let us see what love can do

Friday, 16 January 2009
In loving memory of the late Mayan priestess Jo'b No'j Chomiha (Rosa Maria Cabrera)

It can no longer be hidden. What is happening in Gaza is, transparently, ethnic cleansing - genocide.

That genocide has been ongoing for sixty years, sometimes in intense, rapid, and explosive junctures, sometimes more slowly, routinely - but always, it has been executed methodically.

January 14, 2009

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/14/white_phosphorous_and_dense_inert_...

Israel is coming under increasing criticism for its possible use of banned and experimental munitions. Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of illegally firing white phosphorous, which causes horrific burns if it comes in contact with the skin, over crowded refugee camps in Gaza. Medics and human rights groups are also reporting that they are seeing injuries distinctive of another controversial weapon, Dense Inert Metal Explosive, known as DIME, that was designed by the US Air Force in 2006. Those struck by the weapon who survive suffer severe mutilations and internal injuries.

Tue Jan 13, 2:08 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a US warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.
"I think the Greek government had some issue with the offloading of some of that shipment in their country and so we are finding alternative means of getting that entire shipment to its proper destination in Israel," spokesman Geoff Morrell told a news conference.
"I don't think we've come to a final resolution on how or when that will take place."

GOPS: Pardon Me?

Bush Bobble Head at the Bush Ranch Checkpoint. ... Prarie ...
3 min -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf30U4RVJVU

The news today out of Israel and Gaza makes me just sick to my stomach.

I know, I can already hear the responses: every nation has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens. If the Qassams stopped, Israel wouldn’t be forced to take military action. Hamas also bears responsibility for this tragic situation…

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE50874B20090109
Reuters
Fri Jan 9, 2009 6:40pm EST

U.S. seeks ship to move arms to Israel

By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. is seeking to hire a merchant ship
to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this
month, tender documents seen by Reuters show.

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) said the ship was to
carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as
"ammunition" on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos
to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/01/an-open-letter-to-our-american-col...
in-the-midst-of-the-massacre-in-gaza/

On December 28th, Israel bombed the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG),
with American-made F-16s, ten times destroying six buildings including
research laboratories and a female dormitory. IUG, like all
Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has no
political affiliation. Like the rest of the society, the faculty and
students are a composite of various political factions ranging from
Communist to Islamist. IUG is a flagship university, one with
connections to the United States; Americans have taught at the
university as Fulbrighters, and professors from the university have
been Fulbrighters in the US.

Written by Jeff Nall
Friday, 09 January 2009
Leading organizations and activists in the anti-war movement have issued unified condemnation of the Israeli assault on Gaza that has left more than 750 killed, including numerous children, and thousands seriously injured. While U.S. politicians have nearly unanimously endorsed Israel’s assault, abstaining from a successful UN resolution demanding a ceasefire, anti-war groups have taken swift action to pressure politicians to endorse a ceasefire.

An Unnecessary War by: Jimmy Carter
The Washington Post-Thursday 08 January 2009

I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.

After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act of terrorism. Although casualties were rare (three deaths in seven years), the town was traumatized by the unpredictable explosions. About 3,000 residents had moved to other communities, and the streets, playgrounds and shopping centers were almost empty. Mayor Eli Moyal assembled a group of citizens in his office to meet us and complained that the government of Israel was not stopping the rockets, either through diplomacy or military action.

Knowing that we would soon be seeing Hamas leaders from Gaza and also in Damascus, we promised to assess prospects for a cease-fire. From Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who was negotiating between the Israelis and Hamas, we learned that there was a fundamental difference between the two sides. Hamas wanted a comprehensive cease-fire in both the West Bank and Gaza, and the Israelis refused to discuss anything other than Gaza.

We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food had found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was on the same scale as in the poorest nations in the southern Sahara, with more than half of all Palestinian families eating only one meal a day.

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Kinder USA is planning further operations in the region focusing on clean water and primary health care for children. Kinder USA will continue to update our donors as the information becomes available. Please continue to support our efforts by making an online donation of $500, $250, $100, or whatever you can afford on our website at www.kinderusa.org and choose Gaza ER on the drop down menu. We cannot stress the extreme gravity of the current situation nor the uncertain future.

The current situation in Gaza is appalling. 13,000 civilians have fled their homes, more than half children, and are now living in schools set up as shelters by UNRWA. For the majority of the population, there are no safe areas to flee. Hospitals in Gaza are overflowing with many dying in the hallways before being seen due to the overwhelming number of casualties. Generators are the sole power source keeping the hospitals operating around the clock; this will come to an end due to fuel shortages and spare parts making it impossible to operate life saving equipment.