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Uruknet.info :
Tale of a David and Two Goliaths?

Felicity Arbuthnot January 23, 2007

For the third time, Uruknet has been removed from Google news, this time since 12th January 2007. Uruknet is the prime source for news inside and outside of Iraq and Palestine especially, but Lebanon, Iran and Syria, also in the crosshairs, are covered. They publish all you will not find in the main stream media, with uncanny insights and accuracy.

Google's mission statement is clear : ' Google's mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful..for information seekers around the globe.'The organisation's committment is to: 'Democrocy on the web' and under :' Philosophy' : ' Google believes in instant gratification ...you want answers and you want them right now.' No ambiguity there then, no exclusions, buts or 'unlesses.'

Google is certainly financially driven, indeed, deservedly so.Their legacy is forever that of two young men who revolutionised the web 'in a dorm at Stanford' and gave the world a unique gift of knowledge and communcation as never before.Democrocy truly, finally, in action. Revenue, they state, is 'offering search technology to companies and advertising'.No maddening pop ups, just their distinctive, user friendly, simple few liners with links on relevant sites.They deserve all they make and 'we the people', with access to the web, owe a unique debt of gratitude. So far, so good.

Further,inspite of the vast pressure from the neo-barking-off-the-planet-right-of-Atilla the-Hun U.S, Administration-and equally from those genuinely concerned about human rights in China and restriction and even persecution for use of the net, they ploughed on and launched a limited Google there, which an 'insider' called a :'..barstardised version of Google, but a start', adding that the corporate soul searching had been immense and pointing out, with refreshing honesty, the ginormous market potential, in a country economically galloping, with a population of 1.26 billion (1999 - courtesy Google.) Despite that, in today's McCarthyite clime in America and despite Google's ecomomic vastness and clout, many would still say it was a courageous move.

Which beggars a question.If Google can negotiate the minefields between the Chinese and American governments,why is it cowed by Uruknet? Now here's a thought. In March 2006, after a : ' .. un and exiting challenge', Google announced their Google news in Hebrew and that it was : ' ..a pleasure to be launching Google news to a whole new audience.'

Howeveron the Israeli News Agency six months earlier(10th Sept 2005)a little noticed piece shows Israel's largest search engine,Leydon Communications,founder also of the Israeli News Agency,and also'selling its services to the Israeli advertising markets',was 'expanding its partneres in Israel' -and keen on 'integration', throwing its lot in with Google,the world's largest search engine.President Joel Leydon is quoted in the article revealingly:

"Ten years after having created the first Internet news source out of Israel in 1995 - the Israel News Agency - I have decided to integrate my 25 years of editorial, public relations and Internet programming skills for the SEO placement of Israel news on the Internet," said Leyden. "I was one of the founders of the Internet in Israel, having created hundreds of Web sites, including the Israel Defense Forces, the first site for an Israel Prime Minister and the first commercial Website named NetKing.Now it's time for Internet journalism and public relations to integrate and reach a higher level."

Google have expanded their offices in Haifa and Tel Aviv, appointing Meir Brand, a former Senior Executive with AOL and then Microsoft in Israel, since 2002, to head the expansion, one aspect of which was the considered purchase also,of large Israeli financial news site iROWS.

When Google mooted the China venture, various websites mounted a campaign to have Google investors divest of their stocks.A sell out to China,was how cold war warrior www.atlasshrugged.com -put it.Atlasshrugged has an interesting list of links.At the top is AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) whose mission statement includes : '..promoting Israel as the only democratic country in the Middle East'. Top on the list of : 'Our Current Agenda', is: 'Isolating the Hamas led Palestinian Government.'

The site also promotes Michelle Malkin, who is 'proud to be' called the Filipino Anne Coulter, another journalist beloved of AIPAC. Malkin's extensive written views include: 'The case for racial profiling in World War 11 and in the War on Terror' (Jewish World Review) 'Invasion : How America still welcomes terrorists, criminals and other foreign mercenaries' ; 'Support Denmark : Why the forbidden cartoons matter'. Malkin is also author of : 'In Defence of Internment'. She has strong views on what she terms:'Anchor babies.'These are children of immigrants on limited work permits, allowed to reside in the U.S., for the limit of the permit only, but who have a child during that time, which becomes, of course, an American citizen. Thus the parents have a valid reason to apply for citizenship themselves.Malkin demands special scrutiny for Filipinos after the arrest of an alleged Filipino spy.She herself was born in in America,of Filipino parents on a work permit.

Atlasshrugged.com links, also include CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) a : ' ..non-profit grass roots civil rights and advocacy group', whose stated aims find themselves: ' ...a natural ally of groups, religious or secular,that advocate justice and human rights around the world.' Also supporting : '.foreign policies (which) encourage human rights and promote representative governments,based on socio-economic justice'.Not how Atlasshrugged describes them : CAIR -Council of Thugs and Gangsters'.

Also high the hit list is the prolific journalist, Kurt Nimmo, never slow to shine a light in dark places and have a politician, murky political policy, or political injustice, with politician attached, crawl out from under something. For the diplomats at Atlasshrugged : ' ..the Jew hating lunatic, Kurt Nimmo (who appears on) a Jew hating site that meets their criteria for being a news source.' ( atlasshrugged2000typepad.com ) The site in question was Paul Joseph Watson's 'Prison Planet'.Nimmo's work of course, appears in outlets as diverse as Free Market News Network, Globalresearch.ca , People's Voice, Citizens for a Legitimate Government and a host more - and Uruknet.

Atlas shrugged.com has now turned its sites again on Google, as 'supporting terrorists' since, in an article referring to Palestine's legally elected government, Hamas, it allowed the word also 'in arabic'. Hebrew is clearly no problem, inspite of one hundred and thirty eight ignored U.N., Resolutions against Israel, since 1967, many beginning with that body : 'Strongly condemning', or being:'Deeply concerned',and '..most calling on Israel to comply with basic prinicipal of international law, embodied by the U.N., Charter.' (in contrast, les than half that, sixty seven,were levelled against Iraq.See Media Monitors.net.Mr Bush what about Israel's defiance of UN Resolutions',An Open Letter to George Bush,Michael S, Ladah and Suleiman I.Ajlouni,29th September 2002.An invaluable resource material - thanks,Google.)

So here is perhaps, the rub. Google has become embedded in Israel, thus AIPAC and allied forces. As of writing, Israel has forty two million, three hundred thousand entries on Google news.That's an awful lot of potential advertisers and other revenues.Uruknet.info has three hundred and sixty thousand.But if printing the word 'Hamas' in arabic can cause a China-like divesting of Google stock, an entire, brilliant resource which has awoken many to illegalities, wickedness, decimations, and injustices in the Middle East, in which Israel ('we own America' - Ariel Sharon) and it's allies are up to their neck - must have the ziocons seriously excercised.

According to one Hebrew version of the legend of David and Goliath, the young Bethlemite, David, without armour, defeated the nine foot six inch giant, with a sling shot and one of five stones, gathered from a stream.

Google, the modern,formerly gentler Goliath's, motto is:'Don't be evil'.All it takes,of course 'for evil to flourish, is for good men to do nothing' - or to knuckle under,abandon principles and throw 'democrocy on the web' to the wind. But stock divesting is a two way stretch -and it is not alone the rabid right who hold them.And there are plenty of other search engines with the expertise and potential resources,looking for opportunities to expand. There are also plenty more expanding markets.And injustice, globally, has a very long memory.