Humanitarian Issues

[ninathedog]

Apr 29, 2010 2:22:25 GMT 4 @nodstar said:

Nina wrote

thank you, Noddie
much love and appreciation flows back to you from me!

You all bring tears to my eyes -- the happy kind
love,
Jen.

Hey Jen

You're WELCOME and I wanted to you to know that
your work is very deeply appreciated..

Thanks for all the time and effort that you put into this thread

lotsa love

Nod

thanks again, Noddy

You know it's a compulsion and I couldn't stop if I tried ;D

Seriously, I do post a lot less than I'd like to post...I'm really trying to inform without driving you all crazy.

And happily I find that coincidentally I pointed out Mustafa Bargouti in that last video and here I find a statement from him, which will be the next entry...isn't synchronicity grand.

Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart, for being so supportive and for giving me the opportunity to speak here!!

love
Jen.

[ninathedog]

Apr 28, 2010 22:24:45 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

Walage 27-4-10 - Activists try to stop the work edited for length >>


On the left, the man gesturing is Mustafa Barghouti M.D., who "was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barghouti

An Open Letter to UC Berkeley Students --
Passing the Israel Divestment Bill

Mustafa Barghouthi
Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative

Posted: April 28, 2010 05:20 PM

Dear Berkeley students and the ASUC Senate:

I commend the effort of the wide coalition at Berkeley to pass the Bill in Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes. American students can play a powerful role in Palestinian liberation by supporting divestment from companies that enable the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory.

I urge you to seize this moment as an opportunity to help secure Palestinian freedom and a just peace, but most particularly as an opportunity to help Palestinian students you may never meet. These students struggle to achieve their educational aspirations under an occupation that blocks opportunities and destroys dreams. Embrace your freedom and your incredible opportunities at one of America's finest schools by doing your utmost to protect the many Palestinian students working by candlelight in Gaza to reach where you are today. The war crimes they were subjected to by the Israeli military in 2008-2009 were appalling. Their perseverance will be aided by your vote tonight against war crimes.

Palestinian voices are too rarely heard in the United States. We have too few opportunities to present our narrative of loss and dispossession. Hear us tonight along with our Jewish friends and colleagues who are speaking up and saying that there is nothing anti-Semitic in backing Palestinian freedom and an end to complicity with a military occupation that strips us of our rights and dignity and many Israelis of their humanity. Both peoples need a just peace and this bill helps speed that day.

Look at the student coalition before you tonight. From my time at Stanford, I firmly believe that such coalitions are one of the most beautiful aspects of American life. It is not uniquely American, but it is to be treasured. And for all those students who are not part of the coalition, but fearful of it, I say we mean you no harm. We seek only to live in freedom and as equals. Israel's military repression of us must end eventually. Do not stand in the way like those angry Alabama students 50 years ago blocking integration. You have, I trust, nothing in common with those students, but misplaced fear.

And to student supporters of the divestment resolution remember your fellow students' fear. It is misplaced, but real. Whatever the outcome tonight, I urge you not to be angry or over-joyous. There is a long road ahead of us still, and we do not know which among those who oppose us tonight may, five years from now, stand with us. I have seen it happen time and time again and at an increasingly rapid pace as Israel's excesses and human rights violations become more and more evident to the entire world.

I have lived my entire adult life under this occupation. I have worked this entire time -- over 40 years -- to bring about an end to this system of Israeli rule and Palestinian subjugation. Despite the remarkable allies and courageous individuals who have worked on our behalf, often at great risk to themselves, we have not yet prevailed in securing Palestinian freedom. With your help, tonight, I believe we can bring this day of freedom closer.

However you vote, and whatever you think you know about this conflict, I urge you to come and see for yourself. But do not just go to Israel. Visit us in the occupied West Bank and witness for yourself the dual system of law applied by Israeli occupation forces here -- one for Jewish settlers and one for Palestinians. I believe you will find young people here anxious to tell you their stories and hopeful that when you return to the United States you will work to convince Americans that Palestinians, like people everywhere, should live in freedom.

Finally, to the students who have worked so hard for so many weeks to bring about this vote, thank you, and may you have the energy to continue your vital work for peace and justice. We, on the far side of Israel's apartheid wall, are inspired by your actions and your solidarity.

Salaam,

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi
Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and
nominee for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

www.huffingtonpost.com/mustafa-barghouthi/an-open-letter-to-uc-berk_b_555957.html?ref=fb&src=sp

[ninathedog]

Declare Independence.
Free Israel. End the Occupation.

By Bradley Burston
Haaretz.com
Last update - 14:21 20/04/2010

Tags: Israel News, Idf

Shimon the Tzadik, the righteous, the just, the saintly, was one of the last of the Great Knesset.
He used to say: The world continues to exist because of three things:
Torah, Worship, and Acts of Lovingkindness.

SHEIKH JARRAH, East Jerusalem - It's taken us years and years, but we've finally realized the dream of every Israeli.

It was my wife who noticed. "I really like this," she said one Friday as we left the house, "getting out and going to a foreign country every weekend."

Our fellow Israeli Jews, inveterate world travelers that they are, literally go out of their way to avoid this place, which is called East Jerusalem. Some steer clear because it scares them, others simply because it feels so, well, foreign.

In the end, what they miss out on, is the view from here. If just once they'd make the trip. On a clear day, they could see their own future.

This is not just any neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Just as the settlers here, with their Baruch Goldstein celebrants, are not just any settlers, nor the anti-settlement protest held here each Friday, a demonstration like any other.

More than any other area of the Holy Land, this is the place where Israelis gather regularly to declare their independence from Occupation.

Here, because Sheikh Jarrah is where the settlement movement has come to die. The settlement named for Shimon the Just, is where the Occupation has begun to write its own ending.

Even the pro-settlement right has begun to realize that there is something different and dangerous here. That the circumstances of the creation of this settlement not only have the effect of turning all of Jerusalem into the status of a settlement, but of turning all of Israel into the status of Occupied Territory.

"The entrance of Jews to Sheikh Jarrah is a crazy and irresponsible act," rightist Jerusalem City Councilman Yakir Segev was quoted as telling a Hebrew University panel discussion last week.

"It's a terrible and crazy idea to open the question of ownership of properties from before 1948. It may open up a Pandora's box," Segev told Ynet, referring to the fact that Palestinians - even the families expelled to make way for the Sheikh Jarrah settlers - could reasonably ask courts to return them to land they owned until 1948 and had to flee, to homes which are now the homes of Jews in places like Jaffa and West Jerusalem.

"There are very wide-reaching repercussions and a reverse precedent may be set."

Occupation is an ugly word. That is why people who support the idea of a Jewish state should use the term, and use it often. Because, on this, Israel's 62nd independence day, the Occupation has to be identified for what it has become: Israel's worst enemy.

Not Iran. Not Hamas or Hezbollah. All three would like to see Israel cease to exist. But our government has tools to fight them. Against the Occupation, though, the government is powerless.

For much of the last decade, this city was engulfed in fire. The pro-settlement right - let us, for once, call it what it is: the Movement for a Permanent Occupation - taught anyone who would listen, that it is peace moves that provoke terrorism; that it is the peace process that has led us, time and again, to war; that to question the act of settlement is to be anti-Israeli.

No more. This is where it has to stop. There is a name for the systematic burning of our bridges with the world, with our friends, with the majority of world Jewry, all for the sake of the settlements, all for the sake of permanent Occupation: Suicide.

Years past on Independence Day, I used to wonder if my generation would survive the Occupation.

Now I wonder if Israel will.

This is perhaps Israel's most dismal Independence Day in memory. Not because of war. Nor terrorism, nor economic crisis.

In a country where polls show that nearly two-thirds of the population would cede the West Bank under a future peace deal, Israelis are hostages to the nightmare scenario of permanent Occupation.

Today, after 62 years of furious effort, Israelis and Palestinians are in many respects farther from true independence than ever before. The reason becomes clearer by the year. Both peoples are prisoners of the Occupation.

These people, my friends, the Israelis, now face the most difficult challenge in the history of their country. Their country is still young as nations go, but is aging dangerously with every passing year that the Occupation terrorizes us, invades us, roots itself, spreads, poisons the spirit and the soul.

Most of all, the Occupation has blinded smart people to its own dangers. The Occupation exploits our fears even as it magnifies the real threats against us. The Occupation feeds and fosters those who hate us. It is their secret weapon. It is our Achilles heel.

We know now that our government, our prime minister and defense minister, are prisoners of the Occupation as well, unable or unwilling to do what they know they must to safeguard Israel's future.

That is why individual Israelis are going to have to do what they do best: Take action on their own.

.
Sheikh Jarrah Demonstration 23/4/2010 הפגנה בשייח ג'ראח

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVTOeT74zs

mariosavio — April 24, 2010 — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Sheikh Jarrah for the weekly protest. A few dozens of them went for a legal protest watch in front of the house of one of the evicted families. Police as always threatened arrests, despite the protest being legal, but for the first time the police actually respected the law and did not perform any arrests.

מאות מפגינים נאספו בשייח ג'ראח להפגנה השבועית. כמה עשרות מהם הלכו למשמרת מחאה חוקית מול בית אחת המשפחות המגורשות. המשטרה כהרגלה איימה במעצרים, על אף שמשמרת המחאה הייתה חוקית. אך לראשונה המשטרה כיבדה את החוק ולא ביצעה מעצרים.
Category: News & Politics

........

It is not a large group that demonstrates here. But it is persistent, and growing. There are no speeches, and no hurled rocks. Only something which, thanks to the Occupation, is all but gone everywhere else in Israel: hope.

Will a serious battle against Occupation cause a deep rift in the Jewish People? Will it drive a wedge between all those who believe that the Jews, like other peoples, deserve a state of their own?

Too late. The Occupation has already been there, and done precisely that.

The Occupation has become the greatest single threat to the social fabric of the Jewish state. The Occupation causes division, strife, tension and alienation in Jewish families and Jewish communities the world over.
Nothing causes Israel more diplomatic damage than the Occupation, and its outrider, the siege of Gaza.

Nothing delegitimizes Israel more in the eyes of the world - and in the eyes of many Jews - than the nation's unwillingness or inability to dismantle and end the Occupation.

You don't have to take the short jaunt to Sheikh Jarrah to understand that Israelis must put an end to the Occupation before the Occupation puts an end to Israel.

What will permanent occupation mean for Israel? Not only that the nation will cease to be a democratic state, disenfranchising millions of Palestinians. In the end, permanent Occupation will see to it that Israel will cease to be a Jewish state as well. Israel will have delegitimized itself out of existence.

It will have knowingly opted for and adopted apartheid, and, in the end, either through democracy or through fire, and, thanks to the Occupation, the world community will see to it that an Arab-ruled Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River will finally come into existence.

That, in the end, may explain why the demonstrations here in Sheikh Jarrah, which are not massive in scale, have managed to set in motion a chain of events which has not only affected Washington's view of settlement in the Holy City, but - in the manner of the settlers' disproportionate leverage over the rest of us - has managed to paralyze, at least for now, the inroads of militant settlers into several points across East Jerusalem.

After our most recent visit to the foreign country that may one day be called Palestine, I've refined my goals as far as the future is concerned. This, then, is my mission statement for this Independence Day:

Let the Occupation end with me.

May it end here. Let it end soon.

May Jews and Arabs become again what they once were: Neighbors. True cousins.

May this be the generation that outlives the Occupation.

May we find ways to cripple it, take it apart. End it.

This is Independence Day. Free Israel. End the Occupation.


Addendum. As I was writing this, the Im Tirtzu organization, which promotes the Occupation through division, libel and graphic and verbal obscenity, distributed pamphlets in synagogues aimed at changing the Yizkor memorial prayer for fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, to include an attack on leftist Israelis. I will respond at length to this next week, but suffice it to say that the corrupting effect of the Occupation on the concepts of Torah, Worship, and Lovingkindness, has never been more evident.

Bradley Burston, Sgt., res., IDF Serial #3369089.

www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164119.html

[ninathedog]

US soldier in WikiLeaks massacre video:
“I relive this every day”

By Bill Van Auken
28 April 2010
World Socialist Website

(many thanks to WalkingDogs-Mολὼν Λaβέ-)

Iraq war veteran Ethan McCord, who is seen running with an Iraqi child in his arms in the video posted by WikiLeaks of a July 2007 massacre of civilians in Baghdad, talked to the World Socialist Web Site about the impact of this and similar experiences in Iraq.

The video, which records the shocking deaths of at least 12 individuals, including two Iraqi journalists employed by Reuters, has been viewed more than 6 million times on the Internet.



Ethan McCord


McCord, together with another former member of the company, Josh Stieber, have addressed an open “Letter of Reconciliation” to the Iraqi people taking responsibility for their role in this incident and other acts of violence. Both soldiers deployed to Iraq in 2007 and left the Army last year.

In the letter, McCord and Stieber said, “…we acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones.” They insisted that “the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how US-led wars are carried out in this region.”

The night before speaking to the WSWS, Ethan McCord had learned that the widow of one of the dozen men killed—the father of the two children he tried to rescue—had forgiven him and Stieber for their role in the incident.

Ahlam Abdelhussein Tuman, 33, told the Times of London: “I can accept their apology, because they saved my children and if it were not for them, maybe my two little children would be dead.”

Her husband, Saleh Mutashar Tuman, had arrived on the scene of the carnage caused by a US Apache helicopter firing into a crowd and attempted to aid the wounded. The helicopter opened fire again, killing him and at least one wounded man and wounding his two children, who were sitting in his van.

The widow urged the two former soldiers to continue to speak out. “I would like the American people and the whole world to understand what happened here in Iraq. We lost our country and our lives were destroyed.”

Interview follows:

Can you explain why you and Josh Stieber wrote the “Letter of Reconciliation” to the Iraqi people?

We originally wanted it to go to the family members of those involved that day in the WikiLeaks video. Then in turn we wanted it to be more along the lines of to all Iraqi people as well. We wanted the Iraqi people to know that not everybody sees them as being dehumanized and that there are plenty of Americans and other people who care for them as human beings and wish for them to live long and happy lives and don’t agree with the war and the policies behind it.

I just found out last night that the letter was shown to the family, the children and the mother as well. She has forgiven myself and Josh and is very happy to see the work that Josh and I are doing. There was a London Times reporter who went there to see what they felt about the letter. And there is one comment from the mother that she could forgive me because if it wasn’t for me her children might be dead.

That must make you feel pretty good.

Definitely, but it doesn’t stop there for me or for Josh. We are definitely going to continue speaking out on this and do everything we can to have our voices heard about the policies, the rules of engagement and the war. As well, we are hoping to set up a trust fund for the children, as we know that they’ve had a pretty rough life afterward due to the injuries and whatnot. Hopefully, it will get them some medical care.

Could you describe the events of that day and what your platoon was doing?

It was much like many of the days in Iraq. The neighborhood we were in was pretty volatile; at least it was on the rise, with IED emplacements and with our platoons being shot at with RPGs and sniper fire. We didn’t know who was attacking us. It was never actually really clear, at least in my eyes, who the supposed “enemy” was.

We were conducting what were called knock-and-searches, where we would knock on the doors of the homes and search for documents pertaining to militias or any weapons they weren’t supposed to have or any bomb-making materials. We didn’t really find anything at all.

We were getting ready to wrap up at about one o’clock in the afternoon. We started to funnel into an alleyway and started to take small arms fire from rooftops from AK-47s. We didn’t know what was happening with the Apache helicopters. They were attached to us from another unit to watch over us for this mission, which was called “Ranger Dominance.”

We could hear them open fire, but those of us who were on the ground, outside of the vehicles, had no idea what was taking place. We couldn’t hear the radio chatter and we were pretty caught up in our own situation.

When that situation was neutralized, we were told to walk up onto the scene. I was one of about six soldiers who were dismounted to first arrive on the scene.

What did you see when you got there?

It was pretty much absolute carnage. I had never seen anybody shot by a 30-millimeter round before, and frankly don’t ever want to see that again. It almost seemed unreal, like something out of a bad B-horror movie. When these rounds hit you they kind of explode—people with their heads half-off, their insides hanging out of their bodies, limbs missing. I did see two RPGs on the scene as well as a few AK-47s.

But then I heard the cries of a child. They weren’t necessarily cries of agony, but more like the cries of a small child who was scared out of her mind. So I ran up to the van where the cries were coming from. You can actually see in the scenes from the video where another soldier and I come up to the driver and the passenger sides of the van.

The soldier I was with, as soon as he saw the children, turned around, started vomiting and ran. He didn’t want any part of that scene with the children anymore.

What I saw when I looked inside the van was a small girl, about three or four years old. She had a belly wound and glass in her hair and eyes. Next to her was a boy about seven or eight years old who had a wound to the right side of the head. He was laying half on the floorboard and half on the bench. I presumed he was dead; he wasn’t moving.

Next to him was who I presumed was the father. He was hunched over sideways, almost in a protective way, trying to protect his children. And you could tell that he had taken a 30-millimeter round to the chest. I pretty much knew that he was deceased.

I grabbed the little girl and yelled for a medic. Me and the medic ran into the houses behind where the van crashed to check whether there were any other wounds. I was trying to take as much glass out of her eyes as I could. We dressed the wound and then the medic ran the girl to the Bradley. You can hear in the video where he says, “there’s nothing else I can do here; we need to evacuate the child.”

I then went back outside and went to the van. I don’t know why. I thought both of them were dead, but something told me to go back. That’s when I saw the boy move with what appeared to be a labored breath. So I stated screaming, “The boy’s alive.” I grabbed him and cradled him in my arms and kept telling him, “Don’t die, don’t die.” He opened his eyes, looked up at me. I told him, “It’s OK, I have you.” His eyes rolled back into his head, and I kept telling him, “It’s OK, I’ve got you.” I ran up to the Bradley and placed him inside.

My platoon leader was standing there at the time, and he yelled at me for doing what I did. He told me to “stop worrying about these motherf**king kids and start worrying about pulling security.” So after that I went up and pulled security on a rooftop.

Did you face further repercussions for what you did that day?

After coming back to the FOB [forward operating base], nobody really talked about what had happened that day. Everybody went to their rooms; they were tired. Some of them went to make phone calls. And I was in my room because I had to clean the blood off of my IBA [body armor] and my uniform—the blood from these children. And I was having a flood of emotions and having a real hard time dealing with having seen children this way, as I’m sure most caring human beings would.

So I went to see a staff sergeant who was in my chain of command and told him I needed to see mental health about what was going on in my head. He told me to “quit being a girl thingy” and to “suck it up and be a soldier.” He told me that if I wanted to go to mental health, there would be repercussions, one of them being labeled a “malingerer,” which is actually a crime in the US Army.

For fear of that happening to me, I in turn went back to my room and tried to bottle up as much emotion as I could and pretty much just suck it up and drive on.

You had another nine months or more still to go in your tour then?

That’s right. It was a pretty long time with having to deal with the emotions, not only of that, but of many other days. What happened then was not an isolated incident. Stuff like that happens on a daily basis in Iraq.

Are there other incidents that took place in the following months of your tour that bear this out?

Yes. Our rules of engagement were changing on an almost daily basis. But we had a pretty gung-ho commander, who decided that because we were getting hit by IEDs a lot, there would be a new battalion SOP [standard operating procedure].

He goes, “If someone in your line gets hit with an IED, 360 rotational fire. You kill every motherf**ker on the street.” Myself and Josh and a lot of other soldiers were just sitting there looking at each other like, “Are you kidding me? You want us to kill women and children on the street?”

And you couldn’t just disobey orders to shoot, because they could just make your life hell in Iraq. So like with myself, I would shoot up into the roof of a building instead of down on the ground toward civilians. But I’ve seen it many times, where people are just walking down the street and an IED goes off and the troops open fire and kill them.

During this period were you conscious that you were suffering from post-traumatic stress?

Yes I knew, because I would be angry at everyone and everything and at myself even more. I would watch movies and listen to music as much as possible just to escape reality. I didn’t really talk to many people.

The other problem I had is that before the incident shown in the WikiLeaks video, I was the gung-ho soldier. I thought I was going over there to do the greater good. I thought my job over there was to protect the Iraqi people and that this was a job with honor and courage and duty.

I was hit by an IED within two weeks of my being in Iraq. And I didn’t understand why people were throwing rocks at us, why I was being shot at and why we’re being blown up, when I have it in my head that I was here to help these people.

But the first real serious doubt, where I could no longer justify to myself being in Iraq or serving in the Army, was on that day in July 2007.

How did you come to join the military?

I had always wanted to be in the military, even as a child. My grandfather and my uncles were military. Then September 11 happened, and I decided it was my duty as an American to join the military, so that’s what I did in 2002. I joined the Navy. In 2005, when the Army had what they called “Operation Blue to Green,” pulling sailors and airmen into the Army with bigger bonuses, I made a lateral transfer.

I had pretty much had it in my head that I was going to make a career out of the military. But going to Iraq and dealing with the Army completely changed my outlook.

What was your reaction when you saw the WikiLeaks video?

Shock. I had dropped my children off at school one morning, came home and turned on MSNBC, and there I am running across the screen carrying a child.

I knew immediately it was me. I know the scene. It is burned into my head. I relive it almost every day. It was just a shock that that it was up there, and it angered me. I was angry because it was in my face again.

I had actually started to get a little bit better before the tape was released. I wasn’t thinking about it as often; it was getting a little bit easier to go to sleep. But then everything that I had buried and pushed away came bubbling back to the surface. And the nightmares began again, the anger, the feeling of being used. It all came back. It wasn’t a good feeling; it was like a huge slap in the face.

Do you think that the way you were told to forget about the kids and suck it up is indicative of the general culture in the military?

Yes, there is such a stigma placed on soldiers seeking mental health. It’s like you’re showing a huge sign of weakness for needing to speak about things or for seeking help even for getting to sleep. There’s fear of being chastised or being made fun of. So you end up self-medicating on alcohol. And as you probably know, alcohol is a depressant and just makes it worse.

I was self-medicating when I came home, and I was hospitalized in a mental institute by the Army because of my problems with PTSD and self-medication.

There were many times when I felt that I could no longer take what was going on in my head and the best thing for me to do would be to put a bullet in my head. But each time I thought about that, I would look at the pictures of my children and think back on that day and how the father of those children was taken away and how horrible it must be for them. And if I were to do that, I would be putting my children in the same position.

Do you think that the pressure to bury these problems is driven by a fear that if you are allowed to question your own experiences, it can call into question the nature of the war itself?

I was not able to talk about it, not able to get answers to like how I was feeling about this, why were we doing this, what are we doing here? It was just straight up, “You’re going to do this, and you’re going to shut up about it.”

Soldiers aren’t mindless drones. They have feelings. They have emotions. You can’t just make them go out and do something without telling them, this is why we’re doing it. And the pressure just builds up.

You hear in the video the Apache helicopter crew saying some things that are pretty heart-wrenching and cold. I’m guilty of it too. We all are. It’s kind of a coping mechanism. You feel bad at the time for what you did and you take those emotions and push them down. That’s what the Army teaches you to do, just push them down. And in a sense it works. It helps you get through the hard times. But unfortunately, there’s no outlet for that anymore, once you get out of the Army. When you get back home, there’s no one to joke around with, nobody you can talk to about these instances.

What happens to that soldier? He’s going to blow up. And when he blows up, more than likely it’s going to be on his family, his close friends or on himself. So I think that’s why soldiers end up killing themselves.

So a terrible price is being paid for this war in the US itself?

Yes, I feel that just as the Iraqis, the soldiers are victims of this war as well. Like we say in our letter to the Iraqis, the government is ignoring them and it is also ignoring us. Instead of people being upset at a few soldiers in a video who were doing what they were trained to do, I think people need to be more upset at the system that trained these soldiers. They are doing exactly what the Army wants them to do. Getting angry and calling these soldiers names and saying how callous and cold-hearted they are isn’t going to change the system.

What do you think drives this system? Why are they sent to do this?

As far as the hidden agenda behind the war, I couldn’t even begin to guess what that is. I do know that the system is being driven by some people with pretty low morals and values, and they attempt to instill those values in the soldiers.

But the people who are driving the system don’t have to deal with the repercussions. It’s the American people who have to deal with them. They’re the ones who have to deal with all of these soldiers who come back from war, have no outlets and blow up.

I still live with this every day. When I close my eyes I see what happened that day and many other days like a slide show in my head. The smells come back to me. The cries of the children come back to me. The people driving this big war machine, they don’t have to deal with this. They live in their $36 million mansions and sleep well at night.

Were you hopeful that with the 2008 election these kinds of things would be brought to a halt. Were you disappointed that they have continued and escalated?

I am not part of any party. Was I hopeful? Yes. Was I surprised that we are still there? No. I’m not surprised at all. There’s something else lying underneath there. It’s not Republican or Democrat; it’s money. There’s something else lying underneath it where Republicans and Democrats together want to keep us in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am hopeful that the video and our speaking out will help. There’s the old adage that war is hell, but I don’t think people really understand just what a hell war is. Until you see it first-hand, you don’t really know what’s going on. Like I said, this video shows you an every-day occurrence in Iraq, and I can only assume, in Afghanistan. So I hope people wake up and see the actual hells of war.

The video can be viewed below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0

I haven't and won't watch this video.
I suggest you do so with caution.

..............

AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION &
RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE

A newly released Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” video has made international headlines showing a July 2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which U.S. forces wounded two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of those children and two Reuters employees. Two soldiers from Bravo Company 2-16, the company depicted in the video, have written an open letter of apology to the Iraqis who were injured or lost loved ones during the attack that, these former soldiers say, is a regular occurrence in this war. You can view the Wikileaks video here: wikileaks.org/ and you can view the Press Release here (posted following letter).

AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION &
RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE
From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military

Peace be with you.

To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July 2007 Baghdad shootings depicted in the “Collateral Murder” Wikileaks video:

We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that our words and actions can never restore your losses.

We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions.

There is no bringing back all that was lost. What we seek is to learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to tell others of our experiences and how the people of the United States need to realize we have done and are doing to you and the people of your country. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused.

We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region.

We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones as we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried out in the name of "god and country". The soldier in the video said that your husband shouldn't have brought your children to battle, but we are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want done to us.

More and more Americans are taking responsibility for what was done in our name. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny.

If appropriate, please sign the letter here:
org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2724

......

Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15th, 2010

Contact:
Laura Taylor: 202-510-3711
[e-mail]

VETERANS OF "WIKILEAKS" INCIDENT ANNOUNCE
"LETTER OF RECONCILIATION" TO IRAQIS INJURED IN ATTACK



Two former soldiers from the Army unit responsible for the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" incident have written an open-letter of "Reconciliation and Responsibility" to those injured in the July 2007 attack, in which U.S. forces wounded two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of those children and two Reuters employees.

Ethan Mccord and Josh Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16 in 2007. Ethan was on the ground at the scene of the shooting, and is seen on the video rushing one of the injured children to a U.S. Vehicle; "When I saw those kids, all I could picture was my kids back home". Ethan applied for mental health support following this incident and was denied by his commanding officer.

Josh Stieber was not at the scene of the shooting but says similar incidents happened throughout his 14-month tour; "The acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war."
 Josh states that these casualties demonstrate the impact of U.S. military policy on both the civilians and the soldiers on the ground.

Ethan and Josh claim that though their unit was following the Rules of Engagement that day, they are taking responsibility for their role in the incident and initiating a dialogue around it; "Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny."

The letter, which they hope to get to the family who lost their father and whose children were injured in the attack, states that they "are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want done to us."

Ethan and Josh are available for interviews. The letter can be seen at: www.lettertoiraq.com


BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER:
Branch of service: United States Army (USA)

Unit: 1st ID

Rank: Spc.

Home: Laytonsville, Maryland
Served in: Baghdad (Rustamiyah) 07-08 Fort Riley, KS 06-07, 08-09

BACKGROUND ON ETHAN MCCORD:
Branch of service: United States Army (USA)

Unit: 1st ID

Rank: Spc.

Home: Wichita, Kansas

org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/t/9615/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=2491

[ninathedog]

Apr 29, 2010 8:29:11 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

An Open Letter to UC Berkeley Students --
Passing the Israel Divestment Bill

Mustafa Barghouthi
Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative

Posted: April 28, 2010 05:20 PM

Dear Berkeley students and the ASUC Senate:

I commend the effort of the wide coalition at Berkeley to pass the Bill in Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes. American students can play a powerful role in Palestinian liberation by supporting divestment from companies that enable the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory.

I urge you to seize this moment as an opportunity to help secure Palestinian freedom and a just peace, but most particularly as an opportunity to help Palestinian students you may never meet. These students struggle to achieve their educational aspirations under an occupation that blocks opportunities and destroys dreams. Embrace your freedom and your incredible opportunities at one of America's finest schools by doing your utmost to protect the many Palestinian students working by candlelight in Gaza to reach where you are today. The war crimes they were subjected to by the Israeli military in 2008-2009 were appalling. Their perseverance will be aided by your vote tonight against war crimes.

Palestinian voices are too rarely heard in the United States. We have too few opportunities to present our narrative of loss and dispossession. Hear us tonight along with our Jewish friends and colleagues who are speaking up and saying that there is nothing anti-Semitic in backing Palestinian freedom and an end to complicity with a military occupation that strips us of our rights and dignity and many Israelis of their humanity. Both peoples need a just peace and this bill helps speed that day.

Look at the student coalition before you tonight. From my time at Stanford, I firmly believe that such coalitions are one of the most beautiful aspects of American life. It is not uniquely American, but it is to be treasured. And for all those students who are not part of the coalition, but fearful of it, I say we mean you no harm. We seek only to live in freedom and as equals. Israel's military repression of us must end eventually. Do not stand in the way like those angry Alabama students 50 years ago blocking integration. You have, I trust, nothing in common with those students, but misplaced fear.

And to student supporters of the divestment resolution remember your fellow students' fear. It is misplaced, but real. Whatever the outcome tonight, I urge you not to be angry or over-joyous. There is a long road ahead of us still, and we do not know which among those who oppose us tonight may, five years from now, stand with us. I have seen it happen time and time again and at an increasingly rapid pace as Israel's excesses and human rights violations become more and more evident to the entire world.

I have lived my entire adult life under this occupation. I have worked this entire time -- over 40 years -- to bring about an end to this system of Israeli rule and Palestinian subjugation. Despite the remarkable allies and courageous individuals who have worked on our behalf, often at great risk to themselves, we have not yet prevailed in securing Palestinian freedom. With your help, tonight, I believe we can bring this day of freedom closer.

However you vote, and whatever you think you know about this conflict, I urge you to come and see for yourself. But do not just go to Israel. Visit us in the occupied West Bank and witness for yourself the dual system of law applied by Israeli occupation forces here -- one for Jewish settlers and one for Palestinians. I believe you will find young people here anxious to tell you their stories and hopeful that when you return to the United States you will work to convince Americans that Palestinians, like people everywhere, should live in freedom.

Finally, to the students who have worked so hard for so many weeks to bring about this vote, thank you, and may you have the energy to continue your vital work for peace and justice. We, on the far side of Israel's apartheid wall, are inspired by your actions and your solidarity.

Salaam,

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi
Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and
nominee for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

www.huffingtonpost.com/mustafa-barghouthi/an-open-letter-to-uc-berk_b_555957.html?ref=fb&src=sp

Anna Baltzer on
UCSD Divestment for Peace

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIFecNvi_Ww

UCSDDivestforPeace — April 27, 2010 —
Anna Baltzer discusses her views on UCSD Divestment for Peace.
Visit UCSDDivestforPeace.org for more information!

(many thanks to Tom V)

UCB Professor Judith Butler on Divesting from
Two US Companies Enabling the Israeli Military

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYhvzqD2iH8

[ninathedog]

ASUC Senate Hearing
Fails to Override Veto by 1 Vote

Posted by marcy/مارسي newman/نيومان under Boycott, Divestment, Student Organizing, U.S. Academica

We lost the vote, but won the night.

13 senators voted to override, 14 wer required. Only 5 senators voted to uphold, less than half the 13.

We made a statement recorded for posterity and forced everyone to listen and watch what the nature of Israeli occupation is, to listen to Palestinian voices, from Palestine and from the US, telling their stories. These transcripts will stay preserved in recorded history, and we shall overcome.

Make no mistake, we lost the vote, but we won the night.

Undaunted,

Cal Divest Team

PS. We will post a lot of tonight’s material to this website soon. Stay tuned.

usacbi.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/asuc-senate-hearing-fails-to-override-veto-by-1-vote/

[ninathedog]

The Freedom Flotilla Sails to
Gaza in May

Written by Free Gaza Team | 28 April 2010

(London, UK) On May 24, 2010, the Freedom Flotilla sets sail for Gaza determined to, once again, challenge Israel’s blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in an open-air prison. Under the coordination of the Free Gaza Movement, numerous human rights organizations, including the Turkish Relief Foundation (IHH), the Perdana Global Peace Organization from Malaysia, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, and the Swedish and Greek Boat to Gaza initiatives will send three cargo ships loaded with reconstruction, medical and educational supplies. At least five passenger boats with over 600 people on board will accompany the cargo ships.

These passengers include members of Parliament from around the world, U.N., human rights and trade union activists, as well as journalists who will document the largest coordinated effort to directly confront Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and take in basic supplies.

Said Mary Hughes Thompson, one of Free Gaza’s co-founders, “Although we were happy with the first trips, it was bitter-sweet, knowing that our small boats and symbolic amounts of relief paled in comparison to what was really needed in Gaza. Now, we finally feel we are helping to organize a powerful action, one with the potential to translate into a sustained campaign of much more effective challenges to Israel's brutal siege.”

In the past three months, Israel has limited fuel to run the power station. Much of Gaza is often in darkness. There are just enough trucks coming in to barely prevent total starvation, and Egypt, complicit with the Israeli-US policy of blockading Palestinians, is building an underground steel wall to prevent people in Gaza from bringing in vitally needed supplies through tunnels.
A cargo ship sponsored by the people of Malaysia and loaded with cargo donated from citizens of Ireland, Scotland, and Britain as well as thousands around the world, will depart from Ireland the second week of May. When it reaches the Mediterranean, she will be joined by the other boats and begin the journey to Gaza.

Dr. Mona El-Farra, Deputy Director of the Union of Health Work Committees in Gaza was pleased to hear we are coming back. “When the two boats from Free Gaza entered the harbor in 2008, it was like a dream, it was historic. And all great things start with some dreamers who made it true. For us in Gaza, the dream of freedom will not be lost, and we welcome this next voyage with open hearts.”

The Free Gaza Movement along with the partners listed above, are the organizers of this flotilla. However, dozens of organizations and tens of thousands of people around the world are taking part to make this voyage a success. www.freegaza.org

Contact:

Greta Berlin, [phone], [e-mail] Arraf, [phone], [phone], [e-mail] Butterly, [phone], [e-mail]

.......

Free Gaza:
Cementing Our Support with Gaza

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz-LYXV6_t0

gazafriends — April 26, 2010 — As the flotilla gets ready to sail to Gaza, the Free Gaza Movement asks for donations to buy cement to fill the hold of their cargo ship in Ireland. It is easy to do. Just go to our front page, click on the bag of cement and how many bags you want to buy. Then sign up for our Facebook, TWITTER and YouTube accounts to watch the flotilla.

5 euros (about $6.65 USD) buys a 25 kg/55 lb bag of cement that will be shipped to Gaza via sea in order to break the siege and provide materials to rebuild homes destroyed by Israeli attacks.

Category: Nonprofits & Activism

freegaza.org

[ninathedog]

B'Tselem, Israeli Human Rights group:
100 Palestinian Video Cameras (July 30, 2008)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAqJO3zHKAU

...The group has supplied almost 100 video cameras to vulnerable Palestinian communities in Hebron, the northern West Bank and elsewhere, to document and gather evidence of assaults and abusive behaviour...

[ninathedog]

Be forewarned this is a PC production. You may not be a fan of
either PC or Leo Zagami but there's a lot here to hear.

This interview is relevant to Humanitarian Issues because
he discusses arms trading and other issues.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nLfRsReGII
It's really best to skip ahead to 5 minutes 49 seconds.
That's where the interview actually begins.

Majestic 12:
At 57 minutes, LZ replies:
"In my personal experience, Majestic has been always an organization mentioned mostly by conspiracy theorists without foundation. I never found any realistic existence of this Majestic 12 or this Majestic organization. If you talk to me about the CFR, the Trialateral (Commission), these are realistic things that exist, they are tangible, you can touch them. The Illuminati they exist. I was into an organization, which I can show you the documents and that was the (unintelligible) de Monte Carlo, the Monte Carlo Lodge..." He finishes his thought and then continues onto the topic of the Knights of Malta...


...........

Oslo, Norway, February 2008
Leo Lyon Zagami, ex-member of the Comitato Esecutivo Massonico - the Masonic Executive Committee - of Monte Carlo, was, until recently, is a high level member of the Italian Illuminati. He is a 33rd degree Freemason, and a senior member of the infamous P2 Lodge. He was the 'Prince': prepared to take over after the older Illuminati 'King', Licio Gelli. He was born of a Scottish-Sicilian Illuminati aristocratic bloodline, and so has been involved in the Illuminati Order since childhood. Disgusted with satanic black magic rituals, and with the true intentions of those who regard themselves as the elite controllers of the planet, he has now made the commitment to tell the real story of those who seek to rule us all without our consent...

[ninathedog]

10 Israel Prize laureates and
dozens of academics
urge the Defense Minister:

"Cancel sweeping ban preventing Palestinians in Gaza from attending
Palestinian universities in the West Bank"

News Release -
For Immediate Release -
Wednesday, April 28, 2010[/i]

Gisha: (Israeli) Legal Center for Freedom of Movement

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - Ten Israel Prize laureates and more than 50 academics and intellectuals wrote to the Israeli Defense Minister today asking him to cancel the sweeping ban Israel has imposed, since 2000, on Palestinian students from Gaza studying in the West Bank. Among the signatories are 2010 Israel Prize winners Prof. Avishai Margalit and Prof. Yehoshua Kolodny, past winners David Tartakover and Yehuda Jad Ne'eman, and intellectuals Joshua Sobol and Nir Baram.

"A sweeping ban on the passage of any resident of Gaza wishing to study in the West Bank is a disproportional ban that must be canceled," they write. "Instead of the ban, we ask that the young people be allowed to attend their places of study subject to individual security checks of their applications. At the very least, we ask the Defense Minister to establish a mechanism for individual evaluations in cases which could result in positive human consequences."

The academics and intellectuals who signed the letter added that "academic and professional training is critical to the well-being and growth of Palestinian society and the individual development of each one of its young men and women who wishes to better himself or herself," and that "Israel has a clear interest in allowing our Palestinian neighbors to build a prosperous and peaceful civil society."

Since 2000 Israel has imposed a sweeping ban on Palestinians from the Gaza Strip wishing to attend Palestinian universities in the West Bank. Despite an Israeli High Court ruling in 2007 that determined that students from Gaza wishing to study in the West Bank should be allowed to do so "in cases that would have positive human consequences," to the best of Gisha's knowledge, Israel has not let a single student from Gaza pass through Israel in order to reach his or her studies in the West Bank since the ruling. In the late 1990s, about 1,000 students from Gaza studied in the West Bank, many in critical disciplines that are not available in the Gaza Strip, such as occupational therapy, dentistry, physical therapy and others.

Gisha has recently appealed again to the Israeli authorities on behalf of three students from Gaza accepted for studies at Bethlehem University in the West Bank. The three, Jawdat Michael, Dana Al Tarazi and Owda Aljelda were supposed to start school in the summer of 2009, but despite requests by Gisha and Bethlehem University, Israel refused to let them leave Gaza. They are now seeking to attend the 2010 summer session at the university.

The sweeping ban on the passage of students from Gaza to the West Bank is only one part of an overall Israeli policy whose purpose is to separate the two parts of Palestinian territory. A new order recently went into effect, which threatens every Palestinian in the West Bank, whose registered address is in Gaza, with removal to the Strip, even if they have lived in the West Bank for years or even all their lives. For many years, and even prior to the issuing of the order, Israel has been implementing this removal policy. For example, in October 2009, Berlanty Azzam, a 22-year-old student who had been in the West Bank since 2005 and was only two months away from completing her BA in Business Administration from Bethlehem University was removed to Gaza. Meanwhile, since 2000, Israel, which controls the Palestinian population registry, has refused to allow changes of address from Gaza to the West Bank.

gisha.org/index.php?intLanguage=2&intItemId=1745&intSiteSN=113


......

Full text: Israel professors back Gaza students

To:
Mr. Ehud Barak, Minister of Defense
Mr. Matan Vilnai, Deputy Minister of Defense

We have learned that since the year 2000 there has been a blanket ban preventing residents of the Gaza Strip from traveling to the West Bank for studies. The ban is universal and applies to any student wishing to study in the West Bank, including residents of the Gaza Strip who have never been accused of posing any security threat whatsoever.

The ban has dealt a severe blow to higher education in Gaza and to society at large, especially considering the fact that the study of vital professions, such as occupational therapy, dentistry, physical therapy, speech therapy and health system management is offered only in the West Bank and not in the Gaza Strip. The ban means that residents of Gaza are deprived of the possibility of becoming dentists, physical therapists and occupational therapists. Therefore, restricting the access to studies also severely restricts the access of the public in Gaza to the health and welfare systems which are supposed to be provided by graduates of higher education institutions.

We have learned that in a Supreme Court judgment from August 2007 in a petition filed by Gisha (HCJ 11120/05 Hamdan v. OC Southern Command) the Court did not overturn the ban, but it ruled that the State should establish a mechanism "to deal individually with cases whose resolution could have positive humane consequences".

We, the undersigned academics and cultural figures, emphasize the importance of education for the development of a prosperous civil society. We believe that academic and professional training are vital for the well-being and growth of Palestinian society and the personal development of each young person who wishes to better him or herself. Allowing our Palestinian neighbors to build a thriving and peace-seeking civil society is clearly an Israeli interest.

We believe that the blanket ban preventing residents of Gaza from studying in the West Bank is disproportionate and should be canceled. Instead of this ban, we ask that young people be allowed to access their places of study subject to individual security checks of their applications, and that, at the very least, the defense minister establish a mechanism for individual review of cases whose resolution could have positive humane consequences.

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=280313

[ninathedog]

One Laptop Per Child reaches
Gaza Strip

Thursday, 29 April 2010 14:18 UK
BBC.com

The UN in the Gaza Strip has begun distributing thousands of laptop computers to children in its schools.

The rugged laptops are made by the non-profit organisation One Laptop Per Child, which aims to give a computer to every child in the developing world.

One Laptop Per Child say computers are a good way of improving the education of children living in poverty.

Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in the Gaza Strip in the last three years, the UN says.

Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade on Gaza, which was tightened in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, and all but humanitarian supplies are prevented from entering.

Unrwa, the UN agency for refugees, began distributing 2,100 laptops on Thursday in Rafah, a town in the south of the strip.

This is part of a wider ambitions to distribute 500,000 laptops to children in Gaza by 2012.

Connected

One Laptop Per Child has built the energy efficient XO laptop especially for children in developing countries.

"The XO laptop has a special place in children's education in regions that are disrupted by ongoing violence," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the organisation.

"With the XO the children can continue to stay connected and gain the skills and knowledge required to participate fully and thrive in the 21st century - even when getting to school is impossible."

The UN agency which looks after Palestinian refugees, UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides housing, health services, education and emergency food supplies to more than four million refugees in five countries.

The computers are to be loaded with textbooks and teaching aids that cover the primary school curriculum, a statement from UNWRA said.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8651580.stm

........

UN to distribute 200,000
laptops to Gaza refugees

By Adel Zaanoun (AFP) –
April 29, 2010

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday launched a campaign to distribute 200,000 laptops to schoolchildren in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a spokesman said.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) plans to distribute half a million devices to refugees across the Middle East by the end of 2012, spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said.

"The campaign is beginning today in refugee schools in (the southern Gaza town of) Rafah, with the distribution of 2,200 laptops as part of a plan to distribute 200,000 laptops to our students in the Gaza Strip," he said.

The plan calls for linking pupils and teachers via wireless Internet "so that the students can continue their studies during crises," Abu Hasna added.

The programme is expected to cost more than 30 million dollars (23 million euros) and has received funding from US-based One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, a UN official said on condition of anonymity.

At the official launch at an UNRWA primary school in Rafah, the schoolchildren beamed as they received the green and white laptops, which are designed to be durable and energy efficient.

Many said they looked forward to using the computers to chat with friends and play computer games.

Nicholas Negroponte, the chairman and founder of OLPC, said he did not expect the project to encounter any obstacles and that Israel's President Shimon Peres had lent his personal support to it.

Some 200 teachers at UNRWA-run schools have already been trained to incorporate the computers in their lessons, and UNRWA and OLPC are currently developing electronic textbooks for an entire primary school curriculum.

Israel and Egypt have sealed Gaza off to all but basic goods since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June 2007, but Israel has allowed UNRWA to bring in humanitarian aid and a limited amount of construction materials.

Some 80 percent of Gaza's 1.5 million residents rely on foreign aid.

UNRWA provides humanitarian assistance as well as health and education services to more than 4.7 million registered Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The refugees are the descendants of the 750,000 Palestinians displaced from what is now Israel during the 1948 war that attended the creation of the Jewish state.

More than one million refugees live in Gaza, where they make up two-thirds of the population.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hIq1KZgEE_coQhDsK6hq41B1YBaQ

FAIR USE NOTICE: This post may contain copyrighted material.

Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit.

...........

UN to buy 500,000 OLPC laptops for
Palestinian children

By Peter Sayer
Businessweek
April 29, 2010, 10:58 AM EDT

The One Laptop Per Child Project delivered 2,100 laptops to a United Nations project in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the largest deployment so far in a program that aims to give half a million Palestinian children access to the computers over the next three years.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) teaches 500,000 children in the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. OLPC has already delivered 1,500 of its XO laptops to schools in Ramallah on the West Bank.

The computers run the open-source Sugar software suite, marking a return to OLPC's roots after a flirtation with running Windows XP on its emblematic green-and-white XO laptops.

Sugar is now developed by a separate organization, Sugar Labs, which also offers versions of its Activities software for Windows, or on a bootable USB stick running on top of a Linux kernel.

Sugar Labs said that in addition to the learning activities its software already provides, existing UNRWA learning content will also be adapted. UNRWA has already begun training teachers on the new machines, it said.

www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-04-29/un-to-buy-500-000-olpc-laptops-for-palestinian-children.html

.............

One Laptop Per Child



Friday, November 17, 2006
BoingBoing.net

The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, with a dual-mode display—both a full-color, transmissive DVD mode, and a second display option that is black and white reflective and sunlight-readable at 3× the resolution. The laptop will have a 500MHz processor and 128MB of DRAM, with 500MB of Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but it will have four USB ports. The laptops will have wireless broadband that, among other things, allows them to work as a mesh network; each laptop will be able to talk to its nearest neighbors, creating an ad hoc, local area network. The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data.

boingboing.net/2006/11/17/gallery_of_photos_of.html[/i]

...............

Australia trials
low-cost laptop

Asher Moses
January 12, 2007 - 11:07AM
TheAge.com.au/

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project aims to put low-cost laptops into the hands of impoverished children in the developing world, but work is already underway to trial them among indigenous populations in Australia.

The simple laptop, currently being built for around $US150 each, is the brainchild of MIT Media Lab and Nicholas Negroponte, who billed it as being revolutionary for children's education.


A prototype children's laptop, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), is showcased at
the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Photo: AP

Allowing poor children access to modern technologies, MIT argued, would give those who don't have access to teachers and schools the ability teach themselves.

"Poor children lack opportunity, not capacity for learning," reads a description on the OLPC website.

"By providing laptops to every child without cost to the child, we bring the poor child the same opportunities for learning that wealthy families bring to their children."

Millions of the laptops are already being built for Rwanda, Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and Uruguay, and it is understood they will be ready for distribution by July.

But it is fast being realised that many Australian communities could also benefit from the project.

Rangan Srikhanta, a treasurer with the United Nations Association of Australia, is liasing with local governments, universities and the OLPC group to organise local trials.

He asserts that there are many children in "developed" countries, such as Australia, that are exposed to conditions typical of those expected in developing countries.

"We are working to get this laptop to the Northern Territory, where we feel that it could be very beneficial," he said.

"There are numerous other areas in Queensland, WA, SA, NSW, Vic and Tas that hold equal potential."

Sharron Noske, deputy chief executive of planning and resources for the Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), said two samples were being tested to decide whether to go ahead with a trial program.

"DEET is keen to look at an extended pilot where a whole class of students use the laptops for an extended period - to establish the learning benefits and identify the associated teaching strategies and resources required," she said.

"If this pilot shows the outcomes DEET is seeking, then the department would consider a wider roll-out."

For such a low cost, the OLPC laptop offers a rich array of features including a webcam, microphone, wireless networking, SD memory card slot and built-in speakers.

www.theage.com.au/news/laptops--desktops/australia-trials-lowcost-laptop/2007/01/12/1168105153500.html

[ninathedog]

Apr 27, 2010 22:52:32 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

>>edited for length

Bianca Zammit released from hospital,
will stay in Gaza

Tuesday, 27th April 2010 - 17:15CET
Times of Malta

Bianca Zammit, the Maltese human rights activist shot in Gaza on Saturday, was released from hospital this morning but does not intend returning to Malta.

"She has to stay at her home for rest for 15 days," her father Joe Zammit told timesofmalta.com .

Ms Zammit, 28, was shot in the leg by Israeli forces as she filmed a protest by Palestinians in a security zone. The bullet went through a muscle in one of her legs but caused no permanent harm.

Mr Zammit said that his daughter was initially discharged yesterday but doctors asked her to return for observation and kept her overnight.

She is now being cared for by her Palestinian neighbours, who cook her food and cater for her needs.

Mr Zammit reiterated that Bianca had forgiven whoever shot her. The incident, he said, had not dampened her enthusiasm for the voluntary work she carries out in Gaza. She went there last May to work for the International Solidarity Movement and expects to stay there for another three months.

Her work includes teaching English and writing about the Palestinian plight.

Prior to travelling to Gaza, she had spent two months in the West Bank.

www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100427/local/bianca-zammit-released-from-hospital

Israeli Ambassador regrets Gaza shooting
Another demonstrator injured

Thursday, 29th April 2010
Times of Malta

Gideon Meir, the non-resident Israeli Ambassador to Malta, said he regretted the shooting of Maltese human rights activist Bianca Zammit by Israeli Forces in Gaza on Saturday.

However, Mr Meir, in Malta on a visit scheduled before the incident, said he also regretted that innocent civilians such as Ms Zammit were being used by the Palestinians and by the International Solidarity Movement for political purposes to enhance their case.

Mr Meir hoped the incident would not harm relations between Malta and Israel.

Malta officially protested with Israel after Ms Zammit, 28, was shot in the leg while filming a Palestinian protest against Israeli forces in Gaza. She was discharged from a Palestinian hospital on Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery.

Fellow protesters, 18-year-old Nidal Al Naji, and Hind Al Akra, 22, were injured along with Ms Zammit. They are now safely at home but will require a long convalescence.

The Israeli forces attacks in the Gaza zone continued and reports emerging from Palestinian human rights activists yesterday said another demonstrator, Ahmad Deeb, 21, was badly injured with a dumdum bullet that broke into shrapnel inside the body. (He later died from his wounds.)

Article continues after following video clip of news report --

The following day, another Palestinian teen killed by Israeli army

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld3RdZVvpfg
AlJazeeraEnglish — April 28, 2010 —
A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead by the Israeli army that opened fire on
a group of Palestinians protesting against a buffer zone being built on the border
between the east of the Gaza strip and Israel.

Moaweya Hassanein, 19, was shot in the abdomen and carried to a hospital,
where he died of wounds.

An Israeli human rights group has released video footage which showed
a non-violent crowd of Palestinian protesters being taken surprise by a gunshot
fired by an Israeli soldier on the other side of a nearby security fence.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports.

[April 29, 2010]
...............................


-- continued from above --

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Maltese Embassy in Tel Aviv had sent a note to the Foreign Affairs Ministry deploring Ms Zammit's shooting. The embassy said it "expected a full investigation on this reprehensible incident, which could have had serious repercussions".

On Monday, the embassy informed the Spanish EU presidency and the EU Ambassador in Tel Aviv of its actions.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the Maltese Ambassador was assured by the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry the protest was legitimate and the ministry would ask for clarifications from the military.

Meetings followed between the Maltese Ambassador and Israeli MP Orli Levi-Abekasis, who expressed her sympathy and said the case should never have happened. She said she would follow the investigations closely.

Saturday's incident sparked the wrath of numerous organisations and Euromed working group, Skop, on Tuesday said Israel was not acknowledging shooting Ms Zammit. Instead, a military spokesman told journalists three Palestinians were hit.

The group wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg to thank him for his firm stance and urging him to raise the subject before all the international fora possible since it was not a one-off incident.

Skop said the line the Israeli military was feeding journalists was that the "area adjacent to the security fence is a combat zone used by terrorist organisation to execute attacks against Israel".

Countering Israel's statements, Skop pointed out that the so-called "combat zone", in which Ms Zammit was shot, was unilaterally declared by Israel with no grounds in international law.

The 300-metre-deep combat zone was declared on the Gaza side of the frontier last January, leaving Palestinian farmers in the region with no land to till.

Vouching for Ms Zammit, Skop said she would have put up peaceful resistance. It was also aware that she had talked to soldiers by megaphone telling them what the demonstration was about.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LPHHl0KMb4

In addition to expressing solidarity with Ms Zammit, it extended its solidarity to all Palestinians shot in similar incidents. It also urged EU institutions to reconsider Israel's privileged status in relation to the EU in light of "these serious and fundamental violations towards human rights".

Moviment Azzjoni Xellug also expressed solidarity with Ms Zammit, following the "barbaric act". The movement thanked her for the work she and other activists did in the name of human rights.

The National Youth Council also expressed solidarity with Ms Zammit - "a fine example of committed youth" - and her family.

An interview with Mr Meir will be carried in the next edition of The Sunday Times.

www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100429/local/israeli-ambassador-regrets-gaza-shooting

[ninathedog]

Apr 30, 2010 1:47:35 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

ASUC Senate Hearing
Fails to Override Veto by 1 Vote

Posted by marcy/مارسي newman/نيومان under Boycott, Divestment, Student Organizing, U.S. Academica

We lost the vote, but won the night.

13 senators voted to override, 14 wer required. Only 5 senators voted to uphold, less than half the 13.

We made a statement recorded for posterity and forced everyone to listen and watch what the nature of Israeli occupation is, to listen to Palestinian voices, from Palestine and from the US, telling their stories. These transcripts will stay preserved in recorded history, and we shall overcome.

Make no mistake, we lost the vote, but we won the night.

Undaunted,

Cal Divest Team

PS. We will post a lot of tonight’s material to this website soon. Stay tuned.

usacbi.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/asuc-senate-hearing-fails-to-override-veto-by-1-vote/

UC Berkeley vote: a small loss,
an enormous win


From: "Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace" <[e-mail]>
Fri, April 30, 2010 5:48:39 PM


Dear Jennifer,

I have been an activist since I was a teenager, and yet, the night of April 28 in the Pauley Ballroom of UC Berkeley will surely stand out as one of the most remarkable activist achievements I have ever witnessed.

And I am grateful that you were there, represented by thousand of green stickers: each with a name, a place, an identity.

While the senate at UC San Diego sent a similar proposal to a committee for further study, divestment proponents at Berkeley failed by just one vote to reverse a presidential veto of their original overwhelming vote to divest. The members of Berkeley's Students for Justice in Palestine wanted UC to divest from 2 companies that profit from killing and harming of civilians as part of Israel's occupation. Yes, companies that make money from death. From control. From destruction. They needed 14 votes out of 20 to overturn the veto. Despite truly heroic efforts on the part of countless students, including such impressive student senators, in the end they had 13 votes. The 14th abstained.

And yet, if you ask the question, after weeks of multiple hearings and votes, Who really won here?, the numbers speak for themselves:

Nearly 30 hours of hearings and testimony with standing room only audiences and in some cases, people flying in from other parts of the country to testify, others sending video or being Skyped in from Palestine and Gaza.

The support of some 100 professors, over 40 student groups, 5 Nobel Laureates, 9 Israeli peace groups, 263 community Jews in one ad plus 40 pages and growing of notable Jewish endorsements, some 8,000 JVP supporters like you from around the globe who in just 5 days created a sea of visible support.

At this last and final hearing alone, there were 500 people, standing room only.

A speaker asked the supporters of divestment to stand up: nearly 80% stood.

A senator announced that 62% of that night's registered speakers were pro-divest, while 38% were against.

After everything, 13 of 20 senators at one of the United States' leading academic institutions stood clearly on the side of divestment.

And that's why so many left with a feeling of both anger and jubilation. But more than anything, determination.

If the theme of the all-night hearing in mid April-at which a final vote was tabled- was that there was every bit as much, if not more Jewish support for divestment as against it on the UC campus, the narrative running through April 28th's all-night session was that this is about the Palestinian story, Palestinian resilience, Palestinian humanity and one day, in their quest for justice and full equality, Palestinian victory.

Imagine hours and hours of testimony from Palestinian and Arab student after student, each standing in front of a microphone and hundreds to tell their story- stories of broken bones, destroyed homes, arbitrary imprisonment and torture. Stories of bombs through living room windows, and strips searches at checkpoints. Stories of not being able to learn because schools are closed down for years at a time. Stories that until now seemed to have been banished from the public square because the mere fact of their telling, and in so doing asserting the full beauty and humanity of the teller, has been taken as a threat.

But not on this night. Not for these hours. Not in this room.

Above: Sea of bright green: supporters before and during the epic all-night
hearing on divesting from Israel's occupation at UC Berkeley.

Unless they physically plugged their ears and closed their eyes, there was not one person in that room who was not forever changed by hearing those students. Not the 80% who supported divestment. And not the 20% who didn't.

Many of you personally helped make the room a sea of green of support. In just 5 days, over 8,000 people from all over the country, many from all over the world, said, "we stand with you." We printed out thousands of stickers and they became like trading cards as people poured over your names and statements. "Oh look, David is a rabbinical student from Philadelphia. Dina is a Muslim teacher from New York. Let me wear Izak, a Quaker from Boston. No, wait, I'm wearing the Zeyde (grandfather) from Atlanta." I saw more than one Palestinian student wearing a green sticker on her heart as she stood at the microphone, showing the most remarkable kind of courage. The kind required to tell your most painful family story, a story of death and heartbreak, without knowing it would actually be heard by those in front of you. But I know she was supported in telling her story by the massive visible support you showed her. We all felt it.

There are so many lessons to be learned from these past weeks, from what started as a nonviolent call for Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) from Palestinians in 2005, moved to US campuses like Hampshire and University of Michigan at Dearborn, and is now just beginning to spread across the country.

Divestment is a tactic meant to build a movement for justice and equality, not an end unto itself. The outcome of the vote became far less important than the way the fight for the bill electrified the campus, the community, and thousands of people all over the world. It's impossible to convey the life changing and movement-building impact of this experience.

Take Emily Carlton, an ASUC senator who sponsored the bill. She spoke eloquently of starting out as a "privileged white, mainstream" sorority member who first became educated about the issue when SJP students came to lobby her, but who then found an entirely new community of friends in a world she never before knew existed. One in which Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Christian, and other students blend easily as classmates, as friends, as activists. Her life, she said, will never be the same- and she is just one person.

In the coming weeks, we will share the lessons learned, some in our own words, many in the words of UC students, staff and alum.

But first let me tell you how the night ended.

By the final vote, it was close to 5am. Still dark out.

When the vote was announced, the room silently received the news. Supporters placed the green stickers on our mouths to protest the fact that in the end, just a few votes had blocked the will of the majority of students. A student senator stood up and told everyone to put one hand on their heart on the other in the air, symbolically holding seeds in their fist with which we would all spread the movement outside and across the community, the country, the world.

So here is one seed.

The supporters silently filed out to Sproul Plaza, where the original Free Speech movement began.

Hundred remained outside, talking, chanting, singing, laughing, hugging, crying.

Yes, students were angry, but they were exhilarated. They understood they had done something remarkable. That in so many ways, life would never be the same.

It was the end of a long year, but the beginning of a new stage of the movement.

And I am so grateful that you were all there in the room with us.

It's clear now. It is only a matter of time until we are all able to recognize each other's full humanity, and thereby reclaim our own.


Cecilie Surasky,
Jewish Voice for Peace

[ninathedog]

Reading as Resistance

Written by Free Gaza Movement
06 June 2009

“Education is a right. Yet throughout history, societies have used access to education as a weapon of oppression. We refuse to let Israel blockade our students’ thirst for knowledge. We welcome working with Free Gaza and others to break this siege against our people’s greatest resource.”
Dr. Haidar Eid, professor at Al-Aqsa University

About the Campaign

The Free Gaza movement launched the RIGHT TO READ campaign last June. In partnership with Al-Aqsa University, we set up an account at Amazon.com for people to order books that were destroyed by Israel
during Operation Cast Lead.

To date, we have collected over 100 books in the U.S. and Cyprus, and we are asking again for your support.

This is not a charitable endeavor, but an act of solidarity and resistance to Israel’s chokehold on Gaza as well as their attempt to
deny Palestinians an education. According to UNRWA, Israel’s blockade prevents ink, paper, books, crayons and other learning material into
Gaza.

Our first shipment will go on the cargo ship this spring. We want to take in thousands of books along with at least ten tons of paper,
since Israel refuses even paper to come into the schools.

How you can help

* Join us by contributing one or more books to our shipment.
* Contact your universities/colleges to see if they want to participate by donating either new or used copies of textbooks.
* Donate funds through our PayPal account to be used to underwrite the shipping costs
* Send new or used books to one of the addresses listed below. However, the books need to be on the lists that have been provided.
* If you are part of an academic institution and are willing to share your e-library with the students of Gaza, please email us at [e-mail]

Sending books

The RIGHT TO READ campaign accepts all new or used books. Universities in Gaza have sent us the lists of what they need. To order books or to see if you might have them already, please check U.S. COMPILED WISH LIST or the U.K. COMPILED WISH LIST.

The list is published in Amazon.com, and you can check the books that are needed by clicking on this link.
www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html/178-2937023-1407825?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=3QG1GPX6HD6E

You may send books directly to Cyprus or to the Free Gaza collection site nearest you.

Cyprus
Free Gaza Movement
Digenthios and Avgousta Court
Nigrid Street 6018 Apt 203
Larnaca, Cyprus

United States
Free Gaza US Collection Site
PO Box 5772
Rockville, MD 20855

For more information regarding the campaign, please contact:

Dina Kennedy: [e-mail]
Darlene Wallach: [e-mail]

www.freegaza.org/right-to-read

[ninathedog]

sending prayers and energy to the Eagles Team!