Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

• Europe and US condemn Israel settlement plans - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

  The European Union and the United States have condemned Israeli plans for the construction of 1,100 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem, as being counterproductive to negotiations on peace talks with the Palestinians. They responded sharply to the Israeli interior ministry's announcement on Tuesday that it had approved plans for the new housing units in Gilo, a settler enclave in southeast Jerusalem. 

• Israel settlements: Interior approves 1,100 new homes, stoking tension with Palestine

  "He said at the United Nations he was giving his hand in peace but actually he is digging in the land to build more settlements," Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told CNN, referring to Netanyahu's speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. "It's a slap in the face of the Quartet and the whole international community, which is saying stop settlements."

• President Obama House of Blues Heckler: Man calls president the “antichrist” before being dragged out by Secret Service.

  “Christian God is the one and only true living God, the creator of Heaven and the Universe,” [the man] shouted, as the crowd began booing loudly to try to drown him out. Obama stopped speaking and smiled uncomfortably at him as the man continued shouting: “I love Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the son of God.” Eventually, the Secret Service plunged into the crowd and dragged the man toward the exit. “Jesus Christ is God; Barack Obama is the antichrist!” he shouted. The crowd chanted “four more years!” When the commotion was over, Obama said: “All right, where was I? It is good to be back in LA.”

• Dubai plans big solar plant, says utility chief - Energy - ArabianBusiness.com

  The emirate of Dubai is poised to unveil a big solar power plant as part of a push to get five percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, vice chairman of Dubai's Supreme Council of Energy, said on Monday.

• Kuwait construction industry seen growing 2.5% in 2011 - Construction - ArabianBusiness.com

  Kuwait's construction industry is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2011 to be worth $2.4bn, according to latest data released by Business Monitor International. The sluggish growth is set to continue for most of the forecast period taking the industry value to $3.2bn by 2015, BMI said in a report.

• The Twelve Attributes of a Truly Great Place to Work - Tony Schwartz - Harvard Business Review

  More than 100 studies have now found that the most engaged employees — those who report they're fully invested in their jobs and committed to their employers — are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged. But only 20 per cent of employees around the world report that they're fully engaged at work.

• Netanyahu vs. Abbas at the United Nations: Israel's tactics to delay Palestinian statehood. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

  But facts are facts. Abbas has proved his commitment to peace on the ground, and he has agreed to give up more than three-quarters of the original Palestine. The right of return will have to be negotiated, as will settlements, and no diversionary alarms about the Nakba or acknowledging Israel as a Jewish state will change that. Netanyahu has a tough job ahead of him. All we can ask is that he do it.

• In Syria, defectors form dissident army in sign uprising may be entering new phase - The Washington Post

  A group of defectors calling themselves the Free Syrian Army is attempting the first effort to organize an armed challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, signaling what some hope and others fear may be a new phase in what has been an overwhelmingly peaceful Syrian protest movement. For now, the shadowy entity seems mostly to consist of some big ambitions, a Facebook page and a relatively small number of defected soldiers and officers who have taken refuge on the borderlands of Turkey and Lebanon or among civilians in Syria’s cities.

• Saudi king okays women to take part in polls - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

  Saudi women will have the right to join the advisory Shura Council as full members and participate in future municipal elections, King Abdullah has said. The announcement came days before municipal elections where women will be excluded. "Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama [clerics] and others ... to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from the next term," he said on Sunday in a speech delivered to the Shura Council.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.