Maria puts in claim for continued salary

PHILIPSBURG--Former Health and Labour Affairs Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus has put in a claim to the Personnel and Finance Departments for the continued payment of her salary for the next two years, as she is entitled to under the law.

To be eligible for a continued salary, Buncamper-Molanus will have to prove she has no other income to fall back on, Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto said when asked by this newspaper about the issue.

The former minister made her post available to the United People's (UP)/Democratic Party (DP) coalition on December 23, 2010, when she was faced with a motion of no confidence in Parliament, due to a long lease land scandal.

Buncamper-Molanus has maintained that she and her husband, senior civil servant Claudius Buncamper, had done nothing illegal or morally incorrect with the deal that was based on the sale of the economic rights of the land to another company.

She later formalised the statement she had made to Parliament in a letter to Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, which led to the cabinet issuing a decree accepting her resignation.

At first, it was not clear whether Buncamper-Molanus was entitled to continue receiving a portion of her salary, as she had served only three months in office. She had received a gross monthly salary of US $11,037.50.

Should her claim be granted, she will receive 95 per cent of her monthly salary in the first month. That percentage will dwindle over the one- to two-year period to the point where she will receive 70 per cent for the last months.

Asked whether one of the reasons the former minister could come into consideration for her continued but reduced salary had to do with the fact that she hadn't exactly resigned, but had made her position available to the coalition, Shigemoto said definitely not.

He explained that if she had been fired by Parliament she still would have a claim for her continued salary under the new country regulation for salaries and compensation.

The four commissioners ? Michael Ferrier, Roy Marlin, Maurice Lake and Josianne Fleming-Artsen ? who served in the transition Island Government from October 5 to October 9 are not entitled to more pay than that for the five days' work. So far only Roy Marlin has submitted a request for payment for his work during St. Maarten's last days as an Island Territory of the Netherlands Antilles.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12261-maria-puts-in-claim-for-continued-salary-.html

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Huge decline in Amman bourse

Amman Stock Exchange lost about US$ 850 million of its market value on Monday, amid a state of panic and a rush to sell by small investors. The stock market crash comes amid the ongoing protests in Egypt. Amman Stock Exchange index declined to 2363 points at the start of the session compared to 2374 points, at the end of the session yesterday.

The market value of Amman Stock Exchange yesterday fell to JD 21.81 billion (some US$30.5 billion) from JD22.41 billion (US$31.4 billion).

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/huge-decline-amman-bourse

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Emirates Group employees receive Chairman?s Award for Excellence

A total of 15 Emirates Group employees were recognized for their commitment to excellence today by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, the Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group, during an award ceremony held at the Emirates Group Headquarters. 

The annual Najm Chairman?s Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of Emirates staff. Hundreds of Emirates Group employees were nominated for the coveted award and after a comprehensive selection process Sheikh Ahmed selected and named the winning candidates. 

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/emirates-group-employees-receive-chairman%E2%80%99s-award-excellence

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Union meeting decides on action resolution

PHILIPSBURG--Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU) President William Reed and Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) President Claire Elshot addressed a packed meeting at the Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) building in Philipsburg on Monday evening.

The purpose was to present and discuss their ideas regarding whether action should be taken regarding the non-payment of the cost-of-living salary adjustment.

The meeting hall was so full that approximately 50 people were outside the hall at one point and were not able to hear the speeches from the car park area.

People outside the building seemed to be in generally in favour of taking action. One man said, "We should tell them either they pay or we take action. We should give them an ultimatum and stick to it. Either they pay or we take action. We are entitled to our pay and now they want to breach agreements." The statement was greeted enthusiastically by his audience.

The result of this meeting was that a unanimous show of hands was made in favour of not accepting government's decision to split the cost-of-living payment. It wants to pay two per cent now and a further three per cent in January 2012.

The unions voted for a formal resolution to be sent to government with a deadline of February 2011 for payment of the whole amount. Failure to abide by the deadline will be dealt with then by a vote on whether strike action or other measures will be taken by the membership, according to Elshot.

The union members were particularly annoyed by the fact that the full payment had been approved by the government in August 2010 and it had reneged on the agreement.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12840-union-meeting-decides-on-action-resolution-.html

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Carnegie Mellon Qatar is awarded three Young Scientists Research Experience grants from the Qatar National Research Fund

Age might only be a number, but for Behrang Mohit, Ph.D., Peter Hansen, Ph.D., and Thierry Sans, Ph.D., it was a factor in each of them winning a grant from the first cycle of the Young Scientists Research Experience Program from Qatar National Research Fund.

The YSREP grants aim to build human capital by supporting young scientists to initiate and lead their own research. One of the criteria for these grants was that the scientists be age 35 or younger: A requirement met by all three members of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

Brown Lloyd James

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/carnegie-mellon-qatar-awarded-three-young-scientists-research-experience-grants-qatar-national-resea

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Prosecutor asks five years for gunfight

PHILIPSBURG--The prosecutor asked five years against a man who had been involved in a gunfight in St. Peters on September 23, 2010.

S.M.C. (28) was charged with possession of an illegal firearm and of attempted manslaughter of 24-year-old F.R.L.G. in a drive-by shooting which took place at 9:00am at the intersection of Apricot Road and Marigot Hill Road, near Milton Peters College.

F.R.L.G. will have to answer to similar charges, as well as three armed robbery charges. His court hearing was postponed until March 23.

S.M.C. told Judge Monique Keppels on Thursday afternoon that he had been in a feud with F.R.L.G. since 2005, after he had stolen his brother's scooter.

Lawyer Geert Hatzmann told the court that S.M.C. and his brother had almost lost their lives when F.R.L.G. had slammed his car into the scooter on which S.M.C. and his brother were riding. The two siblings were both injured and hospitalised.

In July 2010, F.R.L.G. had allegedly fired three shots from the bushes at the car in which S.M.C. had been driving. S.M.C. had reported the incident to the police, but seeing that his assailant was not taken off the streets, he had decided to buy a firearm.

September last year he encountered his assailant again. He had decided to take a spin through the neighbourhood, after he had bought a newspaper for his mother. When he encountered F.R.L.G. he started firing at him. One of the shots hit one of the rear doors of his vehicle. While driving by, S.M.C. fired six rounds with his revolver. Two bullets hit F.R.L.G. in his leg.

According to Prosecutor Ben den Hartigh, the angle of the shot fired at S.M.C.'s car would be indicating that it was fired by F.R.L.G. while he was already down, which would mean S.M.C. shot first.

The Prosecutor considered attempted manslaughter proven, and rejected claims that the suspect had been acting in self-defence.

S.M.C. was of a different opinion. "I just shot to get away and to scare him. He was aiming directly at me," he told the judge.

Attorney Hatzmann claimed his client had been the victim of two previous attempts on his life. "My client was desperate because F.R.L.G. wanted to take his life," said Hatzmann. He pleaded self-defence and cited psychological circumstances beyond his client's control as reasons for his client's dismissal. The judge will give her decision on January 26.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12414-prosecutor-asks-five-years-for-gunfight.html

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Nicolas Sarkozy starts visit to French Antilles

MARIGOT--President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy will be in Guadeloupe this weekend on an official visit. He will be accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Minister of the Interior and Territorial Collectivit�s Brice Hortefeux, Minister of Overseas Territories Marie-Luce-Penchard, as well as other ministers.

The President began his visit in Martinique on Friday where he discussed tourism with local officials.

Agriculture development is among the key issues he is expected to address while in Guadeloupe where he is also expected to extend his wishes to the ultramarine communities.

His visit to the French Antilles coincides with a visit to Washington DC to prepare for the G8 and G20 summits. France has assumed the presidency of the G8 and G20 for 2011.

He will arrive in the US capital on Sunday and meet with President Barack Obama on Monday to discuss the global economy, and a range of foreign policy and security issues.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12190-nicolas-sarkozy-starts-visit-to-french-antilles.html

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Algae bloom is source of pond?s green appearance

PHILIPSBURG--The green appearance of Great Salt Pond caused some concern throughout yesterday, Monday.

St. Maarten Nature Foundation conducted some tests on the pond water's content and discovered high levels of phosphate, which indicated a rampant algae bloom. Nitrogen levels also appeared high, indicating low levels of oxygen in the water, which also contributes to the algae bloom.

According to Marine Park Manager Tadzio Bervoets, the low level of oxygen in the pond is a threat, as it enables a breeding ground for the already plaguing midges and mosquitoes.

Moreover, he explained that the increase in phosphate levels could be related to the lack of movement in the pond, as a shortage of rainfall has not provided fresh water in the pond. Therefore, he said, if it does not rain soon there could be a surge in the number of dead fish.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12260-algae-bloom-is-source-of-ponds-green-appearance-.html

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Liberating the American People

By Gilad Atzmon

In his latest Newsweek article Stephen Kinzer wonders who America is betting on to counter the popular rising forces in the Middle East: 'The same friends it has been betting on for decades' he answers. 'Mubarak’s pharaonic regime in Egypt, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, the Saudi monarchy, and increasingly radical politicians in Israel. It is no wonder that Iran’s power is rising as the American-imposed order begins to crumble,' he concludes.
 
Kinzer explains America's stance succinctly and accurately: “The U.S. keeps Mubarak in power - it gave his regime $1.5 billion in aid last year -mainly because he supports America’s pro-Israel policies, especially by helping Israel maintain its stranglehold on Gaza. It supports Abbas for the same reason; Abbas is seen as willing to compromise with Israel and is, therefore, a desirable negotiating partner….. American support for Mubarak and Abbas continues, although neither man is in power with any figment of legality; Mubarak brazenly stage-manages elections, and Abbas has ruled by decree since his term of office expired in 2009.”
 
In the light of Kinzer's statement, the following questions surely need answering -- Why does America support those regimes, whose leaders' dictates, ideologies and methods of ruling are totally and openly incongruous with America’s alleged value system? And If America is genuinely concerned with the so-called ‘rise of Islam’, why then, did it eradicate Saddam Hussein’s distinctly secular regime? And if America is, as it claims, enthusiastic about encouraging 'non radicalised' secular Arabs, why is it constantly seeking conflict with Bashir Asad, leader of another secular stronghold? And If America does indeed champion democracy, why does it support the Saudi regime, Mubarak and Abbas? Why does it not seek friendship with the democratically elected Hamas?
 
In short American policy seems to be a total mess -- unless one is willing to openly admit that there is a clear coherent thread running through American foreign policy: it simply serves Israel’s interests.    
 
For decades American foreign policy has been dictated by Zionist forces within their administration. For decades, America has been exhausting its resources to chase the enemies of the Jewish state. It even sends its young boys and girls to fight and die in Zionist wars. The second Iraq War was obviously such a war. It is becoming clear that America’s decision makers have sacrificed the interests of the American people.
 
We learned yesterday that the Jewish Lobby in America shamelessly slammed Republican Senator and Tea Party representative Rand Paul for  suggesting that the “United States should halt all foreign aid including its financial aid to Israel”. Even the alleged ‘peace seeking’ J Street was quick to attack the patriotic senator. And clearly they didn’t mince their words: “Senator Paul’s proposal would undermine the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Any erosion of support should concern Israel’s friends on both sides of the political aisle, and we call in particular on leaders and donors in Senator Paul’s party to repudiate his comments and ensure that American leadership around the world is not threatened by this irresponsible proposal," the statement issued by J Street read.
 
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) President and CEO David Harris repeated the same line of thought saying that “Paul's suggestion is negligent, shortsighted, and just plain wrong….Senator Paul's statement is yet another illustration of how the Republican Party continues to grow increasingly out of touch with the values of the vast majority of the American Jewish community."
 
But NJDC's spokesman David Harris must have failed to grasp that the  patriotic senator Paul is actually concerned with the interest of America, rather than the tribally orientated ‘values of the vast majority of the American Jews’, because Senator Rand Paul obviously points at a clear conflict between American interests and the foreign interests promoted by the Jewish lobby.
 
In his Newsweek article, Kinzer astutely points out that America needs “new approaches and new partners. Listening more closely to Turkey, the closest U.S. ally in the Muslim Middle East, would be a good start. A wise second step would be a reversal of policy toward Iran, from confrontation to a genuine search for compromise.”
 
But, it is clear beyond doubt here that America will not be able to integrate Kinzer's very reasonable suggestions into its foreign policy unless it first liberates itself from the grip of the Jewish Lobby. And it has been proven that it is not easy for our greed-driven politicians to emancipate themselves voluntarily from the Lobby. As we read above, the ‘liberal’ J Street group has called upon donors to cut off the very life supply of Senator Rand Paul. And The Jewish Lobby in America would do the same to every American politician who dared to break the links.
 
However, in the wake of the current financial turmoil, I am convinced that more and more Americans are beginning to identify the root cause at the bottom of their flawed foreign policy.  By the time this happens, America may well be liberated.

And here is my musical take on the subject. Liberating the American People (2006)

- Gilad Atzmon is a writer and jazz musician living in London. He is the author of several books. His latest CD is In Loving Memory of America. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.gilad.co.uk.

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16595

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Minister Arrindell outlines her vision for quality education

PHILIPSBURG--Education Minister Rhoda Arrindell said her vision for quality education is that in the short-term her Ministry would implement compulsory education and eradicate school drop-out.

"To achieve this will require that we improve teacher performance and professionalism, a goal which I am happy to report, is shared by the Windward Islands Teachers Union(WITU)," Arrindell noted when delivering the 24th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture hosted by Conscious Lyrics Foundation and held in the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Saturday night.

Her topic was 'The Right to Quality Education.'

She said she had already established a regular monthly meeting with the union to enlist its collaboration and ensure that all remain on the same page in matters related to teachers and to education in general.

Moreover the Minister said her vision calls for the need to improve the overall learning environment, from making a better and more effective use of the physical assets available, such as schools, gyms, etc., to ensuring that no child learns with a hungry stomach at school.

She said her tour of several schools last month served as an eye-opener to those physical needs and the concerns expressed by those schools will be addressed effectively.

In addition, her vision she said requires establishing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with providers of higher education so that there is continuity for students, as well as promoting studying in the region.

"I have already initiated efforts in this direction with institutions of higher learning in the Caribbean, which efforts will be expanded upon shortly in order for them to yield the desired results", the Minister said.

She said the mid-term goals her Ministry has set include among others, the systematic use of information and communication technology (ICT) in all schools. "This will ensure that all students will have access to computers and the Internet and that they are used systematically throughout the school curriculum. In this 21st century, all St. Maarten students must be computer literate and Internet?savvy," she stressed.

Furthermore, she said she intends to institute Physical Education instruction in all schools. "It is my view that the image of the nerd as physically weak must be confined to the TV screens where it belongs and not be allowed to sink root in our consciousness."

"In the long term, I envisage an educational system in which there will be a steady and seamless stream of students from the time they enter playschool to the time they are ripe for secondary school and ultimately university or any other institution of tertiary learning.

"In concrete terms, this means that all secondary school graduates should be able to possess a minimum level of competence, with a curriculum that has a high academic content, and that includes arts and culture as well as sports as mandatory subjects. This would mean eventually expanding school hours, improving professionalism, and greater parental involvement in the education of their children up to the higher education level," she suggested.

"In the long term, also, I want to see each school having teams in all sports and participating in an annual sports festival. It should not be far-fetched to establish in each school teams that will compete against one another for national titles or institutionalize healthy competition in cultural activities such as Carnival, Emancipation Day, Christmas, etc. among our schools," the Minister noted of her vision.

She said she strongly believed that each school, each educational institution on our island, must be of the best quality it can be, with the best students, the best teachers, the best equipment, and reaping the best results in competitive examinations.

"Quality education in this day and age, cannot and should not be viewed as "elitist" or "expensive." In fact, to paraphrase the quote of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which I began this lecture with, "Nothing in the entire world is more expensive and elitist than 'sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity' parading itself as expertise," said the Minister.

Noting her quest for quality education she said the question of course is how Government can afford this with the meagre financial resources and limited human resources.

"What I certainly pledge to do is ensure an effective and prudent husbandry of the resources available to us. The "cut, cut, cut," mode in which government finds itself at the moment must translate into greater creativity in making use of what we have and setting priorities that are achievable within our means.

"I believe in the genius of the St. Maarten parent to find the funds needed to grant his or her child the kind of quality education outlined in this vision. I know you believe, as I do, the adage to be true that says: 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance,'" the Minister said.

In concluding the Minister said, "The time to act is now, when we can no longer blame others for our shortcomings; when our pride and dignity as a people should not allow us to wait on hand-outs to build our own schools and develop our own curricula; when the reality of our goals demand that we do not throw away the wisdom of our most successful educators when they retire, but find ways to use them to our best advantage.

"The time to act is NOW, when our manifest destiny is freedom. And for that freedom to ring loud and clear to all corners of the globe from our hills and mountain tops, we have to embrace a new kind of education that will rest on two pillars: quality - that is excellence - and performance."

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12499-minister-arrindell-outlines-her-vision-for-quality-education.html

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Liberating the American People

By Gilad Atzmon

In his latest Newsweek article Stephen Kinzer wonders who America is betting on to counter the popular rising forces in the Middle East: 'The same friends it has been betting on for decades' he answers. 'Mubarak’s pharaonic regime in Egypt, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, the Saudi monarchy, and increasingly radical politicians in Israel. It is no wonder that Iran’s power is rising as the American-imposed order begins to crumble,' he concludes.
 
Kinzer explains America's stance succinctly and accurately: “The U.S. keeps Mubarak in power - it gave his regime $1.5 billion in aid last year -mainly because he supports America’s pro-Israel policies, especially by helping Israel maintain its stranglehold on Gaza. It supports Abbas for the same reason; Abbas is seen as willing to compromise with Israel and is, therefore, a desirable negotiating partner….. American support for Mubarak and Abbas continues, although neither man is in power with any figment of legality; Mubarak brazenly stage-manages elections, and Abbas has ruled by decree since his term of office expired in 2009.”
 
In the light of Kinzer's statement, the following questions surely need answering -- Why does America support those regimes, whose leaders' dictates, ideologies and methods of ruling are totally and openly incongruous with America’s alleged value system? And If America is genuinely concerned with the so-called ‘rise of Islam’, why then, did it eradicate Saddam Hussein’s distinctly secular regime? And if America is, as it claims, enthusiastic about encouraging 'non radicalised' secular Arabs, why is it constantly seeking conflict with Bashir Asad, leader of another secular stronghold? And If America does indeed champion democracy, why does it support the Saudi regime, Mubarak and Abbas? Why does it not seek friendship with the democratically elected Hamas?
 
In short American policy seems to be a total mess -- unless one is willing to openly admit that there is a clear coherent thread running through American foreign policy: it simply serves Israel’s interests.    
 
For decades American foreign policy has been dictated by Zionist forces within their administration. For decades, America has been exhausting its resources to chase the enemies of the Jewish state. It even sends its young boys and girls to fight and die in Zionist wars. The second Iraq War was obviously such a war. It is becoming clear that America’s decision makers have sacrificed the interests of the American people.
 
We learned yesterday that the Jewish Lobby in America shamelessly slammed Republican Senator and Tea Party representative Rand Paul for  suggesting that the “United States should halt all foreign aid including its financial aid to Israel”. Even the alleged ‘peace seeking’ J Street was quick to attack the patriotic senator. And clearly they didn’t mince their words: “Senator Paul’s proposal would undermine the decades-long bipartisan consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Any erosion of support should concern Israel’s friends on both sides of the political aisle, and we call in particular on leaders and donors in Senator Paul’s party to repudiate his comments and ensure that American leadership around the world is not threatened by this irresponsible proposal," the statement issued by J Street read.
 
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) President and CEO David Harris repeated the same line of thought saying that “Paul's suggestion is negligent, shortsighted, and just plain wrong….Senator Paul's statement is yet another illustration of how the Republican Party continues to grow increasingly out of touch with the values of the vast majority of the American Jewish community."
 
But NJDC's spokesman David Harris must have failed to grasp that the  patriotic senator Paul is actually concerned with the interest of America, rather than the tribally orientated ‘values of the vast majority of the American Jews’, because Senator Rand Paul obviously points at a clear conflict between American interests and the foreign interests promoted by the Jewish lobby.
 
In his Newsweek article, Kinzer astutely points out that America needs “new approaches and new partners. Listening more closely to Turkey, the closest U.S. ally in the Muslim Middle East, would be a good start. A wise second step would be a reversal of policy toward Iran, from confrontation to a genuine search for compromise.”
 
But, it is clear beyond doubt here that America will not be able to integrate Kinzer's very reasonable suggestions into its foreign policy unless it first liberates itself from the grip of the Jewish Lobby. And it has been proven that it is not easy for our greed-driven politicians to emancipate themselves voluntarily from the Lobby. As we read above, the ‘liberal’ J Street group has called upon donors to cut off the very life supply of Senator Rand Paul. And The Jewish Lobby in America would do the same to every American politician who dared to break the links.
 
However, in the wake of the current financial turmoil, I am convinced that more and more Americans are beginning to identify the root cause at the bottom of their flawed foreign policy.  By the time this happens, America may well be liberated.

And here is my musical take on the subject. Liberating the American People (2006)

- Gilad Atzmon is a writer and jazz musician living in London. He is the author of several books. His latest CD is In Loving Memory of America. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.gilad.co.uk.

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16595

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Palestinian Negotiators Must Tell All

By George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C.
 
The Arab peoples, almost anywhere from 'the Atlantic to the Gulf,' are nowadays seething with anger more than at anytime in recent decades, partly because of their poor economic conditions and rising unemployment as well as the absence of good governance. But equally shattering has been the feeling that their autocratic rulers are not responsive to their political goals and only serve as  instruments in the hands of the big powers, especially the United States which has been a firm ally of Israel, the usurper of the Palestinian homeland.
 
This has been clearly illustrated after the pace-setting Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia forced the country’s president and his family to flee to Saudi Arabia, and served as a torch for many in the region, especially Algeria, Egypt, and Yemen, where some demonstrators have been killed. The ongoing turmoil reported in the Sudan, Iraq and Lebanon where all have experienced political and confessional strife is about to splinter the Sudan, and divide Iraq despite the imminent withdrawal of American troops from occupied country.. 
 
As far as Lebanon is concerned, the country has this week passed through a cataclysmic change whereby Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hizballah, (Party of God) has emerged as a kingmaker when he succeeded in bringing about the downfall of the government led by Saad al-Hariri, son of the assassinated prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri, and managed to impose a successor, Najib Miqati, a former prime minister.
 
All this came about because of the captivating issue in Lebanon of the Special Tribunal Lebanon (STL),  a UN-sponsored tribunal which has been looking into the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and 22 others. The secret indictments, handed down last week, are believed to name prominent Hizballah members as the guilty parties in carrying out the crime. Sheikh Nasrallah had reportedly wanted Saad Hariri, who succeeded his father as the prime minister, to denounce the STL but he refused. Whether the prime minister-designate, will do that is still an open question.
 
The more sensational issue at this hour are “The Palestinian Papers,” a cache of secret diplomatic cables covering the period 1999 to 2010 and acquired by Aljazeera, an Arabic and English language television network seen world-wide, and shared exclusively by the Guardian of London. The more than 1600 documents exposed the give-and-take in negotiations in recent years between Israel and the Palestinian Authority where the Palestinians seemed to be giving more than taking.
 
“The documents,” according to Aluf Benn of Haaretz, “show that contrary to the ‘no-partner’ image perpetuated by Israelis, the Palestinians were holding serious negotiations on the borders of their future state and that they produced a detailed map of territorial exchanges in the West Bank and neighborhood partitions in (Israeli-occupied)East Jerusalem.”
 
What was most alarming in the documents, described by the Guardian as the “biggest leak” on the Middle East peace talks has shockingly revealed that “Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to accept Israel’s annexation of all but one (Har Homa) of the settlements built illegally in occupied East Jerusalem.” It added that this “unprecedented” proposal was one of a string of concessions that will cause shock waves among Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.
 
Another disturbing revelation was a confidential concession offered by the Palestinians included the highly sensitive issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees. The Palestinians accepted that only 10,000 refugees would return home at the rate of 1,000 a year  – a proposal that the Israelis rejected.
 
Kathleen Christison, a former CIA political analyst and author of several books on the Palestinian situation, highlighted in a column published this week by Counterpunch, that “the story of pressure one U.S. administration after another has exerted on Palestinian negotiators to make these concessions and accommodate all Israel’s demands shows U.S. conduct throughout almost two decades of negotiations to be perhaps the most cynical, and indeed the most shameful, of the three parties.”
 
But the most shameful indeed has been the alleged acceptance of the Palestinian negotiators to offer these unbelievable concessions – – a situation that obliges the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, to tell all when as he has promised this week. It is time for them to come out of their shell.

- George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. Contact him at: Hishmehg@aol.com.

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16587

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The Aljazeera Scandal

By Uri Avnery – Israel

I always thought this a specifically Israeli trait: whenever a scandal of national proportions breaks out, we ignore the crucial issues and focus our attention on some secondary detail. This spares us having to face the real problems and making painful decisions.

There are examples galore. The classic one centered on the question: “Who Gave the Order?” When it became known that in 1954 an Israeli spy ring had been ordered to plant bombs in US and British institutions in Egypt, in order to sabotage the effort to improve relations between the West and Gamal Abd-al-Nasser, a huge crisis rocked Israel. Almost nobody asked whether the idea itself had been wise or stupid. Almost nobody asked whether it was really in the best interest of Israel to challenge the new and vigorous Egyptian leader, who was fast becoming the idol of the entire Arab world (and who had already secretly indicated that he could possibly make peace with Israel).

No, the question was solely: Who had given the order? The Minister of Defense, Pinhas Lavon, or the chief of military intelligence, Binyamin Gibli? This question rocked the nation, brought down the government and induced David Ben-Gurion to leave the Labor Party.

Recently, the Turkish flotilla scandal centered around the question: was it a good idea for commandos to slide down ropes onto the ship, or should another form of attack have been adopted? Almost nobody asked: should Gaza have been blockaded in the first place? Wasn’t it smarter to start talking with Hamas? Was it a good idea to attack a Turkish ship on the high sees?

It seems that this particular Israeli way of dealing with problems is infectious. In this respect (too), our neighbors are starting to resemble us.

The Aljazeera TV network followed WikiLeaks’ example this week by publishing a pile of secret Palestinian documents. They paint a detailed picture of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, especially during the time of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, when the gap between the parties became much smaller.

In the Arab world, this caused a huge stir. Even while the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia was still in full swing, and masses of people in Egypt were confronting the Mubarak regime, the Aljazeera leaks stirred up an intense controversy.

But what was the clash about?  Not about the position of the Palestinian negotiators, not about the strategy of Mahmoud Abbas and his colleagues, its basic assumptions, its pros and cons.

No, in the Israeli way, the main question was: who leaked the documents? Who is lurking in the shadows behind the whistle-blowers? The CIA? The Mossad? What were their sinister motives?

On Aljazeera, the Palestinian leaders were accused of treason and worse. In Ramallah, the Aljazeera offices were attacked by pro-Abbas crowds. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, declared that Aljazeera was actually calling for his murder. He and others denied that they had ever made the concessions indicated in the documents. They seemed to be saying in public that such concessions would amount to betrayal – though they agreed to them in secret.

All this is nonsense. Now that the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating positions have been made public – and nobody seriously denied their authenticity - the real discussion should be about their substance.

For anyone involved in any way with Israeli-Palestinian peace-making, there was nothing really surprising in these disclosures.

On the contrary, they showed that the Palestinian negotiators are adhering strictly to the guidelines laid down by Yasser Arafat.

I know this firsthand, because I had the opportunity to discuss them with Arafat himself. That was in 1992, after the election of Yitzhak Rabin. Rachel and I went to Tunis to meet “Abu Amar”, as he liked to be called. The high point of the visit was a meeting in which, besides Arafat himself, several Palestinian leaders took part - among them Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Abed-Rabbo.

All were intensely curious about the personality of Rabin, whom I knew well, and questioned me closely about him. My remark that “Rabin is as honest as a politician can be” was greeted with general laughter, most of all from Arafat.

But the main part of the meeting was devoted to a review of the key problems of Israeli-Palestinian peace. The borders, Jerusalem, security, the refugees etc, which are now generally referred to as the “core issues”.

Arafat and the others discussed it from the Palestinian point of view. I tried to convey what – in my opinion – Rabin could possible agree to. What emerged was a kind of skeleton peace agreement.

Back in Israel, I met with Rabin at his private home on a Shabbat, in the presence of his assistant Eitan Haber, and tried to tell him what had transpired. Rather to my surprise, Rabin evaded all serious discussion. He was already thinking about Oslo.

A few years later, Gush Shalom published a detailed draft peace agreement. It was based on knowledge of the Palestinian position as disclosed in Tunis. As anyone can see on our website, it was very similar to the recent proposals of the Palestinian side as disclosed in the Aljazeera papers.

These are roughly as follows:

The borders will be based on the 1967 lines, with some minimal swaps of territory which would join to Israel the big settlements immediately adjacent to the Green Line. These do not include the big settlements that jut deep into the West Bank, cutting the territory into pieces, such as Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel.

All the settlements in what will become the State of Palestine will have to be evacuated. According to the papers, one of the Palestinians opened another option: that the settlers remain where they are and become Palestinian citizens. Tzipi Livni – then Foreign Minister – immediately objected, saying bluntly that all of them would be murdered. I agree that it would not be a good idea – it would cause endless friction, since these settlers sit on Palestinian land, either Palestinian private property or the land reserves of the towns and villages.

About Jerusalem, the solution would be as phrased by President Bill Clinton: What is Arab will go to Palestine, what is Jewish will be joined to Israel. This is a huge Palestinian concession, but a wise one. I was glad that they did not agree to apply this rule to Har Homa, the monstrous settlement built on what was once a beautiful wooded hill, where I spent  many days and nights (and almost lost my life) in protests against its construction.

About the refugees, it is clear to any reasonable person that there will not be a mass return of millions, which would turn Israel into something else. This is a very bitter (and unjust) pill for the Palestinians to swallow – but which any Palestinian who really desires a two-state solution must accept. The question is: how many refugees will be allowed back to Israel as a healing gesture? The Palestinians proposed 100,000. Olmert proposed 5,000. That’s a big difference – but once we start to haggle about numbers, a solution can be found.

The Palestinians want an international force to be stationed in the West Bank, safeguarding their own and Israel’s security. I don’t remember if Arafat mentioned this to me, but I am sure that he would have agreed.

This, then, is the Palestinian peace plan – and it has not changed since Arafat came, in late 1973, to the conclusion that the two-state solution was the only viable one. The fact that Olmert and Co. did not jump to accept these terms, instead launching the deadly Cast Lead operation, speaks for itself.

The Aljazeera disclosures are inopportune. Such delicate negotiations are better conducted in secret. The idea that “the people should be part of the negotiations” is naïve. The people should certainly be consulted, but not before a draft agreement lies on the table and they can decide whether they like the whole bundle or not. Before that, disclosures will only whip up a demagogic cacophony of accusations of treason (on both sides), like what is happening now.

For the Israeli peace camp, the disclosures are a blessing. They prove, as Gush Shalom put it yesterday in its weekly statement, that “We have a partner for peace. The Palestinians have no partner for peace.”

- Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16598

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The Palestine Papers: Offering Palestine

By Ramzy Baroud

The Palestine Papers had damaged whatever little credibility the Ramallah-based authority still enjoyed among Palestinians The Palestine Papers, the 1,300 leaked documents that Aljazeera began publishing starting January 23, are the Palestinian response to the Israeli ‘generous offer’, an Israeli diplomatic ruse that was aimed at discrediting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following the collapse of the Camp David talks of July 25, 2000.

But unlike the fictitious Israeli ‘generous offer’, the Palestinian offer, as revealed by Aljazeera, was barely a testament to the spirit of the famed Arab generosity, but a series of decided and embarrassing concessions that, at times, took even the Israelis by surprise.

Over a decade has passed since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reportedly made his ‘generous offer”, only to be met by “Arafat's recalcitrance” (L.A. Times editorial, April 08, 2002) and “Palestinian rejectionism” (Mortimer Zuckerman, U.S. News & World Report, March, 22, 2002, as referenced by Seth Ackerman in Fair.org).

The invented offer, which turned out to be a term coined by Israeli officials merely to discredit Arafat and absolve Israel from any commitment under previously signed agreements, was described as “extraordinary and “far-reaching” by leading American newspapers. Every attempt at dispelling that myth largely failed before immovable US-Israeli official discourses, which often, if not always, define mainstream narratives.

But now Aljazeera had courageously followed in the footsteps of Wikileaks, verifying and revealing hundreds of documents, spanning from 1999-2010, which expose the extent of the Palestinians’ ‘generosity’, that is truly extraordinary and far-reaching, if not a cause of utter shame to many of those involved, along with their die-hard supporters.

What The Documents Reveal...

The Palestine Papers are too many and represent a final indictment of the PA, and its willingness to meet, and at times, exceed the expectations of the Israeli government, at the expense of the Palestinian people

The Palestine Papers revealed much about the skewed nature of the relationship between two parties – Israel and the Palestinian Authority - who are purportedly in a state of conflict, if not war. But as it turned out, the Palestinian leadership seemed to negotiate and offer the very opposite of what the Palestinian public truly wants, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as enshrined in international law, contiguous borders for the proposed Palestinian state, dismantling of all illegal Jewish settlements and more. The extent of the Palestinian compromises has in fact exceeded the most cynical of estimations.

According to one leaked document, Saeb Erekat for example who holds the weighty title of the ‘Chief Negotiator’, gave away most of Occupied East Jerusalem with little hesitance. On June 30, 2008, in a meeting that included Tzipi Livni, the then Israel foreign minister, Ahmed Qurei, top Fatah official and former PA prime minister, Erekat declared: “It is no secret that on our map we proposed we are offering you the biggest Yerushalayim (the Hebrew word for al-Quds or Jerusalem) in history.”

Erekat’s personal offer was an extension of one proposed by Qurei himself, in a meeting two weeks earlier, on June 15. Qurei “proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem except Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa). This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition; we refused to do so in Camp David.”

To leave no doubt in Israeli officials minds that the Palestinians truly mean ‘all settlements’, Erekat “went on to enumerate some of the settlements that the PA was willing to concede,” reported Gregg Carlstrom in Aljazeera. They are “French Hill, Ramat Alon, Ramat Shlomo, Gilo, Talpiot, and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s old city. Those areas contain some 120,000 Jewish settlers. (Erekat did not mention the fate of other major East Jerusalem settlements, like Pisgat Ze’ev and Neve Ya’akov, but Qurei’s language indicates that they would also remain a part of Israel.)”

As for Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary (the third holiest of Muslim shrines anywhere and a sight that saw much violence as a result of desperate Palestinian attempts at defending the holy site in the face of Israel fundamentalists backed by Israeli army and police), Erekat offered ‘creative’ solutions, such as placing the Palestinian Muslim shrine under international supervision, thus ceding almost complete control over the occupied city.

This is barely the tip of the iceberg. The compromises are plentiful and brazenly contradict international law, Palestinian national aspirations, Arab consensus, and even the declared official position of the Palestinian Authority itself.

Selling Out the Refugees

The Palestine Papers also confirm that both sides are in agreement regarding the Palestinian people’s right to return, that, more or less, such a right will not be carried out. A summary of an August 2008 meeting indicated an Israeli offer of a land swap that would guarantee that the majority of illegal Jewish settlers remain in the occupied West Bank. It included a proposal by then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to allow a total of 5,000 Palestinian refugees (out of nearly six million) to return to their homes over the course of five years.

In an October 21, 2009 meeting with US diplomat and Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, the Chief Palestinian Negotiator, Erekat seemed to have no qualms with the proposal. “Palestinians will need to know that five million refugees will not go back. The number will be agreed as one of the options. Also the number returning to their own state will depend on annual absorption capacity.” In another leaked document dated January 15, 2010, Erekat told US diplomat David Hale that the PA offered Israel the return of ‘a symbolic number’ of refugees. Until then, the refugees, according to Erekat will have no voting rights on any peace deal with Israel. Aljazeera also quoted Ziyad Clot, a legal adviser to Palestinian negotiators on refugee issues, saying: “President Abbas offered an extremely low proposal for the number of returnees to Israel a few weeks only after the start of the process.”

The Palestine Papers are too many and represent a final indictment of the PA, and its willingness to meet, and at times, exceed the expectations of the Israeli government, at the expense of the Palestinian people.

Out of Context?

Following Aljazeera’s release of some of the documents, PA officials went on the offensive, attacking the news network, instead of contending with the damning message. Some of their accusations contradicted each other, the same contradictions that are marring the Palestinian official narrative altogether.

“Fabrication... lies,” screamed Erekat; “out of context,” said Abbas. As for senior PLO leader Yasser Abd Rabbo, he spent nearly half an hour in a Ramallah press conference on Monday, January 24, heaping insults and accusations on Aljazeera. Considering all of this, it was only expected that some 200 Fatah supporters (who reportedly included many plain-clothed PA security personnel) attacked and vandalized Aljazeera offices in Ramallah, ironically shouting “Aljazeera is a Zionist channel!”

The other irony is that a few days earlier, on Wednesday, January 20, the PA reportedly refused to grant permission for a Palestinian rally to celebrate the overthrow of Tunisia’s authoritarian president and to stand in solidarity with the Tunisian people.

It’s hard to believe that there are many Palestinians – aside from those who directly benefit from the current regime – who truly believe that the Authority of Mahmoud Abbas has the interests of the Palestinian people at heart. The Palestine Papers had damaged whatever little credibility the Ramallah-based authority still enjoyed among Palestinians.

Propped by US funds, sustained by European and American political validation and secured by the Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, it is unclear how long the PA will continue to serve a purpose in the West Bank. It is certain, however, that the purpose is not exacting Palestinian rights or preserving the national integrity of the Palestinian people and territorial integrity of a Palestinian state. The Palestine Papers made this very clear, and lashing out at Aljazeera changes nothing.

- Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press, London), now available on Amazon.com. You can visit his website through this link: www.ramzybaroud.net.

Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16585

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Heavy declines in Egypt bourse

Egyptian stock market suffered sharp losses on Wednesday morning after the "Day of Anger". By 13:10 the main index (EGX30) fell by 5.06 percent, its biggest decline since May 2010. It reached 6,382.91 points, while the secondary index (EGX70) lost 8.26 percent. 

The Egyptian stock market was closed Tuesday to mark the "Day of Police." 

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/heavy-declines-egypt-bourse

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Huge bush fire burns out of control

SUCKER GARDEN--A huge fire burned out of control on the hill to the left (West) of the road between Sucker Garden and Defiance last night.

It was fanned by a brisk wind, causing it to race upwards and spread laterally to the left and right. Very soon, the fire covered the entire face of the hill and spread out across its base approximately 200 yards.

The fire raced up and over the peak of the hill and started to burn down the other side by 10:30pm. It cut a swathe through the bush that was visible from miles away.

Houses facing Madame Estate on the hill area had to be evacuated.

The fire was clearly beyond the resources of the Fire Department, which could not tackle the blaze due to lack of accessibility and water.

The main focus of concern for the Fire Department was to try to secure the safety of houses and residents. At press time it was not yet known how many houses might be damaged or lost completely.

The heat of a bush fire fanned by wind is intensified due to the increase in available oxygen without which no fire can survive. Increased oxygen levels can raise the temperatures to in excess of 1,000 degrees.

Police officers blocked off the road from the Sucker Garden area by Gas King and only emergency services vehicles were allowed to pass. Members of the press also were not allowed to pass the area on foot due to thick smoke that at times was blown back down the hill. An officer explained that they were concerned that people might become affected by smoke inhalation, such was the density of smoke emitted from the fire.

As the flames raced onwards unchecked they started to approach the area of Arch Road where many wooden shacks are located. It was unknown at press time how many shacks were located in the bush areas and whether any homes had been destroyed.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12988-huge-bush-fire-burns-out-of-control.html

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Concerns of elderly broached at well-attended symposium

�Sarah: We need to look at new realities

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten's changing demographics have to be taken into consideration when looking at ways of addressing issues affecting senior citizens, says Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.

At the time she was speaking to the capacity crowd at the start of the two-day St. Maarten Seniors and Pensioners Association (SMSPA) seminar at Belair Community Centre on Monday.

"The demographics are changing rapidly. For many years St. Maarten could boast of a young population to carry the rest of the population, including those who have given the rest of their productive lives to St. Maarten. Those demographics are changing and we need to continue to look at ways to offer that support and basis to provide the services that seniors and pensioners need," said Wescot-Williams.

"When all is said and done, over the last year and a half the number of legal residents in St. Maarten has changed. In fact our registered population, just because of the Brooks Tower Accord, has increased by approximately 5,000 persons.

"Even before that we have seen in the social system that persons who came to this island to seek employment are now ageing themselves and are going to continue to be part of this community. In other words, the number of persons for whom you will be discussing solutions today has increased, but in this complexity there are also opportunities."

Wescot-Williams said Country status gave St. Maarten the opportunity to address the "fragmentation" of medical and other services. She said these now could be "brought together and looked at from the interest of the various groups in our society, especially the elderly and the pensioners."

Poverty among pensioners and access to health care are the main issues the association is highlighting at the conference, which ends today. SMSPA will also be gathering the views of its members on how to move forward on these concerns.

Wescot-Williams said she was heartened that the association was addressing these issues. She said the establishment of government's Community Help Desk was expected to bring government closer to the people.

"There are so many of our seniors who day after day continue to make a contribution to their groups of friends and peers and to the society in general. They deserve our applause and recognition," she said.

In her PowerPoint presentation, Health Ministry Acting Secretary-General Jorien Wuite outlined the vision of the health ministry as well as government's roadmap to reform social security. She said pensioners in Country St. Maarten "have a stronger voice." She implored them to "use it well."

Also addressing pensioners were Neil Henderson of Henderson Insurances, SMSPA President Patricia Flanders and First Vice President Raymond Jessurun, and Secretary of Education Carl Cooner.

NAGICO Insurances and FATUM had booths set up at the seminar to give information to pensioners.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12541-concerns-of-elderly-broached-at-well-attended-symposium-.html

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Syria: Number of tourists up in 2010

The number of foreign tourists coming to Syria in 2010 amounted to 8.5 million, registering an increase of 40 percent compared to 2009. The Syrian Tourism Minister Saadallah Agha Al-Qala was quoted as saying 4.6 million tourists came from Arab countries in addition to 1.5 million Syrians living abroad. A total of 2.3 million tourists came from other countries.

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/tourism-hospitality/syria-number-tourists-2010

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Iraq oil output set to increase

The spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Assem Jihad, conveyed total oil reserves amount to about 500 billion barrels. According to him, the recent data on the country's proven reserves, which reach 143 billion barrels are set to increase as they represent only 64 oil fields. 

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/iraq-oil-output-set-increase

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Talks break down, Pelican files request to dismiss 182 workers

PHILIPSBURG--The former owners of Pelican Resort Club have filed a mass dismissal request for the 183 workers, after the company and union hit a deadlock in their talks.

Labour Mediator Derrick Holiday confirmed last night that the talks had ended on Monday as the union and company failed to see eye-to-eye on who currently employs the workers. Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) President Theophilus Thompson is sticking to the union's position that the workers now are employed by the new company, while management says they are employed by the old company.

Both WIFOL and Pelican met with workers yesterday. Thompson said during the meeting with the workers last night that he was waiting to see what government's move would be on this apparent mass dismissal request, as WIFOL had not been apprised of it officially. "It is all in the hands of government now," Thompson said.

One worker told The Daily Herald that management had scheduled separate meetings for each department on Tuesday. However, all workers showed up to the first meeting called, as they did not want to be divided and ruled.

The workers said the new Pelican company's General Manager Jules James, a United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament, and his assistant had updated them on developments at this meeting and had told them that they had to sign a contract or they would be out of jobs. The workers said they had been told that the dismissal request had been filed, but none of the employees had signed anything.

Holiday said the new owners had indicated that the old owners no longer had any jurisdiction in the running of the Pelican operations as of December 17, the day after the building was auctioned to its lender.

Thompson contends that by virtue of this statement the workers are under the employ of the new company. WIFOL contends that the workers have been functioning under the new owners since December 17.

One of the issues raised last night was the fact that the management team of the old company is now working for the new company. This is said to be one of the reasons the management had been unable access the old company's accounts earlier this month to pay the workers their December salaries, as they were no longer working for the old company.

James was called for an update on Tuesday afternoon. He said he would return a call to this newspaper, but hadn't done so up to press time.

In a statement issued last night the new owner Royal Resorts Caribbean Chief Executive Officer Richard Corso said he was shocked that the company and union had been unable to reach an agreement. He said the two parties had had two dozen meetings and labour mediation had been sought at one point.

Corso said "the prospective management company" originally had proposed six-month labour contracts for all workers with no trial period and all wages and positions remaining the same as with the previous employer.

Thompson said he had rejected this offer, as it placed the workers in insecure employment. A 12-month contract with a continuation of wages and positions was offered, but was turned down by the union.

Corso said a final proposal had been made by management to provide immediate permanent employment to the 182 workers on a 60-day trial period with their wages and positions remaining the same. He said management had "voluntarily offered to limit the maximum number of employees who could be released during the trial period to 50" and said this meant that "nearly" three of every four workers "were guaranteed permanent employment and the number could have been even higher."

Corso: "I am utterly disappointed and even shocked by the position of WIFOL. The prospective new owner would have been within its rights to have finalised the sale, shut the resort down, and avoided all these challenges. Instead, the prospective owner chose to take a very socially responsible position and offer a job to every single one of the 182 people currently employed with Pelican.

"I believe the offer was very generous for a new company facing an uncertain economic future. To offer more guarantees would very likely be unsustainable for the business. The actions of Mr. Thompson have sent the prospective new owners of Pelican Resort a strong negative message about the viability of business here in St. Maarten.

"The prospective new owner is currently unable to enter into contracts, including those for sales and marketing, until it is the rightful owner and future operations are certain. The sales and marketing company this week shut its doors, leaving 23 workers without a job. It was simple economics but painful nonetheless.

"The team of sales workers, most of whom have been together for many years at Pelican, shed heartfelt tears and shared hugs as they comforted each other in this difficult time. The sales company had no source of revenue and could no longer remain in operation."

The company has asked government to expedite its request for a licence.

Thompson had claimed in the past that a 10-year concession request and a transfer tax waiver also had been requested, but Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger said last week that he had not received any "official" request for a concession.

Corso said workers had been informed about the dismissal request and updated on the current status. He said "many workers were surprised and stated Mr. Thompson had never told them about these offers."

Corso said Royal Resorts operated 10 resorts and most of the workers were unionised. "We have full support for every worker's right to unionise and we have harmonious relationships with our unions' members and representatives. Both workers and management must have realistic expectations and work for the overall good of everyone involved."

He said everything possible should be done to ensure the continuity and sustainability of jobs. "Disruption or closure of the resort will be very, very damaging to the reputation of St. Maarten, timeshare, and almost every person who calls this country their home."

He said Pelican brought more than US $1 million into the local economy every week . "... In light of the surprising challenges and adversities that have emerged for the prospective new owner to operate the resort after it takes possession, the prospective new owner is doubtful whether or not it will be economically viable, or even possible, to operate the resort after it takes possession," Corso said.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12588-talks-break-down-pelican-files-request-to-dismiss-182-workers-.html

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Summaya Al Khashab launches campaign to stop suicide

Egyptian actress Summaya Al Khashab has launched a campaign to stop suicide and called on artists to play a positive role facing the new trend of suicide that is spreading around the Arab world starting in Tunisia and spreading to Alegeria, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan.

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/latest-news/summaya-al-khashab-launches-campaign-stop-suicide

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Yemeni protesters urge president to step down

The wave of protests reached Yemen on Thursday. Thousands of citizens demonstrated in Sanaa, urging the country's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power.

"Enough being in power for 30 years," chanted the protesters, according to AFP. They also referred to the toppling of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, saying he was "gone in just (over) 20 years."

An opposition activist conveyed that staging the demonstration in four separate locations was aimed at distracting the security forces.

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/yemeni-protesters-urge-president-step-down

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Nelson Mandela?s Health Surrounded by Secrecy

Nelson Mandela is reportedly recovering from a collapsed lung at a Johannesburg hospital, cloaked by levels of secrecy that have triggered wild rumours and near panic.

Source: http://en.mercopress.com/2011/01/28/nelson-mandela-s-health-surrounded-by-secrecy?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss

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Lebanon and Tunisia: Two Ousted Leaders.

Will social unrest spread and threaten other Mideast autocracies? Some dubbed it the ?Jasmine Revolution? out of an apparent need to romanticize all popular uprisings by tagging a color or symbol to it, as they did with Tunisia ?s national flower. Yet it felt decidedly out of place. This was no Western-backed revolt, where an American president issues lively calls for the people?s will to be respected. On the contrary, if the U.S., France or any of the Arab client states could have intervened to preserve the 23-year rule of Tunisian dictator Zain al-Abidine Ben Ali, they would have done so.�Simmering anger at skyrocketing food prices, inflation, unemployment, cronyism and corruption had boiled over and erupted into mass protests. But the Tunisian intifada started with one young man?s despair.�Muhammad Bouazizi was a 26-year old ex-student who resorted to street vending in order to support his family. Ben Ali?s thugs showed him no mercy even in that. Police confiscated his fruit and vegetable cart on the pretext he had no license, and beat and humiliated him when he had no money for a bribe.�He pled his case to authorities, to be allowed to push his wheelbarrow and eek out a meager existence, but to no avail. On Dec. 17, Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of municipal government headquarters where his case had been heard and dismissed. It was the literal and figurative speak that mobilized Tunisians into waves of demonstrations that swept Ben Ali all the way to Saudi Arabia .�Acts of self-immolation followed in Algeria and Egypt . Protests in Jordan over soaring prices and unemployment mirrored Tunisian grievances and led to calls for the entire government to resign. �Indeed, the question on everyone?s mind is whether the unrest will spread and threaten other Mideast autocracies and oligarchies, specifically Egypt and Algeria .������������������������������������������������������� This is unlikely in the short-term. Tunisia ?s uprising was unique in the way it had mobilized the middle class to join forces with trade unions and the poor to uproot the nepotism and corruption Ben Ali?s reign embodied. While this particular set of social conditions may not be generalizable to other Arab countries, his ouster did reaffirm?as the 1979 Iranian Revolution proved?the security-state?s fragility in comparison to the people?s wrath. It dispelled the myth, however, that all such rebellions are Islamist-inspired.�Just two days prior to Ben Ali?s hasty exit to Saudi Arabia , another Mideast leader lost power.�Although ?toppled? tends to connate violent overthrow, it was nonetheless used to describe the peaceful resignation of 11 opposition ministers from the cabinet of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, causing his government to deservedly collapse. Their resignations ostensibly came after Hariri refused to hold an urgent cabinet meeting to address the country?s response to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is expected to indict high-ranking Hezbollah officials in the February 2005 assassination of late premier Rafiq Hariri. The indictments were delivered sealed to the pre-trial judge Monday.�Hopes to resolve the impasse on how to deal with their fallout were placed in the long-touted ?Saudi-Syrian initiative.? Before the initiative was allowed to bear fruit, it was torpedoed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she met with Hariri in New York . When he acquiesced and it became clear the deal was dead, the opposition ministers? resignation was a forgone conclusion. �President Michel Suleiman has temporarily delayed parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister to give Turkish and Qatari mediation efforts a chance to forestall yet another crisis. Hezbollah and Michel Aoun?s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc have already said they will not support Hariri?s reappointment.�Further undermining the caretaker prime minister?s credibility, Lebanon?s New TV aired leaked audio tapes of a 2007 meeting between Hariri, pre-STL U.N. Deputy Chief investigator Gerhard Lehmann, Internal Security Forces head Col. Wissam al-Hassan (whose conspicuous absence the day Hariri was assassinated and his flimsy alibi raises troubling questions) and Muhammad Zuhair al-Siddiq.�Al-Siddiq is a known criminal and one of the ?false witnesses? who implicated Syria in Hariri?s murder with fabricated, now discredited testimony. The embarrassing tape shoots holes through Hariri?s claim he never had personal knowledge of al-Siddiq or anything to do with the false witnesses.�In a remarkable week, two Arab leaders were deposed.�One was a staunchly secular dictator who fled in disgrace to an ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia . He may loathe the religious atmosphere but once envied its security relations with the West. Ben Ali is now relegated to an apolitical life in Jeddah, the same city in which Idi Amin once took refuge.�The other, though not a dictator, sold out a formula for domestic and regional stability at his country?s expense. His political and sectarian agenda, at justice?s expense, will allow the STL?s politicized indictments to foment strife, conflict and enmity between Lebanese.�For making himself a party to that in his capacity as prime minister, the Lebanese should encourage Hariri, who holds Saudi citizenship, to take extended leave in the Kingdom as well.�Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator.

Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/129400365507404280.htm

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At least 40 dead in Baghdad explosions

A number of bombing attacks killed at least 40 people and injured scores Thursday in various parts of the Iraqi capital, the country's Interior Ministry said. 

At least 37 people died and 78 others were hurt when a parked car detonated near a funeral tent in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwestern Baghdad. 

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/least-40-dead-baghdad-explosions

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