A Lebanese Suicide for Secularism; and Palestine has Spoken

"On September 16, 2011, Nour Merheb killed himself. Nour did not leave a wife, husband, or children behind. He did not publish any books, did not write opinion pieces for influential newspapers, and did not parade himself in front of television cameras to provide expert opinions."

Abbas: as class-act 'states'-man:

"My people desire to exercise their right to enjoy a normal life like the rest of humanity. They believe what the great poet Mahmoud Darwish said: Standing here, staying here, permanent here, eternal here, and we have one goal, one, one: to be."

"For the last two months the press has staunchly defended the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders. Yet, for many Palestinians refugees – who make up 70% of Palestinians worldwide – and activists on the ground, this state does not represent us."

"And today was the big day , Mahmoud Abbas Vs. Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly.
Mahmoud Abbas aka Abu Mazen addressed in a long speech the representatives of the world countries in UN about how the Palestinians after 1948 deserve an internationally recognized state based on 1967 borders
Here are the interesting excerpts from Abu Mazen’s speech."

Eleven students take on Israeli Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, through the constitutional-given right of freedom of speech and must face the court's sentence to serving community time (three years informal probation, 56 hours of community service at a nonprofit and court fees/fines.)

"Today history was made, today a new lesson was taught, a lesson to all humanity about the value of freedom of speech, the fulfillment of justice, and the right to oppose ‘the other’: no matter where you come from, no matter where you live, no matter how peaceful you’re doing it, if you ever protest the war crimes of Israel, you have to know that you are committing a crime greater than those you’re protesting."

"The Huffington Post, purveyor of "Breaking News and Opinion" (according to its own self-description), has the following front page reaction to the not-insignificant breaking news of Mahmoud Abbas' speech to the U.N.G.A., and the formal submission of Palestine's application for U.N. membership to Sec.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon."

11 students, all Muslim, all guilty of speaking out of turn face harsh US-Israeli wrath for their criminalized free speech.

"Last year, when Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren announced his intention to speak at the University of California at Irvine, some members of the school's Muslim Students Union plotted to inform Oren of their feelings about some of Israel's policies. They used their voices to do so. This is illegal!"

"Gaza - Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip on Thursday gave wing to 194 kites, each carrying the name of a member state in the United Nations General Assembly, in support for the Palestinian effort to seek statehood in New York."