Under The Holly Tree

Martyr's Funeral Jawaher Abu Rahmah-Bilin 01.01.2011

2011-01-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Last Bastion of Acceptable Racism in the US, Islamophobia, MUST GO!

2010-11-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Racism in America, a touchy touchy subject these days. With our nation electing it's first African American president, it would be utterly foolish to say that it has not flared again. As the underlying and often outright tone of many of the attacks against Obama are noticeably racist (not legitimate debate on policy disagreements), it would also be undeniable to say that racism against African Americans has become totally unacceptable. Unacceptable because racism in ANY form is unacceptable.

Or is it? Unquestionably the last bastion of racism in the US which is acceptable to spout is racism against Muslims. Witness the wild flurry leading up to 911 this year concerning the Park51 project. Not racist you say? All one needs to do is watch the videos of the protest against Park51, the nature of the signage and the crazed rantings of so many of Park51's opponents to see that at best the opposition was thinly veiled racism and at worst full-blown racism against Muslims.

There it was for all to see, with FOX News leading the pack of commentators to

tell us all why a multi-faith cultural center built by Muslims which would contain

a Muslim prayer space should not be built anywhere near "hallowed ground"

911 came and went this year, "Pastor" Terry Jones of Florida backed down from burning the Koran and the news seemed to settle down a bit. Then came Juan

Williams, his statement on the Bill O'Reiley Show that he gets nervous boarding a

plane with people in "Muslim garb who first and foremost identify themselves as

Muslim". Would he be more comfortable boarding planes with Muslim travelers

who showed no outward sign of their religious identification? He wouldn't be able

to tell they were Muslim would he? Perhaps identifying themselves is a GOOD thing

for Mr. Williams so he can be aware he needs to be afraid.

Note: none of the 911 hijackers whose actions have been condemned soundly by statements and fatwas from Muslim organizations world wide were "dressed in "Muslim garb". Note also that the myth is still perpetuated that Muslims have not condemned these horrendous acts when this simply is NOT the case.

As we all know, Juan Williams was fired following his statement on FOX. Subsequently CAIR has been blamed erroneously for the firing when the only thing CAIR did was ask

NPR to address Juan Williams' statement. CAIR did NOT ask for him to be fired, it was NPR who terminated his contract with him. Immediately following and since his firing

CAIR has been under attack. By threatening emails sent to them and public reaction

the firing of Juan Williams and support of his right to make the statement he did has

far outweighed those who agree he should have been fired.

However, there is much more to this story than what is apparent on the surface. There

are also questions that need to be asked of Juan Williams himself. Today an article was published which does ask Juan Williams a pointed question:

"Were he to get pulled over by a cop who made him get out of his car and submit to a full body-search, would he say “That’s OK officer. I know you’re just expressing your honest feeling that most black people driving nice cars are criminals”?

Unfortunately Juan Williams himself perpetuated the idea in his own statement that he was fired by NPR BECAUSE he did not fit NPR's mold as a Black liberal.

Mold? What mold Juan?

You were already on notice from NPR for other infractions and this time as stated by NPR you were fired due to breach of your employer's ethics code. A reminder of what those codes are which Juan Williams agreed to follow in signing his contract with NPR:

http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/ethics/ethics_code.html

Now, lets compare Juan Williams' statement about being frightened of getting on planes with people in "Muslim garb" to the point made by the author of this article, would Juan Williams have a problem being pulled over for driving while Black simply because the police officer had an "honest feeling that most black people driving nice cars are criminals"? Note, it doesn't have to be "nice cars", it can be any car can't it? The point being that this Black man is in the wrong neighborhood, he must be up to no good, he doesn't belong here, reason for suspicion.

While racism against African Americans has become RIGHTFULLY politically incorrect in this country to publicly espouse, it hasn't stopped die hard racists from continuing to flaunt their racism. Take the case of White Nationalism which exists here til this day. Leading the pack of US White Nationalists is David Duke. What is he up to these days besides announcing his potential run for the presidency in 2012? Well David Duke has glommed on to a recent news item about a cheerleader in Texas who was raped at a drunken party in 2008. Evidently the rapist was allowed to continue playing football while the girl was kicked off her cheer team for refusing to cheer him. The story is outrageous, but what aspect of the story did David Duke hone in on? The fact that the rapist was Black, and that these sort of things didn't occur in Silsbee, Texas until Blacks started moving in.
This is important, watch David Duke's video HERE: at 4:40 he states,

"There was a time when Silsbee High School was entirely European American, parents never had to worry about their teenage girl getting raped at school or at a school party, much less gang raped, during that time gang rapes of 16 year old girls was simply inconceivable"

Student while Black. Before these non-White Europeans moved in there was never anything to worry about at Silsbee High. Got that? White Europeans don't do such things, never in Silsbee. Silsbee was the perfect little White hamlet at one time wasn't it Mr. Duke?

There's just one problem with Mr. Duke's statement (besides the point that it is utter RACISM), while unable to find evidence of past gang rapes in Silsbee which I am SURE have occurred since gang rape in this country crosses all socio-economic and racial boundaries and does not stop at any municiple border, I was able to find the list of registered sex offenders for the town of Silsbee, and surprise surprise NOT, there are White registered sex offenders a plenty in this priorly perfect little hamlet. Note: the term "aggravated sexual assault"=rape.

http://www.city-data.com/so/so-Silsbee-Texas.html

Now back to Juan Willliams being frightened of those in "Muslim garb". Just as David Dukes utter racism paints Blacks as the criminal element bringing "this sort of thing" to what used to be the perfect little White hamlet of Silsbee, Texas, so is Juan Williams statement that he is fearful of those in "Muslim garb" RACIST. To collectively hang the tag of criminal on ANY group of people is RACIST. Juan Williams would NOT accept being pulled over for "driving while black" any more than he would accept David Duke's assertion that Silsbee, Texas was just a wonderful place to live before the undesirables (Blacks) moved into town.

Just as David Duke's racism is unacceptable, so was Juan Williams' statement and those supporting his right to have this "feeling" are both unacceptable.

Fear of those in "Muslim garb" or Muslims in general=fear of those "driving while Black"/fear of "undesirables" (African Americans) in the neighborhood.

While it is RIGHTFULLY politically incorrect and WRONG to harbor racist sentiments against African Americans in this country, it must ALSO become unacceptable to harbor racist sentiments towards Muslims.

NO TO RACISM no matter what form it takes.

NO TO RACISM against Muslims, it is time to bury the acceptance of this vile sentiment.

Queridos mineros chilenos, por favor no acepten la invitación de Israel!

2010-10-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

The letter I wrote to the Chilean miners (in English)concerning the all-expense paid offered to them by Israel to visit the Christian holy sites at Christmas, the two most important of which (Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Bethlehem) are in occupied Palestine, has been translated and published on the website for the Palestinian Foundation of Chile. Shukran khatier:

Queridos sobrevivientes de la mina chilena: Ustedes no saben de mí. Yo sólo soy un bloggero/actvista por la paz estadounidense que ha seguido sus esfuerzos heroicos por sobrevivir a los 69 días de prueba y los esfuerzos heroicos por salvarlos. Con asombro he visto cómo los subían uno a uno hacia la libertad desde ese infierno bajo tierra, donde por tanto tiempo no se sabía si iban a vivir o morir. De hecho, el mundo entero vio cuando fueron rescatados entre la alegría estruendosa de sus seres queridos reunidos y sentados en vigilia por ustedes durante tanto tiempo, insistiendo en que estaban vivos, insistiendo en que siguienran los esfuerzos de rescate, orando juntos por su seguridad. El mundo entero se regocija por su retorno a salvo hacia la superficie junto a sus seres queridos. Ahora es vuestro tiempo para que se recuperen de su terrible experiencia, para el reajuste en la superficie viviendo con todos los aspectos físicos que esto implica, así como también con los emocionales. Sin embargo, hay personas que desean adherirse de alguna manera a su rescate y lo que ellos ven es un estatus de celebridad para realizando invitaciones públicas para ir a visitarlos. Cuidado con los regalos de caballo de Troya. Las invitaciones de viajes con todos los gastos pagados se emiten con su propia imagen e intereses en el corazón. Hoy he leído que han recibido una invitación del Ministerio de Turismo israelí para visitar la Tierra Santa, donde empezó el cristianismo, donde está ubicado el más sagrado de los sitios cristianos. Ellos les han ofrecido pagar por la totalidad de su viaje allí, para que ustedes puedan visitar "Israel". Le están ofreciendo este viaje en Navidad como un "regalo para ti" Les pido que por favor no acepten esta invitación. Ustedes no están siendo solo invitados a visitar "Israel," se le está pidiendo ir a visitar los lugares santos que han estado bajo la ocupación israelí de Palestina durante 42 años, sitios a los que habitualmente se les niega el acceso a los palestinos cristianos por parte de su ocupante. En junio, el Vaticano ha emitido un documento que deplora la negación del acceso a los cristianos a los lugares sagrados bajo la ocupación, deniminando como "injusta" la ocupación. Ustedes serán llevados a la Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro en Jerusalén oriental ocupada que diariamente le niega el acceso a los palestinos cristianos. Ustedes también visitarán Belén, el lugar donde nació Cristo, que ha estado bajo la ocupación israelí durante 42 años. Muy cerca se encuentra la casa de la tienda Daoud Nassar de las Naciones Unidas que está continuamente bajo la amenaza de demolición por parte de Israel. Los palestinos cristianos sufren las mismas desgracias que sus compatriotas musulmanes bajo la ocupación israelí. Por esta razón la Declaración de el Cairo pide el fin a la ocupación de Palestina tras 42 largos años de violación directa al derecho internacional. Introducción Nosotros, un grupo de palestinos cristianos, después de la oración, la reflexión y el intercambio de opiniones, clamamos desde el sufrimiento en nuestro país, bajo la ocupación israelí, con un grito de esperanza en la ausencia de toda esperanza, un grito lleno de oración la fe en Dios y el siempre vigilante, en la providencia divina de Dios para todos los habitantes de esta tierra. Inspirado por el misterioso amor de Dios hacia todos, el misterio de la presencia divina de Dios en la historia de todos los pueblos y, de una manera particular, en la historia de nuestro país, proclamamos nuestra palabra sobre la base de nuestra fe cristiana y nuestro sentido de Palestina Perteneciente - la palabra de fe, esperanza y amor. ¿Por qué ahora? Porque hemos llegado hoy a un punto muerto en la tragedia del pueblo palestino. Los responsables en la toma de decisiones en las gestiones de la crisis se contentan en lugar de comprometerse en la tarea de encontrar una manera de resolverlo. Los corazones de los fieles están llenos de dolor y preguntándose: ¿Qué está haciendo la comunidad internacional? ¿Que están haciendo los líderes políticos en Palestina, en Israel y en el mundo árabe? ¿Qué hace la Iglesia? El problema no es sólo de carácter político. Es la política en que los seres humanos son destruidos, y esto debe ser motivo de preocupación para la Iglesia. Nos dirigimos a nuestros hermanos y hermanas, miembros de nuestras iglesias en esta tierra. Hacemos un llamado a los cristianos y a los palestinos, a los líderes religiosos y políticos, a nuestra sociedad palestina y a la sociedad israelí, a la comunidad internacional, y a nuestros hermanos y hermanas de las Iglesias de todo el mundo. Todos los días equipos cristianos por la paz trabajan en los Territorios Ocupados para proteger a los palestinos de la ocupación militar y de los ataques rutinarios de los colonos. La Teología de la Liberación en América Latina ha desempeñado un papel importante en la provisión de apoyo y consuelo a los oprimidos. Palestina también tiene una organización, Teología de la Liberación de Palestina (Saabel), que aboga por la libertad de los oprimidos bajo la ocupación israelí y la política del gobierno. Estos son tus hermanos y hermanas en Cristo, en la humanidad. Las conversaciones de paz en el levantamiento de la ocupación de Palestina no han llegado a ninguna parte en 42 años, Israel ha continuado violando el derecho internacional al continuar construyendo asentamientos en los territorios ocupados. Israel se ha negado a extender la congelación de diez meses en la construcción, siendo una violación directa al dereho internacional. Ahora el Ministerio de Turismo de Israel le ha cursado una invitación con todos los gastos pagados para visitar los "lugares sagrados" en "Israel". La Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro, el más sagrado de los santuarios cristianos, se encuentra en la Jerusalén oriental ocupada. Belén, el lugar de nacimiento de Cristo, se encuentra en la Cisjordania ocupada. Estos son sólo dos lugares santos cristianos que Israel desea tomar y sacar provecho de su celebridad para su propio beneficio. Yo mismo como cristiano, le ruego no aceptar esta invitación, no hasta que Israel se retire luego de 42 largos años de ocupación ilegal de Palestina. La Navidad es nuestro tiempo para celebrar el nacimiento de Cristo, no sólo en desmedro de los que viven bajo ocupación en su ciudad natal, al aceptar un regalo de su ocupante. Queridos mineros, quizás ustedes nunca puedan llegar a leer esta carta, pero de alguna manera debe llegar, porque fue escrita desde mi corazón, al corazón de ustedes, los hombres valientes que sobrevivieron, por la gracia de Dios, que todavía están con nosotros. Bendiciones a ustedes en paz, Robin Global Research

Dear Chilean miners, please do not accept Israel's invitation

2010-10-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Survivors of the Chilean Mine Trap,

You do not know me. I am just an American blogger/peace actvist who has followed your heroic efforts to survive your 69 day ordeal and the heroic efforts to save you. With wonder I watched as you were brought up one by one to freedom from your underground hell, where for so long you did not know if you would live or die. Indeed the whole world watched as you were rescued in thunderous joy that you would be reunited with your loved ones who had sat vigil for you for so long, insisting you were alive, insisting the rescue effort keep on, praying together for your safety. The entire world rejoices in your safe return above ground to your loved ones.

Now it is your time to recover from your ordeal, to readjust to above ground living with all the physical aspects that entails as well as the emotional ones. Yet people who wish to somehow attach themselves to your rescue and what they see as your celebrity status are now issuing public invitations for you to visit them.

Beware the Trojan horse bearing gifts. For their all-expense paid trip invitations are being issued with their own interest and image at heart.

Today I read that you have received an invitation from the Israeli Tourist Ministry to visit the Holy Land where Christianity began, where the holiest of Christian sites are located. They have offered to pay for your entire trip there, for you to visit "Israel". They are offering you this trip at Christmas time as a "gift to you"

I am asking you please to not accept this invitation. You are not just being invited to visit "Israel", you are being asked to visit holy sites which have been under the Israeli occupation of Palestine for 42 years, sites that Palestinian Christians are routinely denied access to by their occupier.

In June the Vatican issued a paper deploring the denial of access to Christians to the holy sites under occupation, calling the occupation "unjust".

You would be taken to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem which Israel routinely denies access to for Christian Palestinians. You would also be taken to Bethlehem, the birth place of Christ, which has been under Israeli occupation for 42 years. Nearby is the home of Daoud Nassar's Tent of Nations which is continually under threat of demolition by Israel.

Christian Palestinians suffer just as horrifically under the occupation as do their fellow Muslim Palestinians.

For this reason the Kairos Declaration was issued which calls for an end to the 42 year long occupation of Palestine which is in direct violation of international law.

Introduction
We, a group of Christian Palestinians, after prayer, reflection and an exchange of opinion, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope, a cry full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God’s divine providence for all the inhabitants of this land. Inspired by the mystery of God's love for all, the mystery of God’s divine presence in the history of all peoples and, in a particular way, in the history of our country, we proclaim our word based on our Christian faith and our sense of Palestinian belonging – a word of faith, hope and love.
Why now? Because today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the Palestinian people. The decision-makers content themselves with managing the crisis rather than committing themselves to the serious task of finding a way to resolve it. The hearts of the faithful are filled with pain and with questioning: What is the international community doing? What are the political leaders in Palestine, in Israel and in the Arab world doing? What is the Church doing? The problem is not just a political one. It is a policy in which human beings are destroyed, and this must be of concern to the Church.
We address ourselves to our brothers and sisters, members of our Churches in this land. We call out as Christians and as Palestinians to our religious and political leaders, to our Palestinian society and to the Israeli society, to the international community, and to our Christian brothers and sisters in the Churches around the world.

Read the entire Kairos Declaration HERE

Every day Christian Peacemaker Teams in the Occupied Territory work to protect Palestinians from their military occupation and settlers who routinely assault them.

In Latin America liberation theology has played a large role in providing solace and support to the oppressed. Palestine also has an organization, Sabeel-Palestine Liberation Theology, which calls for the freedom of the oppressed under Israeli occupation and government policy. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ, in humanity.

As peace talks in lifting the occupation of Palestine have not gotten anywhere in 42 years, Israel has continued to violate international law by continuing to build settlements in the occupied territories. Israel has refused to extend their ten month freeze on building which is in direct contravention of international law.

Now the Ministry of Tourism of Israel has issued you an invitation for an all-expense paid trip to visit the "holy sites" in "ISRAEL". The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest of Christian shrines, is located in occupied East Jerusalem. Bethlehem, the birth place of Christ, is located in the occupied West Bank. These are only two Christian holy sites that Israel wishes to take you to and to somehow capitalize on your celebrity by their offer.

As a Christian myself, I beg you not to accept this invitation, not while Israel refuses to withdraw from their 42 year long illegal occupation of Palestine. Christmas is our time to celebrate the birth of Christ, not to do so to the detriment of those living under occupation in his birthplace by accepting a gift from their occupier.

Dear miners, you may never read this letter to you, but should it somehow reach you, it was written to you from my heart, to the hearts of you brave men who survived, by the grace of God, you are still with us.

Blessings to you in peace,

Robin

What it means to be an American - Have You Forgotten?

2010-08-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

The footage is old, the concepts are older, but they've never been more applicable than they are today.

Never forget what it is that makes America great especially as our cultural dialogue focuses and polarizes around race, religion and cultural identity.

SB 1070? 9/11 Mosques? Is Obama a Muslim? Socialism? Muslim?

Footage dates back to a 1947 documentary entitled Don't Be A Sucker produced by the US Government. I've added the comment at the end and shot the color footage.

Remember, your duty to your country is constant. It's a fundamental duty to fight for equality - both for yourself and your fellow human.

Stand up for what is right. Stand up for America!

Original footage by the US War Department, 1947 Available athttp://www.archive.org/details/DontBe...

SOURCE

Al Wasat Interview with Imam Abdul Rauf of the "Ground Zero Mosque"

2010-08-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

With today's explosive hate filled protest of the Cordoba Initiative/Park51 project and Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Rauf appearing in the US Media, the imam himself who rarely gives interviews did just that today in Bahrain while on a US State Department trip promoting relations between the US and Muslim nations. Al-Wasat has the ability to translate into English, so here it is

Abdul Rauf: Aim for rooting the positive role of Muslims in their communities

Center - Mansour Jamri

«Center» dialogue Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (Photo:
Mohamed Almkrq)

Prime «Cordoba Initiative» Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who oversees the plan for the construction of a mosque in New York near the site subjected to attacks of 11 September 2001 (Ground Zero), that the constitutional rights granted to the Muslims in the United States and a broad and more in line with the principles of Islamic law restrictions imposed by some Islamic countries. He added that the civil and religious freedoms set forth in the Constitution reflect the essence of Islamic values. This came in an interview «center» with Abdul Rauf, the day of his visit to Bahrain, and will also take him to Qatar and the UAE in his tour in the region to discuss efforts to combat extremism and spread the concepts of dialogue and tolerance among followers of religions, as well as spreading the idea put forward by «Initiative Cordoba »aims to keep the letter to the American Muslim is consistent with being Muslim, as well as U.S. citizens they are to other duties and to them as to other rights.

«Center» Prime dialogue mosque construction project «Ground Zero» in New York ...

Abdul Rauf: Aim for rooting the positive role of Muslims in their communities

Center - Mansour Jamri

How do you know yourself?

- I see myself as a student of Islam try to understand the basic motivations of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and on that basis, see also the historical aspects, the objective circumstances surrounding the jurisprudence and Islamic thought, and then look at the issues facing our Muslim communities, and I think that every religious society faces the challenges of everlasting which is how examination of the core values of religion, commitment, and how we express those values in the movement of life that Iezaretha community in the time and place. If you look to the history of Islam, and how it is when started from the Hijaz and went to the vast areas stretching from Morocco to Indonesia, we find that the teachings of Islam in terms of worship remained the same, but the understanding of the practical application of religion in the life varied from place to place, and even Imam Shafi'i is Rulings when he moved from Kufa to Egypt to harmony with the environment where Muslims live. Scholars of the city were called Ahl al-Hadeeth, and scholars of Kufa were so-called opinion leaders, because they contain Kufa on the diversity of a larger community than it was in the city, and therefore the need to view the urgency of the Msameen time in that region.

You bring a project is talking about moderation in Islam, and the harmonization of the Islamic religion with the Muslim environment, and Ballenbsp you, this means that the U.S. can win the Muslim religion Muslim and his citizenship to America ... What is the idea exactly? And where to meet with the idea that she was talking about the Islamization of science and Islamization of life, an idea launched by the founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in the late Ismail Faruqi in America in the Eighties the past?

- No, what I put is different from what he put (the late) Ismail Faruqi, and he was my friend, but I disagree with him about the idea of Islamization. You can not Twslm Science, Physics, chemistry, mathematics and philosophy can not be Twslmha, it is aware of all, even the Islamic banks can be released by the banks but of usury, but to give it the name of Islam and if you failed, you say that Islam is a failure. Can not convert to Islam to the brand companies, and can not say that Islam says this or that, Yes, you can say that a Muslim in this opinion, he says, another Muslim opinion of the other, but Islam is not a brand for the company, for example, for instance the groups reporting to the Muslims, this in my opinion, «Islamization» of the work of Christian missionaries in the Muslim world.Before the colonization of Muslim movements were not there and emailed an Islamic missionary, but a reaction to the missionary movements have emerged groups counter.

The concept of Islamisation is now a problem to have, and now we see that there Osalmat to aspects of various reactions, and we have Islamic terrorism, the Islamization of terrorism, and we in our determination to shape many of the issues in the title of Islam, we see this call on everything, eating the Islamic Islamic art, Islamic Party, the Islamic state, even though we are talking about the limits of nationalism give it a title Islamic, and the nation state is essentially a Western idea, even if we go back to history we find that the talk was about the ruler and the ruled and the caliphate and the issues and things are completely different than what has been proposed concept of the State Islamic now.

If we look at the Koran does not find that God says, «O Muslims», but talking about the faithful, and faith means believing in the existence of a group under different circumstances, and not in the presence of an Islamic state in the sense before now.

I shall say that the title «Islam» has become like a title company, or brand, and hear some people ask «What does Islam say such and such?», And this language is wrong in structural terms, which is incompatible with the legacy of Islamic thought available to us. We read in our old asks «What is the opinion of the public?» Rather than «What is the opinion of Islam ?»... Thus, the answer is «God said in Surat, and the verse as well as well as» ... This Mtarhat Muslims in the heart of Islam.

But the Islamic movements in control of the squares of the Islamic derives its strength from the ideas of characters is very impressive, for example, Maulana Abul Ala Maududi and Syed Qutb, Imam Khomeini, and others, and those posed thought was tough on several issues concerning the relationship with the West, for example, and these continued to cast him (such as the concept of governance has some Sunni scholars, the concept of clerical rule in some Shiite scholars) through the writings and interpretations of the Koran and the modern ... How you will be able to put forward an alternative system of thought be able to reach the minds and hearts of religious scholars and youth activists scattered all over the world?

- I do not confine myself in the terminology, but what concerns me is the understanding of the subject before stuck to the window and the term, we must look to what the Muslim thinkers and look to the nature of the circumstances in which they went through and how it influenced their interpretation of the data of religion for political realities they experienced and been affected by it, and this is natural if we understand the circumstances and, therefore, with the understanding of the changed circumstances changed, but the core concepts and values of the Islamic remains. Figures are written and considered not done so in a vacuum but were in the process of political clashes that often affects the nature of the theory and the understanding that threw him.

Therefore, our young people today when they read the books of Sayyid Qutb Ibn Taymiyyah or may not know the political circumstances surrounding them, and we must be aware of all the historical circumstances in order to understand why they said what they said ... If the political circumstances are different, I think that the IPO will be different without a doubt.

Do not you see that you put forward ideas of renewal and modernization of Islamic thought have remained trapped in academic circles small you can not move to the public Muslim students scattered in universities or to Muslim scholars who are leading the Friday prayers and the congregation in the mosque, and thus end of such proposals to folders only books .. . How will emerge from this impasse?

- The hope that I am driving through the Cordoba Initiative, is to establish an Islamic approach raises harmonization and understanding among all religions and other ideas, and that this depends on the read-conscious and committed to the values and motivations Koran. For example, the Koran presents «There is no compulsion in religion», and this clear guidance, if you look to the verses of the Koran you will see that they blame on those who do not believe in faith, but the verses also protects the rights of human beings to believe in Islam and engage in rituals, or do not do so. And if you look to the practices of Muslims in history you will find the Jews and the Christians and Muslims live in harmony, and even Egypt has been for a long time after the entry of Islam to the majority non-Muslim, because Islam does not impose by force, but persuasion.

I am currently trying to communicate with Muslim scholars in a number of different areas in order to get to the «quantum critical» critical number sense consists of a consensus among a number of Muslim scholars who Etwavqon about offering the Islamic push for mainstreaming the role of Muslims in their communities on the basis that they are part of those communities, They have full citizenship preserve their rights and play their role in the political process and development of the countries where they live, I'd very well that Muslims in America to do so, if we look at the American Declaration of Independence will see that it speaks of principles approved by our religion, we have the materials in the U.S. Constitution protects our rights What exists in our American Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution is much better than what is found in many Islamic countries.

Raw Video: Israeli soldier poses with bound Arab

2010-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Has Jethro Tull Cancelled Their Aug 7-8 Israel Concerts?

2010-06-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

Have they cancelled the two concerts?

(Update below, the simple answer being NO Jethro Tull has not cancelled their concerts, and has made a statement on why he is playing Israel which can be read HERE)

This WAS the schedule:

AUG7Saturday 7 August 2010
Jethro Tull	Caesarea… Caesarea, Israel	36 people attending 3 shouts
AUG8Sunday 8 August 2010
Jethro Tull	Binyeney Ha'Uma Jerusalem, Israel	8 people attending Add shout

This is the updated as of June 21 official schedule off of Jethro Tull's website. (notice that no where on the schedule which is through November 24, 2010 does any Israeli concert appear):

AUG
11	Zofingen, Switzerland	Heiteren Festival
18	Bergen	Grieghallen
20	Kristiansand, Norway	Ravnedalen
21	Gvarv, Norway	Kartfestivalen, Farstadparken
22	Oslo, Norway	Sentrum Scene, Arbeidersamfunnets Plass
28	Bahrenfeld, Hamburg, Germany	Classic Rock Festival, Trab Arena Front page of his website, left upper corner, no where is Israel mentioned

Hmmmmmmm, this article from Haaretz dated June 22, one day after the update on the official Jethro Tull Website it reads as follows.

The British rock band Jethro Tull is to perform three concerts in Israel in August: On August 7 at the Ra'anana Park Amphitheater, on August 8 at the Shuni Fortress in Binyamina and on August 9 at Jerusalem's International Convention Center. The band, which has performed in Israel five times, was last here three years ago. Jethro Tull, founded in 1967, is known for its blending of blues, jazz and classical tones. (Noya Kohavi )

So someone tell me or find out, according to Haaretz a concert has been ADDED and according to the official website there is nothing scheduled in Israel. Interesting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

some fans”

Just found this forum where in there is an email from David Coursey the webmaster for the Jethro Tull web site posted on June 19 which puts the concerts still up in the air at that time. Read that entire thread HERE

THIS blogger claims to have sent off an email to the same webmaster of Jethro Tull's website on
June 9th and gotten an entirely different reply.

UPDATE with info concerning Ian Anderson:

People expected much too much of Ian Anderson. His musical lyrics have never matched his actions. In interview after interview he tells people he will not get into politics, he will only tell people to VOTE.
http://www.cliffordmeth.com/ianandersononwarreligionan.htm
Anderson: My music is not going to address issues in a direct political way. You wouldn’t find me on stage in the last run at the election joining Bruce Springsteen and calling for the mobilization of civilian troops, as it were, to place their vote in the box next to the name Kerry. I wouldn’t be up in the stage doing that. But you would get me on the stage campaigning very simply with the word VOTE. That I’m very much dedicated towards. I wouldn’t be partisan. I would certainly encourage people to vote and in my small way I did try to do that when I was last doing concerts before I went on tour because I do think it’s very important from a moral point of view, as well as a political one, to take advantage of that democracy that I’m afraid so many Americans and British take for granted.
Politically, I’m an angry man. But the answer isn’t “pull the troops out.” We’re stuck with this now. We can’t abandon these people. We’ve brought notions of democracy to a country where they’ve been used to, at best, a patriarchal and tribal leadership. In Iraq, they were used to the tyrant dictator, but nonetheless, it was a stable country, for the most part throughout most its very complicated length and breadth, with all of its tribal and religious divisions. And when you go blundering in there as a Western Democracy with tanks and guns, you’re taking the lid off the hornet’s nest. And that’s unfortunately what seems to have escaped both Bush and Blair and their rather dodgy crew of advisors.
It just seemed so patently obvious from the word go that this was just going to result in a lot of tears that it’s beyond me that they could have done it. I mean, it just seems so incredibly naïve, if you give them the benefit of the doubt, to have gone in their guns blazing thinking all you do is take out the government, replace it with a friendly military force for a few months, then get them all to go to elections. How could they ever believe that given the complexities that existed in Iraq? And this was pointed out in countless articles by countless learned journalists from all over the world reporting from Iraq for the last ten years. It was pointed out time and again that the result of removing Sadam Husein would not be a simple one. That is what is so extraordinary! However, we don’t want to waste the entire interview talking about that, but yes, I’ve got my opinion, and the answer is that it’s far too late to pull out—far too late for people like me to be putting in music or in song any clear cut political message.
The job I do as a musician is to travel— not to Iraq, thus far, but to certain other places where we have seen the suicide bombers and the tragedy of war in the last 30 or 40 years. I go to places like Israel; I go to Turkey, to India, to places where people do blow each other up. But as a musician, I’m allowed to cross those boundaries in the worlds of art and entertainment; I cross boundaries that politicians can’t–even if they want to. So I think I’m rather happy to keep my message a generally uplifting one of music and song. If there’s a political or religious comment being made, I do so with a degree of, I hope, subtlety and artistry, which I hope does not make me appear partisan and does not allow for misunderstanding, although I’ve been at the end of misunderstanding before, choosing words in my lyrics perhaps not so carefully as I might have done back in 1971.
***********************
There you go, Ian Anderson the civics teacher, VOTE, but he won’t be caught being political because in his own small way he can do what politicians cannot do, play music wherever he wants to and then look magnanimous in donating to “peaceful causes” I gave at the office.
Kum-ba-yah.
Yet another interview:
http://www.jambands.com/features/2008/09/23/ian-anderson-this-was-and-always-will-be
““I’m an American taxpayer but not a voting citizen of the United States. So I have to leave it up to you guys, just as the Germans, French and the Italians do. It’s interesting times and the world is watching. My message to the American people isn’t to vote for John McCain or for Barack Obama or even for Hillary Clinton next time since it looks like she’ll take another crack at it. My message is simply – vote because you can’t afford to be one of the 40% of the people who sit on their behinds and can’t be bothered to go to the polls. Democracy is what young men and women have fought and died for in Afghanistan and Iraq. If anything we owe it to them to use our democratic right to show the rest of world how democracies work. That’s my message. Hanging chads notwithstanding,” he adds with a laugh.
****************************
There you go, our young men and women have fought for democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Doesn’t that pretty much say it all to this man’s level of understanding?
I say expose him for what he is and that this is the very type of person that plays Israel, someone who is an AIRHEAD when it comes to having any spine whatsoever.
Oh and last but not least, his hobbies are growing chili peppers and saving endangered cats!
Watch this interview, he talks about his US tour when things were unpleasant here along political lines and the audience messed with his music!!
Oh those darn hippies that made it hard for him to perform! It was all so damn unpleasant.
Enjoy the concert Israel, Ian Anderson the school marm civics teacher will be "giving at the office", to who he will be "giving" he's not even willing to announce at this time!
So, I decided many months ago not to profit from my work in this troubled region and hope that interested parties on all sides will understand and respect my decision and resolve. The details of recipients of my charitable donation will be posted for the benefit of the doubters, as usual, on this website later in the year.
No backbone WHATSOEVER.

Zionist Occupier Dances Around Handcuffed, Blindfolded Palestinian Woman

2010-06-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Carolyn Glick's Lunatic Chutzpa Concerning "We Con the World"

2010-06-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Continuing from my last post concerning the vile video, "We Con the World" and the so called "apology" issued by the government of Israel, it seems that Youtube has pulled the video dueto copyright infringement per Warner Music's request.

Linking to the video gets you the following message:

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner/ Chappell Music, Inc. .

Yet Carolyn Glick is ranting on on her blog boasting that friends of her's have uploaded the video on other video hosting sites and urges all to continue to spread it! She claims that the video was pulled as part of an orchestrated anti-Israel campaign that Youtube has cooperated with. But never fear, the intrepid Glick chimes, "If someone is in fact trying to silence our voices, they will soon discover that they are messing with the wrong Jews". Post on she urges! We will not be silenced!

In confrontational manner to the take down Glick had her webmaster upload it elsewhere on another video hosting site with her next post containing full instructions of how to get around the evil anti-Israel forces trying to silence Latma!

It's fair use Glick claims! Her "attorneys" told her so!

Wait a minute here Carolyn, do you have any clue what you are talking about when you claim the song is "fair use" as parody? Ben Sheffner, Senior Council for NBC Television Group disagrees with you. Read what he has to say about your claims HERE.

Ms. Glick claims parody. What is the legal definition of parody?

A parody is a work that ridicules another, usually well-known work, by imitating it in a comic way. Judges understand that by its nature, parody demands some taking from the original work being parodied. Unlike other forms of fair use, a fairly extensive use of the original work is permitted in a parody in order to “conjure up” the original.

Let's go through the facts on the song "We are the World". The copyright to the song belongs to the Michael Jackson Estate and Lionel Richie, not Warner. Warner is Lionel Richie's agent entrusted with protecting the copyright of their client.

The song "We are the World" was recently remade to raise funds Haiti. A non-profit foundation has been established, the We Are The World Foundation. Lionel Richie sits on the board of that foundation, as does Quincy Jones. the song "We are the World" as it has been remade with the permission of the copyright holders, the Michael Jackson Estate and Lionel Richie is being used as it was originally intended, to raise funds for a cause. The foundation as formed did not get permission from Warner to remake the song, they got the permission from the estate of Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie: (watch the remake HERE)

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 M_w earthquake. It was the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years and caused widespread damage.^[2] The epicenter of the quake was just outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.^[3] It has been estimated that the death toll could reach 200,000.^[4] Before the earthquake, Jones and Richie had planned to organize a re-recording of "We Are the World" on January 28, 2010 — the 25th anniversary of the original recording of the song.^[5] Randy Phillips, who was a key figure in the song being re-issued, said that "We Are The World" producer Ken Kragen had suggested to re-cut "We Are the World" and title it "Live 25".^[6] However, Lionel Richie and Jones were "very lukewarm" about the idea.^[6] Phillips commented that,
"[They felt] that what happened 25 years ago was iconic and they did everything they could for Africa at that time, and they didn't feel re-cutting the song really made any sense. Basically, Lionel didn't really want to do it, and we kind of let it die by not issuing the publishing license, because Lionel owns the copyright along with Michael Jackson's estate. That was in November/December [2009]. They had gotten Visa on board as an underwriter of that effort, and I think they were going to try and premiere it at the World Cup."^[6]
However, because of the devastation caused in Haiti, these plans were postponed.^[5] Phillips said that Jones had called Lionel and said, "this is what this song is written for, as a fundraising vehicle for causes, tragedies, catastrophes like this. Why don't we take over the process, call our friends, and actually do this?"^[6] Lionel understood the urgency of Haiti, and in January 2010, it was agreed that "We Are the World" would be re-recorded to help benefit Haiti, similar to how the original recording helped famine relief in Africa.^[5] Richie commented, "Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a hit record to make someone decide to save a life. I want this song to be the battle cry again. Every once in a while, you have to wake the world up. We slept right through Katrina. If we are not a socially aware culture, we're going to fail."^{[7] (source)}

Many of the reviews of the remake were negative. In a true parody of the remake Saturday Night Live made a skit about it as seen HERE. Note that in the beginning of the skit the actor is "Quincy Jones" saying that the remake was a disaster, so he has gathered together a group to undo the "disaster".

That is a parody Ms. Glick. What you have created is not. What you have done is vilely parodied the Free Gaza movement which resulted in the death of nine individuals with six still missing using the VEHICLE of a copyrighted song.

That is unless you and your boss Frank Gaffney want to claim you were parodying the song itself and intent for which it was written to raise funds for Africa and then remade to raise funds for Haiti. If that was Latma's intention, you don't get to pull in a third party which has nothing whatsoever to do with the song.

Let's look at a case that was won on the grounds of fair use/parody, Abilene Music vs Sony:

In 2003 a New York federal court also upheld the fair use doctrine by dismissing a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment and rappers Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and the Alchemist, for copyright infringement. The plaintiff, Abilene Music, accused the rappers and Sony – who released the album – of infringing its copyright in the well-known song "What a Wonderful World." The infraction allegedly occurred when the trio made slang references to marijuana in a rap that began with a variation on the first three lines of the song popularized by Louis Armstrong. The defendants successfully argued that, while the song's lyrics were adapted from "What a Wonderful World" they were protected as fair use under the U.S. Copyright Act.
In granting a summary judgment for Sony and the rappers, Judge Gerard Lynch said the rap was clearly a parody, intended to criticize and ridicule the cheerful perspective of the original song. The judge also noted the rap made key changes to the lyrics and overall effect of the lines, and was not an imitation of the original. The Judge held that, whereas the first three lines of "Wonderful World" describe the beauty of nature, the rap version read more like an invitation to “get high” with the singer. The slang reference to marijuana and the dark nature of the rap tune were in stark contrast to the mood of beauty in the original song. (SOURCE)

Did you read there Ms. Glick? The song was not an IMITATION of the original copyrighted song "What a Wonderful World".

Again I ask, is it the song "We are the World" you are parodying? Really Ms. Glick, is that really what you want to claim?

Because if that is the case you are directly challenging Lionel Richie and the Michael Jackson Estate who own that copyright, not Warner whose CEO is Edgar Bronfman or Youtube which now is owned by Sergei Brin and Larry Page.

I noticed you are soliciting funds to challenge the take down. I take it your boss at Latma, Frank Gaffney is up to this and wants in on record as to whose copyright and the purpose for which the song was written he is challenging, because indeed Ms. Glick, the intent of the copyrighted material is taken into consideration on infringement as well.

For the record, I have left a total of four comments on Ms. Glick's blog which have not been published there.

A little more: Lawrence Auster gives three examples of parodies of "We are the World" which have not been pulled from Youtube over copyright infringement in his attempt to support Glick and Latma. Let's look at his examples:

The Saturday Night Live skit, as covered above, true parody which parodies the song itself.

In Living Color: "Career Aid", We are the World parody: Again a true parody of the song itself knocking artists who use their art to do charity.

Weird Al Yankovitch: Wierd Al always asks permission to use songs. Read his response to his recording of James Blunt with Atlantic Records refusing to allow him to use the song.

So there you go, Lawrence Astor, you don't know what you are talking about either. Warner manages the licensing for the song, but at the end of the day Lionel Richie and the Michael Jackson Estate could agree to have the song used in this manner because THEY hold the copyright. But it is Warner's job to protect the COPYRIGHTED song which again does not meet the legal standards of parody.

From the Warner Music website:

I want to use a song by a Warner Music Group artist in my project. How do I obtain the necessary rights?

A:
If you are interested in using the actual sound recording by an artist on a WMG record label, a good place to start is by calling our licensing division at Rhino Entertainment (818) 238-6100. If you are interested in using a musical composition that is published or administered by our music publishing company, Warner/Chappell Music, you should visit the Warner/Chappell web site where you will find a useful song search tool as well as tools to request mechanical and print license

what is a musical composition?

The music itself-the notes

Going there…………..what is a copyright?

What is copyright?
As stated on the U.S. Library of Congress website ( http://www.copyright.gov/):

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
To prepare derivative works based upon the work;

BNGO: what is a derivative work?

A derivative work pertaining to copyright law, is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work.

Who holds the rights to all derivative works?

Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to pre- pare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. The owner is generally the author or someone who has obtained rights from the author.

Anyone interested in a work who does not know the copyright owner can search the records of the Copyright Office or ask the Office to conduct a search for an hourly fee.

Now, for the lyrics comparison which can be found HERE which Ms. Glick is claiming are a parody, remember, a parody is a work that ridicules another well known work. Can Latma who by the way has defiantly re-uploaded the video in question to their website despite Warner's DMCA notification to youtube in all true conviction say that the lyrics in Latma's song were meant to PARODY the ORIGINAL work?

I don't think so!

More CHUTZPA from Latma's white knight to the rescue: wejew.com who left Ms. Glick a comment to let her know that they have SAVED the video and are being DILIGENT because offering the video on their video hosting site has opened them up for hackers! Hello Shlomo Wollins, you also are flying in the face of a COPYRIGHT takedown. Do you have ANY clue that no one but the copyright holder or their agent can request a DMCA take down? That would be Warner Music whose CEO is Edgar Bronfman! This is the same Shlomo Wollins who wrote as a comment on his own website over the rescued Latma video:

WeJew (3 days ago)
WeJew Founder Note: Youtube has BANNED this video for copyright infringement - which stretches their editorial credibility beyond belief - feel free to spread this link - as the critical video has become one of Israel's best PR responses to the flotilla.

Shlomo, you didn't get the memo did you, your government press office's "apology" said the video doesn't represent the government of Israel, it was sent out by them by MISTAKE and it had not been vetted. No apologies from you however as you violate COPYRIGHT law. Have you thought to contact Warner? Have you thought to contact Lionel Richie or the Michael Jackson Estate? Youtube did not "stretch their editorial ability!" Oh pa-leeze-there is a way to respond to Youtube to send a counter notice. Did Latma OR you think to do that? Why not Ms. Glick? Why not Shlomo the White Knight?

http://www.youtube.com/t/dmca_policy

Counter-Notification
If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.

Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability. Please also be advised that we enforce a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of subscribers who are repeat infringers.

I double dare you all. Send in your counter-notifications!

***Comment left on Ms. Glick's blog at 4:20 pm PST Tuesday June 15-let's see if it get's published there. (she published it HERE)

Let me help you out here Ms, Glick, the LEGAL way should you decide to choose that path

http://www.youtube.com/t/dmca_policy

Note, if Warner sent out the DMCA misrepresenting that the material was infringed, Latma and anyone else whose youtube has been removed can sue Warner! Yes you can Ms. Glick, You can also appeal the removal. Did anyone do that Ms. Glick? The LEGAL way since you said you have attorneys telling you it is fair use?

Please note that under Section 512(f) any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability for damages. Don't make false claims!

Please also note that the information provided in this legal notice may be forwarded to the person who provided the allegedly infringing content.

Claimant information will be published on the YouTube site in place of disabled content.

Counter-Notification
If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.

Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability. Please also be advised that we enforce a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of subscribers who are repeat infringers.
***********************************

I suggest you call up that lawyer who told you this was fair use and I'm sure he will take care of this matter for you.

CIAO!

************************************

UPDATE: An important court ruling was issued Monday concerning Chuck Devore's use of Don Henley's songs which changed the lyrics completely for his campaign. Guess what, DeVore LOST.

CNN Blatantly Gives Cover for "Israeli Apology" (update,then changed the title)

2010-06-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just a short while ago, CNN published an article on their website titled "Israeli government office apologizes for flotilla video"

UPDATE::::: Woo Hoo, CNN changed the name of the article, link to it and the article is now titled "Israeli government office links to video mocking flotilla" I wonder how many people complained about the title because I did. I tweeted Octavia Nasr where I picked it up from her twitter http://twitter.com/octavianasrCNN

In part: the Government Press Office of Israel issued a statement to media outlets reading (although CNN does not say whether or not this is the complete statement released by Israel)

"It was not intended for general release," the statement said. "The contents of the video in no way represent the official policy of either the Government Press Office or of the State of Israel."

The video, titled "We Con the World" -- set to the tune of the 1985 hit, "We are the World"-- was put together by Caroline Glick, a former member of the Israel Defense Forces and columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

Now, since CNN is certainly supposed to title their articles in non-deceptive manner, why is it that at the end of the article Marc Regev (who currently serves as spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington) states the following:

"I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said. "It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it. The GPO distributes non-government items, things that we think that show our side of the story."

I guess Marc Regev didn't get the memo. Israel "apologized" for the release of the video on their website. They did NOT apologize for the content-but they said it isn't a government video. If you read the statement as published by CNN and furthermore Regev thought it is "funny" and "it is what Israelis feel"

Which Israelis Mr. Regev? Since you are the SPOKESMAN for Israel here in the United States then I suggest you explain yourself. Either YOU represent your government or you don't.

Just utterly disgusting. In case you haven't viewed this despicable video in which Carolyn Glick herself of JPost appears, view it HERE.

LatmaTV is who produced this video. Let's see who their domain is registered to:

domain: latma.co.il
descr: Center for Security Policy RA
descr: 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 201
descr: Washington, DC
descr: 20006
descr: USA
phone: +001 202 8359077
e-mail: info AT centerforsecuritypolicy.org
admin-c: LD-SB12052-IL
tech-c: LD-SB12052-IL
zone-c: LD-SB12052-IL
nserver: dns.netvision.net.il
nserver: nypop.elron.net
validity: 09-09-2010
status: Transfer Locked
changed: domain-registrar AT isoc.org.il 20080909 (Assigned)
changed: domain-registrar AT isoc.org.il 20081013 (Changed)
changed: domain-registrar AT isoc.org.il 20081013 (Changed)

person: Shlomo Blass
address: Halamed He 17B
address: Jerusalem
address: 93661
address: Israel
phone: +972 2 5665383
e-mail: seblass AT yahoo.com
nic-hdl: LD-SB12052-IL
changed: Managing Registrar 20080824

registrar name: LiveDns Ltd
registrar info: http://domains.livedns.co.il

NOW: who is the Center for Secure Policy? Well, Frank Gaffney is the President and look at all the people in our own government who have signed his letters to Congress HERE

Frank Gaffney at Wiki

From Carolyn Glick's blog:

Latma is the initiative of the Center for Security Policy's Middle East media project that I run in my capacity as the CSP's senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs. Our work is financed completely from donations by private citizens. If you are interested in supporting our work, please contact the CSP here. The mailing address is:

The Center for Security Policy

1901 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 201

Washington, DC 20006

And who is Shlomo Blass? He's an Israeli film producer who on his Facebook likes and Netanyahu and Sheldon Adelson. Ah, Sheldon Adelson, Shlomo "likes" people in high places.

So there you have it. According to CNN Israel's press office "apologized" for this video being put up on their website, it does "not represent government policy" and you have Marc Regev telling us "it is how Israelis feel" and he thought the video was "funny"

Way to go CNN!!!! I've never quite seen an "apology" like this before.

As updated above, CNN changed the title of the article.

UPDATE: June 20, 2010 Surprise Surprise, Latma changed their domain registry to PRIVATE

Who are you guys wanting to hide from? Carolyn wrote on her blog Aug. 28, 2009:

By the way, Latma is fully funded through generous donations from philanthropists to the Washington DC-based Center for Security Policy's Middle East media program which I run in my capacity as the CSP's Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs.

And again on June 12, 2010

Latma is not a business. We're a public service, educational initiative funded from tax exempt donations through the Center for Security Policy in Washington where I serve as senior fellow for Middle East affairs.

We could use all the help we can get.

To contribute to our efforts, please click on this link. It takes you to Network for Good's dedicated page for online contributions to the Center for Security Policy.

To make sure your contribution goes to Latma, in the box marked "designation" please write "Latma."

Thanks very much. Together we will make sure that the voice of truth is heard.

June 19 Screening of "Lt. Watada" in Little Tokyo, LA

2010-05-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

GO HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS VIA PAYPAL

For Immediate Release May 24, 2010-05-24

Special Screening of Academy Award- Winning Director Frieda Mock’s New Documentary “Lt Watada”

The Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR) and the Asian American Vietnam Veterans Organization (AAVVO) will screen Freida Mock’s documentary, “Lt. Watada” on June 19, 2010 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre at 7:00 PM. “Lt. Watada” is an in-depth look a the case of Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the war was illegal and immoral. He was inspired to join the army after 9/11 and in preparing to lead his soldiers to fight in Iraq, he was encouraged by his battalion commander to learn everything he could about Iraq and the war. His research led him to the conclusion that the U.S. invasion was an act of aggression based on lies. Watada believed that, as an officer, it was his duty to uphold the Constitution and that he could not obey an order he knew to be illegal. In June 2006, Lt Watada refused the order to deploy to Iraq. He was charged with “missing a movement” and “conduct unbecoming an officer,” and faced up to eight years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.

Freida Mock is an Academy and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, credited with producing films about a wide variety of historical and contemporary subjects. She is a co-founder of the American Film Foundation with her husband, Terry Sanders.Mock's diverse production credits include "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision", "Sing!" (about a Los Angeles community children's choir), "Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember", "To Live or Let Die", and "Return with Honor", presented by Tom Hanks. (wikipedia) . Both “Sing” and “Lt. Watada” were recently screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. (quote from Freida) Mock’s “Lt Watada” charts Watada’s emergence as a public speaker and activist and chronicles the tense days of his court martial trial in February 2007 which ended in a mistrial. This thoughtful and incisive documentary is both an inspirational portrait of one man’s act of conscience and a powerful investigation into questions that threaten to unravel the government’s justification for the Iraq war.

Watada’s actions helped educate people nationwide and created dialogue in the Asian American community about the illegality of the war in Iraq. In October 2006, NCRR and AAVVO sponsored a speaking tour with Bob Watada and Rosa Sakanishi, Ehren’s father and stepmother. Before the court martial in February 2007, the two organizations organized a march and rally in Little Tokyo led by Carolyn Ho, Ehren’s mother. Bob Watada and Rosa Sakanishi as well as Carolyn Ho will answer questions at the screening along with filmmaker Freida Mock. They will all be available at the reception following the screening.

General admission for the screening is $15/ Seniors and Students: $10. The VIP ticket for $100 (tax-deductible) includes admission, reserved seating and a special pre-release copy of the “Lt Watada” DVD signed by the filmmaker Freida Mock and the Watada Family. To order tickets: visit www.NCRR-LA.org For more information about the event or to order tickets by phone, call (213) 284-0336.

Hebrew University Sues GM over Einstein Image: How is Bill Gates Involved?

2010-05-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

The story hit the news wires today that Hebrew University has filed a lawsuit over what has been termed in the media as the unauthorized use of Einstein's photo on top of a buff body in an ad placed last November in People Magazine, "The Sexiest Men" issue.

Upon reading the lawsuit filed though, it is clear that Hebrew University is claiming something different also. That by use of the photo it appears that Einstein is endorsing the GM Terrain and since Hebrew University hold the rights to most of Einstein's images, it brings a loss to them because they do not endorse the Terrain vehicle. That's what it's about, Hebrew University's business interests. Read the full lawsuit HERE (you have to read it page by page and click again to enlarge-note that Greenlight is named in the suit)

In an email to Crains, it is learned that GM uses Leo Burnett for its' advertising, who "launched today's visual assault on the senses by proving that images, not words, were the nuclear power of advertising"

“At the end of the day, it's our ad. But the mechanics of creating the ad, including purchasing images from stock photo houses that guarantee they have proper usage rights, fall to the agency; in this case, Leo Burnett,” wrote Ryndee Carney, GM's manager of dealer and advertising communications, in an e-mail toCrain's.

“There was no negligence in this case. It's something that's done virtually every day in the advertising business and the stock photo house that was used is well-known and highly reputable.”

The stock photo house? That would be Greenlightrights which is also named in Hebrew University's lawsuit (though is not a party to the lawsuit)

And who owns Greenlight?

Bill Gates (He owns Corbis which rebranded its' Rights Services Division as Greenlightrights in 2008)

So there you have it folks. Hebrew University is stating in their lawsuit that it looks like Einstein (who is dead) is endorsing a GM product.

Hebrew University is claiming that the use of the photo as used in the GM ad was not authorized by them and that the use has somehow brought loss to the university.

Who screwed up? Greenlightrights owned by Bill Gates or Leo Burnett? The case has not been tried yet but it is General Motors left holding the lawsuit bag.

Who are all the players involved in this lawsuit?

Hebrew University who makes millions every year off of selling Einstein's image for commercial use.

Our very own downtrodden American auto manufacturer, General Motors. (the entity named)

Leo Burnett, listed in 1998 as the ninth largest advertising firm in the world. (not being sued)

Greenlightrights which is owned by Bill Gates. (not being sued)

Oh, and don't forget Einstein, dead since 1955 who Hebrew University claims the ad makes it look like he is endorsing a car made NOW.

http://library.ias.edu/hs/einsteininfo.php

Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA (609) 734-8000

Corbis
The Corbis (previously Roger Richman Agency) represents Hebrew University in the United States for granting licensing for the use of Einstein's image in print, television and film. Anyone seeking permission to use images of Einstein, other than for scholarly publication, should be referred to this agency. Corbis/Roger Richman website
Roger Richman Agency 9777 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
phone: (310) 276-7000 - fax: (310) 276-8023

Corbis is owned by Bill Gates. In 2008 they restructured to name their Rights Services Division Greenlightrights. Greenlight is named in the lawsuit as who the picture was purchased from.

http://einstein.biz/photos

GreenLight LLC and its affiliates exclusively represent publicity, trademark, and related rights of Albert Einstein on behalf of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Albert Einstein" and "Einstein" are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

So, my question, did GM legally purchase the photo of his head from Greenlight as they say they did through Burnett as it was and then Burnett tweeked it to be on top of a buff body? Did Burnett not ask what the stipulations for use of the photo were, or did Greenlight not tell them? Because GM stated clearly to Crains that the photo was purchased and Hebrew University is not claiming in their lawsuit that they were not paid for it as some media outlets have stated. They are claiming that the use of it was not authorized by them.

MUST READ: Einstein Inc.

2009: "Einstein" website taken down, same law firm as this case against GM, Arent-Fox

Please write to the president of Pratt who is hosting "Moo-Ham-Mud" exhibition

2010-05-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today I came across an article concerning an art exhibit that is being hosted at the Steuban Gallery at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Read the article HERE about the "Moo-Ham-Mud" exhibit which is beginning next week.

I called the office of the president at Pratt to voice my concerns. His name is President Schutte.

He was not available but I spoke to the receptionist. I told him that I was calling from Los Angeles and as someone who works in interfaith peace and justice I wished to voice my absolute disdain that their institute would be hosting an exhibit such as this. I informed him I am NOT anti-free speech, I am voicing my concern over the nature and the NAME of this exhibit and that I am NOT a Muslim. He asked me to write to the office of the president at Pratt. This is President Schutti's email presoff@pratt.edu

I wrote the following:

Dear President Schutti,

Today I came across an article stating that an exhibit named "Moo-Ham-Mud" by Joseph Stulman will be hosted next week in a gallery at your institution

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/21/24_prattartist_2010_05_21_bk.html?comm=1

Allow me to state to you that I am not Muslim myself, I am Catholic. Let me state furthermore that I work in interfaith groups in the Los Angeles areas. Let me state also that I have many Muslim friends and family, none of whom have ever supported any sort of violence against past Mohammed cartoons. Violence in action is not why I am writing you. Violence in word and art using the guise of free speech is why I am contacting you. Being a very liberal person myself, I do not wish to stifle free speech. I do however speak out when I see hate speech.

Joseph Stulman's exhibit which Pratt is hosting next week titled "Moo-Ham-Mud" is hate speech. While Congress has failed to pass federal laws concerning hate speech and religion,

any reasonable person seeing the prophet Mohammed's name PBIH distorted in such manner would label the name of this exhibit hateful towards an entire religion, Islam.

Interestingly while doing research prior to writing to you, I found an article penned by Pratt's

chair of the Religious Affairs Committee, Rabbi Simcha Weinstein concerning the recent South Park episode concerning Islam. I found this sentence of the rabbi's very interesting,

Like Islam, Jewish tradition also prohibits the making of graven images. (That’s the Second Commandment, so it’s pretty important.) This explains why synagogues have no pictures of any kind on display.

However, Judaism doesn’t extend that prohibition to non-Jews, or threaten and intimidate those who create images we might find disturbing. Given our contributions to, and reverence for, literature and the arts throughout the ages, and our own rich tradition of satire, that would be a very “un-Jewish” thing to do.

I am now after reading the rabbi's article not inclined to ask you to censor this exhibit due to hate speech. I am inclined to appeal to you on sheer decency. While growing up my mother taught me one thing, the only person you can control is yourself. In your case President Schutte, the buck stops with you as to what is allowed at Pratt Institute. This exhibit titled "Moo-Ham-Mud" is simply indecent. It is inflammatory when inflaming hatred against Muslims is so far reaching in our country. By hosting this exhibit President Schutte you are allowing an endorsement of this and adding in your own contribution.

Again sir, I am not Muslim. I am Catholic and work in interfaith work in my community. While realizing that art is often inflammatory and is not censored, many art institutes in our country have done just that when it concerns banning exhibits because they did not reflect what they wanted to reflect for their own public image. Or, they censored under outside pressure.

My request is for decency on the part of your institution to not host this exhibit next week. Should you not decide to censor, I ask for your own opinion on the merit, the MERIT President Schutti, of an exhibit titled in such manner.

Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you prior to the scheduled opening of the exhibit next week.

****************************

More, Joshua Stulman has been censored before at Penn State. He stated then, "It's not about hate. I don't hate Muslims. This is not about Islam"

That is why Joshua has shown such respect for the prophet Mohammed PBUH in titling this exhibit, "How to paint Moo-Ham-Mud" I take it.

That decision was overturned by the president of Penn State and his exhibit went forward.

PRATT'S OWN POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND GRIEVANCES PAMPLET

Pratt Institute’s community is one of diversity, which is a hallmark of an urban academic environment. The Institute is committed to the recognition and preservation of each individual’s human rights and does not discriminate or tolerate harassment on the basis of gender, race, color, religion or creed, marital status, age, sexual orientation, status as a veteran, political beliefs, disability, citizenship, genetic information, and national or ethnic origin with respect to the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to all members of its academic community.

*******************************

Now, there it is in writing, their own policy does not tolerate harassment on the basis of religion. Yet this exhibit titled. "How to Paint Moo-Ham-Mud" is going to open next week.

From what I found, there is a Muslim Student Association at Pratt.

**********************

Oh now, here's something really interesting. Joshua Stulman wrote a term paper on narcissism in art

"Narcissism exists in art in the form of arrogance and the characteristic of craving attention."

SO, Joshua SUED Penn State

OOOOH BOY, Joshua has been an active little critter over on a forum I found where he has been posting. First I found THIS where he invites people to his exhibit and still hasn't come back to answer my question (as Holly Tree) to his statement, "So to make a remark that the exhibit is anti-Muslim makes no sense whatsoever"

But lets go looking for what ELSE Joshua has written in this forum concerning Islam (there are several posts there) He wrote in a thread concerning the painting of Mohammed

"Thanks for the comments. FYI if anyone wants to know where NOT to be, don't be in Brooklyn in May or anywhere near the Pratt Institute"

Regards-Joshua

OH, here's some really interesting posting by Joshua. He got really hot when someone said something crude concerning Jews controlling Hollywood. Just go ahead and read this thread to see Joshua's reaction. "Clam" was the one who wrote the remark and then claimed it was a joke. Well THEN Joshua wrote: (His screen name is

Flounnderr

Clam,

Just don't make the joke, it's not funny and quite tasteless.
I have no need to quarrel with you over this anymore, i just hope you will pay more attention to what you write. This is a community and not a private conversation.

BTW I haven't seen the Joe movie and i'm a big time joe collector because it looked like a waste (same as TF2), if i see it at one of those supermarket 1.00 rentals, then maybe.

regards
joshua

OH REALLY JOSHUA!!!! And what is titling your "exhibit" "How to Paint Moo-Ham-Mud" and then writing in this forum to people where NOT to be when your exhibit is showing, anywhere near the Pratt Institute.

And IF the administration says anything to you about this, what are you going to do? Sue them?

Joshua Stulman, you are nothing but a little twirp hiding behind your "free speech" rights to provoke, by your own term paper, a NARCISSIST. Twirp Joshua, a racist provocative TWIRP!

And now Pratt Institute, he's YOURS.

OOH Joshua is conversing with me over HERE

On the Commemoration of the 62nd Nakba

2010-05-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

I Come From There

Mahmoud Darwish

I come from there and I have memories

Born as mortals are, I have a mother

And a house with many windows,

I have brothers, friends,

And a prison cell with a cold window.

Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,

I have my own view,

And an extra blade of grass.

Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,

And the bounty of birds,

And the immortal olive tree.

I walked this land before the swords

Turned its living body into a laden table.

***

I come from there. I render the sky unto her mother

When the sky weeps for her mother.

And I weep to make myself known

To a returning cloud.

I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood

So that I could break the rule.

I learnt all the words and broke them up

To make a single word: Homeland.....

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

HRW 113 pg Report: "“I Lost Everything” Israel's Unlawful Destruction of Property during Operation Cast Lead"

2010-05-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

To read full 113 page report LINK

Israel unlawfully destroyed Gaza property, says report

THE ISRAELI army wantonly destroyed civilian property during its 22-day offensive against Gaza, Human Rights Watch has reported.

The human rights group says Israeli forces targeted buildings and other facilities that had no “no military significance” in “grave” breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In a 116-page document, entitled I Lost Everything: Israel’s Unlawful Destruction of Property in the Gaza Conflict , the report documents the complete destruction of orchards and farms as well as 189 buildings. These included 11 factories, eight warehouses and 170 residential buildings, rendering 971 people homeless during Operation Cast Lead which began on December 27th, 2008 and ended on January 18th, 2009.

The report said that a dozen specific targetings documented in the report account for only 5 per cent of the homes, warehouses and factories destroyed during the conflict. The report stated: “These cases describe instances in which Israeli forces caused extensive destruction of homes, factories, farms and greenhouses in areas under [Israeli] control without any evident military purpose”.

Read further>>>>>>>>

Hey Elton: Must See Video, CANCEL YOUR CONCERT IN ISRAEL!!

2010-05-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Totally amazing & timely video from Canadian filmmaker John Greyson! A call for Elton John to cancel his upcoming Tel Aviv concert. Make it go viral! Pass it on to your friends.

Lena Horne 1917-2010

2010-05-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Inducted into the Civil Rights Walk of Fame

Photo essay

One of America's greatest women has died.

Watch James Gavin who wrote her biography. She always felt she needed to be all things to everyone. Just watch. Now she is gone, a lady...............

Free Gaza Sailing in Three Weeks "Cements Their Support" (video)

2010-04-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

One Man's Personal Nakba

2010-04-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Reposted from Desert Peace http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/one-familys-personal-nakba/

(Ben Heine © Cartoons)

We constantly hear of the Nakba and what it means to the people of Palestine. The following will bring it closer to home as we describe the impact it has had on just one family…. the Sabbah family.

Haitham Sabbah is a fellow blogger, one that I proudly refer to as my brother. He is a Palestinian but is not allowed to live here….. he’s not even allowed to visit. I have to chuckle to myself every time I think of Haitham, in Hebrew his family name means Grandfather. Although he is 25 years younger than myself I think of him as the Grandfather of the Palestinian Blogesphere as he is the one with the most wisdom and personal experiences in the struggle. He is always there to offer his advice and guidance, without which our message would never reach the number of people it does on a daily basis. We are all eternally grateful to him for his dedication to the cause.

The following, from his own Blog is a bit about himself….

Haitham Sabbah is a Palestinian activist and blogger. He was born in exile in Kuwait on 2nd April 1969. The last time he was allowed to visit his homeland, Occupied Palestine was in 1986. He has never been allowed entry to his homeland since then. He has lived in many countries throughout the Arab world including Jordan, UAE and currently resides in Bahrain. He graduated in 1990 from Birla Institute of Technology – India with a degree in Engineering, Electronics and Communication.

He is now employed in the capacity of senior manager at Zain Bahrain – part of a leading global telecommunication company – and is a professional blogger during his personal time.

Haitham is one of the founders of the blogosphere in the Middle East and he continues to be one of the most famous bloggers there, as well as having a very large global readership. He is a well known online activist and his writing focuses on Israel’s occupation of Palestine, War, Human Rights, Culture and Religious issues in the Middle East. He integrates into the sites and blogs he manages the innovations the medium allows as well as maintaining its essential character as a space of exchange of information and community.

He has participated in several conferences and workshops related to blogging and activism in the Middle East and his blog has received several awards over its years of existence (2000 – present). He has also participated in many blogging and Web 2.0 projects, some of which are well known references today, such as Palestine Blogs Aggregator, and Global Voices Online. He is also a co-founder of Palestine Think Tank, which, like all of his sites, is primarily in English, but also includes material in Arabic.

Why do I blog?

The main reason behind my blogging is to unleash the truth hidden by the main stream media about the Middle East and how it is presented to the world online, TV and newspaper. I find the international media in general to be biased and censored and does not reflect the truth about Arab nation culture, religion and politics. Another reason (which is related to the first) is the weak media of the Arab world, direct towards non-Arab and non-Muslims.

I blog because I want to correct the wrong perception about my nation and to present the facts which are hidden (by design) from being presented to West, specially when it comes to Israeli occupation of Palestine and the truth about what is terrorism and what is resistance.

‘Born in exile’….. can you even imagine what that means? ‘Not being allowed to visit your Homeland’ ….. can you imagine what that means? And WHY? Did he commit a crime?? Did his parents??? NO! His (their) ‘crime’ is the fact that they are Palestinian. They were among the first victims of the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the state of Israel.

BUT…. it doesn’t end with Haitham. Last week a close relative of his was the first Palestinian that was deported from the West Bank to Gaza under the new military order. A young man from the same town, guilty of the same crime, HE IS A PALESTINIAN. You can read about this by clicking HERE.

AND …. it won’t end with Ahmed unless YOU do something about it. Of all the ‘laws’ that have been passed by the zionist entity since 1948, this new military order is one of the most unjust. It not only legalises ethnic cleansing, it officially puts Israel on the road to fascism. This MUST NOT be tolerated by the rest of the world. We are talking about the lives of innocent people,NOT TERRORISTS. We are talking about people with families, with children, with livelihoods. We are talking about ordinary people living in daily terror. THIS MUST END NOW … and only YOU can end it…. Israel won’t do it on its own.

Don’t wait until they come for you….. PROTEST NOW… write to every Israeli Embassy throughout the worldDEMANDING Freedom for the Palestinian people and an end to the unjust military order. Details of the order can be read HERE.

Contact information for Israeli Missions abroad can be found HERE.

Also….

Letters demanding the revocation of the amended order should be sent to:

Ehud Barak, Minister of Defence, Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940
Email: minister@mod.gov.il This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Salutation: Dear Minister

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs: +972-2-530-3111

The Israeli Ambassador in your own country

Your own national embassy in Israel

"The Children of Gaza" (Video)

2010-04-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

A moving, must-see video that first aired on Channel 4 (UK)’s Dispatches on 15 March. BAFTA-winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann follows the lives of three children for over a year. The children are amazing: well-spoken, reflective, resilient, understandably vengeful and fearful, but very endearing. The toll this inhumanity has taken is also clear

UC Berkley Divest Video

2010-04-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Kabobfest has put together 30 pages of letters written by Jewish supporters of divestment.

http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/04/30-pages-of-jewish-letters-supporting-divestment-at-berkeley.html

South Florida Copycat Locksmith David Merkatz STILL in Business

2010-04-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

As a blogger I have been following the locksmith scam for a little over two years now.

I've been keeping up as possible, reading and posting comments elsewhere, but today I stumbled across something that is just beyond the pale.

It involves what has occurred to a legitimate locksmith in Coral Springs, Florida in 2008. The legitimate locksmith is Richard's Locksmith and Safe.

The SCAM locksmith who also advertised as Richard's Locksmiths, is David Merkatz, or David Katz. He is STILL operating as a locksmith in South Florida.

First, let's look back on David Merkatz/Katz history.

In 1982, Merkatz/Katz thought he could drum up business for his car window replacement business by shooting out the windows of more than a thousand cars. Yes this indeed is the same David Merkatz/Katz.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-big-glass-shootout.html

Follow up: Merkatz spent four months of weekends in Rykers
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-big-glass-shootout.html

In 2000, Merkatz/Katz shot and killed a dog while walking with his wife. No charges were pressed against him at the time.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-09-15/news/0009150008_1_loose-dog-two-dog-bites-animal-clinic

Although Merkatz had lost his license to carry a gun in Florida in 1988, he appealed that decision and won in 1990.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2007-01-30/news/0701290462_1_license-carrera-broward/4

BUT.........

The state revoked the license again in December 2003 after Merkatz pleaded guilty in Broward Circuit Court to grand theft and criminal mischief, felonies.

A Fort Lauderdale police report says Merkatz glued the locks of a state Department of Transportation office seven times. Unaware of who was causing the damage, the DOT called Merkatz, a locksmith, to make the repairs, the report states.

HOWEVER, in Florida the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issues gun licenses. If you google "David Merkatz" "Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service" you will come up with PCA's Released 4/27/05 4D04-352-David Merkatz v. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing. Evidently the State of Florida reissued his gun license. Or so it appears. Great.

In 2002 he had a bit of a run in with law enforcement again when he was caught by a private investigator, "masked, wearing a long coat" injecting glue into a lock of a business.
http://sheriff.org/about_bso/admin/media/newsdetails.cfm?pk=396&sType=M

I cannot find any follow up on the masked/long coat/glue case.

In November 2003 he was the driver of a "weaving car" which overturned on an offramp. He was sent to the hospital, one of his passengers died. (Scroll down to Fort Lauderdale)
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-11-08/news/0311080014_1_miami-police-bank-robbery-exit-ramp

Why was the car weaving?

Now, before you watch the below video of what occurred to the real Richard's Locksmith, let's investigate a little further. David Merkatz, according to the NBC report, is operating as Boca Security Services.

Let's go to Sunbiz and look up David Merkatz, chronologically.

Foreign Profit Corporation

A ABBEY LOCKSMITH, INC.

Filing Information

Document Number	F05000004666
FEI/EIN Number	NONE
Date Filed	08/11/2005
State	NV
Status	INACTIVE
Last Event	WITHDRAWAL
Event Date Filed	08/22/2005
Event Effective Date	NONE

Principal Address

5379 LYONS ROAD #124
COCONUT CREEK FL 33073

Mailing Address

P.O. BOX 970020
COCONUT CREEK FL 33097-0020

Changed 08/22/2005

Registered Agent Name & Address

None

FL US

Registered Agent Revoked: 08/22/2005

Officer/Director Detail

Name & Address

Title PST

MERKATZ, DAVID
5379 LYONS ROAD #124
COCONUT CREEK FL 33073

Annual Reports

That company, A Abbey Locksmith is no longer active. Go to Sunbiz to see if the name David Merkatz is listed currently as owning a business and you will not find him.

With a little looking, googling Boca Security Services you will come up with http://www.bocasecuritylocksmith.com/

Taking that address to "who is" and BINGO, here you have it, David Merkatz is now going by David Katz and he is STILL in business even after the REAL Richard's Locksmith, Jack caught Merkatz/Katz on tape who "came by Jack's shop and shot out his van windows (with the gun Florida gave him back his license to carry), cut his gas lines and put and bullet through Jack's shop window".

Updated: 3 hours ago
Registrant:
Abbey Locksmith, Inc.
David Katz
P.O. Box 970020
Coconut Creek, Fl 33097
US
Phone: +1.9549490776
Email: @bellsouth.net

Registrar Name....: Register.com
Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com
Registrar Homepage: www.register.com

Domain Name: bocasecuritylocksmith.com
Created on..............: 2006-04-08
Expires on..............: 2011-04-08

Administrative Contact:
Abbey Locksmith, Inc.
David Katz
P.O. Box 970020
Coconut Creek, Fl 33097
US
Phone: +1.9547463838
Email: @bellsouth.net

Ficticious business name

http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/ficidet.exe?action=DETREG&docnum=G05210900246&rdocnum=G01192900309

But the who is directory lists David Katz/Abbey Locksmith which is bocasecuritylocksmith.com whereas David MERkatz was the owner of A Abbey Locksmith.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

Abbey Locksmith, Inc. David Katz P.O. Box 970020. Coconut Creek, Fl 33097.
http://www.meytan.com/tr/www.bocasecuritylocksmith.com

A Abbey Locksmith, Coconut Creek Florida, owner David MERkatz.

David Merkatz is operating per the video as Boca Security Services.

David Merkatz is STILL doing business in South Florida and can come to any city in the area any time you make the MISTAKE of calling one of his MANY listed "locksmith" numbers.

Now for the video. Note, Merkatz/Katz has been charged but the case has still not come to trial.

Why is this man still operating in South Florida?

Do you know that currently Florida does not license locksmiths but that the Florida Locksmith Services Act is currently in committee?

Read this and see if you agree:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:T27KVhoKK40J:www.adlocks.com/Blog/Docs/FL%2520HB%2520107%2520TALKING%2520POINTS.doc+Florida+Locksmith+Services+Advisory+Council&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

In the mean time, there are many other phony locksmiths operating out there . Beware.

A good tip is to plan ahead. Find a legitimate locksmith when there is no emergency. If possible, go to the actual address.Put the number in your phone book and cell phone. Should an emergency arise you already have the number of a legitimate locksmith in your area. Find one that operates 24 hours. That way, even if you aren't in
that area, you can call the legitimate locksmith and ask if they will refer you to a LEGITIMATE locksmith
where you need them.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are literally thousands of locksmith scams operating nation-wide. For more information you can do a Google search yourself using the term "locksmith scams".

MORE: David Merkatz/Katz has another website as well, it is http://www.browardsbestlocksmith.com/

Looking up the domain:

  Administrative Contact:
      Abbey Locksmith, Inc.
      David Katz
      P.O. Box 970020
      Coconut Creek, Fl 33097
      US
      Phone: 1-954-7463838
      Email:

David Merkatz/Katz/cashkatz also has a nice video for "Richard's Locksmith" to watch
http://revver.com/video/1137650/richards-locksmith-954-752-4114-richards-locksmith/

Israel Refuses the Term "Occuped Territories" at MU Water Conference

2010-04-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Arab-Israeli row thwarts Med water deal in Barcelona

A row about how to name the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories has scuppered a 43-nation scheme for managing Mediterranean water resources.

The Mediterranean Union conference in Barcelona had hammered out 99% of a draft text, delegates said.

But the deal failed when Israel and Arab countries disagreed over how to describe the Palestinian territories.

Israel objected to "occupied territories", while "territories under occupation" did not suit the Arab bloc.

Israel just thwarted the UN. What does the UN call this area? The Occupied Territories. In fact, they are referred to as the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

The United Nations has warned that almost 300 million people in the Mediterranean region will face water shortages by 2025.

Google Palestinian water to learn more.

The Mediterranean Union was launched by France during its EU presidency in 2008, to foster co-operation between European states, and countries in the Middle East and North Africa bordering the Mediterranean.

In Barcelona on Tuesday the Union's secretary-general, Ahmad Masadeh from Jordan, called for urgent action to guarantee access to water for all the region's residents.

Spain, the conference host, warned that the Mediterranean was prone to cyclical floods and droughts that required a "common strategy for a scarce resource".

Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967. The settlements that Israel has built in the West Bank are home to around 400,000 people and are deemed to be illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Building settlements in occupied territories is ILLEGAL per international law.

Israel evacuated its settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and withdrew its forces, but Israel and Egypt maintain an economic blockade on the Palestinians living there.

Not only do they maintain an economic blockade, but a naval blockade which prevents Palestinian fishermen from fishing more than three nautical miles out. All borders in and out of Gaza are also under full control, with Gazans unable to travel freely.

So YES, Israel's refusal to use the term "Occupied Territories" is in violation of UN terminology which is LEGALLY used.

Boycott Farmville

2010-04-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

How many of you out there play the Facebook game Farmville?

Here's news. If you are a supporter of BDS (the Palestinian Global Call to boycott, divest and sanction Israel) you should boycott this game as well.

I got the info when I stumbled upon THIS article, "Farmville Could Cash in on Branded Crops"

Then, searching................

Next week, FarmVille players will have the ability to grow peanuts, thanks to ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi and an Israeli candy brand.
We’re told this is the first time a FarmVille crop has been directly linked to a brand. Saatchi Interactive in Tel Aviv is working on a rollout campaign for Elite Taami Nutz, a peanut-filled variant of a popular Israeli chocolate bar.

So what else is Saatchi and Saachi up to these days?

"When the word 'Israel' is said outside its borders, we want it to invoke not fighting or soldiers, but a place that is desirable to visit and invest in, a place that preserves democratic ideals while struggling to exist," said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, during a September 2006 meeting with "public relations executives, branding specialists and diplomats" in Tel Aviv. Livni "recently put the image initiative on the government's agenda and will soon develop a budget for the program," according to the Israeli Consulate in New York's media and public affairs consul. "A staffer with the London-based global ad firm Saatchi and Saatchi is already working with the Israelis free of charge on the re-branding effort," the Washington Times reported.

Canadian Zionists Attempt to Un-Nominate "The Shepherd's Granddaughter"

2010-04-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

In Canada comes the outcry from Zionist groups to remove a book about a young Palestinian girl from nomination for the Red Maple Award. While this book, "The Shepherd's Granddaughter" won the prestigious Canadian Library Award last year as well as the Society of School Librarians International Best Book Award, B'nai B'rith and Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center have "concerns" that "has clear potential to incite hatred and violence against Jewish and Israeli students".

Who is the author of this novel for young readers? Anne Laurel Carter, who "left Canada at seventeen to work on kibbutzim in Israel, a Jean Vanier home in France, and California".

Here we go, an orchestrated attempt to not only remove this book from nomination for the Red Maple Award, but to ban it entirely from Canadian schools as a few are demanding. Ummm, but the author worked on kibbutzim in Israel. Hmmmm,,, censorship of the Palestinian narrative even when it comes from someone with this background, nope, just can't have that being read.

Read the article HERE.

Read Quill and Quire's blogpost HERE.

UPDATE:

Controversial Mideast book stays in Toronto schools

Update, Monday, seems now there is going to be a formal school board review of the book which will take 60 days. Read http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/article/794260--school-board-to-review-controversial-book-on-israeli-palestinian-conflict-again

Easter Message: The South African Christian Response to the Kairos Declaration

2010-04-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

EASTER MESSAGE: A South African Christian response to the Palestinian Kairos Document April 3, 2010

World Council of Churches - 1 April 2010

In an Easter message, more than 60 South African church leaders and Christian, Jewish and Muslim lay theologians have conveyed their solidarity with Palestinian Christians in their Kairos call.

Recognizing Palestinian Christian “history of keeping the faith in the Holy Land”, despite the circumstances, they urged Palestinians to be steadfast and resist being “forced out of your own land”.

Responding to the Kairos Palestine document, they recall the words of Nelson Mandela who said: “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. Conveying South African solidarity “with your cause”, they express conviction that “justice will come to the Holy Land, as it came to us here in the southernmost part of Africa”.

The Kairos Palestine document was launched in December 2009 in Bethlehem and reflects the Palestinian Christian’s word to the world about what is happening in Palestine.

Drawing on their own experiences, they define apartheid as “the denial of the humanity of one human being by another or the idea that there is a superior and an inferior human being”. Yet, they observe, the practical manifestations of Israeli apartheid are in many ways worse than South African apartheid ever was.

Endorsing the Kairos Palestine view that the occupation is a sin and evil, they strike a note of hope that “Jesus must be weeping at the injustice that he sees in Jerusalem and we are convinced that God is already intervening and will continue to intervene to establish his justice in the Holy Land”.

Rejecting Christian Zionism and Christian theologies that justify the Occupation as illegitimate’ and heretical, they commend the Kairos Palestine initiators for longing that those responsible for the occupation regain their God-given humanity.

Pledging to develop solidarity, they endorse non-violent resistance through the Kairos Palestine call for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement “as a way to put maximum non-violent pressure on Israel to lift the boot of oppression from the neck of the Palestinians”.

Listing what “we can learn from you”, they ask Palestinians to be prepared to consider what process of healing would be needed in the Holy Land once a political solution has been reached. Celebrating this year the 25th anniversary of the South African Kairos Document, they invite Palestinians to share their journey.

Among the signatories of the message are the Archbishop Dr Thabo Cecil Makgoba, Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa; Bishop Dr N.P. Phaswana from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa; Professor Tinyiko S. Maluleke, South African Council of Churches (SACC) president and executive director of research at the University of South Africa; and SACC general secretary Edwin Makue.

The South African response to Kairos Palestine is one among others that can be found on the Kairos Palestine website (www.kairospalestine.ps). It is significant because of the near-parallel experiences described by the South African theologians.

From South Africa to Palestine, a message of peace and hope

Our dear Palestinian brothers and sisters,

May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:2).

Thank you for the document written by you, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the descendants of Jesus Christ and whose ancestors were the first to receive his message. Yours is a proud history of keeping the faith in the Holy Land, and we salute you for doing that despite the most difficult situation into which you have been placed. From our perspective, we can see how you are being pressurized and forced out of your own land, and we urge you to continue to resist that with love, and to continue to show what our Lord Jesus Christ taught us. We are with you in our prayers and other forms of support, and wish to strengthen this support to you. We admire all that you are and that you do. Justice will come to the Holy Land, as it came to us here in the southernmost part of Africa.

We wish now formally to respond to your Kairos Document, so beautifully written and so full of grace, in the form of this letter, signed by South African Christian theologians, both academic and lay. Our Muslim and Jewish sisters and brothers have decided to write separate responses to your Kairos document so as to free us all to speak in words and idioms that we hold dear, and we support each other in our responses. Some have however indicated that they wish to support this letter as well and their names are attached. We will submit this letter – together with your Kairos document – to our churches and other structures and will call on them to discuss it, to endorse it and to act upon it. We can learn many valuable lessons from your Kairos Document and it now comes as a breath of fresh air to us, 25 years after we launched the Kairos Document in South Africa. Where we serve on international church bodies and theological associations, we will also ensure that this important document coming from you will receive the necessary and appropriate attention. Our first President, Nelson Mandela, called Palestine “one of the great moral causes of our time” and also said that “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. We therefore wish to stand in solidarity with your cause.

As we write this message, we are mourning the death of Steve de Gruchy, a signatory of the South African Kairos Document, who has been called home to the “new Jerusalem”.

1. Apartheid:

From our own experience of apartheid, we can clearly and without equivocation say that your situation is in essence the same as apartheid and in its practical manifestation even worse than South African apartheid. Why do we say this?

The essence of apartheid:

When we write to you about the essence of apartheid, we mean the denial of the humanity of one human being by another or the idea that there is a superior and an inferior human being. Flowing from this, it then becomes possible to effectively take other people’s land and make them stateless because they are regarded as either non-human or as less than human and therefore unimportant for consideration. This is what happened to us and is happening to you and for this reason we cannot find a better way to describe your situation as other than one of apartheid, previously declared as a crime against humanity by the international community.

The practical manifestations of Israeli apartheid:

But we can also say that the practical manifestations of Israeli apartheid are in many ways worse than South African apartheid ever was.

There was never a “security wall” built around Bophuthatswana or any of the other Bantustans. There was never a time when only certain people could drive on certain roads. There was never a serious debate about the right of exiles and refugees to return to South Africa. Therefore, over and above your situation containing the essence of apartheid, it is in many ways worse than apartheid, and we call on the world community to condemn the Israeli occupation as such.

Yours is also, in our view, a typical colonial situation whereby the colonizers claim the lives and land of the colonized. Furthermore, your situation is exacerbated by the West satisfying their guilt for the Holocaust at your expense. We reject this utterly and call on the West and their allies across the world to take responsibility for the situation that they have created.

2. Declaring the occupation a sin and evil

It naturally flows from this description of the occupation as apartheid that you are therefore absolutely correct in calling it a sin and evil and something to be repented of. Once the church has called something a sin, it can never be regarded as a mere disagreement or matter of opinion, but as something that is so fundamental that it is a serious impediment to a relationship with God and with others.

For this sin to be committed in the land where Jesus was born, raised, where he ministered, was crucified, rose and ascended, makes it necessary for us to take your situation even more seriously. Jesus must be weeping at the injustice that he sees in Jerusalem and we are convinced that God is already intervening and will continue to intervene to establish his justice in the Holy Land. The Holy Spirit will continue to strengthen you in your faith, hope and love and we therefore also urge you to keep on keeping on, as Archbishop-emeritus Tutu stated in his letter on the occasion of your launch.

3. Christian Zionism

Christian Zionism, the theological justification of the establishment of the State of Israel based on a particular understanding of the Bible and of the Christian faith and its relation to Judaism, can only be described by us as a modern-day heresy. This kind of Christianity rejects all modern scholarship of Biblical interpretation and chooses to make the Christian faith a servant of an evil ideology, similar to what happened with the theological justification of apartheid.

We have come to realize that opposing Christian Zionism is one of the greatest challenges for the Christian faith. The worldwide Jewish community is no more than 15 million people and many of them do not support the Zionist project, but there are about 50 million Christian Zionists, mainly in the USA, who distort and use the Christian faith to vigorously support and mobilize political and economic support for the State of Israel and we as Christians therefore need to take responsibility for this.

Together with you, we reject Christian Zionism and all other forms of Christian theology that provide justification for the Occupation as illegitimate and in our conscience and faith declare it to be a heresy.

4. The humanity of the enemy:

Throughout your Kairos document, we detect how you also long for those who are responsible for the occupation to regain their God-given humanity. We commend you for this since this seed can be the foundation for a new future for all the peoples of your region. While we think that this is a political problem that has to be solved politically, we encourage you to continue to build friendships across the many barriers in your society. We are particularly encouraged by the friendships that have developed between those in Israel and those in Palestine who are both committed to peace and justice.

5. Standing in the shoes of the Israelis:

You know much better than we do what it is that motivates the Israelis to do what they are doing. You also know much better than we do that which they fear, and that which prevents them to love. St Paul reminds us firstly in 1 Corinthians 13 that “love is patient”. Those of us who interacted with some white South Africans during the 1980s and earlier, know how much patience is required to exorcise fear from the minds of those who are fearful. We pray that God will continue to grant you that extra portion of love and grace to continue these dialogues so that greater understanding can result.

Having said that, we are of course reminded by St Paul that love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Regardless therefore of our empathy for their past, current and future pain, it does not minimize our strong opposition to and relentless resistance of what the Israelis are doing. It certainly does not justify their unjust actions either. May you continue to find the grace through the power of God’s Holy Spirit to seek, find, and proclaim truth and love both to those who suffer and to those who are in power and who use that power to oppress and exploit.

6. The role of the South African Jewish community:

We rejoice that there are many South African Jews who have stood up against the occupation and who have declared that the atrocities committed by the State of Israel are not in their name. We rejoice also that members of our legal fraternity have contributed positively to the debate in Israel and Palestine (John Dugard, Judge Seraj Desai et al). In particular we think of the work of Judge Goldstone, whose report serves as a reminder that there are certain generally accepted standards within the international and human community that apply to all and which cannot be flouted without severe censure. In fact, if we only selectively censure those who ignore these standards, then we weaken the possibility of censure in other situations that require it.

We are particularly concerned about the existence of a “South Africa Forest” in the Galilee, built on the destroyed Palestinian Village of Lubya. We reject this naming and will ask our government to request that this be withdrawn since our new democratic state does not identify with such a forest, built in the name of a false kind of environmentalism and at the expense of the rights and humanity of Palestinians.

In addition we are aware that money from here is processed through the Jewish National Fund and that monies donated to that fund are tax deductible here. This is not only an affront to you but is also an affront to us here in South Africa. We lose out on tax and also money is externalized for reasons that are an affront to our nation’s history and constitution. We will find ways to ensure that the operations of this fund be monitored and we will work hard to have the tax-exempt status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) reversed.

7. Repentance:

We wish to repent for our lack of solidarity with you. This is a sin that we repent with regards to your situation, and also with regards to other situations. While we were celebrating our freedom in South Africa, at least a million of our Rwandan brothers and sisters were being killed, and yet we remained silent even about that situation.

We now commit ourselves to embark on a clear process to develop a spirituality and praxis of solidarity. We call on you and others to assist us and walk with us on this journey as well.

8. Non-violent resistance:

We support your call for the isolation of the Apartheid State of Israel. To this end we will do all we can to monitor the relations between South Africa and Israel, and to deepen the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as a way to put maximum non-violent pressure on Israel to lift the boot of oppression from the neck of the Palestinians. Change will come from above and from below, and we urge you to continue all forms of non-violent actions against the State of Israel and against the Occupation.

9. How your Kairos Document challenges our faith:

Having read and reflected upon your Kairos Document, we thank you for challenging our understanding of faith, hope and love. There is much that we can learn from you.

The themes of election, promise, Promised Land, New Jerusalem and many other theological themes and how we engage with these is a wake-up call to many of us in South Africa who have – often unconsciously – adopted certain positions on all of these in our churches. One of our people, who served as an Ecumenical Accompanier, returned to South Africa and said that he does not know how to read the Bible anymore, in the light of what he saw and experienced. This is a challenge for us, and we ask you to help us to understand these themes more deeply so that our faith can be refreshed and strengthened.

Practical things we wish to see implemented in the Churches in South Africa:

We wish to see deeper Bible Study about the themes mentioned in your Kairos Document and in this letter.
We want the Churches to all consider what a spirituality and praxis of solidarity in situations of injustice outside of our country might look like, and to work towards implementing such a spirituality in all our congregations.
We want to deepen our theological reflection as a basis for practical actions in solidarity with Palestinians, initiate actions on behalf of the cause of Palestinians and to find ways to support your actions in solidarity and co-operation with you.

10. Links between South Africa and Israel:

We are becoming aware of some sinister links between South Africa and Israel, and are particularly embarrassed by some that seem to have been negotiated by a former priest. We will be investigating this in the following months and will intervene where possible so that the State of Israel – because of its apartheid policies – are treated in the same way that we asked for the South African apartheid state to be treated. We cannot understand how our government seems to have lost its moral compass with regard to its overt and covert relations with the state of Israel, despite the fact that that state was essentially part of our oppression.

11. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission needed for the Holy Land?

Because of our experience in South Africa, we had to find a way to break decisively with the past and even though our TRC process cannot be described as perfect, it can be described as one of the most successful processes of societal healing and the creation of a common history and uncovering of as much truth as possible. We therefore offer this experience to you, and ask that you begin to consider what process of healing would be needed in the Holy Land once a political solution has been reached.

While raising this possibility with you, we also have learnt lessons that this powerful tool could be distorted in order to impose limitations on its effect. For example, we are still reflecting on why the churches were so silent when reconciliation was appropriated by politicians for certain political and economic ends, the Gospel used to serve a certain purpose and how our political discourse afterwards insisted to speak of the reconciliation process as purely a process of political accommodation. In fact, now, 15 years later, it is becoming clear to us that it indeed was a process of political accommodation, but accommodation of the elites, not the desires for justice and human dignity of all our people.

These reflections we also need to share with you, in anticipation of your liberation.

12. The temptations of aligning too closely with those in political office:

Whilst we celebrate our freedom and our achievements since 1994, we have learnt some hard lessons in South Africa, and one of it is the demobilization – whether it is intentional or not – of civil society. This may not happen in your context, but it is important that we warn you about that danger. Economic and other factors may lead many of you to consider political office and while we do not think it is wrong for theologians and clergy to take up political office, there are many dangers in this, the chief ones being the need to sometimes compromise that which you feel strongest about. We therefore ask that you debate this matter thoroughly before a political solution is found so that those who decide to serve society either through political office or the civil service understands what the challenges are, and that you remain vigilant about the need for a strong civil society.

13. Building a society where all religions are respected

We admire your call for the respect of all religions and your rejection of a religious state. We realize that this is a bold and brave stand in your context, but it is also the position that we have adopted in South Africa. There are universal values on which the state can be built, where all religions can be respected. This must not be subject to the “tyranny of the majority” but ought to be adopted as a firm and unchanging principle, whether the end of the political negotiations produces a one or two state solution.

We are in a process of learning more and more what it means to build, sustain and protect the sanctity of our foundational values against the internal erosion thereof, usually in pursuit of power but claiming to be in the name of democracy, and we will also be willing to share some of these reflections with you.

14. Invitation:

Later this year, we will find ways to celebrate appropriately the 25^th Anniversary of the South African Kairos document and we invite as many of you as possible to join us in order to share your journey with us. We will engage with friends in the international community to help fund this invitation.

15. Blessings:

We will continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and we ask that you continue to pray for South Africa and also for the rest of Africa. May the blessing of the God who requires unconditional love, justice with mercy, who brings reconciliation, peace and an abundance of hope, be with you now and for ever.

Signatories thus far:

1. Rev Edwin Arrison

2. Dr Stiaan vd Merwe

3. Prof Allan Boesak

4. Ms Elna Boesak

5. Terry Crawford-Browne

6. Rev John Frye

7. Dr Clint le Bruyns

8. Ms Dudu Masango

9. Rev Michael Oliphant

10. The Most Revd Dr. Thabo Cecil Makgoba, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

11. Fr Larry Kauffman

12. Fr Luke Pato

13. Ms Joyce Mokoena

14. Bishop Dr. N.P Phaswana (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa)

15. Rev. Trevor Sibande (Lutheran)

16. Rev. France Mkhatshwa (Lutheran)

17. Rev. Mautji Pataki

18. Hermina Damons (Former Local Coordinator of EAPPI)

19. Gosiame Choabi (EA)

20. Puleng Mkhatshwa

21. Motlagomang Oliphant (EA)

22. Mandla Mndebele (EA)

23. Folathela Botipe (EA)

24. Rev Moss Ntlha

25. Fr Albert Nolan

26. Rev Solomuzi Mabuza

27. Rev Roxanne Jordaan

28. Prof Tinyiko Maluleke

29. Rev Laurie Gaum

30. Busi Ntini (EA)

31. Ismail Moola

32. Cassim Moola

33. Fathima Moola

34. Ahmed Moola

35. Zuleika Moola

36. Zaid Moola

37. Junaid Moola

38. Shahana Moola

39. Faheema Moola

40. Suraya Moola

41. Zahra Moola

42. Mohammed Moola

43. Ebrahim Moola

44. Mariam Moola

45. Naseema Mia

46. Obayd Mia

47. Tahir Mia

48. Mohammed Mia

49. Salma Mia

50. Ismail Dawood

51. Anisa Dawood

52. Reead Dawood

53. Prof Farid Esack

54. Rev Dr Dawid Kuyler

55. Dr Llewellyn MacMaster

56. Rev Desmond Lesejane (ELCSA)

57. Rev Courtney Sampson

58. Rev Janet Trisk

59. Prof Christo Lombaard

60. Eddie Makue, SACC

61. Prof John de Gruchy

SOURCE

Bold added by blog author.

Kairos Launch - Norway

What is Interfaith Work for Peace and Justice in the Middle East for Me

2010-03-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Now that it has been over four years that I have become actively involved in interfaith work for peace and justice in the Middle East, something occurred to me about ten days ago that has prompted me to explain not only to those who may question others like me, but to also coalesce in my own mind my thoughts governing my activism.

First, let's turn to what many see as "religious strife" in the Middle East (which has spilled over to resentment of varying degrees towards the US) and so-called "Islamic terrorism", for when individuals question me and other's motives for their work, it is most often framed within this premise, the problem is the Muslims, they hate Jews and Christians. While "Islamic" extremism certainly does exist, one has to have a deeper understanding of it's goals, , which are to overturn what they sense has been colonialism, support of puppet governments beholden to the West who not only has been active in controlling and overthrowing their own
political aspirations long prior to the sharp rise in "Islamic" extremism (as in the case of Mossadeq's democratic election by the Iranian people, his subsequent nationalizing of their own oil resources and subsequent CIA sponsored coup), but also has raped their national resources for their own profits and most recently and glaringly illegally invaded and occupied Iraq. In short, one must understand what is the driving force behind the phenomena, and that each case is different per the actual circumstances.

Then of course there is the centerpiece of Middle Eastern resentment towards the West, most notably the United States, whose long support of Israel whose own "democratic" aspirations depended on expelling 750,000 Palestinians from their land which till this day they have been denied their right of return which is enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights, " Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."

In a nutshell, which does not even begin to give service to the political problems in the Middle East, to simplify it into "religious strife" is to not know that it is political power and where it lies that is at the core of the issue. Take Lebanon for instance which is a glaring example. Are the problems in Lebanon based on religious strife or are they based on political power? In simple terms they are quite obviously based on political power because Lebanon's constitution is centered on giving power to religious factions when those factions (demographic changes) after many years do not reflect a "democracy" based on the will of all the people:

The President, a Maronite Christian;
The Prime Minister, a Sunni Muslim, and
The Speaker of the Parliament, a Shi'a Muslim.

Efforts to alter or abolish the confessional system of allocating power have been at the center of Lebanese politics for decades. Those religious groups most favored by the 1943 formula sought to preserve it, while those who saw themselves at a disadvantage sought either to revise it after updating key demographic data or to abolish it entirely. Nonetheless, many of the provisions of the national pact were codified in the 1989 Ta'if Agreement, perpetuating sectarianism as a key element of Lebanese political life.

Hezballah itself, designated a terrorist organization by the US, did not rise out of religious hatred of Jews or opposition to what some deem the "Christian West". (I feel silly even explaining this here) It rose out of the years long Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon and the West's condoning of it. Is their true basis anti-Jewish/anti-Christian? No it is not. It is political based on power and their lack there of when Hezballah rose in reaction. Now they too take part in Lebanese politics while my own government continues to label them a "Islamic terrorist organization". A label which prevents the US from interacting with them in any manner diplomatically. That too shall someday change I predict.

Now, back to why I am writing this post. It is prompted by an email I recieved from someone calling herself my friend who is fully aware of my interfaith peace and justice work and the fact that I lived in the Middle East, was married (now amicably divorced from) a Muslim, have many Muslim friends from all walks of life and consider my former-in-laws my family still because of our loving relationship which has lasted so many years. This email she sent was prompted by the recent massacre in Nigeria by Muslims of Christians. Needless to say, just in January there was a larger massacre by Christians of Muslims and one of the largest Nigerian massacres occured in Yelwa in 2004 when 600 Muslims were killed. Do the past massacres of Muslims justify what was done just two weeks ago? Absolutely NOT. However, again, in the case of Nigeria, the core issue is not religion, it is power, as stated succinctly by Nigerian Archbishop Josiah Idawoo, "Every crisis is automatically interpretted as a religious crisis. But we all know that, scratch the surface, it's got nothing to do with religion. It's about power."

Now for the email which I recieved from a "friend" who herself was married to a Musim, lived in Egypt, did not have a pleasant outcome whatsoever, but who always spoke highly of her mother-in-law who she said treated her so wonderfully while she lived in Egypt. But first, let's define "bigotry". For ease I will turn to Wikipedia:

A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.

The correct use of the term requires the elements of obstinacy, irrationality, and animosity toward those of differing devotion.

The origin of the word bigot and bigoterie in English dates back to at least 1598, via Middle French, and started with the sense of "religious hypocrite". Forms of bigotry may have a related ideology or world views.

Now for the first email which was sent to me which was prompted by her reaction to the massacre in Nigeria:

Last night on the news they were talking about muslims who went on a rampage, and killed 500 christians which consisted mostly of women and children. I just got the tail end of the news report. But I am furious with this mind set of the muslims of kill kill kill. I am done with them. That was the last straw for me. I wash my hands of muslims completely. I do NOT care if there are 2 good ones out of a million. They can go to hell in a hand basket for all I care. They are uncivilized, cruel, and lack a heart and soul so screw them all. I will NOT see my people killed and just turn my back on them another moment in my life by giving them the benefit of the doubt. The price is far too high. Damn them all for not putting a stop to all this blood shed. They can rot in hell.

Now to try and get through my day without dwelling on that miserable culture/humans that should be none existent.

My emailed response to her:

Well, toss in Hindus too *******

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5186703.ece

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/3253

Hate is hate no matter where it comes from, including oneself. My own government just forced a major American arms manufacturer to remove Bible quotations from the arms they produce that are used by our military. I guess I'll just say screw all Christians because our military is KILLING people with guns inscribed with quotes from the Bible.

In my own humble opinion, anyone using their own faith in ANY case to hate ALL others from a faith different from their own is not abiding by what the creator of all mankind wished for us, no matter how we worship him, don't worship him, because as the most benevolent, the all-knowing parent, "He" wishes more for his children to love eachother than to fight amongst themselves over what way they love him or don't, for he is ALL merciful, ALL kind, and calls upon each of us in our own lives to live kind lives ourselves. Outrage at specific actions is understandable, but to dismiss ALL members of a faith no matter if they are your neighbor leading a decent life, a doctor, a scientist, no matter what they do, if they are leading good lives MY God calls upon me to love them.

She then emailed me back with a LONG rant about blood-thirsty Muslims, that anyone who symapthized with them was as "evil as they are", that she had contacted three Muslims who she was still in contact with to tell them not to contact her anymore "UP and UNTIL I see them take a stand against these terrorists" on and on. For XXXX every single Muslim is somehow a terrorist or not doing the job they need to do to protect CHRISTIANS from them, because she is a CHRISTIAN woman. They should all be deported back to their countries of origin whether or not they have done anything wrong whatsoever. She is DONE with them, end of story. I responded to her with link after link of fatwas, statements, poetry, you name it, Muslims who have INDEED spoken out against what the West refers to as "Islamic terrorism" Since then, no more emails. The long rant which she sent me needless to say was quite upsetting and I felt was a personal attack on my own interfaith work and core values as a human being.

Now I will close with my own "story", that which led me on my path. Others who work interfaith peace and justice have their own moral or experiential reasons. This is mine.

In March 1975, I found myself, a 20 year old American, in Beirut, marrying into a Muslim family who now after an amicable divorce, I still lovingly call my own, not only because of the daughter our marriage produced, but because of the loving relationship which grew and still remains in my heart and connections which still exist based on my actual time with them (we still see eachother whenever possible as well) . It was only two weeks after my arrival there that the long Lebanese civil war broke out. I found myself in a family of women because my husband had left back to Saudi Arabia for work and to prepare our home for us.

It was surreal, it wasn't what I had bargained for when I left the United States to marry him. Even though I knew my new life was to be lived in the Middle East, I had not anticipated ending up in a war zone. During the days, for the most part, the city was open for business. But at night we would sit on the balcony, unable to sleep, and watch from afar (we were in Ramla Baida, a predominately Muslim area, directly on the beach across from Spinney's super-market) the rockets and bombs going off. This is not to say that we did not witness horrific things with our own eyes. One night Spinney's was bombed. Most of the residents of the apartment building immediately went to the basement. We did not however and chose to pull our mattresses into the inner hallway where we were safer. After a short while, my mother-in-law disappered back to her own bedroom. Out of fear I went to her saying "Yama, ta'ale, ta'ale" (Mom, come come) it's not safe in here"

She responded (sorry my Arabic has become quite rusty) "Only Allah knows our time Habibti, come, lay down next to me" which I did. Feeling even more safe next to her calming presence than in the protected hallway.

There were several more instances which we witnessed from our balcony, but the most frightening was one afternoon. A jeep sped into the parking lot of Spinney's with machine guns firing. Several people were mowed down before our eyes. The gun men were Maronite Christian, Falange. For as in the case of other countries not only in the Middle East but elsewhere, civil war and strife lies along religious lines, which has morphed into a political power struggle based on power, lack of power, prejudices, and "human reaction", either to maintain power, or exert when political power has been taken away.

It was however upon leaving Beirut for the first time in July that my own life was directly threatened as a Christian, and my family's life as Muslims. We were leaving to Bahrain suddenly because my mother-in-law's mother had died there. Leaving Beirut was not a simple task however. In order to reach the airport (which was intermittently opened and closed), one had to go through areas controlled by the differently religiously factioned militias. Our area was Muslim, but to reach the airport, we had to venture into the Falange militia controlled area. This meant crossing their checkpoint. Which is where our life-threatening experience occurred.

We were a car with five women, a six month old infant, and our male Muslim driver. I was the only Christian in the car, but needless to say I am American.

As we approached we were stopped. A teenaged Falange militia member approached our car and ordered our driver out of the car. At first there was conversation between the driver and the older militia members. But quickly it turned into something more sinister as voices raised. All this time, the teenager had his machine gun pointed in the car at us. The militia then demanded money from our driver. My mother-in-law reached into her purse and gave them all the money she had, several thousand dollars. The shouting was going on, the one gun pointed at us had become several. Our lives were in the hands of the Falange militia.

Then we were allowed to pass.

This is my story. My life was in jeopardy because of my Muslim family yet with them they were MY family. I would not have been spared, of this I am sure.

This is my experience which I call "The Car", a specific car in this case, yet we are all each and every one of us travelling in our own or different cars as circumstances throughout our lives place us. But there is a much larger "car" called humanity, of which we are all a part. My God tells me that we are here to protect eachother against bigotry which attacks our own brothers and sisters in humanity no matter what faith they belong to. My response to XXXXX reflected that.

This as I wrote is my own personal experience. Others who either directly become active in interfaith work themselves or are not activists may also hold the same unbigoted views. I was told to learn how to "discern" by my friend. Quite coincidentally just a couple of days after receiving these two unsettling emails a dear friend of mine called to invite me to a meeting group on discernment. He himself is a retired Methodist minister who for decades has been active in interfaith cooperation and peace and justice as have many people I have come to know and respect over the years. Have they not "discerned"? Yes they have, their God also has brought them to the same conclusion and their own choices. He just called again. I told him why his invitation to the group had come at such a point in time that meant so much to me and why. His response to me, "Robin, sometimes the term discernment can be used as a club by those who wish to attack you and all of us".

Yes indeed Bill, it can. It was used as a club. I have discerned, I have experienced, I have chosen. I have chosen the path of my God who tells me as I wrote in my response, "He" wishes more for his children to love eachother than to fight amongst themselves over what way they love him or don't, for he is ALL merciful, ALL kind, and calls upon each of us in our own lives to live kind lives ourselves"

In peace to all of my Muslim brothers and sisters, in peace to all my brothers and sisters of all faiths.

THE GOLDEN RULE: a call for unity

Matthew 5:9

"The Occupation" video and commentary by Johnny Punish

2010-03-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Read:

American Shakedown: Israeli Contempt Continues While We Pay the Bill

"Sleepless in Gaza" First in the Series

2010-03-02T09:45:00.001-08:00

On March 1st - this coming Monday-the premier episode of a 90 part series, "Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem" will be launched on YouTube. It will be a video diary about four young Palestinian women, Muslim and Christian, two living in Gaza and two in Arab Jerusalem/West Bank. PINA TV Production camera crews will be covering Ashira Ramadan, a broadcast journalist based in Jerusalem; Ashira's friend in Gaza, the documentary film maker Nagham Mohanna; Donna Maria Mattas, a 17 year-old student at the Holy Family school in Gaza who dreams of growing up to be a journalist, and Ala' Khayo Mkari who works with Caritas in Jerusalem.
.
The intention of this series is neither rant nor rhetoric. It is rather an opportunity for all of us, who do not live in Gaza, occupied Arab Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, to grasp how these four young Palestinian women live out their daily lives, precisely because their lives are stories we journalists were taught almost dismissively to think of as "human interest" and almost necessarily conflict driven.

How, as human beings, these four Palestinians can also experience moments of personal and community achievement, and the warmth of friends and family life that in real life is possible even in the most difficult circumstances of siege and occupation.

Each episode runs 26 minutes and will be shot in Jerusalem/West Bank and Gaza, edited and uploaded the same day. So you will find a new sequence six days a week at www.youtube.com/SleeplessinGaza. On Friday, we all rest.

A "Sleepless..." trailer should be up on YouTube by the time you receive this letter. We also have just set up "Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem" on Facebook. It's got such a long URL that Facebookers should note-- just type in “Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem” in the Facebook search and you will be home. We don't have our own domain website yet, but our partners PINA TV Productions' website will serve as such for the time being at www.pina.ps. (SOURCE)

An American Congressman Fights for Gaza

2010-02-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

Stand up and notice, an American Congressman, Brian Baird of Washington, is fighting for Gaza.

Currently Congressman Baird is in Gaza on his third trip there.

A visit to his website gives his statement on the Goldstone Report with his strong statement of why it should not be discounted by HR 867: "Israel and Gaza Deserve Better than a Misguided Resolution" Writing from his own convictions after gaining his own first hand knowledge of the situation in Gaza he wrote:

Since scarcely a dozen House Members have actually been to Gaza, what actual first-hand knowledge do the rest of the Members of Congress possess on which to base their judgment of the merits of H.Res. 867 or the Goldstone report?

What will it say about this Congress and our country if we so readily seek to block "any further consideration" of a human rights investigation produced by one of the most respected jurists in the world today, a man who led the investigations of abuses in South Africa, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Kosovo and worked to identify and prosecute Nazi war criminals as a member of the Panel of the Commission of Enquiry into the Activities of Nazism in Argentina?

Now Congressman Baird is calling for the immediate lifting of the blockade of Gaza. But not only is he calling for this, he is also calling for a massive lift of aid to Gaza.

"We ought to bring roll-on, roll-off ships and roll them right to the beach and bring the relief supplies in, in our version of the Berlin airlift," he said, adding that the supplies could be delivered to U.N. aid agencies. (SOURCE)

In December Al-Jazeera covered Congressman Baird's and Keith Ellison's efforts. Watch closely in this video. Congressman Brian Baird of Washington stood before the House of Representatives with a poster showing dead Palestinian children. He stated, "Those children deserve someone to ask, why they died" Yes they do.................................

This is the video that Congressman Baird an Congressman Ellison presented to the New America Foundation almost a year ago

Be sure to visit Congressman Baird's website to view his videos and pictures from his trips to Gaza (at the bottom)

Indeed Congressman Baird's voice is rare as the Al-Jazeera report noted. COURAGE in the face of the Israeli lobby controlled Congress is rare!

I too am only one American.

THANK YOU Congressman Baird.

Amelia Earhart
Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.

Twenty-Two Executives and Employees of Military and Law Enforcement Products Companies Charged in Foreign Bribery Scheme

2010-02-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Twenty-Two Executives and Employees of Military and Law Enforcement Products Companies Charged in Foreign Bribery Scheme
Defendants Arrested in Las Vegas and Miami; 21 Search Warrants Executed in United States and United Kingdom

WASHINGTON—Twenty-two executives and employees of companies in the military and law enforcement products industry have been indicted for engaging in schemes to bribe foreign government officials to obtain and retain business, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips for the District of Columbia; and Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. Twenty-one defendants were arrested in Las Vegas yesterday. One defendant was arrested in Miami. The indictments stem from an FBI undercover operation that focused on allegations of foreign bribery in the military and law enforcement products industry.

The 16 indictments unsealed today represent the largest single investigation and prosecution against individuals in the history of DOJ’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law that prohibits U.S. persons and companies, and foreign persons and companies acting in the United States, from bribing foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The indictments unsealed today were returned on Dec. 11, 2009, by a grand jury in Washington, D.C.

In connection with these indictments, approximately 150 FBI agents executed 14 search warrants in locations across the country, including Bull Shoals, Ark.; San Francisco; Miami; Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Sunrise, Fla.; University Park, Fla.; Decatur, Ga.; Stearns, Ky.; Upper Darby, Penn.; and Woodbridge, Va. Additionally, the United Kingdom’s City of London Police executed seven search warrants in connection with their own investigations into companies involved in the foreign bribery conduct that formed the basis for the indictments.

“This ongoing investigation is the first large-scale use of undercover law enforcement techniques to uncover FCPA violations and the largest action ever undertaken by the Justice Department against individuals for FCPA violations,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. “The fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate playbook will not be won overnight, but these actions are a turning point. From now on, would-be FCPA violators should stop andponder whether the person they are trying to bribe might really be a federal agent.”

“Corrupt payments to foreign officials to obtain or retain business erode public confidence in our free market system and threaten to undermine foreign governments,” said U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips. “These indictments set forth serious allegations and reflect the Department's commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who try to advance their businesses through foreign bribery.”

“Investigating corruption at all levels is the number one priority of the FBI’s Criminal Division,” said Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “In this era of global commerce, the FBI is committed to curbing corruption at home or overseas. Companies should prosper through honest business practices, not the practice of back room deals and bribery.”

The indictments allege that the defendants engaged in a scheme to pay bribes to the minister of defense for a country in Africa. In fact, the scheme was part of the undercover operation, with no actual involvement from any minister of defense. As part of the undercover operation, the defendants allegedly agreed to pay a 20 percent “commission” to a sales agent who the defendants believed represented the minister of defense for a country in Africa in order to win a portion of a $15 million deal to outfit the country’s presidential guard. In reality, the “sales agent” was an undercover FBI agent. The defendants were told that half of that “commission” would be paid directly to the minister of defense. The defendants allegedly agreed to create two price quotations in connection with the deals, with one quote representing the true cost of the goods and the second quote representing the true cost, plus the 20 percent “commission.” The defendants also allegedly agreed to engage in a small “test” deal to show the minister of defense that he would personally receive the 10 percent bribe.

The indictments charge the following executives and employees of the various companies in the military and law enforcement product industries:

* Daniel Alvirez, 32, and Lee Allen Tolleson, 25, the president and director of acquisitions and logistics at a company in Bull Shoals, Ark., that manufactures and sells law enforcement and military equipment;

* Helmie Ashiblie, 44, the vice president and founder of a company in Woodbridge, Va., that supplies tactical bags and other security-related articles for law enforcement agencies and governments worldwide;

* Andrew Bigelow, 40, the managing partner and director of government programs for a Sarasota, Fla., company that sells machine guns, grenade launchers and other small arms and accessories;

* R. Patrick Caldwell, 61, and Stephen Gerard Giordanella, 50, the current and former chief executive officers of a Sunrise, Fla., company that designs and manufactures concealable and tactical body armor;

* Yochanan R. Cohen, aka Yochi Cohen, 47, the chief executive officer of a San Francisco company that manufactures security equipment, including body armor and ballistic plates;

* Haim Geri, 50, the president of a North Miami Beach, Fla., company that serves as a sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries;

* Amaro Goncalves, 49, the vice president of sales for a Springfield, Mass., company that designs and manufactures firearms, firearm safety/security products, rifles, firearms systems and accessories;

* John Gregory Godsey, aka Greg Godsey, 37, and Mark Frederick Morales, 37, the owner and agent of a Decatur, Ga., company that sells ammunition and other law enforcement and military equipment;

* Saul Mishkin, 38, the owner and chief executive officer of an Aventura, Fla., company that sells law enforcement and military equipment;

* John M. Mushriqui, 28, and Jeana Mushriqui, 30, the director of international development and general counsel/U.S. manager of an Upper Darby, Penn., company that manufactures and exports bulletproof vests and other law enforcement and military equipment;

* David R. Painter, 56, and Lee M. Wares, 43, the chairman and director of a United Kingdom company that markets armored vehicles;

* Pankesh Patel, 43, the managing director of a United Kingdom company that acts as sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries;

* Ofer Paz, 50, the president and chief executive officer of an Israeli company that acts as sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries;

* Jonathan M. Spiller, 58, the owner and president of a Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., company that markets and sells law enforcement and military equipment;

* Israel Weisler, aka Wayne Weisler, 63, and Michael Sachs, 66, owners and co-chief executive officers of a Stearns, Ky., company that designs, manufactures and sells armor products, including body armor;

* John Benson Wier III, 46, the president of a St. Petersburg, Fla., company that sells tactical and ballistic equipment.

All of the defendants except Giordanella were arrested yesterday by FBI agents in Las Vegas. Giordanella was arrested in Miami, also by FBI agents.

Each of the indictments allege that the defendants conspired to violate the FCPA, conspired to engage in money laundering, and engaged in substantive violations of the FCPA. The indictments also seek criminal forfeiture of the defendants’ ill gotten gains.

The maximum prison sentence for the conspiracy count and for each FCPA count is five years. The maximum sentence for the money laundering conspiracy charge is 20 years in prison.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Hank Bond Walther and Trial Attorney Laura N. Perkins of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Matthew C. Solomon of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The cases were investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office squad that specializes in investigations into FCPA violations.

Read the unsealed indictments: All companies listed in parenthesis were researched by me.

* Agreed Statement of Facts

# 01/19/10 - Twenty Two Executives and Employees of Military and Law Enforcement Products Companies Charged in Foreign Bribery Scheme

* Daniel Alvirez And Lee Allen Tolleson - Indictment (ALS Technologies)
* Helmie Ashiblie - Indictment (I-Shots Shooting Sports)
* Ofer Paz - Indictment (Israel-Foreign Corrupt Policies Act, money laundering, Paz Logistics)
* Andrew Bigelow Indictment (Defense Logistics International)
* R. Patrick Caldwell And Stephen Gerard Giordanella - Indictment (Giordanella former CEO of
Protective Products of America- WEBSITE - Patrick Caldwell current CEO-sidebar: Chapter
11 proceedings and related information)

* Haim Geri Indictment (High-Tech USA)
* Saul Mishkin - Indictment (Peru, Orkil International LLC- WEBSITE)
* John M. Mushriqui And Jeana Mushriqui - Indictment (Mishriqui Consulting)
* Jonathan M. Spiller - Indictment (Jm Spiller and Assoc., former CEO of Armor Holdings Inc
which was bought out by BAE)
* John Benson Wier III - Indictment (President of SRT Supply)
* Amaro Goncalves - Indictment (Smith and Wesson Vice-President of Sales)
* David R. Painter and Lee M. Wares - Indictment (British employees of O'Gara Group-
WEBSITE)
* Israel Weisler - Indictment (US Calvary Store Inc-Kentucky, former CEO of Ayit which sold
equipment to the Israeli Defense Forces.)
* Pankesh Patel - Indictment
* John Gregory Godsey - Indictment
* Yochanan R.Cohen - Indictment (HighCom Security)

READ ALSO

Haartz: US Indicts Four Israelis in International Bribery Case

Anderson Cooper Reports More on Laura Silsby

2010-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Prior posts on Laura Silsby and cohorts:

Why is all the blame being put on Laura Silsby when her own pastor was involved?

Catholic Diocese in Dominican Republic Leased "Hotel" to Laura Silsby

Catholic Diocese in Dominican Republic Leased "Hotel" to Laura Silsby

2010-02-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the irony is so thick it makes your head spin. As Central Valley Church in Idaho professed their "team" going to Haiti to set up their "new ministry opportunity" in their published news letter, the Catholic Diocese of the Dominican Republic leased their own facility to Laura Silsby to house her "orphans". Mind you, while Haiti is 85% Christian, the largest denomination being Catholic, Drew Culberth was praying because people were dying and going to hell! While most Haitians are Catholic, the "national religion" of Haiti is Voodoo. Most voodooists believe that their religion can coexist with Catholicism. Most Protestants, however, strongly oppose voodoo. Gotta' go save those HEATHENS.

So with Central Valley Baptist taking the donations in through their church tax exempt account to support the "temporary orphanage in Cabarete" and their "Dominican Republic response team" the members of the "team" snatched children from Haiti who would become their "new ministry opportunity". Meanwhile, the Catholic diocese in the Domincan Republic leased them their property for six months for ther "temporary orphanage" Full circle. Would have been pretty darn interesting arrangement if it had panned out!

With the call from Central Valley Church going out sometime before January 22 stating $10,000 had already been raised and an imediate $2000 more was needed, just how much money was going to have to continue to be raised constantly to sustain this "new ministry opportunity" with $7,000 per month needed for rent for the temporary facility alone? Needless to say, the permanent New Life Children Refuge facility was also supposed to be constructed during this time. What kind of pipe dream was this endeavor that involved scouring the streets of Haiti for orphans to fulfill their "call from God"? Did anyone ever sit down and lay the financials out? Or was prayer supposed to constantly be their source of success?

If you read Spanish, the article is HERE (hat tip to "Joe" at Baby Love Child) Here is the article run through Google translate.

PUERTO PLATA
Bishop leased to local missionary group
Manuel Gilbert - 2/6/2010
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The Education and Training Center in Cabarete that was leased to house the 33 children orphaned in Haiti.

Cabarete, Puerto Plata .- The diocese's vicar general of Puerto Plata in the Catholic Church, Francisco Hernandez Rodriguez, said Thursday that Bishop Julio César Amaro Corniel leased for six months, forty-five rooms of Education and Training Center located in the town of Cabarete on the northern province of Puerto Plata to the organization New Life Children's Refuge.

When questioned by telephone, the priest told Listin Diario that the property where until 2006 ran a three-star hotel, was converted into a school where he taught technical courses and language classes to economically disadvantaged youth and a retreat for church staff members of the Catholic flock in the country of diverse peoples. Both the school as the withdrawal are operated by the Innovation Foundation.

Similarly, the priest has revealed that Rodriguez Hernandez reports indicating that Mrs. Laura Silsby, head of the group of Americans arrested in Haiti on Saturday while riding in a bus with 33 Haitian children, aged two months and 12 years, bought land in the hamlet of Yagua Magante section of the town of Gaspar Hernandez, Espaillat province.

The link between Lavonne Laura Silsby and Bishop Julio César Corniel Amaro, was the independent estate agent, Jose Hidalgo, who said he was looking for several days in Cabarete suitable facilities to house the 33 infants, but under that there's rents are quite expensive, they resorted to the prelate who rented part of the facilities of the Center for Education and Training.

The property seller stated that the main principles of the Catholic Church hierarch of the Diocese Gaspar Hernandez, Joba Arriba, JAMA, Pedro Garcia and Puerto Plata, objected to rent the premises, under the pretext that was used for manufactured Training Center and the hotel to retreat, but to say they had the urgency of finding a place to house orphans and destitute children of Haiti, the priest agreed to rent for six months in forty-five rooms for a total of $ 7,000.00 per month.

Hill reported that after agreeing with the bishop Corniel Amaro sought the American volunteers, who accepted the premises and immediately entrusted to one of them, experts in disasters, to make a list of arrangements had to be done to leased facilities to ensure the safety of children would be housed there, including the stairs, doors and allotted an area for recreation of children.
***************************************

To add, reading the Spanish article, the facility that Silsby leased is called Centro de Capacitación in Cabarete. Noting that they teach language classes, and googling the Spanish name, I came up with this forum which mentions the Centro de Capacitación: "There are classes in Spanish available for English speakers at the Centro de Capacitación located in the old Costa Liza Hotel. I am not that familiar with Cabarete and do not know how close that would be to your resort."

View tourist sites for Costa Liza Hotel (in German, so run them through Google language tool)
HERE and HERE.

Why is all the blame being put on Laura Silsby when her own pastor was involved?

2010-02-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is going to be brief (considering the massive amount of information concerning this matter), bullet point style, to make the point clear

*Every single news agency is focusing on Laura Silsby's guilt in this matter in Haiti. Bloggers and news outlets have dug up her fliers for her planned orphanage, even the incorporation papers which were filed in the state of Idaho Novemeber 24,2009

*The New York Times reports (concerning the Haitian attorney appointed to represent all ten in the matter) "When Mr. Coq was asked about the other nine Americans, he echoed their friends and relatives here: “completely innocent,” he said".

*NOW: Contrary to what is being reported, I have found THIS document dated January 21, 2001 from the Central Valley Baptist Church that Laura Silsby attended

READ:

The other is the Haitian Orphan Rescue being spearheaded through our
local church.As early as next week, we will have a brand new ministry opportunity located in theDominican Republic. Pray for our team
that is sacrificing in every way to be there. Pray for their physical safety and their emotional well-being.

These ministry opportunities are but a small way to help fight for life...a
battle that every Christian must engage in. The future of our culture is at
stake!

See You Sunday,
Pastor Clint

Prayer for the Haiti Team

We are in the process of sending out a team to Help with the Haiti effort.
The team will be traveling to Haiti this Saturday. There are many needs.
One of our church family has been working on building an Orphanage in
the Dominican Republic for rescued orphans from Haiti. NOW the need
is even greater. We are building a team to go now and lease a temporary building to house them until the orphanage is built.
***************************************************************
That statement does NOT say that Laura Silsby is leasing a building to house the children until the orphanage is built. It says WE are building a team to lease a temporary building (the hotel obviously). The statement clearly REFERS to Laura
Silsby's planned orphanage but also CLEARLY states that it is WE-the TEAM who is going ahead NOW. Pastor Clint wrote, "Pray for our team"

Believe me, I am not trying to take any blame away from Laura Silsby and her actions, but she didn't cook THIS plan up all on her own!
Who are the members of "our team" that Pastor Clint referred to?
The Team
Laura Silsby, Charissa Coulter, Carla Thompson, Nicole Lankford,Corinna Lankford (plus Pastor Drew went to Haiti-note that? Drew Culberth whose statement is featured on the Central Valley Baptist Idaho newsletter is a part-time youth pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas")
Furthermore, scroll down that document further and see the words of Pastor Drew (Culbert) who is also being held in Haiti. Let's read what he has to say about the opportunity that natural disasters offer:

Jesus gives us a number of essential principles here.
My comments here will focus on the issue of naturaldisasters. First, natural disasters remind us thatdeath may take place at any moment. We must
remember that God is control of all things, especially
life.
Second, natural disasters remind us that the penalty
of sin is a plague that effects us all. The question is
not, "Why did this happen in Haiti?" The question
should rather be asked, "Why did this not happen to
me?" We tend to think of ourselves as good people
who deserve the best. The reality is that we are
sinners deserving of death and hell.
Third, natural disasters remind us that we must
repent and be reconciled to God. We were created
for a relationship with the Almighty God, shouldn't we
seek to be rightly restored?
Fourth, natural disasters should challenge us in our
mission. Again, life is short. People are dying and
going to hell. Preach the gospel!

Got that? People are dying and going to HELL. They need to get down there ASAP!! Grab up as many "orphans" as you can and PREACH THE GOSPEL at their "brand new ministry opportunity located in the Dominican Republic"!!

Now let's read from the CACHE of the blog of the pastor of the other Idaho church (Eastside Baptist in Twin Falls) Pastor Paul Thompson who is also being held in Haiti. (His blog is now closed BUT there is CACHE-interestingly the blog thread titled "new-life-children-refuge-haitian.html is now even removed from cache) This post there is dated January 14, 2010 and is titled, "Haiti Response"

January 14, 2010

Haiti Response
Dear Church,
I'm heavy of heart (I feel even to the point of depression) but I'm lifted in my spirit to know that if there is any hope, any hope at all for the people of Haiti (and my neighbor for that matter) it will only come from our Lord. I have checked my passport; it is current, I will make way to the health clinic to find out what vaccinations I need, I have checked my heart to be sure I'm not responding in a simple humanitarian mindset so that when the call comes for Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to respond I will be ready, and that the greater need than what every picture reports is the great need of salvation is foremost in my mind.
I'm overcome today by the grace of God. My Hope is Built on Nothing Less!

"Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent , you will all likewise perish. "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Luke 13:2-5 (NASB)

by Paul Thompson

Someone needs to explain to me what "simple humanitarian mindset is" because I DON'T GET IT. Nope, I sure don't! Not when the plan was to scoop up 150 "orphans" and wisk them away to a HOTEL in the Dominican Republic in order to SAVE their poor little SOULS!

I simply can hardly stomach this whole CRIMINAL fiasco that these so-called "Christians" were trying to pull off. My own mind is in an absolute whirl.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!!!

This is Google's cache of http://www.centralvalleybaptist.com/. It ...

Jan 30, 2010 ... If you agree to pray, Jeannette will e-mail you a list of prayer ... Pastor Clint Henry, 208-888-4189. Central Valley Baptist Church ...
myweb.cableone.net/.../Haitian%20Orphan%20Rescue%20Mission.htm - Cached

While Laura Silsby claimed "tax exempt non-profit" status for her New Life Children's Refuge, the media has uncovered the obvious, the corporation was only formed Nov 24 and had not obtained this status yet. So HOW were they taking "non-profit tax exempt donations? THROUGH WEST VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH!!!!

HOW YOU CAN HELP!!!

Urgent and Immediate Needs

Finances:

Support the Temporary Orphanage in Cabarete, Dominican Republic
Support a Response Team to Dominican Republic $1500.00 each

Both of these are tax deductable donations that need to be given through

Central Valley Baptist Church. Write on the Memo Line: Haitian Orphans.

FURTHERMORE; a look at the sidebar states that Carla Thompson holds the title, MISSION COORDINATOR. Carla Thompson now has signed a note given to NBC news stating they had been lied to by Laura Silsby. But I ask, WHO holds the position and responsibilty for missions done by West Valley Baptist? Laura Silsby or Carla Thompson?

What are Pastor Clint AND Carla Thompson, "MISSIONS COORDINATOR" asking for? MONEY to be run through the CHURCH'S account to achieve tax exemption for New Life Children's Refuge.

Rescue Team Needs $2000 in 24 hours Greetings!

We need to raise $2,000 in the next 24 hours for our Haiti Rescue Team. We have already had $10,000 committed to this mission. Please help us! Call the church office and bring your gift in right now! Some of the team members have already left today and more team members will be heading out Friday and Saturday. The need is immediate! You may be able to make a large contribution or a small contribution. This will take all of us working together!!

--From Pastor Clint

We have sent a team to Haiti to assist with the relief effort. There are many needs. One of our church family has been working on building an Orphanage in the Dominican Republic for rescued orphans from Haiti. NOW the need is even greater. We are sending a team now and leasing a temporary building to house them until the orphanage is built. Ask God what you can do to help. PRAY? GIVE? GO?

--From Carla Thompson

Contact Information

New Life Children Refuge:
Laura Silsby,
Executive Director and Founder
Cell: 208-861-7879 Email: laura.s317@yahoo.com

Charisa Coulter,
VP and co-founder
Cell: 208-340-8856 Email: charisacoulter@yahoo.com

Website under construction: newlifechildrensrefuge.org

Central Valley Baptist Church
Carla Thompson,
Missions Coordinator 208-407-0269

Pastor Clint Henry, 208-888-4189

Central Valley Baptist Church
600 N. Ten Mile
Meridian, Idaho 83642

To read more, I suggest reading two excellent essays, "Naivete and Best Intentions or Trafficing in Children for Religious Purposes" by Jodi Jacobson and also "Haiti and the Evangelist Shock Doctrine" by Mamiel

Ask yourselves, why is the mainstream media not reporting that it was the pastor of the Central Valley Baptist Church itself who asks that OUR TEAM be prayed for and then the same CHURCH document states "WE are building a team to go now and lease a temporary building to house them until the orphanage is built" and instead are putting all the blame on Laura Silsby? She certainly IS culpable, but so is the PASTOR and anyone else in that church who had a damn thing to do with this! Is she going to end up being the sacrificial lamb in this? Again, do not think I am taking ANY blame away from her, I am just asking a very direct question BASED on what that church document states. The media is reporting that they are holed up in their church not answering questions. I wonder why! There had been talk about bringing the ten back to the US for trial. I say they broke the law in Haiti, all TEN need to be tried there, but anyone and everyone HERE who had anything to do with aiding and abetting this venture needs to be investingated here to the full extent of the law.

Edited to add: "Prosecuting missionaries, good for Haiti, families and church" by Fritz Gutwein, Baptist minister, a therapeutic foster and adoptive parent as well as co-director of the Quixote Center and coordinator of their Haiti Reborn program.

Gaza Kids Are Calling For Obama

2010-01-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

The lyric writer :
Dr. Akram Habeeb
Prof. Assistant of American Literature in Gaza University

Senior composer:
Mr. Kalid Jouda, a teacher of English in Gaza

Composer and Singer:
Mr. Ahmad bu Amsha, the music
teacher at the American School in Gaza

Child singer :
A boy named, Balsam Al Astal,
13 year Kid from Khnyounis refugee camp

Child singer:
Suhad Faress,
a 15 year girl from Gaza high school

Grahphic Designer
Sameh AbuWarda,
a 21 year student of English at the
Islamic University of Gaza

2009/2010

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee and your computer

2010-01-23T21:35:00.000-08:00

OK, so I'm surfing the internet and I stumble upon this article from the New York Daily News,
"Pope Benedict to Priests, for God's sake blog!" Wha wha WHAT? OK, wait a minute here, is this for real? Yep is sure is. So let's check out the links

OOH, there's a Facebook application. Let's see what THAT is:

Allow Access?
Allowing Pope2You access will let it pull your profile information, photos, your friends' info, and other content that it requires to work.

I do not THINK so! Sorry folks, but as a Catholic when you go to confession your confession stops with the PRIEST. He doesn't ask you to give him your profile information, your friend's info or "other content" whatever THAT is and then enter it into a data base!

OMG you can get Vatican News on your IPhone. I thought that was the American Express card you were never supposed to leave home without. No wait, that used to be a St. Christopher you wore as a necklace to keep you safe. Boy times sure have changed!

Don't miss the full text of "The priest and pastoral ministry in the digital world, new media and the service of the Word" and the Vatican youtube channel.

OK, if you're reading here and want to leave a comment I'd be really interested in what your opinion of this is. I'm a Catholic myself who hasn't attended mass in a year. Hearing Pope Rottweiler read his dispassioned announcement of this initiative doesn't exactly inspire me except to yearn for an older time. Maybe that's just me.

Benedict XVI: New Technologies Are a Resource for the Faith

University of Buffalo in Collaboration with King Saud University Developing Breast Cancer Vaccine

2010-01-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

Breast cancer vaccine being developed

BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University at Buffalo and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia said they are working together to develop a breast cancer vaccine.

Kate Rittenhouse-Olson, professor of biotechnical and clinical laboratory sciences at the University at Buffalo, is collaborating with Adel Almogren, a professor at King Saud University, who worked with Rittenhouse when he was a graduate student at the University at Buffalo.

Their work, published in the journal Neoplasia, resulted in groundbreaking research on development of a novel vaccine immunotherapy approach that may be able to decrease the tumor burden in cancer patients by blocking cancer metastasis, the researchers said.

The researchers said they are perfecting the vaccine in an animal model for ultimate use in humans.

"This is a very promising vaccine target, because if we are successful, it could be important to breast, colon, bladder and prostate cancer patients," Rittenhouse-Olson said in a statement.

Rittenhouse-Olson, her husband James Olson, a UB professor of pharmacology and toxicology, and colleagues Susan Morey and Jamie Heimburg-Molinaro were invited to visit Riyadh and to meet the Saudi king, known in his country as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, who presented them with gold medals engraved with images of King Saud University.

"He is very interested in cancer research and education," Rittenhouse-Olson said.

Source

Prince Nayef Received Award From UNWRA, WOOPTY DOO

2009-12-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

I just came across this report on the Saudi Embassy site from Dec. 19 stating that UNWRA presented the Distinguished Donor Award to Prince Nayef of Saudi Arabia. The amount given on his orders to UNWRA by the Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian People according to this report was "since 2005 a total of 17.4 million. The donations for Gaza alone in 2009, 10 million" (is this 10 million in 2009 a part of the total of 17.4 mil since 2005? It seems so)

This is CHICKEN FEED to Prince Nayef on a personal level alone, not to mention tossing in all the rest of the royals. Remember his wife Maha Al-Sudairi? Six months ago the creditors caught up with her at her hotel in Paris, the George V of course. She owed 510,000 euros ($823,956) to luxury jewellers Chaumat and 70,000 euros ( $100,282) to a lingerie shop alone. The total she was said to have owed to creditors for God knows what was 13 MILLION euros ($18,623,800)

Gee, she did more shopping (surely over a shorter period of time-and she's just ONE royal) than the Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian People donated to UNWRA, in four years! Am I supposed to be impressed? NOT.

For the record, THIS report dated June 15, 2009 on the Saudi Embassy site gives a break down (as of that date) of total Saudi donations to Palestine. It's interesting indeed where the Saudis have prioritized and targeted their donations.

Note: this blogger just finds it disgusting donating this award to Prince Naif whose wife shops til she drops. Hope he felt proud receiving it. Also note, this was the first time this award was given by UNWRA.

From the UNWRA website:

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. The Agency’s core budget for 2010-2011 stands at $1.23 billion. In 2009, emergency appeals for the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon amounted to $827.4 million.

Princess Maja you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself, and so should all you other personal spending professionals in the royal family. Add in the non-royals too! Let's see any one of you walk in the shoes of a Palestinian in Gaza for even ONE day. You'd all be pooping your britches and whipping out your American Express Black Cards to get yourselves outta there.