Replies to post #72688 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[woofer]

People do make changes to Wikipedia's articles but the people running the show are good about catching offenders (those who try to deceive). I remember about a year ago, someone changing a mayor's political affiliation, and within an hour the entry was fixed. And when the accounts may be biased, Wikipedia states it as such.

It is amazing that even Israel's news commentary is better than ours. When I used to follow the war in Iraq, reading the news every day, I had to rely on al-Jazeera for honest news....seriously. They did a great job.

I loved what Rabbi Michael Lerner said. He's got the best solution that I've ever seen.

[fuagf]

sorta.., a good article thanks ... just wondered a bit that the problem re settlements was not included in Rabbi Michael
Lerner's suggested cease fire terms .. maybe because he knows that would never be accepted by Israel? ..

I had an article and caught your post on a search for Shalit ..

Hamas expects Shalit deal by next week
By Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel

Hamas sources on Monday declared significant progress in negotiations to release abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit and said a deal could be expected by the middle of next week, according to the Islamist group's official journal A-Risala.

Hamas delegates headed to Cairo on Monday to debate a final prisoner list presented by Israel for an exchange which would see Shalit freed after more than three years in captivity.

A senior Hamas official, Salah al-Bardawil, confirmed on Sunday that the Hamas delegation would be going to Cairo, and said he hoped a deal would be sealed by the Muslim holiday of Id al-Adha on Friday.
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A-Risala reported on Monday, however, that the deal would be finalized only after the holiday.

Hamas leaders have previously been very circumspect about reports of breakthroughs, but reports circulating of late have predicted an imminent deal.

Noam Shalit, father of the abducted soldier, said Sunday that the family had received no official notice and that the reports were still in doubt.

The elder Shalit was scheduled to meet with the prime minister's special negotiator Hagai Hadas in Tel Aviv on Monday, and later with several cabinet ministers in Jerusalem.

A source involved in the meetings told Haaretz that the meetings with Hadas and the ministers were scheduled some time ago and had nothing to do with reported new developments.

The leader of the group of activists working for Shalit's release, Shimshon Liebman, told Haaretz that their silence over the past few days had not been coordinated with the prime minister's bureau, censorship officials or because of any new information.

"At a time like this, when there are so many groundless rumors, we prefer to give space to those doing the work and not interfere," Liebman said.

Speaking after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday, President Shimon Peres said that progress had been made on bringing Shalit home, but "the details must be kept behind the scenes."

Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader Ayman Taha told Haaretz that "there was movement on the matter." Palestinian sources reported that Taha and the delegation of senior Hamas leaders would meet with Egyptian intelligence officials and the German mediator on the Shalit deal.

It is unclear who will take part in the delegation, but the Al-Arabiya news station said it would include Hamas officials from the Gaza Strip and Damascus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau declined to comment on reports in the Arab media on the matter, but did not deny that there had been progress. Members of the "forum of seven" senior government ministers also declined to comment.

Much of Peres' meeting with Mubarak was devoted to Shalit, and the two updated each other on contacts with the German mediator. They also discussed the diplomatic impasse in talks with the Palestinian Authority. Before leaving for Cairo on Sunday morning, Peres met with Netanyahu for two hours at the President's Residence.

Peres told Mubarak about steps Netanyahu would be willing to take if talks with the Palestinians were renewed, steps regarding a freeze in construction in the settlements and the dismantling of illegal outposts.

National Security Adviser Uzi Arad, who joined Peres on his trip to Cairo, met with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman but did not take part in the Peres-Mubarak meeting.

The two presidents were alone for most of the meeting, except for 15 minutes at the end, during which Peres adviser Avi Gil took part. Arad was present at the luncheon Mubarak hosted for the Israeli delegation, and spoke mainly with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

At a joint press conference after the meeting, Peres said that as soon as negotiations started with the Palestinians, Israel would build no new settlements nor expand existing ones, and would evacuate illegal outposts.

On previous occasions when talks were at a critical juncture, Ahmed Jabri, the head of Hamas' military wing, went to Egypt with two of his aides, Nizar Awadallah and Marwan Issa. They would be joined by senior Gaza Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar.

Speaking at an Israel Defense Forces induction base on Sunday, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said expectations of Shalit's return were at a stage of "controlled optimism." But Ashkenazi cautioned that there had been many optimistic reports in the past. "Our obligation to a soldier who was sent on a mission is to bring him home, and I prefer to keep the details behind the scenes," Ashkenazi said.
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* Netanyahu to discuss Shalit, Mideast peace with Mubarak

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* Report: Gilad Shalit could be freed by next week

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130067.html