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Gary Leupp: Dropping the AIPAC Spying Case

Sat, 02 May 2009 21:54:08 -0700

From the page: "Last month an indignant official in the Justice Department, thinking, "Oh no, they're going to dismiss this case," decided to leak the Jane Harman transcripts to Jeff Stein just so to educate the public, in the absence of a trial, about how politics work in this country. Rosen, Weissman, Harman, and Gonzalez all walk free as AIPAC gears up for its annual conference (with Harman a featured speaker) and for a campaign around passage of HR 1985 (the "Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act") which, despite its name, is all about provoking war."

Cuba - synchronized swimming

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:43:33 -0700

Click on the pic to see the photo set of my trip to Cuba. The people of Cuba seem a little camera shy so you won't see too many faces in these pics but they are a warm and generous people. The architecture is amazing and the beaches are among the best in the world. If you go to Cuba make sure you see the Havana Tropicana, and see the amazing art in the markets. The government supports the arts (and free health care) and I promise you that if you visit the markets you will see paintings and sculptures that the 'Group of Seven' would have been jealous of. Incidently their cars are 1950's classics with modern engines and they're in mint condition. Visit Cuba if you get a chance. I was there for two weeks and I was a bit sad when I had to leave.
Cuba Libre!

I was taking this photo of a statue when suddenly a boy went up to the statue and started talking to it. Just as quickly his mother called him away and I wasn't sure if I caught it on film. Luckily it turned out that I did. My friends and I couldn't stop laughing at this. (click on the pic to see more and click on the video below to see a sample of the Cuban dance and synchronized swimming that I recorded at the beautiful Blau resort)

Canadian Judge Upholds Government Decision to Bar British MP George Galloway on National Security Grounds

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:44:00 -0700

Canadian Judge Upholds Government Decision to Bar British MP George Galloway on National Security Grounds

A Canadian judge has upheld the Canadian government’s decision last month to ban the outspoken British lawmaker George Galloway from entering the country for a speaking tour. Canadian officials say they banned Galloway on national security grounds, saying he provided financial support to Hamas, the Palestinian political party which was elected in January 2006 and controls the Gaza Strip. [click on the pic to read of watch Amy Goodman's interview with banned politician George Galloway]

& The artist with the feather-light touch who paints on discarded swan plumes&-&Onlineweblibrary BLOG

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:07:40 -0700

Cool! Art on swan feathers.

Canada bans George Galloway on grounds of national security | Mail Online

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:43:17 -0700

This is the nuttiest government Canada ever had. What is happening to Canada and free speech? Students are being fined for criticizing Israel. British politicians are being called "terrrorist" for opposing war. American soldiers are not allowed to seek asylum in Canada.� "We" go to war but we won't bring in the draft. We are taking democracy for granted and we're getting lazy.

From the page: "George Galloway has been barred from Canada on national security grounds.

The outspoken MP, who opposes the war in Afghanistan where Canadian troops are deployed, was due to make a speech in Toronto on March 30."
(click on the pic for the whole article)

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:38:51 -0700

�� Remember Rachel Corrie
��

We thank all who continue to remember Rachel and who, on this sixth anniversary of her stand in Gaza, renew their own commitments to human rights, justice and peace in the Middle East. The tributes and actions in her memory are a source of inspiration to us and to others.

Friday, March 13th, we learned of the tragic injury to American activist Tristan Anderson. Tristan was shot in the head with a tear-gas canister in Ni'lin Village in the West Bank when Israeli forces attacked a demonstration opposing the construction of the annexation wall through the village's land. On the same day, a Ni'lin resident was, also, shot in the leg with live ammunition.

(click on the pic to read more)

Truthdig - Reports - Obama's Coalition of the Unwilling

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:53:09 -0800

From the page:
"President Barack Obama met recently with the prime ministers of Canada and Britain. This week's meeting with Britain's Gordon Brown, who was pitching a "global New Deal," created a minor flap when the White House downsized a full news conference to an Oval Office question-and-answer session, viewed by some in Britain as a snub. The change was attributed to the weather, with the Rose Garden covered with snow.

It might have actually related not to snow cover, but to a snow job, covering up the growing divide between Afghanistan policies."

Avi Lewis: Canada needs Al Jazeera | rabble.ca

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:32:12 -0800

Here is Avi Lewis, former host of counterSpin. This was my favourite Canadian news program until it was canceled by the CBC. Now he's working for Al Jazeera. Click on the pic to see why he thinks Canada needs Al Jazeera.

Cynthia McKinney: Ruminations on President Obama's Tenure Thus Far and "Acceptable Punditry" 3/2/09 & OntheWilderSide

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:24:48 -0800

From the page:
"Durban was a clear victory for the world's marginalized peoples, including those of us who reside inside the United States. But, when the Congressional Delegation returned to the U.S., there was no time for celebration because the tragedy of September 11, 2001 unfolded.

What has happened in the interim has devastated the very people that Durban was designed to address, unfortunately, much of it due to U.S. policy. Now is not the time for the United States to shrink from this call.

In order to prevail in Durban, I had to go toe to toe with the Anti-Defamation League and Members of Congress Tom Lantos and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who, among many other Members of Congress, vociferously denounced Durban. This was something that I did because I felt it was the right thing to do. Given Israel's recent actions in Gaza that have brought upon it the world's opprobrium, I can imagine that this is the last point in time that Israel might want to revisit Durban. Israel has said that it will not attend the Conference in Geneva.

Early last year, a government official announced Canada's decision to not attend Durban II after deeming the Conference to be anti-Israel. Shortly afterwards, France followed suit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy stating that the "excesses of 2001" transformed the Conference "into an intolerable platform against the State of Israel." I would note also that France must be particularly loath to discuss racism now with what is happening in Guadeloupe and Martinique as I write this piece. And remembering that Paris, itself, was literally on fire just a few years ago.

The UK, which has been under severe racial tests with Asians rebelling openly in the streets since Durban 2001, and the Netherlands have both threatened to withdraw their support for the Conference if a "negative spiral" of events takes place. Interestingly, these remarks came at the same time as the release of a European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance report which found that the tone of Dutch political and public debate on immigrant integration, racism, and other issues relevant to ethnic minorities, had experienced a "dramatic deterioration."

So, we shouldn't be surprised that the racism stress test is revealing cracks and fissures in human relations. But the United States and President Obama should not shield them or this country from these stresses. This Conference gives us the opportunity to get the issues out in the open and to deal with them. That's the way to put them to an end. The world might have changed because of events occurring in September 2001, but it wasn�t because the United Nations successfully convened the World Conference Against Racism."

(click on the link above for the entire article)

Tariq Ali: Sri Lankas cricket team were attacked to show Washington that Pakistan is ungovernable | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:55:24 -0800

From the page: "The appalling terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan had one aim: to demonstrate to Washington that the country is ungovernable. This is the first time that cricketers have been targeted in a land where the sport is akin to religion. It marks the death of international cricket in Pakistan for the indefinite future, but not just that, which is bad enough. The country's future is looking more and more precarious. We do not know which particular group carried out this attack, but its identity is hardly relevant. The fact is that it took place at a time when three interrelated events had angered a large bulk of the country and provided succour to extremist groups and their patrons.

The first is undoubtedly the foolish decision by Washington (backed by Britain) to send more troops to Afghanistan, which has now united all those resisting them in that country and the North-West Frontier province of Pakistan. Instead of searching for a viable exit strategy, Obama has gone for a surge. On several occasions, I have warned that escalating the war in Afghanistan could seriously destabilise Pakistan and its army.

Second, Senator Dianne Feinstein's revelation that the US drones being
used to target "militants" and "terrorist havens" inside Pakistan were, in fact, being despatched by the US from military and air-force bases inside Pakistan (obviously, with the approval of the Pakistani military and civilian leaders) created mayhem in the country. The shock and dismay should not be underestimated. Half-hearted government denials further fanned the flames. Since many in the country regard Zardari and his cronies running the country as US drones, the anger was multiplied."
(Click on the link to read more)