Monday, June 6, 2011

Karama.Org/PYA Canada: Summer in Denmark for Palestinian Children



https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=03422de4af&view=att&th=1303d57e826e9315&attid=0.0.1&disp=inline&zw

Annica Mårtensson (from Tvind School, Denmark) is organizing the 4th international summer camp in Denmark for a group of young people from www.karama.org based in Deheishe Camp, outside Bethlehem, West Bank.  
10 young people and 2 adults will go to Denmark for 3 weeks in July. They are trying to raise funds so young refugees from Palestine can participate in an International Summer Camp at Tvind School Center [www.tvind.dk]

PYA Canada is helping raise $700 (3.500 Dkr) by end of this month to help support one young child from Palestine to participate in this summer camp. This one experience can change their lives, encourage them and motivate them for better future. 

Anyone can donate via paypal to pya.canada@gmail.com - we can reach our goal if 140 people donate ONLY $5. Please donate in CAD to ensure that we receive your entire amount.

Please spread the message and write to Annica Mårtensson directly at annica@tvind.dk if you're interested in supporting the project or would like more information.

If you want to donate in person or via online banking - please email pya.canada@gmail.com for more info.

Here you can also see a small movie from the first summer camp in 2007:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2265404996758575578#



We need support to make this project possible, and therefore contact anyone who might be interested. There are many different ways in which you can involve yourself, such as:

  • Giving donations – contributions of all sizes are most welcome! (In total we need more than 12.000 Euros
  • Make a collection in your local area to raise money for the project. 
  • Help with good ideas to how we can raise the missing money.
  • Spread information about the project among all of your friends and contacts.
  •  Join the camp as a volunteer




PYA Canada
Sana Khan
pya.canada@gmail.com 


PYA Canada is helping raise $700 (3.500 Dkr) by end of this month to help support one young refugee from Palestine to participate in this summer camp. Donate via paypal (pya.canada@gmail.com) – we can reach our goal if 140 people donate ONLY $5.

 

Annica Mårtensson
Skolecentret på Tvind
annica@tvind.dk
PH: 20352382



 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Ken O’Keefe: Announcing the Gaza to Ireland Youth Exchange

Ken O’Keefe: Announcing the Gaza to Ireland Youth Exchange

Our success will be measured in smiles and laughter and the building of bonds akin to creating a cherished extended family and we will succeed.

I have wanted to do this for years, giving serious motivation to youth workers in an attempt to make it happen, trying through volunteers to get a program written up and funding to make it so. But with all that I was doing I simply had not managed to secure the right partners and funding, until now that is.

Myself and my partners are now entered into an agreement in principle with Mr. Maamon Hashem Khozendar, a prominent businessman and philanthropist from Gaza. As a resident of Gaza, Mr. Khozender is also witness to the atrocities committed by Israel against the 800,000 plus children there. His people are providing logistical support in Gaza and my team are partnered with people in the North of Ireland who are doing the same. 

In Gaza and Ireland we are working to identify eight youth to be part of our first exchange. First we plan to fly the kids from Ireland to Gaza (via Egypt), or possibly carry them on our convoy from London to Gaza in July of this year. 

After roughly two weeks of educational tours and fun based activities with four youth from Gaza, all will return to Ireland for similar activities there. Mr. Khozendar will be providing the facilities and funds in both Gaza and Ireland and we have high hopes that the program will soon be expanded; which indeed it will if support from people of goodwill is what I think it will be.

I would love to see 50 or 100 children at a time for each exchange, but we shall start with eight kids, and work our way up from there. Plans are flexible, but again we are looking at two weeks in Ireland, two weeks in Gaza, with ongoing support to facilitate continuing communications and hopefully, regular reunions.

If you live in the North of Ireland and wish to nominate a child for this exchange or support this project in meaningful ways, please contact me at 1worldcitizen@spamarrest.com

Together we are going to do something truly special and everyone will get to see the initial results by July at the latest.


TJP



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Nothing is Sacred: Saleem Shahzad



Nothing is Sacred:  Saleem Shahzad Shahzad's book released May 20, 2011 
What is truth? According to Merriam-Webster, truth is defined as: fact, the body of real things, an idea that is true or accepted as true, and reality.  What then is a journalist? A journalist is a writer who aims at a mass audience through the medium of journalism. Journalism is writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or a description of events without an attempt at interpretation. This means a journalist is a writer that writes truth without personal opinion based upon fact and reality.


Syed Saleem Shahzad was the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online, covering issues of global security, focusing on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Shahzad has reported on Islamist movements, taking him to Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Syria and the UAE.


Saleem introduced the world to Al-Qaeda and Sheikh Essa. His interviews include Taliban commanders Sirajuddin Haqqani, Qari Ziaur Rahman, and Ilyas Kashmiri, who leads 313 Brigade, the operational arm of Al-Qaeda.


In November of 2007, Saleem Shahzad, journalist and photojournalist, constructed a brief on Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU) entitled: The Gathering Strength of Taliban and Tribal Militants in Pakistan. Shahzad's brief focuses on extremism, terrorism, nuclear weapons, internal stability and cohesion, as well as a resource for anyone interested in the security of Pakistan.


To quote Saleem:  "The unending Pakistan/NATO/US military operations in the tribal areas, which are seen by Taliban and tribal groups as being fought for a complete victory and without a will for political reconciliation, have radicalized Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province."


"After 9/11, a very rustic religious zeal and the Taliban’s affinity with Pakistani tribal groups was the reason behind providing shelter to the Arab-Afghan Diaspora in South Waziristan and North Waziristan, but Washington sponsored Pakistan’s half hearted military operations in 2002-03 and sparked some of the force in a shared war of retribution."

STOP.

What Saleem is presenting is an investigative document based on historical fact and research without imbibing his own opinion. What then again is truth?  The body of real things.  A journalist?  A writer who aims at an audience with a direct presentation of fact without adding his own opinion.



On May 31, 2011, Saleem Shahzad was found dead.



Syed Saleem Shahzad went missing on Sunday, after he left his home in the capital to take part in a talk show, but never arrived. He disappeared two days after writing an investigative report in Asia Times Online that Al-Qaeda carried out last week’s attack on a naval air base to avenge the arrest of naval officials arrested on suspicion of Al-Qaeda links [see Al-Qaeda had warned of Pakistan strike, Asia Times Online, May 26.]


Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists and Democracy Now have issued public statements regarding the abject horror over one mans death. In 2006, Saleem were captured by Taliban in Afghanistan, yet he remained alive.


Refer to Saleem's 2007 brief:  "As Western-backed military operations continue, Taliban numbers are rising steeply and their confidence is growing. They have even been joined by some Pakistan Army officers who have resigned from the Pakistan Army."


He continues with: "The Taliban are planning to take the war to Pakistan and Afghanistan’s major cities to build an Islamic Emirate. The more the US-backed war is prolonged, the more sophistication the Taliban will be in their strategic development."


Read the above two paragraphs again.

And again.


That was 2007.


On May 20, 2011, 11 days before his untimely death, Saleem Shahzad's new book was released:  "Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11" through Pluto Press in the UK.  On May 04, Shahzad wrote of the death of Osama Bin Laden.


The Associated Press of Pakistan reports: "President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his deep grief and sorrow . . . The President expressed his determination to bring the culprits to justice. He said the present government firmly believes in freedom of media and promotion of democratic values."


The Constitution of Pakistan states in the Preamble: "Therein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality."


In Part II: Chapter 1: Fundamental Rights: Article 19:  "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, commission of, or incitement to an offence."


Read that again.


Saleem's body showed signs of torture after it was found miles from his car on initial exam, but autopsy results were pending as of May 31, 2011.


Article 5: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."


Saleem Shahzad was a journalist in the truest sense. He presented fact without his own opinion based on research. Why then is he not alive?


Article 19: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."


Saleem Shahzad is survived by his wife and three children.  Purchase his book through Pluto Press  [for US purchase go HERE]  to further his work in journalism and assist his family in their time of such unnecessary loss.




Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Our Lady Peace Live Web Chat Ustream: Wed May 25



 Wednesday May 25
  4 PST / 7 EST

On Wednesday May 25, join Our Lady Peace live from the studio as they update you on the recording process of their upcoming album release and answer some of your questions! Raine, Duncan, Jeremy and Steve will all be taking part in the chat. This will be the first installment in the week long series of OLP studio streams leading up to a brand new album.

To join the webchat and ask questions, get settled at
OurLadyPeace@Ustream and log in with your Twitter account to interact live with the band. Interested in just watching the stream? Head on over to ourladypeace.net.





Don't forget that from May 26 - 30 at 4 PST / 7 EST there will be a new stream.



Our Lady Peace
1731 Lawrence Ave
Toronto, Ontario M1R 2X7
 

Sunday, May 22, 2011

To Gaza With Love


ON WGRZ NBC


THE APPLICATION PROCESS TO SAIL ON THE U.S. BOAT TO GAZA IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO APPLIED.



TO GAZA WITH LOVE

Featuring  Ali Abunimah, Kathleen Chalfant, Kathy Kelly, and Alice Walker.



UPDATE ON NYC BOAT EVENT


A special guest, Dr. Ahmet Dogan, will be joining us for this event. Dr. Dogan is the father of Furkan Dogan, the 19 year old Turkish American killed by Israeli forces on the Mavi Mamara, one of the boats in Freedom Flotilla I bound for Gaza last year. Immediately after learning about the attack on the flotilla the organizing for the U.S. BOAT TO GAZA, THE AUDACITY OF HOPE began. 

Now it is a reality and soon we will sail.

Let us come together to hear Dr. Dogan speak about his son and honor Furkan Dogan's commitment to justice for Palestine and look forward to the launch of THE AUDACITY OF HOPE as we affirm our commitment to help end the siege of Gaza and free Palestine.

SENDING PERSONAL LETTERS TO THE PEOPLE OF GAZA


The U.S. Boat to Gaza Campaign is collecting thousands of personal letters to the people of Gaza from people like you in the U.S., in an act of friendship and solidarity. These letters will be carried as our cargo on the U.S. Boat to Gaza when it sets sail in June 2011 in the next International Freedom Flotilla "Stay Human."

The Audacity of Hope will sail as a human rights mission to help end the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The campaign To Gaza With Love allows you and thousands of other people to take part in this effort.  To include your voice please write a letter, card or postcard and send it to:


LETTERS TO GAZA
119 West 72nd St. #158
New York, NY 10023

or




Facebook Twitter Flickr 
US TO GAZA | PO Box 373 | Bearsville | NY | 12409




FacebookTwitterMySpaceYoutube

Monday, May 16, 2011

Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission: Malaysia Interception: Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF)



 

0825 (Jordan Time)  16 May 2011 (Monday)

The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission, involving a Malaysian owned ship carrying aid for Palestine, has been intercepted and attacked by the Israeli naval forces in the Palestinian security zone this morning at 6.54 am local time. The ship’s 12 crew and passengers are safe. Currently the ship has been forced to anchor in the Egyptian waters at one and a half nautical miles from the Gazan waters.

This latest event occurred in the wake of yesterday’s sad commemoration of the ‘Nakba’ in which many lost their lives. ‘Nakba’ the Arabic word for catastrophe means “the expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948.″

The humanitarian initiative is sponsored by Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) and participating in this mission includes anti-war activists and journalists from the Asian, American and European continents.


The mission crew on the ship -- The Spirit of Rachel Corrie (officially known as FINCH)

The cargo ship The Spirit of Rachel Corrie (officially known as FINCH) is carrying 7.5 kilometers of UPVC (plastic) sewage pipes to help restore the devastated sewerage system in Gaza. The ship was named after the courageous American activist who was crushed and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 while trying to prevent the demolition of another Palestinian home. She died at 23.

The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission is part of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation’s (PGPF) “Break the Siege on Gaza” campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to highlight the effects of the illegally imposed Israeli siege and raise awareness of the human rights violations of the people of Gaza. Breaking the siege and ending the illegal collective punishment of 1.5 million people must be a priority for the international community.

On 27 December 2008, the Israeli military launched Operation Cast Lead, which not only killed some 1400 Palestinians, but also destroyed vital infrastructure leaving the Gazans with critical water and sewage problems. Repair of the infrastructure has proved impossible as Israel has prevented the entry of construction materials and fuel to resolve this dire situation.

According to a report from the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH), “the release of 80 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the environment and Mediterranean Sea each day is primarily a result of the Israeli imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip.”

Gaza, one of the world’s most densely populated areas, is currently dealing with serious health issues such as the blue baby syndrome, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases like typhoid and hepatitis A. The World Health Organization is warning of a possible cholera epidemic if nothing is done rapidly to resolve this sanitation crisis.

According to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel: “Between 90% and 95% of the aquifers in the Gaza Strip are not safe for drinking.” The primary cause of the current problem originates from the destruction, during Operation Cast Lead, of “20 kilometers of water pipes, 7.5 kilometers of sewage pipes and 5,700 mobile water tanks”.

While the Gazans are experiencing the dramatic environmental impacts of the sewage and water crisis, the effects have already reached the Israeli shores, and could spread further affecting neighbouring countries. This severe health and environmental issue needs to be dealt with urgently. The international community must demand that the illegal Israeli blockade be lifted.

The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission stemmed from PGFP’s participation in the Freedom Flotilla in 2010, in which 9 activists were killed by Israeli commandos. Following a fact finding mission conducted in Gaza in October 2010, PGPF decided to continue its efforts to assist Palestinians and shows this project as the most immediate of all priorities.– PGPF

http://www.perdana4peace.net/

 

 PRESS RELEASE 2 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

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Join the Resistance: Fall in Love: Franklin Lopez: Buffalo: Fri May 20



* word prophet, rapper, hip hop artist, spoken word poet, musician, 
activist and awesome human being


One day, about five years ago, I was clicking around the web looking for something and I found something else. Without really trying to I found myself watching the film, Join the Resistance: Fall in Love by Franklin Lopez.  It's probably not work safe, but it was extremely inspiring.   



So I subscribed to his YouTube channel and that led me to checking in on his website fairly regularly.  Over the course of the next several years I found a lot of my ideas being heavily influenced by the film clips that he was churning out.

In 2009, I recorded a CD and asked him if he would mind me using his voice on it.  I asked my neighbor Roxanne to record a vocal piece for it also.  And I also asked my friend Leslie James Pickering, who's activism I have a deep and abiding respect for, to record a piece for my CD as well.  




At the tail end of last year, I read a post from Franklin Lopez that he was giving up his apartment, buying a van, and touring around North America to promote his new movie END:CIV which is based on the books ENDGAME I and II by Derrick Jensen.

I suggested that he should come through Buffalo and invited my neighbor Roxanne to help organize it and my friend Leslie James Pickering to do a brief presentation. Roxanne has found the perfect location for it at the Adam Mickiewicz Library, and a few weeks ago Franklin Lopez stopped here in Buffalo and did an interview with Roxanne that turned out really great.



I highly, highly --and even more highly-- recommend folks stop by the Polish Library this Friday to see Franklin Lopez present END:CIV in person.  And please help get the word out between now and then.

we would love to see you there,

  -Alex Mead

  ------------------

Event Flyer:


Facebook page:
[invite people!]


END:CIV website  


Leslie James Pickering:





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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Al-Walaja Nakba Day 15 May 2011 via Mazin Qumsiyeh


As of now at local time Monday morning 2 a.m. May 16, 2011, Mazin Qumsiyeh is still being detained.  His cell phone battery died as he called and wrote down the names and countries of the seven internationals that were detained with him so they can get help calling their respective country's embassy (Ireland, USA, Canada, Germany, Netherland.)  


 


Later, he borrowed someone else's phone to call and inform his family [this letter is via his family] to let them know that all the internationals would be released shortly, but not him and other Palestinians. For them, he said, maybe days.  

He sounded in good spirit and did not seem to be mistreated. Your calls to the U.S. State Department, Senators, Congresspersons, and foreign governments if you are non-US nationals will help.



Here is a video that he took up to the moment when he was arrested.  He managed to pass on the video to a friend before being taken away.  




Many of you wrote in response to the earlier e-mail breaking the news of Mazin's arrest.  His family greatly appreciates that.  Please understand that they may not be replied individually due to the overwhelming responses. They will send updates as they become available.



Hope I have good news to share with you tomorrow [via family] 

 

*Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh teaches and does research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in occupied Palestine. He serves as chairman of the board of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People and coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Sahour.


He is author of "Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle" and the forthcoming book “Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of Hope and Empowerment”








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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

100 Cities, One Night for Autism: Buffalo: Academy Award Director Gerardine Wurzburg



Celebrating “100 Cities, One Night For Autism”, the critically-acclaimed film, "Wretches and Jabberers", will play for a one night limited engagement in Buffalo on Thursday, May 12th at 7:30pm at Dipson Amherst Theatre 3500 Main Street.


Directed by Academy Award®-winner Gerardine Wurzburg, the feature documentary follows two men with autism, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, who embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability, intelligence and communication. 





“100 Cities, One Night for Autism” is a unique, nationwide, theatrical event taking place on Thursday, May 12th when 100 theaters in nearly every major U.S. city, from New York to Honolulu, screen "Wretches and Jabberers" on the same evening



The event was conceptualized by production company State of the Art, Inc with distribution partners Area23a and Screenvision in response to a surge in public demand for more showings of "Wretches and Jabberers" after the documentary’s successful 40-city tour in partnership with the Autism Society during April, which is Autism Awareness Month.

“100 Cities, One Night for Autism” is sponsored by the John P. Hussman Foundation in partnership with the Autism Society.  "This one day event is possible because of the commitment by Learning Disabilities Association of WNY to bring the important message of Wretches & Jabberers to your community,” stated Gerardine Wurzburg, Academy Award winning director.


About Wretches and Jabberers:

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Gerardine Wurzburg (Educating Peter), "Wretches and Jabberers" follows self-advocates Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette as they challenge global attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful message to reconsider competency. A powerful story about personal struggle that rings with intelligence, humor, hope and courage, the feature documentary is about the life-sustaining power of relationships – the personal connections that people make through communication. 



The film is produced by Douglas P. Biklen and Gerardine Wurzburg, funded by the John P. Hussman Foundation, a production of State of the Art, an Academy Award®-winning communications company that creates programs, materials and campaigns in education and health that make the leap between good ideas and change. www.stateart.com


“Banishes the myths about autism and reveals its global face.” – Parade


“An eye-opening and most entertaining doc… nearly perfect” 

–  The Hollywood Reporter


“Autism finds its voice.” – Newsweek