July 30, 2013

As Talks Begin, Jewish Settlements Loom As Challenge

By William Booth and Anne Gearan, E-mail the writers

PSAGOT, West Bank — The last time Israeli and Palestinian negotiators sat down for extended, serious peace talks in the waning days of the second Bush administration, the effort to reach a compromise was excruciating.

It could be even harder now.

In the past five years, the population of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has grown by about 20 percent, and pro-settler politicians have become major players in Israel’s government.

Here in the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as a basis of their future state, settlers have built museums, a full-fledged university, archaeological parks, shopping malls, heritage sites and wine bars. The impossible-to-miss message: These settlements are here to stay.

On Monday Secretary of State John F. Kerry acknowledged the challenge of old and new realities as he opened preliminary talks in Washington with Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

MORE...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/as-talks-begin-jewish-settlements-loom-as-challenge/2013/07/29/683d12b8-f88f-11e2-a954-358d90d5d72d_story.html

July 29, 2013

Top U.S. General: We Pay a Price for Backing Israel

Marine Corps General James Mattis, who retired May 22 as chief of the U.S. Central Command, in charge of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a speech at the prestigious Aspen Security Forum in Colorado last Saturday (July 20) that America needs to work “with a sense of urgency” to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because resentment of U.S. support for Israel hurts America militarily throughout the region.

He said the “current situation is unsustainable” and that America must act “with a sense of urgency” toward a two-state solution, because the chances “are starting to ebb because of the settlements and where they’re at.” If it fails, he said, the result will be “apartheid.” And then this bombshell:

I paid a military-security price every day as the commander of CentCom because the Americans were seen as biased in support of Israel.

Mattis’ predecessor as chief of CentCom, General David Petraeus, made much the same point in a briefing paper he submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2010, shortly before he handed CentCom over to Mattis. The passage on Israel (on Page 12) caused an explosive reaction (here is what the ADL had to say), though his actual testimony was far more equivocal than his written report. Commentary had a good rundown of the flap a few days later with both the written and spoken remarks in full. Petraeus tried to clear up the mess—some called it backtracking to cover his butt—in an ABC interview a week

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/181121/top-us-general-we-pay-a-price-for-backing-israel/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Opinion&utm_campaign=Opinion%25202013-07-29#ixzz2aTx0OMgb

July 29, 2013

Images Of Bedouin Displacement Foreshadow A ‘Nakba In The Negev’

At a ‘Zochrot’ exhibition opening, compelling photography, first exhibited in the ‘unrecognized village’ of al-Araqib in 2012, documents home demolitions and Bedouin demonstrations against the Prawer Plan.

By Matt Surrusco |Published July 29, 2013

The boy in the photograph is half-smiling because he saved his birds, said photographer Aiob Abo Madegam.

In the image, behind the Palestinian Bedouin boy holding a blue crate containing chickens, at least a dozen Israeli policemen in full riot gear don’t notice Madegam’s camera. Israeli authorities had just demolished the village of al-Araqib in the Negev for the first time, on July 27, 2010, including the animal pens.

This is one of 25 photographs of unrecognized villages in the Negev and their Bedouin residents taken by Madegam from 2010 to 2013, featured in his exhibition, “Baqon” (Remaining), which opened July 28 at Zochrot’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The photographs include portraits of demonstrators, villagers and children, some one in the same, intimate scenes of village life and intense moments of confrontation between villagers and the authorities. Madegam’s images provide public recognition to Bedouin communities in the Negev that are unrecognized by the State of Israel, and to the residents’ struggle against forced displacement.

more...

http://972mag.com/images-of-bedouin-displacement-foreshadow-a-nakba-in-the-negev/76604/

July 29, 2013

Julian Assange, on Eve of Verdict: 'Bradley Manning Is a Hero'

The WikiLeaks founder also said Monday that Edward Snowden was never trying to go to Russia.

July 29, 2013 | 5:01 p.m.

On Monday, a military judge announced that a verdict was expected Tuesday afternoon in Bradley Manning's trial. Manning is accused of aiding the enemy by leaking a heap of classified national security documents to WikiLeaks. Manning is also accused of federal espionage, theft, and computer fraud. Defense attorneys for Manning claim he did not expect that the information he leaked would wind up in enemy hands, but said rather that he is a whistle-blower. Manning faces life in prison if he is charged with aiding the enemy.

"There's been no accusation in this entire case that any person has come to harm" based on information Manning gave to WikiLeaks, Assange told CNN's Jake Tapper. Contrary to the charges leveled against him by the U.S. government, Assange called Manning a "hero."
Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him in February, although none of them carried the highest penalties. But he still faces a 20-year prison sentence for those charges.

In the CNN interview, Assange also touched on the plight of National Security Agency leaker Snowden, who is still stuck in a Moscow airport, awaiting permission to enter Russia. But Snowden, Assange said, was never even trying to go to Russia:

Mr. Snowden tried to go to South America, and the State Department ... canceled his passport en route. So he was stranded in Russia.

Assange went on to say that the State Department is "marooning him, effectively, in Russia." It's not clear when Snowden will be able to actually get out of the airport, but last week his attorney implied that Snowden would like to stay in Russia for the foreseeable future, calling the country his "final destination, for now."

more...

http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/julian-assange-on-eve-of-verdict-bradley-manning-is-a-hero-20130729

July 29, 2013

Overseas Companies Reluctant To Use U.S. Cloud After Snowden NSA Leaks

More than half of the respondents polled in a recent survey said they would be "less likely" to use a U.S.-based cloud provider in light of the mass National Security Agency surveillance program exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

According to the survey, conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance, a nonprofit that establishes best practices for secure cloud computing, 56 percent of 207 non-U.S. residents said their company would be less likely to engage U.S. providers. Ten percent said they already have canceled a project with a U.S. vendor. And 31 percent said the revelations have not impacted their plans to contract with an American provider.

U.S participants were asked whether the "Snowden Incident" made it more difficult to conduct business outside of the country, presumably because of the reputational harm it has caused. Thirty-six percent said yes, while the remainder said no.

In total, the study, released last week, queried 234 respondents based in the United States and 222 based overseas, 138 of whom are located in Europe.

Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian journalist who originally broke the news, said on Monday that it's made big waves outside of American borders. "One part of [the] NSA story under-covered by U.S. media is how much the story has resonated globally, causing big debate/scandal in many nations," he tweeted.

more...

http://www.scmagazine.com/overseas-companies-reluctant-to-use-us-cloud-after-snowden-nsa-leaks/article/305046/#

July 29, 2013

EUGENE ROBINSON: America Should Thank Snowden For Revealing NSA Snooping

By
Posted 06:28 PM ET

Edward Snowden's renegade decision to reveal the jaw-dropping scope of the National Security Agency's electronic surveillance is being vindicated — even as Snowden himself is being vilified.

Intelligence officials in the Obama administration and their allies on Capitol Hill paint the fugitive analyst as nothing but a traitor who wants to harm the United States. Many of those same officials grudgingly acknowledge, however, that public debate about the NSA's domestic snooping is now unavoidable.

This would be impossible if Snowden — or someone like him — hadn't spilled the beans. We wouldn't know that the NSA is keeping a database of all our phone calls. We wouldn't know that the government gets the authority to keep track of our private communications — even if we are not suspected of terrorist activity or associations — from secret judicial orders issued by a secret court based on secret interpretations of the law.

Snowden, of course, is hardly receiving the thanks of a grateful nation. He has spent the last five weeks trapped in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport outside Moscow. Russian officials, who won't send him home for prosecution, wish he would move along.

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http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130729/OPINION03/130729352/eugene-robinson-we-should-thank-edward-snowden

July 29, 2013

AP Exclusive: GOP Donor's School Grade Changed

By TOM LoBIANCO
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Former Indiana and current Florida schools chief Tony Bennett built his national star by promising to hold "failing" schools accountable. But when it appeared an Indianapolis charter school run by a prominent Republican donor might receive a poor grade, Bennett's education team frantically overhauled his signature "A-F" school grading system to improve the school's marks.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show Bennett and his staff scrambled last fall to ensure influential donor Christel DeHaan's school received an "A," despite poor test scores in algebra that initially earned it a "C."

"They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12 email to then-chief of staff Heather Neal, who is now Gov. Mike Pence's chief lobbyist.

The emails, which also show Bennett discussed with staff the legality of changing just DeHaan's grade, raise unsettling questions about the validity of a grading system that has broad implications. Indiana uses the A-F grades to determine which schools get taken over by the state and whether students seeking state-funded vouchers to attend private school need to first spend a year in public school. They also help determine how much state funding schools receive.

A low grade also can detract from a neighborhood and drive homebuyers elsewhere.

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http://www.wboc.com/story/22958137/ap-exclusive-gop-donors-school-grade-changed

July 29, 2013

Egypt Braces for More Pro-Morsi Rallies

VOA News
July 29, 2013

Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi are calling for evening marches Monday at security administration buildings, as they remain defiant in the face of the military's move to install an interim government nearly a month ago.

In a statement Monday, pro-Morsi groups also urged Egyptians to gather Tuesday for a "million person march" for those who oppose Morsi's ouster and want to "reclaim their freedom and dignity."

Egypt's army has warned Morsi's supporters to stay away from military facilities, especially military intelligence headquarters. It says the sites are vitally important, and that anyone approaching them would be in danger.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is in Cairo for talks with Egypt's interim leaders, her second visit to the country in a month.

Tensions between the military and pro-Morsi loyalists continued Sunday, with protesters standing their ground outside the Raba'a al-Adawiya mosque near Cairo University. The government has warned it will break up demonstrations and sit-ins against the president's ouster.

more...

http://www.voanews.com/content/pro-morsi-protesters-call-for-monday-march/1711930.html

July 29, 2013

Rubio: Let Obama Choose Between A Government Shutdown And Defunding Obamacare

By Laura Matthews
on July 29 2013 10:40 AM

Republicans are hoping Americans will support them in forcing President Barack Obama into a corner over his healthcare reform law, commonly called Obamacare, a law passed by Congress in 2010. The ultimatum: sign a 2014 continuing resolution that defunds Obamacare or veto it and be responsible for a government shutdown.

That's the essence of a piece Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote for the conservative political blog RedState. Rubio and 11 other senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., last week, announcing they won't back a temporary appropriations bill come Sept. 30 if it funds the healthcare law. A similar push is under way in the House. Congress needs to pass a continuing resolution or a regular budget to fund government agencies next fiscal year in order to avert a shut down.

“I didn’t come to Washington to shut down the federal government; I came to help bring it back to its proper role,” Rubio wrote. “This role should create an environment where America is the easiest and best place in the world to create better paying jobs by starting a business or growing an existing one. One way to do that is by ending failed programs like ObamaCare that hurt our people, waste their money and scare businesses away from opening or growing.”

Rubio said the September debate is the “last best chance” to defund the law as a condition for supporting a spending plan.

“Defunding ObamaCare is a critical first step to preventing all this, and this September, we need the American people to stand with us in demanding that not another cent be spent on implementing ObamaCare,” he said. “At that point, the President will have a decision to make: sign it and keep the government open, or veto it and shut down the government. That’s the decision that should ultimately come to the President’s desk.”

more...

http://www.ibtimes.com/rubio-let-obama-choose-between-government-shutdown-defunding-obamacare-1362655

July 29, 2013

PBS Finds Its Niche With Drama, Documentaries, News As One-Time Cable Competitors Wallow In Reality

NEW YORK (AP) — Honey Boo Boo, the management at PBS wants to thank you.

You, too, real housewives. And naked castaways, Long Island princesses, breakaway Amish, storage warriors, pawn stars and pickers. People at public television may not want to watch you, but they are happy to see you.

When Discovery, The Learning Channel, History, Bravo, A&E and similar networks emerged, there was a real fear it could lead to the death of PBS. Each specialized network would pick off a portion of PBS' audience for programs on science, nature, history and the arts. Founded as an alternative to commercial TV, PBS was losing what made it unique.

Yet in the past few years, these cable networks discovered that it was much more profitable to create reality TV stars. PBS' path was cleared, and it is making the most of its new chance.

"It is now once again something that the viewer can't get anywhere else," said Beth Hoppe, PBS' programming chief.

more...

http://www.cleveland.com/tv/index.ssf/2013/07/pbs_finds_its_niche_with_drama.html