tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46573438990165586852024-03-21T15:23:55.390-07:00The Maui Peace BlogThis is the blog for the Maui Peace Action (MPA). MPA is a diverse group of citizens committed to ho'omaluhia (making peace). We encourage disarmament through peaceful international cooperation, protest preemptive aggression, promote non-violent solutions to world conflict, and educate for social justice.Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-51260554071821441822010-01-15T11:45:00.001-08:002010-01-15T11:48:48.686-08:00Retired U.S. Colonel Ann Writer to Speak on Maui, Jan 22<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDifnqB19qsRGWrhvJsqRILrorRAxOv3Om6rsChDkiSARhGJ4Y99PfravmJiXtZhJjtWMWC49mc_PMnQ_8hRhViPpsHqIzdSVwS_drhmApkJnATh1Gm7KjL_jTM7Piu8uITDGxXMZ14o/s1600-h/AnnWrightFlyer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDifnqB19qsRGWrhvJsqRILrorRAxOv3Om6rsChDkiSARhGJ4Y99PfravmJiXtZhJjtWMWC49mc_PMnQ_8hRhViPpsHqIzdSVwS_drhmApkJnATh1Gm7KjL_jTM7Piu8uITDGxXMZ14o/s320/AnnWrightFlyer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427055532445399554" border="0" /></a><br />On Friday, January 22, Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, co-author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience, will speak on Maui about “The Plight of Gaza: An Eyewitness Account of How U.S. Policies Are Causing Harm.”<br /><br />Wright has just returned from Egypt where she participated in the Gaza Freedom March. The free public talk is at 7pm January 22 in MCC Ka Lama 103, sponsored by the MCC Peace Club, Koa Books and Maui Peace Action, <a href="http://www.mauipeace.org/">www.mauipeace.org<br /></a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-79722930784196855132010-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:002010-01-15T11:07:50.658-08:00Jan 13 Hawaii DU HearingClick below to read the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's coverage of the Depleted Uranium Hearing held on Wednesday of this week. <br /><br /><a href=" http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2010/01/14/local_news//local02.txt">http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2010/01/14/local_news//local02.txt</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-89327730934772467962009-03-11T11:40:00.000-07:002009-03-11T11:54:54.861-07:00Aidan Delgado: Conscientious Objector Speaks with HPR<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAKQVf8_phj8e9T_N9qLll7qFUCuAd5qYvoW2PUs1gXK1Uqst6X33JF79VDkeVWnrjd5CK0EwA8XzM8Aado5pf4ahuq5yRuumAFXL4XcKNnMcsD7NDo3qM3SupcWXSpAMAyqqJ_CYybs/s1600-h/delgado.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAKQVf8_phj8e9T_N9qLll7qFUCuAd5qYvoW2PUs1gXK1Uqst6X33JF79VDkeVWnrjd5CK0EwA8XzM8Aado5pf4ahuq5yRuumAFXL4XcKNnMcsD7NDo3qM3SupcWXSpAMAyqqJ_CYybs/s320/delgado.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312005235845742722" /></a><br />An army reservist who served in Iraq and was later granted conscientious objector status is visiting high school students across the state this week. Speaking by cell phone from the Big Island, Aidan Delgado told <a href="http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org">Hawaii Public Radio</a>'s Kayla Rosenfeld his goal is to offer students a balanced perspective of military recruitment currently taking place around the country. Have a listen to the conversation <a href="http://www.blogger.com/http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/rosenfeld/delgado_09.mp3">HERE</a>.Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-20105908738538903082009-03-11T11:36:00.000-07:002009-03-11T11:38:57.409-07:00Bay-Peace Youth Manifesto Campaign<span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Here's a Bay Area youth-produced and acted statement against recruitment and involuntary release of contact info to the military:<br /><br /><object width="445" height="284"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gPJU0dbrOXI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gPJU0dbrOXI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="284"></embed></object>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-55753594447081782692009-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:002009-02-22T14:05:16.666-08:00IMPORTANT FUNDRAISER THIS TUESDAY (at Flatbread Company in Paia, HI)<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><strong><u>On Tuesday, February 24:</u><br /><br />Come enjoy delicious pizza at the Flatbread Company in Paia from 5 to 10pm, and help build a school in rural Nicaragua.<span> There's a silent auction of valuable items until 9:30. Manali'i plays Hawaiian and Jawaiian reggae from 5:00, and Seth and Shelly do bluegrass and jazz from 8:30 to 10. </span>Part of the proceeds of every pizza sold will go to Somos Amigos - Nicaragua, a Maui non-profit that partners with several small Nicaraguan villages to build schools and bring clean water and health services.<span> </span><span> </span>For more information, call Charlotte or Dan Flavin at 572-9898.</strong></span></span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-18364499941223603102009-02-21T18:47:00.000-08:002009-02-21T19:12:34.682-08:00Tell your friends about the Obama Hope letter for Middle East peace<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGsm9KzYm0eXg7Ns7ubMWcDnSo5JW7b9I-bJ0M1QZMH6pvTEkt9s41julif0XG4cgeKPcuEcMMJ2FelRf63FfVsBO2ABnqy3QS_2Ztm7tTy8POusrjmNUf-xWvupCrzA9G0kqqB6AM1M/s1600-h/jvphope-palestine.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGsm9KzYm0eXg7Ns7ubMWcDnSo5JW7b9I-bJ0M1QZMH6pvTEkt9s41julif0XG4cgeKPcuEcMMJ2FelRf63FfVsBO2ABnqy3QS_2Ztm7tTy8POusrjmNUf-xWvupCrzA9G0kqqB6AM1M/s320/jvphope-palestine.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305454300468867442" border="0" /></a>Jewish Voice For Peace sends this message:<br /><span class="general_text"><p>Look – we believe that reaching President Obama with our message isn’t going to be easy. We know that. That’s why it is so very critical that you take that extra step of sharing our open letter with people you know. <u>For every six people you tell, only one might join us – so please don’t hold back! We have until Monday!<br /></u></p><blockquote> <p><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=3850">CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION.</a></p><br /><p></p></blockquote><p></p></span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-5215397768394975982009-02-11T12:16:00.001-08:002009-02-11T12:18:42.431-08:00Call Senator Inouye!! Ask him to STOP the $50B Nuke and Coal Bail Out!!!<span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <p style="font-style: italic;">A letter from NIRS</p><p>Dear Friends in Hawaii:</p> <p>The Senate has passed its economic stimulus bill. Unfortunately, it still includes $50 Billion in loan guarantees intended for new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" plants.</p> <p>Fortunately, the House version does not include this provision. The Senate-House conference committee will now decide whether that provision stays in the final bill.</p> <p>Rep. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii is one of the five Senate members on the conference committee. Thus his position on this issue will be crucial.</p> <p><b>Please call Sen. Inouye today: 202-224-3934 (Honolulu office, 808-541-2542)</b> and tell him that the Senate should not have been added to the stimulus bill. Ask that he ensure that the <u>House</u> position on nuclear and coal loan guarantees prevails, and that the Senate provision be removed from the final bill. </p> <p><b>Also, follow up your call with an e-mail to Inouye, which you can do by going to <a title="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QZJXvX52b3W/FYtNSHaXrYRgOismy/7A" href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QZJXvX52b3W%2FFYtNSHaXrYRgOismy%2F7A" target="_blank">http://inouye.senate.gov/<wbr>abtform.html </a><br /></b></p> <p>Thanks for your help!</p> <p>Michael Mariotte</p> <p>Nuclear Information and Resource Service</p> <p><a title="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org" href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org" target="_blank">nirsnet@nirs.org</a></p> <p><a title="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=55BDREDe5QL55HMYiJT7CYRgOismy/7A" href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=55BDREDe5QL55HMYiJT7CYRgOismy%2F7A" target="_blank">www.nirs.org</a></p></span></span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-57096409102987399012009-02-09T09:59:00.000-08:002009-02-09T10:01:03.873-08:00Salon.com begins "Coming Home" Series<h1>Death in the USA: The Army's fatal neglect</h1> <p id="deck">Returning U.S. combat soldiers are committing suicide and murder in alarming numbers. In a special series, Salon uncovers the habitual mistreatment behind the preventable deaths.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" id="ednote"><b>Editor's note:</b> This is the introduction to a weeklong series of stories called "Coming Home." Read the first story in the series <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/special/coming_home/2009/02/09/coming_home_one">here</a>; see photos of Heidi Lieberman painting over her son's suicide note, and a copy of the "Hurt Feelings Report," <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2009/02/09/coming_home_one">here</a>. </p><p id="byline">By Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna</p><p id="byline">Feb. 9, 2009 | FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Preventable suicides. Avoidable drug overdoses. Murders that never should have happened. Four years after Salon exposed medical neglect at Walter Reed Army Medical Center that ultimately grew into a national scandal, serious problems with the Army's healthcare system persist and the situation, at least at some Army posts, continues to deteriorate.<br /><br />This story is no longer just about lack of medical care. It's far worse than sighting mold and mouse droppings in the barracks. Late last month the Army released data showing the highest suicide rate among soldiers in three decades. At least 128 soldiers committed suicide in 2008. Another 15 deaths are still under investigation as potential suicides. "Why do the numbers keep going up?" Army Secretary Pete Geren said at a Jan. 29 Pentagon news conference. "We can’t tell you." On Feb. 5, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/02/05/army_reports_big_rise_in_suicides_last_month/">the Army announced</a> it suspects 24 soldiers killed themselves last month, more than died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.</p><p id="byline">To read more of this article, <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/special/coming_home/2009/02/09/coming_home_intro/?source=newsletter">visit the Salon.com article here</a>.<br /></p><p id="byline"><br /></p><p id="byline"><br /></p>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-11781138427840067642009-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:002009-01-30T10:03:34.049-08:00Obama: Tough Decisions about Iraq, Afghanistan Loom<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CflHyQlQ3g&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CflHyQlQ3g&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">From the Associated Press.</span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-30260933593147096082009-01-30T09:59:00.001-08:002009-01-30T10:01:15.102-08:00Obama's missing timetable for Afghanistan | csmonitor.com<h2 style="font-style: italic;" class="sub">With a coming NATO summit, he must be clear on his goals for a war that isn't going well.</h2>Few doubts exist that Barack Obama will pull the US out of Iraq. But when will the US exit Afghanistan? That depends on what he wants to leave behind in the former Al Qaeda haven. By April, when Mr. Obama goes to a NATO summit, he must form a consensus on Afghanistan's future to create a US path out of this historic quagmire country. <p>Before his election, Mr. Obama talked of a need for democracy in a land that had largely been ruled by kings, warlords, and Islamists before the 2001 US-led invasion. But that Bush-era goal of Western-style, peaceful government in a medieval and tribal culture seems far more fragile these days. </p><br />Read the rest of the article here:<br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0130/p08s01-comv.html">Obama's missing timetable for Afghanistan | csmonitor.com</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com/">ShareThis</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-82738863884528537402009-01-30T09:53:00.000-08:002009-01-30T09:55:14.933-08:00Obama Promises Iraw Withdrawal, Works Through Details<table style="direction: ltr;" border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr style="font-style: italic;"><td><span class="articleheadline" style="direction: ltr;">After Promising Quick Iraq Withdrawal, Obama Works Through Details</span> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <span class="byline"> By Al Pessin</span> <br /> <span class="dateline">Pentagon</span><br /> <span class="datetime"><em>29 January 2009</em></span><br /> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <span class="body"><p class="article_14"><span class="article_14">President Barack Obama is working toward a decision on how quickly to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. He has had two meetings with senior military commanders, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said they prepared a series of options for the new president - including, but not limited to, his campaign pledge to remove most American combat troops from Iraq within 16 months. </span><br /><span class="article_14"> </span></p><p class="article_14"><span class="article_14"><a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-29-voa36.cfm">Click here to continue reading the article from Voice of America.</a><br /></span></p><p class="article_14"><span class="article_14"><br /></span></p></span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-59956372076724423332009-01-30T09:48:00.000-08:002009-01-30T09:51:17.160-08:00From Greg Palast: "Obama is a two-faced liar. Aw-RIGHT!"<p>By <a href="http://www.gregpalast.com">Greg Palast</a><br /></p><p>January 29, 2009</p> <p>Republicans are right. President Barack Obama treated them like dirt, didn't give a damn what they thought about his stimulus package, loaded it with a bunch of programs that will last for years and will never leave <img class="alignright" style="float: right;" src="http://www.gregpalast.com/images/TwoHeadedObama.jpg" alt="" height="140" width="270" />the budget, is giving away money disguised as "tax refunds," and is sneaking in huge changes in policy, from schools to health care, using the pretext of an economic emergency.</p> <p><em><strong>Way to go, Mr. O!</strong></em> Mr. Down-and-Dirty Chicago pol. Street-fightin' man. Covering over his break-you-face power play with a "we're all post-partisan friends" BS.</p> <p>And it's about time.</p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">(From www.gregpalast.com)</span><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/obama-is-a-two-faced-liar-aw-right/">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.<br /><br /></a></p><p><br /></p>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-948749628113472322009-01-15T12:43:00.000-08:002009-01-15T12:44:13.833-08:00THIS JUST IN: Israel Shells UN Headquarters in Gaza<p>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.</p> <p>Another Israeli bombardment on Thursday killed the Hamas security chief.</p> <p>U.N. workers and Palestinian firefighters, some wearing bulletproof jackets, struggled to douse the flames and pull bags of food from the debris after the Israeli attack, which was another blow to efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Dense smoke billowed from the compound.</p> <p>U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region to end the devastating offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers, demanded a "full explanation" and said the Israeli defense minister told him there had been a "grave mistake."</p> <p>Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who met with Ban later Thursday, said the military fired artillery shells at the U.N. compound after Hamas militants opened fire from the location. Three people were wounded.</p> <p>"It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it," he said. "I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry."</p> <p>The U.N. Security Council requested a briefing on the attack.</p> <p>Interior Minister Said Siam was killed in an Israeli airstrike that flattened a home in Gaza City. Israel and Hamas both confirmed the death of Siam, who oversaw thousands of security agents and was considered to be among the militant group's top five leaders in Gaza.</p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/15/israel-shells-un-headquar_n_158078.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.</span></a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-11405682684401457402009-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:002009-01-15T09:37:27.217-08:00Jimmy Carter's "An Unneccesary War" (REPOST from washingtonpost.com)<span style="font-size:+2;"><b>An Unnecessary War</b></span><br /><p><span style="font-size:-1;">By Jimmy Carter<br />Thursday, January 8, 2009; A15<br /></span></p><p>I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Click <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/07/AR2009010702645_pf.html">HERE</a> to read the rest of the article.</span><br /></p><p><br /></p>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-39421540416189285882009-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:002009-01-15T09:28:40.346-08:00Democracy Now's Gaza Debate Transcript from Jan 12th<span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" > <span style="font-style: italic;">For those of you who missed it:</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br />Former Clinton Special Counsel Lanny Davis vs. Israeli Professor Neve Gordon: A Debate on the Israeli Assault on Gaza </span><br /><br />Israel has poured thousands of reservists into Gaza as Israeli troops push deeper into Gaza City in the seventeenth day of fighting. Nearly 900 Palestinians have now died, including 275 children. Another 4,100 Palestinians have been injured. The Israeli death toll is at thirteen. We host a debate on the crisis with Lanny Davis, senior adviser to the Israel Project and the former special counsel to President Clinton, and with Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.<br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/12/fmr_clinton_special_counsel_lanny_davis"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TRANSCRIPT.</span></a></span><br /><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/12/fmr_clinton_special_counsel_lanny_davis" target="_blank"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></a></span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-26268681348345854052009-01-12T19:55:00.000-08:002009-01-12T19:58:04.976-08:00Op-Ed Piece from the NY Times re: Obama and AfghanistanThe Afghan Quagmire <div style="font-style: italic;" id="byline" class="byline">By BOB HERBERT</div> <div id="pubdate" class="timestamp">Published: January 6, 2009</div> <div id="summary" class="story"><br />"The time to go all out in Afghanistan was in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks. That time has passed...."</div><br />To read the full piece, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/opinion/06herbert.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink">click here.</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-51487691161327862012009-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:002009-01-07T15:32:31.398-08:00Author Ties Zionism to the Gaza Conflict<span style="font-weight:bold;">The Bloodbath In Gaza: Separating the Truth from the Hype</span><br />By Mike Whitney<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />"Bandits with planes ...<br />came through the sky to kill children<br />and the blood of children ran through the streets<br />without fuss, like children’s blood."</span><br />(Poem by Pablo Neruda)<br /><br />January 06, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" -- In a rare moment of honesty, the New York Times divulged the real motive behind the bombardment and invasion of Gaza. In Ethan Bronner's article, "Israel Weighs Goal: Ending Hamas Rule, Rocket fire, or Both", Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said, "We need to reach a situation in which we do not allow Hamas to govern. That is the most important thing. If the war ends in a draw, as expected, and Israel refrains from reoccupying Gaza, Hamas will gain diplomatic recognition...No matter what you call it, Hamas will obtain legitimacy.”<br /><br />According to the Times: "In addition, any truce would probably include an increase in commercial traffic from Israel and Egypt into Gaza, which is Hamas’s central demand: to end the economic boycott and border closing it has been facing. To build up the Gaza economy under Hamas, Israeli leaders say, would be to build up Hamas. Yet withholding the commerce would continue to leave 1.5 million Gazans living in despair." (Israel Weighs Goal: Ending Hamas Rule, Rocket fire, or Both; Ethan Bronner)<br /><br />To continue reading, click <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21663.htm">HERE</a>.Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-87676862770439830712009-01-07T08:10:00.000-08:002009-01-07T15:49:45.192-08:00Robert Scheer on Our Indifference to Gaza Death & DestructionI had to re-post this article, posted this morning at <a href="http://www.truthdig.org/">Truthdig</a>. Scheer really hits it on the head. The original post is <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090106_why_do_so_few_speak_up_for_gaza/">here</a>.<br /><br />Why do so few people speak up for Gaza?<br />Posted on Jan 6, 2009<br />By Robert Scheer<br /><br />Why are we so indifferent to the death and destruction in Gaza?<br /><br />The major news outlets meekly accepted Israel’s banning of journalists from entering Gaza as an excuse for downplaying collateral civilian casualties, our president-elect, Barack Obama, has had little to say about an invasion that will much complicate his future Mideast peace efforts, and most commentators easily rationalize Israel’s many-more-eyes-for-an-eye killings.<br /><br />Why is it that there is such widespread acceptance, beginning with the apologetic arguments of President Bush, that whatever Israel does is always justified as necessary to the survival of the Jewish state?<br /><br />It is not.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The story continues...</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Click </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090106_why_do_so_few_speak_up_for_gaza">HERE</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> to continue reading.</span>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-12034593964288350872009-01-06T16:23:00.000-08:002009-01-07T15:50:24.518-08:00Photos from Gaza (Warning: Some of these images are quite graphic.)Below is a series of photos taken recently in Gaza. We are hoping to find the photographer's name and location. These were passed on to us by a friend of Maui Peace Action.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fspectekula%2Falbumid%2F5288337689053975233%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-88996892340617526812009-01-05T20:11:00.000-08:002009-01-05T20:12:11.411-08:00Sign the Online Appeal to Stop the Attack on Gaza!!!Sign the Online Appeal from Ramsey Clark to Stop the Attack on Gaza! <br /><br />More than 500,000 messages have been sent to President Bush, President–Elect Obama, members of the U.S. Congress and Senate, UN officials and missions, Israeli officials and many media. Sign at <a href="www.iacenter.org/gazapetition/">www.iacenter.org/gazapetition/</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-70756449373128101632009-01-05T20:08:00.000-08:002009-01-05T20:10:52.947-08:00TruthOut.org's "Oral History of the Bush White House"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEY3M5a1hoTlavKv8sT5h3JFDRJgnDa4OPLRelh3SZH254LmCXG4vd92qYfciF2NX-bcB3yP9ZQRTNkT5flRkIU2FRycIBiWLxg9-Pdt0EBKKGhxfRuDEoEBs5-XabOZshstPuhO4-Px8/s1600-h/bushchristmas.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEY3M5a1hoTlavKv8sT5h3JFDRJgnDa4OPLRelh3SZH254LmCXG4vd92qYfciF2NX-bcB3yP9ZQRTNkT5flRkIU2FRycIBiWLxg9-Pdt0EBKKGhxfRuDEoEBs5-XabOZshstPuhO4-Px8/s320/bushchristmas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288028356013534322" /></a><br />"Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House"<br />Tuesday 30 December 2008<br />by: Cullen Murphy and Todd S. Purdum, Vanity Fair<br /><br />The threat of 9/11 ignored. The threat of Iraq hyped and manipulated. Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina. The shredding of civil liberties. The rise of Iran. Global warming. Economic disaster. How did one two-term presidency go so wrong? A sweeping draft of history - distilled from scores of interviews - offers fresh insight into the roles of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and other key players. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.truthout.org/123008T">Click here to get the play-by-play.</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-87092788026133432602008-12-31T09:05:00.001-08:002009-01-07T15:52:46.547-08:00New Year's Eve Potluck & Peace Sing-in at MOATO: MAUI PEACE ACTION & the Maui Interfaith-Community Peace Coalition<br />RE: Potluck and Peace Sing-in at the M.O.A. Center, 5-7pm December 31, a short get-together, early on New Year's Eve. Everyone's invited.<br /><br />The World Peace Sing project of Maui Peace Action (www.mauipeace.org ) will be celebrated and "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and lots of other songs sung at a potluck and peace-song "sing-in" and sing-out from just 5:00 to 7:00pm on New Years Eve at the M.O.A. center, 164 Kamehameha Ave., Kahului (next to the Christian Science church and 2 doors down from the Kahului Library. Please bring the family, any dish to share, your preferred non-alcoholic beverages, and if you'd like, an acoustic instrument &/or your favorite songs. The M.O.A. center will provide dishes and serving utensils. If you can't stay until 7, drop by for a bite and a song with us.<br /><br />Maui Peace Action and the Maui Peace Education Foundation thank all of our network of members and supporters for being part of our peace ohana between 2003 and 2008.<br /><br />Wishing you all peace and hope for our world in the new year, we are -<br />The Maui Peace Action and Maui Peace Education Foundation boards and steering committees.<br />---------------------------------------------<br />ANNOUNCEMENTS:<br />First meeting of 2009: Monday, Jan. 12, 6pm MCC Ka Lama 102. Peace projects for 2009 will be planned.<br />First activity of 2009: Walk with us in the Dr. Martin Luther King Day March, Monday, Jan. 19. Details to follow.<br />--------------------------------------------<br />Maui Peace Action is on the web at www.mauipeace.org, and our voice mail is 808 573-3255.Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-71494113654163820952008-12-30T09:44:00.000-08:002009-01-07T15:53:28.045-08:00Cynthia McKinney Peace Mission/Relief Boat Attacked by Israeli Military<span style="font-weight: bold;">McKinney relief boat hit by Israeli ship</span><br />By CRAIG SCHNEIDER<br />The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<br />Monday, December 29, 2008<br /><br />A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.<br /><br />The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.<br /><br />The boat, which set off from Cyprus Monday wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.<br /><br />“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”<br /><br />To read more, click here:<br /><a href="http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/12/29/cynthia_mckinney_gaza.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y">http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/12/29/cynthia_mckinney_gaza.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-6100874324648911662008-12-29T11:20:00.000-08:002009-01-07T15:54:28.811-08:00SHOES OF COMPREHENSIVE DESTRUCTIONTHE SHOES WE LONGED FOR: The young journalist who took on Bush has become a unifying Iraqi symbol, a national hero<br />by Sami Ramadani<br /><br />Within a few unlikely seconds, a pair of size 10 shoes have become the most destructive weapon the people of Iraq have managed to throw at the occupying powers, after nearly six years of occupation and formidable resistance. One Iraqi writer called the shoes, hurled by a journalist at George Bush, "Iraq's weapon of comprehensive destruction".<br /><br />While the uprisings of Falluja, Najaf, Basra and Baghdad against the occupation will always remain as landmarks of a people resisting occupation, these incredible seconds have united Iraqis in the most dramatic fashion.<br /><br />Contrary to most media coverage, the 28-year-old TV reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi made history not by merely throwing a pair of shoes, the highest expression of insult in Iraqi culture, at the US president, but by what he said while doing so and as he was smothered by US and Iraqi security men. He groaned as they dragged him out of the press conference. They succeeded in silencing him - and according to his brother he was beaten in custody - but he had already said enough to shake the occupation and Nouri al-Maliki's Green Zone regime to their foundations.<br /><br />Strip the words away, and his and the Iraqi people's cry of deep pain, anger and defiance would amount to no more than a shoe-throwing insult.<br /><br />But the words were heard. "This is the farewell kiss, you dog," he shouted as he threw the first shoe. The crucial line followed the second shoe: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."<br /><br />Once those words were heard, the impact of a pair of shoes became electrifying. A young journalist has put aside the demands of his profession, preferring to act as the loudest cry of his long-suffering people.<br /><br />If one considers the torture and killings in Iraqi and US jails that Muntadhar often mentioned in his reports for al-Baghdadia satellite TV station, he was certainly aware he risked being badly hurt.<br /><br />As the Iraqi and Arab satellite stations switched from the live press conference to reporting reaction to the event, the stunned presenters and reporters were swept away by popular expressions of joy in the streets, from Baghdad to Gaza to Casablanca. TV stations and media websites were inundated with messages of adulation.<br /><br />The instant reply to any criticism of "insulting a guest" was: "Bush is a mass murderer and a war criminal who sneaked into Baghdad. He killed a million Iraqis. He burned the country down."<br /><br />Expressions of support and demands for Muntadhar's immediate release have spread from Najaf and Falluja to Baghdad, and from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south. An impressive show of anti-occupation unity is developing fast, after being weakened by the sectarian forces that the occupation itself has strengthened and nourished, as Muntadhar himself used to stress.<br /><br />No one asked after Muntadhar's religion or sect, but they all loved his message. Indeed, I have yet to come across an Iraqi media outlet or website that pronounced on his religion, sect or ethnicity.<br /><br />The first I heard of his "sect" was through US and British media.<br /><br />The reality is that Muntadhar is a secular socialist whose hero happens to be Che Guevara. He became a prominent leftwing student leader immediately after the occupation, while at Baghdad University's media college. He reported for al-Baghdadia on the poor and downtrodden victims of the US war. He was first on the scene in Sadr City and wherever people suffered violence or severe deprivation. He not only followed US Apache helicopters' trails of death and destruction, but he was also among the first to report every "sectarian" atrocity and the bombing of popular market places. He let the victims talk first.<br /><br />It was effective journalism, reporting that the victims of violence themselves accused the US-led occupation of being behind all the carnage. He was a voice that could not be silenced, despite being kidnapped by a gang and arrested by US and regime forces.<br /><br />His passion for the war's victims and his staunchly anti-occupation message endeared him to al-Baghdadia viewers.<br /><br />And after sending Bush out of Iraq in ignominy he has become a formidable national hero. The orphan who was brought up by his aunt, and whose name means the longed or awaited for, has become a powerful unifying symbol of defiance, and is being adopted by countless Iraqis as "our dearest son".<br /><br />* * *<br />Provided by <a href="http://www.rightsaction.org">RightsAction.org</a>Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4657343899016558685.post-65201988369865693772008-12-23T16:50:00.000-08:002008-12-23T16:51:51.133-08:00New Year's Eve Potluck & Peace Sing-in at MOATO: MAUI PEACE ACTION & the Maui Interfaith-Community Peace Coalition<br />RE: Potluck and Peace Sing-in at the M.O.A. Center, 5-7pm December 31, a short get-together, early on New Year's Eve. Everyone's invited.<br /> <br />The World Peace Sing project of Maui Peace Action (www.mauipeace.org ) will be celebrated and "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and lots of other songs sung at a potluck and peace-song "sing-in" and sing-out from just 5:00 to 7:00pm on New Years Eve at the M.O.A. center, 164 Kamehameha Ave., Kahului (next to the Christian Science church and 2 doors down from the Kahului Library. Please bring the family, any dish to share, your preferred non-alcoholic beverages, and if you'd like, an acoustic instrument &/or your favorite songs. The M.O.A. center will provide dishes and serving utensils. If you can't stay until 7, drop by for a bite and a song with us. <br /> <br />Maui Peace Action and the Maui Peace Education Foundation thank all of our network of members and supporters for being part of our peace ohana between 2003 and 2008. <br /><br />Wishing you all peace and hope for our world in the new year, we are -<br />The Maui Peace Action and Maui Peace Education Foundation boards and steering committees.<br />---------------------------------------------<br />ANNOUNCEMENTS:<br />First meeting of 2009: Monday, Jan. 12, 6pm MCC Ka Lama 102. Peace projects for 2009 will be planned.<br />First activity of 2009: Walk with us in the Dr. Martin Luther King Day March, Monday, Jan. 19. Details to follow.<br />--------------------------------------------<br />Maui Peace Action is on the web at www.mauipeace.org, and our voice mail is<br />808 573-3255.<br />Mission Statement: Maui Peace Action is a diverse group of citizens<br />committed to ho'omaluhia (making peace). We encourage disarmament through<br />peaceful international cooperation, protest pre-emptive aggression, promote<br />nonviolent solutions to world conflict, and educate for social justice.<br />(To unsubscribe from this list, reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject.)Spectekulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16445623442428868725noreply@blogger.com0