“…allegations made in earlier reports by the organisation. It is based on allegations and assumptions that are far from objective to arrive at conclusions that are neither dependable nor convincing” - Nasser Judeh, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications, unconvinced by a Human Rights Watch report that claims the General Intelligence Department (GID) […]

“The US military bases and the presence of around 150,000 American soldiers in Iraq have made the United States one of the neighbouring states in the region.” - Prince Hassan, in a seminar on “Armament and Security in the Middle East” on Tuesday. [source]
The Prince also said he said he doesn’t expect US troops to […]

All the lessons of history in four sentences:
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.
The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.
The bee fertilizes the flower it robs.
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
- Charles A. Beard

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Probably in response to Abbas’ decision to break off contact with Israel, but I found this incredibly ironic, but you be the judge…
“Absence of negotiations would lead to a ‘Gazaization’ of the West Bank, and anyone who can’t see this is lying to himself,” - Prime Minister Olmert. March 3, 2008. [source]

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“The organizers of suicide attacks don’t want to jeopardize their missions by recruiting unreliable people. It may be that some psychologically unstable people want to become suicide bombers, but insurgent organizations strongly prefer their cannons fixed.” - Political Sociologist Robert Brym of the University of Toronto, in a paper published in Social Forces. Brym concluded […]

“We already cannot cope with daily increases in prices.” - Hossam Atrash, a member of the Armed Forces. Consumers already burdened by rising prices expressed dismay over an expected 17 per cent increase in the price of imported infant formula this year. The father of three wondered whether the decision was a message to encourage […]

“How do you expect us to report on the credibility of elections when civil groups are not permitted to observe vote casting and ballot counting?” - Samih Sunukrut, secretary general of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights. The Jordanian Coalition for Civil Society Organisations announced on Tuesday it would drop a plan to monitor parliamentary […]

Who do you think had this to say about global warming?
“In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on […]

Support for suicide bombings against civilians has fallen sharply across the Muslim world since 2002, a major survey has suggested…In Lebanon, Bangladesh, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia, the proportion of Muslims who support suicide bombing has declined by half or more since 2002. But in areas of conflict, the results are different - 70% of Palestinians […]

“I decided to murder an Arab.” - 26-year-old Tel Aviv resident Julian Soufir, confessing to police after slitting the throat of an Arab taxi driver.
Two Israeli brothers have been detained in connection with the stabbing to death of a Palestinian taxi driver in an apparent hate crime, police said. Julian Soufir, 25, has been ordered […]

“Taking part in the elections is a national obligation” - Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told reporters during a weekly press briefing yesterday.
The government on Monday urged citizens to register for the forthcoming municipal elections before the May 23 deadline. Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat last week said that 589,097 citizens have so far […]

“You can’t use them as human shields, it is against the law.” - A foreign peace activist telling Israeli soldiers who forced two Palestinian youths to stand in front of their jeep in Ramallah to avoid stones being thrown at them. The activist recorded the incident on tape prompting the Israeli army to suspend the […]

“We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation. But frankness does not have to mean lack of civility.”
- The opening lines of a draft ‘blogging code of conduct’ written by Tim O’Reilly. The draft says people should not be allowed to leave anonymous comments. Blogs which are open and uncensored should […]

“If Alan Johnston is not returned after three days, then we will continue. This is a battle for me, my union and the Palestinian people. We must be successful.”
Palestinian Journalists’ Union, Naim Tubasi, to BBC News, after starting up an official three-day boycott of the government in an attempt to pressure officials into helping free […]

“…one would face a longer jail sentence for bouncing a cheque than for killing a woman.”
Jordanian journalist/activist Rana Husseini speaking at a seminar in Doha
[source]

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