stat counter

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Today, January 1,2007, is the World Day of Peace


It has come to pass, 2006 is now officially behind us and we have rung in the NewYear. Today, January 1, 2007 is World Peace Day.
This last year has been witness to much sorrow in the world, misunderstandings which have lead to grief and despair, as well as aggression which has led to death and destruction. As I was raised by my mother I was taught one valuable tenet, the only person you can control is yourself. In this vein, my own faith has also taught me that each and every one of us is a child of our creator, loved equally by him, and given the same inherent qualities and needs as the next. I have many friends, from many different faiths and family that is both Christian and Muslim. It is my wish in this New Year, that all those of different faiths can come together in the common goal of peace, that which is set for us as a goal for the common good of all mankind by the creator of all mankind. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth and let it also begin with our own spirituality which leads to actions beneficial to all of our brother and sisters, united as one. With the spirit of unity of all mankind, and the acceptance of each other as precious human beings, let us pray and take action in both word and deed to exhibit the grace of God given to each of us, his own children.

For the message of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI on this World Day of Peace, link here

Happy New Year to all and may the peace of our creator enter all hearts in the world.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Stop Starving Gaza!

Below I have posted a video from the site The Struggle http://www.thestruggle.org/
The Struggle is sponsored by the Middle East Crisis Committee. They are a group of activists that organized in 1982 in New Haven, CT during Israel's invasion of Lebanon. In 2006 they merged with Al-Awda CT, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. This video just appeared on youtube four days ago but is slightly dated. It states that 300 have died in Gaza this year. Three days ago, the following B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the OccupieTerritories) report was released. According to B'Tselem's research, from January to December 27, 2006, Israeli security forces killed 660 (4005) Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel . This includes 141 (811) minors. At least 322 (1920) of those killed did not take part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. Another 22 (210) were targets of assassinations. In the Gaza Strip alone, since the capture of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, Israeli forces killed 405 Palestinians, including 88 minors. Of these, 205 did not participate in the fighting when killed. The full text of the report can be found here http://www.btselem.org/english/Press_Releases/20061228.asp

The continued deterioration of the conditions in Gaza and the West Bank during 2006 go largely unreported in the Western press. There may be an article here, an article there, but somehow the "articles" don't put the entire picture into perspective. Gaza is starving, the people of Palestine are suffering FAR beyond what ANY American should tolerate for another people. This is what our American tax dollars are going to support and this is what anyone who says "I stand by Israel" is agreeing to. This is NOT acceptable for us to support. FULL STOP.



Following are links for some of the information presented in this video:

UNRWA November 2006 report, "Prolonged Crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Recent Socio-Economic on Refugees and Non-Refugees" (63 pages long)
http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/SocioEconomicImpacts_Nov06.pdf

"Act of Vengeance, Israel's Bombing of the the Gaza Power Plant and it's Effects" by Norman Finklestein
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=544

"Sanctioning the People" by Ghassan Khatibhttp://www.bitterlemons.org/previous/bl270206ed09.html#pal1

"Apartheid in the Holy Land" by Desmond Tutu
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=11683

"A Jewish Hitler, the Rise of Avigdor Lieberman" at Antiwar.com
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9923

Amnesty International, "Israel and the Occupied Territories, a Road to Nowhere"
http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel_and_occupied_territories/document.do?id=ENGMDE150932006




Redneck Racists in Texas

Dear Mr. Baker,
In this last Tuesday's edition of the LA Times I read in disgust an article concerning your plans to hold Friday pig races next to a planned mosque site in Katy, Texas. It is people such as yourself which give me pause to claim my Texas roots. I too can lay claim to a well-established redneck family in East Texas, but THANK GOD my own parents did not raise me in this fashion. What you are planning to do I most certainly deem to be a "hate crime". Your ignorance and wish to harass the local Muslims in this fashion is DESPICABLE
. If you were any kind of decent human being whatsoever you would NOT be parading your bigotry in this fashion. And as for the rest of the residents of Katy, those who agree with you, you are ALL a bunch of ignorant racists. If you decide to go through with this sick plan, I truly hope that Kamel Fatouh, the owner of the adjacent property to yours, files a hate crime claim against you and that you and your fellow bigots are thoroughly disgraced.

Instead of continuing with your ugly behavior, maybe it would be a MUCH better idea to apologize to Kamal and the other local Moslems you are harassing. Upon laying down your gauntlet of hate, I am CERTAIN that your neighbors will not only welcome you, but could also enlighten you and your fellow citizens of Katy as to the truth concerning Islam. Think about it Mr. Baker, do you wish to remain a redneck fool, or would you rather be a "good neighbor" and not appear in the LA Times again under the heading of "hate crimes in Texas".

Feud may cast mosque beside swine

A Texas man's response to a he said-he said dispute with Muslim neighbors: pig races on Friday nights.
By Lianne Hart, Times Staff Writer
December 26, 2006

KATY, TEXAS — While Kamel Fotouh makes plans to build a mosque on 11 acres of pasture here, neighbor Craig A. Baker is making plans of his own — plans to hold pig races.

Baker figures he'll need a tent, souvenirs and a track for the pigs to race on, all in full view of the Muslims next door, for whom pigs are forbidden as food.

As a bonus, Baker will host the competition on Friday — a Muslim holy day.

This is not meant as a slur on Islam, Baker said. It's a dispute between two neighbors. "A lot of people are making this into a racist situation, a redneck guy from Texas saying 'We're going to put on pig races,' " he said. "But I'm standing up for property rights."

The trouble started in October, shortly after the Katy Islamic Assn. bought the land next to Baker's marble business.

Katy, population 13,000, is a mix of largely white, middle-class housing developments, shopping centers and fields. Until now, it was mostly known as the home of a Rice Harvest Festival, an outlet mall and actress Renee Zellweger.

Like many drawn to a quieter lifestyle and lower housing costs, about 500 Muslim families have moved to Katy over the years and become an accepted part of the community. "I have never once felt discrimination," said Fotouh, an engineer and president of the Katy Islamic Assn., who has lived here for 20 years.

Baker has even longer roots in Katy — his family settled here during the 1800s and never left. The street that runs past the mosque site is named Baker Road.

Baker and Fotouh both say their first meeting was initially cordial. Baker readily agreed to remove his cattle from the association's land. He also offered to donate granite fill for the group's new driveway.

But Baker says that as their meeting wound up, Fotouh suggested that he move, in order to keep the place of worship separate from the business. Fotouh denies making such a request.

"We would not go to a land owner and say 'We're moving in, you move out.' It does not make sense," he said.

Baker insists that Fotouh asked him to leave, and has offered to pay for lie detector tests to prove it.

After Baker moved his cattle, Fotouh sent a thank-you gift — a crystal clock. Baker returned it.

Baker, 46, said he was going to let the matter drop until a second incident occurred. At a homeowner's association meeting, someone asked a mosque representative why Baker was asked to leave his land. The representative said that Baker was a liar and that the exchange had never happened, Baker said.

Fotouh said in an interview that Baker had not been called a liar.

But Baker believed he'd now been insulted twice, and decided to retaliate with an insult of his own: Friday pig races.

"I was called a liar in front of my friends, neighbors and prospective customers," Baker said. "You don't do that to someone from the South."

Baker has since put up a website, AmericanPigRace.com. "I will use my property as I see fit," Baker wrote on the opening page.

He continued: "My only objective here is to protect my property rights and the American values and traditions that the Baker family has enjoyed on Baker Road since the early 1800s.

"It is high time that we as Americans 'Take A Stand.'


"MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA."

Another resident's website, anonymously registered, features an odometer-like counter that keeps track of attacks that "Islamic terrorists have carried out" since Sept. 11; a link to the FBI; and a link to a recording of the Muslim call to prayer. "Get used to it," reads the tagline. "You will be hearing it 5 times a day 365 days a year."

ADVERTISEMENT

Affluent residents in neighborhoods near the planned mosque have said they are concerned that noise, traffic and flooding from the mosque property would lower their property values.

"Do I want something with a big gold dome behind my house? No. Do I want to keep hearing the call-to-prayer thing? No," said Laura Hughes, a member of the newly formed Preserve the Lifestyle and Neighborhoods of Katy.

Hughes' husband, Michael, bristles at the idea that residents' objections are related to religious intolerance. "I don't care if it's a Catholic church or a mosque," he said. "This home is my retirement, and I'm going to protect its value."

However, Jackie Lockwood — who works in the Hugheses' neighborhood but lives elsewhere in Katy — said the residents didn't know what to expect and that was a problem. "It's the terrorist connection…. I think people make that connection and they're not happy about having a mosque here because of it."

Recent polls show that residents here aren't alone in their fears. About a quarter of respondents in a Gallup Poll in the summer said they would not want to live next door to a Muslim. A third thought that Muslims in the United States sympathized with Al Qaeda.

An independent poll released by the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations found in March that one in three Americans associated the word "Islam" with "war," "hatred" or "terrorist."

CAIR spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed said it was not uncommon for people to say that a mosque would bring down their property values. "In order to stay away from being labeled racist, they try to come up with a more sophisticated response to support their opposition," she said.

Not everyone is against the mosque, said Katy Islamic Assn. spokesman Yousof Allam. After a recent homeowners meeting, "a lot of people stood up and shook our hands and said they supported us," he said.

County Commissioner Steve Radack said that he had received fewer than 10 complaints and that residents were getting worked up about issues that could be solved. Traffic at the mosque can be controlled by off-duty sheriff's deputies. Flooding and draining issues will have to be resolved before new construction can begin.

Fotouh said that daily calls to prayer would be made inside the building. "Someone will not be yelling on top of the roof," he said.

He envisions a 25,000-square-foot mosque and community center that would offer after-school activities, housing for senior citizens, and play areas for children. An architect hasn't been hired yet, and construction won't start until a $900,000 loan for the land is paid off, he said.

Meanwhile, Baker, financed by wealthy neighbors, has offered to buy the land from the association for $1.2 million. Fotouh said he wasn't interested in any deals the neighbors might put together.

"We are not moving no matter what we are offered," Fotouh said. "We are here to stay."

Baker said he has no intention of leaving either. "I'm going to live here for the rest of my life," he said.

The pigs, 24 so far, wriggle and roll in the sun-warmed dirt in pens edging the property line.

"KIA Community Center Coming Soon," reads a large yellow sign at the site of the future mosque.

Hanging from a trailer on Baker's land is an equally large yellow sign. "Friday Night Pig Racin', " it says. "Good Family Fun."


lianne.hart@latimes.com

Israeli Organized Crime in Los Angeles

The following is an article from the Los Angeles Times in yesterday's paper.

Racketeer loses his swagger

By Joe Mozingo, Times Staff Writer
December 29, 2006


HAI Waknine shambled into the Beverly Hills Lamborghini showroom.

The owner, Victor Keuylian, sensed trouble. Keuylian and his son were late on paying off a $950,000 loan that Waknine had brokered with an Israeli businessman.

"What do you want, Hai?" he asked, according to a later telephone conversation recounting the incident that was caught on a federal wiretap.

Waknine pointed to a $175,000 Ferrari in the luxury European car dealership.

"I want this one over here. I want to take this car and use it for half a day."

"Hai, the cars over here are for sale," Keuylian said. "Nobody's supposed to drive them."

"No, I want this car. Get the car out."

Reluctantly, Keuylian let him take it, and got it back later with 100 more miles on the odometer. Waknine was unappeased.

Two days later he left a message on the home answering machine of Keuylian's son, Viken: "Vic, if you don't have the money tonight, it's going to double tomorrow…. Tomorrow we are coming to your shop, and we are going to take $2 million."

Keuylian called the police. As it turned out, the police were already listening on wiretaps.

Los Angeles police had been pursuing Waknine for 14 years, since he was a student at Grant High School in the San Fernando Valley. At various times, they charged him with threatening witnesses, kidnapping for ransom, assault with a firearm and grand theft auto.

All the investigations collapsed when witnesses refused to testify or left the country, and Waknine grew wealthier every year. He owned a 3,154-square-foot town house on the sand in Marina del Rey, a brand-new home in the Hollywood Hills, a vacation house on Acapulco Bay and investment properties around Southern California, Las Vegas and Miami.

But in 2003, at the time of Keuylian's call, organized crime detectives thought they had a good case building. Working with federal drug agents and foreign police who were investigating Israeli organized crime and Ecstasy trafficking, they had wiretaps on phones in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Mexico, Spain, Belgium and Israel.

From the wires and informants they began amassing fresh evidence of Waknine's connections to an Israeli crime syndicate called the Jerusalem Group and his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion, according to court documents. And this time, none of it depended on skittish witnesses.

"Yesterday, I got all kinds of threats at my office in California: 'I will kill your wife, I will kill your son, I will kill you,' " Keuylian complained about Waknine to another Israeli involved in the deal over a wiretap in April 2003.

In another wiretap, he described Waknine's foray into the showroom.

"If he wants to be a jerk with me," he said. "I'm more than ready to be a jerk with him…. This lowlife immoral person, Hai, came over and threatened me and all of my family."

Waknine first came to the attention of authorities as a student at Grant High in March 1989. A popular teacher named Hal Arthur was shot to death outside his Sherman Oaks home, and at least 10 students suspected Waknine; he had a bellicose reputation and, they thought, a beef with the teacher.

He was 16 at the time, a pudgy upper-middle-class Van Nuys kid, born in Israel, who wore jewelry and fancy clothes and drove a BMW. One of the students told police that Waknine took karate lessons from an instructor who taught him "how to shoot guns and kill people."

Detectives questioned Waknine for six hours but let him go after he passed a polygraph test. "There is no evidence to connect the kid to this case," Det. Mel Arnold told the news media.

HAI Waknine shambled into the Beverly Hills Lamborghini showroom.

The owner, Victor Keuylian, sensed trouble. Keuylian and his son were late on paying off a $950,000 loan that Waknine had brokered with an Israeli businessman.

"What do you want, Hai?" he asked, according to a later telephone conversation recounting the incident that was caught on a federal wiretap.

Waknine pointed to a $175,000 Ferrari in the luxury European car dealership.

"I want this one over here. I want to take this car and use it for half a day."

"Hai, the cars over here are for sale," Keuylian said. "Nobody's supposed to drive them."

"No, I want this car. Get the car out."

Reluctantly, Keuylian let him take it, and got it back later with 100 more miles on the odometer. Waknine was unappeased.

Two days later he left a message on the home answering machine of Keuylian's son, Viken: "Vic, if you don't have the money tonight, it's going to double tomorrow…. Tomorrow we are coming to your shop, and we are going to take $2 million."

Keuylian called the police. As it turned out, the police were already listening on wiretaps.

Los Angeles police had been pursuing Waknine for 14 years, since he was a student at Grant High School in the San Fernando Valley. At various times, they charged him with threatening witnesses, kidnapping for ransom, assault with a firearm and grand theft auto.

All the investigations collapsed when witnesses refused to testify or left the country, and Waknine grew wealthier every year. He owned a 3,154-square-foot town house on the sand in Marina del Rey, a brand-new home in the Hollywood Hills, a vacation house on Acapulco Bay and investment properties around Southern California, Las Vegas and Miami.

But in 2003, at the time of Keuylian's call, organized crime detectives thought they had a good case building. Working with federal drug agents and foreign police who were investigating Israeli organized crime and Ecstasy trafficking, they had wiretaps on phones in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Mexico, Spain, Belgium and Israel.

From the wires and informants they began amassing fresh evidence of Waknine's connections to an Israeli crime syndicate called the Jerusalem Group and his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion, according to court documents. And this time, none of it depended on skittish witnesses.

"Yesterday, I got all kinds of threats at my office in California: 'I will kill your wife, I will kill your son, I will kill you,' " Keuylian complained about Waknine to another Israeli involved in the deal over a wiretap in April 2003.

In another wiretap, he described Waknine's foray into the showroom.

"If he wants to be a jerk with me," he said. "I'm more than ready to be a jerk with him…. This lowlife immoral person, Hai, came over and threatened me and all of my family."

Waknine first came to the attention of authorities as a student at Grant High in March 1989. A popular teacher named Hal Arthur was shot to death outside his Sherman Oaks home, and at least 10 students suspected Waknine; he had a bellicose reputation and, they thought, a beef with the teacher.

He was 16 at the time, a pudgy upper-middle-class Van Nuys kid, born in Israel, who wore jewelry and fancy clothes and drove a BMW. One of the students told police that Waknine took karate lessons from an instructor who taught him "how to shoot guns and kill people."

Detectives questioned Waknine for six hours but let him go after he passed a polygraph test. "There is no evidence to connect the kid to this case," Det. Mel Arnold told the news media.

Assaf, Waknine's brother, had been sent to prison in New York after pleading guilty in 1997 to participating in an elaborate scheme to rack up $125,000 per day on bogus American Express cards.

In 2001, Waknine's friends in the Ecstasy trade went down. Alex Maimon and Louis Ziskin were convicted of smuggling 700 pounds of Ecstasy into Southern California via FedEx. Orgad pleaded guilty to drug charges for hiring strippers and models to carry millions of Ecstasy tablets from Paris to Los Angeles. Tamer Ibrahim was on the run for shipping 1,100 pounds of Ecstasy — worth more than $40 million — through LAX hidden in a shipment of colored pencils and notebooks.

Waknine was still untouched.

That same year, Gabriel Benharosh, another alleged member of the Jerusalem Group, fled to the United States. He brought with him cash that an Israeli bank official had embezzled to pay off her brother's gambling debt to the Israeli mob. The embezzlement crashed the bank and caused a scandal in Israel, and Benharosh needed to hide the money.

Waknine introduced him to Keuylian, the Beverly Hills Lamborghini dealer, and Eli Hadad, a Miami real estate developer, to launder the money.

Benharosh lent $520,000 to Hadad in May 2002, and $950,000 to Keuylian in May 2003.

When both borrowers could not pay Benharosh back in time, Waknine went to work.

In August 2003, a wiretap caught Waknine on the phone to Benharosh, talking about Hadad: "On Tuesday I'm taking the house from him, my bro," Waknine said.

"Finally you do what I tell you," Benharosh replied. "I want to hear that he and his wife and kids are on the street, sleeping in the street."

Both men managed to pay Benharosh back. The Keuylians sold some Ferraris; one went to singer Rod Stewart. Hadad took out a third mortgage on his home.

They thought they were done with Waknine. Instead they were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.

In April 2004, Waknine, Benharosh and three others were indicted on 16 counts, including conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to commit money laundering, based largely on the extensive wiretaps. A State Department narcotics report described Waknine and Benharosh as a "money laundering cell" and "principal targets" in a crime organization run by an Israeli mobster named Itzhak Abergil, whom the department listed as one of the 40 biggest importers of illegal drugs into the United States.

In December, the grand jury added the more serious offense of racketeering.

Benharosh ultimately cut a deal to testify against Waknine. Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas P. Sleisenger said the more serious U.S. crimes were committed by Waknine.

"Our interest here in Los Angeles has always been Waknine," he said. "This guy has been the thorn in the side of law enforcement for years."

Waknine's trial began this June in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Manuel Real. Some days the gallery took on the cast of a Hollywood club, filled with blond, shiny-haired women and men in tight black designer T-shirts.

After four days of testimony, Waknine pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering, catching prosecutors by surprise.

He went home to await sentencing, which made detectives and agents who had worked for years to put him in prison nervous. Would he really give up his lavish lifestyle when he probably had money stashed in accounts all over the world?

In August, U.S. marshals hauled Waknine into court in manacles after an informant said he planned to flee to meet his brother Assaf, who had been released from prison, in Mexico. Waknine, who had been free on bond, told officials he was afraid someone was after him.

Real was unmoved. "He should be protected in custody and be here for sentencing. He'll live until that time at least."

His family and friends left the courtroom in tears.

On Sept. 11, Waknine shuffled into the courtroom shackled to other inmates. At the dais, he twitched and tugged at his jail pants to keep them up, before meekly mumbling a plea for leniency.

Without looking up from his paperwork, Real sentenced him to 10 years in federal prison, a year more than prosecutors were asking. Waknine was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center to begin his sentence. His lawyers filed a notice of intent to appeal the extra year of the sentence.

On Dec. 11, Waknine jangled into court again for a restitution hearing. Prosecutors recommended he pay a total of $406,000 to his victims. Waknine's attorney told the judge he agreed with the government.

"The government is not the one to make the order. I am," Real snapped.

The judge made some calculations and ordered Waknine to pay $646,000.


For more information on Israeli organized crime in the US, you can simply google the subject


Friday, December 29, 2006

Eid Mubarak To All My Muslim Family and Friends


May peace be with you all and throughout the world in this year to come.

A Muslim Prayer for Peace


In the name of Allah,
the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the
Universe who has created us and
made us into tribes and nations
That we may know each other, not that
we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do
thou also incline towards peace, and
trust God, for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
Most gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility

Submitted by Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America


Thursday, December 28, 2006

Update on Ehren Watada's case

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION

Feb. 5, 2007 - Lt. Watada Military Court Martial

Rally at the gates of Ft. Lewis, Washington or in your local community

5 Actions to Support Lt. Watada

1. Send letters or call Commander Dubik. Urge him to:

  • Dismiss all charges
  • Honor Lt. Watada's resignation
  • Lt. General James Dubik
    Commanding General Fort Lewis
    1 Corps Building 2025 Stop 1
    Fort Lewis, WA 98433
    Phone 253-967-1110

2. Spread the word about Feb. 5, 2007. Forward this email and post on blogs, MySpace, student, activist, social justice and media websites. Register for campaign updates.

3. Encourage your organization to endorse the National Day of Action and mobilize on Feb. 5, 2007. Please specify national, state, city, chapter/local, and contact person, and send to action@ltwatada.org.

4. Organize a student walkout, rally or vigil on Feb. 5, 2007. Tell us about your action so we can include your event on our website.

5.
Donate online to Lt. Watada's Defense Fund.

Mark Your Calendars

Thurs. Jan 4, 2007
Pre-trial Hearing
Contact Commander Dubik
Rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, 8-11 am, exit 119

January 20-22, 2007
Citizens' Hearings
Evergreen State College, Tacoma campus
Tacoma, WA

February 5, 2007
Court Martial Trial Begins
National Call to Action
more details to come

For more information contact info@ltwatada.org.

Make your 2007 New Year's Resolution to Stand with Lt. Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War

On Monday, February 5, 2007 take action against the Iraq war and in support of Lt. Watada during his military court martial. Stand up with Lt. Watada and speak out against the illegal and immoral war! Join the national movement and organize student walkouts and non-violent demonstrations. Together let's build a mass movement in the streets, in our schools, and in our communities to end the Iraq War. On Feb. 5, 2007 rally at the gates of Fort Lewis, Washington or in your local community.

For courageously standing up and speaking out against the Iraq War, New Year's Eve 2007 may be Lt. Watada's last holiday as a free man until 2013. While many 28 year-olds are starting their families and building their careers, Ehren will be locked away in military prison for following his conscience and refusing to fight in the Iraq War.

Now it is time for you to follow your conscience and join the national movement to support Lt. Watada and end the Iraq war.

As civilians, the responsibility ultimately falls on us to demand an end to the Iraq war. In fact, we owe it to the soldiers who are fighting and dying in Iraq every day, as well as those resisting the war. We must all stand up and speak out against the war and in support Lt. Ehren Watada!

Currently, the Bush Administration is planning to deploy 30,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq, yet the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the Iraq war. Since 2003 the war has cost 3,000 U.S. soldiers' lives, approximately 950,000 Iraqi deaths, 2 trillion U.S tax dollars or approximately 8 billion dollars a week. We can no longer stand by and continue to allow this great injustice to occur!

"My fellow soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq and their families are suffering because of the lies and deceptions crafted by the Bush Administration. The Iraq war is not only a crime against domestic and international law but [it] is a terrible moral injustice against the Iraqi people." Lt. Ehren Watada

As the first Army officer to publicly speak out against the war and refuse deployment to Iraq, Lt Watada will be punished by the U.S. Army with a maximum six years in prison. The military's intention IS to SILENCE VOICES OF RESISTANCE and make an example out of Lt. Watada.

Lt. Watada's bold actions have raised the consciousness of thousands of Americans about the illegality and immorality of this war, but his actions alone will not stop the Iraq war. If Lt. Watada is willing to sacrifice his freedom, then we, too, must voice our opposition and take action to end the war.

Take Action Feb. 5, 2007 during Lt. Watada's military court martial and make your 2007 New Year's Resolution to Stand with Lt. Watada Against Illegal and Immoral War.


Pass this message on to three friends and ask them to join the Lt. Watada Support campaign.
Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Action Center - Lt. Watada Support Campaign.


Wednesday, December 27, 2006

My Letter from my Congressman, Gary Miller

Well, it happened, I actually got a written letter back from my congressman, Gary Miller, Republican. He wrote me this letter because about three weeks ago I forwarded a form letter to him via Jews for Peace asking for even-handedness in the Palestinian/Israeli crisis. At that time I received a form letter back from him saying yada-yada, when the Palestinians wish to have peace then the United States will have a partner, yada yada, you all know the rhetoric. At that time I sent him another email, written by me personally which was much harsher than the form letter provided by Jews for Peace. Unfortunately I have deleted that letter from my files but suffice it to say I in no uncertain terms told him just what I thought about his response to me. My scanner is not connected so I will type his letter to me here.

Dear Robin,

Thank you for contacting me with your further thoughts about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. I appreciate hearing from you again on this important issue. Like you, I am anxiouos to see a lasting resolution implemented to quell the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.


As I expressed to you previously, I lament the tragic loss of life in the Middle East that continues to result from teh Israel-Palestinian conflict and I sincerely hope that both sides will work toward a permanent peace. The United State has been an active partner with outr international allies in promoting a return to the roadmap so that proeperity and tranquility will eventually take root in the region. For this reason, the United States has been an active partner with our international allies in promoting a return to the roadmap so that prosperity and tranquility will eventually take root in the region. For this reason, the United States provides about $150 million annually in indirest financial assistance to non-governmantal organizations in Palestind to help improve the quality of life for the Palestinian peoople and encourage humanitarian reforms. These funds are vital to fostering democracy and promoting peace in the Middle East.


In addition, the United States strongly supported the historic Israeli disengagement of the Gaza strip, which began in August 2005. In November 2005, Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice helped to negotiate an agreement on movement in and out of Gaza in hipes of facilitating further progress on Palestinian economic issues. Unfortunately, the newly-elected Palestinian government controlled my the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has rejected appeals from the international community to reject terror and violence, recognize the right of Israel to exist, and accept previous obligations and agreements, including the roadmap. Once the Palestinian government demonstrates a willingness to work with Israel and the international communcity for a viable peace, the hopes and dreams of many in the Middle East will finally be realized.

As your representative, I want you to know that I will keep your thoughts in mind while I work in Congress for a sustainable peace that recognizes the rights and wishes of the Palestinian people. Again I thank you for contacting me. I hope you will remain in touch in the future on other issues of importance to you.

Sincerely,
Gary Miller
Member of Congress

Well dear Congressman Miller, was that closing sentence a means of dismissing my further contact with you on this matter? Dear Congressman, quite honestly if it is, then I say to you those famous words of Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind", "Frankly I don't give a damn" because you are MY representative and I have every right under the sun AND the Constitution to continue writing to you on this matter. In fact, here are just a few of the ideas floating around in my brain to say to you.

1. The United States has NOT been an active partner in promoting peace in this neck of the woods since your bumbleheaded leader came to power. On the contrary, baby bush has distanced himself from this conflict and it is the Baker Report, otherwise known as the ISG, which so aptly pointed this out.

2. Who do you think you are kidding here Mr. Miller, the US has SUSPENDED their aid to Palestine since Hamas was DEMOCRATICALLY elected (ever hear that old cliche, "be careful what you wish for"? or better yet, "Indian giver" since you think it is your ignoramus leader who is making things so much better in the Middle East by "spreading democracy", which he is NOT since there is no acceptance of democratic voting outcomes) Well, there is some good news Mr. Miller, it seems just yesterday the US gave in and have agreed to resume aid WITH strings attached http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12708444/ And just in case you are wondering, the UN (that body you control yet disdain at the same time, quite a slate of hand trick on your part as a Republican) is asking for a total of $450 million in aid to the Palestinians to ease the HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN PALESTINE.

3. "These funds are vital to fostering democracy" Mr. Miller, have you EVER thought that you are contradicting yourself? Hamas was DEMOCRATICALLY elected, but then you knew that. But let's just get it straight here, I am NOT a Hamas fan, but I AM a fan of diplomacy over strangulation.

4. Oh yes, the "disingagement" UNILATERALLY done by Israel solely for the purpose of removing their settlers so that they got US Brownie points AND were free to fly sonic booms over head and invade with impunity. Oh, Mr. Miller, haven't you heard about the game of "musical settlements" being played by the Israelis, that is, move 'em out of Gaza and move them into the West Bank and build more ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/26/world/middleeast/27mideastcnd.html?ex=1324789200&en=c3cc39ccd7ba3f33&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

5. As for moving in and out of Gaza, currently there are approximately 4000 Palestinians waiting at the border in Rafah for WEEKS to return home http://www.peuplesmonde.com/article.php3?id_article=532

6. Mr. Miller, once again I am NOT a Hamas fan. But have you thought about it in this way, the Palestinians have been seeking a state for YEARS without Hamas being in power. Over and over and over again it has been the Israelis who have stalled the peace process. I suggest strongly that you link to this site, Jews for Peace http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/ Mr. Miller and check out their site, the very site from which I sent you my first form letter and see just what they have to say. Not all Jews are Zionists Mr. Miller and CERTAINLY not all Palestinians are "terrorists" (a distinction is needed here between "terrorist" who attacks Israel within their borders in civilian surroundings and LEGITIMATE resistance fighters fighting within the ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES) (another thing you might not have pondered on, have you ever heard the term "state terrorism" which is PRECISELY what Israel practices http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/30E0B63AC21010BCC1256B14002DF83F?opendocument YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS MR. MILLER!!)but if you and your cronies continue to keep your heads up your butts you sure will have a few more to contend with in the future.

In closing Mr. Miller, you state categorically to your constituents that you are a man of "Christian" values. LIVE THEM MR. MILLER and seek PEACE, not more bloodshed.

A postscipt to my readers. Above I am literally blowing off the steam that came out my ears when I read my congressman's hand-signed letter to me. Rest assured that within a day or two I WILL be writing an actual letter to the "honorable Congressman"

UPDATE November 19, 2007:

To my "visitors": The Senate Sargent at Arms, House.gov and others.

The above post has been attracting a great deal of attention from you in recent weeks. I have to ask why and would appreciate a comment left here or an email to me. I have visited my congressman's office for other matters with the peace coalition which I belong to. In that case, it was to discuss with him his votes on the Iraq war and to invite him to a forum with other representatives in our neighborhood (the forum has yet to materialize due to scheduling problems) With the upcoming hosting of the "peace summit" at Annapolis, I find it of upmost importance that Congress be aware of the stakes at hand. The ILLEGAL 40 year long occupation and brutalization of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories lays at America's doorstep. Without our continued blind support financially, militarily (by the supply of arms), and legally (by laws enacted in OUR Congress and UN resolutions being vetoed by OUR country) this could not go on. As the US has lent a blind eye, ILLEGAL settlements in the West Bank have continued to expand. Yes, Ms. Rice has asked for a freeze, but please read the Israeli newspapers yourself to see that this is not happening.

Here's an article to see just what the US is working with:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127527612&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


At the end of the day, EVEN if the settlements are frozen at their current condition, a contiguous viable Palestinian state is IMPOSSIBLE.

I don't have any idea what you people in the government who are my representatives plan on doing about this impossible situation, but as a CITIZEN who pays your salaries and who expects you to listen, I suggest you give much more time to this matter and become EDUCATED as to this dire situation and to INSIST that Israel abide by international law.

Also, I would like to let you know that I put together an event which occurred last week, An Interfaith Search for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land
Any of those three men, Rabbi Haim Beliak, Reverend Jerry Stinson or Ghazi Briegieth would be a good source of information for you. If you would like to be put in contact with any of them, please contact me and I can arrange that meeting.


Thank you for visiting.






Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Saddam To Hang Within Thirty Days

Below you will find an article posted today in India Daily http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/14894.asp. The Iraqi appeals court has upheld the order for the execution of Saddam. As this news goes out around the world, there will be many who opine on the issue. So in that vein, I throw in my own opinion in on the matter.
From the days of the early saber rattling by my country against Iraq, I was against the invasion. This is NOT to say I think Saddam is a nice guy and it is NOT to say I did not have a "jump for joy"
when he was captured in a hole in the ground. It is rather to say that as a person who knows more than a little bit about Mideast culture, I KNEW the war as we were prepared to wage it would be a disaster. Any American who believed the follies of the neocons when they promised the red carpet would be rolled out for us simply did not know what they were talking about. The promised "terrorist tea party" has been unleashed because the OCCUPATION has unleashed it. Recently my professor Dr. Hilmi Ibrahim, professor of MiddleEast /Islamic studies at Whittier College confirmed my long held thesis when he told an audience at our Watada event the same thing, "Anyone who knows anything at all about Iraq would have known NEVER to contemplate the idea of invasion in the first place"
Now within the next thirty days Saddam is to be executed. More American justice to be unleashed via the Iraqi courts. It is NOT because I think Saddam should be given a posh cell complete with HBO that I feel he should not be executed, and it is also not only because I am PERSONALLY against the death penalty (no room for arguement here, you are entitled to your contrary belief if you hold it) I am simply at the bottom line concerned with turning Saddam into a martyr for whoever might take him up as one, and believe me, there will be those who feel he has been martyred if he is executed. There is already civil war, (thank you Matt Lauer for being the first to mouth the dreaded words our neocon evil empire government denies) with more than 50 just today (and those were the ones that were actually counted) dead in the streets. If anyone thinks that executing Saddam is such a grand idea, be forwarned, this WILL unleash more civil strife and if you are a reasonable person this should NOT be what you want. Lock him up, throw away the key, try him on all the other counts, do whatever you want to prevent him from doing more harm, but executing him in my own humble opinion is just simply not the way to go This is just my own personal take on the matter and since I have absolutely no power over the situation, all I can do is voice my opinion. As an American I already have taken a stance against this war, so this stance is just one more that any one who feels free to discuss it with me is welcomed to do. Now you will read that India is afraid of spillover from more strife should he be executed. Well, I too second that emotion.

India says do not hang Saddam - reasons why not?
Kiran Chaube
Dec. 26, 2006


The reason for not hanging Saddam is simple; he is a leader of a group in Iraq. Whatever he did was bad but at the same time capital punishment against him is equally reprehensible. It will only escalate the civil war in Iraq. It will bring more Sunnis to streets as suicide bombers who see him as an icon of Iraq. He is popular in Sunni communities because he decidedly won again the Shiites in a war that started long ago.

The people who are in charge of Iraq today has no moral rights to hang Saddam. The reason is these are the people who were his enemies. The execution of Saddam will be recorded in history as brutal part of the continuation of a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites.

There are larger reason for not hanging him. After all he did not lie on ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. While Saddam’s actions were reprehensible, what is his opposition Shiites and Kurds are doing is equally reprehensible if not more. If he is executed now, some of the same people who are executing him today will be executed later as the Sunnis gain control after some time – the civil war will continue for ever.

Saddam is already dead. If he is left alone, he can do little to get back to power. Sunnis have new leadership anyway. The baathists exist but they do not have much of a confidence in this old Saddam anyway.

There is another reason for sparing his life. His execution may turn into civil wars not only in Iraq but also in several other countries including India and Pakistan.

According to media reports, as an Iraqi appeals court upheld the death sentence awarded to Saddam Hussain, India expressed itself against it saying no step should be taken which could delay restoration of peace in the troubled country.

”We have seen reports which said that appeals court has confirmed death sentence" awarded to Hussain, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said here.

"It is our hope that the sentence will not be carried out and the former President's life would be spared," he said.

Sarna said New Delhi also hopes that "no steps are taken which might obstruct the process of reconciliation and delay restoration of peace in Iraq."

Saturday, December 23, 2006

A Mother's Message for the Holy Days

Well, twas the night before the night before Christmas and the holly wreaths are hung throughout the house, the tree is decorated,and some of the presents still need to be wrapped. In our home we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve because I am from the South originally and that's the way they do it there. So tomorrow I will make "Christmas chile" and corbread which has been our Christmas Eve dinner tradition for about ten years now. It simmers all day so the rest of the day is spent WAITING. We open our presents from each other Christmas EVE and Santa pays a visit to our stockings overnight with small gifts. We will be spending Christmas day with my sister and brother in law because that's when they celebrate Christmas, on Christmas itself. It's worked out well over the years because we get to celebrate for TWO days.

Christmas is meant to be a joyful time of year and I have always looked forward to the holidays.


But as the years have passed me by, each year as Christmas approaches I lament the fact that Christmas has to a great degree become an almost entirely commercialized holiday. The cookies are fun to make and a joy to give, the gifts are also pleasing to give, and my children's smiles touch my heart, but the endless shopping leaves me in a tireless frenzy! Is this what Christmas is supposed to be about I ask? Is it just a shopping spree to fulfill everyone's materialistic wishes or is it a time to reflect? Is it not at the end of the calendar year and preparing us for the year to come? Christmas is quite simply the day on which Christians celebrate the birth of Christ. And while we busy ourselves with the trappings of the secular holiday, let us not forget the message that Jesus sent to us, to love one another as we do ourselves.


I send to all my friends, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and all other faiths, a mother's wish for peace in your lives in the year to come. Merry Christmas, Eid Mubarak, and Hanukah wishes to all. Below you can listen to "Ave Maria", the song I look most forward to each year as I attend midnight mass on Christmas eve.


Friday, December 22, 2006

O Little Town of Bethehem

What would Jesus Do?

If Jesus were to appear today, what would he think of his birthplace? Would he be pleased with the state of affairs in the "Holy Land"? Or would he once again, throw out the Pharisees? The present day Pharisees in the Holy Land are the Zionist occupation forces. No where is peace to be seen, and in the town of Bethlehem, Christ's birth place, a most hideous wall has arisen which cuts off the town and imprisons Bethlehem in ghettoization. As I ready my family for Christmas, and Santa is holding nigh, I turn to the true meaning of Christmas, that on that day according to my faith (yes I am aware that Jesus most likely was NOT born on December 25th and that Christianity co-opted the Feast of Saturnalia as it's own holiday) Christ was born. What did Christ come to tell the world? That in order for us to honor our creator, we must honor and love our neighbors as ourselves. Yet today, as you read here at this moment, the birthplace of Christ, Bethlehem, and the lands which he walked, are under siege. What would Jesus do?

Following the Scar over Bethlehem


Mike Mullenix - Friday, 22 December 2006, 11:09
Image
Yesterday, while I was walking the streets of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, I was struck by the gleaming white buildings on a hill parallel to the city that is the birthplace of Jesus. While most of the buildings in the Bethlehem area date back for centuries, these seemed to have been produced, in the last few years. Even though in Bethlehem, there is some ongoing construction and some newer buildings, you can sense the history of this, a holy place.

As Christmas approaches, there was almost a spiritual awe that overtook me as I walked the streets that Joseph and Mary walked as they themselves struggled up the hills on the day before the birth of Jesus. The mere sense that the footsteps I had taken may have been the same one that Joseph did, as he led Mary to the birthplace of Jesus, simply overwhelmed me. Even though I am not a Christian, the feeling of religious power seemed to make me giddy with excitement. That excitement was tempered and turned to sorrow when I heard it was another Israeli settlement that goes by the name of Har Homa. This hill was formerly known to the Palestinians as Abu Ighnam, which used to be a beautiful hill covered with Olive trees. It now is nothing but a concrete scar.

So this morning, I, like the wise men, decided to follow the scar over Bethlehem. As the illegal settlement came closer into view, I was struck by the amount of construction equipment and rooftop cranes, busy at work, continuing construction. At a time when the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Ohlmert, is talking peace and returning to 1967 border, settlement expansion is moving forward at break neck speed. It suddenly became obvious to me, that no one would invest the amount of money into settlement expansion that Israel is, if it truly is willing to abandon the buildings and return the land to the Palestinians. It was also surprising to me, as I, like most Americans, have been led to believe that settlement activity was frozen, as part of the road map to peace. Obviously, only the Palestinians have to follow the road map, Israel must be using a different map. It is clear to me that the map they are using, is one that shows a greater Israel that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and from Syria to Egypt.

In speaking with the citizens of Bethlehem, I was also taken aback by the reports that Israel was planning to build an Orthodox church in Har Homa and name it, The Church of the Nativity. I have to admit that I am appalled by the land theft, the theft of resources, the theft of the lives of the Palestinians, but now they also wish to steal history.

It was also disconcerting to walk down from Bethlehem, and see a billboard with small children on it and a logo that said - USAID. I thought it was appropriate that when the sign was erected, it was directly in front of Har Homa. To me it was humorous and sad and indicated to me that the only US aid is aiding Israel in building settlements, stealing land and supporting state-sponsored terrorism. America is supporting Israel to the sum of 3.2 billion dollars a year of American tax dollars to commit acts that would make the average American nauseas.

While approaching the illegal settlement, the road leading to the area came into view. While I was walking on a rubble strewn road, the perfectly laid, brand new road, surrounded by a barbed wire fence, clearly with warning signs, snaked its way to the settlement. I decided to walk across an olive grove, and see what the signs said. When I got within about 10 feet of the fence, Israeli soldiers started yelling, either in Hebrew or Arabic, neither of which I understand, and released a guard dog. I continued to take pictures and when finished, I then turned away and left the scene.

As we approach one of the most holy days in Christendom, I had to think to myself, what would Jesus say, if he was here today. Jesus who was a man who preached love, selflessness, caring for the weak, helping your fellow man and loving each other, and here I am, a witness to the type of hatred, selfishness, lack of love and outright theft and abuse that Israel expresses towards the Palestinians. Two nights before, the Israeli army raided and destroyed a child care center and kindergarten, just 100 yards from where I was staying. I went to the location afterwards and witnessed the type of hatred and terror distributed at the hands of the Israelis, with support and funding from America. Doors destroyed, classrooms demolished and cabinets emptied. The only thing they didn't damage was a picture of Mickey Mouse on the wall.

During my stay in Palestine, I have been treated with such kindness and love that at times I have to lower my eyes in embarrassment, knowing the support my government is giving to help Israel terrorize the Palestinians. For anyone who wishes to visit Bethlehem, I have to say, please come, please visit, please support the Palestinian people, as they are the warmest, kindest, most wonderful people I have ever met, anywhere in my entire life. To come to Palestine the only thing you have to fear, is the Israeli Border police, the Israeli soldiers and Israeli hatred.

Teresa of Avila's prayer

Theresa of Avila
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet, on earth but yours.
Your are the eyes through which He looks
Compassion on this world
Yours are the feet
With which He walks to do good.
Your are the hands
With which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet.
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes, through which He Looks
compassion on the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.



Thursday, December 21, 2006

Is it for Freedom?


What We Call Peace is Little Better than Capitulation to a Corporate Coup

This is an edited extract from the 2004 Sydney Peace Prize lecture delivered by Arundhati Roy in Sydney, Australia.
Arundhati Roy (born November 24, 1961) is an Indian novelist, activist and a world citizen. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel The God of Small Things. Although this speech is three years old, I have chosen to post it here because it not only holds true today, it also offers the reader/listener the opportunity to think deeply about their own thought processes.


Sometimes there's truth in old cliches. There is no real peace without justice. And without resistance, there will be no justice. Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack.


The assault on vulnerable, fragile sections of society is so complete, so cruel and so clever that its sheer audacity has eroded our definition of justice. It has force us to lower our sights, and curtail our expectiation. Even among the well-intentioned, the magnificent concept of justice is gradually being substituted with the reduced, far more fragile discourse of "human rights".


This is an alarming shift. The difference is that notions of equality, of parity, have been pried loose and eased out of the equation. It's a process of attrition. Almost unconsiously, we begin to think of justice for the rich and human rights for the poor.
Justice for the corporate world, human rights for its' victims. Justice for Americans, human rights for the Afghans and Iraqis. Justice for the Indian upper castes, human rights for Dalits and Adivasis (if that). Justice for white Australians, human rights for aborigines and immigrants (most times, not even that)


It is becoming more than clear that violating human rights is an inherent and necessary part of the process of implementing a coercive and unjust political and economic structure on the world. Increasingly, human rights violations are being portrayed as the unfortunate, almost accidental, fallout of an otherwise acceptable political and economic system. As though they are a small problem that can be mopped up with a little extra attention from some non-governmental organization.


This is why in areas of heightened conflict-in Kashmir and in Iraq for example, human rights professionals are regarded with a degree of suspicion. Many resistance movements in poor countries which are fighting huge injustice and questioning the underlying principles of what constitutes "liberation" and "development" view human rights non-government organizations as modern-day missionaries who have come to take the ugly edge of imperialism-to difuse political anger and to maintain the status quo.

It has been only a few weeks since Australia re-elected John Howard, who, among other things, led the nation to participate in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

That invasion will surely go down in history as one of he most cowardly wars ever. It was a war in which a band of rich nations, armed with enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world several times over, rounded on a poor nation, falsely accused it of having nuclear weapons, used the United Nations to force to disarm, then invaded it, occupied it, and are now in the process of selling it.

I speak of Iraq, not because everybody is talking about it, but because it is a sign of things to come. Iraq marks the beginning of a new cycle. It offers an opportunity to watch the corporate-military cabal that has come to be known as "empire" at work. In the new Iraq, the gloves are off.

As the battle to control the world's resources intensifies, economic colonialism through formal military aggression is staging a comeback. Iraq is the logical culmination of the process of corporate globalization in which neo-colonialism and neo-liberalism have fused.. If we can find it in ourselves to peep behind the curtain of blood, we would glimpse the pitiless transactions taking place backstage

Invaded and occupied Iraq has been made to pay out $US200 million in "reparations" for lost profits such as Halliburton, Shell, Mobil, Nestle, Pepsi, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Toys are us. That's apart from its $US125 billion sovereign debt forcing it to turn to the IMF, waiting in the wings like the angel of death, with its structual adjustment program (though in Iraq there don't seem many structures left to adjust).

So what does peace mean in this savage, corporatized, militarized world? What does peace mean to people in occupied Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir, Tibet and Chechnya? Or to the Aboriginal people of Australia? Or the Kurds in Turkey? Or the Dalits and Adivasis of India? What does peace mean to women in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan? What does it mean to the millions who are being uprooted from their lands by dams and development projects? What does peace mean to the poor who are being actively robbed of the resources? For them peace is war.

We know very well who benefits from war in the age of empire. But we must also ask ourselves who benefits from peace in the age of empire? War mongering is crimianal. But talking of peace without talking of justice could easily become advocacy for a kind of capitualation. And talking of justice without unmasking the institutions and the systems that perpetuate injustice is beyond hypocritical.

It's easy to blame the poor for being poor. It's easy to believe that the world is being caught up in an escalating spiral of terrorism and war. That's what allows George Bush to say, "You're either with us or with the terrorists." But that is a spurious choice. Terrorism is only the privatisation of war. Terrorists are the free-marketers of war. They believe that the legitimate use of violence is not the sole prerogative of the state.

It is mendacious to make moral distinction between the unspeakable brutality of terrorism and the indiscriminate carnage of war and occupation. Both kinds of violence are unacceptable. We cannot support one and condemn the other.




Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Mohammed Omer Stranded in Egypt

Action Alert—Call your Congressman !!!

December 19, 2006 Contact: Matt Horton (202) 939-6050 x103
communications@wrmea.com

Dear Friends of the Washington Report,

Please find a letter we have faxed 13 Senators and six members of the House of Representatives regarding our prize-winning Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer who is trapped in Egypt. Please call or fax your own representatives to help this young man get home.

Mr. Omer feels sure that with your help he could get permission to return to Gaza through a different border crossing and be home in time to celebrate Eid with his family. Or Israel can open the Rafah crossing again to help Palestinians, like Omer, get home to their families.


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

December 19, 2006

Dear Senator,

Our award-winning Gaza correspondent, Mohammed Omer, just completed a very effective U.S. speaking tour. He has received hundreds of e-mails a day (two of which are attached) thanking him for telling Americans about daily life in Gaza. Now he, along with thousands of other Gazans, cannot return home because the Rafah crossing is closed. Unlike several thousands trapped at the actual border, Mohammed is fortunate to be in a hotel in Cairo. Like his fellow Gazans, however, he is waiting in limbo, and frantic. At 22, he is the oldest of seven children and the head of his household. His mother and brothers need him home most urgently.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has asked Israel to permit Mohammed to cross at Rafah, but Israel has refused to reopen the border. Our embassy asked if Mohammed could return through another border—Allenby or Eretz—but Israel will not deviate from its very stringent rule: a Palestinian must return through the same crossing from which he left.

According to the American staffmember we spoke with, the U.S. Embassy does not have the “horsepower” to convince Israel on its own. This person suggested we generate “high level interest” to convince Israel to reopen the Rafah border for “humanitarian reasons.”

We have written Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to ask for her intervention. Now we are asking members of Congress who care deeply about peace in this region to ask Israel to open the Rafah crossing and allow the thousands of Palestinians stranded there to return home.

Mohammed’s nationwide speaking tour built bridges and sparked peaceful dialogue. C-SPAN covered his talk and rebroadcast it seven times, generating wonderful responses from around the country. Please help this young journalist return safely home to his family, who need him during these uncertain times in Gaza.

Sincerely,
Andrew I. Killgore
Publisher

Monday, December 18, 2006

Poor Little Zionist Neocons

Neocon: U.S. expected Israel to attack Syria and is angry it didn't
By Yitzhak Benhorin December 18, 2006


Bookmark to del.icio.usDigg!Digg This Story

It hasn't been a good year for neocons, that group of conservative American intellectuals pulling some strings of US policy, particularly during the George W. Bush administration.

Having a bad hair year Bush and Co? Boo Hoo! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229159,00.html

The strongest indictment against them is the war in Iraq, a quagmire in which the US is currently stuck up to its neck. And as Bush's days in the White House grow numbered, they are leaving one by one.

What? Jumping ship? Or have you been forced out or indicted? http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1129-32.htm

Among the few remaining neocons is David Wurmser, an advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney on Middle Eastern affairs. Wurmser is a Middle East expert, just like his wife, Israeli Meyrav Wurmser, a researcher at the conservative Hudson Institute.

Wasn't that you Wurmser who was investigated for passing classified information to Chalibi
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60497-2004Sep3.html the crook
http://www.counterpunch.org/chalabi05202004.html

Meyrav Wurmser was also one of the co-founders of MEMRI, which tracks Arab leaders and translating their political statements from Arabic to English.

Isn't that you MEMRI that Juan Cole exposed as an anti-Arab propaganda mill and then you threatened to sue him? http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=4047

Despite the fact that many neocons are no longer part of the government, it turns out they're still one big happy family, who make sure to remain in touch.

Having a PNAC picnic anytime soon? http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Project_for_the_New_American_Century

Many are Jews, who share a love for Israel. Some of the accusations against the government regarding the war in Iraq is that it was undertaken primarily for Israel's sake and that the attack on Iraq was actually an Israeli objective.

You wouldn't EVER lie to the American public about who the war in Iraq was for, WOULD you? http://nowarforisrael.com/

In an interview with Ynet, Dr. Meyrav Wurmser refutes the accusations and criticism.

While you're not baking cookies Meyrav, I've heard you're hiring ex-Mossad agents and comedians at your organization http://www.irc-online.org/rightweb/ind/wurmser_m/wurmser-m_body.html

"Since I'm an Israeli in the gang, you wouldn't believe what's been written about me," she said. "That I'm proof of the covert neoconservative connection with Israel and the Mossad."
What are you trying to achieve?

Wha, aa , what? Neocon Israelis spying? Huh? http://www.americanfreepress.net/AIPAC_Indictment.pdf

"We believe in a strong and active American foreign policy. America is a good force in the world, a nation that believes in freedom. We believe in exporting American ideas of freedom and democracy, to promote greater stability."

Uh, did the guards at Abu Gharib learn their methods here in our wonderful democratic nation with the highes per capita percentage of it's population in prison in the "free world"?
"Torture Inc" http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8451.htm

Did you, in practice, bring about the war in Iraq?

Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during your "pillow talk" about that paper you guys wrote, "A Clean Break" http://rightweb.irc-online.org/rw/3508

"We expressed ideas, but the policy in Iraq was taken out of neocon hands very quickly. The idea was that America has a war on terror and that the only actual place for coping with it is in the Middle East and that a fundamental change would come through a change in leadership. We had to start somewhere.

Huh? I thought those plans were in place long before 9/11 http://www.stopthelie.com/pnac.html

"The objective was to change the face of the Middle East. But it was impossible to create a mini-democracy amidst a sea of dictatorships looking to destroy this poor democracy, and thus, where do insurgents in Iraq come from? From Iran and Syria."

I heard a pesky rumor that Israel and the US are arming insurgents. What say you?
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/us__israel_operate_in_iran.html

Should they have been conquered?

"No. There was a need for massive political action, of threats and pressure on these governments, financial pressure, for example. The sanctions on Syria were nothing. There was a period of time when the Syrians were afraid that they were next. It would have been possible to use this momentum in a smarter way. There's no need to go in militarily."

I'm confused here, didn't your hubbie advocate attacking Syria militarily? http://www.alternet.org/story/17022/

Everyone feels beaten after last 5 years
At their prime, the neocons held the reigns of American decision making. In the Pentagon, there were Deputy Defense Minister Paul Wolfowitz, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith, and Harold Rhode, a senior Pentagon advisor on Islam.

Feith, isn't he the guy being investigated for manipulating pre-Iraq war inteligence? http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Pentagon_investigation_stalls_Phase_II_of_0130.html

In the vice president's office were Louis Libby and John Hannah. Richard Perle headed the committee advising to the Pentagon. In the White House were Deputy National Security Adviser for Global Democracy Strategy Elliott Abrams and Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton, who later became the US ambassador to the UN.

Wait a minute, isn't that "Scooter" Libby guy the one caught up in Plamegate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Libby and that Richard Perle guy, didn't he have to quit over a little problem with Global Crossing? http://www.counterpunch.org/leopold03282003.html ( I was actually in the same room with that man once and he STUNK!) And that Elliot Abrams guy, I seem to remember he had something to do with the Iran-Contra Affair http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010702/corn Oh, but I'm also bewildered, even after John Bolton helped Dubya block the recount in Florida, it seems the cowboy couldn't get his man to stay on http://www.geocities.com/jacksonthor/cheat5.html

According to Wurmser's description, the group is comprised of academics, most of them lacking operational experience, who became part of the Bush administration but failed to get their ideas through bureaucracy.

"These are intellectuals who came with great ideas, in which I still believe, but did not find a way to promote their beliefs in the complexities of bureaucracy," she says.

Your people held senior positions in the Pentagon. Didn't Deputy Defense Minister Paul Wolfowitz and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith implement your theories?

I thought Wolfowitz had a plan of his own that got secretly leaked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfowitz_Doctrine

"The final decisions were not in their hands. In the Pentagon, the decisions were in the hands of the military, and the political leadership had a lot of clashes with the military leadership."

Oh no, I'm getting confused again, I thought all the decisions were made by Rumsfeld in the defense department and that was where all the mix up was http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/04/25/rumsfeld/index.html

Did the military leadership ask for more soldiers in Iraq?

"Rumsfeld prevented that. He was a failure. The State Department opposed the neocons' stances. Also John Bolton, who is also part of the family, and was no. 4 at the State Department under Colin Powell, was incapable of passing decisions....

Hold on, didn't you just say up above that all the decisions were made by the military?

"Powell curbed our ideas and they did not pass. There was a lot of frustration over the years in the administration because we didn't feel we were succeeding.

Powell just said something about this yesterday I think http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT7U2cTZiDY

"Now Bolton left (the UN -- Y.B.) and there are others who are about to leave. This administration is in its twilight days. Everyone is now looking for work, looking to make money.... We all feel beaten after the past five years.... We miss the peace and quiet and writing books....

How to write a resume http://www.how-to-write-a-resume.org/

"When you enter the administration you have to keep your mouth shut. Now many will resume their writing.... Now, from the outside, they will be able to convey all the criticism they kept inside."

About keeping your mouths shut, might I suggest duct tape like John Ashcroft did should we experience a nuclear attack?

In the meantime you left the US inside Iraq?

"We did not bring the US into Iraq in such a way. Our biggest war which we lost was the idea that before entering Iraq we must train an exile Iraqi government and an Iraqi military force, and hand over the rule to them immediately after the occupation and leave Iraq. That was our idea and it was not accepted."

Here's the site for Samsonite Luggage http://samsonite.com/global/globl_homepage.jsp
It seems we've over stayed our "welcome" (I don't recall an invitation)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR2006092601721.html

Your man was Ahmed Chalabi, who was later suspected of spying for Iran?

"That is true, but we didn't want him as a dictator but as a person in a government that will act democratically? We must help the current democratic government. The borders with Iran and Syria should have been blocked immediately when we entered Iraq. Now it's already a disaster."

Oh gosh, not beating that dead horse again are you? Or should I say digging up the crook again?

Why didn't you attack Syria?

Many of Wurmser's friends believe the disaster is not only in Iraq, but in the entire region. They are also very frustrated over the way in which Israel embarked on the war against Hizbullah this summer, and on the way it returned from it.

"Hizbullah defeated Israel in the war. This is the first war Israel lost," Dr. Wurmser declares.

Is this a popular stance in the administration, that Israel lost the war?

"Yes, there is no doubt. It's not something one can argue about it. There is a lot of anger at Israel."

What caused the anger?

"I know this will annoy many of your readers.... But the anger is over the fact that Israel did not fight against the Syrians. Instead of Israel fighting against Hizbullah, many parts of the American administration believe that Israel should have fought against the real enemy, which is Syria and not Hizbullah."

Did the administration expect Israel to attack Syria?

"They hoped Israel would do it. You cannot come to another country and order it to launch a war, but there was hope, and more than hope, that Israel would do the right thing. It would have served both the American and Israeli interests.

What happened, you guys are usually on the same page aren't you? http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0809/dailyUpdate.html

"The neocons are responsible for the fact that Israel got a lot of time and space.... They believed that Israel should be allowed to win. A great part of it was the thought that Israel should fight against the real enemy, the one backing Hizbullah. It was obvious that it is impossible to fight directly against Iran, but the thought was that its strategic and important ally should be hit."

"It is difficult for Iran to export its Shiite revolution without joining Syria, which is the last nationalistic Arab country. If Israel had hit Syria, it would have been such a harsh blow for Iran, that it would have weakened it and changes the strategic map in the Middle East.

"The final outcome is that Israel did not do it. It fought the wrong war and lost. Instead of a strategic war that would serve Israel's objectives, as well as the US objectives in Iraq. If Syria had been defeated, the rebellion in Iraq would have ended."

Meyrav, I just found this article you wrote about how badly the IOF performed in it's tiff with Hezballah, http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWFkZDUxMjYxM2I1OWIxZjJmNDFmMTk3MTlhNjg5NzM=
I'm sensing a CONTRADICTION here.


Wurmser says that what most frustrates her is hearing people close to decision makers in Israel asking her if the US would have let Israel attack Syria.

"No one would have stopped you. It was an American interest. They would have applauded you. Think why you received so much time and space to operate. Rice was in the region and Israel embarrassed her with Qana, and still Israel got more time. Why aren't they reading the map correctly in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem?"

Now WHICH is the tail and which is the dog? Poor little neocons. Tis the season to wish you BAH HUMBUG!!