போதைப் பொருள் வர்த்தகத்தில் கோத்தபய ராஜபக்சே? (படங்கள்)

Posted Date : 16:55 (20/08/2014

கொழும்பு: போதைப் பொருள் வர்த்தகத்தில் இலங்கை பாதுகாப்பு செயலாளர் கோத்தபய ராஜபக்சேவுக்கு முக்கிய தொடர்பு இருப்பது குறித்த புகைப்படங்கள் வெளியாகி இருப்பது பெரும் பரபரப்பை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

அண்மையில் கண்டியில் சுமார் 59 கிலோ போதைப் பொருள் காவல்துறையினரால் கைப்பற்றப்பட்டது. அதனை பதுக்கி வைத்திருந்த அஹமட் சப்ரி என்பவர் காவல்துறையினரால் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.

அவரிடம் நடத்தப்பட்ட விசாரணையில், மலேசியாவில் வசிக்கும் இலங்கை வர்த்தகரான டாத்தோ முஜாஹிதீன் என்பவர் போதைப் பொருளை வழங்கி வருவதும், அவருக்கு சொந்தமாக சொகுசு படகு ஒன்று இருப்பதும் தெரிய வந்தது.

மேலும், இலங்கை பாதுகாப்புச் செயலாளர் கோத்தபாய ராஜபக்சேவின் நெருங்கிய நண்பரான டாத்தோ முஜாஹிதீனுக்கு, ராணுவ உயரதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் அரசியல்வாதிகள் மத்தியில் நெருக்கமான தொடர்புகளும், செல்வாக்கும் இருப்பது தெரியவந்துள்ளது.

இதன் காரணமாகவே கண்டியில் கைப்பற்றப்பட்ட போதைப் பொருள் வர்த்தகருடன் டாத்தோ முஜாஹிதீனுக்கு இருக்கும் தொடர்புகள் குறித்து செய்திகளை வெளியிட வேண்டாம் என்று ஊடகங்களுக்கு அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மேலும், டாத்தோ முஜாஹிதீன் போன்றவர்களுடன் இணைந்து கோத்தபயவே இந்த போதைப் பொருள் வர்த்தகத்துடன் நேரடித் தொடர்பை  கொண்டுள்ளார். இதன் காரணமாக இலங்கையில் போதை பொருள் வர்த்தகத்தை கட்டுப்படுத்துவது மிகவும் சிக்கலான விடயம் என காவல்துறையினர் கவலை தெரிவித்துள்ளதாக பிரபல சிங்கள புலனாய்வு செய்தி இணையத்தளம் உள்ளிட்ட பல சிங்கள இணையத்தளங்கள் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளன.

Suspected drug dealer with powerful 

political connection arrested 

By Madura Ranwala-August 20, 2014

Nuwan being removed by the police following an incident at the Rupavahini Corporation, where he came under attack by irate workers while accompanying Minister Mervyn Silva in December, 2007 (File photo)

Acting on a tip-off, notorious drug peddler Nuwan Udaya Gunathilake alias Kudu Nuwan with political connections was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) yesterday afternoon at Meetotamulla.

The Police Media Unit said that he had been arrested along with 300 grammes of heroin in his possession. Police sources said that he would be grilled on a seven-day detention order. He was also a wanted suspect for rape and murder.

Gota’s Beautification Victims Go To Appeal Courts

August 20, 2014 

A group of residents from ‘34 Watte’ Wanathamulla, Borella has filed a case in the Court of Appeal today against the Urban Development Authority (UDA), challenging the institution’s directive that has ordered them to move out of their homes to pave way for the rapid beautification projects of the Colombo city.

Gotabaya – Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development

Four petitioners from ’34 Watte’ – L. P. B. Nissanka, W. K. Thusitha Samith, K. A. Gunaratne and Samaradeera Samakanthi has filed their case under {CA (Writ 283/14)}, pointing out the UDA order has been issued to them in violation of the Land Acquisition Act and is also given out against a backdrop of unreasonable alternatives offered to them by the UDA in the forms of unfair compensation and low quality accommodation.

Making their case the petitioners have pointed out that they possess title deeds to their present lands dating back to 1979, which indicates the UDA is acting outside the legal framework available in the Land Acquisition Act when acquiring private land.

It has been highlighted in the case furthermore that these attempts of the UDA to forcibly evict residents of ’34 Watte’ is in violation of the undertaking made by the UDA in March this year before the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka where its officials had agreed that no person would be moved from their residence without their consent.

Citing reasons behind the decision to challenge the UDA directive, the petitioners have asserted that the UDA has severely undervalued their properties and that the only proposal provided by the UDA presently as alternative accommodation is much smaller in size to their existing property and requires those being evicted to pay a significant sum of money for a period of 20 years.

Listing out the following reasons, the petitioners have requested the Court of Appeal to consider quashing the decision to forcefully evict them and to prohibit the UDA or its agencies or representatives from acting in any manner that would be prejudicial and or/interfere with the petitioners’ peaceful and quiet possession of their property.

Read the petition here

Father complaints, seeking protection for his girls from abnormally sexual Sanath!

 Wednesday, 20 August 2014 

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A father has lodged complaints with Maradana police and the police Women and Children’s Bureau, requesting that his two daughters be saved from Sanath Janasuriya, former Test cricketer nicknamed ‘master-blaster’ and deputy posts minister of the present Rajapaksa regime

The complainant is Kasun Dhanushka Welaratne, a resident of Maradana, who had, in vain, first complained to Maradana police, and then to the Women and Children’s Bureau at Nugegoda.

In his complaint to Maradana police on May 10 this year, he has alleged that his wife Radhisha Perera, an air hostess at SriLankan Airlines, has been having an extra-marital affair with Sanath Teran Janasuriya since last October.

Radhisha and Sanath had spent the Valentine’s Day, on 14 February 2014, in Singapore, and Sanath had taken her, off her official duties, to London for the bell-tolling to mark the commencement of the Lord’s Test between Sri Lanka and England this year, and that he has evidence to prove that they had stayed at City Grange Hotel at London Dockland.

The complainant also says he got married to Radhisha in 2008 and that they have two daughters – one aged 4 ½ years and the other aged 2 ½ years. The wife has maliciously abandoned the married home and is staying, with a sister of hers, at an apartment owned and frequently visited by Sanath at King’s Court at Thunmulla in Colombo.

Sanath’s second wife, Sandra Jayasuriya, has filed a divorce case at the Colombo district court, citing his abnormal sexuality. The petition also cites that this is the reason for the mutual malicious desertion.

As Sanath’s married wife accuses him before courts of being having abnormal sexuality, Radhisha’s husband has complained to police that by his married wife going to live and have sex with Sanath, the lives of his two daughters fallen into great danger.

A constable (pc 33963) has informed Radhisha to be present at Maradana police to investigate the first complaint on May 10. However, without doing so, she has got Sanath to transfer the PC to police hospital on a charge that he had threatened her. Again, Kasun complained to Maradana police on July 01, requesting that he be given custody of his two daughters.

Using his political powers as a deputy minister, Sanath has ordered the OIC of Maradana police to take the complaints book and go to the office of the DIG Gamini Mathurata and obtain a statement from Radhisha there. Sanath’s order has been fulfilled.

Knowing the futility of complaining to Maradana police and without giving into the political powers of Sanath, Radhisha’s husband has then gone to the Women and Children’s Bureau at Nugegoda. Understanding the injustice caused in this matter, Bureau officials yesterday summoned Radhisha for an inquiry.

There, the woman has denied having any affair with Sanath, but said she would file for divoce from Kasun. The complainant has said that if any harm comes to the two children, she should accept full responsibility. Bureau officials have advised him to file a separate court case immediately to obtain custodianship of his daughters.

Maithripala’s cat catches Gota’s mischievous rat spying on government’s own Ministers

(Lanka-e-News- 19.Aug.2014, 2.30PM) Minister of health Maithripala Sirisena had been able to recently catch red handed a police officer appointed to his personal security detail planted by Sri Lanka (SL) criminal defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse to secretly spy on the activities of the Minister.

This police officer by the name of Bandara had been planted by Gotabaya into the Minister’s security detail for espionage activities on the latter .This officer was for some time working under Mathripala as a member of his personal security squad , and secretly transmitting information daily to criminal defense secretary Gotabaya relating to the Minister’s activities as well as about his associates , friends , visitors and political activists .

Gotabaya has been paying this spy an additional monthly payment of Rs 50,000/- via his secret Ministry fund over and above his monthly salary for his espionage activities on the government’s own Minister , and mind you a most senior Minister at that. Unfortunately for Gotabaya , when this spy was trapped , he had confessed every fact like a parrot in detail under oath. Subsequently , the Minister had relieved this officer of his security duties.

It is well to recall that Minister Maithripala was a Minister who escaped a bomb explosion when an attempt was made on his life at Boralegamuwa during the war period . Maithripala also told a media briefing convened by him some months ago that there is a group trying to murder him.

Interestingly ,Lanka e news which is always first with the news and best with the views , exposing the truth undaunted and undeterred , reported about a year ago, Gotabaya has deployed spies as cooks , drivers and members of the security contingent of the Ministers , chief Ministers and political opponents who the Rajapakses decide are inimical to them. Even their telephone calls are being secretly tapped , Lanka e news further pointed out.

This report has now been borne out by this latest incident. At present only Minister Maithripala’s victimization by his own government has come to light …… many more are in the pipeline .

My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.

A child next to a picture of Nelson Mandela at a pro-Palestinian rally in Cape Town. August 9, 2014Photo by AP

By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014
The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the world against the injustice of Israel’s 

My Plea to the People of Israel Liberate Yourselves by Liberating Palestine by Thavam

Political Duopoly In Washington Encouraging Ongoing Killing

From Missouri to Ukraine

| by John Stanton

“…in what manner does tyranny arise? —that it has a democratic origin is evident…But when [the tyrant] has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader…Has he not also another object, which is that they may be impoverished by payment of taxes, and thus compelled to devote themselves to their daily wants and therefore less likely to conspire against him?: Clearly….And if any of them are suspected by him of having notions of freedom, and of resistance to his authority, he will have a good pretext for destroying them by placing them at the mercy of the enemy; and for all these reasons the tyrant must be always getting up a war.” Plato, Book VIII

( August 20, 2014, Virginia, Sri Lanka Guardian) There is a lot of gnashing of teeth in the USA over the events taking place in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked by the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown. 

Political Duopoly in Washington Encouraging Ongoing Killing by Thavam

Gary Anandasangaree as the Federal Liberal Candidate in Scarborough Rouge-Park

This Wednesday August 20, 2014 the nomination meeting to select the next Federal Liberal candidate for the newly formed riding of Scarborough Rouge-Park is scheduled to take place from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Scarborough Convention Centre.

Gary Anandasangaree, a human rights activist and a lawyer, who has dedicated the better part of his adult life to fighting all forms of inequality and injustice is seeking the nomination.

Gary Anandasangaree at a Tamil Media Press Conference in Toronto on August 12, 2014

Over the years, Gary has worked to bring issues that are of great importance to the Tamil community to the forefront and has worked to find a constructive solution forward. He has during the last twenty years, been a tireless advocate in the areas of youth issues, social justice and human rights.

Gary is a firm believer in empowering and providing young persons with the necessary tools to become leaders in the community. He has and continues to be a strong supporter of initiatives undertaken by the youth of our community. As a lawyer, Gary has been a strong advocate in assisting young persons who have been suspended or expelled from school. Through his intervention, many young persons in our community have been able to return to school.

Similarly, Gary has been integral in ensuring that the Government of Sri Lanka is kept on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council. During each session of the UN HRC session in Geneva, Gary has regularly given voice to those who, would otherwise be silenced.

Among the hundreds of people he has assisted over the years, are those who arrived on board the MV Sun Sea in Vancouver, British Columbia. Upon learning about the imminent arrival, on his own initiative and without hesitation, Gary flew from Toronto to Vancouver to ensure those who sought refuge on our shores were treated according to our legal obligations and with the dignity they deserve.

Tamil Canadians of Scarborough Rouge-Park deserve a candidate who will best represent their needs in Ottawa. Gary is the right person for Scarborough Rouge-Park. His track record over the past twenty years is proof of his work ethic, determination and dedication to working for our community. In this light, Gary deserves our wholehearted support.

Gary is also a Board member of the Youth Challenge Fund, Member of the Police Chief's Advisory Board, member of the United Way Newcomers Grants program and is also past chair of the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre.

TamilCanadian.com, without reservation, supports Gary Anandasangaree’s nomination bid to represent the riding of Scarborough Rouge-Park as the Liberal candidate in the 2015 general election.

Courtesy: TamilCanadian
Published on: Aug 19, 2014 22:36:09 GMT

Islamic State opens new anti-U.S. front with beheading video

 File photo of U.S. journalist James Foley (R) with fellow reporter Clare Gillis (not pictured), after being released by the Libyan government, at Rixos hotel in Tripoli, May 18, 2011. 

 Wreckage of a car belonging to Islamic State militants after it was targeted by an American air strike near Mosul Dam in Mosul in northern Iraq August 19, 2014. 

BY MICHAEL GEORGY AND MARIAM KAROUNY-BAGHDAD/BEIRUT Wed Aug 20, 2014 
(Reuters) - Islamic State's beheading of a U.S. journalist and its threat to "destroy the American cross" suggests it has gained enough confidence seizing large areas of Iraq and Syria to take aim at American targets despite the risks.

Islamic State Opens New Anti-U.S. Front With Beheading Video by Thavam

Hamas leader's wife and child reported killed as Gaza war resumes

Israel targets Hamas-affiliated TV station as Hamas claims air strike was attempted assassination of Mohammed Deif

Harriet Sherwood in Gaza City and Patrick Kingsley in Cairo-Wednesday 20 August 2014 

A boy is treated at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza after Israeli air strikes. Photograph: Xinhua/Landov/Barcroft Media

The conflict in Gaza has flared up with renewed rocket fire and air strikes as talks in Cairo aimed at forging a durable ceasefire in the six-week war broke down.

A woman and a two-year-old boy – reported to be the wife and child of Mohammed Deif, Hamas’s military chief, whom Israel has wanted to eliminate for years – died in an air strike on a house in Gaza City on Tuesday evening. A third unidentified person was also killed and at least 15 people injured.

Hamas said the strike was an attempt to assassinate Deif and said Israel had opened a “gateway to hell”.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the latest of a series of temporary ceasefires after rockets were launched from Gaza on Tuesday hours before the end of the latest truce, triggering a swift military and political response. 

Seven members of one family, including a woman and three children, were killed when a house in central Gaza was hit early on Wednesday. The offices of the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV were also hit in at least 60 air strikes following the breakdown of the ceasefire. Hundreds of civilians fled their homes for UN shelters.

Israeli officials said 70 rockets were fired from Gaza, the first of which were launched around eight hours before the truce was due to end at midnight. Hamas denied firing the first rockets but, following the deadly attack on the Gaza City house, it said it had fired at least 40 rockets, targeting Tel Aviv and Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion.

Iron Dome, Israel’s vaunted anti-missile defence system, was reactivated, sirens sounded in the centre and south of the country, and bomb shelters within 50 miles (80km) of the Gaza border were reopened.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, ordered his negotiating team to leave talks in Cairo. “The Cairo talks were based on an agreed premise of a total cessation of hostilities,” said the Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. “When Hamas breaks the ceasefire they also break the premise for the Cairo talks. Accordingly the Israeli team has been called back as a result of today’s rocket fire.” It was not clear whether the team would return.

Palestinian negotiators also left Cairo, blaming Israel for their failure. “Israel thwarted the contacts that could have brought peace,” said chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed. The Palestinians had presented a final set of demands, but Israel was “trying to impose what they want. This is impossible for us as Palestinians to accept that … the process of procrastination and stalling continues.”

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement condemning the breakdown of the ceasefire, adding he was “gravely disappointed by the return to hostilities” and urging the sides not to allow matters to escalate.

Gaza had been relatively quiet for the previous eight days under two successive ceasefires that allowed negotiations to proceed. A third 24-hour-long ceasefire – due to expire at midnight on Tuesday – was agreed in Cairo late on Monday night. It was unclear whether the renewed military action heralded a return to full-scale war or if the latest exchanges would be contained.

The negotiations in Cairo have struggled to secure a long-term deal to end the six-week conflict as both sides have sought a formula that would allow them to declare positive results from the war.

According to leaks, an outline agreement proposed by Egyptian mediators included the opening of crossings between Israel and Gaza, the import of construction materials under international supervision and the expansion of the permitted fishing zone to 12 miles over a period of six months.

The Palestinian demands for an airport and seaport, and the release of prisoners, would be deferred to further talks in about a month under the plan.

Israel wants the disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza, as well as the return by Hamas of the remains of two soldiers killed in fighting.

All Palestinian factions say the demilitarisation of Gaza is not up for negotiation. But Hamas publicly claims it is ready to share power in Gaza with the Palestinian Authority, which currently runs the West Bank.

More than 2,000 people – including almost 550 children – have been killed in fighting since 8 July and at least 10,000 have been injured, according to the Gaza ministry of health. Around 17,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, along with scores of mosques, schools and hospitals.

A poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 92% of Jewish Israelis believed the war was justified. Forty-eight per cent of those questioned thought an appropriate amount of force had been used by the Israeli military; 45% said too little force had been deployed; and 6% thought too much had been used.

Israel has lost 64 soldiers in fighting, including five killed by friendly fire. Three civilians – two Israelis and a Thai agriculture worker – were killed by rockets launched from Gaza.

How many bombs has Israel dropped on Gaza?

Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Tue, 08/19/2014 - 18:23

03082014_ra_00_12.jpg

Palestinians look at an unexploded Israeli missile, which witnesses said was fired by an Israeli aircraft on a street in Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, 3 August.

 (Ramadan El-Agha / APA images)

A few days before he was killed trying to disarm an unexploded Israeli missile, Hazem Abu Murad, the head of Gaza’s bomb squad, estimated that Israel had dropped between eighteen to twenty thousand tons of explosives on Gaza since 7 July.

In this video, Israeli soldiers and mystics can be seen dancing and singing to bless M107 artillery shells before they are fired into Gaza:

Israeli soldiers and members of the Breslauer Hassidic sect dance and bless artillery shells

At first the soldiers are firing smoke shells but then they are asked to use explosives, sending “rescuing fire” towards “two targets near a built up area.”

Female Soldiers of the Most Moral Army - Shell Gaza Every 2 Minutes!

How Many Bombs Has Israel Dropped on Gaza by Thavam

Gaza: a testing ground for Israeli military 

technology

Commercial considerations of the arms industry play a key role in Israel’s policies towards the Gaza Strip

Shir Hever-Friday 15 August 2014

Israel may be a relatively small state, but it is the largest per-capita weapons exporter in the world. The Israeli arms companies have the advantage in marketing their products around the world, because they can claim that their products have been tested in actual combat.

Senior officers of the Israeli army often pursue a second career in the arms industry after retiring from service, and as soldiers they already have the opportunity to perform valuable services to their future employers, by testing weapon systems developed by the arms companies, by convincing the Israeli government and public of the necessity of such technologies for military victory, and by offering praise to the companies producing these weapons.

Trade fairs for military technology and for homeland security equipment are commonplace in Israel, especially after each round of bombardment and/or invasion of Gaza. The advertising line repeated by the companies in these trading fairs to promote their wares is that “the IDF already uses that technology.”

The Israeli arms industry operates in close cooperation with its bigger sister in the US. The military aid the US gives to Israel ensures this cooperation, and every conflict in the Middle East contributes more to the profits of US arms giants (such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon) than to the Israeli arms companies.

Gaza the Soft Target

Wars have a civilian cost and most sectors of the Israeli economy, which are not directly tied to the arms sector, suffer from the constant conflict in which Israel is embroiled. The struggle of the distribution of the limited public resources has intensified over the years, and while the Ministry of Defense continues to demand a growing share of the pie, the general public is frustrated with stagnant or even a decreasing standard of living. This discontent has reached a peak with the social protests of the summers of 2011 and 2012. Yet every call in Israel to cut the defense budget has been silenced with violence, violence against Palestinians or against the Lebanese. When the winds of war blow, all talk about cutting the defense budget falls silent.

After the 2006 war against Lebanon, which was a humiliation for the Israeli army, the Israeli government sought to focus its aggression on the Gaza Strip. Gaza is small, contained and densely populated, and did not have the ability to defend itself in comparison to Hezbollah’s ability to defend Lebanon in 2006.

Since then, a clear pattern emerged, according to which the Israeli army launches an attack against Gaza every 2 years. The army thus successfully avoided budget cuts, arm companies increased their profits, and by 2012 the Israeli weapons exports have reached a peak of US $ 7 billion.

Not so soft anymore

In the previous attack of November 2012 “operation Pillar of Defense,” the star of the show was the “Iron Dome” anti-rocket system. The Iron Dome missiles, which cost US $ 50-100 thousand each, intercepted the makeshift rockets from Gaza which cost little more than US $ 1,000 to make. Nevertheless, the system successfully allowed Israelis to continue in their daily routines while defenseless people in Gaza are killed at a whim, an achievement which seems attractive to many governments and armies around the world. Their demand for Israeli weapons depends on such asymmetrical warfare. The Hamas party in Gaza understands this fully well and tried to break the cycle. They offered a cease-fire at the very beginning of the Israeli attack, offering a 10-year cessation of attacks against Israel, in exchange for lifting the siege. This seemed to be what the Israeli government wanted. After all, Israeli justified the siege merely as a protective measure against Palestinian attacks, but Hamas knew that Israel would never accept their offer. The Israeli arms industry would lose its edge if it were to go10 years without testing its weapons.

In the face of widespread destruction in Gaza and almost 2,000 dead, it is easy to overlook the fact that this war of the summer of 2014 has not been easy on the Israeli side either. Not only has the war taken a heavy toll on the Israeli economy, but it has shown that despite Israel’s superior military technology, it cannot defeat Hamas and cannot achieve its strategic objectives. The excessive violence which Israeli soldiers used indicates how the image of “surgical precision” boasted by the companies is of little worth when an entire population under occupation has every reason to rise up against Israeli domination, and everyone is a suspect.

Without mechanisms to discipline Israeli soldiers who point their fire at civilians, Israeli soldiers turn increasingly brutal, and the list of atrocities grows longer. Any hopes that advanced weaponry would allow Israel to wage a “clean” war, to avoid political and legal ramifications from mass civilian death were dashed. Already the UK, Spain and even the U.S have taken steps to distance themselves from Israel’s arms industry and to increase control of arms shipments to Israel.

Inequality and war profits

Nevertheless, the Israeli economic newspapers have published a series of articles on the new contracts won by Israeli arms companies and the finance raised in large-scale bond issue by companies such as Elbit Systems and IAI. Bezhalel  Machlis, CEO of Elbit Systems, mentioned in an interview that all of Elbit’s products have been used in the current operation in Gaza. But the Israeli military has not tested Israeli-made weapons in a conventional war for over forty years. The Israeli army specializes in asymmetrical warfare, in repression of protest and of guerilla groups. Therefore, the demand for Israeli arms is highest among governments facing high inequality and social unrest. It is no coincidence that the largest customers of Israeli arms are India, Brazil and the US.

In fact, the Gaza Strip becomes more than a laboratory for Israeli explosives. It is a laboratory for a social experiment in which an entire population is incarcerated and isolated, controlled from the land, the sea and the air, and sustained with the assistance of international aid (for which Israel doesn’t have to pay). Arms companies promise that they have the means to contain the Palestinian resistance, and keep the population subjugated. But if they are successful, and keep selling the weapons to other countries, one wonders who the next subjects of this containment policy will be.

-Shir Hever is a graduate student at the Free University of Berlin, and an economist with the Alternative Information Center.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. 

Photo: Israeli soldiers wave from their armoured personnel carrier (APC) rolling along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on August 5, 2014 (AFP)

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/gaza-testing-ground-israeli-military-technology-628438934#sthash.TtPObDzq.IXuPFEFM.dpuf

Nervous Afghans near political deadline

Afghan election commission workers display ballot papers during an audit of the presidential runoff vote in the country's general election at a counting center in Kabul. (Shah Marai/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

By Pamela Constable
August 19 at 10:41 PM 

KABUL — With a crucial deadline soon approaching to inaugurate a new president and an election ballot recount in a critical stage, fears are growing that Afghanistan’s fragile transition process could collapse into violencen,
Nervous Afghans Near Political Deadline by Thavam