Amauta

Here in Bourj el-Barajneh, one of a dozen Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, time seems to have stood still for years. Generation after generation, children grow up in the same desperate reality, punished for crimes they did not commit, injured by a history not of their making. They stand on dirty balconies, cracked beyond repair, watching Beirut and the world go by. Those opposed to the refugee presence fear that incorporating Palestinians into Lebanese society might be the prelude to incorporating them into the country’s political landscape.

Continúe

In Lebanon, a sense of urgency always seems to prevail, even when there are no urgent matters to tend to. Jamal’s driving style has probably changed little through the successive Israeli wars and bombardments of Lebanon in past years (the last being the 2006 war, which destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure and killed hundreds of civilians). Although no bombs were falling now, Jamal could feel something in the air. “They are cooking something big,” he said, “but what it is, no one really knows for sure.”

Continúe

Chomsky: “Though the Iranian threat is not military, that does not mean that it might be tolerable to Washington. Iranian deterrent capacity is an illegitimate exercise of sovereignty that interferes with US global designs. Specifically, it threatens US control of Middle East energy resources, a high priority of planners since World War II, which yields “substantial control of the world,” one influential figure advised (A. A. Berle).

But Iran’s threat goes beyond deterrence. It is also seeking to expand its influence. As the Institute study formulates the threat, Iran is “destabilizing” the region. US invasion and military occupation of Iran’s neighbors is “stabilization.” Iran’s efforts to extend its influence in neighboring countries is “destabilization,” hence plainly illegitimate. It should be noted that such revealing usage is routine.”

Continúe

Source: ZNet

by Fawwaz Traboulsi
Translator’s Introduction: The following article by Fawwaz Traboulsi appeared in the Beirut daily as-Safir of December 2, 2009.
Traboulsi’s article is an assessment and left critique of the main themes in Hezbollah’s new political platform. The platform was released on November 30 at the conclusion of a general congress that had met intermittently [...]

Continúe

Fuente: Al Ahram Weekly
Traducción: Loles Oliván, Rebelión

Nuevo manifiesto político de Hezbolá
por Omayma Abdel Latif
3 de diciembre, 2009
Veinticuatro años, dos órdenes mundiales, una guerra de liberación, una guerra de resistencia y numerosos acontecimientos políticos separan el primer manifiesto político de Hezbolá, publicado en 1985, y el segundo emitido el lunes [1 de diciembre de 2009]. Por [...]

Continúe

por Gabriel Kolko
25 de agosto, 2009
A finales de 1949 trabajé en una embarcación que transportaba judíos desde Marsella al puerto israelí de Haifa. Los judíos provenientes de los países árabes se encontraban en la parte delantera del barco, los europeos en la parte trasera. Muchos de los europeos me miraban como a una especie de [...]

Continúe

versión en español abajo
by Noam Chomsky
July 9, 200
June 2009 was marked by a number of significant events, including two elections in the Middle East: in Lebanon, then Iran. The events are significant, and the reactions to them, highly instructive.

Continúe

by Sami Halabi
July 7, 2009
Lebanon’s elections last month confirmed yet again that in this tiny Mediterranean country, sectarian politics are paramount. Long gone from the collective consciousness are the lessons of the 15-year civil war that began as a political and class dispute and descended into sectarian enmity. Forgotten also are the post-war years that [...]

Continúe

Return to the Status Quo
By FRANKLIN LAMB
June 8, 2009
Today’s predawn stillness was shortly and regularly broken by the crowing of Beirut’s eternal chanters, its roosters. Some from as many as 20 stories up in downtown and Hamra apartment building balconies and roofs, others shunted and jammed into small cages or pits inside the Palestinian [...]

Continúe