy, used bathrobe lying on the greasy floor of the cell. I complied without complaint. I thought that at least the robe would cut the freezing cold temperatures. Then they had me unpack everything from my bag, piece by piece, and place it into plastic tubs they had lying around the cell. They told me to shake out each piece of clothing, each book, each pencil, and then show then each side of the item before placing it in the bin. They watched attentively through the window as I, naked and shivering, did what I was told. Once everything was in the plastic bins the door opened to another small room and I was told to put all my belongings inside. Then I came back to the cell and was told to sit on the plastic chair and wait. After twenty minutes, two soldiers came in, metal detected my clothes and told me I could get dressed but had to give them my shoes and socks for further inspection. I did and then I waited. My feet were on the 40 degree concrete floor of the cell. There was a space heater which I tried to use but it made noises which sounded like trucks without mufflers and so I had to turn it off, especially when the soldier on the other side of the glass, who was sitting in his comfortably-heated room told me the noise was bothering him. I told him that my overwhelming need to use a bathroom was bothering me but it wasn't until an hour later that he finally rustled someone up to take me to the bathroom after my fifth request.
Read more: 11 hours in Israeli custody: Greetings from the House of Fair Trade Newsletter Addendum
US military deaths in Iraq hit 4,000
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 23 March 2008 23 March 2008
- Hits: 4377 4377
The latest to die were four soldiers whose patrol vehicle was blown up by a bomb in southern Baghdad on Sunday.
The deaths bring the total to 4,000, according to the US military and independent monitoring groups.
In other violence, Baghdad's Green Zone came under fire, and a suicide bomber killed 13 Iraqi soldiers in Mosul.
In Baghdad, the heavily-fortified Green Zone suffered sustained mortar and rocket fire, which killed at least 15 civilians.
The US military said it killed 12 militants preparing suicide attacks in a house east of Baquba.
The bloodshed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June.
That was when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops in violence-hit areas - the so-called "troop surge".
But Sunday's violence underlines the fragile, reversible nature of the apparent improvements in security, say correspondents.
Huge blast
At least 40 people were injured in Sunday's early-morning suicide strike in Mosul.
The suicide attacker ploughed an explosives-laden tanker into the army base, causing a massive blast.
Iraqi and US soldiers have been engaged in a major offensive in Mosul, which US commanders say is al-Qaeda's last urban stronghold in Iraq.
In another deadly attack, at least seven shoppers in a Baghdad market were killed when gunmen travelling in three cars opened fire.
Our correspondent says previous rocket attacks on the Green Zone have been blamed on rogue elements of Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, which is supposed to be observing a ceasefire.
Also on Sunday, the US military said it had killed 12 men in a raid east of Baquba city, in Diyala province.
Spokesman Major Winfield Danielson claimed six of the men killed were found to have shaved their bodies, which he said was "consistent with final preparation for suicide operations".
He added that a cache of weapons and ammunition had also been found in the raid and destroyed. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7310924.stm
Published: 2008/03/24 03:17:23 GMT
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