'Miracle' Marine dies..neocons, Israel, MIC... 'feh'

A Marine sergeant who became a symbol of resilience as he strove to recover from a roadside bomb blast in Iraq that blanketed 97 percent of his body with burns has died, the Defense Department said. He was 22.

Sgt. Merlin German died April 11 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he was continuing treatment for the injuries he suffered in combat on Feb. 22, 2005, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The former turret gunner was dubbed the "Miracle Man" for his determination in facing his wounds, which cost the former saxophone player his fingers and rippled his face with scars. He endured more than 40 surgeries, spent 17 months in a hospital and had to learn to walk again.

Meanwhile, he started a charity, Merlin's Miracles, to aid child burn victims and considered college and a career.

"Sometimes I do think I can't do it," he told The Associated Press last year. "Then I think: Why not? I can do whatever I want. ... Nobody has ever been 97 percent dead and survived, and lived to walk."

Born in New York City, German moved to its suburbs as a teenager. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2003, according to his charity's Web site. He was medically retired four years later, the Defense Department said.

German had been stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the state Capitol's flags would be flown at half-staff in German's honor, saying the sergeant's "courage and unfailing loyalty serve as an inspiration to Americans everywhere."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Msnbc

Israel, U.S. to coordinate on boycott of Durban II conference

Israel and the U.S. decided a few weeks ago to boycott the Durban II conference scheduled for early 2009 and likely to harshly criticize Israel's human rights record unless they receive firm guarantees that the event will not turn into anti-Israel festival.

According to a senior government official, the joint decision was made after discussions among senior U.S. State Department and local Foreign Ministry officials, and after being raised in talks between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Israel and the U.S. decided to make their participation in the conference conditional on guarantees the event would not become a rerun of the previous United Nations rights conference in Durban in 2001.

"The burden of proof will be on the UN and the organizers," a Jerusalem source stated.

The September 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa had been slated to deal with racism and xenophobia, sponsored by South Africa, the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN non-aligned states a body dominated by Arab states.

The conference was attended by official government delegations, as well as non-government organizations who dictated a hard anti-Israel and anti-Semitic line.

The attacks on Israel included accusations of apartheid, that Zionism is racism, and that the Holocaust is not a unique event but similar to other events in history.

Delegates also said Israel was "born in sin," the result of ethnic cleansing of Arabs and that in the present, it is committing genocide against Palestinians. More

Israel, U.S. Jews Intensify Efforts To Isolate Iran

A renewed push from Jewish organizations for tougher sanctions against Iran is facing tough obstacles in Washington and capitals throughout the world.

American Jewish groups are aggressively attempting to rally support for isolating Iran until it ends its suspected nuclear weapons program. They are lobbying Congress, reaching out to friendly nations overseas and seeking allies in the United States.

Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, is warning that Iran is close to acquiring the knowledge it needs to build nuclear weapons.

Officials at the Anti-Defamation League have launched a campaign in support of tougher sanctions, and recently pressed the issue in a meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Also, the American Jewish Committee has been meeting with foreign leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the latest manifestation of the renewed push, delegates to the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities in Nashville passed a resolution Monday calling on federations and Jewish community relations councils to move on the Iran issue by initiating, coordinating and funding "expanded efforts aimed at both educating and mobilizing the Jewish community as well as partnering with other respected members in the broader community." .jta.

Israel, US meet to discuss common Middle East strategy

On Thursday, the United States and Israel conducted a Strategic Dialogue led by Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transportation Shaul Mofaz to strengthen the already close strategic cooperation between the two countries.
This is the third Strategic Dialogue between Israel and the US this year. The last one took place in June.

"These talks are a manifestation of the profound historical and security ties between the two nations and are based on close friendship, shared values and common interests," a joint statement issued by the two sides following the talks said. "The Strategic Dialogue provided a welcome opportunity to discuss a broad range of regional issues that are of great importance to both Israel and the United States."

The US and Israeli teams discussed Iran’s destabilizing regional impact. They shared their latest assessments of Iran’s nuclear program and diplomatic efforts underway to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Earlier, Minister Shaul Mofaz spoke to reporters regarding joint America-Israeli efforts vis-à-vis Iran and said: "We're progressing with the strategy that was put in place and we are raising the level of sanctions incrementally. There are more severe measures that can be taken against Iran, its leadership and its economy. It is important to exhaust all these possibilities before we resort to the use of force," Mofaz told reporters. More...

Israel, US to set up joint committees on Iran: report

Israel and the United States have agreed to appoint two working committees in order to hone a joint strategy against Iran's nuclear ambitions, public radio reported on Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz headed discussions on the matter in the United States this week, it said.

One committee will deal with intelligence on Iran's nuclear drive and the other with international sanctions, the chief weapon in an effort to convince Tehran to halt uranium enrichment.

The next formal discussions between Israeli and US officials on Iran will be in two months in Israel, the radio station reported.

On Thursday, Mofaz called for Mohamed ElBaradei to be removed as head of UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying he had turned a blind eye to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Public radio quoted unnamed Israeli officials as saying the Mofaz delegation to Washington fed precise intelligence to the United States, alluding to satellite photographs. Raw Srory

Israel, with US support, says peace possible by end of 2008

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he may be able to make peace with the Palestinians by the end of 2008 as the United States vowed to defend Israel's security during the difficult process.

"If we act decisively together, we and the Palestinians, there is a chance for us to reach real achievements, maybe even before the end of President (George W.) Bush's term," he said in a speech at the Saban Forum think-tank in Jerusalem.

"There is no intention to drag out the negotiations without end. There is no reason to again hit the foot-dragging that characterised our talks in the past," the premier said.

Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in intensive talks in an effort to draft a joint statement outlining a solution to the decades-old conflict ahead of a meeting in Annapolis, Maryland expected later this year.

The two sides plan to launch intensive bilateral talks on a permanent agreement following the international meeting, aimed at reviving a peace process that has been dormant for seven years.

The Palestinians have repeatedly demanded that the joint statement include a clear timetable for the negotiations, but Israel has insisted on a looser document based on a 2003 peace blueprint known as the roadmap.

"The Palestinians must fight terror and radically change their internal reality. I must recall that the roadmap requires measures from the state of Israel. These, like the Palestinian commitments, are yet to be applied," Olmert said. More...