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It is a cynical but time-honoured practice in Middle Eastern politics: the statesmen who decry the political and humanitarian crisis of the approximately 3.9 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza ignore the plight of an estimated 4.6 million Palestinians who live in Arab countries. For decades, Arab governments have justified their decision to maintain millions of stateless Palestinians as refugees in squalid camps as a means of applying pressure to Israel. The refugee problem will be solved, they say, when Israel agrees to let the Palestinians have their own state. Yet in the two decades since...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The interim Honduran government on Monday revoked an emergency decree that prohibited large street protests and limited other civil liberties following the return of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. The decree, which resulted in dozens of arrests and the closing of two pro-Zelaya media outlets, "has been completely revoked," Interim President Roberto Micheletti said at a news conference with U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican. Micheletti did not say whether the lifting of the decree would take effect immediately. He had said in a morning television interview it would be formally repealed Tuesday when the new...

This year's Day of the Soldier celebrations in Honduras got a mixed response. The military is now seen as tarnished by its role in the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. Tegucigalpa, Honduras - With rifle shots into the air and the national anthem sung by soldiers in salute, Saturday's Day of the Soldier in Honduras seemed no different than any other year's commemorations for the armed forces. But this Oct. 3, after the June ouster of President Manuel Zelaya catapulted the Honduran military into the middle of a political saga, the customary congratulations from Honduran citizens are more muted.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – The coup-installed president of Honduras backed down Monday from an escalating standoff with protesters and suggested he would restore civil liberties and reopen dissident television and radio stations by the end of the week. Riot police ringed supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya who gathered for a large-scale protest march, setting off a daylong standoff. The government of interim President Roberto Micheletti declared the march illegal, sent soldiers to silence dissident broadcasters, and suspended civil liberties for 45 days. But in a sudden reversal, Micheletti said Monday afternoon that he wanted to "ask the Honduran people for...

(IsraelNN.com) Iranian protestors threw a show at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he was riding to speak in a presidential campaign speech, according to Iranian blogs. His convoy sped away from the scene, but supporters of Ahmadinejad called the report a false rumor.

WASHINGTON (CNN)—Arizona Senator John McCain is adopting a major 2008 campaign slogan for a new political action committee designed to support not only his own planned re-election run in two years, but help him put his stamp on the rebuilding of the Republican Party. The formation of the “Country First” PAC is to be announced Wednesday, two sources familiar with the plans tell CNN. One of the sources called it the “first official step” of the GOP Senator’s re-election campaign. McCain made it clear not long after losing the presidential election that he intended to seek re-election to the Senate...

It's one of those things that sneaks up on you in politics, a sense of things happening not quite as you expected. It started in April when our Times colleague Louise Roug called with a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

For most politicians, boxing is a metaphor. But it never has been for John McCain. Hillary Clinton waved Kelly Pavlik’s gloves during a primary stop in Youngstown, Ohio. It was symbol, a photo op, for a candidate who wanted to be seen as a fighter. But gloves are no symbol for McCain. McCain has worn them. The former Naval Academy boxer says he intends to take up an old fight as he resumes the daily rounds of work as Arizona’s senior senator after the Republican nominee lost in a bruising campaign to Democrat Barack Obama for president.

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's top court ruled in favor of a transgender politician who was slapped with a lawsuit by two political opponents who claimed she misled voters by running as a female. The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Monday found that the two political opponents who filed the lawsuit failed to produce evidence of fraud, misconduct or illegal action after claiming that Michelle Bruce bamboozled voters by identifying herself as a female. Bruce, who was believed to be the state's first transgender politician, landed one of four council seats in Riverdale, Ga. in 2003. Running unopposed, she pledged...

As he prepared to meet US presidential candidate Barack Obama later Friday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a French newspaper that the Illinois senator was his "buddy." "Obama? That's my buddy," Sarkozy was quoted as saying in Friday's edition of Le Figaro. "Contrary to my diplomatic advisors, I never thought Hillary Clinton had a chance. I always said Obama would be chosen" as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. "I am the only French person who knows him," Sarkozy said, recounting that he had met Obama during a visit to the United States in 2006, when he was Interior...

My previous commentaries on Barack Obama's candidature for the presidency of the United States have made it clear that I am sceptical about his winning. I am now even more sceptical despite his de facto defeat of Hillary Clinton for the nomination of the Democratic Party. Sir Ronald Sanders This is not because I don't want him to win. I firmly believe that his election as US president could make for a stronger America both within its own borders and in the world. For, if Obama wins, it will be because a majority of white people joined black people in...

Maybe you thought reality TV hit the lowest of the low when "Fear Factor" contestants devoured cockroaches, or when gold diggers paraded their wares in hopes of marrying a millionaire, or when Tila Tequila got a second shot at "love" with 10 guys and 10 girls. Those shows look like "Masterpiece Theater" compared to what's coming. Take, for instance, "Hurl," an eating-and-regurgitating competition in which contestants gorge themselves on everything from chicken pot pies to peanut butter sandwiches, then get strapped into spinning contraptions -- whoever vomits last wins....

A human tongue has been served up in a hospital canteen's chicken risotto — and bosses reckon it was accidentally dropped into the food by a doctor.

"The Hillary Clinton for President Campaign celebrated the opening of its new San Francisco headquarters with a launch party that coincided with the Democratic presidential debate on July 23, 2007. The radical activist groups Breasts Not Bombs and Code Pink heard about the event and decided it would be a good opportunity to stage a surprise topless protest to publicize their anti-war message." "I heard about the planned party-crashing and made sure I was on hand to record what happened." WARNING: link to website contains topless photos ( Mother-Of-All-Barf-Alerts)"Everyone crowded around several large TVs to watch the Democratic candidates. The...

WASHINGTON - In returning $850,000 to donors associated with a disgraced fundraiser, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sets a significant new standard for how campaigns should respond in the face of potential scandal. Clinton's decision also underscores the price — financial and political — that her campaign is paying for failing to spot trouble with the fundraiser, Norman Hsu, even after receiving a warning. The campaign announced it would now conduct background checks on its fundraisers, an extraordinary and potentially time consuming step. By returning the money, Clinton also puts pressure on presidential rivals and other politicians with rainmakers who have...

We welcome you to the fourth anniversary issue of the 50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill. With more beautiful people nominees than ever before, making choices was a wrenching and angst-filled process. Thanks to all that participated and we are happy to introduce The Hill's Top 10 beautiful people on Capitol Hill: . . . . 4. It girl strikes a pose Name: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) Age: 67 Hometown: Baltimore, Md. Political Party: Democrat Dating Status: Married to Paul Pelosi It is rather uncomfortable calling the 67-year-old House Speaker HouseNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), mother of five and grandmother...

In all my years of Today-watching, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like the display Matt Lauer put on this morning. In beseeching Al Gore to run for president, Lauer literally portrayed him as the planet's potential savior. "If you were to run for president, you could take this issue to the next level, even if just during a campaign. And if you were fortunate enough to win the presidency, you would sit in the most powerful office in the free world with a real chance to make . . . " Matt stopped himself at the enormity...

Daniel Ortega (R) speak in a Managua hotel November 4, 2006. Carter is in Nicaragua to observe Sunday's general elections. Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo is seen in the centre. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

Elder statesman can bring peace and stability, avoid war It isn't easy to come here and propose that an 83-year-old man should be elected to the post of prime minister, but that's exactly what I intend to do: Shimon Peres for prime minister. Considering the current state of the country – the terrible disappointment over the leading Olmert-Peretz team and the big fear of the Netanyahu-Lieberman alternative – choosing the perennial Peres is the lesser of evils. If Kadima wishes to remain vital, its grand mission now is to replace the prime minister. Olmert won't be delivering. He may take...

WE ARE THE TROOPS Dear Joe, I remember when I was back home from Vietnam and veterans were speaking out against the Vietnam war policy, someone yelled at the vets: "You should support the troops." One of those veterans said simply: "Lady, we are the troops." With a war in Iraq gone horribly wrong and a Republican attack machine determined to smear those who speak out, there's nothing more important this fall than electing veterans to Congress who can speak out about Iraq with a special moral authority. And man, do we need them. Recently, John "Randy" Kuhl, a Republican...

HAVANA -- Iran, Syria, North Korea and more than 100 other nations are pushing to broaden the world's definition of "terrorism" to include the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Converging on Fidel Castro's communist Cuba for a summit this week, members of the Nonaligned Movement complain of a double standard: powerful nations like the United States and Israel decide for the world who the terrorists are, but face no punishment for their own acts of aggression. A draft of the group's joint declaration condemns "terrorism in all its forms," especially violence that targets civilians. Terrorism...

American support for Israel's unwinnable aim of destroying Hizbullah only boosts its support in Lebanon and beyond Noam Chomsky Friday September 1, 2006 The Guardian In Lebanon, a little-honoured truce remains in effect - yet another in a decades-long series of ceasefires between Israel and its adversaries in a cycle that, as if inevitably, returns to warfare, carnage and human misery. Let's describe the current crisis for what it is: a US-Israeli invasion of Lebanon, with only a cynical pretence to legitimacy. Amid all the charges and counter-charges, the most immediate factor behind the assault is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/articles/military_photos_20068293847.asp

Hillary’s Sex Appeal Seriously… By Louis Wittig New York, NY — There was a sharp, mischievous article in this. It just wasn’t materializing. Everything started out great. I arrived early for the press conference at the Museum of Sex where sculptor Daniel Edwards was unveiling his latest piece, The Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I talked to Bob Kunst, founder of HillaryNow.com, a grassroots pro-Hillary website / organization, who was standing outside the museum entrance holding up a hand drawn “Hillary in ‘08” sign for a dozen reporters and cameramen. I had quotes before I even went inside. And...

Every neighborhood has one, a loudmouth bully who shouldn't be provoked into anger. He's insulted? He'll pull out a knife. Spat in the face? He'll draw a gun. Hit? He'll pull out a machine gun. Not that the bully's not right - someone did harm him. But the reaction, what a reaction! It's not that he's not feared, but nobody really appreciates him. The real appreciation is for the strong who don't immediately use their strength. Regrettably, the Israel Defense Forces once again looks like the neighborhood bully. A soldier was abducted in Gaza? All of Gaza will pay. Eight...

THERE must be something in the water. The family of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the American presidential hopeful, hails from the same part of northeast England as George Washington, the first president of the United States. Clinton, wife of Bill Clinton, the former president, traces her ancestry to a mining family in Co Durham. Washington was the descendant of a family who lived in a village, now a town, of the same name 10 miles away on land once owned by the Bishop of Durham. The lineage of the former first lady, who may one day be an incumbent of the...

COLUMBUS, OH: Bishop Katherine celebrates transgender Jesus By Hans Zeiger VirtueOnline Correspondent www.virtueonline.org COLUMBUS, OHIO (6/21/06)-While addressing a morning Eucharist at the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop-elect Katherine Jefferts Schori declared, "Our mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation. And you and I are His children." With Jefferts Schori as the leader-to-be of the Episcopal Chuch, it seems that the church will move beyond gender-inclusive language to transgender-inclusive language. Yesterday however, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops refused to even consider a resolution that would affirm the exclusive Lordship of Jesus Christ as "the only...

June 10, 2006 was the date for the World Naked Bike Ride, which -- as its name suggests -- is an international political event at which protesters take off all their clothes and ride bicycles through various cities around the globe. The focus of the protest is theoretically to encourage people to give up their "dependence on fossil fuel" -- but in practice the messages (which the organizers tell participants to paint directly on their bodies) are more scattered, ranging from "free speech" to presidential politics. I attended the San Francisco version of the event, which started at noon in...

What a moron. Ann Coulter, that is. After calling a group of 9/11 widows "harpies" who seem to be "enjoying their husbands' deaths" in her new book, the conservative pundit has gone too far. She even added: "And by the way, how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy..." Huh? Ugly is the only way I can describe what Coulter has written. Now I understand why Time magazine put her on the cover a few years ago and made her look...

Following are excerpts from an interview with the American linguist Noam Chomsky, which aired on LBC TV on May 23, 2006. Interviewer: Do you consider Hizbullah to be a terrorist organization? Chomsky: The United States considers Hizbullah a terrorist organization, but the term terrorism is used by the great powers simply to refer to forms of violence of which they disapprove. So the U.S. was of course supporting the Israeli invasions and occupation of southern Lebanon. Hizbullah was instrumental in driving them out, so for that reason they are a terrorist organization. [...] It's an interesting dilemma. Personally I'm very...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - American director Oliver Stone and British producer John Daly plan to make a film about the 2002 coup that briefly brought down Venezuela's government, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday. Chavez said Stone and Daly plan to announce the upcoming film at the Cannes Film Festival in France. He added that the two called Venezuela Sunday morning to discuss their plans. "They've asked for our permission to announce it today in Cannes, and we've told them yes, that we're interested in that film being made," Chavez said during his weekly television and radio program.

Palestinian Authority marks 'Disaster Day' for State of Israel's establishment. Gaza residents seem worn out, not eager to demonstrate; 'how could people be expected to go out and protest with no salaries?' Fatah activist explains Gaza residents on Monday marked the 58th Nakba Day – the "disaster" that struck the Palestinian people following the establishment of the State of Israel, which caused millions of Palestinians to become refugees all over the Arab world. This year, however, the day was different than before and stood in the shadow of what Gazans refer to as "the current Nakba" – the economic and...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s message to our president ought to give all the leaders of our country as well as the rest of us pause. He is absolutely right to suggest that President Bush, and the rest of our nation, “do some soul-searching and atone for past U.S. transgressions.” While many proclaim that we are a “Christian nation,” we are not. We are not even a moral nation. If we were, our economic policies, both domestic and foreign, would reflect a deep, abiding care and compassion for our brothers and sisters around the globe. We would care for the Earth....

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

Our older son recently got married, an occasion that puts me in mind of family matters. Nick's American cousins were all at the wedding but none of the Israelis, not when the wedding was just a few days before Pessah. The Israeli cousins (there are about a dozen) are very religious and there is no way they would have travelled to the States right before the holiday. The Israeli cousins and American cousins all know and like each other, more than is common among young people whose primary connection is that they share a set of great-grandparents. But all the...

If I could choose between living with an Iran that had nuclear weapons and an Iran that didn't, I would choose the latter. And seeing as how Iran is going about the development of nuclear weapons, if there seemed a good chance that Israel could knock out its nascent capability as safely, or nearly as safely, as the Israel Air Force did with Iraq's in 1981, I'd be in favor of trying this route. A nuclear Iran is nothing to take lightly. But it doesn't have to drive Israel and Israelis crazy with fear and dread, which is what's happening...

Like campus queens before her, 20-year-old Anisah Rasheed has puts lots of work into finding the right evening gown and even staying in step for tonight's coronation, when amid all the glitz and pageantry of the day she is officially announced Miss A&T. The difference this year is that this Miss A&T will wear her jeweled tiara above her hajib, a headcovering worn by Muslim women. "Once I was elected Miss Freshman I knew I was at a university where they acknowledged everyone is different and it's OK to be different," said Rasheed, a marketing major from Roanoke, Va....

James Hirsen's "Left Coast Report" follows: Hollywood's elite didn't miss a beat in using Hurricane Katrina to launch a political attack on the Bush administration – or to seek publicity for themselves. While many of the stars' actions have been well-intentioned, some sought to turn the hurricane tragedy to their own political advantage and to further an agenda that seemingly blames Bush and the GOP for all of the world's ills – even a natural disaster. According to some on Hollywood's political fringe, whether it's global warming, the wetlands, the funding for levees, racism, the tax cut or the president's...

he city of London was shaken by terror when three bombs exploded last week on the London subway. In the middle of the chaos, media outlets lacked professional and objective integrity by jumping to hasty conclusions and blaming Muslims for the atrocity. The words “Islam” and “terrorism” were recklessly used by media staff and political analysts on television. Not only was it difficult for professionals to differentiate between the act of terror and the faith of Islam, but the connection was made without the slightest afterthought. British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that the evidence points to al-Qaida but that...

It’s no secret the settlements were born in sin, outside the jurisdiction of the State of Israel, where the occupier has no right to establish colonies. With the passage of time, the settlements built up strength and courage and collected capital and assets - illegally. Through lies and deceit, even before the courts, they said they were there for security needs, and that way robbed land from the local poor and enslaved them in their farms. In pre-revolution Russia this class was referred to as Kulaks. Something similar was present in the southern United States before the civil war. The...

'Today' OKs Gay Weddings Gay marriage may still be a subject of hot debate elsewhere in the country, but NBC's Today show has decided, with some outside prodding, where it stands: Same-sex vows are fine with them. For six years, the show has been running a series that offers an on-air wedding to couples willing to let viewers help select details down to the honeymoon location. One stipulation: “This opportunity is open only to currently engaged couples consisting of a male and a female.” After inquiries from gay-rights activists and an article last week in The Advocate, the policy was...

With Sir Elton John and David Furnish's "civil partnership ceremony" just months away, one might presume that a celebrated dressmaker is quietly toiling away on elaborate outfits for the couple (below). Let's not forget that Elton appeared at his 50th birthday bash five years ago dressed as King Louis XIV, sporting a 3ft-high wig. But no. I am finally able to write the words "Elton", "dressed" and "discreetly" in the same sentence. "We won't be inappropriately dressed on the big day," says Furnish, who hosted the White Tie and Tiara Ball with Elton on Thursday night. "Fancy dressing at a...

Amnesty International investigates, documents and takes action on human rights violations around the globe using one standard – that of international human rights and humanitarian law – and strives to do so in an impartial way. Nevertheless, the annual Amnesty International Report 2005 covering human rights violations around the globe in 2004 generated criticism in this newspaper from David Forman ("We are not paranoid," May 30) and Michael Ehrlich ("Amnesty International – do your homework," June 2). Forman accuses Amnesty International (AI) of being "out to get" Israel while ignoring serious human rights violations elsewhere in the world. Most of...

Some time ago Amos Gil traveled to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqeb. On his way back from the village he was stopped by Border Policemen and given a tongue-lashing: Did he not know that Israelis are not allowed to enter the West Bank? Gil, who is executive director of the Ir Amim association, was unable to persuade the policemen of their error: Kafr Aqeb, located in the northeast of the city, lies within the boundaries of "Greater Jerusalem," but as far as the policemen knew, the State of Israel ends at the checkpoint they were manning, a few...

It could be that there is some substance to the argument that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is plotting to eliminate the State of Israel by means of the right of return. It is true, more or less, like the prediction that Syrian President Bashar Assad is ripe for a peace agreement in return for the Golan Heights. [...] Ya'alon is complaining that even after four years of fighting we have not succeeded in convincing even Fatah, the Palestinian ruling party, to recognize a Jewish state that will exist here for all eternity. [...] Why should the right...

Even as the young Afghan man was dying before them, his American jailers continued to torment him. The prisoner, a slight, 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar, was hauled from his cell at the detention center in Bagram, Afghanistan, at around 2 a.m. to answer questions about a rocket attack on an American base. He had been chained by the wrists to the top of his cell for much of the previous four days. Mr. Dilawar asked for a drink of water, and one of the two interrogators, Specialist Joshua R. Claus, 21, picked up a large plastic bottle....

Ariel Sharon's decision to postpone the disengagement until after Tisha B'Av is surrender to a dictate by the settlers more than an understanding of the Jewish calendar. After all, Tisha B'Av is followed by the month of Elul, and then the settlers will ask for another postponement. How can "districts of the homeland be forsaken" in the month of compassion and forgiveness? Then comes the New Year, and Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, etc., without an end, since it is always possible to find a holiday or fast day on the Jewish calendar. [snip...] The IDF and the settlers continue to...

Can a peace process be created as the result of a political decision? If so, is the absence of a peace process the direct outcome of the lack of a political directive to build it? Did the Oslo process fail as a result of a lack of commitment to translating agreements into real terms, and of decisions to implement them on the policy level? Imagine what would happen if Ariel Sharon directed the government and the military to invest maximum efforts in achieving peace. Imagine if Sharon demanded concrete plans from each ministry to create a peace process in each...

The demand by the US Congress to divert $50 million of President George W. Bush's $200-million pledge of aid to the Palestinian Authority for Israeli checkpoints is something like requiring the Vatican to contribute air-conditioners to abortion clinics or divorce lawyers' fees as part of its policy of easing the plight of Catholic women. The new motto of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is very simple and direct: "From the American People." Recent conditions tacked onto a planned US grant from the American people is adding insult to Palestinian injury. Diverting to Israel millions from monies promised to...