GILAD SHALIT TRANSFERRED TO EGYPT

EU commission willing to meet Indignados in Brussels
Today OCT 14,11 @ 17:53 By Leigh Phillips

The European Commission is willing to meet with representatives of the growing indignado anti-austerity movement and has actively attempted to make contact with the young people, a contingent of whom who have marched from Madrid to Brussels protesting a European Union they say places the interests of banks and big business ahead of ordinary citizens.If the indignados come here, Of course I would feel obliged to meet with them, employment and social affairs commissioner Laszlo Andor told reporters on Thursday (13 October).Inspired by the Arab Spring, the non-violent movement kicked off on 15 May as young people took over the squares of Spanish cities. The scale of the protests have waxed and waned throughout the year, but between 6.5 million and 8 million Spaniards have participated in the protests according to an estimate by RTVE, the Spanish public broadcaster, and pollsters report that some 80 percent of the population back their cause.Last weekend, a group of indignados arrived in Brussels after an 80 day trek from Spain. Hundreds of marchers have also made their way to the European capital from Germany and the Netherlands.The Spanish indignados have in turn inspired similar protests in Greece, Israel, Pakistan, India and the United States, where under a different title - first Occupy Wall Street, then Occupy Boston, Chicago and so on - encampments of young people have targetted stock exchanges and other symbols of economic power.

Whatever they call themselves, the movement, which has won high-profile backing from Joseph Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, and Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, has clearly tapped into a vein of popular dissatisfaction with high unemployment and cuts to social programmes while banks receive trillions in bail-outs. The protests have since spread to over a 150 cities around the world.On Saturday, demonstrations are planned in 951 cities and 82 countries, the movement claims.The Hungarian commissioner, who had a long history on the academic left before joining the EU executive, said: I am absolutely sympathetic about exposing indignation about unemployment.However, he criticised their targetting of EU institutions: They should be aware that the Spanish situation was not created here ... to target the European Commission is probably not right.They should go to Frankfurt instead,he joked in a reference to the headquarters of the European Central Bank.Andor’s staff have tried to make contact with the protestors via the commission’s offices in Spain. They add that the commissioner would even be willing to visit the Parc Elizabeth in the European capital, where they have set up camp.If he were invited to the park where they are camped, he could come. He would consider an invitation,said one official.He’s open. Why would he not be willing to meet them? But the indignados must come with a concrete series of complaints to discuss, his staff say: There has to be a minimum of things to talk about. They have to be really forward with what they want. [The commissioner] does not want to talk about food additives or nuclear power. But he could talk about unemployment and jobs. Do they see a case for European intervention in this area? The openness on the part of the employment commissioner contrasts with their reception at the European Parliament on Tuesday after they had been asked by a left-wing Spanish MEP, Willy Meyer, to a meeting to discuss their concerns.Despite being invited into the building by the euro-deputy, Belgian riot police, including officers on horseback, blocked a group of about 30 indignados from entering the building upon the request of the parliament’s services.

A group of seven was finally let in after MEPs complained.The security services behaved in an unacceptable manner to prevent the indignados from entering and treated them like criminals, instead of ordinary people coming in peace to present their concerns, said Meyer after the incident.A spokesman for the left-wing United European Left grouping in the chamber, David Lundy, told EUobserver: It was just so over the top. These people had zero intention of storming the parliament. And to think that the square in front of the parliament has just been renamed Solidarnosc Esplanade, after another democracy protest movement.

Indignados and MEPs debate the crisis
The EU doesn’t represent citizens

This website caught up with one of the activists involved who arrived in Brussels separately from the marchers to meet with NGOs and discuss the growing protest movement.Javier Toret, a Barcelona organiser with Democracy Real Ya (Real Democracy Now), the grassroots citizens' organization that was one of the catalysts for the wider protests, explained why they are targetting the EU and not just their own domestic political and economic elites.We believe that real democracy is no longer possible in one country, but on a European level, he said.The commission, the European Central Bank - they are imposing austerity on us, yet they are not democratic institutions. They are not elected by citizens and they do not represent our interests.He says the movement is not anti-EU, but that in the wake of the crisis, the whole European project must be rebuilt from the ground up.Listing a set of far-reaching demands that extend well beyond not merely commissioner Andor’s areas of responsibility, but all the legal powers of the EU executive, Toret did not apologise for the movement’s radical aims.It is necessary to completely refound the EU institutions,he said, adding a comment that could perhaps have come out of the mouth of former Belgian prime minister and arch euro-federalist Guy Verhofstadt:We need a new European constitution written by the citizens.He said that the attempt at writing a European constitution that was defeated by referendums in France and Netherlands in 2005 was doomed to fail because this was organised in a top-down fashion and constitutionalised neo-liberalism at the EU level.This constitution should define new principles of social justice across the European continent, that puts an end to the privileges of politicians and bankers, that goes beyond our current system of political parties and representative democracy and embraces participatory democracy.He insists that such demands are not hopelessly idealistic and points to an EU-accession candidate as an example. He wants European citizens to draft the document directly, like they are doing in Iceland.

Icelandic experiment

In the wake of the small north Atlantic nation’s economic collapse, the country embarked on one of the most radical experiments in democracy in history: A new constitution has been crafted by a 25-member assembly of non-politicians that used online crowdsourcing via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, incorporating the sometimes bizarre, sometimes very specific recommendations of ordinary citizens.The indignados movement has come under criticism in the press for its at times incoherent demands. At their Brussels encampment, political workshop subjects have ranged from adjustments to Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy, the nature of the eurozone debt crisis and the role of lobbyists in EU policy-making to shamanistic chants and collectivist aesthetics in art.A messy press conference at the camp organised on Thursday took over two hours to complete as all questions could be answered by anyone instead of by professional spokespeople, yielding contradictory responses.

Cracks show in EU austerity doctrine
Today OCT 14,11 @ 18:20 By Leigh Phillips

If the subtle change in emphasis in the EU’s discourse on austerity is to be believed, some in the bloc are beginning to be much more open to policy options beyond public-sector cutbacks.On Thursday (14 October) in a speech to Europe's great and good at an annual Brussels pow-wow of government ministers, journalists, businessmen and even nobility, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso marked a change in strategy, or at least in the rhetoric surrounding the bloc's policy response.Are austerity cutbacks the right solution for Europe’s economic woes? he asked.Responding to his own question, he declared: As you may have guessed, dear friends, the commission does not believe that cutbacks are the solution to Europe's challenges.At the same conference, Poland's finance minister, Jan Rostowski, warned that Cuts could - and this really is true - can make the recession worse.He described a vicious cycle wherein the imposition of austerity on a weak economy can suppress demand, which then inhibits companies' willingness to invest, which frightens other firms from investing and encourages households to save instead of spend. As the economy takes a nosedive, government revenues decline, expanding public debts, forcing further public-spending cutbacks.Brussels has certainly not abandoned austerity as a solution to the eurozone's debt crisis, but some leaders are beginning to concede that it is not the only solution.Yes, sound public finances are an essential part of sustainable growth; they are an essential part of confidence and without confidence there is no growth, Barroso continued.[But] to focus solely on cuts suggests that government over-spending was the only source of the crisis. In fact, we all know that problems with the behaviour and regulation of the financial sector, and problems of political will, are also factors in this crisis.

Barroso warned that the wrong type of austerity could reduce demand and prevent an exit from crisis. We also know that the wrong sorts of cuts could simply send Europe into recession.He said that fiscal consolidation must be joined to structural reform in the public sector - a form of cuts by another name, some, particularly the trade unions that represent government employees, would say.He also said that there is little room for a new round of public spending to kick-start the economy: New growth cannot be funded through more and more public debt,he continued.It is clear that there is more room for structural reform than for fiscal stimulus.But he emphasised the need for investment in new infrastructure in the energy, transport and digital sectors and highlighted the commission’s proposals for the bloc's multi-year budget. The budget ideas involve a new €50 billion investment in infrastructure and EU-level project bonds that could be sold to raise cash for such investments.This effort should be part of a huge pan-European investment programme, which includes an increase in the capital of the triple-A-rated European Investment Bank,he said.The speech paralleled similar comments from European employment commissioner Laszlo Andor, who said that the next bail-out programme for Greece must be a massive, multi-year reconstruction plan, not just another round of austerity.Greece needs to have a reconstruction programme. That's why it's very important how the next programme for Greece, which is in the pipeline, will be orchestrated,he told reporters on Thursday. Will it be orchestrated and presented as another programme of austerity, which will ensure that there are further cuts in expenditure in Greece, or presented in a way that ... launches infrastructure building in Greece?

Bleeding to death

We cannot leave Greece to bleed to death,he added.What does a marshall plan mean? It is a reconstruction plan, it is not punishing but supporting, so long as there is transformation.Ando added that any shift in EU economic strategy is a very incremental one.He said each time EU leaders meet, the debate shifts slightly: You get a bit of a haircut [for bondholders], in another you get a financial transactions tax, in another one a bit of co-financing, but it comes in a very piecemeal way.The question is whether we can develop a critical mass in terms of these new types of measures, which he suggested would depend more on publicly co-ordinated finance than on the private sector.It’s not unheard of that a country depends on multi-lateral loans instead of financial markets. It’s relatively recent that sovereign borrowing is based on financial markets.

Nato and EU expand mission in northern Kosovo
Today OCT 14,11 @ 09:22 By Valentina Pop

Nato and EU police (Eulex) on Thursday (13 October) stepped up their patrols in northern Kosovo and said they will dismantle barricades set up by Serbs, advising them to stay away from illegal protests.The joint forces dismantled a parallel road created by the local Serbs around the Jarinje crossing point in northern Kosovo to help prevent illegal use of a side road around the official gate and stop smuggling, a Nato press release reads.Nato forces also have the right to remove barricades when the circumstances are appropriate and will not tolerate them indefinitely. Citizens should stay away from the road blockades and barricades, and should not take part in illegal protest activities, the statement added.Last month, Nato had to step in when violence erupted at the Jarinje crossing point, with Serbs setting the border post on fire and bulldozing it. Ethnic tensions have flared in the majority-Serb part of Kosovo after Pristina decided to regain control of its border crossings in July and enforce a trade ban on Serbian goods. A Kosovo policeman was shot dead in the ensuing clashes.Serbia, along with five EU member states, have not recognised Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008. EU police and Nato peacekeeping forces are trying to defuse tensions and clamp down on organised crime and trafficking.Belgrade is under pressure from the EU to resume talks with Kosovo in returning for being allowed to start membership talks with the bloc.Despite accusations from Pristina, the Serbian government maintains that it has nothing to do with the manning of barricades in northern Kosovo. Speaking to B92 radio last week, Serbian minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic said that protesters were ordinary people protesting peacefully, including members of his own family, and that nobody had links with criminal gangs.

I CAN NOT BELIEVE ISRAEL IS GIVING UP SO MANY ISRAEL HURTERS FROM THE PAST FOR GILAD SHALIT.ISRAEL SHOULD HAVE WENT RIGHT AFTER HAMAS WHEN GILAD WAS CAPTURED AND DONE THEM IN QUICK-IF GILAD WAS NOT RELEASED QUICK.NOW LOOK AT LEAST 5 OR 6 YEARS LATER ISRAEL HAS TO GIVE UP TONS OF ARAB-MUSLIM DESTROYERS OF ISRAELS FOR GILAD SHALIT.IF ONLY ISRAEL TOOK CARE OF IT RIGHT OFF.NOW HAMAS GETS MURDERERS FREED TO MURDER MORE INNOCENT ISRAELI CHILDREN,WOMEN AND MEN.WERE IS THE UN NOW TO STOP THIS NONESENSE BY HAMAS AND ABBAS.THE UN SHOULD HAVE FORCED HAMAS TO GIVE GILAD BACK TO ISRAEL OR THE UN TROOPS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED INTO THE WEST BANK TILL GILAD WAS RELEASED.WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS USELESS UN WORTH.

Report: Shalit Transferred to Egypt-Egyptian officials tell daily Gilad Shalit has been transferred to Egypt by Hamas pursuant to his exchange for 1,027 terrorists.By Gavriel Queenann First Publish: 10/14/2011, 2:14 PM

Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm reported late Wednesday that Hamas moved captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit into Egypt pursuant to the deal brokered with Israel for his release.Egyptian officials reportedly told the newspaper Shalit was transferred to Egypt through the Rafiah crossing.According to eyewitnesses, Shalit was driven through the Rafah crossing in a black car that has not undergone any inspection – a common procedure used when moving senior Hamas officials.Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas six years ago, has been held in captivity as a bargaining chip for the release of terrorists from Israeli jails. He expected to be handed over to Israel as soon as the prisoner exchange begins on Teusday.His alleged transfer comes on the heels of the government of Binyamin Netanyahu agreeing to release 1,027 prisoners – including some 450 terrorists – from Israeli prisons. Among those to be released are terrorists with soldiers’ blood on their hands and the Sbarro murderess.Hamas has hailed the deal as a victory over Israel and proof kidnapping is a working tactic for the organization – promising more kidnappings and that the freed terrorists would return to haunt Israel in the future.

While Shalit’s release has been met with jubilant celebrations from his family and the mainstream Israeli media, the terms have drawn sharp criticism from a broad spectrum including the families of terror victims, soldiers involved in counter-terror operations, nationalist politicians, and security officials who predict the move will result in spilled Israeli blood.Earlier this week Shin Bet Security chief Yoram Cohen described the deal as tough and difficult, noting 28 confirmed murderers were among the terrorists being released.Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon – one of only three ministers to vote against the deal – said the deal was a capitulation to terror which would result in tens if not hundreds of murdered Israelis in the years to come.Hamas proudly summarized the deal saying Israel had promised peace, while they had promised terrorism.

Hamas: Israel Promised No Revenge, We Promised More Kidnappings Hamas terrorists tell the Arab-language media that Israel promised not to harm released terrorists, while Hamas made no promises.By Maayana Miskin First Publish: 10/14/2011, 10:21 AM

Hamas leaders are telling Arabic media that Israel agreed to release terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit without a commitment from the terrorist group to stop kidnapping soldiers. Israel tried to get a commitment, but agreed to go ahead without one, according to sources quoted by the pan-Arabic paper Al-Hayat.Hamas also claimed that they managed to extract a promise from Israel not to harm the more than 1,000 terrorists to be released in exchange for Shalit in any way.The report contradicts what Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen said about the planned prisoner release. Cohen told journalists that the exchange deal does not include any Israeli commitment regarding released terrorists’ future.Hamas has portrayed the Shalit prisoner exchange as a victory, and has openly vowed to kidnap more Israelis in order to free more prisoners. Among those who will be released are terrorists who have committed murder, although several senior terrorists will remain in prison.
Deputy Prime Minister Moshe (Bogie) Yaalon slammed the decision Thursday, saying, Our experience has made clear to us the terrorists we are releasing today will murder tens and perhaps hundreds of Israelis tomorrow.

Bereaved Families File Suit to Stop Terrorist Release-Families of victims file suit against mass release of terrorists for Shalit. Sbarro families campaign to take murderess' name off list.By Maayana Miskin First Publish: 10/14/2011, 1:42 PM

Relatives of victims of terrorist attacks have filed an emergency lawsuit against the release of terrorists in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The suit was filed with the help of the Almagor organization for victims of terror.The government has agreed to release more than 1,000 terrorists in exchange for Shalit, including murderers and those who took part in previous kidnappings of IDF soldiers. The release deal has been controversial, with some warning that it will cause a wave of terrorism, while others argue that the state has an obligation to return kidnapped soldiers.The families of those murdered in the Sbarro spearheaded a suit against the release and have launched a campaign to remove the Sbarro murderess who drove the bomber to the site from the list of those to be released.. Fifteen people lost their lives in the suicide bombing. The number to call to join the campaign is 0524239870.Among those filing suit is Hovev Nuriel, whose father Sasson was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in 2005. The terrorists who murdered Sasson are to be released in the exchange.Nuriel spoke to Arutz Sheva on Friday and explained that his primary concern is not for his own family, but for future victims.This [prisoner exchange] deal will lead to the loss of hundreds of lives, and will create more bereaved families and add to the pain and loss suffered by thousands of Israelis, he said. The deal sends the message that it is possible to deal with Israel through kidnapping and murder of Israeli citizens.

I know my father is not coming back, he continued,I am not speaking from a place of revenge, but rather, from solidarity. I am concerned for every citizen of Israel who could be hurt, whether by these same murderers or by other terrorists who get the message that they can continue to murder – because that is the message that the state and the government are sending.Another issue is justice, he said. Where is the meaning of the judges’ verdict? Where is the justice in the state of Israel? Murderers sentenced to life in prison are to be released after serving fewer than five years in prison, he noted.Sayeed Ibrahim Mohammed Shalada, who stabbed Sasson Nuriel to death while the latter’s hands were tied, was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. In their verdict, the judges wrote, The perpetrator took a person’s life with his own hands, acting calmly and with great cruelty. His actions force us to put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Op-Ed: Gilad Shalit: It is a Very Sad Day
Published: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 11:01 AM

There were once red lines. There was once (and again) a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge that made recommendations on exactly how to behave in such cases.
Ari Bussel-Those released will return to armed struggle. It is a great national achievement. Khaled Mashal, Chairman, Hamas Political Bureau, Damascus, Syria

The Nation of Israel is a unique people. We are all mutually responsible for each other, as our Sages said: He who saves one soul, it is as though he saved an entire world.Tonight, I bring the Government a proposal to save Gilad Shalit, to finally bring him home to Israel after five years.Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Jerusalem, Israel.The family of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier that has been in captivity five years, is awaiting reunion with their son. Israel is awaiting his return, alive and sane, into the embrace of a whole nation.The Israeli government, in a special session, decided to free 1000 terrorists in exchange for Gilad.Hamas has ordered Gazans to the streets in a show of celebration and has vowed to continue kidnapping Israeli soldiers and citizens since it is an excellent get out of jail free card.The euphoria is mixed with so much sadness, that one stops in one’s tracks not knowing whether to cry for joy that one person is being returned (hopefully alive and not in body parts as was the case with Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev of blessed memories), while so many of the worst human kind are being let free to engage, once again, in their favorite pastimes:Crushing the skull of a baby, slitting a toddler’s throat, murdering a couple along with their children or a father with his one year old son, or just four people driving together or even just a group celebrating Passover.They do it with glee and fanfare, for only Jewish blood can quench their thirst.

Then they send their own daughters to an activity, such as learning to play the piano or the violin, knowing that she is safe, because Jews would never engage in such atrocities.There were once red lines. There was once (and again) a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge that made recommendations on exactly how to behave in such cases. It sounds cold, cruel, and we are mere humans. How can any one of us decide if the life (or the remains) of one soldier justifies setting free numerous terrorists who murdered in cold blood and are certain to do so again? This is exactly the reason for the existence of such guidelines, well thought out in advance, that should be followed when the pressure is immense and the considerations go beyond the individual being held in captivity.For five long years Israel has not dared, or was unable due to a plethora of reasons, to free Gilad Shalit from captivity, dead or alive. There was intelligence suggesting he was in Sudan and not in the tunnels of Gaza. Israel did not, probably could not, do anything. It was so much easier to pull off miracles when less of the world was complicit in such deep anti-Israel hatred as today.Imagine, just for a second, Israeli Special Forces setting Shalit free now. Imagine that the agreement now being reached had exposed the whereabouts of Shalit and opened a window of opportunity to act. Unlikely, but what a comforting thought.Instead, what Israel should—but will not—do is to extract a price, so dear, so painful, so outrageous that Hamas, Hizbullah and any other Iranian crony will know: DO NOT MESS WITH US.Why are terrorists receiving clemency from a death sentence to vacation-and-receive-education in Israel? Israel does not execute murderers (with the exception of Eichmann). It is time for this policy to change. Expedite the departure of these sub-humans, their early introduction to the 72 virgins awaiting them (and whatever awaits female suicide bombers).

Enter Israel to kidnap another soldier? Israel should mercilessly go on the offensive and respond. Israel tried to do so in the Second War in Lebanon (which exposed the Israeli military as unprepared and untrained). Has any lesson been learned? Will it be any different tomorrow? The next time they commit their atrocities against Israelis? We cannot, say those at the helm.Our hands are tied, say the lawyers. We must not, say the conscientious objectors who care more about the enemy than about human life.So here is the guarantee: Shalit is not the last, and what will Israel hold next time as a bargaining chip? If all red lines have been wiped out and ignored this time around, why would an enemy respect Israel and not demand more? Israel’s enemies know and understand preciousness of one Jewish life to the Jewish people, and they use this to their ultimate advantage.May Shalit return home alive with body and faculties unscathed. Yet, those concerned about Shalit’s mental health after five years in captivity should also consider the mental health of the hundreds of families whose loved ones perished at the hands of these terrorists, now being freed, who chose unspoken cruelty and executed their missions in cold blood. Who will consol and comfort them? From where will they derive strength when they go to comfort and support all the new families sure to be entered to the circle of misery and sorrow? Terror will not end. Democratically elected Hamas has a face, hands and feet. These must be cut, one after the other, until there are no more. Until each and every Gazan understands that Hamas affiliation means certain death. Only then will Israel’s multitude of enemies take a step back and internalize the lesson. Only then Israel might be taken slightly more seriously than the miserable image projected at present.Shalit may be on his way home, but at what price to the State of Israel?