MURDEROUS CHARITY

Forty-Eight Orphans from Gaza On their Way to Israel

Typical Zionist cynicism, racism and vile propaganda!

Look at the highlighted quote if you doubt what the real motives are ...

Absolutely appaling how racist those "liberal" Zionist Kibbutzniks can be and have always been. A cold, utilitarian calculation of cost and benefit and how best to abuse those poor orphans from Gaza to strike a PR coop, while trying to brainwash them to love their ugly oppressors and tormentors!

There is no limit to what they'll do to attempt to recover Israel's "smeared" image as a pariah state led by war criminals, with a parliament that is the closest one can get to those of fascist regimes, and a public that overwhelmingly supprots, justifies, contributes to, and helps to whitewash war crimes and acts of genocide in solid majorities that have not been seen in any fascist society since WWII.

No idea who on the Palestinian side are helping in this effort or what their motives are (personal gains, for sure!), but whoever they are, they are contributing to an immoral act of the lowest form. Every people has its rotten apples, for sure.

Omar Barghouti

Forty-Eight Orphans from Gaza On their Way to Israel

Yedioth Ahronoth (p. 4) by Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad and David Regev -- Forty-eight orphans aged 8-15 from Gaza, whose parents were killed in bombings in the course of Operation Cast Lead, hoped last night to arrive in Israel for two weeks of rest and relief from the harsh reality of life in their homes. The children were slated to arrive in Israel for their visit today, but last night, due to the closure of the crossings from the Gaza Strip, it was not clear whether their visit would indeed take place.

The Haifa municipality, Kibbutz Sasa and the members of the "Candle for Peace and Brotherhood" NPO in Kafr Kassem prepared in the past few days to receive the children, and are awaiting their arrival today, if no last minute change takes place. The children will stay in Kibbutz Sasa, Kafr Kassem and Haifa, as part of a humanitarian initiative by the Kibbutz Movement.

The children can expect to enjoy a rich program in different sites in Haifa: A visit to the science museum and the zoo, a cruise in the Haifa Bay, tours of the city, watching films and plays for children, visiting an active recreation park and other social activities. During their stay, meetings will also be held between the children and Israeli pupils from schools in Haifa.

Yoel Marshak, director of the Kibbutz Movement task force, who operated the volunteer staff for assisting residents of communities that were bombed in the south and who is overseeing the current humanitarian campaign, said yesterday that this was a humanitarian initiative aimed at relieving the situation of orphaned children, not terrorists: "The Kibbutz Movement educates its sons to be first in battle and to kill the enemy that comes to kill you, and with the other hand, after the cannons stop firing, we are adopting orphaned children, who may put an end to wars in the future thanks to this humane act. The children who will receive love from us will remain with this experience for many years, and when they grow up they will extend a hand to peace. I believe that change will only come from young people, based on awareness and desire, and not by agreements."

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said that the municipality was prepared to receive the children this morning, and that a bus with a municipality representative would await them today at the Erez crossing. "The children are the hope of tomorrow," Yahav said. "We are accepting the challenge of hosting the children from Gaza, in order to show the whole world that things can be done differently."

Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog, who is responsible for the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, welcomed the campaign yesterday: "This is a very important initiative. The State of Israel completely differentiates between helping the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and Hamas."

The Prophet's Prayer Described...(downloadable)

with citations and references

"and the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, Beware of suspicion, for truly, suspicion is the most false of speech.¹¹ Therefore, we cannot worship Allaah by acting according to inauthentic ahaadeeth; in fact, the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade us from this saying, Keep away from saying things about me, except what you know¹²; since he has forbidden us from relating weak narrations, it goes without saying that it is forbidden to act according to them."

Dulce bellum inexpertis

War is sweet to those who have never fought

Coping Alone With Depression

Dealing with Depression

SELF-HELP AND COPING TIPS

Depression drains your energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to do what you need to feel better. But while overcoming depression isn’t quick or easy, it’s far from impossible. You can’t beat it through sheer willpower, but you do have some control—even if your depression is severe and stubbornly persistent. The key to depression recovery is to start small and build from there. Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of others.

In This Article:

• The road to recovery
• Supportive relationships
• Taking care of yourself
• Exercise
• Healthy diet
• Negative thinking
• Getting additional help
• Related links

The road to depression recovery

Recovering from depression requires action. But taking action when you’re depressed is hard. In fact, just thinking about the things you should do to feel better, like exercising or going out with friends, can be exhausting.

It’s the Catch-22 of depression recovery. The things that help the most are the things that are most difficult to do. But there’s a difference between difficult and impossible.

Start small and stay focused

The key to depression recovery is to start with a few small goals and slowly build from there. Draw upon whatever resources you have. You may not have much energy, but you probably have enough to take a short walk around the block or pick up the phone to call a loved one.

Take things day by day and reward yourself for each accomplishment. The steps may seem small, but if you make time for them each day, they’ll quickly add up. And for all the energy you put in to your depression recovery, you’ll get back much more in return.

Depression self-help tip 1: Cultivate supportive relationships

Getting the support you need plays a big role in lifting the fog of depression and keeping it away. On your own, it can be difficult to maintain perspective and sustain the effort required to beat depression. But the very nature of depression makes it difficult to reach out for help. However, isolation and loneliness make depression even worse, so maintaining your close relationships and social activities are important.

Full article here

Follow-up with this read:

Cognitive Distortion: How to check the Thoughts

"Most depressed people are not aware that the despair and hopelessness they feel are flowing from their negative thoughts. Thoughts are mistakenly seen as privileged, occupying a rarefied territory, immune to being affected by mood and feelings, and therefore representing some immutable truth"

Why You MUST Check Your Kids' Homework

Why parents should always check their children's homework before they hand
it in:

…Submitted by a first grade girl for a homework assignment

After it was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school
the next day with the following note:*


Dear Ms . Davis,

I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a
dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had
commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm.
This photo is of me selling a shovel.

Mrs. Harrington*
...got this in the e-mail :)

lakaran yang tak menjadi
harus
dicampak saja
ke dalam tong sampah
kehidupan

بلا أنياب نمر

Darwin's God: A battle against Fitrah?

Darwin’s God

"Stars No. 1207," 1996 by David Stephenson/Julie Saul Gallery

Heavenbound

A scientific exploration (or denial) of how we have come to believe in God.

By ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG

Published: March 4, 2007

God has always been a puzzle for Scott Atran. When he was 10 years old, he scrawled a plaintive message on the wall of his bedroom in Baltimore. “God exists,” he wrote in black and orange paint, “or if he doesn’t, we’re in trouble.” Atran has been struggling with questions about religion ever since — why he himself no longer believes in God and why so many other people, everywhere in the world, apparently do.

Full article here

Obama: The Audacity of Hope of Fools

Ready for War in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Obama’s new foreign policy team prepares escalated bloodletting in Afghanistan and Pakistan

In a series of meetings and public appearances Wednesday and Thursday, and with the first military strikes of his administration, President Barack Obama has given a clear signal that he plans intensified bloodshed in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the US escalates its military intervention in Central and South Asia.Missiles fired from unmanned Predator drones struck two targets inside Pakistan Friday morning, killing at least 18 people. As is always the case with such exercises in remote-controlled murder, US officials claimed they were targeting Al Qaeda, although even US media accounts admitted that the majority of those killed were local residents.

Three missiles struck the village of Zharki in North Waziristan, killing ten people, of whom five were described by US "security sources" as Al Qaeda militants. A few hours later, another missile hit a house in South Waziristan, killing eight people whose identities were not known.

The strikes were the latest in a series of more than two dozen such attacks since last August, and Pentagon officials said they had carried out the attacks under existing authority from the outgoing Bush administration, while keeping the new president fully informed of the action.

The death toll from the missile campaign, according to Pakistani government figures, numbers at least 263 people. Even US government officials claim only a handful of those killed had any ties to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

The attacks on sovereign Pakistani territory are blatant violations of international law, which the regime in Islamabad protests verbally, while continuing to accept billions in US subsidies to the country's military.

Obama and his newly confirmed secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, staged what amounted to a political rally at the State Department Thursday, at which they announced the appointment of two new US pro-consuls to the region.

Former senator George Mitchell is to reprise his role from the Clinton administration as the US envoy to the Middle East. Former UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is special US representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The different titles reflect different roles. Mitchell has been given responsibility for reviving and supervising negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as between Israel and neighboring Arab states. His job is strictly diplomatic.

Holbrooke is to work with the US-backed regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the US military command in Kabul, to coordinate joint action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. He is not labeled an "envoy," according to the State Department, because he will have input into military policy as well as diplomacy, and because he will not be negotiating with the Taliban—a rebuff to pleas for such talks by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and some European countries.

Clinton called the two appointments "a loud and clear signal ... that our nation is once again capable of demonstrating global leadership." Obama said the two would "convey our seriousness of purpose" in both areas.

Mitchell chaired the negotiations in Northern Ireland that led to the 1998 Good Friday agreement, under which the IRA disarmed and Irish Republican politicians have joined the provincial government. He later chaired a commission on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict whose report, delivered in April 2001, was ignored by the incoming Bush administration because it called for a freeze on Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

Israeli officials, and particularly the right-wing Likud Party, which is favored to win the country's February 10 parliamentary elections, have openly expressed their distrust of Mitchell, who is partially of Lebanese-American ancestry (his mother was a Maronite Christian).

Mitchell's appointment cannot disguise the fundamental policy of US imperialism in the region, which makes use of the Zionist regime as its military spearhead against the Arab masses. Both Obama and Clinton, to whom Mitchell will report, have made clear their support for the 24-day Israeli onslaught on Gaza, in which more than 1,300 Palestinians lost their lives, and over 5,000 were wounded.

The selection of Holbrooke is even more ominous, since he has long served as one of the most ruthless representatives of American imperialism, going all the way back to his early days in the Foreign Service in Vietnam. He came to public notice as the leader of the US diplomatic team at the 1995 talks on the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, held in Dayton, Ohio, that concluded with a US-imposed settlement in the civil war in Bosnia.

In his encouragement of ethnic cleansing by the Croatian regime of Franjo Tudjman, which drove a quarter million Serbs out of the Krajina region of southern Croatia in a 1995 offensive, Holbrooke could deservedly face war crimes charges. He later boasted, in his memoir of the Dayton talks: "Tudjman wanted clarification of the American position. He bluntly asked for my personal views. I indicated my general support for the offensive ... I told Tudjman the offensive had great value to the negotiations. It would be much easier to retain at the table what had been won on the battlefield than to get the Serbs to give up territory they had controlled for several years."

Holbrooke was fully aware at the time of the Dayton talks that the Croatian Army was carrying out atrocities against the Serbs, and was later quoted saying, "We ‘hired' these guys to be our junkyard dogs because we were desperate. We need to try to ‘control' them. But this is no time to get squeamish about things." He will now seek to find new "junkyard dogs" to do the dirty work of American imperialism in south and central Asia.

In his remarks at the State Department rally, Obama reiterated his concern over what he called a "deteriorating situation" in both Afghanistan and Pakistan," a region that is "the central front" of the struggle against terrorism. This language, echoing George W. Bush's description of Iraq, underscores the new administration's commitment to military subjugation of the Afghan population and wider attacks on the Pakistani population of the border region, largely Pushtun-speaking and linked by tribal ties to the majority Pushtun population in Afghanistan.

Clinton said that Holbrooke's mandate would be to "coordinate across the entire government an effort to achieve United States' strategic goals in the region." These goals have little to do with the remnants of Al Qaeda hiding out in the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The real focus of the intervention, under Obama as much as under Bush, is to establish the United States as the principal power in the oil-rich region of Central Asia.

The renewed focus on military problems in Afghanistan was signaled as well by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been retained in his position during the transition from Bush to Obama. He told a press conference Thursday that US goals in Afghanistan had been "too broad and too far into the future. We need more concrete goals that can be achieved realistically within three to five years, in terms of reestablishing control in certain areas, providing security for the population, going after al-Qaeda, preventing the reestablishment of terrorism."

There is mounting anxiety in the Pentagon over the viability of US supply lines to Afghanistan, especially if the force on the ground is doubled, as Obama plans. Two-thirds of US supplies go through Pakistan and convoys through the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan have come under repeated attacks. General David Petraeus, the former Iraq commander who was promoted to head the US Central Command, with responsibility for war planning throughout the region, recently completed a trip through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan, seeking agreements on expanding US supply shipments through those countries. He reported on his findings to the Obama White House on Wednesday.

According to a report in the New York Times January 22, another major concern of US military authorities in Afghanistan is the strengthening of Taliban influence in the southern provinces around Kandahar, patrolled now mainly by British, Canadian and Dutch troops, who are spread thinly through a vast area.

The Times reporter noted worriedly: "It is perhaps in Kandahar, one of the provincial capitals, where the lack of troops is most evident. About 3,000 Canadian soldiers are assigned to secure the city, home to about 500,000 people. In a recent visit, this reporter traveled the city for five days and did not see a single Canadian soldier on the streets. The lack of troops has allowed the Taliban to mount significant attacks inside the city."

In Gaza, only the dead have seen the end of war

Tuesday, 27 January 2009 14:26 Written by Vittorio Arrigoni

For the living, no truce can make up for the daily battle for survival. They have no running water, gas, electrical power, and no bread and milk to feed their children. Thousands of people have lost their homes. Humanitarian aid seeps through the passes in drips and drabs, and you get the feeling that the benevolence of the killers' accomplices is only temporary. Tomorrow, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN's Secretary General will travel to Gaza, and we're pretty sure that John Ging, Chief of the Palestinian Refugees' Agency, will have many stories to tell him after Israel bombed two UN schools, assassinated 4 of their workers, bombed and destroyed the UNRWA centre in Gaza City (which reduced tons of medicine and food supplies destined for the civilian population to ashes).

Gaza's mountains of rubble continue to spit corpses back up to the surface. Yesterday, between Jabalia, Tal el Hawa in Gaza City and Zaitun, the Red Crescent paramedics, with some help from the ISM volunteers, have pulled out 95 corpses from the ruins, many of which are in an advanced state of decay. Walking through the streets of the city and no longer feeling constantly terrified by the thought of a bomb surgically aimed to decapitate me, I still tremble at the sight of stray dogs gathering in a circle, imagining what could reveal itself before my eyes as their meal. The relieved men go back to hang out in their mosques and cafés, but their attitude of feigned normalcy is easy to detect. Many of them have lost a relative or have nowhere to live.

They pretend to go back to their everyday routine to boost their wives and children's spirits - somehow, even this catastrophe must be dealt with. This morning we drove with some ambulances to the most devastated neighbourhoods in the city, Tal el Hawa and Zaitun. Questionnaire in hand, we went door to door and compiled a list of the damage suffered by the buildings , and wrote down the families' most urgent requirements: medicine for the elderly and sick, rice, oil and flour, basically the essentials to feed themselves. All that we've been able to give them so far are metres of nylon, to be used in lieu of their shattered windowpanes to block out the cold.

ISM colleagues in Rafah informed me that the municipality has handed out a few thousand dollars - mere pennies - to the families who've had their houses completely razed to the ground by the bombs, the very same that according to Israel, had been dropped to destroy the tunnels. After the end of the conflict with Lebanon, Hezbollah donated millions of dollars in cheques, to refund the homeless Lebanese citizens. In Gaza, under siege and embargo, Hamas is barely able to refund its people with what "will scarcely be enough to rebuild a barn for livestock", says Khaled, a Rafah farmer.

The truce is unilateral, hence Israel unilaterally decides not to respect it. Khan Yunos, a Palestinian boy, was killed yesterday, and another was injured. East of Gaza helicopters have showered a residential area with white phosphorous. The same happened in Jabalia. In Khann Younis today, the war ships fired their cannons at an open plain, thankfully without harming anyone. But while I write, the news of storming tanks has just reached me. We're not aware of any Palestinian rockets having been fired in the last 24 hours...

International journalists are clamouring for news all along the Strip, as they only managed to get in today. Israel granted them a pass only now that the massacre is winding down. Those who got here in the thick of the battle have seriously risked being killed, as I was told by Lorenzo Cremonesi, a correspondent for Corriere della Sera. Israeli soldiers shot potholes into the car that he was traveling in . Standing by the blackened skeleton of what remains of Al Quds hospital in Gaza City, an astonished BBC reporter asked me how the army could possibly have swapped the building for a terrorists' den.

I said: "For the very same reason that children running away from a burning building were put in sight of the snipers on the roofs, who don't hesitate to kill them, spreading their grey matter all over the road", to which the journalist furrowed his brow further. The enormous difference between us eye-witnesses and first-hand victims of the massacre, and those who hear about it through our stories, is now further highlighted. From Rome I'm told that the EU intends to freeze the funds assigned for the reconstruction of Gaza as long as it's governed by Hamas. The European Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, has made her point clear on this score. "The aid for the reconstruction of the Strip", stated the European diplomat, "will only arrive if Palestinian President Abu Mazen will once again re-establish his authority over the territory."

For Gaza's Palestinians this is an explicit invitation from the outside to engage in civil war, or in a coup d'état. It's equivalent to legitimising the massacre of 410 children, who died because their parents chose democracy and freely elected Hamas. "The EU is diligently echoing the criminal policy of collective punishment imposed by Israel. Why not entrust the funds to the UN? Or some governmental organisation?" "The Unites States are free to elect a war-monger like Bush, Israel can choose leaders with bloodied hands like Sharon or Netanyahu, but we, the people of Gaza, aren't free to chose Hamas...", suggested Mohamed, a human rights activist who never voted for the Islamic movement himself. I have no arguments to contradict him.

The surviving Palestinians learn from their dead; they learn to live while dying, right from the tenderest age. Truce after truce, the general perception here is that of a macabre pause between one massacre and another during which to count the dead, and peace has never felt so elusive. Scouring Gaza City on board an ambulance with the siren switched off for once, the war is still everywhere, among the ruins of a city robbed of its smiles and now populated only by frightened gazes, eyes that insist upon scanning the sky for planes still endlessly flying overhead. Inside a home we visited with some paramedics, I noticed some pastel drawings on the floor. It was clearly a child's hand that had abandoned them after evacuating the house in a mad rush. I picked one of them up - tanks, helicopters and a body in pieces. In the middle of the drawing a child with a stone had succeeded in reaching the sun's height and was damaging one of the flying death machines. It's been said that in a child's drawing, the sun represents his desire to be, to appear. The sun I saw was crying tears of blood in red pastel. Is a unilateral truce enough to heal such traumas?

Stay human
Vittorio Arrigoni

Inconvenient Guests

Another guest dropped by just now. REAL ONE. An old kawan seusrah. Rich, stylish, the works, husband drives Porsche, house fully loaded to the brim, jewels to the max. The first thing she commented was, kenapa tak buat rumah macam orang sebelah? She just came from next door, surprising me with the fact that she has known my neighbour for years... (Ya, the ceti Benggali who lives off the blood of poor Indian KTM workers, and took 4 long, tortured(me) years to renovate their house).

I felt like slapping her beneath my smile. She said the exact same thing when she came to my two room apartment many years back. Now, looking into my cavernous, echo reflecting 6 room 4 bath house, decorated to the barest minimum, sans shiny kitchen, sans 'kerusi kerawang" sans the "regulation Malaysian home requirements" bla bla bla...she commented the same damn thing, insulted my house and my simple tastes and budget and only stayed for 5 minutes on my only sofa dwarfed by the living room, having spent 2 hours in the "more luxurious" house next door.

Don't you just loathe those kinda "guests"?

Maybe she needs more tazkirah or usrah?

Or maybe someone needs someone who is actually HOME to build us a home?

Or maybe someone thinks that this home will be their final home?

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO VISIT ME AGAIN, WOMAN!!!!

And bringing your kid along to peddle Mary Kay, that American crap to moi?

Don't you know anything about HONOR? SHAME ON YOU TEACHING YOUR KID TO LIVE OFF PEOPLE'S BLOOD. FOR MONEY??

Same goes for that woman living off Iraqi blood money retailing Shell products, and proud of her blood-soaked ringgit and her ability to buy love (other people's husband's love) and babies with it.

I GUESS SOME MEN LOVE 'EM DISHONORABLE WOMEN.

Oh...and I also wanted to bitch slap her when she asked me that famous and most loathesome question..."so keje ape sekarang?"

"...work from home.." I replied, expecting to hear exactly what she said next...

"ish...kesian/sayang/rugi belajar tinggi2, ye..." she shot back.

Anyone of you SOHOs want her address and stand in line to slap her silly?

And what..her kid is a Mary Kay pitcher?

I don't need make-up. Aishwarya needs make-up.

Me, I'm a natural beauty.

CBS 60 MINUTES ON ISRAELI APARTHEID

A respected American TV series exposes the truth to Americans (the real slums and dark ages living conditions of the Palestinians are not shown but KUDOS anyway...for its bravery)

Watch CBS Videos Online

Read also another story by a CBS correspondent:

Gazan Family Opens What's Left Of A Home
Reporter's Notebook: As The Al-Ajramis Try To Rebuild Their House, They Do Not Forget Their Hospitality
by Allen Pizzey, CBS correspondent

Old friend

Late last night, an old acquaintance came over. Someone I've known all my life. She knocked on my door at 1am. She wanted to talk. She still looked pretty much the same person (apart from the 10 or so extra pounds) from a decade ago, but she had lost that bright spark, that optimism, that fire, the old light in her eyes.

I made her some tea. Her favorite. With cardamon and cinnamon.We sat outside on the patio in silence, savoring the soft breeze, and watching the twinkling stars which outlined Orion's Belt.

orion's belt

Then she talked.

You can tell me to talk for a worthy cause in front of a thousand people. I could. Go to a war zone and help the terrorised. Maybe I would too, if I didn't have two small ones depending on me. That would be worth dying for. Worth living for.

But tell me to walk out of this stifling, unfulfilling, aimless, meaningless, hollow, gut-churning, teeth-gnashing, loveless, disconnected union, I couldn't. Even when I had the chance, I quickly ran back inside.

Days like these, I long to be able to pack up my life and my kids and run off to some faraway place I've always wanted to travel to and explore in my youth...Syria, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, The Holy Lands, Spain, the Australian outback, South Africa...and maybe end up in a small village overlooking the Mediterranean, like Nadia and Mohamed's...and spend the rest of my life in peaceful solitude and simplicity.

Days when I know or admit to myself that I just don't fit in anymore in this piece of this particularly large puzzle.

Days when I can't run away from the reality no matter how hard I try or no matter how my mind shuts it out in its own merciful way.

Days when I just want to run away from everything and everyone I know, from everything I said, from everything I did, and start over...like I had planned years ago.

Start doing right by myself and by the kids... in His Eyes.

But my feet. They are like lead. And I am imprisoned. By my own weakness. My cowardice and those invisible bars that blockade and put me under permanent siege. The electrified fence that keeps me out and keeps me in.

I took her hand and squeezed it lightly. I didn't know what to tell her that she hasn't already heard. All I could offer her was my ear.

One day, you will finally break free. And get to live and love again, the way you want to. The way He wants us to, I told her softly.

I looked up to the heavens, at the diamond encrusted, black, velvety night sky, drinking in the priceless beauty and feeling His Comforting Presence, silently prayed.

For relief. For all of us.

Lagi Penyebaran Dakyah Palsu

My good friend Cap'n Calico Jack posted a piece on another attempt (of many out there) to confuse/propagate distorted beliefs/information about Christianity and Islam here.

The publication highlighted by him is a shoddy cut and paste job, substituting Muhammad SAW for Jesus alaihissalam in the selected Quranic verses, but still...to the ignorant out there, it does send the wrong message home.

Read about Jesus alaihissalam as a revered prophet to Muslims here.

*******************

"Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which Allah revealed to all (over 125,000) Prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus, to name a few. It is the message which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 611 a.d., and is a continuation of Allah's word and guidance to all mankind. It is the final and complete book of revelations in its final form, the Qur'an, and Muhammad (PBUH) is the final Messenger.

There are three conditions which necessitate the advent of a new Prophet over and above the need to replace a deceased Prophet. These may be summed up as follows:

1. That the teachings of the earlier Prophets have been distorted or corrupted, or they have died and their revival is needed.

2. That the teachings of the Prophet who has passed away was incomplete and it is necessary to amend them, improve on them, or add something to them.

3. That the earlier Prophet was raised for a particular nation or territory and a Prophet for another nation, people or country is required.

None of these conditions exist today. The teachings of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are alive, and have been made immortal. The guidance he has shown unto mankind is complete and flawless, and is enshrined in the Holy Qur'an. All the sources of Islam are fully intact and each and every instruction or action of the Holy prophet can be ascertained without the least shadow of a doubt.

Secondly, God has completed His revealed guidance through the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Islam is a complete religion for mankind. God has said that, "Today I have perfected your Faith-religion for you, and have completed My bounty upon you," and a thorough study of Islam as a complete way of life proves the truth of these Qur'anic words. Islam gives guidance for life in this world and in the hereafter and nothing essential for human guidance has been left out. There is no ground for a new prophethood on the plea of imperfection.

Lastly, the message of Muhammad (PBUH) was not meant for any particular people, place, or period. He was raised as the World Prophet - the messenger of truth for the whole of mankind. The Qur'an has commanded Muhammad (PBUH) to declare: "O mankind, I am God's messenger to all of you." He has been described as a blessing for all (the people of) the world and his approach has been universal and human. That is why after him there remains no need for new prophethood and he has been described by the Qur'an as Khatam-an-Nabiyyin or the last of the chain of the true Prophets.

The only source, therefore, for the knowledge of God and His Way is Muhammad (PBUH). We can know of Islam only through his teachings which are so complete and comprehensive, that they can guide men through all ages to come. The world does not need a new prophet, it needs only such people as have faith in Muhammad (PBUH). People to become the standard-bearers of his message, propagate it throughout the world, and endeavor to establish the culture which Muhammad (PBUH) gave to mankind. The world needs such men of character as can translate his teachings into practice and to establish a society which is governed by Divine Law, whose supremacy Muhammad (PBUH) came to establish.

This is the mission of Muhammad (PBUH) and on its success hinges the success of Man."

Ohbummer...

Wonder who is really running the show?

Read: Obama's shaper

Read also the interesting HOW OBAMA REALLY HAPPENED.

and... Is Obama Setting Up Mitchell To Fail in the Middle East?

No, not you.

A new take on Leo Sayer's classic:

When I need you
I just close my eyes...

but I can't...
see you
I can't feel you
I can't recall

who were you
where were you
who were we
where were we

the miles and miles of empty space
even the telephone now can't replace
it's cold out and I hold out
it's all I can do

when I need you
I just close my eyes...

to forget
because I remember now

it was all
a lifetime away

(oh just shut up...)

MISS AMERICAN PIE IS DEAD

So, bye, bye, Miss American Pie.
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
An' them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die.
This'll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love?
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?

American Pie by Don McLean

Miss American Napalm in Vietnam

Miss American Phosphorus in Gaza

Miss American Daisy Cutter in Iraq/Afghanistan

Miss American Atomic Bomb in Nagasaki

HOW TO MAKE LOVE UNDER THE BOMBS

Love under the bombs


Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Written by Vittorio Arrigoni (in Gaza)

Making love under the bombs. I remember a friend from Nablous once telling me how difficult it was during the occupation to make time to reserve a moment of intimacy with his wife. One evening, while they lay in a tender embrace, a bullet lodged itself into their headboard, inches away from their heads. Canoodling under the bombs these days in Gaza is out of the question, and the conjugal future of young Palestinian couples is shaping up to be quite a challenge. Many have lost their homes and are forced to live amassed in the UNRWA schools, or crammed with as many as 20 people inside a tiny apartment. "Tonight is Saturday and the young couples in Tel Aviv go out and have fun in the clubs or on the beach. Meanwhile, out here we can't even make love in our own beds", says Wissam, who got married in November. "We also have strobe lights, though", he says, while pointing towards a succession of flashes from the South, the evidence of bombings in full swing. Young men like Wissam, nineteen, become fathers very early on in life and are already grandfathers by middle age, being aware as they are that in Palestine, this is the only form of immortality possible.

While on the outside there's talk of a truce, approved by Hamas but as usual rejected by Israel, in the last two days there's been an escalation of bombings with a subsequent boost in civilian deaths - 60 only yesterday. About ten were killed outside a mosque in the hour of prayer. What worries Palestinians the most is a ceasefire being called without a simultaneous reopening of the frontier passes. Firstly, this would serve to let the material and food supplies required for reconstruction, and secondly, to let the seriously wounded out. Hospitals are overwhelmed from over-crowding. In the entire Strip, they can accommodate a maximum of 1,500 beds, but the number of the wounded hovers around 5,320 at the moment. In addition, there's mistrust among Palestinian public opinion towards Egypt, the chosen intermediary for the talks, whose leadership is notoriously obsequious to Israel. "Why not have a European country to mediate? The role of Germany, a truly neutral country, was decisive in the resolution of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah," says a heavy-hearted Hamza, a university professor.

This morning another UN school, in Beit Lahiya, North of the Gaza Strip, was hit full in the middle by Israeli tanks. There were 14 injured and two little brothers, Bilal and Mohammed Al-Ashqar, aged 5 and 7, were killed. Their mother survived, but she lost both her legs. Along with 42 thousand others, they had sought shelter in the school after Israel had ordered them to evacuate their homes. They believed they'd be safe there, just like the 43 refugees exterminated last 6th January in the UNRWA school massacre in Jabilia. "These two children were without a doubt innocent, just as there isn't the shadow of a doubt that they're now dead", said UN chief in Gaza, John Ging, who tirelessly, albeit in vain, continues to report the war crimes committed by the Israeli soldiers. But the Israeli Generals are still preparing themselves to make the "mission accomplished" announcement to the world.

I went back to what's left of Tal el Hawa hospital, the part still standing after the building was set on fire by the Israelis. It has now started operating as a first aid unit and logistical base for ambulances again. They continue to extract casualties trapped for days under the rubble left around its seriously damaged buildings. Shifa hospital hosts a child called Suhaib Suliman, the only survivor in a family of 25, all of whom are dead. A young girl, Hadil Samony, lost 11 relatives. She'll have no one to take care of her after being discharged from hospital. Excuse me, can someone please explain what kind of mission this is? Straight from collective punishment to mass slaughter.

On his blog, a frustrated Arab called Raja Chemayel sums it all up as follows: "Take a strip of land about 40 km long and only... 5 km wide. Call it Gaza. Then cram in one million four hundred inhabitants. After that surround it by the sea in the West, Egypt with Mubarak in the South, Israel in the North, and dub it "The land of terrorists". After that, declare war against it and invade it with 232 tanks, 687 armoured vehicles, 43 airports for fighter jets, 105 war helicopters, 221 units of ground artillery, 349 mortars, 3 spy satellites, 64 informers, 12 spies and 8,000 assault troops. Then call all of this "Israel defending itself". After that, stop for a minute and state that you will "avoid hitting the civilian population" and call yourself the only democracy in action. Whichever way you look at it, it'll be a miracle to avoid those civilians, or it could simply be a lie, since it's quite simply impossible to avoid hitting them! But once again, just call it "Israel defending itself." Now comes the question: what would happen if the invader turned out to be a liar? What would happen to those unarmed civilians?? With such firepower how could even Mother Theresa, or Mickey Mouse avoid hitting all those civilians, considering the equation/situation/scenario? Call it whatever you like, but Israel knew damn well about those unarmed people out there. It was Israel itself that had put them there! So, go ahead and call it a genocide! It's much more credible."

Aside from a couple of brutally assassinated leaders, Hamas hasn't suffered from this attack, and certainly hasn't lost its popularity - if anything, they've gained some more. Once in a while it would be wise to remember that Hamas aren't a bunch of terrorists, nor a political party, but a movement, and as such they're impossible to neutralise with a storm of cluster bombs. When I ask Palestinians for their opinions on the real agenda behind this brutal massacre, many say it has everything to do with the Israeli elections in February. They make propaganda using their heads, it's always been like this on the eve of all the elections. One head, one vote. Just one month ago, Netanyahu was forecast as the sure winner, but he's now expected to lose when competing with the blood-shot eyes of Olmert and Livni. Avigdor Lieberman is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu, the country's fifth political force, but the polls show that they are gaining consensus after statements like the following: "Gaza ought to be erased from the map with a nuclear bomb, the way the Americans did with Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Yesterday Israeli writer Abraham Yehoshua stated to Haaretz: "We kill their children today to save many more tomorrow". I'm afraid that now, his "Journey to the End of the Millennium" has ended up on board a tank in front of a hospital in flames. Voltaire invited us to respect all opinions. I would suggest to stop sewing the seeds of hatred, which are then sprinkled with blood and feed into a terminal resentment.

Stay human

Vittorio Arrigoni

(Translated from italian by Daniela Filippin)

Obama should go to Gaza - now

Jan 22, 2009 04:30 AM

WRITE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Write directly to/call President Obama about your views on the Middle East especially Gaza (WE DON'T WANT PEACE THE GENOCIDE WAY, WE WANT THE LAND ISRAEL STOLE BACK LA, ADEY!! TARAK FAHAM LAGI KA??) and your opposition to expanding war in Afghanistan (GET THE HELL OUT AND STOP TORMENTING THE POOR VILLAGERS LA IF YOU WANT TO STOP PISSING OFF OSAMA!!) and call for the reconstruction of the destroyed nation of Iraq (YOU BLOODY BREAK, YOU BLOODY BETTER PAY!!! NEVER SEEN THE SIGNS IN THE CHINAMEN GIFT SHOPS KA???):

Website for The Whitehouse

President Barack Hussein Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

TTY/TDD

Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121

(of course, put your words across politely but firmly...hahaha)

Jam Dua

Hitam malam
kian memekat
hembusan dingin
pengarak pagi
kian terasa
keheningan
kian membingit
namun
jasad lesu di perbaringan
mata yang layu
tidak lagi kenampakan
masih menunggu
kepulangan
pelepasan
dari hati yang tercari-cari
tempat berlabuh
hanyut
kehilangan sauh
mengharungi
amukan badai
laut dalam

nimr
(now that really sucked...big time...but who cares, its my blog and I write what I want to lah))

Saudi King Pledges to Rebuild Gaza Concentration Camp

The favorite whore of the US-Israeli warmongering nations, the Saudi King Abdullah, in an effort to stave off continuing attempts by Hosni Mubarak and other Arab whore dictators to fight for the affections of their beloved pimps, declared proudly that he would pledge 1 billion of his enormous stash of US toilet money to rebuild the Gaza Prison for the Palestinians and make it easy for his US-Israeli pimps to continue their incarceration, oppression, starvation, deprivation, blockade and slow genocide of the 1.5 million men, women and children.

Blockade. Did I say blockade? Is anyone else mentioning BLOCKADE??? Have they forgotten about the damn blockade, siege, imprisonment that led to the Qassams being launched???

Saudi Arapeia (rapist of the Holy Land's wealth for the pilgrims) to donate 1 billion to rebuild Gaza (full story here)

The king said his country's $1 billion donation for Gaza would go to a proposed fund Arabs are setting up to rebuild the seaside territory.

"I know that one drop of Palestinian blood is more valuable than the treasures of the world," said Abdullah. (oh, we thought it cost just 1 billion for the blood of the over 1500 dead and thousands more maimed and poisoned by uranium and God knows what else)

But it remains to be seen whether Arab expressions of sympathy for the citizens of Gaza translate into actual funds to rebuild the city. Arabs have often criticized Israel for the plight of Palestinians, but pledges of financial support have not always materialized.

Decimation of Gaza: The New Nakba

Ten facts about the Nakba
IMEU, May 1, 2008

The Institute for Middle East Understanding offers journalists and editors quick access to information about Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as expert sources — both in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Read our Background Briefings. Contact us for story assistance. Sign up for e-briefings.

Palestinian women walk through the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon in 1951. (UNRWA)

"We thought it would be a matter of weeks, only until the fighting died down. Of course, we were never allowed to go home." Nina Saah, Washington, DC

"My family's farm of oranges, grapefruits and lemons, centuries old, was gone." Darwish Addassi, Walnut Creek, California

"Those of us who left unwillingly in 1948 are plagued with painful nostalgia. My house in West Jerusalem is an Israeli nursery school now." Inea Bushnaq, New York, New York

"The people of New Orleans woke up one morning to complete devastation and had to flee. The Nakba was our Hurricane Katrina." Abe Fawal, Birmingham, Alabama

Sixty years ago, more than 700,000 Palestinians lost their homes and belongings, their farms and businesses, their towns and cities. Jewish militias seeking to create a state with a Jewish majority in Palestine, and later, the Israeli army, drove them out. Israel rapidly moved Jews into the newly-emptied Palestinian homes. Nakba means "catastrophe" in Arabic, and Palestinians refer to the destruction of their society and the takeover of their homeland as an-Nakba, "The Catastrophe."

Ten Facts about the Nakba

1. The Nakba is a root cause of the Israeli/Palestinian problem.

It is marked on May 15, the day after Israel declared its independence in 1948.

2. This traumatic event created the Palestinian refugee crisis.

By the end of 1948, two-thirds of the Palestinian population was exiled. It is estimated that more than 50% were driven out under direct military assault. Others fled as news spread of massacres committed by Jewish militias in Palestinian villages like Deir Yassin and Tantura.

3. Jewish leaders saw "transfer" as an important step in the establishment of Israel.

Jewish leaders spoke openly of the need to use military clashes to expel as many Palestinians as possible before other Arab countries could come to their defense. The Haganah militia's Plan Dalet was the blueprint for this ethnic cleansing. Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, said "We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population." (See what other leading Israelis have said about transfer.)

4. Hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed.

Jewish forces depopulated more than 450 Palestinian towns and villages, most of which were demolished.

5. Palestinian property and belongings were simply taken.

The newly-established Israeli government confiscated refugee land and properties without respect to Palestinian rights or desires to return to their homes.

Israeli historian Tom Segev reported that: "Entire cities and hundreds of villages left empty were repopulated with new [Jewish] immigrants... Free people - Arabs - had gone into exile and become destitute refugees; destitute refugees - Jews - took the exiles' places in the first step in their lives as free people. One group [Palestinians] lost all they had while the other [Jews] found everything they needed - tables, chairs, closets, pots, pans, plates, sometimes clothes, family albums, books radios, pets....

6. Some Palestinians stayed in what became Israel.

While most Palestinians were driven out, some remained in what became Israel. Although citizens of the new state, they were subject to Israeli military rule until 1966. Today, Palestinian citizens of Israel comprise nearly 20 percent of Israel's population. They have the right to vote and run for office, but more than 20 Israeli laws explicitly privilege Jews over non-Jews. Nearly one-quarter of Israel's Palestinians are "internally displaced" persons, unable to return to the homes and lands that were taken from them.

7. There are still millions of Palestinian refugees dispersed around the world.

Today, there are 4.4 million Palestinian refugees registered as such with the United Nations, and at least another estimated 1 million who are not so registered. Thus a majority of the Palestinian people, around 10 million persons, are refugees.

8. Refugees have internationally-recognized rights.

All refugees enjoy internationally-recognized rights to return to areas from which they have fled or were forced out, to receive compensation for damages, and to either regain their properties or receive compensation and support for voluntary resettlement. This right has been explicitly acknowledged in recent peace agreements in Cambodia, Rwanda, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guatemala, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Darfur. This right was affirmed for the Palestinians by the United Nations Resolution 194 of 1948. Israel, however, does not allow Palestinian refugees to return, although a Jew from anywhere in the world can settle in Israel.

9. Justly resolving refugee rights is essential to Middle East peace.

An overwhelming majority of Palestinians believes that refugee rights must be fulfilled for peace between Palestinians and Israelis to endure. And according to an August 2007 poll by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, nearly 70 percent believe that refugees should be allowed to return to "their original land".

10. The Nakba has implications for Americans.

Israel's ongoing denial of Palestinian rights - and unconditional U.S. financial and diplomatic support for Israel - fuels anti-American sentiment abroad. A 2002 Zogby poll, conducted in eight Arab countries showed that "the negative perception of the United States is based on American policies, not a dislike of the West." The same poll showed that "the Palestinian issue was listed by many Arabs among the political issues that affect them most personally." Resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue would undoubtedly improve America's international image, by proving that the U.S. government supports the consistent application of international law.

Petition to The International Criminal Court to Investigate War Crimes in Gaza

Update: Please sign with a proper name...thank you

Dear blogger friends and commenters,

SIGN THE PETITION TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO INVESTIGATE WAR CRIMES IN GAZA HERE!

Please sign the petition I prepared which will be forwarded to the ICC to request the Chief Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those responsible for War Crimes in Gaza. This is the least we can do for our fellow human beings who are voiceless and stateless. Many other groups have forwarded their petitions. The more pressure we put, InsyaAllah, the criminals will be brought to justice.

Stick to the boycotts, Buy American, Israeli products LAST. We can live without most of the stuff we buy, but others die for every dollar we enrich the American economy to enable arms supply and aid to Israel and the continued rape and murder of Iraq and Afghanistan and many other conflicts sponsored by the US.

Please pass the petition link to all your blog links and friends.

Thank you. (and thanks to Chester for getting it online)

MALAYSIAN CITIZENS' PETITION TO INVESTIGATE WAR CRIMES

Dear blogger friends and commenters (please pass this around),

I would like to start a petition to call for the ICC Prosecutor to investigate the heinous war crimes, crimes against humanity and other criminal acts of commission and omission committed by Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, George W. Bush, Hosni Mubarak, Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice. If anyone would like to add anything to this, or make any rectifications or offer suggestions, please fell free to comment. I would also appreciate any help to get it online to enable signatures.

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is based on a treaty, joined by 108 countries.

The ICC is a court of last resort. It will not act if a case is investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not genuine, for example if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a person from criminal responsibility. In addition, the ICC only tries those accused of the gravest crimes.

In all of its activities, the ICC observes the highest standards of fairness and due process. The jurisdiction and functioning of the ICC are governed by the Rome Statute."

Appeal for Intenational Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor to Investigate War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Gaza.

ATTN: Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor
Information and Evidence Unit
Office of the Prosecutor
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands
Email: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int

i.int
Phone: Tel. + 31 (0)70 515 851

We the undersigned citizens of Malaysia hereby formally petition you to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials named for heinous war crimes, crimes against humanity and other criminal acts of commission and omission committed by Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, George W. Bush, Hosni Mubarak, Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice who have participated directly or indirectly in War Crimes in Gaza.

The Israeli military, aided indirectly and directly through munitions supply by the United States of America are accused of:

• Using powerful shells in civilian areas sending blast and shrapnel over a wide area which the army knew would cause large numbers of innocent casualties;

• Using banned weapons such as phosphorus bombs which inflict horrific burns; and testing powerful new explosives such as DIME which cause the following carnage as described by Gaza doctors and by a previous Al-Jazeera report:

US and Israel Targeting DNA in Gaza? The DIME Bomb: Yet another genotoxic weapon, Part II

James Brooks, Al-Jazeera

In early July, shortly after the beginning of Israel’s bloody military siege of the Gaza Strip, reports began to appear that Israeli forces were using a new weapon that inflicted strange and untreatable wounds, and significantly increased the death tolls of Israel’s attacks.

Italian investigators have reported evidence that the unidentified Israeli weapon is probably Dense Inert Metal Explosives, or DIME, a so-called LCD ("low collateral damage") weapon developed by the United States Air Force.

DIME bombs blast a superheated "micro-shrapnel" of powdered heavy metal tungsten alloy (HMTA). Studies indicate that HMTA embedded in the body disrupts biochemistry and rapidly causes cancer. Like depleted uranium (DU), HMTA is genotoxic—it is capable of inflicting genetic mutations. (4-10)
DIME is part of the Air Force’s Focused Lethality Munitions (FLM) program, which is expected to "allow" the targeting of "terrorists" wherever they are, even in places "previously off limits to the warfighter."

The ideal of FLM is to reliably kill every human within the blast zone—one way or another. It is 'total war’ on a 50-foot circle, within which deaths are not admitted as collateral, but purchased as insurance. Israel’s new weapon "slices" off its victims’ legs, leaving "signs of heat and burns near the point of the amputation". It’s "as if a saw was used to cut through the bone", according to Dr. Habas al-Wahid, head of the ER at Gaza’s Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital.

Viewing photographs of the living and dead Palestinian victims of this device, many of whom are children, we notice patches of darkened but unburned skin, possibly where metal powder was driven into and/or through the skin by blast force. A child's torso is peppered with holes, some of which, judging from doctors’ reports, probably tunnel through to exit wounds in the back. The skin and muscle of one victim is ripped into a blood-encrusted pulp, as if blasted at close range with tiny birdshot. Some of the corpses are unrecognizable. Most of the recent photos of "strange" wounds from Gaza appear to be consistent with what is known about DIME weapons.

• Holding Palestinian families as human shields;

• Attacking medical facilities, including the killing of 12 ambulance men in marked vehicles. One such example 9of many) was related as follows;

They were killing any person they could see in the street. They shot at my next-door neighbor. From the area around here, there are around 25 martyrs. They are still looking for missing people. They shelled a complete part of the hospital. The streets and infrastructure are completely destroyed. The building across the street is still burning, and it was a pharmacy depot. The people fled to seek refuge in Al Quds hospital 200 meters from here. Some of the ambulances were destroyed. I saw with my own eyes the burning, the smoke. This is savagery. I don’t think anyone in his life has ever witnessed such brutality and horror.
- Dr. Assad, Tel al-Hawa

* Shooting civilian men, women and children in cold blood after asking them to leave their homes or as they seek refuge in shelters. One case out of many was of Haneen al-Batran, a nine year old girl who was shot in the face and abdomen by Israeli snipers as her family ran to the Al-Quds hospital in Tel al-Hawa. She died later.

* Prohibiting rescue services to attend to the dead, injured and trapped for days, as in the case of the Al-Samouni family in Zeitoun which is only one uncovered so far in many of such incidents and the sad case of Shad, a four year old Palestinian girl killed in her backyard in Jabalya and her body left for the dogs to eat by Israeli soldiers who shot at her family attempting to retrieve it for 5 days, resulting in another two family members being shot dead (more eyewitness accounts of other cases have been reported in Free Gaza, Window on Palestine and Al Jazeera sources);

• Killing large numbers of policemen who had no military role;

* Shelling designated UN facilities which served as safe havens for the displaced fleeing from indiscriminate bombings;

* Targeting UN aid convoys and destroying badly needed food, water medical and fuel supplies;

* Bombing mosques, universities, schools and hospitals, cemeteries and infrastructure with lame excuses of "militant" activity;

* Imprisoning terrorised, starved and injured civilians in a small open air "prison" with no safe haven to flee by blockading and sealing off borders and shelling them indiscriminately. In the latest UNHCR newsletter, a high ranking official stated that;

Gaza (is): "The only conflict in the world in which people are not even allowed to flee" - High Commissioner Guterres

* Total disregard and impudence towards a democratically elected government of the people of Gaza;

* The continued harassment and instilment of fear by low-flying drones, fighter jets, helicopters, and movement of tanks in civilian areas despite a unilateral ceasefire;

* A hugely disproportionate "retaliatory" campaign against rocket threats; threats which were falsely used as a pretext for the latest invasion when it has been clear that Israel violated the previous existing ceasefire agreement.

* The continued unjust imprisonment and deprivation of the Palestinian population by a continued siege and economic and physical blockade of Gaza and the destruction of tunnels used to funnel necessities to enable decent living conditions.

In short, as an occupying power, Israel has totally and willfully violated its obligations, with the full support of the United States of America, as to protect the occupied citizens of Gaza and violated the Geneva conventions and the Statutes laid out in Article 8 of the International Criminal Court by the deliberate and sustained targeting of civilians and humanitarian aid workers, halting the full delivery of much needed aid to Gaza, and totally destroying the infrastructure in Gaza which will cost billions to rebuild and which is almost impossible to do so, due to the blockade, thus rendering the population homeless and open to the risks of the natural elements of extreme weather, abscence sanitation, healthcare, education, food, water and any economic activity.

These and numerous other war crimes must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice to ensure that all international laws are respected and there exist no avenue and space for any nation to act with such total impunity and disregard for other nations and peoples and that regard for the sanctity of human lives and property and the environment be preserved. We cannot allow the law of the jungle and barbarism to continue to prevail in this day and age.

What has occurred in Gaza, and is still continuing, is a crime against humanity and a test of our own.

We the undersigned citizens demand a full and thorough investigation immediately This investigation should be pursued no matter where it may lead and no matter what the political implications may be. To this end, we remind you that you work not on behalf of the United States of America of for Israel but for Justice itself.

Thank you.

Jewish British Lawmaker Likens Israel to Nazis

Jewish British Lawmaker Likens Israel to Nazis

SIR Gerald Kaufman, yesterday (Thu 15 Jan 2009) compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to the Nazis who forced his family to flee Poland. Kaufman, a member of the Jewish Labour movement linked to Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ruling party, also called for an arms embargo against Israel.


Sir Gerald, who was brought up as an orthodox Jew and Zionist, said: "My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town a German soldier shot her dead in her bed.

"My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. The present Israeli government ruthlessly and cynically exploits the continuing guilt from gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust as justification for their murder of Palestinians."

He said the claim that many of the Palestinian victims were militants "was the reply of the Nazi" and added: "I suppose the Jews fighting for their lives in the Warsaw ghetto could have been dismissed as militants."

He accused the Israeli government of seeking "conquest" and added: "They are not simply war criminals, they are fools."

George Galloway: "We Are The Authors Of This Tragedy"

Obama's worries...

'my concern is to find a dog for my daughter'

"The world is on a slope of collapse. One is shocked when a president (Obama) sits, smiles and says 'my concern is to find a dog for my daughter.' Shame on you and those who voted for you," he said.

Read more here

and Michelle Obama frets over her ball gown...

while women and children in Gaza fret for their lives...