-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Respected Danish journalist admits 'I was a Mossad agent' http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153850.html

"I traveled all over Africa under the cover of [being] a journalist," said Pundik.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Much Military Aid to Israel...http://www.aidtoisrael.org/

Between 2009-2018, the United States is scheduled to give Israel--the largest recipient of U.S. aid--$30 billion in military aid. Through its illegal 42-year military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, Israel misuses U.S. weapons in violation of U.S. law to kill and injure Palestinian civilians, destroy Palestinian civilian infrastructure, blockade the Gaza Strip, and build illegal settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem. How much of this total will your community provide? Is this a good use of your tax dollars? What else could your taxes be used for in your community? Find out on the interactive map below.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Palestinian Boycott Leader Challenges SF Jewish Federation http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/03/palestinian-boycott-leader-challenges-sf-jewish-federation.html

It has recently come to my attention that pending the advice of a working group of which you were a member, the Jewish Community Federation has chosen to itself boycott groups advocating a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) program targeting Israel. As one of the founding members of the global BDS campaign, I cannot but note the irony of your use of boycott as a tool to suppress views that support the boycott against Israel.

I can only conclude that you do approve of the efficacy and appropriateness of boycotts, as a non-violent form of activism and a catalyst for change, but condemn them when the change they set out to achieve is related to ending Israel’s occupation as well as its grave violations of international law and Palestinian rights.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Congress of South African Trade Unions supports the International week against apartheid Israel http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?include=docs/pr/2010/pr0303b.html&ID=3003&cat=COSATU%20Today

In all our struggles as COSATU we have always conducted ourselves with the noblest of intentions and discipline, even in the midst of extreme provocation. We refused to be intimidated or provoked to act in a manner other than that required by our highest ideals as a progressive force of revolution. Even under extreme provocation and insults, we have maintained our cool and insisted that the freedom of the Palestinian people is non-negotiable as was ours. We are proud to be associated with the growing movement of people seeking alternative paths to savagery, war and racism. We shall not stop fighting occupation, colonialism and racism, not because we are against Israel or any other state.

We shall continue to do so, precisely, because we are against the oppression and suffering of other people, wherever they are. We shall act in defence of Jews, Arabs, Asians, Africans, Latinos and anybody who dare suffer humiliation by anybody. Therefore, our struggle is not against any particular group, but any act that dehumanises other people.Finally, we stand firmly opposed to apartheid, colonialism, occupation and injustice of whatever form. We call for the world to intensify the prosecution of all who commit war crimes against humanity and ensure redress for victims of such savagery.

It compels one to share in the pains and humiliation daily experienced by our people under the weight of zionist imperialism. It is a call to all people of nobility and dignity to do something now in defence of humanity. Participating in the just struggles of the Palestinian people is not anti-semitism, but a call for justice and freedom. The attempt to blackmail all who call for freedom in Palestine, anti-semites is a desperate attempt by Zionist bullies to silence all who stand up against their savage attacks on humanity and freedom.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MUST SEE-Tearing the Heart out of Beit Jala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uss76bDKimw&feature=player_embedded

Already when driving on route 60, we saw the intimidating bulldozers riding on the side of the road on their way to another day of "putting facts on the ground" as chiefs of the Israeli government call it. As we arrived in Beit Jalla, a heart-breaking scene came into view - a huge pile of sawed trees and olive and lemon branches spread all across the yard of the house next to the wall's path. A yard it cannot really be called anymore - the grass is turned over, two children's swings were uprooted and put aside, and the only thing left standing is a brick oven, with mounds of dirt and mud all around it.

10 olive trees were cut down here already yesterday. A red X on the front floor of the house marks the path of the wall to pass here, which will seize the whole yard area and cut the only access driveway to it. It's hard to imagine how life would look like in this place in a week or two.At 09:00 precisely they started pushing and dragging us up the hill again. 2 Israelis and one international activist were detained for a few minutes and were released shortly thereafter. Two Arab TV network reporters stationed on the upper road to report the events. Two young women from Beit Jalla were prominent among the protesters. As one of the officers told on of them them "Min fadlak, ruch min hon" (Please go away from here), she replied wisely "Min fadlak, ruch leIsrail" (Please, go back to Israel), with her finger pointing north-west.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LATIN AMERICA: Canada Moves to Oversee Mining Firms http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50561

MICLA has identified at least 100 cases of local communities in conflict with Canadian mining companies throughout Latin America. "Abarca's murder occurred just when the issue was gaining attention in the Canadian media; the debate on the bill (C-300) in the Committee coincided with the killing," said Studnicki-Gizbert. Violence in Ecuador too .A case that could help strengthen the accountability of mining companies is a one billion dollar lawsuit brought before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Ecuadorean activists Marcia Ramírez and brothers Polibio and Israel Pérez against the Copper Mesa Mining Corporation (formerly known as Ascendant Copper), two of the members of the company's board of directors, and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). 

The legal action, filed in March 2009, claims the copper company used aggressive and coercive tactics, including hiring armed thugs, to acquire land and natural resources in the village of Intag near the town of Junín in western Ecuador. According to the lawsuit, the TSX, which financed Copper Mesa’s open-pit copper and molybdenum mining project in Intag, and the two executives are complicit in the company's use of death threats and intimidation against villagers Polibio Pérez is president of the Community Development Council of Junín, Ramírez heads two community groups, the Asociación EcoJunín and Defensoras de la Vida, and Israel Pérez is a local resident. On Dec. 2, 2006, a group of armed men working for the firm threatened a peaceful, unarmed gathering of local residents, and fired shots. One of the ricocheted bullets hit Israel Pérez in the lower leg. In addition, Ramírez was sprayed in the face with pepper spray and Polibio Pérez received death threats. 

Polibio Pérez was later assaulted on Jul. 31, 2007 by a group of men with connections to Copper Mesa, the lawsuit also states. "Something must be done immediately, because we are just now realising the magnitude of the phenomenon. There are 400 new projects in the pipeline," said Studnicki-Gizbert.  In 2007, the Canadian government held roundtable sessions with representatives from the mining industry, activists and academics to discuss the lack of oversight for the industry. One of the recommendations was the creation of an oversight mechanism, set up two years later, to allow an independent corporate social responsibility counsellor to investigate allegations against mining companies - but only if the company facing accusations agrees to the inquiry. 

The "independent" counsellor, named in October, turned out to be Marketa Evans, founding director of the University of Toronto's Munk Centre - named for and funded by Peter Munk, founder of Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold, which is accused of widespread pollution in Peru and Chile. "The system is still too lax, compared to other activities like industry and the tourism real estate sector. In the midst of this mining boom (driven by high prices), full legal compliance and enforcement is needed," said Bravo. The United Nations Committees on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have urged Canada to take measures to prevent abuses abroad by corporations domiciled in their territory, and to hold them accountable. (END)