A Hard Look at the Numbers: What Actually Happened in the Iranian Presidential Election?

By ESAM AL-AMIN, counter punch Since the June 12 Iranian presidential elections, Iran “experts” have mushroomed like bacteria in a Petri dish. So here is a quiz for all those instant experts. Which major country has elected more presidents than any in the world since 1980? Further, which nation is the only one that held [...]

Palestinian plots up for grabs

By Dan Nolan in Haifa, Al Jazeera A Palestinian advocacy group is accusing Israel of removing by stealth, what Palestinians see as a one of the key elements of any future peace deal – the right of return for refugees. Adalah, a legal centre for Arab rights in Israel, claims that the possibility of Palestinians [...]

‘Color’ revolution fizzles in Iran

By M K Bhadrakumar, Jun 23, 2009, source Israelis are realists par excellence. This is why it is always gainful to buttonhole an Israeli counterpart over a single-malt on the diplomatic circuit. He will invariably weave into the tapestry of the plain tale a nylon thread until then obscure to the naked eye. Thus, the [...]

Iran: Police ‘did not shoot’ street protestors

Mon, 22 Jun 2009, PressTV Iranian security officials say they did not open fire on protestors during the post-election violence that killed over a dozen people in the country. Tehran Police Chief Azizallah Rajabzadeh said Monday that his department had no role in the shoot-out that has become the focus of most media outlets in [...]

Mixed priorities, who cares about the people of Gaza?-cartoon

Um Nedal: Dialogue with killers is futile: AMB condemn behavior of PA security apparatuses

GAZA, (PIC)– Palestinian lawmaker Maryam Farahat “Um Nedal” of Hamas Movement has urged Saturday her mother Movement to halt all forms of dialogue with the “killers”, adding that what was happening in the West Bank at the hands of Abbas-Fayyadh armed militia has nothing to do with Palestinian values and traditions. In an interview with [...]

Iran finds US-backed MKO fingermarks in riots

Sun, 21 Jun 2009, Press TV The terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) has reportedly played a major role in intensifying the recent wave of street violence in Iran. Iranian security officials reported Saturday that they have identified and arrested a large number of MKO members who were involved in recent riots in Iran’s capital. According [...]

Do We Really Care About Democracy?

By Charting Stocks – Charting Stocks After being victims of multiple false and propagandistic media campaigns one would think that we would be able to read between the lines when our mainstream media sources act in lockstep with one another in marketing the agenda du jour. Have we already forgotten the “flowers and candy” which [...]

The Tale of 3 Palestinian Villages

By Reham Alhelsi , Palestinian think tank Every year since June 1967, Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day. To Palestinians, it is a day to commemorate, to unite, and continue the fight for a free Palestine and a free Jerusalem. To Palestinians, Al Quds is not only the holy sites, the ancient houses and the beautifully old [...]

Loyalty to racism

Israel’s attempt to legislate loyalty to the Jewish state is proof of the failure of the Zionist/colonial project of Israelification, writes Azmi Bishara, source What is behind the latest wave of legislative proposals flooding the Knesset agenda? I refer specifically to those intended to curb manifestations of Palestinian patriotism and to restrict the political activity [...]

Humanitarian Rhetoric and U.S. Imperialism in Iran: The Electoral Façade

By ANTHONY DiMAGGIO , counter punch It is worth reflecting on one central question regarding Iran: why does the recent election enjoy so much attention in the U.S.? My research on Iran suggests that Americans’ attention to Iran revolves around two issues. More superficially, much of the Iran focus is motivated by the conflict over [...]

PA Still reticent over death of detainee in Mukhabarat (General Intelligence) custody

From Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank, source Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have been quite reticent over the death of Haitham Amr, a 28-year-old nurse, in PA custody in Hebron earlier this week. Amr, a father of two children, was arrested on Thursday, 11 June at his home, at the village of Beit al-Rush el-Fouga, [...]

Netanyahu Thumbs His Nose at Obama

By George S. Hishmeh, source Why didn’t Barack Obama call a spade a spade after Benjamin Netanyahu described his laughable vision of an emaciated Palestinian state alongside Israel? Of course, it is a well-known fact that politicians, and certainly most leaders, prefer to give the impression that the other party has yielded to their demands. [...]

Israelis never wanted peace but only control-cartoon

Beating and Torturing Children – All in a Day’s Work for the IDF/Canadian Ambassador Honored in Illegal Park

Beating and Torturing Children – All in a Day’s Work for the IDF By JONATHAN COOK, counter punch Nazareth. The rights of Palestinian children are routinely violated by Israel’s security forces, according to a new report that says beatings and torture are common. In addition, hundreds of Palestinian minors are prosecuted by Israel each year [...]