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'In words and song, we commit to fighting apartheid' http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/3237

Five hundred Montreal artists announce support for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli state.The following is a call from Montreal artists to support the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israeli apartheid:

Today, a broad spectrum of Montreal artists are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and supporting the growing international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state. Last winter, the Israeli state launched a violent military assault on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, leaving over 1,400 Palestinians dead, including over 300 children. Despite the official end of military operations, the blockade continues to this day, with devastating consequences for Gaza’s residents.

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MIDEAST: Palestinians Excluded From Bulk of West Bank http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50472

IDNA, Occupied West Bank, Feb 27, 2010 (IPS) - Israel’s illegal occupation and continued expropriation of Palestinian land in the West Bank has left 2.5 million Palestinians living there with effectively less than 40 percent of the territory."My family used to own 104 dunums of land here, (10 dunums = 1 hectare), but the Israelis have expropriated 100 dunums of family land for the separation barrier. If I still had that land I would be earning sufficient to live very comfortably," says Al Badan.

"Idna used to comprise 45,000 dunums of land in 1948 prior to the establishment of Israel. Following the 1948 and 1967 wars and occupation Israel expropriated 30,000 dunums of Idna’s land, 4,000 dunums for the separation barrier alone," Abed Tumaizeh, Idna’s spokesman told IPS."Two-weeks ago Israeli soldiers stormed Idna and destroyed five wells and springs saying they were constructed illegally. The livelihoods of 40 farmers and their dependents have been effected," Tumaizeh told IPS. "Last year the ICA destroyed 10 dairy farms in our village effecting 30 families. A further 70 home-owners have been given demolition orders," adds Tumaizeh. The destruction of Palestinian buildings is part of a deliberate Israeli policy to establish facts on the ground and keep as much of the West Bank as possible under Israeli control.

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U.S.: DynCorp Oversight in Afghanistan Faulted http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50477

Much of the equipment provided by the U.S. for training had gone missing. During site visits to three police training centers in Bamiyan, Herat and Kandahar, the inspectors randomly selected 123 items from an inventory list of vehicles, weapons and electronics, but could only locate 34. In Kandahar, nine "sensitive items" - pistols, rifles, and scopes - could not be located. 

A subsequent check up at DynCorp's headquarters in Kabul showed that the weapons were signed out by company personnel. Of 89 non-sensitive items, only two could be located. The Kandahar site coordinator explained that the list was inaccurate and out of date. Money, too, was unaccounted for or misappropriated. Inspectors quoted a preliminary audit that identified 322 million dollars in invoices for the State department's global police training programme that were approved "even though they were not allowable, allocable, or reasonable." 

Roughly 50 percent of the approved invoices that the inspectors reviewed had errors. The inspectors general recommended that the State Department should return a "minimum" of 80 million dollars from the Afghanistan budget to the Pentagon.