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Turkey probes Gaza 'war crimes'

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Aljazeera
Friday, February 06, 2009
18:33 Mecca time, 15:33 GMT
Turkey probes Gaza 'war crimes'

A Turkish prosecutor has launched an investigation into whether Israel committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its offensive in Gaza, his office has said.

The investigation follows a complaint lodged by the human rights association Mazlum-Der against several top Israeli officials.

The officials against whom allegations have been levelled are Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister, Ehud Barak, the defence minister, and Gabi Ashkenazi, the army chief of staff.

"Every complaint merits an investigation," the spokesman told AFP news agency on Friday when asked whether a probe had been launched into Mazlum-Der's complaint.

Under Turkish law, prosecutors are obliged to look into all complaints to determine whether there are grounds to initiate a full-scale investigation that could lead to formal charges.

If the prosecutor decides the complaint does not merit a case, it will be dismissed.

'Genocide'

In its petition, Mazlum-Der accused Israel of carrying out "direct attacks on civilians with the aim of annihilating them" and employing internationally-banned weapons in the process.

"The suspects, who wanted to wipe out the Palestinian people through systematic attacks, have committed genocide and crimes against humanity," it said, demanding that the suspects be detained if they enter Turkey.

Turkish law allows for the trial of people accused of genocide or crimes against humanity even if the crimes were committed abroad.

Israel's 22-day offensive last month on Hamas-controlled Gaza left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead and injured 5,300 others.

Turkey, one of the few Muslim allies of Israel, strongly criticised the assault on Gaza amid almost daily anti-Israel demonstrations across the country.

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Girls' Killing 'Reasonable'

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:22:00 +0000

Aljazeera
Thursday, February 05, 2009
05:09 Mecca time, 02:09 GMT

Israel: Girls' killing 'reasonable'

The Israeli military has admitted shelling the home of a Palestinian doctor during its Gaza offensive and killing three of his daughters, but said its soldiers' actions were "reasonable" considering the circumstances.

Dr Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a 55-year-old gynaecologist trained in Israeli hospitals, was giving Israel's Channel 10 his daily phone account from inside the war zone in Gaza when three of his daughters were killed in the attack.

The military said on Wednesday that an inquiry into the January 16 incident found that troops fired two shells at the doctor's home after fighters fired from the area.

The report said soldiers came under fire from a building close to Abu
al-Aish's, and then ''suspicious figures were identified in the upper level of Dr Abu al-Aish's house and were thought to be spotters who directed the Hamas sniper and mortar fire".

Abu al-Aish, who has worked for years in Israeli hospitals, has denied there were any fighters at his house.

The report said soldiers stopped firing after hearing screams from the shelled building.

The military expressed sadness at the deaths but did not admit to a mistake in identification.

Instead, it said in the report, ''considering the constraints of the battle scene, the amount of threats that endangered the force, and the intensity of fighting in the area, the forces' action and the decision to fire toward the building were reasonable".[]

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Obama to Cap US Executive Pay

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:58:00 +0000

Aljazeera
Thursday, February 05, 2009
06:43 Mecca time, 03:43 GMT

Obama to cap US Executive Pay
Barack Obama, the US president, has said his government will impose a salary cap of $500,000 for senior executives at companies receiving federal economic bailout funds.

Obama said the government would also cap "golden parachute" severance payments for executives leaving Wall Street firms receiving government aid.

"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis isn't only in bad taste – it's bad strategy – and I will not tolerate it as president" Obama said at the White House on Wednesday.

The administration of George Bush, Obama's predecessor, agreed a $700bn bailout of financial firms in October last year and about $350bn of the money has been used.

Al Jazeera's John Terrett reporting from New York said the Bush administration had imposed some rules on how firms spent bailout payments but that they had been considered to be quite lax.

Terrett said Obama's move was about honesty and openness and telling the American people that company executives would no longer be rewarded using taxpayers money.

The move comes on the same day that the US's main oversight committee, the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission, was accused of ignoring a $50bn fraud scheme allegedly committed by finacnier Bernard Madoff.

Harry Markopolos, a former investment manager turned "whistleblower", told politicians on the House Financial Services Subcommittee that he had tried to warn US regulators about Madoff as far back as 2000 but that he had been ignored.

Five senior members of the SEC appeared in front of the committee but angered those on the panel by refusing to answer specific questions on the Madoff scandal, citing the ongoing investigation.

'Taking responsibility'

Obama has repeatedly criticised Wall Street executives over reports that they accepted billions of dollars in bonuses last year as they received government aid during the global financial crisis.

"We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses,'' Obama said.

Obama also said that any payments beyond $500,000 to executives would have to be in stock options and could only be made after government aid had been repaid.

The US president also announced that limits would be set on severance packages.

"We're putting a stop to these kinds of massive severance packages we've all read about with disgust - we're taking the air out of golden parachutes," Obama said with Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, at his side.

However, some Wall Street analysts criticised the move, saying it could lead to talented executives leaving to seek better pay elsewhere.

David Kotok, the chief investment officer at the Cumberland financial advice firm, said: "This is pure political grandstanding. If the limit has bite, it will be counterproductive and the unintended consequences will hurt the US as skilled and bright senior managers make choices."

Job loss

The US president also promised a new series of measures to spark economic activity amid what many say is the nation's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Two reports by private analysts released on Wednesday said thousands of jobs had been lost in the the US in the first month of the year alone.

Non-agricultural private jobs fell by 522,000 in January, according to a report by Automatic Data Processing, a payroll firm.

A separate report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consultancy firm, said 241,749 planned job cuts were announced in January, the largest monthly total since January 2002, when 248,475 jobs were cut.

The US senate is currently debating a massive economic stimulus plan that could be worth up to $900bn.

The plan is the first major attempt by Obama's administration to tackle the ailing US economy.[]

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Three-week War on Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Aljazeera
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
21:09 Mecca time, 18:09 GMT
Three-week War on Gaza

Israel's three-week war on Gaza caused billions of dollars in damage and left the already-tattered local economy on the verge of collapse.

Some of the world's richest countries - including the US which has promised a $20-million aid package - have pledged monies to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad reports that rivalry between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and other Palestinian factions threatens to scuttle efforts to rebuild Gaza and rehabilitate its people.

We came across Tayseer Jneed, a father of four, as he waited in queue outside a post office in Gaza City to cash a cheque Hamas had distributed to many Palestinians who, like him, had lost family and homes during Israel's recent war.

But Jneed was already disappointed.

"I am unhappy because Hamas promised me 6,000 euros but I am getting 4,f000 euros," he told Al Jazeera.

Jneed's home was destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Gaza and he has been forced to live in a tent donated by the UN.

Like many of the makeshift tents housing hundreds of Palestinians who have recently lost their home, there is no water and the family of six are forced to resort to a makeshift toilet constructed by one of their neighbours.

The financial handout is meant to help his family survive until real reconstruction gets under way in Gaza.

"I need more money, I need a home, I need to be able to pay for my children's education, food, and clothes."

Cash-strapped

Others at the post office told us that they also did not get all the cash they had been promised. They took whatever they could from Hamas, because it may be the only money they will be receiving for a while.

The Hamas authorities in Gaza said this was a one-time emergency payment and have no concrete plans beyond that.

Cash has been in short supply in Gaza ever since Israel imposed its siege in 2007, following Hamas wresting control of Gaza from its rival, Fatah, after a unity government collapsed.

However, many Palestinians living in Gaza see the rivalry as posing a serious threat to any reconstruction initiatives the territory so desperately needs today.

Hamas maintains that it was democratically elected and therefore carries the mandate of the people. Hamas officials say they should play a key role in reconstruction efforts.

The Fatah-led PA, however, says it is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

For their part, international donors say they will not recognise Hamas because the Islamist movement refuses to recognise Israel and does not honour previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

They say they will only deal with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and chairman of Fatah.

But Fatah has no authority in Gaza.

All-encompassing damage

The damage from the war is all encompassing and cannot be carried out without the hundreds of millions of dollars pledged by the international community.

Omar Shaban, a Gaza-based independent economist, says: "We are not talking about delivering some assistance here and there. We are talking about building 5,000 flats and rehabilitating another 20,000, rebuilding around 500 institutions, rehabilitating the roads."
"All of this needs a very strong government and close coordination with that government," he said.

A strong government is something the Palestinians do not have. Instead, the Gaza Strip is run by the deposed Hamas government, while the West Bank is under the PA – led by Abbas.

Hamas and the PA have held reconciliation talks on numerous occasions, but instead of uniting, their rivalry has become more entrenched.

"If the division between Fatah and Hamas continues, then I do not know how the reconstruction process can happen," Shaban says.

He told Al Jazeera that reconstruction programmes require close coordination between the local municipalities and land authorities on the one hand and Hamas, the power in Gaza, on the other.

Embargo on material

For its part, Israel refuses to allow glass, cement, and other desperately needed building material into the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas is in control.

For many in Gaza, every day without reconstruction means another day of living in makeshift shacks and tents, without electricity, water, or basic services.

That is the reality of daily life for Jneed and his family.

The 4,000 euros will make life easier for him now but in the long-run he sees no way out.

He blames Israel first and foremost for the carnage in Gaza but acknowledges that he will not get his home back until Palestinian politicians stop bickering and start proper planning.[]

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Arab Talks Focus on Palestinians

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Aljazeera
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
15:34 Mecca time, 12:34 GMT
Arab talks focus on Palestinians

Foreign ministers from nine Arab countries are meeting in Abu Dhabi for talks on the division between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.

Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have signalled their support for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah, Hamas' main rival.

The meeting on Tuesday comes as Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, met Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, in Tehran.
In recent weeks the three countries have stayed away from meetings attended by Ahmadinejad in protest against Iranian support for armed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Arab influences

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said the talks in Abu Dhabi show that the Arab landscape is being "reconfigured".
"There are outside influences, whether they be American, European, Turkish or Iranian, which are adding to the pressure on the Arab world," he said on Tuesday.

"There are those who support accommodation with Israel and the United States and those who support resisting Israeli occupation and American influence in the region."

The Abu Dhabi talks come amid continuing differences between Hamas and Fatah, with the Palestinian parties as far away from a national unity government as ever.

Meshaal said earlier this week that the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is designated the sole legitimate voice of the Palestinian people, is obsolete and should be replaced.

But Abbas, whose Fatah movement has the backing of the US and Israel, has said he will not talk with any group that fails to recognise the legitimacy of the PLO.

Hamas support

Iranian support for Hamas shows how far the Shia state has sought to distance itself from countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Bishara said.

"Since the American invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran has felt that it is surrounded by American bases, as well as an American attempt to change its regime," Bishara said.

"Arab countries hosting American bases have supported regime change in Iran. So Iran lashed back ... it used all the tools possible to spread its influence around the region."

The fact that groups such as Hamas adhere to Sunni Islam has not prevented Iran from forming an alliegance with them, Bishara said.

"The Sunni groups that Iran is supporting are so-called Islamic Brotherhood groups that came about in the 1930s. Those groups do not look favourably to Shia Islam as a religious view. Yet Iran supports them, not for religious reasons, but for geo-political reasons."

"Talk of the Shia crescent is more of an American-Israeli view of things, rather than the reality in the region," he said.[]

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Erdogan Hailed After Davos Walkout

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:42:00 +0000

Aljazeera, Friday, January 30, 2009
22:16 Mecca time, 19:16 GMT

Erdogan hailed after Davos walkout

Erdogan, right, was angered by the moderator not giving him a chance to counter Peres' argument [AFP]

Turkey's prime minister has returned home from the World Economic Forum in Davos to a warm welcome after he stormed out of a debate over Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 5,000 people, many waving Palestinian and Turkish flags, greeted Recep Tayyip Erdogan after his aeroplane touched down early on Friday.

Erdogan walked out of a televised debate on Thursday with Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, after themoderator refused to allow him to rebut Peres' justification about the war.

Before storming out, Erdogan told Shimon Peres, the Israeli president: "You are killing people."

At least 1,300 Palestinians were killed during Israel's 22-day aerial, naval and ground assault on Gaza. Thirteen Israeli citizens died over the same period.

Speaking to Al Jazeera at the Swiss resort, Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy for the quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, said: "Given what's happened in Gaza it would be surprising if people didn't feel really strongly about it.

"Prime minister Erdogan, I know, because I spoke to him earlier in the day, feels passionately and really sad about what has happened to the people of Gaza.

"And it's inevitable that you get this kind of incident".

'No return'

During the heated panel discussion, Peres told Erdogan that Turkey would have acted in the same manner as Israel if rockets had been falling on Istanbul.

Moderator David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, then told Erdogan that he had "only a minute" to respond to a lengthy monologue by Peres.

Erdogan said: "I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. There have been many people killed. And I think that it is very wrong and it is not humanitarian."

Ignatius twice attempted to finish the debate, saying, "We really do need to get people to dinner."

Erdogan then said: "Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don't think I will come back to Davos after this."

Peres told reporters after the incident that Israel is not in conflict with Turkey.

"I don't see this as a personal or national problem. The relations can remain as they are. My respect [for him] hasn't changed. It was an exchange of views and views are views," he said.

Hamas, which has de facto control of the Gaza Strip after pushing Fatah fighters out of the territory in June 2007, commended Erdogan for his action.

"Hamas pays tribute to the courageous stand of Turkey's prime minister ... who in Davos directly defended the victims of the criminal Zionist war against our children and women in Gaza," Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said on Friday.

"We consider his departure from the room an expression of support for the victims of the holocaust carried out by the Zionists."

'Understandable'

Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League and former Egyptian foreign minister, who was also in the debate, said Erdogan's action was understandable.

"Mr Erdogan said what he wanted to say and then he left. That's all. He was right," he said, adding that Israel "doesn't listen".

Turkey has in recent months brokered indirect talks between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights region, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967.

The exchange between Erdogan and Peres took place on the second day of the summit, where business and political leaders have been discussing trade, financial regulation and global security.

Gareth Evans, the president of the International Crisis Group think-tank, told Al Jazeera that Erdogan's walk-out was "deeply depressing".

"I thought the tone of the debate had been reasonably moderate up until Shimon Peres laid some heavy-duty stuff on the line, in a very uncompromising and rather un-Peres like fashion," he said.

"In particular, what was depressing was Peres' utter unwillingness to acknowledge the real significance of the Arab peace initiative and to respond to Erdogan and Amr Moussa, saying how important it is that Israel formally say that the plan is a major step towards peace.

"Turkey was Israel's best friend in the Muslim world. I think Israel has to come to grips with the fact that it has alienated a very large proportion of the world's population."

Peres said his outburst was in response to repeated criticism of Israel for its Gaza operation.

He said: "They try to make the Israeli policy an ugly story. Israel is a democracy. It is fighting one of the most dangerous, terroristic, dictatorial groups.

"All of a sudden to be a humanitarian is to support dictators, to support terror, to support killing innocent people".

Gore plea

Meanwhile, the Davos forum continued into its third day on Friday, with Al Gore, the former US vice-president and Nobel Peace prize winner, participating in a discussion on the environment.

Referring to a UN meeting in Copenhagen later this year aimed at concluding a global agreement on reducing emissions, Gore said Barack Obama, the new US president, and other world leaders should seal a quick deal despite the pervasive global financial crisis.

He said: "The new administration is very serious about this. We need an agreement this year, not next year or some other time."

Gore called Obama "the greenest person in the room" for making environmental funding a large part of the $819bn economic stimulus bill passed by US politicians this week.

"I think it's important for the world leaders gathered here to fully appreciate the magnitude of the change in US leadership," he said.[]

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UN to probe Gaza compound attack

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:30:00 +0000

UN to probe Gaza compound attack
The January 15 attack destroyed much-needed food and medical supplies [Reuters]

The UN secretary-general has announced an investigation into the attack on the UN headquarters in the Gaza Strip during Israel's 22-day assault on the Palestinian territory.

Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that he was angered by the "unacceptable" Israeli attacks on civilians and UN relief agency (Unrwa) compounds.

"Over the past several weeks, unacceptable and terrible situations have taken place against the civilian people and against particularly the United Nations compounds, where many civilians were sheltered," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The UN chief's announcement came shortly after nine people, seven of them schoolchildren, were injured in an Israeli air raid on Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel seemed to be targeting a Palestinian fighter on a motorcycle, witnesses told Al Jazeera. There have been a series of raids on Gaza in recent days despite the Israeli government calling a unilateral ceasefire to end the fighting on January 17.

'Upset and angered'

Ban said there would be an "independent investigation to look into the case of [the]Unrwa compound bombing".

The bombing set fire to warehouses, destroying badly-needed food and medical aid.

UN officials say they have evidence that white phosphorous, a smokescreen agent that can cause severe burns, was used in the attack on the UN relief agency's main building in Gaza that left three people injured.

"I myself saw and visited this compound, which has been destroyed by Israeli forces. It was just, again, unacceptable, and I was very much frustrated and upset and angered by what I had seen," Ban said.

Israel said Hamas fighters had used the compound to launch attacks on its forces but later apologised for the incident.

A total of 53 installations used by the United Nations Relief and Works agency were damaged or destroyed during Israel's Gaza campaign including 37 schools - six of which were being used as emergency shelters - six health centres, and two warehouses.

Ban's investigation will be separate from one that the UN Human Rights Council has launched into alleged violations of humanitarian law during the fighting, but he did not give details on who will carry it out and when.

Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Ariel Sharon, a former Israeli prime minister, said that Israel has nothing to hide and called for any investigation to examine Hamas's conduct during the war.

"In the 22 days of the war they used their own people as human shields. This is the largest hostage situation in world history," he said.

"Israel exercised its right to self-defence, taking great care not to harm civilians.

"Hamas has used Unrwa camps - in which armed men are not allowed, according to the UN Charter - to deploy their own weapons and fighters and brought in other people, so that when Israel fired it was turned into a crime scene and a smoking gun was pointed at Israel."

US demands

The Security Council has yet to take a position on the UN investigation, but Susan Rice, the new US ambassador to the body, said on Thursday that Israel should carry out its own investigation into possible abuses by its forces.

"We expect Israel will meet its international obligations to investigate and we also call upon all members of the international community to refrain from politicising these important issues," she said.

In her debut speech at the UN Security Council in New York, Rice also said that Hamas was guilty of violating international law "through its rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in southern Israel and the use of civilian facilities to provide protection for its terrorist attacks".

George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, is in the region as part of efforts to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

But he warned that there could be setbacks.

"The tragic violence in Gaza and in southern Israel offers a sobering reminder of the very serious and difficult challenges and unfortunately the setbacks that will come," he said.

More than 1,300 Palestinians, including 44 civilians sheltering at a UN-run school housing refugees, were killed during Israel's war on Gaza. Thirteen Israel citizens also died during the conflict.

The African Union has joined the number of international bodies condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza.

The 53-member African body called on Friday for the United Nations to investigate allegations that Israel violated human rights in a series of "massive, indiscriminate and disproportionate" raids.

In Davos on Thursday, Ban also announced an international appeal to raise $613m to help rebuild Gaza.

He said the appeal for funds covered the requirements of the UN and other organisations for the next six to nine months, providing aid such as medical care and clean water.

Egypt's foreign ministry said on Friday that the country will host an international conference in March aimed at raising $2bn for the reconstruction of Gaza.

The ministry said the conference will be "organised in co-ordination" with the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah - Hamas' main rival. [aljazeera]

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Obama's Inaugural Speech

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech. In his speech Tuesday, President Obama said America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. In his speech Tuesday, President Obama said America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. (cnn.com)
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noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:39:00 +0000

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Salam Persahabatan
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Obama's Inaugural Speech

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:08:00 +0000

eBooks Free Download

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:10:00 +0000

i n D I Y A H
"in Dedication Invaluable Yearning Aballenate And Hobnob"
The Journalistic Lesson For "Al-Ittihad" Islamic Yunior High School

Vision:

To estabilish the people who have knowledge, technology and a good morals

Mission:

To increase the awareness of believing Islamic theory
To do the right Islamic theories according to Ahlu Sunnah Wa Al-Jamaah
To educate the studens to have knowledge with the future orientation innovatively
To increase the spirit and modern thinking based on the belief and devout (peity)
To estabilish Islamic character strongly

----------- Lounch. on: January 2009-----------

KUMPULAN PREDIKSI DAN LATIHAN SOAL-SOAL UJIAN AKHIR NASIONAL 2009 UNTUK SD/MI, SMP/MTs, dan SMA/MA (Prog.IPA/IPS)
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Salam Persahabatan
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Paradise Posts Archives

noreply@blogger.com (My Paradise) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:52:00 +0000

Posts Archives
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SeRamBI, saya maksudkan sebagai Oase Rambah Budaya Islami, Intelek, (Blogger) Indonesia. I-nya bisa apa sajalah. Tergantung tema tulisan, karena halaman ini hanya akan memuat tulisan-tulisan ringan layaknya obrolan santai di serambi rumah, musholla, masjid pondok dll. Jika Anda kebetulan mampir di blog saya ini dan masih belum ketemu ‘apa-apa’ atau mungkin melihat halaman statis yang cenderung berubah-ubah, itu karena semenjak pembuatan blog ini (22 October ybl), saya coba temukan yang paling pas dengan kebisaan saya serta subjek-tema naskah-nask ah di buku saya. Apalagi, karena beberapa hal, saya belum bisa intens menulis. Jadi, jangan kapok mampir ke sini. Kunjungi di hari lain, insya’allah ada yang baru. Sementara, apa adanya ini saja dulu dinikmati.

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