mideastmessenger.com

 Steve Rhodes, flickr.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, spoke yesterday at the UNITY conference of minority journalists about his recent overseas trip to the Middle East and Europe.
 I covered the talk! Check out what he had to say.

 PHOTO: Lebanese youth hoist up Hezbollah flag. Paul Keller, flickr.
Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah swapped the remains of Israeli soldiers captured in a summer war two years ago for five Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.
Shortly after being released, the five Lebanese prisoners prayed at a slain Hezbollah leader’s grave, vowing to continue their fight against Israel. […]

PHOTO: Internet Cafe in Cairo. Paul Nendick, flickr. 
Facebook could be an Arab leader’s worst nightmare. An open forum for discussion, networking and planning that’s not easily controlled? The prospect would make the most ruthless dictator shudder.
That’s what Egyptian officials did recently when they detained Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a Facebook user and founder of the site’s group “6 […]

President George W. Bush lied about Iraq. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Saddam was not stockpiling uranium. There was no al-Qaida-Iraq link. A non-profit media watchdog group went through and systematically counted how many false statements the Bush administration made before the invasion.
It’s been proven that people knew that before the war started, […]

On Monday, Israel launched a powerful satellite capable of spying on Iran, even at night and in cloudy weather.
Within two weeks Israel will be able to keep tabs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran says their nuclear program is peaceful. The U.S. and Israel disagree and think Iran is up to something more sinister.
Israel is the only nation in […]

Embattled Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is visiting Europe and is trying to do some damage control to his shifty image following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, his biggest rival. Bhutto was always a thorn in Musharraf’s side. The investigation of her death is incomplete, and the current Pakistani government is providing little insight into the […]

In recent weeks, fighters from various Palestinian military factions in Gaza, some governmental and some not, have exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers. This has led Israel to essentially seal off Gaza, and by doing so, almost putting a complete stop to supplies that can get in. Gaza is home to several refugee camps and is one […]