Monday, July 27, 2009
Hero Joseph Henry Burgess May Be Better Off Dead
Hero Joseph Henry Burgess May Be Better Off Dead
United by greed and despising the undeserving 99%'ers, the 1%'ers drive home their agenda with well-oiled efficiency. Within a broad range their interests coincide. The 99%'ers bought into a myth that has left them powerless. When Professor Gates became an issue, the left forgot about single payer. The 1% never forgets anything.
Hero Joseph Henry Burgess Better off Dead
The authorities had been searching for John Henry Burgess for nearly 40 years. There were no warrants on him or pending charges. I imagine he fit the profile of loner with no visible means of support. A woman who loved me had described me thusly as she threw me out.
Joseph Henry Burgess managed to elude the detectives searching for him throughout British Columbia and the American West. The reclusive gentleman knew how to live in the wilderness. Apparently, he broke into summer homes to salvage food and clothing. Homeless and jobless, he was living at subsistence levels one step ahead of the Sheriff.
But he was like a ghost. "We never could get fingerprints from any crime entries, because he was pretty careful about leaving any trace of anything behind," Sandoval County, N.M., Sheriff John Paul Trujillo said Wednesday. "We just could never catch up with this guy."
That all changed last Thursday, when Burgess and one of Trujillo's deputies were killed in a violent confrontation inside a darkened mountain cabin during a stakeout set up to catch a serial burglar. McClatchy
It may be significant that Joseph Henry Burgess chose 1969 as the year to drop out. He abandoned the everyday economy credit cards, mortgages, autos and debt. This would have been sufficient to incur the interest of the authorities. They resent anyone who refuses to play the game and makes it hard to find him.
There Are At Least two "fringe" Issues Needed to Save Mr Burgess and the rest of us. Offhand, I can think of two "socialist" measures that might save us. Unemployment is rising and consumer spending is falling. The EFCA can go a long way in solving these pressing problems. Single payer is the only way out of the health care mess.
Without these enactments, the USA will sink into the Third World a Congo with nuclear weapons.
Adultery by Divine Right
I center about Chip Pickering, John Ensign and Mark Sanders. They believe they have been chosen by God to rule by Divine Right. Thus, they operate above the rule of law. The Constitution and the Ten Commandments are for the suckers known as the common people. The arts, entertainment and media exist to hail corporate hegemony. They promote a false view of capitalism where debt replaces capital. Business rules the roost through public relations, economic clout and advertising.
Joseph Henry Burgess had spent most of his life running from the likes of Pickering, Ensign and Sanders.
The 1%'ers have the true community
Posted by: jbpazz on Jul 26, 2009 2:14 AM
United by greed and despising the undeserving 99%'ers, the 1%'ers drive home their agenda with well-oiled efficiency. Within a broad range their interests coincide. The 99%'ers bought into a myth that has left them powerless. When Professor Gates became an issue, the left forgot about single payer. The 1% never forgets anything.
Surely, Joseph Henry Burgess was over 50 the age of insurability. This limited him to self-employed work as a writer, realtor and other marginal pursuits. The minimum wage jobs on offer do not include health insurance. The 40-hour minimum salary annualized is a little over $15,000. The annual health insurance premium is approximately $13,000.
If he can't be free, John Henry Burgess is better off dead.
Labels:
Ensign,
Gates,
Joseph Henry Burgess,
Pickering,
Sanford
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Presidential Trip
Bibi and Barack
Barack Obama in the Levant
Wisely, the US leader has been upbeat about his journey to the east, but has not fuelled expectations. The best politician America has produced in the Television Age is not one to tip his hand.
Having publicly demanded that Israel stop building settlements in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank, the President will also ask Arab nations collectively to recognize Israel's existence.
Tying together all the elements of such a speech is no easy proposition, for his worldwide audience — Muslim and non-Muslim — has multiple competing priorities and concerns.
Consider: Lebanese go to the polls just three days after he speaks, Iranians will be preparing for pivotal elections June 12 and both contests pit moderate parties against radical forces. Afghans and Pakistanis are girding for increased U.S. military and political engagement. [Mc Klatchey]
Palestinians and Israelis have conflicting stakes. In the U.S., Republicans will be looking for any window to paint the Democratic president as anti-American, anti-Israel or soft on terrorism.
"It's a very high bar to clear. The expectations are immense," said Tamara Cofman Wittes, the director of the Middle East Democracy and Development Project at the Washington-based Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy. "No matter how broadly he speaks, what he says will be parsed through the lens of those disagreements."
Obama won't lay out a detailed vision for resolving the Arab-Israeli crisis. "I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," the president said Thursday. "That will require, I think, recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground."
Obama would like to rally Muslim countries to join in efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program. While many Arab governments also see Iran as a threat, however, the issue divides Muslims, in part because Israel is pressing for military action.
Obama Begins to Be Realistic
Why should Arabs undergo a negotiation process if the President alone can rip concessions from Israel? 74% of Israelis believe that Barack Obama won't gain anything for us. Iran's proxies have attacked us twice in three years. This is why 84% of us believe Iran's nuclear development is unlikely to be peaceful. Turkey and Saudi Arabia agree. Both nations have asked permission to begin nuclear programs. They held still when only Israel had WMD. As Iran approaches nuclear status, they want it too.
When Mr Obama was campaigning, he denounced Bush administration policies. After the Inauguration, we saw Obama carrying on with cosmetic changes to the old policies. Now, we see him shift to a wide range of the Bush agenda. With many of my countrymen, I welcome the awakening of realism in Obama.
Obama has already decided how to deal with Israelis
The President has decided to delay talks about Iran's nukes for two years. This should be enough time for her to develop her own WMD or to buy them. Obama has placed Israeli and Iranian lives in Ahmadinejad's hands. People who enjoy TV accounts of nuclear events will be thrilled.
The President should follow advice to ignore the AIPAC letter. It might offend him. Also, he should ignore the millions of ordinary Israeli and Iranian nationals who don't want to be vaporized. Their deaths might cast a pall on the NBA play-offs.
"Enlightened individuals live in bliss and harmony with all. There is nothing to fear in their minds. There are stories of Yogis who could pet tigers in the jungles of India.
Fear-drenched dualists, at war with the Eternal Enemy, suffer endless daily deaths and agonies, compounded by barbarities perpetrated to try to defeat this enemy, never realizing that this is simply the absurd act of the right hand trying to destroy the left hand, or vice-versa, and wondering why one feels so badly all the time, that is if they recognize their feelings at all. Denial is a big factor in the psychotic mindset.
Where does the Israeli State fall on the scale between enlightened vision and psychotic vision?"
Mac McKinney
The Ways of the Torah are Sweet
After two serious years in Vietnam, the USA went nuts. They were to remain so for forty years. They collapsed on 9/11 into fear and are still mired. Americans sometimes ask me. After 61 years of hostility, seven wars and three Intifadas, how does any Israeli manage a semblance of normal life? The answer is to walk in the ways of the Torah keeping the diversions minimal. I have a picture of my son on the battlefield deeply into his morning prayers.
That's how.
How Old Is Barack Obama? How Old is His Country?
Whatever answers you give, Israel and I are about 5700 years older. Over the years we have walked the walk and thought the thought a full range of human experience. What's more, we could write our history [the Bible] and read it to our children. There is nothing new under the sun. If an upstart poses a problem, there is a scholar who will get the answer to it from an ancient sage on line.
We dealt with Alexander the Great and we will deal with Barack Obama.
Labels:
Barack Obama,
Levant,
Natanyahu,
peace plan
Prosecuting Those Who Torture
Prosecuting Those Who Torture
What is so Difficult about Catching Torturers?
'Serbia: Torture or Therapy? '
by Sinisa Boljanovic, Global Voices
Last week, on May 21, a short film about torture in the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka", located in south-western Serbia, was shown on the web site of the Time (Vreme), a Serbian weekly magazine. The patients of this center are drug addicts and its head is Branislav Peranovic, a Serbian Orthodox priest.
Nearly all Serbian media have shown the horrible scenes from the short film, in which Peranovic is shown beating one of the patients brutally with a spade and with his fists.
Ombudsman of citizens, Sasa Jankovic, is one of the officials who reacted very quickly. According to the Vreme web site, Jankovic said that he had brought criminal charges against nine identified persons from the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka" near Novi Pazar because of quackery and committing assault and battery. Jankovic also said that, according to the video, it was obvious that the patients of the center had been injured very seriously and that could not be a treatment or therapy.
Serbian bloggers reacted to the report very quickly, too, and so did representatives of the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka" and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
What is the Serbian magic for cleaning up a den of torture? It's called community action. The magazine showed the torture film on its web site. The Serbian national media showed it nationally. The Ombudsman quickly brought to nine perpetrators to book. The Rehabilitation Center officials and the Serbian Orthodox Church hastened to help the abused patients. In one week they have ended the horrible story.
Why has it taken six years since the torture at Gitmo first became known? The Americans still haven't got it right. Here's a distinguished panel to discuss the delay.
[[TORTURE1]]
The panel in this first video interacted freely. Unlike American talk shows the panelists disagreed, but with polite respect. Oh, I forgot to mention the show is on the Aljazeera/English network.
In the second installment below we will see the results of the discussion.
[[TORTURE2]]
Well, I hope you weren't too disappointed. It seems that many government Agencies were involved in torture. Apparently, no whistle blowers emerged. The guilty parties have covered this sordid affair with a large national security blanket. Did you expect differently?
You see; our so-called national security conducts CYA activities to keep their nefarious acts from our view. They used torture for their amusement and our entertainment. This is only to delude us to distract us from the real business.
Sadly for them, they assumed I wouldn't find the Serbian story. With it, you know how to imprison your local corrupt officials through grassroots efforts.
To reward you for your kind attention, I present a wonderful interlude from Burma.
Burma VJ
Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to Burma’s video journalists who insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country despite risking torture and life in jail. Armed with small handycams they make their undercover reportages, smuggle the material out of the country, have it broadcast back into Burma via satellite and offered as free usage for international media.
[[BURMAVJ]]
”Joshua”, age 27 and one of the undercover VJs, is suddenly thrown into the role as tactical leader of his group of reporters, when Buddhist monks in September 2007 lead a massive uprising. Foreign TV crews are banned from entering the country, so it is left to Joshua and his crew to document the events and establish a lifeline to the surrounding world. It is their footage that keeps the revolution alive on TV screens all over. As government intelligence agents understand the power of the camera, the VJs soon become their prime target. During the turbulent days of September, Joshua finds himself on an emotional rollercoaster between hope and despair, as he frantically tries to keep track of his reporters in the streets while the great uprising unfolds.
With Joshua as the psychological lens, high-risk journalism and dissidence in a police state is made tangible to a global audience.
[[BURMA]]
What is so Difficult about Catching Torturers?
'Serbia: Torture or Therapy? '
by Sinisa Boljanovic, Global Voices
Last week, on May 21, a short film about torture in the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka", located in south-western Serbia, was shown on the web site of the Time (Vreme), a Serbian weekly magazine. The patients of this center are drug addicts and its head is Branislav Peranovic, a Serbian Orthodox priest.
Nearly all Serbian media have shown the horrible scenes from the short film, in which Peranovic is shown beating one of the patients brutally with a spade and with his fists.
Ombudsman of citizens, Sasa Jankovic, is one of the officials who reacted very quickly. According to the Vreme web site, Jankovic said that he had brought criminal charges against nine identified persons from the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka" near Novi Pazar because of quackery and committing assault and battery. Jankovic also said that, according to the video, it was obvious that the patients of the center had been injured very seriously and that could not be a treatment or therapy.
Serbian bloggers reacted to the report very quickly, too, and so did representatives of the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center "Crna Reka" and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
What is the Serbian magic for cleaning up a den of torture? It's called community action. The magazine showed the torture film on its web site. The Serbian national media showed it nationally. The Ombudsman quickly brought to nine perpetrators to book. The Rehabilitation Center officials and the Serbian Orthodox Church hastened to help the abused patients. In one week they have ended the horrible story.
Why has it taken six years since the torture at Gitmo first became known? The Americans still haven't got it right. Here's a distinguished panel to discuss the delay.
[[TORTURE1]]
The panel in this first video interacted freely. Unlike American talk shows the panelists disagreed, but with polite respect. Oh, I forgot to mention the show is on the Aljazeera/English network.
In the second installment below we will see the results of the discussion.
[[TORTURE2]]
Well, I hope you weren't too disappointed. It seems that many government Agencies were involved in torture. Apparently, no whistle blowers emerged. The guilty parties have covered this sordid affair with a large national security blanket. Did you expect differently?
You see; our so-called national security conducts CYA activities to keep their nefarious acts from our view. They used torture for their amusement and our entertainment. This is only to delude us to distract us from the real business.
Sadly for them, they assumed I wouldn't find the Serbian story. With it, you know how to imprison your local corrupt officials through grassroots efforts.
To reward you for your kind attention, I present a wonderful interlude from Burma.
Burma VJ
Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to Burma’s video journalists who insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country despite risking torture and life in jail. Armed with small handycams they make their undercover reportages, smuggle the material out of the country, have it broadcast back into Burma via satellite and offered as free usage for international media.
[[BURMAVJ]]
”Joshua”, age 27 and one of the undercover VJs, is suddenly thrown into the role as tactical leader of his group of reporters, when Buddhist monks in September 2007 lead a massive uprising. Foreign TV crews are banned from entering the country, so it is left to Joshua and his crew to document the events and establish a lifeline to the surrounding world. It is their footage that keeps the revolution alive on TV screens all over. As government intelligence agents understand the power of the camera, the VJs soon become their prime target. During the turbulent days of September, Joshua finds himself on an emotional rollercoaster between hope and despair, as he frantically tries to keep track of his reporters in the streets while the great uprising unfolds.
With Joshua as the psychological lens, high-risk journalism and dissidence in a police state is made tangible to a global audience.
[[BURMA]]
Murder in the Name of Honor
Rana Husseini discusses her campaigning journalism and her new book, Murder in the Name of Honor.
Each year 5,000 girls and women around the world are killed by male relatives as a means of purging a family of shame brought upon it by the behavior of his sister, daughter, wife or mother.
In journalist Rana Husseini’s homeland of Jordan, 25 women are murdered each year and many more spend their life in prison as the authorities have no other way of guaranteeing that their family would not kill them if they are set free.
Common in many traditional societies and in migrant communities in Europe and the United States, honor killings and other punishments are carried out to restore the honor of a family
The so-called crimes that require ‘cleansing’ can range from a suspected affair to refusing to marry a man chosen for her.
Despite the taboo surrounding the issue, the award winning journalist Rana Husseini has been writing about ‘honor killings’ since joining the Jordan Times in 1994. In 1998 she was awarded a Reebok Award for Human Rights and her persistence in covering this issue has brought an otherwise ignored subject into the public arena in Jordan.
The Best of The Black Iris on Honor Killing
By kinziblogs
Nas at The Black Iris has been one of the most persistent male voices calling for change at every level in regard to dishonor killings. He supplied the archived post links, and going back over them, and the comments, was like a little history lesson for me.
If you missed any of these, they are worth going back to:
http://www.black-iris.com/2006/07/29/the-most-dishonorable-crime-in-jordan/
“Other than how detestable I find the very idea of these crimes to be as well as the criminally negligent behavior of our own parliament that refuses to pass or accept legislation to remove the honor crime status in our judicial system, I am constantly surprised at the brutality that some of these people inflict on their own kin. Some honor crimes are basic shootings, which granted does not make them any more or less humane however others, such as this one, use weapons likes axes and literally hack away at their relative, or their own daughter and sister in this case. Some have gone so far as to chop up their bodies into pieces as if this was an episode of the Sopranos and it was just another ‘hit’.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/18/verbatim/
“…one would face a longer jail sentence for bouncing a cheque than for killing a woman.”
Jordanian journalist/activist Rana Husseini speaking at a seminar in Doha
http://www.black-iris.com/2007/10/02/more-bad-math/
“Almost two years before the incident, one of the victims filed a lawsuit against the defendant accusing him of sexually assaulting her, court transcripts said.
The defendant was tried at the Criminal Court on molestation charges, but was acquitted one month before the murder.
More recently, the court added, the same victim filed a lawsuit accusing her father of sexual assault and he was subsequently arrested and detained.
The four victims all testified against their father, which angered the defendant so he invited them to dinner to discuss the matter the court said.
During dinner, the defendant tried to convince his sisters to drop charges or change their testimony as their father would otherwise end up in jail for at least 15 years, but they refused.
Instead, one of the victims threatened the defendant that she would file a case against him, which angered him and he drew a gun he was carrying and shot them all, the court said.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/01/08/more-honorable-arithmetic/
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/02/21/honoring-thy-sister/
“The suspect, who was not identified by officials, reportedly stabbed his 26-year-old sister seven times in the stomach on Tuesday, shortly after signing a guarantee that he would not harm his sibling who was in protective custody, the source said. Immediately after the incident, he went to a nearby police station, handed on-duty officers the knife he reportedly used in the incident and informed them that he killed his sister for reasons related to family honor, the source added.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/05/14/a-little-tough-on-honor/
“A court in Jordan has sentenced a 23-year-old man to 10 years in jail for killing his sister. The man was initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to give him the chance to repent.
The court heard that he stabbed his sister 14 times and shot her repeatedly after her former husband accused her of having affairs. Jordanians convicted of so called “honor killings” have previously been jailed for as little as six months.
Correspondents say the 10-year sentence underlines the authorities’ determination to stamp out the crime. Amnesty International says that last year 17 women were officially recorded as having been killed in “honor crimes” in Jordan. [source]
They should’ve given him the death sentence. That would’ve gone a long way to underlining the authorities’ determination to stamp out the crime; a long way.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/07/17/how-jordanian-women-can-overcome-honor-crimes/
“I’m not advocating anything here, and let me be clear right off the bat about the degree of cynicism and sarcasm laced within the following lines in case it should be missed by anyone, however, it needs to be addressed in whatever way possible. And frankly, I’m sick of talking about honor crimes in this country and how the law should be changed. So I thought offering practical solutions might help.
Since the legal system isn’t going to be changed any time soon with regards to honor crimes in Jordan, and since honor crimes – and murder for that matter – is going to happen anyways, then I think Jordanian women should kill their husbands, fathers, brothers, fiances, and/or cousins who they believe are a threat to them and on their lives.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/09/23/a-man-is-valued-by-his-sisters-behavior-ruling-on-an-honor-crime/
“With recent debates on the blogosphere about the rule-of-law in Jordan, and how it can be abused by authority figures for the sake of pushing personal values and beliefs on everyone – which is obviously no way to run an objective judicial system – I can’t help but wonder if the same can said here.
Here we have a group of judges who essentially condone the actions of this young man based on their interpretation of local customs and values; justifying his taking of a life for a lesser crime his sister committed. The judges become the perpetrator’s defense team.
Each year 5,000 girls and women around the world are killed by male relatives as a means of purging a family of shame brought upon it by the behavior of his sister, daughter, wife or mother.
In journalist Rana Husseini’s homeland of Jordan, 25 women are murdered each year and many more spend their life in prison as the authorities have no other way of guaranteeing that their family would not kill them if they are set free.
Common in many traditional societies and in migrant communities in Europe and the United States, honor killings and other punishments are carried out to restore the honor of a family
The so-called crimes that require ‘cleansing’ can range from a suspected affair to refusing to marry a man chosen for her.
Despite the taboo surrounding the issue, the award winning journalist Rana Husseini has been writing about ‘honor killings’ since joining the Jordan Times in 1994. In 1998 she was awarded a Reebok Award for Human Rights and her persistence in covering this issue has brought an otherwise ignored subject into the public arena in Jordan.
The Best of The Black Iris on Honor Killing
By kinziblogs
Nas at The Black Iris has been one of the most persistent male voices calling for change at every level in regard to dishonor killings. He supplied the archived post links, and going back over them, and the comments, was like a little history lesson for me.
If you missed any of these, they are worth going back to:
http://www.black-iris.com/2006/07/29/the-most-dishonorable-crime-in-jordan/
“Other than how detestable I find the very idea of these crimes to be as well as the criminally negligent behavior of our own parliament that refuses to pass or accept legislation to remove the honor crime status in our judicial system, I am constantly surprised at the brutality that some of these people inflict on their own kin. Some honor crimes are basic shootings, which granted does not make them any more or less humane however others, such as this one, use weapons likes axes and literally hack away at their relative, or their own daughter and sister in this case. Some have gone so far as to chop up their bodies into pieces as if this was an episode of the Sopranos and it was just another ‘hit’.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2007/03/18/verbatim/
“…one would face a longer jail sentence for bouncing a cheque than for killing a woman.”
Jordanian journalist/activist Rana Husseini speaking at a seminar in Doha
http://www.black-iris.com/2007/10/02/more-bad-math/
“Almost two years before the incident, one of the victims filed a lawsuit against the defendant accusing him of sexually assaulting her, court transcripts said.
The defendant was tried at the Criminal Court on molestation charges, but was acquitted one month before the murder.
More recently, the court added, the same victim filed a lawsuit accusing her father of sexual assault and he was subsequently arrested and detained.
The four victims all testified against their father, which angered the defendant so he invited them to dinner to discuss the matter the court said.
During dinner, the defendant tried to convince his sisters to drop charges or change their testimony as their father would otherwise end up in jail for at least 15 years, but they refused.
Instead, one of the victims threatened the defendant that she would file a case against him, which angered him and he drew a gun he was carrying and shot them all, the court said.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/01/08/more-honorable-arithmetic/
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/02/21/honoring-thy-sister/
“The suspect, who was not identified by officials, reportedly stabbed his 26-year-old sister seven times in the stomach on Tuesday, shortly after signing a guarantee that he would not harm his sibling who was in protective custody, the source said. Immediately after the incident, he went to a nearby police station, handed on-duty officers the knife he reportedly used in the incident and informed them that he killed his sister for reasons related to family honor, the source added.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/05/14/a-little-tough-on-honor/
“A court in Jordan has sentenced a 23-year-old man to 10 years in jail for killing his sister. The man was initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to give him the chance to repent.
The court heard that he stabbed his sister 14 times and shot her repeatedly after her former husband accused her of having affairs. Jordanians convicted of so called “honor killings” have previously been jailed for as little as six months.
Correspondents say the 10-year sentence underlines the authorities’ determination to stamp out the crime. Amnesty International says that last year 17 women were officially recorded as having been killed in “honor crimes” in Jordan. [source]
They should’ve given him the death sentence. That would’ve gone a long way to underlining the authorities’ determination to stamp out the crime; a long way.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/07/17/how-jordanian-women-can-overcome-honor-crimes/
“I’m not advocating anything here, and let me be clear right off the bat about the degree of cynicism and sarcasm laced within the following lines in case it should be missed by anyone, however, it needs to be addressed in whatever way possible. And frankly, I’m sick of talking about honor crimes in this country and how the law should be changed. So I thought offering practical solutions might help.
Since the legal system isn’t going to be changed any time soon with regards to honor crimes in Jordan, and since honor crimes – and murder for that matter – is going to happen anyways, then I think Jordanian women should kill their husbands, fathers, brothers, fiances, and/or cousins who they believe are a threat to them and on their lives.”
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/09/23/a-man-is-valued-by-his-sisters-behavior-ruling-on-an-honor-crime/
“With recent debates on the blogosphere about the rule-of-law in Jordan, and how it can be abused by authority figures for the sake of pushing personal values and beliefs on everyone – which is obviously no way to run an objective judicial system – I can’t help but wonder if the same can said here.
Here we have a group of judges who essentially condone the actions of this young man based on their interpretation of local customs and values; justifying his taking of a life for a lesser crime his sister committed. The judges become the perpetrator’s defense team.
Labels:
blogosphere,
civilian murder,
honor killing,
Jordan
Tiananmen Square: Free Speech Crushed
Tiananmen Square Government Crushes Hope for Free Speech
Twenty years on, it's easy to find the exact spot where a young man in a white shirt, clutching a plastic carrier bag, stood in front of a growling tank on Chang An Avenue in the centre of Beijing.
Pictures went around the world of him talking - arguing? - with the driver. But today it's impossible to find out what happened to him.
In 1989, hundreds of protesters were eager to talk on camera about their desire for a more just society and their hope for change.
Eager to advance economically in the twentieth century, the Chinese leadership had recognized they had to educate the people. The danger was the workers would at once have the tools to think for themselves. Most of them were able to see through the silliness that was Communism.
The leaders called the dissidents the "dregs of society," but they could not defeat their ideas. They had to outmuscle them.
Here's how they did it on June 4, 1989.
[[TIANANMEN]]
Our Right to be Free from Fear
Bob Chen, Global Voices
Blogger Lan Xiaohuan (兰小欢), in his post ‘Bitter Smile', reflects on how a nation permeated with fear has muzzled people's voice. Lamenting that the cost to claim the rights of a citizen is getting higher today, he also lampooned the infusing fear that crushes people's courage and love, concluding that Chinese have never really stood up without fear.
The western journalists ask. "When will you stand up?"
I was angry with their question, ‘Damn it, we have never really stood up before. We have always been crawling on the ground so why can't we just stand up occasionally to take a break? We submit to humiliation to our countrymen at home so that we have to hold our heads high to you foreigners. Or we will be suffocated by our simmering fury!'
So, if we adults have to bend over on the ground with humiliation, how would we educate our children about ‘courage' and ‘love'? What we can do is but to tell them fairy tales about courage and love when they are children, and at the time they are going to make it real, we will shout, ‘ No! Stay low!'
Maybe next time when I am back to China, I should visit the Tiananmen Square to talk with the dead bodies lying there, ‘Look, how much have they scared you!'.
The blocked sites include Twitter, Flickr and Microsoft’s Hotmail, according to the Telegraph. FoxNews added The Huffington Post, Life Journal and the MSN Spaces blogging tool to the list. BBC viewers in China also saw their screens black out when the news service broadcast stories about the anniversary, and foreign news crews have been barred from filming in the square. Readers of the Financial Times and Economist magazine found stories about Tiananmen ripped from their pages. Authorities also plan to begin cracking down on unapproved internet cafes, according to reports from state media.
The blocked sites are just a few among thousands that China’s censors have targeted since the beginning of last year.
The martyrs of Tiananmen Square were neither the "dregs of society" or revolutionaries. They didn't want to overthrow the government. They stood and died for First Amendment rights. They still wait.
Twenty years on, it's easy to find the exact spot where a young man in a white shirt, clutching a plastic carrier bag, stood in front of a growling tank on Chang An Avenue in the centre of Beijing.
Pictures went around the world of him talking - arguing? - with the driver. But today it's impossible to find out what happened to him.
In 1989, hundreds of protesters were eager to talk on camera about their desire for a more just society and their hope for change.
Eager to advance economically in the twentieth century, the Chinese leadership had recognized they had to educate the people. The danger was the workers would at once have the tools to think for themselves. Most of them were able to see through the silliness that was Communism.
The leaders called the dissidents the "dregs of society," but they could not defeat their ideas. They had to outmuscle them.
Here's how they did it on June 4, 1989.
[[TIANANMEN]]
Our Right to be Free from Fear
Bob Chen, Global Voices
Blogger Lan Xiaohuan (兰小欢), in his post ‘Bitter Smile', reflects on how a nation permeated with fear has muzzled people's voice. Lamenting that the cost to claim the rights of a citizen is getting higher today, he also lampooned the infusing fear that crushes people's courage and love, concluding that Chinese have never really stood up without fear.
The western journalists ask. "When will you stand up?"
I was angry with their question, ‘Damn it, we have never really stood up before. We have always been crawling on the ground so why can't we just stand up occasionally to take a break? We submit to humiliation to our countrymen at home so that we have to hold our heads high to you foreigners. Or we will be suffocated by our simmering fury!'
So, if we adults have to bend over on the ground with humiliation, how would we educate our children about ‘courage' and ‘love'? What we can do is but to tell them fairy tales about courage and love when they are children, and at the time they are going to make it real, we will shout, ‘ No! Stay low!'
Maybe next time when I am back to China, I should visit the Tiananmen Square to talk with the dead bodies lying there, ‘Look, how much have they scared you!'.
The blocked sites include Twitter, Flickr and Microsoft’s Hotmail, according to the Telegraph. FoxNews added The Huffington Post, Life Journal and the MSN Spaces blogging tool to the list. BBC viewers in China also saw their screens black out when the news service broadcast stories about the anniversary, and foreign news crews have been barred from filming in the square. Readers of the Financial Times and Economist magazine found stories about Tiananmen ripped from their pages. Authorities also plan to begin cracking down on unapproved internet cafes, according to reports from state media.
The blocked sites are just a few among thousands that China’s censors have targeted since the beginning of last year.
The martyrs of Tiananmen Square were neither the "dregs of society" or revolutionaries. They didn't want to overthrow the government. They stood and died for First Amendment rights. They still wait.
Labels:
animal rights,
free speech,
martyrs,
Tiananmen
Abbass' Waiting Game
Abbass' Waiting Game
Jackson Diehl
Mahmoud Abbas says there is nothing for him to do.
True, the Palestinian president walked into his meeting with Barack Obama yesterday as the pivotal player in any Middle East peace process. If there is to be a deal, Abbas must (1) agree on all the details of a two-state settlement with the new Israeli government of Binyamin Netanyahu, which hasn't yet accepted Palestinian statehood, and (2) somehow overcome the huge split in Palestinian governance between his Fatah movement, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which rules Gaza and hasn't yet accepted Israel's right to exist.
Yet on Wednesday afternoon, as he prepared for the White House meeting in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City, Abbas insisted that his only role was to wait. He will wait for Hamas to capitulate to his demand that any Palestinian unity government recognize Israel and swear off violence. And he will wait for the Obama administration to force a recalcitrant Netanyahu to freeze Israeli settlement construction and publicly accept the two-state formula.
Until Israel meets his demands, the Palestinian president says, he will refuse to begin negotiations. He won't even agree to help Obama's envoy, George J. Mitchell, persuade Arab states to take small confidence-building measures. "We can't talk to the Arabs until Israel agrees to freeze settlements and recognize the two-state solution," he insisted in an interview. "Until then we can't talk to anyone."
For veterans of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Abbas's bargaining position will be bone-wearyingly familiar: Both sides invariably begin by arguing that they cannot act until the other side offers far-reaching concessions. Netanyahu suggested during his own visit to Washington last week that the Palestinians should start by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, though he didn't make it a precondition for meeting with Abbas.
What's interesting about Abbas's hardline position, however, is what it says about the message that Obama's first Middle East steps have sent to Palestinians and Arab governments. From its first days the Bush administration made it clear that the onus for change in the Middle East was on the Palestinians: Until they put an end to terrorism, established a democratic government and accepted the basic parameters for a settlement, the United States was not going to expect major concessions from Israel.
Obama, in contrast, has repeatedly and publicly stressed the need for a West Bank settlement freeze, with no exceptions. In so doing he has shifted the focus to Israel. He has revived a long-dormant Palestinian fantasy: that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees, while Arabs passively watch and applaud. "The Americans are the leaders of the world," Abbas told me and Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt. "They can use their weight with anyone around the world. Two years ago they used their weight on us. Now they should tell the Israelis, 'You have to comply with the conditions.' "
It's true, of course, that if Obama is to broker a Middle East settlement he will have to overcome the recalcitrance of Netanyahu and his Likud party, which has not yet reconciled itself to the idea that Israel will have to give up most of the West Bank and evacuate tens of thousands of settlers. But Palestinians remain a long way from swallowing reality as well. Setting aside Hamas and its insistence that Israel must be liquidated, Abbas -- usually described as the most moderate of Palestinian leaders -- last year helped doom Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, by rejecting a generous outline for Palestinian statehood.
In our meeting Wednesday, Abbas acknowledged that Olmert had shown him a map proposing a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank -- though he complained that the Israeli leader refused to give him a copy of the plan. He confirmed that Olmert "accepted the principle" of the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees -- something no previous Israeli prime minister had done -- and offered to resettle thousands in Israel. In all, Olmert's peace offer was more generous to the Palestinians than either that of Bush or Bill Clinton; it's almost impossible to imagine Obama, or any Israeli government, going further.
Abbas turned it down. "The gaps were wide," he said.
Abbas and his team fully expect that Netanyahu will never agree to the full settlement freeze -- if he did, his center-right coalition would almost certainly collapse. So they plan to sit back and watch while U.S. pressure slowly squeezes the Israeli prime minister from office. "It will take a couple of years," one official breezily predicted. Abbas rejects the notion that he should make any comparable concession -- such as recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, which would imply renunciation of any large-scale resettlement of refugees.
Instead, he says, he will remain passive. "I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements," he said. "Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." In the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian.
Jackson Diehl
Mahmoud Abbas says there is nothing for him to do.
True, the Palestinian president walked into his meeting with Barack Obama yesterday as the pivotal player in any Middle East peace process. If there is to be a deal, Abbas must (1) agree on all the details of a two-state settlement with the new Israeli government of Binyamin Netanyahu, which hasn't yet accepted Palestinian statehood, and (2) somehow overcome the huge split in Palestinian governance between his Fatah movement, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which rules Gaza and hasn't yet accepted Israel's right to exist.
Yet on Wednesday afternoon, as he prepared for the White House meeting in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City, Abbas insisted that his only role was to wait. He will wait for Hamas to capitulate to his demand that any Palestinian unity government recognize Israel and swear off violence. And he will wait for the Obama administration to force a recalcitrant Netanyahu to freeze Israeli settlement construction and publicly accept the two-state formula.
Until Israel meets his demands, the Palestinian president says, he will refuse to begin negotiations. He won't even agree to help Obama's envoy, George J. Mitchell, persuade Arab states to take small confidence-building measures. "We can't talk to the Arabs until Israel agrees to freeze settlements and recognize the two-state solution," he insisted in an interview. "Until then we can't talk to anyone."
For veterans of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Abbas's bargaining position will be bone-wearyingly familiar: Both sides invariably begin by arguing that they cannot act until the other side offers far-reaching concessions. Netanyahu suggested during his own visit to Washington last week that the Palestinians should start by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, though he didn't make it a precondition for meeting with Abbas.
What's interesting about Abbas's hardline position, however, is what it says about the message that Obama's first Middle East steps have sent to Palestinians and Arab governments. From its first days the Bush administration made it clear that the onus for change in the Middle East was on the Palestinians: Until they put an end to terrorism, established a democratic government and accepted the basic parameters for a settlement, the United States was not going to expect major concessions from Israel.
Obama, in contrast, has repeatedly and publicly stressed the need for a West Bank settlement freeze, with no exceptions. In so doing he has shifted the focus to Israel. He has revived a long-dormant Palestinian fantasy: that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees, while Arabs passively watch and applaud. "The Americans are the leaders of the world," Abbas told me and Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt. "They can use their weight with anyone around the world. Two years ago they used their weight on us. Now they should tell the Israelis, 'You have to comply with the conditions.' "
It's true, of course, that if Obama is to broker a Middle East settlement he will have to overcome the recalcitrance of Netanyahu and his Likud party, which has not yet reconciled itself to the idea that Israel will have to give up most of the West Bank and evacuate tens of thousands of settlers. But Palestinians remain a long way from swallowing reality as well. Setting aside Hamas and its insistence that Israel must be liquidated, Abbas -- usually described as the most moderate of Palestinian leaders -- last year helped doom Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, by rejecting a generous outline for Palestinian statehood.
In our meeting Wednesday, Abbas acknowledged that Olmert had shown him a map proposing a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank -- though he complained that the Israeli leader refused to give him a copy of the plan. He confirmed that Olmert "accepted the principle" of the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees -- something no previous Israeli prime minister had done -- and offered to resettle thousands in Israel. In all, Olmert's peace offer was more generous to the Palestinians than either that of Bush or Bill Clinton; it's almost impossible to imagine Obama, or any Israeli government, going further.
Abbas turned it down. "The gaps were wide," he said.
Abbas and his team fully expect that Netanyahu will never agree to the full settlement freeze -- if he did, his center-right coalition would almost certainly collapse. So they plan to sit back and watch while U.S. pressure slowly squeezes the Israeli prime minister from office. "It will take a couple of years," one official breezily predicted. Abbas rejects the notion that he should make any comparable concession -- such as recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, which would imply renunciation of any large-scale resettlement of refugees.
Instead, he says, he will remain passive. "I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements," he said. "Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." In the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian.
Labels:
Abbas,
Barack Obama,
Natanyahu,
settlements
When the KGB Fights the CIA
After 47 years, the Organization of American States has lifted its ban on Cuba's admission from the group, with most member states restoring ties with the island nation. The United States, which still maintains a trade embargo against Cuba, was the notable exception, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton advocated for democratic and human rights reforms in Cuba as pre-requisites to the island's readmission. But the opinions of other hemispheric leaders, some of which were previewed at the recent 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, won out. Cuba is free to be part of the OAS - despite its leadership's statements suggesting that it has no interest in returning.
When the KGB fights the CIA, the police always win in the end.
Joaquin Sabina
This is not the first time I’ve heard that MSN Messenger is blocked for Cuban users. Almost three years ago a friend furtively sneaked me into a state office where she worked so I could connect to the Internet. I wanted to write an article and I was missing some data, so I asked for a few minutes in front of an obsolete computer at her company. Those were the days when I pretended to be a tourist to connect to the network at hotels, and that week I didn’t have the convertible pesos to pay for an hour of access.
My friend read me the list of what was prohibited on that institutional connection and added that MSN wasn’t working because it had been blocked for months. “You can’t use any email or chat services that aren’t local,” and “don’t even think about going to El Nuevo Herald,” she said, eyes open wide. When I asked about the limitations on chatting with Microsoft software she explained that I should not use any interface that the network administrators couldn’t control. Hotmail was banned because it was almost impenetrable to the recording software that kept a record of all the employees’ correspondence. A little bit later Yahoo and GMail would also be banned at work and educational connections for the same reason.
Now the prohibition comes from the other side, precisely on the part of those who built a program that helps us escape government control. “Windows Live Messenger IM has been disabled for users in countries embargoed by the United States,” reads the note that Microsoft published announcing the cut off. I feel with that once again we citizens lose out, because our government has its own channels for communicating with the rest of the world. This, clearly, is a blow to internet users, we outlaws of the web, which includes nearly everyone who accesses the Internet from Cuba. Surely at the company where my friend works the censor who monitors the connections must be delighted: Microsoft has just done his work for him.
When the KGB fights the CIA, the police always win in the end.
Joaquin Sabina
This is not the first time I’ve heard that MSN Messenger is blocked for Cuban users. Almost three years ago a friend furtively sneaked me into a state office where she worked so I could connect to the Internet. I wanted to write an article and I was missing some data, so I asked for a few minutes in front of an obsolete computer at her company. Those were the days when I pretended to be a tourist to connect to the network at hotels, and that week I didn’t have the convertible pesos to pay for an hour of access.
My friend read me the list of what was prohibited on that institutional connection and added that MSN wasn’t working because it had been blocked for months. “You can’t use any email or chat services that aren’t local,” and “don’t even think about going to El Nuevo Herald,” she said, eyes open wide. When I asked about the limitations on chatting with Microsoft software she explained that I should not use any interface that the network administrators couldn’t control. Hotmail was banned because it was almost impenetrable to the recording software that kept a record of all the employees’ correspondence. A little bit later Yahoo and GMail would also be banned at work and educational connections for the same reason.
Now the prohibition comes from the other side, precisely on the part of those who built a program that helps us escape government control. “Windows Live Messenger IM has been disabled for users in countries embargoed by the United States,” reads the note that Microsoft published announcing the cut off. I feel with that once again we citizens lose out, because our government has its own channels for communicating with the rest of the world. This, clearly, is a blow to internet users, we outlaws of the web, which includes nearly everyone who accesses the Internet from Cuba. Surely at the company where my friend works the censor who monitors the connections must be delighted: Microsoft has just done his work for him.
Barack Obama Plays Alexander the Great
Wisely, the US leader has been upbeat about his journey to the east, but has not fueled expectations. The best politician America has produced in the Television Age is not one to tip his hand.
Barack Obama in the Levant
Wisely, the US leader has been upbeat about his journey to the east, but has not fueled expectations. The best politician America has produced in the Television Age is not one to tip his hand.
Having publicly demanded that Israel stop building settlements in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank, the President will also ask Arab nations collectively to recognize Israel's existence.
According to Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post, Abbas feels he is in a strong position to play a waiting game. Abbas acknowledged that Olmert had shown him a map proposing a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank -- though he complained that the Israeli leader refused to give him a copy of the plan. He confirmed that Olmert "accepted the principle" of the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees -- something no previous Israeli prime minister had done -- and offered to resettle thousands in Israel. In all, Olmert's peace offer was more generous to the Palestinians than either that of Bush or Bill Clinton; it's almost impossible to imagine Obama, or any Israeli government, going further. Abbas turned it down. "The gaps were wide," he said.
Abbas says he will remain passive. "I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements," he said. "Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." In the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian.
Tying together all the elements of such a speech is no easy proposition, for his worldwide audience — Muslim and non-Muslim — has multiple competing priorities and concerns.
Consider: Lebanese go to the polls just three days after he speaks, Iranians will be preparing for pivotal elections June 12 and both contests pit moderate parties against radical forces. Afghans and Pakistanis are girding for increased U.S. military and political engagement. [McClatchy]
Palestinians and Israelis have irreconcilable differences. In the U.S., Republicans will be looking for any window of opportunity to paint the Democratic President as anti-American, anti-Israel and soft on terrorism.
"It's a very high bar to clear. The expectations are immense," said Tamara Cofman Wittes, the director of the Middle East Democracy and Development Project at the Washington-based Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy. "No matter how broadly he speaks, what he says will be parsed through the lens of those disagreements."
Obama won't lay out a detailed vision for resolving the Arab-Israeli crisis. "I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," the president said Thursday. "That will require, I think, recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground."
Obama would like to rally Muslim countries to join in efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program. While many Arab governments also see Iran as a threat, however, the issue divides Muslims, in part because Israel is pressing for military action.
Obama Begins to Be Realistic
Why should Arabs undergo a negotiation process if the President alone can rip concessions from Israel? 74% of Israelis believe that Barack Obama won't gain anything for us. Iran's proxies have attacked us twice in three years. This is why 84% of us believe Iran's nuclear development is unlikely to be peaceful. Turkey and Saudi Arabia agree. Both nations have asked permission to begin nuclear programs. They held still when only Israel had WMD. As Iran approaches nuclear status, they want it too.
When Mr Obama was campaigning, he denounced Bush administration policies. After the Inauguration, we saw Obama carrying on with cosmetic changes to the old policies. Now, we see him shift to a wide range of the Bush agenda. With many of my countrymen, I welcome the awakening of realism in Obama.
Barack Obama in the Levant
Wisely, the US leader has been upbeat about his journey to the east, but has not fueled expectations. The best politician America has produced in the Television Age is not one to tip his hand.
Having publicly demanded that Israel stop building settlements in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank, the President will also ask Arab nations collectively to recognize Israel's existence.
According to Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post, Abbas feels he is in a strong position to play a waiting game. Abbas acknowledged that Olmert had shown him a map proposing a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank -- though he complained that the Israeli leader refused to give him a copy of the plan. He confirmed that Olmert "accepted the principle" of the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees -- something no previous Israeli prime minister had done -- and offered to resettle thousands in Israel. In all, Olmert's peace offer was more generous to the Palestinians than either that of Bush or Bill Clinton; it's almost impossible to imagine Obama, or any Israeli government, going further. Abbas turned it down. "The gaps were wide," he said.
Abbas says he will remain passive. "I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements," he said. "Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." In the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian.
Tying together all the elements of such a speech is no easy proposition, for his worldwide audience — Muslim and non-Muslim — has multiple competing priorities and concerns.
Consider: Lebanese go to the polls just three days after he speaks, Iranians will be preparing for pivotal elections June 12 and both contests pit moderate parties against radical forces. Afghans and Pakistanis are girding for increased U.S. military and political engagement. [McClatchy]
Palestinians and Israelis have irreconcilable differences. In the U.S., Republicans will be looking for any window of opportunity to paint the Democratic President as anti-American, anti-Israel and soft on terrorism.
"It's a very high bar to clear. The expectations are immense," said Tamara Cofman Wittes, the director of the Middle East Democracy and Development Project at the Washington-based Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy. "No matter how broadly he speaks, what he says will be parsed through the lens of those disagreements."
Obama won't lay out a detailed vision for resolving the Arab-Israeli crisis. "I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," the president said Thursday. "That will require, I think, recognition on both the part of the United States as well as many majority Muslim countries about each other, a better sense of understanding, and I think possibilities to achieve common ground."
Obama would like to rally Muslim countries to join in efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program. While many Arab governments also see Iran as a threat, however, the issue divides Muslims, in part because Israel is pressing for military action.
Obama Begins to Be Realistic
Why should Arabs undergo a negotiation process if the President alone can rip concessions from Israel? 74% of Israelis believe that Barack Obama won't gain anything for us. Iran's proxies have attacked us twice in three years. This is why 84% of us believe Iran's nuclear development is unlikely to be peaceful. Turkey and Saudi Arabia agree. Both nations have asked permission to begin nuclear programs. They held still when only Israel had WMD. As Iran approaches nuclear status, they want it too.
When Mr Obama was campaigning, he denounced Bush administration policies. After the Inauguration, we saw Obama carrying on with cosmetic changes to the old policies. Now, we see him shift to a wide range of the Bush agenda. With many of my countrymen, I welcome the awakening of realism in Obama.
Labels:
Alexander the Great,
Barack Obama,
Levant
Nakba Day
'Israel/Palestine: Commemorating the Nakba and Debating Loyalty'
by Ayesha Saldanha
May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the creation of Israel and subsequent Palestinian displacement and dispossession. Shortly after the day this year, a controversial piece of legislation was proposed in the Knesset banning commemoration of the Nakba. Two other bills were recently proposed, one introducing a pledge of allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state, and another criminalizing public denial of Israel as a Jewish state. While the "loyalty law" has been rejected, and the Nakba bill has been amended, the fact that the bills were introduced at all has prompted debate and protest.
It’s me has been contemplating the annual Nakba commemorations:
I didn’t want to write about this commemoration…I don’t know why.
However, as long as I don’t put the words down they kill me from inside. So let them come out…and one of them will kill me.
The Nakba.
A tent… a blue card [given to refugees]…and a key…and deluded hopes.
And expressions such as “holding on”, “we will return”, “refugees”…and so on.
A substantial subject for pedants such as I…This time I didn’t want to [write], but a discussion this morning with my mother – or with any mother – was as follows:
Me: Mother, today is the commemoration of the Nakba.
Mother: [sighing] Every day there is a nakba, every day there is an commemoration, every day there is a celebration.
Total silence.
Reacting to the "loyalty law", The Other Door has written a sarcastic post in the personae of various Palestinian citizens of Israel:
I am Mohammed Al Safoori. I swear by the Torah of the Jews that I will be a loyal citizen to the State of Israel, and will respect traffic regulations, pay my taxes and put up a picture of Mira Awad in my living room.
I am Salima Al Jebaili. On the soul of my dead father, I swear I will be loyal to Israel and bake only kosher bread.
I am Sulaiman Ladwai. I swear by Almighty God that I knew and named my eldest daughter Walaa' [loyalty] as a premonition of allegiance to the state of Lieberman. My whole family and I will be loyal to the state. We will see you at Yarkon Park on Independence Day. Arabs are allowed to enter, right?
I am Mahmoud Abu Daqa. I was called Mahmoud after my grandfather who was martyred with the resistance fighters in ’71. My grandfather was martyred for the sake of the nation, and I will continue on his path, and swear an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel.
I am Jameel Khouri from Efrat. On the life of Virgin Mary I swear to be loyal to Israel.
[…]
I am Nora Majdalawi and my friends call me Nurit [a Jewish name].You too all seem to betray… I am committed to be loyal to the state and also recognise it as a democratic Jewish state. I hope peace will manifest itself every country of the world, just has as it has for us. I would like to send greetings to my friends in the civil defence at Nahariya Hospital.
I am Murad Al Abed. I swear by God, by the mosque and by the prophets, by my love and your love, by my eyes (which I hope will be eaten by worms if I lie), by heaven, by my mother, by my father’s testicles, by prostitutes, and by the life of Najla Fathi, that I love Israel, and that we are against terrorism.
You may view the latest post at
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/06/05/israelpalestine-commemorating-the-nakba-and-
On the speech, Gorenberg writes:
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
by Ayesha Saldanha
May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the creation of Israel and subsequent Palestinian displacement and dispossession. Shortly after the day this year, a controversial piece of legislation was proposed in the Knesset banning commemoration of the Nakba. Two other bills were recently proposed, one introducing a pledge of allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state, and another criminalizing public denial of Israel as a Jewish state. While the "loyalty law" has been rejected, and the Nakba bill has been amended, the fact that the bills were introduced at all has prompted debate and protest.
It’s me has been contemplating the annual Nakba commemorations:
I didn’t want to write about this commemoration…I don’t know why.
However, as long as I don’t put the words down they kill me from inside. So let them come out…and one of them will kill me.
The Nakba.
A tent… a blue card [given to refugees]…and a key…and deluded hopes.
And expressions such as “holding on”, “we will return”, “refugees”…and so on.
A substantial subject for pedants such as I…This time I didn’t want to [write], but a discussion this morning with my mother – or with any mother – was as follows:
Me: Mother, today is the commemoration of the Nakba.
Mother: [sighing] Every day there is a nakba, every day there is an commemoration, every day there is a celebration.
Total silence.
Reacting to the "loyalty law", The Other Door has written a sarcastic post in the personae of various Palestinian citizens of Israel:
I am Mohammed Al Safoori. I swear by the Torah of the Jews that I will be a loyal citizen to the State of Israel, and will respect traffic regulations, pay my taxes and put up a picture of Mira Awad in my living room.
I am Salima Al Jebaili. On the soul of my dead father, I swear I will be loyal to Israel and bake only kosher bread.
I am Sulaiman Ladwai. I swear by Almighty God that I knew and named my eldest daughter Walaa' [loyalty] as a premonition of allegiance to the state of Lieberman. My whole family and I will be loyal to the state. We will see you at Yarkon Park on Independence Day. Arabs are allowed to enter, right?
I am Mahmoud Abu Daqa. I was called Mahmoud after my grandfather who was martyred with the resistance fighters in ’71. My grandfather was martyred for the sake of the nation, and I will continue on his path, and swear an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel.
I am Jameel Khouri from Efrat. On the life of Virgin Mary I swear to be loyal to Israel.
[…]
I am Nora Majdalawi and my friends call me Nurit [a Jewish name].You too all seem to betray… I am committed to be loyal to the state and also recognise it as a democratic Jewish state. I hope peace will manifest itself every country of the world, just has as it has for us. I would like to send greetings to my friends in the civil defence at Nahariya Hospital.
I am Murad Al Abed. I swear by God, by the mosque and by the prophets, by my love and your love, by my eyes (which I hope will be eaten by worms if I lie), by heaven, by my mother, by my father’s testicles, by prostitutes, and by the life of Najla Fathi, that I love Israel, and that we are against terrorism.
You may view the latest post at
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/06/05/israelpalestine-commemorating-the-nakba-and-
On the speech, Gorenberg writes:
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
Labels:
commemoration,
Israel,
Nakba Day,
Palestine
Friday, July 24, 2009
How Did the Tiger Get into the Bath Tub?
How Did the Tiger Get Into the Bath Tub?
Over the years I have come to realize that many tough-talking politicians are little scared cats. To adjust for this, they exaggerate the threats coming from their target group. In my day Harry Truman was a leading proponent of scare tactics. In 1950 the fledgling military/industrial needed a ruthless opponent to justify huge military expenditures especially in times of relative calm. Harry Truman detailed the USSR [International Communism] as villain number one. Suddenly, every actor on radio became an American Spy. Ronnie Reagan became involved with foreign-born women with throaty accents. [Apparently, American girls stayed home to bake cookies.] The listener never knew where her loyalties lay till the end of the episode.
Shortly after this, US employers developed the Loyalty Oath. It placed everyone on the front line so to speak. Of course it was nonsense. Any Communist Agent worth his salt would lie. The oath became a trap for artists and intellectuals who had independent thoughts about the meaning of good citizenship. This loyalty business became a curse when many Americans lost their livelihood by resisting the bullying tactics to such as the House Un-American Activities Committee.
A number of witch hunt victims were Jewish.
This is partly why I went into partial shock when a number of right wing fanatics suggested a Loyalty Oath for Palestinian Israelis. Although it was voted down by the Knesset, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Other citizens [Palestinian] wiser than I, mocked the proposed oath into nothingness.
Reacting to the "loyalty law", The Other Door has written a sarcastic post in the personae of various Palestinian citizens of Israel:
I am Mohammed Al Safoori. I swear by the Torah of the Jews that I will be a loyal citizen to the State of Israel, and will respect traffic regulations, pay my taxes and put up a picture of Mira Awad [represented Israel at Eurovision] in my living room.
I am Salima Al Jebaili. On the soul of my dead father, I swear I will be loyal to Israel and bake only kosher bread.
I am Sulaiman Ladwai. I swear by Almighty God that I knew and named my eldest daughter Walaa' [loyalty] as a premonition of allegiance to the state of Lieberman. My whole family and I will be loyal to the state. We will see you at Yarkon Park on Independence Day. Arabs are allowed to enter, right?
I am Mahmoud Abu Daqa. I was called Mahmoud after my grandfather who was martyred with the resistance fighters in ’71. My grandfather was martyred for the sake of the nation, and I will continue on his path, and swear an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel.
I am Jameel Khouri from Efrat. On the life of Virgin Mary I swear to be loyal to Israel.
[…]
I am Nora Majdalawi and my friends call me Nurit [a Jewish name].You too all seem to betray… I am committed to be loyal to the state and also recognize it as a democratic Jewish state. I hope peace will manifest itself every country of the world, just has as it has for us. I would like to send greetings to my friends in the civil defense at Nahariya Hospital.
I am Murad Al Abed. I swear by God, by the mosque and by the prophets, by my love and your love, by my eyes (which I hope will be eaten by worms if I lie), by heaven, by my mother, by my father’s testicles, by prostitutes, and by the life of Najla Fathi, that I love Israel, and that we are against terrorism.
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/06/05/israelpalestine-commemorating-the-nakba-and-
Over the years I have come to realize that many tough-talking politicians are little scared cats. To adjust for this, they exaggerate the threats coming from their target group. In my day Harry Truman was a leading proponent of scare tactics. In 1950 the fledgling military/industrial needed a ruthless opponent to justify huge military expenditures especially in times of relative calm. Harry Truman detailed the USSR [International Communism] as villain number one. Suddenly, every actor on radio became an American Spy. Ronnie Reagan became involved with foreign-born women with throaty accents. [Apparently, American girls stayed home to bake cookies.] The listener never knew where her loyalties lay till the end of the episode.
Shortly after this, US employers developed the Loyalty Oath. It placed everyone on the front line so to speak. Of course it was nonsense. Any Communist Agent worth his salt would lie. The oath became a trap for artists and intellectuals who had independent thoughts about the meaning of good citizenship. This loyalty business became a curse when many Americans lost their livelihood by resisting the bullying tactics to such as the House Un-American Activities Committee.
A number of witch hunt victims were Jewish.
This is partly why I went into partial shock when a number of right wing fanatics suggested a Loyalty Oath for Palestinian Israelis. Although it was voted down by the Knesset, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Other citizens [Palestinian] wiser than I, mocked the proposed oath into nothingness.
Reacting to the "loyalty law", The Other Door has written a sarcastic post in the personae of various Palestinian citizens of Israel:
I am Mohammed Al Safoori. I swear by the Torah of the Jews that I will be a loyal citizen to the State of Israel, and will respect traffic regulations, pay my taxes and put up a picture of Mira Awad [represented Israel at Eurovision] in my living room.
I am Salima Al Jebaili. On the soul of my dead father, I swear I will be loyal to Israel and bake only kosher bread.
I am Sulaiman Ladwai. I swear by Almighty God that I knew and named my eldest daughter Walaa' [loyalty] as a premonition of allegiance to the state of Lieberman. My whole family and I will be loyal to the state. We will see you at Yarkon Park on Independence Day. Arabs are allowed to enter, right?
I am Mahmoud Abu Daqa. I was called Mahmoud after my grandfather who was martyred with the resistance fighters in ’71. My grandfather was martyred for the sake of the nation, and I will continue on his path, and swear an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel.
I am Jameel Khouri from Efrat. On the life of Virgin Mary I swear to be loyal to Israel.
[…]
I am Nora Majdalawi and my friends call me Nurit [a Jewish name].You too all seem to betray… I am committed to be loyal to the state and also recognize it as a democratic Jewish state. I hope peace will manifest itself every country of the world, just has as it has for us. I would like to send greetings to my friends in the civil defense at Nahariya Hospital.
I am Murad Al Abed. I swear by God, by the mosque and by the prophets, by my love and your love, by my eyes (which I hope will be eaten by worms if I lie), by heaven, by my mother, by my father’s testicles, by prostitutes, and by the life of Najla Fathi, that I love Israel, and that we are against terrorism.
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/06/05/israelpalestine-commemorating-the-nakba-and-
Happy Birthday Ayung San Soo Kyi
Will you show support for Myanmar opposition leader and global democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi? A new website came into being last week where anyone from around the world can leave a 64-word message of solidarity for imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The website 64forSuu.org is named as such to mark Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday on June 19.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi can leave and view video, text, twitter and picture messages on the website. A sample of 64-word message of support:
“Nineteen years ago, the Burmese people chose Aung San Suu Kyi as their next leader. For most of those 19 years she has been kept under house arrest by the military junta that runs the country. We must not stand by as she is silenced again. Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi.”
This brief statement was signed by many personalities and other famous names which included George Clooney, Sec. Madeleine Albright, Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Bono, Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Václav Havel, Helen Hunt, Anjelica Huston, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Ashton Kutcher, Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Watts.
Twitter is an integral part of the campaign:
It is the first political campaign to use twitter with an integrated website to harness the reach and influence of some of the world’s most influential celebrities. Through replies and re-tweets, the campaign message reached an estimated 5 million people through Twitter alone in its first five days.
[[AUNG]]
Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.
Aung San Suu Kyi
I think I should be active politically. Because I look upon myself as a politician. That's not a dirty work you know. Some people think that there are something wrong with politicians. Of course, something wrong with some politicians.
Aung San Suu Kyi
It is often in the name of cultural integrity as well as social stability and national security that democratic reforms based on human rights are resisted by authoritarian governments.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by any government or nation, not even the most belligerent.
Aung San Suu Kyi
The democracy process provides for political and social change without violence.
Aung San Suu Kyi
The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development.
Aung San Suu Kyi
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
Aung San Suu Kyi
The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same. The viewpoint of the privileged is unlike that of the underprivileged.
Aung San Suu Kyi
All quotes from Brainy Quote
Turn History into History
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
Gresghom Gorenberg, South Jerusalem
After listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:
54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done "together." Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.
Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:
I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:
I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launch pad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Easteners.
Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.
On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:
Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.
Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:
As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was frankly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.
I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.
The Jewish Confusion
South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:
Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.
Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.
As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Obama Confusion
Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He believes that a few conciliatory words and a couple of good deeds can alter the sins of the past. Barack has spent too much time attending American schools and CIA controlled news and information. He calls the 1973 conflict the Yom Kippur War won by Israel. Obama errs. It was the Six Hour War won by Egypt.
[[SIXHOURWAR]]
The Egyptian victory at October war 1973 is one of the most important events in the Egyptian modern history.
Despite the Israeli claims that they won that war , their Zionist false media propaganda will never change the fact that they were defeated in that war (Yom Kippur DEFEAT) , the brave Egyptian soldiers destroyed Bar-Lev line which was the most powerful fortification in the world in only 6 hours , the Egyptian army destroyed what was named as "invincible army" , Egypt fought , won , got back Sinai without leaving an inch for Israel and forced the Israelis to accept peace which they refused before that war.
Greetings to the brave Egyptian and Syrian soldiers who lost their lives to achieve the great victory at October war and to purify Sinai peninsula and Golan heights from the dirty Israeli occupation with their blood.
The American Delusion
The Yom Kippur War [1973] occurred long before most people on the planet were even born. They must rely on the media. What do they see in the schools and on television? The Yom Kippur War or the Six Hour War, which do you think?
The Egyptians change history not Obama.
Gresghom Gorenberg, South Jerusalem
After listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:
54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done "together." Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.
Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:
I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:
I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launch pad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Easteners.
Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.
On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:
Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.
Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:
As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was frankly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.
I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.
The Jewish Confusion
South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:
Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.
Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.
As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Obama Confusion
Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He believes that a few conciliatory words and a couple of good deeds can alter the sins of the past. Barack has spent too much time attending American schools and CIA controlled news and information. He calls the 1973 conflict the Yom Kippur War won by Israel. Obama errs. It was the Six Hour War won by Egypt.
[[SIXHOURWAR]]
The Egyptian victory at October war 1973 is one of the most important events in the Egyptian modern history.
Despite the Israeli claims that they won that war , their Zionist false media propaganda will never change the fact that they were defeated in that war (Yom Kippur DEFEAT) , the brave Egyptian soldiers destroyed Bar-Lev line which was the most powerful fortification in the world in only 6 hours , the Egyptian army destroyed what was named as "invincible army" , Egypt fought , won , got back Sinai without leaving an inch for Israel and forced the Israelis to accept peace which they refused before that war.
Greetings to the brave Egyptian and Syrian soldiers who lost their lives to achieve the great victory at October war and to purify Sinai peninsula and Golan heights from the dirty Israeli occupation with their blood.
The American Delusion
The Yom Kippur War [1973] occurred long before most people on the planet were even born. They must rely on the media. What do they see in the schools and on television? The Yom Kippur War or the Six Hour War, which do you think?
The Egyptians change history not Obama.
Labels:
Egypt,
Israel,
Six Hour War,
Yom Kippur War
Nixon Plumber Meets His Prosecutor 36 Years Later
Sometimes, one runs into a human interest story too good to go down the tube as a quick link.
It was a chance meeting on a downtown street, but it gave Washington super lawyer and new author Richard Ben-Veniste an opportunity to create some buzz at his book party last night.
Ben-Veniste bumped into Egil "Bud" Krogh, whom he hadn't seen in 36 years since he prosecuted him during Watergate for Krogh's role as head of the White House Plumber's Unit, and did the unthinkable: he invited him to his book party, to be held just a few hours later.
[[KROGH]]
The Watergate conspirator actually showed up. The party was held at the stunning Northwest Washington home of Gerry and Ellen Sigal (of Sigal Construction), where Ben-Veniste read extensively from his book, "The Emperor's New Clothes: Exposing the Truth From Watergate to 9/11."
The author doesn't mention Krogh by name in his book, the first chapter of which is dedicated to the Watergate scandal. But Ben-Veniste did mention during his lengthy reading last night that "someone" he prosecuted during Watergate was in the audience.
Since he wasn't identified and few would have recognized him, Krogh wasn't cornered by Watergate buffs before he left. And there plenty such buffs at the party, including the legendary Daniel Schorr, who was chief Watergate correspondent for CBS. (Schorr even made President Nixon's infamous enemies list.)
Presumably, though, Krogh would have been happy to hang around and chat about his role in the demise of Richard M. Nixon, since he has been traveling the country giving speeches on the topic in what he calls his "quest for redemption."
Labels:
Egil Krogh,
Nixon,
plumber,
Richard Ben Veniste
A First Step to Combat Domestic Terrorism
Posted by: jbpazz on Jun 9, 2009 12:50 AM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The terrorists take pride in their work. They are true believers. They crave publicity to spread their ideology, to collect funds and to gain recruits. They are expert at media manipulation to achieve their goals. I respect the courage of such organizations as msnbc and individuals as Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman to expose these violent elements to the US public. Unfortunately, citizen interest will shift to another evil, the TV ratings will fall and the terrorists will continue to prosper. We already see the leftists on AlterNet scatter the blame to their traditional enemies, their pet peeves and their usual villains. They accomplish nothing.
Instead, I suggest readers this site.
At http://www.youtube.com/hatemaking the contributors monitor such terrorist activities as they appear on television. You will find videos that will curl your hair, but it is a small price to pay to fight fear and hatred effectively.
This short video will give you of the anti-terrorist effort.
Child Abuse in Palestine
Hamas Kindergarten Graduation
[[HAMASKINDE]]
Hamas kindergarten graduation ceremony
Al Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 31, 2007
- The following clip will illustrate the Palestinian childhood, and some scenes of the children's celebration of the (Hamas) Islamic Association's kindergartens.
Al-Jihad! Allah Akbar!
Your role model? The Prophet (Muhammad).
Your path? Jihad!
Your path? Jihad!
Your aspiration? Death for Allah. (x 2)
Your movement? Hamas!
Your movement? Hamas!
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The terrorists take pride in their work. They are true believers. They crave publicity to spread their ideology, to collect funds and to gain recruits. They are expert at media manipulation to achieve their goals. I respect the courage of such organizations as msnbc and individuals as Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman to expose these violent elements to the US public. Unfortunately, citizen interest will shift to another evil, the TV ratings will fall and the terrorists will continue to prosper. We already see the leftists on AlterNet scatter the blame to their traditional enemies, their pet peeves and their usual villains. They accomplish nothing.
Instead, I suggest readers this site.
At http://www.youtube.com/hatemaking the contributors monitor such terrorist activities as they appear on television. You will find videos that will curl your hair, but it is a small price to pay to fight fear and hatred effectively.
This short video will give you of the anti-terrorist effort.
Child Abuse in Palestine
Hamas Kindergarten Graduation
[[HAMASKINDE]]
Hamas kindergarten graduation ceremony
Al Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 31, 2007
- The following clip will illustrate the Palestinian childhood, and some scenes of the children's celebration of the (Hamas) Islamic Association's kindergartens.
Al-Jihad! Allah Akbar!
Your role model? The Prophet (Muhammad).
Your path? Jihad!
Your path? Jihad!
Your aspiration? Death for Allah. (x 2)
Your movement? Hamas!
Your movement? Hamas!
Labels:
counterterrorism,
Hamas TV,
Maddow,
Olberman
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Wisdom of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Wisdom of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Date of Birth
13 November 1969, Mogadishu, Somalia
Birth Name
Ayaan Hirsi Magan
Trivia
Has been under guard since September 2002 when she publicly announced on the radio that although being a Muslim was a part of her identity, she didn't believe in God, confirming herself as an apostate.
In 1995, attended Leiden University to study political science.
Fled to the Netherlands in 1992 where she gained entry as a single Somali woman fleeing danger. She was sent to an asylum seekers' center in Leintern.
Speaks six languages, English, Arabic, Somali, Amharic, Swahili, and Dutch.
Her father, a Somali rebel, was arrested by the authorities under the rule of Siad Barre.
From the age of six or seven, she and her family were living the lives of exiles, moving from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia and to Kenya where they stayed for 10 years.
Was circumcised at the age of five under her grandmother's order. Her father was against it and had told his wife not to circumcise their child. Her grandmother was appalled and took matters into her own hand.
Her father had married her off to a cousin living in Canada against her wishes. En route to Canada via Germany, she took a train to the Netherlands and, in doing so, walked out on her husband, family, and culture. Her father has since forgiven her and she is now officially 'divorced' from her husband.
In May 2006 she resigned from the Dutch Parliament when the Dutch Minister of Intergration (Rita Verdonk) announced that Ayaan never had received the Dutch nationality because she intentionally provided incorrect information during her application for the Dutch Nationality.
[[HIRSI3]]
Personal Quotes
"With the first commandment, Mohammed tried to imprison common sense. And with the second commandment the beautiful, romantic side of mankind was enslaved."
"People who ask me that question assume that geography is more important for Muslims than what is contained in the holy Qur'an. Of course the circumstances in which people live in Turkey are different from those in Morocco or Somalia. But when it comes to the relationship between men and women, in all these countries there is a red line of the woman being subordinate to the male. And most Muslim men justify this subordinacy with the Qur'an. There are so many meanings Europeans miss. We Muslims are brought up with the idea that there is just one relationship possible with God - submission. That's Islam: submission to the will of Allah. I want to bring about a different relationship, in which you say, 'Dear God, I would like to have a conversation with You.' Instead of submission, you get a relationship of dialog. Let's just assume it's possible."
"I am not against migration. It is simply pragmatic to restrict migration, while at the same time encouraging integration and fighting discrimination. I support the idea of the free movement of goods, people, money and jobs in Europe. But that will only work if universal human rights are also adopted by the newcomers. And if they are not, then you run of the risk of losing what you have here, and what other people want when they come here, which is freedom."
"From my background, being an individual is not something you take for granted. Here it is all you, me, I. There it is we, we, we. I come from a world where the word 'trauma' doesn't exist, because we are too poor. I didn't have an easy life compared to the average European. But compared to the average African, it wasn't all that bad. I know that to some people I am traumatized, that there is something wrong with me. But that just allows them not to hear what I say."
"From experience, I would say it is mostly women trying to protect other women from pain. Not physical pain, but the pain of people being suspicious that you are not a virgin. That is more traumatic, perhaps, than the physical pain. In tribal life, the only way a male, particularly high up in the clan, can give his name to someone else is if he knows for certain that it is his child. And the weak link is the woman. The one way to guarantee that a woman is not going to have other people's babies is if she remains a virgin. In Arab countries, which segregate men and women, they do it by keeping women in the house. But we were from a semi-desert area, where if, like my grandfather, you have nine daughters, you need the labor of women outside. So you cut off the clitoris of the woman, sew together what is left, and you know that she will not be seduced. It is a matter of control." [on female circumcision]
Where Are They Now
(2007) Currently resides in the US
Source: IMBd
The Arabs Change History Not Obama's Speech
The Arabs Change History Not Obama's Speech
Suddenly Obama was here to "fix things," while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don't need his leadership, or anyone else's for that matter. Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He has spent too much time in the USA.
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
Gresghom Gorenberg, South Jerusalem
Another listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:
54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done "together." Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.
Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:
I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:
I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launch pad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Easteners.
Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.
On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:
Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.
Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:
As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was frankly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.
I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.
The Jewish Confusion
South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:
Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.
Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.
As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Obama Confusion
Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He believes that a few conciliatory words and a couple of good deeds can alter the sins of the past. Barack has spent too much time attending American schools and CIA controlled news and information. He calls the 1973 conflict the Yom Kippur War won by Israel. Obama errs. It was the Six Hour War won by Egypt.
[[SIXHOURWAR]]
The Egyptian victory at October war 1973 is one of the most important events in the Egyptian modern history.
Despite the Israeli claims that they won that war , their Zionist false media propaganda will never change the fact that they were defeated in that war (Yom Kippur DEFEAT) , the brave Egyptian soldiers destroyed Bar-Lev line which was the most powerful fortification in the world in only 6 hours , the Egyptian army destroyed what was named as "invincible army" , Egypt fought , won , got back Sinai without leaving an inch for Israel and forced the Israelis to accept peace which they refused before that war.
Greetings to the brave Egyptian and Syrian soldiers who lost their lives to achieve the great victory at October war and to purify Sinai peninsula and Golan heights from the dirty Israeli occupation with their blood.
The American Delusion
The Yom Kippur War [1973] occurred long before most people on the planet were even born. They must rely on the media. What do they see in the schools and on television? The Yom Kippur War or the Six Hour War, which do you think?
The Egyptians change history not Obama.
Suddenly Obama was here to "fix things," while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don't need his leadership, or anyone else's for that matter. Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He has spent too much time in the USA.
His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.
Gresghom Gorenberg, South Jerusalem
Another listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:
54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done "together." Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.
Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:
I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.
Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:
I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launch pad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Easteners.
Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.
On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:
Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.
Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:
As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was frankly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.
I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.
The Jewish Confusion
South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:
Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.
Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.
As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Obama Confusion
Barack Obama "likes to change what history means." He believes that a few conciliatory words and a couple of good deeds can alter the sins of the past. Barack has spent too much time attending American schools and CIA controlled news and information. He calls the 1973 conflict the Yom Kippur War won by Israel. Obama errs. It was the Six Hour War won by Egypt.
[[SIXHOURWAR]]
The Egyptian victory at October war 1973 is one of the most important events in the Egyptian modern history.
Despite the Israeli claims that they won that war , their Zionist false media propaganda will never change the fact that they were defeated in that war (Yom Kippur DEFEAT) , the brave Egyptian soldiers destroyed Bar-Lev line which was the most powerful fortification in the world in only 6 hours , the Egyptian army destroyed what was named as "invincible army" , Egypt fought , won , got back Sinai without leaving an inch for Israel and forced the Israelis to accept peace which they refused before that war.
Greetings to the brave Egyptian and Syrian soldiers who lost their lives to achieve the great victory at October war and to purify Sinai peninsula and Golan heights from the dirty Israeli occupation with their blood.
The American Delusion
The Yom Kippur War [1973] occurred long before most people on the planet were even born. They must rely on the media. What do they see in the schools and on television? The Yom Kippur War or the Six Hour War, which do you think?
The Egyptians change history not Obama.
Labels:
Barack Obama,
Cairo speech,
Gresghom Gorenberg
Honor Killings
Palestinians: Family killed boy, 15, over Israel collaboration By The Associated Press Tags: collaborator, palestinian
Palestinian police on Thursday said a 15-year-old boy was found hanged in a West Bank barn, and said his father, uncle and cousin confessed to the slaying.
Police said family members told them they believed the boy collaborated with the Israeli army.
But authorities said that they are investigating other motives as well, as it is unlikely someone so young would be recruited as an informer.
Palestinian courts officials on Sunday said a Palestinian woman suspected of spying for Israel may be sentenced to death.
The officials said the 22-year-old woman worked as a collaborator after obtaining a divorce from her husband, who forced her to work as a prostitute, making her a social outcast in Palestinian society.
Palestinian military judge Abdul Karim al-Masri said the woman confessed to passing low-level information and refused a lawyer. "She didn't hurt anybody except herself," he said.
In the past two years, more than 30 Palestinians have been sentenced to death for spying, but none of the sentences have been carried out.
Jordan: No Honour in Killing '
by Rami Abdelrahman
For the past three weeks, Jordanian bloggers have been renewing calls against "honor killings," following a court conviction of a father and his two sons for beating his daughter to death for "going out with full make up."
The case sent waves of awe and shock across the Jordanian blogosphere and some of the mainstream newspapers, as this was the seventh case of women being murdered brutally by their relatives on the suspicion that they had committed "adultery" this year alone.
Blogger Kinzi was among the first to call for Jordanian male bloggers to break their silence about this topic.
"You all rose well when it was Gaza. This time, the evil is within our own land, perpetuated by our own laws, executed by Jordanian hands. Don’t you care as much for your fellow female citizens as you do for innocent Gazan women?"
The Arab Observer answered with a post initiating an email campaign:
"It is time for our local media, whether it is printed or online, to stand up to their responsibilities towards Jordanian citizens. It is time for you all to raise up your voices and lobby to abolish such retarded law. We awe it to ourselves, to our mothers, to our daughters and to our wives, we ought to provide them with dignity, equality, and safety. No Jordanian woman should fear the prosecution of a male relative. No man should get away with murder under the name of honor."
Jordanian law stipulates that a man who finds his wife or a related female engaged in "adultery" and kills or wounds her as a result of this discovery in a "fit of fury" receives a reduced sentence according to articles 340 and 98 of the Penal code. The Jordanian parliament, with tribal and Islamic MPs leading majority of seats, has failed twice in 2003 to reverse or change these laws. Seven cases of "honor killings" took place that year.
Joining other bloggers, Qwaider wrote in support of stopping honor killings, saying there is no proof whatsoever that this is related to Islamic laws and teachings.
Many think that honor killing has it's roots in the Islamic Shariah. Quite frankly nothing can be farther from the truth. In fact, Islam doesn't take people's lives as award for committing adultery without proof... You really need 4 people to see them in the act as witnesses... The punishment for any unmarried person (male or females) is few flogs (or the modern equivalent).
He called upon fellow bloggers to start "a campaign to protest the unjust, inhuman, and extremely degrading dishonor killing pardons that are spelled out in the law."
The calls were echoed in the Syrian blogosphere.
According to blogger Bam Bam, there has been little interaction between Jordanian and Syrian bloggers. But the recent campaign found support from Syrian bloggers as seen in posts written by Abu Fares, Razan, and last but not least KJ who wrote a fictional story entitled "why I killed my sister."
Bam Bam goes on to say this is high time to ask all the tough question:
“Are honor crimes an isolated occurrence or a culmination of several events that lead to them ? how frequent do those events occur and if I reduce the occurrence of the most frequent event can I reduce honor crimes? Why do people commit honor crimes? is it because of religion , to protect social status and reputation, or some other reasons?"
Just as bloggers continued to spread these messages, another killing took place - a 19-year-old man was charged of stabbing his 21-year-old sister, just after she was released from the governor's protection. He confessed to the murder, saying his sister "often left their family home to go to an unknown destination."
Blogger Kinzi commented on the sentence, saying it is an " improvement from the six months slap on the hand," since the man was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. She added that blogger Naseem Tarawnah had written about the murder when it took place in 2007. He then wrote that the victim, as in many similar cases, was not sexually active.
It is estimated that an average of 18 to 20 cases of "honor killings" are reported in Jordan every year, according to this televised report.
Palestinian police on Thursday said a 15-year-old boy was found hanged in a West Bank barn, and said his father, uncle and cousin confessed to the slaying.
Police said family members told them they believed the boy collaborated with the Israeli army.
But authorities said that they are investigating other motives as well, as it is unlikely someone so young would be recruited as an informer.
Palestinian courts officials on Sunday said a Palestinian woman suspected of spying for Israel may be sentenced to death.
The officials said the 22-year-old woman worked as a collaborator after obtaining a divorce from her husband, who forced her to work as a prostitute, making her a social outcast in Palestinian society.
Palestinian military judge Abdul Karim al-Masri said the woman confessed to passing low-level information and refused a lawyer. "She didn't hurt anybody except herself," he said.
In the past two years, more than 30 Palestinians have been sentenced to death for spying, but none of the sentences have been carried out.
Jordan: No Honour in Killing '
by Rami Abdelrahman
For the past three weeks, Jordanian bloggers have been renewing calls against "honor killings," following a court conviction of a father and his two sons for beating his daughter to death for "going out with full make up."
The case sent waves of awe and shock across the Jordanian blogosphere and some of the mainstream newspapers, as this was the seventh case of women being murdered brutally by their relatives on the suspicion that they had committed "adultery" this year alone.
Blogger Kinzi was among the first to call for Jordanian male bloggers to break their silence about this topic.
"You all rose well when it was Gaza. This time, the evil is within our own land, perpetuated by our own laws, executed by Jordanian hands. Don’t you care as much for your fellow female citizens as you do for innocent Gazan women?"
The Arab Observer answered with a post initiating an email campaign:
"It is time for our local media, whether it is printed or online, to stand up to their responsibilities towards Jordanian citizens. It is time for you all to raise up your voices and lobby to abolish such retarded law. We awe it to ourselves, to our mothers, to our daughters and to our wives, we ought to provide them with dignity, equality, and safety. No Jordanian woman should fear the prosecution of a male relative. No man should get away with murder under the name of honor."
Jordanian law stipulates that a man who finds his wife or a related female engaged in "adultery" and kills or wounds her as a result of this discovery in a "fit of fury" receives a reduced sentence according to articles 340 and 98 of the Penal code. The Jordanian parliament, with tribal and Islamic MPs leading majority of seats, has failed twice in 2003 to reverse or change these laws. Seven cases of "honor killings" took place that year.
Joining other bloggers, Qwaider wrote in support of stopping honor killings, saying there is no proof whatsoever that this is related to Islamic laws and teachings.
Many think that honor killing has it's roots in the Islamic Shariah. Quite frankly nothing can be farther from the truth. In fact, Islam doesn't take people's lives as award for committing adultery without proof... You really need 4 people to see them in the act as witnesses... The punishment for any unmarried person (male or females) is few flogs (or the modern equivalent).
He called upon fellow bloggers to start "a campaign to protest the unjust, inhuman, and extremely degrading dishonor killing pardons that are spelled out in the law."
The calls were echoed in the Syrian blogosphere.
According to blogger Bam Bam, there has been little interaction between Jordanian and Syrian bloggers. But the recent campaign found support from Syrian bloggers as seen in posts written by Abu Fares, Razan, and last but not least KJ who wrote a fictional story entitled "why I killed my sister."
Bam Bam goes on to say this is high time to ask all the tough question:
“Are honor crimes an isolated occurrence or a culmination of several events that lead to them ? how frequent do those events occur and if I reduce the occurrence of the most frequent event can I reduce honor crimes? Why do people commit honor crimes? is it because of religion , to protect social status and reputation, or some other reasons?"
Just as bloggers continued to spread these messages, another killing took place - a 19-year-old man was charged of stabbing his 21-year-old sister, just after she was released from the governor's protection. He confessed to the murder, saying his sister "often left their family home to go to an unknown destination."
Blogger Kinzi commented on the sentence, saying it is an " improvement from the six months slap on the hand," since the man was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. She added that blogger Naseem Tarawnah had written about the murder when it took place in 2007. He then wrote that the victim, as in many similar cases, was not sexually active.
It is estimated that an average of 18 to 20 cases of "honor killings" are reported in Jordan every year, according to this televised report.
Labels:
honor killings,
Jordan,
murder,
Palestine
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Prison Rape is an Intolerable Offense
Prison Rape is an Intolerable Offense
The News Tribune
Rape and sexual abuse remain too much a fact of life behind bars.
That’s intolerable. In the United States, our criminal justice system sends convicts to prison as punishment, not for punishment.
The recommendations of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Commission could be a step toward changing the prison culture that permits sexual abuse to continue.
The commission found that more than 60,000 prisoners are the victims of rape and sexual abuse each year. Many inmates are afraid to report such crimes and even those who do are often ignored or dismissed.
Not only hardcore criminals are being victimized. The commission heard from former inmates who made relatively minor mistakes – a political protest gone wrong, a drunken driving arrest or a probation violation – and ended up being brutally raped.
No matter what they did to land in jail, captives are a vulnerable population. They depend on prison authorities to protect them, and it’s in the best interests of those officials to do so.
Prisoners will seek protection where they can find it. When the only safe harbor is a gang, the repercussions affect not only prison safety but also public safety when prisoners carry their gangster ways to the streets after their release.
The commission is recommending that Attorney General Eric Holder issue standards that require prisons to have zero-tolerance policies on rape, better staff training and improved screening to identify prisoners vulnerable to abuse, among other measures. States could lose federal prison money if they fail to comply.
The cost to staff and equip jails and prisons accordingly will be high. But so too is the cost of the status quo.
Washington officials just agreed to pay $1 million to settle part of a class action lawsuit by current and former female inmates who claimed they were sexually assaulted by corrections officers at the state’s Purdy prison. Still pending is a dispute over what the state will do to prevent other inmates from being abused and to keep abuse allegations from languishing in files.
The rape commission’s report is significant not just for its recommendations but also for its attempts to quantify the problem. As much as sexual abuse has been assumed an inevitable consequence of confinement, its actual scope hasn’t been well documented.
In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a prison system’s failure to prevent sexual abuse of inmates can be a violation of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The caveat was that corrections officials must have known or should have known about the abuse.
Credible deniability, if there ever was such a thing, is in short supply today.
On September 10, 2004, Vili and Mary announced that they have been together constantly since her release. They plan to marry and Mary is willing to have more children for him. After her release from prison Vili petitioned the courts to lift the court imposed restraining order so they could see each other. The judge lifted the order barring contact between Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau..
A suburban Seattle school district elementary school teacher, Mary Kay Letourneau, was 34, and the married mother of four children in 1996, when she and Vili Fualaau, her sixth grade student entered into a sexual relationship. She was arrested in 1997 when she was pregnant with their child and sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to have no contact with Vili. A month later she was caught her car with him and she was pregnant with their second child. She served seven and a half years in prison for having sex with a minor. She was released from prison on August 4, 2004. Mary will be staying with a former coworker in a home close to where her girls live with their father's family. It is rumored that Mary and Vili plan to write another book together. Their first book was published and popular in France.
Mary wrote a book about her affair with Vili. Mary's former cellmate, Christina Dress, a close friend and co-author of her book said when Mary arrived at Purdy women's prison in 1998, she was harassed by inmates and guards.
"Inmates were preparing and sending her food with chemicals in it, spit in it, things like that. Tama Lisa and I put a stop to that...already been at prison, we knew how to handle it." Christina Dress - King 5 TV News
Labels:
Iraq,
prisoner abuse,
rape,
sodomy,
USA
1959: The Year Everything Changed
Miles Davis
1959 The Year Everything Changed (2009)
By Fred Kaplan
It was the year of the microchip, the birth-control pill, the space race, and the computer revolution; the rise of Pop art, free jazz, “sick comics,” the New Journalism, and indie films; the emergence of Castro, Malcolm X, and personal superpower diplomacy; the beginnings of Motown, Happenings, and the Generation Gap—all bursting against the backdrop of the Cold War, the fallout-shelter craze, and the first American casualties of the war in Vietnam.
It was a year when the shockwaves of the new ripped the seams of daily life, when humanity stepped into the cosmos and commandeered the conception of human life, when the world shrank but the knowledge needed to thrive in it expanded exponentially, when outsiders became insiders, when categories were blurred and taboos trampled, when we crossed into a “new frontier” that offered the twin prospects of infinite possibilities and instant annihilation—a frontier that we continue to explore exactly fifty years later, at an eerily similar turning point.
In 1959: The Year Everything Changed, Slate columnist Fred Kaplan vividly chronicles this vital, overlooked year that set the world as we know it in motion. Drawing on original research, including untapped archives and interviews with major figures of the time, Kaplan pieces together the vast, untold story of a civilization in flux—and paints vivid portraits of the men and women whose creative energies, ideas, and inventions paved the way for the new era. They include:
Norman Mailer, musing on the hipster and the H-bomb while fusing journalism and literature in wildly new, influential ways; Lenny Bruce, remaking stand-up comedy by loosening the language and skewering politics and religion; Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, shattering the structures of jazz; John Cassavetes, making a new kind of movie, with improvised dialogue, shot in the city streets, outside the Hollywood system; Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, insinuating black urban music into mainstream pop culture; Barney Rosset, the owner of Grove Press, suing the government’s censors and toppling obscenity laws; Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, advancing new and militant paths to civil rights and racial politics; Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Allan Kaprow, blurring the boundaries between art and life; Jack Kilby, a self-described “tinkerer,” inventing the microchip, which triggers the digital age; Margaret Sanger, a radical activist in her eighties, spurring renegade scientists to invent a “magic pill” that lets women control their reproductive processes and unleashes the sexual and feminist revolutions; and John F. Kennedy, the coalescing figure of the era, campaigning for president as a young outsider, keen to grapple with the “unknown opportunities and peril” of the coming “new frontier”—just as Barack Obama, an even unlikelier outsider, confronts the eve of a new decade in our own turbulent time.
Labels:
1959,
Grove Press,
Malcolm X,
Miles Davis,
the pill
Free Gaza Supporters Subvert Obama Peace
Free Gaza Supporters Subvert Obama's Peace Plans
The Obama plan calls for the Palestinians to disarm. Then, Israel and Palestine can live side-by-side each recognizing the other's right to exist. The plan is acceptable to most Israelis. Hamas has ignored it.
The pacific Mary Ann Butler asked the US Marines to invade and punish Israel until she released the 21 hostages. Trailing Begonia insists his government back the Free Gaza program. Arabs filled with hatred towards Jews long for the day when the USA destroys Israel for them.
Such people want perpetual war. Why?
Obama wants to negotiate a peace settlement. What is so difficult for other people to understand?
Before They Protest, People Should Consider the Location
In my town it is a long walk to prison. My friend asked me to accompany her to visit her boyfriend in prison. We were a long time getting there, so we had to wait for the second group to enter. In a loud voice my friend complained that Saturday was a poor visitors' day because no busses ran. I warned her in English not to make a fuss. A cop who was listening told her I was right. Sixteen years ago I had come to Israel to rescue my son from his kidnappers. Unfortunately, his abductors worked for the government. The judges ruled for them, so I have been held hostage in Israel for the past 16 years. I am an inconvenient witness to Israel's kidnapping operations. If they learn any information uncomfortable to the authorities, the Free Gaza workers may also spend the rest of their lives here. A warning to the wise: speak with humility and stop making crank calls to the USA. The Americans will do nothing to aid your cause.
Will the US Invade Israel to Rescue Cynthia?
"One expects that there would have been a frenzied response: statements by our Secretary of State, by our President, and Navy seals and helicopters swarming the area, and non-stop news coverage until the kidnapped Americans were rescued." – Mary Ann Butler
After the disastrous invasions of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, one would think Americans would be more prudent.
During the past 61 years Israel has organized and financed the kidnapping of 18,000 American infants. The State Department was too busy selling the Turks US nuclear secrets to do anything for the babies.
The Irish have petitioned for the release of the failed smugglers. Surely, she can add 18,000 US hostages to the list.
The Supreme Court of Israel has long been an accessory to these criminal activities. The Justices belong in the dock with the 45,000 government workers involved.
I am not angry at the person flagged. Instead, I am saddened. In the last few weeks ordinary citizens of Peru, Iran and Honduras have run into a meat grinder. The government is free to crush protesting citizens. My suggestion is to prosecute individual government employees. In my example, I would urge Interpol to issue 45,000 red papers on individuals in Israel accused of baby snatching a filthy crime. In the USA, if we can't nail Republicans on torture, drop them on an adultery rap. Every group has a bad habit liable to prosecution.
The present situation is intolerable. A handful of giant organizations control the health industry who lives and who dies. Surely, the medical professionals and CEO's responsible for this can be prosecuted.
I Wanted the 21 Hostages to Be Released and They Were
Most Americans either ignored the hostages or they revealed their total ignorance of the Middle East. They indulged their pet peeves rather than suggesting diplomatic means to rescue the hostages. The US State Department has long known Israel kidnaps about 300 US infants per year. Indeed, the Tel-Aviv US Embassy alerted me to this after my son was stolen 21 years ago. I have written books about these atrocities so strong the Israeli authorities have held me hostage since 1992.
The Coto and other Israel bashers are so blinded by hatred of Jews they fill their blogs with falsehoods never arriving at substantial facts.
The Israelis read and catalog all the hate rags, so does the US State Department. Both countries are sensitive to any mention of their child abduction activities. Holding hostages is a despicable act no Israeli or true American is proud of. I posted about the 18,000 Americans held illegally in Israel in the hope she would release the Free Gaza 21 from captivity.
Israel did.
As the Muslims are the world champs at abduction into slavery, they live in glass houses on this topic.
The Free Gaza Folks Miss the Point
Israel has organized and financed the abduction of tens of thousands of foreign nationals. This includes 18,000 Americans stolen as infants and put up for sale by Rabbis and social workers. There is a worldwide set up to funnel the victims into the most profitable markets. Even if they can find their children, the parents face an almost impossible struggle against corrupt judges and bureaucrats.
From the Germans, the Israelis picked up the habit of recording their crimes in detail. So, the world courts have no excuse. They can prosecute more than 45,000 Israelis for crimes against humanity and murder.
The Free Gaza folks don't need to provoke incidents or manufacture evidence. They can hang the baby snatchers with an honest court.
The Civil Rights Act of 1965 Changed Everything
Lyndon Johnson lost much of his political capital when he pushed on Capitol Hill for civil rights. This cost him the formerly Democratic Solid South and the loyalty of rank-and-file labor union workers. Many white folks resented the gains registered by blacks. This change operated through the 2008 elections.
The CIA took care of the attitudinal changes through MKULTRA brain washing and COINTELPRO information control.
The USA is now a dictatorship run by corporations. The terms progressive, liberal and conservative are meaningless affectations. The administrative, legislative and judicial branches are incapable of independent action.
The Obama plan calls for the Palestinians to disarm. Then, Israel and Palestine can live side-by-side each recognizing the other's right to exist. The plan is acceptable to most Israelis. Hamas has ignored it.
The pacific Mary Ann Butler asked the US Marines to invade and punish Israel until she released the 21 hostages. Trailing Begonia insists his government back the Free Gaza program. Arabs filled with hatred towards Jews long for the day when the USA destroys Israel for them.
Such people want perpetual war. Why?
Obama wants to negotiate a peace settlement. What is so difficult for other people to understand?
Before They Protest, People Should Consider the Location
In my town it is a long walk to prison. My friend asked me to accompany her to visit her boyfriend in prison. We were a long time getting there, so we had to wait for the second group to enter. In a loud voice my friend complained that Saturday was a poor visitors' day because no busses ran. I warned her in English not to make a fuss. A cop who was listening told her I was right. Sixteen years ago I had come to Israel to rescue my son from his kidnappers. Unfortunately, his abductors worked for the government. The judges ruled for them, so I have been held hostage in Israel for the past 16 years. I am an inconvenient witness to Israel's kidnapping operations. If they learn any information uncomfortable to the authorities, the Free Gaza workers may also spend the rest of their lives here. A warning to the wise: speak with humility and stop making crank calls to the USA. The Americans will do nothing to aid your cause.
Will the US Invade Israel to Rescue Cynthia?
"One expects that there would have been a frenzied response: statements by our Secretary of State, by our President, and Navy seals and helicopters swarming the area, and non-stop news coverage until the kidnapped Americans were rescued." – Mary Ann Butler
After the disastrous invasions of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, one would think Americans would be more prudent.
During the past 61 years Israel has organized and financed the kidnapping of 18,000 American infants. The State Department was too busy selling the Turks US nuclear secrets to do anything for the babies.
The Irish have petitioned for the release of the failed smugglers. Surely, she can add 18,000 US hostages to the list.
The Supreme Court of Israel has long been an accessory to these criminal activities. The Justices belong in the dock with the 45,000 government workers involved.
I am not angry at the person flagged. Instead, I am saddened. In the last few weeks ordinary citizens of Peru, Iran and Honduras have run into a meat grinder. The government is free to crush protesting citizens. My suggestion is to prosecute individual government employees. In my example, I would urge Interpol to issue 45,000 red papers on individuals in Israel accused of baby snatching a filthy crime. In the USA, if we can't nail Republicans on torture, drop them on an adultery rap. Every group has a bad habit liable to prosecution.
The present situation is intolerable. A handful of giant organizations control the health industry who lives and who dies. Surely, the medical professionals and CEO's responsible for this can be prosecuted.
I Wanted the 21 Hostages to Be Released and They Were
Most Americans either ignored the hostages or they revealed their total ignorance of the Middle East. They indulged their pet peeves rather than suggesting diplomatic means to rescue the hostages. The US State Department has long known Israel kidnaps about 300 US infants per year. Indeed, the Tel-Aviv US Embassy alerted me to this after my son was stolen 21 years ago. I have written books about these atrocities so strong the Israeli authorities have held me hostage since 1992.
The Coto and other Israel bashers are so blinded by hatred of Jews they fill their blogs with falsehoods never arriving at substantial facts.
The Israelis read and catalog all the hate rags, so does the US State Department. Both countries are sensitive to any mention of their child abduction activities. Holding hostages is a despicable act no Israeli or true American is proud of. I posted about the 18,000 Americans held illegally in Israel in the hope she would release the Free Gaza 21 from captivity.
Israel did.
As the Muslims are the world champs at abduction into slavery, they live in glass houses on this topic.
The Free Gaza Folks Miss the Point
Israel has organized and financed the abduction of tens of thousands of foreign nationals. This includes 18,000 Americans stolen as infants and put up for sale by Rabbis and social workers. There is a worldwide set up to funnel the victims into the most profitable markets. Even if they can find their children, the parents face an almost impossible struggle against corrupt judges and bureaucrats.
From the Germans, the Israelis picked up the habit of recording their crimes in detail. So, the world courts have no excuse. They can prosecute more than 45,000 Israelis for crimes against humanity and murder.
The Free Gaza folks don't need to provoke incidents or manufacture evidence. They can hang the baby snatchers with an honest court.
The Civil Rights Act of 1965 Changed Everything
Lyndon Johnson lost much of his political capital when he pushed on Capitol Hill for civil rights. This cost him the formerly Democratic Solid South and the loyalty of rank-and-file labor union workers. Many white folks resented the gains registered by blacks. This change operated through the 2008 elections.
The CIA took care of the attitudinal changes through MKULTRA brain washing and COINTELPRO information control.
The USA is now a dictatorship run by corporations. The terms progressive, liberal and conservative are meaningless affectations. The administrative, legislative and judicial branches are incapable of independent action.
Iran's Proxy Gaza Sits Among Three Nations
Iran's Proxy Gaza Sits Among Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
The Iranian regime envies Israel's nuclear capability. The Iranians can purchase WMD's on the world market if they fail to produce them locally. Already, the Hamas and Hezbollah have missiles that can deliver WMD to any point in Israel and Jordan. Also, they can hit the major cities of Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Aswan dam is vulnerable. The two Muslim nations may hate Jews, but not enough to commit national suicide.
The vast majority of Iranians are fine people, but if they express an opinion such as not wanting to be killed in a nuclear war they are shot down in the street.
You Might Gain a New Perspective from This Comment
Iran has a potential nuclear base Gaza, which sits in the middle of the Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. All three perceive the Iran regime as a loose cannon capable of shooting down her own citizens.
Imagine the equivalent: The Iranians hypothetically set up a nuclear base in Cape Girardeuu, Missouri. From there they can nuke every US city. Would you wait until they bought all the hardware to destroy America? Would you take out the facility before it was complete?
You wonder if Israelis are insane to want to protect their children from Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian regime envies Israel's nuclear capability. The Iranians can purchase WMD's on the world market if they fail to produce them locally. Already, the Hamas and Hezbollah have missiles that can deliver WMD to any point in Israel and Jordan. Also, they can hit the major cities of Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Aswan dam is vulnerable. The two Muslim nations may hate Jews, but not enough to commit national suicide.
The vast majority of Iranians are fine people, but if they express an opinion such as not wanting to be killed in a nuclear war they are shot down in the street.
You Might Gain a New Perspective from This Comment
Iran has a potential nuclear base Gaza, which sits in the middle of the Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. All three perceive the Iran regime as a loose cannon capable of shooting down her own citizens.
Imagine the equivalent: The Iranians hypothetically set up a nuclear base in Cape Girardeuu, Missouri. From there they can nuke every US city. Would you wait until they bought all the hardware to destroy America? Would you take out the facility before it was complete?
You wonder if Israelis are insane to want to protect their children from Ahmadinejad.
Labels:
Egypt,
Gaza,
Iran,
Israel,
Saudi Arabia
Hamas Mocks Captured Soldier Gilad Shalit
Gilad Hamas Cartoon
Hamas TV in Gaza has broadcast a short animated movie mocking Gilad Shalit - the Israeli soldier captured by the terrorist Islamic group three years ago.
The Israeli media played excerpts from the movie on Monday.
The film depicts the 22-year-old Israel Defense Forces Sgt. chained to a jail cell wall, pleading with a Palestinian boy to be set free. The boy refuses, saying he has relatives in Israeli prisons.
Gaza terrorists captured the soldier in June 2006 after tunneling into Israel. Two other soldiers were killed in the attack. Shalit has not been seen since, and Hamas has prevented the Red Cross from visiting him.
Egypt has been mediating attempts to arrange a prisoner exchange in which Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.
Hamas Airs Shalit Propaganda Cartoon
(IsraelNN.com) Hamas launched a propaganda cartoon of Gilad Shalit on Monday, playing it repeatedly on its Al Aksa television station, as well as on internet forums. In the film an unshaven Shalit is calling for his mother when visited in his cell by a Gaza boy who tells him that Israel does not care about him.
During the three-minute film, additional Hamas messages include how it would be betrayal by the boy to free Shalit, especially with many of the boy's relatives in Israeli jails. Israel is portrayed as being only a collection of people from Western countries, and Shalit's only hope is for Hamas to kidnap another soldier to make Israel agree to Hamas's terms and discourage Israelis from joining the army.
Labels:
cartoon,
Gilad Shalit,
Hamas Captive,
mocking
Honduras Under Siege
GADJO
War is a Racket
Many years ago Major General Smedley Butler described US activities below the Mexican border for all time. He rose through the commissions to become the leading Marine Corps figure of his era.
In 1934 Prescott Bush asked him to lead a 500,000 mercenary force to overthrow the Roosevelt Administration. Instead, he informed the US authorities.
Honduras Under Siege
In Honduras Roberto has attempted the latest coup d'etat. He has the backing of the "best" people. The rich landowners, the US agricultural cartels, the Canadian mining companies and US big oil have backed Micheletti at each step. They have ousted democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya and have forced him into exile. To discourage the people from resisting the coup, they have resorted to censorship, curfews, death threats and beatings. In the latest confrontations, the soldiers have fired into the crowds killing several.
They fear the citizens and the gradual ascension of human rights. Leaders in other South American leftist democracies see the coup as a backwards step to the former mean and repressive regimes. They are putting more pressure on the Micheletti leadership to withdraw from power. Economic sanctions include holds on World Bank loan money and US humanitarian aid. The three neighbors of Honduras have sealed the borders.
Even in these beginning stages Hondurans are uniting across former class and cultural lines.
Honduran Clashes Turn Deadly
The Honduran military has thwarted an attempt by Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, to fly back to the country, as clashes between his supporters and security forces turned deadly. A young boy has become the first to die in the wake of the coup after security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of Zelaya supporters who had gathered in anticipation of his return. Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez reports from Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.
Honduran Coup Resistance Grows
An interview with Sandra Cuffe, independent journalist reporting from the streets of Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the day the military opened fire on protesters. Tension peaked as unprecedented thousands marched to the airport to welcome the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a return that was thwarted by the military.
Samo Samo
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected to meet Zelaya late Monday or early Tuesday, a Latin American president told The Miami Herald. And he may not like what he hears: The Obama administration is irked by the fact that Zelaya sought much of his advice from Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez." [McKlatchy]
Washington has joined leaders from across the Americas in trying to bring end to the crisis and seek Zelaya's return to Tegucigalpa. The Organization of American States, which has stated that Zelaya's return is not negotiable, is seeking a compromise with Honduran legislators and judges.
The stakes are high: as early as Tuesday, Washington may cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid Honduras gets.
In the Peruvian Rain Forest a Few Weeks Ago the World Deserted…..
The Indigenous human beings who live there. Against International Law and precedence three Canadian mining companies and three US oil firms.
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