Sunday, February 21, 2010

Gaza Freedom March - Report(s) Back

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Wednesday, March 3
7 - 10:00 pm
Bertelsmann Campus Center, Weis Cinema
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504

Ten residents of the Hudson Valley took part in the Gaza Freedom March from  Dec. 25 to Jan. 4. Members of this delegation will discuss their experiences as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Sponsored by:
Middle East Crisis Response
http://www.hudsontogaza.blogspot.com

Contact: (845) 876-7906

Go to http://www.mideastcrisis.org to print out a PDF flyer for this event!

--------------------------------

Gaza Freedom March - Report Back

Wednesday, April 7
7:00  - 8:30 pm
/Root Grassroots Tech Cafe
60 Main St., New Paltz  12561

Ten residents of the Hudson Valley took part in the Gaza Freedom March from  Dec. 25 to Jan. 4. Members of this delegation will discuss their experiences as well as the emerging International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Sponsored by:
Middle East Crisis Response
http://www.mideastcrisis.org
http://www.hudsontogaza.blogspot.com
New Paltz Cultural Collective
http://www.60main.org/

Contact: 845 255-5779

Thursday, February 18, 2010

If The Palestinians Were Blue, Would The World Care?

From Haaretz
Protesters against Israel's policies in the West Bank have added a colorful twist to demonstrations, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the movie Avatar.

Pro-Palestinian participants in weekly demonstrators against the route of the separation fence in the village of Bil'in, and the takeover of Arab homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, have also donned long hair and loincloths to resemble the 10-foot blue-skinned Na'vi of Avatar.

The demonstrators compare the Palestinians to the Na'vi - an indigenous people on the moon Pandora who find themselves up against militarily superior foreign invaders who seek to oust them from their homes.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Hideous Enginery Of War, Greed, Apartheid


I continue to read about our "mission" in Afghanistan and its provinces and sadly anticipate what awaits our brave troops(led by uncourageous, unscrupulous profiteers)in those mountainous provinces as they are being lured into it...
I think of VietNam...
I think of the lives of our overmanaged and poorly led soldiers...and:
I think of the many more civilians we'll kill and the lessons we never learned.
Are we learning anything from the Israel Palestine apartheid driven civilian killings?
Does History ever teach us anything?
Are we going to continue to command drones of mass destructions from our posh chairs from some comfortable gameland command center in middle america...as scores of civilians' blood is spilled to fill the coffers of war profiteers and corporate con-men?

The lessons of history are unfortunately many in this Country; and are timeless! But it seems like the students are very few...For instance: during the US war to take possession of Mexico, Horace Greely wrote in the New York Tribune, May12,1846:

"We can safely defeat the armies of Mexico, slaughter them by the thousands, and pursue them perhaps to their capital; we can then conquer and "annex" their territory; but what then? Have the histories of the ruin of Greek and Roman liberty consequent on such extensions of empire by the sword no lesson for us? Who believes that a score of victories over Mexico, the "annexation" of half her provinces, will give us more Liberty, a purer Morality, a more prosperous Industry,...Is not life miserable enough, comes not Death soon enough, without resort to the hideous enginery of War?"

Ciao, Bella Ciao!

Mm

Saturday, February 6, 2010

END THE SIEGE! FREE GAZA! (example of another report back)

Hi GFM friends,

Here's a press release for a GFM report-back I'm doing in the Bay Area. Can you spread the word?

Alan

--------------
What: END THE SIEGE! FREE GAZA ! Report back on the Gaza Freedom March with Alan Goodman

When: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST, 7 pm,

Where: BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS, 1924 CEDAR
STREET , BERKELEY

 Info: 510-684-8270
_____________________________________________________________________________

ALAN GOODMAN,  A PARTICIPANT IN THE  GAZA FREEDOM MARCH AND A
CORRESPONDENT FOR REVOLUTION NEWSPAPER ,WILL GIVE A REPORT BACK ON THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH THAT TOOK PLACE ON DEC.31, 2009, IN CAIRO

His slideshow-presentation illustrates and brings to life the critical situation for the people of Gaza one year after Israel ’s massacre. It highlights the importance of the Gaza Freedom March, in the struggle to break the siege of Gaza .

This presentation paints a vivid picture of challenges in persevering with the mission of the March in Egypt after Egyptian authorities banned the marchers from going to Gaza – including a unique report on a major protest meeting of Egyptians to break the siege of Gaza, and insights into the “great debate” among the participants over whether to accept an offer from the Egyptian government to allow 100 of the 1300+ marchers into Gaza as a humanitarian mission.

And this presentation gives a sense of the kinds of “everyday people” from around the world who, at great risk and sacrifice, went on the march.

Based on interviews with dozens of participants – some of whom have been to Gaza recently –Alan Goodman’s report-back from the Gaza Freedom March provides a picture of the situation faced by the people of Gaza .

And, from the perspective of a reporter from Revolution newspaper (revcom.us), Alan’s
presentation poses important questions about the global forces behind the blockade of Gaza , and the oppression of the Palestinian people.

The presentation wili be followed by a question and answer session.


CO-SPONSORED BY THE BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP OF UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
PEACE & COMMITTEE, THE  OAKLAND EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (OEA) PEACE  &
JUSTICE CAUCUS, AND REVOLUTION BOOKS

$10/Sliding scale for youth and unemployed--no one turned away for lack of funds for more
information, call 510-684-8270

Friday, February 5, 2010

We're Number ONE: In Body Count


A Conservative Estimate Of Our Nation's Achievements
(A Calculus of Colonialism and Corporacracy)

* Native Americans: 13,778,000

* Korea: 2,854,000

* Vietnam: 2,058,000 + 224,000 + 900,000 = 3,182,000

* Cambodia: 500,000

* Laos: 70,000

* Indonesia: 300,000

* East Timor: 150,000

* Latin America : 200,000

* Iraq: 1,400,000 and in other various destructions in progress 1,000, 000... = 2,400,000


TOTAL: 23.434.000 (twentythremillionfourhundredthirtyfourthousand)...killed as we brought PROGRESS DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS to the above people.

YES: WE'RE NUMBER 1

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Fate of The Palestinians: Same as the Native Americans!


Genocidal Results of the Failed American Indian Policies of the United States Government:

Read the facts below because the same fate awaits the Palestinian people unless we UNITE AND ACT!


MORTALITY:
Lakotah men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, lowest of any country in the World (excluding AIDS) including Haiti.
Lakotah death rate is the highest in the United States.
The Lakotah infant mortality rate is 300% more than the U.S. Average.
One out of every four Lakotah children born are fostered or adopted out to non-Indian homes.
Diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, etc. are present. Cancer is now at epidemic proportions!
Teenage suicide rate is 150% higher than the U.S national average for this group.

DISEASE:
The Tuberculosis rate on Lakotah reservations is approx. 800% higher than the U.S national average.
Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S national average.
The rate of diabetes is 800% higher than the U.S national average.
Federal Commodity Food Program provides high sugar foods that kill Native people through diabetes and heart disease.

POVERTY:
Median income is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
97% of our Lakotah people live below the poverty line.
Many families cannot afford heating oil, wood or propane and many residents use ovens to heat their homes.

UNEMPLOYMENT:
Unemployment rates on our reservations are 80% or higher.
Government funding for job creation is lost through cronyism and corruption.

HOUSING:
Elderly die each winter from hypothermia (freezing).
1/3 of the homes lack basic clean water and sewage while 40% lack electricity.
60% of Reservation families have no telephone.
60% of housing is infected with potentially fatal black molds.
There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home (many only have two to three rooms). Some homes, built for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL:
More than half the Reservation’s adults battle addiction and disease.
Alcoholism affects 9 in 10 families.
Two known meth-amphetamine labs allowed to continue operation. Why?

INCARCERATION:
Indian children incarceration rate 40% higher than whites.
In South Dakota, 21 percent of state prisoners are American Indians, yet they only make up 2% of the population.
Indians have the second largest state prison incarceration rate in the nation.
Most Indians live on federal reservations. Less than 2% of Indians live where the state has jurisdiction!

THREATENED CULTURE:
Only 14% of the Lakotah population can speak the Lakotah language.
The language is not being shared inter-generationally. Today, the average age of a fluent Lakotah speaker is 65 years.
Our Lakotah language is an Endangered Language, on the verge of extinction.
Our Lakotah language is not allowed to be taught in the U.S. Government schools.

Peace!
linda & maurizio

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Admiral Mullen Mulling Over Homophobia: He's Pathetic


Jeff Key (in photo)), a lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. After coming out on CNN during an interview in March 2004, he was finally discharged two years later in April 2006. (Photo: Getty Images)

- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -
"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact
that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who
they are in order to defend their fellow citizens
."

That pathetic quote is from Adm. Mike Mullen a career military and political man
who has been in the military all his life.
He is suddenly troubled by the bigotry, and homophobia which has been around him
all his life and of which he has been an enforcer and a silent accomplice. Shame
on him and the whole military establishment for expecting us to believe him.
Shame on the government for having people like him on their staff!
Shame on those who believe these situationally pc examinations of...
"inconscience". Exponential hypocrisy exposed when he's suddenly troubled by
this but not
by what is occurring in Palestine...or Congo...or Afghanistan...and the list
goes on...
Shame on Adm Mullen for saying "no matter how you look at this", implying
there's more than one way to look at this; to me there's only and only one way:
bigotry and homophobia!
Shame on Adm Mullen for diabolical opportunism by using his statement to further
propagandize the wars of aggression, colonization and occupation by implying
that soldiers are sent to wars to "defend fellow citizens"
Shame on US!
mm

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED


Historian Howard Zinn, who died January 27 at 87, is shown being arrested at an anti-Vietnam war demonstration in the 1960s. Image from Telegraph, U.K.

AGAINST DISCOURAGEMENT... SPEECH BY HOWARD ZINN: READ PLEASE

U.S Troops Take Control: Haiti Kidnapped



READ ARTICLE:

TODAY: 50 Italians Chain Themselves to Cranes to Stop US Base Construction


This is footage from today in Vicenza, Italy, where 50 women and men entered the construction site of the proposed mammoth new US military base in a location called "Dal Molin". They chained themselves to cranes and other machines.


FOOTAGE

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Mubarak's Street Interrogators:


We are being interrogated on the streets of Cairo.

Monday, February 1, 2010

ISRAEL: A STATE FOR SOME OF ITS CITIZENS

ISRAEL: A STATE FOR SOME OF ITS CITIZENS
“We must expel Arabs and take their places”
Ben Gurion in a letter to his son, 1937


if you look at the “Palestinian Loss of Land " map one quickly realizes that a map of the USA with Native Indians then and now , would look even worse, with Native American reservations now as invisible dots scattered in their own native land. Don’t let this happen to our Palestinian Brothers and Sisters
Do not be silent

Maurizio