whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

Neither Walls Nor Silence

Neither Walls Nor Silence: Peace, Justice and Freedom in Palestine
Saturday, November 29, 3pm
Piazza della Repubblica

Dear members,

Reminder: This Saturday, November 29, is an international day of solidarity
for the Palestinian people as declared by the United Nations and there will
be a march in Rome.

USC4P&J has endorsed an alternative appeal for the demo (see below, in
Italian) put together by several groups with whom we have worked in the
past. We will march together as a bloc in support of Palestinian civil society,
which the appeal says "is trapped between the Israeli military occupation
and the armed conflict between opposed factions, and ends up paying the
highest price in terms of lives lost and worsening of economic conditions."

We encourage you to join us as we call for an end to the Israeli occupation
and the siege of Gaza.

Meet at 3pm, Saturday November 29 in front of S. Maria degli Angeli on
Piazza della Repubblica. Look for our U.S. peace flag.

Please let us know if you plan to make it: info@peaceandjustice.it

U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome

http://www.peaceandjustice.it

posted by: Whitebeard at 18:07 | link | comments |
palestine, gaza

colonial Israeli policy

  PRESS RELEASE 

 by  LUISA MORGANTINI

 Vice-President of the European Parliament

   ANOTHER PALESTINIAN FAMILY EXPELLED FROM ITS HOME IN EAST
JERUSALEM AND HUNDREDS OF HOUSES DEMOLISHED.

 ISRAEL'S  COLONIAL POLICIES KILL ANY CHANCE FOR A PEACE PROCESS!

 Brussels, 12th November 2008 

 Israeli police recently expelled the Al-Kurd family from its
house,  in the dark of night, in the Sheikh Jarrah area in East
Jerusalem. The family includes Umm Kamal, the mother, her husband - who
is partially paralysed and suffering from chronic heart disease - and
their 5 children. Already refugees in 1948, when they were displaced
from West Jerusalem, the family has once again been dispossessed of its
home, where it has been living since 1956.

   A group of extremist settlers claim ownership to that house and
26 other houses in the same neighbourhood, on the basis of an Ottoman
title deed dating from 1880,  the authenticity of which is doubtful and
which is also disputed by United States.

   One week ago, a European Parliament delegation to the
Palestinian Occupied Territories, composed of deputies from different
political groups and including myself, visited the Al-Kurd family in its
home: we witnessed the violence and abuse suffered by the family because
of settlers who live in the same courtyard. They no longer have that
home.

   In the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, more than 500 Palestinians
face the daily threat of expulsion from their homes because of Jewish
extremist associations' claims, who apply Palestinian Population
Transfer policies.

   The expulsion of the Al-Kurd family is part of a  colonial Israeli policy, which jeopardises any chance of a peace process, day by day, demolition after demolition, colony after colony, and particularly in Jerusalem.

   In this city, after many years of  labour, right-wing and
ultra-orthodox administration, which permitted the illegal the expansion
of Israeli colonies to the eastern part of the city, Nir Barkat - who
made the construction of new Jewish colonies within East Jerusalem the
first priority of his campaign - was yesterday elected mayor.

   An end should  immediately be put to these policies and they
must be condemned and sanctioned by the International Community.

   The situation of confusion generated by the change from the Bush
administration to the subsequent and more promising Obama administration
means that we cannot remain silent about these and similar violations in
West Bank as well as in Gaza where, due to the siege, the situation
continues to deteriorate. Only yesterday were crossings reopened, after
6 days' closure, after a black-out resulting from a total lack of  fuel
and after the state of alert declared by UNRWA which denounced - because
of the closure - the absolute impossibility to distribute aid to the
750.000 Palestinians living in the refugee camps. And we now shudder to
think about the possibility that the truce will definitively be broken
because of the four Palestinians killed today by fire from Israeli
warplanes, which came back to fly and shoot from the sky above the
Strip.

  Last Monday, the EU Presidency expressed  its deep concern at
the demolitions by Israeli bulldozers of several Palestinian houses in
East Jerusalem.  It is high time that Brussels does all in its power to
ensure that the arbitrary and unilateral measures by the Israeli
Government do not destroy all chances of a peace process. This is more
urgent today than ever before and it is evident that all useful
instruments must be used - including the suspension of the EU-Israel
Association agreement - to ensure that International Law is respected.

   Further information: Luisa Morgantini, 0039 348 39 21 465 or
office 0039 06 69 95 02 17;

 luisa.morgantini@europarl.europa.eu; www.luisamorgantini.net;

posted by: Whitebeard at 19:03 | link | comments |
israel, palestine

I have a dream

posted by: Whitebeard at 06:28 | link | comments (1) |
us, war, torture

After 8 long years of Bush – a fresh start!

Hi,

I just joined this great campaign to send a global message to Obama and thought you might be interested -- here's the email about it below --

_____

Dear friends,

After 8 long years of Bush – a fresh start!

Entrenched interests stand in the way, but Obama's victory brings a chance for the US to finally join with the world community to take on pressing challenges on climate change, human rights, and peace.

After years, even decades of distrust, let's seize this moment of unity, reconciliation and hope to send a message of warm congratulations and invitation to work together to the new President and the American people.

We've built a huge wall near the White House in Washington DC where the number of signatures on our message and personal messages from around the world will grow over the next several hours. We've also asked Obama to personally receive our petition from a group of Avaaz members. Let's get to 1 million signers and messages to Obama! Sign on at the link below and forward this email to others:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/million_messages_to_obama/98.php/?cl_tf_sign=1

This is a time for celebration of democracy, but already the sharks are circling – oil companies, war contractors, conservative lobbyists, and the powerful neo-con clique that brought us the war in Iraq are furiously lobbying to dim the prospects for change. Obama has promised national unity, and these interests will ask a high price for that unity.

Let's act quickly to make sure the people of the world are heard as Obama makes crucial choices in the coming days on how to live up to his campaign promises to secure a strong global treaty on climate change, ban torture and close Guantanamo prison, withdraw carefully from Iraq, and double aid to make global poverty history. Rarely has a US President been more likely to listen to us.

We'll make the point that on most of the pressing issues faced by Obama and the American people – from the financial crisis to climate change -- we need to work together as one world to achieve change. Sign below and forward this message on:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/million_messages_to_obama/98.php/?cl_tf_sign=1

With hope,

Ricken, Brett, Alice, Iain, Paula, Paul, Graziela, Pascal, Milena, Graziela and the whole Avaaz team.

PS – Send us a picture of yourself for our wall - email it to obamawall@avaaz.org

PPS – Here's a link to a report on Avaaz's past campaigning – http://www.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2/

PPS - And here's a list of 10 of Obama's campaign promises that concern the world – you can find his full platform here http://www.barackobama.com/issues/:

· Reduce the US's carbon emissions 80 by 2050 and play a strong positive role in negotiating a binding global treaty to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol.
· Withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months and keep no permanent bases in the country.
· Establish a clear goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons across the globe
· Close the Guantanamo Bay detention center
· Double US aid to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015 and accelerate the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculoses and Malaria
· Open diplomatic talks with countries like Iran and Syria, to pursue peaceful resolution of tensions
· De-politicize military intelligence to avoid ever repeating the kind of manipulation that led the US into Iraq
· Launch a major diplomatic effort to stop the killings in Darfur
· Only negotiate new trade agreements that contain labor and environmental protections
· Invest $150 billion over ten years to support renewable energy and get 1 million plug-in electric cars on the road by 2015

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:29 | link | comments |
us, civil rights, democracy, environment, peace, war, palestine, cuba, elections, gaza

Thank you

I was going to write something but at this point words are wasted.

Let's enjoy this victory and hope it will give us all the more energy to go
out and make changes in the world.

cheers,
Andy

Without illusions, but thank you from the deep of my heart. Whitebeard.

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:01 | link | comments (2) |
us, elections

Courage, northamerican people!

Do it for us

The Promised Land ...a message from Michael Moore

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Friends,

Tomorrow.

All of us.

You, me, and everyone we know.

Eight years is enough. Eight weeks was enough.

We have a chance to redeem this country, to prove we're better than this, that which Bush has made of us.

McCain is right about one thing: Barack Obama is the most liberal senator in the United States Senate. More liberal than Ted Kennedy. When was the last time you had a chance to send the MOST liberal senator to the White House? Trust me, it won't happen again in our lifetime.

Every vote is critical -- even in hard red states like Texas and Alabama; and true blue ones like New York, California and Michigan. Tomorrow, we need to create a massive popular vote that will give Obama a stunning mandate to return this country to we, the people. Let's write one for the history books and rocket Obama into the White House.

Expect trouble tomorrow. Stand your ground. Don't let some clerk turn you away. Make noise. Call the media if they won't let you vote. Let the Obama camp know ( http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vpcreport ). Check out his Voter Protection Center ( http://truth.voteforchange.com/ ). Know where your polling place is ( http://www.voteforchange.com/index_obama.php ). Be careful inside the voting booth. The ballot still reads like a Sudoku puzzle. Be prepared for long lines. That's ok, you know how to bring the party with you! Make new friends. Plot your local revolution. The 28-year rule of Republicans (and Democrats who act like Republicans) is over. The Reagan Era dies tomorrow night. My God, I truly thought it would never end.

There are over a million of you on my list. Each of you know 5 or 10 people who may not vote. Offer to drive them to the polls. If they live across the country, call them and tell them how much it means to you that they go vote for Obama. Take your co-workers to lunch -- and to vote. Be creative. Come up with ways to convince the undecided to get their decided on and go vote. Make it fun. Lead the horse to water.

60 seats in the Senate!

30-seat increase in the House!

President Obama!

It's in your hands. The Promised Land.

Yours,
Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
MMFlint@aol.com

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 19:34 | link | comments |
us, democracy, elections