"Lebanese 'defensive shield' - no problem"

More than 50 people have been killed ..as Lebanese Army forces battle Islamists in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared.The resemblance of the Lebanese chain of events to Israel's April 2002 assault on the Jenin refugee camp as part of Operation Defensive Shield is striking.. Palestinians, Arab League, United Nations and human rights organizations all called for investigations into the Israeli operation, initially dubbed a "massacre" by Arab leaders and the news media. The IDF operation resulted in the deaths of 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers. Still, protests were sent to the UN Security Council, and inquiries were conducted by the UN, journalists and human rights organizations. All admitted that no massacre had taken place; however Human Rights Watch and others did claim that Israel had violated international law. CURIOUSLY, similar calls by the world community for investigations into the recent fighting in Lebanon are absent. Missing are the cries of the Arab world for an investigation into the deaths of innocent Palestinians.'

"Australia: PM Rejects Amnesty Report"

The Australian Government rejects the characterisation of Australia and her human rights record contained in Amnesty Internationals 2007 annual report, as well as reported comments about Australia by Amnesty Internationals secretary general. The reports entry on Australia contains a string of assertions, unsupported by evidence and devoid of context. The reports treatment of Australia amounts to little more than a shoddy caricature. Nowhere is the reports political agenda clearer than the paragraph in its foreword which seeks to bracket Australian and US policies with the horrendous human rights situation in Darfur and Robert Mugabes disastrous misrule in Zimbabwe.

"Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) staffer plotted to kill Olmert"

A Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who works for the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Thursday...

" Pro-Palestinian charities warned over 'politicising' "

'Charities planning to take part in next month's pro-Palestinian rally in London, marking the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War, have been warned to abide by regulations set out by the Charity Commission.....A spokesman for the commission said it had received messages of concern that by supporting the Enough Coalition rally, the groups may be breaking the rules preventing charities from becoming political bodies...A spokesman for the commission said it had received messages of concern that by supporting the Enough Coalition rally, the groups may be breaking the rules preventing charities from becoming political bodies...One of the charities taking part in the rally, War on Want, is being monitored by the commission following complaints about two leaflets it has distributed.'

"Charity under fire"

Communal leaders and Israeli Embassy officials have attacked the actions of a British charity which has announced that it is a "leading member" of the pro-Palestinian Enough coalition, which is planning anti-occupation protests on the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War next month.. The row blew up as War on Want officials took former cabinet minister Clare Short a strong critic of Israel to the West Bank, where she met Palestinians and then accused Israel of "war crimes".

Letter to the editor in response to Gwyneth Gibby, "Activist speaks out about life in Palestine in Corvallis talk, Corvallis Gazette-Times, May 4, 2007.

"Finkelsteins Bigotry"

In this article, Alan Dershowitz sets forth why Norman Finkelstein, known for his inflammatory writings on the Holocaust and Israel, should be denied tenure at DePaul University in Chicago.

"Shilling for Hamas"

'Oxfam. is appealing to Western governments to end sanctions against the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government, despite Hamas's escalating rhetoric, involvement in terror operations and preparations for broader military confrontation with Israel Oxfam executive director Jeremy Hobbs stated: 'International aid should be provided impartially on the basis of need, not as a political tool to change the policies of a government'... The Palestinians receive vastly disproportionate amounts of aid in comparison to far more desperate peoples in Africa and Asia. This reflects the extraordinary amount of attention given to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in comparison to more expansive conflicts in other regions. According to the World Bank and Oxfam's own figures, aid to the Palestinians in 2006 actually increased by 20% over the prior year and funds directed to the PA doubled. '

"What Is a Gongo? How government-sponsored groups masquerade as civil society."

"Gongos are government-sponsored nongovernmental organizations. Behind this contradictory and almost laughable tongue twister lies an important and growing global trend that deserves more scrutiny: governments funding and controlling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), often stealthily. Some gongos are benign, others irrelevant. But many, including those mentioned above, are dangerous. Some act as the thuggish arm of repressive governments. Others use the practices of democracy to subtly undermine democracy at home. Abroad, the gongos of repressive regimes lobby the United Nations and other international institutions, often posing as representatives of citizen groups with lofty aims when, in fact, they are nothing but agents of the governments that fund them. Some governments embed their gongos deep in the societies of other countries and use them to advance their interests abroad."

Civil Society, Intercultural Dialogue and Political Activism: Rethinking EMP Policies