Posts with the tag humanitarian

Haiti, Prez Obama, and I

Haitiana4Obama — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:53:30 EDT

Now I know many Haitian people are exceedingly becoming more encouraged as President Obama rolls out his foreign policy as well as immigration plans. Especially those who have family or friends in this country illegally and pray that God continues to fill this American President with a compassionate and intelligent (yes) heart. While I think there's a lot that the Obama Administration can do to help Haitians as well as Haitian Americans succeed in this new century, we need to ask ourselves when is enough...enough? When will the Haitian people become tired of being Orphans to the Western Hemisphere? That is what we've become in a sense, hands out, ready to receive donations. Now a recent article came out saying America was ready to invest in Haiti once more, and a HuffingtonPost blogger wrote a piece, this blog was in part inspired by some of the statistics in the aforementioned blog, now allow me to opine:

Needs Related to Gaza

Jill 4 Obama — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:25:10 EST

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 2, 2009
January 27, 2009
Presidential Determination

No. 2009-15

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SUBJECT: Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration

Needs Related to Gaza

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the "Act"), as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

…a letter to the official opposition party of Canada…

The Ranting Dream — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:09:52 EST

...I have yet to see a single politician muster the courage to do the right thing and to 'tell the "TRUTH" like it is' - they've chosen to silently side with the 'spin' and let the status-quo be - either they're afraid of consequences to their political careers, or they're simply corrupt, or they're just plain stupid - or all of the above (and beyond) - whatever the reason, while I'm not shocked or surprised at the behavior of the puppet morons in politics, I'm disgusted at their complete lack of integrity and conscience...and to not have a SINGLE one of them telling the 'real' story behind this attack on humanity is just ticking me off...

A film shot in the poorest place in the world (Payatas mountains of trash) seeks your ideas.

Gerry — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:07:00 EST

Hi! My name is Gerry a New York filmmaker. I recently shot a narrative film called THE MOUNTAIN THIEF in Payatas, a dumpsite community and possibly the poorest place in the world.

Please take 2 minutes of your time to view the trailer, this will give you an idea:

http://www.mountainthief.com/Site_/Trailer.html

A place where people live on top of mountains of trash. I held an acting workshop in the town for the scavenger residents and the graduates acted out the parts in the film. I hope to get a discussion on how to build an audience for the film, inspire change and touch the lives of the scavengers who acted in the film.

Our website above gives more info about the film and please add our page to your facebook account:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mountain-Thief/25443474407

21st Century STD and HIV/AIDS Cure

Humanitarian R&D Specialist — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:17:04 EST

There's a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are now submitting ideas for how they think the Obama Administration should change America. It's called "Ideas for Change in America." See the latest idea for a 21st Century STD and HIV/AIDS Intervention Cure called, S.A.V.I.O.R.

Open Letter From a Loyal Supporter

Mia from Scottsdale, AZ — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:19:07 EST

Dear Mister Obama, I supported you because I’m 50+ and own a tiny art business that employs 4 people, and we don’t have enough work to pay our bills now that the housing market has collapsed.…I supported you because as an aging worker I don’t have health insurance or a retirement account and I’m suddenly scared to be living just a few paychecks away from homelessness.…I supported you because for 11 years I owned a lovely little home of my own, and now I live in a small apartment due to the devastating changes in our economy and burgeoning medical bills.…I supported you because someone close to my heart just lost their job and was also diagnosed with a serious illness, and their Cobra insurance, while it lasts, will only cover a small portion of the thousands of dollars a month required for treatment - and so it has fallen to me to try and keep homelessness from their doorstep.…I supported you because my mother died needlessly from medical starvation after surviving treatment for lung cancer, due to the nightmarish bureaucracy of the Medicare warehousing conglomerate into which she was abandoned in what was to be the golden years of her life.…I supported you because I still see our country as a glorious and miraculous paradise of abundance, which only momentarily lost its humanitarian compass in its pursuit of unchecked consumerism that rendered it devoid of civil conscience and social responsibility.…I supported you because finally, after growing up in a country where racism once dominated the landscape, I now live in one where only its shadows remain, accompanied by a kind of social “phantom limb syndrome” where although the pain of its existence can still be felt, the malignancy has finally been excised.…I supported you because the republican party I once loved has ceased to represent the very people and principles it supposedly championed – feeding the poor, aiding the sick and guarding the well being and civil rights of the least of those among us; all that is left now of its grand beginning is a sterile doctrine that represents only the narrow views of its innermost core, which is all but devoid of its once precious cargo – the commitment to, and love of, our uniquely American brand of humanitarianism.…I supported you because I still believe it is possible for this miraculous experiment called America to find a way to allow a simple artist like me to remain an artist, without being forced to abandon my God-given life purpose to seek corporate factory employment for the sole purpose of obtaining that elusive diamond known as health benefits – since due to my age and pre-existing medical condition, I cannot afford or obtain them in any other way. ....I supported you, Mister Obama, because despite all that some may say is wrong with our society, I truly believe we are a nation of compassion just waiting to be awakened again to our inherent humanitarianism. We are still that sleeping giant of yesteryear, but this time it is not our enemies who will awaken us from our complacency; it is time for us to awaken ourselves…to a new purpose and a new beginning. It is time for us to awaken ourselves…to the potential of our deep and abiding humanity. It is time for us to awaken ourselves…and you are, Mister Obama, that shining beacon we hope will announce boldly to the world in no uncertain terms, from the balcony of the highest office in the world, that we are finally and deliberately, awake. Sincerely,Your Loyal Supporter

Barack Obama, "A Transformational Figure"

Cris — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:06:11 EDT

Obama is quoted saying, "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." As I've observed him over the past couple years, I've been impressed by his walk, his progress. He's remained steady and calm no matter what challenges have presented themselves. Not only has Barack matured during his campaign to exude even greater poise and diplomacy, but he's proven himself to be unflappable under fire by his opponents. I think Colin Powell's well-balanced perception of Obama, given during his interview with Meet the Press, stated eloquently what people all over the world are observing about Barack's walk, his talk and his confidence in running mate for VP, Joe Biden:

"...he (Obama) displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge, and an approach to looking at problems like this, picking a Vice President that I think is ready to be President on Day One. And also in – not just in jumping in and changing every day – but showing intellectual vigor, I think that he has a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well."

Powell concludes that segment of his interview by saying:

"I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the ... onto the world stage and on the American stage...."

I choose to put my trust in the leadership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I trust they will both prove to be trustworthy servants and continue to walk their talk all the way to the White House and for the length of their term(s) in office.

May God give them discernment and wisdom to administer sound advice and judgement in all matters, keep them from harm and from doing harm as they serve the American people and negotiate with world leaders to work toward protecting our freedom, ensuring peace, improving humanitarian and environmental health, and spearheading economic, education and political reforms.

The BEAUTIFUL Zionist, Israeli, Jewish answer to (Iranian) UGLY Islamic Genocide: Iranian boy is treated for brain tumour at Israeli hospital

Natalia from Acampo, CA — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:39:20 EDT

The Zionist, Israeli, Jewish answer to Islamic Genocide:

Iranian boy is treated for brain tumour at Israeli hospital Telegraph ^ 11 Oct 2008 Carolynne Wheeler

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/3178088/Iranian-boy-is-treated-for-brain-tumour-at-Israeli-hospital.html

Israel = Humanitarian, Israel the Gem!

HUMANE - ISRAEL

Natalia from Acampo, CA — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:19:40 EDT

Israel's extraordinary help for the Arab "Palestinians" should overshadow any consequences in its war on terror stemming out of "Palestinian" initiated violence

Let alone current contributions and aid, even in the years that the "Palestinians" love to refer to as "occupation", just How "bad" was it really for them?

1967 - 1993

* Economic prosperity, Israeli investment in "Palestinian" business, industry and infrastructure helped the PA GNP grow 13% annually between 1967 and 1980, per capita income grew tenfold, unemployment dropped from 40% to below 5%.

* Standard of living soared, Health gains: Israel built 166 clinics, provided universal insurance and medical programs for "Palestinians". Mortality rates plummeted by 2/3 (1970-1990). Israel also expanded water, sewage and electric systems.

* Political and civil freedoms, Freedom of association, trade unions, civic organizations and opposition parties permitted. Voting rights extended to poorer classes and to women for local elections (for the first time in 'Palestinian" - Arabs' history).

* Freedom of the press, even for extreme anti Israel opinions.

* Educational development, Israel built 6 universities and 20 community colleges for the "Palestinians". illiteracy dropped from 50% to 30% between 1967 and 1980.

* Jobs, Except during terrorists upsurges, Israel employs about 120,000 "Palestinians" from the disputed territories. Their earning accounts for the chunk of the income of their overall population.

* Funding, Israel allocated $90 million between 1993-1999, facilitated investments in "Palestinian"' private sector and granted 2,522 fellowships to "Palestinians" for professional training between 1995-1999.Israel contributed more annually than even Saudi Arabia until 1973. Kuwait and Libya did not match Israeli donations until 1980. (Bard pg. 182).

* Refugees, Between 1949 and 1971, Israel repatriated 140,000 "Palestinian" refugees who are now full Israeli citizens.

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ISRAEL'S IMPRESSIVE AID TO ARABS Without any feedback from the other side

CNN.com - Israeli shipper endorses DP World - Mar 2, 2006
Hillary Clinton obtained exclusively by CNN, Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping ... A Dubai government official said no goods or containers enter UAE ports
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/02/port.security/index.html NPR : The President's Unlikely Allies in UAE Ports DealIt's from the CEO of Israel's largest shipping company. Dubai Ports World, that they had never experienced any security issues...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5243869

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It was Lieberman, Zogby said, who helped to involve Arab Americans in President Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, personally calling campaign officials who appeared reluctant to allow Arab Americans to associate publicly with the campaign.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/14/campaign.arabamericans.reut

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In shift since Hezbollah war, Jewish Agency aids Israeli Arabs http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Home/About/Press+Room/Jewish+Agency+In+The+News/2006/5/sep06cjta.htm

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Israel helps rescue Arabs in Saudi desert, Thanks to Israel the Israeli Arabs where helped
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=10989

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Already in 2000 Israel was struggling so hard to keep on being... Israel's Humane Army

The head of the International Law Branch of the Israeli Defense Forces talks about Israeli restraint, and efforts to reduce Palestinian casualties.

Jerusalem - November 15, 2000

Many people tend to compare between the current situation and the Intifada of 1987-92. I would like to explain to you in a few words the differences, from my perspective, in relation to the current situation and the Intifada in 1987...
http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/Israels_Humane_Army.asp

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Israel Is Much Too Nice

By Irwin N. Graulich July 30, 2006

Just like America, Israel is much too kind to its enemies. Had America fought the war in Iraq in the same manner used by Roosevelt during WWII, Iraq would have been over 2 years ago--and it would be much closer to a real democracy. Israel--the only country to use rubber bullets against evil; the only country to use pinpoint targeted assassination to destroy monsters who plan mass murder against civilians; the only country to drop leaflets written in Arabic to warn population centers that the bombs are coming; the only country to absorb rocket attacks against totally innocent civilians for 6 years with almost no response, gets labeled, "the bad guys." Imagine, tiny Israel continuously being blamed for using "excessive, disproportionate force" by the media, the Arab/Muslim world, the Vatican, Ireland and that ultimate pimp, Jacques Chirac.

Please, I need a barf bag! These bleeding heart leftist/liberals want us to believe that the innocent (sic) Lebanese government and its people never saw any of the 13,000 rockets being shipped around their country which were pointed towards Israel. No Lebanese ever came across 20,000 Hezbollah fighters with weapons over their shoulders and heavy artillery, which covered 90% of the territory south of Beirut. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora knew nothing about large weapons shipments sent via plane, ship and truck from Syria, Iran and Egypt. Please, I need a barf bag! The reason that the Arab/Muslim world uses the terminology, "excessive force on innocent civilians," is because according to the Koran they are supposed to be tough and win the battles. Yet a small bunch of bible studying Yeshiva boys and "weak looking" Jews in Israel completely decimated all those tough Arab countries in 1948, 1967 and 1973.

The Muslim world of over 1 billion people can never defeat 5 million Jews, no matter how hard they try--and they all know it. So they have turned to the Joseph Goebbals method of "Propaganda Weaponry," and most of the world, except for America, has fallen for it. America is without question, a much better, more moral country than all the rest of the world combined, by a factor of 1000.

The entire world sees this fact quite clearly, which is the reason why America is constantly being criticized. It is difficult for other nations to see goodness prevail, when they had absolutely nothing to do with it. So how and why did all this begin? As usual, it is blamed on the age old Arab-Israeli problem, a code word for the Muslim-Jewish battle, aka Islam versus the Judeo/Christian world. According to the Koran, it should be a lot easier for Islamicists to prevail, since they have Mohammed on their side. Well, the God of Moses seems to be superior, a smack in the face to over 1 billion people. There is a man in Iran who considers himself to be a present day Messiah, a prophet cut from the same kaffiah as Mohammed. His name--Ahmadinejad (pronounced "A--mad--dog--on--Jihad"). Denying The Holocaust, calling Israel a Nazi state, labeling Americans infidels are just a few of his many talents. Unfortunately, it is people like him and Osama that make Islam appear to be a total fraud.

The crazy mullahs throughout the Arab/Muslim world refuse to acknowledge the direct, obvious involvement in current events of the One true God on earth, who began his reign in the Old and New Testament. Of course the secular media will never acknowledge an obvious truth when it emanates from a religious perspective. They are simply too sophisticated to believe in so called "voodoo."

The key message of Judaism and Christianity is to make God's world a better place. It seems that God checked his "Moral Radar" here on earth, only to discover the evil of Radical Islam, a cancer matasticizing throughout the Middle East. To protect this terrific world from evil, God initially used the Palestinians, who He first tried to placate by permitting Israel to give up some land which He originally promised to the Jews. God made the Jews leave Gaza "temporarily," in order to show the world that even when Israel painfully gives up territory without getting a thing in return, peace is still impossible. Instead of taking the greenhouses that Jews built in Gaza to create an industry which would cultivate and export flowers to Europe, thus creating a vibrant economy, the Palestinian Arabs immediately destroyed all the irrigation piping and greenhouses because "the Jews" built them. No thank you's, no gratitude--only terrorism in return. Please--I need a barf bag! God was not very happy with the deeds of Palestinian Arabs heaped upon the original Palestinians--the Jews. So, the God of the Torah made the evil Palestinian Arabs sneak into Israeli territory and kidnap Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier. Big mistake, because this action gave Israel the moral authority to "burn evil out of the Palestinian midst," as the Bible teaches.

Somehow, the world reaction to this event was not the usual overreaction condemning Israel. Palestinian ingratitude was recognized and except for a few radical leftists, the coffee shops throughout Europe ignored the situation, allowing the socialists to drink their morning kava and read the newspapers. Again, the secular world has not paid attention to one of the most important statements in the Bible--"Those who bless the Jews will be blessed, and those who curse the Jews will be cursed."

No country in history has blessed the Jews more than America, and no country is as blessed today. No countries throughout history have cursed the Jews more than the Arab/Muslim world, and no countries have been more cursed than those nations today. With Southern Evil being contained, Northern Evil was now growing uncontrollably to Israel's north. So again, God pulled a few more strings and "allowed" evil men to cross the border into Israel and kidnap two Israeli soldiers. Unfortunately, those Hezbollah terrorists have "Free Will," which resulted in four dead Israelis. So now the cancer is finally being cleaned out by the IDF surgeons, in one of the most ethical war surgeries on record. Decent religious people around the world understand that there is no need to worry about goodness being triumphant, since the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is with Israel.

This is the reason why Israel can do virtually whatever it desires against the evil terrorists and the nations that harbor them, without much of a response. Let the critics say whatever they want. Ahmadinejad is just a hooker for the mullah pimps in his country, who all realize that the prophecies found in the Koran are just not happening. Quite a rude awakening for those Islamic religious figures who see more truth and strength in the Old and New Testament; which is why they are trying to go nuclear. What these Iranian fools do not realize is that if they attack Israel or America, they will receive the same results as the Palestinians and Lebanese. So bring it on Mr. Mad Dog Jihad, and you can rest assured that the Iranian oil fields will have signs in Hebrew very shortly. And the world will not complain much when they see their gas pumps reading $1.00 a gallon.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/8988.htm

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Israel - good vs evil

More on humane Israel the giver and Arab Palestinian the exploiter

December 26, 2006

Reality Check

Excessive restrain not "excessive force"

The restrained Israel that is only branded with ridiculous charges of "excessive force".Since the cease fire broken between Israel and all "Palestinians" (December 2006), more than 55 rockets were launched from "Palestinians" on Israeli civilians including on a nursery school in Sderot, that particular attack was immediately after Israel pledged for releasing 100 Million dollars to them.But the UN can never seem to find any time to pressure "Palestinians", the same UN will jump all over Israel as soon as some Arabs get hurt by Arab militants' cruel tactics.

The cycle of responding fire for olive branches not "cycle of violence"

But this cycle of Israel giving and giving and Palestinian Arabs only responding with more and more violence is as old at least as this group started to call themselves as 'Palestinians". Take for example this biggest give away for the "Palestinians" that no Arab nation was ever willing to do, which is giving them land that was never theirs as a 'sovereign land', the Gaza give away in 2005, What was the Palestinian Arab respond?You guessed it, more and more violence, stabbing civilians, bombing or continuous attempt-to-bomb, massacres.Let alone the "Palestinian" almost collective dark voice for more crimes, in so shamefully overwhelmingly supporting the radical racist Hamas, at the time that Israel's heroic painful dramatic sacrifice of evacuating families was seen & heard around the globe, when compassionate Israelis overwhlmingly were thinking ahead for a brighter future, when these courageous Zionists decided overlooking narrow borders so vital to it's security for the sake of peace, these Arabisn bloodthirsty war mongers hurried only to vote in these masters of genocide, for the cruel endorsers of mass suicide, for the cult of death, another huge step backwards, just as Israel makes another giant step forward, towards a slight chance of peace & the betterment for the coming generations of both people.But this of course is hardly a recent picture, this has been happening time & time again, each gesture & good will Israel has been presenting the Arabs, whether it is releasing dangerous prisoners, or more financial help, it never saw/sees anything positive feedback.

The Arab Palestinians see Israel's gesture as "weakness"

Undoubtedly the more Israel gives them the more their Arab adversaries see it as a weakness, and not as a natural good hearted Israel, just as these cold hearted terrible Arab racists that have been brainwashed into 'not seeing the Zionists as humans', can't seem to see the humanity that motivates Israeli soldiers' hesitation to fire when Arab terrorists hide among civilians, they interpret it of course as "cowardice"..This reaffirms the danger, appeasing Islamic terrorists contain.

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TOO NICE TO WIN? ISRAEL'S DILEMMA

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

From John Podhoretz in the NY Post: WHAT if liberal democracies have now evolved to a point where they can no longer wage war effectively because they have achieved a level of humanitarian concern for others that dwarfs any really cold-eyed pursuit of their own national interests?What if the universalist idea of liberal democracy - the idea that all people are created equal - has sunk in so deeply that we no longer assign special value to the lives and interests of our own people as opposed to those in other countries?

What if this triumph of universalism is demonstrated by the Left's insistence that American and Israeli military actions marked by an extraordinary concern for preventing civilian casualties are in fact unacceptably brutal? And is also apparent in the Right's claim that a war against a country has nothing to do with the people but only with that country's leaders? Can any war be won when this is the nature of the discussion in the countries fighting the war? Can any war be won when one of the combatants voluntarily limits itself in this manner?Could World War II have been won by Britain and the United States if the two countries did not have it in them to firebomb Dresden and nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Didn't the willingness of their leaders to inflict mass casualties on civilians indicate a cold-eyed singleness of purpose that helped break the will and the back of their enemies?

Didn't that singleness of purpose extend down to the populations in those countries in those days, who would have and did support almost any action at any time that would lead to the deaths of Germans and Japanese?What if the tactical mistake we made in Iraq was that we didn't kill enough Sunnis in the early going to intimidate them and make them so afraid of us they would go along with anything? Wasn't the survival of Sunni men between the ages of 15 and 35 the reason there was an insurgency and the basic cause of the sectarian violence now?If you can't imagine George W. Bush issuing such an order, is there any American leader you could imagine doing so?And if America can't do it, can Israel?

Could Israel - even hardy, strong, universally conscripted Israel - possibly stomach the bloodshed that would accompany the total destruction of Hezbollah?If Lebanon's 300-plus civilian casualties are already rocking the world, what if it would take 10,000 civilian casualties to finish off Hezbollah? Could Israel inflict that kind of damage on Lebanon - not because of world opinion, but because of its own modern sensibilities and its understanding of the value of every human life?

Where do these questions lead us?What if Israel's caution about casualties among its own soldiers and Lebanese civilians has demonstrated to Hezbollah and Hamas that as long as they can duck and cover when the missiles fly and the bombs fall, they can survive and possibly even thrive?What if Israel has every capability of achieving its aim, but cannot unleash itself against a foe more dangerous, more unscrupulous, more unprincipled and more barbaric than even the monstrous leaders of the Intifada it managed to quell after years of suicide attacks?

And as for the United States, what if we have every tool at our disposal to win a war - every weapons system we could want manned by the most superbly trained military in history - except the ability to match or exceed our antagonists in ruthlessness?Is this the horrifying paradox of 21st century warfare? If Israel and the United States cannot be defeated militarily in any conventional sense, have our foes discovered a new way to win? Are they seeking victory through demoralization alone - by daring us to match them in barbarity and knowing we will fail?

Are we becoming unwitting participants in their victory and our defeat? Can it be that the moral greatness of our civilization - its astonishing focus on the value of the individual above all - is endangering the future of our civilization as well?
http://watch.windsofchange.net/2006/06_0724_0730.htm#dilemma
http://1918.com/article.php?article_id=5677&type=read

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YouTube - Israel humanitarian acts 2 Videos. ISRAELI ARMY MOST HUMANE ARMY IN THE WORLD ...
http://www.youtube.com/user/ninyostorm

Humane war is costly
http://samsonblinded.org/titles/Israeli_military_strategy.htm#_Toc118557266

How did the most humane state in history become demonized? - Opinion Feb 7, 2008 ... How did the most humane state in history - facing comparable threats - become demonized and accused of apartheid? ...
http://www.nyunews.com/news/2008/02/07/Opinion/How-Did.The.Most.Humane.State.In.History.Become.Demonized-3194623.shtml

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Arabs should kiss kind Israel's feet

For...

"Taking it" for so long.

Looking for, trying, sweating in efforts NOT to hit at ANY CIVILIANS (in anti terrorists operations).

For taking care of Arabs in their country far better than they're in their own -- most -- Arab countries.

For not pushing US to boycott the Arabs as Arab-Muslims do so with Europe.

For taking in the Arab "Palestinians" when no Arab nation wants them while the guilty part of those 'refugees' is still Arab Leaders', that have chased them out in 1948 with promises of 'defeating' Israel, and all these years did NOT let Western aid to reach those poor in order to defame Israel.

For giving land to the Arab SETTLERS (with no more than a recent history there) while NON of the ARAB GOLIATH LAND-COUNTRIES would give them an inch.

For being overly morally right in feeling guilty for DEFENDING THEIR lives against Arab Muslims mass murderer-terrorists, that comes on the terrible expense of some Arabists using it to tarnish in a silly false "pointing-finger' at kind Israel.

For not treating the Arabs in a racial discriminatory even though danger is at every restaurant, bus, bus-stops, markets, etc., Would they differentiate, no Arab Genocide Bomber would be able to mingle in & Comit the atrocities.

For NOT behaving like their "brotherly" Arab-Syria Arab Jordan (& others) that have just simply massacred 10,000 (some estimate 25,000) in one month after Radical Muslim "Palestinians" started uprising.

For not AS banging daily the UN & International media with real charges on "Palestinian" Arab leaders' crimes on their own people's kids & on Israeli civilians, While Islamo Arab world feels a 'duty' to defame this struggling victim Israel via blatant vicious libels & lies & never apologize even when exposed.

Doing It the Arab Way

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Faces of the Israeli Army

By SHALOM FREEDMAN A PSALM IN JENIN
By Brett Goldberg
304 pages. Modan Publishing House.

In March 2002, Israel suffered the worst month of terror attacks in its history. Over two hundred people were killed and many hundreds more injured. This wave of attacks climaxed at Netanya�s Park Hotel, where on Seder night a suicide bomber murdered thirty people and injured scores more. In response to this horrifying crime, the Israeli government undertook the sort of military operation many Israelis had been clamoring for during the previous months. Operation Defensive Shield was launched; it turned out to be decisive in greatly reducing Palestinian terror in the following days and months. The most well-known focus of military action during this operation was Jenin, the West Bank city considered the capital of Palestinian suicide-bombing...

Goldberg does not confine himself to the military action alone but also tells the stories of the soldiers' families. He depicts the ethnic mix of Israelis and their moral and religious strengths. The unit he concentrates upon consists in large part of what are known in Israel as "national-religious" soldiers, though it includes a good mix of other types, as well.

Remarkably, Goldberg shows soldiers fighting for their lives and, at the same time, contending with moral issues, seeking to fulfill their extremely unpleasant duties in the most humane way possible. Despite snipers nests, booby traps, ambushes, and above all their own losses and injuries, these soldiers maintain their own dignity and consideration for their enemies. Many within Israel claim this consideration was taken too far in Jenin: had Israel acted as "normal army," some say, and bombed the camp from above (as, for example, the U.S. did when it razed a building in Baghdad in an effort to kill Saddam Hussein), sixteen of the Israelis soldiers who were killed in an ambush in the camp would still be alive today.

Goldberg's book illustrates the thesis that to truly understand the way an army works, one must look at relations within platoons and small units. The friendship networks Goldberg presents enforce our sense of how loyalty and courage play a central role in the life of the everyday soldier. There are no superheroes here, but plenty of quietly courageous people, a number of whom regrettably are lost in the battle.

Clearly and movingly written, Goldberg's book is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand the challenges Israel, its people, and its soldiers have faced in the past three years, and continue to face now.

http://www.jbooks.com/nonfiction/index/NF_Freedman2.htm

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ISRAEL VS ARAB - THE WAR OF THE HUMANITARIAN VS THE UN-HUMANITARIAN

January 22, 2008

No one has been talking in the mainstream media about the daily "Palestinian" barrage of missiles aimed specifically at Israeli kids, the southern Israel under siege of "Palestinian" occupation, the trembling fear of Israeli women for their children's safety in Sderot (Fear and trauma as rockets impact Israeli town), but everyone is up in arms
if Israel acts.

No one has been talking in mainstream media as Israel has been successfully eliminating terrorists [with unimaginable efforts in carrying it out] without any damage upon civilians in hundreds of operations, but I bet you, you'll hear them loud and clear, if its humane precision-tactics fails just once.
Just as no one in the mainstream media talks about the constant Israel VS Arab, as humanitarian vs un-humanitarian war, "Palestinian" and Hezbollah Arabs always try to draw Israel into responding in operations, awaiting cheerfully such responds to play the fake "victim" card, Israel - however - is never happy to carry out any anti terror activities, and when reluctantly it has to go ahead with it, it puts immense efforts to fail Arabs' desire for mass casualties among its civilians, Israel's struggle against Arab cruelty on its population is
relentless, but never appreciated.

Why is humanitarian Israel still (January 2008) supplying two
thirds of fuel supply to un-humanitarian "Palestinians"?

I mean, What would one expect from a self hating sickening hypocritical typical whining of the NPR reporting about a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza? (Jan. 2008 at the height of Arab attacking rockets) What's "humanitarian" about Hamas-tan? [as twisted NPR is, it first reports of what Hamas "says" that all fuel supply is shut down, only thereafter is quotes Israel's declaration and harsh accusation that the "Palestinians" simply LIE, and that two thirds are still supplied, as if the world hasn't seen enough of the minus zero credibility of "what Palestinian Pallywood says"], the cruel terrorist militant Islamic totalitarian regime? The oppression of non Muslims (Christians per se)? The investments of its limited resources into deadly Jihad, or the criminal use of its civilians to attack Israeli civilians via rockets and other cowardice methods?

Try and make a survey, a poll on how many are really aware of the targets by the Arabs, kids! how they fire exactly when and where the children go to kindergarten (Barrage of rockets hits Sderot as kids go to school), the fact that with God's grace the damage is low is of course totally irrelevant to Arabs' [usual] genocide attempts.

As it is rare for the NPR, it shockingly did interview some Israelis about the Hamas attack of Israeli civilians and how Israel should respond to it, as one Israeli has put it very real: "We Israelis have been setting us up in high moral standards we have a huge dilemma on how to respond".
Yet, it is rather the Arab Palestinian "victim-hood" that still manages to
generate fans.
Amazing how the terrible unromantic cult of destruction is still not seen by some as what it is, a self inflicted cult, and that no one else can ever be blamed on whatever is going on there.

And just as you thought that the Fatah is much better, you hear that the "moderate" Abbas regime decided to allocate 40% of the billions of dollars in aid [the Europeans have pledged to give] to the Hamas terror "government".

I have got news for the fake "humanitarian" singers - reporters in biased media: There's nothing humanitarian about pointing fingers anywhere outside the "Palestinian" cruel leadership and
those that elect them.

______________________________________________

Israel suffers because Israel is BETTER!

(Written in 2003)

What happened when the Palestinian Arabs tried to take control of Jordan?

King Hussein of Jordan ejected Arafat's Palestinians in September 1970, called Black September because they were trying to take over his kingdom. King Hussein drove them into Lebanon after killing more than 10,000. The Lebanese welcomed the fleeing Palestinians into their bosom, but suddenly found themselves under attack by Arafat's Palestinians who set up a mini Terror State within Lebanon. For the next 12 years terror raged and over 100,000 Lebanese were murdered by their Palestinian brothers.

But BEAUTIFUL Israel: risks lives going DOOR to DOOR on the look out for Arab TERRORISTS.

Door to Door Risky Operations

(In Jenin...) You [IDF] went door-to-door, risking young Israeli lives, in a town that was booby trapped with explosives from top to bottom. In any other war, rockets from the air force would have been launched, demolishing everything in sight, with no regard for civilian lives. Remember Nagasaki and Hiroshima? But you - Israel, a country built on family-oriented, freedom loving people - you had to worry about civilian casualties.
http://www.joe4rep.com/KC%205-1-02.htm

Jan 6, 2006 ... In Jenin in 2002 the Israeli army sent soldiers to locate terrorists in door to door fighting rather than risk innocent civilian lives by ...
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/charen200601060710.asp

Again HUMANE & Super- restrained Israel only attacks terrorists after warning to civilians for evacuate

Instead of the mass excitement in most of the mass media to attack Israel for daring to defend itself with that silly charge of "excessive force", you never hear one word of appreciation of the immense sacrifice in its lives and it's security for the customary warning to non combatants to leave the area before operations, including often cases of alerting even the Hamas terror leaders' wives...

An Israel Air Force aircraft bombed two structures in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday after warning their occupants to evacuate the premises http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3328799,00.html (Nov, 15 2006)

More on this:

Cox & Forkum: Disproportionate Response http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000889.html

Restraint after suicide blast in Israel,The army said the fugitives had drawn pistols before they were shot. ... Israeli officials had said they would show restraint in military operations - World News - MSNBC.com http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6379588/

Israel's Humane Army - Israel Update http://www.aish.com/Israel/articles/Israels_Humane_Army.asp

Israel's restraint in case of an attack could harm its deterrent http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v1n2p1_n.html

The call-up came as Israel dropped leaflets on southern Lebanon warning residents to immediately evacuate an area approximately 32km (20 miles) wide http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5202142.stm

Israel warning to Lebanese civilians: get out http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=nation_world&id=4370345

Racist Islamo Arab Terrorist Leader Warns Only ARABS to Evacuate; Media Who Condemned Similar Non-Racist Warnings From Israel Say Nothing http://ginacobb.typepad.com/gina_cobb/2006/08/racist_terroris.html

Israel calls on northern Gaza residents to evacuate http://english.people.com.cn/200512/29/eng20051229_231469.html

__________

http://www.israelnewsagency.com/palestinechildterrorismisrael88480521.html Israel Tears For Palestine Child http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0806/kay081006.php3?printer_friendly Jonathan Kay: How Israel fights --- What the media does NOT report, humane methods

________________________________________________

Israel's Restraint

By Ambassador of Israel to the United States
His Excellency
Ambassador David Ivry
Published in the Washington Post
Friday, October 27, 2000; Page A35http://www.israelemb.org/press/2000/October/2000102704.html

_______________

'We exercised restraint in Lebanon war'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710407335&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

_______________

Olmert: Don't interpret Israel's restraint in Gaza as weakness ...Olmert: Don't interpret Israel's restraint in Gaza as weakness-News and commentary relating to events in Israel, the occupied territories, and the world, ... (01/07/2008)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/997999.html

_______________

[2007] ...In the face of Israeli restraint, Hezbollah grew bolder. ...
http://www.meforum.org/article/1630

_______________

Israeli Restraint Continues to Enrage Muslim World

AZCONSERVATIVE http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm

Israel's restraint in the face of Kassam rockets launched from Palestinian territory is said to be heightening tensions in the Middle East.

Two rockets slammed into Sderot, one of them striking a community center and another hitting a bus. Three people were injured. A separate attack hit the port city of Ashkelon. In total, 45 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel since the November 26 truce went into effect.

Israel's lack of retaliatory response has been widely decried as "provocative." 'The failure of the Jews to strike back reveals their evil scheming nature,' said Sheik Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah. "It's inhuman to adhere to a truce under such conditions. The evidence of the Jews' link to satanic powers couldn't be clearer. For the love of God they must be exterminated."

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad called Israel's actions 'sinister.' "Throughout recorded history the Jews have tried to lull the unwary by their nonviolent responses to pogroms and repression," Ahmadinejad warned. "Their diabolical cunning brought down the great Adolf Hitler. It will bring down the world if we are not careful."

The United Nations has promised to look into the matter. "We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by Jewish trickery," outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan advised. "If Jews are being attacked there must be a good reason. We will get to the bottom of this."

(Excerpt) Read more at http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm

_______________

IDF ordered not to change Gaza RESTRAINT policy (DESPITE TERROR ATTACK) Jerusalem Post, Israel - Despite Monday's suicide attack in Eilat, the government will maintain its policy of restraint in Gaza. (Janurary, 31, 2007)

________

Hamas's Human Shields

(Updated Mar 4, 2008)
...That same month, the IAF warned Muhammad Weil Baroud, responsible for firing Kassam rockets at Israel, to evacuate his home in Beit Lahiya in advance of an air strike. Instead, hundreds of locals, mostly women and children, were recruited to Baroud's house. Israel suspended the air strike, lest these human shields be harmed. In response to the incident, Hamas crowed: "We won. From now on we will form human chains around every house threatened with demolition."

The above episode illustrates the potential problems with Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i's proposal to bulldoze houses from which rockets are fired. The same goes for suggestions such as warning systems giving Gazan civilians time to get out. Even smoke bombs directed at precise coordinates to further warn civilians to depart - in advance of live fire and the destruction of launch sites - could be thwarted by human shields.

Principled despite its vilified reputation, Israel wrestles with a wrenching quandary callously imposed upon it. But Israel shouldn't be the only one to grapple with the ruthlessness of terrorists toward their human shields. Democracies the world over need to internalize what is taking place here, to pin blame where it is due, and to condemn Hamas for its heartlessness toward its own people.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1204546401057&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

McCain's Ignorocide of Genocide

Citizen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:33:07 EDT

Speaking for McCain, Michael Goldfarb berated Obama's sentiment inscribe in the visitors' log at the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. The McCaine spokesperson said, "Today he says 'never again.' A year ago stopping genocide wasn't a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces in Iraq. Doesn't that strike you as inconsistent?" McCain has fail to renounce Goldfarb's comment made on his behalf.

A year ago, Obama indicated that United States cannot use its military to solve the world's humanitarian problems. If McCain believes that it IS the United States' duty to use our military to stop humanitarian genocides, then why hasn't McCain pushed for military intervention elsewhere. Iraq reportedly was responsible for the genocide of almost 25,000 Kurds in 1986-88. A horrible number, but not as great as elsewhere in countries where McCain failed to support US intervention.

Indonesia killed over 100,000 Papuans, but McCain never suggested US military intervention in West New Guinea for humanitarian reasons. Mengistu killed over half a million in Ethiopia, but McCain never suggested US military intervention for humanitarian reasons. Since we have been in Iraq, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus report by Rep. Tom Lantos and Rep. Frank Wolf reported on some of North Korea' genocides, "Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have crossed the border into the Peoples Republic of China....China's policy has been to repatriate defectors back to North Korea where they face imprisonment, torture, and execution for the "crime" of leaving their homeland.". This is only of of North Korea's genocides. US Congressmen attended the North Korean Genocide Exhibition in 2004. The US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, issued a report in 2003. He reported "extreme phenomena of repression ... unique to North Korea." Korea practices "ethnic infanticide", forced abortions and murder of inter-racial babies ( North Korean and Chinese) to create babies with the pure blood of the "master race", North Korean. In neither case has McCain called for US military intervention for humanitarian purposes. The lists goes on and on where McCain has not called for US military intervention to stop genocides, Darfur, Tibet, Chad, and Zimbabwe.

Perhaps McCain doesn't understand Jesus' teaching in Matt 7:5, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck of sawdust from your brother's eye."

Why I Support Barack Obama

Marisa Angelis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:00:31 EDT

I support world Democracy. I support Barack Obama because he is the person who can lead not only the United States of America, the whole world. Obama is clearly and obviously The 'Change We Can Believe In' and as a world citizen, I would very much like to see Barack Obama as The President of America and The world leader – it is about time, it is about diversity, it is all about DEMOCRACY!!!
There is no one better in our time NOW to lead.
‘GO OBAMA!’ – Written by Marisa Angelis an Australian - Artist Designer Writer Poet Philanthropist Humanitarian Promoter - Four Nominations including "Australian of the Year 2003" Role Model (Short list).

Reports of Mosque Surveillance Concerns Muslims

funkfresh01 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:00:53 EDT

http://religion.info/english/articles/article_385.shtml

Source: Religioscope

Author: Richard Cimino

While there have been allegations in the past of government investigation of mosques on issues relating to terrorism, the recent report, first featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, is said to be the first confirmation that surveillance is taking place.

An article in the Los Angeles Times (May 29) reports that information about the alleged spying surfaced in a case about classified files concerning terrorism that were stolen from a secure office used by military and civilian law enforcement officials at Camp Pendleton. Some of these classified records referred to the surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California, specifically, the Islamic Center of San Diego. The records alleged that the mosque had been monitored as part of a federal surveillance program targeting Muslim groups, according to the Union-Tribune article.

The FBI's Plan to ‘Profile’ Muslims

funkfresh01 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:03:03 EDT

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/10/muslim_profiling/index.html

Source: Salon

Author: Juan Cole

The U.S. Justice Department is considering a change in the grounds on which the FBI can investigate citizens and legal residents of the United States. Till now, DOJ guidelines have required the FBI to have some evidence of wrongdoing before it opens an investigation. The impending new rules, which would be implemented later this summer, allow bureau agents to establish a terrorist profile or pattern of behavior and attributes and, on the basis of that profile, start investigating an individual or group. Agents would be permitted to ask "open-ended questions" concerning the activities of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans. A person's travel and occupation, as well as race or ethnicity, could be grounds for opening a national security investigation.

The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans' civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, "There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling." Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration's history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties.

New York Muslim’s Struggle for Justice in America

funkfresh01 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:08:55 EDT

http://atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/4016/32/

Source: Atlantic Free Press

Author: Stephen Lendman

Yassin Aref is a 37 year old Albany, New York resident and one of many Muslim victims of police state justice in post-9/11 America. They've been hunted down, rounded up, held in detention, kept in isolation, denied bail, restricted in their right to counsel, tried on secret evidence and trumped-up charges, then incarcerated as political prisoners or deported to where they face possible arrest and torture.

Because of his faith and ethnicity, Aref was victimized by US "justice" in a post-9/11 climate of fear. He's an Iraqi Kurd who emigrated to the US as a UN refugee in 1999 with his wife and three young children. He's now in federal prison but committed no crime. He's also the author of a poignant memoir/autobiography titled "Son of Mountains: My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect." He wrote it in custody at Troy, New York's Rensselaer County Jail after his wrongful conviction in October 2006.

Muslim Activists Seeking Probe of Reported Surveillance

funkfresh01 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:18:08 EDT

http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_C_muslim30.426eaa8.html

Source: Press-Enterprise

Author: Paige Austin

A civil-rights group and a coalition of Muslim activists headed by a Corona man called on Congress this week to investigate a report that military and law enforcement officials stole surveillance records of Southland Muslims from Camp Pendleton.

The request stems from a news report that military officials and law enforcement members of the Los Angeles County Terrorist Early Warning Group illegally took the top-secret documents from the base's Strategic Technical Operations Center.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz has been court-martialed and convicted for his role in the thefts.

While the details of the surveillance and the alleged theft remain largely unknown, the incident provides confirmation that the military and law enforcement groups have been gathering information about local Muslim communities, said Michael German, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office.

Florida Muslim Leaders Testify at United Nation Racism Hearing

funkfresh01 — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:59:14 EDT

MIAMI, FL, 6/4/08) - On June 2, 2008, Florida Muslim leaders met with Doudou Diène, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, at a Miami hearing to discuss Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination.

For photos of the event: http://picasaweb.google.com/bedier/UNMiamiHearingOnRacism

Special Rapporteur Diène is visiting several cities across the United States to "gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia."

Reuters: U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL16843098

U.S. MARINES ACCUSED OF PROSELYTIZING IN FALLUJAH

funkfresh01 — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:07:21 EDT

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004444827_iraqgospel29.html

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Author: Jamal Naji and Leila Fadel

At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah on Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.

Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16."

NOTES TO MYSELF - FEMINISM

DREAMZBIG — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:25:41 EDT

Both of my parents have passed. I am States away from their resting place, but I will be sending out prayers and have personal conversations with both. My father was a Veteran....Korea. I have his War Bonds tucked away in a safe place...along with his photos of those with whom he served. I wonder what both of my parents would think of the current state of political affairs. I remember vividly the grief of my mother (she would be 83) surrounding the JKF - MLK - RFK assassinations. I grew up in a wonderful rural Iowa home and blessed by my parents with a strong foundation of Christian values. My father was a farmer. My mother was a teacher. My mother didn't always agree with the course I pursued in life - we would argue about "why she was doing everything for dad....jump when he said jump." She was from a different era and didn't understand why I wanted to "burn my bra" and identify with Steinem and "those feminists."

As I reflect upon this with fond memories, the Friday before Memorial Day, Hillary Rodham Clinton makes an unforgivable statement. She not so subtlely references waiting in the wings for Obama to be assassinated. This has been on my mind, as she continues to move the bar, play with the math and wants to be VP if she can't have the whole enchilada. And I should be shocked that she said it on camera - but I am not shocked. I am not shocked that she has issued no apology to the people of this nation, or other nations, that she has made no apology to Sen. Obama. She has no remorse. This is the clearest example of where we have come politically in 40 years. Full circle.

I got my degree in Women's Studies. I wrote a research paper in the course of that degree based on my theory that "feminism" was analogous to all other "isms." But not in the sense you may think. I likened feminists to racists, classists, etc. It was a well written paper. I got a D- but was offered an opportunity to rewrite it for a better grade. I had spent 3 weeks on that first paper. The second one was haphazardly written overnight and - because it said what it was "supposed" to say, I received a B. It probably would have been an A - had not the first paper been submitted. So with my degree in Women's Studies in hand - and my own set of ideas about feminism in mind, I graduated with honors. But I would not "cling to" the feminist bible. I would not identify with the hatred of men - of all the whining and complaints of what had been done to "us women." I had chosen to be force fed the anger of decades and sent out without any tools to do make real change. But HARK: I saw the bigger picture. It was plain and simple - I made a wiser choice to become a humanitarian with a degree that would MARK me as I stepped into my future - but I would choose my battles wisely and eradicate all forms of ISMS in my work as an advocate for change. And with this knowledge, I better understood my mother.

I have supported Sen. Obama from day one. I have had a difficult time with "feminists" that would call me a traitor - they are feminISTS....like racist, classist and sexist. That "ism" is inherent in the feminist movement as a whole. White middle class women marginalizing all others, including women that aren't the "right" race or class.... who aren't WHITE enough. It isn't as though they don't address the marginalized women - they do - in well written articles - but ACTION is always based on the REAL feminist agenda. Thus Hillary Rodham Clinton - unafraid to race-bait - use class, do "anything" to get elected. I am not an Obama supporter because I am afraid to see a woman in the White House - as President. That day will come. But it will come when we have the RIGHT woman to rally behind. HRC is not that woman...her divisiveness, her words and her actions have made that clear. I have HOPE for the future. Sen. Obama offers that HOPE to UNIFY ALL - women are a part of ALL!

I pray that the feminists who want to see a Woman President in their lifetime will begin to look inside themselves and then look beyond their agenda to see clearly the bigger picture. I pray too, that they get beyond their notion that WOMEN have got to do it before BLACK MEN! That they can see that their actions are racist! To see the bigger picture is to be human - not categorized, marginalized or divided. I understand that feminists want it so much - and have worked hard throughout their whole lives - they want to see the OUTCOME of their efforts on a grand scale. But there is a refusal to see that Hillary Rodham Clinton - if elected - would undermine all of their years od work. Because it would be a long long long time before there was ever a second President of the USA that "happens to be a woman." I pray that they begin to see this and think not of themselves - but of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

McCain pressed on 'Islamic' terror label

funkfresh01 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:28:53 EDT

http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080421/NATION/438135169/1001

By Rowan Scarborough

A coalition of American Muslim groups is demanding that Sen. John McCain stop using the adjective "Islamic" to describe terrorists and extremist enemies of the United States.

Muneer Fareed, who heads the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told The Washington Times that his group is beginning a campaign to persuade Mr. McCain to rephrase his descriptions of the enemy.

"We've tried to contact his office, contact his spokesperson to have them rethink word usage that is more acceptable to the Muslim community," Mr. Fareed said. "If it's not our intent to paint everyone with the same brush, then certainly we should think seriously about just characterizing them as criminals, because that is what they are."

An aide to Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who is counting on his pro-Iraq war stance to attract conservative voters, said the senator from Arizona will not drop the word.

The Muslim myth still dogging Obama

funkfresh01 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:24:38 EDT

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19501048&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6

BY ROJA HEYDARPOUR, STAFF WRITER

Source: Times Tribune

It’s been said many times: this is an election year of firsts. The first viable woman presidential candidate. The first viable black presidential candidate.

But the first Muslim presidential candidate?

One in 10 Americans believes that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a Pew Research Center News Interest Index survey taken in March.

Mr. Obama is, in fact, a practicing Christian, as underscored by the debate over the controversial sermon delivered by his pastor after Sept. 11, 2001.

The same survey found that 79 percent of the general public had heard rumors that Mr. Obama is Muslim, while 38 percent had heard “a lot” about it.

Indeed, rumors have circulated on blogs and comment boards since the fall, spurred by pictures of Mr. Obama in a turban, by talk of childhood time spent in Indonesia — a Muslim country — and by his middle name, Hussein, among other things.

Kansas Muslim Attacked with 'Molotov Cocktail'

funkfresh01 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:38:06 EDT

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/17/08) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today asked local and national law enforcement authorities to bring appropriate hate crime charges against the alleged perpetrator of a March "Molotov cocktail" attack on a Kansas Muslim.

A clerk at a Lenexa, Kan., gas station told police that a man came into the store and asked the clerk if he was Muslim. When the clerk replied in the affirmative, the man reportedly started harassing him.

Soon after the man left the store, a Molotov cocktail incendiary device was thrown through the front window of the store. A similar incident occurred at another store in area. A 26-year-old man was later charged with two counts of criminal use of explosives and one count of criminal damage.

SEE: Molotov Cocktail Hurled At Gas Station (KCTV)

http://www.kctv5.com/news/15721008/detail.html

"We ask that local authorities and the FBI file any appropriate hate crime charges against the alleged perpetrator in this case," said CAIR Civil Rights Manager Khadija Athman. "The additional charges would send a clear message that bias-related attacks will not be tolerated in Kansas or anywhere in America."

Earlier this week, CAIR's Minnesota chapter asked the FBI to investigate reported threats against the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy charter school in that state as possible hate crimes.

SEE: Muslim Civil Liberties Group Seeks FBI Probe of School Threats (Star Tribune)

http://www.startribune.com/local/17673284.html

The Kansas assault and the threats to the Minnesota school came following other recent incidents such as a fire-bomb attack on a Minnesota Muslim-owned business and an arson attack on a Tennessee mosque by three members of the white-supremacist "Christian Identity" movement.

SEE: MN: Investigators Say Fire Could Be Hate Crime

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=24208&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1

SEE ALSO: CAIR Applauds Arrests in TN Mosque Arson

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=24197&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1

CAIR is urging Muslim individuals and institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

SEE: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit

http://www.cair.com/ActionCenter/CommunityToolKit.aspx

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Strategic Communications Director Ahmed Rehab, 202-870-0166, E-Mail: arehab@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

IRAQ AWAITS CRITICAL FATWA

funkfresh01 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:04:00 EDT

Date Posted: Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Posted By The Media Line Staff

IRAQ (The Media Line) April 8, 2008 — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Monday he would ban a powerful Shi'ite parliamentary bloc from running in the next local elections unless it disarmed its 60,000-strong armed force.

The 'Sadri parliamentary bloc, led by Muqtada A-'Sadr, responded by saying it would disarm its armed force, known as the Mahdi Army, only if the Shi'ite religious authorities ordered them to do so.

"The Mahdi Army does not accept its orders from anyone except A-'Sadr and the religious authorities with whom he consults. If the religious authorities would ask him to disarm the Mahdi Army, he will definitely execute their demand," spokesman for the 'Sadri bloc, 'Salah A-'Ubeidi told reporters.

Ten things to know about Senator John McCain

funkfresh01 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:54:51 EDT

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, you will not learn some important things about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and some of it might surprise you.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We cannot rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to—and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=231

Ten things you should know about John McCain.

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he has continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban Waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He is one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he is too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than McCain has any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a zero—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:

1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008

http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides with Bush on Torture Again, Supports Veto of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What the Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, and no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you would like to support our work, you can give now at:

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US ELECTION DIARY - THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

funkfresh01 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:07:56 EDT

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4C51233-2D21-4FBB-85FD-7D7F5AF173D9.htm

By Rob Reynolds in Columbus, Ohio

On the road to clinching the Republican Party nomination for president, John McCain worked hard for the endorsement of influential Evangelical Christian ministers.

The ministers are helping shore up McCain's support on the party's right wing, which has always been skeptical about whether the Arizona senator is a true-blue conservative.

But one of those minister's beliefs about Islam and Muslims raise disturbing questions.

Rod Parsley, the pastor of a large and profitable Ohio mega-church, calls Islam a false religion. He says Allah is a demon spirit and that Muslims are bent on world conquest.

Parsley endorsed McCain in February, praising him as a "strong, true, consistent conservative".

Sharing a Cincinnati, Ohio, stage with Parsley, McCain said: "I am very honored today to have one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide, Pastor Rod Parsley. Thank you for your leadership and your guidance. I am very grateful you are here."

He certainly had reason for gratitude - a week later, Parsley's support helped McCain win the important Ohio primary.

Evangelist

Reverend Parsley, who often holds services in which people are supposedly cured of disease by divine intervention, runs the sprawling World Harvest church near Columbus, Ohio.

World Harvest has a 12,000 member congregation, a bible college, and a television studio, which broadcasts his sermons.

A frequent theme of those homilies is the threat to Christian values posed by gays, liberals, and Muslims.

In his book, Silent no More, Parsley says the United States was ordained by God to defeat Islam.

In one chapter, titled The Deception of Allah he writes: "I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfil its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore."

We asked Parsley for an interview, but through a church spokesman, he declined. We also sent him written questions, but he did not respond to those either.

Dividing communities

Abukar Arman, a Muslim community leader, says Parsley's remarks are threatening.

"It has a psychological toll on Muslims in central Ohio and beyond, that you are not part of the society that America was founded, in his words, to obliterate Islam," says Arman, president of the Central Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

McCain and other politicians should "distance themselves from the politics of hate and polarization", Arman said, noting that rhetoric that marginalizes American Muslims only contributes to poor relations between communities.

"In the grand scale of things," he says, "it hurts even the national security of this country because it fuels anti-Americanism."

Media interest

Interestingly enough, Parsley has been largely ignored by the US media, in sharp contrast to the intensive scrutiny given to sermons by Jeremiah Wright, Democrat Barack Obama's pastor.

Wright's homilies were widely criticized as unpatriotic and racially inflammatory, and have been replayed over and over on cable TV news channels.

Obama rejected Wright's remarks, but McCain has not denounced Parsley's comments about Islam, nor has he sought to distance himself from the minister.

In fact, some of McCain's campaign rhetoric virtually echoes Parsley's sermons. McCain, too, talks about a threat - although he focuses on extremism in Islam, not the religion as a whole.

"I'd like to talk to you for a minute about why I'm running, primarily," McCain told a Wisconsin rally on February 19.

"We face the transcendent challenge of the 21st century. That is the threat of radical Islamic extremism. My friends, I know you know that this is an evil of transcendent and unbelievable magnitude. You can see other times when our nation and our way of life were threatened, but this ranks among the greatest."

McCain's campaign told Al Jazeera that "... he [McCain] rejects politics that degrade our civics, and will be running a respectful campaign".

However, in seeking a path to the White House, it seems McCain is counting on the politics of fear and relying on a disturbingly belligerent spiritual guide.

Oklahoma Conference to Examine Islamic Perspective on Terrorism

funkfresh01 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:42:03 EDT

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 3/25/08) - On Saturday, April 5th, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog will host a day-long conference, "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam." Participants at the event will have an opportunity to hear Islamic scholars, academics, law enforcement officials, and journalists discuss the "Islamic perspectives on terror, especially terror that is associated with Islam."

WHAT: Institute of Interfaith Dialog's "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam"

WHEN: Saturday April 5, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Oklahoma City University, The Henry Freede Center (Southwest corner of 27th and Florida)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Cherif Bassiouni - Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS: Robert Pape - University of Chicago; Muhammad Abu Laylah - Al-Azhar University, Egypt; Fred Von Der Mehden - Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Greg Barton - Monash University, Australia; Dr. Robin Myers - Oklahoma City University; Ekrem Dumanli - Editor of Zaman newspaper, Turkey; John Coyle - Special Agent of FBI, Oklahoma; Andrew Tevington - Daily Oklahoman; and Dr. Imad Enchassi – Imam of Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC)

CONTACT: Orhan Kucukosman, Phone: (405) 426 5425, E-Mail: osmanokc@gmail.com

The conference is free of charge and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Orhan Kucukosman, from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, stated the reason for holding the conference in Oklahoma: "In the early days of Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, there were speculations on individuals associated with a religion who might be responsible for the bombing.

As the truth was revealed, the bombing had no connection with any religion, but was a consequence of mentally challenged personality."

Sponsors include Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University, OU Religious Studies, Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Texas, Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City and Mainstream Baptists, and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK).

For more information goto:

http://www.interfaithdialog.org/

US deaths in Iraq approach 4,000

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:40:48 EDT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers north of Baghdad on Saturday, pushing the U.S. death toll in the five-year conflict to nearly 4,000.

Also Saturday, Iraqi authorities reported that a U.S. airstrike north of the capital killed six members of a U.S.-backed Sunni group — straining relations with America's new allies in the fight against al-Qaida.

Two Iraqi civilians also died in the roadside bombing, which occurred as the Americans were patrolling an area northwest of the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Two of the soldiers were killed in the blast and the third died of wounds, the statement said. The soldiers were assigned to Multinational Division-Baghdad, the statement said, but gave no further details.

The latest deaths brought to 3,996 the number of U.S. service members and Pentagon civilians who have died since the war began on March 20, 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Rocket or mortar fire killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Friday south of Baghdad, the military said.

Army Vet Speaks Against Mistreatment of Guantanamo Bay Detainees

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:52:54 EDT

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/03/21/University/Army-Vet.Speaks.Against.Mistreatment.Of.Detainees-3278241.shtml

Author: Lee Ann Holman

James Yee went from being a decorated U.S. Army soldier serving in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to being accused of espionage, spying and aiding the facility's detainees.

He spoke to students about his experiences Thursday night at the UT Law School Auditorium.

When returning to the U.S. for vacation after serving 10 months as chaplain, Yee was arrested in secret and accused of having classified documents in his backpack. While being transferred to prison Yee was subject to sensory deprivation, a torture tactic. He was held in solitary confinement for 76 days without being charged.

He was exonerated and honorably discharged after deciding to quit the army.

Yee converted to Islam shortly after graduating from West Point. He said it was a way to solidify his monotheistic faith in one God. Yee was hand-picked to serve as a Muslim minister to facility detainees.

While ministering detainees, Yee said he advised commanders on proper religious practices. He made suggestions on treatment of the detainees and spoke out against soldiers violating prisoners' human rights. Yee said that though he never participated in interrogation tactics, he counseled prisoners on their treatment.

Yee said he witnessed the desecration of the Quran. Prisoners also spoke of sexual harassment by female interferometers and being put in a pentagram while being forced to renounce Allah.

This treatment will not win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, he said.

"People in the military have a gross lack of misunderstanding of the Muslim culture, which is counterproductive," Yee said.

Kristine Huskey, a clinical law professor, has been representing Guantanamo detainees since 2002. She said she believes any new presidential administration will shut down Guantanamo Bay, because it is not helping the U.S. fight terrorism and is breeding more people who hate America.

Muslim Leader Has Opposed War

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:31:54 EDT

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/sblow/stories/032008dnmetblowcolumn.6a03f9a.html

Author: Steve Blow

We first sat and talked in those numb days right after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.We mourned together, and Mohamed Elmougy helped me understand a little more about what had befallen us.

I returned several times over the years to visit with the local Muslim community leader. And this week's fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq seemed a good time to once again glimpse the world through his eyes.

Mohamed, 49, owns the Pyramids Hotel in Allen. He's Egyptian by birth and American by choice.

He opposed the war from the start. "You will remember that I said getting out won't be nearly as easy as going in," he said.

I remembered, particularly since I had bought the argument that Iraqis would welcome us.

"We were fools to think we were going to be seen as liberators," Mohamed said. "We are seen as occupiers, and we always will be."

Mohamed agreed that Saddam Hussein needed to go but says he should have been captured in a surgical strike and put on trial in an international court, like Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Of course, hindsight is of little help at this point. I was most eager to hear his thoughts on what we should do now. And since the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates offer such divergent strategies, I asked the question in that context.

"Six months ago I had every intention of voting for John McCain," he said. "I felt he was very sincere, that he was speaking his mind, and I respected him as someone who really understands war.

"But after seeing how he has changed his tone to cater to the evangelical right, I just can't support him anymore. It would just be more of the same," he said.

He believes Hillary Rodham Clinton would be seen overseas as simply the return of the Bill Clinton administration, with whatever lingering baggage that involves.

After 5 Years, the Tragedy Continues

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:29:49 EDT

http://www.masnet.org/views.asp?id=4959

From the Desk of Ibrahim-Abdil-Mu'id Ramey, MAS Freedom Civil and Human Rights Directo

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MASNET) March 18, 2008 — The conundrum of American primary politics, American Idol worship, and the fall from grace of the former Governor of New York, may have shifted the market-based media focus from the story, but for those who may otherwise be unaware, March 19, 2008 marks the fifth anniversary of the most recent U.S. invasion of Iraq - yet another tragic date in U.S. history that will live in infamy.

What, exactly, has been the cost of the U.S. adventure in Iraq? We are now careening to the number of 4,000 American combat deaths and 40,000 seriously wounded troops. Many of the wounded have been abandoned by their government to a fate of permanent disability and mental distress from the psychological wounds of combat. But this number is dwarfed by the devastation suffered by the Iraqis themselves: 650,000 to one million dead; 400,000 persons displaced from their homes; and the bitter reality of a raging sectarian civil war that has left the nation terrorized and divided.

The recent U.S. troop "surge" has been a useful diversion for the proponents of the war, who now claim some hollow "victory" because of ephemeral military gains in the combat operations against Al-Qaeda and other assorted armed insurgents. But the fundamental contradictions and divisions in the country remain. And Iraq, for all the horrors of it's own history of dictatorship and war, is a far more dangerous and oppressive place that it was under the rule of Saddam.

In the meanwhile, the Iraq war has not only divided U.S. citizens, it has also consolidated world opinion against this nation in a way that no one could have anticipated five years ago. Blatant torture of Iraqi captives, attacks on the civil liberties of Muslim individuals, institutions, and charities in America, and countless violations of both domestic and international law have become the hallmark of the arrogant and recalcitrant regime in Washington that continues the prosecution of the war.

But the conflict in Iraq has also resulted in countless casualties at home, measured in increased domestic violence, family disintegration, alcoholism, and drug abuse suffered by returning U.S. combatants.

War, in every case, results in the massive transfer of wealth from one social class to another. The war in Iraq is no different.

But what is different is the reality of the naked ambition of the global energy and arms oligarchies that have feasted on the $1.2 trillion dollars spent by American taxpayers on the war to date. This violence continues, despite the deepening economic crisis in the nation and the devastation of the national social infrastructure.

In Washington, DC, activists from 40 states plan to gather to mark this tragic anniversary, and in some cases, to engage in non-violent direct action in opposition of the war in Iraq. We must continue to press for the demand to end the war, even if the Democratic Congress lacks the will to oppose the Bush regime's war machine.

The popular tide of resistance to the war will—and must—continue, until the war is ended, and the massive damage to both the United States and to the people of Iraq is fully repaired.

For more information about upcoming events and gatherings, please visit:

www.5YearsTooMany.org

McCain's ‘Spiritual Guide’ Says Destroy Islam

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:19:31 EDT

McCain's ‘Spiritual Guide’ Says Destroy Islam

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

Author: David Corn

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative."

The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

Students Stage Die-In to Protest War

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:15:21 EDT

Students Stage Die-In to Protest War

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/03/14/News/Students.Stage.DieIn.On.Quad-3269402.shtml

Author: Paolo Cisneros

Thursday morning was an unusual one for Karen Medina, graduate student in library and information sciences. Instead of studying for exams or sitting in class, she was chalking body outlines on the Quad.

Medina and dozens of other anti-war activists took to the streets Thursday morning to stage a march and "die-in" protest as a way of demonstrating their discontent with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

"We're calling it a 'condemoration' because we're both condemning and commemorating the war," Medina said.

The two-hour event was organized primarily by the Campus Greens and University chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Students for Justice in Palestine, Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice and the College Democrats co-sponsored the event.

The cooperation of the groups was a large part of the morning's success, said Jeremy Polacek, senior in LAS. "We (Campus Antiwar Network) don't have a monopoly on the anti-war effort by any means," he said. "The collaboration of these groups was really important."

The demonstration began at roughly 11 a.m. Activists gathered to chant anti-war slogans before marching down Green Street to Fifth Street and then back around the Quad.

Many held signs condemning the war as others provided vocal support for the cause.

"This war has been going on for five years now, and, at this point, most people are against it," said Mark Mallon, junior in LAS. "We need to stop spending billions of dollars on this illegal and immoral war."

War's Costs Will Be Felt for Years

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:10:50 EDT

War's Costs Will Be Felt for Years

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_8620269

Author: George Watson

The cost of five years of the war in Iraq can be seen in almost any community in the United States.

Families whose loved ones were killed or wounded struggle to put their lives back together. The economy teeters, thanks partly to what a renowned economist projects will ultimately be a $3trillion war bill. Gas prices soar. A political landscape that cost many Republicans their seats in Congress continues to fuel anti-American sentiment outside the nation's borders.

Despite substantial political and infrastructure improvements directly attributable to U.S. involvement in Iraq, few observers believe that as of today - the fifth anniversary of U.S. bombs first falling on Baghdad - an end to America's presence there is in sight.

The consequences of a continued stay, they say, will be felt in Americans' bank accounts and in politicians' ability to govern. . .

From the perspective of Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Los Angeles chapter, the war's cost has been multifaceted.

Ayloush is an American with school-age children, and he worries about the state of their education, given California's budget crisis, cuts to education funding and teacher layoffs.

He, too, worries about the economy, the cost of gasoline, and the future of health care.

The war has other, less tangible costs, he noted.

"The biggest nonfinancial, nonmaterial casualty is the damage to our credibility and moral standing in the world today," Ayloush said. "When we issue reports on human rights, which the State Department does, people laugh at it now. They say, `Be quiet."'

Ayloush, who visited Syria and Jordan recently, said he was struck by how angry people are at the United States. The war in Iraq has displaced 2.4million people and induced another 2million to live abroad, primarily in the two countries he visited. Before the war, 500,000 Iraqis lived outside the nation's borders.

"We have caused misery to thousands of their lives and we haven't accepted responsibility," Ayloush said. "We expect neighboring countries to carry that burden without any financial help."

CAIR-LA Rep Speaks at Anti-War Protest

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:05:55 EDT

CAIR-LA Rep Speaks at Anti-War Protest

Author: Mike O'Sullivan

Protesters in several US cities held anti-war rallies Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, March 20th. More rallies are planned in coming days in other U.S. cities. Mike O'Sullivan reports, several thousand joined an anti-war protest in Los Angeles.

Marchers chanted and some carried flag-draped coffins as speakers demanded that U.S. troops come home.

Sharaf Mowjood of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the continued presence of American troops is worsening conditions in Iraq, and diverting attention from domestic U.S. problems, including rebuilding New Orleans. The city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“We need to pull out immediately. That's the main thing right now we need to do. It's a conundrum as it is," he said. "So it's in a situation where the best viable option is to pull out because you have a lot of these internal problems you have to deal with, health care, sub-prime mortgage crisis, Katrina, all that. We need to work on those issues first."

Members of religious, labor and community groups joined the Los Angeles demonstration. Madelyn MacKay, a Quaker, says the protests are sending a message to the candidates in the November 4 presidential election.

United States Mosque Used by Iraqi Refugees Vandalized

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:58:46 EDT

United States Mosque Used by Iraqi Refugees Vandalized

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/NEWS01/803180345

Author: Cheryl Wittenauer

Neighbors in the tidy, middle-class Southampton neighborhood in south St. Louis said Monday they barely noticed the comings and goings of one of their enclave's newest arrivals.

Nothing out of the ordinary anyway, aside from a steady stream of Iraqi cab drivers and other workers, and women and children, arriving for evening prayer services at the Islamic mosque.

The Islamic religious and community center, housed in a nondescript storefront building, was vandalized over the weekend. It was the second such incident since the Imam Hussin Foundation building opened last April.

"If someone is trying to send us a message," with this act, "we receive it," said Salah Ajmi, the mosque's imam and a businessman. "But we do everything right and legal. This is wrong."

Vandals damaged seven large glass windows with a blunt object sometime between midnight and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. Vandals struck the first time last summer, and Ajmi said he suspected teenagers. This time the damage was more extensive.

Police took fingerprints and are investigating. They wouldn't say whether they consider it a hate crime. The FBI declined to comment.

Why Obama for me?

MapleMama — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 11:49:38 EST

I don't care if our next president is...

black or white
male or female
young or old

I DO care that our next president is...

a democrat
capable of bringing people together
can build positive relationships domestically and abroad
leads with his heart and mind--not according to his party
inspires others to action
will address our domestic crises - including the economy, health care, education, the environment, social services, and the national debt - before spending more of our monies and energies abroad
will intervene internationally only when humanitarian or civil rights are in jeopardy - NOT for political or military reasons
will intervene internationally only when there is adequate support from the UN or other nations
will support the arts and its role in community, education, and inter-cultural understanding

I feel Senator Obama best fits my picture of the candidate I want in the White House, and he is the first candidate in YEARS to actually inspire me and give hope for our future.

CAIR Co-Sponsors Letter to Congress on Wiretapping

funkfresh01 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:02:26 EST

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/6/08) - On March 5, 2008, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined other individuals and institutions who work to preserve civil liberties in sponsoring a letter to members of Congress commending them for refusing to pass the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 and urging them to allow it to expire.

The letter is as follows:

March 5, 2008

Dear Representative,

We the undersigned organizations commend the House for refusing to yield to administration fearmongering by passing the worst possible surveillance legislation - S. 2248, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2007. This bill would grant the administration unfettered access to all communications coming into or out of the United States without any meaningful court review or finding of wrongdoing and grant complete immunity to companies that cooperated with illegal wiretapping over the last several years.

As you go forward with negotiations, we ask that you leave the Protect America Act exactly as it is -- sunsetted. As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Cato Institute noted, America is in no danger from the expiration of this unconstitutional law. Orders issued since last August remain in effect until their internal cease date, up to a year after issuance, ensuring that current surveillance programs will continue, in some cases, into 2009. These programmatic orders are not limited to individuals or facilities so that new targets can be tapped under existing orders. Of course, the government always has the option of tapping targets immediately and returning to court within 72 hours to obtain a court order under the FISA procedures that have served our intelligence community for nearly 30 years.

What Do Smears Against Obama Say About Society?

funkfresh01 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:31:18 EST

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-obamamuslim_thinkfeb24,0,6345949.story

Author: Ahmed M. Rehab

OK, we get the point. Barack Obama is not a Muslim. He has made that clear, time and again.

As well he should: The rumors are baseless, maliciously spun by political adversaries with the intention of taking votes away from Obama's promising presidential campaign run.

Obama is entitled to set the record straight. But that's not the end of the story.

The broader issue is: What does this attempt to smear Obama say about our society?

More personally, what does it say about my newborn nephew's standing in society? Is he entitled to the dreams of his Muslim father that the boy could grow up to be president if he works as hard as Obama and is as ambitious?

Obama has not gone far enough to challenge the notion that religious affiliation could disqualify Americans from serving their nation. Nor has Mitt Romney, a Mormon, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist, or any other candidate.

It's time for all of them to be quizzed on the meaning of citizenship as preached and practiced in this great democracy. As a voter, I would much rather know their stance on equal employment policies than which church they attend.

Whenever I address young Muslim audiences that may be struggling with identity issues, I remind them that this is their country, too. I tell them they should observe their civic duties, vote and, if it behooves them, run for public office and help bring about the positive reform they often passively expect of others.

Urge Congress to Halt Humanitarian Disaster in Gaza

funkfresh01 — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:37:38 EST

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 01/21/08) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to urge their elected officials to immediately intervene to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The crisis was triggered by an Israeli-imposed blockade Sunday evening, which forced the closure of the only electric plant that serves Gaza City's 400,000 residents and one third of the Gaza Strip's 1.5 millions residents. The blockade prevents the entry of fuel that is essential to the operation of the plant.

SEE: Gaza Dark Amid Israeli Blockade (LA times)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza21jan21,1,576321.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=2&cset=true

Gaza is already suffering from economic hardship, which according to the World Bank, is primarily a result of being cut off from the rest of the world by Israel. Without power, hospitals, water facilities and other crucial lifelines may completely shut off and homes may be left without heat, plunging Gaza into disarray.