Protest Long-Distance
Everybody go sign up for the Virtual March on Washington.
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Monday, February 24, 2003
Iraq, Shmiraq
North Korea ups the ante.
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has fired a missile into the Sea of Japan, escalating a tense standoff on the peninsula as world leaders gather in Seoul for the inauguration of South Korea's new president.
This article is worth reading just to see the really melodramatic picture of Kim Jong Il with his black trenchcoat blowing in the wind.
North Korea ups the ante.
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has fired a missile into the Sea of Japan, escalating a tense standoff on the peninsula as world leaders gather in Seoul for the inauguration of South Korea's new president.
This article is worth reading just to see the really melodramatic picture of Kim Jong Il with his black trenchcoat blowing in the wind.
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Thank You Jim Capozzola!
The Happy Land is now ad-free, thanks to The Rittenhouse Review!
Thank you!
I promise never to betray your investment by printing Andrew Sullivan.
UPDATE** Skippy joins me in my adulation here.
The Happy Land is now ad-free, thanks to The Rittenhouse Review!
Thank you!
I promise never to betray your investment by printing Andrew Sullivan.
UPDATE** Skippy joins me in my adulation here.
Oh, Lord...
This story would be funny if it weren't...ummm...aw hell, it's just funny.
"First he sprayed himself," said FBI special agent Linda Vizi. "It was merely to demonstrate that he had cologne."
But the action prompted airport security to issue a code-red hazardous materials alert, which brought FBI agents, city police officers and hazardous materials specialists from the Philadelphia Fire Department rushing to the site....Two city police officers, who also came into contact with the cologne while examining its container, later went off to a doughnut shop and a 24-hour Rite Aid pharmacy in Philadelphia, officials said. When authorities found out, they ordered both stores shut for 45 minutes until the analysis was complete.
Alternate headline: "Two Cops Smelling of CK One Eat Doughnuts."
UPDATE: I'm retarded, I forgot to include the link. There it is.
This story would be funny if it weren't...ummm...aw hell, it's just funny.
"First he sprayed himself," said FBI special agent Linda Vizi. "It was merely to demonstrate that he had cologne."
But the action prompted airport security to issue a code-red hazardous materials alert, which brought FBI agents, city police officers and hazardous materials specialists from the Philadelphia Fire Department rushing to the site....Two city police officers, who also came into contact with the cologne while examining its container, later went off to a doughnut shop and a 24-hour Rite Aid pharmacy in Philadelphia, officials said. When authorities found out, they ordered both stores shut for 45 minutes until the analysis was complete.
Alternate headline: "Two Cops Smelling of CK One Eat Doughnuts."
UPDATE: I'm retarded, I forgot to include the link. There it is.
The Plucky Punk goes ranting...
My father's recent trip to Israel and Palestine has really made me sensitive to bias in the media regarding the conflict. Take this story, for example.
Witnesses and hospital officials said soldiers fired at Palestinians who threw stones at them, killing two men, at least one a bystander. The army said soldiers fired at a youth who threw a petrol bomb and a man about to lob something at them.
Even if we take the word of the Israeli soldiers what we have here is a man who was killed for, at worst, seeming as though he was about to "lob" something at them. Think of the outrage that would happen in this country if white policemen in a black neighborhood shot a black man to death for seeming as though he was about to do something!
Oh wait, that's happened before, anyone remember Amadou Diallo*?
Now imagine that happening in your country every day. I'm sure that alot of the people in Diallo's neighborhood were murderous pimps and crack dealers that wouldn't think twice about shooting or otherwise endangering a white plainclothes policeman. Does that give the police in those neighborhoods free reign to shoot first and ask questions later? What if they went as far as the Israeli government, inflicting collective punishment on everyone in that neighborhood, keeping them locked inside their houses so they are unable to find gainful employment, turning off their water and electricity?
If those white police in that black neighborhood knew where a particularly horrible crack dealer lived, one who had gotten many wealthy white teenagers addicted, would they fire a missile at his apartment building, getting the bad guy but also 14 other random people including nine little kids? Would the chief of police call the action that resulted in the death of nine children one of his "greatest successes?"
If he did, do you think that would make teenage black boys in this hypothetical neighborhood like wealthy white people, or hate them?
In this country, we recognize the fact that if a teenaged boy becomes a ruthless crack dealer by the time he is in high school, a bunch of seriously messed up stuff must have happened to him. (Whether or not that excuses his actions is another manner, and not part of the point I am trying to make. The reason you've done something isn't the same as an excuse for doing something.)
Committing a suicide bombing is about a million times more evil than selling crack. Imagine all of the horrible things that must have happened to you in order for you to decide that becoming a suicide bomber was a good idea. Especially if your religion expressly forbids suicide. Proponents of Israel often make it seem like Palestinians wake up in the morning, drink their coffee and eat their toast, and say "Gee, it sure is cool to hate the Jews, I think I'll blow myself up in a shopping mall today!"
You can't fight the inner city drug problem by shooting people dead in the streets and blowing up houses with a bunch of little kids in them. You can, however, fight the drug problem by arresting current drug dealers, and, here's the important part, kids, keeping kids from becoming drug dealers in the first place. Is that done with collective house arrest (which is what it is, by the way, "curfew" is far too light a description) that you get shot at for violating, by keeping the populace in crushing poverty, or by bulldozing homes? No, its done with education, economic opportunity, and the building of self-esteem.
Since September 11th, 2001 I've heard the "War on Terror" compared to the "War on Drugs" in more that a few places, and I found it a horrible comparison to make. The "War on Drugs" is so badly run in the United States, that I was horrified to imagine what would happen if we fought terror in the same way. For Israel, I think it would be a step in the right direction.
*The police who shot this unarmed African immigrant, who was a Muslim, by the way, were aquitted.
My father's recent trip to Israel and Palestine has really made me sensitive to bias in the media regarding the conflict. Take this story, for example.
Witnesses and hospital officials said soldiers fired at Palestinians who threw stones at them, killing two men, at least one a bystander. The army said soldiers fired at a youth who threw a petrol bomb and a man about to lob something at them.
Even if we take the word of the Israeli soldiers what we have here is a man who was killed for, at worst, seeming as though he was about to "lob" something at them. Think of the outrage that would happen in this country if white policemen in a black neighborhood shot a black man to death for seeming as though he was about to do something!
Oh wait, that's happened before, anyone remember Amadou Diallo*?
Now imagine that happening in your country every day. I'm sure that alot of the people in Diallo's neighborhood were murderous pimps and crack dealers that wouldn't think twice about shooting or otherwise endangering a white plainclothes policeman. Does that give the police in those neighborhoods free reign to shoot first and ask questions later? What if they went as far as the Israeli government, inflicting collective punishment on everyone in that neighborhood, keeping them locked inside their houses so they are unable to find gainful employment, turning off their water and electricity?
If those white police in that black neighborhood knew where a particularly horrible crack dealer lived, one who had gotten many wealthy white teenagers addicted, would they fire a missile at his apartment building, getting the bad guy but also 14 other random people including nine little kids? Would the chief of police call the action that resulted in the death of nine children one of his "greatest successes?"
If he did, do you think that would make teenage black boys in this hypothetical neighborhood like wealthy white people, or hate them?
In this country, we recognize the fact that if a teenaged boy becomes a ruthless crack dealer by the time he is in high school, a bunch of seriously messed up stuff must have happened to him. (Whether or not that excuses his actions is another manner, and not part of the point I am trying to make. The reason you've done something isn't the same as an excuse for doing something.)
Committing a suicide bombing is about a million times more evil than selling crack. Imagine all of the horrible things that must have happened to you in order for you to decide that becoming a suicide bomber was a good idea. Especially if your religion expressly forbids suicide. Proponents of Israel often make it seem like Palestinians wake up in the morning, drink their coffee and eat their toast, and say "Gee, it sure is cool to hate the Jews, I think I'll blow myself up in a shopping mall today!"
You can't fight the inner city drug problem by shooting people dead in the streets and blowing up houses with a bunch of little kids in them. You can, however, fight the drug problem by arresting current drug dealers, and, here's the important part, kids, keeping kids from becoming drug dealers in the first place. Is that done with collective house arrest (which is what it is, by the way, "curfew" is far too light a description) that you get shot at for violating, by keeping the populace in crushing poverty, or by bulldozing homes? No, its done with education, economic opportunity, and the building of self-esteem.
Since September 11th, 2001 I've heard the "War on Terror" compared to the "War on Drugs" in more that a few places, and I found it a horrible comparison to make. The "War on Drugs" is so badly run in the United States, that I was horrified to imagine what would happen if we fought terror in the same way. For Israel, I think it would be a step in the right direction.
*The police who shot this unarmed African immigrant, who was a Muslim, by the way, were aquitted.
Friday, February 21, 2003
Like Barnes and Noble would ever do this for you!
In yet another reason not to shop at scary giant faceless corporate booksellers, some small bookstores are actually watching out for your civil liberties.
"When the CIA comes and asks what you've read because they're suspicious of you, we can't tell them because we don't have it," store co-owner Michael Katzenberg said. "That's just a basic right, to be able to read what you want without fear that somebody is looking over your shoulder to see what you're reading."
These sort of privacy freaks usually just make me roll my eyes and think, "I wonder if these are the same people who worry about their TiVos telling people they're gay because they keep recording Will and Grace?" However, apparently this information is something the government is actually after.
Kramer's Books in Washington won a court order blocking independent counsel Kenneth Starr from getting records of purchases by Monica Lewinsky during his investigation of the sex scandal involving President Clinton. And the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last year for a Denver book store in its fight against a subpoena of purchase records by a defendant in a drug case.
I am now clearing out my Amazon wish list.
In yet another reason not to shop at scary giant faceless corporate booksellers, some small bookstores are actually watching out for your civil liberties.
"When the CIA comes and asks what you've read because they're suspicious of you, we can't tell them because we don't have it," store co-owner Michael Katzenberg said. "That's just a basic right, to be able to read what you want without fear that somebody is looking over your shoulder to see what you're reading."
These sort of privacy freaks usually just make me roll my eyes and think, "I wonder if these are the same people who worry about their TiVos telling people they're gay because they keep recording Will and Grace?" However, apparently this information is something the government is actually after.
Kramer's Books in Washington won a court order blocking independent counsel Kenneth Starr from getting records of purchases by Monica Lewinsky during his investigation of the sex scandal involving President Clinton. And the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last year for a Denver book store in its fight against a subpoena of purchase records by a defendant in a drug case.
I am now clearing out my Amazon wish list.
Thursday, February 20, 2003
I was starting to think I was crazy!
Thank God I'm not the only person who thought Chicago was a complete snore!
Thank God I'm not the only person who thought Chicago was a complete snore!
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Another note from Dad
Here's a statement by the Episcopal delegation of the trip to Israel my father recently participated in.
______________________________
STATEMENT BY EPISCOPAL MEMBERS OF THE JANUARY 25 FEBRUARY 8, 2003
FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION MIDDLE EAST INTERFAITH PEACE-BUILDERS
DELEGATION
To members of our church, our communities, and our government,
We are Episcopalians who have just spent two weeks in Palestine/Israel,
Jordan, and Lebanon. Our interfaith peace-builders delegation was
coordinated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (www.forusa.org), and
co-sponsored by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship
(www.episcopalpeacefellowship.org) and "The Witness" magazine
(www.thewitness.org). We have listened to representatives from dozens of
Palestinian and Israeli organizations working nonviolently for a just peace
in the Middle East, and have heard the stories and opinions of countless
individuals whose views on the conflict span the political spectrum.
We arrive in the U.S. deeply sobered by what we have heard and seen.
In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees with no rights political or civil have
entered a second half-century of existence as a forgotten people. Crowded
refugee camps, bursting at two to three times their intended capacities,
house refugees whose rights to work, own property, and travel are severely
restricted, and whose access to education and health care are minimal. We
visited and laid flowers at the mass gravesite of those who died in the
Shatila massacre of 1982, and heard testimony from survivors. We learned
that our U.S. government refuses to permit its diplomats to enter these
refugee camps.
In Jordan, we were told that the nation¹s economic, environmental and
political indices have suffered critically over the past two years, and it
was stated that the U.S. government has isolated Jordan for not having
"secured" its borders with Iraq. An arid region, Jordan has relied on
contracts with Israel to obtain its necessary water it was stated that
Israel has not always honored those agreements.
Our time in Palestine/Israel was deeply troubling. On our first night in
the region, the Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal, Bishop in Jerusalem, detailed
the devastating missile attack that had struck St. Philip¹s Anglican church
and Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza just days before our arrival. Estimating the
financial loss at $500,000, Bishop Riah declared, "No one who is sane could
claim that this was a mistake; it was a huge, guided missile." Calling the
U.S. administration hypocritical for targeting Iraq through the UN while
failing to address UN resolutions that focus on Israel, the bishop stated a
phrase we heard throughout the coming days: "The root of this problem is the
occupation."
We walked through empty streets in Hebron a city of 150,000 Palestinians
where the only humans seen downtown are Israeli soldiers and settlers. We
visited Ephrata, an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, where
residents told us that Palestinian parents are encouraging their children to
be suicide bombers. We stayed overnight in the homes of Palestinian and
Israeli Jewish families, ordinary people who yearn for peace and security in
this land, many of whom have given up hope of living alongside former
neighbors. We met with Israeli Jews who pointed to the militarization of
Israeli society, supported by the U.S., as causing the senseless loss of
life and vitality in their communities such as the father of a suicide
bombing victim and a woman who supports young Israelis refusing military
service. We listened to doctors and psychologists detail the traumatic
effects on young and old alike, and heard concerns expressed that the
current state of violence will grow much worse if war begins in Iraq. We
met with a representative of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, and were told
that our government is committed to the creation of a "sovereign and viable"
Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. We saw the first stages of the
"apartheid wall," a new project to physically divide Israel and the West
Bank, which confiscates thousands of acres of land from Palestinian villages
each month.
We clearly heard that the U.S. has a critical role to play in the region.
So we have committed ourselves to working at home, in our own nation, to
press for an end to the stream of money and armaments that fuel the violence
in the Middle East. We call on our president and congressional
representatives to work more forcefully to help facilitate a just peace in
Palestine/Israel, primarily by calling for an end to the Israeli occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza. And we invite our fellow church members to join
us in this effort by:
1. calling on the State of Israel to cease its efforts to build and expand
settlements, demolish homes, humiliate Palestinians, put communities under
Closure, and indefinitely detain & assassinate alleged militants
2. calling on the Palestinian Authority to use its influence to demand an
end to suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians
3. traveling to Palestine/Israel to be a visible witness in solidarity with
Palestinians and Israelis working nonviolently to end the occupation
(especially through organizations like FOR, Sabeel (www.sabeel.org),
Christian Peacemaker Teams, and other faith-based groups) we were thanked
endlessly for being there at this critical time
4. pressuring and considering the boycott of companies whose products help
entrench the military occupation
Finally, amidst great despair, we affirm both our commitment to nonviolence
and to standing with Israelis and Palestinians who hope for and work towards
the day when they will live side by side in peace and justice.
In peace Michael Battle, Peter Churchill, Ethan Flad, Elisha Harig-Blaine,
Christopher Pottle, Terry Rogers, Winnie Varghese (Trip reports are
available online at www.forusa.org).
Here's a statement by the Episcopal delegation of the trip to Israel my father recently participated in.
______________________________
STATEMENT BY EPISCOPAL MEMBERS OF THE JANUARY 25 FEBRUARY 8, 2003
FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION MIDDLE EAST INTERFAITH PEACE-BUILDERS
DELEGATION
To members of our church, our communities, and our government,
We are Episcopalians who have just spent two weeks in Palestine/Israel,
Jordan, and Lebanon. Our interfaith peace-builders delegation was
coordinated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (www.forusa.org), and
co-sponsored by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship
(www.episcopalpeacefellowship.org) and "The Witness" magazine
(www.thewitness.org). We have listened to representatives from dozens of
Palestinian and Israeli organizations working nonviolently for a just peace
in the Middle East, and have heard the stories and opinions of countless
individuals whose views on the conflict span the political spectrum.
We arrive in the U.S. deeply sobered by what we have heard and seen.
In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees with no rights political or civil have
entered a second half-century of existence as a forgotten people. Crowded
refugee camps, bursting at two to three times their intended capacities,
house refugees whose rights to work, own property, and travel are severely
restricted, and whose access to education and health care are minimal. We
visited and laid flowers at the mass gravesite of those who died in the
Shatila massacre of 1982, and heard testimony from survivors. We learned
that our U.S. government refuses to permit its diplomats to enter these
refugee camps.
In Jordan, we were told that the nation¹s economic, environmental and
political indices have suffered critically over the past two years, and it
was stated that the U.S. government has isolated Jordan for not having
"secured" its borders with Iraq. An arid region, Jordan has relied on
contracts with Israel to obtain its necessary water it was stated that
Israel has not always honored those agreements.
Our time in Palestine/Israel was deeply troubling. On our first night in
the region, the Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal, Bishop in Jerusalem, detailed
the devastating missile attack that had struck St. Philip¹s Anglican church
and Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza just days before our arrival. Estimating the
financial loss at $500,000, Bishop Riah declared, "No one who is sane could
claim that this was a mistake; it was a huge, guided missile." Calling the
U.S. administration hypocritical for targeting Iraq through the UN while
failing to address UN resolutions that focus on Israel, the bishop stated a
phrase we heard throughout the coming days: "The root of this problem is the
occupation."
We walked through empty streets in Hebron a city of 150,000 Palestinians
where the only humans seen downtown are Israeli soldiers and settlers. We
visited Ephrata, an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, where
residents told us that Palestinian parents are encouraging their children to
be suicide bombers. We stayed overnight in the homes of Palestinian and
Israeli Jewish families, ordinary people who yearn for peace and security in
this land, many of whom have given up hope of living alongside former
neighbors. We met with Israeli Jews who pointed to the militarization of
Israeli society, supported by the U.S., as causing the senseless loss of
life and vitality in their communities such as the father of a suicide
bombing victim and a woman who supports young Israelis refusing military
service. We listened to doctors and psychologists detail the traumatic
effects on young and old alike, and heard concerns expressed that the
current state of violence will grow much worse if war begins in Iraq. We
met with a representative of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, and were told
that our government is committed to the creation of a "sovereign and viable"
Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. We saw the first stages of the
"apartheid wall," a new project to physically divide Israel and the West
Bank, which confiscates thousands of acres of land from Palestinian villages
each month.
We clearly heard that the U.S. has a critical role to play in the region.
So we have committed ourselves to working at home, in our own nation, to
press for an end to the stream of money and armaments that fuel the violence
in the Middle East. We call on our president and congressional
representatives to work more forcefully to help facilitate a just peace in
Palestine/Israel, primarily by calling for an end to the Israeli occupation
of the West Bank and Gaza. And we invite our fellow church members to join
us in this effort by:
1. calling on the State of Israel to cease its efforts to build and expand
settlements, demolish homes, humiliate Palestinians, put communities under
Closure, and indefinitely detain & assassinate alleged militants
2. calling on the Palestinian Authority to use its influence to demand an
end to suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians
3. traveling to Palestine/Israel to be a visible witness in solidarity with
Palestinians and Israelis working nonviolently to end the occupation
(especially through organizations like FOR, Sabeel (www.sabeel.org),
Christian Peacemaker Teams, and other faith-based groups) we were thanked
endlessly for being there at this critical time
4. pressuring and considering the boycott of companies whose products help
entrench the military occupation
Finally, amidst great despair, we affirm both our commitment to nonviolence
and to standing with Israelis and Palestinians who hope for and work towards
the day when they will live side by side in peace and justice.
In peace Michael Battle, Peter Churchill, Ethan Flad, Elisha Harig-Blaine,
Christopher Pottle, Terry Rogers, Winnie Varghese (Trip reports are
available online at www.forusa.org).
But that's the tasty wine!
Some lawmakers want to pass laws requiring French wines to have labels warning consumers that they are clarified with bovine blood.
The Post said the speaker also is exploring whether the United States should require "bright orange warning labels" on French wines that are clarified with bovine blood.
"People should know how the French make their wine, " the Post quoted Hastert spokesman John Feehery as saying.
This from the nation that invented McDonald's hamburgers, Spam, velveeta cheese, carcinogenic sweetners that taste like aspirin, and those really bloody steaks that the Texans love (talk about your bovine blood) and that gives them all colon cancer. Not to mention the nerf-like twinkie, and all the other sugar foods we give our children to the point that they all have diabetes and ADD.
There's also frozen pizza, Pop Tarts, ranch dressing, pickled pig's feet, green ketchup, blue french fries (yes, I actually saw those at the grocery store the other day), canned pasta, and the Cheeto.
Take a drive through any part of rural Texas and you'll smell the process that is used to created the beef we consume so often. The United States is the kingdom of factory farming and processed food, and for Feehery and Hastert to get all grossed out about a process that the French themselves apparently banned a few years ago is beyond arrogant and hypocritical.
But, I'm sure they had fresh apples they picked themselves and washed in mountain springwater for lunch that day, so can speak without reservation.
Some lawmakers want to pass laws requiring French wines to have labels warning consumers that they are clarified with bovine blood.
The Post said the speaker also is exploring whether the United States should require "bright orange warning labels" on French wines that are clarified with bovine blood.
"People should know how the French make their wine, " the Post quoted Hastert spokesman John Feehery as saying.
This from the nation that invented McDonald's hamburgers, Spam, velveeta cheese, carcinogenic sweetners that taste like aspirin, and those really bloody steaks that the Texans love (talk about your bovine blood) and that gives them all colon cancer. Not to mention the nerf-like twinkie, and all the other sugar foods we give our children to the point that they all have diabetes and ADD.
There's also frozen pizza, Pop Tarts, ranch dressing, pickled pig's feet, green ketchup, blue french fries (yes, I actually saw those at the grocery store the other day), canned pasta, and the Cheeto.
Take a drive through any part of rural Texas and you'll smell the process that is used to created the beef we consume so often. The United States is the kingdom of factory farming and processed food, and for Feehery and Hastert to get all grossed out about a process that the French themselves apparently banned a few years ago is beyond arrogant and hypocritical.
But, I'm sure they had fresh apples they picked themselves and washed in mountain springwater for lunch that day, so can speak without reservation.
A note from my Dad
Just in case anyone was interested, and if anyone reading is from New Mexico.
_______
AsSalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters;
There is presently a situation right now going on in our New Mexico State Legislature for the passing of a bill House Memorial 10:
A MEMORIAL:
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM.
This bill is totally one-side, does not speak to the terrorism that Israel is inflicting on the Palestinian people.
As many of you know I have just come back from Palestine and have fisrt hand seen the situation there myself. It has been very difficult for me to even speak about the situation in a few words, but I know that I must and must do it very strongly. To sum up here is what we witnessed and heard about (myself and the interfaith delegation of christians and jews) the Israeli government perpitrating on the Palestinian people:
Curfews, checkpoints, use of collective punishment ofnthe population, unemployment (65-75%), massive injury (40,000), home demolitions, settlements, hunger and malnutrition among children, The WALL, destruction of agricultural land, trees, administrative detention, incursion, stress and trauma of the children and mothers, inability to travel, lack of access to religious sites, water confiscation, sniper towers, hopelessness, lack of rights of education, lack of and prevention of medical treatment, use of Palestinians as human shields, preventing international observations of Jenin, Hebron, Gaza and other cities after invasion, political assassinations, the genral lack of civil rights for Palestinian residents.
This Bill in no way mentions any of these violation of Palestinian civil rights and terrorists acts that are being conducted by the Israeli government, or loss of over 3000 Palestinian lives since the start of the second Intifadah. We should expect our state legislature to be fair and balanced in its view of any situation. I am assuming that most of these legislatures do not really know what is going on in Palestine and are just jumping on the terrorist band wagon.
I implore all of you in our community, please do something against this bill. At minimum call the state legislature representatives below and express your concerns against the passage of such a bill in New Mexico and that they take a fair and knowledgeable view of this situation.
I have posted the bill below and the phone numbers and emails of these legislatures. Please call every single one of them and express that you are against thw passage of such a bill in New Mexico. There is support against this bill from many of the non-muslims, in fact most of the support against it is presently from the non-muslims. The muslims from our community must speak out and be heard and take a stand!!!!!! This is a time where we can locally make a difference for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and all you have to do is make several phone calls write several emails.
Please I implore you as Allah -fearing Muslims to make this effort!
Here is the information below
GOVERNMENT & URBAN AFFAIRS
Mimi Stewart Chair 505 986-4341 / mimi.stewart@state.nm.us
Dona G. Irwin Vice Chair 505 986-4242 / House@state.nm.us
Fred Luna Member 505 986-4329 / House@state.nm.us
Rory J. Ogle Member 505 986-4450 / ogleviz@quixnet.net
Jim Trujillo Member 505 986-4254 / jimtrujillo@msn.com
Luciano Varela Member 505 986-4435 / House@state.nm.us
Jeannette O. Wallace Member 505 986-4452 / wallace@losalamos.com
W. C. Williams Member 505 986-4454 / House@state.nm.us
Please be either phone or email your concerns to these state legislature. Please be direct yet use your intelligence in making a response. Anger will not change minds but incitful thought and true facts can and will influence these people to not pass this House Memeorial. This is a chance for everyone muslim and non-muslim to do something for your Palestinian brothers and sister by just emailing and some phone calls. Please respond to this.
I also ask the students of the MSA , the Board Members of the Islamic Center of New Mexico to respond with calls and emails and to respond directly as organizations.
Please pass this email on to muslims and non-muslim that you know in the Albuquerque community. May Allah guide us to have the courage to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters to peace and justice.
sincerly,
Abdul Rauf
General Secretary
Islamic Center of New Mexico
The House Memeorial Bill is listed below and speaks for itself.
website:
http://legis.state.nm.us/session03.asp?chamber=H&type=M&number=10&Submit=Search
HOUSE MEMORIAL 10
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003
INTRODUCED BY
Robert White
A MEMORIAL:
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM.
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism since September 11, 2001 has hurt the economies of New Mexico and the United States, damaging tourism and creating a negative economic atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism at home and abroad has required enhanced security for our citizens and diverted local, state and federal resources from other critical domestic programs; and
WHEREAS, the United States and Israel are engaged in a common struggle against terrorism; and
WHEREAS, Palestinian organizations are conducting an organized and deliberate campaign of terror aimed at inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Israeli population; and
WHEREAS, the Palestinian campaign of terror includes the use of suicide bomber attacks; and
WHEREAS, Israel has lost nearly seven hundred lives to the Palestinian campaign of terror, which as a percentage of their population would equate to the United States losing thirty thousand lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and
WHEREAS, Yasser Arafat and others in the Palestinian leadership have failed to live up to their commitment to nonviolence as set forth in the Oslo Accord; and
WHEREAS, forces directly under Yasser Arafat's control have murdered scores of innocent Israelis; and
WHEREAS, documents obtained from the offices of the Palestine authority demonstrate that the authority provides support for acts of terror, including suicide bombings; and
WHEREAS, Israel's military operations are an effort to defend itself against the ongoing acts of terror and are aimed at dismantling the terrorist infrastructure;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it express its solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it urge all parties in the region to vigorously pursue efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
__________________________
Admittendly the bill doesn't sound so bad on the surface, but it completely fails to take in account the suffering the Israeli government has caused. Anyone wondering about the acts of Israel that need to be addressed is ways other that expressing solidarity can read this account from an Israeli rabbi. Via Cursor.
Just in case anyone was interested, and if anyone reading is from New Mexico.
_______
AsSalaamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters;
There is presently a situation right now going on in our New Mexico State Legislature for the passing of a bill House Memorial 10:
A MEMORIAL:
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM.
This bill is totally one-side, does not speak to the terrorism that Israel is inflicting on the Palestinian people.
As many of you know I have just come back from Palestine and have fisrt hand seen the situation there myself. It has been very difficult for me to even speak about the situation in a few words, but I know that I must and must do it very strongly. To sum up here is what we witnessed and heard about (myself and the interfaith delegation of christians and jews) the Israeli government perpitrating on the Palestinian people:
Curfews, checkpoints, use of collective punishment ofnthe population, unemployment (65-75%), massive injury (40,000), home demolitions, settlements, hunger and malnutrition among children, The WALL, destruction of agricultural land, trees, administrative detention, incursion, stress and trauma of the children and mothers, inability to travel, lack of access to religious sites, water confiscation, sniper towers, hopelessness, lack of rights of education, lack of and prevention of medical treatment, use of Palestinians as human shields, preventing international observations of Jenin, Hebron, Gaza and other cities after invasion, political assassinations, the genral lack of civil rights for Palestinian residents.
This Bill in no way mentions any of these violation of Palestinian civil rights and terrorists acts that are being conducted by the Israeli government, or loss of over 3000 Palestinian lives since the start of the second Intifadah. We should expect our state legislature to be fair and balanced in its view of any situation. I am assuming that most of these legislatures do not really know what is going on in Palestine and are just jumping on the terrorist band wagon.
I implore all of you in our community, please do something against this bill. At minimum call the state legislature representatives below and express your concerns against the passage of such a bill in New Mexico and that they take a fair and knowledgeable view of this situation.
I have posted the bill below and the phone numbers and emails of these legislatures. Please call every single one of them and express that you are against thw passage of such a bill in New Mexico. There is support against this bill from many of the non-muslims, in fact most of the support against it is presently from the non-muslims. The muslims from our community must speak out and be heard and take a stand!!!!!! This is a time where we can locally make a difference for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and all you have to do is make several phone calls write several emails.
Please I implore you as Allah -fearing Muslims to make this effort!
Here is the information below
GOVERNMENT & URBAN AFFAIRS
Mimi Stewart Chair 505 986-4341 / mimi.stewart@state.nm.us
Dona G. Irwin Vice Chair 505 986-4242 / House@state.nm.us
Fred Luna Member 505 986-4329 / House@state.nm.us
Rory J. Ogle Member 505 986-4450 / ogleviz@quixnet.net
Jim Trujillo Member 505 986-4254 / jimtrujillo@msn.com
Luciano Varela Member 505 986-4435 / House@state.nm.us
Jeannette O. Wallace Member 505 986-4452 / wallace@losalamos.com
W. C. Williams Member 505 986-4454 / House@state.nm.us
Please be either phone or email your concerns to these state legislature. Please be direct yet use your intelligence in making a response. Anger will not change minds but incitful thought and true facts can and will influence these people to not pass this House Memeorial. This is a chance for everyone muslim and non-muslim to do something for your Palestinian brothers and sister by just emailing and some phone calls. Please respond to this.
I also ask the students of the MSA , the Board Members of the Islamic Center of New Mexico to respond with calls and emails and to respond directly as organizations.
Please pass this email on to muslims and non-muslim that you know in the Albuquerque community. May Allah guide us to have the courage to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters to peace and justice.
sincerly,
Abdul Rauf
General Secretary
Islamic Center of New Mexico
The House Memeorial Bill is listed below and speaks for itself.
website:
http://legis.state.nm.us/session03.asp?chamber=H&type=M&number=10&Submit=Search
HOUSE MEMORIAL 10
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003
INTRODUCED BY
Robert White
A MEMORIAL:
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM.
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism since September 11, 2001 has hurt the economies of New Mexico and the United States, damaging tourism and creating a negative economic atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism at home and abroad has required enhanced security for our citizens and diverted local, state and federal resources from other critical domestic programs; and
WHEREAS, the United States and Israel are engaged in a common struggle against terrorism; and
WHEREAS, Palestinian organizations are conducting an organized and deliberate campaign of terror aimed at inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Israeli population; and
WHEREAS, the Palestinian campaign of terror includes the use of suicide bomber attacks; and
WHEREAS, Israel has lost nearly seven hundred lives to the Palestinian campaign of terror, which as a percentage of their population would equate to the United States losing thirty thousand lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and
WHEREAS, Yasser Arafat and others in the Palestinian leadership have failed to live up to their commitment to nonviolence as set forth in the Oslo Accord; and
WHEREAS, forces directly under Yasser Arafat's control have murdered scores of innocent Israelis; and
WHEREAS, documents obtained from the offices of the Palestine authority demonstrate that the authority provides support for acts of terror, including suicide bombings; and
WHEREAS, Israel's military operations are an effort to defend itself against the ongoing acts of terror and are aimed at dismantling the terrorist infrastructure;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it express its solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it urge all parties in the region to vigorously pursue efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
__________________________
Admittendly the bill doesn't sound so bad on the surface, but it completely fails to take in account the suffering the Israeli government has caused. Anyone wondering about the acts of Israel that need to be addressed is ways other that expressing solidarity can read this account from an Israeli rabbi. Via Cursor.
If we go to war with North Korea, will they bring M*A*S*H back on the air?
Another one for the why-Iraq-and-not-them-files.
North Korea defiantly declared Monday that it would triumph in its nuclear standoff with the United States, and South Korea's president warned that Pyongyang's weapons program could start an atomic arms race in Northeast Asia.
Also this.
In an apparent attempt to force direct dialogue with the United States, North Korea threatened on Tuesday to abandon the armistice that ended the Korean War five decades ago, accusing Washington of planning an attack.
Also, read this CNN article.
Pyongyang has ratcheted up tensions on the Korean peninsula another notch with threats to quit the armistice which ended the Korean War.
Accusing the United States of violating the 1953 agreement, North Korea's army says it will "immediately take all steps to cope with it" .
I wonder if Alan Alda is available?
Another one for the why-Iraq-and-not-them-files.
North Korea defiantly declared Monday that it would triumph in its nuclear standoff with the United States, and South Korea's president warned that Pyongyang's weapons program could start an atomic arms race in Northeast Asia.
Also this.
In an apparent attempt to force direct dialogue with the United States, North Korea threatened on Tuesday to abandon the armistice that ended the Korean War five decades ago, accusing Washington of planning an attack.
Also, read this CNN article.
Pyongyang has ratcheted up tensions on the Korean peninsula another notch with threats to quit the armistice which ended the Korean War.
Accusing the United States of violating the 1953 agreement, North Korea's army says it will "immediately take all steps to cope with it" .
I wonder if Alan Alda is available?
This is why I love New Yorkers
Salon has an excellent article about the "non-march" (they were denied the permit by the city) for peace in New York this weekend that touches on several things that I've been mulling over since September 11th, 2001.
Yet even as demonstrators declared that they were standing with the world -- and especially with Germany and France, whose opposition to war with Iraq in the U.N. was commended on sign after sign -- the event was filled with the burnished spirit of New York. Although there were marchers from across the country, locals predominated, many angrily rejecting the way they say the administration has hijacked their city's grief. "The New York that I knew growing up is coming back," said Brian Ferreira, a 24-year-old substitute teacher from Queens. "For a long time we've been in a docile mourning state." The Bush administration, he said, is "trying to profit off our loss."
I've always thought that the "Red" parts of America was using September 11th against the "Blue" part of America, of which New York, the city that was attacked, is a central part. One only needs to look at the writing s of Ann Coulter on the subject to know that for sure.
Go read the article. You'll have to click through a few screens of ads, but it's worth it.
Salon has an excellent article about the "non-march" (they were denied the permit by the city) for peace in New York this weekend that touches on several things that I've been mulling over since September 11th, 2001.
Yet even as demonstrators declared that they were standing with the world -- and especially with Germany and France, whose opposition to war with Iraq in the U.N. was commended on sign after sign -- the event was filled with the burnished spirit of New York. Although there were marchers from across the country, locals predominated, many angrily rejecting the way they say the administration has hijacked their city's grief. "The New York that I knew growing up is coming back," said Brian Ferreira, a 24-year-old substitute teacher from Queens. "For a long time we've been in a docile mourning state." The Bush administration, he said, is "trying to profit off our loss."
I've always thought that the "Red" parts of America was using September 11th against the "Blue" part of America, of which New York, the city that was attacked, is a central part. One only needs to look at the writing s of Ann Coulter on the subject to know that for sure.
Go read the article. You'll have to click through a few screens of ads, but it's worth it.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Naturally...
Teror alert level plaid, or polka-dot, or whatever it is, is apparently based on yet another lie.
Feb. 13 — A key piece of the information leading to recent terror alerts was fabricated, according to two senior law enforcement officials in Washington and New York. ...... This piece of that puzzle turns out to be fabricated and therefore the reason for a lot of the alarm, particularly in Washington this week, has been dissipated after they found out that this information was not true," said Vince Cannistraro, former CIA counter-terrorism chief and ABCNEWS consultant.
You start to get the feeling that the people being questioned by the government are making it up as they go along.
Teror alert level plaid, or polka-dot, or whatever it is, is apparently based on yet another lie.
Feb. 13 — A key piece of the information leading to recent terror alerts was fabricated, according to two senior law enforcement officials in Washington and New York. ...... This piece of that puzzle turns out to be fabricated and therefore the reason for a lot of the alarm, particularly in Washington this week, has been dissipated after they found out that this information was not true," said Vince Cannistraro, former CIA counter-terrorism chief and ABCNEWS consultant.
You start to get the feeling that the people being questioned by the government are making it up as they go along.
Isn't it Ironic...
The most ironic headline, ever.
Freedom of Information Act training video is not released to public
(AP) -- The Defense Department has produced a training video that instructs its staff on how to handle requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act. But don't request a screening; the video itself is secret.
"It seems ironic, very ironic," said Mike Ravnitzky, a writer for American Lawyer magazine whose request for the video was turned down in November. When he appealed, the Defense Department denied the request again, citing the Freedom of Information Act's trade secret exemption.
Alanis Morrisette's songwriters were not available for comment.
The most ironic headline, ever.
Freedom of Information Act training video is not released to public
(AP) -- The Defense Department has produced a training video that instructs its staff on how to handle requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act. But don't request a screening; the video itself is secret.
"It seems ironic, very ironic," said Mike Ravnitzky, a writer for American Lawyer magazine whose request for the video was turned down in November. When he appealed, the Defense Department denied the request again, citing the Freedom of Information Act's trade secret exemption.
Alanis Morrisette's songwriters were not available for comment.
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