The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey: November 1 & 2

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Written by AUPHR AUPHR

Published: 18 October 2013 18 October 2013

3 events in Portland * November 1 & 2
Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt, authors of the highly acclaimed cookbook, The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, are coming to Portland!



November 1, 5-7 pm
World Affairs Council and Slow Foods Portland presentation
Oregon Historical Society * 1200 SW Park
Ave, Madison Room * $5 non-members
Part of the series: Setting the Table: Global Food, Local Perspectives

November 2, 4-6 pm
Hoda's Restaurant
3401 SE Belmont
Reservations: 503.236-8325
Dinner and discussion featuring recipes from The Gaza Kitchen cookbook prepared by the authors.

November 2, 7:30 pm
Tree of Life Conference concert with David Rovics
at Kairos-Milwaukie UCC
4790 SE Logus Rd, Milwaukie
During intermission, The Gaza Kitchen authors will talk and serve Palestinian delicacies from the book.

Click here for the flier.

Gaza chokes as Egypt's economic garotte tightens

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Written by Harriet Sherwood in Gaza City Harriet Sherwood in Gaza City

Published: 15 October 2013 15 October 2013

With the network of underground supply tunnels rapidly being shut down, prices have soared for Palestinians in the Strip

In Gaza City's main market Mohammed Hilis stood disconsolately among piles of fruit and vegetables, waiting for customers. In the runup to Eid al-Adha, the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar, the market was unusually quiet. Steep price rises, unpaid salaries and layoffs – the consequences of the new Egyptian regime's antipathy towards Hamas – have been painfully felt by the Gaza Strip.

"A kilo of tomatoes used to be one shekel [17p]; now it is five shekels. Most prices have gone up 50 – 60%," said Hilis. "Why? Because of the costs of transportation, because there is no power to pump water to the fields, because there is no water. So people buy less." As a result, his wages have slumped from 30 – 20 shekels a day, playing its small part in propelling the downward spiral of Gaza's economy.

Read more on the Guardian

World Bank: Israel is to blame for Palestinian financial woes, dependence on foreign aid

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Written by Amira Hass Amira Hass

Published: 08 October 2013 08 October 2013

According to a new report issued by the international development institution Israeli restrictions in the West Bank cost the Palestinians more than $3.4 billion annually.

Restrictions imposed by Israel on most of the West Bank are to blame for the Palestinian Authority's excessive dependence on foreign aid, the World Bank said in a report released Tuesday.

The global financial institution also drew a direct link between what it called the "regime of restrictions" practiced by Israel in the West Bank's Area C and the weakness of the Palestinian private sector. These restrictions alone cost the Palestinian economy roughly $3.4 billion annually.

"The key to Palestinian prosperity continues to lie in the removal of these restrictions with due regard for Israel's security," the reads the report, titled "Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy."

Read more: World Bank: Israel is to blame for Palestinian financial woes, dependence on foreign aid

NSA Spied On Martin Luther King Jr., Declassfied Documents Reveal

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Written by Chris Gentilviso Chris Gentilviso

Published: 26 September 2013 26 September 2013

Newly-declassified documents reveal that the National Security Agency targeted one of America's most revered civil rights icons.

The National Security Archive at George Washington University released the information Wednesday, showing that Martin Luther King Jr. was on the agency's watch list during the 1960s. Also mentioned as targets in the report were fellow civil rights leader Whitney Young, boxer Muhammad Ali, and two prominent members of Congress, Sens. Frank Church (D-Idaho) and Howard Baker (R-Tennessee). The program was also viewed by some officials as "disreputable if not outright illegal," the report adds.

According to the report, knowledge of King as an NSA target first emerged in the 1970s, but Wednesday's release marks the first time that the documents were classified. The FBI had him as a wiretap target shortly after the 1963 March on Washington, thanks to worries over his connections to chief adviser and former Communist Party member Stanley Levison.

[Read more on Huffington Post]