Showing posts with label Injustice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Injustice. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
Anonymous message to pro-Israeli groups
Greetings from Anonymous,
It has come to our attention that conservative and pro-Israeli groups throughout the blogosphere have taken advantage of Operation Israel, attempting to solidify public opinion against Anonymous.
TheOtherMcCain.com posted an editorial this morning which stated the following: “If you ever doubted that Anonymous was a terrorist organization, they have now removed all reason for doubt.” The article only contained 55 words of original content by the site itself, the other 90 percent of the article was selected quotations by mainstream media sources.
Let us once again be perfectly clear: Anonymous does not in any way support the use of violence. Anonymous is a world wide collective of individuals whose means pursue human rights, justice, and universal equality for the citizens of every nation.
Pro-Israeli groups throughout the world have grown from a foundation of Israeli/US propaganda and lies.
They arbitrarily dismiss the apartheid system of racial segregation and oppression imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people. The fact of the matter is, in the eyes of the media, only the United States and it’s allies are capable of labeling another state or organization as a terrorists. Throughout our campaign, we’ve been inundated with one response in particular; references to Hamas hiding in school buildings or using women and children as human shields. Selective memory seems to have given pro-Israeli organizations the ability to forget that in 2005 Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz appeared in court to defend the practice of using Palestinians as human shields in combat after a supreme court outlawed the practice, noting it violated International Law.
The reasons for Anonymous intervention through #OpIsrael should be abundantly clear: What is happening in Palestine is oppression. They have no navy, no army, or air force. There is no war in Gaza. There is only the continuous application of military force by Israel in an attempt to push every last person out of the Palestinian state, despite international laws that make these efforts illegal. This illegal expansion of territory by Israel in to the Palestinian state has been ongoing since1948, making refugees of over 700,000 Palestinians. Today,
Palestinians are not permitted to live in Israeli settlements, drive on Israeli roads or even travel is the “security” areas surrounding them. These Israeli only housing developments are being built on stolen land, even while being called illegal settlements by the International Court of Justice.
The violence inflicted upon the civilian residents of Gaza is well documented, despite the fact that Israel has adamantly opposed intervention by human rights organizations and the IDF constantly blocks and harasses international journalists.
Despite these facts, Anonymous has not used any anti-Semitic language during our campaign. Nor have we vocalized any support for Palestinian military operations or resistance groups. Our goal was to protect the rights of Palestinian people who are threatened with silence as Israel has made attempts to shut down cell phone and internet service throughout Gaza. We know what happens to victims of oppression when the lights go dark.
It is also worthy to note, that as of yesterday, members of Anonymous participating in #OpIsrael were making attempts to augment our Gaza Care Package for civilians in Tel Aviv by translating the same documents in to Hebrew in the event that they lose access to internet service as well. We do not racially or geographically differentiate between victims of violence or oppression anywhere in the world.
Both Palestinians and Israelis need to find common ground and end the violence that has already resulted in the deaths of innocent people, including children. Israel’s advancement on Palestinian Territories and the racist oppression of Palestinian people needs to end.
We are not terrorists. Governments that fund wars, practice deceit against their own citizens, condone corruption, and turn a blind eye to the deaths of innocent people are terrorists. The word terror does not belong to Israel or the United States. We will judge you by your actions.
Peace and Freedom to all,
#OpIsrael
#Anonymous
Anonymous Gaza Care Package
#OpIsrael Information and Tools
Original PR source
Source
It has come to our attention that conservative and pro-Israeli groups throughout the blogosphere have taken advantage of Operation Israel, attempting to solidify public opinion against Anonymous.
TheOtherMcCain.com posted an editorial this morning which stated the following: “If you ever doubted that Anonymous was a terrorist organization, they have now removed all reason for doubt.” The article only contained 55 words of original content by the site itself, the other 90 percent of the article was selected quotations by mainstream media sources.
Let us once again be perfectly clear: Anonymous does not in any way support the use of violence. Anonymous is a world wide collective of individuals whose means pursue human rights, justice, and universal equality for the citizens of every nation.
Pro-Israeli groups throughout the world have grown from a foundation of Israeli/US propaganda and lies.
They arbitrarily dismiss the apartheid system of racial segregation and oppression imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people. The fact of the matter is, in the eyes of the media, only the United States and it’s allies are capable of labeling another state or organization as a terrorists. Throughout our campaign, we’ve been inundated with one response in particular; references to Hamas hiding in school buildings or using women and children as human shields. Selective memory seems to have given pro-Israeli organizations the ability to forget that in 2005 Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz appeared in court to defend the practice of using Palestinians as human shields in combat after a supreme court outlawed the practice, noting it violated International Law.
The reasons for Anonymous intervention through #OpIsrael should be abundantly clear: What is happening in Palestine is oppression. They have no navy, no army, or air force. There is no war in Gaza. There is only the continuous application of military force by Israel in an attempt to push every last person out of the Palestinian state, despite international laws that make these efforts illegal. This illegal expansion of territory by Israel in to the Palestinian state has been ongoing since1948, making refugees of over 700,000 Palestinians. Today,
Palestinians are not permitted to live in Israeli settlements, drive on Israeli roads or even travel is the “security” areas surrounding them. These Israeli only housing developments are being built on stolen land, even while being called illegal settlements by the International Court of Justice.
The violence inflicted upon the civilian residents of Gaza is well documented, despite the fact that Israel has adamantly opposed intervention by human rights organizations and the IDF constantly blocks and harasses international journalists.
Despite these facts, Anonymous has not used any anti-Semitic language during our campaign. Nor have we vocalized any support for Palestinian military operations or resistance groups. Our goal was to protect the rights of Palestinian people who are threatened with silence as Israel has made attempts to shut down cell phone and internet service throughout Gaza. We know what happens to victims of oppression when the lights go dark.
It is also worthy to note, that as of yesterday, members of Anonymous participating in #OpIsrael were making attempts to augment our Gaza Care Package for civilians in Tel Aviv by translating the same documents in to Hebrew in the event that they lose access to internet service as well. We do not racially or geographically differentiate between victims of violence or oppression anywhere in the world.
Both Palestinians and Israelis need to find common ground and end the violence that has already resulted in the deaths of innocent people, including children. Israel’s advancement on Palestinian Territories and the racist oppression of Palestinian people needs to end.
We are not terrorists. Governments that fund wars, practice deceit against their own citizens, condone corruption, and turn a blind eye to the deaths of innocent people are terrorists. The word terror does not belong to Israel or the United States. We will judge you by your actions.
Peace and Freedom to all,
#OpIsrael
#Anonymous
Anonymous Gaza Care Package
#OpIsrael Information and Tools
Original PR source
Source
Monday, August 27, 2012
Gaza 'will not be liveable by 2020' - UN report
Gaza 'will not be liveable by 2020' - UN report
Tunnels under the Egyptian border have been a lifeline for Gaza in recent years.
The
Gaza Strip will not be "a liveable place" by 2020 unless action is
taken to improve basic services in the territory, according to a UN
report.
Basic infrastructure in water, health, education and
sanitation "is struggling to keep pace with a growing population",
according to the report.It estimates Gaza's population will rise from 1.6m to 2.1m by 2020.
Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza after the Islamist movement Hamas came to power in the territory in 2007.
Israel says the blockade, which is policed with Egyptian co-operation and has never been fully lifted, is necessary to prevent weapons reaching Hamas.
The UN report estimates Gaza will need double the number of schools and 800 more hospital beds by 2020, and says the territory is already suffering from a housing shortage.
The report also says the coastal aquifer, the territory's only natural source of fresh water, may become unusable by 2016.
Disconnected territory UN officials point to the difficulty of improving the situation given "the closure of the Gaza Strip, violent conflict, and the pressing need for Palestinian reconciliation".
"An urban area cannot survive without being connected," said Maxwell Gaylard, the UN's humanitarian chief in Gaza.
Gaza has no air or sea ports, and the economy is heavily dependent on outside funding and smuggling through tunnels under the Egyptian border.
Even though Gaza has experienced some economic growth in recent years, the report says it "does not seem to be sustainable" and finds that Gazans are worse off now than in the 1990s.
Unemployment was at 29% in 2011 and has risen since then, particularly affecting women and young people.
Traffic through the cross-border tunnels was hit in recent weeks by violence between Egyptian security forces and militants in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, which borders Israel and Gaza.
Source
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Dying Daughter's Health Insurance Cut By Wells Fargo?
Dying Daughter's Health Insurance Cut By Wells Fargo?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
China 'forced abortion photo' sparks outrage
China 'forced abortion photo' sparks outrage
A photo purporting to show a baby whose mother was forced to have an abortion has shocked Chinese internet users.
Feng Jiamei, from Zhenping county in Shaanxi, was allegedly
made to undergo the procedure by local officials in the seventh month of
pregnancy.Ms Feng was forced into the abortion as she couldn't pay the fine for having a second child, US-based activists said.
Rights groups say China's one-child policy has meant women being coerced into abortions, which Beijing denies.
National and local family planning authorities are investigating the incident, the Global Times newspaper reports.
"Feng Jianmei's story demonstrates how the One-Child Policy continues to sanction violence against women every day," said Chai Ling of the US-based activist group All Girls Allowed.
The group says it spoke to Ms Feng and her husband Deng Jiyuan after the incident. Mr Deng said his wife had been forcibly taken to hospital and restrained before the procedure.
Unnamed local officials in Zhenping county quoted in local media reports denied forcing Ms Feng to have the abortion.
"This is what they say the Japanese devils and Nazis did. But it's happening in reality and it is by no means the only case... They [the officials] should be executed," one reader on news website netease.com said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Activist Chen Guangcheng, who was put under virtual house arrest for campaigning against forced abortions, fled China to the US last month.
Source
Gaza water too contaminated to drink, say charities
Gaza water too contaminated to drink, say charities
War damage is in part to blame for the dire state of Gaza's water and sewage systems, the report says
Gaza's
only fresh source of water is too dangerous to drink because of
contamination by fertiliser and human waste, a new report says.
The charities Save the Children and Medical Aid for
Palestinians say the number of children being treated for diarrhoea has
doubled in five years.They say Israel's five-year blockade of the territory is preventing crucial sanitation equipment from getting in.
The blockade must be lifted "in its entirety", they say.
The report, Gaza's Children: Falling Behind, says that high levels of nitrates and other contaminants have been found in the main water supply.
Nitrates, found in faeces and fertiliser, are linked to the doubling of the incidence of watery diarrhoea in children since the blockade began, it says.
As well as the blockade, it blames war damage and chronic underinvestment.
Desperate families are turning to private water sources - without realising that this water too is contaminated, often at 10 times the safe level, the report says.
And Gaza's sewage system is "completely broken".
Israel insists that the blockade of Gaza has been eased considerably in recent months, says the BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem.
It says more supplies and building materials to help reconstruction of the territory's battered infrastructure are being allowed in.
But the report says this is not enough.
"As a matter of urgent priority for the health and well-being of Gaza's children, Israel must lift the blockade in its entirety to enable the free movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza," it says.
It also calls on the international community, the Palestinian Authority and aid donors to do more.
Source
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Israeli PM orders 300 new homes at West Bank settlement
Israeli PM orders 300 new homes at West Bank settlement
Settlers insist on their right to live on what they say is historically Jewish land
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the construction of 300
new homes at the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the West Bank.
The announcement came hours after Israel's parliament rejected a bill to legalise settlement outposts.Mr Netanyahu, who opposed the bill, said he would honour a Supreme Court order to demolish homes on private Palestinian land at the Ulpana outpost.
The issue has been a source of tension between settlers and the government.
All settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
The settler outposts are also illegal under Israeli law and the government agreed to remove them under the 2003 Road Map peace plan.
Reacting to Mr Netanyahu's announcement, a US spokesman said that "continued Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank undermines peace efforts and contradicts Israeli commitments and obligations".
"Our position on settlements remains unchanged. We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Buildings transferred Last year, the Israeli government committed to remove all or part of six illegal outposts following a Supreme Court ruling.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli Prime MinisterI am obligated to preserve the law and preserve the settlements, and I say here that there is no contradiction between the two”
Five buildings which are home to
30 families at Ulpana, also known as Jabal Artis or Pisgat Yaakov, were
built entirely on private Palestinian land, the court found.
Before Wednesday's vote in the Knesset, Mr Netanyahu had
warned that he would sack anyone in his government who supported the
bill to bypass the court ruling and, in effect, legalise the buildings
at Ulpana, because it would have prompted international criticism.Ahead of the vote, hundreds of settlers marched on the Knesset, insisting on their right to live on what they said was historically Jewish land.
Ulpana is part of the bigger settlement of Beit El, which is built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians say it should be part of their future state.
Hours after the legalisation of outposts was rejected, Mr Netanyahu sought to placate settlers and right-wing critics in his own Likud party by ordering the transfer of the buildings at Ulpana to a nearby former army base in another part of Beit El and the construction next to them of 300 new housing units, reports the BBC Wyre Davies in Jerusalem.
"Israel is a democracy that observes the law, and as prime minister I am obligated to preserve the law and preserve the settlements, and I say here that there is no contradiction between the two," Mr Netanyahu said.
"This formula strengthens settlements," he added. "The court ruled what it did, and we respect its decision. In parallel, Beit El will be expanded."
Mr Netanyahu's decision will infuriate Palestinians and pro-peace groups who say the Israeli government is expanding the settlements at the expense of a peace deal with the Palestinians, our correspondent adds.
Source
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Nicolas Sarkozy says France has too many foreigners
Nicolas Sarkozy says France has too many foreigners
![Nicolas Sarkozy at his interview on French television [6 March 2012]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_smsa_XTK3nJiIY70f-5Kk8pf4YwwsIAW4j6vhtt4iapdttj_mrU6uZnqlM-u42UJvPRQ7CAGcSaFqbr4MujytKqEJkainlh8ODYAKuQYldZl1WVPUY_qIIidMMcMMWCUGkhKNxa-8lZxZPDQ=s0-d)
Nicolas Sarkozy says the system for integrating immigrants is at risk of breaking down French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said there are too many foreigners in France and the system for integrating them is "working worse and worse".
In a TV debate, Mr Sarkozy defended his plan to almost halve the number of new arrivals if re-elected next month.
Mr Sarkozy is trailing in the opinion polls behind the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande.
He is also competing for conservative voters with the far-right National Front party led by Marine le Pen.
The president said while immigration could be a boon for France, it needed to be controlled more tightly through tougher qualification rules for residency.
Mr Sarkozy, whose father was a Hungarian immigrant, also said he wanted to restrict some benefit payments to immigrants who had been in the country for 10 years.
Tough new rulesHe has often made controversial comments on race and immigration issues, sharply dividing opinion in France.
In 2005, just before the Paris riots, he described young delinquents in the Paris suburbs as "racaille", meaning rabble.
He has said that if re-elected, he will reduce the number of immigrants to France from 180,000 a year to 100,000 and introduce tighter controls on access to welfare benefits.
As president, Mr Sarkozy has already pushed through tough new immigration rules, including the controversial deportation of Roma gypsies.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Francois Fillon caused dismay among Muslim and Jewish groups by suggesting the religious slaughter of animals was out of date.
The controversy started when a TV documentary said last month that all the abattoirs in Paris region only produced halal meat.
So far the election campaign seems to have made relatively little impact on voters.
The latest opinion poll published on Tuesday by CSA showed the Socialist leader Francois Hollande widening his lead over President Sarkozy for the 22 April vote.
It also suggested that the Socialist leader would win decisively by 54% to 46% in a second round of voting on 6 May.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commentary
"Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"
What happened to those human values and why have they been replaced with xenophobia?
What happened to looking at a human for who they are, not by their culture or their skin color?
What happened to human dignity and preciousness?
Sarkozy has flushed it all down his french toilet. His people would do well to get rid of his racist french hiney.
How Israel might strike at Iran
How Israel might strike at Iran
An Israeli attack would have to cope with a variety of problems For all the myriad challenges facing Israel over the past decade it is the potential threat from a nuclear-armed Iran that has preoccupied the country's military planners.
It is this that in large part has guided the development of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over recent years.
The IAF has purchased 125 advanced F-15I and F-16I warplanes, equipped with Israeli avionics and additional fuel tanks - tailor-made for long-range strike missions.
In addition, Israel has bought specialised bunker-busting munitions; developed large, long-endurance, unmanned aircraft; and much of its training has focused on long-range missions.
Israel has a track-record of pre-emptive strikes against nuclear targets in the region.
Israel has a track-record of pre-emptive strikes against nuclear targets In June 1981, Israeli jets bombed the Osirak reactor near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
More recently, in September 2007, Israeli warplanes attacked a facility in Syria that Israel, the US and many experts believed was a nuclear reactor under construction.
However, a potential strike against Iran would be nothing like the attacks in Iraq and Syria. These were both against single targets, located above ground, and came literally out of the blue.
An Israeli attempt to severely damage Iran's nuclear programme would have to cope with a variety of problems, including range, the multiplicity of targets, and the nature of those targets.
Many of these problems are daunting in themselves, but when put together, they only compound the difficulties facing Israeli military planners.
How to get there?For a start it is a very long way from Israel to Iran. As a rough estimate many of the potential targets are some 1,500km (930 miles) to 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Israeli bases. Israeli warplanes have to get to Iran and, equally important, get back.
At least three routes are possible.
- There is the northern one where Israeli jets would fly north and then east along the borders between Turkey and Syria, and then Turkey and Iraq
- The central, more likely route would take Israeli warplanes over Iraq. With the US military gone, the Iraqi authorities are far less able to monitor and control their air space, effectively opening a door to an Israeli incursion
- The third, southern route would take Israeli jets over Saudi air space. Would the Saudis turn a blind eye to such a move given their own concerns about Iran's nuclear programme? Could this route be used by Israeli aircraft on the return leg of their journey? We just do not know
What we do know, given the range, is that Israeli aircraft will have to be topped up with fuel en route.
Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, says that "air-to-air refuelling will be critical".
Israel is believed to have between eight and 10 large tankers based on the Boeing 707 airframe "Israeli aircraft," he says, "need not just to get in and out of Iranian air space; they need to have enough fuel to provide time over their targets and they need sufficient fuel to cover any contingencies that might arise during the mission."
The initial tanking, Mr Barrie says, might be done over the Mediterranean or even in Israeli airspace. "One option," he notes, "would be to take off with a full bomb load and drop tanks containing additional fuel; to climb to cruising altitude and then at this point to replenish their tanks, before setting course for their targets in Iran."
Israel is believed to have between eight and 10 large tankers based on the commercial Boeing 707 airframe, but experts believe that tanking capacity will prove one of the limiting factors in the scope of any operation.
What targets to hit?The problems of range, the nature of some of the targets, and the availability of tanker aircraft will determine the nature and scope of any Israeli operation.
Continue reading the main story 
Iran nuclear sites
Natanz - Uranium enrichment plant
Fordo, near Qom - Uranium enrichment plant
Arak (pictured) - Heavy water plant
Isfahan - Uranium conversion plant
Parchin - Military site
Douglas Barrie, of the IISS, says that "Israeli planners will be looking for where they can do most damage with the limited number of platforms at their disposal".
"They'll be asking where the main choke points are in the Iranian programme. Clearly, striking enrichment facilities makes a lot of sense from a military point of view," he adds.
So the uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz, south of Tehran, and Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, would almost certainly be prominent on the target list.
The heavy-water production plant and heavy-water reactor under construction at Arak, in the west, might also figure, as would the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan.
It is unclear whether Israel would have the capacity to strike a range of other targets associated with Iran's missile programmes and explosives testing.
But this target list raises another set of problems. The enrichment facilities at Natanz are underground and the new plant at Fordo is buried deeply into the side of a mountain.
Can Israel destroy buried targets?For an attack like this, says Douglas Barrie, you need good intelligence information. "You need to know", he says, "about the geography of the target site; its geology; the nature of the earth; and the details of the design and construction of any buried reinforced concrete chambers."
"You can assume," he asserts, "that the Americans and the Israelis have been watching these sites closely over time."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Robert Hewson IHS Jane's Air-Launched WeaponsThe target would have to be attacked from relatively close range, meaning any attacking force will have to fight its way in and out of heavily-contested airspace”
To reach buried targets you need special kinds of munitions. Deeply-buried facilities are not exclusive to the Middle East. There is a kind of race between the diggers and the weapons designers and it is one where the Americans have considerable experience.
The main weapon in Israel's arsenal is the US-supplied GBU-28. This is a 5,000lb (2,268kg) laser-guided weapon with a special penetrating warhead. For an assessment of its capabilities I turned to Robert Hewson, the editor of IHS Jane's Air-Launched Weapons.
"The GBU-28," he told me, "is the largest penetrating weapon available for a tactical aircraft and, since it was first used by the US in 1991, it has been improved with better warheads and more accurate guidance.
"However, Israel's use of this weapon would be hindered by several key operational factors. Realistically, the F-15I - the only delivery platform - can carry only one bomb, so a sizeable attack force would be required - demanding tanker and other support assets that Israel does not have in large numbers.
"The target would have to be attacked from relatively close range, meaning any attacking force will have to fight its way in and out of heavily-contested airspace."
Furthermore, he says that "very accurate targeting data is required to use a weapon like GBU-28 to best effect".
"The potential for success of a GBU-28 attack is not determined by the 'book' performance of the weapon alone."
Of course, the great unknown question is how capable these weapons would be against buried Iranian enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordo.
Continue reading the main story 
Israel's 'Bunker Buster' bomb
1. The bombs are carried by Israeli F-15Is - but only one per aircraft, which would mean a large attack force for multiple attempts on numerous targets
2. Bomb is released almost vertically over the target, and guided by lasers
3. The bombs can penetrate up to 6m of concrete or about 30.5m of earth before detonating the 4,400lb warhead
Mr Hewson says that the GBU-28 is "effective against any hardened or deeply buried target - up to a point".
"For a weapon like the GBU-28, velocity and angle of impact determine the penetrating effect, so the ideal drop is made from high altitude at maximum speed and hits the target at a near vertical angle," he explains.
"This is less easy to do against a cave or mountainside, so the weapon will be less effective - but still more effective than pretty much any other available munitions."
Indeed, as Douglas Barrie notes, one weapon might be insufficient.
"You could", he says, "attempt to 'dig your way in' using several weapons on the same impact area to try to get through the soil, rock and concrete. Or you could try to block access to the facility by destroying tunnel entrances.
"In addition," he says, "all of these facilities are power hungry, so you could attempt to destroy power supplies and any buried cabling.
"The aim would be to present the Iranians with a compound problem of blocked entrances, no power and collapsed underground chambers."
Does Israel have other military options?So far we have discussed only the known elements of Israel's capabilities, mainly US-supplied aircraft and munitions. But Israel has a hugely advanced aerospace and electronics industry of its own and this may well have produced systems relevant for an attack against Iran.
The Eitan, the Israeli Air Force's latest generation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Douglas Barrie says that there is much about Israel's capabilities, especially its home-grown technology, that we do not know.
"Israel's long-range Heron or Eitan drone could be used to gather an assessment of the damage done by any strikes, but perhaps could also be put to use helping to spoof air defences," he adds.
"Indeed, this kind of deception or cyber-operation will likely be an integral part of the mission with the aim of blinding radars or generating a false picture of what was going on."
What about Iran's air defences?Iran's air defences are largely Russian-supplied systems familiar to Israeli pilots, though Iran also deploys the US-built Hawk system dating back to the days of the Shah.
Continue reading the main story 
Iran's defences
Surface-to-air missiles - Hawk system (pictured)
For high altitude targets - SA-5 or S-200
For low level targets - Tor-M1/SA-15 Gauntlet
Long-range systems - S-300
Iranian Air Force - Russian-built Mig-29s, US-built F-14 Tomcats
Some of its most capable defences are Russian SA-5 missiles intended to target high-altitude threats, while it also deploys the mobile Tor-M1/SA-15 Gauntlet system optimised to engage targets at lower level.
Russia has consistently refused to supply Iran with the much more capable S-300 long-range system, though the Iranians claim to have procured some batteries elsewhere.
Iran's surface-to-air missile force may be old but still represents a threat. Look at how much effort Nato and the US put into taking down Libya's similar vintage air defences last year.
Israel will not have the time or the resources to embark upon this kind of protracted air campaign and thus the electronic element of any strike to suppress Iranian defences is likely to be as important as the actual dropping of weapons.
Israel's small submarine force could potentially play a role here too. Douglas Barrie says that "there must be a reasonable assumption that Israel has an operational sea-launched cruise missile capability based upon their German-built Dolphin submarines".
Israel's small submarine force could play a role "These could be used to go after older but capable SA-5 air defence sites and big search and surveillance radars."
But, he notes: "Adding a naval dimension complicates the co-ordination of any attack."
Iran's air force is seen by experts as being totally outclassed by its Israeli counterpart.
It has a small number of US-built F-14 Tomcat fighters and a significant number of relatively more modern Russian-supplied MiG-29s.
But the potential threat from Iranian aircraft again complicates Israeli planning and any air-to-air combat might place additional strains on the limited fuel supplies carried by the attacking aircraft.
Would an Israeli strike succeed?Most experts agree that Israel could hit multiple targets in Iran and do considerable damage to its nuclear programme. They would, however, do much less damage than a full-scale US attack using all of the resources at Washington's disposal.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Douglas Barrie International Institute for Strategic StudiesEven if successful, it would only delay Iran's nuclear programme”
The Israelis would be operating at the very limits of their capabilities. "If they pulled it off," says Douglas Barrie, "it would be an impressive display of power projection against a difficult and dispersed set of targets."
Only a small number of air forces in the world, he notes, could mount such an operation. But, Mr Barrie stresses: "Even if successful, it would only delay Iran's nuclear programme."
It is a point echoed by IHS Jane's Robert Hewson.
"Israel does not have the mass of forces and will not be given the operational freedom [by Iran] required to destroy Iran's nuclear complex," he says. "If you bury enough stuff deep enough, enough of it will survive. Any Israeli attack can only damage and possibly not even slow the Iranian effort.
"The consequences of such an attack would be dire and global. It is impossible to see any up-side to this venture."
That's a view shared for now by Israel's most important ally.
Only a few days ago, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, said that an Israeli attack would not be prudent.
Such a strike, he said, "would be destabilising and would not achieve their long-term objectives".
However Israel's calculus is very different. Knowing all their operational limitations, might they launch such an operation anyway?
Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning enters no plea
Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning enters no plea
Bradley Manning is accused of leaking 700,000 files to Wikileaks The US Army private accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks has chosen not to enter a plea at the start of his court martial.
The 24-year-old was read the 22 charges against him at a hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland.
If found guilty of leaking and "aiding the enemy" he could face a life term.
Pte Manning, who was first arrested in May 2010, appeared for a pre-trial hearing in December, following which a court martial was recommended.
Thursday's arraignment hearing offered the defendant his first opportunity to state his case personally.
As well as deferring a plea, he also passed on the opportunity to decide whether to be tried by a military jury or a single judge.
When asked if he understood his rights to counsel, Pte Manning told the judge: "Yes, your honour."
He spoke several times, giving brief replies to questions from lawyers and the judge.
Another procedural hearing has been set for 15 March.
BreachesDefence lawyer David Coombs has asked that the court martial begin in June, but prosecutors want an August start date.
Mr Coombs says his client will have spent more than 800 days in jail by August.
During his pre-trial hearing in December, defence lawyers argued that Pte Manning was a troubled young man with gender identity issues.
They suggested he should not have been sent to Iraq, where he served as an intelligence analyst with access to classified material.
Pte Manning is alleged to have been the source of a series of high-profile stories that saw Wikileaks rise to global fame.
After a video showing US troops firing on Iraqis from a helicopter came caches of documents from both the Iraq and Afghan wars, and a huge haul of classified state department cables.
Syria unrest: Opposition seeks arms pledge
Syria unrest: Opposition seeks arms pledge
Unverified footage shows an apparent attack by opposition fighters on one of President Assad's tanks, as Bridget Kendall reports from Tunis
The main Syrian opposition group has asked for rebel fighters to be allowed to import weapons.
The plea came at a major international "Friends of Syria" conference being held in Tunisia to seek a breakthrough in the increasingly bitter conflict.
A declaration is expected later, calling on Syrian forces to declare a ceasefire and allow humanitarian access to the worst-hit areas.
Syrian state TV said the conference was a meeting of "symbols of colonialism".
Those attending, it said, were "historic enemies of the Arabs".
The US, Europe and Arab countries plan to challenge President Bashar al-Assad to provide humanitarian access within days, with the threat of fresh sanctions if he does not comply.
Around 70 nations, including the US, UK, France and Turkey, are attending the conference, organised by the Arab League.
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“Start Quote
Syrian National CouncilThe Friends of Syria should not constrain individual countries from aiding the Syrian opposition by means of military advisers, training and provision of arms to defend themselves”
But Russia and China, key allies of Syria which have blocked UN resolutions again Damascus, are not there.
A group of pro-Assad protesters forced their way into the grounds of the hotel where the conference is being held, Reuters news agency reported, but tight security prevented them getting into the building.
'Offensive measures'The leading opposition group, the Syrian National Council, said countries should be allowed to supply arms if Damascus refused to bow to outside pressure.
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Analysis
Syrian opposition groups point to the disparity of force in this conflict - their Kalashnikovs against Syrian government artillery - and are calling for arms supplies to help them defend themselves against President Assad's forces.
For now, at least, Western governments believe that arms supplies would only further militarise the conflict, making a bad situation worse. But if the bloodshed continues then the pressure - at least covertly - to arm the opposition will grow.
I asked UK Foreign Secretary William Hague as he arrived at the conference to confront this question square on. Had the time come - I asked - to arm the Syrian opposition fighters? There was, he replied, a European Union arms embargo in place against Syria and Britain, he stressed, would abide by it.
There was of course an arms embargo in force in Libya but that didn't prevent Qatar, France and others supplying weaponry to Col Gaddafi's opponents. Even the US seems to be shifting its position slightly - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implying that one way or another the opposition would get arms from somewhere. If the fighting continues this is going to become an ever more pressing question.
"If the regime fails to accept the terms of the political initiative outlined by the Arab League and end violence against citizens, the Friends of Syria should not constrain individual countries from aiding the Syrian opposition by means of military advisers, training and provision of arms to defend themselves."
The conference endorsed the council as a "credible" voice of opposition, while making clear it did not exclude other groups - thereby stopping short of declaring it a plausible government-in-waiting.
At least one other opposition group, the National Co-ordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC), is boycotting the meeting, saying it excludes some voices and leaves open the idea of military intervention, AFP news agency reports.
Activists say more than 7,000 people have died in the 11-month uprising - more than 90 on Thursday alone - and concern is growing over the humanitarian situation, particularly in the besieged city of Homs.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed this week for a pause in fighting to allow aid to be taken in, but said it had received no response from Damascus.
The ICRC said it was becoming "more and more concerned over humanitarian needs that are increasing by the hour".
Spokesman Hicham Hassan told Reuters news agency: "It is crucial that our initiative is met with a positive and concrete reaction urgently."
Journalists' appealUS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the conference the Syrian government had "ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity and broken every agreement".
"If the Assad regime refuses to allow this life-saving aid to reach civilians, it will have ever-more blood on its hands,'' she said in opening remarks.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said "terrible crimes" were being committed in Homs.
"I think we have seen enough in the last few weeks to know that the Assad regime will go down in history as a criminal regime," he said.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the conference needed to exert the maximum pressure on the Syrian government and also on Russia, but insisted there was no military option on the table and France could not envisage such an option without an international mandate.
The BBC's Jonathan Marcus in Tunis says the conference is a means of getting around Russia and China, which have faced Western and Arab criticism for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria and Mr Assad.
Moscow and Beijing have said they want to see an end to the violence but that such action amounts to forced regime change.
On the eve of the conference, the UN and Arab League appointed Kofi Annan as their envoy to Syria.
Mr Annan, a former UN secretary general who has acted as a diplomatic troubleshooter in several long-running conflicts, said he hoped to "help bring an end to the violence and human rights abuses, and promote a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis".
Diplomats attending the conference say the UN will call for preparations to start an Arab/UN peacekeeping force for Syria, to assist with the political transition after the violence ends, the BBC's Kim Ghattas reports from Tunis.
The civilian police force would be deployed only in a "permissive" environment, under Chapter 6 of the UN charter.
Diplomats said the efforts were designed to show a political transition was inevitable and that President Assad's rule was coming to an end.
The conference comes two days after two journalists - American Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik - died during shelling in Homs.
Two journalists wounded in the same attack have made internet appeals for medical help. Frenchwoman Edith Bouvier is being treated by Syrian medics but needs surgery which they are unable to perform. Paul Conroy, who is British, also asked for outside help to bring him to safety.
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Commentary
What happened to peaceful opposition like we were taught in America?
How can anyone support this type of aggressive activism?
It involves the deaths of hundreds of people; completely unjust.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Barack Obama apology to Afghanistan over Koran burning
Barack Obama apology to Afghanistan over Koran burning
Afghan police and plain-clothed security officials fire shots into a crowd of about 500 protesters in Kabul
President Barack Obama has apologised to the Afghan people for the burning of Korans by American troops at a US base.
In a letter to President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama expressed his "deep regret" and said the incident earlier this week was a genuine mistake.
Demonstrations against the desecration have continued for a third day across northern and eastern Afghanistan.
Two foreign soldiers, believed to be Americans, have been killed, along with at least six Afghan people.
On Wednesday, another seven people were killed and dozens injured in protests.
Mr Obama's letter, delivered by the US ambassador to Afghanistan, assured the Afghan president that US authorities would question all those responsible.
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At the scene
It started at about 09:00 when people from different villages around Baghlan converged on the town centre. About 1,000 demonstrators gathered in front of the police station and there was a lot of anger and violence. Then suddenly we heard an outbreak of machine-gun fire.
We went to the hospital where the injured were taken and a wounded policeman there told us that demonstrators shot at police. Officials say they are conducting an investigation to find out who opened fire.
After the violence, people escaped from the area, shops were closed and eventually demonstrators left. But it was an intense episode. People were shouting anti-American slogans expressing their outrage at the burning of the Koran. They also accused the Americans of being opposed to their religion.
"I convey my deep sympathies and ask you and the people to accept my deep apologies," the letter said.
President Karzai told members of the Afghan parliament that a US officer was responsible for the burning.
But he said it was done out of "ignorance".
In addition to those killed, many people have been injured in the protests, some of them critically, while armed men on Thursday also attacked at least two military installations.
Crowds shouting "death to Obama" have been throwing stones and setting fire to the US flag.
Meanwhile the Taliban has called on Afghans to kill and beat all invading forces in revenge for "insulting" the Koran.
In a statement a Taliban spokesman said Afghans should "not stop at protesting" but instead target military bases and personnel to "teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Koran".
'Death to America'The BBC's Andrew North, in the Afghan capital, says many officials sympathise with the outrage the US has provoked across the country.
He says Friday prayers may spark more tensions, depending on the tone set by religious leaders.
The protests have become more widespread Police, local officials and tribal elders have told the BBC there have been major protests in at least nine areas across the country, each involving many hundreds of people.
The worst incident was in Khogyani in Nangarhar province, where a man wearing an Afghan army uniform killed two Nato soldiers who are believed to be from the US.
Two protesters were also killed and seven injured as Nato forces opened fire when armed men attacked the US/Afghan base.
Further south, in Uruzgan province, two people were killed and at least eight others wounded, three of them police, in clashes between protesters and Afghan security forces, local officials told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary.
They said demonstrators were carrying guns, metal bars and sticks.
There have now been three days of protests over the burning of the Koran at a US military base In northern Baghlan province, one civilian was killed and two others injured, while two police were also hurt.
Another person was killed in Laghman province east of Kabul, where local police said several hundred people were chanting "Death to America".
More than 3,000 people gathered in Mehtar Lam, the capital of Laghman province, with some burning an effigy of President Obama.
Police say fights broke out as they stopped hundreds of protesters entering the centre of Kabul.
And in Asadabad, some 1,500 demonstrators were said to be burning US flags and tyres and shouting anti-American slogans.
A French military base to the east of Kabul was attacked.
Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
Last year, at least 24 people died in protests across Afghanistan after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida.
Syria unrest: Reporters' deaths spark Western outrage
Syria unrest: Reporters' deaths spark Western outrage
Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed in a makeshift media centre in Homs
The killings of two Western reporters in the city of Homs and reported deaths of some 60 people across Syria have triggered further Western outrage towards the Damascus government.
Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, an American, and French photographer Remi Ochlik died in shelling by Syria's government forces.
The US said it was "another example of the shameless brutality" of the regime.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: "That's enough... The regime must go."
Syrian troops have been shelling opposition-held areas of Homs for weeks.
Thousands have died since the unrest erupted last March.
The International Red Cross said it hoped Wednesday's deaths would draw the attention of the world to the many hundreds of other people suffering in Syria.
It earlier urged the government and rebels to agree to a daily ceasefire, to allow medical supplies to reach the worst affected areas and get civilians out.
However, there is no sign yet of this being agreed.
'Dreadful events'Colvin, 56, and Ochlik, 28, were reportedly staying in a house in Homs' area of Baba Amr that was being used by activists as a media centre when it was hit by a shell on Wednesday morning.
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Analysis
Marie would not want any tribute to leave out mention of the people she met, the stories she heard. She often spoke of how humbled she was by the "quiet bravery of civilians".
We've come to expect that wherever something of consequence was happening, Marie would be there. Her signature was not just to go to a story, but to stay for as long as she could, regardless of the danger or discomfort.
She admired the pioneering journalism of fellow American Martha Gelhorn. I always saw her as the Martha of our generation: brave and beautiful. A woman with a wicked laugh, a sensitive soul, and a steely determination to tell the stories that mattered. She had both guts and glamour.
I remember a conversation long ago where she told me a partner wanted her to be what she called a "Laura Ashley" - pretty and perfect in the home. But that wasn't Marie and she knew it. She was, without exception, a kind and considerate colleague and fellow traveller, a woman who inspired and engaged.
Rockets were also said to have hit the building's garden when people tried to flee afterwards.
At least two other foreign journalists were wounded, activists said.
One was named as British freelance photographer Paul Conroy, who was working with Colvin, and Edith Bouvier of the French newspaper, Le Figaro. Bouvier was said to be in a serious condition. The dead and the injured journalists are said to have been taken to a field clinic in Baba Amr.
Activists have expressed fears that Bouvier risks bleeding to death without urgent medical attention and they were trying to get her out.
Syrian state TV said the information ministry had asked officials in Homs to determine the location of foreign journalists because it had learned that some may have been injured.
In Washington, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "This tragic incident is another example of the shameless brutality of the Assad regime."
Earlier, the US warned that it was not ruling out taking "additional measures" to assist the rebels if the government onslaught continued.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said his country held the Syrian government accountable for the deaths.
"Damascus owes us an answer," Mr Juppe said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament: "This is a desperately sad reminder of the risks that journalists take to inform the world of what is happening, and the dreadful events in Syria."
Later, the Syrian ambassador to London was summoned to be told that the UK expected Damascus to arrange for the immediate repatriation of the journalists' bodies and to provide medical treatment for the injured British journalist.
Colvin's last articleThe editor of the Sunday Times, John Witherow, said the newspaper was doing what it could to recover Colvin's body and get Conroy to safety.
Continue reading the main storyMarie Colvin: Reports and tributes
Marie Colvin's last BBC interview 
BBC's Jim Muir pays tribute to Colvin 
Colvin: 'A real nuts and bolts journalist' 
How Colvin risked life to report in Syria 
Marie Colvin in Misrata, April 2011 "Marie was an extraordinary figure in the life of the Sunday Times, driven by a passion to cover wars in the belief that what she did mattered," he added. "She believed profoundly that reporting could curtail the excesses of brutal regimes and make the international community take notice."
Her mother told journalists Colvin's legacy was: "Be passionate and be involved in what you believe in. And do it as thoroughly and honestly and fearlessly as you can."
Ochlik had reported from Haiti and covered many of the recent uprisings in the Arab world.
Colvin had been a foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times for two decades, and had reported from several war zones. She lost the sight in one eye in Sri Lanka in 2001 after being hit by shrapnel.
On Tuesday, she told the BBC the bombardment of Baba Amr by Syrian government artillery and tanks had been "unrelenting".
"I watched a little baby die today, absolutely horrific, a two year old - found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest and the doctor said: 'I can't do anything,' and his little tummy just kept heaving until he died. That is happening over and over and over.
The Sunday Times on Wednesday made available Colvin's last article in which she said, "We live in fear of a massacre".
Western journalists have mostly been barred from Syria since the uprising began.
But increasingly, they have risked entering the country undercover, helped by networks of activists, to report from flashpoints.
Last month, the French television journalist, Gilles Jacquier, was killed in Homs while visiting the city on a government-organised trip.
Anthony Shadid, of the New York Times, died of an apparent asthma attack in Syria last week.
New York police 'spied on' New Jersey Muslims
New York police 'spied on' New Jersey Muslims
New York's police commissioner has come under fire for appearing in a documentary about Muslims
New York City police secretly collected information on Muslim communities in nearby Newark, New Jersey, police records have shown.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker said he was not informed of the surveillance, revealed by the Associated Press.
"This raises a number of concerns," Mr Booker said, promising to investigate. "It's just very, very sobering."
Earlier this week university officials in the US north-east protested against NYPD monitoring of Muslim students.
Administrators at Yale and Columbia protested about the police department's activities, which the NYPD said were justified in an effort to identify possible campus radicalisation.
Earlier this month, civic groups from around the US called for a legal investigation into intelligence-gathering on Shia Muslims in New York.
NYPD's demographic unit compiled information on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in Newark in 2007, AP reported.
The secret police report obtained by the news agency mentions no evidence of terrorism or criminal behaviour.
"These locations provide the maximum ability to assess the general opinions and general activity of these communities," the report said.
Similar reports were prepared for two counties in Long Island, in New York state.
Jersey unsureIn a statement, the NYPD told the BBC that they had informed Newark officials of their operations.
Newark's former police director, Garry McCarthy, told the Associated Press that the NYPD had contacted his police department "as a courtesy" before sending the officers.
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“Start Quote
The police department goes where there are allegations. Remind yourself when you turn out the light tonight”
No Newark police officers were involved in the surveillance, according to Mr McCarthy.
But New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he had knowledge of the operation, which he called "disturbing".
Newark Mayor Cory Booker said the extent of the reported surveillance came as a surprise to him.
"If anyone in my police department had known this was a blanket investigation of individuals based on nothing but their religion, that strikes at the core of our beliefs and my beliefs very personally, and it would have merited a far sterner response,'' he said.
"We're going to get to the bottom of this."
The report notes Newark's large Portuguese and Brazilian communities, but says that only information about "Islamic religious centers" and Muslim-owned businesses were gathered.
However, polls show that most New Yorkers strongly support the NYPD's counter-terrorism efforts.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg strongly defended the city's police department after university leaders protested over campus monitoring.
"The police department goes where there are allegations," Mr Bloomberg said.
"And they look to see whether those allegations are true. That's what you'd expect them to do. That's what you'd want them to do. Remind yourself when you turn out the light tonight."
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