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THE HANDSTAND |
SEPTEMBER 2003 |
 STOP PRESSHow To Order"The Case For A GM-Free Sustainable World", the final report of the Independent Science Panel, is now available in hard copy! Get your copy now at the ISP online store (www.indsp.org) or the ISIS online store (www.i-sis.org.uk). Copies retail at £7.00 each. (not including postage and packing). Alternatively you can send a cheque to : The Institute of Science in Society , P.O. Box 32097 , London NW1 OXR Please include £1.00 P & P for Uk or £2.00 P & P for Overseas Twenty-five Israelis and Palestinians, all from mental-health related professions, met for three days in Stuttgart, Germany. They got together to consider the outcomes of the violence that is ravaging our region, on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. The meeting was conducted under the banner of “Mental health in times of crisis”. Experts reported that Israeli research shows large parts of Israeli society to have been exposed, in one way or another, to terrorism. Nearly half of Israel’s population suffers from stress and post-traumatic symptoms. Palestinian society reflects a similar picture. And from both sides of the border, increasing amounts of violence burst through, bringing further violence in their wake. A researcher from Tel Aviv University claimed that social violence evolves into chain reactions much like in radioactivity – chain reactions that cannot be halted. Nablus Aron 18 Sep 03 On Friday night, 12th Sept soldiers entered the old city section of Nablus and during their "Operation", shot to death an 82 year old man who glanced out his window at the disturbance below. The Israeli Occupying Force entered Nablus Sunday night Sept 14th, including many soldiers, jeeps and tanks. An advance group of IOF, probably Special Forces entered the old city in a stolen Palestinian car and Volkswagen van. During this incursion one bystander was shot. One of the soldiers used a small boy as a human shield to enter a wanted mans house, where he shot a man before arresting and removing him. The army has entered Nablus during the past three nights straight, shooting, arresting, killing, injuring and detonating explosives. On Monday night two men were arrested and taken away during the night. They were political activists with Hamas, Iad Abu Zahara (27) and his father (60). On Tuesday night one man was killed during a shoot out, a 19 year old Islamic Jihad member, the house he was in was damaged by the IOF using explosives. ISM has documented and witnessed some of the incursions by the IOF. During the day members of ISM have been going to monitor various situations and checkpoints. On Sat 13th I went to Saba Tash, a section of road and surrounding area between Nablus and Assira, a village beside the city of Nablus, and found approx. 50 people detained there. They were detained for approx 7 hours before being released. 500m down the road another 50-60 people were detained for approx. 7 hours. At Saba Tash, one Jordanian man was arrested, had his hands tied with cable ties, was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. At Saba Tash many of the detained where teachers as they were told previously they could pass that way. One woman was 5 months pregnant, another had a small girl with her. One old woman had heart problems and was trying to go to hospital. In addition to being detained all were turned back, including the old woman trying to reach hospital. I again returned to Saba Tash on Tues 16th to find approx 30 people detained. They were detained for various amounts of time, mostly over 3 hours. As some were released, (and turned back), more were detained. A group of 10 men were released after some hours and then redetained 10 minutes later and sent back to be detained for another 2-3 hours. Two men were arrested, cable tied and taken away. This is only one check point of many around Nablus and hundreds around the West Bank. Friday 05 September 2003, 19:43 Makka Time, 16:43 GMT An Aljazeera correspondent has been arrested by the Spanish police after they accused him of having "links" with al-Qaida. Taysir Alouni, one of the channel's most high-profile journalists, was arrested at 12:00 GMT while on holiday near the southern Spanish city of Granada. His wife told Aljazeera that police arrived at their Alfacar home with a warrant for his arrest. "Police in civilian clothes came to our door with a warrant to search the house and to arrest Taysir because he they said he was a member of al-Qaida," she said. Al-Qaida Police then took Alouni to Madrid after accusing him of using his profession to enter into contact with "terrorists". They have accused him of having connections with Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, who was arrested on suspicion of being the ringleader of an Islamist cell which Spanish authorities dismantled in November 2001. Spanish intelligence sources told Aljazeera that Alouni is being held under anti-terrorist legislation. The laws allow police to detain suspects for three days without access to lawyers or family. They said he was arrested on the orders of Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, best known for an unsuccessful bid to put former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on trial. It is thought the police want to try him before a special tribunal which specialises in cases of terrorism and organised crime. Condemnation :Soon after the arrest an Arab rights body called for Alouni's release.The Arab Commission for Human Rights told Aljazeera the Spanish action was a serious attack on press freedom.It said the arrest dishonoured Spain and the police should apologise immediately to Alouni and his family.Alouni, who rose to prominence during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, is of Syrian origin but is a Spanish citizen. He narrowly escaped death when US warplanes bombed the Kabul offices of Aljazeera during the closing days of the war to oust the Taliban in November 2001. High-profile: He was one of Aljazeera's eight correspondents in Iraq and was expelled by Iraqi authorities during the war. Alouni worked as a translator during the 1990s for Spain's EFE news agency.He later moved with his family to Afghanistan and stayed there until the Taliban were overthrown by the Americans in 2001.He is currently trying to set up an Aljazeera office in Madrid. http://english.aljazeera.net/Articles/News/GlobalNews /Aljazeera+correspondent+arrested.htm IAEA TO DISCUSS ISRAELI NUKES FOR FIRST TIME Friday, August 29 2003 Palestine Chronicle http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20030829193511405 "The sources said this is the first time in decades that the IAEA has placed Israel's nuclear programs on the agenda of its general conference" LONDON - The International Atomic Energy Agency has decided to discuss Israeli nuclear capabilities in its next major conference. Diplomatic sources said the IAEA has placed on the agenda of its General Conference and Regular Session the subject of "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threats." The subject will be discussed at the conference in Vienna in September. The sources said this is the first time in decades that the IAEA has placed Israel's nuclear programs on the agenda of its general conference. The conference has been planned from Sept. 15 to Sept. 19, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the subject was placed at the behest of Arab and Islamic states. The proposal to discuss Israel's nuclear programs came from the Arab League, the diplomats said. Oman was said to have submitted the request. The IAEA has reserved the conference to also discuss Iran's nuclear program and U.S. charges that Teheran is developing nuclear weapons. In response, Iran and Arab states have criticized the agency for failing to address Israel's purported nuclear arsenal. In a recent meeting, the Arab League has asserted that Israel has stockpiled up to 300 nuclear warheads. The league said Israel now has the capability of producing hydrogen bombs. The sources said the Arab League plans to distribute a study on Israel's nuclear programs to participants at the IAEA conference. The league will also demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Source: WORLD TRIBUNE.COM ********************************************************** From: prc Harper Collins says: "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel" Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 , It has come to our attention that the Harper Collins publisher has published "The Collins mini Atlas of the World" in which they state that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel (page 136). As you know, it is an established principle of international law that no territory can be acquired by force. Israel's occupation of the western part of Jerusalem in 1948 and the eastern part in 1967 violated UN Resolution 181 which designated the city a corpus separatum under UN supervision. Let us remember here the SC Resolution 476 [30th June 1980] which, "reconfirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity." Furthermore, SC Resolution 476 [29th August 1980] declares that Israel's enactment of its 'basic law' on Jerusalem "constitutes a violation of international law." On the basis of this evidence we call upon all of you to write to Harper Collins to express your profound shock and resentment with this citation and seek immediate clarification, and demand them to retract this statement from their atlas. To contact them:Harper Collins Publishers, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London. W6 8JB. UK Telephone: 0870 787 1724 Fax: 0141 306 3767 Email: webcontact@harpercollins.co.uk Thank you. Sincerely, Majed al Zeer (Director) The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) is a Palestinian establishment that is primarily concerned with the problem of the dispersed Palestinians and their struggle to return to their homes. It is, in nature, an academic and media institution that aspires to serve as an information repository and forum of political activity on the Palestinian question and the issue of the return in particular. PRC, Crown House, North Circular Road, London NW10 7PN, U.K. Tel : ++44 208 4530919 Fax : ++44 208 4530994 E-mail: info@prc.org.uk Website: www.prc.org.uk ****************************************************************** ..record low coffee prices, BUT NOT IN THE COFFEE-CUP!!! SOJOURNERS and Co-op America want to call your attention to an appalling imbalance in the coffee industry. Coffee farmers around the world are being hit by record low coffee prices. Thousands of farmers are facing starvation and losing their land. Fair trade, which organizes farmers into democratic cooperatives and guarantees them a fair price for their harvest, offers hope to these farmers, their families, and their communities. Procter & Gamble, which owns Folgers and Millstone, could more than quadruple the amount of fair trade coffee sold in the United States by making just 5 percent of their coffee purchases fair trade. This increase would make a difference for coffee farmers worldwide. Procter & Gamble has yet to commit to Fair Trade Certified coffee. They need a strong message from consumers. Email or write a letter to Procter & Gamble and tell them to brew some Justice with your Java! Act today to help coffee farmers. For more information, http://go.sojo.net/campaign/fair_trade_coffee/8udk5e9z783mde.  Protest to Preserve
Denmark's hippy enclaveThousands of people have held a protest in Copenhagen to voice support for the city's famed hippy enclave Christiania. The crowd was protesting against government plans to build expensive homes in the area. Up to 7,000 people turned out for the protest, including many of the area's 1,000 residents, known as Christianites. They waved banners and Christiania's flag - three yellow dots on a red background - many of them openly smoking marijuana. "The government doesn't want ordinary Danes to see that there is an alternative way to live," writer Ebbe Kloevedal Reich told supporters. Christiania - the name given to the area by its hippy inhabitants - is a former 18th Century navy fort, occupying 34 hectares (84 acres) of state-owned land behind Copenhagen's old ramparts. The hippies moved into the derelict area in 1971. The flower-power community supported nudity and free marijuana and opposed the concepts of government and police. It also opposed European integration. Kjeld Olesen, who served as a Social Democratic foreign and defence minister in the 1960s and 1970s, was among the protesters. "Christiania is here to
stay," he told the Associated Press news agency.
"Technically speaking, Christiania is
"When I am asked who I am, I say, I am an African who was born in America. Both answers connect me specifically with my past and present ... therefore I bring to my art a quality which is rooted in the culture of Africa ... and expanded by the experience of being in America. I use the vehicle of 'fine art' and 'illustration' as a viable expression of form, yet striving always to do this from an African perspective, an African world view, and above all to tell the African story ... this is my content. The struggle to create artwork as well as to live creatively under any conditions and survive (like my ancestors), embodies my particular heritage in America." Tom Feelings  ************************************************************* |
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