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

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

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)

One Man's Personal Nakba

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)

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

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

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

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

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.

Read more about "Brand Israel" HERE

Spread the word if you are a Farmville player and do NOT buy these "peanuts". This is the first brand advertising that Zynga's Farmville has chosen to align itself with. There are 82 million players worldwide. Farmville makes $$$$ off the players buying seeds and whatever else this game has you do. You stop playing and spread the word, it will send the message to Farmville.

UPDATE: The website Games.com has picked up this post. Written there:

So far, ad integration in Facebook games has been minimal, though we spotted a few sponsored items in Zoo World for the new Kirstie Alley TV show Big Life, and Bejeweled Blitz had a big ad/giveaway campaign with Mazda a few weeks ago as well. Holly Tree does make a compelling point -- if this peanuts promotion performs well for Zynga, we can probably expect to see a lot more of this type of advertising in our favorite Facebook games in the not-so-distant future.

Games.com, let me clarify something for you. I couldn't care less if Farmville or other games start incorporating ad sponsored products. They are a business at the end of the day in case players who are addicted to this game are unaware.

It is the PRODUCT and who is behind this, Saatchi and Saachi, which provides free advertising services for the aparthed state of Israel (Brand Israel) which are the reasons I am calling on players to boycott. Making moral choices when spending your money, non-violently resisting apartheid by boycotting products, and in this case, Farmville, which has chosen to associate itself with Israel in it's FIRST ad-sponsored seed product.

Read the comments HERE

While Farmville is an online game, read about the real lives of Palestinian farmers HERE, HERE,

Watch this BBC report on what Jewish settlers are doing to Palestinian farmers

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

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