MK Haim Oron (Meretz) attacked the proposal, saying "this insane government, what exactly are you doing? Creating a thought police? Have you run off the rails?"
I was talking with a friend the other day and she told me that her new boss , who is a recent transplant from the Fraser Valley, spends most of her time discussing her new community with a disgusted tone in her voice and belittling the people who live here. So, my question is: Why the hell did she move here in the first place?
I’ve lived in Enderby and the surrounding area for almost 20 years, and like most who run away from the big city mayhem, the gang wars, the brazen break and enters, brutality, and rampant drug abuse, I arrived not knowing anyone and had a full-blown “I’m better than you, you country bumkin” attitude. The difference between then and now is that there were very few like me around and I learned quickly to integrate myself to survive. These days it’s very different. The old timers are giving up the farms, their kids are moving on to bigger and better wealth, homes are getting larger and more obnoxiously flamboyant, the newbies have far more money, cars, motorized toys and immensely condescending demeanours. With the influx of Alberta oil money and Vancouver wealth in the last few years it’s positively overwhelming, and that which they are running from is being brought with them.
I have an absentee neighbour who thinks it’s perfectly acceptable for his family and friends to arrive on the July 1st long weekend and run amok. Speed boats and jet skis ripping up the river and its shoreline, fireworks, bad ‘80’s hair music blasting all day and night for three days straight, drunks in expensive cars speeding up and down this little dead-end road killing any critter who gets in their way, screaming and yelling, you name it they do it. This guy is a so-called businessman from Vancouver, and the fact that he hid out up here for nearly three months at the height of the gang shootings and arrests down there kinda makes me wonder exactly what kind of a “businessman” he is. Nobody seems to know even though from what I’ve been told he grew up here. Sigh……
I know it won’t make any difference, but I’ll feel a little better for perhaps a minute just putting it out there and venting, so here goes. To all those who feel they need to bring their shit-for-brains lifestyles with them when they come here: Take your obnoxious, rude, arrogant, ignorant selves, along with your over-stimulated, over-indulged, disgusting children, shove your toys up your asses then go back to where you came from and stay there. Screw your money, we’ll find a better way to make a buck than rely on the likes of you, you damn scum!
Aaaaahhhhh………..
Hopes and dreams on the Gaza coast
Every day, as the sun sets on the coast of Gaza, people make their way to the coffee shop-lined beaches and the pot-holed streets that run parallel to its coastline.
On the terrace of the famed Al Deira Hotel, patrons jostle for position, sipping sweet Arabic coffee as the sounds of legendary Arab musicians delicately waft through the air, mingling with the aroma of flavoured tobacco.
They all share one aim - to gaze out into the Mediterranean Sea as its turquoise waters transform into blue, then purple and then disappear into the moonlit night.
Another day has passed in Gaza.
For the few minutes where the sun and water meet and the sky glows warm, people here are moved by a deep beauty and for those few minutes, the beaming smiles of children frolicking in the sand, the laughter of friends and the line of fishermen setting out into the horizon suspend Gaza's seemingly eternal suffering.
It is that time of year again, when temperatures rise and where the coast of Gaza takes on a whole new different meaning.
"In this tiny territory caged in by Israel on two sides, north and east, and by Egypt to the south, Gaza's west coast becomes its gateway to a world of possibilities"
In this tiny territory caged in by Israel on two sides, north and east, and by Egypt to the south, Gaza's west coast becomes its gateway to a world of possibilities and a painful reminder of its limited realities.
Gaza's shoreline is a deceptive one. Its long, white sandy beaches are the ideal location for luxury hotels, trendy cafes, a vibrant nightlife, boutique shops, a palm-tree lined promenade for the health-conscious jogger, the inspired artist seeking to capture its beauty or the local street vendor selling traditional Palestinian handicrafts.
With its year-round, perfect Mediterranean weather, rich history at the crossroads of continents and civilisations and Arab hospitality, Gaza should be a tourist haven and entrepreneur's dream.
Businesses, corporations and financial towers should be vying for this prime real estate.
Instead, today its 41km-long poorly paved corniche road is marked with potholes. Sections of it have been destroyed by Israeli air raids over the years.
A journey from its northern border to the south can take hours to travel, as you zig-zag through the destroyed stretches of road and the rubble of buildings levelled during Israel's recent war.
Refugee camps
All along the coastal stretch, crowded and dirty refugee camps edge closer to the water, squeezing every inhabitable inch available.
The drive along the coast is marked by the smell of raw sewage spewing out into the sea at various points. The coast's most underdeveloped stretches are the scars from where Israel maintained its military outposts and illegal settlements that were a chokehold on the Gaza Strip.
When the Israeli military and settlers pulled out in 2005, they left behind the land and the coast but left Gaza in ruins, caged in and cut off from the outside world.
Since 2006, when Hamas won democratic elections that were recognised by international observers as free and fair, Israel has imposed an increasingly stifling siege on Gaza, restricting everything that comes in and out of the strip.
The vast majority of the 1.5 million Palestinians living here have not been allowed to leave this territory, which is approximately 360sq km in size.
Every facet of life in Gaza has been restricted beyond imagination by Israel, crippling the economy and increasing the psychological pressure on the territory's people.
Nowhere else in Gaza is the economy more visibly in tatters then along its coast. Its hotels, once buzzing with vacationing Palestinians from the diaspora and the sounds of wedding parties during the summer, are a faint echo of their past.
A pyramid-shaped building on Gaza's northern shore was supposed to be the Movenpick Hotel. But it, like Gaza, never realised its full potential. Today it stands nearly complete but hollow, scarred by war yet towering over the pristine sands of the sea.
Gazan fishermen are forbidden to travel more than three nautical miles from the coast
For centuries, generations of Gaza's fishermen set sail from its port cities, earning a livelihood for their families, feeding hundreds of local restaurants and giving the territory a distinct fish flavour to its food.
In Rafah, fishermen annually prepared for the sardine harvest this time of the year. This would have been peak season for them. Today, these fishermen are not allowed to exceed three nautical miles off the coast, far short from what is legally permissible by international law.
When they do try to fish beyond the imposed limits, they are harassed, shot at and detained by the Israeli navy, which patrols Gaza coast ferociously.
Gaza City's fish market was known for its colourful array of seafood, from crabs to shrimps, sharks to local catches. The fish market at the port was so renowned that it was the preferred market for Israeli Jews, whose own coast dwarfs the length of Gaza's.
Back then, as it is today, Gaza was under Israeli military control but unlike now, Palestinians and Israelis were allowed to move freely between the two territories.
Gaza's gateway to the world was through its port. The blueprints had been already drawn up. The Gaza City Port was to be transformed into a modern day commercial trading hub, bringing cargo vessels from Europe, Africa and Asia across the Mediterranean Sea.
But that, too, never materialised. Today, empty vessels and rusted and decrepit dinner-boats encrust the port.
Besides the economic potential – or lack thereof - the coast has also come to symbolise something immeasurable.
At a time when the Palestinian people are under a siege that has prevented them from exercising their most basic rights and freedoms, the Gaza coast has become an important psychological tool.
Escapism
It has become a vehicle to escape their daily struggles.
Anyone who approaches the coast and stares aimlessly out at the horizon is forced to dream. Dream about what, it's up to them, but they find themselves thinking about what lies beyond their immediate physical limitations.
One simply cannot look at its beautiful waters and not imagine what lies beyond. Your brain begins to race with endless possibilities about the rest of the world. You immediately ask yourself "what if"?
What if Gaza was not under siege? What if I could take a ferry to Cyprus? What if Gaza was free to pursue its economic potential?
A few minutes staring at the coast and one suddenly realises the people are thinking about everything and anything that has nothing to do with Gaza. When people are thinking about Gaza - it is not about Gaza as it is, but what it could or should be.
As a good friend of mine who regularly frequents the Al Deira Hotel terrace put it: "Typical of the melancholy and pride of living in Gaza, its sea not only inspires unending spirit and wonder but it also, often times, instills a sense of sorrow as one sees this great symbol of freedom one is unable to touch.
But Gaza's sea will continue to inspire freedom no matter the circumstances."
So it is that, as the sun sets on its shores and the light merges with nightfall, days become weeks and months become years, Gaza's besieged coast becomes an outlet to nothing but hope for its people.
Israeli warplanes bomb Hamas target, Gaza tunnels
GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli warplanes bombed a Hamas security outpost and tunnels by the Gaza border with Egypt on Tuesday, after a rocket fired from the coastal territory struck an Israeli town, Israeli and Hamas sources said.
Palestinian medics said a woman in Gaza suffered moderate wounds from one of several air strikes against tunnels Israel says are used to smuggle weapons into the coastal territory.
Another raid targeted a Hamas outpost near a border fence with Israel, a Hamas source said. It was the first time Israel has attacked the Islamic militant group since a January 18 ceasefire went into effect after an Israeli offensive.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the air raids saying Israel targeted four border tunnels and two sites in Gaza where weapons were produced, in response to rocket and mortar fire aimed at Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Earlier a rocket fired from Gaza damaged a home in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, causing no injury. None of the militant groups in Gaza claimed responsibility for the attack.
The rocket was the first to strike inside an Israeli town in several weeks. Rocket fire from Gaza had previously dropped since the Israeli offensive against Islamic militants in the coastal territory four months ago.
The Israeli spokesman said 175 mortars and rockets have been fired at Israel since the campaign ended, while there were at least 500 such attacks aimed at Israeli towns during the 22 days of fighting.
An Israeli air strike responding to mortar fire from Gaza killed two Palestinians on May 2. That attack also targeted tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border.
Peace Now: 'Natural growth' - Israel's trick for West Bank expansion
Figures released recently by the Central Bureau of Statistics cast doubt on government officials' claims of housing shortages for young couples living in West Bank settlements - the central argument Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to present to U.S. President Barack Obama against freezing settlement construction.
Figures for 2006-07 reveal that the housing shortage in settlements stems largely from "migration" from Israel proper to communities beyond the Green Line, as well as the addition of new immigrants from abroad.
The data show that in 2007, natural growth accounted for 63 percent of settlement population growth, whereas internal migration accounted for 37 percent. The previous year, they show an addition of roughly 5,600 residents (which accounted for those who arrived minus those who had left) across West Bank settlements. For every 10 residents leaving settlements that year, 15 others arrived.
President Shimon Peres told Obama in their meeting earlier this month that "It is unacceptable that children born in Judea and Samaria will not have a place to live. We can't put them on the roofs." Similar remarks were made to U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell when he headed the fact-finding commission examining the causes for the outburst of the Second Intifada. In the report he submitted to then-president George W. Bush in 2001, Mitchell rejected Jerusalem's assertion that Jewish construction in the West Bank was aimed merely at housing natural population growth.
Instead, the commission largely accepted the Palestinian claim that there is no difference between the creation of new settlements and expanding existing ones, and determined that Israel should cease all building in the settlements, even that intended for what Israeli officials described as "natural growth."
That demand was contained in the Road Map, an outgrowth of the Mitchell Report, presented to Israel in 2003. A letter sent from Dov Weisglass, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon's diplomatic adviser, to Bush that same year includes an explicit commitment to freezing settlement building, particularly in those outside the "settlement blocs" or east of the separation fence.
U.S. diplomats said their government rejected the argument that Israel must allow every young couple raised in the settlements to find suitable housing in the West Bank.
The diplomats said they had obtained a copy of a classified Defense Ministry report compiled by IDF Brig. Gen. (Res.) Baruch Spiegel attesting that unauthorized building had occurred at about 75 percent of settlements, and that significant infrastructure projects had been initiated at more than 30 of them - including roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations - on privately-owned Palestinian land.
At a press conference last week, the chair of the Yesha council of West Bank settlements, Danny Dayan, and council secretary Pinhas Wallerstein said every year a "quiet eviction" was taking place in the West Bank of young couples raised in settlements who were unable to find housing there. They said 1,600 young couples of the 2,100 who marry annually are forced to find accommodations outside of the communities in which they grew up. Dayan and Wallerstein called on Netanyahu to change construction policy to allow such young people to erect homes in close proximity to those of their parents.
Most legal analysts around the world, including U.S. State Department jurists, view the construction of settlements in the West Bank as a violation of international law relating to war and conquered territories. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits states from moving their own citizens into conquered land.
A response from Peace Now to the remarks made by the Yesha council officials, said the "bluff of natural growth is just one of the tricks the government is using to keep it from fulfilling its obligation to freeze settlement building. It is a shame that the president is perpetuating that lie."
Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Discussing Aid for AIPAC Defendants
Last but not least, and what a f-----g suprise: The more things change, the more they stay the same.The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
For anyone who possesses a strong stomach and an equally strong desire to know the truth, I strongly recommend Israeli historian Ilan Pappe's new book "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine", which makes painstakingly and painfully clear the extent to which the expulsion of the great majority of Palestinians from their homes and homeland between 1947 and 1949 (an expulsion absolutely essential to create a "Jewish state" in a country where, in 1947, the population was still 70% Muslim and Christian and these non-Jews still owned 94% of the land) was meticulously planned, programmed and documented, ruthlessly carried out and, thereafter, efficiently covered up, sanitized, erased from minds and memories and, to the extent necessary, denied. Pappe also makes clear that the cleansing spirit and cleansing practices have continued ever since, with public discussion in Israel of the "demographic threat" posed by those Palestinians still remaining in Palestinian never more openly conducted and with a recent poll showing 68% of Israeli Jews in favor of expelling all Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Unfortunately, this book, published in England (and available from amazon.com), is highly likely to go unreviewed and largely unnoticed in the United States, a country where objective historical truth is much less popular than "revealed truth" and pure fantasy and where the Israel-First Lobby starts with a distinct home-field advantage in pursuing its successful efforts to convince American public opinion that American interests and values are identical to Israeli interests and values and to make American foreign policy and America's wars indistinguishable from Israeli foreign policy and Israel's wars.
While most of mankind, being comprised of peoples who have themselves been the victims of colonialism and racism, views racial-supremicist settler-colonial states founded upon the genocide or ethnic cleansing of an indigenous population as an abomination, Americans, exceptionally, are favorably inclined toward such states. The reason is simple. Until very recently, America was itself such a state, and the official Israeli narrative replicates the widely accepted American narrative of brave pioneers bringing civilization and economic advancement to a backward and savage land.
Furthermore, notwithstanding its history, America, as a nation, appears to have no regrets and to be troubled by no sense of national guilt. While, for reasons having less to do with bearing universal witness against man's inhumanity toward his fellow man than with justifying one particular instance of such inhumanity, there is a Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, there are no museums there devoted to the genocide of the Native Americans, to slavery or to the century of legalized segregation which followed abolition.
In addition, a significant proportion of the American population embraces a perverted interpretation of Christianity which ignores the humane message of Jesus Christ and the Golden Rule and focuses the devotions of its adherents not on God but, rather, on "God's Chosen People", through whose success in ethnically cleansing Palestine and provoking cataclysmic warfare these so-called "Christians" hope to achieve their personal, selfish "rapture" and "salvation".
Still, even in America, where Nakba denial is as obligatory as Holocaust denial is condemned, objective historical truth is available in Professor Pappe's book for anyone who cares.
I received an email from my best friend of 37 years the other day. She and her two children are heading for Vancouver Island, where the kids will be spreading the ashes of their father who chose to commit suicide recently. I’d known Steve for many years, longer than Jan had actually, and he chose an unvarying path to his destiny long before his children where even born. Daniel and Angie, there was nothing you could have ever said or done to prevent what happened, it was his choice and his alone, nothing is your fault. That goes for you too my friend, though I think you fully understand and accepted that many years ago.
I’ve spent a lot of my spare time thinking since getting this news. About my life, my circumstances, my choices. Like most other people these days, I’m overwhelmed and underpaid, wondering how I can pay the bills at the end of each month while doling out little bits and pieces to my creditors, hopefully keeping them quiet for another 30 days. I’ve been dirt poor for the last 5 years, and this current economic downturn with massive cost of living increases has completely consumed any financial security I thought I may have had. With that said, I realise I’m incredibly happy and amazingly fortunate.
I’ve experienced many things in my life, both good and bad, but I now know I wouldn’t trade away a single one of them. From minor involvement with drugs and a well known biker gang to being a fairly accomplished equestrienne. From choosing to give up a child for adoption to the thrill of being a thoroughbred racehorse groom and exercise rider. From being married, not once but twice to being a single parent of a teenager, who now seems to be growing up to be a fine young man. From moving to the middle of nowhere, leaving family and friends to managing a ranch and succeeding in a man’s world, gaining the respect and friendship of those who have been ranching for a lifetime. From having a nervous breakdown to overcoming and learning to deal with PTSD.
I’m a survivor. I taught myself to start my own seeds, organically garden and preserve what I grow years ago. I can fish and yes, I clean what I catch. I’ve butchered steers and cut the meat correctly so it isn’t ruined. I’m not afraid of getting dirty and hard physical labour and at 50, I must say, I’m pretty damn fit. I am a jack of all trades and a master of none, which suits me just fine. My life is incredibly good and I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. I sincerely hope that anyone reading this can say the same.
Dear Fiona,
Let me cut down to the chase. We have just learned that a number of Israeli peace activists have had their computers confiscated, have been called for interrogations, and have only been released upon signing agreements not to contact their political friends for 30 days. We are asking you to contact the Israeli Attorney General to demand an immediate stop to this harassment.
The activists targeted are members of New Profile, a group of feminist women and men daring to suggest that Israel need not be a militarized society. They are being wrongfully accused of inciting young people--like the shministim--not to enlist in the army. The charge is not true. While New Profile does not tell youngsters not to enlist, they certainly support those who do not: pacifists, those who oppose the occupation, and others. New Profile informs them of their rights and gives them legal support when necessary. But Israel is a country that does not acknowledge the basic human right to conscientious objection.
The government's accusation against New Profile is not new. It has been out there for some time, as a source of harassment. Today's police actions tighten the screws considerably. We've seen how international pressure has helped get many shministim out of jail. Now it's time to put as much pressure so that Israeli peace activists can do their work free of intimidation.
I leave you with a note from New Profile: "These recent acts confirm what we have been contending for many years: the militarism of society in Israel harms the sacred principles of democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of political association. One who believed that until now criminal files were conjured up "only" for Arab citizens of Israel saw this morning that none of us can be certain that s/he can freely express an opinion concerning the failures of society and rule in Israel."
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well, gotta know the enemy
Violence is an energy
Against the enemy
Violence is an energy
Bringing on the fury
The choir infantry
Revolt against the honor to obey
Overthrow the effigy
The vast majority
Burning down the foreman of control
Silence is the enemy
Against your urgency
So rally up the demons of your soul
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well gotta know the enemy
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well gotta know the enemy
The insurgency will rise
When the bloods been sacrificed
Don't be blinded by the lies
In your eyes.
Violence is an energy
From here to eternity
Violence is an energy
Silence is the enemy
So gimme gimme revolution
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well gotta know the enemy
Do you know the enemy?
Do you know your enemy?
Well gotta know the enemy
Overthrow the effigy
The vast majority
Burning down the foreman of control
Silence is the enemy
Against your urgency
So rally up the demons of your soul
Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation
The Al Wabra farm is an oasis of green areas, palm trees and many rare wild animals from allover the world. Powered by Sheikh Saoud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al Thani’s passion for nature, an international team of expert vets, biologists and keepers are dedicated to the care and conservation of the rare and mostly endangered animals that can be found on the farm.
History
Founded as a hobby farm by his Father, Sheikh Saoud is now transforming the Al Wabra farm into a “state of the art” breeding and research center for endangered wildlife. Traditionally Antelopes and Gazelles have been kept here for a long time and remain a specialty together with the more recent additions of Cats, Parrots and Birds of Paradise.
The Facility
The Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation is not a zoo and many areas are closed and marked with “no access” signs for visitors not to disturb sensitive animals and even the remaining enclosures are made mostly for the animals and not for visitors. This makes the Preservation to a unique place with a high success rate in breeding difficult and sensitive animals. The more than 2500 animals in more than a hundred different species enjoy the latest in know how for their comfort and well being. This includes excellent veterinary care, laboratories, food-kitchens, orphan-nurseries, the best in natural and imported foods, air conditioning, artificial rains and involvement in international breeding programs.
Education, Research and Conservation
In the future Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation aims to continue with setting the standards in its field. More effort will be invested in educating especially young people in wildlife and nature. Thereby help to increase the public’s awareness in environmental issues. A special education and visitors area is planned for just this purpose.
Location
Located on a 2.5 square kilometer large area close to the town of Al Shahaniyah in central Qatar. The farm is not open to the public.
His name was Basem, which means smile, and that is how he greeted everyone. But we all called him ‘Pheel’, which means elephant because he had the body the size of an elephant. But Basem had the heart of a child.
He loved everyone, and because of his sweetness and ability to make us laugh, everyone loved him. Basem was everyone’s friend: the children talk about how he would play with them, scare them and then make them laugh. He would tend the garden in the playground and bring toys and books to the kindergarten. The old ladies in the village talk about how he used to visit, to ask after them and see if they needed anything. In the village, he seemed to be everywhere at once. He would pop in to say hello, take one puff of the nargila, and be off to his next spot. The morning he was killed he went to the house of Hamis, whose skull had been broken at a previous demonstration three months ago by a tear gas canister projectile - the same weapon that would kill Basem.
Basem woke Hamis and gave him his medicine, then off he went to visit another friend in the village who is ill with cancer. Then a little girl from the village wanted a pineapple but couldn’t find any in the local stores. So Basem went to Ramallah to get a pineapple and was back before noon for the Friday prayers and the weekly demonstration against the theft of our land by the apartheid wall. Pheel never missed a demonstration; he participated in all the activities and creative actions in Bilin. He would always talk to the soldiers as human beings. Before he was hit he was calling for the soldiers to stop shooting because there were goats near the fence and he was worried for them. Then a woman in front of him was hit. He yelled to the commander to stop shooting because someone was wounded. He expected the soldiers to understand and stop shooting. Instead, they shot him too.
People came to his funeral from all the surrounding villages to show Basem that they loved him as much as he had loved them. But those of us from Bil’in kept looking around for him, expecting him to be walking with us.
Pheel, you were everyone’s friend. We always knew we loved you, but didn’t realize how much we would miss you until we lost you. As Bil’in has become the symbol of Palestine’s popular resistance, you are the symbol of Bil’in. Sweet Pheel, Rest in Peace, we will continue in your footsteps.
Source: http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/different-look/His-name-was-Basem
This was a caring human being who gave of himself to all those around him. It’s the people like the fine gentle soul you have just read about who inspire me to do what I do.
Yes, Pheel, rest in peace now. I too will attempt to continue in your footsteps. Though yours are very big shoes to fill I promise I will never give up.
Sometimes it’s just far to easy to be critical of the Vancouver City Police Department, and we forget that most of the guys and gals who are members are there because they believe they can make a difference.
Caring; they’re doing it right.
Odd Squad Production (OSP) is a non-profit society which was created in 1998 by seven Vancouver City Police officers.
OSP developed a unique approach to community policing, crime prevention, and public education that addresses some of the major social problems affecting our community. Odd Squad’s approach to tackling these issues is accomplished by using reality-based/documentary video imagery as an educational tool. Having a close connection to the streets of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (DTES) has given OSP access to the real life and often tragic stories that are at the core of the productions. OSP ascribes to the notion that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The goal of OSP is to educate and inform ‘at-risk’ groups throughout our province on the dangers of substance abuse and other anti-social and criminal behavior.
Although the expertise regarding the drug problems has arisen for the most part through the extensive beat work in the Downtown Eastside (DTES), an area tragically beset with social problems, it is the development and distribution of video materials and documentary productions that has thrust OSP primarily into the drug prevention and education fields. In addition to producing documentaries, OSP has developed program tools and services such as audio-visual presentations to community and educational institutions.
Since its inception, Odd Squad Productions has been involved with production of award-winning educational films for youth. OSP’s first partnership was with the National Film Board of Canada for the documentary film Through a Blue Lens (1999). This continues to be one of the most popular drug-education films for high school classrooms across Canada. It has become the most successful film in the history of the NFB. In 2007, Odd Squad produced four educational films that address issues regarding the use and consequences of illicit drugs amongst the junior and high school student population.
How Somalia's Fishermen Became Pirates: Ever since a civil war brought down Somalia's last functional government in 1991, the country's 3,330 km (2,000 miles) of coastline — the longest in continental Africa — has been pillaged by foreign vessels. A United Nations report in 2006 said that, in the absence of the country's at one time serviceable coastguard, Somali waters have become the site of an international "free for all," with fishing fleets from around the world illegally plundering Somali stocks and freezing out the country's own rudimentarily-equipped fishermen. According to another U.N. report, an estimated $300 million worth of seafood is stolen from the country's coastline each year. "In any context," says Gustavo Carvalho, a London-based researcher with Global Witness, an environmental NGO, "that is a staggering sum."
'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy: The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.
"The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas."
You are being lied to about pirates: "Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."
Congratulations Sameh and staff, the http://www.paltelegraph.com/ is really starting to take shape as a reliable source, adding another voice to changing the world. The aesthetic presentation looks pretty good, too.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/041109b.html
Mmmm hmmm. Like I’ve always said.
My favourite paragraph is this one:
In other words, Bartal, like some other critics, is not so much disputing Sand’s historical claims about the Diaspora or the origins of Eastern European Jews, as he is contesting Sand’s notion that Zionists concocted a false history for a cynical political purpose.
So, apparently the only thing critics are disputing is the fact that Zionists lied. Mmmm hmmm.
Israel's new foreign minister dismayed the international community today with a rancorous analysis of the peace process and an announcement that the new government favours aggression rather than concessions to the Palestinians.
In his first speech since taking office, the rightwinger Avigdor Lieberman dismissed the last round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, arguing that Israeli concessions made in a bid to secure peace had all been fruitless.
"Those who want peace should prepare for war and be strong," he said. "There is no country that made concessions like Israel. Since 1967 we gave up territory that is three times the size of Israel. We showed willingness. The Oslo process started back in 1993, and to this day I have not seen that we reached peace."
Speaking to what the Associated Press describes as a roomful of "cringing diplomats", the new foreign minister said Israel was not bound by the Annapolis peace talks. These were initiated in November 2007 to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and involved around 40 countries.
"The Israeli government never ratified Annapolis; nor did [the] Knesset," said Lieberman, promising to honour only the US-initiated "road map" of 2002, which has long been in stalemate amid accusations from both sides.
Lieberman's speech is in stark contrast to remarks made by the incoming prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, who both said the new government would pursue peace on every front.
During a recent visit to the Czech Republic, the Israeli president said the new administration had promised: "We shall continue the negotiations with the Palestinians. We shall negotiate with each of our neighbours ... and see what can be done in terms of peace on the regional level." And a week before taking office, Netanyahu vowed to engage in peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
Their comments came in reaction to growing international concern that the new Israeli government would not be committed to a two-state peace process.
In today's speech, Lieberman was more amiable towards Egypt, which he described as an "important element in the Arab world". This is an improvement on a few weeks ago, when he said the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, could "go to hell".
By Khalid Amayreh
This is a rejoinder to my ‘Shame on us’ article.
—————————————————————-
Israeli-occupied Jerusalem
Zionist massacres-1948 Zionist massacres-2008-9
I have been under fire of late from two diametrically opposite quarters. First, the fanatical, self-worshiping Zionists who think that non-Jewish suffering should never ever be compared with Jewish suffering.
Needless to say, this psychotic attitude stems from deep-seated convictions that a Jew is a special creature whose life is worth more than the rest of humanity. Haven’t we noticed, for example, how Israel has made “Gila’ad Shalit”, the Israeli soldier imprisoned by Hamas, a household name all over the world, while next to nothing is mentioned about the estimated 10,000 Palestinian political and resistance prisoners languishing in Israeli dungeons and concentration camps?
And, Second, some pro-Palestinian activists who believe that I should avoid invoking the holocaust in my writings lest this help legitimize the Zionist narrative and inadvertently justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
To our pro-Palestinian activists, I, with all due respect, would like to say the following. I sincerely believe that we would be walking in the path of immorality if we denied or belittled other people’s suffering. Indeed, it is imperative that we retain our humanity and moral fabric in the course of this legitimate struggle against the evil state. We must never imitate or emulate their ways and tactics. This would be self-defeating, self-destructive and immensely demoralizing.
Moreover, we must refrain from saying or doing things that would make others portray us as inherent enemies of Jews, because we are not.
We also need to be constantly vigilant and cautious about what we say and how we say it, lest we inadvertently besmirch the legitimacy of our just cause.
Israel is so manifestly criminal and ugly that we don’t need to deny anyone’s suffering to prove this plain fact.
In short, we don’t have to shoot ourselves in the foot. It is wrong and it hurts us a lot.
Obviously, the Zionists’ “arguments” are motivated, as always, by ill-will and a malicious desire to silence critics of Israeli criminality whose phantasmagoric expressions we all witnessed recently in the Gaza Strip.
The subject of contention this time has been an article I published a few days ago, entitled “Shame on us,” in which I strongly criticized efforts by some dubious “peace activists” to bamboozle some innocent Palestinian children from some impoverished localities into playing music before “holocaust survivors.”
This is what happened last week when a dozen young musicians from the Jenin Refugee Camp, in the northern West Bank, were taken surreptitiously to Tel Aviv where they were made to play a serenade before some elderly Zionists , some of whom veterans from the many criminal wars Israel had waged on our people. And as I said in the article, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine was not carried out by UFOs but by the very people our children are now being asked to cheer up.
Understandably, the not-so-innocent event left many Palestinians infuriated by the cheap exploitation of these kids for Israeli hasbara purposes. As one who lost three uncles in one day to Zionist murderers in 1954, I felt deeply wounded and humiliated by that event.
I am actually not against reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews. I don’t and never will view Jews as our inherent enemies. Some Jews are actually among the most effective supporters of our national cause. Those we salute for their honesty and morality.
However, it is obvious that true reconciliation in this part of the world requires that the slate be made thoroughly clean. Usurped rights must be returned to rightful owners, and wrongs must be rectified. This I say to honest and conscientious Jews who are genuinely interested in justice and peace.
But to the Zionists I would like to say that the following: the latest point of contention is not about music or even peace. This is first and foremost about human dignity of which the children of the holocaust and their children and grand children and great grandchildren have been trying to rob us.
And whether you like it or not, for us, at least, you represent the real Wehrmacht, the real SS and real Gestapo. You are the Nazis of our time. This is what we see from our vantage point. This is what much of the world sees. This is what many honest and conscientious Jews see.
You stole our country, you murdered our people, you destroyed our homes, and you expelled and dispersed the bulk of our people to the four corners of the world. And after all of this, you have audacity to dupe our children to sing and play music to you? This is simply beyond, far beyond, Chutzpah.
Some of you habitually babble the word “hatred” whenever a Palestinian asserts his people’s humanity and dignity.
Well, you are really sick to the bone if you think Palestinians must sacrifice their dignity in order to become a hate-free people according to the Zionist lexicon. We will not pay tribute to the killers of our children, we will show respect to our grave-diggers.
Besides, who do you think you are anyway to lecture us on hatred? After all, you represent and embody hatred in its ugliest form. The extirpation of a people from its ancestral homeland from time immemorial is a satanic act par excellence. The destruction and obliteration of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages to fulfill Jewish nationalism is diabolical act of the highest order.
Your recent blitzkrieg in Gaza during which your Nazi-like army ganged up on a helpless, unprotected civilian population, exterminating them with bombs and missiles and incinerating their children with White Phosphorus proved once again that you are no better than the hateful Nazis you curse day and night for what they did to you sixty years ago.
Well, try to get yourselves out of this cocoon of self-denial. The Palestinian people don’t hate music nor do they teach their kids to hate Jews or non-Jews, it is your evil and murderous actions that generate hatred against you not only among Palestinians and Muslims but among many other people around the world.
Just look at your ugly faces in the mirror.
Motorola developed with Aeronautics Defense Systems a perimeter defense system called Stronghold, to be used in the West Bank.
Since 2005, a Motorola radar detectors' system has been installed around some 20-47 Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in Hebron, Karmei Tzur and Har Bracha. In some cases, the radar stations were erected on private Palestinian land, preventing Palestinian movement near the Israeli settlements.
The company has developed and provided the "Mountain Rose" communication system to the Israeli army, which is a specifically designed mobile system for field conditions, and it is being used by soldiers in the occupied West Bank.
Involved in:
SpecializedEquipment and Services
Motorola Israel is a full subsidiary of the US-based Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT).
Motorola Inc. also holds about 6% of the shares of Afcon Industries. Israeli subsidiaries: MIRS Communications, Beeper Communications Israel, Taldor Communication, European subsidiaries of Motorola Inc. managed by Motorola Israel: Uni-Net (Poland) and SetKomNet (Turkey).
