Cliffhanger
May 31, 2009
Cliffhanger is a 1993 action film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone plays a climber, who becomes embroiled in a failed heist set in a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film was a huge hit, making more than $250 million worldwide.
In the opening scene, hotshot mountain climber and rescue worker Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) meets with his friends Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker) and Jessie Deighan (Janine Turner) on a narrow peak in the Rocky Mountains. While moving from one mountaintop to a helicopter via a steel cable, Hal’s girlfriend Sarah’s (Michelle Joyner) harness breaks and she is left dangling over a deep chasm. While the others frantically come up with a solution, Gabe straps himself in and goes out to save Sarah, but is unsuccessful and she falls to her death at the bottom of a mountain.
Eight months later, Gabe returns to town for the first time since Sarah’s funeral. Overcome with guilt over having lost Sarah, Gabe has returned only to pack up his remaining possessions so he can leave permanently. However, a radio distress call comes in to the local rescue center where Hal and Jessie still work. Hal heads off to find the stranded climbers while Jessie pleads with Gabe to join Hal’s rescue attempt. Battling his inner demons, Gabe meets Hal on the mountain, where the latter, still angry with Gabe for being unsuccessful at saving Sarah, lashes out and almost throws Gabe off the cliff.
The rescue turns out to be a fake; the two climbers are taken prisoner by ruthless thieves led by Eric Qualen (John Lithgow), who seeks to recover three suitcases containing $100 million in uncirculated US currency belonging to the United States Department of the Treasury. With the aid of turncoat Treasury agent Richard Travers (Rex Linn), Qualen and his associates attempt to steal the suitcases via a daring air-to-air transfer, but the transfer is foiled and the three suitcases are lost among the mountains. The thieves’ plane loses power during the attempt and crashes. The suitcases holding the money have beacon locators, but the thieves need expert help locating them in the mountainous terrain, thus prompting them to summon the unwitting Gabe and Hal to their aid.
The group locates the first of the three cases, and Gabe is tethered to a rope and ordered to scale a steep wall to retrieve it. Gabe frees himself from the rope, and the group begins firing up the cliff, causing an avalanche which kills one of Qualen’s men. Seeing the money flutter down from the top of the cliff, Qualen presumes Gabe dead and orders the group to proceed to the second case.
Gabe survives the avalanche and makes his way to an abandoned cabin where he finds Jessie, who was airlifted into the area earlier. Together, they reach the second case only moments before Qualen and his mercenaries arrive. They find the case empty (except for a single $1,000 bill with the words “Want to Trade?” written on it) and split up to find Gabe. A fight ensues between Gabe and one of the thieves, resulting in the latter plummeting into the darkness. The thieves, with Hal still as their guide, make their way to the abandoned cabin for the night. Meanwhile, Gabe and Jessie hole up in a cave and stay warm by burning the money they found to stoke their fire.
The following morning, Gabe and Jessie attempt to beat the thieves to the remaining case. Qualen flags down and commandeers a rescue helicopter while Travers, Hal, and the last remaining mercenary track the case. Once within a reasonably close distance to the case, Travers leaves the mercenary to kill Hal, only to find that Gabe has beaten him to the case once again. Gabe kills Travers while Hal manages to dump the remaining mercenary, Delmar, off a cliff. Meanwhile, Jessie, who signaled the rescue helicopter thinking it to be a fellow rescue team member, is taken hostage by Qualen.
Communicating by radio, Qualen and Gabe make a deal to exchange Jessie for the money Gabe collected from the third case. Qualen releases Jessie, but Gabe throws the bag of money into the helicopter’s rotors. In the following confusion, Qualen’s helicopter falls precariously against the side of the mountain, suspended by a steel cable. Gabe and Qualen fight atop the dangling wreck. Gabe manages to jump off as the wreckage plummets several thousand feet, carrying Qualen with it. After which, Tucker quotes “If you’re looking for Qualen, look about 4000 feet south of here. He’ll be the one wearing a Helicopter.” The film ends as Gabe, Hal, and Jessie are found by federal agents and rescued.
for cliffhanger
Cevaer and Singh share lead at European Open
May 31, 2009
ASH, England (AP) — Christian Cevaer of France made a 12-foot birdie putt on his last hole Saturday to share the Europen Open lead with Jeev Milkha Singh of India.
Cevaer’s birdie, only the second on the wind-swept final green in the third round, gave him a 70 that put him at 9-under 207. Singh, the overnight leader, made birdies at four of the last six holes for a 71 after struggling with five bogeys on the first 11.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Irleand finished strongly for a 68 that gave him a share of third place with Chris Wood (68) of England and Alvaro Quiros (69) of Spain at 6-under 210.
Cevear set up his final birdie with a strong approach after a perfect drive.
“It’s a great feeling when those shots come off like that, perfect,” said Cevaer, who had three birdies and one bogey in his round. “I’m happy to be swinging well and I enjoyed it very much.”
Singh struggled through the early holes in the breezy conditions on a course with deep rough.
“It’s almost a U.S. Open setup,” he said. “At the fourth hole I was in deep rough with a lob wedge in my hand, and moved the ball just six inches.”
But he birdied the 13th after a fine drive, the 14th with a 20-foot putt and the long 15th with a chip to three feet. Then he saved his best shot of the day for the 225-yard 17th.
“It was a 3-iron cut against the breeze,” he said. “Then I made a 15-footer” for the birdie.
McIlroy had three birdies and an eagle over the first 13 holes, bogeyed the 14th but finished strongly with four straight pars.
“You have to make your score on the front nine with four of the first holes playing downwind. Then you hang on,” he said.
Sergio Garcia was one of many to make a triple-bogey seven at the last hole, finishing with a 74 for a share of 47th.
Pablo Larrazabal (79) of Spain was in last place after taking a nine on the par-three 17th. His tee shot landed in a bush and he had two penalty drops and a whiff left-handed before holing a 9-footer.
“It was a good nine,” he said.
golf.com
Defence Daily Industry
May 31, 2009
South Korea Looking to Upgrade its KF-16s
31-May-2009 17:20 EDT
Related Stories: Americas – USA, Asia – Other, Avionics, Fighters & Attack, Lockheed Martin, Other Corporation, Radars, Raytheon, Rumours, Support Functions – Other
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The Korea times reports that ROKAF is looking to upgrade its F-16C/D fleet’s radar and armament, as part of the 2010-2014 arms acquisition and management package being submitted to President Lee Myung-bak for approval. The ROKAF currently operates about 135 “KF-16” fighters, many of which were built in Korea between 1994-2004 under a $5.5 billion licensing agreement.
Key upgrades will include new radars to replace the existing APG-68v5/v7 systems, avionics and computers, and improving cabling and databuses to MIL-STD-1760 so that the aircraft will be able to carry GPS-guided weapons, AIM-9X Sidewider missiles, and other new equipment. The Korea Times reports that IAI’s EL/M-2032 radar, which equips many Israeli F-16s, has been exported to several countries and aircraft models, and will equip the ROKAF’s future F/A-50 lightweight fighters, is receiving strong consideration.
That Korea Times report adds that US weapons export restrictions are playing a role in this choice, and a recent official request to the USA appears to confirm their story…
- Korea’s KF-16 Radar Dilemma
- Contracts and Key Events
- Additional Readings
Continue Reading… »
DARPA Program Reaches for Better Prosthetics
31-May-2009 16:21 EDT
Related Stories: Americas – USA, Design Innovations, Electronics – General, Medical, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D – Contracted, Testing & Evaluation
not DARPA
(click for more)
A February 2008 Pentagon DefenseLINK story touted the progress of prosthetic limb development, fueled by a combination of combat need and the steadily advancing capabilities inherent in modern electronics and robotics. Army Col. Geoff Ling manages DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics programs.
For instance, researchers at Dean Kamen’s DEKA Research and Development Corp. in Manchester, NH (inventors of the Segway, the stair-climbing iBot wheelchair, and those PowerSwim fins that I want), have developed a “strap-and-go-arm” that requires no surgery, just 1-2 hours of training. The process of picking up a pen, key, coffee cup, or power drill obviously differs. Embedded electronics in DEKA’s arm enable the wearer to activate a switch with a foot or chin, to cycle through 5 different gripping actions to match the task at hand. One tester who lost his arm at the shoulder was reportedly able to field strip and reassemble an M-16 rifle using the prosthesis, which comes in 3 models: [1] amputees who have lost a complete arm, [2] amputations above the elbow, and [3] amputations below the elbow. See a picture here.
A recent program begins the first large-scale testing of an advanced artificial arm that can pick up a key or hold a pencil…
Continue Reading… »
$120M to BAE Systems, L-3 for Maintenance of Aussie F/A-18s
31-May-2009 15:16 EDT
Related Stories: Americas – Other, Australia & S. Pacific, BAE, Bases & Infrastructure, Contracts – Awards, Fighters & Attack, L3 Communications, Support & Maintenance
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BAE Systems Australia and L-3 MAS Canada received a contract from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to provide long-term maintenance and modification support for the RAAF’s F/A-18 Hornet fighters. The 4-year initial contract period (2009–2012) has extension options until 2018 and has a potential total value of approximately AUD$150 million ($120 million equivalent). According to Wikipedia, which cites Flight International, the RAAF had 55 F/A-18A and 16 F/A-18Bs in operation as of late 2008.
BAE Systems Australia’s Managing Director Jim McDowell said the contract was a key element in sustaining the fast jet support capability. BAE Systems is building new facilities at RAAFB Williamtown, which will provide the basis for future support not only of the RAAF Hornet aircraft but also the Joint Strike Fighter that will eventually replace them. BAE Systems is also expanding its workforce by another 40 positions at RAAFB Williamtown. Defpro | Montreal Gazette.
RAAF Base Williamtown is located 14 kilometers (9 miles) north of Newcastle, New South Wales. Williamtown is currently home to F/A-18 Hornet fighters (No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit, No. 3 Squadron, and No. 77 Squadron), BAE Hawk 127 Lead-In Fighters (No. 76 Squadron), and Pilatus PC-9 training aircraft operated by the Forward Air Control Development Unit.
US man fined in Israeli spy case
May 31, 2009
US man fined in Israeli spy case
Kadish said he had made a mistake in sharing the confidential papers
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An 85-year-old former civilian employee of the US Army has been fined for passing classified documents to Israel in the 1980s.
Ben-Ami Kadish was spared jail because of his age and health, but ordered to pay $50,000 (£31,000) by a US court.
The judge said the case was “shrouded in mystery” and he was surprised it took the FBI so long to charge Kadish.
Kadish said: “I thought I was helping the state of Israel without harming the United States.”
Prosecutors said that between 1980 and 1985 Kadish provided information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles to an Israeli agent, Yosef Yagur, who photographed the documents at Kadish’s residence.
“Why it took the government 23 years to charge Mr Kadish is shrouded in mystery,” US District Judge William Pauley said during sentencing in Manhattan federal court.
“It is clear the (US) government could have charged Mr Kadish with far more serious crimes.”
‘A mistake’
Kadish was arrested in April 2008 and pleaded guilty to being an unregistered agent of Israel in December.
Court documents showed that Yosef Yagur was also the main Israeli contact for Jonathan Pollard, an American sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel in the 1980s.
The judge said he had given Kadish a lenient sentence, but that he had committed “a grave offence” and had “abused the trust” of the US.
Kadish told the court: “It was a mistake. It was a misjudgment.”
Kadish was born in the US but grew up in Palestine before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
bbc.co.uk
A month of Nato exercises in Georgia
May 31, 2009
Nato Georgian exercise nears end
Georgia has again shown its desire to join Nato by hosting the exercises
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A month of Nato exercises in Georgia are coming to an end amid continuing Russian anger over the drills.
Russia, which fought a short war with Georgia last year, has condemned the exercises as “provocative”.
The drills have been taking place close to South Ossetia, where Russian troops remain based following the war.
Within South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia recognised as independent by Russia, parliamentary elections are taking place on Sunday.
Officials in the South Ossetia were quick to suggest Nato’s military exercises had ulterior motives.
“We do not rule out that the Nato-led exercises in Georgia are deliberately held in order to thwart the election in South Ossetia,” Ossetian Foreign Minister Murat Dzhioyev said on Friday.
Mutiny accusations
About 700 soldiers from 13 countries have taken part in the Nato exercises in Georgia, which culminate on Sunday with a field day of manoeuvres.
At the start of the exercise Nato set up a staff headquarters at the Vaziani military base outside the capital Tbilisi.
The first “command post” exercise focused on co-ordinating Nato procedures in a crisis-response situation.
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A second and larger exercise, based on peacekeeping training, runs until 3 June.
Nato has denied the exercises are aimed at Russia or Georgia’s breakaway regions, either in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another pro-Russian territory.
Russia regards South Ossetia as an independent state within its sphere of influence.
The BBC’s Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi says that in hosting the exercises, Georgia has again demonstrated its wish to join Nato, though there is still no timetable for its eventual membership, he adds.
Russia strongly opposes Georgian ambitions to join the military alliance.
President Dmitry Medvedev has described the exercises as “dangerous” because they are taking place in close proximity to South Ossetia where Russian troops are stationed.
He also described them as “provocative” because they come so soon after the brutal conflict between Georgia and Russia.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have remained at a low ebb in the wake of the war.
A brief mutiny suppressed by Georgian soldiers before the start of the military exercise at the start of May was blamed on Russia as part of a coup which aimed to kill Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Russia denied the accusation, calling it “mad”.
bbc.co.uk
Tiananmen will not be forgotten
May 31, 2009
Tourists flock in their hundreds of thousands to Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing.
Kate Adie found herself playing cat and mouse with the secret police
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They can marvel at history in the Forbidden City and gaze at modern China’s fashionably dressed citizens dodging shoals of Mercedes.
What they will not see is any hint of the recent past in Tiananmen Square – there is nothing which commemorates the deaths of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people in June 1989, the massacre which brought a brutal end to many weeks of demonstrations.
Twenty years later, we wanted to make a programme about what happened to those caught up in the events – the student leaders, the workers and those who were injured or knew someone who had died.
And because recent history has been re-written by the Chinese authorities, we anticipated problems.
We applied for the official “journalist visas”, announced during last year’s Olympic Games – offering greater openness and freedom for the foreign press.
Engaging ineptitude
After months of waiting – and advice from Chinese journalists that hen’s teeth might be more available – we entered the country on tourist visas.
Our first two days of filming involved uniformed policemen sticking their white-gloved hands in front of the lens, while their plainclothes counterparts attempted to tail us through heavy traffic in Chengdu – with engaging ineptitude.
At one point we were followed by five vehicles, all of which appeared to have no idea how to tail anyone – especially when we abandoned our driver and hopped on a bus.
At one point we made a detour to avoid leading them to an interviewee – who is known to the police for dissident views – and I ended up in an organic farm talking earnestly to a rather puzzled man about cabbages while the police officers bobbed up and down behind a field of flowering rapeseed.
It would all seem something of a cat and mouse game for us, except for the fact that the people we were intending to interview all suffer endless harassment and surveillance – and have done ever since 1989.
As we slipped our “tail” and organised a rendez-vous in safe and discreet locations, we became ever more aware of the mammoth security system which can be brought to bear on those whom the state designates “trouble-makers”.
Security cameras
Tourists probably don’t notice that Beijing boasts 280,000 security cameras; it is rumoured that the muscular lads who offer to be guides in Tiananmen Square, sell you postcards and ice-cream, are all members of the secret police.
Zhang Xianling founded Tiananmen Mothers after losing her son
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The people we spoke to frequently find police outside their flat, cameras trained on their front door and their phones tapped.
It is no wonder that they used their mobiles (several!) to arrange to meet us.
What is surprising – and impressive – is their determination to talk about what happened, bear witness to the massacre and explain why they continue to demand that the authorities admit what they did to their own people.
They talk of being spirited from their homes every time there is a “sensitive time” – such as Party congresses or the Olympics, and being taken hundreds of miles away so that journalists cannot find them.
Many have been imprisoned for speaking out, yet they will not give up and their determination is breath-taking.
There’s Mrs Zhang, founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group which supports those who lost their sons and daughters, killed by an army which was firing relentlessly all the way into the city.
Her son was shot – he had no idea what was happening when he went out “just to take some photographs”.
She speaks with great dignity, one of the few voices among 1.3 billion who want the truth acknowledged – and who speak of their hopes for justice and more freedom.
Kate Adie Returns to Tiananmen Square will be on BBC Two at 9pm on Wednesday 3 June 2009.
bbc.co.uk
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By Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a problem.
Something has changed in Washington. This new US President, Barack Obama, is unlike any that an Israeli leader has faced before.
Certainly he shares Washington’s traditional concerns for Israel’s security. But his election victory marked a defeat for the neo-conservative Right and the Christian fundamentalists, the ideological camps that have provided the backbone of uncritical support for Israel over recent years.
Mr Obama’s popularity extends to America’s influential Jewish community – an overwhelming majority of whom voted for him.
The change in mood also extends to Capitol Hill where, when Mr Netanyahu visited Washington, he was left in no doubt that the president’s approach is supported by many of Israel’s longstanding friends in Congress.
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 The message has been repeated again and again; no settlement building – period  |
We already know a good deal about Mr Obama’s approach to the Middle East, and we will know a good deal more after his keynote speech due in Cairo in early June.
For a start he has decided to grapple with the Israel-Palestinian issue from the outset of his presidency.
He has appointed a foreign policy team well versed in the intricacies of the region, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself, to his veteran peace envoy George Mitchell, and his National Security Adviser General James Jones.
Mr Obama also sees the problems of the region as interlinked. He wants to consolidate a broad Arab coalition against Iran even as he reaches out to Tehran.
To do this he believes that he needs progress on the Palestinian track.
This requires tangible changes on the West Bank to bolster the position of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. This is why discussion has so quickly come to focus on one crucial issue – Israeli settlements.
‘Natural growth’
The tone and content of the Obama administration’s pronouncements on the settlement issue are clear and to the point.
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WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
 Construction of settlements began in 1967, shortly after the Six Day War
Some 280,000 Israelis now live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank
A further 190,000 Israelis live in settlements in Palestinian East Jerusalem
The largest West Bank settlement is Maale Adumim, where more than 30,000 people were living in 2005
There are 102 unauthorised outposts which are not officially sanctioned by Israel
Source: Peace Now
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The US wants a halt to settlement building. Now.
Mr Netanyahu seems to have at least half got the message.
He is trying to devise some sort of compromise whereby Israel will remove outposts seen as illegal even under Israeli law, but will continue to build in existing settlements to cope with what Israeli spokesmen call their “natural growth”.
But this “natural growth” argument is not getting any traction in Washington.
The message has been repeated again and again; no settlement building – period.
Mr Netanyahu may well argue that he is constrained by his highly conservative cabinet, but that argument too is unlikely to carry any weight with Mr Obama.
What is clear, though, is that Mr Netanyahu has little room to manoeuvre.
One issue dominates his thinking – not the Palestinians but the potential nuclear threat from Iran.
Iranian threat
Mr Netanyahu believes the threat from Iran is imminent
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It is impossible to overemphasise the hold this issue has on the Israeli political leadership of all parties.
Iran is seen as presenting an existential threat to the Jewish state.
Mr Netanyahu’s greatest priority is to maintain good relations with Mr Obama in order to face up to the Iranian threat when the moment of crisis comes.
And make no mistake, Mr Netanyahu believes that the crisis will come on his watch.
So Mr Netanyahu certainly has a problem. But many other factors are in play too and there is much that we still do not know about Mr Obama’s approach to the region.
On the Palestinian front, how far will he push Mr Abbas to form a unity government? In the absence of such unity, will America simply ignore the situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip?
And what about the Syrian track? Mr Obama is being very cautious about engagement with Damascus, but might this provide an option on which Israel and the US can agree, especially if the Palestinian track falters?
Some of this may become clear after the president’s Cairo speech. He wants Israel to make concessions. But he also wants the Arab world as a whole to begin to shift its stance towards Israel.
It is a hugely ambitious approach. Many hardened pundits remain sceptical.
Does Mr Obama have the staying power and will he continue to have the diplomatic capital to invest in this issue? Those are two of the biggest questions of all.
bbc.co.uk
Loyal to who?
May 31, 2009
Israeli Arabs defiant on ‘loyalty laws’ plan
The BBC’s Heather Sharp reports from the Israeli-Arab town of Um al-Fahm, where residents are angry over two proposed laws apparently aimed at increasing their loyalty to the state of Israel.
Next year, Suleiman Fahmawi hopes to march to his parents’ old village
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“They’re welcome to jail us,” says Suleiman Fahmawi.
He is planning next year’s Nakba march, even though it could be illegal.
Every year, as Israelis celebrate their independence with flags and barbecues, he organises mourning marches to destroyed Arab villages.
In the 1948 Nakba, or “catastrophe”, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes as Israel claimed its independence.
A controversial bill backed by a government committee in Israel’s Knesset last week is seeking to ban marking it in Israel.
Next year’s planned march is to the village Mr Fahmawi says his parents were forced from three years before his birth.
They remained in Israel, meaning he was born into the conflicted situation of the state’s Israeli-Arab minority – Israeli citizens who identify themselves with Palestinians.
‘Fifth column’
The bill, proposed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s far-right party Yisrael Beiteinu, is part of what many see as a drive to demand deeper loyalty from Israeli Arabs.
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 They are deleting our memory… They’re going to delete our language, our Arabic street names… We’ll become Jewish Nasreen Abu Bakr
Israeli-Arab artist  |
They make up 20% of Israel’s population and face widely documented discrimination, but are feared by some Israelis as a potentially hostile “fifth column”.
Mr Lieberman’s party also wants all Israeli citizens to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state and perform some form of national service.
Member of parliament Alex Miller, who proposed what is being called the Nakba bill, says citizens who want equal rights should shoulder “equal responsibilities”, and not “go on demonstrations against the existence of the state”.
The town of Um al-Fahm, where Mr Fahmawi lives, is in some ways a symbol of the issues that irk Yisrael Beiteinu.
Clusters of new-looking red-roofed villas declare at least modest prosperity amid the battered pavements and dense jumble of concrete houses.
Many residents work in construction, commuting to Israel’s mainly Jewish towns.
But the green flags of the Islamic Movement, which controls the council, flutter on lampposts.
‘They control everything’
Last Nakba day, its deputy leader declared “the Zionist sun will set, as the sun of the Islamic state rises”.
Its head has previously accused Jews of using children’s blood to bake bread and called for Jerusalem to be the seat of a wide-reaching Muslim state, or caliphate.
In offices adorned with photos of the iconic Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem, sits Abdelhakeem Mufeed, editor of the movement’s newspaper.
Abdelhakeem Mufeed says his loyalty is “to Palestine, not Israel”
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His voice rises at the suggestion his leaders’ statements might alarm Israelis. “You care for the Israelis? Why are they afraid when they control everything? The Palestinians are the ones who are suffering!”
He believes clashes – and possibly even a third intifada or uprising – will result if the bills are pushed through.
“Our loyalty is to our nation, Palestine, not Israel. We cannot be loyal to the country that demolished our houses, the one responsible for our Nakba,” he says.
But the Islamic Movement by no means represents the feelings of all Israeli Arabs.
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ISRAELI-ARABS
About 1.2m, a fifth of Israel’s population, are Israeli-Arabs
They are citizens of Israel, but face widely documented discrimination
Outgoing PM Ehud Olmert said there is “no doubt” Israeli-Arabs have faced discrimination for “many years”
Israeli-Arabs own 3.5% of Israel’s land, get 3-5% of government spending and have higher poverty levels than Jewish Israelis*
There are 12 Israeli-Arabs in the 120-seat Knesset, 10 representing [primarly] Arab parties
*Source: Mossawa Center
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Further down the town’s steep streets, Said Abu Shakra shows me round the white-walled art gallery he founded 13 years ago.
It promotes dialogue by hosting work by Palestinian, Jewish and international artists.
“Of course, I accept Israel’s existence,” he says. “In spite of all our history… We have to look forward.”
Mr Abu Shakra understands why statements such as those of the Islamic Movement worry Israelis, but feels they are taken to represent the wider population in a way that the rhetoric of Jewish extremists is not.
Installation artist and painter Nasreen Abu Bakr, 31, has just returned from visiting a Jewish friend.
“In reality there is a state of Israel, but I inside I still have a problem with it. There is a conflict between my identity and my life in Israel,” she says.
Ms Abu Bakr says the two bills will be a “disaster” if they pass – although they face many hurdles.
“They are deleting our memory and they’re not going to stop here. They’re going to delete our language, our Arabic street names. We’ll become Jewish.”
‘It’s part of staying’
Many people in Um al-Fahm do not feel they owe Israel anything beyond the taxes they already pay.
They blame Israeli under-investment for the lack of work in the town, and say they have little option but to work for Jewish Israelis.
“Israel does not give us our rights,” says Mr Fahmawi, “we take them”.
In his comfortable house he says he battled discrimination to become a civil engineer and now works for both Jewish and Arab companies.
“It’s business,” he says. “And I want to stay in this land – living and working is part of staying.”
Analysts say the gap between Jewish and Arab Israelis is growing.
An annual Haifa University survey recently found only 53% of Israeli-Arabs recognised Israel’s right to exist, down from 81% in 2003, while 40% denied the Holocaust, up from 28% in 2006.
Israeli-Arabs cite the recent Gaza and Lebanon wars and ongoing discrimination as reasons, while some in Israel fear such findings show Israeli-Arabs becoming more radical.
Even with Israel’s right-leaning government, the two draft bills are drawing vocal opposition and may never become law.
But many fear that they are already widening the gulf.
bbc.co.uk
Israeli government rejects oath of loyalty
May 31, 2009
Loyalty to the state has long been a controversial subject in Israel
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The Israeli cabinet has rejected a controversial proposal to require Israeli citizens to take an oath of loyalty to the Jewish state.
Under the plan, introduced by the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, citizenship would be granted only to those who swore allegiance.
The proposal angered Israel’s Arab minority, which comprises 20% of Israel’s population.
The plan can still be brought before parliament, but is unlikely to succeed.
The measure was thrown out by eight votes to three at a meeting of the Cabinet on Sunday.
Yisrael Beiteinu , which won the third most seats in February’s election, sought to introduce the oath as well as a ban on annual commemorations denouncing the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
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ISRAELI ARABS
Comprise 20% of the population
Descend from Palestinian inhabitants pre-1948
Hold 12 seats in the 120-member parliament
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During the election campaign, the party focused on perceived disloyalty among Israeli Arabs, drawing widespread criticism as well as support.
Many Israeli Arabs mark the Nakba , or the Catastrophe, when about 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the war which followed Israel’s declaration of independence.
bbc.co.uk
Terrorism a lifestyle , Jihad a cliche
May 26, 2009
Day by day middle east , conflict areas, start adopting a new social lifestyle:terrorism as a way of solving personal problems. People are becoming so wild that they even aford to pay a suicide bomber to do it.A new mafia syle is developed in Pakistan.
In Lahore, a family solved the conflict with the neibours , using a suicide bomber, a 6 years old orfanage child, bought and druged to do this, using the cliche”jihad” ,to do personal revange betwen them.
Children are taken everyday from all kind of orfanage to do this kind of jobs , who have nothing to do with jihad real purposes.
People become wild and they don’t trust the State Institutions or respect the law for solving problems, dialogue would be a tool of it, maybe in 100 yaers from now.
Victims of the both sides disapear everyday, children are one of them and others are those killed by the bomb.In this way in maximum 10 years, a big part of pakistan history and civilization will disapear, no children, no future, and numbers of dead rises.
The big problem develops outside of the conflict areas of middle east, children everywhere learn about violence and they would like to become a terrorist without the original purpose of it.They simply do harm for the fun of the adrenaline or just copy the beahaviour of those from games or TV
So what shell we do with terrorists who aren’t terrorists , outside of the conflict areas……but watching closely ,there are everywhere affected areas, because all the time somebody comits an act of terror, and everything becomes confusing.
by Burca Alice Larisa
