NATO accused of civilian deaths

Posted on May 14, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

BBC News Africa

14 May 2012

Nato urged to investigate civilian deaths in Libya

A leading human rights organisation has urged Nato to investigate fully the deaths of civilians in air strikes in Libya last year.

Human Rights Watch believes Nato air strikes killed at least 72 civilians and says the organisation needs to bear responsibility where appropriate.

“We’re calling for prompt, credible and thorough investigations,” HRW’s Fred Abrahams told BBC News.

Nato insists it took unprecedented care to minimise civilian casualties.

It argues that it cannot take responsibility because it has had no presence on the ground to confirm the deaths.

Aircraft from the US, the UK and France conducted most of the 9,658 strike sorties last year, targeting forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

In March, another human rights organisation, Amnesty International, said it had documented 55 cases of named civilians, including 16 children and 14 women, killed in air strikes.

Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, News Articles, Recent Posts | Comments Off

Israel belongs to the Jews

Posted on May 12, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

The Rights of Indigenous People and the Rest of Us

It is noteworthy in this context that the Jewish people constitute the ultimate success of an indigenous people reclaiming sovereignty and rights in their historic space. Jews have been there from the time of the Bible.

by Shoshana Bryen
American Thinker
May 11, 2012

In early 2011, President Obama announced that the United States would sign the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Now the U.N. wants us to give Mt. Rushmore to the Indians. James Anaya, U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, spent twelve days in the U.S. meeting with representatives of Native Americans. Returning to Geneva, he urged the government to turn over control of lands considered sacred to the tribes, including the Mt. Rushmore site.

It was bound to happen.

With typical overstatement, the president said as he announced U.S. participation in the Declaration, “The aspiration it affirms, including respect for the institutions and rich cultures of native peoples, are ones we must always seek to fulfill.”

Always? Americans happily adapt and adopt parts of other people’s cultures (Chinese food unlike anything served in Beijing, pizza Italians wouldn’t recognize, St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo parties) and respect other parts (forms of dress, holy days and fasting for Ramadan). But there are aspects of “native” cultures that simply do not warrant respect: honor killings, female genital mutilation, slavery, stripping trees for cooking fuel, clubbing baby seals, and governance by the sword come to mind.

The Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a prescription for endless warfare. “Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired,” according to Article 26. Article 28 states that qualified groups “have the right to redress,” which can include “restitution” or “just, fair and equitable compensation” for land or resources that have been “confiscated, taken (or) occupied.”

Applied to American Indian tribes, it not only covers Mt. Rushmore, but also may include reparations and mineral rights.

Applied to Palestinians and Kurds, not to mention minorities from Azeris in Iran to Uighurs in China to Armenians, Hmong tribesmen, and Guatemalan Indians, it could wreak havoc.

Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Opinion, Recent Posts | Comments Off

Another Weizmann breakthrough

Posted on May 11, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

Israeli Medical Breakthroughs Offer Hope to Auto-Immune Patients

A team of Israeli scientists offer hope in treating autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis.

Rachel Hirshfeld, May 10, 2012

A team of Israeli scientists from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot may have achieved a breakthrough in treating autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue rather than invading germs.

The scientists managed to “trick” the immune systems of mice into targeting an enzyme known as MMP-9, one of a family of proteins essential for processes including healing wounds. When the enzyme gets out of control, however, MMP-9 facilitates autoimmune diseases as well as the spread of cancer.

President of the Israeli Biophysical Society Irit Sagi and her research group spent years looking for ways to block MMP-9. They first tried making a synthetic drug molecule targeting MMPs, attempting to mimic the body’s MMP inhibitors, known as TIMPs. However, the efforts proved largely ineffective and had extremely severe side effects.

Subsequently, Netta Sela-Passwell, a graduate student in Sagi’s lab, decided to work on a solution, whereby a vaccine was used to trick the immune system into creating natural antibodies against MMP-9. It works in the same way that a vaccine containing a dead virus induces the immune system to create antibodies ready to attack the live virus.

Continue reading →

Posted in Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology | Comments Off

Google active in Israel

Posted on May 5, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

Ricardo Geromel

Ricardo Geromel, Contributor

Covering global economic issues with a focus on Brazil

Investing
May 4, 2012, Forbes

What is Google Up To in Israel ?

I visited Google’s office in Tel Aviv where about 50 people work in Marketing & Sales and over 200 in the engineers department. Yes, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google founders, are Jewish. However,  this post has no religious orientation. If you are looking for some sort of religious conspiracy theory go elsewhere, here you will learn only about what Google is really up to in Israel.

Google office in downtown Tel Aviv

Google office in downtown Tel Aviv

Google first opened its office in Israel in 2006. I visited two of the four floors used by Google on the 21st and 22nd floors of the famous Levinstein Tower in downtown Tel Aviv. Although not as impressive as the famed Googleplex in Mountain View, California, the offices offer magnificent views of the Mediterranean sea. Each room has its own theme, with walls and furnishings of all colors. There is a meeting room filled with giant legos, a pinball machine, Nintendo Wii, Playstation and other games. There is also a fully equipped music room with guitars, drums, microphones, professional sound system, etc. Add to that a silent room, a 3D printer, and free food at each floor. The feeling of being in a kindergarten almost made me forget that I was in one of the world’s largest multinational companies.

Google also employs about 80 engineers in its second office in Israel located in Haifa, Israel’s technological center. The Haifa office is just 2 thousand meters away from the beach; I saw pictures but I did not visit that office. The second office also has toys in the lobby, game rooms, beanbag chairs, free food, and so on. Some affirm these Google methods do not enhance creativity. Personally, I believe that, at least, it incentives employees to spend more time together and create stronger personal bonds, which will pay off later by increasing team work.  Here is a video about work-life balance at Google Israel.

After visiting the premises, Inna Weiner, a software engineer, presented products and services that have started and/or  are being developed in Israel:

Continue reading →

Posted in Business and Commerce, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology | Comments Off

One Israeli state solution

Posted on May 4, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

WALSH: Myth of a two-state solution

Palestinians fighting Israel and each other put peace out of reach

By Rep. Joe Walsh

Thursday, May 3, 2012 , Washington Times

 

It has been 64 years since the United Nations General Assembly approved the Partition Plan for Palestine and the struggle to implement a "two-state solution" began. Today, we are no closer to that end. That reminds me of the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that definition, everyone who continues to cling to the delusion of a two-state solution is insane. There is no such thing as a two-state solution. It cannot work, it has not worked, and it will not work.

The only viable solution for the Middle East is a one-state solution: one contiguous Israeli state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. There will not and cannot be lasting peace in the Middle East until then.

Ever since the Palestinians and Arab countries refused to accept the Mandate for Palestine in the 1920s, the original two-state solution, the international community has been catering to Palestinian and Arab demands for a divided Israel. The Palestinians and Arabs, however, repeatedly have rejected those proposals, including the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan, which they are using to justify their demands for a divided Israel. Enough is enough. Why is the international community continuing to kowtow to these demands when, for 64 years, the Palestinians and Arabs have worked against peace? Israel is the only country in the region that has shown that it wants and will work toward peace. Since 1947, the Palestinians and Arab countries have fought more than five wars against Israel over territory, and at each opportunity, a victorious Israel has returned land it acquired in exchange for peace.

The Palestinians have broken their word again and again. They continue to fire rockets directly at innocent Israeli families and children, and they have betrayed the fundamental tenet of the two-state solution they tout by cutting Israel out of negotiations and going directly to the United Nations. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to incite violence against Israelis. It pays the salaries of imprisoned terrorists convicted of killing Israelis and glorifies suicide bombers at public events. The PA’s magazine Zayzafuna recently presented Hitler as a role model for Palestinian youth because of all the Jews he killed.

Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts | Comments Off

Blame the leaders for the strife

Posted on May 1, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

Discovering the Palestinian territories

By BRUCE ACKS
May 1, 2012

Most Palestinians and Israelis, Jews and Muslims, could live in secure peace with each other, if only their leaders gave them a real chance.

Almost every visitor to Jerusalem knows about the Central Bus Station. It is beautifully built, made from white Jerusalem stone, and a large clock sits in the center against a background of dark blue windows. What many tourists (and Israelis) do not know, however, is that there is actually another Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. This station is not as grand, fancy, or comfortable as the first, but its buses go to destinations that only they can reach.
This is the Central Bus Station in east Jerusalem. For almost 30 years, on dozens of visits to Jerusalem, I was ignorant of its existence. Yet on many occasions I stood less than 100 feet away from it. On my most recent visit, solely by chance, I finally discovered it.
One day, after touring the Old City, I exited through the Damascus Gate. That day, curiosity led me to explore Nablus Road, which pretty much juts straight out from the gate. To my astonishment, I encountered an active and lively bus station. Learning about this station led to a most amazing journey.
It is amazing how one can live in complete ignorance for so many years. Although I am a curious person by nature, I never really wondered how the nearly 300,000 Arab residents of east Jerusalem get around. Egged buses are certainly not commonly seen on the streets of east Jerusalem. So, if they do not walk, and do not have a car, how do they traverse the “other” half of Jerusalem? The answer is east Jerusalem bus lines.
The station, however, does not only deal with intercity travel. Buses also depart to all the areas of the West Bank that are under Palestinian control. For less than seven and a half shekels, you can find yourself walking around in Ramallah. The ride, which takes less than an hour, takes you to a completely different world.

Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Opinion, Recent Posts | Comments Off

Arabs recognize Israeli physicians

Posted on April 30, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

Israelis at Dubai conference were ‘well treated’

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
30/04/2012, Jerusalem Post

Despite visa rejections, three cardiologists lecturing at Dubai conference say they were treated well.

The three Israeli cardiologists who lectured at a Dubai conference of the World Heart Federation a few weeks ago said that they were “treated well” by the United Arab Emirates authorities, even though over a dozen of their peers who were expected to participate but not speak were not given a visa at the last minute.
Prof. Sami Viskin, the director of cardiology at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, said Sunday that the three cardiologists were allowed to leave the hotel and even given VIP tours of the city by a “friendly escort.”
He added, however, that he objected to the fact that the other Israelis who were invited by the federation were not told until the day before their scheduled departure that the Dubai authorities had not given them a visa.
Sourasky director-general Prof. Gabi Barbash, who also attended, agreed that he and his two colleagues had been treated well by the Dubai authorities.

Continue reading →

Posted in Education Report, Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Recent Posts | Comments Off

Palestinian groups focus on hating Israel

Posted on April 29, 2012 by CNP Webmaster

Pro-Palestinian or Anti-Israel?

by Khaled Abu Toameh
April 26, 2012 at 5:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3035/pro-palestinian-anti-israel

It would also help immensely of these activists came to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to offer advice on, and help in building, proper government institutions, and in combatting administrative and financial corruption. But as far as many of the pro-Palestinian activists in the West Bank and Gaze are concerned, the interests of the Palestinians are not as important as hating Israel.

Pro-Palestinian groups and individuals in the US and Europe are doing Palestinians injustice by devoting all their energies only against Israel.

There is a feeling in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that most of these groups and individuals are more interested in campaigning against Israel than helping the Palestinians.

Being pro-Palestinian does not necessarily mean that one also has to be anti-Israel.

The pro-Palestinian camp in the West should raise its voice against violations of human rights and media freedoms under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

In the past few weeks, six Palestinian journalists, bloggers and cartoonists were arrested by security forces belonging to the Palestinian government in the West Bank.

The pro-Palestinian activists around the world chose to turn a blind eye to the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in the West Bank.

They also failed — even refused — to condemn the Palestinian Authority government’s decision to block web sites that are critical of Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.

The pro-Palestinian activists in the West also refuse to examine what is happening under Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They apparently do not care, or do not want to see, that there are executions, arbitrary arrests, and assaults against women and torture in Hamas prisons.

Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Opinion, Recent Posts | Comments Off