December 14th 1981 (25 years ago)

25 years ago, on 12/14/1981, the Knesset passed a law annexing the Syrian Golan heights to the state of Israel. This is a known fact, right? But it is very interesting how history gets written sometimes, specially when you read the NY Times article relating the news on that day.



JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 -- The contested Golan Heights formally became part of Israel today as Prime Minister Menachem Begin pushed a measure through Parliament to annex the strategic zone along the Syrian border. Officials said the new measure provided that ''the law, jurisdiction and administration of the state shall apply to the Golan Heights.''

[...]

The Reagan Administration said the annexation of the Golan Heights was inconsistent with the Camp David accords. A White House spokesman said the United States had been given no prior warning of the move. (Page A11.) (In Damascus, the Syrian Government called the Israeli action a "declaration of war" and asked for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Page A12.)

[...]

It was Syria's hard-line stance that Mr. Begin cited as an immediate reason for his action. He quoted a report in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai Al Amm on Sunday that President Hafez al-Assad of Syria had expressed the determination to refuse to recognize Israel "even if the Palestinians deign to do so."

[...]
The assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt is also seen as a factor, and the annexation as an attempt to test the new Egyptian Government of President Hosni Mubarak on its commitment to peace. The Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, Saad Mortada, objected to the move, but said the peace process would continue.

[...]
Mr. Begin initiated the annexation move after his release today from Hadassah Hospital, where he had been recuperating from a broken thigh suffered in a fall Nov. 26. He convened a Cabinet meeting in his home, and the ministers reportedly followed his lead without substantial dissent.

Parliament, with Mr. Begin attending the session in a wheelchair, was then asked to compress the three readings, votes and committee hearings required of all legislation into one evening.

The whole procedure,which took just six hours, was a display of Mr. Begin's political power and the disarray of the opposition. Mr. Begin said Israel had avoided consulting with the United States because to do so, to receive a "no" from Washington and then go ahead, "would have been much more serious" for American-Israeli relations.

"I say again to our American friends, we shall continue to be allies," the Prime Minister said, "but no one will dictate our lives to us, even the United States of America."
[...]


I don't know for you, but when I read this today, I was shocked on how the future of thousands of people was addressed. It is a shame, and this is not hatred because I believe that even some of the Israelis would feel the same if they knew this and I know of some who do. Israel is a democracy, but does a parliament hold enough power as to make such decisions??? And even if they do, how can it happen this way?

TunisNews.net:: La fin de l'expérience :(

Apres 7 ans et 7 mois (ironie du sort ?), l'équipe de TunisNews.net a décidé d'arrêter la diffusion de son "journal" quotidien qui compilait pour nous toute l'info "réelle" de notre pays et qui relayait les appels de nos opposants de l'intérieur comme de l'extérieur. C'est vraiment une grande perte pour moi personnellement.


Chers amiEs et lecteurEs
Notre équipe a décidé de mettre fin à l’expérience qui a duré 7 ans et 7 mois (du 1er mai 2000 au 30 novembre 2007).

Pour des raisons personnelles et de force majeure, les membres de l’équipe qui a essayé tout au long de ces années de fournir aux tunisien(NE)s une information quotidienne crédible, diversifiée et de qualité, ne peuvent plus continuer à travailler à ce rythme et à cette cadence.

Nous comptons sur votre compréhension pour notre décision et espérons parvenir à trouver une autre manière pour vous servir et contribuer ainsi au combat de tous les résistantEs tunisienNEs pour bâtir un pays meilleur et un avenir digne pour tous ses citoyens sans distinction aucune.

En attendant d’élaborer un nouveau projet qui peut être utile à nos concitoyens et pays, nous tenons à vous remercier pour votre soutien, votre confiance et vos encouragements.

L’équipe de TUNISNEWS
1er décembre 2007

P.S : Comme auparavant, notre site www.tunisnews.net restera à votre disposition. Il contient les archives complètes de la newsletter et un annuaire bien fourni contenant les principaux sites tunisiens d’information, d’idées et de débat.

Tragédie Baleinière!!!

Cela fait une semaine que tout les journaux de la Bay Area de San Francisco ne parlent que de cette tragédie. Des gardes-cotes aux scientifiques et experts, tout le monde ne parle que de cet effort de sauvetage de cette baleine et son petit!!



Deux baleines se sont égarées dimanche dans le fleuve Sacramento (Californie) jusqu'à 145km des côtes, avant de faire marche arrière et de reprendre leur route vers l'océan Pacifique, ont annoncé les gardes-côtes locaux.

Les deux cétacés, une femelle à bosse et son petit, ont repris leur nage vers l'océan à 15h30 locales et se trouvaient à environ huit kilomètres du port de Sacramento dimanche en fin d'après-midi, a indiqué le garde-côte Brian Leshak.

Si elles maintiennent leur vitesse et leur direction, les deux baleines devaient atteindre l'est de la baie de San Francisco peu après minuit heures locales, selon Brian Leshak. Elles semblent toutefois avoir été blessées par l'hélice d'un bateau.

"Rien n'a déclenché leur mouvement. Elles sont simplement reparties d'elles-mêmes", a-t-il déclaré.

Neuf bateaux des gardes-côtes suivaient les baleines pour s'assurer qu'elles se dirigeaient bien vers l'océan. Plusieurs milliers de personnes se sont rassemblées dimanche pour pouvoir assister au retour des baleines vers l'océan.

Pour y parvenir, elles devront éviter plusieurs obstacles, et notamment les pylones de quatre ponts, dont le célèbre Golden Gate, sous lequel elles devront passer. AP

Au fait je suis tres solidaire avce cet effort, mais j'ai un problème en comparant toutes les autres tragédies qui se passent dans le monde et auxquelles les médias locaux ne prêtent aucune attention. C'est ca les USA!!

PS: Il suffit de faire une recherche sur Google News sur "wayward whales" pour comprendre.

Can we learn from the current events??

Make Love, not War!!

MANILA, Philippines - More than 6,000 couples kissed simultaneously at midnight Saturday in the Philippines with organizers of the event claiming to have set a new world record.Organizers of the annual pre-Valentine's Day celebration said they broke the record held by Hungary, where 5,875 couples kissed simultaneously in Budapest in 2005.[...]Source

And don't forget to cash on it
Three Manchester Boots pharmacies will sell the prescription-only medication made by U.S. drugs group Pfizer in a pilot program from February 14.

Men aged between 30 and 65 suffering from erectile dysfunction will be able to buy four Viagra pills for 50 pounds ($97) without having to get a prescription from a doctor first.[...]Source

Still some are recidivists and don't learn from previous lessons.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. military officials on Sunday accused the highest levels of the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in
Iraq with sophisticated armor-piercing roadside bombs that have killed more than 170 troops from the American-led coalition[..] Source
If you're not convinced, here is the image that will make the case :-) This does remind me of the embarassing presentation that Colin Powell did at the UN, just before invading Iraq.
On the other hands, Washigton and Moscow are still cleaning their houses from the remains of the cold war.More here.

And others who never make love, Be it Valentine's day or Chinese new year of the pig!
JERUSALEM -
Israel's Cabinet voted to push ahead with construction work on a ramp leading to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem, despite objections from the Muslim world and violent Palestinian protests.
Tensions in the city have been high since last week, when Israel began work outside the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The new walkway is meant to replace an ancient earthen ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago.

Arab leaders have accused Israel of trying to harm Muslim holy sites. Israel denies the repair work and accompanying excavations will come anywhere near the compound.[...]Source


Oh, I forgot this dinosaur protected by "Socialist saints" and this Saffa7 in Egypt.

I will not finish without mentionning these articles who should have been on the first page on every newspaper, but hey, it is offer and demand and I am a biased african :-(

Nearly 60,000 evacuated in Mozambique floods in past week

Zimbabwe public sector crumbles as patience runs out

Somali rally for peace ends in violence