By BOB HERBERT December 30, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?
You don’t hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.
We’re still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel is thrashing the Palestinians in Gaza. And the U.S. economy is about as vibrant as the 0-16 Detroit Lions.
But hardly a peep have we heard from George, the 43rd.
When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country.
This is the man who gave us the war in Iraq and Guantánamo and torture and rendition; who turned the Clinton economy and the budget surplus into fool’s gold; who dithered while New Orleans drowned; who trampled our civil liberties at home and ruined our reputation abroad; who let Dick Cheney run hog wild and thought Brownie was doing a heckuva job.
The Bush administration specialized in deceit. How else could you get the public (and a feckless Congress) to go along with an invasion of Iraq as an absolutely essential response to the Sept. 11 attacks, when Iraq had had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks?
Exploiting the public’s understandable fears, Mr. Bush made it sound as if Iraq was about to nuke us: “We cannot wait,” he said, “for the final proof — the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”
He then set the blaze that has continued to rage for nearly six years, consuming more than 4,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. (A car bomb over the weekend killed two dozen more Iraqis, many of them religious pilgrims.) The financial cost to the U.S. will eventually reach $3 trillion or more, according to the Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz.
A year into the war Mr. Bush was cracking jokes about it at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association. He displayed a series of photos that showed him searching the Oval Office, peering behind curtains and looking under the furniture. A mock caption had Mr. Bush saying: “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere.”
And then there’s the Bush economy, another disaster, a trapdoor through which middle-class Americans can plunge toward the bracing experiences normally reserved for the poor and the destitute.
Mr. Bush traveled the country in the early days of his presidency, promoting his tax cut plans as hugely beneficial to small-business people and families of modest means. This was more deceit. The tax cuts would go overwhelmingly to the very rich.
The president would give the wealthy and the powerful virtually everything they wanted. He would throw sand into the regulatory apparatus and help foster the most extreme income disparities since the years leading up to the Great Depression. Once again he was lighting a fire. This time the flames would engulf the economy and, as with Iraq, bring catastrophe.
If the U.S. were a product line, it would be seen now as deeply damaged goods, subject to recall.
There seemed to be no end to Mr. Bush’s talent for destruction. He tried to hand the piggy bank known as Social Security over to the marauders of the financial sector, but saner heads prevailed.
In New Orleans, the president failed to intervene swiftly and decisively to aid the tens of thousands of poor people who were very publicly suffering and, in many cases, dying. He then compounded this colossal failure of leadership by traveling to New Orleans and promising, in a dramatic, floodlit appearance, to spare no effort in rebuilding the flood-torn region and the wrecked lives of the victims.
He went further, vowing to confront the issue of poverty in America “with bold action.”
It was all nonsense, of course. He did nothing of the kind.
The catalog of his transgressions against the nation’s interests — sins of commission and omission — would keep Mr. Bush in a confessional for the rest of his life. Don’t hold your breath. He’s hardly the contrite sort.
He told ABC’s Charlie Gibson: “I don’t spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don’t worry about long-term history, either, since I’m not going to be around to read it.”
The president chuckled, thinking — as he did when he made his jokes about the missing weapons of mass destruction — that there was something funny going on.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
LOS ANGELES CALIF USA PEACE PROTEST TODAY 3 PM INCLUDES JEWS FOR PEACE
LA Jews for Peace & CodePink: California Peace Demonstraion
Tuesday, December 30th, 3:00pm-5:30pm
CODEPINK joins LA Jews for Peace for a Demonstration to Protest the Israeli Siege of Gaza
Westwood Federal Building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue
Join LA Jews for Peace and CODEPINK at the Westwood Federal Building on the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue as we call for an immediate end to the violence in Gaza. As of this writing, over 350 Palestinians have been killed and 1500 wounded in the Israeli bombardment. A humanitarian crisis is brewing due to the lack of medical supplies, food, electricity and proper facilities to care for the homeless and wounded. The UN Secretary General and the Swiss Government have called the offensive a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel's brutality was given approval by the US government--join your fellow citizens to tell our legislators that their constituents refuse to sanction Israel's flouting of international law and the violence it has unleashed in Gaza.
Please RSVP to Audrey (codepinkla@gmail.com) if you will join us in action!
***Three-hour visitor parking is available in the Federal Building lot.***
Tuesday, December 30th, 3:00pm-5:30pm
CODEPINK joins LA Jews for Peace for a Demonstration to Protest the Israeli Siege of Gaza
Westwood Federal Building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue
Join LA Jews for Peace and CODEPINK at the Westwood Federal Building on the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue as we call for an immediate end to the violence in Gaza. As of this writing, over 350 Palestinians have been killed and 1500 wounded in the Israeli bombardment. A humanitarian crisis is brewing due to the lack of medical supplies, food, electricity and proper facilities to care for the homeless and wounded. The UN Secretary General and the Swiss Government have called the offensive a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel's brutality was given approval by the US government--join your fellow citizens to tell our legislators that their constituents refuse to sanction Israel's flouting of international law and the violence it has unleashed in Gaza.
Please RSVP to Audrey (codepinkla@gmail.com) if you will join us in action!
***Three-hour visitor parking is available in the Federal Building lot.***
Aljazeera Updating with Photos, Videos, Reports on FEW US Protests
Peace Actions for Gaza
Mid-morning Saturday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of deadly air strikes on the occupied Gaza Strip. As we write this, an estimated 275 (when posted well over 350)people have been killed. Hundreds (may be up to 1,000 by Tuesday)of innocent people have been wounded. According to news reports today, Israel plans to keep these attacks going and has brought scores of tanks to the border with Gaza.
These Israeli attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip which has been going on for years and has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life. All of this is happening in the most densely populated and one of the poorest areas of the world.
Israel is carrying out these attacks with F-16 fighter jets and missiles provided by U.S. taxpayers. From 2001-2006, the United States transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F-16's. In July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel. Last year, the United States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and 'bunker buster' missiles.
Israel's lethal attack on the Gaza Strip could not have happened without the active military and political support of the United States. We need to take action now to protest this attack and demand an immediate cease-fire.
Peace Action is a proud member of United for Peace and Justice along with The U.S. Campaign to End the Israel Occupation. They have issued an action alert with these suggestions -- we urge you to take action today!
1. Contact the White House to protest the attacks and demand an immediate cease-fire. Call 202-456-1111 or send an email to comments@whitehouse.gov.
2. Contact the State Department at 202-647-6575.
3. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121.
4. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor.
5. Organize a local protest or vigil and tell us about it by clicking here
Background Information
Below are three articles you may want to read for background information and reports on the Gaza crisis.
'If Gaza Falls...', Sara Roy, Professor at Harvard's Center For Middle Eastern Studies and author of 'Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'.
Go here
'Order: Gaza Massacres Must Spur Us To Action', Ali Abunimah, Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of 'One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse' (Metropolitan Books, 2006).
'Report on Gaza', Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Update December 22, 2008. Go
here
Sincerely, Kevin M. Martin - Executive Director - Peace Action
These Israeli attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip which has been going on for years and has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life. All of this is happening in the most densely populated and one of the poorest areas of the world.
Israel is carrying out these attacks with F-16 fighter jets and missiles provided by U.S. taxpayers. From 2001-2006, the United States transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F-16's. In July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel. Last year, the United States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and 'bunker buster' missiles.
Israel's lethal attack on the Gaza Strip could not have happened without the active military and political support of the United States. We need to take action now to protest this attack and demand an immediate cease-fire.
Peace Action is a proud member of United for Peace and Justice along with The U.S. Campaign to End the Israel Occupation. They have issued an action alert with these suggestions -- we urge you to take action today!
1. Contact the White House to protest the attacks and demand an immediate cease-fire. Call 202-456-1111 or send an email to comments@whitehouse.gov.
2. Contact the State Department at 202-647-6575.
3. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121.
4. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor.
5. Organize a local protest or vigil and tell us about it by clicking here
Background Information
Below are three articles you may want to read for background information and reports on the Gaza crisis.
'If Gaza Falls...', Sara Roy, Professor at Harvard's Center For Middle Eastern Studies and author of 'Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'.
Go here
'Order: Gaza Massacres Must Spur Us To Action', Ali Abunimah, Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of 'One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse' (Metropolitan Books, 2006).
'Report on Gaza', Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Update December 22, 2008. Go
here
Sincerely, Kevin M. Martin - Executive Director - Peace Action
More from Gaza Strip (Young Journalist) Find Videos/Photos/Contact Info here
Monday, December 29, 2008
Find Videos & much more on this 23 year-old Gazan's site!
***
"I Heard the Missile Coming"
GAZA CITY — Ali Abu-Fatahi will never forget the terrifying sound of a missile fired by an Israeli warplane as it zoomed in on his house.
"I was having my dinner when I heard the missile's whistle," a helpless Abu-Fatahi told IslamOnline.net from his bed at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
In just seconds, the missile hit his family's house in the Dir Al-Balah City, razing it to the ground.
"I flew in the sky and then I found myself lying on the floor at our neighbors' house," he recalled the harrowing moments with tears flashing in his eyes.
Abu-Fatahi can't remember what happened next.
* Gaza Holocaust Museum
* Killed in Cradle
He woke up with head injuries. It was later that he knew that all his 15 family members who were in the house were also hospitalized.
"All my family members were hit."
At least 345 people were killed and more than 1,650 wounded since Israel blitzed the Gaza Strip with massive air strikes on Saturday, December 27.
The aggression against the impoverished seaside territory, the world's most densely populated area, continued on Sunday, killing scores of Palestinians and wounding hundreds.
From his bed, Abu-Fatahi can hear his traumatized brother, Mahmoud, screaming.
He is still suffering from the shock of seeing his neighbors torn into pieces by the killer bombing.
"My sister who is only 2 is in another room."
Mass Grave
Across Gaza, many are still frantically looking for bodies of their beloved ones under the rubbles. (Reuters)Across Gaza, many are still frantically looking for bodies of their beloved ones under the rubbles. (Reuters)
The battered Gaza Strip has turned into a mass grave.
The scene of people screaming in grief while taking their family members to burial is repeated over and over.
Civil defense forces are desperately trying to help people moving the corpses found buried under the rubbles of flattened buildings.
"We have dug out many bodies with no legs or heads," a civil defense officer told IOL.
In mass funeral processions, formed outside almost every Gaza house, the sound of Qur'an recitation is mixed with the distant sound of explosions.
The wailing of the grief-stricken and prayers for the departed are mixed with calls for reprisal.
Other Gazans, however, are still frantically looking for their beloved ones among the dead bodies.
"My sons have left the house at 10 am. I went to search for them in all hospitals but in vain," a shocked Om Ahmed Abu-Aqal said, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Her sons were among scores of people inside one of the security compounds bombed out on Saturday.
"I came here to see if they are alive or dead under the rubbles of this building," said the weeping mother.
"I need to know what happened to them, where are they? Anyone tells me."
Sameh A. Habeeb, B.A.
Photojournalist & Peace Activist
Humanitarian, Child Relief Worker
Gaza Strip, Palestine
Mob: 00972599306096
Tel: 0097282802825
E-mail: Sam_hab@hotmail.com
Sameh.habeeb@gmail.com
Skype: Gazatoday, Facebook: Sameh A. habeeb
Web: www.gazatoday.blogspot.com
Daily Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb
Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 11:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: Gaza conflict is a proxy war: From Gaza to Rome
Find Videos & much more on this 23 year-old Gazan's site!
***
"I Heard the Missile Coming"
GAZA CITY — Ali Abu-Fatahi will never forget the terrifying sound of a missile fired by an Israeli warplane as it zoomed in on his house.
"I was having my dinner when I heard the missile's whistle," a helpless Abu-Fatahi told IslamOnline.net from his bed at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
In just seconds, the missile hit his family's house in the Dir Al-Balah City, razing it to the ground.
"I flew in the sky and then I found myself lying on the floor at our neighbors' house," he recalled the harrowing moments with tears flashing in his eyes.
Abu-Fatahi can't remember what happened next.
* Gaza Holocaust Museum
* Killed in Cradle
He woke up with head injuries. It was later that he knew that all his 15 family members who were in the house were also hospitalized.
"All my family members were hit."
At least 345 people were killed and more than 1,650 wounded since Israel blitzed the Gaza Strip with massive air strikes on Saturday, December 27.
The aggression against the impoverished seaside territory, the world's most densely populated area, continued on Sunday, killing scores of Palestinians and wounding hundreds.
From his bed, Abu-Fatahi can hear his traumatized brother, Mahmoud, screaming.
He is still suffering from the shock of seeing his neighbors torn into pieces by the killer bombing.
"My sister who is only 2 is in another room."
Mass Grave
Across Gaza, many are still frantically looking for bodies of their beloved ones under the rubbles. (Reuters)Across Gaza, many are still frantically looking for bodies of their beloved ones under the rubbles. (Reuters)
The battered Gaza Strip has turned into a mass grave.
The scene of people screaming in grief while taking their family members to burial is repeated over and over.
Civil defense forces are desperately trying to help people moving the corpses found buried under the rubbles of flattened buildings.
"We have dug out many bodies with no legs or heads," a civil defense officer told IOL.
In mass funeral processions, formed outside almost every Gaza house, the sound of Qur'an recitation is mixed with the distant sound of explosions.
The wailing of the grief-stricken and prayers for the departed are mixed with calls for reprisal.
Other Gazans, however, are still frantically looking for their beloved ones among the dead bodies.
"My sons have left the house at 10 am. I went to search for them in all hospitals but in vain," a shocked Om Ahmed Abu-Aqal said, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Her sons were among scores of people inside one of the security compounds bombed out on Saturday.
"I came here to see if they are alive or dead under the rubbles of this building," said the weeping mother.
"I need to know what happened to them, where are they? Anyone tells me."
Sameh A. Habeeb, B.A.
Photojournalist & Peace Activist
Humanitarian, Child Relief Worker
Gaza Strip, Palestine
Mob: 00972599306096
Tel: 0097282802825
E-mail: Sam_hab@hotmail.com
Sameh.habeeb@gmail.com
Skype: Gazatoday, Facebook: Sameh A. habeeb
Web: www.gazatoday.blogspot.com
Daily Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb
Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 11:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: Gaza conflict is a proxy war: From Gaza to Rome
"No Hamas building will be left after Gaza blitz" Israel Military
Published on ABS-CBN News Online Beta (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com)
Agence France-Presse | 12/29/2008 10:54 PM
JERUSALEM - Israel vowed on Monday to raze every single Hamas structure in the Gaza Strip during its ongoing blitz of the Palestinian enclave ruled by the Islamist movement.
"After this operation there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza, and we plan to change the rules of the game," said armed forces deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Dan Harel, quoted by YNet News.
"We are hitting not only terrorists and launchers, but also the whole Hamas government and all its wings," Harel told leaders of Israeli communities that are within range of the rockets fired by Gaza militants.
"We are hitting government buildings, production factories, security wings and more," he said.
At least 320 Palestinians were killed in three days of air strikes on targets in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Two Israelis were killed by rocket fire from Gaza in the same period.
Harel warned that was just the beginning. "The worst is not behind us, it is still ahead of us," he said ominously.
Copyright © 2008 ABS-CBN Interactive All rights reserved.
Source URL: here
Agence France-Presse | 12/29/2008 10:54 PM
JERUSALEM - Israel vowed on Monday to raze every single Hamas structure in the Gaza Strip during its ongoing blitz of the Palestinian enclave ruled by the Islamist movement.
"After this operation there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza, and we plan to change the rules of the game," said armed forces deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Dan Harel, quoted by YNet News.
"We are hitting not only terrorists and launchers, but also the whole Hamas government and all its wings," Harel told leaders of Israeli communities that are within range of the rockets fired by Gaza militants.
"We are hitting government buildings, production factories, security wings and more," he said.
At least 320 Palestinians were killed in three days of air strikes on targets in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Two Israelis were killed by rocket fire from Gaza in the same period.
Harel warned that was just the beginning. "The worst is not behind us, it is still ahead of us," he said ominously.
Copyright © 2008 ABS-CBN Interactive All rights reserved.
Source URL: here
Will the next move depend on the Outcry of the World Citizens? Gaza Updates: Various with Video & Photos
from Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Monday) See the item from Bitter Lemons below the Australian & McKinney articles... What will happen next? Maybe it's largely up to the World Community of peace? How about doing a candlelight vigil in your community on New Year's Eve or Day...a silent one pleading for peace for both Israel & Palestine with one simple peace-making sign may be the most powerful way we can reach our hands across the miles...send your peace-making photos to the major media outlets - especially & including the middle east media...
here
PHOTO: Third day of air raids: An Israeli bomb explodes during an air strike in Gaza on Monday [AFP: Jack Guez]
Find more updated videos & other items at here and find much more here on One Heart for Peace, positiveuniverse dot com, Al-Jazeera, Electronic Intifada, Marjoriecohn dot com and keep coming back...
Article from Australia: updated from Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:01:00 +1100 Australia Network News
Witnesses and Hamas sources in the Gaza Strip say Israeli warplanes have carried out dozens of night-time air strikes, targeting ministry buildings and security service installations.
The director of Gaza's emergency services say at least 10 more Palestinians were killed and 40 injured. Earlier, United Nations staff said the death toll had reached 320, with more than 1,400 injured.
Egypt has allowed some trucks laden with medical aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, and Israel has also been letting some relief supplies through.
Despite the arrival of some humanitarian aid, crucial medical supplies are still running short and Gaza's hospitals are overwhelmed. The UN official in charge of humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, says much more is needed.
"These supplies are better than nothing but they remain wholly inadequate," he said.
"It's vital that these crossings remain open, whatever the level of violence, and we'll be looking to Israel to uphold the promises it's made in this regard in the coming days, whatever the level of violence might be."
A number of world leaders have urged Israel to cease its attacks immediately.
Australian acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the government is deeply disturbed by the resumption of violence in the region.
"We unreservedly condemn the shelling of southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups and whilst we recognise Israel's right to defend itself we strongly support the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to all violence," she told the ABC.
********
Entire Hamas government being targeted
Earlier, a senior Israeli military officer said Israel was striking at the entire Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli military's deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Dan Harel said not single Hamas building would be left standing in Gaza when the attack was over.
"After this operation there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza, and we plan to change the rules of the game," he told the YNet News website.
"We are hitting not only terrorists and launchers, but also the whole Hamas Government and all its wings."
As air attacks continued on Monday, Israel defended its actions and blamed Hamas for using civilians as human shields.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said Israel is in an "all-out war against Hamas and its kind."
But UN aid workers say they are deeply worried about the risks to civilians as the air strikes continue.
Gaza medics say at least a dozen civilians were killed in several Israeli raids on Monday, including about six who died in an air strike on on the home of a senior Hamas militant in northern Gaza.
As bad weather closed in on Gaza on Monday night, making operations more difficult for Israeli aircraft, Palestinian militants fired more rocket salvos across the border, killing three Israeli civilians.
One Arab-Israeli man was killed and another eight people wounded, three seriously, when a rocket hit a building site in the southern city of Ashkelon.
The second fatality was at the Nahal Oz kibbutz just north of the border with the Gaza Strip, medics said, while an Israeli woman died of wounds received after a rocket hit a railyard in the town of Ashdod.
The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the Ashkelon attack, saying it had fired "three Grad-type rockets".
Military build-up
The Israeli Government has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza and declared the region around the territory a "closed military zone".
Tanks and other ground forces remain poised on the border for a possible ground invasion.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says he is "deeply alarmed" by the escalation of violence and has condemned both the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and the Israeli air strikes.
"Both Israel and Hamas must halt their acts of violence and take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties," he said.
The White House says the US wants a "sustainable" ceasefire in Gaza and insists that the onus is on Hamas to first stop its rocket attacks on Israel.
**********
CMcKinney relief boat (allegedly) rammed by Israeli navy
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER 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.
The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.
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.
“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.”
She called on President-elect Obama to address the Gaza crisis, saying the weapons being used by Israel were supplied by the United States.
She denied that the incident was an accident, caused whent he captain of the Dignity tried to maneuver past the Israeli blockade. “What the Israelis are saying is outright disinformation,” she said. “What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission, but not our cause.”
In a press release, the Free Gaza movement stated, “Contrary to international maritime law, the Israelis are actively preventing the Dignity from approaching Gaza or finding safe haven in either Egypt or Lebanon. Instead, the Israeli navy is demanding that the Dignity return to Cyprus — despite the fact that the ship does not carry enough fuel to do so.”
McKinney is a high-profile member of a boatload of activists that set sail Monday from Cyprus to deliver medicine to war-torn Gaza.
McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for president, sees the voyage as a humanitarian mission, said her father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney.
“Her mother did not want her to go,” he said, referring to concerns at home for her safety. “But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them.”
The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said their 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and three tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.
Israel’s aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued for a third day on Monday. By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.
McKinney had sent an e-mail days ago to friends and supporters saying she intended to go to Gaza, said Hugh Esco, a Decatur resident who ran her presidential campaign Web site.
“She has stood with people all over this planet against oppression,” said Esco.
McKinney said she will petition President-elect Barack Obama to speak out against the attacks on Gaza.
The Free Gaza group has made five deliveries of aid by boat to Gaza since August, defying a blockade imposed by Israel when Hamas won control of the territory in June 2007. Organizers say they are aware they may be stopped this time.
“I don’t know if she’ll get off the boat,” her father said. “I hope she gets back safely.” — The Associated Press contributed to this report. More on ajc dot com
*****
If you haven't already subscribed, check out our Middle East Roundtable. For a free subscription, go to bitterlemons-international dot org. (look for the Op Eds below at the same address or simply google bitterlemons)
War in Gaza Limited strategic objectives by Yossi Alpher
Under the best of circumstances, this operation will not solve our Hamas problem.
War crimes in Gaza put PA in awkward place by Ghassan Khatib
The Israeli attack on Gaza is strengthening Hamas politically and increasing public support and sympathy for the movement - Replaying the 2006 Lebanon War by Yisrael Harel
Israel's reticence to deploy ground forces will generate a very negative outcome.
An Israeli trap for Hamas by Mkhaimar Abusada - Military operations are like snowballs: the more momentum they gather the bigger they become.
***********
here
Interview with GTMO Whistleblower Not unrelated to what's happening in GAZA! (Torture & Inhumane treatment at GTMO, Abu Ghraib, the CIA Gulag Archipelago of disappearances, cells in Afghanistan, Egypt, Poland, Diego Garcia, Morocco, Syria & around the world is not without much earlier precedent & is NOT removed from Israeli/CIA & USA Cheney's advise and cooperation as well as training...Go here
More on the Gaza Massacre (check back for more here):
here
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