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The aspiration of the Media Review Network is to dispel the myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and to foster bridges of understanding among the diverse people of our country. The Media Review Network believes that Muslim perspectives on issues impacting on South Africans are a prerequisite to a better appreciation of Islam.

Only icc can bring closure on Gaza attacks

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By Ibrahim Vawda – Media Review Network

(source: Pretoria News Newspaper, Wed, 20/04/2011, Pg13)

I would like to remind Peter Fabricius and the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), that Richard Goldstone was not the only author of the report submitted by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on “Operation Cast Lead.” The report was submitted to the United Nations (UN), and an op-ed in the Washington Post does not carry the same weight as a UN commissioned report. Hence, the euphoria displayed by the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) and Israeli advocates is best described as a failed public relations exercise.

Hina Gilani, member of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict commented on the Op-ed and confirmed that, “Nothing will change the substance of the original report………….” She further says that, “… No process or acceptable procedure would invalidate the UN report; if it does, it would be deemed as a ‘suspect move’. ”

The Goldstone Report never claimed that Israel “intentionally murdered civilians,” as claimed by his “retraction.” The report said that the force used during Operation Cast Lead was “deliberately disproportionate” and intended to “punish, humiliate and terrorize” the Palestinians. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch emphasises this point when he says that the “crime of indiscriminate war fare” and not “deliberate killing” was Israeli policy. This part of the report is not retracted.

Human Rights Watch, testimonies by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers, “Breaking the Silence,” B’Tselem and Amnesty International concurred with the Goldstone Report.

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New york times delusional call for resumption of dead peace process

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By Ali Abunimah

(source: Electronic Intifada)

A remarkable editorial in The New York Times this morning calling on President Obama to resume the “peace process” between Israelis and Palestinians (President Obama and the Peace Process). It’s remarkable for how detached it is from reality. It is time for Mr. Obama — alone or, better yet, in concert with Europe, Russia and the United Nations — to put a map and a deal on the table.

The outlines of a deal are no secret. They were first proposed by President Bill Clinton in 2000. But neither side has been willing to make the necessary concessions — on land swaps, how Jerusalem can be shared and how many displaced Palestinians can go home, or not. The Israelis need to know that their closest ally won’t enable more inaction. The Palestinians need to know they will have American support so long as their demands are realistic. Mr. Obama needs to speak up before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pre-empts the debate with what is certain to be an inferior proposal when he addresses a joint meeting of Congress next month.

Mr. Netanyahu has made some concessions, most notably giving Palestinians more control over their own security in the West Bank. But he has long insisted that the Palestinians aren’t serious about negotiating a final deal, and he is now hinting that he will unilaterally offer them an interim, step-by-step arrangement that will put off statehood to some undefined future.

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Question mark over role ofUSdollar

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By Nick Beams

(source:  World Socialist Web Site)

The announcement by credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s that it had downgraded its outlook on US debt to “negative” has sent a shudder through global financial markets. The decision means there is now a one in three chance that US debt itself will be downgraded over the next two years—an event without precedent.

More than the state of the US economy and government finances, however, is being called into question by the S&P decision. With US debt considered the safest in the world, any downgrading means that the role of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency will be severely undermined, if not ended altogether.

In response to the decision and the growing lack of confidence in all paper currencies, the price of gold has risen to a new high, reaching more than $1,500 per ounce.

Over the past decade, the dollar’s role as the pivot of the global financial system has come under increasing scrutiny, as US debts have risen and the balance of payments gap widened, requiring an increasing inflow of capital from the rest of the world, especially China. But so long as the world economy kept growing, these concerns remained somewhat in the background. Things began to change when the financial crisis erupted in 2008, revealing the rot and decay—not to speak of outright criminality—at the heart of the American financial system.

Anxiety about the US dollar’s role is being fuelled by the fact that far from being resolved, the global financial crisis that began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers two and half years ago has simply mutated.

Last weekend, billionaire financier George Soros warned that the present situation was more baffling and less predictable than at the height of the financial crisis. “There are clearly a number of unsustainable situations which nevertheless continue, and the authorities don’t necessarily try to solve them, but merely to buy time. We live in this situation without an immediate collapse or an immediate solution confronting you.”

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Press release reconciliation agreement welcomed

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The Media Review Network welcomes the decision by the principal Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, to set up a transitional government which will oversee general elections to form a new unity government within a year.

It is hoped that this new initiative, driven by the new Egyptian regime, will not succumb to the obvious pressures that will be exerted on it by Israel and the USA. Both these entities wield enormous powers, militarily and financially over the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Government of Mahmood Abbas who has lost all credibility in the eyes of most Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultimatum to Abu Mazin: “choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas” illustrates the point. This further strengthens the view that Israel has neither an agenda nor a solution for peace in the region.

This unity movement is supported by all factions within the Palestinian community in the Gaza and the West Bank. The Media Review Network supports this united position that will advance the quest for freedom and justice for the people of Palestine.

Ibrahim Vawda

Senior Researcher,

Media Review Network

Tell: 012 374 6987

Cell: 072 295 0088

E-mail: webmaster@mediareviewnet.com
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